* * * * * * * * * GreenGram * * * * * * * * * The Green Party of NJ Bulletin - October 2008 Special Election Edition Inside: * Vote Green on November 4! * Cynthia McKinney in the Media * Reports From the Campaigns of GPNJ Candidates * County Local Reports * Green Candidacies Nationwide * Cynthia McKinney Speaks at Black Panther Reunion * International Green Party News * Welzer Presentation at Brookdale Debate * Bring Home the National Guard! * Chomsky says he will be voting for McKinney =========================================== Alternative party and independent candidates may or may not garner a significant share of the vote on November 4, but, in either case, it's looking like 2008 will be remembered as a favorable year for the cause of opening up the American electoral system. We've had former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney running for the Green Party; former Congressman Bob Barr running for the Libertarians; prominent voices Ralph Nader and Cindy Sheehan promoting independent politics; sitting Congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul advocating a vote for an alternative rather than for Obama or McCain; plus some strong races by third party candidates at the state and local levels around the country. Momentum seems to be building for a breakthrough in the not-too-distant future. VOTE GREEN ON NOVEMBER 4! National slate: Cynthia McKinney for President Rosa Clemente for Vice President For US Congress in New Jersey: Matt Thieke, District 1 Jason Grover, District 2 Steven Welzer, District 4 Ed Fanning, District 5 For Bergen County Freeholder: Patricia Alessandrini Alvin Meyer ------------------------------------------ CYNTHIA MCKINNEY IN THE MEDIA 10/16: interview on Democracy Now! following the final McCain-Obama debate www.democracynow.org/2008/10/16/breaking_the_sound_barrier_third 10/19: interview at BreakTheMatrix.com www.breakthematrix.com/node/28047 10/22: interviewed by Neal Conan on NPR's Talk of the Nation 10/24: appearance on C-SPAN's Washington Journal 10/25: interviewed by Scott Simon on NPR's Weekend Edition www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96134188 From NPR's synopsis of the Weekend Edition interview: Presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney says the Green Party is often "put into a box." The Green Party is not just committed to a healthy environment, she says, but bases its policy on four pillars: ecological wisdom, peace, social justice and grassroots democracy. To that end, the former US representative from Georgia says, the Green Party has not supported the war and consistently promotes anti-war candidates. McKinney also points to the 2004 elections, where the Green and Libertarian parties actively investigated voter complaints in Ohio. To address the current economic crisis, McKinney offers a 14-point plan regarding the bailout. McKinney would also like to see a national banking system created to provide credit to small business. She describes the Federal Reserve as "not federal." "Every dollar that is printed should not represent a debt to private bankers," she explains. "It should represent an investment potential in the common good, in the common needs of our country." Not only would McKinney bring the troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan, she would also recall them from all bases abroad ... "because America has far more to offer the world than our bombs and missiles and our military technology," she says. "I think we have an opportunity to let diplomacy work," McKinney says. Part of her platform advocates the passing of legislation to establish a Department of Peace. ------------------------------------------ REPORTS FROM THE CAMPAIGNS OF GPNJ CANDIDATES Matt Thieke for Congress in the 1st District www.newmenu.org/MatthewThieke On Oct. 23 Veterans for Education, a student organization consisting of military veterans enrolled at Rutgers/Camden, hosted a 1st District debate between Democratic incumbent Congressman Robert Andrews and Republican challenger Dale Glading. Green Party candidate Matt Thieke called the debate sponsors to be included. The moderator, Anthony Mazzarelli from WPHT-AM radio, apologized to Matt and said they didn't know he was running! He told Matt he should have been included and offered to have him on his radio show on another night just before the election. Matt attended the debate in order to hand out his brochures. Matt, Jason Grover, and Steve Welzer taped interviews for Comcast Newsmakers. Here's how to view the interviews if you're a Comcast subscriber: . ON DEMAND . GET LOCAL . NJ CANDIDATES . DISTRICT no. (1, 2, or 4) - - - - - - - - - - Jason Grover for Congress in the 2nd District On the evening of October 20, more than 200 people attended a 2nd District debate sponsored by The Press of Atlantic City and Richard Stockton College. Only two candidates were invited: Republican incumbent Congressman Frank LoBiondo and Democratic challenger Dave Kurkowski. Green Party candidate Jason Grover and Constitution Party candidate Peter Boyce both attended, but were not allowed to debate. In protest, Jason stood on the stage as the event was beginning. "I'm not being allowed to debate because I'm a third party candidate," Grover announced to the crowd! The campus police were called and escorted him out of the hall (though he returned later in time to have a presence in the audience). A video of the protest can be viewed at Jason's campaign Web site: www.newmenu.org/JasonGrover - - - - - - - - - - Asbury Park Press online: Green Party candidate in 4th district calls for new voting process article posted on app.com 10/16/08 (excerpts) Steven Welzer, the Green Party