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View Article  The Suicide Gene: A Political Drama Coming Soon to the Des Moines State Capitol
The Suicide Gene: A Political Drama Coming Soon to the Des Moines State Capitol

National Coalition of Organized Women
 
Representative Mark Kuhn (D-Floyd) is playing the part of David in a behemoth battle play against the Giant Biotech industry, directed by Governor Vilsack, who seems to be the first cloned governor of the nation.  Written by the U.S. Corporate-ruled government; executive producer: The World Totalitarian Octopus (WTO)

A nationwide initiative, in the form of the bill Iowa HF 202 (amended to HF 642) and SBS 1144 (now SF 259)
has quietly and quickly passed out of the House and Senate agricultural committees destined now for a suppressed debate on the House floor, perhaps in as little as 72 hours, unless we can wake up the media and our legislators to our OUTRAGE.  The March 2nd, Des Moines Register gave a mere 2 by 6 column to the globe-shattering takeover by Agribusiness of the seeds of Iowa and the State of Iowa's usurping of all local rights over seeds.

“What 202 really is is an attempt to prevent, in Iowa, what has happened in California, where counties have banned the growing of genetically engineered crops.  It is basically a front for the biotech companies to try to push the biotech agenda and disallow local control,” said Jeffrey Smith, author of the bestselling book Seeds of Deception.

This national State model bill, rolling rapidly across the nation, completes the final takeover of God's seed by private corporations and gives the thumbs up to a technology that, in effect, sterilizes the procreative value of Mother Earth.  “The terminator technology,” says Eileen Dannemann, director of the National Coalition of Organized Women, which was founded in Iowa in the early 1990’s, “is an audacious move against all members of all species; all kingdoms; all classes of the female gender. . . .  This technology can only result in a spontaneous abortion by Mother Nature, depression and scarcity. . . .  Having been cauterized, sterilized and chemicalized was not enough,” Ms. Dannemann continues.  “The corrupted, weak and powerless politicians, the greedy executives, the ungodly ones, the egotistical scientists and victimized farmers who have lost the knowledge of true land stewardship, have relentlessly implanted Mother Nature's womb with genetically engineered mutant alien life forms.”

Dannemann calls this travesty “the global agricultural holocaust (GAH) or the imminent agricultural collapse (IAC).  That is . . . GAH and IAC, the choking sounds of the great Mother as she struggles to survive this final assault.”
 
In a private battle in the agriculture committee, Tuesday, March 1st, Representative Kuhn introduced an amendment that would define genetically engineered seeds. The amendment, which would put a definition in the Iowa State Code, was summarily defeated 14 to 7.

“The State Code defines all other agriculture seed:  hybrid seed, vegetable seed, weed seed,” explains Rep. Kuhn, but not genetically engineered seed.  Why the resistance and obvious omission?  In lieu of a definition, Mona Bond, the lobbyist for the Biotech Industry, in her discussion papers, refers to GE seeds simply as It.  “How can we regulate a seed when we can't even define it?” questions Rep. Kuhn.


”To invest 90% of Iowa's agricultural portfolio in an untested technology that has already demonstrated risk, like the StarLink debacle, is irresponsible,” said Rep. Kuhn in his final remarks to the agricultural committee.  He continued, “What would you say about your financial advisor if he invested 90% of your stock portfolio in one stock and it crashed?”
 
URGENT ACTION
 
*Please call and/or email today, tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday, the Des Moines Register's assistant managing editor, Randy Essex, and demand that he cover,
on the front page, one of the most historically significant events in the history of mankind: the takeover of agricultural seed by agreement between the State, the Federal government and the agribusiness and biotech industries.
 
Randy Essex:  515 284-8461
Email:  ressex@DMReg.com
 
*You can contact your own Iowa legislators at this site, or call in Des Moines at 515-281-5566.  It is best to call them at home due to the enormous number of e-mails they get with many going un-read.

*You can also contact your County Board of Supervisors.  Their state organization is lobbying against HF 202, but, locally, many of them are actually unaware of their imminent loss of power.

Submitted by
Larry Hanus of Waterloo.

