Fighting Oligarchy: Bernie Sanders in Iowa City

United States Senator Bernie Sanders (Vermont; Independent) delivered a speech today, February 22, 2025, to an overflow audience at the Englert Theatre in downtown Iowa City. 

Census Day: Be Counted

No, it's not an April Fools' Day joke . . . it's mandated in the U.S. Constitution. The 2020 decennial questionnaire only takes a few minutes to complete online. The long, fascinating history of the U.S. Census is also documented online. Although there are now multiple ways by which to submit census information, the first printed forms were introduced for the 1830 Census: 

From 1790 to 1820, the U.S. Marshals conducting the census only received instructions about what to ask. Each marshal supplied his own paper and used whatever method he chose to divide the paper into the columns needed to collect the required information. The method for recording the data was not standardized until 1830 when marshals received uniform printed schedules.

Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution spells out how the enumeration and political apportionment will operate on the body politic . . . hence the categories for free white persons, slaves, and free colored persons on the 1830 forms shown above and to the right (larger versions): 

Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. 

The 14th Amendment, passed by Congress just after the Civil War, changed this equation substantially. 

Historical census records are maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration rather than the Census Bureau itself. Exemplars of past decennial questionnaires (also called schedules or simply forms) can be viewed here.  

Climate Activist Greta Thunberg Comes to Town

The Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg led a climate rally attended by several thousand in downtown Iowa City, Iowa on Friday, October 4, 2019. Since beginning her School Strike for the Climate (or Skolstrejk för klimatet) outside the Swedish Parliament in 2018, Thunberg has galvanized millions of youth and adults around the world and become an internationally-recognized leader of the movement to address the environmental crisis caused by fossil fuels.

The video of Thunberg's speech in Iowa City can be seen here; the transcript of her speech is available here. Fellow students from Iowa City, local and state representatives, and others also spoke at the event.

Thunberg has been nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, which will be announced on Friday, October 11. At 16, Thunberg would be the youngest Nobel laureate ever should she win; to date, the youngest winner is Malala Yousafzai, who won the Peace Prize in 2014 at 17. Thunberg is pictured above in a blue jacket.

Global #ClimateStrike: September 20 & 27, 2019

Millions worldwide will be joining thousands of youth-led events in over 100 countries to mobilize for effective responses to the environmental consequences of fossil fuels. To learn more and to locate a climate strike near you, visit the Global Climate Strike website.

Of related interest, see the earlier Common Curator posts: Climate of Concern: Shell's 1991 Warning of Global Environmental Damage; James Hansen: Why I Must Speak Out about Climate Change; and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Champions of Change for Sustainable and Climate-Smart Agriculture).

Support Net Neutrality Today

Take Action today by contacting Congress to show your support for Net Neutrality.

The March for Our Lives against Gun Violence

Hundreds of young students and adults from the Iowa City community marched from College Green Park to the Old Capitol to demand an end to epidemic gun violence in schools and society at large. Organized by local student groups, the rally featured a number of speakers who addressed the urgent need for gun policy reform. The event on March 24, 2018 was one of more than 800 held across the U.S. and globally as part of the March for Our Lives movement that started after 17 students were recently killed in a mass shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

One participant's sign at today's protest commemorates the tragedy of November 1, 1991, when a mass killing perpetrated by Gang Lu occurred at the University of Iowa. It began in Van Allen Hall and ended in Jessup Hall, which can be seen immediately to the right of the Old Capitol in the photo above. For related information, see also the Common Curator post, Twenty Years After.

The Iowa City Press-Citizen covered the March for Our Lives, including publishing the text of a sixth-grade student who spoke at the rally. For further research into the problem of gun-related violence, the Gun Violence Archive has compiled extensive statistical data from the entire United States.

As a measure of the political influence of the National Rifle Association (N.R.A.), the New York Times has published a list of the top ten members of both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives who have received N.R.A. contributions. Arizona Republican Senator John McCain leads all politicians, having received over $7.7 million, and the first-term Republican Senator from Iowa, Joni Ernst, has received over $3.1 million. One of Ernst's campaign videos for the 2014 election, entitled "Shot," featured her shooting a weapon while a voiceover narrator states: " . . . once she sets her sights on Obamacare, Joni's gonna unload."

Res Ipsa Loquitur: The Thing Speaks for Itself

Net Neutrality Is Being Upended

Net neutrality is the principle that all data or content should be treated equally, without discrimination, by every Internet Service Provider (ISP). Net neutrality thus ensures that all stakeholders share an equitable platform for communication, commerce, and other purposes.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will be voting on December 14, 2017 to approve or reject Chairman Ajit Pai's draft order to undermine the current framework as articulated in the FCC's 2015 Open Internet Order. Organizations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), among many others, are partners in the Battle for the Net coalition, which is actively advocating for the complete rejection of Chairman Pai's new order.

To learn about what you can do to make your voice heard, visit the Battle for the Net website, which provides links to an online petition, information about upcoming protests around the United States, and details about contacting your elected officials as well as communicating your views directly to the FCC.

