You Say You Want an Evolution?

Happy Anniversary all you Survival-of-the-Fittest-lovers--Darwin would have been 200 today if he hadn't been done in by his evolutionary limitations or been smoted (depending on who you ask). In Iowa, proponents of Darwinism and Creationism continue to go after each other hammer and tong, and why not? What good is scientific fact about man's rise from the primordial ooze when God doing it in a day is so much more believable?

But because nothing is "certain" where the origins of man are concerned, states are passing "academic freedom" laws. Arguments over evolution are not took place at the local school board level, but Such laws elect to legislate support for teachers who discuss the scientific strengths and weaknesses of issues such as evolution ostensibly to protect freedom of speech of instructors and students, rather than get into the "he said/Thee said" that evolution and Intelligent Design proponents wrangle over. Such a bill passed in Louisiana last year.

Currently Iowa is in the company of Oklahoma, Alabama,and New Mexico as states that have this type of legislation in the mill. Will these bills pass? In the wake of the Louisiana result last year, similar bills were debated in Florida, Michigan, Missouri, and South Carolina. All failed.

This change in focus is of concern to those in the science and teaching professions: As Robert Gropp, director of public policy for the American Institute of Biological Sciences in Washington is quoted in the Christian Science Monitor, "Quite honestly, there aren't any strengths and weaknesses to evolution in the way they say. It's the hook they use to introduce nonscientific explanations. You have to give [evolution opponents] credit: They've gotten crafty about arguments they make. 'Academic freedom' sounds very all-American, but the problem is it sets aside the way science is done, the way we teach science."

I don't think that school teachers should be put in a position to have to provide instruction on a subject that is not in their expertise. A science teacher has the expertise to teach science. Similarly, I would expect that evolution wouldn't be taught by theologians.

In any case, Happy Birthday Charles Darwin and God bless you.

You've Got to Spend Money to Make Money?

The old adage "you've got to spend money to make money" is being put to the supreme test by the likely passage of a $790 billion stimulus/keep people afloat package that the House, Senate and Obama team are hammering out. Like anything done by committee, it has a little bit of everything in it for just about everyone, after all politics is the art of the possible.

The analogy I use is that our leaders are like an interstate truck driver who is wearing a blindfold; not knowing what is in front of him, the driver will steer straight ahead because turning the wheel either way is likely to have immediate dire consequences. Nonetheless, in the longer run, holding the wheel straight will cause him to miss his exit or drive off the road if the road curves. The only other option for him is to turn the wheel based on his instincts, the feel of the road, and other experiences and hope they guide him correctly. Given that we only know where we have been and don't really know where we are going, the best we can do is make the best of three possibly unpleasant options.

Here's what the bill offers:

For the People
• Most individuals and couples will get a $400 to $800 tax credit.
• The bill introduces the American Opportunity Tax Credit, a $2,500 credit for higher education expenses. It also increases the maximum Pell Grant by $281 in the 2009-10 academic year and by $400 in the 2010-11 academic year.
• First-time home buyers may qualify for a tax credit of up to $8,000. The bill doubles the size of an existing temporary home buyer credit to $15,000, allow all home buyers to claim it, and removes the requirement that the credit be paid back.
• People who receive Social Security will get a one-time payment of $250.
• For seniors who don't work, as well as disabled veterans and retired railroad workers, the bill provides a one-time $300 payment.
• The bill provides a $500 credit per worker and a $1,000 credit per dual-earner couple paid to people making $70,000 or less ($140,000 per dual-earner couple).
• The bill includes a one-year provision to protect middle- and upper-middle-income families from having to pay the Alternative Minimum Tax.
• Increases eligibility for the child tax credit by lowering the income threshold to $8,100.
• Jobless workers provided an additional 20 weeks in unemployment benefits, and 13 weeks on top of that if they live in one of the 30 high unemployment states. Weekly unemployment benefits will temporarily increase by $25 and the first $2,400 of benefits in 2009 would be exempt from federal income taxes.
• Food stamp payments would increase by 12%, so a family of four would see an additional $71 on top of the $588 per month they receive currently.
• $5 billion to weatherize modest-income homes.

For Business
• $7 billion for expanding high-speed Internet access.
• $11 billion for building a so-called smart grid power network.
• $20 billion for digitizing health records.
• $27 billion on highways.
• $8.4 billion on public transit.
• $5 billion to extend a provision allowing businesses buying equipment such as computers to speed up its depreciation through 2009.
• $2.5 billion to makes sales tax on paid on new car purchases tax deductible.
• About $50 billion for energy programs, focused chiefly on efficiency and renewable energy, including $6.4 billion to clean up nuclear-weapon production sites; and $13.9 billion to subsidize loans for renewable energy projects.

