From greenpartyct at yahoo.com Mon Dec 4 15:33:04 2006 From: greenpartyct at yahoo.com (Green Party-CT) Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2006 12:33:04 -0800 (PST) Subject: {news} Battle Lines Drawn on Military School Message-ID: <162583.68571.qm@web81404.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Battle Lines Drawn On Military School Magnet Plan Has Opponents Arguing Whether Program Would Build Character Or Exploit Lower-Income Students ADVERTISERS --------------------------------- Advertise on ctnow -->By RACHEL GOTTLIEB Courant Staff Writer December 4 2006 Picture this: Hartford middle and high school students standing at attention in formation for morning roll call, walking quietly in single file through school hallways, addressing their teachers as `Sir' and `Ma'am' and sporting neatly pressed military uniforms. Child soldiers? Military school. A public military magnet school. It's a school that the new superintendent of schools, Steven J. Adamowski, says the district should consider. Ditto for Mayor Eddie A. Perez, chairman of the school board, who also suggests a role for boot camp, a residential reform school and perhaps some other residential magnet school if funding can be identified. Beyond Hartford, the idea has caught the attention of educators in some urban districts seeking to find a way to impose a sense of order and discipline among children who often lead chaotic lives at home. "The idea is to put them into schools with high expectations and standards of behavioral norms that spill into other areas of their lives," said Henry Levin, professor of economics and education at Teachers College at Columbia University and director of the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education based at Columbia. But what some see as a path to order, others see as exploitation. Dave Ionno, a Vietnam veteran who lectures students in Hartford about the realities of war, says it's immoral to place military schools in poor cities where children are desperate for resources to pay for college. "Do you think Glastonbury is going to get a military school?" Ionno asked. "Let the poor kids do the dying. It's the same old story." City Councilwoman Elizabeth Horton Sheff, the mother of the lead plaintiff in the court case to desegregate Hartford schools, shares Ionno's concerns. "The thought of a military school is scary to me," Horton Sheff said. "Even with the National Guard," she said, "you sign up, think you're going to get a college education and defend our shores and the next thing you know you're in Baghdad." The debate comes at a unique moment in American history. The post-Sept. 11 mood, combined with a spotlight on troubled urban youths and the challenges in improving their academic achievement, creates fertile terrain for the structure offered by military academies, experts say. At the same time, many are beginning to question the fairness about who is fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. A week before Thanksgiving, U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., said he would introduce legislation to reinstitute the draft. "As long as Americans are being shipped off to war, then everyone should be vulnerable, not just those who, because of economic circumstances, are attracted by lucrative enlistment bonuses and educational incentives," Rangel said in a statement. A Touchy Subject While private military academies have long been a fixture of the educational terrain, public academies are a relatively new phenomenon. Franklin Military Academy in Richmond, Va., was the first public military school to open in 1980, and more sprang up in the 1990s. There are about a dozen public military schools in the nation. Structure, small class sizes and the development of leadership skills and pride are the major benefits that military schools trumpet. Strict rules are set for hair styles, uniforms, accessories, posture and language. Several military schools have Saturday school, too. Students who defy their teachers or military instructors find themselves shoveling sand, doing pushups or performing other physical tasks. Some schools, such as the Toole Military Magnet Academy in Charleston Heights, S.C., require students to attend a special summer camp before their first year at the school to learn military vocabulary, drills, marching and saluting skills. But although there is a military theme, Col. Joseph Dawson, the commandant at Toole, says academics are the main focus. The classes are taught by certified teachers, and students are encouraged to continue their education after high school. "We do not steer them toward the military," Toole said. "We encourage them to go to college." The school has yet to graduate its first class, so Toole could not say how many students were going on to the military. A military theme for a school is fraught with so much controversy that even those who say it's worth a try make a point of saying they wouldn't necessarily encourage students to attend - they simply think it should be available to students and parents who do want it. Levin said the idea of military schools doesn't appeal to him personally, "but if it does good things for the kids, we need to explore it." "If this builds up the ability to work in a structured environment and improves their employment prospects and decreases their prospects of exposure to drugs and alcohol," Levin said, "then you have to weigh the risks against the benefits." In Oakland, left-leaning Jerry Brown, former governor of California, opened a military charter school called the Oakland Military Institute College Preparatory Academy in 2001 when he was Oakland's mayor. The move was hotly debated, with some residents complaining the school was simply preparing cannon fodder for the war in Iraq, Levin said. "[Brown] said `these kids need discipline; they need self-respect and respect by others. This is one way to get them into a school where they can have success,'" Levin said. Adamowski, who wants to eliminate the disparities between neighborhood schools and magnet schools, said one way to do that is to create more choices in the city. A military-themed academy won't be a cure-all, he said, but it should be an option for parents to consider. "I do not want to be typed as a proponent of a particular type of school," Adamowski said when asked to explain the benefits of military schools. "Please don't make me the military commander of high schools. I have even more interest in Montessori schools." Perez took a similar approach. "It's like the performing arts model or the classical academy model," he said, referring to other magnet schools in the city. "A military academy is another model we should be looking at." Adamowski is not sure which branch of the military he might affiliate the school with, though he suggested that an affiliation with the Air Force could enable the city to develop a school for science and aviation and tap into the resources at Brainard Airport. Sam Saylor, president of the district's PTO presidents' council, and Hyacinth Yennie, an outspoken parent, both enthusiastically endorsed the concept of a military school, saying it would expose students to careers in police and firefighting, the FBI and other public-service jobs. "I love the idea. So many of our children need the discipline and structure. They wander the streets or the halls in these large schools all day," Yennie said. "They need to be in an environment where there are rules and they are enforced. Kids like structure. We want to prepare them with life skills." Passionate Objections Opponents of the idea are equally passionate. They question all that the schools purport to offer, their style of discipline and the ethics of dressing children up like soldiers and infusing militarism in schools. "Categorically we oppose programs like that," said Oskar Castro, coordinator of the youth and militarism program of the American Friends Service Committee, based in Philadelphia. "It's just another attack on our civil society by the military. Everybody talks about the wonderful things - that they instill discipline and leadership and character. We question that." There are more creative ways to infuse discipline in children, Ionno suggests, such as teaching students to play musical instruments and offering top-flight marching band and art programs. It's ironic, Castro said, that school districts claim to have zero tolerance for violence then develop military schools "used to prepare for and wage war." Ionno, the Vietnam veteran, who routinely asks the school board to pass a resolution opposing the war in Iraq, said the appeal of the military can be compelling. As a young man, he said, he was persuaded that democracy would be at risk if America didn't win its war in Vietnam, so he volunteered for service. "I bought all the propaganda. Being a medic and picking up the pieces of the people dying all around me changed my mind," said Ionno. There is little information available about whether public military schools are successful at improving the academic achievement of students. "We have not done exceedingly well on standardized test scores, although we are doing better every year," said Dawson, the commandant at Toole, noting that each year expectations for achievement rise under the federal No Child Left Behind law. Adamowski has not yet prepared a proposal for a military school in Hartford. But Ionno said he won't wait for plans to be put on paper before he expresses his objections. "I'll do everything I can to stop a military school from getting started," Ionno vowed. "They're just preparing meat for the meat grinder." Contact Rachel Gottlieb at rgottlieb at courant.com. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From chapillsbury at gmail.com Tue Dec 5 22:30:16 2006 From: chapillsbury at gmail.com (Charlie Pillsbury) Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2006 22:30:16 -0500 Subject: {news} Fwd: [usgp-coo] GP-US Proposal Results: ID 251 - Proposal to Amend the Steering Committee PPs In-Reply-To: <20061204080501.19942.qmail@qs614.pair.com> References: <20061204080501.19942.qmail@qs614.pair.com> Message-ID: <10859a090612051930u3cf15063h42f6536a4b5e3ac@mail.gmail.com> fyi, charlie ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: voting at gpus.org Date: 4 Dec 2006 08:05:01 -0000 Subject: [usgp-coo] GP-US Proposal Results: ID 251 - Proposal to Amend the Steering Committee PPs To: natlcomvotes at green.gpus.org Voting for the following proposal is now closed. Here are the results: Proposal ID: 251 Proposal: Proposal to Amend the Steering Committee PPs Floor Manager: Jim Coplen, jcoplen at fastmail.fm Discussion: 11/13/2006 - 11/26/2006 Voting: 11/27/2006 - 12/03/2006 Result: Adopted 83 Total Votes Received from 40 States/Caucuses Presens Quorum: 32 0.6666 of 48 Accredited States/Caucuses Consens Quorum: 39 A Majority of 76 Yes and No Votes Yes: 54 No: 22 Abstain: 7 Yes: Gene Hunter - Alabama Yes: Claudia Ellquist - Arizona Yes: Andrew Spencer - Arizona Yes: Donna Werley - Arkansas Yes: Anita Wessling - Arkansas No: Jan Arnold - California Yes: Leslie Bonett - California Yes: Budd Dickinson - California No: Sanda Everette - California No: Chuck Giese - California No: Fred Hosea - California No: Greg Jan - California No: Susan King - California No: Jared Laiti - California No: Steve Loebs - California No: Kent Mesplay - California Abstain: Donna Warren - California No: Cat Woods - California Yes: Bruce Meyer - Colorado No: Charlie Pillsbury - Connecticut Yes: Roger Horowitz - Delaware Yes: David McCorquodale - Delaware Yes: Nikolas Schiller - District of Columbia No: Julia Aires - Florida Yes: Henry Lawrence III - Florida Yes: Barbara Rodgers-Hendricks - Florida Abstain: Sarah echo Steiner - Florida Yes: Hugh Esco - Georgia Yes: Frank Jeffers - Georgia Yes: Julie Jacobson - Hawaii Yes: Robert McMinn - Idaho Yes: Phil Huckelberry - Illinois Yes: Susan Rodgers - Illinois No: Marc Sanson - Illinois Yes: Sarah Dillon - Indiana Yes: Jeff Sutter - Indiana Yes: Larry Orr - Iowa Yes: Paul Krumm - Kansas Yes: Jacqui Deveneau - Maine Yes: Karen Jennings - Maryland Yes: Steve Kramer - Maryland Abstain: Jamie McLaughlin - Massachusetts Yes: Elie Yarden - Massachusetts Yes: Linda Manning Myatt - Michigan Yes: Louis Novak - Michigan No: Karen Shelley - Michigan Yes: Fred Vitale - Michigan Yes: Eric Makela - Minnesota Yes: Bill Oldfather - Minnesota Yes: Dee Berry - Missouri Yes: Paul Etxeberri - Nevada Yes: Paul Steven Juntunen - Nevada No: Mike Spector - New Jersey Yes: Francine Cronshaw - New Mexico Abstain: Sally Kim - New York Yes: Doug McComb - New York No: Roger Snyder - New York Yes: Jan Martell - North Carolina No: Paul Dumochelle - Ohio No: Laura Hampton - Ohio Abstain: Joni LeViness - Oklahoma No: Marnie Glickman - Oregon No: Paul Loney - Oregon No: Traci Confer - Pennsylvania Abstain: Mike Rosenberg - Pennsylvania No: Diane White - Pennsylvania Yes: James DeBoer - Rhode Island Yes: Greg Gerritt - Rhode Island Yes: David Whiteman - South Carolina Yes: Howard Switzer - Tennessee Yes: Esther Choi - Texas Abstain: Deanna Hayes - Texas Yes: Bill Holloway - Texas Yes: Keith Lyons - Texas Yes: Alfred Molison - Texas Yes: Thomas King - Utah Yes: Eileen Olsen - Utah Yes: Audrey Clement - Virginia Yes: Aram Falsafi - Washington Yes: Mike Gillis - Washington Yes: Jill Bussiere - Wisconsin Yes: Jeff Peterson - Wisconsin Yes: Holly Hart - Women's Caucus Full proposal details and results are online at: http://gp.org/cgi-bin/vote/propresult?pid=251 Thank you and have a wonderful day! --The GP-US Voting Admin _______________________________________________ Natlcomvotes mailing list To send a message to the list, write to: Natlcomvotes at green.gpus.org To unsubscribe or change your list options, go to: http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/natlcomvotes If your state delegation changes, please see: http://gp.org/committees/nc/documents/delegate_change.html For other information about the Coordinating Committee, see: http://gp.org/committees/nc/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From chapillsbury at gmail.com Tue Dec 5 22:55:12 2006 From: chapillsbury at gmail.com (Charlie Pillsbury) Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2006 22:55:12 -0500 Subject: {news} Fwd: Election Reflections! In-Reply-To: <98830665.655479939@com.comDB.null> References: <98830665.655479939@com.comDB.null> Message-ID: <10859a090612051955q2ef936a0k252c3edcef7c6611@mail.gmail.com> apologies if i sent this already ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Green Party of the United States office at gp.org *November 2006* *News Headlines* Greens on a Winning Streak in DC ? Look to 2007 City Council Win. Election Day Wins In the nation's capitol, the DC Statehood Green Party won eight of 17 races on November 7?a win rate of 47%. The newly-elected and re-elected Statehood Greens will serve as Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners, serving about 2,000 constituents each. Nancy Shia, a 30-year resident and longtime activist in the progressive and diverse Adams Morgan neighborhood, greeted voters at her precinct from 7 am to 8 pm, as were her two competitors (the second-place finisher is a Democrat and recent graduate of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government). "I worked harder than they did. My issues were bicycle safety and curbside recycling--those are Green issues. I tried as hard as I could to meet all the people and to make it a serious grassroots candidacy." Shia won her race with 57% of the vote. In addition to building a bench of qualified Statehood Green politicians, the Statehood Greens emerged as DC's second party in terms of electoral participation, replacing the Republicans. This was the largest slate Statehood Greens ever ran, with 18 candidates. Citywide, Joyce Robinson-Paul finished second out of two, receiving over 14,000 votes (14.7%) in her race for DC's Senate seat (usually called the "Shadow Senator," without voting privileges). Keith Ware placed second out of three in his bid for US Representative, with more than 12,500 votes ( 12.7%) beating the Republican candidate. Ann Wilcox (a former elected member of the Board of Education) easily secured the ballot line with 11,444 votes (7,500 were needed). Other notable races included ANC commissioner Marc Borbely's bid for School Board (he finished 2nd out of 5, with 19%), Chris Otten for Mayor (3rd out of 3, with 4%), and Laurent Ross for Board of Education President (4th out of 5, with 5%). Renee Bowser Ward 4's Next City Councilor On Friday, November 10th Renee Bowser held a press conference at Rudolph Elementary School to declare her intention to run in the special election for DC Ward 4 City Council, a seat which will be vacated by DC's incoming mayor Adrian Fenty. The special election provides a great opportunity for the DCSGP. Since there is no primary, Renee will compete head to head with a field of Democrat and Republican opponents. Renee Bowser, an attorney for the United Food and Commercial Workers, has already received the endorsement of UFCW Local 400, and from the president and vice-president of AFGE Local 12 officials. Renee plans to make public education, the living wage, and constituent services her top issues in office. ** *Green Candidates Reflect* The Green Party won 65 races this year. This is a remarkable achievement, given unparalleled levels of negative campaigning against Greens. Our candidates ran great campaigns. Even though many of them did not win, they all have a lot to be proud of. We want to give you a chance to hear from a few of the candidates we've profiled over the last few months. And; what they feel their campaigns have achieved: Rae Vogler, US Senate WI Cindy Sheehan endorses Rae, saying "We need to vote for candidates calling for peace" "Everywhere I went, I found people are ready for change. Everyday folks on the ground, those who are not necessarily politically involved or tied to a party affiliation, understand that our government is NOT representing us, but is instead representing corporate interests - the big money oil lobby, the defense contractors, the pharmaceutical industry, and the credit card companies. People know what they want - they want a government that stands up for their interests. They want candidates that speak for them. They want: The message of this campaign resonated across the state. Over and over I had people come up to me and say "I agree with you. I like what you have to say." And the very next words out of their mouth were "How come I haven't heard of you before?" I call on you to carry the torch of this campaign forward. The tide is turning for progressive change and we are a part of that tide. Please commit yourself to keep up the struggle. Together we will win! Pat LaMarche, Governor ME Roy Ulrickson spoke at the election night celebration of Pat LaMarche, "No matter what the outcome is tonight, it will still be historic. No longer can media marginalize the Green Party. No longer can Democrats continue with bad politics as usual. No longer can the Republicans continue to drive their party to the radical right. No longer can either party take your vote for granted.... Tonight will be historic because all of you have made history. Every door knocked, every street corner signed, every call made was a part of this history. You have helped Pat inspire thousand of voters and change the political landscape of Maine. You have helped Pat spread a messsage of hope and prosperity..." Despite some tough losses, the Maine Independent Green Party has a net gain of two office holders in Tuesday's elections. Greens Kevin Donaghue and David Marshall gained 2 seats on Portland's City Council. In addition Rebecca Minnick won the District 1 seat on the school committee in Portland. Malachy McCourt, Governor NY and Allison Duncan, Lieutenant Governor NY Although NY Green Governor Candidate Malachy McCourt came just shy of the 50,000 votes needed to secure ballot status, his campaign energized and inspired us all to stand up for what we believe in, and have fun doing it. Malachy's running mate, Allison Duncan, reflected on the outcome of the election: "New Yorkers clearly choose the Green Party as New York's third party," said Alison Duncan, Green Party candidate for Lieutenant Governor. "Julia Willebrand, candidate for comptroller, was the standout with 108,030 votes, more than any Green Party candidate for statewide office in New York has ever gotten. Those votes clearly demonstrate that when voters need a choice on the ballot they choose Green. The fact that three candidates got over 50,000 votes gives the Green Party the opportunity for a legal challenge to NY's ballot access law, which says that the 50,000 votes for ballot access must be on the Governor's line. "When corporate and PAC money determines the outcome of elections we do not have a democracy," said Duncan. "This government will not be a servant of the voters. We are determined to continue the fight ? legally, electorally, and legislatively to put a party that is not beholden to corporate and PAC interests ? the Green Party ? on the ballot and into power." [image: Support the Green Party] Are you a blogger or webmaster? Add an anti-war banner ad to your page! The Green Party has a dynamic new WEB BANNER AD that can be placed on Green Party state/local websites, blogs, or personal homepages to point viewers to www.GP.org . The anti-war message and clean Green design appeals to a wide audience: "Americans know the war in Iraq was based on lies...Bring the troops home now! Only one U.S. political party calls for the end of military involvement in Iraq...Find out how you can get active with the nation's only true peace party." You can get the code here: http://www.gp.org/committees/ou treach/materials.shtml. * Green Party Earthflower Sweatshirt.* Keep warm at the polls on election day with a Green Party Hooded Sweatshirt! The Earthflower sweatshirt is Oxford Gray, the Kelly Green Sweatshirt has white lettering. Union Made and Sweatshop free in 80% cotton/20% poly, front pocket. $37.50 including shipping. Green Party online shopping just got easier! To Order:* online store *. *Register Green. Vote Green. Give Green.* The Green Party does not accept corporate donations. We depend entirely on donations from people who are committed to building a powerful and progressive alternative to the two corporate parties. We ask you to challenge corporate influence in politics by supporting the Green Party of the United States! Show your resistance to the status quo by enabling us to continue organizing and mobilizing for real change. Please help us get out our positive, progressive values to new communities, and to deepen our involvement where we're already anchored. *Support us today *and please consider becoming a sustainer (look for the recurring donation option). Green Party online shopping just got easier! Visit our improved* online store *. *Americans are ready for Change* America is ready for the Green Party's message. But we need your help in bringing the message to the American people! *Donate now to the Green Party * [image: Donate to GP Fund] *Make your friends GREEN with envy. Become a card-carrying Green today!* [image: Buy Your Card Online]* Buy Your Green Party Card Online *(or download a PDF order form ). The latest, coolest item in the wallets of progressives is the personalized Green Party Card. For *$36.00 a year** you can be a card-carrying Green. When you become an active supporter of the Green Party of the United States, you'll receive our spanking-new card, which shows the world that you stand committed to time-honored progressive values like liberty, equality, democracy, social justice, personal responsibility and focus on the future. In addition, you will receive a Green Party button and bumper sticker, a one-year subscription to Green Pages, plus all of the information you need to get involved and active as a Green. Half of your contribution will be shared with your state's Green Party. *The Future is Green!* *Order Your **Green Party Card Online* * Today* ------------- Federal law requires political committees to use their best effort to collect and report the name, mailing address, occupation and employer for each individual whose contributions exceed $200 in a calendar year. Contributions form the following individuals and entities are prohibited: corporations, labor organizations, national banks, government contractors, people under 18 years of age, and foreign nationals. *$36.00 is roughly equivalent to the $1.00 paid for a one-year membership in the Populist Party of the 1890s. The Populist Party was a multiracial, progressive, grassroots third party of working people which agitated for many popular progressive reforms. The Green Party of the 21st century continues the Populist's fight for citizen empowerment and progressive reforms at all levels today. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = *DO NOT REPLY* TO THIS E-MAIL* *= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = All comments, feedback and content suggestions should be sent to: office at gp.org. You've been reading Green Line, the monthly e-newsletter of the Green Party of the United States. Subscribe for free at gp.org . Click here to unsubscribe. Paid for by the Green Party of the United States -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From roseberry3 at cox.net Sun Dec 10 17:11:35 2006 From: roseberry3 at cox.net (B Barry) Date: Sun, 10 Dec 2006 17:11:35 -0500 Subject: {news} EC meeting for 12-11-06 had been cancelled Message-ID: <20061210221135.DHRC18269.centrmmtao05.cox.net@eastrmimpo02.cox.net> due to limited number of officers will be in the state/country. The rescheduled date is yet to be determined. Note: the 12-26-06 SCC has been rescheduled for 1-9-07?.by the attendees to the 11-28-06 SCC meeting. There are 5 Tuesdays in January 2007. Barbara Barry, Secretary of CTGP -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.15.15/581 - Release Date: 12/9/2006 3:41 PM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From roseberry3 at cox.net Sun Dec 10 17:13:17 2006 From: roseberry3 at cox.net (B Barry) Date: Sun, 10 Dec 2006 17:13:17 -0500 Subject: {news} 12-26-06 SCC meeting has been rescheduled to 1-9-07 Message-ID: <20061210221318.XOIB19088.centrmmtao06.cox.net@eastrmimpo02.cox.net> the 12-26-06 SCC has been rescheduled for 1-9-07?.by the attendees to the 11-28-06 SCC meeting. Meeting place is yet to be determined. There are 5 Tuesdays in January 2007. Barbara Barry, Secretary of CTGP -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.15.15/581 - Release Date: 12/9/2006 3:41 PM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From efficacy at msn.com Mon Dec 11 05:43:41 2006 From: efficacy at msn.com (clifford thornton) Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2006 05:43:41 -0500 Subject: {news} US CT: Edu: Connecticut Leaders Fight To Crack Down On Crank Message-ID: US CT: Edu: Connecticut Leaders Fight To Crack Down On Crank URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n1679/a01.html Newshawk: Herb Votes: 0 Pubdate: Fri, 08 Dec 2006 Source: Yale Herald, The (CT Edu) Copyright: 2006 The Yale Herald. Contact: opinion at yaleherald.com Website: http://www.yaleherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2791 Author: Michael Kim CONNECTICUT LEADERS FIGHT TO CRACK DOWN ON CRANK As far as Governor Jodi Rell is concerned, new laws are needed to keep methamphetamine use in Connecticut to a minimum. While towns across the country struggle because of a meth epidemic, Rell hopes to quell meth use in Connecticut before it takes a tight hold. Methamphetamine is a highly addictive drug commonly known as meth, crystal meth, ice, speed, or crank. Unlike marijuana, cocaine, and heroin, meth does not come from plants but is produced in laboratories. Meth is not as prevalent in Connecticut as it is west of the Mississippi, and officials want to make sure it stays that way. "There are no methamphetamine users being treated here," said an official at the APT Foundation, a New Haven based nonprofit organization that treats individuals with substance abuse problems in multiple clinical centers. The official asked not to be named to protect the identities of his clients. At the same time, increasingly large quantities of methamphetamine are being smuggled in from Mexico, where it is produced in mass-scale "superlabs." "I still believe we need to get tougher laws here in Connecticut," Rell said last Thur., Nov. 30, at the state Capitol. The governor vowed to introduce legislation to make punishments harsher for those that sell or manufacture methamphetamine. She proposed a 15-year prison sentence for first time offenders and a 30-year sentence for second time offenders. Earlier this year, Rell issued a statement that came down hard on existing laws, "We need to get tougher laws on the books this year to send the message that the sale or possession of this drug will land you in jail." She has succeeded in reclassifying the possession of methamphetamine manufacturing paraphernalia as a Class D felony, punishable by up to five years in prison. She also advocated requiring pharmacists to keep a log of people who purchase cold medications like Sudafed that contain pseudoephedrine or ephedrine, chemical ingredients of methamphetamine. When asked about the effectiveness of such strong punishments, Carol Meredith, assistant director of the Prevention and Intervention Unit of the Department of the Connecticut Mental Health and Addiction Services, said enforcement strategies can be a significant source of deterrence. But not everyone is confident that Rell's policy will succeed. According to Cliff Thornton, a representative of Efficacy, a Connecticut based organization that advocates legalization of drugs, the current aggressive anti-drug policy is a ploy used by politicians. Instead, the government should acknowledge the presence of drugs and regulate their use. "There have been countless surveys that say marijuana is easier for minors to obtain than alcohol or cigarettes," said Thornton. "We have to bring drugs into the law. We must legalize, medicalize, and decriminalize." Thornton ran for governor of Connecticut under the Green Party ticket in 2006. "Has prohibition worked with cannabis, heroin, alcohol, or crack cocaine?" Thornton asked. "Alcohol only came under control after the government lifted prohibition." Time will tell if Rell's crackdown on meth will face similar roadblocks. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- MAP posted-by: Elaine Efficacy PO Box 1234 860 657 8438 Hartford, CT 06143 efficacy at msn.com www.Efficacy-online.org Working to end race and class drug war injustice, Efficacy is a non profit 501 (c) 3 organization founded in 1997. Your gifts and donations are tax deductible -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: rate.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1720 bytes Desc: not available URL: From efficacy at msn.com Mon Dec 11 08:02:58 2006 From: efficacy at msn.com (clifford thornton) Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2006 08:02:58 -0500 Subject: {news} It's wrong to make drug war a religion Message-ID: Columnists William A. Collins It's wrong to make drug war a religion William A. Collins Published December 10 2006 Cliff Thornton, the recent Green Party candidate for governor, is a man of commendable substance and character. One of his seminal comments during the campaign was, "We've got to understand that the drug war is meant to be waged, not won." Others have said much the same about the war on terror, and all are right, but the election showed that the public might at least have caught the drift about terrorism. Not so about drugs. Voters still seem ready to punish politicians who seem to be "soft." This faulty faith in an incarceration ideology, promoted especially by the prison-industrial complex, is painfully damaging to society. Take Hartford. New research has found that one child in six there has a parent in jail. Very few of these got sentenced for stock fraud or embezzlement. White-collar criminals are from the suburbs, and mostly they just get fines and probation. The heavy sentences are reserved for drugs and related crimes. Indeed, there exists a kind of puritanical belief that those of us who maintain freedom from such substances will vouchsafe a place for ourselves in heaven, as long as we persecute those who have fallen. Fortunately, our own purity is not considered smirched by occasional recourse to alcohol. This distinction between the two substances was clarified during the great temperance reformation in the 1930s. That's when Prohibition was finally repealed. But while the glass of wine and the martini have long been welcomed back into the Kingdom of Heaven, not so the joint. Not even if you're deathly ill and cannabis is the only pharmaceutical that can bring relief. It carries the stigma of Subsequent Sin. Even baptism by incarceration cannot fully erase its stain. The cost to society of this anti-drug religion has been enormous. And not just to hopeless junkies either. It's racial too. Drug laws purposely are drawn to punish blacks and Latinos with especial harshness. Not coincidentally, we also tie in restrictions on their right to vote. In some states, there is a lifetime prohibition. But for the rich, the rules are somewhat milder. The New York Times reports that in Manhattan that polite and well-groomed dealers will now deliver pleasantly packaged, high-quality marijuana to your door. No more murky street corners with lurking cops and bullets. In Europe, this Reformation is much further along. Very few people over there go to jail for drugs these days. Users of pot are ignored, and addicts of the harder stuff are offered treatment. In some places, hopeless heroin victims even are given controlled amounts of it, often stabilizing them and sometimes straightening them out. In this country, we're much more ideological. We deny pot to the desperately ill for fear it will "send the wrong message." We send mercenaries onto Afghan farms to tear out poppies, thereby fomenting a resurgence of the Taliban. We jail harmless drug users, isolating them from education, employment, family and treatment, thus driving more and more citizens onto welfare and into crime. Yes, there have been improvements. While our state still over-punishes for cocaine possession, at least it's now equal for blacks and whites. Penalties used to differ greatly for possession of crack cocaine (cheaper to buy) and the powder (expensive). Eleven states - not us - also allow medical marijuana use, though the feds are thrilled to jump in and arrest sufferers anyway. And California widely offers treatment instead of jail. Still, the drug war nationally continues to fuel crime syndicates, destroy families, and breed corruption here and in Mexico. That's a heavy price to pay for a false religion. Syndicated columnist William A. Collins is a former state representative and a former mayor of Norwalk. The piece was distributed by www.minutemanmedia.org. Copyright ? 2006, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc. Efficacy PO Box 1234 860 657 8438 Hartford, CT 06143 efficacy at msn.com www.Efficacy-online.org Working to end race and class drug war injustice, Efficacy is a non profit 501 (c) 3 organization founded in 1997. Your gifts and donations are tax deductible -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: clear.gif Type: image/gif Size: 49 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 11151262.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 6118 bytes Desc: not available URL: From efficacy at msn.com Mon Dec 11 13:56:28 2006 From: efficacy at msn.com (clifford thornton) Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2006 13:56:28 -0500 Subject: {news} Fw: Drug Truth Update 121106 Message-ID: For those that are interested. This is an NPR affiliate in Houston, Tex. Drug Truth Network Update: Cultural Baggage, Century of Lies, 4:20 Drug War NEWS Half Hour Programs, Live Fridays... at 90.1 FM in Houston & on the web at www.kpft.org. Cultural Baggage for 12/08/06 Warden Richard Watkins of LEAP + Cliff Thornton of Efficacy MP3 MP3 Link: http://www.drugtruth.net/cbaudio06/FDBCB_120806.mp3 Century of Lies for 12/08/06 Howard Wooldridge, Mike Gray, Dr. Rick Doblin + Drug War Facts, Terry Nelson of LEAP, Corrupt Cop Story, Poppygate MP3 MP3 Link: http://www.drugtruth.net/cbaudio06/COL_120806.mp3 4:20 Drug War NEWS 12/11/06 to 12/17/06 now online (3:00 ea.): Monday 12/11/06 A Drug Sentence Without Justice - St. Petersburg Times Tuesday 12/12/06 National Health Service Scientist Pleads Guilty - Washington Post + Corrupt Cop Story Wednesday 12/13/06 Terry Nelson of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Thursday 12/14/06 Drug War Facts with Doug McVay + Poppygate with Glenn Greenway Friday 12/15/06 Roman Catholic Priest, Father Joseph Gansele Saturday 12/16/06 Cliff Thornton of Efficacy-Online Sunday 12/17/06 Rich Watkins, former Texas prison warden, member of LEAP NEXT Friday: - Cultural Baggage 8 PM ET, 7 PM CT, 6 PM MT & 5 PM PT. Roman Catholic Priest Joseph Ganselle - Century of Lies 2 PM ET, 1 PM CT, Noon MT & 11 AM PT. TBD Please become part of the solution, visit our website: www.endprohibition.org for links to the best of reform. UNVARNISHED TRUTH DVD available Now, for FREE! (The full 57 minute video is now available online at: http://www.drugtruth.net/dtnvideo.htm ) Dean Becker 281-752-9198 www.drugtruth.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From efficacy at msn.com Tue Dec 12 18:09:00 2006 From: efficacy at msn.com (clifford thornton) Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2006 18:09:00 -0500 Subject: {news} Stamford Advocate--"Now is time to head off drug scourge" Message-ID: http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/opinion/letters/ Letters To The Editor Tuesday, December 12, 2006 To the editor: "Now is time to head off drug scourge" (Advocate editorial, Dec. 9) is yet another example of the insanity by our authorities in a long line of insane acts. Let us not forget alcohol, cannabis, heroin, cocaine and the success we had with keeping these drugs off the street. Now, methamphetamine. The authorities are using the same tactics to combat meth as they used with all the other illegal drugs. Yet there are more drugs at cheaper prices on our streets than ever before. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. In sports, if a center-fielder drops the fly ball, you can't pretend he didn't. There's also an awareness of patterns - a relationship between what has gone before and what is to come that is so strong in sports coverage that doesn't seem to be there in news reporting. The authorities and, for the most part, the media have dropped the ball and are pretending they haven't dropped the ball. Every time the authorities announce a new policy on a so-called new drug or the reappearance of one, we do the same old thing. I raised this issue during my campaign for governor on the Green Party ticket. The press, for the most part, and other candidates avoided this issue. History says "we are doomed to make the same mistakes over and over again." Well, here we go again with methamphetamine. Let's stop pretending that the authorities have not dropped the ball. Clifford Wallace Thornton Jr. Hartford Efficacy PO Box 1234 860 657 8438 Hartford, CT 06143 efficacy at msn.com www.Efficacy-online.org Working to end race and class drug war injustice, Efficacy is a non profit 501 (c) 3 organization founded in 1997. Your gifts and donations are tax deductible -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: clear.gif Type: image/gif Size: 49 bytes Desc: not available URL: From efficacy at msn.com Wed Dec 13 05:36:11 2006 From: efficacy at msn.com (clifford thornton) Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2006 05:36:11 -0500 Subject: {news} Why So Many Black Women Are Behind Bars Message-ID: Why So Many Black Women Are Behind Bars By Earl Ofari Hutchinson AlterNet - Posted on December 5, 2006 http://www.alternet.org/story/45149/ Some years ago I briefly worked as a social worker. Occasionally I would visit clients in jail to determine their eligibility for continued benefits. They were all men -- with one exception. She was a young black woman serving time for theft. She had two small children. She entered the visiting room handcuffed to another woman and dressed in drab prison garb. We talked through a reinforced glass window. The guards stared hard and barked out gruff commands to the women. The idea of a woman in prison then was a novelty. It isn't anymore. According to a recent Justice Department report on America's jail population, women make up about 10 percent of the America's inmates. There are now more women than ever serving time, and black women make up a disproportionate number of those women. They are twice more likely than Hispanic, and over three times more likely than white women, to be jailed. In fact, black women have almost single-handedly expanded the women's prison-industrial complex. From 1930 to 1950 five women's prisons were built nationally. During the 1980s and 1990s dozens more prisons were built, and a growing number of them are maximum-security women's prisons. But the prison- building splurge hasn't kept pace with the swelling number of women prisoners. Women's prisons are understaffed, overcrowded, lack recreation facilities, serve poor quality food, suffer chronic shortages of family planning counselors and services, and gynecological specialists, drug treatment and child care facilities, and transportation funds for family visits. Female prisoners face the added peril of rape, and insensitive treatment during pregnancy. A United Nations report in 1997 found that more than two dozen states permitted pregnant women to be shackled while being transported to hospitals for treatment. A report by the National Corrections Information Center revealed that the U.S. is one of only a handful of countries that allow men to guard women, often unsupervised. Author Donna Ann-Smith Marshall, who served several years at Central California Women's Facility, California's top maximum security prison, in her new book, Time on the Inside, tells in shocking and graphic detail the callous, often brutal treatment many women are subjected to in women's maximum security jails. Unfortunately, the tepid public debate over the consequence of locking up so many women is riddled with misconceptions. One is that women commit violent crimes for the same reasons that men do. They don't. Women are less likely than men to assault or murder strangers while committing crimes. Two-thirds of the women jailed assaulted or killed relatives or intimates. Their victims were often spouses, lovers, or boyfriends. In many cases they committed violence defending themselves against sexual or physical abuse. Women's groups and even the more enlightened governors have recognized that women that kill abusive husbands or lovers have acted out of fear and have loosened parole standards. The governors have granted some women earlier release from their sentences. More women, and especially black women, are behind bars as much because of hard punishment than their actual crimes. One out of three crimes committed by women are drug related. Many state and federal sentencing laws mandate minimum sentences for all drug offenders. This virtually eliminates the option of referring non- violent first time offenders to increasingly scarce, financially strapped drug treatment, counseling and education programs. Stiffer punishment for crack cocaine use also has landed more black women in prison, and for longer sentences than white women (and men). Then there's the feminization of poverty and racial stereotyping. More than one out of three black women jailed did not complete high school, were unemployed, or had incomes below the poverty level at the time of their arrest. More than half of them were single parents. While black men are typed as violent, drug dealing "gangstas," black women are typed as sexually loose, conniving, untrustworthy, welfare queens. Many of the mostly middle-class judges and jurors believe that black women offenders are menaces to society too. The quantum leap in black women behind bars has had devastating impact on families and the quality of life in many poor black communities. Thousands of children of incarcerated women are raised by grandparents, or warehoused in foster homes and institutions. The children are frequently denied visits because the mothers are deemed unfit. This prevents mothers from developing parenting and nurturing skills and deeply disrupts the parent-child bond. Many children of imprisoned women drift into delinquency, gangs and drug use. This perpetuates the vicious cycle of poverty, crime and violence. There are many cases where parents and even grandparents are jailed. There is little sign that this will change. The public and policy makers are deeply rapped in the damaging cycle of myths, misconceptions and crime fear hysteria about crime-on-the-loose women. They are loath to ramp up funds and programs for job and skills training, drug treatment, education, childcare and health, and parenting skills. Yet, this is still the best way to keep more women from winding up behind bars. [Earl Ofari Hutchinson is a political analyst and social issues commentator, and the author of the forthcoming book The Emerging Black GOP Majority (Middle Passage Press, September 2006), a hard-hitting look at Bush and The GOP's court of black voters.] Efficacy PO Box 1234 860 657 8438 Hartford, CT 06143 efficacy at msn.com www.Efficacy-online.org Working to end race and class drug war injustice, Efficacy is a non profit 501 (c) 3 organization founded in 1997. Your gifts and donations are tax deductible -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From edubrule at sbcglobal.net Sat Dec 16 23:35:16 2006 From: edubrule at sbcglobal.net (edubrule) Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2006 23:35:16 -0500 Subject: {news} AFSC: (1)Sat Jan 27-buses leaving CT for peace demo in DC; (2)vigils for 3,000th US death Message-ID: <004201c72196$a8f8b0f0$5f9b4c0c@edgn2b574u14bi> 6-Story Newsletter Template + Images ----- Original Message ----- From: AFSC Connecticut To: edubrule at sbcglobal.net Sent: Friday, December 15, 2006 7:00 PM Subject: Act Now to End the War American Friends Service Committee Connecticut In This Issue: Dec 15, 2006 . Saturday, January 27, 2007: Act Now to End the War . Nearing 3,000 U.S. troop deaths in Iraq: Not One More Death! Not One More Dollar . Organize a Vigil to Commemorate the 3000th U.S. Military Death in Iraq Saturday, January 27, 2007: Act Now to End the War There will be at least 2 buses leaving from New Haven and one bus leaving from Wrst Hartford to go to washington, D.C. Please join us. Spread the word and get as many people as possible to go. Take Election Mandate for Peace to Washington DC on Jan. 27! Call on Congress & the Bush administration to take immediate action to end the war. Sponsored nationally by United For Peace & Justice PeaceBus Connecticut To Washington $55 Round Trip, $30 for seniors, students, unemployed (for a limited number of reduced-rate seats). Scholarships also may be available: Call. Buses leave (and return 24 hours later): 11:00 pm, Friday, 26 January, W. Hartford - Conard High School, 110 Beechwood Rd. 11:45 pm, Friday, 26 January, New Haven - Long Wharf Theater parking lot, 222 Sargent Drive. Tickets ONLINE: http://www.stepfour.com/peacetrain/ Get receipt and immediate confirmation. Or by mail: Greater New Haven Peace Council PO Box 3105 New Haven, CT 06515-0205 Print and send. _____ Seats from New Haven $55; _____ Reduced-rate Seats $30 _____ Seats from W. Hartford $55; _____ Reduced-rate Seats $30 Contact Name: Address: Phone: Email: For information: grnhpeacecouncil at sbcglobal.net phone: 203-389-9547 damdur at afsc.org phone: 860-523-1534 The UFPJ URL for the march: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3436 http://www.unitedforpeace.org/ Nearing 3,000 U.S. troop deaths in Iraq: Not One More Death! Not One More Dollar Today's newsletter launches our vigil system to help you organize creative and visible memorial activities that draw attention to the human cost of this war. You will find tips on how to organize an event in your community, fact sheets and analysis you can distribute, great outreach tools, and a letter to Congress you can sign. Milestones are always cause for reflection. With new leadership in Congress, it is time again to say "Not One More Death | Not One More Dollar." Not one more Iraqi or US soldier should be killed. Not one more US dollar should be spent sustaining this war and occupation. Instead, we should be funding diplomatic efforts and Iraqi-led reconstruction of their country. 10 Reasons Why the US Must Leave Iraq http://www.afsc.org/iraq/activism/10-reasons.htm AFSC Statement Urging Immediate Withdrawal http://www.afsc.org/iraq/guide/board-statement.htm http://www.afsc.org/iraq/ Organize a Vigil to Commemorate the 3000th U.S. Military Death in Iraq As of today 2,938 U.S. military personnel and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have been killed in the war in Iraq. We need to mark this sad statistic, with sadness and reflection. AFSC is asking people throughout the U.S. to organize a vigil to commemorate the 3000th death. There is is already a vigil planned on the New Haven Green the day after the death is announced. Please attend or consider organizing a vigil in your community. In New Haven please contact John Shanley at johnshanley at sbcglobal.net especially if you can help with a planned reading of names of the U.S. causalities. Please contact David Amdur at damdur at afsc.org or at 860-523-1534 if you are interested in organizing a vigil. You may also go to afsc.org/3000 to get more information and sign up your vigil. http://afsc.org/3000 American Friends Service Committee Connecticut Area Office 56 Arbor Street, Suite 213 Hartford, CT 06106 Phone: 860.523.1534 Fax: 860.523.1705 Email: connecticut at afsc.org Visit AFSC CT Online Unsubscribe | Update Profile | Confirm | Forward -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From efficacy at msn.com Sun Dec 17 09:16:18 2006 From: efficacy at msn.com (clifford thornton) Date: Sun, 17 Dec 2006 09:16:18 -0500 Subject: {news} What is Connecticut getting for its deadly prohibitions? Message-ID: http://www.journalinquirer.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17596282&BRD=985&PAG=461&dept_id=565860&rfi=6 Chris Powell What is Connecticut getting for its deadly prohibitions? By Chris Powell 12/16/2006 Much investigation still has to be done to get to the bottom of the latest police shooting of unarmed and unoffending people, the incident at a bar in Queens last month in which five New York City police officers fired 50 rounds at three men, killing one of them, without managing to bring any criminal charges. But one thing seems settled: The police were working under cover, in plain clothes, to investigate suspicion of prostitution and illegal drugs at the bar. Quite apart from the questions of exactly what prompted the shootings and whether the police thought they saw a weapon -- and how anyone at a bar is supposed to react when someone in plain clothes suddenly turns on him -- there may be a more important question. That is: Is the possibility of drug use and prostitution, at worst victimless crimes, really worth SWAT team treatment? New York City is not the only jurisdiction dispatching police with hair triggers to look for trouble where there really isn't any. It happened in Hartford last year, as a city police officer and an agent of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms were patrolling the north end, supposedly to combat gun crime. They confronted two young men parked in a car at a small grocery store. After some conversation the young men drove away, disregarding an order to stop. The city officer then shot at the car five times, killing one of the young men and wounding the other. The officer claimed to have seen a gun and to have thought that one of the young men was reaching for it. But there was no gun and no crime under way, at least until the young men drove off, and even then they posed no threat to anyone. In the Queens and Hartford cases and innumerable others across the country, police sent out to look for victimless crime ended up creating more trouble than they found. For just as drugs and prostitution are at best victimless crimes, so is gun possession. Despite the hysteria over it in the cities, with their amnesty programs and offers to swap guns for supermarket gift certificates, the urban gun problem is really only a manifestation of drug prohibition. Having been pushed outside the law, people in the drug trade obtain guns mainly to protect themselves against others in the drug trade. Guns are just as legally (or illegally) possessed in the suburbs but the suburbs escape the gun hysteria because the drug trade is concentrated among the urban poor. Drug addiction is bad but for every life lost to it there are several lost to the violence created by drug prohibition, and thousands lost to the abuse of the drugs that have been brought inside the law and taxed and regulated, alcohol and tobacco. As for prostitution, its only public aspect -- street prostitution -- is also largely a matter of drug prohibition, its inflating the price of drugs so much that addicts become desperate. Dispatching police with hair triggers to snoop on drugs, prostitution, and gun possession where there is no complaint of harm is the mark of a government that thinks it doesn't have enough to do. And while the war on these things has been undertaken for decades, it has had no detectable effect on them. Like so much else in government, the war's only provable effect has been as an employment program with early retirement and excellent pension benefits. This war is as Orwell wrote about another war: not meant to be won but rather to be continuous, to keep the hierarchy of society intact. But it is piling up a lot of bodies, including those of an increasing number of mere bystanders, innocent people -- caught in shootouts, drive-by shootings, car chases, robberies by desperate addicts, and mistakes by police. Sometimes the innocent victims of these prohibitions are not the usual members of expendable racial minorities in the cities but white suburbanites. So it would be nice if Connecticut's elected officials could even just talk about the carnage all around them. It would be nirvana if they could commission an audit of criminal-justice policy and establish some criteria for judging its performance, if they could ask: What are we really getting for these deadly prohibitions besides what we got for the last one, the prohibition of alcohol, which everyone now acknowledges with a laugh to have been a big mistake? ------- Chris Powell is managing editor of the Journal Inquirer. ?Journal Inquirer 2006 Efficacy PO Box 1234 860 657 8438 Hartford, CT 06143 efficacy at msn.com www.Efficacy-online.org Working to end race and class drug war injustice, Efficacy is a non profit 501 (c) 3 organization founded in 1997. Your gifts and donations are tax deductible -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From efficacy at msn.com Wed Dec 20 06:31:52 2006 From: efficacy at msn.com (clifford thornton) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2006 06:31:52 -0500 Subject: {news} Democrats Capitulate to Warmongering Fascism Message-ID: Tidbit So very many US Democrats thought they were accomplishing something meaningful by turning the US Republicans out of Congress. Yet now the Democrats seem intent upon adopting policies even more backward and warmongering than those of the Republicans! There is no need for anyone to plot the destruction of the US government .. all that those so interested have to do, it seems, is sit back and watch it implode due to stupidity. With 'friends' like these "Democrats", who needs enemies? Efficacy PO Box 1234 860 657 8438 Hartford, CT 06143 efficacy at msn.com www.Efficacy-online.org Working to end race and class drug war injustice, Efficacy is a non profit 501 (c) 3 organization founded in 1997. Your gifts and donations are tax deductible -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kumfry at yahoo.com Wed Dec 20 11:37:43 2006 From: kumfry at yahoo.com (Kenneth Humphrey) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2006 08:37:43 -0800 (PST) Subject: {news} Democrats Capitulate to Warmongering Fascism In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <839033.33563.qm@web32803.