Bleeding Heartland - Front Page

Belt-tightening open thread

desmoinesdem — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 23:25:31 GMT

Governor Chet Culver says says Iowa may consider moving to a four-day work week for state employees to save energy costs:

In Utah starting next month, most government employees will not go in on Fridays and will work 10-hour shifts the other four days of the week.
Utah's innovation was a popular topic at the National Governors Association meeting last weekend in Philadelphia, Culver said Friday.
If Utah state workers commute 20 percent less, the idea is that fuel use and pollution will decrease. State officials also hope to improve customer service with state buildings open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., said Lisa Roskelley, spokeswoman for Utah's governor. And they want to boost employee morale by giving them a three-day weekend every week, she said.

City employees in Birmingham, Alabama are also working four-day weeks this summer, and that link discusses some of the environmental benefits and cost savings.

Meanwhile, seven Iowa locations are among the 600 stores Starbucks is closing nationwide. I can't say I'm surprised. When you read about tips for saving money, a common piece of advice is to brew your own coffee instead of paying $4 or $5 at Starbucks.

Daily Kos user Lava20 used to work for two different major credit card companies and has posted helpful advice for reducing your credit card bills. Here are the links:

Simple Credit Card Advice For Everyone, Yes You! (includes tips on how to protest every fee, ask for lower interest rates, request that every fee be waived, and so on)

Simple Credit Card Advice. SERIOUS UPDATE (on lowering interest rates, balance transfer options, and improving your credit score)

A theme running through both diaries is that you have a better chance of getting what you want if you are polite and don't call the customer service representative names or threaten to close your account.

Use this as an open thread to discuss anything you are doing to save a little money in light of rising costs for gas, food and other necessities.

When it comes to making ends meet, you can't beat this timeless advice from Saturday Night Live.

Congratulations to the central Iowa "Women of Influence"

desmoinesdem — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 15:03:13 GMT

The weekly Des Moines Business Record gives out "Women of Influence" awards every year to "women who have made outstanding contributions to the community in a variety of areas." This year's winners are:

Des Moines Register columnist Rekha Basu
Former Iowa Attorney General Bonnie Campbell
Des Moines attorney Lori Chesser
Community volunteer Sheila Drevyanko
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage employee Cara Heiden
Iowa Environmental Protection Commissioner and philanthropist Charlotte Hubbell
Community activist Willie Glanton
Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge
West Des Moines City Council member Loretta Sieman

The woman business owner of the year is Sarah Grant of Sticks.

As you can see, there are some great Iowa Democrats on the list.

The award-winners will be honored at a reception on August 12 from 4:30 to 7:30 pm (honors presentation at 5:00) at the Des Moines Marriott Downtown. You can register for the event, which costs $25 to attend, at http://www.businessrecord.com.

What if they held a convention and no one showed up?

desmoinesdem — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 01:00:34 GMT

The Nevada Republican Party didn't want to take that chance. They canceled their state convention, set for next Saturday, because the number of RSVPs from delegates was well below the level needed for a quorum.

This was the second attempt to hold the Nevada GOP convention. State party officials abruptly ended the originally scheduled event in April when Ron Paul supporters outnumbered supporters of John McCain among the delegates.

Nevada is in my opinion the state most likely to go Democratic thanks to Libertarian presidential candidate and former Republican Congressman Bob Barr. Not only are there huge numbers of Ron Paul supporters who don't back McCain, there is a relevant history. The Libertarian vote in the 1998 Senate race was large enough to hand a narrow victory to Democrat Harry Reid.

Speaking of Barr, he showed up at the liberal Netroots Nation gathering today. Daily Kos user dday landed an impromptu interview and put up this entertaining diary about it.

Canvassing is All About Showing Up

AlanF — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:27:44 GMT

I originally posted this diary at Activist Land, Daily Kos, and Blue Mass Group. desmoinesdem was kind enough to ask me to post it here as well. The comments at Daily Kos and Blue Mass Group were very worthwhile. Please also see desmoinedem's Friendly advice: How to talk to non-supporters about Obama.

I co-lead a local group of Obama supporters preparing to canvass in New Hampshire, the swing state closest to us. (For those unfamiliar with the term, "canvassing" means going door-to-door for a candidate, putting yourself in touch with voters and the canvass on your sneakers in contact with the sidewalk.) One member sent me this question:

How does one prepare for canvassing? My support for Obama is largely subjective based on his handling of various situations. I don't think that will help me to be an effective canvasser - suggestions?

I'd like to point her to a nice succinct "elevator pitch," and any links or suggestions would be welcome. But I also want to use this as an opening to hold forth on what canvassing is about, how to enjoy it, and why (to paraphrase Woody Allen) ninety percent of success in canvassing is just showing up.
Research shows that canvassing increases voter turnout more than any other form of voter contact (phone, mail). The effectiveness depends on many variables (whether the canvassers are partisan or non-partisan, whether they pitch voting as a civic duty or a way to affect a close race, whether the people being canvassed have already been approached, and so on), but in general it seems that a canvasser can persuade about one contact out of 15 who would have ordinarily stayed home to go to the polls. This effect alone means that if I and a hundred others had each canvassed twice in 2000 in New Hampshire, a state that went for Bush by a margin of 7211, we could have swung not only the state but the entire country for Gore.

In addition, canvassing is important for identification. It points the campaign to potential volunteers, and it allows known supporters and known opponents to be removed from the lists of homes to be visited, freeing later canvassers to focus on the undecided voters.

