[GPSCC-chat] Ongoing Issues Campaigns

[Spencer Graves]

Hello, All:


       At last month's meeting, Sandy made a call for a special session 
to discuss trying to select a few primary foci for Green party 
activities going forward.  We expect everyone to continue working on 
their primary concerns.  However, if most of us can spend some time on 
the selected primary foci, it could raise the profile of the Green party 
and make us all more effective in our joint and individual efforts. 
Last night, Jim Doyle, Valerie, Caroline, Sandy, Andrea, Gerry, Dana, 
Brian, and I met and Warner joined us by phone.


       We all agreed to post a summary of this discussion to the general 
list, to discuss it further at the monthly meeting Thursday evening, and 
to carry over the discussion until the March 28 meeting.  My summary 
appears below.  Others, whether they attended or not, are hereby invited 
to contribute to this discussion.  The issue on this list could serve as 
a focus for recruiting outside speakers and providing a focus for 
discussion in our  our monthly meetings, in addition to other things we 
could do with this list.


             1.  CANDIDATES FOR LOCAL OFFICE:  Someone suggested we 
weren't really a political party if we didn't field local candidates. 
There will be elections this November 5 for various offices in Santa 
Clara County marked UDEL on the "Local Jurisdiction Election Schedule" 
published by the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters 
(www.sccgov.org/sites/rov/Candidate%20-%20Measure%20Information/Documents/Local-Jurisdiction-Election-Schedule.pdf). 
There are a number of school boards, plus water, sanitation and other 
districts with elections this year.  More will have elections in 2014. 
You are encouraged to review this list and volunteer to run for one of 
these offices if you are so eligible. Doing so would give the group a 
focus for fund raising and campaigning.  I'm thinking of running for 
something like the Santa Clara County Unified School district in 2014. 
If I'm going to do that, I should select the office soon, start 
attending official meetings relating to that office, writing news 
stories and blogging about the issues they discuss and the ones I think 
they should discuss.  Sandy suggested we should avoid running for school 
boards unless we "have children in the schools and have not been 
involved in local school issues. ... [W]e should still ask that any 
prospective Green candidate be knowlegeable and credible on the issues 
involved" for whatever office they choose to run.  I agree.  I don't 
have children in this district, but I've long been concerned about 
education.  I've long wanted to prepare a budget combining education and 
criminal justice, because much of the prison population are school 
dropouts, and recidivism is lower among those with more education. 
That's why I think I should select the office, start attending the 
appropriate public meetings, and writing news stories and blogging about 
them very soon if I'm going to run.


             2.  VOTER REGISTRATION:  I suggest we all consider starting 
carrying voter registration forms more or less everywhere we go and 
invite people who aren't registered to do so and invite people 
registered under other parties to reregister Green.


             3.  GLOBAL WARMING:  A majority of the attendees last night 
identified this as a major issue deserving of attention by all sentient 
beings.  I personally believe that one thing we can do that could have a 
very large impact on this issue (and others) is to identify the big 
money interests blocking progress on this issue following the format 
being developed under the "Documenting crony capitalism" initiative 
(http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Documenting_crony_capitalism;  I'm 
biased:  I'm the originator of this project).


             4.  UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE:  Many other issues were 
mentioned, but there seemed to be more energy and concern about health 
care for all than other issues.  As with global warming, it would help 
to prepare persuasive summaries of the vested interests that make huge 
amounts of money at public expense sustaining the current dysfunctions 
with something like the "Documenting crony capitalism" initiative 
mentioned above.


             5.  OTHERS:  the distribution of wealth in the US 
(including cooperatives, foreclosures and homelessness), our corrupt 
political system (including the California
Disclose act, the need for full public funding of political campaigns 
and a constitution amendment to overturn "Citizens United", Move to Amend,
), defense (including the global arms trade), education (from prenatal 
through college at affordable rates), our criminal injustice system, the 
death penalty, immigration reform, marriage equality, native rights, GMO 
foods, gun violence, peace movies, wildlife conservation, transportation 
(incl bicycle & pedestrian, water quality and other traditional Green 
environmental issues, and outreach to local colleges and universities 
and the Peace and Freedom party.  Each issue (other than outreach) 
involves a set of vested interests who make substantial amounts of money 
from the current dysfunctions.  The money made by each of these groups 
at public expense should be documented along with their campaign 
contributions and lobbying expenses as part of the "Documenting crony 
capitalism" initiative, as mentioned above.


       Please respond here or at the meeting Thursday evening to these 
comments.


       Spencer


-- 
Spencer Graves, PE, PhD
President and Chief Technology Officer
Structure Inspection and Monitoring, Inc.
751 Emerson Ct.
San José, CA 95126
ph:  408-655-4567
web:  www.structuremonitoring.com