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Thursday, December 23
Iowa School Board Overturns Committee Recommendation, Bans Book; Anti-bullying Workshop in Ames in January (GLBT)
by
Trish Nelson
on Thu 23 Dec 2004 08:31 AM CST
 Iowa School Board Overturns Committee Recommendation, Bans Book (GLBT)
The North Scott Press
by Bill Tubbs
The
United Methodist Church defrocked the Rev. Irene Elizabeth Stroud
on a 7-6 vote for being honest about her sexual orientation....The
church's decision appears to be, at best, an effort to achieve unity by
sacrificing reality and truth.
[That] very week, the networks, who flooded the airwaves all fall with half-truths
disguised as political ads, rejected as "too controversial" a 30-second
commercial of the United Church of Christ which showed a bouncer
standing guard outside a church and choosing whom to allow into
services. Among those rejected are people of color and a same-sex
couple.
Just when you think all the issues are national, the school board of
the Pleasant Valley [Iowa] School District sent shudders through
academia with a 4-3 vote to overturn a committee's recommendation that
it is OK to continue using the book, "The Misfits" by James Howe, in an
elementary classroom. Parents protested when they learned that Linda
Goetz, a sixth-grade teacher at Bridgeview Elementary in LeClaire, was
reading the book aloud in an effort to curb name-calling. Their
objection? One of the characters is gay.
(click here to read the entire story)
Iowa Department of Education Hosts Conference on Bullying and Harassment
"Bullying in Our Schools: Power and Empowerment"
The GLBT Youth in Iowa Schools Task Force is one of several
sponsors of this conference which will take place on Thursday,
January 27, 2005, at the Scheman Conference Center in Ames.
This conference is designed to help school teams (including youth and
community) create plans to prevent bullying and harassment
against all students, including those that are gay, lesbian, bisexual,
and transgender (GLBT).
Sessions will help team members learn what works, how to
effectively intervene when bullying happens, and how to recognize the
many forms that bullying can take. A special strand is being
offered for middle school and high school youth team members, in addition to a strand to address bullying/harassment against
diverse populations (GLBT students, students of color, students
with disabilities, religious minorities).
Click here for more information and to register your team
Brad Clark
Project Director,
GLBT Youth in Iowa Schools Task Force
PO Box 1797
Des Moines, IA 50306-1797
Contact Brad here:
Send an e-mail
Click here for more contact info:
www.iowasafeschools.org
 Join your fellow Iowans in the fight to take back the media for ordinary citizens. Click here to join RapidResponse - Iowa.
Sunday, December 19
Pederson Elected Head of Iowa Democratic Party
by
Linda Thieman
on Sun 19 Dec 2004 05:30 PM CST
 Pederson Elected Head of Iowa Democratic Party
Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier
DES MOINES
(AP) -- The Iowa Democratic Party chose Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson
Saturday as its new leader. Pederson becomes chairwoman immediately....
The Democratic State Central Committee convened to replace Des Moines
lawyer Gordon Fischer, who is stepping down from the post.
[Pederson]
is expected to face huge challenges, the foremost of which is
preserving Iowa's first-in-the-nation precinct caucuses. A party
commission is studying the primary calendar.
Losing
those caucuses would deal a blow to both parties, which have used the
national attention drawn by the Iowa Caucuses to build party operations
that are among the best organized and financed in the nation.
She will
also face bitter feelings that linger after Democratic presidential
nominee John Kerry lost the state, while some of the party's state
candidates successfully defeated Republicans for legislative seats.
Some Democrats were unhappy about how money allocated to Iowa from the
Democratic National Committee was spent.
The
Central Committee also chose Rob Tully of Des Moines as first vice
chairman and Sara Swisher of Iowa City as second vice chairwoman. Jim
Hutter of Ames is the committee secretary and Ken Sagar of Des Moines
is treasurer.
(Click here to read the complete article.)
Recycle 'Til You Drop!
by
Molly Regan
on Sun 19 Dec 2004 02:08 PM CST
 Recycle 'Til You Drop!
