This just in, via Obama Rapid Response Team:
Dozens of students from the University of Iowa were kicked-out of the McCain-Palin rally for speaking out for peace and justice and against four more years of the same unacceptable policies of George Bush.
Activists from the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance and the University of Iowa Anti-war Committee engaged in a steady stream of "rolling disruptions" to advocate for peace and justice and highlight their discontent with McSame's pro-Bush policies.
It should be noted that heckling is a constitutionally protected form of free speech. During Palin's rally a group of UI female students (including Megan Felt, Hannah Rounds, Laura Kacere, and Marni Steadham) advocated for women's rights, which are being seriously threatened by the outdated policies of McCain and Palin.
They chanted "our body, our choice", "equal pay for equal work", and "Palin, Palin get off our back, women's rights are under attack!" They also held up a large banner reading "War is menstruation envy!" Following this protest these women were escorted out by the local law enforcement. Shortly after, a second group of protesters (including UI students Robin Berman, Dan Rathjen, and David Goodner) called Palin and McCain out when they blatantly lied to the crowd about the current economic crisis.
In particular, Palin and McCain promised to reform our economy, even though their economic policies are no different than the current administration. These protesters were also escorted out. Toward the end of the speech McCain talked about his pro-war viewpoint. At the same time, UI graduate student, Justin Feinstein, screamed out, "John McCain, you never learn! We lost in 'Nam! We lost in Iraq! You can never win in war!"
The third wave of students (including Feinstein, Brooke Bachelder, Lara Elborno, Naomi Prager, and Anthony Carter) began loudly chanting, "Bring 'em back, from Iraq", "No justice, no peace, U.S. out of the Middle East", "Wars, wars, that's his name, 100 more years with John McCain", and "All we are saying, is give peace a chance."
All protesters were escorted out peacefully and their demonstration isa testament to the 1st amendment rights given to every US citizen. The protesters encourage all people to exercise their right to freedomof speech.
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Note from Stephen Fox: I think these students (Megan Felt, Hannah Rounds, Laura Kacere, Marni Steadham, Robin Berman, Dan Rathjen, David Goodner, Justin Feinstein, Brooke Bachelder, Lara Elborno, Naomi Prager, and Anthony Carter) deserve our commendation for their Gandhian courage and their intelligence to do what they did.
This could be in the form of letters to the editor of
1. Daily Iowan, the University Paper (diopletters@gmail.com)
2. Iowa City Press Citizen (opinion@press-citizen.com)
3. Des Moines Register (letters@dmreg.com)
4. Cedar Rapids Gazette (news@gazettecommunications.com)
plus five more listed at: http://www.usnpl.com/ianews.php (this is a "Live Blue" list of Newspapers in Iowa)
McCain stated: "The chairman of the FCC serves at the appointment of the President, and in my view has betrayed the public trust. If I were President today, I would fire him."
[He meant to say FEC, but that's ok, he's getting old and makes mistakes, like picking gun totin' mooseburger-eatin' dimwitted dingbat Governesses of Alaska out of National Enquirer, and McCain's wife expects us to believe that because from Little Diomede Island Alaska you can see Russia, that therefore Sarah Palin can therefore negotiate with Vladimir Putin ---note from Stephen Fox.....]
Yesterday, Barack was back in Cedar Rapids meeting with local residents for a town-hall meeting. Check out the article below about some of the discussions.
Obama pledges 'strong, swift' disaster response
All across Iowa, the campaign for change is organizing to ensure that come November, we are getting the representation we need in Washington and a responsive government that is creating a discussion with the American public. We need your help to ensure that our campaign is reaching out to every corner of Iowa, and one of the best ways to get involved is by joining your Obama Precinct Team. For more information on getting involved, click here.
Tomorrow in Cedar Rapids, Barack will be holding a town- hall meeting to talk about his domestic priorities and economic policies. Barack has made over 10 trips to Cedar Rapids since he entered the presidential race early last year, and our campaign’s local headquarters has been filled with a constant stream of familiar faces and committed supporters who have been making it feel like home again.
Even during Barack’s recent trip overseas, he continued to talk about coming back to Iowa.
From the New York Times“I’m very much looking forward over the next three months to going back to Iowa, literally and figuratively, and spending a lot of time in town hall meetings, talking to voters and listening to voters.”
