From Liberty Underground:

“Robert Weissman has a good piece on the 10 worst corporations for 2008 this morning.  We have followed his Multinational Monitor for many years, since he began it, and it’s wonderful public interest stuff.  Which is why you will never see it in the mass media.” 

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATEShttp://www.gp.orgFor Immediate Release:Tuesday, December 23, 2008Obama should have the US sign UN statement endorsing universal decriminalization of homosexuality WASHINGTON, DC — Green Party activists challenged gay voters and advocates of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender rights to protest President-elect Barack Obama’s invitation to Pastor Rick Warren to deliver the inaugural invocation.”Unless we make our anger known now, Mr. Obama will continue to betray gay people,” said Starlene Rankin, co-chair of the party’s Lavender Green Caucus (http://www.lavendergreens.us). “Barack Obama’s claim to be a ‘fierce advocate for equality’ is not credible when he chooses a pastor notorious for his ill-informed and slanderous opinions about homosexuality and vigorous support for Proposition 8.”"The invitation signals that Mr. Obama may repeat the Clinton approach to gay rights. President Clinton, taking gay votes for granted, signed the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act into law and authorized the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ military policy. We’ve had generations of gay rights advocates and other progressives insisting that we need to elect Democrats, then we’ll push them towards pro-gay agenda. Instead, gay people have remained second-class citizens in the Democratic Party and told to hush up when they’re politically inconvenient. For those tired of bipartisan retreats from promises of human rights and justice, the Green Party remains the party of real change in America,” added Ms. Rankin.The Green Party’s national platform asserts that gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans deserve all the rights, including marriage and the ability to raise a family, that all other Americans enjoy (http://www.gp.org/platform/2004/socjustice.html#999082). Greens strongly opposed Proposition 8, which outlawed same-sex marriage in California.Mr. Obama has said he opposed the passage of Propositon 8, but he also opposes full same-sex marriage rights, a position inconsistent with support for full and equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.Pastor Warren’s public statements have revealed profound ignorance and bigotry on sexuality and on gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in particular. Promoting passage of Proposition 8 in California, he has said that “in the hierarchy of evil… homosexuality is not the worst sin,” an admission that he believes gay people are evil because they are gay.He has said that allowing same-sex marriage is like allowing “a brother and sister be together and call that marriage” and added that he is “opposed to an older guy marrying a child and calling that a marriage,” comparing same-sex marriage and homosexuality to incestuous relationships and pedophilia, which are crimes. Pastor Warren has also said that homosexuality is “not the natural way…. Certain body parts are meant to fit together,” but has not called for the invalidation of heterosexual marriages in which the spouses have engaged in sex outside of vaginal sexual intercourse.Greens noted that Barack Obama’s choice of Rev. Warren for the inaugural prayer coincides with a declaration introduced by 66 countries in the UN calling for universal decriminalization of homosexuality (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7791063.stm). The US is the only major western nation that has refused to sign on, even though a Supreme Court decision has invalidated US laws against sodomy.”Will the new Obama Administration maintain Bush policy and decline to have the US sign the declaration against criminalization of gay people?” asked Tim Casebolt, secretary of the Lavender Green Caucus.”Barack Obama has asked Robert Gates to stay on as Secretary of Defense. Mr. Gates is not only likely to continue the Bush Administration’s military aggression around the world, but also the targeting of gay members of the armed forces for investigation, harassment, and discharge. The Obama Cabinet appointments have disappointed anyone who sincerely hoped for genuine change in 2009,” Mr. Casebolt added.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-elections~ END ~

