Environmental Justice Small Grant Program to emphasize the need to address Climate Change in Environmental Justice Communities.

by Diane White
diane@dlighten.com 
(717) 232-1722 

EPA’s Environmental Justice Grant  RFP

Environmental Justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income when it comes to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.

Fair treatment means that no group of people should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, governmental and commercial operations or policies. Meaningful involvement means that all people have an opportunity to participate in decisions about activities that may affect their environment and/or health and Influence the regulatory agency's decision. Meaningful involvement also means that the concerns of the people will be considered in the decision making process and that the decision makers seek out and facilitate the involvement of those potentially affected.

The environmental justice movement started in urban and rural communities populated by blacks, the poor and people of color, who sought to address the  lack of environmental protection in their communities. Grounded in the struggles of the 1960's Civil Rights Movement, this movement continues to sound the alarm about  public health dangers to these families, their communities and themselves. The Philadelphia Front Page News, a community sponsored online news exchange is committed to sounding these alarms loud and clear. with the FPN Environmental News Videos  which post continuously  to the site, demonstrating the commitment of its volunteer staff to bringing its readers the most up to date information possible  along with the resources and tools the community  needs to influence the decision makers.

The EPA has been providing small environmental justice grants for the past 15 years.  The goal of the Environmental Justice Small Grants Program (EJSG) is to support and empower environmental justice communities working on solutions to local environmental and public health issues. They have recently released the Application Guidance(43 pp, 528K) for FY2010. This year's EJSG program focuses on  the need to address the disproportionate impacts of climate change in communities with environmental justice concerns.  The EPA EJ Small Grants Program is a national program with total funding available for the 2010FY at $1,000,000.  EPA anticipates awarding approximately 40 grants in the amount of $25,000 each.

Those wishing to appy for funding are invited to participate in conference calls with EPA to address questions about the EJSG Program. The following are the conference call dates and times. Please call or send an e-mail to Sheila Lewis at lewis.sheila@epa.gov and provide the following information:
your name; the name of your organization; the address of your organization; your phone number; and the preferred date for the call.

Date

Time (EST)

December 3, 2009

1:30 – 2:30 p.m.

December 17, 2009

1:30 – 2:30 p.m.

The Philadelphia Front Page News is committed to bringing you the latest on Environmental Justice.

For more information on Environmental Justice visit:

US EPA Grants & Programs/ Environmental Justice

National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC)
A Federal committee providing recommendations to EPA on environmental justice matters

Meetings | Recommendations | Subcommittees

 
Environmental Justice Grants
Providing financial assistance to for projects to address local environmental concerns

Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (IWG)
Various Federal agencies and White House offices working to integrate environmental justice into its individual programs

Environmental Justice Achievement Awards
Recognizing the achievements of organizations that undertake environmental justice initiatives which make a positive impact in the community.

Environmental Justice | Compliance and Enforcement | US EPA

Rwandan Green Party allowed to hold conference - News - Show - network.greenchange

Rwandan Green Party allowed to hold conference - News - Show - network.greenchange

Shared via AddThis

CA: Donna Warren former Green Party Candidate for Lt Govenor Impressed by Daniel Juarez, candidate for Mayor of Hawthorne responses to her question on 3 Stikes Law

For all who are interested in amending the 3 Strikes Law to violent felonies only so non-violent offenders will not spend the rest of their lives in prison at an average cost of $49,300 per person (money which is taken from schools and social services) you may be interested in Mr. Juarez's answers to my questions.  I was impressed by his answer to questions 2a.

 

If you live in Hawthorne, I strongly suggest you vote for Daniel Juarez.  The incumbent, Larry Guidi is a strong advocate for the 3 Strikes Law as it now stands, that is, prisons not schools.

 

Here's Mr. Juarez's answers:

 

Please answer my two questions.

1. The 3 Strikes Law has a dramatic effect on the California's budget, communities of color, families and the individual inmate himself/herself.  Can you tell me what you know about this effect in terms of finance, mental and physical distress? 

Yes, I support California’s “Three Strikes” law.  Although this law acts as a deterrent for some criminals, it also has been criticized as applying a one-size-fits-all sentence mentality to repeat offenders.  There are flaws with this law.  The law destroys the flexibility of the courts and the judge; is unjust in certain conditions (i.e. - victimless crimes, young criminals, etc.); criminals often plea bargain their first two convictions; violates the 8th Amendment to the Constitution; an arrest of someone with two convictions almost guarantees the cost and time of a trial; and the law adds more criminals to an already crowded and expensive prison system. 

2a. Are you in favor of amending the 3 Strikes Law to violent felonies only? 

I feel that California's Three-Strikes Law needs to be amended.  The law should be changed so that it only applies to violent and serious crimes. Minor offenders who steal a loaf of bread or a bottle of shampoo should not be given 25 to life sentences. As written, the Three-Strikes Law currently applies to nonviolent petty and violent crimes. 

If the law were changed, then the revision would do the following: return the law back to what the voters originally intended - a law to keep violent criminals in prison; require mandatory increased sentences only when convictions are for a violent felony such as rape, robbery or murder; preserve the original intent of the three-strikes law so that violent, dangerous criminals will continue to be punished harshly, with mandatory sentences of double-time for a second violent felony and 25 years-to-life for a third violent felony; be consistent with 26 other states (California's law is the only one that applies to non-violent crimes); allow prisoners now serving Three-Strikes sentences to apply for and receive a re-sentencing hearing.  As many as 35,000 could qualify for one because their offense would no longer count as a strike; save the State as much as 700 million dollars a year in prison operating costs, and more than a billion dollars for construction of new prisons.

