Is Same Sex Marriage a Possibility for Iowa?
KIMT.com Mason City
KIMT did an interview with DFIA Founding Member Darrell Lewis
The state of marriage: it's a hot topic in just about any state.
Darrell
Lewis, advocacy coordinator for Parents, Friends & Family of
Lesbians and Gays, tells KIMT NewsChannel Three, "It should be an
individual state's decision and I think we're gonna see states all over
the United States take different positions."
Missouri
is the most recent state to take a position. About seventy percent of
voters there are in favor of banning same sex marriage in the state.
Other states are set to vote on the issue in the next couple of months. Iowa isn't one of them.
Darrell
says, "Iowa already has a law that prevents same sex marriage and
there's no movement afoot to change that law in Iowa. So it, for the
most part it's not an issue in Iowa. Nobody's proposing that same sex
marriage be permitted and most Iowa leaders think it's an error to mess
with the constitution."
(more)
Vote in The KIMT Poll
Do you think Iowa and Minnesota should have a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriages?
Go here to vote. (scroll down)
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Thursday, August 5
Is Same Sex Marriage a Possibility for Iowa?
by
Linda Thieman
on Thu 05 Aug 2004 09:49 PM CDT
Reflections on DemocracyFest by Darrell Lewis
by
Linda Thieman
on Thu 05 Aug 2004 03:41 PM CDT
Reflections On DemocracyFest
 by Darrell Lewis I packed up my truck and left early on Wednesday morning, July 21st, on my adventure to experience...well, I guess I wasn't too sure what I was going to experience when I left. I arrived in the early evening on Thursday at Pittsfield, MA - the site of DemocracyFest. The 1,250-mile drive went faster and easier than expected. In the early evening hours of dusk, I unpacked and began setting up my campsite, which drew into darkness while attempting to set up my new tent. Dang, I should have done a practice set up before leaving like the directions said...and maybe it really did need two people like the directions said; but, alas, 10,000 mosquito bites, later it was all set up. Woke up early Friday morning and finished setting up camp, drove around Pittsfield a bit sightseeing and then to the hotel where the festival was to be held. I wandered into the planning meeting between event organizers, the hotel staff and other service providers. Mostly I just listened, but also participated when the topic of the Bloggers’ Breakfast and its needs found its way to the agenda. The initially-cool hotel staff turned out to not only be very cooperative but some of the nicest folks I met my entire trip. It rained for much of the day and on several occasions I got soaking wet running around without a raincoat. Late Friday afternoon, Alta Price and her son found their way to the campground. I had set up tents for them earlier so it was only their personal gear that remained for them to unpack and, fortunately, by then the rain showers were mostly intermittent. Our dinner that evening consisted of some fruit, crackers and cheeses I had picked up at a local store earlier that day. We sat around a small campfire and had a great time chatting about a little bit of everything. As it turned out, much of the Festival was work for me rather then being a participant. I had brought my t-shirt press and political buttons stuff and was to sell the official festival shirt and political buttons. There was a rather healthy financial gap that needed to be filled in the festival budget and I offered to help. Alex Price helped me the entire weekend and I would have never been able to get it all done without his help. Even while occupied with the tasks at hand, I had opportunities to meet new people, become re-acquainted with people I previously met during the Iowa Storm and also to meet online friends I had yet to meet face to face. Of course all this good chatting was the highlight of the weekend. The only disappointment for me was that I was unable to participate in any of the training. I invited a few folks to our campsite that evening to sit around the fire and talk politics. Well, my few invites turned into more and more until the word was being passed around the festival about the "bloggers’ bonfire". While about 20 people ended up at the bonfire, many others did not because the owner of the campgrounds proved to be a real *ss and even called the police at one point, as he stood guard at the entrance and told people, "you types aren't welcome on my land". Of course, Sunday was the "big" day. I got up at 5:00 am and headed to the hotel to ready things for the Bloggers’ Breakfast. The event went well and was attended by about 125 people. And although everyone enjoyed themselves, it lacked the electricity of the first one in Des Moines. No surprise guests this time and even some of those who said they would be there (Zephyr, for one) did not make it. All in all, the festival was a great hit. It was truly grassroots but, to be honest, I was disappointed that Democracy for America had not taken a greater interest in helping with it and participating in it. But I've had these same experiences with DFA in the past and it should not have surprised me. I've got a theory on this, however. DFA, unlike, say IDP, has an appreciation of the power of the grassroots and most importantly is able to empower the grassroots to do "their own thing" and not attempt to control them. What they have failed to yet figure out is how to work with the "grassroots". There are still too many staffers whose experience has come from top down political organizations and they don't know any other paradigms. It’s our challenge in organizations like Democracy for Iowa to keep alive the power of the grassroots and to work with the traditional top down organizations. We too have a learning curve to follow and realize we are not always going to be welcomed and assisted by those traditional groups. But if we remain on a steady course (allowing for occasional bursts of irreverence) will can prove the power of the grassroots and change their paradigm. The grassroots of the future is not the old "fall in line" and dutifully do what you are told by the party pros; although I must admit I am not sure exactly where it will end up. In some states the traditional party organization is enthusiastically welcoming the new grassroots and in some states they are outright rejecting them and demanding the "get over it" and "toe the line". I am not yet sure where Iowa falls in this spectrum. I guess we will have to see how it all plays out. Our thanks to DFIA Founding Member Darrell Lewis for turning in this report.
