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Saturday, June 5
Host A July 4 Patriots for Regime Change Party
by
Linda Thieman
on Sat 05 Jun 2004 05:36 PM CDT
Host A July 4th
Patriots for Regime Change Party
A
message from Ben Cohen at TrueMajorityACTION (you know, the guy from
Ben & Jerry's) -- This not only looks FUN, it's highly amusing to
read!
Host a "Patriots for Regime Change" Party on July 4
Get Your "Show George the Door Party Pak" to
Make It Easy, Fun and Successful
Lots of
us want to see regime change here at home this November, but aren't
sure what we can do to make it happen. Well, for all of us who
occasionally have a few friends over, TrueMajorityACTION has made it easy for you to spread the word and get organized to Show George the Door in 2004.
Here's
the first opportunity. July 4 is just around the corner. What better
way to show your patriotism than to host a "Patriots for Regime Change"
party? You and your friends can learn about what you can do to defeat
Bush and have a great time doing it. You can also invite other
TrueMajorityACTION members in your area.
 
This is not available in any store! But as a member of TrueMajorityACTION,
you can receive your very own Show George the Door Party Pak. It's a
fun-filled party-in-a-box, everything you need to make your July 4
party, barbecue or get-together easy for you and a treat for your
friends. Each Party Pak comes complete with:
*Easy
how-to instructions for organizing your party. It's just like
organizing any get-together, except you'll offer people specific things
they can do to re-defeat Bush this November.
*A video
that illustrates what we can do to Show George the Door. Available on
DVD or VHS, this 15-minute movie starring me, Ben, showcases the
Bush-B-Gone 2004 – an amazing new product guaranteed to rid our country
of Bush and candidates like him. It's a tongue-in-cheek,
infomercial-style show that shares practical stuff you can do to boot
Bush.
*Show George the Door cocktail napkins and drink coasters (anyone can order extras online).
*Your
very-own copy of the new book, hot off the press, 50 Things You Can Do
to Show George the Door in 2004; the book details easy, specific
actions to get Bush out of office.
*Show George the Door stickers for each guest (anyone can get these online, too). (out of stock)
*One PantsOnFire stuffed doll. (out of stock)
*A "Bushocchio" game—also known as "Pin the Nose on the pResident."
*Voter
Registration and Vote-by-Mail applications in a handy brochure rack for
placement at a local diner or business establishment.
*Handouts
for each of your guests showing specific things they can do,
suggestions on local campaigns to hook up with, and details of voter
registration and vote-by-mail laws in your state.
All of this exciting stuff comes in each Party Pak, designed to make your July 4 "Patriots for Regime Change" party fun and easy.
What would you expect to pay for such a complete party in a box?
$200? $100? Truth is, we're moving these babies at our cost of
materials because this product's goal is to dump Bush, not make money.
So with a donation (yes, it has to be a donation; the PAC can't sell
stuff) of only $29.50**, we'll ship your Party Pak to arrive by June
20—in plenty of time for a July 4 party. Be the first one you know to
get your Show George the Door Party Pak. Click here to order yours, and even invite other TrueMajorityACTION members.
http://showgeorgethedoor.kintera.org/privateparty
Yours in getting rid of Bush,
Ben Cohen
President, TrueMajorityACTION
Co-founder, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream*
* I am
writing this on my own and not on behalf of Ben and Jerry's, which is
not associated with the TrueMajorityACTION campaign.
**
This is cheaper than the initial offer because demand was so great that
we temporarily ran out of PantsOnFire dolls and Show George the Door
stickers, so we knocked their cost off the Party Pak price. More dolls
and stickers are coming, but not in time to get the Party Paks
delivered by July 4
.
Alliant Energy Needs To Invest in Iowa Rather Than Use Iowa As An Investment
by
Linda Thieman
on Sat 05 Jun 2004 12:47 PM CDT
Alliant Energy Needs To Invest in Iowa Rather Than Use Iowa As An Investment
This
Letter to the Editor appeared in the Ottumwa Courier. It was
written by Larry Wilkinson, an Economic Development Specialist from
Centerville, Iowa.
. . . I
am sending this letter at this time because Alliant Energy, the parent
organization of Interstate Power & Light, has come again before the
Iowa Utility Board seeking an electric rate increase. My desire is to
introduce my perception of a fundamental flaw in the regulatory
treatment of customers who are served by Investor Owned Utility
Companies in Iowa,
companies
like Alliant Energy operating as Interstate Power & Light. The
regulatory flaw serves the investor owned utilities at the expense of
the regulated customers.
