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“Honesty is
the first chapter of the book of wisdom.”
--President
Thomas Jefferson--
May 2, 2008
On this date in 1982 the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano was torpedoed by the British
submarine Conqueror, killing more
than 350 Argentine sailors during the Falklands War.
Saturday, May 3
AT BUZZY’S IN WELTON
Cash Bar
Social at 5:30 P.M. Dinner
at 6:30 P.M.
Buffet of two meats, four salads, two vegetables, beverage: $25.00
Call Jean Pardee for tickets: 563-242-8111 or jmpardee@mchsi.com
We will be honoring Tom Gibbons and Dick Kissack, two Clinton County Democrats
who have made a difference in our party, by
inducting them into the Hall of Fame.
Key note Speaker: Iowa State Democratic Party Chair Scott Brennan
The funds from the dinner will help all Democratic candidates win
in November.
THIS IS OUR MAJOR FUND RAISER
OF THE YEAR!
Saturday, May 3 -- 11:30 – 1:30 P.M.
You’re Invited to join Senator Frank Wood
at a picnic featuring United States
Senator Tom Harkin.
Meet Senator Harkin and help kick-off Senator Wood’s
campaign and enjoy free food, drinks and fun!
Donations: Host: $250 Friend: $100 Guest:
$50 **Teacher’s
Special: $25**
Wednesday, May 14 --
4:30-7:00 P.M.
POLLY BUKTA’S
BAKED POTATO WITH TOPPINGS DINNER
It’s just a block from the
Suggested Donation: $10.00
Tuesday,
June 3
Saturday,
June 14
For more
information about
go to our website: www.clintoncountydemocrats.org/events
BOWLING
1 --- HEALTH CARE 0
“For
the last month, news media attention was focused on
“The
rancor of the campaign was covered. The amount of money spent was covered. But
in
“The
vigorous press that was deemed an essential part of democracy at our country's
inception is now consigned to smaller venues, to the Internet and, in the
mainstream media, to occasional articles. I am not suggesting that every
journalist for a mainstream media outlet is neglecting his or her duties to the
public. And I know that serious newspapers and magazines run analytical
articles, and public television broadcasts longer, more probing segments.
“Every
analysis that is shortened, every corner that is cut, moves us further away
from the truth until what is left are the cliffs notes of the news, or what I
call strobe-light journalism, in which the outlines are accurate enough but we
cannot really see the whole picture.
Voters who take their responsibility to be informed seriously enough to
search out information about the candidates are finding it harder and harder to
do so, particularly if they do not have access to the internet.
“Did you ever know a single fact about Joe Biden's health care plan? Do you know Barack Obama's bowling score?
"We
are choosing a president, the next leader of the free world. We are not buying
soap, and we are not choosing a court clerk with primarily administrative
duties. The news media cut candidates like Joe Biden
out of the process even before they got started. Few people even had the
chance to find out about Joe Biden's health care plan
before he was literally forced from the race by the news blackout that
depressed his poll numbers, which in turn depressed his fund-raising.
“News is different from other programming on
television or other content in print. It is essential to an informed
electorate. And an informed electorate is essential to freedom itself. But as
long as corporations to which news gathering is not the primary source of
income or expertise get to decide what information about the candidates
"sells," we are not functioning as well as we could if we had the
engaged, skeptical press we deserve.
“If
voters want a vibrant, vigorous press, apparently we
will have to demand it. Not by screaming out our windows as in the movie
"Network" but by talking calmly, repeatedly, constantly in the ears
of those in whom we have entrusted this enormous responsibility. Do your job, so
we can — as voters — do ours.”
