When the Paycheck Stops: A Forum on the Economic Crisis to be Held in the Quad Cities
When the Paycheck Stops: A Community Meeting for the Unemployed, Under-employed and Anxiously-employed
Tues, Dec. 1st, Wed, Dec. 2nd, Thur, Dec. 3rd 5:30-7:30pm each night The Laborer’s Hall 2835 7th Ave, RI, IL
* A meal will be provided each night from 5:30pm-6pm * Speakers will address the economic crisis and potential legislative and community based actions * Health & human service agency representatives will direct people to assistance programs * A resource packet will be available each evening
Due to the large numbers of layoffs and plant shutdowns in the Quad City Area, the Quad City Federation of Labor, Progressive Action for the Common Good, and United Way of the Quad City Area are holding a three-day forum on the economic crisis, When the Paycheck Stops.
Locally, many of the plant shutdowns have resulted in permanent losses of unionized jobs – jobs with benefits like health insurance and pensions. Also, Quad Cities largest employers like Alcoa, John Deere still have hundreds on layoff. For those who have found new jobs, the jobs tend to be part-time positions without benefits like health insurance. For many, replacement jobs are at a lower rate of pay. And yet, despite this reality on Main Street, Wall Street and the banking sector continue to operate unabated.
Legislation to reform the financial sector that caused the economic crisis has yet to be passed, and ten years after the Battle in Seattle – in which tens of thousands of union members, environmentalists and progressive activists fought against the expansion of WTO policies detrimental to labor and the environment – real wages for American workers continue to decline.
For laid-off workers without a union or seniority, the loss of health insurance is another casualty in addition to losing a paycheck. Senate Republicans and a handful of conservative Democrats are blocking passage of meaningful health care reform; meanwhile, Americans continue to suffer at the mercy of health insurance companies. Since we held our rally in support of the public option in front of Senator Grassley’s Davenport office on October 6th, another 5,000 Americans have died for lack of access to health care. This is inexcusable.
Altogether, the Quad Cities labor force shrank by 3,000 jobs since September 2008. Rock Island County ’s unemployment rate is a staggering 9.5 % (up from 5.6% this time last year); Scott County has a rate of 7.3 % (up from 4.4 % last year); and the City of Rock Island has it worst in our area with a 10.8% unemployment rate (up from 6.2% this time last year).
In recognition that for many Americans, the recession is far from over, the Quad City Federation of Labor, Progressive Action for the Common Good, and United Way of the Quad City Area are holding this three-day forum. On December 1, 2, and 3, speakers from health and human service agencies will talk about available assistance from 5:30 – 7:30 each evening. And to get the dialogue started about the larger economic issues, policy speakers will present each night on a different topic.
Tuesday, December 1st will focus on the Home Front: foreclosures, mitigation and rapid re-housing programs, landlord/tenant issues, utility and rent assistance, weatherization programs. Jen Hall DeKock from Citizen Action Illinois will talk about the Consumer Financial Protection Act and legislation curbing the excesses of pay day lenders.
On Wednesday, December 2nd, Money Matters is the topic: Job training and education opportunities, resume building classes, crisis intervention. Ralph Martire from Center for Tax and Budget Accountability will examine the Illinois budget deficit while Iowa Policy Project will have a speaker present on Iowa ’s budget cuts.
Finally, on Thursday December 3rd, Affordable Health Care Options will be discussed: Food vouchers, eating health on a budget, affordable and sliding scale health care options and dealing with unemployment stress. Dr. Alta Price and Karen Metcalf from Progressive Action for the Common Good will give a presentation on the status of the health care legislation passed in the House and pending in the Senate.
Agencies presenting include Salvation Army, Community Health Care, Edgerton Women’s Health Center , Project Now, United Neighbors, Friendly House, Neighborhood Housing, HELP Legal Assistance, Prairie State Legal Aid, Iowa @ Work, Success Network, Angel Food Network, Churches United, and United Way 211.
Dinner will be served each night and a door prize given away at the end of each night. Call Tracy Kurowski for more information 309-738-3196.
