The Satanic Temple of Iowa was supposed to throw a holiday celebration on Saturday — exactly one year after a statue depicting the pagan idol Baphomet was destroyed in the display at the State Capitol building in Des Moines — but the state opted to cancel the event.


The Satanic Temple of Iowa alleges the Iowa Department of Administrative Services (DAS) "forcibly canceled" the event.



"We have made every effort to work with them (Iowa DAS) to ensure a successful event, but after over two months on the official Capitol events calendar we have been informed that our event will no longer be allowed," the Satanic Temple of Iowa announced on the event's page on Facebook Friday night.

Members of the Satanic Temple of Iowa planned to sing Satanic carols, and hold a Krampus costume contest and a Satanic ritual.

"Our goal was to promote tolerance and acceptance of diverse religious beliefs, with a theme of finding a light in the darkness and welcoming the darkest nights of the year with joy and camaraderie," the post said. "We are no stranger to obstacles in advocating for religious pluralism and freedom of speech, and we will continue to fight for the rights of Satanic Temple members and our local community."

Iowa State Capitol stewards confirmed the Capitol was open Saturday despite the ice storm and that the event was removed from the scheduled events calendar in the days before the event.


"After careful consideration of administrative rule and DAS policy, I determined the totality of the event request to include elements that are harmful to minors and therefore denied the request," Adam Steen, the director of the Iowa DAS, said in a statement to the Register.

Daniel Penny, is an honorably discharged combat Marine. hunter biden, was dishonorably discharged after pissing hot for coke. "Garbage!" >

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Market is way down after Trump’s win. I assume most folk’s portfolios have taken a big hit like mine.

...on a molecular level.

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I hope everyone here on these boards have a blessed Christmas and everyone who had family enjoy them while you can! Unfortunately, I am the last one alive in my family as both parents passed away in the last 4 years as well as both of my siblings that went way too early before they even turned 50… at least I have my fiancés family that are super cool… Ho Ho Ho and let’s beat Missouri for a cherry 🍒 on top for the end of the year.

"Should have been the entire WNBA." - Sheila Jackson, Washington Mystics owner, probably.

Click on "apnews.com" in the tweet to take you to the story.

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Can get ****ed and have their nutsack drug over this.

David is a beat writer for 24/7.

EDIT: Looks like David deleted the tweet.

Sheryl's 3 big takes from today:

* The Fever would make the playoffs without Caitlin Clark. She even doubled down on this claim.

* Katie Lou Samuelson is more valuable to the Fever than Caitlin is.

* Angel Reese should be the WNBA Rookie of the Year.


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Between 1882 and 1910, the state of Iowa saw 19 lynchings.



Is that something students should know? Might it make them uncomfortable?


Wait! Of those 19 victims, 17 were white. That means we can chalk up those murders to the vigilantism typical of the Wild West. Little racism there. Nothing to compare with the hundreds of lynchings sweeping through the South.




Wait! Should students know about those southern crimes — 3,500 in all, as recorded by the Tuskegee Institute? Should they learn of the terrorizing that sent 6 million southern rural Blacks fleeing northward on the Great Migration? Might it make them think less of their nation?


And what about the Civil War? Iowa sent 76,000 citizens to fight. The largest per capita participation of any state in the Union.


Sixteen thousand Iowans didn’t come home. That could make a kid proud to be an Iowan.


Wait! Should students know what, exactly, the fighting was about? Of course, Lincoln the Great Emancipator and all that. But should kids know what people were being emancipated from?





Of course teen students should know — all of it. Not only the evils of slavery but also the genocide against Native Americans in the settling of the West, the exclusion of Chinese immigrants and — during lifetimes of many Gazette readers, including me — the World War II internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans.


Students also should know the straight word on the 1960s civil rights movement.


Parents should deplore any move to stifle their children’s chance to use history, some of it ugly, to remind them of responsibilities lying ahead.


The campaign to whitewash history, embraced by once and future President Donald Trump, is nothing but ideology-driven censorship dressed up as concern for children. The move is unabashedly called The War on Woke. It started in Florida with Gov. Ron DeSantis as leader. Its emphasis: Things to fear. Its battlefield: public schools and colleges. But what starts in Florida usually spreads.


Two red-state targets have cryptic-sounding initials — CRT and DEI. That disparaged pair, Critical Race Theory and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, is joined by three improbable targets I call BLT. Not to be confused with the sandwich, BLT stands for Books, Librarians and Teachers.


Now to Critical Race Theory. It asks us to see race as a social construct as opposed to inborn. It examines how learned racial biases have become systemic throughout history. Quite sophisticated, CRT is taught solely in colleges. It sounds creepy — something to perhaps fear — so legislators in red states have no trouble outlawing it across the board.


Race as a social construct should be widely understood. It can be surprising. A personal example: In a local department store 56 years ago, one of my two five-year-old daughters saw a Black family coming down the aisle. “Daddy,” she whispered. “Those people are Black.” “Yes, they are,” I said, “but they’re just as good as you.”


