E-Newsletter of the
Green Party of Maricopa County, AZ,
USA
2006 September 1.
Issue # 9.
El boletín electrónico del Partido
Verde del Condado Maricopa, Arizona, EEUU.
Si usted no lee inglés, podemos ponerle en contacto con alguien que habla español.
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read this e-newsletter in its more attractive and readable version at
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The back issues are there, too.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. Events.
B. Letters to the editor.
1. Money-discounted
voting.
2. We're yuppies?
3.
Vote for bigger farm cages.
C. News and features.
1. National
Green meeting reports from Tucson.
2. Arizona
Greens take
stands on minimum wage and gay marriage referenda by Claudia Ellquist.
3. Bioneers in Flagstaff in October
by Judy
Springer, Sr.
4. Mixed Greens (short items)
a. General Motors Proving
Grounds in Mesa crushes and shreds all their electric cars.
b. Israeli
army attacks Israeli peace march.
c. Renowned social ecologist Bookchin dies.
d. America's scary non-voters.
e. Scottsdale's
green buildings.
f. Al Gore's book continues
after movie.
D. Humor, comedy, and humour.
5. 2006 State of the Universe Address
by Swami Beyondananda.
6. Virulent
strain of STD
-- Centers of Disease Control.
E. Opinion.
7. Reader survey will help resolve questions.
Please answer this!
8. USA and allies
won't talk peace:
Cowards send others to kill and die.
9. Head
Greens and heart Greens. (3rd in series).
10. Blood and Oil--the wealth gap by Claudia Ellquist.
F.
Green Party notices.
G. Other notices.
H. Please write one of these articles!
I. Masthead: publication identity,
owners, address, etc.
End of TABLE OF CONTENTS.
A. Events
2006 September
September 1, Friday. Last day to
request an early ballot for
Arizona's September 12 primary election in order to vote by mail. You can
request ballots for both the primary and the November 7 general election at the
same time. The process is easier than ever. See also October 27.
https://recorder.maricopa.gov/earlyvoteballot/evbrequest.aspx
September 1, Friday, 6 - 11 p.m. Central
Phoenix, AZ. First Friday Art Walk. The Green Party usually has a table in the parking
lot just west of Modified Arts, 407 East Roosevelt Street, from about 6 to 10 p.m.
Free admission to most galleries. Free shuttle bus all around
central Phoenix among the participating art galleries, etc., such as the Phoenix
Art Museum, 1625 North Central Avenue. First Friday of each month.
www.cenpho.com/journal/2005/11/5/first-fridays-art-walk.html and
www.maricopagreens.org.
Last day of Stupidity Awards
voting is unknown, so vote today. See September 20 below.
September 3, Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Glendale, AZ. Dixie
Chicks concert. Award-winning country and bluegrass
group. Their recent single "Not Ready to Make Nice" replies to people who
threatened to kill them after member Natalie Maines said the band was ashamed of
Bush II.
Tickets 45 $ and up. Glendale Arena, Westgate City Center, 9400 West Maryland
Avenue.
www.dixiechicks.com
www.glendalearenaaz.com/events/calendar_details.php?ID=762
September
4, Monday, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Labor Day Rally at Arizona State
Capitol, 1700 West Washington Street (at North 17th Avenue), Phoenix, AZ.
"Get Back to Work, Congress! We Need Legalization for
All Now!" Free. Telephone (602) 263-2012.
September 6
(tentative), Wednesday, 7 to 9 p.m. Arizona Citizens for Election Reform
(ACER) meeting. Free. At Bookmans E.E., meeting room, 8034 North 19th
Avenue (northwest corner of West Northern Avenue), Phoenix, AZ. Map.
www.aceronline.org. (See also Article # 9.a. in 2006 June issue.)
September 9, Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Prescott, AZ. general membership meeting of the Arizona
Green Party and visitors. Panel
of party members from Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada.
At Prescott College--Crossroads Center, 220
Grove Avenue; room to be announced. RSVP to info@azgp.org
or (602) 417-0213--or for car pool, etc. City and campus maps: www.maricopagreens.org.
September 12, Tuesday. Arizona-wide
primary election for state, federal, and other offices, plus ballot
questions. See September 1 above and November 7 below.*
September 15, Friday. Submissions
due for the next issue of this e-newsletter. Later ones are welcome–we'll
try to squeeze them in. See procedure in "I. Masthead" at the end of this
e-newsletter.