Waste Commissions In Your Area
There
once was a girl name' of
ANN
Who'd recycle every jar, every
can
'cycling cartons and
boxes
And papers and
watches
Such a good little example this girl name' of Ann
Did you know the recycled cardboard that your cereal comes in used only
1/4 the energy to make and also only created 1/2 the pollution as a
newly made box?
Besides decreased
energy use and pollution reduction, another advantage is the resultant
pride knowing you are contributing to the welfare of your community and
state. It can also be a chance to create a family project at home or
with your friends. See who can recycle the most as well as
purchase recycled items. List items that you find are made by recycling
means. This can be something we ALL can work on every day of our
lives.
From a recycled garden in Davenport on North
Carey Avenue above 53rd Street, to a Davenport resident winning a car
for her years of recycling, IOWANS are doing their part to make our
state a cleaner state.
So what can recycling do for you and what can you do for
recycling? Park benches, rugs, goggles and fiber for filling ski
jackets are just a few items that can be made from recycled
plastics. Used aluminum and steel have each found a second life
as bikes, cookware, and cars.
Every county in IOWA should have a WASTE COMMISSION. Check out your
government listings. Here in SCOTT COUNTY you can go to
www.wastecom.com to find more
information. Or you can contact them at
WASTE COMMISSION OF SCOTT COUNTY/PO BOX 563 BUFFALO, IOWA 52728/(563)
381-1300/ or FAX 381-1301...Love, Peace, Happy Holidays.... Please,
remember to CPR: CONSERVE, PARTICIPATE, &
RECYCLE.
Saturday, December 18
Race for DNC Chair Heats Up as Iowa’s First-in-the-nation Status Comes under Fire
by
Linda Thieman
on Sat 18 Dec 2004 04:16 PM CST
 Race for DNC Chair Heats Up as Iowa’s First-in-the-nation Status Comes under Fire
Clinton
war-room veteran Simon Rosenberg built his [centrist] New Democrat Network into a
formidable political operation with the help of financial backers in
New York. Now he’s considering a dark-horse run for chair of the
Democratic National Committee.
NewYorkMetro.com
But
according to the Associated Press, a New Democrat victory would put the
first-in-the-nation status of both Iowa and New Hampshire at risk.
"Iowa
and New Hampshire should not go first in the primary calendar, and we
need to create a system that allows other states to have equal
footing," said Rosenberg….. "I have no problem with Iowa and New
Hampshire being part of the early states, but their days as the sole
arbiters of who our nominee is should come to an end," he said Friday.
The
Democratic National Committee formed a 40-member panel a week ago to
study whether to shake up the dominance that Iowa and New Hampshire
hold in presidential nominations.
MercuryNews.com
However, two Iowans on the 40-member commission believe Iowa’s status is safe.
Des
Moines lawyer Roxanne Conlin, a former Iowa Democratic Party chairman
and the party's 1982 candidate for governor, says Iowa has earned the
status through years of hard work. Des Moines lawyer and
Democratic activist Jerry Crawford says Iowa activists have an edge in
the debate because the caucuses have proven to be a positive force for
the party.
WOI-TV.com
Friday, December 17
Iowa Jobs Fall in November
by
Linda Thieman
on Fri 17 Dec 2004 05:55 PM CST
 Iowa Jobs Fall in November
Iowa Policy Project
Recovery Pace Lags Three Years After Recession
MOUNT VERNON, Iowa (Dec.
16, 2004) -- Iowa's nonfarm jobs dropped by 1,500 in November after a
slow four-month climb, while the state's unemployment rate fell
slightly to 4.7 percent as 4,000 people left the state's labor market.
The
November numbers showed 1,455,100 nonfarm jobs, down from the 12-month
high of 1,456,600 posted the month before, but up 10,100 from a year
earlier. The number is up 2,900 from November 2001, at the end of the
last recession, and down 19,100 from the March 2001 start of that
recession.
