PACG - Progressive Action for the Common Good
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Action Center
    • Take Action
    • Contact Your Government Officials
    • Reliable Sources of News
  • Events
    • Upcoming PACG Events
    • PACG Calendar
    • Community Events
  • Groups
    • PACG Book Club
    • What is an Issue Forum?
    • Civil Rights Forum
    • Environmental Forum
    • Gender Equity Forum
    • Health Care Reform Forum
  • Donate
    • Donate to PACG
    • Endowment >
      • Donate to the Dick Fallow Fund for Social Justice
      • Honoring Dick Fallow
      • Grant Application
  • Contact
    • About
    • Join Us
    • Sign Up for the Progressive Action Update
    • Make a Submission to the Progressive Action Update

Gender Equity Forum - A Message from the Board

6/30/2022

0 Comments

 

Gender Equity replaces Women's Equity in forum name

A Message from the Board

​Gender Equity Forum


We have decided to change the name of the Women's Equity Forum to the Gender Equity Forum to reflect the original intended inclusiveness of the group.

PACG was founded in 2005
as an organization built around our multi-issue forums. As progressives, we all care about many different issues. Those who feel strongly about a given concern or problem can join with others to work specifically on that topic as a member of that issue forum. Members meet to plan events and actions around their cause.

In July of 2008, the PACG Women's Issues Forum held its first 
meeting. But over the years the need for this forum was replaced by other work for the common good, and it was disbanded.

When we decided to reactivate the group as a result of the SCOTUS leak on the looming decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, we realize that we only slightly updated our forum name. However, in doing so, we may have unintentionally excluded an entire population of people from our group - those who do not identify as women but are nonbinary. We apologize for our oversight.

We welcome everyone to join this forum to work on Gender Equity in the QCA and the nation! You will see name changes across our platforms to reflect our desire for inclusivity.

Thank you for your patience with us as our own progressiveness progresses!

Alta Price and Carolyn Martin
0 Comments

Vote Today in the Illinois Primary - Action Alert

6/28/2022

0 Comments

 

Vote Today in the Illinois Primary! - Action Alert
Tuesday, June 28th from 6:00 am to 7:00 pm

A Message to Our Members

Have you voted by early by mail or in person in Illinois? If not, go to your polling place today!

We are all aware of the numerous challenges facing our democracy. Your vote matters more than ever and it is the path forward for change.

Here are a few resources if you need more information today: 

For voting instructions and assistance: https://www.elections.il.gov/ElectionOperations/VotingInstructions.aspx

Find your vote by mail drop box here: https://www.elections.il.gov/VotingAndRegistrationSystems/VoteByMailBallotDropBoxLocations.aspx?T=637915089565405758

Polls are open to vote in person from 6:00 am to 7:00 pm.

Glenda Guster
0 Comments

We Will Not Go Back! rally for Choice - After Action Report

6/27/2022

0 Comments

 

We Will Not Go Back! rally - After Action Report
Sunday, June 26th in Davenport

PACG Women's Equity Forum and other groups

​
Sponsored by:
QC-National Organization for Women, PACG Women's Equity Forum, One Human Family-QC, Iowa Women United and others


We Will Not Go Back! the ​Davenport rally for Choice, attracted a huge crowd of members of our community who feel that the recent shameful ruling from the Supreme Court on abortion access is a devastating setback to anyone who can get pregnant - women and nonbinary individuals. We listened to speakers and then protested peacefully by walking around Vander Veer Park. Here's a link to the Quad-City Times report from the event, along with their pictures. 

Women and nonbinary people around the U.S. awoke late last week to the news that they have less reproductive freedom than their mothers did. A person's right to make her/their own decisions regarding pregnancy has been either taken away or is in grave danger of being abolished.

PACG has always had the ability to organize new issue forums to work on critical problems that arise in our communities and country. These Board of Directors-approved groups can be created and mobilized to address areas of interest and urgent need. This flexibility is part of the reason that PACG continues to be so successful - we meet the needs and demands put upon us. We can focus our outrage and frustration into positive action. We are better and stronger together!

PACG is proud that our new Women's Equity Forum was a sponsor of this rally - it was our first event! And we haven't really had a regular meeting yet!

Join our forum by contacting me (click on my name below for my email box). Our first meeting will be on Tuesday, July 19th at 7:00 pm at the Bettendorf Library. We have work to do! Let's go!