September 17,
Sunday, 1:30 p.m. American Theocracy by Kevin Phillips
discussed by the Humanist Book Club. Free.
Bookmans E.E., 1056 South Country Club Drive
(near northwest corner of Southern Avenue), Mesa, AZ. www.hsgp.org/upcoming.php3.
September 19, Tuesday, 8:15-9:15 p.m.
Mesa Greens and visitors meet at Bookmans
E.E., 1056 South Country Club Drive (near northwest corner of Southern Avenue),
Mesa, AZ. Free. (See also 2006 July issue, Article # 3.)
www.mesagreens.org.
September 20, Wednesday (tentative).
ACER. As September 6.
September 20, Wednesday. Winners announced
in several categories of the 4th annual Stupidity Awards. It
is pretty stupid that the last day to vote is not stated in their Web publication,
so vote as soon as possible: www.stupidityawards.com.
September 24, Sunday,
9 a.m. "November 2006 Election Overview (and Some Predictions!)",
speech by District 17 State Representative Kyrsten Sinema.
She is a Democrat and former Green.
Cost of food. HomeTown Buffet, 1312 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale, AZ.
Humanist Society of Greater Phoenix. www.hsgp.org/upcoming.php3.
Late September. New estimated moving
time for Gentle Strength Co-operative: to 9 East Southern
Avenue (southeast corner of Mill Avenue), Tempe, AZ. Until then, non-members
and members should buy their natural food at 234 West University Drive, Tempe.
Telephone 480-968-4831.
www.gentlestrength.com.
September 27, Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Political Book Group. Last Wednesday of each month. Free. Changing
Hands Bookstore, 6428 South McClintock Drive (near southwest corner of East Guadalupe
Road), Tempe, AZ; telephone 480-730-0205. John 480-755-1704 or
jandj11@cox.net
www.changinghands.com.
Recurring events
Mondays, 5 - 6 p.m. Tempe, AZ.
Peace Vigil outside 740 South Mill Avenue (northwest corner of
West University Drive). Free.
2006 October and later
October--date to be decided.
Yard sale, Green Party of
Maricopa County.
www.maricopagreens.org. Information and car pool: telephone 602-417-0213.
October 1, Sunday (or a bit earlier). Next issue of this
Green e-newsletter.
October 3,
Tuesday. Mesa Greens.
As September 19, above.
October 8, Sunday, 9 a.m. "Reflections on
the History of Life in the Cosmos", speech by Arizona State University geology professor Paul Knauth.
www.public.asu.edu/~iaclpk/. Cost of food.
HomeTown Buffet, 1312 North Scottsdale Road,
Scottsdale, AZ. Humanist Society of Greater Phoenix
www.hsgp.org/upcoming.php3.
October 17, Tuesday. Mesa
Greens. As September 19, above.
October 20-22,
Friday-Sunday, Flagstaff, AZ. Arizona Bioneers Conference.
Speakers via satellite;
an evening
of music and dance. Article # C.3. below.
November 7, Tuesday. Arizona-wide
general election for state, federal, and other offices, plus ballot questions.
See candidate in "F. Green Notices",
below, and Article # 1, 2006 April issue. See also September 12 and October
27, above.*
November 19, Sunday, 9 a.m. "Understanding
Interracial Unity", speech by Arizona
State University history professor Matthew Whitaker. Cost of food.
HomeTown Buffet, 1312 North Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale,
AZ.
www.drmatthewwhitaker.com. Humanist Society of Greater Phoenix www.hsgp.org/upcoming.php3.
End of "Section A. Events."
B.
Letters to the editor
Letter
# B.1. Money-discounted voting
Dear editor,
"Buying votes with advertising" (2006 August issue, Article # E.11.)
gives me an idea: elections could be based (at least partly) on the ratio
of votes to $ spent. That would change the picture.
Anonymous, Tempe, AZ
Letter
# B.2. We're yuppies?
Dear editor,
I dropped in to the Green
Party convention in Tucson in July. They were very cordial. My impression
of the Green Party is that it is primarily
targeted at yuppies (holding a national convention is not
green, considering the impact of travel on the environment).
They just want a vacation. One delegate even said that if he had a quarter
for every time (mumble, mumble) he would be flying in on his private jet.
That's not green!
The Green Party
isn't going anywhere until it finds all the people who don't vote, and make sure
they vote. They are more worried about the finances. Couldn't even find
the outreach committee.
