From timmckee at mail.com Wed Oct 1 10:26:05 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2008 09:26:05 -0500 Subject: {news} LARSON at 5-30 pm MCC Town Hall Meeting on The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act Message-ID: <20081001142605.9272911581F@ws1-7.us4.outblaze.com> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tim McKee" To: timmckee at mail.com Subject: Fw: You Are Invited to a Town Hall Meeting on The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:35:34 -0700 (PDT) --- On Tue, 9/30/08, Congressman John Larson wrote: From: Congressman John Larson Subject: You Are Invited to a Town Hall Meeting on The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act To: timmckee at SBCGLOBAL.NET Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2008, 12:50 PM Can't see the pictures? Select "Always display images" or view this message in your browser. Congressman John B. Larson | United States Congressman John B. Larson (CT- 01)[IMAGE] Will host a public Town Hall Meeting on The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act Wednesday, October 1st 5:30 - 7:30 pm Manchester Community College ============================ Library Fireside Commons Great Path Rd. Manchester, CT 06045 Directions Below Congressman Larson will hold an update discussion on the country's current economic crisis and the financial regulatory system. As part of the meeting, the Congressman will take questions and hear comments from the audience. For more information please call Congressman Larson's District Office: (860) 278-8888 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Manchester Community College Library Fireside Commons Great Path Rd. Manchester, CT 06045 From Hartford and points West (I-84 Eastbound): ----------------------------- 1. From I-84 East. 2. Take Exit 59 to I-384 East. 3. Immediately Take Exit 1. 4. Turn left onto Spencer Street (eastbound). 5. Turn right onto Hillstown Road. 6. Take first left onto Great Path and proceed to stop sign. 7. Take right onto Founders Drive South for Lot C or left onto Founders Drive North for Lot B. From New Haven and points South (I-91 Northbound): ------------------------------- 1. Take I-91 North. 2. Take Exit 29 and follow signs for I-84 East. 3. Follow directions for I-84 Eastbound. From South Windsor (I-291 Eastbound): ------------------ 1. Take I-291 East. 2. Follow I-291 East a few miles to its end and follow signs to I-384. 3. Follow I-384 East. 4. Immediately Take Exit 1. 5. Turn left onto Spencer Street (eastbound). 6. Turn right onto Hillstown Road. 7. Take first left onto Great Path and proceed to stop sign. 8. Take right onto Founders Drive South for Lot C or left onto Founders Drive North for Lot B. From Springfield and points North (I-91 Southbound): --------------------------------- 1. Take I-91 South. 2. Take Exit 35A to I-291 East. 3. Follow directions for I-291 Eastbound. Click here to send this email to a friend! Washington Office 1005 Longworth House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: (202) 225-2265 [IMAGE] Hartford District Office 221 Main Street, 2nd Floor Hartford, CT 06106 Phone: 860-278-8888 -------------------------------------------------------------------- You are receiving this email because Congressman John Larson's office has identified you as a resident of Connecticut's 1st Congressional District. From time to time, the Congressional office may wish to contact you regarding information from Washington or around the 1st District. If you would like to request not to receive these future communications from Congressman Larson simply click here to unsubscribe. This mailing was prepared, published, and mailed at taxpayer expense. ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- Be Yourself @ mail.com! Choose From 200+ Email Addresses Get a Free Account at www.mail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From timmckee at mail.com Wed Oct 1 10:42:25 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2008 09:42:25 -0500 Subject: {news} Congresssman Murphy pro Nuke stance Message-ID: <20081001144225.657EE11581F@ws1-7.us4.outblaze.com> Fairfield weekly (ADvocate chain) County Fair: The Nuclear Option =============================== Comments (0) Thursday, October 02, 2008 By Dave Bonan A few weeks ago, a piece of campaign literature arrived in the mail from my congressman, Chris Murphy. It was a delight both because it was the calm before the storm of the election season's lit blitz and because I helped Murphy get elected after years under Republican Nancy Johnson's special interests-fueled reign over the Fifth District. I worked for Ned Lamont's senate campaign in 2006 in the Bethel and Danbury offices, which shared workers, space and advocacy with Murphy's first congressional bid The literature's bullet points were Murphy's involvement in 1) expanding domestic oil and gas development on and offshore, 2) investing in wind and solar power, 3) investing in safe nuclear energy development, and 4) ending tax breaks to giant oil companies earning record profits. Wait, what was that third one? "Investing in safe nuclear energy?" I had never heard that issue raised by Murphy before. Even though nuclear energy on the surface is green with no emissions, one would think Murphy, a progressive Democrat, would stay clear of it, given that all of his constituents live 44 to 85 miles from the Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan, N.Y., controversial for its aging equipment, Nuclear Regulator Commission?fined siren system, and faulty evacuation plan if the plant?which is frighteningly close to New York City?was to blow. Nowhere on Murphy's campaign site is the word "nuclear" used (just use Ctrl + F and enter "nuclear" to search). His campaign office says the third bullet point referenced Murphy's vote for the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (passed by the House and signed by the president), which also called for increasing alternative fuel production, raising national fuel economy standards and investing in renewable energy. His staff had no adequate answer why nuclear energy is a new campaign point for Murphy, after I asked the question numerous times. Nuclear issues aside, Murphy was given a 100-percent rating on the League of Conservation Voters' National Environmental Scorecard. Compare that to Johnson's 52, the lowest of the Connecticut delegation. ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- Be Yourself @ mail.com! Choose From 200+ Email Addresses Get a Free Account at www.mail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From timmckee at mail.com Wed Oct 1 10:45:03 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2008 09:45:03 -0500 Subject: {news} ACTION- Open the Debates Action Week, Oct. 1-7: Let Cynthia & Rosa debate! Message-ID: <20081001144503.5D45911581F@ws1-7.us4.outblaze.com> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott McLarty" To: natlcomaffairs at green.gpus.org Subject: [usgp-dx] Open the Debates Action Week, Oct. 1-7: Let Cynthia & Rosa debate! Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:03:47 +0000 Open the Debates Action Week, October 1-7: Let Cynthia & Rosa debate! Help get Cynthia McKinney & Rosa Clemente in the news and in the debates! Goal: 100 letters to the editor in newspapers across the US (Please forward widely to all Green lists and friends and supporters of the Green Party) On Thursday, Oct. 2, the first vice presidential debate will take place at Washington University in St. Louis. And on Tuesday, Oct. 7, the second presidential debate is planned for Belmont University's Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee. The third presidential debate is on Oct. 15 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. The debate sponsors intend to exclude the Green Party's presidential ticket. Let's not let that happen without a fight for democratic inclusion of all qualified candidates! By excluding all candidates except Democrats and Republicans, the debate sponsors are rigging the election. Cynthia and Rosa are on the ballot in enough states to win the election, so they deserve an invitation, and voters deserve to hear them debate! We encourage all Greens and friends to participate in the first in a series of actions we're planning for October. Please help us spread the word about the McKinney-Clemente campaign and their right to take part in the debates. Stay tuned for more actions throughout the month. Here's what you can do: ? Write a letter to the editor about how important it is for Cynthia and Rosa to participate in the debates. See the Talking Points below for ideas. Keep the letter short and focused -- five or six sentences is good. We're aiming for 100 letters sent by Greens to newspapers and news web sites all across the US. Visit the letter-writing page to look up a newspaper and post a letter -- use the provided text as a basis, or write your own: http://www.democracyinaction.com/dia/organizationsCOM/Greens/pickMedia.jsp?letter_KEY=474 ? Go viral! Forward links to video clips of the Green ticket widely (http://www.youtube.com/user/RunCynthiaRun). Recommend and promote video clips and articles with positive coverage of Green candidates by 'Digging' them (http://digg.com). ? Promote the McKinney-Clemente Power to the People campaign on Facebook, Myspace, and blogs. Don't forget to add links to these important web sites: http://votetruth08.com http://www.rosaclemente.com http://www.gp.org State and local Green Party and other Green campaign sites ? Host a Debate-Watching House Party: http://www.democracyinaction.com/dia/organizationsCOM/Greens/event/distributedEventSignup.jsp?distributed_event_KEY=179 ? Contact TV, radio, blog sites, and urge them to cover the campaign. We'll provide a list soon of the top 50 that should be targeted, with their contact information. ? Other actions: write an op-ed column or article and submit it to a newspaper or news web site. Post a message on an e-mail bulletin board. Call in to a radio talk show. ? Make a donation to the McKinney-Clemente campaign to help the candidates travel around the US for media appearances and campaign events: http://votetruth08.com/index.php/contribute/donate?task=pre_paypal ==> The Green Party's Outreach Committee is planning open conference calls to teach Viral Marketing Skills, open to all Greens, where participants can learn about different ways to promote the McKinney-Clemente ticket and other Green campaigns. Details soon -- please join us! ~ Talking points ~ Open the debates to Cynthia McKinney and other candidates on the ballot! Cynthia tells the truth Let Cynthia debate! ? Voters have a right to know about all the candidates whose names they'll see on the ballot, not just the candidates approved by the Commission on Presidential Debates or the candidates whose poll numbers declare them 'winnable.' Voters deserve to know which candidate best represents their own interests and ideals. ? Cynthia McKinney, Rosa Clemente, and the Green Party represent millions of voices whose opinions will be excluded from the debates unless they are invited. Ms. McKinney is the only woman presidential candidate in 2008. Ms. McKinney and Ms. Clemente are the first US presidential ticket in which both nominees are of African ancestry, and Ms. Clemente is Black Puerto Rican. Ms. McKinney has involved herself personally in the struggle of people in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region to fight permanent eviction and return to their homes -- the September 26 debate will take place in Oxford, Mississippi, a Gulf Coast state. The Green Party and its candidates represent the promise of an anti-war, progressive party that takes no money from corporations -- an imperative for America in the 21st century. No other candidate in the 2008 stands for what the McKinney-Clemente ticket stands for. ? When debates are limited to two candidates, the voting public hears only a narrow range of ideas, opinions, and solutions. When presidential debates are restricted to Democrat and Republican, important and popular ideas don't get discussed, such as single-payer national health care, rapid and complete withdrawal from Iraq, ending the war on drugs, saving US democracy from a repeat of the stolen elections of 2000 and 2004, and impeachment of President Bush and VP Cheney. Without Cynthia McKinney, these ideas will be censored from the debates. ? Cynthia McKinney will be on enough ballots to get elected to the White House. Any presidential candidate who is on enough ballots to be elected deserves to participate in the debates. ? The only valid democratic measurement of public support for candidates is the election. Opinion polls are subjective, vulnerable to bias, constantly fluctuating, and often exclude candidates from the questions asked. Polls are not democratic and should not be used to determine who gets to participate in debates. ? The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), which sets rules for candidate participation, took over the debates from the nonpartisan League of Women Voters after the LWV withdrew in protest of the Democratic and Republican candidates' attempts to control nearly every aspect of how the debates were to be conducted. The CPD is owned and run by the Democratic and Republican parties, which have an interest in excluding all candidates except their own. The CPD is funded through contributions from corporations, which have their own interests in limiting the candidates who participate in the debates. ? In Canada, the TV networks initially tried to exclude Elizabeth May, leader of the Green Party of Canada, from the September 10 debates before the October 14 national election. After the Greens launched a "Reclaim Democracy" campaign and Canadians throughout the country demanded Ms. May's inclusion, Ms. May was invited to participate. Americans who value democracy and fair elections should demand multi-party debates too. MORE INFORMATION Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org Cynthia McKinney/Rosa Clemente 'Power to the People' Campaign for the White House http://votetruth08.com http://www.runcynthiarun.org http://www.rosaclemente.com Cynthia McKinney on video http://www.youtube.com/user/RunCynthiaRun http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=RunCynthiaRun ? Press conference, September 10 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_5ivgS4asc ? Speech in Denver, August 24: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPxgcjOjUEc ? Music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx1NPlQjkqo Rosa Clemente on video ? Interview: Current TV/Rock the Vote http://current.com/items/89335393_the_organizer_and_green_party_vp_candidate_talks_about_her_inspirations _________________________________________________________________ See how Windows Mobile brings your life together?at home, work, or on the go. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/msnnkwxp1020093182mrt/direct/01/ _______________________________________________ Natlcomaffairs mailing list To send a message to the list, write to: Natlcomaffairs at green.gpus.org To unsubscribe or change your list options, go to: http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/natlcomaffairs You must know your password to do this. If you can't figure out how to unsubscribe, as a last resort only, send a message OFF LIST to steveh at olypen.com If your state delegation changes, please see: http://gp.org/committees/nc/documents/delegate_change.html To report violations of listserv protocol, write to forummanagers at lists.gp-us.org For other information about the National Committee, see: http://gp.org/committees/nc/ ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- Be Yourself @ mail.com! Choose From 200+ Email Addresses Get a Free Account at www.mail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From chapillsbury at igc.org Wed Oct 1 19:07:00 2008 From: chapillsbury at igc.org (Charlie Pillsbury) Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2008 19:07:00 -0400 Subject: {news} =?utf-8?q?FW=3A_evening_of_dialogue_on_bringing_publicly_f?= =?utf-8?q?inanced_=E2=80=9CClean_Elections=E2=80=9D_to_Congress?= Message-ID: <004b01c9241a$6a56c1b0$3f044510$@org> NOTE: THIS IS NOT A FUND-RAISER; IT?S A FRIEND-RAISER. DONATIONS TO PUBLIC CAMPAIGN WILL BE REQUESTED BUT ARE NOT REQUIRED. Please join Ms. Eleanor Drury & co-hosts Senator Martin Looney ? Representative Deb Heinrich Former Speaker of the House Irv Stolberg ? Henry Lord Andrew Nyhart & Angie Hurlbut ? Allie Perry & Charlie Pillsbury Tuesday evening, October 7th, 2008 from 5:00 ? 7:00 PM At 390 Livingston Street (opposite College Woods Park) As they welcome longtime Connecticut activist Nick Nyhart, national President & CEO of Public Campaign, for an evening of dialogue on bringing publicly financed ?Clean Elections? to Congress. We will celebrate Connecticut?s successful inauguration of publicly financed elections this year, discuss how these systems are faring around the country, and examine winning strategies to enact similar change in Congress. Light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP to Monica Rober: 781.799.4135 or Charlie Pillsbury 203.865.6575 (or by email) Public Campaign is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to reducing the role of special interest money in American politics. Founded in 1997, we are at the forefront of a national movement to replace our present system of privately funded elections with one that is publicly financed. This policy solution addresses the fundamental problem that corrupts our electoral process?the dependence by candidates on raising large amounts of private money to fund their campaigns. At present, individuals who aspire to hold elected office?but who do not enjoy substantial personal fortunes or access to networks of wealthy individuals or corporations?are unlikely to mount a successful bid for office. As a result: * Many well-qualified leaders simply choose not to run; * Those who do enter local, statewide, or national races are consumed by the ongoing quest to raise money; * Voters who aren?t in a position to make substantial political contributions are less involved in the political process than their more wealthy peers; * Broad citizen participation in the political process is curtailed; * Special interest groups that have the capacity to deliver large sums of money to candidates have excessive influence in the public policy process. About Clean Elections In the current structure, the torrent of special interest money that flows into political campaigns drowns out the voices of most ordinary Americans, making campaign money?not votes?the real currency of our democracy. In contrast, the Clean Elections system favored by Public Campaign: * Establishes effective spending limits for political campaigns; * Ends candidates? dependence on raising money from a relatively small group of individuals and money bundlers; * Opens the political process to a diverse range of candidates; * Frees candidates to spend more time focusing on the interests of voters; * Protects candidates from attacks by independent expenditure groups; * Eliminates political donors? expectation of policy favors by elected officials in exchange for their support. With assistance from Public Campaign, the following states and municipalities now have full public financing systems for their elections: Arizona; Connecticut; Maine; New Jersey; New Mexico; North Carolina; Vermont; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Portland, Oregon. twocentssmall4 (2) If you plan to make a contribution to a candidate for President or Congress this year please join other Clean Elections supporters in adding two cents to that donation to show your support for full public financing of elections. Whether your contribution is $20.02 or $2,000.02, it will catch the candidate?s eye and let him know you support real reform. Go to http://www.publicampaign.org/twocents to learn more. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1962 bytes Desc: not available URL: From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Wed Oct 1 22:22:12 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2008 22:22:12 -0400 Subject: {news} Meriden Record-Journal on Burbank's exclusion Message-ID: http://www.myrecordjournal.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=20143877 09/30/2008 Debates exclude minor party candidates By: Amanda Falcone, staff , 2:45 p.m. The top two candidates in the 5th District congressional race will have ample opportunity to discuss the issues, but two other candidates vying for the seat will not be allowed to participate in any of the scheduled five debates. Going up against incumbent U.S. Rep. Christopher S. Murphy, D-5th, and state Sen. David J. Cappiello, R-Danbury, is Harold Burbank II of the Green Party and the Independent Party's Thomas L. Winn. The first of the 5th District debates is scheduled for Oct. 11 at 1 p.m. at Torp Theater on the Central Connecticut State University campus, but it could be cancelled because the university is insisting that all four candidates be included. The League of Women Voters of Connecticut Inc. has told its local chapter that Burbank and Winn do not meet criteria to be included in the debates, said Nancy Greenough, co-chairwoman of voter services for the New Britain Area League of Women Voters, Tuesday. The New Britain-based group is hosting the debate, and Greenough said it does not want to go against the statewide organization. A representative from the state organization could not be reached for comment Tuesday ?www.MyRecordJournal.com 2008 From roseberry3 at cox.net Wed Oct 1 23:09:54 2008 From: roseberry3 at cox.net (B Barry) Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2008 23:09:54 -0400 Subject: {news} Accepted minutes from the 9-23-08 EC meeting in Hartford, CT for the Green Party of CT (7PM to 7:15PM) Message-ID: <20081002030943.WSIT22820.eastrmmtao103.cox.net@eastrmimpo02.cox.net> Accepted minutes from the 9-23-08 EC meeting in Hartford, CT for the Green Party of CT (7PM to 7:15PM) Location: Lena?s First and Last Pizzeria, 2053 Park Street (near Prospect Street), Hartford, CT 06106-2025 Attending officers: Co-chairperson: S. Michael DeRosa; Treasurer: Christopher Reilly and Barbara Barry, Secretary. Absent: Co-chairpersons: Phoebe Godfrey and Steve Fournier. No observers. 1. Any business/concerns from last SCC meeting of 8-26-08? Need to acquire names of electors so Cynthia McKinney may be a write-in candidate for the Green Party. The CT Secretary of State?s Office has indicated that all CTGP petitioning candidates have ballot access along with candidates who already had ballot access 2. Any proposed short and long term goals for the CTGP by the executive committee officers? CTGP literature for candidates: SMD provided literature to the New Haven chapter for their SCSC event?when no literature was received by the chapter from GPUS. New Haven has sent $200 to GPUS for the literature, but it did not arrive for the event. 3. Develop the agenda for the 9-30-08 SCC meeting. Template is below. Proposed agenda for the 7PM 9-30-08 SCC CTGP meeting at Portland Senior Center Facilitator: To Be Determined A. Preliminaries: 1. (1 minute): Introductions of voting/non-voting attendees; chapters; if quorum was met; timekeeper; ground rules. 2. (2-4 minutes): Approval of tonight?s proposed agenda, any deletions or additions. 3. (2-4 minutes): Review and approval of minutes of 8-26-08 SCC meeting. 4. (2 minutes): Review and acceptance of the 9-23-08 EC meeting. 5. (2-4 minutes): Treasurer?s report from Christopher Reilly. B. Any proposals/referendums by chapters, committee: 1. (10-15 minutes): PROPOSAL from Fairfield County chapter. CONTACT: David Bedell, 12 Ardsley Rd, Stamford, CT 06906, 203-581-3193, dbedellgreen(at)hotmail.com SUBJECT: Definition of party membership. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: At its February 2008 meeting, the Fairfield chapter adopted a somewhat stricter definition of membership than that in the state bylaws. New Haven has also adopted a stricter definition. The purpose of this proposal is to make party membership contingent on a simple written declaration, just like membership in the major parties, instead of the current definition, which includes vague criteria such as what constitutes a volunteer activity or what is a "coalition partner." This proposal also addresses the contingency of losing minor party status, which happened in some towns during 2004-2006. Further comments can be read at HYPERLINK "http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldCountyGreens/message/839"http://grou ps.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldCountyGreens/message/839 PROPOSAL: In the CT Green Party bylaws (HYPERLINK "http://www.ctgreens.org/bylaws.shtml"http://www.ctgreens.org/bylaws.shtml ), the section under "Individual Membership" shall be revised to read: If the Green Party has minor party status in a town, then: A person enrolled on their town voter list as a Green Party member is a member of the Green Party for all purposes. If the Green Party does not have minor party status in a town, then a person may become a member of the Green Party under the following conditions: 1. The person must be an unaffiliated voter and must not have been registered with any other party affiliation during the past ninety (90) days. 2. The person shall fill out and sign a CT Voter Registration Form declaring enrollment in the Green Party and submit this to an officer of the local or state Green Party. 3. Upon submission of such declaration, the person's membership in the Green Party will be effective after ten business days. A person not yet old enough to vote under state law may become a member of the Green Party under the following conditions: 1. The person will turn 18 and be eligible to vote before the next General Election Day. 2. The person has applied to vote by filling out and signing a Voter Registration Form with declaration of enrollment in the Green Party and submitted this to their town hall or to an officer of the local or state Green Party. 3. If the form is submitted to a local or state Green Party officer, membership in the Green Party will be effective after ten business days. Party members shall receive announcements of State Party general meetings, and shall be entitled to vote when attending State Party general meetings. When an active Member of a Chapter, the member shall be entitled to vote at all general meetings of the Chapter. No member, however, shall be entitled to vote in more than one Chapter. Chapters may institute their own requirements for membership different from those for State Party membership. C. Reports: 1. (5 minutes): Number of petitions handed into the CT Secretary of State for GPUS Presidential Candidate: Cynthia McKinney; need seven more electors for her write-in candidacy. 2. (10-15 minutes): GPUS reports from: Cliff Thornton, Co-chairperson of GPUS, CTGP representatives: Tim McKee and Charlie Pillsbury and National Committee Members: Steve Fournier, Richard Duffee and S. Michael DeRosa. 3. (5-10 minutes): Steven Fournier, endorsed 1st Congressional District CTGP candidate: number of petition signatures handed in, campaign status. 4. (5-10 minutes): Scott Deshefy, endorsed 2nd Congressional District CTGP candidate: number of petition signatures handed in; campaign status. 5. (5-10 minutes): Ralph Ferrucci, endorsed candidate for the 3rd Congressional District line. Status of campaign; the 9-2-08 nominating convention. 6. (5-10 minutes): Richard Duffee, endorsed 4th Congressional District CTGP candidate; number of petition signatures handed in; campaign status. 7. (5-10 minutes): Harold Burbank, endorsed Green Party of CT candidate for 5th Congressional District; number of petition signatures handed in; campaign status. 8. (10-20 minutes): Status of other CTGP candidates for public office: number of signatures handed in for each candidate; their nominating convention occurred: campaign status. 9. (5-15minutes): CTGP literature. 10. (5-10 minutes): Fundraising for CTGP. 12. (1 minute): ACLU lawsuit update. 13. (2-5 minutes, each): Other Chapter reports. 16. Place for next SCC meeting at 7pm 10-28-08. Date, place and time of next EC meeting in 10-08: to be determined. 17. Any additions Green Party Key Values: non-violence, respect for diversity, grassroots democracy, social justice and equal opportunity, ecological wisdom, decentralization, community-based economics and economic justice, future focus and sustainability, personal and global responsibility, feminism and gender equality No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.7.5/1702 - Release Date: 10/1/2008 9:05 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From roseberry3 at cox.net Wed Oct 1 23:24:15 2008 From: roseberry3 at cox.net (B Barry) Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2008 23:24:15 -0400 Subject: {news} Accepted minutes from the 7PM 7-22-08 EC meeting in Hartford, CT for the Green Party of CT Message-ID: <20081002032402.XAYZ23768.eastrmmtao105.cox.net@eastrmimpo03.cox.net> Accepted minutes from the 7PM 7-22-08 EC meeting in Hartford, CT for the Green Party of CT Location: Lena?s First and Last Pizzeria, 2053 Park Street (near Prospect Street), Hartford, CT 06106-2025 Officer attendees: Co-chairpersons: Phoebe Godfrey, Steve Fournier and S. Michael DeRosa; Treasurer: Christopher Reilly and Secretary: Barbara Barry. Non-officer attendees for the later part of the meeting: Urania Petit, Working Families Party Candidate for Hartford Register of Voters; David Bedell of Fairfield CTGP chapter and Martha Kelly from Greater Hartford CTGP chapter. 1. Any business/concerns from last SCC meeting of 6-24-08 DB: discussed cross-endorsement of candidates. BB: Harold Burbank was invited by the League of Women Voters to a debate for all 5th Congressional District candidates for 10-11-08, between 1pm and 3pm at CCSU, New Britain, CT. BB: the Adult Programming Coordinator at the New Britain Public Library is seeking materials from all political parties in CT for their patrons. information can be cent to the Attention: Linda McNair, New Britain Public Library, 20 High Street, New Britain, CT 06051. Suggest 25 copies of each brochure. Consensus: a) CTGP and all candidates should send information to this library. b) It will be on the agenda for 7-29-08. Consensus: S. Michael DeRosa has the approval of this body to indicate to the GPUS that CTGP will accept help for getting petitions for Cynthia McKinney, GPUS Presidential Candidate. 2. Any proposed short and long term goals for the CTGP by the executive committee officers? SMD: a Litigation Subcommittee has been formed for the GPUS Ballot Access committee. 3. Develop the agenda for the 7-29-08 SCC meeting. Template is below. Proposed agenda for the 7PM 7-29-08 SCC CTGP meeting at Portland Senior Center Facilitator: To Be Determined A. Preliminaries: 1. (1 minute): Introductions of voting/non-voting attendees; chapters; if quorum was met; timekeeper; ground rules. 2. (2-4 minutes): Approval of tonight?s proposed agenda, any deletions or additions. 3. (2-4 minutes): Review and approval of minutes of 6-24-08 SCC meeting. 4. (2 minutes): Review and acceptance of the 7-22-08 EC meeting. 5. (2-4 minutes): Treasurer?s report from Christopher Reilly. B. Chapters, to provide feedback for SCC vote today about 5-27-08 Fairfield Chapter proposal. PROPOSAL from Fairfield County chapter. CONTACT: David Bedell, 12 Ardsley Rd, Stamford, CT 06906, 203-581-3193, dbedellgreen (at) hotmail.com SUBJECT: Definition of party membership. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: At its February 2008 meeting, the Fairfield chapter adopted a somewhat stricter definition of membership than that in the state bylaws. New Haven has also adopted a stricter definition. The purpose of this proposal is to make party membership contingent on a simple written declaration, just like membership in the major parties, instead of the current definition, which includes vague criteria such as what constitutes a volunteer activity or what is a "coalition partner." This proposal also addresses the contingency of losing minor party status, which happened in some towns during 2004-2006. Further comments can be read at HYPERLINK "http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldCountyGreens/message/839"http://grou ps.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldCountyGreens/message/839 PROPOSAL (To be distributed to chapters for discussion): In the CT Green Party bylaws (HYPERLINK "http://www.ctgreens.org/bylaws.shtml"http://www.ctgreens.org/bylaws.shtml ), the section under "Individual Membership" shall be revised to read: If the Green Party has minor party status in a town, then: A person enrolled on their town voter list as a Green Party member is a member of the Green Party for all purposes. If the Green Party does not have minor party status in a town, then a person may become a member of the Green Party under the following conditions: 1. The person must be an unaffiliated voter and must not have been registered with any other party affiliation during the past ninety (90) days. 2. The person shall fill out and sign a CT Voter Registration Form declaring enrollment in the Green Party and submit this to an officer of the local or state Green Party. 3. Upon submission of such declaration, the person's membership in the Green Party will be effective after ten business days. A person not yet old enough to vote under state law may become a member of the Green Party under the following conditions: 1. The person will turn 18 and be eligible to vote before the next General Election Day. 2. The person has applied to vote by filling out and signing a Voter Registration Form with declaration of enrollment in the Green Party and submitted this to their town hall or to an officer of the local or state Green Party. 3. If the form is submitted to a local or state Green Party officer, membership in the Green Party will be effective after ten business days. Party members shall receive announcements of State Party general meetings, and shall be entitled to vote when attending State Party general meetings. When an active Member of a Chapter, the member shall be entitled to vote at all general meetings of the Chapter. No member, however, shall be entitled to vote in more than one Chapter. Chapters may institute their own requirements for membership different from those for State Party membership. C. Reports: 1. (30 minutes): Reports about GPUS and the 7-10-08 GPUS Presidential Convention in Chicago, IL from: Clifford W. Thornton, Jr., Co-chairperson of GPUS, CTGP representatives: Timothy L. McKee and Charles Pillsbury and National Committee Members: Steve Fournier, Richard Z. Duffee and S. Michael DeRosa and other CTGP delegates: Allan Brison, Vittorio E. Lancia, G. Scott |Deshefy, Mazin Qumsiyeh and Justin McCabe. 2. (5 minutes): Current count of collected CTGP petition signatures for the GPUS Presidential Candidate: Cynthia McKinney. 3. (10-15 minutes): a) CTGP literature; b) literature for the New Britain Public Library; c) outreach kit: Phoebe Godfrey, Mike DeRosa and Barbara Barry will be the contact persons regarding: banners, buttons, bumper stickers, etc.. 4. (10-15 minutes): Fundraising for CTGP. 5. (5-10 minutes): Steven Fournier, endorsed 1st Congressional District CTGP candidate; petitioning sheets, campaign issues. 6. (5-10 minutes): Scott Deshefy, endorsed 2nd Congressional District CTGP candidate: petitioning sheets; campaign issues. 7. (2-10 minutes): Any endorsed candidate for the 3rd Congressional District line. Ralph Ferrucci has expressed an interest but needs the endorsement by the New Haven Chapter and other CTGP members within that district; needs to have a nominating convention and public notice prior to this nominating convention. 8. (5-10 minutes): Richard Duffee, 4th Congressional District CTGP candidate; petitioning sheets for the petitioning candidates, campaign issues. 9. (2-10 minutes): Harold Burbank, potential Green Party of CT candidate for 5th Congressional District; Need agenda, minutes and attendees and party affiliation from his nominating convention. 10. (5 minute): ACLU lawsuit update. 11. (2 minutes): a) CT Green Times newspaper and b) website: David Bedell updated website about Cynthia McKinney. 12. (3 minutes): Coalition for Healthcare4all. 13. (2-5 minutes, each): Other Chapter reports. 14. Place for next SCC meeting at 7pm 8-26-08. Date, place and time of next EC meeting in 6-08: to be determined. 15. Any additions Green Party Key Values: non-violence, respect for diversity, grassroots democracy, social justice and equal opportunity, ecological wisdom, decentralization, community-based economics and economic justice, future focus and sustainability, personal and global responsibility, feminism and gender equality No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.7.5/1702 - Release Date: 10/1/2008 9:05 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From roseberry3 at cox.net Wed Oct 1 23:30:05 2008 From: roseberry3 at cox.net (B Barry) Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2008 23:30:05 -0400 Subject: {news} Accepted minutes from the 7PM 8-19-08 EC meeting in Hartford, CT for the Green Party of CT Message-ID: <20081002032955.CXET2096.eastrmmtao104.cox.net@eastrmimpo01.cox.net> Accepted minutes from the 7PM 8-19-08 EC meeting in Hartford, CT for the Green Party of CT Location: Lena?s First and Last Pizzeria, 2053 Park Street (near Prospect Street), Hartford, CT 06106-2025 Attending officers: Co-chairpersons: Steve Fournier and Michael DeRosa; Barbara Barry, Secretary of CTGP. Absent: Co-chairperson: Phoebe Godfrey and Treasurer: Christopher Reilly. Observer: Ruth Fournier. 1. Any business/concerns from last SCC meeting of 7-29-08: petition signatures handed in for each candidate; petition information about each candidate from the Secretary of State; New London chapter; 9-14-08 CT Green Expo at SCSU; Healthcare4every1 speaker: Ken Esposito; Doug Schwartz wants to speak about qualifications for the person who will have oversight of the CT probate courts. 2. Any proposed short and long term goals for the CTGP by the executive committee officers? Fundraising/CTGP literature for candidates. 3. Develop the agenda for the 8-26-08 SCC meeting. Template is below. Proposed agenda for the 7PM 8-26-08 SCC CTGP meeting at Portland Senior Center Facilitator: To Be Determined A. Preliminaries: 1. (1 minute): Introductions of voting/non-voting attendees; chapters; if quorum was met; timekeeper; ground rules. 2. (2-4 minutes): Approval of tonight?s proposed agenda, any deletions or additions. 3. (2-4 minutes): Review and approval of minutes of 7-29-08 SCC meeting. 4. (2 minutes): Review and acceptance of the 8-19-08 EC meeting. 5. (2-4 minutes): Treasurer?s report from Christopher Reilly. B. Any proposals/referendums by chapters, committee: 1. (10-15 minutes): PROPOSAL from Fairfield County chapter. CONTACT: David Bedell, 12 Ardsley Rd, Stamford, CT 06906, 203-581-3193, dbedellgreen(at)hotmail.com SUBJECT: Definition of party membership. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: At its February 2008 meeting, the Fairfield chapter adopted a somewhat stricter definition of membership than that in the state bylaws. New Haven has also adopted a stricter definition. The purpose of this proposal is to make party membership contingent on a simple written declaration, just like membership in the major parties, instead of the current definition, which includes vague criteria such as what constitutes a volunteer activity or what is a "coalition partner." This proposal also addresses the contingency of losing minor party status, which happened in some towns during 2004-2006. Further comments can be read at HYPERLINK "http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldCountyGreens/message/839" \nhttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldCountyGreens/message/839 PROPOSAL: In the CT Green Party bylaws (HYPERLINK "http://www.ctgreens.org/bylaws.shtml" \nhttp://www.ctgreens.org/bylaws.shtml ), the section under "Individual Membership" shall be revised to read: If the Green Party has minor party status in a town, then: A person enrolled on their town voter list as a Green Party member is a member of the Green Party for all purposes. If the Green Party does not have minor party status in a town, then a person may become a member of the Green Party under the following conditions: 1. The person must be an unaffiliated voter and must not have been registered with any other party affiliation during the past ninety (90) days. 2. The person shall fill out and sign a CT Voter Registration Form declaring enrollment in the Green Party and submit this to an officer of the local or state Green Party. 3. Upon submission of such declaration, the person's membership in the Green Party will be effective after ten business days. A person not yet old enough to vote under state law may become a member of the Green Party under the following conditions: 1. The person will turn 18 and be eligible to vote before the next General Election Day. 2. The person has applied to vote by filling out and signing a Voter Registration Form with declaration of enrollment in the Green Party and submitted this to their town hall or to an officer of the local or state Green Party. 3. If the form is submitted to a local or state Green Party officer, membership in the Green Party will be effective after ten business days. Party members shall receive announcements of State Party general meetings, and shall be entitled to vote when attending State Party general meetings. When an active Member of a Chapter, the member shall be entitled to vote at all general meetings of the Chapter. No member, however, shall be entitled to vote in more than one Chapter. Chapters may institute their own requirements for membership different from those for State Party membership. C. Reports: 1. (10-15 minutes): Speaker: Ken Esposito from Healthcare4every1 campaign. This includes 5-10 minutes for question/answers. 2. (10-15 minutes): Speaker: Doug Schwartz to talk about the upcoming appointment of a probate chief to oversee the probate system in CT. This includes 5-10 minutes for question/answers. 3. (10-15 minutes): Number of petitions handed into the CT Secretary of State, Ballot Access for GPUS Presidential Candidate: Cynthia McKinney. 4. (10-15 minutes): GPUS reports from: Cliff Thornton, Co-chairperson of GPUS, CTGP representatives: Tim McKee and Charlie Pillsbury and National Committee Members: Steve Fournier, Richard Duffee and S. Michael DeRosa. 5. (5-10 minutes): Steven Fournier, endorsed 1st Congressional District CTGP candidate: number of petition signatures handed in, campaign status. 6. (5-10 minutes): G. Scott Deshefy, endorsed 2nd Congressional District CTGP candidate: number of petition signatures handed in; campaign status. 7. (5-10 minutes): Ralph Ferrucci, candidate for the 3rd Congressional District line. Status of campaign; date/time of nominating convention. 8. (5-10 minutes): Richard Duffee, 4th Congressional District CTGP candidate; number of petition signatures handed in; campaign status. 9. (5-10 minutes): Harold Burbank, l Green Party of CT candidate for 5th Congressional District; number of petition signatures handed in; information about the nominating convention; campaign status. 10. (10-20 minutes): Status of other CTGP candidates for public office: number of signatures handed in for each candidate; has a nominating convention occurred: campaign status. 11. (5-15minutes): CTGP literature. 12. (5-10 minutes): Fundraising for CTGP. 13. (1 minute): ACLU lawsuit update. 14. (2 minutes): CT Green Times newspaper and website. 15. (2-5 minutes, each): Other Chapter reports. 16. Place for next SCC meeting at 7pm 9-30-08. Date, place and time of next EC meeting in 9-08: to be determined. 17. Any additions Green Party Key Values: non-violence, respect for diversity, grassroots democracy, social justice and equal opportunity, ecological wisdom, decentralization, community-based economics and economic justice, future focus and sustainability, personal and global responsibility, feminism and gender equality No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.7.5/1702 - Release Date: 10/1/2008 9:05 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From roseberry3 at cox.net Wed Oct 1 23:49:21 2008 From: roseberry3 at cox.net (B Barry) Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2008 23:49:21 -0400 Subject: {news} Approved minutes of 6-24-08 SCC CTGP meeting at 7PM. Message-ID: <20081002034908.XIJQ23768.eastrmmtao105.cox.net@eastrmimpo01.cox.net> Approved minutes of 6-24-08 SCC CTGP meeting at 7PM. Quorum was met. Portland Senior Center, 7 Waverly Avenue, Portland, CT 06480 Attendees by chapter: Central: Vittorio Lancia; Fairfield: Richard Duffee; Greater Hartford: Barbara Barry, Secretary of CTGP, Co-Chairpersons of CTGP: Steve Fournier and S. Michael DeRosa, Christopher Reilly, Treasurer of CTGP; New Haven: Jerry Martin; Northeast: Scott Deshefy; Tolland: Timothy McKee. Facilitator: Timothy McKee A. Preliminaries: 1. Introductions of voting/non-voting attendees; chapters; quorum was met; timekeeper=Vic Lancia; ground rules. 2. Approval of tonight?s proposed agenda: deletion of vote on Proposal ?B? due to lack of chapters prepared to provide feedback to SCC. Chapters are urged to be prepared to vote on this proposal at the 7-29-08 SCC meeting. One addition: endorsement of CTGP candidates. 