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"Green-Rainbow offers alternative"
The Berkshire Eagle - Letters
Thursday, January 17, 2008
If you agree with Marion Frommer ("Elect candidate with experience," letter, Jan. 15,) by all means vote for John McCain and his years of experience. But there's a real alternative on Feb. 5, a party of principle. In Massachusetts, it goes by the name Green-Rainbow Party and is designated by a J on the registration line. And we're having a real primary, with six exciting candidates.
The two tired, old parties may talk change but they don't deliver. They talk about you but sell their services to the highest bidders. That's not democracy. If you want a government that's of the people, by the people and for the people, vote for a party that's democratic to its roots. Come to www.massgreens.org/ to see what the excitement's about.
And if you're watching the polls on Election Day, be prepared for independent and J registrants who want a ballot that offers a clear choice on Feb. 5.
JEFFREY TURNER
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
The writer is co-chair, Berkshire County Green-Rainbow Party.
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"Green is option in state primary"
The Berkshire Eagle - Letters
Saturday, January 19, 2008
While glad that you are running articles about the upcoming Massachusetts primary on Feb. 5., I wish that you would include information about the Green Party presidential party that same day in all of the same polling places. Perhaps you don't realize how many of your readers are Greens and would appreciate this information.
Since you haven't been covering this political news, I have had to turn to the Internet (www.MassGreens.org). Here's a little of what I found there.
On Feb. 5, Mass. Greens (called Green-Rainbow Party due to a political merger) and any registered unenrolled voters may ask for the Green-Rainbow ballot at the polls. On it there will be a choice between five candidates from across this great country. These candidates have widely different backgrounds and experience. Some of them have made national news before, while others are new to the national scene. Their résumés and positions on the issues can be explored at www.MassGreens.org
Greens, from the grassroots up, haven't just started to talk about change. They've been working to make positive change. If we had a Green president, we would never have invaded Iraq, we would have alternative energy programs in place providing thousands of jobs to Americans, our environment would be cleaner and issues of global warming would have been addressed, our civil rights would be championed, not challenged, we would have universal single-payer health care for all. That's why the Greens are the fastest growing party in the state and in the country, and why we have had national presidential candidates for over a decade.
Thank you for printing this letter and for including the Green primary information in future articles so that all of us who are Green can be prepared to vote Feb. 5 and in November.
CECILIA A. ROCK
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
The writer is co-chair of the Berkshire Greens political club.
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"Vote Green-Rainbow on Feb. 5"
The Berkshire Eagle - Letters
Monday, January 21, 2008
If you are an unenrolled voter and tired of unresponsive government (look what happened in 2006 the last time "change" and antiwar candidates got voted in), maybe you want to start thinking Green Party on Feb. 5.
Who are the Green candidates? Cynthia McKinney (California), a 12-year congresswoman who changed her party affiliation from Democrat to Green; environmental engineer Kent Mesplay (California), an ex-Turtle Island Institute president and indigenous people's advocate; Jared Ball (Maryland), a communications studies professor at Morgan State University and D.C.-statehood advocate; Kat Swift (Texas), a clean money advocate; and Ralph Nader (Connecticut), responsible for 24 citizen protection laws we could not imagine doing without (think Freedom of Information, OSHA, establishing the EPA) and 56 watchdog groups, many now household names.
I urge all Green-Rainbow and unenrolled voters to vote for a Green candidate. If you have trouble at the polls as a J (registered Green-Rainbow voter) or as an unenrolled voter wanting to vote in the Green-Rainbow primary, call 413 997-2108 or 508 654-8020 immediately.
Please vote Green (www.green-rainbow.org; www.gp.org) Feb. 5, 2008!
WANDA BOEKE
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
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"Independent voters have a Green option"
The Pittsfield Gazette, 31.JAN.08
Pittsfield’s 12,328 independent voters have an alternative to selecting a Democratic or Republican ballot on Tuesday.
Instead these “unenrolled” voters can opt for a Green-Rainbow Party ballot and vote for presidential candidates such as Ralph Nader, Kat Swift or Cynthia McKinney.
The Green-Rainbow Party affirmed its status as an official Massachusetts political party with its candidates’ performance in the 2006 state election and has a full slate of presidential hopefuls.