For Government Work Projects and State Budget Relief
• $2.3 billion to create a contingency fund through 2010 for the welfare program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, which provides cash assistance to the needy.
• Incentive for states to provide unemployment insurance coverage for part-time workers and for workers who quit their jobs for compelling family reasons.
• $8 billion in aid to states to defray budget cuts.
• $4 billion in grants to state and local law enforcement to hire officers and purchase equipment.
• $2.8 billion for homeland security programs, including $1 billion for airport screening equipment.
• $4.5 billion to make federal buildings more energy efficient.
• $6.3 billion in state energy efficiency and clean energy grant.

(Sources: CNN, NY Times, AP, Reuters, Bloomberg News)

Stimulus Bill Is the Bomb

From the Peace Team:

We've heard President Obama on the TV alot talking about how he's promoting wind and solar power in the new stimulus bill. But in the Senate version of the bill, it's all a great, big, honking FRAUD, because the 50 billion in loan guarantees for "eligible technologies" there has been deceptively defined so that most of that money will instead go to finance nuclear and filthy coal power plants instead.

We know this because Republican Senator Bennett from Utah made sure that was the intent when he snuck this provision into the bill in the Appropriations Committee. Why it is still there after Bennett himself voted against the whole package is an outrage. But because the House bill lacks this garbage provision, we still have a chance to remove it in the reconciliation between the Senate and house versions.

And if that weren't bad enough, there is another billion for new nuclear weapons development. That's not the kind of infrastructure we were promised.

Because of the urgency of this action, please call your members of Congress toll-free at 800-828-0498 or 800-459-1887 to raise an immediate fuss about this. Then submit the action page below as well as a follow up.

No Nuclear/Coal Subsidies In Stimulus Bill:
http://www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum934.php
What a cruel and dishonest trick on the American people if this is all allowed to pass, to foist the sludge spill disasters of the future on us, in the sheep's clothing of a green energy spirit, which is what we thought we were all voting for in the last election.

All they've talked about for years is how vulnerable nuclear power plants would be to a possible terrorist attack, and now they want to build many more?? And this is on top to the fact we have nowhere to put all the dangerous nuclear waste existing plants have already generated. This is not the change we were promised and it's time to make that abundantly clear with our phone calls and emails. Please make your toll-free calls and submit the action page above.

Obama Press Conference: Refreshing Differences

After the Bush years of obfuscation, a unusually somber President Obama should receive high marks for relative candor and a high degree of control in his first televised national press conference. Faced with a financial crisis with a second bailout and stimulus package up in the air, Obama made his case to the American public while deftly addressing questions put to him by the press.

For example:

Chip Reid: You have often said that bipartisanship is extraordinarily important, overall and in this stimulus package, but now, when we ask your advisers about the lack of bipartisanship so far -- zero votes in the House, three in the Senate -- they say, "Well, it's not the number of votes that matters; it's the number of jobs that will be created."

Is that a sign that you are moving away -- your White House is moving away from this emphasis on bipartisanship?

And what went wrong? Did you underestimate how hard it would be to change the way Washington works?

Obama: Well, I don't think -- I don't think I underestimated it. I don't think the -- the American people underestimated it. They understand that there have been a lot of bad habits built up here in Washington, and it's going to take time to break down some of those bad habits.

You know, when I made a series of overtures to the Republicans, going over to meet with both Republican caucuses, you know, putting three Republicans in my cabinet -- something that is unprecedented -- making sure that they were invited here to the White House to talk about the economic recovery plan, all those were not designed simply to get some short-term votes. They were designed to try to build up some trust over time.

And I think that, as I continue to make these overtures, over time, hopefully that will be reciprocated.

But understand the bottom line that I've got right now, which is what's happening to the people of Elkhart and what's happening across the country. I can't afford to see Congress play the usual political games. What we have to do right now is deliver for the American people.

So my bottom line when it comes to the recovery package is: Send me a bill that creates or saves 4 million jobs. Because everybody has to be possessed with a sense of urgency about putting people back to work, making sure that folks are staying in their homes, that they can send their kids to college.

That doesn't negate the continuing efforts that I'm going to make to listen and engage with my Republican colleagues. And hopefully the tone that I've taken, which has been consistently civil and respectful, will pay some dividends over the long term. There are going to be areas where we disagree, and there are going to be areas where we agree.

As I said, the one concern I've got on the stimulus package, in terms of the debate and listening to some of what's been said in Congress, is that there seems to be a set of folks who -- I don't doubt their sincerity -- who just believe that we should do nothing.

Now, if that's their opening position or their closing position in negotiations, then we're probably not going to make much progress, because I don't think that's economically sound and I don't think what -- that's what the American people expect, is for us to stand by and do nothing.

While not always answering questions head on, like in the case of whether he would reverse the policy about allowing the photographing of the draped coffins of soldiers returning to Dover AFB, he did say what criteria he would use to make his decision.

Perhaps one of his best and worst moments was in addressing the grand lady of the press, Helen Thomas, for the first time as President when he smiled and said "All right. Helen? This is my inaugural moment here. I'm really excited." Thomas, who was relegated to the bullpen during the Bush administration, didn't give him a pass in asking him "Mr. President, do you think that Pakistan and -- are maintaining the safe havens in Afghanistan for these so-called terrorists? And, also, do you know of any country in the Middle East that has nuclear weapons?"

