The Green Party of Monroe County Elects New Officers

The Green Party of Monroe County elected new officers for 2009 at their annual membership meeting on Monday, February 9th. Bonnie Cannan and Deborah Magone-Fragale were re-elected to serve as Co-Chairs and Suzanne Fava-Flagg was elected as Treasurer.

*Bonnie Cannan of Rochester, NY is a long time labor activist and a former candidate for and Rochester City Council.

*Deborah Magone-Fragale of Greece. NY is current PTSA Vice President at Greece Athena High School 2008 - 09, producer /director of GreenLine TV, writer, musician and student in RIT's Communications program.

*Suzanne Fava-Flagg of Greece, NY is current PTSA President at Greece Athena High School 2008-09

The Green Party stands for:
* Ecological wisdom
* Social justice
* Grassroots democracy
* Nonviolence


The Green Party receives no donations from corporate entities and in so doing is not beholden to corporate political will. The Green Party of Monroe County welcomes donations from individuals like YOU, to continue our work. We are currently looking for local activists to run for office here in Monroe County.

Thank You for Your Continued Support!

We'e Moved! Sort of…

The closure of the Midtown Post Office has forced the Green Party of Monroe County to change our mailing address. Our new mailing address is:

Green Party of Monroe County
PO Box 16731
Rochester, NY 14616

Green Party Calls Upon Bard College Not to Terminate Dr. Joel Kovel

Green Party of New York State http://www.web.gpnys.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 25, 2009

Contacts:
Peter LaVenia, chair2@gpnys.org, 518-463-8653
Eric Jones, chair@gpnys.org, 716-908-5226


Accuses College of Dismissing Kovel for Writings on Zionism and Israel


The Green Party of New York State condemns the recent termination of Dr. Joel Kovel by Bard College after 20 years on its faculty. We agree with Dr. Kovel, a former Green Party candidate for the U.S. Senate from New York, that this termination appears to be motivated by political considerations, notably his outspoken criticism in recent years of Zionism and Israeli policy. This incident is part of an escalating attack in America on academics who are critical of Israel's behavior in the occupied Palestinian territories. The Party calls on Bard College to immediately reinstate Dr. Kovel and restore its reputation as one of the most open and intellectually diverse campuses in the nation.

"A fundamental principle of mine is that the educator must criticize the injustices of the world, whether or not this involves him or her in conflict with the powers that be," noted Dr. Kovel. "The systematic failure of the academy to do so plays no small role in the perpetuation of injustice and state violence. In no sphere of political action does this principle apply more vigorously than with the question of Zionism; and in no country is this issue more strategically important than in the United States, given the fact that United States support is necessary for Israel's behavior."

Dr. Kovel, who is Jewish, practiced psychiatry and psychoanalysis for twenty-four years. In 1988 he was appointed to the Alger Hiss Chair of Social Studies at Bard College. He has published over a hundred articles and essays and nine books, including White Racism, which was nominated for a National Book Award in 1972. More recently, he has obtained national attention for his writings on ecosocialism, including the acclaimed book, The Enemy of Nature.

While Bard defends its action on the grounds of budgetary constraints, Dr. Kovel said that his problems with the Bard administration began shortly after he published an article in 2002 entitled "Zionism's Bad Conscience." In 2003, after the publication of another article on the "one-state solution" in Israel/Palestine -- which would grant full equal rights to all residents, whether Israeli or Palestinian -- he was informed by the Dean and Executive Vice-President of the college that he would henceforth be employed half-time.

In 2007, after publication by The University of Michigan of his book Overcoming Zionism, Dr. Kovel came under attack by various pro-Israeli groups and the book was pulled from distribution. Bard College did nothing during this period to defend or protect his rights as a faculty member -- a highly unusual act by any institution of higher learning. Only public outcry forced the publisher to reinstate the work. Finally, the committee to review his contract this year included the campus' Protestant chaplain, Professor Bruce Chilton, an outspoken member of pro-Zionist circles.

"This is an act that has disturbing implications for any scholar that questions the orthodoxy on Zionism," said Green Party of New York State co-chair Peter LaVenia. "Professor Norman Finkelstein was denied tenure at DePaul University in 2007 because of his numerous works questioning Zionism and Israeli policies. Professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt -- both hardly political radicals -- have been shunned from numerous speaking engagements because of their book, The Israel Lobby.

"The academy is supposed to be a place where controversial ideas are welcomed as contributing to knowledge, debate, and discussion: the foundation of any involved democratic citizenry," continued Mr. LaVenia. "This is a systematic attempt by disapproving members of the public and academic administrations to silence a point of view with which they disagree."

"I take the view that Israeli human rights abuses are deeply engrained in a culture of impunity, granted chiefly, though not exclusively, in the United States -- which culture arises from suppression of debate and open inquiry within those institutions, such as colleges, whose social role it is to enlighten the public," said Dr. Kovel. "Therefore, if the world stands outraged at Israeli aggression in Gaza, it should also be outraged at institutions in the United States that grant Israel impunity. In my view, Bard College is one such institution. It has suppressed critical engagement with Israel and Zionism, and therefore has enabled abuses such as have occurred and are occurring in Gaza."