The Iowa
Utility Board does not require a utility to create reserves for funding
depreciation or capital improvements when needed. The Investor
Owned Utilities are able to take the annual return on investment they
are authorized to receive and funnel it up to the parent organization
each fiscal year. Imagine years of profit being funneled to the parent
for them to use outside of the regulated entity. Then when it is time
to build a power plant, the Investor Owned Utility can easily justify
to the Iowa Utility Board the need for an increase in rates. My point
is the Investor Owned Utilities in Iowa enjoy the ability to use
regulated monies for non-regulated purposes knowing full well they can
petition the Utility Board for additional funds for capital
improvements when needed in the regulated enterprise just as Alliant Energy is doing right now.
Why can't the Iowa Utility Board require Iowa Utilities to set aside
reserve funds for capital requirements to serve their regulated
customer base?
. . . I
fully support the Public Utility Holding Company Act for diversified
interests; as long as their non-regulated efforts are within the
service territory of the regulated enterprise. A perfect example is
Otter Tail Power operating in North Dakota and Minnesota. Otter Tail
Power's non-regulated companies are responsible for an economic machine
offering 2,700 jobs in the manufacturing, health services and the
information technology fields plus the related utility sales and
economic activity all within their regulated service territory. I'll
say it again: Otter Tail Power's non-regulated interests have created 2,700 jobs in their own service territory.
(more)
Iowa in the News: Elections
by
Linda Thieman
on Sat 05 Jun 2004 07:48 AM CDT
Primary elections set for Tuesday
Dallas County News
Primary
elections will be held around the state Tuesday to determine what
candidates will be on the ballot during next November's general
election.
In Dallas County, four races - two each on the Democratic and Republican tickets - will be decided.
Republican primaries will be held in both the run for Dallas County Sheriff and Dallas County Auditor.
Democratic
primaries will be held in the run for Dallas County Sheriff and for the
Iowa State House of Representatives in District 47.
In
primary elections, voters must be registered as either a Democrat or
Republican and must vote only for candidates within their own party.
Voters registered as independents must declare a party to be eligible
to vote Tuesday.
(more)
Can lone race pull a turnout for BV primary?
Storm Lake Pilot-Tribune
What if you threw a primary election and nobody came?
Buena
Vista County Commissioner of Elections Karen Strawn hopes that won't be
the case when polls open Tuesday, but she can't recall the last
campaign with less local excitement.
"There
is only one contest on the entire ballot, the one for Democrats in the
5th District for House of Representatives, and even in that race, I'm
not hearing a lot of discussion," Strawn said.
(more)
As
a resident of Storm Lake, all I can say is "how embarrassing!"
I'm posting this to humiliate myself. Did you get to the part yet where
the County Auditor says she wouldn't be surprised if the turnout were
as low as 3%? Well, I, for one, am voting. But I'm having a
hard time making up my mind for the one race we actually have a choice
in. Too many good candidates.
Oh, and there are a couple of typos in the article - our State Senator
is Steve Kettering (R-26), not Steve King, who is our shameful,
party-line-voting neo-con Congressman in the 5th District.
Kettering is running unopposed. Also, the article says absentee
ballots must be postmarked by June 3rd. This is incorrect.
The County Auditor's office says the deadline is Tuesday, June 8th, the
day of the primary election.
Three vie for Democratic party's bid for Kossuth County Auditor
The Algona Upper Des Moines
Three
women in different stages of their lives are seeking the Democratic
Party's bid for the position of Kossuth County auditor in the June 8
primary election.
Incumbent
Joann Bormann, a widow from rural Livermore, is seeking her second
four-year term as auditor. She is being challenged by Sharon
Lallier-Waller, a divorced single mom from Algona who has worked for
nine years as a clerk in the Kossuth County treasurer's office, and
Geralyn "Geri" Reising, a married mother of eight who seeks elected
office now that her children are mostly grown.
The
job they pursue is a daunting one. The auditor's office administrates
all elections and voter registration. It pays all county claims and the
county's payroll. It is involved in ag drainage governance. It
transfers real estate property to plat maps and plat books. It creates
the county budget and is responsible for financial reporting to the
state. The auditor also takes the minutes at all board of supervisor
meetings and is responsible for placing the county's public notices in
the local paper.
The auditor is not able to make policy changes, but rather is governed by the voluminous Iowa Code and must follow it precisely.
(more)
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