Despite
that context, Iowa Workforce Development Director Richard Running
claimed in the agency's monthly report that Iowa "remains in a recovery
mode" three years after the 2001 recession.
"That's
overstating things a bit," said Peter Fisher, research director at the
nonpartisan Iowa Policy Project. "Iowa has spent a lot of these three
years lagging well behind any meaningful recovery pace from the
recession.
"Even
now, we are still over 19,000 jobs behind the more pertinent measure -
where Iowa stood at the start of the recession. That number shows what
kind of ground we need to make up."
Fisher
noted Iowa would have to gain nearly 1,600 nonfarm jobs per month
over a year just to get back to where the state stood at the start of
the 2001 recession. That compares with an average nonfarm job growth of
842 per month over the past 12 months.
"Over
the next 12 months, we need to do almost twice as well as we did during
the past 12 months," Fisher said. "We need a much stronger recovery
than we've seen if the economy is going to offer sufficient job
opportunities for Iowans still out of work or just entering the
workforce.”
The
2,900-job growth since the 2001 recession also lags far behind the pace
of the recovery from the 1990s recession. At the comparable 36-month
mark following the March 1991 end of that recession, Iowa had gained
70,200 jobs.
Iowa's nonfarm job numbers hovered between 1,444,200 (June) and 1,456,600 (October) through the year.
The
12-month increase in jobs includes a 1,100 net increase in
manufacturing, following a downturn in that sector in 2003. Financial
activities with a 4,600 increase, education and health services at
4,200 and construction at 1,800 had the largest gains.
The only major declines cited by IWD came in government, 2,300, and information, 800.
Key numbers from Thursday's release:
--
Iowa's unemployment rate stood at 4.7 percent, down slightly from 4.8
percent in October but up slightly from 4.6 percent in November 2003.
--
Iowa's nonfarm jobs stood at 1,455,100 in November, down from 1,456,600
in October and up 10,100 jobs, from 1,445,000, in November 2003.
--
Iowa's labor force stood at 1,631,600 in November, with 4,000 fewer
people working or looking for work than in October. The number is up
significantly, however, from the 1,603,000 labor force figure in
November 2003.
--
The nonfarm job total is 27,200 short of the 47,000 promised to be
created from June 2003 to November 2004 under the federal "Jobs and
Growth" tax cut.
Three years after the end of the 2001 recession:
-- Iowa has 2,900 more jobs.
-- Iowa's unemployment rate is up a full percentage point, to 4.7 percent from 3.7 percent.
Wednesday, December 15
Iowa Budget Crisis: Cuts, Costs Hitting Cities, Counties
by
Linda Thieman
on Wed 15 Dec 2004 04:34 PM CST
 Iowa Budget Crisis: Cuts, Costs Hitting Cities, Counties
Iowa Fiscal Partnership
Report Shows State Policy Squeezing Local Government Services
DES MOINES, Iowa
(Dec. 15, 2004) -- State budget shortfalls and higher costs that hit
Iowa cities and counties over the last four years have compromised
basic services while driving local taxes up and fund balances down, a
new study reports.
The
report, the fourth in a series from the Iowa Fiscal Partnership about
the impact of Iowa's budget crisis, illustrates a dilemma increasingly
faced by local government officials: how to meet residents' demand for
services with fewer or restricted means to pay for it.
"Short-sighted
state policy is putting local policy-makers in an impossible
situation," said Peter Fisher, research director of the Iowa Policy
Project and co-author of the report for the Iowa Fiscal Partnership.
"As our report illustrates, when the economy contracts, people demand
more services – at the same time that the state is cutting back,
property values are stagnant and costs are rising. In this climate,
local officials are asked to do more with less.
"Like
the state, local officials are turning to one-time sources of money for
ongoing services, and they can't do that year after year."
The report noted:
-- State support for local governments has fallen by 42 percent, $119 million, since FY2001.
--
All but two of Iowa’s 99 counties have reached or exceeded their
general fund property tax levy limit, with 17 using their authority to
go higher due to unusual circumstances. Only one county did that in
FY2001.
