“Let America Be America Again”

Posted on February 20, 2021 by Dave Bradley

(America never was America to me.)

It is Black History Month. I can only say this is one one my favorites. Read it multiple times.

Let America Be America Again

Langston Hughes – 1902-1967

from poets.org

Let America be America again.

Let it be the dream it used to be.

Let it be the pioneer on the plain

Seeking a home where he himself is free.

 

(America never was America to me.)

 

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed—

Let it be that great strong land of love

Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme

That any man be crushed by one above.

 

(It never was America to me.)

 

O, let my land be a land where Liberty

Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,

But opportunity is real, and life is free,

Equality is in the air we breathe.

 

(There’s never been equality for me,

Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.”)

 

Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?

And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?

 

I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart,

I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars.

I am the red man driven from the land,

I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek—

And finding only the same old stupid plan

Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.

 

I am the young man, full of strength and hope,

Tangled in that ancient endless chain

Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!

Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!

Of work the men! Of take the pay!

Of owning everything for one’s own greed!

 

I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil.

I am the worker sold to the machine.

I am the Negro, servant to you all.

I am the people, humble, hungry, mean—

Hungry yet today despite the dream.

Beaten yet today—O, Pioneers!

I am the man who never got ahead,

The poorest worker bartered through the years.

 

Yet I’m the one who dreamt our basic dream

In the Old World while still a serf of kings,

Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true,

That even yet its mighty daring sings

In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned

That’s made America the land it has become.

O, I’m the man who sailed those early seas

In search of what I meant to be my home—

For I’m the one who left dark Ireland’s shore,

And Poland’s plain, and England’s grassy lea,

And torn from Black Africa’s strand I came

To build a “homeland of the free.”

 

The free?

 

Who said the free? Not me?

Surely not me? The millions on relief today?

The millions shot down when we strike?

The millions who have nothing for our pay?

For all the dreams we’ve dreamed

And all the songs we’ve sung

And all the hopes we’ve held

And all the flags we’ve hung,

The millions who have nothing for our pay—

Except the dream that’s almost dead today.

 

O, let America be America again—

The land that never has been yet—

And yet must be—the land where every man is free.

The land that’s mine—the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME—

Who made America,

Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,

Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,

Must bring back our mighty dream again.

 

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose—

The steel of freedom does not stain.

From those who live like leeches on the people’s lives,

We must take back our land again,

America!

 

O, yes,

I say it plain,

America never was America to me,

And yet I swear this oath—

America will be!

 

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,

The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,

We, the people, must redeem

The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.

The mountains and the endless plain—

All, all the stretch of these great green states—

And make America again! 

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A Lesson Learned Once Again

Posted on February 20, 2021 by Dave Bradley

The Republican Party is now over 40 years into their little experiment trying to prove night and day that government doesn’t work. Pretty much the first thing out of Republican politician’s mouth is that “government doesn’t work.” When that is company motto, the employees go all out to make sure it is true.

Somehow voters buy this message that government doesn’t work. Then is some sort of a fit of truly questionable logic, elect the politicians that claim government doesn’t work thinking in some strange backward way these folks will make government work. What voters don’t seem to realize is like so many things said during a campaign, this is not a statement of fact but a promise of what is to come.

Republicans seem to believe that private business somehow works much better. What they don’t consider is that private business may be better able to deliver a product, but only in a very narrowly focused selected area. Outside of that narrowly focused slice they are incompetent. Thinking that business by its nature will be better in any area than government is a huge leap.

The previous administration left is many examples of this kind of illogical thinking that will take a long time to dig out of. The first that leaps to mind is the USPS. While the Post Office has been hampered by previous Republican administrations the last one actively took dynamite to the Post Office in order to purposely put it out of business so its business could be sold off to private interests. At its best the USPS was the premiere mail service in the world.

The next example we have is Iowa’s legislature trying to give our tax money to private schools that claim they are better at education than the public school system. There is no comprehensive study showing that. Before Republican legislatures got into the yearly exercise of shorting Iowa’s public school funding, Iowa’s public schools were the best in the world. Now that the legislature has slowly dismantled the public school system in Iowa, they have an answer.

