WINTER 2005

FEATURES

Rebuilding New Orleans after Katrina
By Leenie Halbert 
Green Party of Louisiana
Three months after the levees broke and flooding devastated New Orleans, many Greens returned to New Orleans to find their homes, jobs and lives completely altered.

Challenging corporate control of the public's air waves 
By Joanne Cvar 
Pacific Green Party of Oregon
Americans should be concerned that the corporate-owned mass media conglomerates in the United States are "disappearing" voices of opposition or progressive thought, causing democracy and freedom to wither.

The new voting rights movement: A citizen rebellion 
By Blair Bobier 
Pacific Green Party of Oregon
The New Voting Rights Movement, with many Greens at the forefront, is a citizen rebellion against the hijacking of elections by private companies, biased election officials and a subservient commercialized media.

Singing the civil disobedience blues 
A memoir by Jeanne Olson 
Green Party of Alaska 
Each of us had our reasons for being there. I looked at the black iron fence I remember climbing on as a young child, but now am forbidden to touch. I looked at the police officers and thought about the Bill of Rights.

Troop withdrawal referendum gains steam 
By Jeff Peterson 
Green Party of Wisconsin 
A discussion about the war in Iraq, beginning at the Wisconsin Green Party's spring gathering, has blossomed into an effort to put a troop withdrawal referendum on next spring's ballot in cities and counties around the state.

ELECTIONS

Green Party has best showing ever in New York State
Party confident of recapturing full ballot status in 2006 gubernatorial elections
By Mike Feinstein
Green Party of California
The Green Party of New York State (GPNYS) arguably had its best electoral showing in 2005.

Minneapolis Greens withstand DFL attack
Win city council and park board seats
By Mike Feinstein 
Green Party of California
In a municipal election defined in part by the attempt of Democrats (Democrat-Farmer-Labor or DFL) to eliminate the Green Party from local relevance, Minneapolis Greens fought back and came through scathed but alive, with two impressive victories, along with two bitter defeats.

Pennsylvania leads Greens in mid-Atlantic region
By David McCorquodale
Green Party of Delaware
Pennsylvania Greens presented strong evidence of a thriving party by fielding 31 candidates for the fall 2005 elections. Of that number, 13 won their races.

California Greens win five of seven races in November elections
Pasadena City College Board tops victories
By Mike Feinstein 
Green Party of California
In November elections, California Greens won five of the six races they contested. Perhaps the most impressive was Hilary Bradbury-Huang's election to the board of trustees of Pasadena City College (PCC), defeating a 27-year incumbent in what appeared months before the election to be a long shot at best.

WORLD

Greens of the Americas meet in the Amazon
By Mike Feinstein
Green Party of California
The Federation of Green Parties of the Americas (Federación de Partidos Verdes de las Americas or FPVA), of which the Green Party of the United States is a member, has been meeting annually since its founding in 1997, with recent conferences in Curitiba, Brazil (2004); Managua, Nicaragua (2003); and the Dominican Republic (2002). This year on Oct. 12-15, the FPVA came to Iquitos, Peru, located in the Amazon region and accessible only by plane or boat, making it perhaps the most isolated large city in the world.

Ingrid, wherever you are…
International Greens convene in Bogotá
By Joanne Cvar
Pacific Green Party of Oregon
In the first-ever joint action undertaken by International Greens, representatives of 10 Green parties from four continents met in solidarity with the Partido Verde-Oxigeno (Green Party of Colombia) in Bogotá Oct. 31-Nov. 6. A resolution at the May 2005 meeting of the European Federation of Green Parties had called for the conference to demonstrate international support for a negotiated peace in Colombia and the release of all the hostages held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

OPINION

Time for action on global warming
By Mark A. Dunlea
Green Party of New York State 
As the arctic tundra thaws, the arctic ice melts, heat waves kill thousands in Europe and hurricanes batter the Gulf and Florida coasts, Congress and the Bush administration continue to move at a glacial pace in addressing global warming and climate change.

The Oregon Trail to legalized bribery
By Ed Winslow 
Pacific Green Party of Oregon
Every day corporations and other special interests pump over $2 million into the coffers of our elected officials and their party committees in Washington, D.C.. As a result, an estimated $160 billion in tax breaks, subsidies and other sweet deals are awarded to these contributors. But their money also buys them the opportunity to shape public policy to suit their bottom lines. 

Finding Greener pastures and Greener voters 
By Sam Smith
D.C. Statehood Green Party
Ten years ago, a small group of us staged a conference of third-party activists that culminated in this country's first Green presidential campaign in 1996 and, in suitably confused order, a few weeks later the formation of a national association of Green parties. Thus we celebrate with a mixture of pride and disappointment the first decade of the American Green Party.

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Letters to the editor

Unprofessional review 
by Greg Gerritt

The reviewer replies
by Deirdre Helfferich

REPORTS

States report their election victories and campaigns; more results from the annual national meeting survey; and an ad campaign and the new Donor's Bill of Rights.

CONTACTS

Jenefer Ellingston shares her reasons for getting involved with the Green Party.

EVERGREEN

Spidey star to play Marla Ruzicka
Paramount wins bid on film and book rights
By Becky Weber
D.C. Statehood Green Party
Actor Kirsten Dunst has been cast to star in a feature film exploring the life of Green Party activist Marla Ruzicka.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti wins Literarian Award
Green Beat poet first to receive new honor from National Book Foundation
Legendary Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti was recognized in November for his tireless work on behalf of poets and the entire literary community for over 50 years.

Connecting causes and people
Rapper Head-Roc questions the political system, but never doubts the power of a good beat
By Emily Citkowski
GP-US Operations Director
Head-Roc, who's a member of the D.C. Statehood Green Party, performed at the Operation Ceasefire concert on the National Mall on Sept. 24, along with musicians like Jello Biafra, Steve Earle, Joan Baez and Le Tigre, to advocate for the immediate end to the war in Iraq. We recently caught up with him at the Green Party's national office in Dupont Circle to talk about music, politics and connecting with one another.