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The Green
Diamond
e-newsletter
- vol. 5-40
November
27, 2005
a
publication of
The
Green Party of Delaware
(www.gpde.org
greenpartyde@yahoo.com)
Grassroots
Democracy - Economic & Social Justice - Nonviolence/Peace -
Ecological Wisdom
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the Revolution!
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Washington, D.C. 20037
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866-41GREEN
(P.S.
Don't forget the Green Party of Delaware in you contributions!)
INSIDE
THIS ISSUE
Green
Party of Delaware
Coordinating
Council Meeting Scheduled
Green
Party of the United States
Green
Wave: Write a Green Letter or Op-ed Column on Iraq Withdrawal
Green
Things
The
Progressive Challenge IN
and TO The Democratic Party: A Panel Discussion and
Forum
Green
Action
CITIES FOR PROGRESS
NEWSFLASH
Citizens
Public Hearing on Soaring Utility Costs
Letters
to the Editor and Editorials
Editorial:
Why Buy Nothing Day?
Area
Organizations/Projects of Potential Interest to Green Party Members
and Sympathizers
*******************************************************************************
Green Party of Delaware
Coordinating Council Meeting
Scheduled
The next meeting of the GPDE Coordinating
Council will be held on November 29, tentatively in Wilmington. For
more information, call John Atkeison at 345-0607.
Thanks!
John
Green
Party of the United States
Green
Wave: Write a Green Letter or Op-ed Column on Iraq Withdrawal
Green
Wave
November 2005
Attn Greens & friends
As
several published articles have noted recently, a large percentage of
the public has grown disgusted with the Bush Administration and the
Republicans, but they aren't very impressed by Democrats either.
Greens are in a unique position to advance the party's
position on the Iraq War, assert some political leadership as the
party of opposition to bipartisan war policies, and stress the
failure of Dems to provide antiwar leadership. We need to do so
publicly and as soon as possible.
One of the best ways to do
this is to flood newspapers and other media with letters to the
editor and op-ed column submissions.
Below are a list of
bullet points for this purpose. If you use the bullet points or
samples, rewrite and reword them according to your own style and
preference. If you can, make your letter or column personal, if, for
instance, the war has touched you because of the loss of someone you
know or if you've undertaken a specific action in opposition to the
war.
These bullet points focus on the invasion itself, but
there are other points that can also be discussed, such as Green
support for Cindy Sheehan, the US's dependency on oil and dedication
to oil company profits as a motivating factor, the revelations of the
Valerie Plame affair, and the role of Israel.
Keep your
letter as concise as possible and avoid passionate denunciations.
Eight paragraph letters and tirades that begin with "The New
York Times has deceived and betrayed the American people..."
don't get published.
Guest op-ed columns can be longer and
can employ more of the bullet points. Check the targeted newspaper's
web site for specifications. If you need some help with editing and
submitting your column, send a note to the Media Committee
<mclarty@greens.org>.
BULLET
POINTS
* (Important!) The only
rational action is an end to the occupation and immediate withdrawal
of US troops from Iraq. The demand by some Democrats for a withdrawal
plan by the end of 2006 will only result in more US troop and Iraqi
civilian deaths.
* (Important!) President Bush and the
Republicans have shamed the US, breached international and US
constitutional law, and weakened our security. They did so with
permission from the Democratic leadership and the major media. We
need to hold them all accountable, and we need new political
leadership.
* Rep. John Murtha (D-Penn.) and other Congress
members who have condemned the Iraq War deserve our thanks, but why
did it take them so long to speak out? In early 2003, at the
beginning of the invasion, it was already evident that the Bush
Administration's motivations were based on deception.
*
While Democrats and the media fell for the White House's fraudulent
claims, millions of Americans were skeptical. Many of us, including
the Green Party, spoke out publicly against the invasion.
*
When Republicans and many Democrats voted to transfer Congress's
constitutionally mandated war power to the White House in October
2002, they undermined the balance of power and created the scenario
for the deceit and massive abuse of power by the Bush
Administration's radical ideologues.
