March 2, 2012

Since the first funnel week the Iowa Senate has largely passed what are considered to be non-controversial bills.  These are bills such as code editor clean-up bills and jointly agreed upon amendments.  Posturing between the chambers are budget bills that will be debated next week as the legislative session begins to head down the final path.  As debate between the chambers is largely confined to budget negotiations, time is allowed for floor debate and some bills received unlikely attention.

On Wednesday the Iowa Senate passed a bill making it illegal to purposefully seek employment at an agricultural facility to abuse animals for the sake of show.  This bill is an attempt to limit those who want to abuse an animal on tape for the purpose of offering the tape as a misrepresentation of the Iowa farming community.

An amendment offered by Senator McCoy (D-Des Moines), and supported by nine others, would require videotaping within all farming facilities in Iowa and surveillance over outside lots.  As advertised, this amendment would insure food quality and protect livestock.  But it would have meant farmers would've had to install security camera systems in every barn in the state and release weekly tapes for public viewing.  This amendment failed.

The assumption that the vast majority of Iowa farmers are not stewards of the land and animal husbandry is ludicrous.  Simultaneously, a previous amendment offered to place cameras in every classroom for parents to view their children failed on an education bill.  So that tells me that Democrats think parents and children are less important than livestock.

On Monday the Iowa Senate passed a bill sponsored by Senator Brian Schoenjahn (D-Fayette) which requires deer stands and blinds on private property in Iowa to be to be tagged with the owner's name, address, and hunting license.  This bill, which was promoted as a means of curbing poaching, passed the Senate on a party-line vote of 26-24.

This bill makes no rational sense in relation to catching poachers or keeping them from putting up illegal and unwanted tree stands.  A poacher will not bring a deer stand onto your property, without your permission, and then tag it with his name and address.

At the same time a hunting license number is as valuable to hunters as driver's license numbers have become.  The last thing we want to advertise is an identification number which is attached to personal data at the Department of Natural Resources.

I hunt with a good friend in Muscatine County.  He must now tag all his stands before I am allowed to touch them.  For each untagged stand he will receive a $20 fine and be on the radar for future inspections on his private property.

Though I want to blame Senator Schoenjahn for being ignorant of the hunting culture, I will more easily blame his counterparts who voted with him while not thinking about how this bill punishes only the hunters who are doing things the right way. I need your help in bringing common sense back to the Iowa Senate.

The real budget debate begins on Monday as bills are forced to Conference Committee.  Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to join and work in the Iowa Senate.  For more information please visit www.shawnhamerlinck.com.

Shawn Hamerlinck
State Senator

Iowa City, IA - Riverside Theatre will host the first in a series of special events related to its upcoming summer Festival production of The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare, on Thursday, March 1 at 7 p.m. The lecture and presentation by Shakespearean scholar and UI English professor Miriam Gilbert, titled "Shakespeare and 'the likeness of a Jew' Shylock, Fagin and Disraeli" will take place at the Iowa City Public Library, 123 South Linn St, in Meeting Room A. The event is free and open to the public.

Shylock is one of Shakespeare's most famous?and most controversial?characters.  During this presentation Gilbert will ask, is he a knife-wielding villain or a misunderstood victim?  The talk will also examine how our view of Shylock has been influenced by figures from literature, from history, and from his various stage representations.

Riverside Theatre is receiving support from the National Endowment for the Arts for The Merchant of Venice and accompanying audience education and outreach efforts related to the theme of "the other" in the play.

Events featuring experts, scholars, community and religious leaders, aimed at confronting and countering notions of anti-Semitism, as well as additional types of other-focused hatred and prejudices will be presented this spring. Watch the Riverside Theatre website, www.riversidetheatre.org for more information.

In addition to The Merchant of Venice, this summer's Festival will include a production of Shakespeare's As You Like It. The plays will run in rotation from June 15 through July 8, 2012. The Merchant of Venice and As You Like It will be performed at the Riverside Festival Stage in Lower City Park. This outdoor venue is loosely based on Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and contains 472 permanent seats. Tickets for the Festival will go on sale in late spring. For more information go to www.riversidetheatre.org or call the Riverside Theatre Box Office at 319-338-7672.