Iowa Democratic Congressmen See 15 Challengers File
by Paul Deaton
"While the field of challengers makes assertions about
patriotism and the framers’ intent in the constitution, our Democratic
delegation strives to do right by us."
While we waited for the next vote on health care, the Iowa filing
period for federal candidates closed and fifteen Republicans lined up to challenge Iowa’s
Democratic Congressional delegation, Bruce Braley (1st District),
Dave Loebsack (2nd District) and Leonard Boswell (3rd
District), in the midterms. The incumbents will face a hard-won campaign and the
anticipation is that progressives will support them with vigor. What else could
we do, considering the alternative?
The challenger biographies on the web assert their strengths.
Each man, and one woman, asserts their viability by distancing themselves from
politics as usual whether Republican, Democratic or Washingtonian. It is
difficult to characterize the field as a whole, and that seems to be the point.
They appear to seek a return to the agrarian individualism that characterized
the pre-industrial age, only with Twitter accounts.
These Republicans talk a lot about the founding fathers,
patriotism and the constitution. It drives me crazy. My ancestors were named
Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson in honor of famous Virginians, but weren’t
famous themselves. Our family established itself in Virginia a hundred years
before the American Revolution. It was unclear that there was going to be a
country, even when seven Virginians signed the Declaration of Independence. We
thought, like many did, that things could be worked out with King George. We
were wrong about that. My family continues to assert that our relatives won the
Revolutionary War in the Wilderness. It all seems pretty far fetched in 21st
century Iowa.
The truth is that while the artifacts of a person’s life
might make a great story, we have at best an inadequate view of what 17th
and 18th century folks outside the landed gentry thought or intended.
Each of us spins a story about what remains. The artifacts of history are mute
in and of themselves.
In the case of the constitution, we have been interpreting
those words since they were written. Part of signing the constitution was the
unwritten agreement to delay consideration of the slavery question for the
first 20 years of the republic. Thank the Quakers for remembering and lobbying
for abolition at the first congress in Philadelphia. I suspect there have been
unwritten deals in the capitol throughout our history. It is part of who we are
as a people.
What I know is that my family was not one of the seven
Virginians and members of the landed gentry that signed the Declaration of
Independence. We had other worries then and still do. When I consider the worries
of middle class Americans and the harshness of society in the post Reagan era,
I am thankful for Braley, Loebsack and Boswell. I feel they represent our
voices.
While the field of challengers makes assertions about
patriotism and the framers’ intent in the constitution, our Democratic
delegation strives to do right by us, right here and right now. We sent them to Washington to bring
change and they are. In the opinion of this writer, they have
earned our support.
~Paul
Deaton is a native Iowan living in rural Johnson County and weekend
editor of Blog for Iowa. He is also a member of Iowa Physicians for
Social Responsibility and Veterans for Peace.E-mail Paul
Deaton
Letter from Congressman Loebsack on Afghanistan February 2010 Dear Constituent, Thank you for contacting me about US operations in Afghanistan. I'm honored to represent you in Congress. Your opinion is very important to me and my priority is to provide Iowa's Second District with the best representation possible. In December 2009, President Obama announced a new strategy for US operations in Afghanistan, including the deployment of 30,000 additional US troops to the country. I have visited Afghanistan four times and have participated in a number of hearings and briefings on our progress in the country over the last several years, including hearings regarding the President's recently announced strategy with Secretary Gates, Admiral Mullen, General McChrystal, and Ambassador Eikenberry. Our service members and their families who will be, and who are being, deployed to Afghanistan deserve a thorough, accurate, and ongoing assessment of the President's strategy. They need a well-defined mission, with clearly laid out goals, and an actively followed rubric for measuring progress. I have worked to ensure that our service members, military families, and the American people receive this information by asking the tough questions necessary to ensure they get the answers they need and deserve. As a member of the Military Personnel and Readiness Subcommittees, I remain deeply concerned about the toll multiple deployments are taking on our service members and our ability to respond to emergencies at home as well as other possible contingencies abroad. I do not believe that an open-ended commitment to Afghanistan will enhance our national security, nor do I believe that it is the best use of American resources, especially as Iowa families are tightening their belts here at home. That is why I cosponsored HR 2404 on May 18, 2009, which would require the President to submit a report to Congress detailing a strategy to succeed in Afghanistan and bring our troops home. As the President's strategy is carried out, it must enhance our national security and it must meet achievable and well-defined goals that will effectively deny al Qaeda a safe haven and allow our troops to come home. It must responsibly use America's resources, and include:
Clearly laid out goals, a well-defined mission, and a rubric for measuring progress.