Fight for Libraries; Fight for Museums; Save the Institute of Museum & Library Services (IMLS)

For this year's National Library Week (April 9-15, 2017), the American Library Association (ALA) has designated April 13 as Take Action for Libraries Day as part of an ongoing advocacy campaign to counter the Administration's proposed draconian budget cuts, which include the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the leading federal agency supporting the work of museums and libraries nationwide.

Specifically, the ALA is calling on Congress to preserve funding levels for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), as well as the Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program. For those wishing to engage directly in the effort to support libraries and museums of all types, the ALA offers an array of advocacy resources online.

The stated mission of the IMLS is "to inspire libraries and museums to advance innovation, lifelong learning, and cultural and civic engagement," by providing "leadership through research, policy making, and grant making." The Common Curator can attest firsthand to the vital importance of the IMLS mission, having worked on two major IMLS digitization grants to help create two substantial and significant digital collections that are freely accessible online.

As Project Director, the Common Curator received a $120,300 grant to build the North Carolina History of Health Digital Collection, which makes available some 350,000 pages of core health-related journal literature from 1849 to the present. Earlier, as Digital Production Editor & Metadata Coordinator, he helped build American Journeys: A Digital Library and Learning Center, which features eyewitness accounts of early American exploration and settlement from around 1500 to 1850. It, too, has been heavily utilized since its launch, attracting hundreds of thousands of users annually.

It is estimated there are 123,000 libraries and 35,000 museums in the U.S. Moreover, it is estimated that 169 million people over 14 are library users (69% of the population), while 148 million people over 18 visit a museum annually. Clearly, there is a critical demand and need for memory institutions, which is consistent with the IMLS vision, namely, "A democratic society where communities and individuals thrive with broad public access to knowledge, cultural heritage, and lifelong learning."

March for Science on Earth Day

The March for Science will be held on Earth Day, April 22, 2017, in Washington, D.C. and at several hundred satellite locations throughout the United States and around the world. Thousands of scientists and scientific-minded individuals will be marching in solidarity to support the work of the scientific community and the critical role it plays in formulating sound, evidence-based public policy, particularly in the realms of public health and environmental protection.

The March for Science "champions robustly funded and publicly communicated science," and its stated goals for the upcoming event are to:

humanize science; partner with the public; advocate for open, inclusive, and accessible science; support scientists; and, affirm science as a democratic value. 

Further information about the movement's goals and principles, as well details about local marches, can be found on the March for Science web site. Be there or be square!

Climate of Concern: Shell's 1991 Warning of Global Environmental Damage

In 1991, the multinational oil company Shell released Climate of Concern, an educational video warning of the risks of environmental damage on a global scale due to climate change caused by the increasing consumption of fossil fuels. Confidential reports as early as 1986 document Shell's awareness of the risks of anthropogenic climate change, but the 1991 video has not been widely available (WorldCat shows that it is apparently only held by the Bibliothèque nationale de France). The Correspondent recently acquired a copy, and it can also be viewed at their website.

"Alternative Facts" Are Not Facts

Not only are so-called alternative facts not facts, they are not even alternatives. The Map of the Square and Stationary Earth . . . shown above was published by Prof. Orlando Ferguson of Hot Springs, South Dakota in 1893. He asserts that 400 biblical passages "condemn the Globe Theory, or the Flying Earth, and none sustain it." For 25 cents, Prof. Ferguson offered a book "explaining this square and stationary Earth." He states further that "It knocks the Globe Theory clean out. It will teach you how to foretell eclipses. It is worth its weight in gold."

The Ferguson map was donated to the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress in 2011, and is fully described in the Library's online catalog. High-resolution images of the map are also available for download.

ALA Opposes New Administration Polices That Contradict Core Values

American Library Association (ALA) President Julie B. Todaro on January 30, 2017 released the following statement on behalf of the ALA that reasserts the association's commitment to core values concerning access to information, intellectual freedom, diversity, social responsibility, and other issues:

“We are shocked and dismayed by recent executive orders and other actions by the new administration, which stand in stark contrast to the core values of the American Library Association. Our core values include access to information; confidentiality/privacy; democracy; equity, diversity and inclusion; intellectual freedom; and social responsibility.

“The American Library Association strongly opposes any actions that limit free access to information, undermine privacy, or discriminate on any basis. This includes the temporary suspension of visas and entrance to the US based on anyone’s nationality or religion as well as the increased scrutiny of any individual’s communication such as mobile phone and/or social media activity.

“Our nation’s 120,000 public, academic, school, and special libraries serve all community members, including people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities and the most vulnerable in our communities, offering services and educational resources that transform communities, open minds, and promote inclusion and diversity.

“ALA believes that the struggle against racism, prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination is central to our mission. We will continue to speak out and support efforts to abolish intolerance and cultural invisibility, stand up for all the members of the communities we serve, and promote understanding and inclusion through our work.

“We will continue to speak out and support our members as they work tirelessly for access to library and information resources on behalf of all of their community members, while advocating for privacy, intellectual freedom, critical global research, information literacy, ongoing access to scientific research, and fair and equitable treatment for everyone.

