Sunday, July 12, 2009
July 2009
The Green Party of NJ Bulletin - July 2009
* Report on the Annual Convention
* 2009 Campaigns
* County local reports
* Cynthia McKinney's ordeal
* Greens elected to office
* GPUS Annual National Meeting
* Green Fest 2009
* Book recommendation
* DC Rally for single-payer healthcare
* GPUS Tele-Workshop series
* Open letter to Bill Maher
============ ========= ========= ========= ====
REPORT ON THE 2009 GPNJ ANNUAL CONVENTION
(based on draft minutes of the convention
as submitted by our former Secretary Ed Fanning)
The Green Party of New Jersey's 13th Annual Convention
was held on May 23 in Vineland. About 30 members,
friends, and observers attended.
The meeting began with a moment of silence for
deceased members of GPNJ. Then county local reports
were presented for Bergen, Burlington, Camden,
Cumberland, Essex, Monmouth, Mercer, and Ocean.
Highlights:
* The Bergen local hosted a very successful forum on
Palestinian- Israeli relations last fall which included
Prof. Norman Finkelstein. They were active with Earth Day
activities and in providing support for a number of local
Green candidates in 2008.
* Rich Fuller of the Monmouth local was acknowledged for
his efforts (along with party chair Nick Mellis) in
communicating with Earl Gray's family to facilitate
Earl's desire to make a large bequeathal to GPNJ and to
the Monmouth County Greens. During 2008-2009 the local
participated in a plastic cap reclamation project,
anti-war activities and Clean Ocean Action's anti-LNG
campaign.
* The Green Party of Ocean County has established a Facebook page:
www.facebook. com/group. php?sid=64d735b9 6a90d3c1a7810fbe 037d16d4&gid=33904545473
* The Essex County Greens have been focusing on
a Clean Energy Campaign and have also been hosting
a successful film/speaker series.
After the convention's lunch break (featuring much-
appreciated provision from the Cumberland County Greens)
guest speaker David Petrovich, Executive Director of the
Society for the Preservation of Continued Home Ownership,
gave a talk on the current foreclosure crisis in New
Jersey and the country. He described blatant abuses by
the financial industry to provide loans to those who
could not possibly afford them. He also pointed out that
most credit counselors are paid by the lenders. His
presentation was well-received and generated an
interesting Q&A discussion afterward.
Highlights of voting on proposals:
* A proposal was passed to establish a link on GPNJ's Web
site to the national party's GNC (Green National
Committee) Votes page: www.GP.org/vote (this was done
immediately after the convention; the link is called "GNC
Voting Records" on www.gpnj.org).
* A proposal to have the Green Council determine how our
GNC representatives will vote was rejected.
* A proposal was approved specifying that the Green
Council has the right to censure a member of any of
the national Green Party committees.
* A proposal to establish a GPNJ Coordinator position
was approved.
* A proposal to have GPNJ endorse "a constitutional
amendment to ban the manufacture, sale, and possession
all types of guns except for law enforcement and military
personnel" was voted down.
* A three-part proposal regarding organizational dues
had the following outcomes:
(a) reduce dues to $1 annually for unemployed
members: passed;
(b) reduce GPNJ annual dues to $20: referred back to
the Green Council for deliberation;
(c) establish a special one-time $250 dues payment
to become a lifetime GPNJ member: failed.
Officer and representative elections
Chair: Nick Mellis
Vice Chair: Matt Theike
Second Vice Chair: Scott Baier
Secretary: vacancy
Treasurer: Lynn Petrovich
Coordinator: Ed Fanning
Mark Heacock, Roger Merle and Steve Welzer were elected
to represent GPNJ on the Green National Committee of GPUS.
Alternates will be Gary Novosielski and Nick Mellis.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
In the weeks following the convention, Lynn Petrovich
completed the Political Party Committee Treasurer
Training Program with the New Jersey Election Law
Enforcement Commission.
Ed Fanning sent this for inclusion in the GreenGram:
"My objectives as State Coordinator will be to:
. work with the state leadership and members to execute plans;
. maintain status of efforts;
. encourage members to follow through on commitments;
. report to the Green Council the status of efforts;
. get things accomplished in 2009!"
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ELECTORAL CAMPAIGNS
Steven Welzer of the Mercer County Greens will be running
for State Assembly in the 12th Legislative District (LD).
The district covers parts of Mercer and Monmouth
counties. Welzer ran for the 4th District Congressional
seat last year and garnered almost 3,400 votes.
Campaign contributions can be sent to:
Welzer for Assembly 2009
PO Box 2029, Princeton, NJ 08543
Jason Koralja of the Ocean County Greens will be running
for Borough Council in Surf City. For information or to
help out (or to make a contribution) contact Jason:
jklbi01 [at] hotmail.com
Holdmel resident Sean Dunne will be running for State
Assembly in the 13th District as an Independent (ballot
slogan: "Fight Corruption") . He was a Green Party member
in Ireland and assisted Green candidates there. Since
moving to New Jersey he has attended a number of Monmouth
County Green Party meetings and has established good
relations with the local members. On this basis the
Monmouth Greens have decided to endorse his independent
candidacy.
- - - - - - - -
Letter to the Lawrence Ledger from Ken Wolski
July 1
To the editor:
Nick Mellis and I regret that we were forced from the
ballot before we ever had a chance to run for the office
of Lawrence Township Council as Green Party candidates.
Nick and I were given inaccurate information on three
separate occasions that directly led to our petition for
the council election being deemed invalid.
We were quite excited about representing the Green Party
platform, which is available in its entirety at
www.gp.org. We were also quite pleased with the show of
support that we received from random samples of the
Lawrence Township electorate. Lawrence Township is a
progressive, well-educated and hard-working community
that seemed ripe for the kind of transformative platform
that the Greens represent.
The Green platform is transformative because at its heart
it represents Grassroots Democracy - in this case, the
people of Lawrence Township. The Greens refuse all
corporate money and only accept small donations from
individual voters. This funding principle represents a
sea change in American politics by which the Greens avoid
the inherently corrupting influence of corporate money.
Politicians who accept corporate donations no longer owe
primary allegiance to the American people - they
represent their corporate funders.
The Greens have many exciting proposals for a sustainable
future in the face of this institutionally corrupt
political system that has led to a collapsed economy, a
broken health care system, and a bloated and ineffective
criminal justice system.
The Green platform goes far beyond bike paths and
recycling. The Greens have outlined broad principles that
encourage a focus on the future - the lives of your
children's children - rather than the acquisitiveness of
the here and now. The Green platform includes:
* Universal, single payer health care - we are already
paying for it, we are simply not getting it;
* An end to the War on Drugs - this would enable a 1/3
increase in every other budget item - health, education,
welfare, transportation, etc.;
* Respect for diversity and women's rights;
* Non-violence - what Gandhi called the most powerful
weapon in the world.
These truly are local issues - all politics is local. By
voting for the Green Party, Lawrence residents would have
the opportunity to show that they are ready for a viable
third party to present exciting new options. By electing
Green candidates, Lawrence residents have the power to
transform not only our community, but our country and
hence, our world. But it is not to be, at least not in
the upcoming election.
We want to thank all those who supported our effort, and
who gave us such strong words of encouragement. We'll be
back. In the meantime, visit www.gpnj.org and consider
going Green.
- - - - - - - -
Greens in the northern part of the state are encouraged
to go in to New York City to help with the petition drive
to get "Reverend Billy" Talen on the ballot as the Green
Party candidate for Mayor. About 20,000 signatures are
needed by August 16. The campaign headquarters is at
250 Lafayette Street in Manhattan between Prince and Spring
(in SoHo). Contact Sean Haugh: 919-402-3489.
There will be a major fundraiser for the campaign on
Monday, July 27, 7:00 to 11:30pm - at the Highline
Ballroom, 431 W 16th Street in Manhattan. Appearing (in
addition to the Rev. and his "Life After Shopping Gospel
Choir") will be: Jollyship the Whiz-Bang, Greta Gaines,
the New York Street Vendors Chorus, Yetta Kurland, and
special guest: Joan Baez.
Tickets on sale now:
http://bit.ly/ vrbtix
www.voterevbilly. org
http://twitter. com/revbillytale n
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COUNTY LOCAL REPORTS
Bergen County
Submitted by Pat Alessandrini
Members of the Bergen County Greens joined a large group
in Englewood on June 20 for a march for Single Payer
healthcare and a demonstration with some wonderful
speakers. We had a good showing in spite of the rain!
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Essex County
Submitted by Jane Califf
Single Payer health care was explained at a public
meeting at Bloomfield College on May 27th, sponsored by
the Essex County Greens. The speaker was Winthrop C.
Dillaway, M.D., who is a member of Physicians for a
National Health Program (PNHP) which has 16,000 members.
Dr. Dillaway stated that the reason for the loud silence
on Single Payer is that it would do away with insurance
companies and their huge profits. These companies have
lobbyists all over Congress doing their best to keep
Single Payer off the table and giving donations to
Congressmembers to help influence their votes. (At recent
hearings in Washington D.C., doctors who tried to speak
out for Single Payer were told it was not on the agenda,
and when they protested, they were arrested. You can see
this on a recent Bill Moyers program on www.pbs.org.)
The term "Single Payer" means there would be one system,
managed by our government, in place of the 1,300 paying
entities we have now that are run by profit-driven
companies. It would improve and expand on Medicare -
making it "Medicare for All."
Under a Single Payer system, you would not have to apply
for health care; you would get it automatically as a U.S.
citizen. You would choose your own doctors and hospitals.
In the other words, it would be publicly run but
privately delivered.
According to PNHP the country would save at least $350
billion annually because the insurance companies would
not be spending 31% of every health care dollar on
paperwork and administration costs. A not-for-profit,
government-run system would be able to cover all of the
uninsured and upgrade coverage for every American without
premiums, deductibles or copays. Dr. Dillaway is outraged
that more than 18,000 adults in the U.S. die annually
from lack of coverage. He says there is no excuse for the
richest country in the world to have 47 million uninsured
and another 50 million who are underinsured.
For more information, go to the website of PNHP: www.pnhp.org
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mercer County
The Mercer County local will host a Green Party Summer
Picnic on Saturday, August 22, 3:00 to 7:00pm (rain date
Aug. 23). Location: 58 Brooktree Road, East Windsor
08520. It will be a pot-luck, so please bring something
to share. Info: stevewelzer [at] msn.com.
The picnic will be preceded by a brief meeting of the
Green Council.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Monmouth County
In May, Coordinator Rich Fuller gave a presentation to
the Mayor and Council of Union Beach seeking their
support for Clean Ocean Action's opposition to any
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facilities off the New
Jersey-New York coastline. Happily for all ocean
advocates, at its June 18 meeting the Borough of Union
Beach passed Resolution 2009-110 stating that the Mayor
and Council "do strongly oppose any and all industrial
port facilities for Liquefied Natural Gas in the ocean
off New Jersey and New York and are in full support of
the Clean Ocean Zone which would prohibit these polluting
and destructive activities and facilities." The
resolution specified support for Clean Ocean Action by
name. The County Clerk consulted with Rich as to what the
preferred language of the resolution should be. Rich is
the Liaison between the Green Party of New Jersey and
Clean Ocean Action.
In another clean ocean issue, a public meeting sponsored
by the NY/NJ Baykeeper and the Bayshore Regional
Watershed Council was held at Keyport Borough Hall on
June 11 to update the public on nearby Superfund Sites.
Metallic deposits from the late 1960s and early '70s
had left shoreline areas along Laurence Harbor and
Cheesequake Creek contaminated with very dangerous levels
of lead, antimony, arsenic and copper. State and federal
experts were on hand to answer questions. They included
people from the EPA, the NJ Dept. of Environmental
Protection, NJ Dept. of Health and Senior Services,
and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry. Rich Fuller asked two questions about whether
the environmental commissions of the nearby shoreline
communities had been informed of the situation and
whether the Association of NJ Environmental Commissiions
(ANJEC) had been informed. The moderator said 'no' but
indicated that those suggestions were worthwhile.
The Monmouth local has endorsed the candidacy of Holdmel
resident Sean Dunne for State Assembly in the 13th
Legislative District. Sean, a friend of the Greens,
will be running as an Independent.
Submitted by Rich Fuller
------------ --------- --------- --------- ----
THE ORDEAL OF CYNTHIA MCKINNEY
The Free Gaza Movement has organized eight boat trips
to Gaza since August 2008, defying a blockade imposed by
Israel after Hamas won the June 2007 Palestinian
elections. Five of the Free Gaza trips have successfully
gotten through with their cargo. Two attempts were
stopped by Israeli warships last winter (Cynthia McKinney
was aboard the Dignity when it was rammed in December).
The most recent attempt was launched on June 29. A Greek-
registered freighter, the Arion (renamed the "Spirit of
Humanity") left the Cypriot port of Larnaca bound for
Gaza with three tons of medical supplies, building
materials, and children's toys. There were 21 passengers
aboard, including Cynthia McKinney, Nobel Peace Prize
laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire, and other activists
from Britain, Ireland, Bahrain and Jamaica.
The Israeli navy intercepted the ship on June 30.
Israeli naval personnel boarded the small vessel without
any shots being fired and forced it to sail to the Israeli
port of Ashdod. The passengers were taken into custody
and their ship was seized. The Greek government issued a
statement saying it sent a message to Israel demanding
that it release the ship, crew and passengers.
The Spirit of Humanity was in international waters nearly
40 kilometres off the Gaza coast when it was intercepted.
"The Israelis hijacked us because we wanted to give
crayons to the children of Gaza!" said McKinney.
Israel sought to avoid international culpability for its
criminal conduct against the Spirit of Humanity group by
getting its victims to sign a statement agreeing that
they violated Israeli territorial waters. All the
abducted passengers refused. Cynthia's mother said her
daughter did not sign the document because it was in
Hebrew. "She didn't know what she would be signing,"
Leola McKinney said.
Two months ago Richard Falk, the United Nations special
reporter on human rights in the Palestinian territories,
condemned Israel's two-year blockade of Gaza: "Such a
pattern of continuing blockade under these conditions
amounts to such a serious violation of the Geneva
Conventions as to constitute a continuing crime against
humanity." In July Falk called Israel's seizure of the
Spirit of Humanity "unlawful." He said the move was in
violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibiting any
form of collective punishment against "an occupied people".
Ramzi Kysia, a spokesman for the Free Gaza Movement,
said: "On this trip, we had one boat and 21 activists.
On our next trip, we'll have more boats, more journalists
and more dignitaries. "
Green Party reception for Cynthia upon her release
After the Spirit of Humanity was captured, the passengers
were detained in a prison in Ramle, Israel. Cynthia was
released on July 6 and flown to New York. On the evening
of July 8 she joined DC Statehood Green Party members for
a reception in Washington, DC. Approximately 50 people
showed up on very short notice. Reporters were invited
and attended.
At the event Cynthia presented her account of what took
place and then opened up for questions. She patiently
responded to each, no small feat considering how sleep-
deprived she was at that point. Among those asking
questions was Stokely Carmichael's sister, Asantewaa.
Look for posting of the video of the event at:
www.slepton. com/slepton/ index.pl
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Cynthia McKinney - "I'm back home, thanks to all of you"
July 9, 2009
Well, all I can say is "Thank you!" Your calls, faxes,
protests, and prayers all made a huge difference and
helped to secure our protection and our release.
I just got off the phone with George Galloway who
extended a personal invitation to join him and the U.S.
convoy in Viva Palestina. I'm certainly excited about
that. Maybe I will finally make it to Gaza!
Below is the statement I put out from the Israeli prison:
7/2/09 (excerpts)
Before I left for the trip, there was a last-minute, but
urgent request: Please bring crayons for the children.
When I told people that I was going shopping to buy
crayons for the children of Gaza, everyone wanted to
donate. By the time I left, my suitcase could hold no
more. So, full of expectation, I entered the airport in
the U.S. headed once again to Larnaca, Cyprus where the
Hope Flotilla, consisting of the "Free Gaza" and the
"Spirit of Humanity" were to embark to Gaza. The "Free
Gaza" was to be donated to the people of Gaza so they
could replace some of the boats confiscated or bombed by
the Israelis during Operation Cast Lead.
I am now known as Israeli Prisoner #88794. I am in cell
number 5, Ramle Prison. If Israel fears for its security
because Gaza's children have crayons, then not only has
Israel lost its last shred of legitimacy, but Israel must
be declared a failed state. I am being held in this
prison because I had a dream that Gaza's children could
color and paint, that Gaza's wounded could be healed, and
that Gaza's bombed-out houses could be rebuilt.
But I've learned an interesting thing by being inside
this prison. First of all, it's incredibly Black:
populated mostly by Ethiopians who also had a dream. My
five cellmates have been here for about six months each.
One is pregnant; they are all in their twenties. They
thought they were coming to the Holy Land. They had a
dream that their lives would be better. The CIA-installed
puppet in Addis Ababa, President Meles, has put the once-
proud, never-colonized Ethiopia into the back pocket of
the United States. It has become a place of torture,
rendition, and occupation. Ethiopians must flee their
country because superpower politics became more important
than human rights and self-determination.
My cellmates came to the Holy Land so they could be free
from the exigencies of superpower politics. They came to
Israel because they thought that Israel held promise for
them.
They made their way to the United Nations High
Commission for Refugees. They got their yellow paper
of identification. They got their certificate for police
protection. They are refugees from tragedy, and they made
it to Israel. Only, after they arrived, Israel told them,
"There is no UN in Israel."
The police have license to pick them up and suck them
into the black hole of a farce for a justice system.
These beautiful, industrious, proud young women represent
the hopes of entire families. The idea of Israel tricked
them and the rest of us. In a widely propagandized slick
marketing campaign, Israel represented itself as a place
of refuge and safety for the world's Jews and Christians.
One of my cellmates cried today. She has been here for
six months. As an American, crying with them is not
enough. The policy of the United States must be better,
and while we watch President Obama give trillions of
dollars to the financial elite of the United States, it
ought now be clear that "hope," "change," and "yes we
can" were powerfully presented images of dignity and
self-fulfillment, individually and nationally, that
besieged people everywhere truly believed in. It was a
slick marketing campaign, as slickly put to the world and
to the voters of America as was Israel's marketing to the
world. It tricked all of us but, more tragically, these
young women.
We must cast an informed vote about better candidates
seeking to represent us.
I'm lucky. I will leave this place. Has Israel become the
place where dreams die? Ask the people of Palestine. Ask
the stream of Black and Asian men whom I've seen being
processed at Ramle. Ask the women on my cellblock.
Ask yourself: what are you willing to do? Let's change
the world together and reclaim what we all need as human
beings: Dignity.
I appeal to the United Nations to get these women of
Ramle resettled in safe homes - women who have done
nothing wrong other than to believe in Israel as the
guardian of the Holy Land. I appeal, once again, to
President Obama to go to Gaza: send your special envoy,
George Mitchell there and engage Hamas as the elected
choice of the Palestinian people.
I dedicate this message to those who struggle to achieve
a free Palestine, and to the women I've met at Ramle.
Full text at:
http://freegaza. org/en/home/ testimonies- from-israeli- jail/989- letter-from- an-israeli- jail-by-cynthia- mckinney
Video of Cynthia McKinney arriving at JFK after Israeli
prison release, talking about capture, prison treatment,
conditions in the prison:
www.youtube. com/watch? v=EQIC9wOh- 1I
Democracy Now! July 8:
www.democracynow. org/2009/ 7/8/fmr_congress member_cynthia_ mckinney_ back_in
Also:
http://dignity. ning.com/
http://www.twitter. com/dignityactio n
http://www.twitter. com/cynthiamckin ney
http://www.facebook .com/CynthiaMcKi nney
UPDATE!
From the Viva Palestina Convoy
July 12, 2009, 7 pm Cairo time
The Viva Palestina members who spent the night
in their buses at the Suez Crossing after they
were stopped by Egyptian authorities on July 11
are now making their way to the nearby city of
Ismailia and are preparing to resume their travels
toward Gaza imminently.
British Member of Parliament George Galloway,
who has met up with former U.S. Congresswoman
Cynthia McKinney in Cairo, was working with
Egyptian and U.S. authorities to expedite the
passage of the convoy over the Suez Canal
and into Gaza.
New York City Councilmember Charles Barron,
who led the group at the Suez Canal, said:
"Whether these requirements are genuine
or not, we will get around these obstacles.
We are going to Gaza."
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---
GREENS ELECTED TO OFFICE
Some states held local elections on June 9. In Portland,
Maine, Greens Ben Chipman and Anna Trevorrow were elected
to the Charter Commission. In Whately, Massachusetts, Nat
Fortune was re-elected to the School Committee while
Joyce Palmer-Fortune was elected to the Select Board
(both ran unopposed).
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---
2009 GREEN PARTY ANNUAL NATIONAL MEETING
This year's national meeting, hosted by the North
Carolina Green Party, will be held in Durham, NC, July
23-July 26 at the North Carolina Central University
campus in downtown Durham.
Information and registration:
www.gp.org/2009- ANM
Join Green Party leaders and activists to participate in
23 workshops and committee meetings. Workshops are
categorized into five different tracks and will take
place from mid-day Thursday to mid-day Friday. The tracks
are: Issues, Party-Building, Strategizing/ Future Focus,
and a Campaign School.
Details at:
http://docs. google.com/ View?id=dcmtq7fw _30cb44rphp
On Friday afternoon there will be a special panel
discussion on the merits of a national single-payer
health care system featuring: *Dr. Jonathan Kotch,
Board Chair of Health Care for All NC and senior faculty
member at the UNC Chapel Hill School of Public Health;
*Justine McCabe, Co-Chair of the GPUS International
Committee, Ph.D. alumna of Duke University; *Pat LaMarche,
2004 Green Party Vice-Presidential candidate, 2006
candidate for Governor of Maine; *Carl Romanelli,
2006 Green Party Candidate for U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania,
founding member of Luzerne County Green Coalition.
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---
GREEN FEST 2009
http://nygreenfest. org
Greens will be gathering in Alfred, NY, Aug. 7-9,
for a weekend of fun, education, networking, and
skills-sharing.
Green Fest is open to all who are interested in
sustainable living and Green politics. More than 75
presenters are confirmed, including Joel Kovel, Virginia
Rasmussen, Bill Kauffman, Steve Welzer, Lois Hilton, Carl
Romanelli, Sander Hicks, Art Weaver, Dan Miner, Jason
Nabewaniec, Ismail Mehr and Lyn Gerry; 26 exhibitors will
exhibit in the Green Fair.
This event is a benefit for the Green Party of New York
and other state Green parties in our region. GPNJ will
receive a percentage of the proceeds based on the number
of attendees from New Jersey.
Green Fest 2009 will be held on the campus of Alfred
University in rural Allegheny County near the
Pennsylvania border. The Short Line Bus runs three buses
daily between New York City and Alfred. The bus stop in
Alfred is just a few blocks from Green Fest.
Driving directions:
http://nygreenfest. org/directions. html
Offers and requests for rides:
http://nygreenfest. org/rideshare. html
Meals and lodging on the Alfred University campus and
Foster Lake campground must be reserved before August
1st. You may register and reserve camping spaces, dorm
rooms and meals online at:
http://nygreenfest. org/registration .html
Registration in advance is $85 for the weekend. An
additional $20 fee will be charged for walk-in
registrations. Meals prepared from locally-grown food are
available in the Alfred University dining hall. Three
different meal-plan options are available. Lodging and
meals for children are discounted.
For more information:
http://nygreenfest. org/ or call 607-569-2114.
SCHEDULE:
Friday, August 7
10:00 am, Registration opens
12:00 noon, Exhibits open
1:45 pm, Afternoon Workshops and Panels begin
4:15 pm, Swimming, hiking, yoga
5:30-6:30 pm, Dinner in Dining Hall
7:00 pm, Forum on the Politics of Sustainability
Saturday, August 8
7:30-8:30 am, Breakfast in Dining Hall
8:30 am, Workshops and Panels
9:45 am, Forum on Sustainable Energy
11:15 am, Workshops and Panels
12:30-1:30 pm, Lunch in Dining Hall
1:45 pm, Afternoon Workshops and Panels begin
4:15 pm, Swimming, hiking, yoga, drumming
5:30-6:30 pm, Dinner in Dining Hall
7:00 pm, Forum on Politics and Nature
9:30 pm, Music and Dancing
Sunday, August 9
7:30-8:30 am, Breakfast in Dining Hall
8:30 am, Workshops and Panels
9:45 am, Forum on Regionalism and Sustainability
11:30 am, Workshops and Panels
12:30-1:30 pm, Lunch in Dining Hall
1:45 pm, Forum on Visioning a Green Future
3:30 pm, Adjourn
WORKSHOPS, PANELS, FORUMS AND ACTIVITIES:
Allegheny Anti-Nuclear Campaign; Approaches to Landscape
for Food; Build Your Own Wind Turbine; Drawing Political
Cartoons; Drumming Circle; Economics as a Cultural
System; Empire to Earth Community; Gaza's Dilemma; Green
Campaign Lessons; Green Media Panels; Hatha Yoga;
Importance of Political Theory; Liberation Ecology
Workshop; Living off the Grid; Local Food Supply Systems;
Nature Walks; Organizing for Peace; Out of Time: Global
Warming; Post Carbon Economies; Poetry from Place
Workshop; Political Organizing on Campus; Sovereignty and
Sustainability; Spiritual Basis for Green Living;
Sustainable Cities Panel; Swimming; Third Party Ballot
Access; Third Parties in the U.S. Experience; Visioning
a Green Future; Watershed Protection; Why Localism
Matters; Zero Waste Workshop
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---
Green Pages, the official publication of record of the
Green Party of the United States, is now online:
www.gp.org/greenpag es-blog
Vol. 13, No. 1 is the latest issue available. The online
version is downloadable for easy printing if you need hard copies.
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---
BOOK RECOMMENDATION
Submitted by Alvin Meyer of the Bergen County Greens
I have just finished reading the recently published book:
"Mirrors" published by Nation Books and written by
Eduardo Galeano. I found the book to be delightfully
entertaining and insightful.
Here is an excerpt:
Only Human
Darwin told us we are cousins of the apes, not the
angels. Later on, we learned we emerged from Africa's
jungle and that no stork ever carried us from Paris.
And not long ago we discovered that our genes are almost
identical to those of mice.
Now we can't tell if we are God's masterpiece or the
devil's bad joke.
We puny humans:
. exterminators of everything,
. hunters of our own,
. creators of the atom bomb, the hydrogen bomb, and the neutron bomb,
. the only animals who invent machines,
. the only ones who live at the service of the machines they invent,
. the only ones who devour their own home,
. the only ones who poison the water they drink and the earth that feeds them,
. the only ones capable of renting or selling themselves, or renting or selling their fellow humans,
. the only ones who kill for fun,
. the only ones who torture,
. the only ones who rape.
And also:
. the only ones who laugh,
. the only ones who daydream,
. the ones who make silk from the spit of a worm,
. the ones who find beauty in rubbish,
. the ones who discover colors beyond the rainbow,
. the ones who furnish the voices of the world with new music,
. and who create words so that neither reality nor memory will be mute.
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---
DC LOBBY DAY AND RALLY FOR SINGLE-PAYER HEALTHCARE
"Medicare: Made in America"
Hosted by Healthcare-NOW!
July 30 in Washington, DC
Celebrate Medicare's 44th birthday by showing Congress
and President Obama the people, unions, doctors, nurses,
seniors, faith groups, and Americans of every stripe
support a single-payer system.
As President Obama says, "We must build on what works and
leave out what doesn't." Medicare has successfully
provided care to seniors and people with disabilities for
almost half a century.
The best way to save this system is to expand it and make
it a truly single-payer system by removing the for-profit
interests and guaranteeing healthcare as a right for all.