An organized political-military structure that fully utilizes and coordinates our civilian economic, agriculture, political, and development resources with the military mission.
A realistic and up-to-date accounting of the costs.
A well-defined, and closely followed plan to transfer responsibility for Afghan security and stability to the Afghan people, including helping the Afghan government combat corruption and assume responsibility for their country's future.
Ongoing commitments from our NATO allies to support the UN and NATO-backed mission in Afghanistan with additional troops, civilian experts, and resources.
Active coordination with the Pakistani government to further secure and stabilize the region and deny a safe haven to extremists who wish to do us harm.
President Obama's decision to send additional troops into Afghanistan was meant to address the worsening security situation and reverse the momentum of al Qaeda and the Taliban in the region. However, we will not achieve success in Afghanistan and the region through military means alone. I believe that redefining and growing the Afghan economy will be key to stabilizing the country and allowing our troops to come home. Similarly, the Afghanistan government must be supported in its efforts to develop the Afghan National Security Forces so that the Afghan people can provide for their own security. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I added provisions to the FY 2010 National Defense Authorization Act (HR 2647) to increase inter-agency coordination and assure that the necessary agriculture, anti-corruption, and security training assets and resources are in place to support and enhance the military mission. On behalf of our service members, their families, and the American taxpayers, I will continue to hold this Administration as accountable as I held the Bush Administration. I will carefully monitor the strategy's progress, and I will ensure that, as 3,500 members of the Iowa National Guard prepare to deploy to Afghanistan, they have every resource they need. Please be assured that I will continue to carefully monitor our progress and operation in Afghanistan and will keep your thoughts in mind when considering any legislation concerning operations there. Thank you again for contacting me about this important issue. I encourage you to visit my website at www.loebsack.house.gov and sign up for my e-newsletters to stay informed of the work I'm doing in Congress. I am proud to serve Iowa's Second District, and I am committed to working hard for you.
"In Iowa, young people are leaving the state in droves
and this begs the question of the relevance and longer term viability of Iowa
in the national debate."
On
the dust cover of The Audacity to Win by David Plouffe, it says,
“Plouffe was not just the architect of the campaign that put Barack Obama in
the White House; he also built a grassroots movement that changed the face of
politics forever and re-energized the idea of democracy itself.” A bit self
serving on the part of the publisher, Viking Penguin, but of course it would
be. If
the campaign Plouffe organized changed the face of politics, the citizenry does
not like the way it looks, especially the partisan visage we see on the 111th
Congress and the President’s inability to pass many of his major initiatives
during his first year in office.
Regardless of what happened during the run up to the
2008 Presidential Election, a grassroots movement, by its nature, can seldom be
replicated in the same way or with the same energy. This is not to denigrate
the work Plouffe and the legions of staff and volunteers did, but to say that
campaigns are the stuff of dreams, woven in delicate silk mixed with coarse
jute fibers. The utility of such cloth is of short duration.
In the Iowa precinct where I live, the coalition we
built for the 2008 election included people of every demographic and every
political viewpoint. We could see the harm being done by the previous
administration and a dysfunctional congress. It was time to “take back our
government.” Having done that, we figuratively turned over the keys on inauguration
day and did not look back. We elected the president and congress and after the
election, expected them to govern. Most of us have a life outside of partisan
politics.
It is unlikely this same coalition will come together
again in 2012 and more certainly, not in this year’s midterm elections. A
grassroots organization is always changing and political campaigns are
notoriously different, one from the other. Conservatives where I live have
woken up and are saying the same thing we did, “it’s time to take our
government back.” The next two election cycles will be challenging for
those of us in the party in power, in the same way the opposition was
challenged in 2008.
For people who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, we
wonder how many more times we can engage in these campaigns. A friend of mine
wrote in an e-mail, “My own personal perspective, however, is that after
spending decades of of my life fighting for environmental/political/social
progress, including rising again and again from the coals after temporary
'burn-outs', I honestly have reached the end-of-my-rope regarding the
battles and no longer care to expend time or energy doing so further.” This
view is not uncommon in my cohort. Many of us will fire up the boiler again,
yet there is a constraint on the degree to which we can continue to be active
in campaigns. Likewise, the older we get, the more it is not about us.