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Amen, Cliff. Ken Humphrey --- clifford thornton wrote: > Connecticut Green Party - Part of the GPUS > http://www.ctgreens.org/ - > http://www.greenpartyus.org/ > > to unsubscribe click here > mailto:ctgp-news-unsubscribe at ml.greens.org> Tidbit > > So very many US Democrats thought they were > accomplishing something meaningful by turning the US > Republicans out of Congress. Yet now the Democrats > seem intent upon adopting policies even more > backward and warmongering than those of the > Republicans! > > There is no need for anyone to plot the destruction > of the US government .. all that those so interested > have to do, it seems, is sit back and watch it > implode due to stupidity. With 'friends' like these > "Democrats", who needs enemies? > > > Efficacy > PO Box 1234 > 860 657 8438 > Hartford, CT 06143 > efficacy at msn.com > www.Efficacy-online.org > > Working to end race and class drug war injustice, > Efficacy is a non profit > 501 (c) 3 organization founded in 1997. Your gifts > and donations are tax > deductible> To be removed please > mailto:ctgp-news-unsubscribe at ml.greens.org > _______________________________________________ > CTGP-news mailing list > CTGP-news at ml.greens.org > http://ml.greens.org/mailman/listinfo/ctgp-news > > ATTENTION! > The information in this transmission is privileged > and confidential and intended only for the recipient > listed above. If you have received this > transmission in error, please notify us immediately > by email and delete the original message. The text > of this email is similar to ordinary or face-to-face > conversations and does not reflect the level of > factual or legal inquiry or analysis which would be > applied in the case of a formal legal opinion and > does not constitute a representation of the opinions > of the CT Green Party. The responsibility for any > messages posted herein is solely that of the person > who sent the message, and the CT Green Party hereby > leaves this responsibility in the hands of it's > members. > > NOTE: This is an inherently insecure forum, please > do not post confidential messages and always realize > that your address can be faked, and although a > message may appear to be from a certain individual, > it is always possible that it is fakemail. This is > mail sent by a third party under an illegally > assumed identity for purposes of coercion, > misdirection, or general mischief. > > CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: If you have received this > e-mail in error, please immediately notify the > sender by e-mail at the address shown. This e-mail > transmission may contain confidential information. > This information is intended only for the use of the > individual(s) or entity to whom it is intended even > if addressed incorrectly. Please delete it from > your files if you are not the intended recipient. > Thank you for your compliance. > > To be removed please mailto://ctgp-news-unsubscribe at ml.greens.org __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com From chapillsbury at igc.org Fri Dec 22 11:38:08 2006 From: chapillsbury at igc.org (Charlie Pillsbury) Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2006 11:38:08 -0500 Subject: {news} FW: Business coalition sues state over campaign finance law Message-ID: <002a01c725e7$9565d360$1901a8c0@CMI.local> Business coalition sues state over campaign finance law By Keith M. Phaneuf, Journal Inquirer 12/21/2006 A Washington, D.C.-based investment coalition is suing Connecticut over new campaign contribution restrictions aimed at state contractors' families. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association's filing in U.S. District Court contends that the new campaign finance system - which takes effect Dec. 31 - would unfairly expose contractors' spouses and dependent children, as well as ban them from making contributions. The Connecticut Business and Industry Association, which represents about 10,000 companies statewide, filed an affidavit in support of the SIFMA lawsuit. "While we support the goal of Connecticut's campaign finance statute, there are more narrowly tailored solutions that would achieve the same result," SIFMA's general counsel, Ira Hammerman, said. "SIFMA filed suit to protect the identity, privacy, and safety of thousands of children and spouses. The law as it currently stands is unworkable, unsafe, and unconstitutional." The General Assembly and Gov. M. Jodi Rell approved a new campaign finance system in 2005 that has been hailed by many clean government advocates as the toughest in the nation. It calls for voluntary public financing for all state elections starting Jan. 1. It also takes several steps to weed special-interest dollars out of state elections, including: * An end to the loophole that allowed political action committees and state candidates to accept money from businesses by selling them ad space in political program books. * A ban on contributions from lobbyists and state contractors, as well as on their spouses and dependent children. State Elections Enforcement Commission Executive Director Jeffrey Garfield, whose office is preparing a new database of individuals banned from contributing, reported to lawmakers last month that many contractors have refused to disclose their spouses and dependent children. Rep. Christopher L. Caruso, D-Bridgeport, co-chairman of the legislature's Government Administration and Elections Committee and the lawmaker who spearheaded the campaign finance legislation, said the lawsuit comes as no surprise. "Lobbyists and contractors are finally realizing this law is going to happen and they can't accept that their influence is going to be greatly reduced," he said. "It's reality shock." Andrew Sauer, executive director of Common Cause's Connecticut chapter, said that business leaders traditionally have "bundled" contributions to favored politicians by having their spouses and other relatives contribute as well. "It's all the same pot of money and I think the voters understand that," said Sauer, whose clean government advocacy group has been a staunch supporter of the new law. Sauer added there's nothing wrong if business leaders have security concerns about their relatives being listed on a state database. "But I do know that the state has to be in a position to enforce this law," he said. The database being developed by the state includes only banned individuals' names, not their home addresses and telephone numbers. Caruso added, "I believe the bill we crafted will stand up in court." -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From efficacy at msn.com Sat Dec 23 09:31:06 2006 From: efficacy at msn.com (clifford thornton) Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2006 09:31:06 -0500 Subject: {news} Venezuela's Black Vote Message-ID: Venezuela's Black Vote by Roy Levy Williams Amsterdam News - Dec 20, 2006 > Venezuelans went to the polls in record numbers this month to overwhelmingly vote for President Hugo Chavez. More than 80 percent of registered voters in Venezuelans voted in what the U.S State Department called a "democratic process" and an international delegation of monitors confirmed as "a free and fair election." As one of the NAACP's official monitors, what I believe to be a lesser known story is the power of the Black vote in that election. According to Jesus "Chucho" Garcia, a dynamic Afro-Venezuelan leader, approximately 30 percent of Venezuelans are people of markedly African descent. And as is the case in this country, the majority of these Afro Venezuelans are at the bottom of the economic ladder. But over the past few years, they finally see hope. President Chavez proudly identifies himself as a man of African descent and is often the subject of racial epithets by the wealthy elite who are predominantly of European descent. Not only does he acknowledge his heritage, the president has made changes that have aligned most Afro-Venezuelans with him. He won by 63 percent of the vote is in no small part due to the passionate support of Afro Venezuelans. The majority of the poor in Venezuela - like in many Latin American countries - are disproportionately Black. Race is "the elephant in the room" in Venezuela, where I heard lighter-skinned Latin Americans tell me everyone in their country were the same nationality and equal. "Not so" says Chucho Garcia in a most impassioned voice. He implored us to "take a look at the private television stations, owned in Venezuela by the wealthy elite. From the stars of the popular soap operas to the reporters and anchors of the news, you rarely see someone with brown skin. The more European you are, the more you are likely to be privileged, in college or on the cover of beauty magazines." Garcia and his colleagues suggested, "look at the amount of education people had, or at the jobs they had, and then decide whether color made a difference!" Using the new Constitution, President Chavez has taken the lead in beginning to tackle the question of race. Chucho for instance has his own show on state- owned television. The president has also promoted a number of Afro-Venezuelans to high positions. Several delegates of the NAACP met with the Venezuelan Deputy Minister for African Affairs and after explaining our role, listened to him talk about the changes in Venezuela. Some of these changes include forming a commission to search for solutions to racial inequality. The president has also agreed to place "Afro-Venezuelan" as a race on their census questionnaire - the first time in the history of the country. It has been said, some of the credit for these changes go to noted African- Americans such as Danny Glover and Harry Belafonte who have urged an honest grappling with the racial question. The president is given credit for the majority of the social changes. Cheered on by the majority of Afro Venezuelans, he has instituted widespread constitutionally protected change. The Venezuelan constitution adopted in 1999 following President Chavez's first election as president allows all Venezuelans greater benefits in education, health