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Sunday, October 31
"Bush and Cheney are so over," says Rover.
by
Linda Thieman
on Sun 31 Oct 2004 07:49 AM CST
"Bush and Cheney are so over," says Rover.
Good doggie, good doggie!
Blog for Iowa sinks to a new low,
but we can't help ourselves.
Lovely, patriotic doggie.
And speaking of signs . . .
Seems like there has been a rash of sign thefts lately. The Iowa
City crowd keeps getting their signs stolen from their lawns, and I
hear that when Kerry spoke in the Des Moines area recently, Kerry signs
went missing all over. (They didn't take the other candidates'
signs, just the Kerry signs. A selective group of thieves, as it were.)
Here in the boonies, the Thieman household had just made the trip to
Sioux City to pick up an Art Small sign and a Joyce Schulte sign - an
hour and a half drive for us - when the guy who mows our lawn, bags our leaves, and shovels our snow came over
and failed to replace our signs when he was done mowing.
And he
took the signs with him, apparently storing his equipment on top
of them on his flatbed. So, the next morning, I left a message on
his answering machine and asked him to please put the signs back.
Eight
hours later, at four in the afternoon, I called again and left a
message with his son. (This is a guy who, if you call him and
tell him you have a check for him, will be there in five minutes
flat.) Three hours later, still no signs, so I
called his wife. That did the trick. The next morning he
returned the Joyce Schulte sign to our yard, although it was half-way
shredded. Apparently, the Art Small sign was completely
shredded.
So, we went to Dem HQ in Sioux City again and got ourselves a new Art Small sign
and a new Joyce Schulte sign.
Unfortunately, the new signs had only been up one day when the wind
tunnel we live in grabbed the Schulte sign and blew it away. We
hope it landed upright in a Republican neighbor's yard. I'm
telling you, it is so windy here that if I had put a wind turbine on my
front lawn a year ago, I'd be a millionaire by now.
The Art Small sign still stands, although it did get rather mowed down
by the wind, too. It's not quite as flat, however, as our Howard
Dean sign after two feet of snow fell on it last January.
Then, last night, I got a call from the BV County Dems HQ and they told
me that our absentee ballots had not been recorded as returned.
And we mailed those in 3 weeks ago! We mailed them from the Storm
Lake post office and they had to travel a full half mile to get to the
courthouse. So, now, I'll be chasing that down on Monday.
Either it just didn't get put up on the website that the Dems are
using, or the Republican county auditor is losing a lot of Dem absentee
ballots.
If you sent in your absentee ballot ages ago and keep getting panicked
calls from national, state, and local Dems asking if you've returned
it, take the hint and call your county auditor to see if your ballot has been received. Monday is the last day.
Politicking is haaarrrrrrrdddddd!
Linda Thieman
Thursday, October 28
Nader Speaks to Small Crowd at ISU Wednesday
by
Linda Thieman
on Thu 28 Oct 2004 12:12 PM CDT
 Nader Speaks to Small Crowd at ISU Wednesday
by Dawn Mueller
Ralph Nader filled a room of about 290 people Wednesday at ISU, just hours before John Kerry's appearance in Cedar Rapids.
Nearly all were very young students. The event was nothing at all like Nader's 2000 appearance at UI.
Before the event started, and before Nader had arrived, when I walked
in a Nader staffer observed that I had a half-ream of paper rolled up
in my hand. He came up and demanded to see what I had in my
hand. When I objected, he told me that he was a lawyer and that I
would be threatened with a lawsuit and removed from the room if I did
not comply.
I walked away from him and headed towards a seat in the rear of the
room. He called two more Nader staffers: they surrounded me, told
me I was violating the law by possessing unapproved literature in my
hand. They accused me of distributing anti-Nader literature,
when, in fact, I hadn't done anything but walk into the room.
When I stated that I had not done anything but walk into the room, I
was told that security would be called on me if I did not comply with
their demand to leave the room and to turn what paper I had over to
them. I then raised my voice and requested (somewhat loudly so
that persons in the back of the room would hear), why Nader people, of
all people, would be infringing upon my First Amendment rights to
assemble at a political event - especially at a public event where they
were trying to attract people.
Security was called, and I was told I would have to leave the premises.
When I asked why I would have to leave, the security officer could not
answer. He turned to the Nader people, who couldn't claim
anything because I hadn't done anything, and there were plenty of
witnesses there to prove it. I told them to stop harrassing me,
pushed them off and took my seat.
