How to Campaign in 2006 (letter to John Murphy)

I agree with Steve Greenfield. The wrath I incurred from so-called liberals while petitioning for Nader in 2004 convinces me that it is a waste of time to approach DFA or PDA (progressive Democrat) groups for support. Let them know who you are and what you are doing. Perhaps a few may join you, but for the most part you should expect hostility. Too many of these people still hold some kind of nostalgic hope for a revival of a progressive Democratic party-- a party that in many ways never really did exist. People who hold hope for a significant change in the Democrats are in their own way as hopeless as those who still support Bush.

Both wings of the duopoly are increasingly unpopular. Have no mercy on them.

You will get more help in the long run from the politically diverse: the kind of people who came out for Perot. You especially, John, have the ability to schmooze with conservative types, and this is your swing vote: fiscal conservatives, former Perotistas, Clean Sweepers, libertarians, etc.

You have the issues, all of which revolve around Green values and sustainability. Joe Magid says that "issue purity" and getting elected are at cross purposes. That's old headed thinking. We are not hairy footed metaphysicians. Green values are now clearly synonymous with survival, and the time is ripe for people to see that. It's not a matter of "issue purity" or idealism; it's smart; it's patriotic; it's the only way to a survivable/sustainable future.

Teach people, too, that we are not on the left. The relevant political spectrum is no longer left (government control) vs. right (market control). Both the traditional left and right wind up as authoritarian systems of concentrated power. The real political spectrum today is authoritarian vs. egalitarian, or centralized control vs. grass roots decentralization. This message should even appeal to militia types. Not that you want to actively recruit PA militia-- but these people do need to be shown positive directions for action, so that the economic hard times we are entering don't turn into a replay of the Wild West.

Living As If We Really Understand Global Warmiing

by Larry Menkes

LIVING AS IF WE REALLY UNDERSTAND GLOBAL WARMING

I often wonder about my environmental-minded friends. I know you're all doing something to lessen our impact on Mother Earth. I'm doing some things too. But are we living as if we really understand how serious our situation is?

I've been following environmental news since the early 1960's. Stories about the ozone holes and greenhouse effect were alarming. In the 1980's chunks of ice as big as Rhode Island were breaking free from Antarctica. In the nineties all but three of the world's glaciers were retreating and the chunks in Antarctica were as big as Connecticut.

In the last few years the fabled Northwest Passage has been ice free in the summer. Scientists who were once skeptical of global warming now predict that the Arctic Ocean will soon be nearly ice-free in the summer.

Does the seashore have to move to Philadelphia before we take serious action? When the ice gets so thin we should know where we're standing when we step out of the problem. Few of us know the size of our personal carbon footprint on this planet.

To make that essential calculation go to www.nativeenergy.com. and click on the Carbon Calculator on the left side of their home page. Their Offset your Travel Today! link helps you calculate the CO2 emissions from your travels as well. NativeEnergy can even help you build a new Native American owned wind farm and keep unhealthful global-warming pollution out of the air.

After you've found out how many renewable energy credits you need to offset your footprint you can log on to www.powerscorecard.org or www.GoCleanEnergy.com to compare the various electricity providers Then chose one and sign up. The more energy you're using the more offsets you need to buy.

You can reduce your footprint by making intelligent choices in the energy consuming products you buy. The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (www.aceee.org) can help you with that. They, along with Consumer's Union, have the latest information on energy efficient appliances and techniques. If you have a gashog replace it with a vehicle that gets great mileage. You'll have cause to celebrate when gasoline goes to $10 a gallon. And if you get that car soon you'll already have it when that happens. At least then you'll be able to afford the drive to the grocery store. If you hang on to the gasoline money you saved until then you'll even be able to afford the groceries. Most of our food is made and transported with petroleum.

But there's a first simple step that we can take to call ourselves part of the solution. We can replace ALL of our incandescent light bulbs with high efficiency lamps like long-lasting compact fluorescents or the new LED bulbs. Lighting is 20% of our household energy bill and incandescent bulbs waste about 70% of the energy used to light them.
Another simple step is to turn down the thermostat a bit in the winter and up in the summer. A digital seven-day programmable thermostat (www.luxproducts.com/thermostats) can help.

If you forget to turn off the lights when you leave a room occupancy sensors will help. Pets do fine in the dark and sensors can scare burglars away. Once you've done this much you will have discovered what to do next. And, now you'll be an example to others.

This holiday season, give gifts that keep on giving. How about a Ton of CO2 offsets from www.nativeenergy.com/cardpage.htm. Or, a compact fluorescent light bulb that can save up to $50 or more in electricity during the life of the bulb. See what's available at www.lightsofamerica.com. LED holiday lights last forever and consume a tenth of the energy used by conventional ones. You might save enough to cover the cost of a bottle of Dom Perignon for News Years Eve. That's at www.moet.com; enjoy!

Electronic Voting Machines

Letter to the editor, Doylestown Intelligencer

The democratic process is under assault from all directions. Our candidates are increasingly not elected, but rather "selected." Ballot access becomes ever more restricted to the two major parties, which themselves present the voter with candidates who are hand-picked by leadership committees. Barriers to ballot access for independents and minor parties are built ever-higher.

