Richmond Peace Education Center benefitSaturday, July 24John McCutcheon in Concert, with Susan GreenbaumVCU Singleton Center for the Performing Arts, 922 Park Ave.Get Your Tickets Today: $20 adults/$10 students/$50 familyemail tickets@rpec.org or call 232-1002Tickets also available at the door!

From RPEC :

ohn McCutcheon and Susan Greenbaum will perform a benefit concert in celebration of the Richmond Peace Education Center’s 30th anniversary on Saturday evening, July 24. The show will be held at 7 p.m., at the VCU Singleton Center for the Performing Arts, 922 Park Ave.John McCutcheon is a world renowned musician and composer who has recorded more than thirty albums and has been nominated for six Grammy awards. He is also the author of children’s books and essays. McCutcheon’s most recent release, Sermon on the Mound, tells stories and draws lessons from America’s national pastime. He is a virtuoso musician, an acknowledged master of the hammered dulcimer, as well as a dozen other instruments, including, guitar, autoharp, banjo and piano.This year, the Peace Center also welcomes Richmond’s favorite singer-songwriter Susan Greenbaum. Susan won the Smithsonian Songwriting Competition in October, 2009, and recently won the Celebrity Maestro contest sponsored by the Richmond Symphony. She has independently released four CDs.Tickets for the concert cost $20 for adults, $10 for students, with a maximum of $50 per family. To purchase or reserve tickets:visit http://www.facebook.com/l/3ac89umzEBsBsEjbCw17p9lsNeA;www.rpec.org,email tickets@rpec.org,or call the RPEC office at 232-1002.Tickets will also be available at the door.

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATEShttp://www.gp.orgFor Immediate Release:Tuesday, April 27, 2010Contacts:Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.orgStarlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.orgWayne Turner, co-chair of the Green Party’s Annual National Meeting Committee, 919-491-3186,build4green@nc.rr.comMeeting theme: “Another US is possible, another party is necessary”; Green Party meeting coincides with the US Social Forum, also in Detroit, June 22-26Web site for the Green Party meeting:http://greenpartymeeting2010.wordpress.comMedia credentialing page: http://www.gp.org/forms/mediaGreen Party Speakers Bureau: Green leaders available to speak on various issueshttp://www.gp.org/speakersWASHINGTON, DC — The Green Party of the United States will hold its 2010 Annual National Meeting in Detroit, Michigan, from Thursday, June 24 to Sunday, June 27.The Green Party’s meeting will overlap with the United States Social Forum (http://www.ussf2010.org), which convenes in Detroit from June 22 to 26. Many Greens will also participate in the US Social Forum. More than ten thousand activists, organizers, artists, and others from the US and many more from other countries are expected to attend the Social Forum.For information about the Green Party meeting’s schedule of events, registration, and lodging, visit the web site (http://greenpartymeeting2010.wordpress.com). The Media Credentialing page is also online (http://www.gp.org/forms/media). Reporters are encouraged to register ahead of time, but media registration will also take place on-site.National, state, and local Green Party leaders, Green candidates, and many others will participate in the Detroit meeting, which will be hosted by local Greens and the Green Party of Michigan (http://www.migreens.org). Plenary sessions, press conferences, workshops, committees, public forums, and other features are now being planned for the meeting. For more information about meeting events, contact the Green Party’s national office at office@gp.org or 1-866-41-GREEN.The slogan for the Green Party meeting is “Another US is possible, another party is necessary” — similar to the Social Forum motto, “Another world is possible.”The Green Party’s 2009 Annual National Meeting took place in Durham, North Carolina. The 2008 meeting, which was the party’s Presidential Nominating Convention, was held in Chicago, Illinois.MORE INFORMATIONGreen Party of the United States http://www.gp.org202-319-7191, 866-41GREENGreen candidate database and campaign information:http://www.gp.org/elections.shtmlGreen Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtmlGreen Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakersGreen Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-electionsGreen Party Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyusAudio announcements for the US Social Forum http://soundcloud.com/ussocialforumGreen Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United StatesWinter 2010 issue now onlinehttp://gp.org/greenpages-blog~ END ~

