28 Jun 2012

Upper Iowa University announces Spring 2012 Dean's List

By Monica Bayer Heaton

FAYETTE, IA (06/27/2012)(readMedia)-- Area students were recently named to the Upper Iowa University Dean's List for the spring 2012 semester. To be honored, a student must have earned a minimum 3.50 grade point average for the semester and be enrolled as a full-time student. These students include :

About Upper Iowa University

Founded in 1857, Upper Iowa University is a private, not-for-profit university providing undergraduate and graduate degree programs and leadership development opportunities to nearly 6,800 students-nationally and internationally-at its Fayette campus and learning centers worldwide. Upper Iowa University is a recognized innovator in offering accredited, quality programs through flexible, multiple delivery systems, including online and independent study. For more information, visit www.uiu.edu.

28 Jun 2012

Luther College announces 2012 spring semester Dean's List

By Julie Shockey
DECORAH, IA (06/27/2012)(readMedia)-- Kevin Kraus, Luther College vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college, has announced that 824 Luther College students were named to the 2012 spring semester Dean's List.

Luther sophomore Audrey Bird of Rapids City, Ill., was named to Luther's Dean's List.

Luther senior Victoria Serra of Silvis, Ill., was named to Luther's Dean's List.

Luther sophomore Elisabeth Athas of Blue Grass, Iowa, was named to Luther's Dean's List.

Luther sophomore Tyler Crowe of Davenport, Iowa, was named to Luther's Dean's List.

Luther senior Mitch DeFauw of Davenport, Iowa, was named to Luther's Dean's List.

Luther sophomore Abby Greufe of Davenport, Iowa, was named to Luther's Dean's List.

Luther senior Nicole Woodson of Davenport, Iowa, was named to Luther's Dean's List.

Luther sophomore Kelli Golinghorst of Dixon, Iowa, was named to Luther's Dean's List.

Luther sophomore Matt McKinney of Donahue, Iowa, was named to Luther's Dean's List.

Luther senior Dallas Wulf of Durant, Iowa, was named to Luther's Dean's List.

Luther junior Chloe Gumpert of Eldridge, Iowa, was named to Luther's Dean's List.

Luther senior Shari Huber of Eldridge, Iowa, was named to Luther's Dean's List.

Luther sophomore Carrie Kilen of Eldridge, Iowa, was named to Luther's Dean's List.

Luther senior Greg Daniels of Long Grove, Iowa, was named to Luther's Dean's List.

To be named to the dean's list, a student must earn a semester grade point average of 3.5 or better on a 4.0 scale and must complete at least 12 credit hours with 10 hours of conventional grades (A, B, C, D).

Luther is a selective four-year college located in northeast Iowa. The college has an enrollment of 2,500 students and offers a liberal arts education leading to the bachelor of arts degree in 60 majors and pre-professional programs.

28 Jun 2012

Finding Heaven at Home For Believers & Non-Believers

By Ginny Grimsley

Americans believe in heaven -- since 1997, the numbers have fluctuated from 72 to 80 percent, according to Gallup polls.

But what is heaven and what does it look like?

"Too often the popular idea of heaven is a place where you'll have nothing to do but tell a jealous God how good he is over and over for all eternity?and that wouldn't be much better than hell," says Charlie Webster, former senior engineer for NASA, Bible scholar and author of Revitalizing Christianity (www.NewCenturyMinistries.com).

"That's not Jesus' picture of heaven," he says.

Heaven will be a place with exciting challenges against a background of caring love from everyone and to everyone.

"But you don't have to wait 'til you die to experience some of the most important benefits of heaven," Webster says. "Anyone can create a real foretaste of heaven wherever they are. And you don't even have to believe in God to experience part of this?though it certainly works better if you let God help you."

"Caring about and helping with the needs and pains of others brings real joy," Webster says.

It's the same thing Jesus said two millennia ago: When you focus on yourself, you are the only one interested in helping you, he says.

"Even in places of worship, most folks are asking, 'What can God do for me?' instead of 'What could I do to make this world the caring place God wants it to be?'"

Here are three ways Webster says anybody, regardless of creed, can get a taste of heaven here on Earth:

· Forgiveness: When you forgive a hurt or transgression, there's a great sense of relief?a weight has been lifted. Animosity eats at the bearer. But how to forgive? It takes both faith and sympathy ? "faith that if the transgression needs to be punished, it will be, and sympathy because you can't know what caused someone to anger you," Webster says. "Take a road-rage scenario?some speeding motorist almost kills you. Your immediate reaction is anger. But do you know the reasons behind his risky driving? Maybe it's just that he thinks everybody should get out of his way. God will deal with that. But maybe he's responding to a genuine emergency that you might have handled the same way. If you turn the matter over to God, you can arrive home stress-free. Better yet, offer a prayer for the offender. Whatever the cause, he needs prayer.

