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Wednesday, August 31
Confronting The Evidence - A Call to Reopen the 9/11 Investigation
by
Caroline Vernon
on Wed 31 Aug 2005 09:09 AM CDT
 Confronting the Evidence - A Call to Reopen the 9/11 Investigation
by Caroline Vernon
Excerpts from www.Reopen911.org
90% of CNN Viewers Believe in a 9/11 Cover-up:
On
Wednesday, November 10th, Anderson Cooper featured Kyle Hence and Jimmy
Walter regarding the latter's TV ad campaign to expose 9/11 truth on
WTC 7 and the Pentagon strike. An on-air poll showed close to 90% of
viewers believe there's been a cover-up of the true events of September
11...
9/11 LIST OF HARD EVIDENCE:
Based
on current research, this is a succinct list of the “hardest evidence”
available about the 9/11/01 attack on the World Trade Center and
Pentagon; this information directly contradicts the American
government’s version of events.
--The
hole in the Pentagon was too small to have been made by a 757 passenger
plane, as photos show. The impression made was approximately half the
size of the airplane.
--Larry
Silverstein, the World Trade Center’s leaseholder, is on tape saying
“…Pull it,” in regard to WTC building 7. This building fell suddenly
though it was not hit by a plane.
--The
Bush Administration misled Americans about the health affects of the
WTC attacks, stating "the air is safe to breathe," in order to reopen
Wall Street and surrounding areas.
--According
to eye witness testimony by several reporters and other citizens,
“explosions” occurred at the WTC on 9/11. News footage is available..
--WTC damage was inconsistent with fire (Fire Engineering Magazine); yet consistent with the use of explosives.
--Bush
blocked investigations into 9/11, then refused to testify under oath
before the '9/11 Commission.' The Bush Administration benefited
directly from the attacks in 'political capital.'
--Critical
evidence from the 9/11 attacks was destroyed; the government has only
released 25% of the documents requested by the 9/11 Commission, these
documents have large blacked-out areas.
--The
9/11 attacks were used as a pretext for the war in Iraq; this war,
based on ‘bad intelligence’ has resulted in the loss of more than
100,000 lives.
--Five
different air military training exercises were taking place on 9/11/01.
Was this done purposely to confuse American air defense?
--At least four of the '9/11 suicide hijackers' have turned up alive.
The identities of several more are in question. The FBI director
admitted not all of the hijackers are known, (New York Times,
Washington Post, BBC news).
--Assia Mortensen May, 6, 2005
Confronting the Evidence: A Call To Reopen the 9/11 Investigation - The Video is Mightier Than the Pen:
To date,
Reopen911.org has given away 200,000 copies of “Confronting the
Evidence: A Call to Reopen the 9/11 Investigation,” a new DVD exposing
critical evidence about the 9/11 attacks. “Confronting the Evidence”
includes footage of a “town hall meeting” held on September 11, 2004 in
New York City. Hosted by actor and activist Ed Begley Jr., the
groundbreaking event featured David Ray Griffin, David vonKleist, Barry
Zwicker, Webster Tarpley, Kristina Borjesson, Karl Schwartz, Jeff King,
Paul Thompson, Jenna Orkin, Christopher Scheer, Dr Robert Bowman,
Christopher Bollyn, and John Prados.
The DVD also includes special selections from Eric Hufschmid's DVD on 9/11, Painful Deceptions."
Reopen911.
org is sending a free DVD to every library, police department, fire
department, as well as thousands of other interested patriots across
the United States and abroad. For your own Free DVD, please go to
Reopen911.org.
This
video is approximately one hour long but incredibly compelling. I
recommend that you get yourself a cup of Jo, make yourself comfortable,
and use your own powers of discernment. As I often say, the truth
has never suffered from honest examination.
After watching the video, go to www.reopen911.org
and sign up for your free DVD of "Confronting the
Evidence". Arrange a house party to watch with friends and family
to help raise awareness on this vitally important issue. We must hold
our government accountable!