3. Approval of minutes of 5-27-08 SCC meeting with request by Jerry Martin for the deletion of his proposal: after the first two round of delegate voting, the Co-chairpersons of the CTGP (S. Michael DeRosa and/or Steve Fournier) will oversee that proportionate representation of the next rounds of voting by the CTGP endorsed delegates at the 7-10-08 GPUS Presidential Convention.. 4. Acceptance of the 6-17-08 EC meeting. 5. Treasurer?s report from Christopher Reilly: balance of $1609.48. B. Any proposals/referendums by chapters, committee: PROPOSAL from Fairfield County chapter. CONTACT: David Bedell, 12 Ardsley Rd, Stamford, CT 06906, 203-581-3193, dbedellgreen(at)hotmail.com SUBJECT: Definition of party membership. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: At its February 2008 meeting, the Fairfield chapter adopted a somewhat stricter definition of membership than that in the state bylaws. New Haven has also adopted a stricter definition. The purpose of this proposal is to make party membership contingent on a simple written declaration, just like membership in the major parties, instead of the current definition, which includes vague criteria such as what constitutes a volunteer activity or what is a "coalition partner." This proposal also addresses the contingency of losing minor party status, which happened in some towns during 2004-2006. Further comments can be read at HYPERLINK "http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldCountyGreens/message/839"http://grou ps.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldCountyGreens/message/839 PROPOSAL(To be distributed to chapters for discussion): In the CT Green Party bylaws (HYPERLINK "http://www.ctgreens.org/bylaws.shtml"http://www.ctgreens.org/bylaws.shtml ), the section under "Individual Membership" shall be revised to read: If the Green Party has minor party status in a town, then: A person enrolled on their town voter list as a Green Party member is a member of the Green Party for all purposes. If the Green Party does not have minor party status in a town, then a person may become a member of the Green Party under the following conditions: 1. The person must be an unaffiliated voter and must not have been registered with any other party affiliation during the past ninety (90) days. 2. The person shall fill out and sign a CT Voter Registration Form declaring enrollment in the Green Party and submit this to an officer of the local or state Green Party. 3. Upon submission of such declaration, the person's membership in the Green Party will be effective after ten business days. A person not yet old enough to vote under state law may become a member of the Green Party under the following conditions: 1. The person will turn 18 and be eligible to vote before the next General Election Day. 2. The person has applied to vote by filling out and signing a Voter Registration Form with declaration of enrollment in the Green Party and submitted this to their town hall or to an officer of the local or state Green Party. 3. If the form is submitted to a local or state Green Party officer, membership in the Green Party will be effective after ten business days. Party members shall receive announcements of State Party general meetings, and shall be entitled to vote when attending State Party general meetings. When an active Member of a Chapter, the member shall be entitled to vote at all general meetings of the Chapter. No member, however, shall be entitled to vote in more than one Chapter. Chapters may institute their own requirements for membership different from those for State Party membership. C. Reports: 1. GPUS reports: CTGP representative: Tim McKee proposal which was endorsed by Consensus: 2/3 of the CTGP delegation to the 7-10-08 GPUS Presidential Convention will be allotted to Cynthia McKinley as per results of vote count at the 4-26-08 CTGP Annual Meeting. Delegates will vote for the remaining endorsed candidates based on a vote which was rounded off to the nearest number of votes they received at the 4-26-08 CTGP Annual Meeting. This will be applicable to the first two rounds of voting. Then delegates may vote as desired. National Committee Members: Ballot Access Committee by S. Michael DeRosa: GPUS is unclear if the remaining $7000-8000 is or will be available for use by Green Party States. Steve Fournier; Consensus: a statement of endorsement of all known CTGP candidates inclusive of the four (4) known CTGP Congressional candidates. 2. CTGP literature: S. Michael DeRosa: Phoebe Godfrey is still working on the literature. 3. Vetting and selection of up to twenty (20) people to be CTGP official delegates for the 7-10-08 GPUS Presidential Convention in Chicago at the Palmer House Hotel. By Consensus the following were endorsed as delegates: Allan Brison, Steve Fournier, Richard Duffee, Vittorio Lancia, Timothy McKee, S. Michael DeRosa and Clifford Thornton and if they go to the convention: G. Scott Deshefy and Charlie Pillsbury. Have about 2400 petition signatures for the GPUS Presidential candidate. Need 10 to 12 thousand valid signatures. 4. Fundraising position for CTGP was discussed: S. Michael DeRosa suggested that a fundraiser be paid by receiving a certain percentage of what that person brings in to the CTGP. 5. Steven Fournier, endorsed 1st Congressional District CTGP candidate; was on Face The State TV this past Sunday. Have about 800signatures and need about 2060 valid petition signatures. 6. G. Scott Deshefy, endorsed 2nd Congressional District CTGP candidate: have about 2400 petition signatures. Need 2450 valid petition signatures. 7. No endorsed candidate for the 3rd Congressional District line per Jerry Martin and S. Michael DeRosa. 8. Richard Duffee, 4th Congressional District CTGP candidate; have 2000 petition signatures. Need 2091 valid petition signatures 9. Harold Burbank, endorsed Green Party of CT candidate for 5th Congressional District; has about 1500 petition signatures but needs about 2400 valid petition signatures. 10. ACLU lawsuit update: S. Michael DeRosa: anticipate a written judicial response just after Election Day 11-08. 11. CT Green Times newspaper: articles are needed per S. Michael DeRosa. Website has been changed to Steve Fournier per Christopher Reilly due to need for better access to the website is needed by CTGP. 12. Chapter report: Central: Vic Lancia: having an event at 6:30PM on 7-2-08 at the Reading Room of the Middletown Public Library. 13. Place for next 7-29-08 SCC meeting Date, place and time of next EC meeting in 7-08: to be determined. 14. Any additions Green Party Key Values: non-violence, respect for diversity, grassroots democracy, social justice and equal opportunity, ecological wisdom, decentralization, community-based economics and economic justice, future focus and sustainability, personal and global responsibility, feminism and gender equality. No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.7.5/1702 - Release Date: 10/1/2008 9:05 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From roseberry3 at cox.net Wed Oct 1 23:59:52 2008 From: roseberry3 at cox.net (B Barry) Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2008 23:59:52 -0400 Subject: {news} Approved minutes of the 7-29-08 SCC CTGP meeting from 7pm to 9pm Message-ID: <20081002035946.XGWT22820.eastrmmtao103.cox.net@eastrmimpo03.cox.net> Approved minutes of the 7-29-08 SCC CTGP meeting from 7pm to 9pm. Quorum was met. Site: Portland Senior Center, 7 Waverley Avenue, Portland, CT 06480 P: 860-342-6760 Attendees by chapter: Central: Beth Angel; Fairfield: David Bedell, Richard Duffee, Hector Lopez; Greater Hartford: Martha Kelly, co-chairpersons of CTGP: Steve Fournier and Mike DeRosa, Barbara Barry, Secretary of CTGP, Christopher Reilly, Treasurer of CTGP; New London: Ronna Stuller; Tolland: Tim McKee. Clifton Thornton of Glastonbury, CT: National Co-chairperson of GPUS. Facilitator: Tim McKee A. Preliminaries: 1. Introductions of voting/non-voting attendees; chapters; quorum was met; timekeeper; ground rules. 2. Approval of tonight?s proposed agenda, deletion of Fairfield proposal to allow chapters to respond at 8-26-08 SCC meeting; additions: GPUS Ballot Access subcommittee; Impeachment Peach Party; CPTV; CT State Constitutional Convention; additional CTGP delegates at the GPUS 7-10-08 Presidential Convention. 3. Review of the minutes of 6-24-08 SCC meeting which were approved by consensus. 4. Review and acceptance of the 7-22-08 EC meeting. 5. Treasurer?s report from Christopher Reilly: $2004.51. B. Reports: 1. Reports about GPUS and the 7-10-08 GPUS Presidential Convention in Chicago, IL from: CTGP representative: Timothy L. McKee (delegate): overall consensus from attendees was that there were good workshops. GPUS is considering for the next GPUS meeting in July 2009, having more workshops to address how to build the Green Party. Cliff Thornton, GPUS co-chairperson (delegate): paying for proxy votes at the 7-10-08 Convention was withdrawn. The entire national platform was voted down. There seemed to be a lack of media coverage. The GPUS set a historic precedent by nominating women for both president and vice-president. And the presidential candidate is an Afro-American woman and the vice-presidential candidate is a Latino woman. National Committee Members: a) Steve Fournier (delegate): IL Green Party is considered to be a major political party in the state. b) Richard Z. Duffee (delegate): the GPUS rules, developed by the GPUS officers, were an improvement over the 2004 rules. However, the rules were such that the vast majority of the chapters found they had to vote against the GPUS Platform due to limited to no ways to amend the platform from the floor of the convention and remain true to their state Green Party. There had been an all day conference which allowed amendments to the platform leading up to the day of the convention. Two (2) positions were not accepted: Palestine and changing the rules to address platform concerns. I presented a workshop which was well attended and which received positive feedback. c) S. Michael DeRosa (delegate): I presented a workshop on the military-industrial media which was well received. The Ballot Access committee has established a Litigation subcommittee to address some of the legal requirements when state Green Parties try to petition for ballot access and finance laws. E.G. the New Jersey legislature has to vote on a campaign finance law which is/or almost is, identical to Connecticut?s 2005 Campaign Finance (de)Form. The ACLU will also be working with the NJ Green Party to fight this campaign legislation. The VT Green Party received $250 to assist their efforts to get the GPUS candidate on their ballot. Also under consideration: Green Party to call for a national Day to Submit Litigation regarding: ballot access and finance laws. Barbara Barry: after the 6-24-08 SCC cut off for the vetting and selection of delegates to the GPUS 7-10-08 Convention. I received a 6-25-08 email from Justine McCabe requesting that she and Mazin Qumsiyeh, also be delegates. The 5 CTGP officers were unable to physically meet due to prior commitments and the July 4th holiday. So a 7-7-08 conference evening call was held and the consensus of the 5 officers was to allow these 2 people to also be delegates. The following were other CTGP delegates who attending the convention: Allan Brison and Mazin Qumsiyeh. It is unclear if Justin McCabe attended or not. 2. Current count and final push for the collection of CTGP petition signatures for the GPUS Presidential Candidate: Cynthia McKinney. David Bedell: 177 pages of petitions were handed in to the Secretary of State. 974 were known to be valid. Some of Middletown?s petitions had a 60% rejection rate. Tim: Cynthia McKinney can also be a write in candidate. For this to be considered valid by the registers of voters and the Secretary of State, the CTGP needs to notify the Secretary of State that she is a ?serious? candidate. Christopher Reilly: CTGP has received no money from GPUS for any campaigns. 3. a) CTGP literature for CTGP candidates, chapters and public libraries; outreach items desired by candidates and chapters: e.g. banners, buttons, bumper stickers. Contact people for outreach items: Phoebe Godfrey, Mike DeRosa and Barbara Barry. b) The New Britain Public Library is seeking information from all candidates for their users. Literature may be sent to their mailing address: 20 High Street, New Britain, CT 06061, P: 860-224-3155. 4. Fundraising for CTGP: a) Mike: suggest that the CTGP have fundraising dinners about once a month in various chapters and/or regions. These dinners can be tied to specific candidates. Use of speakers may also entice people to attend. Can have raffles at these fundraising events. b) An Impeachment Peach Party at 6:30pm on Thursday, 8-21-08 at 74 Tremont Street in Hartford, residence of Steve Fournier. Fundraising with peaches for the impeachment of Cheney/Bush. c) Ronna Stuller: CTGP needs a budget. 5. Steven Fournier, endorsed 1st Congressional District CTGP candidate; needs help getting petition signatures. 6. G. Scott Deshefy, endorsed 2nd Congressional District CTGP candidate: seems to have acquired his required petition signatures. But this has not been validated by the Secretary of State?s office. 7. Any endorsed candidate for the 3rd Congressional District line: Mike: Ralph Ferrucci has expressed an interest. 8. Richard Duffee, 4th Congressional District CTGP candidate; I believe I have sufficient petition signatures. 9. Harold Burbank, potential Green Party of CT candidate for 5th Congressional District. BB:Need the date/place/time/minutes/agenda/political party affiliation of attendees at the nominating Convention for Harold Burbank. 10. ACLU lawsuit update: SMD: it is anticipated that the judge will present his written report after the election. 11. Updates about CT Green Times newspaper and CTGP website: SMD: need articles for both. 12. Other Chapter reports: RS: we had a nominating convention for Kenric Hanson to be our candidate for the 39th District in CT. Also, the New London Chapter has started the process for developing a town committee. 13. BB: Connecticut Public Television sent me a 7-25-08 email in which they are seeking interns for CPTV to work on a short work series about youth and the 2008 presidential election. You staffers need to be 18-24 years of age. Contact: CPTV . David Bedell may know of someone who might be interested and will convey this information to him. 14. CT State Constitutional Convention: TMc: this is something that is being developed by the Family Institute, Reform Party and some Republicans. I suggest it can also be used to promote more progressive issues at this convention. SF: no known conditions which would not support this convention. Consensus: Tim McKee may represent CTGP. 15. Place for next SCC meeting to be 7pm 8-26-08. Date, place and time of next EC meeting in 8-08: to be determined. Green Party Key Values: non-violence, respect for diversity, grassroots democracy, social justice and equal opportunity, ecological wisdom, decentralization, community-based economics and economic justice, future focus and sustainability, personal and global responsibility, feminism and gender equality No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.7.5/1702 - Release Date: 10/1/2008 9:05 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From roseberry3 at cox.net Thu Oct 2 00:36:15 2008 From: roseberry3 at cox.net (B Barry) Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2008 00:36:15 -0400 Subject: {news} Approved minutes from the 7PM 8-26-08 SCC CTGP meeting. Message-ID: <20081002043604.PPYV22786.eastrmmtao102.cox.net@eastrmimpo03.cox.net> Approved minutes from the 7PM 8-26-08 SCC CTGP meeting. Quorum was met. Location: Portland Senior Center, 7 Waverly Avenue, Portland, CT 06480 Attendees by chapter: Central: Vittorio Lancia and Beth Angel; Fairfield: Paul Bassler, Richard Duffee; Greater Hartford: Barbara Barry, Secretary of CTGP; Co-chairpersons of CTGP: Steve Fournier and S. Michael DeRosa, Christopher Reilly, Treasurer of CTGP; New Haven: Jerry Martin; New London: Ronna Stuller; Northeast: Scott Deshefy. Speakers: Doug Schwartz about CT Probate Reform, Jeff Leaf and Kenneth Esposito of Healthcare4every1. Facilitator: Barbara Barry A. Preliminaries: 1. Introductions of voting/non-voting attendees; chapters; quorum was met; timekeeper: V. Lancia; ground rules. 2. Approval of tonight?s proposed agenda. The deletions were: a) Fairfield proposal due to lack of anyone from the Fairfield chapter who is ready to present it; b) Fournier campaign and c) Burbank campaign. There were no additions. 3. Review of the 7-29-08 SCC meeting minutes which were approved by consensus. 4. Review and acceptance of the 8-19-08 EC meeting minutes. 5. Treasurer?s report from Christopher Reilly: balance is $2022.46. DELETED: B. PROPOSAL from Fairfield County chapter. CONTACT: David Bedell, 12 Ardsley Rd, Stamford, CT 06906, 203-581-3193, dbedellgreen(at)hotmail.com SUBJECT: Definition of party membership. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: At its February 2008 meeting, the Fairfield chapter adopted a somewhat stricter definition of membership than that in the state bylaws. New Haven has also adopted a stricter definition. The purpose of this proposal is to make party membership contingent on a simple written declaration, just like membership in the major parties, instead of the current definition, which includes vague criteria such as what constitutes a volunteer activity or what is a "coalition partner." This proposal also addresses the contingency of losing minor party status, which happened in some towns during 2004-2006.Further comments can be read at HYPERLINK "http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldCountyGreens/message/839"http://grou ps.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldCountyGreens/message/839 PROPOSAL: In the CT Green Party bylaws (HYPERLINK "http://www.ctgreens.org/bylaws.shtml"http://www.ctgreens.org/bylaws.shtml ), the section under "Individual Membership" shall be revised to read: If the Green Party has minor party status in a town, then: A person enrolled on their town voter list as a Green Party member is a member of the Green Party for all purposes. If the Green Party does not have minor party status in a town, then a person may become a member of the Green Party under the following conditions: 1. The person must be an unaffiliated voter and must not have been registered with any other party affiliation during the past ninety (90) days. 2. The person shall fill out and sign a CT Voter Registration Form declaring enrollment in the Green Party and submit this to an officer of the local or state Green Party. 3. Upon submission of such declaration, the person's membership in the Green Party will be effective after ten business days. A person not yet old enough to vote under state law may become a member of the Green Party under the following conditions: 1. The person will turn 18 and be eligible to vote before the next General Election Day. 2. The person has applied to vote by filling out and signing a Voter Registration Form with declaration of enrollment in the Green Party and submitted this to their town hall or to an officer of the local or state Green Party. 3. If the form is submitted to a local or state Green Party officer, membership in the Green Party will be effective after ten business days. Party members shall receive announcements of State Party general meetings, and shall be entitled to vote when attending State Party general meetings. When an active Member of a Chapter, the member shall be entitled to vote at all general meetings of the Chapter. No member, however, shall be entitled to vote in more than one Chapter. Chapters may institute their own requirements for membership different from those for State Party membership. C. Reports: 1. Speaker: Kenneth Esposito from Healthcare4every1 campaign. This organization promotes: ?guaranteed affordable healthcare for all. Universal?covers us all; Continuous?stays with use from job-to-job and in between; Affordable?for our families and our businesses; Sustainable?for our state?s economy; High Quality?supports good health. The specifics were limited about: a) how this would work, or b) the funding source or c) how healthcare providers would be involved and d) how healthcare providers would be compensated (e.g. for prevention of illness or for actions; would primary care providers continue to get lower reimbursement than specialists), etc 2. Speaker: Doug Schwartz to talk about the upcoming appointment of a probate chief to oversee the probate system in CT. There is a group of people who formed as a result of perceived unfair or ethical probate decisions that have been done across CT over the years. Example: the New London probate judge was also the attorney for the New London Development Corporation (NLDC) which was the entity which seized New London homes by eminent domain. In the Fiscal Year 2004, a period when the NLDC did not document any real estate acquisitions, this probate judge billed the NLDC for $124,000. We are trying to raise public awareness of these probate issues in efforts to put pressure on the appropriate authorities to improve the ethical behavior of the probate courts. And we are coming to the Green Party due to your known interest in fairness and ethical behavior in government. 3. Number of petitions handed into the CT Secretary of State, Ballot Access for GPUS Presidential Candidate: Cynthia McKinney. SMD: 3,000 to 4,000 petition signatures were known to have been handed into the Secretary of State?s Office. These are most likely insufficient to achieve ballot access. 4. National Committee Members: a) Richard Duffee: nothing to report. b) S. Michael DeRosa: No GPUS money is available for ballot access. Have had the 1st meeting of the Ballot Access Legal subcommittee and all agree to continue the general goals of trying to challenge the various laws and regulations in the 50 states. They also agreed to continue meeting about once a week. Many states including CT have not heard back from Cynthia McKinney?s campaign contacts. No reports from the absent members: Cliff Thornton, Co-chairperson of GPUS, CTGP representatives: Tim McKee and Charlie Pillsbury and National Committee Member: Steve Fournier. 5. DELETED: Steven Fournier, endorsed 1st Congressional District CTGP candidate. 6. G. Scott Deshefy, endorsed 2nd Congressional District CTGP candidate: number of valid petition signatures is unknown; I am in discussions with the League of Women Voters about being included in their debates and debates by other organizations. 7. Jerry Martin: a) Ralph Ferrucci is willing to be the 3rd Congressional District candidate; b) Mary Ann Davis is willing to run for the New Haven Registrar of Voters. The nominating convention is likely to be Tuesday, 9-2-08. 8. Richard Duffee, 4th Congressional District CTGP candidate: Town clerks have told me that 2500 petition signatures have been handed in for me. I need at least 2091 valid petition signatures in order to acquire ballot access. I have not heard from the Secretary of State?s Office about my valid signatures yet. I will more than likely have a Fundraiser Picnic in New Canaan, CT on 9-20-08 between 2pm and 6pm. I have been in discussions with the League of Women Voters about allowing me into their debates. 9. DELETED: Harold Burbank, l Green Party of CT candidate for 5th Congressional District. 10. Status of valid petition signatures for the other CTGP candidates for public office is unknown. These candidates are: Keith Brooks for Weston Registrar of Voters; Remy Chevalier of Weston for the 135th District for CT Representative; Colin Bennett of Westbrook for the 33rd State Senate District; Zaac Chaves of Greenwich for the 36th CT Senate District; Mary T. Farrell for Stamford Board of Education; Kenric M. Hanson of New London for the 39th District for CT Assembly; David Bedell for Stamford Registrar of Voters. 11. CTGP literature is needed. 13. Fundraising for CTGP: encourage each Congressional District to have a fundraiser prior to the election. 14. ACLU lawsuit update: SMD: It is still active. We anticipate a written response from the judge after the election. 15. CT Green Times newspaper: SMD: I have had no response from my multiple contacts with the publisher 16. Other Chapter reports. Central VL: we are trying to organize and do things around the petitioning and the election. 17. 7pm 9-30-08 SCC meeting at Portland Senior Center.. Date and place of 9-08 EC meeting: to be determined. Green Party Key Values: non-violence, respect for diversity, grassroots democracy, social justice and equal opportunity, ecological wisdom, decentralization, community-based economics and economic justice, future focus and sustainability, personal and global responsibility, feminism and gender equality No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.7.5/1702 - Release Date: 10/1/2008 9:05 AM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From efficacy at msn.com Thu Oct 2 09:06:28 2008 From: efficacy at msn.com (Clifford Thornton) Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2008 09:06:28 -0400 Subject: {news} A RESOLUTION TO INVESTIGATE AND MITIGATE THE REAL COST OF THE WAR Message-ID: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This resolution passed overwhelmingly by the Green Party of the United States of America Proposal ID: 367 Proposal: A RESOLUTION TO INVESTIGATE AND MITIGATE THE REAL COST OF THE WAR ON DRUGS Floor Manager: Holly Hart, holly-hart at uiowa.edu> Voting Dates: 09/25/2008 - 10/01/2008 Voting ended at Midnight Pacific Time Background: one hundred years of drug prohibition and four decades of the "war on drugs" Proposal: A RESOLUTION TO INVESTIGATE AND MITIGATE THE REAL COST OF THE WAR ON DRUGS WHEREAS, the "war on drugs" has failed: every community in the U.S. contends with the harmful effects of drug misuse and related problems, and while states have continually increased their expenditures to wage the war on drugs, policies which rely heavily on arrest and incarceration have proved costly and ineffective at addressing these issues; and WHEREAS, the war on drugs is a major force driving the incarceration of over 2.3 million people in the United States, with African Americans and Latinos disproportionately represented in our country's overflowing jails and prisons; and WHEREAS, the war on drugs perpetuates mandatory minimums, felony disfranchisement, disproportionate over-incarceration, poor access to healthcare, under funded public education, widespread unemployment, and the general criminalization of communities of color in the U.S.; and WHEREAS, paying for the war on drugs means spending limited tax dollars on failed policies instead of proven solutions. Americans spend approximately $140 billion annually on prisons and jails including $24 billion spent on incarcerating over 1.2 million non-violent offenders. In many states, such as New York and California, spending on prisons far surpasses spending on education; and WHEREAS, harm reduction strategies, including access to affordable community-based drug treatment, along with educational and economic opportunities, have shown to be successful at reducing the harms of drug misuse, yet more than half of those Americans in need of drug treatment do not have access to it; and WHEREAS, African Americans and Latinos are less likely to sell or misuse illicit drugs than Caucasian Americans, yet African Americans experience highly disproportionate levels of death, disease, crime and suffering due both to drug misuse and to misguided drug policies. African Americans comprise only 12.2 percent of the population and 13 percent of drug users, yet they make up 38 percent of those arrested for drug offenses and 59 percent of those convicted of drug offenses; and WHEREAS, our common goal is to advocate those policies which increase the health and welfare of our communities, and to reduce the unacceptable racial disparities both in criminal justice and in access to drug treatment and other services; and WHEREAS, taking steps to reduce the incarceration of non-violent offenders and increasing the availability of treatment not only makes fiscal sense, but is sound public policy that is being implemented in states throughout the country, such as Maryland and California; and WHEREAS, we believe that nonviolent substance abusers are not menaces to our communities but rather a troubled yet integral part of our community who need to be reclaimed; WHEREAS, Cannabis and Hemp, should be regulated and controlled like cigarettes and alcohol. Heroin, Cocaine, Ecstasy, Methamphetamine, should be medicalized and come under the supervision of medical personnel. All the rest of the illegal drugs should be decriminalized for future debate and true and honest medicinal study. THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THE Green Party of the United States of America calls for a complete and thorough investigation into the so called Drug War, and its connections to the prison industry, and seeks to mitigate its destructive effects through taxes derived from the sale of Cannabis and hemp which will go back into the communities as reparations to rebuild infra structure such as public education, health care and roads for those communities that have been ravaged by drug war maladies, as well as treatment programs made available for anyone addicted to drugs. Resources: Efficacy, Drug Policy Alliance, Common Sense for Drug Policy, Criminal Justice Foundation Contact Clifford W. Thornton, Jr. Efficacy at msn.com Efficacy PO Box 1234 860 657 8438 Hartford, CT 06143 efficacy at msn.com www.Efficacy-online.org "THE DRUG WAR IS MEANT TO BE WAGED NOT WON" 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 timmckee at mail.com Thu Oct 2 09:17:10 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2008 08:17:10 -0500 Subject: {news} Fournier calls Larson bailout plan "incoherent" -CTNEWSJUNKIE Message-ID: <20081002131710.24D7C11581F@ws1-7.us4.outblaze.com> Larson Tries To Explain Financial Crisis To Constituents by Christine Stuart | October 2, 2008 8:23 AM Posted to General News Christine Stuart photo Christine Stuart photo US Rep John Larson?s constituents were angry Wednesday night. After they waited patiently for Larson and his local panel of experts to stop talking they wanted some answers about how the US economy got here. Jerry Dolan of Bristol said he wanted to know what happened to the cash? If more than 95 percent of people are paying their mortgages, then where is that money going? he asked. Larson attempted to explain it by talking about how the problem is two-fold. On one hand, the mortgage crisis resulted in excess paper ?sold, bundled, and resold,? he said. On the other hand, Larson referenced a conversation he had with United Technologies Corp. Board Chairman George David who explained to him the cost of business went up overnight. Larson said UTC is big enough to bear the increase in costs, but is worried about its supply chain. ?Did anyone understand that?? Dolan asked after Larson attempted to answer his question. Next up, was John Patrick President and Chief Executive Officer of Farmington Savings Bank, who explained that the crisis is ?market to market accounting.? He said he has to maintain certain capital levels and when the secondary mortgage market collapsed so did the market?s confidence and along with it the amount Fannie and Freddie Mac were paying on mortgage bonds. Douglas Glazier of Windsor Locks said over the past four years Congress was warned by a number of people about the subprime mortgage situation. He said it?s beyond his comprehension to understand ?how this couldn?t have been seen?? ?The fox is guarding the hen house,? Larson said. He said while Congress was aware of the subprime mortgage situation, ?Americans were thriving in that environment.? ?But for the housing market things would be different,? Larson said. One young man seen here in above video wanted to know why Congress would leave Chairman of the Financial Services Committee US Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., in charge because he?s perceived by some as one of the people who contributed to the current crisis. Larson defended Frank and reminded his constituents that Frank has only been in charge for the past 18-months. He said before that Frank was not the chairman because the Democratic Party did not hold the majority in Congress until recently. In his opening comments Larson said he understands the outrage and anger over the ?rescue mission, mislabeled as a bailout.? Referring to Monday?s vote where the proposal was defeated 228 to 205, he said ?not to act even with an imperfect plan was not the right thing to do.? Doing nothing, ?is too severe,? he said. ?My belief is that this requires action.? Stephen Fournier, the Green Party candidate challenging Larson for his seat, said, ?So we give them the money now and regulate them later?? Larson said regulation requires specific legislation. He said Congress will be going back to address some of these things like bankruptcy protection for homeowners in foreclosure. Larson said the problem is this bill needs the Senate?s approval and the President?s signature. The delicate balance of getting the bill passed requires, ?a certain amount of leverage and certain amount of politics,? he said. Outside in the hallway, after Larson had departed for the airport, Fournier said he thinks the Congressman made more arguments against the bill than for it. He said Larson was incoherent and the banker, Mr. Patrick, was even less coherent. He said he?s concerned that Larson is ?sowing panic.? Allyn Nelson of Windsor, who got to speak only after Larson had left to catch his flight back to Washington, said he thinks the bill was put together ?much too fast.? He said he wants it explained to him in ?terms we can understand.? ?What was in that 110 page bill?? Nelson asked. http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/general_news/larson_tries_to_explain_financ.php#more ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- Be Yourself @ mail.com! Choose From 200+ Email Addresses Get a Free Account at www.mail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Thu Oct 2 14:10:11 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Thu, 2 Oct 2008 14:10:11 -0400 Subject: {news} Avon Post on Burbank's exclusion Message-ID: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20145846 10/01/2008 Minor party candidates still fighting to be included in 5th-District debate By: Brian Woodman Jr. and Marc Levy , Journal Register News Service A new look at Canton resident Harold Burbank, a Green Party candidate for U.S. representative in the 5th District, has changed nothing, League of Women Voters officials said Monday. As of press time, they determined he was still not eligible to participate in an Oct. 11 debate slated to be held at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain. The university, however, said it still can't host the event without the involvement of Burbank and independent candidate Thomas Winn. The candidates approved by the league are Chris Murphy, the Democratic incumbent, and Republican challenger David Cappiello, of the state's 24th District. League officials exchanged e-mails Saturday and Sunday and held a conference call over the impasse, but nothing changed over the weekend, said Jara Burnett, president of the state league. Changing criteria to ease the way for less competitive candidates never came up. If that's the case, that means the university, as a government entity, legally cannot host the event, said Mark McLaughlin, associate vice president of university marketing and communications. The university has been hosting such events for several years, but this issue hadn't come up. There have been no talks about hosting the event without the league, and the university doesn't even officially know from the league the event is off, McLaughlin said. The league's New Britain chapter co-president, Helen Z. Pearl, said there was to be a league meeting Wednesday (after the Post went to Press) to discuss whether an alternative site can be found for the university's Torp Theater, which holds about 300 people. "We don't have another venue," she said. Until then, even the candidates were waiting for news. "We're playing by their rules, [but] it's important for David and Chris to have a dialogue - several dialogues," said Adam Bauer, of the Cappiello campaign. Murphy's campaign didn't have a comment Monday but previously said it would like to see all four candidates participate. There are four other debates scheduled, the closest of which will be Oct. 22 in Meriden. In addition to filing a Federal Communications Commission complaint against the league, the host for three of five scheduled debates, Burbank said he is considering suing. League criteria include whether candidates have a formal campaign with headquarters and other features, published position papers, broad voter support and significant campaign contributions. The directors questioned the candidates' funding levels and whether they demonstrated enough voter outreach, and Burbank did not submit sufficient documentation regarding issues relevant to the district, directors said. Last week, Jara Burnett, president of the New Britain League, said any congressional district debate, although organized by local chapters, was bound by the criteria of the state organization regarding the qualification of candidates to participate. She said the board made a discretionary decision regarding qualification based on criteria that included ballot access, a formal campaign with headquarters and other features, published position papers, broad voter support and significant campaign contributions. 'I feel that they did not fulfill our criteria," she said last week. "This decision was not taken lightly. It was based on materials the candidates provided." She said the league's qualifying process is intended to underscore the difference between candidates running the most viable campaign for the purpose of a meaningful debate. She said that while the process was skewed toward the candidates from the major parties, the organization does provide an online voter guide with information on all the candidates. "All state Green Party candidates for U.S. House were excluded from League debates this week for specious reasons including not raising enough campaign funds, not doing voter outreach and not writing enough position papers, which is simply unconstitutional bias," said Burbank in a prepared statement. "The League of Women Voters knows that it provides about the best U.S. House race debate venues in the state, and receives federal grant money into its non-profit education fund to help fund debates. They expect National Public Radio, cable television media and other media regulated by the FCC to cover their debates which now amount to political advertisement contributions to Democrat and Republican campaigns only. The U.S. Constitution First Amendment, severely eroded as it is under President Bush, will not permit such grossly unequal political speech access to the public airwaves." Winn, who has never run for elected office, said he would like to hold an alternative debate in which questions that are the same or similar to those posed at the debate will be discussed - preferably with Burbank. Winn criticized Cappiello and Murphy for participating in the league's event without officially requesting that he and Burbank participate. Burbank publicly stated Murphy should decline participating in other events held by the league until all four candidates are allowed to participate. "They should ask that there be all or none," he said late last week. "'If all ideas are not being evenly represented, we shouldn't have them,' they should be saying. I'm so angry right now." From timmckee at mail.com Fri Oct 3 11:58:36 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Fri, 3 Oct 2008 10:58:36 -0500 Subject: {news} (NEWS RELEASE) DESHEFY TO APPEAR WITH NADER. PROTEST DEBATE EXCLUSION Message-ID: <20081003155836.26B5D47808F@ws1-5.us4.outblaze.com> GREEN PARTY OF CONNECTICUT News Release- October 3, 2008- for immediate release CONTACT: Scott Deshefy, Candidate for 2nd District Congress-(860) 642-7066 Tim McKee, CT Green Party spokesperson, cell (860) 860-778-1304 (Best) or (860)-643-2282, timmckee at mail.com Mike DeRosa, State Co-Chair (860)956-8170 or (860) 919-4042 (cell) DESHEFY TO APPEAR WITH NADER, PROTEST NEW LONDON DEBATE EXCLUSION The Scott Deshefy for Congress campaign announced two events today. Deshefy will speak and introduce Presidential candidate Ralph Nader at an event on Saturday October 4 at 7 pm at Edwin O. Smith High School , 1235 Storrs Rd., Storrs, CT. Deshefy will speak about issues in Second Congressional race and give a brief history of Nader before he speaks. A protest rally will be on Tuesday, November 7, 2008 at the New London Garde Arts Center, 325 State Street. beginning at 6 pm as a result of being excluded in a state wide televised broadcast debate by the League of Women Voters, after first being included in the debates. Protestors will be outside the theater to rally before the event. 275 tickets to the event were given out to the Deshefy campaign and distributed already. as well as 25 VIP tickets which Deshefy hopes the League of Women Voters will honor, but has not confirmed that they will . Green Party supporters quickly took the tickets and were looking forward to the only state wide televised debate. He stressed that while the campaign will protest OUTSIDE the event, there are no plans to disturbs the event as it happens, and that many of the Green Party VIP ticket holders will discuss their views with the other candidates after the debate. #End of Release# ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- Be Yourself @ mail.com! Choose From 200+ Email Addresses Get a Free Account at www.mail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From timmckee at mail.com Fri Oct 3 20:25:46 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Fri, 3 Oct 2008 19:25:46 -0500 Subject: {news} Deshefy debates in 2nd district - please note!! Message-ID: <20081004002546.4D5D81642A6@ws1-4.us4.outblaze.com> Garde Arts Center Debate (Protest before) Tuesday, October 7th at 7:00 p.m. - . The debate takes place at the Garde Arts Center in New London and is sponsored by the League of Women Voters, The Day, and WTNH News Channel 8. Lebanon Connecticut Business Association Debate Tuesday, October 14th at 7:00 p.m. The debate takes place at the Lyman Memorial High School, 917 Exeter Road in Lebanon. Plainfield Debate Wednesday, October 15th at 7:00 p.m. The debate takes place at Plainfield High School (105 Putnam Road, Plainfield) and is sponsored by the Northeastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce and The Norwich Bulletin. Enfield Debate Tuesday, October 21st at 7:00 p.m. The debate takes place at Enrico Fermi High School (124 N Maple Street, Enfield) and is sponsored by members of the student body who will be asking questions of the candidates. The media sponsor is WNPR radio. Old Lyme Chamber of Commerce Debate Tuesday, October 28th at 7:00 p.m. The debate takes place at the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School, 53 Lyme Street, Old Lyme. ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- Be Yourself @ mail.com! Choose From 200+ Email Addresses Get a Free Account at www.mail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From timmckee at mail.com Fri Oct 3 20:33:33 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Fri, 3 Oct 2008 19:33:33 -0500 Subject: {news} Fournier get more quotes and applause! Message-ID: <20081004003333.2BD8A1642A6@ws1-4.us4.outblaze.com> Taxpayers tell Larson they want safeguards ========================================== 'No jail ��? no bail. I?m not Main Street ��? I?m a back road, and there?s been no good explanation for this ��? give me the cause! Give me some details!' Windsor resident Allyn Nelson told Wednesday's pane By Kym Soper Journal Inquirer Published: Thursday, October 2, 2008 12:46 PM EDTMANCHESTER ? Residents angry about the country?s economic crisis confronted U.S. Rep. John B. Larson, D-1st District, in a fireside chat Wednesday at Manchester Community College. The college library?s Fireside Commons room was packed to capacity with voters from around the state hoping to learn more about the country?s economic crisis and why their tax dollars should help bail out Wall Street. The consensus among the crowd was that Congress was moving much too fast to give away their money without putting any safeguards in place. Larson, who voted in favor of the $700 billion bailout bill that failed Monday in the House of Representatives, told the crowd that he understood their frustration and anger, but that it was due partly to miscommunication by the press and lawmakers. The East Hartford Democrat convened a panel of local bankers and business, housing, and union leaders Wednesday to help explain the dilemma and the urgent need to fix it. John Patrick, president and chief executive officer of Farmington Savings Bank, insisted that his bank and other Connecticut institutions ? the so-called Main Street affected by the Wall Street downfall ? were solvent, even though financial giants around the country are collapsing. ?No jail ? no bail,? Windsor resident Allyn Nelson told the panel. ?I?m not Main Street ? I?m a back road, and there?s been no good explanation for this ? give me the cause! Give me some details!? Larson explained that the removal of certain pieces of regulation, primarily the Glass-Spiegel Act, also known as Glass-Steagall, created a ?freewheeling cowboy mentality? among bankers and on Wall Street that led to the recent mortgage meltdown. ?We?re going to put out the fire and go after the arsonists,? Larson told the crowd. ?But we have to stop it now.? The revived rescue package, passed Wednesday night by the Senate and now headed to the House, would let the government spend billions of dollars to buy bad mortgage-related securities and other devalued assets held by troubled financial institutions. If successful, advocates say, that would allow frozen credit to begin flowing again and prevent a serious recession. Windsor Locks resident Douglas Glazier wanted to know why Congress failed to see the breakdown coming. ?For the last four years there have been so many warnings about the chaos we?re seeing now in sub-prime mortgages,? Glazier told Larson. ?Even in 2006 Alan Greenspan warned Congress it was coming. It?s beyond my comprehension that something couldn?t be done sooner.? Larson, who is seeking re-election in the 1st District, which includes the towns of East Hartford, East Windsor, Manchester, South Windsor, Windsor, and Windsor Locks, said part of the reason is politics. ?That?s what happens when you have the fox guarding the hen house,? he said. Stephen Fournier, a Hartford lawyer and Green Party candidate for Larson?s seat, told Larson to use his muscle now and regulate later. ?What?s the hurry? We?re hearing from the panel that our banks are all solvent. You?ve got the leverage now ? use it,? Fournier said to a round of applause. Larson disagreed, saying the bleeding had to be stopped now to avert a larger crisis. A trickle-down effect will occur where no lending will take place and small businesses will soon have trouble making payroll, he said. Larger corporations, like United Technologies Corp., can weather a delay but their suppliers, the smaller mom-and-pop businesses, can?t, he said. And while Connecticut banks and mortgage lenders were ?ahead of the curve? by not writing any sub-prime notes, ?I honestly believe that not all the shoes have fallen yet.? Larson said. Manchester resident Kathleen Grover asked Larson what the chances were for passing the revised package and getting President Bush to sign on. ?I think the intensity of outrage and anger has grown, but also I think there is potential danger as well,? Larson told her. ?I believe it will pass, be strengthened and improved.? Measures have to be put into play now, Larson said, before leaving for Washington. ?We?re not playing with fire, we?re playing with nitroglycerin and people are going to get burned,? Larson told the crowd. Copyright ? 2008 - Journal Inquirer ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- Be Yourself @ mail.com! Choose From 200+ Email Addresses Get a Free Account at www.mail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Fri Oct 3 21:52:44 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Sat, 4 Oct 2008 01:52:44 +0000 Subject: {news} Stamford Times on debate exclusion In-Reply-To: <21f4f7390810031643y471a422cnbc5b79408171cd56@mail.gmail.com> References: <19B30A841BDB44BA9B38D44CB681AEC4@toshibauser> <21f4f7390810031643y471a422cnbc5b79408171cd56@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: Note: Ralph Nader is going to speak Saturday in Waterbury, Hartford, and Storrs about the exclusion of third-party candidates from debates. http://thestamfordtimes.com/story/425115 Third party candidates barred from debates By CHASE WRIGHT cwright@ thestamfordtimes.com STAMFORD -- Green and Independent party candidates are expressing their frustration upon hearing that no third-party candidate will be allowed to participate this year in any of Connecticut's Congressional election debates sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Connecticut (LWVC). An e-mail sent to five aspiring candidates Monday highlighted insufficient campaign funds, failure to document positions and insignificant voter outreach as reason for the exclusion. "The committee made a determination that your candidacy does not meet all of our criteria," wrote the League's vice president, Pat Donovan. "Therefore, unfortunately, we must deny your eligibility to participate in League-sponsored debates during the 2008 election season." The candidates excluded-- Stephen Fournier, running for 1st Congressional District as a member of the Green Party, Scott Deshefy, a Green 2nd District candidate, Richard Duffee, a Green 4th District candidate, Harold Burbank, a Green 5th District candidate and Thomas Winn, running for the 5th Congressional District as an Independent -- expressed outrage upon hearing of the League's decision. Duffee called the League's judgment system, "sorely lacking." He said the LWV's criteria should be based on a candidates' ability to access a ballot, not their level of funding. But Donovan disagreed. She said that obtaining the required number of signatures to run for office does not translate into voter support, siting the candidacy of Lee Whitnum as an example. Whitnum collected 5,000 signatures in August to run for a seat on the 4th Congressional District, yet she received just 1,900 votes in the district-wide primary against Jim Himes. Donovan added that the League is working with a limited timetable and can only give attention to candidates who have a real chance at being elected. Unfortunately, she said, those candidates are usually the one's with the most money. Duffee said the League never specified the level of monetary funding required to run an effective campaign. He criticized the League's decision while observing that in 2006, the League admitted Libertarian candidate Phil Maymin into debates after he raised $8,000. Duffee's campaign has raised over $9,000 thus far, he said. "In terms of position papers, my website has more documentation than [Democratic candidate] Jim Himes," he said. "And as for outreach, I was told that the League wanted to see lawn signs or bumper stickers around the district. As an environmental party that refuses corporate funding, these are hardly things we can be enthusiastic about." Burbank said the League's rigid rejection criteria reveals the problem of illegitimate democracy in this country. "Apparently the League believes in corporate sponsored campaigns alone, which is plainly where the major parties get their millions of dollars to run campaigns," said Burbank. "My experience tells me the voters do not support just corporate candidates; but rather the opposite. They still believe in one (wo)man, one vote, open elections, open election processes and open debates." Burbank promised to stage protests at each of the League sponsored debates. His campaign has already rented a room near the debate hall for the scheduled debate in Litchfield on Oct. 22. Other institutions are also raising arms over the League's decision. Central Connecticut State University, who has a debate scheduled at the university's Thorpe Theater on Oct. 11, recently announced they're dropping the League's sponsorship of the debate for failing to include all candidates of the 5th District, as the League originally said they would. Burbank was among the first to hear of CCSU's decision and applauded the university's commitment to democracy. So far, the League has scheduled five debates throughout the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th Districts, said Donovan. She noted that while the candidates are not allowed to participate in the League's debates, they can still take advantage of the On-Line Voters' Guide, which receives more 100,000 unique visitors annually. "We've done what we can to accommodate everyone," said Donovan. "But we have a limited amount of time in our debates, and we can only give that time to the people most likely to be elected." "That's nonsense," said Deshefy. "If I didn't feel I had a legitimate chance at being elected, I wouldn't be running." He said the League made it's decision simply to keep the two giant political powers -- Republican and Democrat -- in power. What the League's criteria shows, said Deshefy, is the political process goes to the highest bidder and shuns grassroots campaigns that refuse corporate sponsorship. "If we're ever going to achieve democracy, which I believe we have yet to achieve, we're going to have to do away the corruption and injustice of the current electoral system," he said. _________________________________________________________________ Get more out of the Web. Learn 10 hidden secrets of Windows Live. http://windowslive.com/connect/post/jamiethomson.spaces.live.com-Blog-cns!550F681DAD532637!5295.entry?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_domore_092008 From timmckee at mail.com Sat Oct 4 08:24:35 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Sat, 4 Oct 2008 07:24:35 -0500 Subject: {news} Please forward to all lists! _ Deshefy Green Party events Message-ID: <20081004122435.0131B1CE8FB@ws1-6.us4.outblaze.com> GREEN PARTY OF CONNECTICUT News Release- October 3, 2008- for immediate release CONTACT: Scott Deshefy, Candidate for 2nd District Congress-(860) 642-7066 Tim McKee, CT Green Party spokesperson, cell (860) 860-778-1304 (Best) or (860)-643-2282, timmckee at mail.com Mike DeRosa, State Co-Chair (860)956-8170 or (860) 919-4042 (cell) DESHEFY TO APPEAR WITH NADER, PROTEST NEW LONDON DEBATE EXCLUSION The Scott Deshefy for Congress campaign announced two events today. Deshefy will speak and introduce Presidential candidate Ralph Nader at an event on Saturday October 4 at 7 pm at Edwin O. Smith High School , 1235 Storrs Rd., Storrs, CT. Deshefy will speak about issues in Second Congressional race and give a brief history of Nader before he speaks. A protest rally will be on Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at the New London Garde Arts Center, 325 State Street. beginning at 6 pm as a result of being excluded in a state wide televised broadcast debate by the League of Women Voters, after first being included in the debates. Protestors will be outside the theater to rally before the event. 275 tickets to the event were given out to the Deshefy campaign and distributed already. as well as 25 VIP tickets which Deshefy hopes the League of Women Voters will honor, but has not confirmed that they will. Green Party supporters quickly took the tickets and were looking forward to the only state wide televised debate. He stressed that while the campaign will protest OUTSIDE the event, there are no plans to disturbs the event as it happens, and that many of the Green Party VIP ticket holders will discuss their views with the other candidates after the debate. #End of Release ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- Be Yourself @ mail.com! Choose From 200+ Email Addresses Get a Free Account at www.mail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rstuller at snet.net Sat Oct 4 15:42:49 2008 From: rstuller at snet.net (Ronna Stuller) Date: Sat, 4 Oct 2008 15:42:49 -0400 Subject: {news} Please forward to all lists! _ Deshefy Green Party events In-Reply-To: <20081004122435.0131B1CE8FB@ws1-6.us4.outblaze.com> References: <20081004122435.0131B1CE8FB@ws1-6.us4.outblaze.com> Message-ID: Who is planning to come down to New London to participate in the protest? We will be doing some planning at tomorrow's chapter meeting, and it would be good to know approximately how many people will be involved. Ronna On Oct 4, 2008, at 8:24 AM, Tim McKee wrote: > GREEN PARTY OF CONNECTICUT > > News Release- October 3, 2008- for immediate release > > CONTACT: Scott Deshefy, Candidate for 2nd District Congress-(860) > 642-7066 > Tim McKee, CT Green Party spokesperson, cell (860) 860-778-1304 > (Best) or (860)-643-2282, timmckee at mail.com > Mike DeRosa, State Co-Chair (860)956-8170 or (860) 919-4042 (cell) > > DESHEFY TO APPEAR WITH NADER, PROTEST NEW LONDON DEBATE EXCLUSION > > The Scott Deshefy for Congress campaign announced two events today. > Deshefy will speak and introduce Presidential candidate Ralph Nader > at an event on Saturday October 4 at 7 pm at Edwin O. Smith High > School , 1235 Storrs Rd., Storrs, CT. Deshefy will speak about > issues in Second Congressional race and give a brief history of > Nader before he speaks. > > A protest rally will be on Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at the New > London Garde Arts Center, 325 State Street. beginning at 6 pm as a > result of being excluded in a state wide televised broadcast debate > by the League of Women Voters, after first being included in the > debates. Protestors will be outside the theater to rally before the > event. > > 275 tickets to the event were given out to the Deshefy campaign and > distributed already. as well as 25 VIP tickets which Deshefy hopes > the League of Women Voters will honor, but has not confirmed that > they will. Green Party supporters quickly took the tickets and were > looking forward to the only state wide televised debate. > > He stressed that while the campaign will protest OUTSIDE the event, > there are no plans to disturbs the event as it happens, and that > many of the Green Party VIP ticket holders will discuss their views > with the other candidates after the debate. > > #End of Release > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From timmckee at mail.com Sat Oct 4 15:47:23 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Sat, 4 Oct 2008 14:47:23 -0500 Subject: [CTGP-candidates] Re: {news} Please forward to all lists! _ Deshefy Green Party events Message-ID: <20081004194723.A08961059C@ws1-3.us4.outblaze.com> i am one ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ronna Stuller" To: "CT Greens News" , ctgp-candidates at yahoogroups.com Subject: [CTGP-candidates] Re: {news} Please forward to all lists! _ Deshefy Green Party events Date: Sat, 4 Oct 2008 15:42:49 -0400 Who is planning to come down to New London to participate in the protest? We will be doing some planning at tomorrow's chapter meeting, and it would be good to know approximately how many people will be involved. Ronna On Oct 4, 2008, at 8:24 AM, Tim McKee wrote: > GREEN PARTY OF CONNECTICUT > > News Release- October 3, 2008- for immediate release > > CONTACT: Scott Deshefy, Candidate for 2nd District Congress-(860) > 642-7066 > Tim McKee, CT Green Party spokesperson, cell (860) 860-778-1304 > (Best) or (860)-643-2282, timmckee at mail.com > Mike DeRosa, State Co-Chair (860)956-8170 or (860) 919-4042 (cell) > > DESHEFY TO APPEAR WITH NADER, PROTEST NEW LONDON DEBATE EXCLUSION > > The Scott Deshefy for Congress campaign announced two events today. > Deshefy will speak and introduce Presidential candidate Ralph Nader > at an event on Saturday October 4 at 7 pm at Edwin O. Smith High > School , 1235 Storrs Rd., Storrs, CT. Deshefy will speak about > issues in Second Congressional race and give a brief history of > Nader before he speaks. > > A protest rally will be on Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at the New > London Garde Arts Center, 325 State Street. beginning at 6 pm as a > result of being excluded in a state wide televised broadcast debate > by the League of Women Voters, after first being included in the > debates. Protestors will be outside the theater to rally before the > event. > > 275 tickets to the event were given out to the Deshefy campaign and > distributed already. as well as 25 VIP tickets which Deshefy hopes > the League of Women Voters will honor, but has not confirmed that > they will. Green Party supporters quickly took the tickets and were > looking forward to the only state wide televised debate. > > He stressed that while the campaign will protest OUTSIDE the event, > there are no plans to disturbs the event as it happens, and that > many of the Green Party VIP ticket holders will discuss their views > with the other candidates after the debate. > > #End of Release > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] __._,_.___Messages in this topic (2) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic Messages | Files | Photos | Links | Database | Polls | Members | CalendarYahoo! Groups Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe Visit Your Group Yahoo! News Fashion News What's the word on fashion and style? Yahoo! Groups Everyday Wellness Zone Check out featured healthy living groups. Move More on Yahoo! Groups This is your life not a phys-ed class. .[IMAGE] __,_._,___ ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- Be Yourself @ mail.com! Choose From 200+ Email Addresses Get a Free Account at www.mail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rstuller at snet.net Sun Oct 5 22:51:59 2008 From: rstuller at snet.net (Ronna Stuller) Date: Sun, 5 Oct 2008 22:51:59 -0400 Subject: [CTGP-candidates] Re: {news} Please forward to all lists! _ Deshefy Green Party events In-Reply-To: <20081004194723.A08961059C@ws1-3.us4.outblaze.com> References: <20081004194723.A08961059C@ws1-3.us4.outblaze.com> Message-ID: Hi all, Here is the tentative plan for Tuesday's pre- and post-debate activities: NL Greens will get a room within a block of the Garde (there are a few possibilities - we'll have more details tomorrow) where Scott will be able to address a group and meet-and-greet people between 6-6:40 (doors close at 6:45) and from ~8:15 on. Ken will park his truck near the Garde earlier in the day, and shortly before 6 we will uncover signs on the truck directing people to our alternative event, and also general ones for for Scott and GP. We will print out several hundred handouts about "the candidate you will NOT see in tonight's debate" and give them to debate goers as they enter the Garde. Seven people who attended tonight's chapter meeting have committed to coming to the demonstration. I will send information out to the NL Greens and the SECT Peace & Justice lists (& to other locals who might be interested) to encourage people to come, so hopefully will have a better number tomorrow. I think that's all for now. Peace, Ronna On Oct 4, 2008, at 3:47 PM, Tim McKee wrote: > i am one > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ronna Stuller" > To: "CT Greens News" , ctgp-candidates at yahoogroups.com > Subject: [CTGP-candidates] Re: {news} Please forward to all lists! _ > Deshefy Green Party events > Date: Sat, 4 Oct 2008 15:42:49 -0400 > > Who is planning to come down to New London to participate in the > protest? We will be doing some planning at tomorrow's chapter > meeting, and it would be good to know approximately how many people > will be involved. > > Ronna > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From timmckee at mail.com Mon Oct 6 14:22:43 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2008 13:22:43 -0500 Subject: {news} BIG NEWS! Sierra Club endorses Jesse Johnson for WV Gov. Message-ID: <20081006182243.6082C47808F@ws1-5.us4.outblaze.com> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott McLarty" To: natlcomaffairs at green.gpus.org Subject: [usgp-dx] Sierra Club release: Sierra Club endorses Jesse Johnson for WV Gov. (fwd) Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2008 13:32:29 +0000 ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- Be Yourself @ mail.com! Choose From 200+ Email Addresses Get a Free Account at www.mail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: Scott McLarty Subject: [usgp-dx] Sierra Club release: Sierra Club endorses Jesse Johnson for WV Gov. (fwd) Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2008 13:32:29 +0000 Size: 8067 URL: From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Tue Oct 7 18:39:17 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2008 18:39:17 -0400 Subject: {news} Duffee calls for instant runoff voting Message-ID: See party enrollment statistics and Richard Duffee's comments at the end of this article about the 4th District Libertarian candidate. http://www.connpost.com/ci_10630982 Candidate's residency not a problem By KEN DIXON Staff writer Article Last Updated: 10/03/2008 09:50:33 PM EDT HARTFORD -- The Libertarian Party's candidate for the 4th Congressional District doesn't live in southwestern Connecticut, but he has the power of the United States Constitution behind his bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays. While he's a long shot underdog, along with Green Party candidate Richard Z. Duffee, of Stamford, Libertarian Michael Anthony Carrano, of North Haven, could attract just enough votes to determine who wins the Nov. 4 balloting. Neither Carrano nor Duffee can match the funding and mainstream-political recognition of incumbent Shays, of Bridgeport, or Democratic challenger Jim Himes, of Greenwich. But Gary L. Rose, chairman of the Department of Government and Politics at Sacred Heart University said in a close Shays/Himes race, both Carrano and Duffee could make a difference, even if their candidacies are marginal at best. "I would say the Libertarian candidate doesn't have a chance at all, but given the dynamics of the 4th District, a third-party candidate could be a spoiler," Rose said. Carrano could not be reached for comment Friday. His eligibility was confirmed Friday by attorneys in the office of Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, who cited Article I, section 2 of the U.S. Constitution that merely requires House candidates to be 25 years old, a citizen of the United States for seven years and an "inhabitant" of the state. Richard Lion, chairman of the Libertarian Party's State Central Committee, agreed that Carrano, who was selected by a party committee, doesn't have much of a chance on Election Day. "I think any Libertarian tends to be a longshot," Lion said Friday, adding that "I guess it would be up to him" as to whether Carrano ever actually moves into the district. Rose said that even though the Constitution only requires congressional candidates reside in the state, voters expect their federal representatives to live in their districts. "The perception is, even though it's not a requirement, the American people, they expect people to be a resident as well," Rose said in a Friday phone interview. "The two go hand in hand. It's unusual that someone would try to do this." Voters need to know that a representative in Congress faces some of the same daily issues that they do, he said. "While I guess you could say legally he's OK, I've yet to know of a congressional candidate who doesn't live in the district," Rose said. "It's almost a presumption to claim he understands the needs of the 4th District. Maybe it's not legally wrong, but politically it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense and it's almost disrespectful." Last year, former New York Rangers goaltender, Mike Richter, of Guilford, in the 3rd Congressional District, explored, then dropped the possibility of seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Shays. Statewide, there are about 2,151 Green Party members and about 1,147 members of the Libertarian Party, according to the secretary of the state. In the 2006 election, Shays won with 106,510 votes compared to 99,450 for Democrat Diane Farrell. Libertarian Philip Z. Maymin received 3,058 votes. Shays won by 5,747 votes. Duffee, in a phone interview Friday, said the state's voting system is rigged to keep Democrats and Republicans in power. "The thing that the Democrats and Republicans always want you to forget about is the spoiler issue is their choice," said Duffee, stressing that the state should adopt the so-called instant runoff form of voting that was adopted this year in Vermont to give third-party and petitioning candidates a better chance. "If you get rid of the spoiler issue, then nobody has to worry about it and then third parties will grow," said Duffee, a lawyer. "The primary reason third parties aren't growing, is people think they've wasted their vote." From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Wed Oct 8 22:11:54 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Wed, 8 Oct 2008 22:11:54 -0400 Subject: {news} Fairfield County Weekly on Duffee's exclusion Message-ID: http://www.fairfieldweekly.com/article.cfm?aid=9953 Injustice League? The state League of Women Voters isn't inviting any third party candidates to its congressional debates. Some branches, including Norwalk's, are upset. Thursday, October 09, 2008 By Chandra Niles Folsom The controversy over the Connecticut League of Women Voters' decision to bar every third party candidate from its congressional debates has caused the Norwalk chapter to cancel its forum for the Fourth District seat. Incumbent Republican Rep. Chris Shays is being challenged by Democrat Jim Himes. Libertarian Michael Anthony Carrano and Green Party candidate Richard Duffee (who ran for Shays' seat in 2006) are also running but they didn't get invites to the LWV debate planned for Norwalk or the one still scheduled for Wilton. This was not okay with Diane Lauricella, president of the Norwalk chapter, one of 32 LWV branches across the state. Late last week, she called a meeting among group members in an attempt to rectify the issue but, as of now, it seems they may be in a league of their own. "On a local level, the Norwalk chapter has historically allowed third party candidates in mayoral debates," says Lauricella. "We have a track record of being open and are disappointed that our state League does not allow the criteria to meet the bar." Connecticut LWV Vice President Pat Donovan, who did not return phone calls from the Weekly, sent a letter to several third party candidates that stated: "Using criteria reaffirmed by the League of Women Voters in April of 2007, and re-affirmed in April 2008, the committee made a determination that your candidacy does not meet all of our criteria. Therefore, unfortunately, we must deny your eligibility to participate in League-sponsored debates during the 2008 election season." Criteria mentioned by Donovan included documentation of campaign positions, amount of funds and success in voter outreach. League officials at the state level say that all third party candidates running for Congress this year failed to meet these standards. The League is sponsoring debates in the three of Connecticut's five congressional districts where competitive races are occurring, and all will be between only the Democratic and Republican candidates. Duffee voiced outrage at what he views as the state League's lack of democratic spirit. "They have denied eligibility and stonewalled us, they won't state their standards publicly and they won't state their appeals procedures either," says Duffee. "I've raised over $9,000 and yet they won't let me in." In 2006, the League allowed Libertarian candidate Phil Maymin (who later became a regular columnist for the Weekly) to debate when he had raised only $8,000. "But beside that, nowhere has the League published the level of funding they consider a threshold to legitimacy," says Duffee. "And in terms of position papers, I have 23 positions and Himes has only 16." Duffee blames the LWV at the state level for the debacle. He thanks the Norwalk chapter for its efforts to work out a reasonable solution. "As for outreach, I was told that the League wanted to see lawn signs or bumper stickers around the district," says Duffee. "As an environmental party that refuses corporate funding, these are hardly things we can be enthusiastic about." In 2006, Shays won 106,510 votes compared to 99,450 for Democrat Diane Farrell, Westport's former first selectwoman. Maymin received 3,058 votes, and Duffee, whose supporters saw his potential to draw votes from Farrell in a close race, threw his support behind her. Statewide, there are 2,151 Green Party members and 1,147 Libertarians, according to the Secretary of State's office. "I had wanted to find out about the process to screen candidates and am still waiting to find out about the appeals process," says Lauricella. "I did research and reviewed Duffee's criteria and spoke with members of the League but did not receive any information back about what the appeals process included but found that Duffee and others were rejected." It's unknown if the Wilton LWV, the only other branch sponsoring a debate in the Fourth District, has similar reservations. President Catharine Kempson did not return calls by press time. Last week, Central Connecticut State University canceled the LWV's sponsorship of a debate for prohibiting third party candidates. There, the Green Party's Harold Burbank II, independent Thomas Winn and Republican State Sen. David Cappiello are challenging first-term Democratic Rep. Chris Murphy in the Fifth District. The League has no debates scheduled for the first or third districts where the Democratic incumbents are up against underfunded, long-shot challengers. "We are all members of a team," says Lauricella. "But like any other organization there are going to be times when not everyone agrees. The state board is different than the local. We shouldn't be judged on this one matter. I'm not the only local president who is disappointed. So is the southeastern president. On this one issue the system didn't work well, so we will be looking into making changes." From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Wed Oct 8 22:24:59 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Wed, 8 Oct 2008 22:24:59 -0400 Subject: {news} Fw: SEE LEGAL HISTORY MADE THIS FRIDAY: Oral argument in Green party Litigation Message-ID: ----- Original Message ----- From: Mike DeRosa To: CTGP-candidates at yahoogroups.com ; DuffeeCommittee at yahoogroups.com ; ctgp-news-bounces@ ml.greens.org Cc: 'Richard Duffee' ; 'David Bedell' ; 'RemyC' ; 'Harold Burbank II' ; 'Steve Fournier' ; 'Scott Deshefy' ; 'RALPH FERRUCCI' ; 'Mike DeRosa' ; 'Charlie Pillsbury' Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2008 3:45 PM Subject: SEE LEGAL HISTORY MADE THIS FRIDAY: Oral argument in Green party Litigation Greens: Come see and hear legal history made in CT and the U.S. We are very close to victory in our lawsuit to overturn the draconian CT finance law. Judge Underhill indicated at the last hearing that he would rule in our favor by summary judgment. Come here the legal arguments from each side and give support to our possible victory (against all odds) against the discriminatory and arbitrary law that was designed to keep us from ever getting a nickel from the CT campaign finance law. If we win you can tell your grandchildren about this one! When: This Friday Oct 10th 2PM. What: Oral arguments for our motion for summary judgment against the State of CT"s draconian campaign finance law(Some say on par with Erin Brockovich and Better than A Civil Action: come judge for yourself). Where: United States District Court, Bridgeport CT Written Directions: Directions to United States District Court 9 1 5 L a f a y e t t e B o u l e v a r d B r i d g e p o r t, C T 0 6 6 04 ( 2 0 3 ) 5 7 9 - 5 8 6 1 North Follow Interstate 95 south to Exit 27 (Lafayette Blvd), bear right onto Lafayette Boulevard, proceed to the third traffic light. The Courthouse is on your left. Take a right onto State Street and immediately get into the left lane. The parking garage is the first parking garage on your left (diagonally across from the Courthouse). South Follow Interstate 95 north to Exit 27 (Lafayette Blvd), proceed straight to the third traffic light. Take a left onto Lafayette Boulevard, go to the fourth traffic light. The Courthouse is on your left. Take a right onto State Street and immediately get into the left lane. The parking garage is the first parking garage on your left (diagonally across from the Courthouse). Coming South on Route 25/8 Follow Route 25/8 to Exit 2 (Fairfield Avenue), proceed straight to the third traffic light. You are now facing the side of the Courthouse. Take a left onto State Street, proceed past the first traffic light. The parking garage is the first parking garage on your left (diagonally across from the Courthouse). Coming from the Merritt Parkway Northbound - Exit 49S, follow Route 25/8 directions above. Southbound - Exit 52, follow Route 25/8 directions above. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Wed Oct 8 22:52:05 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Wed, 8 Oct 2008 22:52:05 -0400 Subject: {news} Norwalk Hour on Duffee's exclusion Message-ID: http://www.thehour.com/story/421548 http://www.wiltonvillager.com/story/421548 Green candidate not allowed at Wilton debate By ROBERT KOCH rkoch@ wiltonvillager.com WILTON -- Richard Z. Duffee, who is running against U.S. Rep. Christopher R. Shays in the 4th Congressional District, and two other Green Party candidates are crying foul this week after not being allowed to participate in debates sponsored by The League of Women Voters of Connecticut. "The Constitution and state laws have no monetary requirement for Congressional candidacy. Besides, nowhere has the League published the level of funding they consider a threshold to legitimacy," said Duffee in a press statement that included quotes from two other Green Party candidates excluded from the debates. The League of Women Voters has scheduled a 4th Congressional District debate for Sunday, Oct. 19, at Wilton High School, according to Diane Lauricella, president of the League of Women Voters of Norwalk. In an e-mail to Duffee earlier this week, Pat Donovan, vice president of voter service for the state League, wrote that a committee of the organization's board of directors met to review materials submitted by Congressional candidates "to assess their eligibility for participation in League-sponsored candidate debates." "Using criteria reaffirmed by the League of Women Voters in April 2007, and re-affirmed in April 2008, the committee made a determination that your candidacy does not meet all of our criteria," Donovan wrote. "Therefore, unfortunately, we must deny your eligibility to participate in League-sponsored debates during the 2008 election season." In the e-mail, Donovan wrote that the review committee was unconvinced that Duffee's campaign is "funded adequately to undertake an election for a competitive Congressional seat," and that committee members did not find "sufficient documentation -- position papers, writings, or other publications" from him. In addition, committee members didn't believe that materials submitted by Duffee "showed sufficient evidence of voter outreach activities," according to the e-mail. Donovan could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon. To be invited to participate in a League-sponsored debate, a candidate must have ballot access, a formal campaign, broad voters support and financial support, according to the state League's Web site. "Those are rubrics," Duffee said. "Those are categories, those are no standards." Duffee rejects that his campaign is inadequately funded to run a competitive campaign. He said he has raised $9,735 against $8,000 raised by raised by Phil Myman, the Libertarian candidate who was permitted to participate in a League-sponsored 4th District debate 2006. Harold Burbank, Green Party candidate in the 5th District, and G. Scott Deshefy, Green Party candidate in the 2nd District, are also protesting not being allowed in this year's League-sponsored debates. Deshefy labeled the decision "a sad day for democracy in Connecticut." Locally, Lauricella said she has spoken with Duffee and Donovan, and is now attempting to mediate between him and the state League. She expressed hope the matter can be resolved, although it may involve an appeal. "I can understand why (Duffee, Burbank and Deshefy) might be unhappy with the initial decision, but again, there is an appeal process," Lauricella said. "I am currently reviewing the criteria. I'm reviewing the materials submitted (by Duffee). Members of my board that I could reach, we're all feeling that, if at all possible, we would like to continue an open process for viable, third-party candidates." "So I think we'll be able to resolve this," Lauricella said. Duffee said he will appeal the League decision. At the same time, Duffee indicated that he doesn't believe it should come to an appeal to be permitted to participate in the debates. Said Duffee: "My belief is that they did not examine the information they already have (from me)." From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Thu Oct 9 00:00:36 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2008 00:00:36 -0400 Subject: {news} Courant: more on Burbank's exclusion Message-ID: http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hcu-5thdebate-1007,0,7188325.story 5th Congressional District Debate Scrapped By DANIELA ALTIMARI The Hartford Courant 4:26 PM EDT, October 7, 2008 A scheduled debate Saturday between the 5th District congressional candidates at Central Connecticut State University has been scrapped. University officials said they could not host the League of Women Voters face-off unless two third-party candidates, Canton attorney Harold Burbank, a member of the Green Party, and Thomas Winn of the Independent Party, were invited. "We have a set of criteria for League-sponsored debates ... but the university felt everyone on the ballot needed to be included,'' said Jara Burnett, president of the League of Women Voters of Connecticut. Mark McLaughlin, Central's associate vice president, said the university is bound by IRS rules as both a governmental entity and a nonprofit organization to provide equal opportunity to everyone on the ballot. U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, a Democrat, and Republican David Cappiello will square off for the first time Wednesday, Oct. 15, at noon at the Courtyard by Marriott in downtown Waterbury. It is being organized by the Waterbury Regional Chamber of Commerce. The minor party candidates were not invited. Copyright ? 2008, The Hartford Courant From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Thu Oct 9 00:36:33 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2008 00:36:33 -0400 Subject: {news} Scott Deshefy's stump speech audiofile Message-ID: Listen to Scott Deshefy's October 4 stump speech in Storrs: http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/29576 David Bedell From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Thu Oct 9 00:38:20 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2008 00:38:20 -0400 Subject: {news} Norwich Bulletin on Deshefy's exclusion Message-ID: http://www.norwichbulletin.com/homepage/x1272963745/Courtney-Sullivan-debating-in-New-London Courtney, Sullivan spar on economy, defense By MICHAEL GANNON Norwich Bulletin Posted Oct 07, 2008 @ 07:33 PM New London, Conn. - The second-most watched debate in the region Tuesday night featured the first formal exchange between U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney D-2nd District, and his Republican challenger, Sean Sullivan. More than 460 people came to the Garde Arts Center for the match-up of Courtney, the freshman congressman, and Sullivan, the retired naval officer and former commander of the Naval Submarine Base in Groton. Both men focused primarily on the economy and their ability to deal with military and defense issues. Addressing U.S. debt, Courtney said he would like to return to pay-as-you-go budgeting rules that were used in the 1990s. "Those brought chronic deficits to zero, and then resulted in a surplus," he said. "We were in a very strong position. But the Bush administration has thrown fiscal discipline out the window for the last six years, (including) two wars with no way to pay for them." He called several Bush tax cuts irresponsible. Sullivan said the country must control spending. "You stand here and blame all of this on President Bush," Sullivan said. "But this year's budget is up $400 billion, and that's before the bailout. And not one dime is spent by the president of the United States. Courtney said he would bridge the gap between the wealthy and middle class by investing in education. He touted his support for grant and loan programs that make college more affordable, and the new G.I. Bill, which provides more education benefits for veterans. Sullivan, answering the same question, said he would do so by investing in energy production in all forms, including more oil drilling, nuclear and renewable sources. On health care, Courtney criticized the White House for vetoing a bill that would have provided health care to millions of children. Sullivan said health care programs should be run by the states, even when funded by federal programs. On the Middle East, Sullivan favors using a naval strategy as the fight shifts to Afghanistan, using sea-launched cruise missiles to hit terrorist targets. Courtney favors inserting up to three more divisions of troops. Green Party candidate G. Scott Deshefy was outside the theater, but will be included in some of the remaining debates. He and other Green Party candidates were rejected by the League of Women Voters, sponsors of Tuesday' s debate, for a lack of fundraising and broad voter support. "And they tell us freedom of speech is free," Deshefy supporter Andy Derr of New London said. Copyright ? 2008 GateHouse Media, Inc. Some Rights Reserved. From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Thu Oct 9 01:12:55 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2008 01:12:55 -0400 Subject: {news} CT-N video of 1st District candidates' forum, Manchester Message-ID: Watch Steve Fournier, John Larson, and Joe Visconti in forum at St. Bridget Church, Manchester, 10/5/08: http://www.ctn.state.ct.us/show_info.asp?mbID=13611 David Bedell From chapillsbury at igc.org Wed Oct 8 16:12:10 2008 From: chapillsbury at igc.org (Charlie Pillsbury) Date: Wed, 8 Oct 2008 16:12:10 -0400 Subject: {news} NHGP Meeting tomorrow-Thurs. 7:30PM-putting party into party In-Reply-To: <974050.78920.qm@web82304.mail.mud.yahoo.com> References: <974050.78920.qm@web82304.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <00a501c92982$26f6b700$74e42500$@org> Please NOTE: The Never Ending Book Store, 810 State Street space is double-booked tomorrow night. We will gather there at 7:30pm, but by 8:00pm we will have to move up the street to Christopher Martin's, unless someone suggests a better place nearby to move our meeting/party. (I'll buy nonalcoholic beverages; anything else, it's everyone for themselves). See you tomorrow, Charlie 640-3889 (cell) From: newhavengreens at yahoogroups.com On Behalf Of Jerry Martin Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2008 5:01 PM Subject: [newhavengreens] NHGP Meeting The monthly meeting of the New Haven Green Party will be held on Thursday, October 9th at 7:30 PM at the Never Ending Book Store, 810 State Street, New Haven. The agenda will include planning for the Election Day get out the vote effort and proposed changes in the GPCT By-laws defining Party membership. Please let me know if there is anything that you would like to add to the agenda. Jerry Martin 497-8875 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From richard.duffee at gmail.com Thu Oct 9 08:35:40 2008 From: richard.duffee at gmail.com (Richard Duffee) Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2008 08:35:40 -0400 Subject: {news} Scott Deshefy's stump speech audiofile In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <21f4f7390810090535h38ad1740h2e432d28853ce85@mail.gmail.com> That's the first classical political speech I've heard from any of us. I've heard lots of conviction from us before on lots of subjects, but I've never before heard conviction that we're going to win. It's a speech from before the days of television, when rhetoric was an art form, when details were chosen for their vividness and salience to the theme, when all the essentials had to be stated, when everything had to be arranged in one melodic flow toward one point: that one will win because one must win for goodness and truth to prevail. It is foursquare in the middle of what the US has always meant by idealism. I haven't heard it from anyone for a long time. It's like reading the classified section and coming upon a sonnet. Richard On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 12:36 AM, David Bedell 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 > Listen to Scott Deshefy's October 4 stump speech in Storrs: > > http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/29576 > > > > David Bedell > 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 > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From richard.duffee at gmail.com Thu Oct 9 09:17:28 2008 From: richard.duffee at gmail.com (Richard Duffee) Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2008 09:17:28 -0400 Subject: {news} Re: [DeshefyForCongress] Scott Deshefy's stump speech audiofile In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <21f4f7390810090617v543bc7ffq346f6dca95eb7049@mail.gmail.com> Everything is strung together on the thread of hope. That's what we've been missing. Our moral environment, corrupted by empire and viciously competitive capitalism, substitutes victory for hope, but no country can survive on mere victory because that's always just the flip side of someone else's defeat. Horrified by the sleezy implications of victory and depressed by witnessing the victory of sleezeballs, we've held back from doing what Scott is doing. But Scott has it right: he has actual hope. Government is supposed to serve the commonwealth, so competition can never be its basis, but always has to be only a consequence of a unifying force: actual hope for a common future. Lots of politicians--like Fiorella LaGuardia and LaFollette--had that before World War II, and lots of them, like Kennedy and Humphrey, could still remember and imitate through the 1960's and even until Carter's fall. The last time I heard it was in some of Mario Cuomo's speeches. A fake version of it came back with Clinton. But I think Scott's got the real thing again. I listen to that speech and I can recognize the reasons for the rhetorical forms of classic speeches. Scott clearly understands the reasons for each of them because everything is in the right place whereas in other stump speeches I hear they're just jumbled up at random. He uses them as he does because together they convey actual hope. I hope we can all learn from you, Scott! Richard On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 12:36 AM, David Bedell wrote: > Listen to Scott Deshefy's October 4 stump speech in Storrs: > > http://www.radio4all.net/index.php/program/29576 > > David Bedell > __._,_.___ Messages in this topic > > (1) Reply (via web post) > | > Start a new topic > > Messages| > Files| > Photos| > Links| > Database| > Polls| > Members| > Calendar > [image: Yahoo! Groups] > Change settings via the Web(Yahoo! ID required) > Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest| Switch > format to Traditional > Visit Your Group > | > Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe > > Recent Activity > > - 2 > New Photos > > Visit Your Group > > Yahoo! News > > Kevin Sites > > Get coverage of > > world crises. > Health Groups > > for people over 40 > > Join people who are > > staying in shape. > Yahoo! Groups > > Real Food Group > > Share recipes > > and favorite meals. > . > > __,_._,___ > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From timmckee at mail.com Thu Oct 9 14:49:15 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2008 13:49:15 -0500 Subject: {news} Protest Fournier's exclusion OCT 23 west hartford debate Message-ID: <20081009184915.514EE1059C@ws1-3.us4.outblaze.com> WEST HARTFORD: Larson-Visconti Debate Oct. 23 ============================================= October 8, 2008 The League of Women Voters of Greater Hartford and WHC-TV of West Hartford will conduct a debate between U.S. Rep. John Larson and Republican challenger Joseph Visconti on Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. in the legislative chamber of the town hall, 50 S. Main St. The public is welcome. The debate will be televised live, then rebroadcast on Oct. 24 at 10 p.m., Oct. 30 at 10 p.m., and Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. by West Hartford's Channel 5. Related topic galleries: John Larson, West Hartford All topics Copyright ? 2008, The Hartford Courant We encourage you to share your thoughts about our stories. However, comments that are obscene, overly personal, racist or otherwise inappropriate will be removed. Because the messages are posted instantly and anonymously, Courant.com cannot vouch for their accuracy or authenticity. Report abusive posts by clicking the link found at the upper right of each item. -- Courant.com Type in your comments to post to the forum Name (appears on your post) You are currently logged in as . Not ? Name (appears on your post) Comments Type the numbers you see in the image on the right: [IMAGE] Please note by clicking on "Post Comment" you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Service and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Be polite. Inappropriate posts may be removed by the moderator. Send us your feedback. ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- Be Yourself @ mail.com! Choose From 200+ Email Addresses Get a Free Account at www.mail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Fri Oct 10 17:00:00 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:00:00 -0400 Subject: {news} Fw: VICTORY: Same-sex couples can marry in Connecticut Message-ID: Love Makes a FamilyOne more battle has been won today in our legislative agenda for Connecticut. David Bedell ----- Original Message ----- From: Anne Stanback To: dbedellgreen@ hotmail.com Sent: Friday, October 10, 2008 11:43 AM Subject: VICTORY: Same-sex couples can marry in Connecticut We are overjoyed that Connecticut's highest court has fulfilled the hopes and dreams of so many by ruling that same-sex couples are free to marry. Thanks to the Supreme Court's momentous decision in Kerrigan & Mock et al v. Department of Public Health, Connecticut is now a fairer, more equitable place for all. This historic ruling will provide additional security and respect to the thousands of loving, committed same-sex couples and their children living in our state. Love Makes a Family applauds the wisdom and fairness of the Connecticut Supreme Court. More importantly, however, future generations will recognize this court's foresight, which once again establishes Connecticut as a national leader in treating all its citizens equally in the eyes of the law. Our friends and partners at GLAD-along with their local co-counsel-deserve tremendous gratitude for the passion and legal skill they brought to this case. Special thanks must also be given to the eight plaintiff couples who have been the public faces of this historic lawsuit for the last four years. Their willingness to share their lives and dreams with the court and the people of Connecticut made today's victory possible. Finally, we want to thank the thousands and thousands of Love Makes a Family members and supporters across this state. For eight years you have worked tirelessly to educate your friends, neighbors and elected officials. You have been the voices of equality, and today your voices have been heard and heeded. Today same-sex couples, who have made a lifelong promise to take care of and be responsible for each other, celebrate being welcomed into one of society's most fundamental institutions. And today, Connecticut can proudly and appropriately claim its nickname, "The Constitution State." Sincerely, Anne Stanback LMF Executive Director P.S. Go to http://www.lmfct.org/ for all today's events, including a rally and victory party. Love Makes a Family is a statewide non-profit working for equal marriage rights for same-sex couples in Connecticut. We carry out our mission through community education, grassroots organizing, and legislative advocacy and lobbying. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Sat Oct 11 00:37:46 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:37:46 +0000 Subject: {news} Mike DeRosa in Wethersfield Post In-Reply-To: <0016e640cee8068aa00458e3ba42@google.com> References: <0016e640cee8068aa00458e3ba42@google.com> Message-ID: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20158388 Charging for the senate By: Ted Glanzer, Correspondent10/09/2008 3 candidates vie for 1st District seat Voters may forgive the candidates who are vying for the state Senate's 1st District seat for their predictable laser-like focus on blunting the impact of the economic downturn, given the most unpredictable atmosphere surrounding the meltdown of the global financial markets. While it is not yet known how far-reaching the crisis on Wall Street will affect those on Main Street, Connecticut is certain to see significant declines in tax revenue collections, as many residents in Fairfield County who work in the financial industry have their pay drastically slashed or their jobs eliminated. In addition, the current year's $300 million budget deficit could double or even triple, according to some estimates. Incumbent veteran legislator John Fonfara, a Democrat, first-time Republican challenger Barbara Ruhe and Green Party of Connecticut candidate Mike DeRosa all agree that tough choices will have to be made by whoever is sworn into office in January. They all diverge, however, as to what areas they plan on making those tough choices. Fonfara, who is seeking his seventh term as state senator, said that, if re-elected, the bleak economic picture would change the nature of his job. Specifically, Fonfara said that the 1st District, comprised of Hartford and parts of Wethersfield, does not have the resources to pay for the services that the state provides its residents. In that respect, he said that his task is normally to go on the offensive to bring back as much state revenue as he can for his district. The current economic realities now mean that he would move into a more defensive position, to protect that which is already being spent on the district while focusing on other areas where cuts can be made. While it is not a role that he relishes, Fonfara said that he has weathered tough economic downturns during his 22 years serving at the State Capitol, including 12 as a senator and 10 years in the House of Representatives. His knowledge of the process in addition to his relationship with the Wethersfield delegation - state Rep. Russell Morin, D-28th District, Rep. Tony Guerrera, D-29th District and Sen. Paul Doyle, D-9th District - up at the State Capitol are "critical in protecting and defending the resources Wethersfield receives. "This is a time when experience does matter," Fonfara said in a telephone interview Tuesday. Knowing not only the mechanics of the legislature but also the legislators themselves will serve the residents within the 1st District best during these challenging economic times, he said. Noting Gov. M. Jodi Rell's highly conservative spending record when she served in the state legislature - a trait that had not appeared during her tenure as governor until recently - Fonfara said that unless there is a miracle between now and January, the state is going to be in for "a tough ride." "I think people want folks at the helm who understand the process and are part of a team that works strongly together," Fonfara said. While the economy is currently front and center, Fonfara noted that health care was still a priority, including providing home health care to seniors, a less expensive and, oftentimes, preferable alternative to nursing homes. Fonfara, who is co-chairman of the Energy and Technology Committee, said that he will continue to help Wethersfield become more energy independent. "My job has been to encourage and provide incentives to develop alternative means to generate electricity in town, at site facilities or at businesses or generating power at group homes," Fonfara said. Technological advances in energy - particularly in electricity - have not been as significant as those made in other industries, such as telecommunications. "The whole system has been a monopoly for so many years and we've paid a high price," Fonfara said. "I see my job to spur those advances on, as well as look for alternatives to our reliance on oil and foreign sources of energy." GOP contender wants to take on DCF Republican challenger Barbara Ruhe is calling for injecting more common sense into the way things are done at the Capitol, in addition to implementing greater fiscal controls such as wholesale audits of existing state programs to determine whether they have outlived their usefulness. Ruhe, a Wethersfield attorney whose practice focuses on family law, said the state Department of Children and Families must be drastically overhauled. "That is a passion of mine," Ruhe said of her desire to address the problems that have plagued the embattled state agency for years. While statistics without more data often provide incomplete pictures, the numbers in this instance appear to bear out Ruhe's concerns: Last year, there were 9,574 substantiated cases of abandoned or neglected children in the state, and 8,237 children were placed under state care, Ruhe said. While one case of neglect is one too many, the number of children appear to be manageable from a cost perspective, what with DCF's $900 million annual budget, according to Ruhe. "I really wonder. We're a little state and we could fix it," she said. In addition, Ruhe supports state legislation that would cap municipal tax increases at 3 percent. She said that Wethersfield has the highest percentage of senior residents per capita in the state. Since senior residents tend to live on fixed incomes, high property tax hikes have stretched many taxpayers to the financial brink. "Government keeps expanding and spending money and thinking that the taxpayers can pay more," Ruhe said. "There has to be a way for citizens to put the brakes on." Ruhe said her proposal would include opt-out provisions in the event of emergencies. While a municipal tax cap appears to be gaining some traction, Fonfara vehemently opposes any such measure because it would amount to an unfunded state mandate and is a not-so-subtle way of circumventing the collective bargaining process between towns and municipal employee unions. Fonfara doesn't see the logic in having the state legislature tell municipalities that "you can't decide what's in the best interests of your residents," he said. "Imagine the federal government telling states that they had to cap spending increases to 3 percent," the senator said. "On the face it sounds good." A tax cap put into practice, however, could mean changing programs and policies at a time when less money is coming back to the schools, Fonfara said. The end result would be teacher layoffs, fewer dollars for books and computers, according to the incumbent. In response to critics, such as Fonfara, Ruhe said that she does not believe the cap interferes with municipal home rule because the state is already so entrenched in city and town finances. Ruhe is cognizant of those who view her platform with skepticism, noting that it's one thing to make pledges during a campaign, and quite another to deliver on those promises once ensconced in Hartford, dealing with fellow legislators who have their own constituents to please, agendas to meet and promises to keep. Her response is nothing if not refreshing. "If I'm elected to only one term, that would be OK," said Ruhe, adding that if she could start the conversation to real reform that would be enough to gain some traction with other lawmakers. To date, Ruhe's biggest challenge, her opposition notwithstanding, has been raising the money to meet the requirements of the Citizens Election Program, a state campaign finance law that provides senatorial candidates with $85,000 for their races, provided that they first raise $15,000 from at least 300 donations from residents within their districts. The donations cannot come from lobbyists or individuals who have contracts of over $50,000 with the state. In addition, Ruhe has lost some donations because people have been scared away by a form they must fill out that requires the listing of their names, addresses, and current employers, she said. "It's a challenge," Ruhe said in an interview Monday in her law offices in Wethersfield. "In theory, you are collecting 300 $50 donations. It's a somewhat daunting task." 'More choices, more voices' The candidate calling for the greatest wholesale changes is S. Michael DeRosa, the Green Party of Connecticut candidate who is making his fourth run at the state Senate. He also ran for Secretary of the State, garnering 18,000 votes in 2006. The cornerstone of DeRosa's platform calls for the reduction of the state's exorbitant electric rates, which are the highest in the United States. "We are in a new dark age where electric rates go up when people's ability to pay the bill goes down," DeRosa said in a telephone interview last week. To solve the state's energy woes, DeRosa said that he and the Green Party are calling for major investments into alternative energy and safe, renewable energy. DeRosa scoffs at Connecticut's claims that it is well ahead of the curve concerning promoting the use of clean, renewable energy. "The state is not doing all it can," De Rosa said, ticking off energy sources such as solar, wind, tidal and a variety of geothermal options. The reason for what he considers slow movement toward more cost-efficient, environmentally sound forms of energy is that "we have a legislature and an executive branch which is locked into a process." That process, DeRosa said, keeps minority views from being expressed. As proof, he sites the recent campaign finance reform law, which he calls "No Republican or Democrat Left Behind Law." The law was passed with great fanfare, promising average citizens greater access to run for political office. The devil, according to DeRosa, is in the details. While candidates for the two most popular parties reap the benefits of the law, third-party candidates face "draconian" requirements, such as having to obtain the signatures of 10, 15 or 20 percent of the number of residents in a district who voted in the last election, DeRosa said. "The state Senate is one of the most exclusive clubs in Connecticut," DeRosa said. A third-party candidate running for governor must collect a minimum of 200,000 signatures and raise $250,000 in order to qualify for $3.2 million from the state. The law's unequal treatment of third-party candidates led DeRosa to become a litigant in a federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union to strike down the barriers to non-traditional parties. "What we need now are more choices and more voices to keep independent thought and ideas continuing in the Connecticut legislature," DeRosa said. He dismisses Fonfara's support for smart power, which, according to DeRosa, "is not a solution to our problem." Other issues high on DeRosa's list are creating a sustainable economy in the state and constructing a mass transit system alternative to complement people's automobiles. The biggest hurdle to clear for DeRosa isn't the economy, but changing people's habits and moving away from the state's dependence on industries that contribute to the "military/industrial complex." In short, DeRosa is calling for a massive overhaul in the way Connecticut citizens view the state. That also entails fostering creative ideas and putting an end to political censorship by changing to a system of proportional representation, referendum initiatives, recall and instant runoff. "They are all in the toolbox of Democracy," DeRosa said. ?Wethersfield Post 2008 _________________________________________________________________ Get more out of the Web. Learn 10 hidden secrets of Windows Live. http://windowslive.com/connect/post/jamiethomson.spaces.live.com-Blog-cns!550F681DAD532637!5295.entry?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_domore_092008 From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Sun Oct 12 16:05:29 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2008 20:05:29 +0000 Subject: {news} Burbank files suit over debate snub In-Reply-To: <0016e64355dedab2ed0458cd817d@google.com> References: <0016e64355dedab2ed0458cd817d@google.com> Message-ID: >From the Torrington Register-Citizen: http://www.registercitizen.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20160881 10/11/2008 Green Party candidate files suit over debate snub By DAVID HUTTER A Congressional candidate is preparing to file complaints with the Federal Communications Commission and the Internal Revenue Service, accusing four organizations of violating nonprofit laws involving equal access in politics. Harold Burbank, a lawyer and Green Party candidate for the fifth congressional district, contends that the groups are censoring his campaign in violation of the law. A Canton resident, Burbank said he is going to lodge complaints against the Connecticut League of Women Voters, the National League of Women Voters, WNPR Radio of Hartford and The Litchfield Community Center. "I am tired of being dismissed and diminished," Burbank said. "I am tired of hearing about Candidate A and Candidate B, but nothing about Candidate C and Candidate D. ... It's as though we don't exist. I think it's wrong and illegal," he said. With about 700,000 residents, the fifth congressional district covers southern Torrington, northern Waterbury, Danbury and New Britain. The seat is being sought by Democratic incumbent Chris Murphy, Republican state Sen. David Cappiello, independent candidate Thomas Winn of Watertown and by Burbank. The League of Women Voters is planning to host a debate on Oct. 22 at the Litchfield Community Center. Only Murphy and Cappiello are invited to take part in that debate as of Friday. Burbank blasted the League of Women Voters of Connecticut in particular, describing the organization as fraudulent because it invited him to take part in a debate and then later rescinded its decision. "The League of Woman's Voters are corporate hacks," Burbank said. "They're frauds. The Greens are justifiably frustrated. I have no compunction against calling them fraudulent." Pat Donovan of The League of Women Voters of Connecticut defended the organization from Burbank's charges. She said that Burbank failed to meet the criteria in that he did not attract enough interest, does not have enough campaign phone lines, does not have an office outside his house and has not reached out to residents. "He is not reaching out to people in the district," she said. "He is not a viable candidate. He is a non-starter." Burbank scoffed at the notion that he has not introduced himself to people and the notion that any candidate should meet any criteria in order to participate in the debate. He said he introduced himself to more than 7,000 people and collected more than 4,800 signatures during a period of two months in order to appear on the ballot. Burbank criticized the league as playing political favorites, which weakens the communities of the district. "This is a tremendous insult to the voters," he said. "The league is some kind of country club. It has disenfranchised itself from 4,800 of my supporters." The Litchfield County League of Women Voters wrote a letter dated July 25 to Burbank in which it states that Cablevision and the league will be hosting a series of debates. In the letter, the league stated that it will host the U.S. House of Representatives debate for District 5 on Oct. 22 at the Litchfield Community Center. The letter is signed by Kathleen Kruse, voter service officer of the local chapter. Kruse was unable to be reached Friday. The letter states in part: "Early in October, we will send you more details about the format. For now, we hope that you will reserve the time. ... We look forward to working with you to present your views to the constituents." Donovan wrote a letter dated Sept. 16 to Burbank in which she explained the league is not allowing him to take part in its debate on Oct. 22. In the letter, she advised him to take advantage of the On-Line Voters Guide. Donovan stated in part: "The League has the utmost respect for candidates who devote time, money and energy toward running for office. We regret that we cannot give each and every one a chance to make their case to the public in a live debate format." John Dankosky, the news director of WNPR Radio in Hartford, said that he has offered Burbank the opportunity to be interviewed on the show "Where We Live." Dankosky said he is unable to speak further about the matter, since Burbank has not yet filed the complaints. Berta Andrulis, director of the Litchfield Community Center, said that the community center is obeying the laws and is merely renting its space to the League of Women Voters. "We are quite honestly not in violation," she said. Central Connecticut State University in New Britain cancelled a debate of the Fifth Congressional District candidates scheduled for today and sponsored by the League of Women Voters, because neither Burbank nor Winn were invited. David Hutter can be reached by e-mail at dhutter@ registercitizen.com. ?The Register Citizen 2008 _________________________________________________________________ See how Windows connects the people, information, and fun that are part of your life. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/msnnkwxp1020093175mrt/direct/01/ From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Mon Oct 13 21:09:12 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:09:12 -0400 Subject: {news} Duffee event photo in New Canaan Advertiser Message-ID: Sometimes even if the newspapers don't want to print our press releases, they will print interesting photos with captions. I took this one with a simple cell phone camera. David Bedell http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/index.php?option=com_content&id=9773:lopez-holds-picnic-for-green-candidate&Itemid=728 Lopez holds picnic for Green candidate Thursday, September 25, 2008 Hector Lopez of New Canaan (left) hosted a fund-raiser picnic on Saturday, September 20, to benefit Richard Duffee (right), Green Party candidate for Congress in the Fourth District. Guest speaker was Olga Sanabria D?vila (center), executive secretary of the Committee for Puerto Rico at the United Nations, who spoke on the subject of Puerto Rican independence. Other topics discussed included the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of a trend toward U.S. imperial foreign policy; the health threats of radiation from Indian Point and other nuclear power plants; and the need to impeach George W. Bush and Dick Cheney in order to restore Constitutional government. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 9-25-duffee.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 234557 bytes Desc: not available URL: From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Mon Oct 13 22:44:08 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2008 22:44:08 -0400 Subject: {news} CT Post on Duffee's exclusion Message-ID: What's interesting here are the Republican and Democratic state chairs' reactions. Of course they both agreed with the shut out, but when Republican chair Chris Healy refers to the Green and the Libertarian as "a side show and a freak show," I wonder if he means to say which is which. David Bedell http://www.connpost.com/ci_10711512 Shays/Himes debates begin Tuesday By KEN DIXON Staff writer Article Last Updated: 10/13/2008 06:31:18 PM EDT The battle for the Fourth Congressional District will reach the crucial debate stage Tuesday, when Republican U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays and Democratic challenger Jim Himes finally engage in the first of seven joint appearances. Healthcare will be the focus of the 8 a.m. debate sponsored by the Bridgeport Regional Business Council (BRBC) on the campus of Housatonic Community College. >From there it's 14 miles down Interstate-95 for a noon-time, televised, hour-long confrontation before the Norwalk Chamber of Commerce at the Norwalk Inn. Party leaders expect Himes and Shays to do what they do best. The incumbent will stress his 21 years of experience and bipartisan record. The challenger will attempt to tie Shays to the unpopular Bush administration. "If you're Jim Himes, what is your compelling reason to get rid of Chris Shays," asked Chris Healy, Republican State Central Committee chairman. "If you're Chris Shays, all you have to do is be yourself and show your authenticity and ability to connect with the people you work for." Healy said Himes's campaign has been too negative. "Jim Himes seems to think George Bush is running for Congress," Healy said. "I think it's going to be very difficult for him to make any case that people of 4th Congressional District haven't had a great congressman for 21 years." Nancy DiNardo of Trumbull, Democratic State Central Committee chairwoman, said Monday that Shays's record will be the central focus. "I think what Himes has to do is show that on the issues that are important to the Fourth CD-- the economy and the war -- that [Shays] has been with Bush, Cheney and McCain every single time," said DiNardo. "When Congressman Shays said the economy was 'fundamentally strong' it clearly showed that he's out of touch." The compressed debate schedule includes seven head-to-head meetings in seven days, after months of broadcast commercials, direct mail and personal appearances throughout the 17-town district, which stretches from Greenwich to most of Shelton. Debate organizers said they did not invite Green Party candidate Richard Duffee and Libertarian Michael Anthony Carrano to participate because it was determined that their campaigns are not viable and time is better spent showcasing Shays and Himes. Healy and DiNardo agreed Monday with the decisions to shut out the minor-party candidates. "I think those are distractions," Healy said in a phone interview." The third and fourth-party candidates, until they can demonstrate they have some critical mass, are a side show and a freak show." "I think these are very important times and it is crucial for people to have the opportunity to hear from the candidate who has a chance to be a congressperson," DiNardo said. According to Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, there are only 272 Green Party members and 209 registered Libertarians in the district, which has about 650,000 residents. Duffee, a retired lawyer, said he is contemplating complaining to the Federal Communications Commission because both News 12 Connecticut, which is taping today's noon-time debate, and the Rocky Hill-based WFSB Channel 3, which will tape a debate in Stamford on the 20th, are not giving him a voice. "I've been shut out of almost everything," Duffee, of Stamford, said in a phone interview. But News 12 Connecticut, a cable station, is not required to provide equal time. Three calls to WFSB, the state's CBS affiliate that has been trying to expand its advertising base and coverage into southwestern Connecticut, were not returned on Monday. Paul Timpanelli, president and CEO of the BRBC, said the issue of inclusion was addressed by the council's 18-member executive committee and a government relations committee. "The only question I asked is whether a third-party candidate has any opportunity to make headway and if the answer is yes, should they participate?" Timpanelli said. "On both answers it was no. " Brian Griffin, vice president of the Norwalk Chamber of Commerce, said Shays and Himes were the only candidates invited because it's clear the minor-party candidates are not serious contenders. "We don't feel we shut anyone out," Griffin said. Martha Milcarek, assistant vice president for public relations at Fairfield University, said Thursday night's 90-minute debate in the Quick Center is being sponsored by campus Democrats and Republicans. In a phone interview, she said Duffee has been offered interviews on the university radio and television stations, as well as a chance to set up an informational table at the Barone Campus Center "to give them an opportunity to speak with students and faculty who go through that area." Milcarek said the university has tried to get in touch with Carrano, who has failed to respond. Richard Lion, the Libertarian Party's state chairman, said Monday he's had the same problem in contacting Carrano. Lion said he wasn't surprised that the party is excluded from the debates. "That's kind of standard operating procedure," he said in a brief phone interview Monday. Joseph J. McGee, vice president for the Business Council of Fairfield County, said that having fringe candidates detracts from the already short amount of time Himes and Shays can share in the debate scheduled in Stamford next Monday. "These are the two candidates," McGee said. "One of these is going to be the congressman. Third-party candidates have legitimate concern, but we have concerns too." Jara Burnett, president of the League of Women Voters of Connnecticut, said last week that Duffee and Carrano failed to meet basic criteria for inclusion in the debate, including "running vigorous campaigns." List of debates: Today Time: 7:45 a.m. Sponsor: Bridgeport Regional Business Council Location: Housatonic Community College, Beacon Hall, 900 Lafayette Boulevard, Bridgeport Today Time: 1 p.m. Sponsors: Norwalk Chamber of Commerce/News 12 Connecticut Location: Norwalk Inn & Conference Center, 99 East Avenue, Norwalk TV: Will be shown at 8 p.m. on News 12 Connecticut. Thursday, Oct. 16 Time: 7 p.m. Sponsor: Fairfield University's campus Democrats and Republicans Location: Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, 1073 N. Benson Road, Fairfield Date: Sunday, October 19 Time: 11 a.m. Format will be a forum, not a direct debate Sponsor: Temple Israel Location: 14 Coleytown Road, Westport Sunday, Oct.19 Time: 3:30 p.m. Sponsor: League of Women Voters Location: David Clune Center for the Arts, Wilton High School, 395 Danbury Road, Wilton Monday, Oct. 20 Time: 10:30 a.m. Sponsor: Business Council of Fairfield County Location: UBS Conference Center, 400 Atlantic Street, Stamford TV: Will be recorded by CTN, the state-government channel and WFSB Channel 3, for future broadcast. Monday, Oct. 20 Time: 7 p.m. Sponsor: World Affairs Forum Location: Ball room Holiday Inn, 700 Main Street, Stamford From timmckee at mail.com Tue Oct 14 09:05:01 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2008 08:05:01 -0500 Subject: {news} "A Lot At Stake in 1st Cong. Distrcit (Fournier article) Message-ID: <20081014130505.0894FBE4078@ws1-9.us4.outblaze.com> courant.com/news/politics/hc-rgreen1014.art.artoct14,0,4135940.column Courant.com =========== A Lot At Stake In 1st Congressional District -------------------------------------------- Rick Green October 14, 2008 [IMAGE] With extinction of the middle class, another Great Depression and the rule of law on the line, you would think we'd be hearing just a little bit more about the race in the First Congressional District. More succinctly, can all of you possibly think that this Wall Street rescue is a good thing? Despite vigorous disagreement among the three First District candidates ? Steve Fournier, John Larson and Joe Visconti ? the campaign is passing with barely a ripple, not even a League of Women Voters debate that includes all viewpoints. The absence of a living and breathing campaign is so disturbing that I invited the three candidates over for coffee. All were eager to attend. "What will happen if we don't act and put new leadership in Congress is the extinction of the middle class. Period," said the Republican nominee Visconti, a West Hartford resident, when I asked him to sum up the stakes. People are facing "whether they are going to have a home, have a job or whether they are going to have to move in with their relatives," he said. U.S. Rep. Larson, the incumbent Democrat, isn't talking extinction. But he said at our little mini-debate that the economic crisis is one "we've faced at no other time than perhaps the Depression. It calls for a Roosevelt-like solution, especially in terms of investing in the American people." "The constant theme that runs through all of this is deregulation, and the deregulation that has gone on for decades," Larson said. "Where was the administration? Where has the oversight been?" Meanwhile, Green Party candidate Stephen Fournier of Hartford ? who is all for government investment, just not for the bankers ? called the Wall Street meltdown "way overblown." He has a more sinister take. "The rule of law is at stake in this election," Fournier said. "What we've seen is criminality on a large scale, not just in the executive branch but in the legislative branch as well. This is a time to come down on criminals in government." Whew. It was easy to see why none of us had much appetite for the pastry the other day. Larson ranks fifth in seniority among House Democrats and is the favorite in a district that hasn't sent a Republican to Congress in decades. He has the confidence of a seasoned politician who would be at the forefront of Obama-administration reforms in Congress. Visconti, a contractor, musician and town council member, rose to prominence through his opposition to the Blue Back Square development in West Hartford Center. His is a spicy stew of anti-tax Republicanism seasoned with a populist's distrust of corporate America. Like the other Green Party candidates in Connecticut, Fournier, a lawyer and former Hartford Board of Education member, has been unable to garner much mainstream attention. Unrepentant, Fournier wants free public transportation, an about-face of our military policy and criminal indictment of top officials. So it wasn't a surprise when Fournier sought, without complete success, to get his fellow candidates to agree that corporate power has fatally corrupted Washington. Visconti, meanwhile, had even more difficulty finding support from the other two for his aggressive stance on immigration; he favors using federal racketeering laws to crack down on groups or individuals aiding illegal immigrants. Perhaps not surprisingly, all three are mad as hell at corporate America. Larson and Fournier want higher taxes on the ultra-wealthy. All support pumping hundreds of billions of federal dollars into the economy. While generally supporting the Wall Street bailout, Visconti often emphasized his proposal for tax deductions for energy, college tuition and credit-card bills. "We should let Americans keep more of their money. It would be foolish right now, in this economy, to consider more taxation," he said. "Who do you trust to be a leader that is going to represent the middle class? That's the question for this election." Larson responded that " Barack Obama has it right. There will be a tax increase. It will be on people earning in excess of $250,000, but it will be a tax increase at the same levels that they were in Ronald Reagan's and Bill Clinton's administration. There will have to be ensuing tax cuts ... that are targeted toward the middle class." Fournier's solution would be to spend the $700 billion on a New Deal-style program to rebuild bridges, schools and public transit. "People would work, they would get paid, they would be better able to pay their bills," he said of his plan, which would be paid for through new taxes on securities transactions. When the talk turned to Iraq, I asked the candidates what "winning" would mean. This led to some of the most striking differences. Larson said he favors a gradual withdrawal. The Bush doctrine of intervention is "the worst policy disaster in the history of the country," he said, saying that the nation must return to "the notion of diplomacy, deterrence and containment." Visconti, who opposes a public timetable for pulling out, responded that a clear victory is essential because it "means everything for America." To this, Fournier said, "There is no military victory ... the problems that both Joe and Congressman Larson seek to solve with military force cannot be solved with military force." No interesting candidates? No issues to debate? I disagree. Rick Green's column appears on Tuesdays and Fridays. Read his blog at courant.com/rick. On the Web ---------- See a slideshow and hear the candidates at courant.com/candidates Stephen Fournier, Green Party >> "The rule of law is at stake in this election. What we've seen is criminality on a large scale, not just in the executive branch but in the legislative branch as well. This is a time to come down on criminals in government." John Larson, Democrat >> "What's at stake in this election is the economic stabilization of the middle class and the ability of Americans to prosper and move forward. It calls for a Roosevelt-like solution, especially in terms of investing in the American people." Joseph Visconti, Republican >> "What will happen if we don't act and put new leadership in Congress is the extinction of the middle class. They are wondering if they are going to have a home, have a job or whether they are going to have to move in with their relatives." Copyright ? 2008, The Hartford Courant ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- Be Yourself @ mail.com! Choose From 200+ Email Addresses Get a Free Account at www.mail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From timmckee at mail.com Tue Oct 14 09:05:16 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2008 08:05:16 -0500 Subject: {news} "A Lot At Stake in 1st Cong. Distrist (Fournier article) Message-ID: <20081014130516.1B37ABE4078@ws1-9.us4.outblaze.com> courant.com/news/politics/hc-rgreen1014.art.artoct14,0,4135940.column Courant.com =========== A Lot At Stake In 1st Congressional District -------------------------------------------- Rick Green October 14, 2008 [IMAGE] With extinction of the middle class, another Great Depression and the rule of law on the line, you would think we'd be hearing just a little bit more about the race in the First Congressional District. More succinctly, can all of you possibly think that this Wall Street rescue is a good thing? Despite vigorous disagreement among the three First District candidates ? Steve Fournier, John Larson and Joe Visconti ? the campaign is passing with barely a ripple, not even a League of Women Voters debate that includes all viewpoints. The absence of a living and breathing campaign is so disturbing that I invited the three candidates over for coffee. All were eager to attend. "What will happen if we don't act and put new leadership in Congress is the extinction of the middle class. Period," said the Republican nominee Visconti, a West Hartford resident, when I asked him to sum up the stakes. People are facing "whether they are going to have a home, have a job or whether they are going to have to move in with their relatives," he said. U.S. Rep. Larson, the incumbent Democrat, isn't talking extinction. But he said at our little mini-debate that the economic crisis is one "we've faced at no other time than perhaps the Depression. It calls for a Roosevelt-like solution, especially in terms of investing in the American people." "The constant theme that runs through all of this is deregulation, and the deregulation that has gone on for decades," Larson said. "Where was the administration? Where has the oversight been?" Meanwhile, Green Party candidate Stephen Fournier of Hartford ? who is all for government investment, just not for the bankers ? called the Wall Street meltdown "way overblown." He has a more sinister take. "The rule of law is at stake in this election," Fournier said. "What we've seen is criminality on a large scale, not just in the executive branch but in the legislative branch as well. This is a time to come down on criminals in government." Whew. It was easy to see why none of us had much appetite for the pastry the other day. Larson ranks fifth in seniority among House Democrats and is the favorite in a district that hasn't sent a Republican to Congress in decades. He has the confidence of a seasoned politician who would be at the forefront of Obama-administration reforms in Congress. Visconti, a contractor, musician and town council member, rose to prominence through his opposition to the Blue Back Square development in West Hartford Center. His is a spicy stew of anti-tax Republicanism seasoned with a populist's distrust of corporate America. Like the other Green Party candidates in Connecticut, Fournier, a lawyer and former Hartford Board of Education member, has been unable to garner much mainstream attention. Unrepentant, Fournier wants free public transportation, an about-face of our military policy and criminal indictment of top officials. So it wasn't a surprise when Fournier sought, without complete success, to get his fellow candidates to agree that corporate power has fatally corrupted Washington. Visconti, meanwhile, had even more difficulty finding support from the other two for his aggressive stance on immigration; he favors using federal racketeering laws to crack down on groups or individuals aiding illegal immigrants. Perhaps not surprisingly, all three are mad as hell at corporate America. Larson and Fournier want higher taxes on the ultra-wealthy. All support pumping hundreds of billions of federal dollars into the economy. While generally supporting the Wall Street bailout, Visconti often emphasized his proposal for tax deductions for energy, college tuition and credit-card bills. "We should let Americans keep more of their money. It would be foolish right now, in this economy, to consider more taxation," he said. "Who do you trust to be a leader that is going to represent the middle class? That's the question for this election." Larson responded that " Barack Obama has it right. There will be a tax increase. It will be on people earning in excess of $250,000, but it will be a tax increase at the same levels that they were in Ronald Reagan's and Bill Clinton's administration. There will have to be ensuing tax cuts ... that are targeted toward the middle class." Fournier's solution would be to spend the $700 billion on a New Deal-style program to rebuild bridges, schools and public transit. "People would work, they would get paid, they would be better able to pay their bills," he said of his plan, which would be paid for through new taxes on securities transactions. When the talk turned to Iraq, I asked the candidates what "winning" would mean. This led to some of the most striking differences. Larson said he favors a gradual withdrawal. The Bush doctrine of intervention is "the worst policy disaster in the history of the country," he said, saying that the nation must return to "the notion of diplomacy, deterrence and containment." Visconti, who opposes a public timetable for pulling out, responded that a clear victory is essential because it "means everything for America." To this, Fournier said, "There is no military victory ... the problems that both Joe and Congressman Larson seek to solve with military force cannot be solved with military force." No interesting candidates? No issues to debate? I disagree. Rick Green's column appears on Tuesdays and Fridays. Read his blog at courant.com/rick. On the Web ---------- See a slideshow and hear the candidates at courant.com/candidates Stephen Fournier, Green Party >> "The rule of law is at stake in this election. What we've seen is criminality on a large scale, not just in the executive branch but in the legislative branch as well. This is a time to come down on criminals in government." John Larson, Democrat >> "What's at stake in this election is the economic stabilization of the middle class and the ability of Americans to prosper and move forward. It calls for a Roosevelt-like solution, especially in terms of investing in the American people." Joseph Visconti, Republican >> "What will happen if we don't act and put new leadership in Congress is the extinction of the middle class. They are wondering if they are going to have a home, have a job or whether they are going to have to move in with their relatives." Copyright ? 2008, The Hartford Courant ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- Be Yourself @ mail.com! Choose From 200+ Email Addresses Get a Free Account at www.mail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Tue Oct 14 17:57:40 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:57:40 -0400 Subject: {news} Darien Times supports debate inclusion Message-ID: Thank you, Darien Times! http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/index.php?option=com_content&id=9786:editorial-a-third-choice&Itemid=60 Editorial: A third choice Written by The Darien Times Friday, September 26, 2008 As the Chris Shays and Jim Himes campaigns continue to iron out an actual debate schedule for next month, they should open up the forums to third party candidates - as should debate sponsors. Independents and third party members have it rough. They aren't part of either established party, yet combined, they make up a plurality of the states' voters. But because they aren't established in political organizations dating back to the 19th century, we, the media, and the voters tend to ignore the Libertarians and Green Party members of our world. The state League of Women Voters announced this week that neither third party candidate in the Fourth Congressional District race here would be welcome at its debates. How can we ever get another point of view in crucial elections if we don't let other points of view in? It is, after all, a debate. The voters deserve to hear from more than just Republicans and Democrats. What we need is more independent thoughts in our public discourse, not more of the same. An added bonus that the independents and third party members bring to the table is they change a race from simply Red or Blue. And in turn, that forces the Democrat and Republican politicians to address issues from a different point of view than the standard company line. What we need during elections is more choices and more thoughts. We don't need to reinforce the idea that there can only be two choices for elected office. That is not what our forefathers fought for. From timmckee at mail.com Wed Oct 15 13:48:10 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:48:10 -0500 Subject: {news} THIRD PARTIES: Yer Out!! (NH-ADVOCATE) Message-ID: <20081015174811.3617E47808F@ws1-5.us4.outblaze.com> Third Parties: Yer Out ====================== Independent Cicero Booker says his $85,000 election grant proves Connecticut's public financing program hurts third parties. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Comments (0) Thursday, October 16, 2008 By Betsy Yagla Cicero For The Senate PhotoWaterbury Independent Cicero Booker: "They're trying to make it difficult for minor parties." Cicero Booker is the poster child for the state's new campaign finance reform law designed to limit the influence of special interest money on state elections by providing state-funded grants. Booker is one of the only minor party candidates whose campaign will be funded by the Citizens Election Program this year. Depending which side you're on, Booker's status proves the CEP is discriminatory toward third party candidates or it proves that it helps them. In order to receive public grants, third party candidates must meet higher standards than Democrats and Republicans. To get the full grant, the candidate's party must have earned at least 10 percent of the vote for the same office in the prior election, or must collect petition signatures equal to 20 percent of those who voted last time. The candidate can get lesser grant amounts by collecting signatures equal to 10 or 15 percent of the vote. That's unfair, says Booker, who's running for state Senate as an Independent in Waterbury. "To put all these hurdles in front of us, I believe it's to protect the majority parties," Booker says. "They're trying to make it difficult for the minor parties." Booker had to collect 2,702 signatures to qualify for the $85,000 grant available to state Senate candidates, a burden not shared by the major parties. Republicans did not field a candidate in 33 state House and Senate seats in 2006. Imagine if they had to petition for funding in districts where they weren't on the ballot last time. "The funding is equal but the hurdles are different," he says. In addition to gathering signatures, Booker had to raise $15,000. His opponents had to raise the same amount, but didn't need to go through the onerous task of petitioning. The pro-labor Working Families Party, which is cross-endorsing Booker, had 30 canvassers to go door to door for three weeks to collect the signatures for Booker (they were paid for by Cicero for Senate). "We think the thresholds could be more reasonable," says Working Families Party boss Jon Green. But, Green says, "It's an opportunity for minor party candidates to campaign with the resources that are commensurate with their major party opponents. Is the law perfect? No. Could it be better and more reasonable for minor parties? Yes. At the end of the day is it a better system, and does it create more opportunity? I think the answer is yes." Beth Rotman, the director of the state's public financing program says the Citizens Election Program benefits minor parties, and she cites Cicero Booker as an example. Historically most minor parties weren't able to raise more than $1,000, Rotman says, and "even the possibility of getting an $85,000 or $25,000 grant is a terrific sign of things going in the right direction." The Connecticut Green Party disagrees. "If they want to have a two-party system and they want to finance it through this fund, fine," says Mike DeRosa, the party's state co-chair. "But don't go out and say this is campaign finance reform, because it's not. It's working very well for the two major parties, but it's not working for third parties and independent candidates." Not one of the Green Party's five candidate for state House or Senate has qualified for public funding in this year's election. Forcing the third-party candidates to petition without making Democrats and Republicans do the same is discriminatory, DeRosa says. "What is so different about third parties that we have to petition?" asks DeRosa. "You can't set two separate standards for two political parties." In 2005 the Green Party of Connecticut filed a discrimination lawsuit against the State Elections Enforcement Commission, which oversees the new campaign finance law and the awarding of campaign grants. That lawsuit should be decided in January, a Bridgeport district judge announced at a court hearing last week. Whichever side loses will inevitably appeal the decision and the hope is that the matter will be settled in time for the 2010 elections when state legislators' and the governor's offices are up for grabs. "I call it the 'No Democrat or Republican Left Behind' law," says DeRosa. "If we don't get access to this money, then it isn't the Connecticut election fund, it's a Democrat and Republican election fund." byagla at newhavenadvocate.com ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- Be Yourself @ mail.com! Choose From 200+ Email Addresses Get a Free Account at www.mail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From timmckee at mail.com Wed Oct 15 13:48:18 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:48:18 -0500 Subject: {news} THIRD PARTIES: Yer Out!! (NH-ADVOCATE) Message-ID: <20081015174818.93EB547808F@ws1-5.us4.outblaze.com> Third Parties: Yer Out ====================== Independent Cicero Booker says his $85,000 election grant proves Connecticut's public financing program hurts third parties. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Comments (0) Thursday, October 16, 2008 By Betsy Yagla Cicero For The Senate PhotoWaterbury Independent Cicero Booker: "They're trying to make it difficult for minor parties." Cicero Booker is the poster child for the state's new campaign finance reform law designed to limit the influence of special interest money on state elections by providing state-funded grants. Booker is one of the only minor party candidates whose campaign will be funded by the Citizens Election Program this year. Depending which side you're on, Booker's status proves the CEP is discriminatory toward third party candidates or it proves that it helps them. In order to receive public grants, third party candidates must meet higher standards than Democrats and Republicans. To get the full grant, the candidate's party must have earned at least 10 percent of the vote for the same office in the prior election, or must collect petition signatures equal to 20 percent of those who voted last time. The candidate can get lesser grant amounts by collecting signatures equal to 10 or 15 percent of the vote. That's unfair, says Booker, who's running for state Senate as an Independent in Waterbury. "To put all these hurdles in front of us, I believe it's to protect the majority parties," Booker says. "They're trying to make it difficult for the minor parties." Booker had to collect 2,702 signatures to qualify for the $85,000 grant available to state Senate candidates, a burden not shared by the major parties. Republicans did not field a candidate in 33 state House and Senate seats in 2006. Imagine if they had to petition for funding in districts where they weren't on the ballot last time. "The funding is equal but the hurdles are different," he says. In addition to gathering signatures, Booker had to raise $15,000. His opponents had to raise the same amount, but didn't need to go through the onerous task of petitioning. The pro-labor Working Families Party, which is cross-endorsing Booker, had 30 canvassers to go door to door for three weeks to collect the signatures for Booker (they were paid for by Cicero for Senate). "We think the thresholds could be more reasonable," says Working Families Party boss Jon Green. But, Green says, "It's an opportunity for minor party candidates to campaign with the resources that are commensurate with their major party opponents. Is the law perfect? No. Could it be better and more reasonable for minor parties? Yes. At the end of the day is it a better system, and does it create more opportunity? I think the answer is yes." Beth Rotman, the director of the state's public financing program says the Citizens Election Program benefits minor parties, and she cites Cicero Booker as an example. Historically most minor parties weren't able to raise more than $1,000, Rotman says, and "even the possibility of getting an $85,000 or $25,000 grant is a terrific sign of things going in the right direction." The Connecticut Green Party disagrees. "If they want to have a two-party system and they want to finance it through this fund, fine," says Mike DeRosa, the party's state co-chair. "But don't go out and say this is campaign finance reform, because it's not. It's working very well for the two major parties, but it's not working for third parties and independent candidates." Not one of the Green Party's five candidate for state House or Senate has qualified for public funding in this year's election. Forcing the third-party candidates to petition without making Democrats and Republicans do the same is discriminatory, DeRosa says. "What is so different about third parties that we have to petition?" asks DeRosa. "You can't set two separate standards for two political parties." In 2005 the Green Party of Connecticut filed a discrimination lawsuit against the State Elections Enforcement Commission, which oversees the new campaign finance law and the awarding of campaign grants. That lawsuit should be decided in January, a Bridgeport district judge announced at a court hearing last week. Whichever side loses will inevitably appeal the decision and the hope is that the matter will be settled in time for the 2010 elections when state legislators' and the governor's offices are up for grabs. "I call it the 'No Democrat or Republican Left Behind' law," says DeRosa. "If we don't get access to this money, then it isn't the Connecticut election fund, it's a Democrat and Republican election fund." byagla at newhavenadvocate.com ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- Be Yourself @ mail.com! Choose From 200+ Email Addresses Get a Free Account at www.mail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From timmckee at mail.com Wed Oct 15 13:48:18 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:48:18 -0500 Subject: {news} THIRD PARTIES: Yer Out!! (NH-ADVOCATE) Message-ID: <20081015174819.4BE4347808F@ws1-5.us4.outblaze.com> Third Parties: Yer Out ====================== Independent Cicero Booker says his $85,000 election grant proves Connecticut's public financing program hurts third parties. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Comments (0) Thursday, October 16, 2008 By Betsy Yagla Cicero For The Senate PhotoWaterbury Independent Cicero Booker: "They're trying to make it difficult for minor parties." Cicero Booker is the poster child for the state's new campaign finance reform law designed to limit the influence of special interest money on state elections by providing state-funded grants. Booker is one of the only minor party candidates whose campaign will be funded by the Citizens Election Program this year. Depending which side you're on, Booker's status proves the CEP is discriminatory toward third party candidates or it proves that it helps them. In order to receive public grants, third party candidates must meet higher standards than Democrats and Republicans. To get the full grant, the candidate's party must have earned at least 10 percent of the vote for the same office in the prior election, or must collect petition signatures equal to 20 percent of those who voted last time. The candidate can get lesser grant amounts by collecting signatures equal to 10 or 15 percent of the vote. That's unfair, says Booker, who's running for state Senate as an Independent in Waterbury. "To put all these hurdles in front of us, I believe it's to protect the majority parties," Booker says. "They're trying to make it difficult for the minor parties." Booker had to collect 2,702 signatures to qualify for the $85,000 grant available to state Senate candidates, a burden not shared by the major parties. Republicans did not field a candidate in 33 state House and Senate seats in 2006. Imagine if they had to petition for funding in districts where they weren't on the ballot last time. "The funding is equal but the hurdles are different," he says. In addition to gathering signatures, Booker had to raise $15,000. His opponents had to raise the same amount, but didn't need to go through the onerous task of petitioning. The pro-labor Working Families Party, which is cross-endorsing Booker, had 30 canvassers to go door to door for three weeks to collect the signatures for Booker (they were paid for by Cicero for Senate). "We think the thresholds could be more reasonable," says Working Families Party boss Jon Green. But, Green says, "It's an opportunity for minor party candidates to campaign with the resources that are commensurate with their major party opponents. Is the law perfect? No. Could it be better and more reasonable for minor parties? Yes. At the end of the day is it a better system, and does it create more opportunity? I think the answer is yes." Beth Rotman, the director of the state's public financing program says the Citizens Election Program benefits minor parties, and she cites Cicero Booker as an example. Historically most minor parties weren't able to raise more than $1,000, Rotman says, and "even the possibility of getting an $85,000 or $25,000 grant is a terrific sign of things going in the right direction." The Connecticut Green Party disagrees. "If they want to have a two-party system and they want to finance it through this fund, fine," says Mike DeRosa, the party's state co-chair. "But don't go out and say this is campaign finance reform, because it's not. It's working very well for the two major parties, but it's not working for third parties and independent candidates." Not one of the Green Party's five candidate for state House or Senate has qualified for public funding in this year's election. Forcing the third-party candidates to petition without making Democrats and Republicans do the same is discriminatory, DeRosa says. "What is so different about third parties that we have to petition?" asks DeRosa. "You can't set two separate standards for two political parties." In 2005 the Green Party of Connecticut filed a discrimination lawsuit against the State Elections Enforcement Commission, which oversees the new campaign finance law and the awarding of campaign grants. That lawsuit should be decided in January, a Bridgeport district judge announced at a court hearing last week. Whichever side loses will inevitably appeal the decision and the hope is that the matter will be settled in time for the 2010 elections when state legislators' and the governor's offices are up for grabs. "I call it the 'No Democrat or Republican Left Behind' law," says DeRosa. "If we don't get access to this money, then it isn't the Connecticut election fund, it's a Democrat and Republican election fund." byagla at newhavenadvocate.com ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- Be Yourself @ mail.com! Choose From 200+ Email Addresses Get a Free Account at www.mail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From timmckee at mail.com Thu Oct 16 09:00:41 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:00:41 -0500 Subject: {news} PASS ALONG_ THIRD PARTIES TO DEBATE ON SUNDAY NIGHT Message-ID: <20081016130041.CE4941CE8FB@ws1-6.us4.outblaze.com> Third-party candidates to debate on Sunday ========================================== By MARIA RECIO McClatchy Newspapers WASHINGTON -- Third-party presidential candidates finally will have their own debate: at 8 p.m. Sunday at Columbia University in New York. The debate, which will be announced Wednesday, will include at least three of the four third-party candidates - independent Ralph Nader, the Green Party's Cynthia McKinney and the Constitution Party's Chuck Baldwin. Libertarian Party nominee Bob Barr said he has a scheduling conflict, but debate organizers say he wanted to appear only with Nader. (Democratic nominee Barack Obama and Republican nominee John McCain are also invited.) Nader and Barr are on the ballot in 45 states, while the Green Party is on 31 state ballots and the Constitution Party is on the ballot in 37 states. Nader and McKinney also are on the District of Columbia ballot. Organizers say the debate is an important exercise in democracy, especially because the debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates (the last of which is Wednesday night) exclude candidates scoring below 15 percent in national polls. Nader, the best known of the candidates, has an average of 2.5 percent in recent national polls, according to realclearpolitics.com, while Barr averages 1.5 percent. Nader maintains that if he could get into the debates run by the Commission on Presidential Debates, his numbers would immediately climb because "two-thirds of the people don't know we're running." "It's a Catch-22." Nader describes the debate commission as "a two-party dictatorial company that doesn't want anybody else on the stage." The commission, created in 1987, is a corporation headed by two former chairs of the Democratic and Republican parties. But third-party critics of the system recently got some traction: the second of the presidential debates prompted a chorus of criticism of the "boring" format and the lack of follow-up questions. Nader also will give the issue more visibility at a rally to open the debates Wednesday night at New York's historic Cooper Union Great Hall, where presidential candidates back to Abraham Lincoln have spoken. (EDITORS: END OPTIONAL TRIM) The format for Sunday's third-party debate is still being finalized. It will be moderated by Pacifica radio host Amy Goodman. The issues promoted by the candidates strike a different chord from the major party standard-bearers - all four are against the $700 billion economic bailout and all oppose the Iraq war. In addition, each has his or her own agenda: Nader rails against corporate greed while McKinney promotes environmental causes. The Libertarian Party is a critic of monetary policy and likes to invoke a return to the gold standard. Baldwin of the Constitution Party represents a conservative, small government, anti-abortion party that wants to "restore the government to its biblical foundations." The third-party debate will be streamed at www.thirdpartyticket.com and will be shown on C-SPAN. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- Be Yourself @ mail.com! Choose From 200+ Email Addresses Get a Free Account at www.mail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From timmckee at mail.com Thu Oct 16 10:31:54 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:31:54 -0500 Subject: {news} Deshefy covered in debates Message-ID: <20081016143154.DBC661BF28D@ws1-10.us4.outblaze.com> Plainfield debate: Sullivan says Courtney too partisan ====================================================== Incumbent defends record ------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ By ADAM BOWLESNorwich BulletinPosted Oct 16, 2008 @ 12:24 AM ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Plainfield, Conn. ? On the same night of the presidential debate, the three candidates for the 2nd Congressional District debated many of the same topics ? the economy, health care and energy ? and their potential impact on Eastern Connecticut. >From the start of the two-hour debate Wednesday, Republican Sean Sullivan described incumbent Democrat Joe Courtney as a partisan politician who voted 98 percent of the time with the Democratic leadership, avoiding compromise needed to address problems such as the nation?s economic crisis. Courtney drew applause from the nearly 100 people who attended the debate at Plainfield High School when he said he was the only member of the Connecticut congressional delegation, and one of a minority of Democrats, who twice voted against the federal bailout of Wall Street because it protected the people who triggered the problem. Sullivan drew applause when he said irresponsible homeowners who took on mortgages they knew they couldn?t afford should not be bailed out by the government and once when he said Plainfield parents and the state know better how to educate their students than the federal government and its No Child Left Behind Act. Green Party candidate G. Scott Deshefy, a former environmental analyst in the state Department of Environmental Protection, made several philosophical references to what he said were successful government policies on health care and energy in Europe and Asia. He said he would bring a much needed scientific perspective to solving the nation?s problems. Sullivan said his top three priorities would be energy, defense and transportation. He said the nation needs to tap into its own oil reserves and invest in transportation projects as a way to add jobs. Courtney said he would continue to focus on veterans needs and the defense industry. He said he was the leading Congressman nationwide to secure money that boosted submarine production and added jobs to Electric Boat in Groton. Deshefy said he would cut military and drug war spending and boost funding for education and alternative energy sources, while supporting universal health care. Gary Young, a Republican who favors Sullivan, said the debate was lively and fairly clean, but he took all comments with a ?grain of salt,? because most lies and inaccuracies don?t typically come to light until days later. On the issues On high diesel fuel and heating oil costs: Deshefy: Need to consider indirect costs, such as health problems due to pollution, and pursue alternate energy sources. Sullivan: Send a message that the nation will ?get oil out of the ground here? to immediately improve the perception of supply and ease speculation pressures. Courtney: Need stronger regulation of commodities market and use strategic reserves to boost oil supply. On transportation needs on Interstate 395, particularly mass transit: Deshefy: A tax of one-tenth of every dollar transacted on Wall Street would help boost infrastructure spending. Sullivan: Stronger leadership is needed to secure federal support for transportation investments. Courtney: Bush administration has been anti-rail; supports putting people to work through investments in infrastructure. On health care: Deshefy: Supports single payer, universal health care. Sullivan: Health care is a problem best addressed by individual states; would encourage competition. Courtney: Need to strengthen Medicare; rejects privatization of health care because people will not know how to navigate a complicated system to get affordable, quality health care. On the foreclosure crisis: Deshefy: Federal government needs to help renegotiate mortgage rates of 3 percent for homes in jeopardy of foreclosures; problem stems from culture of borrowing beyond means. Sullivan: Opposes bailing out homeowners who recklessly took on mortgages they knew they couldn?t afford; opposes wholesale rewriting of mortgages because it means banks will raise rates based on higher risk. Courtney: Make banks responsible for deceptive practices; renegotiate rates on the logjam of ?bad paper,? or subprime mortgages that are in default. ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- Be Yourself @ mail.com! Choose From 200+ Email Addresses Get a Free Account at www.mail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Fri Oct 17 22:10:06 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2008 02:10:06 +0000 Subject: {news} Keith Brooks in Weston Forum In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/index.php?option=com_content&id=11194:registrars-of-voters-three-vie-for-two-spots&Itemid=112 Registrars of voters: Three vie for two spots Written by Patricia Gay pgay@ theWestonForum.com Wednesday, October 15, 2008 There is no busier time for the town?s registrars of voters than the weeks leading up to an election. The upcoming 2008 presidential election on Nov. 4 is no exception. >From two desks in the town clerk?s office at Weston Town Hall, the phone lines for the registrars are ringing steadily with Westonites wanting to know how and where they can register to vote. People are also coming in to drop off their voter applications and pick up absentee ballots. ?There have been a lot of new voters registering ? many young people,? said Laura Smits, the Democratic deputy registrar. In January 2008, right before the presidential preference primary, there were 6,066 registered voters in Weston. Of those, there were 1,910 Democrats, 1,907 Republicans, and 2,249 unaffiliated and other parties. Democrats outnumbered Republicans by just three voters, with the number of unaffiliated voters topping that of both parties. As of Tuesday, Oct. 14, there were 6,036 registered voters in Weston, down 30 voters in the past nine months, following an annual voter canvass, which weeds out inactive voters from the registration list. But the make-up of the town?s voters has changed substantially. There are now 2,130 Democrats (an increase of 220), 1,850 Republicans (down 57), 2,046 unaffiliated voters, and 10 voters registered with other parties. Democrats now outnumber Republicans by 280 voters, while unaffiliated registrated voters have decreased by more than 200. There are now more registered Democrats in Weston than Republicans or unaffiliated voters. Election Keeping tabs on the town?s voters are the registrars ? Diane Lofthus for the Democrats, and Eileen Buckley for the Republicans. They are elected officials and their offices will appear on the ballot in the upcoming election. Ms. Lofthus is not running again, so Ms. Smits will appear on the ballot as the Democratic registrar candidate, while Ms. Buckley is seeking re-election for the Republican Party. Although voters may only choose one candidate, the two highest vote getters will be elected. Most years, that means both registrars are elected. However, in Weston this year there is a twist. Keith Brooks, a veteran naval officer in World War II, and chairman of the local ?Impeach Cheney and Bush Committee,? is running for registrar as a third-party candidate on the Green Party line. ?I guess you would have to consider me an underdog, because many people will vote a straight party line,? Mr. Brooks said. In order to be elected, he would need to get more votes than either Ms. Smits or Ms. Buckley. Important The registrars have a very important job. They maintain an accurate, up-to-date registry of everyone in Weston who is registered to vote, and they also conduct an annual canvass to weed out the names of those who have died or have moved from town. Whenever the town has a special referendum, primary, or town meeting, the registrars are there to check voters in and to make sure accurate counts are kept of those in attendance. They also have to be prepared with paper ballots for these meetings, if a paper ballot vote is requested. Although the registrars? jobs are budgeted for six hours a week, the registrars can work long hours, especially as elections draw near. During that time, they hold special registration sessions for new voters, and they also work at the polls on Election Day, from 5:15 a.m. until after the polls close at 8 p.m. ?There can be weeks where the hours are long, but there are other times of the year when there is very little to do. It?s the nature of the job,? said Ms. Buckley, who has been a registrar for 10 years. Ms. Buckley has lived in Weston for 40 years and has two grown children who attended the Weston schools. She was a member of the PTO when her children were young, and is now a member of the Republican Town Committee. ?I like being a registrar of voters because I have an interest in government, and it is nice to be part of the process in a way that helps people,? she said. Ms. Smits is a writer and substitute teacher, and once hosted a local radio talk show called Call Me Crazy. She said she enjoys being the deputy registrar of voters because it allows her to be helpful to voters without taking sides. ?As Americans, we sometimes take our voting rights for granted. There is not a lot of apathy in Weston and it?s nice to see people come to the polls and help them exercise their right to vote. I?m glad to be a part of that,? she said. Helping unaffiliates Regardless of a registrar?s party affiliation, they register all voters, including unaffiliated voters and those registered with other parties such as the Green Party or Libertarian Party. Ms. Buckley said the tradition of having a registrar for each major party goes back to times when people were skeptical about the voting process, so they insisted on having one registrar for each party to insure the party?s voting records were accurate. Mr. Brooks said if elected he will specifically look out for the interests of unaffiliated voters. ?The plurality of people in Weston are not Democrats or Republicans,? he said. Mr. Brooks has lived in Weston since 1976. He is married and a proud grandfather. He is the founder and chairman of Brooks Laboratories and Brooks Environmental Consulting in Norwalk. He is also a painter and has had shows in the area and is a trombonist in the Westport Community Band. He said he will be sending a mailing before the election to all households in Weston so people can get to know him better. _________________________________________________________________ See how Windows connects the people, information, and fun that are part of your life. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/msnnkwxp1020093175mrt/direct/01/ From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Sat Oct 18 03:38:53 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2008 07:38:53 +0000 Subject: {news} Animal law conference at Quinnipiac Oct. 25 In-Reply-To: References: <212bb6a40810011020r39185216v67e28d0e10579fc7@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: http://law.quinnipiac.edu/x565.xml Animal law conference Oct. 25 The School of Law's Animal Law Society and the Connecticut Bar Association's Animal Law Committee will host a conference, "Justice for Animals: The State of the Law in Connecticut," Saturday, Oct. 25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Grand Courtroom in the School of Law Center. The morning session is from 10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The following experts will deliver presentations: - Dana Campbell, chief contract attorney for the Animal Legal Defense Fund's criminal justice program - Joseph LaMotta, assistant state's attorney for Connecticut - Owen Little, animal control officer of East Haven. The afternoon session is from 1:15 p.m. to 4 p.m. and will focus on issues under consideration by the Connecticut Legislature's Task Force on Animal Cruelty and the Circle of Violence. The following experts will deliver presentations: - Joanne Bourbeau, New England regional director of The Humane Society of the United States - Attorney Debora M. Bresch, legislative liaison of the Eastern region of The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and president and director of Connecticut Votes for Animals - Susan Linker, vice president and director of Connecticut Votes for Animals and chief executive officer of Our Companions Domestic Animal Sanctuary - Jeanne Milstein, Connecticut child advocate - State Rep. Diana Urban, chairwoman of the Connecticut Legislature's Task Force on Animal Cruelty and the Circle of Violence This free event is open to the public. For more information, contact Kerry Patton, president of Quinnipiac's Animal Law Society chapter at kerry.patton@ quinnipiac.edu or call Quinnipiac public relations at 203-582-8652. _________________________________________________________________ Want to do more with Windows Live? Learn ?10 hidden secrets? from Jamie. http://windowslive.com/connect/post/jamiethomson.spaces.live.com-Blog-cns!550F681DAD532637!5295.entry?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_domore_092008 From timmckee at mail.com Sun Oct 19 12:16:08 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2008 11:16:08 -0500 Subject: {news} Fw: [usgp-dx] Third Party Debate now Oct 23 9PM Washington DC Message-ID: <20081019161608.1D2EEBE4078@ws1-9.us4.outblaze.com> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Craig Seeman" To: "GPUS DX" Subject: [usgp-dx] Third Party Debate now Oct 23 9PM Washington DC Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2008 20:59:41 -0400 http://freeandequal.org/events.php Presidential Debate Rescheduled for October 23rd in Washington D.C. Free & Equal Elections Coalition 230 E. Ohio St., Ste. 212 Chicago, IL 60611 Attn: Politics Editors, Campaign 2008 Editors, National Editor Third Party Presidential Debate to Take Place on Thursday, October 23rd Contact: Christina Tobin, 312-320-4101 The Independent/Third Party Presidential Debate to have been held in New York at Columbia University on Sunday Oct. 19th has been rescheduled, and will occur on Thursday evening at 9pm EST, October 23 in Washington DC. All six candidates who qualified for enough state ballot lines to be eligible to win the presidency on November 4th are invited. An update on confirmed candidates, location in Washington DC, debate format, and other details will be made available at a press conference in Washington DC on Tuesday, October 21 at 10am EST on the ground floor of the National Press Club building. # # # _______________________________________________ Natlcomaffairs mailing list To send a message to the list, write to: Natlcomaffairs at green.gpus.org To unsubscribe or change your list options, go to: http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/natlcomaffairs You must know your password to do this. If you can't figure out how to unsubscribe, as a last resort only, send a message OFF LIST to steveh at olypen.com If your state delegation changes, please see: http://gp.org/committees/nc/documents/delegate_change.html To report violations of listserv protocol, write to forummanagers at lists.gp-us.org For other information about the National Committee, see: http://gp.org/committees/nc/ ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- Be Yourself @ mail.com! Choose From 200+ Email Addresses Get a Free Account at www.mail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From roseberry3 at cox.net Sun Oct 19 22:36:21 2008 From: roseberry3 at cox.net (B Barry) Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2008 22:36:21 -0400 Subject: {news} FYI: Cancellation of the 10-28-08 SCC CTGP until 11-11-08 Message-ID: <20081020023622.TCKS8977.eastrmmtao107.cox.net@eastrmimpo03.cox.net> Dear All, Due to the push to elect our candidates, the officers of the CTGP have delayed the 10-28-08 SCC meeting until 11-11-08: place to be determined; Also the 10-08 EC meeting has been deferred until after 11-4-08. Sorry for any inconvenience. Barbara Barry, Secretary of Green Party of CT Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.7.5/1706 - Release Date: 10/3/2008 6:17 PM -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From timmckee at mail.com Mon Oct 20 10:54:42 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2008 09:54:42 -0500 Subject: {news} Candidates pledge-- Standing For Voters Message-ID: <20081020145442.27E1F32675A@ws1-8.us4.outblaze.com> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brent McMillan" To: "national comm affairs" Subject: [usgp-dx] Standing For Voters Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:58:53 -0400 Dear NC member: On Friday we were contacted by Emily Levy, the project coordinator of Standing for Voters. They are asking candidates -- regardless of party affiliation or which public office they seek -- to take a pledge to stand up for election integrity. The pledge < http://standingforvoters.org/sign_pledge.html> reads: "I, _________________, pledge to use my candidacy, whenever feasible, to advance the preservation of democracy. I will officially challenge the results of the election as provided by law if the combination of election conditions, incident reports, and announced election results calls into question the reliability of the official vote count. Should another candidate be declared the winner in my race, I will wait until all valid votes are counted and all serious challenges resolved before conceding defeat." Green Party candidates who have signed on so far are Cynthia McKinney, the first presidential candidate to take the pledge, Rebecca DeWitt (candidate for Congress in AZ), and Rick Lass (candidate for Public Regulation Commissioner in NM). All three have chosen to take the Super Pledge, the stronger of the two pledges they offer. They would like to see many more Green party candidates on board, and are hoping that we can help them with this. They would like to see the Green Party take these two actions: --Endorse StandingForVoters.org (see their current list of organizational endorsements --Contact all Green Party candidates nationally and extend to them our invitation to take the Standing For Voters Pledge. Candidates who take the pledge provide Standing For Voters with direct contact information so that they can alert them should they learn of irregularities in their race. They get a lot of information that is not available in the media through Velvet Revolution's voter fraud tip hotline for whistleblowers, through co-founder Brad Friedman's election integrity blog, The BRAD BLOG < http://www.bradblog.com/>, and through their relationships with leaders in the election integrity community nationally. Candidates who take the Standing For Voters pledge are listed on their site and given a Standing For Voters emblem for their websites, printed materials, etc. They feel that taking a stand for election integrity such as David Cobb did in Ohio after the 2004 election is an important way that candidates in small parties can use their candidacies for lasting social change. They hope we will be able to help them get the word out about Standing For Voters to Green Party candidates throughout the country. Emily Levy (831) 429-8946 Project Coordinator http://www.StandingForVoters.org a project of http://www.VelvetRevolution.us In service: Brent McMillan, Political Director Green Party of the United States 202-319-7191 brent at gp.org _______________________________________________ Natlcomaffairs mailing list To send a message to the list, write to: Natlcomaffairs at green.gpus.org To unsubscribe or change your list options, go to: http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/natlcomaffairs You must know your password to do this. If you can't figure out how to unsubscribe, as a last resort only, send a message OFF LIST to steveh at olypen.com If your state delegation changes, please see: http://gp.org/committees/nc/documents/delegate_change.html To report violations of listserv protocol, write to forummanagers at lists.gp-us.org For other information about the National Committee, see: http://gp.org/committees/nc/ ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- See Exclusive Video: Hollywood Life's 5th Annual Style Awards http://www.hollywoodlife.net/Awards.aspx?AwardsID=style2008 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From chapillsbury at igc.org Mon Oct 20 17:51:44 2008 From: chapillsbury at igc.org (Charlie Pillsbury) Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:51:44 -0400 Subject: {news} FW: Taking the Standing For Voters Pledge Message-ID: <009701c932fe$0bf509e0$23df1da0$@org> Fyi, Charlie -----Original Message----- From: Brent McMillan [mailto:brent at gp.org] Sent: Monday, October 20, 2008 4:39 PM To: undisclosed-recipients: Subject: Taking the Standing For Voters Pledge Dear Green Party Candidate: On Friday, October 17 the national office was contacted by Emily Levy, the project coordinator of Standing for Voters. They are asking candidates -- regardless of party affiliation or which public office they seek -- to take a pledge to stand up for election integrity. The pledge < http://standingforvoters.org/sign_pledge.html> reads: "I, _________________, pledge to use my candidacy, whenever feasible, to advance the preservation of democracy. I will officially challenge the results of the election as provided by law if the combination of election conditions, incident reports, and announced election results calls into question the reliability of the official vote count. Should another candidate be declared the winner in my race, I will wait until all valid votes are counted and all serious challenges resolved before conceding defeat." Green Party candidates who have signed on so far are Cynthia McKinney, the first presidential candidate to take the pledge, Rebecca DeWitt (candidate for Congress in AZ), and Rick Lass (candidate for Public Regulation Commissioner in NM). All three have chosen to take the Super Pledge, the stronger of the two pledges they offer. (Since Friday Dan Kairis, Green Party candidate for State Representative in IL has also signed on.) They would like to see many more Green party candidates on board, and are hoping that we can help them with this. They would like to see the Green Party take these two actions: --Endorse StandingForVoters.org (see their current list of organizational endorsements , and through their relationships with leaders in the election integrity community nationally. Candidates who take the Standing For Voters pledge are listed on their site and given a Standing For Voters emblem for their websites, printed materials, etc. They feel that taking a stand for election integrity such as David Cobb did in Ohio after the 2004 election is an important way that candidates in small parties can use their candidacies for lasting social change. They hope we will be able to help them get the word out about Standing For Voters to Green Party candidates throughout the country. The contact information for Standing For Voters: Emily Levy (831) 429-8946 Project Coordinator http://www.StandingForVoters.org a project of http://www.VelvetRevolution.us They are planning to do a press release about the involvement of the Green Party in this project in a couple of days. They will be listing those candidates who have signed the pledge