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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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Thursday, September 23
Dean: DFA Commits Funds to Building Progressive Infrastructure
by
Linda Thieman
on Thu 23 Sep 2004 11:24 AM CDT
 Dean: DFA Commits Funds to Building Progressive Infrastructure
by Linda Thieman
Big news out of Democracy for America this week
During
these last six months, those of us with an eye on Howard Dean have been
present for a remarkable transformation. We watched the birth of
Democracy for America on March 18. We watched as what has come to
be known as DFA 2.0 learned how to walk. We watched as the
related state groups, such as our own Democracy for Iowa, were given
free rein to find a system that would work for us. And, after
four months of struggle and only rudimentary connection between
Democracy for America and Democracy for Iowa, we watched as DFA 2.0
passed the “survival goal” and became a real force, offering up some
real assistance to those of us on the ground.
Once
that “survival goal” was passed, DFA 2.0 suddenly blossomed. New
staffers were brought on and contact between DFA and the state groups
increased dramatically. In Iowa, Democracy for Iowa is DFA’s eyes
and ears, trained on the political scene. DFIA has vetted and
endorsed a slate of exceptional candidates (see right sidebar), and DFA
2.0 uses our slate of candidates to determine which candidates they
will help in Iowa.
Last
week, DFA announced that they would be opening up Gov. Dean’s email
lists to help our candidates. Whereas Gov. Dean promised he would
never give away or sell these hefty lists, he is having his staff send
emails from DFA on behalf of our candidates and their events and
targeting specific local areas.
Second,
DFA has opened up their blog to the state groups. Last week, over
the course of 8 days, Democracy for Iowa was featured on the Dean blog
three times, with one statewide email sent out on our behalf.
This was a feature the state groups had long been fighting for, and
indeed, it did help us reach some of our people who did not realize we
were still here. We made some good new contacts, and got a boost
in traffic at Blog for Iowa.
This
week, Gov. Dean has announced that he will be taking the slate of
candidates endorsed by the state groups and distributing a quarter of a
million dollars to help fund their races. This is big news that
will affect the Iowa races in a positive way.
It is Gov. Dean’s intention to build a progressive infrastructure, one not unlike what the ultra-conservatives have been building for the last 35 years. And supporting our state and local candidates is one way he’s going to do it.
I have
long admired Gov. Dean, not only because he has high ideals and, as
Jane Austen would say, “correct opinions,” but also because he is a
pragmatic man. He knows that our goals can be accomplished if we
are well organized and systematic, consistent and persistent – and, of
course, well funded. Democracy for Iowa strongly believes that we
have selected a slate of Iowa candidates who are that appealing
combination of high ideals, correct opinions, and pragmatism.
To contribute to Gov. Dean’s cause, click here.
Monday, September 20
Regan for Scott County Holds Meeting on Harkin Bus
by
Linda Thieman
on Mon 20 Sep 2004 04:26 PM CDT
Regan for Scott County Holds Meeting on Harkin Bus
By Molly Regan, Candidate for Scott Soil and Water Conservation Commission
‘Twas a
sunny, breezy, cloudless day that greeted our arrival at the Harkin
Steak Fry at Indianola, Iowa. The Regan for Scott County steering
committee had taken care of business on the bus ride out. We
planned where yard signs should be strategically placed about the
county and determined how many folks we could get to help with the
Trivia Night to be held on Wednesday, September 29.
Molly Regan speaks at the Sierra Club/Eagle View
Chapter at the Bettendorf library.
Alta
Price had brought along FLAT HOWARD, Cliff Day brought taping/photo
equipment, and I passed out Vermont quarters as good luck charms…every
little bit helps.
About
half an hour west of Davenport, I put in the tape from the Democratic
National Convention I had brought along. The bus we rode had 6
small TVs overhead and a tape deck! So we watched...You guessed
it... GOVERNOR HOWARD DEAN. The man received a two-and-a-half
minute standing ovation even before he could speak! We also heard
Barack Obama. Several people on the bus had not heard his
speech. How inspiring that man is. He will probably be
president some day.
At the
fry, we found Darrell Lewis already set up with several tables of DFIA,
John Drury, and Paul Johnson information as well as his own personal
canopy to keep out the sun. Darrell was putting buttons together
to hand out to people, so we went off to enjoy the food and try to find
other Scott county voters. On the way we found Dr. Alan Koslow of
Des Moines/DEANIAC. Also spotted was dog Buddy & his "dad" (Jeff Goetz)
plus Phil the farmer (Phil Specht).