Alta Price
0 Comments

Reimagine Gender - No Hate In Our States

6/26/2022

0 Comments

 

Alok Vaid-Menon Wants You to Reimagine Gender -
​ACLU At Liberty Podcast

Picture
Civil Rights Forum

From the "ACLU At Liberty Podcast:"
 

This year brings an unprecedented surge of anti-trans legislation banning everything from sports participation to healthcare access. So far, we’re tracking roughly 280 state bills that have been filed ahead of or during this legislative session. At the same time, the Supreme Court is on the precipice of delivering a final decision that will likely overturn Roe v. Wade, blocking people who can get pregnant from abortion care. These attacks are actually all part of the same movement, a movement against bodily autonomy and our ability to live freely no matter our model or make, a movement to re-entrench gender hierarchy and binary thinking.

To that end, we’re bringing you a conversation with Alok Vaid-Menon, a nonbinary writer, performer, public speaker, activist and artist exploring the themes of trauma, belonging, and the human condition. They are the author of 'Femme in Public, Beyond the Gender Binary, and Your Wound/My Garden.


Listen to the ACLU At Liberty Podcast: Reimagine Gender now.

​Dee VanThournout
0 Comments

We need an Office Manager! - A Message from the Board

6/26/2022

0 Comments

 

PACG is looking for an Office Manager

A Message to Our Members

We are in the process of gathering resumes for the part-time position of Office Manager. We prefer to hire within our own community. If you are qualified and interested we would love to hear from you! Hiring from within our extensive membership means that we share the same progressive values, and that's important to us. Here is the ad that we will be running online:

Progressive Action for the Common Good (PACG) of the Quad Cities is seeking a part-time Office Manager to assist the Board of Directors.
 
This position is responsible for overseeing PACG communications, outreach to volunteers, assistance in carrying out Issue Forum and organization events, support for monthly Board and Issue Forum meetings, and PACG software management.
 
Candidates must have excellent organizational and communication skills (written, oral, and working digitally online), be self-motivated, have the ability to work independently, and be willing to work occasional nights and weekends. Our Office Manager works between 10 and 15 hours per week. Experience in office management is preferred.
 
The Office Manager assists the Board of Directors in carrying out the organization’s mission: "As progressives, we empower people to take action for positive change and social justice by coordinating a network of community forums and events aimed at educating and engaging citizens to work for the common good of all. Our core values are: Social Justice, Empowerment, Diversity, Sustainability and Community." PACG is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, nonpartisan organization. More information is available at www.pacgqc.org.
 
People from under-represented populations are encouraged to apply. The position is open until filled. Please submit a letter of application, resume and contact information for three professional references to qcprogressiveaction@gmail.com.
 

Glenda Guster
0 Comments

Thank You to our Office Manager, Julie! - A Message from the Board

6/26/2022

5 Comments

 

Thank You to our Office Manager, Julie!

A Message to Our Members

It’s so hard to say goodbye!

The Board members of Progressive Action would like to say goodbye to Julie Ross, who is stepping down as our Office Manager. Thank you for your service these past years. We will miss your positive and friendly attitude and that beautiful smile of yours. Our members that needed a little cheering up will miss your kind thoughtfulness and creativity, and those wonderful caramels and candies that you made for the holidays. 

Just know, Julie, you will be missed by all.
 
Glenda Guster
5 Comments

SCOTUS Abortion Ruling Op Ed - Women's Equity Forum

6/26/2022

0 Comments

 

SCOTUS Abortion Ruling Op Ed 

PACG Women's Equity Forum

Note: This Op Ed was prepared by the new PACG Women's Equity Forum in advance of the ruling by the Supreme Court. We submitted it to the the Quad-City Times last week and hope that it will be published soon..

Date:  June 21, 2022

 
The recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to deny women federal protection to control their own reproductive choices and bodily autonomy, and to allow individual states to enact widely varying laws regarding abortion, represents an enormous setback for women.  
 
As individuals within a collective society, we will never fully agree on the question of when life begins because personal beliefs dictate and shape that thought. But a more readily answerable question might be this. Whose life is more important and valued: an autonomous woman already navigating her adult life, or a dependent fetus whose continued growth and delivery may pose grave physical, personal, and economic risk to that woman?
 
Another perplexing question is whether we trust women to make informed decisions regarding their own health and welfare - what is best for them in their own unique set of circumstances – or if we believe that remote legislative bodies in a state or national capitol know better. 
 