Virginia coalition to hold ‘Jan. 9 March on the State Capitol for Jobs,Peace & Justice’On Saturday, Jan. 9, the Virginia People’s Assembly, a statewide coalitionof labor, community and peace organizations, will sponsor a march on theState Capitol to oppose more budget cuts and layoffs of state workers.The demands of the march include: “Jobs, Peace, Justice! Don’t balance thebudget on the backs of Virginia’s workers! Make the big corporations paytheir fair share of Virginia’s tax burden!”The announcement of the march follows outgoing Gov. Tim Kaine’s proposalfor the 2010-2012 state budget, which includes $2.3 billion in new cuts,including the loss of 2,543 state jobs, 664 through direct layoffs, aswell as slashing aid to cities and counties. The new cuts would be inaddition to the more than $7 billion already cut from the present two-yearbudget in response to declining revenue caused by the ongoing nationalrecession.Bob McDonnell, who takes office as Virginia’s new governor on Jan. 16, hasalready rejected revenue increases proposed by Kaine, so the actualthreatened cuts and layoffs will likely be even more severe.“Gov. Tim Kaine and incoming Gov. Bob McDonnell are both talking aboutmore layoffs of state workers, more cuts in social programs, higheruniversity tuition and less aid to the cities and counties,” said LillieBranch-Kennedy, a prisoner rights advocate and founding member of the VPA.“But nobody is talking about the fact that Virginia has one of the lowestcorporate income tax rates in the country. We say raise the tax rate forthe biggest corporations and you won’t have to balance the budget on thebacks of working people and the poor!”On Jan. 9, the VPA and its allies and supporters will rally at 3 p.m. atKanawha Plaza, at 8th and Canal streets next to the Federal ReserveBuilding in downtown Richmond. At 4 p.m., participants will march throughthe city’s Financial District, past the offices of the banks andcorporations the VPA charges are not paying their fair share of thestate’s tax burden. The march will end at sundown outside Capitol Square.City permits have been obtained for both the rally and march.The march and rally will be preceded by a meeting for VPA affiliates andallies, to be held from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Stephen’s BaptistChurch, 505 N. 33rd St. in the city’s East End.The Virgina People’s Assembly was formed in the fall of 2008 to sponsor amarch and rally on the opening day of the 2009 General Assembly session.Organizers of the march and rally scheduled for Jan. 9, 2010, include theRichmond organizations Richmond Jobs with Justice; Defenders for Freedom,Justice & Equality, Resource Information Help for the Disadvantaged;Prisoners & Families for Equal Rights & Justice; and United ParentsAgainst Lead National, Inc.; the Coalition for Justice (Blacksburg) thePeople United (Charlottesville); Plowshare Peace Center (Roanoke);Mexicanos Sin Fronteras / Mexicans Without Borders (Prince WilliamCounty); OffBase GI Coffeehouse (Norfolk) and many individual activists.A complete list of endorsers follows this announcement.For more information, call (804) 644-5834 or e-mailvapeoplesassembly@gmail.com. Also, visit the VPA Web site atwww.vapeoplesassembly.org.The following organizations and individuals have endorsed theJan. 