Green Party of Monroe County

GP ADVISORY State of the Union + Green pres. candidates + live online viewer chat on Green Party Livestream, Jan. 24‏

2012-01-25T06:22:00.000-05:00

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

For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, January 24, 2012


Green presidential candidates Jill Stein and Kent Mesplay will comment
on Obama's State of the Union on the Green Party's Livestream channel,
Tuesday, Jan. 24

• Viewers can participate in the chat and phone in with questions
during the broadcast

• When: Tuesday, Jan. 24, 9:00 pm ET until 11:30 pm

• Where: http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus

• Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/events/338640229488962/


WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party invites the public to participate in
an online chat during President Obama's 2012 State of the Union speech
on Tuesday, Jan. 24, on the Green Party's Livestream channel
(http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus).

The State of the Union broadcast, which begins at 9:00 pm ET, will be
aired on the Livestream page. A chat box will for the discussion will
be on the screen next to the live State of the Union video.

Green Party presidential candidates (http://www.mesplay.org) and Jill
Stein (http://www.jillstein.org) will hold an online discussion
immediately following the State of the Union. Viewers are encouraged
to contribute questions for the candidates, online by text chat or by
phone.

Dr. Mesplay and Dr. Stein will be on the Livestream broadcast via
remote webcam on Skype. Craig Seeman and Starlene Rankin are producing
the show and will serve as hosts.

Green Parties in several states and the District of Columbia will hold
presidential primary elections in 2012 similar to the Democratic and
Republican primaries.

The Green Party of the United States will hold its 2012 Presidential
Nominating Convention in Baltimore, Maryland, July 12 to 15. The party
is preparing a credentialing page for members of the media who plan to
attend.

Convention web site: http://www.gpconvention2012.com
Media advisory on the convention: http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=464


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191
• Green candidate database and campaign information:
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
• Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php
• Green Papers http://www.greenpapers.net
• Google+ http://www.gp.org/google
• Twitter http://twitter.com/gpus
• Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
• GP-TV Twitter page http://www.gp.org/twitter
• Facebook page http://www.gp.org/facebook

2012 Green Party Presidential Nominating Convention
July 12-15, 2012 in Baltimore, Md.
http://www.gpconvention2012.com

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of
the United States
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

GP ADVISORY Green Party live online chat during State of the Union will feature Green pres. candidates, Jan. 24‏

2012-01-17T20:56:00.000-05:00

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

For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, January 17, 2012


The Green Party will host a live online chat during President Obama's
2012 State of the Union address on Jan. 24

• The Livestream broadcast will feature Green presidential candidates
Jill Stein and Kent Mesplay; viewers can participate in the chat and
phone in with questions

• When: Tuesday, Jan. 24, 9:00 pm until 11:30 pm

• Where: http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus

• Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/events/338640229488962/


WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party presidential candidates will participate
in an online discussion immediately following President Obama's 2012
State of the Union speech on Tuesday, Jan. 24. During the show, to be
broadcast on the Green Party's Livestream channel
(http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus), viewers can call in with
questions for the candidates.

Viewers can also join in an online chat that will take place
simultaneously with the State of the Union broadcast, which will be
visible on the Livestream page. The public is invited to participate.

The two candidates competing for the Green presidential nomination are
Kent Mesplay (http://www.mesplay.org) and Jill Stein
(http://www.jillstein.org). Dr. Mesplay and Dr. Stein will be on the
Livestream broadcast via remote webcam. Craig Seeman and Starlene
Rankin are producing the show and will serve as hosts.

Green Parties in several states and the District of Columbia will hold
presidential primary elections in 2012 similar to the Democratic and
Republican primaries.

The Green Party of the United States will hold its 2012 Presidential
Nominating Convention in Baltimore, Maryland, July 12 to 15. The party
will set up a credentialing page for members of the media who plan to
attend.

Convention web site: http://www.gpconvention2012.com
Media advisory on the convention: http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=464


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191
• Green candidate database and campaign information:
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
• Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php
• Green Papers http://www.greenpapers.net
• Google+ https://plus.google.com/116812674914344319819/posts
• Twitter http://twitter.com/gpus
• Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
• GP-TV Twitter page: http://twitter.com/LivestreamGreen

2012 Green Party Presidential Nominating Convention
July 12-15, 2012 in Baltimore, Md.
http://www.gpconvention2012.com

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of
the United States
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog


~ END ~

GP RELEASE Green Party welcomes news of troop withdrawal from Iraq, urges further steps for peace‏

2011-12-19T06:03:00.002-05:00

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES

http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Monday, December 19, 2011

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


Green Party welcomes news of troop withdrawal from Iraq, urges further
steps for peace


WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders welcomed the news of the
withdrawal of US troops from Iraq by the end of December, calling the
presidential order more than eight years overdue.  Greens urged
President Obama to let the troops come home to be with their families
for the holiday, rather than stationed or redeployed elsewhere.

"We're glad that President Obama is calling all US military personnel
home from Iraq and has ignored Republican demands to prolong the
occupation.  The President is honoring a binding Status of Forces
Agreement between the United States and Iraq that President Bush
signed.  The US must make every effort now to help US troops return to
their civilian lives, especially those who've been wounded or have
suffered psychological trauma because of the war.  We owe the troops a
great debt and an apology for sending them to fight in a war based on
deception and cooked intelligence," said Carl Romanelli, Pennsylvania
Green and member of the party's International Committee
(http://www.gp.org/committees/intl).

Greens noted that the withdrawal is the result of the Iraqi
government's insistence and that the Obama Administration was
initially reluctant to comply with the agreement
(http://www.nationaljournal.com/u-s-troop-withdrawal-motivated-by-iraqi-insistence-not-u-s-choice-20111021).

The Green Party opposed the invasion of Iraq since its inception in
March 2003 and demanded withdrawal afterwards.  Greens blamed both
Democrats and Republicans for transferring congressional war powers to
the White House in Oct. 2002 despite uncertainty about WMD allegations
(later revealed to have been the product of manipulated intelligence),
forged evidence of nuclear weaponry, and implausible claims of
cooperation between Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda.

Greens participated in protests throughout the US against the Iraq
War, and -- unlike many Democrats who claimed to oppose the war --
continued to protest after President Obama's election.

The Green Party called on President Obama to take further steps to ensure peace:

• The Obama Administration must also withdraw remaining personnel from
private US security firms, whose presence in Iraq would constitute a
low-level military occupation. These include thousands of State
Department security contractors, despite the abuses and fraud in Iraq
by firms like KBR and Xe (formerly Blackwater), which are not subject
to the same restrictions and public scrutiny as US  military
personnel.  (See "Out of Iraq: What Will the War Service Industry Do
Now?" by Dina Rasor, Truthout, Oct. 26,
http://www.truth-out.org/out-iraq-what-will-war-service-industry-do-now/1319637699)

• The US owes Iraq billions of dollars in reparations for the loss of
hundreds of thousands of civilian lives, many more wounded and
displaced, and destruction of the country's infrastruction in an
unnecessary war.

• The US should cease pressing Iraq to transfer control over much of
the country's oil resources to US and UK energy companies, such as the
hydrocarbon law still stalled in the Iraqi Parliament.  The Iraqi
people have consistently opposed the deal and prefer that their
country's oil be developed and produced by Iraqi state-owned
companies.

• The Obama Administration must withdraw US troops from Afghanistan,
end air strikes in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Libya, Somalia, and other
countries, and cancel funding for Israel's military assaults on
Palestinians.  The continuing US military action in these countries
remains a threat to peace in the region.

• Congress must reduce the bloated military budget and reject the
Bush-Cheney-Obama policy of warfare for preemptive and aggressive
purposes, such as ousting other heads of state.  The cost of the Iraq
War for the US has surpassed three trillion dollars, an economic loss
that aggravated the current economic crisis.  The human cost includes
nearly 4,500 lost American lives and over 32,000 seriously wounded.
(More information: Costs of War, http://costsofwar.org)


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191
• Green candidate database and campaign information:
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
• Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
• Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php
• Green Papers http://www.greenpapers.net

2012 Green Party Presidential Nominating Convention
July 12-15, 2012 in Baltimore, Md.
http://www.gpconvention2012.com

Occupy America: Voices of Green Party Activists
http://www.gp.org/ows

Press conferences, forums, and other events at the Green Party's 2011
Annual National Meeting in Alfred, NY, broadcast and archived on the
Green Party's Livestream Channel
http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
• 2011 Annual National Meeting http://nygreenfest.org

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of
the United States (Summer 2011 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

RELEASE Greens elect party officers for the coming year

2011-12-13T23:11:00.001-05:00

Green Party of Monroe County
www.gpomc.org

For Immediate Release
December 13, 2011

Contacts:
Vinessa Buckland, Co-Chair, vinessadb@hotmail.com
Alex White, Co-Chair, alexwhiteforrochester@gmail.com

Greens elect party officers for the coming year

The Green Party of Monroe County has elected its party officers for the coming year at its end of year meeting on Monday night. Assembled Party members chose to re-elect co-Chair Vinessa Buckland, Secretary Drew Langdon, and Treasurer Michael Hendrick for another year’s term. The Party’s former mayoral and City Council candidate Alex White was chosen to succeed outgoing co-Chair Scott Brant.

“The Green Party had a very good year with several candidates running strong campaigns. We look forward to building upon this success and strengthening the party locally as we work to get Green initiatives implemented through activism in our communities. I look forward to helping the Green Party provide a real progressive voice to local politics in Monroe County,” stated Mr. White.

The Green Party of Monroe County is a local political party committed to furthering the values of grassroots democracy, social justice, ecological wisdom, nonviolence, decentralization, community-based economics, feminism, personal and global responsibility, and future-focused sustainability.

GP RELEASE Greens urge Obama to condemn police brutality against Occupy protesters‏

2011-12-12T16:40:00.003-05:00

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES

http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Monday, December 12, 2011

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


Greens urge President Obama to condemn police brutality against Occupy
protesters


WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders called for strong national
condemnation of the brutal actions of police forces in their treatment
of Occupy Movement protesters in several cities.

"We encourage political leaders, beginning with President Obama, to
express revulsion and anger at the violent and destructive behavior of
police in their handling of nonviolent protesters, and to take
whatever action they can to prevent such brutality.  We urge all
Americans to understand that police forces that use military tactics
and are unaccountable for their actions represent a threat to our
freedoms," said Howie Hawkins, co-chair of the Green Party of New York
State.

Greens cited the use of pepper-spray, tear gas, batons, and other
weapons, as well as violent manhandling, handcuffs locked tight enough
to cause nerve damage, and other tactics that inflict severe pain and
injury on peaceful protesters.  Incidents like the use of pepper-spray
on the faces of sitting protesters by police at the University of
California, Davis constitute torture and deserve aggressive
investigation and prosecution, said Green leaders.

Greens also called for a probe of the alleged role of the FBI and
Homeland Security Department in the suppression of protest, which if
may implicate the Obama Administration in the police brutality
(http://www.justiceonline.org/commentary/occupy-crackdown-legal.html).

Greens have participated in Occupy demonstrations throughout the US,
in many cases helping to organize protests and speaking at rallies.

"While protesters face shocking brutality in some cities, the Wall
Street executives who committed crimes to enrich themselves and
wrecked the US economy have gone unpunished.  Peddling adjustable-rate
subprime mortgages to borrowers unlikely to be able to pay, bundling
these high-risk loans into toxic securities, assigning the securities
top ratings -- these are acts of malfeasance and fraud.  It's shameful
that nonviolent protesters face billy clubs, pepper spray, tear gas,
and jail, while the Wall Street perpetrators get to enjoy their
bailouts and bonuses with impunity.  President Obama has expressed
sympathy for the Occupy Wall Street protesters, but his administration
still acts like it's on the side of the criminal plutocrats," said
Tamar Yager, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States.

Green candidates, including contenders for the Green presidential
nomination, have been outspoken in their support for and participation
in Occupy events.  Presidential candidate Jill Stein has remained
active in Occupy Boston
(http://www.jillstein.org/what_it_means_to_support_occupy_wall_street_movement)
and initiated the "First Amendment Pledge of Non-Cooperation with
Police Repression"
(http://www.jillstein.org/sign_the_first_amendment_pledge).  Kent
Mesplay (http://www.mesplay.org) is also running for the Green
nomination; more candidates may declare soon.

Greens compared the more brutal actions by police with the atrocious
treatment of Civil Rights Movement participants by law enforcement,
under orders from notorious public officials, police chiefs, and
sheriffs like Birmingham Public Safety Commissioner Bull Connor during
the 1950s and 1960s, and noted that, in too many places, such abuses
have continued against Blacks, Latinos, and others up to the present
time, usually outside of the media spotlight.

"The Occupy Movement has pulled a culture of violence in many police
departments out into the open.  The same policy of unaccountability is
behind the recent Defense Authorization bill passed in the US Senate
that would allow our military to detain US citizens on American soil
indefinitely on suspicion of terrorism, without constitutionally
guaranteed due process and habeas corpus.  If such trends continue
without interruption, we'll soon find ourselves living in a police
state," said Leenie Halbert, co-chair of the Green Party of the United
States.

"Police officers themselves, like other public employees, are bearing
the burden of reductions in benefits, job security, and workers'
rights in the public sector, as part of the 'austerity' that Americans
are being asked to tolerate because of Wall Street's criminal actions.
They should be on the side of the protesters," said Ms. Halbert.

See also:

Green Party press releases

• "As some Occupy Movement participants turn to electoral activism,
the Green Party send them an invitation" (Nov. 15, 2011)
http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=460

• "Green Party calls for a nationwide moratorium on home foreclosures"
(Nov. 3, 2011)
http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=458

• "Green Party to Democratic apologists: The message of the Wall
Street protests is not 'Vote Democrat'" (Oct. 9, 2011)
http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=453

"My Occupy LA Arrest"
By Patrick Meighan, Dec. 6, 2011
http://myoccupylaarrest.blogspot.com/2011/12/my-occupy-la-arrest-by-patrick-meighan.html

"One Bay Area mayor WELCOMES Occupy protests to her city"
("At least one Bay Area mayor is actually welcoming the Occupy Wall
Street movement to her city: [Green] Richmond Mayor Gayle
McLaughlin.")
By Joe Garofoli, Politics Blog, San Francisco Chronicle, November 9, 2011
http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2011/11/09/one-bay-area-mayor-welcomes-occupy-protests-to-her-city/


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191
• Green candidate database and campaign information:
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
• Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
• Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php
• Green Papers http://www.greenpapers.net

2012 Green Party Presidential Nominating Convention
July 12-15, 2012 in Baltimore, Md.
http://www.gpconvention2012.com

Press conferences, forums, and other events at the Green Party's 2011
Annual National Meeting in Alfred, NY, broadcast and archived on the
Green Party's Livestream Channel
http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
• 2011 Annual National Meeting http://nygreenfest.org

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of
the United States (Summer 2011 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog


~ END ~

Green Party of NYS Slams Cuomo's Tax Cut for the Rich

2011-12-08T18:48:00.001-05:00

The Green Party of NY State slammed Gov. Cuomo and the State Legislature’s proposed tax bracket reshuffling as a major tax giveaway to the wealthiest New Yorkers.
The Green Party also called for seizing the assets of the “too big to fail” banks, breaking them up, and turning them into state and community owned banks oriented towards developing the economy for the public good.

“Cuomo’s plan is once-again a tax giveaway to his friends on Wall St. and in the 1% who donate to Democratic and Republican party campaigns.” said state party co-chair Howie Hawkins. ”Gov. Cuomo should explain why his regressive tax reform, which cuts taxes for the wealthiest should be adopted when it will actually cause a a multi-billion dollar budget deficit. Last year I ran on a platform of raising personal income tax rates to the progressive rates of the 1970s and collecting the stock transfer tax, and using that money to and provide full employment through a Green New Deal. It’s time to make the Wall St. criminals and the wealthy pay for the mess they created. If we followed the Green Party plan, we’d raise nearly $8 billion yearly from income taxes while cutting what most people pay, and collecting the $15 billion we get from the stock transfer tax would go a long way towards making Wall St. clean up the mess they created.
State party co-chair Howie Hawkins pointed out that a family making:

$50,000 a year will get less than $200 a year in tax cuts
$100,000 a year gets less than $400 a year in tax cuts (~ $1 per day)
$1,000,000 a year gets more than $20,000 a year in tax cuts, or $408 PER WEEK
$1.99 million a year gets more than $40,000 a year in tax cuts

“Wall Street got us into this mess, and they’ve proven that they can’t be trusted to get us out. It’s time for new solutions. Occupy Wall St. has begun to show us what a grassroots, democratically run society could look like – one that doesn’t include the exploitation of capitalism or politics dominated by the elite. It’s time to seize the “too big to fail” banks and turn them into a public good – a public utility - by transforming them into state and community, cooperatively-owned banks that can help finance our economic recovery and growth from the bottom up, instead of demanding austerity and tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. Wall St. and the financial industry wouldn’t be able to openly bribe officials with campaign contributions anymore. It would be a win-win for New York’s economy and politics. It’s abundantly clear, however, that Cuomo and the Legislature will never change – it’s time for us to Occupy New York State politics, and the Green Party is here to do just that, “stated state party co-chair Peter LaVenia.

GP ADVISORY Green Party chooses Baltimore for 2012 Presidential Nominating Convention‏

2011-12-02T06:02:00.001-05:00

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

For Immediate Release:
Thursday, December 1, 2011

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 Green Party chooses Baltimore, Md., for the 2012 Green
Presidential Nominating Convention

• Convention dates: July 12-15, 2012

• Convention web site: http://www.gpconvention2012.com

• Green Party 2012 Presidential Candidates Forum: Dec. 3, 7:30 -10 pm,
at Vermont Square United Methodist Church, 4410 South Budlong Avenue
(corner of Vernon, east of Normandie), Los Angeles, Calif. 90037. To
be livestreamed (http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus). Media
invited.  More information:
http://www.cagreens.org/ga/2011-12/prez-candidate-forum /
https://www.facebook.com/events/302578003094973/


WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party of the United States will hold its
2012 Presidential Nominating Convention in Baltimore, Maryland.  The
convention will take place July 12 to 15, 2012.

Delegates from state Green Parties and caucuses in the party's
National Committee voted in November to approve Baltimore as the
convention site (http://gp.org/cgi-bin/vote/irvdetail?pid=627).

The National Committee chose the site using ranked choice voting (also
called instant run-off voting; see http://www.fairvote.org), a voting
reform the party also recommends for single seat offices like governor
and mayor.

"The Maryland Green Party and Baltimore City Green Party are thrilled
to be hosting the 2012 Green Party national convention," said Brian
Bittner, co-chair of the Maryland Green Party (http://mdgreens.org)
and Baltimore resident.  "We want Charm City to be the place where the
next Green Party presidential nominee begins charming American voters
with their vision, principles, and potential to lead non-corporate
America."

So far, three candidates have formally declared their intention to
compete for the Green nomination, Kent Mesplay
(http://www.mesplay.org), Jill Stein (http://www.jillstein.org), and
Harley Mikkelson (http://harleymikkelson.com).  More candidates are
expected to announce soon.

"We intend to run an aggressive presidential campaign with our
nominee's name on every ballot line.  Given the frustration and anger
across the US over the bipartisan bailouts for Wall Street firms,
minimal assistance for Americans dealing with threatened and lost
homes, jobs, and economic security, and military aggression around the
world, we expect the Green presidential candidate to play a serious
role in 2012.  The Green Party offers a vision for America's future
that's much different from the agenda of the parties of war and Wall
Street," said Hillary Kane, co-chair of the Green Party's Annual
Meeting Committee and Pennsylvania delegate to the party's National
Committee.

The Green Party will announce more details about the convention in the
coming months.  The party will set up a credentialing page for members
of the media who plan to attend.

Past Green Party convention sites and nominees:

• 2000: Denver, Colorado; Ralph Nader

• 2004: Milwaukee, Wisconsin; David Cobb

• 2008: Chicago, Illinois; Cynthia McKinney

The Green Party's 2011 Annual National Meeting was held in Alfred, New York.


