Pete's BLOG-Day 26,369 - Governor Braindead

Today is Monday, January 28, 2013. My stats today: 10 minutes of yoga, 10 minutes of lifting weights and 45 minutes of walking = 2.5 miles for a January total of 57.7 miles. My weight was 162.4 pounds.

QUOTE from Heidi Grant Halvorson, motivational psychologist: "Self-compassion rather than self-esteem may be the key to unlocking your potential for greatness. Self-compassion is a willingness to look at mistakes with understanding - embracing the fact that to err is indeed human."

My THOUGHTS today have to do with Governor Braindead, sorry, I mean Governor Bumstead or is it Governor Branstad -it has to do with eight appointees he recently made. I see by the Sunday paper that our wonderful governor's eight picks for people who choose Supreme Court judges include a former gubernatorial candidate, a Presbyterian Church elder who runs a consulting business and a hospital foundation director. It sounds great until you continue reading - all are self-identified Republicans who, among them, have given thousands of dollars to Republican campaigns and causes. And state election records show that of all eight appointees seven have made contributions in their name to Republican candidates and Republican-leaning political action committees. The article didn't say anything about the lone eighth person.

Once confirmed by the Senate, the eight appointees will join eight attorneys elected by the Iowa State Bar to form the State Judicial Nominating Commission and play a key role in deciding who sits on the state's appellate courts.

Matt Sinovic, executive director of Progess Iowa said, "It's typical of Branstad's appointments. He typically gives these jobs to political supporters, It call into question whether he's picking the best person for the job. I would like to see a system in which candidates for commissions have to make their party affiliation and their political contributions public when they apply for any government board or commission."

This is one more reason I don't like Republicans. If they can't win at the polls they'll do anything to get their way - like voter suppression and and now changing the electoral college. Our judicial system is supposed to be non-political - but the general elections of 2010 and 2012 in Iowa have shown the line between judge and politician is blurring.