“None of our candidates are beholden to monied interests,“ said longtime Pittsfield Green activist Wanda Boeke. “Each voter needs to look at what they want to see in a presidential candidate... They should look at their own beliefs and not have the media tell them what to believe and think.”
The Green-Rainbow party does not accept corporate funding. The party’s platform emphasizes peace, social justice, the environment and grassroots democracy.
Boeke said that a lack of awareness of the party can be frustrating, but it’s also liberating, allowing the party to have a true democratic nominating process.
“For the major parties, it’s all settled before the conventions,” she said. “The minor parties are not hindered by the media... We get to follow the process as has traditionally occurred.”
Tuesday’s voting will determine voters’ presidential preferences, but actual committee members will be voted on at a regional conference to take place March 1 at the Unitarian Universalist Church on Wendell Avenue from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“That’s when we will be voting one male and one female to the state committee,” said Boeke.
While independent voters can participate in Tuesday’s Green primary, only registered party members can vote during the regional conference.
“But there’s still time to register [as a Green Rainbow voter] and participate on March 1,” she added.
Boeke said that the Green party is more progressive than the Democratic and Republican organizations. “We accept that our great nation is made of people of mixed ethnic background and that women are equally capable of governing and making important decisions,” she said.
Boeke notes that the early schedule of this year’s primary has complicated awareness efforts. A debate earlier this month highlighted the presidential candidates and can be viewed online.
“With these moved-up primaries, this rush, it’s been a little hard to get the word out,” she said.
Six candidates appear on the Massachusetts ballot, but as with the Democratic and Republican fields, some candidates have already dropped out. Jared Ball and Elaine Brown are both listed on the ballot but are no longer in the race.
Boeke said that after the state committee is elected and convenes, the state agenda will be set. “We’ll have our state convention and then the national convention in Chicago in July,“ she said.
The Green Party continues to fight for fair treatment in Massachusetts, particularly clashing with Secretary of State William Galvin, who spent most of the 2006 campaign trying to avoid acknowledging Green nominee Jill Stein. Four days before the election, he finally agreed to a several minute debate with Stein in a locked room, with just one media outlet present.
This past Thursday, the Green-Rainbow party formally protested Galvin’s issuing promotional materials, including public service announcements, advising unenrolled voters that they could vote for Democrats or Republicans, but ignoring the Green-Rainbow option.
“We know that Secretary Galvin took an oath to dispense the duties of his office impartially,” said Green-Rainbow co-chair Nat Fortune. “We cannot believe he intended to misuse the power of his office, so we are asking for simple remedies that will correctly inform Massachusetts voters of all their choices.”
For information about the Massachusetts Green-Rainbow party and candidates, visit www.green-rainbow.org
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"Dems are poor reform advocates"
The Berkshire Eagle, Letters to the Editor, Thursday, July 9, 2009
Susanne L. King's July 7 op-ed column "The hijacking of health care reform" fails to note that the hijacking occurred over a decade ago, when the Democratic Party removed single-payer health care from its national platform. I suggest that supporters of single-payer health care Google the Democratic Party platform, read for themselves how uninspired its position is, and then speculate how much industry cash rushed in to the DNC coffers after the hijacking occurred.
This sad state of hijacked reform will continue as long as the ruling parties can count on getting the votes of single-payer advocates while at the same time pocketing the contributions of those that profit from our failed system. The message of "change" can go only so far within an addicted body.
Although our representative John Olver is already a co-sponsor of HR 676, when does one ever hear him promote single-payer health care in his speeches or in his newsletters? When does one hear him de-bunk the many myths that get circulated by supporters of the status quo? The co-sponsorship of legislation that Dr. King asks for is not enough.
I invite Dr. King and others for whom this is an important issue to consider joining the Green-Rainbow Party and voting for Green-Rainbow candidates next year. Single-payer health care is solidly on our platform and is a reform forcefully supported by our candidates.
L. SCOTT LAUGENOUR
Lenox, Massachusetts
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www.topix.net/forum/source/berkshire-eagle/T4F3GQC8CE3474UU5
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"Greens endorse three candidates"
The Pittsfield Gazette, By Jonathan Levine, Publisher & Editor, 08.SEPTEMBER.2009
The Berkshire Greens political organization has endorsed three candidates in the preliminary election.
A twelve-point questionnaire was sent to all 32 mayoral and city council candidates two weeks prior to the September 1 meeting. Just over one quarter of those candidates responded.
The organization voted to endorse mayoral candidates Nicholas Caccamo and Lisa Boyd.
The Greens had previously endorsed ward 7 council candidate JD Hebert.
Regarding Caccamo, the Greens cite "his proactive vision of helping Pittsfield meet the requirements of the 2008 Massachusetts Green Communities Act."
Regarding Boyd, the Greens cite "her proactive vision of bringing efficiency to municipal government and contractor projects, focusing on LEED standards, streamlining overheads, and 21st-century planning."
Hebert approached Berkshire Greens for endorsement almost a year ago, stating the ten key values shared by the Green-Rainbow Party in Massachusetts and Green Parties worldwide are his values.
Any voter wishing to receive the list of questions and any candidate responses by email (full original texts),contact Wanda Boeke at wjboeke@gmail.com or 413 997-2108 and specify which candidate's response you'd like to receive.
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"Green Party advocates single-payer"
The Berkshire Eagle, Letters to the Editor, Monday, September 21, 2009
Two seconds of non-disruptive heckling during President Obama's health care speech dominated the news and entertainment media for a week.
Of more concern to me than the harmless partisan heckling, was the two-party cheering that took place when President Obama stated that he did not want to put insurance companies out of business. Amidst the excitement of the heckling, have we forgotten that doctors who advocate a public insurance plan were arrested in the halls of Congress on May 12 for their "disruptiveness"? I strongly support a publicly-funded single-payer health care system, which is one of many reasons I am in the Green-Rainbow Party.
Private insurance is fine for many kinds of policies, but not for health care. While insurance worries weigh heavily even on those who have policies, such policies are irrelevant to 99 percent of people in countries that offer public insurance. Those people are better off for it; their countries offer universal coverage, have life expectancies greater than ours, offer protection from the very high personal cost of unexpected medical emergencies, and spend 50-60 percent less than we do. Only in this country do medical costs threaten people with bankruptcy.
It's no wonder that no other country adopts our system of health insurance; sadly, we are the example to the world of what not to do. We like to celebrate freedom, but we are arguably much less free because of the way our health insurance operates.
Private insurance companies have contributed heavily to the financial coffers of the Republican and Democratic Parties, so it should be no surprise that the loudest two-party cheering was reserved for that one line in the president's speech that assured those companies a prominent seat at the table. This is in glaring contrast to the arrests that were made when public insurance advocates asked for a place at that table.
The Green-Rainbow Party in Massachusetts and the Green Party of the United States do not accept corporate contributions. We are part of the 50 percent of voters not registered in a ruling party. We are organizing to move policies such as health care forward. Unlike the ruling parties, single-payer is securely on state and national platforms. Register Green-Rainbow and vote for our candidates if you want single-payer health care.
L. SCOTT LAUGENOUR
Lenox, Massachusetts
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www.topix.net/forum/source/berkshire-eagle/T5QUFHJ9E9UK2Q5RF
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"Stein to jump into gov race with Green-Rainbow bid"
By Jim O’Sullivan / State House News Service, Thursday, January 7, 2010, www.bostonherald.com - Local Politics
Dr. Jill Stein plans to join the race for 2010 race for governor, running as a Green-Rainbow candidate and pushing the issue of universal health care, posing a challenge to Gov. Deval Patrick’s left flank.
Stein told the News Service late today that she plans to formally announce her campaign later this month. Her candidacy will further complicate a field that already has two major Republican candidates, a state treasurer running as an independent, and Patrick, the Democrat seeking reelection.
“I am very excited to offer voters a real choice for change,” Stein told the News Service in an interview. “We’re looking at three candidates for governor who have very similar opinions on a variety of key issues. It’s very important that voters have a second choice.”
Asked about issues where she feels she can stand out, Stein said she believes it’s “very important that there be another health care option,” which she described as affordable health care available to all. “We don’t have that now and we’re only getting further away from it,” she said.
Stein said job creation would be a major campaign theme, including establishing more “resilient” jobs that are less vulnerable to being exported out of state and overseas, and jobs in so-called green sectors.
“I’ll soon be announcing a campaign for governor of Massachusetts, a campaign to take our future back from lobbyists and insiders, and get Massachusetts working for the people, and the environment our economy depends on,” Stein said in a web posting to supporters.
Stein’s posting took direct aim at Gov. Deval Patrick and his low approval ratings.