As you could expect, that answer involves private schools. In the case of schools, the schools are often not only private but also religious. Therefore the money that will be taken from public schools will possible go to a religious entity which should violate the first amendment of the constitution.

Use the money that will now be used to dismantle the public schools to fix the public schools. This would help the general public much more than a lucky few. If folks want to send their kids to a private school they can find a way to raise private money for scholarships.

Finally the mess in Texas shows just how bad the public can be hurt by the distrust of using public ownership of utilities and putting those utilities into private hands. Instead of having profits plowed back into the utilities to prepare for future, doing maintenance and adding improvements. Instead profits went into dividends giving the few owners big rewards. Now the public is suffering.

There are good sound reasons why we have common ownership of certain necessary utilities and services. In some areas, such as medicine there are both public and private sectors and in the endeavors less necessary for the functioning of society private ownership is common. In this area I think of things like entertainment.

When Republicans praise the glories of business the stories we get are often incomplete and the data enhanced by favorable conditions. Do private schools serve a full spectrum of students from the genius to the very slow? Are classes way over the recommended size? Have students in any way been selected in or selected out? 

The mission of schools is to raise full citizens. The mission of the public mail system is to provide service to all corners of the country come hell or high water. The mission of utilities is to have said utilities functional at the times when they are needed most. In all the cases mentioned above privatized versions of these necessary services have failed.

This is not the 330 million individual people of the US. This is the United States where we set up systems to work for all, not the privileged few. It is time for voters to look for politicians who promise what works best for the whole, not for a few individuals. This is the underlying philosophy of this country.

The days of electing people who say “government doesn’t work” and then proceed to break the government to prove themselves right should be relegated to a century back in the 1920s when we first learned it was a bad philosophy that didn’t make sense for society. 

Posted in 2022 Election campaign, Republican hypocrisy, Republican Policy | Tagged | 1 Comment

Voters Tell Their Stories – 22 Votes Still Uncounted In IA-02

Posted on February 19, 2021 by Trish Nelson

From our inbox:  Urgent re-count update from Rita Hart for Iowa.

22 voters still have not had their legally-cast ballots counted in this race, and it’s not right. Those voters are speaking out about why they want their votes to count in this race. Here’s what they had to say:

These voters are fighting for their right to participate in our democracy, and we need your help to make sure they’re being heard.Can you do your part to help by sharing this video on Facebook or Twitter today?

We’re proud to be standing with these voters and doing everything we can to help them get their votes counted. Even just liking our posts will help more people see them and make a difference in this race, so please, like and share today!

Thank you for your help! We are so grateful.

-All of us at Rita Hart for Congress

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Iowa Republicans De-fund Public Schools Again

Posted on February 18, 2021 by Trish Nelson

Senator Herman Quirmbach of Ames responds to Republican claims that they have not repeatedly CUT state support for Iowa K12 schools. The truth? State support under Republican leadership has repeatedly failed to keep up with inflation, hurting both students and local property taxpayers. 

If you are not able to see the video below, here is the original post on Facebook. View link

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Iowa House Dems COVID-19 Vaccine Update With Eli Perencevich

Posted on February 17, 2021 by Trish Nelson

Lots of information here, much of it good news.

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Iowa Environmental Council Legislative News

Posted on February 16, 2021 by Trish Nelson

Iowa Environmental Council Legislative News Bulletin: February 15, 2021

Week 5 Legislative Recap – February 8 – 12

Activity is ramping up at the Capitol, as the deadline for bills to be introduced by a sponsor passed last week and the first funnel approaches on March 5. IEC is tracking several bills that are moving rapidly, including the Forest and Fruit Tree Exemption (SF 352) and the natural gas and propane requirement bill (HSB 166/SSB 1126).

Bottle bill issues have emerged once again this session, taking many different forms. Of the seven bottle redemption bills that have been introduced only one seems to have any traction. Bottle Redemption (SSB 1160), which attempts to raise the long standing one cent handling fee to a two cent handling fee, passed out of subcommittee last week. While the Iowa Grocery Industry Association and their membership support this bill, the Iowa Beverage Association and distributors are lined up in opposition.

Read our program recaps below for updates on key legislation and view our bill tracker to see all of the bills the Council is tracking so far this session.

Energy Program Activity

The energy program continues to watch several bills introduced earlier this session as they advance at the state Capitol. We remain optimistic about the bipartisan support for expanding Iowa’s state solar tax credit and are working to cultivate grassroots support as HF 221 makes its way to the full House Ways and Means Committee next.

IEC continues to closely watch HSB 166 and SSB 1126, which restrict cities and counties from choosing clean energy resources and carves out a market for uneconomical gas imports. Iowa already enjoys an abundance of carbon-free electricity, and this bill would hinder communities from utilizing this local and cost-effective resource. HSB 166 passed out of committee this afternoon. IEC hopes to see the bill narrowed in focus and preserve the autonomy of local government.

A new set of bills were introduced last week, which would hinder wind development at the state level. SF 298 and SSB 1152 have been referred to the commerce and agriculture committees respectively, and aim to impose unfavorable regulation on wind siting and decommissioning. We will continue to monitor these bills closely in the coming weeks.

Water Program Activity

The Water Program continues to watch several bills, one of which is SF 352, the Forest and Fruit Trees Exemption, which lessens the tax exemption for forests and orchards from 100% to 75%. Senator Rozenboom chaired the subcommittee on the bill last year, and introduced it this year. He stated in debate that tax exemption for forests and orchards is a good idea, but problems with the current code need to be addressed in order to stop the shift of property taxes. While there are issues with the tax exemption that should be addressed, this bill goes too far by increasing the qualifying acreage from 2 to 10. Also part of the conversation was the devastating loss of trees in the derecho and the need to incentivize more tree planting, not less. The bill is ready for debate in front of the Senate this week. IEC has registered against the bill, and we will keep you updated on the bill’s progress and how the public can get involved.

Another bill of interest is SF 208, which would require schools to set up water bottle filling stations designed to filter out lead. This bill has been introduced in the legislature as a result of research done at the University of Iowa Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination (CHEEC) on lead in school water supplies. CHEEC has been assessing levels of lead contamination in school drinking water supplies across the state, and their findings indicate that tens of thousands of Iowa children may be exposed to unsafe levels of lead. Remediation approaches such as bottle filling stations have high health benefits relative to their cost.

Legislative Dates of Interest

2/15 – 2/19 – IFU Farm & Food Virtual Lobby Days
2/25 – IEC’s Environmental Advocacy Day (virtual)
3/05 – First funnel
3/26 – IEC’s March Legislative Lunch
4/02 – Second funnel

Take a look at an updated list of forums happening across Iowa this week.

Click for more info

Legislative News of Interest:

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Why Do Iowa Republicans Want To Destroy Our Universities?

Posted on February 15, 2021 by Trish Nelson

Still the party of Trump

There is a bill making its way through the legislature that would be very bad for Iowa’s universities.Why would the Iowa legislature want to harm Iowa’s universities?

It is self evident why Republicans would want voters to lack education and critical thinking skills. Not to say that being smart and having a formal education are the same thing. There are plenty of people who do not have a college degree who are very smart and well informed and they do not support right-wing crazy. But it sure does make it easier to influence opinion with simplistic talking points, lies and propaganda.  Here’s recent polling published by Newsweek:

About half of Republicans and Americans without college degrees said they want Trump to remain the head of the party for the foreseeable future. And 89 percent of U.S. adults with no college degree said they want the former president to remain at the forefront of politics.

One of Trump’s former spokespersons who is probably in jail now said once, remarkably, “Donald Trump is the president for the uneducated.”  That’s about the size of it and why democracy needs an educated citizenry, even if bad for Republicans.

“If this bill were to pass (SF 41), many of our best and brightest would leave. It would make Iowa an educational backwater that no one would want to be associated with in higher education,” Keith Saunders, Iowa Board of Regents.

Bill text: legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ba=SF41

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Labor Coming Back?

Posted on February 14, 2021 by Dave Bradley

Amazon workers attempt to organize may signal change in Labor’s standing.

Biden moves signal new era for Labor?

We all felt it when Joe Biden won the election as President. The winds of change were blowing hard. The wind was now at the back of several groups that had had a strong wind blowing in their faces for many years. Perhaps the group to be most appreciative of the wind behind their back will be a group that has been a target of Republicans always but especially since Ronald Reagan – Labor.

Few can forget that one of Ronald Reagan’s early acts as president was to fire 11,000 PATCO (Professional Air Traffic Controllers Org.) on August 5th of 1981. (note 40th anniversary this year.) Despite campaigning as a union fiend in 1980, Reagan’s action sent an unmistakeable message to unions and workers – You are no longer welcome.

Since then, especially in Republican led states and during Republican led administrations, labor has gotten the short straw. Businesses have favored candidates who busted unions with major campaign contributions since. While productivity has gone up 69% since the late 70s – just before the Reagan action against PATCO – wages have been flat.  

NPR has a great map showing declines in labor union participation at this website. While it is from 2015, it is still true today. You may note that as union membership declined since the 1970s, so have wages.

Now there is a new sheriff in town. Joe Biden sent a message early and definitively: Labor will count in his administration. From Rebecca Rainey at politico.com:

“President Joe Biden is forcing out two Trump-era counsels from the National Labor Relations Board, the first time in more than 70 years a president has exercised that power over the agency.

National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Peter Robb, a Trump appointee, was fired Wednesday after refusing a request from Biden to step down from his post. On Thursday, Biden asked for the resignation of Robb’s replacement, Deputy General Counsel Alice Stock, by 5 p.m. or said she would be dismissed.

Robb’s dismissal — hailed by union officials and their Democratic allies, who blame him for what they say is a pro-management turn in the labor board — marked the first time a president has removed the top lawyer at the NLRB since Harry Truman did so in 1950.

Robb said that if he followed through with Biden’s request Wednesday, it “would set an unfortunate precedent” for labor relations in the U.S., according to a copy of a letter obtained by Law360. The White House said he was subsequently fired.

In a Thursday letter, Stock also declined Biden’s request, arguing that it would be “detrimental” to the agency’s operations given the “dubious legality” of Robb’s firing.”

Before Biden, however, workers at Amazon’s Bessemer, Alabama “fulfillment center” (don’t you love that phrase) had begun organizing to unionize.     

As the US economy took a huge hit thanks to the pandemic, Amazon and a few other businesses flourished. Workers worked in harsh conditions, including possibly getting the corona virus at work daily. Their time is tracked to the microsecond. Workers were barraged with anti-union propaganda constantly. 

Workers are still trying to get enough signatures for a vote, at least Biden sent them a bit of good news by letting them kn. Ow that the NLRB was no longer a plaything of business.

While Amazon workers make @ $15/hour, CEO Jeff Bezos net worth is in the $180 BILLION range as he and Elon Musk vie for the title of richest human. Could Bezos afford to pay his workers a little more with more benefits?

Remember that during the post-WWII era in the US, when unions represented about 1/3rd of workers, wages were high enough that even working people could afford to have one job in the family and still make enough to afford a house, a yearly vacation, college for their kids and a decent retirement.

Restoring labor and laborers to their place of dignity in America will be necessary ti rebalancing the economy so it works for all.

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Sunday Funday: Valentine Edition

Posted on February 14, 2021 by Dave Bradley

blogforiowa’s favorite couple and their humans: (4 minutes)

It is always curious how ancient rituals or beliefs turn up in our day as something entirely different from the original. In this case St. Valentine’s Day. The only common thread seems to be lovemaking.

From an NPR story from some 10 years ago:   

Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate romance and love and kissy-face fealty. But the origins of this festival of candy and cupids are actually dark, bloody — and a bit muddled.

Though no one has pinpointed the exact origin of the holiday, one good place to start is ancient Rome, where men hit on women by, well, hitting them.

From Feb. 13 to 15, the Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia. The men sacrificed a goat and a dog, then whipped women with the hides of the animals they had just slain.

The Roman romantics “were drunk. They were naked,” says Noel Lenski, a historian at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Young women would actually line up for the men to hit them, Lenski says. They believed this would make them fertile.