(The
above article was condensed from an article by Elizabeth Edwards which appeared
in the Sunday, April 27, 2008 New York Times. Elizabeth Edwards, a senior
fellow at the Center for American Progress, is the author of "Saving
Graces." If you’d
like to read the entire article, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/opinion/27edwards.html?hp#
GIFTED
STUDENTS ARE OFTEN IGNORED DUE TO EFFORTS
TO RAISE OTHER STUDENTS’ TEST SCORES
In
fifth grade, Brielle Tucker was so good with numbers that her teacher put her
and four other classmates in a group called the math rock stars. But soon, the
novelty wore off. "Here's the textbook," Brielle, now 14, remembers
her teacher at a
(Eddy
Ramirez in ‘NEA Today’)
“My kids get up at
4:00 A.M. to go to work and then they come to school at 7:30 A.M. Most of them are tired and some of them are
injured – their hands and their backs hurt – but how, when their families are
so poor and they rely on the help of the children, can I tell their mothers they
shouldn’t work?”
(A school principal in
ELIMINATE CHILD LABOR WORLD-WIDE!
May 11,
2008
TO MY MOTHER ON MOTHERS’ DAY
“If I
had a single flower
for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden.”
---Attributed to Claudia Ghandi---
Wednesday, May 14 --
4:30-7:00 P.M.
POLLY BUKTA’S
ANNUAL BAKED POTATO WITH
TOPPINGS DINNER
It’s just a block from the
Suggested Donation: $10.00
Tuesday,
May 20 -- 7:30
P.M.
The
will meet at Democratic
Headquarters across from
Tuesday,
June 3
Saturday,
June 14
January
20, 2009
INAUGURATION
DAY
The
It will finally be over. George W. Bush will head back to
“My pro-life position is I believe there’s life. It’s not necessarily based in religion. I think there’s a life there,
therefore the notion of life liberty and pursuit of
happiness.”
--George W. Bush quoted
in the San Francisco Chronicle, January 23, 2001.
HOWEVER,
George has never been pro-coherence!
For more
information about
go to our website: www.clintoncountydemocrats.org/events
More than 200 enthusiastic Democrats attending the Hall of Fame Dinner heard Speaker of the Iowa House of
Representatives,
Pat Murphy summarize the considerable accomplishments of the 2008 Session of
the General Assembly:
Health Care for
Kids, Balanced Budget Highlight 2008 Session
The 2008 legislative session adjourned for the year with a fiscally responsible, balanced budget and continued
progress in health care, education and good-paying jobs.
The
State of
Access to affordable
health care will be expanded to the 44,000
The General Assembly
expanded access to preschool for nearly every four year old and raised teacher
pay from 42nd to 25th in the nation. We ensured that every
Our goal to make
The 2008 General Assembly took steps to help veterans and their families. We approved a job security bill for our National Guard and reserve members, provided a $3 million annual funding source for the Veterans Trust Fund and ensured that every county will have a Veterans Affairs Office open at least 20 hours per week to help veterans get the benefits they deserve.
SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN IGNORES NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION
Evidently before the final lap of the presidential campaign begins Senator McCain has given up all hope of gaining the support of the 3.2 million teachers who belong to the National Education Association. All three Presidential candidates were asked to complete an NEA presidential candidate questionnaire. Senators Clinton and Obama completed the questionnaire but Senator McCain did not.
2008 Presidential
Candidate Comparison: No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
Senator Hillary Clinton: “I will end the unfunded mandate known as ‘No Child Left Behind’. And, together, we will come up with a 21st-century educational system for our children, where we look at each individual child and try to decide what we need to do to lift that little boy or girl to his or her God-given potential.”
Senator Barack Obama: “The fact is, ‘No Child Left Behind’ has done more to stigmatize and demoralize our students and teachers in struggling schools than it has to marshal the talent and the determination and the resources to turn them around. That’s what’s wrong with ‘No Child Left Behind’, and that’s what we must change in a fundamental way.”
Senator John
McCain: “No Child Left Behind —
everybody likes to criticize it. It needs to be fixed, but it was a great
beginning. It was a great way of gauging performance.”
(On PBS, “The
Charlie Rose Show,” 11/27/07)
These responses are summarized on page 24 of the May 2008 issue of NEA Today.