His response was somewhat evasive when it came to the second part of her question as he said " With respect to nuclear weapons, you know, I don't want to speculate. What I know is this: that if we see a nuclear arms race in a region as volatile as the Middle East, everybody will be in danger.

And one of my goals is to prevent nuclear proliferation generally. I think that it's important for the United States, in concert with Russia, to lead the way on this.

And, you know, I've mentioned this in conversations with the Russian president, Mr. [Dmitry] Medvedev, to let him know that it is important for us to restart the -- the conversations about how we can start reducing our nuclear arsenals in an effective way so that we then have the standing to go to other countries and start stitching back together the nonproliferation treaties that, frankly, have been weakened over the last several years. OK." Then he cut her off on her follow-up.

On the whole, the President did what he set out to do, to discuss the stimulus package and reassure Americans that he was working for them.

Clean Water Infrastructure Is Good Infrastructure

Anyone who mucked about in the floodwaters of last spring should have no trouble grasping the sad state of affairs that our waterways in Iowa are in. Our representatives in Washington should be supportive of efforts from groups like the Iowa Environmental Council who are front and center on this issue. The IEC has the following to say with respect to the stimulus bill working its way through the US Senate.

The Iowa Environmental Council is encouraging U.S. lawmakers to increase clean water infrastructure funding in the economic stimulus plan, now under consideration in Congress. The House version of the stimulus package currently includes $8 billion and the Senate bill $4 billion for clean water infrastructure. The EPA estimated the cost of meeting our clean water infrastructure needs at $580 billion during the last assessment in 2004, according to a GAO report.

In Iowa alone, the Department of Natural Resources estimates water infrastructure needs to be over $618 million over the next two to three years.

According to Susan Heathcote, water program director for the Iowa Environmental Council, 87 of these projects, with a total cost of $306 million, could be underway in three to four months if the necessary funding were made available.

Sixty-six communities in Iowa do not have a public sewer system and 21 communities need help to upgrade their drinking water systems says Heathcote.

"These needs combined with the fact that we could have shovels in the ground as soon as funding becomes available make them perfect candidates for funding under the nation's economic stimulus package," said Heathcote.

In letters to Iowa Representative Boswell and Senators Harkin and Grassley, Heathcote outlined Iowa projects that could proceed immediately with available funding:

- 25 communities with sewage treatment plant projects, with estimated needed loan amounts of $165 million;

- 41 small unsewered communities, with estimated total cost of $72 million.

- 21 communities with need for upgrades to their drinking water systems, with an estimated total cost of $69 million.

Heathcote says, in addition to the new water projects outlined above, Iowa communities also need help to address ongoing efforts to separate outdated combined sewer systems and to repair or replace aging sanitary sewer system pipes. Until this work is completed, Iowa communities must continue to deal with the public health threat from frequent failure of sanitary sewer systems that result in discharges of untreated sewage into Iowa rivers.

"While we are addressing our ailing economy, why not make a real investment in clean water?" said Heathcote.

Two kinds of Energy Vampires

Well, you knew it had to happen. The Senate part of the stimulus bill is outfitted with $50 billion dollars by the vampires in the coal industry so that it can create coal liquification plants which are actually more energy inefficient and much larger contributors to global climate change than petroleum refiners. Andrew Hug over at Environment Iowa needs everyone to act to let our Senators Grassley and Harkin to know that we don't want it.

Then, on the homefront, we all have our (silver) crosses to bear with our own energy consumption. Take a gander at this short video from Good magazine , it is eye-opening.

America, the Beautifully Confused Place

"America the Beautiful" has gotten a lot of airplay in the last couple of weeks with a dazzling Aretha Franklin singing it at President Obama's Inaugural and Faith Hill belting it out for the crowd at the Super Bowl the other day. It has been suggested that it should replace "The Star Spangled Banner" as our national anthem and is sometimes called the unofficial national anthem. And just like our country, there is a lot going on behind the scenes.

I learned the poem "America the Beautiful" (which was converted into our "second" national anthem by common folks borrowing a popular tune that preceded it by 13 years called "Materna" by Samuel A. Ward) was written in 1895 by Katharine Lee Bates, an English instructor at Wellesley College who was moved by a trip she took to Colorado's Pike's Peak by way of the Columbian Exposition (aka "The World's Fair" in Chicago). The poem originally appeared in the newspaper the Congregationalist to commemorate Independence Day and became popularized by being sung to as many as 74 different folk tunes including "Auld Lang Syne."

Bates herself told a newspaper reporter that the song's success— "so accidental and so simple"—was due to the people, not to herself. As for the poem, "I have come to see that I was its scribe," she said firmly, "rather than its author."

There are many incongruities in American life, and this poem and its writer represent a couple of them. First, the words to "America the Beautiful."

