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Saturday, December 31
Prairie Dog's Honor Roll 2005
by
Trish Nelson
on Sat 31 Dec 2005 11:00 AM CST
Prairie Dog's Honor Roll 2005
The Prairie Progressive
Rosa Parks’ greatness, said Congressman John Lewis, was that 'she got in the way.'
Gary Sanders, peripatetic gadfly from Iowa City, got in the way of the City Council and Board of Adjustment when they bent over backwards to make Wal-Mart feel welcome. Sanders and his intrepid attorney Wally Taylor filed a lawsuit to prevent the city from re-zoning 54 acres of land to accommodate a 22-acre Wal-Mart Super Center, and won a judge’s approval to depose city council members on what information – if any –they received outside of city council meetings. Send donations for legal expenses to Iowa City Stop Wal-Mart, 831 Maggard, Iowa City 52240
F. John Herbert also got in the way. The proprietor of Legion Arts drew attention to Cedar Rapids Mayor Paul Pate’s attendance at a prayer breakfast featuring Ken Hutcherson, a notorious opponent of equal rights for gay and lesbian Americans (“God does not condone homosexuality and neither will we”). Herbert publicly chastised the mayor for appearing with someone whose view directly contradicts the Cedar Rapids Municipal Code, which makes it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of their sexual orientation.
“Philosophically, I’m pro-union. I just can’t see myself in one,” said a University of Iowa librarian. Thus an effort by UI professional and scientific staff to form a union went down swinging, despite widespread concern about hiring and classification inequalities, wages falling behind inflation, and job security in an environment increasingly hostile to public education, public health, and public employees. But dozens of P & S staff members found their voice, challenged UI administrators and colleagues to face difficult issues, and built considerable support in their first attempt to win the right to bargain collectively.
So maybe Gov. Vilsack, in preparation for a run at the Presidency, wanted to revamp his ‘English Only’ image as a small-town thinker from a nearly all-white state. Regardless of motive, Vilsack’s executive order restoring voting rights to felons who have served their time ended one of the most restrictive disenfranchisement laws in the country. 19 percent of those denied the vote in Iowa are black, even though the state’s population is only 2 percent black.
Dean Wright, professor emeritus of sociology at Drake University, said of legislation to prevent sex offenders from living within 2000 feet of just about everything: “Residency requirements are generally there to placate. These kinds of things make people feel like they’ve done something. Programs that make people feel good usually don’t work.” The Iowa Civil Liberties Union was equally outspoken, long before the Des Moines Register and legislators realized the unintended consequences of residency restrictions and their failure to make children safer.
Erin Buzuvis, the adjunct lecturer at the UI College of Law who received death threats for questioning the tradition of pink bathrooms in the visiting teams’ locker room at Kinnick Stadium, proved beyond a doubt that the only thing worse than perpetuating a stereotype is pointing it out.
Progressive Action for the Common Good exploded on the eastern Iowa scene, taking less than a year to enlist 1000 members actively engaged in a dozen social justice issues, from predatory lending to the Iraq occupation to workers’ rights. Two of them, Cathy Bolkcom and Karl Rhomberg, take to the airwaves (1270 AM) every Saturday morning to announce events and to banter about Quad Cities politics.
Eddie Moore, Jr., finally packed his bags for Seattle, but not before establishing the annual White Privilege conference at Central College as a major national event on race, gender, and class issues. Iowa will miss the Black Tulip of Pella.
The Prairie Progressive Iowan of the Year award goes to UI professor of pediatrics Jeff Murray for changing his mind after accepting a high-dollar job at Harvard: “I didn’t think the fun quotient was going to be as high there.”
—Prairie Dog
From the January 2006 issue of the Prairie Progressive, Iowa's oldest progressive newsletter, available only in hard copy for $12/yr. to PP, Box 1945, Iowa City 52244. Co-editors of The Prairie Progressive are Jeff Cox and Dave Leshtz.
Friday, December 30
A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO JOHN DENVER NEW YEAR'S EVE IN QC AREA
by
Linda Thieman
on Fri 30 Dec 2005 07:34 PM CST
 A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO JOHN DENVER NEW YEAR'S EVE IN QC AREA
NEW YEAR'S EVE
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2005
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SPONSORED BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL/SUSTAINABILITY/ENERGY FORUM OF PROGRESSIVE ACTION FOR THE COMMON GOOD
Email: MJREGAN@MCHSI.COM OR visit WWW.QCPROGRESSIVEACTION.ORG
Thursday, December 29
Check Out the Hottest Blog Thread Since the Democratic State Convention!
by
Linda Thieman
on Thu 29 Dec 2005 10:48 PM CST
 Check Out the Hottest Blog Thread Since the Democratic State Convention!
Yes, folks, here at Blog for Iowa we have a doosy of a discussion going
on. Hot and controversial, our blog commentors pull no
punches! Click here to view the post and the comments about whether or not to impeach the chimp!
