Category Archives: How You Can Help

Kerry Can Win Ohio: A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT

Posted on November 4, 2004 by bfialindathieman

Kerry Can Win Ohio: A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT International Labor Communications Association The media has collapsed and Kerry has conceded, but we don't have to. According to CNN, Bush is ahead in the count in Ohio by 136,221. According to … Continue reading →

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Be A Media Watchdog: Help Stop Tonight’s Dangerous Media Spin

Posted on November 2, 2004 by bfialindathieman

Be A Media Watchdog: Help Stop Tonight's Dangerous Media Spin by Timothy Karr, Media for Democracy Click here for The Des Moines Register's list of tonight's television coverage. Only hours remain before voting stations close across America. Mainstream media outlets … Continue reading →

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Connie Wilson: Cheney Draws Tiny Crowd in Davenport

Posted on November 1, 2004 by bfialindathieman

Cheney Draws Tiny Crowd in Davenport

by Connie Corcoran Wilson

The King of the Evil-doers couldn’t GIVE away tickets – does anybody STILL think that Bush will take Iowa?  Connie Wilson does a smashing job of pulling Cheney’s statements to pieces.

Click on “more >>” to see all the fine photos and to read about how Connie's book is being removed from bookshelves in the QC because of her political slant!
October 30, 2004

It was appropriate that Dick Cheney showed up in Davenport at Halloween. He’s certainly scary enough, even without the benefit of a costume.  Cheney and company came from Columbus, Ohio; Nazareth, Pennsylvania; and Zanesville, Ohio…battleground states all.

Introduced by his wife of 40 years, Lynne, the Cheneys brought their three small grandchildren with them, and Mrs. Cheney shamelessly played the “fear card” that the Republican Party has been using to woo the female vote they need to win the election. Her words: “When I think of this election, I think of my kids and grandkids and their safety and security.” (And this is the same woman who complained, saying that John Kerry was “not a good man” because he mentioned the Cheney’s out-of-the-closet gay daughter, Mary, in a very tactful answer to a debate question.)


A group of Deaniacs joined Billionaires for Bush to protest the
Cheney visit. One of their signs reads, “Health care is already
affordable.”  Another reads, “Education is NOT for everyone.”
I love the “Thurston and Lovey” look of the couple in the front.
Connie captured this photo at Peabody's, down the street from
the Cheney event in Davenport.


After an outside camera projected the approaching motorcade of SUVs (at least 15, all dark colored gas guzzlers) on a large screen inside the Mississippi Room of the River Center, the pseudo-VP entered to the musical question: “Are you ready to rumble?”

Actually, no, Mr. Cheney. I am not “ready to rumble.” I think that “rumbling” is now and remains a very bad idea. The next song was “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor….another very old song to pump up the crowd.

In the spirit of Halloween, some of the scarier things I heard at the Cheney rally were these:

 1)    The prayer (by Pastor Carl Roberts of the Bettendorf Christian Church): “We’re thankful that we have servants like pResident Bush and Vice pResident Cheney.  We believe that they are the best men for the job at this time.” (Speak for yourself, Pastor.)

2)    “I’m sick of Democrats mocking our pResident, aren’t you?” Actually, it is more the entire world that is “mocking” our “pResident.” The reason? Aside from being voted the “scariest villain in a movie this year” by Europeans, (a nod to Bush’s appearance in Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11”), he is quite possibly the worst pResident we have ever had. Most of the civilized world regards him as a loose cannon and the greatest threat to world peace (an actual poll result, in Europe, “greatest threat to world peace: 70% said “George W. Bush”). If you tried to script a president who appeared more foolish, uninformed and unintelligent (despite his legacy Yale degree), a movie audience wouldn’t believe that someone this ignorant, uninformed, arrogant and out-of-touch could be elected. (And, actually, class…does anyone really believe that he was elected in 2000?)
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This Year For Halloween, Go Trick-or-Voting!

Posted on October 30, 2004 by bfialindathieman

This Year For Halloween, Go Trick-or-Voting! by T. Eve Greenaway and Chinyere Tutashinda, AlterNet.org By going door-to-door in costume, offering up treats, voting tips and directions to polling places, this year’s trick-or-voters will also be spreading the word: there has … Continue reading →

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The Final Push is On: What You Can Do!

