Education Officials are Liars

It's "funny" how so many education officials and other smarty-pants adults complain that our kids are apathetic and they know nothing about civics. Then thousands of students walk out of classes to protest the House's Immigration Bill. These lazy, know-nothing, apathetic kids did what the so-called representatives wouldn't do - stand up to the big bad Republicans.

And what do they get for it? Locked down schools and truancy tickets. Think of what a teaching moment this could have been. Well, it actually is. These kids are learning...no...they already know this, it's being reinforced that adults hate them. Adults think they're stupid. Schools exist to mentally beat our children into submissiveness.

Oh, and while we're talking about immigration, note that entire newscasts are on this and relatively ignoring Iraq and the censure/impeachment of George Bush.

Nice job.

Review of Nader At RIT

OK, so I'm pretty inspired. I went to see Ralph Nader speak at RIT, and I was so overcome with the desire to change the world that I actually decided/was forced by Dave to blog about it.

I'll admit, I might not have been the most detail-oriented listener in the business-school audience, because I really do see the guy as a bit of a rock star, but what I got out of the talk: we all have a serious responsibility to do what we can to reform society; what we can do is actually pretty substantial, when we get our privileged-American act together and use our resources/educations/freedoms for good instead of consumerism; we should probably keep our money in our mattresses instead of banks. I'm joking on the last bit, but Nader is pretty serious about banking deregulation (the ostensible topic of the speech) as the root of many monetary evils.

He talked about red-lining in poor neighborhoods, and the exorbitant fees charged for financial transactions in an oligopolistic banking market. Basically, we're facing restricted access to financial services for the poor, and high prices for everyone, because of the mergers of many banks into a few giant banks after banking deregulation (and, he argued, the inadequate application of anti-trust laws). I smugly patted myself on the back for being a member of a local credit union, but then Nader launched into a description of how a clause inserted into a recent federal law makes it easier for credit unions to convert to for-profit, taxable operations, and how many are choosing to do just that.

I should have thought to ask (but didn't consider it until later) how he felt about the proposed "Wal-mart bank"... although many of us have a knee-jerk reaction to Walmart, I've heard it suggested that the plan might give low-income people underserved by many other banks access to checking accounts (and thus free check-cashing) and other benefits. However, Nader also warned about the overuse of credit, and it could be that people would find themselves in even more debt as they took out loans to pay for purchases in-store.

Anyway, whatever you think of his actions in 2004, the man's a national treasure. Everyone should see him once.
-Ariel

[poster's note: the word "forced" could be interchanged in this situation with "requested", "suggested" or "asked"]

Sander Hicks on CNN

Was that Sander Hicks on CNN Headline news... yup. if you we're wacthing CNN Headline news tonight you probably caught the interview with Sander Hicks.


http://www.hicksforsenate.com/

Friends Helping Friends: Hunger Banquet Fundraising Dinner

Friends Helping Friends presents Hunger Banquet
Fundraising Dinner

Friends Helping Friends will be performing Oxfam
America's “Hunger Banquet” on Saturday April 22nd at
Salem United Church of Christ at 60 Bittner Street.
Doors open @ 5:30pm and the program will start at
6pm. The Hunger Banquet is a dinner presentation that
demonstrates the inequalities of resources throughout
the world with a dramatic performance.
This banquet is a family-oriented event; kids are
welcome.

In addition to a performance you won't soon forget,
come listen to dynamic speakers (Patrick Trevor from
Anthony L. Jordan Health Center, Rajesh Barnabas from
Charles Settlement House, Charles Kellum from Poor
People United and Garry Manuel from Project URGE) and
eat a delicious meal. $20 suggested donation
w/sliding scale ($10 – or less for low-income people
or students). Support Friends Helping Friends as we
move into our new Child Street warehouse!

Please RSVP! Phone: (585) 546-5162;
email: fhf2004@hotmail.com
PO Box 39618 // Rochester, NY 14604

Our Local Water Supply: Status, Problems , Fixes

The Federation of Monroe County Environmentalists will have a special forum this Monday, "Our Local Water Supply: Status, Problems , Fixes". Learn from local experts what the most pressing issues are impacting the water we rely upon in the greater Rochester region for good health, recreation, and economic viability. There will be four short presentations:

Margie Peet, former Monroe County Water Coordinator will give an overview of our local water quality issues: " The Bad News and the Good News".