The brutal fete included a matchmaking lottery, in which young men drew the names of women from a jar. The couple would then be, um, coupled up for the duration of the festival — or longer, if the match was right.

The ancient Romans may also be responsible for the name of our modern day of love. Emperor Claudius II executed two men — both named Valentine — on Feb. 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D. Their martyrdom was honored by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St. Valentine’s Day.

Much more at the link. We strongly recommend not trying to emulate the ancient Romans. 

On to the quiz:

  1. Feb. 1, 1960 “four African American students sat down and ordered coffee at a lunch counter inside a Woolworth’s store.” What city did this first “sit-in” occur in?
  1. Impeachment defense lawyers Friday launched a defense that included a long video of Democratic politicians uttering what word over and over?
  1. What amendment to the US constitution abolished slavery in the US?
  1. Rudy Giuliani was sued by Dominion Voting Systems for how much for the lies he broadcast about Dominion?
  1. Feb 22 & 23, what Biden cabinet nominee will finally get a senate hearing some 5 years after his original hearings were blocked by Mitch McConnell?
  1. Feb. 11, 1937 the original sit-down strike began at what automaker’s Flint plant was a major turning point for labor rights in this country?
  1. Due to the pandemic, the world is suffering a shortage of what component of seemingly everything that is made these days? New cars are especially short of these items.
  1. What well-known anti-vaxxer has been banned from instagram for his continuing sharing of corona virus vaccine misinformation?
  1. Utah Senator Mike Lee said Tuesday about Trump that “Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone deserves a …” what?
  1. Meanwhile in Iowa, a bill advances in the legislature to take away what from university professors at our state universities?
  1. Tomorrow is President’s Day. Can you name 3 of the 4 presidents born in February?
  1. In Iowa, working to keep our children ignorant, Republicans have advanced a bill that would pull funding from public schools if material from what source is used in History courses?
  1. Ah, THE BIG GAME was last Sunday. Who was the winning quarterback for Tampa Bay?
  1. What high ranking administration official was in true danger of being murdered during the Trump insurrection even as Trump acted as if he could care less?
  1. Kim Reynolds lifted most of the restrictions around corona virus as of last Sunday. She did this without agreement of what group?
  1. Republican Richard Shelby of what state became at least the 3rd Republican to announce he would not run in 2022?
  1. More than 100 former Republican officials met last week to discuss organizing what?
  1. Meanwhile, a criminal investigation has been started in what state concerning Trump’s attempt to “overturn election results”?
  1. A hacker in Oldsmar, Florida got into the water supply computer and tried to increase the amount of what chemical in the water supply?
  1. Mary Wilson died at age 76. Wilson was a member of what barrier shattering major rock ’n’ roll group in the 1960s?

If Senate Republicans fail to convict Donald Trump, it won’t be because the facts were with him or his lawyers mounted a competent defense. It will be because the jury includes his co-conspirators. – Hillary Clinton

Answers:

  1. Greensboro, NC
  1. “Fight”
  1. 13th
  1. $1.3 Billion
  1. Merrick Garland nominee for Attorney General
  1. General Motors
  1. Computer Chips
  1. Robert Kennedy, Jr.
  1. Mulligan
  1. Tenure – that should turn us into a backwater pretty quickly
  1. Lincoln (12th), Washington (22nd) were the reason behind president’s Day. Also Reagan (6th) and WH Harrison (9th)
  1. The New York Times 1619 Project
  1. Tom Brady
  1. VP Pence
  1. Her corona virus advisors
  1. Alabama
  1. A new anti-Trump party
  1. Georgia
  1. Lye – it was caught by an alert city official
  1. The Supremes

Is there anyone who doubts he’d do it again if he could? – Stephen Beschloss

Posted in #nevertrump, Covid-19, Humor | Comments Off on Sunday Funday: Valentine Edition

STATEMENT: Grassley, Ernst Earn Dark Place In History

Posted on February 13, 2021 by Dave Bradley
email from Progress Iowa
Progress Iowa <press@progressiowa.org>
Posted in #trumpresistance, Charles Grassley, Joni Ernst | Tagged , , | Comments Off on STATEMENT: Grassley, Ernst Earn Dark Place In History