2b. If elected, would you support an amendment of the law in the Hawthorne City Council?

As you know I am already a sitting councilmember.  As far as supporting an amendment of the law at a municipal level, I would need to check with our city attorney.  This issue needs to be carried to the state by our local state legislators.  As mayor, I would work in collaboration with our new assemblyman and state senator to author an amendment.

RWANDA: New Green party cries fowl over possible sabotage

By RNA Reporter

Thursday, 01 October 2009

Kigali: Officials of the newly formed Democratic Green Party of Rwanda were in disbelief Thursday evening after government officials informed them they will not be available Friday to notify some of their registration documents, RNA can reveal.

Interim party leader Frank Habineza told RNA the development means the delegates conference scheduled Friday may not take place because that is when the signatures of the 1000-plus delegates expected in Kigali were to be verified.

"The 'Notaire' rang me at 5pm informing me that he will not be available because he has not been granted permission to verify our signatures by the minister of Justice," said a visibly angry Habineza.

"When I called the minister of Justice, he told me the Notaire does not need his permission to conduct such a function. Now I dont know who to believe and what to do."

According to Mr. Habineza, he has already postponned the delegates conference for "three times", with every of the previous timetables, the Notaire claiming he is not in position to notify the party's nomination signatures. However, Mr. Habineza declined to name the Notaire in question, but the minister is Tharcisse Karugarama.

"We have made alot of losses financially because for example we called the delegates and diplomats last Sunday for the same function but we had to cancel it because there was no one to verify our documents," he said.

The new political party law requires that a government Notaire is present to verify all the signatures of those nominating a given party for registration before they are submitted to the Ministry of Local. The party needs at least 600 �verifiable signatures� from across the country to be able to register.

RNA was not able to get official response by press time.

Interim president Mr. Frank Habineza said last month that the party will �call for a delegates Congress in September, after which we shall deposit our dossier to [the Ministry of Local Government]. �Right now, we are recruiting members from all districts of Rwanda.�

Last Updated ( Friday, 02 October 2009 )

_______________________________________________

AN OPEN LETTER FROM ELAINE BROWN: EMERGENCY MEDICAL TREATMENT FOR CHIP FITZGERALD

My dear friends,

Centinela State Prison is denying Chip Fitzgerald proper medical care! This is not only a violation of his human rights, but it is in blatant disregard of the federal court order that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation provide constitutionally adequate medical care to inmates—of which order the CDCR continues to be in violation.

As you know, Chip is the longest-held Black Panther Party political prisoner in the nation, having been convicted in 1969 for murder and other charges in connection with a shoot-out with police in Los Angeles. Although Chip was originally sentenced to death, the sentence was commuted, and he was eligible for parole 33 years ago. Denied parole 17 times, Chip has been wrongfully held in prison 40 years now.

The Committee to Free Chip Fitzgerald is putting out a call for support of our demand that Centinela immediately provide Chip the medical care he urgently needs.

Attached is a letter I am hoping you will print out and fax into the prison ASAP (fax number indicated at the top of the letter). If you are willing and able to do that, I thank you so much, and ask, also, that you either email a a copy of the signed letter to freechipfitzgerald@yahoo.com or send your name, address and other contact information to the same email address. We will then mail a copy of the signed or endorsed letter to each of the five secondary recipients indicated.

UPDATE: In September, we filed a habeas corpus petition in the Los Angeles Superior Court to overturn the 2008 wrongful parole board denial to Chip, and are waiting for a hearing.

Free Chip!

Elaine

Where's the Music

by Morning Sunday-Hettleman Since January, 8th, 2009, millions of words have been written about the political ascent of one black man, but there has been virtually nothing about the descent of black leadership into well-nigh total ineffectiveness. Rev Al Sharpton was photographed at his birthday party with a pair of 36DD’s resting on his arm, belonging to Wendy William’s, of radio and television "How you doing girl" fame. ( Her you tube video "boob trick " is a must see ! ) While Jesse Jackson isn't letting anything like a secret out-of-wedlock daughter and growing questions about his personal and organization funding get him down.Then, there's Kweisi Mfume, former congressman, who just a couple years ago had an illegitimate baby with a mistress about the same time as Jesse Jackson. In 1963, civil rights leaders, John Lewis Whitney Young, Jr., A. Philip Randolph, Martin Luther King, Jr., James Farmer, and Roy Wilkins met at the Hotel Commodore in New York City for a strategy session. A Philip Randolph, was a prominent twentieth-century African-American civil rights leader and the founder of both the March on Washington Movement and the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. John Lewis , was chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and played a key role in the struggle to end segregation. Whitney Young, Jr., appointed executive director of the National Urban League in 1961, Young won an impressive reputation as a national black activist who helped bridge the gap between white political and business leaders and poor blacks and militants. James Farmer, a principal founder of the Congress of Racial Equality, Roy Wilkins, was an influential member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). They were young, effective and harbingers of change, working to wipe away some of the lunacy of our lives.( No, they were not perfect, they were human, there are stories, some really juicy ones too.) Providing the beat, the sound, the rhythm of the movement was James Brown, whose involvement with the civil rights movement also began in the mid-'60s. From 1965 onward, Brown often canceled his shows to perform benefit concerts for black political organizations like the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Since the 60"s, some Blacks have made giant economic, and social strides. But racial segregation remains and means that racial inequalities in employment, education, income, and wealth are inscribed in space. We have additional problems, the Black on Black crime rates are stratospheric. Unwed Black mothers , irresponsible fathers, severe parent to child violence. Blacks, 11% of the US population have the highest percentage of the population on welfare. Only 50 percent of black students graduate, young, male Blacks, make up half of the population imprisoned in America’s federal/state and city jails. People, these are self inflected wounds. What should we do ? March? We have had hundreds, thousands, millions marching in one day. Boycott ? Martin Luther Kings , bus boycott was successful, since then the only thing we have successfully boycotted are grapes and bananas. Is another political strategy session needed ? Must we plan strategic national boycotts ? Are Alex Jealous, Henry Louis Gates, Jermaine Wyrick, Dr. Howard Fuller, Dr James Jones, to name a few, the people we need to call to a strategy session ? Peter Bramble, Episcopal Priest, Brooklyn, NY ,and a conservative , advances the idea that blacks, in spite of history and society, need to take responsibility for their conditions. He argues for the need to install success concepts permitting blacks to talk and behave in a successful mood. In keeping with this idea of personal and collective accountability, Bill Cosby has for years been exhorting the black community to take personal responsibility, to stop blaming others, and to drop the negative influences from their lives while embracing the positive. Both Rev. Bramble and Bill Crosby would tell us, there is no need for new Black leaders, the ground work has been laid for the change we need, personally and as a community. " Its time we went from victims to victors" Says Bill Crosby, "responsibility for ourselves, our families, take that into our own hands " Have we "Overcome" as Peter Bramble suggests ? If so, where is the music, if we have " Overcome" can we still sing "We Shall Overcome" or do we need to sing a new song ? Morning Sunday Hettleman 410 946 9958 Monumental Greens

