The race for Congress in Iowa's First District is already bordering on the ridiculous - with the national Republican party trying to tag Bruce Braley as a Communist, for instance - so why not throw a pirate into the mix?

Mr. Jeff Ignatius, in his article "Mixed Colors, Mixed Messages" in the September 23-October 3, 2006, Reader, made the statement "in the sense that the barrier between church and state is explicitly and clearly articulated in the Constitution." I don't know what Constitution he is reading, but the one I am familiar with says in the First Amendment that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Not one word about separation of church and state.

The Iowa Chamber Alliance (ICA), a nonpartisan coalition that represents 16 chambers of commerce and economic-development organizations throughout the state, has joined a nationwide get-out-the-vote effort with the United States Chamber of Commerce. The partners have unveiled (http://www.VoteForIowa.com), a one-stop shop for nonpartisan information about the upcoming election. The Iowa Chamber Alliance's mission is to put forth and enact an agenda to improve the state's economy through support for programs that stimulate economic-growth opportunities for the entire state and its residents. ICA members include chambers and economic-development organizations in Ames, Bettendorf, Burlington/West Burlington, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines, Dubuque, Fort Dodge, Iowa City, Marshalltown, Mason City, Muscatine, Sioux City, and Waterloo.

The fifth Boys & Girls Club of the Mississippi Valley opened last month in the Roosevelt Community Center in west Davenport. The Roosevelt Club, as this group is called, held its grand opening on September 15. Unit Director Cliff Sims said the club fills a need in Davenport's west end because "many kids had nothing to do after school in this area."

The club, located at 1220 Minnie Avenue in the former Roosevelt Elementary School, is open Monday through Friday from 2 until 6 p.m. It opens one hour earlier on Wednesdays, because Davenport schools let out earlier that day.