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Iowa primary precinct caucus and caucuses news">
Iowa primary precinct caucus and caucuses news, reports
and information on 2004 Democrat and Republican candidates, campaigns
and issues Iowa
Presidential Watch's IOWA
DAILY REPORT Holding
the Democrats accountable today, tomorrow...forever.
PAGE 2
Sunday,
September 7, 2003
GOP & Bush
team working to find solutions to appease
veterans.
Headline from
yesterday’s Washington Post: “GOP Faces
Uprising on Veterans…Compromise Sought on
Retirement and Disability Benefits” Excerpt
from coverage by the Post’s Juliet Eilperin: “Facing
a rebellion in their ranks, House Republican
leaders and Bush administration officials are
working to come up with compromise legislation
to allow hundreds of thousands of veterans to
collect both retirement and disability
benefits. The move -- which could cost the
government several billion dollars a year --
would change how disabled veterans receive
pensions. Under current law, retirees
generally must forfeit a dollar of their
military pensions for every dollar they
receive from the Veterans Administration in
disability compensation. Lawmakers and the
administration came up with a compromise last
year in the fiscal 2003 defense authorization
bill that provided special compensation equal
to the amount of retirement pay forfeited
because of the disability compensation,
allowing ‘concurrent receipt’ of benefits. But
the compromise applied to only a limited
number of disabled retirees. Veterans
groups have lobbied hard to give the full
benefits to all disabled military retirees.
Pentagon officials have countered that they
cannot afford to provide more generous
benefits. The Defense Department spends
more than $35 billion a year on military
pension and health care benefits. More than a
quarter, or 550,000, of 2 million military
retirees a year collect disability benefits,
according to the Military Officers Association
of America. Any compromise GOP proposal
would likely cover a significant portion, but
not all, of the disabled retirees. Members
of Congress have come under intense political
pressure to accommodate the needs of retired
veterans. House Republicans were deluged with
questions on the issue last month, according
to aides…House Democrats have also put the
squeeze on GOP leaders, introducing a
‘discharge petition’ that would force a vote
on the issue if 218 members sign the measure.
They are 16 votes shy of bringing a full
concurrent receipt bill to the floor, and
several Republicans have threatened to sign
the petition if their leadership does not act
soon.”
… “Drafting
Hillary” – subhead from Greg Pierce’s
“Inside Politics” column in Friday’s
Washington Times. Excerpt: “Sen. Hillary
Rodham Clinton has said she is not interested
in running for president in 2004, but a
political activist from Florida has started a
campaign to draft the New York Democrat into
the race. Bob Kunst of Miami has set up a
Web site (http://www.hillarynow.com) to
collect signatures on a petition urging the
former first lady to run for president,
Reuters reports. Mr. Kunst, who also operates
a Web site critical of the Bush administration
(http://oralmajorityonline.com), says he is
convinced his ‘Draft Hillary Now’ campaign
will produce the one candidate who can oust
President Bush from the White House. ‘We
have a whole year to put this together. It
doesn't matter whether she decides to enter
the primaries or not. It's irrelevant,’ he
said.”
… Despite her continuing denials that she’s
interesting in being a Dem presidential
candidate, Hillary sounds like a wannabe – as
she charges GWB broke a
“president-to-president” promise on AmeriCorps
support. Headline from Friday’s Chicago
Tribune: “Sen. Clinton says Bush
breaking AmeriCorps vow” Excerpt: “Sen.
Hillary Rodham Clinton says President Bush is
breaking a ‘president-to-president’ promise
made to her husband to protect one of the
Clintons' favorite programs, AmeriCorps.
‘I personally know that there is a tradition
among presidents when they succeed one
another,’ Clinton (D-N.Y.) told
AmeriCorps supporters Wednesday. ‘When my
husband spoke with the present President Bush
as they were changing the leadership of our
country, the only thing my husband asked
President Bush was to take care of AmeriCorps
and national service. So far, that promise
made and even mentioned in the State of the
Union has not been fulfilled,’ Clinton
said. Democrats and Republicans have bickered
through the summer over the financially
strapped AmeriCorps volunteer program. House
Republicans have resisted Democratic attempts
to spend an additional $100 million to
maintain current programs across the country.
Clinton noted that Bush has pledged to
support AmeriCorps, but faulted him for not
forcing the issue within his party. Katy
Mynster, a spokeswoman for Bush's USA Freedom
Corps volunteer program, said Thursday that
the president ‘believes strongly in the
AmeriCorps program’ and wants to expand it in
2004. AmeriCorps provides stipends and
scholarships to young people in exchange for
community service. The fight over funding the
Clinton-era program has taken a decidedly
personal turn, in part because Bill Clinton
honored a similar request in 1993 from Bush's
father. Former President George H.W. Bush
asked Bill Clinton in 1993 to protect the
Points of Light Foundation, according to a
1997 briefing with then-White House spokesman
Mike McCurry. The Points of Light program,
also an effort to encourage volunteerism, was
widely identified with the elder Bush, and
Clinton continued its federal funding after
taking office. Robert Goodwin, president and
CEO of the Points of Light Foundation, said
the organization was ‘very pleased that former
President Clinton embraced the mission’ while
in office and said his group supports the
effort to fund AmeriCorps. But Goodwin also
said he believes Bush has supported AmeriCorps
and the current responsibility for helping the
program rests with Congress.”