-- The percentage of cities at their general fund levy limit has gone from 71 percent in FY2001 to 78 percent in FY2005.
--
Health insurance costs have increased for local governments just as
they have for private employers. From FY2001 to FY04, the cost for
county health premiums rose by 78.4 percent. Local governments have
increasingly used special levies to finance the added costs. On
average, about three-fourths of the increase in overall city property
tax rates is due to employee benefit levies.
-- Despite an increasing use of local-option sales taxes, this has not solved local governments' financial problems.
--
The property tax base has not grown to keep pace with either higher
costs or cuts in state support. This primarily is due to the state's
system of rollbacks, which has effectively reduced residential
valuation to less than half of its market value, and to the system of
valuing agricultural property based on productivity rather than market
value.
"Our
findings have critical implications for the coming debate on property
tax reform in the Legislature," said Victor Elias, senior associate at
the Child & Family Policy Center and a co-author of the report. "We
have a combination of limits on tax rates and slow growth in valuation.
This has clearly constrained the ability of cities and counties to
finance services."
The
Iowa Fiscal Partnership (IFP) is a joint initiative of two nonprofit
policy research organizations, the Iowa Policy Project in Mount Vernon
and the Child & Family Policy Center in Des Moines. Reports from
the IFP are available on the web at www.iowafiscal.org.
The
first three reports in the current IFP series on the state budget
crisis are available at that site. They include an overview comparing
Iowa's handling of its fiscal challenges to efforts of other states; an
analysis of the impact of the budget crisis on education; and an
analysis of the impact on human services.
Sunday, December 12
Asthma Danger To Rural Children
by
Molly Regan
on Sun 12 Dec 2004 03:17 PM CST
 Asthma Danger To Rural Children
IOWA Public Radio
December 12, 2004
Children living close to large factory hog farms have a higher than
normal incidence of ASTHMA than children who do not live in such
areas. Those children living close to factory farms that use
antibiotics on the swine incur the highest rate of ASTHMA.
This information was reported on IOWA Public Radio Friday, December
10th and is from a study in part by Dr. James A. Merchant. Dr.
Merchant is Dean of the University of IOWA College of Public Health in
IOWA City. The College of Public Health at the U of I teaches and
publishes research on causes of rural illness and prevention as well as
environmental health policy. They also have published information
on "Cancer In IOWA", the "IOWA Birth Defects Registry Annual Report"
and "Environmental Health Science Research".
Connections between use of pesticides and prostate cancer are
laid out in their 2004 College of Public Health Research
Publication. On page 16 entitled "All in a Day's Work" it
states: "In IOWA individual farm holders have 27% increased
risk of prostate cancer, while commercial pesticide applicators have a
41% increased risk."
(See: www.public-health.uiowa.edu/news/pubs)
(Also see: www.ehsrc.org and www.aghealth.org)
Poor Losers
by
Trish Nelson
on Sun 12 Dec 2004 07:09 AM CST
 Poor Losers
The Prairie Progressive: A Newsletter for Iowa's Democratic Left
- Iowa's best political newsletter since 1986.
It hurts a lot more to lose than it feels good to win.
- Bruce Hurst, former Boston Red Sox pitcher
by Prairie Dog
The sinking feeling
in the delegate’s gut got deeper each night of the Democratic National
Convention. Seated twenty feet in front of the Fleet Center stage
alongside his fellow Iowa delegates, his view was all too clear as the
generals, the veterans, and the bands of brothers marched across the
stage with increasing frequency.
When
John Kerry took the stage on the final night, saluted smartly, and
announced that he was ‘reporting for duty,’ the mob of delegates
cheered and waved American flags dispensed to them moments before. The
caucus candidate who was said to be the ‘only one who could go
toe-to-toe with Bush’ on military and foreign policy issues was now the
party’s nominee.