Maternal mortality rates are often used as a sentinel measure of a society’s well-being, and cultures that do not value women suffer a higher percentage of maternal deaths. The United States is a sad outlier among high-income countries, with one of the highest rates of maternal mortality. A woman is substantially more likely to die from a pregnancy-related complication or in the first year postpartum if she lives in the United States than if she resides in Canada, Australia, or Europe. Contributing factors include our highly fragmented medical system and lack of universal health care, among others. Enforcing pregnancy, while simultaneously failing to provide nationally funded, comprehensive prenatal and postnatal care, and denying free and universal access to effective contraception is unfathomable.
 
It is much safer to undergo an abortion than to continue a pregnancy. In 2020, the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists stated that the risk of death associated with pregnancy and childbirth is 14 times higher compared with abortion. Legislation within a democracy typically exists as a means by which the health and welfare of its citizens is protected, not abandoned. But the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision reversing nearly a half-century of reproductive health protection is abandonment. Similarly, the recent decision by the Iowa Supreme Court, ruling that our state constitution does not protect the right to an abortion, endangers women’s health.
 
Overturning Roe will not end abortion in the U.S. Banning abortion will only stop safe abortion. Women will die.
 
Since 1935, when maternal mortality rates in the U.S. were first separated out by race, a disturbing racial disparity has been documented. Black and Indigenous women die from pregnancy related complications at two to three times the rate of their White counterparts. We will likely see this disparity increase even further, as Black and Brown women are more apt to be deprived economically and may lack the material support and means to travel out of state to have an abortion, should they desire to do so.
 
Numerous unanticipated events can complicate a previously uneventful pregnancy. With the recent Supreme Court ruling, women and physicians in certain states now find themselves subjected to scrutiny and treatment debates over common obstetric complications such as ectopic pregnancy and incomplete abortion (a subcategory of spontaneous miscarriage). It is untenable that there are now states in which life-saving treatment of these complications is up for debate, something reminiscent of a dystopian novel rather than modern 21st century life. It is not possible to write a state law capable of addressing the myriad potential developments in a patient’s pregnancy, while also allowing for the nuance required in good clinical management. These challenging decisions need to be made between the woman who is pregnant and her physician. No one else should be allowed into that conversation.
 
Besides the absence of universal health care, we lack affordable childcare and universal pre-K education. Since 2009, the Iowa minimum wage has remained a paltry $7.25 an hour, while in Illinois it was increased in 2022 to $12 an hour. It is simply not possible for a family, let alone a single-parent household, to thrive on these wages. For a family with one child, existing childcare costs in Iowa take up a whopping 18% of a single parent’s family budget, and with two or more children the percentage is even higher. The economic hardships of an enforced pregnancy will push more women and their children into poverty, denying them full and self-determined lives.
 
Societal progress has been slow, and women are tired of waiting for change and the elusive concept of equality. But besides the dire health and economic consequences, an enforced pregnancy can cause other catastrophic upheavals: It can change the entire trajectory of a woman’s life. Her education may be derailed and never completed, she may choose to stay in an unhappy or abusive relationship, she may not have the time or emotional capability to care for additional children, and her future may be irretrievably altered. 
 
We profoundly disagree with the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade.
 
 
Carolyn K. Martin, M.D.
Alta L. Price, M.D.

Co-Facilitators, Women’s Equity Forum
Progressive Action for the Common Good
0 Comments

We Will Not Go Back!  rally for Choice in Davenport - Action Alert

6/24/2022

0 Comments

 

We Will Not Go Back! rally - Action Alert
Sunday, June 26th at 3:00 pm

PACG Women's Equity Forum and other groups

Vander Veer Park
215 W Central Park AV
Davenport, IA 52803 (map)

​
Sponsored by:
QC-National Organization for Women, PACG Women's Equity Forum, One Human Family-QC, Iowa Women United and others

​
Women around the U.S. awoke today to the news that they have less reproductive freedom than their mothers did. A woman's right to make her own decisions regarding pregnancy has been either taken away or is in grave danger of being abolished.

While we have known for some time that the Supreme Court intended to overturn Roe v. Wade, today’s decision is no less devastating to women and nonbinary people across the nation.

We Will Not Go Back!

Thirteen states have trigger laws that immediately end abortion access. We know that another 13 states will likely move to end abortion rights in the coming weeks and days. This decision will certainly affect Black, Brown and poor people disproportionately. They already face unsatisfactory medical outcomes, placing them at even greater risk of dying either through forced pregnancy or illegal abortions. 

