Essential Estrogen

Female journalist fired in Kansas for speaking out

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:00:17 -0600

Claire O'Brien, a former Dodge City Globe reporter that refused to identify a confidential source in court, was fired from her job last Friday.

According to a report in The Topeka Capital-Journal, O'Brien believes the termination was punishment because she told media outlets that the corporation that owns the Dodge City paper had refused to pay for her legal representation and attempted to block her efforts to find independent counsel.

Her confidential source revealed himself to authorities after O'Brien was fined $1,000 a day for contempt when she initially didn't show up to testify. The contempt citation and fine were rescinded after she eventually testified in a closed hearing.
O'Brien said that after that Feb. 12 hearing, she was forced to sign some disciplinary forms, including one claiming she had defamed GateHouse Media.
She also found the locks on the newspaper building had been changed after the hearing, and she was the only reporter not given a key, O'Brien said. Other work restrictions included a requirement that a manager be present whenever she was in the building, O'Brien said.

O'Brien published a story Oct. 13 based on a jailhouse interview with Sam Bonilla, a man who eventually pleaded guilty voluntary manslaughter and aggravated battery. The story was considered controversial because it hinted that the situation had stirred up anti-Hispanic sentiment.

Times are hard for reporters. Yet, if O'Brien's version of what transpired at the paper is true, then this is a much larger blow to collective journalists, especially in Kansas, and freedom of the press as a whole.

Worth noting: OMB Director Orszag on cost of health care reforms

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:42:07 -0600

Peter Orszag, director of the federal Office of Management and Budget, blogged Thursday about the cost of Pres. Barack Obama's health care reform proposal.

Feel free to read the full blog post, but here is an excerpt:

... the President has put forward a health plan that would reduce deficits by roughly $100 billion over the next ten years and by roughly $1 trillion in the decade after that.

Recently, a lot of attention has been paid to a claim that this deficit reduction is achieved only through a business-as-usual Washington budget gimmick: paying for just a few years of costs with many more years of savings.

This charge is simply false ...

If you are confused regarding what's in the different plans, have a look at the excellent side-by-side comparison developed by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Note, however, that this comparison only includes the plan presented by Pres. Barack Obama on Feb. 22. There were additional GOP proposals identified during and following the Feb. 25 health care summit that Obama believes should be a part of the final bill. Those are not included in the side-by-side comparison, but can be found on the White House Web site.

Why Stupak is wrong to believe the Senate health care bill funds abortion

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:18:37 -0600

There are some individuals who honestly believe that the health care reform bill passed by the U.S. Senate would usurp years of federal policy and allow for taxpayer funds to pay for abortions. Those people -- including Michigan anti-abortion Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak -- are wrong.

Stupak, who is backed by the like-minded U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, stated this week that he and 11 other members of the U.S. House are willing to completely derail reform efforts if the language he was able to insert in the House bill is not included in the Senate package. As U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin explained to me and other reporters on a conference call this week, however, the language will not be inserted into the bill because it is a policy issue not a budgetary concern. (A requirement of reconciliation.)

Because such rumblings could effectively kill all health care reform, Slate has taken a look at why Stupak and others believe the Senate bill allows government coverage or subsidy of abortion. According to reporter Timothy Noah, despite all the grumbling about taxpayer-funded abortion, the argument isn't really about that at all. Instead, the Bishops and lawmakers of the same ilk as Stupak are upset because of "market economics" and not being able to forever change the policies that have governed abortion in America.

... A common misconception is that the government's ban on abortion funding through the Hyde Amendment (which covers spending by the Health and Human Services Department, chiefly through Medicaid; other laws ban abortion funding through other government agencies) has the force of permanent law. It does not. It is merely a rider routinely attached to annual appropriations bills. Should the appropriations committees in Congress decide one year not to attach it, then HHS will become free to fund abortions. Pro-lifers live in fear that this will happen, but they don't want to draw too much attention to the possibility, lest they discourage the public from thinking the Hyde Amendment is writ in stone...

In fact, it is this fear that the Bishops forwardly state in a press release: "...this annual rider is far less secure than the House bill's permanent provision."

Stupak is a bit more coy about this. His amendment prohibits government subsidies to anyone purchasing health insurance through the exchanges if that insurance covers abortion. To Stupak, it doesn't matter that the Senate bill already prohibits any federal dollars from paying for abortions. "Our amendment maintains current law," he has written, "which says that there should be no federal financing for abortion." This is wrong on two counts. Current law doesn't care one way or the other whether private insurers cover abortion. And to the extent it cares about government funding for abortion, it doesn't ban it forever. It bans it for this year.
In a better world, Stupak and the bishops believe, the federal ban on taxpayer-financed abortions would be permanent. It's true that the Senate-passed bill is at odds with this Platonic ideal. But the bill is completely consistent with the earthbound status quo. Why can't they accept that?