When you see them in South Phoenix registering voters, then
they are going somewhere.
Ed Flanick, Tucson, AZ (formerly of Phoenix)
See also the related Article # C.1. below.
Letter
# B.3. Vote for bigger farm cages
Dear editor,
The
Humane Farms initiative has been being worked on since last November. The
ballot initiative concerns veal and gestation crates. There are thousands
of these in AZ, which confine pregnant pigs and veal calves to cages barely larger
than their bodies.
Should factory farmers have the right to
treat living sentient beings as an economic commodity? Many volunteers, including
me, helped collect signatures to get this initiative on the ballot.
There is already opposition in the form of
signs and TV commercials saying "Prop 204 is Hogwash." The meat industry is
prepared to fight this, but polls have shown that the majority of Arizonans oppose
cruel farming practices.
Prop 204 would require cages large enough
for the animals to turn around, lie down, and stretch out their limbs--not asking
much! The campaign is looking for endorsements and sponsors. www.yesforhumanefarms.org/endorse_campaign.htm.
Vote YES on Proposition 204!
Matt LeShure
See also
the related Article # C.2. below.
To submit
your letter, see "Section I. Masthead" at the end below.
End of "Section B. Letters to the Editor."
C. News and features
Article # C.1. National Green meeting reports
from Tucson
The Annual National Meeting ended July
30. Here is the July 29 news release from the Green Party of the United States:
Greens
Hold 2006 Annual Meeting in Tucson, Arizona
Greens discuss the
party's 'Peace Slate' of 2006 candidates, ballot access efforts, immigration, the
Iraq war, and plans for the 2008 presidential election.
"Green
is the new red, white, and blue!" -- Kathleen Culver, Tennessee Green candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- State Green Party delegates, candidates, and leaders from
34 states gathered in Tucson, Arizona, over the weekend for the party's 2006 annual
meeting.
During press conferences held on Friday and
Saturday, Green candidates for congressional,
state, and local office met with the media and discussed their 2006 election campaigns.
Green
candidates and elected public officials from across the U.S. talked about how
Greens serve the needs of their constituents,
noting that Greens don't take corporate
contributions or surrender to pressure from big business lobbies.
Many Greens
discussed ballot access efforts and attempts by other parties to keep Green candidates off the ballot.
Illinois Green
Party Co-Chair Phil Huckelberry described efforts by Democrats in his state to have
Green ballot access petitions invalidated
after Greens submitted 39,000 signatures
to the Illinois Board of Elections -- 14,000 more signatures than the required 25,000.
Democrats tried to have thousands of clearly legitimate signatures declared invalid,
but Greens expect the party to achieve
state-level ballot status in Illinois.
Hosted by the Pima County Green Party and titled "El Futuro es
Verde / The Future is Green,"
the meeting is taking place at the Historic YWCA Building . . . four blocks from
the University of Arizona. Claudia Ellquist, Angel Torres, and other local
Green leaders organized the national
meeting.
Ms. Ellquist, joined by José Matus, spiritual
leader of the Yaqui Indians and head of Alianza Indígena Sin Fronteras, spoke on
border issues Friday evening, and emphasized the Green
Party's humane position on immigration, support for the rights and well-being of
all immigrants (including those without documentation), and the economic devastation
caused by NAFTA that has driven Mexicans and other immigrants across borders.
"The border wall between the U.S. and Mexico--constructed
the same year that NAFTA passed--needs to come down now!" said Ms. Ellquist. "Too
many people have died trying to seek a better life."
George Martin, national co-chair of United
For Peace and Justice www.unitedforpeace.org and a Wisconsin
Green, discussed ballot referenda
in 32 Wisconsin cities, towns, and villages in April 2006, which called for the
immediate return of U.S. troops from Iraq. Twenty-six of the initiatives passed.
"Greens led that initiative. Seize
the time! The war is an issue. Democrats are becoming more militaristic.
Our Green candidates are promoting
peace."
Mr. Martin, speaking before a plenary during
the Tucson meeting, said, "Let's bring our troops home now! We will end this
war! . . . The Green Party position
is now the majority sentiment in the U.S."
Green
Party leaders also used the 2006 meeting to talk about plans for a Green presidential
campaign in 2008.
See also letter to editor # B.2. above.
End of Article # C.1. "National
Green meeting reports from Tucson."