To Watch the Video, Click Here:
More on 911 Truth - CSPAN to Air TODAY:
Representative Cynthia McKinney organized a day-long briefing on July 22 to address the 9/11 Commission's Final Report one year later. The event included leading victims' family members, former government and intelligence workers, academics and authors speaking on the flaws and
weaknesses of the 9/11 Commission's investigation, assumptions, omissions, conclusions and recommendations. It was filmed in entirety by C-SPAN.
C-SPAN has now set some times and dates for airing the event.
They will air on C-SPAN from 8:00 pm to 11:30 pm on Wednesday, August 31
And on Friday, September 2 from 8:00 pm to 1:00 am. It is broken into two parts.
WATCH IT TONIGHT!
Tuesday, August 30
Educational Disparity In Iowa
by
Chad Thompson
on Tue 30 Aug 2005 01:24 PM CDT
 Educational Disparity In Iowa
If you
looked at the Des Moines Register today, you have every right to be
confused. Two items concerning education popped up.
On the bad news front: A list of Iowa's schools that need help (according to new federal guidelines) was released.
Iowa
education officials today identified 94 public schools and 14 school
districts in the state that failed to meet federal student achievement
standards.
Those
on the list - up significantly from the 66 schools and nine districts
of a year ago - fell short in reading and math, or attendance and
graduation rates.
A full list, with reasons for citation, is published here.
On the other hand, more students in Iowa are taking - and doing well in - Advanced Placement classes.
An
increasing number of Iowa high school students are taking Advanced
Placement classes, according to data released today by the Iowa
Department of Education.
....
Iowa
students received higher average scores on the AP exams than others
nationwide, according to the report. Last school year, 67 percent of
Iowa students scored a 3 or higher on the test. A score of 3, 4 or 5 is
accepted by most colleges. Nationwide, 60 percent of students scored 3
or higher.
Whether
or not either of these statistics is a good gauge of student progress
is debatable - but what does seem clear is that we are going to have to
take a hard look at educational parity within our state instead of the
usual budget battles that happen year after year.
The experience in Olin
shows what can happen as resources continue to dry up.
Educational quality is something we cannot afford to let slip in
Iowa. On this issue, most of us can probably agree with David Yepsen. (Of course, not on all issues, mind you!)
First DFA/Democracy for Iowa Statewide Meeting September 10
by
Linda Thieman
on Tue 30 Aug 2005 04:00 AM CDT
 First DFA/Democracy for Iowa Statewide Meeting September 10
by Dennis Roseman, Iowa City DFA Organizer
Preliminary Agenda for a Statewide Meeting of Democracy for Iowa
September 10
Iowa Room, Iowa Memorial Union
Iowa City Iowa
9 a.m.-4 p.m.
This will be the first such statewide DFA meeting for Iowa. At this meeting we will:
- Have direct communication between DFIA grassroots and national leaders of DFA
- Provide opportunity for members of local groups to meet each other and share ideas
- Plan specific coordinated actions for the next several months
- Develop communications for sharing practices, coordinating campaigns, and working on issues
- Decide what goals and state-wide structure DFIA will have
There is a $15 registration fee
(includes lunch)
For further information contact Dennis Roseman
roseman@math.uiowa.edu
(319)-337-4925
TOPICS
Focus on actions: Focus on Iowa
In relation to the general goals of DFA, what are the issues, problems and opportunities that we have that are unique to our state? What are the primary goals of DFIA?
What DFIA actions should we take in the next three months beyond those implicit in the general goals of all DFA groups?
What State and local issues might we focus on? How can we use our (probable) first caucus status to promote DFA values?
How do we implement the DFA plans?
Candidate endorsement process, when and how?
Getting referenda on the ballot.
DFA membership expansion.
Media and communications - tools and techniques.
Working with the Democratic party, unions, and other progressive groups.
What state-wide organization/coordination should we have?
Preliminary Agenda
Note: We
hope to get one more Iowa speaker for the Morning Session. If so,
times and lengths of presentations will have to be adjusted. We
should know in a few days.