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for halcyon skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the enameled plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till souls wax fair as earth and air
And music-hearted sea!

O beautiful for pilgrims feet,
Whose stem impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till paths be wrought through
wilds of thought
By pilgrim foot and knee!

O beautiful for glory-tale
Of liberating strife
When once and twice,
for man's avail
Men lavished precious life!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till nobler men keep once again
Thy whiter jubilee!

For me a couple lines jump out

"Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!" and

"Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till nobler men keep once again
Thy whiter jubilee!"

As the daughter of a Congregationalist minister, she was no doubt influenced by the teachings against "ill-gotten gain," though she would probably be called a Secular Humanist herself. These words suggest that it was her hope that the American way would be less about commerce and more about all Americans sharing of the natural wealth. The "alabaster city" is a reference to the buildings of the Chicago World's Fair's White City (the majority of which are gone today). Beyond this, her words were decrying the fascination with industrial developments and crass commercialization that were going on. This song, which is revered by so many for its patriotic undertones is a pretty radical call for reform.

This isn't so surprising when you take into account the causes that Bates supported. She was involved in a few social reform activities, working for labor reform and planning the College Settlements Association with Vida Scudder. Bates was an active member of numerous and wide ranging humanitarian, academic, and political organizations, including the American Association for Labor Legislation, the Antivivisection Society, the League of Nations and the American Poetry Society.

Katharine Lee Bates lived for twenty-five years with Katharine Coman in a committed partnership that has sometimes been described as a "romantic friendship." Bates wrote, after Coman died, "So much of me died with Katharine Coman that I'm sometimes not quite sure whether I'm alive or not." As Rev. Barbara Hamilton-Holway at a Unitarian Universalist Church in Santa Barbara pointed out, "Bates who wrote America the Beautiful, loved a woman, was denied full rights as a citizen, and still saw beauty and hope to praise in this country. Bates died at home in Wellesley at the age of seventy nine years after the US Constitution afforded women the right to vote. In Massachusetts, a dormitory at Wellesley College, a public school, and a street bear her name. There is also a life-size bronze statue of her on the grounds of the Falmouth Public Library.

Meet City and County Officials at FAIR! Budget Teach In 2/7/09

In my capacity of FAIR! Chair, I sometimes neglect to use my blog to remind people of events in Johnson County that they can take action and participate in. A week from today, Saturday Feb. 7th, FAIR! is sponsoring our 4th annual Budget Teach In: “Making the Hard Choices: Providing Services During an Economic Downturn” at the Coralville City Hall from 10 am to 12 pm.

Speakers will include Johnson County Board of Supervisor, Rod Sullivan; North Liberty City Administrator, Ryan Heiar; Iowa City Council Member, Michael Wright, Coralville City Council Member, Mitch Gross; and Coralville City Administrator, Kelly Hayworth.

With the economic downturn and effects of the flooding of last year FAIR! thought it would be educational to discuss how budget decisions are made in light of these uncertainties (e.g., will services be affected, are taxes likely to increase, etc.). Additionally, we thought it would be important for county residents to hear how you view the move at the state level to shift some additional taxing authority to local government. If time permits, we'd also like to hear how communities are cooperating with each other on plans or services.

As in the past, we like to give attendees ample opportunity to address these decision makers about their concerns. For those of you who need extra incentive, there will be a casual coffee hour from 9 am to the beginning of the forum (which, just in case you can't make it, will be recorded for later playback) where you will be able to chat with the speakers informally.

Loebsack, Dvorsky, Sullivan, and Champion Make Appearance at Shelter House Fundie

Congressman Dave Loebsack made an appearance at a Shelter House (Johnson County's general shelter) benefit on Saturday night. Also there were State Senator Bob Dvorsky and his effervescent wife, Sue who shared her experiences at President Barack Obama's Inaugural. County Supervisor Rod Sullivan and his wife, Dr. Meliisa Fath were in attendence, as was Iowa City council woman, Connie Champion who is also a part of the capital campaign committee to raise funds for building the 70 bed shelter.

Thanks to the largesse of owners Jim and Maureen Mondonaro who footed the bill for all the incredible food and spirits that were enjoyed by the crowd in their newly renovated Mondo's Sports Cafe on the Coralville strip. The Mondanaros were among the many business owners who were flooded out of their location last June and chose to celebrate their new "home" by having a Grand Opening at which 100% of the funds went to the local shelter. A total of 370 people helped to raise over $18,000 for the capital campaign to build the new shelter facility on Southgate Dr.

Obama: Yes We Can--Close Guantanamo

President Barack Obama wasted little time delivering on his campaign promise to close Guantanamo by making an executive order that it be completed in one year. This commitment, along with executive orders that commit the CIA and other interrogators to use the Army Code of Conduct procedures to interview prisoners are two signs that an Obama administration will be markedly different from his predecessor.

