Help Pass Immigration Reform
By Dave Bradley
Friends,
I wish to share in the sentiments of our Central Iowa colleagues at AFSC, AILA and Iowa AIR:
Fortunately or unfortunately, the Immigration Proposal (I cannot call it reform) in the Senate didn't get the votes necessary to continue the Immigration debate (see the roll call below). Whether we like it or not however, we can expect home and workplace raids to continue in the rise; we need to be prepared for a wave of strict immigration and other law enforcement.
Immigrants need to be prepared individually, and as families to exercise their rights (the few they still have), and to tell their stories聴an important way to revert the anti-immigrant sentiment. Communities need to be prepared to respond to the chaotic aftermath of these law enforcement operations: children without one or both parents and/or families without a breadwinner, slowed down businesses, media frenzy, rampant fear and suffering.
I would like to encourage you all, to come up with ideas to implement a few things:
a) Organize Know Your Rights workshops for immigrants in your local community
b) Identify immigrant supporters in your community to organize 聯Emergency Response Teams聰 in case of a raid at home or in the workplace.
c) Organize local community forums to educate voters on why it聮s important for Iowa to welcome immigrants and support Comprehensive Immigration Reform (several of us in this list, are prepared to speak and/or to help you form Speakers).
d) Come up with some key sentences to tell the media if they approach you for comments.
e) Try to attend/participate in the caucuses, and propose Comprehensive Immigration Reform as an issue important to the state.
f) Keep in touch, keep learning about immigrants contributions, and above all, encourage immigrants to tell their stories (help them to write them in English). There is a website that will be compiling those stories, the address is: http://www.dreamsacrossamericaonline.org/ all you have to do is click on the window that says 聯share your story.聰
You do not need to be involved in everything, choose one activity that you聮re passionate about it or for which you have the skills already, any help is appreciated!
Among those of you in this list-serve, there is plenty of talent, energy and leadership to reverse the current anti-immigrant tide聴we seem to have a couple of years to do so! We should make our congress accountable for failing to pass a much needed Immigration Reform; and we must call to tabs irresponsible mass media outlets for bringing only one side of the discussion to the air waves and people who are far from being experts on the issue!
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Saturday, June 30
Help Pass Immigration Reform
by
Sam Garchik
on Sat 30 Jun 2007 06:58 AM CDT
Friday, June 29
Message from Ed Fallon
by
Sam Garchik
on Fri 29 Jun 2007 10:21 PM CDT
Message from Ed Fallon
By Ed Fallon Dear Friends, Yesterday, a group of leading Iowa environmentalists met with Chet Culver聮s staff to ask the Governor to help stop a proposed coal-fired plant in Waterloo. This request should be an easy one for the Governor, especially given a statement he made two months ago when he signed legislation establishing the Climate Change Advisory Council: "Global warming is a real danger that threatens our very way of life, and it is our responsibility to take any and all steps that we can to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and hope to curb global warming." (Governor Culver, April 27, 2007) Well, 聯any and all steps聰 should certainly include opposition to new coal-fired power plants. In Waterloo, a New Jersey company has proposed a 750-megawatt plant. Couple that with the 600-megawatt plant proposed for Marshalltown and carbon emissions in Iowa will increase by the equivalent of two million cars per year, not to mention the mercury that will end up in eastern Iowa聮s streams and rivers. For many years, scientists, environmentalists and forward-thinking policymakers have known that burning coal pollutes our air and water and is a serious threat to human health. The evidence is now conclusive that coal is also a major contributor to global warming. And despite what some industrial apologists want us to believe, there is no such thing as 聯clean聰 coal (Union of Concerned Scientists website: www.ucsusa.org). The political mainstream is starting