[img_assist|nid=745|title=Carol Brouillet|desc=Brouillet, the Green Party's 2006 Congressional candidate from SF Peninsula's 14CD (v Anna Eshoo) is on top the issues of the onrushing train of fascism in America.|link="http://carolforcongress.org"|align=right|width=119|height=150]Brouillet recently blogged:

"I do think that many people are afraid of another
False Flag operation to persuade Americans to fall in
line with the Bush Agenda. People are also afraid of
dividing the country and civil war. Our best hope, I
believe, is non-violent, widespread opposition to the
threats to the constitution and our civil rights, and
the world, and for Congress to begin Impeachment
proceedings to halt these guys and reverse the
policies of the past several years."

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In the GP-US Media Committee we have a fantastic initiative on the table for attracting Green Bloggers to the 2008 Green Party Nominating Convention. A guerrilla marketing strategy in the finest progressive political tradition, the idea is to draw a healthy number of Green Bloggers to come, participate and do live blogging.

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More on practical consensus w/ Sociocracy

"Majority rule ... automatically creates a minority. This encourages factions and divisiveness rather than harmony. Majority rule encourages people to build strategic alliances and to trade favors rather than to think in terms of the best direction for the organization."

“In a sociocratic organization, each person and each cluster of persons is encouraged, even required, to self organize and to steer their energy toward their shared aims as energetically as possible."

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What tweaks can we make to remove the time-wasting and factionalizing "fallback" voting and find practical ways to do consensus-based decision-making? My research suggests that Sociocracy could provide some valuable clues to us. It was created for use in business and other organizational settings where traditional consensus-seeking would not be quick enough. Hello, that's us! Sound interesting? It is!

The aim of sociocracy is inclusive decision-making because it has proven to be more effective. Both consensus and consent are collaborative processes that result in unified, harmonious actions. There are, however, two valuable distinctions:

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In the Green Party we have a saying: "Neither Left nor Right, but Forward". We have a number of resources available to us at this point that we need to avail ourselves of that can move us forward, past our present GPCA crisis of ineffectiveness. I'll begin to put forward some of those resources here now starting with Scott Peck's Stages of Community development

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I suggest a new standard in the green movement: when faced with a tough decision we could ask ourselves WWRD? What Would Rachel Do? Happy Memorial Day!

Biologist Rachel Carson: Heroine of the green movement

Rachel Carson was a shy biologist who, with one book, changed history. Paul Vallely celebrates the centenary of the woman who first warned the world of the perils of environmental pollution

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* Greens call for immigration reform legislation based on immigrants' rights and economic stability on all sides of the border
* Current immigration reform plans in Congress are based on paranoia and exploitation of immigrants, say Greens

WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders called on Congress to replace its current 'deal' for comprehensive immigration reform, and instead enact legislation that will protect human rights, facilitate the path to citizenship, and help reverse the economic devastation that has uprooted people in Mexico and Central and South American countries.

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Open letter to all who want to run in the race for GP Presidential nominee. I urge EVERYONE to come to the July 12-15th Reading Pennsylvania Annual National Meeting, most ESPECIALLY candidates for President or VP. If you're not going to bother to come to Reading, don't expect us to take you seriously, period.

I totally agree that the Green Party needs to incorporate video and audio technology to get our word out there more effectively and at a lower cost to the environment.

However I strongly disagree with your decision to not come to the Annual National Meeting. Sure it sounds cheeky and bold at first glance, as if you were doing something commendable. Nevertheless there is no substitute for face to face meeting. If you really want the party behind you, you need to come out and meet with the activists in the party who will be all in one place at one time (a very *efficient* way for you to get your message across)!

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[img_assist|nid=547|title=GreenPeace's Apple Must|desc=Green My Apple Campaign|link=none|align=left|width=150|height=82]Cameron Spitzer and I spoke extensively to the GreenPeace employees that are pressing this "Green My Apple" campaign and we in the Green Party of Santa Clara are talking about participating together in a coalitional action with GreenPeace and Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition at the Apple stockholders meeting on May 10th. Its nice to see that whether or not we choose to do that action now, that they've made a significant impact already. (more below the fold)...

