Iowa GOP using 'fear' to 'unleash a frenzy of book-banning across the state': analysis

Republican legislators in Iowa passed intentionally vague laws that have spurred the removal of books from school libraries and classrooms.

Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law in May a requirement for schools to remove books that depict a "sex act," a vaguely worded statutory term that that Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent says "has now helped unleash a frenzy of book-banning across the state."

"Their vagueness is the point," Sargent writes. "When GOP-controlled state legislatures escalated the passage of laws in 2022 and 2023 restricting school materials addressing sex, gender and race, critics warned that their hazy drafting would prod educators to err on the side of censorship. Uncertain whether books or classroom discussions might run afoul of their state’s law, education officials might decide nixing them would be the 'safer' option."

"What’s happening in Iowa right now thoroughly vindicates those fears," Sargent adds.

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The Iowa City Community School District issued a list of 68 books removed from the shelves to comply with the law, including The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood and “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison, school districts in other parts of the state have removed such books as “1984” by George Orwell and “Slaughterhouse-Five” by Kurt Vonnegut.

“Many literary classics have sex in them,” said Jonathan Friedman, director of free expression and education programs at PEN America. “But now the term ‘sex act’ is turning into a blunt instrument to remove scores of books that have all kinds of literary merit and cultural significance.”

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Two congressmen have gathered enough signatures to force the release of more government files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

According to an article by The Washington Sun, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) announced on Thursday that they had secured the 218 signatures needed to bring their bill to the House floor.

The measure, called the Epstein Files Transparency Act II, would let victims, lawmakers, and states sue the Justice Department for unlawfully hiding records tied to the disgraced financier. It stalled in committee after the pair introduced it in July, but a discharge petition lets them bypass Republican leadership and bring it straight to a vote, according to The Washington Sun.

Four Republicans agreed to sign on, including Massie, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA). Every House Democrat also backed the effort.

"Thomas Massie and I have defied history a second time, securing commitments for 218 signatures on Epstein 2.0," Khanna wrote on X.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) cut the chamber's workweek short by a day, which means lawmakers cannot vote on the bill until after November's midterm elections. The shortened session also blocked a separate Massie resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

A simple majority of 218 votes is all that would be needed to send the bill to the Senate, The Washington Sun noted.

"We will not rest until the Epstein abusers are held accountable and there is justice," Khanna said, per The Sun.

The push follows last year's near-unanimous passage of the first Epstein Files Transparency Act, which forced the DOJ to hand over millions of documents. That release drew accusations of a cover-up, complaints about botched redactions and fights over omitted records, and the two lawmakers say the DOJ has "grossly failed" to meet its legal obligation, The Sun reported.

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Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett deflected questions about President Donald Trump's attacks on her and her colleagues, even after publicly decrying the rising threats.

According to reporting by Bloomberg Law, the Trump-appointed Barrett was pressed on Thursday about the topic during a question-and-answer session at the University of Virginia. She was there to promote her book, "Listening to the Law."

She was asked whether disparaging comments made over the past year by Trump and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller had increased threats to the judiciary, Bloomberg Law reported. Barrett reportedly declined to single out the president.

"I don't want to talk about anything that the president has said in particular," Barrett said.

Instead, Barrett framed the danger as a condition shared across political life in Washington rather than the product of any one figure.

"We certainly live in a time and in a climate where people are quick to say things that I certainly wish, you know, that they wouldn't," Barrett said, per Bloomberg Law. "I think it's not just the judges. I think that many members of the House and Senate talk about the threats they get."

Her reluctance to name Trump stands in contrast with how directly she has spoken about the threats justices face. Barrett told Congress in July testimony about Supreme Court security funding that the justices expect a 38 percent increase in threats this year compared to last, Bloomberg Law reported. Her own home was the target of an attempted swatting call this spring, she said during that July testimony.

The deflection came the same week Trump revived his criticism of the conservative justices he appointed. After the court declined to let his administration impose new mail-in ballot restrictions through the U.S. Postal Service, Trump went after the justices who ruled against him.

"These are not the people I interviewed to serve on the United States Supreme Court, they are merely a shell of their original selves," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. He added that the court was "bullied and cajoled by the Radical Left."

Barrett, a former Antonin Scalia clerk, drew similar anger from the right last term for joining majorities that struck down Trump's global tariff regime and upheld birthright citizenship. She said on Thursday that she has a "lonely job" in many ways and that she has grown more "guarded" by leaning on old friends she trusts.

"I think that part has been a challenge, just in ways that I didn't quite expect, just because what I had seen of the job was watching Scalia do it," Barrett said. "I think that was a different time."

Former CNN anchor Jim Acosta says he's noticing fewer flags bearing President Donald Trump's name across rural Virginia, which he said signals a "vibe shift."

During a Thursday episode of "The Jim Acosta Show," Acosta told Beth Macy, a Democratic congressional candidate from the region, that she has a real chance to take over a GOP seat based on what he's seeing. Macy is running to unseat Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA).

"Something culturally is changing in that part of Virginia in rural Virginia," Acosta said. "I'm not seeing as many Trump flags as I used to. I used to see them all the time driving around."

Acosta explained that his theory is "when the gas prices go up, the Trump flags come down. That's what I've been seeing."

"Exactly," Macy agreed.

The candidate said that the change is turning up in territory she called "as red as it can be." She described a beef farmer "whose family has been on that property since the Revolutionary War for 300 years" and who is married to a Marine Corps vet.

The couple "have never voted Democrat in their lives," Macy said, but asked a volunteer for a 'Beth Macy' yard sign. "They go, 'We'll take one!'"

Macy tied the shift to prices, saying Cline "put up an ad" that claimed he helped get gas prices "low" even as diesel climbed.

"Diesel is up to $6.54 now, an all-time rate in history," Macy said, recounting a voter who told her, "I'm sick of being gas lit."

Acosta cited the Wall Street Journal, noting the average price of a gallon of diesel "hit a fresh record high of $6.27."

Macy also pointed to a protest group in Woodstock that gathers "over the I-81 bridge every Saturday," saying the reaction has "flipped" against Trump and the GOP.

"When we first started protesting...it was eight people flipping them off for every one person honking in support," Macy said. "Now it's flipped. It's one to eight."

Acosta agreed, saying, "I am feeling a vibe shift. I certainly am."

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