Civil Rights, Death Penalty, Green Party, New York, Race, Social Justice November 7, 2017

3 years at Rikers Island pushed his brother to suicide. Now he’s running for mayor to shut it down.

circa By Reed Dunlea November 7, 2017 On June 16, 2015, Akeem Browder lost his younger brother. Kalief Browder was arrested in the Bronx in 2010, when he was 16 years old. He was accused of stealing a backpack that contained cash, a credit card, a camera and an iPod. For the next three years, Kalief was locked up at Rikers Island, a 400-acre jail complex in the East River between Queens and the Bronx. Approximately 10,000 inmates sit on Rikers every day; most have not been convicted of a crime, but are awaiting trial. Kalief was routinely beaten by…

Green Party, Labor November 5, 2017

AFL-CIO to become an Independent Political Voice

By Chris Robinson Delegates to the National Convention of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) passed two significant resolutions, which will allow local unions to encourage their members to vote for independent political candidates, including those from the Green Party. The meeting of more than 1,000 union members took place during the last week of October in St. Louis, MO. In the past, labor unions have, with few exceptions, endorsed electoral candidates from the two corporate parties. These politicians kowtow to the interests of corporations and the wealthy. Because of the expense of electoral campaigns,…

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…

Climate Change, Environment, International, Social Justice October 12, 2017

on Puerto Rico

Statement of the of the Puerto Rican Diaspora Solidarity Coordinating Committee on the Destruction Brought by Hurricane Maria to Puerto Rico Our people are experiencing one of the worst and bitter moments of our history since the armed invasion of our homeland by the United States and the destruction caused by hurricane San Felipe during the decade of the 20s of the last century that caused over 300 deaths and more than 50 million dollars in damages. During that time Puerto Ricans responded to those tragedies with dignity and human solidarity. Our nation was able to recuperate and overcome these…