Don't be confused by the verbal gymnastics on display by those who want to equate the abortion debate with the health care reform debate. The Senate bill, which will likely be the bulk of the eventual plan, maintains the status quo and does not allow for government funded or subsidized abortion services.

Monday night = you, me and Iowa's most amazing Democratic women

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:15:44 -0600

What could be better than spending the evening with an exceptional group of Iowa Democratic women? For me, it would be getting honored by that same group of women for something I had a great time doing.

Last fall, I helped DAWN's List put together a seminar for Democratic women. My contribution included putting together materials on social networking and other tech things that I love and use on a daily basis, and sharing that information with some of the most dynamic women in Iowa. It was one of the most pleasurable activities I've ever undertaken and something I'd gladly do again.

There will be a reception Monday night in Des Moines for my honoring (which I'm hoping will be kept to a minimum), as well as the very much deserved recognition of six other Democratic ladies.

The full press release from DAWN's List is below, and I really hope to see you there.

Democratic Activist Women's Network Announces Honorees for Women's Appreciation Day Reception

Des Moines, IA - DAWN's List has announced the names of five Democratic women who will be honored at the Women's Appreciation Day Reception to be held Monday, March 8th, at the Grand Piano Bistro in Des Moines.
"We received nominations from all over the state for these awards," said Carole Kazmierski, President of DAWN's List. "The nominees are outstanding women who have made major contributions to the state of Iowa."
Award winners include Andrea Jansa, Des Moines (Rising Star Award); Rachael Grimes, McCallsburg (Special Recognition Award); Clara Oleson, West Branch (Activist Award); Peggy Huppert, Des Moines (Lifetime Achievement Award); and State Senator Amanda Ragan, Mason City (Elected Official Award).
During the reception, DAWN's List will also honor Lynda Waddington for her volunteer efforts in 2009 and will recognize Roxanne Conlin, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, for her many years of service to DAWN-supported issues.
Guest speaker at the reception will be Christie Vilsack, Executive Director of the Iowa Initiative and former Iowa First Lady. The reception will be held from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at the Grand Piano Bistro, 506 E. Grand Avenue, Des Moines.
Tickets may be reserved on the DAWN's List website (www.dawnslist.org) or may be purchased from a DAWN's List steering committee member prior to the event. Ticket requests may also be e-mailed to dawniowa@gmail.com, Please include your name, contact information, and number of tickets needed.
With a prior reservation individual tickets are $20 or two tickets for $35. Individual tickets purchased at the door will be $25 for one ticket or $40 for two tickets.
Since 1992, DAWN's List has been dedicated to the election of Democratic pro-choice women in Iowa. Today, DAWN's List is the only Iowa group dedicated solely to the support, recruitment, mentoring and election of progressive women.

Let's take a moment to thank Darcy Pohland

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:49:55 -0600

Darcy Pohland, a 48-year-old reporter at WCCO-TV in Minnesota, was found dead in her home today.

We talk a lot on this blog about women who break barriers and make a difference in their communities. It is for this reason that we take a moment to honor Pohland, who, due to a swimming accident, was permanently paralyzed from the chest down. She was one of the few quadriplegic reporters of either gender currently serving in television news. She began at WCCO in 1983 as an intern and worked her way up the ladder to become a reporter for the station.

I never had opportunity to meet Pohland in person, but had admired her tenacity and "gumption" for several years. In her honor, I'm going to make it a point today to reach out to a couple of other female journalists and let them know how much I appreciate the work they do, and the challenges they have overcome.

Initial reports are that Pohland died in her sleep, and an immediate cause of death is not known.

Did anyone in Cedar Rapids read this book?

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 07:15:08 -0600

A couple of weeks ago I bought Sarah Palin's book. I've not been a fan, but I've heard her say she is not fairly portrayed by the press.

I liked some of what I read. I could relate, I too am the mother of four and have a wonderful husband. I've also been known to buck the leadership in the Republican party and go rogue. Me, complaining about the boys. There are other examples, but I'll leave those for other times :0)

When I got to page 248 and read about Sarah's visit to Cedar Rapids, I was appalled! She did not remember a thing about us. If you checked the above link, it is rather obvious that the McCain-Palin event is an event I remember well.

I ~~told~~ asked Lynda to check it out. Iowa Independent has her report. Cedar Rapids does not need to be portrayed this way. What if people really are reading this book?

If this was the picture I had of Cedar Rapids when Rockwell Collins asked my husband to interview, I would have said, "NO!" Fortunately it was during Mayor Clancey's administration and we were sent a CD showing us the benefits of living in Cedar Rapids. We ultimately chose Cedar Rapids over Tampa, Florida.

I hope our City officials take this opportunity for a bit of free national press since Sarah Palin is a Fox News analyst. If she's to be believable at Fox, surely, they want to correct what has been done in error to describe our wonderful City and the heartache that Sarah should have seen when she visited.

Kathy Potts

State of the City Speech

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 12:40:40 -0600

It's part of the City Charter, the Mayor gives a State of the City speech by February 28th each year. A tradition has been for the League of Women Voters to host a luncheon for this event.

Mayor Corbett had a pleasant speech for his guests on Wednesday during the $30 luncheon. Seats were available for those who did not purchase a lunch.

Mayor Corbett added a bit of the Christian religion into his speech using a couple of verses from the Bible.

" I personally have one more piece to add to the trio and that is a 'guiding principle'. I am going to mix a little spirituality, not really religion, to this speech. This is just me talking, not the City Council or City staff. I have a bible verse that I have adopted as the Mayor's verse. I have chosen Proverbs 31:8-9, as my guiding principle. This is the New International Version: 'Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.' I believe this is what life is all about... helping people. And that's my role as the mayor of your city. This is step one in achieving results.

I can't help but thinking that it is rather ironic that the poor and needy are being talked about as some of the City's most rich and powerful are sitting around tables eating their $30 dinners.

I was told by a county employee there were a couple of tables with flood victims, guests of the City. However, just because they were flood victims does not necessarily mean they are poor and needy.

It's not always the ones that look poor and needy that are in need. A small businessman or woman can be stretched so thin they don't have a dime to spare. Would they sit on the sideline and not eat lunch? Would you?

Perhaps we should not have an important city event where the needy, those obvious and not so obvious ones, don't feel able to participate. Make it open and equal to all, not just those with money in their pockets.

Kathy Potts

Yardy Gate Continues

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 12:13:47 -0600

Evidently, I am not alone in thinking that the City Council adding $540,000 into the City's budget on Kim Brokaw's yardy device to "protect" us is ridiculous. Many, many Cedar Rapidians have spoken up on the subject. Note: This has been added into the budget but the budget has not yet been approved. However, this money was specifically added into the budget after cuts were made to reduce spending. Next budget meeting is March 6. (Correction: March 9th is the budget meeting for the discussion of the Cart Guard).

Why is the amount of money that Kim Brokaw donated to Ron Corbett's campaign of interest? Let's look at Mr. Brokaw's donations since 2005 in the State of Iowa for those running for local or state elections according to the Iowa Board of Ethics.

Bankers Unite in Legislate Decisions (BUILD) 4/5/2006 $100
Schulte for Senate $250 6-1-2006
Linn Eagles $150 1-31-2007
BUILD $100 3-16-2007
Paulsen for State House Committee $100 10-5-2007
BUILD 4-1-2008 $100
BUILD 3-19-2009 $100
Corbett for Mayor $250 4-1-2009
Corbett for Mayor $149 10-9-2009

As you can see, it is uncommon for Mr. Brokaw to donate to campaigns. He donated more to Corbett's campaign than he donated totally to all other candidates in the last three years. To me, it's interesting. What do you think?

Kathy Potts

No, I didn't follow the directions...

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 05:28:09 -0600

I was able to listen to the Podcast of the Bob Bruce Radio Show on WMTradio.com early Sunday morning. You can find it here. Bob talks about the latest hot topic in Cedar Rapids, the Yardy and the safety device that has been pitched to the City Council and has been added to the City Budget for $540,000. He spoke with Inventor Kim Brokaw. Kim Brokaw admitted that he was NOT following directions when he was injured, he did NOT have the lid closed.

You've got to listen to this podcast if for no other reason to listen to Bob singing "yardy" to the tune of "Feelings", it's a once in a lifetime experience :-) or at least we can hope! Just kidding Bob!

I also spent some time watching the video from Budget meeting #10 on www.neighborhoodnetworknews.com. Councilman Chuck Wieneke had the best idea of all. If indeed, the Yardy is a danger to us, let's collect them all and just start using paper sacks to put yard trash in. I agree. That's a lot better than spending a half a million bucks!!!

