Kerry/Edwards 'No Objection' To Missouri Gay Marriage Ban
365gay.com
(Cape
Girardeau, Missouri) Senator John Edwards, campaigning [last week] in
Cape Girardeau, said he and running mate John Kerry have "no objection"
to [last] week's vote in Missouri to amend the state constitution to
ban gay marriage.
...Edwards comments are likely to anger gay rights advocates.
(more)
And yesterday's big news . . .
New Jersey Gov. Being Blackmailed By Gay Lover Sources Say
365gay.com
(Trenton,
New Jersey) New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey's stunning announcement
Thursday that he is gay and had an affair was prompted by the threat of
blackmail, two high-ranking officials in the governor's administration
say.
...One
source, a senior McGreevey political adviser, said Cipel threatened
McGreevey several weeks ago that unless he was paid "millions of
dollars," Cipel would file a lawsuit against the governor charging him
with sexual harassment.
(more)
California Supreme Court Rules 4,000 Gay Marriages Illegal
365gay.com
(San
Francisco, California) The California Supreme Court Thursday ruled that
San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom exceeded his authority when he allowed
same-sex couples to obtain marriage licenses earlier this year.
The court, a 5 - 2 decision, declared that the marriages of gays and lesbians that resulted, more than 4,000, are void.
In their
ruling the justices made it clear that the issue in the case was
confined to Newsom's actions and the direct results from them but did
not involve the constitutional issue of gay marriage. That will decided
by the high court at a later date, once the various suits wind their
way through the lower courts.
(more)
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Friday, August 13
Kerry/Edwards 'No Objection' To Missouri Gay Marriage Ban
by
Linda Thieman
on Fri 13 Aug 2004 04:38 PM CDT
The Counterpoint: Deficit Distortions
by
Linda Thieman
on Fri 13 Aug 2004 12:53 PM CDT
 The Counterpoint: Deficit Distortions Iowa's Ted Remington Responds to Sinclair Broadcasting There’s no way to respond to the most recent "Point" without going line by line. So here we go (“The Point” is in italics; “The Counterpoint” is in Roman type): There is no doubt about it. Deficits are not good. Thank you, Adam Smith. Yet our government is in a deficit to the tune of more than $400 billion for next year. Actually, it’s nearly $500 billion. Both the pResident and the Congress need to rein in spending and get back to a balanced budget. It’s pretty much just the pResident and the Republican House leadership that need to rein in their spending tendencies. Conservative Republicans felt the wrath of this administration and its closest congressional allies when a few of them pointed out that Bush has supported large spending increases. For an example, see this article from "The Hill." Much of today's deficits are attributable to too much spending. . . This is true, but needs to be explained a bit more. According to the conservative Heritage Foundation, pork barrel spending has increased dramatically in the last several years, during most of which Republicans controlled the White House and Congress. . . . and pResident Bush's middle income tax relief. Directly contradicting what Bush said during the 2000 campaign, what he’s said as president, and what Hyman says here, the vast majority of Bush’s tax cuts go to the wealthy. Middle and working class taxpayers got around $100 in 2003-2004, and even that minimal amount disappears over the course of the tax cut plan, as the cuts become more and more skewed toward the rich as the years go by. For details, see this study by the Center for Tax Justice. Taxes were cut to put more money in the hands of consumers to jump-start the economy which began to slide in the spring of 2000. Many conservative commentators like to suggest Bush inherited a recession. Actually, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the recession didn’t begin until March of 2001. In fact, in the spring of 2001, the biggest economic concern about the national debt was paying it off too quickly, according to Fed chair Alan Greenspan. But before we get too critical regarding deficits let's look at the facts and discuss the impact deficits have on today's economy. Sure, why not? The US has averaged 5.6, the annualized unemployment rate for 2004 is lower than the annual rate for 19 of the previous 25 years. The fact of the matter is that since Herbert Hoover and the Great Depression, no president has actually managed a net loss in jobs . . . until now. During a period that included a World War, several other global conflicts, many recessions, and a major energy crisis, no president failed to create at least some jobs, except George W. Bush. It is all but a mathematical certainty that he will be the first pResident since Hoover to lose jobs. Moreover, wages have fallen for those who do have jobs, and many people have simply stopped looking for jobs because the employment situation is so bleak, leading to an official jobless rate that’s artificially low. For more on this, see the sobering stats from Jobwatch.org. So while deficits are not good business, it's clear the deficits have not hurt our current economic situation. Actually, they have, and most economists (including Fed chair Alan Greenspan) warn that continued deficits will have increasingly dire consequences for the economy. Not only do deficits hurt our economic situation, but they hurt the global economy. The International Monetary Fund has warned that current U.S. debt will likely result in worldwide economic problems. And given a choice, I'd rather have deficits with robust economic growth, low unemployment and inflation rates, and record home ownership than a balanced budget with the sluggish economy that resulted from the false promises of the high-tech 90's . . . False promises? The period from 1991 to 2001 was the largest continual economic expansion in history. You don’t get this from a tech “bubble.” You get it from sound economic policies. In fact, in the spring of 2001, Alan Greenspan saw no reason to question the inherent strength of the U.S. economy, barring policy decisions that might undermine it. Gosh, what happened? Hmmmmmmmmm… . . . and the 2001 terrorist attacks. Tax cuts have contributed far more to current deficits than post 9/11 defense spending, and the economy has continued to underperform compared to the Administration’s own predictions since September 11, 2001. Our next step is to have both a strong economy and a balanced budget. Neither of which will happen with George W. Bush in the White House. Look, if you want to know about deficits and this administration’s attitudes toward them, look no further than Ron Suskind’s The Price of Loyalty. From Bush’s own Treasury Secretary, Paul O’Neill, we learn that Dick Cheney thinks “deficits don’t matter” and that huge tax cuts for the wealthy are a goal not because they believe they help the economy, but simply because that’s their political policy. Tax breaks for the wealthy aren’t a means to and end; they’re the end. What happens when someone sensible like O’Neill suggests this might not be the best way to run the economy? He loses his job. Well, at least he’s got plenty of company. And that's The Point. And THIS is "The Counterpoint." Blog for Iowa will feature Ted Remington's "The Counterpoint" on a weekly basis. Go here to read The Counterpoint every day.