* There was plenty of
intelligence by early 2003 to show that Saddam Hussein had no WMDs,
although CIA analysts were pressured to show otherwise. The
inspectors' search for WMDs in Iraq had turned up nothing when
President Bush interrupted them by launching the invasion. The
accusation that Saddam Hussein had conspired with al-Qaeda was never
plausible, and Bush officials already knew that the nuclear weapons
charge was based on a forgery. President Bush, in his 2003 State of
Union address, and Secretary of State Colin Powell, in his February
2003 speech before the UN, misled the US and the world -- and we
should have known it. [Excellent source for more information: "Libby
Indictment May Open Door to Broader Iraq War Deceptions" by
Stephen Zunes, in Foreign Policy In Focus, November 14, 2005
<http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/2925>]
* President Bush still insists that the invasion of Iraq
was a necessary part of his 'War on Terror', even though no one
believes Iraq played a role in the 9/11 attacks. Instead, the
invasion has created more animosity against the US and its allies and
further inflamed violent extremists.
* Ever since the
Project for a New American Century (whose leaders now hold positions
in the Bush Administration) tried to persuade President Clinton to
invade Iraq in 1989, it has been clear that an extreme Republican
faction wanted to remove Saddam Hussein and gain control over Iraq's
oil resources. This faction has reintroduced the concept of invasion
for 'preemptive' purposes, which had been outlawed after World War II
by international laws, including the UN Charter, to which the US was
signatory.
* Ahmed Chalabi recently visited Washington and
met with Vice President Cheney and other leaders. This is the same
Ahmed Chalabi who fed the US misinformation about Iraqi WMDs, who
allegedly passed US secrets to Iran, who was convicted of
embezzlement in Jordan -- and was named Interim Oil Minister in Iraq,
with the Bush Administration's blessing.
* The news about
the war gets worse and worse: 2,000-plus dead American
servicemembers; tens of thousands of dead Iraqi civilians; mounting
evidence of torture in Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, and other sites;
alleged wartime profiteering by firms like Halliburton that hold
multi-billion-dollar contracts; the use of depleted uranium and
outlawed chemical weapons (white phosphorus). Meanwhile, White White
House officials try to smear war critics as unpatriotic, and Vice
President Cheney lobbies for legalization of torture. Worst of all,
we have to endure three more years of Mr. Bush's lawless, rock-bottom
presidency.
The Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
National office: 1700 Connecticut Avenue
NW, Suite 404
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191 or
202-319-7192
866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
Join the
GreensWeek e-mail subscription list for the latest on national Green
Party news and events:
http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/greensweek
http://www.gp.org/greensweek/index.html
Green
Things
The Progressive
Challenge IN and TO The
Democratic Party: A Panel Discussion and Forum
The
Phoenix Community in Delaware, Inc.
The Democratic Party seems to be stretched both nationally and
locally, held from snapping apart only by mutual contempt for the
Republican right. On issues such as the war in Iraq, universal,
single-payer healthcare, NAFTA-type trade policies, electoral reform,
the environment, poverty, and how to distinguish Democrats from
Republicans on "cultural" issues, Democrats are often far apart.
Some progressives have broken free, opting to devote their efforts to
the Green Party. At the same time, almost all progressives see
dangers in the rightward and authoritarian direction of our country,
and they believe all democratic-minded Americans should seek common
ground. To take sides or just make friends, join us on Sunday!
The Panel:
§ John
Cartier, New Castle County Council Member (D-8th District), and
President of the Phoenix Community
§ Steve
Biener, Treasurer, Progressive Democrats for Delaware, 2002 candidate
for the U. S. House of Representatives
§ Phillip
Bannowsky, Pennsylvania Move On Precinct Captain for 2004 Kerry
campaign, Registered member of the Green Party of Delaware, and
Vice-President of the Phoenix Community.
Sunday,
December 4, 2005, 7:00 PM
The New Ark
United Church of Christ Wells Hall
300 East Main Street,
Newark, Delaware
Open to the Public: $5 donation at the
door
Coffee and Dessert will be served
John Cartier,
President
The Rev. Robert W. Andrews, Founder and Pastor
IN ECUMENICAL
MINISTRY WITH A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE SINCE 1954
P.O. BOX 715
* NEWARK, Delaware 19715 * TEL. (302) 292-1406 * FAX (302)
731-7535
Green
Action
CITIES FOR PROGRESS
NEWSFLASH
Dear Cities for Progress Friends,
Thanks
to all your efforts to Bring the Troops Home, the count now stands at
68 Cities and Towns who have passed resolutions to Bring the Troops
Home and yesterday's Washington Post featured a wonderful article on
your efforts! The wires picked it up and the story has spread around
the world. Please click on the link below to read the Washington Post
story or Google Cities for Peace to see other stories. Please
click on www.citiesforprogress.org to see a full list and to
download your own Bring the Troops Home Resolution Toolkit so that
you can proudly add your community to our list of Cities for
Peace! While there, please see our other resolution campaigns.