Some of
the delegates looked at each other and shrugged sheepishly as they
cheered. Polls had shown that nearly 90% of them opposed the war. Many
of them wore bright-red ‘Out of Iraq Now’ stickers. Most of them had
leaped to their feet during Al Sharpton’s denunciation of George Bush’s
presidency. But they all understood that the strategy had been set, the
dice had been rolled.
A few
feet away, Barney Frank sat cross-legged in the aisle between the Iowa
and Massachusetts delegations, somewhat to the annoyance of the throng
of photographers jostling for position. Barney, himself doing some
positioning for Kerry’s US Senate seat, worked his way onto the stage
within minutes of Kerry’s concluding remarks. As the balloons poured
down upon the generals and the brothers, could our country’s first
openly gay congressman have possibly anticipated that three months
later his fellow Democrats would blame Kerry’s defeat on anti-gay
backlash?
________________________
The e-mail message arrived early in the morning after Election Day, from a Democratic staffer in California:
“Gay
marriage hurt. Republican turnout was high, but it was especially so in
states with same-sex marriage amendments on the ballot. This is still a
BAD issue. Thank you bigotry, and thank you Gavin Newsom…he is 2004's
Nader. “
A minute later, from an Iowa City attorney: The Dems have lost the culture war. Period.
Next
came the exit polls, pinpointing ‘moral values’ as the most important
issue for 22% of voters. The verdict was in, and the scapegoat had been
determined. For many Democrats, stricken by defeat and unwilling to
look in the mirror, the victims had become the villains.
It’s bad
enough that self-serving Republicans, religious fanatics, and herd
journalists exploit gay-marriage amendments as the crucial factor in
Bush’s victory. For Democrats – the champions of civil rights – to do
so is shameful.
~
Democrats passed the Civil Rights Act in 1964, despite LBJ’s forecast
that it would cost the party a generation of Southern voters. He was
wrong. It cost the party at least three generations. No doubt the Dems
would now control all three branches of government if Rosa Parks had
gone to the back of that damn bus.
~
The broad category of ‘moral values’ covers a myriad of issues, from
abortion to R-rated movies. Its 22% exit poll response was much lower
than the total of 34% scored by Iraq and terrorism. The economy, jobs,
and taxes totaled 25%.
~
Anti-gay marriage referendums in 11 states did not dramatically
energize turnout. Bush’s increase in votes over 2000 was less in those
11 states than in the 39 states without referendums.
~
Bush became the first Republican presidential candidate since 1984 to
win Iowa, a state that did not have a gay marriage referendum.
~ Kerry won Oregon and Michigan, states with referendums on the ballot.
~
The number of American daily newspapers that print same-sex wedding
announcements increased from zero in 1990 to 504 in 2004.
~
Bettendorf recently became the sixth Iowa city to add sexual
orientation to its civil rights ordinance. Burlington, Decorah,
Waterloo, Sioux City, and Dubuque have inched closer. Maybe the road to
equality for gays and lesbians will be town by town – painstaking as it
is – instead of state by state or at the national level.
Backlash
to social change usually indicates that progress is being made. Anyone
who thinks that momentum has now swung toward cultural conservatism
hasn’t studied much history.
________________________
Those of us who love our Iowa caucuses are also experiencing that sinking feeling. Do we still deserve first-in-the-nation status?
In years
gone by, most Democrats voted for whom they wanted to represent their
party: Gary Hart, Jesse Jackson, Paul Simon, Tom Harkin. The caucus
season was a time to influence the debate, to drive issues forward, to
determine the direction of the party. This year we became pragmatic
experts, prematurely calculating who was most ‘presidential’ and
‘electable.’
To
speculate that any candidate would have fared better than Kerry against
Bush is futile, but the lemming-like rush to ‘electability’ still
rankles. Nothing’s worse than losing…except losing for the wrong
reasons.
Co-editors
of The Prairie Progressive are Jeff Cox and Dave Leshtz. Mr.
Leshtz is a former staffer for Dean for America. Subscriptions
are
$12 for 4 issues/year in old-fashioned hard copies; checks to Prairie
Progressive, Box 1945, Iowa City 52244.
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