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Thursday, June 30
Iowa Cities Shrinking, Suburbs Expanding
by
Chad Thompson
on Thu 30 Jun 2005 12:55 PM CDT
 Iowa Cities Shrinking, Suburbs Expanding
The U.S. Census Bureau released population estimates for Iowa towns and muncipalities, as reported in the Des Moines Register.
While
these are estimates, they do indicate that the Des Moines Metro, at
least, is undergoing a population shift from the city to the suburban
areas. The population numbers themselves can be argued (as this
is merely an estimate) - but the estimate does include factors like
school enrollment, number of people with water service, etc.
Nearly
all of Iowa's municipalities have seen population losses - Mason City
is estimated to have lost about 1,000 people over the last four
years. (An interesting note for John Drury: the population
of Swaledale has an error of "Plus or Minus One Person"...)
These
estimates are interesting in and of themselves, but they also point out
the political challenge in engaging people to be interested in
rural/urban policies, particuarly as they relate to crime and school
quality. After all - how do you mobilize people who have already
voted with their feet?
An aside for today: The Democratic Party released a new version of the Democratic Party website.
A very sharp new design (don't tell anyone that the designer is
evidently a Macintosh user), with an added emphasis on state parties.
Medicaid Crisis Generates Pilot Project in Iowa
by
Linda Thieman
on Thu 30 Jun 2005 07:43 AM CDT
 Medicaid Crisis Generates Pilot Project in Iowa
Iowa Federation of Labor
Medicaid is a state and federal program
that provides healthcare to the poor, the disabled and many seniors in
nursing homes. For every dollar Iowans put into this program, the
federal government puts in two.
The
program has faced budget shortages, which were made worse by a federal
decision to disallow the state’s use of so-called Intergovernmental
Transfers.
The
Governor, legislators and the Iowa Department of Human Services worked
with the federal government to come up with a bipartisan bill that not
only maintained the current level of funding, but also allowed the
expansion of Medicaid to some 30,000 additional Iowans.
There
is some concern about some of the requirements for the expanded plan,
such as the introduction of premiums to be paid by recipients.
There is also concern about the strong emphasis on consumer-driven
health care, privatization and other market-driven initiatives that are
very controversial. In spite of its possible shortcomings, this
bill was necessary to avoid cutting health care for many of Iowa’s
poorest residents. The pilot program, which passed both the House and
Senate unanimously, could be a model for the rest of the country.
The Iowa
Federation of Labor (IFL) also lobbied for legislation that would allow
the state to identify the employers of applicants for Medicaid and
other state-funded health care. Wal-Mart
and other low-wage employers that do not provide adequate employee
health care coverage receive a hidden subsidy because their employees
are eligible for Medicaid. These employers are not only exploiting their employees, they are also exploiting Iowa taxpayers who pay for Medicaid.
This
legislation did not pass this year, but the IFL will continue to seek
either legislative or administrative means to provide the names of
these employers, as well as a remedy to make them pay their fair share.
(Source)
Tuesday, June 28
Vilsack To Chair DLC
by
Chad Thompson
on Tue 28 Jun 2005 12:44 PM CDT
 Vilsack To Chair DLC
The Des Moines Register is reporting today that Tom Vilsack has been chosen to become chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council.
The
interesting item in the story, however, was the backing that Tom
Vilsack is receiving from Al From, the council chief executive.
More
recently, From has been a strong advocate of Vilsack, having quietly
supported the governor a year ago to become the 2004 vice presidential
nominee. Vilsack was a finalist for the No. 2 position on the
Democratic ticket, but Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts selected Sen.
John Edwards of North Carolina.
For those not familiar with Al From, you can take a look at some of his writings in a pamphlet titled "What We Stand For".
From and the DLC can have some outstanding ideas, and produce some very good writing with much to think about.
What
seems to be missing, however - is a clear vision of where the DLC
stands on basic economic issues. Does "economic growth" mean
actually working to expand opportunity for middle and lower class
workers - or does it mean handing over tax dollars to corporations for
new buildings?
