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Wednesday, May 31
Head Start Is Dear To My Heart
by
Caroline Vernon
on Wed 31 May 2006 04:00 PM CDT
 Head Start Is Dear To My Heart
by Caroline Vernon
This is an issue very close to my heart. All four of my children participated in Head Start. My oldest daughter is 26 and my youngest son is 10, so that gives you an idea as to the extent of my involvement with the program.
Head Start, for many families, is a wonderful arm of support that helps young, and often struggling single parents, create a fundamental structure and environment for learning that is truly empowering for pre-schoolers. With each of my children, I can say for certain, their early development was positively augmented through their participation in the program. Head Start not only helps to create a sense of empowerment but a love for learning. This is so crucial at such an early age. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in the program for my children's sake.
I received the following from the Coalition for Human Needs; www.chn.org:
Caroline
From our friends at the National Head Start Association:
Deadline TODAY, May 31: Organizations, Please Sign a Letter to Restore Head Start Funding.
As Head Start advocates and supporters of early childhood education, we have created the Head Start Works coalition to advocate for increased funding for Head Start in 2007. Head Start Works is a network of business leaders that have organized to support Head Start as a program that invests in our children and the next generation of American workers.
We are writing to ask that you join the Head Start Works campaign to increase funding for Head Start by signing your organization on to the attached letter asking Congress to provide at least $234 million in additional funding for Head Start in 2007 to restore cuts made in FY 2006 and provide a cost of living increase.
At present, only half of the eligible children are able to access Head Start due to funding shortfalls. If the 2006 cuts are not restored, Head Start programs will be forced to reduce the number of children served even further and cut back on the education and social services that have become the hallmark of Head Start.
Our goal in to get a broad base of Head Start supporters – including community based organizations, faith based groups, business leaders and state and local governments – to sign on in support of this modest funding increase to invest in a program with a proven track record of success.
At the bottom of this email is the text of the letter addressed to the House Labor, HHS Appropriation’s leadership and an identical letter will go to the Senate leadership as well.
If your organization would like to sign, please email the following information to Joel Ryan at jryan@nhsa.org by close of business Wednesday, May 31st.
Name of your organization:
City:
State:
Contact person and email address:
Your organization will be added to both the House and Senate letters and a final copy of the sign-on letters will be emailed to you so that you can share them with Members of Congress to indicate just how deep and strong support for Head Start is.
Sincerely,
Aaron Lieberman, Acelero Learning
Yasmine Daniel, Children's Defense Fund
Patrick McIntyre, The United Way
Gary Ferdman, Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities
Joel Ryan, National Head Start Association
Yvette Sanchez, National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association
Text of Letter:
Dear Chairman Regula and Ranking Member Obey:
We the undersigned represent religious organizations, community groups, business leaders, parent councils, social services organizations, and state and local governments. We are proud to support the call of the Head Start Works coalition to increase funding for Head Start in the Fiscal Year 2007 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) Appropriations bill. The Head Start Works coalition is a network of business leaders that have come together to support Head Start as a program that invests in our children and the next generation of American workers. We join them in this call because we see the difference Head Start makes every day in the communities where we live and work.
At minimum, we are asking that you provide at least $234 million in additional funding for Head Start, which would restore the FY2006 cuts and provide a cost of living increase for FY2007. It is the minimum funding level that we believe is necessary to maintain enrollment and ensure that Head Start programs can continue to provide quality education and services to children in the coming year.
For over four decades, Head Start has significantly improved the lives of low income children and their families across the nation. Its high-quality early education initiatives, as well as its health, nutrition, and social services programs, work together in an integrated and comprehensive manner to help children get ahead and improve their chances for success. With these components in place, children are able to attain higher test scores in reading and math, display better social skills with their peers and adults, and miss less school as a result of health issues.
In fact, research has demonstrated that providing the necessary funding for Head Start is an extremely cost-effective investment. James Heckman, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2000, notes that early childhood programs such as Head Start provide a much greater economic return than other later interventions. He writes that "[t]he economic return to early interventions is high. The return to later intervention is lower. The reason for this relationship is the technology of skill formation. Skill begets skill and early skill makes later skill acquisition easier."