Returning
from the great meal of chicken, steak, beans & slaw, I found that
Darrell's button making had reached a fever pitch. At that point,
there were about 30 people waiting to see the finished products.
A big favorite was "DEAN DEMOCRATIC."
After
listening to Tom Arnold talk about the 'wonders' of working in a hog
processing production line, it was time for Sheryl Crow! Her
fabulous voice is only outdone by her awesome guitar playing. The
crowd was right in there singing and clapping and hooting. I had
found my way down the grassy hill to a spot left of the stage with a
large John Kerry/Edwards 2004 Democracy for Iowa/Blog for Iowa
sign. Very colorful and hard to miss. Soon after the
singing was over and the crowd gave Ms. Crow a zounding send off, on
stage walks our senator, Tom Harkin. More applause and
hooting. He thanks us for helping make the day a success and
introduces Elizabeth Edwards. She is such a sincere person and
spoke about the serious state of health care and prescription drug
obtainability. I was able to meet her and I shook her hand as I
thanked her for coming back to Iowa. I also held up a smaller
version of the sign I had & asked her if she would like it.
She smiled big and said yes and thanked me.
So, at
that point it was time to go back to see what the other DEANIACS were
up to. Many people had stopped by to have their picture taken
with FLAT HOWARD and even I got in on the act. All in all, it was
a splendid DEAN – DEMOCRATIC DAY!
Molly J. Regan
is a candidate for the Scott Soil and Water Conservation
Commission. A life-long resident of Eastern Iowa, Regan holds an
A.S. degree in Environmental Science and Geology from Kirkwood
Community College in Cedar Rapids. Regan is a member of IECAN,
the Independent Environmental Conservation Activism Network, and is
dedicated to bringing cleaner, safer energy to Iowa.
Molly J.
Regan strives to ensure that Iowa’s harvest-bearing soil is saved from
deterioration and overuse, and to improve the water quality of Iowa’s
lakes, rivers, and streams. Regan will work to see that
information for improved air quality plus soil and water conservation
is made available to all schools and she will endeavor to prevent urban
sprawl from overtaking valuable farmland.
To contribute to Molly Regan's campaign, checks can be made out to Regan for Scott County and sent to:
PO Box 486
Princeton, IA 52768
DFIA Booth Draws Huge Crowd at Harkin Steak Fry
by
Linda Thieman
on Mon 20 Sep 2004 04:07 AM CDT
DFIA Booth Draws Huge Crowd at Harkin Steak Fry
by Linda Thieman
More then 3,000 people gathered yesterday for the annual Tom Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa.
Darrell Lewis, Democracy for Iowa Founding Member and Campaign Chair for Dean Dozen candidate John Drury
(Iowa Senate District 6), arrived at the Fry early and grabbed the best
corner spot for our booth. We shared our booth with the Drury
campaign and with that of the Paul Johnson for Congress (4th District) campaign.
Photo courtesy of Drury for Iowa Senate
The DFIA booth was by far the most heavily visited. One Art Small for U.S. Senate
staffer remarked that we must be giving away $100 bills to draw such a
crowd! But, no, it was Darrell and his buttons and Alta Price,
DFIA co-founder, and her Flat Howard (see photo below) that were the real draw.
Alta
gave away small Blog for Iowa buttons as folks lined
up to have their picture taken with Flat Howard – who had paid $10 to
ride the bus and $25 to get in! (You can't say that DFIA doesn't
have a sense of humor!)
Darrell Lewis, right foreground, making buttons at the DFIA booth.
That's Dean Dozen candidate John Drury chatting with a supporter
in the center (background, dark shirt).
Darrell wowed the crowd with buttons he was making right there in the booth. The first button Darrell ran out of was “Kerry/Edwards Voters on Loan from Dean.”
We ran out of the “Dean Democrat” buttons shortly thereafter.
Darrell gave away close to 500 buttons and Alta gave out some 50
colorful signs. At one point, a crowd of 50 people, lined up six
deep, were at the DFIA booth waiting for buttons.
DFIA members: (front, left to right) Darrell Lewis
and Dr. Alta Price, and (back) Scott Soil and Water
Conservation Commission candidate Molly Regan,
Flat Howard, and Cliff Day. Darrell Lewis designed
the two DFIA/Blog for Iowa signs we used - the rainbow
version above and the plain version in the top photo.
We feel
totally renewed and re-energized for the hard work still ahead, which
is the whole point of the Harkin Steak Fry, after all. The Dean
movement is alive and well and living in Iowa!
Look
for a Fry report from Molly Regan, DFIA environmentalist and candidate
for Scott Soil and Water Conservation Commission, later in the day.
Sunday, September 5
Blog for Iowa Stats for September Beat The Entire Month of April in Four Days
by
Linda Thieman
on Sun 05 Sep 2004 04:39 AM CDT
Blog for Iowa Stats for September Beat The Entire Month of April in Four Days
by Linda Thieman
Frequent
Blog for Iowa readers may recall, because I mention it every chance I
get, that Blog for Iowa first went online on April 1. We did well
that month for a newbie website: 2,830 distinct hosts served (the
number of individual computers that hit our site) and 7,362 page views.
This
morning, I was very surprised to see that in the first 4 days of
September, we have surpassed the number of distinct hosts served AND
the number of page views for the entire month of April, our first
month. Of course, we DO always get a big boost the day after Meet
Up, so a big "thank you" to the DFA/DFIA Meet Up hosts for their
support, and a "thank you" to Rapid Response - Iowa for mentioning us, too.
As
usual, the most viewed categories are Iowa in the News and Candidates,
followed by Calls to Action, Environment, Local Events, Dean News, and
National News.
And, this killed me - I was looking at the referral stats for September
4th. This shows how people find Blog for Iowa, down to the last
person. One reader visited our site by Googling "Stephen Colbert
crass-tastic." If you missed that humorous article about the
Daily Show with Jon Stewart and their convention coverage, click here.
Saturday, September 4
Deaniac Watch: Iowa Teacher Returns from Iraq
by
Linda Thieman
on Sat 04 Sep 2004 02:09 PM CDT
Deaniac Watch: Iowa Teacher Returns from Iraq
The Des Moines Register
Fellow Deaniac and husband of Des Moines DFIA Activist Colleen Jennings Makes The Des Moines Register
First Lt. Ernest Jennings' 14-month stint assisting the troops in Iraq is over.
Now he's getting back to his true passion - directing the drum line at East High School in Des Moines.
The
35-year-old band director from West Des Moines had taught at North High
School for three years before the 1168 Transportation Company of the
Iowa National Guard was called for active duty in February 2003. His
unit was responsible for transporting supplies to the front line and
guard duty in Iraq. Jennings said he couldn't wait to return home in
mid-April this year.
"We had
a long deployment. I spent my whole summer just trying to get back into
my civilian mode," Jennings said. "I just hung out a little bit and
took a breath."
(more)
Glad you're home safe and sound, Ernie!
Thanks to Christina Butts for turning this in.
Wednesday, September 1
News and Notes from Deanland and DFIA
by
Linda Thieman
on Wed 01 Sep 2004 01:02 PM CDT
New Book Out Soon: “The Tea Is In The Harbor”
Scott
Goldstein, a DFA 2.0 intern, and active member of Generation Dean, has
announced that his new book, “The Tea Is In The Harbor,” will be out in October.
“The Tea
is in the Harbor” discusses the fight for Democracy in America, the
role of the Howard Dean Presidential campaign, and the work still ahead
to take back our Democracy. The book begins with the history of
Democracy, coming from the system first used by the Ancient Greeks, and
how the Americans came to adopt and change that system.
Click here to buy the book.
Dean Gets Some Props re Dean Dozen
Howard
Dean recently received some props for his creation of Democracy for
America and for the effectiveness of his Dean Dozen program.
Click here to read the article from “The Nation.”
From NPR: "Former Democratic
presidential candidate Howard Dean is proving to be a highly effective
fundraiser and campaigner for Democrats running for state and local
offices across the country. Dubbed the "Dean Dozens," these candidates
have so far received some $300,000 from Dean's political action
committee."
Click here to listen to the NPR story about DFA and Howard Dean.
Darrell Lewis and DFIA Host Parties September 12
In case you missed the announcement, DFIA will be hosting two parties in Iowa City on September 12.
The
first is a fundraiser for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and
the party that follows directly afterwards will be sponsored by DFIA in
order to introduce our candidates to the gay community.
For details, click here.
Five-month Anniversary of Blog for Iowa
My how
time flies. Today, Blog for Iowa is five months old. In
spite of the fact that we didn’t have any big events (such as the
Democratic State Convention in June and the Democratic National
Convention in July) that created spikes in our readership as in
previous months, we still broke our record
with 35,527 page views in
August.
I’d like
to take this opportunity to thank the many, many contributors to Blog
for Iowa, without whom I’d just be sitting at my computer, posting into
the ether.
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