GreenerPolitics

by Mark MacGillivray

 In a move that mirrors the exclusion of the Green Party from Leadership Debates in Canada, MSNBC in the United States made a last-minute change in its Las Vegas Democrat Debate format to exclude candidate Dennis Kucinich, noted for his opposition to nuclear power and the War in Iraq.

 Initially, MSNBC had planned on holding the debate with the top four Democratic candidates, but when candidate Bill Richardson dropped out of the race, they changed their format to include only 3 top candidates.

The Kucinich campaign took MSNBC to court, arguing, “The exclusion of Kucinich undermines the purposes of the Federal Communications Act and is a blatant violation of the Act because of the media’s obligation to operate in the public interest… NBC revised its criteria to specifically exclude the diverse and anti-war voice of Kucinich and his grass-roots supporters.” The lawsuit went on to say, “The debate is not a true presidential primary debate without including all credible candidates, but instead is effectively an endorsement of the candidates selected by NBC.”

NBC, who incidentally is owned by General Electric, claimed: “Mr. Kucinich’s claim is nothing more than an illegitimate private cause of action designed to impose an equal access requirement that entirely undermines the wide journalistic freedoms enjoyed by news organizations under the First Amendment.” Attorneys for NBC also argued, “A television station does not have to grant unlimited access to a candidate debate. If anyone’s First Amendment rights are being infringed, they are MSNBC’s.”

But, thanks to the internet and the efforts of Democracy Now!, we can get a measure of the man who was excluded.

Listen here!

The most serious allegation Kucinich makes is …

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By Forbes Bagatelle-Black, EV World

We live in a polarized nation.

Millions of people passionately believe that our current military action in Iraq is absolutely necessary to preserve our national security. Millions of other people believe, with equal passion, that the situation in Iraq threatens not only our national security but the political stability of the entire globe.

Many feel that the money we are spending on our current military actions is a small amount compared to what we would be spending if we allowed the situation to go out of control. Others feel that the hundreds of billions of dollars we are spending are only making the situation worse by allowing us to remain entrenched in a conflict we cannot win.

But there is one idea that is garnering increasing support from hawks and doves alike; our nation will be safer when everyone starts driving electric vehicles. EVs will increase our self-sufficiency by allowing us to use domestically-produced energy to fuel our automobiles. A dramatic decrease in our demand for foreign oil would cut off the cash flow to terrorist organizations bent on the destruction of our society. Since EVs can run on renewable power sources, widespread use of them could eliminate the threat of global warming, which would eliminate the associated threats of natural disasters and the political upheaval such disasters would create.

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By Bernard Schoenburg, The PJ Star

SPRINGFIELD - Given the legal right in Illinois to get on the ballot just as easily as Democrats or Republicans this year, Green Party candidates took advantage of the new rules - but not in great numbers.
As the eight-day filing closed for certain state, federal and party offices Monday at the State Board of Elections, totals showed just 18 Green Party candidates among the 960 candidates who submitted petitions.

Phil Huckelberry of Chicago, chairman of the Illinois Green Party’s government and elections committee, said he estimates the number of Green Party county board candidates across the state would be in the low teens. But he also noted that with the party’s power to fill ballot vacancies in races where nobody is picked in the Feb. 5 primary, he hopes the party reaches its goal of having 100 to 110 candidates, state and local, on November ballots in Illinois in 2008.

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From Green Party USA

WASHINGTON, DC/OTTAWA, ONT. — Green Party leaders in Canada and the US are alerting their respective parties and the public about the ‘Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America’ (SPP), a secretive deal between President Bush (US), Prime Minister Harper (Canada), and President Calderón (Mexico).

Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May stated, “The SPP is integrating the military, security, trade, economic, regulatory, and foreign polices of Canada, the US, and Mexico without public input or Parliamentary or Congressional scrutiny. The threat of widespread surveillance of citizens, greenhouse gas emissions from tar sands development and ’super-corridors,’ increased fossil fuel dependence, privatization of water, erosion of food safety and environmental regulations, and expanded corporate power at the expense of economic stability for working people — these are some of the reasons we oppose the SPP.”

North American Green Parties are calling for transnational opposition, beginning with a ‘Counter Summit’ teach-in and strategy session August 20 in Ottawa to coincide with a meeting of the leaders of Canada, the US, and Mexico at the third annual summit in Montebello in nearby Quebec. The Green Party of the United States has endorsed the Counter Summit and will send representatives. Greens will also participate in civil society opposition to the Montebello Summit, with two days of activites planned for August 19 and 20.

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The Electoral Reform Edition

Whenever we talk about elections, we seem to focus on what candidate or what party we plan on voting for.  Perhaps because of this, we tend to forget the electoral system that shapes our choices.  In the United States, the choice is usually between the Republicans and Democrats and in Canada, the choice is between Conservative, Liberals and the NDP.  However, a move is afoot in Canada and the United States to change the system to allow us a more flexible choice on the ballot.

Jim Harris and the Yes Referendum in Ontario, Canada

Jim Harris is the former Leader of the Green Party of Canada and recent inductee to the board of directors for Fair Vote Canada.  He believes that there is a historic opportunity to move to a system of Mixed Member Proportional Representation.  If it passes, it will inevitably lead to having Green Party members elected to the legislature.

We talk about what it will take to win this historical vote, how it might be accomplished, and what kind of opposition the ‘Yes’ side is likely to encounter in the next few months.

If you’re interested in getting involved in this campaign, you can contact Jim at jim@jimharris.ca. You can also visit his blog on the Ontario election by visiting http://greenparty.ca/en/node/1859

Ken Mathenia and the Michegan Third Parties Coalition

Ken Mathenia is the Chair of the Green Party of Michegan and the Green Party Representative for the newly created third party coalition.  The coalition is made up of US Taxpayers Party, the Reform Party, the Socialist Party and the Libertarian Party and while they don’t agree on much, what they do agree on is that it is in the interest of democracy for their parties to be granted ballot access and the ability to participate in candidates debates.