From the New York Times
“I’m very much looking forward over the next three months to going back to Iowa, literally and figuratively, and spending a lot of time in town hall meetings, talking to voters and listening to voters.”
If you would like more information about Barack’s trip, and ticket pickup locations, click here. Our campaign has been committed to reaching out to the residents of Cedar Rapids since the very beginning of this campaign. We will continue to keep an open dialogue in order to better understand the community and the leadership Cedar Rapids, and all of Iowa, needs in the White House. Check out a few pictures from Barack’s trip in February of last year:
For information on Barack’s trip to Cedar Rapids, click here.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- A sandbagged levee prevented a river from spilling its banks and flooding an Iowa city, but officials asked for additional volunteers Wednesday to shore up the wall as more rain loomed.
Billions of gallons flow from the Saylorville Reservoir near Des Moines, Iowa, early Wednesday.
The river had fallen to 101.8 feet shortly before 5 a.m., down from 102 feet several hours earlier. The previous record was 99.2 feet in 1999.
Thousands of volunteers who showed up Tuesday to help with the sandbagging effort "saved this city, but we are still at a critical point," Staudt said.
Thunderstorms were forecast in Iowa on Wednesday and Thursday.
I was at the Cedar Rapids event last night with 9,575 people. I got there early and volunteered. What an event.The most striking thing to me was as I stood there watching Oprah "stump" for Obamam was that is was really not like stumping at all. Oprah and Obama are really so much alike (besides the funny names) They bring thier message and you dont feel like they made it up or have some sort of alterior motive. They are real down to the core. As Oprah sat there in her chair along side Michelle, it was as if she were litterally star struck by Barack. At one time she was almost out of her chair she was leaning so much. I know that feeling as tears streamed down my face for the 100th time this year as I listened to the greatest man I have ever witnessed speak in my lifetime. There have been other great men, but I have not been afforded the opportunity to see them live.I stood there with my Obama 08 sign over my head, I could not put it down. This speech was like his JJ speech. There were so many people there and the air was full of hope and inspriation. What a wonderful opportunity we have as a nation to make a REAL impact on the world.As I left the area, I still had my "volunteer" tag on and some people were leaving and asking for signs and whatever else they could get thier hands on! I gave them my signs and dug thru my purse for whatever buttons I still had buried down there. They could not get enough. People were singing and dancing there way out of the sadium and I wanted to cry again! (I am a big baby)THE HOPE, THE HOPE, THE HOPE! is all I could think. I sit here still with goosebumps and tears streaming down my face.Thank you Ms. Winfrey. Thank you from my very core, from my very being. (even though the wait in the car garage was over an hour to get out! LOL)I love my country and I love the idea that I was able to meet MARYTNURSE and give her a hug, and I saw my man Hugh from NC and several of the people who live in my town there.BARACK 08=REALITY!!
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Yesterday when I was in Cedar Rapids for Barack's events, I stopped by the local field office. While I was there, I ran into a new volunteer who was in the office for the first time. His name is Roger and he's from Marion, IA.
Roger has followed politics since he served in Vietnam as part of the International Volunteer Service during the war, but he had never made the decision to go into an office to make phone calls and take that next step - until now.
Roger graduated from Iowa State and went to South Vietnam as an agriculture extension worker, advising the government on ag issues. He, along with many other International Volunteer Service workers were evacuated from the country after the Tet Offensive.
For Roger the biggest issue today is the war in Iraq. He admires the courage Barack showed in 2002 when he took a stand during his Senate race and opposed the war even though it wasn't the popular position.
And now, Roger believes that, among all the candidates, he trusts Barack to end the war - being as careful getting out as we were careless getting in.
Barack has inspired many people like Roger to volunteer for the first time. And as he found out yesterday, it's pretty straight forward and our staff gives you all the training you need!
The caucuses have been officially set for January 3. It's time for all of us to start working together to make sure Barack is successful on caucus night. Click here to find your local office and let us know you're ready:
http://iowa.barackobama.com/page/content/iowafindoffice
Yesterday, Barack was in Cedar Rapids for a town hall meeting. The focus was on Social Security and advocating for straight talk when it comes to discussing the issue.
He challenged the other Democratic candidates to be honest when talking about the state of Social Security.