If you have not taken the time to read the comment section on KCRG you've got to go there. Be ready to laugh. Some of the comments are hilarious. Several people have commented that this is the first time they have seen everyone on the same page in a comment section. There seem to be more than a few of us that think this is a stupid decision by our Council.

Another comment about watching the video. I was amazed to watch how giddy Kris Gulick was as he talked about being able to help Kim Brokaw get his product marketed.

Wednesday's City Council meeting should be an interesting one. I wonder just how long the public comment line will be.

Kathy Potts

Leave my Yardy alone!

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:18:36 -0600

First and foremost I must admit, I love my Yardy. My Yardy has been a faithful companion in working with me, keeping my yard clean. I've been able to deposit all of the broken branches and leaves from my neighbors trees, that fall into my yard uninvited, and Yardy has accepted them just as though it were my own debris. Not once has my Yardy attacked me. The wind got between Yardy and I once, but just like the wind attacked my umbrella, I knew when I was beaten and waited for the wind to subside. My Yardy is in good shape and is ready to go to work this spring! I don't want to hamper Yardy with attaching a device that will only make it difficult for us to work together. Yardy would no longer be able to tilt backward so I could drag him up the driveway in back or the incline in front. Yardy is strong and can stand on his own! I stand with you Yardy! Stay Strong!

The comments page on the Gazette Online is on fire! Rick Smith's article,City to spend $540,000 to protect residents... , is getting all kinds of comments. One guy suggested that the next invention just might be adding a siren so we know when we are starting to back up our Yardy. Another commenter wanted to know how it felt to wake up in a Saturday Night Live skit.

This would be funny if it weren't so darn pathetic. Here we are still facing the disastrous results of the last flood and small businesses are going down the tubes and our City Council is concerned that less than a dozen residents have complained about being injured by their Yardy in the last decade. The instructions are clear. Close the lid before moving. Perhaps some of these people are better suited to have someone else move their Yardy. This might be a new badge for the Boy Scouts. It's a good deed to help out your neighbor.

On the political side of this event it looks bad that Kim Brokaw gave his largest total political contribution in the last five years to Ron Corbett, according to the Iowa Board of Ethics individual search feature. Mr. Brokaw is also a hunting buddy of Pat Shey and Kris Gullick. The survey that Mr. Brokaw is using to push the need of his device was done by Monica Vernon's research company. That's a lot of personal contact with these people. Monica was not on the City Council when she did the research. However, no other research has been done.

Chuck Wieneke took a stand and said it was hypocritical, according to Smith's article, to demand the budget to be cut and then add this right back in. I agree. Did Wieneke stand alone in his thinking? We don't know where the others stand. Let's see if they vote on this in public.

In his article, Smith states they signaled they would purchase the devices. Let's hope the signal goes from a green light to a red light and of course a camera is there to catch it!\

UPDATE - Friday 3:48PM

I mentioned to Rick Smith of the Gazette that I had seen a photo of Kris Gullick, Pat Shey and Kim Brokaw along with a couple of others who had been hunting. Rick forwarded my email to Kris. This is his response:

Kathy - Just an FYI. I wouldn't characterize Mr. Brokaw as a hunting buddy. I had met him once before regarding this product and then met him while hunting with Pat and others. I don't recall talking to him about the device at that time since we were outside most of the day. I know him but that would be about the extent of any relationship there.

Regardless no decision has been made.

Kris

A Wasteful Post

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:24:41 -0600

Rick Smith with The Gazette is reporting on his blog, http://bit.ly/b8ah9a, the City Council will be voting this evening as to whether or not they will be buying anti-tipping devices for our Yardys. Inventor, Kim Brokaw, wants to sell the City 54,000 of the devices at $6, the City will spend an additional $2 for installation. That's a grand total of $432,000!

I have a different solution, how about people who believe they might need one of these devices buy the product themselves from Mr. Brokaw. I see no reason for the City to purchase all of these devices.

Kathy Potts

Does Buy Local = Born Local as well?

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:36:50 -0600

I've been listening to the interviews by the CR City Council for the Long-Range Planning Commission. There's one question that keeps popping up and it's their wanting to know if the applicants are from Cedar Rapids or not. What the heck difference does that make? Maybe none. It'll be interesting to see when the list comes out just how many of the chosen ones are from Cedar Rapids.

This has nothing to do with the fact that I am an "outsider". I've lived in Cedar Rapids for over 10 years now. Three of my four children consider this their home town.