Congratulations on all that you have done and all that you continue
to do.
dyn/content/article/2005/11/19/AR2005
111901183.html
In Solidarity,
Karen Dolan,
Director of Cities for Progress, www.citiesforprogress.org
The
Institute for Policy Studies, www.ips-dc.org
*
Citizens Public Hearing on
Soaring Utility Costs
Common
Cause of Delaware
1304 N. Rodney St., 3rd Floor,
Wilmington, Delaware 19806
(302) 521-0394
e-mail: jdf0000@aol.com
November 25, 2005
Dear Friend:
You
are invited to participate in a citizens' public hearing to explore
the negative impact of soaring utility costs in Delaware
The
Community Energy Committee public hearing will be held on Friday,
December 2, 2005, at the Common Cause offices, 10:00 a.m. till noon,
1304 N. Rodney St., Wilmington.
The Delaware General
Assembly-sponsored committee hearings held recently severely limited
public input during the meetings.
The industry
representatives present of these meetings also offered no viable or
innovative solutions to the energy cost crisis facing many
Delawareans this winter.
All members of the General Assembly,
and others, have been invited to participate, as well as any
representatives of government programs and advocacy groups.
Preferential placement on the agenda will be given to persons
or groups who have a responsible plan to help address the
present and future energy crisis.
Advocacy groups, ACORN,
Green Delaware and Environmentalists for Truth have joined in this
effort to explore solutions not presently addressed in legislative
proposals pending in the General Assembly.
The public is
invited to attend the Community Energy Committee meetings and to
submit written and/or oral testimony on the impact of this impending
community financial hardship.
Common Cause requests that
prospective speakers submit their comments via e-mail to
jdf0000@aol.com.
Common Cause will submit written
testimony from speakers to Senate and House members of the General
Assembly.
Common Cause is a nonpartisan, nonprofit citizens'
lobbying organization dedicated to government reform and
accountability.
Sincerely,
John Flaherty
John
Flaherty, lobbyist
Common Cause of Delaware
JDF0000@aol.com
Letters to
the Editor and Editorials
Editorial:
Why Buy Nothing Day?
As a 'salesperson' with 'Buy
Nothing Day 2005' there are several reasons I was willing to be
arrested at the Christiana Mall this Black Friday. First, consumerism
and commercialism are some of the deep root causes of U.S.
militaristic and economic imperialism throughout the world. Because
of our country's greedy and excessive use of world resources to
constantly stuff an unsupportable life style, controlling the
resources of the world is of paramount importance to the U.S.
government. It goes a lot further than just the 'oil war' in
Iraq. So for me, Buy Nothing Day is a continuation of my opposition
to the current wars.
In addition, looking at the arrests of
Buy Nothing Day salespeople last and this year, several important
issues are raised. For example, a mall spokesperson said (News
Journal, 11/26/05), that we were arrested because we violated their
'no soliciting' policy. The fact is, we had discussed thoroughly
beforehand that we were not going to solicit anything from people in
the mall. Only when people approached us did we offer shoppers
'nothing' (at no cost). We wore "Buy Nothing TM" tee-shirts
and carried "Free Sample" bags full of 'nothing'. We were
soliciting nothing (pun intended) and had as much of a right to be at
the mall as any other person.
Then, although we ask the mall
officials over-and over-again why they were telling us to leave the
mall, they (actually, he), would only repeat (like a tape recording),
"You must leave the mall immediately". We thought we deserved,
like any other citizen, to hear the basis of their asking us to leave
before we did so. Otherwise, what would prevent them from asking an
African-American, an elderly person (like me), or, more likely today,
a person of Mid-Eastern descent to leave and not have to give a
reason for doing so?
It was strange. Not only didn't the
mall official who initially told us to leave not provide us with a
reason we were being told to leave, he wouldn't even show identity
to prove he was indeed an employee of the mall (a second mall person
who arrived later flashed a badge of some sort but would not let us
look at it to confirm it's authenticity).
Another strange
thing is that I was not told I was under arrest after the state
police were brought in (they had increased their force apparently in
preparation for our arrival). We were whisked away from the shopping
area as quickly as they could move us. I had to ask with what I was
being charged (Trespassing 3rd degree, I was told).