congressional candidate in the 4th District from East Windsor, Republican US Rep. Christopher Smith of Hamilton and Democrat Joshua Zeitz of Bordentown made a joint appearance at the Asbury Park Press Editorial Board this afternoon. Welzer challenged Democrat Joshua Zeitz to endorse Instant runoff voting - a process that could open up seats to parties other than Democrats and Republicans. Zeitz would not endorse that plan because he said he did not have all the details, but he would consider options that would open up American politics to third parties. "Third parties reinvigorate debate," Zeitz said. Smith said third parties should be included in discussions, but he would not endorse a plan to open the American political arena to third parties. "I think the two-party system is the best for America," the congressman said. Instant runoff voting is a process that allows voters to rank their choice for a particular office in order of preference. A hypothetical Green Party member could vote their candidate first and another party's candidate second. In an election in which no candidate gets a majority of number one votes, the candidate at the bottom would be removed, and the voter's second choice would move to number one. That process would continue until there is a clear winner. Instant runoff voting would help erase the notion that the Green Party is a "spoiler" party, Welzer said. - - - - - - - - - - Ed Fanning for Congress in the 5th District www.newmenu.org/edfanning I have distributed lawn signs in Bergen, Passaic, Sussex and Warren counties. Although my district includes Ridgewood, in the top northeast portion of the state (where we held the GPNJ annual meeting earlier this year), it is a typically gerrymandered district which extends to the Delaware Water Gap. I have been distributing my brochures with Alvin Meyer, primarily in Bergen County. Local merchants have put them on display in their shops. The response of the people we talk to has been positive. I have talked to and written Alfred Doblin of the Bergen Record for an interview. He claims to be too busy to cover third party candidates. I am still trying to speak with him and sent him my literature. I was approached on three occasions by Dennis Shulman, the Dem candidate, to get together for lunch or breakfast, I'm sure for the purpose of dropping out of the race. Apparently he thinks he has a chance of being the first Democrat in 30 years to be elected in the 5th CD and is afraid I may spoil the race. Let's hope that is the case. A debate was planned on Oct. 16 at Bergen Community College, sponsored by the League of Women Voters (LWV). However, Scott Garrett, the Republican incumbent, pulled out a week beforehand and Shulman did not want to debate the Green, so it was called off. Subsequently, they announced three debates between the two of them. The first was at a Temple in Woodcliff Lake on Oct. 19. It was not sponsored by the LWV. Alvin and I put my leaflets on hundreds of attendees' car windows after it began. We were spotted by a housekeeper of the Temple, who called the cops, but we were not discovered. A second debate, sponsored by LWV and the NJ Herald, was held at Sussex Community College. LWV was fine with my participation but not the Herald. I called them about this and am trying to arrange an interview. I was interviewed by the Lehigh Valley Express Times on October 13: www.lehighvalleylive.com/elections/index.ssf?/base/news-0/122387073425860.xml&coll=3 Third-party candidates face uphill battle in New Jersey congressional races By Jessica Coomes of The Express-Times 10/13/08 (excerpts) Ed Fanning isn't kidding himself. The Republican-leaning district that includes Warren County is not going to send a Green Party candidate to Congress. Still, he said, he is running to raise awareness of issues he thinks Republicans and Democrats are ignoring. Those include the minimum wage, global warming and health care, Fanning said. In a political system that polarizes citizens between two parties, independents' victories have been few. Of the 535 members of Congress, all but two are Republicans or Democrats. In addition to Fanning, Warren County voters will see five independent candidates for Senate and eight for president on the Nov. 4 ballot. The candidates consider themselves underdogs fighting a political system that makes it difficult to raise money and to debate the major-party candidates. "It's worthwhile to extend the dialogue and bring different ideas to the floor," said Gerald Pomper, professor emeritus of political science at Rutgers University. Sometimes third parties do it, he acknowledged, "but sometimes they mess up the clarity of results." Fanning argues the opposite, that clarity is achieved with broader choices. People stay home on Election Day, he said, because they are disgusted with politics. "When people vote for the lesser of two evils, the lesser of two evils always gets worse," Fanning said. He voted for Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1976 but later realized the party does not represent him. He regards Democrats as part of the problem. Democrat Al Forte, of Rochelle Park, votes with his party most of the time, but sometimes third-party candidates more closely reflect his views. That's why he intends to vote for Fanning over Shulman, who he considers to be too centrist. "I don't feel Shulman has earned my vote," Forte said. "The fact that he may have lost by one vote because I didn't vote for him, he would have nobody to blame but himself." A Gallup Poll last month found 47 percent of adults believe the country needs a third party, while 47 percent say it does not. Registered independents, however, have a greater