9 March on the State Capitol for Jobs, Peace & JusticeAfter Downing Street; David Swanson, Co-Founder - CharlottesvillePhyllis T. Albritton - BlacksburgBreanne Armbrust, Director, Richmond Jobs with JusticeMichael S. Berg, Peace & Social Justice Activist - NorfolkJ. Daniel Bickett, Activist - RichmondLillie “Ms. K” Branch-Kennedy, Director, Resource Information Help for theDisadvantaged (RIHD)Margaret Breslau, Chair, Coalition for Justice -BlacksburgRev. Indee Hopewell Brown, Concerned Virginian -MidlothianRain Burroughs, Code Pink - RichmondDefenders for Freedom, Justice & EqualityAna Edwards, Chair, Sacred Ground Historical Reclamation Project - RichmondSa’ad El-Amin, Human Rights Activist - RichmondLillie A. Estes, Community Strategist - RichmondFlying Brick Library – RichmondRev. J.E. Gash, Exec. Minister, The Active Hand Ministry - Richmond PastorBenjamin W. Harris Jr., Concerned Community Activist – Richmond Rev.Marilyn Heckstall, Activist - RichmondPearl & Lawrence Hopewell, Concerned Virginians - RichmondRev. Rodney Hunter - RichmondRev. George Jordan, Founder, A.F.R.I.C.A. - RichmondKing Salim Khalfani, Executive Director, Va. State Conference NAACP LittleFlower Catholic Worker Farm - LouisaMay Day 2010 - RichmondMexicanos Sin Fronteras - Prince William CountyDonnell Newton, Community Activist – NorfolkTom Palumbo, Interim Project Manager, OffBase Coffeehouse & ActivistCenter - NorfolkThe People UnitedRev. Nichole Phillips, Concerned Virginian - MidlothianTench Phillips, President, Art Repertory Films, Inc - NorfolkCharity Pierce, President, Afrikana (VCU)Plowshare Peace Center - RoanokePrisoners & Families for Equal Rights & JusticeProsser-Truth Division #456, UNIA-ACLRePHRAME - RichmondRichmond Anarchist Black CrossRichmond Peace Education CenterRichmond Reproductive Freedom ProjectRichmond Social Justice CollectiveAdria Scharf, Peace Activist - RichmondJennifer Schockemoehl, Labor Organizer - RichmondSelf-Improvement and Education Center - NorfolkQueen Zakia Shabazz, Director, United Parents Against Lead National, Inc.Brian Taylor, Democratic Congressional Candidate, 7th DistrictUE Local 160, Va. Public Service Workers UnionVA CARAT (Virginia Community Action & Response Against Toxins)Virginia Solidarity AssociationJoan Wages - Floyd CountyPhil Wilayto, Editor, The Virginia DefenderThe Wingnut - RichmondCathy Woodson, Activist – RichmondOutside VirginiaThe Virginia People’s Assembly is attracting attention from beyond Virginia.As of Dec. 21, the Jan. 9 march has been endorsed by:Pam Africa, Co-Chair, The International Concerned Family & Friends ofMumia Abu Jamal - PhiladelphiaRamona Africa, Minister of Communication for The MOVE Organization -PhiladelphiaA.N.S.W.E.R.CoalitionBlack Workers for JusticeNoam Chomsky, Professor, MIT - Lexington, Mass.Donna S. Dewitt, President, S.C. AFL-CIO - Columbia, S.C.Fellowship of Reconciliation - USASara Flounders, Co-Director, International Action CenterYoshie Furuhashi, Editor, MRZineTeresa Gutierrez, Co-Coordinator, May 1st Coalition for Worker & ImmigrantRightsMike Konopacki, Huck/Konopacki Labor Cartoons - Madison, Wis.National Assembly to End the Iraq & Afghanistan Wars & Occupations  RostamPourzal, Former President, Campaign Against Sanctions & MilitaryIntervention in Iran (CASMII) - Washington, D.C.

