--------------------------------------------------
Newsletter of the Green Party of Ohio
Mar. 26, 2005
--------------------------------------------------
The Green Party of Ohio Newsletter is emailed on an irregular basis to
our 2,603 Subscribers (circulation figures as of 3/05).
Contents
1. State Party News – A. Cincinnati Green Party Candidate for City
Council, B. Toledo Green Party Candidate for City Council, C. SPAN Update,
D. State Budget Protest Planned, E. Haiti Task Force, F. Iraqi War Crimes
Tribunal, G. Organizing Notices (Volunteer Needs, Donation Details, Locals’
Meeting Schedule)
2. National Party News
3. Opinion: Action Action Action – Editorial
1. State Green Party News
A. Green Party Candidate for Cincinnati City Council
The Southwest Ohio Green Party has endorsed Andrew Warner in his effort
to win a seat on Cincinnati’s City Council Contact his campaign
at:
322A Mulberry Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202
E-Mail: awarner2@cinci.rr.com
Phone: 614-284-8552
B. Balonek for Toledo City Councl
The Green Party of Ohio has endorsed Mitch Balonek’s campaign for
Toledo City Council:
To support his effort, make checks payable to:
"Balonek for City Council"
PO BOX 2841
Toledo, OH 43606
For more: go to www.nwohiogreens.org
C. Single-Payer Action Network Ohio (SPAN Ohio)
Second Annual Meeting
10:00 a.m. First Unitarian Universalist Church
Saturday, April 2, 2005 Columbus, Ohio
Program and Agenda
10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
CALL TO ORDER: Barbara Walden, Member, SPAN Ohio Executive Committee
WELCOMING REMARKS: Reverend Wendy Fish, Associate Minister of the First
Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus
KEYNOTE: Johnathon Ross, M.D., PhD, Associate Chairman of Internal Medicine,
Outpatient Internal Medicine Clinic Medical Director, St. Vincent Mercy
Medical Center, Toledo, Ohio; Past President, Physicians for a National
Health Program (PNHP)
WELCOME FROM THE OHIO AFL-CIO: Petee Talley, Secretary-Treasurer, Ohio
AFL-CIO
KEYNOTE: Noel Beasley, International Vice President and Manager of the
Chicago & Midwest Regional Joint Board of the UNITE HERE Union
REPORT OF SPAN OHIO ACTIVITIES AND PLANS FOR THE FUTURE: Alice Faryna,
M.D., Member, SPAN Ohio State Council
11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Questions and Comments from the Floor (Please observe the 2-minute time
limit per speaker.)
Don McClure, Staff, America’s Agenda: Health Care for All and
Michael Skindell, Ohio State Representative, will also speak briefly
from the floor.
12:30 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Regional Caucuses to Elect Regional Coordinators
D. April 12th State Budget Rally in Columbus
The April 12th rally at the Ohio statehouse is soon approaching! Thousands
of concerned Ohio residents and advocates are coming together to make
it clear to our legislators that the proposed cuts to health, human services,
education, local government and many other programs are unacceptable!
Buses will be available at no cost from all areas of the state for the
rally. Bus coordinators from the different regions are taking bus reservations.
So far, the local contact information for bus reservations and rally are
as follows:
Akron area: Tom Alio – (330) 535-2787, tallio@aol.com
Canton area: Rick Walker – (330) 744-8451 ext. 357,
rwalker@youngstowndiocese.org
Cincinnati area: Cindy Harper - 513-762-7255.
Cleveland and Medina areas: Organize! Ohio office – (216) 431-6070,
lbresler@organizeohio.org
Columbus area: Cathy Levine – (614) 253-4340 clevine@uhcanohio.org
Dayton area: Teresa Pfaff-Amesse – (937) 395-0937, ruby@megapathdsl.net
Northwest Ohio: Karen Krause – (419) 475-8380, KKrause@accesstoledo.com
Southeast Ohio: Roger McCauley – (740) 594-8499, Rmccauley@coadinc.org
Youngstown area: UHCAN Ohio – (800) 634-4442 ext 19
For more information, please call the Organize! Ohio office at (216)
431-6070.