Tracy
Kurowski is currently AFL-CIO Community Services Liaison at the United
Way of the Quad City Area. She has been active in the labor movement
for ten years, first as a member of AFSCME 3506, when she taught adult
education classes at the City Colleges of Chicago. She moved to the
Quad Cities in 2007 where she worked as political coordinator with the
Quad City Federation of Labor, and as a caseworker for Congressman
Bruce Braley from 2007 - 2009.
Tracy Kurowski writes a labor update every Monday on Blog for Iowa
Monsanto Falsely Advertised Roundup as Biodegradable FoodConsumer.org
France's highest court has ruled that U.S. agrochemical giant Monsanto had not told the truth about the safety of its best-selling weed-killer, Roundup. The court confirmed an earlier judgment that Monsanto had falsely advertised its herbicide as "biodegradable" and claimed it "left the soil clean." Roundup is the world's best-selling herbicide.
French environmental groups had brought the case in 2001 on the basis that glyphosate, Roundup's main ingredient, is classed as "dangerous for the environment" by the European Union.
In the latest ruling, France's Supreme Court upheld two earlier convictions against Monsanto by the Lyon criminal court in 2007, and the Lyon court of appeal in 2008, the AFP news agency reports.
Monsanto already dominates America’s food chain with its genetically modified seeds. Now it has targeted milk production. Just as frightening as the corporation’s tactics, including ruthless legal battles against small farmers, is its decades-long history of toxic contamination.
Iowa Doesn't Have to Stink The following is reprinted with permission from the author, an Iowa traveller from Missouri, who posted this e-mail on a list-serve we are on, explaining why she decided to write a letter to Governor Culver. Below that, we have posted the actual letter to Culver. (While there is some overlap in content, we wanted you to see both).
Here is the e-mail to the group:
I was up in Spring Valley, WI this past weekend for a MOSES Board meeting and drove up through Iowa from Missouri, taking 63, 163 then I-35 north of Des Moines. I love driving into Iowa from northern Missouri - suddenly there are no billboards and the gentle rolling hills are gorgeous.
But the stretch of I-35 north of Des Moines was so rank from the smell of hog manure, that I felt compelled to write to the Governor as soon as I got home.
I thought of all those people who had to live in the stench, and how going outside to enjoy nature, let alone exercise must be impossible. I'm sure their property values have plummeted as well. The only thing that seems to have saved some (sadly, not all) communities in Missosuri facing CAFO encroachment, has been local control, and the politically pro-active, Missouri Rural Crisis Center. John Ikerd says that when communities get desperate for income, they invite a CAFO, waste dump or prison to set up shop.
I know how beautiful many parts of Iowa are and I don't mean to be "negative" about your home state - but I was most troubled by the destruction of the "common good."
I wanted you to see the email I sent to the Governor (copied below). P.S. the Missouri Rural Crisis Center has created a wonderful document titled: Don't believe the Hogwash about CAFOs. If you haven't already seen it, perhaps you'll find it helpful as we continue to fight this battle for justice.
Melinda
Dear Governor Culver,
I am on the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Services Board and I traveled this weekend from Columbia, MO to Spring Valley, WI for one of our bi-annual meetings. My route to the meeting took me through IA, on highways, 63, 163, and I-35. Normally, I enjoy driving into IA from highway 63 - Iowa is breathtakingly free of billboard blight. However, when we left Des Moines, and headed north on I-35, I became increasingly angry over the truly repulsive air quality. That entire stretch of highway had an unpleasant stench from hog manure. I wonder how Iowa's political leaders can allow that kind of air pollution to destroy what could be a beautiful driving experience through an otherwise lovely state.
It is so sad that concentrated hog production has contributed to the destruction of the common good in Iowa - clean air and water. I will try my best to never drive that stretch of highway again in order to avoid the sickening stench.
Surely this can't be good for tourism. Surely, this must erode citizens' property values. Surely, this must add to your state's public health costs. Our Missouri Rural Crisis Center has calculated that just as much pork can be produced on smaller, more biodiverse farms that naturally incorporate animal waste back into the land, without the stench and pollution.
I hope your state's leaders are able to find a way out of this terrible predicament and sickening stench that threatens to harm Iowa's image.
I don't believe we can afford the "cheap" meat that the owners of these hog confinements promise.