This outrageous attack upon women and nonbinary people cannot stand. We must codify women's choices about their own reproductive health into law.

Bring your signs (if you have them) and your energy and join us at Vander Veer Botanical Park to rally for women's rights. We will be meeting at the Stone Fountain on the south side of the park closest to West Lombard Street. 


Alta Price
0 Comments

ACLU of Iowa Meet and Greet - PACG Event

6/24/2022

0 Comments

 

ACLU of Iowa Summer Meet & Greet Events: Davenport Edition
Wednesday, July 6, 2022 5:30 pm to  7:30 pm 

LULAC Center 
4224 Ricker Hill Rd 
Davenport, IA 52802 (map)


Women's Equity Forum and Civil Rights Forum

Come hear timely updates on our work from ACLU of Iowa staff, meet other ACLU advocates in Davenport, and find out more about how to get involved in some of the most pressing civil liberties issues in our state!

Everyone who registers will receive a free ACLU of Iowa t-shirt and have the chance to win raffle prizes from local businesses. Appetizers will be provided.
​

Please RSVP by June 28. 

Schedule:
5:30-6: Check-in and mingling
6-6:45: Program
6:45-7:30: Social time

Register here: https://secure.everyaction.com/FMnVs-ygaUuoA1Y9vGSG1A2 

Alta Price
0 Comments

Second Anniversary of Racial Equality Now! rally - After Action Report

6/22/2022

0 Comments

 

Second Anniversary of PACG Racial Equality Now! Rally - After Action Report
Saturday, June 18th at 12:00 pm

Picture
Civil Rights Forum

Members of PACG gathered to mark the second anniversary of the Racial Equality Now! rally started by Caryn Unsicker along with Glenda Guster. After George Floyd's death, Unsicker knew the local and national press coverage as well as all the huge rallies would die down and things would return to normal until the next black person was killed. She called her friend, Glenda, and others who agreed to help start a local rally that would go on indefinitely until racial inequality in our country is no longer an issue.  

The group has gathered from noon to 12:30pm almost every Saturday since June 13th of 2020. They have extra signs and always welcome anyone who wants to stand with them for racial equality.

Unsicker says she is encouraged by the many positive honks and waves from passersby of all races. It tells her that many people realize there is racial inequality embedded in our society and that they are willing to talk about it. 

WQAD8 (ABC) acknowledged our efforts on the news! Read the short article and watch the broadcast here: For 2 years, rain or shine, a local group has protested for racial equality

Caryn Unsicker
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    May 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    August 2012
    May 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    October 2011
    September 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2008
    September 2008
    August 2008
    July 2008