In addition, according to a recent study of more than 600 Head Start graduates in San Bernardino County, California, society receives nearly $9 in benefits for every $1 invested in Head Start children – an almost 900 percent return on investment. These benefits include increased earnings, employment, and family stability, and decreased welfare dependency, crime costs, grade repetition, and special education. Other studies find that Head Start children perform better on cognitive, language, and health measures than their comparison group counterparts did.
In spite of the evidence that Head Start is a good investment, we continue to see cuts in funding. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), the FY2006 budget reduced Head Start funding by 2.8 percent accounting for inflation. This cut will result in providers either serving fewer low income children or reducing services. If the providers choose only to decrease the number of Head Start slots, CBPP estimates that as many as 25,000 children could be cut from the program.
A Summer 2005 National Head Start Association survey also discovered that 89 percent of Head Start and Early Head Start programs had to make budget cuts during the past year due to funding shortfalls. As programs entered the 2005-2006 school year, 30 percent reported laying off teachers, 70 percent had furloughed non-teacher staff members, 30 percent reduced or eliminated health care coverage, 65 percent cut transportation services, 47 percent reduced training, 12 percent trimmed services for children with disabilities, and 39 percent reported cutting operating hours per day and/or the length of the year. Furthermore, as heating oil and gas prices cause occupancy costs to skyrocket this year, the Head Start funding crisis will become only more severe.
In order to ensure that low income children and their families continue to receive the comprehensive services they need to enter school ready to learn, it is vital that the FY2007 Labor-HHS Appropriations bill restore the funding cuts from last year by providing $234 million in additional funding for the Head Start program.
Tuesday, May 30
Ed Fallon's Old Seat
by
Sam Garchik
on Tue 30 May 2006 09:53 AM CDT
Ed Fallon's Old Seat
By Sam Garchik
Today's Register has some good coverage of the four folks running for Fallon's seat. I have contacted Samad, current Des Moines School Board member and founder of Creative Visions Neighborhood Center, and Affanato, former member of Lamoni City Council, to write a short synopsis of their positions. The other two candidates, Wilson and Lay, don't have websites, but if they contact me, I will of course run what they have. I don't have high hopes for Lay, who, at least according to the article, doesn't like reporters and runs for whatever, whenever, for whoever.
Sunday, May 28
Revising Conventional Wisdom
by
Sam Garchik
on Sun 28 May 2006 06:54 PM CDT
 Revising Conventional Wisdom
By Mark Nolte
I’m not sure, but I think it is happening. I think people are starting to figure it out. Today’s Iowa City Press Citizen Endorsement for Ed Fallon is a strong sign that people are putting the pieces together.
Winning elections is not about getting out the base anymore. In today’s polarized political climate base cancels base. To win today, a candidate and a campaign must:
• Respect and acknowledge that voters are smart and informed
• Realize that Iowan’s are frustrated with the status quo
• Have a lofty vision that isn’t watered down or constrained
• Dare to challenge and inspire voters
• Be confident enough to stick to this vision and not pander
• Offer a message of hope that will motivate people to go to the polls
It seems that conventional wisdom has created a dogma that you have to treat voters like they are children, crafting messages of shell games and avoiding anything of substance.
Voters want to transcend the two party system and vote for someone they believe in; someone who presents solutions to everyday problems. They don’t really care about a candidate’s ambivalent stance on the choice issue or who they may have lobbied for in the 80’s. But when that is all they hear, they lose interest quickly and resign themselves to picking a lesser of the two if they vote at all.
So, as Iowan’s across the state learn of someone like Ed Fallon, who is willing to stand up and call out the power of money in politics, they listen. When they hear that he is offering solutions while being fiscally responsible, they begin to feel excitement. And when they realize that he has walked the walk and been in office 14 years without a dime of PAC money, they are ready to vote. Because that is different, that is courage and that is real. They have heard the lines before, then the excuses. With Ed, its no line, it’s a fact. When they compare what Ed stands for to what Jim Nussle has proven, they will understand the meaning of the word: Electable.
Saturday, May 27
Iowa Blog Roundup
by
Sam Garchik
on Sat 27 May 2006 07:55 AM CDT
 Iowa Blog Roundup
By Sam Garchik
There are now 10 days until the primary.
If you live in the first district, here's the money breakdown, courtesy of the Register.
Dems:
•Braley at $566,000 with $168,000 cash on hand.
•Dickinson at $352,000 with $37,000 cash on hand.