MN: Strong, Visible, Progressive Jeanine Estime' for City Council Ward 8

Strong, Visible, Progressive

Shared via AddThis

MN: Marcus Harcus for Minneapolis City Council

Marcus Harcus for Minneapolis City Council - Welcome

Shared via AddThis

MD: Invent, Invest and Include

Morning Sunday Hettleman
Monumental Green Party

Green Party Black Caucus
hettlemansunday@gmail.com

410 946 9958

Labor Day was designed to honor labor and celebrate by relaxing, but some people were very busy. President Barack Obama , accepted the resignation ( he was fired) of Anthony Van Jones a special adviser for Green jobs at the White House Council for Environmental Quality.

Invent , Invest Include, that was Anthony Van Jones, mantra. Invent new ways of doing things, Invest in it and Include those underprivileged African-Americans and other disadvantaged communities that have been shut out of the job market.

Its been accepted practice, that Government big money contracts are awarded based on cronyism. The administrators of the programs get paid top dollar, the workers get minimum wage, little if any training , and a certificate on recycled paper at the end of the program. Van signaled his intention of insuring that would not happen. That Negro had to go.

You don’t believe me ? Look around at some urban neighborhoods and see if there are traces of the billions of dollars that have poured in and then right back up the expressway. No, Van Jones had to go.

Mr. Jones was in charge of 80 Billion dollars, the creation of 6.8 million jobs according to the Council for Economic Advisors, he had signaled his intention of making sure that money was spent on training and jobs for under privileged people, teaching them to retrofit buildings all across America with solar panels, insulation and other weatherizing materials. Is he gone yet ?

Van Jones resignation, was a big loss to the White House, President Obama, had personally picked him. It is a much bigger lost to the hopes of under/unemployed people. Feel sorry for those people.

Don’t feel sorry for Mr. Anthony Van Jones, he is a made-man in the Democrat Party. The lost of his job, wont get him evicted either, he , his wife and daughter will not be at the local shelter for lunch. He isn’t hurting for money, his salary with the Ella Baker Ctr in 2005 was $60K; over $82K in 2007, jumping to more to than $100,000 as the Environmental Czar and add sales of his book "The Green Collar Economy," number 12 to be exact on the New York Times best sellers list in the book's first week.

Yes, Mr. Jones will be just fine.I know there are some good white folk out there who will help Mr. Jones land on his feet.

Van Jones said things in a group of Black people, things Black people talk about amongst ourselves, things he thought he was saying in a safe ( read Black) environment.

He said " Black kids dont do Columbine type killings. " He’s right, so far, when our kids murder, its personal, the numbers are in the single digits.

Yet another time he said " President Bush was a crack head" While , President Bush was arrested in 1972 for cocaine possession and Bush has essentially admitted that he used cocaine. Van had his terms wrong, Blacks do crack, White people cocaine and for that Van should apologize.

We haven’t seen the last of Mr. Jones. But you can wave bye bye to 80 billion dollars of hope, creation of jobs. The trickle down theory will be trotted out once again.

Van in his own words.

"If the road to social transformation can be paved only by saints who never make mistakes, the road will NEVER be built." -Van Jones

Wangari-Maathai-Fall-2009-Speaking-Tour/

Dr. Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Laureate and Founder of the Green Belt Movement (http://greenbeltmovement.org) [and Founder of the Kenyan Green Party], will be in the US and Canada for her Fall 2009 speaking tour, from September 18th to October 6th!

http://wilderside.wordpress.com/2009/09/08/wangari-maathai-fall-2009-speaking-tour/

Shared via AddThis

MN: Jeanine Estime, Green Party candidate for Minneapolis City Council

A 15-year resident of South Minneapolis on the Green Party’s 5th Congressional District steering committee Jeanine Estimé, is seeking to unseat Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party endorsed incumbent, Elizabeth Glidden.

"Our voice — my opinion — will be for the community,” she said during a brief campaign announcement at the Central neighborhood-based Sabathani Community Center.

Estimé said her main campaign issues will be education, health care, civil rights and dealing with the foreclosure crisis, which has hit the 8th Ward hard, adding that she wouldn’t be satisfied until foreclosures are “completely stopped.”