    Categories

    All
    2020 Platform Resolutions
    3 Actions 3 Days
    3 Actions - 3 Days
    3 Months
    3 Weeks
    Abortion
    Abortion Is Health Care
    Absentee Voting
    ACA
    ACA Enrollment
    ACLU
    Action Alert
    Adolescence
    Affordable Care Act
    African American History
    African History
    After Action Report
    A Message From The Board
    A Message From The President
    A Message From The Webmaster
    A Message To Our Membership
    Annual Picnic And Pie Auction
    Asylum
    Auto Theft Accountability Program
    Black History
    Black History Month
    Black Lives Matter
    Board
    Book Club
    Books
    Candidate Questions
    Car Theft Accountability
    Caucus Training
    CDC
    Celebrating Earth Month
    Choice
    Citizens Advisory Panels
    Civil Disobedience
    Civil Rights
    Civil Rights Forum
    Civl Right
    Clergy For A New Drug Policy
    Climate Change
    Climate Crisis Voter
    Community Events
    Connection With Others
    COVID 19
    COVID-19
    COVID Relief
    Crisis At The Border
    DACA
    DAPL
    Davenport Bearing Witness
    Dick Fallow Endowment
    Donations
    Dreamers
    Dr. Kathleen Belew
    Drug Courts
    Drug Policy Forum
    Drug Policy Reform
    Drug Policy Reform Forum
    Duckworth
    Durbin
    Early Voting
    Earth Day
    Earth Month
    Earth Month Proclamation
    Earth Week
    Education
    Elections
    Environ
    Environment
    Environmental Forum
    Environmental Voter
    EPA
    Ernst
    Family Separation
    FARMERS MARKET
    Fundraising
    Gender
    Gender Equity
    Gender Equity Forum
    Global Climate Strike
    Government Shutdown
    Grants
    Grassley
    Green Drinks
    Green Holiday
    Green New Deal
    Gun Regulations
    Gun Violence
    Harm Reduction
    Health Care
    Health Care Reform Forum
    Hear Our Voice
    Holiday Party
    Honk For Action
    I Am The Future
    Illinois Local Government
    Illinois State Government
    Illiteracy
    Immigrants And Trafficking
    Immigration
    Immigration And Refugee Summit
    Impeachment Inquiry
    Inauguration 2021 Party
    Informed Voter
    Instagram
    Iowa Caucus
    Iowa Local Government
    Iowa State Government
    Iowa Women United
    Jobs
    Juvenile Justice
    Juvenile Justice Coalition
    Kavanaugh
    Kriss Wells
    Labor
    Leahy
    Legislative Forum
    Legislative Session
    LGBTQ+
    Lights For Liberty
    Living Lands And Waters
    Lobbying
    Local Culture
    LULAC
    Lunch & Learn
    Make Meds Affordable
    Marijuana Legalization
    Martin Luther King
    Mass Incarceration
    MCCQC
    Medical Cannabis
    Medicare
    Medicinal Canabis
    Membership Drive
    Members Of Congress
    Message From The Board
    Message From The President
    Message To Our Membership
    MLK Interpretive Center
    Monthly Environmental Celebration
    MoveOn
    Music
    NAACP
    Nahant Marsh
    National Organization For Women
    Native American
    Net Metering
    Networking
    Nobody Is Above The Law
    No Hate In Our States
    Nonbinary
    Nonviolent Resistance
    Novel Coronavirus
    No Wall
    Of Interest To Our Community
    Of Interest To PACG Forum Members
    One Human Family
    Op Ed
    Operation Reach Out
    Opioid Epidemic
    OSHA
    Our Office Manager
    Out & About
    PACG Action
    PACG Event
    PACG Events
    PACG History
    PACG In The News
    PACG Parties
    PACG's 15th Anniversary
    Pandemic
    Paris To Pittsburgh
    Paris To Pittsburgh Movie
    Partners Of Scott County Watersheds
    Peace Circle
    Peace Forum
    Peace & Justice
    Peace Vigil
    Picnic
    Pictures
    Power Of 3
    PPE
    Prescription Drug Pricing
    Pre-WEU Events
    Pride Fest
    Progressive Action Update (PAU)
    Putnam Museum
    Quad Cities Interfaith
    Race And Trauma
    Race And Trauma (ART)
    Race: Are We So Different?
    Racial Equality Now
    Racial Justice
    Rallies
    Rapid Response Rallies
    Recycle
    Refugee Policy
    Refugees
    Renewable Energy
    Reproductive Rights
    Repurpose
    Resist
    Resistance School
    Resources
    Restorative Justice
    Restrictions To Voting
    Reuse
    Sanctuary
    Satellite Voting
    Save The Date
    Scott County Legislative Session
    Segregation
    Sentencing Reform
    Sexual Assault
    Social Justice
    Social Security
    Solar Power
    Special Counsel Investigation
    Spread The Relief Campaign
    Staff
    Standing With The Kurds
    Staying Informed
    Streaming Meetings
    Students
    Supreme Court
    Sustainable Farming
    Taking Action
    Taking Action 101
    The Many Faces Of Hate
    Toast The Resistance
    Transgender Rights
    Understand The Need
    Unitarian Church (UUCQC)
    Updated Post
    USPS Delivery Issues
    Volunteer Now
    Vote By Mail
    Vote-by-Mail
    Voter ID Laws
    Voter Registration
    Voter Suppression
    Voting
    Voting Rights
    Voting Rights Restoration
    War On Drugs
    Water Quality
    Water Sampling
    Webinar
    Weekly Email Update
    WEU Submissions
    What Is The White Power Movement?
    What You Can Do Now
    Wind Power
    Women's Equity
    Women's Equity Forum
    Women's History
    Women's Issues
    Workers' Rights
    Working Together Fund Drive
    Y15K
    Y15K Initiative
    Year End Summary
    Year-End Summary
    Youth
    Zoom
    Zoom Help
    Zoom Security

    RSS Feed

 Progressive Action for the Common Good (PACG)
 1212 W. 3rd St, Suite 3D, Davenport IA  52802    
 (563) 676-7580      
​ qcprogressiveaction@gmail.com                                                                                                                                      © 2023 Progressive Action for the Common Good