9:00 - 9:30 Registration and coffee
9:30 - 9:50 Welcome and Introductions of groups and individuals by Dennis Roseman (Iowa City DFA Organizer)
9:50 - 10:35 Keynote Address by Jim Dean, Chair DFA
10:35 - 10:50 Recap of 2005 activities from each local DFA group
10:50 - 11:10 DFA's Field Plan by Chris Warshaw, Field/Political Director DFA
11:10 - 11:20 Break
11:20 -
12:00 Open Discussion and Roundtable with local candidates: David
Loebsack, Candidate for Congress in the 2nd District and others TBD
12:00 -
1:00 Lunch and Keynote Speech by Sarah Swisher, Second Vice-Chair Iowa
Democratic Party, Secretary and Political Director SEIU Local 199,
Chair Johnson County Democrats
Lunch - included with the ($15) registration
1:00 - 1:30 Facilitated Discussion to determine the top 3-4 goals for DFA in Iowa
1:45 - 2:30 Breakout sessions on each goal to determine action plan
2:30 - 3:00 Develop consensus on action plans and next steps
3:00 - 3:30 Overview of Day and Next Steps
Our thanks to Dennis Roseman for putting this event together.
Monday, August 29
American Legion Declares War on Protestors - Media Next?
by
Trish Nelson
on Mon 29 Aug 2005 11:14 AM CDT
 American Legion Declares War on Protestors - Media Next?
Editor and Publisher
NEW YORK - The American Legion,
which has 2.7 million members, has declared war on antiwar protestors,
and the media could be next. Speaking at its national convention in
Honolulu, the group's national commander called for an end to all
“public protests” and “media events” against the war.
"The
American Legion will stand against anyone and any group that would
demoralize our troops, or worse, endanger their lives by encouraging
terrorists to continue their cowardly attacks against freedom-loving
peoples," Thomas Cadmus, national commander, told delegates at the
group's national convention in Honolulu.
The delegates voted to use whatever means necessary to "ensure the united backing of the American people to support our troops and the global war on terrorism."
In his
speech, Cadmus declared: "It would be tragic if the freedoms our
veterans fought so valiantly to protect would be used against their
successors today as they battle terrorists bent on our destruction.”
He
explained, "No one respects the right to protest more than one who has
fought for it, but we hope that Americans will present their views in
correspondence to their elected officials rather than by public media
events guaranteed to be picked up and used as tools of encouragement by
our enemies." This might suggest to some, however, that American
freedoms are worth dying for but not exercising.
Without
mentioning any current protestor, such as Cindy Sheehan, by name,
Cadmus recalled: "For many of us, the visions of Jane Fonda glibly
spouting anti-American messages with the North Vietnamese and
protestors denouncing our own forces four decades ago is forever etched
in our memories. We must never let that happen again….
"We had
hoped that the lessons learned from the Vietnam War would be clear to
our fellow citizens. Public protests against the war here at home while
our young men and women are in harm's way on the other side of the
globe only provide aid and comfort to our enemies."
Resolution 3, which was passed unanimously by
4,000 delegates to the annual event, states: "The American Legion fully
supports the president of the United States, the United States Congress
and the men, women and leadership of our armed forces as they are
engaged in the global war on terrorism and the troops who are engaged
in protecting our values and way of life."
Cadmus
advised: "Let's not repeat the mistakes of our past. I urge all
Americans to rally around our armed forces and remember our fellow
Americans who were viciously murdered on Sept. 11, 2001."
(source)
Sunday, August 28
IOWA'S NEW BOHEMIA SOLAR PROJECT
by
Molly Regan
on Sun 28 Aug 2005 11:00 AM CDT
 Iowa's New Bohemia Solar Project
by Cliff Day
A group of enthusiastic volunteers recently completed installation of
the LARGEST PHOTOVOLTAIC ARRAY EVER CONSTRUCTED IN IOWA (7,200 Watt) in
the New Bohemia neighborhood of Cedar Rapids (3rd Street and 10th
Avenue SE). This project was made possible by collaboration between the
Iowa Renewable Energy Association (I-RENEW), Alliant Energy, The City
of Cedar Rapids, the Thorland Company, Plan B, and the Iowa Department
of Natural Resources. Funding was provided by the U.S. Department of
Energy. This new photovoltaic array will provide power to Alliant
Energy's Second Nature renewable energy program customers and serve as
an educational resource on renewable energy for the community.
The New Bohemia Solar Project in Cedar Rapids. (Look at the
chem trails criss-crossing the sky in the background!)
The New Bohemia Solar Project was completed under the technical
guidance of Dennis Pottratz of Go Solar. Mr. Pottratz is one of Iowa's
foremost experts on installation of solar and wind energy equipment.
The project manager is Rich Dana of Plan B. Mr. Dana is a renewable
energy consultant who is currently serving as the Iowa renewable energy
outreach coordinator for the Union of Concerned Scientists. The project
was organized as two three-day workshops that provided the volunteers
both classroom instruction on photovoltaic design and actual hands-on
installation experience. For more information on the project, you may
contact Mr. Dana at: (319) 530-6051 or by e-mail at rich@gotoplanb.net.
The project will be formally dedicated on Friday, September 9, by Peter
Dreyfuss, Director of the Chicago Region of the U.S. Department of
Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency andRenewable Energy. On
Saturday, September 10, Mr. Dreyfus will be keynote speaker at
I-RENEW's Energy Expo 2005 at the Prairiewoods Franciscan Center in
Hiawatha, Iowa just north of Cedar Rapids. Mr. Pottratz will also be hosting introductory
photovoltaic workshops at Energy Expo 2005.
The following links provide more information on the New Bohemia Solar Project and Energy Expo 2005:
Plan B (Rich Dana): http://www.gotoplanb.net/
New Bohemia Solar Project photos: http://www.gotoplanb.net/solarpix/
Go Solar (Dennis Pottratz): gosolar@oneota.net
I-RENEW: http://www.irenew.org
I-RENEW Energy Expo 2005 Speakers and Workshops (Sep 10 & 11): http://www.irenew.org/expo.html
SLAPP Happy: Corporations That Sue to Shut You Up
by
Trish Nelson
on Sun 28 Aug 2005 04:00 AM CDT
 SLAPP Happy: Corporations That Sue to Shut You Up
Center for Media and Democracy
Publishers of PR Watch
The corporate technique of suing people into silence and
submission has become so popular that it even carries its own cute nickname in
legal circles. Such lawsuits are known in lawyer lingo as "SLAPP
suits," an acronym for "strategic lawsuits against public
participation."
"Thousands of
SLAPPs have been filed in the last two decades, tens of thousands of Americans
have been SLAPPed, and still more have been muted or silenced by the
threat," write law professors George Pring and Penelope Canan in their
1996 book, SLAPPs: Getting Sued for Speaking Out.
In their
investigation of the trend, Pring and Canan found that "filers of SLAPPs
rarely win in court yet often 'win' in the real world, achieving their
political agendas. We found that SLAPP targets who fight back seldom lose in
court yet are frequently devastated and depoliticized and discourage others
from speaking out - 'chilled' in the parlance of First Amendment
commentary."
"Initially we
saw such suits as attacks on traditional 'free speech' and regarded them as
just 'intimidation lawsuits,' " Pring and Canan state. "As we studied
them further, an even more significant linkage emerged: the defendants had been
speaking out in government hearings, to government officials, or about
government actions.... This was not just free speech under attack. It was
that other and older and even more central part of our Constitution: the right
to petition government for a redress of grievances, the 'Petition Clause' of
the First Amendment."
SLAPP suits threaten
the very foundation of citizen involvement and public participation in
democracy. Corporate libel
lawsuits bring the formidable powers of government and industry together for
the purpose of suppressing the views of people with complaints against the
system.
Ironically, the PR industry is eagerly hyping these lawsuits as
populist solutions to the problem of too much government.
(click here to read the entire article)
 Join Rapid Response -
Iowa
and
Taking back the media from corporate control and infusing it with the voice of the people.