Approximately 1/4th left before he had finished speaking. A
number of students, who were apparently politically active on campus in
progressive causes, became very upset when Nader accused both Democrats
and progressives of essentially monolithic conspiracy with
corporations. They did not take kindly that he inadvertently
insulted students who were working hard on progressive causes.
A few students were there with Kerry-Edwards stickers or T-shirts.
The remainder of the crowd applauded at Nader's comments. I would
guess maybe 180 or so. I did not recognize anyone from Iowa City
in the crowd, so the audience was likely all Grinnelians and Cyclones.
After his speech, Nader had a Q & A. Only four or so of us
were able to speak at the open mic (about 8 in line), as Nader tends to
give long responses, and the four of us had relatively long statements
to make. All four of us voiced strong concerns about the
election. I discussed Democracy for Iowa; its connection to
Democracy for America and Dean for America. I also stated that I
was with I-Renew; a conservationist; a peace activist; and, a women's
rights activist. I stated that Democracy for Iowa was proud to
support candidates like Paul Johnson for Congress, and that DFA was working to take down Tom Delay and promote progressives across the country.
Nader made comments supportive of Dean but also one that expressed
bitterness at his perception that some Dean people had worked to keep
him off the ballot in many states.
I urged Nader to call upon his supporters to trade their Iowa Nader
votes for Kerry votes in safe states, and I informed the hall about the
organization, VotePair.org. Nader did encourage those supporters who felt they could to participate in vote trading.
The other three individuals at the open mic really laid into Nader for
his perceived jeopardization of the election and for making comments
that disregarded the hard work of ISU progressives who were Democrats
or were otherwise voting for John Kerry.
I then went into the corridor outside the room as people exited and handed out informational sheets about VotePair.org. I distributed approximately 100 of them.
All in all, it was not a successful event for Nader. Perhaps 25
stayed to pick up autographed copies of his book. He had made a
lot of good points during his speech, but he was not as effective as he
was in 2000.
I left feeling bad for Ralph. Clearly, the hostility of the
Democrats since the 2000 election has hurt him, and the current
political winds were not in his favor, old soldier that he is. To
add insult to injury, the event organizers had taped up the canvas
banner behind him with duct tape, and it fell down as Nader
spoke. He looked old and tired.
I would say he probably netted maybe 75-125 votes off that event,
including those hard-core young lefties and anarchists who wouldn't
have voted for Kerry, regardless of whether or not Ralph was an
option. Maybe 75 were curious but not committed. The rest
will likely fall to Kerry, except for a small handful of Bush
supporters who were hovering.
Election Night at Blog for Iowa
by
Linda Thieman
on Thu 28 Oct 2004 04:22 AM CDT
 Election Night at Blog for Iowa
by Linda Thieman
I know a
lot of our dear activist readers will be getting home late on November 2, Election Day.
Some of you will be in the trenches, turning in the final vote tallies
for your precincts. Others will have had a long day of driving
Dems to the polls. You’ll need to relax and unwind as you watch
the returns come in.
So, why
not come to a friendly forum - Blog for Iowa? Carry on a
conversation in the comments section, if you are so inclined. I
plan to stay up most of Election night, following the returns for the
candidates DFIA supports. I’ll post frequent updates, so all
you’ll have to do to get the updates is to reload the blog. I’ve
already checked with the Secretary of State’s office and there is no
way for me to hook up an automatic feed, so I’ll be doing it all by
hand.
Mind
you, the election results will not be official until November 29,
according to Iowa law, but we can at least watch the November chaos
begin.
Election
Night will be my swan song. Blog for Iowa will likely hit 200,000
page views
today – not bad for just under 7 months old. I’ve spent the last
several weeks weaning Blog for Iowa, and am pleased to report that BFIA
is now eating solid foods. I am also in negotiations with Blog
for Iowa’s new daddy, a devoted Iowa Dean Dem, to take over some time
soon. (And by negotiations, I mean I'm begging and he's
considering saying yes.) Yes, dear readers, Blog for Iowa’s mommy
is skipping town, metaphorically-speaking. I may be gone
for a couple of months or I may be gone forever. I haven’t quite
made up my mind. Like everyone else, I’m completely burnt out.
In one
form or another, Blog for Iowa will exist after the November
Election. Keep tuning in for coverage of the post-election
national nightmare.