Conventional thinking in Washington says Social Security is the third rail of American politics. It says you should hedge, dodge, and spin, but at all costs, don’t answer. ... If we have failed to have a real, honest conversation about Social Security, it will not get fixed. ... But I reject that notion. I think that on issues as fundamental as how to protect Social Security, a candidate for President owes it to the American people to tell us where they stand. Because I don’t think you’re ready to lead if you can’t tell us where you’re going. ... So let me tell you what kind of leadership I will offer as President. First of all, and I’m just going to lay out some basic principles. Number one: I believe privatization is dangerous. It tears at the fabric of Social Security – the idea of mutual responsibility – by subjecting a secure retirement to the whims of the market. Now people will tell you, “Well you can get a higher return if everyone had individual accounts and were investing in the stock market.” That sounds good unless you happened to buy Enron right before you’re about to retire. Then things don’t turn out so good. And the whole concept of Social Security is that there’s supposed to be a floor beneath which you can’t sink. We want to encourage people to save and invest in the stock market, just not your social security dollars, because that’s what’s there set aside and is there for you. That’s why I fought President Bush when he tried to dismantle Social Security and divvy it up into private accounts. And that’s why I will fight efforts for privatization as President. Now the second, we don’t need to cut benefits or raise the retirement age. There are a number of ways we can make Social Security solvent that do not involve forcing seniors to bear a heavier burden. Their burden currently is heavy enough. The best option, in my view, is to ask the highest income Americans to contribute a little more by raising the ceiling that’s currently put on the amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax.
It tears at the fabric of Social Security – the idea of mutual responsibility – by subjecting a secure retirement to the whims of the market. Now people will tell you, “Well you can get a higher return if everyone had individual accounts and were investing in the stock market.” That sounds good unless you happened to buy Enron right before you’re about to retire. Then things don’t turn out so good. And the whole concept of Social Security is that there’s supposed to be a floor beneath which you can’t sink.
We want to encourage people to save and invest in the stock market, just not your social security dollars, because that’s what’s there set aside and is there for you. That’s why I fought President Bush when he tried to dismantle Social Security and divvy it up into private accounts. And that’s why I will fight efforts for privatization as President. Now the second, we don’t need to cut benefits or raise the retirement age.
There are a number of ways we can make Social Security solvent that do not involve forcing seniors to bear a heavier burden. Their burden currently is heavy enough.
The best option, in my view, is to ask the highest income Americans to contribute a little more by raising the ceiling that’s currently put on the amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax.
To emphasize that last point, Barack talked about his friend from Omaha - Warren Buffet. He said Buffet made $46 million last year - an off year for him - but he paid into Social Security at the same level as middle-class families.
Barack also took several questions after his formal remarks.
President Roosevelt assumed the presidency at a time when wealth in the United States was becoming more and more concentrated in the hands of a few robber barons, railroad tycoons and oil magnates.
It was the Gilded Age and it was made possible by a government that was willing to play along. But then President Roosevelt came along and devoted his presidency to busting trusts, breaking up monopolies, and doing everything in his power to give the American people a shot at the American dream again.
During Barack's formal remarks today, he laid out a vision for serious reform in our government.
We're more than a century after President Roosevelt went to great lengths to put government back in the hands of regular people, and, after six years of the current administration, we again need a president who sees government not as a tool to enrich well-connected friends and high-priced lobbyists, but as the defender of fairness and opportunity for everybody.
Barack's speech was incredibly well-received by the standing room only crowd. You can read the speech's full text by clicking here.
Among the crowd today was Robin, a Cedar Rapids resident who is fully convinced that Barack is the person our country needs at this important time in history. For her, he is the candidate who can get elected and bring significant change to Washington.
And to show her support, she's designed some t-shirts on her own! Check it out.
Once again, we've got more pictures from the event in our Flickr account. Also, there's an Iowa section on Flickr that has all our pictures from across the state. It's updated frequently so check back often!
You can read today's government reform speech after the jump.
For more pictures of the Walk activities in Cedar Rapids, click here. To find out more about Barack or volunteer with the campaign, get in touch with our office in Linn County: 1420 1st Avenue NE, Room 105 Cedar Rapids, IA 52402 319.366.0475
