[Sorry this is late, I've been out of town and AFK. But it's such good news, couldn't let it pass by without note.]

Greens Win Ballot Access in 31 States, Up From 17 in January - WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Party candidates have overcome numerous obstacles to have their names placed on the ballot in several states, including Arkansas, Illinois, Nebraska, and New York. In many races, Greens are now battling exclusion from candidates' debates. [GPUS Press Releases]

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clammyc documents the atrocities of the Bush economy in On Labor Day Weekend, Let Us Mourn the American Worker... and analyzes the World Bank's examination of the relationship between environmental and economic sustainability in New Report: Global Warming Huge Threat to Int'l Economy

Robert Kuttnes in the Boston Globe: Another year, another wage loss

The Mahablog: Labor Day Review wherein Barbara points -- among other recommended reading -- to two pieces from the NY Times, Thomas Frank's Rendezvous With Oblivion and Paul Krugman The Big Disconnect.

Barbara Ehrenreich has a web site that includes a blog, discussion forum, and resources for organizing. Of course, you can also buy any of her excellent books on real life economics. She's currently on tour, so go to one of her appearances if you can.

Update: poputonian at Digby's Hullabaloo quotes from Vonnegut's A Man Without a Country. Beautiful stuff. If you need a lift, this is what to read.

Update 2: America to Ground Zero clean up crews, 5 years after: Thanks, now get lost.

From the Detroit News archives:  The historic 1936-37 Flint auto plant strikes -- check out the extra pics button (via Gillard's News Blog) 

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Keith Olbermann's commentary last night, a response to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's "appeasement" speech on Tuesday to the American Legion convention in Salt Lake City (full text), is posted in full below the fold. The transcript is on Keith's blog here, but this needs to go viral, and who knows what's going to happen to Keith and his blog after this (I only partly kid), so I'm breaking the reposting rule.

YouTube has the video. Really, you need to watch it for the full effect.

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You might want to catch Waging a Living on PBS' POV series this week, with the first broadcast on Tuesday, August 29 (find your local showtimes). It looks like it will be a rare occassion to see the real-life travails of the working poor in the U.S. presented with some depth and sensitivity.

Several special features are or will soon be available on the show's website, including:

A Conversation with Barbara Ehrenreich - Coming August 29th: David Brancaccio hosts a special conversation with Barbara Ehrenreich on the state of American workers and wages today. Join the fray and submit a question of your own for Ehrenreich.

Waging a Living - Podcast Conversation Series - Experts speak with Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman about poverty, the minimum wage, ten years of welfare reform and the outcomes of living wage campaigns across the country in a special series of P.O.V. podcasts.

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News from Green campaigns across the country. Arkansas and Pennsylvania were most in the spotlight this week with the good news/bad news stories on ballot access.

We are going to start collecting the campaign news in the forum for the state parties. Please post any news to the appropriate section.

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New Report: National Parks at a Turning Point
Air pollution has damaged many parks - and it could get much worse

Millions of Americans will be escaping to the national parks this Labor Day weekend for clean air and healthy fun. Unfortunately, many could find "code red" air quality conditions and hazy skies.

Air pollution continues to affect nearly everything we value about America's national parks. It degrades habitat for the plants and animals that call the parks home, puts the health of park visitors and staff at risk, causes physical damage to symbols of our heritage, and mars the scenic horizons that reveal the grandeur of our land.

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Kahli at the Booman Tribune is coordinating a project to recognize the historic accomplishments of the Labor movement and its leaders beginning on Labor Day, Sept. 4.