Wednesday, October 27
Battleground: Iowa
by
Linda Thieman
on Wed 27 Oct 2004 06:10 PM CDT
 Battleground: Iowa
By David Moberg, Salon.com
[Iowa's
Gov. Tom] Vilsack is optimistic about Kerry's chances in his state.
"It's all in the numbers in the early voting and registration war," he
said. Iowa is divided into roughly three equal parts politically, but
independents have the edge in registration. In 2000, there were about
25,000 fewer registered Democrats than Republicans in the state, but
this year Republicans lead by only 8,000. Part of the reason is
changing demographics - Iowa is now less rural and more Latino.
"We've
become more competitive as Iowa has become more urbanized," Iowa
Democratic Party chairman Gordon Fischer said. "Now the 10 most
populous counties - with cities like Des Moines, Sioux City, Cedar
Rapids, Waterloo and Iowa City - have more population than the ... 89
[least populous] counties."
Most
of the voters registered by the party and partisan groups such as
unions, the Iowa Citizen Action Network (an affiliate of USAction) and
America Coming Together (the leading independent "527" group) are
likely to vote for Kerry. But the work of some nonpartisan groups may
also indirectly benefit him. The New Voters Project, for example, has
registered 36,000 18-to-24-year-olds in Iowa, including 12,000 around
Iowa City, home to the University of Iowa and the third largest New
Voters Project operation in the country. "We've been getting an amazing
response from young people," said organizer Aaron Saeugling. "A lot of
people said, 'I didn't vote in the last election, but I am this year.'"
Although 70 percent registered as independent, a study by Harvard
University's Institute of Politics suggests they will
disproportionately vote for Kerry.
The
Democratic forces in Iowa have pushed harder than the Republicans for
early votes, in both absentee ballots and satellite early polling
stations, and the balloting has gone strongly to Kerry. Late last week,
Democrats figured that at least 108,000 out of 190,000 early votes went
for Kerry, since they came from identified supporters, and 56,000 went
for Bush, with the remainder probably split roughly in the same
proportion. With a week to go, already 60,000 more absentee ballots
have been cast than in 2000.
(Click here to read the complete article.)
In order to read the complete article, you must view a short ad.
Sunday, October 24
Des Moines Register Endorses Kerry
by
Linda Thieman
on Sun 24 Oct 2004 12:00 PM CDT
 Des Moines Register Endorses Kerry
Des Moines Register
About
half of Americans have lost confidence in George W. Bush, yet many hang
back from embracing the alternative. That's unfortunate, because
Senator John F. Kerry is a wise and decent man who has the makings of a
fine president.
Still,
there's little wonder that voters have doubts. Most of what they think
they know about the senator comes from a masterful job of "defining the
opposition" carried out by the Bush campaign and its surrogates before
most people got a chance to know the real Kerry.
So
Americans were introduced to Kerry the flip-flopper. Kerry the softie
on defense. Kerry the wild-eyed liberal. Kerry the appeaser who will
let terrorists attack America.
It's sad
that an incumbent pResident chose to employ so much of his vast
campaign resources to tear down his challenger, and not to cite his own
accomplishments or to move the nation ahead. But perhaps that's
precisely the difficulty Bush faces.
His
pResidency has been one of bold leadership undermined by a failure to
achieve meaningful results. The resolute leader Americans rallied
behind after Sept. 11, 2001, sidetracked the country into a mess in
Iraq. The fiscally responsible, compassionate conservative Americans
thought they elected, the man we hoped would improve schools, lower the
cost of health care and find more jobs, has failed to do so and instead
run up an unprecedented national debt.
The
pResident, whose swagger in adversity and plain-folks straight talk can
be so appealing, has failed to see the reality of the problems or
outline a road map for progress for the next four years.
National polls show Bush's disapproval numbers hovering near 50 percent.
Now it
is time to take the next logical step and recognize John Kerry as
someone who could do better. It's time to see Kerry as the person he
is, not as the caricature created in Bush's campaign ads.
Kerry
won the presidential debates because the man Americans saw on live
television differed from the caricature. Americans saw a thoughtful,
experienced, exceptionally well-informed candidate who cares deeply
about his country and its people.
(Click here to read the complete article.)
Culver Troubled by Voting SNAFU at Iowa State
by
Linda Thieman
on Sun 24 Oct 2004 04:36 AM CDT
 Culver 'Troubled' by Voting SNAFU at Iowa State
Ames Tribune
Iowa Republican Disenfranchises College Students AGAIN
Story County Auditor Mary Mosiman says she didn't anticipate the number
of Iowa State University students who wanted to vote at an early voting
location on campus.
Consequently, 50 to 100 potential voters were not allowed to cast their ballots at Parks Library on Thursday.
Mosiman said election officials ran low on ballots for one of the two most common precincts students fall into.
"This is a learning experience," Mosiman said. "It was a mistake only by me and nobody else. I won't make this mistake again."
Iowa law says anyone who arrives at a satellite voting station prior to
the time the site is scheduled to close should be allowed to vote.
..."The auditors are required by law to provide sufficient number of
ballots for satellite voting stations," Iowa Secretary of State Chet
Culver said at an appearance on campus. "That would be their problem,
not the students', if they ran out of ballots."
...Culver said Mosiman misinterpreted state law when potential voters
were told they could not vote because the polling station had closed.
It's the second time in the past two years Mosiman has misinterpreted the same election law, he said.
In October 2002, State Deputy Auditor Rob Berntsen sent Mosiman a
letter after a complaint was received about early voting sites from the
chair of the Story County Democratic Party, Jan Bauer.
"If this were the first incident we may or may not have handled it the
same way," Culver said. "But if you look back at the record here, it is
very troubling."
Culver, a Democrat, is sending a letter to Mosiman regarding the
incident. In that letter, he asks Mosiman to provide him with a written
explanation of what happened by noon on Wednesday.
"This is very troubling," Culver said. "This doesn't happen in Iowa. It should disturb all of us."
Mosiman, a Republican, is up for re-election on Nov. 2. She is being challenged by Jim Hutter, a Democrat.
(Click here to read the complete article.)
Saturday, October 23
Stop Move to Ban Gay/Lesbian Literature in Solon, Iowa, Schools
by
Linda Thieman
on Sat 23 Oct 2004 09:56 AM CDT
 Stop Move to Ban Gay/Lesbian Literature in Solon, Iowa, Schools
by Sue Protheroe, Solon Middle School teacher
Meeting:
Materials Reconsideration Committee
Tuesday, October 26, 7pm
Solon High School Media Center
Solon, Iowa
I am the
8th grade language arts teacher at Solon Middle School. Those of
you who have children in my classroom know that it is a place where
students are free to develop and express personal opinions, without
fear of recrimination. My message has always been one of respect,
tolerance, and acceptance. And what better vehicle for discussion
than literature?
Stories
containing gay/lesbian characters are periodically part of my
curriculum, and I am grateful to those of you who have read the stories
yourselves and used them as vehicles for discussion at home. When
I teach these stories, I generally have a small number of parents ask
that their children be excused from the pieces, and I honor these
requests. This year, however, there is a group of parents
requesting that the stories be removed from the curriculum altogether,
which would mean that all of my students would lose the opportunity to
read and discuss them.
I object
passionately to the censorship of the literature that Solon students
read, especially when the censoring group identifies a specific
population and asks for removal of that population from the texts used
in the classroom.
One of
the messages in the story "Am I Blue?" is that "there are gay cops and
gay farmers, gay teachers and gay soldiers, gay parents and gay
kids." By acknowledging this fact frankly, in a controlled
classroom setting, we are educating to encourage tolerance and to end
discrimination against a group of our students.
If the news that this is happening alarms - or even just interests - you, I encourage you to attend the meeting of the Materials Reconsideration Committee, October 26, 7pm, in the Solon High School Media Center, Solon, Iowa.
Sue Protheroe
Solon Middle School teacher
Friday, October 22
Latest Iowa Job Count Falls Short as Bush Takes Credit for Iowa Economy
by
Linda Thieman
on Fri 22 Oct 2004 11:03 AM CDT
 Latest Iowa Job Count Falls Short as Bush Takes Credit for Iowa Economy
Iowa Policy Project
Even With September Increase, Iowa Job Performance Disappoints
MOUNT VERNON, Iowa
(Oct. 21, 2004) – An increase in the number of nonfarm jobs in
September is encouraging, but the economic recovery in Iowa continues
to be weak, analysts said today.
Iowa’s
nonfarm payrolls expanded by 1,300 jobs in September 2004, according to
data released Thursday by Iowa Workforce Development. Government,
construction, and financial sectors each gained 400 jobs.
