SFGP WEEKLY For The Week of 9/22/05 - 9/29/05 **Come join the SFGP contingent at the Anti-War Rally in Dolores Park! See Events for more information!* This Week: ********************************************************** News: 9/13: Four Green Local Interest Articles: - Ross Mirkarimi Battles Comcast - Pictures From Power to the Peaceful - Arlene Ackerman Petition - Voters Talk About IRV 9/15: GPCA/SFGP Endorsements (Updated) 9/16: Money And Power Are Good Things In The Right Hands 9/18: Nature Spots In SF 9/19: Government Is Good For You 9/19: Greens Join the September 24 Antiwar Protests 9/20: 4,755 ballots were cast by deceased voters 9/20: 104 Arrested as ADAPT Occupies House and Senate Leadership Offices 9/21: FBI forms anti-porn squad 'I guess this means we've won the war on terror,' one agent says ********************************************************** Events: 9/24: U.S. OUT OF IRAQ NOW - Rally, March, and Green Party Photo Shoot 9/24: Green Party tabling at the SUNSET FESTIVAL 9/27: Drug Companies Vs. The People 9/27: Can Public Power Gain A Foothold In Today's Electricity Market? 9/27: Protest Environmental Racism ********************************************************** Announcements: Joke of the Week "Opt-Out" Deadline for High School Students Register to Vote By Mail Become A Sustainer! ********************************************************** News ********************* ********************************************************** 9/13: Four Green Local Interest Articles Green Party member and District 5 Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi was one of many who tried to get more for workers and consumers out of local cable monopoly Comcast, but the company's contract was renewed by a 6 - 5 vote. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/09/14... http://www.sfexaminer.com/articles/2005/09/14/news/20050914_ne10_comcast.txt Check out the San Francisco Sentinel for great pictures of the Power to the Peaceful Festival, where the Green Party was tabling along with many other great organizations over the weekend. http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/ Want to save the school district $375,000? Sign the online petition to keep Arlene Ackerman from taking her golden parachute when she leavers her post. http://www.wongo.com/petitionmain.php An analysis of voters attitudes toward Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) has been written by local political scientist Rich DeLeon. http://www.sfusualsuspects.com/deleon.shtml ********************************************************** 9/15: GPCA/SFGP Endorsements The SF Green Party has made the following endorsements: Candidates: City Attorney: No Endorsement Treasurer: No Endorsement Assessor: No Endorsement Local Measures: NO A- City College Bond No Position B-Resurfacing Bond YES C- Ethics Charter Reform YES D- Appointment of Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors YES E- Election Date of the Assessor - Recorder and Public Defender NO F- Local Firehouses YES G- No Widening of MLK Drive in Golden Gate Park No Position H- Gun Ban- No Position YES 1- College Not Combat Statewide Measures: NO - Prop. 73 - Termination of Minor's Pregnancy. NO - Prop. 74 - Public School Teachers. Waiting Period for Permanent Status. NO - Prop. 75 - Public Employee Union Dues. Required Employee Consent for Political Contributions. NO - Prop. 76 - School Funding. NO - Prop. 77 - Reapportionment. NO - Prop. 78 - Prescription Drug Discounts. YES - Prop 79 - Prescription Drugs. t NO - Prop. 80 - Electric Service Providers. Regulation. For details on the process, please contact Susan King (funking@mindspring.com) or Nicole Walter (ladypest@hotmail.com) for a written explanation of the endorsements. ********************************************************** 9/16: Money And Power Are Good Things In The Right Hands By: Jesse Michaels (Operation Ivy/Common Rider) Source: PunkVoter.com The amount of power in the hands of the wrong people is alarming. I want to state an opinion that may be counter-intuitive to most progressives but I think there is some truth in it. Before I get to it, let me introduce a very simple premise: Power is money and money is power. Unfortunately, due to leftover Marxist stuff and a massive sixties hangover, most people on the left overlook this fact over and over again. Meanwhile, most people on the right are not only aware of this but use it to their advantage every day of their lives. What will actually influence the world? For more, go to: http://www.sfgreenparty.org/news/newsitem-start.gem?idx=1381 ********************************************************** 9/18: Nature Spots In SF A good website for reminding us about good nature spots in SF. http://www.natureinthecity.org/ ********************************************************** 9/19: Government Is Good For You By: Steven Hill Source: Mother Jones.com Commentary: Hundreds of thousands of people on the Gulf Coast must be wishing they had more, not less, government. The effects of Hurricane Katrina will be felt for years. Financially the reconstruction of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast will cost unknown billions of dollars and resources. We still don't know how many are dead. One of America's icon cities may never recover. For more, go to: http://www.sfgreenparty.org/news/newsitem-start.gem?idx=1384 ********************************************************** 9/19: Greens Join the September 24 Antiwar Protests Press Release Source: Green Party of the United States GREENS JOIN THE SEPTEMBER 24 ANTIWAR PROTESTS, CALLING FOR IMMEDIATE WITHDRAWAL FROM IRAQ Green Party events highlighted in schedule of rallies planned for Washington, D.C. "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." (Theodore Roosevelt, remarks in 1918 on President Woodrow Wilson's suppression of dissent against U.S. involvement in World War I). WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Party members will join united peace coalitions United For Peace & Justice and A.N.S.W.E.R. and tens of thousands of other angry Americans at the September 24 rallies in Washington, D.C. against the war on Iraq. For more, go to: http://www.sfgreenparty.org/news/newsitem-start.gem?idx=1383 ********************************************************** 9/20: 4,755 ballots were cast by deceased voters Wilson said sloppy record-keeping cannot explain all of the irregularities the party found. The researchers found that 4,755 ballots were cast in November 2004 by registered voters who in other public records are listed as deceased, he said. "Clearly, if you're dead, you didn't vote," Wilson said, saying that such findings suggest voter fraud. To read more, go to: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15227187&BRD=1395&PAG=740&dept_id=... ********************************************************** 9/20: 104 Arrested as ADAPT Occupies House and Senate Leadership Offices Washington, D.C. Fed up with being the targets of Congressional Medicaid cuts, and being pitted against Katrina survivors for essential services, 500 ADAPT activists occupied the offices of Congressional leaders for 5 hours Monday, resulting in 104 arrests. "Low income people with disabilities are hemorrhaging as a result of the continual cuts to Medicaid by the states and Congress," said Barb Toomer, ADAPT Organizer from Utah. "The leaders of the House and Senate are obviously in a position to stop the bleeding, so we came directly to them. We feel these cuts very personally, and we wanted the Senators and Representatives to feel it personally, too." Read more at: http://www.adapt.org/ ********************************************************** 9/21: FBI forms anti-porn squad 'I guess this means we've won the war on terror,' one agent says Barton Gellman, Washington Post Washington -- The FBI is joining the Bush administration's War on Porn. And it's looking for a few good agents. Last month, the bureau's Washington Field Office began recruiting for a new anti-obscenity squad. Attached to the job posting was a memo from FBI headquarters to all 56 field offices, describing the initiative as "one of the top priorities" of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and, by extension, of "the Director," Robert Mueller. The new squad will divert eight agents, a supervisor and assorted support staff to gather evidence against "manufacturers and purveyors" of pornography -- not the kind exploiting children, but the kind that depicts, and is marketed to, consenting adults. "I guess this means we've won the war on terror," said one exasperated FBI agent, speaking on condition of anonymity because poking fun at headquarters is not regarded as career-enhancing. "We must not need any more resources for espionage." Read more at www.washingtonpost.com *********************************************************** *********************************** Events *********************************** *********************************************************** U.S. OUT OF IRAQ NOW - Rally & March Saturday, Spetember 24th 11:00am GREEN PARTY - THE PEACE PARTY SAYS NO TO WAR Greens will be joining the College Not Combat counter-recruitment contingent in support of Prop I at 10:00 a.m. at 16th and Mission and march over to Dolores Park. Bring banners, signs, buttons and wear GREEN! Rally: 11 a.m. assemble at Dolores Park, 18th and Dolores St. in San Francisco. The park is near 16th St. BART station. March: 12 noon from Dolores Park to Jefferson Square Park (Turk & Laguna.) VOLUNTEER: The San Francisco Green Party plans to deploy at the beginning and end of the march. We need volunteers for an ironing board brigade to register voters and distribute literature. For those not marching, we will assemble at 11:15 at Jefferson Square Park to begin setup there. Contact Micheas Herman for information at 415.424.5881 or m@micheas.net PHOTO SHOOT: Ray Tobey will be conducting a photo shoot in Dolores Park around 11 am The photos will be used in Green Party literature. Ross Mirkarimiis speaking at the anti-war protest, and we'll take a group picture whenRoss is off stage. Please dress to impress and flock to the Green Partybanner if you'd like to be in the photos. Look for Rosilind Lord, Ray Tobey, or Marc Solomon at thw ralley for details. *********************************************************** Green Party tabling at the SUNSET FESTIVAL Saturday, Spetember 24th 10:00AM- 4:00PM Green Party tabling at the SUNSET FESTIVAL Sunset Recreation Center, at Lawton and 28th Ave Transportation: From downtown, use MUNI N-Judah Streetcar Tabling with SF Green Party and Nov 2006 Supervisor D#4 Candidate *PIERRE FRAYSSE Come help to Register Greens Voters, Sign a Petition to PROTEST against MUNI service cut ( 66-Quintera Bus) and get organized for the next November 2005 election. (*note: The SF Green Party has not made an endorsement in this race) *********************************************************** Drug Companies Vs. The People Tuesday, September 27th 7:00pm- 9:00pm 626 Pacheco St., San Francisco ( At the corner of 10th Avenue, #6 Bus ) Speakers: Michael Steinman, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of California, SF & SF Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He will be speaking on How the Pharmaceutical Industry Influences Physicians‰ Earl Lui, Senior Attorney, Consumers Union, will speak on Prop 78 and 79. Sponsored by the California Universal Health Care Organizing Project, Health Care for All ˆ San Francisco, and the California Physicians Alliance. For more information call 415-695-7891 or email dbechler@value.net And from the website of the advocates. Should the state of California create a new prescription drug discount program for residents at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level, and change state law to make it illegal to engage in profiteering from the sale of prescription drugs? Summary Prepared by the State Attorney General: Provides drug discounts to