Maybe "old-timers" are afraid some of the "outsiders" will bring ideas to town that might actually work?

Kathy Potts

Feministing bloggers are coming to Iowa

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 11:26:53 -0600

Three contributors to feministing.com -- Vanessa Valenti, Samhita Mukhopadhyay and Miriam Perez -- will be speaking next month in Iowa City.

The event, "A Conversation with the Editors of Feministing.com," is part of an annual observance by the Women's Resource and Action Center at the University of Iowa of International Women's Month. The trio will speak on a panel at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 9, in 100 Phillips Hall.

The event is free and open to the public.

Some of the questions the panelists plan to address:

How is the failing economy changing gender roles?
What's up with the sexual climate on college campuses? Is hooking up really tantamount to sexual liberation?
Is there such a thing as "women's issues" anymore?
How can we heal intergenerational and interracial tensions after the contentious 2008 presidential election?
Is feminism today still a bona fide movement? If so, where's the "moving?"

Linn County GOP February Events

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 11:00:54 -0600

Thursday, February 18
Candidate for Governor, Bob Vander Plaats will be at the Pizza Ranch, 1005 Linden Drive, Marion, from Noon to 1:30 PM to talk about his bid to unseat Governor Chet Culver and outline his priorities for the State.
Friday, February 19Candidate for Iowa Attorney General, Brenna Findley will be at a Coffee at 4:00 PM, Mr. Beans in Marion, 1080 East Post Road.
Saturday, February 20The League of Women Voters will be hosting a Legislative Forum with all Legislators in the area. 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM, Hallagan Center, Mercy Hospital, Cedar Rapids.
Wednesday, February 24Former Governor Mike Huckabee will be joining gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats at the Marriot Hotel, Cedar Rapids from 5:30 - 7:00 PM.

The Testing of a President

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:26:48 -0600

To celebrate Presidents Day I selected several old Reader's Digests to browse for articles on Presidents. With President Obama just completing his first year as Commander in Chief I found an article I thought appropriate. The following is not the complete article.

Reader's Digest, 1962.
pp 53-54

Condensed from
Time (January 5, '62)

The Testing of a President

Fourteen tough months in office have proved a sobering and maturing experience for the youngest elected chief executive in America's history

The taste of victory was fresh and sweet to John Fitzgerald Kennedy. He sat in the drawing room of his Georgetown home and spoke breezily about the office he would assume. "Sure, it's a big job," he said. "But, I don't know anybody who can do it any better than I can. It isn't going to be so bad. You've got time to think - and besides, the pay is pretty good."

One year later, on a cool, gray day, the 35th President of the United States sat at his desk in the oval office of the White House and discussed the same subject. "This job is interesting," he said in the combination of Irish slur and broad Bostonese that has become immediately identifiable on all the world's radios, "but the possibilities for trouble are unlimited. It takes a lot of thought and effort. It's been a tough first year, but then they're all going to be tough."

Kennedy has come to realize that national and international issues look much different from the President's chair than from a candidate's rostrum. There are fewer certainties, and far more complexities. "We must face problems which do not lend themselves to easy, quick or permanent solutions," he said recently. "And we must face the fact that the United States is neither omnipotent not omniscient, and that we cannot right every wrong or reverse each adversity, and that therefore there cannot be an American solution for every world problem."

That sober view of the limitations of power and authority is far removed from Kennedy's campaign oratory. He promised a "New Frontier" to "get America moving again." He soon found that it was tough enough just to keep the old problems from getting out of hand.

In the 1960 campaign he effectively used the charge that U.S. prestige had plummeted during Dwight Eisenhower's administration. In fact, the United States had under Ike, and retains under Kennedy, a high reservoir of good will in the free world - as Kennedy saw for himself in his triumphal trips to London, Paris and, more recently, Latin America.

When Kennedy first came to the White House, he resented his inheritance, constantly referred to problems "not of his own making." But now those old problems tend to become "our problems" and the fact that the world is in trouble seems to Kennedy less Dwight Eisenhower's fault than he once suspected.

Behind such changes of attitude lies the central story of a U.S. President's coming of age. Personality is a key to the use of Presidential power, and John Kennedy in 1961 passed through three distinct phases of Presidential personality. First there was the cocksure new man in office. Then, after the disastrous, U.S. invasion of Cuba, which might have ruined some Presidents, came disillusionment. Finally, in the year's last months, came a return of confidence, but of a wiser, more mature kind that had been tempered by the bitter lessons of experience.