· Helping Others: Rather than stressing over time, money and travel logistics for a vacation focused on pampering yourself, Charlie suggests helping others in the form of a mission trip -- an all-around win. Volunteers often see a new part of the world; but more importantly they come home with wonderful new friends and the knowledge that they've made the world a better place. And you can usually find a trip that's already planned and priced at reduced rates. When your mission vacation is over, you'll truly be recharged and refreshed and you'll have memories you could never get on a vacation focused on yourself.

· Having a Marriage that Works: By far the best marriages are the ones in which couples have asked themselves "how can I make his/her life better" rather than saying "I want him/her because he/she satisfies my needs." Such marriages almost never end in divorce, Webster says. "Even couples who never go through a ceremony can experience this. God never demanded a ceremony?he demands the unselfish love that he knows will bring us true joy."

"In the end heaven is really more about relationships than where you are," Webster says. "It's not fluffy clouds, scratchy robes, and awkward wings. The heaven Jesus taught about is an active life in an environment of unselfish caring ? the kind of environment that builds strong bonds."

"If you accept that the after-life taught by Jesus is real, then doing this in your daily life prepares you for an eternity of ever-greater joy. It's a life of unselfish caring that brings the kind of joy that will make heaven, heaven."

About Charlie Webster

As an engineer, Charlie Webster headed NASA projects for several years; as a Bible scholar, he has taught biblical studies at the college level. Webster has a son and daughter, and was widowed in 1999. He has been happily remarried since 2000.

28 Jun 2012

Oil & Gas Industry Leaders Warn of Problems with L.O.S.T.

By Travis Korson
Washington, D.C., June 28, 2012- On the eve of yet another Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the UN Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST) in which only proponents are permitted to appear, a group of oil and gas industry leaders sent a letter to Committee Chairman John Kerry expressing serious concerns about the net effect this accord would have on U.S. national, as well as commercial, interests.
As with an earlier letter sent on June 14th to Sen. Kerry by senior retired U.S. military leaders, the latest correspondence makes clear that LOST proponents' claims that the treaty enjoys unanimous support among influential communities - notably, the Navy and the private sector's oil and gas industry - are significantly overstated.
The business leaders' letter states in part: "Gaining access to the resources in and under the world's oceans is critically important to our country, but the costs and risks associated with doing so pursuant to LOST are simply too high."
The signers expressed concern about six different aspects of the treaty and its repercussions.  These include the possibility of being obliged, pursuant to LOST:
  • to give up proprietary data and technology in order to engage in the exploitation of the resources of the deep ocean sea beds
  • to confront a global Environmental Protection Agency that is sure to be far more aggressive in fulfilling its mandate of protecting the marine environment than even our own EPA
  • to contend with mandatory dispute resolution mechanisms that will be stacked against this country and used by its adversaries to hamstring us
  • to participate in discredited socialist wealth redistribution schemes at the dictates of foreign, unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats and jurists
The oil and gas industry leaders who signed this letter are: Raul Brito, President, Brito Oil Company; Steve Dillard, Vice President, Pickrell Drilling Company; Mike Dixon, Owner, Dixon Oil and Gas, Inc.; Hon. Dennis Hedke, Owner, Hedke Saenger Geoscience Ltd.; Bill Johnson, Partner, McCoy Petroleum Corporation; A. Scott Ritchie III, President, Ritchie Exploration, Inc.; and Scott Stewart, Owner, Bird Dog Oil LLC.
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. of the Coalition to Preserve American Sovereignty, said:
"The message from these leaders of the U.S. energy sector could not be more timely, or more clear:  There are potentially huge down-side risks for the United States should the Senate consent to the ratification of the Law of the Sea Treaty."
"Senator Kerry is obliged to afford equal opportunity to the critics of LOST as has been given to its admirers.  Thus far, just two opponents - one of whom was former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld - have been heard from."
"A solid place to start would be by ensuring that the concerns expressed by these industry leaders are thoroughly reviewed and addressed immediately.  Under no circumstances, moreover, should our elected representatives accede to Sen. Kerry's bid to try to blow this defective and sovereignty-sapping treaty through what was once properly known as 'the world's greatest deliberative body' under circumstances, like those of a lame duck session, that preclude careful deliberation."
Text of the Letter

June 27, 2012
Hon. John Kerry
Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
444 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-0802
Dear Chairman Kerry:
We are writing as individuals with long experience in oil and gas exploration and production. We have deep concerns about the United Nations Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST).  We request that you ensure such concerns are given at least equal prominence as, and made a part of the record along with, the views of those who will be testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on June 28th.
Gaining access to the resources in and under the world's oceans is critically important to our country, but the costs and risks associated with doing so pursuant to LOST are simply too high.  Our concerns include :
  • Under the terms of the Law of the Sea Treaty, at least some of the permits for deep seabed resource exploration and production will entail sharing of proprietary data and technology.  American companies will almost certainly be reluctant to provide such sensitive items to their competitors - either directly or, through international bureaucrats, indirectly.[i] As a result, companies that think LOST may be good for their business interests today may find themselves effectively precluded in the future from tapping the immense natural wealth of the world's sea beds.
  • From its preamble onwards, LOST obligates its parties to facilitate the redistribution of wealth from the developed, maritime nations to the developing and land-locked ones.  In this sense, it is of a piece with - and a backdoor means of achieving - the sort of socialist "sustainability" accord that was wisely recently rejected at the "Rio+20" conference on sustainable development.[ii]
  • Former Secretary of State Warren Christopher once described LOST as "the strongest, comprehensive environmental treaty now in existence or likely to emerge for quite some time." [iii] That is the case not only because of its myriad obligations with respect to protecting the marine environment, but also due to the treaty's mandatory dispute resolution mechanisms that will surely be used to enforce such commitments.  Activist organizations (e.g., the Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, etc.) will be very effective at exploiting the new "hooks" to block exploration and production.
One purpose to which LOST's tribunal and arbitration panels could readily be put is to impose a form of "cap-and-trade" arrangement on carbon emissions.  At a minimum, the treaty can help advance the campaigns environmental activists have been waging for years[iv] against the sources of such emissions: the mining and use of coal and now their next target, fracking and the recovery of immense quantities of natural gas that it makes possible.  As we now know, the "bridge fuel" role for natural gas set out in the 2001 energy manifesto of the NRDC (which was endorsed by the Sierra Club) has now morphed into a "Beyond Natural Gas" campaign.
  • The Law of the Sea Tribunal established the precedent in a December 2001 ruling in the "Mixed Oxide Fuel (MOX) Plant" case of extending its jurisdiction to alleged pollution emanating from a state party's interior waters and air columns.[v] The pretext is that such pollution ultimately migrates to the world's oceans and, therefore, must be regulated.
  • Through this device, it is predictable that, if the United States were to ratify this accord, we would be afflicted with business-hostile interference and regulations that would make the record of our domestic Environmental Protection Agency seem tame by comparison.  Unaccountable foreign bureaucrats and jurists will surely prove even more intractable than was the EPA when, to cite but one recent example, Shell Oil sought permission to explore off the coast of Alaska.  Some federal judges in this country can be expected happily to enforce any rulings engineered by such well-funded international activists.  The LOST treaty would become a useful framework for those who have advocated a global EPA under the UN Environmental Program sponsored by Maurice Strong.
  • Finally, LOST will provide potentially vast revenue streams to the International Seabed Authority to fund its operations and to "redistribute" to favored nations.  The United Nations system has proven to be extremely hostile to our interests, even when we are picking up over twenty percent of its costs.  It is frightening to contemplate what a supranational organization dominated by countries that do not like us will do if it becomes self-supporting through LOST-facilitated taxes, fees, and revenue-sharing.
All these concerns are powerfully reinforced by a remarkably candid warning issued sixteen years ago by one of the Law of the Sea Treaty's U.S. negotiators, Prof. Bernard H. Oxman.  The Senate should regard the following admonition from his 1996 article in the European Journal of International Law[vi] as evidence that - whatever one makes of the provisions and implications of LOST today - they will mutate in the future in ways that contribute to the further "development of international law," a euphemism for greatly expanding the treaty's jurisdiction and impact:
Those who wish to realize fully the contributions of the Convention to the rule of law will need to exercise restraint and wisdom in at least the immediate future lest they complicate the ratification process in one or more states.  Politically, this suggests caution regarding the organization, composition and budgets of the new institutions established by the Convention.  Legally, this suggests restraint in speculating on the meaning of the Convention or on possible differences between the Convention and customary law....
I do not dissent from the view that the development of international law benefits from more cases and decisions by the [Law of the Sea Tribunal].  My point is simply that, because of its compromissory clauses, a globally ratified Convention promises many more cases in the future, and that it would be unfortunate if one or two cases during this delicate interim period, when so many governments are considering ratification, had the effect of prejudicing that promise. (Emphasis added.)
We respectfully suggest that the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea should be considered on the basis of national interests in resource access.  Extreme caution must be exercised by you and your colleagues in light of the potentially grave repercussions this treaty may have on resource companies and Americans more generally across this country - especially if is intended to make a far greater contribution to the "development of international law" at the expense of our sovereignty only after the United States ratifies the accord.
Sincerely,
Raul Brito, President, Brito Oil Company
Steve Dillard, Vice President, Pickrell Drilling Company
Mike Dixon, Owner, Dixon Oil and Gas, Inc.
Hon. Dennis Hedke, Owner, Hedke Saenger Geoscience Ltd.
Bill Johnson, Partner, McCoy Petroleum Corporation
A. Scott Ritchie III, President, Ritchie Exploration, Inc.
Scott Stewart, Owner, Bird Dog Oil LLC
[i] Such data- and technology-sharing obligations are contained in Part XI of the Treaty and its Annex III and appear to apply at least to deep-sea mining.  Treaty proponents point to language in a separate 1994 agreement to minimize concerns about such transfers.  Given the emphasis placed throughout LOST on redistribution of wealth, there are, however, grounds for concern how expansive demands for access to developed nations' proprietary data and technology will prove to be in practice - perhaps those associated with for their oil and gas operations.
[v] See, Volker Röben, "The Order of the UNCLOS Annex VII Arbitral Tribunal to Suspend Proceedings in the Case of the MOX Plant at Sellafield: How Much Jurisdictional Subsidiarity?" Nordic Journal of International Law (Volume 73, p. 226, 2004).
[vi] Bernard H. Oxman, "The Rule of Law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea," European Journal of International Law, 1996, pp. 356-358.
###
28 Jun 2012

Bix at 6 Training Run Cancelled

By Rick Martin
June 27 - Tonight's Bix at 6 training run has been cancelled due to the expected high temperatures (close to 100º with a heat index around 107º).
27 Jun 2012

SEC charges against LightSquared backer

By Grassley Press
Wednesday, June 27, 2012

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today filed a lawsuit in federal court charging hedge fund manager Philip Falcone with market manipulation, giving preferential treatment to several big investors who wanted to get their money out and borrowing cash from his hedge fund to pay personal expenses.  Last year, Sen. Chuck Grassley raised concerns with the Federal Communications Commission about Falcone's LightSquared wireless project, including the SEC's attention to Falcone.  Grassley made the following comment on today's development.

"When I raised concerns regarding the SEC's multiple, serious investigations of Mr. Falcone to the FCC, I got the brush-off.  Now it turns out those concerns appear to have been well-founded.  It appears the FCC nearly granted billions of dollars in taxpayer assets to someone accused by our nation's financial regulator of having 'victimized' 'clients and market participants alike' and leading a 'graduate school course in how to operate a hedge fund unlawfully.'  Maybe the next time, the FCC won't be so dismissive about concerns raised about its business."

Grassley's initial letter to the FCC on LightSquared is available here.

 

27 Jun 2012

Donelle McBroom Earns UW-Platteville Scholarship

By UW Platteville Public Relations

PLATTEVILLE, WI (06/27/2012)(readMedia)-- The University of Wisconsin-Platteville has awarded scholarships to its returning students for the 2012-13 academic year.

Among the award winners is Donelle McBroom from Long Grove who won the Boyd Spikerman Memorial Scholarship, totaling $500.00.

UW-Platteville, founded in 1846, is located in the southwestern corner of Wisconsin, near the Iowa and Illinois borders. The University, the fastest-growing four-year school in the 13-college University of Wisconsin System, enrolls approximately 7,500 undergraduate students.

27 Jun 2012

*Harkin Column* In Iowa`s Interest: Iowans Will Benefit From the New Farm Bill

By Sen. Tom Harkin
By Senator Tom Harkin
On June 21st, the U.S. Senate passed the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act, the 2012 farm bill.  This is an important piece of legislation for our nation, and for the state of Iowa, where agriculture generates about one of every five jobs and is about a fourth of our state's economic output.  This legislation is a balanced, and bipartisan bill crafted under budget conditions that have necessitated difficult compromises.
As a senior member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, and its chairman during the writing of the 2002 and 2008 farm bills, I am encouraged that this new farm bill continues vital food, agriculture, and rural programs and adopts important reforms.  A major change is ending the direct commodity payments and replacing them with a revenue protection program similar to the revenue program I worked to include in the current bill.  I have long advocated replacing the direct payments with a more effective and justifiable farm income protection system, and I am very pleased to see this change adopted in this bill.
The bill also continues a strong conservation title to assist farmers who adopt and maintain sound practices to protect soil, water, wildlife, and other natural resources.  I succeeded in increasing conservation investments in previous farm bills and am especially proud of the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP).  The new bill continues and funds highly effective conservation assistance, with reforms and streamlining.
The 2012 farm bill also continues the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and related programs, including increased assistance to food banks that help low-income families put food on their tables.  Children, seniors, and people with disabilities make up more than 60 percent of the recipients of SNAP benefits, with some 400,000 Iowans currently being helped by SNAP.  Although there were changes that limited eligibility and SNAP benefits, these budget cuts were, fortunately, held to much lower levels than were proposed.
Building upon energy titles I worked successfully to craft, this new legislation continues funding to a number of initiatives in energy and biobased products.  Targeted grants and loans promote energy efficiency on farms and in rural businesses and spur expanded research, development, and marketing of renewable energy and biobased products.  I am especially pleased the bill extends and strengthens a requirement I authored requiring federal departments and agencies to give a preference to biobased products in procurement decisions.
The bill also continues and strengthens a number of initiatives begun in earlier farm bills to assist and promote opportunities for farmers and good nutrition for consumers through farmer's markets and increased local production and marketing of food.  These include, competitively awarded USDA grants to improve and expand farmer's markets, roadside stands, community-supported agriculture marketing and other direct producer-to-consumer marketing.  Grants are also included for community food projects and other efforts to improve nutrition and increase fruit and vegetable sales and consumption.
If you would like more information on the farm bill, please visit my website at harkin.senate.gov, view videos I have recorded on the bill, or contact any of my offices in Iowa or in Washington.
A PDF version of the column is available by clicking here
27 Jun 2012

Muscatine Man Sentenced on Federal Escape Charge

By Val Quast
DAVENPORT, IA - On June 27, 2012, Quinten Eugene Truitt, age 29, of Muscatine, Iowa, was sentenced to 15 months of imprisonment for one count of escape from federal custody, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. United States District Judge Robert W. Pratt also ordered Truitt to serve a term of supervised release of 3 years following his incarceration and pay an assessment of $100 to Crime Victims Fund.

From April 20, 2011, through April 26, 2011, Truitt was on escape status from federal custody at the Davenport Work Release Center, Davenport, Iowa. On June 13, 2007, Truitt was sentenced in the Southern District of Iowa to 46 months imprisonment on Counts 1, 2 and 3 of an Indictment which charged violations of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 871 and 879, that is, Threats Against the President (Count 1) and Threats
Against Family Members of the President (Counts 2 and 3).

On February 3, 2011, the Bureau of Prisons transferred Truitt to the Davenport, Iowa, Work Release/Residential Re-Entry Center (RRC) to serve the remainder of his sentence. His projected release date was May 23, 2011.

On April 20, 2011, Truitt checked out of RRC to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, approximately 8 blocks from RRC. Truit was scheduled to return at 8:30 P.M., but at 8:35 P.M. Truitt's GPS ankle bracelet signaled that it had been tampered with. The last signal received was in the area of Dubuque Street and Highway 1 in Iowa City, Iowa, which was well outside the geographic limits of Truitt's approved leave.

On April 25, 2011, the Muscatine, Iowa, Police Department learned that Truitt and another person were staying at a residence in Muscatine, Iowa. Upon entry into the residence, Muscatine Police immediately located and apprehended Truitt just after midnight on April 26, This investigation was conducted by the United States Marshals Service, the Muscatine, Iowa, Police Department, and the Iowa City, Iowa, Police Department. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

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27 Jun 2012

Muscatine Art Center Annual Ice Cream Social

By Lynn Bartenhagen
https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?ui=2&ik=7484cc5eec&view=att&th=1382fb09fb8db9f1&attid=0.1&disp=inline&realattid=ii_1382fafcb407816b&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P8Sw0Lg_xj2im_DUogFlrJK&sadet=1340832412120&sads=N8NdWE6Ecx3pOeGuJzlHILG-iVY

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