Bill Larsen, RIT Civil Engineering teacher, who has worked actively on water problems in Antigua and Haiti, will addres the effects of developmnet and sprawl on water quality. He will discuss the impacts of flooding, loss of wetlands, and other issues.

Jason Haremza, a planner with the Genesee FInger Lakes Regional Planning Council, will describe actions which citizens can take in reviewing their municipalities'comprehennsive plans and zoning regulations.

Joe Makarewicz, Distinguished Professor of Environmental Science and Biology at SUNY Brockport, will look at the future of our water resources. He will contrast the best and worst case scenarios as they are llikely to be caused by present human activity.

Small group discussions on the issues, priorities and proposals for citizen involvement will follow. There will be active displays and resources of groups engaged in water issues. Light refreshments will be served.

The forum will be held from 7-9:15 at downstairs at First Baptist Church 1862 Penfield Rd. (441) just east of the Penfield 4 corners.. Park and enter at the east end in the rear of the building.

4/22/06 Green Senate Candidate in Rochester

Sander Hicks will be in Rochester on Saturday April 22nd, Sander is currently running for the Green Party’s nomination as the Green challenger to Hillary Clinton for US Senate. Mark your calendars, this is sure to be a fun event and a great chance to get to know the Greens.
http://www.hicksforsenate.com/

GPoMC is looking for volunteers to help organize and promote the event that evening, if your interested in helping out please contact us.

The event will feature Sander Hicks, Holley Anderson, Andy Laties, MC Ashton from Phantasmatrash, and local entertainment.

Sander Hicks is a media activist, a progressive publisher and Green party candidate for US Senate. His is heading out on the road to speak and listen to New York State, from April 19-25, and May 1-7.

Holley Anderson, his wife and partner, is a great singer/songwriter whose political punk/folk provides thoughtful entertainment to our campaign: http://www.holleyanderson.net/index.cfm

Also, on the bill for the April 20-25 leg of the campaign tour: Andy Laties, author of Rebel Bookseller. Laties is a big anti-WalMart/anti-Barnes&Noble advocate of independent entrepreneur creativity. After 25 years as an independent bookseller, he's got a great track record in community economics. http://www.rebelbookseller.com/

MC Ashton will be bringing his musical project Phantasmatrash, a multi-media rock – hip hop group that champions ideals like independence, innovation, introspection, vulnerability, compassion, and sincerity, phantasmatrash hopes to impart to the listener that there is another way to live. We can't let corporate greed, governmental malfeasance, and widespread alienation dilute our own potent personal revolutions.
www.phantasmatrash.com
www.myspace.com/phantasmatrash001

Wanted: Single Progressive Female to Make Babies

This is not a sleezy personal ad.

According to Phillip Longman at foreignpolicy.com Progressives are not breeding enough while conservatives are pumping out young 'uns like mad. This will cause a new and even more oppressive world patriarchy. Therefore I feel that it is my duty as someone who believes in universal health care, social & economic justice and grassroots democracy to spawn...NOW!

While it would probably be prudent to go about this the old fashioned way - meet someone, proceed with some kind of courtship ritual, a commitment ceremony, then get to the baby making - two things make me feel that there isn't time for that. First is the state of the world today. We need progressive voters and we need them fast. Second, if you ask my Mother, I'm not getting any younger and I'd better get moving. Until now, I always thought she was doing what all Mothers do, but now I realize that she's just trying to stop the wingnuts who are trying to take over the world. Isn't it weird how our mothers are always right.

Now this isn't just the narcissistic ramblings of a lonely guy. (Notice I said "just") I'm calling for all progressives to start the baby-making machine. Gays & Lesbians, get to work on finding donors & surrogates. This is serious business. If you're a progressive who has kids, you'll just have to make more. Your family has to become The Left-Wing Waltons.

And for crying out loud, will some fertile woman jump on Russ Feingold!

Now, there are some Greens doing their part. Congratulations to Norah & Mark on the birth of the newest Green, Samuel. I know it's your first child and you're both probably a bit overwhelmed, but as soon as your able, get going on baby number two. It's your duty.

So, to conclude:

SPM, 39, looking for SPF to make little progressive babies. Must understand the inherent oppressiveness of the de facto two-party system, believe that public funding of political campaigns is the savior of democracy and like long walks on the beach. Non-smokers, please. All interested women, contact the Green Party of Monroe County.