Sincerely, Melinda Hemmelgarn, M.S., R.D.
Melinda Hemmelgarn is formerly the Director of the Nutrition Communications Center at the University of Missouri - Columbia, and currently, an independent freelance speaker, writer, and nutrition/health consultant. Melinda asked to be contacted if we ever need a testimonial. So, put her info. in your e-rolodex. Check out her blog, Food Sleuth. You can also listen to Food Sleuth Radio Thursdays at 5:00 pm Central via livestream at KOPN Community Radio
Rural Iowa Democrats Launch Group, Hold First Event Calling all rural Iowa Dems! Now you can join with others to address concerns unique to rural Iowans. If you are not already on Facebook, you can sign up now and join this group. If you are already on Facebook, just put "Democrats of Rural Iowa" in the search box on your Facebook page.
Description:
Rural Iowan's understand that we face unique set of issues. Democrats of Rural Iowa is a place where we can ban together, formulate ideas, plan actions, discuss issues that effect our lives in the heartland.
Please join us for our first conference call!
It is open to all, but you must RSVP with your name, phone number and email address at DemsofRuralIowa@gmail.com
The agenda and call in number, with the access code, will be emailed to you.
Iowans Should Support President Obama on Iran Policy by Paul Deaton
My first experience with Iran came after the February 1,
1979 return of the exiled religious leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. I was
an Army officer stationed near Wiesbaden, West Germany and members of our unit
had been tasked to help with the evacuation and processing of American citizens
fleeing Iran. It was immediately evident that there would be a revolution in Iran
to oust the government of Prime Minister Shahpur Bakhtiar. The stories from the
American refugees confirmed that Iran was becoming increasingly unstable and
the days of government as it existed under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi were
over.
We planned a number of actions to help stabilize the evacuation, including
sending members of our unit to Iran. We all believed that the next major war
would be over oil in the Middle East, and thought this was its beginning. It
turned out we were wrong about when there would be a war for oil. While we were in the middle of the
evacuation, I returned to Iowa to separate from the Army. I still remember
listening to the radio in my apartment on November 4, 1979, when the report
came that 53 American hostages had been seized at the American Embassy in
Tehran. We were all beginning to learn about Iran.
Fast forward to today, and Iran seeks to be a major regional force in the
Middle East in a context where the United States dominates world affairs. The
Islamic Revolution that began in 1979, engendered Islamic fundamentalism
throughout the region. The key points about Iran are that the people in Iran
seem anything like the stereotype of religious fundamentalism we see in the
mainstream media and the culture is anything but homogeneous.
When I discuss life in Iran with Iranians who live in Iowa, it is a personal
story. They have relatives living a life apart from what we see in the
mainstream news media. They have direct connections by telephone and the
internet the same way Iowans have with each other. The talk is about the things
that make up their social and economic life. They discuss the fear created when
a U.S. drone flies a mission near their homes. Western culture influences
behavior as a result of Iranians traveling abroad and attending western colleges and
universities. These influences are changing Iran and are a point of concern to fundamentalists.
What
is striking to me is that power in the country may lie with the religious elite
and the government, but the people of Iran seem a lot like people I know in my
neighborhood. The diversity of opinion among Iranian people makes characterization of the country as good, bad or neutral
a flawed endeavor, even if people like former UN Ambassador John Bolton
demonize Iran and make accusations about their intentions to deceive the world
community.
The recent flap over whether Iran would enrich uranium for its nuclear program
outside the country is an example of the lack of constancy of purpose within
the Iran government. On October 1 in Geneva, the Obama Administration announced
an agreement between the United States and Iran. Iran agreed to ship 2,600
pounds of uranium to Russia for enrichment and then the enriched uranium would
be returned to Iran for use in medical applications and in nuclear power
reactors. In light of the recently released photographs of the enrichment facility
near the Shiite Muslim city of Qom, this was perceived as a breakthrough. It
was evidence that the Iranians were willing to refrain from finishing this nuclear
enrichment facility, and stand down from their perceived efforts at nuclear
weapons proliferation. A month later, the Iranian government reversed its
position. This apparent and swift 180 degree policy shift may likely have been
the result of the lack of a clear voice within Iran’s government. The skeptics
say the October 1 statement by Iran was intentional and a willful deceit. Iran
watchers I know believe this quick turnabout was a result of bad
diplomacy.