in the press release. Emily Levy is working with our Media Director, Scott McLarty on this matter. Please give this your prompt attention and consideration. In service: Brent McMillan, Political Director Green Party of the United States 202-319-7191 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Mon Oct 20 23:06:23 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Mon, 20 Oct 2008 23:06:23 -0400 Subject: {news} Re: CT state legislature uncontested races Message-ID: Today I express mailed to the Secretary of the State registration forms for five write-in candidates in Stamford. The forms should be received by noon tomorrow, in plenty of time for the 4:00 PM deadline. The purpose of these write-in candidacies is 1) to test the new voting machines and procedures to make sure write-in votes are counted and reported; 2) to fill the vacuum left by the Republicans, who have withdrawn from 4 of the 6 Assembly districts and 1 of the 2 Senate districts in Stamford. The Green Party is striving to become the second party in Stamford, as the Republican Party loses support nationally and locally; 3) to offer an alternative to re-electing the incumbents, because all voters deserve a choice. The newly filed write-in candidates are: State Senator, 27th District: David Bedell (write-in) State Representative, 144th District: Richard Duffee (write-in) State Representative, 146th District: German Tedesco (write-in) State Representative, 147th District: Brent Yarnell (write-in) State Representative, 148th District: David Bedell (write-in) These are in addition to our ballot-qualified candidates in Fairfield County: State Senator, 36th District: Zaac Chaves (in a 3-way race with Democrat and Republican) State Representative, 135th District: Remy Chevalier (in a 2-way race with a Republican) David Bedell Green candidate for Registrar of Voters, Stamford http://www.greenregistrar.org ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Bedell" To: ; Sent: Monday, October 20, 2008 3:05 AM Subject: Fw: CT state legislature uncontested races > There are a lot of unopposed seats in Hartford and New Haven. Would anyone > like to register a write-in candidacy? > > David Bedell > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "David Bedell" > To: > Sent: Monday, October 20, 2008 12:33 AM > Subject: CT state legislature uncontested races > > I have not been paying enough attention to the CT legislature races this > year, so I just discovered that both my State Representative (Carlo Leone) > and my State Senator (Andrew McDonald) are running unopposed this year. In > the past they always had Republican opponents, but given the new situation, > I am going to register as a write-in candidate for both offices. Everyone > deserves at least token opposition, and it's a good chance to test the new > voting machines' write-in feature. > > A number of Democratic legislators are running unopposed in Hartford, East > Hartford, New Haven, West Haven, and Stamford (see full list below). I > would encourage Greens to register as write-in candidates in those > districts. I'm glad to see the Democrats have started challenging > Republican turf in places like Greenwich; now it's time for Greens to start > challenging Democratic turf. The Independent Party is doing a good job of > challenging Democrats AND Republicans in Waterbury who would otherwise go > unopposed. > > The deadline to register is 4:00 PM on Tuesday at the SotS office in > Hartford. A simple one-page form can be downloaded from > http://www.sots.ct.gov/sots/lib/sots/electionservices/electforms/electforms/ed622_all_candidates_nov_2008.pdf > > CT LEGISLATURE UNCONTESTED RACES 2008 > > Following are the races for CT state legislature that are not being > contested by the other major party in 2008 (some are contested by > Green, Independent, CT For Lieberman, or other candidates; * = also > uncontested in 2006; ** = uncontested in 2004, 2006; *** = uncontested 2002, > 2004, 2006). It's a travesty that so many voters in CT are offered no > choice of who represents them in Hartford. > > This list is also posted in the files area > (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CTGP-elections/files ) as > "CTuncontestedraces2008.doc" > > State Senator > > Dist. Party Name Hometown > minor party opposition > > 3 D Gary D. LeBeau East Hartford > > 11** D Martin M. Looney New Haven > > 15*** D Joan V. Hartley Waterbury I, > WF > > 16 R Sam S.F. Caligiuri Waterbury > I > > 19 D Edith G. Prague Columbia > > 27 D Andrew J. McDonald Stamford > > 31 D Thomas A. Colapietro Bristol > > 34** R Leonard A. Fasano North Haven > > 35* R Tony Guglielmo Stafford > > 9 uncontested (cf. 9 in 2006, 13 in 2004, 8 in 2002) > > > > State Representative > > Dist. Party Name Hometown > minor party opposition > > 1*** D Kenneth P. Green Hartford > CFL > > 3*** D Minnie Gonzalez Hartford > > 4* D Kelvin Roldan Hartford > CFL > > 5** D Marie Lopez Kirkley-Bey Hartford PC > > 6* D Hector Robles Hartford > > 7 D Douglas McCrory Hartford > > 10 D Henry J. Genga East Hartford > > 11 D Timothy D. Larson East Hartford > > 12 D Ryan P. Barry Manchester > > 21 D Demetrios Giannaros Farmington > > 29* D Antonio "Tony" Guerrera Rocky Hill CFL > > 30 D Joe Aresimowicz Berlin > > 35 D Brian J. O'Connor Clinton > > 38 D Elizabeth B. Ritter Quaker Hill (Waterford) > > 40* D Edward E. Moukawsher Groton > > 42* D Tom Reynolds Gales Ferry (Ledyard) > > 46*** D Melissa Olson Norwich > > 48** D Linda A. Orange Colchester > > 51*** DR Shawn T. Johnston No. Grosvenordale (Thompson) > > 54* D Denise Merrill Mansfield Center > > 55 R Pamela Sawyer Bolton > > 56 D Claire Janowski Vernon > > 64 D Roberta B. Willis Lakeville (Salisbury) > > 67* R Clark J. Chapin New Milford > > 68* R Sean Williams Oakville (Watertown) > > 69** R Arthur J. O'Neill Southbury > > 70 R Kevin M. DelGobbo Naugatuck I > > 72 D Larry B. Butler Waterbury > I > > 73** D Jeffrey J. Berger Waterbury I > > 74* R Selim G. Noujaim Waterbury I > > 80 D Corky Mazurek Wolcott > CC, PC > > 86 R Vincent J. Candelora North Branford > > 88*** D J. Brendan Sharkey Hamden PC > > 90 D Mary G. Fritz Wallingford > CFL > > 91* D Peter F. Villano Hamden > PC > > 93*** D Toni E. Walker New Haven > > 94*** D Gary A.Winfield New Haven PC > > 95** D Juan Candelaria New Haven > > 96* D Cameron Staples New Haven > > 97 D Robert Megna New Haven > > 98* D Patricia M. Widlitz Guilford > > 102 D Lonnie Reed Branford > > 104 D Linda M. Gentile Ansonia > PC > > 108***R Mary Ann Carson New Fairfield > > 113* R Jason D. Perillo Shelton > > 115 D Stephen D. Dargan West Haven > > 116 D Louis P. Esposito, Jr. West Haven > > 121 D Terry Backer Stratford > > 125***R John W. Hetherington New Canaan > > 127* D John F. Hennessy Bridgeport > > 131* R David K. Labriola Naugatuck > > 135***R John E. Stripp Weston > G > > 139 D Kevin Ryan Oakdale (Montville) > > 140 D Bruce V. Morris Norwalk > > 141* R Terrie E. Wood Darien > > 142 R Lawrence F. Cafero Norwalk WF > > 144 D James A. Shapiro Stamford > > 146* D Gerald M. Fox, III Stamford > > 147 D William M. Tong Stamford > > 148 D Carlo Leone Stamford > > 149* R Livvy R. Floren Greenwich > > 150***R Lile R. Gibbons Old Greenwich (Greenwich) > > 62 uncontested (cf. 61 in 2006, 61 in 2004, 50 in 2002) > > > (Adapted from candidate lists available at CT Secretary of the State's > website www.sots.ct.gov ) > From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Tue Oct 21 15:03:59 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:03:59 -0400 Subject: {news} Watch Scott Deshefy in Plainfield debate on CTN Message-ID: Video is available online at http://www.ctn.state.ct.us/show_info.asp?mbID=13658 SECOND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT DEBATE WITH U.S. REP. JOE COURTNEY, REPUBLICAN SEAN SULLIVAN AND GREEN PARTY CANDIDATE G. SCOTT DESHEFY AT PLAINFIELD HIGH SCHOOL From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Tue Oct 21 15:25:01 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:25:01 -0400 Subject: {news} Manchester Journal Inquirer: Scott Deshefy in high school debate Message-ID: http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2008/10/20/towns/enfield/doc48fc92882f0f9612036586.txt Taking charge Fermi students to grill 2nd Congressional District candidates on issues such as the economy, Iraq war By Stacey A. Silliman Journal Inquirer Published: Monday, October 20, 2008 10:55 AM EDT ENFIELD - When the three candidates for the 2nd Congressional District take the stage at Fermi High School on Tuesday to debate, they'll face a panel of students ready to make their mark on the upcoming election. The debate, which will feature a two-minute answer and one-minute rebuttal format for questions, will begin at 7 p.m. at the high school on North Maple Street. The public is invited. The students said their debate might be the only one to feature Green Party candidate G. Scott Deshefy along with incumbent U.S. Rep. Joseph D. Courtney, D-2nd District, and Republican Sean Sullivan. The candidates will draw numbers out of a hat to determine the initial speaking order. "I think he brings an interesting perspective and I think people are looking for something beyond Democrat and Republican," Meghan Ruff, a student panelist, said of the decision to include Deshefy in Tuesday's debate. "We also believe in fairness and there's a lot of green issues going on right now," Valerie Bak, the debate's greeter, added. More than 20 students have been researching the issues and the candidates for nearly a month to prepare questions for a panel of four students to ask. Ray Hardman of National Public Radio will moderate the debate and he will be permitted to ask follow-up questions if the students do not. Rachael Barillari, one of the student panelists, said the debate will be divided into foreign policy, domestic policy, and a section of questions on issues the student body deemed most important, such as college affordability and the economy. "The economy is No. 1, it's been everywhere, bombarding us," Bethany Sullivan, another student organizer, said of many of the debate's focus questions. Students also rated the war in Iraq second in their hierarchy of issues, with the environment third, according to Barillari. "We have to let these people know that we do know what we're talking about and we are going to be involved - we're about to become voters, so they better pay attention to us," Sullivan added of the student driven portion of the debate. All of the student panelists said they had watched the presidential debates between Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., but didn't garner any real insight from the moderators of those encounters to be used in their own debate. The debate program is part of the schools' Youth Vote program, which begins in fourth grade, according to Amy Witbro, partnership coordinator for Enfield public schools. Most of the students involved in the debate program are juniors and seniors who are not able to vote yet. "A lot more people are interested this time," student panelist Michelle Polek said of her fellow students. "We're the next generation and we're starting to take charge." Copyright ? 2008 - Journal Inquirer From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Tue Oct 21 15:33:18 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:33:18 -0400 Subject: {news} Ralph Ferrucci in Yale Daily News Message-ID: http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/25869 Yale Daily News Published: Monday, October 20, 2008 Ferrucci to challenge DeLauro By Victor Zapana Staff Reporter Presidential candidate Ralph Nader is not the only "Ralph" running his fourth campaign this election year. Green Party candidate Ralph Ferrucci is running his campaign as a candidate against incumbent New Haven-area Democratic U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro. Ferrucci, a New Haven local, said he plans to divert funds underwriting the war in Iraq to help pay for research on alternative fuel sources and to initiate programs that will create jobs to improve the local economy. Ferrucci and the Republican candidate Boaz Itshaky will have a difficult fight against the Connecticut political giant, who has garnered two decades of experience in Washington as a congresswoman. The Ferrucci campaign may be especially tough this year, New Haven Green Party co-chair Charles Pillsbury '70 said, because the Green Party is undergoing a what he called an existential crisis. Because Green Party member Nader has branched off to form his own third-party caucus while former Georgia U.S. Representative Cynthia McKinney runs on the national Green Party ticket, Pillsbury said, the party has unofficially split in support of the two candidates - an act that has trickled down to the New Haven sphere. Ferrucci supports Nader, and some Green Party members may not be so thrilled with that, Pillsbury said. Holding the ballot line Green Party candidates have had a constant presence in New Haven congressional elections over the past decade. But by any objective measure, the Green Party will not win this race. The Green Party will still run, some party members said. As long as the party remains on the ballot line in preparation for the next congressional election and influences the policy platform of the ultimate winner, the members added, the Green Party will remain a force in this town. For his campaign, Ferrucci is not raising funds: "I'd hate to ask people to give money in a poor economy like this," he said. But he does have a group of about a dozen close friends and high school students who are posting flyers and phone-banking New Haven residents in support of his candidacy. When asked whether he has received support from other Green Party members, Ferrucci said, "It's hard to ask them to do stuff." "They came to me. I didn't come to them," he said. "When it's time to do some work, nobody's around." In response, Ward 10 Alderman and Green Party member Allan Brison said he was "surprised" by Ferrucci's comment, saying that the candidate was a "placeholder" for the ballot line. "I didn't think Ralph was that interested in running the real campaign," he added. But Ferrucci said that he wants to campaign and be "out on the streets talking to people." Candidate for life? So far, there has not been much of a presence at Yale. Nicolas Niarchos '11, head of Yale for Nader, said he had met Ferrucci and thinks the candidate is a "decent young man." But Niarchos said he will not be proactively advocating for Ferrucci on campus and he has not heard of any Yalie who will. (Niarchos is a staff reporter for the News.) And some city Democratic officials have not noticed the campaign at all. "I've forgotten he was running," Democratic Town Committee co-chair Susan Voigt first said when contacted by the News for this article. But Green Party members said over the weekend that it is important to keep running so that their views are put in the public sphere. Both Ferrucci and Pillsbury said the Green Party campaign has helped influence DeLauro's policy plans. They claim that Although DeLauro was originally a supporter of the Iraq War, after campaigning from both Green Party members and Republicans against the war in 2002, she ultimately voted against it. Adriana Surfas, spokeswoman for DeLauro, told the News on Sunday that DeLauro has been against the war "from the beginning." She did not specifically answer the question of whether the Green Party had helped to change DeLauro's mind. Ferrucci has been running for election for some governmental position since 2003. He started as a Guilty Party candidate for New Haven mayor against incumbent John DeStefano Jr., and he ran for Congress against DeLauro in 2004 and for Senate against Lieberman 2006. While cleaning up after fixing his campaign vehicle - a Pepperidge Farm cookie delivery truck - Ferrucci said Sunday the Green Party "has been slowly dwindling away." "I'm tired, and I'm not sure if I will do it again," he said when asked whether he would run again if the election does not end in his favor. "But then again," he added, "I said that last year." From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Tue Oct 21 15:51:28 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:51:28 -0400 Subject: {news} Ralph Ferrucci in CT Post Message-ID: http://www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_10758072 Candidates vie for DeLauro's seat By FRANK JULIANO Staff writer Article Last Updated: 10/19/2008 12:33:51 AM EDT Bo and Ralph hope 3rd Congressional District voters are on a first-name basis with them, as they have been with Rosa for the past 18 years. While the heated race in the 4th Congressional District has grabbed the lion's share of attention this election year, Republican Boaz ItsHaky and Green Party candidate Ralph Ferrucci are also campaigning against a well-funded incumbent in the 3rd District. That incumbent is Rosa DeLauro, the New Haven Democrat seeking a 10th term in the sprawling district that covers much of southern-central Connecticut including Milford, the lower Naugatuck Valley and part of Stratford. Neither ItsHaky, a licensed acupuncturist with an office in Orange, or Ferrucci, a New Haven graphic artist and truck driver, have raised campaign funds. "I'd rather not ask anyone else for money,'' Ferrucci said. "I know how hard times are.'' ItsHaky admitted that he is getting almost no help from his party. "I believe that no one should run unopposed in our democracy so I asked the Republicans to nominate me. "But I am not a traditional Republican. I am part of a new generation, not of the old boys network. If I win I am going to set up an acupuncture table on the floor of Congress so I can really needle all of them,'' ItsHaky said with a smile. Ferrucci already has a reputation for needling entrenched powers-that-be, starting with his quixotic run for mayor of New Haven as the standard bearer of The Guilty Party. He has since run for the U.S. House and Senate and coordinated Ralph Nader's presidential campaign in the state. "Every campaign is about putting the issues out there, and I'm running on the issues that I feel are important in this district, including high fuel prices and the economy that means some people can't pay their mortgage and buy their medicine at the same time,'' Ferrucci said. One of his issues is the two-party system that the self-described political junkie said is "ruining'' the country. "Our Founding Fathers didn't want political parties because they knew that people would end up thinking for the party and not for themselves.'' DeLauro has worn her liberal Democrat label proudly through a career that began when she served as U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd's chief of staff. Once Dodd ended his presidential bid early this year, DeLauro threw her support behind Sen. Barrack Obama. "This is a critical election with historic implications on a number of fronts,'' the congresswoman said. "We do see a new kind of politics taking shape.'' DeLauro has seen many of her longtime legislative efforts finally bear fruit, with her party in control of the House. A bill that would require insurance companies to pay for an overnight hospital stay for a woman having a mastectomy, that couldn't get a hearing for 11 years, was passed earlier this year. The New Haven native's bill to require equity in pay for both genders languished for 12 years before winning House approval in this session. "That is the power of being in the majority,'' DeLauro said. "Now we've got to get the Senate to approve and the president to sign, which I believe will happen after this election.'' Her bill to split the U.S. Food and Drug Administration into two separate agencies is awaiting the same circumstances. She has also been credited with including a measure to increase the income tax credit for children in the financial rescue package. That means that 19,600 children in Connecticut will be newly eligible for the credit and the amount of the federal tax credit will increase for the parents of 13 million children in the U.S., including 68,000 in the state. But ItsHaky and Ferrucci slammed DeLauro for getting much of her campaign funds from political action committees. Of the slightly more than $1 million the incumbent has raised for this race, $641,128 or 64 percent has come from PACs, according to the website OpenSecrets.org "Part of my philosophy is that I take no money from special interest groups,'' said ItsHaky, a native of Israel who emmigrated to the United States after completing his military service there. "My only special interest group is 'we the people'.'' DeLauro dismissed the idea that her contributors can or should expect anything from her except dedicated public service. "People who know me know that I am not afraid to stand up to any special interest group.'' Ferrucci said that had he been in Congress he'd have opposed the $700 billion financial bailout plan. "In the 1930s (President Franklin D.) Roosevelt didn't hand out money; he created jobs. Banks lost money, so we're going to give them more?'' ItsHaky, too, said that "corporate cronyism'' and greed caused the banking meltdown, but his solution is even less regulation. "Regulations can have a very suffocating effect on business; we have to be very careful how we apply it. Regulations are not going to replace good management,'' the GOP candidate said. DeLauro said that she opposed the first version of the rescue package, "because it was a blank check,'' but supported the one that passed. "Infusion of capital to banks is a good part of this. "We have to get money to businesses so they can continue and grow,'' she said. "Without it they may have to lay people off. And we also need to get disposable income into people's pockets.'' ItsHaky said that part of his restructuring plan would be to turn out all of the sitting members of the House and Senate. "We need a fresh start in this country,'' he said. The candidate said he modified the spelling of his name from the original Hebrew to make it easier to pronounce. "Sometimes people would say "Its Shaky,' which is not what you want when you're running for Congress,'' he said with a laugh. ---------- Rosa DeLauro Democrat Age: 65 Hometown: New Haven Family: husband Stanley Greenberg, three grown children and three grandchildren. Education: Marymount College, B.A.; Columbia University, master's in International Politics;; studied at the London School of Economics. Occupation: 3rd District Congresswoman. Political background: seeking her 10th term in the U.S. House; had been chief of staff to U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd and executive director of Emily's List, a national organization dedicated to increasing the number of women in elected office. Boaz ItsHaky Republican Age: 49 Hometown: Bethany Family: divorced, no children Education: Tri-State College, master's in Oriental medicine Occupation: Acupuncturist Political background: ran unsuccessfully for Bethany first selectman and for the 17th District seat in the state Senate. Ralph Ferrucci Green Party Age: 36 Hometown: New Haven Family: Single. Education: Paier College of Arts, BFA in illustration. Occupation: graphic artist, Pepperidge Farm Co. franchisee. Political background: ran for mayor of New Haven in 2003 (as the Guilty Party candidate) and in 2007; ran for 3rd District House seat in 2004 and for U.S. Senate in 2006; served as Ralph Nader's state coordinator in 2004. From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Tue Oct 21 16:13:49 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:13:49 -0400 Subject: {news} Courant: Scott Deshefy in Enfield high school debate TONIGHT Message-ID: Notice the debate will be shown later on CPTV and E-TV Channel 16. http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-enfdebate1017.artoct17,0,5920244.story ENFIELD High School Students In Enfield Organize Election Debates By SHAWN R. BEALS The Hartford Courant October 17, 2008 ENFIELD -The town's high school students this month have been organizing two debates, one at each high school, in U.S. House, state Senate and state House races as part of the Youth Vote Program. "The students are completely in charge of every aspect of it," said Amy Witbro, school district partnership coordinator. The students at each school have done all of the research to prepare the questions for the candidates on "every topic you could imagine," Witbro said. First up is the 2nd Congressional District debate at Enrico Fermi High School among Democratic incumbent Joe Courtney and challengers Sean Sullivan, a Republican, and G. Scott Deshefy, a Green Party candidate. The debate will be held on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Enfield High School will hold a debate in the state 7th Senate District race on Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. between Republican incumbent John Kissel and Democratic challenger George Colli IV. There will also be a debate in the 58th and 59th state House district races. "We are constantly revising the questions," said Fermi senior Michelle Polek, 16. She said she is excited to see how the debate turns out and thinks that the perspective of the students will allow the questions to be precise and direct. "Every minute that we spent will be well worth it because we'll be bringing the issues to the residents in the 2nd District," Polek said. The debate will cover foreign, domestic and student issues. "We're trying to build a sense of civic responsibility," Witbro said. Witbro said the juniors and seniors running the debates will not vote in the election on Nov. 4, but will participate in a mock election that day. The Fermi debate moderator is WNPR host Ray Hardman. The debate will be taped and shown later on CPTV and E-TV Channel 16. Copyright ? 2008, The Hartford Courant From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Tue Oct 21 16:38:53 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:38:53 -0400 Subject: {news} WTIC audio: Harold Burbank on debate exclusion Message-ID: Check the audio links in the left hand column of the "Mornings with Ray and Diane" page: http://www.wtic.com/pages/5645.php There are two interviews, one with Harold, one with Jara Burnett of the League of Women Voters: Harold Burbank On being left out of the debates Exclusion of 3rd Party Candidates from Debates Jara Burnett is the Prseident of the League of Women Voters-Connecticut. Here's a direct link to the Burbank interview audio file: http://podcast.wtic.com/wtic/1384098.mp3 From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Tue Oct 21 16:49:52 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:49:52 -0400 Subject: {news} Norwich Bulletin covers Scott Deshefy in Lebanon debate Message-ID: http://www.norwichbulletin.com/news/x502302194/2nd-Congressional-District-rivals-focuson-energy-economy Race for Congress: 2nd District rivals focus on energy, economy Courtney, Sullivan, Deshefy square off in debate By MICHAEL GANNON Norwich Bulletin Posted Oct 15, 2008 @ 03:00 AM Lebanon, Conn. - The economy and energy took center stage Tuesday night at a debate featuring the three candidates for Congress in Connecticut's 2nd District. The debate at Lyman Memorial High School was sponsored by the Lebanon Business Association. It was the first time incumbent Democrat Joe Courtney and Republican Sean Sullivan faced Green Party candidate G. Scott Deshefy. Both main topics came up in the first question about market speculation, which has been blamed for driving the cost of oil higher than $140 per barrel this summer, and how they would control it if elected. Courtney said he supports measures to eliminate speculation, pointing to 2001 legislation that permitted speculation in the energy markets. "Commodities markets were never meant to be investment markets," he said. "They were intended to let farmers get a fair price for their crops." Sullivan said he wants to see a special prosecutor go after any fraud or illegal activity. He said markets absent of fraud police themselves, pointing to oil having fallen to $80 per barrel in recent weeks, leaving many speculators overextended. "Those with $145 oil futures can't sell them," he said. "They've been punished." Deshefy would eliminate speculation on many commodities and tighten regulations from 2004 that allowed investment banks to expand significantly their permitted activities. All of the candidates favor investment in alternative energy sources, though Deshefy is steadfastly opposed to expanding nuclear power. On Social Security and Medicare, Deshefy said resources have to be reallocated. "We need to eliminate earmarks and corporate welfare," he said. "We need to reduce bloated military spending by 20 to 25 percent." All of them favored a variety of measures to help small businesses, including tax breaks. Courtney and Sullivan favor allowing small businesses and the self-employed to join pools to purchase health insurance, though Deshefy supports a universal single-payer insurance system. --------- Other issues Alternative energy: Sullivan said oil drilling and nuclear are necessary to bridge the time and technology gaps to make alternatives cost-effective. Courtney and Deshefy said the changeover will not be as long or as costly as he claims. Iraq/Afghanistan: All support withdrawing troops from Iraq as quickly as possible, though they differ on timelines. Courtney wants more troops in Afghanistan. Sullivan wants to fight a sea-based campaign. Deshefy would vote against any further funding of Iraq operations. Education: Courtney touts new laws to make more money for college available through grants and low-cost loans. Sullivan wants to force colleges to check cost increases. Deshefy favors a Green Corps in which students would work on green energy projects for one to two years in return for the government paying their college tuition. Illegal immigration: Deshefy would increase protection for immigrants who are mistreated by employers. Courtney wants to reform the existing system. Sullivan calls for enforcement of existing laws. From justinemccabe at earthlink.net Wed Oct 22 07:02:49 2008 From: justinemccabe at earthlink.net (Justine McCabe) Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2008 07:02:49 -0400 Subject: {news} Fw: USGP-INT National Public Radio & online interviews with CynthiaMcKinney Message-ID: <072e01c93435$b95c8850$0402a8c0@JUSTINE> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott McLarty" To: Sent: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 2:46 AM Subject: USGP-INT National Public Radio & online interviews with CynthiaMcKinney > Two National Public Radio interviews with Cynthia McKinney this week: > > ? Wednesday, Oct. 22 > Ms. McKinney will be interviewed by Neal Conan on NPR's Talk of the > Nation, 1-3 pm ET. We're told the segment with Ms. McKinney will begin > about 2:40 pm ET. This will be a call-in show. > > ? Saturday, Oct. 25 > Ms. McKinney will be interviewed on NPR's Weekend Edition, hosted by Scott > Simon. The show begins 8 am ET, and we've learned that her interview will > take place about 8:10 am ET. > > > Recent interviews with Cynthia McKinney archived online: > > ? Cynthia McKinney's Sunday, Oct. 19 interview is archived online and can > be viewed at BreakTheMatrix.com > (http://www.breakthematrix.com/node/28047). > > This interview was originally intended to be an online forum featuring > several alternative party candidates, but the other candidates who were > invited missed the event because of confusion caused when a different > forum was scheduled to take place at the same time at Columbia University, > which was subsequently canceled. Ms. McKinney had earlier confirmed her > participation in the BreakTheMatrix.com broadcast, and followed through on > her promise. > > The organizers of the canceled forum at Columbia have announced another > forum, to take place in Washington, DC, on Thursday, Oct. 23. Despite the > organizers' claims of confirmation by the candidates, Ms. McKinney has not > been consulted on her participation in the Thursday forum or on ground > rules or other parameters of the event. We're urging members of the media > to regard announcements about the Oct. 23 forum with some caution. > > ? Cynthia McKinney was also interviewed on Thursday, Oct. 16, on Democracy > Now! following the final McCain-Obama debate, from which she and other > alternative party candidates were excluded > (http://www.democracynow.org/2008/10/16/breaking_the_sound_barrier_third). > > Scott > Media Committee > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > usgp-int mailing list > usgp-int at gp-us.org > http://forum.greens.org/mailman/listinfo/usgp-int > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.549 / Virus Database: 270.8.1 - Release Date: 10/15/2008 12:00 AM From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Wed Oct 22 14:34:44 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:34:44 -0400 Subject: {news} Green registrars in New Haven Advocate Message-ID: http://www.newhavenadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=10190 Register This Why third parties need their own registrar of voters. Thursday, October 23, 2008 By Betsy Yagla Less than half of New Haven's registered voters went to the polls in 2006 when Jodi Rell beat New Haven Mayor John DeStefano in the governor's race. Voter turnout is low, claim independents and "minor" parties, because registrars of voters aren't progressive enough. "The approach that most registrars take is very passive," says New Haven's Green Party boss, Charlie Pillsbury, who's running for registrar. "They think their job is to remove people more than it is to add people [to voter rolls]. We should be in every school every spring registering the 17-year-olds, and we need to educate them." With that kind of approach, a Green registrar of voters would benefit the whole city by increasing voter participation, says Pillsbury. Registrars oversee voter registration, voter education and administer elections - they're a key component to a democracy. For a third party candidate to become a registrar of voters, the candidate needs to take second place on election day. This is one of the few elections in which a third party candidate isn't a "spoiler" because Democrats and Republicans are guaranteed a registrar under state law, even though there are twice as many unaffiliated voters in Connecticut as there are Republicans. Hartford's Urania Petit, a community activist and the Working Families Party candidate for registrar there, is passionate and progressive about the role of registrar. "You can register people [to vote] but without educating and encouraging them it's not going to happen," she says. Petit has an elaborate education plan which includes a bimonthly voter series intended to beef up participation. "We need someone who is an activist to knock on people's doors and say, 'Have you registered? Why not?, Let's get you registered.' This job is not just for someone looking for a paycheck." New Haven, Stamford and Weston Greens are fielding candidates for registrar of voters, as are the Independents in Waterbury. They're all running on a progressive platform, saying they'll be more aggressive at registering people to vote and will focus on voter education to get voters to the polls. In New Haven, Pillsbury wants more voter registration drives; in Stamford the Greens' David Bedell wants to increase access by making voter registration forms available in all government offices. But a recent Hartford Courant editorial claims that three registrars of voters in one city is "daft." Their complaint is centered on cost: At a time when cities are laying off employees to solve budget woes, hiring another employee is economically tough. "The law needs to be changed," argues the editorial. "While we're at it, why not create one registrar per town?" Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz isn't rushing to add or subtract registrars: "At this time we think the current system provides checks and balances and we don't believe that adding additional registrars would necessarily be beneficial," she says. "Looking to the future we have been working with the Registrars of Voters Association of Connecticut and we would be open to exploring new ways to administer elections." But a third party registrar could strengthen third parties, which would create more competition and, by extension, a more vibrant democracy. "Knowledge is power," says Mike Telesca, chairman of Waterbury's Independent Party. Telesca says third parties sometimes have a hard time getting information from the two major party registrars. But a registrar position would rectify that by giving them easy access to voter rolls, to help organize the party's base, he says. "The only way you can succeed as a party is by organizing your electorate," says Mike DeRosa, state co-chair of the Green Party. "How else do you know who's in your neighborhood or town or district who have the same views as you do and want to organize around that?" byagla@ newhavenadvocate.com From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Thu Oct 23 00:11:24 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:11:24 -0400 Subject: {news} McKinney is registered write-in candidate in CT Message-ID: Registered write-in candidates have now been listed on the SotS site. You can find them through the menu at http://www.statementofvote-sots.ct.gov/StatementOfVote/WebModules/ReportsLink/CandOfficeTitle.aspx For president and VP, McKinney and Clemente are listed, which means their names will be posted on the wall in each polling place and the state is required to count their votes. There are three other presidential write-in candidates (I've added the party affiliation for identification, but it will not be posted in the polling places or recorded in official results): Baldwin and Castle (Constitution Party) Moore and Alexander (Socialist Party USA) Calero and Kennedy (Socialist Workers Party) Interestingly, Barr and Root are not listed. I believe the Libertarians are still suing to get Barr on the ballot, not as a write-in. There are write-in candidates for Congress in Districts 1, 2, 4, and 5: 1 - Matthew Coleman 2 - Todd Vachon (Socialist Party USA) 4 - Eugene Flanagan 5 - Walter Gengarelly (Libertarian) The Greens who filed for state legislature seats in Stamford are listed, along with a few non-Greens: State Senate: 19 - (1) Thomas Foley, Jr . 19 - (2) Marianne M . Allard 22 - David N . Moore 27 - David Bedell (Green) State Assembly: 121 - Thomas M . Carroll Jr . 129 - David N . Moore 144 - Richard Duffee (Green) 146 - German Tedesco (Green) 147 - Brent Yarnell (Green) 148 - David Bedell (Green) From vantagetax at aol.com Thu Oct 23 08:04:56 2008 From: vantagetax at aol.com (vantagetax at aol.com) Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2008 08:04:56 -0400 Subject: {news} Third Party Presidential Debate Tonight - 9:00 PM CSPAN In-Reply-To: Message-ID: A third party presidential debate is scheduled tonight. It is sponsored by FairVote and Fair and Equal. The sponsors have been trying unsuccessfully to reach Cynthia McKinney to invite her. If anyone knows how to reach Cynthia please contact Christina Tobin at 312-320-4101 or Christina at freeandequal.org. The debate will be held at the Mayflower Renascence in Washington D.C. tonight at 9:00. It will be moderated by Mike Hedges of the New York Times and will be covered live by CSPAN and also by CNN and other networks. Pete -----Original Message----- From: ctgp-news-bounces at ml.greens.org [mailto:ctgp-news-bounces at ml.greens.org] On Behalf Of David Bedell Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2008 12:11 AM To: ctgp-news at ml.greens.org; CTGP-elections at yahoogroups.com Subject: {news} McKinney is registered write-in candidate in CT 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 Registered write-in candidates have now been listed on the SotS site. You can find them through the menu at http://www.statementofvote-sots.ct.gov/StatementOfVote/WebModules/ReportsLin k/CandOfficeTitle.aspx For president and VP, McKinney and Clemente are listed, which means their names will be posted on the wall in each polling place and the state is required to count their votes. There are three other presidential write-in candidates (I've added the party affiliation for identification, but it will not be posted in the polling places or recorded in official results): Baldwin and Castle (Constitution Party) Moore and Alexander (Socialist Party USA) Calero and Kennedy (Socialist Workers Party) Interestingly, Barr and Root are not listed. I believe the Libertarians are still suing to get Barr on the ballot, not as a write-in. There are write-in candidates for Congress in Districts 1, 2, 4, and 5: 1 - Matthew Coleman 2 - Todd Vachon (Socialist Party USA) 4 - Eugene Flanagan 5 - Walter Gengarelly (Libertarian) The Greens who filed for state legislature seats in Stamford are listed, along with a few non-Greens: State Senate: 19 - (1) Thomas Foley, Jr . 19 - (2) Marianne M . Allard 22 - David N . Moore 27 - David Bedell (Green) State Assembly: 121 - Thomas M . Carroll Jr . 129 - David N . Moore 144 - Richard Duffee (Green) 146 - German Tedesco (Green) 147 - Brent Yarnell (Green) 148 - David Bedell (Green) 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. 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To be removed please mailto://ctgp-news-unsubscribe at ml.greens.org From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Fri Oct 24 17:51:15 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:51:15 -0400 Subject: {news} Fairfield U student paper reports Duffee-Carrano debate Message-ID: http://www.fairfieldmirror.com/news/1.843605 The Fairfield Mirror Third Party Congressional Debate is held at BCC Kim Grzybala Published: Thursday, October 23, 2008 Updated: Thursday, October 23, 2008 About the only item that maintained the usual, official atmosphere of a congressional debate Oct. 21 was the presence of the Fairfield University logo in a repeating pattern stretched across a small stage. Cameras, backed by student operators, surrounded the area as the crew prepared to begin recording the 3rd party congressional debate hosted by Finding Our Way, a new politics show on the Ham Channel. Sitting in the five chairs squished onto the platform sat two congressional candidates from third parties, two panel members, and a moderator. Darryl Brackeen Jr. '10, the host of the show, moderated the debate between Richard Duffee, the Green Party candidate and M. A. Corrano, the Libertarian Party candidate. Brackeen was accompanied by Queenie Paniagua '09 and Spencer Thibodeau '10 whom he referred to as his "distinguish panel." When asked how he would vote on the future of the war in Iraq, candidate M. A. Corrano didn't mince words. "The war on terror is a fraud. Period," he stated. Corrano gave a direct answer but still did not shed any more light on the proposed policies that he would bring to congress. "I would vote to end the war on terror. Simple as that," he said. Both candidates were present for "Finding Our Way" as a result of their exclusion from the congressional debates that were held on campus less than a week ago with Democratic candidate, Jim Himes and Republican candidate, Christopher Shays. Fiorela Canaj '11, who works on "Finding Our Way," took note of this and made it a point to expose students to the parties that were left out. "We thought it wasn't really fair, so that's why we got them here now," she said. Other students also commented on the exclusion of the third parties from the congressional debates. "I didn't think it was fair but I understood why they didn't let these candidates debate," said Rob Lavin '09. He explained that it would be difficult to have four candidates debating especially when their points of view contrast each other's so sharply. However, that aside Lavin doesn't think that simply excluding the candidates from the debate was the best way to go. "They should have given more attention to [the candidates] rather than just dismissing them," he said. Though the mission of having the debate was to inform students, Canaj wasn't discouraged by the low turnout to the live recording. "It's what I expected," she said. "We're more hoping to get people to watch online or TV than live." Other students observing the debate took notice of the differences in conduct of the candidates during the debate. At one point during the debate candidate Richard Duffee burst out into laughter at his opponent's response to the panel's question. "I've never really seen a candidate laugh like that," said Kristina Ravanis '11. From richard.duffee at gmail.com Fri Oct 24 20:57:17 2008 From: richard.duffee at gmail.com (Richard Duffee) Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:57:17 -0400 Subject: {news} Re: [FairfieldCountyGreens] Fairfield U student paper reports Duffee-Carrano debate In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <21f4f7390810241757u388e2988v93c14ed34659bb28@mail.gmail.com> Kim, I guess a perfect journalism student, managed not to report one word I said. On Fri, Oct 24, 2008 at 5:51 PM, David Bedell wrote: > http://www.fairfieldmirror.com/news/1.843605 > > The Fairfield Mirror > > Third Party Congressional Debate is held at BCC > > Kim Grzybala > > Published: Thursday, October 23, 2008 > Updated: Thursday, October 23, 2008 > > About the only item that maintained the usual, official atmosphere of a > congressional debate Oct. 21 was the presence of the Fairfield University > logo in a repeating pattern stretched across a small stage. > > Cameras, backed by student operators, surrounded the area as the crew > prepared to begin recording the 3rd party congressional debate hosted by > Finding Our Way, a new politics show on the Ham Channel. Sitting in the > five chairs squished onto the platform sat two congressional candidates > from > third parties, two panel members, and a moderator. > > Darryl Brackeen Jr. '10, the host of the show, moderated the debate between > Richard Duffee, the Green Party candidate and M. A. Corrano, the > Libertarian > Party candidate. Brackeen was accompanied by Queenie Paniagua '09 and > Spencer Thibodeau '10 whom he referred to as his "distinguish panel." > > When asked how he would vote on the future of the war in Iraq, candidate M. > A. Corrano didn't mince words. > > "The war on terror is a fraud. Period," he stated. > > Corrano gave a direct answer but still did not shed any more light on the > proposed policies that he would bring to congress. > > "I would vote to end the war on terror. Simple as that," he said. > > Both candidates were present for "Finding Our Way" as a result of their > exclusion from the congressional debates that were held on campus less than > a week ago with Democratic candidate, Jim Himes and Republican candidate, > Christopher Shays. > > Fiorela Canaj '11, who works on "Finding Our Way," took note of this and > made it a point to expose students to the parties that were left out. > > "We thought it wasn't really fair, so that's why we got them here now," she > said. > > Other students also commented on the exclusion of the third parties from > the > congressional debates. > > "I didn't think it was fair but I understood why they didn't let these > candidates debate," said Rob Lavin '09. > > He explained that it would be difficult to have four candidates debating > especially when their points of view contrast each other's so sharply. > > However, that aside Lavin doesn't think that simply excluding the > candidates > from the debate was the best way to go. > > "They should have given more attention to [the candidates] rather than just > dismissing them," he said. > > Though the mission of having the debate was to inform students, Canaj > wasn't > discouraged by the low turnout to the live recording. > > "It's what I expected," she said. "We're more hoping to get people to watch > online or TV than live." > > Other students observing the debate took notice of the differences in > conduct of the candidates during the debate. At one point during the debate > candidate Richard Duffee burst out into laughter at his opponent's response > to the panel's question. > > "I've never really seen a candidate laugh like that," said Kristina Ravanis > '11. > > __._,_.