care and economic opportunity including training and employment. The constitution goes so far as to recognize the value of women who are at home raising children. Stay-at-home moms are eligible for Social Security. Many of the accusations against President Chavez's government by the Bush administration do not hold up under scrutiny. The Bush administration claims there is no free press. But virtually all of the major media is owned by the wealthy elite, and on almost a daily basis they pilloried President Chavez. The claims that Venezuela is a dictatorship is belied by this third election affirming the people's choice of President Chavez - each time winning by a larger percentage than the last. Most people know President Chavez as the man who called President Bush the devil at the United Nations but people don't know that the Bush administration has continually tried to undermine the Chavez government. It started with U.S. support of the 2002 coup against Chavez and covert funding of opposition groups spending at least $25 million according to press reports and a Freedom of Information Act request. And then there was Vice President Dick Cheney likening Chavez to Adolph Hitler. Even with our chilly relations, Venezuela has been a willing partner in providing oil resources to the poor in our country. The Venezuelan oil company CITGO, was the only energy firm to answer a call to donate low income heating oil to help low income residents in some areas of the US cope with skyrocketing fuel prices. Chavez is the leader in a movement to pioneer a new Latin American model of economic development, one that embraces private sector but spreads wealth more equitably. Nations from Ecuador to Nicaragua are following Chavez' lead -- sharing economic resources with more of their citizens. And those leaders holding that philosophy are winning over the votes of Afro- Latinos and others who are poor. When you talk to the ordinary folks in the towns of Venezuela. They believe Chavez has the right formula and said our country and the Bush Administration can learn several lessons from Chavez. First, when there are issues on the ballot that people believe make a difference in their lives - they vote. In Venezuela, people began standing in lines at three in the morning for polls that weren't opening until six. The Bush administration should also learn that continuing a policy of hostility towards this Afro- Latino nation is a great mistake. The wiser course for our administration would be to respect Venezuela and the government chosen by its voters and find a way to live and trade fairly with our neighbors in peace. Efficacy PO Box 1234 860 657 8438 Hartford, CT 06143 efficacy at msn.com www.Efficacy-online.org Working to end race and class drug war injustice, Efficacy is a non profit 501 (c) 3 organization founded in 1997. Your gifts and donations are tax deductible -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From efficacy at msn.com Sun Dec 24 07:24:10 2006 From: efficacy at msn.com (clifford thornton) Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 07:24:10 -0500 Subject: {news} Apartheid in the Holy Land Message-ID: http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/comment/0,10551,706911,00.html The Guardian December 21, 2006 Apartheid in the Holy Land By Desmond Tutu In our struggle against apartheid, the great supporters were Jewish people. They almost instinctively had to be on the side of the disenfranchised, of the voiceless ones, fighting injustice, oppression and evil. I have continued to feel strongly with the Jews. I am patron of a Holocaust centre in South Africa. I believe Israel has a right to secure borders. What is not so understandable, not justified, is what it did to another people to guarantee its existence. I've been very deeply distressed in my visit to the Holy Land; it reminded me so much of what happened to us black people in South Africa. I have seen the humiliation of the Palestinians at checkpoints and roadblocks, suffering like us when young white police officers prevented us from moving about. On one of my visits to the Holy Land I drove to a church with the Anglican bishop in Jerusalem. I could hear tears in his voice as he pointed to Jewish settlements. I thought of the desire of Israelis for security. But what of the Palestinians who have lost their land and homes? I have experienced Palestinians pointing to what were their homes, now occupied by Jewish Israelis. I was walking with Canon Naim Ateek (the head of the Sabeel Ecumenical Centre) in Jerusalem. He pointed and said: "Our home was over there. We were driven out of our home; it is now occupied by Israeli Jews." My heart aches. I say why are our memories so short. Have our Jewish sisters and brothers forgotten their humiliation? Have they forgotten the collective punishment, the home demolitions, in their own history so soon? Have they turned their backs on their profound and noble religious traditions? Have they forgotten that God cares deeply about the downtrodden? Israel will never get true security and safety through oppressing another people. A true peace can ultimately be built only on justice. We condemn the violence of suicide bombers, and we condemn the corruption of young minds taught hatred; but we also condemn the violence of military incursions in the occupied lands, and the inhumanity that won't let ambulances reach the injured. The military action of recent days, I predict with certainty, will not provide the security and peace Israelis want; it will only intensify the hatred. Israel has three options: revert to the previous stalemated situation; exterminate all Palestinians; or -- I hope -- to strive for peace based on justice, based on withdrawal from all the occupied territories, and the establishment of a viable Palestinian state on those territories side by side with Israel, both with secure borders. We in South Africa had a relatively peaceful transition. If our madness could end as it did, it must be possible to do the same everywhere else in the world. If peace could come to South Africa, surely it can come to the Holy Land? My brother Naim Ateek has said what we used to say: "I am not pro- this people or that. I am pro-justice, pro- freedom. I am anti-injustice, anti-oppression." But you know as well as I do that, somehow, the Israeli government is placed on a pedestal [in the US], and to criticise it is to be immediately dubbed anti-semitic, as if the Palestinians were not semitic. I am not even anti-white, despite the madness of that group. And how did it come about that Israel was collaborating with the apartheid government on security measures? People are scared in this country [the US], to say wrong is wrong because the Jewish lobby is powerful -- very powerful. Well, so what? For goodness sake, this is God's world! We live in a moral universe. The apartheid government was very powerful, but today it no longer exists. Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Pinochet, Milosevic, and Idi Amin were all powerful, but in the end they bit the dust. Injustice and oppression will never prevail. Those who are powerful have to remember the litmus test that God gives to the powerful: what is your treatment of the poor, the hungry, the voiceless? And on the basis of that, God passes judgment. We should put out a clarion call to the government of the people of Israel, to the Palestinian people and say: peace is possible, peace based on justice is possible. We will do all we can to assist you to achieve this peace, because it is God's dream, and you will be able to live amicably together as sisters and brothers. ______ Desmond Tutu is the former Archbishop of Cape Town and chairman of South Africa's truth and reconciliation commission. This address was given at a conference on Ending the Occupation held in Boston, Massachusetts, earlier this month. A longer version appears in the current edition of Church Times. Efficacy PO Box 1234 860 657 8438 Hartford, CT 06143 efficacy at msn.com www.Efficacy-online.org Working to end race and class drug war injustice, Efficacy is a non profit 501 (c) 3 organization founded in 1997. Your gifts and donations are tax deductible -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From greenpartyct at yahoo.com Fri Dec 29 17:01:32 2006 From: greenpartyct at yahoo.com (Green Party-CT) Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 14:01:32 -0800 (PST) Subject: {news} SF Greens panel discussion- (They mention Thornton Campaign) Message-ID: <859838.57538.qm@web81404.mail.mud.yahoo.com> http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/12/29/18341957.php San Francisco | Government & Elections New College of California hosts Green Party Panel Discussion by Robert B. Livingston ( gruaudemais [at] yahoo.com ) Friday Dec 29th, 2006 7:49 AM San Francisco December 28, 2006 Wide-ranging discussion among progressives and Greens in the Mission spurs ideas and cements bonds. Panelists concur: Put pressure on Pelosi. Impeach Bush or get him to resign. Get the U.S. out of Iraq. Put people before corporations. More: Ralph Nader joined Bay Area Green Party leaders Gayle McLaughlin, Ross Mirkarimi, and Matt Gonzalez this evening in a public forum hosted by the New College of California at the Roxie Cinema in the Mission District of San Francisco. Peter Camejo had been expected to appear, but did not because he was ill. (Other notable Green Party leaders, Todd Chretien, Laura Wells, Forrest Hill and Krissy Keefer, if present, did not participate in the panel discussion). With a new Democratic Party majority in Washington in mind, past New College President Peter Gabel told the standing-room only audience that the main topic of the discussion would be about how to answer the question "what do Greens have to offer at the present hopeful moment?" Ralph Nader, aloof from inner Green party politics since 2004, but still identified clearly as the epitome of Green leadership in the eyes of many in the audience, spoke first. His opening words were about how "persistence has become a rare commodity" today and how grateful he is that there are still people who refuse to become demoralized. Of course, it is Nader himself who has never become demoralized or given up. Looking less haggard and a bit more relaxed than he did in '04 when he had kept a grueling campaign schedule, he lectured the audience this evening on familiar themes: American poverty, war and the Pentagon budget, problems with the media, crises of democracy, and corporate corruption. If Nader's prime intent this evening was to help "grow the Green Party"-- he wasn't explicit. However, he offered much in the way of practical advice for anyone interested in effecting positive change in the world at this time. "Change doesn't occur unless activity crosses into the political arena," he said, intimating that such activity requires civic motivation and a thick skin. He described how Congress lives "in a bubble," but may yet heed the demands of the grass roots if it puts pressure on it. San Franciscans especially have a good opportunity to pressure their congresswoman, Nancy Pelosi, who is the Speaker of the House of