The
notion of "Building An Opportunity Society" is a good one - but actions
must match words when we ask "Build An Opportunity Society For Whom?"
Sunday, June 26
Hey, Left Coast of Iowa! New Democracy for America Meet-Up in Sioux City!
by
Trish Nelson
on Sun 26 Jun 2005 07:15 AM CDT
 Hey, Left Coast of Iowa! New Democracy for America Meet-Up In Sioux City!
Come to an organizing
meeting to get to know each other, talk about how to build DFA and the meet-up,
discuss the topic of the month and take some action - and above all, have a
little fun!
Location: Buffalo
Alice - 1022 4th Street , Sioux City, IA 51101
When: Wednesday, July 6,
2005 at 7:00 PM
Contact: John
712-255-4822
http://dfa.meetup.com/387/
Help take back the media - Join these groups.
 Click here to receive action alerts from Rapid Response -
Iowa
Contact: Iowans for Better Local TV (IBLTV)
Iowa Governor Restores Voting Rights
by
Caroline Vernon
on Sun 26 Jun 2005 01:04 AM CDT
 Iowa Governor Issues Order to Restore Voting Rights
I
had intended to post this earlier in the week, so many of you may
already be well aware of this but I think it deserves another mention.
Don't forget to send a thank you out to Governor Vilsack as well as the
other State Reps who were involved with this effort.
It's about time... Out of all 50
states, Iowa is one of only four states that do not allow ex-felons who
have done their time the opportunity to re-connect to society in a
more positive way by restoring their voting rights. It is my understanding that those who do vote and likewise engage in civic duties are less likely to be repeat offenders.
The day of this announcement, I was
surfing through the channels checking to see what kind of noise this
was generating... I stumbled upon Tucker Carlson on MSNBC framing
the issue as "Do Ex-Felons Possess The Judgement to be Allowed to Vote?"
Unreal...
Thank you Governor Vilsack and Friends!
From: Marty Ryan - ICLU Legislative Director
ICLU Legislative Program
<contactlegisprogram@iowaclu.org>
On
Friday, June 17, Governor Tom Vilsack held a press conference in which
he announced that he will be signing an executive order on July 4th,
Independence Day, which will restore the right to vote to thousands of
ex-felons in Iowa.
You can
go to the governor's site and listen to the press conference that
features ICLU Executive Director Ben Stone in the background.
http://www.governor.state.ia.us/
The link
above will bring you to the governor's home page and you can
"Watch the press conference" from beginning to end. Governor Vilsack
specifically thanked Representatives
Scott Raecker (R-Urbandale), Jeff Elgin (R-Cedar Rapids), Vicki Lensing
(D-Iowa City), and Wayne Ford (D-Des Moines).
He also gave special thanks to Mike Cervantes, who made several
trips to Des Moines with his students from Metro High School in Cedar
Rapids as they took on this project with all the enthusiasm many of us
professional lobbyists could only dream of having, and Stephanie
Fawkes-Lee, president of the Metro Des Moines League of Women Voters,
who relentlessly pushed several of us lobbyists and other activists when we felt the issue may have been lost.
“The right to vote in a free American election is the most powerful and precious right in the world.”
-- President John F. Kennedy
"The
most basic right of all was the right to choose your own leaders. The
history of this country, in large measure, is the history of the
expansion of that right to all of our people."
-- President Lyndon B. Johnson
This is
an historic moment in Iowa. On a personal note, this is the second most
significant day in my 14 years of lobbying. Defeating a death penalty
bill in 1995, House File 2, will always be my most precious lobbying
success. And State Senator Tom Vilsack was instrumental in that civil
rights issue, as well.
I'm feeling good!
Marty Ryan
ICLU Legislative Director
Please send a “thank you.”
