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SF Green Party Weekly
by announce＠sfgreens.org 28 Jul '05

28 Jul '05

SFGP WEEKLY For The Week of 7/28/05 - 8/4/05 This Week: ********************************************************** ************************************************** News: 7/27: Ethics Charter Amendment to Put Teeth In Policing of Elections 7/27: Schools Chief Is Considering Retirement 7/27: Green Party's Seminar on the Mid-Market Re-Development Area 7/27: Community Choice Aggrigation ********************************************************** Events: - 7/29- 7/31: Community Organizing For Deep Democracy Retreat - 7/30: Oakland Greens Campaign School, Summer 2005 - 7/30: Healthcare for All and Homelessness - 8/1: Campaigns and Issues Working Group Meeting - 8/3: SF Public Power Meeting - 8/4- 8/6: BAUAW Presents 'Marx in Soho' ********************************************************** Announcements: - Joke of the Week - Voter-Owned Elections - Oakland Gathering: Request for Workshop Proposals - Become A Sustainer! ********************************************************** ********************************************************** News ***************************************** 7/27: Ethics Charter Amendment to Put Teeth In Policing of Elections By Casey Mills Supervisor Ross Mirkarimis recently passed charter amendment to allow the Ethics Commission the ability to develop their own budget could do a great deal to improve the accountability of donors and politicians in local elections. The Commission, which primarily concerns itself with enforcing campaign finance law, has become well known in political circles for waiting until as late as 3 years after campaigns end to audit their finances. Developed on the heels of a civil grand jury report that found the Commission to be woefully under-funded, the amendment would pry the budget-making process away from the Mayor. This would likely inject a healthy dose of funds and staff into the body, and with almost unanimous support on the Board, has a solid chance at happening this November. Read more at: http://www.beyondchron.org *********************************************************** 7/27: Schools Chief Is Considering Retirement By Heather Knight San Francisco schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman said Tuesday that her rocky relationship with some members of the Board of Education had deteriorated even further and that the attacks had grown so personal that she was weighing the possibility of retiring within a year. In recent weeks, she has been sued by allies of the board members over her recent salary increase and was the subject of an unflattering cover story in an alternative weekly newspaper that endorsed two of the board members for re-election in November. ................... Former Supervisor Matt Gonzalez and his new law partner, Whitney Leigh, who are members of the local Green Party and allies of Green Party members Lipson and Sanchez and liberal Democrat Eric Mar, sued Ackerman last month over her contract increase last November. Their suit says the special meeting of the school board to raise her salary was illegal. ................. "We had a relationship where we were able to meet monthly, and even if we disagreed, we were able to disagree respectfully," Lipson said. "She's no longer keeping those meetings with me." Lipson added that Ackerman hadn't been unfairly attacked. Read more at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/07/27/BAGH7DU99O1.DTL *********************************************************** Green Party's Seminar on the Mid-Market Re-Development Area Ken Werner, Trinity Plaza Tenants Association (TPTA) 27.JUL.05 "Whose city is it, and what kind of city do we want to build?" David Wilbur of the San Francisco Green Party aptly summed up the proposed Mid-Market Redevelopment Plan in Monday nights seminar at the First Baptist Church at 7 Octavia Street. The Green Partys Housing and Land Use working group has organized the ongoing seminar series for the second Monday of every month; this most recent seminar was moderated by progressive Christina Olague of Mission Agenda and the San Francisco Planning Commission. I had originally planned to attend the seminar as part of my ongoing learning process regarding redevelopment and land-use issues, but when I spoke with Casey Mills he asked me to cover the seminar because he had another engagement; of course, I welcomed the opportunity. Read more at: www.beyondchron.org *********************************************************** Community Choice Aggrigation The PUC's failure MIDWAY THROUGH A meeting of the San Francisco Local Agency Formation Commission Feb. 4, Sup. Ross Mirkarimi, the panel's new chair, asked a key question of the city's power policy director. He wanted to know if the S.F. Public Utilities Commission sees itself as an advocate of community-choice aggregation, a program that would bring cheaper electricity to San Francisco and start moving the city out from under the thumb of the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. monopoly. No, the PUC's Barbara Hale said the agency wasn't an advocate of anything. The PUC staff could only carry out the policies passed by the Board of Supervisors. Of course, Hale was missing a key point: community-choice aggregation has been city policy for more than eight months and the whole point of the exchange was that the PUC has been dragging its feet, badly, failing to finish an implementation plan and putting the whole program at risk. But there's a much larger problem here: the PUC is the agency that oversees the city's electricity program, and it ought to be at the forefront of the battle to bring public power to San Francisco. Instead, over and over again, the agency has ducked, stood on the sidelines or actively interfered with that vision. Read more at: http://www.bayguardian.com/39/19/news_ed_puc.html *********************************************************** ************************************* Events ************************************* Community Organizing For Deep Democracy Retreat Friday, July 29th- Sunday, July 31st. Wellspring Renewal Center (located two and a half hours northwest of San Francisco near the small town of Philo in Mendocino County) Community Organizing for Deep Democracy Retreat -- how to organize in your own community to reclaim citizen sovereignty, tangible strategies for actions that we can collectively take to get our democracy back from corporations. Learn from successful outcomes, and network with other activists working for true democracy in their communities. Presented by California Center for Community Democracy and Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County More info: http://www.californiademocracy.org/wellspring2005.html ********************************************************** Oakland Greens Campaign School, Summer 2005 Saturday, July 30 9am-5:30pm (see below) Room # B-260, Laney College (across from Lake Merritt BART station) Oakland, CA Suggested Donation: (All are welcome): $50-$10 (includes lunch and continental breakfast Learn the Secrets of Running a Successful Progressive Campaign - Attend the Summer 2005 Oakland Greens Campaign School You may have already walked precincts and made phone calls; perhaps, you've tabled and networked - but what is the secret to WINNING progressive campaigns? The time is right to prepare for progressive wins across Oakland and the East Bay and to bring grassroots democracy to our communities. To help make this happen, the Oakland Greens are sponsoring a day-long campaign school! Learn from campaign experts - such as San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi and former Oakland City Council Candidate Aimee Allison - about how to organize a successful grassroots campaign and how to use your talents to effectively help progressive candidates win. We look forward to seeing you there! ********************************************************** Healthcare For All and Homelessness Saturday, July 30th 531Grove St., San Francisco (2 blocks west of Van Ness, #21 Hayes bus) You are invited to our next San Francisco health meeting at 531 Grove St. on July 30. Dr. Lars Osterberg will be presenting his findings on Health Care and Homelessness. We will also have an update on Senate Bill 840, the California Health Insurance Reliability Act. SB 840 passed the State Assembly Health Committee on July 5. *********************************************************** Campaigns and Issues Working Group Meeting Monday, August 1st 7pm- 9pm 1028A Howard Street (SFGP office) Join us for our monthly Campaigns and Issues Working Group meeting to discuss upcoming elections and issues of importantance. No agenda is yet avaliable, please e-mail suggestions to Marc Solomon (marc(a)cybre.net) Charlene Smythe (cmsmythe2002(a)yahoo.com) or Susan King (funking(a)mindspring.com) *********************************************************** SF Public Power Meeting Wednesday, August 3rd Sierra Club organizing offices, 85 2nd St. (Between Market & Mission near Montgomery Bart), SF 3rd Floor - Yosemite Room Join fellow activists with the SF Green Party, Greenpeace, Sierra Club, Our City, Women's Energy Matters, Local Power and many others for a meeting to discuss our campaign for a renewable energy future. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors will vote in as little as one month on a Community Choice Energy project that could end PG&E's electricity monopoly in San Francisco and give us our own community controlled renewable energy network. This network would provide San Francisco with up to a third or more of its energy from solar, wind, and other renewables by 2009, and that's just the beginning! For more information and to RSVP, send a quick email to: "mailto:eric@ourcity.org" eric(a)our-city.org or call 415-756-8844 *********************************************************** BAUAW Presents 'Marx in Soho' Thursday, August 4, 7:00 p.m, Friday, August 5, 7:00 p.m., Saturday, August 6, 2:00 p.m Jon Sims Center for the Performing Arts (1519 Mission Street between 11th Street and South Van Ness) Sliding scale donation: $10-$20.00 BAUAW Benefit Presentation of Howard Zinn's one man show, MARX IN SOHO Starring Jerry Levy as Karl Marx Directed by Michael Fox Kennedy. The premise of the play is that Marx dies yet he is able to see what's happening on earth for 100 years since his death in 1883. He is supposed to go back to Soho in London but, by mistake, is sent to Soho in New York and finds himself on stage before an audience. Imagine all Karl Marx would have to say after one hundred years of just being able to watch... The single actor in this one-man play is Jerry Levy, who has been teaching sociology at Marlboro College and been acting with the Actors' Theater of Brattleboro since he moved there from Chicago in 1975. Originally directed by Michael Fox Kennedy of the Actors' Theater, Levy has been on the road with Zinn's version of Karl Marx for a year, performing at benefits, colleges, small theaters and other venues around the state. At Middle Earth he was sponsored by the Bradford-based Coos Peace and Justice Alliance and performed free of charge but charged with mighty talent and a bottomless love of the play. WWW.BAUAW.ORG For more information, call: 415-824-8730) ************************************************************ ***************************************** Announcements: ********************** ************************************************************ Joke of the Week Submitted by Susan King Discovery of A New Element A major research institution has recently announced the discovery of the heaviest chemical yet known to science. This new element has been tentatively named "Governmentium. Governmentium has one neutron, 12 assistant neutrons, 75 deputy neutrons, and 224 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called "peons". Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert. However, it can be detected, since it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. Laboratory testing reveals that the presences of even a tiny amount of Governmentium has the ability to alter time. Specifically, the presences of Governmentium causes one reaction to take over four days to complete, when it would normally take less than a second. Governmentium has a normal half-life of four years. It does not decay, but instead, it undergoes reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, eventually leading to the formation of isodopes. This characteristic of moron-promotion has led some scientists to speculate that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration. This hypocritical quantity is referred to as "Critical Morass." You will know it when you see it. Other important research notes: When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes "Administratium", an element which radiates just as much energy, since it has half as many peons, but twice as many morons. ************************************************************ Join the campaign for Voter Owned Elections! Voter Owned Elections is a revolutionary election reform measure that has been endorsed by the SF Green Party and every current and former elected Green official in San Francisco including Matt Gonzalez! What is Voter Owned Elections? The concept of Voter Owned Elections is simple: the public funds the campaigns of candidates who can demonstrate a wide base of community support by collecting a large number of small donations. In exchange, candidates agree to limit their private fundraising. Voter Owned Elections (also known as 'public financing of campaigns') is a progressive reform that helps ensure that candidates are accountable to the public, rather than big corporations, and creates a situation where grassroots candidates have enough resources to get their message into the hands of voters. San Franciscans for Voter Owned Elections is now working to bring Voter Owned Elections to the San Francisco mayor's race and we need your help! This is a people-driven campaign! Please visit our web site: www.voterownedelections.org to learn more and to get involved. ************************************************************ Oakland Gathering: Request for Workshop Proposals Dear Members and Friends of the California Green Party, On Saturday, September 17, the Green Party will host a public gathering to discuss, debate and, deepen our understanding of the crucial political issues facing our people and our planet. The gathering will begin with a welcome from the Oakland Green Party and will include three sessions of 4 or 5 simultaneous workshops. These workshops will run for 90 minutes and focus on several important tracks: culture, coalition building, history/theory, social movements and environmental/economic issues. If you, your Green Party chapter, or your organization would like to host a workshop, please send us a proposal. The deadline for all proposals is Sunday, August 14. Proposal guidelines are listed below. Please include all the requested information and then send your proposal to forrest_hill(a)comcast.net Note: All workshops should plan on setting aside AT LEAST half the allotted time for audience discussion, debate and participation. We will try to accommodate all proposals, but this may not be possible, depending on how many are submitted. See you in Oakland! Green Party Gathering Organizing Committee Proposals Guidelines: 1. Sponsor's individual or group name: 2. Contact information (address, phone number, and email): 3. Topic and Title: 4. Description of workshop (one paragraph): 5. Speakers/presenters/facilitators (whichever is appropriate): 6. Biography/credentials of Speakers/presenters/facilitators: ************************************************************ Become a Green Party Sustainer! As you may know, the SFGP is supported by our wonderful sustaining donors -- 175 and growing. In the next 12 months we hope to double that figure, and you can help us achieve our goal by signing up to make a regular contribution to the Green Party. Our sustainer program nearly pays all of our basic monthly operating expenses, including rent and utilities on the office, and drastically reduces the amount of work needed to raise money. Our sustainers free us up to do what we're really here for - to pursue Green values through the democratic system. Sustainers also ensure that we are able to keep our office, which has hosted numerous campaigns' headquarters including the successful Prop A, Instant Runoff Voting initiative. Becoming a Green Party sustainer is easy, fun, and secure! Online: http://www.sfgreenparty.org/makeadonation/makeadonation.html Phone: 415-701-7090 ************************************************************ For more info on our activities, please see our website, http://www.sfgreenparty.org. You can also email us questions at info(a)sfgreens.org. To send us news items (short blurb please, plain text only) for possible inclusion in the newsletter, email news(a)sfgreens.org. Please don't put these addresses on mailing lists; messages not specifically addressed to us won't go through. Submissions for Joke of the Week, or comments and questions on the content of the newsletter are welcomed by the editor at ladypest(a)hotmail.com

