The Trump administration claims China and Russia are exploiting Africa, but US policy offers nothing but more guns, more bases and more subversion. “Economic relations with China provides African states a modicum of spaceto exercise more effective national sovereignty than had ever been afforded them by the European colonial powers.” Continue reading

Climate activists are urging Governor Cuomo to declare an emergency climate mobilization in New York in response to the recent report by the United Nations that we have only 12 years left to avoid catastrophic climate change. Cuomo is expected to preview his 2019 legislative agenda, including on climate, in a speech on Monday. Continue reading

This week progressives nationwide are talking about a Green New Deal and, while mainstream media is saying that insurgent Democrats came up with this, we beg to differ! We applaud the efforts of Democrats for finally adopting what the Global Greens began to work on in 2006 while noting that the delay of 12 years is very significant when it comes to climate change. Continue reading

You may have thought 2016 was bad. It wasn't just that the country elected Donald Trump to the Oval Office, though that was pretty bad to be sure. Rather, it was that American liberalism — always a treacherous force — took a sharp turn to the right, due to a confluence of two factors. First, when the "out of touch" campaign of Hillary Clinton went down in flames, the ace mathematicians of the Democratic Party figured out that in several key states, the Green Party slate of Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka had scored enough votes to either have cost Hillary the election, or enough votes to be within a hoot and a holler of costing Hillary those states. The Green Party may be small, but it is no longer a joking matter. Continue reading

Jill Stein, and the citizen Plaintiffs from Pennsylvania, announce a Settlement Agreement regarding the 2016 recount lawsuit. The Agreement requires a phasing out of the mostly paperless voting equipment used used in the state in favor of machinery the includes a paper ballot for all voters. The upgraded machines must be in place by 2020, but, by 2022, Pennsylvania must also perform audits in all counties, in order to verify the validity of election results, and the effectiveness of the voting machines used. The audits will compare paper ballots with machine totals to give citizens confidence in the accuracy of elections. The Federal Court has retained jurisdiction in the matter to assure Pennsylvania complies with the terms of the settlement. Additionally, Jill and the other co-Plaintiffs will be allowed to appoint observers to confirm the Commonwealth is upholding its responsibilities in the Settlement. Continue reading

You may not know this from mainstream media coverage, but the Green Party is overwhelmingly popular among us Millennials. 71% of Millennials think we need a third party, and not just any third party will do. We want a party that fights for universal healthcare coverage, marijuana legalization, strong action on climate change, and more equitable economic outcomes. We believe the government should provide more services and want the country to be more welcoming to immigrants. Republicans reject all of these priorities, and Libertarians most of them. Democrats, at best, merely talk about implementing them while catering to the same business interests as the other two. The Green Party is the only national party that fights for all of these issues, all of the time. And we do so without a penny in corporate money. We are a Green generation! Continue reading

When you absolutely, positively need to steal an election, nothing beats the simple elegance of modern, computerized faith based voting machines. You can gerrymander districts, you can conduct malicious purges on spurious grounds like people convicted of felonies in other states having similar names. You can close polling places in neighborhoods unlikely to vote for you. You can even intimidate voters at the polling place, but all these things either leave paper trails or can generate unwanted publicity. Continue reading

The tabling at this year's SOAW Border Incuentro was at best "o.k." I was able to hand out some literature and talk to people about our work and platform. However the tabling on the Mexico side (where we were) was tucked into a corner under an outdoor roof of the school and I the people that visited tables honestly were there by default since that is where the bathrooms were! So note for future: I'm not sure tabling is the best use of resources at this event, at least in my experience. Continue reading

By now, many of you will know that ranked choice voting (RCV) was used significantly and successfully in Maine's 2nd Congressional District election. Republican incumbent Bruce Poliquin and Democrat challenger Jared Golden were virtually tied on election night at 46%, with a slight lead for Poliquin. But there were two other independent candidates in the race who combined for the remaining 8%. Poliquin and his allies in the Republican party have vigorously attacked RCV itself all along, and their rhetoric and behavior have only increased in recent weeks, fearing the outcome. Sure enough, most of the 2nd round votes went to Golden, who was declared the winner roughly 50.5% to 49.5%. Poliquin is challenging the law itself in court, but from my perspective, it will not progress, since RCV for his race IS state law, and states set their own laws for elections. Continue reading

The United Nations last month announced that we have 12 years left for an emergency worldwide mobilization - unprecedented in human history - to halt the use of fossil fuels and eliminate greenhouse gas emissions. Failure to take such dramatic action increases the likelihood that human civilization as we presently know it will cease to exist. Floods, sea level rise, wildfires, heat waves and droughts will make parts of the planet uninhabitable. Climate refugees will likely be in the hundreds of millions. Support systems involving energy, food and water will break down, leading to wars over such resources. Hundreds of millions, if not billions, could die. Continue reading