“As the second round of ‘yes we can’ withers on the vine, Massachusetts is seeing once again that real change must come from outside of moneyed interests and the politicians they fund. The governor’s dwindling approval ratings underscore the opening. And, since the three CEO/politicians heading for the ballot differ only in fine points of their shared Wall Street vision – they’ll be splitting the business-as-usual vote three ways.”
Stein’s entrance would add a fourth political dimension, with two GOP candidates, one unenrolled, and Patrick carrying the Democratic mantle. Her liberal platform would likely drain more support from Patrick, a progressive, than the three more conservative challengers.
Stein registered under 4 percent when she ran for governor in 2002. Her 2006 campaign for secretary of state netted her under 20 percent.
Treasurer Timothy Cahill said the winner of next year’s gubernatorial election would likely need fewer than four in 10 votes, and said 35 percent could prove sufficient.
Cahill said any candidate who reached 40 percent would enjoy “a blowout.”
“I think somebody can win with 35 percent,” said Cahill. “I think it’s more likely going to be 37, 38 percent if all three candidates stay viable. And I think at the end of the day all three candidates stay viable.”
Polls show Patrick leading the field with support in the low-to-high-30 percent range, and Cahill, and either GOP candidate, Charles Baker or Christy Mihos, clumped in the high 20s.
The treasurer, who unenrolled from the Democratic Party in July, declined to say whether former GOP Rep. Paul Loscocco was the first person he offered the number-two slot on his ticket, but called him “the best person and my best choice.”
In a telephone interview after a campaign event in Loscocco’s hometown of Holliston formally announcing the pick, Cahill said, “He adds geographic diversity. Metrowest is a very important part of the state, and I’m very surprised the Republicans didn’t acknowledge that in their choice.”
Cahill said he had discussed the running mate position with both Republican state Sen. Scott Brown, who opted to run for U.S. Senate, and Republican Rep. Karyn Polito. Cahill said, “From the beginning, we have really looked at Republicans and really thought that that would make the most sense philosophically.”
Referring to Baker’s running mate, Senate Minority Leader Richard Tisei of Wakefield, and Lt. Gov Timothy Murray, Cahill said of Loscocco, “I’m glad I got a shot to get him. I think he is clearly the best of the three announced candidates so far for lieutenant governor.”
Loscocco told the News Service, "I’ve always shown myself to be an independent Republican. Everything I’ve done while I was there was done independently. People never knew how I was going to vote."
Mihos doubted Cahill’s math, saying, “You’re going to need to get as close to 50 [percent] as possible. One vote more than the next guy.”
Mihos said, “I’ve run as an independent, and I know it starts out great. He’ll be where all independents end up at the end of this thing.”
“Statistically, [Cahill is] absolutely correct,” said Lawrence DiCara, an attorney and former Democratic Boston city councilor. If one looks at three-party contests, and there’ve been very few in Massachusetts, usually what happens is that there are two people in the 40s, and one person far behind because all of these elections have lives of their own.”
“I think it’s likely the [winner] will be over 40, but maybe not by much,” DiCara said. “I think it’s a legitimate three-person fight.”
Suffolk University pollster David Paleologos called Cahill’s assumption that all three candidates would stay strong “a big if.”
“It doesn’t seem likely, at least if history means anything in Massachusetts,” he said.
“For Baker to win, he needs Cahill to tank below 20, or visa versa; for Cahill to win he’s got to have Baker below 20,” Paleologos said.
Loscocco said he and Cahill discussed the union over coffee at a Needham Starbucks and said the deal was made “over New Year’s.” He dismissed charges among his former GOP colleagues in the House that he had tried to land a job as Baker’s running mate, but declined to say whether he had ever hoped for it.
“I understand the frustration among the small group of Republicans at the State House, but I disagree with that characterization and am disappointed,” he said. Pressed, he replied, “I had no expectation of being on Mr. Baker’s ticket.”
House Minority Leader Bradley Jones said Wednesday that Loscocco had talked to him about running as Baker’s lieutenant governor candidate.
In response to Cahill’s predictions about the winning threshold, Patrick campaign spokesman Stephen Crawford said in an email, “Governor Patrick’s focus is on the people of Massachusetts, and getting passed an important education reform bill that will help thousands of children across the Commonwealth, not politics.”
A Baker campaign spokesman did not return phone calls.