___ Messages in this topic > > (1) Reply (via web post) > | > Start a new topic > > Messages| > Files| > Photos| > Links| > Database| > Polls| > Members| > Calendar > Post message: FairfieldCountyGreens at yahoogroups.com > Subscribe: FairfieldCountyGreens-subscribe at yahoogroups.com > List owner: FairfieldCountyGreens-owner at yahoogroups.com > [image: Yahoo! Groups] > Change settings via the Web(Yahoo! ID required) > Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest| Switch > format to Traditional > Visit Your Group > | > Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe > > Recent Activity > > > Visit Your Group > > Yahoo! News > > Kevin Sites > > Get coverage of > > world crises. > Y! Groups blog > > The place to go > > to stay informed > > on Groups news! > Healthy Living > > Learn to live life > > to the fullest > > on Yahoo! Groups. > . > > __,_._,___ > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Fri Oct 24 21:32:02 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2008 01:32:02 +0000 Subject: {news} Kenric Hanson in the New London Times Message-ID: http://zip06.theday.com/blogs/new_london_times/archive/2008/10/23/election-connecticut.aspx District 39The 39th State House district has been a Democratic stronghold for more than two decades, and it would be the shocker of the season if that changed. But, as the saying goes, that?s why they play the game. Incumbent Ernest Hewett, a former City Councilor and mayor first elected to Hartford in 2004, is seeking his third term in a rematch with Republican former City Councilor Jason Catala. This is the second time Catala has sought the 39th seat and hopes to fare better than two years ago, when Hewett took 71 percent of the vote. In 2006, Catala was a fill-in candidate when Allyn de Vars, the initial nominee, dropped out of the race. The wild card in the race is Green Party candidate Kenric Hanson, a member of the city?s sustainability committee and frequent speaker at City Council meetings. Hanson will attempt to be the third party?s first elected official in New London. In the previous two municipal elections, the Green candidates narrowly missed getting on the Board of Education. Ernest HewettParty: Democrat Occupation: Carpenter Factoid: Member of the New London City Council and mayor Jason Catala Party: Republican Occupation: Teacher Factoid: Served Three Terms on the New London Board of Education. Kenric HansonParty: GreenOccupation: Property Owner Factoid: President of the New London Sustainability Committee. What is the most important issue that you will address should you be elected? Hewett: Healthcare is the number one thing. It?s one of the hardest things we had to do. We were pretty close with the municipalities this year, where we pooled healthcare together. That was a fair way, but the governor vetoed it. [Also] More money for PILOT [Payment in Lieu of Taxes] in the city of New London because a lot of our property is off the tax rolls due to non-profits, hospitals, and colleges. Those would be the priorities. Catala: The first issue I will address if elected will be to make sure that unfunded mandates that are passed down to cities and towns [are funded.] I will make sure that education mandates are funded and in turn lower taxes for citizens in New London. I will do this by putting a tax on millionaires, using lottery and casino dollars.Hanson: It?s hard to pick, being a third party candidate, without a party coalition in place. I want to promote a future focus on sustainability and define and determine our future actions. Having said that, there is one issue I want to pursue?property taxes. I?ve been working with Green New London, a group that started after the [2007 municipal] campaign and we?ve been working for a land value tax. It needs to be enacted on a state level. A lot of the conversations throughout the state, have been about doing something about property tax burdens on residents. Working with Green New London, we?ve started doing outreach to build a coalition throughout the state. We?ve reached out to Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Waterbury, and other cities, and we?re getting positive responses. That is one of my priorities. What I?ve offered to people as a reason for running is that governments?local, state, and federal?lack a long-range view of things and what we should be doing now to lessen our burdens in the future. If we keep to the status quo, we are going to experience some great failures. The land value tax legislation is going to come up, and it is something I would work strongly on. Did you support the Connecticut Supreme Court decision stating that same-sex marriage must be allowed under state law?Hewett: I supported civil unions, but gay marriage is not before us. I don?t know where I am with that. All I know is that if we had to vote on it, I don?t know where I?d be at this point. I?d be in support of civil unions, which gave gays in the state the right to have insurance purposes and legal documents, things like that. The decision has not been out long enough for me absorb what?s going on.Catala: I support the Supreme Court decision. I believe we need to respect everyone and the choices they make. I am firm believer that this decision will allow people to feel they are respected and will allow for all married individuals to have equal benefits.Hanson: Yes I do. As a civil rights issue, marriage is ultimately a legal right and economic issue. I find it incredulous that someone else?s marriage has an effect on my marriage. I don?t see that at all. I?ve been married for more than 16 years, and I imagine there have been millions of people who have been married in that time, and I haven?t felt anything from that. I see [marriage] as being a legal and economic benefit that is important to people. Not that relationships are built for those reasons, but those are benefits of the ultimate expression of love under, ultimately, law. If people want to separate what the church does from what the state does, we can have some designation, but what the state does cannot be diminished. _________________________________________________________________ Stay up to date on your PC, the Web, and your mobile phone with Windows Live. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/msnnkwxp1020093185mrt/direct/01/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Fri Oct 24 23:17:02 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2008 03:17:02 +0000 Subject: {news} Journal Inquirer covers Deshefy in Enfield debate Message-ID: Notice CPTV will show the debate Sunday at 1 PM (channels 24, 49, 53, I think). http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2008/10/22/news/doc48ff51b371e36619240158.txt Debate separates 2nd Congressional candidates on issues By Stacey A. Silliman Journal Inquirer Published: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 12:23 PM EDT ENFIELD ? A panel of four Fermi High School students pressed the three candidates for the 2nd Congressional District for 90 minutes Tuesday night on a host of issues from sex education to the war in Iraq. The four students ? Rachael Barillari, Ashley Orifice, Michelle Polek. and Meghan Ruff ? pressured U.S. Rep. Joseph D. Courtney, D-2nd District, on his voting record, challenged Republican Sean Sullivan on his party?s positions, and asked Green Party candidate G. Scott Deshefy to explain his party?s goals. The debate began with domestic policy issues such as the state children?s health program expansion that was vetoed by President Bush, stem-cell research, and home heating prices. While Sullivan was responding to a question about stem-cell research ? he said he favors adult stem-cell research, but not embryonic because of moral objections ? a member of the audience in a motorized wheelchair cried out that stem-cell research could help him if it?s expanded. In contrast to Sullivan, both Courtney and Deshefy said they supported embryonic stem-cell research. ?The president has hobbled research and other parts of the world are going at Mach speed on this,? Courtney said. ?We?re holding back our country and science.? The candidates broke sharply on energy policy with Deshefy calling for a price cap on home heating fuels and the creation of a Green Corps, similar to the Peace Corps for the environment. Courtney said there needs to be both long-term and short-term solutions, and spoke of the need to reform the commodities market as well as providing funds to help low-income homeowners afford heat and the implementation of a tax credit to allow homeowners to make energy efficiency upgrades to their homes. Sullivan spoke of the need to increase supply, and said he was supportive of both offshore drilling and Alaskan drilling. When asked about the economy, Courtney spoke of his vote against the recent $700 billion bailout measure and his work to secure funding for employers in the district to add jobs. Sullivan fired back that the economy?s problems were left to fester until a bailout was required, and he said part of the problem was Courtney?s record of voting with his party. Deshefy said the problem grew over the course of many Congresses and the Green Party was not for sale to corporate interests. On foreign policy, Courtney said he agreed with his party?s presidential candidate Illinois Sen. Barack Obama about the need to remove troops from Iraq in 16 months and refocus on Afghanistan. Sullivan, a former commander of the Groton Submarine Base and Navy veteran, spoke of the need to think about an endgame strategy to the two wars rather than chase terrorists from one country to another. Deshefy said the country needs to stop trying to remake the world in our image and support the people of Afghanistan with aid. The candidates were offered two minutes to make closing remarks to the audience of approximately 100 people. Sullivan said the district needs ?leadership, confidence, and courage,? to resolve problems that aren?t being solved because of partisanship. Deshefy told the audience that the Green Party represents the only real change in the election and its vision for America could be summed up with four Es ? economy, ethics, ecology, and energy. Courtney asked voters to re-elect him so he could ?finish the job? he started in 2006, and reminded voters that he has stood up to the Bush agenda during his tenure. The debate will be broadcast on E-TV, channel 16, today at 7 p.m., Thursday at 2 p.m., Friday at 11 p.m., and Saturday at 7 p.m. CPTV will also show the debate on Sunday at 1 p.m. _________________________________________________________________ Want to do more with Windows Live? Learn ?10 hidden secrets? from Jamie. http://windowslive.com/connect/post/jamiethomson.spaces.live.com-Blog-cns!550F681DAD532637!5295.entry?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_domore_092008 From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Sat Oct 25 00:35:20 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2008 04:35:20 +0000 Subject: {news} Greenwich Post on Duffee's exclusion Message-ID: http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/index.php?option=com_content&id=12093:minor-parties-cry-foul-over-debate-exclusion&Itemid=68 Minor parties cry foul over debate exclusion Incumbent Congressman Christopher Shays (R-4) and his Democratic challenger, Cos Cob resident Jim Himes, have finished up their debate schedule and are looking ahead to Nov. 4, but two major third-party candidates were on the outside looking in. Neither Richard Duffee, nominee for the Green Party, nor Michael Carrano, nominee for the Libertarian Party, were invited to participate in the debates. Organizers said they didn?t meet the criteria for inclusion and Mr. Duffee is crying foul. ?I?m convinced these debate organizers reached a decision before considering any of the evidence,? Mr. Duffee said in an interview with the Post on Tuesday. ?They had the decision made before we even applied to be in a debate. They made that decision based on party and not on the individual. They decided that only Republicans and Democrats should be able to debate.? The third-party candidates were not invited to appear in the series of League of Women Voters? debates in the district. State league president Jara Burnett, a Riverside resident, said that while Mr. Duffee and Mr. Carrano did meet the requirement that the candidate be on the ballot, they did not meet the other criteria for inclusion, including broad voter support, sufficient money, and evidence of a campaign being waged, such as having a headquarters, volunteers, position papers, and participation in candidate forums. ?We wanted to provide as much information to the voters from the candidates who are running a really vigorous campaign because we have a limited time format,? Ms. Burnett told the Post. Ms. Burnett said fund raising was also a factor, citing the league?s decision in 2006 to allow Libertarian Party nominee Phil Maymin to participate after he raised $40,000, but said it wasn?t the most important part of what led to the decision. ?It?s not just a matter of money,? Ms. Burnett said. ?It?s a matter of how active your campaign is. Sometimes it?s as simple as seeing whether someone answers the phone at the number we?re given [as] ?Duffee for Congress? or ?Hello.? In 2006 you saw a very active campaign from Mr. Maymin. You saw Maymin for Congress signs and he sent out mailings. I?ve yet to see anything for Mr. Duffee.? Mr. Duffee called the league?s stance ?totally arbitrary.? Mr. Duffee said he does have office space, which he claims the league found unsatisfactory, as well as a cellular phone representing the main line for the campaign that costs him $100 a month. He said he has raised more than $9,000 for the campaign, more, he claims, than Mr. Maymin had raised before the debate applications were due in 2006, and that he has actually written more position papers than Mr. Himes and the four Republican congressional challengers in the state?s other districts. ?People don?t know I?m running because I?m not in the debates,? Mr. Duffee said. ?When you get in the debates then you can raise money. It?s a chicken-and-egg situation. When I tell people I?m running they want to know why I?m not in the debates. The league is influencing voters and how people perceive the race, and they should lose their 501(c) status as an educational group because they are acting in a partisan manner favoring Republicans and Democrats.? Mr. Carrano could not be reached for comment. Richard Lion, chairman of the Connecticut Libertarian Party, told the Post he thinks the standards for third parties are unreasonably high. ?I think it hurts the voting public,? Mr. Lion said. ?We go through so much getting the signatures on petitions to actually get on the ballot and then we get shut out of the debates. It?s like you?re running a race and they tell you the established runners have to run a mile and everyone else has to run 10.? There were no third-party candidates in the Business Council of Fairfield County?s debate Monday morning in Stamford. Joseph McGee, vice president of public policy for the business council, said it was an easy decision to just focus on Mr. Shays and Mr. Himes as candidates. ?In the past we?ve had third-party candidates, but this year we wanted to focus on one of the two who will win,? Mr. McGee told the Post. ?Since we only had a 60-minute format for this debate, we wanted to give them as much time as possible to debate each other and make their positions clear.? Mr. McGee said Mr. Duffee and Mr. Carrano don?t have much of a chance of influencing the race, unlike in 2006, when Mr. Maymin had the opportunity to upset the vote. Mr. McGee said he doesn?t think the third-party candidates will do that this year. Mr. Duffee did attend the Monday debate, sitting in the audience and then passing out his literature after it was over. Mr. McGee said he understands why Mr. Duffee is disappointed in the council?s decision, but he feels it is best for voters. ?While he?s got a constitutional right to be on the ballot, this is a private organization and we wanted to focus on the two candidates,? Mr. McGee said. Ms. Burnett said there will be participation from Mr. Duffee in other league efforts, including an electronic voter?s guide and a printed guide distributed a week before the election. kborsuk@ greenwich-post.com _________________________________________________________________ See how Windows connects the people, information, and fun that are part of your life. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/msnnkwxp1020093175mrt/direct/01/ From efficacy at msn.com Sun Oct 26 09:50:44 2008 From: efficacy at msn.com (Clifford Thornton) Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2008 09:50:44 -0400 Subject: {news} Hawaii TV interview Message-ID: Many of you will probably like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd_3HowvKlA Efficacy PO Box 1234 860 657 8438 Hartford, CT 06143 efficacy at msn.com www.Efficacy-online.org "THE DRUG WAR IS MEANT TO BE WAGED NOT WON" Working to end race and class drug war injustice, Efficacy is a non profit 501 (c) 3 organization founded in 1997. 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URL: From timmckee at mail.com Mon Oct 27 09:07:05 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2008 08:07:05 -0500 Subject: {news} 'Dems see red as Repubs run as Greens' (article link, possible responses) Message-ID: <20081027130707.79572478088@ws1-5.us4.outblaze.com> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott McLarty" To: natlcomaffairs at green.gpus.org Subject: [usgp-dx] 'Dems see red as Repubs run as Greens' (article link, possible responses) Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2008 07:04:12 +0000 Angel Torres of the Arizona GP sent me an interesting article: "Dems see red as Republicans run as Greens" http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/10/11/20081011greenparty1011.html On the evidence of the Democrats' failure to oppose the Bush-Cheney agenda and their retreat to the right on issue after issue, we could just as easily accuse the Democratic Party of harboring Republicans disguised as Democratic candidates. Situations like the one described in the article are the perfect opportunity to remind Dems that instant runoff voting is a good way to eliminate the so-called spoiler threat and GOP tactics like the one described in the article. Running a Republican as a Green candidate in order to pull votes away from a Democrat would be pointless in an IRV election. Scott _________________________________________________________________ Want to read Hotmail messages in Outlook? The Wordsmiths show you how. http://windowslive.com/connect/post/wedowindowslive.spaces.live.com-Blog-cns!20EE04FBC541789!167.entry?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_hotmail_092008 _______________________________________________ Natlcomaffairs mailing list To send a message to the list, write to: Natlcomaffairs at green.gpus.org To unsubscribe or change your list options, go to: http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/natlcomaffairs You must know your password to do this. If you can't figure out how to unsubscribe, as a last resort only, send a message OFF LIST to steveh at olypen.com If your state delegation changes, please see: http://gp.org/committees/nc/documents/delegate_change.html To report violations of listserv protocol, write to forummanagers at lists.gp-us.org For other information about the National Committee, see: http://gp.org/committees/nc/ ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- See Exclusive Video: Hollywood Life's 5th Annual Style Awards http://www.hollywoodlife.net/Awards.aspx?AwardsID=style2008 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From timmckee at mail.com Mon Oct 27 09:07:07 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2008 08:07:07 -0500 Subject: {news} 'Dems see red as Repubs run as Greens' (article link, possible responses) Message-ID: <20081027130715.D9692478088@ws1-5.us4.outblaze.com> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott McLarty" To: natlcomaffairs at green.gpus.org Subject: [usgp-dx] 'Dems see red as Repubs run as Greens' (article link, possible responses) Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2008 07:04:12 +0000 Angel Torres of the Arizona GP sent me an interesting article: "Dems see red as Republicans run as Greens" http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/10/11/20081011greenparty1011.html On the evidence of the Democrats' failure to oppose the Bush-Cheney agenda and their retreat to the right on issue after issue, we could just as easily accuse the Democratic Party of harboring Republicans disguised as Democratic candidates. Situations like the one described in the article are the perfect opportunity to remind Dems that instant runoff voting is a good way to eliminate the so-called spoiler threat and GOP tactics like the one described in the article. Running a Republican as a Green candidate in order to pull votes away from a Democrat would be pointless in an IRV election. Scott _________________________________________________________________ Want to read Hotmail messages in Outlook? The Wordsmiths show you how. http://windowslive.com/connect/post/wedowindowslive.spaces.live.com-Blog-cns!20EE04FBC541789!167.entry?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_hotmail_092008 _______________________________________________ Natlcomaffairs mailing list To send a message to the list, write to: Natlcomaffairs at green.gpus.org To unsubscribe or change your list options, go to: http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/natlcomaffairs You must know your password to do this. If you can't figure out how to unsubscribe, as a last resort only, send a message OFF LIST to steveh at olypen.com If your state delegation changes, please see: http://gp.org/committees/nc/documents/delegate_change.html To report violations of listserv protocol, write to forummanagers at lists.gp-us.org For other information about the National Committee, see: http://gp.org/committees/nc/ ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- See Exclusive Video: Hollywood Life's 5th Annual Style Awards http://www.hollywoodlife.net/Awards.aspx?AwardsID=style2008 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Mon Oct 27 17:46:08 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:46:08 -0400 Subject: {news} Stamford Times: John Reilly on Duffee's exclusion Message-ID: John Reilly writes a summary of each week's political developments for the Stamford Times. It looks like he actually read Richard's flyer--I don't think any other journalist has summarized a Green platform so well; they usually just pick out one point, if they mention the platform at all. http://www.thestamfordtimes.com/story/457929 Republican Chris Shays and his challenger Jim Himes for the 4th District congressional seat met for the umpteenth time in the Chamber of Commerce/Patriot Bank-sponsored debate last week. Himes seemed more self-assured than in earlier outings, and Shays, armed as always with an armful of documents and notebooks, was his professorial self. It got a little heated at times, but, again, I don't think any votes were changed. Shays's aides passed out an 88-page booklet, which he called "A record of Independent, Bipartisan and Effective Leadership." Meanwhile, the man who wasn't there, Richard Duffee, the Green Party candidate, was denied access to the debate. His supporters picketed on the sidewalk outside the Norwalk Inn & Conference Center. Duffee campaigns for nuclear disarmament, stopping global warming, international economic reforms, closing Guantanamo Bay, restoring taxes on millionaires, a single-payer universal health coverage system, ending "the phony war on drugs." Oh, yes -- and impeach Bush and Cheney "domestic enemies of the Constitution." From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Mon Oct 27 18:13:06 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:13:06 -0400 Subject: {news} Courant profile of Harold Burbank Message-ID: http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-5green1027.artoct27,0,7933462.story 5TH DISTRICT 5th District Green Party Candidate Wages Campaign Of Principle By DANIELA ALTIMARI The Hartford Courant October 27, 2008 CANTON - He was a teenager working at a golf course in his hometown of Kennebunkport, Maine, when a well-heeled patron came in with a question: Who among all of these caddies could run a lawn mower without running over their feet? Harold H. Burbank II could, and thus began his long and complicated relationship with the Bush family. Burbank worked as a groundskeeper at Walker's Point, the Bush family's compound on the Maine coast, all through high school. He forged a connection with George H.W. Bush that continues in the form of sporadic correspondence about world affairs. And now he's running for Congress on a Green Party platform that calls for the impeachment of Bush's son. This year, for the first time, the Green Party of Connecticut is fielding a full slate of congressional candidates: Stephen Fournier in the 1st Congressional District, Scott Deshefy in the 2nd, Ralph Ferrucci in the 3rd and Richard Duffee in the 4th. Burbank, 51, a lawyer from Canton, is seeking to oust 5th District Rep. Christopher Murphy. Burbank voted for the freshman Democrat two years ago. But a 2007 forum at New Britain High School changed Burbank's mind. The subject was Iraq, and Burbank wanted to know why Murphy didn't support an effort by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, to impeach President George W. Bush. "I went down and took the microphone, and I said, 'Mr. Murphy, you and I seem to agree that Mr. Bush has lied to the American people regarding weapons of mass destruction,'" Burbank recalled. "Why are you not joining your colleagues who are [drafting] articles of impeachment?" Murphy "didn't offer a direct answer," Burbank said. (In an interview Friday, Murphy said he appreciates Burbank's activism but believes that an impeachment attempt would "only produce more partisan rancor and gridlock.") To Burbank, there is little difference between Republicans and Democrats. "They both depend on the same sources of funding," he said. While Murphy and 5th District GOP candidate David Cappiello have each raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, Burbank's campaign treasury is pretty much nonexistent. But that's OK. "I was taught at a very young age to be independent and self-reliant," he said. Burbank grew up in Maine; his mother came from a family of Wall Street lawyers who summered in Camden, and his father's relatives were working-class farmers and loggers. He holds a master's degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin and a law degree from the Franklin Pierce Law Center. Tonight, Burbank and independent candidate Thomas Winn will have a chance to pitch their messages directly to the voters in a debate at 6 p.m. at Farmington High School sponsored by the Farmington Chamber of Commerce. This is the first - and only - debate featuring all 5th District candidates. Burbank has no illusions about the magnitude of the task ahead. But, he added, "somebody has to make these statements." For more coverage of Connecticut's congressional races, visit http://courant.com/ctraces Copyright ? 2008, The Hartford Courant From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Mon Oct 27 18:32:48 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:32:48 -0400 Subject: {news} CT Post: Ferrucci supports single-payer healthcare in debate Message-ID: http://www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_10822753 DeLauro, challengers spar in debate By FRANK JULIANO Staff writer Article Last Updated: 10/27/2008 03:04:04 AM EDT HAMDEN --The three candidates running for U.S. Congress in the 3rd District faced each other Sunday morning at Congregation Mishkan Israel, and offered very different prescriptions for what is ailing the country. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3, and her challengers Republican Boaz ItsHaky and Green Party candidate Ralph Ferrucci took turns answering questions posed by the audience at a breakfast in the synagogue's auditorium. ItsHaky took several pointed jabs at DeLauro's record, which she either clarified or ignored. At one point Ferrucci acted as a mediator, pointing out to ItsHaky that DeLauro did oppose the original financial rescue package proposed by U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, though she voted in favor of the two versions that reached the House floor. "She says she opposed it, but she voted for it,'' the Republican said, exasperated. "This is the kind of spin that gets us into trouble and we have to stop it. Congress is in the pocket of big business. Rosa has received $150,000 for her campaign from agribusiness.'' DeLauro replied that no one has ever questioned her record in standing up to lobbyists. When the bill supported by pharmaceutical companies that banned reimportation of drugs and prevented the federal government from negotiating with drug companies for lower prices was being discussed, "there were 435 representatives and 600 lobbyists in the hall that day,'' the congresswoman said. "I have personally taken on these special interests, but I do agree that they have too much influence.'' Ferrucci told the audience that he hasn't had health insurance for 17 years, because as the owner of a small business he can't afford it. "I worked on the Connecticut Health Security Act, which was written by a doctor, who was certainly not trying to take money out of his own pocket,'' the Green Party candidate said. "It would have covered everyone in Connecticut, but it didn't pass.'' ItsHaky said a public-private partnership similar to the one that provides health care to residents of Switzerland would work best here. "A single-payer system controlled by the government is something that I am completely opposed to.'' DeLauro said any new administration will have to tackle health care reform as a priority, but that she'd like to see a system that builds off the existing one, allowing people who are satisfied with their coverage to keep it. "We also need to make a serious effort on prevention. Seventy-five percent of the cost is for treatment of chronic illnesses, many of which are preventable.'' While ItsHaky recommended allowing new offshore drilling for oil as a solution to the energy crisis, at least until alternative sources are commercially viable, both DeLauro and Ferrucci insisted that the sooner America weans itself off of petroleum, the better. DeLauro countered that the technologies are available now, "but you need to have leadership who has the belief in these energy sources. "Until now the people who have been in the White House have been all about oil.'' Some of the technology is not even new, Ferrucci said. "Diesel engines 100 years ago were designed to run on peanut oil, whatever a farmer could produce himself. Those engines were never meant to run on petroleum, and bio-diesel can be made from old cooking oil. It takes petroleum to make fuel cells, so how environmentally sound can it be?'' All three agreed that there should be a timetable for recalling U.S. troops from Iraq. "I think at this point the only one not calling for a timetable is John McCain,'' DeLauro said. From timmckee at mail.com Tue Oct 28 08:39:11 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2008 07:39:11 -0500 Subject: {news} NB Herald-"G. P. Candiate Wins Over Voters at Debate" Message-ID: <20081028123911.973481CE8FB@ws1-6.us4.outblaze.com> The audience, who remained basically quiet during the debate, broke in to applause and cheers at Burbank's remarks. Cheshire council member Tim White drove to Farmington for the chance to see all four candidates. A Republican, White said he was undecided on who he would vote for in November, but thought Burbank's passion added to the debate. Several audience members also agreed Burbank had come on strong and displayed strong convictions on a variety of subjects. Registered Republican Janet Buonaiuto of Washington said she would be casting a vote for Burbank because the state was in need of change. "I'm looking for a candidate who not only will represent me, but everyone in a way that will help us," she said. "I think Harold Burbank will do that." 10/27/2008 Four face off in 5th District debate By JAMES CRAVEN , Herald staff [IMAGE]FARMINGTON - A final debate for a seat from the 5th District in the U.S. House of Representatives drew more than 150 people Monday night to hear four candidates speak on subjects from the current financial crisis to the war in Iraq. The debate, which included Democrat Chris Murphy, Republican David Cappiello, Green Party candidate Harold Burbank and Thomas Winn, of the Independent Party, was sponsored by the Farmington Chamber of Commerce. This was the first debate in which all four candidates participated because of a ruling by the League of Women Voters to block Burbank and Winn from participating in their debates. Carol Presutti, president of the chamber, said her organization thought it only fair to allow all the candidates to be heard."We've never done this before, but we thought it would be a public service," she said. "Our mission is to help businesses and our community and this is a way for us to do just that." Moderated by WVIT's Tom Monahan, each candidate made a two-minute opening statement, followed by questions submitted by the political parties, also with two minutes to answer. Burbank, who pulled a long straw to decide who would go first, immediately launched into his views on the Iraq War and Murphy's role in not doing more to impeach President George W. Bush. In the strongest language that would be heard during the debate, Burbank lashed out at Murphy for doing little to bring Bush to "justice." "There are 4,100 soldiers lost, 100,000 soldiers wounded and more than one million Iraqis dead," he said. Burbank also held Murphy accountable for his stance on health care and the financial crisis. In response, Murphy said he was proud of the work he had accomplished during the past two years, but allowed that much work still needed to be done. "We had a Congress and a White House willing to look the other way while Wall Street took on unjustifiable and unmanageable risk that put our entire economy in peril," Murphy said. "I went down to Washington two years ago to take Washington back." Cappiello, in his opening statement, talked about his Lebanese and Italian background, his family's business and the plight of small-business owners. "We have a Congress that has gone wild," he said, adding that he was worried about the future of his children given the deficit. The final opening statement by Winn was less directed at Murphy, but also seemed less in touch with the debate. "Our Congress is just dysfunctional," Winn said. He then meandered through a list of grievances seemingly without connection. Describing himself as a "Reaganite," Winn grew most agitated when talking about the war. Cappiello distanced himself from his party leader, and said he had been opposed to the surge of troops in Iraq. "We need to withdraw our troops as quickly as possible," he said. The audience, who remained basically quiet during the debate, broke in to applause and cheers at Burbank's remarks. Burbank, a human rights lawyer, said the United States needs to get out of Iraq immediately, bring in the United Nations, and consider paying reparations to the Iraqi people. A question on whether there should be a tax increase given the current recession, drew mostly party-line responses, with Murphy and Cappiello taking a stand against excessive taxation on middle-class families. Cheshire council member Tim White drove to Farmington for the chance to see all four candidates. A Republican, White said he was undecided on who he would vote for in November, but thought Burbank's passion added to the debate. Several audience members also agreed Burbank had come on strong and displayed strong convictions on a variety of subjects. Registered Republican Janet Buonaiuto of Washington said she would be casting a vote for Burbank because the state was in need of change. "I'm looking for a candidate who not only will represent me, but everyone in a way that will help us," she said. "I think Harold Burbank will do that." http://www.newbritainherald.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=1641&dept_id=10109&newsid=20179427 Click Here! ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- See Exclusive Video: Hollywood Life's 5th Annual Style Awards http://www.hollywoodlife.net/Awards.aspx?AwardsID=style2008 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From timmckee at mail.com Tue Oct 28 09:30:23 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2008 08:30:23 -0500 Subject: {news} Seeking Official State Party Channels on YouTube Message-ID: <20081028133023.9679D1059D@ws1-3.us4.outblaze.com> I think we need to pursue this after the elections- our own U Tube channel ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Feinstein" To: "The natlcomaffairs (aka USGP-DX) listserv is used to discuss issues related to coordinated national actions and current issues." Subject: [usgp-dx] Seeking Official State Party Channels on YouTube Date: Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:16:37 -0700 Dear NC members As part of my responsibilities as webmaster of www.globalgreens.org, I am updating the official video sites of national Green Parties around the world, and the state parties that are members of them. Some national and state parties have an official video page on their own party web page and a Channel on YouTube. Some have either but not both. Do any of your state parties have either an official video pages on your state party site, or a YouTube Channels that is officially sanctioned by your state party? If so, please send me the link. I am not looking for YouTube Channels that are the projects of individuals. Thanks Mike _______________________________________________ Natlcomaffairs mailing list To send a message to the list, write to: Natlcomaffairs at green.gpus.org To unsubscribe or change your list options, go to: http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/natlcomaffairs You must know your password to do this. If you can't figure out how to unsubscribe, as a last resort only, send a message OFF LIST to steveh at olypen.com If your state delegation changes, please see: http://gp.org/committees/nc/documents/delegate_change.html To report violations of listserv protocol, write to forummanagers at lists.gp-us.org For other information about the National Committee, see: http://gp.org/committees/nc/ ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- See Exclusive Video: Hollywood Life's 5th Annual Style Awards http://www.hollywoodlife.net/Awards.aspx?AwardsID=style2008 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Tue Oct 28 16:20:26 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:20:26 -0400 Subject: {news} Yale Daily News: Burbank continues bid Message-ID: http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/26062 Yale Daily News Published: Tuesday, October 28, 2008 Burbank continues bid By Nicolas Niarchos Staff Reporter FARMINGTON, Conn. - Even though third-party candidates have been denied access to the 2008 presidential debates, all the congressional candidates in Connecticut's 5th District met here last night for their only debate before next Tuesday's elections. While many consider Connecticut a securely Democratic state, the debate at Farmington High School - which included the this district's third-party candidates - was abuzz with accusations against the incumbent, Democratic Rep. Chris Murphy. One such detractor is the Green Party's Harold Burbank, an attorney and human rights advocate who decided to run on anti-war platform. An integral part of that platform originally was his desire to impeach George W. Bush ' 68 and Dick Cheney. "I decided to run because our congressman refused to support our impeachment against one of the greatest war criminals ever who occupies the presidency of the United States," he said in an interview. Burbank contends that Murphy "voted for every single Bush war funding bill except for one." He also places the deaths of Connecticut soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan on Murphy's hands. "Well, we've lost 43 soldiers right here," he said of the 5th District, "43 of Mr. Murphy's potential constituents that he has caused to be murdered by his support of this war." Despite his inflammatory rhetoric, Burbank speaks like a lawyer. Fittingly, he said he was inspired to run by Francis Boyle of the University of Illinois Law School, a leading proponent of impeaching Bush and Cheney. Asked whether he supported Burbank's candidacy, Boyle replied: "Certainly, unequivocally. . I think he has outstanding positions on just about every issue out there." Back at the debate, the atmosphere was calm. Senior citizens sat with high school students, listening attentively, clapping where appropriate. They knew the format well from television - each candidate had two minutes to debate topics ranging from the environment to immigration. But few of the candidates were smiling. Murphy sat hunched on his chair. Independent Party candidate Tom Winn and Republican State Sen. David Cappiello of Danbury were stoic at their podiums. Burbank stood for most of the debate, bursting into fluid bouts of highly technical speech when questioned. Indeed, the real battle was raged between Murphy and his third party opponents who leveled accusations of his support for the Iraq War against him. Laurie Dobson, an Independent Party member who sought to challenge Sen. Susan Collins of Maine this fall, was particularly impressed by Burbank. Just as Burbank said he had been inspired by Boyle, Dobson said she had been motiviated to run for Senate by Burbank's campaign. "He's very clear, very intelligent," she said. "I trust that he would be a very good leader." Farmington High School students were pleased to see all the candidates debate. Brendan Gibbs, a senior, praised the fact that all candidates were represented. "It's more fair," he said. Julia Cooperman, another Farmington senior, was particularly enthused by the debate. "To see them up there, you see how they present themselves to each other, to the audience, to the moderator," she said. "You get a different opinion than when you just hear them on the radio." This debate was the sole event in the state to invite third-party candidates. From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Tue Oct 28 16:33:01 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:33:01 -0400 Subject: {news} New London Day on Scott Deshefy; debate tonight in Lyme Message-ID: http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=7b33402f-30b1-45ae-9d2b-6aaac911b8b0 Sullivan, Deshefy Are Still Chasing Courtney As 2nd District Candidates Gear Up For Debate By Ted Mann Published on 10/28/2008 Sean Sullivan, the Republican Congressional candidate, had just arrived at the gate of Electric Boat on a recent afternoon, flanked by volunteers with big blue "Sullivan" signs, when a worker on his way into the submarine yard reached over to shake his hand. "I voted for you last time, too," the man said, then passed through a gate in the fence. Sullivan - who will debate his opponents, Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, and G. Scott Deshefy tonight at Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School - only chuckled and shrugged at what was an obvious, if seemingly benign, untruth. The Gales Ferry attorney and former submarine commander has never so much as run for school board, let alone the U.S. Congress. Sullivan's campaign looked promising at the outset primarily because of his resume: As the retired commander of the Naval Submarine Base in Groton, the Republican would use his own military background to make the case he is better prepared to protect the 2nd District's major military installation, and by extension, Electric Boat. But he has struggled in fundraising, taking in less than $385,000 compared to Courtney's $2.2 million. And in the final weeks of this contest, Sullivan is increasingly waging a battle against Courtney on more philosophic grounds, arguing that the federal government should have a far less extensive role in the world at large and in communities close to home. In a debate last week at Enrico Fermi High School in Enfield, Sullivan called for the transformation of the No Child Left Behind education program into a "No Strings Attached" plan - to bring federal revenue to this state's education system without federal mandates on its use. He has expressed similar views about restricting the reach and expansion of government on a variety of topics, separating himself from both his opponent and his party's unpopular president. Sullivan has said invading Iraq was a mistake and condemned the "nation-building" exercise of power under President Bush. And in the same debate last week, he even poked fun at another struggling Republican - Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the presidential nominee - who responded to hostilities between Russia and Georgia by declaring, "We are all Georgians." "I do not believe we should be rushing in to support one side or the other in any of these conflicts," Sullivan said. "I am not a Georgian. I come from Connecticut." Sullivan has also tried to push the debate toward the topic of energy infrastructure, where he feels Congress and Courtney have been lacking. First candidate from Green Party G. Scott Deshefy faced a higher hurdle just to get into the race. Deshefy, the first Green Party candidate to qualify in a 2nd District Congressional contest, walked the neighborhoods of this sprawling eastern Connecticut territory and estimates he met almost 15,000 voters in the course of assembling the petitions that got him his place on the ballot. "That's something that my two major party competitors have not and probably would not have done even if they were put to the task as I was," Deshefy said in a phone interview. He has charged that despite vigorous partisan conflict, little separates Courtney and Sullivan or their respective parties. "If somebody asked, 'Well, what does the Democratic Party represent in this election or what does the Republican Party represent?' ... it's very ambiguous," he said. By contrast, Deshefy has called for distinctly populist solutions to the current financial crisis - letting "natural selection take over" in the collapse of over-leveraged banks and hedge funds - and using a tax on corporate profits to pay for the cost of steadying the home-lending markets. And he unabashedly supports a move to "universal, single-payer health insurance," while Courtney and Sullivan back the general outlines put forward by their parties' respective presidential nominees, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and McCain. Even on the controversial issue of Iraq, where Courtney and Sullivan have both supported reductions in troop levels, Deshefy says only the Greens are talking about a true break from current policy. "First of all, the Green Party and I are in favor not only of getting troops out of Iraq within 10 months, but also getting our corporate interests out of Iraq," he said. "The other candidates simply aren't going to touch that issue." Smooth campaign for Courtney The congressman from the 2nd District has come a long way since Nov. 28, 2006, the date Secretary of the State Susan L. Bysiewicz certified his 83-vote margin of victory over Rob Simmons after a district-wide recount. Courtney thus began his Congressional career as an immediately vulnerable incumbent, but has had a relatively smooth campaign. His fundraising has enabled a last-minute push of positive TV advertising, and a major procedural victory - the adjustment by one year of the scheduled beginning of increased production of Virginia-class submarines - has helped disarm the issue of defense spending and protecting the sub base, notwithstanding Sullivan's argument that the new funding has yet to stimulate jobs in Groton. Courtney's campaign has also highlighted his opposition, twice, to the proposed federal bailout of the financial sector, and efforts to provide greater funding for education. As the final week of the campaign approached, Courtney was back in Washington on Friday, sitting in on hearings on a possible second stimulus package for the economy - an area where Democrat and Republican actually come close to agreement. Both have called for investments in infrastructure to create jobs and keep families afloat. From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Tue Oct 28 16:42:36 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:42:36 -0400 Subject: {news} Manchester Journal-Inquirer reports on Fournier and opponents Message-ID: http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2008/10/26/connecticut/doc490290970027b098533302.txt Larson foes face uphill challenge to convince voters they could do better By Kimberly Phillips Journal Inquirer Published: Saturday, October 25, 2008 1:46 AM EDT In a state where voters in the 27 towns that comprise the 1st Congressional District also are primarily Democrat, Republican Joe Visconti, come the close of polls on Election Day, could be singing the blues. After a decade in Washington, U.S. Rep. John B. Larson again is seeking a return to Congress, and is favored to beat Visconti and Green Party candidate Stephen Fournier with the same ease he's enjoyed during the last several campaigns. But that's not for lack of trying on his opponents' part. Visconti's supporters, rooted in his hometown of West Hartford where he serves on the Town Council, have dotted the landscape in neighborhoods in towns including East Hartford, East Windsor, Manchester, South Windsor, Windsor, and Windsor Locks with his campaign signs. * And he's delivered plans to reform taxes by allowing residents to deduct some or all of their heating costs on their federal income tax returns, curb illegal immigration by investigating municipalities with sanctuary laws, and cope with the energy crisis by releasing petroleum from the country's strategic reserve for use this winter. Similarly, Fournier, of Hartford, criticized Larson's recent vote supporting the $700 billion dollar Wall Street bailout calling the legislation "a patchwork of political deals," and criticizing the congressman's aversion to election debates. Nevertheless, few can compete with an incumbent who's collected $1.3 million in contributions for the campaign through Sept. 30, according to the Federal Election Commission's Web site. Larson - who started in politics in his hometown of East Hartford, serving on the Town Council and Board of Education there before moving to Hartford as a legislator - has been the man to beat in the 1st District since he first set up office in Washington. In 2002, he secured 67 percent of the vote against Hartford Republican Phil Steele. Then in 2004 and 2006, he trounced Wethersfield Republican John Halstead and East Granby Republican Scott MacLean, respectively, by 3-to-1 margins. A third Republican, New Canaan resident Miriam Masullo came onto the political landscape in 2002 and 2006, pledging to move into the 1st District should she actually beat Larson and win the seat. But Masullo never started house hunting - she lost her party endorsement to Steele in 2002 when he forced a primary against her and to MacLean in 2006 when she challenged him for his nomination in a primary. This time around, Masullo has been quiet, saying in March that she planned to stay out of the 1st District race. Campaign aside, Larson has spent the last several years visiting the Middle East as a dignitary and then returning to criticize the Bush administration' s handling of the war in Iraq and the military's continued presence there. But during the last several months he turned his focus to domestic issues, tending to the nation's economic crisis and soliciting input from constituents, most recently during a forum at Manchester Community College explaining the bailout plan and his vote in favor of it. This week, Larson announced his creation of the "First Congressional District Youth Cabinet," designed to engage area youth in politics and national issues and to provide them access to Washington's legislative process. According to Larson, the cabinet is the first congressional youth advisory board in the nation. He's also been a staunch advocate of fuel-cell technology, supporting the efforts of South Windsor-based UTC Power, and has shepherded military contracts to East Hartford-based Pratt & Whitney. Still, his opponents believe they can do better. "Congress is disconnected, out of touch, and out of time," Visconti said during his campaign announcement. "I intend to bring some old-fashioned common sense to Washington and influence all those around me to do the same." Fournier, who's indicated he entered the race when Larson refused to support Fournier in his call to impeach Bush, said simply that cleaning up Congress is "a dirty job that somebody has to do." QUESTIONNAIRE 1) What steps do you favor, apart from conservation, to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil? VISCONTI: Moratoriums should be lifted off of all off-shore drilling restriction. New legislation, which would encourage and increase hybrid, hydrogen, and fuel cell technology in the production of cars in the auto industry. Increase in shale-to-oil and coal-to-gas production with environmental precautions. Encourage the increase in development of wind and solar production. LARSON: This issue is critical to rebuilding our economy. We must challenge the ingenuity of Americans to develop the technology we need to move beyond oil. That means significant investments in alternative energy. Fuel cells, like those made in Connecticut, are a key, and I have already helped pass legislation that provides grants and tax incentives to grow this technology. We must use a mixture of natural gas, clean coal, wind, solar, and nuclear power in innovative ways to limit our need for foreign oil. It is vital for both our economy and our national security. FOURNIER: I favor no-fare public ground transportation and rapid conversion to non-fuel-burning sources, especially solar, wind, and geothermal. Modern technology makes free ground travel possible, and the injurious effects of fuel burning, along with the scarcity of fuel, make it imperative. If we pay the fares for bus and train, people will leave their cars in the garage, and the demand for gasoline will plummet. We'll save a bundle. We should also be installing photovoltaics wherever the sun shines and windmills wherever the wind blows. We must break the stranglehold of Big Oil (foreign and domestic) over our political system. 2) What, if any, initiatives by the federal government do you favor to make medical insurance more available to people who do not have it through their employment or cannot afford it on their own? VISCONTI: Encourage employers, through federal tax incentives, to offer health care to all employees. For those that cannot afford it on their own, the states offer specific programs, like Husky, to cover the individuals and their families. LARSON: Health care is a complex issue that requires all of us to balance humane and economic issues. I believe that we must work to ensure equal access to quality health care. Our health care system must change to emphasize wellness and preventative care as well as personal responsibility. The federal government has an important role to play by providing a safety net and ensuring basic care is available to all. Government, together with businesses, health care, and insurance companies, must work to control spiraling administrative costs. FOURNIER: I support universal, single-payer health care. Workers in Europe have free health care, funded with taxes. Americans don't have a comparable system because the insurance industry finances our public officials. Employers must provide most of the coverage, and they're cutting benefits every year. Health costs are a major cause of bankruptcy in our nation. If Medicare - the national health care system for people over 65 - were extended to everyone, we would save billions in administrative costs, and Americans would be healthier and more secure. In Congress, I would press for a universal, taxpayer-funded health system, starting, immediately, with Medicare for all. 3) What kind of situations around the world justify the use of U.S. military force? VISCONTI: Where American interests and its citizens are in harm's way and diplomatic relations have deteriorated to a point where failure to utilize military force could lead to catastrophic outcomes. LARSON: Successful foreign policy is centered on diplomacy, deterrence, and containment. Both Democratic and Republican presidents have employed these principals for the past 50 years. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration has chosen preemption and unilateralism. In the process, the United States violated both the Weinberger doctrine, which holds we should never enter a war unless our vital interests are threatened or an eminent threat exists, and the Powell corollary - if we do go to war, we should use overwhelming force and have a clear exit strategy. I believe that those principals should guide us. One area where I believe military force must continue to be applied is dealing with Osama Bin Laden. He is still at large and represents an imminent threat and should be dealt with immediately. FOURNIER: The United Nations charter defines the circumstances under which a nation may use military force, and our Constitution requires a formal declaration of war. Any killing that takes place outside these legal boundaries is murder. Both of the current U.S. engagements are crimes under international law and under our own laws. Both are being waged for political advantage and both are aggressive and preemptive in character. I favor the application of the rule of law to warfare, and I insist on impeachment, removal and prosecution of any federal officer that breaches legal requirements, including the president and vice president. From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Wed Oct 29 01:29:30 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2008 01:29:30 -0400 Subject: {news} audio of 10/27 NPR interview with all 5 Congressional candidates Message-ID: Go to this webpage of the CT Public Broadcasting Network for photos, audio, and to post comments. http://cpbn.org/program/where-we-live/episode/its-green-party It's a Green Party! Where We Live - with John Dankosky Aired: 10/27/2008 In this episode: Green Party Candidates from all five congressional districts in studio today. Host: John Dankosky Guest(s): * Scott Deshefy * Stephen Fournier * Richard Duffee * Harold Burbank [* Ralph Ferrucci] Contributor(s): Libby Conn Episode Audio 51:59 minutes (24.96 MB) Download this Episode http://cpbn.org/files/audio/Where%20We%20Live%2010-27-2008.mp3 The Green Party is running a full slate of candidates for Congress in Connecticut this year. they hope to have an impact on the issues being discussed. The party of environmental conservation and social justice has been making inroads in the state, especially on the municipal level, for years. Today, a chance for you to hear from green party cong candidates and ask them questions. Join the conversation! Leave questions and comments below. See more pictures of the Green Party candidates on WNPR's Flickr Site. http://cpbn.org/files/audio/Where%20We%20Live%2010-27-2008.mp3 From timmckee at mail.com Wed Oct 29 20:24:29 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:24:29 -0500 Subject: {news} GP RELEASE Green statehouse candidates to watch on Election Day 2008 Message-ID: <20081030002429.B219747808F@ws1-5.us4.outblaze.com> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott McLarty" To: natlcomaffairs at green.gpus.org Subject: [usgp-dx] GP RELEASE Green statehouse candidates to watch on Election Day 2008 Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:29:36 +0000 GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES http://www.gp.org For Immediate Release: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 Contacts: Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty at greens.org Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene at gp.org Green Party candidates for state legislature to watch on Election Day 2008 ? General Green Party election information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml ? More candidates to watch: http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/candidate-news.php WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party of the United States is running an outstanding slate of candidates for state legislature in 2008, with a few strong possibilities of victory on Election Day. Four such candidates are profiled below. The most impressive list of candidates comes from Illinois, where the Green Party (http://www.ilgp.org) is running 54 candidates for public office, more than any other Green Party, among whom 18 candidates are seeking seats in the state legislature. At least 245 Green candidates will be on ballots on Election Day, November 4. At least 293 Greens have run for public office throughout 2008, including the November 4 election. More Green candidates to watch are listed at: http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/candidate-news.php The Green Party's 2008 national nominees are Cynthia McKinney and running mate Rosa Clemente. Ms. McKinney was interviewed on BreakTheMatrix.com on Sunday evening, October 19 (http://www.breakthematrix.com/node/28047) and on Democracy Now!, October 16, following the final presidential debate, from which she was excluded (http://www.democracynow.org/2008/10/16/breaking_the_sound_barrier_third). ? Richard Carroll is running unopposed, except for two write-in candidates, for an open seat in Arkansas State Representative District 39. He has strong union support, with endorsements from the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB), United Transportation Union, AFSCME, AFL-CIO, Arkansas State Electrical Workers Association, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, and the Central Labor Council of Arkansas, as well as the North Little Rock Fire Fighters, Ride Free, and Arkansas Democrat Gazette (http://www2.arkansasonline.com/news/2008/oct/29/richard-carroll-20081029/). Mr. Carroll has been active in union organizing for 30 years, holding the offices of Vice President, and Recording Secretary of IBB Local 69, and Vice President, Recording Secretary, and Local Chairman of IBB Local 66 Campaign web site: http://www.newmenu.org/richardcarroll ? Farheen Hakeem, a popular political personality in Minneapolis, is running for Minnesota State House District 61B. Three candidates are seeking an open seat, and in recent polls Ms. Hakeem is running in a statistical dead heat for the lead. Ms. Hakeem, who has worked as a teacher and volunteers as a Girl Scout Leader, ran for Mayor of Minneapolis in 2005 as a Green and received 14% of the vote. In 2006, she ran for Hennepin County Commissioner (District 4) against a Democratic incumbent, drawing 33%. Minneapolis Mirror article with video: http://mplsmirror.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=422&Itemid=1 Campaign web site: http://www.farheenhakeem.org ? Ante Marijan, candidate for State Representative in the Chicago (District 2), received endorsements from the Chicago Sun-Times (http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/endorsements/1239644,CST-EDT-edit24.article) and the Chicago Tribune (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-1025edit1oct25,0,2682341.story). Campaign web site: http://www.11thwardgreens.org/ ? Kent Solberg, candidate for State Representative District 27, received the endorsement of the Arizona Daily Star, the largest circulation newspaper in Tucson (http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/263651). He also qualified for Arizona Clean Elections funds, enabling him to run a well-financed campaign. The campaign has canvassed the entire district twice with 50,000 brochures each time, and just finished a series of three special rallies with live bands. Mr. Solberg, running an issues-oriented campaign, has a very real chance to defeat one of the two incumbents. Campaign web site: http://www.kent4house.org MORE INFORMATION Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org 202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN Fax 202-319-7193 ? Green candidate database for 2008 and other campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml ? Green Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml ? Green Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers ? Green Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-elections ? 2008 Green candidates to watch http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/candidate-news.php Cynthia McKinney/Rosa Clemente 'Power to the People' Campaign for the White House http://votetruth08.com http://www.runcynthiarun.org Cynthia McKinney on video http://www.youtube.com/user/RunCynthiaRun http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=RunCynthiaRun ? BreakTheMatrix.com interview, Oct. 19: http://www.breakthematrix.com/node/28047 ? Democracy Now! interview, Oct. 16: http://www.democracynow.org/2008/10/16/breaking_the_sound_barrier_third ? Music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx1NPlQjkqo Rosa Clemente on video ? Interview: Current TV/Rock the Vote http://current.com/items/89335393_the_organizer_and_green_party_vp_candidate_talks_about_her_inspirations ~ END ~ _________________________________________________________________ You live life beyond your PC. So now Windows goes beyond your PC. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/115298556/direct/01/ _______________________________________________ Natlcomaffairs mailing list To send a message to the list, write to: Natlcomaffairs at green.gpus.org To unsubscribe or change your list options, go to: http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/natlcomaffairs You must know your password to do this. If you can't figure out how to unsubscribe, as a last resort only, send a message OFF LIST to steveh at olypen.com If your state delegation changes, please see: http://gp.org/committees/nc/documents/delegate_change.html To report violations of listserv protocol, write to forummanagers at lists.gp-us.org For other information about the National Committee, see: http://gp.org/committees/nc/ ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- See Exclusive Video: Hollywood Life's 5th Annual Style Awards http://www.hollywoodlife.net/Awards.aspx?AwardsID=style2008 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From timmckee at mail.com Thu Oct 30 08:40:05 2008 From: timmckee at mail.com (Tim McKee) Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2008 07:40:05 -0500 Subject: {news} Rosa Clemente- GP Vice Pres. candidate-NOV 10- CCSU Message-ID: <20081030124005.59F5D1642C3@ws1-4.us4.outblaze.com> CCW Presents Rosa ClementeEvent Type:Club-Student ActivitiesLocation:Davidson Hall Davidson Founders HallDate:Monday, November 10, 2008Time:2:00 PM to 4:00 PMThe title of her talk is: "Running for All Our Lives: Rosa Clemente's Vice Presidential Campaign as a Black, Puerto Rican, Hip Hop Activist" Name:Elizabeth KaminskiEmail:kaminskie at ccsu.eduPhone:2-3136 Additional Information Sponsoring Organization Name: Comments Web Info:: Green Party Vice-Presidential candidate Rosa Clemente has made it her life?s work to empower youth, Latino/as, and women to make their voices heard and make a positive difference in their communities. Her record of political activism spans back to early adulthood. While in graduate school at Cornell, she was a founding member of La Voz Boriken, a social/political organization dedicated to supporting Puerto Rican political prisoners and the independence of Puerto Rico. In 2001, she was a youth representative at the United Nations World Conference against Xenophobia, Racism and Related Intolerance. In 2003, Clemente helped form and coordinate the first ever National Hip-Hop Political Convention, drawing 3,000 activists to generate a national political agenda for the hip hop generation. On November 10th in Davidson?s Founders Hall, Rosa Clemente will speak about the youth vote; Latino/as and politics; and women and politics. Sponsored by: The Committee on the Concerns of Women, The Women's Center, The CCSU Diversity Grant Program, The Faculty Senate Diversity Committee, The Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program, The Honors Program, The Department of Sociology, and The Department of Political Science The title of her talk is: "Running for All Our Lives: Rosa Clemente's Vice Presidential Campaign as a Black, Puerto Rican, Hip Hop Activist" ****************************************** Tim McKee, Manchester CT, main number cell-860-778-1304, 860-643-2282 National Commitee member of the Green Party of the United States and is a spokesperson for the Green Party of CT. BLOG-http://thebiggreenpicture.blogspot.com -- See Exclusive Video: Hollywood Life's 5th Annual Style Awards http://www.hollywoodlife.net/Awards.aspx?AwardsID=style2008 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Thu Oct 30 14:51:16 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:51:16 +0000 Subject: {news} Richard Duffee's letter in the Norwalk Hour Message-ID: Richard's letter was published in the Norwalk Hour on Tuesday, Oct 28. The same issue had his entry in the Hour's voter guide. http://www.thehour.com/story/458313 Governments cannot be run in secrecy; citizens must seek truth Copy and paste below into your page: (close this pane) Governments cannot be run in secrecy; citizens must seek truth To the Editor: Asked on Sunday what planks of the Republican platform he disagreed with, Christopher Shays replied that the platforms of the Democrats and Republicans don't mean much. On Monday I asked him what he meant. He replied that platforms are made up by a committee composed of the representatives from each state and that they're not terribly important in actual policy formation. This truthful statement indicates the most serious structural flaw of our government. When citizens cannot trust that party platforms express what party leaders actually intend to do, we have nothing better to rely on for that knowledge. The Republicans and Democrats are telling us to cast our votes on the basis of faith in them, not knowledge or rationality. When we must vote on the basis of ignorance, we do not live in a functioning republic, but in an oligarchy. The policies the government will actually pursue under either major party are fundamentally secrets among the party leaders. What they tell us is merely what they think it convenient for us to hear. So long as we continue our imperial ambitions we must expect to be kept in the dark. Republics require a modicum of honesty, tolerance, and openness, while empires -- which are merely systems of slavery at a distance -- must always be ruled by a mystifying and degrading combination of secrecy, fraud, and violence. Any republic that attempts to rule an empire deteriorates into rule by the greediest and cruelest. If we do not reclaim our responsibilities as citizens, ever deeper forms of subjugation await us. Richard Duffee Green Party Candidate for Congress, 4th district Ct. _________________________________________________________________ Stay up to date on your PC, the Web, and your mobile phone with Windows Live. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/msnnkwxp1020093185mrt/direct/01/ From richard.duffee at gmail.com Thu Oct 30 23:44:08 2008 From: richard.duffee at gmail.com (Richard Duffee) Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:44:08 -0400 Subject: {news} Richard Duffee's letter in the Norwalk Hour In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <21f4f7390810302044g6d7a0bd2oae9eceb88ebb7233@mail.gmail.com> Amazing! They didn't change a word! What is this, respect? After the treatment we've received for the last three months, this is too weird to comprehend. Richard On Thu, Oct 30, 2008 at 2:51 PM, David Bedell 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 > > Richard's letter was published in the Norwalk Hour on Tuesday, Oct 28. The > same issue had his entry in the Hour's voter guide. > > http://www.thehour.com/story/458313 > > > Governments cannot be run in secrecy; citizens must seek truth > > > > > > Copy and paste below into your page: (close this pane) > > Governments cannot be run in secrecy; citizens must seek truth > To the Editor: > > > > Asked on Sunday what planks of the Republican platform he disagreed > with, Christopher Shays replied that the platforms of the Democrats and > Republicans don't mean much. On Monday I asked him what he meant. He > replied that platforms are made up by a committee composed of the > representatives from each state and that they're not terribly important > in actual policy formation. > > > > This truthful statement indicates the most serious structural flaw of > our government. When citizens cannot trust that party platforms express > what party leaders actually intend to do, we have nothing better to > rely on for that knowledge. The Republicans and Democrats are telling > us to cast our votes on the basis of faith in them, not knowledge or > rationality. > > > > When we must vote on the basis of ignorance, we do not live in a > functioning republic, but in an oligarchy. > > > > The policies the government will actually pursue under either major > party are fundamentally secrets among the party leaders. What they tell > us is merely what they think it convenient for us to hear. > > > > So long as we continue our imperial ambitions we must expect to be kept > in the dark. Republics require a modicum of honesty, tolerance, and > openness, while empires -- which are merely systems of slavery at a > distance -- must always be ruled by a mystifying and degrading > combination of secrecy, fraud, and violence. Any republic that attempts > to rule an empire deteriorates into rule by the greediest and cruelest. > > > > > If we do not reclaim our responsibilities as citizens, ever deeper forms of > subjugation await us. > > > > Richard Duffee > > > > Green Party Candidate for Congress, 4th district Ct. > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > Stay up to date on your PC, the Web, and your mobile phone with Windows > Live. > http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/msnnkwxp1020093185mrt/direct/01/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 > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From efficacy at msn.com Fri Oct 31 02:58:02 2008 From: efficacy at msn.com (Clifford Thornton) Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2008 02:58:02 -0400 Subject: {news} Richard Duffee's letter in the Norwalk Hour In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: This is a great fuckin letter. Wow, I love it. Cliff ----- Original Message ----- From: David Bedell To: fairfieldcountygreens at yahoogroups.com ; ctgp-news at ml.greens.org Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 2:51 PM Subject: {news} Richard Duffee's letter in the Norwalk Hour 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 Richard's letter was published in the Norwalk Hour on Tuesday, Oct 28. The same issue had his entry in the Hour's voter guide. http://www.thehour.com/story/458313 Governments cannot be run in secrecy; citizens must seek truth Copy and paste below into your page: (close this pane) Governments cannot be run in secrecy; citizens must seek truth To the Editor: Asked on Sunday what planks of the Republican platform he disagreed with, Christopher Shays replied that the platforms of the Democrats and Republicans don't mean much. On Monday I asked him what he meant. He replied that platforms are made up by a committee composed of the representatives from each state and that they're not terribly important in actual policy formation. This truthful statement indicates the most serious structural flaw of our government. When citizens cannot trust that party platforms express what party leaders actually intend to do, we have nothing better to rely on for that knowledge. The Republicans and Democrats are telling us to cast our votes on the basis of faith in them, not knowledge or rationality. When we must vote on the basis of ignorance, we do not live in a functioning republic, but in an oligarchy. The policies the government will actually pursue under either major party are fundamentally secrets among the party leaders. What they tell us is merely what they think it convenient for us to hear. So long as we continue our imperial ambitions we must expect to be kept in the dark. Republics require a modicum of honesty, tolerance, and openness, while empires -- which are merely systems of slavery at a distance -- must always be ruled by a mystifying and degrading combination of secrecy, fraud, and violence. Any republic that attempts to rule an empire deteriorates into rule by the greediest and cruelest. If we do not reclaim our responsibilities as citizens, ever deeper forms of subjugation await us. Richard Duffee Green Party Candidate for Congress, 4th district Ct. _________________________________________________________________ Stay up to date on your PC, the Web, and your mobile phone with Windows Live. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/msnnkwxp1020093185mrt/direct/01/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 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From richard.duffee at gmail.com Fri Oct 31 07:57:58 2008 From: richard.duffee at gmail.com (Richard Duffee) Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2008 07:57:58 -0400 Subject: {news} Richard Duffee's letter in the Norwalk Hour In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <21f4f7390810310457y7fa194b1j747774a8c22102f8@mail.gmail.com> Thank you, Clifford, So if we've ever wondered why the Roman emperors were supposed to be gods, we can see the process going on in front of our eyes. We're not supposed to believe we can know them: we're supposed to have faith in them. My previous interaction with Shays was this: the day before, on Sunday morning, Oct 19, when Shays arrived at the Temple Israel debate, I said, "Well, hello, Mr. Shays," and gave him a flyer. He shook my hand and said, "God bless you," leaving me wondering, "Why? Because you think I'm taking votes from Himes? Because I'm a mortal? Because it's Sunday? Because you're a saintly man?" So on Monday I got my answer: it's because I'm supposed to vote for him on faith, not reason--that is, because he's supposed to be a saintly man. He's not supposed to make sense: that is, I'm not supposed to know why he's actually saying "God bless you," just as I'm not supposed to know from the platform what the party leaders intend. I'm just supposed to be humbled and impressed. And why is that? Because he's supposed to have so much more power than I have that I'm not supposed to be able to comprehend how he does what he does or why he does it. So we're on a direct course to emperor worship. That's the essence of fascism: the mystification of treating a person as a god is the inevitable result of extreme hierarchy when the people on top want their intentions to remain secret. Richard On Fri, Oct 31, 2008 at 2:58 AM, 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 > > This is a great fuckin letter. Wow, I love it. > > Cliff > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* David Bedell > *To:* fairfieldcountygreens at yahoogroups.com ; ctgp-news at ml.greens.org > *Sent:* Thursday, October 30, 2008 2:51 PM > *Subject:* {news} Richard Duffee's letter in the Norwalk Hour > > 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 > > Richard's letter was published in the Norwalk Hour on Tuesday, Oct 28. The > same issue had his entry in the Hour's voter guide. > > http://www.thehour.com/story/458313 > > > Governments cannot be run in secrecy; citizens must seek truth > > > > > > Copy and paste below into your page: (close this pane) > > Governments cannot be run in secrecy; citizens must seek truth > To the Editor: > > > > Asked on Sunday what planks of the Republican platform he disagreed > with, Christopher Shays replied that the platforms of the Democrats and > Republicans don't mean much. On Monday I asked him what he meant. He > replied that platforms are made up by a committee composed of the > representatives from each state and that they're not terribly important > in actual policy formation. > > > > This truthful statement indicates the most serious structural flaw of > our government. When citizens cannot trust that party platforms express > what party leaders actually intend to do, we have nothing better to > rely on for that knowledge. The Republicans and Democrats are telling > us to cast our votes on the basis of faith in them, not knowledge or > rationality. > > > > When we must vote on the basis of ignorance, we do not live in a > functioning republic, but in an oligarchy. > > > > The policies the government will actually pursue under either major > party are fundamentally secrets among the party leaders. What they tell > us is merely what they think it convenient for us to hear. > > > > So long as we continue our imperial ambitions we must expect to be kept > in the dark. Republics require a modicum of honesty, tolerance, and > openness, while empires -- which are merely systems of slavery at a > distance -- must always be ruled by a mystifying and degrading > combination of secrecy, fraud, and violence. Any republic that attempts > to rule an empire deteriorates into rule by the greediest and cruelest. > > > > > If we do not reclaim our responsibilities as citizens, ever deeper forms of > subjugation await us. > > > > Richard Duffee > > > > Green Party Candidate for Congress, 4th district Ct. > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > Stay up to date on your PC, the Web, and your mobile phone with Windows > Live. > http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/msnnkwxp1020093185mrt/direct/01/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 > > > 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 > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dbedellgreen at hotmail.com Fri Oct 31 14:02:19 2008 From: dbedellgreen at hotmail.com (David Bedell) Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:02:19 +0000 Subject: {news} Zaac Chaves in the Stamford Times Message-ID: http://www.thestamfordtimes.com/story/458417 ELECTION 2008 -- Zaac Chaves brings passion to the 36th District race Copy and paste below into your page: (close this pane) ELECTION 2008 -- Zaac Chaves brings passion to the 36th District race By CHASE WRIGHT cwright@ thestamfordtimes.com STAMFORD -- Zaac Chaves may have at one time or another knocked on your door and asked to pick a few of your lawn's edible mushrooms. His commitment to self-sustainment is so deep, he hasn't bought food from a grocery store in over a year. Instead, he forages parks and woodlands for wild-growing plant foods and medicinals. "I forage because I believe that healthy food is a right, not a privilege," said Chaves. "The food I find is not only higher quality than what I would be buying, but also something I am able to pass off to people who need it." As a member of the Green party, Chaves is someone who, as a candidate for the state senate's 36th District, will give special emphasis to animals and the environment. The 27-year-old Greenwich resident has put sustainablility, environmental clean up, education and a challenge to privilege atop the list of his priorities if elected. Chaves would like to see less dependency on the global market and more use of local family farms, community gardens and open forest land. He'll target pollution by holding the biggest producing companies accountable, he said. Chaves also plans to challenge privilege by first acknowledging the concrete power structures that are in place, leaving some people at more of an advantage compared to others. "Inheritance is still the primary means of getting wealthy in this country," he said. "I would like to bring about an exception locally." Chaves' commitment to the community has come in the form of volunteerism. He offers his time and services to The Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary in the Catskills and the Sun One organic farm in Bethlehem. Chaves also works to raise public awareness through the organizations Vegan Outreach and Freegan.info. He is currently employed as a computer technician in Greenwich. _________________________________________________________________ See how Windows Mobile brings your life together?at home, work, or on the go. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/msnnkwxp1020093182mrt/direct/01/ From richard.duffee at gmail.com Fri Oct 31 23:22:59 2008 From: richard.duffee at gmail.com (Richard Duffee) Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2008 23:22:59 -0400 Subject: {news} Zaac Chaves in the Stamford Times In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <21f4f7390810312022t8f86ad7pd848029b174a5c67@mail.gmail.com> That's a beautiful article. A reporter with a heart! What a rarity! On Fri, Oct 31, 2008 at 2:02 PM, David Bedell 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 > > > http://www.thestamfordtimes.com/story/458417 > > > > ELECTION 2008 -- Zaac Chaves brings passion to the 36th District > race > > > > > > > > > > > > > Copy and paste below into your page: (close this pane) > > ELECTION 2008 -- Zaac > Chaves brings passion to the 36th District race > > By CHASE WRIGHT > > > cwright@ thestamfordtimes.com > > > > > STAMFORD -- Zaac Chaves may have at one time or another knocked on your > door and asked to pick a few of your lawn's edible mushrooms. > > > > > > His commitment to self-sustainment is so deep, he hasn't bought food > from a grocery store in over a year. Instead, he forages parks and > woodlands for wild-growing plant foods and medicinals. > > > > > > "I forage because I believe that healthy food is a right, not a > privilege," said Chaves. "The food I find is not only higher quality > than what I would be buying, but also something I am able to pass off > to people who need it." > > > > > > As a member of the Green party, Chaves is someone who, as a candidate > for the state senate's 36th District, will give special emphasis to > animals and the environment. > > > > > > The 27-year-old Greenwich resident has put sustainablility, > environmental clean up, education and a challenge to privilege atop the > list of his priorities if elected. > > > > > > Chaves would like to see less dependency on the global market and more > use of local family farms, community gardens and open forest land. > He'll target pollution by holding the biggest producing companies > accountable, he said. > > > > > > Chaves also plans to challenge privilege by first acknowledging the > concrete power structures that are in place, leaving some people at > more of an advantage compared to others. "Inheritance is still the > primary means of getting wealthy in this country," he said. "I would > like to bring about an exception locally." > > > > > > Chaves' commitment to the community has come in the form of > volunteerism. He offers his time and services to The Woodstock Farm > Animal Sanctuary in the Catskills and the Sun One organic farm in > Bethlehem. Chaves also works to raise public awareness through the > organizations Vegan Outreach and Freegan.info. > > > > > > He is currently employed as a computer technician in Greenwich. > _________________________________________________________________ > See how Windows Mobile brings your life together?at home, work, or on the > go. > http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/msnnkwxp1020093182mrt/direct/01/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 > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: