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Party of Ohio Main Page
Newsletter Archive Index
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Newsletter of the Green Party of Ohio
Vol. II, No. 5 -- February 16, 2002
(This newsletter distributed to 2,839)
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FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE
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1) GREENS CALL TO
DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION
2) DO THE MATH: A TIMELY POSTER FOR GREENS
3) HOUGHTON RUNS FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL IN DELAWARE
4) PENNSYLVANIA
GREEN SET TO CHALLENGE DEMS
5) SINGLE-PAYER HEALTH CARE PRESENTATION
ON 2/27
6) HONG KONG PLANS DIGITAL ID CARD
7) ENRON PURSUED
CLOSE TIES TO GORE CAMPAIGN
8) SMITH CONDEMNS VIOLENCE OF U.S. FOREIGN
POLICY
9) CORRUPTION ONLINE RESEARCH INFORMATION SYSTEM
10) NADER
AT XAVIER IN CINCINNATI ON MAR. 10 & 11
11) MINUTES OF GPO STATE MEETING
OF JANUARY 26
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1) GREENS CALL TO DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION
***************************************************
The Green Party of the United States has issued a
statement criticizing the
Bush Administration's
suppression of dissent and violation of constitutional
rights and freedoms. The statement was passed unani-
mously by the party's
Coordinating Committee, on which
Green Parties from 33 states and the District
of
Columbia are represented.
To
read the entire news release, see:
http://www.greenpartyus.org/press/pr_02_15_02.html
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2) DO THE MATH: A TIMELY POSTER FOR GREENS
***************************************************
Matt Dominianni, a registered member of the Green
Party in NYC and a professional
designer, has recently
made a poster which makes a very timely point for the
Green Party. It is Matt's hope to get this poster out
on the streets around
the country while the "Enron"
issue is still on people's minds.
The page is meant
to be cut in half to make two posters, flyers, or
stickers.
Download
Matt's poster at:
http://www.ohiogreens.org/pdf/dothemath.pdf
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3) HOUGHTON RUNS FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL IN DELAWARE
***************************************************
Vivian A. Houghton has left the Democratic Party in
Delaware to file for attorney
general with the Green
Party. She will be facing Republican M. Jane Brady,
a two-term incumbent, and Democrat Carl Schnee,
Wilmington managing partner
for Duane Morris &
Heckscher and former U.S. Attorney. Samuel L. Guy,
a
Democratic lawyer who lost his Wilmington council
seat in 2000, has
also said he is considering a bid
that potentially creates a primary with
Schnee.
Houghton
is entering what is expected to be the live-
liest statewide contest of the
year. Schnee is regarded
as the likeliest challenger to engineer an upset.
The
campaign is expected to be so intense that each major-
party candidate
could spend $500,000 or more.
The
Green Party has 564 voters among the total state-
wide registration of 513,752
voters as of 12/31/01.
In the 2000 election, Green Party presidential candi-
date Ralph Nader polled 2.5 percent of the vote.
Houghton
said she is running to root out racism in
the criminal justice system. She
opposes mandatory
sentences and the death penalty. She wants more
attention
paid to civil litigation of businesses
that pollute and neglect safety in
the workplace.
Houghton
has a family law and bankruptcy practice
at Houghton, Holly & Gray.
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4) PENNSYLVANIA GREEN SET TO CHALLENGE DEMS
***************************************************
From the Centre Daily Times (State College, PA)
-- February 12, 2002 Tuesday
"With
little to lose and a lot to gain, the Green
Party's nominee for governor said
his candidacy this
year will pressure the Democrats into populist posi-
tions and reinvigorate party politics.
"Consumer
activist Michael Morrill, a Democrat himself
until last summer, began a two-day
visit to State
College and Penn State on Monday and said the fledgling
Green Party will turn low expectations into a November
surprise.
"'We're
going to change a lot of things this year and
over the course of the next
decade to the point where
I believe the Democrats are either going to wither
away and die or they're going to become the Greens,'
the 46-year-old Morrill
said. 'If they don't adopt real
populist positions, then they're going to
be the Whigs
of the 21st century.' The Green Party nominated Morrill
for
governor on Jan. 13. The Republican Party has
endorsed Attorney General Mike
Fisher, and Fisher appears
unchallenged for the nomination in the May 21 primary
election. Two Democrats -- former Philadelphia Mayor Ed
Rendell and state
Auditor General Bob Casey Jr. -- are
vying for the Democratic nomination.
"Pennsylvania
election law puts minor parties at a big
disadvantage, and Morrill refused
to say what percentage
of the general election vote the Green Party has set
as
a goal. But he called predictions below 5 percent off-
base and even
entertained the idea of victory.
"'If
a lot of things go wrong for Pennsylvania, then
we could end up winning,'
Morrill said in an interview
with the Centre Daily Times. 'If Bob Casey gets
the
Democratic nomination, then we think we have a real
chance to take
all the progressive Democrats.'