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The Pittsfield Gazette, Editorial, By Jonathan Levine, Editor & Publisher, January 14, 2010
Jill Stein is preparing to enter the contest for governor. The Green-Rainbow Party stalwart is one of the most intelligent and sincere candidates to run for Massachusetts office. Any time she’s been given the opportunity, Stein has raised the level of discourse.
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"Challenger steps up to take on Governor Patrick in primary"
By Frank Phillips, Boston Globe Staff, February 4, 2010
Grace Ross, a human services activist who ran as the Green-Rainbow Party's nominee for governor in 2006, has told the Democratic Party she will challenge Governor Deval L. Patrick for the party's gubernatorial nomination.
Ross delivered a letter to the Democratic State Committee's headquarters in time for the 5 p.m. deadline today for candidates seeking statewide office on the Democratic ticket to declare their candidacies to the party and qualify to seek delegates in this month's delegate selection.
As the Green Party candidate, Ross got less than 2 percent of the vote in an election in which Patrick, getting 55 percent of the ballots casts in the four-way race, won in a landslide.
Ross said during the 2006 campaign, among other things, that she was running for governor to be a voice for the poor, and she wanted a structural change in the tax system, which she believed heavily favored the wealthy.
One of her first acts as governor, she said, would be to push for a new "circuit-breaker" tax break to help low- and moderate-income residents, a move that would shift more of the tax burden onto the wealthy. Ross also wanted corporations to pay taxes based on the amount of business they do in Massachusetts rather than on the facilities they have here.
Ross also called for devoting bout $50 million in state money to low- and no-interest loans for small businesses, municipalities, and property owners who want to add solar panels or wind turbines. She said the initiative would nurture the state's alternative-energy industry, reduce demand on the power grid, and lower energy costs for cities and towns.
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"Jill Stein officially enters race for governor, rips Gov. Patrick"
By Hillary Chabot, www.bostonherald.com - Local Politics, February 8, 2010
Green-Rainbow gubernatorial candidate Jill Stein, who officially jumped in the race this morning, slammed Gov. Deval Patrick for his disappointing performance and said it would spark a “voter revolt,” in her favor.
“I didn’t have great expectations,” said Stein when asked about Patrick’s performance. “But many people who helped him get elected are surprised at the outcome.”
Stein said Patrick has boosted regressive taxes, cut services to the homeless, and failed to get a tighter grip on quasi-authorities.
“Gov. Patrick said he was going to do it but it never happened,” Stein said.
The Wayland resident ran for governor in 2002 and said her policies haven’t changed but voters have. She pointed to U.S. Sen. Scott Brown’s win and said the same anger could propel her into the corner office.
“They were making a protest statement any way they could,” said Stein.
Stein brushed off concerns about taking on better funded and more recognizable opponents such as Patrick, State Treasurer Tim Cahill, former Harvard Pilgrim CEO Charlie Baker and Christy Mihos.
“We’re all about a different kind of politics,” she said as a group of roughly 40 people cheered her on outside the State House. “We are about the people’s campaign.”
Scott Laugemour, 52, of Lenox, said he supporting Stein because she’s a breath of fresh air.
“We need a new voice,” Laugemour said.
Stein also passed on former Green Rainbow candidate Grace Ross’ enrollment change to a Democrat. Ross, who faced Patrick as a Green-Rainbow candidate in 2006, is running again this year as a Democrat.
“It’s interesting. I don’t know what went into that,” Stein said. “I welcome each candidate to speak to their own personal decisions.”
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Political Circuit
"Stein denounces Beacon Hill 'corruption tax' as she announces run for governor"
By Michael Levenson, Boston Globe Staff, February 8, 2010
Flashing a V for victory sign, Jill Stein, a Lexington doctor and Green-Rainbow Party candidate, stood on the steps of the State House today and launched her second long-shot bid for governor with a rousing attack on Beacon Hill for imposing a “corruption tax” on everyday citizens.
“If you’ve had enough business as usual, if you’ve had enough of the culture of influence, if you’ve had enough payoffs and layoffs and rip-offs and bailouts, this is the campaign for you,” Stein told about three dozen cheering supporters who waved her green campaign signs.
Stein won 3.5 percent of the vote in the 2002 governor’s race and 18 percent of the vote in the 2006 secretary of state race. She also ran unsuccessfully for state representative in 2004.
