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Monday, September 20
Regan for Scott County Holds Meeting on Harkin Bus
by
Linda Thieman
on Mon 20 Sep 2004 04:26 PM CDT
Regan for Scott County Holds Meeting on Harkin Bus
By Molly Regan, Candidate for Scott Soil and Water Conservation Commission
‘Twas a
sunny, breezy, cloudless day that greeted our arrival at the Harkin
Steak Fry at Indianola, Iowa. The Regan for Scott County steering
committee had taken care of business on the bus ride out. We
planned where yard signs should be strategically placed about the
county and determined how many folks we could get to help with the
Trivia Night to be held on Wednesday, September 29.
Molly Regan speaks at the Sierra Club/Eagle View
Chapter at the Bettendorf library.
Alta
Price had brought along FLAT HOWARD, Cliff Day brought taping/photo
equipment, and I passed out Vermont quarters as good luck charms…every
little bit helps.
About
half an hour west of Davenport, I put in the tape from the Democratic
National Convention I had brought along. The bus we rode had 6
small TVs overhead and a tape deck! So we watched...You guessed
it... GOVERNOR HOWARD DEAN. The man received a two-and-a-half
minute standing ovation even before he could speak! We also heard
Barack Obama. Several people on the bus had not heard his
speech. How inspiring that man is. He will probably be
president some day.
At the
fry, we found Darrell Lewis already set up with several tables of DFIA,
John Drury, and Paul Johnson information as well as his own personal
canopy to keep out the sun. Darrell was putting buttons together
to hand out to people, so we went off to enjoy the food and try to find
other Scott county voters. On the way we found Dr. Alan Koslow of
Des Moines/DEANIAC. Also spotted was dog Buddy & his "dad" (Jeff Goetz)
plus Phil the farmer (Phil Specht).
Returning
from the great meal of chicken, steak, beans & slaw, I found that
Darrell's button making had reached a fever pitch. At that point,
there were about 30 people waiting to see the finished products.
A big favorite was "DEAN DEMOCRATIC."
After
listening to Tom Arnold talk about the 'wonders' of working in a hog
processing production line, it was time for Sheryl Crow! Her
fabulous voice is only outdone by her awesome guitar playing. The
crowd was right in there singing and clapping and hooting. I had
found my way down the grassy hill to a spot left of the stage with a
large John Kerry/Edwards 2004 Democracy for Iowa/Blog for Iowa
sign. Very colorful and hard to miss. Soon after the
singing was over and the crowd gave Ms. Crow a zounding send off, on
stage walks our senator, Tom Harkin. More applause and
hooting. He thanks us for helping make the day a success and
introduces Elizabeth Edwards. She is such a sincere person and
spoke about the serious state of health care and prescription drug
obtainability. I was able to meet her and I shook her hand as I
thanked her for coming back to Iowa. I also held up a smaller
version of the sign I had & asked her if she would like it.
She smiled big and said yes and thanked me.
So, at
that point it was time to go back to see what the other DEANIACS were
up to. Many people had stopped by to have their picture taken
with FLAT HOWARD and even I got in on the act. All in all, it was
a splendid DEAN – DEMOCRATIC DAY!
Molly J. Regan
is a candidate for the Scott Soil and Water Conservation
Commission. A life-long resident of Eastern Iowa, Regan holds an
A.S. degree in Environmental Science and Geology from Kirkwood
Community College in Cedar Rapids. Regan is a member of IECAN,
the Independent Environmental Conservation Activism Network, and is
dedicated to bringing cleaner, safer energy to Iowa.
Molly J.
Regan strives to ensure that Iowa’s harvest-bearing soil is saved from
deterioration and overuse, and to improve the water quality of Iowa’s
lakes, rivers, and streams. Regan will work to see that
information for improved air quality plus soil and water conservation
is made available to all schools and she will endeavor to prevent urban
sprawl from overtaking valuable farmland.
To contribute to Molly Regan's campaign, checks can be made out to Regan for Scott County and sent to:
PO Box 486
Princeton, IA 52768
Iowa: The Importance of Voting
by
Linda Thieman
on Mon 20 Sep 2004 01:15 PM CDT
 Iowa: The Importance of Voting
by Linda Thieman
I find it truly amazing what the GOP will do to win an election. I suppose my question should be, “What WON’T they do?”
We’ve seen blatant evidence
that the GOP intends to prevent people from going to the polls by any
means, and now Iowa’s House Speaker Christopher Rants (R-Deep Black
Hole) is joining the cause against Democracy, recommending that people
stay home this election year and NOT VOTE.
Of
course, what he really means is he doesn’t want the Democrats and
anti-Bush Independents, a growing crowd, to vote. If you’re a
Republican, he’ll probably send his chauffeur to drive you to the polls.
In
particular, Rants is against the promotion of the use of absentee
ballots, no doubt because in Iowa, Democrats who vote by absentee
ballot far outnumber Republicans. According to the Iowa Democratic Party, Rants
has made statements critical of voter education programs being
undertaken by the Iowa Secretary of State, including distribution of
statewide voter guides.
“Maybe
Rants doesn’t remember that after the Florida election debacle in 2000,
a federal law was passed to help prevent voters from being
disenfranchised,” [IDP Chair Gordon] Fischer said. “The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) is
the law in all 50 states, and requires states to create new and
proactive voter education and outreach efforts. The voter guide is not
only helping to educate Iowans about the election, it is required by
Federal Law.”
Oh, he
remembers. He voted for the Iowa HAVA bill, after all. But
that was probably because, at the time, it looked like a sleeping
public would just sit by while county after county spent millions
replacing old voting machines with the new, highly-riggable
touch-screen voting systems. Well, we woke up in time, and that
didn’t happen – not in many counties in Iowa, anyway.