Electronic machines now threaten even the integrity of this "selection" process. Such systems are extremely vulnerable to tampering, and are acceptable (in any system that is even nominally a democracy) only for the handicapped-- and only with duplicate paper receipts. Our local "Coalition for Voting Integrity" has done a comprehensive study of this issue, and is actively challenging the County's rush to change voting systems.

How many taxpayers are aware of the real cost of these machines? Touch screen systems will cost tens of thousands of dollars per precinct, and they last for only an average of five years. But the sticker price may not be the greatest expense. How many taxpayers are aware that these machines must be kept in climate controlled storage? They have to be heated in the winter and cooled and dehumidified in the summer. This luxury given to machines is not affordable to many of the citizens who have to pay for them.

With the coming winter featuring heating costs that have increased 50 to 100 per cent, many local citizens will be wondering why they have to live in the cold while our selected officials are using our tax money to give themselves pay raises, and purchase expensive, corruptible machines that must be housed in comfy climates.

The people of New Orleans are not the only Americans whose well-being is ignored by government.

Greens Elect Bush . . . Again!

That's right, no joke the Green Party elected George Bush again in 2004.

Of course it is not true that Ralph Nader, Green Party candidate, helped Bush become president in 2000. Nader got 3 million votes, many of them drawn from Republicans and independents who wouldn’t have even voted, while 6 million registered Democrats voted for George Bush. Nevertheless, “Nader helped elect Bush” has become part of Democratic credo, and may even be included someday in shoddy high school history texts.

So let’s assume for a moment it is true that Nader was the deciding factor in Bush’s victory in 2000. Democrats, even those who have looked most desperately for excuses for Kerry’s sound defeat in 2004, are unaware that Bush’s victory a year ago was also the fault of the Green Party.

No, it wasn’t the 120,000 votes the Greens pulled nationally for David Cobb, the Green who didn’t want people to vote for him. No, the Democrats and Greens themselves, destroyed the Green Party at the polls in November, reducing their vote from the previous election by 96%!

How, then, did John Kerry fail to unseat George Bush, probably the most incompetent-- and now the most unpopular-- president in American history? How did the Democrats, after co-opting the Greens and spending many millions of dollars to keep Nader off the ballot in several states still manage to lose the election? Most Democratic strategists point the longest finger of blame for their failure at the gay marriage issue.

In February 2004, photos of gay and lesbian couples in front of the San Francisco city hall were front page in newspapers across the country. This catalyzed conservative religious folk— many of whom would not have otherwise voted at all, to come out to vote for George Bush. Eleven states also drew voters by adding a “preservation of marriage” amendment to their ballots.

The poster boy for this fiasco was San Francisco Democratic mayor, Gavin Newsom.

But why did Newsom make such a reckless move in an election year, even after being warned against it by openly gay representative Barney Frank, and other high profile Democrats?

In December of 2003, Newsom was elected mayor in a closely contested run-off election against Green city councilor, Matt Gonzalez. Newsom won the run-off by 53 to 47 per cent. This was the best showing ever for Greens in a major city election. The Democrats had been so afraid of the embarrassment of losing to a Green in a major city that they brought in Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and other party big wigs to campaign for Newsom in the final days of the election. They also outspent the Greens ten to one.

Two months later: gay weddings on the steps of city hall. Was this the result of an off the record campaign promise to leaders of San Francisco’s powerful the gay community; the felt need to solidify support in the gay community after a close election; or the euphoria of dodging an electoral bullet? Gavin ain’t talkin’, so we can only guess, but it’s no stretch to conclude that Bush’s victory was the fault of the Green Party . . . again!

This is not a democracy

Any system that does not encourage dissent in not a Democracy.

Pretty Lies

Bucks County Democrats, who ironically call themselves "Bucks for Change," are trying to promote pro-war candidates to run against Mike Fitzpatrick for the PA 8th congressional district. Democrats who oppose havinig a pro war candidate are being told to stop dissenting, that everyone must focus only on winning. Why are important issues like the Iraq war considered to be no more than annoying diversions along the path to political power?

The way I see it is that politics inevitably attracts people with an exaggerated sense of self-importance, a need to be in the limelight, or just a greed for power and control. This happens at all levels of government, and regardless of ideology: left, right, or center. It happens in other fields as well. As an educator, I have become used to seeing bad teachers flee the classroom-- not to a different profession, but to become school administrators . . . bad ones!

These individuals become attracted to the political process, not to pursue an ideology, but in order to satisfy a psychological need. Their ideology will generally fit their personality profile, but there is often much flexibility, and the need for power will always trump ideology. Newt Gingrich and (probably) Andy Warren are good examples of people who switched ideology to open a better road to power. They are often very intelligent people, but unfortunately they spend most of their intellectual energy, not in creative problem solving, but in pursuing, expanding, or protecting power. This obsession with power insures that they will not grow as human beings.

Something is going on in the Green party similar to what’s happening to the Democrats. The only difference is that with the Greens this tendency to abandon values in order to grow power is only in its infancy. With the Democrats it is in an advanced, probably terminal stage. In their desperate, but futile attempt to regain their old glory, the Democrats have completely lost their moral compass. It takes people a long time to switch party allegiances. Most Americans belong to the same party as their parents. The Democrats know this. They think, therefore, they can take votes of many groups for granted, as long as they continue to give them lip service. Bill Clinton would go to an African-American church on Sunday, and cut welfare on Monday. And he pretty much got away with it. There was more clear-cutting of virgin forest timber in one year of Clinton’s reign than in the first four years of Bush— but progressives mostly think of Clinton as an environmental hero.