to wake up. Most Democratic presidential candidates are speaking out. Some agree with the scientific community on the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050. Some speak about energy conservation and efficiency, and at least one has spoken out specifically against burning coal. Culver has yet to weigh-in on new coal-fired power plants. The renewable-fuels focus of his Iowa Power Fund would suggest opposition to burning more coal. Furthermore, he should consider the obvious economic advantages of investing in small- and medium-sized Iowa-owned businesses, as opposed to a couple of huge power plants that ship both power and profit out of state. Rank-and-file Iowans are contacting the Governor. More of us need to do that. Write, call, e-mail or bring it up at one of the Governor聮s public appearances (I聮ll make a commitment to doing all four). Ask him to speak out against new coal-fired power plants and to tell the Iowa Utilities Board that coal does not fit in with his administration聮s stated commitment to renewable energy. Governor Chet Culver Iowa State Capitol Des Moines, Iowa 50319 (515) 281-5211 http://www.governor.iowa.gov/administration/contact/ We don聮t have a lot of detail on the Governor聮s schedule. You might look for him at parades and county fairs. According to his website, here聮s where he聮ll be hosting 聯Wellness Town Hall Meetings聰 over the next two months. (It would certainly be appropriate to ask how new coal plants will affect public health!) 路 Fort Dodge 聳 Tuesday, July 10th 路 Burlington 聳 Wednesday, July 11th 路 Quad Cities 聳 Thursday, July 12th 路 Sioux City 聳 Tuesday, July 17th 路 Newton 聳 Wednesday, July 18th 路 Mason City 聳 Thursday, July 19th 路 Oskaloosa 聳 Tuesday, July 24th 路 Cass County 聳 Wednesday, July 25th 路 Cedar Rapids 聳 Monday, August 6th 路 Waterloo 聳 Tuesday, August 7th Thanks for doing your part for our environment, our economy and our democracy! Sincerely, Ed Fallon UPCOMING EVENTS (most of which we聮ll be at) Friday, June 29 (Des Moines) Iowa Equality Ball 2007 5:00 聳 7:00 p.m. 504 East Locust Avenue, Des Moines ($5.00 suggested donation, though no one is turned away) Contact www.one-iowa.org/equalityball.html Saturday, June 30 (Des Moines) Old Fire Station #4 Century Birthday Party 7:00 聳 9:00 p.m. 1041 8th Street, Des Moines Free to the first 250 who RSVP Contact Chet Guinn at (515) 282-8054 or clguinn@mchsi.com Sunday, July 1 (Fairfield) Community Action Meeting with Ed Fallon and supporters of John Edwards 6:00 聳 7:30 p.m. 108 N Main Street, Fairfield Contact (515) 288-0766 Sunday, July 1 (Des Moines) Stop Global Warming: Greenpeace聮s Project Hot Seat Campaign Kickoff 1:00 p.m. Gray聮s Lake Park, Des Moines Contact Kelly at (818) 282-0168 Monday, July 2 (Des Moines) 聯COOL DOWN!聰 聳 Sierra Club Ice Cream Social & Office Opening 6:00 聳 8:00 p.m. 3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 282, Des Moines Contact janie.hauser@scc.org Friday, July 6 (Statewide) Ed Fallon will be the guest host on Jan Mickelson聮s show WHO Radio, 1040 AM, 9:00 聳 11:30 a.m. Friday, July 6 (Fairfield) First Friday Art Walk 6:00 聳 10:00 p.m. Fairfield town square Contact www.fairfieldartwalk.com Saturday, July 7 (Decorah) Greg Brown benefit concert for Seed Savers Heritage Farm 7:00 p.m. 3094 North Winn Road, Decorah (tickets are $20 in advance, $25 the day of the concert) Contact www.seedsavers.org Tuesday, July 10 聳 Wednesday, July 11 (Ames) Leopold Center Twentieth Anniversary Celebration Scheman Building, ISU Campus, Ames Register on-line at www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/leopold/home.html Contact Laura Miller at lwmiller@iastate.edu Friday, July 13 聳 Saturday, July 14 (Des Moines) Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Statewide Convention Hotel Fort Des Moines, 10th and Walnut, Des Moines Contact (515) 284-0484 or www.iowacci.org Monday, July 16 (Marshalltown) Ed Fallon to address Marshalltown Community College students on poverty Marshalltown Community College Further details pending Thursday, August 2 聳 Sunday, August 5 (Ames to Des Moines) March to Re-Energize Iowa Building a clean energy economy for real global warming solutions A project of the Sierra Student Coalition Contact www.climatesummer.org Thursday, June 28
Get global warming onto Gov. Culver's iPod!
by
Sam Garchik
on Thu 28 Jun 2007 07:24 PM CDT
Get global warming onto Gov. Culver's iPod!
