Showing posts with label Iowa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iowa. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Joni Ernst Reports for National Guard Duty 2 Days After Election

Joni Ernst
Pol Light Moment #122 occurred on November 6, 2014, when Joni Ernst reported for National Guard service two days after she was elected as the first woman to the Senate in Iowa. Joni Ernst has served as a United States Senator from Iowa since 2015. From 2011-2014, Joni Ernst served in the Iowa State Senate representing the 12th District.

Lt. Col. Joni Ernst joined the National Guard in 1993. She is also a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom (Independent Journal, Victoria Taft, What Newly Elected Senator Joni Ernst Did Two Days After the Election Tells Us All About Her Character).

After winning election to the United States Senate, Ernst reported to her base on November 6, 2014, for two days of training with the 185th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion (National Review, Benny Johson, Iowa's New Senator -Elect Has Other Duties Before She Heads to Washington, November 7, 2014).

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

"Joni Ernst Official photo portrait 114th Congress" by United States Congress - http://www.ernst.senate.gov/content/about-joni. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons.

Monday, February 1, 2016

Tom Harkin is Grand Marshall for Disability Pride Parade

Tom Harkin
Pol Light Moment #121 occurred on July 12, 2015, when Tom Harkin served as the Grand Marshall for the first-ever Disability Pride Parade in New York City. Tom Harkin served as a United States Senator from Iowa from 1985-2015.

The first of several Disability Pride Parades started in Boston, Massachusetts in 1990. Parades have taken place in several major cities across the country, including an active slate in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Trenton, New Jersey, and New York City. Tom Harkin served as t he Grand Marshall for the first-ever parade in New York City. 2015 also marked the 25th Anniversary of the American with Disabilities Act, which was signed into law in 1990.

The following is a video of Tom Harkin speaking at the 2015 Disability Pride Parade in New York City.



Autism Speaks featured this video about the 2015 Disability Pride Parade in New York City.




Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

The photo of Tom Harkin used in this post is in the Public Domain.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Terry Branstad Issues Proclamation for Day of Prayer

Photo of Terry Brandstad
Terry Branstad
Pol Light Moment #100 happened on April 8, 2014, when Terry Branstad issued a proclamation designating July 14, 2014 as a Day of Prayer and Fasting and Repentence in Iowa. Terry Branstad is the Governor of Iowa. He is the longest serving Governor in Iowa history having been in office from 1983-1999 and 2011 to the present.

The Family Leader writes, "The proclamation was signed at the request of a group who’s focus is bringing spiritual revival back to our nation. You can learn more about them at www.prayer7-14-14.com. They hosted an event at the Iowa Capitol on July 14, 2014 symbolizing our response to 2 Chronicles 7:14 (The Family Leader)."

The following is a YouTube video of Terry Branstad signing his proclamation on of a Day of Prayer, Fasting and Repentence on July 14, 2014.



The following is the text of Terry Branstad's proclamation on a Day of Prayer.

The Proclamation reads:

WHEREAS,

President George Washington stated in his Proclamation of October 17, 1789, “It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor”; and

WHEREAS,

President Abraham Lincoln stated in his Proclamation of April 24, 1863, a day of national humble repentance, fasting and prayer, “It is the duty of all Nations as well to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history that those nations are blessed whose God is The Lord (Psalm 33:12)…But we have forgotten God.  We have forgotten the gracious hand, which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined in the deceitfulness of our hearts that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own.  Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace-to-proud to pray to the God that made us…”; and

WHEREAS,

President John Hancock stated in his Proclamation on April 15, 1775, a day of fasting, humble repentance and prayer, with a total abstinence from labor and recreation, “In circumstances as dark as these, it becomes us, as Men and Christians, to reflect what whilst every prudent measure should be taken to ward off the impending judgments, …at the same time all confidence must be withheld from the means we use; and reposed only on that God rules in the armies of Heaven, and without His whole blessing, the best human counsels are but foolishness…”; and

WHEREAS,

Governors throughout history, have called for days of fasting and prayer over the condition of their state and nation, including Samuel Adams, a signer of the Constitution and serving as Governor of Massachusetts, “I do hereby appoint Thursday the Second Day of April next, to be observed as a Day of Public Fasting, Humiliation and Prayer throughout this Commonwealth: Calling upon the Ministers of the Gospel, of every Denomination, with their respective Congregations, to assemble on that Day, and devoutly implore the Divine forgiveness of our Sins…”:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Terry E Branstad, as Governor of the State of Iowa, do hereby invite all Iowans who choose to join in the thoughtful prayer and humble repentance according to II Chronicles 7:14 in favor of our state and nation to come together on July 14, 2014.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I HAVE HEREUNTO  SUBSCRIBED MY NAME AND CAUSED THE GREAT SEAL OF THE STATE OF IOWA TO BE AFFIXED.  DONE AT DES MOINES THIS 8TH DAY OF APRIL IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD TWO THOUSAND FOURTEEN. :

TERRY E. BRANSTAD

GOVERNOR OF IOWA

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

Photo: The top photo of Terry Branstad is attributed to Gage Skidmore and is in Wikipedia Commons.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Steve King Helps Veterans Visit Their Memorial

Steve King
Pol Light Moment #65 is when Steve King helped Veterans visit the World War II Memorial on October 1, 2013. Steve King is a member of the US House of Representatives who has represented Iowa's 5th District from 2003-2013 and because of redistricting has represented Iowa's 4th District since 2013.

The World War II Memorial along with other open air memorials in Washington DC had been closed and barricaded on October 1, 2013, by the Obama Administration due to the federal government shutdown. Stephen King and other Congressional Representatives helped take down the barricades for veterans to visit the site of the World War II Memorial.

World War II honor vets from Iowa and a delegation from Mississippi arrived for their scheduled visit to the World War II Memorial on October 1, 2013. They were not able to get in because the government put up barricades around the open air memorial. Rep. Steve King reportedly distracted the police, while the barriers were removed (WWII Vets Storm Shut Down Memorial as GOP Congressman Reportedly Distracts Cops). Below is a new story on this moment in political history.



The following tweet on Twitter was an eye witness account of Rep. King's actions at the memorial.

Rep. Steve King told CNN that he was disappointed that intervention was necessary at all. "We don't have guards around them at any other time," King said (Veterans Break Past World War II Memorial, CNN Blog).

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.


The photo of Stephen King is in the Public Domain.