Info: 800-453-1305 or info@healthcare- now.org
www.healthcare- now.org/campaign s/single- payer-rally
- - - - - - - -
GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
www.gp.org
For Immediate Release: June 4, 2009
Green Party leaders challenge Sen. Baucus and defenders
of private insurance to debate Single-Payer advocates
Greens challenge major media to air the debate
Green leaders available to speak on health care:
www.gp.org/speakers /speakers- health-care. php
WASHINGTON, DC - Green Party leaders challenged Sen. Max
Baucus (D-Mont.) and other defenders of health care
reform based on private insurance to debate advocates
of Single-Payer national health care in a public forum.
Greens also challenged the major media to broadcast
the debate.
"Americans deserve to hear a debate on the merits of
Single-Payer/ Medicare For All versus the merits of a
health care system dominated by for-profit insurance
companies and HMOs," said Angel Torres, co-chair of the
Green Party of Maricopa County (www.maricopagreens. org),
which organized a rally for Single-Payer in front of the
office of Congressman Harry Mitchell (D-Ariz.) on May 30.
"Greens are prepared to defend Single-Payer publicly. We
also challenge groups like Physicians for a National
Health Program, the Healthcare-Now Coalition, Single-
Payer Action, and the California Nurses Association to
represent the Single-Payer side. Single-Payer supporters
have been fighting to get public attention, especially
for Rep. John Conyers' Single-Payer bill, HR 676," said
Mr. Torres.
Greens participated in national Day of Action for Single-
Payer events throughout the U.S. on May 30. In Augusta,
Maine, 2004 Green vice presidential candidate Pat
LaMarche hosted a Single-Payer rally at the statehouse:
http://morningsenti nel.mainetoday. com/news/ local/6407921. html
According to the Center for Responsive Politics,
Democrats and Republicans accepted over $46 million
in insurance industry donations in 2008:
www.opensecrets. org/industries/ indus.php? ind=F09
According to Consumer Watchdog, Sen. Baucus has taken
more campaign contributions from health insurance firms
($183,750 in the last two election cycles) and
pharmaceutical companies ($229,020) than any other
Democratic member of the House and Senate.
Greens blast misleading TV ads
Green Party health care activists warned that private
insurance defenders are placing ads to mislead the public
about health care reform, even to the point of confusing
private insurance-based plans favored by President Obama
and Democratic leaders with Single-Payer.
Recent TV ads have featured Rick Scott, chair of
Conservatives for Patients' Rights, who was fired from
his position as CEO of Columbia/HCA in 1997 after he was
caught trying defraud the federal and state governments
for hundreds of millions of taxpayers' dollars in false
Medicare and Medicaid payments, the largest
Medicare/Medicaid fraud in history. The company had to
pay back $1.7 billion, but Mr. Scott, instead of facing
prosecution, received $10 million in severance pay and
$300 million worth of stock.
Greens argue that for-profit health insurance adds high
costs (administrative overhead, demand for profit) but no
value (medical treatment). All other industrial nations
guarantee their citizens health care; no one in Canada,
which has a Single-Payer system, faces financial ruin
because of illness or injury.
Single-Payer, based on Medicare (administrative costs:
about 3%), eliminates the inefficiency of private
coverage, drastically cutting costs while covering all
Americans ("everyone in, no one out") and allowing full
choice of physician and hospital. Greens said that the
reforms favored by President Obama and many Democrats
don't curb inefficiency, because they leave the
insurance/HMO gatekeepers in charge.
Green leaders noted that polls have shown widespread
popular support for a national health care program that
guarantees universal coverage:
www.wpasinglepayer. org/PollResults. html
In 2008, the US Conference of Mayors endorsed Single-Payer:
www.usmayors. org/resolutions/ 76th_conference/ chhs_03.asp
Green Party information page on Single-Payer
www.gp.org/organize /sicko.html
Single-Payer advocates:
Physicians for a National Health Program www.pnhp.org
Healthcare-Now Coalition www.healthcare- now.org
Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care http://guaranteedhe althcare4all. org
Single-Payer Action http://singlepayera ction.org
California Nurses Association www.calnurses. org
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---
GPUS TELE-WORKSHOP SERIES
The subject of the next program with be: "Outreach." It
is scheduled for July 14 (9 p.m. EDT). It will feature
GPUS webmaster, Dave Doonan, with a "webinar" on using
internet tools to reach out to the media and increase
awareness of Green candidates, campaigns and issues.
If you wish to participate in this program please send an
e-mail to Holly Hart: hhart11 [at] gmail.com. (These
teleconferences are not conducted on an "800" number, so
if you don't have an unlimited calling plan you will be
charged long distance charges by your telephone carrier,
as applicable).
The first Tele-Workshop (June 3) featured Brent McMillan,
GPUS Executive Director, speaking about:
* An overview of the 2008 presidential campaign from the
perspective of the National Office.
* Security issues. There have been Green candidates
targeted by other parties, sometimes using the FBI as a
political tool, in Minneapolis and Connecticut. Problems
in this area have picked up in the last few years
(especially during the presidential campaign) and have
not decreased under the Obama administration.
* Brent said we need more party members, especially
younger people, involved with fundraising. Celebrity
outreach should be considered in this regard.
Time was allocated after each section of his presentation
for Q&A from the listeners.
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---
GPUS SENDS AN OPEN LETTER TO BILL MAHER
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, July 1, 2009
A Real Party for 'Real Time'
WASHINGTON, DC - The Green Party of the United States
(GPUS) has sent an open letter to Bill Maher after a June
19 broadcast of 'Real Time' in which Mr. Maher said,
"[W]hat we need is an actual progressive party to
represent the millions of Americans who aren't being
served by the Democrats. Because, bottom line, Democrats
are the new Republicans. "
See:
www.youtube. com/watch? v=DtUAHPYYzeM
(the relevant section comes about 2 minutes into the video)
The Green Party's reply to Mr. Maher: "Hey, Bill,
we're over here! What you described is the GREEN PARTY!
We already exist!"
The progressive party sought by Bill Maher describes the
Green Party: "Shouldn't there be one party that
unambiguously supports cutting the military budget, a
party that is straight up in favor of gun control, gay
marriage, higher taxes on the rich, universal health care
- legalizing pot - and steep, direct taxing of polluters?"
The open letter urges Mr. Maher to acknowledge the Green
Party and have a Green candidate or leader on the show.
The text of the letter is appended below.
The Green Party is currently preparing for its annual
national meeting, to take place in Durham, North
Carolina, from July 23 to July 26 (www.gp.org/2009- ANM).
Reporters are invited to cover the meeting (www.gp.org/forms/ media).
- - - - - - - - - - - -
"America's First Party"
An Open Letter to Bill Maher from the Green Party
Dear Mr. Maher,
We were thrilled to hear you talk about us when you
discussed the need for a new party - a "first party" -
during the June 19 broadcast of 'Real Time.'
The only part you left out were the words "Green Party."
Here's what you said:
"We don't need a third party. We need a first party. You
go to the polls and your choices are the guy who voted
for the first Wall Street bailout, or the guy who voted
for the next ten."
"Shouldn't there be one party that unambiguously supports
cutting the military budget, a party that is straight up
in favor of gun control, gay marriage, higher taxes on
the rich, universal health care - legalizing pot - and
steep, direct taxing of polluters? These aren't radical
ideas. A majority of Americans are either already for them
or would be if they were properly argued and defended."
"[W]hat we need is an actual progressive party to
represent the millions of Americans who aren't being
served by the Democrats. Because, bottom line, Democrats
are the new Republicans. "
Hey, Bill, we're over here! What you described is the
GREEN PARTY! We already exist!
Maybe you forgot about us because the major media have an
aversion to mentioning the Green Party and our
candidates. Maybe the FCC has banned "Green Party" along
with the late George Carlin's seven dirty words,
"Chomsky," "End the Drug War," and other language that
offends delicate sensibilities.
For the major networks, and apparently PBS and NPR too,
the very idea of more than two candidates in an election
makes talking heads explode.
If Green candidates started getting elected to higher
office, the radical ideas that aren't really radical
would get a fair hearing and a chance of passage.
Imagine if a few Greens got seated in Congress. Greens
don't take corporate contributions, so they'd be immune
to the influence of Exxon-Mobil, Goldman Sachs, Bank of
America, Raytheon, Monsanto, etc. When Rep. Nancy Pelosi
sends out orders not to seek a probe of Bush-Cheney
officials who authorized torture dungeons, Greens could
tell her to take a hike.
A few Green congressional victories would cause a seismic
shock to the political landscape. Democrats would no
longer have Republicans as their sole competition. The
scope of national debate would no longer be Dems on the
left, Repubs on the right, a phony middle ground between
them, and a narrow range of political ideas (comparable
to the corner grocery limiting your choice of beverage to
Coke or Pepsi).
With some Greens in Congress:
Democrats couldn't pretend to be the antiwar party while
voting for more war funding.
Single-payer national health care would be on the table
and might even pass. President Obama and most Democrats
already know single-payer is the best proposal. But
they feel compelled to appease the health insurance,
pharmaceutical, and other lobbies and find common
ground with Republicans who believe the free market
has sufficient mojo to cure every illness and injury.
We'd hear the truth: that "emissions trading" is a
license for corporate polluters to keep polluting, that
"clean coal" is a plot to turn West Virginia into a
crater, that the trillion-dollar Wall Street bailout and
confiscation of savings and pension money are the
greatest transfer of wealth from working people to big
banks in history. There's a bipartisan consensus that
corporate profit margins always take precedent over
Americans facing financial ruin due to a health emergency
or credit card debt or a mortgage or a lost job. Whenever
you hear the word "bipartisan" on the evening news, check
the silverware.
What are we going to do about this situation, Bill? If
you really want a "first party" for America, will you
throw us a bone on your show? Will you have a Green
candidate or Green leader on once in a while? (Ralph
Nader doesn't count - he's not a member of the Green Party.)
How about Rev. Billy Talen of the Church of Life
After Shopping? Rev. Billy is now a Green candidate
for Mayor of New York City (www.voterevbilly. org).
Rosa Clemente, our 2008 vice-presidential candidate,
said that the Green Party "is more than an alternative,
it's an imperative." Based on your comments, Bill,
it sounds like you might agree with Rosa.
We look forward to hearing back from you. You can see
what we're up to on our web site (www.gp.org).
Sincerely,
The Green Party
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
We need to urge Bill Maher and the producers to have
Green Party representatives on the show.
Call 323-575-2345 and ask for the production office of
Real Time with Bill Maher.
Or you can email the HBO producers:
www.hbo.com/ apps/submitinfo/ contactus/ submit.do? title=Real% 20Time%20with% 20Bill%20Maher&questiontype= realtimewithbill maher
============ ========= ========= ========= ====
The GreenGram is circulated bi-monthly in an effort
to keep all GPNJ members informed about party news,
Green-related activities, and upcoming events.
Members are encouraged to submit articles and
event announcements.
The deadline for the next issue will be August 15.
Please submit material for inclusion to:
SteveWelzer [at] msn.com
* Report on the Annual Convention
* 2009 Campaigns
* County local reports
* Cynthia McKinney's ordeal
* Greens elected to office
* GPUS Annual National Meeting
* Green Fest 2009
* Book recommendation
* DC Rally for single-payer healthcare
* GPUS Tele-Workshop series
* Open letter to Bill Maher
============ ========= ========= ========= ====
REPORT ON THE 2009 GPNJ ANNUAL CONVENTION
(based on draft minutes of the convention
as submitted by our former Secretary Ed Fanning)
The Green Party of New Jersey's 13th Annual Convention
was held on May 23 in Vineland. About 30 members,
friends, and observers attended.
The meeting began with a moment of silence for
deceased members of GPNJ. Then county local reports
were presented for Bergen, Burlington, Camden,
Cumberland, Essex, Monmouth, Mercer, and Ocean.
Highlights:
* The Bergen local hosted a very successful forum on
Palestinian- Israeli relations last fall which included
Prof. Norman Finkelstein. They were active with Earth Day
activities and in providing support for a number of local
Green candidates in 2008.
* Rich Fuller of the Monmouth local was acknowledged for
his efforts (along with party chair Nick Mellis) in
communicating with Earl Gray's family to facilitate
Earl's desire to make a large bequeathal to GPNJ and to
the Monmouth County Greens. During 2008-2009 the local
participated in a plastic cap reclamation project,
anti-war activities and Clean Ocean Action's anti-LNG
campaign.
* The Green Party of Ocean County has established a Facebook page:
www.facebook. com/group. php?sid=64d735b9 6a90d3c1a7810fbe 037d16d4&gid=33904545473
* The Essex County Greens have been focusing on
a Clean Energy Campaign and have also been hosting
a successful film/speaker series.
After the convention's lunch break (featuring much-
appreciated provision from the Cumberland County Greens)
guest speaker David Petrovich, Executive Director of the
Society for the Preservation of Continued Home Ownership,
gave a talk on the current foreclosure crisis in New
Jersey and the country. He described blatant abuses by
the financial industry to provide loans to those who
could not possibly afford them. He also pointed out that
most credit counselors are paid by the lenders. His
presentation was well-received and generated an
interesting Q&A discussion afterward.
Highlights of voting on proposals:
* A proposal was passed to establish a link on GPNJ's Web
site to the national party's GNC (Green National
Committee) Votes page: www.GP.org/vote (this was done
immediately after the convention; the link is called "GNC
Voting Records" on www.gpnj.org).
* A proposal to have the Green Council determine how our
GNC representatives will vote was rejected.
* A proposal was approved specifying that the Green
Council has the right to censure a member of any of
the national Green Party committees.
* A proposal to establish a GPNJ Coordinator position
was approved.
* A proposal to have GPNJ endorse "a constitutional
amendment to ban the manufacture, sale, and possession
all types of guns except for law enforcement and military
personnel" was voted down.
* A three-part proposal regarding organizational dues
had the following outcomes:
(a) reduce dues to $1 annually for unemployed
members: passed;
(b) reduce GPNJ annual dues to $20: referred back to
the Green Council for deliberation;
(c) establish a special one-time $250 dues payment
to become a lifetime GPNJ member: failed.
Officer and representative elections
Chair: Nick Mellis
Vice Chair: Matt Theike
Second Vice Chair: Scott Baier
Secretary: vacancy
Treasurer: Lynn Petrovich
Coordinator: Ed Fanning
Mark Heacock, Roger Merle and Steve Welzer were elected
to represent GPNJ on the Green National Committee of GPUS.
Alternates will be Gary Novosielski and Nick Mellis.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
In the weeks following the convention, Lynn Petrovich
completed the Political Party Committee Treasurer
Training Program with the New Jersey Election Law
Enforcement Commission.
Ed Fanning sent this for inclusion in the GreenGram:
"My objectives as State Coordinator will be to:
. work with the state leadership and members to execute plans;
. maintain status of efforts;
. encourage members to follow through on commitments;
. report to the Green Council the status of efforts;
. get things accomplished in 2009!"
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---
ELECTORAL CAMPAIGNS
Steven Welzer of the Mercer County Greens will be running
for State Assembly in the 12th Legislative District (LD).
The district covers parts of Mercer and Monmouth
counties. Welzer ran for the 4th District Congressional
seat last year and garnered almost 3,400 votes.
Campaign contributions can be sent to:
Welzer for Assembly 2009
PO Box 2029, Princeton, NJ 08543
Jason Koralja of the Ocean County Greens will be running
for Borough Council in Surf City. For information or to
help out (or to make a contribution) contact Jason:
jklbi01 [at] hotmail.com
Holdmel resident Sean Dunne will be running for State
Assembly in the 13th District as an Independent (ballot
slogan: "Fight Corruption") . He was a Green Party member
in Ireland and assisted Green candidates there. Since
moving to New Jersey he has attended a number of Monmouth
County Green Party meetings and has established good
relations with the local members. On this basis the
Monmouth Greens have decided to endorse his independent
candidacy.
- - - - - - - -
Letter to the Lawrence Ledger from Ken Wolski
July 1
To the editor:
Nick Mellis and I regret that we were forced from the
ballot before we ever had a chance to run for the office
of Lawrence Township Council as Green Party candidates.
Nick and I were given inaccurate information on three
separate occasions that directly led to our petition for
the council election being deemed invalid.
We were quite excited about representing the Green Party
platform, which is available in its entirety at
www.gp.org. We were also quite pleased with the show of
support that we received from random samples of the
Lawrence Township electorate. Lawrence Township is a
progressive, well-educated and hard-working community
that seemed ripe for the kind of transformative platform
that the Greens represent.
The Green platform is transformative because at its heart
it represents Grassroots Democracy - in this case, the
people of Lawrence Township. The Greens refuse all
corporate money and only accept small donations from
individual voters. This funding principle represents a
sea change in American politics by which the Greens avoid
the inherently corrupting influence of corporate money.
Politicians who accept corporate donations no longer owe
primary allegiance to the American people - they
represent their corporate funders.
The Greens have many exciting proposals for a sustainable
future in the face of this institutionally corrupt
political system that has led to a collapsed economy, a
broken health care system, and a bloated and ineffective
criminal justice system.
The Green platform goes far beyond bike paths and
recycling. The Greens have outlined broad principles that
encourage a focus on the future - the lives of your
children's children - rather than the acquisitiveness of
the here and now. The Green platform includes:
* Universal, single payer health care - we are already
paying for it, we are simply not getting it;
* An end to the War on Drugs - this would enable a 1/3
increase in every other budget item - health, education,
welfare, transportation, etc.;
* Respect for diversity and women's rights;
* Non-violence - what Gandhi called the most powerful
weapon in the world.
These truly are local issues - all politics is local. By
voting for the Green Party, Lawrence residents would have
the opportunity to show that they are ready for a viable
third party to present exciting new options. By electing
Green candidates, Lawrence residents have the power to
transform not only our community, but our country and
hence, our world. But it is not to be, at least not in
the upcoming election.
We want to thank all those who supported our effort, and
who gave us such strong words of encouragement. We'll be
back. In the meantime, visit www.gpnj.org and consider
going Green.
- - - - - - - -
Greens in the northern part of the state are encouraged
to go in to New York City to help with the petition drive
to get "Reverend Billy" Talen on the ballot as the Green
Party candidate for Mayor. About 20,000 signatures are
needed by August 16. The campaign headquarters is at
250 Lafayette Street in Manhattan between Prince and Spring
(in SoHo). Contact Sean Haugh: 919-402-3489.
There will be a major fundraiser for the campaign on
Monday, July 27, 7:00 to 11:30pm - at the Highline
Ballroom, 431 W 16th Street in Manhattan. Appearing (in
addition to the Rev. and his "Life After Shopping Gospel
Choir") will be: Jollyship the Whiz-Bang, Greta Gaines,
the New York Street Vendors Chorus, Yetta Kurland, and
special guest: Joan Baez.
Tickets on sale now:
http://bit.ly/ vrbtix
www.voterevbilly. org
http://twitter. com/revbillytale n
------------ --------- --------- --------- ----
COUNTY LOCAL REPORTS
Bergen County
Submitted by Pat Alessandrini
Members of the Bergen County Greens joined a large group
in Englewood on June 20 for a march for Single Payer
healthcare and a demonstration with some wonderful
speakers. We had a good showing in spite of the rain!
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Essex County
Submitted by Jane Califf
Single Payer health care was explained at a public
meeting at Bloomfield College on May 27th, sponsored by
the Essex County Greens. The speaker was Winthrop C.
Dillaway, M.D., who is a member of Physicians for a
National Health Program (PNHP) which has 16,000 members.
Dr. Dillaway stated that the reason for the loud silence
on Single Payer is that it would do away with insurance
companies and their huge profits. These companies have
lobbyists all over Congress doing their best to keep
Single Payer off the table and giving donations to
Congressmembers to help influence their votes. (At recent
hearings in Washington D.C., doctors who tried to speak
out for Single Payer were told it was not on the agenda,
and when they protested, they were arrested. You can see
this on a recent Bill Moyers program on www.pbs.org.)
The term "Single Payer" means there would be one system,
managed by our government, in place of the 1,300 paying
entities we have now that are run by profit-driven
companies. It would improve and expand on Medicare -
making it "Medicare for All."
Under a Single Payer system, you would not have to apply
for health care; you would get it automatically as a U.S.
citizen. You would choose your own doctors and hospitals.
In the other words, it would be publicly run but
privately delivered.
According to PNHP the country would save at least $350
billion annually because the insurance companies would
not be spending 31% of every health care dollar on
paperwork and administration costs. A not-for-profit,
government-run system would be able to cover all of the
uninsured and upgrade coverage for every American without
premiums, deductibles or copays. Dr. Dillaway is outraged
that more than 18,000 adults in the U.S. die annually
from lack of coverage. He says there is no excuse for the
richest country in the world to have 47 million uninsured
and another 50 million who are underinsured.
For more information, go to the website of PNHP: www.pnhp.org
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mercer County
The Mercer County local will host a Green Party Summer
Picnic on Saturday, August 22, 3:00 to 7:00pm (rain date
Aug. 23). Location: 58 Brooktree Road, East Windsor
08520. It will be a pot-luck, so please bring something
to share. Info: stevewelzer [at] msn.com.
The picnic will be preceded by a brief meeting of the
Green Council.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Monmouth County
In May, Coordinator Rich Fuller gave a presentation to
the Mayor and Council of Union Beach seeking their
support for Clean Ocean Action's opposition to any
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facilities off the New
Jersey-New York coastline. Happily for all ocean
advocates, at its June 18 meeting the Borough of Union
Beach passed Resolution 2009-110 stating that the Mayor
and Council "do strongly oppose any and all industrial
port facilities for Liquefied Natural Gas in the ocean
off New Jersey and New York and are in full support of
the Clean Ocean Zone which would prohibit these polluting
and destructive activities and facilities." The
resolution specified support for Clean Ocean Action by
name. The County Clerk consulted with Rich as to what the
preferred language of the resolution should be. Rich is
the Liaison between the Green Party of New Jersey and
Clean Ocean Action.
In another clean ocean issue, a public meeting sponsored
by the NY/NJ Baykeeper and the Bayshore Regional
Watershed Council was held at Keyport Borough Hall on
June 11 to update the public on nearby Superfund Sites.
Metallic deposits from the late 1960s and early '70s
had left shoreline areas along Laurence Harbor and
Cheesequake Creek contaminated with very dangerous levels
of lead, antimony, arsenic and copper. State and federal
experts were on hand to answer questions. They included
people from the EPA, the NJ Dept. of Environmental
Protection, NJ Dept. of Health and Senior Services,
and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry. Rich Fuller asked two questions about whether
the environmental commissions of the nearby shoreline
communities had been informed of the situation and
whether the Association of NJ Environmental Commissiions
(ANJEC) had been informed. The moderator said 'no' but
indicated that those suggestions were worthwhile.
The Monmouth local has endorsed the candidacy of Holdmel
resident Sean Dunne for State Assembly in the 13th
Legislative District. Sean, a friend of the Greens,
will be running as an Independent.
Submitted by Rich Fuller
------------ --------- --------- --------- ----
THE ORDEAL OF CYNTHIA MCKINNEY
The Free Gaza Movement has organized eight boat trips
to Gaza since August 2008, defying a blockade imposed by
Israel after Hamas won the June 2007 Palestinian
elections. Five of the Free Gaza trips have successfully
gotten through with their cargo. Two attempts were
stopped by Israeli warships last winter (Cynthia McKinney
was aboard the Dignity when it was rammed in December).
The most recent attempt was launched on June 29. A Greek-
registered freighter, the Arion (renamed the "Spirit of
Humanity") left the Cypriot port of Larnaca bound for
Gaza with three tons of medical supplies, building
materials, and children's toys. There were 21 passengers
aboard, including Cynthia McKinney, Nobel Peace Prize
laureate Mairead Corrigan Maguire, and other activists
from Britain, Ireland, Bahrain and Jamaica.
The Israeli navy intercepted the ship on June 30.
Israeli naval personnel boarded the small vessel without
any shots being fired and forced it to sail to the Israeli
port of Ashdod. The passengers were taken into custody
and their ship was seized. The Greek government issued a
statement saying it sent a message to Israel demanding
that it release the ship, crew and passengers.
The Spirit of Humanity was in international waters nearly
40 kilometres off the Gaza coast when it was intercepted.
"The Israelis hijacked us because we wanted to give
crayons to the children of Gaza!" said McKinney.
Israel sought to avoid international culpability for its
criminal conduct against the Spirit of Humanity group by
getting its victims to sign a statement agreeing that
they violated Israeli territorial waters. All the
abducted passengers refused. Cynthia's mother said her
daughter did not sign the document because it was in
Hebrew. "She didn't know what she would be signing,"
Leola McKinney said.
Two months ago Richard Falk, the United Nations special
reporter on human rights in the Palestinian territories,
condemned Israel's two-year blockade of Gaza: "Such a
pattern of continuing blockade under these conditions
amounts to such a serious violation of the Geneva
Conventions as to constitute a continuing crime against
humanity." In July Falk called Israel's seizure of the
Spirit of Humanity "unlawful." He said the move was in
violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibiting any
form of collective punishment against "an occupied people".
Ramzi Kysia, a spokesman for the Free Gaza Movement,
said: "On this trip, we had one boat and 21 activists.
On our next trip, we'll have more boats, more journalists
and more dignitaries. "
Green Party reception for Cynthia upon her release
After the Spirit of Humanity was captured, the passengers
were detained in a prison in Ramle, Israel. Cynthia was
released on July 6 and flown to New York. On the evening
of July 8 she joined DC Statehood Green Party members for
a reception in Washington, DC. Approximately 50 people
showed up on very short notice. Reporters were invited
and attended.
At the event Cynthia presented her account of what took
place and then opened up for questions. She patiently
responded to each, no small feat considering how sleep-
deprived she was at that point. Among those asking
questions was Stokely Carmichael's sister, Asantewaa.
Look for posting of the video of the event at:
www.slepton. com/slepton/ index.pl
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Cynthia McKinney - "I'm back home, thanks to all of you"
July 9, 2009
Well, all I can say is "Thank you!" Your calls, faxes,
protests, and prayers all made a huge difference and
helped to secure our protection and our release.
I just got off the phone with George Galloway who
extended a personal invitation to join him and the U.S.
convoy in Viva Palestina. I'm certainly excited about
that. Maybe I will finally make it to Gaza!
Below is the statement I put out from the Israeli prison:
7/2/09 (excerpts)
Before I left for the trip, there was a last-minute, but
urgent request: Please bring crayons for the children.
When I told people that I was going shopping to buy
crayons for the children of Gaza, everyone wanted to
donate. By the time I left, my suitcase could hold no
more. So, full of expectation, I entered the airport in
the U.S. headed once again to Larnaca, Cyprus where the
Hope Flotilla, consisting of the "Free Gaza" and the
"Spirit of Humanity" were to embark to Gaza. The "Free
Gaza" was to be donated to the people of Gaza so they
could replace some of the boats confiscated or bombed by
the Israelis during Operation Cast Lead.
I am now known as Israeli Prisoner #88794. I am in cell
number 5, Ramle Prison. If Israel fears for its security
because Gaza's children have crayons, then not only has
Israel lost its last shred of legitimacy, but Israel must
be declared a failed state. I am being held in this
prison because I had a dream that Gaza's children could
color and paint, that Gaza's wounded could be healed, and
that Gaza's bombed-out houses could be rebuilt.
But I've learned an interesting thing by being inside
this prison. First of all, it's incredibly Black:
populated mostly by Ethiopians who also had a dream. My
five cellmates have been here for about six months each.
One is pregnant; they are all in their twenties. They
thought they were coming to the Holy Land. They had a
dream that their lives would be better. The CIA-installed
puppet in Addis Ababa, President Meles, has put the once-
proud, never-colonized Ethiopia into the back pocket of
the United States. It has become a place of torture,
rendition, and occupation. Ethiopians must flee their
country because superpower politics became more important
than human rights and self-determination.
My cellmates came to the Holy Land so they could be free
from the exigencies of superpower politics. They came to
Israel because they thought that Israel held promise for
them.
They made their way to the United Nations High
Commission for Refugees. They got their yellow paper
of identification. They got their certificate for police
protection. They are refugees from tragedy, and they made
it to Israel. Only, after they arrived, Israel told them,
"There is no UN in Israel."
The police have license to pick them up and suck them
into the black hole of a farce for a justice system.
These beautiful, industrious, proud young women represent
the hopes of entire families. The idea of Israel tricked
them and the rest of us. In a widely propagandized slick
marketing campaign, Israel represented itself as a place
of refuge and safety for the world's Jews and Christians.
One of my cellmates cried today. She has been here for
six months. As an American, crying with them is not
enough. The policy of the United States must be better,
and while we watch President Obama give trillions of
dollars to the financial elite of the United States, it
ought now be clear that "hope," "change," and "yes we
can" were powerfully presented images of dignity and
self-fulfillment, individually and nationally, that
besieged people everywhere truly believed in. It was a
slick marketing campaign, as slickly put to the world and
to the voters of America as was Israel's marketing to the
world. It tricked all of us but, more tragically, these
young women.
We must cast an informed vote about better candidates
seeking to represent us.
I'm lucky. I will leave this place. Has Israel become the
place where dreams die? Ask the people of Palestine. Ask
the stream of Black and Asian men whom I've seen being
processed at Ramle. Ask the women on my cellblock.
Ask yourself: what are you willing to do? Let's change
the world together and reclaim what we all need as human
beings: Dignity.
I appeal to the United Nations to get these women of
Ramle resettled in safe homes - women who have done
nothing wrong other than to believe in Israel as the
guardian of the Holy Land. I appeal, once again, to
President Obama to go to Gaza: send your special envoy,
George Mitchell there and engage Hamas as the elected
choice of the Palestinian people.
I dedicate this message to those who struggle to achieve
a free Palestine, and to the women I've met at Ramle.
Full text at:
http://freegaza. org/en/home/ testimonies- from-israeli- jail/989- letter-from- an-israeli- jail-by-cynthia- mckinney
Video of Cynthia McKinney arriving at JFK after Israeli
prison release, talking about capture, prison treatment,
conditions in the prison:
www.youtube. com/watch? v=EQIC9wOh- 1I
Democracy Now! July 8:
www.democracynow. org/2009/ 7/8/fmr_congress member_cynthia_ mckinney_ back_in
Also:
http://dignity. ning.com/
http://www.twitter. com/dignityactio n
http://www.twitter. com/cynthiamckin ney
http://www.facebook .com/CynthiaMcKi nney
UPDATE!
From the Viva Palestina Convoy
July 12, 2009, 7 pm Cairo time
The Viva Palestina members who spent the night
in their buses at the Suez Crossing after they
were stopped by Egyptian authorities on July 11
are now making their way to the nearby city of
Ismailia and are preparing to resume their travels
toward Gaza imminently.
British Member of Parliament George Galloway,
who has met up with former U.S. Congresswoman
Cynthia McKinney in Cairo, was working with
Egyptian and U.S. authorities to expedite the
passage of the convoy over the Suez Canal
and into Gaza.
New York City Councilmember Charles Barron,
who led the group at the Suez Canal, said:
"Whether these requirements are genuine
or not, we will get around these obstacles.
We are going to Gaza."
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---
GREENS ELECTED TO OFFICE
Some states held local elections on June 9. In Portland,
Maine, Greens Ben Chipman and Anna Trevorrow were elected
to the Charter Commission. In Whately, Massachusetts, Nat
Fortune was re-elected to the School Committee while
Joyce Palmer-Fortune was elected to the Select Board
(both ran unopposed).
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---
2009 GREEN PARTY ANNUAL NATIONAL MEETING
This year's national meeting, hosted by the North
Carolina Green Party, will be held in Durham, NC, July
23-July 26 at the North Carolina Central University
campus in downtown Durham.
Information and registration:
www.gp.org/2009- ANM
Join Green Party leaders and activists to participate in
23 workshops and committee meetings. Workshops are
categorized into five different tracks and will take
place from mid-day Thursday to mid-day Friday. The tracks
are: Issues, Party-Building, Strategizing/ Future Focus,
and a Campaign School.
Details at:
http://docs. google.com/ View?id=dcmtq7fw _30cb44rphp
On Friday afternoon there will be a special panel
discussion on the merits of a national single-payer
health care system featuring: *Dr. Jonathan Kotch,
Board Chair of Health Care for All NC and senior faculty
member at the UNC Chapel Hill School of Public Health;
*Justine McCabe, Co-Chair of the GPUS International
Committee, Ph.D. alumna of Duke University; *Pat LaMarche,
2004 Green Party Vice-Presidential candidate, 2006
candidate for Governor of Maine; *Carl Romanelli,
2006 Green Party Candidate for U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania,
founding member of Luzerne County Green Coalition.
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---
GREEN FEST 2009
http://nygreenfest. org
Greens will be gathering in Alfred, NY, Aug. 7-9,
for a weekend of fun, education, networking, and
skills-sharing.
Green Fest is open to all who are interested in
sustainable living and Green politics. More than 75
presenters are confirmed, including Joel Kovel, Virginia
Rasmussen, Bill Kauffman, Steve Welzer, Lois Hilton, Carl
Romanelli, Sander Hicks, Art Weaver, Dan Miner, Jason
Nabewaniec, Ismail Mehr and Lyn Gerry; 26 exhibitors will
exhibit in the Green Fair.
This event is a benefit for the Green Party of New York
and other state Green parties in our region. GPNJ will
receive a percentage of the proceeds based on the number
of attendees from New Jersey.
Green Fest 2009 will be held on the campus of Alfred
University in rural Allegheny County near the
Pennsylvania border. The Short Line Bus runs three buses
daily between New York City and Alfred. The bus stop in
Alfred is just a few blocks from Green Fest.
Driving directions:
http://nygreenfest. org/directions. html
Offers and requests for rides:
http://nygreenfest. org/rideshare. html
Meals and lodging on the Alfred University campus and
Foster Lake campground must be reserved before August
1st. You may register and reserve camping spaces, dorm
rooms and meals online at:
http://nygreenfest. org/registration .html
Registration in advance is $85 for the weekend. An
additional $20 fee will be charged for walk-in
registrations. Meals prepared from locally-grown food are
available in the Alfred University dining hall. Three
different meal-plan options are available. Lodging and
meals for children are discounted.
For more information:
http://nygreenfest. org/ or call 607-569-2114.
SCHEDULE:
Friday, August 7
10:00 am, Registration opens
12:00 noon, Exhibits open
1:45 pm, Afternoon Workshops and Panels begin
4:15 pm, Swimming, hiking, yoga
5:30-6:30 pm, Dinner in Dining Hall
7:00 pm, Forum on the Politics of Sustainability
Saturday, August 8
7:30-8:30 am, Breakfast in Dining Hall
8:30 am, Workshops and Panels
9:45 am, Forum on Sustainable Energy
11:15 am, Workshops and Panels
12:30-1:30 pm, Lunch in Dining Hall
1:45 pm, Afternoon Workshops and Panels begin
4:15 pm, Swimming, hiking, yoga, drumming
5:30-6:30 pm, Dinner in Dining Hall
7:00 pm, Forum on Politics and Nature
9:30 pm, Music and Dancing
Sunday, August 9
7:30-8:30 am, Breakfast in Dining Hall
8:30 am, Workshops and Panels
9:45 am, Forum on Regionalism and Sustainability
11:30 am, Workshops and Panels
12:30-1:30 pm, Lunch in Dining Hall
1:45 pm, Forum on Visioning a Green Future
3:30 pm, Adjourn
WORKSHOPS, PANELS, FORUMS AND ACTIVITIES:
Allegheny Anti-Nuclear Campaign; Approaches to Landscape
for Food; Build Your Own Wind Turbine; Drawing Political
Cartoons; Drumming Circle; Economics as a Cultural
System; Empire to Earth Community; Gaza's Dilemma; Green
Campaign Lessons; Green Media Panels; Hatha Yoga;
Importance of Political Theory; Liberation Ecology
Workshop; Living off the Grid; Local Food Supply Systems;
Nature Walks; Organizing for Peace; Out of Time: Global
Warming; Post Carbon Economies; Poetry from Place
Workshop; Political Organizing on Campus; Sovereignty and
Sustainability; Spiritual Basis for Green Living;
Sustainable Cities Panel; Swimming; Third Party Ballot
Access; Third Parties in the U.S. Experience; Visioning
a Green Future; Watershed Protection; Why Localism
Matters; Zero Waste Workshop
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---
Green Pages, the official publication of record of the
Green Party of the United States, is now online:
www.gp.org/greenpag es-blog
Vol. 13, No. 1 is the latest issue available. The online
version is downloadable for easy printing if you need hard copies.
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---
BOOK RECOMMENDATION
Submitted by Alvin Meyer of the Bergen County Greens
I have just finished reading the recently published book:
"Mirrors" published by Nation Books and written by
Eduardo Galeano. I found the book to be delightfully
entertaining and insightful.
Here is an excerpt:
Only Human
Darwin told us we are cousins of the apes, not the
angels. Later on, we learned we emerged from Africa's
jungle and that no stork ever carried us from Paris.
And not long ago we discovered that our genes are almost
identical to those of mice.
Now we can't tell if we are God's masterpiece or the
devil's bad joke.
We puny humans:
. exterminators of everything,
. hunters of our own,
. creators of the atom bomb, the hydrogen bomb, and the neutron bomb,
. the only animals who invent machines,
. the only ones who live at the service of the machines they invent,
. the only ones who devour their own home,
. the only ones who poison the water they drink and the earth that feeds them,
. the only ones capable of renting or selling themselves, or renting or selling their fellow humans,
. the only ones who kill for fun,
. the only ones who torture,
. the only ones who rape.
And also:
. the only ones who laugh,
. the only ones who daydream,
. the ones who make silk from the spit of a worm,
. the ones who find beauty in rubbish,
. the ones who discover colors beyond the rainbow,
. the ones who furnish the voices of the world with new music,
. and who create words so that neither reality nor memory will be mute.
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---
DC LOBBY DAY AND RALLY FOR SINGLE-PAYER HEALTHCARE
"Medicare: Made in America"
Hosted by Healthcare-NOW!
July 30 in Washington, DC
Celebrate Medicare's 44th birthday by showing Congress
and President Obama the people, unions, doctors, nurses,
seniors, faith groups, and Americans of every stripe
support a single-payer system.
As President Obama says, "We must build on what works and
leave out what doesn't." Medicare has successfully
provided care to seniors and people with disabilities for
almost half a century.
The best way to save this system is to expand it and make
it a truly single-payer system by removing the for-profit
interests and guaranteeing healthcare as a right for all.
Info: 800-453-1305 or info@healthcare- now.org
www.healthcare- now.org/campaign s/single- payer-rally
- - - - - - - -
GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
www.gp.org
For Immediate Release: June 4, 2009
Green Party leaders challenge Sen. Baucus and defenders
of private insurance to debate Single-Payer advocates
Greens challenge major media to air the debate
Green leaders available to speak on health care:
www.gp.org/speakers /speakers- health-care. php
WASHINGTON, DC - Green Party leaders challenged Sen. Max
Baucus (D-Mont.) and other defenders of health care
reform based on private insurance to debate advocates
of Single-Payer national health care in a public forum.
Greens also challenged the major media to broadcast
the debate.
"Americans deserve to hear a debate on the merits of
Single-Payer/ Medicare For All versus the merits of a
health care system dominated by for-profit insurance
companies and HMOs," said Angel Torres, co-chair of the
Green Party of Maricopa County (www.maricopagreens. org),
which organized a rally for Single-Payer in front of the
office of Congressman Harry Mitchell (D-Ariz.) on May 30.
"Greens are prepared to defend Single-Payer publicly. We
also challenge groups like Physicians for a National
Health Program, the Healthcare-Now Coalition, Single-
Payer Action, and the California Nurses Association to
represent the Single-Payer side. Single-Payer supporters
have been fighting to get public attention, especially
for Rep. John Conyers' Single-Payer bill, HR 676," said
Mr. Torres.
Greens participated in national Day of Action for Single-
Payer events throughout the U.S. on May 30. In Augusta,
Maine, 2004 Green vice presidential candidate Pat
LaMarche hosted a Single-Payer rally at the statehouse:
http://morningsenti nel.mainetoday. com/news/ local/6407921. html
According to the Center for Responsive Politics,
Democrats and Republicans accepted over $46 million
in insurance industry donations in 2008:
www.opensecrets. org/industries/ indus.php? ind=F09
According to Consumer Watchdog, Sen. Baucus has taken
more campaign contributions from health insurance firms
($183,750 in the last two election cycles) and
pharmaceutical companies ($229,020) than any other
Democratic member of the House and Senate.
Greens blast misleading TV ads
Green Party health care activists warned that private
insurance defenders are placing ads to mislead the public
about health care reform, even to the point of confusing
private insurance-based plans favored by President Obama
and Democratic leaders with Single-Payer.
Recent TV ads have featured Rick Scott, chair of
Conservatives for Patients' Rights, who was fired from
his position as CEO of Columbia/HCA in 1997 after he was
caught trying defraud the federal and state governments
for hundreds of millions of taxpayers' dollars in false
Medicare and Medicaid payments, the largest
Medicare/Medicaid fraud in history. The company had to
pay back $1.7 billion, but Mr. Scott, instead of facing
prosecution, received $10 million in severance pay and
$300 million worth of stock.
Greens argue that for-profit health insurance adds high
costs (administrative overhead, demand for profit) but no
value (medical treatment). All other industrial nations
guarantee their citizens health care; no one in Canada,
which has a Single-Payer system, faces financial ruin
because of illness or injury.
Single-Payer, based on Medicare (administrative costs:
about 3%), eliminates the inefficiency of private
coverage, drastically cutting costs while covering all
Americans ("everyone in, no one out") and allowing full
choice of physician and hospital. Greens said that the
reforms favored by President Obama and many Democrats
don't curb inefficiency, because they leave the
insurance/HMO gatekeepers in charge.
Green leaders noted that polls have shown widespread
popular support for a national health care program that
guarantees universal coverage:
www.wpasinglepayer. org/PollResults. html
In 2008, the US Conference of Mayors endorsed Single-Payer:
www.usmayors. org/resolutions/ 76th_conference/ chhs_03.asp
Green Party information page on Single-Payer
www.gp.org/organize /sicko.html
Single-Payer advocates:
Physicians for a National Health Program www.pnhp.org
Healthcare-Now Coalition www.healthcare- now.org
Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care http://guaranteedhe althcare4all. org
Single-Payer Action http://singlepayera ction.org
California Nurses Association www.calnurses. org
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---
GPUS TELE-WORKSHOP SERIES
The subject of the next program with be: "Outreach." It
is scheduled for July 14 (9 p.m. EDT). It will feature
GPUS webmaster, Dave Doonan, with a "webinar" on using
internet tools to reach out to the media and increase
awareness of Green candidates, campaigns and issues.
If you wish to participate in this program please send an
e-mail to Holly Hart: hhart11 [at] gmail.com. (These
teleconferences are not conducted on an "800" number, so
if you don't have an unlimited calling plan you will be
charged long distance charges by your telephone carrier,
as applicable).
The first Tele-Workshop (June 3) featured Brent McMillan,
GPUS Executive Director, speaking about:
* An overview of the 2008 presidential campaign from the
perspective of the National Office.
* Security issues. There have been Green candidates
targeted by other parties, sometimes using the FBI as a
political tool, in Minneapolis and Connecticut. Problems
in this area have picked up in the last few years
(especially during the presidential campaign) and have
not decreased under the Obama administration.
* Brent said we need more party members, especially
younger people, involved with fundraising. Celebrity
outreach should be considered in this regard.
Time was allocated after each section of his presentation
for Q&A from the listeners.
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---
GPUS SENDS AN OPEN LETTER TO BILL MAHER
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, July 1, 2009
A Real Party for 'Real Time'
WASHINGTON, DC - The Green Party of the United States
(GPUS) has sent an open letter to Bill Maher after a June
19 broadcast of 'Real Time' in which Mr. Maher said,
"[W]hat we need is an actual progressive party to
represent the millions of Americans who aren't being
served by the Democrats. Because, bottom line, Democrats
are the new Republicans. "
See:
www.youtube. com/watch? v=DtUAHPYYzeM
(the relevant section comes about 2 minutes into the video)
The Green Party's reply to Mr. Maher: "Hey, Bill,
we're over here! What you described is the GREEN PARTY!
We already exist!"
The progressive party sought by Bill Maher describes the
Green Party: "Shouldn't there be one party that
unambiguously supports cutting the military budget, a
party that is straight up in favor of gun control, gay
marriage, higher taxes on the rich, universal health care
- legalizing pot - and steep, direct taxing of polluters?"
The open letter urges Mr. Maher to acknowledge the Green
Party and have a Green candidate or leader on the show.
The text of the letter is appended below.
The Green Party is currently preparing for its annual
national meeting, to take place in Durham, North
Carolina, from July 23 to July 26 (www.gp.org/2009- ANM).
Reporters are invited to cover the meeting (www.gp.org/forms/ media).
- - - - - - - - - - - -
"America's First Party"
An Open Letter to Bill Maher from the Green Party
Dear Mr. Maher,
We were thrilled to hear you talk about us when you
discussed the need for a new party - a "first party" -
during the June 19 broadcast of 'Real Time.'
The only part you left out were the words "Green Party."
Here's what you said:
"We don't need a third party. We need a first party. You
go to the polls and your choices are the guy who voted
for the first Wall Street bailout, or the guy who voted
for the next ten."
"Shouldn't there be one party that unambiguously supports
cutting the military budget, a party that is straight up
in favor of gun control, gay marriage, higher taxes on
the rich, universal health care - legalizing pot - and
steep, direct taxing of polluters? These aren't radical
ideas. A majority of Americans are either already for them
or would be if they were properly argued and defended."
"[W]hat we need is an actual progressive party to
represent the millions of Americans who aren't being
served by the Democrats. Because, bottom line, Democrats
are the new Republicans. "
Hey, Bill, we're over here! What you described is the
GREEN PARTY! We already exist!
Maybe you forgot about us because the major media have an
aversion to mentioning the Green Party and our
candidates. Maybe the FCC has banned "Green Party" along
with the late George Carlin's seven dirty words,
"Chomsky," "End the Drug War," and other language that
offends delicate sensibilities.
For the major networks, and apparently PBS and NPR too,
the very idea of more than two candidates in an election
makes talking heads explode.
If Green candidates started getting elected to higher
office, the radical ideas that aren't really radical
would get a fair hearing and a chance of passage.
Imagine if a few Greens got seated in Congress. Greens
don't take corporate contributions, so they'd be immune
to the influence of Exxon-Mobil, Goldman Sachs, Bank of
America, Raytheon, Monsanto, etc. When Rep. Nancy Pelosi
sends out orders not to seek a probe of Bush-Cheney
officials who authorized torture dungeons, Greens could
tell her to take a hike.
A few Green congressional victories would cause a seismic
shock to the political landscape. Democrats would no
longer have Republicans as their sole competition. The
scope of national debate would no longer be Dems on the
left, Repubs on the right, a phony middle ground between
them, and a narrow range of political ideas (comparable
to the corner grocery limiting your choice of beverage to
Coke or Pepsi).
With some Greens in Congress:
Democrats couldn't pretend to be the antiwar party while
voting for more war funding.
Single-payer national health care would be on the table
and might even pass. President Obama and most Democrats
already know single-payer is the best proposal. But
they feel compelled to appease the health insurance,
pharmaceutical, and other lobbies and find common
ground with Republicans who believe the free market
has sufficient mojo to cure every illness and injury.
We'd hear the truth: that "emissions trading" is a
license for corporate polluters to keep polluting, that
"clean coal" is a plot to turn West Virginia into a
crater, that the trillion-dollar Wall Street bailout and
confiscation of savings and pension money are the
greatest transfer of wealth from working people to big
banks in history. There's a bipartisan consensus that
corporate profit margins always take precedent over
Americans facing financial ruin due to a health emergency
or credit card debt or a mortgage or a lost job. Whenever
you hear the word "bipartisan" on the evening news, check
the silverware.
What are we going to do about this situation, Bill? If
you really want a "first party" for America, will you
throw us a bone on your show? Will you have a Green
candidate or Green leader on once in a while? (Ralph
Nader doesn't count - he's not a member of the Green Party.)
How about Rev. Billy Talen of the Church of Life
After Shopping? Rev. Billy is now a Green candidate
for Mayor of New York City (www.voterevbilly. org).
Rosa Clemente, our 2008 vice-presidential candidate,
said that the Green Party "is more than an alternative,
it's an imperative." Based on your comments, Bill,
it sounds like you might agree with Rosa.
We look forward to hearing back from you. You can see
what we're up to on our web site (www.gp.org).
Sincerely,
The Green Party
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
We need to urge Bill Maher and the producers to have
Green Party representatives on the show.
Call 323-575-2345 and ask for the production office of
Real Time with Bill Maher.
Or you can email the HBO producers:
www.hbo.com/ apps/submitinfo/ contactus/ submit.do? title=Real% 20Time%20with% 20Bill%20Maher&questiontype= realtimewithbill maher
============ ========= ========= ========= ====
The GreenGram is circulated bi-monthly in an effort
to keep all GPNJ members informed about party news,
Green-related activities, and upcoming events.
Members are encouraged to submit articles and
event announcements.
The deadline for the next issue will be August 15.
Please submit material for inclusion to:
SteveWelzer [at] msn.com
Friday, April 24, 2009
April 2009 GreenGram
The Green Party of NJ Bulletin - April 2009
* GPNJ Annual Convention
* County local reports
* Proposals for the convention to consider
* Letter to the editor
* GPUS Annual National Meeting notice
* Green Fest 2009
* Green candidate successes
* Reverend Billy's Bailout
* Cynthia McKinney commentaries
* CMMNJ Monthly Public Meeting
============ ========= ========= ========= ====
GREEN PARTY OF NEW JERSEY ANNUAL CONVENTION
GPNJ's 13th Annual Convention will be held Sat. May 23.
Location: 2211 West Landis Avenue, Vineland, NJ 08360
(right off Exit 32A of Route 55). Registration will begin
at 9:00am. The convention will feature the introduction
of our 2009 candidates and the election of our party
officers, plus a presentation by keynote speaker David
Petrovich. For more information, email: Chair[at]gpnj. org.
(Proposals for the convention to consider and other
material related to the convention are included below.)
------------ --------- --------- --------- ----
COUNTY LOCAL REPORTS
Bergen County
Submitted by Ed Fanning
The last Green Council conference call included a review
of plans for Earth Day 2009. Gail Dixon and I discussed
possible activities. Katy Meyer, Alvin Meyer and I also
reviewed what Bergen County has done in the past. BC has
distributed a letter (the text of which is included at
the end of this GreenGram) on Green Party letterhead
along with a packet of sunflower seeds inside a small
(coin) envelope. We have a stamp which is used to stamp
BCGP (Bergen County Green Party) on the envelope.
A possible place where sunflower seeds can be ordered is:
Wildseed Farms - www.wildseedfarms. com 800-848-0078.
We distributed the letter on April 22 with the sunflower
seeds stapled to the outside envelope. We will be doing
so again on Saturday, April 25.
[Earth Day awareness is current all during the month of
April, so there is still time for other counties to
emulate what the Bergen Greens have done. Feel free to use
the text of the letter included at the end of this issue.]
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Essex County
Submitted by Jane Califf
People from the Chesapeake Climate Action Network,
GreenPeace and D.C. Rising Tide disrupted the World
Coal-to-Liquids Conference in Washington, DC on March 26.
If you click on the link below you can watch a short
video of this event. The video quality is not good
because the protestors had to sneak in, but you will
clearly hear one young man speak from the balcony about
the dangers of coal and then you will see and hear Ted
Glick (our Essex County Coordinator) also speak. The
police came and told all of the protesters to leave, and
they did because their point was to disrupt, not to get
arrested.
www.youtube. com/dcrisingtide
The process of making and burning the liquid that would
come from coal is twice as polluting as the process of
refining oil into gasoline and burning it. The reason the
coal industry wants this to be developed is that the
diesel fuel that results can be used in motor vehicles
and they will then have a broader market for their coal
products.
After you watch the video, you will see that there are
related ones about the March 2 actions in Washington, DC
against coal. Ted, Daniel Glick and I participated in a
rally at the U.S. Capitol and then a civil disobedience
protest outside the 103-year-old coal plant that warms
and cools the U.S. Capitol Building. Five gates to the
plant were blocked by thousands of people calling for
clean energy, not polluting fossil fuels. No one was
arrested because there were too many protesters!
Additionally, Ted and I participated in the March 28
rally in Toms River to shut down the Oyster Creek nuclear
power plant. About 100 people attended the rally
sponsored by Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch to demand that
the NRC refuse to approve continued operations at the
40-year old plant (the oldest in the country). Carol Gay,
who helped organize the action, asked Ted to speak and
introduced him as a member of the Green Party of New Jersey.
* * *
Letter to the Asbury Park Press 4/9/09 (excerpts)
Concerns remain over Oyster Creek
At the recent Citizen's Rally at Huddy Park in Toms
River, the attendees heard first-hand from experts who
have been following the safety and health issues at
Oyster Creek. We were not surprised, and we predicted at
the rally, that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would
re-license Oyster Creek. It was the 49th time the NRC
used its rubber stamp to approve license extensions to
nuclear plants throughout the U.S. It maintained its
record of never ordering the shutdown of a nuclear plant.
Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch will continue to educate the
public about the serious problems of this reactor. It is
a decaying plant already compromised by years of
radiation and heat, with a questionable containment
system. It pollutes Barnegat Bay and its emissions are
linked to cancer. It is susceptible to terrorism with an
impossible evacuation plan, while its lethal waste
continues to be stockpiled on-site.
Edith Gbur
President, Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mercer County
Nick Mellis and Ken Wolski are planning to run as Green
Party candidates for Lawrence Township Council. Steve
Welzer will soon start collecting signatures to run for
State Assembly in the 12th District.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Monmouth County
Through various cleanups and environmental projects, the
Green Party of Monmouth County has been developing
relationships locally with the leadership of Clean Ocean
Action (COA), Hazlet Township's Environmental Commission,
the Hazlet Township Committee as well as the Hazlet Area
Quality of Life Alliance. As a result of Rich Fuller's
speeches to the latter two organizations, they both
signed on to COA's opposition to the LNG (Liquefied
Natural Gas) "Insanity Island" proposal off our coast.
Subsequently, Rich has been invited to speak on May 14
to the Union Beach Township Committee regarding our
opposition to the LNG proposal.
On Saturday, April 25, the Aberdeen Greens will once
again add their names to the other Green Party
participants in COA's biannual Beach Sweeps to help
remove shoreline debris and record the results on Beach
Sweep Data Cards. (On Earth Day Oprah Winfrey showed a
floating "island" of plastic and other debris
contaminating the Pacific Ocean. She reported that it was
the size of Texas and killing birds and other living things.)
The plastic cap collection campaign is winding down.
Greens who have been collecting caps may now turn them in
to Rich or bring them to the GPNJ convention in May.
Relationships are also being developed with activists in
Middlesex County, such as the Coordinator of the Green
Party of Middlesex County, Matt Natale, a Brookdale
Community College student; the peace activists in
Highland Park; and with Citizen Action by way of a recent
anti-war march through downtown New Brunswick.
One additional highlight from New Brunswick: at a recent
visit to the upstairs juice bar at the George Street
Co-op (organic health food store) the manager requested
a Green Party sticker for display there. A promise to
fulfill that request was made pronto!
Lastly,work has begun on our long-anticipated Green Party
of Monmouth County web site.
Submitted by Rich Fuller
Coordinator, Green Party of Monmouth County
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ocean County
Coordinator Jason Koralja reports that he is intending to
run for Surf City Boro Council and has obtained nearly
twice the number of petition signatures required.
------------ --------- --------- --------- ----
PROPOSALS FOR THE GPNJ CONVENTION TO CONSIDER
Proposal submitted by Ed Fanning
of the Bergen County Greens:
Establishment of a GPNJ Coordinator/ Project Manager position.
Be it resolved that GPNJ establishes the new position of
State Coordinator/ Project Manager. The holder of this
position will work with the GPNJ County and State
officials to help implement policies approved in various
GPNJ venues.
(I believe that we need a person in this position to
ensure that we act upon various projects/resolution s
that are approved by the party.)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Six proposals submitted by Nick Mellis
of the Mercer County Greens:
Proposal #1:
Allowing the State Chair to propose ideas and actions.
This (BYLAWS AMENDMENT) resolution if passed would permit
the State Chair of the Green Party of New Jersey to
propose resolutions both online and at state party
conventions and at monthly GC/EC meetings. If passed this
resolution would override any of Robert's Rules of Order
restrictions on the chair making proposals.
Proposal #2:
Recording the votes of our Representatives to the
National Committee.
Be it resolved (AS A BYLAWS AMENDMENT) that all votes
taken by our three representatives to the Green National
Committee of the GPUS, be recorded and posted on a
special page of the GPNJ web site. If passed this
resolution would create a web page that would record all
the votes that our reps to the national committee take.
A link to the proposal would be listed and the vote taken
by our reps would be recorded. This page would be created
and maintained by the GPNJ ComCom and a from at least one
of national reps.
Proposal #3:
The Green Council will determine how our Green National
Committee Representatives will vote.
Be it resolved (AS A BYLAWS AMENDMENT): The votes taken
by our national reps will be discussed by the GPNJ Green
Council prior to the voting deadline imposed by the GNC.
A vote will then be taken by the GPNJ Council as to how
we would like our reps to vote on a particular issue(s).
The purpose of this proposal is to engage the Green
Council of NJ in the daily activity of the national
party. To make the GPNJ as a whole thoroughly
knowledgeable of the issues facing the Green Party of
United States. An EC/GC vote will be taken before the
national deadline so that our rep's can register their
votes
Proposal #4:
The Green Council can determine whether to terminate the
term of a Representative to the Green National Committee
(or GNC) or other national committees.
Be it resolved (AS A BYLAWS AMENDMENT) that the Green
Council for the GPNJ will be given the right to remove or
recall a member from any of the national Green Party
committees including as our state representative to the
national body and the other various working committees
that exists now and or will be created in the future..
The purpose of this resolution will be to give the Green
Council of GPNJ the right to recall any of our reps to
the GNC for bad and or abusive behavior. Bad and or
abusive behavior will be defined as such: when a
representative can't communicate with fellow greens
without insulting or snide remarks or bulling of others
in the Green Party. Politely questioning authority or
respectfully disagreeing with another Green is not
grounds for recall.
Proposal #5:
Public Loyalty to the GPNJ.
Be it resolved (BYLAWS AMENDMENT) that all elected GPNJ
officers and committee chairs and county coordinators and
county chairs be required to remain publicly loyal to our
National, State and County and Municipal Green Party
candidates and not take any OFFICIAL position(s) with
a candidate from another party, etc. The person(s) may
temporarily step aside for the length of the campaign
and ask for reinstatement by the GPNJ Green Council afterwards.
The purpose of this resolution is to ensure that duly
elected officers of GPNJ (including County Chairs) will
publicly support Green Party candidates or step down from
that position till elections are over. As an example: A
state GPNJ (elected) officer could not be an official
contact or spokesperson for another candidate whether or
not a green is running for that office. As an individual
you can support any candidate you want and vote
accordingly, you may choose to step down from your
elected GPNJ or County position and publicly declare and
or make yourself publicly available for the candidate of
your choice.
Proposal #6:
Ownership of Yahoo Groups.
Be it resolved and added as an amendment to the GPNJ
bylaws that Ownership of any YahooGroups created by and
for the GPNJ shall remain the corporate property of
Yahoo!, Inc. I propose that when it comes to management
of any GPNJ created YahooGroups that there will be
multiple owners of all state party run lists.
Multiple owners will be defined as current members of the
Executive Committee. The only person with permission to
delete a group will be given to the Chair, all other
officers will be given ownership privileges except being
able to cause deletion of group. Deletion of a GPNJ
YahooGroup will be determined by and voted upon by the
GPNJ Green Council and proceed to be deleted no more than
thirty (30) days later and no less than ten days from the
date of the vote. Current owners of YahooGroups who are
not members of the current GPNJ Executive Committee will
surrender there ownership privileges over to people on
the current committee in a timely fashion.
All state level committees will be created on YahooGroups
and will have the following label in front of them: GPNJ-
. This rule does not apply to any county lists created on
Yahoo. It would just make sense to have several people
co-owners of the county list serves so that the list
doesn't die if and when people decided to just leave
the party.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Three resolutions submitted by Scott Baier
of the Mercer County Greens:
Resolution 1. Resolved; that by 2011 all GPNJ members
shall no longer be members of other political parties.
Discussion; it will unify the Greens as one party and
snuff out all other ideologies.
Resolution 2. Resolved; that the GPNJ shall endorse a
constitutional amendment to ban the manufacture, sale,
and possession all types of guns except for law
enforcement and military personnel.
Discussion; In light of the recent violence in recent
years, it would be a good idea to implement a
constitutional amendment banning guns as a preclude to
reducing crime.
Resolution 3. Resolved; that the GPNJ shall waive dues
for members who are unemployed, and they shall have the
same voting rights as dues paying members, and
accordingly shall reduce yearly membership dues to $20,
and shall establish a one-time life membership dues
payment for those who wish to be life GPNJ members at $100.
Discussion; It makes dues more affordable, and
establishes a life membership rate for those who want to
avoid the hassle of paying dues every single year.
------------ --------- --------- --------- ----
LETTER FROM ALVIN MEYER OF THE BERGEN COUNTY GREENS
April 21, 2009
Katy and I joined the Green Party 11 years ago, because
we were convinced of the need for a new political
approach to the myriad of threats to our planet and
people. We assumed that there would be a high level of
political commitment from both our leadership, and rank
and file. Which would lead to a rapid growth of the party
as we attracted more folks that understood the fact that
the system is well represented by the duopoly, but the
needs of the vast majority of Americans are ignored ...
at best.
What we have seen is an unbelievable level of personal
vendetta in conjunction with an inability to do anything
constructive. We are at a crossroads, and I don't think
it is too late to save this noble and necessary effort to
provide an alternative to the morass we find ourselves in.
What is necessary, for starters, is to elect new
leadership that will breathe new life into the Greens;
inspire and motivate our ranks: attract new and diverse
folks to the cause; elect Greens to office, and shed any
vain hope that the Democrats will do it for us.
------------ --------- --------- --------- ----
FROM THE GPUS ANNUAL NATIONAL MEETING COMMITTEE
This year, the Green Party of the United States'
annual meeting will be held in Durham, North Carolina,
July 23-26. Anyone active in or interested in the
Green Party is encouraged to attend.
We want to have a dynamic program of workshops, panels,
and other presentations that will provide attendees with
the tools and information they need to raise money, run
campaigns, and build the Green Party.
Do you have a proposal for consideration? If so, please
submit - by May 4 - the following in an email attachment
to Hillary Kane (hillarya[at] upenn.edu) and Matt Abel
(attorneyabel[ at]riseup. net) with the subject heading:
ANMC 2009 Workshop.
1. An abstract of no more than one page describing your
workshop, panel, or presentation. Please be sure to
include what the attendees will learn from attending your
session. And please spell out any acronyms or
abbreviations you use (because the reviewer of your
abstract may not know what they mean).
2. The maximum number of people that can be accommodated
in your session.
3. The audio-visual equipment you would need, within
reason because of budget constraints. It would really
help the party if you brought your own equipment. Let us
know either way.
4. A biographical sketch (one or two paragraphs) of the
presenter(s) . Please be sure to include the presenters'
expertise in the subject being presented.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to
contact Hillary or Matt. You may also send an email to
them suggesting workshop topics that you would like to
see but do not want to present.
We look forward to hearing from you and working with you
to make the 2009 annual meeting one that has a positive
impact on the growth of the Green Party!
------------ --------- --------- --------- ----
GREEN FEST 2009
Six years ago, members of the Green Party of New York
State initiated a project which has turned into a
biennial gathering called "Green Fest." Starting this
year it will become a regional event. They are seeking
participants from GPNJ (they link to www.GPNJ.org from
the home page of their Web site). We should encourage
our members to attend and, beyond that, to give a
presentation, participate in a workshop, or staff an
exhibit (Steve Welzer, our Communications Committee
Chair, will be a keynote speaker).
Proceeds from the event will accrue to regional state
Green parties based on percentage of attendance from each
state. In other words, if 10% of the attendees are from
New Jersey, then GPNJ will get 10% of the residual (after
expenses) revenues.
Here are excerpts from the text of the flyer about the event:
Celebrate Sustainable Living and Sustainable Politics
Aug. 7-9, 2009
Alfred University, Alfred, NY
Spend a weekend sharing skills for sustainable living and
sustainable politics on the Alfred University campus in
rural upstate New York. Learn how to build a small wind
turbine, bake in an earth oven, set up a CSA, live job
free, build new media outlets, run a third party
political campaign, and much more.
Green Fest is a benefit for the Green Party of New York
and other Green parties in our region. The festival is
open to all who are interested in sustainable living and
sustainable politics. The weekend will include workshops,
tours, and keynote addresses, exhibitors, swimming, yoga
and hiking. Dorm rooms, camping and the Saxon Inn are
available for lodging on campus. Local campgrounds and
Bed-and-Breakfasts are also available. Meals prepared
from locally-grown food will be served at the Alfred
University dining hall.
We invite Green-friendly activists to offer panels and
workshops on sustainable topics and Green-friendly
musicians to perform. We also invite Green-friendly
exhibitors to set up tents and publicize their activist
organization or sell their own crafts, local food items,
books and renewable energy systems.
For more info:
http://nygreenfest. org/
info[at]nygreenfest .org
------------ --------- --------- --------- ----
GREEN CANDIDATE SUCCESSES ON APRIL 7
ILLINOIS
- Jon Murray won re-election as Mount Morris Village
Trustee, Ogle County. He finished second of three
candidates with 485 votes or 34%.
- Bruce Samuels won his race for Oak Park Village Library
Board, Cook County. He finished first of five candidates
for four seats with 3,757 votes or 21.51%.
WISCONSIN
- Tony Palmeri won re-election to the Oshkosh Common
Council. He finished first of six candidates for three
seats with 6,633 votes or 23.59%.
- Bob Poeschel won election to the Oshkosh Common
Council. He finished third of six candidates for three
seats with 4,717 votes or 16.78%.
- Satya Rhodes-Conway ran unopposed for Madison
Alderperson District 12, Dane County.
- Marsha Rummel ran unopposed for Dane County Common
Council District 6.
- Jo Ellen Gramling ran unopposed for Schleswig Town
Clerk, Manitowoc County.
------------ --------- --------- --------- ----
REVEREND BILLY'S BAILOUT
By David Weidner
Wall Street Journal 4/16/09 (excerpts)
Would Jesus take a bailout?
Confronted with the once-in-a-century opportunity to
remake the financial system, the reformers in Washington
have a choice: Succumb to the temptation of serving
financial supermarkets or lift up community banks and
street-level economies.
Enter Reverend Billy Talen, the New York-based street
preacher, performer and activist who - along with his
flock, the Church of Life After Shopping - believes
government has a moral obligation to support communities
before big banks.
"I've been trying to drive people out of their
institutions, " Reverend Billy says. "Their institutions
aren't working."
It's hard to imagine Timothy Geithner taking advice from
an iconoclast dressed in a white suit, clerical collar
and Elvis-inspired hair, but the Reverend Billy may be on
to something. In place of a system where big banks and
corporations enter neighborhoods only to profit from
them, Reverend Billy wants to empower small banks and
credit unions that hold a stake in the communities they
serve by offering incentives and making it harder for big
finance to undercut local business. It's hard to argue
against the system he envisions.
Think for a moment about what community finance could
mean for the nation: Neighborhood banks would lend to
local businesses. Profits could stay in the community.
Simply knowing who your customers are and living near
them could bring common sense - the most basic and sound
form of risk management - back to banking.
Sure, it sounds kind of dreamy, but such systems are
already in place in neighborhoods large and small. Small
businesses thrive, but they are often at the mercy of big
banks who giveth and taketh credit according to shifts in
economic cycles.
"The Wall Street experience is parallel and equal to the
destruction of neighborhoods through chain stores,"
Reverend Billy says. Basic economics are on the
Reverend's side. For every dollar spent at a chain store,
studies show only 50 cents stays in that community. By
contrast, 90 cents of every dollar spent at a local
business remains in the local economy.
"There's not a Puritan attitude about it, there's a
practical attitude about it," Reverend Billy says.
"People want to know what they can do for their friends
and for themselves. We're trying to help each other;
share money, share energy, share homes."
It's unlikely that sharing is on the business plan at
Citigroup Inc. or Goldman Sachs Group Inc., companies
that Reverend Billy excoriates in his sermons. He says
the steel and mirrored-glass buildings that house major
banks are designed to hide what happens inside.
Though colorful, Reverend Billy is no longer a fringe
figure. Since he began preaching on the street corners in
Times Square a decade ago, he and his anticonsumerism
message have gained mainstream attention, thanks in part
to his book and a world tour with the church's 40-member
choir.
His breakthrough came in 2007 with the release of "What
Would Jesus Buy?", a documentary about his church's
efforts to promote a shopping-free Christmas. This year,
he's running for New York City mayor on the Green Party
ticket, campaigning on a community-first platform.
Candidate Billy wants to end the city's reliance on
industries susceptible to bubbles and busts: Tourism,
Wall Street and real estate. "Neighborhoods vulnerable to
the bubble economies are the ones hurting right now," he says.
Reverend Billy knows he faces long odds both in his
mayoral run and his effort to change a system built
around spending and credit speculation, but there are
signs of hope. His audience was growing before the
financial crisis, and things have only gained momentum since.
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---
Links to recent Cynthia McKinney commentaries
Remarks at the Forum for Palestine held in London - 3/31/09
www.gp.org/cynthia/ display.php? ID=11
Buyer's Remorse, Economic Collapse, Oligarchs, and War - 4/7/09
www.gp.org/cynthia/ display.php? ID=12
The Economy, From Soros and Greenspan to Napoleon's Waterloo,
and a Tip of the Hat to Haiti, Too - 4/20/09
www.gp.org/cynthia/ display.php? ID=13
------------ --------- --------- --------- ----
CMMNJ MONTHLY PUBLIC MEETING AGENDA - APRIL 14
CMMNJ (Coalition for Medical Marijuana-New Jersey)
supporters are urged to contact your assembly
representative now to show your support for the New
Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. The final
steps to passing this bill into law will be the votes of
the New Jersey Assembly Health and Senior Services
Committee (Assemblyman Herb Conaway, Chairman) and in the
full assembly.
CMMNJ appeared on WIFI 1460 AM Talk Radio in Burlington
on March 12. CMMNJ and NORML NJ met with representatives
of the American Lung Association on March 17 in Union,
NJ. CMMNJ gave a medical marijuana seminar at
Collingswood Public Library on March 21. CMMNJ speakers
appeared at the NORML Freedom Forum in Philadelphia on
April 20 (Rep. Mark Cohen plans to introduce a medical
marijuana bill in PA modeled after the NJ bill).
A Global Marijuana March will be held on May 2 in New
Brunswick, Philadelphia and hundreds of other cities
nationwide.
CMMNJ has new photos, etc. on Facebook
and Facebook Friends of CMMNJ:
www.facebook. com/profile. php?id=502598656
Future scheduled meetings are May 12, June 9, and July 14.
CMMNJ meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the
month at the Lawrence Twp. Library, from 7:00-9:00pm.
All are welcome. Snacks are served. The library is at
2751 Brunswick Pike, Lawrence Twp., Tel. #609.882.9246.
(Meeting at the library does not imply their endorsement
of our issue.) For more info, contact: Ken Wolski, RN,
MPA - Executive Director; Coalition for Medical
Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc.; www.cmmnj.org; 844 Spruce
St., Trenton, NJ 08648; 609-394-2137; ohamkrw[at]aol. com
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---
Here is the text of the letter the Bergen County Greens
distributed on Earth Day along with an attached packet of
sunflower seeds:
Bergen County Green Party
201-493-8044 www.gpnj.org
READY. SET. GROW!
Best time to plant: May 15 to June 15
Choose a sunny spot - the more sun the better, but at
least 6 hours each day. Sunflowers do best in fertile,
well-drained soil. With a trowel, thoroughly loosen the
soil where you plan to plant - an area about 4 inches
wide and several inches deep. If the soil is dry, moisten
lightly. Drop in a seed, cover with soil, tamp soil
snugly but not hard around the seed, and water well. Keep
the soil moist, but not soggy, until your plants come up.
Plant seeds a foot or more apart in rows or groups.
Your sunflowers will emerge (germinate) in 7 to 21 days
and will bloom 60 to 90 days after emergence.
Planting tip: After planting, place a "collar" around
each seed. A collar will help mark the exact spot to
watch for the plants to merge and will also protect the
young seedling from cutworms that can destroy your plant.
A good collar can be made from a half-gallon plastic milk
jug. First, cut away the bottom on the jug. Three inches
above the bottom, cut away the remainder of the jug.
Gently push the collar about a half inch into the soil
around the planted seed.
Growing tip #1: Don't over-water your sunflowers. When
they are about 1 to 2 inches tall, gradually reduce
watering. Give them a good drink if the weather is very
dry and the plants look droopy. Avoid spraying the whole
plant - sunflowers like water on their roots but not on
their leaves.
Growing tip #2: Sunflowers are wildflowers and will
probably grow strong and tall without the use of
fertilizer. If you think fertilizer is needed, choose a
good all-purpose one and use with the help of an adult.
But remember, over-fertilizing will cause poor flower
development.
Growing tip #3: If your plant grows very tall, a stake
may be needed to help the plant withstand wind. Alongside
the main stem put a stake firmly in the soil and tie the
plant loosely to the stake in several places.
You've got flowers, Now what?
Sunflowers are sometimes cut for use indoors, BUT some
sunflower pollen can stain whatever it comes in contact
with.
We suggest you leave the blooms on the plants and watch
the seeds develop and ripen in the center because when
the seeds begin to mature they will attract a wide
variety of birds, especially the American Goldfinch, New
Jersey's state bird.
You can harvest the seeds for yourself. Sunflowers are
ready for harvest as soon as birds begin to pick at the
outer rows of seed. At that time the outer rows are
completely ripe, the next rows are about to ripe but not
dry, and the center seeds are still somewhat green. Cut
the flower (with about a foot of stalk) and hang in an
airy spot to dry. When thoroughly dry, the seeds may be
removed by rubbing them lightly.
IMPORTANT: If you harvest the seeds for yourself or leave
them for the birds, make sure they have not been sprayed
or dusted with chemicals.
Enjoy!
Do you know:
. Sunflowers are annuals? That means they only grow one
season and must be replanted each year. Perennials are
plants that grow many years. Trees and shrubs are
perennials. Bi-annuals grow for two years to complete
their life cycle. Parsley is a familiar bi-annual.
. Sunflowers are native throughout America? Native
Americans have grown sunflowers for 8,000 years. They
have ground the seeds into meal for food and have
extracted oil for food, for food preparation, and for
hair applications.
. Sunflower seeds are extremely high in proteins,
calcium, phosphorous, thiamin, riboflavin and niacin?
. Sunflowers will turn their faces during the day to
follow the sun?
By planting these seeds we recognize we are part of, not
separate from nature. We support a sustainable society
which utilizes resources so future generations will
benefit. We live within the ecological and resource
limits of our communities and our planet. We practice
agriculture which replenishes the soil, and we live in
ways that respect the integrity of natural systems.
============ ========= ========= ========= ====
The GreenGram is circulated monthly in an effort to keep
all GPNJ members informed about party news, Green-related
activities, and upcoming events. Members are encouraged
to submit articles and event announcements.
The deadline for the next issue will be June 15. Please
submit material for inclusion to: SteveWelzer[ at]msn.com
!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!
GreenGram
Green Party of NJ Bulletin -- www.GPNJ.org
P.O. Box 9802, Trenton, NJ 08650
To subscribe, become a member of GPNJ!
!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!
* GPNJ Annual Convention
* County local reports
* Proposals for the convention to consider
* Letter to the editor
* GPUS Annual National Meeting notice
* Green Fest 2009
* Green candidate successes
* Reverend Billy's Bailout
* Cynthia McKinney commentaries
* CMMNJ Monthly Public Meeting
============ ========= ========= ========= ====
GREEN PARTY OF NEW JERSEY ANNUAL CONVENTION
GPNJ's 13th Annual Convention will be held Sat. May 23.
Location: 2211 West Landis Avenue, Vineland, NJ 08360
(right off Exit 32A of Route 55). Registration will begin
at 9:00am. The convention will feature the introduction
of our 2009 candidates and the election of our party
officers, plus a presentation by keynote speaker David
Petrovich. For more information, email: Chair[at]gpnj. org.
(Proposals for the convention to consider and other
material related to the convention are included below.)
------------ --------- --------- --------- ----
COUNTY LOCAL REPORTS
Bergen County
Submitted by Ed Fanning
The last Green Council conference call included a review
of plans for Earth Day 2009. Gail Dixon and I discussed
possible activities. Katy Meyer, Alvin Meyer and I also
reviewed what Bergen County has done in the past. BC has
distributed a letter (the text of which is included at
the end of this GreenGram) on Green Party letterhead
along with a packet of sunflower seeds inside a small
(coin) envelope. We have a stamp which is used to stamp
BCGP (Bergen County Green Party) on the envelope.
A possible place where sunflower seeds can be ordered is:
Wildseed Farms - www.wildseedfarms. com 800-848-0078.
We distributed the letter on April 22 with the sunflower
seeds stapled to the outside envelope. We will be doing
so again on Saturday, April 25.
[Earth Day awareness is current all during the month of
April, so there is still time for other counties to
emulate what the Bergen Greens have done. Feel free to use
the text of the letter included at the end of this issue.]
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Essex County
Submitted by Jane Califf
People from the Chesapeake Climate Action Network,
GreenPeace and D.C. Rising Tide disrupted the World
Coal-to-Liquids Conference in Washington, DC on March 26.
If you click on the link below you can watch a short
video of this event. The video quality is not good
because the protestors had to sneak in, but you will
clearly hear one young man speak from the balcony about
the dangers of coal and then you will see and hear Ted
Glick (our Essex County Coordinator) also speak. The
police came and told all of the protesters to leave, and
they did because their point was to disrupt, not to get
arrested.
www.youtube. com/dcrisingtide
The process of making and burning the liquid that would
come from coal is twice as polluting as the process of
refining oil into gasoline and burning it. The reason the
coal industry wants this to be developed is that the
diesel fuel that results can be used in motor vehicles
and they will then have a broader market for their coal
products.
After you watch the video, you will see that there are
related ones about the March 2 actions in Washington, DC
against coal. Ted, Daniel Glick and I participated in a
rally at the U.S. Capitol and then a civil disobedience
protest outside the 103-year-old coal plant that warms
and cools the U.S. Capitol Building. Five gates to the
plant were blocked by thousands of people calling for
clean energy, not polluting fossil fuels. No one was
arrested because there were too many protesters!
Additionally, Ted and I participated in the March 28
rally in Toms River to shut down the Oyster Creek nuclear
power plant. About 100 people attended the rally
sponsored by Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch to demand that
the NRC refuse to approve continued operations at the
40-year old plant (the oldest in the country). Carol Gay,
who helped organize the action, asked Ted to speak and
introduced him as a member of the Green Party of New Jersey.
* * *
Letter to the Asbury Park Press 4/9/09 (excerpts)
Concerns remain over Oyster Creek
At the recent Citizen's Rally at Huddy Park in Toms
River, the attendees heard first-hand from experts who
have been following the safety and health issues at
Oyster Creek. We were not surprised, and we predicted at
the rally, that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would
re-license Oyster Creek. It was the 49th time the NRC
used its rubber stamp to approve license extensions to
nuclear plants throughout the U.S. It maintained its
record of never ordering the shutdown of a nuclear plant.
Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch will continue to educate the
public about the serious problems of this reactor. It is
a decaying plant already compromised by years of
radiation and heat, with a questionable containment
system. It pollutes Barnegat Bay and its emissions are
linked to cancer. It is susceptible to terrorism with an
impossible evacuation plan, while its lethal waste
continues to be stockpiled on-site.
Edith Gbur
President, Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mercer County
Nick Mellis and Ken Wolski are planning to run as Green
Party candidates for Lawrence Township Council. Steve
Welzer will soon start collecting signatures to run for
State Assembly in the 12th District.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Monmouth County
Through various cleanups and environmental projects, the
Green Party of Monmouth County has been developing
relationships locally with the leadership of Clean Ocean
Action (COA), Hazlet Township's Environmental Commission,
the Hazlet Township Committee as well as the Hazlet Area
Quality of Life Alliance. As a result of Rich Fuller's
speeches to the latter two organizations, they both
signed on to COA's opposition to the LNG (Liquefied
Natural Gas) "Insanity Island" proposal off our coast.
Subsequently, Rich has been invited to speak on May 14
to the Union Beach Township Committee regarding our
opposition to the LNG proposal.
On Saturday, April 25, the Aberdeen Greens will once
again add their names to the other Green Party
participants in COA's biannual Beach Sweeps to help
remove shoreline debris and record the results on Beach
Sweep Data Cards. (On Earth Day Oprah Winfrey showed a
floating "island" of plastic and other debris
contaminating the Pacific Ocean. She reported that it was
the size of Texas and killing birds and other living things.)
The plastic cap collection campaign is winding down.
Greens who have been collecting caps may now turn them in
to Rich or bring them to the GPNJ convention in May.
Relationships are also being developed with activists in
Middlesex County, such as the Coordinator of the Green
Party of Middlesex County, Matt Natale, a Brookdale
Community College student; the peace activists in
Highland Park; and with Citizen Action by way of a recent
anti-war march through downtown New Brunswick.
One additional highlight from New Brunswick: at a recent
visit to the upstairs juice bar at the George Street
Co-op (organic health food store) the manager requested
a Green Party sticker for display there. A promise to
fulfill that request was made pronto!
Lastly,work has begun on our long-anticipated Green Party
of Monmouth County web site.
Submitted by Rich Fuller
Coordinator, Green Party of Monmouth County
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ocean County
Coordinator Jason Koralja reports that he is intending to
run for Surf City Boro Council and has obtained nearly
twice the number of petition signatures required.
------------ --------- --------- --------- ----
PROPOSALS FOR THE GPNJ CONVENTION TO CONSIDER
Proposal submitted by Ed Fanning
of the Bergen County Greens:
Establishment of a GPNJ Coordinator/ Project Manager position.
Be it resolved that GPNJ establishes the new position of
State Coordinator/ Project Manager. The holder of this
position will work with the GPNJ County and State
officials to help implement policies approved in various
GPNJ venues.
(I believe that we need a person in this position to
ensure that we act upon various projects/resolution s
that are approved by the party.)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Six proposals submitted by Nick Mellis
of the Mercer County Greens:
Proposal #1:
Allowing the State Chair to propose ideas and actions.
This (BYLAWS AMENDMENT) resolution if passed would permit
the State Chair of the Green Party of New Jersey to
propose resolutions both online and at state party
conventions and at monthly GC/EC meetings. If passed this
resolution would override any of Robert's Rules of Order
restrictions on the chair making proposals.
Proposal #2:
Recording the votes of our Representatives to the
National Committee.
Be it resolved (AS A BYLAWS AMENDMENT) that all votes
taken by our three representatives to the Green National
Committee of the GPUS, be recorded and posted on a
special page of the GPNJ web site. If passed this
resolution would create a web page that would record all
the votes that our reps to the national committee take.
A link to the proposal would be listed and the vote taken
by our reps would be recorded. This page would be created
and maintained by the GPNJ ComCom and a from at least one
of national reps.
