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no4gman - Tue 15 Jul 2008 10:46 PM CDT
evaroberts - Tue 15 Jul 2008 01:20 AM CDT
Sam Garchik - Mon 02 Jun 2008 10:10 AM CDT
atomburke - Fri 23 May 2008 03:49 PM CDT
salman - Fri 23 May 2008 06:28 AM CDT
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Monday, January 30
YOU Can Bring Air America Radio to Iowa!
by
Trish Nelson
on Mon 30 Jan 2006 04:00 AM CST
 YOU Can Bring Air America Radio to Iowa!
Air America Radio is coming to Iowa! Well, that is, if you follow this easy recipe.
There are just a few ingredients you need to bring progressive talk
radio to your town and your local station. Why let Rush Limbaugh
have the last (or only) word on everything? Davenport
was the first in Iowa to pick up Air America at WKBF-AM 1270 –
and the popular liberal talk-radio format is working for them, so why not have Air America Radio all across Iowa?
Progressive radio is just good business. According to the Portland Tribune,
since KPOJ switched from oldies music to the new Air America network in
March, 2004, the progressive format has made the station one of the
most
listened-to in Portland. The number of listeners jumped from an
average of 33,000 with the old format to almost 127,000 in the first
six months with Air America. “We got advertisers who don’t
normally
advertise,” says Mike Lulich, national sales manager for Clear Channel
Radio Portland, KPOJ’s parent. “In the end, advertisers come to
the station because they know their customers like the format.”
And, of course, because there are so many more of them.
So click here
or click on Blog for Iowa's Fight Media Bias sidebar (on the left) to download
the flyer called "How to Bring Air America Radio to Your Local
Community" and get started! [in Word doc format]
Click here for the original post on Daily Kos. Scroll down for additional comments and ideas that can help you in your quest.
Sunday, January 29
Call Harkin and Urge Him to Support a Filibuster
by
Linda Thieman
on Sun 29 Jan 2006 04:00 AM CST
 Call Harkin and Urge Him to Support a Filibuster
Mike Ganzeveld from the Green Tea Blog posted this in the Blog for Iowa comments yesterday:
Tom Harkin is on the fence right now
trying to decided whether or not he should vote for a potential
filibuster of judicial nominee and reactionary statist Samuel Alito. At
this moment Tom Harkin thinks that a filibuster would be a "waste of
time." Ted Kennedy informed bloggers and activists [yesterday] morning in a
coference call that supporting a filibuster would cost political
capital because of fear of the "obstructionist" label.
We need to call
Tom Harkin this weekend and let him know that slinking off in defeat is
a helluva lot worse than being labeled an obstructionist by the usual
suspects on the Sunday morning cable news yap-fests. We need to let him
know that it's important to future Americans that a man like Samuel
Alito *is* obstructed from taking a LIFETIME position on the Supreme
Court. If you have already called, faxed, thanks! If you haven't, then I
implore you to go ahead and take a minute to do so. Best wishes!
Senator Tom Harkin
Phone: 202-224-3254
Saturday, January 28
U of Iowa Students/Faculty Dismayed by Regents' Power Grab; Event on Monday
by
Linda Thieman
on Sat 28 Jan 2006 04:00 PM CST
 U of Iowa Students/Faculty Dismayed by Regents' Power Grab
by Linda Thieman
Iowa
City faculty/staff/student event planned for this Monday, January 30,
at 3:30pm, Terrace Room (Room 166) of the Iowa Memorial Union to share
their commitment to self-determination
With
University of Iowa president David Skorton leaving to take the post of
president at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, U of I faculty and staff
are faced with the long hunt for a new leader. At least, they
thought they were.
Come to
find out, according to a statement released on Friday by the University
of Iowa Student Government (UISG), how Skorton will be replaced is
fraught with controversy. For more than 40 years, any search for
a new president at the U of I has been led by faculty through a UI
search committee with input from “a sufficiently diverse array of UI
students, faculty and staff.” According to Radio Iowa, Skorton was actually chosen from the UI medical faculty just three years ago to fill the head position.
One
of the main concerns, the UISG message states, is that since the UI
“tradition of shared self-governance and engagement is strong and
getting stronger, [w]e deserve a leader who will continue these
traditions.”
According to the Des Moines Register, Michael Gartner, president of the Iowa
Board of Regents, intends to bypass the traditional UI system of
self-selection in favor of hiring an outside headhunting firm. It
is believed in some circles that this will cement the Board of Regents'
power grab as they are also at this time hiring out to replace
University of Northern Iowa president Robert Koob.
Once the universities go, it’s all over.
Wednesday, January 25
Legislation to Deregulate Cable TV, Reduce Consumer Rights, and Eliminate Free Access
by
Trish Nelson
on Wed 25 Jan 2006 08:54 AM CST
 Action Alert: Stop Legislation to Deregulate Cable TV, Reduce Consumer Rights, and Eliminate Free Access
Contributed by Drew Shaffer, Cable TV Administrator
There are lobbying efforts in many state legislatures and in Congress right now that intend to completely deregulate cable TV and phone companies. Several bills have already been introduced in Congress and one is on it's way to the Iowa State legislature.
If successful, these bills would effectively:
eliminate any operational support for all public access cable tv channels in the US;
eliminate local franchising authority;
eliminate the ability of cities to regulate any rates of cable tv or phone companies and
eliminate the ability of cities to protect their citizens, by
eliminating
the ability of cities to deal with citizen complaints about their cable
tv/phone companies, and to the largest extent possible,
eliminate franchise fees.
These
lobbying efforts are largely being carried out by Verizon and Southern
Bell (which will shortly become AT&T through a merger/buyout),
although some cable companies are assisting their efforts. The phone
companies argument is that local franchising is a barrier to entry -
they will not be able to roll out their tv offerings fast enough to
compete with cable tv. The cable companies are arguing they should not
have to supply all the offerings they now make to cities (including
such things as operational funding for access channels, franchise fees,
pass through funds, etc.).
The
Congressional representatives that have been approached by cities over
the last six months indicate that there will be a bill passed this year
and that it will NOT be public access channel/city/citizen friendly (although
they might not put it quite like that - that will be the effect).
If you
are concerned about these developments, please contact your
Congressional and state reps and let them know you do not want this to
happen - that phone companies and cable companies should not be de-regulated. In fact, there should be further regulation to protect citizens, cities and public access channels.
Click here to find and contact your state legislators
Click here to find and contact your Congressman and US Senators
E-mail,
fax and phone are the best ways to contact our Washington reps.
If you send a snail-mail, send it to their district office rather than
DC. (All congressional mail sent to DC is screened for anthrax
and therefore it will take much longer to get there).
Drew
Shaffer, is the Cable TV Administrator in Iowa City. This issue
was discussed with Nick Johnson on Ch.
18, Iowa City’s Public Access Channel on the "Live & Local”
program. For more information, IC residents can watch for this
program to be rebroadcast - check the PATV schedule here.
If you would like to be part of organized media reform efforts in Iowa, please consider joining Iowans for Better Local TV.
To find out more, click here
Thursday, January 19
A 'True Revolution of Values'
by
Caroline Vernon
on Thu 19 Jan 2006 04:35 PM CST
A 'True Revolution of Values'
By Michael Eric Dyson
www.beliefnet.com
Martin Luther King, Jr., warned America about the danger of unquestioning national pride. How far have we come?
Michael Eric Dyson, best-selling author, ordained Baptist minister, and professor of religion at the University of Pennsylvania, says it was Martin Luther King, Jr., whose life inspired him to "embrace social redemption through the written word." In his latest book, "Pride," excerpted below, Dyson explores King's role as an American prophet.
The voice of the dissenter is often the conscience of the nation. Christian theologian Reinhold Niebuhr’s prophetic voice rang forth in the first half of the twentieth century; Martin Luther King Jr.’s voice was a clarion call for freedom and democracy in the century’s closing half.
"God didn’t call America to do what she’s doing in the world now," King thundered from his Atlanta pulpit exactly two months before his death at the hands of a cowardly racial terrorist. "God didn’t call America to engage in a senseless, unjust war." Here, of course, King referred to the Vietnam War, and he took a lashing in public for his dissenting views. He was accused of being unpatriotic. He was charged with moral treason. Other black leaders like Roy Wilkins and Whitney Young lambasted him (though they later came to acknowledge, as did the nation, that King’s views were courageous and correct). And yet, King was one of the greatest patriots this nation has produced. He proved it by giving his life in a fight to defend this country’s best side against its worst. As we struggle for ethical guidance in the shadow of terrorism and war, it is good to remember that dissent helps national flourishing and aids in clarifying our political vision. If King’s actions against war prove anything, it’s that there’s a huge difference between patriotism and nationalism. Patriotism is the critical affirmation of one’s country in light of its best values, including the attempt to correct it when it’s in error. Nationalism is the uncritical support of one’s nation regardless of its moral or political bearing.
Patriotism "often takes the form of beliefs in the social system and values of one’s country. Expressions of nationalism, on the other hand, are often appeals to advance the national interests in the international order." This latter version of an insular and narrowly conceived national pride is expressed in the slogan, “my country, right or wrong.” Too often nationalism has prevailed over patriotism in expressions of national pride. The confusion between the two has blurred the difference between love and worship of country, a distinction King never failed to make.
In a commencement address at Lincoln University in 1961, King praised the American dream and the Declaration of Independence, saying that “seldom if ever in the history of the world has a sociopolitical document expressed in such profoundly eloquent and unequivocal language the dignity and the worth of human personality.” And when he gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech before the Lincoln Memorial in 1963, King reaffirmed that his dream was “deeply rooted in the American dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’ ”
But King understood the contradictions at the heart of American society. In his Lincoln University commencement address, King said “since the founding fathers of our nation dreamed this noble dream, America has been something of a schizophrenic personality, tragically divided against herself.” America, King understood, preaches democracy but practices its selective application. Moreover, King understood the perils of an isolationist nationalism that celebrates one’s country at the expense of recognizing one’s global citizenship. In such a case, loyalty to nation might turn vicious, demanding that one subordinate moral principle to narrow national self-interest. In his church sermon, King said that in Vietnam, America had “committed more war
crimes almost than any nation in the world.” And we wouldn’t stop it “because of
our pride and our arrogance as a nation.”
To read the rest of this article, click here:
Saturday, January 14
Working Families Win - A Town Meeting in the Quad Cities January 17
by
Trish Nelson
on Sat 14 Jan 2006 11:00 AM CST
 Working Families Win - A Town Meeting in the Quad Cities January 17
Working Families Win
Higher Expectations for Iowa's Working Families!
A Town Hall Meeting for people concerned about good jobs,fair wages, and a healthy future for our community
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
7:00-8:30 PM
Rogalski Center
St. Ambrose University
Davenport, Iowa
We
know that too few of us connect the dots between public policies and
our pocketbooks, and too few of us believe that things can be different. Health care can be affordable. Jobs can pay good wages. Our communities can provide a safe environment for our children who want to stay and work here as adults. Join us to learn more and to take action! Info: dleshtz@ia.net
Featuring
David Osterberg, Executive Director, Iowa Policy Project
Jim Jontz, President Emeritus, Americans for Democratic Action
Sponsors
Progressive Action for the Common Good
Davenport NAACP Branch #4019
Quad City Federation of Labor
Democracy for the Quad Cities
Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community
United Food and Commercial Workers Local 431
Churches United Justice Issues Committee
Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO
National Catholic Rural Life Conference
Iowa Farmers Union
Communications Workers of America Iowa State Council
Iowans for Sensible Priorities
AFSCME Council 61
Iowa for Health Care
Immigrant Voices Project
Iowa Citizen Action Network
American Friends Service Committee
League of Rural Voters
Iowa Postal Workers Union
Women, Food and Agriculture Network
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement
Service Employees International Union Local 199
Iowa/Nebraska Primary Care Association Working Families Win/Americans for Democratic Action Education Fund
Iowans for Better Local TV - IBLTV.Org
Friday, January 13
A Call to Action on Samuel Alito
by
Caroline Vernon
on Fri 13 Jan 2006 04:00 PM CST
 A Call To Action - Judge Samuel Alito
by Caroline Vernon
Progressive Action for the Common Good
www.qcprogressiveaction.org
Calling all Progressive Activists....