So the Democrats can and will be as ruthless as they need to be to garner corporate dollars. They will be as hawkish as they need to be to garner votes in middle America. When they see your peace button, they will wink and whisper, “I’m going to end this war, and get the troops home as soon as humanly possible,” or some other such insincerity, and chances are, the majority will believe them because it’s what they want to hear. Sadly, most Americans prefer hearing pretty lies to hearing truth.

Baby, It's Cold Inside

For most of the past three weeks we have been in an extreme heat emergency. Last Thursday it was 94 degrees outside when I entered an administrative office in a large County facility and noticed that is was much warmer there than the comfortably air conditioned corridor and other areas I had just passed through. I soon realized that the receptionist had an electric heater by her desk running on high. I thought this must be a bizarre anomaly-- perhaps a secretary with a large position in Exelon stock, trying to help her company boost its profits in the third quarter. I tried to forget the incident.

But that wasn't the end of it: the next day was again an extreme heat emergency. I went into a branch of the Wachovia Bank, the image of the space heater still crowding my brain. While depositing a check, I told the story to the teller, and she immediately pointed to the drive thru window, and said, "Oh, she runs one all the time." Sure enough there was a space heater running full blast at the drive thru window. I said, "Well the Wachovia stockholders might not be very happy, but at least it's not being paid for by my tax money."

Now I have become obsessed. How many offices are there across the country where people-- instead of being appreciative of having some refuge from the heat-- are running space heaters? How do you educate people? What will it take for people to grow up and begin to realize their perilous situation, living in the most spoiled and energy dependent country on the planet.

When we produced a symposium in Doylestown in April about the coming energy crisis, oil was at a record high of $50 a barrel. Four months later it has passed $64, and we're running our space heaters in August, as if energy were free and infinite. Will we be known someday as Homo Americanus or Homo Clulessnsensless. Sapien is not just losing, it's been deleted.

I checked the County office again today, just to be sure I hadn’t been hallucinating. The space heater's still cranking away.

Greens Endorse Earth Charter

At yesterday's meeting the Bucks County Green Party endorsed the Earth Charter Initiative with the following letter to the Secretariat in san José, Costa Rica:

Earth Charter International Secretariat
P.O. Box 138-6100
San José
Costa Rica

We are pleased to inform you that The Bucks County Greens of Pennsylvania, as of yesterday’s membership meeting, has formally endorsed the Earth Charter as a fine example of the integration of the principles and Ten Key Values of Greens everywhere.

We will seek to apply principles of the Earth Charter Initiative in our programs, policies and other activities. When feasible, we will promote it at an educational level in formal and non-formal settings.

With best wishes, and in loving memory of the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,

etc.

How to Handle a Hybrid

How to Handle a Hybrid
From Amory Lovins at the Rocky Mountain Institute: "How to Drive a Hybrid Car"

To get a state-of-the-art 4-/5-seat hybrid-electric midsize sedan to perform at ~53–55 mpg (it’s rated at 55) rather than in the low 40s, it needs “pulse driving,” which differs in two ways from our old driving habits:

1. When you see that you’ll need to slow or stop up ahead, start braking gently and as early as possible so you recover the most braking energy back into the battery for later reuse. Priusrecovers 62–66 percent of braking energy in its regenerative mode, but if you brake too late, hence too hard, the mechanical brakes will override, and they simply turn motion into useless heat.

2. Contrary to what we were all taught in high-school driver’s ed, when you’re accelerating up to cruising speed, do so briskly. The engine is most efficient at high speed and torque, so you’ll use less fuel accelerating aggressively for a short time than gently for a long time.

Note: Many reviewers test hybrids driven in the same way as non-hybrids, then gripe that hybrids fall short of their rated efficiency by more than non-hybrids do. This is incorrect; properly driven hybrids can actually match their EPA-rated mpg more closely than non-hybrids can. (My Honda Insight hybrid, for example, averages 63 mpg and is rated 64, the difference being more than attributable to snow tires; Toyota’s U.S. Executive Engineer, Dave Hermance, gets 53–55 mpg on his 55-mpg-rated Prius.) Consumer Reports is a major source of this confusion, having repeatedly refused to print a correction explaining that its standardized test procedure disproportionately reduces the mpg of the hybrids it tests. CR also calculates combined city-highway mpg differently than EPA and automakers do.

Consistent with attentive driving, you’ll also find it very instructive, when driving a hybrid, to keep an eye on the real-time mpg display and (like a videogame) use the feedback to improve your driving habits for best mpg. —ABL "

Whither the Green Party?

It is apparent from the results of last week's convention in Tulsa, OK, that there is a serious rift in the national party (GPUS). The convention was largely controlled by a relatively small minority of former Cobb/LaMarche supporters, who now control the steering committee and many state organizations, including Pennsylvania. The initiative to support the principle of "one-Green-one-vote" was soundly defeated by delegates in Tulsa.! The feeling of most of our regular members in Bucks County is to not be too concerned with what the national and state parties do, but continue to operate and organize locally. What’s your opinion?