Please join Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden on October 29th at 4:30 p.m.for the Richmond premier of “The Nature of Cities,” followed by a Q & Awith special guest, co-director, and UVA School of Architecture HeinzProfessor of Sustainable Communities, Timothy Beatley.   Admission to”The Nature of Cities” is free and open to the public.”The Nature of Cities” is a one hour documentary about people in citiesacross the world who believe that, even as we become more urbanized, wemust reclaim an essential piece of our humanness — our connection tothe nature around us. Amazing projects in cities around the globe havealready begun this task. The Nature of Cities is about raisingconsciousness and understanding of this movement and exploring the needof moving not only towards sustainability, but also to a regenerativeway of living.”The Nature of Cities”  explores both the nature in are own backyards –Austin and San Diego and the possibilities in projects of cities of thefuture — Malmo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Freiburg, Amsterdam and Paris.The film features Sustainable Communities professor Timothy Beatley ashe tours these places with City Planners, Landscape Architects,Ecologists and Residents.Commentary by Richard Louv (Last Child in the Woods) and Dr. StephenKellert (Biophilic Design) provide the background for looking at theliving possibilities of how we can be in an urban environment integratedwith the nature around us.”The Nature of Cities” is part of Lewis Ginter’s fourth and final 25thanniversary symposium, Timeless Design in a Sustainable World: TheCharles F. Gillette Forum.If you are interested in attending the full day of events, details andregistration are available on our website:http://lewisginter.org/events/event_detail.php?event_id=275Thank you,JonahJonah HollandPublic Relations & Marketing CoordinatorLewis Ginter Botanical Garden1800 Lakeside AvenueRichmond, Virginia 23228(804) 262-9887 x292Register on-line NOW for the Gillette Forum–Timeless Design in aSustainable World–October 28-29.  Details athttp://www.lewisginter.org/events/event_detail.php?event_id=275<http://www.clearspring.com/widgets/49662c8572fbc865?p=496b6760474139ae>