E. Solidarity with Haiti Action Days! April 16- April 30 *
Violence and unrest continues to ravage Haiti. The already desperate
poverty of the people is deepening. Environmental destruction of their
ecosystem brought on by de-forestation continues unabated. In response
the Green Party Task Force on Haiti is calling on Green Party members,
supporters and our friends in the peace movement to organize activities
in your communities during Solidarity with Haiti Action Days! April 16-
April 30. Activities could include:
1. Educational Panel Discussions / Teach Ins on Haiti.
There should be a number of people in your local community who have either
been to Haiti or are interested enough and self educated to be on a panel.
2. Organize picket lines / vigils along a major thoroughfare in your town.
3. Hold a news conference of community leaders to speak out on Haiti.
We ask that you make a commitment to do one or more of these actions or
another ideas you may have to aid the people of Haiti. The Task Force
soon
hopes to have a list of organizations working in Haiti that we will
recommend for people to support.
The Green Party Task Force on Haiti
Paula Bronstein, PA
Dana St. George, CA
Diane Cardin-Kamleiter, FL
Karen Reed, OH
Logan Martinez, OH
Gerthy Lahens, MA
Michele Tingling-Clemmons, Co-Chair of the GPUS Black Rick Caucus, D.C.
Sundiata Tellem Co-Chair of the GPUS Black Caucus, TX
Rebecca Rotzler Co-Chair of the Peace Action Committee (PAX) GPUS New
Paltz, NY
For more information contact Logan Martinez greensofwcohio@hotmail.com
937-275-7259
F. THE GREEN PARTY OF OHIO CALLS FOR IRAQ WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL
The Green Party of Ohio through it's State Coordinating Committee endorsed
a call for investigation of George Bush and the war he has conducted in
Iraq.
Resolved: That the United Nations should establish a special tribunal
to investigate all alleged human rights violations, war crimes and illegal
acts committed by all armed forces, groups and factions during the invasion
and occupation of Iraq from March 19, 2003 to the present time that was
initiated and carried out principally by the United States government
under the leadership of its president George W. Bush.
Paul Dumouchelle, Secretary of the Ohio Green Party said, ”We are
doing this in preparation for the widespread 3/19 protests planned during
the second anniversary of the Iraq invasion and this is a follow-on to
a similar proposal that was passed at our State Conventions in January
of 2004.”
This is consistent with the Ohio Green Party’s denouncing the Bush
Administration policy of expanded war and violence against Iraq at The
Green Party of Ohio’s, first State Convention of the Party, Columbus,
8/24/02.
Non-violence is one of the ten key values of the Green Party of the United
States. To sustain non-violence in the face of terrorist acts, justice
must be ensured by following and enforcing international law. By contrast,
abandoning international law in favor of war leads to more violence and
terrorism. Terrorism is best prevented by policies, which further social
and economic justice, disarmament, human rights, and humanitarian aid.
Non-violent international relations are best achieved andsustained by
a consistent commitment to the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and international law. We emphasize this excerpt from the Green Party
National Platform : "Support of democracy, human rights and respect
for international law should be the cornerstone of American foreign policy."
G. Donations - Volunteer Needs – Locals’ Meetings
1) Donations to support our efforts and candidates can be made via Paypal
at www.ohiogreens.org or mailed to:
The Green Party of Ohio Political Action Fund
PO Box 754
New Albany, OH 43054
Include your name and address.
2) Regularly Scheduled Locals’ Meetings
Central Ohio Green Party (Columbus & Vicinity): First Tuesday of
every month, 7 PM at the meeting room of the Northside Branch of the Columbus
Public Library. 1423 N. High Street, Columbus, OH 43201 Library Phone:
614-645-2110
East Central Ohio Green Party: Last Thursday of every month, 6:30 PM,
Room 145 of the County Services Building on South 7th Street, Coshocton.
See www.3rivergreens.org
Northeast Ohio - Right now, there are not regularly-scheduled meetings
up
here in NOrtheast Ohio, but we will be meeting some time soon. For information,
contact David Berenson, dbberenson@yahoo.com
Summit Greens meet the First Tuesday of each month @ 7:00 PM (locations
TBA). Right now, it is through meetup.com, where it is known as the Akron
Green Party Meetup Group. For more details - green.meetup.com/31/
Southwest Ohio Green Party (Cincinnati & Vicinity): Second Tuesday
of every month, 7:30 PM (6:30 for dinner), 1417 Bercliff (in Northside).
www.swohgp.org for details.
West Virginia Green Party - I would like to invite anyone from the GPO
who lives near Wheeling to join us at the River City Ale Works at 1400
Main Street in Wheeling at 7:00 PM for our Bi-Monthly meeting. Any advice,
comments,
or help that anyone from another state Green Party has to offer us would
be greatly appreciated. Chad Edwards, GPWV State Coordinator, Pleasants
County, West Virginia 304-684-2452
2. National Green Party News
Selected items form “Greensweek”
OHIO/NATIONAL Blair Bobier, media director for the 2004 Cobb/LaMarche
campaign, which initiated the Ohio recount, blasted the suggestion by
Ohio's Republican Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell that he would
need to take depositions from John Kerry and John Edwards as part of the
Ohio recount litigation. Blackwell has refused to be deposed himself about
the Ohio election, has refused to appear before Congress, and has refused
to answer questions from members of the House Judiciary Committee who
have been investigating allegations of election fraud. The report by the
House Judiciary Committee's Democratic staff on the Ohio election and
recount states that "there were massive and unprecedented voter irregularities
and anomalies in Ohio. In many cases these irregularities were caused
by intentional misconduct and illegal behavior, much of it involving Blackwell,
the co-chair of the Bush-Cheney campaign in Ohio."
www.votecobb.org (includes the report by the House Judiciary
Committee's Democratic staff)
VERMONT Burlington Vermont voted overwhelmingly (65.2%) to bring US troops
home now, in a referendum on Question 7, which was supported by Greens:
"Shall the voters of the City of Burlington advise the President
and Congress that Burlington and its citizens strongly support the men
and women serving in the United States Armed Forces in Iraq and believe
that the best way to support them is to bring them home now?" Burlington
also adopted instant runoff voting for future mayoral elections by a landslide.
www.vermontgreens.org/
www.burlingtonfreepress.com/specialnews/townmeeting/burlington.htm
WISCONSIN The Wisconsin Green Party has endorsed the Women's Health Day
of Action, to be held on March 15 in Madison. Greens are participating
in the event. The Day of Action was organized by Planned Parenthood &
Stand Up for Women's Health to promote family planning, reproductive rights,
and access to affordable health care. The day includes speakers, workshops,
opportunities to meet with legislators, and a march to the Capitol. "These
next four years will be very critical for women's reproductive rights,"
said Kathy Sommers, Chair of the Greater Milwaukee Green Party Women's
Caucus. "With judicial retirements coming up on the Supreme Court,
and Bush's advocacy of abstinence as the main form of birth control, women's
health could be back in the Dark Ages very shortly. We women need to keep
the pressure on all our legislators -- state, federal, Green, Democrat,
Republican and Libertarian -- to remind them that women are a part of
'We the people...' and that our reproductive health is very important
to us."
www.wisconsingreenparty.org
Women's Health Day of Action:
www.ppwi.org/eventsandprojects/eventsandprojects.aspx
LEGAL FILING HIGHLIGHTS BLACKWELL'S HYPOCRISY IN OHIO RECOUNT CASE
A spokesman for the Green Party's 2004 presidential campaign, which initiated
the Ohio recount, today blasted the suggestion by Ohio's Republican Secretary
of State J. Kenneth Blackwell that he would need to take depositions from
John Kerry and John Edwards as part of the Ohio recount litigation.