Dave Franker: You Gotta Love This Guy!
by
Linda Thieman
on Fri 13 Aug 2004 07:06 AM CDT
Dave Franker: You Gotta Love This Guy!
Look at this listing from the DFIA Events Calendar: Dave Franker discussion - Church and State Dave Franker discusses "Separation of Church and State" before a Diverse group of Bible Christians, Atheists, Muslims, Wiccans, and others. Red Oak Pavilion, Bever Park, in Cedar Rapids. 5:00 to 7:00PM, Sunday, August 15th How can you possibly NOT love an all-inclusive guy like that?  Dave Franker with supporters While on the Iowa City school board, Dave was the person who STARTED the discussion in Iowa about the overdose of junk food in our public schools (summer, '02). He brought U of Iowa endocrinologists, pediatric dentists and nutritionists to the table -- prompting Mr. Craig Schoenfeld, the soft drink and tobacco industry's top lobbyist in Iowa, to make twice monthly trips to Iowa City for several months for fear of what Dave would reveal/insist upon (news coverage was significant in the Des Moines Register and the Cedar Rapids Gazette). A man after our own hearts, once the ICCSD had passed a bond referendum for their schools ($39 million, the 2nd largest ever in Iowa history), Dave Franker invited the experts and helped to educate the board and administration about sustainable design and renewable energy. As a result, the first "High Performance" (a technical, architectural term for "green") school ever in Iowa will be built in North Liberty. They broke ground two weeks ago: geothermal heating/cooling, green strips, daylighting, and they've measured the wind with an anemometer for the past 9 months to determine if a wind turbine is now indicated. Another effort that Dave Franker led was the part of the bond referendum to build a new alternative high school in order to provide opportunity for all and respect for those who had not been given the respect that they deserved. The current facility is woefully inadequate. This month, ground will be broken on a $3.5 million alternative high school to be located one block from Kirkwood Community College with collaborations forthcoming. Finally, in October, '03, the Iowa City area held a community wide conference called, "Removing the Barriers to Learning: A Community Challenge." The conference was Dave's idea -- to bring all social service providers, governmental entities, law enforcement, and medical and dental providers together to address those barriers to learning with which children come to school. As a result, Johnson County has received one of just nine grants nationwide to build better communities for youth, $100,000 per year for five years. For more information about Dave Franker, go here. To contribute online today to Franker for Congress, go here.
DFIA Gets Noticed by The Mothership
by
Linda Thieman
on Fri 13 Aug 2004 04:19 AM CDT
 DFIA Gets Noticed by The Mothership In case you missed it, yesterday morning Democracy for Iowa was featured on Blog for America, the blog of Gov. Dean's organization, Democracy for America. The article seemed to be well received, and folks loved the picture of Alta and Darrell taken at the Gay Pride Festival in Iowa City in June. Go here to read "our story" and the comments that followed. It's called "Update from Iowa." |
Blog for Iowa 
BFIA Writer's Guidelines We welcome Submissions Iowa Sites Child & Family Policy Center - Iowa Genetic Engineering Action Network Iowa Citizen Action Network - ICAN Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO Iowa Physicians for Social Responsibility Iowa Public Interest Research Group Midwest Environmental Justice Advocates Progressive Action for the Common Good Progressive Coalition of Central Iowa QCAD (Quad-Citians Affirming Diversity - GLBT) Iowa Blogs The Deprogrammer (Quad Cities) Iowa True Blue (Gordon Fischer's Blog) Iowa Voters for Open and Transparent Elections Political FalloutFight Iowa Rapid Response Network - Iowa
Iowans for Better Local TV
Air America
The Counterpoint
National FAIR: Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting
Media Matters for America
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