Iowa’s Indoor Rain Forest

  •  September 22, 2005

Um…

Iowa Rainforest Closer To Reality
Officials hope to finalize plans and financing this spring for Iowa’s indoor rainforest. If so, construction on the $180 million project near Coralville could get under way in the fall.
David Oman, of the Iowa Environmental/Education Project, once known as the Iowa Child Project, said that could mean an opening in 2008.
In January, Congress approved $50 million for the project.

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  • http://Array MikeAdamson

    Reasonable responses gents. I’m actually not opposed in principle to projects such as the Iowa rain forest but it seems like there’s a time for such things and that time ain’t now given your fiscal circumstances.

    It seems like the fiscally conservative voices in the Republican party are reasserting themselves these days. I wonder if this will be seen as the start of a trend or if it’s just a hurricane induced blip.

  • http://porkopolis.blogspot.com/ Porkopolis

    LoadTheMule:

    In response to “Now, how do you propose we do that?”, I have one quick suggestion.

    We can start by contacting each of the 39 Senators that did not support Tom Coburn’s Amendment this week to have earmarks included in a conference report and have them explain their position.

    I’ll be doing my part with Senator DeWine of Ohio…the journey of a thousand mile starts with one step.

    If your Senator is on the list it would carry a lot of weight to call his/her office directly and refer to the Amendment directly. This carries a lot of weight because it shows that a constituent is really tracking issues closely and differentiates against the average call into the office that says, “Why don’t you stop voting for pork?”

    Another specific; you can contact your Congressman/woman and ask if he/she will be supporting the Republican Study Committee’s recommendations to cut 1 trillion from the budget.

    I’m all ‘ears’ (pun intended) for any other ideas.

  • http://sayanythingblog.com/ likwidshoe

    What is it with Americans and their boondoggle projects? I thought your Social Security system was crashing and I know you’ve got a whopping budget deficit…anyone heard of fiscal restraint down there?

    Humanity is similar in many ways the world over. Ever check out Japan for instance? Their bridges to 50 people and expensive dam projects that do almost nothing are legendary. I’m sure your own country has many examples. This is not to excuse this accurately stated “boondoggle”, just that it’s not limited to Americans by any stretch of the imagination.

  • http://noonzwire.blogspot.com/ Alex Nunez

    Your tax dollars at work.

    I would like to banish the people behind this to a real rainforest somewhere…

  • http://sayanythingblog.com/ Seth Yantiss

    I have thought, for a long time, that Iowa needs something interesting! After all, Minnesota has the worlds largest ball of Twine, Iowa needs something. And! It’s taxpayer funded to boot! WOOHOO!!!!

    I’d be willing to be that for 180 million dollars, we could give every resident of Iowa a trip to the Amazon…

  • LoadTheMule

    Excellent idea, Seth. Now, how do you propose we do that? (Btw, I’m being neither obstuctionist nor devisive–it’s an honest question). Who is there currently in the GOP who gives a flying fig about fiscal responsibility? And please don’t list the half dozen congressmen whose names no one will recognize. I mean someone…anyone…with real national-level clout that we can rally around. Pork barrel projects have become de rigueur with both parties and there is no end in sight. They’re all spending like drunken sailors and the President is leading the pack. How the hell do you suggest we ‘fix’ that from the inside?

    Regards…

  • http://sayanythingblog.com/ Seth Yantiss

    I can’t speak for Seth, by my goal is to change the GOP from within, to change it back to the party of fiscal responsibility that it once was and can be again.

    I think this is the more plausible approach. Trying to get people to move to another party will only divide the base so that the opposition party (Democrat – “Whatever it is, I’m against it” – party) would gain power.

    No, we need to take the Republican party back from these big spenders.

  • LoadTheMule

    Electro-Shock-Therapy? Two words?

    Oh my.

    Regards…

  • http://noonzwire.blogspot.com/2005/09/around-sphere.html The Noonz Wire

    WillyShake visited the crash site of Flight 93 in Shanksville, PA over the weekend. it sounds like a place from which you can’t come away unchanged. For you porkbusters out there, Seth Yantiss at Say Anything lets us know that Iowa is getting a taxpayer-funded indoor rain forest. No, I’m not making it up. That’s it ’till next time!

  • MikeAdamson

    What is it with Americans and their boondoggle projects? I thought your Social Security system was crashing and I know you’ve got a whopping budget deficit…anyone heard of fiscal restraint down there?

  • http://porkopolis.blogspot.com/ Porkopolis

    You can see an artist’s rendition of the rain forrest at:

    Field of Dreams Update

  • Gekkobear

    “anyone heard of fiscal restraint down there?”

    Well, we got the Democrats (both new and old) who want to tax and spend…

    And the “new compassionate” Republicans who want to cut taxes and spend…

    So, it appears the answer is a very clear “no”.

  • http://SayAnythingBlog.com The_Whistler_ofnd

    Rob:

    Two Words: Electro-Shock-Therapy.

    Probably couldn’t make it any worse anyway.

  • http://sayanythingblog.com robport

    And please don’t list the half dozen congressmen whose names no one will recognize. I mean someone…anyone…with real national-level clout that we can rally around.

    Well, you’re right. This isn’t really anyone out there like that now. But that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? We can make somebody powerful and give them, with our support, national-level clout. It wouldn’t be easy, but we could do it.

  • http://sayanythingblog.com robport

    It seems like the fiscally conservative voices in the Republican party are reasserting themselves these days. I wonder if this will be seen as the start of a trend or if it’s just a hurricane induced blip.

    This is something Seth Yantiss and I have talked about quite a bit recently. We were talking about how the GOP of late hasn’t really represented our fiscal views and what we should do about that. The options seem to be to either try another part or change the GOP from within. I can’t speak for Seth, by my goal is to change the GOP from within, to change it back to the party of fiscal responsibility that it once was and can be again.

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