Congress Bankrupts America

That's right. $146 billion dollars in tax cuts were passed today (extended in some cases) gouging even more out of the federal budget. At this rate, our kids will have to learn how to read and write on their own, our urban streets will continue to rot at the hands of drugs, and our infrastructure will rust to the point of breaking (a la last year's major blackout).

As a Green, the question is not just whether these tax cuts are good--they're obviously not--but whether we would be good stewards of the country's purse strings. After all, we love our social programs.

Many Greens would probably agree that it's not just the social programs and tax code we need to reform, but also our energy system. Getting off our dependence of foreign oil and onto renewable energy sources/technology should be our prime target for fixing our economy.

Wrong Attitude

"Let's say you tried to have an election and you could have it in three-quarters or four-fifths of the country — in some places you couldn't because the violence was too great," Rumsfeld said. "So be it. Nothing's perfect in life. You have an election that's not quite perfect. Is it better than not having an election? You bet."

--Donald Rumsfeld

I don't normally discuss national issues on this blog, but I just couldn't resist this quote from Donald Rumsfeld.

So, some democracy is better than no democracy, eh? It makes perfect sense that this administration would back an undemocratic election when they themselves came to power undemocratically.

Maybe we can in fact tie this into a national, state and local issue, namely voter disenfranchisement. There was a recent story in the news (I don't have a link, but I believe it was on NPR) about a study that found that minorities, particularly African-Americans, experienced a higher percentage of voter disenfranchisement than other groups. Surprise, surprise. Apparently, this is due to the large number of AA males who are either in prison or were in prison at some point.

What this points to, of course, is the contradictory pattern of denying democracy while pursuing it. Voter disenfranchisement does not appear to be a problem for the Bush admin., but it's certainly our problem as citizens.

Cat Stevens Diverts Plane

They say he was a supporter of Hamas. Hmmmmm....

More than One Game in Town

I've heard continuously that this is the most important election of our lifetime. You hear this from both Repubs & Dems. This is obviously an incredible mis-statement: Each election is important. Period.

The current election cycle is possibly the most negative political environment we've witnessed. Both parties are feeding off of fear. The Repubs want us to be afraid of terrorists and the Dems want us to be afraid of the Repubs.

That's why I'm glad to mention that the presidential election isn't the only game in town. I held a fundraiser yesterday at my house. Four of Maryland's Green Party candidates attended and we raised over $200! That might not seem like a lot of money when compared to the insane amounts spent on election campaigns (I think a typical House race costs upwards of $2 million). But it will do a great deal towards raising awareness in Maryland of Green Party candidates!

Let's not stop there. Readers of this blog can continue to contribute to this grand effort of electing a Green to the US House or Senate, or to Baltimore City Council. There's so many great candidates, its actually nice to see we have a bevy of choices. I encourage anyone who reads this to continue to contribute either to individual candidates or to the Joint Congressional Campaign.

City candidates can be reached here: http://www.baltimoregreens.org/cands.php;
Congressional candidates can be reached: http://www.mdgreensforcongress.org.

You can also contribute to the Joint Congressional Campaign by mailing a check or money order to:

Maryland Green Party
P.O. Box 2230
Annapolis, MD 21404

Just remember, if you want to contribute to the joint campaign, you need to indicate that in the "Memo" field of your check.

But contributing money isn't enough. I strongly encourage anyone who reads this to VOLUNTEER. There's so much work to do, from canvassing to making phone calls to blogging to interacting with the media. After all, this is a grassroots movement and we can't accomplish anything with PEOPLE!

Our candidates offer voters a REAL choice. We have a politics of the positive: We want to help people grow economically; we want to ensure we live in a clean and healthy environment; we want to insure the 40 million plus people who don't have insurance; we want to reverse the trend of more people slipping into poverty!

Volunteer, donate, get involved! This is YOUR democracy, not theirs.

Being watched by the government

Now, I'm not one to buy into conspiracy theories very easily, but it appears this blog is being watched by the government.

I was checking my site statistics and found that I've had a visit from, of all places, the census bureau.

What they would want with me is beyond my green imagination.

Last Call!

Don’t forget! I'm having a Wine, Cheese & Raffle to support the MD Green Party’s congressional candidates this Saturday from 4:30 to 7:30.

We’ve got a lot of great prizes to raffle off. This week, 3rd district candidate Patsy Allen informed me that she’s donating a pair of handmade earrings and a designer scarf! Add that to a few great DVDs (Outfoxed anyone?), a free French lesson, a home-cooked meal for 2 from yours truly…and you could walk away with a bunch of great prizes!

Here’s the address:

14 Gala Lane
Pikesville MD 21208
(410) 415-0450

See you Saturday!

