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pablate - Mon 01 Sep 2008 02:15 AM CDT
Connie Wilson - Sat 23 Aug 2008 06:31 PM CDT
altheakims - Tue 19 Aug 2008 04:28 AM CDT
Richard - Sun 17 Aug 2008 06:57 PM CDT
sspl05 - Sat 02 Aug 2008 07:21 AM CDT
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Saturday, April 30
Volunteer Opportunity: Living Lands and Waters Needs YOU!
by
Linda Thieman
on Sat 30 Apr 2005 04:15 AM CDT
 Volunteer Opportunity: Living Lands and Waters Needs YOU!
Who: Living Lands and Waters, Woodson Spring, Coordinator U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Joe Lundh, Forester
What: Invasive honeysuckle bush removal with the help of local schools and community volunteers
How: Advance registration requested. Please contact Geoff Manis, Living Lands and Waters, at 309-236-5627 to do this.
Why:
The honeysuckle bush is an invasive species that is easily propagated,
holds its leaves longer than most native vegetation, and chokes out
native trees, shrubs and wildflowers from emerging where the
honeysuckle is present. By removing the bushes, root and all, we are
making way for natural regeneration of native species.
This
is part of an ongoing partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
and Living Lands and Waters. In the spring of 2003, the partners
removed two square acres of the bush and planted the newly opened area
with native hardwoods. In 2004, the partners continued the progress,
with more than two acres removed over three weekends. With only a
little more than four acres of honeysuckle needing to be removed,
Living Lands and Waters hopes to conclude this phase of the project in
2005.
Where: Smith’s Island National Recreation Trail, located within the Lock and Dam 14 complex, accessible from Iowa side.
Directions:
From the 74 bridge in Iowa, take River Drive/67N approximately seven
miles until about two miles south of I-80 Bridge. Look for brown sign:
“Lock and Dam 14 Recreation Area“. Take next right turn onto frontage
road, which runs north parallel to 67. Park at the first gravel parking
lot. Follow sidewalk upstream to auxiliary lock chamber. Cross the lock
chamber and follow the path/road. Turn on the gravel path to the left
of the small prairie planting. Cross the footbridge to Smith’s Island.
The total walking distance is one mile. Please call Woodson or Joe if assistance is needed. (numbers below)
When: Saturdays, May 7, 14, 21, and 28. 8:00 AM-4:00 PM all four days unless finished early.
For more details, please contact: Geoff Manis: 309-236-5627, Woodson Spring: 319-457-0007 or Joe Lundh: 309-794-4528.
Volunteers should know that this activity will be physically demanding as well as gratifying as the removal progresses.
Participants
will be expected to wear long pants and closed-toed shoes (no sandals,
please), along with provided safety gear.
Volunteers
should be at least 13 years old and those under age 18 will need to
have a signed permission form to participate. Groups can be
accommodated with advance registration.
Lunch will be provided.
Thursday, April 28
LAST CHANCE for a voter-verified paper ballot
by
Trish Nelson
on Thu 28 Apr 2005 10:15 PM CDT
 LAST CHANCE for a Voter-Verified Paper Ballot
Act now or you'll miss the LAST CHANCE for a voter-verified paper ballot (VVPB) law to pass in Iowa this session.
Iowa
lawmakers wrap up the legislative session on Friday, April 29. A bill -
S.F.351 - requiring a VVPB for all new electronic voting machines has
already passed the Senate, but the House has not yet acted - and time
is running out.
Iowa
voters have told the Secretary of State that a VVPB for all new voting
equipment coming to Iowa counties is the number one priority - and he
has asked the Iowa House to act. Now it is YOUR chance to make your
voice heard where it counts. Insist that the House State Government
Committee release the bill for a floor vote, and that the legislature
respond to the will of the people of Iowa.
The
Secretary of State gets it. Now make sure your lawmakers get it too.
Insist that S.F.351 come to the floor for a vote, and ask your
Representative in the strongest possible terms to vote for its passage
today.
TAKE ACTION TODAY! Click on this link VerifiedVoting.org Action Center to send your message to your representative.