"Morrill,
who met with a few Campus Greens at Penn State
and was to address senior citizens
Monday night, said the
state should throw out its tax system and start again,
should introduce incentives to build small businesses,
and should collaborate
with other states to forge a
workable system of universal health care.
"He
said the state's tax system is so convoluted that
the whole thing should be
tossed and recreated so that
school systems are funded not so much by property
taxes,
but by a state-levied income tax that is graduated rather
than
flat.
"'What
we're saying is the whole (tax) system is a mess,'
Morrill said.
"Saying
taxpayers shelled out $450 million to a Norwegian
shipbuilder to create 1,000
jobs in Philadelphia, he said
there was no guarantee that the jobs would last.
The money
would have been better spent as $150,000 grants to 3,000
local
people to start or expand community-based companies,
he said.
"'Using
the resources that we already have in that region
... why not help those workers
create small businesses?'
Morrill said.
"He
said high health care costs force small businesses in
Pennsylvania and surrounding
states to compete for employees
by paying increasing fees to HMOs, now about
$1,000 a month.
If states would get together to solve the health care problem
collectively, he said, costs would go down, doctors would
benefit from a sure
source of income and people would benefit
from a guaranteed right to health
care.
"'Universal
health care would solve a lot of our problems,
including business retention
and attracting people to come
to Pennsylvania,' Morrill said.
"Morrill
said one of his missions in the State College
area Monday and today is to
try to recruit Green Party
candidates for the U.S. House race and the state
House
and Senate races.
"He
said he expects the Green Party to field candidates
in eight of the state's
19 congressional districts, and
in 50 of the 247 U.S. House and state House
and state
Senate races.
"'This
area will definitely be represented with a can-
didate at some level at least,'
he said.
"About
150 people are registered as Greens in Centre
County, and about 4,000 across
the state."
***************************************************
5) SINGLE-PAYER HEALTH CARE PRESENTATION ON 2/27
***************************************************
Dr. Jonathon Ross, MD, MPH, the immediate past presi-
dent of Physicians for
a National Health Program and
one of the country's most knowledgeable advocates
of
the need for fundamental reform of our health care
system, will address
a public meeting Wed., Feb. 27,
at 7 PM at the Sheet Metal Workers Hall, 3666
Carnegie
Ave., Cleveland. His subject will be, "Single-Payer:
Cure
For Health Care Market Failure."
The
remarks by Dr. Ross, a Toledo physician, will be
followed by comments from
a panel consisting of Warren
Davis, Director, Region 2 UAW; Betty Boyce, retired
LTV
steelworker and member of Steelworkers Local 188; Wendy
Johnson, MD,
family practice physician, local health
care activist, and member of the Board
of Doctors for
Global Health; Rachel DeGolia, Operations Director,
UHCAN
and member of UHCAN Ohio (which has endorsed
the February 27 meeting); Cheehyung
Kim, graduate
student in anthropology, Case Western Reserve Univer-
sity;
and Thomas Pretlow, MD, Case Western Reserve
University School of Medicine.
Audience participation
will follow the presentations. The meeting is open
to
the public. Parking is available immediately adjacent
to the meeting
site and there is no charge for admission.
This
event is sponsored by the Single-Payer Action
Network Ohio (SPAN Ohio), c/o
GCIU Local 546M,
3227 W. 25 St., Cleveland, Ohio 44109,
phone 216-736-4744,
email jandb99@aol.com.
Visit
Physicians for a National Health Program at:
http://www.pnhp.org
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6) HONG KONG PLANS DIGITAL ID CARD
***************************************************
Starting next year, Hong Kong plans to introduce an
identity card with a computer
chip that will contain
a digital replica of the cardholder's thumbprint.
To
read the entire NY Times article, see:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/18/technology/18KONG.html?todaysheadlines
***************************************************
7) ENRON PURSUED CLOSE TIES TO GORE CAMPAIGN
***************************************************
Enron quietly drew up a plan to cultivate close
political ties to Vice President
Al Gore during the
2000 presidential race, according to Enron and Gore
campaign officials.
To
read the entire NY Times article, see:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/18/business/18GORE.html?todaysheadlines
***************************************************
8) SMITH CONDEMNS VIOLENCE OF U.S. FOREIGN POLICY
***************************************************
From The Brown Daily Herald Friday, Feb. 8, 2002
"When
called a radical, Sam Smith responded that his
ideas were 'those of a moderate
of a time that has
not yet come.'
"Smith,
editor of the Progressive Review, is one of
the founders of the D.C. Statehood
Party and a faci-
litator and supporter of the Green Party.
"In
his speech, 'Progressive Politics in Bush’s America,'
Smith discussed
the societal problems of today and
how he thinks the Green Party should respond
to them.
"Smith
described the present 'incredibly dismal times'
as an era in which 'citizens
are further and further
away from politics,' noting that less than half of
Americans vote.
"Smith
contrasted this situation to the era of the
political machine, the late 19th
century, which he
said is often condemned by progressive historians.
"Machines,
despite corruption, gave power to the
dispossessed, Smith said.
"Smith
compared modern politics to a form of 'high-
functioning autism' with 'endless
words and data
chronically distanced from meaning and morality,'
when
the same answer is applied to a multitude of
questions and solutions continue
after they are no
longer necessary.
"Smith
condemned America’s reliance on the 'Viagra
of violence' of its foreign
policy and its bombing
of Afghanistan after enemies fled.
"Smith
said he saw problems in the way the media
communicates information, especially
since Sept. 11.
"But,
Smith has noticed 'a kind of restlessness' and
a growing number of people
who understand why activism
is needed since the tragedy, he said.
"Smith
reminded potential activists that 'we did not
get to choose our time in history,'
saying that the
Green Party could not control its circumstances, but
only
its reaction to them.
"'Survival
is a positive act,' said Smith, urging
Greens to be true optimists.
"Smith
said the Green Party should no longer represent
a specific platform, but rather
'hope and decency.'
"He
advocated the use of community-based organizations
and the creation of a distinct
political culture, using
as models the 'beatniks' and the family unit.
"Common
goals shared by diverse people will expand power
since nothing scares the
establishment more than seeing
people cooperate who they think should not,
Smith said.
"Brown
in particular has an 'obsession with issues of
diversity,' Smith said, and
blamed the lack of integra-
tion on the competitive atmosphere of college
life.
"'Politics
is about sharing power, but students don’t
have any power to share,'
Smith said, urging students
to work out diversity issues, but recognize the
diffi-
culty of the task.
"To
address problems of the media, Smith said activists
should 'reorder and reprioritize'
information to change
how it is received.
"Smith
warned the audience not to think of the problem
as institutional, claiming
that our government reflects us.
"'We
get the President we deserve,' he said, so the cure
'must be within us.'
"To
overcome the current crisis, Smith said Greens must
accept the absurdity of
present times, but not treat it
as a dead end.
"Greens
must stage an 'uprising of the soul' and 'rebel
not as a last act of desperation
but as a first act of
creation.'
"Green
Party activist Cesar Garcia ’02 said Smith’s
comments on diversity
within the Green Party were
particularly pertinent to Brown.
"Garcia
said diversity is a problem of all groups and
praised the Green Party’s
ability to admit their problem."
***************************************************
9) CORRUPTION ONLINE RESEARCH INFORMATION SYSTEM
***************************************************
Transparency International recently announced the
launching of CORIS (Corruption
Online Research
Information System), an Internet-based resource on
corruption
worldwide. The system includes a searchable
database with thousands of bibliographic
references
and selected full-text documents.
Visit
http://www.transparency.org/coris/
to access the
database or for further information.
***************************************************
10) NADER AT XAVIER IN CINCINNATI ON MAR. 10 & 11
***************************************************
Ralph Nader's will be at Xavier University in
Cincinnati, Ohio on Sunday,
March 10, 2002.
This
is part of their Ethics – Environmental Justice
Series. The speaker is
scheduled to start at 7:30 PM.
The
location of the program is the arena in the Cintas
Center at Xavier University.
There is room for up to
10,000 folks to attend and no charge for tickets,
but
the reason they are asking for reservations is to help
them figure
out how to set up the facility. First con-
tact your friends to see who wants
to go, then email
in a reservation for yourself &/or your group to
Nader2002@xu.edu.
Nader will also be on the panel at a Town Hall meeting
on "Globalization and the Environment" on Monday night
March 11,
2002 from 7:00-9:00 PM. This is a ticketed
event, less than 800 tickets are
available. Tickets can
be obtained from Ticketmaster. (Tickets are $10 each
plus the service charge.) This expert-led dialogue on
the Issues and Impact
of International Trade will be
held at the Schiff Family Conference Center
at Xavier's
Cintas Center.
If
you want to know more about the Cintas Center, check
the following website:
http://cintas.xu.edu/about.htm.
If you need directions to the Cintas Center, check this
website: http://cintas.xu.edu/map_directions.htm.
You can get a map and directions to Cintas East
parking at this website:
http://cintas.xu.edu/images/cintas_directions.pdf.
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11) MINUTES OF GPO STATE MEETING OF JANUARY 26
***************************************************
Minutes of the Jan. 26th meeting of the Green Party
of Ohio Coordinating Committee
are available at:
http://www.ohiogreens.org/aboutus/minutes/200201.html.
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The views expressed in this newsletter are those
of the author or organization
noted and do not
necessarily reflect the opinions of the Green Party
of
Ohio.
***************************************************
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***************************************************
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Copyright
© 2002, Green Party of Ohio.
All rights reserved.
Paid for by the
Green Party of Ohio PAC (OH1066)
Gina Ficociello, Treasurer
1427 Northstar
Rd., Columbus OH 43212
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***************************************************
Green Party of Ohio
PO Box 851, Kent OH 44240
Email: secretary@ohiogreens.org
Web: http://www.ohiogreens.org