Loebsack Statement on the State of the Union Address

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack released the following statement after President Obama delivered the State of the Union Address.  In the spirit of civility and bipartisan cooperation, for the second year in a row, Loebsack sat with Congressman Justin Amash (R-MI-03) for tonight's address.  Loebsack and Amash recently joined together to introduce a bipartisan balanced budget amendment.  As a member of the No Labels "problem solvers" group, Loebsack wore an orange lapel pin that read "Stop Fighting, Start Fixing".  The bipartisan organization works to bring Democrats and Republicans together to achieve across the aisle cooperation.

"In what remains a deeply divided nation, where there are few things on which many people agree, growing our economy and creating jobs remains a goal that we can all work towards.  I was glad to hear the President focus so much of his attention on these important issues.  I strongly believe that we must confront the fiscal problems that are facing our nation, but as the President said, we must do this from the middle out, not the top down.  I was happy to hear the President talk about the importance of investing in education for kids of all ages.  It is one of the best ways to ensure the middle class will prosper.

"When we have a strong middle class, we have a strong nation. We must get the budget in order, but it must be done in a balanced way. It cannot be done on the backs of seniors, the middle-class, and hard working families.

"I was also pleased to hear the President focus on investing in clean energy, including wind energy.  I have long been a supporter of the Production Tax Credit, which supports the growth of wind energy jobs in Iowa and across the nation, while lessening our dependence on fossil fuels.  7,000 Iowans are employed in the wind energy industry in Iowa alone and it is important we continue to support and grow this home grown industry."

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Statement from Governor Quinn on President Obama's State of the Union Address

CHICAGO - February 12, 2013. Governor Pat Quinn issued the following statement regarding President Barack Obama's State of the Union address:

"President Obama laid out an inspiring agenda that will make America a magnet for jobs and drive economic growth for the next generation.

"As the President made clear tonight, cuts alone will not bring us to prosperity. We must reduce our deficit by taking a balanced approach that includes both reforms and closing loopholes. And making crucial investments in areas like education, infrastructure and manufacturing will pay dividends in the future, creating more jobs and growing the middle class.

"Illinois stands ready to do our part. As the President called for manufacturing hubs across the nation, we are already on our way to making the Illinois Manufacturing Lab a reality.

"Last week in my State of the State address, I announced a partnership with the University of Illinois and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications to create an advanced manufacturing hub where companies come to learn and access the world's most sophisticated tools and software.

"We can all agree that hard work should lead to a decent living. A strong middle class will lift up our entire country. I urge the members of the United States Congress to put politics aside and join the President in doing the hard work that's necessary to strengthen our economy."

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Gamaliel's Response to the State of the Union Address Given Tonight by President Obama

CHICAGO

"While we hoped the President would address and support a moratorium on deportations and outline a clear path to legal
citizenship, we admire the new tone he has taken. He has said, "Now is the time for immigration reform." We feel the time
is way overdue -by decades.

We had also hoped that the president would prioritize healthy families and communities over border security in his
statements about immigration reform, and we oppose the narrative of penalties and "the back-of-the-line." However we see
hope in the President's statement that 300 million people [U.S. citizens] are also depending on true immigration reform and
so is the revitalization or our economy.

As Executive Director of Gamaliel, I stand with our clergy caucus in supporting the raising of the federal minimum wage.
We believe it is a social justice issue because too often, families have to choose between paying the bills, feeding the family
and paying the rent, even though they work full-time and hold down two jobs.

We do not believe in austerity measures that would compromise our children's education, lay-off teachers, police and
firefighters or cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, something our seniors have worked for their entire lives.

President of our clergy caucus Rabbi Ron Symons added that the President charged us to remember that each of our
individual rights is wrapped up in the rights of others. Whether speaking about good jobs or affordable housing, education
or immigration reform, women's rights, the federal minimum wage or the right to vote. He reminded each of us --of the God
given hope and promise every person has. It is now our responsibility as a society to treat each other according to those
God given hopes and promises.

Again we are more optimistic now than ever that this President will make sure that human rights and dignity are restored
to those who need it the most, whether it is newcomers to our country or working families and individuals -Bravo Mr.
President. Now let's get it done.

SI SE PUEDE!

Ana Garcia-Ashley
Executive Director

Gamaliel is a grassroots network of non-partisan, faith-based organizations in 17 U.S. states, South Africa and the United
Kingdom that organizes to empower ordinary people to effectively participate in the political, environmental, social and
economic decisions affecting their lives. Gamaliel's diverse members apply their faith and values to the pursuit of equal
opportunity for all, shared abundance, and stronger, more prosperous communities. Gamaliel is headquartered in Chicago,
Illinois.

Once Impoverished U.S.S.R. Immigrant  Thrives through Stubborn Recession

4 Recession-Proof Tips from Rags-to-Riches CEO

Today, millions of Americans are suffering hardship due to the toughest economic downturn since the Great Depression 80 years ago. Unemployment remains critically high, near 8 percent, even though companies and the stock market are doing very well.

But the challenges Americans on Main Street continue to face pale in comparison to those endured by Daniel Milstein, who immigrated to the United States as a teenager from Kiev, Ukraine, during the last days of the USSR's control of the Eastern Bloc.

"Everything was different; the food, the clothing and even the new English alphabet I was to learn, which has 26 letters instead of the 33 that I was used to," says Milstein, author of "17 Cents and a Dream," (www.danmilstein.com). "My family was allowed to leave with only one suitcase and $75 each - plus I had 17 cents for the postage necessary to send a letter to my friend in Ukraine."

Impoverished, confused, feeling like an outsider and unable to speak English, Milstein did what he knew best - hard work. He would start by studying relentlessly and picking up every shift he could at the local McDonalds. Eventually, he received his bachelor's degree with Cum Laude honors in business management and Honorary Doctorate Degree from Cleary University. Dan Milstein became the founder and CEO of Gold Star Financial, the 42nd largest residential lender in the country.

Milstein and his company have continued to thrive throughout the recession, thanks in part to the lessons he learned as an immigrant. He offers these tips for making yourself recession-proof:

• Land of opportunity: Despite his disadvantage, Milstein was able to see the positives and the opportunities -- he was, after all, in America, where individual effort and initiative could be rewarded. Americans have the freedom to pursue a gamut of jobs; accepting those that require little skill may not pay well, but as long as you continue to educate yourself, they can be viewed as a steppingstone.

• Good, old-fashioned hard work: Like many of America's previous generations, including those from the Great Depression, nothing was given to Milstein, who sometimes worked from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. at McDonalds as a teenager. Even though he's on top of his company, "I still work harder than anyone else," he says. He also makes sure he knows each of his employees and clients, and that they're happy.

• Understanding the culture of your environment: Even while in Kiev, Milstein and his family were outsiders because of their Jewish heritage. There, he had to understand the culture and adapt, just as he did when he came to the United States. It can be challenging to recognize when cultural tendencies that you've grown up with clash with those in an adopted culture, but Milstein paid attention. When he realized that his brusque, Soviet way of doing business was turning off his U.S. customers, he worked on being warmer, friendlier, and a better listener.

• Listen to your elders: Milstein's mother taught him to always work five times harder than everyone else because "being Jewish, it will always be an uphill battle." His grandfather told him to guard his name and his reputation - "the only things you have in this world" and that he could become whatever he wanted, provided he was willing to work for it. As an adult, built found a mentor in an older business woman. One of the most valuable lessons she taught him was to "slow down and chew my food" - to take the time to enjoy life.

"Certain things can be taken away from you in your life - the recession has proved this true for many people," Milstein says. "But there are also characteristics and personality traits that can be yours, unbroken by other people or shifting circumstances, for the rest of your life."