Paper Ballots for Maryland

Maryland's House of Delegates voted 137-to-0 to drop its Diebold machines and switch to paper ballots.

Questioning Authority

Reporter Helen Thomas was finally allowed to ask a question in a press conference (first time in three years). She took it right to Bush:

Transcript
Video
Helen on Wolf Blitzer's show

While Bush's response was ridiculous and it was a good thing (for him) that he kept cutting her off because she was trying to call him on his BS. But the main point is, someone questioned authority and our country is still here. Questioning those who supposedly represent us IS patriotic.

We should be questioning ALL our representatives...local, state & federal. They work for us. We pay their salaries. They supposedly represent us.

People in Ecuador are in the streets because of a proposed trade agreement with the US. Thousands of people are risking arrest and more. To us, forwarding an e-mail is our "duty". We've become too soft.

Endangered Species Anthology

For all you conservation enthusiasts, a new anthology showcasing poems about North America's endangered species is due for release in mid-April. Read a review on the book here.

The Dire Elegies features 2 poems by a local artist. A reading of the piece will take place on Earth Day, April 22 at 1 at Present Tense, a Batavia bookstore. The book will also be available for sale. It has been sponsored by NRDC and proceeds from the sale will benefit the organization.

For more information on the reading, or to reserve your copy of the Dire Elegies, call Present Tense at 585.815.7640.

This Game Called Politics

The story I'm about to tell you relies on second-hand information. Even so, this type of incident is not foreign to political campaigns - especially small, local ones.

Recently, I have been helping out the campaign of Steve Blunt. He is running for Village Trustee in the Village of Webster. Because I am one of the current co-chairs of the Green Party, that does not mean the party is giving Steve an endorsement. While I have recommended that other Greens check Steve out and decide if they want to help, I am doing this on my own.

Steve is a democrat. His views are pretty progressive; he wants to work for more renewable energy being used in the Village, more open government & local businesses as opposed to the corporate stores that are overtaking the surrounding Town of Webster. As this addresses 3 or the Greens' Ten Key Values, I figured I'd help him out. You can check out his site at http://www.websterdemocrats.com for more info.

Steve's opponent is named Peter Elder. A republican. I don't know the guy, but in working with the Blunt campaign, I've heard a lot about him. Second-hand.

The election is on March 21st - this Tuesday. Over the course of the last week or so, Steve Blunt's lawn signs are mysteriously disappearing, while almost every single one of Elder's remains standing. Now, no one has made any accusations, but when this fact has been brought up, Mr. Elder has become rather defensive - again this is second-hand. Must be the wind, some would say - the weather's been kinda bad lately.

Could be, but I've noticed that Steve is doing something I haven't seen before. He's using the normal wire frames for his lawn signs - in addition to a wooden stake that goes into the ground. A tank shouldn't be able to uproot these signs more or less the weather. Meanwhile, Elder's signs are gigantic, more susceptible to wind and they've stayed up.

No accusations - just observations.

Now, here is my take on the issues in general. In a perfect world, you have whatever number of candidates (notice I didn't say 2 candidates), doing their thing, spreading the word and may the person the voters want, win. But it doesn't work that way. If you subscribe to the Steve Minarik book of campaigning, anything goes and if you don't like it, it's because you're a loser. (of course now that he works at the state level he doesn't like all those "mean" democrats) Lawn signs, ducking debates, not letting 3rd parties get involved...all this garbage. What are the corporate parties afraid of?

It's not about democracy, it's about getting whatever I want. Making sure that everything around me is comfortable for me. Everybody whines and has complaints & excuses. It's a slight of hand as in the meantime, tax breaks are given to corporations, cronies are given jobs and the machine goes on as usual - at every level of government.

Gosh, it's too bad there isn't a political party that doesn't do all this stuff. Oh yeah, there is.

If You're Not Green By Now

What else do you need to see to make you get completely fed up with the corporate party know as the Democrats? Let me give you a few links concerning Russ Feingold's proposed legislation to censure our Anti-Patriotic, War Criminal of a President.

Feingold Accuses Democrats of 'Cowering'
Note to Moronic Democratic Senators:
Americans Can't Stand George Bush
Election '06: GOP's Culture of Corruption Vs. Democrat's Culture of Weakness
Feingold, Kerry, and the 'Strategists'
Stand Up to the Beltway Democrats

The best way to stand up to Beltway Democrats is to go Green.

Best-selling Author Jonathan Kozol to Give Free Speech

Noted author and education activist, Jonathan Kozol will be in Rochester to give a speech entitled, "The Shame of the Nation: Educational Apartheid, High-Stakes Testing, and No Child Left Behind". The speech takes place Monday, March 27th at the East High School Auditorium, 1801 East Main Street and is free and open to the public. Sign language interpreting will be provided. Anyone concerned with Rochester schools and the state of public education in general should attend this important event.

"Jonathan Kozol profoundly addresses inequality in the educational settings of our schools," says Bill Cala, Superintendent of the Fairport Central School District and Steering Committee member of the Coalition for Common Sense in Education. "If you have ever heard him speak, you know the moving and persuasive argument he makes."

Kozol is the author of The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America, his most recent best-seller. In it, Kozol contends that America’s public schools show no sign of the desegregation ordered in the 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education. He has numerous works on children and the state of American public education to his credit including Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools and Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation.

Dan Drmacich, Principal at School Without Walls in Rochester and Steering Committee member of CCSE says about Jonathan Kozol, "Kozol, relentlessly describes the negative impact that segregation and the use of high-stakes standardized testing has on poor, Rochester children, and the moral responsibilities each of us has to respond."

Hosted by the Coalition for Common Sense in Education, the event is co-sponsored by the Center for Collaborative Education, the School Without Walls Community Board, Nazareth College, SUNY Brockport, SUNY Geneseo, and the Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development at the University of Rochester.

Gangs and Youth Violence in Rochester

Join us in the Dugan Center for this Downtown Community Forum Program and bring along a friend, student, family member, neighbor or colleague. Please forward this e-mail so we can bring our community together as we explore issues and exchange ideas.

"Gangs and Youth Violence in Rochester"
Wednesday, March 15, 2006 / 5:30 - 7:00 PM
There is no charge for this program.

Co-sponsored by:
The Human Services Club at MCC Damon City Campus

Speaker:
Officer Moses Robinson, Rochester Police Department School Resource Officer and President of the Western New York Chapter of East Coast Gang Investigators Association

At a January 2006 meeting of the New York State Commission of Investigation, testimony confirmed that gang activity is no longer limited to the inner-city. In fact, gang activity is rampant both upstate and downstate in rural and suburban areas.

Officer Moses Robinson, a local gang expert, indicates that at least 50 gangs operate in the Rochester area. Since 1999 the RPD has seen a marked increase in gang activity that finds gangs such as the Bloods and Crips recruiting children as young as 9 years of age. Gangs are about violence and thrive on crime and more that 50% of gang activity involves drug buyers who come from the suburbs of Rochester.

Join us as Officer Robinson speaks about street gangs and youth violence in Rochester’s urban, suburban and rural areas. Officer Robinson states that community involvement is essential: “We need everyone involved…If you’re not part of the solution; you’re part of the problem.”

Location: The Dugan Center at St. Mary's Church, 15 St. Mary's Place, Rochester, NY 14607, (585) 232-7140 x16

Click below for map, directions and parking information.
http://www.dcfrochester.org/map.asp

Kera M. Neylan
Executive Director
Downtown Community Forum
15 St. Mary's Place
Rochester, NY 14607

585.232.7140 x16
http://www.dcfrochester.org/
585.232.4483 (fax)
http://www.dcfrochester.org/default.asp

Bush Impeachment Forum

Click here for the Bush Impeachment Forum.

St. Patrick's Day Parade

A special Green thanks to everyone who came out for the St. Patrick's Day Parade today. It was an amazing time. Tens of thousands of people saw the Green Party and we had a whole lot of supporters in the streets cheering us on. Some of them were even sober, too!

No politicking, just a nice walk on a beautiful day.

If you missed it, we still have the Gay Pride Parade this summer and the Labor Day Parade this fall. Hope to see you there.

GPoMC Shirts & More

Check out the stuff we have on our CafePress online store. There's also our famous "Greens Against Bush" stuff. Go to http://www.cafepress.com/gpomc to see what's there.

Upcoming Green Events

Here are a list of upcoming Green Party Events
(click read more to see details)

*Saturday, March 11th: St. Patrick's Day Parade
*Monday, March 13th: Monthly Meeting
*Thursday, March 16th: Webster Greens Meeting
*Saturday, March 18th: Anti-War Demonstration
*Saturday, March 25th: Sweden / Brockport Organizational Meeting
*Thursday, March 30th: Green Party Steering Committee Meeting
*Thursday, April 6th: Movie Night



St. Patrick's Day Parade: This Saturday, come march with the Greens in the St. Patrick's Day Parade. Meet at Noon at the corners of East Avenue & Sibley Place (one block east of Alexander St). Wear comfortable shoes & Green!

Monthly Meeting: Monday, March 13th at 7pm at 179 Atlantic Avenue. Guest Speakers are Beth Ares & Paulette Swartzfager, local women activists. Free & open to the public.

Webster Greens: Organizational meeting at Earthtones Coffee 7pm, 1217 Bay Road in Webster.

Anti-War Demonstration: Saturday, March 18th at 4pm at the Liberty Pole, Downtown Rochester. See Rochester Against War for details.

Sweden / Brockport Organizational Meeting: 1pm at Brockport - Seymour Library, 161 East Ave, Brockport.

Steering Committee Meeting: Thursday, March 30th, place & time TBA. Registered Greens welcome.

Movie Night: April 6th, 7pm at 179 Atlantic Avenue. Free & open to the public. Movie TBA.

Lyell-Otis Neighborhood Assoc. Meeting

Lyell-Otis Neighborhood Assoc. Meeting to be held March 13, 2006

The Lyell-Otis Neighborhood Association will be holding its next public meeting on Monday, March 13th, 2006. All are welcome.

The group will meet from 7:00pm to 8:30pm at the Edgerton Recreation Center located at 41 Backus Street. Parking is available in two adjacent lots. Unfortunately, there is no child care area available at this venue.

The purpose of the meeting is to allow residents the opportunity to discuss neighborhood crime, quality of life issues, nuisances, as well as receive updates from neighborhood elected representatives - such as Carla Palumbo and Bob Stevenson, and to receive local information and to brainstorm for ideas that will lead to a better future in the Lyell-Otis neighborhood.

Also, our new neighborhood cookbook will be available for sale, and makes a wonderful anytime gift!

For more information or clarification, please email Pamela R. Davis, Secretary, Lyell-Otis Neighborhood Association at NiceNRG@aol.com or call Bob Van Sice, Vice-President, Lyell-Otis Neighborhood Association at (585) 458-3784. http://journals.aol.com/nicenrg/LONA/

GP disscussion group

Want to talk about the Green Party? The Green Party of Western New York discussion board is a great place to find out what’s happening in Western New York with the Green Party. It’s also a great place to tell everyone what you want to see the Green Party doing in your area, as well as at the State and National levels. Sign up to join the discussion at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/GPoWNY/

Impeach Bush Bumper Sticker Contest

GPUS MerchCom is looking for the perfect impeachment slogan to use for it’s next production of bumper stickers. www.gp.org and the Green Party of the United States must also be included in the artwork. Submit electronic entries to contest@gp.org. Send all other formats to GPUS, Bumper Sticker Contest, PO Box 57065, Washington, DC 20037.

Deadline: March 15, 2006 (No Later Than 11:59 pm EST)

Eligibility: Registered Greens, friends and family members age 16 years or older.

Prizes Grand Prize: GPUS Survival Kit
(T-shirt, peace flag, bumper sticker, button and CD)

First Prize: GPUS T-shirt (6 winners)

Free Green Ribbon Magnets to all entrants!

ON THE ROAD TO POLITICAL EQUALITY

Judith Einach ran as the Green Party nominee for mayor of Buffalo in 2005

ON THE ROAD TO POLITICAL EQUALITY

by Judith Einach
The Buffalo News, Front Page Opinion
3/5/2006

Women comprise more than half of Buffalo's population. Women are on the front lines in city neighborhoods. They are charged with caring for the young, and too many women do this without the support of good men. Women are heads of households or provide critical additional income. They pursue higher education in greater numbers than men; and women, more than men, start and grow businesses. Women are capable of public service.

Yet the "five families" of local politics, the two major and three minor parties, all chaired by men, do a poor job of recruiting women or recognizing and rewarding competent women who serve their parties well.

Within Erie County, the number of women elected to lead cities, towns, villages and hamlets is five of 44, or 11 percent. The County Legislature is 33 percent female, but Buffalo's Common Council has only one female member.

A closer look at the women elected to city and county legislatures reveals that some of the women are married to men with long-standing political careers. Three of 16, or 19 percent, of Mayor Byron W. Brown's recent appointees to his executive leadership team are women. With respect to the judiciary nationwide, 28 percent of elected judges are women, but within the 8th Judicial District that includes the eight Western New York counties, 22 percent of judges elected to the Supreme, County and City Courts are women.

With the exception of the County Legislature, Buffalo and Erie County fall short of national and statewide percentages of women elected to public office, 32 and 25 percent respectively.

During women's long campaign to win the vote, one of the many reasons men cited for giving women the vote was that women would clean up politics. I ran for mayor of Buffalo because I believed that as a political outsider, I could polish the Queen City's crown. I welcome an open political process and government that relies on research and best practice instead of political one-up-man-ship or career concerns to inform public policy. I didn't run to promote "a woman's agenda." I ran to promote good ideas.

"We shouldn't care whether a person's male or female," said Kate Foster, director of the Institute for Local Governance and Regional Growth at the University at Buffalo. "There's nothing inherent in gender that determines a person's position on policy. There are no systematic differences in the way women feel about policy. But if we're looking for representative government nearer to the population as a whole, then we need more women."

Ellen Kennedy, associate professor of social work at Buffalo State College and candidate for the Common Council and Congress in the 1990s, agreed.

"You can't expect all women to behave in a certain way, but I do think women coming into politics would bring a different mind-set," she said. "I don't believe we're into the one-up-man-ship. Women's goals are more directed toward issues, not politics. Women would come into politics with a different perspective and are more likely to ask, how can my public service make life better for people?"

OBSTACLES TO RUNNING

Election law allows a political outsider to run, though not easily. I ran to demonstrate the potential in our electoral system, in spite of the fact that New York State has earned the reputation of being one of the four most oppressive in the union with respect to the electoral process. I wanted to show that even in New York, "the people" can challenge.

Winning would have been terrific, but that was a long shot. However, I did win some battles. Most significantly, I secured a ballot line. Challenged by both Democratic and Republican party operatives, my campaign team beat the machine and secured a position for me on the ballot in the general election. The fact that a woman stood for mayor through Election Day chipped away at the false perception that our mayor must be male and must come from a dominant political party.

During the race, several people, but not one woman, told me a woman has no business being mayor. Certainly, women have just as much business in the mayor's office, or any public office, as do men. Once women secured the right to vote, they established their right to hold public office.

I strongly doubt the men of this community who claim the mayor's office as their domain would be comfortable being governed by a group as heavily female as is the system so heavily male that governs women here today.

When I wasn't being chastised as a woman seeking the position of mayor, I was chastised by people who cared not about issues but about the racial attributes of the next mayor. I was asked why I didn't support then-Sen. Byron W. Brown. It was explicitly stated to me that I should understand it was "a black man's turn."

Historically, women were asked to put aside their fight for rights so as not to dilute the work of abolitionists. But New York women knew then and know now, regardless of their own race or ethnicity, that if we don't keep the struggle visible and lift everyone simultaneously, we betray our own principles.

At the time our nation formed, the Constitution listed women, children and Negroes as the property of white men. Shamefully, the notion that one person or one group of people may own another person or group remains alive in our culture.

The labor movement won worker protections, yet some employers still treat employees with callous disregard. Regardless of law, we know about employers who lock employees in a building from which there is no escape in the event of fire. Employers work salaried employees endless hours without regard for personal or family considerations. Enron executives felt entitled to harvest money from employee investment funds with no concern for the effect this would have on thousands of people.

This attitude is a throwback to indentured servitude, or apprenticing oneself to a master tradesman. Our present-day culture mimics deeply held beliefs outdated in law but not in practice.

UNEQUAL TREATMENT

Public policy made by people who believe they "own" the community results in one neighborhood being allowed, even encouraged to deteriorate while another benefits from investment in infrastructure, higher quality trash removal, quickly plowed streets.

The common good is entrusted to people who have been seduced by wealth and/or power, and deals are made to bring in so-called economic development that by definition is not economic development at all.

Ownership issues result in destroyed architectural treasures, vital natural habitat co-opted for development, lack of strategies for a sound local economy and public education that systematically assures some people will continue to be denied.

Buffalo is more than that which can be owned. Buffalo is a community of free people. Our success depends on how well we understand, develop and use our assets, which includes all of our people. What is there to gain from shutting each other out?

Women sought the vote because we were denied, by custom and by government, the right of self-expression and the right to advance in life. Women were denied the right to an education, to keep wealth in their names, to profit from their work or labor, and even guardianship of their children. Suffragists, commemorated with a national park less than 100 miles from here, shared the will to secure these rights for women with abolitionists seeking to secure these rights for blacks.

Where opportunity is denied, rights are denied. We are where we are because of bad public policy made essentially by men whom we've trusted to care for the community. Public leadership persuaded by select private interests has effectively so destroyed our community that people here live without basic democratic rights. In the face of that, I chose to exercise every right I have under law to run for mayor of Buffalo.

I inherited my courage and my stubborn resolve from my father, a leading civil rights figure in Western New York. He taught me that I am a full person and have the right to participate in this world on my terms. He taught me that principles matter, above all else. He encouraged humility and exemplified that virtue.

He loved democratic ideals, and he defended those who were harmed by others who saw the opportunities of a capitalist economy differently. Not only was Victor Einach my father, he was my friend. I'm proud I ran for mayor, and I know he would have been proud, too.

In 1813, when Buffalo burned to the ground in the War of 1812, Mrs. Saint John, a widow with children, was the only resident who was able to save her home from destruction. Other residents who escaped the bloody wrath of the attack fled into the woods. As they slowly emerged, they returned to Mrs. Saint John's home and ventured from her place of safety to restore the community.

It's interesting to imagine what it was they held in common that allowed them to rebuild, when nearly everything they'd created was lost in the looting and the fire.

These early Buffalonians knew the value of our place on a crossroads of commerce. They knew the value of our place beside this water. They were all in similar circumstances, rich or not, white or not, male or not. They were literally and figuratively burned out. They'd succeeded as a community with relatively good results prior to the war. They'd prospered, were comfortably integrated and deeply committed to building a democratic nation.

These residents of Buffalo and their descendents became fierce abolitionists. They defied the Fugitive Slave Law. They ran off bounty hunters, fearlessly defending and protecting members of their community from being stolen away. They challenged the law by assisting those daring to cross the Niagara River so in Canada Negroes would be free from their status as property. The people of Buffalo lived according to the highest principles. They stood for meaningful democracy.

WOMEN'S CONCERNS

Who we are now and how we define ourselves as men and women matters. As long as women's voices and issues are silenced or diminished, none of us will be able to fulfill the promise of democracy, nor will we engage in a real discussion of what will help us survive and thrive in the 21st century.

Inclusion, signaling civil or human rights and respect for others, seems especially difficult for Buffalonians and Western New Yorkers. Our ability to move forward successfully depends on our willingness to exemplify inclusion or equity, the first principle of sustainability.

Federal and state policies effectively leave us on our own as a region to benefit from or overcome globalization. It will require all of us, thinking and working together, to properly address the truly difficult challenges we face. A woman or a political outsider as mayor is nothing to fear. Instead we should fear perpetual corruption, the real enemy of the common good.

In 1848 women of New York wrote, published and presented the Declaration of Sentiments. This document was our nation's first written demand for women's right to vote. In it women clearly described the grievances they held against the government. As a woman of New York, I feel compelled to follow the lead of the able and courageous women who preceded me.

Women have rights under law, but their grievances have not been satisfactorily addressed. Even though, as Ellen Kennedy knows, it's hard to get the "old boys to take you seriously," women must become more politically active. If they do not get inside government, women will be forced to influence from the outside, not from a position of strength.

Women won the right to vote and run for office, but poorly conceived public policy instituted largely by a powerful male establishment obliterates benefits women anticipated would accompany freedom. My campaign for mayor was a reminder of just how far women are from achieving equality in the public sector, the sector that establishes the ground rules for total inclusion in society.

Unlike a race for mayor, the campaign for equality is a race with no end in sight.

Judith Einach ran as Green Party nominee for mayor of Buffalo in 2005.

YOUR Senators at Work

Here are the US Senators who voted against renewal of the Patriot Act:

Wisconsin's Russ Feingold
Vermont's Jim Jefford
Hawaii's Daniel Akaka
New Mexico's Jeff Bingaman
West Virginia's Robert Byrd
Iowa's Tom Harkin
Vermont's Patrick Leahy
Michigan's Carl Levin
Washington's Patty Murray
Oregon's Ron Wyden

Anyone missing? Only YOUR Senators.

Ralph Nader at Alfred University on March 24

Students select activist Ralph Nader as speaker in lecture series 2/22/06

Ralph Nader, two-time Green Party Presidential candidate and advocate for the environment, consumer rights and pro-democracy issues, will speak at Alfred University March 24 as part of the Student Speaker Series.

His talk, scheduled for 6 p.m. in Holmes Auditorium, Harder Hall on the Alfred University campus, will focus on consumerism and the importance of being an activist in today's society.

Admission to the event for Alfred University students is free, but tickets must be obtained March 21 at the Powell Campus Center Information Desk. If tickets for Nader's speech remain on March 22, they will be made available first to AU faculty and staff. All remaining tickets will be released to the general public beginning on Thursday, March 23.

Nader's appearance at AU is sponsored by the Student Activities Board with funding from the Student Senate. Following his speech, Nader will be available at Powell Campus Center for a reception and book-signing.

Nader, who is a consumer advocate, lawyer, and author, became a national figure with Unsafe at Any Speed: the designed-in dangers of the American Automobile, which exposed the dangers of some cars, particularly the Corvair.

According to his biography at nader.org, during Nader's career as consumer advocate, he founded many organizations including the Center for Study of Responsive Law, the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), the Center for Auto Safety, Public Citizen, Clean Water Action Project, the Disability Rights Center, the Pension Rights Center, the Project for Corporate Responsibility and The Multinational Monitor (a monthly magazine).

Among his recent books are The Good Fight: Declare Your Independence and Close the Democracy Gap; Civic Arousal; In Pursuit of Justice; Crashing the Party: How to Tell the Truth and Still Run for President; The Ralph Nader Reader; Corporation Nation: How Corporations Are Taking Over Our Lives and What We Can Do About It and No Contest: Corporate Lawyers and the Perversion of Justice in America, which he co-authored with Wesley J. Smith.

He was born in Winsted, Connecticut on Feb. 27, 1934, and received an AB magna cum laude from Princeton University in 1955 and an LLB degree, with distinction from Harvard University, in 1958. He began his career as a lawyer in Hartford, CT, in 1959.

In 1965-66 he received the Nieman Fellows award and was named one of 10 Outstanding Young Men of Year by the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce in 1967. He has been a lecturer at the University of Hartford and Princeton.

I recently was a guest speaker in some Participation in Government classes in one of the area's suburban high schools. The following is an e-mail I received from a student who was in one of the classes. I've taken out the young man's name & the school he goes to. He is fine with me sharing this and I've already sent it along to a progressive I know who is currently serving in the National Guard. (more on her later)

I thought it may be appropriate for fellow Greens to give him feedback. When people post comments, I'll direct him to the site.

Mr. Atias,

You recently came to a class of mine to speak. I thought you were an inspired speaker and because of you I am thinking about donating to the Green party and/or participating in assisting you in reaching that goal of becoming in positions of power. However, assisting you will not only alienate my parents from myself (they are staunch Republicans) but it would also be biting the hand that feeds me (I am an Air force Recruit). Given that, I still think that your party has some potential.
Any Comments, Random statements, or Continued conversation is much appreciated.

Thank You for your time.

Green Party candidate for US Senate to speak at Cornell on Friday March 3rd

http://todd4senate.org/

Did you give George Bush any standing ovations during his State of the Union speech? Hillary Clinton, Dianne Feinstein, and John Kerry gave him 20! Why don't we have a real opposition party in this country? Are you fed up with the Democratic Party leadership trying to reach a "bipartisan consensus" with Bush and his gang in Congress? It's time for a radical change.

Todd Chretien, Green Party candidate for US Senate in California, will
explain why Democratic senators like Hillary Clinton and Dianne Feinstein support Bush's war in Iraq, why the progressives need a political alternative, how it is being built in California, and how it could be built in New York.

As a member of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, Todd Chretien helped stop the execution of Kevin Cooper at San Quentin prison and was a leading member of the Save Tookie Committee which worked to prevent the execution of Stan Tookie Williams. He also helped author Proposition I (the College Not Combat initiative) in San Francisco, which passed with 60% of the vote in November 2005.

Friday March 3, 7:30 PM

Goldwin Smith Hall, HEC Auditorium

Sponsored by Cornell for Peace and Justice*, Cornell's Campaign to End the Death Penalty, and the International Socialist Organization. Call (607)280-1627 for more information.

*Cornell for Peace and Justice does not endorse political candidates. It is sponsoring this event to facilitate debate.