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Saturday, September 18
Stop Outsourcing Iowa!
by
Linda Thieman
on Sat 18 Sep 2004 01:35 PM CDT
 Stop Outsourcing Iowa!
WATERLOO - Thirty
Black Hawk County residents gathered in the Law Court Theatre at the
Waterloo Center for the Arts this past week to talk about the
outsourcing of jobs in Iowa and across the nation.
This was the first of five meetings, called 'Stop Outsourcing Our
Future,' to be held by the Iowa Fair Trade Campaign. "Waterloo was
obviously a good place for the first meeting," said organizer Dave
Leshtz. "People in this area are very aware of the damage that
outsourcing does to a community."
Steve Abbott, President of the Black Hawk Labor Council, AFL-CIO, told
the group that everyone's jobs are now threatened by the trade policies
of the Bush administration. According to the Department of Labor,
Iowa has lost over 28,000 manufacturing jobs in the last three
years.
"It's absolutely crucial that voters understand how the trade
agreements now being negotiated by the Bush administration will cause
even more severe job losses for communities like ours," said Waterloo
resident Bonni Winther.
Meeting participants plan to get together again on Thursday, September 23,
at 7:00 PM at the Waterloo Public Library, to talk about education and
action strategies. For more information, call Steve Abbott at
319-939-2127.
The Iowa Fair Trade Campaign was formed during the Iowa caucuses to
educate the Presidential candidates and make voters aware of their
choices on issues of global trade. "These meetings are a good way
to let folks know that there are real differences between George Bush
and John Kerry on international trade policies," said Abbott.
The Iowa Fair Trade Campaign currently has these town hall
meetings scheduled.
Marshalltown, Sept. 27, Iowa Valley Community College, 7-8:30pm
Mason City, Sept. 29, Public Library, 7-8:30 pm
Keokuk, Sept. 30, Public Library, 6:30-8:00 pm
Muscatine, Oct. 2, Muscatine Commuity College, 10:30-Noon
Please spread the word about these meetings and let Iowa Fair Trade
Campaign organizer Dave Leshtz know if you'd like to have a
meeting in your part of the state. Suggestions are welcome. Contact Dave at dleshtz@ia.net or 319-621-4205.
For more information on the Iowa Fair Trade Campaign, click here.
The Harkin Steak Fry: Then and Now
by
Linda Thieman
on Sat 18 Sep 2004 09:24 AM CDT
The Harkin Steak Fry: Then & Now
The annual Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa, draws a large crowd of diverse Iowa Democrats, each with her or his own memories and reasons for attending.
Dave Leshtz (left) and Senator Tom Harkin
I've
been to many a Harkin Steak Fry over the years. Among the most
memorable ones for me were the ones that featured James Carville, Paul
Wellstone, Congressman John Lewis, and an enormous crowd for Bill
Clinton that blanketed an entire hill (Clinton shook every single hand
in that crowd). But last year was the most memorable.
As a staff person for Gov. Dean, I was in charge of filling a school
bus with undecided caucus-goers who would ride with him from Des Moines
headquarters to the Steak Fry. It was a brief but great moment to
see the bus pull into a muddy parking lot and to watch 25 elated Iowans
disembark with broad smiles and thumbs up after spending an hour with
Gov. Dean.
--Dave Leshtz, Coordinator, Iowa Fair Trade Campaign, Iowa City
As I
look forward to the Harkin Steak Fry this Sunday I remember that it was
just one year ago, at this time, that I made the decision to support
Howard Dean. As a new member of Howard Dean's "Iowa Medicine
Cabinet," I was invited to a meeting with Joe Trippi at Dean
Headquarters right before the Steak Fry. It was great to meet
other friends from around the state who were also supporting Dean and
to hear Trippi tell us about the ground-breaking use of the Internet in
the Dean campaign.
Afterwards
we boarded a bus that took us to a rally with Howard Dean across from
the site of the Steak Fry. There was a big enthusiastic crowd.
Everyone was very upbeat despite the rain and the mud. Howard
really fired up the crowd. I hope we can recapture that sense of
excitement on Sunday. We need that to motivate us to get out and
win this election.
--Elaine Baxter, former Iowa Secretary of State (1987-1994), Burlington
Iowa is
a swing state, and we are all working SO hard. Free time is something
we may rediscover on November 3. And Indianola is SO far away from the
Quad Cities. BUT, we LOVE Tom Harkin… and we can tell people about
Democracy for America and Democracy for Iowa…and our intrepid Molly
Regan, Deaner extraordinaire, candidate for Soil and Water Conservation
Commission, finally came up with the best excuse for making the
trip…The next steering committee for Regan for Scott County will be on
the bus from Davenport to Indianola this Sunday. So please join us!
--Dr. Alta Price, MD, Co-founder, Democracy for Iowa, Bettendorf
Click here for more information on the Harkin Steak Fry.
DFA HQ asks that we wear DFA or DFIA gear, but not Dean campaign gear. "I'm a Dean Democrat" is great!
Democracy
for Iowa will have a booth at the Steak Fry. After you pass
through registration, stop by the DFIA booth in the horseshoe of
tables. You can pick up flyers, signs, and buttons, and we'll let
you know where our group is going to stand for the rally.
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