In Iowa, young people are leaving the state in droves
and this begs the question of the relevance and longer term viability of Iowa
in the national debate. Iowans value the millions of dollars spent in the state
as each presidential cycle unfolds. Being first in the nation presents an
opportunity for those campaign dollars to be spent here and it is one place
where the two major political parties agree. Too, Iowa continues to be an
active participant in shaping national policy. When we consider the national
discussion on health care reform, we can see how Iowans helped shape policy
among the candidates in 2007, and ultimately in Washington in the 111th
Congress. If Iowa does not engage our sons and daughters enough for them to
stay in the state, Iowa may lose its relevancy and the continuing opportunity
to shape the national debate.
When I think of David Plouffe and the work he did, I
also think of James Carville and his role during the first campaign of Bill
Clinton. While once considered to be brilliant, with time, Carville has become
a craggy and irrelevant talking head on networks that no longer engage us. I
hope this is not Plouffe’s fate.
Let’s hope children born in the 1980s and after do not
cling to the excitement of the 2008 election cycle, but learn from it, let go and
continue to engage in local and national politics. Many of the
twenty-somethings I know have already done this and are waiting for us to catch
up. All we can do is say we are trying.
Report on SEIU/Change That Works Health Care Affordability Summit By Caroline Vernon
Washington, DC - On January 13th, SEIU/Change That Works and health care reform coalition partners mobilized labor members and health care advocates from across the country for a national day of action, calling on legislators to adopt 3 essential aspects of the House & Senate bills; The 3 A’s:Affordability, Accessibility, and Accountability.
Before a crowd of 150, many pro-reform legislators spoke passionately about the need to make health care more affordable, as the conference committee decides the fate of meaningful health care legislation.
Everyone in attendance agreed, our #1 priority should be making real reform affordable for working families and setting premiums and out-of-pocket costs at levels that are fair and reasonable. Adequate subsidies are seen to be essential to the fundamental goal of guaranteeing quality affordable health care to all Americans. SEIU and coalition partners, PICO, Families USA, and other community groups called on legislators and the Obama administration to adopt the following 5 components of the House & Senate bills:
• The safety net for the most vulnerable in our communities is stronger in the House through an expansion of Medicaid to those making 150% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) or less. • The House bill offers lower premiums and caps out-of pocket costs at levels that lower income families earning less than 250% of the FPL (less than $41,000 for a family of 3) can better afford. • The Senate bill makes care more affordable for families who are between 250% and 400% of the FPL. • The House surtax impacting only the wealthiest Americans, is more favorable than the Senate’s excise tax that would adversely impact millions of middle class families, resulting in benefit cuts, increasing premiums and out-of-pocket expenses. • The House approach to ensuring employers share responsibility and contribute to the coverage of part time workers. If not, employers will have a strong incentive to reduce the number of hours for full time workers so they are not penalized for not offering coverage – there must be accountability.
Reformers also advocated on behalf of seniors having expanded access to affordable medications by closing the gap or “doughnut hole” in Medicare prescription drug coverage.
Overall, the House bill makes coverage much more affordable for working families. To give you an example of the difference, a single worker earning only $17,500 per year will pay 16% of their annual income for health insurance ($2,801) under the Senate bill, while paying only 8% ($1,416) of their annual income for insurance under the House bill – a very substantial difference. Additionally, under provisions found in the Senate bill, a low income family of 3 that earns $41,000 a year would pay an annual average of $7,000 or 17% of their annual income on healthcare; $2,134 more than under the House bill. The same family could pay a maximum of $9,000 a year on healthcare; $2,175 more than the maximum under HR 3962.
SEIU members who were interviewed during the day of national action spoke about why they and their families need affordable, comprehensive coverage as a part of reform. Their personal accounts are truly moving. Watch it here.
Some of the Congressmen and women who spoke at the Health Care Affordability Summit included, Congressman Ensign from New York, Donna Edwards from Maryland, Christopher Murphy and Rosa DeLauro from Connecticut, and Congressman Dingle from Michigan who put the fight for health care justice in historical perspective by reminding us, the fight to enact Social Security and Medicare in this country was as intense and controversial as our current struggle to pass meaningful health care reform legislation in 2010. Congressman Dingle, has been a member of Congress for 54 years.
After the summit, advocates lobbied their members of congress on affordability. SEIU Iowa President, Cathy Glasson, and I had an opportunity to meet with Congressmen Loebsack and Braley who both said they were in agreement and supported adopting the 5 key components we had outlined from the House and Senate bills that would make health care more affordable. Both Congressmen indicated they had met with President Obama just the day before to discuss compromises in the House and Senate bills. When we addressed the issue of favoring the House surtax over the Senate’s excise tax as a funding mechanism, both congressmen expressed disappointment that the president was “bent” on adopting the Senate’s version which would place the burden on working families rather than the wealthiest Americans. As you may recall, this is NOT what Obama campaigned on. Since our visit, we know organized labor has fought for acceptable compromises which would tax cadillac plans costing over $8,900 rather than $8,000 as outlined in the Senate bill.
I also addressed the need to fix the 2 year waiting list for individuals who qualify for Social Security Disability with our Iowa congressmen. As it stands today, recipients are told they must wait 2 years before becoming eligible for Medicare. This is nothing short of cruel. Why would anyone deny disabled individuals access to healthcare? I have to wonder, what was Congress thinking? Why would anyone intentionally withhold health care from people who have met all the many difficult requirements to demonstrate they have a serious medical need which resulted in disability? Is it their hope that folks will just die off or what? Do they not understand what kind of impact this has on people’s lives or the amount of damage that can ensue if a chronic condition goes untreated for 2 years? Neither the House or Senate bill addresses this issue. I ask you to please raise your voice and advocate on behalf of these individuals who arguably have the greatest need for care.
Congressman Braley also shared with us his concerns that pro-reform advocates have not countered the “tea baggers” or anti-reform protestors who he and others see everyday on the steps of the Capitol and outside House and Senate offices. Unfortunately, they also garner ALL of the media’s attention, since there is no “visual” pro-reform presence on the Hill. Congressman Braley expressed frustration over the fact that progressives and pro-reform advocates have not mobilized a massive demonstration and show of support for health care reform, countering anti-reformer claims that they are in the majority.
I know there are so many of you who have worked long and hard on meaningful health care reform but NOW is the time to step up the pressure on our elected leaders and hold them to their word -- that includes President Obama. I believe it is also long past time to demonstrate a massive show of support for our elected leaders who continue to work hard for health care reform on behalf of ALL Americans.
I call on organized labor, people of faith, community groups, grassroots organizations, and all other health care advocates to come together and organize/mobilize a Health Care for All March on Washington this Spring; if meaningful legislation is already passed, we can thank our leaders for making it happen, if not, we can address what we need in order to ensure meaningful health care reform. Either way, it’s a win-win and an opportunity to show media pundits and the American people that WE ARE the majority of Americans who overwhelmingly voted for CHANGE in November of 2008. So far, it’s been politics as usual. We need a change we really can believe in…
What do we need? HEALTH CARE! When do we need it? NOW!!!
HCAN "Health Care Can't Wait" Rally at the Iowa State Fair
By Caroline Vernon
Last Friday on August 21st, Eastern Iowans from Progressive Action for the Common Good, the Quad Cities Federation of Labor, and NAMI of Scott County boarded a bus and traveled to the HCAN "Healthcare Can't Wait" Rally outside of the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. We joined others from the area and around the state. Senator Grassley was finishing up his Ambassadorial tour - we were hoping to get his attention somehow, but by dumb luck and a little synchronistic guidance by the Universe, a few of us stumbled right on top of him.
Shortly after we got into the fair, it started to rain so a few of us sought cover in the closest building. It turned out to be WHO radio/TV station. Surpisingly, we could hear Grassley's
voice coming out of the speaker system but we could
not see him anywhere. We finally realized he was inside the small glass
booth at the back of the room - they had been recording live. When he came out of the recording session, I called out to
him, raised my bag full of money and said. "Senator Grassley, I have your money!
Thank you so much for your support!" He immediately came over and started talking
to me as if I were his long lost friend. I actually appreciated his engaging us as his handlers could have swept him off immediately but there were many people around and I imagine he was attempting to save face, or perhaps he was just feeling frisky.
It bears mentioning that I was dressed in black business attire, sporting a lapel pin that read, "Wealth-Mark Insurance CEO." I was carrying a black leather bag stuffed with $100 bills spilling out of the top. A picture of Senator Grassley was taped to the bag, framed by dollar signs.