Article # C.2.
Arizona Greens take stands on minimum wage and gay
marriage referenda
by Claudia Ellquist.
The Green
Party of Arizona has taken stands on two ballot measures. We acted between
meetings because there was a deadline for our statement of support / opposition
to be in the state's publicity pamphlet. We chose two items that we thought
would not be controversial among Greens,
and would be likely to make it past the signature check, and end up on the ballot:
OPPOSE
# 107 (defining marriage as between a man and a woman) and
SUPPORT
# 202 (raise the minimum wage to $ 6.75).
We crafted some statements, trying to raise issues that we thought
might otherwise be neglected (instead of "me too") and which were true to Green values. We would have liked to have
had more statements appear, but it cost $75 for each submission, and we need to
budget money toward the ballot status drive for 2008.
Anyway, we agreed that this was a good use of $150 because every voter in the state
will see the statements, and be reminded that the Green
Party still exists, even though we will not have visibly
Green candidates this time around. But the closer was
that each of the arguments submitted referred to our Web site, where the voter could
"read more about our positions on ballot measures."
So, we are not done speaking yet. We can put
statements--regarding as many ballot issues as we care to--on the state and local
websites.
The Arizona Secretary of State reports
that 17 initiative questions have qualified for the ballot later this year:
100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 200, 201, 202,
203, 205, 206, 207, 300, 301, and 302.
As of August 28, there are 2 yet to be determined
whether they qualify or not: 107 and 204.
Watch for your copy of the voter booklet
in your regular mail.
See also the related letter # B.2. above,
about Prop 204.
See also 2006 July issue, Article # 2,
"Arizonans might be voting on these questions."
End of Article # C.2. "Arizona
Greens take stands on minimum wage and gay marriage referenda."
Article # C.3.
Bioneers in Flagstaff in October
by Judy Springer, Sr.
Arizona Bioneers Conference, 2006 October
20-22 Friday to Sunday, Northern Arizona University.
Bioneers
focuses on practical solutions and innovative social strategies for restoring the
earth. This vision hinges on restoring human communities to their relationships
with the natural world and with each other.
Famous plenary speakers will be beamed via
satellite to Flagstaff from Marin, California.
The
conference will also include workshops and speakers from Arizona on sustainability,
green building, transportation, art,
food and farming, alternative medicine, social justice, and spiritual activism.
There will also be daily yoga classes, a benefit dinner featuring local and organic
farmers, film screenings, and an evening of music and dance.
Co-hosted by Prescott College, the NAU Master
of Liberal Studies Program, and the NAU Center for Sustainable Environments.
End of Article # C.3. "Bioneers
in Flagstaff in October".
Article # C.4.: Mixed Greens
(short items)
a. General Motors
Proving Grounds in Mesa crushes and shreds all their electric cars
The destruction of the popular high-tech
vehicles occurred in Arizona's city of Mesa after they were all recalled from lease.
That was the culmination which was aided by law
changes pushed by Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California.
That is according to Arthur Black's syndicated column "Best electric car you never
saw".
The proving grounds are at 13303 South Ellsworth
Road in southeast Mesa.
Black referred to the recent documentary
movie "Who Killed the Electric Car?", which was
to show in Phoenix. Unfortunately, the opening was cancelled at AMC Desert
Ridge 18. Try lobbying them at telephone 480-606-0803.
The only known movie showings in Arizona
are in Tucson at Century Elcon 20 theater.
b. Israeli army attacks
Israeli peace march
The Israeli Army and Border Police on August
11 shot Israeli peace demonstrators with rubber bullets, damaging a lawyer's brain.
Of about 200 non-violent demonstrators in the village of Bil'in, 8
others were shot. Those shot, beaten, and injured include 2 villagers and
citizens of France, USA, Japan, United Kingdom, Sweden, and Denmark.
They oppose the "New Style of Killing", which targets even children.
The solders' commander said the demonstration was illegal, although
an Israeli court has confirmed the right of Bil'in villagers to demonstrate.
c. Renowned social
ecologist Bookchin dies
Murray Bookchin died at the age of 85 on
July 30. Author of a couple of dozen books, mainly political theory, he started
as a communist. After witnessing the famines in the USSR, he developed anarchist
thought. He founded the Institute for Social Ecology. www.social-ecology.org
In the last 5 years, he moved toward a form
of "communalism" similar to the bio-regionalism that is favored by the Green Party.
--Adapted from http://radio.indymedia.org/news/2006/08/10807.php.
d. America's scary
non-voters
e. Scottsdale's
green buildings
The city of Scottsdale was the first city
in Arizona to launch a green building
program in 1998 and continues to be a leader in the field. They are spending
500 000 $ to greenify 3 new buildings.
The cost will be recovered in about 11 years of lower energy consumption.
f. Al
Gore's book continues after movie
Al Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth,
has closed in the Phoenix Valley. The official Web publication is not current:
Watch for release of the video and DVD. Claudia
Ellquist recommended the flick in the 2006 July edition, Article # D.1., and in
Green Party Digest (Pima
Greens), 2006 June 29.
End of Article # C.4. "Mixed
Greens".
End of Section C.
D. Humor, comedy, and humour
Article # D.5. 2006 State of the Universe Address
Swami Calls for an Up-Wising!
Wise Up, Everybody--The Evolution Has Begun!
by Swami Beyondananda. (Excerpts)
. . . the world still seems stuck in greedlock,
ruled by fossilized fools fueled by fossil fuels. But I have been receiving
encouraging intelligence reports that say indeed, humans are becoming more intelligent.
. . . Despite being panned by critics everywhere,
the Iraqi Horror Picture Show continued its run, as thousands and thousands of born
fetuses--ours and theirs--lost their right to life. . . . We're not in Iraq
to keep the peace, we're there to keep the pieces.
The signs of up-wising are everywhere. Even the most unpleasant
stories are beginning to break through the soundless barrier and defy the President's
"don't ask, don't tell" policy: "You promise not to ask us what we're doing,
and we promise not to tell you." . . .
As for those progressives who've been whining
that the President "never listens" to them, well it turns out he's been listening
all along. And thanks to the so-called Patriot Act (which, I understand, is
about to be renamed the Eternal Insecurity Act), it looks like he'll be able to
listen in even more--all in the name of making us safe.
But now even some Republicans are beginning
to see that there's a difference between protection and the "protection racket."
And with the recent revelations about Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff and other gold collar
criminals, some of the more devout conservatives have come to realize that the "family
values" they voted for bear an uncanny resemblance to Soprano Family values.
If there was any warm feeling in 2005, chalk it up to climate change.
Hurricane Katrina hit, and in the government's response we saw a future when at
last all Americans will be equal--where everyone regardless of race or creed will
be treated like Black folks.
Alarming Policies Have Awakened Millions!
. . . the Earth is the talk of the Universe
these days. In fact, the odds-makers at the Intergalactic Enquirer
say the odds are actually in our favor: "We're betting on the human race to
reach critical mass before they get to critical massacre."
And we could beat the odds, if we finally
gave up our addiction to getting even and got odd instead. . . . If
each of us used our unique oddness to improve the odds for everyone, there would
be no need for getting even.
Yes, the up-wising has begun, and intergalactic observers are saying
that we have none other than George W. Bush to thank.
. . . a story my guru Harry Cohen Baba used
to tell.
A well-known minister died and arrived at
the Pearly Gates at the same time as a cab-driver from New York. The cabbie
was ushered in, but the clergyman was left waiting outside.
After waiting and waiting and waiting, he finally called over the attending
angel. "Excuse me, but I'm a renowned minister. How come you let that
cab-driver in, and I'm left waiting out here?"
"Well," the angel said, "when you preached, everyone slept. But
when he drove, everyone prayed."
For millennia, spiritual teachers have been calling on us to go for
the highest common denominator, but we've always seemed to end up with the lowest
common dominator instead. And now, George W. Bush has done what preachers,
teachers and other far-sighted visionaries have failed to do up until now:
His policies have been so alarming, that he has awakened a slumbering body politic
that slept through all previous alarms. . . .
Sure, there are still plenty of Not-Sees
out there who insist on not seeing that we humans are all in the same boat.
The good news is, more and more Americans are getting that sinking feeling that
there's only one Earthship, and ignoring a leak because it's "on the other side
of the boat," is a mistake of titanic proportions.
We Are the Leaders We've Been Waiting For
. . . those two political parties have been
partying on our dime, and we the people haven't been invited. Time to go beyond
choosing the lesser of two weasels. . . .