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191
• Green candidate database and campaign information:
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
• Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
• Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php
• Green Papers http://www.greenpapers.net

Press conferences, forums, and other events at the Green Party's 2011
Annual National Meeting in Alfred, NY, broadcast and archived on the
Green Party's Livestream Channel
http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
• 2011 Annual National Meeting http://nygreenfest.org

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of
the United States (Summer 2011 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

Six Green mayors sign letter from over 100 mayors opposing Keystone XL pipeline‏

2011-11-17T20:36:00.001-05:00

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES

http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Thursday, November 17, 2011

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


Six Green mayors sign on to letter from over 100 mayors opposing
Keystone XL tar sands pipeline

• Green Party Speakers Bureau: Green leaders available to speak on
energy policy http://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-energy.php

• Green Party Election Results for November 2011
Green Party Watch
http://www.greenpartywatch.org/2011/11/09/green-party-election-results-november-2011
Election Results Feed http://www.gp.org/elections/results-2011.php


WASHINGTON, DC -- Six Green mayors have signed on to a joint letter to
President Obama from more than 100 mayors expressing grave concerns
about the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

The mayors, representing communities across the US, voiced relief at
President Obama's decision to postpone the decision, as well as hope
that the permit for the pipeline will be rejected when it comes up for
review after the presidential election.

A summary of the letter, a link to the text, and a list of the mayors
can be found online here:
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/sclefkowitz/over_100_mayors_voice_concern.html

The Green mayors who signed the letter are Larry Bragman (Fairfax,
Calif.), Bruce Delgado (Marina, Calif.), David Doonan (Greenwich, NY),
Gayle McLaughlin (Richmond, Calif.), Jim Sullivan (Victory, NY), and
Jason West (New Paltz, NY).  (Mayor Bragman signed after the web site
was published.)

"The delay in the Keystone XL decision is a victory for all those who
protested and spoke out about the dangers of the pipeline," said David
Doonan.  "The small number of jobs created by the pipeline do not
justify the health risks of a pipeline carrying tar sands crude oil
from Canada to the Gulf.  We can create far more jobs through a
national public works program that includes conversion to safe, clean
energy technology.  Besides the Keystone XL pipeline, the Green Party
has called for a ban on hydrofracking, mountaintop removal mining, and
offshore oil drilling, all of which increase fossil fuel addiction and
represent serious public health risks."

Richmond, with a population of about 103,000, is the largest US city
with a Green mayor.  Mayor Gayle McLaughlin made news recently when
she enthusiastically welcomed Occupy protests to Richmond
(http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2011/11/09/one-bay-area-mayor-welcomes-occupy-protests-to-her-city).

Mayor Jason West made national news in 2003 when he solemnized
same-sex weddings as mayor in defiance of state law, drawing 19
misdemeanor counts (later dismissed) and a restraining order.
Same-sex marriage was legalized in New York in July, 2011.

See also:

Tar Sands Pipelines Safety Risks
National Resources Defense Council
http://www.nrdc.org/energy/tarsandssafetyrisks.asp

"Beyond Fossil Fuels"
By Cecile Lawrence, PhD, JD, New York Green Party candidate for US
Senate in 2010
Green Papers, January 25, 2011
http://www.greenpapers.net/?p=58


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191
• Green candidate database and campaign information:
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
• Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
• Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php
• Green Papers http://www.greenpapers.net

Press conferences, forums, and other events at the Green Party's 2011
Annual National Meeting in Alfred, NY, broadcast and archived on the
Green Party's Livestream Channel
http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
• 2011 Annual National Meeting http://nygreenfest.org

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of
the United States (Summer 2011 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

Green Party Decries Bloomberg's Eviction of Wall Street Protestors

2011-11-15T21:29:00.000-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ::: 11/15/2011

Contact:
Michael O'Neil, Green Party NYC
michael@greenpartynyc.org | 917-825-3562

Peter LaVenia, Co-Chair Green Party NY State
chair2@gpny.org | 518-495-8001

Eviction of Wall Street Occupation Exposes Mayor's Corporate Collusion, Says Green Party

NEW YORK--The Green Party continues to stand with the nationwide Occupation movement, in the face of the NYPD's raid on the Wall Street encampment in Zuccotti Park during the early hours of the morning.

As the NYPD violates a judge's restraining order allowing Occupiers back into Zuccotti Park with their tents and equipment, one thing remains clear: despite Mayor Michael Bloomberg's persistent reputation as an "independent" mayor, his actions today have irrevocably demonstrated his collusion with the 1% and corporations that have wrecked the economy and threaten the world with climate catastrophe.

"'Mayor One Percent' can personally install bike lanes from now until the end of his ill-gotten 3rd term, and he will still never live this down," said Michael O'Neil, member of the Green Party NYC Committee. "He is the NYC mayor who attempted to thwart the most dynamic, spirited movement for economic justice of our time. The 99% will not forget."

Peter LaVenia, Co-Chair of the Green Party New York State, sees the eviction as highlighting the need to break from corporate politics. "The actions of Bloomberg and other mayors around the country to protect the criminal enterprises of Wall Street illustrate that, whether Democrat, Republican, or independent, the 99% cannot afford politicians bound to corporate money. That is why Greens have always refused corporate donations and call for an electoral system where you don't have to be a billionaire, or in the pocket of one, to compete for office."

Greens have supported the Occupation movement in New York City and across the country with their resources and time, coordinating donations and assisting services such as laundry for the Zuccotti encampment. A Fordham University poll reported that more than one in ten Occupiers at Zuccotti Park identified as registered Greens.

"This is just getting started," said O'Neil, who marched in the Green Party contingent with Occupy Brooklyn this past Saturday, "we look forward to the Wall Street actions on the 17th and the strengthening of this movement everywhere."

###

As some Occupy Movement participants turn to electoral activism, the Green Party send them an invitation

2011-11-15T15:13:00.001-05:00

As some Occupy Movement participants turn to electoral activism, the Green Party send them an invitation

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

For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, November 15, 2011

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

Greens condemn orders for police to clear Occupy encampments in Oakland, California and New York's Zuccotti Park

Green Party Election Results for November 2011
Green Party Watch http://www.greenpartywatch.org/2011/11/09/green-party-election-results-november-2011
Election Results Feed http://www.gp.org/elections/results-2011.php

WASHINGTON, DC -- As some participants in the Occupy Movement across the US begin to turn towards involvement in elections, Green Party leaders are inviting them to run for office as Greens and to support Green candidates.

"The Green Party encourages those Occupiers who want to have an effect on the 2012 elections to help us build a permanent alternative party that represents the interests of We The People -- the 99 percent -- instead of banks, oil companies, arms manufacturers, insurance firms, and other powerful lobbies. The Green Party accepts no money from corporate PACs. Our platform reflects the values and demands of Occupy Wall Street," said Kent Mesplay, candidate for the Green Party's 2012 presidential nomination (http://www.mesplay.org).

Breaking News: Greens condemned the police clearance of the Occupy Oakland encampment and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's order for police to evict the Occupy Wall Street encampment at Zuccotti Park on November 15. New York Greens are offering assistance in the form of emergency housing, arrest support, and food and expressed hope that the court order obtained by the National Lawyers Guild would allow the encampment to continue. Greens noted that the clearances and other police actions in various cities will swell the November 17 Day of Action (http://occupywallst.org/action/november-17th). (See "Eviction of Wall Street Occupation Exposes Mayor's Corporate Collusion, Says NY Green Party," Green Party of New York State press release, Nov. 15, http://www.gp.org/press/pr-state.php?ID=459)

Occupy Wall Street in New York City and other Occupy protests have declared that they do not endorse any political party and that the demonstrations are not a venue for electioneering. The Green Party has respected and cooperated with this request (http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=453).

But many Occupiers have begun to embrace electoral participation as a strategy for challenging the corporate corruption and the erosion of democracy in the US (http://www.occupytheballot.org). Occupy Cincinnati demonstrators are working to establish their own party (http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_19279413 / http://www.occupationparty.org). Carl Mayer, public defender and long-time Ralph Nader/Green Party supporter, recently spoke before Occupy Wall Street in Zuccotti Park and expressed "his hopes of the OWS movement's becoming a viable third party in the future" (http://www.policymic.com/articles/2251/carl-mayer-speaks-at-zuccotti-park-says-ows-can-be-third-party).

"The Green Party, as an established national party, has laid a foundation for Occupy candidates to run for public office," said Budd Dickinson, secretary of the Green Party of the United States. "In many states, Greens have accomplished the difficult task of achieving ballot status, overcoming prohibitive rules enacted by Democratic and Republican politicians to hinder alternative parties and candidates. By allying themselves with the Green Party, by becoming the Green Party in some states and towns, Occupiers who wish to launch campaigns for office can take advantage of the infrastructure and experience we've been building for more than a decade."

In New York, the Green Party gained major-party status through Howie Hawkins' campaign for governor in 2010, fulfilling the state's difficult requirements and earning the Green Party of New York State its place on the 2012 ballot. New York Greens have been active participants in Occupy Wall Street since the protests began in September. (See "Hawkins Blasts Cuomo for Arrests at Occupy Albany," Nov. 14, http://www.web.gpnys.com/?p=11207)

"If the policy goals and legislative agenda of the Green Party and Occupy Movement participants who wish to pursue electoral activism are the same, there's no reason we should compete with each other in 2012. Nor do we want to see the Occupy Movement exploited by the Democratic Party and front groups like MoveOn.org or the American Dream movement, which seek to corral people sympathetic to the Occupy Movement into voting Democratic and reelecting Barack Obama. There is no hope for the Occupy agenda as long as the US is stuck in the two-party status quo. Elections aren't the only way to effect social change, but change must including replacing the corporate-money politicians who now hold public office. We appeal to those who support Occupy Wall Street -- help the Green Party emerge as a major party," said Audrey Clement, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States.

"Without Green Party candidates to vote for, the demands of movements like Occupy get ignored, because their votes are routinely taken for granted by Democratic politicians who know that progressive voters have nowhere else to take their votes," said David Doonan, Green Mayor of Greenwich, New York.

The Occupy Movement's demands, such as an end to the legal status of corporations as 'persons', a halt to home foreclosures in the wake of the Subprime Mortgage Crisis, rejection of an austerity budget that burdens working people and the poor, requiring corporations and the wealthy to pay their fair share in taxes, a ban on hydrofracking, and withdrawal of all US military forces from Afghanistan and Iraq (including private contractors, which President Obama intends to keep in Iraq after 2011) reflect the Green Party's positions.

The Green Party also supports Medicare For All (single-payer national health care) and rejects the Democratic health care bill passed in 2010, which requires Americans to subsidize the for-profit insurance industry through 'mandates' to purchase private coverage or pay a penalty. The party also supports a massive public works program to include millions of new green jobs in conservation, conversion to safe clean energy, expansion of public transportation, and other efforts to curb the advance of global climate change.

The Green Party's goals are summarized in the 'Green New Deal' adopted by Green candidates across the US (http://www.greenpartywatch.org/2010/08/11/62-green-candidates-endorse-green-new-deal/). The Green Party will nominate a presidential candidate at its 2012 national convention, at a site to be announced.

Greens have warned that the Occupy Movement and its agenda may be eclipsed by late spring 2012 as the media focus on the debate between the Democratic and Republican candidates for the White House.

"No one can pretend that either of the establishment parties -- the Democrats and Republicans -- represents the Occupy Movement in any way," said Jill Stein, candidate for the Green Party's 2012 presidential nomination (http://www.jillstein.org). "President Obama campaigned in 2008 as the candidate of change, but after taking office he simply continued the pro-war and pro-Wall Street policies of the Bush Administration, with troop surges and bank bailouts and attacks on social programs under the guise of deficit reduction. We need to create eight times more jobs than are promised by his inadequate 'jobs bill' and we need to stop his attempts to create job-destroying trade pacts with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. I'm glad he backed down from his climate-destroying threat to approve the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada, but we know that without a long-term political pressure, schemes to exhaust the tar sands into the atmosphere will be back on the table. This is the time for a principled opposition party to emerge and give an effective voice to all those who are suffering under the current Republican/Democratic doctrines. Greens and OWS together are a formidable force to take our democracy back."

See also:

"Green Party calls for a nationwide moratorium on home foreclosures"
Green Party press release, November 3, 2011
http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=458

"Occupy Wall Street looks ahead to 2012"
By Justin Elliott, Salon.com, November 11, 2011
http://www.salon.com/2011/11/11/occupy_wall_street_looks_ahead_to_2012/singleton/

"One Bay Area mayor WELCOMES Occupy protests to her city"
("At least one Bay Area mayor is actually welcoming the Occupy Wall Street movement to her city: [Green] Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin.")
By Joe Garofoli, Politics Blog, San Francisco Chronicle, November 9, 2011
http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2011/11/09/one-bay-area-mayor-welcomes-occupy-protests-to-her-city/

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191
Green candidate database and campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php
Green Papers http://www.greenpapers.net

Press conferences, forums, and other events at the Green Party's 2011 Annual National Meeting in Alfred, NY, broadcast and archived on the Green Party's Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
2011 Annual National Meeting http://nygreenfest.org

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States (Summer 2011 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

GP RELEASE Green Party urges nationwide halt on home foreclosures

2011-11-06T19:55:00.003-05:00

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES

http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Thursday, November 3, 2011

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


Green Party calls for a nationwide moratorium on home foreclosures

• Greens urge Obama, Congress to halt further bank foreclosures: Wall
Street firms should suffer 'austerity' for the economic crisis they
caused, not the American people

• Green Party Speakers Bureau: Green leaders available to speak on
economics: http://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-economic-justice.php


WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party of the United States called for an
immediate nationwide moratorium on foreclosures and urged President
Obama and Congress to take steps to halt further actions by banks to
foreclose on the homes of Americans in the continuing economic
recession.

"An order barring lenders from evicting people from their homes would
be a powerful first step towards restoring financial stability and
easing the fears of middle- and low-income working Americans," said
John Eder, Green candidate for Mayor of Portland, Maine
(http://www.johneder.org) and former State Representative in Maine.
"The economy might be thriving again for the one percent, but for most
Americans, the Subprime Mortgage Crisis and 2008 recession are not
over.  Millions of families face the loss of their homes, millions are
without a job or only semi-employed, millions have no health coverage
or inadequate coverage."

Green Party candidate Cheri Honkala, running for Sheriff of
Philadelphia in the 2011 election, has pledged not to cooperate with
banks attempting to evict residents from their homes
(http://www.cherihonkala.com).  Ms. Honkala is a long-time housing
activist and founder of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union.

Victims of the subprime scam and Americans facing the loss of their
homes deserve assistance instead of eviction (Green Party Platform on
housing: http://www.gp.org/committees/platform/2010/social-justice.php#1002699).
The suspension on foreclosures should continue at least until a
determination can be made about which would-be homeowners were offered
subprime mortgages by banks with insufficient regard for the ability
of the borrower to make good on payments or get refinancing.

Greens across the US are participating in Occupy movements against the
greed, recklessness, criminality, and unchecked political power of
banks, Wall Street firms, and other corporate elites.

Green Party leaders said that major banks and other financial
institutions made billions of dollars by defrauding people who were
unlikely to make good on payments into taking out adjustable-rate
mortgages, pooling the high-risk mortgages into collateralized debt
obligations (CDOs), giving the toxic securities high ratings, and
taking taxpayer-funded bailouts when the house of cards collapsed.
The banks then began to foreclose on homes, often filing fraudulent
paperwork for eviction of families.

Democratic and Republican politicians, including Presidents Clinton
and Bush, supported the deregulation that made these actions possible
and presided over the failure of regulatory agencies to use existing
laws against the abuses.  President Clinton played signed the
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (repealing the Glass-Steagall Act) and the
Commodity Futures Modernization Act, which deregulated derivatives,
CDOs, credit default swaps, and other complex securities, both of
which helped trigger the crisis.

"If the federal government can bail out Wall Street firms that caused
the crisis, it can act now to protect Americans faced with the loss of
their homes," said Terry Baum, Green candidate for Mayor of San
Francisco (http://www.terryjoanbaum.com).  "When Democratic and
Republican politicians talk about austerity, funding cuts for social
services, plans to slash Social Security and Medicare, and similar
steps to fix the economy, what they mean is that working people must
suffer for the irresponsibility and crimes of Wall Street.  As the
SEC's slap on the wrist penalty for Citigroup's sale of toxic
mortgage-backed securities proves, this austerity is one-sided.  CEOs
and other top staff whose behavior caused the meltdown continue to
rake in millions in salaries and bonuses."  (See "Judge questions SEC
settlement with Citigroup," The Washington Post, Oct. 27,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/judge-questions-sec-settlement-with-citigroup/2011/10/27/gIQAe2D3MM_story.html)

Greens said that President Obama, despite his expressions of sympathy
for people facing lost homes and jobs, remains on the side of Wall
Street.  Recent news stories confirm that he is seeking and receiving
fat campaign checks from corporate contributors
(http://october2011.org/blogs/kevin-zeese/era-occupy-wall-street-obama-relies-wall-street-fund-his-re-election).
Mr. Obama received more financial industry contributions than any
politician in US history in 2008.  During this campign, he endorsed
President Bush's bailout for Wall Street.  After taking office, he
stacked his administration with Wall Street insiders like Treasury
Secretary Timothy Geithner, economics advisor Larry Summers, and Chief
of Staff Billy Daley.

"President Obama has offered window dressing instead of relief for
Americans hurt by the crisis.  He won't risk offending the banks by
stopping the foreclosures -- especially in an election season in which
his campaign is desperate for stacks of campaign checks from the 'one
percent' contributors.  He won't consider making systematic changes in
how the financial industry operates, such as restoring Glass-Steagall
safeguards and breaking up the 'too big to fail' banks.  President
Obama's token steps toward change have been matched with real steps
backward -- the President's recent minimalist jobs proposal coincided
with his job-killing free-trade agreement with Korea, Colombia, and
Panama.  In contrast to the President's lip service about change,
Greens are calling for concrete solutions, starting with a moratorium
on foreclosures right now," said Mark Dunlea, former Chair of Green
Party of New York State and Executive Director of a statewide
anti-poverty organization in New York.

"Most Republican and Democratic politicians judge the US economy
according to Dow Jones, profit margins of top corporations, the GDP,
i.e., how much the rich are getting richer.  Greens judge the economy
by how many Americans have living-wage jobs with benefits, are safe in
their homes, enjoy financial security and good health care, are moving
out of poverty, and how well the environment is protected, now and for
future generations.  Those are the priorities of the secure green
economy we are committed to creating," said Mr. Dunlea.


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191
• Green candidate database and campaign information:
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
• Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
• Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php
• Green Papers http://www.greenpapers.net

"Why inequality in America is even worse than you thought: A new study
shows economic and social conditions in the U.S. rank near the bottom
of the developed nations"
By Justin Elliott, Salon.com, October 29, 2011
http://www.salon.com/2011/10/29/why_inequality_in_america_is_even_worse_than_you_thought/

"Cheat Sheet: What’s Happened to the Big Players in the Financial Crisis"
By Braden Goyette, ProPublica, October 26, 2011
http://www.propublica.org/article/cheat-sheet-whats-happened-to-the-big-players-in-the-financial-crisis

2011 Endorsements for Green Party Candidates
http://www.gp.org/candidates/endorsements-2011.php

Press conferences, forums, and other events at the Green Party's 2011
Annual National Meeting in Alfred, NY, broadcast and archived on the
Green Party's Livestream Channel
http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
• 2011 Annual National Meeting http://nygreenfest.org

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of
the United States (Summer 2011 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

GP RELEASE Green Party campaign news, more endorsements for Green candidates in 2011 races across the US

2011-10-28T05:37:00.003-05:00

http://www.gp.org/

For Immediate Release:
Thursday, October 27, 2011

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


Campaign news and more endorsements for Green Party candidates running
in the Nov. 8, 2011 general election

• List of endorsements for Green Party candidates:
http://www.gp.org/candidates/endorsements-2011.php

• Green Party elections and candidates
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml /
http://www.gp.org/elections/GOTV.php


WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party candidates have continued to receive
endorsements in local races across the US.

59 Greens will be on ballots in the November 8, 2011 general election.
Ten Greens have been elected to public office in elections held
earlier this year, out of 34 candidates who competed.

Green candidates in St. Paul, Minnesota, received several
endorsements. For the first time, St. Paul will use Ranked Choice
Voting (also called Instant Runofff Voting) in City Council elections,
which will increase the chances of a Green election victory.

• TakeAction Minnesota, a progressive grassroots coalition, has
endorsed Jim Ivey for Ward 2 (http://iveyforsaintpaul.org) and Bee
Kevin Xiong (http://xiongforsaintpaul.org) for Ward 6 in City Council
races.
http://www.takeactionminnesota.org/_assets/document/St._Paul_City_Council_Endorsements.pdf
http://iveyforsaintpaul.org/news/jim-ivey-endorsed-takeaction-mn

• United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1189 has also endorsed Mr.
Ivey and Mr. Xiong.
http://www.ufcw789.org/newsletter/vol2issue5.pdf
http://iveyforsaintpaul.org/news/united-food-and-commercial-workers-endorse-jim

• The St. Paul Area Association of Realtors has endorsed Mr. Xiong and
Johnny Howard, candidate for Ward 1 member of City Council
(http://www.johnnyhoward.org).

Josephine Okot has been endorsed by the Maine League of Young Voters
in her campaign for At-Large member of the Portland School Board in
Maine (http://josephineokot.blogspot.com).  "I am the candidate for
all voters concerned with improving our public schools and making the
real changes needed for our children. My time in Portland schools
prepared me for life and I want to make sure all of our students can
attend schools without fear of bullying, have caring mentors who can
prepare them for life after graduation and can get to and from school
safely and quickly using as much public transportation as possible,"
said Ms. Okot. More on the endorsement:
http://josephineokot.blogspot.com/2011/10/josephine-receives-endorsement-from.html

Update: Terry O'Neill, national president of NOW, visited Philadelphia
for a press conference announcing NOW's endorsement of Cheri Honkala
for Sheriff of Philadelphia (video:
http://www.cherihonkala.com/?p=1121). Ms. Honkala is running on an
anti-eviction platform and, as sheriff, will not cooperate with banks
attempted to foreclose on homeowners (http://www.cherihonkala.com).
Video of Ms. Honkala at Occupy DC: http://www.cherihonkala.com/?p=1146
Video of Ms. Honkala at Occupy Wall Street: http://www.cherihonkala.com/?p=1134

More Green election news:

• The Illinois Green Party and congressional candidate Laurel Lambert
Schmidt (http://www.laurel4congress.org) filed a law suit on Monday,
October 24, against the State Board of Elections over the latter's
interpretation of the "established party" statute. The board
determined that the Green Party does not retain established party
status in areas of the state where Green candidates exceeded the
required 5% of the vote in 2010, claiming that since the old districts
no longer exist due to decennial redistricting, the 5% rule does not
apply in the new districts. Illinois Greens say that the board erred
in its decision and called the redistricting that led to the decision
an example of "sugarplum gerrymandering." More:
http://www.ilgp.org/news/press-releases/ilgp-schmidt-file-suit-against-state-board-of-elections

• New video clips:
Terry Baum, Green candidate for Mayor of San Francisco, at Occupy San
Francisco http://www.gp.org/video/display.php?ID=67 (campaign site:
http://terryjoanbaum.com)
Audrey Clement, Green candidate for Arlington, Virginia, County Board:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYIBqsv7zdE (campaign site:
http://www.audreyclement.org)

• "Howie Hawkins: Perennial power to the people" (on Mr. Hawkins'
campaign for 4th District Councilor in Syracuse, New York)
By Ken Jackson, Urban CNY, Eagle News, October 5, 2011
http://www.eaglenewsonline.com/news/2011/oct/07/howie-hawkins-perennial-power-people/
Campaign site: http://howiehawkins.com/2011

• "Green Party candidates pick up key endorsements in 2011 state and
local races across the US"
Green Party press release, October 20, 2011
http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=456

• Green Party Watch http://www.greenpartywatch.org


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191
• Green candidate database and campaign information:
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
• Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
• Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php
• Green Papers http://www.greenpapers.net

Press conferences, forums, and other events at the Green Party's 2011
Annual National Meeting in Alfred, NY, broadcast and archived on the
Green Party's Livestream Channel
http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
• 2011 Annual National Meeting http://nygreenfest.org

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of
the United States (Summer 2011 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

Jill Stein for President Announcement Remarks

2011-10-25T05:05:00.002-05:00

http://www.jillstein.org/jills_announcement_remarks

News Release: Stein Launches Campaign

Posted by Jill Stein on October 24, 2011

We stand here today at a time of great crisis for our nation – and a time of incredible potential for change. We face unprecedented, converging problems in our economy, our environment, human rights and the quest for peace. The American people are ready to meet these challenges, but many of us have, for good reason, lost confidence in the political establishment and its leaders in Washington.

These leaders have given us massive bailouts for Wall Street, layoffs on Main Street, declining wages for workers, wars for oil abroad, and attacks on Medicare and Social Security. They’re privatizing education, rolling back civil liberties and racial justice, plundering the environment, and driving us towards the calamity of climate change.

In response, the American people are standing up like we haven’t seen in decades. And they are providing the leadership that’s not coming from the political elite. People are realizing that We the People have to take charge, because the political parties that are serving the top 1% are not going to solve the problems the rest of us are facing. And we need people in Washington who refuse to be bought by lobbyist money and for whom change is not just a slogan.

My name is Jill Stein. And all this is why I’m here today to announce my candidacy for President of the United States.

I’m running because America deserves a new deal – a Green New Deal that provides a secure future for We the People and the planet we depend on. Here are five key pieces to the Green New Deal that we must achieve and can achieve, with your support:

First we can end unemployment in America now. It’s not only a crisis that hurts families and communities. It’s also a drag on our economy. Like FDR’s New Deal that helped us out of the Great Depression – the Green New Deal will directly create jobs. It will put 25 million people back to work, end the Bush/Obama recession and jump start the Green economy of the 21st century. The jobs it creates will build the infrastructure for a stable, renewable energy economy. This will provide real national security by making wars for oil obsolete. It will ensure that our energy dollars create jobs right here in America. It will build public transportation, clean manufacturing and sustainable agriculture. Ending unemployment through the Green New Deal is a triple win for people, the economy and the environment.

Second, it’s time for the United States, the richest country in the world, to catch up with the rest of the developed nations and provide health care for everyone as a human right. We can do this through a Medicare for all system that will not only provide quality health care - it will save trillions by streamlining the massive health insurance bureaucracy and ending runaway medical inflation.

Third, we can forgive the crushing student debt burden and liberate an entire generation of young people who are being turned into indentured servants. And we can provide tuition-free education from pre-kindergarten through college - an investment in our future that will pay off enormously.

Fourth, we can establish an immediate moratorium on home foreclosures. We can stop predatory banks from throwing families out of their homes, and we can require these banks to adjust outstanding balances to reflect current market value. The banks – not just homeowners – need to share the impact of the banks’ own fraud and abuse that started the foreclosure crisis in the first place.

Fifth, we can bring the troops – including the private security contractors - safely home now from Iraq and Afghanistan. That allows us to redirect the trillions of dollars being spent on needless wars and the bloated military back into urgent human needs here at home.

By entering into the Presidential dialogue, we will force real issues into the debate, and build the movement for all the critical solutions that the Wall Street politicians are trying to keep off the table. We’ll give people a choice and a voice in this election and enable them to go to the polls and vote to take their government back – and get it working for We the People again.

I’d like to say a few words as a mother and a doctor, because it’s from that perspective that I first became involved in the political process about 20 years ago. And it’s that perspective that keeps me in it.

As a doctor, I saw that our broken health care system was desperately failing the people who need it. As a mother, I was especially concerned about the new disease epidemics descending on our children – the rising tide of obesity and diabetes, asthma, cancer, learning disabilities and autism. As a practicing physician, I became impatient with dispensing pills in the clinic and then sending people back out to the things that were making them sick - the air pollution, toxic chemicals, community violence, degraded nutrition, car-centered transportation and poverty. I thought if only our elected officials knew how many human tragedies could be averted by fixing these things, how much money we could save by preventing costly diseases – I thought surely they would do something.

So I spent years working to persuade elected officials to act. Slowly I realized that in order to persuade elected officials, you need to shower them not with information, not with heartfelt human concerns and cost saving solutions, but rather with bundles of big campaign checks. That was my wake up call that if we want to prevent needless harm to our children, if we want to get the health care we need, or the education or the jobs – we need to first fix the broken political system.

Twenty years later, as a mother and a doctor, I see that our kids are still struggling – not only with high rates of diseases they shouldn’t have. But in every aspect of life – struggling for decent schools, to stay safe on the streets, to afford a college education, to get a job and to get out of debt. And they’re losing the battle on every front.

People ask me why I keep fighting political battles in a rigged system. The answer is simple. I keep fighting because when it comes to our children, mothers don’t give up.

Young people today haven’t given up – and they’re the ones really carrying the burden of this rigged system. If they’re not giving up, we shouldn’t either.

In fact, young people are not only not giving up, they’re standing up like never before - – as we see so clearly in Zuccotti Square and Freedom Square and Grant Park and Dewey Square and hundreds of other Occupy encampments around the country. And just like in the civil rights movement, when the young people stand up, the nation changes forever. If more of us take a lesson from them, we’re going to be an unstoppable force. That’s why I’m here today asking you to be a part of our campaign. Because we need to bring the integrity and vision of everyday people into creating a future that works for all of us. Let’s open up the doors on Capital Hill get the big money out, and let the people back in to guide our way forward – the schoolteachers and nurses, truck drivers and electricians, students and secretaries, the postal workers and factory workers, scientists, farmers, musicians and pharmacists. The people who repair and teach and cook and heal, and do honest work.

When the people do the governing – not the lobbyists and Wall Street executives – then we’ll have a government we can trust. Please go to jillstein.org to find out more about our people-powered campaign. And while you’re there, join us to become part of it. It’s time for a Green New Deal for America. A job for every worker. Health care, education and housing for every American. A livable planet for our children. On November 6 next year, let’s take our democracy back and build the secure green future we all deserve. Thank you!

Back Green Party LogoGreen Party candidates pick up key endorsements in 2011 state and local races across the US

2011-10-25T05:04:00.000-05:00

Green Party candidates pick up key endorsements in 2011 state and local races across the US

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

For Immediate Release:
Thursday, October 20, 2011

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

Two candidates so far will seek the Green presidential nomination

Green Party elections and candidates
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
http://www.gp.org/elections/GOTV.php

WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party candidates have received key endorsements in local races across the US in the 2011 election.

The Green Party now has two contenders for the presidential nomination, Dr. Kent Mesplay (http://www.mesplay.org) and Dr. Jill Stein, who will make her formal declaration in Boston, Massachusetts, on Monday, October 24 (http://www.jillstein.org). The nomination will take place at the Green Party's 2012 national convention next summer, details to be announced.

On the ballot in the November 8, 2011 general election:

In a press conference on October 1, the Philadelphia chapter of NOW announced its endorsement of Cheri Honkala for Sheriff of Philadelphia (video: http://www.cherihonkala.com/?p=1121). Ms. Honkala is running on an anti-eviction platform and, as sheriff, will not cooperate with banks attempted to foreclose on homeowners
(http://www.cherihonkala.com).
Video of Ms. Honkala at Occupy DC: http://www.cherihonkala.com/?p=1146
Video of Ms. Honkala at Occupy Wall Street: http://www.cherihonkala.com/?p=1134
Interview in Yes! Magazine
http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/the-no-evictions-sheriff

Rick Purcell, Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party candidate for Holyoke City Council in Ward 3, has been endorsed by United Auto Workers (http://www.greenpartywatch.org/2011/10/07/uaw-endorses-green-for-city-council-in-holyoke-ma). This is the UAWâ€™s second recent endorsement of a Green in Massachusetts, after its endorsement of Mark Miller for State Representative.
More information: http://www.facebook.com/RickPurcellForHolyoke

The Marin Independent Journal has endorsed Larry Bragman (incumbent) and Ryan O'Neil for Fairfax Town Council (http://www.marinij.com/opinion/ci_19083673). The five-member Town Council already has a Green majority.
More information, videos: http://www.bragmanforfairfax.com
Video: Mayor Larry Bragman On What Tea Partiers can Gain from Greens
http://vimeo.com/30821248

Howie Hawkins has been endorsed by UNITE HERE Local 150 and the Greater Syracuse Labor Council in his campaign for Common Councillor in Syracuse, New York (http://www.howiehawkins.com/2011). Mr. Hawkins was a featured speaker in the 'No Nukes Tour' of several southern states, October 3-10. More information: http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=451
Article: http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/oct/09/activist-encourages-opposition-to-nukes/

More Green campaign news and links:

"San Francisco Mayoral Candidate Questionnaire: Terry Baum," The Huffington Post, October 10, 2011
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/10/san-francisco-mayoral-candidate-terry-baum_n_1004231.html
Ms. Baum's campaign site, with videos: http://terryjoanbaum.com
Ms. Baum at Occupy San Francisco: http://terryjoanbaum.com/category/blog

"Vote Local! Vote Green! A Grassroots Campaign" by Jack Wagner, Free Independent Sun, October 5, 2011
http://freeindependentsun.com/republic/vote-local-vote-green-a-grassroots-campaign/

More campaign news at Green Party Watch http://www.greenpartywatch.org

Updates from October 18 special legislative elections:

Farheen Hakeem, running for Minnnesota State Senator in District 61 (http://www.farheenhakeem.org), placed second, ahead of the Republican. Ms. Hakeem had been endorsed by the Minnesota chapter of NOW and also by Socialist Alternative, the first time the latter group has ever endorsed a local candidate. Ms. Hakeem is a co-chair of the Green Party of the United States.

Mark Miller, running for Massachusetts State Representative in the 3rd District (Berkshire), also came in second, one or two percentage points behind the Democratic winner. Mr. Miller had been endorsed by Planned Parenthood and Mass Alliance, a statewide coalition for progressive political and advocacy organizations (http://massalliance.org). More information on Mr. Miller's campaign: http://markmiller2011.org/home.html

More on the results of both races:
http://www.ballot-access.org/2011/10/18/greens-almost-win-massachusetts-legislative-seat/

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191

Green candidate database and campaign information:
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php

Press conferences, forums, and other events at the Green Party's 2011 Annual National Meeting in Alfred, NY, broadcast and archived on the Green Party's Livestream Channel
http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
2011 Annual National Meeting http://nygreenfest.org

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States (Summer 2011 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

Deborah's Blog: Submitted For Your ConsiderationDeborah Magoneas "...

2011-10-09T14:37:00.000-05:00

Deborah's Blog: Submitted For Your ConsiderationDeborah Magoneas "...: Submitted For Your Consideration Deborah Magone as " Best New Artist" 54th Grammy Awards! ...

VIDEO RELEASE Green Party to pro-Democrat groups: The message of the Wall St. protests is not Vote Democrat‏

2011-10-09T13:39:00.001-05:00

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

For Immediate Release:
Sunday, October 9, 2011

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


Green Party to Democratic apologists: The message of the Wall Street
protests is not 'Vote Democrat'

• Video and Livestreaming:
Green Party Occupy America http://www.gp.org/campaigns/occupy-america/index.php
Cheri Honkala, Green candidate for Sheriff of Philadelphia, visits
Occupy Wall Street  http://vimeo.com/29997382
Cheri Honkala speaks at Occupy DC  http://www.vimeo.com/30200014
Interview with New York Green Mark Dunlea at Occupy Wall Street
http://www.gp.org/video/display.php?ID=59
Interview with Michael O'Neil, Secretary of the Green Party of New
York State, Occupy Wall Street
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orcQYUyfUyY


WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders sharply criticized Democratic
Party supporters online and in the media who have tried to turn the
ongoing Occupy Wall Street, Occupy America, and October 2011
demonstrations across America into an appeal to vote Democrat and
reelect President Obama in 2012.

Many of the protesters have expressed their disgust with two-party
politics (http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/wall-street-protesters-disgusted-parties-14687840)
and the influence of corporate money.  Organizers have rejected
attempts to shoehorn the movement into any party and assert that the
protesters come from diverse political persuasions.

Greens, who are participating in the protests and among the
organizers, have pointed to the Green Party's alternative vision for
America, as expressed in the Green New Deal
(http://www.greenpartywatch.org/2010/08/11/62-green-candidates-endorse-green-new-deal)
and on the party's web site (http://www.gp.org).

The Green Party offers a platform for peace, economic security for
working people, millions of new green jobs in conservation and clean
energy development, an end to fossil fuel addiction, real steps for
curbing global climate change and restoring the health of the planet,
universal health care (Medicare For All), and reforms that would limit
the power of corporations and restore the promise of participatory
democracy and fair elections.  Green candidates do not accept
corporate money.

• Mark Dunlea, co-founder of the Green Party of New York State: "The
Democratic Party does not speak for the Occupy Wall Street, Occupy
America, and October 2011 protesters.  No political party speaks for
the protesters, not even the Green Party.  The protesters speak for
themselves.  The Green Party has endorsed and joined the demos because
we share the same frustration and anger as the other protesters.
Greens are there because we bring alternative ideas like the Green New
Deal.  And we're there because we encourage the 99 percent -- We The
People -- to organize, end pro-corporate two-party rule, and replace
the politicians in public office who enabled Wall Street's theft of
America's future.  This can only happen through an independent
alliance with the same diversity we're seeing at the protests: labor
activists, Greens, progressives, anarchists, libertarians, nonvoters,
disappointed Democrats and Republicans, and all others who want real
change."

• Sanda Everette, co-coordinator of the Coordinating Committee of the
Green Party of California: "If pro-Democrat web sites and the media
believe that the message of the protests is 'Vote Democrat' and
'Reelect Obama' in 2012, they've missed the point.  The current
demonstrations became necessary after Election Day 2008, when too many
liberal, progressive, and antiwar Democrats declared 'Mission
Accomplished' with Barack Obama's election victory.  The Democratic
Party has proved itself as dedicated to Wall Street as the GOP.  We
look forward to more protests and direct action as the election season
unfolds, especially during the 2012 Democratic and Republican
conventions."

• Farheen Hakeem, Green candidate for the Minnesota State Senate in
District 61 (http://www.farheenhakeem.org) and co-chair of the Green
Party of the United States: "Say no to the parties of war and
corporate money!  That's our message to all Americans who are worried
about the dangerous direction that the two Titanic Parties have
steered our country.  If the field of presidential candidates is
limited to incumbent Obama and the Republican nominee after the
primaries, then everything the Wall Street protesters are talking
about will be erased from the election season debate and from the
media.  Hopes for a progressive challenge in the Democratic primaries
are unrealistic.  The challenger will inevitably be defeated by the
Obama campaign juggernaut, which is already loaded with corporate
campaign checks, and the challenger's supporters will find themselves
muzzled, with the expectation that they'll vote Democrat."

• Terry Baum, Green candidate for Mayor of San Francisco
(http://terryjoanbaum.com): "Barack Obama received more Wall Street
money than any other candidate in US history.  Instead of change, the
Obama Administration gave us Phase 2 of the Bush-Cheney agenda: more
Wall Street bailouts, more endless war, more offshore oil drilling and
the dangerous Keystone XL pipeline, more mountaintop detonation
mining.  Instead of financial security for Americans, we got plans to
slash Social Security and Medicare.  We got minimal assistance for
people facing home foreclosures and more crushing debt for college
students.  We got silence about the racist death penalty and
record-high mass incarceration of young black, brown, and poor people
in a greedy private prison system.  We got a health care bill with
mandates that are a direct public subsidy for the insurance industry
(originally a Republican proposal), but no universal health care or
controls for skyrocketing medical costs.  We got impunity for Bush
officials who authorized torture and other war crimes -- and more
extraordinary rendition, more warrantless surveillance of US citizens,
more erosion of due process, more persecution of whistleblowers, and
even a secret presidential hit list of Americans targeted for
assassination."

• Cheri Honkala, Green candidate for Sheriff of Philadelphia
(http://www.cherihonkala.com) running on an anti-foreclosure platform,
speaking at Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC on October 6: "What I'm
doing is not symbolic.  It's concrete and Bill and Aida and Glenn
who's here with me today, like millions of people across this country
are gonna lose their homes... unless you take this seriously and not
just march about it, pray about it, and sing about it but help me fill
every damn poll in Philadelphia where there's a birthplace of
revolution and change...  We can do this again in this country and
take our country back!"

See also:

• "Green Party of the US endorses, joins 'October 2011' protest
against the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and 2012 austerity budget"
Green Party media advisory, September 27, 2011
http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=450

• October 2011 http://october2011.org

• Occupy Wall Street http://www.occupywallst.org

• Occupy Together: events across the US and in other countries in
solidarity with Occupy Wall Street http://www.occupytogether.org

• Declaration of the Occupation of New York City
NYC General Assembly: The Official Website of the GA at #OccupyWallStreet
http://nycga.cc/2011/09/30/declaration-of-the-occupation-of-new-york-city

• It's Our Economy http://itsoureconomy.us


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191
• Green candidate database and campaign information:
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
• Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
• Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php

Press conferences, forums, and other events at the Green Party's 2011
Annual National Meeting in Alfred, NY, broadcast and archived on the
Green Party's Livestream Channel
http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
• 2011 Annual National Meeting http://nygreenfest.org

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of
the United States (Summer 2011 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

Maine Green Party Leader Attends Occupy Wall Street Protests Encourages Protesters To Run for Office

2011-10-04T04:47:00.001-05:00

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

Maine Independent Green Party
http://www.mainegreens.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nate Shea, MGIP Chair, (207) 745-4517, nate@mainegreens.org

Portland, ME - 9/30/2011 The Maine Green Party stands in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street protests, and the upcoming October 6th Protests in Freedom Plaza in Washington DC, and asks protesters to run as Green Party candidates in 2012.

"There is a real excitement surrounding these protests, a feeling that a better world is possible," said Maine Green Party activist Asher Platts. Platts will be attending the Occupy Wall Street protests on his way down to the October 6th occupation of Freedom Plaza in Washington DC, where he will be filming a documentary about these occupation protests.

The Maine Green Party recognizes the influence of Wall Street on both major political parties. The financial sector has contributed over $5 billion in the last decade to assert political influence.(1) Goldman Sachs gave over $1 million to President Obama's 2008 campaign and over $200,000 to John McCain's campaign.(2) In contrast, the Green Independent Party does not accept corporate campaign contributions.

"The Green Party has long recognized that the wealthy elite have polluted our electoral system with unlimited campaign contributions," said Platts. "This in turn has perverted the act of public service, as politicians put the needs of Wall Street before those of the people they are elected to serve."

"These peaceful protesters are very much aligned with the Green Party's platform and values." said Asher Platts. "I want to see the people occupying Wall Street bring about the major reforms they are demanding. It's my hope that they will carry this energy and excitement to their home towns, build their local Green Party, and run as candidates in 2012. And in 2013 we hope to see them occupying their state capitols not as protesters, but to claim seats of power in government."

###

The Maine Green Independent Party (MGIP) is the oldest state Green party in the United States, founded in January of 1984. The MGIP achieved ballot status on December 21, 1998, after having received 6.6% of the vote in the 1998 gubernatorial election. Today Maine has the highest percentage of registered Greens in the US.

References:

1. "Sold Out Report," Wall Street Watch, March 4, 2009, 99,
http://www.wallstreetwatch.org/reports/part2.pdf

2. OpenSecrets.org, Center for Responsive Politics,
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cid=N00009638

Press release online at
http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=298b3e7e39f0574ed0f7a7229&id=66f47a4cbd&e=94a4dbd754

~ END ~

US Green Party mourns Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize winner, Kenyan Green Party founder‏

2011-09-26T19:01:00.003-05:00

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES

http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Monday, September 26, 2011

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


US Greens mourn Dr. Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize winner, Kenyan
Green Party founder and leader


WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party of the United States is mourning the
passing of Dr. Wangari Maathai and celebrating the life of the 2004
Nobel Peace Prize laureate and founder of the Mazingira Green Party
and the Green Belt Movement (http://www.greenbeltmovement.org) in
Kenya.

In 2002, Dr. Maathai was elected to the Kenyan Parliament on the Green
Party ticket in the first free elections held in the country in
decades and later appointed Kenyan Deputy Environment Minister.  She
was a close friend to Greens in the US and throughout the world and in
May 2008 hosted an Global Greens conference in Nairobi
(http://www.gp.org/greenpages/content/volume11/issue1/world4.php).

Dr. Maathai and the women-based Green Belt Movement, which planted
more than 30 million trees, received numerous awards, including the
Petra Kelly Prize for Environment, named for the founder of the first
Green Party in Germany.  The first environmentalist and first African
woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, she was jailed in 1991 for
working to stop deforestation in Kenya.

African Greens (Coalition of Green Parties and political movements in
Africa) released this statement today:
http://africangreens.org/spip.php?article61

• Theresa El-Amin, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States:
"I heard Dr. Maathai speak at Meredith College in Raleigh, North
Carolina, two years ago. Her influence was reflected on the campus
with the planting of four trees in her honor.  She was beautiful in
her African dress as she told wonderful stories of her childhood and
the awakening she experienced on how all life is interdependent.
Several members of the North Carolina Green Party, along with students
from all over the state, attended the special lecture."

• Marian Douglas-Ungaro, co-chair of the International Committee
(http://www.gp.org/committees/intl), member of the Green Party Black
Caucus (http://www.gp.org/caucuses/black/index.php), and DC Statehood
Green:  "I was in contact with Dr. Maathai when I lived in Kenya,
2001-2004.  Almost everyday I drove past the Greenbelt Movement
billboard in the Muthaiga neighborhood that inspired people to action.
Black Greens will continue to work to encourage many more African and
Afrodescendant women, men, and youth to continue the social and
environmental work which Dr. Maathai both started and inspired."

• Morgen D'Arc, co-founder of the Green Party National Women's Caucus
(http://www.gp.org/caucuses/women/index.php), recalling Dr. Maathai's
2002 visit to Maine as featured speaker for the Maine Green
Independent Party: "At the time, I was working statewide with Women in
Green Politics, an organization I had founded the year before.  Dr.
Maathai opened my eyes.  Her courage, determination, focus on women,
poverty and the environment, what she had accomplished and at the same
time her gentleness, patience and warmth really reached me.  The
inspiration I gained from Dr. Maathai's visit was with me for years,
as I first co-founded and then organized and led the National Women's
Caucus.  When I learned yesterday that she was gone, it was as if a
gaping hole opened in front of me.  It's just way too soon.  She will
not be forgotten and will no doubt continue to inspire many, as she
did me."

• Thomas Muhammad, co-chair of the Green Party Black Caucus: "The
Green Party Black Caucus joins the whole world, particularly African
Greens, in their loss of such a giant sister like Wangari Maathai.
Her words should serve as a wake up call for all political parties the
world over.  She said, 'As long as there is no trust and confidence
that there will be justice and fairness in resource distribution,
political positioning will remain more important than service.'  We
will miss you deeply, soft-spoken sister."

• Greg Gerritt, Green Party of Rhode Island and International
Committee member: "Dr Maathai's work on the reforestation of Africa
has ben one of the more hopeful activities on the planet, a key to
both ecological and economic revival."

• Audrey Clement, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States and
candidate for Arlington County Board in Virginia
(http://www.audreyclement.org): "Women around the world are bereft of
a great leader in Wangari Maathai.  In drawing a connection between
the environment and the power and rights of women throughout the
world, Dr. Maathai altered the way we think about both.  Wangari
Maathai will be remembered as a visionary leader, like Rachel Carson,
whose actions saved our planet."

• John Rensenbrink, Maine Green Independent Party and International
Committee member: "Wangari Maathai was our keynote speaker at the
Bowdoin College conference in February 2002 on Race, Justice, and the
Environment.  Having organized that three-day conference connecting
social justice, race, and ecology,  I was bowled over by her magic and
warmth, her natural eloguence, and her powerful commitment to a new
way to live on this earth.  The day after the conference she stayed to
address a special meeting of the the Maine Green Independent Party and
thrilled everyone.  And when, a few years later, she was awarded the
Nobel Peace Price, I lost track of her but was told by those who knew
her that she received her fame with poise and humor, threw herself
into the often dangerous pit of Kenya politics, and continued to speak
out and act for the land, the trees, and for justice.  She is sorely
missed."

• Dr. Wangari Maathai, 1992:  “We have come a long way from ignorance
to deep insight, from fear to courage and from the streets to
Parliament.  We moved from self to others, from 'my issue' to 'our
issues', from home to communities, from national level to global.  Now
we embrace the concepts of our common home and future." ("Wangari
Maathai’s quotable quotes," Agence France Presse, September 26, 2011,
http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2011/09/26/wangari-maathai%E2%80%99s-quotable-quotes)


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191
• Green candidate database and campaign information:
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
• Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
• Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php

"Wangari Maathai, Founder of the Kenyan Green Party, Wins Nobel Peace Prize"
Green Party press release, October 9, 2004
http://www.gp.org/press/pr_10_08_04.html

"Press Misses Big Story, As Green Party Member Beats Bush and Blair --
for the Nobel Peace Prize"
Green Party press release, October 19, 2004
http://www.gp.org/press/pr_10_19_04.html

Press conferences, forums, and other events at the Green Party's 2011
Annual National Meeting in Alfred, NY, broadcast and archived on the
Green Party's Livestream Channel
http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
• 2011 Annual National Meeting http://nygreenfest.org

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of
the United States (Summer 2011 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog


~ END ~

Green Party members speak out to stop execution of Troy Davis in Georgia, urge abolition of the death penalty

2011-09-21T05:35:00.002-05:00

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES

http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Friday, September 16, 2011

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

Green Party Speakers Bureau: Green leaders available to speak on criminal justice and the death penalty:
http://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-criminal.php

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party of the United States today called for a halt to the impending execution of Troy Davis, scheduled for September 21 in Georgia, and cited the case an example of why the death penalty must be abolished.

Green Party members will participate in public events urging the Georgia Board of Pardons and Parole to stop the execution when the board meets on Monday, September 19.

"Supporters of capital punishment insist that it should only used when no doubt remains about the guilt of the accused. The Troy Davis case shows that death-row inmates are facing execution even when significant doubts emerge. We know that racial disparities in sentencing and abuses by prosecutors such as the withholding of exculpatory evidence have led to wrongful sentencing. The only way to prevent erroneous executions is to end capital punishment altogether," said Leenie Halbert, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States and formerly active in Angels of Mercy in Louisiana and a volunteer with Sr. Helen Prejean's Moratorium 2000 campaign.

Mounting doubts about the evidence against Troy Davis include seven of the nine witnesses recanting their testimony and the statements by several of the witnesses that they were pressured by the police to identify Troy Davis as the murderer of off-duty police officer Mark Allen MacPhail in 1989. Of the two remaining witnesses, one is the initial suspect.

Theresa El-Amin, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States, has arranged for a bus from Columbus to Atlanta on Friday afternoon, September 16, for Greens and others to participate in a "Too Much Doubt to Execute!" march and prayer service at Ebenezer Baptist Church with national and local civil rights, faith, and community leaders. The event is sponsored by Georgians for an Alternative to the Death Penalty, NAACP, and Amnesty International.

Greens noted that the Supreme Court's McClesky v. Kemp ruling (1987) upheld the death penalty despite evidence of racial discrepancies in sentencing, which amounted to approval by the nation's highest court for racism in the application of capital punishment. (Mr. Davis is Black.) See "United States of America: Death by Discrimination -- The Continuing Role of Race in Capital Cases," Amnesty International, April 23, 2003 (http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/046/2003/en).

Furthermore, the Supreme Court, in Herrera v. Collins (1993), ruled that the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment does not prohibit the execution of a person known to be innocent, if he or she has already been tried and sentenced to death. Greens have called this decision a license for the state to murder the innocent.

The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, signed into law by President Clinton, has imposed roadblocks, in the name of combatting terrorism, that have made it more difficult for death-row inmates to get new trials.

The Green Party Platform's section on criminal justice endorses abolition of the death penalty (http://www.gp.org/committees/platform/2010/social-justice.php#1001998).

"We urge all states to follow the example of Gov. George Ryan of Illinois, who imposed a moratorium on executions in his state in 2000 because of the number of inmates whose sentences were overturned because of the flawed and biased justice system. Capital punishment is not only irreversible, it's barbaric and inhumane and a violation of human rights that calls into question all death penalty case convictions. Capital punishment does not deter crime, but instead has been used to exterminate the poor and people of color who are consistently treated unfairly in the justice system," said Rev. Darryl! LC Moch of Inner Light Ministries, co-chair of the DC Statehood Green Party and a member of the Green Party Black Caucus (http://www.gp.org/caucuses/black/index.php).

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191

Green candidate database and campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php

Press conferences, forums, and other events at the Green Party's 2011 Annual National Meeting in Alfred, NY, broadcast and archived on the Green Party's
Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
2011 Annual National Meeting http://nygreenfest.org

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States (Summer 2011 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

~ END ~

US Greens endorse Sept. 15 rally at UN demanding self-determination for Palestinians‏

2011-09-14T16:25:00.000-05:00

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

For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, September 14, 2011

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 Green Party of the United States endorses the Sept. 15 rally at
the UN demanding self-determination for Palestinians

• Green Party Speakers Bureau: Green leaders available to speak on
foreign policy: http://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-foreign-policy.php


WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party of the United States has endorsed
the Thursday, September 15 Palestine Rally at the United Nations, in
support of the right of self-determination for Palestinians.

The march and rally
(http://al-awdany.org/2011/07/sept-15-palestine-rally-at-the-united-nations),
scheduled to take place in advance of a UN vote on recognition of
Palestinian statehood, are sponsored by the Palestine UN Solidarity
Coalition.

Participants will call for the US to cut off aid for Israel, for
Israel to end its occupation of the Palestinian territories, and for
national and international boycott, divestment, and sanctions against
Israel until it complies with numerous resolutions promising
Palestinians their basic rights.  The Green Party has consistently
supported these goals and spoken out publicly for sovereignty,
equality, and the right of return for Palestinians, including an end
to apartheid inside Israel.

"For too many decades, Palestinian rights have been delayed.  The
protests that are taking place in various cities this week will
communicate an important message: delaying rights is effectively
denying rights.  The time to recognize and implement rights is now,"
said Muhammed Malik, member of the Green Party's International
Committee (http://www.gp.org/committees/intl) and co-chair of
Miami-Dade Green Party.  Mr. Malik will be speaking at the South
Florida Palestinian Self-Determination Rally on September 15
(http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=217314961638622).

Marchers in New York City will gather at Times Square at 4:30 pm and
march to Grand Central and then continue on to the UN at 5:30 pm.
Greens plan to participate and march under the party's banner.  For
events in Washington, DC and other cities, visit "September 15: Real
Democracy, Not Hypocrisy" (http://www.september15.org and
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=219805248070924).

"The UN vote alone won't solve the Middle East conflict and ensure
Palestinians their human rights," said Justine McCabe, co-chair of the
International Committee.  "That's why the demands of the September 15
rally remain important.  We must place pressure on Israel and push the
US to reverse its policy of unquestioning support for Israel's
criminal actions, such as the 2009 invasion of Gaza, occupation of the
West Bank and Gaza, and internal apartheid."

The Green Party has called for a negotiated, peaceful resolution to
the conflict that establishes full rights and security for all
Israelis and Palestinians, with an immediate end to all violence
directed at unarmed civilians.

Green Party leaders view the two-state solution as a half-measure,
intended at best to end Israel's military occupation in some parts of
the West Bank, while not addressing the heart of the conflict -- the
dispossession since 1948 of the majority native population of historic
Palestine and Israel's refusal to allow Palestinian refugees to return
home.  Greens have advocated the one-state solution, in which all
citizens enjoy full citizenship and rights regardless of ethnicity or
religion, and have warned that the two-state solution will result in
ongoing conflict and violence, while the formation of a single
democratic state would bring greater possibility for sustainable
peace.

Greens supported the Gaza-bound flotillas that faced blockades and
assaults by the Israeli Navy when they carried food and humanitarian
aid to besieged Palestinians
(http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=431).


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191
• Green candidate database and campaign information:
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
• Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
• Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php

Press conferences, forums, and other events at the Green Party's 2011
Annual National Meeting in Alfred, NY, broadcast and archived on the
Green Party's Livestream Channel
http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
• 2011 Annual National Meeting http://nygreenfest.org

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of
the United States (Summer 2011 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog


~ END ~

Green Party of New York Denounces DEC Report, Calls for Ban on Hydrofracking

2011-09-11T18:34:00.000-05:00

GREEN PARTY OF NEW YORK STATE
http://www.gpny.org

Media release
September 8, 2011

Contact:
Howie Hawkins, chair@gpny.org, 315-425-1019
Peter LaVenia, chair2@gpny.org, 518-495-8001

The Green Party of New York State is outraged in the latest Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) release on hydrofracking and calls for a total ban on the practice.

The DEC's report makes it clear that the state's primary focus is clearing the way for the petro-chemical industry to reap enormous profits, cloaked in the language of the potential economic benefit to workers.

While the DEC claims its "number one priority is to protect the state's drinking water and environment in concert with exploring options to safely and efficiently extract the state's natural gas," there is no way to safely protect drinking water and frack for natural gas. This report greases the skids for hydrofracking to start as soon as possible in New York. This is a terrible blow against the environment and the communities in the Marcellus Shale region, which will be negatively impacted by the damage done to their water supply, land, and the natural beauty of that area. It does nothing to lead us to a post-fossil fuel future and towards renewables in this era where we are on the tipping point of catastrophic climate change; fracking and natural gas are a bridge to nowhere, not economic prosperity.

It doesn't matter how long the SGEIS is, it isn't regulation: it's a study," said Mike Bernhard, GPNYS upstate Fracking Coordinator, referring to the Supplementary Generic Environmental Impact Study, to which a socio-economic impact study was appended today. "The original 1992 GEIS on gas and oil mining was never codified as law or regulation, but the DEC issued permits nonetheless. It is state policy to begin issuing permits as soon as the comment period on the current study ends, without first codifying regulations."

"If the state intended the Department of Environmental Conservation to conserve the environment, it wouldn't have preempted municipalities from controlling drilling," notes Cecile Lawrence, GP candidate for Tioga County legislature. "It wouldn't have gifted Gascorp with the Compulsory Integration law that allows drillers to horizontally drill unleased land. And it wouldn't have kept quiet when tens of thousands of leases â€“ with no environmental or landowner protections â€“ were being signed. The SGEIS won't change those facts."

"And it doesn't matter how complete or otherwise the study is," said Howie Hawkins, party co-chair. "Its content, and the public reaction to it, is largely invisible and irrelevant: It is simply a political football that Andrew Cuomo has to carry across the finish line, so that his corporate clients can begin to drill the Marcellus shale."

"The Green Party of New York State is opposed to the fracking process, and calls for and supports a total ban. Greens from around the state have been actively involved from the beginning in resisting and fighting the gas and oil industry, promoting the Avella/Colton ban legislation and educating the public about this very ungreen process," said Hawkins. "Further fossil-fuel development â€“ with its demands for new and dangerous infrastructure - will starve conservation-led approaches to a renewable energy future of the capital and intelligence they need now," concluded Hawkins.

Videoclips of Presentations at Green Party's 2011 Annual National Meeting in Alfred, NY, archived on the Green Party's Livestream Channel, including discussion of hydrofracking: http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus

GreenStream Live show on hydrofracking, April 13, 2011: http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus/video?clipId=pla_0e3da0c2-3fe4-41ad-9a8b-30cb5b0a1bf3

~ END ~

Green Party leaders blast President Obama's approval of the tar sands pipeline and withdrawal of EPA smog regulations

2011-09-07T20:03:00.000-05:00

Green Party leaders blast President Obama's approval of the tar sands pipeline and withdrawal of EPA smog regulations, calling White House policies a capitulation to Republicans and corporate lobbies

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

For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, September 6, 2011

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

Greens promote Green New Deal: real action to curb global warming and end oil addiction, create new jobs in energy conservation, alternate energy development, and public transportation

Green Party Speakers Bureau: Green leaders available to speak on global warming and other ecological issues:
http://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-ecological.php

WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders strongly criticized President Obama's recent decisions on the controversial tar sands pipeline and EPA smog regulations, calling his support for the Keystone XL Pipeline and withdrawal of smog standards reckless and dangerous to public health and the environment.

"More respiratory disease, more dependence on fossil fuels, more greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere -- these will be the results of President Obama's latest capitulations to the oil industry and Republicans. The President is trying to appease anti-regulation ideologues and climate-change deniers in the GOP and corporate lobbies that place profits ahead of public safety," said Audrey Clement, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States and a member of the party's Eco-Action Committee (http://www.gp.org/committees/ecoaction/index.php).

Greens noted that President Obama alone, without approval from Congress, has the power to approve or reject the tar sands pipeline from Alberta, Canada. Party leaders expressed admiration and gratitude to the protestors arrested during the White House demonstrations against approval of the tar sands pipeline (http://www.tarsandsaction.org).

"The courageous actions at the White House represent the voice of conscience confronting the dark forces of environmental destruction," said Jill Stein, co-chair of the Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts (http://www.massgreens.org). "I am so proud to see that America has so many people willing to put themselves on the front line of the battle to save our future. This action is a defining moment. It is the point at which the environmental community stops accepting inaction and excuses, and starts insisting that our government do the right thing. That courage to speak up clearly and not be silenced is critical for starting to save our imperiled planet."

NASA's Dr. James Hansen, one of the nation's top climate scientists, said that development of tar sands in Alberta, Canada, would be "game over" for efforts to curb climate change (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/29/idUS257590805720110829). Mining oil from tar sands creates three times more carbon emissions than conventional oil extraction, and the oil will be transported by the hazardous 1,700-mile long Keystone XL Pipeline to refineries in Texas. Despite such warnings, the State Department gave the project a green light in its environmental impact statement, dismissing the threat of sharp increases in carbon emissions.

Greens said that President Obama's concern for the revenues of oil companies and the financial burden created by anti-smog regulations reflected an administration that measures the health of the US economy by corporate profits rather than by how many new jobs are created, how many Americans move out of unemployment and poverty, and how the US is meeting the challenges of global warming.

"Green candidates have called for a 'Green New Deal' with a plan to create millions of new jobs in conservation and conversion to safe, clean energy, the promotion of technologies to reduce air pollution -- such as anti-smog devices -- and expansion of public transportation to reduce car traffic. Such measures will help the US recover from the 2008 economic meltdown. Unfortunately, President Obama has retreated from his 2008 nomination speech promise that during his presidency the 'rise of the oceans will begin to slow, and the planet begin to heal.' He has capitulated to the corporate myth that environmental standards are job killers. In fact, they are job creators because they spur innovation and investment in cleaner technologies," said Howie Hawkins, co-chair of the Green Party of New York State (http://www.web.gpnys.com) and candidate for Common Councilor of Syracuse.

"Obama is ignoring the tar sands pipeline protesters and the whole movement to stop global warming. Street protests alone without a political alternative to vote for will just leave the protesters taken for granted by Obama and the Democrats again. We can multiply the power of the protests by mounting an electoral insurgency behind the political party that is dedicated to preserving the planet -- the Green Party," Mr. Hawkins added. (More on the Green New Deal: http://www.greenpartywatch.org/2010/08/11/62-green-candidates-endorse-green-new-deal)

Greens cited numerous other Obama Administration environmental retreats and capitulations: an industry-coddling response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico; paralysis in global climate protection negotiations and promotion of emissions-trading schemes that will grant polluting industries licenses to continue polluting; refusal to ban mountaintop removal mining; endorsement of 'clean coal'; approval of new nuclear power plants (despite the Fukushima disaster in March 2011) paid for by taxpayers for the benefit of energy companies that don't want to assume the high cost and high liability; plans to expand off-shore drilling with new operations in Atlantic coastal waters.

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191

Green candidate database and campaign information:
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml

News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php

"The Tar Sands Action (smile)"
By Ted Glick, September 5, 2011
http://www.tedglick.com/columns/102.html

Press conferences, forums, and other events at the Green Party's 2011 Annual National Meeting in Alfred, NY, broadcast and archived on the Green Party's Livestream Channel
http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
2011 Annual National Meeting http://nygreenfest.org

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party ofthe United States (Summer 2011 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

~ END ~

Jobs for All with a Green New Deal

2011-09-06T05:24:00.001-05:00

Jobs for All with a Green New Deal

http://www.greenpapers.net

September 5 | Posted by admin | Labor

by Jill E. Stein
September 5, 2011

President Obama’s new job proposals are intended to send a political message that the President cares about the dismal state of the economy. But America needs a decisive and immediate solution, not a limited gesture for the unemployment emergency facing 25 million workers in need of full time jobs that aren’t there.

We need a Green New Deal that will establish government’s responsibility to guarantee the right to a job for every American willing and able to work. The roots of this lie in the Employment Assurance concept that the Roosevelt administration used to tackle the great American depression in1935. Let’ s turn the unemployment office into the employment office: if the private sector fails to provide you a job, you go down to the employment office to get work that keeps you afloat until things turn around.

The “green” in the Green New Deal means that we can solve our jobs problem as we build the economy of the future – a sustainable, green economy that protects the environment as the core foundation for economic prosperity. The Green New Deal would tackle multiple environmental threats to our economy – not only climate change, but also the converging water, soil, fisheries, forest, and fossil fuel crises that imperil our fundamental needs for food, water and energy. Other countries are already making major investments for a secure, carbon-free future. America needs to catch up.

The Green New Deal would enable us to build sustainable energy, transportation and production infrastructure: clean renewable energy generation, energy efficiency, intra-city mass transit and inter-city railroads, “complete streets” that safely encourage bike and pedestrian traffic, regional food systems based on sustainable organic agriculture, and clean manufacturing of the goods needed to support this sustainable economy.

The Green New Deal would also address the enormous, urgent need for social infrastructure – for public education, health care, child care, elder care, youth programs, and arts and culture. Since a Green New Deal would go where the unemployment is, severe pockets of joblessness – where the poor and people of color are suffering rates as high as 30% – would not be bypassed.

It is time for the White House and Congress to admit that Obama/Bush approach of showering money on Wall Street has failed. Decades of hard-won experience – plus basic economic theory – show that government spending is essential in a recession to stimulate demand and put people back to work. Both major parties, as well as Obama, instead have used the recession caused by Wall Street abuse, costly wars, and bogus trickle-down economics as an excuse to slash funding for vital programs. As a result, seniors, working families and the poor are footing the bill for tax giveaways to the wealthy and large corporations. This is not only wrong it’s also guaranteed to destroy jobs and weaken the economy.

We have put America to work through public works programs many times since the 1930s. We did it with the WPA (Works Progress Administration) in the 1930s and CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) of the 1970s. These programs employed millions of workers to provide socially needed public infrastructure and public services like education, health, child care, elder care, youth programs and arts and cultural programs. How much would such a full employment policy cost? Surprisingly, the final cost is almost nothing. It pays for itself over the course of the business cycle according to Philip Harvey, a professor of law and economics at Rutgers in his paper, Learning from the New Deal.

Assuming that for every two public jobs created, an additional job would be stimulated in the private sector, we would need about 17.5 million public jobs. Harvey notes that all these jobs increase tax revenues that defray the cost of the program. Government saves money on unemployment insurance and other safety net programs. As working people spend their earnings, business booms and stimulus programs can be curtailed. The bottom line is simply this: Full employment through a Green New Deal is cheaper than rampant unemployment.

An initial investment is required, of course. The first year net cost for 17.5 million living-wage public jobs, $666 billion, would be less than Obama ’s ineffective $825 billion stimulus of 2009. The net cost per job would be only $28,600 compared to $228,055 per job cost of Obama’s indirect stimulus.

The cost could readily be covered through a combination of needed tax reforms – such as taxing Wall Street speculation, off shore tax havens, millionaires and multimillion dollar estates – in addition to a 30% reduction in the trillion dollar bloated military-industrial-security complex budget. A Green New Deal that decisively ends unemployment and the escalating Bush/Obama recession is within our reach – technically and financially. All that ’s needed is the political will to stop throwing money at Wall Street and start building the sustainable prosperity American workers deserve. In spite of Washington’s slavish addiction to serving Wall Street, that political will may finally be catching fire in the American electorate.

Jill Stein is a medical doctor, an environmental health advocate, and former candidate for Governor of Massachusetts for the Green-Rainbow Party. She can be reached at thegreennewdeal@gmail.com

http://www.greenpapers.net

The Green Party of the United States endorses the Durban+10 Coalition, marking the 10th anniversary of the 2001 World Conference Against Racism

2011-09-02T18:55:00.001-05:00

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

For Immediate Release:
Friday, September 2, 2011

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

Green Party Speakers Bureau: Green leaders available to speak on international and human rights issues http://www.gp.org/speakers

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party of the United States has endorsed the Durban+10 Coalition and its efforts to enact the agenda of the 2001 World Conference Against Racism, which took place in Durban, South Africa. The goal of the Durban conference was "to eradicate racial discrimination, inequity, colonialism, xenophobia and related intolerances" throughout the world.

The full text of the resolution adopted on August 28, 2011 by the National Committee of the Green Party of the United States, with supporting information, can be read here: http://green.gpus.org/cgi-bin/vote/propdetail?pid=616

The 2001 Durban conference drew participation from the nations of the world, despite attempts by the Bush Administration to undermine the event and refusal by the Bush-Powell State Department to attend. The Obama-Clinton State Department has maintained a similarly dismissive position on the conference.

"In this International Year for People of African Descent proclaimed by the UN General Assembly during its 64th session held in 2009, we in the Green Party hope that public officials and politicians, including President Obama, who are celebrating the new Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial will demonstrate their dedication to Dr. King's principles and embrace the Durban conference and its goals," said Denice Traina, former co-chair of the Georgia Green Party (http://www.greens.org/georgia).

The Durban+10 Coalition, an alliance of non-governmental organizations from the US and worldwide (http://www.durban10coalition.com), supports the UN General Assembly's plan for a meeting of heads of state to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (http://www.un.org/durbanreview2009/pdf/DDPA_full_text.pdf), to take place on September 22, 2011 with the theme "Victims of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance: recognition, justice and development."

In June, the Obama White House, in a conference call briefing attended by Green Party co-chair Theresa El-Amin, announced its withdrawal from the September 22 meeting. (See "Greens urge Obama to reverse decision to shun the third World Conference against Racism," Green Party press release, June 8, 2011, http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=428).

"The Durban conference's agenda challenges the violations of the rights of immigrants, indigenous peoples, African-descendant people, and others that continue in the US, as well as US aid for Israel's suppression of human rights and self-determination for Palestinians. The Green Party's principles and platform are in harmony with the Durban agenda," said Thomas Muhammad, co-chair of the Green Party Black Caucus (http://www.gp.org/caucuses/black/index.php).

"We support amnesty for undocumented immigrants and oppose xenophobic new laws in states like Arizona. We endorse reparations for the descendents of people held in slavery. We fiercely oppose the war on drugs and private prison industry, which have resulted in the incarceration of record numbers of Americans -- mostly black and brown young people -- in order to boost corporate profits and provide a new form of slave labor. We support statehood for the residents of the District of Columbia, whose black-majority population deserves the same self-governance, constitutional rights, and congressional representations as all other Americans. We have endorsed boycott, divestment, and sanctions as a means to press Israel to cease its brutal treatment of Palestinians," added Mr. Muhammad.

In August 2001, the party urged the Bush Administration to send a US delegation to the first Durban meeting (http://www.gp.org/press/pr_08_13_01.html). In April 2009, the Green Party called for US participation in the Durban Review Conference (http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=204). Greens attended both meetings.

"We had such hope those days in Durban," said Rev. Zack Lyde, a Missionary Baptist pastor, lifetime resident of Brunswick Georgia, and former chair of the Georgia Green Party who ran three times for public office on the Green ticket. Rev. Lyde participated in the 2001 Durban conference. "It is absolutely disheartening ten years later to see my state subject one in thirteen Georgians to judicial supervision, to round up our immigrant neighbors for deportation, to bankrupt our schools to fund these destructive public policies of mass incarceration. The klansman's lie of white supremacy continues to wrap itself in new robes, but its chameleon like nature fools no one in these rural communities; no one who has eyes to see."

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191

Green candidate database and campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php

Green Party Black Caucus http://www.gp.org/caucuses/black/index.php

Green Party International Committee http://www.gp.org/committees/intl

Press conferences, forums, and other events at the Green Party's 2011 Annual National Meeting in Alfred, NY, broadcast and archived on the Green Party's Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
2011 Annual National Meeting http://nygreenfest.org

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States (Summer 2011 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

~ END ~

Green Party: US/NATO must withdraw from Libya, back African Union efforts to broker a resolution‏

2011-08-24T05:20:00.005-05:00

The Green Party urges US/NATO to withdraw from Libya and support African Union efforts to broker a resolution

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

For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, August 22, 2011

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

Green Party Speakers Bureau: Greens available to speak on foreign policy: http://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-foreign-policy.php

WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders urged an immediate US/NATO withdrawal from Libya after the advance of rebel forces into Tripoli, and called on President Obama to support a political solution to the crisis in Libya through diplomacy, with the involvement of the African Union, Arab League, and United Nations.

"The African Union's mediation committee offered a positive outline for an immediate ceasefire, followed by negotiation without preconditions and democratic elections in Libya. This is the perfect moment for President Obama, NATO, and the UN to support the efforts of the African Union to broker a resolution. All elements of Libyan society must be invited to the table to determine the country's new direction. The Libyan people must be allowed to decide their own future," said Romi Elnagar, member of the Green Party of Louisiana and the Green Party's International Committee (http://www.gp.org/committees/intl).

"If US and NATO forces prolong military action and attempt an occupation to stabilize Libya, the result will be more civilian lives lost and a disaster similar to the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, and the evaporation of hopes for freedom and democratic self-determination for the Libyan people," Ms. Elnagar added.

See "African Union Statement on the NATO Invasion of Libya: It's Time to End the Bombing and Find a Political Solution in Libya" by Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, Uganda's Permanent Representative to the UN, New Vision (Uganda), June 17, 2011 (http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/757904). According to the statement, "Gadaffi accepted dialogue when the AU mediation Committee visited Tripoli on April 10, 2011. Any war activities after that have been provocation for Africa. It is an unnecessary war."

The Green Party opposed the US/NATO assault on Libya from the beginning (http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=399) and Greens have strongly criticized President Obama for public statements, after the beginning of the attack, in which he changed the goal from "humanitarian intervention" for the protection of Libyan civilians to ousting Gaddafi. Attacking a country to remove its leadership is a violation of international law. The Libyan war was also conducted without congressional approval, even after the US House in June voted against authorizing continued military operations in Libya for one year.

The Green Party supports nonviolent resistance to oppression, as most Palestinians have practiced for decades and Egyptians more recently, and deplores the killing of unarmed civilians.

"The severity of bombing raids over the past few months suggests that Gaddafi himself has been and may still be the target. The bombing inevitably turned indiscriminate and led to widespread civilian death and injury. NATO's claim of protecting civilian lives has become increasingly implausible. Unfortunately, Secretary of State Clinton's refusal to grant the Libyan UN ambassador a visa has censored Libya's own collected statistics on civilian casualties resulting from the raids," said Farheen Hakeem, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States.

Cynthia McKinney, the Green Party's 2008 presidential nominee, recently conducted a fact-finding tour of Libya and reported on NATO's bombing of civilians at Al Fateh University, Campus B, in Tripoli on June 9 in her blog at Black Agenda Report (http://www.blackagendareport.com/content/more-nato-humanitarian-interventionthe-bombing-al-fateh-university-campus-b).

Green Party leaders noted that, while attacking Libya in the name of democracy and liberation, the US has withheld criticism of violent repression of popular movements for democracy in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel, which are US allies.

Greens have agreed with the call by the United National Antiwar Committee "for an immediate halt to US intervention in regions and countries where mass mobilizations are challenging oppressive regimes" (Statement on Libya, http://nepajac.org/libya.htm) and warned against US efforts to co-opt movements for democracy in African countries and force them to accept Africom (United States Africa Command), a program to impose US military presence and strategic objectives in African countries.

"The unprovoked assault on Libya has constituted a third war, with US troops still occupying Iraq and Afghanistan/Pakistan, against the government of a majority Muslim nation. It has opened a dangerous new front in a wider unending US war that is at least in part motivated by a desire to control the planet's largest oil reserves in the coming decades. These policies, unless reversed, may eventually ignite a global conflict in this century of dwindling oil resources and advancing climate change. Already, the US has spent $3.7 trillion on wars during the past decade, draining sorely needed funds from public services and other domestic necessities and aggravating the current fiscal crisis. It's time to retire the Bush-Cheney-Obama policy of military aggression," said Muhammed Malik, co-chair of the Miami-Dade Green Party (http://www.miamidadegreenparty.org) and a member of the Green Party's International Committee.

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191
Green candidate database and campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php

Green Party International Committee http://www.gp.org/committees/intl/

"Libyan Deaths, Media Silence: Were Dozens Killed in Majer NATO Airstrikes?"
FAIR media advisory, August 18, 2011
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=4379

Press conferences, forums, and other events at the Green Party's 2011 Annual National Meeting in Alfred, NY, broadcast and archived on the Green Party's Livestream Channel
http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
2011 Annual National Meeting http://nygreenfest.org

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States (Summer 2011 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

~ END ~

Cheri Honkala, homeless advocate and Green candidate for Sheriff of Philadelphia, to halt home evictions & challenge the power of banks

2011-08-18T16:32:00.003-05:00

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES

http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Thursday, August 18, 2011

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

Videos of Ms. Honkala: http://vimeo.com/27355841 / http://vimeo.com/27415010 / http://vimeo.com/27711528
Campaign web site: http://www.cherihonkala.com
Cheri for Sheriff Campaign contact: 215-923-3747, cheri4sheriff@gmail.com
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/Cheri4Sheriff

WASHINGTON, DC -- Cheri Honkala, candidate for Sheriff of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has emerged as the Green Party's highest profile candidate in the 2011 election year.

Ms. Honkala's campaign slogans, "Keeping Families in Their Homes," "The People's Sheriff," and "Referendum on America," reflect her pledge, if elected, to declare a moratorium on home evictions until the economic climate in Philadelphia changes.

"I'm running for Sheriff because something needs to be done to address the plague of home evictions being faced by too many poor and working families in Philadelphia," said Ms. Honkala, who is using her campaign to help build the nation-wide movement to reverse the growing dominance of banks and other corporations over our government and local communities.

Cheri Honkala discussed her campaign and "zero evictions" platform at the Green Party's 2011 Annual National Meeting in Alfred, New York, on August 5 (http://nygreenfest.org). Two videos of Ms. Honkala speaking at the meeting: http://vimeo.com/27355841 and http://vimeo.com/27415010

Ms. Honkala would be the first woman sheriff in Philadelphia. The city's past sheriff, who resigned during a corruption investigation, cooperated with banks in evicting families from homes as a result of the subprime mortgage crisis, and Ms. Honkala's Democratic and Republican competitors in the race intend to continue using the sheriff's office as a tool for the financial industry.

The crisis was triggered when low- and middle-income working Americans were unable to refinance their homes after they were issued adjustable-rate mortgages. The subprime mortgage crisis, stemming from misleading lending practices by banks and other financial companies, touched off the 2008 economic meltdown.

"Our so-called political leaders don't dare to do anything of substance against the banks," said Jason Bosch, chief of staff for the Cheri Honkala campaign. "Cheri Honkala's campaign is the most significant thing happening in this country to challenge these banks and the direction they are taking all of us. Philadelphia voters have the unique opportunity to do something that no other voters in America have -- to change policy with one vote. If Cheri gets elected there will be no evictions. This will force banks to the table and expand the discourse around these issues to include the voices of people who are struggling just to survive and keep a roof over their heads. This is a campaign of national significance."