appetite for another party; 63 percent want a new organization. Though independent voters do not necessarily support third-party candidates on Election Day, a jump in registered independents in recent decades points to a growing dissatisfaction with the political process and a weakened bond with parties, said Curtis Gans, director of the Center for the Study of the American Electorate at American University. Few adults were registered independents in 1960, Gans said, and now 1 in 5 is an independent. In this environment, third-party candidates argue, they serve as promoters of democracy who question the status quo. - - - - - - - - - - Alvin Meyer for Bergen County Freeholder First, a few reflections on running, as a Green, on the county level, for political office: In the past, I've always declined when asked to be a Green candidate. This time was different. I found collecting ballot signatures, easy, empowering, and rarely anything but pleasant. I want to acknowledge help that I received from: Ed Fanning on name collecting; Matt Cleveland (a Pennsylvania Green) on providing a website opportunity, and the sage advice from my wife, Katy. Cornell West once said: " It is not hope that gets people engaged in struggle. It is being engaged in struggle that gives people hope." The Struggle for Democracy here in the USA As we are told that our troop deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan is all about promoting Democracy there, here at home there is a concerted effort to deny basic democratic rights to the dissenting voices of our ballot qualified Green Party candidates. Our Congressional candidate, Ed Fanning, will be on the ballot but has been denied the right to make his political positions publicly known in the debates. For example: At a well-attended debate at Temple Emanuel in Woodcliff Lake, under the cover of dusk, Ed and I decided we would place literature for both McKinney and himself under the wipers of each of the cars in the lot. We were seen, the cops were called, and they patrolled the large lot while we hunkered down in our cars waiting for them to move on. In a true democracy none of this would have been necessary. The Struggle Continues, - Alvin Andre Meyer www.newmenu.org/AlvinMeyer ------------------------------------------ COUNTY LOCAL REPORTS Essex Greens sponsor forum on the economic crisis By Jane Califf On Oct. 28, a cold and rainy evening, almost 30 people attended a public forum in Bloomfield entitled "How Can We Survive and Turn around the Economic Crisis?" It was sponsored by the Essex Greens along with NJ Peace Action and the People's Organization for Progress (POP). The speakers were Michael Hirsch, labor journalist and member of the national committee of the Democratic Socialists of America; Stephen R. Shalom, professor of political science at William Paterson University and author of many books and articles on the US economy and international affairs; and Larry Hamm, president of POP, a very active Newark-based community organization fighting to end police brutality and violence in NJ communities, to end the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and for social and economic programs for poor and working people. All of the speakers stressed that the economic crisis is very serious and largely due to the lack of regulation of corporations and banks. They argued that it is up to organizations in the public and private sectors to overcome their reluctance to work together and instead to unify and fight back against the corporate bailout and for programs that will help resolve the economic crisis. These solutions include: - reinstitute a progressive tax system that would force the wealthy and corporations to pay higher taxes - reinstitute a tax on each Wall St. stock sale which would raise billions of dollars - reinstitute regulation of financial institutions - an indefinite moratorium on foreclosures, adjusting mortgage rates to affordable levels - work to raise the minimum wage to a living wage - extend unemployment benefits - reduce military spending by half - pass the Employee Free Choice Act in Congress which would make it easier for workers to organize into unions - work for millions of green jobs in solar, wind, geothermal, tidal and other renewable sources - plan for a huge march on Washington within the first hundred days of the new administration. Michael Hirsch made the important point that president F. D. Roosevelt was a conservative when elected but was forced to support social programs because of strong movements at the grassroots level. We can have success today if we remember that we, too, have the power to force change by our unity and by democratic functioning in coalition-building. - - - - - - - - - Gloucester County The local had a successful literature table at Glassboro's Oct. 11 Unity Day event. Some of their members have been participating in the following projects: Habitat for Humanity housing rehabs; ongoing peace vigils in Woodstown and Woodbury; environmental clean-up days in Wenonah. The group is encouraging the submission of Letters to the Editor on behalf Green Party US Congress candidates Matt Thieke (1st District) and Jason Grover (2nd District). They are also looking into how to establish a presence on MySpace. Their monthly local meeting was held October 19 at the Moore Perks Cafe in Wenonah. Their next meeting is scheduled for Nov. 23rd, 2:00pm at the same location. - - - - - - - - - Jason Koralja has made a page on Facebook for the Ocean County Greens: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=33904545473 ------------------------------------------ GREEN CANDIDACIES NATIONWIDE At least 245 Green candidates will be on