You can send a personal note of thanks to Representatives Raecker, Lensing, Elgin, and Ford to the following addresses:
Rep. Scott Raecker
9011 Iltis Dr.
Urbandale, IA 50322
Rep. Jeff Elgin
6940 Bowman Lane, NE
Cedra Rapids, IA 52402
Rep. Vicki Lensing
2408 Mayfield Rd.
Iowa City, IA 52245
Rep. Wayne Ford
P.O. Box 5042
Des Moines, IA 50306
And of course, Governor Vilsack:
The Honorable Tom Vilsack
Governor of Iowa
Statehouse
Des Moines, IA 50319
Wednesday, June 22
Jim Nussle's Vote Against Patriot Act Revision Contradicts Campaign Pledge
by
Trish Nelson
on Wed 22 Jun 2005 07:29 AM CDT
 Jim Nussle's Vote Against Patriot Act Revision Contradicts Campaign Pledge
IowaDemocrats.Org
Des
Moines - After traveling the state talking about smaller government in
Iowa, Congressman Jim Nussle of the 1st District of Iowa voted [last week] against a revision to the USA Patriot Act
that would require law enforcement to obtain a subpoena to access
personal library, firearm, financial and medical records.
“While
there are many effective provisions in the Patriot Act, law enforcement
can track down terrorists without infringing on the civil liberties of
innocent Americans,” said Lt. Governor Sally Pederson. “Congressman
Nussle’s vote doesn’t match his campaign pledge to limit
government.”
The amendment passed in the House 238-187.
During
Nussle’s announcement for governor, he made limited government a
central theme and was quoted as saying “Iowa has just too much
government.” (Mason City Globe Gazette, 6/2/05) This statement clearly
contradicts his vote ... granting law enforcement unlimited
access into private records.
“If
Congressman Nussle had his way, he and the U.S. government
could easily access records on every library book you check out, every
firearm you purchase and every visit to the doctor,” said Pederson. “If
that isn’t big government, I don’t know what is.”
To contact Congressman Nussle click here.
There is something you can do about media bias in Iowa -
Click here to receive action alerts from Rapid Response -
Iowa
Contact: Iowans for Better Local TV (IBLTV)
Tuesday, June 21
John Drury: Random Views From A Community Activist
by
John Drury
on Tue 21 Jun 2005 03:45 PM CDT
 Random Views From A Community Activist
by John Drury
Crunching the numbers on the death penalty
Senate
Democratic leader and gubernatorial hopeful Mike Gronstal was
interviewed last week on IPTV’s Iowa Press. Des Moines Register
columnist David Yepsen pressed Senator Gronstal on the issue of
bringing the death penalty back to Iowa. As you probably know, there
were more than a handful of legislators wanting to debate this
contentious issue and Gronstal effectively blocked senate debate on it
in this last session.
Yepsen
asked Senator Gronstal why he was so against the death penalty, given
the recent Jetseta Gage case, a case that did prompt the legislature to
toughen their sex offender laws. In almost the same breath, he said
that his first instinct in the Gage case was that the state should kill
the sex offender, but that he is morally opposed to the death penalty
and that he didn’t think that an evenly split senate should waste time
debating the issue.
Yepsen
countered with the thought that if Iowans want a death penalty in this
state, then they need to rid the legislature of Democrats so the debate
can take place. Gronstal then retrenched and said that bringing back
the death penalty is not a fiscally responsible thing to do. It costs
more to kill the offender than it does to keep them in prison for the
rest of their lives.
I don’t
know about you, but I’m confused as to why Gronstal is opposed to the
death penalty. Is it because it’s immoral to kill, or is it because we
just can’t seem to crunch the numbers?
At least he didn’t scream it
DNC
Chairman Howard Dean has been criticizing Republicans calling the
Republican party “pretty much a white, Christian party.” He also said
that Republicans “never made an honest living in their lives.” This has
caused some Democrats to run for cover saying that Dean is going
overboard and that he doesn’t represent their views. Howard Dean has a
pretty good handle on the issues facing this country; I have to wonder
why he chose to resort to name calling when he could be pointing out
where the Republicans have been dead wrong on so many issues.