What WAS I saying? The kid wasn’t suggesting some people are better than others. All she meant was, “Oh, look people whose skin is different.” My reaction shocked me.


As for DEI — Diversity, Equity and Inclusion — it urges accepting and supporting those of all racial, sexual, gender and socioeconomic backgrounds, among other distinctions.


What could be wrong with that? It further disturbs those upset at the prospect of America’s melting pot with millions outnumbering those whose forbears came from Northern Europe.


DeSantis knocked out public university DEI programs in Florida last year. Iowa’s Legislature axed them this year. No more diversity offices at state universities.


Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s massive blueprint tailor-made for Trump, proposes empowerment of states to squash DEI. Teachers interfering would risk dismissal. Trump vows to delete DEI. Racial tensions grow apace.


That brings us to BLT — books, librarians and teachers promoting understanding and inclusion through material enabling students to learn, grow and think critically. Prime throttler of progress is book banning.


Prominent among banished books is the Pulitzer Prize winning “The 1619 Project.” Assembled by lead essayist, Waterloo native Nicole Hannah-Jones, it is a critical review of traditionally revered figures and events in American history. It proposes that America’s startup dates not from European explorers’ early 1500s arrival but from 1619, when the first slave ship unloaded its tortured cargo in the colony of Virginia. From there it shows the enduring centrality of racism and slavery to our history.


President-elect Trump wants that book gone, nationwide. In 2019, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos told him “The 1619 Project” couldn’t be banished because the federal government has no education curriculum.


Such obstacles could fall with newly empowered Trump’s vow that “the woke stuff will be gone.” Project 2025 proposes banning of African American and gender studies at all levels of education. It also would ax the Education Department.


BLT attacks threaten school librarians in Iowa but also public librarians in other states such as Missouri and Idaho. This year, the Idaho Legislature criminalized librarians who allow LGBTQ+ books to remain on shelves.


Joining librarians among the newly disrespected are teachers in history and social studies. And, perhaps, science teachers if instructions in climate change are outlawed in tribute to Trump.


What a letdown for Iowa public schools, once considered among tops in the nation. Years ago, Iowa legislators valued creative teachers. That was so 20th century. In their eight years of domination, Republican legislators have forsaken conservatives’ traditional emphasis on local control and fallen in line with national GOP strategy: strong-arming school boards, threatening teachers who don’t toe the line and intimidating LGBTQ+ kids.


The denigration and devaluing of Iowa teachers has led to a discernible exodus of young talent.


It falls to voters to reverse the trend. So far, no changes in sight. Meantime, by narrowing kids’ horizons — limiting their free access to empowering information — Iowa is eating its own seed corn.


Such improbable casualties are engulfed in the hush-up of CRT, DEI and BLT. All amid a Wizard of Oz things-to-fear singsong, “Books and librarians and teachers! Oh, my!”


Retired Gazette editor-writer Jerry Elsea served 10 years on the Cedar Rapids Library Board of Trustees, eight years as president. In retirement he was a 14-year reading tutor for challenged first-graders at Cedar River Academy at Taylor.

-I will drink less
-I will post less
- I will give trump a chance

Your turn

That company really is evil aren’t they?

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“Want to know how corrupt some health insurance companies are? Read on.

I once had a health insurance employee admit to me that they would randomly pull prior-authorizations submitted by a doctor’s office for a particular treatment or study and simply deny it without looking at the chart or details. A prior authorization is a process of getting a treatment plan approved by your insurance company.

When asked why, she said that statistically a certain number of doctor’s offices will stop there and simply tell the patient it was denied and rather than take the time to do what’s called a peer review.

A peer review is when your doctor sets up a call with the insurance company’s “doctor” and reviews the treatment plan to see if it is truly necessary. The majority of times, in my experience, it was authorized after a peer review.

Insurance companies have become wiser about peer reviews as well. Your doctor used to be able to simply call a number and get a peer review almost immediately.

This was too convenient so many insurance companies now schedule an appointment for a peer review during regular office hours knowing a busy doctor’s office would not block patient time to take the call. Therefore, if/when the doctor misses the appointment then they can claim it was not their fault but the doctor’s instead and that’s why it was denied.

After hearing all of this it is easy to say it is the doctor’s laziness or lack of care that leads to not taking the time to do a peer review. However, when insurance companies begin denying so many treatments and studies, it becomes impossible for a physician to do a peer review for so many patients. He or she would be on the phone all day.

Insurance company’s know all of this and this is why the strategy of randomly pulling charts and denying them works by saving them money while denying care to patients.”

Wanted to drop in and say Merry Christmas, and happy holidays, fam.

Appreciate each and everyone of you for joining us for the ride. Hope you all enjoy time with family and have some good food over the holiday.

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Everywhere is packed. What happened to my Monday ghost town bliss?!? 😡

Solid match up

Hawkeye Athletics hasn’t made much of a dent in paying back the $50 million it borrowed from the main University of Iowa campus during the height of the pandemic, leaving $47.6 million outstanding on the 2021 loan — even as contributions from the Big Ten Athletics Conference to its budget continue to climb.