Californians with qualifying incomes. Funded by state-negotiated drug manufacturer rebates. Prohibits Medi-Cal contracts with manufacturers not providing Medicaid best price. *********************************************************** Can Public Power Gain A Foothold In Today's Electricity Market? Tuesday, September 27th 7:00pm 1028A Howard St. Realities of the California Electricity Market Discussion includes: Renewables: advantages, practicalities, producers, and pricing Prop 80 and Community Choice Aggregation If you want to learn more about any aspect of the California energy market, you will The next SF Green Party energy working group meeting this next Tuesday, September 27th, 7 P.M. a the Green Party office promises to be interesting. This will NOT be a meeting to revisit our local's decision on Prop 80. I and many in the group with whom I have discussed it feel firmly that our decision to not support Prop 80 is the right one for an assortment of reasons. None the less, a lot is happening in the energy arena, and Matt Friedman will conduct what I hope will be a wide ranging discussion of some of the issues we are looking toward as we try to get more public control of our energy sources and delivery. I hope Paul Fenn and/or Julia Peters will also be able to join us. Matt Friedman of TURN will be doing a presentation and open discussion on: Prop 80 and Community Choice Aggregation Realities of the California Electricity Market Renewables: advantages, practicalities, producers, and pricing About Matt Friedman: Authored the California Renewables Portfolio which is now state law Authored Prop 80 Harvard Law School Makes sense of California energy market *********************************************************** Protest Environmental Racism Tuesday, September 27th 12 noon US EPA Region IX Headquarters (75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, between Howard and Folsom, 2nd and 3rd Streets - take Montgomery Street BART/Muni) In an act of environmental racism and injustice, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has announced that it wants to eliminate race and income as factors in developing the agency’s strategic plan to protect public health and the environment from pollution. This action by US EPA is a direct threat to communities of color and other low-income communities that continue to suffer a direct, discriminatory and disproportionate impact on their health and environment due to the ongoing reality of environmental racism and injustice. Contrary to US EPA public relations statements, environmental racism is alive. Race and class are still major factors in determining who gets polluted and how communities are protected from pollution. For more information and to get involved please contact: West County Toxics Coalition (925) 432-1350 Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice (415) 248-5010 Communities for a Better Environment (510) 209-7398 * Urban Habitat (510) 839-9615 *********************************************************** ************************* Announcements: ************************* *********************************************************** Joke of the Week (In honor of Fulsom Street Fair *and* Love Parade, we present not one, but *two* humorous pieces! Soon to be a once-a-month feature, from your friends at the SFGP Weekly! Enjoy! -ed.) Roe vs. Wade (Submitted by Pat Gerber) Q. What does Mr. Bush think about Roe versus Wade? A. He doesn't care what people did in New Orleans. Three Limiricks The FEMA Head Michael D. Brown By Madeleine Begun Kane The FEMA head Michael D. Brown Helped cause thousands to suffer and drown. Now he's dodging the blame. Who's at fault? Val'rie Plame? Let's throw Dubya and Brown out of town. Bush Is Fond Of Political Hacks By Madeleine Begun Kane Bush is fond of political hacks. He don't care what credentials they lack. When they crim'nally flop, He congrats them nonstop. While Rove launches a fall guy attack. Reader Dub By Madeleine Begun Kane Who cares what Dubya claims to read: The history of salt? Plus tomes on flu and Alex II What nonsense! Oy Gevalt! *********************************************************** "Opt-Out" Deadline for High School Students Just a quick reminder to all parents of high school seniors that the deadline for turning in the paperwork that allows respective districts to deny military recruiters access to the name, address and telephone number of their child is Oct. 1. Most parents are still unaware that per No Child Left Behind unless parents submit necessary paperwork to "opt out", schools must provide access of students records to military recruiters. Michelle Crow Congressional District Aide U.S. Representative Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-7) 810 E. 22nd St, Ste 102 Tucson, AZ 85713 Phone: (520) 622-6788 - Fax: (520) 622-0198 Michelle.Crow@mail.house.gov www.house.gov/grijalva *********************************************************** Register to Vote by Mail (Sponsered by EQCA) Register to Vote by Mail--Get Your Friends to Do the Same When Republican Secretary of State Bruce McPherson sees tens of thousands of people registering to vote by mail from this action, it will send a strong message to the Governor about the amount of support marriage equality has with the voters of California. Tuesday’s Special Election victory for pro-marriage equality candidate Ted Lieu in Assembly District 53 clearly shows how important it is that our supporters are registered to vote and participate in every election. Statistics prove that voters who are registered to vote by mail (absentee ballot) are much more likely to cast their vote in every election. Join the "Frequent Voter Club " and register to vote by mail today. *********************************************************** 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. Submissions for Joke of the Week, or comments and questions on the content of the newsletter are welcomed by the editor at ladypest@hotmail.com