Representatives. "It's not like the Speaker is from Birmingham, Alabama," Nader chided. "She represents San Francisco, the most antiwar city in the nation." Attorney and popular former San Francisco City Supervisor Matt Gonzalez followed Ralph Nader in addressing the audience. He described how he initially shared the optimism of many who were elated when Democrats seized Congress and the Senate in the November elections. However, he said, the more he got to thinking about it, he came to believe that such aspirations for change where mostly "phony" and "misplaced." He said that too often too many people's opinions drift along with the latest polls. He described the challenge of reinvigorating the Green Party: In 2000 people were excited by it, but by 2004 many people's minds were closed to it. "We need to get people hungry for ideas," he said. He challenged Democrats to stand up for election reform, and asked that they defend third parties that are unfairly discriminated against by election laws. Ross Mirkarimi, District 5 Supervisor in San Francisco, followed. He expressed his pleasure for being invited, and extolled Green Party victories in the Bay area: in particular, Jane Kim's School Board victory in San Francisco and Gayle McLaughlin's mayoral win in Richmond, California. He described how being a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is a job he "absolutely" loves, but how being also a member of the Green Party brings with it unique challenges. He confessed that he asks himself, "What is the longevity of the Green Party in a country inhospitable to third parties?" He then described the vagaries of Green Party popularity over the years, which will end, he thinks, if Green Party politicians can point to practical accomplishments-- a branding of sorts that builds confidence from citizens that Greens are to be trusted to respond to their needs constructively. Bringing up an idea that Matt Gonzalez concurred with later, Mirkarimi declared that far many politicians are adept at diffusing conflict by being good listeners and holding lofty meetings-- but fail to actually get anything done for their constituents. Mirkarimi concluded by saying that he held greater faith in ideas of populism than in progressivism, with the word "progressive" itself becoming a weary label. Gayle McLaughlin followed, and clearly identified herself as a populist interested in bridging interests through collective action and affirmation of universal identities. She described how meeting Ralph Nader for the first time by sharing the podium with him this evening made this a very "big day" for her. She briefly described how her motive for running for mayor in Richmond, California was not to simply win an election. She said she wanted to do something to empower people around her and actually improve the quality of life in her city. Her goal as mayor, she said, is to bring dis-empowered people in her city together to gain control over their own lives. She described how Chevron (with plants in Richmond) bankrolled her opponents and did everything it could to defeat her. She said she reacted by reaching out to citizens and telling them that "Corporations can't run Richmond. People can run Richmond." McLaughlin said for the Green Party to become successful, it is not enough that the party's membership grow in numbers-- but that its members grow in the strength of their commitment and solidarity with each other. The audience responded very enthusiastically to McLaughlin's passionate and heartfelt delivery. Following the panel members' individual addresses, Peter Gabel facilitated persons who wished to ask questions from the audience. Many interesting topics were brought up, and the panel was thoughtful in their attentiveness and generous in with their answers and patience-- rather delightful when in too many public meetings someone runs around with a stopwatch, and those with eccentric specialties get short shrift. Responses from some of the more notable exchanges between the panelists and the audience: Ralph Nader described how civic leaders usually start with nothing but a passion to make a difference in their communities. He described a conversation with the Yale University Chaplain and activist, Williams Sloane Coffin shortly before he passed away. He asked Coffin for advice about invigorating the Peace Movement against the War in Iraq. Coffin told him that it should occupy congressional offices and implement nonviolent civil disobedience. "Nonviolent civil disobedience is uncomfortable," Nader told the audience, "it un-locks whatever is inside." Ross Mirkirimi described how Public Power is a key issue for San Francisco which repercusses with global energy issues and war in the Middle East. Matt Gonzalez and Gayle McLaughlin expounded upon Mirkirimi's earlier comments. About the need for Greens to succeed locally, Gayle Mclaughlin commented (paraphrasing), "People often just need to be heard. They don't need a dog and pony show. We need to actually listen. We are social creatures. We need to honor the dialog we bring to one another." One person in the audience took issue with Ralph Nader's criticism of corporations. She asked, "Do you mean that corporations are essentially evil?" Nader replied, "If they are not subordinated to human beings they become criminal." Nader and others expressed a need to start a local "watchdog" group to keep track of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi to hold her to account for her policies. One person in the audience asked, "Why concentrate on Pelosi?" Nader answered, "Because Nancy has the power." One person described their frustration trying to raise money from Greens. Nader laughed: "It's like getting water out of stone. I have had to go to extremes of exhibitionism." He described how Cliff Thornton had told him that his self-run gubernatorial campaign in Connecticut was a success because it raised $25,000. Nader exclaimed, "$25,000! In one of the richest states in the union?" Other panelists concurred with the need to fund campaigns better. One idea put forward was to open a Green Party office in California with "a full-time office and a full-time staff." Gayle McLaughlin stated that Greens need to keep "pushing for public financing." After almost three hours, the discussions ended, with some persons lingering to have Ralph Nader's book, The Good Fight autographed. Medea Benjamin, who ran for the U.S. Senate as a Green in 2000, circulated information about Code Pink's New Year's Eve Party which expects to include Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, Kevin Danaher, Dave Eggers, Daniel Ellsberg, Jodie Evans, Van Jones, Matt Gonzalez, Paul Hawken, Assemblyman Mark Leno, Supervisor Ross Mirkirimi, Belvie Rooks, Mark Sanchez, Cindy Sheehan, Jill Sobule, and Elizabeth De La Vega. Please direct corrections or other observations about this story to the comments section below. Useful links: Ralph Nader http://www.nader.org/ Ross Mirkarimi http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=29087 Matt Gozalez http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Gonzalez Gayle McLaughlin http://www.gaylemclaughlin.net/ Peter Camejo http://www.votecamejo.com/index.html Jane Kim http://www.janekim.org/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From roseberry3 at cox.net Sat Dec 30 10:50:55 2006 From: roseberry3 at cox.net (B Barry) Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2006 10:50:55 -0500 Subject: {news} proposed agenda for 1-2-07 EC meeting in Willimantic @ 7:30pm Message-ID: <20061230155032.HPWH19510.eastrmmtao06.cox.net@eastrmimpo02.cox.net> at Fiesta Cinco Demayo Restaurant 1228 Main Street, Willimantic, CT P: 860-423-9509 1. CT Green Times newspaper status: Theme for the newspaper articles; are more articles needed from chapters about their positions? Estimated date it will be going to publisher and availability for distribution. Review distribution process for possible fine tuning with Albert Marceau. 2. 12-06 Treasurer's report from Christopher Reilly. 3. Patricia Kane?s request. 4. ACLU lawsuit regarding the 2005 CT "campaign finance reform" law. 5. GPUS updates. 6. CTGP website. 7. Political issues the CTGP wants to address. 8. Place and agenda for 1-9-07 SCC meeting. 9. Place of next EC meeting scheduled for 2-07. 10. Date and place for next SCC meeting, Tuesday, 1-31-07 11. Any proposals. -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.16.0/610 - Release Date: 12/30/2006 2:59 PM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From chapillsbury at igc.org Sun Dec 31 15:06:36 2006 From: chapillsbury at igc.org (Charlie Pillsbury) Date: Sun, 31 Dec 2006 15:06:36 -0500 Subject: {news} Fw: 3,000 dead: vigil in New Haven New Year's Day Message-ID: <002901c72d17$2d1e59d0$6500a8c0@S0031616584> 3,000See below for more info about other vigils planned for tomorrow. From: John Shanley Sadly, the death toll for our troops in Iraq has reached 3,000. Tomorrow, Monday at 1:00 PM, we will commence reading the names of the Americans who have died in this war, as well as a representative number of Iraqi victims. This should conclude at approximately 4 PM, at which time we will have a silent candlelight vigil, followed by a procession around the Green. Both of these events will take place at the central flagpole on the New Haven Green. It's supposed to be warm with a chance of showers in the afternoon. Ideally, it would be nice to have everyone there for the duration of the reading of the names, with all of us bearing witness to this unnecessary loss. I recognize that not everyone will want or be able to be out there for three hours, so those of you that would like to take part in one of the three hours should let me know, and I will make sure that there is a spot for you in that hour. The three periods will be 1 to 2 PM, 2 to 3 PM and 3 to 4 PM. As I said, if you pick one of these periods and let me know, I will make sure that you have a spot during that period. I will make every effort to include as many people as possible in the reading. If you contact me (johnshanley at sbcglobal.net or 203-288-5543 or 203-640-6743) and let me know which of the three hours you would like to read in (1 to 2 PM, 2 to 3 PM or 3 to 4 PM), it will make scheduling easier. Otherwise, just arrive and take a turn reading as openings come up. If this is too confusing, please give me a call. Please bring friends, family and neighbors to stand in witness for this sad milestone. Peace- John There are now at least two vigils planned: New Haven: 4 pm at the Veterans Memorial (flagpole) on the Green. There will also be a reading of the names of the U.S. - and a symbolic number of Iraqi - killed starting at 1:00 pm. West Hartford: Veterans War Memorial at 5 pm. Please, if you live elsewhere, create a local vigil - or find out if one of your neighbors has already done so - by going to http://www.afsc.org/3000/ "Mourn the dead - and fight like hell for the living." Henry Lowendorf Greater New Haven Peace Council PO Box 3105 New Haven, CT 06515-0205 203-389-9547 grnhpeacecouncil at sbcglobal.net www.uspeacecouncil.org/CTPC/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: