SFGP WEEKLY For The Week of 6/23/05 - 6/30/05 Welcome to All Our New Subscribers From the Juneteenth Fair! Happy Gay Pride Weekend!! This Week: ********************************************************** ************************************************** SFGP Weekly Staff Presents: Joke of The Week When It's Time To Get A New Life: Your job requires you to wear a paper hat. You consider professional wrestling a sport. You know all the words to the Brady Bunch theme. You don't buy National Enquirer at the checkout....you subscribe. You get unnecessary haircuts, just to have someone run their fingers through your hair. You believe Oswald acted alone, except for the aliens behind the grassy knoll. ********************************************************** ********************************************************** News: 6/16: Green Party of California Applauds Passage of Universal Health Care Bill 6/17: Record House Vote for Medical Marijuana 161-264 Vote to Stop Raids 6/20: Republican National Convention Protester Goes to Trial 6/21: SF Green Party Election Timeline ********************************************************** Events: - 6/23: Seminar For Activists - 6/25: Sign-Making Party - 6/26: San Francisco Pride Weekend ********************************************************** More Events: - 6/25: Budget Town Hall Meeting ********************************************************** Announcements: - Become A Sustainer! ********************************************************** ********************************************************** News: ************** ********************************************************** 6/16: Green Party of California Applauds Passage of Universal Health Care Bill 06/16/05 Source: http://www.cagreens.org Urges Assembly, Governor to Ignore Special Iinterests SACRAMENTO (June 1, 2005) The Green Party of California today urged the state Assembly and governor to ignore the influence of special interests, and approve legislation to create a universal health care system to provide health care coverage for all Californians. SB840, authored by Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Los Angeles) was passed in the upper house late Tuesday on a 24-14 vote and now moves to the Assembly. The only question now, said a GPCA spokesperson, is whether the Assembly and governor have enough compassion to follow the Senate's vote. "As Greens, and as Californians, we have urged for many years that the state adopt such a measure to relieve our citizens of the worry over whether they will receive the medical treatment they deserve as a right," said Larry Cafiero, GPCA liaison to the Secretary of State's office. Get the full story at http://www.sfgreenparty.org/news/newsitem-start.gem?idx=1346 ********************************************************** 06/17: Record House Vote for Medical Marijuana 161-264 Vote to Stop Raids Source: Common Dreams.org & MPP Patients, Allies Vow to Fight On WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. House of Representatives today voted down an amendment that would have placed a one-year moratorium on federal raids against medical marijuana patients, but patients and their supporters were cheered by an all-time record vote in support of the proposal. The amendment, supported by a broad array of organizations, including the American Nurses Association and the United Methodist Church, was defeated 161-264, receiving 13 more votes than an identical proposal received last year. The bipartisan amendment, introduced by U.S. Reps. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), sought to prohibit the U.S. Justice Department -- which includes the Drug Enforcement Administration -- from spending taxpayer money to arrest or prosecute medical marijuana patients in the 10 states where medical marijuana is legal: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington. Get the full story at http://www.sfgreenparty.org/news/newsitem-start.gem?idx=1347 ********************************************************** 6/20: Republican National Convention Protester Goes to Trial By: daryl Khan Source: NY Newsday Opening statements are expected Tuesday in the trial of a protester arrested after unfurling an anti-Bush banner at last summer's Republican National Convention. On the evening of Sept. 2, during President George W. Bush's acceptance speech, June Brashares, 41, stood on top of a chair in the California delegation and held up a banner that read, "Bush Lies, People Die." In response she was escorted out of Madison Square Garden by security to a chorus of "Four more years," forcing Bush to stop his speech. She is charged with kicking one of the guards, Shawn Flannigan, while she was dragged out, causing a cut to his shin. "It's a fabrication," said Brashares' lawyer, Robert Gottlieb. "It's a made up lie. They grabbed her and removed her." Get the full story at http://www.sfgreenparty.org/news/newsitem-start.gem?idx=1349 ********************************************************** SF Green Party Election Timeline By: Campaigns and Issues Working Group Source: SF Green Party Here is the timeline for the SF Green Party's election endorsements. If you are a candidate or are promoting an issue that will appear on the SF November ballot, please contact Campaigns and Issues co-chairs to request time on our agenda. Marc Salomon: marc@cybre.net Susan King: funking@mindspring.com Charlene Smythe- leave msg at 701-7090 Get the full schedule at http://www.sfgreenparty.org/news/newsitem-start.gem?idx=1350 ********************************************************** ********************************************************** Events ************************************* Tools For Activists Seminar Thursday, June 23 7-9pm. Come and learn about how you can use the "Tools for Activists"-the Freedom of Information and Sunshine Ordinance with Tim Redmond, editor of the Bay Guardian; School Board Commissioner Sarah Lipson; David Greene of the First Amendment Project; Rick Knee, Sunshine Ordinance Comissioner and Oliver Luby, specialist on the city's campaign laws. This free seminar will be on Thursday, June 23 from 7-9 p.m. at Northern Police Station, 1125 Fillmore. For more information, call (415) 290-2708. ********************************************************** Sing-Making Party Saturday, June 25th 10am- noon 1028A Howard St. (SFGP office) Come and help us make signs for the Gay Pride Parade! Bring balloons, paints, sing-making tools, or just your creativity! Then join our contingent the next day at the Pride Parade to show off our creations. Reminder: Green Party pride contingent meets at 11 am on Beale between Folsom on Harrison, on Sunday. See you there! ********************************************************** San Francisco Pride 2005 Sunday, June 26th 11:00AM- 8:00PM The Lavender Greens and The San Francisco Green Party will be marching in the SF Pride 2005 parade and will have a booth at the celebration afterwards. The Green Party has never waivered in its support of equal rights for queers: domestic partner rights, same-sex marriage, fighting discrimination against queers in the military, equal rights for transgendered and intersexed people, and immigration rights for queers and their partners. Green parties around the world have made this an international effort. Please join our contingent and march proudly with us and visit our booth. Parade: Our contingent assembles no later than 11:00 a.m. on Beale Street between Folsom St. and Harrison St., Area M. We will begin marching after noon. Look for the Green Party banner. All are invited to march and help with creative ideas for the contingent. Parade Contingent Contact: Terry Baum lilitheater@hotmail.com Booth (10:00am-7:00pm): Our booth will be located on Larkin Street between McAllister Street and Golden Gate Avenue. Volunteers needed to staff the booth -- this is probably the most fun volunteer event of the year. Food and beverages provided for volunteers. Contact Mark Barnes mwbsf@riseup.net See you there! ********************************************************** ******************************** More Events! *********************** Budget Town Hall Meeting Saturday, June 25th 10am, City Hall, room 250 Come share your concerns about this year's budget with the Budget Committee of the Board of Supervisors and representatives of other various city departments and the Mayor's Office. The meeting will take place at City Hall in the Board Chambers. ********************************************************** Announcements: ********************** ************************* 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@sfgreens.org. To send us news items (short blurb please, plain text only) for possible inclusion in the newsletter, email news@sfgreens.org. Please don't put these addresses on mailing lists; messages not specifically addressed to us won't go through.