Another sign of the up-wising and coming
evolution is that people are growing dissatisfied with the positionality of "my
side vs. your side," and are seeing the whole issue of sides from a new angle:
Maybe we're all on the same side. . . .
the Native American grandfather . . . tells
his grandson that there are two wolves fighting inside all of us: The wolf
of fear and anger, and the wolf of love and peace.
"Which wolf will win?" asks the young boy.
"Whichever one we feed," replies the grandfather. . . .
I see Americans of all political stripes,
plaids and polka dots (not to mention solids), choosing to face the music and dance
together. Sure, we'll have to learn some new steps, but it's time for a new
dance-- A-Bun-Dance. That is where we get up off our assets, move our buns,
and dance together in rhythm and flow. . . .
I see us in a new reality show--Extreme Planetary
Makeover--where everyone can play and everyone can win. . . . Only a crazy person would dare to propose anything that
sane. But maybe it's time to declare the current institutionalized insanity
illegally insane, and set about building a sane asylum big enough for all six and
a half billion of us.
As my guru Harry Cohen Baba has said, "Life
is like a good deli. Even if something isn't on the menu, if enough people
order it they have to make it." . . .
So laugh more. . . . We all know
there's something funny going on. . . .
Dare to imagine what we could be doing if
we weren't spending so much of our livelihood on weapons of deadlihood.
Think about it--"think tanks" where they
think about something other than tanks.
. . . Can we shift our karma into surpassing
gear? I cannot say for sure, but if we choose to give up that old Dodge and
trade it in for an Evolvo, that's a good first step. So--let the Evolution
begin. . . .
May the FARCE--as always--be with us.
(c) Copyright 2006 by Steve Bhaerman ("Swami Beyondananda").
Order Swami's books, CDs and DVD:
www.wakeuplaughing.com
End of Article # D.5. "State of the Universe Address."
Article # D.6.
Virulent strain of STD
CENTERS OF DISEASE CONTROL - Very important
The Centers for Disease Control have issued
a warning about a new virulent strain of sexually transmitted disease. The disease
is contracted through dangerous and high-risk behavior. It is called Gonorrhea
Lectim and is pronounced "gonna re-elect 'em."
Many victims contracted it in 2004, after having been screwed for four
years.
Cognitive characteristics of individuals infected include: anti-social
personality disorders, delusions of grandeur with messianic overtones, extreme cognitive
dissonance, inability to incorporate new information, pronounced xenophobia and
paranoia, inability to accept responsibility for one's own actions, cowardice masked
by misplaced bravado, uncontrolled facial smirking, ignorance of geography and history,
tendencies towards evangelical theocracy, and categorical all-or-nothing behavior.
Naturalists and epidemiologists are amazed at how this destructive
disease originated only a few years ago from a Bush found in Texas.
End of Article # D.6. "Virulent strain of STD".
For the Stupidity Awards,
see September 20 above in "A. Events." Vote before then.
For concerts by the satirical singing
group the Capitol Steps, see November 24 and 25 above in "A. Events."
End of Section D. "Humor, Comedy, and Humour."
E. Opinion
Article # E.7.
Reader survey will help resolve questions--please answer!
Why we need your answers
Most publications survey their readers in
order to satisfy their advertisers. Since we have none, we simply want this
e-periodical to be effective. The answers of all readers are important to
the editorial committee!
How to answer
You should be able to answer this, if received
by e-mail, by pressing "Reply to sender", etc.
Answer as many
or as few questions as you want. You will be most helpful, however, if you
answer # 1 and 2.
You may mark one or more answers for each question.
1. Are you registered Green and/or
a card-carrying Green?
a. Yes.
b. I will be soon or when I'm eligible.
c. No.
2. Do you live in Maricopa County,
AZ?
a. Yes.
b. I will soon.
c. No.
3. How
much of this e-newsletter do you generally read?
a. All or most.
b. Several parts.
c. Very little, but want it in case some of it is of
interest.
d. Other.
4. Length
of articles.
a. Prefer longer.
b. It is a good mix of long and short.
c. Some are too long and should be shortened.
d. People can read as much or as little as they want.
e. Many long articles should be cut off and continued
in our Web publication, www.maricopagreens.org,
as we are trying to do for this issue (2006 September).
f.
Don't know or don't care.
5. The
number of news and informative articles (not opinion articles).
a. Include more such articles.
b. It has about the right number of such articles.
c. Include fewer.
d. People can read as much or as little as they want.
e. Don't know or don't care.
