Archive for August 2011
Loebsack and the Rock Island Arsenal
[What would the Taxed Enough Already Party be doing about the Rock Island Arsenal? We can't answer that, but Second District Congressman Dave Loebsack is working with Republican Bobby Schilling of Illinois to "make the Army a more agile, cost-effective organization." Following is a letter sent by Schilling and Loebsack to Secretary of the Army John McHugh pointing out the potential efficiencies of the Rock Island Arsenal.]
August 26, 2011
Dear Secretary McHugh:
Thank you for your openness and willingness to work with us regarding issues at the Rock Island Arsenal (RIA). As you know, we are committed to ensuring that the Army takes advantage of RIA’s strong flexibility and the capabilities that exist there. In light of the work of your Army Transformation Commission, a panel charged with finding new ways to make the Army a more “agile, cost-effective organization,” we urge you to look closely at the RIA as a model of efficiency.
RIA is specifically designed to address multiple mission requirements for seamless support to the Army and the rest of our U.S. military forces, and to do so without adding further expenses to the taxpayer. Because RIA hosts the Army Sustainment Command (ASC) as well as the Joint Munitions Command (JMC) and the Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center (JMTC), these groups are able to work together seamlessly to address the needs of our troops in a moment’s notice.
For example, in 2006when our troops were faced with the need to improve the safety of their vehicles quickly in Iraq and Afghanistan due to improvised explosive devices, not only was the JMTC able to design and manufacture the FRAG 5 kits that were needed within a week, but this was accomplished faster than specified in the original contract. In fact, ASC was able to ship needed protective parts out to our troops just three weeks after requisition, delivering more than 6,000 interim FRAG 5 kits to the field within six months.
This example of rapid problem solving and development of real solutions to challenges faced by our warfighters illustrates how vital the seamless coordination – which in part comes from being co-located on RIA – between JMTC and AMC is.What is more, the rapid fielding of critically needed equipment would not have been possible without the dedicated and highly capable civilian workforce at RIA and JMTC. They were able to do for the Army what contractors are not always achieve. Ensuring that these programs, backed by a highly capable workforce, continue to coordinate seamlessly at RIA is vital to the safety of our troops and the cost efficient goals of our government.
The RIA continues to support our entire military with the ability to work together quickly and efficiently at very low cost to our taxpayers. We agree that it is important to make our Army a more “agile, cost-effective organization,” which is why we would encourage you to consider how important the work is that is done at the Rock Island Arsenal and how efficiently that work is done.
We are, therefore, also very interested in reviewing the task force reports that are focused on the transformation of the Army management structure. We would appreciate receiving these reports as soon as possible.
Thank you for your time and your support for our troops and the missions on the RIA. We appreciate your consideration of this important issue and look forward to future conversations on these matters.
Sincerely,
Dave Loebsack
Bobby Schilling
~ Dave Loebsack is serving in the United States House of Representatives from Iowa’s Second District. He serves on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and on the House Armed Services Committee. He is also seeking re-election to a fourth term. To learn more about Congressman Dave Loebsack, click here.
Jobs, Justice, And The American Dream National Symposium
We received this in our inbox yesterday from Democratic Strategist
Friday’s national symposium on “Jobs, Justice and the American Dream” sponsored by the AFL-CIO and Martin Luther King Center can be viewed here in its entirety. Rev. Jessie Jackson was a guest speaker. Here is an excerpt of his remarks:
“In 1960 Martin Luther King supported Kennedy instead of Nixon to prevent America from going backwards.
Then he marched in the streets of Birmingham to pass the Civil Rights Act to move the nation ahead.
In 1964 Martin Luther King supported Johnson instead of Goldwater to prevent America from going backwards.
Then he marched in Selma to pass the Voting Rights Act to move the nation ahead.
For Dr. King there was no conflict between voting strategically to prevent the triumph of reaction and leading a nonviolent mass movement to pressure a president to achieve profound social change.
When we in the movement struggled for social justice we helped weak presidents become stronger.
When we in the movement struggled for social justice we helped good presidents become great.