Call on
Senate Democrats ASAP to stand together and block Judge Alito’s confirmation
with every means at their disposal!
Call Senator Harkin, Senator Durbin,
and Senator Obama at:
1-800-426-8073
Senator Grassley is on the
Senate Judiciary Committee so please be sure to also let him know that you
oppose Samuel Alito's confirmation to the US Supreme Court.
Send
emails through their websites:
obama.senate.gov/contact/,
durbin.senate.gov/sitepages/contact.htm,
harkin.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm,
http://grassley.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home
Or send postal letters to:
SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC, 20510
Progressive Action for the Common Good and other organizations such as QC NOW, ACLU, NAACP,
QC Federation of Labor, Democracy for the Quad Cities, and Churches United
Justice Issues Committee are organizing a letter writing campaign.
Please assist us in our efforts by writing a letter to the Editor of
your local newspaper as well as the Des Moines Register, The NY Times,
and Newsweek.
Send Letters to:
letters@qconline.com, letters@rcreader.com, opinions@qctimes.com,
letters@dmregister.com, letters@nytimes.com, letters@newsweek.com
Or click here to use a feature on the Democratic Party website that provides you with most of your local newspapers.
Here
is more information for your review:
Judge Alito has regularly ruled against civil rights and civil liberties claims. For example, Judge Alito:
Wrote a
dissent in Planned Parenthood v. Casey arguing that a state's spousal
notification requirement did not unduly burden a woman's right to
privacy, a position later rejected by the Supreme Court;
Joined a
dissent arguing that a student-led prayer at a high school graduation
ceremony did not violate the Establishment Clause;
Wrote
several dissents arguing for tighter standards for plaintiffs seeking
trial on their race, gender and disability discrimination claims;
Dissented
from a decision ruling that the strip search of a suspect's wife and
ten-year-old daughter exceeded the scope of the search warrant and was
therefore unconstitutional;
Rejected
a death row inmate's ineffective assistance of counsel claim where the
trial counsel had failed to uncover substantial mitigating evidence — a
decision later reversed by the Supreme Court; Dissented from an /en
banc/ ruling in a death penalty case arguing that the prosecution had
unconstitutionally used its peremptory challenges to exclude all the
black prospective jurors;
Wrote a
dissent arguing that a policy prohibiting all prisoners in long-term
segregation from possessing newspapers, magazines or photographs unless
they were religious or legal did not violate the First Amendment.
It is,
of course, impossible to summarize a fifteen-year judicial career in a
few bullet points. But it is also fair to say that these highlighted
decisions illustrate a broader pattern of judicial decision-making. By
and large, Judge Alito's opinions make it more difficult for plaintiffs
alleging discrimination to prevail, easier for the government to lend
its support to religion, and harder to challenge questionable tactics
by the police and prosecution.
Judge
Alito has also taken a narrow view of congressional power in two
noteworthy cases. First, Judge Alito held that Congress had exceeded
its power under the Fourteenth Amendment by requiring the states to
provide time off for sick employees under the Family and Medical Leave
Act. Several years later, the Supreme Court rejected a similar claim in
upholding a parallel provision of the FMLA. Second, Judge Alito argued
in dissent that Congress had exceeded its power under the Commerce
Clause by making it a federal crime to possess a machine gun. This
narrow view of the Commerce Clause could have implications in future
civil rights cases.
I encourage you to read the ACLU's full report
at:
http://www.aclu.org/scotus/2005/23308res20060103.html
Thanks
for all you do!!!!!
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