If he will use the same diligence to consider the closing of the "Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation"--formerly known as the School of the Americas, perhaps we will have a better shot at effective democracy in this part of the world in our lifetimes.

More: A story about a protestor at the SOA by Susan Greene.

MLK- ing It for All It's Worth

I, like most Americans, am very glad for the adulation that Barack Obama is being heaped with in the media and by the public and believe that he can live up to the hype. However, having lived through part of the civil rights movement and remembering exactly where I was when Martin Luther King was murdered, I take some exception to the easy comparisons between these two men. Martin Luther King's legacy is sealed while Barack Obama's is still being formed.

These men are both exceptional, but, for those who don't know, Martin Luther King entered college at the the age of 15 and graduated seminary at the age of 19. He completed his PhD studies at Boston College at the age of 26. Barack Obama, was the editor of the Havard Law Review and graduated Havard at the age of 30, after having been a activist in Chicago for three years.

Martin Luther King was 26 when he joined Rosa Parks and became the spokesperson for the Montgomery Bus Boycott and by 27 formed the Southern Christian Leadership Council that continues even today. By the time that Barack Obama was elected to the Illinois State House at the age of 36, Martin Luther King had visited Mohatmas Gandhi to study his method of non-violent activism, wrote his famous letter from the Birmingham, Alabama jail, helped form CORE, led numerous protests, been named Time's Man of the Year, and received the Nobel Peace Prize.

He also lived long enough to see his work attacked by Malcom X, segregationists, and to be called "the most dangerous and effective Negro leader in the country" by the FBI (who also had him under constant surveillance).

After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were passed, he turned his attention to the Vietnam War and on poverty and racism. Poverty and a living wage were his cornerstone issues at the time he was assassinated in April 1968.

Certainly President Barack Obama has the opportunity to use his power to address the poor, who are still seeking justice from bad educational opportunities, higher unemployment and incarceration rates, and limited affordable housing. Perhaps he will turn to the teachings of King who said "Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love. And this is what we must see as we move on."

Barack Obama can be a transformational figure in American life, but legacies are formed by the actions that are taken and the wisdom of those actions in uncertain times. Dr. Martin Luther King rose to those times with actions that had a sure-footedness to them. Hopefully, as a politician, Obama will be able to stand firm on those issues that bring justice to those who have been long denied. If he is able to do this, his legacy will be secured.

Just the Facts: Inauguration Firsts

We all know that Barack Obama will be the first African-American to be sworn in as POTUS, but here are some other inaugural firsts that you may not know about:

Presidential Inauguration “firsts” (from InfoPlease and the Senate web-site):

- George Washington’s first inaugural address was 135 words in length.
- John Adams was first to receive the oath of office from the Chief Justice of the United States
- Thomas Jefferson's inauguration was the first held in Washington, D.C.
- James Monroe was the first President to take the oath of office and deliver the Inaugural address outdoors; ceremony took place on platform in front of the temporary Brick Capitol (where Supreme Court now stands).
- John Tyler was the first Vice President to assume Presidency upon the death of the President.
- Abraham Lincoln was the first to include African-Americans in his parade.
- William Taft's wife was the first one to accompany her husband in the procession from the Capitol to the White House.
- Women were included for the first time in Woodrow Wilson's second inaugural parade.
- Calvin Coolidge's was the first inaugural address broadcast on the radio.
- Warren G. Harding was the first President to ride to and from his inauguration in an automobile.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first President Inaugurated on January 20th, a change made by the 20th Amendment to the Constitution; first time the Vice President was Inaugurated outdoors on the same platform with the President.
- Harry Truman's inauguration was the first to be televised.
- Lyndon Johnson was the first (and so far) only president to be sworn in by a woman, U.S. District Judge Sarah T. Hughes.
- Gerald R. Ford was the first unelected Vice President to become President
- Jimmy Carter's inaugural parade featured solar heat for the reviewing stand and handicap-accessible viewing.
- The first ceremony broadcast on the Internet was Bill Clinton's second inauguration.

Will Obama Get Us to Step Up Our Game?

The stakes for President-Elect Obama's stay at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. are exceptionally high, as are the expectations of this nation. We are in the crossroads. On the one hand, we are are in dire economic straits, embroiled in wars that challenge us, and have an environmental crisis that demands our full attention; on the other hand, we have seen history made and have the leadership and opportunity to build a legacy that lives up to promise of a free people.

It is fitting irony that Barack Obama will begin his job the day after fallen Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King's life is celebrated. To say that Obama is standing on the shoulders of a giant is not crediting either his own accomplishments or ours as a nation. And, without Martin Luther King, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, there could not have been a President Obama. Nor without Abraham Lincoln, John Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson could we shed our oppressive past.

But there is much to do and very little time to reflect on our past. The Inauguration is heralded as historic, and rightly so. However, it is historic not only because of what has happened before, but because it marks what will be and what must come next.

And what will come? Congress has got to act decisively to pass legislation that helps people back to work, to keep their homes, to take care of their kids, and to improve the global environment. It must work with President Obama to roll back the damage done from the excesses of both the Clinton and Bush eras. The petty nature of politics has to be challenged to produce results.

And then, will we as Americans and world citizen's also do our part. Will we forego our lesser needs to address those huge needs that loom ahead? Will we move past our consumer-based view of government and participate in our democracy by fixing those things that government can't and supporting those things that government can?

We can not expect that any one person can make things better for the rest of us, if we don't join the march. If history teaches us anything, it teaches us that it wasn't the time that King spent in the Birmhingham jail that made the change to civil rights or the march on Selma, it was Rosa Parks, the Freedom Riders, and the good acts by millions of nameless people that were inspired by King that caused the walls to tumble down. Now come the time to build up.

Iowa Tax Reform or All My Axes Live in Taxes

As the legislature goes back to work this week, they will have the opportunity to consider a report by a state task force looking at changing property tax structures in Iowa headed by Iowa City's state senator Joe Bolkcom. Cities and counties generate more than 80 percent of their budgets from property taxes and the system, to many, is outdated. The issue pits local governments and property owners against anti-tax groups that want government to cut costs rather than expand sources of revenue. Death and taxes may be for sure, but fighting to the death over taxes is "for sure-er."

The report has taken a step in either opening the biggest can of worms that Iowa perhaps has ever seen or potentially addresses the inequities of taxation that have plagued the state for years. According to Bolkcom, “This is a billion dollar problem that has been more than 30 years in the making. ” Bolkcom, who is the chairman of the tax-writing Senate Ways and Means Committee, also said "We're proposing a menu of ideas for local governments. I think the revenues would be there to recover from last summer's [tornado and flooding] disaster."

The group has recommended that localities have more control over taxation such that the disparity of commercial property taxes are addressed.

The committee offered a three part proposal:

One, the Legislature should consider giving cities and counties alternatives to property taxes. The committee listed nine different alternatives including an income tax, cigarette tax, impact fees on new development and collecting money from nonprofit groups, which are currently tax exempt.

Two, 75% of the money raised by these alternatives must go to reducing commercial and residential property taxes.

Three, the remaining money must go to essential services, which may include rebuilding after last year’s natural disasters and public safety.

But will this help? I'll show both sides of the coin. But first a little discussion of how property taxes work in iowa.

How Do Property Taxes in Iowa Work?

The following is from the Iowa League of Cities:

Beginning in 1978, residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural classifications have been subject to an assessment limitation order, or “roll back,” that limits annual growth in property values to 4 percent. However, there is a further restriction in that the growth of residential property cannot exceed that of agricultural property. In essence, the growth of residential
property is capped at 4 percent or the growth in agricultural value, whichever is less. Since the law’s inception, residential property has always been rolled-back from its full valuation to comply with the law. The limitation can also be applied to industrial and commercial property when necessary.

Revenue Property Class in 2009 are:

Residential: 44.0803%

Commercial: 99.7312%

Agricultural: 90.1023%

Industrial: 100%

A Special Report with more detailed information on Iowa’s Residential Property Tax Rollback is available at www.iowaleague.org.

Property Tax Levies
Cities may levy up to $8.10/$1,000 of the taxable value on residential, commercial and industrial property and up to $3.00375/$1,000 on the taxable value of agricultural property
for their general fund (Code of Iowa Section 384.1). If a city is unable to meet the essential costs for services within the $8.10/$1,000 levy limit, there are several other levies available.

• A city may levy for the city’s contribution under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA), the Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System (IPERS), the Municipal Fire and Police Retirement System of Iowa (MFPRSI) and certain otheremployee benefits. On the state budget forms, these are levied in the special revenues fund column of the Revenues Detail (Form 631.B).

• Insurance premiums, including workers’ compensation, necessary for the operation of the city and the costs of self-insurance or risk pools may also be levied outside the $8.10/$1,000 limit. The levy rate is the actual cost of the premiums divided by the total property tax base. Insurance costs on projects or improvements covered by revenue bonds and insurance on proprietary fund activities may not be levied, as these activities should fund themselves. These revenues are typically credited to the general fund even though they are restricted.

• An emergency levy rate of $0.27/$1,000 of taxable valuation that can be used for any
govermental purpose (Code of Iowa Section 384.8). This is a special revenue that is
required to be transferred to the general fund for expenditure prior to the end of the fiscal
year.

• A city may levy to cover principal and interest payments on general obligation bonds under debt service. Provided proper procedures were followed on lease-purchase or loan agreements, the annual principal and interest payments may also be levied under debt service. The debt service levy is the dollars needed to cover the annual debt obligations divided by the total property tax base.

Code of Iowa Section 384.12 lists several other levies available to the city for specific purposes, some requiring a referendum. Non-voted levy activities include funding for the operation and maintenance of a publicly owned transit system, liability, property and self-insurance costs, a joint county-city building lease and rent, operation and maintenance of a city-owned civic center. Activities requiring a voted levy include funding for instrumental or vocal music groups, memorial buildings, symphony orchestras, cultural and scientific facilities, aid to public transportation companies, library services and emergency medical districts.


Heads: Can of Worms?

The plan offered by the task group would give counties and municipalities the ability to tax locally. If you have ever been to Illinois, you will find local sales taxes varying wildly because of this. What this does is to give localities the option to increase some kinds of taxes while reducing others. In the formula offered by the task group, the majority of relief would go to those paying commercial property taxes and to a much lesser extent, residential homeowners and helping localities pay for flood recovery.

This plan seems to favor larger cities where commercial properties are predominately located. Will this help rural communities? I don't see how it can, as it would be a zero sum gain for those communities to replace one kind of tax with another and might actually hurt the smaller communities by residents shopping in other communities where the local taxes are lower.

For larger communities, this may help them to increase their tax revenues overall, but at the expense of hurting non-profit organizations and perhaps homeowners to spur local economic development. Remembering that many human service non-profits exist in county seats or higher population centers, taxing these groups would decrease the services that could be provided. Often non-profit groups voluntarily pay fees for police and fire protection.

Also, in communities like Iowa City where there is a very high level of commercial properties, the result could be a net loss of revenue, as the state could continue to rollback property tax rates and the city would be required to rebate tax money on top of that.

Taxpayers may opt to live in outlying communities that strategically decide to not have additional income taxes and this could lead to a lessening of growth for larger communities. Again, this would lead to a zero-sum gain for those communities who opt for alternative taxes. Also, anti-tax groups see this as another way for the state and localities to tax income rather than look for ways to reduce what they see as unneeded taxes.

Tails: Idea Whose Time has Come?

Because commercial property owners pay at the second highest tax rate and to be competitive with other states for new business development, the argument is that commercial taxes in Iowa are out of line with neighboring states and should be lowered. Iowa, compared to other states, is in the top five states with respect to commercial property rates. Lowering the tax rate for commercial properties will allow for more economic development in rural communities as well as more urban areas.

Additionally, by creating more tax equity, all taxes in Iowa can be lowered by spreading taxes to all consumers of state and locality services and by implementing an income tax or other taxing options that will allow communities to address their local infrastructure and other service needs. This will actually create tax efficiencies and reduce general taxation.

Localities who have "home rule" would actually have more control over their tax bases. As it stands now, each community holds its breath to see what the state tax revenue picture is shaping up to be and then rushing to put a budget together that fits the picture. This is hardly a way for a city or county to be proactive in planning for its future needs. By giving localities more authority, it gives more flexibility to them and also for those residents who want to lobby their elected officials to figure out what to spend or not to spend these taxes on, in addition to whether to collect them or not.

In conclusion, the debate on reforming property taxes in Iowa will be, no doubt, a heated affair as individuals and groups lobby for and against changes to the tax code (and the parties draw their lines in the sand) , but it will be valuable to follow and educate yourself about because whether it happens in this session or not, there will be changes.

The Skinny on the Fat

There is a boogeyperson in town and apparently he or she is eating us alive. Beginning in 1996, government officials like C. Everett Koop, the then U.S. Surgeon General began to combat "The War On Obesity". In 2006, Surgeon General Richard Carmona stated that "Obesity is a greater threat than terrorism." and said it could "dwarf 9/11 or any other terrorist attempt" in the number of lives that could be lost to the effects of overweightedness.

We have seen the enemy and he is us (more of us than we'd like). But, not so fast (and not so fasting), there is more to the obesity problem than meets the eye. According to Mother Jones News writer Kiera Butler in her article The Waistland, apparently obesity can be "attributed to low-fat foods, lack of sleep, ear infections, intestinal bacteria, pollution, plastics, poverty, air conditioners, socializing with obese people, your mom's age when you were born, and your maternal grandmother's diet."

And it doesn't help that the way that obesity is measured "body mass index" has been changed so that "Overweight" (as defined by the World Health Organization's Obesity Task Force) is defined as a body mass index (bmi) of 25 or more, down from 27.8. I suppose I should mention that this case of less is more may have a non-scientific causation: 70% of the Obesity Task Force's funding comes from the two drug companies that make the popular weight-loss pills Xenical, Meridia, and Reductil.

Nonetheless, according to Butler, "In 1998, the US government adopted the new bmi standards, spurring fears of an "obesity epidemic." That move was hailed by the American Obesity Association, a lobbying group that's received funding from Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig."

So we are fighting an enemy that we should be able to see and we should be very scared, right?Apparently weight kills, but not in the way you'd think. Active obese people are almost 50% less likely to die of heart disease than sedentary thin people. Statistically, persons over 220 pounds are less likely to die in car crashes. Persons who are underweight are in equal danger of dying than their chubbier cousins.

