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campaign reform, Democracy, Election Integrity, Green Party, political corruption November 18, 2017

Updated Report On Maine’s Initiative For Ranked Choice Voting

By Jon Olsen co-chair, Maine Green Independent Party November 16, 2017 A year ago, we in Maine, and especially we Greens who have worked to promote the issue of ranked choice voting (RCV) for at least 20 years, celebrated a huge victory after it passed with 52% approval in our citizen’s initiative that made it law. However, shortly thereafter, our opponents, for apparent personal or partisan reasons, sought the advice of the Maine Supreme Court regarding its constitutionality, a challenge relying on the distinction between “plurality” and “majority.” The public hearing where the matter was argued was packed, myself in…

Black Lives Matter, campaign reform, Democracy, Green Party, Kshama Sawant, Social Justice, Socialism November 3, 2017

Will Black Become the New Green?

Counterpunch By Don Fitz November 3, 2017 On November 7, 2017, Elston McCowan could well become the first Green Party candidate to defeat a Democrat in Missouri. If he wins the Ward 2 race in St. Louis City he will also become the first Green Party candidate to beat a Democrat in an overwhelmingly black district. And it might not be crazy to think that McCowan can actually win. In 2015, he received 37% of the vote as the Green Party candidate against an incumbent. That incumbent left her position to work in the government of the new mayor, infamous…

2016 Elections, campaign reform, Democracy, Green Party, Jill Stein, Presidential Recount October 19, 2017

Recount update: can we trust the 2016 vote?

In a country that proudly calls itself a democracy, the question we raised with the 2016 recount effort was simple: do we have an election system we can trust, that is accurate, secure and just? So far, the answer is a resounding NO. In an age of commonplace computer security breaches – from the WannaCry ransomware intrusions into energy, health care and transportation, to the Equifax hack into hundreds of millions of credit accounts – it’s astounding that the security of our voting technology has still not been verified. To put it simply, an un-recountable election is a blank check…

Democracy September 25, 2017

US Provides Military Assistance to 73 Percent of World’s Dictatorships

Truthout By Rich Whitney September 23, 2017 For decades, the American people have been repeatedly told by their government and corporate-run media that acts of war ordered by their president have been largely motivated by the need to counter acts of aggression or oppression by “evil dictators.” We were told we had to invade Iraq because Saddam Hussein was an evil dictator. We had to bomb Libya because Muammar Gaddafi was an evil dictator, bent on unleashing a “bloodbath” on his own people. Today, of course, we are told that we should support insurgents in Syria because Bashar al-Assad is…

Civil Rights, Democracy, International, Social Justice April 9, 2017

An inalienable right that can not be renounced

By Hector Lopez Independence is an inalienable right, which means that it is a right that cannot be renounced. The Declaration of Independence inspires not only U.S. people but everybody in the world, including Puerto Rican patriots, who take it very seriously, to the point that many have given their freedom and their lives for the cause of our independence. Elections held under military occupation are undemocratic and illegitimate. The United States is a signatory to both these documents and is in violation of them in regards to Puerto Rico and in regards to Iraq, for example, and in many…