During the final minues of a Senate hearing Wednesday with Gen. Peter Pace, Sen. Tom Harkin asked the chairman of the Join Chiefs of Staff to clarify remarks he made in March when he told the Chicago Tribute that homosexual acts where “immoral” and that the military should continue its “don’t ask don’t tell policy”.

Click the play button below to watch video from the hearing:

The Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Act that was passed by the House and introduced into the Senate by Senator Tom Harkin was passed late Thursday night after Republican Senator Tom Coburn lifted his hold on the bill. The legislation is named after Iowa native Joshua Omvig who committed suicide after he returned home from serving in Iraq.

The president recently announced his new plans for Iraq but again failed to provide a concrete timetable for the conclusion of this tragic war.Democrats in the Senate have been fighting for tangible measures of success but our efforts have consistently been blocked by the Republican minority.

However, there is hope. Democrats received wonderful news last week. First, Senator Chuck Hagel announced his retirement, creating an excellent opportunity for Democrats to pick up his seat in Nebraska. Then, former Governor Mark Warner announced his candidacy for the open U.S. Senate seat in Virginia. Days later, former Governor Jeanne Shaheen announced that she plans to run for the Senate to run in New Hampshire.

If you missed the 2007 Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, IA this past weekend or if you attended and want to relive all of your favorite moments, you can catch all of the action from the Steak Fry with special guests Senator John Edwards, Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Barack Obama, Senator Chris Dodd, Senator Joe Biden, and Governor Bill Richardson on the official “2007 Harkin Steak Fry” series on Veoh.

Click “read more” to watch all of the video from the event.

Ustream.TV is back online and so is our Live Webcast from the 2007 Harkin Steak Fry. Click “read more” to watch live now!

John Deeth at the Iowa Independent has written a great entry about the history of the Steak Fry and mentions that Sunday’s Fry may have the largest crowd ever:

Tom Harkin’s streak of good luck with the weather is likely to stay intact. In 29 years, the annual Harkin Steak Fry has never been rained out, and Sunday’s forecast for Indianola is sunny to partly cloudy and breezy with a high of 76 degrees.

Tom Harkin posted a guest blog on www.ruralpopulist.org today to highlight some of his proposals for the 2007 Farm Bill. The Rural Populist is a blog run by former Iowa resident and candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, Brian Depew, who currently works at the Center for Rural Affairs in Nebraska:

Tom Harkin: Strengthening America with Investments in Rural America

Guest Post by Iowa Senator Tom Harkin

In the last few weeks I’ve traveled to over 26 cities and towns all over Iowa to meet face to face with residents and listen to their hopes, their concerns, and their feedback on the 2007 farm bill, which will strengthen investment and economic opportunities for our rural communities and farmers, conserve our environment while decreasing our dependence on foreign sources of oil and improve the quality and safety of our food and nutritional options for our children.

Senator Tom Harkin did an interview with Christy Hardin Smith, of FireDogLake to discuss his efforts to close down the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and his new petition that calls on the Senate to only confirm a nominee for Attorney General that supports closure of the facility:

Yesterday afternoon, I spoke with Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa discussing his proposed legislation on closing the Guantanimo detention facility. We talked for quite a while about the Bush Administration’s utter disregard for the rule of law and for the human rights principles that America has championed for years. Our nation’s standing in the world has suffered for it and it is going to take enormous efforts to rebuild our relationships with allies and our nation’s reputation. It is going to be a very long road back from the Bush years.

The successor to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will face a number of tough challenges, but none of them will be as critical as restoring our Constitution and the public’s confidence and trust in the rule of law.

That is why I am calling on my colleagues in the Senate to only confirm a nominee for Attorney General who among other items, shows his or her commitment to upholding the rule of law and restoring fundamental rights and freedoms by supporting efforts to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.

Click here to sign my petition to tell the Senate to only confirm a nominee for Attorney General who supports closing down the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay today.