To sum up the current state of Iran’s nuclear intent in a blog post is tough.
Does Iran have nuclear intentions beyond running nuclear reactors to generate
electricity and to support medical applications? Is there a nuclear weapons
program within Iran to counter the perceived threat of Israel’s nuclear
arsenal? Don’t look for answers here.
What Iowans can do about Iran is to support President Obama’s efforts to
negotiate the reduction of the threat of nuclear weapons in the Middle East,
including Iran. One more thing: take the assertions made by John Bolton and
others, that Iran is stonewalling the United States, or that they want to harm the
United States and it's allies, with a grain of salt.
If we focus some of our attention on the people of Iran, we may find that this
changing and largely Shiite Republic is hardly a homogeneous force of hatred
directed at the United States. If Iran's goal is to become a significant
regional power, then they must engage the world community in peace. Iranians I see and know believe that is possible.
Air America and Iowa Progressives Share Gratitudes This Thanksgiving Here is Air America's top ten list of things every progressive should be smiling about. Below that, a few more thankfuls from Iowa progressives. Happy Thanksgiving!
10) A president who can form a coherent sentence, and answer serious questions without a perpetual smirk.
9) Lou Dobbs running for president, disproving the theory that he is a narcissistic, arrogant, entitled demagogue who believes that he is of ultimate importance to everyone in the country.
8) The Internet, where within minutes we can pull up footage of Rudy Guiliani saying literally the opposite of what he said just several years ago about holding terrorist trials in New York.
7) Ron Reagan, who can keep his cool while speaking to a person accusing President Obama of being a terrorist while the rest of us just smash our heads against the keyboard.
6) China for vaccinating pandas for H1N1, and having the highest credit-card limit on the planet.
5) Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, who manage to take mind-numbing-hypocrisy, and turn it into gut-busting-laughter, until Gingrich or Kristol show up and turn it into frantic-channel-changing.
4) Alan Grayson, who is still telling it like it is every single chance he gets. Who wouldn't love to bring that guy to turkey dinner at your conservative in-laws' house?
3) Glenn Beck and DVR, saving you the money and trouble of going out to buy a bottle of Absinthe.
2) Sarah Palin for her new book Going Rogue.
1) Michael Steele, who is probably secretly working for the Democrats.
[Note from BFIA:
If you have no idea where you can tune in to hear Air America Radio,
that is because AAR, progressive talk radio, is nowhere to be found on
the air in Iowa. Iowa's publicly owned airwaves are completely
saturated with conservative talk, from border to border, with so few
exceptions they are hardly worth mentioning, although we do mention one below. But thanks to the free and open internet, you can stream AAR at http://airamerica.com/]
BFIA asked Iowa Progressives to share their Thanksgiving gratitude list. Here are the responses.
- I am thankful for term limits and the ability to help return Senator Grassley to his farm for a peaceful retirement in 2010.
- President Obama, David Plouffe, Axelrod
- If Johnson Co. progressives GOTV, Janelle Rettig will win the Johnson Co. Board of Supervisors special election in January.
- A Department of Agriculture that cares about small farmers and are taking on large agri-business. And in the end, will give the American people a healthier lifestyle and food choices.
- Howard Dean!
- The 2010 budget for the Dept of Veterans' Affairs will be $112.8 Billion, with the largest annual increase in its history. This includes expanded services to women vets, eligibility for thousands of veterans previously denied, and addressing PTSD and TBI.
- We can be thankful that Iowa's Supreme Court justices were able to see the inherent discrimination in Iowa's opposite-sex-marriage-only law, and that they had the cojones to vote for what was right rather than for what was right-wing.
- We can be thankful that the lack of an adequate supply of "swine flu" vaccine prevented the mass forced vaccination plans that media pundits and Big Pharma were trying to bring about through generating public hysteria.
- We can be thankful that the short-fused, impulsive John McCain is not POTUS during these trying times.
- We can be thankful that our US Senator Tom Harkin refused to give up on the public option, even when those in the media were declaring it dead and gone
- Republicans are no longer in power and seem to be steadily losing ground (but corporations seem to be more powerful than ever)
- The internet is still neutral and appears it will be for a good while
- Despite the hate mongers on the right, marriage equality is the law in Iowa and is slowly nearing the time when they will no longer be able to defeat it.
- And, we can also be thankful and amazed actually, that Ed and Lynn Fallon
somehow managed to insert a progressive talk radio program into the packed
right-wing line-up at 98.3 WOW-fm. The station apparently felt it
would be safe to allow one hour of rational talk in the midst of a
daily 14 hour line-up of right-wing talk that includes Sean Hannity,
Glenn Beck, Dennis Miller, Michael Savage, and Mark Levin - yes, that's
right, 14 hours solid, every weekday.
WOW's sister station in Des Moines, WHO, simultaneously
runs a packed conservative line-up, with Rush Limbaugh, Steve Deace,
Jan Mickelson, and Michael Medved, for about 12 hours daily, without
the don't-blink-you-might-miss-it hour for "balance" that WOW
provides. I guess that's how much time it takes to get people to
believe falsehoods.
We should be thankful we're not all dittoheads, when you think about it. Happy Thanksgiving!
BFIA: How do you feel about the BST controversy with milk and cows?
Thicke: You are referring to rBST, which stands for recombinant bovine somatotropin. For people who aren't familiar with rBST, this is a synthetically produced hormone that is similar to a hormone that cows naturally produce, but which is injected into cows so they have a higher level of the hormone, which stimulates them to produce more milk. The term “recombinant” means that the synthetic version of bovine somatotropin is made through a process involving genetic engineering.
The FDA approved of the use of rBST in 1994, and it became popular with conventional dairy farmers because more milk could be produced by cows injected with rBST. There were some side effects. It was more stressful for cows producing that much more milk, stress on the cows’ udders, their metabolism, and so on. Some consumer groups have resisted the use of rBST in milk production.
The U.S. is one of the few developed countries that allows rBST to be used. European Union countries and Canada do not allow it. Consumer groups have long been concerned about some of the potential health effects of rBST, claiming that it is not as well researched as it should be. Due to pressures from consumer groups, just within the last year, rBST has been largely withdrawn from the market in the U.S. This happened because the companies that process and market milk said customers don't want it so we don’t want to buy milk from cows treated with rBST. So, it was phased out rather quietly in that way.
BFIA: There's another controversial subject of genetically modified food – can you tell us about your position on that?
Thicke: Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are now part of our culture here in agriculture — in the Midwest in particular. Some 85-90% of corn and soybeans are genetically modified. There are some controversies, and some consumer groups who do not want to have these genetically modified foods in the foods they eat. And so people have been calling for some time for labeling, and I would support that — labeling of foods that have genetically modified ingredients. I think labeling is something that could be done easily enough.
Frankly, there's not been a lot of research on the health effects of genetically modified foods. Some argue that “well, they’ve been around for ten years and nobody's died from them so they must be okay.” The fallacy of that argument is that nobody has really studied to see if somebody has died, or has had some negative health effects from genetically modified foods.
In the very few feeding trials that have been done on animals, there have been some red flags raised. For example, in lab rats eating GM foods, there have been low birth weights, increased death rates and some compromising of the functioning of the animals' internal organs. So I think, frankly, that we haven't studied GMOs enough and we should be looking more closely. One research scientist in Scotland did a feeding trial on GMO potatoes and found that rats eating the GMO potatoes had many negative health effects. When he published his data, he was ostracized by his colleagues. Actually, he was fired, and his research data was taken away from him. So, there is politics involved when research results indicate something that's not positive about GMO foods.
BFIA: Can you tell us about CAFOs and how you feel about this issue in Iowa?
Thicke: CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) are very controversial in Iowa. Many people who live in the countryside who have had a CAFO built near them have been very concerned that their quality of life has been compromised, and some will say their health has been compromised. Some have said they can't open their windows in the summertime, or they have had to live in their basement, or they have had to vacate their houses because the odors and toxic fumes were so offensive to them. Frankly, the rules and laws we have in Iowa protect CAFO owners more than they do residents of rural communities. I think that's a problem.