PEAK OIL: We expect that rapidly rising energy prices will drive all politics to become intensely local in the near future. It will become just too difficult and costly to travel great distances on a regular basis to attend meetings. It is urgent that we prepare to preserve the health and cohesion of our local communities.

Meanwhile, there is a virtual official blackout on the issue of ‘peak oil.’ Roscoe Bartlett (R, Maryland) met with president Bush in early July, and still speaks regularly on the floor of Congress about the looming energy crisis, but as yet no other officials elected or appointed— local or national, have joined him. According to an article in Counterpunch this week by Richard Heinberg, The Hirsch report has been so suppressed by the government that ordered it, Project Censored is listing the report as one of the top censored stories of the year.

The Hirsch Report can be found in Heinberg’s article or here in pdf format.

Report on Tulsa Green Convention 7/23/05

Here is John Murphy's report on the goings on in Tulsa. If you want his full report, complete with photos of the convention, contact him directly: johnamuprhy@comcast.net. John is a Pennsylvania Green from Chester County, and an internet journalist. John was the only PA Green to attend the convention in Tulsa:

Dear fellow Pennsylvania Greens,

Let me begin on a positive note. During his address to the National Committee (NC) Peter Camejo said that some unkind comments passed between himself and David Cobb. Peter apologized to Cobb for any offense he had given during the heat of this very contentious election. Peter demonstrated the court of a well mannered gentleman. Unfortunately when Cobb addressed the NC he did not reciprocate for the many nasty comments he made about Nader/Camejo.

The most disappointing aspect of the GPUS meeting in Tulsa was the complete lack of any clear agenda. Of course, there was a prepared agenda submitted to the NC. It was merely a formality. It was the empty outline of a leaderless party which clearly lacks any sense of purpose or direction. At this point in its development the Green Party of the United States is no more than a secretion of the mindless bureaucracy which directs its aimless activities.

The only item on the four-day agenda that held any promise for the future of the Green Party were the three proposals for democracy and independence presented by the GDI (Greens for Democracy and Independence). I will report on the proposals themselves later but a portentous event occurred immediately at the opening of the Tulsa meeting which would foretell the nature and direction of this very bizarre spectacle masquerading as a meeting of the delegates of a serious political party.

THE UTAH VOTE

Two delegations from Utah presented their delegate credentials to the GPUS. One was formed by a renegade Cobb faction the other, directly in the line of dissent from the original Green Party in Utah, was formed by the Nader supporters. (Historical note: Cobb received 26 votes in Utah; Nader received 11,000.) The actual details of what took place are much too complicated to describe here. Suffice it to say that the GPUS Accreditation Committee decided to recognize the "Cobb" Green Party. The Nader Green Party however filed the proper papers in the state of Utah, obtained 3000 signatures on its petitions and is the legally recognized Green Party by the State of Utah.

With these "two parties" being thus represented and given that the Accreditation Committee admitted that it really had no power to recognize either one of the two parties on its own, New Jersey offered a compromise. New Jersey proposed that during the course of the Tulsa meeting both parties would be temporarily recognized, splitting their two delegate votes between them. The National Committee would decide which of the two parties was the "real" Green Party at another time to be specified. The demogreens went wild! No way! According to the Cobb supporters in the National Committee the Cobb party of Utah was recognized by the Accreditation Committee of the GPUS and it was irrelevant what the state of Utah had decided. A vote was taken and the first paper victory was scored by the paper states. The Green Party which is officially recognized by the State of Utah was expelled in favor of a Green Party which has less than 10 members! Another paper state was created.

Even from the very presentation of the two Green parties it was clear where this Tulsa meeting was headed. The Cobb party delegate immediately pointed at us -- the GDI members -- as contriving and conspiring to have the Nader Green Party recognized in an effort "to bring the Democratic Party into the Green Party". Yes, that's what he said. The GDI wants to bring the Democratic Party into the Green Party by having it recognize the Green Party that is officially recognized by the State of Utah!

As a side point I would like to mention that one of our members worked with the real Green Party in Utah and finally succeeded in convincing them to send a delegate. They were reluctant to do so because of the nature of the GPUS leadership; the majority of the National Committee. Their argument for remaining outside the GPUS was simply, (paraphrasing), "why should we join such a group when we are now accredited by the State of Utah? Why should we let people like this [GPUS delegates] have access to our ballot line"?

The vote was not at all surprising. 57 delegates voted against the New Jersey compromise that would have recognized both Utah parties just for the sake of the Tulsa meeting with 35 delegates voting to allow both parties. This was Cobb versus Nader all over again and was a foreshadowing of what would occur when it came time to vote for the three GDI proposals for democracy and independence.

A WORD ABOUT THE PAPER STATES

There are nine or ten states which are called "paper states". These states have Green parties that were established prior to the 2000 presidential election as a result of efforts to place Ralph Nader on the ballot. Soon after the 2000 election these "parties" collapsed. In fact many "members" never actually registered as members of the Green Party and where in fact Libertarians, Republicans, Democrats and Socialists. They simply signed membership forms that would be recognized by the GPUS as an affiliated party. One of the web sites from those states actually listed Libertarians as contact people for the Green Party!