I canvassed in New Hampshire for Dean in 2003 and 2004 and Kerry in 2004, and in Massachusetts for Deval Patrick (for governor) in 2006 and Jamie Eldridge (for U.S. Congress) in 2007. All told, that comes to about 20 times that I've canvassed for one candidate or another. Or, to put it another way: I've canvassed for myself, with the candidate as a beneficiary. Canvassing is good for my body, mind, and soul. The fact that it's good for the candidate, and good for society, is a nice side effect. If I were a Buddhist, I would presumably be able to see the candidate, society, and myself as one. But enlightened self-interest does nicely.

We've grown used to e-mail blasts, robocalls, and astroturfing, all tools that clone a single voice so that it can appear to come from everywhere. Much like the corporate voices that regretfully tell us that assembly lines in foreign lands are the only way to do business these days, we can almost feel that it's just not feasible to restrict ourself to speaking to a single person at a time.

But that's what canvassing is about. It's inefficient. You spend most of your time walking from house to house. The process can be optimized (by the people who decide where to send you and by the way you traverse the route), but it cannot be mechanized. However, that is a good thing for your cause, because if canvassing could be mechanized, the process would have been bought long ago by the forces with the most money. It's also a good thing for you. (I'm assuming, by the way, that physical exercise is not a problem for you. If it is, a well-run office will have plenty of other ways for you to help, such as data entry or phone banks.) How often have you indulged yourself in a long walk, or a face-to-face conversation with strangers? It's a treat to be forced to "regress" to an old-fashioned mode of transportation and communication, to walk the streets and speak to humans face-to-face. It's particularly valuable to have an excuse to do this somewhere other than in your own neighborhood. When else would you have the opportunity?

By this point, if you've already decided that you will be canvassing, you may be growing impatient. "All right, already. I'm going. Just tell me how, so I can get it over with." But my point is that you want to learn how to do it in a sustainable way. You want to be able to look forward to canvassing with anticipation rather than resentment. And that means focusing on the positive, because there will be negatives, though less pronounced than you might think. We'll get to them soon enough.

In addition to the prospect of a walk through a new neighborhood and connecting with fascinating campaign workers and fellow volunteers, one positive that has always carried me through has been the surprisingly frequent expressions of gratitude that I've gotten from people whose doorbells I've rung. Some of them are on "my team," and are naturally glad to see someone putting themselves out for a candidate that they support as well. But some are politically uninformed, and are pleased to have someone bring information to their doorstep.

So what do you say to the person opening the door? Just about anything, as long as it contains "Hi, I'm a volunteer for Candidate X." The campaign will give you a script beforehand anyway, but will also tell you that you're free to deviate from it (and I generally do). They will often suggest that you ask the person what's important to him or her. Posing this question is not just a strategic move, but a service that you are doing on behalf of both the voters and the campaign: you're helping them hear each other. This is marketing at its best. However, it can come across as weaselly if you don't feel comfortable asking the question, or if the voter is skeptical. In that case, feel free to simply say briefly what you like most about the candidate. You're probably not going to have time to launch into anything comprehensive anyway, so the thing that stands out most in your mind is probably the best. In any case, the person behind the door will probably collapse your message into a mental note "Nice person - seems sincere - made the effort to show up - supports Obama - maybe I will, too." Hence the overwhelming importance of just showing up.

Many doorbells will go unanswered, either because no one's home (common) or because no one wants to admit to being home (more rare). But you can leave a brochure ("drop lit"), perhaps with a handwritten line, to show you've been there. Hopefully, that will register a positive note in the same part of the brain where the face-to-face encounter would be stored.

Of course, there will be plenty of people who do not see your bringing the good news to their doorstep as a service. They view their house as a sanctuary and resent any intrusion, no matter how fleeting. Or they may even support the other candidate. But they will generally register annoyance, not anger.

I've found that surprisingly rarely, about once in every two days of canvassing, I run into someone who is memorably nasty. Sometimes, though, there's a humorous aspect to the encounter, or the incident will provide me with some insight. I remember knocking on a door to tell someone I was a volunteer for Kerry, only to have him tell me "Well, I'm for Bush. Four more years! Four more years!" In this case, I was able to acquire both insight (hmmm, some voters really do think like football fans) and get a chuckle out of the encounter (at the other guy's expense, of course).

You may also find people who are disposed to vote for your candidate, but will complain to you about what s/he has done. They may feel shut out of the democratic process, and inclined to boycott the election or vote for another candidate. I will not be surprised if I meet some educated canvassers who are disappointed with Obama over his FISA vote, for instance. My response would probably be along these lines: "I'll pass that along. I'm disappointed, too, and that's why I also put time into efforts for improving our electoral system, not just backing a single candidate every four years. But I've also decided that in the big picture, I ultimately empower myself by supporting the best candidate. Obama would be a good president, and McCain would be a very bad one." But even if this does not convince them to vote as I would like, I feel like I've made a stride for my mental health as well as theirs. I've allowed them to make their voice heard. And I've asserted my free will. I'm saying that despite the imperfections of our political system, I am choosing the best I can do at this moment. I am making a positive choice, a commitment.

So this Saturday, I will be treating myself to a day on the streets of New Hampshire. What about you?

Steve King vs. widows and orphans

desmoinesdem — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:00:00 GMT

This guy is all class.

According to the Des Moines Register, about 160 immigrants face deportation "because their U.S. citizen spouses died less than two years after their marriages and before the survivors' permanent residency applications were approved."

A bipartisan group in Congress, including some conservative Republicans, is trying to change the law so that these widows' and widowers' residency applications can be reviewed individually. Otherwise these unfortunate people are forced to fight deportation while also dealing with a bereavement and in some cases looking after children.

Who's the one person loudly objecting to this law? None other than fifth district Representative Steve King. In addition to being generally concerned about our "runaway immigration policy," he has specific problems with the bill:

King also said more protections were needed to ensure immigrant spouses have good moral character or that they planned to come to the United States prior to the spouse's death.
"A soldier, man or woman, could get drunk in Bangkok, wake up in the morning and be married, as will happen sometimes in places like Las Vegas or Bangkok, be killed the next day, and the spouse who was a product of the evening's celebration would have then a right to claim access to come to the United States on a green card," King said.

Remember, this bill would have U.S. immigration officials review applications on a case-by-case basis. I doubt a marriage of drunk people who barely knew each other would be deemed legitimate.

Anyway,

He said he agreed with the sentiment in the bill but Congress cannot take care of "every sad story that we have and if we do that, we are going to create a lot more sad stories in the United States from the people that will take advantage."
His position has befuddled advocates of changing the penalty [...].
"I've never come across anybody who actually voiced opposition," said Brent Renison, an Oregon immigration lawyer [...].
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., who sponsored the bill in committee, said the "widow penalty" is one of the top reasons for private relief bills in Congress.

But why do something humane that will also save members of Congress the time they spend on passing these private relief bills?

Better to continue making a name for yourself as the guy who can always think of a reason not to help immigrants.

Loebsack gets the connection between transportation and global warming

desmoinesdem — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 03:05:42 GMT

As I've written before, any serious effort to combat global warming will have to include policies that give Americans more accessible alternatives to driving.

Otherwise continued increases in vehicle miles traveled by car and truck could cancel out reductions in greenhouse gas emissions due to cleaner fuel sources and greater fuel efficiency.

Last week 41 members of the House of Representatives signed a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging Congress to address transportation issues in forthcoming legislation on climate change.

Representative Dave Loebsack was the only Iowan to sign this letter, which was drafted by Ellen Tauscher (D, CA-10) and Earl "the Bike" Blumenauer (D, OR-03).

I received a copy of the letter from a Smart Growth America e-mail list and am reproducing it here. I couldn't find the text anywhere online, so there's no link:

July 14, 2008
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker
H-232, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Speaker Pelosi,
We thank you for your continued work to address climate change through federal legislation. As you have previously noted, Congress has a historic opportunity to provide leadership on one of the defining issues of this era. As Congress begins work on comprehensive climate change legislation, we ask that this legislation address the second largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions: surface transportation.
As you know, surface transportation produces one-third of the United States' greenhouse gases, and sixty percent of these emissions come from personal vehicle use. Last year, Congress demonstrated leadership on climate change by raising CAFE standards to thirty-five miles per gallon by 2020. However, recent studies suggest that the expected increase in Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMTs) will negate both higher CAFE standards and a reduction of carbon content in fuel. If VMTs are not reduced, transportation sector emissions will rise forty percent above 1990 levels by 2030.
Through climate change legislation, we believe that Congress should encourage greater use of VMT-reducing strategies, especially public transportation. Significant funds should be dedicated to increase public transit, intercity passenger rail, freight rail capacity, intelligent transportation systems, and bicycle and pedestrian alternatives. In addition, the legislation should encourage smart growth and transit-oriented development.
We believe that climate change legislation should allocate a portion of funds to all sectors that generate greenhouse gases, including transportation. Supporting VMT-reduction strategies will lower greenhouse gas emissions, decrease transportation costs for Americans, and relieve pressure on other sectors to meet an overall emissions cap. Without such efforts, other industries will have to overcompensate to offset the transportation sector's emissions. In addition, these policies will have the added benefits of providing consumers with increased transportation choices, improved accessibility, a greater range of housing choices, improved personal health and fitness, decreased air pollution, and reduced traffic congestion and commute times.
In the coming months, we look forward to supporting legislation that will reduce the transportation sector's greenhouse gas emissions and demonstrate the United States' commitment to addressing climate change.
Sincerely,
Ellen O. Tauscher
Earl Blumenauer
(and 39 other members of Congress)

This letter explains concisely why transportation has to be part of our conversation on global warming.

I also like the way it makes clear that dealing with transportation issues in the climate change bill will create more flexibility in setting the emissions caps for other sectors.

The road-building lobbies will vigorously oppose the changes this letter advocates. But perhaps they can be pitted against the powerful corporate interests that will oppose sharp reductions in industrial greenhouse gas emissions.

Here is some background on smart growth and transit-oriented development, in case you are wondering what those terms in the third paragraph mean.

Tauscher and Blumenauer deserve credit for leading on this issue. It will take a huge effort by many people to make good changes in federal transportation policies.

All the representatives who signed this letter are listed after the jump. After Tauscher and Blumenauer, they appear in alphabetical order, as they did on the letter to Pelosi. Chris Shays of Connecticut is the only Republican in the group.
Ellen O. Tauscher (D, CA-10)
Earl Blumenauer (D, OR-03)
Thomas H. Allen (D, ME-01)
Michael E. Capuano (D, MA-08)
Russ Carnahan (D, MO-03)
Andre Carson (D, IN-07)
Emanuel Cleaver (D, MO-05)
Elijah E. Cummings (D, MD-07)
Peter A. DeFazio (D, OR-04)
Diana DeGette (D, CO-01)
William D. Delahunt (D, MA-10)
Chaka Fattah (D, PA-02)
Bob Filner (D, CA-51)
Raul M. Grijalva (D, AZ-07)
Maurice D. Hinchey (D, NY-22)
Mazie K. Hirono (D, HI-02)
Michael M. Honda (D, CA-15)
Jay Inslee (D, WA-01)
Barbara Lee (D, CA-09)
John Lewis (D, GA-05)
Daniel Lipinski (D, IL-03)
Dave Loebsack (D, IA-02)
Zoe Lofgren (D, CA-16)
Betty McCollum (D, MN-04)
Jerry McNerney (D, CA-11)
James P. Moran (D, VA-08)
Dennis Moore (D, KS-03)
Grace F. Napolitano (D, CA-38)
Eleanor Holmes Norton (D, DC non-voting)
John W. Olver (D, MA-01)
Donald M. Payne (D, NJ-10)
David E. Price (D, NC-04)
Tim Ryan (D, OH-17)
Allyson Y. Schwartz (D, PA-13)
Christopher Shays (R, CT-04)
Joe Sestak (D, PA-07)
Albio Sires (D, NJ-13)
Pete Stark (D, CA-13)
Chris Van Hollen (D, MD-08)
Lynn C. Woolsey (D, CA-06)
David Wu (D, OR-01)

Need more reasons to buy local?

desmoinesdem — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:56:02 GMT

The weekly Cityview has published a special supplement about locally-owned businesses in central Iowa.

I am passionate about buying local. At first, I was influenced by the fact that both of my grandfathers were small business owners. The more I learned about the economic and environmental benefits, the more committed I became to shopping and dining out at locally-owned businesses.

In addition, as a volunteer for many non-profit groups I know that local business owners are often more supportive of charitable causes in the area than corporate executives at companies with headquarters out of state.

One of the main reasons I got involved with 1000 Friends of Iowa seven or eight years ago was that the group supports economic development with a focus on locally-owned, Main Street businesses.

Rob Marqusee, the rural economic development director for Woodbury County, recently directed me to this outstanding website. It's full of resources on the economic benefits of buying locally-grown food. I'll write more about this in the near future, but meanwhile I encourage you to go explore the website yourself.

Marqusee has done a tremendous job in promoting the growth of organic farming and local food networks in northwest Iowa.

Flood Recovery in Cedar Rapids

tylerolson — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 19:27:46 GMT

Many areas in Iowa are picking up the pieces after tornados, storms, and massive flooding. I want to highlight some information on the widespread, intense flood damage in Cedar Rapids. Legislative leaders from both political parties toured the damage in Eastern Iowa a couple of weeks ago. You can find a background memo I prepared for their visit here. Also available is information for Iowa residents and businesses affected by natural diasters.

Steve King doesn't get that "oversight" concept

desmoinesdem — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 01:56:38 GMT

If Congressman Steve King hadn't already won the "jackass award," someone would need to give it to him for the way he behaved at a House Judiciary Committee hearing this week.

It's no secret that King isn't interested in the Congress serving as a check or balance on executive power. As we saw just a few weeks ago, King believes former White House spokesman Scott McClellan could have "done this country a favor" by keeping his mouth shut about alleged lawbreaking and lying in the Bush administration.

Apparently not satisfied with his efforts to sidetrack the McClellan hearings, King used one parliamentary trick after another on Tuesday to prevent Democrats on the Judiciary Committee from effectively questioning Douglas Feith, the former number three Pentagon official.

You really have to click over to Dana Milbank's story for the Washington Post and read the whole thing to fully grasp how disgracefully King behaved. He and Congressman Darrell Issa (the wallet behind the recall of California Governor Gray Davis a few years back) were so disruptive that, according to Milbank, "Three and a half hours later, Feith had become but an asterisk at what was supposed to be his hanging."

Not that it's any big deal--Feith was only a key architect of the Bush administration's policy on torture and false claims about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

As usual, King appears to be proud of his outrageous behavior. I learned from this piece by Douglas Burns that King's campaign has prominently featured Milbank's article on the incumbent's website.

Incidentally, as far as I can tell, King's campaign site ripped off Milbank's whole article, rather than posting a link to the Washington Post site with an short excerpt. Are members of Congress subject to copyright law?

Anyway, King is proud to stand in the way of meaningful Congressional oversight of the executive branch. But don't get the wrong idea. He doesn't believe Congress should be powerless. Iowa Guy 2.0 recently reminded me that King went on record three years ago saying Congress could abolish federal courts, cut their funding or instruct the Department of Justice not to enforce court rulings if judges didn't behave.

Separation of powers seems to be too difficult a concept for King to grasp.

Getting rid of King would not only benefit the residents of Iowa's fifth district, but would also further the cause of proper Congressional oversight. Please kick in some cash to Rob Hubler, the Democratic nominee to represent Iowa's fifth district.

It's a Republican-leaning district (R+8), but we just won Mississippi's first Congressional district, which tilts even more strongly to the GOP.

King has a money advantage, but his cash on hand of $251,000 is not a dominating war chest compared to what other incumbents have at their disposal.

Also, the Iowa wingnuts may be crazy, but they aren't crazy about John McCain. The GOP presidential candidate will have a much weaker turnout operation in Iowa than Barack Obama, and the editor of the Storm Lake Times thinks King may be vulnerable given the atmosphere of "Republican despondence."

If I haven't convinced you with this post or my previous work highlighting King's more embarrassing moments, take it from Texas Nate, who declared King to be "the worst Congressman of them all" in this MyDD diary. That's quite a statement coming from Nate. They've got some really bad ones representing parts of Texas.

UPDATE: Ted Mallory, who lives in King's district, has drawn a cartoon about King's behavior in the Feith hearing:

http://tedstoons.blogspot.com/...

$30 million used to be a lot of money

desmoinesdem — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:33:59 GMT

But last week the Wall Street Journal made a big deal about how Barack Obama supposedly "only" raised $30 million in June.

Today Obama's campaign revealed that it raised $52 million in June, and the Democratic National Committee raised $22 million the same month. Obama apparently has about $72 million in cash on hand, while the DNC has about $20 million in cash on hand.

At Open Left, tremayne graphed Obama's fundraising per month this year. February was his best month; he raised $55 million then.

John McCain raised about $22 million in June, but the Republican National Committee has crushed the DNC in fundraising this year, so if you combine the RNC and McCain numbers, their side has slightly more cash on hand.

But guess what? The average donation for Obama in June was $68. That means he has a ton of small donors who are not maxed out. In fact, only $2 million of the $52 million he raised is for the general election (in other words, came from people who had already maxed out at $2,300 for the primary).

I found this analysis by Jerome Armstrong intriguing:

I believe that Obama could have raised $100M in June if that's what they wanted to do. In fact, there may have been plans to do just that too, but they changed. Notice that just $2M was raised for the GE by Obama, they certainly could have raised a ton more money there if they had wanted, for the GE, at least $20-30M, and combined with the $74M that was raised between Obama and DNC, over $100M.
So, either the Obama camp isn't as committed to self-funding for the GE, and might still go the route of taking the $84M in public financing (unlikely); or they are holding off their donors to give for the GE later (there are accounts of projecting a $100M month in Sept); or the Obama camp will use July and August to raise big numbers for the GE, as the decision to opt-out was made on June 19th, late in the month for fundraising plans. It could be either of these last two it seems.

Certainly Obama will not take public financing for the general. But could his campaign be deliberately holding big general-election donations off until later this summer?

Reporting a $100 million haul this fall, at the height of the campaign, could hurt Republican morale and drive a lot of media coverage about the enthusiasm gap between Democrats and Republicans.

Maybe McCain will be forced to pick Mitt Romney for a running mate. He's disliked by the Christian right but excellent at bringing in cash. Romney-skeptic Jeff Angelo is re-thinking the wisdom of this course for the GOP nominee.

Put your thoughts and suppositions about the presidential candidates' fundraising in the comment thread.

This man should have been president

desmoinesdem — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:27:51 GMT

Showing the leadership and vision that would have made him a better president than Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, Al Gore set out some very ambitious goals in a speech on energy policy today.

TomP's diary gives you lots of information about the speech. The key goal is to generate every kilowatt of electricity in the U.S. from renewable sources in 10 years.

That's environmentally-friendly renewable sources--not so-called "clean coal" and nuclear power.

Imagine where we'd be as a country if a screwy Palm Beach County ballot and a corrupt Supreme Court majority had not handed the presidency to George Bush in 2000.

But I agree with Matt Stoller that Gore needs to stop praising John McCain with respect to global warming policy.

Events coming up this weekend

desmoinesdem — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:52:31 GMT

As always, post a comment or send me an e-mail if I've left out any important event.

Democratic candidates, please e-mail me about your upcoming public events and/or fundraisers, so that I can include them in these posts.

Thursday, July 17:

Democracy for America is holding another one of its "Night School" sessions, this time featuring Professor George Lakoff:

Ever wonder why simply stating our positions on the hot button issues isn't enough to win votes? Or why Democrats who try and adopt conservative stances on issues usually lose their elections even in conservative districts?
Professor George Lakoff has the answers and will show us how to frame the solutions during the next Night School. Thursday, Professor Lakoff will be our special guest trainer; highlighting specific thinking points from his new book "The Political Mind" and teaching the framing progressives need to know to win. Join us "Live from Netroots Nation" at a special time: 5:30pm Eastern.
The Political Mind with George Lakoff
Thursday 5:30pm Eastern Time
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR NIGHT SCHOOL NOW!

More information from Democracy for America is after the jump.

Rob Hubler will be at the Decatur County fair in Leon at 6:30 pm.

Friday, July 18:

Rob Hubler will be at the Carroll County fair in Carroll at 1:00 pm.

Hubler will be at the Crawford County fair in Denison at 3:15.

Hubler will be at the Mills County fair in Malvern at 6:15.

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement is holding its Statewide Convention on Friday and Saturday at the Hotel Fort Des Moines (10th and Walnut). The keynote speaker on Friday night will be John Nichols, writer for The Nation magazine. Tickets for the Nichols event can be purchased for $15 in advance or for $20 at the door. To purchase tickets, call Iowa CCI at 515-255-0800 or visit www.iowacci.org.

For more background on Nichols, read this diary posted by Whitney. To register to attend ICCI's convention, click here.

Saturday, July 19:

ICCI's convention continues all day at the Hotel Fort Des Moines. A particularly interesting workshop on how to win the battle over clean elections reform will be led by State Representative Pam Jochum.

The Iowa Renewable Energy Association is holding a Residential Solar Photovoltaic Workshop at the Des Moines Botanical Center from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. It costs $100 for I-Renew members and $150 for non-members, with an optional $11 lunch. Click here for more information, or read the whole e-mail announcement from I-Renew after the jump.

Rob Hubler will be at the Buena Vista County fair in Storm Lake at 1 pm.

Hubler will be at the O'Brien County fair in Primghar at 3 pm.

Polk County supervisor Tom Hockensmith is holding the 6th Annual Hockensmith Family Picnic from noon to 3 pm at Doanes Park, Shelter #1, 451 S. Pleasant Hill Blvd. $10 per person - or - $25 per family. Directions from E. University / Hwy 163: Go South on Hickory Blvd., West on Maple Dr., then South on S. Pleasant Hill Blvd.

Sunday, July 20:

Rob Hubler will be in the Monona County fair parade in Onawa at 10 am.

Hubler will be at the Pottawattamie County fair in Avoca at 3:15 pm.

Ever wonder why simply stating our positions on the hot button issues isn't enough to win votes? Or why Democrats who try and adopt conservative stances on issues usually lose their elections even in conservative districts?
Professor George Lakoff has the answers and will show us how to frame the solutions during the next Night School. Thursday, Professor Lakoff will be our special guest trainer; highlighting specific thinking points from his new book "The Political Mind" and teaching the framing progressives need to know to win. Join us "Live from Netroots Nation" at a special time: 5:30pm Eastern.
The Political Mind with George Lakoff
Thursday 5:30pm Eastern Time
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR NIGHT SCHOOL NOW!
Howard Dean called Professor Lakoff "One of the most influential thinkers of the progressive movement." Lakoff's 2004 book "Don't Think of an Elephant" taught progressives how to take back the message and expose Republican framing. He changed the way people speak about the issues and now he's taken it to the next level with his new book.
We'll be spending an hour with Professor Lakoff as part of this special Netroots Nation edition of DFA Night School.
Night School is DFA's interactive online training program. Every month Night School brings top campaign experts right to your home at absolutely no cost to you. Simply visit www.democracyforamerica.com/lakoff to sign up and get the info you'll need to listen to the program live Thursday afternoon or listen to the recording on your own time. As always, Night School training will be accompanied by a slideshow that you can view from your computer.
Join Professor Lakoff and me at Netroots Nation and learn the secrets of the Political Mind.
-Matt
Matt Blizek, Training Director
Democracy for America
P.S. In case you weren't with us in 2006, George Lakoff joined us for a memorable Night School about 'Framing the Election'. CLICK HERE TO ORDER "Fall Session 2006 - GOTV Skills" ON DVD and help us keep Night School free to everyone!

Now is the time to put Renewable Solar on your home
Let I-Renew show you how!
Iowa Renewable Energy Association (I-Renew) will present our Residential Solar Photovoltaic Workshop on Saturday, July 19 at the Des Moines Botanical Center. This highly informative workshop will fill up quickly so register early.
Leading the workshop is Dennis Pottratz of GO SOLAR, Iowa's first nationally certified installer. He will bring his expertise to explain the benefits of residential solar energy, a viable home energy option. He will cover the basics of photovoltaic panels, on-grid and off-grid system design, project cost, and installation essentials. While intended for the do-it-yourselfers as well as building trade professionals, this workshop will be enjoyed by anyone interested in moving from home energy conservation to home energy creation.
For More information visit: http://www.irenew.org/workshop...
This Workshop is sponsored by the Iowa Energy Center.
When:
Saturday July 19, 2008 from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM
Where:
Des Moines Botanical Center, Levitt Room
909 Robert D Ray Dr
Des Moines, IA 50316
909 Robert D R
Cost:
$100 I-Renew Members;
$150 Non-Members;
Lunch optional at $11

Iowa Department of Revenue extends deadline for businesses in flood-affected areas

desmoinesdem — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:13:21 GMT

Iowa businesses in areas affected by recent flooding will have an extra month this summer to remit withholding, unemployment and sales tax for activity from April 1 to June 30. The floods cut off cash flow for many businesses, and the extension is intended to give them time to secure Small Business Administration or other loans before they have to make tax payments.

More details are in the press release from State Representative Tyler Olson, which is after the jump. Olson is a first-term incumbent in House district 38, which includes parts of Cedar Rapids. He requested the extension after being contacted by a business owner.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
For More Information:
State Rep. Tyler Olson
(319) 329-7730
STATE REP. TYLER OLSON ANNOUNCES EXTENSION OF TAX DEADLINE FOR BUSINESSES IN FLOOD-AFFECTED AREAS
Cedar Rapids--State Representative Tyler Olson announced today the Iowa Department of Revenue is extending the deadline for businesses in flood-affected areas to remit their withholding, unemployment and sales tax. The extension moves the deadline for businesses to remit payment for activity from April 1 to June 30 to August 29, 2008. The previous deadline was July 31, 2008.
"Extending the deadline to make state tax payments for businesses in flood-affected areas gives some flexibility and relief to many Iowans who lost their livelihood," said Olson. "The extension allows businesses to secure SBA or bridge loans before the payments become due and may mean the difference between a business being able to re-open or not."
On Tuesday, Representative Olson requested the Iowa Department of Revenue grant businesses the extension to remit their payments after receiving a phone call from a flood-affected business.
"I appreciate Governor Culver acting quickly to offer some measure of relief to Iowa businesses and look forward to continue working to make sure individuals and businesses have the resources they need to recover and rebuild in Iowa."
###--
State Representative Tyler Olson
P.O. Box 2389
Cedar Rapids, IA 52406-2389
tylerolson.org

Habitat for Humanity Restores helping with flood relief

desmoinesdem — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:29:45 GMT

The Center on Sustainable Communities (COSC) sent out an e-mail reminding members that Habitat for Humanity's eight Restores in Iowa are available to help people affected by the flooding rebuild.

The full text of the e-mail is after the jump. It includes contact information for Restores in Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines, Hiawatha (suburb of Cedar Rapids), Iowa City, Mason City, Sioux City, and Waterloo.

Click here to learn more about COSC's mission and work in our state.

A quick reminder that all of the Habitat for Humanity Restores around Iowa are available to help with the rebuilding efforts. Here is a list of the ReStores in Iowa:
Council Bluffs
Council Bluffs HFH Restore
645 9th Ave.
Council Bluffs, IA 51501-6281
Phone: (712) 328-9476
Davenport
Quad Cities Habitat Restore
3629 Mississippi Ave. Suite. B
Davenport, IA 52807-1905
Phone: (563) 391-4949
cindy@restoreqc.org
Des Moines
Greater Des Moines HFH Restore
2341 2nd Ave.
Des Moines, IA 50303
Phone: (515) 309-0224
restore@dmhabitat.org
Hiawatha
Cedar Valley HFH Restore
725 N Center Point Rd.
Hiawatha, IA 52233
Phone: (319) 294-1500
Iowa City
Iowa Valley Restore
2401 S. Scott Blvd
Iowa City, IA 52240
Phone: (319) 338-5687
Fax: (319) 354-3527
restore@ivhfh.org
Mason City
North Central IA HFH Restore
1411 S Taft Commercial Park Rd.
Mason City, IA 50401
Phone: (641) 423-1688
info@habitatnci.org
Sioux City
Siouxland HFH Restore
PO Box 5318
Sioux City, IA 51102
Phone: (712) 255-6244
info@SiouxlandHabitat.org
Waterloo Iowa Heartland HFH Restore
803 W 5th St
Waterloo, IA 50702
Phone: (319) 235-9946
devdir@heartlandhfh.org
COSC continues to work with all aspects of the residential community to encourage steps towards more sustainable building & living practices.
As a young nonprofit, a key portion of our funding comes from support from our members. Please see our website to learn more about the various membership levels available.
Learn more about COSC memberships!
Thank You
Thank you again for your continued interest and support.
Emily Karsjens, Resource Manager, COSC
Center On Sustainable Communities
219 1/2 Fifth Street, Suite A
Historic Valley Junction
West Des Moines, IA 50265
(515) 277-6222
emily@icosc.com
http://www.icosc.com
Mission:
COSC serves as a resource to encourage, promote and educate about sustainable building practices among professionals and homeowners.
Strategic Vision Statement:
The recognized leader in providing education and connecting resources that empower individuals and communities to make everyday decisions that promote sustainability, resulting in higher standards of living.

A few questions for Obama canvassers

desmoinesdem — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:09:39 GMT

I have some questions for anyone who participated in the statewide canvass Barack Obama's campaign organized in Iowa last Saturday.

I would like to hear from as many people as possible, from different regions of Iowa if possible.

If you prefer not to post your answers on a blog, you can e-mail them to me confidentially: desmoinesdem AT yahoo.com

1. Did the script the campaign provided for volunteers say anything about Democratic candidates other than Obama?

2. Were you instructed to ask for voter preferences about Democratic candidates for Congress?

3. Were you instructed to ask for voter preferences about Democratic candidates for the Iowa House or Senate?

4. When you recorded voter IDs, were all Obama supporters and/or leaners lumped together in one group? Or were you asked to keep track of which Obama supporters were also backing down-ticket Democrats?

I'm trying to figure out how much emphasis there was on 1) getting the name of down-ticket Democrats out there, 2) tracking voter IDs regarding down-ticket Democrats, and 3) separating Obama supporters into different groups depending on whether the voters were also backing down-ticket Democrats.

Today I ran into a central Iowa college student I know. She asked about my t-shirt, which says Jerry Sullivan, State Representative District 59.

I explained that he's a candidate in my district for the Iowa House. I asked where she lived, and when she told me I informed her that she lives in House district 60, where Alan Koslow is the Democratic candidate.

Her response was to shrug and say she doesn't vote for anything but president. I tried to explain that a lot of things are decided by state governments, so she should check that "Democratic Party" box (Iowa allows party-line voting). I don't know if I got through to her.

My point is that the Obama campaign should help educate voters so that they understand the need to do more than check the box next to Obama's name.

Also, given Obama's Iowa caucus strategy, I have some concern that his campaign may work on activating Republicans who will vote for him but against Democrats down-ticket.

Flood benefit concert tonight in Altoona

desmoinesdem — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 21:44:56 GMT

Sorry for the short notice--tonight, Wednesday the 16th, there will be a "Ridin' the Storm Out" flood benefit concert at Prairie Meadows in Altoona.

A $20 donation gets you in the door. There will be a silent auction as well.

All proceeds go toward flood relief, and Polk County will match donations dollar for dollar.

Opening act Little River Band (a 70s group that I love) will come on stage at 6:30 pm.

REO Speedwagon comes on at 8:00 pm.

More info here:

http://www.rocktheflood.org/

Congratulations to Eric Palmer and Tom Rielly

desmoinesdem — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:13:52 GMT

Last week Senator Tom Harkin announced the winners of his "Building Blue" contest.

Apparently Oskaloosa residents were well-represented among the more than 5,000 Iowans who voted, because Representative Eric Palmer (HD 75) and Senator Tom Rielly (SD 38) were the winners. They will each receive $5,000 from Harkin's campaign fund.

They already received $2,000 from Harkin's fund for advancing to the final round of the contest, as did the other Democratic House and Senate candidates listed here.

Both Palmer and Rielly are first-term incumbents being targeted by Republicans. We should be able to hold both seats, especially since the Obama campaign has a field office up and running in Oskaloosa already. But we'll need all hands on deck, so chip in to their campaigns if you can, and volunteer if you live in the area.

Congress overrides veto on Medicare bill

desmoinesdem — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 11:56:53 GMT

On Tuesday the House overrode George Bush's veto of a bill that stopped planned cuts in the Medicare reimbursement rate for doctors. It's the fourth time Congress has voted to override Bush's vetoes. This is the bill that just barely cleared the Senate because of Ted Kennedy's return.

This diary by noweasels has the story and links to the roll-call votes, along with a lot of comments about how this law will affect people. TomP has some background on Medicare and how it was adopted.

The House vote was 383-41. In the Iowa delegation, Bruce Braley, Dave Loebsack and Tom Latham voted yes on the override. Steve King voted no. Leonard Boswell was among the 11 representatives who missed the vote.

The Senate vote was 70-26, with Tom Harkin voting yes and Chuck Grassley voting no. Barack Obama and John McCain were among the four senators who missed the vote.

Where are the "family values" advocates?

desmoinesdem — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 01:40:29 GMT

I've never watched an episode of "Big Brother" and don't ever plan to, but for some reason part of this Associated Press article on the new season caught my eye when the Des Moines Register published it:

Libra Thompson, a married 31-year-old human resources representative from Spring, Texas, left behind her husband and three children -- including 4-month-old twins -- to participate in "Big Brother 10." During production, Thompson and the other "Big Brother" contestants are prohibited from communicating with the outside world.

Hang on, I thought--doesn't the taping of this show go on for a long time? I flipped back to the beginning of the story and found that indeed, contestants are isolated in a house for three months.

When I started writing this post, I looked for the link to the AP story to see if it mentioned the age of Thompson's older child, and I realized that the Register's print version cut out part of the relevant passage:

Libra Thompson, a married 31-year-old human resources representative from Spring, Texas, left behind her husband and three children -- including 4-month-old twins -- to participate in "Big Brother 10." During production, Thompson and the other "Big Brother" contestants are prohibited from communicating with the outside world.
"It's better for me that they're younger," said Thompson of her newborns. "At four months old, they're not going to remember much. It's probably going to be a little bit more difficult for my 4-year-old. However, I'm going to stay focused and remember the reason I'm here, and that's the cash. That will help me."

That is a big trauma to inflict on your children for money. I know that $500,000 is a lot of money, but Thompson isn't a homeless, unemployed person who has no way to feed her family besides appearing on this show.

I had to laugh when I read this description of her strategy:

Strategy: "I'm intuitive. I think I'll be able figure out how to push people's buttons."

I wonder if Ms. Thompson is "intuitive" enough to realize that disappearing for three months could permanently affect her children's bond with her and ability to form secure attachments generally.

I wouldn't seek to impose my parenting style on others. I wouldn't judge any woman for going back to work when her children are young, or for taking overnight trips away from young children (for business or vacation). But to deprive children of the sight, sound, smell and touch of their mother for three full months, for no reason other than a desire to make money, is deeply disturbing.

I assume the children will receive loving attention from their father and substitute caregivers. Nonetheless, I worry that such a lengthy separation from the mother could have lasting effects along the lines of those described in this scholarly paper by a psychologist:

Bowlby (1973) identified three phases of a normal response to separation. The child first protests the loss and uses attachment behaviors to try and bring back his mother. When Mother does not return, the child seems to despair, but still awaits her return. Eventually he seems to detach and appears to lose interest. However, attachment behaviors will return upon reunion if the separation has not been too extended. Following reunion, the child whose parent has been appropriately responsive to his attachment behaviors will often cling to the parent, demonstrating anxiety at any hint of separation.
Bowlby's theory provides a new perspective on clinging behavior, or separation anxiety. In contrast to traditional psychoanalytic models which viewed separation anxiety as a displacement of some other fear (Bowlby, 1988), Bowlby saw anxious attachment as the result of real or threatened separations or temporary abandonments by caretaking figures during childhood (Bowlby, 1973). When a child knows that an attachment figure will be available whenever he needs a secure base, he will develop a lifelong ability to tolerate separations well, and will handle new situations confidently. Lacking such knowledge, he will demonstrate anxious attachment and general apprehensiveness at new ventures.
The availability of an attachment figure during childhood also influences the person's response to losses. When a frightened child needs his mother but ultimately finds that he is abandoned and alone, he protects himself from further suffering by detaching himself from any awareness of his feelings and needs. Summarizing studies of children who underwent prolonged separations, Bowlby (1980) noted detachment as the final stage of dealing with a separation. During detachment, the child stops emitting attachment behavior and even turns away from attachment figures when they return (as Robertson's [1952] film of a two-year-old's week long hospitalization and separation from his parents poignantly demonstrates).
Bowlby saw detachment as the result of a deactivation of the system of attachment behavior. By defensively excluding from awareness "...the signals, arising from both inside and outside the person, that would activate their attachment behavior and that would enable them both to love and to experience being loved" (Bowlby, 1988, pp. 34-25), children experiencing prolonged separations can block attachment behaviors and its associated affects. Once established as a defensive process, detachment then becomes the child's characteristic coping style.

I don't care if Thompson "turned it out" during her audition for Big Brother. In my opinion, the producers of this reality show should not have selected a mother with such young children as a contestant. But hey, anything to attract an advertiser-friendly demographic like thirty-something working moms.

I find it more revealing that there's no public outcry from the self-appointed defenders of "family values." Why are social conservatives not calling for a boycott of CBS or its advertisers if the producers of "Big Brother" do not send this contestant home to her children?

Apparently a show that celebrates leaving small children in pursuit of money is not as worthy of condemnation as various sitcoms and drama programs that have been called anti-Christian.

About that New Yorker cover

desmoinesdem — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:55:17 GMT

You know, the one showing Barack Obama in traditional Muslim dress fist-bumping Michelle Obama, who sports an Angela-Davis-style afro and a machine gun, while the American flag burns in the fireplace?

I understand the point the cartoonist was trying to make, but in my view it was a poor editorial decision to put that on the magazine cover. Put it inside the magazine, where people who read the article about Obama will see it. On the cover it will reach many times more people, most of whom won't understand the irony.

Pam Spaulding of Pam's House blend has a guest post up at Open Left with an interesting take on this controversy, sexism and racism.

Speaking of Obama-related artwork, if you've got $65,000 burning a hole in your pocket, you can bid on this mixed-media piece called "Obama HOPE" (proceeds go to a charity bringing the arts to urban youth).