Potluck Veggie Dinner and a Documentary at the

William Byrd Community House

Thursday 10/1/09

Hosts John Richmond and Caroline Cox RSVPCarolion1@yahoo. com or 783-6316

6pm Potluck- please bring a vegetarian dish.

7pm The Corporation - This film psychologically evaluates what kind of “legal person” a Corporation might be…and

Feel free to forward invitation. See attached Flier.

Please bring a vegetarian dish w/ plates, cups and silverware to save la

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATEShttp://www.gp.orgFor Immediate Release:Friday, June 26, 2009Contacts:Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.orgStarlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.orgCiting Democrats’ votes for war funding and retreats on health care, Greens call Dems “the new wing of the GOP” and invite Americans to “come home to the Green Party”Green Party Annual National meeting: Durham, North Carolina, July 23-26 http://www.gp.org/2009-ANMGreen Party Speakers Bureau: Green leaders available to speak on various issueshttp://www.gp.org/speakersWASHINGTON, DC — Green Party leaders, preparing for the party’s 2009 Annual National Meeting, said that America is in desperate need of a real opposition party, as Democrats maintain Republican positions on foreign policy, health care, the environment, and other big issues.The Green Party’s national meeting will take place in Durham, North Carolina, from July 23 to July 26 (http://www.gp.org/2009-ANM http://ncgreenparty.org/2009-ANM.html). Reporters are invited to cover the meeting (http://www.gp.org/forms/media).”Democratic leaders made their party a wing of the Republican Party in June,” said Wayne Turner, North Carolina Green Party co-chair (http://www.ncgreenparty.org). “Any progressive positions taken by the Obama administration are getting nullified by Blue Dog Democrats and other Republican allies. The Democratic leadership and mainstream have adopted values we associate with the GOP, while Republicans are taking ever more extreme positions and want to see President Obama fail at whatever he sets out to accomplish. That leaves two parties representing corporate lobbies and the Green Party representing the interests and ideals of most Americans. ‘Across the aisle’ used to mean Democrats and Republicans. Now both of them are across the aisle from the rest of America.”"With President Obama expanding the war in Afghanistan and Democrats overwhelmingly voting for war funding, the Democratic Party can no longer pretend to be the antiwar party. We invite voters who want peace to come home to the Green Party,” said Mr. Turner.Greens cited widespread popular opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, support for a national health care plan that covers all Americans (http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE55K00220090621), and resentment over the Wall Street bailout as evidence that the Green Party is closer to the political sentiments of a majority of Americans.Green leaders pointed to several decisions and actions in June that betray the Obama promise of change:256 Democrats in the House voted for the war funding bill, with only 30 Democratic nays. President Obama is also expanding US troops in Afghanistan, with air attacks inside Pakistani borders, and has maintained the Bush-Cheney ‘preemption’ doctrine in threatening Iran. (Democratic leaders endorsed both wars from the beginning and continued voting for President Bush’s war funding requests after they took control of Congress in 2006.)The Democratic leadership’s health care reform plans not only reject Single-Payer, but will also omit the public health care option because it’s “unfair to insurance companies” — as if insurance industry profits were more urgent the health needs of millions of Americans.In capitulation to industry interests, the Waxman-Markey climate bill (”American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009″) would place a weak cap on greenhouse gas emissions (reductions of only 1-4% below 1990 levels by 2020), create a $2 trillion carbon-trading market with dangerously unregulated derivatives and minimal effect on emissions, give away 85% of the carbon permits to corporations over the next decade, offer a $150 billion handout to coal companies, and impose a severely inadequate 15% renewable energy standard by 2020.President Obama approved mountaintop removal for coal, which will wreak further environmental devastation on states like West Virginia and Tennessee. The Obama Administration continues to espouse industry myths about ‘clean coal.’Despite President Obama’s announcement of some limited domestic partnership benefits for gay federal employees, the Obama Justice Department has submitted a brief in support of the antigay Defense of Marriage Act, undercutting the President’s claim to support equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans.To this list, Greens added other Democratic betrayals and retreats: the bailout for Wall Street (the largest transfer of wealth from taxpayers to corporations in history); continued warrantless surveillance of US citizens; refusal to hold Bush officials who approved torture and lied to Congress accountable for their actions (with torture continuing at some sites, according to reports); and uninterrupted military aid for Israel despite massive human rights violations against Palestinians.”Why won’t President Obama and congessional Democrats fight for a cap on credit card interest rates and restoration of Glass-Steagal regulations to prevent financial industry abuses? The election of a few Greens to Congress would change the dynamic of American politics. Democrats and Republicans would have to compete with Green candidates, who accept neither corporate campaign contributions nor the influence of corporate lobbies,” said Jody Grage, treasurer of the Green Party of the United States.MORE INFORMATIONGreen Party of the United States http://www.gp.org202-319-7191, 866-41GREENFax 202-319-7193Tally of Green election victories http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/election-results.htmlGreen candidate news http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/candidate-news.phpGreen candidate database for 2008 and other campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtmlGreen Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtmlGreen Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakersGreen Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-elections2009 Annual National Meeting of the Green Party, Durham, NC, July 23-26 http://www.gp.org/2009-ANMNorth Carolina page http://ncgreenparty.org/2009-ANM.htmlMedia credentialing page http://www.gp.org/forms/mediaGreen Pages, Vol. 13, No. 1The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United Stateshttp://gp.org/greenpages-blog

Who were the 9,000 callers to the Quaker House GI Rights Hotline lastyear? What were the issues that led soldiers to call the Hotline from USmilitary bases around the world?  What are they and their families mostconcerned about? Why do they call the Hotline instead of using militarycounseling? What kind of information and counseling can Quaker House offerthese soldiers and their families?On Sunday, June 7, at 1:15 pm, GI Right Hotline counselors Steve Woolfordand Lenore Yarger, who are Quaker House staff based in North Carolina,will share the realities of military life that they hear by telephoneeveryday. These stories are far different from the slick recruiting ads onTV or radio, stories that show that the victims of U.S. wars are not onlythose counted dead on the battlefields. Medical problems, depression,anxiety and suicide are at a new high. How do soldiers and their familieshandle multiple deployments? Do hard economic times add to the overallstress?This event will take place at the Richmond Friends Meeting, 4500Kensington Avenue.The program is part of the Quaker House 40th Anniversary SpeakerSeries.The GI Rights Hotline provides free, confidential information andcounseling to service members, veterans, potential recruits, and theirfamilies. Quaker House is a 40 year old military counseling and anti-warorganization based in Fayetteville/Fort Bragg, North Carolina. QuakerHouse is a lead member of the national GI Rights Hotline, a coalition oforganizations that operate the 24-hour counseling hotline.For more information, contact Betsy Brinson at 353-1711 orbrinson422@comcast.net or the Richmond Peace Education Center at 232-1002or rpec@rpec.org or Marcia Dickinson at marciadickinson@hotmail.com.