“As our strategic plan states, ‘ALA recognizes the critical need for access to library and information resources, services, and technologies by all people, especially those who may experience language or literacy-related barriers; economic distress; cultural or social isolation; physical or attitudinal barriers; racism; discrimination on the basis of appearance, ethnicity, immigrant status, housing status, religious background, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression; or barriers to equal education, employment and housing.’

“We encourage our members to continue to speak out and show their support for and work on behalf of our core values, in their communities as well as with their local, state, and national elected and appointed officials. Additionally, ALA has tools and resources online to help you advocate for our core values:

• Advocacy
• Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services
• Government Relations
• Information and Technology Policy
• Intellectual Freedom
• Libraries Respond

“ALA is committed to using its national platform for speaking up and speaking out for its members and constituents in these chaotic, unprecedented, and challenging times. We appreciate the library community’s continued support.”

Mother of Exiles: Send These, the Homeless, Tempest-tost to Me

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Emma Lazarus [1849-1887] wrote "The New Colossus" on November 2, 1883, and donated it for use by the Art Loan Fund Exhibition in Aid of the Bartholdi Pedestal Fund for the Statue of Liberty. A source of inspiration to countless new immigrants and Americans alike, it was inscribed on a plaque on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty in 1903. Then as now, however, Nativists and others have opposed immigration on various grounds, as the political cartoon to the right, captioned "The Proposed Emigrant Dumping Site," reveals (Judge, March 22, 1890).

 

The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World was a gift from the people of France to the United States. Dedicated on October 28, 1886, it was designated as a National Monument in 1924, and has been maintained by the National Park Service since 1933.

Note: The image at the top first appeared in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper on July 2, 1887 at pp. 324-325; it was entitled "New York -- Welcome to the Land of Freedom -- An Ocean Steamer Passing the Statue of Liberty: Scene on the Steerage Deck [of the "Germanic"] / from a sketch by a staff artist." Further information on this item is available via the Library of Congress' Prints and Photographs Online Catalog. 

What Kind of Movies Are Your Children Seeing?

Today is the 50th anniversary of the horrific mass shooting that took place on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin on August 1, 1966. The perpetrator, Charles Whitman, killed 17 and wounded more than 30 others. Today is also the first day of the so-called Campus Carry law (S.B. 11) in the state of Texas, which will allow licensed holders to carry concealed handguns at public universities.

The issue of gun violence in the United States has long predated the tragedy at the University of Texas. The cartoon above, which expresses a concern over how weapons are depicted in the new art form of the cinema, was originally published in 1927. Its author, incidentally, was Norman Woodlieff, a musician and founding member of the North Carolina Ramblers.

Medicare and Medicaid at 50

The video above depicts the signing of the Social Security Act of 1965 by President Johnson on July 30, 1965. The act created the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and the signing ceremony was attended by former President Truman who had long supported the development of public health care. Johnson in fact also signed as a witness on Truman's personal application for enrollment, and presented his predecessor with the nation's first Medicare card.

Further information on Medicare can be read in the earlier Common Curator post, Operation Coffeecup and Socialized Medicine, which describes the American Medical Association's 1961 campaign against what it termed "socialized medicine." It enlisted the services of Ronald Reagan and the AMA's Women's Auxillary to mount a grassroots public relations effort to defeat pending legislation intended to create a Medicare-type program.

#NotABugSplat

The above image is an on-site installation in Pakistan. Produced by an artist collective, the large scale of the portrait is intended to put a visible human face on potential targets of drone missiles, which are sometimes referred to by drone operators as "bug splats." More information on the project is available at the #NotaBugSplat website.

North Carolina Issues Draft Report on Hydraulic Fracturing

The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources has just issued a draft report on proposed hydraulic fracturing within the state entitled, "North Carolina Oil and Gas Study under Session Law 2011-276." In addition to the full report, the draft Executive Summary and draft Recommendations and Limitations are downloadable separately.

Findings from this draft report will be presented publically in two upcoming meetings, in Sanford on March 20, 2012 and in Chapel Hill on March 27, 2012. Written comments on the draft report will be accepted through April 1, in addition to any feedback received at the two public meetings. Written comments can be sent via email to Shale_gas_comments@ncdenr.gov or through the mail to NCDENR, attn: Trina Ozer, 1601 MSC, Raleigh, NC 27699. Additional resources regarding shale gas can be found at the NCDENR site.

Of related interest is an earlier Common Curator post on an Integrative Workshop on Hydraulic Fracturing held in January 2012 at Duke University.

Attorney General Holder on National Security Policy

On March 5, 2012, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder delivered a major policy speech on national security issues at the Northwestern University School of Law. The full text of this speech, which among other things provides the administration's rationale for "targeted killings," is available on the U.S. Department of Justice's web site.

James Hansen: Why I Must Speak Out about Climate Change

TED has just made available a recent talk (filmed in February 2012) by noted climatologist, Dr. James Hansen. An Iowa native, Hansen studied mathematics, physics, and astronomy at the University of Iowa, where Dr. James Van Allen headed up the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Hansen's 1967 doctoral dissertation was entitled, The Atmosphere of Venus: A Dust Insulation Model, and he has since had a long scientific career investigating the basis of global climate change and advocating for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions into the Earth's atmosphere.