Stein’s candidacy could pose a problem for Governor Deval Patrick by peeling off his support from liberal voters, some of whom have been frustrated with some of his political priorities. Stein said in an interview after her announcement that Patrick “could be fighting for the ordinary people of the Commonwealth, and that’s what we intend to do.”
“Look at the state of the Commonwealth and of our budget,”’ Stein said. “Our taxes are regressive, and they’re not adequate to cover the needs. We’re slashing human services. We’re slashing support for the homeless. The most vulnerable in the Commonwealth are paying the highest price now.”
Stein also painted a vicious portrait of Republican candidate Charles D. Baker, the former chief executive of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and state Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill, who is running as an independent after leaving the Democratic Party in July.
“It’s true I’ve never been a CEO and I’ve never been a Beacon Hill insider,” Stein said. “I’ve never huddled with health insurance executives who have denied people their health care. I’ve never met in the backrooms with predatory lenders or casino ambling executives or real-estate schemers. And I just don’t owe any favors to machine bosses or big-money donors who are looking to buy influence. Sorry. I’m a mother and a medical doctor and an advocate for healthy people, health economies and a healthy democracy.”
Stein said her first priority as governor would be to support small businesses and “green jobs.” She said she would advocate for a “Medicare-for-all” health care system and “fairer taxes.”
Patrick is facing a primary challenge from activist Grace Ross. In the Republican Party, Baker and Christy Mihos are competing for that party's slot.
The party has not formally endorsed Stein's candidacy, but a Stein spokesman said today no one else is seeking to carry the Green-Rainbow banner for governor this election cycle.
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"Help put a stop to America's wars"
The Berkshire Eagle, Letters, February 22, 2010
March 20 will be the seventh anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq War. This is a time to reflect on where we are going as a country, with our other war in Afghanistan in its ninth year and military interests in Pakistan, Yemen and Iran. Yet human needs in this country, as well as other countries such as Haiti, are going unmet due to financial deficits. Many people have become discouraged with the current administration and its lack of progress toward peace, as well as other progressive issues, after the high hopes of just a year ago.
On March 20, there will be a March on Washington to bring these issues to the streets. There will also be demonstrations in Los Angeles and San Francisco the same day. Let our leaders hear our voices and read our signs. Let them see great numbers of people who are fed up with the stalemate in Washington keeping necessary things from getting done. With a 2010 military budget of $730 billion, are we putting our money where it will make us more secure? How many more people must die before we realize that war can bomb the world into pieces, but it can't bomb it into peace?
Berkshire Citizens for Peace and Justice and GIRO (the Global Issues Resource Organization of Berkshire Community College) will sponsor a bus to the Washington D.C. demonstration. We will leave the BCC parking lot near the field house at 11:30 p.m. on Friday, March 19 and return to the same location about 2-3 a.m. on Sunday, March 21. We will also stop to pick up passengers at Rte. 22 & 295 in Canaan, N.Y. if people would rather get on there.
The demonstration in D.C. will begin at the park across from the White House and march for two miles through downtown Washington, stopping at various corporate and government buildings connected to war. (There should also be a few hours before the demonstration for some sightseeing.) To reserve a seat on the 55-passenger Yankee Trails bus and for more information on cost, contact Jamie Cooney of Pittsfield ( 413) 358- 8722. We will have some financial aid for people with limited means.
With the Iraq and Afghanistan wars together lasting 16 years so far, that is more than the years of the War of 1812, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Persian Gulf Wars combined. Now is the time to say " Stop."
MARION LATHROP
Canaan, N.Y.
