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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.
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!!!!!
Tuesday, January 10
Attend Your Iowa Caucus on Monday, January 16 by 6:30pm!
by
Linda Thieman
on Tue 10 Jan 2006 04:48 AM CST
 Attend Your Iowa Caucus on Monday, January 16 by 6:30pm!
In addition to the media-related information pertaining to the Iowa
Caucus that Arron posted yesterday, we have this just in from the Ed
Fallon campaign for Iowa Governor about how the caucus may influence
who is the Democratic nominee for governor.
IT'S CAUCUS TIME!
From Rep. Ed Fallon:
Precinct caucuses are less than a week away, and I'd like to
take this chance to encourage you to attend and participate. These
caucuses are particularly significant because the delegates elected
there and at the county conventions will determine the Democratic
nominee for governor if no candidate receives 35% of the vote in the
primary election on June 6th. If you'd like to help Fallon for Governor
organize your precinct, send an e-mail to FFGAdam@gmail.com and we'll get you started.
Also, if you're planning on attending your caucus, I would like to
encourage you to offer this resolution for the party platform:
Whereas campaigns at all levels have become more expensive and more
negative; and whereas large donors and wealthy special interest groups
exert far too much control over policies that affect all Iowans; and
whereas Arizona, Connecticut and Maine have enacted successful clean
election laws which provide for public financing of campaigns for local
and state offices; therefore, be it resolved that the Iowa Democratic
Party supports a clean elections law for Iowa.
Your local precinct caucus will be held on Monday, January 16 at 6:30
pm. IT IS ESSENTIAL TO ARRIVE BY 6:30 IN ORDER TO BE COUNTED AS AN
OFFICIAL ATTENDEE. To find out where your caucus will be held, click
here.
And from the Iowa Democratic Party:
The 2006 Precinct Caucuses are an exciting opportunity for [progressive] Iowa
Democrats to help organize their local parties. There are over 1800
caucus locations in all of Iowa's 99 counties, so that every registered
Democrat can get involved. All precincts start at 6:30 P.M. [If you are late, you will not be admitted.] To find the
location where your precinct meets CLICK HERE.
The purpose of a non-presidential year caucus is to:
1) Discuss and adopt proposed resolutions to be added to the county platform.
2) Elect Delegates and Alternates to County Convention
3) Elect Precinct Committee Persons to the County Central Committee
The precinct caucuses are a great way to promote progressive grassroots activities within the Iowa Democratic Party.
Monday, January 9
This Week in Media
by
Arron Wings
on Mon 09 Jan 2006 11:00 AM CST
 The Iowa Caucuses Are Here
Caucuses
of the Democratic and Republican Parties will be held Monday January
16th. This is a great opportunity to raise awareness of media
issues that affect all of us. The National Black Caucus of State
Legislators has passed four resolutions that are model planks for Party
platforms. These resolutions were proposed by Iowa State
Representative Wayne Ford.
1. A Resolution In Support Of Increased Funding And Federal Support For Public Broadcasting
2. A Resolution Supporting Municipal Provision Of Community Broadband
3. A Resolution To Encourage Competition And Speed The Deployment Of Advance Communications Networks On A Non-Discriminatory Basis
4. A Resolution In Support Of Diversity In Media Ownership
Resolutions can be found here (pages 85-93) and article from Free Press is here.
The Resolution in Support of Diversity in Media Ownership reads:
"WHEREAS, freedom of the press and public access to diverse media are prerequisites for a functioning democracy; and
WHEREAS, the broadcast airwaves are owned commonly by the public and should be managed to serve the public interest; and
WHEREAS, adherence to the highest journalistic principles is a public trust; and
WHEREAS, the public interest is best served by the availability of a broadly diverse range of viewpoints; and
WHEREAS,
media diversity is seriously threatened by further consolidation of
media ownership in an already highly concentrated market; and
WHEREAS,
increased consolidation has made it more difficult to expand minority
ownership of broadcast media outlets, a key driver of diversity in news
and cultural programming; and
WHEREAS,
deregulation of radio ownership rules under the 1996 Telecommunications
Act caused unprecedented consolidation, dramatically decreasing
competition, reducing local accountability and content diversity; and
limiting access to the airwaves for local artists, community groups and
public officials; and
WHEREAS,
the Federal Communications Commission approved an unprecedented
loosening of public interest limits on media ownership in June 2003
only to see it overturned by the Courts after millions of people across
America from every political orientation voiced opposition; and
WHEREAS,
despite the fact the courts rejected these rules, the Federal
Communications Commission will soon reconsider an unprecedented
rollback of media ownership regulations which protect competition,
content diversity and local accountability in our media; and
WHEREAS,
the elimination and weakening of these regulations are likely to reduce
competition, the quality of local media coverage, local accountability,
diversity of content, diversity of voices, and the amount
and quality of news coverage in broadcast and print media across the
country, while providing windfall profits for a small handful of
corporate media owners; and
WHEREAS,
we recognize that as citizens in a democracy, we require public access
to a diverse range of media voices and messages in order to participate
fully in our community's shared social, cultural and political life;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE 29TH ANNUAL LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE OF THE NATIONAL BLACK CAUCUS OF STATE LEGISLATORS, ASSEMBLED IN WASHINGTON, D.C., DECEMBER 7 - 11, 2005, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators supports the following measures:
-We urge the Federal Communications Commission
to resist attempts to loosen public interest limits on media ownership
and further urge the Congress and the Federal Communications Commission
to protect content diversity and press freedom by retaining and
strengthening existing media ownership regulations, including
regulations that limit the number of broadcast stations one owner may
hold; and
-We urge the Federal Communications Commission
to hold public hearings scheduled by the Localism Task Force to truly
understand how media consolidation has adversely impacted communities
across the country; and
-We urge the Federal Communications Commission and the Congress to take necessary steps to encourage and facilitate increased minority ownership of media outlets."
Media
Ownership rules are also at issue in Springfield Missouri where a
small cable company, Cable America, challenged the broadcast licenses
of stations that it says are functional duopolies. Story is here.
Media Minutes from Free Press are here.
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