It is now estimated that there are less than 300 actual Greens in these 10 states. Ohio is the most extreme example. It has five delegates to the NC yet there are less than 10-12 members in the Green Party of Ohio. Nine other states have 18 delegate votes.

Here's how to think about what this means for the Green Party. There are approximately 8.5 million people in New Jersey. It has two delegate votes. There are approximately 8.5 million people in nine of the paper states. They have 18 delegate votes. Another way to think about it is to realize that California has 106,000 registered members of the Green Party. It has 13 delegate votes. There are less than 300 Greens in the nine paper states. They have 18 delegate votes. Three hundred Greens in the paper states are able to overrule 106,000 Greens in California. If anyone was still not clear as to how David Cobb who entered the Milwaukee convention with only 12% of the Green vote, ended up with the nomination they should, by this time, be getting a very strong clue.



[PHOTO CAPTION: "I didn't join an independent party. I didn't join an anticorporate party. I joined the Green Party."
-a Safe State delegate from Illinois]



THE VOTE ON THE GDI PROPOSALS

The three proposals advanced by the GDI for democracy and independence in the Green Party were not defeated. In order for them to have been defeated someone would have had to offer arguments or at least objections as to why they were unacceptable. No such arguments were advanced in Tulsa. Although an endless stream of delegates proceeded to air what are called "concerns" in the Green Party's contrived meeting sessions called "consensus" the only concerns that were ever presented were procedural in nature. One delegate came to the microphone and said that he had three concerns. The presenters showed him that his concerns were in fact answered within the very body of the proposal itself. When the delegate recognized this he said he was voting against them anyway and stomped away.


[PHOTO CAPTION:The first GDI proposal to institute one-person one-vote is nothing more than "institutionalized chaos".
-David Cobb, in the men's room to his retinue.]


One crazed delegate seized the microphone and screamed angrily, "how can we possibly vote on these proposals when they have been amended only two days ago"? When it was explained that these were "friendly amendments" added in order to address some of the concerns of the delegates she said she was still voting against them.

One of the most important "friendly amendments" that was added to all three proposals contained language that spelled out that these proposals were resolutions. The purposes of these resolutions were simply to set up working committees that would then make the necessary changes in the bylaws to implement the resolutions. It was made very clear that none of the changes to the bylaws made by these committees could be enacted without a two thirds vote by the National Committee. Therefore when these proposals were voted down it was the very ideas and concepts that were voted down.


[PHOTO CAPTION: Green Party National Committee in one of its more serious moments singing "Oklahoma" while the GDI caucused.]


I am a 59 year-old MBA. I have forgotten how many vice presidential positions I have held and on how many boards of directors I have served during my professional career. I do recall vividly having served as The Chairman of the Board of a prestigious professional association. In my 37 years of professional life I never witnessed anything like the meeting of the Green Party held in Tulsa. This was not a meeting. This was a carnival.

While members of the GDI would go into caucus in order to change word order or make friendly amendments to satisfy some procedural concern, the delegates of the Green Party, instead of continuing to discuss the proposals among themselves degenerated into a "sing-along" highlighting show tunes! One delegate after another seized the microphone either to dance, somewhat in the fashion of a circus clown, or to imitate a nightclub comedian. The delegates of the Green Party surrounding David Cobb finally sent the GDI members a very clear message when they began to sing "Take Me out to the Ballgame". The message was very clear when they sang in a loud voice: "1, 2, 3 strikes you're out". There was never any intention to give any serious consideration to the GDI proposals. The GDI and its proposals for democracy and independence were treated like a freak show in a carnival.

[PHOTO CAPTION: The Blue-Green delegates to the NC singing "one, two, three strikes you're out at the old ballgame" sent a very clear message to the GDI of both their position and their mentality.]

THE CONSEQUENCES

When the three proposals were voted down in pretty much the same fashion as the New Jersey compromise for Utah, it was clear to the members of the GDI that the majority of GPUS delegates were not the kind of Greens with which we wanted any continued association. It is clear that these people are not Greens. They may be well intended liberal environmentalists but they are no more "Green" than are the Progressive Democrats of America (PDA). One of our group decided that at this point it might be more descriptive to refer to these people as the "Blue-Greens" as in "blue states" but suggestive of great deal more.

If there is anyone still unconvinced of the association of these Cobb-demogreens just go to the PDA web site www.pdamerica.org and enter the name "Cobb" in the "search site" in the left-hand column. It will make you sick if you are a real Green.

Both the New York and California members of the GDI spoke about the possibility of either disaffiliating completely from the Green Party or at least dramatically changing their legal relationship in such a way that the GPUS would no longer have access to the California or New York ballot lines. Vermont, Louisiana, Alabama, New Mexico and Florida might also consider similar action. The members of the GDI nevertheless agreed, urged on by Peter Camejo, that we should not hand our party over to the Democrats like this. We should not hand over the Green Party to a small group of people who refuse to even entertain the concepts of "one-person one-vote", "proportionate representation of delegates" and "complete independence from the corporate parties at the national level".