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www.topix.net/forum/source/berkshire-eagle/T9D7PQTBDDUJA74SB
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February 22, 2010
Re: Corporate Wars
In the history books centuries from now, both the 20th & 21st Centuries will be known as the era of "corporate wars". That is because for both the past 100 years and for the next 100 years, military conflicts have been & will continue to be a manipulation of politics by the corporate elite. Many millions of people have died and will continue to die so that corporations will make many trillions of dollars in profits for their banking financiers. The U.S. #1 non-farm export to the World is military weaponry. The wealthiest nations -- U.S., U.K., France, Russia, China -- both indebt and arm the rest of the World in order for the corporate elite to control people and profit-off military conflicts. Our nation & World's real system of governance is NOT democracy, but rather it is corporate fascism. The World's politics is being manipulated into military conflicts so that the corporations' banking cartels will someday control us all through economic and military hegomony. The erosion of our Human Rights, Bill of Rights, and Freedoms are slowly being taken away from us year after year after year. Our future is a dark one of being completely controlled and regulated by the corporate elite! If one truly believes in Liberty, Human Rights, the Bill of Rights, and our Freedoms as Citizens, we will ensure our legal entitlements and thereby limit the power of our big governments and wealthy corporations alike. To see more, please watch the following online video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6132500997336473908#
Related online video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7065205277695921912&hl=en#
A majority (about 3-out-of-4) of Iraq's oil fields are controlled by U.S. Corporations via the military!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=L64WSPZ5mN
My Blog pages on corporate power:
www.jonathanmelleonpolitics.blogspot.com/2008/08/us-senator-byron-dorgan-so-many.html
www.jonathanmelleonpolitics.blogspot.com/2008/10/corporate-elite-uncle-sam-at-their.html
www.jonathanmelleonpolitics.blogspot.com/2008/01/5-firms-on-wall-street-pay-39b-in.html
www.jonathanmelleonpolitics.blogspot.com/2009/09/us-supreme-court-case-citizens-united-v.html
- Jonathan Melle
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"Candidate Stein talks green plans: Governor longshot visits county"
By Garett Sloane, Berkshire Eagle Staff, June 18, 2010
GREAT BARRINGTON -- It was a small visit but big issues were discussed when gubernatorial candidate Jill Stein stopped by the Nutrition Center here.
Stein, the Green-Rainbow Party nominee, met with the group behind the Nutrition Center and discussed everything from health care to food security to energy and how this little nonprofit tucked away in Great Barrington could go a long way to solving many of the problems.
"This is the future of Massachusetts; that farm economy that is a win-win for jobs, health and food security," said Stein, discussing the multi-fold mission of the Nutrition Center, which provides health counseling, access to community gardening and education in classrooms throughout the Berkshires. Its farmers market accepts food stamps and its counseling is covered partly by insurance.
"I'm interested in it as a model for the rest of the state," Stein said.
She was also there to hear from Peter Stanton, the director of the center. He told her about the difficulties he has procuring grants and state aid, because his is a bit player in the grand scheme of it all.
Stein empathized, promising not to only fund the "big gorillas" that swallow so many resources were she to become governor.
However, slim those chances seem. She wasn't even invited to participate in Wednesday's gubernatorial debate with incumbent Democrat Patrick, Republican Charles Baker and independent Timothy Cahill, but she took that as a point of pride.
"I'm not one of the anointed ones" by the Beacon Hill establishment, she said.
But on this day in the Berkshires, she had her say. She criticized the governor's energy policies, characterizing them as environmentally unfriendly. She supports the ballot initiative to curb biomass projects in the state.
Even though Gov. Deval Patrick keeps a large presence in the Berkshires and has a home in Richmond, she said she would do more for the county.
"Deval may have a second home here but many people still need jobs here," Stein said. "As far as his energy plan, it's actually not a solution for the climate and devastating to the forests, which are very much a character of the Berkshires."
Stein was accompanied by fellow Green-Rainbow candidate Lee Scott Laugenour, running for state representative in the Berkshires 4th district. They were heading to Pittsfield for another stop and a visit to Third Thursdays, and this weekend the party is hosting a regional convention in Pittsfield.
Her stop in Great Barrington may have been intimate but she had the ear of Stanton at the Nutrition Center, who seemed to appreciate having her ear as well.
"We could actually have a conversation," Stanton said of the visit. "It definitely makes me a supporter. I like her instincts."
The Green-Rainbow Party was formed in 2003 when the Rainbow Coalition Party joined with the Massachusetts Green Party.
The Green-Rainbow Party is holding a regional convention in Pittsfield on Saturday, from noon to 4 p.m., at the Unitarian Universalist Church. Local party candidates are expected to speak, and the event is free.
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www.topix.net/forum/source/berkshire-eagle/TDLAC9KPONDTPMB4I
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www.iberkshires.com/story/37079/Green-Rainbow-Party-Mobilizing-in-the-Berkshires.html
Email: berkshiregreens@gmail.com
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"Send message with Green-Rainbow"
The Berkshire Eagle, Letter to the Editor, August 10, 2011
So you’re fed up with the debt ceiling shenanigans in Washington? Well, you’re unhappy now, but the politicians think its safe to ignore you. By next November, when they’re up for reelection, they think you will have calmed down and they’ll just run a few television ads to get your vote again.