Passengers of Planet Earth
Passengers of Planet Earth
by John Shumaker
we are all Passengers on this Planet Earth Bio-Plane
Learn Biota ~ Riparian Rights
Small is BEAUTIFUL
Being grateful we are here
Breathe Air
learn Song of Bioregion
Noosphere
Soul Sphere
live off the Planet from time to time
This is Love
Learn to Re~Inhabit
with Right Livlihood
Learn also Song of the Spheres
Eightfold Noble Path is Dharma of Being
Here
NOW
Tat Tvam Asi
deconcretization of our Urban Village
mapping neighborhood creates
learning our villages
for entrance into sustainability
and Livingry
model LETS local economic trade system
Gatherings
Community Gardens
Community Supported Agriculture
organic farming
farmer’s markets
How do we treat our poor in HUD Housing
other social warehousing gulags
this affects our WELL BEING
We are all part of the Answer
Is our economic system sustainable
Really?
Win~Win Solutions include Everyone
all choices made want to have this central question
How will this affect the Seventh Generation
does this path have a heart
Let’s move beyond the lifeless loveless culture we have been in
and move into
New Song
Creation Song
with Bio~Remedial education
we begin to form
Bio~Habitat for ALL Humanity
Today begins
New Day
We Begin anew with Beginner’s Mind
of Loving Kind
AHO!
This Week On The Fallon Forum: Where’s Ed?
Monday – Thursday from 7:00-800 pm, join us for the fusion of politics and civility at 98.3 WOW-FM and on-line at 983wowfm.com. Call (515) 312-0983 or (866) 908-TALK to participate in the conversation. If you miss the show, you can hear it as a podcast and please help support local progressive talk radio with a donation through Pay Pal or by check to PO Box 13421, Des Moines, IA 50310.
Dear Friends,
Well, you won’t have me to kick around for the next two weeks. I’m heading east to butt heads with Irene — Hurricane Irene that is. Coincidence, really, but maybe by the time you read this I’ll be helping with disaster relief in New England. Hopefully, Irene will prove to be mellower than anticipated.
Monday, Zach Bales-Henry fills in for me. Program content to be determined.
Tuesday, Jon Krieg of the American Friends Service Committee talks with Geral Blanchard, counselor, researcher and author of the new book Ancient Ways: Indigenous Healing Innovations for the 21st Century. Based in Des Moines, Geral also writes about the wisdom of indigenous peoples in Sacred Hoop and Sacred Fire magazine.
Wednesday, Charles Goldman fills in with State Senator Rob Hogg (D-Cedar Rapids) as his guest. Charles has this to say about the program: “Al Gore recently used a well known expletive to describe the media’s “fair and balanced” coverage of global climate change, and investigations of various climate-change-supporting scientists continue at the federal and red-state level. We’ll discuss what and who may be behind this effort to discredit these scientists.”
Thursday, Jeffrey Weiss of the Catholic Peace Ministry sits down with Dr. David Drake, a noted psychiatrist and often-published guest opinion writer in The Des Moines Register. David is also a Quaker who has traveled to several foreign countries, including Colombia and Iran, on diplomatic peace missions. Besides discussing David’s personal journey, he and Jeffrey will dig into the changing roles of men and women in American society, including questions such as:
“Why don’t young people want to get married?”
“How it is possible that more than half of marriages end in divorce?”
“Do women even need men anymore?”
So, tune in at 98.3 WOW-FM and online. You can download the Fallon Forum as a podcast, too. And don’t forget to visit The Fallon Forum website at fallonforum.com. Thanks!
Ed
Dave Loebsack and Jobs as Priority One
[Janet Lawler of the Daily Iowan attended the same event as Blog for Iowa last Friday and got a chance to interview Loebsack communications director Joe Hand. She came up with a different story from BFIA, which follows]:
U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack vowed to push legislation to support U.S. manufacturing jobs, a measure he sponsored earlier this year but which failed to pass the Senate. During a stop in Iowa City last week, Loebsack, D-Iowa, said job creation is his No. 1 priority.
Loebsack introduced the Strengthening Employment Clusters to Organize Regional Success (SECTORS) Act during the last Congressional session; it focused on helping communities, small businesses, local chambers of commerce, and unions to keep manufacturing jobs.
The act unanimously passed the House but was blocked in the Senate. However, a Loebsack aide said the congressman has plans to reintroduce the legislation.