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES

http://www.gp.orgFor Immediate Release:Tuesday, December 23, 2008“First 100 Days: Energy and Environmental Policy” (http://www.gp.org/committees/ecoaction/documents/First_100_Days.pdf) from the Green Party’s Eco Action CommitteeWASHINGTON, DC — Green Party leaders today said that Obama has the chance, when he becomes President, to take the lead on curbing global warming.In May, 2008, the Green Party’s Eco-Action Committee (http://www.gp.org/committees/ecoaction/index.php) announced a set of recommendations for environmental actions for the first 100 days as a guide for Green presidential candidates.Greens are now promoting the “First 100 Days: Energy and Environmental Policy” (http://www.gp.org/committees/ecoaction/documents/First_100_Days.pdf) as a plan for the Obama Administration.”This is the Green Party’s holiday gift to the new administration — a set of policies and actions that would place the US in the lead among nations fighting the advance of catastrophic climate change,” said Wes Rolley, co-chair of the EcoAction Committee. “After the inconclusive results of the Poznan talks, President Obama has the opportunity to put the US at the forefront by the time nations meet again in Copenhagen next year.”"Evidence presented by climate experts in Poznan that alternative energy may not be sufficient to solve the crisis. The emphasis must shift more towards conservation, lowered consumption, and drastic reduction in car traffic. The steps taken against global warming and to repair the current economic meltdown must include all three,” siad Mr. Rolley.On December 10, the Green Party published six recommendations for economic recovery that included environmentally based public works, expanded public transportation, and other conservation-based measures (http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=152). First 100 Days: Energy and Environmental Policy: summary of major recommendations• No new coal fired-power plants; no new nuclear power plants; reduce by 90% the mercury emissions of coal-fired power plants by 2012; protect human health and the environment.in the disposal of coal-fired power plant wastes• Ban mountaintop coal removal; ban the dumping of mountaintop removal wastes in stream beds and valleys• Reduce CO2 and SO2 emissions by 80% by 2020• Provide incentives for industry and citizens to reduce energy use through conservation and generate more renewable energy sources; enact a mandatory 25% renewable energy mix in the national grid by 2015; encourage all states to do the same (using oil and nuclear subsidy funds); encouraging local energy generation• Increase Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards to 60 mpg for cars and 45 mpg for light trucks by 2012• Set a national phosphorus standard for all US waters that will protect steams from nutrient growth; strengthen bacteria standards to protect human health• Require labeling of imported foods, foods with growth hormones, and foods produced by Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)• Stop export of any technology abroad for projects that involve fossil fuel or deforestation• Require that all federal agencies continue their policy of direct negotiation with Indian tribes on a government to government basis• Protect the rights of Environmental Justice communities to be free from new proposals for permits that would potentially increase their burden of toxic contamination, and prioritize these communities for cleanupMORE 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-electionsGreen Party press releases:“Greens introduce a plan for environmental action for a Green President’s first 100 days in off”May 7, 2008http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=58“America needs the Green Party’s solutions to energy and global warming crises, not the Obama or McCain plans, say Greens”August 11, 2008http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=86“Climate change experts ‘lose faith’ in renewable technology: Specialists less optimistic that wind, solar and hydro power have ‘high potential’ to solve climate crisis, survey shows”By David Adam in Poznan, The Guardian, December 9, 2008http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/dec/09/poznan-climate-change-renewable-energy~ END ~

Pay no attention to the handful of Christmas pardons granted by Bush.  This is mere political window dressing to distract from the bumper crop of blanket absolutions, including one for himself, scheduled to be released just before midnight on Jan 19th.  Cheney would not so arrogantly be bragging on TV about how he authorized torture if it were not so.But there is a resolution in Congress, H.Res.  1531, preemptively condemning any such move if we can just get enough members of Congress to sponsor it (already 10 so far).  Many of you have submitted a action page on this already.  Please do it again, especially if your representative did not hear you the first time.Action Page To Stop The Bush Pardons:  http://www.usalone.com/hres1531.php Each action page you submit is another lump of coal in Cheney’s stocking.  Some have speculated on the possibility of post inauguration impeachment, especially considering the fact that many insiders are waiting until then to spill the beans.  Maybe they don’t want to get bumped off in asuspicious plane crash like Mike Connell.  But a self pardon at the very last minute would certainly be grounds for some kind of action, perhaps even impeachment, if and only if Congress would react and take action immediately.So we will still continue to distribute the impeachment message items until the very last minute as well.  If you did not get one of the original navy blue “IMPEACH CHENEY?” caps, which was the original “question” hat, we still have some of those which you can get from the return page of the action page above.  And of course we have the orange “IMPEACH BOTH!!!” caps (the “answer” hat).  If you wear one and a friend wears the other that is especially effective.  Or you can request a copy of the Impeachment Play DVD, either from that same return page, or here is the link directly for all three.Impeachment Caps and DVDs:  http://www.usalone.com/impeach_caps_dvds.php In any case we need to get ready to raise a renewed hue and cry when the expected happens on January 19th.  How hard could it be to get members of Congress to simply raise their hand and declare that a presidential self pardon, let alone pardon of his criminal co-conspirators, is maybe not such a good idea?  If we are to draw the line anywhere, this is where is must be drawn.And let us look forward to the day when we will have real representatives in Washington, for a change, because we never stopped speaking out.Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed to be ours, and forward this alert as widely as possible.If you would like to get alerts like these, you can do so at http://www.usalone.com/in.htm