About Daniel Milstein

Daniel Milstein came to the United States with a handful of change as a teenager and eventually founded Gold Star Financial, which in 2009 was listed as one of Inc. Magazine's 500 Fastest Growing Companies. Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Milstein endured an oppressive government in the U.S.S.R., religious persecution and life-and-death situations, including living in the fallout of Chernobyl, the deadliest nuclear meltdown in human history. He worked his way from scrubbing toilets at a McDonald's restaurant to running one of the fastest growing financial firms in the United States.

On February 5th, our country marked the 20th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) - a groundbreaking law that provides American workers with 12 weeks of protected ? albeit unpaid ? leave to recover from a serious illness or care for a new child or seriously ill family member. A recent update provides 26 weeks of family leave to families of injured service members and recent veterans.

The FMLA changed the landscape for hardworking Americans.  While we celebrate this progress, we realize there is still work to be done when it comes to helping working families, and that includes guaranteeing paid sick time to individuals that work hard, earn it, and deserve it.

In the coming weeks, I will introduce the Healthy Families Act, a bill that would allow workers to earn up to 56 hours, or seven days, of paid sick time per year.  Workers would earn one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked.  Employers that already provide paid sick time will not have to change their current policies, as long as their existing time can be used for the same purposes. Employers can also require workers to provide documentation supporting any request for leave longer than three consecutive days.

The United States is the only developed nation that does not guarantee paid sick days to its workers, and our economy and productivity suffer as a result. Contrary to popular belief, not absenteeism, but "presenteeism"? when a sick employee shows up to the workplace, infects other employees or customers, and is unproductive because they are not feeling well ? is the greatest cause of lost productivity due to illness. One study found that a lack of paid sick days ? and thus the inability to distance oneself from co-workers ? contributed to an additional 5 million cases of the H1N1 flu during the 2009 outbreak.

Seventy percent of low-wage workers ? those least likely to be able to afford a lost paycheck or lost job ? have no paid sick days. This group is largely workers in jobs that have frequent contact with members of the public, including food service, hospitality, nursing home care, and child care. Their lack of paid sick leave poses a public health threat to all of us and our loved ones. Shockingly, nearly two-thirds of restaurant workers have reported cooking or serving food while sick. Workers' rights should matter to everyone, but they matter even more when you consider that your next turkey sandwich might be served with a side of the flu.

But perhaps most important, under the Healthy Families Act, workers would have the security of knowing that when illness strikes ? as it undoubtedly will ? they will be able to tend to their families and themselves without losing their jobs or their income. This bill will provide health, peace of mind and security for America's workers and their families ? and that's something that everyone deserves.

For more information, please visit http://www.harkin.senate.gov/ or follow Senator Harkin on Facebook and Twitter.

A PDF version of this article is available by clicking here.

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America's Most Practical & Entertaining Parent Instruction

For parents and caregivers of children 0-10 yrs.

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the QC

Thursday evenings at 6-7:30pm in the Lounge

March 14, 21 & 28 and April 4 & 11

Childcare Provided!

Anyone can register but class size is limited!

Registration for Church Members (Before Feb. 14):

$25 per person-$35 per couple

Registration for Non-Church Members &

Church Members after Feb. 14th:

$30 per person-$40 per couple

Registration Deadline: March 1st

________________________________________________

Would you like to feel more confident as a parent?

Would you like to have more fun parenting?

Would you like to feel more relaxed at the end of the day?

Parents will learn to:

· Show their tots that whining and arguing do not pay.

· Put an end to misbehavior in public.

· Smooth out mornings and bedtimes.

· Take the battle out of meal times, tooth brushing, bathing, etc

· Teach respect, responsibility, and self-discipline.

· And much, much more!

On a personal note: My husband, Dane, and I participated in this class when it was offered in 2007 and it really improved our confidence as parents and taught us patience which relieved so much of the stress involved in parenting. It also taught us how to bedisciplinarians with out being 'the bad guys' as it's based off of naturalconsequences. It's like a mental chess game with kids and it's your time to win, stress free!

See attached registration form.

Contact Sarah Moulton at UUDavYRE@yahoo.com or 563-323-5749.