Working Together already has volunteers signed on to publish diaries on

9/4 Taft Hartley, Wagner Act, etc. - Kahli
9/5 Labor Arts - Man Eegee
9/6 Joe Hill, IWW,personal union experience - Shirlstars
9/7 Al Shankar and Teachers - Teacher Toni
9/8 The Haymarket Tragedy -Supersoling
9/9 Triangle Fire and Sweatshops - Libary Lil
9/10 Cesar Chavez - Alice

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I got this in an email from HereUsNow.org. The media is one of the key problems in this country; corporate control of the sources of our information is changing our society for the worse and corrupting our political process. Fixing the media is crucial to the continuation of (some would say "establishment of") democracy. This is also an issue where the vast majority of the public has already indicated (in the summer of 2004 during FCC hearings across the country) that they are against too much control in the hands of a few companies, and against loss of local control. Please support this and other campaigns to bring balance and democracy back to our media.

A few huge media companies already control most of what you see on television, hear on the radio, and read in the newspaper. Now if some of the bureaucrats in Washington have their way, these media behemoths, such as Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., could get even bigger and more powerful.

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Vote Green to Defeat Warhawk Democrats and Republicans - WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In the wake of Sen. Joe Lieberman's primary defeat in Connecticut, Green Party leaders called on voters to defeat all warhawks, Democrats as well as Republicans, who are running for Congress in the November election. [GPUS Press Releases]

2006 GP candidates

Join the Green Party and vote for peace

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Wow, that was strange. If you got a permission denied message, or, worse yet, the original software setup instructions, when you tried to access the site tonight, it was a glitch caused by the installation of a new module.

Don't panic -- I already did that, and it didn't help.

Please excuse any further weirdness for the foreseeable future (there, that ought to cover me for a while).

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Nebraska Secretary of State Accepts Green Party Statewide Status

August 14th, 2006

On August 14, the Nebraska Secretary of State accepted the Green Party as a ballot-qualified party for the entire state. The party will have two statewide nominees on the ballot this year, and since one of them has no Democrat in the race, it is extremely likely the Greens will poll over 5% and also be ballot-qualified in 2008. The other ballot-qualified minor party this year in Nebraska is the Constitution Party.

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Greens join Cindy Sheehan's antiwar vigil at Camp Casey in Crawford, Texas

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Greens from Texas and other states, led by the Travis County Green Party, are converging in Crawford, Texas for the antiwar vigil at Camp Casey.

Cindy Sheehan, who established Camp Casey in 2005 in protest of the Iraq war and in memory of her son who was killed in Iraq, has resumed the camp as continuation of a peace vigil that commenced in Washington, D.C. in July. On August 10, 2005, the Green Party's Peace Action Committee (GPAX) issued a statement of support for Ms. Sheehan and Camp Casey <http://www.gp.org/press/pr_2005_08_10.shtml>.

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Green Party Calls on UN to Invoke 'Uniting for Peace' Resolution - WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Green Party of the United States today called on the General Assembly of the United Nations to invoke Resolution 377 'Uniting for Peace' in the face of the U.N. Security Council's inability to stop the violence the Middle East. [GPUS Press Releases] Discussion thread

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10th Annual International Forgiveness Day

His Son Beheaded by Al-Zarqawi, Father Still Forgives

Michael Berg was devastated when his son, Nicholas, was beheaded by terrorist leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in May 2004. The shocking act was videotaped and viewed by millions around the world over the Internet.

A few weeks ago, when Zarqawi was killed by U.S. military forces in Iraq, people expected Michael to celebrate his death. Berg’s reaction, however, surprised the world when he declared that he mourns the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as he would the death of any man. Berg stated, “He has a family who are reacting just as my family reacted when Nick was killed, and I feel bad for that.”

When interviewed recently on CNN, news anchor Soledad O’Brien expressed surprise at his reaction. His reply was, “Well, you shouldn't be surprised, because I have never indicated anything but forgiveness and peace in any interview on the air.”

On Sunday, August 6th, Michael Berg will receive the Hero of Forgiveness Award at the 10th annual International Forgiveness Day celebration in Angelico Hall at Dominican University in San Rafael.

[Michael Berg is a Green Party candidate for Congress in Delaware. For background on the Worldwide Forgiveness Alliance, and other honorees at this year's Forgiveness Day ceremony, follow link below]

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