Civil Liberties and the USA PATRIOT Act
 Immediately following the terrible events of 9/11, Congress passed a drastic
new law, the USA PATRIOT Act, to help in the "war on terrorism." However,
the PATRIOT has seriously undermined our constitutional rights without
catching a single terrorist.
The Green Party of San Diego County is a founding member of the San Diego Bill of Rights Defense Committee (SD-BORDC), which is a coalition of concerned citizens who have joined the national movement to persuade local
governments to adopt resolutions making their cities "Civil Liberties Safe
Zones." Organizations from across the political spectrum have expressed
their support for the idea that national security concerns should not
undermine civil liberties. So far, 3 states and 138 cities have adopted such
a resolution and Greens have been instrumental in most of these campaigns.
In San Diego, the Green Party has strongly endorsed the resolution campaign and our members are working actively on this issue.
Find out more at www.sdbillofrights.org
Future Educational Forums on Civil Liberties:
September 24th: Learn about the lesser-known
provisions of the so-called U.S.A. Patriot Act. Learn what you can do
to defend and preserve our individual rights and liberties. Join in a
panel discussion, featuring experts and community leaders: HON. LIONEL
VAN DEERLIN, Former U.S. Congressman; Superior Court Judge Victor
Ramirez, ret.; Marjorie Cohen, law professor and Dale Kelly Bankhead,
ACLU representative.
October (date to be determined):
Forum with Keynote speaker Congressman Bob Filner, the only congressmember in San Diego County to vote against the USA PATRIOT Act.
WTO
The World Trade Organization is the most powerful legislative and
judicial body in the world. By promoting the "free trade" agenda of
multinational corporations above the interests of local communities,
working families, and the environment, the WTO has systematically
undermined democracy around the world.
In the eight years of its existence, WTO panels
composed of corporate attorneys have ruled that: the US law protecting
sea turtles was a barrier to "free trade"; that US clean air standards
and laws protecting dolphins are too; that the European Union law
banning hormone-treated beef is illegal. According to the WTO, our
democratically elected public officials no longer have the rights to
protect the environment and public health.
Green Party members have been involved in the preparations for the San Diego/Tijuana Mobilization Against the WTO on Saturday, September 13th.
More Info on Demonstrations: sdtjmobilization.org.
More Info on WTO: Global Exchange site on economic policy.
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Lavender Group on LGBT Issues formed in San Diego
The Lavender Greens Working Group of the
Green Party of San Diego County has been established to focus on
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues. Our goal is to
promote the Green Party, to raise awareness of Green ideals within the
LGBT communities and to confront racism, sexism, homophobia, and all
forms of repressive insitituional and social attitudes that divide
people. The Green Party stands for legalizing gay marriages, ending
anti-gay bias in the military, equal rights and civil liberties,
universal health care, AIDS research and low-cost AIDS drugs.
Membership is open to any registered
Green Party member, regardless of sexual orientation, who is interested
in working on issues important to the LGBT community. For more
information or to get involved, please contact Tim Casebolt.
To sign up to the Lavender Greens listserv, click here.
Read more on the issues at www.lavendergreens.us the website of the Lavender Caucus of the Green Party of the United States
Living Wage
The Green Party of San Diego County has endorsed San Diego Living Wage Coalition's
campaign. Faced with the problems of working poverty and a lack of
action from Federal and state governments, communities in 100
communities across the country have adopted Living Wage laws.
San Diego is currently debating the merits of a Living
Ordinance. While we need to consider the real-life struggles faced by
low-wage workers in San Diego, it's important to make wise financial
decisions as well. The San Diego Living Wage Campaign has collected
numerous studies from across the country that measure the impacts of
Living Wage Ordinances on city budgets and on the lives of workers.
More Info: www.sdlivingwage.org
Instant Runoff Voting (IRV)
One of the main countywide issues of the San Diego
Greens is implementing Instant Runoff Voting, a method of choice voting
that would eliminate the fear of spoiling elections or the wasted vote argument and would ensure that candidates win by the majority rule.
UCSD Greens, working with a number of other student activists, were
successful in getting IRV enacted for student government elections on
campus.
More Info on IRV: Visit our Electoral Reform page.
War in Iraq
Green Party chapters all over the United States have
been active in coalitions opposing military buildup towards war and the
consequent occupation of Iraq which is costing us billions of dollars
each day.
More Info: www.gp.org
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