6. The
number of opinion articles.
a. Include more such articles.
b. It has about the right number of such articles.
c. Include fewer.
d. People can read as much or as little as they want.
e. Don't know or don't care.
7. Should
we survey all Green and non-Green candidates and publish their answers?
a. Yes.
b. Only for an electoral contest which has a Green candidate.
c. Only for an electoral contest which has no Green candidate.
d. No.
e. Don't know or don't care.
8. For fun, the words "green" have
been in the color green, like this: green.
a. That looks good.
b. Use black type.
c. The color doesn't appear on my computer.
d. Don't know or don't care.
9. Some of the category heads, article headlines, and sub-heads, etc. have been in color.
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b. Use black type.
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10. How
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a. Varying sizes, as
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12. Calendar
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b.
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14. At
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15. How
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End of Article # E.7. "Reader survey will help resolve questions."
Article # E.8.
USA and allies won't talk peace
Cowards send others to kill and die
Opinion by Korky Day.
The USA is using Israel to destabilize that
whole region to ensure that oil (and other profits) go to the West and to ensure
that USA voters are scared into voting for war (Republican or Democrat) instead
of peace (Green, Libertarian, Communist,
etc.).
My father fought for the USA in World War 2. My mother riveted
our war planes.
Their generation insisted on the United Nations
being established so countries could talk instead of fight. Unfortunately,
the UN doesn't force Bush to debate his "enemies".
Bush is the coward who has declined serious
offers to debate from Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein and from
Green presidential nominees Ralph Nader and David Cobb.
True bravery is talking peace, not sending
others to battle. Bush (and Secretary Rice, etc.) should save lives TODAY
and debate the leaders of Hezballah, etc. on live television, such as at UN headquarters.
So should Israeli President Olmert. Then we'll see if their positions
can stand up to argument.
Thus the big clue that the USA and Israel
are the aggressors in the current wars is that they refuse to debate or seriously
talk peace.
Bush should debate all his enemies. Imagine if Churchill and
Roosevelt had debated Hitler and Stalin! They could have done it on the radio.
Or perhaps Eleanor Roosevelt! Why not try it if it might avoid war?
Bush won't debate because peace and democracy in the USA or the Middle East would
hurt the profits of him and his backers.
End of Article # E.8. "USA and allies won't talk peace".
Article #
E.9. Head Greens and
heart Greens
(Third in the "Politics and Math Series")
Opinion by Korky Day.
People who vote for or support the
Green Party could be put into 2 rough categories:
"head Greens" and "heart Greens". The first are people who vote
Green because they've figured in their
"heads" that it's their best strategy. The second group votes Green because they feel in their "hearts" that
they should.
Some people, including me, are in both categories. If you are
in only one of the groups, please let me explain how I think you are being both
smart and loving, after all.
Head
Greens are right
Political scientists define voting "strategically" as voting to try
to take into account how the other voters are going to vote in order that your vote
will help achieve your least objectionable result--not just voting for your real
favorites. In an election to fill an office with one of 3 or more candidates,
that usually means voting for "the lesser of 2 evils".
Such a voter looks at pre-election predictions and private polls to
try to determine which 2 candidates will get the most votes. Then she votes
for the least bad of those 2, usually, in the USA, a Democrat or Republican.
If a candidate, such as Ralph Nader of the
Green Party in 2000, is accused of taking votes away from one
of the duopoly candidates (Democrat Al Gore in 2000), then that third place candidate
is accused of being a "spoiler".
Some people, especially some head
Greens, bought that rationale and regretted
having voted for Nader.
Nader himself has argued vehemently and extensively (www.votenader.org/why_ralph/index.php?cid=3)
that even if he had not been a candidate, Gore would not have won. That is
probably true, but it is not the whole story and is not Nader's best argument. I
wrote that to Nader, but got no reply.
A fuller analysis would state that even if Nader had been a "spoiler",
it is still better to have voted for him.
How can that analysis possibly be logical, "strategically", you might
ask? Political scientists should explain also that voting for the "lesser
of 2 evils" is a strategy, but it is not the only strategy. There are other
strategies, both logical and illogical.
Perhaps the most powerful strategy is to vote only for someone who
will work for electoral reform, including pro-rep and ranked ballots. (Pro-rep
is proportional representation and the popular form of ranked ballot known nowadays
as instant run-off.)
Voting for the duopoly (Democratic or Republican) candidate, in almost
every case, is voting against electoral reform.
