Category Archives: Corporate Greed

Honoring Those Who Go Before Us – Dick Fallow

Posted on July 23, 2005 by bfiacarolinevernon

Honoring Those Who Go Before Us
Dick Fallow – 08/23/20

by Caroline Vernon

It has been in my heart for some time to share the stories of various individuals who have committed their hearts and minds in service to this great country as well as their fellow man. It is not the first mile of compulsion or duty that will transform man and his world, but rather the second mile of free service and liberty- loving devotion. So it is with gratitude and reverence that I am compelled to share the first of many profiles in courage with Blog For Iowa. Dick Fallow was an easy first choice for me. If ever there was a second-miler… Dick is the man!

Dick Fallow was born in Hartford, Connecticut on August 23, 1920, to parents Gladys Bennett and Everett Fallow. The youngest of three children (one sister, one brother), Dick grew up on the East Coast during the Great Depression. As a young man he worked various jobs before enlisting in the American Field Service during WWII. The AFS consisted of many people who were unable to go into combat but wanted to be of service by helping the allied forces. Dick served as an ambulance driver for two years, assigned to the 8th British Army – most of their troops were primarily in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and England. Although they were technically not allowed in combat, these drivers were often under fire. After the war, the AMS went on to promote peace and understanding among people through student exchange services.

After his stint with the AMS, Dick joined the United Electrical and Radio Workers Union in 1945. It wasn’t long before the organization realized Dick’s talents and put them to good use. Dick was a Business Union Rep – a boomer – someone who went around to different job sites, assisting with organizing and various campaigns. This brought him to Sioux County in NW Iowa in the late 40's, where he met his wife, Mickey, of 47 years. Dick and Mickey were married in 1951, and later moved to the Quad Cities in 1952 where they settled in order to raise their three daughters. At that time Dick joined with the local AFL-CIO.

By 1967, the AFL National Staff recruited Dick to help coordinate national efforts in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Dick continues to have long-standing associations through the National Federation of Labor as well as the National Alliance of Retired Americans. He officially retired in 1988, but those of us who know him realize he never REALLY retired. He continues to compel and inspire his colleagues of many years as well as the younger generations. Dick believes, above all else, dignity and fairness on the job is most important; “We’re all in this together – combined, we all can make a difference”.
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Posted in Civil Liberties, Corporate Greed, DFQC, Education, Jobs, Labor, Main Page, Progressive Community | Comments Off on Honoring Those Who Go Before Us – Dick Fallow

Blog for Iowa’s Lead Balloon Award Goes to . . . MidAmerican!

Posted on July 21, 2005 by bfialindathieman

Blog for Iowa’s Lead Balloon Award Goes to . . . MidAmerican! by Linda Thieman Yes, friends and neighbors, Blog for Iowa’s First Ever Lead Balloon Award goes to (drum roll, please) . . . MidAmerican Energy Company, the Number … Continue reading →

Posted in Corporate Greed, Environment, Health Care & Medicare, Iowa in the News, Main Page | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Vote Fraud: Diebold Dumpster Dive Yields Financial Documents

Posted on July 21, 2005 by bfialindathieman

Vote Fraud: Diebold Dumpster Dive Yields Financial Documents

BlackBoxVoting.org

JULY 20, 2005: One late night in Texas, 51-year-old Kathleen Wynne did something she never thought she would consider: She jumped into a dumpster.

An ordinary citizen who had become concerned about the integrity of Diebold voting machines, Wynne was amazed to find hundreds of pages of documents in the trash. Among them: internal notes and memos, planning information, problems with equipment and customers, price bid worksheets, staff bonuses, and financial statements from Diebold Election Systems. It was early July, just after second quarter financials, and the Diebold elections division seemed to be cleaning house.

Wynne was a citizen volunteer then – she is nowa full-time investigator for Black Box Voting, a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501c(3) consumer protection group for elections.

Diebold, a company that boasts of its security, had made no attempt to shred the documents, or protect them in any way. Instead, the company was in the habit of discarding its internal records in various publicly available locations — an apparent violation of the management requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The first batch of documents is posted here.

(We'll come back to the document stash in a minute.)

DIEBOLD DENIES INVOLVEMENT IN GALLINA MONEY

In May, Black Box Voting broke the story of ACG Group, LLC, which has been funneling money from Diebold into the pockets of . . . someone.

The 'G' in ACG stands for Gallina – Pasquale “Pat” Gallina. According to the Columbus Dispatch, Gallina was caught giving $10,000 to the Franklin County Republican Party, handed off through the Franklin County Director of Elections. The Dispatch also contains a report of a $50,000 donation by Gallina to Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell's political interests.