Dan DeShane accompanied me. Farmer Dan was wearing his bib overalls and chewing on a stalk of grass when he walked up and joined our conversation while Vicki Walters took pictures of the exchange. Dan told the Senator he was
a farmer too and wanted the same health care as the senator -- Dan also
said, "Oh by the way, I get farm subsidies too just like you and your son and your
grandson." This put Grassley on the defensive, somewhat, as he replied, "oh, you don't want to listen."
I mentioned mental health parity and the need for a public option for
so many who have been systematically denied treatment by private insurers for decades. Grassley laid claim to the work he did on the Wellstone/Dominicci legislation (even though it took a Democratic Congress
to pass the bill last October and the provisions have yet to be implemented). Ultimately, Grassley said a public option would be rationed care, to which we replied, "We have rationed care now!" He rushed off right after that. Vicki took pictures of the
whole exchange - I will share them with BFI once they are developed.
Meanwhile, other rally participants were canvassing the neighborhood focusing their efforts on continuing to encourage Congressman Boswell to support Reform and a public option. The rally started at 2pm. I don't know what our final count was but I estimated about 50 of us were holding signs along the 30th St/Grand Ave entrance to the fair. Counter protesters showed up to join us -- approximately 10 of them.
Farmer Dan got into a passionate debate with one of the "teabaggers," who was complaining about the cost of health care reform and asking how we were going to pay for it. Here is a mock transcript of their exchange:
Teabagger: "We're spending too much money - where's it going to end?" Farmer Dan: "Where were you guys when the Bush administration squandered the huge surplus left by Clinton -- Where was your voice when they invaded and occupied two countries without even declaring war?" Teabagger: "We are moving toward socialism - where is it going to stop?" Farmer Dan: "Socialism? We just came out of eight years of fascism." Teabagger: "What do you mean?" Farmer Dan: "Bush
fired federal judges for their political leanings, he started illegal wiretapping without an order from the FISA Court, he catered to big business - we
had a president that was basically a fascist." Teabagger: "That's the president's perogotive." Farmer Dan: "No. that's fascism, and he is still being investigated for all of his abuses. If it weren't for social programs like Medicare which came out of the Johnson administration, my father would not have been able to retire - it gave him peace of mind so he could retire and it kept him on his property. By contrast Grassley is a rich farmer who gets subsidies whether he works the land or not - he's not really a farmer - he's a career politician." Teabagger: "Well, they all gotta go - Harkin, Grassley, Boswell - they all spend too much." Farmer Dan: "Our tax dollars pay for the sidewalks your standing on, the street out in front of us, the lights, fresh water, the sewers, our fire dept, public schools, our parks -- all of these things are paid for through our tax dollars that provide us with the standard and quality of life that we enjoy. I don't know about you but I like 'em."
The entire exchange was recorded live by Rob Dillard of Iowa Public Radio. Once we arrived home on the bus, a few of our fellow activists welcomed us back and reported hearing the exchange on NPR - unfortunately, we were unable to find it posted on their website.
Below are photos and some of the press coverage of the event. Thank you ICAN for taking the lead on this! It was well worth traveling across the state to join our voices with all of yours.
NOTE: Caryn Unsicker asked the reporter for the Register to relay how many of us there were in contrast to the counter protestors - to which he replied,"No! That's not my job -- my job is to report both sides!" Caryn said, "Your job is to report the facts." The numbers went unreported. ACTION: Call the Register and tell them to report ALL of the facts!
Iowa Public Radio broadcast a story including a debate
between a health care opponent and a health care advocate (farmer Dan) from the
Quad Cities – but I have not found a link to that online.
There was passing mention of HCAN “protest” in Grassley
state fair interview with Radio Iowa:
Are Progressive Listserves Arbitarily being Blocked by AT&T?
By Caroline Vernon
A few months back, PACG (Progressive Action for the Common Good) started experiencing problems with our members dropping off our email list. Oddly, as site administrator, I was not receiving any official bounceback notices informing me of any undelivered email with the occasional exception of a full mailbox now and again.
It wasn’t until the first of this year that I realized the extent of the problem and determined that most of our Mediacom and Yahoo users were being blocked from receiving our email. Last week I finally received a bounceback notice in my administrative inbox, with the names of almost 70 members which were”blocked for abuse”. As it turns out, many of these members had not been receiving our email for weeks and in some cases months, so I was very concerned as to why I only recently received the bounceback notice. This indicates that the data was blocked going out and coming in. I immediately contacted Mediacom and after much wrangling was told that the problem lies with AT&T as they manage the traffic for both carriers. A Mediacom representative actually told me we had been “blacklisted” but did not know why. I then contacted AT&T, following their recommended protocol and providing them with all pertinent information via email as no telephone number is available.
After 3 days, and no response from AT&T, I filed an official complaint with Congressman Braley’s Davenport office who in turn filed a complaint with the FCC. At that time, the FCC indicated they were receiving many similar complaints. The following day (yesterday) I received a response from AT&T which indicated that the block will be removed within 24 to 36 hours. A copy of their response is below.
I think it is important to mention that PACG has been advocating against telecom immunity within the FISA bill. We sent out many action alerts asking our members to contact their elected officials and even staged a funeral procession for the U.S. Constitution outside of Senator Grassley’s Davenport office. We were asking the Senator to vote against the bill that provided immunity, and to protect the Constitution. Channel 6 (KWQC) covered the event as did the Moline Dispatch. The related action alert that we sent out to our list was front and center on our website for many weeks.
As you may know, in January of this year, AT&T, Comcast, and others, announced that they would begin to take more aggressive steps to manage network traffic in order to minimize spam and safeguard against copyright infringement of video sharing, etc. Unfortunately, they seem to be inspecting for content other than what they have cited. PACG is an opt-in only email service. We do not send out spam or share video files although we may provide links to sites that do.
During the recent Hearing on Broadband Network Management, FCC Chairman, Kevin Martin stated,
“Obviously network operators can take reasonable steps to manage traffic, but they cannot arbitrarily block access.”
There is no justifiable reason to have blocked PACG for abuse as is sited in the communication below… nor is any explanation given as to why we were classified as such.
I have since received communications from other progressive organizations who have indicated that much of their email is also being blocked. Given AT&T's response below, it seems as though they are saying this may be an ongoing problem for many listserves, and they seem to be passing the buck right back to the carriers.
If any of your organizations are experiencing similar problems, I strongly recommend that you contact your Congressperson and/or Senators to file an official complaint with the FCC.
In order to track this issue more closely, I am creating a list of all organizations who are having similar problems with delivery of their email. I can be reached at carolina1961@gmail.com or 563-676-7580.
Response from AT&T:
Administrator/Customer:
Thank you for contacting the Postmaster/Abuse team at ATT.NET and BELLSOUTH.NET.
The mail-server IP address(es) associated with your request will be removed from the block-list within 24-36 hours from the receipt of this letter. ATT.NET and BELLSOUTH.NET, its affiliates, and network services customers do NOT intentionally block legitimate mail in the course of our anti-spam initiatives. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused.
Network administrators at ATT.NET and BELLSOUTH.NET closely analyze the mail stream bound for our customers to identify sources that exhibit the characteristics of compromised network objects or are compromised by an offender of Acceptable Use Policies. While a certain level of this kind of mail is to be expected in today's internet traffic, when this occurs above generous thresholds set by ATT.NET and BELLSOUTH.NET system administrators, immediate and decisive action is taken to protect our network resources.
****CUSTOMERS**** If you submitted an IP address for removal through the administrator's webform, or requested removal by emailing abuse_rbl@abuse-att.net, the administrator of the sending mail service or hosting provider is unaware of the issue and the IP may be blocked again. It is imperative that the sending service or hosting provider be made aware of the issue. Please send this message, along with the error message to that administrator so action may be taken to resolve the issues that caused the block. If you forward mail from a hosting service to your ATT.NET and BELLSOUTH.NET mail account, read the note on forwarded mail below.
****ADMINSTRATORS**** Please thoroughly check your IP logs before requesting removal. If you have already been removed, please examine your logs for rogue traffic, AUP offenders, and compromised scripts or objects. You must determine that all traffic from the blocked IP is actually from your mail servers to ensure your network is not compromised. Administrators who fail to do this may experience subsequent and more resolute blocking.
Thank you for helping the ATT.NET and BELLSOUTH.NET network combat network abuse in all its forms.
Regards,
ATT.NET and BELLSOUTH.NET Postmaster/Abuse Team
****FORWARDED MAIL**** If you are forwarding mail from a vanity domain, hosting service, or any other mail account that receives a high volume of spam, you may be indirectly contributing to the blocking of that IP. Forwarded spam is still spam and should be filtered at the source to end the abuse of network resources at the earliest point. Users can do this by utilizing spam filtering tools provided by the hosting service or external Internet Service Provider before it is forwarded to your ATT.NET and BELLSOUTH.NET.
Statement of FCC Chairman Kevin Martin on Broadband Network Management Hearing:
Whether it’s health care,
the cost of education, our environment or global trade, Corporate America is holding
us all hostage to the almighty dollar. Greed continues to trump need as corporations
make record profits while more and more Americans fall into poverty every year.
Congress allows industry to write policy, and legislators don’t even read the
bills they enact. The average person would lose their job for gross negligence.
The pharmaceutical/insurance lobbies make billions on the grief of others, systematically
denying people essential treatment or drugs in order to save a buck. Half of
our taxpayer money goes to the Pentagon who “loses” over a trillion dollars and
“it’s nothing but a thing” yet we
have to beg to fund health care for our children. Agri-Business dominates at the
expense of our environment and health as 85% of our food is now genetically
modified, our meat is ridden with hormones and antibiotics, and pesticides have
permeated the water table. Global trade agreements allow corporations to
exploit for profit with no safeguards in place for workers or the environment.
It is our moral imperative
to stand up and say no more! John Edwards seems to be the only candidate that
understands that we have to make an aggressive push to take our country back –
the key word being “take”. While it is important to be able to bring everyone
to the table, we can’t continue to allow Corporate America to eat all the food.
Which comes down to,
follow the money…
Edwards and Obama are my
two top picks but there are some important distinctions to be made here. I think
Obama is awesome and I will support him whole
heartedly if he gets the Democratic nod, but as an activist, and more
importantly as a mother and your sister, there is way too much at stake in this election, not
only for our country but for the planet. Corporate America
will never give up their stranglehold on America or the rest of the world so
we must TAKE IT from them! There is no negotiating a moral standard… and frankly, that’s
what this election is about.
There are two main issues
that concern me about Obama; the fact that he voted for the Peru Trade
agreement (more of the same of what ails us), and more egregiously, the fact that he is promoting nuclear energy. Coincidentally,
Obama has accepted a lot of money from Exelon Nuclear and only stopped taking
corporate monies this past year once he decided to run for President. I commend
him for that recent decision but I am horrified that he is promoting nuclear power.
The current energy bill before Congress may have 10 billion dollars allocated
toward renewable energy, and that rocks, but if you look at the whole pie, it’s
too little too late! 25 billion is allocated for guaranteed loans to build new
nuclear sites and billions more for coal fired plants. I mean, this is what I
am talking about people… Corporate America writing OUR policy! Do ya’ll
remember all the hoopla about storing the nuclear waste at YuccaMountain?
Do you want that in your backyard? Is it OK as long as it’s stored in someone
else’s backyard (out of sight, out of mind)? Do you really think our Earth Mother will be served by that? We need to save Her in order to save ourselves. Almost everything we do generates some
form of waste by-product. Instead of adding to it, especially nuclear waste, we need to use our
considerable ingenuity to invent our way out of this mess. It is our only true
hope. What we absolutely cannot afford
is more of the same… business as usual.
Corporate America has had the resources and the necessary information to create new technologies for decades. Rather than doing the right thing, and truly be leaders of innovation, much of their resources have been spent preventing said technologies from entering the marketplace because, God forbid, that could hurt their bottom line. If their shareholders weren't so blinded by their own greed, they would be able to recognize the incredible opportunity that is presenting itself NOW. Corporate America and our elected officials could simply CHOOSE to lead this necessary technological revolution, but it remains to be seen.... so it's up to us.
Controversial
Rabbi Michael Lerner to Speak at Spiritual Progressives Conference Nov. 3rd in the Quad Cities
By James Lee
As
the Election Season closes in on the Quad Cities, people are looking at the
vast challenges facing our country and questioning how
individual citizens can make a difference. According to
national polling, over 70% of Americans feel that our nation is on the "wrong
track".Organizers of the
Spiritual Progressives Conference feel the answers to many
of our concerns and worries are rooted in our values, faith and spirituality.
