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John Kiriakou Day of Action

Friday May 9th is a Day of Action to help John Kiriakou, the CIA agent serving a prison sentence for whistleblowing against the C.I.A. torture program. The day is being organized by FireDogLake. The Green Party of the United States has consistently called for a halt to the prosecution of whistleblowers. Though perhaps less known than others such as Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden, Broward County Greens believe that Kiriakou has performed a service to his country by his defense of the Constitution.

Friday May 9th is a Day of Action to help John Kiriakou, the CIA agent serving a prison sentence for whistleblowing against the C.I.A. torture program. The day is being organized by FireDogLake. All concerned members of the public are encouraged to visit their local Representatives’ and Senators’ offices to lobby for Kiriakou’s release to a half way house. For those unable to visit an office, FireDogLake recommends calling the Bureau of Prisons to ask them to move Kiriakou, or to donate to a fund for Freedom of Information Act requests concerning the case.

Electronic Frontier Foundation - Creative Commons — Electronic Frontier Foundation – Creative Commons

Kiriakou is a former C.I.A. analyst and case officer. In the wake of September 11, 2001, he refused to be trained in “enhanced interrogation techniques,” which many understand to be a euphemism for the cruel and unusual punishments inflicted upon detainees of the United States in violation of the 8th amendment of the Constitution. These actions include waterboarding, a crime for which the United States has been said to have executed Japanese soldiers for, after World War II.

Kiriakou, after leaving the CIA, was the first CIA officer to confirm that the agency waterboarded prisoners as part of official U.S. policy. Subsequently, the U.S. government investigated and prosecuted him. It has been noted ironically, that the sole C.I.A. officer to be jailed in relation to the torture program was the one to publicly oppose the program. He is currently serving a thirty month sentence under the Espionage Act. Reports by writers such as Kevin Gostolza have described his ill treatment by the Bureau of Prisons and repeated attempts to silence his public communications which have become known as the “Letters from Loretto.”

Kiriakou has been honored in the well known portrait series by Robert Shetterly “Americans Who Tell the Truth.” Other honors he has received include the Joe A. Callaway Award for Civil Courage. While with the C.I.A. he received 10 Exceptional Performance Awards, the Sustained Superior Performance Award, the Counterterrorism Service Medal, and the State Department’s Meritorious Honor Award.

The Green Party of the United States has consistently called for a halt to the prosecution of whistleblowers. Though perhaps less known than others such as Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden, Broward County Greens believe that Kiriakou has performed a service to his country by his defense of the Constitution.

The call to action by FireDogLake includes an “Action Packet.”

This post was originally published by the Broward County Green Party under the Creative Commons License.

So now I’m a Commissioner …

So somebody asked me, “Bill, what’s it feel like, now that you’re actually serving on an official county committee?”

Good question, and I hope my answer can encourage others to do the same, become a small but real part of our local government. I really hope to see other Greens get onto committees in their counties, fire districts, cities, etc. If we can show our commitment on citizen advisory committees, maybe the public will trust us more when our members run for elected offices.

— submitted by Bill Pollard, Green
member of Highlands County Historic Preservation Commission

So somebody asked me, “Bill, what’s it feel like, now that you’re actually serving on an official county committee?”

Good question, and I hope my answer can encourage others to do the same, become a small but real part of our local government. First, it wasn’t my first time, since I had served as a public member on two committees back in the 1990s, when I lived in Osceola County. In those days, I was a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat. But I found the dye was not very good, so I finally gave up on the Democrats.

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Henry Lawrence talks to our schools for Project Democracy 2014

— submitted by Henry Lawrence and Kelly Duncan
February 25, 2014

Project Democracy 2014 is a unique project run by Mark Anderson, Supervisor of Elections in Bay County, Florida. Anderson not only encourages young people to exercise their right to vote, but also encourages the various political parties in the county to participate by visiting area high schools with him.

henry_school — Henry Lawrence pictured at right.
image courtesy of the Bay County Supervisor of Elections

Thanks to Anderson for allowing the Green Party to participate this year, along with the Republican, Democratic and Libertarian parties. Green Party leaders Kelly Duncan and Henry Lawrence had the opportunity to speak with juniors and seniors in local high schools about the Green Party and the political process.

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South Miami Mayor Stoddard Wins 3rd Term in a “Mudslide”!

They called it a “mudslide” because of the exceptionally dirty attacks that had been leveled against incumbent South Miami Mayor Phil Stoddard. But those smears only gave the hoots and cheers from the exuberant gathering of neighbors, supporters and volunteers (including a contingent of Greens) at Stoddard’s victory party a more special meaning. Commission meetings have been notorious for divisive bickering, with some factions being backed by special interests. In a more positive vein, the city is also noted for intense citizen engagement at its commission meetings. With Stoddard’s progressive majority growing from 3-1 to 4-1, they now have a mandate to build on that work of moving the city ahead, independent of special interests. Stoddard now plans on holding a series of public workshops to develop a strong agenda for the city.

— Submitted by Steve Showen
Miami Green, and Co-Chair of the Green Party of Florida
February 15, 2014

SOUTH MIAMI, FL, February 15, 2014 — They called it a “mudslide” because of the exceptionally dirty attacks that had been leveled against incumbent South Miami Mayor Phil Stoddard. But those smears only gave the hoots and cheers from the exuberant gathering of neighbors, supporters and volunteers (including a contingent of Greens) at Stoddard’s victory party a more special meaning.

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Big Oil moves against Florida panther habitat

Many on this list are aware that an oil boom is rapidly taking shape in the southwest corner of Florida. Media attention began with a surprise notice sent to residents in May of 2013, advising them of an evacuation plan in the event of a hydrogen sulfide gas release. The source for that gas would be a proposed oil well located approximately three-quarters of a mile west of the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge. Here are a couple of things you might want to do. First, please consider a donation to the South Florida Wildlands Association to enable us to continue this fight. In my own capacity, I have filed an administrative petition (pro se) challenging the Hughes permit to drill next to the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge. That petition will be heard later this month in Ft. Myers.

— submitted by Matt Schwartz
Executive Director, South Florida Wildlands Association

[We are proud to present this article by Executive Director Matt Schwartz of the South Florida Wildlands Association. It outlines corporate plans for the destruction of some of our most precious wildlife habitats, and offers ways that you can fight back against those plans. Note that the organization Preserve Our Paradise (whose Vice President Dr. Don Loritz is a leading Green in Collier County) has engaged legal counsel and scientific experts in the fight to preserve people’s homes and their very health in the targeted area. Both organizations are up against the same corporate powerhouses, Collier Resources and the Dan A. Hughes Company. The fight for the people of Southwest Florida and the fight for the Florida panther is the same fight. — JR, Managing Editor]

Dear Friends,

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Living in a Green Party Economy

Ask yourself the following question. How do we get from an unjust, broken down social–economic system to a Green Party world, where the Green Party’s 10 key values become the norm? The solution is that our government needs to take back the power to issue money and begin to gradually issue debt free money.

— submitted by Michael Wm. Delay
Green Party Member, Lake County, Florida
February 5, 2014

Ask yourself the following question. How do we get from an unjust, broken down social–economic system to a Green Party world, where the Green Party’s 10 key values become the norm?

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Greens Support Re-election of South Miami Mayor Philip Stoddard

Residents of South Miami are fighting to maintain the small town character of their fair city of some 12,000 residents nestled between Pinecrest and Coral Gables. The largely residential, racially-mixed city is under heavy pressure from developers who would threaten its family-friendly character. A leading champion for the city has been FIU Professor Philip Stoddard, who is running for his third two-year term as Mayor of South Miami. Overall, Stoddard has used his “bully pulpit” to reach broader audiences about the myriad concerns over FPL’s nuclear power ambitions, as well as other environmental concerns. He has organized other mayors along the US Highway 1 corridor. Stoddard was quoted at length last June in a startling feature article in Rolling Stone magazine about Miami being ground zero for sea level rise.

— Submitted by Steve Showen
Miami Green, and Co-Chair of the Green Party of Florida
January 31, 2014

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The Constitution of the United States vs. the Trans-Pacific Partnership

Over time, powerful economic interests have leveraged their economic power to purchase law-makers, change laws, have corporations defined as people, and had money defined as speech. Now they want to give international corporations special status above the rights of people and beyond the control of governments. Fast Track, aka Trade Promotion Authority, is a direct assault on the Constitution. If passed, it will enable passage of treaties that will undermine the sovereignty of the United States, and the authority of U.S. laws and courts.

— submitted by Jim Howe*
January 19, 2014

The Constitution of the United States was written to limit and define the powers of the government of the United States. It divides that government into three (3) branches, Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. The Bill of Rights was added to further limit the powers of government. The Constitution could not have been adopted without the Bill of Rights. The Constitution begins with “We the People”. It is written in plain English, takes up all of four (4) pages, and can be easily understood by “We the People”. It, and the Bill of Rights, were written as a defense against tyrannical government.

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