Democrats increase their numbers
Governor Vilsack has announced he will sign an executive order
returning the right to vote to convicted felons that have served their
time. He notes that when you return these rights, “crime rates and
recidivism are lower.” Republican leadership is crying foul. House
Speaker Christopher Rants said, “I think society’s entitled to say, you
know what, we welcome you back, but you don't get to help make laws
once you've crossed a certain line.” At the same time he is taking
moral high ground, Speaker Rants’ office circulated a 2003 study by
sociologists from the University of Minnesota and Northwestern
University arguing that Democrats would benefit most from permitting
felons to vote.
Supervisors give in to Farm Bureau
At their
regular meeting this morning, the Cerro Gordo County Board of
Supervisors lifted their moratorium on construction of hog confinement
facilities in the county. A few years ago, they went against state law
and enacted a moratorium on any new confinements or expansion in the
county. State law prohibits local governments from regulating this
industry but the supervisors were under an extraordinary amount of
pressure from the public and enacted the moratorium, reasoning that we
need a timeout while the state legislature figures this issue out.
Well,
years later the state has yet to enact meaningful legislation that
would strike a balance between the industry and the people and the
environment. By ignoring this issue, the legislature has only added
fuel to the growing civil war in rural Iowa.
The
supervisors did mention that they were working on something called a
"good neighbor policy." Is it just me or does anyone else find it
incredibly sad that the Iowa legislature has allowed rural Iowa to get
to the point of needing a policy to hopefully ensure good
neighbors?
This
issue pits neighbor against neighbor. This issue must be solved, it
must be solved at the state level, and it must be solved in the next
legislative session. Stay tuned.
Issues of the Day
by
Chad Thompson
on Tue 21 Jun 2005 12:32 PM CDT
 Issues of the Day
Over at TPMCafe, Rep. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is guest-blogging, where he writes "The Decline of the American Middle Class Is THE Issue".
The
reality today is that for the vast majority of Americans their standard
of living is in decline. Real wages for the bottom 80% of wage
earners are stagnating or falling. Our disastrous free trade
agreements are stripping this nation of the good paying manufacturing
jobs, and increasingly white collar hi tech jobs as well, that provided
the basis for an increasing standard of living for middle
America. The decline of the American middle class is not just one
of the issues out there. It is THE issue in the United States
today.
What
motivates me politically, and what being a progressive means to me is
fighting for the economic well-being of middle and low income Americans
-- those people whose needs are too often ignored by a Congress
dominated by Big Money and a White House bent on further enriching the
very wealthy at the expense of everyone else.
This
issue is becoming more and more apparent in Iowa's cities and towns -
the vibrant middle class communities of my youth are slowly becoming
shells of what they once were.
Our downtowns used to have more than dollar stores and secondhand shops.
The Des Moines Sunday Register ran an editorial called "Hog Lot Threatens Gift"
- detailing the threat that is presented to public (and non-profit)
lands created by Iowa's refusal to allow counties and cities to decide
what is important to them.
Mary
Garst and her five daughters have given Iowans a stunning gift - 5,000
acres of timber, wetlands and pasture just an hour or so west of Des
Moines in the Middle Raccoon River valley.
The
land will be preserved forever for recreation, environmental education
and conservation by a nonprofit organization called White-rock
Conservancy. The family's vision includes local businesses thriving on
tourism, such as Earl Lee Phelps' blacksmith shop, where he can whip
out a dinner bell for a visitor in no time.
...
But
now the Garsts are worried that a large hog confinement might be built
nearby. That the stench could keep people away. That a manure spill
could pollute a fish pond, creeks and even the river.
We've
been writing here about the need that counties and communties have to
determine when and where large livestock facilities should be built -
our politicians need to do more than provide simple lip service to this
issue. If Minnesota can speak out - why can't we?
Finally - a personal note. Last week, Des Moines Cityview
ran a cover story about an "ex-gay" ministry being headed by someone
named "Chad Thompson," which was pointed out by one of our regular
commenters.
We're
not the same person. It seems that my name (I was the only one I
knew growing up!) is more common that one would expect. I guess
I'll have to blame my parents for not being more creative...
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