From TruthOut.org :

 Bloch failed to answer truthfully questions raised by Congressional investigators about why he hired the private computer company, Geeks on Call, to “scrub” his office computer and the computers of two OSC employees during the height of an investigation into allegations he retaliated against employees and dismissed whistleblower cases without fully examining them. 

 In 2008, we elected 42 Greens to office in 14 states who will make a difference in promoting the Green message.

Richard Carroll, who was elected as the Green Party’s first state legislator in Arkansas in November, is already starting to make a difference.  He proposed two bills that will make ballot access easier in Arkansas.  One of the bills, which increases the period that a new party can petition from 60 to 90 days, has already passed the State House.

The hard work that the Illinois Green Party put into overcoming their state’s difficult ballot access laws and winning party status in 2006 is paying off.  For the first time, the Green Party is having a contested primary in Illinois.  Four Green candidates are running for their party’s nomination in the 5th Congressional District special election to replace Rahm Emanuel.  The candidates are Mark Arnold Fredrickson, who ran against Emanuel in the 2004 Democratic Primary; Deb Gordils, who ran against Alderman Dick Mell (33rd Ward) in 2003; and Matt Reichel and Simon Ribeiro who are making their first run for office.

In Wisconsin, Todd Price is running in the non-partisan election for Superintendent of Public Education.  The Green Party of Wisconsin collected 2,000 signatures to get Todd on the ballot in January.  The primary will be held on February 17.  If Todd comes in first or second in the primary, he will advance to the general election.  Pete Karas, former Green Racine Alderperson, is running for mayor of Racine this spring.  As John Nichols recently wrote, “If anyone can turn Racine Green — with a capital “G” — and establish some new models for politics at the municipal level in Wisconsin, it’s Pete Karas.”

Our Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates have continued their work after the election.  Cynthia McKinney made a valiant effort to bring medical supplies to Gaza during the Israeli invasion before her ship was rammed by the Israeli military and forced to turn away.  Rosa Clemente is starting a speaking tour to discuss the issues that Cynthia and she raised during the 2008 campaign.

So far, there are 74 Green candidates that have announced their intention to run for office this year.  At this time in 2005, only 23 candidates had declared. 

 This is an exciting time for us! The Green Party has never been as relevant as it is today.  Whether it is the economic crisis, global warming, energy, or healthcare - Green Party candidates and office-holders advocate for solutions that address on-the-ground reality on behalf of the citizens living today and those to come.

Despite the lack of recognition for the Green Party, this article reveals the growing importance of the youth vote and what motivates them.

The Federal Elections Commission has announced that each convention will receive $17 million in taxpayer funds, money approved by Congress as part of the Presidential Election Campaign Fund.

From the GP platform:

10. We believe in multi-party democracy for partisan elections as the best way to guarantee majority rule, since more people will have representation at the table where policy is enacted. We assert that introduction of a multi-party democracy is essential because

 

The change in the structure of electoral politics will moderate the influence of extremist views and domination by the larger parties, and offer more fair representation to a greater number of citizens; and 

A third party can validate and raise other points of view that need to be heard.

Distributed by the Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org

Gordon Clark for Congress http://www.clarkforcongress.net 

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact:David Gainesdavid@clarkforcongress.net(703) 338-3459Silver Spring, Maryland (August 13th, 2008) - - The Clark for Congress campaign issued the following statement today on the Russo-Georgian conflict by 8th District Green Party congressional candidate Gordon Clark: ”The brutal Russian invasion of neighboring Georgia exemplifies the worst aspects of nation-state behavior. Yet it also demonstrates the complete failure of our current system of international relations, one still based largely on military alliances, confrontation and conflict.”The beginning of the current crisis can be marked to the end of the Cold War. The NATO military alliance that stood against the Soviet Union’s Warsaw Pact should have been dismantled when the Soviet Union broke up. Instead, NATO not only continued, it grew - by accepting former members of the Warsaw Pact, a strategy that inevitably antagonized Russia (as does our building of missile defense systems in former Warsaw Pact nation Poland). In response, Russia looked to protect its borders. ”At the same time, Georgia’s U.S.-educated leader, President Mikheil Saakashvili, has been regularly encouraged with words of strong support from President Bush and other Western leaders - words that are easily interpreted, in the current context, to be backed by force. So, rather than attempt to resolve peacefully the confrontation with Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia, which has strong ethnic ties to Russia, Saakashvili launched an ill-advised military operation there last week. A predictable (if extreme) Russian military response followed, leaving the Georgian president waiting for U.S. or western military support that never materialized. ”The U.S. is utterly unable to influence Russia’s behavior because of our own government’s invasion and continued occupation of Iraq, as well as our military involvement in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and our threats against Iran. It was painfully disturbing to watch U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (and former Ambassador to Iraq and Afghanistan) Zalmay Khalilzad trying to lecture the Russians that ‘the days of overthrowing leaders by military means’ are over. He had to add the phrase ‘…in Europe’ — a transparent rhetorical attempt to excuse our own invasions and regime changes. ”In a world filled with national, regional, and ethnic tensions - and now overflowing with armaments, thanks in no small part to U.S. weapons sales - the path to peace and stability will not come from military action. The Russian invasion of Georgia must be strongly condemned, but no differently than the U.S. invasion and continuing occupation of Iraq, and U.S. threats and military action elsewhere in the Middle East. Unless our nation turns away from our own militarized foreign policy and toward diplomacy and peaceful dispute resolution, other regions of the world will continue to explode in violence - and there will be nothing that the U.S. can do about it.” Gordon Clark, the Green Party candidate for U. S. Congress from Maryland’s 8th District, has for over twenty years been a community activist in the peace, environmental, nonviolence, and social justice arenas. He is a former National Executive Director of Peace Action, the founder of Iraq Pledge of Resistance (now the National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance), and a former Field Director for Public Citizen’s Congress Watch. For more information on the Clark for Congress campaign, call (301) 589-2355, emailinfo@clarkforcongress.net, or visit http://www.clarkforcongress.net andhttp://www.myspace.com/clarkforcongress 

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Green Party members, including the Richmond Greens, continue to demand impeachment proceedings for Bush and Cheney.Here is the latest feedback from Richmond Democratic Congresspersons:

Last we heard from Scott’s office is that he will not sign on to impeachment resolution.  This is somewhat different from what was said by his staffer, who said “Congressman Scott will sign onto impeachment when the time is right”.  Scott will not, according to staff, respond to letter we sent with our questions regarding impeachment, even though it was his staff that suggested we write letter with our complaints because we were assured we would be responded to…..

Webb.  Don’t know.  Will try to get the meeting we were told would happen (with Conaway Haskins here in Richmond) and then perhaps get meeting in DC.  Will call again on Monday.  Wouldn’t hurt if all Greens ask Webb’s office when citizens for impeachment would be given an appt with Webb’s staff.  Webb’s local number is 804-771-2221.

Note Nader is NOT the Green Party candidate. For more info on the GP Convention, go here. But he still carries many Green hopes, and he certainly still deserves to be heard by all Americans this election year.Check out the video: