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From: Richard Kissack [rkissack@cis.net]
Sent: Friday, February 03, 2006 7:29 PM
To: DEMOCRATS OF CLINTON COUNTY
Subject: Clinton County Democrats' Newsletter
“When I came to the
http://www.clintoncountydemocrats.org
February 6,
2006
COMING EVENTS
Saturday, February 11 9:00 A.M. Legislative
Coffee hosted by The Clinton Area
Chamber
of Commerce and the
American Association of University Women.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!!!
Saturday,
March 4 9:00 A.M.
Saturday,
April 29 First
Congressional District Convention
Tuesday,
June 6
Saturday,
June 17 State
Democratic Convention
November 7, 2006 National
and State Elections
It's time to move
Republican super lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to corruption charges and is on his way to jail for at least ten years. Tom DeLay has permanently abandoned his leadership post in the U.S. House of Representatives. And GOP leaders from President Bush to Speaker Hastert are panicking over what to do with the dirty money they accepted.
Last year we rocked the Republican boat by exposing their true values -- corruption, cronyism and corporate interests. This year we'll show them the power of the grassroots by electing Democratic governors, mayors and state legislators throughout the country -- and regain the majority.
Over the course of the past few
years, the values of our government and integrity of our democracy have
diminished. It's time for us as American citizens to hold Republicans
accountable for their lies, deception, failed policies and continued
corruption. The only way to do this is by working for change from the ground up
and electing candidates who share our values.
(Jim Dean, Chair of Democracy for
FROM THE PLATFORM OF PATTY JUDGE, CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR
· We should repeal
SPECTER-HARKIN STEM CELL RESEARCH ENHANCEMENT ACT
“The American people cannot afford to wait any longer for our top scientists to realize the full potential of stem cell research.
“The House of Representatives has taken a historic stand on behalf of the millions of Americans who could benefit from the enormous promise of stem cell research. A bipartisan majority rejected the restrictive policies of this Bush Administration and voted to expand the number of stem cell lines that are eligible for federally funded research. In doing so, they have brought new hope to Americans who suffer from diseases like Parkinson's, juvenile diabetes, and ALS, as well as spinal cord injuries.
"Regrettably, research has been stymied and slowed under the President's stem cell policy. It offers only false hope to the millions of people across this country who are suffering from diseases that could be cured or treated through stem cell research. We need a policy that offers true, meaningful hope to these patients and their loved ones.
"Since August 2001, scientists have made great advances in deriving stem cell lines. Many of the new lines were grown without mouse feeder cells. Shouldn't our top scientists be studying those lines, instead of being limited to 22 lines that will never be used in humans? We don't require our astronomers to explore the heavens with 19th century telescopes, and we don't require our geologists to study the Earth with a tape measure. If we are serious about realizing the promise of stem cell research, our biomedical researchers need access to the best stem cell lines available.”
(The above information was obtained from Senator Tom Harkin’s website. Senator Harkin’s thoughts on many topics may be obtained by going to: http://harkin.senate.gov/index.cfm )
DO
THE REPUBLICANS HAVE A HIDDEN AGENDA?
“Democrats put forth a great effort
in the State Legislature to get six percent allowable growth for school budgets
which we along with school superintendents believe is a realistic allowable
growth rate. Too many schools are
closing and re-districting. Replacement
and new supplies are inadequate at best.
Our amendment failed upon a straight party line: all
51 Republicans against and all 48 Democrats for. The four percent allowable growth bill for
education will set the budget per student for the 2007-2008 school year.
“A lot of us (Democrats)
truly believe that education is and should be our number one
priority. What are we telling our young
people when we say that they are our greatest asset yet do not fund their
education adequately? The bill now goes
to the Senate where the Democrats also support six percent allowable
growth. If approved, the bill comes back
to the House for approval. All Representatives’
and Senators’ e-mail addresses are available on the Internet. Contact your neighboring legislators and tell
them your opinion.” ---
Representative Tom Schueller
(Go to the Clinton County Democrats’
website for email addresses: http://www.clintoncountydemocrats.org )
The Iowa Association of School
Boards investigated school funding extensively before recommending the six
percent allowable growth figure. Even
that is inadequate to replace all of the programs that have had to be cut
during recent years. The schools have
been under-funded for many years. It is
becoming more and more difficult to hire well qualified teachers because we
have sunk to 42nd in rank among the states in average teacher
salaries.
At the national level the Bush
Administration touts their “No Child Left Behind” program that has mandates
that are impossible for many schools to achieve. One of their major accomplishments has been
to identify most schools as failing. The
probability that this will happen has been increased by under-funding the
program at its inception and by reducing the funding in more recent
budgets. The conservative extremists
who now control the Republican Party want to discredit and then destroy public
education. They are promoting vouchers
that will enable students to enroll in private schools. When we have basically a system of private
schools, only the wealthy will be able to afford an education.
The voters who say they vote for the
candidate and not the party are politically naïve. No
Republican candidate if elected will be able to go to
From: Richard Kissack [rkissack@cis.net]
Sent: Thursday, February 09, 2006 4:43 PM
To: DEMOCRATS OF CLINTON COUNTY
Subject: Clinton County Democrats' Newsletter
“This year, both Groundhog Day and the State
of the Union Address fell
within the same week. As Air
juxtaposition: one involves a meaningless ritual in which we look to a
creature of little intelligence for prognostication, and the other
involves a groundhog.’" (Paul Jess)
http://www.clintoncountydemocrats.org
February
10, 2006
COMING EVENTS
Saturday, February 11 9:00 A.M. Legislative
Coffee hosted by The Clinton Area
Chamber
of Commerce and the
American
Association of University Women
at the Chamber offices.
OPEN
TO THE PUBLIC!!!
Saturday,
March 4 9:00 A.M.
Saturday,
April 29 First
Congressional District Convention
Tuesday, June 6
Saturday,
June 17 State
Democratic Convention
November 7, 2006 National
and State Elections
DO YOU THINK THE
BUSH/CHENEY GANG CARE?
“Millions
of children throughout the world have no family, no home and probably no
future. For 12 cents and hour, 15 hours
per day, seven days a week, girls sew garments in
“As hard as
this is to imagine, some 250 million children have been forced into horrendous
work and living situations. A whole
generation is growing up without the spark of joy and innocence that should
mark every childhood. They’re growing
up without a chance in life.
“Child
labor thrives because there is no shortage of people willing to profit from the
suffering of others, especially the most vulnerable.” (Maryknoll Fathers
and Brothers, January 2006)
COMMENT:
These children need good health care, housing, education, daycare
centers and many other supportive services.
How can we hope that the Republicans in Congress will have compassion
for the children in other countries when they even oppose funding for most
programs in this country that will benefit children? Do you think that immersed in their
outrageous opulence, they care about these children?
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS ACT OF INCOMPETENCY?
“At a
time when the use of low-cost generic drugs is being embraced as one of the few
ways to rein in skyrocketing health care costs, the Food and Drug
Administration has a backlog of more than 800 applications to bring new generic
products to the market -- an all-time high.
“As a result, experts say, fewer generic drugs will be available to consumers in the
years ahead than the industry is ready and able to provide. The FDA, however,
has told Congress that the office that reviews new generics needs no additional
money, and the agency has no plans to hire more reviewers.
“The Bush administration
has strongly advocated generics as a way to hold down health care costs, and
the director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mark B.
McClellan, said in an interview this week that an ever-growing number of
generics is essential to controlling the cost to the
government and seniors of the new Medicare prescription drug program.
“Last year, the generics
office approved more than 450 applications, 23 fewer than the year before. The
office took an average of 20.5 months to review each application, compared with
19.9 months in 1999, although by statute the agency is obliged to do the job
within six months.
“As the backlog of generic
applications has soared, the number of applications for new or reformulated
drugs and biologics submitted by brand-name companies has remained consistently
smaller than predicted. But while the Office of Generic Drugs had about 200
employees to process almost 800 new applications last year, the offices that
review new drugs had more than 2,500 employees for about 150 applications in
2004.
"We have a kind of
crazy situation now where the FDA's generic reviews -- which are supposed to be
quicker because they're less complicated -- on average take longer than the new
drug reviews," said Kathleen Jaeger, president of the Generic
Pharmaceutical Association. "The flood of applications is coming in
generics, but the review resources mostly go to new drugs."
“A generic drug, which
comes on the market after another drug's patent expires and must have the same
active ingredients as the drug it mimics, usually costs 60 to 90 percent less
than the brand-name version. The cost drops the most with the first generic
alternative to a brand-name drug, and it falls more as each new competitor
reaches the market.