Another more
troubling issue revolves around how taxpayer paid state police are
stationed at the Christiana Mall (the police officer processing me
confirmed he was paid by the state, not the mall), with their own
office (granted, it was more of a hole in the wall than an office).
Even so, the property is considered private property. Hence, the
mall's claimed legal grounds to have us leave the property. It
seems to us Buy Nothing Day participants, that this is contradictory
and that IF the property is truly private than Christiana Mall should
be responsible for hiring and paying for their own security forces.
IF the property is a public area than we should have the
constitutionally granted freedoms of assembly and free speech.
Towards the end of the arrest process, I had a conversation
with one of the police officers. He requested to be off the record
and asked, "Was it worth it?", to which I responded "Yes, very
much so". The extra special bonus for me was my being barred by the
mall people from shopping at Christiana Mall for a whole year!
We
will decide as a group how to respond to the arrests. I hope next
year we have even more 'salespeople' to sell 'nothing' on
Black Friday and I hope you will join us.
*
Share
your ideas and actions for a better community and world. Submit your
letters to the editor at jcannon11@comcast.net.
Area
Organizations/Projects of Potential Interest to Green Party Members
and Sympathizers
Pacem in Terris
Pacem
in Terris is a non-profit organization that strives to facilitate the
active participation of people and organizations on the Delmarva
Peninsula, especially the religious community, on the issues and
projects relevant to the quest for peace and justice throughout the
world. Through seminars, activities, and experiences, we seek to
change community attitudes and help people understand that peace is
not a dream, but a necessity, now and in the future.
A.
Philip Randolph Institute (APRI)
The Philip Randolph
Institute was founded in 1965 by Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin.
Funded by the AFL-CIO the main objective of the organization is to
bridge the gap between the African American community and the trade
union movement. Activities included local civil rights campaigns,
voter registration and job training.
Latin American
Community Center
LACC provides social services; information
and referral; emergency food closet; family and individual therapy;
substance abuse prevention, and education programs; AIDS education;
pre-employment preparation and occupational training.
ematusov.soe.udel.edu/LaRedMagica/La%20Red%20Magica%20project/LaRedMagica.htm
Progressive Voices
Listen to "Progressive
Voices" every Monday evening, 7:30 to 8:00 p.m. on WVUD,
91.3 FM from the University of Delaware in Newark, DE. From
anywhere in the world listen on line at . Email questions and
comments to pvoices@gmail.com. E-mails are
read during the show and receive comment if possible.
Progressive Voices features people who believe in democracy,
a healthy environment, the right to organize, peace, and other
"progressive" values. If you are interested in
appearing on Progressive Voices contact Alan Muller at 302.834.3466,
amuller@dca.net, or Marian Peleski,
GreenViews
GreenViews present a magazine on TV from the Green Point of View.
See us Every Third Sunday at 7pm on Comcast Channel 28 in New Castle
County, Delaware. Although not an official Green Party project, a
number of Green Party members play key roles in producing and hosting
the program.
Green Delaware
Green
Delaware is a grassroots organization concerned with environmental
and public health issues in Delaware and surrounding states. We
advocate policies consistent with good health, preservation of
biodiversity, and long-term sustainability. We believe that achieving
these ends also requires progress towards human relationships based
on peace, justice, and democratic forms of government.
While
the Green Party of Delaware often supports positions put forward by
Green Delaware, the two organizations are not affiliated.
This
represents an initial list of area organizations/projects that the
Green Diamond wishes to recognize and bring to the attention of its
readers. The Green Diamond Advisory Board and its editor will add
other organizations/projects to this list in the near future with
on-going additions as deemed appropriate. This list does not mean the
Green Party of Delaware endorses the listed organizations/projects.
However, with this list we do recognize the straightforwardness and
general progressive spirit with which they approach their missions.
Readers of the Green Diamond are encouraged to submit the
names and a brief description of organizations they would like to see
listed in the Green Diamond by writing the editor at .
Fair
Use Notice: This site contains copyrighted material the use of
which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to
advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights,
economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted
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accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this
site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a
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If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for
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permission from the copyright owner.
The Green Diamond
is an endorsed publication of the Green Party of Delaware. The editor
with the Green Diamond Advisory Board reserves the right to review
and publish material that will build and expand the Green Party as an
alternative, independent politics striving to achieve responsible
government, empower citizens and communities, offer hope to our
citizens and call them to action.
If you wish to contribute
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Your comments are welcome and needed.
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