Estimé is an active volunteer for the Boys and Girls Club, Clean Water Action and Powderhorn Youth Farm. She is an immigrant from Haiti who now has U.S. citizenship, a background she said gave her extra motivation to run.

“I think that my citizenship means to do something, to be the voice for people that cannot speak,” she said.

A graduate of Roosevelt High School, Jeanine Estimé has lived in South Minneapolis for over 15 years. She is a single parent, who worked her way through school to receive a B.A. in Liberal Arts from Metropolitan State University. Jeanine Estimé is currently employed as an Education Assistant at her daughter's school.

Please help Jeanine win by donating to her campaign today!

NY: Open Letter to Greens across the country from Robert Gumbs

Greens,

In line with the issue of the racial problems that the New york Green Party suffers from there is another dimension that needs to be looked at. Whenever, i have brought suggestions for this party to implement here in new york, it's routinely ignored. However, - Karen Young - with the help of a few other people seem to think that they have the right to completely make the New York party into their own image. They hold meetings when they want, they invite who they want to those meetings and everybody stands for it. I try to make a point in a meeting and I am castigated as an arrogant black male, slightly obtuse and definitely unwelcome.

The fact that white men in the New York Green Party asked me to leave the party because of my opinion on certain issues really astounds me. For this to happen in the supposedly democratic Green Party is a tragedy. However, i have had to face up to lynch mobs, made up of my white American comrades in arms in Germany, so this incident will not hold me down one bit. I believe in fighting back.

We have a campaign for Mayor of New York, where the Green candidate has not stated what his Urban Policy is. We have had over 50 black men gunned down in New York over the last 23 months or so, the Green Party in New York has no comment about this, has no plan to say anything about this and the Green Party Candidate for Mayor has made no comment as to what he would do about this.

6 young black men were almost lynched and forced to rot in jail for a crime they didn't commit, the rape of a white woman in central park. There are politicians who are trying to have an investigation as to why this travesty happened. What does the Green Party's Mayoral candidate have to say about this?

Why should urban residents in inner city New York follow a candidate that has not outlined a coherent urban policy?

This is the state of affairs that I believe Greens across the country will say is deplorable. Am I arrogant because as the only black man active in the New York party for the last 5 years i choose to question this state of affairs?

Newcomers have come to New York, with their own agenda, and they think they can twist the party to their tune. Fine - but if you are not going to deal with the issues that concern Black Americans that live in this city, then what the hell good are you for this party?

Does any party that refuses to deal with the just needs of Black Americans deserve to be elected to any public office?

This is why there should be a Black person on this so-called NYC Green Committee. If Ms. Young had taken the time to ask what my objection to their new procedure was, I would have gladly discussed it with her. However, in New York the voice of people of color are ignored in the New York Green Party - unless of course they are a celebrity.

I love Cynthia and Rosa for what they stand for, not as a means to an end.

For those of you that are upset for my opinions - tough, i didn't join this party to be a stooge or yes man. I have a very low tolerance for hypocrisy and when I see it - i point it out. This is a party for Black Men, just as much for anyone else. And I promise by almighty God to fight racism and elitism wherever i see it in this party. Because if we are to guide and criticize the other political parties - we have to make sure that we as Greens are correct.

I would also like to thank the support i have received from fellow Greens not only here in New York, but members from the Green Party Black Caucus and Green party members from other parts of the country.

DC: AN OPENING ("significant") VICTORY IN THE GREEN "DEMOCRATIZING THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE" Mal-Apportionment Penalty (MAP) CIVIL ACTION_GORDON v BIDEN

Asa Gordon _Exe.Dir. DIG_Chair DCSGP_ECTF_(202) 635-7926

THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT HAS GRANTED AN EARLY VICTORY TO THE PLAINTIFF IN THE OPENING ROUND OF MOTIONS IN THE DEMOCRATIZING THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE CIVIL ACTION NOW ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT.

"This is a significant accomplishment in your 'Democratizing the Electoral College Civil Action' ... very significant". This is how Attorneys vacationing in Oak Bluffs & Vineyand Haven, Mass responded to a recent report on the United States Court of Appeals Order of Aug, 13th, 2009 denying the United States Justice Department Motion in behalf of the Vice President for a Summary Affirmance of the District Court's Dismissal Order. The US Appeal's court Order supported the plaintiff's reply motion in opposition. The US Court of Appeals has set a schedule (Sept.-Nov.) for the submission of full briefs in the Civil Action GORDON v BIDEN . The plaintiff was in Oak Bluffs to lecture on A Civil Action to Democratize the Electoral College. See: [ http://www.electors.us]. click on events.

To Book Asa Gordon, pro-se plaintiff in GORDON v BIDEN, for a presentation to your organization on the subject "A Civil Action to Democratize the Electoral College" e-mail a request to: Electorsus@aol.com and also to mapxiv2@aol.com. Include MAP in the subject heading. Outside of the Washington metro area, a round-trip train or airfare with a token honoraria is requested. All Pleadings before the US Courts, Essays, Videos, Green PR's, A sample flyer and brief bio is available at the Mal-Apportionment Penalty (MAP) web site [ http://www.electors.us].

A sample MAP flyer_ http://mapxiv2usc6.free0host.com/MAPFLYER.pdf
A brief Asa bio _ http://www.gp.org/speakers/detail.php?ID=29

Also Reference:

Diane F White FACEBOOK creator and administrator for the cause:
Democratizing the Electoral College
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/343177?m=b317c537

MD: GPBC Member Morning Sunday-Hettleman says Good Bye to Senator Ted Kennedy, May he finally RIP

Saturday, we said goodbye to the youngest child of Joseph and Rosemary Kennedy, the brother of John, Robert, Rosemary and Ethel . He alone of all the brothers, "lived to comb gray hair" as the Irish poet said.

