Vol. 2, No. 12
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
_________________
GREEN NEWS
CALIFORNIA: According to news reports in the San
Francisco Chronicle and elsewhere, Matt Gonzalez will not seek reelection
as president of the Board of Supervisors of San Francisco, and will return
to private law practice.
DELAWARE: NCC Council Candidate Cannon spoke at the
UnPlug Salem protest, titled 'No TMI on the Delaware' in commemoration of
the 25th anniversary of the Three Mile Island meltdown, and called for
immediate shutdown of Salem nuclear power plants.
More:
jcannon11@comcast.net, ncohen12@comcast.net
UnPlug Salem Campaign: http://www.gpde.org
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: The DC Statehood Green Party
sharply criticized Mayor Anthony Williams for his plan to reduce DC's
Housing Production Trust Fund drastically and permanently beginning in
FY2005, placing the housing of many low-income DC residents in jeopardy
and transferring the money to investors in a 20-year 'securitization'
scheme that will create $150 million in interest debt for the District.
Statehood Greens are helping to lead the effort to recall Mayor Williams.
More: http://www.dcstatehoodgreen.org
IDAHO: The Idaho Green Party is about to release its
benefit CD, Idaho Greentracks: A Party Sampler, containing music by Idaho
musicians including Built to Spill, Upinatem, The Very Most, and even two
of the state coordinators. Listen to samples or buy a pre-release
copy ($10 plus shipping) at http://www.idahogreenparty.org
ILLINOIS: Scott Summers has announced his campaign for
the US Senate, and will run on an anti-war, equal marriage, immigrant
rights, fair trade platform. Summers is an attorney and author of
"Guardianship and Conservatorship: A Handbook for Lawyers" and
"Advance Health Care Directives: A Handbook for Professionals",
both published by the American Bar Association http://www.ababooks.net.
Before he became a lawyer, Summers worked in government (four years with
the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission) and with nonprofits
(including service as a board member of a hospital and a hospice). Married
and the father of two, he has homes in Harvard and Oak Park.
More:
http://www.summersforsenate.com
http://www.ilgreenparty.org
MAINE: The Maine Green Independent Party announced that
it is fielding more legislative candidates than ever before. After a press
release announced this news on March 25, Green State Representative John
Eder led the candidates on a tour of the State House. 23 candidates will
be on the ballot, 21 for House and 2 for State Senate, as a result of
petition signatures filed by the March 15 deadline. This represents the
largest slate of Green candidates yet for Maine and is the largest
proportionally of any state in the country declared so far. Maine is now
the home of the highest-ranking elected Green in the US (Eder, who
represents Portland's West End). Maine Green Independent Party
officials also confirmed that this year's statewide caucuses mark an
all-time high turnout for participation, with the participation of over
175 registered Green Independents in as many as 64 municipal caucuses held
around the state and in each county, a 50% increase from the 41 caucuses
held in 2000.
More:
http://www.mainegreens.org
http://www.sullboat.com/mainegreens/2004_convention.htm
http://www.bangornews.com/editorialnews/article.cfm/ID/419470
NATIONAL: Ralph Nader, in a March 24 letter to the
Steering Committee of the Green Party of the United States, confirmed that
he is "running as an Independent and [is] not seeking nor accepting
the Green Party nomination." Nader wrote, "If you do not choose
a presidential candidate in Milwaukee, I would welcome your endorsement
and have said the same to other third parties as well. Should the national
Green Party decide to endorse my candidacy and have its members focus
their efforts on state and local races, then State Green Party ballot
lines and the participation of Greens in a variety of ways would be
mutually helpful. However, having spent years helping to build the Green
Party, I do not want to be put in a position of responding to individual
state parties and thereby dividing the national party because of state
ballot requirements. So the rest is up to your decision." As an
independent candidate, Nader will help to develop "a true independent
coalition of voters who oppose the direction in which our country is being
taken. There are people in all parties and no party who want to unite to
take a strong stand against the corporatist two-party duopoly that is
taking the United States downward and taking apart our domestic
economy.... No matter what the National Party decides at its convention, I
intend to use the platform of my candidacy to advance many Green values
and issues and will also encourage serious state and local Green Party
candidates across the country." More: http://www.votenader.org
NATIONAL: Essential links for the Green Party's 2004
National Nominating Convention (titled Forward! 2004) in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin from June 23 to 28, 2004, and for Green presidential candidates:
Reminder for all Greens running for public office: make
sure you're in the database at http://www.gp.org/patience.html.
E-mail your information and corrections using the form on the web or by
sending it to juscha@greens.org.