•Gluba at $158,000 with $16,000 cash on hand.
GOP
•Whalen at $627,000 with $83,000 cash on hand.
•Dix at $579,000 with $129,000 cash on hand.
•Kennedy at $373,000 with $123,000 cash on hand.
What this probably means is that we have a lot of ads by Kennedy, Dickinson and Gluba to look forward to, and a ton of money in the general. I am sure that somewhere there's a formula for figuring out how much this will cost, but were looking at, at least for the primary, $1 - 1.5 total spent. Could the general go up to $5 million or more? At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if the folks up here out spent the governor's race.
Meanwhile, in the third:
•Boswell at $1 million with $829,000 cash on hand.
•Lamberti at $843,000 overall with $527,000 cash on hand.
I remain unworried about Boswell's ability to win.
In other news, the GOP is now targeting the Iowa Regents. This is obviously an attempt to further cash in on the CIETC scandal and another election year witch hunt. Apparently, Lundby thinks the Regents are the reason why Skorton (the UI Pres) and Bowlsby (the UI Athletic Director) are looking for greener pastures. It seems pretty clear to me that for whatever reason, the two administrators are moving on, after having improved the University to the best of their abilities. Skorton is headed east and Bowlsby west, where salaries are higher in every single job, particularly for administrators at private colleges. Memo to Lundby: if you want to pay your college administrators what Ivy League schools pay, you should raise tuition to Ivy League levels. And if you want to keep public universities in this state alive, spend more time worrying about how working Iowans can continue to afford to attend the University of Iowa, even as tuition has doubled in the past 10 years.
Two parting shots: This bumper sticker remembers the good old days of Tricky Dick, and this count down meter reminds us we have only. . ., oh the heck with it. Anytime is too much time.
Come back next weekend for a final primary update.
Same blog time, same blog channel.
Friday, May 26
Last Day to Register For the Primary is Saturday
by
Sam Garchik
on Fri 26 May 2006 03:26 PM CDT
 Last Day to Register For the Primary is Saturday
by Sam Garchik
I would be a sad progressive blogger if I didn't mention that Saturday is the last day to register for the Democratic Primary. According to the Register, some counties may be open extended hours to encourage people to sign up to vote. Make sure you tell any unregistered progressives (or those who may be of the non-Democratic variety) to register so that they can support Ed in the upcoming primary. This from today's Register:
Iowans who aren't registered to vote in the June 6 primary election have until 5 p.m. Saturday to register in person.
Polk County residents may register today at the county election office - 120 Second Ave., Suite A - or at any city hall within the county.
On Saturday, the election office will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. People with questions can call (515) 286-3247.
Voters in other counties may register at their county auditor's office.
The last day to request an absentee ballot by mail is Friday, June 2.
Voters seeking more information, including polling locations, should contact their county auditor's office.
Nearly all counties have changed some polling locations as a result of new standards for making polling places accessible to people with disabilities, said Secretary of State Chet Culver.
Polls across Iowa will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, June 6.
Only registered Democrats may vote in the Democratic primary, and registered Republicans in the Republican primary. Voters may change their designation from one major party to the other, or from no party to the Democratic Party or Republican Party. Those who change party designation can switch back after voting.
Details concerning the voting process can be found at the Iowa Secretary of State's Web site: www.sos.state.ia.us.
Wednesday, May 24
Only You Can Test Local Voting Machines!
by
Sam Garchik
on Wed 24 May 2006 09:22 AM CDT
 Only You Can Test Local Voting Machines!
Jerry
Depew over at the Iowa Voters Blog posted this the other day. It's
pretty important to follow up on this, as this blog has pointed out
that there have been many issues with voting machines in this state.
Between now
and the June primary your county must publicly test its voting
machines. You can participate–and not just by watching.
You can call the county auditor for the schedule or ask your political party chair who should have been notified as well. Contact the Rs or the Ds where you live.
Iowa code
chapter 52 provides for a test using “a pre-audited group of ballots”
including a provision that “Any observer may submit an additional test
group of ballots which, if so submitted, shall also be tested.”
Your test
group is limited to ten ballots, but they may be the only independently
created ballots in the test. It is common for officials to run canned
tests provided for them by the same company that sold them the machine
and then set up the ballot definition for the next election. In that
case it is only the programmer testing himself.