Proposal #3:
The Green Council will determine how our Green National
Committee Representatives will vote.
Be it resolved (AS A BYLAWS AMENDMENT): The votes taken
by our national reps will be discussed by the GPNJ Green
Council prior to the voting deadline imposed by the GNC.
A vote will then be taken by the GPNJ Council as to how
we would like our reps to vote on a particular issue(s).
The purpose of this proposal is to engage the Green
Council of NJ in the daily activity of the national
party. To make the GPNJ as a whole thoroughly
knowledgeable of the issues facing the Green Party of
United States. An EC/GC vote will be taken before the
national deadline so that our rep's can register their
votes
Proposal #4:
The Green Council can determine whether to terminate the
term of a Representative to the Green National Committee
(or GNC) or other national committees.
Be it resolved (AS A BYLAWS AMENDMENT) that the Green
Council for the GPNJ will be given the right to remove or
recall a member from any of the national Green Party
committees including as our state representative to the
national body and the other various working committees
that exists now and or will be created in the future..
The purpose of this resolution will be to give the Green
Council of GPNJ the right to recall any of our reps to
the GNC for bad and or abusive behavior. Bad and or
abusive behavior will be defined as such: when a
representative can't communicate with fellow greens
without insulting or snide remarks or bulling of others
in the Green Party. Politely questioning authority or
respectfully disagreeing with another Green is not
grounds for recall.
Proposal #5:
Public Loyalty to the GPNJ.
Be it resolved (BYLAWS AMENDMENT) that all elected GPNJ
officers and committee chairs and county coordinators and
county chairs be required to remain publicly loyal to our
National, State and County and Municipal Green Party
candidates and not take any OFFICIAL position(s) with
a candidate from another party, etc. The person(s) may
temporarily step aside for the length of the campaign
and ask for reinstatement by the GPNJ Green Council afterwards.
The purpose of this resolution is to ensure that duly
elected officers of GPNJ (including County Chairs) will
publicly support Green Party candidates or step down from
that position till elections are over. As an example: A
state GPNJ (elected) officer could not be an official
contact or spokesperson for another candidate whether or
not a green is running for that office. As an individual
you can support any candidate you want and vote
accordingly, you may choose to step down from your
elected GPNJ or County position and publicly declare and
or make yourself publicly available for the candidate of
your choice.
Proposal #6:
Ownership of Yahoo Groups.
Be it resolved and added as an amendment to the GPNJ
bylaws that Ownership of any YahooGroups created by and
for the GPNJ shall remain the corporate property of
Yahoo!, Inc. I propose that when it comes to management
of any GPNJ created YahooGroups that there will be
multiple owners of all state party run lists.
Multiple owners will be defined as current members of the
Executive Committee. The only person with permission to
delete a group will be given to the Chair, all other
officers will be given ownership privileges except being
able to cause deletion of group. Deletion of a GPNJ
YahooGroup will be determined by and voted upon by the
GPNJ Green Council and proceed to be deleted no more than
thirty (30) days later and no less than ten days from the
date of the vote. Current owners of YahooGroups who are
not members of the current GPNJ Executive Committee will
surrender there ownership privileges over to people on
the current committee in a timely fashion.
All state level committees will be created on YahooGroups
and will have the following label in front of them: GPNJ-
. This rule does not apply to any county lists created on
Yahoo. It would just make sense to have several people
co-owners of the county list serves so that the list
doesn't die if and when people decided to just leave
the party.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Three resolutions submitted by Scott Baier
of the Mercer County Greens:
Resolution 1. Resolved; that by 2011 all GPNJ members
shall no longer be members of other political parties.
Discussion; it will unify the Greens as one party and
snuff out all other ideologies.
Resolution 2. Resolved; that the GPNJ shall endorse a
constitutional amendment to ban the manufacture, sale,
and possession all types of guns except for law
enforcement and military personnel.
Discussion; In light of the recent violence in recent
years, it would be a good idea to implement a
constitutional amendment banning guns as a preclude to
reducing crime.
Resolution 3. Resolved; that the GPNJ shall waive dues
for members who are unemployed, and they shall have the
same voting rights as dues paying members, and
accordingly shall reduce yearly membership dues to $20,
and shall establish a one-time life membership dues
payment for those who wish to be life GPNJ members at $100.
Discussion; It makes dues more affordable, and
establishes a life membership rate for those who want to
avoid the hassle of paying dues every single year.
------------ --------- --------- --------- ----
LETTER FROM ALVIN MEYER OF THE BERGEN COUNTY GREENS
April 21, 2009
Katy and I joined the Green Party 11 years ago, because
we were convinced of the need for a new political
approach to the myriad of threats to our planet and
people. We assumed that there would be a high level of
political commitment from both our leadership, and rank
and file. Which would lead to a rapid growth of the party
as we attracted more folks that understood the fact that
the system is well represented by the duopoly, but the
needs of the vast majority of Americans are ignored ...
at best.
What we have seen is an unbelievable level of personal
vendetta in conjunction with an inability to do anything
constructive. We are at a crossroads, and I don't think
it is too late to save this noble and necessary effort to
provide an alternative to the morass we find ourselves in.
What is necessary, for starters, is to elect new
leadership that will breathe new life into the Greens;
inspire and motivate our ranks: attract new and diverse
folks to the cause; elect Greens to office, and shed any
vain hope that the Democrats will do it for us.
------------ --------- --------- --------- ----
FROM THE GPUS ANNUAL NATIONAL MEETING COMMITTEE
This year, the Green Party of the United States'
annual meeting will be held in Durham, North Carolina,
July 23-26. Anyone active in or interested in the
Green Party is encouraged to attend.
We want to have a dynamic program of workshops, panels,
and other presentations that will provide attendees with
the tools and information they need to raise money, run
campaigns, and build the Green Party.
Do you have a proposal for consideration? If so, please
submit - by May 4 - the following in an email attachment
to Hillary Kane (hillarya[at] upenn.edu) and Matt Abel
(attorneyabel[ at]riseup. net) with the subject heading:
ANMC 2009 Workshop.
1. An abstract of no more than one page describing your
workshop, panel, or presentation. Please be sure to
include what the attendees will learn from attending your
session. And please spell out any acronyms or
abbreviations you use (because the reviewer of your
abstract may not know what they mean).
2. The maximum number of people that can be accommodated
in your session.
3. The audio-visual equipment you would need, within
reason because of budget constraints. It would really
help the party if you brought your own equipment. Let us
know either way.
4. A biographical sketch (one or two paragraphs) of the
presenter(s) . Please be sure to include the presenters'
expertise in the subject being presented.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to
contact Hillary or Matt. You may also send an email to
them suggesting workshop topics that you would like to
see but do not want to present.
We look forward to hearing from you and working with you
to make the 2009 annual meeting one that has a positive
impact on the growth of the Green Party!
------------ --------- --------- --------- ----
GREEN FEST 2009
Six years ago, members of the Green Party of New York
State initiated a project which has turned into a
biennial gathering called "Green Fest." Starting this
year it will become a regional event. They are seeking
participants from GPNJ (they link to www.GPNJ.org from
the home page of their Web site). We should encourage
our members to attend and, beyond that, to give a
presentation, participate in a workshop, or staff an
exhibit (Steve Welzer, our Communications Committee
Chair, will be a keynote speaker).
Proceeds from the event will accrue to regional state
Green parties based on percentage of attendance from each
state. In other words, if 10% of the attendees are from
New Jersey, then GPNJ will get 10% of the residual (after
expenses) revenues.
Here are excerpts from the text of the flyer about the event:
Celebrate Sustainable Living and Sustainable Politics
Aug. 7-9, 2009
Alfred University, Alfred, NY
Spend a weekend sharing skills for sustainable living and
sustainable politics on the Alfred University campus in
rural upstate New York. Learn how to build a small wind
turbine, bake in an earth oven, set up a CSA, live job
free, build new media outlets, run a third party
political campaign, and much more.
Green Fest is a benefit for the Green Party of New York
and other Green parties in our region. The festival is
open to all who are interested in sustainable living and
sustainable politics. The weekend will include workshops,
tours, and keynote addresses, exhibitors, swimming, yoga
and hiking. Dorm rooms, camping and the Saxon Inn are
available for lodging on campus. Local campgrounds and
Bed-and-Breakfasts are also available. Meals prepared
from locally-grown food will be served at the Alfred
University dining hall.
We invite Green-friendly activists to offer panels and
workshops on sustainable topics and Green-friendly
musicians to perform. We also invite Green-friendly
exhibitors to set up tents and publicize their activist
organization or sell their own crafts, local food items,
books and renewable energy systems.
For more info:
http://nygreenfest. org/
info[at]nygreenfest .org
------------ --------- --------- --------- ----
GREEN CANDIDATE SUCCESSES ON APRIL 7
ILLINOIS
- Jon Murray won re-election as Mount Morris Village
Trustee, Ogle County. He finished second of three
candidates with 485 votes or 34%.
- Bruce Samuels won his race for Oak Park Village Library
Board, Cook County. He finished first of five candidates
for four seats with 3,757 votes or 21.51%.
WISCONSIN
- Tony Palmeri won re-election to the Oshkosh Common
Council. He finished first of six candidates for three
seats with 6,633 votes or 23.59%.
- Bob Poeschel won election to the Oshkosh Common
Council. He finished third of six candidates for three
seats with 4,717 votes or 16.78%.
- Satya Rhodes-Conway ran unopposed for Madison
Alderperson District 12, Dane County.
- Marsha Rummel ran unopposed for Dane County Common
Council District 6.
- Jo Ellen Gramling ran unopposed for Schleswig Town
Clerk, Manitowoc County.
------------ --------- --------- --------- ----
REVEREND BILLY'S BAILOUT
By David Weidner
Wall Street Journal 4/16/09 (excerpts)
Would Jesus take a bailout?
Confronted with the once-in-a-century opportunity to
remake the financial system, the reformers in Washington
have a choice: Succumb to the temptation of serving
financial supermarkets or lift up community banks and
street-level economies.
Enter Reverend Billy Talen, the New York-based street
preacher, performer and activist who - along with his
flock, the Church of Life After Shopping - believes
government has a moral obligation to support communities
before big banks.
"I've been trying to drive people out of their
institutions, " Reverend Billy says. "Their institutions
aren't working."
It's hard to imagine Timothy Geithner taking advice from
an iconoclast dressed in a white suit, clerical collar
and Elvis-inspired hair, but the Reverend Billy may be on
to something. In place of a system where big banks and
corporations enter neighborhoods only to profit from
them, Reverend Billy wants to empower small banks and
credit unions that hold a stake in the communities they
serve by offering incentives and making it harder for big
finance to undercut local business. It's hard to argue
against the system he envisions.
Think for a moment about what community finance could
mean for the nation: Neighborhood banks would lend to
local businesses. Profits could stay in the community.
Simply knowing who your customers are and living near
them could bring common sense - the most basic and sound
form of risk management - back to banking.
Sure, it sounds kind of dreamy, but such systems are
already in place in neighborhoods large and small. Small
businesses thrive, but they are often at the mercy of big
banks who giveth and taketh credit according to shifts in
economic cycles.
"The Wall Street experience is parallel and equal to the
destruction of neighborhoods through chain stores,"
Reverend Billy says. Basic economics are on the
Reverend's side. For every dollar spent at a chain store,
studies show only 50 cents stays in that community. By
contrast, 90 cents of every dollar spent at a local
business remains in the local economy.
"There's not a Puritan attitude about it, there's a
practical attitude about it," Reverend Billy says.
"People want to know what they can do for their friends
and for themselves. We're trying to help each other;
share money, share energy, share homes."
It's unlikely that sharing is on the business plan at
Citigroup Inc. or Goldman Sachs Group Inc., companies
that Reverend Billy excoriates in his sermons. He says
the steel and mirrored-glass buildings that house major
banks are designed to hide what happens inside.
Though colorful, Reverend Billy is no longer a fringe
figure. Since he began preaching on the street corners in
Times Square a decade ago, he and his anticonsumerism
message have gained mainstream attention, thanks in part
to his book and a world tour with the church's 40-member
choir.
His breakthrough came in 2007 with the release of "What
Would Jesus Buy?", a documentary about his church's
efforts to promote a shopping-free Christmas. This year,
he's running for New York City mayor on the Green Party
ticket, campaigning on a community-first platform.
Candidate Billy wants to end the city's reliance on
industries susceptible to bubbles and busts: Tourism,
Wall Street and real estate. "Neighborhoods vulnerable to
the bubble economies are the ones hurting right now," he says.
Reverend Billy knows he faces long odds both in his
mayoral run and his effort to change a system built
around spending and credit speculation, but there are
signs of hope. His audience was growing before the
financial crisis, and things have only gained momentum since.
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---
Links to recent Cynthia McKinney commentaries
Remarks at the Forum for Palestine held in London - 3/31/09
www.gp.org/cynthia/ display.php? ID=11
Buyer's Remorse, Economic Collapse, Oligarchs, and War - 4/7/09
www.gp.org/cynthia/ display.php? ID=12
The Economy, From Soros and Greenspan to Napoleon's Waterloo,
and a Tip of the Hat to Haiti, Too - 4/20/09
www.gp.org/cynthia/ display.php? ID=13
------------ --------- --------- --------- ----
CMMNJ MONTHLY PUBLIC MEETING AGENDA - APRIL 14
CMMNJ (Coalition for Medical Marijuana-New Jersey)
supporters are urged to contact your assembly
representative now to show your support for the New
Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. The final
steps to passing this bill into law will be the votes of
the New Jersey Assembly Health and Senior Services
Committee (Assemblyman Herb Conaway, Chairman) and in the
full assembly.
CMMNJ appeared on WIFI 1460 AM Talk Radio in Burlington
on March 12. CMMNJ and NORML NJ met with representatives
of the American Lung Association on March 17 in Union,
NJ. CMMNJ gave a medical marijuana seminar at
Collingswood Public Library on March 21. CMMNJ speakers
appeared at the NORML Freedom Forum in Philadelphia on
April 20 (Rep. Mark Cohen plans to introduce a medical
marijuana bill in PA modeled after the NJ bill).
A Global Marijuana March will be held on May 2 in New
Brunswick, Philadelphia and hundreds of other cities
nationwide.
CMMNJ has new photos, etc. on Facebook
and Facebook Friends of CMMNJ:
www.facebook. com/profile. php?id=502598656
Future scheduled meetings are May 12, June 9, and July 14.
CMMNJ meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the
month at the Lawrence Twp. Library, from 7:00-9:00pm.
All are welcome. Snacks are served. The library is at
2751 Brunswick Pike, Lawrence Twp., Tel. #609.882.9246.
(Meeting at the library does not imply their endorsement
of our issue.) For more info, contact: Ken Wolski, RN,
MPA - Executive Director; Coalition for Medical
Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc.; www.cmmnj.org; 844 Spruce
St., Trenton, NJ 08648; 609-394-2137; ohamkrw[at]aol. com
------------ --------- --------- --------- ---
Here is the text of the letter the Bergen County Greens
distributed on Earth Day along with an attached packet of
sunflower seeds:
Bergen County Green Party
201-493-8044 www.gpnj.org
READY. SET. GROW!
Best time to plant: May 15 to June 15
Choose a sunny spot - the more sun the better, but at
least 6 hours each day. Sunflowers do best in fertile,
well-drained soil. With a trowel, thoroughly loosen the
soil where you plan to plant - an area about 4 inches
wide and several inches deep. If the soil is dry, moisten
lightly. Drop in a seed, cover with soil, tamp soil
snugly but not hard around the seed, and water well. Keep
the soil moist, but not soggy, until your plants come up.
Plant seeds a foot or more apart in rows or groups.
Your sunflowers will emerge (germinate) in 7 to 21 days
and will bloom 60 to 90 days after emergence.
Planting tip: After planting, place a "collar" around
each seed. A collar will help mark the exact spot to
watch for the plants to merge and will also protect the
young seedling from cutworms that can destroy your plant.
A good collar can be made from a half-gallon plastic milk
jug. First, cut away the bottom on the jug. Three inches
above the bottom, cut away the remainder of the jug.
Gently push the collar about a half inch into the soil
around the planted seed.
Growing tip #1: Don't over-water your sunflowers. When
they are about 1 to 2 inches tall, gradually reduce
watering. Give them a good drink if the weather is very
dry and the plants look droopy. Avoid spraying the whole
plant - sunflowers like water on their roots but not on
their leaves.
Growing tip #2: Sunflowers are wildflowers and will
probably grow strong and tall without the use of
fertilizer. If you think fertilizer is needed, choose a
good all-purpose one and use with the help of an adult.
But remember, over-fertilizing will cause poor flower
development.
Growing tip #3: If your plant grows very tall, a stake
may be needed to help the plant withstand wind. Alongside
the main stem put a stake firmly in the soil and tie the
plant loosely to the stake in several places.
You've got flowers, Now what?
Sunflowers are sometimes cut for use indoors, BUT some
sunflower pollen can stain whatever it comes in contact
with.
We suggest you leave the blooms on the plants and watch
the seeds develop and ripen in the center because when
the seeds begin to mature they will attract a wide
variety of birds, especially the American Goldfinch, New
Jersey's state bird.
You can harvest the seeds for yourself. Sunflowers are
ready for harvest as soon as birds begin to pick at the
outer rows of seed. At that time the outer rows are
completely ripe, the next rows are about to ripe but not
dry, and the center seeds are still somewhat green. Cut
the flower (with about a foot of stalk) and hang in an
airy spot to dry. When thoroughly dry, the seeds may be
removed by rubbing them lightly.
IMPORTANT: If you harvest the seeds for yourself or leave
them for the birds, make sure they have not been sprayed
or dusted with chemicals.
Enjoy!
Do you know:
. Sunflowers are annuals? That means they only grow one
season and must be replanted each year. Perennials are
plants that grow many years. Trees and shrubs are
perennials. Bi-annuals grow for two years to complete
their life cycle. Parsley is a familiar bi-annual.
. Sunflowers are native throughout America? Native
Americans have grown sunflowers for 8,000 years. They
have ground the seeds into meal for food and have
extracted oil for food, for food preparation, and for
hair applications.
. Sunflower seeds are extremely high in proteins,
calcium, phosphorous, thiamin, riboflavin and niacin?
. Sunflowers will turn their faces during the day to
follow the sun?
By planting these seeds we recognize we are part of, not
separate from nature. We support a sustainable society
which utilizes resources so future generations will
benefit. We live within the ecological and resource
limits of our communities and our planet. We practice
agriculture which replenishes the soil, and we live in
ways that respect the integrity of natural systems.
============ ========= ========= ========= ====
The GreenGram is circulated monthly in an effort to keep
all GPNJ members informed about party news, Green-related
activities, and upcoming events. Members are encouraged
to submit articles and event announcements.
The deadline for the next issue will be June 15. Please
submit material for inclusion to: SteveWelzer[ at]msn.com
!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!
GreenGram
Green Party of NJ Bulletin -- www.GPNJ.org
P.O. Box 9802, Trenton, NJ 08650
To subscribe, become a member of GPNJ!
!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!
Friday, March 20, 2009
March 2009
* Bequeathal from the estate of GPNJ Chair Earl Gray
* County Local Reports
* Six Years Too Many!
* New Jersey Labor Against War ramping up efforts
* Protest the re-licensing of the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant
* Citizens turn out to Stop Insanity Island!
* New Jersey Senate Approves Medical Marijuana Bill
* Change-a-lujah!
* From Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente
* Preservation of Petty's Island
* Community Green Meetup series starting April 1
* Silencing of the Palestine question in US universities
* News about Instant Runoff voting
* Mr. Carroll goes to Little Rock
* Remembering Rachel Corrie
* Events of interest
============ ========= ========= ========= ====
BEQUEATHAL FROM THE ESTATE OF GPNJ CHAIR EARL GRAY
Very special financial contributions were recently received from the estate of past GPNJ Chair Earl Gray: $15,000 to the Green Party of New Jersey and $10,000 to the Green Party of Monmouth County. A letter of thanks from members of GPNJ is being drafted and will be sent to Earl's daughters.
Earl was one of the earliest members of GPNJ. He encountered us when a friend brought him to our founding convention in 1997. He then became active and played a significant role at every one of the conventions afterward. He served our party in many capacities: Coordinator of the Monmouth County local, Chair of the Policy Committee, GPNJ Secretary, Vice Chair, and State Chair (2005). Additionally, he was a Green Party candidate for US Congress in 2000 and for NJ State Senate in 2003.
Earl was the kind of leader who made it his personal business to do the grunt work and pay attention to the details. For every state Green Party convention after the first one, Earl was among those who arrived early to be sure that the building got opened up on time and then attended to everything that needed to be set up ... the coffee pots, the tables and banners and literature.
Earl had a Ph.D. in History from Rutgers University. Before his retirement, he was a History Professor at Monmouth College and Trenton State College. He died on May 20, 2005, at the age of 76 after a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis, specifying in his will that special contributions be made from his estate to the Green Party.
He was a beloved Green during his life and now he will also be remembered as leaving a very special legacy through this bequeathal to the Green Party.
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COUNTY LOCAL REPORTS
Camden County
The Green Party of Camden County (GPCC) is expecting to run a nearly full slate of candidates next fall: two for Assembly, two or three for Freeholder, and three Council candidates in Camden City.
On March 3 Coordinator Mark Heacock attended a meeting of the Feliz for Mayor of Camden City campaign (felizformayor. com). There is a possibility that Roberto Feliz will run under the Green Party banner; alternatively, he may run as an independent with GPCC's endorsement. But at this point the viability of his campaign is in question, so GPCC will be discussing the situation at their next monthly meeting, scheduled for April 2.
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Essex County
On Wednesday, March 25, at 7:30pm, the Essex County Greens will present the latest in their series of social forums, "Seeking Peace in Afghanistan: What Now?" - a slide presentation and discussion by Dr. Janet Larson, who traveled to Afghanistan in 2006. The event will be co-sponsored by NJ Peace Action. Location: Bloomfield Civic Center, 84 Broad St., Bloomfield.
The U.S. war in Afghanistan is in its eighth year with no end in sight. Nearly 1,000 U.S. and "coalition" troops and at least 18,000 Afghans have been killed. Tens of thousands of innocent people have been injured. Afghanistan is in chaos and the Obama administration recently announced plans to send at least 17,000 more troops.
Dr. Larson is Director of the English Masters Degree Program at Rutgers University/Newark and teaches women's and war literature courses. She represents NJ Peace Action on the Afghanistan Working Group of the national coalition United for Peace and Justice. In addition to the slide presentation, Dr. Larson will address the Obama administration' s war policy and relate it to the Afghan people and their history.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information contact Ted Glick, 973-338-5398, indpol[at]igc. org.
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Monmouth County
Submitted by Rich Fuller, County Coordinator
The next meeting of the Green Party of Monmouth County will be held Tuesday, March 24 at 7:00pm. Location: Highlands Community Center, Recreation Department (22 Snug Harbor Avenue, Highlands, NJ 07732; 732-872-1959) .
Directions from Keyport or Middletown: Head down Route 36 toward Sandy Hook. Take the Linden Ave. jughandle and proceed down the hill. Stop at the point that Waterwitch Ave. cuts in. Then proceed down hill to stop sign at Bay Ave. intersection. Turn left and proceed for a block or two and turn right onto Snug Harbor Ave. Community Center is last building on the left.
Directions from Sandy Hook: Proceed up Route 36 toward Keyport and make a right turn at Waterwitch Ave. Proceed to Stop sign at Bay Ave. and follow directions above from there.
The Monmouth local and GPNJ will be helping Clean Ocean Action's campaign to recycle plastic bottle caps (the majority of which currently do not get recycled, ending up in landfills and on beaches, or washing into our rivers and oceans; birds and marine life mistake caps for food with tragic results). GPNJ members are encouraged to collect and save the hard type of bottle caps from common household items such as soda and water bottles, shampoo, lotion containers and detergent. Bring the caps to our next convention (tentatively slated to be held in late May) and Rich Fuller will gather them there for delivery to Clean Ocean Action.
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Congrats to our Cumberland County Coordinator, Jason Grover, whose wife, Shanna, gave birth to twins - Marley Addison Grover and Rian Harlow Grover - on Feb. 27.
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Art Rosen, a longtime Bergen County social activist and one of the first officers of the Green Party of New Jersey, died on March 3 after a short illness. He was a valued member of the Bergen Greens.
Those of us who knew Art will feel his absence acutely. GPNJ condolences go out to his wife, Harriet, and to all of his family.
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SIX YEARS TOO MANY!
Statewide demonstration in New Brunswick - Thurs. March 19, 5:30pm
Rebuild & Renew America Now!
. Cut the Military Budget Annually by 25% - Make it Transparent. End the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Create Jobs and Strengthen our Infrastructure. Guarantee Quality Affordable Health Care for Everyone. High Quality Education from Early Childhood through College. Regulate Wall Street and Support Main Street. Clean Energy and Independence From Oil. Reduce Poverty and Support the Social Safety Net
March and vigilIntersection of George St. & Albany St., New Brunswick
Co-sponsoring Organizations: Alliance for Disabled in Action . Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees . Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War . Central New Jersey for Change . Coalition for Peace Action . CWA Local 1081 . DFA-NJ . Green Party of Monmouth County . Industrial Union Council . Lutheran office of Governmental Ministries Monmouth Democracy for America . New Jersey Citizen Action . New Jersey Labor Against the War . New Brunswick Chapter of the NAACP . New Jersey Peace Action . Next Step . Ocean County Democracy for America . Ocean Progressive Democrats of America . PDA/DFA Progressive Democracy South Jersey . People's Organization for Progress . Rutgers AAUP-AFT . Rutgers Against the War . Somerset Unitarian Universalist Social Action Committee . Somerset Voices for Peace and Justice . Tent State . Union County Peace Council
For more information contact Atif Malik:atif[at]njcitizenac tion.org or 732-246-4772
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The Montclair Peace Vigil will mark the 6th anniversary of the war in Iraq with a Thursday vigil - March 19th, 4:30-6:00pm (Thursday instead of Friday this week). Everyone is welcome to join us. The vigil takes place at the intersection of Bloomfield Avenue, So. Fullerton Avenue and Church Street in Montclair. For more information contact 973-259-1126.
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The Weehawken Concerned Citizens will mark the sorry event of the sixth year since the U.S. invaded Iraq with a special vigil at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Boulevard East in Weehawken. The vigil will run from 5:00 to 6:00pm.
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The Morristown Peace Vigil will hold a special vigil on Friday, March 20th from 6:00 until 7:00pm on the Morristown Green. The vigil will call for ALL the troops to be brought home from Iraq.
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Join Bergen County military families, veterans, and local residents March 18-22 to mark the 6th anniversary of the Iraq War and demand:
. All troops out of Iraq immediately!. Bring the National Guard Home immediately to take care of the people of NJ! Their deployment is illegal.. Take care of the troops when they get here!. Not one more dollar for the Iraq war! Use the money here for people's needs - for housing, health care, jobs, and education.
Please come to the following important events in Bergen County to mark the 6th anniversary of the war. Bring food and baby supplies for the Family Assistance Center for the National Guard families whose loved ones are currently deployed in Iraq.- Thursday, March 19: Vigil 5:00-6:00pm. Lemoine Avenue and Bruce Reynolds Boulevard, Fort Lee.- Friday, March 20: Film screening and discussion. 7:00pm. See Phil Donahue's movie, Body of War, about the impact of the war on troops and families and the role of members of Congress. Phil Donahue will appear in person to speak about his film. Puffin Cultural Center, 20 Puffin Way (off Teaneck Road near Ft. Lee Road), Teaneck.- Saturday, March 21: 12:00 noon. Demonstration at the monument in Englewood (Palisade Ave. and Tenafly Ave.)- Sunday, March 22: Vigil 4:30-5:00pm. Broad Avenue and Ft. Lee Road in Leonia.