As it stands now there are two currents within the Green Party. The GDI is best considered as the revolutionary wing of the party. The former Cobb supporters, who were the ringmasters at the carnival in Tulsa, have not put together a formal current with a web site and discussion group as has the GDI. We are referring to them for the time being the "Blue-Greens" which are a group of, no doubt, well intended liberal environmentalists who cannot force themselves to break completely with the corporate parties and who will desperately cling to the right to follow a safe state strategy at any time in the future. These people are frightened of the GDI and feel threatened by us. Perhaps that is the healthiest thing for those folks to do at this time.

John A. Murphy: Spoiler

Greens Tussle in Tulsa

Chris wrote:

I voted for Cobb/LaMarche in 2004, and I thought they were both excellent campaigners. I really hope that they will both run again in 2008 to help us build the Green Party.

Why would there be a split now when the party is growing by leaps and bounds? If Camejo wants to leave the Green Party, then he should. After all, he ran as a candidate for some other party in 2004, didn't he?

Gus replied:

The “safe states” strategy, which was a capitulation to the Democrats, was the creation of the Cobb/LaMarche team. I don’t know if you are familiar with this whole history? I won’t go into it at length here, but the result of “safe states” was to cause a rift in the Green Party between those who wanted to go “all out” for a candidate who supported Green values (Naderites), and those who supported Kerry out of fear of Bush (Cobbites).

This rift continues until today, and has been exacerbated by the fact that the nomination selection process a year ago in Milwaukee was badly flawed. The convention last week in Tulsa seems to have shown that the Cobb minority (estimated at about 12% of registered Greens in 2004) has gained control of the party and is refusing to support the principal of “one-Green-one-vote,” which is essential to our survival as an independent grass-roots democratic organization.

To say that Cobb and LaMarche were excellent campaigners really depends on your definition. At one point in the campaign, LaMarche stated publicly that she wasn’t sure if she would vote for herself in her own state of Maine. Cobb did campaign, but only after a clear majority of Greens let him know that's what they wanted. But, in my opinion, he was really campaigning for control of the Green Party. In 2004, Cobb got barely a third of the votes of registered Greens. He is now working with Democrats, and seems dedicated to taking the Green Party on a course which will make it just another progressive movement that has been co-opted, then slowly destroyed, by the Democratic Party: a wholly owned subsidiary of corporate America. Cobb is a compulsive politician, and will certainly run again in 2008, if the electoral process is still functioning by then, but he will be running as a Green Democrat, not as a Green— and “Green Democrat” is an oxymoron or a kind of gypsy curse.

This symbol from the PDA homepage, apparently their official logo, a green donkey, should offend every Green.

I’m not at all sure about the growth rate of the Green Party right now. It should be growing rapidly because of the great number of progressive thinkers who have become completely fed up with the Democrats. The Green Party should be seeing its membership surging. Why, then, is David Cobb partying with Democrats? Does anyone really think that he’ll lead progressive Democrats to the Green Party before the whole Green Party gets sucked up by the Dems?

Neither Camejo nor Nader left the Green Party. Cobb led the Green Party to reject Nader and Camejo. He led the Texas GP in 2003 to change their bylaws to permit only a registered Green from being on the ballot in Texas. This was intended as a direct attack on Nader, since Ralph has always remained an independent, as he was in 2000, when he was supported by the Greens. In fact his candidacy was successful enough to gain minor party status for the Pennsylvania GP, a status which will no doubt be lost in 2006.

Camejo is doing his best to save the Green Party. Check out the GDI (Greens for Democracy and Independence) website

An alarming number of people still believe that the Democrats are a viable alternative to Republicans, that Bill Clinton was a person of the people. The error is in blind party loyalty, in mistaking the past for the present, in mistaking words for actions. Beware of this same thing happening to the Greens. Never place loyalty to the Green Party above loyalty to the ten key values. Growth of Green Party registrations is nothing to cheer about if, at the same time, the party itself is moving away from Green values and merging with the duopoly.

Chris, I hope this explains my concerns of where the GP is headed, and why I don’t trust Cobb. I hope I’m wrong, but the reports from Tulsa don’t sound good for the future of Green Values.

The consensus in Bucks County is to stay focused on local issues and not worry too much about where the national and state parties are headed. If the emerging energy crisis is only half as bad as I believe it will be, very few people will be attending national conventions by 2008, and the political horizon will be unrecognizable from today’s. All politics will become intensely local. Green values will get a real test in interesting times. We’re almost half way to $5 a gallon gasoline and heating oil. If petroleum prices exceed $5 in the next year or two, what will happen to social cohesion in Philly? That’s certainly something to think about.

Best wishes for advancing civilization in your corner of the cosmos,

Gus Linton

Voting Integrity Forum, July 30

Important Voting Workshop

A half-day voting workshop will be held at the Pearl Buck room of library in Doylestown on Saturday, July 30, 1:15-5 p.m., led by Teresa Hommel ofwww.wheresthepaper.org.

A corporate trainer in computer technology and election integrity activist, Ms. Hommel spoke at the well-received Coalition for Voting Integrity forum at the Bucks County courthouse on June 27.

This workshop will educate citizens interested in the issues surrounding voting machines with emphasis on preparing us to share this information with others in our area.

Our County Commissioners will be making a decision soon, as to which voting system will be chosen in 2006….or might we keep existing machines and save 6-10 million dollars. It is imperative that we learn our choices and become articulate in communicating the need to keep our vote secure.
• What is the law…do we really have to spend millions to replace voting machines…. What are the real facts/options
• What are advantages and disadvantages of electronic machines, optical scanners, and paper ballot and lever methods
• Just how secure is computer voting …what are the risks?
• What is “secret programming”? Do you want to vote on machine which NO ONE outside manufacturers are allowed to see programs? What can be done?
• Learn how and why decertification of electronic voting machines is underway in PA.
• Be informed as to how to safeguard our vote, while having a cost-effective process…. and what you can do to protect OUR Vote
Please indicate your interest by email to VotingIntegrity@aol.com. or call 215.357.5206 to register. Advanced sign up will help us in our planning. A $15 donation if you register in advance $20 is requested for registering at the door.

Democracy BEGINS with the Integrity of OUR Voting Process
….. and ENDS without it!

Energy and the Elderly

Yesterday my daughter and I visited my aunt at the Rydall Park retirement community. She gave us a tour of the plush facility-- indoor pool, exercise room, large restaurant, excellent services. What struck me during my visit was the great number of indandescent light bulbs all along the hallways and in the apartments.

It was 90 degrees outside, but almost chilly inside the vast building. The air conditioning was quite adequate to cool the building from the heat outside as well as the heat generated by the incandescent bulbs all over the place.

This facility and hundreds like it could save thousands of dollars a month with a few energy saving devices, like fluorescent screw-in bulbs, but residents are not responsible for thier own electric use, and if you apartment is nice and cool, why worry. My aunt has three 60 watt bulbs over the mirror of her bathroom.

She said that monthly costs have been rising-- rising so fast that many residents are concerned about their future ability to pay the monthly fees. The administration has never mentioned electricity bills as one of the cost inflators, but energy will surely be one of the biggest threats to the continued operation of places like this in the very near future.

My aunt Katherine, by the way, is a beautiful person, very active in residents rights issues, and one of the real activists there.

Thought for the Day:

A definiton for SUVs: "Very expensive scrap metal"

Eyes Wide Open

Friday Amanda and I were in Philadelphia to visit (and volunteer at) Eyes Wide Open, the AFSC sponsored memorial display of military boots-- one pair for each of the 1746 fallen Americans in Iraq.

The boots are arranged alphabetically by state in neat rows with room to walk around. Each pair has a name tag attached, and a few are even the actual boots of the fallen soldier. Most have flowers, photos, letters, or some other momento left by a loved one. There are usually one or two mourners among the visitors at any given time, and from a shaded dias beside the display, the names of the fallen, as well as many Iraqi civialian victims are read slowly. Two of the readers during our time there were mothers of fallen soldiers.
The exhibit evokes a powerful emotional response from most visitors. It is a silent statement about the absurdity of war, but far transcending a simple anti-war message, this experience is that of a memorial service for the victims of war. The mode is silence, so there isn't much for volunteers to do but try to keep from getting too teary eyed to respond to one or two questions you might be asked every hour or two.

After the victims of this war stop falling, the exhibit should find a permanent place near Arlington or the Vietnam Memorial.

In case you missed it, the exhibit will be in Lancaster in September and Newark and New York in October.

See photos here. . . and Here. Thanks, Green from Horsham!

Voting Integrity Forum

Yesterday's Voting Integrity Forum was successful and informative beyond my wildest expectations. About 100 people came out on a rainy, muggy Monday night to hear a series of riveting talks and panel discussion on electronic voting.

The overwhelming conclusion is that electronic voting is extremely vulnerable to error, fraud, hacking, trojan horses, viruses, etc. Some fascinating facts:

• Mercer Co. PA's touch-screen machines malfunctioned and wiped out votes last November. These machines were decertified, leaving Mercer and two other counties with the same system having to scramble to re-deploy their old lever machines. In other words, if an electronic system in one county fails, all other counties using the same system have to scrap theirs too. Article:
• Touch-screen systems, besides being extremely vulnerable to error and fraud, are expensive and only last about 5 years
• Scanners, or bar code readers would be the safest, cost much less than touch screens and last two to four times as long. They could be made relatively safe with a precinct based, voter verifiable, dual paper receipt system.
• Old lever machines will last 150 years and are the most reliable of all. And contrary to current urban legend, replacement parts are still available
• Sticking with the old lever system does not incur a federal penalty. It simply means giving up federal subsidies, which are intended to reimburse for the cost of new machines, but in fact reimburse for only about one half the initial cost, and provide no funds five years later when the machines need replacement.

Speakers included:
Rebecca Mercuri, PhD in computer science.Her statement on electronic voting:
Teresa Hommel, computer professional and election intergity activist. Her online demonstration of electronic voting:

Green 365

I invite Greens and progressives to "Green 365:"
Pledge to do at least one thing every day to promote peace, sustainability, or any of the 10 key Green values. Blog you daily efforts here or on your own blog or journal. Commit to doing this as long as the occupation of Iraq continues.
It doesn't have to be any major thing, of course, but try to do something every day, and document it to yorself. Share it whenever you think it appropriate, or whenever you come up with a unique idea.
My contribution today was a letter to John McCain, a person whom I do not admire, but who has a position of some power (link on title above).

Mercenaries in Iraq = anti-recruitment in US

This short article about the use of mercenary soldiers in Iraq provides some good ammunition for anyone working on anti-recruitment efforts.