"The branded industry
has to be delighted by this backlog," said Jake Hansen, vice president for
government affairs for Barr Laboratories Inc., a maker of generic drugs.
"If they can't stop competition in the courts, stopping it as applications
go through the regulatory process is just as effective. For consumers, to
flat-line or cut funding makes absolutely no sense."
The above
article was condensed from one written by Marc Kaufman, Washington Post Staff
Writer Saturday, February 4, 2006; Page
A01. You may obtain the complete article
by going to the following website: http://www.washingtonpost.com
From: Richard Kissack [rkissack@cis.net]
Sent: Sunday, February 19, 2006 7:26 AM
To: DEMOCRATS OF CLINTON COUNTY
Subject: Clinton County Democrats' Newsletter
“Iowa
Democrats are working everyday to provide real solutions to
the
concerns important to all
(
http://www.clintoncountydemocrats.org
February
20, 2006
PRESIDENTS’ DAY
"Meet Your Legislator"
State Representative Tom Schueller
Soup and
Friday, March 3rd Eagles Club, 1102 East Platt Street, Maquoketa
Serving from 4:00-7:00 P.M. Music By Red Henton
Featured Guests Include:
Gubernatorial Candidates: Mike Blouin and Chet Culver
Congressional Candidates: Rick Dickinson, Bruce Braley and Bill Gluba
State Senator Roger Stewart State Representative Polly Bukta
COMING EVENTS
Tuesday, February 21 7:30 P.M.
Democratic
Headquarters
Saturday,
March 4 9:00 A.M.
Sunday, March 12 Fund
raising dinner to help pay medical bills for Patsy Nichols. (See article below.)
Saturday,
April 29 First
Congressional District Convention
Saturday,
May 27
Congress
will not be in session, so we hope to
have a nationally prominent speaker.
HERE’S YOUR CHANCE TO
HELP A FELLOW DEMOCRAT
Patsy
Nichols has been caught up in a too common American dilemma. Her medical bills are mounting. She is without medical insurance and is going
through the many hoops of the social services system. In the mean time her debts are mounting. She needs our help.
Patsy is
There will
be a fund raiser at
DEMOCRATS WANT TO
INCREASE THE MINIMUM WAGE
Democrats
in the Iowa Legislature are pressing for a one-dollar-an-hour increase in the
minimum wage. Senator Matt McCoy, a Democrat from
Representative Todd Taylor, a Democrat from
But Republican leaders in the
legislature say they're not interested in raising the minimum wage, so the
proposal will not be debated. Senate Co-Leader Stewart Iverson, a Republican
from Clarion, says it's a national issue. Iverson says otherwise the rate will
vary widely from state to state. "I will also say that the minimum wage
was never intended to be a living wage," Iverson says. "It's more of
a starting wage."
Comment:
However, if
Iowa Republicans have their way, maybe in ten years
CEOS CUT PENSIONS, PAD
THEIR OWN
(IS THERE NO END TO
GREED?)
“Some
executives who slash workers' pensions are keeping or even padding their own
fat retirement packages. And some even reap bigger bonuses as pension cuts
boost profits.
“When International Business Machines froze its pension plan
in early January, thousands of its employees suddenly felt a lot less certain
about their retirement security. Samuel Palmisano, IBM chief
executive, has no such worries. Palmisano, according
to IBM's regulatory filings, will receive an annual pension of $4
million when he retires at age 65. That works out to $75,000 a week -- or more
than $10,000 a day, including weekends.
”It's becoming a familiar theme, as witnessed by this
week's announcement by Alcoa, that it will not offer pensions to new
hires. And as traditional pension plans disappear and are replaced by
less-generous 401(k) plans, the very executives who cut those pensions are
keeping their guarantees of retirement luxury.
”In IBM's case, executives will reap the rewards of fat
pensions that remain fat even as the company changes its rules. In others,
high-ranking managers are given extra pension credit for time served. Some CEOs
at company's scaling back benefits are guaranteed multimillion-dollar payouts
when they leave their companies, even if it's as a result of being laid off.
”And there's another benefit to top executives: By
cutting pensions, they make their companies more profitable, thus boosting
their own bonuses. It is unseemly for executives
to reap higher bonuses on that basis.”
--by Michael Brush, MSN Money, 1-18-06
COMMENT:
It’s time for better management and Federal
protection of pension plans. The Republicans certainly aren’t going to
help ordinary workers.
REPUBLICANS HAVE
PROVED THAT THEY LACK THE
MORAL CHARACTER TO RUN
THIS COUNTRY
“Republicans
are on the run across this country and the President and his policies have left
them extremely vulnerable for the 2006 election cycle. We are now only ten months from the election
that will reshape the political landscape in this country.”
(
From: Richard Kissack [rkissack@cis.net]
Sent: Sunday, February 26, 2006 7:12 AM
To: DEMOCRATS OF CLINTON COUNTY
Subject: Clinton County Democrats' Newsletter
“The spirit of truth and the spirit of freedom – they are the pillars of society.”
(Henrik Ibsen – Pillars of Society)
http://www.clintoncountydemocrats.org
February
27, 2006
COMING EVENTS
Saturday, March 4 9:00
A.M.
Sunday, March 12 Fund
raising dinner to help pay medical bills for Patsy Nichols.
Saturday,
April 29 First
Congressional District Convention
Saturday,
May 27
Congress
will not be in session, so we hope to
have a nationally prominent speaker.
"Meet Your Legislator"
State Representative Tom Schueller
Soup and
Friday, March 3rd Eagles Club, 1102 East Platt Street, Maquoketa
Serving from 4:00-7:00 P.M. Music By Red Henton
Featured
Guests Include:
Gubernatorial Candidates: Mike Blouin and Chet Culver
Congressional Candidates: Rick Dickinson, Bruce Braley and Bill Gluba
State Senator Roger Stewart State Representative Polly Bukta
INFORMATION ABOUT THE
DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION
v Saturday, March 4, 2006 at
v Registration will begin at 9:00 A.M.
v We will be serving a continental
breakfast.
v The convention will begin at 10:00 A.M.
v Candidates for office will be
speaking whenever they arrive throughout the convention.
v Lunch will be served at noon.
v We will be discussing, debating and
voting on the planks in the County Democratic Platform that was put together by
the platform committee from proposals received at the precinct caucuses.
v We plan to be finished by 3:00 P.M.
v We will have an auction of Democratic
political memorabilia to raise money for the County political events. So far among the material we have received
are several magazines from the Kennedy/Johnson years, books and a pair of
Lyndon Johnson salt and pepper shakers.
If you have material you would like to donate phone or email Jean Pardee
at 242-8111 or jmpardee@mchsi.com
EDUCATION ONCE AGAIN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BUSH BUDGET
Education Facing Deepest Cut
in 26 Years
The President’s budget makes the deepest cuts in
education in history, at a time when schools are struggling to meet the
requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. Among the initiatives
slated for elimination is the Upward Bound program that provides grants to
colleges to help disadvantaged high school students succeed in college. Other
programs eliminated included education technology initiatives, state grants to
keep schools safe and drug-free, smaller learning communities, alcohol abuse
reduction, school dropout prevention and dozens of other education initiatives.
Additionally, the President’s much-hyped $1.5 billion
High School Initiative is more than offset by $2.1 billion in cuts to similar
education initiatives like vocational and adult education. (Senator Tom Harkin)
HIGH STACKS TESTING
DOESN’T WORK
“The United
States Department of Education used the term ‘scientifically based’ 115 times
in the so-called ‘No Child Left Behind’ law.
The law emphasizes high-stakes testing to increase math and reading
scores without scientifically checking to see if it would work. Researchers at
As usual,
the overly simplistic Bush Administration designed legislation after consulting
with a small-select group of their supporters.
Few educators were included. The
people who are touting the legislation enjoy using the slogan “Believe All
Children Can Achieve”. They ignore the
fact that children aren’t identical. They have different abilities and different
talents. Some who excel in art and music
may not excel in athletics or academics.
Our goal should be to develop to the highest level possible the specific
talents of each child.
Some of the
children who are asked to meet the national standards don’t
even speak English. The people who wrote
the law ignored individual differences and make no allowance for a variety of
circumstances. They wrote the law
without making use of the years of experience of professional educators who
recognize that education requires more than just high-stakes threats.
John Culver Scholarship Applications
Online
The John Culver
Scholarship fund was created by the Iowa Democratic Party as a testimonial to
U.S. Senator John Culver’s 16 years of distinguished
public service to the people of