Citizen Harassed At Iowa Bush Appearance
by
Linda Thieman
on Thu 05 Aug 2004 09:57 AM CDT
Citizen Harassed At Iowa Bush Appearance
I am a registered Democrat and voting for John Kerry but I thought it would be educational for my daughters and me to go see Bush speak at the Davenport, Iowa, riverfront today (08/04/04). I wanted them to see that in America the [government] was suppose to be working for all Americans and even if I didn't agree with [their] policies, that at least I could still show my children how elections and politics work. I waited in line, picked up my Bush tickets for me and my kids and rode down to the speech with some of my Republican friends and children, waited in line some more to enter the park to hear [Bush]. When I got up to the front of the line and was going through, I was grabbed by the security, pushed to the side (in front of my children and Republican friends) and my ticket was ripped and they said, "We don't like your pin, so get out of here". I was wearing a small pin that said "John Kerry 2004". The worst part is that the security team did this in front of my children; I want my daughters to understandthat in America we have the right to free speech and that we have the first amendment, but that was blatantly violated. I wasn't making a scene; I didn't even say anything, just a little pin. My daughters don't understand why this happened. They thought in America people could express themselves without repression. What is the problem with this picture? I feel that someone owes me, my friends and daughters an apology and that someone needs to reforce my rights as an American. I might be just an average guy, butI am still an American citizen. Glen Wooldridge Davenport, IA
Sign Up to Drive the Pig Mobile in Iowa
by
Linda Thieman
on Thu 05 Aug 2004 05:13 AM CDT
Sign Up to Drive the Pig Mobile in Iowa
 Help Hold Bush Accountable for the Iraq War A Message from Ben Cohen of TrueMajority.org The PantsOnFire Mobile - the 12-foot statue of George W. Bush with his pants aflame - has been a hit, garnering media attention and turning heads across the Eastern seaboard. George is now on his way West to spread the truth about Bush's lies. Following in his wake is the Pig Mobile, another whimsical art car by your friends at TrueMajority. The Pig Mobile consists of three different-sized piggy banks strung together to illustrate just how big a financial disaster the Iraq War has turned out to be. The largest pig (by far) shows the financial cost ($200 billion) of America's attack on Iraq, including the projected minimum cost of reconstruction. The smaller pig illustrates how much the federal government spends on K-12 education ($34 billion). And the third pig, which is a wee little pig, shows America's dedication to lessening world hunger and poverty ($10 billion). These piggies feature an oinking soundtrack and are made of striking pink fiberglass based on a full-sized Chevy van towing a trailer. Our goal is to keep the mess in Iraq on people's minds and to hold Bush accountable for it - even if the media don't report the facts on the costs of America's attack on Iraq. And there's no better way to understand the giant numbers involved than to compare them to how little our government finds to spend on stuff we all care about - like schools and world hunger. The Pig Mobile will be in Iowa in August. If you'd like to volunteer to take 'em for a spin (the pigs must be driven during the day), or if you have a place to park 30-feet worth of porkers when they're not being driven (space must be available for 1 week and allow the pigs to drive in and out without backing up), please click here and fill out the little form and we'll hook you up: https://secure3.ctsg.com/blsp/pigmobile.asp Yours in holding Bush accountable, and having fun doing it, Ben This guy seems like a lot of fun! |
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