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org

Health care industry pledge to slow health care costs, announced by Obama on Monday, is a scam to block real reform, say Greens

Green Party Speakers Bureau: Green leaders available to speak on health care http://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-health-care.php

WASHINGTON, DC — The Green Party of the United States has endorsed the national Day of Action for Single-Payer national health care (Medicare For All) on Saturday, May 30 (http://www.healthcare-now.org/campaigns/may-30th-day-of-action).

The Day of Action is being organized by Healthcare-Now (http://www.healthcare-now.org) and other groups dedicated to winning a health care system that covers all Americans, providing treatment regardless of employment, income, age, or prior medical condition, with full choice of physician, hospital, or other health care provider.

A more immediate goal is to have Single-Payer advocates — who speak for the will of a majority of Americans (http://www.wpasinglepayer.org/PollResults.html) — represented in all congressional and White House meetings, roundtables, and hearings on health care. Single-Payer has been barred from the public debate, because of the influence of insurance, HMO, and pharmaceutical lobbies, through campaign contributions, ‘astroturf’ (false grassroots) operations, and dishonest advertising.

Similar events will take place throughout May. On Wednesday, May 13, a ‘Single-Payer Solidarity Rally’ will take place in Washington, DC, as part of National Nurses Week. Participants will gather at the Washington Court Hotel at 11:45 am and then march to a rally at Upper Senate Park, which will take place from noon until 2 pm. The California Nurses Association expects 500 nurses to lobby and rally for Single-Payer legislation, along with others in the Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care.

Two Single-Payer bills have been introduced in Congress, HR 676 and S 703, under the leadership of Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (Ind.-Vt.).

Health Care Industry “PR Scam”

Greens blasted the President Obama’s May 11 announcement that insurance companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, the American Hospital Association, the AMA, and other groups intend to reduce the growth of health care costs by 1.5 percent over ten years, calling it a ploy to block meaningful health care reform — especially the possibility of Single-Payer (See “The Health Care Industry’s PR Scam: Will Obama Fall for It?” by James Ridgeway, Mother Jones, May 12 http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2009/05/health-care-industrys-pr-scam-will-obama-fall-it#).

“We are embarrassed for President Obama for trying to foist this on the public. The health care industry’s pledge of a 1.5 percent reduction of health care spending growth — likely to rise about 6.2 percent a year in the next ten years — amounts to virtually nothing for Americans who need health care. This is a deal to make sure that any health care reform that gets enacted continues to make corporate profits a higher priority than the health of the American people,” said Peter LaVenia, co-chair of the Green Party of New York State (http://www.gpnys.org).

The Single-Payer plan would do far more than slow the rate of increase, said Greens. It would reduce health care spending in the US by as much as one third, cutting costs dramatically for working Americans. Single-Payer would also replace employer-based health care benefits, removing a severe financial burden on businesses suffering from the recent economic meltdown.

Green Party leaders stressed that the ‘options’ plans favored by many Democrats are designed to sustain for-profit insurance companies through massive taxpayer-funded subsidies or mandates, and said that Single-Payer removes the private insurance-HMO industry from the system altogether, making health care a right for all Americans.

Physicians for a National Health Program notes that “[o]ver 31% of every health care dollar goes to paperwork, overhead, CEO salaries, profits, etc.” (http://www.pnhp.org/facts/singlepayer_faq.php) The overhead for Medicare, based on administrative costs but without the demand for profit, is about 3%. According to a Lewin Group study (http://www.pnhp.org/news/2005/january/lewin_group_analysis.php), Single-Payer would save California alone about $38 billion over ten years. (Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed two statewide Single-Payer bills that had passed in the state legislature.)

Greens support the Baucus 13

Green leaders called for all charges against the ‘Baucus 13′ to be dropped. The Baucus 13 were arrested for challenging the exclusion of Single-Payer advocates during the May 5 and May 12 Senate Finance Committee roundtables on health care reform. Committee chair Max Baucus has asserted that “Single-Payer is off the table.” Kevin Zeese, former Maryland Green candidate for the US Senate and currently executive director of the Campaign for Fresh Air and Clean Politics (http://www.FreshAirCleanPolitics.net), has published an account of his arrest (http://www.opednews.com/articles/Why-I-Was-Among-Eight-Heal-by-Kevin-Zeese-090506-255.html).

“The recent protests at the Senate Finance Committee roundtables have put Single-Payer in front of the public. This is the moment to demand Single-Payer as aggressively as possible. We’re dismayed that the Progressive, Black, Hispanic, and Asian and Pacific American Caucuses in Congress have shied away from endorsing the Conyers-Sanders Single-Payer bills and instead declared their support for a public health insurance option that would be ‘part of comprehensive health care reform legislation’ (http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/04/28-25). We’re equally disappointed that MoveOn is promoting the Obama plan and criticizing insurance lobbies — while ignoring the participation of insurance companies in the crafting of the plan (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms2b57MLqZs),” said Sanda Everette, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States.

“The health care reform debate demonstrates why America desperately needs an independent noncorporate party. Democratic and Republican politicians are swimming in campaign donations from the insurance industry, receiving over $46 million in insurance money in 2008 (http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=F09). Greens don’t accept corporate contributions. A few Greens in Congress would provide some new competition, leading many more Democrats — and perhaps some Republicans — to sign on to Single-Payer legislation,” said Justine McCabe (http://www.gp.org/speakers/detail.php?ID=35), clinical psychologist who co-authored statewide Single-Payer legislation in Connecticut in 1999-2000 with the support of the Green Party of Connecticut (http://www.ctgreens.org).

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193

Tally of Green election victories http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/election-results.html
Green candidate news http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/candidate-news.php
Green candidate database for 2008 and other campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
Green Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
Green Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
Green Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-elections

Green Party information page on Single-Payer
http://www.gp.org/organize/sicko.html

Single-Payer advocates:
Physicians for a National Health Program http://www.pnhp.org
Healthcare-Now Coalition http://www.healthcare-now.org
Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care http://guaranteedhealthcare4all.org
Single-Payer Action http://singlepayeraction.org
California Nurses Association http://www.calnurses.org

Green Party press releases:
“Greens note victory for the universal health care movement after the White House, in a reversal, invites Single-payer advocates to its March 5 health summit” (March 6, 2009)
http://gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=189

“Greens urge widespread protest over President Obama’s exclusion of Single-Payer/Medicare For All advocates from the March 5 health care reform summit at the White House” (March 4, 2009)
http://gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=188

Green Pages, Vol. 13, No. 1
The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

~ END ~

Iraqi political analyst Raed Jarrar will present a talk entitled “Is theOccupation Really Ending?” on Wednesday, April 15, at 7pm, at the PaceCenter for Campus Ministries, 700 W. Franklin Street.  Jarrar will discussthe Obama administration’s planned troop withdrawal and the future ofIraq.  This community forum is free and open to the public.Raed Jarrar is an Iraqi architect, blogger, and political analyst.  Hemoved to the United States in 2005, and is currently working as aconsultant to the American Friends Service Committee’s Iraq program inWashington, D.C.  After the U.S.-led invasion, Jarrar established Emaar,(meaning “reconstruction” in Arabic), a grassroots organization thatprovided humanitarian and political aid to Iraqi internally displacedpersons (IDPs). Jarrar recently won a lawsuit filed against JetblueAirlines and the Transportation Security Administration for preventing himfrom boarding an airplane wearing a shirt that said “We will not besilent,” in Arabic.Jarrar will examine President Obama’s plan for troop withdrawal, anddiscuss the impact of the U.S. occupation on Iraq’s future.  He willdescribe Iraq’s internal politics and struggles. He will also discuss theimportance of continued advocacy by the U.S. peace movement over the nextfew years.This program is co-sponsored by Richmond Friends Meeting and the RichmondPeace Education Center.For more information, contact the Richmond Peace Education Center at232-1002 or rpec@rpec.org. Or visit the website, www.rpec.org.