FBI Case Against Turner Unravels; Renewed call for Investigation of FBI Targeting

Distributed by the Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org

Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts http://www.massgreens.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 20 February 2009

Contact: Jill Stein, 617-852-4727, Eli Beckerman, 617-821-1453
Co-chairs, Green-Rainbow Party, cochairs@green-rainbow.org


The FBI's "cooperating witness" who is the foundation of the FBI attempt to convict Chuck Turner and Dianne Wilkerson of extortion has announced that he is no longer cooperating with the FBI. In a front page article in Friday's Boston Globe, Ronald Wilburn states that he "felt he had been used by the FBI to topple a pair of prominent black politicians". Wilburn goes on to say "Dianne is a thief. Chuck isn't. Dianne knew better. Chuck is a victim of circumstance." Those circumstances, it should be noted, appear to have been fully engineered by the FBI informant. Importantly, the suspicious activities they suggest were initiated and carried out by the FBI informant, not by Chuck Turner. The unfolding facts thus appear not only to exonerate Turner, but also to raise serious concerns about the abuse of secret police powers by the FBI.

While much of the Boston media presented the case against Turner as "damning", and some even claimed that the presumption of innocence was "meaningless", a more skeptical position was adopted by those who knew Turner well. An analysis of the FBI affidavit by John Andrews of the Green-Rainbow Party found the affidavit to be "a decidedly unconvincing document that fails to provide a legitimate law enforcement justification for the targeting of Turner." Turner has steadfastly insisted that he is innocent, and his case has drawn support both from his own community and from nationally known figures such as Ramsey Clark.

"The flimsy nature of the case against Turner underscores the need to investigate FBI bias in selecting public officials to be targets of sting operations" said Green-Rainbow Party co-chair Jill Stein. Stein noted that "Turner has been an outspoken critic of FBI infringements on civil liberties, and has clashed with the FBI on high profile cases such as the imprisonment of the American Indian Movement's Leonard Peltier and the FBI killing of Puerto Rican separatist Filiberto Ojeda Rios. It is crucial that we get to the bottom of the question of whether Turner was targeted because he dared to criticize FBI behavior."

The Green-Rainbow Party's initial request for a Department of Justice investigation was declined by the DOJ, who merely referred the matter to the FBI. According to Green-Rainbow co-chair Eli Beckerman, "The latest turn of events makes it more important than ever that an investigation of political motivations in FBI targeting be conducted by parties who are not part of the FBI hierarchy." For his part, Turner has asked that all potential politically-motivated indictments that were initiated under the Bush Administration be examined.

Green-Rainbow communications director Lloyd Smith added, "The charges against Turner should be dropped. But that alone isn't enough. Until we get to the bottom of the targeting issue on a nationwide level, any public official who criticizes FBI misbehavior will have to worry about whether they'll be the next target of a sting operation. If Attorney General Eric Holder wants to demonstrate the courage of his convictions, and that we're not a 'nation of cowards', he should act upon former Attorney General Ramsey Clark's request and investigate potentially racially and/or politically motivated FBI targeting."

Florida Greens file petition against NRC licensing of Levy County nuclear plant

Distributed by the Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org

Green Party of Florida
http://www.floridagreens.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 14, 2009

Contact: Michael Canney, 386-418-3791, alachuagreen@gmail.com


Green Party files Petition to Intervene in NRC licensing of Levy County Nuclear Plant,joins Nuclear Information and Resource Service to challenge deficiencies in Progress Energy Combined Operating License Application (COLA)


Gainesville, FL -- On February 6, 2009 the Green Party of Florida (GPF, http://www.floridagreens.org) joined with the Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS, http://www.nirs.org) and the Ecology Party to file a legal challenge to a new nuclear power plant proposed by Progress Energy Florida (PEF) for a site in Levy County, near Inglis, Florida.

The filing is a formal Petition to Intervene in the NRC's licensing process for nuclear power plants, the latest in a series of such actions taken by NIRS and other groups nationwide to protect the health and safety of the public and the natural resources that are placed at risk by this industry. The interventions by parties with standing, which must follow rules established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), are intended to stop these nuclear boondoggles before construction work starts and millions of dollars are wasted.

PEF is seeking a license from the NRC to build the proposed Levy County Units 1 and 2 atomic reactors, on a site near the Gulf Coast that is the only "greenfield" site (no existing nuclear power facility) currently proposed east of the Mississippi River.

Among the contentions asserted in this Petition to Intervene:

Real options of energy efficiency and distributed generation with renewable energy options have not been adequately considered.
Progress Energy Florida does not meet financial qualification requirements.
Aquatic and radioactive waste impacts have not been adequately considered.
The Levy County project licensing is premature since the Westinghouse AP1000 reactor design remains incomplete.

In all, 26 contentions challenging the Progress Energy Application were included, supported by four experts.

The Green Party joins hundreds or organizations and thousands of individuals in endorsing the NIRS Statement on Climate and Nuclear Power, which states:

"We do not support construction of new nuclear reactors as a means of addressing the climate crisis. Available renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies are faster, cheaper, safer and cleaner strategies for reducing greenhouse emissions than nuclear power."

The Green Party has always opposed nuclear fission technology as a means of generating electricity, and the abundance of clean, safe renewable alternatives in today's energy marketplace makes nuclear power obsolete, from both an economic and ecological perspective. Investor Owned Utilities such as Progress Energy could not generate profits from nuclear power generation without federal loan guarantees, tax breaks, and massive subsidies that shift the costs of the nuclear industry to taxpayers.

Greens call upon municipal utilities in Florida to explore all the available options for implementing aggressive conservation measures and investment in decentralized, renewable energy technologies. Merely by installing low-tech solar thermal water heaters on residential homes, electricity consumption could be reduced by 8-10%. The public should not be forced to subsidize nuclear power plants when proven solutions are available at far less risk and less cost as well. Gainesville Regional Utilities has rejected nuclear power as an alternative to coal, and instead of buying into the Levy Nuclear Plant, which will be located less than 50 miles from downtown Gainesville, GRU and the Gainesville City Commission opted to enact the nation's first Solar Power Feed-In Tariff ordinance.

PEF can't count on private investors to finance the nuclear plant, so the company obtained permission from the Florida Public Service Commission to raise utility rates by 23%, about half of which will be used to cover the costs of development and construction of the Levy County Nuclear Plant. "The 'Early Cost Recovery' scam is little more than legalized theft from utility customers, and it should be immediately repealed by the Florida legislature," said MIchael Canney, Alachua County Green Party co-chair and member of the GPF Green Energy Committee. "Progress Energy can't get private investors to finance this $20 billion boondoggle, so they are forcing their customers to become investors."

In 2007, the GPF worked with the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition to draft a comprehensive "green paper" on energy policy, which has this to say about the radioactive waste produced by nuclear power plants:

"There is no safe method to dispose of or store the radioactive waste produced. All six of the 'low-level' nuclear waste dumps in the United States have leaked. There are no technological quick fixes that can effectively isolate nuclear waste from the biosphere for the duration of its hazardous life. Therefore, there is no such thing as nuclear waste 'disposal.' Current methods of underground storage are a danger to present and future generations. Any nuclear waste management strategies must be above ground, continuously monitored, and they must minimize transportation of wastes."


Green Paper on Climate Change and Energy Options for the State of Florida (http://pbcec.blogspot.com/search?q=Green+Paper+on+Climate+Change) by Green Party of Florida & Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition

The design of the Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactors PRF plans to install in the Levy Nuclear Plant continues to undergo revisions, even as PEF and the NRC proceed with the licensing of this plant. The NRC can't prove the proposed reactor designs are safe, but is allowing PEF to proceed with licensing anyway, which places the burden of proof on the public to demonstrate the potential problems with this technology.

The proposed nuclear plant will need more than 20 million gallons of water daily to cool the reactors, and PEF is drilling a private well field on site to draw millions of gallons of fresh water from the aquifer, yet PEF claims this project will have no detrimental effect on the local aquatic system.

In addition to participating in this Petition to Intervene in the NRC licensing process, Greens are joining with others concerned about climate change and energy policy to build a broad, community-based alliance to stop the Levy County Nuclear Plant and oppose subsidies for fossil fuels and the nuclear industry, while promoting investment in clean, safe, renewable and sustainable energy technologies.

"We don't see a push for solar energy here in the 'sunshine state' even in the form of off-setting our energy needs, said Jennifer Sullivan, co-chair of the Hernando County Green Party. "Solar technology is working in less sunny climates and as far north as Scandinavia. Think how many jobs could be created by investing in solar equipment manufacturing firms and by putting solar panels on every roof in the state!"

For more information:

Green Party of Florida http://www.floridagreens.org
Alachua County Green Party http://gainesvillegreens.webs.com
Nuclear Information and Resource Service http://www.nirs.org

Documents re PEF Levy County nuke plant:application on Florida DEP site: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/siting/Highlights/applications.htm

References on nuclear power:

Carbon-Free, Nuclear-Free: A Roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy http://www.ieer.org/carbonfree/index.html
Institute for Energy and Environmental Research http://www.ieer.org
Rocky Mountain Institute http://www.rmi.org
Union of Concerned Scientists - Nuclear Power http://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear_power

PETITION TO INTERVENE AND REQUEST FOR HEARING In the Matter of PROGRESS ENERGY FLORIDA, Levy County Nuclear Station Units 1 & 2, Docket Nos. 52-029 COL & 52-030 COL Feburary 6, 2009 http://www.nirs.org/nukerelapse/levy/levyhome.htm

Business Risks and Costs of New Nuclear Power, a new study by CPA Craig Severance, finds that escalating reactor construction and operating costs could lead to electricity from new nukes as high as 25-30 cents per kw/h-significantly higher than industry estimates. http://www.nirs.org/neconomics/nuclearcosts2009.pdf

Green Party leaders participate in American Citizens' Summit organized by the Transpartisan Alliance in Denver

Green Party leaders participate in American Citizens' Summit organized by the Transpartisan Alliance in Denver

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Friday, February 13, 2009

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org


Live web-cast of events at the Summit: http://www.republicmedia.tv/live/acs.html

On-site blog coverage of the Summit: http://www.greencommons.org/blog/63

"The First 100 Days: What Would a Green Administration Look Like?" (video and text) http://www.gp.org/first100

WASHINGTON, DC -- Several Green Party leaders are attending the 'American Citizens' Summit' organized by the Transpartisan Alliance (http://www.transpartisan.net) in Denver, Colorado. The Summit began on February 11 and continues until Sunday, February 15.