Sponsoring organizations:Military Families Speak Out, Bergen County (www.mfsobergencount y.org)Veterans for Peace, Chapter 21 NJBergen Peace and Justice Coalition (www.bergenjustice. net)Teaneck Peace and Justice CoalitionLeonia Vigil GroupFort Lee Vigil GroupNJ Peace Action
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Courage of Conscience Speaking Tour
March 19th at 7:30pmSparta United Methodist Church71 Sparta Avenue, Sparta, NJ 07871
Former Soldier Yaniv ReshefFormer Fighter Bassam Aramin
Tangible Ways to Peace in Israel and Palestine
Israeli Yaniv Rashef, whose home is in range of Gaza missiles, was a foot soldier in a sabotage unit of the Israeli Army - and chose to fight no more. Palestinian Bassam Aramin served seven years in jail for planning an attack against Israeli soldiers - and then chose no more violence. Just two years ago, Bassam lost his daughter to an Israeli soldier's rubber-coated bullet. They are members of Combatants for Peace, now over 600 former Israeli soldiers and former Palestinian fighters, working together without revenge to build justice, peace - and playgrounds.
Co-sponsors: Church and Society Committee of SUMC, Northwest New Jersey Peace Fellowship (a chapter of NJ Peace Action), Sept. 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, The Peace Abbey, and the Rebuilding Alliance.
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March on the Pentagon
www.pephost. org/site/ PageServer? pagename= M21_homepage
(GPNJ has endorsed this action planned for March 21)
People from all walks of life and from all cities across the United States will take part in a March on the Pentagon on March 21. We will demand: "End Colonial Occupation in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and Everywhere" and "Fund Peoples' Needs, Not Militarism and Bank Bailouts." We will insist on an end to the war threats and economic sanctions against Iran. We will say No to the illegal U.S. program of detention and torture.
Simultaneous demonstrations are taking place in San Francisco and Los Angeles. More than 1,500 organizations and individuals have now endorsed these actions. Members of the national coalition and supporters of the March on the Pentagon include: Northwest Greens, Philadelphia; Frederick (MD) Green Party; Green Party of Allegheny County, PA; Green Party of New Jersey; Portland Metro Chapter of the Pacific Green Party of Oregon; Green Change; South Bay Greens; ANSWER Coalition; Muslim American Society for Freedom; National Council of Arab Americans; Veterans For Peace - National; Iraq Veterans Against the War; Vietnam Veterans Against the War; United States Labor Against the War; Free Palestine Alliance; San Francisco Labor Council (AFL-CIO); The World Can't Wait; Code Pink; Cindy Sheehan; Ron Kovic, Vietnam Veteran; Colonel Ann Wright, US Army Reserves (Retired); Lynne Stewart; many others
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Saturday, April 4, Noon
National March on Wall Street
Sponsored by United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ)
www.unitedforpeace. org/article. php?id=4027
BEYOND WAR: A NEW ECONOMY IS POSSIBLE!
It is time to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is time to address the economic crisis by cutting military spending. Carry on Martin Luther King's vision to replace war, racism and poverty with peace, equality and economic justice (April 4 will be the 41st anniversary of the assassination of Dr. King).
Assembly time: 11:00am. Location: Leonard, Franklin and White Streets, between Broadway and Lafayette St. (this is just south of Canal Street and close to several subway stops)
March stepoff time: 12:00 noon
March route: South on Broadway to Stone St., East on Stone to Broad St., North on Broad to Wall St. This route is a little less than 1.5 miles and takes us through the heart of the financial district, ending right in front of the NY Stock Exchange.
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NEW JERSEY LABOR AGAINST WAR RAMPING UP EFFORTS
New Jersey Labor Against War (NJLAW) held a meeting at the Rutgers Labor Education Center in New Brunswick on Feb. 20. Present were about a dozen people, including members and/or staffers from the CWA, BMWE, AFT, HPAE, AAUP and the USWA, representing all areas of the state.
NJLAW has existed for some years, largely through the efforts of Carol Gay of the CWA, Kevin Hussey of the BMWE, and (our old friend) Gabe Gabrielsky. It is an affiliate of US Labor Against War, which is a coalition of national, regional, statewide and local labor organizations as well as individual labor officials, staffers, rank and file activists and sympathizers who oppose U.S. foreign adventure wars.
NJLAW has had a presence at large demonstrations and at the annual New Jersey Industrial Union Council conference. They will be spearheading the March 19 "Rebuild and Renew America Now!" demonstration in New Brunswick, and they will be joining United for Peace and Justice for the March on Wall Street on April 4 to demand a new economy that serves the people's needs, not Wall Street's.
NJLAW is now providing an Announce List as a vehicle to broadcast messages and important notices to members and supporters. To join the list, go to www.yahoogroups. com, log in, then search for NJLAW_announce. If you encounter any problems adding yourself to the list, contact gabegabrielsky[ at]yahoo. com or CarolGay747[ at]aol.com (or call Carol at 732-785-1503) .
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KILL THE RE-LICENSING OF THE OYSTER CREEKNUCLEAR POWER PLANT BEFORE IT KILLS US!
Rally sponsored By Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch and friends
When: Saturday, March 28 (anniversary of the Three Mile Island incident) - 12:00 Noon ... rain or shine
Where: Huddy Park, Main Street and Water Street, Toms River
Come hear experts speak about why it is imperative to close this plant. 21 towns have already signed resolutions to: Close Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant Now!
This plant is at the end of its lifetime with age-related degradation and corrosion. Tons of deadly radioactive waste continue accumulating in casks on Route 9, while the National Guard has been removed from the plant, ignoring the possibility of terrorism. Evacuation is unworkable - in the event of an accident, people would be trapped in traffic jams or in their homes, schools or businesses and be subject to lethal radioactive fallout. Cancer would be caused as far as 500 miles away. Property in a wide radius would become uninhabitable according to a 1990 Sandia National Laboratories report.
Millions of fish are killed by this plant. It's a menace to the fish industry. The Mark 1 boiling water reactor design is NO LONGER LEGAL in this country. Rally against this costly and dangerous plant!
For information or to volunteer, contact Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch, P.O. Box 3085, Toms River, NJ 08756-3085; gbur1[at]comcast. net; 732-240-5107 or 732-818-0402.
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Citizens turn out to Stop Insanity Island!
by Cindy Zipf of Clean Ocean Action
www.cleanoceanactio n.org
Congratulations to all for a remarkable turnout at the Insanity Island public hearings on January 27 and 29 in Eatontown, NJ, and Long Beach, NY (respectively) , held by the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Maritime Administration.
Well over 500 friends of the ocean attended the hearing in New Jersey and over 300 gathered in New York to blast the proposal to build three industrial port facilities for liquefied natural gas (LNG) just off the south shore of Long Island and the New Jersey shore. Facility 1) Atlantic Sea Island Group: ironically called, "Safe Harbor Energy," this insane proposal by a private investor firm seeks to build a massive manmade island for an LNG port by dumping millions upon millions of tons of unknown material in the open ocean. 2) ExxonMobil: one of the most notorious oil polluters is out to use our ocean as a lab rat with "BlueOcean Energy," a plan to build an experimental massive floating LNG terminal. A similar project was rejected by NY and CT. California Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed this type of project due to threats to air quality and marine life. 3) "Liberty Natural Gas" Project: Excalibur Energy (a new conglomerate of Canadian Superior Energy and Global LNG) proposes an LNG importation facility 15 miles off Asbury Park, NJ. The source of the LNG is drilling and extracting off Trinidad and Tobago.Thus, supporting this facility would promote offshore drilling in a country that already has environmental problems with oil pollution on beaches.
At the Jan. 27 and 29 hearings, activists proved, once again, that grassroots organizing and the power of the people rule! Chairs were packed at both venues, so students, parents, fishermen, surfers, divers, concerned citizens, and business leaders sat on the floor or stood along the walls. In New York, the room capacity was reached and people waited 45 minutes outside to get in the doors.
At Eatontown, nearly 100 folks testified [including our Monmouth County Green Party Coordinator, Rich Fuller]. All but two flat-out opposed the project and LNG. The only outrage was the flagrant abuse of our first amendment rights: The U.S. government prohibited Clean Ocean Action's professional videographer from entering the hearing to document the event and provide visible witness to the outpouring of support for the ocean. Nor were we allowed to bring paper signs into the hearing, including several charts that we wanted to include in our testimony. All that was left were our cheers for speakers - and even those were admonished.
Only a few elected leaders attended or sent representatives. In New Jersey, a statement read by a staff member of US Representative Frank Pallone (D-6) strongly opposed the island and LNG and requested an extension of the comment period. Monmouth County Freeholder John D'Amico and Town Council members Dina Long of Sea Bright and D'Arcy Green of Bay Head spoke out opposed. Also attending in support of our position were Monmouth County Freeholder Amy Mallet and a staff member from US Representative Rush Holt's (D-12) office. In New York, Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-20), Nassau County Legislators Dave Denenberg (D-Merrick) and Jeff Toback (D-Oceanside) attended and spoke at the hearing, which was also attended by council members of Long Beach. This was a meager showing, at best, so be sure to contact your elected officials.
Email Governor Corzine and tell him: Keep Us Free from LNG!www.state.nj. us/governor/ govmail.html
Sign the petition against Insanity Island and LNG at:www.thepetitionsite .com/petition/ 689151878.
Read the full story, with pictures of GPNJ participants at:www.cleanoceanactio n.org/index. php?id=685
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NJ SENATE APPROVES MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL
Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey
For immediate release: February 24, 2009
On February 23, by a vote of 22-16, the New Jersey State Senate approved bill S119, the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act" (www.njleg.state. nj.us/bills/ BillView. asp?BillNumber= S119)
Many supporters of the bill attended the voting session, led by the Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey (CMMNJ). The senate vote was a significant step in the legislative process to protect patients who use marijuana on the recommendation of a physician.
The bill will next go to the New Jersey Assembly for votes in the health committee and entire assembly. Governor Jon Corzine has said on several occasions that he supports medical marijuana and that he will sign the bill when it gets to his desk. New Jersey would become the 14th state in the nation to legalize medical marijuana if it passes this legislation into law.
S119 will remove the state penalties for the possession, use and cultivation of a small amount of marijuana when a licensed physician recommends it for a debilitating medical condition. Patients will be issued ID cards in a program run by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). Patients will be permitted to grow up to six plants and possess one ounce of marijuana, but they will not be permitted to use their therapeutic marijuana in public or while operating motor vehicles. Patients may designate a caregiver or treatment center to grow the plants for them, but the caregiver/center must also register with DHSS.
CMMNJ Executive Director, Ken Wolski, RN said, "The bill is very conservative. No medical marijuana state has a smaller plant limit or possession amount. Still, it will help a tremendous number of patients here. We applaud the senators who supported this bill."
The American Nurses Association, the American College of Physicians, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the American Public Health Association, the American Academy of HIV Medicine and many other professional healthcare organizations have endorsed medical marijuana. CMMNJ, a 501(c)(3) public charity, provides education about the benefits of safe and legal access to medical marijuana. For more info, contact: Ken Wolski, RN, MPA, Executive Director; Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc., 844 Spruce Street, Trenton, NJ 08648; 609.394.2137; www.cmmnj.org
[Ken Wolski is a member of the Mercer County Greens]
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CHANGE-A-LUJAH!
For Immediate Release: March 1, 2009
"Reverend Billy" Talen Running For Mayor of New YorkAs Green Party Candidate
Calls For "The Revolt Of The 500 Fabulous Neighborhoods"
NEW YORK - With resounding shouts of "we ARE New York!" and "neighborhoods are hip!", performance activist Reverend Billy Talen launched his New York City mayoral campaign at a noon Union Square press conference.
Speaking outdoors in spite of the threatening winter storm, the Green Party candidate known for his work with the Church of Life After Shopping called for an "affordable and livable" New York that relies on its neighborhoods and independent businesses for sustainable and equitable prosperity.
"Mayor Bloomberg believes our city is a corporation and our Five Hundred Neighborhoods just aren't profitable enough," preached Talen, to responses of "Neighborhood- a-lujah!" from the crowd. "He gives the legal and political edge to real estate speculators. Bloomy is a mayor of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich."
Campaign spokesperson Gloria Mattera, who ran as the Green Party candidate for Brooklyn Borough President in 2005, opened the press conference by outlining why New York City needs a candidate with Talen's record of activism, and how that record expresses the Green values of grassroots democracy, nonviolence, social and economic justice, and ecological wisdom.
The press conference was bookended by the songs "Justice Ghost" and "1st Amendment Song," performed by singers from the Church of Life After Shopping Gospel Choir.
Background information
Since 1996 Reverend Billy Talen has preached for the renewal of our planet, communities, and personal experiences in opposition to the homogenizing and destructive forces of Consumerism. As founder and pastor of the Church of Life After Shopping, Reverend Billy has performed this message in contested public space, from the stage, and in international media including CNN American Morning, the New York Times, Fox News, Good Morning America, the CBS Evening News, and the Wall Street Journal.
More information at:www.voterevbilly. orgwww.revbilly. comwww.facebook. com/home. php#/group. php?gid=54188482 187&ref=nfwww.twitter. com/RevBillyTale nwww.youtube. com/user/ reverendbillytal enwww.myspace. com/reverendbill ytalenhttp://digg. com/users/ revbillytalen
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FROM CYNTHIA MCKINNEY
March 2, 2009
I have read and re-read President Obama's Joint Congressional Address. All of the "acceptable punditry" have spoken and given it glowing reviews. But for those of us who refuse to swallow the pill that puts us into the Matrix, a good dose of reality is strongly called for.
Reality is not what we're getting, not even from one of the national columnists whom I've met, Maureen Dowd. On Feb. 28 she wrote a column: "Spock at the Bridge." Now, being the Trekkie that I am, that headline grabbed my attention. I nearly gagged, however, when I got to the part where Dowd depicts President Obama phoning President Bush to proclaim: "I'm ending your stupid war." And then she writes: Mission Relinquished.
Why write things like this now that it is clear that the Obama administration is continuing the Bush policies for missile strikes inside Pakistan; rendition for torture; illegal wiretaps; status of prisoners at the U.S. base in Bagram, Afghanistan; and workplace immigration raids? President Obama is also pursuing Bush policies on Iran and Israel.
Dowd concludes her "Spock" piece by imbuing the President with "a Vulcan-like logic and detachment." But I think the detachment of the "acceptable" political punditry from the real world is what is totally lamentable. In the process, they render themselves irrelevant.
I found 19 questionable Obama policies or statements in his Joint Congressional speech, which was delivered three days before his announcement that upon the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq, up to 50,000 U.S. troops could remain there through 2011. And while various mint operations are peddling Obama "Change" coins for purchase, complete with a certificate of authenticity, I note that the President continues the giveaway of our hard-earned coins to an economic team intent on keeping mismanagement structures in place, serving economic ends that do not constitute the common good. I would refer readers to the many statements that I issued during the final days of our Power to the People Green Party presidential campaign about re-creating an economic system truly and finally owned by the people, operating in our interest.
Obama has threatened U.S. withdrawal from the April 2009 Geneva United Nations World Conference Against Racism, dubbed Durban II. This threat is based on the same palaver we heard in 2001 from the same forces inside our country ... basically that a discussion of Zionism, in the context of such a conference, would be anti-Semitic. Therefore all the world's dispossessed and marginalized people must continue to suffer and sacrifice while muting their grievances so that no discussion of Israel would take place on the world stage in this context.
Well, in 2001, upon hearing this line of reasoning, I went to then-Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chairwoman, Eddie Bernice Johnson, and asked if I could be appointed as the CBC Task Force Chair on Durban. The non-participation argument was also a handy "peg on the track" with the potential of derailing many other conversations, including a real discussion about the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the issue of reparations. Respectful of the excellent preparatory work that had been done, I wanted to avoid that outcome. Congresswoman Johnson made the appointment and I led a delegation of five members of Congress to Durban.
The current Chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Barbara Lee, was a member of my delegation to Durban. From my position on the International Relations Committee, we successfully argued for U.S. participation in that Conference at a hearing designed to quash our effort. We not only met with then-United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, we also presented her with the untold story of COINTELPRO and the remaining unsolved deaths of its Black Panther Party member victims, commissioned by me and written by Kathleen Cleaver and Paul Wolf.
Our CBC Chairwoman made a beautiful statement of why it was imperative that the United States join with our Native American and Latino brothers and sisters and with oppressed peoples all over the planet to not only make our statement of solidarity, but also to institute policies that recognized their needs. It is incorrect to say that the United States was not present at Durban I. We were there, and only when the duties of Congress pressed us to return to Washington did the Bush Administration make a big deal about anti-Semitism ... and then staged its phony walkout. The United States delegation of Congressional Black Caucus members was there to support the phenomenal work of U.S. activists and the African and Caribbean delegations, in particular.
Given Israel's recent actions in Gaza that have brought upon it the world's opprobrium, I can imagine that this is the last point in time that Israel might want to revisit Durban. Israel has said that it will not attend the Conference in Geneva. Early last year a government official announced Canada's decision to not attend Durban II after deeming the conference to be anti-Israel. Shortly afterwards, France followed suit with French President Nicolas Sarkozy stating that the "excesses of 2001" transformed the Conference "into an intolerable platform against the State of Israel." I would note also that France must be particularly loath to discuss racism now with what is happening in Guadeloupe and Martinique as I write this piece; and remembering that Paris, itself, was literally on fire just a few years ago.
We shouldn't be surprised that the racism stress test is revealing cracks and fissures in human relations. But the United States and President Obama should not shield them or this country from these stresses. Durban II gives us the opportunity to get the issues out in the open and to deal with them. I implore the members of the Congressional Black Caucus to spearhead the participation of the United States in the United Nation's World Conference Against Racism.
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Cynthia attended the Transpartisan Alliance convention (American Citizens' Summit) in Denver in mid-February and was selected as a member of an interim Sunshine Cabinet.
On Feb. 22 she called in to address a special event in Washington, DC co-sponsored by the DC Statehood Green Party (www.dcstatehoodgree n.org). "The Struggle for Citizenship - Globally" was the theme of the opening session of the 2009 Children's Gallery of Black History. A highlight of the event was the presentation of the "Cynthia McKinney Organizing for Human Needs Award" to Devin Walker of the People Before Profit Community Healthcare Projecthttp://home. comcast.net/ ~peoplebeforepro fit/
On March 14 Cynthia was the keynote speaker at the International Women's Day Banquet of the Palestinian American Women's Association of Southern California (www.pawasca. org).
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ROSA CLEMENTE SPEAKING TOUR
Green Party of the United States Media Release 1/23/09
Rosa Clemente, 2008 Green candidate for Vice President, announces 'Path of Most Resistance' speaking tour
WASHINGTON, DC - Rosa Clemente, the Green Party's 2008 candidate for Vice President, has announced a national speaking tour with a focus on Hip-Hop conferences, symposiums, town hall meetings, and other public events, as well as Black History Month, Women's History Month, and Latino Heritage Month.
"The tour will be a chance to continue speaking about the important themes we raised in the McKinney-Clemente campaign," said Ms. Clemente. "While many in this country, particularly the Hip-Hop generation, have high hopes for the Obama Administration, now is not the time to be silent. The first few months are critical - we must make our voices heard, if we want to see a real change in the direction of the United States."
Rosa Alicia Clemente is a community organizer, radio journalist (WBAI 99.5 FM in New York City), Hip-Hop activist, and the first Latina in US history to run for Vice President. She was recently commissioned by the Green Institute (www.greeninstitute. net) to write four articles describing her experiences on the 2008 campaign trail. Her first piece, "Why President Elect Barack Obama is not the first Hip-Hop President," has already been posted on the site (www.greeninstitute. net/clemente_ obama). She has been featured on Pacifica, BET, Air America, CNN, MSNBC, Al-jazeera, and other networks.
In 1995, Ms. Clemente developed Know Thy Self Productions, a people of color speakers' bureau. Seeing a need for young people of color to be heard and taken seriously, she began presenting workshops and lectures at universities, high schools, community centers, and prisons. She has presented at over 400 colleges, conferences, town halls, rallies, and international conferences.
In 2001, Ms. Clemente was a youth representative at the United Nations World Conference against Xenophobia, Racism and Related Intolerance in South Africa. In 2003 she co-founded and coordinated the first ever National Hip-Hop Political Convention (NHHPC), which drew over 3000 activists who created and implemented a national political agenda for the Hip-Hop generation. After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged the Gulf Coast, Rosa traveled as an independent journalist to the devastated areas; her on-the-ground reports were distributed all over the world.
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PRESERVATION OF PETTY'S ISLAND
Delaware Riverkeeper press statement: January 16, 2009
The Save Petty's Island Coalition enthusiastically supports the news that the Natural Lands Trust plans to accept Citgo's donation of Petty's Island. Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, applauded the vote: "Petty's Island is a 400 acre natural jewel in the heart of the Delaware River Estuary. The Natural Land Trust vote is an important first step in protecting and restoring the Island so it can contribute to a healthier Delaware River, as well as support fish, birds and wildlife, all of which enrich our lives, communities and the economy. By preserving Petty's Island as natural open space the Governor and Pennsauken residents are creating a legacy of healthy rivers and lands that all generations can enjoy."
"The clean-up and restoration of the island will be conducted more effectively now thanks to the Global Consent Order between DEP and CITGO," said Fred Stine, Citizen Action Director with the Delaware Riverkeeper Network. The effective clean-up of the contamination of the island has been a common concern of both the Coalition members and the residents of Pennsauken. "Because the consent order will result in greater oversight by DEP, it will be a win-win for the natural resources and the community" said Stine. Transfer of ownership would not take place until the state was satisfied with the clean-up.
"CITGO's clean-up, restoration and donation of Petty's Island has set the right example and is clearly a benefit for the residents of Pennsauken and the entire Greater Philadelphia community," said Sharon Finlayson. "At a time when we are running out of funding for open space, Petty's Island will make a spectacular nature preserve for South Jersey," said Jeff Tittel, Director NJ Sierra Club. "This victory shows that perseverance and persistence pays off." Roy Jones of the South Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, said: "Kids will be able to look over at a beautiful tree covered island with bald eagles soaring overhead instead of million dollar houses."
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COMMUNITY GREEN MEETUP SERIES STARTING APRIL 1
Deadline for Registration: March 27
Join Community Green, in partnership with Schiff Natural Lands Trust, as they host "Healthy Children - Healthy Planet" provided by Northwest Earth Institute (NWEI). This seven-session course addresses: Understanding how the pervasive effects of advertising, media, and our consumer culture can influence a child's view of the world; Discovering ways to create meaningful family times and healthful environments for children; Exploring ways to develop a child's connection to nature, and to foster creativity.
7 sessions (all start at 7:00pm) include: April 1st-Cultural Pressures; April 15th-Family Rituals and Celebrations; April 29th-Advertising; May 6th-Food and Health; May 20th-Time and Creativity; June 3rd-Technology and the Media; June 17th-Exploring Nature.
The location is yet to be determined, but the group is based in the Morris-Somerset counties area. To register and order the discussion guide booklets ($21), call 201-602-4839 or email ariane[at]community green.org. Deadline for Registration: March 27. For more information contact: Lydia Stiles, Program Coordinator, 973-543-6004.
NWEI's hallmark courses provide an enjoyable, supportive setting in which to examine personal values and habits, engage in stimulating conversation, create meaningful community, and consider ways to take action towards creating a more sustainable future. There is no outside presenter or teacher of these discussion courses; the role of facilitator rotates among participants with each meeting. These programs emphasize individual responsibility, the importance of a supportive community, and the dual need to walk lightly on and to take action on behalf of the Earth. Learn more here:www.meetup.com/ nj-green/ calendar/ 9917821/
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SILENCING OF THE PALESTINE QUESTION IN US UNIVERSITIES
Academic and cultural boycott of Israel
Green candidate Joel Kovel terminated by Bard College
At the Sept. 10 forum sponsored by the Bergen County Green Party ("The Israeli-Palestine Conflict: What's Next?") Issa Mikel spoke in favor of a "BDS" movement (Boycott/Divestment /Sanctions) to make Israel change course. He said that the combination of these three strategic initiatives, applied over time, worked to transform the situation in South Africa during the 1980s and can work again now toward achieving resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
A "US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel" has now been launched. Reference:http://usacbi. wordpress. com/
Mission Statement:
Responding to the call of Palestinian civil society to join the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement against Israel, we are a U.S. campaign focused specifically on a boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions, as delineated by PACBI (Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel - see their statement at: www.pacbi.org).
PACBI and the entire movement for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (representing the overwhelming majority among Palestinian civil society parties, unions, networks and organizations) emphasize fundamental Palestinian rights, sanctioned by international law and universal human rights principles that ought to be respected by Israel to end the boycott.
We believe it is time to take a public, principled stance in support of equality, self-determination, human rights (including the right to education), and true democracy, especially in light of the censorship and silencing of the Palestine question in U.S. universities, as well as U.S. society at large. There can be no academic freedom in Israel/Palestine unless all academics are free and all students are free to pursue their academic desires.
This call for an academic and cultural boycott parallels the call in the non-academic world for divestment, boycott and sanctions by trade unions, churches, and other civil society organizations in countries such as the United States, Canada, Italy, Ireland, Norway, the United Kingdom, Brazil, South Africa, and New Zealand.
If you wish to endorse this call for an academic and cultural boycott, email: uscom4acbi[at] gmail.com. If you are willing to indicate your support publicly, send your name and institutional/ organizational affiliation (for identification purposes only).
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STATEMENT OF JOEL KOVEL REGARDING HISTERMINATION BY BARD COLLEGE (excerpts)
(Joel Kovel was the US Senate candidate for the Green Party of New York State in 1998)
In January, 1988, I was appointed to the Alger Hiss Chair of Social Studies at Bard College. As this was a Presidential appointment outside the tenure system, I have served under a series of contracts. On February 7, 2009, I received a letter from Michele Dominy, Dean of the College, informing me that my contract would not be renewed this July 1. She wrote that this decision was made by President Botstein, Executive Vice-President Papadimitriou and herself, in consultation with members of the Faculty Senate.
This document argues that this termination of service is prejudicial and motivated neither by intellectual nor pedagogic considerations, but by political values, principally stemming from differences between myself and the Bard administration on the issue of Zionism. This is only too reminiscent of innumerable instances in this country in which critics of Israel have been made to pay, often with their careers, for speaking out. In this instance the process culminated in a deeply flawed evaluation process which was used to justify my termination from the faculty.
In October, 2002, my article, "Zionism's Bad Conscience," appeared in Tikkun. Three or four weeks later, I was called into President Leon Botstein's office, to be told my Hiss Chair was being taken away. Botstein said that he had nothing to do with the decision, then gratuitously added that it had not been made because of what I had just published about Zionism, and hastened to tell me that his views were diametrically opposed to mine.
In January, 2003, I published a second article in Tikkun, "'Left-Anti- Semitism' and the Special Status of Israel," which argued for a one-state solution to the dilemmas posed by Zionism. A few weeks later, I received a phone call at home from Dean Dominy, who suggested, on behalf of Executive Vice-President Dimitri Papadimitriou, that perhaps it was time for me to retire from Bard. I declined. The result of this was an evaluation of my work and the inception, in 2004, of a half-time contract.
My book, Overcoming Zionism, was published in 2007. It sharply criticized, among others, Martin Peretz for a scurrilous op-ed piece against Rachel Corrie in the Los Angeles Times. Peretz is an official in AIPAC's foreign policy think-tank, and at the time was a Bard Trustee. In August, Overcoming Zionism was attacked by a watchdog Zionist group, StandWithUs/ Michigan, which succeeded in pressuring the book's U.S. distributor, the University of Michigan Press, to remove it from circulation! An extraordinary outpouring of support succeeded in reversing this frank episode of book-burning. I was disturbed, however, by the fact that, with the exception of two non-tenure track faculty, there was no support from Bard in response to this egregious violation of the speech rights of a professor. When I asked President Botstein in an email why this was so, he replied that he felt I was doing quite well at taking care of myself. This was irrelevantto the obligation of a college to protect its faculty from violation of their rights of free expression - all the more so, a college such as Bard with a carefully honed reputation as a bastion of academic freedom, and which defines such freedom in its Faculty Handbook as a "right ... to search for truth and understanding without interference and to disseminate findings without intimidation. "
I still strove to make my future at Bard the subject of reasonable negotiation. However, my efforts in this direction were rudely denied by Dean Dominy's curt and dismissive letter of Feb. 7 (at the urging, according to her, of Vice-President Papadimitriou) , which plainly asserted that there was nothing to talk over and that I was being handed a fait accompli. In view of this I considered myself left with no other option than the release of this document.
