Green Party presidential hopefuls

From a recent news release at www.gp.org:

Jared Ball, independent journalist; radio host (WPFW 89.3 FM Pacifica Radio in Washington, DC), hip-hop scholar, assistant professor of communications studies at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland
JaredBall.com

Elaine Brown, 2005 Green candidate for Mayor of Brunswick, Georgia; former leader of the Black Panther Party; organizer of Mothers Advocating Juvenile Justice and National Alliance for Radical Prison Reform
ElaineBrown.org

Jesse Johnson, 2006 US Senate candidate and 2004 gubernatorial candidate for the Mountain Party in West Virginia (now affiliate state party of the Green Party of the United States); filmmaker
YouTube declaration

Cynthia McKinney, former member of the US House of Representatives (Georgia), 1993 to 2003, 2005 to 2007; former member of the Georgia House of Representatives, 1988-1992
Run, Cynthia, Run

Kent Mesplay, 2004 candidate for the Green presidential nomination; former president of Turtle Island Institute; environmental engineer, alternative energy activist; California Green organizer
Mesplay.org

Ralph Nader, 1996 and 2000 Green candidate for President; 2004 independent candidate for President; consumer advocate (Howie Hawkins of the Green Party of New York State has consented to serve as a 'placeholder' candidate until Mr. Nader announces his intentions for the 2008 election)
Draft Nader.org

Kat Swift, Texas Green organizer; former Campus Greens leader; activist with Clean Money San Antonio and San Antonio Democracy Now
Kat for Prez

There's life in the old party yet!

Check out the new statewide website! We have a new webmaster, a new design, and are looking for feedback from Green Party members: what should we have on the site? Did you find any broken links or typos? Let us know!

the SNAP program

Garrison Collette, who works as an energy extension agent at the Cooperative Extension Service, sent around a message via e-mail exhorting people to help support the Sustainable Natural Alternative Power program at GVEA. It's a good idea, in my mind, and like him, I just hadn't gotten around to it yet (I've been looking into producing alternative energy, but the Republic is not there yet, alas). Here's what he said about the program:

[It] is the way our local utility gauges interest in renewable energy, and is also how it pays renewable producers.  Right now, SNAP has less than one thousand members.

I can't really complain about this small number, since until today, I wasn't a member of SNAP.  Many of us don't get an electric bill, or have it on autopay, or pay our electric bill to a landlord.  So we don't see a box that says "check here to become a member of SNAP."  Since I am one of those, I had to actually hunt down the link to become a SNAP member, and after I found the web page, it was really easy.  So, I'm including the link to the web page to sign up to be a SNAP member.  It's https://www.gvea.com/secure/snap.php. If every one of you signs up for SNAP as a result of this email, which is really just a reminder, then we will have doubled the number of SNAP members.  Think about that--Fairbanks' main renewable energy program could grow by 100% in the next few hours if you just click on the link below.

I signed up to donate $5 a month.  The minimum is $2.  I know we can all afford that.  It's more of a statement that, yes, the Interior cares about energy.  That's really all we can do right now; make a statement.  But I assure you that its a loud statement, and that there are a lot of people working to make sure that this statement doesn't go unnoticed.

Good on you, Garrison, and I think I'll take your advice.

Kevin Morford in deep trouble

This is one for the Green Party Gone Bad blog, I think. Kevin Morford, a writer, community activist, and legal beagle for the Green Party of Alaska on many occasions, has been arrested and charged with child pornography. The Anchorage Daily News interviewed Jim Sykes about the arrest:

Jim Sykes, a consumer advocate from Palmer and a former Green Party candidate for Alaska governor and U.S. senator, said he was completely surprised to hear of the charges against Morford.

"I find the accusation quite shocking and hope it's not true," Sykes said Monday night. "He's contributed a lot to the community." .... "One of the principles of the Green Party is taking personal responsibility, and I'm sure ... he'll take personal responsibility for them" if the accusations prove to be true, Sykes said.

Shocking is right. Morford has done wonderful things for Alaska, and if this is true, it shows how a person can be both admirable and despicable at the same time. If it's not true, it will still cloud his reputation and probably ruin his life for years to come, that being the depth of revulsion which any taint of this kind of crime induces in people.

You just never know.

The first key value

The first of the Ten Key Values of the Green Party of the United States is Grassroots Democracy:

Every human being deserves a say in the decisions that affect their lives and not be subject to the will of another. Therefore, we will work to increase public participation at every level of government and to ensure that our public representatives are fully accountable to the people who elect them. We will also work to create new types of political organizations which expand the process of participatory democracy by directly including citizens in the decision-making process.

Alaskans for Clean Elections is doing something about corruption in Alaska politics with its Clean Elections initiative. Money, as has become apparent, can have a corrosive effect on the moral fiber of our representatives.

Go check out this initiative, and add your name to the list of supporters!

Green business caucus

Check out the article in Green Pages, "Walking the walk: Green business owners positioned to make a difference":

As a caucus within the party, Green business owners could start a meaningful discussion about how best to utilize the skills and resources we bring to the Party. We can set an example of what "business" can be, and what it looks like when a moral compass and a little vision are added to the mix. We all talked about our desire to see a network form that would unite Green business owners nationwide and help Greens communicate with each other to help grow the party.

If you are interested in helping to form such a group or caucus, please contact mattfuniciello@earthlink.net

For a while, the TY-Green website had a Green Business page, with lots of information on community-based economics. Here's some information from Synthesis/Regeneration on the topic, in two articles by Steve Welzer. The journal also has a page of links to articles on Green economics.

For some local writing on this, there's my own recent editorial on community currency, and two articles by Phil Loring over at The Fireweed on local agriculture.

GPAK website redesign

Well, folks, I am redesigning the Green Party of Alaska website, but at the moment I am wrestling with uploading to the server. I'm using Fugu, and learning as I go, and so far am flummoxed. But we should have a nice shiny (but short) new website up in a week or so. Stay tuned!

51 ballot lines by 2008

The national Green Party wants to get every state and the District of Columbia on the ballot by the November 2008 election, which will be a tall order here in Alaska. The only way we can do it here is with a registration drive, since we're off the ballot for this year.

I suppose the first order of business is getting our statewide website back up and running.

Fairbanks Critical Mass Bike Ride

It's summertime, and the critical mass bike rides are on again! On the last Friday of the month,

Fairbanks Critical Mass will celebrate the midnight sun while promoting awareness of bicycles and bicycle safety on the road. Critical Mass is a national program where cyclists exercise their right to ride on the road. Cycling is the most efficient, least carbon-emitting form of transportation known to man. Come show your personality by dressing up in this month's midnight sun theme, and show your commitment to a healthy world.

Bring a helmet, and meet at Beaver sports at 5:30 this Friday, or call Garrison at 474-2402 for more information.

The Critical Mass Bike Rides are on:

June 29
July 27
August 31

and go from Beaver Sports east on College Road. Dress up in costume, bring banners, horns, bells, and a smile!

Rules:

Don't just blindly follow the person in front of you--you are responsible for your own actions.
Wear a helmet (Alaska has helmet laws)
Ride in the road and obey all trafffic laws (STOP on YELLOW as well as red!)
Stay in the far right lane (don't take up two lanes)
Be friendly to motorists.

Clean Campaigns

The disgust level has finally risen across the nation to the point that clean campaign initiatives are popping up all over, even here in Alaska. The Publc Campaign Action Fund has an Alaska campaign, Alaska Public Interest Research Group is supporting a clean campaigns initiative, about which the Anchorage Daily News wrote a story in May. Interestingly, in that article, the reporter quoted Randy Reuderich, that paragon of probity and trustworthiness, as saying:

"Equal funding is an incumbent-protection policy," Ruedrich said. Sitting lawmakers have the advantage of name recognition, giving them an edge over challengers even if they are equally funded as clean-election candidates, he said.

"I'm more for a system of no limits to funding and full, immediate disclosure, so voters know right away who is backing a candidate," he said.

Uh, right. So is he claiming that it's not easier right now for incumbents to get oodles of cash for their campaigns? So when big money owns a legislator, they aren't going to back 'em? Naah. I'd say it's a better bet that clean campaign laws will return those incumbents who AREN'T BEHOLDEN TO BIG MONEY, but will throw out the bums who are in the pockets of lobbyists.

Nice try, Randy.

The Green Party of Alaska has long supported clean campaign and election legislation, but I guess preventitive measures didn't sink in. It takes really slimy dealings before everybody else gets on the bandwagon. Anyway, this Green is for endorsing the clean campaign initiatve AkPIRG's supporting.

Wednesday peace walks

Every Wednesday on the UAF campus, there is a peace walk from noon to 1, starting at the UA Museum of the North. Bring your own signs if you can, and exercize for peace! Contact Abel Bult-Ito for more info, ffab [ at] uaf.edu or 474-7158.

Bristol Bay oil/gas leasing

George W. has lifted the ban on oil and gas drilling in Bristol Bay, which is causing one heck of a lot of controversy in the area. Fish vs. oil? hmmmm. Here's what the LA Times had to say about the cons on that:

The area is a major fishing ground for North Pacific fleets, including many crab, salmon, pollock and cod vessels that are based in Puget Sound. The bay also supports an abundance of wildlife, including major seabird populations and marine mammals that include the endangered North Pacific right whale.

The bay is a part of the Bering Sea, notorious for winter storms with high winds and high seas that could increase the risks of a major oil spill.

Ted Stevens thinks it's a good idea, as does Palin, but both have expressed a little worry about the fisheries and the usual platitudes about responsible development.

Given the oil industry's track record on spill cleanup and compensation (think Exxon, folks), I am VERY skeptical.