Greens defend Cindy Sheehan vigil, call war proponents - expected Saturday - ‘vicious attack dogs set loose by radical right'

News Release

THE GREEN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA
www.cagreens.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, August 26, 2005

Contact: Sara Amir 310.270-7106 saraamir@earthlink.net

Pat Driscoll 916.320-6430 pat@sonicfrog.com

Beth Moore Haines 530.277-0610 beth@ncws.com

Susan King 415.823-5524 funking@mindspring.com

Greens defend Cindy Sheehan vigil, call war proponents - expected Saturday - ‘vicious attack dogs set loose by radical right'

SACRAMENTO (August 26, 2005) – On the eve of the expected arrival Saturday of a caravan of pro-war advocates at "Camp Casey" at Cindy Sheehan's vigilin Crawford, Texas, the Green Party of California described those criticizing Sheehan as a "baying pack of vicious attack dogs being set loose by the radical right."

Sheehan, who renewed her vow to stay at the camp outside Pres. Bush's ranch after caring for her ill mother much of the last week in California, is now the target of those who support the President and the war.

"The issue here is not Cindy Sheehan, who has earned every right to speak out, but the incompetent, arrogant, and deceptive leadership of Pres. George Bush, who needs to answer the questions on the minds of a majority of Californians who now believe this war is wrong," said Pat Driscoll, a GPCA spokesperson and a former Green Party congressional candidate.

Driscoll, founder of a California Veterans for Peace Chapter, helped organize a counter-demonstration opposing the caravan – the brainchild of a conservative Sacramento radio station – this week when it left for Texas from California.

Those advocating more war "refuse to acknowledge, as the majority of Americans now have, that the war in Iraq has nothing to do with terrorism-it is just using our troops as cannon fodder," said Driscoll.

"There is an exit strategy which will work. First, call an immediate cease-fire in Iraq, and give U.S. troops the moral advantage that's been squandered by President Bush. Second, immediately halt construction on permanent bases and demonstrate a true commitment to Iraqi independence, and third, begin a withdrawal of our troops," Driscoll explained.

Among the Greens in Crawford supporting Cindy Sheehan is Aimee Allison, an Oakland City Council candidate earlier this year and a conscientious objector in the first Gulf War.

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Want Peace? Vote for Peace!

Check out this Candidate for PA who will hopefully be the next Green State Rep.




Dear Friend:

As you may have heard, I am running for *State Representative in the
200th District.*

Text Box: As a retired public school teacher and longtime peace activist
I have decided that the Green Party is the breath of fresh air that the
State House of Representatives needs right now.

There will be a special election held on *Tuesday, September 13, 2005*,
for the seat recently vacated by LeAnna Washington. We can send me to
Harrisburg if we just get out and vote! Once in Harrisburg, I will:

? Fight for a living wage for all Pennsylvanians, not pay raises
for politicians
? Work for dedicated funding for mass transit
? Push against military recruitment in public high schools

My campaign has already received favorable press coverage! Please see
the front-page article about me in the /Chestnut Hill Local/.
http://www.chestnuthilllocal.com/archives/080405/news2.html

Please mark your calendars and work to "Get Out The Vote" on *Tuesday,
September 13th*. Low voter turn-out is expected -- so if we simply
bring enough people to the polls to vote, we will win this special election.

I need your help! My campaign needs your donations of both time and
money! Please give as much as you can afford to this unique opportunity
to send a real progressive to Harrisburg. Send checks made payable to
"Marlene Santoyo," c/o Meenal Raval, Campaign Treasurer, 518 Carpenter
Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19119. Contact the Green Party at 215-243-7103 or
e-mail gpop@gpop.org <mailto:gpop@gpop.org> to let us know when you can
volunteer. Thanks so much for your help.