Shoot.
Just when you think you’ve got the election in the bag, people actually
go out and vote and ruin all your plans.
The desperation of the
GOP is really showing.
As always,
looking for ways that Democracy for Iowa can co-operate with the Iowa
Democrats, we’d like to share that the IDP has asked that everyone in
Iowa call Christopher Rants personally and tell him about the
importance of voting in a Democracy such as ours. Rants can be
reached at (712) 274-8874, or by e-mail at christopher@rants.us
Connie Wilson: White House Press Corps Member, Part 2
by
Linda Thieman
on Mon 20 Sep 2004 09:19 AM CDT
 Connie Wilson: White House Press Corps Member, Part 2
When last we left Connie, she and her Republican ordained deacon/photographer friend, Sue Ann, had finally ensconsed themselves in the Press Box at a Bush rally somewhere in Colorado....
There was little happening at first. In fact, the man who came out and slapped the Presidential seal on the podium got a HUGE round of applause, for, basically, nothing. There was a group playing…a local group.
“Do you know any of those people up there?” I asked, repeatedly. And, repeatedly, the answer was, “No.” Even I recognized Karl Rove and Karen Hughes when they appeared on a balcony, stage right, but none of the Media seemed to notice. The “staffers” said things in response to my attempts to clarify our entertainment source like, “I don’t listen to country music.” This from the black-clad Jennifer. For a group that “doesn’t listen to country music,” the Republicans are sure counting on their votes. I think you C&W people are being “played.” Smarten up!
Sue Ann and I, both middle-aged and clad in sensible shoes, had warned Jennifer that she would cripple herself before she was thirty if she continued to wear these really high shoes, but she responded, “My grandmother said that, if you want to be beautiful, you have to suffer.” (She said this just before falling down about four steps). Jennifer has a lot of suffering to go through, from all indications. Just being at this rally might qualify.
The types in charge claimed that there were 15,000 present at the rally in the huge arena, which had actual seating. I had brought a blanket to sit on and was using it to conceal a sign (for later) that said, “Bush/Cheney: Farm and Ranch Team.” To me, it was a funny slogan, coming, as it does, from the scion of an East coast family with ties to Yale and Saudi Arabian oil. One of the Republicans present, when I wasn’t looking, removed the sign from inside my blanket that I was going to take home for my Republican husband and family. Essentially, he stole it from me. Why does this not surprise me?
This photo of the frail but courageous protestor, with Connie's
friend Sue Ann in the center foreground, is from the Denver Post.
The elderly man shouted,"You lied, Mr. pResident, you lied!"
before he was escorted out by an eight-member security team.
The man from KCNC-TV leaned down, at one point, when I sought a seat on the bottom of the camera risers next to the Channel 4 Anchorman and said, “You can’t bump those tripods.” Well, no, I suppose not. Everybody was guarding their space very territorially. Sue Ann’s picture of the sole elderly gentleman protesting was a shot that could have been sold for actual cash. Good-hearted soul that she is, she generously agreed to send it to the professional photographer next to her, who missed the entire fracas, as I almost did, since I was several feet below the riser area. I have a picture of eight men jumping on the geriatric protestor, but it looks like some kind of worshipping of the Sun God, as I was shooting in to the sun and got only their backs. They must have felt very brave, subduing a man who looked like he needed a wheelchair.
more »
DFIA Booth Draws Huge Crowd at Harkin Steak Fry
by
Linda Thieman
on Mon 20 Sep 2004 04:07 AM CDT
DFIA Booth Draws Huge Crowd at Harkin Steak Fry
by Linda Thieman
More then 3,000 people gathered yesterday for the annual Tom Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa.
Darrell Lewis, Democracy for Iowa Founding Member and Campaign Chair for Dean Dozen candidate John Drury
(Iowa Senate District 6), arrived at the Fry early and grabbed the best
corner spot for our booth. We shared our booth with the Drury
campaign and with that of the Paul Johnson for Congress (4th District) campaign.
Photo courtesy of Drury for Iowa Senate
The DFIA booth was by far the most heavily visited. One Art Small for U.S. Senate
staffer remarked that we must be giving away $100 bills to draw such a
crowd! But, no, it was Darrell and his buttons and Alta Price,
DFIA co-founder, and her Flat Howard (see photo below) that were the real draw.
Alta
gave away small Blog for Iowa buttons as folks lined
up to have their picture taken with Flat Howard – who had paid $10 to
ride the bus and $25 to get in! (You can't say that DFIA doesn't
have a sense of humor!)
Darrell Lewis, right foreground, making buttons at the DFIA booth.
That's Dean Dozen candidate John Drury chatting with a supporter
in the center (background, dark shirt).
Darrell wowed the crowd with buttons he was making right there in the booth. The first button Darrell ran out of was “Kerry/Edwards Voters on Loan from Dean.”
We ran out of the “Dean Democrat” buttons shortly thereafter.
Darrell gave away close to 500 buttons and Alta gave out some 50
colorful signs. At one point, a crowd of 50 people, lined up six
deep, were at the DFIA booth waiting for buttons.
DFIA members: (front, left to right) Darrell Lewis
and Dr. Alta Price, and (back) Scott Soil and Water
Conservation Commission candidate Molly Regan,
Flat Howard, and Cliff Day. Darrell Lewis designed
the two DFIA/Blog for Iowa signs we used - the rainbow
version above and the plain version in the top photo.
We feel
totally renewed and re-energized for the hard work still ahead, which
is the whole point of the Harkin Steak Fry, after all. The Dean
movement is alive and well and living in Iowa!
Look
for a Fry report from Molly Regan, DFIA environmentalist and candidate
for Scott Soil and Water Conservation Commission, later in the day.
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