Wednesday, December 28
A Holiday Message
by
Caroline Vernon
on Wed 28 Dec 2005 10:59 PM CST
 A Holiday Message
By Bev Conover
www.onlinejournal.com
Kick back and enjoy this holiday season, whether you
celebrate Christmas, Hannukah or the Winter Solstice, so we can renew ourselves
for the struggles ahead.
As Americans, we find ourselves in a very dark period: a
government run amok; a band of deceitful, war-mongering criminals in the White
House, who are using any and all excuses to take away our freedoms; an economy
in tatters, right-wing fascists who call themselves Christians seeking to impose
their beliefs on us all by creating a theocratic state; Zionists and their
supporters who label non-Jews anti-Semites or, in the case of Jews, self-hating
Jews, for daring to question their actions and pronouncements or speak out
against the Israeli government's heinous actions. Thanks to the terrorists in
Washington and their fundamentalist Christian and Zionist supporters, we are
fast becoming a house not merely divided, but shattered. If you doubt this, when
was the last time you heard anyone say the word brotherhood?
Brotherhood means respect and tolerance for all people,
regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or politics. It
means acting with civility.
But there is very little civility today as the victimizers
revel in the role of victims. For instance, Christians who would impose a
theocracy on us claim that all Christians are being persecuted. Imagine,
persecuted when churches dot the landscape and more spring up like mushrooms
daily. Are they trying to tell us that thousands of these churches are merely
tax dodges and a way to extract taxpayer money from George W. Bush's
unconstitutional faith-based initiative? Or is the persecution nonsense merely
another marketing scheme to get their nescient followers to part with more
money?
Let's not leave out the latest marketing ploy: the "war on
Christmas." In their "panties in a wad" stagecraft, the Christian theocrats, in
performances worthy of Oscars, have turned the season of goodwill into a
nightmare with their ridiculous claim that secularists are out to deprive
Christians of celebrating the birthday of Jesus Christ, all because businesses,
wishing to encompass people of every belief and no belief, use the phrase "Happy
holidays," rather than "Merry Christmas." This has nothing to do with political
correctness. It is a matter of politeness, something the Christian theocrats
disdain.
It is time for all decent and sane Americans to rise up
against this madness before we all are swamped by it and find ourselves living
in a theocratic nation that will make Saudi Arabia and Iran look like liberal
countries. Worse, these theocratic Christians, who go by the labels
Reconstructionists, Dominionists, Christian Identity, have made it clear that
anyone who refuses to subscribe to their biblical view is to be executed --
preferably by stoning.
This is a harsh message in this season, but it's one that has
to be said. We are not against Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists,
Wiccans, atheists or any other group. We are against murderous despots out to
control us all and destroy the planet, too. History is soaked with the blood of
their victims. We cannot allow it to happen again.
As the Chinese proverb says, "It is better to light a candle
than curse the darkness." So light those candles and let us get on with the task
of reclaiming America. Together, we can do it. Merry Christmas! Happy Hannukah!
Joyful Winter Solstice! Happy Kwanzaa! Happy Holidays!
Happy New Year!
Tuesday, December 27
The Time for Wind Energy is Now
by
Linda Thieman
on Tue 27 Dec 2005 12:48 PM CST
 The Time for Wind Energy is Now
by Anne Burnett, DeliciousLivingMag.com
How it works
Breezes spin the blades of a windmill or turbine, which in turn spin a shaft that’s connected to an electricity generator.
Pros
Wind energy is nonpolluting and everlasting.
The cost of wind energy from utility companies has dropped by 85
percent over the last 20 years, according to the U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE).
By using net-metering programs, home wind-turbine owners receive credit
for excess energy they provide to their community energy grid.
Cons
Because wind is intermittent, energy production waxes and wanes. (Optimal wind speed is between 16 and 60 mph.)
[Editor's note: This is one reason why my little corner of NW Iowa is
prime land for wind farms - there is never a shortage of wind in these
parts. As a matter of fact, MidAmerican, whose energy-generating
plants here in Iowa each currently rank, individually, in the top 10
percent of worst polluting industrial plants
in the nation, now has approximately 9
percent of their energy- generating capability coming from renewable
energy sources - including wind, water and biomass, with wind farms set
up in Buena Vista county and nearby. Well, it's puny, but it's a
start. Now if they'd only stop hiding behind state and federal
regulations as an excuse for their continued use of extreme
pollution-producing plants.]
Although wind energy can be stored, it’s more cost-effective to distribute it as it is produced.
Community covenants or local laws may prohibit turbines, which can be noisy.
At utility-scale wind farms, turbine blades may inadvertently injure or kill birds and bats.
Ecobonus
Because wind power produces zero greenhouse gases, using it helps
reduce problems associated with global warming and fossil-fuel
consumption, such as acid rain.
Best choice for …
those who want to get off the grid without investing a lot. Especially viable for those in rural (and frequently windy) areas.
Approximate Cost
Wind power costs about 5 cents per kilowatt hour, which makes it one of
the least expensive forms of renewable energy. According to the DOE,
more than 500 utility companies offer customers the option of paying
slightly more to use “green-generated” power; many of them offer a wind
power option. To build or buy your own wind turbine, you’ll pay between
$540 and $5,000, depending on size.