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[img_assist|nid=540|title=Official GP-US Sunflower Logo|desc=Official Green Party of the U.S.' Sunflower Logo, that won the 2004 "Let's loGO!" contest.|link=none|align=left|width=200|height=140]What needs to happen to get our WINNING FIRST PLACE Sunflower Logo back up on our GP-US web site at the location that our press releases indicate:

"See the winning logos: http://www.gp.org/logo_new.html " ???

AND THEREBY FULLFILL THE PROMISE MADE:

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Experiment. I need at least 25 words to make this post, so here they are. Is that enough???? watch this space for more good info!

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Yes I agree with David Quinley (see quote below) that there is not a great match between and Greens and either Capitalism or Marxism. Along with Capitalism I say with throw all the 'isms' on ‘ash heap of history,’ (a phrase originally from a speech Lenin gave in 1917 predicting his opponents’ demise and recycled by Reagan in 1982).

We Greens have some things in common with Marxism and can appreciate some of the contributions of Marx and those following in his footsteps such as the focus they brought to Capitalism's exploitation of Labor for Profit and its inherent economic injustice if not tempered by a social safety net. So maybe we could say Marxism (along with Capitalism) was an evolutionary stage of Political and Economic Theory on the way to Green, but Green is its own entity and IMO represents a higher evolutionary refinement than Marxism. We Greens have our own unique history, our distinctly separate Political and Economic theorists and our own values that contrast sharply with that of Marxism, Communism or Socialism. We draw perhaps more from Gandhi and MLK than from Marx. We are anti-Marxist in that we fiercely value Decentralization and Grassroots Democracy. We most especially do NOT believe in the "Vanguard" concept of a small group that become the "Dictatorship of the Proletariet". Hell no! If I had to pick another 'ism' that has some affinity to Greens I'd pick Libertarian Socialism (ie. the Zapatistas) except we in contrast are fully Nonviolent.

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JamBoi

Friends,

Most of us have been following the election results from yesterday. I wish to thank all of the voters out there who bravely and unashamedly made their choice for true, positive change in our country by voting for Green candidates.

One race of note from yesterday is the election for U.S. Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia. In that race, with over 99% of the precincts reporting, Democrat Jim Webb currently holds a lead of about 7,000 votes over Republican incumbent George Allen. A candidate from the "Independent Greens of Virginia", Gail Parker, gained a bit over 26,000 votes out of over 2.3 million cast - about 1.1% of the total. Since that time, the Green Party of the United States has gotten emails and phone calls asking about, or expressing an opinion about, Ms. Parker. The media has added to this association; for example, James Carville last night on CNN, said, "If the Green hadn't been running, the Democrat would have won easily."

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Thursday, September 21, 2006

10 Questions With Green NV Gubernatorial Candidate Craig Bergland

While virtually everyone, we hope, knows Republican Jim Gibbons and Democrat Dina Titus are running for the privilege of being Nevada's next governor, there are other names gracing the November ballot.

One in particular is the Green Party's lone candidate, Craig Bergland.

The 57-year-old Reno resident is making his second foray into politics after making a brief run for Reno mayor in 1998. A Green Party member since 2005, Bergland hopes to spread the party's message as well as espouse fiscal conservatism in his campaign.

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Green Party Again Chooses Ken Pentel

(AP) St. Paul The (Minesota) Green Party, no longer a "major" party under Minnesota law, is relying on a couple of old hands to fill out its 2006 ticket.

Ken Pentel for Governor of Minnesota

Environmental activist Ken Pentel, the party's candidate for governor in 1998 and 2002, is taking another shot at that office. Dave Berger, a social science professor at Inver Hills Community College, is making a second run for state auditor.

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