ballots nationwide on November 4. Almost 300 Greens have run for public office throughout 2008. - - - - - - - - West Virginia Jesse Johnson, who attended our GPNJ convention last March, is the Mountain Party's candidate for governor in West Virginia (the Mountain Party is WV's Green Party affiliate). Notably, his campaign has been endorsed by both West Virginia Citizen Action Fund and the state Sierra Club. This is apparently the first time that the Sierra Club has ever endorsed any minor party nominee for such a high-level office, anywhere in the US. Johnson has participated in three debates with his Democratic and Republican rivals and has attracted attention for his promotion of a ban on mountaintop removal mining by West Virginia's powerful coal industry. "Because of mountaintop removal and the power of the coal companies, West Virginia has become ground zero for global climate change in the US," said Johnson. "The Interior Department is now relaxing rules on mountaintop mining, which will bring untold devastation to the natural environment and a massive threat to public health, through contamination of water and other resources. I'm the only candidate addressing this crisis, because the Democrat and Republican are too closely allied with the coal companies that are plundering West Virginia." Video clip of Jesse Johnson: http://vimeo.com/2013238 - - - - - - - - Arkansas The Arkansas Green Party has 14 local and state-level candidates on the ballot this year. In District 39 Richard Carroll seems likely to become the first Green elected to the state House of Representatives (he will face no Democratic or Republican opposition on the ballot, but it is possible that a write-in candidate might garner enough votes to win). The ArkGreens are running candidates in four out of five of the state's US Congressional Districts. For US Senate, GPAR candidate Rebekah Kennedy is competing against Democratic incumbent Mark Pryor, with no Republican in the race. Below is a report from Mark Swaney, one of the GPAR National Committee representatives: The Green Party of Arkansas is in the biggest growth period of its 12 year history - people are asking to join, new county locals are being formed, the media for the first time ever is treating us with grudging respect, and we have 14 strong candidates who are doing the job of campaigning. I could make a long list of "firsts" for Arkansas this year - first presidential primary, first time filing (two candidates) with the FEC, and so on. We may very well have our first electoral victory this year - a Green member of the AR legislature. All of this success in Arkansas is partly founded on the existence and success of the national party. We are providing the only option for Arkansans aside from the five Arkansas federal incumbents. Without our participation in the election this year, made possible in part by many generous contributions to our '07 Ballot Access Drive - contributions from Greens all over the United States - Arkansans would have NO CHOICE in this year's election but to vote for all Federal incumbents - or else stay home. - - - - - - - - Maryland Gordon Clark, Green Party candidate for the US House (District 8), is receiving significant attention for his grassroots campaign against a powerful Democrat, Chris Van Hollen (who is Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.) Gordon raised more campaign funds, all from individuals, during the second quarter than any other candidate nominated for Congress by an alternative party in the US. His fundraising also beat the total of the Republican candidate in the race! It was widely reported that Clark came out on top in a debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters on October 2. On the basis of that performance and his dynamic campaign, he is now receiving coverage in the mainstream press, including the Washington Post. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbj-MoxER7g www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyYZ9Oof_RQ - - - - - - - - Louisiana Malik Rahim, Louisiana Green candidate for the US House (District 2), is co-founder of the Common Ground Collective, an organization that provides short-term relief to victims of hurricane disasters in the Gulf Coast region. Mr. Rahim is a former Black Panther and ran for New Orleans City Council in 2002 as a Green Party candidate. The election for the 2nd District US House seat will take place on December 6 instead of November 4 because of election delays caused by Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. - - - - - - - - California Green Party candidate Ross Mirkarimi was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (District 5) in 2004 and is running for re-election. Mr. Mirkarimi has sponsored about 40 pieces of legislation addressing crime, making streets safer for pedestrians, improving efficiency of city departments, and the environment. He led efforts to promote medical marijuana clubs in San Francisco. In March 2007, he introduced legislation prohibiting large supermarkets and drugstores from providing customers with non-biodegradable plastic bags, making San Francisco the first city to regulate such bags. In June 2008, Mr. Mirkarimi sponsored a one-year pilot plan for a solar rebate program that provides $1.5 million to nonprofit organizations and lower income residents for installing solar voltaic power on rooftops. He faces two opponents in the current election. - - - - - - - - Nebraska Associated Press 10/17/08 Green Party's Larrick runs to represent 'views left out' LINCOLN - Steve Larrick is a humble guy, so when people tell him they think he won all the US Senate debates, he repeats the opinion with