Has the NEA
improperly used dues money for political
purposes?
Headline from
FOXNews.com: “Conservative Group Questions
Teacher Union’s Expenses” Excerpt from
report posted on Friday: “The government
should start a criminal investigation into the
nation's largest teachers union to see whether
the organization improperly used dues money to
influence elections, a conservative law
firm says. The National Education
Association denied any wrongdoing.
Landmark Legal Foundation said Thursday it
reviewed thousands of pages of NEA records
documenting political activities that were not
reported to the government -- and should have
triggered tax payments. The complaints
filed with the Internal Revenue
Service and Justice Department alleged the
union spent tens of millions of dollars from
member tax-exempt dues. Richard Wilkof, an
NEA attorney, said, ‘In the past, what
Landmark has done is make gross
misrepresentations of fact and lifted
statements badly out of context. We feel there
was nothing wrong with our activities in the
past and we continue to feel that way.’
Landmark in 2000 sought an IRS audit of the
tax-exempt union but Wilkof said none was
conducted. Mark Levin, president of Herndon,
Va.-based Landmark, said, ‘The complaints
we filed today show, in meticulous detail, how
the nation's largest, most powerful and most
political union has flagrantly ignored its tax
obligations.’ Under the tax code, unions
cannot use dues money to influence the
election or defeat of any candidate.
Contributions to candidates and parties are
supposed to be made by separate political
action committees The complaints quoted from a
newspaper article this year that said Randall
J. Moody, the NEA's federal policy manager,
told political workshops at the union's 2003
convention: ‘Politics move our policy. We work
through UniServ.’ UniServ is NEA's network of
representatives who provide services to the
local affiliates. Wilkof denied Landmark's
contention that UniServ is really a network of
political operatives, and said that Moody
denies making the comment about UniServ. Patti
Reid, a spokeswoman for the IRS criminal
division, said she could not comment on the
complaint.” This morning’s headlines:
Des Moines
Sunday Register, top front-page headline:
State – “Rising lawsuits create big bills
for Iowa…Officials say course for state
workers will help out misconduct and
complaints.” Copyright report says 28
harassment and discrimination lawsuits have
cost state $1.2 million over past two budget
years.
Quad-City
Times, main online heads: “Palestinian
leader resigns” & “Bermuda devastated by
Fabian”
Nation/world
online stories, Omaha World-Herald: *Road
map wavers with Abbas’ departure” & “Source
of Iraq bomb campaigns elusive”
New York
Times, featured online reports: “Abbas
Steps Down, Dealing Big Blow to U. S. Peace
Plan” & “Iraq Bombings Pose a Mystery”
Top stories,
Sioux City Journal online: “Abbas resigns;
Israel bombs Gaza City home in failed attack
on Hamas leadership” & California recall –
“David takes on Bush, GOP in national radio
address, gets Dean’s support”
Chicago
Tribune online, main headlines: Iraq – “GIs
doubt foreign troops’ readiness” & “Abbas
quits; road map in peril”
Iowa Briefs/Updates:
Traffic
problems are expected on football Saturdays in
Iowa City this fall. The Daily
Iowan (University of Iowa) reported that
Iowa City police will no longer direct traffic
during home Hawkeye football games at main
intersections near Kinnick Stadium. The report
said the university refused to help shoulder
the cost -- $5,000 a year – to reimburse the
city
A 24-year-old
Adel man – Joel Kramersmeier – has been
charged with the murder of his 2-year-old
son’s murder. WHO Radio (Des Moines)
reported that he was arrested after the body
of Cynthia Johnson, 19, of Waukee was
found early Friday near the Ankeny exit
on Interstate 35
Newscasts
across the state report on candidates for
local school board elections – which will
be held statewide on Tuesday.
On the
Korean Front: Jimmy Carter Weighs In.
VOANews
(Voice of America) headline: “Former US
President Carter Says N. Korea Must Be
Guaranteed Security” Excerpt: “Former U.S.
President Jimmy Carter has called on the
United States and other nations to guarantee
North Korea's security, saying it will help
defuse the crisis over Pyongyang's nuclear
program. Speaking in Japan, Mr. Carter said
the United States and other nations must make,
a ‘combined commitment’ to assure North Korea
it would not be attacked or pressured. Mr.
Carter said North Korea must then scrap its
nuclear weapons program and give the United
Nations full access to its nuclear facilities.
