WHEREAS, science and technology have a profound impact on shaping our world; and,

WHEREAS, scientists and inventors are deserving of our respect and praise for their contributions to moving our world forward; and,

WHEREAS, Illinois is home to numerous prominent scientists and inventors; and,

WHEREAS, fifty years ago, in 1962, Illinois native Dr. Nick Holonyak, Jr. revolutionized the way we light our world by inventing the first practically useful visible light-emitting diode (LED), a more energy efficient, longer lasting, more durable and mercury free source of lighting; and,

WHEREAS, Nick Holonyak, Jr. was born in Zeigler, Illinois and earned his BS, MS and PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and,

WHEREAS, Dr. Holonyak was the first graduate student of two-time Nobel laureate John Bardeen, an Illinois professor who invented the transistor; and,

WHEREAS, as a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign since 1963, Dr. Holonyak and his students have developed the first quantum-well laser, creating a practical laser for fiber-optic communications, compact disc players, medical diagnosis, surgery, ophthalmology and many other applications; and,

WHEREAS, few scientists and inventors have done more to transform our lives than Nick Holonyak, Jr., the holder of over 40 patents and inventor of the light-emitting diode (LED), the red-light semiconductor laser (used in CD and DVD players) and the shorted emitter p-n-p-n switch (used in light dimmers and power tools); and,

THEREFORE, I, Pat Quinn, Governor of the State of Illinois, do hereby proclaim October 24, 2012 as NICK HOLONYAK DAY in Illinois, to celebrate the 50^th Anniversary of the light-emitting diode (LED) and one of our state's greatest innovators, Dr. Nick Holonyak, "the Father of the Visible LED."

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Soul Service is very excited to announce the first annual Mind Body Consciousness Expo 2012
Saturday, November 3rd
10am-6pm
Longbranch Hotel & Convention Center
90 Twix Town Road
Cedar Rapids, IA 

We are bringing in vendors, healers, and national speakers in to inspire, amaze, and transform the statewide Iowa community. A few of our transformational speakers this year will include Jai Westgard of Symbolic Stone Healing, Garth Fuerste of the Institute for Life Architecture, Dr. Barb Fox of Beyond Tradition Animal Healing Center, Roger Ringo of Profound Mystical Meditation, and Rachel Gendreau of Soul Service International. This expo will include vendors from businesses in natural health, holistic healing, physical fitness, personal & spiritual growth, physics, metaphysics and much more!! Tickets are $12. Contact info@soulservices.org or (866) 320-0025 with questions.

Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit.  When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open. ~B.K.S. Iyengar

The day after a strong final debate performance, Democrats are building upon the historic grassroots organization we built in Iowa in 2008, including our 67 Obama for America offices and hundreds of well-trained, experienced volunteer-led neighborhood teams in every corner of the state. As a result of that strong foundation and enthusiasm for President Obama, today we are ahead of where we were at this time against John McCain - and ahead of Mitt Romney. Unprecedented early voting numbers show enthusiasm for the President and the strength of OFA's organization, while Republicans were caught completely unprepared for early voting.

Iowa Democrats Maintain a Significant Lead in Early Voting

·         Topline: Democrats have a huge lead in early voting, and that lead is growing every day.  Ten days ago, for example, Democrats led by D +52,681 in total ballots cast, and today that advantage has increased to D +54,968.

·         Winning Across the Board: Democrats lead on every early vote metric - Vote by Mail requests, mail ballots returned, in-person ballots cast and total ballots cast

·         Winning by More than 2008: In 2008, Barack Obama won Iowa by 9.5 percentage points.  At this time in 2008, we led by D +57,004 in mail ballot requests, D +29,513 in mail ballots returned and 44,686 in total ballots cast.  Our early vote advantage this year is bigger than it was at the same time in 2008.

·         Snapshot: In-Person Early Vote

o   Democrats are leading Republicans 36,668 to 29,382 in in-person early vote.

o   Students are voting early in record numbers, including 477 students voting at Cornell following the President's speech on October 17^th - 1/3 of the student body.

·         Registration: One of the untold stories of the ground game in Iowa is OFA's historic voter registration effort this year.  Democrats lead Republicans in registered voters by D +17,486 (D 689,794 vs. R 672,308).  In the last three months alone, 16,257 registered Democrats were added to the rolls compared with just 2,428 Republicans.  As a result, the Democratic registration advantage increased from D +3,657 in August to D +17,486 today.  The Democratic advantage continues to grow every single day as new voters register, and will continue growing right up through Election Day. Since August, Democrats have added 22,406 active voters to the rolls and Republicans have added just 5,924.

Why OFA's Ground Game Matters

·         OFA Iowa has 67 offices across the state, with hundreds of trained team leaders, leading thousands of volunteers.  OFA has volunteers in all 99 counties.

·         Democrats are winning the battle for early non-midterm voters.  Democrats lead Republicans among non-midterm voters in mail ballots requested, total ballots cast, mail ballots cast and in-person ballots cast.

Among Non-Midterm Voters Only

The Romney Campaign is Struggling in Iowa

·         "I see the early vote numbers, and I grimace a little bit. ... It feels like an Obama state." - former Iowa Republican Party political director Craig Robinson. [National Journal, 9/21/12]

·         Recent GOP early vote numbers do not show momentum, they simply show that the Romney campaign did a mass, "1-million person" mailing, according to GOP Romney operative Matt Strawn.

·         Early Republicans tried to push early voting as Rep. Paul Ryan reminded Iowans during an event in September.  Iowa Republican operative Matt Strawn told a reporter in September, "Anybody that tells one of our volunteers that they're supporting Mitt Romney, you bet we want that vote cast as soon as possible."  Yet as numbers started to show a large gap between Democrats and Republicans the change their message as Megan Stiles- Communications Director for the Republican Party of Iowa said on October 1^st, "Republicans tend to actually prefer to go to the polls and pull the lever so to speak on Election Day."