“Iowa has a strong community- college system,” Hand said. “And the act would help in educating and preparing individuals for more manufacturing jobs.”
To read the entire article on the Daily Iowan website, click here.
Protestors Say Steve King Should Focus On Jobs
Citizens in Iowa’s 5th soon-to-be 4th congressional district are rising up. About a dozen protestors showed up outside Steve King’s congressional office in Sioux City last week. Complete with protest signs (“Ready to work!” “Where are the jobs?” “We are your neighbor” “Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!”) and a high school student spokesperson, the group would like their congressman to start making jobs a priority. Andrew Munson, East High Senior, served as an articulate spokesperson for the protestors:
“We think Congressman King should really be focusing on jobs. He seems to be one of the really extreme congressmen and we think we need someone that can work with both sides and help create jobs because that’s a big thing in America right now… I’m in high school but when I get to that point I want to have a good job market, I don’t want to have to worry about finding a good job… When I talk to my friends at school about it, they say, well why should I care, why does that matter to me, and you think it doesn’t affect you but really everything does. If we’re not creating jobs now it’s going to be a lot tougher to create them in the future…and just in general like health care and stuff like that, it all affects us. We need to be informed and competent voters.”
Larry Steinbrecher, another protestor, said:
“…Under union labor I made a good living and all of that is gone now. People are making 8-10 bucks an hour, paying $4 for gas…I have a friend that pays over $1000 per month for medical insurance. How can we do it? We need jobs, but we need good jobs.”
Video coverage by the Sioux City Journal here.
Sunday Funday: Women Of Note edition
I was talking to one of my daughters last weekend and during our conversation I realized just how much I have been learning from both of our daughters over the past decade. Both have a commitment to ecology and an unstated commitment to equality in their own homes.
So this week, let’s identify these women of note in history.
1) In the movie ‘Barbershop’ the character played by Cedric the Entertainer expresses skepticism that what this woman did was such a big deal by saying “[blank blank] didn’t do nothin’ but sit her black ass down!” Who was Cedric’s character speaking of?
a) Alice Walker
b) Marian Anderson
c) Rosa Parks
d) Pearl Bailey
2) Much of the work on the ground-breaking Watson-Crick model of DNA was done by their assistant who received credit many years posthumously. Who was this ground-breaking female scientist?
a) Rosalind Franklin
b) Elizabeth Mountbatten-Windsor
c) Rachel Lambert Mellon
d) Grace Metalious
3) Revolutionary War lore tells the story of a woman who stepped in and fought gallantly when her husband was injured in battle. While not her real name, what name do we know this brave woman by?
a) Pollyanna
b) Betsy Ross
c) Molly Pitcher
d) Flo Nightingale
4) In 2008, Hillary Clinton came the closest a woman has ever come to being nominated to run for president by one of the major parties. What woman was the first to receive votes at one of the major nominating party conventions?
a) Geraldine Ferraro
b) Susan B. Anthony
c) Bella Abzug
d) Shirley Chisholm
5) Born in the Ukraine at the beginning of the century and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this woman became the 4th prime minister of Israel.
a) Bella Abzug
b) Golda Meir
c) Jehan Sadat
d) Benazir Bhutto
6) This Iowa woman was the first and so far only female Chair of the Republican Party.
a) Margaret Chase Smith
b) Mamie Doud
c) Ola Babcock Miller
d) Mary Louise Smith
7) Another Iowa woman who achieved national notoriety led the fight for women’s suffrage in the years leading up to passage of the 19th amendment was:
a) Carrie Chapman Catt
b) Amelia Jenks Bloomer
c) Annie Wittenmyer
d) Lou Henry
8) Speaking of women voting, how many more states need to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment for it to become a part of the Constitution?
a) 1
b) 2
c) 3
d) 4
9) The two women who spearheaded the historic Seneca Falls Convention were
a) Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
b) Lucretia Mott and Susan B. Anthony
c) Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott
d) Lucretia Mott and Martha Coffin Wright
10) This contemporary feminist leader counts the founding of “MS” magazine to her credentials.
a) Betty Friedan
b) Kathy DeCrow
c) Phyllis Schlafly
d) Gloria Steinem
Answers? OK just this week. But let me tell you something, every woman whose name is used has some interesting history. A couple are disguised by using their less recognizable name. Can you identify all the women listed?