Sincerely,


Marlene Santoyo

GREENS BLAST TROOP ESCALATIONS AND DELAYED EXIT

Check out the new GPUS press release


GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Thursday, August 25, 2005

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624,
mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Committee,
starlene@greens.org, cell phone 916-995-3805
Rebecca Rotzler, Peace Action Committee Co-chair,
845-255-3122, rebelrot@yahoo.com


GREENS BLAST TROOP ESCALATIONS AND DELAYED EXIT
PLANS, CALL FOR IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL FROM IRAQ

Greens announce an online petition against the
war, criticize Democratic Party support for
Bush's Iraq policy.


WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Party leaders sharply
criticized plans announced by the Pentagon to
increase the number of U.S. troops in Iraq, and
reiterated the party's call to begin withdrawing
occupational forces from Iraq immediately.

"We agree with Cindy Sheehan -- the only
legitimate way to support our troops is to get
them out of Iraq right now," said Andrea Garland,
Louisiana Green who joined Ms. Sheehan at her
Camp Casey protest vigil in Crawford, Texas.
"This will be the demand of Greens participating
in the September 24 rallies in Washington, D.C.
against the occupation."

The Green Party's Peace Action Committee (GPAX)
announced an online petition urging the White
House to end the occupation and supporting the
Camp Casey vigil, at
<http://www.demaction.org/dia/organizations/Greens/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=103>.

GPAX recently issued a statement in support of
Camp Casey
<http://www.gp.org/press/pr_2005_08_10.shtml>,
which national Green Party co-chair Rebecca
Rotzler presented to Ms. Sheehan.

Greens especially condemned statements from
Democratic leaders supporting increased
deployment, including Senators Hillary Clinton
(N.Y.), Joe Biden (Del.) and John Kerry (Mass.).
Greens also rejected the position of Sen. Russell
Feingold (D-Wis.), MoveOn.org, and others who
favor a delayed withdrawal, including Sen.
Feingold's call for removal of U.S. troops by
December, 2006.

"Greens do not demand that President Bush
announce a plan to withdraw troops. We demand
that the President issue an order to begin
withdrawal now," said Sarah "echo" Steiner,
sister of an Iraq War Veteran, co-chair of the
Green Party of Florida, and GPAX member.
"Another year of occupation will mean hundreds,
perhaps thousands more U.S. troops dead and
maimed; and tens of thousands more dead Iraqi
civilians."

Green Party leaders have called the Iraq invasion
and occupation a catastrophe, noting that:

? Between 25,000 and 100,000 Iraqi civilians have
been killed in the war; the number of U.S. troops
killed is approaching 2,000.

? The Bush Administration now admits that secular
democracy is unlikely in Iraq; possible civil
war, further breakdown of vital infrastructure,
and establishment a repressive, misogynistic
Islamic theocracy threaten the Iraqi people.

? Bush Administration officials, including the
President, have not been held accountable for the
litany of deceptive justifications for the
invasion: nonexistent WMDs; forged evidence of
nuclear weapons; fraudulent claims of conspiracy
between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein and Iraqi
involvement with the 9/11 attacks.

? Shocking revelations of torture at Abu Ghraib
mirror the White House's own efforts to
circumvent international and constitutional
prohibitions against torture in Guantanamo Bay
and elsewhere.

? Terrorist attacks have increased in countries
allied with the U.S. (most recently Britain, in
July), as predicted by opponents of the war
before the 2003 invasion. Vice President Cheney
continues to call Iraq a "critical front in the
war on terror"; Greens, in agreement with recent
CIA and other intelligence studies, assert that
the occupation itself has motivated further
attacks on the West and violence within Iraq, and
threatens U.S. security and international
stability.

? The costs of the occupation are causing social
needs in the U.S. to go unmet; while President
Bush preaches sacrifice -- presumably for
families who have lost children, parents, and
spouses in the war, and for soldiers given
insufficient armor and other equipment;
meanwhile, he has granted tax cuts for the
wealthy and indulged Halliburton and other
favored firms multibillion-dollar contracts
allowing them to profit from the war.

? The war itself is a crime, violating
international covenants signed by the U.S.
against invasion of a nation on 'preventive'
grounds; Hitler used preventive justifications
(also fraudulent) for the German invasion of
Czechoslovakia and Poland in 1939.

"These charges are not Green opinion. They are
statements of fact. They're the reason why the
Green Party has called for Mr. Bush's
impeachment," said Tom Siracuse of the West Side
(Manhattan) Greens and Veterans For Peace, both
of which are represented at the Camp Casey vigil.
GPAX is urging Americans outraged by the Iraq
venture to sign on to the Veterans For Peace
petition for impeachment
<http://www.veteransforpeace.org/impeachment/petition2.htm>,
which is also linked at the GPAX web page
<http://www.gp.org/committees/peace>.


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
1700 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 404
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193

September 24 protests against the war; related
events in Washington, D.C.
United For Peace & Justice
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/fallmobe
Operation Ceasefire http://www.opceasefire.org

Gold Star Families For Peace
http://www.GSFP.org


~ END ~

Right attacks Walter Reed Vigil

This just in from Ann Wilcox. For those of you who will be in the DC area the Friday before Sept 24th.


Friends:

In response to the leadership and visibility of the
anti-war movement sparked by Cindy Sheehan and her
supporters, the right wing has started to strike back
- in an attempt to smear our efforts. An article
appears in today's CNSNews.com, (Cybercast News
service), written by Marc Morano, on the Walter Reed
Army Hospital vigil, which has been held every Friday
since late March. Additional reports are appearing in
other right-wing web-sites, and some CodePink
activists have received "hate" phone calls (I have!).

Our vigils are peaceful, and emphasize our support and
empathy for the large numbers of wounded - and the
importance of recognizing their rehabilitation as part
of the "cost of war." The vigil is sponsored by Code
Pink as well as Veterans for Peace and other allied
groups.

For about 6 weeks, "anti's" (about 15-20 Free Republic
folks) have also appeared across the street at WR on
Fridays - sporting flags and large signs denouncing
Code Pink and supporting the war effort. we need to
maintain our presence - now more than ever. Join us!
We plan a large vigil on Friday, sept. 23, at the
beginning of the weekend of anti-war activities in DC.
For more information see Codepinkalert.org, or
contact Ann Wilcox 202-441-3265 or Gael Murphy.

Attention Green Business Owners!

Attention Green business owners!

Help us build a directory of economic resources for Green party members and those interested in
sustainable economics. Our website includes links to sites on socially responsible investing,
sustainable economics, and the Green Party, plus a list of businesses in the United States owned
by Greens.

This directory is different from other green business directories in that it is devoted exclusively to
businesses owned by Green party members, so we can support each other financially and
demonstrate our vision of a working, healthy, reality-based economy.

If you are a Green, would like to be listed, and your business tries to encompass the value system
expressed in the Green Party platform on economics, please send in your business listing to:

business@tygreens.org

Listing is free of charge.

References:

Green-Owned Businesses:
http://www.tygreens.org/greenbiz.html

Green Party of the United States' platform plank on economics:
http://gp.org/platform/2004/economics.html#241542

If you have suggestions for how to improve this site, please don't
hesitate to let me know.

Thanks!
--
Deirdre Helfferich
Green Party of Alaska
http://www.alaska.greens.org
Tanana-Yukon Green Party
http://www.tygreens.org 

Proposal to Clarify Delegate Selection to the Presidential Nominating Convention

PROPOSAL # 168 - PROPOSAL to CLARIFY DELEGATE SELECTION TO THE NATIONAL
NOMINATING CONVENTION -

I strongly support this. I saw too many states voting all one candidate or another in Milwaukee, and I doubt many states were not reflective of the national in that they had membership leaning toward different direction. If the GPUS does not start to implement proportional representation as a gold standard for representation. I will personally work to encourageGreens in Florida to ask the GPUS to pull it from our platform. It is disingenous to say we believe in PR and not implement it internally.

If states want to send undeclared they can offer their constituents that option as a choice.
I cant imagine that most would prefer someone else make the decision on the spot. But
who knows? Only one way to know for sure. And that is to ask them.

In Florida, ( I know, I know always come back to how we do it in Florida but that is my reference point, and I am proud of the lengths my state goes to regarding sunshine and representation) we bound our delegates to the memberships ranked choice ballots. We bound them through all rounds. I see this as the highest level of representation we could offer. We had "no candidate" as a choice as well. I would love to include unbound delegate names next time, not sure if the general membership would understand it tho, but I would be interested in seeing how many would support this.

Please please. Bring our practices in alignment to our platform. And help to end the divisions that are in this party over this.

I am not content to leave it to the states. This is not a state issue. This is a national issue.

War Tax Resistance Counseling & Conference

1, 2, 3 - Conference, Counseling Session, Housing Needed!

1 – Refusing to Pay for War: A National Strategy Conference for War Tax Resistance
Some of us in NYC WRL are working on this national strategy conference to be held in Brooklyn, October 7 - 9. The conference is sponsored by the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee (of which WRL is a member), and war tax resisters and allies are invited to come and help figure out how to best organize on this issue in the coming years. While it is not expected to be a huge conference, we do expect a good representation of resisters and interested nonresisters from around the country.

See the information at http://www.nwtrcc.org/meetings.htm. If you would like to get a brochure in the mail, send along your street address and we’ll mail one to you.

2 – Counseling Session

If you are a resister with questions and need counseling, and to learn more about the conference, join us next week: Tuesday, August 30 7 – 8:30 pm AJ Muste Room, buzzer #11 339 Lafayette St. @ Bleecker in Manhattan

3 - Needed: NYC Hosts

We are also looking for people who can house one or more conference attendees during that weekend. These weekend guests should not require much more than a bed (or floor space) and bath; meals will be covered at the conference.

Call for a brochure: National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee, 718-768-3420 or email nwtrcc@nwtrcc.org.

Thanks! Ruth Benn and Ed Hedemann

(339 Lafayette St. is at the corner of Bleecker St. in Manhattan. Closest subways are #6 at “Bleecker St” or the B, D, F at “Broadway-Lafayette”)

We Want You To Help GPAX End the War!

GPAX CALLS FOR ALL OUT RAMP UP OF THE PEACE MOVMENT


Dear Greens,

The Green Party's Peace Action Committee (GPAX) needs your help. We need you to forward this message to every email contact you have. Put it on your blogs and print it out and share it with all your friends.

The Green Party's Peace Action Committee has been busy working to help ramp up the resistance to the Bi-Partisan support of the Pentagon's announcements to ramp up the troop levels in the current wars.

One of the projects that GPAX has been working on is support of Cindy Sheehan and her quest to ask the President some very tough questions. We have been encouraging and sending Greens to go to Crawford and we will continue to work to provide logistical support for those Greens making the journey.

Greens around the country have also participated in organizing and attending vigils and camps in support of Cindy and to demand that we Bring Them Home Now!

We have also put a petition on our homepage at www.gp.org supporting Cindy's request to meet with Bush.

We are asking for you to:

1. Sign the Petition supporting Cindy at www.gp.org

2. Go to Crawford if you can to support Cindy as the vigil nears the ending days.

3. Plan for Sept 24th. Whether you come to DC, Birmingham or participate locally, we need an all out for Sept 24th. We need Greens to be visible as Greens. The GPAX will soon be providing logistical information with eventw, buses, and speakers for the many rallies to take place on 9/24.

4. Contact GPAX and let them know what Sept 24th events are happening in your area, so GPAX can provide help others in your area find you. Email:
greentararaider@yahoo.com and request a survey to submit your information.

5. Check out the GPAX page, where you can make a donation to keep all this wonderful work happening.

Thank you for supporting GPAX's work for a peaceful tomorrow.

In Service,
GPAX