an apologetic laugh. But the Green Party candidate also thinks he's the only one who has been giving enough specifics about his positions in the race to replace retiring US Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Republican. "People from across the political spectrum appreciate the focus on the issues," Larrick said in an interview. The 56-year-old is running to "represent the views that are left out of the process." He doesn't have nearly the money, staff or organization as Democrat Scott Kleeb or Republican Mike Johanns, yet he said he's convinced that someone needs to challenge the status quo. Larrick is an elected member of the Lower Platte South Natural Resource District board. He was a Green Party candidate for the 1st District House seat in 2004, and ran for state auditor in 2006, losing to Republican Mike Foley. But when the Green Party loses, it's not a total loss. The party is recognized as an official party for the 2008 election because, for the first time, in 2006, a Green Party candidate for statewide office got more than five percent of the vote - Doug Paterson, who ran for secretary of state. The party has to garner at least five percent of the vote in a statewide election this year to maintain that distinction. Larrick would like to change to a system of "instant run- off voting," where people list their top two choices for office. That way, people wouldn't hesitate to vote for the Green candidate, Larrick said. Larrick gets most excited when he talks about community development, a field in which he has 20 years of experience. He has worked as a community development researcher with the Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest. The solution to many of the nation's problems comes from creating peaceful communities and social responsibility, Larrick said. As the income disparity between the rich and poor grows, communities break down, he said, and desperation drives violence. - - - - - - - - Connecticut Connecticut Journal Inquirer 10/22/08 Debate separates 2nd District Congressional candidates on issues The three candidates for US Congress in Connecticut's 2nd District - the Democratic incumbent, Joseph D. Courtney, Republican Sean Sullivan, and Green Party candidate G. Scott Deshefy - participated in a debate at Fermi High School in Enfield on October 21. The debate began with domestic policy issues such as the state children's health program expansion that was vetoed by President Bush, stem-cell research, and home heating prices. While Sullivan was responding to a question about stem- cell research - he said he favors adult stem-cell research, but not embryonic because of moral objections - a member of the audience in a motorized wheelchair cried out that stem-cell research could help him if it's expanded. In contrast to Sullivan, both Courtney and Deshefy said they supported embryonic stem-cell research. The candidates broke sharply on energy policy with Deshefy calling for a price cap on home heating fuels and the creation of a Green Corps, similar to the Peace Corps for the environment. Sullivan spoke of the need to increase supply, and said he was supportive of both offshore drilling and Alaskan drilling. On foreign policy, Courtney said he agreed with his party's presidential candidate Illinois Sen. Barack Obama about the need to remove troops from Iraq in 16 months and refocus on Afghanistan. Deshefy said the country needs to stop trying to remake the world in our image and support the people of Afghanistan with aid. The candidates were offered two minutes to make closing remarks to the audience of approximately 100 people. Courtney asked voters to re-elect him so he could "finish the job" he started in 2006, and reminded voters that he has stood up to the Bush agenda during his tenure. Sullivan said the district needs "leadership, confidence, and courage," to resolve problems that aren't being solved because of partisanship. Deshefy told the audience that the Green Party represents the only real change in the election and its vision for America could be summed up with four E's - economy, ethics, ecology, and energy. The debate was broadcast and re-broadcast on several television stations. - - - - - - - - Minnesota Farheen Hakeem is running for State House District 61B. There are three candidates seeking an open seat. In most polls, Farheen is running in a dead heat for the lead. www.farheenhakeem.org - - - - - - - - For more information about Green campaigns nationwide: www.gp.org/2008-elections/candidate-news.php www.gp.org/elections.shtml ------------------------------------------ CYNTHIA MCKINNEY SPEAKS AT BLACK PANTHER REUNION Atlanta, Georgia 10/18/08 I am extremely pleased to participate in this reunion of some of the boldest, most idealistic, patriotic, inspiring young people that this country has ever seen. I celebrate who you are and what you have done to cause the United States government and all of its instruments of power to write one of the most ignominious chapters in this country's history. I consistently use you as a gauge: if they would do it to the Black Panther Party, then all of America must know that they will, without hesitation, also do it to the rest of us. And so, it is incumbent upon those of us who know and want to know, to share the information about your experiences - because there were efforts as you well know, to denigrate your name and neutralize your mission of self-determination for black people in this country, and to instill fear into the population, both black and white, at the very mention of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. I begin with this question: If the decision- and policy-makers at that time [1960s] would