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SF Green Party Weekly
by announce＠sfgreens.org 21 Jul '05

21 Jul '05

SFGP WEEKLY For The Week of 7/21/05 - 7/28/05 This Week: ********************************************************** ************************************************** News: 7/12: Jake McGoldrick Did Us Proud Today 7/15: Peaceful Resistance at Bohemian Grove 7/17: Frustration With Pro-War Democrats is Growing (audio news items) ********************************************************** - 7/21: Bicycle Advisory Committee Action Items - 7/23: Declaration of Oil Independence - 7/23- 7/29: World Premiere of Slow Falling Bird - 7/23: Defend a Woman's Right to Choose! Stop the anti-abortion "Crusade for Life" - 7/25: Mid-Market Redevelopment - Housing and Land Use Seminar Series - 7/26: Transportation Working Group Meeting ********************************************************** Announcements: - Joke of the Week - Become A Sustainer! ********************************************************** ********************************************************** News ***************************************** 7/12: Jake McGoldrick Did Us Proud Today By: Charles Kalish Source: SFGP Letter to the Editor The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday rejected a resolution to berth the battleship Iowa in San Francisco. It was not an easy decision. Jake McGoldrick courageously led the argument to reject the resolution. He made an eloquent speech distinguishing patriotism from militarism. He said that San Francisco is the city of the Peace Movement not the War Movement and should be financing institutions for peace not war. Chris Daly effectively made the distinction between the heroism of WW II and every wrong American war since then. Tom Ammiano described the militarys systemic discrimination, accepting queers only during war time, drumming them out before and after. Ross Mirkarimi said that berthing the Iowa sends the message that San Franciscans accept Americas disastrous militarism in Iraq and the rest of the Middle East. Read the rest at: http://www.sfgreenparty.org/news/newsitem-start.gem?idx=1353 *********************************************************** 7/15: Peaceful Resistance at the Bohemian Grove Green Party to lead protest at gathering of rich and powerful Friday, July 15, 2005 By CAROL BENFELL THE PRESS DEMOCRAT The Green Party is taking the lead in the annual protest of corporate and governmental decision-makers who gather again this weekend at Bohemian Grove near Monte Rio. Members of the all-male San Francisco Bohemian Club have been coming to the tightly guarded grove for relaxation and camaraderie for 123 years. The membership includes many of the nation's rich and powerful, including former U.S. presidents and Cabinet officials. The guest list remains secret to all but club members and employees who help stage the event. Protesters accuse the club of using the secrecy of the grove to cut deals outside the public view, but club members say that doesn't happen. The Green Party took on the protest this year as a way of networking with like-minded groups and expanding the party's role in the community, said Paul Encimer, a Garberville-area businessman and a member of the Green Party's statewide coordinating committee. "The Green Party is a party focused on action," Encimer said. "We think coalition-building and being involved in the movement is part of our task." Read the full article at: http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articleAID=/20050715/NEWS/50715… *********************************************************** 7/17: Frustration With Pro-War Democrats is Growing Submitted by Ericka In case you missed it, KPFA-FM's Sunday Salon program on July 17 was seriously bashing Nancy Pelosi for her pro-war position. Host Larry Bensky said at one point "Are you listening Matt Gonzalez!!" as he spoke of the need to challenge Pelosi. I sent a message to the show today explaining how Terry ran a strong campaign in 2004, but was stifled by election technicalities that kept her off the ballot. You can listen to the show here: http://www.kpfa.org/archives/archives.php?id=22 The talk about Pelosi specifically comes at the end of the first hour, about 56 minutes into the program. Additionally, Norman Solomon, who reportedly registered Green last year, also bashed the Democrats on Friday's Democracy Now, where he repeated how the Democrats are currently a pro-war party. Listen here: http://www.democracynow.org/index.pl?issue=20050715 *********************************************************** Events ************************************* Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) Thursday, July 21st, 6:15 pm City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place (Polk Street), Room 408 Pedestrian Oasis or Mirage?: This is one of the last public forum on the issue of car circulation in the concourse area of Golden Gate Park. Please attend if you are interested in knowing what the museums are planning to do now that they have the underground garage. Golden Gate Park Concourse Circulation Plan - Presentation by the Concourse Authority on the recommended design option; Resolution presented by BAC member by Susan King on GG Park Concourse Circulation Plan 2B. *********************************************************** Declaration of Oil Independence Saturday, July 23rd The Independent, San Francisco Come out to The Independent in San Francisco on Saturday July 23rd for "A Declaration of Oil Independence." The night will bring together an international palette of musicians including Bat Makumba, Hyim and the Fat Foakland Orchestra & DJ Franky Boissy all to raise awareness about our dependence on oil. Profits from the event will benefit the Clean Fuel Caravan Coalition, a Bay Area alternative fuel collective providing education about and access to vehicles running on sustainable fuels like biodiesel and vegetable oil. Fusing environmentalism with equatorial beats "A Declaration of Oil Independence" will appeal to feet of all persuasion and advance tickets are highly recommended! Here's the link for tickets: http://www.ticketweb.com/user/?region=sfbay&query=detail&event=613039 ***************************************************** World Premiere of Slow Falling Bird Saturday, July 23rd- Friday, July 29th 8:00pm The EXIT, 277 Taylor Street, San Francisco Crowded Fire Theater Company presents the World Premiere production of Slow Falling Bird by Australian playwright Christine Evans. As the tide of refugees fleeing from war-torn parts of the world grows, Evans asks us to explore the question of how we take them in - or leave them on the outside. Based on real events in the Woomera Immigration Detention Centre, Slow Falling Bird goes far beyond the documentary impulse, creating a hallucinatory world of song and magic that is beautiful, heartbreaking, and unforgettable. As our own country struggles with our border issues, and with increasing furor around the detainees in Guantanamo, this play hits both close enough to home and far enough away to provide an important perspective on the risks we are taking with our increasingly unjust policies. Previews Sat July 23, Mon July 25, & Fri July 29, 8 p.m. (Pay-What-You-Can, $15 recommended) Benefit performance for SF Poetry Slam Team: Thurs July 28 ($20) Opening Night Gala Sat July 30, 8 p.m. ($30) Plays Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, August 4 20, 8 p.m. Tickets $18 25, sliding scale ($15 students, seniors & TBA members) to reserve tickets online: http://www.crowdedfire.org/boxoffice_closed.shtml by phone: 415-675-5995 ************************************************************ Defend a Woman's Right to Choose! Stop the anti-abortion "Crusade for Life" Friday, July 23rd 8am- noon 815 Eddy St. (at Franklin), SF "Crusade for Life" will be in San Francisco from July 15-24, protesting against reproductive rights. Planned Parenthood is collecting names and phone numbers of anyone interested in being on an "on-call" list in the event of problems or harrassment by protesters. We are invited to join Planned Parenthood, Radical Women, Code Pink, and various others to defend a woman's right to choose. The "Crusade for Life" plans to disrupt our community by harassing women at health clinics from July 15-27. We need your help to defend our clinics and to send the message that the Bay Area is pro-choice and stands up for reproductive rights! Saturday, July 23: Meet at Planned Parenthood to be a visible pro-choice force. ************************************************************ Mid-Market Redevelopment - Housing and Land Use Seminar Series Monday, July 25th 7pm-9pm First Baptist Church, 7 Octavia Street, at Market St., San Francisco (on the historic F streetcar line) The Green Party Housing and Land Use Seminar Series Presents: The Mid-Market Redevelopment Plan: A Necessary Developer Boost to Market Street or the Continuing Gentrification of San Francisco? With Rich Hillis, Mayor Newsom's representative to the Mid-Market Redevelopment Plan from the Mayor's Office of Economic Development, Kate White, Executive Director, Housing Action Coalition, and David Wilbur, Mid-Market PAC member for the past two years who voted against the Plan with the hope for a much better alternative from the Board of Supervisors. Moderated by: Christina Olague, San Francisco Planning Commissioner This seminar will address some of the most important housing and land use issues facing San Francisco, namely: -- The percentage of affordable housing units included in privately built developments; The proper role of the Redevelopment Agency in developing the city; -- The amount of parking within our most transit-rich district along Market and Mission Streets; -- The income demographics of the patrons the proposed "art district" will service. ************************************************************ Transportation Working Group Meeting Thursday, July 26th 7pm-9pm 1028A Howard St. (SFGP Office) Agenda to be determined; please join us for our meetings every 4th Tuesday ************************************************************ ***************************************** Announcements: ********************** ************************************************************ Joke of the Week Taking Up a Collection for the President A lobbyist, on his way home from work in Washington, D.C., came to a dead halt in traffic and thought to himself, "Wow, this seems worse than usual." He noticed a police officer walking between the lines of stopped cars, so he rolled down his window and asked, "Officer, what's the hold-up?" The officer replied, "The President is depressed, so he stopped his motorcade and is threatening to douse himself with gasoline and set himself on fire. He says no one believes his stories about why we went to war in Iraq, or the connection between Saddam and al-Qaeda, or that his tax cuts will help anyone except his wealthy friends; the press called him on the lie about Iraq trying to buy uranium from Niger, and now Campbell Brown is threatening to sue him for a sexual innuendo he made at a recent press conference. So we're taking up a collection for him." The lobbyist asks, "How much have you got so far?" The officer replies, "About 14 gallons, but a lot of folks are still siphoning." ************************************************************ Become a Green Party Sustainer! As you may know, the SFGP is supported by our wonderful sustaining donors -- 175 and growing. In the next 12 months we hope to double that figure, and you can help us achieve our goal by signing up to make a regular contribution to the Green Party. Our sustainer program nearly pays all of our basic monthly operating expenses, including rent and utilities on the office, and drastically reduces the amount of work needed to raise money. Our sustainers free us up to do what we're really here for - to pursue Green values through the democratic system. Sustainers also ensure that we are able to keep our office, which has hosted numerous campaigns' headquarters including the successful Prop A, Instant Runoff Voting initiative. Becoming a Green Party sustainer is easy, fun, and secure! Online: http://www.sfgreenparty.org/makeadonation/makeadonation.html Phone: 415-701-7090 ************************************************************ For more info on our activities, please see our website, http://www.sfgreenparty.org. You can also email us questions at info(a)sfgreens.org. To send us news items (short blurb please, plain text only) for possible inclusion in the newsletter, email news(a)sfgreens.org. Please don't put these addresses on mailing lists; messages not specifically addressed to us won't go through.

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SF Green Party Weekly
by announce＠sfgreens.org 14 Jul '05

14 Jul '05

SFGP WEEKLY For The Week of 7/14/05 - 7/21/05 This Week: ********************************************************** ************************************************** News: 7/8: If we are fighting insurgency in Iraq, what makes us think insurgency won't come to us? 7/9: Terrorism, "The War on Terror" and the Message of Carnage 7/12: Nurses and Teachers "Stop Arnold" 7/12: California Senate Passes Historic Marriage Equality Legislation ********************************************************** - 7/15: Green Convergence at the Bohemian Grove - 7/15: Sup. Ross Mirkirimi Hosts Art Opening Commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Hiroshima Bombing - 7/16 and 7/23: Defend a Woman's Right to Choose! Stop the anti-abortion "Crusade for Life" - 7/17: United Farm Workers Rally and March - 7/21-7/23: "Spiritual Activism Network" Conference ********************************************************** Announcements: - Joke of the Week - Become A Sustainer! ********************************************************** ********************************************************** News ***************************************** 7/8: If we are fighting insurgency in Iraq, what makes us think insurgency won't come to us? By Robert Fisk "If you bomb our cities," Osama bin Laden said in one of his recent video tapes, "we will bomb yours." There you go, as they say. It was crystal clear Britain would be a target ever since Tony Blair decided to join George Bush's "war on terror" and his invasion of Iraq. We had, as they say, been warned. The G8 summit was obviously chosen, well in advance, as Attack Day. And it's no use Mr Blair telling us yesterday that "they will never succeed in destroying what we hold dear". "They" are not trying to destroy "what we hold dear". They are trying to get public opinion to force Blair to withdraw from Iraq, from his alliance with the United States, and from his adherence to Bush's policies in the Middle East. The Spanish paid the price for their support for Bush - and Spain's subsequent retreat from Iraq proved that the Madrid bombings achieved their objectives - while the Australians were made to suffer in Bali. It is easy for Tony Blair to call yesterdays bombings "barbaric" - of course they were - but what were the civilian deaths of the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq in 2003, the children torn apart by cluster bombs, the countless innocent Iraqis gunned down at American military checkpoints? When they die, it is "collateral damage"; when "we" die, it is "barbaric terrorism". Read the rest of the article at: http://news.independent.co.uk/world/fisk/article297623.ece ********************************************************** 7/9: Terrorism, "The War on Terror" and the Message of Carnage By Norman Solomon t r u t h o u t | Perspective When the French government suggested a diplomatic initiative that might interfere with the White House agenda for war, the president responded by saying that the proposed scenario would "ratify terror." The date was July 24, 1964, the president was Lyndon Johnson and the war was in Vietnam. Four decades later, the anti-terror rationale is not just another argument for revving up the US war machinery. Fighting "terror" is now the central rationale for war. "The contrast couldnt be clearer between the intentions and the hearts of those who care deeply about human rights and human liberty, and those who kill, those whove got such evil in their hearts that they will take the lives of innocent folks," President Bush said Thursday after the London bombings. "The war on terror goes on." A key requirement of this righteous war is that all inconvenient history must be deemed irrelevant. "By accepting the facile cliché that the battle under way against terrorism is a battle against evil, by easily branding those who fight us as the barbarians, we, like them, refuse to acknowledge our own culpability," journalist Chris Hedges has observed. "We ignore real injustices that have led many of those arrayed against us to their rage and despair." Voices of reason, even when theyve come from within the countrys military establishment, have been shunted aside. In late November 2002, a retired US Army general, William Odom, told C-SPAN viewers: "Terrorism is not an enemy. It cannot be defeated. Its a tactic. Its about as sensible to say we declare war on night attacks and expect were going to win that war. Were not going to win the war on terrorism. And it does whip up fear. Acts of terror have never brought down liberal democracies. Acts of parliament have closed a few." ... Two years after 9/11, Norman Mailer asked: "What does it profit us if we gain extreme security and lose our democracy? Not everyone in Iraq, after all, was getting their hands and/or their ears cut off by Saddam Hussein. In the middle of that society were hordes of Iraqis who had all the security they needed even if there was no freedom other than the full-fledged liberty offered by dictators to be free to speak with hyperbolic hosannas for the leader. So, yes, there are more important things to safeguard than security and one of them is to protect the much-beleaguered integrity of our democracy. The final question in these matters suggests itself. Can leaders who lie as a way of life protect any way of life?" The president who lied his way into an invasion of Iraq is now exploiting Thursdays atrocities in London to justify US policies that are bringing daily atrocities to Iraq. Bush is intent on sending a message to "the terrorists" by continuing the Pentagons war effort. The idea of communicating by killing is very familiar. Theres nothing new about claiming to send a righteous message with bullets and bombs. In his book "War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning," former war correspondent Chris Hedges writes that he saw such transmissions up close: "Corpses in wartime often deliver messages. The death squads in El Salvador dumped three bodies in the parking lot of the Camino Real Hotel in San Salvador, where the journalists were based, early one morning. Death threats against us were stuffed in the mouths of the bodies." Hedges adds: "And, on a larger scale, Washington uses murder and corpses to transmit its wrath. We delivered such incendiary messages in Vietnam, Iraq, Serbia, and Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden has learned to speak the language of modern industrial warfare." And Hedges notes: "It was Robert McNamara, the American Secretary of Defense in the summer of 1965, who defined the bombing raids that would eventually leave hundreds of thousands of civilians north of Saigon dead as a means of communication to the Communist regime in Hanoi." Forty years later, with a "war on terrorism" serving as the central theme of pro-war propaganda, the United States and its military allies are routinely sending lethal messages. It should not surprise us when such messages are returned to sender. (article reprinted in full. - e.d.) *********************************************************** 7/12: Nurses and Teachers "Stop Arnold" By Charles Kalish Green gadfly and resident of SF's Bernal Heights, Charles Kalish, joined the Nurses, Teachers and the Raging Grannies in their "Stop Arnold" campaign on Tuesday. He's written about their protest here, and asks that you email Giuliana Milanese at gmilanese(a)calnurses.org to get more information or join the campaign. The Nurses and Teachers (and Raging Grannies) were in full form this afternoon - down at Yahoo headquarters in Sunnyvale. Their "Stop Arnold" campaign was in the Silicon Valley to protest another billionaire fundraiser for Arnold's anti-worker ballot initiatives. Today Yahoo founder, Jerry Yang, was hosting Arnold's oligarchy. I felt honored to be among the heroines and heroes who have managed to stop this Schwarz'ngr/Corporate juggernaut in its tracks. Giuliana Milanese took me down there. She's an organizer for CNA, the Californa Nurses Association. Our nurses and teachers have taken the offensive with innovative tactics including brilliant TV commercials. They have reframed the public discussion, in this case about the Governor's power grabbing Special Election in November. They are exposing the beast for what it is: a mean spirited, dishonest campaign by Schwarz'ngr and his wealthy supporters to capture even more power and wealth for themselves - an almost identical replica of what Bush, Cheney, Rove and Delay are doing nationally. The latest commercial from the teachers spotlights the Schwarz'ngr strategy: create a "phenomenon of anger" against teachers and all public workers by blaming them continuously for California's economic woes. It clearly illuminates the vicious "blame game" mentality of Schwarz'ngr and Company. Meanwhile the Austrian-American California governor has collected $100K contributions from everyone from Chevron-Texaco and Wal-Mart to Anheuser-Bush and Donald Fisher. Who is Donald Fisher? Fisher is an example of the extent to which greed and power can pervert the human animal. We in San Francisco have a particularly insulting relationship with this odious creature. He lives here and he continually uses his enormous wealth (The GAP) to manipulate the local body politic. Most recently he is alleged to have paid for a hit piece bearing a swastika against local progressive Supervisor, Gerardo Sandoval. Fisher is now using his wealth to try to drive Sandoval into poverty. Fisher's strategy is to put the fear of God into all progressives in San Francisco who dare to mess with him. He's shown that he will use any means to increase his strangle hold on this city. What does this have to do with the nurses and Schwarz'ngr? I believe that Fisher reflects the ugly reality of the mentality and the morality of the Schwarz'ngr/Bush phenomenon. The California nurses and teachers have learned how to expose them for what they are. All of us had better understand the likes of Donald Fisher because we will be doing battle with them for years to come. It's going to be a hard battle to beat Schwarz'ngr in November. He and his funders will spend hundreds of millions of dollars; they will be at their meanest; they will stoop so low as to vilify even our care providers and our educators. They will try to destroy anyone who gets in their way. Nonetheless, this oligarchy can be beaten. Our nurses and teachers are proving that. They are in the vanguard of the people's revolution for economic and social justice in America. I urge everyone to add yourselves to Giuliana's mailing list and to participate whenever and however possible in the Stop Arnold campaign. It symbolizes everything we stand for, locally and nationally. Email her at gmilanese(a)calnurses.org Yours, Charles (Reprinted in full. - e.d.) *********************************************************** 7/12: California Senate Passes Historic Marriage Equality Legislation By LGBT Legislative Caucus, Equality California, And Allies Join Forces to Revive Equal Marriage Rights Legislation for Same-Sex Couples Sacramento, CA With a 5-2 vote, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed Equality California-sponsored Assembly Bill (AB) 849, the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, authored by Assemblymember Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez (D-Los Angeles), and supported by more than 30 other co-authors. The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act would grant equal marriage rights to same-sex couples and affirm the religious freedom of all Californians. State Senate Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Senator Joe Dunn (D-Garden Grove) have been working with the LGBT Legislative Caucus to move the bill forward. The previous marriage bill (AB 19) was narrowly defeated by four votes in the Assembly in early June. Through a common procedural move, the exact language of the bill was placed into the body of another bill (AB 849) that was moving through the legislature. The bill now heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee after legislators return from summer recess on August 15. "I am buoyed by the support of many of my colleagues in the Senate, who are co-authors of the measure, and who believe we can pass this bill this year and move it out of the Assembly and to the Governor's desk this September," stated AB 849's lead author, Assemblymember Mark Leno. "Because civil rights battles are never won in a day, we must move this issue forward whenever we can. This is the year to do it. We came so close to victory in June. With a few more months to make our case, the LGBT Legislative Caucus believes we will prevail. Read the full article at: http://www.eqca.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=9oINKWMCF&b=40337&ct=1165583 *********************************************************** *********************************************************** Events ************************************* 7/15: Green Convergence at the Bohemian Grove Friday, July 15th through Sunday, July 17th 12:00 noon- 8:00pm Each year, the most powerful men in the world meet for a summer retreat in Bohemian Grove, one of the last stands of ancient redwood, nestled along the Russian River in Sonoma County. Correspondingly, activists gather to greet these powerbrokers as they set about for their two week vacation which culminates with a secret ceremony "the Cremation of Care". Activists plan full day activities on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, July 15-17. On Friday, from 12- dusk, join Greens and activists of all stripes at the gates of Bohemian Grove. Bring banners, signs, drums and costumes. Saturday, 11 am rally, noon march to the gates to protest the Bohemians: War for Oil in the Middle East, environmental destruction across the globe, the rich recieve tax cuts while the poor get service cuts. Sunday: Green Convergance, Monte Rio Outdoor Ampetheater. 10:00 am gather, 11-1 special guest speakers and music. 1:00 pm design your own protest- community discussion to plan ongoing actions to stop the war, environmental destruction, loss of civil liberties caused by the Bohemians. ***************************************************** 7/15: Sup. Ross Mirkirimi Hosts Art Opening Commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Hiroshima Bombing Friday, July 15th 5:30pm- 9:00pm 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlet Pl., SF (City Hall) Rm. 282 On Friday, July 15th, 2005, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi hosts the monthly Third Fridays Art Reception in his City Hall office, Room 282. In commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, this months featured artists are Lewis Suzuki and Iri and Toshi Maruki. Lewis Suzuki was born in Los Angeles and studied art in Japan, New York, and California. His watercolors are bold and impressionistic and enrich and strengthen the spirit of the viewer. Through his art, Mr. Suzuki hopes to give a sense of joy and hope in our difficult and changing world. I feel that art has a place in enriching the life of humanity. Through my art, I hope to strengthen that part of culture. --Lewis Suzuki Iri and Toshi Maruki traveled to Hiroshima three days after the bomb was dropped and witnessed the destruction first hand; several relatives and many friends perished. Three years passed before the Marukis were able to begin to paint what they had seen and this helped them to heal emotionally. Nine hundred sketches were merged together to create the first of 15 murals commemorating the tragedy of the victims. It is a dreadful, cruel scene, but I wanted to paint it with kindness. --Toshi Maruki ************************************************************ Defend a Woman's Right to Choose! Stop the anti-abortion "Crusade for Life" Saturday, July 16th and Friday, July 23rd 8am- noon 815 Eddy St. (at Franklin), SF "Crusade for Life" will be in San Francisco from July 15-24, protesting against reproductive rights. Planned Parenthood is collecting names and phone numbers of anyone interested in being on an "on-call" list in the event of problems or harrassment by protesters. We are invited to join Planned Parenthood, Radical Women, Code Pink, and various others to defend a woman's right to choose. The "Crusade for Life" plans to disrupt our community by harassing women at health clinics from July 15-27. We need your help to defend our clinics and to send the message that the Bay Area is pro-choice and stands up for reproductive rights! Saturday, July 16 and 23: Meet at Planned Parenthood to be a visible pro-choice force. ************************************************************ United Farm Workers Rally and March Saturday, July 17th 11:30am Dolores Park, SF Come show your support for the UFW struggle against Gallo and our appreciation for UFW's support for queers over the years. How well I remember Cesar Chavez speaking at the 1987 National March on Washington, I was on the press flatbed and got some pics of him for the Philly Gay News, even got to shake his hand...now our shared history of supporting each other (my GLF group in the early 70s supported the grape boycott) is being raised to another level...queers are making a special effort to be visible in Sunday's march...please let me know if you can join us. nos vemos Domingo! Si se puede! *********************************************************** "Spiritual Activism Network" Conference Thursday, July 20th- Sunday, July 23rd UC Berkley Campus Berkely, CA Come to an exciting upcoming conference in Berkeley on July 20th-23rd! The conference will focus on creating a national, inter-faith "Spiritual Activism Network" and will feature an impressive array of nationally-prominent speakers, religious and spiritual leaders, political analysts, and performing artists. To date, over 900 people have registered, and it may well mark a turning point in the public paralysis around the destructive role of the religious right in American politics ... not to mention an excellent opportunity to expand our membership. Please visit the Tikkun conference site below and see if you'd like to attend! http://www.tikkun.org/community/spiritual_activism_conference/main-page.htm… ********************************************************** ***************************************** Announcements: ********************** ************************************************************ Joke of the Week Iraq Vs. Vietnam Q. What's the difference between the Vietnam War and the Iraq War? A. George W. Bush had a plan to get out of the Vietnam War. Plus!!!! Bush's Propaganda Tour During a propaganda tour, President Bush visits a school to explain his politics to kids. He invites the kids to ask him questions. Bobby stands up and tells him "Mr. President, I got 3 questions": 1. How come, that although the count of votes was not in your favor, you still won the election? 2. Why do you want to attack Iraq without an imminent reason? 3. Don't you also consider the bombing of Hiroshima the biggest terrorist attack of all times? Before the president can answer, the recess bell rings, and the kids leave the room. After they came back, Bush invited them again to ask questions. Joey stands up and tells him "Mr. President, I got 5 questions": 1. How come, that although the count of votes was not in your favor, you still won the election? 2. Why do you want to attack Iraq without an imminent reason? 3. Don't you also consider the bombing of Hiroshima the biggest terrorist attack of all times? 4. Why did the recess bell ring 20 minutes early? 5. Where's Bobby? ************************************************************ Become a Green Party Sustainer! As you may know, the SFGP is supported by our wonderful sustaining donors -- 175 and growing. In the next 12 months we hope to double that figure, and you can help us achieve our goal by signing up to make a regular contribution to the Green Party. Our sustainer program nearly pays all of our basic monthly operating expenses, including rent and utilities on the office, and drastically reduces the amount of work needed to raise money. Our sustainers free us up to do what we're really here for - to pursue Green values through the democratic system. Sustainers also ensure that we are able to keep our office, which has hosted numerous campaigns' headquarters including the successful Prop A, Instant Runoff Voting initiative. Becoming a Green Party sustainer is easy, fun, and secure! Online: http://www.sfgreenparty.org/makeadonation/makeadonation.html Phone: 415-701-7090 ************************************************************ For more info on our activities, please see our website, http://www.sfgreenparty.org. You can also email us questions at info(a)sfgreens.org. To send us news items (short blurb please, plain text only) for possible inclusion in the newsletter, email news(a)sfgreens.org. Please don't put these addresses on mailing lists; messages not specifically addressed to us won't go through.

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SF Green Party Weekly
by announce＠sfgreens.org 07 Jul '05

07 Jul '05

SFGP WEEKLY For The Week of 7/7/05 - 7/14/05 This Week: ********************************************************** ************************************************** News: 7/1: Medea Benjamin Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize 7/5: A Lawsuit On Behalf of the Children of SFUSD 7/7: Divisadero Chain Stores On Endangered List ********************************************************** - 7/7: Speakers Needed at Public Comment - 7/8: California Minimum Wage - 7/8: Spoken Word Show - 7/9: The World Can't Wait Forum - 7/10: Green Sunday - 7/11: Campaigns and Issues Working Group Meeting - 7/11: One-Woman Play: A Fool Runs For Congress - 7/14: Book Release and Art Show ********************************************************** More Events: - Walk San Francisco's Peak to Peak Walk ********************************************************** Announcements: - Joke of the Week - Become A Sustainer! ********************************************************** ********************************************************** News ***************************************** 7/1: Medea Benjamin Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize www.codepink.org Medea Benjamin is among the 1,000 women collectively nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. These courageous women from 150 countries are honored for their daily commitment to fostering peace and bringing justice to all corners of the globe. These women lead by example; they offer us a path to change and often under dire circumstances. Peace is more than the absence of war; it is human security, equality and opportunity. These basic ideals dont come easily, if at all, to most of the worlds people. The 1,000 brave women being honored spend their lives trying to make the culture of peace a global reality. This is a great honor for me, and also for all the women of CODEPINK who've been working so hard for peace over the last three years. And this is an amazing opportunity to promote the work of all 1,000 women on this list, who in their own special ways are pushing and striving and protesting for peace and justice, was Medeas response after hearing the news. Forty of the 1,000 women nominated are from the US. In addition to Medea, five of the women nominated are contributors to CODEPINKs newest book Stop The Next War Now, Barbara Lee, Cynthia McKinney, Elise Marie Biorn-Hansen Boulding, Noeleen Heyzer and Holly Near. Dana, Farida, Gael, Jodie, Medea, Nancy, Rae, and Tiffany P.S. Join Arundhati Roy and the Jury of Conscience from the World Tribunal in Iraq, endorse their findings and recommendations and read more about this historic event. ********************************************************** 7/5: A Lawsuit On Behalf of the Children of SFUSD by Kim-Shree Maufas It was just last November when San Francisco Schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman received a raise from $223,526 to $250,000 plus at a special Friday evening meeting after Veterans Day. The public was given only 22 hours notice all SFUSD public meetings require 72 hours notice to the public and her contract was approved by a 4-3 vote. School Board Commissioners Eric Mar, Mark Sanchez and Sarah Lipson voted no, while fellow Commissioners Dr. Dan Kelly, Eddie Chin and Jill Wynns voted yes for the raise, with the deciding fourth vote being cast by exiting mayoral appointee Heather Hiles. Hiles had suffered a crushing defeat at the polls just a week before in her attempt to be elected to the School Board. ........ The legality of the meeting and consequently of Ackermans pay raise is questionable and unconscionable because of a state law stating that a county superintendent can only receive an increase in his or her salary or benefits at a regularly scheduled public meeting of the board. The School Board and Ackerman are responsible to the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). Law firm Gonzalez & Leigh LLP, comprised of former Board of Supervisors President Matt Gonzalez and his long-time associate Whitney Leigh, have filed the suit on behalf of plaintiffs Alan Wong, a student; Tami Bryant, a parent; first grade teacher Jeremiah Jeffries; and concerned citizen Jacques Fitch. Leigh is African-American, and the firm is taking on the case pro bono (free). Read the full article at: http://sfbayview.com/062905/lawsuit062905.shtml *********************************************************** Divisadero chain stores on endangered list By Justin Jouvenal Staff Writer For 11 years, Mike Zagha has worked to build Bean Bag Coffee House into a neighborhood spot with local flavor. He has created a loyal following and business is good, but he still fears one thing: a large coffee chain, such as Starbucks, moving in nearby. "I believe in capitalism, but unfortunately I would not be able to compete," Zagha said of his business on Divisadero at Hayes Street. "We don't have the same money to spend on advertisement. They can also go cheaper than us. We buy 20 pounds of coffee, but they buy 2,000 pounds." Seeking to help small businesses like Zagha's, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi has proposed an ordinance that would make it more difficult for chains to locate on a nine-block stretch of Divisadero Street between Hayes and Turk streets in the Western Addition. The ordinance follows a similar initiative in Cole Valley, as well as bans on chain stores in North Beach and Hayes Valley last year. The new ordinance requires any chains with 11 or more stores that maintains standardized merchandise and esthetics to get a special waiver, known as a conditional use permit, from the Planning Commission to locate on the stretch. Supporters said it is a way to maintain one of the most charming features of San Francisco its diverse mom-and-pop businesses and distinctive neighborhoods, which they believe chains might undermine and homogenize. Mirkarimi said his legislation allows the neighborhood to have a chain if it truly wants one, but only after a rigorous process. "It empowers the community, while giving it an exit strategy as well," Mirkarimi said. Read the full story at: http://www.sfexaminer.com/articles/2005/07/06/news/2005070706_ne03_chains.p… *********************************************************** *********************************************************** **************************************************** Events ************************************* Public Speakers Needed at SF Board of Supervisors Meetings Thursday, July 7 and Friday, July 8 Various times 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlet Pl. (SF City Hall) For More information on these issues, contact Bruce Wolfe (Bruce(a)Brucewolfe.net) THURSDAY: RULES COMMITTEE @ 1:00pm in Room 263 SUPPORT 4. 050818 [Charter Amendment - Dividing appointments to the Municipal Transportation Agency's Board of Directors between the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors] Supervisor Ammiano Charter amendment (Third Draft) to amend Section 8A.102, to divide appointments to the Municipal Transportation Agencys Board of Directors between the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors. SUPPORT 5. 031567 [Charter Amendment - Establishing an Emergency Health Care Services Fund and baseline funding for the Fund] Supervisor Daly Charter Amendment (Fourth Draft) to add Section 16.126 to increase the fiscal authority of the Health Commission and establish a stable baseline funding level for the Department of Public Health to ensure the continued operation of San Francisco public health services. FRIDAY: SPECIAL RULES COMMITTEE @ 1:00pm in Room 263 OPPOSE 1. 050925 [Charter Amendment - Minimum qualifications for members of City bodies that oversee and administer election, campaign finance, lobbying, conflict of interest, open meeting and public records Supervisor Alioto-Pier Charter Amendment (Second Draft) to add Section 15.104 to create minimum qualifications for members of City bodies that oversee and administer election, campaign finance, lobbying, conflict of interest, open meeting and public records laws. SUPPORT 2. 050928 [Charter Amendment - Ethics Commission Charter Amendment] Supervisor Mirkarimi Charter Amendment (Second Draft) to amend Section C3.699-14 to establish a budget process for the Ethics Commission and add Section C3.99.15 to authorize the hiring of outside counsel for specified conflicts. FRIDAY: LAFCo MEETING @ Noon in Room 250 SUPPORT CCA (Speak to Supe Mirkarimi's office and/or members of CCA Coalition inc Sierra Club, Greenpeace, Women's Energy Matters, Local Power, Our City, etc) 3. Status of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Community Choice Aggregation Implementation Plan. (Discussion and Action Item) (Continued from June 17, 2005). 4. Recommendation of Amendments to the Community Choice Aggregation Implementation Plan Submitted to the Board of Supervisors (Discussion and Action tem) (Continued from June 17, 2005). 5. Resolution on Policy and Program Recommendations for Community Choice Aggregation Implementation Plan (Discussion and Action) 6. Policy Discussion and action regarding prevention of any barriers towards full implementation of Community Choice Aggregation (Discussion and Action Item) (Continued from June 17, 2005). *********************************************************** California Minimum Wage Friday, July 8th 1:00- 3:30pm 555 Ellis St., SF Join us on July 8th as members of the religious community, organized labor, Green Party, Democratic Party and community/non-profit organizations come together to prepare for a California Minimum Wage Ballot Measure For November 2006. It will be an opportunity to meet other advocates, lay out a calendar for developing a minimum wage initiative for the November 2006 ballot, identify tasks that need to be accomplished and establish working groups. The California legislature is currently considering legislation to raise the minimum wage, which the governor will most likely veto. To qualify for the November 2006 ballot, legislation must be drafted by September so that we can begin gathering signatures by November of this year. Space is limited so please RSVP. Contact: Barry Hermanson 415-664-7754 (Home/office) 415-255-9494 (Cell) barry(a)hermansons.com ********************************************************** Spoken Word Show Friday, July 8th 7pm. Phoenix Books, 24th Street @ Vicksberg, Noe Valley San Francisco This Friday, June 8th please join us for a very special reading at Phoenix Books. New York City's Dewayne Dickerson is the headliner. Dewayne is a powerhouse reader, author of the book Chubby on V52 Books, has a film made about him, and will just rock the house down. Don't miss him! It might be awhile until he returns to this coast. Also, Melissa Klein will read accompanied by Sara Shortt on guitar. Melissa is the creator of Inkling Magazine and has a piece in the "It's All Good" anthology from Manic D Press. ********************************************************** The World Can't Wait Forum Saturday, July 9th 3:00-6:00pm Valencia Street Books, 569 Valencia St. (btwn. 16th and 17th Sts.), SF Come to a forum on Saturday and hear: Larry Everest, correspondent for Revolution newspaper, author of Oil, Power, and Empire, Iraq and the U.S. Global Agenda-- Reporting back from the World Tribunal on Iraq which just concluded in and which found GW Bush guilty of crimes against humanity... C. Clark Kissinger, writer for Revolution newspaper, Coordinator of the 2002 Not in Our Name Statement of Conscience and one of the initiators of the campaign to Drive Out the Bush Regime (2005). Kissinger will talk about torture and the Bush regime drive to transform the legal system to serve its ends... And Travis Morales, member of the Revolutionary Communist Party and one of the initiators of the campaign to Drive Out the Bush Regime "The Bush is setting out to radically remake society very quickly in a fascist way and for generations to come. We must act now, the future is in the balance". (From the worldcantwait.org website) ********************************************************** Green Sunday Sunday, July 10th 5:00 - 6:30 pm 6501 Telegraph Ave, north Oakland Green Candidates, Green Officeholders and Lessons Learned What does it take to run a competent and serious electoral campaign rooted in Green values? What roles can Green Party activists and allies play in the campaign? What should the relationships look like between the candidate, the party and the broader progressive movement? How about once the candidate wins and is in office? What roles do (or should) Green electoral campaigns play in transforming our communities and the United States to a Green society? Join other local Greens including our presenters: Wilson Riles, former Oakland City Councilmember and mayoral candidate who joined the Green Party shortly after his Green-endorsed campaign for mayor in 2002, and John Selawsky, Berkeley Green and current Berkeley School Board member. Beverages and snacks will be provided. LOCATION: Niebyl-Proctor Library 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland. DIRECTIONS: One block north of Alcatraz on the West side of Telegraph, wheelchair accessible. Served directly by AC Transit routes 40, 64 & 17 with 6, 51 & 43 nearby. Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away. SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs &discussions sponsored by the Outreach Working Group of the Green Party of Alameda County. They are held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party of Alameda County follows at 6:45 p.m. ********************************************************** Campaigns and Issues Working Group Meeting Monday, July 11th 7:00pm- 9:00pm 1025A Howard St. (SFGP Office) Our regularly scheduled meeting for the first Monday of the month is moved back one week to accommodate the July 4 holiday. Topics include: finalizing the candidate questionnaires for Assessor, Treasurer, City Attorney, planning discussions for the General Membership endorsement of initiatives, planning informational forums around issues and candidates on this November's ballot. If you are promoting an issue or candidate for the ballot, please contact to Campaigns and Issues co-chairs to request time on our agenda to discuss the campaign. Susan King; funking(a)mindspring.com Marc Salomon: marc(a)cybre.net Charlene Smythe: cmsmythe2002(a)yahoo.com ********************************************************** One-Woman Play: A Fool Runs for Congress or How Green Was My Ballot Monday, July 11th 8:00pm The Marsh 1062 Valencia @ 22nd (Parking garage @ 21st/Bartlett) Admission: $7 Come see former Green Congressional candidate Terry Baum's new one-woman play, 'A Fool Runs for Congress, or How Green Was My Ballot' "The play is based on my 2004 campaign as the Green Party nominee for U.S. Congress. The July 11 excerpt describes the time I and three of my supporters were arrested for sitting in at the Department of Elections, in an effort to get the D.O.E. to count all my write-in votes." - Terry Baum ********************************************************** Book Release and Art Show Thursday, July 14 6:00- 9:00pm Urbis Artium Gallery Green Party and FIG member judy b. celebrates the publication of her fiction collection: Stories for Airports. The book is locally created, designed, and typset, and printed in an East Bay union shop on 100% recycled paper using soy-based inks. Also playing: Departure, an art show curated by the book's cover designer, Kai Haley, and featuring a bevy of local talent. Come join the party at Urbis Artium, 104 Second St., 6th Floor. For more information: http://onzeproductions.com or (415) 673-4696 ********************************************************** ********************************************************** More Events: ************************************************* ************************************* Walk San Franciscos Peak to Peak Walk Saturday, July 23 Walk San Francisco will be holding their first annual Peak to Peak Walk, a 12-mile challenge that will inspire even the most avid walker. Walkers will get a unique view of San Franciscos skyline, stairways, paths, parks, and monuments all while raising money for WalkSFs vital pedestrian safety and advocacy work. Visit www.walksf.org to download a registration form and for more information. REGISTRATION DEADLINE - July 15. Current WalkSF member: $65 New WalkSF member: $75 (415) 431-WALK www.walksf.org director(a)walksf.org *********************************** ********************************************************** Announcements: ********************** ************************************************************ Joke of the Week Submitted by Karen Fishkin How Many? How many members of the Bush Administration are needed to change a light bulb? 1. One to deny that a light bulb needs to be changed. 2. One to attack the patriotism of anyone who says the light bulb needs to be changed. 3. One to blame Clinton for burning out the light bulb. 4. One to tell the nations of the world that they are either for changing the light bulb or for darkness. 5. One to give a billion dollar no-bid contract to Haliburton for thenew light bulb. 6. One to arrange a photograph of Bush, dressed as a janitor, standing on a step ladder under the banner:" Light Bulb Change Accomplished". 7. One administration insider to resign and write a book documenting in detail how Bush was literally in the dark. 8. One to viciously smear #7. 9. One surrogate to campaign on TV and at rallies on how George Bush has had a strong light-bulb-changing policy all along. 10. And finally one to confuse Americans about the difference between screwing a light bulb and screwing the country. ************************************************************ Become a Green Party Sustainer! As you may know, the SFGP is supported by our wonderful sustaining donors -- 175 and growing. In the next 12 months we hope to double that figure, and you can help us achieve our goal by signing up to make a regular contribution to the Green Party. Our sustainer program nearly pays all of our basic monthly operating expenses, including rent and utilities on the office, and drastically reduces the amount of work needed to raise money. Our sustainers free us up to do what we're really here for - to pursue Green values through the democratic system. Sustainers also ensure that we are able to keep our office, which has hosted numerous campaigns' headquarters including the successful Prop A, Instant Runoff Voting initiative. Becoming a Green Party sustainer is easy, fun, and secure! Online: http://www.sfgreenparty.org/makeadonation/makeadonation.html Phone: 415-701-7090 ************************************************************ For more info on our activities, please see our website, http://www.sfgreenparty.org. You can also email us questions at info(a)sfgreens.org. To send us news items (short blurb please, plain text only) for possible inclusion in the newsletter, email news(a)sfgreens.org. Please don't put these addresses on mailing lists; messages not specifically addressed to us won't go through.

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