1) c) Rosa Parks – all she did was sit down.
2) a) Rosalind Franklin – I learned this early on from my biologist daughter.
3) c) Molly Pitcher
4) d) Shirley Chisholm
5) b) Golda Meir
6) d) Mary Louise Smith – picked by Jerry Ford.
7) a) Carrie Chapman Catt
8) c) 3 – 35 have ratified, 38 needed for ratification. But that is only part of the story.
9) c) Stanton and Mott. Anthony joined in just a bit later.
10) d) Gloria Steinem. Holy Cow, Steinem is 77. She has been a hero of mine most of my life.
Friday Night Networking in Iowa
My work has me seeking people with whom to network, constantly. Always looking for someone new to take up the cause of mitigating the existential threats to humanity in the form of nuclear weapons and climate change. By existential threats, I mean we could be wiped out by them, and yes, it’s too scary to think about. On Friday I went to the county seat and attended three events in pursuit of like minded people.
The first event was organized by the Alliance for Retired Americans at the Robert A. Lee Community Recreation Center in Iowa City. An afternoon event, it was not well publicized with few people attending.
Norm Sterzenbach
Loebsack delivered prepared remarks covering the deficit, Social Security, Medicare and education in a 14 minute speech. There were no surprises here and no real news.
To wrap up the speakers, Chris Schwartz of Working Families Win, Iowa spoke, with a list of grievances about the government. He touched on the South Korea, Columbia and Panama free trade agreements and on building an “infrastructure bank.” He opined that GMAC, a major employer in Waterloo, “is a corrupt company,” and that the electrical grid “can’t handle new technologies.” He asserted many opinions, the most evident of which was that “government should put people back to work.” Not once did he mention private companies in a favorable light. Some in the audience believe that government should not be the primary driver in putting people back to work. Schwartz had a different opinion.
The post-speeches networking was actually the best part of the event and I made some new contacts.
Chris Schwartz
We also talked about AFL CIO President Richard Trumka’s formation of a super PAC and about Teamsters Union President James Hoffa’s statements earlier in the day about holding politicians accountable. We recalled the unsuccessful attempt of former SEIU President Andy Stern to do likewise in Iowa. While labor unions have funds and an organization, their numbers are diminished, as is their influence. Emblematic of this is the Employee Free Choice Act, or “Card Check” which would have made it easier for unions to organize new members. It was dead in the water in the 111th Congress, despite their great hope and the support of politicians like Iowa Senator Tom Harkin. It is easy to share the frustration of union big wigs about getting things done in Congress.
From the Pentacrest, it was to Morrison Park in Coralville where State Senator Bob Dvorsky’s birthday fundraiser was in progress when I arrived. There were some familiar faces from the Alliance for Retired Americans event, with spouse Terry Loebsack joining the Congressman. In attendance were people I have known since re-entering political life during the 2004 precinct caucus and some easy converts to the nuclear disarmament campaign.
Whether the Democrats can get beyond talking the talk about winning the 2012 election and walk the walk is uncertain. We understand what Republicans are trying to do in Iowa through Governor Branstad. It remains an open question whether the Republicans can be stopped, despite Iowa Democratic Party Chair Sue Dvorsky’s report about the gatherings of Democrats ready to work on the election throughout the state.
Friday night was full of promise in Iowa City and Coralville. What I noticed is people are talking about big issues, issues that matter. This in a city better known for its dilettantes and its drinking. One has to love Friday nights in the county seat.
~ Paul Deaton is a native Iowan who lives in rural Johnson County, Iowa.
Why Attorney General Tom Miller Should Let Justice Run Its Course
I was a bit dismayed the other day to see that that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman had been removed from the group of Attorneys General that were prosecuting financial companies for their part in the mortgage fiasco that nearly took down the United States economy in the first decade of the century.
Schneiderman was among those seeking the toughest course of action.
“Schneiderman, who has undertaken investigations into the way banks bundled and sold pools of mortgages, known as securitization, has said any settlement should not release banks from liability for all their mortgage-related sins committed before the financial crisis. Attorneys general from several other states, including Delaware, Nevada and Massachusetts, have expressed similar concerns.” washingtonpost.com
Iowa’s Attorney General Tom Miller is heading up the group of states’ Attorneys General that is working on this investigation. As the group leadership leaned more and more toward making a deal that would relieve the financial institutions of liability and future lawsuits, Schneiderman in particular became a problem for them.
“But Schneiderman, who earlier this year launched an investigation into the securitization practices of Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and other companies, is screwing up this whole arrangement. Until he lies down, the banks don’t have a deal. They need the certainty of having all 50 states and the federal government on board, or else it’s not worth paying anybody off. To quote the immortal Tony Montana, ‘How do I know you’re the last cop I’m gonna have to grease?’ They need all the dirty cops on board, or else the whole enterprise is FUBAR.” rollingstone.com
So, Miller had Schneiderman removed. “Miller did not speak with Schneiderman before he sent word about the decision. Rather, Iowa assistant Attorney General Patrick Madigan e-mailed counterparts around the country just before 1 p.m. announcing that New York had been booted from the key group of states overseeing the negotiations, ‘effective immediately.’” washingtonpost.com.
This is disappointing on so many levels. Tom Miller has a well-earned reputation as a tough no-nonsense prosecutor. Letting the financial institutions off with relatively minor fines and shirking liability more than sends a bad message. It sets a really bad precedent for the future. Should the financial institutions get away with this, they will surely try it again. We have many examples of that. We could even call this the son of the Savings and Loan scandal of the late 1980s.
So far this has flown under the radar of the main stream media. But it has not escaped the scrutiny of cyber-space and activists. Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement has sent out an action alert to tell Miller his action is unacceptable.
“This news is a huge blow to those of us who expected great things from this investigation–and from our Attorney General–and we need Miller to reverse course immediately. This investigation is hugely important as it is the only investigation into big banks’ mortgage and foreclosure practices since they caused the economic crash in 2008 that still devastates millions of hard working families. It’s too important to let Miller cave to the big banks.”
Please take five minutes to email Tom Miller today. Tell him not to give an inch of ground to the big banks. Tell him that instead of getting rid of people who stand up to the big banks, he should be working more closely with them. And tell him, like Schneiderman did, that he must not grant immunity to the banks in a settlement.
Tags: deals, economy, Eric Schneiderman, foreclosures, mortgages, Tom Miller | 
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Dave Loebsack Calls for “Super Committee” Transparency
Washington, DC August 18, 2011 – Congressman Dave Loebsack today joined a bipartisan group of 16 Representatives in sending a letter to House and Senate leadership calling for them to ensure the recently formed “Super Committee” is an open and transparent process. The debt ceiling deal, which was signed in to law on August 2nd, established a Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, also known as the “Super Committee,” which is composed of 12 members of Congress and tasked with reducing the deficit by more than $1.5 trillion. The letter establishes a set of requirements that will ensure full transparency by members of the Super Committee. As a member of the House Transparency Caucus, Loebsack has fought for increased openness and accountability in Congress.
“Holding extraordinary powers over trillions of dollars in spending and revenues, the 12 Committee members will face unprecedented pressure from special interest groups,” the Members wrote. “We simply want to ensure that the process by which these critical decisions are made, that will result in billions of dollars in budget cuts impacting every American, will be as open, transparent and accountable as possible.”
Specifically, the letter calls for the following transparency measures to be met:
All meetings and hearings should be publicly noticed in advance, open to the public, broadcast live over the internet, and archived on the Committee’s website;
The final legislative language put forward by the Committee should be posted online at least 72 hours prior to the final Committee vote;
Campaign contributions received by Committee members should be posted online at least once per week to ensure proper oversight of donations from special interests to Committee members;
All meetings between lobbyists and other special interest groups and members of the Committee and their staffs should be posted online at least once per week, as was done with the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
~ Dave Loebsack is serving in the United States House of Representatives from Iowa’s Second District. He serves on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and on the House Armed Services Committee. He is also seeking re-election to a fourth term. To learn more about Congressman Dave Loebsack, click here.
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- Repubs Stage Crime at NH Polls
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