Underdog Democratic U.S. Senate candidate David Hoffman has a new poll that purports to show that he's in the hunt, but the camp of primary Democratic rival Alexi Giannoulias says there's no way the poll is accurate.

Hoffman's survey of 505 likely Democratic primary voters was conducted October 2 through 4 by Hart Research Associates. The initial head-to-head has state Treasurer Giannoulias leading with 18 percent, followed by Urban League President Cheryle Jackson at 7 percent and 5 percent for former Chicago Inspector General Hoffman.

The Giannoulias campaign, however, points to a poll it took July 28 through August 2 that had their guy at 45 percent, with 17 percent for Chris Kennedy and 13 percent for Jackson. No way, they say, could they be as low as Hoffman's poll shows.

Many of the decision-making processes we engage in require some degree of trust. Trust characterizes nearly every relationship under the sun -- whether husband-wife, parent-child, teacher-student, doctor-patient -- including legislator-voter/taxpayer and media-consumer. With regard to this week's cover story subject -- the H1N1 flu virus and its vaccines -- the decisions made by Americans to accept the professed need for widespread immunization and the safety of government-procured vaccinations is based almost entirely on trust. People who take the time to evaluate and consider the risk-to-benefit ratio of immunization against any virus find themselves asking, "Whom should I trust?" Many of us depend upon the media for our information on this subject. Unfortunately, the dominant mainstream media is no longer worthy of our trust, most especially in matters of life and death.

The media has proven its wholesale complicity in deliberate manipulation of information/news in favor of its own agenda(s) and, more importantly, in favor of its commercial interests. The H1N1-virus controversy is no different.

Governor Chet Culver said Thursday that hundreds of Iowa state workers will be laid off, some government programs may be eliminated, and services to even the most vulnerable of Iowans will be affected as a result of the 10-percent across-the-board cut he ordered a day after state revenue estimates were lowered $414.9 million for the current budget year.

"We are preparing for some of the toughest times this union has ever seen," said Danny Homan, president of AFSCME Iowa Council 61, which represents approximately 20,000 state workers. "A 10-percent across-the-board cut will be devastating to state workers and the people they serve, no matter how necessary that cut is."

I'm Cecil James Roth, a ProSeParty member, and I want to encourage you to write your representatives, and other citizens, about concerns of all citizens, and vote out representatives that give the appearance of impropriety (the failure to show due honesty) to the public. Lewis Rothschild (Michael J. Fox) in The American President said: "In this country it's not only permissible to question our leaders, it's our responsibility." Yes, ... it is our responsibility! Who are our legal leaders and representatives? They are all elected officials, police officers, teachers, judges, lawyers, ... anyone employed by our taxes, or took an oath to uphold the Constitution or the law. Attorneys have taken an oath to uphold the laws and report lawyer misconduct. I believe all lawyers improperly ignore other lawyer's misconduct ... unless done to them. Most media have Platforms that they will "never be afraid to attack wrong" - Joseph Pulitzer. Do they, ... always?