Posted on October 29, 2004 by bfialindathieman

The Final Push is On: What You Can Do! by Andrew Smith, Candidate for Iowa House District 40, Tama and Grundy Counties I know everyone is tired. I know that we are all sick of the campaign, sick of the … Continue reading →

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Election Day Problems: What To Watch For

Posted on October 27, 2004 by bfialindathieman

Election Day Problems: What To Watch For Voters Unite! Below, find ways you can help no matter where you live. SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT …   1) Electronic voting machines changing votes!! VOTERS — CHECK THE REVIEW SCREEN!! This means … Continue reading →

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Iowa Absentee Ballot Chase This Weekend

Posted on September 23, 2004 by bfialindathieman

 Iowa Absentee Ballot Chase This Weekend This was forwarded to Blog for Iowa from Marcia Nichols at AFSCME Iowa and Mark L. Smith at the Iowa Federation of Labor. Participate in the Absentee Ballot Chase Weekend this week! For more … Continue reading →

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Stop Outsourcing Iowa!

Posted on September 18, 2004 by bfialindathieman

 Stop Outsourcing Iowa! WATERLOO – Thirty Black Hawk County residents gathered in the Law Court Theatre at the Waterloo Center for the Arts this past week to talk about the outsourcing of jobs in Iowa and across the nation. This … Continue reading →

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Iowa Fair Trade Campaign: Stop Outsourcing Our Future!

Posted on September 8, 2004 by bfialindathieman

Iowa Fair Trade Campaign: Stop Outsourcing Our Future!


The Iowa Fair Trade Campaign seeks to bring Iowans together to work for new rules for the global economy that respect workers, family farmers, immigrants, the environment, human rights, and democracy.

Groups and individuals in Iowa have worked for fair trade and global justice for many years. During the months proceeding the 2004 Iowa Presidential caucuses, we came together as the Iowa Fair Trade Campaign to insure that trade was discussed by the Presidential candidates, to present a common statement to the candidates on trade issues, and to persuade them to embrace this position.

A network of over 200 individuals representing labor, family farmers, the faith community, immigrants, students, environmentalists, and others “birddogged” the Presidential candidates throughout the state, and all the candidates campaigning in Iowa embraced our basic requests before the Iowa caucuses. The Iowa Fair Trade Statement was endorsed by 25 Iowa organizations, outlining a common position on what responsible trade agreements should include.

The Iowa Fair Trade Campaign is working to stop the proposed Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), and the expansion of the World Trade Organization (WTO). We seek, instead, a new set of rules for the global economy that will insure that all Iowans, not just a few, benefit from trade and trade agreement.
 
Plan for September and October 2004

The IFTC will educate, organize, and mobilize citizens in Iowa to oppose the corporate global trade agenda and support new rules for global trade and investment agreements that protect the interests of workers, the environment, family farmers, consumers, human rights, and democratic processes.   A major educational component will be the holding of 'town hall meetings' called 'Stop Outsourcing Our Future!'  Each town hall meeting will be co-sponsored by IFTC member groups, with panelists representing as many of our constituencies as possible.  Public participation and suggestions for citizen action will be a major part of each town hall meeting.

The Iowa Fair Trade Campaign currently has scheduled five town hall meetings.  They will be held at the following locations and times.

Waterloo, Sept. 13, Center for the Arts, 7-8:30 pm

Marshalltown, Sept. 27, Iowa Valley Community College, 7-8:30pm

Mason City, Sept. 29, Public Library, 7-8:30 pm

Keokuk, Sept. 30, Public Library, 6:30-8:00 pm

Muscatine, Oct. 2, Muscatine Commuity College, 10:30-Noon

Please spread the word about these meetings and let Iowa Fair Trade Campaign organizer Dave Leshtz know if you'd like to have such a meeting in your part of the state.  Co-sponsors and panelists are being identified.  Suggestions are welcome.  Contact Dave at dleshtz@ia.net or 319-621-4205.

Current co-sponsors include Iowa Farmers Union, National Catholic Rural Life Conference, many labor councils, League of Rural Voters, Americans for Democratic Action, and Iowa Conference United Methodist Church.

To read the Iowa Fair Trade Coalition’s Statement on Trade Agreements in its entirety, click on “more >>” below.
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It’s GOOD to Vote Early: Get Your Iowa Absentee Ballot Here!

Posted on September 7, 2004 by bfialindathieman

It's GOOD to  Early Get Your Iowa Absentee Ballot Here! by Linda Thieman Conventional wisdom tells us that this year, the party that brings in the most absentee ballots will be the party of victory.  And casting an absentee ballot … Continue reading →

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