He also said Pyongyang must guarantee that it
would not threaten its neighbors.”
Harkin
among Dem senators backing Byrd effort to
boost educational funding.
Headline from
FOXNews.com this morning: “Sen. Byrd Wants
Billions More for Education” Excerpt from
report by Fox News’ Peter Brownfeld: “Financially
struggling states cannot possibly meet the
many requirements of the No Child Left Behind
Act without additional federal
funding, according to a group of Democratic
senators. Sen. Robert
Byrd,
D-W.V., ranking member of the Senate
Appropriations Committee, this week filed
an amendment to increase funding
for the law by $6.1 billion, nearly 50 percent
more than what Senate appropriators approved
in subcommittee. ‘Parents and teachers
want their schools to be held
accountable. They want every child to
succeed. They're holding up their end of the
bargain. Now it's time for the federal
government to hold up its end of the bargain,’
Byrd said during floor debate. Fellow
Democratic Sens. Patty Murray of Washington,
Tom Harkin of Iowa, Chris Dodd
of Connecticut and Tom Daschle of South Dakota
all supported Byrd's provision. Senators
are scheduled to vote on the amendment next
week. No Child Left Behind, signed into
law in January 2002, seeks to ensure all
students can read by the third grade, demands
increased accountability from schools through
mandated testing in grades 3 through 8 and
offers students in failing schools the
opportunity to attend a better one. Under NCLB,
schools must meet ‘adequate yearly progress’
goals. They are graded on achievement broken
down by subgroups of race, ethnicity, income,
disability, and English proficiency, as well
as the percentage of students having taken the
test. In a July 8 memo to Congress, Secretary
of Education
Rod
Paige was
optimistic about the law’s impact. ‘During my
four decades working in education, I have
never seen such meaningful and effective
cooperation between federal, state and local
officials,’ Paige wrote, adding that the
federal government has already made a
substantial investment in the law. ‘Total
K-12 federal spending has already gone up
$5.25 billion, or 30.4 percent, under No Child
Left Behind,’ Paige wrote. But success has
varied among the states, which are permitted a
degree of flexibility and have submitted
unique accountability plans approved by the
Department of Education.” Today’s editorials, Des Moines Register:
“Medicare:
Back to the drawing board” Excerpt: “Go
back to the drawing board, Congress. Back to
the basics. Focus on making the system fair
for rural areas and working toward a more
comprehensive drug plan that focuses on
curbing costs. Most important, keep the
interests of seniors and taxpayers, rather
than drug and insurance companies, foremost.”
Before meeting
next Saturday in Ames, the Hawkeyes and
Cyclones posted big wins against secondary
foes in home football games yesterday: Iowa
56-7 over Buffalo in Iowa City,
Iowa State 48-20 over Ohio in Ames…The
most anticipated sports rivalry of the fall –
Iowa vs. Iowa State meeting on the football
field – won’t begin until next Saturday, but
the Cyclones already have notched one victory
in the competition between the state’s two
major universities. Iowa State defeated the
Hawkeyes in volleyball Friday night in Ames –
the first time Iowa and ISU have met in
volleyball since 1997. It was the first match
in a series that will pit the state’s four
major universities against each other this
season.
DSM 7 a. m.
60, a few clouds. Temperatures at 7 a.m.
ranged from 45 in Harlan and
Clarinda and 46 in Audubon, Atlantic
and Red Oak to 61 in Orange
City, Oelwein and Fort Madison and
63 in Decorah. Today’s high 88,
sunny. Tonight’s low 60, clear. Monday’s high
86, mostly sunny. Monday night’s low 62,
mostly clear. Tuesday’s high 85, mostly sunny.
Tuesday night’s low 63, mostly clear.
Authentic log
cabin takes prominent place at the Clay County
Fair.
Excerpts from
report by Sioux City Journal correspondent
Cheryl Hessenius: Visitors to the Clay
County Fair –in Spencer -- will see an
authentic log cabin, moved three weeks ago
from its original site on the Ed and Agnes
Sundholm farm near Albert City to its
permanent relocation on the west side of the
Clay County Fairgrounds.
The newly
named Sundholm Environmental Education Center
welcomes guests to the 86th annual fall
classic that opened yesterday and runs through
Sept. 14.
Given to the
Clay County Fair Association by the Sundholm
family in memory of their grandparents, the
cabin left Albert City Aug. 19, moved by
Berghorst and Son Movers Inc. of Hull.
The sturdy 36-foot by 30-foot structure with
cut-rock fireplace survived the 35-mile trek
intact and was set on a poured concrete
basement the next day.
Perhaps a reflection of the cast-iron icon
nailed to the front door, Ed Sundholm was a
prospector of sorts. Upon returning from
an African safari as part of an
around-the-world tour in 1953 with his wife
and daughter, Sundholm wanted a place to
display wildlife mounts conquered during the
adventure. He hired four Finlanders to build
the future environmental classroom.
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