What are you willing to do to convince them you’re serious? Well, there is one thing you can do. Don’t wait until November 2012. Go right down to your town hall -- this week -- and change your voter registration to anything other than Democrat or Republican. If you just want to wash your hands of all political affiliation, register as independent (sometimes called "unenrolled"). If, instead, you want to send a clear positive message to protect Social Security and Medicare and cut the bloated Pentagon budget, register affiliation with the Green-Rainbow Party.
These shifts in voter registration get reported and they get taken seriously. It’s a way to show the politicians that we’re not just hoping for change -- we’re starting to make change happen.
DARLENE BAISLEY
Lee, Massachusetts
The writer is Berkshire County representative to the Green-Rainbow Party State Committee.
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Mark Miller (Ben Garver / Berkshire Eagle Staff)
"3rd Berkshire District race: Mark Miller"
By Ned Oliver, Berkshire Eagle Staff, October 11, 2011
PITTSFIELD -- Mark Miller plans to bring a journalist’s work ethic to Boston.
The Green-Rainbow Party candidate in the 3rd Berkshire District race says that if he’s elected, he’ll approach the job like a reporter, seeking people out to gather as much information as possible.
"I would interview, as a reporter would, everyone in sight," said Miller, who was the editor and co-owner of The Berkshire Eagle until his family sold the paper in 1995.
Miller, 65, concedes that he doesn’t have much experience serving in local government, but he says the state wasn’t meant to be run by professionals.
"It’s not rocket science," he said, adding that his experience makes him well suited to learn on the job and catch up quickly.
In addition to his work at The Eagle, Miller has studied political science and earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Miller squares off in the Oct. 18 election against Republican Mark Jester, independent candidate Pam Malumphy and Democratic nominee Tricia Farley-Bouvier.
The special election was spurred by Christopher N. Speranzo’s decision to resign six months into his two-year term to take a lifetime appointment as the clerk magistrate of Central Berkshire District Court.
Miller ran against and lost the race to Speranzo last November, but the established Democrat’s less-than-10-point margin of victory proved closer than expected.
Miller said he believes he can carry that momentum into next week’s special election. He said he’s running a more vigorous campaign this year, citing his hiring of a campaign manager and a high-volume door-to-door effort.
Miller has won endorsements from organizations such as the Massachusetts Nurses Association, Massachusetts United Auto Workers and Planned Parenthood.
Miller is a strong advocate for single-payer health care, but he said creating green jobs in Pittsfield is his top priority.
A former Democrat, Miller said he left the party disenchanted. He says many voters are with him.
"People are completely turned off and cynical," he said. "Sending me to Boston would put Pittsfield on the map and show that people are sick of one-party politics, secretive government and a lack of accountability."
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Letter: “Explore our govt.'s Sept. 11 conspiracy”
The Berkshire Eagle, September 8, 2019
To the editor:
It was good to get the straight dope on conspiracies from Donald Morrison this morning ("A conspiracy you can believe in," Eagle oped, Sept. 5) — kind of. Though a big Smedley Butler fan, I had not heard of the pro-fascism, anti-FDR business plot of the early 1930s. Thank you.
But what about the impossible conspiracy concoction of the U.S. government's executive branch that a band of al-Qaida extremist Muslims pulled off 9/11, all by themselves? It's on its last legs these days but was still media-worthy enough to surface twice in an Associated Press report carried in the Eagle on Aug. 30.
To wit: "Members of the al-Qaida network [were] responsible for 9/11," and "Al-Qaida insurgents used Afghanistan as a base from which to plan the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States." AP implies that al-Qaida singularly perpetrated the crimes, with no help from anyone save the Taliban, who "harbored" the plotters.
Where is our "free press"? Why parrot elements of executive branch mythology despite mountains of evidence — unreported — to the contrary?
Mr. Morrison, get on the horn with some of your old Time Magazine pals and stir up a rebellion. Insist as an Eagle Advisory Board member that Larry Parnass get on the case. Stop pussyfooting around. War is a racket, as Smedley Butler put it, and you can do something about it.
Mark Miller, Pittsfield
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