Saturday, August 27
Iowa State Association of County Auditors Aligns With the Iowa House to Prevent the Passage of Paper Audit Trails
by
Trish Nelson
on Sat 27 Aug 2005 11:00 AM CDT
 Iowa State Association of County Auditors Aligns With the Iowa House to Prevent the Passage of Paper Audit Trails
by Tom Slockett, Johnson County Auditor and Elections Commissioner
The Senate passed verified
audit trails unanimously last session. This was supported by the
Governor, the Secretary of State, the League of Women Voters, the
AARP, and the Des Moines Register, among others. Governor Vilsack
said he would veto any elections legislation that didn't contain
verified audit trails.
In spite
of the unanimous Senate support, Iowa House leadership refused to allow
a vote. The Iowa House and Iowa State Association of County
Auditors (ISACA) allied to block legislative action. They
succeeded. The House, with it's 100 elected state
representatives, and ISACA, with it's 99 elected county auditors,
killed the unanimously supported Senate legislation without a vote and
with no accountability of elected officials. They continue to be
allied to prevent any action in next year's legislature.
While
many auditors have stated that they intend to purchase paper audit
trails in their counties they have never-the-less joined with those
opposed to them in a nearly united front of auditors who appear to
oppose making them mandatory.
While
ISACA continues to
align with the Iowa House to prevent the passage of paper audit trails
in next year's legislative session, there has been no public
accountability, no compilation of the public position of Iowa county
auditors who, by every indication, are, behind the scenes, nearly
united against mandatory paper audit trails for every Iowa vote.
Neither
state representatives or auditors who have worked together to block
this legislation have been held publicly accountable for their actions.
The voters have not been informed whether county auditors or state
representatives support mandatory documentation. Statements such as "I
have no problem with paper audit trails" have been accepted when this
doesn't answer the key question as to whether such a statement
represents support or opposition to mandatory paper audit trails.
It is too bad that not a
single newspaper, radio, or television station has produced a full
compilation of the positions of the decision makers in the House and of
county auditors on this key issue. No news organization has bothered to
ask the 199 people whose organizations killed the bill what each of
their positions is on the unanimously passed Senate bill for mandatory
Voter Verified Paper Audit trails covering each and every Iowa vote.
Why
have elections with paper audit trails been blocked in Iowa and
what are the positions of those who have blocked them? This information
remains unavailable to Iowa voters. Why?
Join Rapid Response -
Iowa
and
Thursday, August 25
Iowa State #2 - In Student Debt
by
Chad Thompson
on Thu 25 Aug 2005 12:36 PM CDT
 Iowa State #2 - In Student Debt
This morning's Iowa State Daily had a rather shocking back-to-school statistic:
Iowa
State ranked second in the nation among public institutions in highest
debt among graduates, according to a recent survey. Iowa Board of
Regents members say recent tuition hikes may not be the reason for the
ranking, though.
Sixty-eight
percent of ISU students graduated with an average debt of more than
$27,000, according to a study published by U.S. News and World Report
2006 Edition of America's Best Colleges. Only Idaho State University's
graduates carried more debt among public universities, with 69 percent
of graduates carrying an average debt of nearly $30,000.
The
reasons that are specified are not exactly clear, but the reason that
Iowa's college graduates leave the area have another component:
why take a big paycut to stay in Iowa when your college debt is
near-crippling for a new member of the workforce?
(What's
not entirely clear is why Iowa State's students face higher debts that
University of Iowa or UNI students - the tuition rates should be about
the same?)
In other
"Iowa State" related news, Washington Monthly published their own
rankings of colleges and university, measured in terms of how good the
school is for the health of the nation overall. (Measuring
research, public service, enabling of social mobility, etc.)
The article points out that Iowa State Beats Princeton:
Princeton
finished behind schools such as the University of Arizona and Iowa
State—schools with which it probably does not often consider itself to
be in competition—not just because of its comparatively low research
numbers, which are perhaps to be expected given that the university
doesn't have a medical school and considers its mission to be teaching,
not research. What really did in Princeton were mediocre scores on
national service and social mobility, categories in which it should
have excelled.
As a personal note, that's enough "Iowa State Blogging" for this University of Iowa graduate!
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