From Rain, our favorite local ‘impeachment activist’, and Richmond Green member:As requested on conference call, here is the most easily found link on the last Shoe Bush action. Knew I should hang onto those shoes, but didn’t know why….

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Shoethrowing_journo_celebrated_at_White_House_1217.html

Looking for latest details on Jan 19 now and will send out asap.   You can make out my pink-sweatered arms in one of the pics where we all have our shoes on Bush, toward the bottom:)

http://www.truthout.org/122708YSue Sturgis, Facing South: “When Earthjustice Attorney Lisa Evans testified earlier this year before a congressional committee about the looming threat from coal combustion waste, she warned that the federal government’s broken pledge to regulate disposal of the potentially dangerous material threatened the health and safety of communities across the country… Evans’ testimony seems almost eerily prescient now in the wake of the disaster that befell an Eastern Tennessee community this week following the collapse of a lagoon holding coal combustion waste from the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston power plant.”

http://www.truthout.org/122608SMark Thompson, Time Magazine: “The news that President Bush’s war on terror will soon have cost the US taxpayer $1 trillion - and counting - is unlikely to spread much Christmas cheer in these tough economic times. A trio of recent reports - none by the Bush administration - suggests that sometime early in the Obama presidency, spending on the wars started since 9/11 will pass the trillion-dollar mark. Even after adjusting for inflation, that’s four times more than America spent fighting World War I, and more than 10 times the cost of 1991’s Persian Gulf War (90 percent of which was paid for by US allies). The war on terror looks set to surpass the cost of the Korean and Vietnam wars combined, to be topped only by World War II’s price tag of $3.5 trillion.”

From urbansurvival.com:

They Get a What?

Straight-shooting headline from “The Hill”:  “With economy in shambles, Congress gets a raise.”  —

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As one reader aptly notes in a recent email:  “You ever notice that in almost all the press releases come out of DC lately we’re called “consumers” not “citizens“?”  Yeah, bothers me, too… 

After ten months of its deliberations,  Governor Kaine’s Commission on Climate Change has published its Final Report.  The Final Report can be found at www.deq.virginia.gov/info/climatechange.html. Poznan CONFERENCE ON CLIMATE CHANGE From December 1-12 representatives from 192 nations around the world are gathering in the Polish city of Poznan, a vibrant and industrial city of almost 600,000 on the river Warta. They are there to engage in this year’s round of United Nations talks on climate change. The conference marks the halfway point of the two-year process initiated last year in Bali and culminating in an agreement next year in Copenhagen that would enter into force in 2013 when the emission cuts under the Kyoto Protocol expire.A couple of things are certain. In dire times with a government that refuses to commit to anything that could be considered as adequate action on the environment, Canadians need the the green voice of the the Green Party more than ever. We should also all be proud that we have someone with the knowledge, expertise, passion and determination of Elizabeth May representing the Green Party and the will of so many Canadians, in Poznan. Read her blog here.

From CNN : 

Incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and former Air America talk show host Al Franken are caught up in a fiercely fought battle over the recount of ballots from the November 4 election.Coleman had filed suit to stop the recount of thousands of rejected absentee ballots until a “uniform” process for reviewing the ballots can be devised.Instead of halting the recount, the court ruled that local elections officials “lack the statutory authority to count” rejected ballots on their own but can do so if they and the candidates all agree that a ballot was rejected in error. 

The Green Party remains steadfast in demanding electoral reform on behalf of ALL citizens.