“As near as
I can tell election departments use no formal or written test
procedures anywhere in the country,” according to Wisconsin software
quality engineer John Washburn.
Independent tests are in order. See this post
for some ideas on how to mark ballots that will reveal much about the
calibration of ballot scanners (and what can happen when you don’t do a
good job).
This pdf file
contains 50 pages of explanation by Washburn on creating your own test
deck of ballots. If that is too much to digest, try the one page Executive Summary.
The full document tells how to test touchscreens as well as how to fill in paper ballots that scanners read.
There are stories after every election of uncounted ballots and touchscreens that didn’t behave. Much of this could be prevented with good independent testing of the machinery before the election, according to Washburn.
Tuesday, May 23
Feingold Asks You to Help an Iowa Candidate
by
Sam Garchik
on Tue 23 May 2006 01:12 PM CDT
 Feingold Asks You to Help an Iowa Candidate
by Sam Garchik
I found
out about this from a Leonard Boswell email, strangely enough. I guess
he is working with Feingold on this one, and any of these candidates
would do well to receive your money and vote. As you all know, the
Iowa Senate is tied right now, and any gain would give us the majority.
Depending on how the governor's race turns out, the Senate may wind up
being crucial to progressives, particularly in the areas of choice
and the death penalty.
Boswell Bulletin
 With
your help Senator Russ Feingold's Progressive Patriots Fund will be
awarding $5,000 to a deserving Iowa State Senate candidate. Go to Russ's website and cast your vote
for one of six candidates running for the Iowa State Senate whom you
believe most deserves the support of the Progressive Patriots Fund.
I had the
opportunity to meet with Senator Feingold recently while he was here in
Iowa listening to Democrats and helping congressional candidates across
the state. Russ has been very supportive of my re-election
campaign and I'm proud that he was a special guest at the pancake
breakfast I held in Johnston last month.
Since Russ
formed the Progressive Patriots Fund, he has been supporting
outstanding Democratic candidates across the country. Russ
now brings his help directly to Iowa with his first ever "Pick a
Progressive Patriot - Iowa" event. Russ is dedicated to
helping elect more Democrats nationwide and I am pleased to have the
opportunity to announce the latest part of his effort.
Vote today!
Senator
Feingold's Progressive Patriots Fund will give $5,000 to the Iowa State
Senate candidate with the most votes on his website by midnight on May
31, 2006. The "Pick a Progressive Patriot – Iowa" event is part
of Senator Feingold's 50-state effort to help elect more Democrats.
As you
know, the Iowa State Senate is evenly split between Democrats and
Republicans. The election in November is critical to our goal of
returning control to our Democratic leaders. We have six great state
senate Democratic challengers and I want you to join Senator Feingold
and me as we work together to make sure these candidates have the
support and resources they need to be successful in November.
Vote today!
Senator
Feingold has spent his career standing up for what he believes and
listening to people in Wisconsin and across the country. This is
your chance to stand up and let your voices be heard and help a
deserving Iowan receive a $5,000 contribution.
Please log on to Senator Feingold's website, www.progressivepatriotsfund.com/vote and vote in Pick a Progressive Patriot - Iowa.
Sincerely,
Leonard
Member of Congress
Monday, May 22
Stop Invasive Data Collection Now!
by
Sam Garchik
on Mon 22 May 2006 01:54 PM CDT
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Stop Invasive Data Collection Now!
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Dear Supporter,
In order to
get the truth about the National Security Agency's secret collection of
the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, we need to
keep pushing our leaders to expose the truth. Last week, tens of
thousands of Democracy for America members joined the call for a
congressional investigation into the latest Bush administration
intrusion on our privacy. Will you add your voice and demand a full
investigation into this government intrusion?
http://www.democracyforamerica.com/nsa
Americans
deserve to know the truth about NSA's "data-mining" of personal
information -- our civil liberties depend upon it. And with
Bush's nominee for the head of the CIA, Gen. Michael Hayden, facing his
confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee this
week, the timing couldn't be more crucial.
Once you've signed the petition, call your senators and demand a full investigation into the NSA's data collection program.
Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121
After you make your call, please let us know how it went at:
http://www.democracyforamerica.com/nsacall
Thanks for all you do.
Sincerely,
Tom Hughes
Democracy for America | |
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