Several news outlets had enough gumption to report the “increased fatality rates on Iowa interstates after the speed limit increase.” This has always happened on the select highways where speed limits were raised — the crash and fatality rates went up immediately and significantly, even though the rates on other lower-speed highways went down. The heavyfoot lawmakers will only let you hear about the latter, but not the former.

Those past speed limit and fatality increases were initiated and pushed by the Republicans, the last by the Republican-controlled Iowa House in 2005.

It’s the Republicans who claim to be pro-life to the extreme of wanting to defund Planned Parenthood and outlaw morning-after pills, even where rape and incest are involved. But they’re pro-death by voting for faster speed limits, heavier and faster large trucks, and against traffic cameras and against proper laws on texting and phone use while driving.

I won’t vote for any politician or party who sells our souls to big money/big business and ignores common sense and evidence.

Another dastardly but clever thing initiated by Republicans was to make it illegal to video the cruelty to animals in ag-animal facilities. If they’re sure no cruelty was going on, they wouldn’t object to video recording in such places.

Herman Lenz

Sumner