---------------------
UPCOMING EVENTS
SATURDAY, APRIL 3: The Green Party of Rhode Island will
be choosing its delegates to the Green Party National Presidential
Nominating Convention at its biannual state meeting, 10 am at 807 Broad
Street in Providence. The party will designate convention delegates for
Green presidential candidates at the April 3 meeting; some members of the
Rhode Island delegation to the convention will serve as uncommitted
delegates. The party will also introduce its current slate of candidates
for local office.
More: 401-490-7602 http://www.greens.org/ri
APRIL 16-18: Spring Gathering of the Wisconsin Green
Party at the Madison Civic Center, 211 State Street, in Madison. Wisconsin
Greens will choose many of their delegates for the Green Party of the
United States' Presidential Nominating Convention, scheduled for June
23-28 in Milwaukee. Day care will be provided for those needing it at the
Wisconsin Network for Peace & Justice office across the street.
Breakfast will be catered.
More:
http://wisconsingreenparty.org/blogs/WIGPnews/archives/000244.shtml
http://wisconsingreenparty.org/index.shtml
APRIL 16-17: National Conference: Help build a movement
for National Health Insurance; support House Bill 676. Endorsed by the DC
Statehood Green Party (Michele Tingling-Clemmons, Statehood Green
candidate for DC City Council and co-chair of the Green Party's Black
Caucus, is one of the organizers), featuring health care advocates from
all over the US. Greens are especially encouraged to attend. At Howard
University Hospital & Towers Auditorium, 2041 Georgia Avenue NW, near
the Howard/Shaw Metro Stop (Green Line) in Washington, DC. Rep. John
Conyers (D-Mich.), sponsor of HB 676, will be honorary co-host.
More: 202-397-2277, 202-829-9108, mirico5@aol.com
SATURDAY, APRIL 17: Statewide convention of the
Progressive Party of Missouri, the official state affiliate of the Green
Party of the United States. 12-7 pm in the County Commission chambers of
the Boone County Government Center, 801 E. Walnut, in downtown Columbia.
Topics of discussion: selection of candidates for state and national
offices, development of campaign and ballot access strategy for the 2004
election cycle, and selection of state party officers. The membership will
also select Missouri's state delegates to the national Green convention in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 23-28.
More: http://www.ppmo.org
APRIL 17-18: The Maine Independent Green Party 2004
Convention in Lewiston, with a special dinner on April 17 celebrating the
party's fifth anniversary and the 20th anniversary of the Maine Greens.
Party members will also choose 19 delegates to attend the national Green
convention in Milwaukee, June 23-28, make changes to the party's platform
and bylaws, and approve the 2004-05 budget. Registration: suggested $10,
with a sliding scale of $0-15 based on ability to pay. More: http://www.mainegreens.org
APRIL 21-25: Protest against global economic
injustice driven by the policies and programs of the international
financial institutions, Washington, DC, during the semi-annual meetings of
the IMF and World Bank. More: http://www.50years.org
and info@50years.org
SATURDAY, APRIL 24: Organizers have put out a worldwide
call for action for Mumia Abu Jamal on April 24, the anniversary of
President Clinton's signing of the notorious Effective Death Penalty Act
which has eliminated Habeas Corpus for death row inmates and made it
nearly impossible for innocent people on death row to prove their
innocence. (It's also Mumia's 50th birthday.)
More:
http://www.mumia.org 215-476-8812
http://www.freemumia.com
SUNDAY, APRIL 25: The March for Women's Lives, focusing
on abortion rights, access to health care and family planning aid, and
safety. Assemble at 10 am on the national mall between the
Smithsonian museums, between 3rd and 14th Streets NW. The march begins at
noon, followed by a rally 1-4 pm on the Mall. Special seating will be
available for people with disabilities; the rally program will be
interpreted in ASL. The route is wheelchair accessible and
transportation will be provided for those who cannot negotiate the route.
The Virginia and Louisiana Green Parties are among the sponsors. If
anyone wants to march with Virginia Greens, contact Susan Dridi at <sdridi@greens.org>
or call 703-560-7546.
More: http://www.marchforwomen.org/
MAY 21-23: The Georgia Green Party's Coordinating
Council reset the date for the Party's Annual Nominating Convention.
Previously scheduled for mid-April, the executive committee reset the
Convention for the weekend of May 21-23. The weekend long event will still
take place at the Little Ocmulgee State Park, two miles North of McRae
Georgia on US 441, in North Telfair County. The convention is empowered to
amend the state Party Platform, consider proposed by-laws amendments
submitted by the Council, elect the Party's internal state leadership,
endorse candidates for non-partisan races and nominate candidates in
partisan elections. The convention will nominate 15 candidates for
Presidential Elector and both name and instruct 12 delegates to the Green
Party's 2004 national convention in Milwaukee, June 23-28.
More: http://www.greens.org/georgia/
-----------------
GREEN ACTION
CALL CONGRESS
Call, fax, write a letter, or pay a visit
Contact information: Congressional switchboard: (202) 224-3121
-- US House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/
-- US Senate: http://www.senate.gov
Write a letter to the editor, a guest op-ed column, essay, or article
---------------------
GOOD READS
Recommended articles, books, web sites:
Madame President: The Unauthorized Biography of the
First Green Party President. Book by Mark A. Dunlea, former chair of
the Green Party of New York State (Big Toad Books, 2004, 448 pages).
Mark describes it as an "introduction to Green politics. Imagine if a
Green had been President on 9/11. A Green vision of how another world is
possible." "A fast-paced mixture of politics, sex and the
counterculture. A must read for anyone interested in third-party politics.
If you liked Stupid White Men, you'll love MADAME PRESIDENT." --
(Grandpa) Al Lewis. "This book provides hope to those who want to
build a world based on peace and justice." -- Medea Benjamin,
cofounder of Code Pink and Global Exchange. The book can be purchased for
$20.99: with sales tax and shipping for NY residents, $26; $25 for non-NY
residents. Purchase one for your local library or summer vacation. Make
checks payable to Big Toad Books, send it to 156 Big Toad Way, Poestenkill
NY 12140. More: http://nys.greens.org/rachel
Green Horizon Quarterly issue #3 is now available. Lead
article: "Matt Gonzalez Shows the Way to Future Green Victories"
by Ross Mirkarimi. Special section on "The Human Story Retold:
Locating humanity as par of nature", with articles by Steve
Welzer, Laura Burkle, Edmund P. Fowler, Konrad Walszczyk, Gary Lawless.
Other articles by Dean Myerson, Sam Smith, Steve Shafarman, Sean Sellers,
Ellen La Conte, and Hersch Sternlieb. Subscribe (1 year for $20; 2 years
$35; 3 years $45) or order your copy: Green Horizon Foundation, PO Box
476, Topsham, ME 04086.
"Youth as E-Citizens: Engaging the Digital
Generation." Research report by Kathryn Montgomery, Gary Larson,
and Barb Gottlieb. The study, the first to 'map' and analyze websites that
promote youth civic engagement, brings to light an online youth civic
culture, largely unnoticed by the general public, that has taken hold on
the Internet and is fostering Generation Y's participation in US politics
and community affairs. Published by the Center for Social Media, School of
Communication, American University. Full report (155 pp):
http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/ecitizens/youthreport.pdf
Executive summary:
http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/ecitizens/execsumm.pdf
'Online tour' website:
http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/ecitizens/index.htm
----------------------------------------
GREENSWEEK is edited and issued by the Media Committee
(co-chairs: Nancy Allen, Scott McLarty) of the Green Party of the United
States.
Please forward Greensweek widely to friends, Green
Parties, organizations, lists: We're aiming for a circulation of ONE
HUNDRED THOUSAND by January 2004, ONE MILLION by the June 2004 national
Green Convention in Milwaukee.
SUBSCRIBE to Greensweek by sending your e-mail address
to greensweek@gpus.org. You can
also read Greensweek at http://www.gp.org/greensweek/index.html.
CONTRIBUTE! Every dollar you donate to the Green Party
counts! Please make a contribution today: http://www.gp.org/donate.html
BE AN E-MAIL BUDDY: Not everyone is on line, but you
can keep offline friends, family, and neighbors stay in touch by printing
out Greensweek and other important national, state, and local Green
messages for them.
IF YOU HAVE AN announcement or some Green news that
might be of national interest, an action alert, or an article
recommendation for Greensweek, send it to greensweek@gpus.org.
Please make it brief: 3 or 4 sentences at most, a web page, contact
information.
The Green Party of the United States www.GP.org
National office: 1700 Connecticut Avenue NW Suite 404 Washington, DC
20009.
202-319-7191, 202-319-7192, 866-41GREEN Fax 202-319-7193
State and local Green Party websites: http://www.gp.org/states.html
Green elections and candidates http://www.gp.org/patience.html
Green Party Platform http://www.gp.org/platform.html
Greens in the media http://web.greens.org/news
Green Party News Circulator http://www.gp.org/circ/circulator.html
Green ballot status & voter registration http://web.greens.org/stats
The Real Difference http://www.therealdifference.org/
Who REALLY spoiled in 2000? http://www.gp.org/organize/spoiled.html
Greens World Wide http://www.greens.org
Campus Greens http://www.campusgreens.org
Global Greens http://www.globalgreens.info
TOP |