Until we achieve electoral reform we will always be risking a "spoiler"
situation. The only way eventually to end "spoiling" or the fear of "spoiling"
is to keep voting for candidates committed to ending plurality elections.
People are afraid, nevertheless, that they should vote for the lesser
of 2 evils for a couple of reasons.
Some say that other issues are temporarily more urgent or more important
than electoral reform.
However, if voters had instead put electoral reform at the top of their
agenda, it could have been achieved long ago, perhaps avoiding the election of decades
of bad officials, and thus perhaps avoiding all the bad decisions made by all those
bad officials for decades.
Don't let anyone fool you into thinking that electoral reform should
be "put on the back burner" this election. That's what the duopoly has been
saying for decades. It will never be put on the front burner as long as the
duopolists have their way. It's not in their interests to give Greens and other parties a fair chance.
If we'd achieved electoral reform, we might have had governments as
good as Europe's. Europe under pro-rep has had many fewer wars, much more
universal health care, more even division of wealth, etc.
Some say that if the electoral reform candidate has no chance of winning,
it's better not to "waste" your vote on that person. People have been saying
that excuse for generations, too.
Suppose you guess that your favored candidate really has no hope of
winning this time. There are emotional ("heart") reasons for voting for a
"sure" loser, of course, but there are logical reasons for doing so, too.
Here are some of them:
1. Predictions of the voting results might be wrong.
2. If the duopoly candidates know that they can oppose electoral
reform and you'll still vote for them, they'll have less incentive ever to support
a fair voting system.
3. The more people who vote for electoral reform candidates,
the more publicity will be given to the issue of electoral reform. That helps
to raise awareness so that we can reform our electoral systems sooner.
4. The more people who vote for non-duopoly candidates, the more
publicity will be given to the other issues they champion, such as peace, opposing
failed wars on drug users, allowing choice on abortion, etc. That helps similarly.
5. By voting for the better candidates and better parties this
election, you increase their chances of winning next time.
Heart
Greens are right, too
Now suppose you are a head Green
and think that heart Greens shouldn't
let themselves vote based on "mere" emotion. More men than women scorn "emotionalism".
Women, especially in our woman-oppressive culture, are less ashamed of their feelings,
on average.
We men, however, should acknowledge our feelings more and take them
into account in all our decisions. Heart
Greens
might be reacting to gut feelings which are based on deep suspicions about "strategic"
voting. Perhaps they have not completely analyzed the "head" reasons detailed
above, but their feelings lead them to those conclusions anyway.
Emotional voting can also be based on feelings toward candidates.
Green candidates generally exude down-to-earthiness,
honesty, humility, etc. They're not like the slick, devious, over-agreeable
duopolists.
Emotional voting can be counter-productive, however, if you are scared
into voting out of fear of the greater evil by the commercial media (and by people
who are deluded by the commercial media).
If everyone can align their rational and emotional natures, they can
vote Green more confidently.
The previous two articles in this Politics
and Math series appeared in the 2006 July issue: "Article # 11: Number
game shows why the Democrats will always be like the Republicans" and in the 2006
August issue: "Article # E.9.: Why we have a duopoly--while parliamentary
and pro-rep countries don't."
End of Article # E.9. "Head
Greens and heart Greens".
Article # E.10.
Blood and Oil--the wealth gap
Opinion by Claudia Ellquist.
Paul Krugman wrote recently about the growing
gap between the rich and the poor in America, noting that Treasury Secretary Paulson
had broken ranks long enough to acknowledge that it exists, but had then pulled
back
into marching line with a shrug of its inevitability. Nah, uhn.
Krugman shows how, through 4 distinct economic
periods from 1929 on, the tune was either that rich and poor prospered alike, faltered
alike, or the poor actually gained ground--until 1980. Since then, through
Republican and Democrat alike, the rich have seen their fortunes expand exponentially,
while the poor have barely maintained ground, or have lost it. Krugman calls
it the new Gilded Age.
In each
of these epochs, the fate of wealth distribution has been a factor of many changes--ecology,
technology, whatever--but it has also mirrored the economic philosophy of those
in power. The rich get richer, in the USA, only when they have installed puppet
regimes that assure that result. The poor get poorer only when democracy fails.
So, the cure is more democracy. It
would be nice to have a minimum wage bill in Congress that isn't tied, like a bound
hostage, t
and to the editor
korkyday@yahoo.com.