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Friday, September 10
The Green Bike Tour 2004 Hits Iowa
by
Linda Thieman
on Fri 10 Sep 2004 05:48 PM CDT
 The Green Bike Tour 2004 Hits Iowa
Iowa Policy Project
Solar Bike Tour to Wind Through Four States
HOWARD,
South Dakota - Renewable energy supporters will set out Monday on a
solar bicycle tour of rural communities in South Dakota, Minnesota,
Iowa and Wisconsin to demonstrate the potential for economic
development through investments in wind, solar and bio-based fuels.
The
six-day Green Bike Tour 2004 will begin at Howard and will proceed
through Saturday with elected officials, energy producers, energy
policy activists and media joining the ride at various stages, for a
variety of events and visits. Three bikes on the tour carry solar
panels that produce electricity to power uphill rides or to play music.
"This
tour illustrates that renewable energy production is growing in the
upper Midwest. Two years ago we rode bikes in Europe to see the success
of such development. We hope to change policy in Midwest states to
allow renewable energy to grow faster," said David Osterberg, executive
director of the Iowa Policy Project, which is sponsoring the tour in
conjunction with the Minnesota-based League of Rural Voters.
"Global
climate change is real," Osterberg continued. "We can confront
this environmental problem and help our economy in the Midwest. We are
going to see lots of exciting examples of how renewable energy
technology can keep money working in our own communities, and provide a
more secure energy future."
Communities
selected for visits in the four states have some organized local
interests or an economic connection to renewable energy.
"Investments
in community-based renewable energy projects help strengthen local
economies, reduce our dependence on imported energy and help clean up
the environment at the same time," said Niel Ritchie, executive
director of the League of Rural Voters. "The tour is an effort to
salute those rural communities in Midwestern states that are leading
the way, partnering with farmer-owned cooperatives, utilities and
educational institutions to make these projects a reality."
"We need
the federal government to step up and commit to a new direction in
energy policy, away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy."
The
public can keep track of the Green Bikers during the tour through
stories and photos that will be updated daily on a website, www.greenbike.org.
The tentative itinerary: (includes biking and driving)
Monday: Howard, S.D., to Luverne, Minn. (includes
Sioux Falls, S.D., and Tyler and Lake Benton, Minn.)
Tuesday: Okoboji, Iowa, to Emmetsburg, Iowa (includes Spirit Lake School, Linn Grove, Storm Lake)
Wednesday: Estherville, Iowa, to Joice, Iowa. (includes Fairmount, Minn.)
Thursday: Dodge Center, Minn., to Northfield, Minn.
Friday: Northfield to Mississippi River to La Crosse, Wis.
Saturday: La Crosse to Baraboo, Wis.
Note: The itinerary is likely to change. Updates will be provided on the web at http://www.greenbike.org.
Supporting Marriage Equality in Iowa
by
Linda Thieman
on Fri 10 Sep 2004 01:38 PM CDT
Supporting Marriage Equality in Iowa
Dear Fellow Iowans:
As you
know, same sex couples and families face unique challenges and
experience barriers that our heterosexual neighbors often do not.
Coming out as a same sex couple or family is part of what will make
progress towards equality for our families in Iowa.
Along
with the support of Lambda Legal, many Iowans are coming together to
share their stories and help educate all Iowans about the challenges we
face. We are currently seeking same sex couples (and everyone
else) from all over Iowa to be a part of this educational
campaign.
If you
are part of a same sex couple, and have an interest in pursuing
marriage equality, we would love to talk to you. Additionally,
everyone else could help out by getting this information into the hands
of every same sex couple they know in Iowa. The opportunities to
educate and work for marriage equality will become very important in
Iowa, as well as the rest of the country.
Same sex
couples with an interest in marriage equality, feel free to give us a
call or email so we can fill you in on some of the things going on and
gather information about how you might be a part of it.
If you are unable to reach us, feel free to call or email RoiAnn Phillips or Roberto Tijerina at Lambda Legal (312-663-4413). They are wonderful people and have been very helpful in our efforts here in Iowa.
Thank
you for your consideration and interest in marriage equality.
With all of our wonderful stories, it's hard to imagine that equality
isn't close at hand.
Janelle Rettig and Robin Butler
Iowa City, IA
319-338-0999 (phone/fax)
janellerettig@aol.com
Des Moines Register Gets Grade F on Iowa School Report
by
Linda Thieman
on Fri 10 Sep 2004 09:27 AM CDT
 Des Moines Register Gets Grade “F” on Iowa School Report
by Linda Thieman
On September 8, 2004, the Des Moines Register reported
that a new study showed that “Iowa schools are about on par,” ranking
“25th in the nation for performance.” The study by a New York
City think tank called The Manhattan Institute, claims to evaluate “16 social, economic and demographic factors to
measure the overall difficulty of educating students in each state.”
It
appears that the Register failed to do even the most cursory digging to evaluate just who conducted the study and how it was
conducted. If they had, they would have quickly come to the
conclusion that The Manhattan Institute is a right-wing organization with a socially conservative agenda, and that their study, which tries to pass as objective, is anything but.
In fact,
a quick look at the criteria in the study shows that racial bias plays
a prominent role in the “16 social, economic and demographic factors”
that were the basis of the study’s “teachability index.”
