McKinney To Receive Munich American Peace Committee Peace Prize

February 4th, 2010

“Clearly, the MAPC gave more thought to the significance of those whose struggle for peace is based on principle . . . than did the Nobel Peace Committee that rewarded our President for war.”

Former Congresswoman and 2008 Green Party Presidential Candidate Cynthia McKinney announced today that she has been invited to participate in an International Peace Conference scheduled to take place in Munich, Germany on February 6 – 7, 2010 while the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) meets in the same city to plan war. McKinney, a long-time proponent of abolishing NATO, is scheduled to speak on February 6 at a rally to protest the NATO “security” conference. After the rally, McKinney will participate in the International Peace Conference whose schedule and call to demonstrate against NATO war policies are included below.

Included in McKinney’s program is a meeting with the Munich American Peace Committee (MAPC) which will present to McKinney its third annual award, “Peace through Conscience,” during the ceremonies of the Munich Peace Conference on the evening of February 6, 2010. The MAPC Peace Prize is normally awarded by the previous year’s winner. In McKinney’s case the honors will be done by André Shepherd, a U.S. Army deserter from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and asylum seeker in Germany. Said McKinney of her selection for the award, “I am humbled to be so recognized. Clearly, the MAPC gave more thought to the significance of those whose struggle for peace is based on principle and an unshakeable commitment, despite the personal sacrificies required, than did the Nobel Peace Committee that rewarded our President for war.” McKinney continued, “In this way of thinking, peace is now war, lies are now truth, and ignorance is strength.”

McKinney calls on Americans across Germany to converge on Munich and protest U.S. and NATO war policies. McKinney will meet with American ex-patriots in multiple meetings while in Munich.

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Arizona Green Party Wins Injunctive Relief on Both Issues, Residency of Circulators and More Time to Finish Petition

January 16th, 2010

[From: Ballot Access News]

On January 15, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton granted injunctive relief to the Arizona Green Party on two issues. The order permits the party to use out-of-state circulators for its petition to get itself on the ballot. Also, the order extends the deadline from February 25 to March 11. The party had not argued that the February 25, 2010 was per se unconstitutional. But the party had argued that it violates due process to change the deadline from March to February and to try to enforce it so soon after enacting the change. The case is Arizona Green Party v Bennett, 2:09-cv-2412.

It was no surprise that the party won injunctive relief against the ban on out-of-state circulators for petitions to qualify a party. The 9th circuit had struck down Arizona’s residency requirement for petitioners in 2008, in a case involving independent presidential petitions. So the 2009 legislative session had repealed the ban, but only for independent presidential petitions. The 2009 legislative session left the ban in place for all other types of petitions, which was not logical.

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Support grows for city to rethink the way it draws election districts

January 11th, 2010

Fairness and transparency complaints about the 2002 redistricting process and map are fueling a review of how Minneapolis draws electoral boundaries.

By STEVE BRANDT, Star Tribune

Momentum is building at Minneapolis City Hall for devising a fairer process for drawing the ward and other election boundaries that govern for whom voters may vote.

The effort is being led by Cam Gordon, new chair of the City Council’s Election Committee, supported by Elizabeth Glidden, that panel’s chair for the last four years.

They’ve asked the Charter Commission to devise a fairer, more transparent process for drawing election lines that could be presented to voters as a charter amendment next fall. The commission agreed last week to establish a subgroup to work on a timeline for doing so. The next redistricting happens in 2012.

“I strongly believe this process could be improved,” Gordon told the commission.

Some of the momentum for changing how political lines are drawn comes from a legal challenge by Green Party candidates and others to the boundaries drawn in 2002 by the city’s last redistricting commission. That lawsuit alleged that the redistricting group lacked enough minority group or Green members to be representative, and that it treated minority voters unfairly.

A federal judge found the 2002 plan met legal standards. Nevertheless, Charter Commission member Andrea Rubenstein said, the lawsuit raised issues that deserve examination.

Gordon was a Green Party official and plaintiff in the legal challenge. Greens felt particularly aggrieved by the last redistricting because it put both of the party’s council incumbents into wards where they were forced to run against DFL incumbents. Both lost.

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Seven plead guilty in Pennsylvania corruption case

January 11th, 2010

[From: Green Party Watch]

by Gregg Jocoy

Back in 2006 Carl Romanelli sought to run as a Green Party candidate for US Senate in Pennsylvania. His ballot access petitions were challenged. He was tossed off the ballot. Later he was charged the costs of the challenger’s expenses. Pennsylvania is the only state to do this. It’s important to understand that that Romanelli was not fined, as he did nothing illegal.

Later it was revealed that some of the challenges were undertaken by state employees working on the taxpayer dollar on behalf of the Democratic nominee. Yesterday seven people pleaded guilty in this case. The story was reported at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The article includes this:

Observers in the courtroom included Carl Romanelli, who ran in 2006 as a Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate. Some of the charges in the Bonusgate case revolve around allegations that Democratic staffers worked on state time to challenge signatures on his election petitions in an attempt to knock him off the ballot and secure more votes for Democrat Bob Casey.
Yesterday’s guilty pleas were good news for third-party candidates who have a hard enough time running against majority parties when everyone plays by the rules, Mr. Romanelli said.

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Green Party Supports Council Districts In Huntington, NY

December 18th, 2009

Contact: Roger Snyder, Green Party of Suffolk Chair 631-351-5763

Green Party Supports Council Districts In Huntington, NY

“The Green Party of Suffolk supports the proposition to bring council districts to Huntington town,” said its chair Roger Snyder, a Huntington resident. “A key value of the Green Party is Grassroots Democracy, and it is clear that at-large districts are the farthest from that ideal.”

On Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009, voters in the Town of Huntington will be able to vote in favor of setting up council districts, or a ward system, to elect their town council members. “A system that offers better representation from all parts of a town, with smaller districts and an opportunity to be closer to one’s elected representative is a win for all a towns residents,” said Snyder. “Experience in other towns in Suffolk and Nassau counties has shown that a system of Council Districts works better for residents and their representatives.”

The current Huntington at-large electoral system diminishes the voting power of some residents, reducing representation of all of a town’s neighborhoods. Council districts make it easier for citizen candidates to participate by providing more reasonable sized districts. Currently the town council district, with over 200,000 residents, is three to four times the size of Suffolk County legislative districts.

“This change would be a good step towards insuring a representative government in Huntington,” Snyder continued, “and we urge a yes vote on Dec. 22, 2009.”

The Green Party is an alternative party to the Democrats and Republicans. The four pillars of the Green Party are: Nonviolence/Peace; Grassroots Democracy; Social and Economic Justice; and Ecological Wisdom. You can enroll in the Green Party by checking the box marked “Other” on the voter registration form and writing in the word “Green” on the line next to it.

Green Party of Suffolk
14 Robin Drive,Huntington, NY 11743-4712
631-351-5763

http://www.gpsuffolk.org

info@gpsuffolk.org

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I’m with Stupid

December 13th, 2009
via msnbc.msn.com

Posted via web from Roger’s Posterous

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