Although UI Athletics paid $3 million back to the main campus in 2022, $1.5 million in 2023 and $1.5 million this year, the loan’s 2.5 percent interest rate has swallowed up most of those payments — shaving just $2.3 million off the principal to date, according to UI Chief Financial Officer Terry Johnson.


“So of the $1.5 million, $1.2 million went to fund the interest expense that was charged to Athletics in FY24,” Johnson told the Iowa Board of Regents in November about the department’s 2024 payment. “Therefore, the balance of about $300,000 was applied toward the loan.”




When the main campus agreed to loan UI Athletics $50 million from its cash reserves in early 2021, the department was projecting a $75 million deficit for the budget year from expected pandemic-related losses — which also caused it to cut three men’s sports: tennis, gymnastics, and swimming and diving.


Later that summer, UI Athletics — which calls itself a “self-sustaining auxiliary enterprise” that “receives no general university support” — ended the budget year with a less-severe deficit of $45 million. And the following year in fiscal 2022, the department topped its projected revenue rebound by nearly $10 million — setting a new income record of $126.8 million.


The department has set revenue records every year since thanks, in part, to higher football, wrestling and women’s basketball ticket sales and boosts in conference support — although some of the income increases have been due to “reserve fund transfers” to pay court settlements, legal fees and “staff transition costs.”


UI Athletics’ current fiscal 2025 budget projects another revenue record, reaching $150.5 million thanks to conference contributions topping $75.2 million — a 22 percent increase over last year; 37 percent increase over 2019; and 140 percent increase over the $31.3 million it got from the Big Ten a decade ago in 2015.





ADVERTISING


“Most primary revenue sources are anticipated to increase in FY 2024,” according to a recent summary of the UI Athletics budget.


Given that budget picture, Regent David Barker said of the department’s loan payments to date, “That sounds like a slow amortization schedule.”


“So far, yes,” Johnson acknowledged, noting terms of the loan require it to be paid off within 15 years and its interest rate to be repriced every five.


“We were expecting starting in fiscal 2026 for conference revenues and things like that to increase,” he said. “So I’m anticipating that Athletics will be in a position to pay off more of the loan at a faster rate.”


Adding a caveat that “there are a few things going on also in Athletics that will temper that a little bit,” Johnson said he’s urging a faster payback schedule.


“Bottom line, they’re interested — and I’m very interested — in paying this off as quickly as possible,” Johnson said.


“That’s what I wanted to hear,” Regents President Sherry Bates said.

Line of credit​

In addition to the pandemic loan, UI Athletics owed $155.6 million in revenue bond principal balances, as of June 30, 2023, according to an independent accountant’s report. The bonds were issued in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2021 for improvements to Kinnick Stadium and Carver-Hawkeye Arena.


The department additionally owed $10.3 million on two 2020 facility leases, according to the report.


And, campus officials confirmed, it owes $21.3 million on two previous facilities-related loans from the main campus — separate from the 2021 loan — both of which have a 2 percent interest rate and no fixed repayment schedule.


“Projects are paid by the university on an ongoing basis and the department makes payments as funds are available from operations,” according to the auditor’s report.


UI officials told The Gazette they don’t have “documentation or written agreements” for those institutional loans that helped support facility projects like the new marching band practice facility, field hockey grandstand and football operations building.


“When a capital project is identified and approved, construction may begin before all funding is available from committed sources,” spokesman Chris Brewer said. “So, the university provides departments a line of credit as needed for small projects, charging interest.”


UI Athletics has borrowed $17.5 million on one line of credit and has repaid $6.7 million to date — with $10.8 million outstanding. On the other — which has supported things like the new wrestling training facility and gymnastics/spirit squad facility — the campus owes $10.5 million.


Officials didn’t say how much has been borrowed on that line of credit total over the years but reported making payments of $14.4 million in 2023 and $9.6 million in fiscal 2024.


In total, per the 2023 auditors report, UI Athletics had $235.1 million in outstanding debt.

Is the POTUS calling them criminals?

What crimes did they allegedly commit according to Joe Biden?

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It’s also spreading morphing into something that targets more than Trump, according to a column at National Review.
Now, the report said, it centers on Trump supporter and billionaire Elon Musk, as an “Elon Musk Derangement Syndrome.”

“Democratic lawmakers and pundits are increasingly peddling a conspiracy that Musk is the ‘shadow’ president. (The hypocrisy of accusing Trump of having a shadow president after four years of President Biden’s ‘leadership’ is lost on them, apparently.)” the report said. “The narrative picked up speed last week after Musk, the incoming co-chair of the newly-created ‘Department of Government Efficiency,’ was a vocal leader of efforts to trim the fat from a 1,500-page spending bill to avoid a government shutdown.”

Two serious videos for any who want to know the stakes

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Bored the last two days and stumbled upon this article -- I knew some of these; but had no idea Francis Ford Coppola directed the movie "Jack".

Yup, I'm gonna be that guy.
4 games and 4 lopsided scores.