Articles by Green Papers

Labor, National Politics, occupy January 18, 2014

Mayday 2014: 5/1 Fight for 15

by John Halle January 18, 2014 A short piece provoked by the fun time I had hanging out with/moderating the Trots at the Brecht Forum on Thursday. The suggestion for making the $15 an hour minimum wage a central demand of a new movement was from Socialist Alternative’s Alan Akrivos. Comments on the piece and/or how to move forward on the idea appreciated. Most on the left are at least dimly aware that Labor Day was originally celebrated on May 1 to commemorate the framing and execution of the Haymarket strikers and that Mayday, at its peak, attracted tens of…

Health Care Reform, Medicine, Obamacare, on Obama, Single Payer November 19, 2013

Obamacare and Other Republican Ideas

Bipartisanship today means Democrats enacting GOP agenda by Scott McLarty Common Dreams November 19, 2013 The ACA debate was rigged from the beginning by insurance and other corporate lobbies whose profits and high overhead, burdening the US with the highest medical costs of any nation on earth, would be maintained. (Image: Common Dreams) A column by Hugh Hewitt in the Washington Examiner earlier this month reveals a likely Republican talking point as the next presidential election approaches: “Hillary is Obamacare’s grandmother. Put another way: Obamacare is Hillary’s grandchild.” Mr. Hewitt’s goal, of course, is to pin the disastrous rollout of…

Democracy, Green Party, New York, State Politics, Third Party November 17, 2013

From a Green perspective, another disappointing election

by Ursula Rozum syracuse.com November 17, 2013 Ursula Rozum is a guest columnist who writes monthly for syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. She ran for Congress on the Green Party line in 2012, is an officer in the local Green Party organization and managed Howie Hawkins’ campaign for Syracuse Common Council this year. Another election has gone by and little has changed. The local power structure kept its people in office. The Democrats still hold every elected office in the city and the problems that have grown worse under their one-party rule remain the same – high poverty, high unemployment, low…

Democracy, Green Party, National Politics, New York, occupy, Third Party November 16, 2013

What It Will Take

A Response To John Halle’s Left Parties in 2013 by Peter A. Lavenia Counterpunch Weekend Edition November 15-17, 2013 Last week’s article by John Halle highlighted the growing strength of left-wing candidates for municipal office in the United States. As of writing, Socialist Alternative candidate Kshama Sawant has pulled ahead by a slim margin in Seattle, while Howie Hawkins, Green and Socialist, received 40% of the vote in his race for City Council in Syracuse, NY. My own campaign for city council in Albany, NY – I am a Green and ideological socialist – saw me come in second to…

Green Party, National Politics, New York, occupy, Third Party November 16, 2013

The Wave Begins?

Left Third Parties in 2013 by John Halle Counterpunch November 7, 2013 The 2013 municipal election contained mixed results for left third party advocates. The two most high profile and exciting candidacies, those of Socialist Alternative’s Kshama Sawant in Seattle and Ty Moore in Minneapolis, appear to have gone down to defeat. But the margins were small – a few percentage points – and both are young and have already committed to rematches in two years with a strong likelihood of success.Furthermore, even if these two candidates had won, they would have amounted to no more than two small points…