[SFGP] SF Green Party Weekly

[announce at sfgreens.org]

SFGP WEEKLY
For The Week of 9/2/05 - 9/9/05
This Week:
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News:
8/29: MoveOn.org Should Listen to Their Members and Oppose the War
9/2: Message from New Orleans Green
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Events:
9/6 - Housing and Land Use Working Group Meeting
9/6 - Campaigns and Issues Working Group Meeting
9/7- Green Party Candidate Forum 7-9:30
Ongoing: Muni Social Strike
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Announcements:
Joke of the Week
Green Meeting Space Avaliable at Progressive Coffee House
Become A Sustainer!
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News
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8/29: MoveOn.org Should Listen to Their Members and Oppose the War
08/29/05
Source: http://www.gp.org
While its members protest the Iraq occupation along with Cindy Sheehan, 
MoveOn.org itself favors continued occupation, say Greens.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Party leaders are challenging MoveOn.org to 
support an immediate pullout of troops from Iraq.
"MoveOn has done an admirable job of rallying people nationwide behind Cindy 
Sheehan's protest vigil in Crawford, Texas," said Rebecca Rotzler, co-chair 
of the Green Party of the United States and Deputy Mayor of New Paltz, New 
York. "But MoveOn itself has undermined such efforts by refusing to endorse 
an immediate end to the occupation of Iraq."

Greens have rejected the claim of Democrats like Senators Hillary Clinton 
(NY) and Joe Biden (Del.) that the problem with the Iraq War is the Bush 
Administration's military miscalculations.
"The invasion and occupation are crimes, based on deception about the 
motivations for the invasion, a radical ideology that embraces 'preventive 
war' -- condemned by international law after World War II -- and an oil 
grab," said Leenie Halbert, Louisiana Green and member of the party's 
International Committee. "This abuse of power was inevitable after most 
Democrats in October 2002 voted with Republicans to surrender Congress's 
constitutionally mandated power to declare war to the White House."

MORE INFORMATION
Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, mclarty at greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene at greens.org
Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
1700 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 404
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
Green Party Peace Action Committee
http://www.gp.org/committees/peace/
Gold Star Families For Peace
http://www.GSFP.org
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Message from New Orleans Green: " It's Criminal"

Malik Rahim, a veteran of the Black Panther Party in New Orleans, for 
decades an organizer of public housing tenants both there and in San 
Francisco and a recent Green Party candidate for New Orleans City Council, 
lives in the Algiers neighborhood, the only part of New Orleans that is not 
flooded. They have no power, but the water is still good and the phones 
work. Their neighborhood could be sheltering and feeding at least 40,000 
refugees, he says, but they are allowed to help no one. What he describes is 
nothing less than deliberate genocide against Black and poor people. - Ed.

New Orleans, Sept. 1, 2005 - It's criminal. From what you're hearing, the 
people trapped in New Orleans are nothing but looters. We're told we should 
be more "neighborly." But nobody talked about being neighborly until after 
the people who could afford to leave  left.

more: go to www.sfgreenparty.org

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Events

Housing and Land Use Working Group Meeting
Tuesday, September 6th
7:00PM- 9:00PM
SFGP office, 1028 A Howard St

Housing and Land Use Working Group meeting
Our tenative agenda includes:

* Isn't it Time for Green Design (30 minutes)
* Transportation Working Group/HLU Mid-Market Letter (20 minutes)
* Better Neighborhoods Plus Legislation (20 minutes)
* October seminar (20 minutes)
* Housing Element (40 minutes)
* Announcements (5 minutes)

Note: This meeting will be held in the Green Party kitchen
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Campaigns and Issues Working Group
Tuesday, September 6th
7:00pm- 9:00pm
SFGP office, 1028 A Howard St

NOTE: we moved the meeting one day in observance of Labor Day. We will 
finalize our endorsement schedule, prepare for the Sept 7th candidate forum 
and Sept 19 Gun Ban forum.

We have endorsed all state measures. We need to consider local initiatives 
for Sept 21: A- Community College Bonds
B- Street Resurfacing
G- Golden Gate Park/MLK Drive
H- Gun Ban
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Special Endorsement Meeting
Wednesday, September 6th
7:30pm - 9:30pm
SFGP office, 1028 A Howard St

This will be our candidate night, where we will interview the candidates for 
Assessor, Treasurer and City Attorney. following the presentation, the SF 
Green Party active membership will make the endorsements using IRV and 
consider None of The Above (NOTA) an option.
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Ongoing: Muni Social Strike:
MUNI Fare Strike
Starts Thrurday, September 1st
Ongoing

On September 1, a social strike begins to combat MUNI fare hikes, service 
cuts, and layoffs. Riders don't pay, drivers won't collect.

Legal Support: If you have any legal difficulties, we have a legal team that 
can help. Contact 415-285-1011 and make sure you leave your information. 
Someone will call you back and we'll help fight your ticket.
WHAT WE STAND FOR
* Riders and Workers, Together! We have the same interests.
* Expand Public Transit. No layoffs! No service cuts! Prioritize service 
expansion for communities who depend most on public transit. Remedy 
inequalities in service.
* Public Transit Should be Free. Reduce fares. No fare hikes, ever!
* The City is Not Poor! Increase taxes on big businesses and private 
transportation to provide all necessary money.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The key to a social strike is that it involves riders and workers -- acting 
in concert. Starting September 1st, riders don't pay to ride and drivers (or 
station agents) don't ask for fares. Other than that, MUNI will operate as 
it normally does. Our strike will last until MUNI satifies our demands by 
repealing the fare hike and reversing all service cuts and layoffs.

RIDERS:
* Acknowledge the driver or station agent as you enter the MUNI.
* Show the "transfer" flyer we have distributed, or wink, or mention the 
strike. Be polite and don't antagonize the driver, or try to trick them and 
sneak on.
* Other ways to help: If you must pay anything, consider paying partial fare 
-a few pennies, nickels or dimes. Ask for a transfer and pass it on to 
someone else as you leave MUNI.
* If police or MUNI officials accost you, don't answer their questions or 
incriminate yourself. Contact legal at socialstrike.org as soon as you can.

DRIVERS AND
STATION AGENTS:
* Do what you can to help riders avoid fares. Be creative!
* If police or MUNI officials give you trouble, don't answer their questions 
or incriminate yourself. Contact legal at socialstrike.org or as soon as you 
can.
Before September 1st, we need as many people as possible to discuss and 
publicize the strike. If you are a rider, get to know the drivers you see 
most often. Talk to fellow passengers at your stop. If you are a driver, let 
riders know you support the social strike. Talk to other drivers and 
encourage them to participate. The efforts to get the word out and grow the 
strike will continue past September 1, and the more people who know about 
the strike the more effective it will be. Click below to get even more 
involved:
http://socialstrike.net/
http://munifarestrike.net/

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Joke of the Week
Balance
Once upon a time in the kingdom of Heaven, God was missing for six days. 
Eventually, Michael the archangel found him, resting on the seventh day. He 
inquired of God. "Where have you been?" God signed a deep sigh of 
satisfaction and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds, "Look, 
Michael. Look what I've made."

Archangel Michael looked puzzled and said, "What is it?" "It's a planet," 
replied God, "and I've put Life on it. I'm going to call it Earth and it's 
going to be a great place of balance."

"Balance?" Inquired Michael, still confused.

God explained, pointing to different parts of earth.

"For example, northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and 
wealth while southern Europe is going to be poor.

Over there I've placed a continent of white people and over there is a 
continent of black people," God continued pointing to different countries.

"This one will be extremely hot and while this one will be very cold and 
covered in ice."

The Archangel, impressed by God's work, then pointed to a land mass and 
said, "What's that one?"

"Ah," said God. "That's California, the most glorious place on earth. There 
are beautiful beaches, deserts, streams, hills, and forests. The people from 
California are going to be handsome, modest, intelligent and humorous and 
they are going to be found traveling the world. They will be extremely 
sociable, hardworking and high achieving, and they will be known throughout 
the world as diplomats and carriers of peace."

Michael gasped in wonder and admiration but then proclaimed, "What about 
balance, God? You said there would be balance!!!"

God replied wisely, "Wait until you see the idiot ex-actor I'm going to put 
in Sacramento."
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Announcements:

Green Meeting Space Avaliable at Progressive Coffee House

Hi. I'm a co-owner of Coffee to the People, a new progressive
coffeeshop located near the corner of Masonic and Haight in the 
Haight-Ashbury.
As part of our social mission, we offer free meeting space and a 15%
discount on food and beverages to groups and causes we support. Toward
this end, Coffee to the People would be honored to host meetings and
events for the San Francisco Green Party.

If you are interested, please contact me via email or call our manager,
Megan Harkins, at 415-626-2435 for scheduling.
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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
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For more info on our activities, please see our website,
http://www.sfgreenparty.org. You can also email us questions at
info at sfgreens.org.  To send us news items (short blurb please, plain
text only) for possible inclusion in the newsletter, email
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Submissions for Joke of the Week, or comments and questions on the
content of the newsletter are welcomed by the editor at
ladypest at hotmail.com