"Mr. Blackwell's contention that he needs to depose Senators Kerry
and Edwards is a laughable and blatantly political move. Mr. Blackwell
has refused to be deposed himself about the Ohio election, has refused
to appear before Congress and has refused to answer questions from members
of the House Judiciary Committee who have been investigating allegations
of election fraud. To suggest that Kerry and Edwards should be deposed
to address a legal technicality while Mr. Blackwell continues to avoid
any public scrutiny of his own misconduct in the Ohio election is the
height of hypocrisy," said Blair Bobier, Media Director for the 2004
Cobb-LaMarche campaign.
The report by the House Judiciary Committee's Democratic staff on the
Ohio election and recount states that "there were massive and unprecedented
voter irregularities and anomalies in Ohio. In many cases these irregularities
were caused by intentional misconduct and illegal behavior, much of it
involving Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, the co-chair of the
Bush-Cheney campaign in Ohio."
Blackwell's intention to depose Kerry and Edwards was made known by Ohio
Attorney General Jim Petro in the latest round of legal filings concerning
the Ohio recount. In February, Federal Judge Edmund Sargus in Columbus
asked the parties in the Ohio recount case to submit filings to his court
addressing whether the litigation should be transferred and consolidated
with a Toledo case brought last November seeking to expedite the start
of the recount. Blackwell's filing was in response to that request.
Attorneys for Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb and Libertarian
Party presidential candidate Michael Badnarik, who jointly requested the
Ohio recount, have already filed their response to the Judge's question.
Kerry and Edwards, through their Ohio attorney, filed a one sentence statement
with the Judge supporting the Cobb and Badnarik position. Kerry's lawyer
also filed a short, two page summary charting inconsistencies observed
by Democratic Party witnesses to the recount. The matter is pending in
the Eastern Division of the United States District Court for the Southern
District of Ohio, before Judge
Sargus.
Conferences, lectures and teach-ins about the Ohio election and electoral
reform have been taking place all over the country, most recently in Santa
Monica, California on Sunday.Additional information about the recount
and the entire 102 page report by the House Judiciary Committee's Democratic
staff can be found at www.votecobb.org. The website for the national Green
Party is www.gp.org.
3. Opinion
Action Action Action - Paul Dumouchelle, Editor, Green Party of Ohio
Newsletter
One of my favorite historical figures is John Brown. He was an uncompromising
Abolitionist (today he’d be called a Terrorist, and he was) who,
in 1859, invaded Virginia, took over a US Government Arsenal at Harper’s
Ferry and helped precipitate the American Civil War.
He eschewed wordy excess and focused on “Action, Action, Action.”
I leave you with that thought.
Publication Details
The Green Party of Ohio Newsletter is published by the Green Party of
Ohio. www.ohiogreens.org The Mission of the Newsletter is to aggressively
promote citizen involvement in making real the Green dream for Ohio and
America as stated in the GPOH Platform, the USGP Platform and those parties’
formal policy positions.
The Mission of the Green Party of Ohio is to focus the political power
of the people to:
1. preserve and restore viable ecosystems,
2. establish social justice and equity,
3. foster participatory democracy,
4. promote and practice nonviolence as a means of conflict resolution,
and
5. ensure the rights of a community-based economic system for all people.
Letters to the editor are accepted but please keep them brief and the
Editor reserves the right to publish or not publish any such letter and
edit them to fit the newsletter format. The Green Party of Ohio Newsletter
does not represent official GPOH policy unless specifically stated. The
Green Party of Ohio Newsletter operates under the guidance of the State
Coordinating Committee Media Committee, which can be contacted through
the State Party Website. Paid for by the Green Party of Ohio Political
Action Fund (OH1066) PO Box 754 New Albany, OH 43054
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_______________________________________________
OGP_Newsletter mailing list
OGP_Newsletter@ohiogreens.net
http://www.windfish.net/mailman/listinfo/ogp_newsletter
|