Among the Green leaders participating and speaking at the Summit are Kent Mesplay, environmentalist and contender for the 2004 and 2008 Green presidential nomination; Carol Brouillet (http://communitycurrency.org), 2006 California Green candidate for Congress (District 14); Green Party executive director Brent McMillan; Green Party co-chair Craig Thorsen; Drew Johnson, California Green activist and blogger covering the Summit (http://www.greencommons.org/blog/63); DC Statehood Green and Basic Income Guarantee advocate Steve Shafarman (http://IncomeSecurityForAll.org); and Paul Krumm, Kansas delegate to the Green Party's National Committee.

Cynthia McKinney, the Green Party's 2008 candidate for President of the United States, participated in the Interim Transpartisan Sunshine Cabinet on Thursday, February 12. The Sunshine Cabinet "serve[s] as the voice of over 110 million Americans seeking to Reunite America while ensuring that the voices not heard during the recent national elections are included in the national policy dialogue." Ms. McKinney can be reached through her media director, John Judge, at 202-584-1021.

Greens at the American Citizens' Summit are emphasing the importance of independent organizing, multiparty democracy, and election campaigns outside of a political establishment dominated by corporate money and the two major political parties.

"At this time of global crisis, it is imperative that we empower people and citizens to discover solutions that work for all on the personal, local, regional, national levels. The processes, tools that we are sharing at the Summit should help us to solve problems created by an outdated mentality," said Carol Brouillet.

The Transpartisan Alliance calls itself "an informal network of networks facilitating cooperation among individuals and organizations from all political points of view" whose is to "engage the passion, brilliance and creativity of average citizens in a search for solutions to our most pressing challenges" and "empower a unified political voice capable of restoring a balance of power between the government, corporations, and the American people." According to the Alliance, "Transpartisanship acknowledges the validity of truths across a range of political perspectives and seeks to synthesize them into an inclusive, pragmatic whole beyond typical political dualities."

Along with Cynthia McKinney, other members of the Sunshine Cabinet included 2008 Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader (participating by video), monetary reform leader Ron Paul (by video), MoveOn.org co-founder Joan Blades, conservative activist Grover Norquist, of the Liberty Coalition co-founder Michael Ostrolenk (by video), Competitive Enterprise Institute President Fred Smith, human potential movement visionary Barbara Marx Hubbard, humorist Steve Bhaerman, and Committee for a Unified Independent Party director Jackie Salit.

"It has been exciting to witness the formation of an interim sunshine cabinet representing the people. We are putting tools in the toolbox of American citizens to break from the matrix and to regain our voice," said Brent McMillan.

The American Citizens’ Summit, which coincides with Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday, is being held at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel (1550 Court Place). The Transpartisan Alliance has held leadership retreats from 2004 to 2008, bringing together over 140 leaders of organizations as politically diverse as MoveOn.org, Christian Coalition, Common Cause, Code Pink, Americans for Tax Reform and American Conservative Union.

Media contact for the Summit is Jobie McCormick (541-535-5775, njobie@yahoo.com).


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193

Tally of Green election victories http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/election-results.html
Green candidate news http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/candidate-news.php
Green candidate database for 2008 and other campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
Green Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
Green Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
Green Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-elections

Green Party Condemns Judicial Corruption

For Immediate Release

Contact:
Hillary Kane, 267-971-3559
Tim Reim, 814-838-1193
Carl Romanelli 570-574-0829


Green leaders call into question the privatization of essential public services creating opportunities for corruption

Green Party urges local governments to ban private management of public responsibilities such as juvenile detention

GREEN PARTY OF PENNSYLVANIA
http://www.gpofpa.org

White-hot outrage cannot adequately describe Green reaction to revelations of children unjustly sent to PA juvenile detention centers on the orders of corrupt local judges.

Two Pennsylvania judges have pleaded guilty to earning millions by wrongfully sending teenagers to privately-run youth detention centers.

Prosecutors say Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan took $2.6 million in payoffs to place juvenile offenders in a situation in which personal greed fed by corporate excess turned people into profit.

"This calls to the very question of the value of the civil rights of the individual children wrongfully removed from their homes to appease the 'predatory capitalism' conducted by Pennsylvania Child Care, LLC" said Hillary Kane, Chair of the Green Party of Pennsylvania. "When I think of the long-term impact unwarranted juvenile detention will have on those children and their families, it really makes me angry."

"The concept of removing the responsibility and oversight of public governing to private corporations has been one of increasing belief that market forces, which worship profit over people, could deliver services more efficiently and at a lower cost to taxpayers," said Blyden Potts, Secretary of the Green Party of Pennsylvania. "What you wind up with is this type of abuse that would not occur under a properly-led public administration that respects its citizens."

The Green Party of Pennsylvania believes local municipal and township governments have the right and duty to refuse the contracting of some state activities. We call for local governments to enact ordinance prohibitions against the private management of public responsibilities, specifically, juvenile detention centers in their locale.

Social Justice remains a key pillar of Green political beliefs. This scandal has shaken Pennsylvanian parents and families to the core. We grieve for the suffering of the parents and young people wrongful abused. Greens call for not only full financial and judicial redress for the innocent people involved, but for a full investigation of the political environment that allowed for the many years of corruption and abuse by the two judges, and those private business interests complicit in this scandal.

Said Carl Romanelli of Luzerne County; "Sadly, Greens have been at odds with these judges here in Luzerne County for years. It makes one wonder where the peer review has been. Further, the appeals system in Pennsylvania simply rubber stamps the corrupt decisions of criminal judges. We must break the cycle of judges protecting themselves, and their exclusive club, rather than protecting the rights of Pennsylvanians. You need look no deeper than my case with the state court to see this ugly dynamic at play," said Romanelli referring to his ongoing ballot access court case.

Mr. Carroll goes to Little Rock

Arkansas Times
http://www.arktimes.com/Articles/ArticleViewer.aspx?ArticleID=bf458f35-158e-4226-9826-1f2e1ffb209f

With his silver hair, sunglasses, and crisp black suit, Richard Carroll certainly looks the part of a state legislator. A resident of the Baring Cross neighborhood near Fort Roots in North Little Rock, Carroll was elected on the Green Party ticket to represent District 39 back in November, winning more than 80 percent of the vote. Currently, he's the highest-ranking Green in the United States.

Though he cleans up well, his button-down work as a legislator is a far cry from what he really does for a living: a dirty, dangerous job as a boilermaker for the Union Pacific Railroad, Thanks to what he calls his very “civic minded” employer, Carroll has been allowed to work the night shift at the Union Pacific yards in North Little Rock part time so he can come to the legislature during the day. From 11 p.m. to around 3 in the morning, he helps rebuild locomotives that have been damaged in derailments and accidents. He catches a few catnaps before and after work, and sleeps a lot on weekends. “I get a couple hours sleep before I go in to the Capitol,” he said. “I may stay until 7 o'clock, go home, get a couple more hours sleep, then go to work.”

Since the replacement of steam locomotives with boilerless diesels, Carroll said, railroad boilermakers have become the “support craft” of the engine shop. “We uncover and take the component parts off the locomotive so the machinists can work on the engine or air compressor or radiator section. We expose it, they work on it.” When he's at his night job, Carroll said, he's typically in jeans, a T-shirt, a welding cap. A bandana keeps grit and grime from going down his neck. Prior to being elected, he already owned one weddings-and-funerals suit, but he recently bought another for the Ledge. “I'll try to shuffle enough shirts between the suits,” Carroll said. “And Jim Lendall, the ex-Representative from the Green Party, he gave me some jackets, but he was a 48 and I'm a 42. Some of them I can maybe get altered.”

Carroll's route to the statehouse was a bit out of the way. A former chairman with North Little Rock's International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local No. 66, he said he'd never even considered running for public office until what he usually refers to as the “situation” involving Dwayne Dobbins. The former District 39 Representative, Dobbins resigned from the House in 2005 as part of a plea bargain that reduced a felony sexual assault charge to a misdemeanor harassment charge after allegations that Dobbins improperly touched a 17-year-old girl. Dobbins' wife Sharon Dobbins subsequently won a special election after her husband resigned. Though the Democratic Party expected her to run again in 2008, her husband filed for the race an hour and a half before the deadline. The Democrats refused to support Dobbins' candidacy, and went looking for write-in candidates.

“I felt like I needed to step up,” Carroll said. “It's the way he went about filing. If he had given the opportunity for others to know that he was the one filing, there would have been ample time for someone to step forward and run.” Once he decided to make a try for the seat, Carroll knew he had an uphill climb. His district is majority black, and though his wife is African-American, more than one person flatly told him that a white person could never get elected.

After he decided to run, he contacted both the Democratic Party and the Green Party. With the Democrats, he was told his only option was to run as a write-in candidate. With the Green Party, his name would actually be on the ballot. He went with the Greens, even though polling suggested he couldn't win.

“The polls showed than a write-in candidate would end up getting more votes that a Green Party candidate on the ballot,” he said. “I proved that wrong.”

While technically a Green Party representative, Carroll admits he's not “hardcore Green.” “I may not agree with their platform 100 percent, but as long as I don't come out publicly in opposition to their platform, they don't have a problem with me. I respect them for that. They gave me the opportunity to run on the ballot, and I will represent the Green Party.”

A staunch union man, Carroll said he would be a strong friend of labor as a legislator. The biggest items on his agenda, however, all have to do with improving life in urban communities like his own. There have been eight murders within a mile radius of his home in two years. Driving to work, he often sees the results of teen pregnancy, drugs and unemployment, and working people who don't make enough to survive.

“I see all those things every day,” Carroll said. “People having to walk to the bus line and then walk back carrying their groceries because they don't have the money for gasoline or a car, a lot of young, high school-age mothers pushing strollers around.”

Carroll said he'd like to see legislation to hold slumlords more accountable, and improved communication between local police departments and the State Police. “Individuals don't just do crime in one neighborhood,” he said. “They're doing crime in multiple areas, and a weapon that's used in one city might be used in another city. They could end up discovering that things are tied together.”

To help convicted felons avoid the lure of criminal life, Carroll said he plans to lobby local union shops to assist in the creation of training programs, and to talk to local companies about hiring graduates of those programs — including those who are trying to go straight. “I feel like the unions are willing to train individuals if we're able to find companies to employ them. If [convicts] come out and get a routine, they don't have to go back to their old habits when trying to provide income … ”

For now, however, Carroll is just trying to find time between his night job, his day job, and his family life (he has two young sons at home, one of whom is disabled) to get a little sleep, all while keeping the checkbook balanced. While he's excited about the new session, he said the long-haul rigors of life as a nighttime boilermaker and daytime legislator will decide whether his name is on the ballot again.

“That's probably going to be the biggest factor that determines what I decide to do. It's not as simple as showing up and passing some bills and making up some laws. It's very in-depth decision making. The main thing is how I'm going to fare working 24 hours a week at night.”

Stimulus bill falls short as a real stimulus, as compromises sacrifice public works creation of new jobs, say Greens

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Thursday, February 12, 2009

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org

"The First 100 Days: What Would a Green Administration Look Like?" (video and text) http://www.gp.org/first100


WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders said today that the $789 billion compromise stimulus bill falls drastically short of providing what's needed to end the deepening recession, and urged the Obama Administration to renegotiate the bill to restore and expand funding to create jobs and to provide a real safety net for every American.

"The US economy needs a stimulus, but the bipartisan bill, as it stands now, fails to address the biggest emergencies -- lost jobs and home foreclosures," said Holly Hart, secretary of the Green Party of the United States. "If the bill has little effect, it means that America will plunge even deeper into recession, with even more jobs down the drain."

"Public works projects, dismissed by many Congress members as pork, would create jobs and get America working again. Tax breaks for the wealthy, Democratic leaders' biggest concession to Republicans stuck in a Herbert Hoover mentality, will stimulate the economy only minimally," added Ms. Hart.

Greens said that bipartisan compromise reduced or eliminated funding for school construction, urgent relief for states (necessary to provide Medicaid and other essential services), health care for the unemployed, extended unemployment, Head Start, food stamps, public transit, retrofitting housing, greening federal buildings, watershed rehabilitation, and fire departments -- all of which would create and protect jobs, benefit millions of Americans, and help restore financial stability. The removal of caps on executive pay further limits the bill's effectiveness as a stimulus.

"Democrats caved in to the highway construction lobby when they diverted funding that should have been used for public transportation, thus sacrificing one of the most valuable items of the Obama agenda. With the world facing potentially catastrophic climate change in the coming decades, we don't need more highways, we need more public transportation and less car traffic. We need to convert our economy from an auto economy to a green economy. Over $25 billion in vital green programs, which would have created countless new jobs, was cut from the stimulus under the compromise," said Fred Vitale, Michigan candidate for state representative and state chairperson of the Green Party of Michigan.

Greens called the bill a missed opportunity for the kind of investments needed to make the US a truly green economy, moving the US away from dependence on foreign oil and other carbon fuels within the next ten years, as former Vice President Al Gore has recommended. Party leaders cited an ABC News report on new jobs created by the rise of wind farms in the Midwest (http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=6823005&page=1). Greens expressed relief that pressure from environmentalists killed a $50 billion loan guarantee for nuclear plants, a major victory for safe and clean energy.

The Green Party has also recommended enactment of a Single-Payer national health care program to relieve the costly burden on business of providing health benefits to employees (http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=158).

See also "Greens offer six big steps for economic recovery", Green Party press release, December 10, 2008 (http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=152). In September, 2008 Green presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney published a ten-point list of solutions in response to the Wall Street meltdown, titled "Seize the Time" (http://votetruth08.com/index.php/learn/mckinney-messages).

"The stimulus bill demonstrates how 'bipartisan' means the damage caused by two-party politics, and how 'moderate' means too beholden to corporate demands to effect real change," said Mark Dunlea, former chair of the Green Party of New York State. "It's the Rahm Emanuel ideology -- the chief function of Democrats is to capitulate to Republicans and corporate campaign contributors." (Mr. Emanuel, the White House Chief of Staff, has led negotiations on the stimulus bill.)

"If bailout and stimulus money went directly to threatened homeowners, both homeowners and the banks would benefit," said Mr. Dunlea. "The result of the stimulus will probably be all too similar to last year's taxpayer-funded $700 billion bailout for the financial industry, which passed with support from both Obama and McCain, with no conditions on how the money was spent. It'll mostly wind up in the bank accounts of a few wealthy people while doing little to jumpstart the economy, create or save jobs, or provide financial security for working Americans."


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193

Tally of Green election victories http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/election-results.html
Green candidate news http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/candidate-news.php
Green candidate database for 2008 and other campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
Green Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
Green Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
Green Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-elections

The Green Party celebrated Inauguration Day with a look at what the 'First 100 Days' of a Green presidential administration would look like

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Monday, January 19, 2009

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org

Video clips and short essays from Green Party leaders and candidates: http://www.gp.org/first100


WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party has asked Green leaders from all over the US to tell America what a Green President of the United States would do during the 'First 100 Days' of his or her administration.

Green candidates and members of the Green Party's Speakers Bureau (http://www.gp.org/speakers) submitted video clips and short essays to describe what actions Greens would take do if elected to the White House and what Green steps President Obama should take to resolve the nation's problems.

"This is our Inauguration Day gift to Barack Obama and to America. We celebrate the landmark election of America's first African American president, but we're worried that Barack Obama will retreat from his promises of change, especially given some of his Cabinet appointments. That's why we've collected these recommendations from prominent Green Party members -- to support vital change," said Sanda Everett, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States.

Readers and viewers are encouraged to post their comments in responses to the videos and essays. More 'First 100 Days' videos and essays will be added to the site in the coming weeks.

FIRST 100 DAYS of a Green Presidential Administration
http://www.gp.org/first100/

VIDEO CLIPS

Cynthia McKinney, 2008 Green candidate for President of the United States
Palestine, Israel, and Ms. McKinney's recent trip on a relief boat destined for Gaza
http://www.gp.org/first100/?p=93
http://www.vimeo.com/2861110

This clip is also posted on the Green Party's home page, http://www.gp.org
See also 'Cynthia McKinney on Gaza': http://www.gp.org/cynthia/index.shtml

Pete Van, Jr., 2006 Green Party Candidate for the Michigan State House of Representatives/District 88 (Allegan County)
The Economy: The First 100 Days of my administration, will leave many people green with envy
http://www.gp.org/first100/?p=4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3-GAYaP8PM

Laura Wells, 2002 and 2006 Green Party candidate for State Controller, California
To understand what is happening in Washington, follow the money
http://www.gp.org/first100/?p=22
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=batTYrLqsqw

SHORT ESSAYS

Brian Czech, Ph.D. ecologist and Certified Wildlife Biologist; President, Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy
The First Hundred Days: A Precedent for the Next Hundred Years
http://www.gp.org/first100/?p=12

Morgen D’Arc, Co-Founder, Co-Spokesperson and Former Co-Chair, National Women’s Caucus; Chair, Cumberland (Maine) County Green Party; 2002 Candidate for Cumberland County Register of Deeds
Women: Rights, Issues and Conditions. A Breakthrough Agenda
http://www.gp.org/first100/?p=101

Kathy Dopp, M.S. Mathematics, Executive Director, National Election Data Archive, Utah
Establish Public Oversight over Election Integrity
http://www.gp.org/first100/?p=17

Ron Forthofer, 2002 Green Party candidate for Governor of Colorado, 2000 candidate for Congress, Colorado
Peace in the Middle East
http://www.gp.org/first100/?p=9

Deeana Taylor, Co-Coordinator, Desert Greens Green Party of Utah, 2006 Green Party candidate for Salt Lake County Council
Single Payer Health Care
http://www.gp.org/first100/?p=48


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193

Tally of Green election victories http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/election-results.html
Green candidate news http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/candidate-news.php
Green candidate database for 2008 and other campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
Green Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
Green Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
Green Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-elections

Feb 9th: Meeting and Officer Elections

Our next meeting will be Thursday February 9th, from 7pm-9pm at the GAGV on the 5th floor of The Rochester Auditorium Center, 875 E.Main St at the corner of Prince St.

The Green Party of Monroe County will be electing new officers. We are currently looking for residents of Monroe County that are registered to vote as members of the Green Party to run for the following positions:



Chair
The Chair shall be responsible for filing all required notices with the State and County Board of Elections, except those that have to do with financial matters, or that by law or by party by-laws or rules are required to be filed by some other officer. The Chair shall be the Presiding Officer of the Green Party of Monroe County.


Notetaker
The Notetaker is responsible for taking minutes of membership and steering committee meetings for distribution to the general membership and steering committee.


Treasurer
The Treasurer shall be responsible for the collection of funds for party purposes and for the County Organization. The Treasurer shall see that such funds are properly disbursed, and shall file with the proper offices and with the board of elections all financial reports and statements required by law. In general, the Treasurer shall perform the duties ordinarily performed by the Treasurer of a political party, and such other duties relating to financial matters as the Green Party of Monroe County may require.


Committee Chair
Electoral Committee: this committee will interface with representatives from the national and statewide party to update local party, assist local candidates in managing campaigns and recruit future candidates.


Committee Chair
Issues Committee: this committee is responsible for keeping abreast of local, state and national issues consistent with party key values, party platform and progressive agenda. Key functions would include serving as liason to local organizations who actively pursue progressive issues and providing support to enable members to organize around specific local issues of interest to greens and the community.


Committee Chair
Public Relations/Media: the bulwark of any organization, the public relations committee would recruit new members, advertise the party, develop media strategy and provide general information about party events. The committee would also include greenline and the website.


Committee Chair
Fundraising: to develop and coordinate fundraising activities.


Self nominations are encouraged, please contact the Green Party of Monroe County if you are interested in holding one of these positions.

President Obama can either work to enact health care for all Americans or he can support insurance and HMO industry profits, say Greens

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Thursday, January 29, 2009

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org

Mandates and other market-based plans will not solve the health care crisis; Single-Payer (Medicare For All) makes health care a right for all Americans

Obama's plan for national computerization of medical records can only guarantee patients' privacy and security under Single-Payer

Green Party Speakers Bureau list of party activists available to speak on health care: http://gp.org/speakers/speakers-health-care.php


WASHINGTON, DC -- President Obama has a choice -- he can either work for universal health care or he can satisfy the demands of insurance industry lobbies for continued private profit, said Green Party leaders today.

Greens, in demanding a Single-Payer national health care program (also called Medicare For All), said that there was no possibility of guaranteed quality health care for every American under a market-based system. Rep. John Conyers' (D-Mich.) bill for Single-Payer (HR 676, http://thomas.loc.gov/home/gpoxmlc110/h676_ih.xml) has strong Green Party support, although many Greens also hope to see complementary medicine brought under the Single-Payer umbrella.

"President Obama needs to follow his own campaign rhetoric and listen to the American people. In many of his own town hall meetings, the demand for Single-Payer has been so strong that [Secretary of Health and Human Services] Tom Daschle has asked to meet with Single-Payer groups. Single-Payer will make health care a human right -- one more important than the 'right' of insurance companies to make a profit off our need for health care," said said Mark Dunlea, New York Green, member of the Hunger Action Network of New York State, and author of "Can Incrementalism Be the Path to Universal Health Care?" (http://www.hungeractionnys.org/increment.html)

Green Party leaders expressed special support for pro-Single-Payer organizations and coalitions that have shifted into high gear under the new presidential administration, including the Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care, Healthcare-NOW, California Nurses Association, and Physicians for a National Health Program.

"President Obama's plan to have all medical records computerized within five years has made Single-Payer even more urgent. The plan will create an enormous risk for patients' privacy and security, as private health insurers try to weaken privacy safeguards and gain access to records in an effort to exclude people from coverage, or make coverage more expensive for clients they consider high-risk. HMOs and insurance firms make their profits by cherry-picking patients who are less costly to insure and by limiting treatment for those with coverage, so they use medical records to determine who will be a financial risk. The only way to guarantee both protection from predatory corporations and access to health care for all Americans is to enact a Single-Payer program," said Jill Bussiere, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States.

Greens have argued that enactment of a Single-Payer program would boost the ailing US economy and provide relief for businesses large and small, since it would cancel the high expense and administrative burden of employer-based health care benefits (http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=158). Single-Payer would lower the cost of health care for all middle- and low-income Americans, since the amount of taxes necessary to sustain Single-Payer would be far less than the cost of private coverage and medical fees. No American will go bankrupt because of a medical emergency in a Single-Payer system.

President Obama, despite supporting Single-Payer earlier in his political career, now favors a health care plan that would maintain private insurance industry control over Americans' health care. Profit-making insurance, HMO, and pharmaceutical lobbies have a grip on most Democratic and Republican members of Congress because of campaign contributions and the influence of lobbyists.

Montana Senator Max Baucus, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, wants the Single-Payer option "off the table" in the discussion on health care reform and, along with other Democrats, has proposed a market-based plan that would achieve universal coverage by requiring Americans who lack health coverage to purchase insurance from a private company.

"There will be no meaningful improvement in our nation's health care system or any chance of universal care until Single-Payer is enacted and profit-making insurance companies no longer decree who gets care and what kind of care," said Jody Grage, treasurer of the Green Party of the United States. "Any 'mandate' reform plan that leaves private insurers in charge will either result in inadequate care or in huge taxpayer-funded subsidies to cover the loss of profits for HMOs and insurance companies compelled to cover people these companies would otherwise exclude. Single-Payer will cover all Americans regardless of age, income, or prior medical condition, and by eliminating the need for private insurers and the high profit rate they demand."

"Even state based Single-Payer initiatives are being undermined by the president's insurance-based proposal. Here in Pennsylvania we have a strong bill, with the funding included and a governor who has agreed to sign the legislation if passed (http://www.healthcare4allpa.org). Yet the Healthcare for All Now campaign, which supports the Obama plan, is trying to give the illusion of change, while maintaining the inefficient, exploitative insurance model. It amounts to a waste of tax dollars to provide more government money to insurance companies," said Carl Romanelli, 2006 Pennsylvania Green candidate for the US Senate.

Read "An International Perspective on Health Care Reform" by Connecticut Green Party member John R. Battista, MD (http://www.gp.org/first100/?p=119), published on the Green Party's web site as part of "The First 100 Days: What Would a Green Administration Look Like?" (http://www.gp.org/first100)

For a comparison of mandate plans and Single-Payer , see "Talking Points: Why the mandate plans won't work, and why Single-Payer 'Medicare for All' is what we need" by Len Rodberg, PhD, published by Physicians for a National Health Program (http://www.pnhp.org/news/2008/december/talking_points_why_.php).

Green Party information page on Single-Payer: http://www.gp.org/organize/sicko.html



MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193

Tally of Green election victories http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/election-results.html
Green candidate news http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/candidate-news.php
Green candidate database for 2008 and other campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
Green Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
Green Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
Green Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-elections

"The First 100 Days: What Would a Green Administration Look Like?" http://www.gp.org/first100/