Quad
Cities Progressive Action for the Common Good (PACG) in conjunction with Churches
United of the Quad Cities, Democracy for America–Quad Cities,
Davenport Unitarian Church,
Edwards Congregational-UCC, First Congregational-UCC, Network for Spiritual
Progressives, and a host of other supporters are
sponsoring a Spiritual Progressives Conference on November 3, 2007. The theme of the conference is: Living our Faith:
Integrating Values and Politics in the Heartland.
PURPOSE OF THE CONFERENCE
The purpose of this conference is to promote the voice of progressive
people into the national conversation on issues of values, faith and spirituality.
The conference is
designed to dig beneath the surface of controversial national issues &
public policy debates to get to the core of how we decide what makes our
society a healthy place to live.
It is our hope that the conference will help the public better
understand how to more effectively integrate progressive values with political
action that can create positive change in our nation.
Conference organizers assert that progressives have
been the social innovators who have initiated changes in our society that have
given us more freedom, liberty, and equality. Progressives believe in
continually improving our society in order to assist as many people as possible
to achieve a better life for themselves, their families and the community as a
whole.During this time of national
drift when confusion seems widespread over what America represents and truly
believes, progressive people must amplify their voices in the public conversation
on what we value as a nation.
We reject the tactic of using religion and spiritual traditions
to be a divisive force in our nation; pitting one group of Americans against
another group.We believe that ethics and morality cannot be claimed
as the property of a single religion or political group, but must be understood
in the context of furthering the well being of all humanity, present and
future.
The conference will cover three main
areas:
1) Promoting a conversation on Progressive Values, Faith & and Spirituality
2) Organizing Progressives for political action
3) Creating healthy personal & inner lives for progressive people
The key-note speaker,
Rabbi Michael Lerner, will examine the question of how our values are translated
into political action. Rabbi Lerner is an internationally
renowned social theorist, theologian, editor of Tikkun magazine, and author of The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our
Country from the Religious Right. He has a PhD from the University of California,
Berkeley and is
the founder of the Network for Spiritual Progressives.
Faith, values, and spirituality play an important role in responding to the many challenges we
face in our country today. The primary focus of
this conference will be to explore how our values, faith, and
spirituality can direct political action and transform our nation and our world. In so doing, this conference will be
addressing the most serious issues facing our
communities such as affordable, quality health care, the war, and global warming
to name a few.
Conference
workshops include topics such as "Challenging
the Misuse of God and Religion by the Religious Right", "Global Consciousness
and Ecological Sanity", "Our Common Values" and "Grounding Justice Work in
Spiritual Practice".
To learn more about other workshops which will be presented at this conference,
click here. To download the flyer to print (double-sided to conserve paper) go to our home page: www.qcprogressiveaction.org.
The Conference commences at 9:30am with a spiritual reflection on the state of
our world.Rabbi Michael Lerner will
speak at 10:15am.Workshops will continue throughout the day.
At 2:30pm Rabbi Lerner will be part of a panel discussion with local leaders on
the state of values and spirituality in our nation. Lunch will be served and
the conference will come to a close at 3:30pm.
This
event is open to the public; seating is limited.To Register, contact PACG at 563-676-7580 or go to our website for more information: www.qcprogressiveaction.org.
Event times and places
Interfaith
Service
The
conference begins with an Interfaith Service led by Rabbi Lerner on Friday evening,
November 2nd, 7pm at the Unitarian
Church, 3707 Eastern Avenue, Davenport, Iowa.
Spiritual
Progressives Conference
On
Saturday morning, November 3rd, the Spiritual Progressive Conference
will be held at the First Congregational Church-UCC, 2201 Seventh Avenue, Moline, IL 61265. Registration
starts at 9:30AM.
Book Signing with Rabbi Lerner
Saturday evening, November 3rd, 5:30pm at Borders Bookstore, 4000 E 53rd St in Davenport.
*IBLTV is a group of citizens from the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area who are concerned about the decline in the quality of local television. Fight local media consolidation, as it leads to an unaccountable medium that enriches itself while disregarding the need to serve the public good.
*The rational counter to 'The Point,' 'The Counterpoint' critiques and corrects the daily editorial by Sinclair Broadcasting's corporate vice president, Mark Hyman, that is broadcast on all Sinclair-owned television stations across the country
February 2010