Diebold, according to the Akron Beacon Journal, denies any involvement in the donations by Gallina, pointing to “Celebrezze & Associates” and vowing to fire that organization (set up by Anthony Celebrezze, now deceased) if it is proved to have “provided the check in the name of Diebold.”

Excerpts from the above news articles can be found here
(scroll down).

Let us now dissect the spin:

1. The money was flowing through ACG Group LLC. A few dollars may also have wandered into Gallina's pocket through “Celebrezze & Associates,” but the large, UNDISCLOSED cash was flowing through ACG Group LLC, an entity Diebold has not uttered a word about.
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Posted in Corporate Greed, GOP, Labor, Main Page, National News, Verified Voting, Vote Fraud | 1 Comment

Social Security – Am I my brother’s keeper?

Posted on July 20, 2005 by bfiacarolinevernon

MUSINGS FROM THE DIRECTOR Social Security: Am I My Brother's Keeper? by Reverend Ron Quay – Churches United I am very honored to introduce Rev. Ron Quay to Blog for Iowa. Reverend Quay is the Director of Churches United  here … Continue reading →

Posted in Calls to Action, Corporate Greed, DFQC, Education, Guest Posts, How You Can Help, Jobs, Labor, Main Page, National News, Progressive Community | Comments Off on Social Security – Am I my brother’s keeper?

The Top 10 Polluted Counties in Iowa (and the Companies That Make Them That Way)

Posted on July 18, 2005 by bfialindathieman

The Top 10 Polluted Counties in Iowa (and the Companies That Make Them That Way) by Linda Thieman Woodbury County holds the unpleasant distinction of being the single most polluted county in all of Iowa – with four and a … Continue reading →

Posted in Corporate Greed, Environment, Health Care & Medicare, Iowa in the News, Main Page | Comments Off on The Top 10 Polluted Counties in Iowa (and the Companies That Make Them That Way)

Making the Supreme Court Nominee Their Business

Posted on July 18, 2005 by Trish Nelson

  Making the Supreme Court Nominee Their Business Center for Media and Democracy/PR Watch “Business advocates are raising millions of dollars, plotting major lobbying campaigns, and quietly working to influence [Bush] as he “ponders” a replacement for [retiring Supreme Court] … Continue reading →

Posted in Big Government, Corporate Greed, Main Page, National News | Comments Off on Making the Supreme Court Nominee Their Business

U.S. Unborn Babies Soaked in Chemicals, Survey Finds

Posted on July 16, 2005 by bfialindathieman

U.S. Unborn Babies Soaked in Chemicals, Survey Finds by Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent, Reuters *    *    * WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) – Unborn U.S. babies are soaking in a stew of chemicals, including mercury, gasoline byproducts and pesticides, … Continue reading →

Posted in Big Government, Corporate Greed, Environment, Health Care & Medicare, Main Page, National News | Comments Off on U.S. Unborn Babies Soaked in Chemicals, Survey Finds

Help Fight Toxic Mercury Pollution

Posted on July 15, 2005 by bfiacarolinevernon

Help Fight Toxic Mercury Pollution To find out which industries in your area are responsible for mercury emissions, go to http://www.scorecard.org and enter your zip code. You may be shocked at what you find! Send Flawed Mercury Rules Back http://www.environmentaldefense.org … Continue reading →

Posted in Big Government, Calls to Action, Corporate Greed, DFQC, Environment, How You Can Help, Main Page, National News, Progressive Community | Comments Off on Help Fight Toxic Mercury Pollution

Drug Lobby Second To None

Posted on July 14, 2005 by bfiacarolinevernon

Drug Lobby Second to None Pfizer, the largest pharmaceutical company, grossed $51 billion in sales,  netting over $11 billion in profit! Once the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit goes into effect next year, drug makers will receive billions more in increased … Continue reading →

Posted in Big Government, Calls to Action, Corporate Greed, DFQC, Health Care & Medicare, Main Page, National News, Progressive Community | Comments Off on Drug Lobby Second To None

Can Iowa Compete in A Science-based Economy?

Posted on July 12, 2005 by bfiachadthompson

Can Iowa Compete in A Science-based Economy? This is a topic that I definitely have more to speak about, but this will be fairly short today.  Fred Dorr, a former West Des Moines School Board Member penned an editorial promoting … Continue reading →

Posted in Corporate Greed, Education, Iowa in the News, Jobs, Main Page | 4 Comments