Senator Ted Kennedy, a father, brother, husband, uncle and grandfather. A champion to those who had none ,the soul of the democratic party, and very, very, human.

I have told and retold the story of Chappaquiddick,…..and Mary Joe Kopechne. Usually, to buttress my theory that the Kennedy boys, trust fund baby’s, were high class whores. After reading Ted Kennedy’s explanation, I had to give him props for, explaining , a alcohol fueled, booty call attempt, resulting in a tragic loss of life, in a way that allowed him to continue his lifestyle. He didn't do it alone, he had a lot of help, the community , States Attorney, the Judge and the media.

Yes, Kennedy's law license was revoked, but he only received a suspended two-month jail sentence, had he been a Black male from a urban center it might have cost him his life, headlines, " Black man kills white woman", life or the gas chamber, that’s how it usually ends. He would have been given no chance at redemption and at the very least he would have faced a ruined life. While Chappaquiddick did cost Senator Kennedy his shot at the Presidency, he continued to enjoy a life based on privilege and class.

How could someone , with such obvious faults and frailties wind up a powerful member of Congress, a "white knight" advancing the cause of fairness ? Well, being white, rich, well connected and a member of America’s royal family, gives you a head start.

But, Senator Kennedy, turned his life around, reset his compass, he knew his stuff, mastered his material , did his work, practiced principles that afforded him respect from the American people and his colleagues.

In life, his endorsement of the Obama candidacy, bestowed a mantle of respectability, it spoke of great promise. His death pulled President Obama’s chestnuts out of the fire ( for a minute). His funeral gave President Obama a chance to remind people of his connection with that power, the love, the respect we afford the Kennedy’s, (that great soap opera family) and to be seen as heir to a legacy.

I’ll have lots of opportunities to dish on other whorish rich white men, who receive special treatment when they misbehave, there are certainly enough of them . Gov. Sanford , Sen. Larry Craig, Sen. David Vitter, Sen. John Ensign, Rep. Vito Fossella , John Edwards, ( these are some of the ones who got caught) I urge you, follow Senator Kennedy’s expansive example, redeem yourself, there is work to do, causes to espouse, hopes to keep alive and dreams that should not be allowed to die. You have confessed , acknowledged your sins, here is your chance to dedicate your life to social justice as Senator Ted Kennedy did..

Ted Kennedy, told us: 'Individual faults and frailties are no excuse to give in and no exemption from the common obligation to give of ourselves.'

Rest in peace, Ted Kennedy.

Morning Sunday Hettleman
"The Environmental Report"
GPBC Media Committee
Baltimore Maryland

NY: Reality in the U.S - Robert Gumbs on Healthcare

As I watch events taking place in America today I am sickened. As far as Health care is concerned, the only chance for Single Payment is within the House. The Senate is just the opposite.

So that there is no mistake - I am for National Health Care - without any interference by the Insurance Companies. Now I was a cripple for about 6 years, I spent more time in an out of the Veterans Hospitals than I spent in my residence. I was fortunate enough to get on Social Security and receive Medicare. This past February I was admitted to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, where my spine was removed and replaced with a metal substitute, was it because of my medicare? The doctor who performed the surgery worked on me for over 14 hours. The good doctor would have done the surgery weather I had Medicare or not. Would I have gotten through the Emergency Room, and be introduced to the Neurosurgeon? Who knows. However, I know better than most - the travails of the American care system. I know of the duplicity and heartlessness that Insurance companies put most of the American people through. In a sane society such as France Belgium or Britain, health care is a right of every human being, just like calling a cop or a fireman for assistance. This Market Capitalistic nut house that America has become is so captivated by wealth and greed, that the corporate bullies would charge us for the air we breathe if we are not careful.

So there it is - my heart is for a National Health System - period.

The problem with all of this is that too many of us, at least in this part of the country don't really understand who the enemy is. It's like the old cartoon," we have met the enemy and they is us!"

For those of us who come from the Northeast, especially New York that might seem a little strange, however, if you have had any experience living in America - and I don't mean New York, you will understand what I mean. First of all, New York hasn't been part of the rest of America since the mid 60's. There is a huge group of Americans that need National Health care, but unfortunately, by the same token, you have a huge group of Americans that believe that government interference in health care is anathema. The latter group is obviously ignorant - but they do exist.

I did surveying across the country and I tell you there are a large amount of folks that just want the Federal government to disappear, except for the military of course. You go out to Missouri, or Meridian, Mississippi or Southern Virginia, and live amongst those folks as I have done and you will see for yourself.

You have to realize that far too many Americans, many as poor as church mice, will denounce government like it was sin, they don't care that it could make their lives better. I met working class white folks in Florida that think that FDR and the New Deal were a part of the plan of the anti-Christ.

There is a belief, especially among whites in the more rural areas especially, that only a weakling and blacks and latino's take help from the government. Never mind how the corporate world robs us all, or the fact that the military industrial complex bleeds our citizens of more treasure than any enemy has since 1945.

The Green Party has to understand the problem from a political and psychological level.

At a time when our nation has the technology to feed, clothe, educate and provide health care for every human being in this country. Our citizens, even those with health care are shuffling along like natives in a so-called third world country. But the vast majority of American don't attack the basic problems - they even join hands with their own oppressors. What the Green Party has to do is show the American people why we are the ones to protect their interests, as opposed to any other political party. We have to show them that we're mature enough to actually run a government. We also need to show the American people how to fight for their own best interests and what those best interests are.

