Greenline News – August 2017
2017 Green Party Annual Meeting Report:
The Green National Committee Delegates held their Annual Meeting in Newark, New Jersey last month. About 200 Greens from all around the country participated in workshops, trainings, panels, and conversations about the critical areas, both political and organizational, that the Green Party needs to develop. Read more here.
Watch our GreenStream Video of the Annual Meeting Plenary here. Watch other GreenStream Annual Meeting Videos here.
Interested in having your city host the 2018 Annual National Meeting? Go to http://www.gp.org/call_for_2018_anm_proposals. Deadline for letters of interest is September 6, 2017.
Statement from Darryl! Moch, Black Caucus Co-Chair
This year at the Annual National Meeting (ANM) in Newark, New Jersey, the Green Party of the United States experienced a tremendous boost in energy and in opportunity – and at the same time was faced with challenges of political maturation and inclusion. This ANM's attendance may have been the largest gathering of Greens (old, new, young, people of color, women, activists, political novices, political powerhouses, analysts, thinkers, movers and shakers, grassroots workers, and expert "rabble-rousers and troublemakers") – OUR people!!!! With all this energy and synergy going on you could expect some things to get stirred up. And a lot of good stuff was stirred up, for sure. Read more here.
Regarding violence and bullying or the threat of such in the Green Party
The Black Caucus issues the following statement regarding concerns of bullying, intimidation, and threats of violence within the Green Party. The Black Caucus will put forward a resolution for the purposes of ensuring that the Green Party must be a vanguard of safety, equality, and integrity. Read more here.
Green Party leaders said today that threats of preemptive strikes and military intervention are placing the U.S. in the role of aggressor nation and undermining any chance of maintaining peace and international security. North Korea, Iran, and Venezuela have been the targets of recent belligerent threats from the Trump administration. Greens also strongly opposed sanctions against Russia, North Korea, and Iran and bipartisan efforts to ignite a new Cold War, calling such policies an invitation for World War III. Read more here.
The Green Party of the United States is calling for vigorous prosecution of white supremacist groups responsible for the violence, injuries, and deaths that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday, August 12. Greens said that the violence inflicted on anti-racist counter-protesters, including a car driven into a crowd that killed one person and injured more than two dozen others, was a deliberate act of domestic terrorism. The Green Party strongly condemns the white supremacists and their rally and violent actions and expressed solidarity with all those who participated in the counter-demonstrations.
White supremacist and neo-Nazi organizations thrive on violence and threats of death and mayhem. They support a violent overthrow of the U.S. government and various forms of subjugation, expulsion, and extermination for all people of color, LGBTs, immigrants, Jews, Muslims, and anyone who doesn't conform to their vision of a white gentile male-dominated society based on an extremist "blood and soil" ideology. The violence on the University of Virginia campus was consistent with the openly expressed intention of white supremacist groups to provoke a "race war" and clearly fits the definition of terrorism. Read more here.
The Lavender Caucus of the Green Party of the United States condemns the recent announcement by the Trump administration instituting a comprehensive ban on military service by transgender Americans.
"The Green Party of the United States ... supports the rights of defense personnel and volunteers to serve their country openly without penalty irrespective of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity." (Green Party platform)
This new policy directly violates these rights while making the false claim that the United States would "be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption" of transgender service. Transgender soldiers have served since at least the Civil War and there may be as many as 15,000 today in active duty and reserves. Any medical costs are negligible at best. Politicians and high ranking military commanders from all over the political spectrum dispute this myth of disruptiveness.
"As we overcome continued conflicts and violence, we realize the difficulties inherent in encouraging democracy and of advancing the cause of peace. We face a more complex set of challenges in how our nation defines its national security. Greens support sustainable development and social and economic justice across the globe. Reducing militarism and reliance on arms policies is the key to progress toward collective security." (Green Party platform) Transphobia is not.
Greens from around the country consulting on where to have lunch.
Saturday Plenary session with Cheri Honkala introducing Akeem Browder, Green candidate for NYC Major,
Seth Kaper-Dale Green candidate for NJ Governor and Ajamu Baraka.
Darryl! Moch, on behalf of the Steering Committee, presenting an award to Tamar Yager,
thanking her for her years of service to the Green Party.
The Green Party supports single-payer universal health care and preventive care for all. We believe that health care is a right, not a privilege.
Our current health care system lets tens of thousands of people die each year by excluding them from adequate care, while its exorbitant costs are crippling our economy. The United States is the only industrialized nation in the world without a national health care system.
Under a universal, comprehensive, national single-payer health care system, the administrative waste of private insurance corporations would be redirected to patient care. If the United States were to shift to a system of universal coverage and a single payer plan, as in Canada and many European countries, the savings in administrative costs would be more than enough to offset the cost of additional care. Expenses for businesses currently providing coverage would be reduced, while state and local governments would pay less because they would receive reimbursement for services provided to the previously uninsured, and because public programs would cease to be the "dumping ground" for high-risk patients and those rejected by health maintenance organizations (HMOs) when they become disabled and unemployed. In addition, people would gain the peace of mind in knowing that they have health care they need. No longer would people have to worry about the prospect of financial ruin if they become seriously ill, are laid off their jobs, or are injured in an accident.