By Nathaniel Baer, Environment Iowa Will Senators Governor Culver enjoy rocking out to the Dave Matthews Band or even Kelly Clarkson next Saturday at Live Earth? Maybe so. But we want to make sure that they hear more than music that day. We want to make sure that they hear the message loud and clear that global warming is real, it's happening now, and we need to take immediate action to stop the worst of its effects. So we want to put that message into heavy rotation on your governor's iPod. Through our Live Earth Phone Jam, we're going to be recording voicemail messages from people across the state and compiling them into an mp3 which will rock Governor Culver at least as hard as the Police or Kanye West. To get your message heard by the governor, you don't need a huge recording studio budget or a stadium full of adoring fans, you just need to let us know you'll be with us on 7/7/07 by joining the Live Earth Phone Jam! During the concert, we'll be recording personal voicemail messages on global warming to the governor. After the show, we'll deliver the messages as an mp3 file, and ask the Governor Culver to listen in. Maybe we'll even get onto his "Top Played" list! Sign up now, and we'll keep you posted over the next few days about where you can watch the concert and where to call in to record your message. Click on this link or copy and paste it into your web browser to get your message on global warming into your governor's iPod Sincerely, Nathaniel Baer Environment Iowa Advocate NathanielB@environmentiowa.org http://www.environmentiowa.org Wednesday, June 27
Info on Iowa Women's Music Festival
by
Sam Garchik
on Wed 27 Jun 2007 07:35 PM CDT
Info on Iowa Women's Music Festival By Lisa M Schreihar Hi folks! I have several updates to the Iowa Women鈥檚 Music and Events list since last
week鈥檚 posting. I won鈥檛 repeat the July list here; this is just
the new stuff. For the July list, please go to my blogs at http://iowalisa.blogster.com
or www.myspace.com/iowalisa. Please read all the way through this one there鈥檚 big, BIG news at the bottom! On Friday, June 29, I am helping my very hip and welcoming
church, Faith United Methodist in Here鈥檚 the
schedule: 6:00 p.m.: Pizza and film 鈥淚 Can鈥檛 Marry You聰 (about same-sex marriage, narrated by Betty
DeGeneres, documenting the lives of 20 long-term gay and lesbian couples) in
the Fellowship Room 7:00 p.m.: Concert with DEB TIEMENS (1st set) in the
Sanctuary 7:40 p.m.: Break with refreshments and two film shorts:
Suzanna Mallow鈥檚 鈥淥ne World聰 (an
ever-evolving project towards peace) and 鈥淥ne Fine Day聰 We鈥檒l have popcorn
during the films too! Come one, come all! NEW EVENTS (since last posting): Friday, June 29, 7 p.m., film showing of "The Peace
Patriots" ( Sunday, July 1, 6 p.m. Potluck, 7:15 p.m. Concert, DINNER
AND HOUSE CONCERT by singer-songwriter Sharon Bousquet with David Hurlin on percussion.
Call 512-393-4400 or e-mail HC@sharonbousquet.com for info, reservations, and
directions. $10 cover. Bring a dish to share for the potluck. Post-concert
party! Visit www.sharonbousquet.com. Tuesday, July 10, 7-8:30 p.m., IN HER OWN WORDS, a reading
group centered on women鈥檚
autobiography and memoir, at the Women鈥檚 Resource and Action Center, 130
N. Madison St., Iowa City (across from the Iowa Memorial Union on the campus of
U. of Saturday, July 21, 8 p.m., GAYLA DRAKE PAUL with Eric
Douglas on percussion, at Caf茅 Paradiso in Tuesday, July 24, 7-8:30 p.m., IN HER OWN WORDS, a reading
group centered on women鈥檚
autobiography and memoir, at the Women鈥檚 Resource and Action Center, 130
N. Madison St., Iowa City (across from the Iowa Memorial Union on the campus of
U. of A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! Thanks for supporting live music, women in the arts, and
your community! Tuesday, June 26
ONE Campaign Launches Iowa ONE Vote 鈥08 This Week in Des Moines
by
Sam Garchik
on Tue 26 Jun 2007 04:43 PM CDT
ONE Campaign Launches Iowa ONE Vote 鈥08 This Week in Des Moines
By Erin Seidler Branstad, Pederson Launch Iowa Initiative to Engage Presidential Candidates On Global Health and Extreme Poverty The ONE Campaign is launching Iowa ONE Vote 鈥08, an unprecedented non-partisan high-tech, high energy campaign to mobilize caucus goers and engage U.S. presidential candidates to make the fight against global poverty and disease a key foreign policy and security issue at the 2008 Iowa Caucus. Former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and former Lt. Governor Sally Pederson join over 20,000 Iowans already committed to talking with candidates and voters about America鈥檚 role in the world and what the next president can do to save lives and secure our future. Iowa ONE Vote 鈥08: Saving Lives, Securing our Future brings together a powerful alliance, including: bi-partisan leaders, musicians, community leaders, political strategists, and influential faith leaders. Iowa ONE Vote 鈥08 is part of a national campaign that will run aggressive mobilization and media campaigns in each of the early primary states. More information can be found at www.onevote08.org. Terry Branstad, former Iowa Governor Sally Pederson, former Iowa Lt. Governor Thursday, June 28, 2007 Event begins at 9:00 a.m., doors open at 8:45 a.m. Historical Society Building, Barrata鈥檚 Terrace 600 East Locust, Des Moines, IA ETC: Tubabu, Des Moines based African Drum Corp Monday, June 25
WakeUp WalMart Holds Press Conference in Des Moines
by
Sam Garchik
on Mon 25 Jun 2007 11:40 PM CDT
WakeUp WalMart Holds Press Conference in Des Moines