Students, if they are not "non-Hispanic white," are considered less teachable in this
complex formula.
In
addition, when every state in the union is keenly feeling the lack of
funding for education due to Bush’s enormous and irresponsible tax
breaks for the wealthy, and citizens are faced with skyrocketing
property taxes to try to make up for it, this ridiculous study claims
that “huge increases in resources are producing no improvements in
student achievement” and “student teachability cannot be a valid excuse
for the failure of vastly increased spending to produce better
results.”
Vastly increased spending. They take figures over a period of 30
years, leave out the George W. Bush years and his devastating effect on
education, and then call it “vastly increased spending.” It is
clear that The Manhattan Institute and their flawed study have an
agenda – one that is designed to convince the average American that the
underfunding of education by the Bush Administration really isn’t the
problem we all know it to be. And, having once bragged about advising Giuliani, you can bet that these are the
very people who are now advising Bush to make the damaging cuts.
Shame on the Des Moines Register for reporting this pap and calling it news.
Bush's Alleged Heart Skips Beat at Lack of Post-convention Bounce
by
Linda Thieman
on Fri 10 Sep 2004 07:06 AM CDT
 Bush's Alleged Heart Skips Beat at Lack of Post-convention Bounce
by Ruy Teixeira, AlterNet.org
The new
Gallup poll, conducted entirely after the GOP convention and therefore
the first poll that truly measures Bush's bounce, shows Bush with a
very small bounce indeed: two points, whether you look at registered
voters (RVs) or likely voters (LVs).
Note
also that Bush's two-point bounce from his convention (which is defined
as the change in a candidate's level of support, not in margin) is the
worst ever received by an incumbent president, regardless of party, and
the worst ever received by a Republican candidate, whether incumbent or
not. In 2000, Bush received an eight-point bounce. And even his hapless father received a five-point bounce in 1992.
In terms
of whether the Republican convention made voters more or less likely to
vote for Bush – the real point of the convention after all – there were
almost as many saying the convention made them less likely to vote for
Bush (38 percent) as said it made them more likely (41 percent).
This is
actually quite a poor performance. The Democratic convention this year
had a substantially better 44 percent more likely/30 percent less
likely split. In fact, looking back to 1984, which is as far back as
Gallup supplies data, no candidate has ever had a more likely to vote
for/less likely to vote for split even close to as bad as Bush's this
year.
Seriously,
this article is FABulous. Teixeira totally dissects the Time and
Newsweek polls that the media seem to be so stuck on to "prove" that
their Führer got that big bounce. Click here to read the rest of the article.
Des Moines: Conference on 9/11 to Assess Global Security on Third Anniversary of War on Terrorism
by
Linda Thieman
on Fri 10 Sep 2004 04:30 AM CDT
Des Moines: Conference on 9/11 to Assess Global Security on Third Anniversary of War on Terrorism
The public is welcome
A unique educational event will take place in Des Moines on September 11.
The conference, “National Security and the New Arms Race: Impact on our Health, Environment and Humanity”
will explore critical questions about achieving collective and
individual health and security in an increasingly unstable and violent
world. George E. Moose, United States Ambassador, will be the keynote
speaker. A panel of physicians and nuclear weapons experts will discuss
the escalating unhealthy costs of the new nuclear arms race to health,
the environment and the economy.
The
conference will open with an interfaith memorial to all who have
suffered or died as a result of the attack on 9/11 – both in the U.S.
and abroad. At the conclusion of the memorial, conference participants
will consider whether on the eve of the 4th year of this war, the world
is more secure or less than it was before 9/11. Conference
participants, including health care, religious and academic leaders,
students and peace and justice activists, will be encouraged to explore
ways to work together to abolish the threat of terrorism and weapons of
mass destruction.
“We hope
the conference will motivate a diverse group of concerned Iowans to
seek alternative responses to terrorism. Investing in diplomacy,
communicating ideas and sharing common values with alienated and
persecuted peoples and nations, and addressing the root causes of
terrorism will help us reclaim our role as peacekeepers and conflict
mediators,” according to The Rev. Paul Fraser of Ecumenical Ministries
of Iowa, one of the conference’s co-sponsors. The conference will
present Physicians for Social Responsibility’s SMART Security Platform:
a Sensible, Multilateral, American Response to Terrorism. This platform
has been affirmed by a diverse group of religious leaders in Iowa.
Sponsors
include the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of
Medicine and Physicians for Social Responsibility in cooperation with
Ecumenical Ministries of Iowa, Drake Center for Global Citizenship,
American Friends Service Committee and Iowa United Nations Association.
The conference will be held on September 11 in the Des
Moines Botanical Center, and will open at 8:30 a.m. and adjourn at 4:30
p.m. Conference registration is $35.00 for general public and
$20.00 for students.
To register, contact mickiq@earthlink.net or visit www.iowa-psr.org. Walk-ins will also be welcome on the day of the event.
On the eve of the Conference, Friday, September 10
at 8 p.m., Ambassador Moose will address “The US Role in Globalization:
Present and Future” at the Drake University’s Performing Arts Hall of
the Harmon Fine Arts Center on 25th and Carpenter in Des Moines.
A brochure is available to download at http://www.iowachurches.org/
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