Despite some uncertainty about the effects of obesity, it's gotten so bad that schools in states like Pennsylvania, Delaware, South Carolina, and Tennessee send "obesity report cards" to parents. Even locally there is a desire to replace beverages and snacks in school vending machines with "healthy choices."

Over on the Big Fat Facts site , they caim that "the obesity industries, including commercial weight-loss programs, weight-loss drug purveyors and bariatric surgery centers, will likely top $315 billion this year, nearly 3 percent of the overall U.S. economy."

Remembering drugs like Ephedra, Fen-Phen and many others have been linked to death, as have bariatric treatments, perhaps encouraging healthy diets, exercise, and a positive self-concept might be a better treatment plan.

The Plant is Dead, Long Live the Coal-Fired Power Plant?

The coal-fired power plant planned for Waterloo, IA has been put on hold, but is it a permanent hold or just until the economic climate gets better? Thanks to the efforts of activist groups like Sierra Club and local grassroots efforts, Dynergy and LS Power have called off their joint venture which would have included the Waterloo plant. Bruce Williamson, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Dynegy Inc., said in a statement on 1/2/09 “Today, the development of new generation is increasingly marked by barriers to entry including external credit and regulatory factors that make development much more uncertain."

This climate may not change in the near future, however, the Houston Business Journal reports that "LS Power will acquire full ownership and developmental rights associated with various “greenfield” projects under consideration in Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan and Nevada, as well as other power generation and transmission development projects not related to Dynegy’s existing operating portfolio of assets. It will also receive about $19 million in cash during the first quarter for assets exchanged." While it appears for the forseeable future that the plant is off-line, it may be too soon to call the project entirely D.O.A. and meanwhile, there is still the matter of the plant in Marshalltown.

I Gotta Eat More Corn

The American Corn Growers Association who, by their own admission "is America’s leading progressive commodity association, representing the interests of corn producers in 35 states" is having their 22nd annual meeting in Coralville and has invited Jim Hightower to deliever the keynote speech. The Blog for Iowa had this first, so a tip of a ten gallon Resitol hat to them for that.

Other than being a certified Texas treasure, Jim Hightower can deliver the progressive and populist goods when he is carrying on about the things that excite him. If you have $125 to pony up, you can have breakfast with him and the ACGA, but if not, you can attend their conference for $30 bucks ($20, if you are a certifiable student) and learn a ton about El Maiz Grande.

According to the ACGA press release, Jim Hightower has spent three decades battling the Powers That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought To Be - consumers, working families, environmentalists, small businesses, and just-plain-folks. As keynote speaker at the ACGA 22nd Annual Convention, on January 16, 2009, Hightower will bring a hard-hitting populist viewpoint that rarely gets into the mass media. In all of his work he keeps his ever-ready Texas humor up front, practicing the credo of an old Yugoslavian proverb: "You can fight the gods and still have fun."

I haven't read his newest book (with Susan DeMarco) "Swim Against The Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow”--but from his columns and earlier books, I'll bet it will be great. I notice there is even a chapter on "clean elections"--so it's on my reading list.

One of my favorite Hightowerisms: "The only difference between a pigeon and the American farmer today is that a pigeon can still make a deposit on a John Deere. "

Richardson Out Before He's In

In an apparently preemptive move, President-Elect Obama has pulled the plug on Bill Richardson's nomination for Secretary of Commerce bid, as Richardson has some ethical questions to address in New Mexico. Team Obama is looking to reduce the distractions on the confirmation process for his cabinet and his ability to govern coming out of the gate.

While this is a blow to Bill Richardson, he is understanding of the politicas at play and was contrite in removing his name from consideration. According to CNN, in a statement Sunday, Richardson said he asked Obama "not to move forward" with his nomination now.

"I do so with great sorrow. But a pending investigation of a company that has done business with New Mexico state government promises to extend for several weeks or, perhaps, even months," the statement reads. "Let me say unequivocally that I and my Administration have acted properly in all matters and that this investigation will bear out that fact. But I have concluded that the ongoing investigation also would have forced an untenable delay in the confirmation process. Watch why Richardson bowed out »

"Given the gravity of the economic situation the nation is facing, I could not in good conscience ask the President-elect and his Administration to delay for one day the important work that needs to be done."

New Year's Resolutions? Go to Camp Wellstone

As a New Year's resolution, let me suggest Camp Wellstone to you. I am a "graduate" and two other area graduates ran for and were elected to local offices (90+ graduates have won local, state, and national offices). For anyone who is interested in progressive change in politics, I highly recommend the camp, both because it works, and because you meet really great people there.

There are three tracks at CW:

• Electoral Campaigns: Tools and Tactics for Success
• Citizen Activism: Grassroots Advocacy and Organizing
• Being a Candidate: How to Run and Win a Progressive Campaign

The next Camp Wellstone is in St. Paul later this month. Watch this video for more information:

New Year, New Look for Popular Progressive

I got tired of the old look, so I've updated the template for the blog. I will likely keep tweaking at it until I like the totality of it. Let me know what you think.

Gark