However,
the unemployment rate increased to its highest level for the year at
4.7 percent. The last time the unemployment rate was higher was July
1992, when it reached 4.8 percent.
“We
always concentrate on job growth,” said David Osterberg, executive
director of the Iowa Policy Project. “That is why we are still
concerned that Iowa has not fully recovered from the 2001 recession.
Iowa has 22,200 fewer jobs than when the recession began in March 2001.”
The
economic recovery continues to disappoint in Iowa. Based on Bush
Administration projections, 41,500 new jobs were supposed to have been
created in Iowa since July 2003, when the federal “Jobs and Growth” tax
cuts were to start having an impact. During that period, however, Iowa
has gained only 16,700 jobs.
“Job
growth has fallen short on all measures,” said Peter Fisher, research
director of the Iowa Policy Project. “Job quality has suffered as well.
The new jobs generally pay less and offer fewer benefits compared to
the jobs lost. Nationally, about 14% of all new jobs have been temp
agency jobs.”
Deepening
the job deficit is the fact that the number of people needing jobs has
increased. Four years of college graduates have entered the workforce
since Iowa began shedding jobs.
Since
the recession ended in November 2001, during what is supposed to be a
period of economic recovery, Iowa has continued to lose jobs. Usually
during a “recovery” jobs are created, not lost. For example, this many
months after the end of the 1990 recession, Iowa had gained 62,300 jobs.
Jobs in
Iowa’s manufacturing and trade/transportation sectors have been
especially hard hit. About 25,500 manufacturing jobs and 12,500
trade/transportation jobs have been lost since the beginning of the
last recession (March 2001). Job gains have primarily been in financial
activities (+10,100) and education/health services (+9,400).
Recent
job figures as well as census projections suggest that temporary agency
jobs are among the fastest growing occupations in the nation. For
full-time workers who have lost a job, however, temp agency positions
do not provide the same stable employment and benefits.
Key numbers following Thursday’s release from the state:
*The
unemployment rate increased from 4.5 percent in August to 4.7 percent
in September, the highest it has been since July 2003. In March 2001,
at the start of the recession, it was 3.1 percent.
*The
total number of unemployed Iowans increased by 2,100, from 74,300 to
76,400. The labor force - people working or looking for work -
decreased over the month from 1,632,600 to 1,630,000.
*Nonfarm,
payroll employment rose from an August figure of 1,450,700 to
1,452,000, an increase of 1,300 jobs. Government, construction, and
financial sectors each gained 400 jobs.
*The
nonfarm employment number is up 11,200 from September 2003, but is
22,200 below the level of March 2001, at the start of the last
recession. It is 200 behind the level in November 2001, when the
recession officially ended.
*From
July 2003 to September 2004, 41,500 jobs were supposed to have been
created in Iowa thanks to the federal “Jobs & Growth” tax cut; that
promise has fallen 24,800 jobs short in Iowa.
More information about Iowa employment trends is available at the Iowa Policy Project website, www.iowapolicyproject.org. The Iowa Policy Project is a non-partisan, non-profit research organization headquartered in Mount Vernon.
Bush Takes Credit for Iowa Economy as Unemployment Rises
Kerry/Edwards Campaign
Unemployment Up for Third Month in a Row Under Bush’s Failed Policies
DES MOINES, IA - The State of
Iowa, Thursday, reported an increase in unemployment for the third
month running, one day after George Bush took credit for "improving"
the Iowa economy. Bush told an audience in Mason City on Wednesday that
the economy is "moving forward."
"I don't know how you can say the Iowa economy is moving forward when,
for the last three months, the jobs picture in Iowa has been moving
backwards," said Senator Tom Harkin.
According to official figures, total employment went down by 4,700 jobs
from August to September. The number of unemployed Iowans in
September was 76,400 - the highest reported level all year.
"It's more proof that George Bush can't solve our problems since he
refuses to recognize them," Harkin said. "George Bush's wrong choices
have harmed Iowa's working families and continue to throw more and more
of them into the ranks of the unemployed."
Under George Bush, America has lost 1.6 million private-sector jobs for
the first time in 70 years. The typical family has seen its income fall
by more than $1,500. Real business investment and exports are both down
under George Bush. And all George Bush has had to offer are excuses and
bad plans that put job creation and the middle class last while
favoring special interests.
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