Stand with the Green Party and stand with the American people. Please sign our petition!
July 11, 2017: Green Party of Missouri to hold its first convention, August 12-13, 2017. We are holding the first annual state convention as an officially recognized political party with state-wide ballot access! The convention is open to all dues-paying members. If you have not yet become a member, you may do so through our website or through your local chapter.
July 31, 2017: Korean and U.S. Green Parties issue joint statement against U.S. missile program in Korea. U.S. Greens said that maneuvers in the Korean peninsula, recent bombing campaigns in Syria, support for devastating Saudi assaults on Yemen, threats against Iran and Venezuela, and sanctions against Russia are adding up to a new era of U.S. belligerence, bloated military budgets, and a danger of greater regional or global conflict in which the U.S. is the aggressor.
August 1, 2017: Green Party of New York Publishes Open Letter to Schumer and Gillibrand Opposing Israel Anti-Boycott Act - S.72. Dear Senator, As co-chairs of the Green Party of New York, we write today in opposition to S.720, the Anti-Israel Boycott Act. The Green Party is committed to defending the civil right of freedom of speech, including the right to protest. We are also advocates of a foreign policy based on self-determination and human rights for all oppressed peoples. As such, S.720 deliberately assaults the former, and is diametrically opposed to the latter. Thus, we urge you to withdraw your co-sponsorship of S.720 and to oppose the bill in committee and on the floor.
August 8, 2017: Hate Group Not Welcome in Charlottesville - Or In Virginia: Hundreds of haters will gather in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday, and the Green Party of Virginia joins with millions of our citizens in proclaiming that there is no place for them in our commonwealth. They represent what the Southern Poverty Law Center describes as "a broad spectrum of far-right extremist groups – from immigration foes to anti-Semitic bigots, neo-Confederates, Proud Boys, Patriot and militia types, outlaw bikers, swastika-wearing neo-Nazis, white nationalists and Ku Klux Klan members," rallying under the banner "Unite the Right."
August 14, 2017: The Ohio Green Party unequivocally condemns the attack on anti-racist and anti-fascist protesters yesterday in Charlottesville, Virginia and are saddened by the death and injuries. The Green Party is an anti-racist organization continually working to create a just and fair society for all. The Green Party fully supports the fundamental right of counter-protesters to free speech, freedom of assembly and redress of grievances. The Party holds, as its Black Caucus states, that “In recognition of the central role of racism in the creation of our country's governmental, social, and economic systems and the use of race as a means of dividing and destroying progressive movements for fundamental change, we are actively antiracist. We oppose institutional, interpersonal, and cultural racism.”
Green Party of Yavapai County (GPYC) holds first organizational meeting! On Saturday, July 22, 2017, the Green Party of Yavapai County (GPYC) held its Summer 2017 Organizing Meeting at the Prescott Public Library (Founders Suite meeting room) in Prescott, Arizona. Twelve Greens and supporters attended, and the meeting was facilitated by Arizona Green Party (AZGP) state co-chair Angel Torres. Prior to this meeting, there have been numerous unsuccessful attempts during the past several years to organize the Green Party in Yavapai County. After the group introductions and meeting role assignments, attendees agreed to the meeting agenda, and were briefed on the consensus decision-making process.
AZGP state co-chair Angel Torres said "It's been at least 20 years since we have had an organized presence of the Green Party in Yavapai County. When Stephanie, Haryaksha, and Bert attended our January 2017 AZGP state meeting in Phoenix, I knew getting Yavapai County organized had to be a top priority. Relatively speaking, this first meeting was successful, and I'm looking forward to assisting GPYC members build a strong foundation." Currently, there are two organized county chapters of the Green Party in Arizona: Maricopa and Pima. If this meeting was any indication, it looks like Yavapai County Greens have taken their first steps to becoming the third organized county chapter of AZGP!
Rhode Island Greens building Single Payer movement. We are reaching out to you today based on your previous support for the Green Party of Rhode Island and our efforts. If you have not heard already, we are in the midst of a petition drive that is meant to pressure Senators Reed and Whitehouse to put a single-payer Medicare for All bill on the floor of the Senate to parallel the one entered in the House by Rep. John Conyers, HR 676, and co-sponsored already by David Cicilline. And we need your help!
Waterford Green Party Files Petitions for Ballot Access. On Monday, August 7, 2017, Waterford Green Party co-chairs met at Waterford Town Hall with seven petitions to file with the Town Clerk. Due to state regulations around elections, any party outside the Democratic and Republican parties that have not previously run candidates for that office in the previous election are required to petition in order to put their candidates on the ballot. This year, the Greens were required to receive at least 49 signatures from registered voters in town in order to make the ballot. The Waterford Greens were successful in this endeavor, filing over 60 signatures before this week's deadline.Green Party of Utah Statement in support of Resolution on Net Metering. The Green Party of Utah has issued a statement to the Public Service Commission and to the Mayor of Salt Lake City in support of net metering, as a response to a request for a permit by Rocky Mountain Power to increase rates for rooftop solar users. Public comments and letters of support are being accepted through Wednesday, August 9th. A public hearing is being held August 9th to accept public comment as well.
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