By WakeUp WalMart As the presidential hopefuls get off the ground in Iowa, WakeUpWalMart.com has also hit the ground running! And we would like to invite you to join us on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 for a local press conference to be held at 10:45 A.M. on the West Steps of the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines. Community leaders Abraham L. Funchess, Jr. and John Campbell will call on Wal-Mart, America鈥檚 largest private employer of minorities and women, to be a model employer and a civil rights leader that provides good jobs, good health care, good benefits, and a safe and just workplace. The press conference will highlight Wal-Mart鈥檚 terrible civil rights record. As local activists, we鈥檇 love to have you there to help us lead the effort to change Wal-Mart and make it live up to its responsibility as a model corporate citizen. Please consider the following facts: 搂 Gender Discrimination: Over 2 million women workers are suing Wal-Mart in the largest gender discrimination lawsuit in U.S. history. 搂 Poor Diversity: Even though 33 percent of Wal-Mart employees are minorities, only 23 of Wal-Mart鈥檚 managers are minorities. 搂 Poor Health Care: 53 percent of Wal-Mart workers have no company health care, including an estimated 124,000 African-American and 81,000 Hispanic Wal-Mart employees. 搂 Injustice: Wal-Mart faces over 57 wage and hour lawsuits across the U.S. involving millions of former and current Wal-Mart workers, many of them minorities. 搂 Racial Discrimination: 10,000 African Americans have been certified to file a class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart for discriminatory hiring practices. If you join us, not only will you be helping in the fight to change Wal-Mart, but you will also receive a FREE, limited edition, 鈥淛ustice Now, Wal-Mart鈥 t-shirt (while supplies last). So don鈥檛 forget to RSVP for the press conference by calling 515-369-3569 or emailing us at Iowa@WakeUpWalMart.com, and remember to check out our newly revamped website at www.WakeUpWalMart.com. Thanks and can鈥檛 wait to see you at the press conference because, 鈥渋f you change Wal-Mart, you can change America鈥 Silvia Fabela WakeUpWalMart.com Office: 515-369-3569 Mobile: 202-834-7448 When: Wednesday, June 27, 2007 Where: State Capitol, West Steps Time: 10:45 A.M. Who: Abraham L. Funchess, Jr., John Campbell Additional info: Parking is available in the visitor parking lots, which are clearly marked. Saturday, June 23
Message from Ed Fallon
by
Sam Garchik
on Sat 23 Jun 2007 12:16 PM CDT
Message from Ed Fallon
By Ed Fallon Dear Friends, In response to last week聮s Update, a friend wrote to say, 聯Good message -- but still not at the heart of the problem. The real problem is lack of spiritual connection, to each other, to the planet, to Life itself. Until this separation issue is addressed, everything else will be in vain. This has been the message of the sages throughout the ages, whether Buddha, Jesus, Moses, ML King or Gandhi.聰 Good point. While respecting the diversity of spiritual perspective and religious experience, our yearning for peace, justice, stewardship and community must be driven by moral values, by a heartfelt concern for the life around us. Yet what inspires us to connect with others, to engage in a compassionate way with the world around us? This conversation could be 聳 and should be 聳 long and ongoing, as it gets to the heart of the pressing challenges of our time. For today, I聮m content to bite off one small piece: the q uestion of how we are called to serve. If the reader will indulge me a longer-than-usual Update, I would like to share a modified and condensed version of a speech I gave earlier this year at Drake University as part of the Stringfellow Lecture series. The speech was entitled 聯Politics as a Religious Vocation.聰 * * * * * What does it mean to be called to a religious vocation? Daniel Webster defines vocation as 聯a call, summons or impulsion to perform a certain function or enter a certain career, especially a religious one.聰 In the Hebrew Bible, God plucked Amos off his farm and commanded him to prophesy to Israel.& nbsp; In Jeremiah聮s case, he tries to resist God聮s calling and says, 聯I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.聰 But God will have none of it, and Jeremiah goes forth to prophesy, largely ignored and abused by those to whom he is sent. Then there聮s Jonah, who does everything possible to avoid God聮s calling. With the help of some angry sailors and one giant fish, God finally compels Jonah to warn Ninevah of its pending punishment, and the people of Ninevah repent and are spared. In the New Testament, Jesus calls his first disciples with remarkable brevity, saying 聯Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.聰 In the Book of Acts, Luke writes of the calling of the apostle Paul while on the road to Damascus, who required a voice from heaven and sudden blindness to accomplish his transformation. Literature and history are full of calls to vocations in political and social justice work. Dorothy Day was deeply moved by a march on the Feast of the Holy Innocents, and 聯offered up a special prayer, a prayer which came with tears and anguish, that some way would open up for me to use what talents I possessed for my fellow workers, for the poor.聰 The next day, she met Peter Maurin, who helped her found the Catholic Worker movement. Gandhi聮s call came through his own pain, and through understanding how that pain was but a small reflection of the pain of many others. After being physically thrown off a train because he wasn聮t white, Gandhi writes, 聯winter in the higher regions of South Africa is severely cold . . . I sat and shivered. There was no light in the room . . . I began to think of my duty. Should I fight for my rights or go back to India? The hardship to which I was subjected was superficial 聳 only a symptom of the deep disease of color prejudice. I should try, if possible, to root out the disease and suffer hardships in the process.聰 My own calling came while fast ing to cure an intestinal problem. During the second day of my fast, without any warning or expectation, I had the sudden, emphatic realization that I was being called to a life of service. It was an ecstatic experience. Yet once the luster of the moment wore off, the idea terrified me. What I really wanted to do was to farm and play music. So, for the next five years, like Jonah, I did everything I could to run away from my calling. Yet each time I got more deeply involved in farming, I would injure my back, each incidence worse than the last. I tried to focus entirely on music, but back problems kept me from sitting for more than 10 or 15 minutes at a time, making it impossible to practice. It was becoming clear to me that, no matter how hard I tried to continue on my own 聯road to Damascus,聰 something was pushing me in a different direction. Since 1984, my public service work has taken many forms, both inside and outside the arena of electoral politics. Religion, spirituality, community and role models have been critical motivators in my work. Several years ago, inspired by Gandhi聮s 聯Confession of Faith,聰 I wrote a set of guiding principles. While I am saddened at the times I have failed to live up to these principles, they have served as a compass and proven instrumental in helping me find my way. The evolution of my political activism is a series of ad-ons, beginning with peace in 1980s, justice and poverty in the early 1990s, land use and sustainable agriculture since the mid-1990s, and now global warming. Holding political office is only one aspect of my work, but a critically important one. If we truly want justice, if we truly desire systemic societal reform, then we MUST be involved in politics. Gandhi said it like this: 聯My bent is not political but religious and I take part in politics because I feel that there is no department of life which ca n be divorced from religion and because politics touch the vital being of India almost at every point.聰 Politics motivated by a thirst for power, or money or even a love of the 聯game聰 of politics, will achieve more harm than good. Too many people approach the political realm with ulterior motives, lacking vision, without a sense of calling or greater purpose. It is this type of person that has come to give politics a bad name, and of such that Webster spoke when he defined politician as a term 聯frequently used in a derogatory sense, with implications of seeking personal or partisan gain, scheming, opportunism, etc.聰 Back to Gandhi. In America today, more than ever, we need good people in politics, people genuinely motivated by moral values, people concerned with the greater good. Not the narrow values of exclusion and fear. Not a false set of values that negate the integrity of people who think differently, who worship differently, who l ook different, who have a different sexual orientation. When religion becomes exclusive and provincial, it becomes harmful, hurtful and false. Over time, as I聮ve talked with people who want to run for office, I聮ve developed a list of traits one should possess and develop. They are: (1) a sharp mind, (2) clear vision, (3) a compassionate heart, (4) a strong stomach, (5) a stiff spine, (6) a good set of legs (for all that door knocking!), and most important (7) a sense of spiritual purpose. Perhaps even more important than all these is COMMUNITY. Community doesn聮t just mean our family, friends, coworkers or even extended circles of people who think like us. Community means all that and more. As Bill McKibben writes in his new book, 聯Deep Economy,聰 聯The key questions will change from whether the economy produces an ever larger pile of stuff to whether it builds or undermines community 聳 for community, it turns out, is the key to physical surviva l in our environmental predicament and also to human satisfaction.聰 Community building is an important part of the work that Lynn and I hope to accomplish through 聯An Independence Movement for Iowa.聰 Again to McKibben: 聯{development} should aim not at growth but at durability. It should avoid the romantic fantasies offered by the prophets of endless wealth in favor of the blunter realism of people looking out for each other.聰 That聮s community, a spiritual vision of economic growth and political engagement that is both democratic and sustainable. Though the seeds and traditions of community run long and deep in this great, pluralistic country of ours, we have much work to do 聳 and much damage to undo. Rediscovering our neighbors and rebuilding our town squares is gaining momentum from one end of America to the other, and as much as anywhere, right here in the heartland. Yet to move beyond the culture of fear and consumerism sold to us by those who would divide and distract us, to move beyond a segregated, isolated America of gated prison communities for the poor and gated safe communities for the rich, there must be a deepening of our personal and collective commitment to values-based lives, work and civic engagement. Gandhi challenged himself to listen to 聯that small, still voice within.聰 That聮s good advice today in a world grown noisy, chaotic and confusing. We would each do well to listen for that voice and let it guide us in our lives. Thank you, Ed Fallon UPCOMING EVENTS Thursday, June 21, 7:00 聳 10:00 p.m. Nature Rocks 聳 The Concert ($25 donation) Indian Creek Nature Center 6665 Otis Rd SE, Cedar Rapids Contact: (319) 362-0664 or visit www.indiancreeknaturecenter.org Saturday, June 23, 10:00 a.m. A discussion of national budget priorities and the Iraq War Led by Congresswomen Maxine Waters, Lynn Woolsey and Barbara Lee Helmick Commons at Drake University, Des Moines Contact: Caucus for Priorities at (515) 244-1207 or Jessica@sensiblepriorities.org Tuesday, June 26, 6:00 聳 7:00 p.m. Iowa Global Warming Candidate Communication Workshop Iowa Environmental Council 521 E. Locust, Suite 220, Des Moines Contact: Steve Falck, (515) 244-1194 ext. 209 Wednesday, June 27, 7:45 p.m. Open Discussion of the U.S. Farm Bill Led by Laura Krouse, biology instructor at Cornell College Iowa City Public Library, 123 S. Linn Street, Iowa City Friday, July 6, 9:00 聳 11:30 a.m. Ed Fallon will be the guest host on Jan Mickelson聮s show WHO Radio, 1040 AM Friday, July 13 聳 Saturday, July 14 Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement Statewide Convention Hotel Fort Des Moines, 10th and Walnut in Des Moines Contact (515) 284-0484 or www.iowacci.org Friday, June 22
PCCI Forwards and Announcements
by
Sam Garchik
on Fri 22 Jun 2007 12:05 PM CDT
PCCI Forwards and Announcements
By PCCI 1) Rev. James Lawson will be in Des Moines Friday, July 13 to speak at the Hotel Fort Des Moines (10th & Walnut, downtown Des Moines), beginning at 8 pm. Lawson is an internationally acclaimed civil rights and peace activist who is best known for being one of the principle architects of the national civil rights and desegregation movements. A mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and one of the original Freedom Riders, he continues to mobilize and organize people on justice and equality issues today. Following the event, all attendees will have the opportunity to meet Rev. Lawson and purchase books he recommends. Tickets for the event can be purchased for $15 in advance or $20 at the door. To purchase tickets, call the Iowa CCI office at 515/255-0800 or visit their website at www.iowacci.org/calendar/statewide_convention.htm Who is Iowa CCI? Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement is an organization of thousands of people from all walks of life who talk, act and get things done on issues that matter most. From factory farms moving in next door to shady lenders taking advantage of hard-working families, CCI has been tackling tough issues and getting things done for over 30 years. To learn more, visit www.iowacci.org. Joe Fagan, Special Projects Director Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement 515/282-0484 (Telephone) 515/283-0031 (Fax) joe@iowacci.org ********************* 2) Old Fire Station #4 Century Birthday Party 1907-2007 When: Saturday, June 30th, anytime between 7 pm-9 pm. Where: 1041 8th Street (One block west of Downtown Holiday Inn at the south end of the DMACC parking lot). 1. Tour the Fire Station; View the 5 minute Home and Garden channel TV clip. 2. Dessert refreshments: Ben and Jerry聮s Ice Cream (provided by Iowans for Sensible Priorities), birthday cake with ice tea, lemonade, coffee. 3. Outdoor music for dancing by Prairie Fire (Kent Newman, Brian Banse, Alan Smith). 4. Enjoy the downtown skyline view and good conversation (politics and religion allowed). Open to the first 250 persons who RSVP. E-mail RSVP: clguinn@mchsi.com Phone: 282-8054 or cell 556-8054 Mail: Old Fire Station #4, 1041 8th Street, Des Moines, IA 50314 Cost: Free! ******************** 3) The Time Has Come For a New Policy Toward Colombia: Contact Your Representative Immediately! Dear Activists: Members of Congress have made courageous and much needed changes to our foreign policy toward Colombia. After six years and more than $4 billion to security forces implicated in serious human rights violations, the House Appropriations Committee has shifted US assistance to address the critical social and economic needs Colombia faces. We need you to contact your Representative immediately to urge him/her to VOTE YES on the changes made in the Colombia aid package and VOTE NO on any negative amendment attempting to increase military assistance. Please call your representative today! To get your Representatives phone number, call the Congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121. Once you are transferred to you r representatives office, ask to speak with his/her foreign policy advisor and urge them to vote Yes on the new Colombia aid package. Talking Points: I am a constituent of Representative_______ and I am calling to ask you to VOTE YES to the new and much improved aid package for Colombia as laid out in the House Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill. For six years the US has sent over $5 billion US taxpayer dollars to Colombia to fight the war on drugs and terror the vast majority of our assistance going to security forces implicated in serious human rights violations. Today, the human rights situation remains critical and more than 3 million people have been internally displaced during the course of the conflict. M e anwhile dozens of Colombian Politicians are under investigations for links to the