Resource
DOE Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program
www.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/wind_how.html#inside
Offers an inside glimpse of wind turbinetechnology.
Source
Monday, December 26
This Week in Media
by
Arron Wings
on Mon 26 Dec 2005 11:20 AM CST
 This Week in Media
The
biggest news this week was all but ignored by the media. The
grassroots group Iowans for Better Local TV filed a formal Petition to
Deny with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), challenging the
renewal of a broadcast license to KGAN Channel 2 in Cedar Rapids, a
station owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group. The petition is
available online and the supporting affidavits and exhibits (close to
400 pages) will soon be available for reading at the Iowa City Public
Library.
Free Press was also active this week, filing a Formal Complaint with the FCC protesting “payola punditry.”
The
Senate confirmed two members to the FCC, Michael Copps (returning) and
Deborah Tate (new), on Wednesday. The confirmations fill four of
the five seats with a nomination for the fifth expected early next year.
A great editorial by Marie Cocco details the terrible track record of the press in 2005.
“This has been an annus horribilis for the American press.
Other
years have produced more spectacular scandals — the serial fabrications
of former New York Times reporter Jayson Blair come to mind. But
nothing resembles the depressing mixture of press failure,
brass-knuckled administration enforcement of secrecy, and blatant,
taxpayer-funded promotion of government propaganda we suffer now.
Add to
this the corporate slashing of newsroom budgets that decimates staffs
and diminishes what the remaining, overworked journalists can produce,
and you have a poisonous stew.”
Click here to read the entire editorial.
And Free Press Minutes Media Minutes are here.
Please
consider becoming more active in Media Reform as one of your
resolutions for the New Year. Sign up to be an Free Press
E-Activist here or join Iowans for Better Local TV by sending an email
to feedback@IBLTV.ORG.
Sunday, December 25
Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, and Happy Kwanzaa!
by
Linda Thieman
on Sun 25 Dec 2005 09:17 PM CST
A Happy Chanukah, a Merry Christmas, and a Happy Kwanzaa to all of our readers from the Blog for Iowa blog team:
Trish Nelson, Iowa City, Associate Editor
Arron Wings, Iowa City
Chad Thompson, Johnston
Caroline Vernon, Davenport
Molly Regan, Princeton
Linda Thieman, Storm Lake, Editor
Thursday, December 22
Group Delivers Petition To Deny the Broadcast License of KGAN Channel 2
by
Trish Nelson
on Thu 22 Dec 2005 04:00 AM CST
 Group Delivers Petition To Deny the Broadcast License of KGAN Channel 2
Iowans for Better Local Television to hold broadcaster to a higher standard of service
Iowans
for Better Local Television (IBLTV) are gathering at the offices of
KGAN-TV to deliver a copy of their Petition to Deny the License Renewal
to Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The petition requests that
KGAN-TV Channel 2’s application for license renewal not be granted
until a public hearing is held to ascertain whether the broadcaster has
met the “statutory public interest” standard.
Television
station licenses are granted by the FCC for an eight year term. The
deadline for Iowa television stations to apply for license renewal was
October 1, 2005. The public has until December 30, 2005 to file
petitions to deny these renewals, or informal comments to the
FCC. Thus, it will be another eight years before citizens have a
chance to examine the performance of their local stations. According to
IBLTV Co-Chair Trish Nelson, KGAN and its corporate owner, Sinclair
Broadcast Group, have failed to meet the FCC’s programming and
management standards required of all television license holders.
The
petition states that KGAN owner, Sinclair Broadcast Group, appears to
have lied to the FCC, violates the FCC’s ownership rules, has a
technically inadequate signal, fails to meet standards for children’s
programming and does not do an adequate job of reporting local issues.
“Filing
a license challenge against a broadcaster is an enormous effort,”
Nelson said. “We’ve met to work on the petition twice a month for the
past year; we’ve visited KGAN nearly a dozen times; we’ve recorded,
watched and analyzed hundreds of hours of KGAN programming; we’ve read
hundreds of public comments; many of us have even taken vacation time
from our jobs to complete the project by the FCC’s deadline.”
In the
coming months the FCC will review IBLTV’s license challenge and report
back its findings to the group. “If the FCC is ever going to deny a
television station license renewal, this is the case,” IBLTV member
Arron Wing said. “Sinclair, honored by Business Week as one of the
worst managed companies in the country, manages to increase profits,
while its revenues decrease, by engaging in joint operating agreements,
cutting staff, and totally ignoring its statutory and moral obligations
to the community. If the FCC won’t deny a license renewal for one of
the worst television stations, and worst broadcasting companies in the
United States, perhaps there ought to be a congressional hearing on the
FCC’s performance as well.”
Iowans for Better Local TV -
IBLTV.Org
Thank you, Iowa!
10 more signatures needed
to reach 500 by Thursday noon!!
Click here: There is still time to
sign
our petition to the
FCC
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