Daniel

Congrats to Maria & Glenn!

Wow, it's been a really long time since I've posted!

Anyway, a hearty congratulations should go out to Green Party Senate candidate Maria Allwine and Baltimore City Council Candidate Glenn Ross! They both appeared alongside David Cobb on today's Marc Steiner show.

If you're not from Baltimore, Marc Steiner is possibly the most important talk show host in town. WYPR is the NPR affiliate and for many years, Marc Steiner has been hosting an incredibly informative public affairs program that, I dare say, has helped me become the person I am today. Thanks to Marc also for hosting a few of our candidates. Hopefully we can get some more on as the election cycle progresses. And hopefully we'll get to talk to a few callers next time (today's show was pre-recorded)!

We've also been written about by the Capital News Service, which is done through the University of MD at College Park's Journalism School. It's not a bad article. Indeed, we've received very little negative coverage (you don't want me to go there), although one Baltimore City Green told me tonight that he thought the front page article made Bob Auerbach out to be a little kooky. But hey, kooky isn't bad. It's totally wacked-out off our rockers that's bad. I don't think it's any secret either within the MGP or without that Bob's campaign exists if only to raise the important issues. Besides, he looked great in his straw hat & the US flag waving behind him!

So, now that we're getting all this coverage, it's time to capitalize on our achievements! This is my plea to you: SUPPORT OUR CANDIDATES! Volunteer, make a donation, work the phones! There's plenty to be done, and we're grassroots...meaning if you want change, then it's in YOUR hands to start it. And while you're at it, go light a fire under someone else's butt!

Another Front Page Mention!

Read it while it's hot!

Our city candidates have a front page mention in today's MD section of the Baltimore Sun! We're getting attention and people are learning about our candidates and their vision for a better world.

I can hardly contain my excitement!

Also, we're passing tons, and I mean TONS of joint literature at the MD State Fair. A special congrats go out to Keith Salkowski (2nd district) and Maria Allwine (senate) who appeared at the fair last night to talk directly with voters. The state fair is an incredibly important for both these candidates, particularly Keith, as many of the fair's attendees are in his district (I also passed out a bunch of his own literature). The state fair is a great way for constituents to meet their candidates.

Another great event to meet both congressional and city candidates will be on September 18th, when I'll be holding a fundraiser at my house. It's from 4:30 to 7:30 and we'll be raffling off some great prizes. Email me if you'd like more info.

Two Green Candidates to Appear on Marc Steiner

On Monday, August 30th, Senate candidate Maria Allwine and Baltimore City Council candidate Glenn Ross recorded an interview for WYPR's The Marc Steiner Show. The interview will be a part of a two-hour program dedicated to the Green Party. The second part will be an interview with Green Party Presidential candidate David Cobb, who will also appear at the MD State Fair this Saturday (Sept. 4).

Although I was informed by Steiner Show staff that the interviews will air on Sept. 14th, the WYPR website says they will be doing a live broadcast from the Inner Harbor on that date. We'll see what happens. Anyway, you can listen online at http://www.wypr.org.

Tune in, Turn on, Vote GREEN.

Green Candidates Make a Splash!

Front page of the Perspective section! Wow!!! While manning the MD Green Party display at the state fair the other night, Mike Cornell pointed out that this was the first article on the MGP that didn't include the phrase "it's not easy being green."

In fact, we've received a decent amount of coverage this election cycle and very little of it has been negative. Hirsh's article clearly points out the long way we've come as a result of the huge court victory we won last year. My only issue was that Hirsh didn't name each of the candidates, although it appears that he spoke with each of them. Maybe we can get the Sun to do a follow-up piece on each of the candidates?

And, as another Green in Harford County pointed out in this letter to the editor: "I would certainly consider the successful lawsuit challenging the state's discriminatory two-tier nominating system for third-party candidates a victory for democracy for all Marylanders. "

Victory for the MGP and its numerous candidates (15 in total throughout the state) is not only measured by winning the election (though that'd be nice too). Considering the long strides we've made in the past year, and will continue to make throughout this election cycle and the next, victory can be defined by how many people we reach, how many people at least stop and consider the serious problems with a two-party system, how many more people register green (according to Hirsh's article, we're currently at about 6500 in MD).

So, let's use the buddy system. For each one of us, let's recruit at least one other person to join a campaign (there's plenty to choose from), vote Green, register Green, register others Green, educate people and communities about how the choice is ours. We can either continue to elect Democrats and Republicans and only watch how our neighborhoods rot and our natural resources get sucked up by rampant industry and development; OR we can elect Greens who can ensure our government represents people and not corporate power, who will never vote for war, and who will work for education and healthcare for all.