Robert "Bob" Gumbs, veteran and Green Party candidate for the 15th Congressional District in the US House (Charles Rangel's seat) has been an active member of the Green Party of New York for 5 years . Bob is the newly elected Black Caucus Delegate to the GPUS National Committee.

CA: On Open Letter to Greens about the Gates controversy from Alex Walker

Dear Green Friends,

I have not written about the Gates "controversy" on my blog because, frankly, compared to the total breakdown of democratic governance here in California, compared to the story of millions of African-Americans whose lives have been ruined by the "drug war," or even compared to what happened to our own Diane White in Pennsylvania, this incident with Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates is, frankly, trivial.

I do not think it is a "teaching moment" because it has already degenerated into the predictable soap opera of most mainstream media "conversations" about race. First, "liberals" cry racism. Then, "conservatives" praise the cops. Eventually Somebody is trotted out like poor Rodney King in L.A. to say: "Can't we all get along?" and "conservative" intellectuals get another opportunity to preach about the alleged "pathology" and "paranoia" of "Those People."

Moreover, it grieves me to say this is another example of the intellectual confusion within what's supposed to be "The Left" in the United States. For over a year, "The Left" has complained that Barack Obama has not spoken out about "race" issues. Now "The Left" not only complains that Mr. Obama has spoken out about his friend Skip Gates, we've taken his speaking out as an opportunity to trash Gates and Obama as "house slaves" who think they're better than "real Blacks."

Stanley Fish, brought Prof. Gates to Duke University.20Fish writes a nice little op-ed piece relating a story about what happened when Gates bought a big house in North Carolina: "The message was unmistakable: What was a black man doing living in a place like this?"

Alas, this innocuous statement is parsed for "political correctness" and declared an offensive to Black Women. For Stanley Fish the lesson of this "teaching moment" will be: next time shut up, turn your head, and pretend you don't see like all the other "White folks."

Having said all that, I say that if we deal with this incident at all we should use to strengthen the case for Blacks in the Green Party.

(1) Remind everyone that Cambridge, Massachusetts is a supposedly "ultra-liberal" One-Party Democratic town, as is the entire Boston area. This Officer Crowley evidently went through all the liberal "sensitivity" training and still behaved inappropriately. If Democratic Party "sensitivity" liberalism doesn't work in Cambridge, Massachusetts then it can't work anywhere. This is not surprising to anyone familiar with police-community relations in the Berkeley - Oakland area of California or even in that portion of Mr. Obama's Southside neighborhood around the University of Chicago.

(2) Remind everyone about the case of Boston Green Party City Councilor Chuck Turner, who was entrapped in a petty "sting" operation by the F.B.I. last year. Mr. Turner has been hassled in Cambridge for his o utspoken advocacy of Harvard divestment from companies in Israel. And don't forget that Cynthia McKinney, herself, had a run-in with the Capitol Police while serving as an elected member of Congress. Cops have a problem with all Blacks, but It seems they have a special problem with those expressing "disorderly" political views. I am pleased to note that even some Republican-leaning libertarians have said that if a man can't say "Is this how you treat a Black man in America?" in his own home, then what good is "free speech" in America?

(3) Reach out to Gates? Here is a simple test: submit a no-holds-bared partisan commentary praising Cynthia McKinney, Rosa Clemente, Chuck Turner, Malik Rahim, Cliff Thorton, Asa Gordon, Diane White, and the Green Party to "The Root" and see what happens.

If Gates refuses to publish a no-holds-bared partisan Green commentary (and I suspect he will), then we can say he's just another "liberal" hack. I browsed "The Root" just now and there's nothing up there but the usual tired clichés. If this is going to be a "teaching moment" it should be a moment to teach how our 10 Key Values are superior to tired 40-year-old "liberal" clichés.


Alex Walker
Los Angeles Greens

Livestream - GPUS National Meeting

Over the weekend there will be speeches, workshops, and forums:

On Saturday afternoon at 3:00 pm, Cynthia McKinney will speak about her recent efforts, with the Free Gaza Movement and Viva Palestina, to bring medical and other supplies to Gaza in the wake of Israel's brutal invasion.

Ms. McKinney and other Free Gaza human rights activists were aboard the Spirit of Humanity when it was seized by Israeli gunboats.

The 'Free Gaza 21,' including Ms. McKinney, were held in a prison in Ramla, Israel, until their release last week http://gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=234;

The Green Party will present a public forum on the need for a single-Payer health care funding system on Friday, July 24 from 3:30-4:30 pm

http://gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=236;

Green candidates and officeholders will be speaking, like former Green Party presidential candidate Jesse Johnson, who will be presenting a film "Coal Country" addressing the horrors of mountaintop removal in coal mining.

Go to http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus, and stay tuned in all weekend!

More at gp.org, http://www.ncgreenparty.org/2009-ANM.html,
& http://gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=234

Workshops detailed @ http://www.ncgreenparty.org/2009-ANM WORKSHOPS.html

NC: A Green Evening with the North Carolina Green Party

Join us on Saturday, July 25th for: A Green Evening with the North Carolina Green Party

When: 8:30 - 10:30 PM (George Friday's birthday party follows from 10:30 until closing)

Where: The Marvell Event Center <http://www.themarvell.com/>. 119 W Main Street, Durham, NC.

With: Catering by Vimala Rajendren, light fare and Cash Bar. Local Entertainment:

Youth are welcome, Proof of age required to purchase alcohol.

Tickets: $15.00 in advance, $17.00 at the door. Ticket sales limited to 125.

Get your ticket in advance online!!

<https://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/175/t/2758/l/eng/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=13285>.