On the responsibility of intellectuals
Bard has effectively crafted for itself an image as a bastion of progressive thought. Its efforts were crowned with being anointed in 2005 by the Princeton Review as the second-most progressive college in the United States, the journal adding that Bard "puts the 'liberal' in 'liberal arts.'" But "liberal" thought evidently has its limits; and my work against Zionism has encountered these.
A fundamental principle of mine is that the educator must criticize the injustices of the world, whether or not this involves him or her in conflict with the powers that be. The systematic failure of the academy to do so plays no small role in the perpetuation of injustice and state violence. In no sphere of political action does this principle apply more vigorously than with the question of Zionism; and in no country is this issue more strategically important than in the United States, given the fact that United States support is necessary for Israel's behavior. The worse this behavior, the more strenuous must be the suppression of criticism. I take the view, then, that Israeli human rights abuses are deeply ingrained in a culture of impunity granted chiefly, though not exclusively, in the United States - which culture arises from suppression of debate and open inquiry within those institutions, such as colleges, whose social role it is to enlighten the public.
For further information:
www.codz.org
Joel Kovel, "Overcoming Impunity," The Link, Jan-March 2009 www.ameu.org
To write the Bard administration:
President Leon Botstein:president[at] bard.edu
Executive Vice-President Dimitri Papadimitrioudpapadimitriou[ at]bard.edu
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ISRAELIS ARE BEGINNING TO SEE THE POWER OF BDS
Alternative Information Center (AIC) 3/1/09
In recent years, there has been a gradual growth in the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) movement to put economic pressure on Israel until it recognizes the rights of the occupied Palestinian people and ends the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip has given this movement a powerful reason to redouble its efforts. Dozens of BDS campaigns have gained momentum and publicity; dozens of new ones were launched during or immediately after Israel's attack on the Gaza Strip.
These campaigns range from calls to boycott goods from the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, to calls to stop all economic contacts with Israel altogether. They include protests at sporting events, two countries cutting diplomatic ties with Israel (Bolivia and Venezuela), and many demonstrations around the world, attended by hundreds of thousands of protestors.
Read the full article:
www.alternativenews .org/content/ view/1605/ 381/
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NEWS ABOUT INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING
A county judge in Minnesota has sided with the city of Minneapolis and defendant intervenor FairVote Minnesota in a challenge against Minneapolis implementing instant runoff voting and choice voting for its elections this November. The ruling is a sweeping victory for advocates of IRV and proportional voting in Minneapolis. With a 65% mandate from voters in a 2006 measure, the city will move forward on implementing these systems for November 2009. The ruling comes in the midst of major interest in instant runoff voting in Minnesota in the wake of the controversial U.S. Senate recount. The Washington Post cited it in an editorial on Jan. 13, while several leading Minnesotans have embraced IRV for statewide elections.
North Carolina has decided to conduct a municipal-level instant runoff voting pilot program.
On March 9 the City Council in Aspen, CO finalized its procedures to hold instant runoff voting elections in May.
(see: www.fairvote. org)
Voters in Burlington, VT are basking in the wake of an excellent campaign for mayor with instant runoff voting, in which 99.96% of voters cast valid ballots in a hotly contested, but positive, issue-based campaign among five candidates:
Burlington Progressives Keep Mayoralty in Exciting 5-Candidate IRV Race (report in Ballot Access News 3/5/09)
On March 3, Burlington, Vermont held a mayoral election. The candidates were Progressive Bob Kiss (the incumbent), Republican Kurt Wright, Democratic Andy Montroll, independent Dan Smith, and Green Party nominee James Simpson. Kiss was re-elected. The election had been considered impossible to predict. The independent candidate, Dan Smith, had raised more money than any other candidate. The Democratic candidate, Andy Montroll, was an incumbent member of the city council and had been endorsed by Howard Dean and the city's daily newspaper. The Republican nominee, Kurt Wright, was the incumbent president of the city council.
Burlington uses Instant Runoff Voting. Wright led in the first count but no one had a majority of first place votes. In the second count the Republican also kept the lead. But after the votes cast for the Democratic nominee had been reassigned in a further count, Kiss won by 4,313 to 4,061 to the Republican nominee. Observers felt the election had been an excellent example to show that IRV does what it is supposed to do. In particular, the candidates were very courteous and respectful to each other during the campaign, since each candidate hoped to win second-choice or third-choice votes from various rivals. Also the city was spared the expense of a run-off election several weeks after the original March 3 event.
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MR. CARROLL GOES TO LITTLE ROCK
America's highest ranking Green
Arkansas Times 1/29/09
With his silver hair, sunglasses, and crisp black suit, Richard Carroll certainly looks the part of a state legislator. A resident of the Baring Cross neighborhood near Fort Roots in North Little Rock, Carroll was elected on the Green Party ticket to represent District 39 back in November, winning more than 80 percent of the vote. Currently, he's the highest-ranking Green in the United States.
Though he cleans up well, his button-down work as a legislator is a far cry from what he really does for a living: a dirty, dangerous job as a boilermaker for the Union Pacific Railroad, Thanks to what he calls his very "civic minded" employer, Carroll has been allowed to work the night shift at the Union Pacific yards in North Little Rock part time so he can come to the legislature during the day. From 11 p.m. to around 3 in the morning, he helps rebuild locomotives that have been damaged in derailments and accidents. He catches a few catnaps before and after work, and sleeps a lot on weekends. "I get a couple hours sleep before I go in to the Capitol," he said. "I may stay until 7 o'clock, go home, get a couple more hours sleep, then go to work."
Read the full article at:
www.arktimes. com/articles/ articleviewer. aspx?ArticleID= bf458f35- 158e-4226- 9826-1f2e1ffb209 f
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REMEMBERING RACHEL CORRIE
Submitted by Alvin Meyer of the Bergen Greens
In light of the recent deadly attack on International Solidarity member, and US citizen Tristan Anderson by the Israeli Defense Forces, we remember their first American victim Rachel Corrie. Here is an interview with Rachel just two days before she was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer:
www.commondreams. org/video/ 2009/03/16
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Screening of Palestine/Israel documentary on March 22
NJ Peace Action and First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ are co-sponsoring a program on building peace between Palestinians and Israelis. On Sunday, March 22 they will be showing a documentary film titled "Encounter Point," a true story about everyday people, sometimes risking their lives, in nonviolent struggle to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The heroes and heroines of this documentary are both Palestinian and Israeli people who have personally suffered as a result of seemingly unending violence.
Following the film there will be a panel discussion focusing on what can be done to promote and support this peace process. Panelists will include: Mathematics professor Dr. Siham Alfred, a Catholic, raised in Palestine, a member of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee and President of Somerset Voices for Peace and Justice; Political Science Professor, author and editor, Stephen Shalom, from William Paterson University; Palestinian American Muslim and PhD candidate in Global Affairs, Mae Ramadan, who is the founder and former president of the Palestinian American Organization, Newark; Rabbi Tepperman of B'nai Keshet Reconstructionist Synagogue in Montclair who is committed to teaching, spirituality and social justice.
The 85 minute film will begin at 2 pm followed by discussion. The screening will be in the Guild Room at First Congregational Church, 40 South Fullerton Ave, Montclair. It is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. For more information contact NJPA at 973-259-1126 or email nj_peaceaction[ at]yahoo. com.
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Invitation to submit material for Green Pages newspaper
The deadline is April 30 to submit material for inclusion in the next issue of Green Pages, the national Green Party newspaper. Op-eds (max 800 words), Letters to the Editor (max 200 words), and unsolicited news briefs (max 350 words) should be sent to: greenpages[at] greens.org. Cartoons, illustrations, and charts should be sent to ninth.st[at] verizon.net. State or caucus reports (max 300 words) should be sent to Deidre Helfferich at rodgers777[at] earthlink. net. If you have story ideas that don't fall into the above categories, get in touch with us at greenpages[at] greens.org.
All text should be sent as an attached Word document. Include a byline indicating your Green affiliation (i.e. in what state, if any, you are registered). Photos should be JPGs, 200 dpi or larger, at a physical size (height and width) that they should be printed at. Minimum size is 1.875 inches wide (one column wide--for head shots, for example). Submit larger photos if they include many people or complicated activity. Include who should be credited for the photo, and the photographer' s Green affiliation. Be sure to include a one-sentence caption with the photo to explain the content of the photo to readers.
For complete submission guidelines, the Green Pages editorial policy and a style sheet, visit: www.gp.org/greenpag es/submissions. php. Still have questions? Email: greenpages[at] greens.org
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Some interesting Green-oriented Web sites:
www.TransitionTowns .org
www.TransitionUS. org
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The GreenGram is circulated monthly in an effort to keep all GPNJ members informed about party news, Green-related activities, and upcoming events. Members are encouraged to submit articles and event announcements.
The deadline for the next issue will be April 15. Please submit material for inclusion to: SteveWelzer[ at]msn.com
!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!
GreenGram
Green Party of NJ Bulletin -- www.GPNJ.orgP.O. Box 9802, Trenton, NJ 08650
To subscribe, become a member of GPNJ!
* Bequeathal from the estate of GPNJ Chair Earl Gray
* County Local Reports
* Six Years Too Many!
* New Jersey Labor Against War ramping up efforts
* Protest the re-licensing of the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant
* Citizens turn out to Stop Insanity Island!
* New Jersey Senate Approves Medical Marijuana Bill
* Change-a-lujah!
* From Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente
* Preservation of Petty's Island
* Community Green Meetup series starting April 1
* Silencing of the Palestine question in US universities
* News about Instant Runoff voting
* Mr. Carroll goes to Little Rock
* Remembering Rachel Corrie
* Events of interest
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BEQUEATHAL FROM THE ESTATE OF GPNJ CHAIR EARL GRAY
Very special financial contributions were recently received from the estate of past GPNJ Chair Earl Gray: $15,000 to the Green Party of New Jersey and $10,000 to the Green Party of Monmouth County. A letter of thanks from members of GPNJ is being drafted and will be sent to Earl's daughters.
Earl was one of the earliest members of GPNJ. He encountered us when a friend brought him to our founding convention in 1997. He then became active and played a significant role at every one of the conventions afterward. He served our party in many capacities: Coordinator of the Monmouth County local, Chair of the Policy Committee, GPNJ Secretary, Vice Chair, and State Chair (2005). Additionally, he was a Green Party candidate for US Congress in 2000 and for NJ State Senate in 2003.
Earl was the kind of leader who made it his personal business to do the grunt work and pay attention to the details. For every state Green Party convention after the first one, Earl was among those who arrived early to be sure that the building got opened up on time and then attended to everything that needed to be set up ... the coffee pots, the tables and banners and literature.
Earl had a Ph.D. in History from Rutgers University. Before his retirement, he was a History Professor at Monmouth College and Trenton State College. He died on May 20, 2005, at the age of 76 after a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis, specifying in his will that special contributions be made from his estate to the Green Party.
He was a beloved Green during his life and now he will also be remembered as leaving a very special legacy through this bequeathal to the Green Party.
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COUNTY LOCAL REPORTS
Camden County
The Green Party of Camden County (GPCC) is expecting to run a nearly full slate of candidates next fall: two for Assembly, two or three for Freeholder, and three Council candidates in Camden City.
On March 3 Coordinator Mark Heacock attended a meeting of the Feliz for Mayor of Camden City campaign (felizformayor. com). There is a possibility that Roberto Feliz will run under the Green Party banner; alternatively, he may run as an independent with GPCC's endorsement. But at this point the viability of his campaign is in question, so GPCC will be discussing the situation at their next monthly meeting, scheduled for April 2.
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Essex County
On Wednesday, March 25, at 7:30pm, the Essex County Greens will present the latest in their series of social forums, "Seeking Peace in Afghanistan: What Now?" - a slide presentation and discussion by Dr. Janet Larson, who traveled to Afghanistan in 2006. The event will be co-sponsored by NJ Peace Action. Location: Bloomfield Civic Center, 84 Broad St., Bloomfield.
The U.S. war in Afghanistan is in its eighth year with no end in sight. Nearly 1,000 U.S. and "coalition" troops and at least 18,000 Afghans have been killed. Tens of thousands of innocent people have been injured. Afghanistan is in chaos and the Obama administration recently announced plans to send at least 17,000 more troops.
Dr. Larson is Director of the English Masters Degree Program at Rutgers University/Newark and teaches women's and war literature courses. She represents NJ Peace Action on the Afghanistan Working Group of the national coalition United for Peace and Justice. In addition to the slide presentation, Dr. Larson will address the Obama administration' s war policy and relate it to the Afghan people and their history.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information contact Ted Glick, 973-338-5398, indpol[at]igc. org.
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Monmouth County
Submitted by Rich Fuller, County Coordinator
The next meeting of the Green Party of Monmouth County will be held Tuesday, March 24 at 7:00pm. Location: Highlands Community Center, Recreation Department (22 Snug Harbor Avenue, Highlands, NJ 07732; 732-872-1959) .
Directions from Keyport or Middletown: Head down Route 36 toward Sandy Hook. Take the Linden Ave. jughandle and proceed down the hill. Stop at the point that Waterwitch Ave. cuts in. Then proceed down hill to stop sign at Bay Ave. intersection. Turn left and proceed for a block or two and turn right onto Snug Harbor Ave. Community Center is last building on the left.
Directions from Sandy Hook: Proceed up Route 36 toward Keyport and make a right turn at Waterwitch Ave. Proceed to Stop sign at Bay Ave. and follow directions above from there.
The Monmouth local and GPNJ will be helping Clean Ocean Action's campaign to recycle plastic bottle caps (the majority of which currently do not get recycled, ending up in landfills and on beaches, or washing into our rivers and oceans; birds and marine life mistake caps for food with tragic results). GPNJ members are encouraged to collect and save the hard type of bottle caps from common household items such as soda and water bottles, shampoo, lotion containers and detergent. Bring the caps to our next convention (tentatively slated to be held in late May) and Rich Fuller will gather them there for delivery to Clean Ocean Action.
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Congrats to our Cumberland County Coordinator, Jason Grover, whose wife, Shanna, gave birth to twins - Marley Addison Grover and Rian Harlow Grover - on Feb. 27.
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Art Rosen, a longtime Bergen County social activist and one of the first officers of the Green Party of New Jersey, died on March 3 after a short illness. He was a valued member of the Bergen Greens.
Those of us who knew Art will feel his absence acutely. GPNJ condolences go out to his wife, Harriet, and to all of his family.
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SIX YEARS TOO MANY!
Statewide demonstration in New Brunswick - Thurs. March 19, 5:30pm
Rebuild & Renew America Now!
. Cut the Military Budget Annually by 25% - Make it Transparent. End the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Create Jobs and Strengthen our Infrastructure. Guarantee Quality Affordable Health Care for Everyone. High Quality Education from Early Childhood through College. Regulate Wall Street and Support Main Street. Clean Energy and Independence From Oil. Reduce Poverty and Support the Social Safety Net
March and vigilIntersection of George St. & Albany St., New Brunswick
Co-sponsoring Organizations: Alliance for Disabled in Action . Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees . Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War . Central New Jersey for Change . Coalition for Peace Action . CWA Local 1081 . DFA-NJ . Green Party of Monmouth County . Industrial Union Council . Lutheran office of Governmental Ministries Monmouth Democracy for America . New Jersey Citizen Action . New Jersey Labor Against the War . New Brunswick Chapter of the NAACP . New Jersey Peace Action . Next Step . Ocean County Democracy for America . Ocean Progressive Democrats of America . PDA/DFA Progressive Democracy South Jersey . People's Organization for Progress . Rutgers AAUP-AFT . Rutgers Against the War . Somerset Unitarian Universalist Social Action Committee . Somerset Voices for Peace and Justice . Tent State . Union County Peace Council
For more information contact Atif Malik:atif[at]njcitizenac tion.org or 732-246-4772
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The Montclair Peace Vigil will mark the 6th anniversary of the war in Iraq with a Thursday vigil - March 19th, 4:30-6:00pm (Thursday instead of Friday this week). Everyone is welcome to join us. The vigil takes place at the intersection of Bloomfield Avenue, So. Fullerton Avenue and Church Street in Montclair. For more information contact 973-259-1126.
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The Weehawken Concerned Citizens will mark the sorry event of the sixth year since the U.S. invaded Iraq with a special vigil at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Boulevard East in Weehawken. The vigil will run from 5:00 to 6:00pm.
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The Morristown Peace Vigil will hold a special vigil on Friday, March 20th from 6:00 until 7:00pm on the Morristown Green. The vigil will call for ALL the troops to be brought home from Iraq.
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Join Bergen County military families, veterans, and local residents March 18-22 to mark the 6th anniversary of the Iraq War and demand:
. All troops out of Iraq immediately!. Bring the National Guard Home immediately to take care of the people of NJ! Their deployment is illegal.. Take care of the troops when they get here!. Not one more dollar for the Iraq war! Use the money here for people's needs - for housing, health care, jobs, and education.
Please come to the following important events in Bergen County to mark the 6th anniversary of the war. Bring food and baby supplies for the Family Assistance Center for the National Guard families whose loved ones are currently deployed in Iraq.- Thursday, March 19: Vigil 5:00-6:00pm. Lemoine Avenue and Bruce Reynolds Boulevard, Fort Lee.- Friday, March 20: Film screening and discussion. 7:00pm. See Phil Donahue's movie, Body of War, about the impact of the war on troops and families and the role of members of Congress. Phil Donahue will appear in person to speak about his film. Puffin Cultural Center, 20 Puffin Way (off Teaneck Road near Ft. Lee Road), Teaneck.- Saturday, March 21: 12:00 noon. Demonstration at the monument in Englewood (Palisade Ave. and Tenafly Ave.)- Sunday, March 22: Vigil 4:30-5:00pm. Broad Avenue and Ft. Lee Road in Leonia.
Sponsoring organizations:Military Families Speak Out, Bergen County (www.mfsobergencount y.org)Veterans for Peace, Chapter 21 NJBergen Peace and Justice Coalition (www.bergenjustice. net)Teaneck Peace and Justice CoalitionLeonia Vigil GroupFort Lee Vigil GroupNJ Peace Action
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Courage of Conscience Speaking Tour
March 19th at 7:30pmSparta United Methodist Church71 Sparta Avenue, Sparta, NJ 07871
Former Soldier Yaniv ReshefFormer Fighter Bassam Aramin
Tangible Ways to Peace in Israel and Palestine
Israeli Yaniv Rashef, whose home is in range of Gaza missiles, was a foot soldier in a sabotage unit of the Israeli Army - and chose to fight no more. Palestinian Bassam Aramin served seven years in jail for planning an attack against Israeli soldiers - and then chose no more violence. Just two years ago, Bassam lost his daughter to an Israeli soldier's rubber-coated bullet. They are members of Combatants for Peace, now over 600 former Israeli soldiers and former Palestinian fighters, working together without revenge to build justice, peace - and playgrounds.
Co-sponsors: Church and Society Committee of SUMC, Northwest New Jersey Peace Fellowship (a chapter of NJ Peace Action), Sept. 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, The Peace Abbey, and the Rebuilding Alliance.
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March on the Pentagon
www.pephost. org/site/ PageServer? pagename= M21_homepage
(GPNJ has endorsed this action planned for March 21)
People from all walks of life and from all cities across the United States will take part in a March on the Pentagon on March 21. We will demand: "End Colonial Occupation in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and Everywhere" and "Fund Peoples' Needs, Not Militarism and Bank Bailouts." We will insist on an end to the war threats and economic sanctions against Iran. We will say No to the illegal U.S. program of detention and torture.
Simultaneous demonstrations are taking place in San Francisco and Los Angeles. More than 1,500 organizations and individuals have now endorsed these actions. Members of the national coalition and supporters of the March on the Pentagon include: Northwest Greens, Philadelphia; Frederick (MD) Green Party; Green Party of Allegheny County, PA; Green Party of New Jersey; Portland Metro Chapter of the Pacific Green Party of Oregon; Green Change; South Bay Greens; ANSWER Coalition; Muslim American Society for Freedom; National Council of Arab Americans; Veterans For Peace - National; Iraq Veterans Against the War; Vietnam Veterans Against the War; United States Labor Against the War; Free Palestine Alliance; San Francisco Labor Council (AFL-CIO); The World Can't Wait; Code Pink; Cindy Sheehan; Ron Kovic, Vietnam Veteran; Colonel Ann Wright, US Army Reserves (Retired); Lynne Stewart; many others
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Saturday, April 4, Noon
National March on Wall Street
Sponsored by United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ)
www.unitedforpeace. org/article. php?id=4027
BEYOND WAR: A NEW ECONOMY IS POSSIBLE!
It is time to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is time to address the economic crisis by cutting military spending. Carry on Martin Luther King's vision to replace war, racism and poverty with peace, equality and economic justice (April 4 will be the 41st anniversary of the assassination of Dr. King).
Assembly time: 11:00am. Location: Leonard, Franklin and White Streets, between Broadway and Lafayette St. (this is just south of Canal Street and close to several subway stops)
March stepoff time: 12:00 noon
March route: South on Broadway to Stone St., East on Stone to Broad St., North on Broad to Wall St. This route is a little less than 1.5 miles and takes us through the heart of the financial district, ending right in front of the NY Stock Exchange.
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NEW JERSEY LABOR AGAINST WAR RAMPING UP EFFORTS
New Jersey Labor Against War (NJLAW) held a meeting at the Rutgers Labor Education Center in New Brunswick on Feb. 20. Present were about a dozen people, including members and/or staffers from the CWA, BMWE, AFT, HPAE, AAUP and the USWA, representing all areas of the state.
NJLAW has existed for some years, largely through the efforts of Carol Gay of the CWA, Kevin Hussey of the BMWE, and (our old friend) Gabe Gabrielsky. It is an affiliate of US Labor Against War, which is a coalition of national, regional, statewide and local labor organizations as well as individual labor officials, staffers, rank and file activists and sympathizers who oppose U.S. foreign adventure wars.
NJLAW has had a presence at large demonstrations and at the annual New Jersey Industrial Union Council conference. They will be spearheading the March 19 "Rebuild and Renew America Now!" demonstration in New Brunswick, and they will be joining United for Peace and Justice for the March on Wall Street on April 4 to demand a new economy that serves the people's needs, not Wall Street's.
NJLAW is now providing an Announce List as a vehicle to broadcast messages and important notices to members and supporters. To join the list, go to www.yahoogroups. com, log in, then search for NJLAW_announce. If you encounter any problems adding yourself to the list, contact gabegabrielsky[ at]yahoo. com or CarolGay747[ at]aol.com (or call Carol at 732-785-1503) .
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KILL THE RE-LICENSING OF THE OYSTER CREEKNUCLEAR POWER PLANT BEFORE IT KILLS US!
Rally sponsored By Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch and friends
When: Saturday, March 28 (anniversary of the Three Mile Island incident) - 12:00 Noon ... rain or shine
Where: Huddy Park, Main Street and Water Street, Toms River
Come hear experts speak about why it is imperative to close this plant. 21 towns have already signed resolutions to: Close Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant Now!
This plant is at the end of its lifetime with age-related degradation and corrosion. Tons of deadly radioactive waste continue accumulating in casks on Route 9, while the National Guard has been removed from the plant, ignoring the possibility of terrorism. Evacuation is unworkable - in the event of an accident, people would be trapped in traffic jams or in their homes, schools or businesses and be subject to lethal radioactive fallout. Cancer would be caused as far as 500 miles away. Property in a wide radius would become uninhabitable according to a 1990 Sandia National Laboratories report.
Millions of fish are killed by this plant. It's a menace to the fish industry. The Mark 1 boiling water reactor design is NO LONGER LEGAL in this country. Rally against this costly and dangerous plant!
For information or to volunteer, contact Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch, P.O. Box 3085, Toms River, NJ 08756-3085; gbur1[at]comcast. net; 732-240-5107 or 732-818-0402.
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Citizens turn out to Stop Insanity Island!
by Cindy Zipf of Clean Ocean Action
www.cleanoceanactio n.org
Congratulations to all for a remarkable turnout at the Insanity Island public hearings on January 27 and 29 in Eatontown, NJ, and Long Beach, NY (respectively) , held by the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Maritime Administration.
Well over 500 friends of the ocean attended the hearing in New Jersey and over 300 gathered in New York to blast the proposal to build three industrial port facilities for liquefied natural gas (LNG) just off the south shore of Long Island and the New Jersey shore. Facility 1) Atlantic Sea Island Group: ironically called, "Safe Harbor Energy," this insane proposal by a private investor firm seeks to build a massive manmade island for an LNG port by dumping millions upon millions of tons of unknown material in the open ocean. 2) ExxonMobil: one of the most notorious oil polluters is out to use our ocean as a lab rat with "BlueOcean Energy," a plan to build an experimental massive floating LNG terminal. A similar project was rejected by NY and CT. California Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed this type of project due to threats to air quality and marine life. 3) "Liberty Natural Gas" Project: Excalibur Energy (a new conglomerate of Canadian Superior Energy and Global LNG) proposes an LNG importation facility 15 miles off Asbury Park, NJ. The source of the LNG is drilling and extracting off Trinidad and Tobago.Thus, supporting this facility would promote offshore drilling in a country that already has environmental problems with oil pollution on beaches.
At the Jan. 27 and 29 hearings, activists proved, once again, that grassroots organizing and the power of the people rule! Chairs were packed at both venues, so students, parents, fishermen, surfers, divers, concerned citizens, and business leaders sat on the floor or stood along the walls. In New York, the room capacity was reached and people waited 45 minutes outside to get in the doors.
At Eatontown, nearly 100 folks testified [including our Monmouth County Green Party Coordinator, Rich Fuller]. All but two flat-out opposed the project and LNG. The only outrage was the flagrant abuse of our first amendment rights: The U.S. government prohibited Clean Ocean Action's professional videographer from entering the hearing to document the event and provide visible witness to the outpouring of support for the ocean. Nor were we allowed to bring paper signs into the hearing, including several charts that we wanted to include in our testimony. All that was left were our cheers for speakers - and even those were admonished.
Only a few elected leaders attended or sent representatives. In New Jersey, a statement read by a staff member of US Representative Frank Pallone (D-6) strongly opposed the island and LNG and requested an extension of the comment period. Monmouth County Freeholder John D'Amico and Town Council members Dina Long of Sea Bright and D'Arcy Green of Bay Head spoke out opposed. Also attending in support of our position were Monmouth County Freeholder Amy Mallet and a staff member from US Representative Rush Holt's (D-12) office. In New York, Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg (D-20), Nassau County Legislators Dave Denenberg (D-Merrick) and Jeff Toback (D-Oceanside) attended and spoke at the hearing, which was also attended by council members of Long Beach. This was a meager showing, at best, so be sure to contact your elected officials.
Email Governor Corzine and tell him: Keep Us Free from LNG!www.state.nj. us/governor/ govmail.html
Sign the petition against Insanity Island and LNG at:www.thepetitionsite .com/petition/ 689151878.
Read the full story, with pictures of GPNJ participants at:www.cleanoceanactio n.org/index. php?id=685
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NJ SENATE APPROVES MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL
Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey
For immediate release: February 24, 2009
On February 23, by a vote of 22-16, the New Jersey State Senate approved bill S119, the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act" (www.njleg.state. nj.us/bills/ BillView. asp?BillNumber= S119)
Many supporters of the bill attended the voting session, led by the Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey (CMMNJ). The senate vote was a significant step in the legislative process to protect patients who use marijuana on the recommendation of a physician.
The bill will next go to the New Jersey Assembly for votes in the health committee and entire assembly. Governor Jon Corzine has said on several occasions that he supports medical marijuana and that he will sign the bill when it gets to his desk. New Jersey would become the 14th state in the nation to legalize medical marijuana if it passes this legislation into law.
S119 will remove the state penalties for the possession, use and cultivation of a small amount of marijuana when a licensed physician recommends it for a debilitating medical condition. Patients will be issued ID cards in a program run by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). Patients will be permitted to grow up to six plants and possess one ounce of marijuana, but they will not be permitted to use their therapeutic marijuana in public or while operating motor vehicles. Patients may designate a caregiver or treatment center to grow the plants for them, but the caregiver/center must also register with DHSS.
CMMNJ Executive Director, Ken Wolski, RN said, "The bill is very conservative. No medical marijuana state has a smaller plant limit or possession amount. Still, it will help a tremendous number of patients here. We applaud the senators who supported this bill."
The American Nurses Association, the American College of Physicians, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the American Public Health Association, the American Academy of HIV Medicine and many other professional healthcare organizations have endorsed medical marijuana. CMMNJ, a 501(c)(3) public charity, provides education about the benefits of safe and legal access to medical marijuana. For more info, contact: Ken Wolski, RN, MPA, Executive Director; Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc., 844 Spruce Street, Trenton, NJ 08648; 609.394.2137; www.cmmnj.org
[Ken Wolski is a member of the Mercer County Greens]
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CHANGE-A-LUJAH!
For Immediate Release: March 1, 2009
"Reverend Billy" Talen Running For Mayor of New YorkAs Green Party Candidate
Calls For "The Revolt Of The 500 Fabulous Neighborhoods"
NEW YORK - With resounding shouts of "we ARE New York!" and "neighborhoods are hip!", performance activist Reverend Billy Talen launched his New York City mayoral campaign at a noon Union Square press conference.
Speaking outdoors in spite of the threatening winter storm, the Green Party candidate known for his work with the Church of Life After Shopping called for an "affordable and livable" New York that relies on its neighborhoods and independent businesses for sustainable and equitable prosperity.
"Mayor Bloomberg believes our city is a corporation and our Five Hundred Neighborhoods just aren't profitable enough," preached Talen, to responses of "Neighborhood- a-lujah!" from the crowd. "He gives the legal and political edge to real estate speculators. Bloomy is a mayor of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich."
Campaign spokesperson Gloria Mattera, who ran as the Green Party candidate for Brooklyn Borough President in 2005, opened the press conference by outlining why New York City needs a candidate with Talen's record of activism, and how that record expresses the Green values of grassroots democracy, nonviolence, social and economic justice, and ecological wisdom.
The press conference was bookended by the songs "Justice Ghost" and "1st Amendment Song," performed by singers from the Church of Life After Shopping Gospel Choir.
Background information
Since 1996 Reverend Billy Talen has preached for the renewal of our planet, communities, and personal experiences in opposition to the homogenizing and destructive forces of Consumerism. As founder and pastor of the Church of Life After Shopping, Reverend Billy has performed this message in contested public space, from the stage, and in international media including CNN American Morning, the New York Times, Fox News, Good Morning America, the CBS Evening News, and the Wall Street Journal.
More information at:www.voterevbilly. orgwww.revbilly. comwww.facebook. com/home. php#/group. php?gid=54188482 187&ref=nfwww.twitter. com/RevBillyTale nwww.youtube. com/user/ reverendbillytal enwww.myspace. com/reverendbill ytalenhttp://digg. com/users/ revbillytalen
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FROM CYNTHIA MCKINNEY
March 2, 2009
I have read and re-read President Obama's Joint Congressional Address. All of the "acceptable punditry" have spoken and given it glowing reviews. But for those of us who refuse to swallow the pill that puts us into the Matrix, a good dose of reality is strongly called for.
Reality is not what we're getting, not even from one of the national columnists whom I've met, Maureen Dowd. On Feb. 28 she wrote a column: "Spock at the Bridge." Now, being the Trekkie that I am, that headline grabbed my attention. I nearly gagged, however, when I got to the part where Dowd depicts President Obama phoning President Bush to proclaim: "I'm ending your stupid war." And then she writes: Mission Relinquished.
Why write things like this now that it is clear that the Obama administration is continuing the Bush policies for missile strikes inside Pakistan; rendition for torture; illegal wiretaps; status of prisoners at the U.S. base in Bagram, Afghanistan; and workplace immigration raids? President Obama is also pursuing Bush policies on Iran and Israel.
Dowd concludes her "Spock" piece by imbuing the President with "a Vulcan-like logic and detachment." But I think the detachment of the "acceptable" political punditry from the real world is what is totally lamentable. In the process, they render themselves irrelevant.
I found 19 questionable Obama policies or statements in his Joint Congressional speech, which was delivered three days before his announcement that upon the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq, up to 50,000 U.S. troops could remain there through 2011. And while various mint operations are peddling Obama "Change" coins for purchase, complete with a certificate of authenticity, I note that the President continues the giveaway of our hard-earned coins to an economic team intent on keeping mismanagement structures in place, serving economic ends that do not constitute the common good. I would refer readers to the many statements that I issued during the final days of our Power to the People Green Party presidential campaign about re-creating an economic system truly and finally owned by the people, operating in our interest.
Obama has threatened U.S. withdrawal from the April 2009 Geneva United Nations World Conference Against Racism, dubbed Durban II. This threat is based on the same palaver we heard in 2001 from the same forces inside our country ... basically that a discussion of Zionism, in the context of such a conference, would be anti-Semitic. Therefore all the world's dispossessed and marginalized people must continue to suffer and sacrifice while muting their grievances so that no discussion of Israel would take place on the world stage in this context.
Well, in 2001, upon hearing this line of reasoning, I went to then-Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chairwoman, Eddie Bernice Johnson, and asked if I could be appointed as the CBC Task Force Chair on Durban. The non-participation argument was also a handy "peg on the track" with the potential of derailing many other conversations, including a real discussion about the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the issue of reparations. Respectful of the excellent preparatory work that had been done, I wanted to avoid that outcome. Congresswoman Johnson made the appointment and I led a delegation of five members of Congress to Durban.
The current Chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Barbara Lee, was a member of my delegation to Durban. From my position on the International Relations Committee, we successfully argued for U.S. participation in that Conference at a hearing designed to quash our effort. We not only met with then-United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, we also presented her with the untold story of COINTELPRO and the remaining unsolved deaths of its Black Panther Party member victims, commissioned by me and written by Kathleen Cleaver and Paul Wolf.
Our CBC Chairwoman made a beautiful statement of why it was imperative that the United States join with our Native American and Latino brothers and sisters and with oppressed peoples all over the planet to not only make our statement of solidarity, but also to institute policies that recognized their needs. It is incorrect to say that the United States was not present at Durban I. We were there, and only when the duties of Congress pressed us to return to Washington did the Bush Administration make a big deal about anti-Semitism ... and then staged its phony walkout. The United States delegation of Congressional Black Caucus members was there to support the phenomenal work of U.S. activists and the African and Caribbean delegations, in particular.
Given Israel's recent actions in Gaza that have brought upon it the world's opprobrium, I can imagine that this is the last point in time that Israel might want to revisit Durban. Israel has said that it will not attend the Conference in Geneva. Early last year a government official announced Canada's decision to not attend Durban II after deeming the conference to be anti-Israel. Shortly afterwards, France followed suit with French President Nicolas Sarkozy stating that the "excesses of 2001" transformed the Conference "into an intolerable platform against the State of Israel." I would note also that France must be particularly loath to discuss racism now with what is happening in Guadeloupe and Martinique as I write this piece; and remembering that Paris, itself, was literally on fire just a few years ago.
We shouldn't be surprised that the racism stress test is revealing cracks and fissures in human relations. But the United States and President Obama should not shield them or this country from these stresses. Durban II gives us the opportunity to get the issues out in the open and to deal with them. I implore the members of the Congressional Black Caucus to spearhead the participation of the United States in the United Nation's World Conference Against Racism.
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Cynthia attended the Transpartisan Alliance convention (American Citizens' Summit) in Denver in mid-February and was selected as a member of an interim Sunshine Cabinet.
On Feb. 22 she called in to address a special event in Washington, DC co-sponsored by the DC Statehood Green Party (www.dcstatehoodgree n.org). "The Struggle for Citizenship - Globally" was the theme of the opening session of the 2009 Children's Gallery of Black History. A highlight of the event was the presentation of the "Cynthia McKinney Organizing for Human Needs Award" to Devin Walker of the People Before Profit Community Healthcare Projecthttp://home. comcast.net/ ~peoplebeforepro fit/
On March 14 Cynthia was the keynote speaker at the International Women's Day Banquet of the Palestinian American Women's Association of Southern California (www.pawasca. org).
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ROSA CLEMENTE SPEAKING TOUR
Green Party of the United States Media Release 1/23/09
Rosa Clemente, 2008 Green candidate for Vice President, announces 'Path of Most Resistance' speaking tour
WASHINGTON, DC - Rosa Clemente, the Green Party's 2008 candidate for Vice President, has announced a national speaking tour with a focus on Hip-Hop conferences, symposiums, town hall meetings, and other public events, as well as Black History Month, Women's History Month, and Latino Heritage Month.
"The tour will be a chance to continue speaking about the important themes we raised in the McKinney-Clemente campaign," said Ms. Clemente. "While many in this country, particularly the Hip-Hop generation, have high hopes for the Obama Administration, now is not the time to be silent. The first few months are critical - we must make our voices heard, if we want to see a real change in the direction of the United States."
Rosa Alicia Clemente is a community organizer, radio journalist (WBAI 99.5 FM in New York City), Hip-Hop activist, and the first Latina in US history to run for Vice President. She was recently commissioned by the Green Institute (www.greeninstitute. net) to write four articles describing her experiences on the 2008 campaign trail. Her first piece, "Why President Elect Barack Obama is not the first Hip-Hop President," has already been posted on the site (www.greeninstitute. net/clemente_ obama). She has been featured on Pacifica, BET, Air America, CNN, MSNBC, Al-jazeera, and other networks.
In 1995, Ms. Clemente developed Know Thy Self Productions, a people of color speakers' bureau. Seeing a need for young people of color to be heard and taken seriously, she began presenting workshops and lectures at universities, high schools, community centers, and prisons. She has presented at over 400 colleges, conferences, town halls, rallies, and international conferences.
In 2001, Ms. Clemente was a youth representative at the United Nations World Conference against Xenophobia, Racism and Related Intolerance in South Africa. In 2003 she co-founded and coordinated the first ever National Hip-Hop Political Convention (NHHPC), which drew over 3000 activists who created and implemented a national political agenda for the Hip-Hop generation. After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged the Gulf Coast, Rosa traveled as an independent journalist to the devastated areas; her on-the-ground reports were distributed all over the world.
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PRESERVATION OF PETTY'S ISLAND
Delaware Riverkeeper press statement: January 16, 2009
The Save Petty's Island Coalition enthusiastically supports the news that the Natural Lands Trust plans to accept Citgo's donation of Petty's Island. Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, applauded the vote: "Petty's Island is a 400 acre natural jewel in the heart of the Delaware River Estuary. The Natural Land Trust vote is an important first step in protecting and restoring the Island so it can contribute to a healthier Delaware River, as well as support fish, birds and wildlife, all of which enrich our lives, communities and the economy. By preserving Petty's Island as natural open space the Governor and Pennsauken residents are creating a legacy of healthy rivers and lands that all generations can enjoy."
"The clean-up and restoration of the island will be conducted more effectively now thanks to the Global Consent Order between DEP and CITGO," said Fred Stine, Citizen Action Director with the Delaware Riverkeeper Network. The effective clean-up of the contamination of the island has been a common concern of both the Coalition members and the residents of Pennsauken. "Because the consent order will result in greater oversight by DEP, it will be a win-win for the natural resources and the community" said Stine. Transfer of ownership would not take place until the state was satisfied with the clean-up.
"CITGO's clean-up, restoration and donation of Petty's Island has set the right example and is clearly a benefit for the residents of Pennsauken and the entire Greater Philadelphia community," said Sharon Finlayson. "At a time when we are running out of funding for open space, Petty's Island will make a spectacular nature preserve for South Jersey," said Jeff Tittel, Director NJ Sierra Club. "This victory shows that perseverance and persistence pays off." Roy Jones of the South Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, said: "Kids will be able to look over at a beautiful tree covered island with bald eagles soaring overhead instead of million dollar houses."
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COMMUNITY GREEN MEETUP SERIES STARTING APRIL 1
Deadline for Registration: March 27
Join Community Green, in partnership with Schiff Natural Lands Trust, as they host "Healthy Children - Healthy Planet" provided by Northwest Earth Institute (NWEI). This seven-session course addresses: Understanding how the pervasive effects of advertising, media, and our consumer culture can influence a child's view of the world; Discovering ways to create meaningful family times and healthful environments for children; Exploring ways to develop a child's connection to nature, and to foster creativity.
7 sessions (all start at 7:00pm) include: April 1st-Cultural Pressures; April 15th-Family Rituals and Celebrations; April 29th-Advertising; May 6th-Food and Health; May 20th-Time and Creativity; June 3rd-Technology and the Media; June 17th-Exploring Nature.
The location is yet to be determined, but the group is based in the Morris-Somerset counties area. To register and order the discussion guide booklets ($21), call 201-602-4839 or email ariane[at]community green.org. Deadline for Registration: March 27. For more information contact: Lydia Stiles, Program Coordinator, 973-543-6004.
NWEI's hallmark courses provide an enjoyable, supportive setting in which to examine personal values and habits, engage in stimulating conversation, create meaningful community, and consider ways to take action towards creating a more sustainable future. There is no outside presenter or teacher of these discussion courses; the role of facilitator rotates among participants with each meeting. These programs emphasize individual responsibility, the importance of a supportive community, and the dual need to walk lightly on and to take action on behalf of the Earth. Learn more here:www.meetup.com/ nj-green/ calendar/ 9917821/
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SILENCING OF THE PALESTINE QUESTION IN US UNIVERSITIES
Academic and cultural boycott of Israel
Green candidate Joel Kovel terminated by Bard College
At the Sept. 10 forum sponsored by the Bergen County Green Party ("The Israeli-Palestine Conflict: What's Next?") Issa Mikel spoke in favor of a "BDS" movement (Boycott/Divestment /Sanctions) to make Israel change course. He said that the combination of these three strategic initiatives, applied over time, worked to transform the situation in South Africa during the 1980s and can work again now toward achieving resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
A "US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel" has now been launched. Reference:http://usacbi. wordpress. com/
Mission Statement:
Responding to the call of Palestinian civil society to join the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement against Israel, we are a U.S. campaign focused specifically on a boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions, as delineated by PACBI (Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel - see their statement at: www.pacbi.org).
PACBI and the entire movement for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (representing the overwhelming majority among Palestinian civil society parties, unions, networks and organizations) emphasize fundamental Palestinian rights, sanctioned by international law and universal human rights principles that ought to be respected by Israel to end the boycott.
We believe it is time to take a public, principled stance in support of equality, self-determination, human rights (including the right to education), and true democracy, especially in light of the censorship and silencing of the Palestine question in U.S. universities, as well as U.S. society at large. There can be no academic freedom in Israel/Palestine unless all academics are free and all students are free to pursue their academic desires.
This call for an academic and cultural boycott parallels the call in the non-academic world for divestment, boycott and sanctions by trade unions, churches, and other civil society organizations in countries such as the United States, Canada, Italy, Ireland, Norway, the United Kingdom, Brazil, South Africa, and New Zealand.
If you wish to endorse this call for an academic and cultural boycott, email: uscom4acbi[at] gmail.com. If you are willing to indicate your support publicly, send your name and institutional/ organizational affiliation (for identification purposes only).
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STATEMENT OF JOEL KOVEL REGARDING HISTERMINATION BY BARD COLLEGE (excerpts)
(Joel Kovel was the US Senate candidate for the Green Party of New York State in 1998)
In January, 1988, I was appointed to the Alger Hiss Chair of Social Studies at Bard College. As this was a Presidential appointment outside the tenure system, I have served under a series of contracts. On February 7, 2009, I received a letter from Michele Dominy, Dean of the College, informing me that my contract would not be renewed this July 1. She wrote that this decision was made by President Botstein, Executive Vice-President Papadimitriou and herself, in consultation with members of the Faculty Senate.
This document argues that this termination of service is prejudicial and motivated neither by intellectual nor pedagogic considerations, but by political values, principally stemming from differences between myself and the Bard administration on the issue of Zionism. This is only too reminiscent of innumerable instances in this country in which critics of Israel have been made to pay, often with their careers, for speaking out. In this instance the process culminated in a deeply flawed evaluation process which was used to justify my termination from the faculty.
In October, 2002, my article, "Zionism's Bad Conscience," appeared in Tikkun. Three or four weeks later, I was called into President Leon Botstein's office, to be told my Hiss Chair was being taken away. Botstein said that he had nothing to do with the decision, then gratuitously added that it had not been made because of what I had just published about Zionism, and hastened to tell me that his views were diametrically opposed to mine.
In January, 2003, I published a second article in Tikkun, "'Left-Anti- Semitism' and the Special Status of Israel," which argued for a one-state solution to the dilemmas posed by Zionism. A few weeks later, I received a phone call at home from Dean Dominy, who suggested, on behalf of Executive Vice-President Dimitri Papadimitriou, that perhaps it was time for me to retire from Bard. I declined. The result of this was an evaluation of my work and the inception, in 2004, of a half-time contract.
My book, Overcoming Zionism, was published in 2007. It sharply criticized, among others, Martin Peretz for a scurrilous op-ed piece against Rachel Corrie in the Los Angeles Times. Peretz is an official in AIPAC's foreign policy think-tank, and at the time was a Bard Trustee. In August, Overcoming Zionism was attacked by a watchdog Zionist group, StandWithUs/ Michigan, which succeeded in pressuring the book's U.S. distributor, the University of Michigan Press, to remove it from circulation! An extraordinary outpouring of support succeeded in reversing this frank episode of book-burning. I was disturbed, however, by the fact that, with the exception of two non-tenure track faculty, there was no support from Bard in response to this egregious violation of the speech rights of a professor. When I asked President Botstein in an email why this was so, he replied that he felt I was doing quite well at taking care of myself. This was irrelevantto the obligation of a college to protect its faculty from violation of their rights of free expression - all the more so, a college such as Bard with a carefully honed reputation as a bastion of academic freedom, and which defines such freedom in its Faculty Handbook as a "right ... to search for truth and understanding without interference and to disseminate findings without intimidation. "
I still strove to make my future at Bard the subject of reasonable negotiation. However, my efforts in this direction were rudely denied by Dean Dominy's curt and dismissive letter of Feb. 7 (at the urging, according to her, of Vice-President Papadimitriou) , which plainly asserted that there was nothing to talk over and that I was being handed a fait accompli. In view of this I considered myself left with no other option than the release of this document.
On the responsibility of intellectuals
Bard has effectively crafted for itself an image as a bastion of progressive thought. Its efforts were crowned with being anointed in 2005 by the Princeton Review as the second-most progressive college in the United States, the journal adding that Bard "puts the 'liberal' in 'liberal arts.'" But "liberal" thought evidently has its limits; and my work against Zionism has encountered these.
A fundamental principle of mine is that the educator must criticize the injustices of the world, whether or not this involves him or her in conflict with the powers that be. The systematic failure of the academy to do so plays no small role in the perpetuation of injustice and state violence. In no sphere of political action does this principle apply more vigorously than with the question of Zionism; and in no country is this issue more strategically important than in the United States, given the fact that United States support is necessary for Israel's behavior. The worse this behavior, the more strenuous must be the suppression of criticism. I take the view, then, that Israeli human rights abuses are deeply ingrained in a culture of impunity granted chiefly, though not exclusively, in the United States - which culture arises from suppression of debate and open inquiry within those institutions, such as colleges, whose social role it is to enlighten the public.
For further information:
www.codz.org
Joel Kovel, "Overcoming Impunity," The Link, Jan-March 2009 www.ameu.org
To write the Bard administration:
President Leon Botstein:president[at] bard.edu
Executive Vice-President Dimitri Papadimitrioudpapadimitriou[ at]bard.edu
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ISRAELIS ARE BEGINNING TO SEE THE POWER OF BDS
Alternative Information Center (AIC) 3/1/09
In recent years, there has been a gradual growth in the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) movement to put economic pressure on Israel until it recognizes the rights of the occupied Palestinian people and ends the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip has given this movement a powerful reason to redouble its efforts. Dozens of BDS campaigns have gained momentum and publicity; dozens of new ones were launched during or immediately after Israel's attack on the Gaza Strip.
These campaigns range from calls to boycott goods from the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, to calls to stop all economic contacts with Israel altogether. They include protests at sporting events, two countries cutting diplomatic ties with Israel (Bolivia and Venezuela), and many demonstrations around the world, attended by hundreds of thousands of protestors.
Read the full article:
www.alternativenews .org/content/ view/1605/ 381/
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NEWS ABOUT INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING
A county judge in Minnesota has sided with the city of Minneapolis and defendant intervenor FairVote Minnesota in a challenge against Minneapolis implementing instant runoff voting and choice voting for its elections this November. The ruling is a sweeping victory for advocates of IRV and proportional voting in Minneapolis. With a 65% mandate from voters in a 2006 measure, the city will move forward on implementing these systems for November 2009. The ruling comes in the midst of major interest in instant runoff voting in Minnesota in the wake of the controversial U.S. Senate recount. The Washington Post cited it in an editorial on Jan. 13, while several leading Minnesotans have embraced IRV for statewide elections.
North Carolina has decided to conduct a municipal-level instant runoff voting pilot program.
On March 9 the City Council in Aspen, CO finalized its procedures to hold instant runoff voting elections in May.
(see: www.fairvote. org)
Voters in Burlington, VT are basking in the wake of an excellent campaign for mayor with instant runoff voting, in which 99.96% of voters cast valid ballots in a hotly contested, but positive, issue-based campaign among five candidates:
Burlington Progressives Keep Mayoralty in Exciting 5-Candidate IRV Race (report in Ballot Access News 3/5/09)
On March 3, Burlington, Vermont held a mayoral election. The candidates were Progressive Bob Kiss (the incumbent), Republican Kurt Wright, Democratic Andy Montroll, independent Dan Smith, and Green Party nominee James Simpson. Kiss was re-elected. The election had been considered impossible to predict. The independent candidate, Dan Smith, had raised more money than any other candidate. The Democratic candidate, Andy Montroll, was an incumbent member of the city council and had been endorsed by Howard Dean and the city's daily newspaper. The Republican nominee, Kurt Wright, was the incumbent president of the city council.
Burlington uses Instant Runoff Voting. Wright led in the first count but no one had a majority of first place votes. In the second count the Republican also kept the lead. But after the votes cast for the Democratic nominee had been reassigned in a further count, Kiss won by 4,313 to 4,061 to the Republican nominee. Observers felt the election had been an excellent example to show that IRV does what it is supposed to do. In particular, the candidates were very courteous and respectful to each other during the campaign, since each candidate hoped to win second-choice or third-choice votes from various rivals. Also the city was spared the expense of a run-off election several weeks after the original March 3 event.
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MR. CARROLL GOES TO LITTLE ROCK
America's highest ranking Green
Arkansas Times 1/29/09
With his silver hair, sunglasses, and crisp black suit, Richard Carroll certainly looks the part of a state legislator. A resident of the Baring Cross neighborhood near Fort Roots in North Little Rock, Carroll was elected on the Green Party ticket to represent District 39 back in November, winning more than 80 percent of the vote. Currently, he's the highest-ranking Green in the United States.
Though he cleans up well, his button-down work as a legislator is a far cry from what he really does for a living: a dirty, dangerous job as a boilermaker for the Union Pacific Railroad, Thanks to what he calls his very "civic minded" employer, Carroll has been allowed to work the night shift at the Union Pacific yards in North Little Rock part time so he can come to the legislature during the day. From 11 p.m. to around 3 in the morning, he helps rebuild locomotives that have been damaged in derailments and accidents. He catches a few catnaps before and after work, and sleeps a lot on weekends. "I get a couple hours sleep before I go in to the Capitol," he said. "I may stay until 7 o'clock, go home, get a couple more hours sleep, then go to work."
Read the full article at:
www.arktimes. com/articles/ articleviewer. aspx?ArticleID= bf458f35- 158e-4226- 9826-1f2e1ffb209 f
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REMEMBERING RACHEL CORRIE
Submitted by Alvin Meyer of the Bergen Greens
In light of the recent deadly attack on International Solidarity member, and US citizen Tristan Anderson by the Israeli Defense Forces, we remember their first American victim Rachel Corrie. Here is an interview with Rachel just two days before she was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer:
www.commondreams. org/video/ 2009/03/16
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Screening of Palestine/Israel documentary on March 22
NJ Peace Action and First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ are co-sponsoring a program on building peace between Palestinians and Israelis. On Sunday, March 22 they will be showing a documentary film titled "Encounter Point," a true story about everyday people, sometimes risking their lives, in nonviolent struggle to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The heroes and heroines of this documentary are both Palestinian and Israeli people who have personally suffered as a result of seemingly unending violence.
Following the film there will be a panel discussion focusing on what can be done to promote and support this peace process. Panelists will include: Mathematics professor Dr. Siham Alfred, a Catholic, raised in Palestine, a member of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee and President of Somerset Voices for Peace and Justice; Political Science Professor, author and editor, Stephen Shalom, from William Paterson University; Palestinian American Muslim and PhD candidate in Global Affairs, Mae Ramadan, who is the founder and former president of the Palestinian American Organization, Newark; Rabbi Tepperman of B'nai Keshet Reconstructionist Synagogue in Montclair who is committed to teaching, spirituality and social justice.
The 85 minute film will begin at 2 pm followed by discussion. The screening will be in the Guild Room at First Congregational Church, 40 South Fullerton Ave, Montclair. It is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. For more information contact NJPA at 973-259-1126 or email nj_peaceaction[ at]yahoo. com.
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Invitation to submit material for Green Pages newspaper
The deadline is April 30 to submit material for inclusion in the next issue of Green Pages, the national Green Party newspaper. Op-eds (max 800 words), Letters to the Editor (max 200 words), and unsolicited news briefs (max 350 words) should be sent to: greenpages[at] greens.org. Cartoons, illustrations, and charts should be sent to ninth.st[at] verizon.net. State or caucus reports (max 300 words) should be sent to Deidre Helfferich at rodgers777[at] earthlink. net. If you have story ideas that don't fall into the above categories, get in touch with us at greenpages[at] greens.org.
All text should be sent as an attached Word document. Include a byline indicating your Green affiliation (i.e. in what state, if any, you are registered). Photos should be JPGs, 200 dpi or larger, at a physical size (height and width) that they should be printed at. Minimum size is 1.875 inches wide (one column wide--for head shots, for example). Submit larger photos if they include many people or complicated activity. Include who should be credited for the photo, and the photographer' s Green affiliation. Be sure to include a one-sentence caption with the photo to explain the content of the photo to readers.
For complete submission guidelines, the Green Pages editorial policy and a style sheet, visit: www.gp.org/greenpag es/submissions. php. Still have questions? Email: greenpages[at] greens.org
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Some interesting Green-oriented Web sites:
www.TransitionTowns .org
www.TransitionUS. org
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The GreenGram is circulated monthly in an effort to keep all GPNJ members informed about party news, Green-related activities, and upcoming events. Members are encouraged to submit articles and event announcements.
The deadline for the next issue will be April 15. Please submit material for inclusion to: SteveWelzer[ at]msn.com
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Green Party of NJ Bulletin -- www.GPNJ.orgP.O. Box 9802, Trenton, NJ 08650
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