DAVENPORT, IA - October 20, 2011 - Midland Communications, a leading unified communications provider, announced today that the company is deploying softphones to help small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) increase their mobility and flexibility. Softphones are the ultimate solution for the road warrior, and they enable workers to function "as if" they're in the office, regardless of their physical location.
Softphones are software programs which enable users to make phone calls over the Internet using their laptop or home computer eliminating the need for a physical instrument. Recently, they have been gaining in popularity among SMBs primarily because they reduce the cost of calls to virtually nothing.  Also, they have a surprising number of ancillary advantages for end users.
Firstly, softphones are extremely easy to setup. Typically they require little more than a bluetooth headset and the proper software, and employees can be up and running in minutes. Softphones can also easily integrate with existing phone systems and leverage all current capabilities. For example, many phone systems in today's market have Instant-Messaging (IM) embedded so co-workers can supply one another with answers to customer service questions on the fly. The goal of softphones is to better connect an organization and create more opportunities for mobility and collaboration.
Jason Smith, Vice President of Midland Communications comments, "softphones are predominantly utilized by companies that desire additional levels of mobility. In an increasingly globalized world, mobility and speed have become even more important to survive and this helps explain why demand is up." Jason also adds "With the call quality equivalent to that of a cell phone, softphones are making a big impact in the technology sector and businesses across all industries are jumping on board. The bottom line with softphones is that they enhance productivity, increase profitability and create a competitive advantage regardless of industry."

ABOUT MIDLAND COMMUNICATIONS
Midland Communications began more than 60 years ago in 1946 as the Worldwide Marketing Arm of Victor-Animagraph Projectors. In 1977 a communications division was formed due to a partnership with NEC America. Today, As a distributor of NEC America, for 33 years, Midland Communications has a customer base of more than 3,000 satisfied customers that include general businesses, government agencies, Universities, colleges, hospitals, and hotels.
Midland provides a wide range of communication services including VOIP, PBX and key systems, Wide Area and Local Area networking, computers, Computer integration, voice mail, CCIS, and video conferencing and paging systems. Our philosophy is simple, provide quality products at a fair price, backed by an average emergency response time of twenty minutes, and the best service in the industry. For more information on Midland Communications, call (563) 326-1237 or visit www.midlandcom.com.


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MOLINE, ILLINOIS - In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, WQPT will be holding a special screening of the American Experience documentary "A Class Apart" followed by a panel discussion at the Moline Public Library. The event is scheduled for October 4th from 6:30 to 8:00 pm at the library. The panel discussion will be moderated by Alfred Ramirez and features panelists Bob Ontiveros, Ernie Rodriquez and Henry Vargas to discuss the Hispanic experience in the Quad Cities in the 1960's and '70's.

"A Class Apart" tells the little known story of how a band of underdog Mexican-American lawyers take the Hernandez v. Texas case to the Supreme Court, challenging Jim Crow-style discrimination.  The full documentary will air on WQPT on October 11th at 7 pm.

"The committee that WQPT formed to work on their April Freedom Riders event and the upcoming Freedom Riders event in October, felt like we had more work to do," said Dr. Tammy Werner, a professor at Western Illinois University. "We didn't want to let the momentum end and decided to highlight some of the challenges and opportunities that our Hispanic neighbors deal with locally by focusing on this particular documentary and having the opportunity to hear from these panelists."

The screening and discussion event and Hispanic Heritage Month programming on WQPT has been underwritten by Ascentra Credit Union with additional support from The Moline Public Library, Greater Quad Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Western Illinois University.  WQPT is a media service of Western Illinois University.
Already posted on facebook.com/ReadersDigest

 

Local Dad Learns that Kids Take Things Literally

 

(New York, NY - September 23, 2011) Gary Metivier of Davenport, Iowa is one of the 150-word life stories being considered for publication in an upcoming issue of Reader's Digest magazine. Metivier's story is available for viewing at facebook.com/ReadersDigest. Locals can also show support by voting for Metivier's story or any others they like at facebook.com/ReadersDigest.

His story:

"Doctor's Orders" by Gary Metivier

 

Our five year old son's odd behavior started the night following a brother-induced head injury. Little Adam, with his scalp staples securely in place and somewhat bent spectacles pushed up high on his nose, was saying things really out of character. Examples: "I want candy before supper," and "I can do or have whatever I want." Was he just working the sympathy thing? He's not a spoiled kid, but 'was' acting quite -spoiled! A couple days later we finally asked him, "Why do you keep acting like this? You are a good kid." His answer: "The doctor said I can do whatever I want with the staples in my head. So, I have a whole week to do whatever I want!" Turns out he heard us ask the doctor if there were any restrictions as his head heals. The well intended doctor's answer, "No restrictions. He can do whatever he wants."

This is all part of the Reader's Digest continual effort to enrich and simplify Americans' lives.  This particular project "Your Life...The Reader's Digest Version" celebrates the launch of the new book, "Life... The Reader's Digest Version," which is also the first of a new series, by creating a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for people's personal stories to be widely read and for the opportunity of one story to be published in Reader's Digest to its more than 30 million readers, plus be the recipient of a major cash award. Several runner-up stories will also receive attention and cash prizes.  Stories will be voted on by consumers and winners will ultimately be selected by Reader's Digest editors.  Americans can vote for and submit 150-word stories about lessons, simple advice, funny moments and other life stories at facebook.com/ReadersDigest.

Braley and Cummings Lead Eight Oversight Committee Democrats in Calling for Investigation

Washington, DC - Amid allegations that Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation sought to hack the telephones of September 11th victims and other U.S. citizens, Congressmen Bruce Braley (IA-01) and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (MD-07), joined by six other Oversight Committee Members, called on Chairman Darrell Issa today to investigate the allegations.

Rep. Braley previously sent two letters to Chairman Issa, one with fellow Committee Member John F. Tierney, following reports that the company and its subsidiaries may have bribed foreign law enforcement officials and potentially hacked the phone lines of U.S. citizens. Chairman Issa has not responded to either of these letters.

Since these requests, the Justice Department reportedly has opened a preliminary criminal investigation into these allegations, including whether the actions of News Corp. officials may have violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

"As you know, we have just observed the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks on our nation and these victims deserve to know whether they were targeted in this offensive and potentially illegal manner," the letter said.  "We request that the Committee at least take preliminary steps to determine how to proceed, such as meeting with the September 11th families, consulting with the Department of Justice, and pursuing other measures the Committee has utilized in many other investigations."

"I'm extremely disappointed that Chairman Issa has not responded to my repeated calls for an investigation of News Corp," said Rep. Braley. "I'm pleased that Ranking Member Cummings and six Oversight Committee members have now joined me in calling for this investigation. Yesterday, our nation observed the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks. The victim's families of these horrific attacks deserve to know whether their loved ones were targeted in this offensive and potentially illegal manner."

"The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has a responsibility to protect the interests of U.S. citizens against the illegal actions of corporations, regardless of their political leanings," the letter said.

A copy of the letter is copied below and a link is available here: http://go.usa.gov/0PP

 

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Dear Mr. Chairman:

We are writing again to request that the Committee investigate recent allegations of illegal actions by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, including in particular allegations that the company sought to hack the telephones of September 11th victims and other U.S. citizens.

This is the third letter that has been sent to you on this topic.  The first letter was sent on July 13, 2011, by Congressman Bruce Braley, and the second letter was sent on July 28, 2011, by Congressman Braley and Congressman John Tierney.  Both letters are attached for your review.  It is unacceptable that you have not even replied to these previous requests.  As you know, we have just observed the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks on our nation and these victims deserve to know whether they were targeted in this offensive and potentially illegal manner.[1]

Since these previous requests were sent to you, the Justice Department reportedly has opened a preliminary criminal investigation into these allegations, including whether the actions of News Corporation officials may have violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.[2] We do not want to interfere unduly with this ongoing investigation, but we request that the Committee at least take preliminary steps to determine how to proceed, such as meeting with the September 11 families, consulting with the Department of Justice, and pursuing other measures the Committee has utilized in many other investigations.

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has a responsibility to protect the interests of U.S. citizens against the illegal actions of corporations, regardless of their political leanings.  We hope you will provide a response to this request as soon as possible, and we thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Bruce L. Braley                         Elijah E. Cummings

John Tierney                        William Lacy Clay

Jim Cooper                         Peter Welch

John Yarmuth                        Christopher Murphy


[1] See, e.g., Phone Hacking:  9/11 Victims 'May Have Had Mobiles Tapped by News of the World Reporters', Daily Mirror (Nov. 7, 2011).

[2] Justice Dept. to Probe if News Corp. Hacked Sept. 11 Families, NPR (Aug. 24, 2011) (online at www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/08/24/139927904/justice-dept-to-probe-if-news-corp-hacked-9-11-families).

Office of Congressman Bruce Braley (IA-01)

1727 Longworth House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

(P) 202.225.2911

(F) 202.225.6666

MOLINE, IL-- As part of Western Illinois University-Quad Cities' 100th anniversary celebration, set to begin in 2012, WIU-QC staff are calling on Quad Cities-area references to search their photo albums and memory banks.

The WIU-QC Anniversity Committee is seeking photographs and/or media and information related to WIU's presence in the Quad Cities (students and instructor photos; building shots; etc). The anniversary committee is also looking for individuals to interview who may have attended classes at Villa de Chantal and other original WIU sites; who had a relative attended WIU classes in the Quad Cities many years ago; and former professors and students who taught or attended classes in the Quad Cities; etc.

Photos/information and interviews will be used to create a documentary of WIU's history throughout the years in the Quad Cities to air on WQPT. WIU University Television and University historians/archivists will produce the documentary.

Slides, photographs, videos and stories will be collected, copied and returned to the original owners, who will receive a photo credit for the contribution(s). Electronic photos and video files are also welcomed.

To contribute photos and other information by Dec. 30 , contact Tami Seitz at

(309) 762-9481 or TS-Seitz@wiu.edu. Photos, at least 300 dpi JPEG format, should be emailed to Seitz.

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Also makes the rounds at the Fox Business Network
LAKE JACKSON, Texas -  Ron Paul, 2012 Republican candidate for president, will appear on the Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network. 

The appearances will occur over the next few days beginning today, Wednesday, August 24th and ending Sunday the 28th.

Details of the appearances are as follows.  All times Eastern.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011
7:00 p.m.
Lou Dobbs Tonight
Fox Business Network

Thursday, August 25, 2011
10:00 a.m.
Varney & Co.
Fox Business Network

Sunday, August 28, 2011
9:00 a.m. (check local listings)
Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace
Fox News Channel

Authorized and paid for by Ron Paul 2012 PCC. www.RonPaul2012.com

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LAKE JACKSON, Texas - Constitutional and international law expert Bruce Fein, who now serves as a senior advisor to the Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign, will be available for radio interviews regarding news of the day.

Radio producers interested in booking Mr. Fein are asked to contact the Ron Paul campaign's media booker Megan Stiles by emailing her at megans@ronpaul2012.com.

Mr. Fein served as associate deputy attorney and general counsel to the Federal Communications Commission under President Ronald Reagan.  He served as Research Director for Republicans on the Joint Congressional Committee on Covert Arms Sales to Iran, and on the American Bar Associations Committee on Presidential Signing Statements.  He has been a Visiting Fellow for Constitutional Studies at the Heritage Foundation and an adjunct scholar at American Enterprise Institute.  He has advised numerous countries on constitutional reform, including South Africa, Hungary and Russia.

Mr. Fein graduated from Harvard Law School with honors in 1972.  He has worked in and out of government in Washington, D.C. for 39 years, and penned a weekly column for The Washington Times for more than two decades.  He is a frequent witness before Congress.

He is the author of Constitutional Peril:  The Life and Death Struggle for our Constitution and Democracy, andAmerican Empire Before The Fall.

Authorized and paid for by Ron Paul 2012 PCC. www.RonPaul2012.com

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Quad Cities (Aug. 24, 2011) -- Clinton, Iowa, native Krista Voda has come a long way. From humble beginnings in local broadcasting, she became the first woman to host a NASCAR pre-race show on television and, earlier this year, was named one of the Top 10 most influential women in NASCAR.

Voda, who has covered racing extensively for cable TV's Speed channel and worked as a pit reporter for NASCAR races seen on FOX and FX, will be the keynote speaker on Tuesday, Sept. 13, at a luncheon to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Quad Cities Sports Commission.

At the luncheon, Voda will discuss her career, tell behind-the-scenes stories from national motorsports broadcasts and answer audience questions.

The luncheon takes place at the Starlite Ballroom at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 W. Locust St., Davenport, and the public is invited to attend. A buffet lunch is being served at 11:30 a.m. The program begins at noon.

Tickets are just $15 each and are available by mail. Checks payable to the Quad Cities Sports Commission may be mailed to: Quad Cities Sports Commission, Attention: Joe Taylor, 1601 River Drive, Suite 110, Moline, IL 61265.

Voda, who also has worked as a sideline reporter for NFL and BCS football games on FOX, attended the University of Northern Iowa, earning a BA in broadcast journalism and business communications. She has an extensive radio background and also worked at KWWL-TV in Waterloo and WLEX-TV in Lexington, Ky. In addition, Voda has done public relations work for various sports teams.

Funding for the Quad Cities Sports Commission is used to bring youth and amateur sports tournaments to the Quad Cities area.

-30-

WHEN: 8-27-11 

TIME: 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

WHERE: Hy Vee Food Store, 1823 E. Kimberly Rd., Davenport, IA 52807

AND

WHEN: 9-10-11

TIME: 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

WHERE: Hy Vee Food Store, 1823 E. Kimberly Rd., Davenport, IA 52807

AND

WHEN: 9-24-11

TIME: 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

WHERE: The Book Rack, 3937 41st Avenue Dr Moline, IL 61265-1000

WHAT: David W. Dorris, a resident of Davenport, IA, will be available to sign copies of his Inspiration & Personal Growth book, Life Is Too Short: Life Is What We Make It.

Fear not, for in Life Is Too Short: Life Is What We Make It, author David Dorris shows you how to approach life's problems and that making the right choices is easier than you think. Life is like a baseball game where the pitcher is constantly throwing you curveballs. As this is the case, do you want to simply be a spectator, or do you want to get in the game and face life head-on? Although it may sound simple sometimes, life is not an easy game to play. There are many challenges to overcome and many choices you have to make. None of you have a choice as to how you come into the world; however, you do have a choice as to the kind of life you live. Follow David in Life Is Too Short: Life Is What We Make It, and find out for yourself how you too can knock life's curve balls out of the park.

Washington, DC - Tomorrow, Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) will join the Ed Thomas Family Foundation for the book launch of The Sacred Acre, the Ed Thomas Story.  The Ed Thomas Family Foundation was started in the wake of the shooting death of Ed Thomas in 2009.

The Ed Thomas Family Foundation continues the legacy of Ed Thomas by supporting young adults through family, faith and football. There will be a book signing and inter-squad football game following the book signing.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 19

WHAT: Rep. Braley to attend book launch in honor of Ed Thomas

WHEN: FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 6:30-7:30 PM CDT

WHERE: Aplington-Parkersburg High School, 610 N. Johnson Street, ParkersburgIA 50665

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