Directions and registration here <https://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/175/t/2758/l/eng/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=13285>.

For more information, call Wayne Turner at 919 491 3186

IN PA, "Whites only" pool in 2009?

Condemn discrimination at the Valley Club in Pennsylvania Two weeks ago outside Philadelphia, sixty-five children from a summer camp tried to go swimming at a club their camp had a contract to use. Evidently, the club didn't know the kids were largely Black. When the campers entered the pool, White parents took their kids out of the water, and the swimming club's staff asked the campers to leave. The next day, the club told the summer camp that their membership would be canceled and that they would refund their money. When asked why, the club's leader said the "kids would change the complexion ... and the atmosphere of the club."1 Please join us in condemning the Valley Swim Club's blatant discrimination and calling on the Justice Department to investigate whether they violated civil rights laws. And please ask your friends and family to do the same... The rest of the story http://www.keystoneprogress.org/page/s/pawhitesonly

In DC, Asa Gordon to teach class on “Democratizing the Electoral College”

Asa Gordon is Chair of the D.C Statehood Green Party Electoral College Task Force; a member of the Green Party Black Caucus Organizing Committee; and is the founder and Executive Director of the Douglass Institute of Government (DIG).

Asa Gordon will be presenting the class “Democratizing the Electoral College” on Thursday, July 16th, 2009 at 6:45 pm through the Social Action & Leadership School for Activists (SALSA) of the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) in Washington, DC. The class description at the SALSA website is: here.

"...“Winner take All” is not required by the constitution, and in nearly half of the states where it is applied, it is not even based on state law. This lecture will provide a historical context and report on recent developments in a Civil Action to reform and “Democratize the Electoral College”..."

The rest of the story...

No Regrets for a "choice of words".

by Asa Gordon

Washington DC -We may be certain that due to their rich experience of privilege and denial, white male pundits, be they of liberal or conservative persuasion, will never regret or even acknowledge their own racist "choice of words" when commenting on Supreme Court nominee Sotomayor's 2001 speech.

As a case in point, take the opening paragraph of the front-page Washington Post article headlined "Obama Says Judge Regrets Wording" (Saturday, May 30, 2009). The article's biased "choice of words" presents the phrase "wise Latina" out of the context of Sotomayor's caveat "I would hope" and places the word "often" out of the context of Sotomayor's caveat "more often then not." This provides the pretext for "white male" pundits to charge that Sotomayor's "choice of words" is racist, when in reality the term "racist" better describes their own "choice of words."

A racist would not provide caveats when expounding on racial superiority. A racist does not simply "hope" to make better decisions than would another race. It is presumed that such is the case. For a racist, "a better conclusion" would not be rendered "more often then not." It would be the unavoidable outcome of racial superiority. The institutionalized racism in media reports represents the irrational bias of "white male" pundits that has prevailed over the rational "choice of words" in Sotomayor's 2001 speech.

The Washington Post's selective paraphrase reads as follows:

"President Obama said yesterday that Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor regrets her choice of words in a 2001 speech in which she said a "wise Latina" judge would often make better decisions than a white male."

Sotomayor's "choice of words" in context reads:

"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

It is the ultimate sexism to assert that the experience of women does not offer better insight into the problems of women then does the experience of men, particularly when the statement is qualified by the phrase "more often then not." Similarly, it is the ultimate racism to assert that it is racist to suggest that the experience of the victims of white supremacy, in a nation founded on white male supremacy, may "more often then not" provide better insights into the nature of racism in America and "reach a better conclusion" then what is provided from the experience of being a white male. It is the ultimate racist and sexist mentality to insist that the white male's intellect is so superior that his racially privileged experience is no handicap in rendering justice and that there is no advantage in the experience of women and non-whites when rendering judgments on the issues of sexism or racism in our society. To the white male, any consideration of gender or racial "diversity" is reverse sexism and reverse racism. The political power of this fanciful and irrational racial assault by white male pundits has actually pressured an African-American President to declare that his Latina Supreme Court nominee regrets her "choice of words."

The controversy over the role that life experience offers to judicial insight arose a few years ago over the nomination of Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts. The self-righteous, bi-partisan liberal and conservative media pundits rebuked veteran Civil Rights leaders John Lewis and Wade Henderson for their characterization of the "indisputably qualified conservative" Roberts as a pre- Brown v Board of Education Justice. The media reaction at the time made it clear that many white male pundits, regardless of political persuasion, just didn't get it. Their paternalistic rebukes represented a belief in a race so inherently rational that fairness was assumed even where prejudice was evident. It was such a faith that moved "liberal" Senators Patrick J. Leahy, Herb Kohl, and Russell Feingold to vote for Roberts on "hope" and won the endorsement of the "liberal" Washington Post. Is there any wonder that Plessy v. Ferguson's 1896 ruling ("[I]t is not by reason of anything found in the act, but solely because the colored race chooses to put that construction upon it") remains this nation's ageless judgment of racial conflict. Yes, media pundits, the pre-Brown/Plessey justices that made the decision to provide judicial cover for legal apartheid in America were all "indisputably qualified conservative" justices who knew they were not racist, that their judgment was not racist, and that the criticism of the blacks of their day was emotionalism.

However, Thurgood Marshal posed a caveat, with respect to Justice Clearence Thomas, as to the danger in giving unwarranted weight to identity "experience" in order to judge a favorable "empathy" in considering the justifiable need for diversity on the Supreme Court. I am concerned that Sotomayor's experience as a prosecutor and corporate lawyer may embody an "empathy" that may prove to be as hostile to the Latina-American community as Justice Thomas proved to be for the African-American community. But in that my experience is that of a African- American, I will rely on the "experience" of the Latina-American community and "hope" they "reach a better conclusion" then we did.