Darfur Benefit Dinner in Iowa City April 30th
by
Linda Thieman
on Thu 28 Apr 2005 03:55 AM CDT
 Darfur Benefit Dinner in Iowa City April 30th
Iowans For Peace and Sudanese Community Services present:
DARFUR BENEFIT DINNER
100% of admissions go to refugee relief in Darfur
SUDANESE CUISINE, SPEAKERS, MUSIC
Saturday, April 30
Wesley Center, 120 N. Dubuque St., Iowa City
MENU (includes many vegetarian options):
Dakwa (tomato, onion, peanut salad)
Ta'amih (Sudanese felafel)
Gima (potato and ground beef dish)
Adas (lentil dish)
Ful (fava bean salad)
Baba ganoush (eggplant salad/dip)
Basbusa (semolina dessert)
Dates
Hibiscus tea
5:30 DOORS OPEN
-- Stop by the information table, drop off material aid donations,
write a postcard calling for action, tie knots on a quilt to be sent to
Sudan
6:00 MEAL SERVED
7:00 SPEAKERS & MUSIC
Elraya
Khalifa, an Iowa City resident for 10 years, was a judge in Northern
Sudan and a colleague of leader Mahmoud Mohammed Taha, who was known as
Sudan's 'Gandhi.'
Kuat
John Afar was displaced during war in Southern Sudan, has taught
displaced and refugee children Arabic and biology, and recently
immigrated to Moline.
It is not yet confirmed, but several refugees from Darfur are also likely to attend the dinner as special guests.
TICKETS (Available in advance or at the door):
$10-15 donation
$7 students and restricted income
Children ages 12 and under admitted free
PLEASE HELP US PLAN BY PURCHASING TICKETS IN ADVANCE!
BEGINNING WED., APRIL 20, TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE FROM:
Lori Nelson, 358-1557, ljnelson@avalon.net
Ilham Mohamed, 358-0438 (her work number at the Pheasant Ridge Neighborhood Center)
Greta Anderson, 337-9902, greta@avalon.net
Karen Nichols, 339-8967, karenenichols@gmail.com
Margie Haworth, 643-5438
BENEFICIARIES:
Proceeds
will go to the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker non-profit
organization, to benefit Darfur and southern Sudan refugees and
displaced persons. A small portion (% TBA, maximum 20%) may go to the
local organization Sudanese Community Services, which aids refugees and
asylum-seekers from Sudan. 100% of the ticket price will be donated to
the beneficiaries. If you are unable to attend the dinner, please
consider making a donation.
WE NEED VOLUNTEERS TO HELP WITH FOOD PREP, SET-UP, SERVING, AND CLEAN-UP.
YOU WILL HAVE FUN AND MEET NEW PEOPLE! Food prep (chopping vegetables,
etc.) volunteers are needed for the afternoon, starting sometime after 1:30. No experience necessary. There will be a small group preparing each dish, with each group directed by a Sudanese cook.
Monday, April 25
Paperless Voting Machines to be Installed in Iowa Unless We Act Now
by
Trish Nelson
on Mon 25 Apr 2005 06:38 AM CDT
Paperless Voting Machines to be Installed in Iowa Unless We Act Now
The following is a letter sent to Iowa Secretary of State Chet Culver
by Maureen McCue MD, PhD, Coordinator Iowa Chapter, Physicians for
Social Responsibility.
Please cut and paste this post and get it out to EVERYONE in your e-mail circle ASAP.
Call or write your legislators, your local newspaper, and Secretary Culver. See contact info. below.
Dear Secretary Culver,
I am very concerned that Iowa may not make paper verification of
electronic voting machines available to voters and I'm even more
concerned about how this will adversely impact our democracy, our
already poor voter turnout and diminishing faith in our electoral
system. I turn to you for your help and advice.
During the HAVA meeting in Cedar Rapids, March 28th it was
announced that the Iowa Senate had unanimously voted for voter verified
paper trails to the electronic voting machines being installed in
Iowa. At the time I and, I'm sure, many in the audience, felt
this was a done deal: that Iowans would be able to verify that their
voting machine had correctly captured their intended vote. I've
since learned that the companion bill did not make it through the House
to the General Assembly and that this issue of great concern to so many
Iowans will die soon without approval. Without a vote in the
House for voter verification on paper, Iowa will install paperless
machines at which point change to paper verification will not be
possible.
Going with a system that does not verify each and every person's vote
is a very critical mistake. I understand that those opposed to
paper raise issues of cost, waste of paper, and the difficulties of
training all the precincts in their use and maintenance. While
these are not trivial issues, they are not sufficient reasons to risk
loosing even more faith in our electoral process.
I've learned some legislators believe there is only one option for a
voting machine with a paper printer option and it is too
expensive. But, from comments made at your meeting I understood
that several companies including one called Micro Vote, ES &S, as
well as Diebold and Sequoia were being considered for use in Iowa.
Democracy is not easy or cheap (look how much we spend on the military
that supposedly protects our rights and freedoms, especially or freedom
to vote). If we don't urge our representatives to vote on
this issue in favor of voter verified paper trails, we essentially give
up our right to verifiable elections. This is a very dangerous
and steep, slippery slope to the end of democracy as we understand
it. I know you are as concerned as I am that our voting system
works for all our citizens. At the very least, let's make sure
that every vote cast counts - accurately. The time to reclaim our
democracy is today!! Please be certain that this issue is not
allowed to die. Please tell me what I can do and what you will do
to verify that our votes are recorded as intended.
Maureen McCue MD, PhD
Coordinator, Iowa Chapter
Physicians for Social Responsibility
____________________
Take Action: To find and write your legislator click here: www4.legis.state.ia.us/find-leg/
Click here to Contact Sec. of State Chet Culver
or call 515-281-0145
Then contact the media:
Click on the links below to send a letter, or copy and paste the address into your e-mail.
The Des Moines Register letters@news.dmreg.com or call 800-532-1455
Ames Tribune: letters@amestrib.com or call (800) 234-TRIB
Iowa State Daily letters@iowastatedaily.com or call (515) 294-3557
Cedar Rapids Gazette editorial@gazettecommunications.com or call 319-398-5869
Quad Cities Times opinions@qctimes.com or call (800) 437-4641
Sioux City Journal larry.myhre@lee.net or call 800-397-9820
Iowa City Press-Citizen newsroom@press-citizen.com or call 319-337-3181
The Daily Iowan daily-iowan@uiowa.edu or call 319-335-6063
Mason City Globe Gazette www.globegazette.com or call toll free: 800-421-0524
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier tish.flattery@wcfcourier.com or call 800-798-1741
Please write or call and pass this on. We need EVERYONE’s help on this action.
 Iowa Rapid Response needs letter-writers, researchers, readers, and media watchers. Join the Rapid Response-Iowa team.
Sunday, April 24
JOHN DENVER AND HIS LEGACY
by
Molly Regan
on Sun 24 Apr 2005 10:59 AM CDT
 JOHN DENVER AND HIS LEGACY
"To Sail On A Dream On a Crystal Clear Ocean,
To Ride On The Crest Of The Wild Raging Storm,
To Work In The Service Of Life And The Living,
In Search Of The Answers To Questions Unknown
"To Be Part Of The Movement,
Part Of The Growing,
Part Of Beginning To Understand….
"Ey, Calypso The Places You've Been To,
The Things That You've Shown Us,
The Stories You Tell,
Ey, Calypso I Sing To Your Spirit…."
This heart moving tribute from one world famous nature-lover, JOHN
DENVER, to another, JACQUES COUSTEAU, became a song that for many of us
stirred profound feelings. JOHN DENVER was a gentle man who owned
a magnificent, perfect pitch voice and fully lived his passion.
Not only did he write words and lyrics to hundreds of songs about the
human condition and his connection to nature, but his activism for
conservation of our environment, crusade for world peace, AND the end
of world hunger won him many accolades and awards.
In 1980 JOHN DENVER stood beside PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER as the ALASKA WILDLIFE AREA ARCTIC
NATIONAL was 'preserved' with the signing of THE
ALASKA NATIONAL INTEREST LANDS CONSERVATION ACT. We all know what
has happened to that in the past month. Nothing appears to be
sacred anymore. But we must not lose heart. There are many
ways to reinvigorate. Go to www.johndenver.com to start the
healing.
Another group that John served proudly on was President Jimmy Carter's
PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION ONWORLD HUNGER. Also on that commission
was singer/songwriter HARRY CHAPIN. What still exists as part of
that can be found at www.thp.org (The Hunger Project). Its top
priority is to educate women in Africa, Asia, and Latin America as to how
to use their power to bring about sustainable living.
John also created WINDSTAR in 1976 along with his good friend Tom
Crum. WINDSTAR is a non-profit ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
ORGANIZATION using holistic approaches to problems. Located on
nearly 1000 acres in beautiful Colorado, it teaches that we affect each
other by our actions. It holds EARTHcamps for kids around the
country also. More information can be found at http://www.wstar.org/
THE SPIRIT OF JOHN DENVER is still alive and well! To honor this
tireless citizen of the world, we should each try to clean up our own
little corner of the globe. It is not easy because sometimes it
involves giving up something we think we cannot live without, or facing
someone with whom we have disagreements. But, it can be a growing
experience. So sing a song while you work at this. Or
better yet, get out your old 33 1/3's and give them a spin once again
to get that feeling back of YES! WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND MAKE A
JOYFUL NOISE WHILE WE DO IT.
In the words of JOHN, "REJOYCE IN THE CREATIVE SPIRIT THAT LIVES IN
YOU. USE IT CONSCIOUSLY TO CREATE THE LIFE AND THE WORLD YOU
WANT".
CPR…Conserve/Participate/Recycle....Salutations!
Action Alert: Attend a Rally to Stop Bush's Plan to Dismantle Social Security
by
Trish Nelson
on Sun 24 Apr 2005 08:27 AM CDT
 Action Alert: Attend a Rally to Stop Bush's Plan to Kill Social Security
America Coming Together
This coming Tuesday your time is urgently needed to stop [George W.] Bush and his Republican allies from dismantling Social Security.
Please join ACTivists in your area on Tuesday, April 26 for
one of the many rallies around the country scheduled to coincide with the
Senate Finance Committee's first official hearings on Social Security
privatization. Tuesday is also the last day of [George W.] Bush's unprecedented,
60-day, multi-million dollar taxpayer-financed tour to sell his privatization
plan.
There is one event currently scheduled in Iowa:
Tuesday, April 26 – 11:00 AM
Capitol Steps, East 12th Street
& Grand, Des Moines
Contact: Lisa
Davis-Cook or call 515-277-5077 x 14
Check here for updates on events:
By taking action on Tuesday you could help save Social
Security.
The ACT Team
Click here to receive action alerts from Rapid Response-Iowa
Thursday, April 21
Join Ed Fallon's Campaign for Governor
by
Linda Thieman
on Thu 21 Apr 2005 05:19 AM CDT
 Join Ed Fallon's Campaign for Governor
A Message from Rep. Ed Fallon (D-Des Moines)
Many
thanks to the over 400 people who came to the official kick-off of my
campaign at the State Capitol earlier this month! The energy and
momentum generated by the rally, which received extensive statewide
television and press coverage, has elevated the visibility of our
campaign and the acceptance of its viability. I am truly grateful
for the support and enthusiasm expressed through your attendance at the
rally, the hundreds of volunteer hours and the donations received.
I meant
what I said at the rally that this is OUR campaign. The issues
that matter to you also matter to me, and I want to be able to do more
than simply talk about them. We can reform the healthcare system
if we stop handing out tax breaks to insurance companies. We can
commit more money to education if we curb the legislature's appetite
for corporate welfare. And we can prioritize environmental issues
such as clean air, clean water and responsible land use, as opposed to
corporate hog farms and expanding tax breaks for urban sprawl and
big-box stores.
It is
time to ask everyone who is passionate about these issues to become
part of this campaign. We are increasing our fundraising efforts
(please consider a monthly pledge!) and putting together a grassroots,
statewide precinct organizing plan. The plan will involve time
commitments of between one and 20 hours per week. Tasks include
distributing literature, door-knocking, phone calling, writing letters
to the editor and organizing events. For those of you who have
already signed up to volunteer, we will be contacting you over the next
few months to see where you can plug in. If you haven't yet
signed up to volunteer, please call us at (515) 244-3113 or send an
email to ed@fallonforgovernor.org.
Finally,
I frequently describe my goal as providing a voice for ALL
Iowans. Several weeks ago, I asked the House Majority leader if
he would allow me to present a resolution to set aside a week to
recognize homelessness, and he refused. This Thursday,
April 21, on the west steps of the Capitol from 11:30 a.m. until 1
p.m., advocates for the homeless and low-income will serve a free lunch
and ask the Iowa House to recognize the importance of increasing public
awareness of this issue. For more information, give me a call at
my direct line at the Statehouse: (515) 281-4300.
Ed Fallon
http://www.fallonforgovernor.org/
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