paramilitary Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a US designated International Terrorist Organization. The Appropri ations committee has made important changes in our aid package to Colombia. The bill currently: Increases support for critical social and economic needs while continuing to provide hefty support for security force operations by shifting the package from about 75% military aid and 25% social and economic aid to 55% military aid and 45% social/economic aid. This allows for a more balanced and comprehensive approach to supporting Colombia in its fight against drugs and terror. Increases funding to strengthen the rule of law which is desperately needed given Colombias high levels of impunity. increases funding to support the victims of the conflict by providing no less than $5 million to strengthen the justice sector through support for the Attorney General, Procurator General or Human Rights Ombudsman for establishment of a victims protection program. I urge you to support this new aid packa ge to Colombia and Vote NO on any amendment aimed and shifting funding back to Colombian security forces implicated in serious human rights violations. Thanks you for your time. Background: For more than two decades Colombia has suffered from a human rights crisis. The Colombian government of President Alvaro Uribe has recently argued that there are less killings and that it is taking action against paramilitary forces. Amnesty International has documented that there has been no substantive improvement in the human rights situation, that human rights conditions have worsened in several conflict zones, and that collusion between the armed forces and illegal paramilitary groups continues. Human rights defenders, women, farmers, unionists, indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities among others face constant threats to their security. In rural communities, these individuals are often terrorized by guerillas and paramilitaries alike. They are forced to choose between supporting one of the armed groups for protection, or fleeing to the relative safety of urban areas where they add to the mass of urban unemployed and under-employed, swelling the ranks of the desplazados (displaced persons). Over the course of Colombias armed conflict the security forces have adopted a counter-insurgency strategy aimed at undermining what they perceive to be the civilian populations support for guerrilla groups. Civilians in conflict areas are viewed by the army as enemies instead of victims of guerrilla forces. In part because of this strategy more than 3 million Colombians have been internally displaced and are living as refugees in their own country. For more information on this action, please consult the website www.amnestyusa.org/Colombia Amanda E. Flott Field Organizer (NE, KS, IA, MO, ND, SD) Amnesty International USA Midwest Regional Office 53 W. Jackson St. Suite 731 Chicago, IL 60604 Tel: 312.435.6386 Fax: 312.427.2589 http://www.amnestyusa.org _________________________________________ SAVE THE DATE!!! Midwest Regional Conference November 2-4, 2007 Omaha, Nebraska _______________________________________ RE-REGISTER NOW TO REMAIN AN OFFICIAL AMNESTY STUDENT GROUP FOR THE 2007-08 SCHOOL YEAR! http://www.amnestyusa.org/activism/studentgroup.jsp ************************* 4) DAY OF ACTION TO RESTORE LAW & JUSTICE聰 Representative Leonard Boswell & Senator Charles Grassley When: Thursday, June 28, 2007 When: TBA Time: 9:00 AM ** Please arrive at 8:30 AM to discuss roles Where: TBA Outside of his office (** I am attempting to set up an appointment) Where: 300 E. Locust, Suite 320 for a conference call from DC at the district office preferably following the meeting at Boswell聮s **Senator Harkin is the co-sponsor for the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act (S 185), co-sponsor to restoring the Constitution Act (S 576), and Sponsor of Guantanamo Bay Closure Act (S 1469)! FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO RSVP CONTACT: BETHANY HEMPEL, DES MOINES AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL CO-CHAIR AT BGHEMPEL@MCHSI.COM OR AT 515.537.4211. **************************** 5) The DM and Omaha CW Communities invite you to join us for our annual 3-1/2 day "shake and bake" vigil at the gates of Offutt Air Force Base, in Bellevue, NE. home of the Strategic Nuclear (StratCom) and the US Military Space Commands. Come stand, pray and do penance with us. Or come and sit, bring a blanket, or foldeable chair, water jugs, ice chest, umbrellas for the sun and rain and food to pass around. Just come for an hour or two and share with us our hope for peace as we commemorate the Anniversary of the USA atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan on Aug 6 and 9, 1945. Contemplate with us the work and mission of these god-awful Offutt Commands, the challenges they pose to all life on our planet and the demonic claim it holds on the soul and spirit of our nation. This year's vigil begins Monday Aug 6th at 8 a.m. the hour the USA dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, at the Kinney gate and main entrance of Offutt AFB. The vigil ends Thursday Aug 9th at 11 a.m., the hour the USA dropped the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki. The vigil will begin at 8 a.m. each day and last until 8 p.m. (12 hours) to Thursday Aug 9th. On Aug 9th the vigil concludes with a prayer circle and possible line crossing at 11 a.m. Over night hospitality is available upon request starting Sunday evening Aug 5th. Call and let us know you are coming. Expect floor space, so bring your own bed roll. If you need a bed, you really need to contact us to insure we find one for you. Everyone is welcome, especially those in the Omaha area! Come for an hour or for the whole three days. Contacts: Frank Cordaro, DMCW, Ph (515) 282 4781, E-mail frank.cordaro@gmail.com Jerry Ebner, Omaha CW, Ph (402) 502 5887, E-mail omahacw@hotmail.com ***************************** 6) Dear Member, It's Pride month, and you know what that means - One Iowa's 2nd Annual Equality Ball! In honor of the monumental legislation recently passed, this year's theme is "We The People." Please join One Iowa and the Human Rights Campaign in celebrating the signing of the historic Civil Rights Bill... And learn about the next steps in Equality! Tell your friends and mark your calendars today! http://www.one-iowa.org/equalityball.html Friday, June 29, 2007 5:00 - 7:00 pm - Cocktails and Hors D'oeuvres 7:00 - 10:00 pm - Open Bar and Entertainment 8:00 & 9:15 pm - Special Entertainment Provided By Champagne Showers, CC Sakowitz, Jessica Tyler, Iris Aspire, and many more! 504 East Locust Avenue $5 Suggested Donation (However No One Will Be Excluded) See You T here! ********************************** 7) On Sunday July 1, 2007 something very special will be happening at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women. Women living at ICIW will once again be participating in a CROP Walk. Since beginning the walk, over 300 women have participated and raised over $9000 to help others. This will be the 12th time in the last 13 years that the women will be angels serving others with their feet instead of wings. The women at ICIW will be HELPING CROP STOP HUNGER. Won't you help them in their effort to help others? No matter what amount of money you contribute, it will be a tremendous gesture of support to them. We are asking that you spread the word to your friends, your congregation and other groups. Twenty-five percent of all funds raised will remain in the Des Moines area to help alleviate local hunger through the Des Moines Area Religious Council Emergency Food Pantry. Seventy-five percent of the funds will go to Church World Service which assists people in places like Iraq, Sudan, and Burkino Faso, as well as our own survivors of natural disasters such as the recent floods in Texas. Donations in support of the ICIW Angels who walk may be sent to the Iowa Regional Office of Church World Service/CROP, 3816 36th Street, Suite 203, Des Moines, Iowa 50310. Please send your contributions by September 1, 2007. Thank you in advance for your generosity. God Bless, Sr. Sandra Rodemyer Dennis Steele Co-Sponsor Treasurer ******************************* 8) Iowa Coalition to Oppose Life without the Possibility of Parole for Children General Meeting When: Wednesday, June 27, 2007 7PM Where: Caribou Coffee, Ingersoll Ave Coalition members: * Des Moines Amnesty International Chapter * Iowa CURE * Women聮s International League for Peace and Freedom * Progressive Coalition of Central Iowa (PCCI) * Friends of Iowa Women聮s Prisoners * Justice Reform Consortium * Middleton Center for Children聮s Rights * National Juvenile Justice Network-Washington DC Agenda to follow Do you or your oganization want to support our cause? If so please email Bethany Hempel, Membership Coordinator at bghempel@mchsi.com for more information. *************************** 9) Folks; Our friends at the Voices for Creative Nonviolence- The Occupation Project www.vcnv.org are announcing a 'reinvigorated' Occupation Campaign starting on Aug 6th this summer. (see below forward e-mail.) The Iowa Occupation Project is planning occupations of Senators Grassley and Harkin's Cedar Rapids Offices July 6 - after the sentencing of the CR11 in the Linn Co Court House, a full month ahead of the national campaign. I urge you to read the sound reasoning of Jeff Ley's essay, "BREAK TIME IS OVER: BUILDING NONVIOLENT RESISTANCE TO THE 2008 IRAQ WAR SUPPLEMENTAL" calling for continued nonviolent occupations of congressional offices and than join us in Cedar Rapids July 6th. Frank Cordaro, Des Moines Catholic Worker frank.cordaro@gmail.com PS Attached graphic is by Amanda Moeckel, a San Francisco artist who's web page is http://www.myanimalart.com/ ***************************** 10) Please check out Mommas Peace Rap, and then share it with your friends. http://youtube.com/watch?v=j8XnDsSG9FA This is a collaborative effort, with lyrics written by Jan Hill of Des Moines and preformed by 4 other like minded women and a couple of eager young men. The music and voice editing was preformed and edited by two young men from Des Moines with some talent in the rap music area. These men put quite a bit of time and there own spirit into this piece as well. Myself a suburb dweller, I hacked together some video and shot some video as well for this effort. This is a testament to what a few dedicated people can accomplish once they put there minds to it. Peace can happen like this as well. Rodger <soundslikesouth1@yahoo.com> ****************************** 11) Did you know that there are 3 toll-free numbers for citizens who want to talk to their legislators. Please pass these on so that more people might be tempted to call. When they reach the operator at the Capitol, they just ask to be connected to the congressman or senator they want. The numbers are: 1-800-828-0498, 1-800-459-1887, 1-800-614-2802. Elaine Wells |
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