If high school grads had information about mercenaries fighting in Iraq, they would be much less likely to volunteer.

The Future of Food (June 16)

THE FUTURE OF FOOD (90 minute video) offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade.
Pebble Hill Interfaith Church, Doylestown, Thursday, June 16, 7 p.m. Admission is free.

Burning Bridges video at Pennridge HS 6/23

The international Institute for Restorative Practices has produced a documentary, "Burning Bridges," about the arson of historic Mood's covered bridge, in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, USA, and a restorative conference we facilitated. The six young men who burned down the bridge met with representatives from the community affected by the crime. This arson was a major news event in southeastern Pennsylvania, where covered bridges are beloved landmarks.

Community members and the men's families were able to communicate their feelings and how they had been affected, the men to apologize and express remorse. The group then discussed how the men could repair the harm they had caused.

Attendance at the conference was voluntary. However, the judge in the case viewed a tape of the conference and took what he saw into consideration when sentencing the young men, saying that he had seen "genuine concern in apologies as well as understanding of the impact of what they had done and the hurt it had caused." He also ordered that the tape be shown in the community.

The documentary is being shown to the community, who can ask questions and comment, as another step in the healing process and to inform them about restorative conferencing, a constructive way to address conflict. Everyone is welcome to attend.

IIRP president Ted Wachtel will be present, as will the co-facilitators of the conference, IIRP director of training Bob Costello and IIRP training coordinator John Bailie.

Screening details:
Thursday, June 23, 2005, 7 p.m.
Pennridge High School Lower House Auditorium
1400 North Fifth Street, Perkasie, Pennsylvania
Free admission
Executive Producer: Ted Wachtel
Producer/Director: Laura Mirsky
Cinematographer/Editor: Steve Grieger

Rollin' Blackout Blues (read, listen)

This is on the LOCAL page because it is from two local artists, Josh Wachtel and Alexei Panshin.

http://www.radiofreeearth.com/Images/Contents.jpg

Organize Locally ! ! !

Contact Greens in your neighborhood.

Warminster Day

Come and see a solar house and two hybrid cars: Honda Civic & Toyota Prius. Grant applications and advice for solar installations will be available.

The House that Bush Bombed

From "This is the House that Jack Built"

Beyond Electoral Politics- BCGP meeting 6/5/05

At our monthly meeting last night Larry Menkes spoke about working effectively toward sustainability inside a political entity, but outside of elected office.
About 2 years ago Larry was asked to participate in the newly formed Warminster Township Energy Advisory Committee. There he has been able to advance a number of environmental programs under the banner of "cost savings" and "fiscal responsibility." He's showing the township how to save a bunch of money by installling fluorescent bulbs and LED traffic lights and purchasing hybrid vehicles. Larry does this not simply out of idealism. He describes his motives as "enlightened self-interest:" he wants to keep his local taxes as low as possible.
For many of us, working outside electoral politics is preferable to the boredom/anxiety of elected office. Until our species reaches a moment in social evolutionn where cooperation becomes more important than competition (Green value #7), most of us will probably be more effective working behind the scenes. Although both strategies are valid, educatiors are more important than agitators right now.
Fewer people have been more influential in this millennium than Carl Rove and Paul Wolfowitz. Neither, to my knowledge, have held elected office. There are many other examples of influential non-officeholders, most of them-- unfortunately-- bad ones. Ralph Nader is one good example. Nader did most of his work outside electoral politics, and ran for office only when he saw that public interest groups were completely losing access to elected decision makers because of the rising influence of corporate money.

Larry's advice for local action is to start at home. Replace all of your incandescent bulbs with fluorescents and immediately save over 75% on your lighting bill. You will also save on air-conditioning since fluorescents produce much less heat. Another inexpensive and important first step is to tighten up your house. Insulate of seal off any places where there is too much air transfer from inside to outside-- where hot air escapes in the winter or enters in the summer.
When you finish at home, find out if your township or borough has an EAC (Energy Advisory Committee). If they do not, then suggest they start one. Use Warminster Township as a model. To find out if your township has an EAC: http://www.greentreks.org/eacnetwork/eaclist.asp

10 Key Green Vallues

Universal Green values are: 1) grassroots politics 2) ecological wisdom 3) social and economic justice 4) non-violence 5) decentralization 6) support of local economy 7) feminism (co-operation rather than competition) 8) diversity 9) individual & personal responsibility 10) future focus (seven generations out)

Impeachment

Ralph Nader and Kevin Zeese have called for impeachment procedings against George Bush to begin. There is some support for this among Democrats like John Conyers, and perhaps some republicans.
In any case it is time to move on impeachment. We will discuss this at our meeting on Sunday, June 5 at Pebble Hill Church. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. with a showing of the 47 minute testimony of George Galloway in the US Senate two weeks ago. The business meeting starts at 7 p.m.

Welcome All

This blog is intended to help people in the southeastern Pennsylvania area to communicate and organize around issues of Green values and sustainability.

The ten key Green values are:

1) Grass roots politics
2) Environmental wisdom
3) Social and economic justice
4) Non-violence
5) De-centralization
6) Support of local economies
7) Feminism: promoting cooperation above competition
8) Diversity
9) Individual and social responsibility
10) Future focus (Seven generations out)