View Article  Did Nonpartisan Redistricting Hurt Women in Iowa?
Did Nonpartisan Redistricting Hurt Women in Iowa?

Center for Voting and Democracy

Redistricting receives much attention for its impact on representation of racial minorities and competitiveness of districts. However, most of these discussions fail to discuss the impact of redistricting on women’s representation in government. Full representation voting methods without doubt would boost women more than any different method of drawing districts, but data from Arizona and Iowa – the two leading examples of states with nonpartisan, criteria-driven redistricting – suggest that, at least under their current criteria, women may actually be hurt by nonpartisan redistricting.

Iowa today is below the national median average on women in their state legislature. Indeed Iowa has been behind the median in every election since adopting nonpartisan redistricting going into 1982. However, before the 1982 election – the first after nonpartisan redistricting - Iowa was AHEAD of the national median; in 1979 and 1981, the state was ranked 17th and 18th in the nation, respectively. The percentage of Iowa women legislators decreased in 1982. In 1992, after the next redistricting, women again did relatively poorly in Iowa – dropping from 32nd in the nation down to 37th. In 2002, after the 2001 redistricting, Iowa women lost four senate seats and three house seats.

Meanwhile, Arizona voters adopted their nonpartisan redistricting process in a ballot measure in 2000 and it was used going into the 2002 elections. The state went from being at the top of the national charts (ranking either 2nd or 3rd after state elections in 1996, 1998 and 2000 – almost certainly boosted by the state’s use of two-seat state assembly districts) to 13th in 2002, when representation of women plunged by 8%.

These numbers are not definitive about the impact of nonpartisan redistricting on representation of women. But it does show that some values – increased competition in election, for example – may not address other values, such as fair representation. That balance without doubt can be better provided by full representation voting methods.

For more statistics on representation of women in Iowa, see http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/Facts/StbySt/IA.html

Submitted by Jerry Depew of Laurens.

View Article  John Drury: Political Irony At Its Finest ...
Political Irony At Its Finest ...

Here's a bit of political irony for you to ponder today. A group of Mason City students, who really just want their education funded, are holding an art auction to raise money for art supplies. Among the featured "artists" is none other than Representative Bill Schickel of Mason City, a man who has consistently voted to underfund their education. Too bad Representative Schickel only paints a pretty picture of education dollars for these students.


Mason City Globe Gazette Local News Story
Posted online: Friday, March 11, 2005 12:03 AM CST

Auction will benefit art education
By DEB NICKLAY, Of The Globe Gazette

MASON CITY — A reduction in K-12 art supply dollars has prompted local students to spearhead an Art Auction on Sunday at the Salsbury Room at MacNider Art Museum.

A silent auction of student and local celebrity art will be held from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. The show ends at 4:30 p.m.

The event is a joint effort of the Mason City Youth Task Force, the Mason City Chamber of Commerce and Mason City schools.

Students in the YIELD (Youth Investing Energy in Leadership Development) said students are having to purchase their own supplies.

"I have taken art every semester in high school and we really struggle; teachers keep telling us to be conservative with the supplies," said YIELD student Brittany Ewing, 17, from Mason City High School. "There just aren't enough to go around."

Ewing said students have to buy paint brushes, photo paper, colored pencils and even glue for art classes.

Helping Ewing mold the idea was fellow junior and YIELD student, Logan Shurtz, 17. With the help of other YIELD students, all art teachers in Mason City public schools and Newman Catholic Schools were contacted to have students submit items to the auction.

There will be 75 to 100 items available from K-12 students, as well as those crafted by well-known local people such as radio personality Harry O, Rep. Bill Schickel and Jay Hansen, director of Prairie Ridge Treatment Center.

All media will be represented, Ewing said, "from pottery to painting, as well as some great photographs."

Shurtz said students and teachers have embraced the idea.

"People can come and buy, or just come and enjoy all the art," Shurtz said.

Reach Deb Nicklay at 421-0531 or deb.nicklay@globegazette.com.

View Article  Cartoon: Dean Unchained by Steve Bradenton
Cartoon: Dean Unchained by Steve Bradenton



Used with permission. View more political cartoons
by Steve Bradenton here.


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