The Honkala campaign supports the development of community-based land trusts. There are over 40,000 vacant properties in Philadelphia, and community-based ownership of these properties offers the means to house people in need of homes and to create more urban gardens and public spaces that will strengthen communities. Ms. Honkala sides with immigrants facing raids and deportations that tear apart families, affirming that she will stand with poor working class people of all nationalities and refuse to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Cheri Honkala, a tireless advocate for the nation's poor and homeless, founded the local Kensington Welfare Rights Union and the national Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign, which works to help people who cannot get help through bureaucratic channels find solutions to their housing crises. She has organized numerous street demonstrations in Philadelphia, as well as efforts to reclaim and occupy vacant homes for poor families in need of housing.

Ms. Honkala was included in Philadelphia Magazin's list of 100 Most Powerful Philadelphians and was named Philadelphia Weekly's "Woman of the Year" in 1997.

David Cobb, the Green Party's 2004 presidential nominee, called Cheri Honkala "a long-distance runner for social justice" and added, "I think Cheri's campaign can become the 'signature' national electoral campaign for progressives of all stripes in 2011."

The Cheri Honkala campaign headquarters is located about 100 feet from the site where Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence. Ms. Honkala has dedicated her campaign to forging a new independence -- independence from the big banks and other corporations, which Jefferson himself warned about. "I hope we shall... crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws our country." (Letter from Thomas Jefferson to George Logan, November 12, 1816)

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191

Green candidate database and campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php

Press conferences, forums, and other events at the Green Party's 2011 Annual National Meeting in Alfred, NY, broadcast and archived on the Green Party's Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
2011 Annual National Meeting http://nygreenfest.org

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States (Summer 2011 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

~ END ~

The debt deal is a good reason for voters to give up on the Democratic and Republican parties in 2012

2011-08-13T07:51:00.000-05:00

The debt deal is a good reason for voters to give up on the Democratic and Republican parties in 2012, say Green leaders at the party's 2011 Annual National Meeting in Alfred, NY

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

For Immediate Release:
Sunday, August 7, 2011

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator (on site), cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org
Hillary Kane, co-chair of the Annual National Meeting Committee, 267-971-3559, hillarya@pobox.upenn.edu
In New York: Rachel Treichler, Green Fest Planning Committee, 607-569-2114, rachel@ecobooks.com

Video: Laura Wells, former Green candidate for the Governor of California, on the deficit fiasco http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRfIcz6s-OY

Press conferences, forums, and other events at the Green Party's national meeting, broadcast and archived on the Green Party's Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus / More information on the meeting and Green Fest: http://nygreenfest.org

WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party candidates, officeholders, leaders, and state delegates meeting at the party's 2011 Annual National Meeting in Alfred, New York, said that the Budget Control Act of 2011 should be the final straw for many voters, and encouraged Democrats and Republicans angry at their parties to vote Green in the 2012 election.

Greens attending the meeting called the budget deal a surrender by Democratic and Republican Party leaders to the most extreme elements of the GOP.

Howie Hawkins, Green candidate for Common Councillor of Syracuse, NY; 2010 Green candidate for Governor of New York: "The budget debate should have been about how to create more jobs and financial stability for Americans suffering through the recession. Greens have promoted the Green New Deal, with a plan to create new Green jobs with public works programs in conservation, new energy technologies, reengineering towns and cities and retrofitting homes and buildings for energy efficiency, and expanding public transportation. FDR put millions of people back to work with his New Deal. Republican presidents like Eisenhower once understood that public sector projects would generate prosperity for the middle class. Instead of 1950s projects like building the interstate highway system, Cold War defense, and the space program, we have new priorities in the 21st centurywe need Green jobs in a Green economy." (More on the Green New Deal: http://www.greenpartywatch.org/2010/08/11/62-green-candidates-endorse-green-new-deal)

David Doonan, Mayor of Greenwich, NY (Green): "The focus on the deficit has eclipsed more immediate problems: job loss, the widening gap between rich and poor, home foreclosures, huge handouts and tax cuts for favored corporations, and multiple endless wars that have cost $3.7 trillion without the raise in taxes necessary to pay for them. When Congress and the White House called it a deficit crisis and talked about the debt ceiling and cutting Social Security and Medicare, they gave Tea Party extremists the upper hand. A new, unconstitutional joint committeea 'Super Congress'will determine the target of $1.5 trillion in budget reductions to valuable social services. The result will be further job loss and deepening economic insecurity for working Americans, and more economic and political power for corporate elites. Electing Greens, who take no corporate contributions, will be the first step in changing the direction of our country. We look forward to 2012 as the year we place some Greens in Congress."

David Strand, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States: "It's unfair and immoral to ask ordinary Americans to suffer cuts to services and loss of jobs while the rich and top corporations get to keep their tax cuts. The radical rightwing of the Republican Party proved that they're bent on shutting down the infrastructure of our republic. Moderate Republicans and Democratic leaders proved they're ready to appease the rightwing at every step. President Obama satisfied the demands of his top financial sector contributors, the powerful Wall Street and Big Insurance lobbies that want the White House and Congress to privatize Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. We need to make the budget deal the final chapter in the history of two-party rule, a history littered with wrongheaded bipartisan agreements: endless wars, the USA Patriot Act, No Child Left Behind, warrantless surveillance of US citizens, the Wall Street bailout, monster military budgets, the War on Drugs and record incarceration." (See "Twelve Corporations Pay Effective Tax Rate of Negative 1.5% on $171 Billion in Profits; Reap $62.4 Billion in Tax Subsidies," Citizens for Tax Justice, June 1, 2011, http://ctj.org/ctjreports/2011/06/twelve_corporations_pay_effective_tax_rate_of_negative_15_on_171_billion_in_profits_reap_624_billion.php and "The Fed Audit," report on $16 trillion in financial subsidies for top financial institutions and corporations in the US and foreign countries, revealed in a GAO audit of the Federal Reserve, Bernie Sanders, US Senator for Vermont (Ind.), August 5, 2011, http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=9e2a4ea8-6e73-4be2-a753-62060dcbb3c3)

Anita Rios, Green candidate for City Council in Toledo, Ohio: "Medicare is the solution, not the problem. Medicare for All, with 3% overhead, would save $400 billion a year compared to the current system, in which private health insurance overhead at 31% is one of the major drivers of skyrocketing health care costs. Cutting Medicare is fiscally irresponsible, Medicare For All is fiscally responsible. The Green Party supports Medicare For All. Blacks and Latinos have been hit especially hard by the economic downturn, with loss of jobs and health care that have pushed many of us out of the middle class. The budget deal and attacks on Medicare and other programs have only made the situation worseand enraged many people against President Obama's readiness to abandon us."

Tamar Yager, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States, 2011 Annual National Meeting coordinator: "The bipartisan deal was a vicious defeat for working people. We encourage voters to learn about the Green New Deal and compare Green Party ideas to the Democrats' capitulations and the Republicans' descent into irrationality and fraud. The job-killing austerity program in the debt deal will make future deficits and debts worse, because the stagnant economy caused by the deal will generate smaller tax revenues. The two established parties offer no vision of how they will restore financial economic security for Americans. Let 2012 be the year voters wake up and go Green."

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191
Green candidate database and campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php

Green Party's 2011 Annual National Meeting / New York Green Fest http://nygreenfest.org
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-Green-Fest/71141014224
Alfred University http://www.alfred.edu
Green Party of New York State http://www.web.gpnys.com
Green Party Annual National Meeting Committee http://www.gp.org/committees/anmc/index.php

Press conferences, forums, and other events, broadcast and archived on the Green Party's Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States (Summer 2011 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

~ END ~

End Corporate Personhood - Rain or Shine!

2011-08-07T15:12:00.002-05:00

Hi Folks,

First of all, a hearty Thank You to the 75 people who came to our showing of The Corporation at The Little Theater last Thursday.

Don't forget that tomorrow (Monday) we will be following that up with our monthly meeting featuring our old friend David Cobb who will be giving a presentation on how to end corporate personhood. Beeing Greens we thought it would be appropriate to have the presentation outside. Now, Mother Nature hasn't decided if she wants to cooperate. But our show will go on no matter what.

David's presentation is scheduled to take place at Susan B. Anthony Square Park at 39 King Street (off of W. Main Street) at 7pm. Bring a lawn chair. If it's raining, we do have a living room at 10 King Street to use. It will be cozy, but we can do this. So it's "game on" rain or shine!

We hope to see you there!

Green Party leaders, candidates head to Alfred, western NY, for Nat'l Meeting, Aug. 5-7‏

2011-08-02T18:00:00.004-05:00

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

For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator (on site), cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org
Hillary Kane, co-chair of the Annual National Meeting Committee, 267-971-3559, hillarya@pobox.upenn.edu
In New York: Rachel Treichler, Green Fest Planning Committee, 607-569-2114, rachel@ecobooks.com
Green Party leaders, candidates, and state party delegates head to Alfred, New York, for the party's 2011 Annual National Meeting, August 5-7

• Forums and other events will be broadcast via the Green Party's Livestream Channel (http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus); Elizabeth May, Canadian Green member of Parliament, and economist David C. Korten will speak via Skype

• The meeting will take place at Green Fest (http://nygreenfest.org) in Alfred, western New York; Greens will begin planning for the 2012 elections, including the presidential race

• Theme of the meeting: "Building a Green Economy -- No War. No Coal. No Gas. No Nukes."

• Media events will feature Green candidates and officeholders (see below); Media credentialing page: http://www.gp.org/forms/media (also linked here: http://www.gp.org/committees/media/kit.shtml)

WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders, candidates, officeholders, and state party delegates are heading to Alfred, in western New York State, this week for the party's 2011 Annual National Meeting at Alfred University from Friday, August 5 to Sunday, August 7.

This year's meeting site was chosen in part to recognize the Green Party's achievement of major party status in New York, a result of Howie Hawkins' gubernatorial candidacy in the 2010 election.

The meeting will take place at the fourth biennial New York Green Fest, "a gathering of folks interested in exploring the politics and practices that will help enable us to live in a sustainable world, and sharing a weekend of good discussions, good food, and good music" (http://nygreenfest.org). Greens will discuss this year's elections and prepare for Election Year 2012, including the presidential race.

The party will hold several events open to journalists during the meeting. A schedule is appended below. Journalists are encouraged to register ahead of time, at the Green Party's media credentialing page (http://www.gp.org/forms/media). Registration for media will also take place on site during the meeting. Scott McLarty, media coordinator for the Green Party, will be on site and can be reached at 202-904-7614 (cell).

Press conferences will feature Green candidates for public office from across the US, with a special press conference on Friday, August 6, for women candidates hosted by the party's National Women Caucus (http://www.gp.org/caucuses/women/index.php).

Many of the events, including the forums, press conferences, and workshops, will be broadcast online via the Green Party's Livestream Channel for public viewing (http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus).

Alfred is about 80 miles from Rochester and 90 miles from Buffalo. For directions to Alfred University and Green Fest, see: http://nygreenfest.org/directions.html

Elizabeth May, Canada's first elected Green Party member of Parliament, will speak to Greens at the meeting by Skype. David C. Korten, economist, co-founder and board chair of YES! Magazine, and author of 'When Corporations Rule the World' and other books (http://livingeconomiesforum.org/author-bio), will also address the meeting by Skype.

Appearing in person will be Richard Grossman, co-author of 'Defying Corporations, Defining Democracy' (2001), author of 'Taking Care of Business: Citizenship & the Charter of Incorporation' (1993); Revoking the Corporation (1996), 'The WTO, the US Constitution & Self-Government' (1999); active with Frack Free Catskills (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Frack-Free-Catskills/160846107298815) in Ulster and Green counties, New York.

Cheri Honkala, Green candidate for Sheriff of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (http://www.cherihonkala.com), will also speak at the meeting. Ms. Honkala founded the Kensington Welfare Rights Union and the national Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign. She was included in Philadelphia Magazine’s list of 100 Most Powerful Philadelphians and was named Philadelphia Weekly’s “Woman of the Year” in 1997. She was featured in the award-winning documentary 'Poverty Outlaw' (http://www.villagevoice.com/2000-11-21/news/poverty-outlaws/1/).

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS for the Media
For all events and more details, see http://nygreenfest.org/2011schedule.html
Speakers' bios: http://nygreenfest.org/presenterbios11.html
Green Party Livestream channel: http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5

9:00 am
Press conference
Welcome from the Green Party of New York State and the Green Party of the United States
Green officeholder: David Doonan, Mayor of Greenwich, NY
Green candidates:
• Audrey Clement, for Arlington County Board, Va. (http://www.AudreyClement.org), co-chair of the Green Party of the United States
• Joe Duffy, for Alderman of Hornell, NY; chair of the Steuben County Green Party (http://www.steubengreens.org)
• Howie Hawkins, for Common Councillor of Syracuse, NY; 2010 candidate for Governor or NY
• Jay Sweeney, for Supervisor in Falls Township, Pa.
Green presidential candidate Kent Mesplay (http://www.mesplay.org)
Moderator: Scott McLarty
Location: Kenyon-Allen Davis Suite, Powell Campus Center

11:00 am
Press conference
Hosted by the National Women's Caucus (http://www.gp.org/caucuses/women/index.php)
Green candidates:
• Colia Clark, for US Senator from New York (2012 election)
• Cheri Honkala, for Sheriff of Philadelphia, Pa. (http://www.cherihonkala.com)
• Cecile Lawrence, candidate for the Tioga County Legislature (District 3), NY
Moderator: George Friday, National Women's Caucus
Location: Kenyon-Allen Davis Suite, Powell Campus Center

6:45 to 8:45 pm
Forum on Building Local Economies
David Korten, economist, (via Skype) on "Agenda for a Local Economy"; Tina Clarke and David Doonan on the Transition Town Movement
Moderator: Virginia Rasmussen, Program on Corporations, Law and Democracy (http://www.poclad.org), Women's International League for Peace and Freedom: Corporations v. Democracy campaign (http://www.wilpf.org/cvd), trustee of the Village of Alfred
Location: Nevins Theater, Powell Campus Center

SATURDAY, AUGUST 6

1:15 to 2:30 pm
Forum on Asserting Local Sovereignty over Fossil Fuel Extraction
Richard Grossman, democracy and anti-fracking activist; and various Green Party speakers.
Moderator: Kate Bartholomew, Coalition to Protect New York (http://www.coalitiontoprotectnewyork.org)
Location: Solar Stage

6:45 to 8:45 pm
Forum on Campaigning for Local Economies and Clean Energy
Elizabeth May, Green Member of Parliament in Canada, (via Skype), Cheri Honkala, Kent Mesplay, and other US Green candidates and officeholders
Moderator: David Cobb, 2004 Green Party presidential nominee
Location: Nevins Theater, Powell Campus Center

Some details of the above events may be subject to change.

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191
• Green candidate database and campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
• Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
• Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php

Green Party's 2011 Annual National Meeting / New York Green Fest http://nygreenfest.org
• Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-Green-Fest/71141014224
• Alfred University http://www.alfred.edu
• Green Party of New York State http://www.web.gpnys.com
• Directions http://nygreenfest.org/directions.html
• Green Party Annual National Meeting Committee http://www.gp.org/committees/anmc/index.php
• Media credentialing page http://www.gp.org/forms/media

GreenStream Live: News and discussion on the Green Party's Livestream channel
http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States (Fall 2010 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

~ END ~

GP ADVISORY Schedule of media events: Green Party Nat'l Meeting, Aug. 5-7 in Alfred, NY‏

2011-07-28T16:33:00.004-05:00

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES

http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Thursday, July 28, 2011

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org
Hillary Kane, co-chair of the Annual National Meeting Committee, 267-971-3559, hillarya@pobox.upenn.edu
In New York: Rachel Treichler, Green Fest Planning Committee, 607-569-2114, rachel@ecobooks.com

The meeting will take place August 5-7 at Green Fest in Alfred, western New York; Greens will begin planning for the 2012 elections, including the presidential race; Elizabeth May, Canadian Green member of Parliament, and economist David C. Korten to speak via Skype

Theme of the meeting: "Building a Green Economy -- No War. No Coal. No Gas. No Nukes."

Media credentialing page: http://www.gp.org/forms/media (also linked here: http://www.gp.org/committees/media/kit.shtml)

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party of the United States will hold several events open to the media during the party's 2011 Annual National Meeting at Alfred University in Alfred in western New York, from Friday, August 5 to Sunday, August 7. A schedule is appended below.

The meeting will take place at the fourth biennial New York Green Fest, "a gathering of folks interested in exploring the politics and practices that will help enable us to live in a sustainable world, and sharing a weekend of good discussions, good food, and good music" (http://nygreenfest.org).

Press conferences will feature Green candidates for public office from across the US, with a special press conference on Friday, August 6, for women candidates hosted by the party's National Women Caucus (http://www.gp.org/caucuses/women/index.php). The press conference and several other events will be broadcast online via the Green Party's Livestream channel (http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus).

Journalists are encouraged to register ahead of time, at the Green Party's media credentialing page (http://www.gp.org/forms/media). Registration for media will also take place on site during the meeting. Scott McLarty, media coordinator for the Green Party, will be on site and can be reached at 202-904-7614 (cell).

Alfred is about 80 miles from Rochester and 90 miles from Buffalo.Â For directions to Alfred University and Green Fest, see: http://nygreenfest.org/directions.html

Elizabeth May, Canada's first elected Green Party member of Parliament, will speak to Greens at the meeting by Skype. David C. Korten, economist, co-founder and board chair of YES! Magazine, and author of 'When Corporations Rule the World' and other books (http://livingeconomiesforum.org/author-bio), will also address the meeting by Skype.

Appearing in person will be Richard Grossman, co-author of 'Defying Corporations, Defining Democracy' (2001), author of 'Taking Care of Business: Citizenship & the Charter of Incorporation' (1993); Revoking the Corporation (1996), 'The WTO, the US Constitution & Self-Government' (1999); active with Frack Free Catskills (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Frack-Free-Catskills/160846107298815) in Ulster and Green counties, New York.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS for the Media
For all events and more details, see http://nygreenfest.org/2011schedule.html
Speakers' bios: http://nygreenfest.org/presenterbios11.html
The Green Party's Livestream channel: http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5

9:00 am
Press conference
Welcome from the Green Party of New York State and the Green Party of the United States
Green officeholder: David Doonan, Mayor of Greenwich, NY
Green candidates:
Audrey Clement, for Arlington County Board, Va. (http://www.AudreyClement.org), co-chair of the Green Party of the United States
Howie Hawkins, for Common Councillor of Syracuse, NY; 2010 candidate for Governor or NY
Mike Bernhard, for Town Board member in Afton, NY
Jay Sweeney, for Supervisor in Falls Township, Pa.
Joe Duffy, for Alderman of Hornell, NY; chair of the Steuben County Green Party (http://www.steubengreens.org)
Green presidential candidate Kent Mesplay (http://www.mesplay.org)
Moderator: Scott McLarty
Location: Kenyon-Allen Davis Suite, Powell Campus Center

11:00 am
Press conference
Hosted by the National Women's Caucus
Green candidates:
Cheri Honkala, for Sheriff of Philadelphia, Pa. (http://www.cherihonkala.com)
Cecile Lawrence, candidate for the Tioga County Legislature (District 3), NY
Moderator: George Friday
Location: Kenyon-Allen Davis Suite, Powell Campus Center

6:45 to 8:45 pm
Forum on Building Local Economies
David Korten, economist, (via Skype) on "Agenda for a Local Economy"; Tina Clarke and David Doonan on the Transition Town Movement
Moderator: Tim Bancroft
Location: Nevins Theater, Powell Campus Center

SATURDAY, AUGUST 6

1:15 to 2:30 pm
Forum on Asserting Local Sovereignty over Fossil Fuel Extraction
Richard Grossman, democracy and anti-fracking activist; and various Green Party speakers.
Moderator: Kate Bartholomew
Location: Solar Stage

6:45 to 8:45 pm
Forum on Campaigning for Local Economies and Clean Energy
Elizabeth May, Green Member of Parliament in Canada, (via Skype), US Green candidates and officeholders
Moderator: David Cobb, 2004 Green Party presidential nominee
Location: Nevins Theater, Powell Campus Center

Some details of the above events may be subject to change.

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191

Green candidate database and campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php

Green Party's 2011 Annual National Meeting / New York Green Fest http://nygreenfest.org
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-Green-Fest/71141014224
Alfred University http://www.alfred.edu
Green Party of New York State http://www.web.gpnys.com
Directions http://nygreenfest.org/directions.html
Green Party Annual National Meeting Committee http://www.gp.org/committees/anmc/index.php
Media credentialing page http://www.gp.org/forms/media

GreenStream Live: News and discussion on the Green Party's Livestream channel
http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States (Summer 2011 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog/?p=2842

~ END ~

___

Disclaimer: State, local, and candidate press releases made available here represent the opinions of the original source only. Opinions expressed by a state party or candidate do not necessarily represent the views of the Green Party of the United States. State party contact information, when provided with candidate releases, does not imply state party endorsement of the opinions expressed nor of the candidate (prior to gaining formal nomination by the party).
___

Office: PO Box 57065 Washington, D.C. 20037
Email: GPHQ--at--gp.org 202-319-7191 or toll-free (US): 866-41GREEN

Why Should You Help Fight Corporate Personhood?

2011-07-26T07:30:00.000-05:00

Watch this, then go to http://gpomc.blogspot.com/2011/07/end-corporate-personhood-with-green.html to see how you can get involved.

End Corporate Personhood With The Green Party!

2011-07-25T16:14:00.002-05:00

Great news, Fellow Progressives!

We have two fantastic events coming up, both centered around ending Corporate Personhood.

First, we have an agreement with The Little Theater to show a movie the first Thursday of each month that relates to the topic of our monthly meeting. The first one will be Thursday, August 4th at 6:30pm. We will be showing The Corporation , a great documentary on how corporations gained so much power in America. Tickets will be $10 with part of the proceeds going to the Green Party of Monroe County to help us continue to work on issues and run candidates.

The second event is our monthly meeting, which is just as exciting. Our old friend and 2004 Green Party candidate for President, David Cobb will be the guest speaker at our next monthly meeting. David has been working with the Move To Amend coalition, to get a constitutional amendment to outlaw corporate personhood. If you remember David from his campaign in 2004, he is a dynamite speaker. The meeting will be outside as well, so bring your lawn chairs or blanket and join us, Monday, August 8th at 7pm at the Susan B. Anthony Square Park, on King Street . As usual, it is free and open to the public so bring your friends!

Green campaigns are starting to ramp up for the November election. The party is in a unique position this year as we are able to put Green candidates on the ballot right up until mid-September (no petition signatures required). If you're a Green who is interested in running for local office this year, please contact the party at (585) 360-0313.

As usual, don't forget our most excellent social networking sites:
Our Website: http://www.gpomc.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/gpomc
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/greenpartyofMC
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/greenpartyofmonroe
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/gpomc

Tell Congressman Reed to Keep His Hands Off Our Safety Net

2011-07-19T13:55:00.002-05:00

In solidarity with a number of groups in Rochester, the Green Party of Monroe County invites you to join us tomorrow, Wednesday, July 20th at 1pm as we tell Congressman Tom Reed to stay away from our safety net.

Republicans in Congress have been threatening Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare and more under the false pretense that we do not have money to pay for services while we have money for more tax breaks for the rich. Enough is enough.

Join us tomorrow at Congressman Reed's office in Pittsford:

672 Pittsford-Victor Rd.

Pittsford, New York

Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=672+Pittsford-Victor+Rd,+%23+2+Pittsford,+NY&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&gl=us&z=16

Wear Green, bring water and join us along with the following groups:

New York Association on Independent Living (NYAIL)

New York State Alliance for Retired Americans

New York State AFL-CIO

Citizen Action of NY

1199 SEIU

Fight For A Fair Economy

New York Statewide Senior Action Council

Metro Justice

Center for Disability Rights

Green Party of Monroe County

Working Families Party

March in the 2011 Rochester Pride Parade

2011-07-14T17:03:00.005-05:00

The Green Party of Monroe County will be joining with the local LGBTQ community in its celebration of Pride. The local Rochester community has much to celebrate this year with the passage of marriage equality in New York State. Whether LGBTQ or straight, all members and supporters of the Green Party are welcome to join us this Saturday to march in the 2011 Pride Parade on Park Ave & Goodman. Line-up is at 2pm on Argyle St, and the parade begins at 3pm. We will be walking with our banner and please be sure to wear as much green and as many rainbows as you can.

Pride Week 2011

===============
The National Lavender Green Caucus

In keeping with the Green Key Values of diversity, social justice and feminism, we support full legal and political equality for all persons, regardless of sex, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity, characteristics, and expression.

The Green Party affirms the rights of all individuals to freely choose intimate partners, regardless of their sex, gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
The Green Party recognizes the equal rights of persons who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, intersex, transsexual, queer, or transgender to housing, jobs, civil marriage, medical benefits, child custody, and in all areas of life including equal tax treatment.
The Green Party will be inclusive of language in local, state and federal anti-discrimination law that ensures the rights of intersex individuals and prohibits discrimination based on gender identity, characteristics, and expression as well as on sex, gender, or sexual orientation. We are opposed to intersex genital mutilation.
The Green Party affirms the right of all persons to self-determination with regard to gender identity and sex. We therefore support the right of intersex and transgender individuals to be free from coercion and involuntary assignment of gender or sex. We affirm the right of access to medical and surgical treatment for assignment or reassignment of gender or sex, based on informed consent.
We will pursue legislation against all forms of hate crimes, including those directed against people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, transgender, and intersex. Offenders must pay compensation to the LGBTIQ people who have suffered violence and injustice.
The Green Party will end all Federal military and civilian aid to national governments whose laws result in the imprisonment or otherwise bring harm to citizens and residents based on sexual orientation, or gender identity, characteristics, and expression.
The Green Party will enact a policy that the U.S. Government recognize all international marriages and legal equivalents, such as civil unions, in processing visitor and immigration Visas.
The Green Party would repeal don’t ask don’t tell, abolish security clearances denied on the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender identity, and supports the rights of defense personnel and volunteers to serve their country openly without penalty irrespective of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

-The Green Party would end security surveillance and covert infiltration of organizations that promote equal rights on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Green Party's 2011 Annual National Meeting will feature Green candidates from NY, as well as anti-hydrofracking leaders and other Green activists

2011-07-13T19:27:00.000-05:00

The Green Party's 2011 Annual National Meeting will feature Green candidates from New York and other states, as well as anti-hydrofracking leaders and other Green activists

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

For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org
Hillary Kane, co-chair of the Annual National Meeting Committee, 267-971-3559, hillarya@pobox.upenn.edu
In New York: Rachel Treichler, Green Fest Planning Committee, 607-569-2114, rachel@ecobooks.com

The meeting will take place August 5-7 at Green Fest in Alfred, western New York; Greens will begin planning for the 2012 elections, including the presidential race; Elizabeth May, Canadian Green member of Parliament, and economist David C. Korten to speak via Skype

Theme of the meeting: "Building a Green Economy -- No War. No Coal. No Gas. No Nukes."

Media credentialing page: http://www.gp.org/forms/media (also linked here: http://www.gp.org/committees/media/kit.shtml)

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party of the United States will feature an array of candidates and guest speakers at its 2011 Annual National Meeting at Alfred University in Alfred in western New York, from Friday, August 5 to Sunday, August 7.

The meeting will take place at the fourth biennial New York Green Fest, "a gathering of folks interested in exploring the politics and practices that will help enable us to live in a sustainable world, and sharing a weekend of good discussions, good food, and good music" (http://nygreenfest.org).

Among the speakers will be leaders in the campaign to ban hydrofracking (hydraulic fracturing), an environmentally destructive and dangerous technique for accessing gas in the Marcellus Shale beneath Pennsylvania, New York, and other states (see http://nygreenfest.blogspot.com/2011/07/hydrofracking-activists-join-green.html and http://gp.org/greenpages-blog/?p=2440). David Cobb, 2004 Green nominee for President, will speak on the need to abolish corporate 'personhood' and restrict the political power of corporations (see http://www.movetoamend.org).

Elizabeth May, Canada's first elected Green Party member of Parliament, will speak to Greens at the meeting by Skype. David C. Korten, economist, co-founder and board chair of YES! Magazine, and author of 'When Corporations Rule the World' and other books (http://livingeconomiesforum.org/author-bio), will also address the meeting by Skype.

"There are many people throughout the US, including Green elected officials and community activists, who are thinking, talking, planning, and working for a sustainable energy economy despite lack of broader government engagement," said Peter LaVenia, co-chair of the Green Party of New York State (http://www.web.gpnys.com). "Many of them will be coming to the meeting in Alfred or will speak to meeting participants via Skype. Alfred is the perfect place for Green Fest (http://www.alfred.edu/campus/going-green.cfm)."

Several Green candidates from New York and other states will attend the meeting, speak at press conferences, and be available for interview. At least one candidate for the Green presidential nomination, Kent Mesplay, will be present. A preliminary list of candidates who plan to attend the meeting is appended below.

David Doonan, Green Party member and mayor of Greenwich, New York, will also be at the meeting.

For a list of presenters and other speakers at the meeting, with short bios, visit: http://nygreenfest.org/presenterbios11.html

For a draft schedule of panels and forums, see http://nygreenfest.org/detailedschedule.html

Green Party leaders at the meeting will begin organizing for the 2012 election season, including the presidential race. The party will nominate a candidate for the White House at its 2012 national convention. The 2011 meeting in Alfred will also feature Green Party panels, workshops, meetings of the Green National Committee, and other events.

The meeting is open to the media and public. Press conferences will feature Green candidates for public office from across the US, with a special press conference on Friday, August 6, for women candidates hosted by the party's Women Caucus (http://www.gp.org/caucuses/women/index.php). Journalists are encouraged to register ahead of time, at the Green Party's media credentialing page (http://www.gp.org/forms/media). Registration for media will also take place on site during the meeting.

Alfred is about 80 miles from Rochester and 90 miles from Buffalo. For directions to Alfred University and Green Fest, see: http://nygreenfest.org/directions.html

GREEN CANDIDATES at the Green Party's 2011 Annual National Meeting

Mike Bernhard, for Town Board member in Afton, New York.

Audrey Clement, for Arlington County Board, Virginia, in the 2011 general election (http://www.AudreyClement.org). Ms. Clement is a member of the Green Party's national steering committee.

Joe Duffy, for Alderman in Hornell, New York. Mr. Duffy is chair of the Steuben County Green Party.

Howie Hawkins for Common Councillor of Syracuse, New York. The Green Party of New York State regained ballot status in 2010 as a result of Mr. Hawkin's Green campaign for Governor.

Cheri Honkala, for Sheriff of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (http://www.cherihonkala.com) in the 2011 general election. Ms. Honkala founded the Kensington Welfare Rights Union and the national Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign. She was included in Philadelphia Magazine's list of 100 Most Powerful Philadelphians and was named Philadelphia Weekly's "Woman of the Year" in 1997.

Cecile Lawrence, candidate for the Tioga County Legislature (District 3), New York, , in the 2011 general election. Ms. Lawrence, who will conduct a workshop at the meeting, was the Green Party's candidate for US Senate from New York in 2010. A member of Tioga Peace and Justice, she testified at hearings towards the passage of the New York State Managed Care Bill of Rights.

Kent Mesplay, candidate for the Green Party's nomination for President (http://www.mesplay.org). Dr. Mesplay also sought the nomination in 2008.

Anita Rios, candidate for City Council in Toledo (District 4), Ohio, in the 2011 general election. Ms. Rios ran for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio in 2006 and 2010 and is former of the Green Party's national steering committee.

Jay Sweeney, for Supervisor in Falls Township, Pennsylvania, in the 2011 general election (http://www.jaysweeney.org). Mr. Sweeney currently serves as Auditor in Falls Township.

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191

Green candidate database and campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php

Green Party's 2011 Annual National Meeting / New York Green Fest http://nygreenfest.org
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-Green-Fest/71141014224
Alfred University http://www.alfred.edu
Green Party of New York State http://www.web.gpnys.com
Directions http://nygreenfest.org/directions.html
Green Party Annual National Meeting Committee http://www.gp.org/committees/anmc/index.php

GreenStream Live: News and discussion on the Green Party's Livestream channel
http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States (Fall 2010 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

~ END ~

July Monthly Meeting on Cooperative Economics

2011-07-11T07:31:00.000-05:00

Gael Orr will be joining us to discuss the history and mechanics of worker cooperatives, with a focus on Once Again Nut Butters. Once Again has been a successful democratically-controlled workplace since its founding in 1976 and has been active in promoting the expansion of cooperatives across the world.

One of the Green Party's Ten Key Values is Community-Based Economics. Almost any form of economic activity in society has at some point been carried out by a democratically-controlled cooperative. The Green Party of Monroe County believes that establishment and expansion of the cooperative movement in Monroe County is the best way forward for our communities.

Monday, July 11th 7-9pm
Calvary St. Andrews Presbyterian Church
68 Ashland Street (southwedge)
Wheelchair accessible

See you there!

Candidate Questionnaire Deadline

2011-06-28T09:33:00.002-05:00

The Green Party of Monroe County has been accepting candidate questionnaires and interviewing candidates over the last few weeks. If you're still interested in running for office in the fall on the Green Party ballot line, please make sure that you've submitted your questionnaire by 5pm on Friday, July 1st. We look forward to working with you.

As a Word Doc: http://www.mediafire.com/?hzha8ms65q33889
As a PDF: http://www.mediafire.com/?3pu3jaeiduam6jj

GPoMC Update - Marriage Victory! & Latino Caucus

2011-06-26T13:57:00.002-05:00

Marriage Equality for New York!

The Green Party of Monroe County has advocated for same-sex marriage equality for years and is glad to see the New York State Senate pass the Marriage Equality Act this year. We recognize that the struggle for equality is not over and will continue to advocate for the legal rights and social acceptance of our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex citizens. The GPoMC will be marching in Rochester's Pride Parade on July 16th. Please consider joining us in celebration. http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=246278322064360

GPUS Latino Caucus Forming

Latino Greens are once again trying to bring together a Latino caucus. We feel that it is essential to have a Latino organized, accredited, and active in Green Party organizing and decision making. If you or someone you know might be interested in participating in a Latino Caucus please contact Anita Rios of Ohio (rhannon@toast.net) or Angel Torres of Arizona (aatorres29@hotmail.com).

See http://www.gp.org/caucuses/index.php for more information on existing identity caucuses of the Green Party of the United States.

For more frequent updates of GPoMC activity please follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Peace&Rainbows

Drew Langdon

Secretary, Green Party of Monroe County

Marriage Equality in New York - Thank You Greens!

2011-06-25T05:19:00.007-05:00

The New York State Senate gave final approval Friday night to legalize same-sex marriage. A big thank you and congratulations to everyone who help make this change including countless Greens.

In the past few months The Green Party of Monroe County has been active advocating for the passage of this bill through lobbying state Senators and state Assemblyman, phone banking, hand delivery literature, and of course attending rallies.

For the Green Party this journey started a very long time ago, legalizing same-sex marriages has been in the Green Party's platform since it's inception. Over the years we have been steadfast in our call for marriage equality, and full LBGTQ rights.

On February 27, 2004 our advocacy turned into real action when Jason West, the first Green to be elected mayor in New York State, began performing marriages of same-sex couples outside the village hall in New Paltz. Mayor West was on the Rachel Maddow Show, the day before this historic legislation was past, to talk about marriage equality in New York, and what role his actions had in moving the issue to the forefront on political debate.

Alison Duncan, the 2006 Green Party candidate for Lieutenant Governor of New York and the first openly gay candidate for a gubernatorial office in New York, toured the state speaking on a wide range of LBGTQ issues, and pushing marriage equality in the political discourse here in New york.

Today I thank Mayor West, Alison Duncan, the founders of the Green Party, and the countless Greens and the countless New Yorkers, and advocacy groups that helped change happen in New York. Today we celebrate, tomorrow we continue to fight for equal rights for all.

-Jason Nabewaniec
Co-Chair of the Green Party of the United States

Green Party: The US must support the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla aid boats, press Israel to end the blockade

2011-06-22T20:50:00.001-05:00

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES

http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, cell 202-904-7614 , mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805 , starlene@gp.org

Green Party Speakers Bureau: Greens available to speak on foreign policy and peace
http://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-foreign-policy.php
http://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-peace.php

Green Party's 2011 Annual National Meeting / New York Green Fest, Aug. 5-7 in Alfred, New York http://nygreenfest.org

WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders today called on the US State Department to support the Gaza Aid Flotilla, and to cease defending and assisting Israel's maritime blockade.

"The US should end its shameful complicity in the brutal siege on Gaza and pressure Israel to end its illegal collective punishment which has cost thousands of civilian lives in Gaza. The U.S. State Department should denounce the Israeli Navy's threat to use snipers and attack dogs against the 'Audacity of Hope' and other Freedom Flotilla II aid boats as intimidation tactics which clearly signal Israel's willingness to, once again, violate human rights and humanitarian law," said Muhammed Malik, co-chair of Miami-Dade Green Party (http://miamidadegreenparty.org) and a member of the Green Party's International Committee (http://www.gp.org/committees/intl). Mr. Malik recently co-organized a rally near the Israeli Consulate in Miami in support of Palestinian rights and the Freedom Flotilla II.

The Green Party of the United States has supported the Freedom Flotillas to Gaza (http://ustogaza.org), including the May 2010 fleet of humanitarian aid ships that were attacked by Israel in international waters near Cyprus which left 9 human rights activists dead and at least 50 wounded (http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=321). In July 2009, Cynthia McKinney, a former US Representative from Georgia and the Green Party's 2008 presidential nominee, was one of 21 human rights activists on board the Free Gaza relief boat seized by the Israeli navy in international waters when it tried to deliver medical and other humanitarian aid to Gaza in June 2009, in the wake of Israel's invasion of Gaza. Ms. McKinney and the other activists were held in an Israeli jail for several days.

The flotilla will begin its next voyage on or around June 24 with approximately 60 passengers, including Alice Walker, author of 'The Color Purple'; Col. Ann Wright, who resigned from the State Dept. in 2003 in protest of President Bush's invasion of Iraq; Hedy Epstein, a Holocaust survivor; many other peace activists and journalists.

"The State Department has called the Gaza aid boats 'provocative' -- and this is entirely correct. By delivering humanitarian aid to Gazans, the Freedom Flotilla is undertaking a nonviolent, courageous, and justifiable act of defiance to provoke international outrage over Israel's actions in Gaza. The aid boats are calling attention to Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian lands, murderous treatment of Palestinian people, displacement of Palestinian families from their homes, and internal apartheid. The US must cut off all military aid to Israel until the Israeli government reverses its current policies," said Justine McCabe, co-chair of the Green Party's International Committee.

The Green Party of the US has called for boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel until it complies with international law and UN directives, ends the occupation of Palestinian lands, and observes full and equal human rights for Palestinians, including the right of return.

Greens leaders have urged support for Palestinian and Israeli peace groups and called for an end to all violence targeted at unarmed civilians, insisting that regional stability and security for all the people of Israel and Palestine are not possible until peaceful negotiation resolves the conflict.

The Green Party has condemned Israel's persecution of Palestinian peace activists, including the 2011 arrest of Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh (http://qumsiyeh.org), former associate professor of genetics at Yale University and member of the Green Party of Connecticut before he moved back to Palestine (http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=307).

Greens expressed fear that peaceful resolution may be less likely after Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu demanded that Palestinians recognize Israel as a "Jewish state" (http://www.haaretz.com/news/netanyahu-demands-palestinians-recognize-jewish-state-1.274207), which drew no protest from the White House. Contrary to Mr. Netanyahu's demand and President Obama's uncritical support for it, Israel-Palestine has always been multicultural, with Palestinians currently making up 20-plus percent of the population.

"We're very concerned that Israel will interpret the Obama Administration's refusal to criticize the attacks on peaceful aid boats as permission for even worse attacks on future flotillas. We urge the President to do the right thing -- to defend the Freedom Flotilla and see it as the equivalent of nonviolent civil disobedience by activists during the US Civil Rights struggle. We are embarrassed that Mr. Obama doesn't seem to understand this comparison," said Carl Romanelli, former Green US Senate candidate from Pennsylvania and member of the party's International Committee.

MORE INFORMATION

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

Green candidate database and campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php

US Campaign to End the Occupation
http://www.endtheoccupation.org

Free Gaza Movement
http://www.freegaza.org

"Peaceful protest in Israel can lead to arrest"
By Dr. Mazin Qumsiyah, March 9, 2010, The New Haven Register
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010/03/09/opinion/doc4b95ab40a3642160727871.txt

Green Party's 2011 Annual National Meeting / New York Green Fest http://nygreenfest.org
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-Green-Fest/71141014224
Alfred University http://www.alfred.edu
Green Party of New York State http://www.web.gpnys.com
Directions http://nygreenfest.org/directions.html
Green Party Annual National Meeting Committee http://www.gp.org/committees/anmc/index.php
Media Credentialing http://www.gp.org/committees/media/kit.shtml

GreenStream Live: News and discussion on the Green Party's Livestream channel
http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

~ END ~

___

Office: PO Box 57065 Washington, D.C. 20037
Email: GPHQ--at--gp.org 202-319-7191 or toll-free (US): 866-41GREEN

A vote Marriage Equality likely today

2011-06-17T04:34:00.002-05:00

Call an undecided New York State Senator TODAY and ask them to vote YES for Marriage Equality:

Stephen Saland: (845) 463-0840
Jack Martins: (518)-455-3265
Andrew Lanza: (718) 984-4073
Mark Grisanti: (518) 455-3240
Greg Ball: (845) 279-3773
Kemp Hannon: (516) 739-1700
Charles Fuschillo: (516) 882-0630
Betty Little: (518) 743-0968
Patrick Gallivan: (518) 455-3471

The Green Party recognizes the equal rights of persons who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, intersex, transsexual, queer, or transgender to housing, jobs, civil marriage, medical benefits, child custody, and in all areas of life including equal tax treatment.

Marriage Equality in Sight! Full Steam Ahead!
As the state legislative session starts winding down this June, it is important that we keep our State Senators accountable and let them know that it is time to pass marriage equality in New York State. The latest poll indicates a 58% support for this step towards equality, and the number only continues to grow. Our local senators hold a large amount of the responsibility for whether or not we are going to stop this blatant discrimination against same-sex couples. So if you haven't called or written a letter to your Senator, now is the time to do so. And if have already it sure doesn't hurt to let them know again that Monroe County wants to end the discrimination against its lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens.

Sen. Joseph Robach
2300 W. Ridge Road
Rochester, NY 14626
(585) 225-3650
robach@nysenate.gov

Sen. James Alesi
220 Packetts Landing
Fairport, NY 14450
(585) 223-1800
alesi@nysenate.gov

Sen. Michael Nozzolio
119 Fall Street
Seneca Falls, NY 13148
(315) 568-9816
nozzolio@nysenate.gov

Sen. George Maziarz
175 Walnut St., Suite 6
Lockport, NY 14094
(716) 434-0680
maziarz@nysenate.gov

Green Party to hold its 2011 Annual National Meeting August 5-7 at Green Fest in Alfred, NY

2011-06-16T16:47:00.001-05:00

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES

http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Thursday, June 16, 2011

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, cell 202-904-7614 , mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805 , starlene@gp.org
Hillary Kane, co-chair of the Annual National Meeting Committee, 267-971-3559 , hillarya@pobox.upenn.edu

Greens begin planning for the 2012 elections, including the presidential race

Theme of the meeting: "Building a Green Economy -- No War. No Coal. No Gas. No Nukes."

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party of the United States will hold its 2011 Annual National Meeting at Alfred University in Alfred in western New York, from Friday, August 5 to Sunday, August 7.

The meeting will take place at the fourth bienniel New York Green Fest, "a gathering of folks interested in exploring the politics and practices that will help enable us to live in a sustainable world, and sharing a weekend of good discussions, good food, and good music" (http://nygreenfest.org).

"We look forward to meeting in New York, where the Green Party of New York State regained ballot status in 2010 with Howie Hawkin's Green campaign for governor," said Jason Nabewaniec, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States and a New York Green.

Green Party leaders will begin organizing for the 2012 election season, including the presidential race. The party will nominate a candidate for the White House at its 2012 national convention. The 2011 meeting in Alfred will also feature Green Party panels, workshops, meetings of the Green National Committee, and other events.

The meeting is open to the media and public. Press conferences will feature Green candidates for public office from across the US, with a special press conference on Friday, August 6, for women candidates hosted by the party's Women Caucus (http://www.gp.org/caucuses/women/index.php).

Alfred is about 80 miles from Rochester and 90 miles from Buffalo. For directions to Alfred University and Green Fest, see this web page: http://nygreenfest.org/directions.html

More information about the Green Party's 2011 Annual National Meeting will be announced in the coming weeks.

MORE INFORMATION

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

Green candidate database and campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php

Green Party's 2011 Annual National Meeting / New York Green Fest http://nygreenfest.org
Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-Green-Fest/71141014224
Alfred University http://www.alfred.edu
Green Party of New York State http://www.web.gpnys.com
Directions http://nygreenfest.org/directions.html
Green Party Annual National Meeting Committee http://www.gp.org/committees/anmc/index.php

GreenStream Live: News and discussion on the Green Party's Livestream channel
http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States (Fall 2010 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

Video Chat - Presidential Candidate Dr. Kent P. Mesplay - Monday June 13

2011-06-12T19:34:00.002-05:00

LIVE Video - GreenStream GPUS-TV

Kent Mesplay the 1st announced Green Party Presidential Candidate

Monday June 13, 9pm EDT

Link to watch the live interview on Monday

http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus

You'll be able live text chat with each other and ask questions of the candidate.

Please Tweet, post on Facebook, post on your webpages and blogs, forward this email to fellow activists.

Starlene Rankin and Craig Seeman

GreenParty U.S. GreenStream Producers

Dr. Kent P. Mesplay's bio

WASHINGTON, DC — The Green Party’s online livestream show ‘GreenStream’ will feature Dr. Kent P. Mesplay, the party’s first announced presidential candidate for 2012 Monday evening, June 13, 9:00 pm ET, 6:00 pm PT. Native American, Biological Engineering Scientist and Green Party leader Dr. Mesplay will focus on the key issues he plans to bring to his Green Power to The People, including liberating America from the Corporationists, Sustainability equals Security and Civil Rights for All, including native peoples and immigrants. He writes he is running for so many of the common people he's met and that “Through its Future-Focus, the Green Party embodies tribal wisdom: consider the seventh generation in our thoughts and actions, in our decisions.”
Along with discussion, the one-hour show will present Green news, interviews, video clips, and viewer participation.

Kent was born and raised by Lutheran missionary parents in Papua New Guinea. After returning to America for his high school years he graduated Valedictorian from Mira Mesa High School in 1980. In college, he studied Western and non-Western medicine, earning a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University and he obtained an undergrad degree in Engineering from Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, California. After graduate school, Kent worked at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, in Long Beach, California, before moving to La Mesa and teaching mathematics in the Grossmont Union High School District. He currently works as an Air Quality Inspector at the Air Pollution Control District, in San Diego. Kent ran for the Green Party presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008 and ran for the GP nomination for Senate in California in 2006. His Green Power to the People campaign is nationwide, cross-cultural and inclusive of all The People.

Starlene Rankin and Craig Seeman of the Green Party’s Media Committee have coordinated and hosted previous shows which covered various topics including including Wisconsin Green Party actions against Gov. Scott Walker’s outrages, Green responses to the Bin Laden assassination, Aftermath of the BP Eco-disaster in the Gulf and Rachel Treichler on the harmful process of

Greens urge Obama to reverse decision to shun the third World Conference against Racism

2011-06-12T16:07:00.001-05:00

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

For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, June 8, 2011

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

US Greens will attend the conference

WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders urged President Obama to reverse his decision to withdraw from participation in the third World Conference against Racism ("Durban III").

The conference, sponsored by the United Nations, will take place in New York City on September 22, 2011, marking the tenth anniversary of the first World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance in 2001, which was held in Durban, South Africa. The Obama Administration has cited widespread anger against Israel and the US at past conferences, perceived to be antisemitic and anti-American, as the reason for the withdrawal.

"2011 is both the International Year of Afrodescendants and the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the US Civil War. As such, it is vitally important the United States of America have an official presence at Durban III, to join an open discussion with the rest of the world on racism and how to end it; racism here in the USA, as well as in other countries," said Marian Douglas-Ungaro, co-chair of the Green Party's International Committee (http://www.gp.org/committees/intl/) and a member of the Green Party Black Caucus (http://www.gp.org/caucuses/black/index.php).

"Any statement expressing religious or ethnic intolerance or incitement to hatred against the Jewish people deserves swift condemnation. But the U.S. and other western countries have often interpreted legitimate criticism of the state of Israel, which has maintained its brutal and illegal occupation of Palestinian lands and internal apartheid, as 'antisemitic'. They've used this thinly-veiled excuse to withdraw from the Durban conferences to avoid situations where certain rights-violating policies would face scrutiny and criticism on the world stage," said Muhammed Malik, Co-Chair of the Miami-Dade Green Party (http://miamidadegreenparty.org/) and former Racial Justice and Voting Rights Projects Associate at the ACLU Florida. Mr. Malik recently spoke about racial justice as a panelist on the opening plenary of the Rights Working Group's Southeastern Regional Conference and is organizing a rally at the Israeli Consulate in Miami in support of Palestinian rights and the Freedom Flotilla II to Gaza (http://ustogaza.org).

Greens said that the White House has avoided the Durban conferences also because of the failure of the US to address internal racial inequality, including continuing economic disparities and disadvantages suffered by people of color (such as the disproportionate loss of black families' homes during the recent sub-prime mortgage crisis), the unaddressed call for reparations for the descendants of slavery, harassment and deportation of undocumented immigrants, the targeting of people of color in the War on Drugs, and record incarceration rates, with black, brown, poor, and young people locked up to feed the for-profit private prison industry.

Referring to Attorney General Eric Holder's recent announcement that he will authorize the release of 5,500 federal prisoners to begin correcting sentencing disparities between crack and cocaine offenders, Green Party co-chair Theresa El-Amin said, "In this International Year of People of African Descent it's beyond disappointing that the Obama Administration lifts a release of [only] 5,500 for nonviolent drug offenses when there are 2.4 million incarcerated in the United States. The fact that the majority of the 2.4 million are people of color makes the 5,500 release a non-event. The US is number one in the whole world in incarceration rates. China, which is four times more populous than the US, is a distant second with 1.6 million people in prison. The US pulling out of the Durban process is simply unacceptable."

Ms. El-Amin, who plans to attend Durban III, was one of several human rights activists who participated in a special White House conference call briefing on Thursday, June 2. During the briefing, White House official Samantha Powers explained that the US delegation to the UN would withdraw from Durban III and cited "Israel" when asked why, drawing several statements of disappointment by other participants before the White House abruptly terminated the call.

Greens, including 2008 Green Party presidential nominee Cynthia McKinney, have participated in the first World Conference against Racism in 2001 and the second meeting ("Durban Review Conference") in Geneva in 2009, both of which the US shunned. On August 8, 2001, the Green Party issued a strongly worded resolution on the withdrawal (http://www.gp.org/press/pr_08_13_01.html).

MORE INFORMATION

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

Green candidate database and campaign information:
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml

News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php

UN: One-day plenary event on the 10th anniversary of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intorelance
http://www.un.org/events/calendar/Edetail.asp?EventID=1976&BeginDate=9/22/2011

2001 World Conference against Racism (UN site)
http://www.un.org/WCAR/

US Human Rights Network
http://www.ushrnetwork.org

'GreenStream Wednesday': News and discussion on the Green Party's Livestream channel
http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States (Fall 2010 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

~ END ~

___

Office: PO Box 57065 Washington, D.C. 20037
Email: GPHQ--at--gp.org 202-319-7191 or toll-free (US): 866-41GREEN

Green Party supports protesters opposing massive 'Via Verde' gas pipeline through Puerto Rico

2011-06-12T16:02:00.000-05:00

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

For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, May 25, 2011

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

Puerto Rico's colonial status must be replaced with self-determination and independence, say Greens

Green Party Speakers Bureau: Greens available to speak on ecological sustainability and global warming: http://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-ecological.php

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party has joined Puerto Ricans protesting a proposal by Gov. Luis Fortuño to construct a huge natural gas pipeline that would endanger Puerto Rico's communities and ecosystems. Green Party leaders said that the problem of Puerto Rico's high electric bills and dirty air from burning oil must be resolved through alternative energy instead of burning another fossil fuel.

"Everything about the project is wrong, beginning with Gov. Fortuño's Orwellian name for the pipeline -- the 'Green Way' [Via Verde]. A pipeline that threatens people living nearby and damages green mountains is not green, by any stretch. The top contract for the $450 million pipeline has been awarded to a company with no experience constructing pipelines. It's a corrupt deal to benefit a favored corporation," said Rosa Clemente, the Green Party's 2008 nominee for Vice President. Ms. Clemente is Puerto Rican.

The contractor, Gas Natural de Puerto Rico, is also seeking tax exemption, while the bill for the pipeline will be covered by Puerto Rican taxpayers ("Pide exención contributiva al Gobierno," Perla del Sur, http://www.periodicolaperla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2585:pide-exencion-contributiva-futuro-usuario-del-gasoducto-del-norte&catid=81:locales&Itemid=198).

For more information on the serious risks of the pipeline, see "Casa Pueblo: scientific paper on the pipeline," RedBetances.com (in Spanish) (http://www.redbetances.com/component/content/article/51-en-portada/390-casa-pueblo-html).

"Puerto Rico's colonial status makes it especially vulnerable to the kind of corporate influence, official corruption, and disregard for the well-being of residents and the environment in evidence now with the pipeline proposal. Puerto Ricans were also forced to accept weapons testing by the US Navy on the island of Vieques, until widespread protests shut down the firing range in 2003. The Green Party supports the efforts of Puerto Ricans to stop this misnamed gas pipeline, and we support self-determination, independence, and democratic sovereignty for the people of Puerto Rico," said Michael Canney, Florida Green and member of the Green Party's International Committee (http://www.gp.org/committees/intl).

Green Party leaders said that the Puerto Rico's energy problems must be solved by diversifying energy sources (excluding nuclear power), aggressive energy conservation and efficiency, and finding ways to reduce the island's reliance on expensive fossil fuels. The top priority, in Puerto Rico and throughout the world, must be protection of the health of humans, other living beings, and ecosystems and action to curb the advance of global warming.

On May 9, the Jacksonville office of the US Army Corps of Engineers, in an unprecedented move, removed all documents related to the permitting process for the Via Verde pipeline from the Corps' San Juan office and transferred jurisdiction to Florida. (http://www.facebook.com/note.php?created&&note_id=118899578193054&id=109915969091415) This decision leaves the San Juan Office, which has spent six months evaluating the project, without jurisdiction. It also distances the people of Puerto Rico from the permitting process. Greens urge the US Army Corps of Engineers to return jurisdiction to its Puerto Rico office, and to decline approval for the project.

"While Gov. Fortuño is promoting Via Verde, President Obama is calling for expanded domestic drilling for oil, with more drilling in Alaska, Atlantic coastal areas, and the Gulf of Mexico. The problem isn't just dependence on foreign oil, as the President seems to think. The problem is the US's addiction to fossil fuels regardless of their source, with a US energy policy driven by corporate greed rather than the public interest. Increased drilling and new pipelines are insane in the context of climate change and last year's BP oil spill disaster," said Hector Lopez, Connecticut Green and member of the International Committee.

MORE INFORMATION

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

Green candidate database and campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
Ballot Access Page http://www.gp.org/ballotstatus
Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus
Video Page http://www.gp.org/video/index.php

"Shedding Light on Puerto Rico's Gasoducto Project" (collection of documents related to the project)
Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Ill.)
http://www.gutierrez.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=662&Itemid=73

"Massive pipeline proposed by island’s governor triggers fierce debate"
The Washington Post, May 14, 2011
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/massive-pipeline-proposed-by-islands-governor-triggers-fierce-debate/2011/05/14/AFaatU3G_story.html

"Dozens of organizations support protest against the pipeline"
El Vocero, April 30, 2011 (in Spanish)
http://www.vocero.com/noticias-es/decenas-de-organizaciones-respaldan-manifestacion-contra-el-gasoducto

"Vía Verde being rushed through, says Sierra Club; People should have a say in the process, say environmentalists"
Puerto Rico Daily Sun, October 13, 2010
http://www.prdailysun.com/news/Va-Verde-being-rushed-through-says-Sierra-Club

"Obama vows to expand oil production"
Agence France-Presse, May 14, 2011
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/05/14/obama-vows-to-expand-oil-production

Green Party Platform: Puerto Rican Independence
http://www.gp.org/committees/platform/2010/democracy.php#307680

'GreenStream Wednesday': News and discussion on the Green Party's Livestream channel
http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States (Fall 2010 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

~ END ~

___

Office: PO Box 57065 Washington, D.C. 20037
Email: GPHQ--at--gp.org 202-319-7191 or toll-free (US): 866-41GREEN

Weekly Update - Gentrification, Marriage, and Drones

2011-06-03T18:47:00.002-05:00

June Monthly Meeting @ the Frederick Douglass Resource Center
Starting at 7pm, the first hour of our June 13th meeting will be a presentation on the processes of gentrification in Rochester from the Frederick Douglass Resource Center. Our second hour we will be discussing party business such as the upcoming November elections. We welcome anyone to attend either segment of our meeting, regardless of political affiliation.

If you need any accommodations please let us know by sending us a note here or calling us at (585) 360-0313. The Frederick Douglass Resource Center is located at 36 King St., Rochester. We hope to see you there!

Marriage Equality in Sight! Full Steam Ahead!
As the state legislative session starts winding down this June, it is important that we keep our State Senators accountable and let them know that it is time to pass marriage equality in New York State. The latest poll indicates a 58% support for this step towards equality, and the number only continues to grow. Our local senators hold a large amount of the responsibility for whether or not we are going to stop this blatant discrimination against same-sex couples. So if you haven't called or written a letter to your Senator, now is the time to do so. And if have already it sure doesn't hurt to let them know again that Monroe County wants to end the discrimination against its lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens.

Sen. Joseph Robach
2300 W. Ridge Road
Rochester, NY 14626

(585) 225-3650
robach@nysenate.gov

Sen. James Alesi

220 Packetts Landing

Fairport, NY 14450

(585) 223-1800
alesi@nysenate.gov

Sen. Michael Nozzolio

119 Fall Street

Seneca Falls, NY 13148

(315) 568-9816

nozzolio@nysenate.gov

Sen. George Maziarz

175 Walnut St., Suite 6

Lockport, NY 14094

(716) 434-0680
maziarz@nysenate.gov

Ground the Drones and End the Wars!

Sunday, June 5, the Upstate Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars will be meeting in Rochester.
The meeting will be at the Flying Squirrel between 10 AM and 4 PM.

If you are interested, but have not participated in the past,
or if you have not made it to our meetings, mostly in Syracuse,
this is a great time to catch up with what we are doing.
There will be a pot luck lunch around Noon.
We will review:
How the use of Drones changes the face of war,
The latest news on the local drones and drone controllers at Hancock Airfield outside Syracuse,
The very successful CD action on April 22, at which time 38 people were arrested,
Followup plans for the trial and surrounding public actions to publicize the Drone issue
and
Discuss plans for future actions over the coming year to
Educate the population about Drones
and Continue to oppose their use and the ongoing wars they support.

Please Join us: June 5, 10 am, The Flying Squirrel!

--

Drew Langdon

Secretary, Green Party of Monroe County

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