I am calling for several measures to better regulate CAFOs. One is to increase the required separation distances of new CAFOs from existing rural communities and rural residences. I think we need to increase separation distances to help prevent these negative effects on residents who live in rural areas.
I am also calling for the Iowa legislature to reinstate local control. That has been a controversial issue since 1995, when the legislature took away from county governments any authority to regulate where CAFOs are built. If we could reinstate local control, so county governments had a say in where these CAFOs are sited, it would help somewhat in alleviating the conflicts in rural areas between CAFO owners and rural citizens.
A third thing I am calling for is a reduction in the size requirement for construction permits on new CAFOs. Now, a construction permit is not required unless a new building will house 2500 or more hogs. So, of course, many buildings are being built at 2499 hogs, to avoid the need for a construction permit. I think we need to reduce that size requirement by half, so that more of these buildings would be required to have a construction permit and would be more closely regulated.
BFIA: These things you advocate, would they make agriculture stronger in Iowa or would it make it harder for farmers to make a living?
Thicke: It would help to alleviate conflict in rural areas. I think we have to look at agriculture as being multidimensional. It's not just about profitability. It also has to do with preserving and protecting the ecological base that agriculture depends upon. And, agriculture has to be compatible with the needs of rural communities. Just the other day a farmer who lives in Davis County, who has several CAFOs built near his home, asked a question that really sums up the whole issue: He said, “How many people have to suffer so that a few people can make some money?” To me, that sums up the conflict over CAFOs in rural Iowa.
In most hog CAFOs, the hogs are not owned by the farmer who raises the hogs. The hogs are owned by corporations that supply the hogs and the feed. The farmer owns the building and raises the hogs on contract. The farmer is paid on a per-hog basis to raise them. So we've gotten away from our traditional farm culture where farmers owned their animals. In some sense, the profitability is being taken out of the community, because the farmers are only paid a small percentage of the total profitability of raising the hogs.
Hog farmers are now in a vulnerable position. Most of Iowa’s CAFO hogs are owned by corporate contractors, but farmers have little or no negotiating power over the terms of their contracts. With the current oversupply in the hog market, farmers are in a precarious position because their contracts could be modified or cancelled by the corporate hog owners. Already, some Iowa farmers who raise hogs on contract have received notice of termination of their contracts. Of course, farmers need those contracts to pay off their CAFO buildings, which may take 5 or 10 years to pay off. If a farmer’s contract were to be cancelled before the building is paid for, the farmer would be left with an empty building without income to pay for it.
This has been a major problem in the poultry industry in southeastern U.S. Many poultry producers built expensive CAFO buildings to raise poultry for contracting corporations, but when poultry production came into oversupply, the producers’ contract pay rates were reduced, and they were required to regularly invest in building improvements in order to keep their contracts. Poultry growers in southeastern U.S. complain that it is difficult for them to make a living because the corporations who own the poultry they raise have squeezed the profits out of their grower contracts. I fear that Iowa hog producers may find themselves in a similar predicament in the future. ~
Jay
Mattsson, previously a Minneapolis school teacher, stayed in Iowa after
getting his MA in Professional Writing. He had experience hosting an
interview show on the radio every week for 18 months and worked as a
book editor, associate producer and freelance writer/editor before
joining a full-service audio-production company in 1998. Active in
Democratic politics, Jay was a member of the Statewide Leadership
Committee on the Obama for President Campaign.~
Check back next Wednesday for Part III of BFIA's exclusive with Francis Thicke. Visit the candidate's website thickeforagriculture.com
*IBLTV is a group of citizens from the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area who are concerned about the decline in the quality of local television. Fight local media consolidation, as it leads to an unaccountable medium that enriches itself while disregarding the need to serve the public good.
*The rational counter to 'The Point,' 'The Counterpoint' critiques and corrects the daily editorial by Sinclair Broadcasting's corporate vice president, Mark Hyman, that is broadcast on all Sinclair-owned television stations across the country
When the Paycheck Stops: A Community Meeting for the Unemployed, Under-employed and Anxiously-employed
Calling all rural Iowa Dems! Now you can join with others to address concerns unique to rural Iowans. If you are not already on 
Here is 