do it when it was "illegal and un-American," as Senator Frank Church described the actions of those working inside the COINTELPRO framework, what are individual actors with access to power and technology within the government today capable of doing now? You, the members of the Black Panther Party, are living testament that too many individuals with access to power were willing to commit the highest crimes and misdemeanors in order to achieve their objective - and that was clearly stated in the opening document: to neutralize you. You are also living testament that even though the actions carried out against you were illegal, they were largely done with impunity. Who among the actors inside government - the coordinators, conceivers, managers, approvers - of these activities has been punished? And what we must never forget is what the US government means when it uses the word "neutralize." I think you know all too well. Your experience with the Counter-Intelligence Program of yesterday is instructive today now that the Patriot Acts, the Secret Evidence Act, the Military Commissions Act, the Funding for the War on Terror Act are all carved into the law. The legal landscape has changed, but there is one aspect of the operation to neutralize your good works and your good name that has not changed. And that's what I want to talk about today. How many times has the corporate press used the word "spoiler" in reference to the 2000 presidential election - and every presidential election since then - and how many times have they reported accurately the number of black votes cast and not counted or the way in which black voters were disfranchised? How many times did the corporate press use the word "conspiracy," not in conjunction with the September 11th tragedy, but in conjunction with those who want to know the truth about what happened on that day? How many times did the corporate media lie to the people of this country and the world in the lead-up to the war against Iraq? In the wake of accounts of torture and prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, how many times were prisoner abuse and torture *inside this country* mentioned? How many times was Attica, the Angola 3, Chicago's Area 2, or the San Francisco 8 mentioned? In this, an election year, how many times have stories on election integrity been written that inform and warn potential voters of the problems they might face at the polling place and what their rights are if they encounter them? COINTELPRO could not have been as effective as it was without the cooperation and complicity of the corporate media, known as the Fourth Estate. I read a very interesting piece recently that asked if the Fourth Estate is really a Fifth Column. On November 30, 1999, testimony in the Memphis trial on the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. starkly portrayed the collusion of the paragons of the press with suppression and omission of important information. The testimony of Bill Schapp, for example, is frightening reading about propaganda and disinformation in the information lifeline of this country. He testified that approximately one-third of the entire CIA budget and hundreds of millions of FBI dollars are dedicated to media propaganda operations. The CIA actually owned, at the time of the Church Committee hearings, about 250 media organizations and employed thousands of journalists - on the CIA payroll! Mr. Schapp testified that the FBI had friendly journalists at AP, Copley News Service, US News and World Report, and at the Atlanta Constitution, The New Orleans Times Picayune, The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, even The Washington Post. And what is to be made of the Brasscheck TV video (www.brasschecktv.com/page/439.html) that shows the Prime Ministers of Australia and the soon-to-be Prime Minister of Canada giving the exact same speech in support of the US-led war in Iraq? So, if it's the truth or real information we want, we have to go elsewhere - not to the corporate press. In this election year, don't expect talk about civil liberties or human rights, don't expect discussion of a full employment economy or even of a single payer health care system, recently described by five thousand physicians as the only morally and fiscally responsible way to deliver health care in this country. Now we learn that special surveillance units have been formed to track our hip hop icons as was done with our cultural icons of the past, including Paul Robeson and Bob Marley. No wonder. We get more straight talk from political hip hop than we do from today's journalists charged with informing the people of their voting choices and policy options. Artists like Immortal Technique, who writes in his song on the media entitled Fourth Branch: "It's like MK Ultra controlling your brain ... " Michael Franti writes: "We can bomb the world to pieces, but we can't bomb it into peace." Finally, Paris speaks to the character of our country when he asks: "If you saw all the things that's wrong, would you stand tall and strong, or would you turn and walk away?" You, members of the Black Panther Party, saw all the things that's wrong, and you stood tall and strong. Thank you. ------------------------------------------ INTERNATIONAL GREEN PARTY NEWS Green campaigner Caroline Lucas named "MEP of the Year" [MEP = Member of the European Parliament] www.kentnews.co.uk Dr. Caroline Lucas has been awarded a top accolade for her work on trade issues in the European Parliament. The newly elected Green Party leader for England and Wales was chosen by her fellow members to receive the Parliament Magazine award for "MEP of the Year 2008" from a list drawn up by Non-Governmental Organisations which take part in aid work. In recent years Dr. Lucas has campaigned to radically reform the EU's controversial Economic Partnership Agreements. She has been highly critical of the Global Europe trading strategy which she feels promotes an aggressive anti-developmental approach in trying to force open markets in some of the poorest countries. She was elected to the European Parliament as one of the Green Party's first MEPs in June 1999 to represent the South East of England region, and re-elected with an increased vote share in 2004. The next European Elections take place in June 2009. - - - - - - - - Canada Federal elections were held in Canada on October 14 and the Green Party's share of the national vote rose to 6.8% from 4.5% in 2006. Below are excerpts from the pre- election statement, "Vision Green," by the party's Leader (spokesperson), Elizabeth May: After attending the Global Greens meeting in Brazil this spring, I have a real appreciation of what international cooperation can look like. There are Green Parties in over 90 countries around the world. We have been in coalition governments in Germany, Denmark and Sweden. We have had representatives in Ireland, New Zealand and Australia. I saw the Green Party representatives of Jordan, Israel and Egypt sit together on their break, and it inspired me to believe that a truly global movement could turn this world around. If the Green Party's platform went forward starting today, I believe Canadians would quickly see local community-based projects accelerating. We would bring in a national vision for transit, for energy and tourism. We would implement the national water strategy, and all of our policies would work together to achieve the Canada we want. Through tax shifting, we could begin to instantly Green our economy, investing in sustainable energy businesses, protecting our natural resources at home and ensuring that they exist to serve us well into the future. We would immediately shift taxes to alleviate the burden on the unemployed and low-income families. In foreign development, we would start talking to our NATO allies, our UN associates and the powers that be in Afghanistan about the strategic route to a peaceful resolution, focusing on development assistance, defense and diplomacy. We would not leave our men and women to a dangerous and failed mission. We would commit to investing 0.7% of GDP to international development assistance, as requested by the campaign to Make Poverty History. We would begin the process of giving Canada back its role in peace-keeping and the mission to end the arms race. Our country would once again be a voice for social justice and world peace in international negotiations, signing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, renewing our commitment to the Kyoto protocol, seeking nuclear disarmament, signing and implementing the Rotterdam Convention to protect developing countries from hazardous imports. The vision of the Green Party is for a better world, healthier, greener and more secure. With vision, people can achieve a great deal. ------------------------------------------ STEVE WELZER PRESENTATION AT BROOKDALE DEBATE Steve Welzer, GPNJ candidate for US Congress in the 4th District, participated in a debate at Brookdale College on the evening of October 16. Also participating were the incumbent Democratic Congressman in the 6th District, Frank Pallone, his Republican challenger Robert McLeod, the Republican challenging Rush Holt in the 12th District, Alan Bateman, and two other independents. A video of the event is available. Below are excerpts from Steve Welzer's opening remarks: - - - - - - - - History is going to be made in this year's election - either with the first president of African American heritage or the first woman vice president. In our neighbor to the north - in Canada - history of a different kind was made a few months ago: the first Green Party Member of Parliament was seated. Canadians enjoy a more open electoral system than we do here in the US. Greens persist in our efforts to build a political party in this country because we're confident that at *some* point - in the not-too-distant future - America will embrace true and full multi-party democracy ... like all of the other advanced democratic nations have done. There is no other democracy where the political culture is such that the vast majority of voters feel they are limited to essentially only two significant choices. Even though the Green politics movement is relatively new, having been initiated during the 1970s and 1980s, there are already at this point Green parties in over 90 countries. Worldwide, ecological consciousness is clearly on the rise. We see interest in green lifestyles, green building, green modes of transportation and agriculture and energy production, etc. Related to that, in *most* countries, is a rise in support for Green politics. In France or Germany or Italy or Canada voters aren't constrained by feeling that a vote for a Green Party candidate is a wasted vote ... or might be a "spoiler" vote. They have political systems that accommodate many voices and many choices. In Germany, for example, the Green Party started out with just two or three percent support, but they knew that if they could build it up to five percent they could get representation in the parliament. Once that was achieved they became recognized as a serious force and now they command the allegiance of over ten percent of the electorate. That surely will continue to grow. The electoral laws, ballot access laws, campaign finance system, and media exposure norms in Germany - and in almost all other democracies - are such that minor parties can compete and have a chance to become major parties. Eventually I think that will happen even in the United States - because at some point people in this country will recognize the limitations of our archaic electoral system and demand reform. Why should politics be an either-or choice? Surely there are not just two valid ideologies. Yet, as it stands now, candidates like myself tend to hear from progressives that our presence in the race is "dangerous." If a Green Party candidate gets three or five or eight percent of the vote it may cause the Democrat to lose and the Republican to get elected. When Green Party candidates hear that, we reply with the following points: First of all, our politics represents a perspective quite distinct from that of both the Democrats and the Republicans. We don't embrace Big Government as the Democrats tend to do and we don't coddle Big Business as Republican policies almost invariably do. We critique the globalization, the militarism and the growth mania of those parties. Greens, uniquely, talk about living more lightly, reducing military expenditures, devolving power away from Big Government and Big Business in favor of renewing local community life. We're here to stay - but we can't possibly go from Square One where we garner one or two percent support as a minor party to suddenly advancing to the point that others might consider "viable" or "serious" - we can't leap from two percent to twenty percent. If three or five percent is a "spoiler factor" under the current system, then clearly it's the fault of the system and not the fault of the Green Party. If the Democrats were smart in regard to this "problem" they would push for electoral reforms like proportional representation or Instant Runoff Voting - IRV. [I then described IRV in detail]. Since 2000 the Green Party has been saying to the Democrats that it would be in their *own* best interest to change the system to eliminate the "spoiler" factor. And, of course, we say that instituting full multi-party democracy is the right thing to do, anyway, in the best interest of the voting public. But the current system is very entrenched, and its dominant parties are unlikely to make major electoral system reforms of their own volition. Probably they will only get the point when they feel the sting of having races "spoiled" by minor party candidates. So we will keep encouraging voters not to back off, not to settle for lesser evilism. If you agree with the positions of the Green Party - for example: [here I briefly covered the essence of our key platform positions] - if you agree with these points then I urge you to vote for Green Party candidates. Maybe sometimes that will result in a victory for the Republican rather than the Democrat. We advise that you take a long-term view of it. Express through your vote what you really believe in and use your vote as an opportunity to send a message - that you want to see the opening up of our electoral system and the establishment of full multi-party democracy in this country. A thoroughgoing transformation of politics is urgently needed in our time. Support for the Green Party will help to move that process forward. ------------------------------------------ BRING HOME THE NATIONAL GUARD! On Thursday, November 6 at 7 p.m. the Borough of Highland Park and the People's Organization for Progress/Central Jersey will be hosting a forum to discuss bringing the New Jersey National Guard home from Iraq. Location: the Highland Park Senior Youth Center, 220 So. 6th Avenue, Highland Park, NJ. People from around the state are invited to attend. Co-sponsors include: The Peace and Justice Coalition; Military Families Speak Out/Bergen County; Veterans for Peace Chapter 21; New Jersey Peace Action; NJ Labor Against the War; Bergen Peace and Justice Coalition; Union County Peace Council; Bring the Guard Home, It's the Law! For more information about the event, contact Bruno Oriti, 732-763-1134 or Boro Council President Elsie Foster-Dublin at 732-777-2179. For more information about the Bring the Guard Home campaign, visit: www.bringhometheguard.org or www.bringtheguardhome.org ----------------------------------------- CHOMSKY SAYS HE WILL BE VOTING FOR MCKINNEY Cynthia McKinney, in a prepared statement, today (10/30) expressed her appreciation for the support of Professor Noam Chomsky, noted linguist tenured at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In private emails with campaign supporters this week, the respected social critic noted that he had voted Green in 2004 and would be voting for McKinney next Tuesday, as well. "I find it very gratifying that our campaign has garnered the support and vote of such an eminent thinker and noted critic of our nation's foreign policy," said Ms. McKinney, Green Party nominee for President of the United States. "I share Professor Chomsky's analysis that our vote is best invested in building an institution which will survive the close of the polls next Tuesday." http://legacy.runcynthiarun.org/Endorsements/Chomsky_SupportWelcomedByCampaign ======================================= The GreenGram is circulated monthly in an effort to keep all GPNJ members informed about party news, Green-related activities, and upcoming events. Members are encouraged to submit articles and event announcements. The deadline for the next issue will be November 15. Please submit material for inclusion to: SteveWelzer@msn.com !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GreenGram Green Party of NJ Bulletin -- www.gpnj.org P.O. Box 9802, Trenton, NJ 08650 To subscribe, become a member of GPNJ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!