Asa Gordon is the Executive Director of the Douglas Institute of Government in Washington, DC and the Chair of the DC Statehood Green Party Electoral College Task Force.

Belinda's Petition

http://www2.xlibris.com/bookstore/bookdisplay.asp?bookid=48372


http://harryallen.info/?p=3020

In 1782, Belinda, an African on the Ten Hills Plantation in Medford Massachusetts, petitioned the state legislature for reparations for her 50 years of captivity and unpaid labor by her former owner, Isaac Royall. Royall had fled to Canada shortly after the American Revolution since he was a "Loyalist" to Britain and feared for his life and his own captivity what would become the United States. This story of her captivity, enslavement and liberation is an incredible tale of resilience during a time when Africans in America were seen as something a little more valuable than livestock.

Belinda's Petition is but one in a long history of the reparations struggle that is sewn in the fabric of African history for the past 550 years. This concise story of the reparations struggle is meant to provide a "view from the bridge" on the ongoing struggle of Africans throughout the world in obtaining justice for the most heinous crime of the past millennium --- the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

Whether you support or oppose reparations is unimportant; what Belinda's Petition will show you is that the western world is built upon 500 years of the unpaid labor of millions of enslaved Africans whose call for justice has been conscious, courageous and consistent since they were first captured in 1441 by Europeans.

Elaine Brown on New Age Racism

Race debate in Irving follows comments by Attorney General Eric Holder | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Columnist Norma Adams-Wade | Dallas-Fort Worth News

Race debate in Irving follows comments by Attorney General Eric Holder | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Columnist Norma Adams-Wade | Dallas-Fort Worth News:
08:15 AM CDT on Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Malcolm X Museum Presents...

Malcolm X & Fatherhood: Lost, Stolen and Found
His Impact On Building Black Fatherhood Today

Tuesday May 19, 2009 • from 6 pm to 9 pm

What would move the Black community to the next level? A modern day Malcolm X, President Barack Obama, or fathers who are committed to nurturing and supporting their families?

Join the Malcolm X Museum as it commemorates the 84th anniversary of Malcolm’s birth by talking with fathers and their children and reflecting on Hajj Malik El Shabazz’s role as a father, son and leader. Free gifts for fathers who attend with their children!

Langston Hughes Auditorium
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture,
Malcolm X Boulevard & 135th Street
Harlem, NY

This event is free and open to the public.

—The Malcolm X Museum is Chartered by the NYS.tate Board of Regents—

SEEDS for HAITI

SEEDS for HAITI: an emergency
campaign to prevent famine in Haiti

Seed Bank Environmental Project Scholarship Program
Health Care Seed Campaign

SEEDS for HAITI

An emergency initiative to prevent famine in Haiti and to create a “seed bank” for Haitian farmers

SEEDS for HAITI, launched in March 2009, will raise funds to buy bean and corn seeds to prevent post-hurricane famine in Haiti.

The campaign’s immediate goal is to raise $115,000 to buy seeds for 5,000 Haitian peasant farmers for the upcoming agricultural season in April, 2009.

Hundreds of Haitian peasant farmers who lost their entire crops and livestock in last September’s hurricanes are struggling to survive.

Because growing food is the quickest, most nutritious way for Haitian peasant farmers to sustain themselves – and corn and beans grow quickly – Bassin Zim is launching SEEDS for HAITI to provide immediate help for the upcoming growing season (in late April).

Farmers will contribute seeds from their new crops back to SEEDS for HAITI to help establish an ongoing “seed bank” for the future. Read more.

Donate On Line

or

send a check to:

Bassin Zim Seeds
P.O. Box 360 125
Brooklyn, NY 11236

Seeds@seedsforhaiti.org"

Socialism v. Afrocentricity: Round One! : voxunion.com

Socialism v. Afrocentricity: Round One! : voxunion.com: "Socialism v. Afrocentricity: Round One!

May 4, 2009 by freemixradio

This week’s “redux” includes round one of our great debate. Which way to pan-Africanism: Scientific Socialism or Afrocentricity? Panelists included Rick Tingling-Clemens, Drs. Kmt Shockley and Mark “Hate” Bolden and Ms. Rosa Clemente. Ours was an attempt to update and extend the discussion started by Kwame Ture and Molefi Asante and was most assuredly part one of many more to come!

Download MP3

Maryland Green Party annual assembly set for May 9th

Maryland Green Party annual assembly set for May 9th: "Maryland Green Party annual assembly set for May 9th
May 2nd, 2009 by Gregg Jocoy · No Comments

Rosa Clemente, Green Party Vice Presidential candidate in 2008, will keynote the Maryland Green Party’s Annual Assembly. The full day event, running from a 9:00 AM registration to a 5 PM close, will also feature a panel discussion featuring two elected Greens from Maryland, Dan Robinson of Tacoma Park who won re-election to his seat on the Tacoma Park town council with 67% of the vote, Mike Cornell, who won re-election as River Hill representative on the Columbia Association in Howard County Maryland, and National Political Director Brent McMillan."

African Americans & People of Color Support The Durban Review Conference Petition

African Americans & People Color Support The Durban Review Conference Petition

Petition: Urgent Appeal for the Obama Administration to fully support and fully participate in the U.N. Durban Review Conference Against Racism

Video On Demand: Latest News Video | WFAA.com

Video On Demand: Latest News Video | WFAA.com

PA Green Party Seeks Action Against Judicial Corruption in Juvie Scandal

PA Green Party Seeks Action Against Judicial Corruption in Juvie Scandal