Event: What California Can Learn from Latin America (1/28/12)

Saturday, January 28, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, with check-in and socializing at 9:30 am

Humanist Hall, 390 27th Street, Oakland (between Telegraph and Broadway)

A one-day People’s Movement Assembly will advance solutions to California’s challenges by exploring the successes that have occurred in Latin America.

The day will be moderated by Laura Wells of the East Bay Social Forum planning group. Presenters will include peace activist Cindy Sheehan; Andres Soto, KPFA and the Richmond Progressive Alliance; Martin Sanchez, former Consul General of Venezuela; Tanya Kersson, Food First; David Cobb, Move to Amend; Charlotte Casey, Friends of the Landless Workers Movement; Anka Karewicz, Occupy Oakland and East Bay Social Forum; and filmmaker Clif Ross.

Topics, such as cooperatives, food justice, participatory budgeting, constitutional assemblies, occupy foreclosures movement, and social and electoral movements working together for change, will be discussed in break-out groups.

No food will be available, so attendees must provide their own brown bag lunch.

This event is sponsored by the East Bay Social Forum 2012 and the Task Force on the Americas. A $5-20 donation is requested. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. For more information, please call 510/225-4005 or email info [at] eastbaysocialforum.org.

Laura Wells: Open Letter to Governor Jerry Brown

by Laura Wells on Solutions

I just heard your voice on the radio saying, “That’s where the money is!” The reference was to the oft-quoted answer to the question, “Why do you rob banks?”

That little joke, right there, points to the heart of our budget disasters and to the thinking that keeps the disasters in place.

Where is the money? In cuts to public education? In cuts to welfare and childcare? No, the money is in the hands of the super rich. Not in public schools where California’s spending is near the bottom of all the states.

Every single time that you – and all of your colleagues in the huge majority the Democratic Party holds in Sacramento – speak about the budget you have a chance to improve the system, or not. Every time you speak and do not condemn the two-thirds majority required to increase taxes, you are selling out the 99% and pandering to the 1%.

I cannot wait until representatives in Sacramento – the current batch or new ones we will elect – catch up with the rest of us. The social movements have shifted from the plea of “Stop The Cuts” to demanding the solution, “Tax The Rich.”

Statistics are readily available to explain to people who love old Prop 13 and its two-thirds vote requirement that their love is misplaced.

Explain that California has 85 billionaires with a total wealth of $287 billion. Only 3.5% of that wealth would close a state budget gap of $10 billion. And although it would be a hardship for 7 people since they would no longer be billionaires, and would only have $900 million, they would probably get that 3.5% back within a year. And California would not have to cut welfare, childcare, and schools.

Explain facts the California Budget Project gives us every year: when you look at family income, the poorest 20% pay more in state and local taxes than the richest 1%. Those who average $12,600 pay 11.1% and those who average $2.3 million pay 7.8%. That’s where the money is. Wealth like that used to be taxed at higher rates, and in those times people could still get richer.

Explain that a bipartisan budget agreement in favor of the 99% will never be reached when slightly more than 1/3 of California legislators have signed a pledge that they will never vote to raise taxes. The 2/3 requirement gives that 1/3 minority veto power over taxing the rich. The only bipartisan budget agreement operating right now is the silence about the rotten parts of old Proposition 13.

You were Governor in 1978 when Proposition 13, with all of its damaging unintended consequences (unintended by the voters), was voted into law. It is only fitting that you should undo its damage now.

Sincerely,

Laura Wells

Green Sunday: The Occupy Movement and The Green Party

Green Sunday, January 8th, 5:00 – 6:30 pm

The Occupy Movement and The Green Party

Samsarah Morgan, an active Oakland Green, will lead our discussion. Samsarah has been involved with Occupy Oakland from its beginning, and played a key role in starting and maintaining the Children’s Village.

We will look at the Occupy Wall Street Movement especially in its Occupy Oakland form.  We will discuss the effect of the Movement on national and local politics, particularly how Occupy has changed the political environment in which we work. We will also talk about how the Green Party can interact with the Occupy Movement by both learning from the movement and trying to influence it. Even though many OWS activists are resolutely opposed to electoral politics, is it possible over time to win some of them to our vision of an alternative electoral politics? How might we go about such a project?

LOCATION: Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave. at 65th in North Oakland.

DIRECTIONS: One block north of Alcatraz on the West side of Telegraph, wheelchair accessible. Buses pass by regularly. Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away.

SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs & discussions sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County. They are held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party of Alameda County follows at 6:45 p.m. Council meetings are always open to anyone who is interested.

12.12.11: West Coast Port Shutdown, Occupy Oakland

Green Party Holiday Party

*****Green Party Holiday Party*****

.
Dear Greens and Supporters,

Please join us for good food, drink, and conversation
with old and new friends at our
2011 Annual Potluck Holiday Party.

When: Sunday, December 11th, 5:00 to 8:00 pm
Where: Niebyl-Proctor Library
6501 Telegraph Ave at 65th in North Oakland

Please bring a dish or drink of your choice to share

**See you there!**

( There will be no Green Sunday Program or
Green County Council meeting in December.
We’ll party instead. )

DIRECTIONS:  One block north of Alcatraz on the West side of Telegraph, wheelchair accessible. Buses pass by regularly. Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away.

Look out Golden State: Here comes Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein

Let’s take our democracy back from Wall Street. We need a new politics for the other 99% of America that doesn’t collect a CEO’s salary or write big checks for politicians.

“The Candidate of the 99%” to cheer on Occupy Wall Street protests in 5+ California cities. Green Party events, campaign events, and media interviews also a part of Jill Stein’s first California tour.

Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein tours the Golden State this week, with visits planned to Occupy Wall Street protests across northern and southern California, as well as a presidential primary debate before the Green Party of California state convention in Los Angeles. The tour begins Monday, November 28th, and runs through Monday, December 5th (full schedule below).

“The American people are standing up in a way we haven’t seen in generations, and they are providing the leadership that isn’t coming from the political elite,” Jill Stein said. “The people have to take charge because the political parties that are serving the top 1 percent are not going to solve the problems that the rest of us face.”

Jill Stein announced her presidential campaign on Monday, October 24th, before a crowd of supporters at the Massachusetts Statehouse in Boston. Stein is a medical doctor and prominent health care advocate. Her California tour follows on a statewide tour of her childhood home of Illinois earlier this month.

Please see http://www.jillstein.org for any last-minute changes or updates. Donations to the campaign may be made at https://jillstein.nationbuilder.com/donate

== JILL STEIN’S GREEN PARTY GOLDEN STATE TOUR ==

~ MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28 ~

7:00 – 9:00 pm ~ Meet and Greet with Bay Area Greens ~ Duperrault Clubhouse at Willow Park, 500 West Middlefield Rd., Mountain View, CA

~ TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 29 ~

10:00 am – noon ~ Bike/walk the San Lorenzo River Trail to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk ~ Meet at Gateway Plaza, east end by the riverwalk, Junction Hwy 1 and Hwy 9, Santa Cruz, CA 95060

12:30 – 1:00 pm ~ Visit Occupy Santa Cruz

4:00 pm ~ Meetup with OccupySF activists ~ front steps of the Federal Reserve Bldg. 101 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94105

6:00 – 8:00 pm ~ Occupy San Francisco General Assembly ~ Justin Herman Plaza ~ Market Street at The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94102

~ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30 ~

1:00 – 2:00 pm ~ Occupy Napa Kickoff ~ Napa Valley Community College ~ 2277 Napa Vallejo Highway ~ Napa, CA 94558

4:00 pm ~ Occupy Oakland Meetup

6:00 – 8:00 pm ~ Oakland Fundraiser hosted by Kate and Aki Tanaka ~ Music by Eliza Rickman ~ 1019 Harvard Rd., Oakland, CA 94610 ~ Please RSVP: http://www.jillstein.org/green_party_party_in_oakland

~ THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1 ~

12:30 – 1:30 pm ~ Speech and Discussion Group ~ Napa Valley Community College, 2277 Napa Vallejo Highway, Napa, CA 94558

6:00 – 8:00 pm ~ Fundraiser with Mayor Bragman and Vice Mayor Hartwell-Herrero ~ Music by Eliza Rickman ~ The Sleeping Lady, 23 Broadway, Fairfax, CA 94903. Please RSVP: http://www.jillstein.org/green_party_party_in_fairfax

~ FRIDAY, DEC 2 ~

11:00 am – 12:15 pm ~ Speech to Political Science Academy ~ Rio Americano High School ~ 4540 American River Dr. ~ Sacramento, CA 95864

~ SATURDAY, DEC 3 ~

8:00 am – 7:00 pm ~ Green Party of California General Assembly ~ Vermont Square United Methodist Church, 4410 South Budlong Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90051

7:00 – 9:00 pm ~ GPCA Presidential Candidate Forum ~ Vermont Square United Methodist Church, 4410 South Budlong Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90051. Please RSVP: http://www.jillstein.org/green_party_presidential_candidate_forum

~ SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4 ~

8:00 am – 5:00 pm ~ Green Party of California General Assembly ~ Vermont Square United Methodist Church, 4410 South Budlong Avenue, Los Angeles, California

~ MONDAY, DECEMBER 5 ~

7:00 – 9:00 pm ~ Fundraiser hosted by Michael McCue and Jeff Bacon ~ Mayflower Club, 11110 Victory Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91606

====

Please see http://www.jillstein.org for any last-minute changes or updates.

Donations to the campaign may be made at https://jillstein.nationbuilder.com/donate

Jill Stein Fundraiser in Oakland (Wednesday, Nov 30th)

Dear Greens,

Please join local Greens to welcome Green Party Presidential Candidate Jill Stein to the Bay Area for a wine and cheese fundraiser at the home of Kate and Akio Tanaka in Oakland, on Wednesday, November 30th, from 6 – 8 pm  Indie vocalist Eliza Rickman will also perform a 45 minute set (http://www.elizarickman.com).

JILL STEIN FUNDRAISER
At the home of Kate and Akio Tanaka
1019 Harvard Road, Oakland, CA
Wednesday, November 30, 2011, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Please contact marnie@cagreens.org for more information

Jill Stein, 2012 Green Party Presidential Candidate

A mother and a medical doctor, Jill Stein was most recently the Green Party candidate for Governor in Massachusetts. She is campaigning for a Green New Deal and for Single Payer Health Care. She joins Kent Mesplay as the only announced Green Party candidates for president.

Stein ran for Governor of Massachusetts in 2002 and 2010 and is a resident of Lexington, Massachusetts.  In 2006 she ran for Secretary of the Commonwealth with the Green-Rainbow Party and received 18% of the total vote. She is a graduate of Harvard Medical School and serves on the boards of Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility, MassVoters for Fair Elections, and has been active with the Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities.

On October 24, 2011 Stein launched her campaign at a press conference in Massachusetts, saying, “We are all realizing that we, the people, have to take charge because the political parties that are serving the top 1 percent are not going to solve the problems that the rest of us face, we need people in Washington who will refuse to be bought by lobbyists and for whom change is not just a slogan.”

Stein has recently participated in the Occupy protests in Boston and has publicly condemned the police assaults on the Occupy Movement: “The aggressive, needless police actions across the country against Occupy Wall Street (OWS) are an assault on civil liberties and an effort to suppress a much needed movement for economic justice and democracy.  The courageous protesters who have stood up to intimidation by lethal force are standing up for us all.” (http://www.jillstein.org/assaults_on_ows)

Stein also believes that the climate victory over the Keystone Pipeline will require continued green pressure through 2012. “Only six weeks ago it was clear that the Obama administration was willing to open the door to a measure that spelled climate disaster,” Stein stated. “What changed was . . . a political calculation that pipeline approval would cost the President votes if announced before the presidential election.” (http://www.jillstein.org/victory_on_keystone_pipeline_requires_continued_green_pressure)  One way to keep the pressure on the White House into 2013, Stein says, will be to build the Green Party as a political alternative in 2012.

To learn more about Jill Stein, visit her campaign site:
http://www.jillstein.org
Jill’s wikipedia page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jill_Stein
Read Jill’s Announcement Speech:
http://www.jillstein.org/jills_announcement_remarks
Or watch her speech:
http://youtu.be/obQ51NP4DZc

JILL STEIN’S CAMPAIGN TRIP TO CALIFORNIA:
PRELIMINARY ITINERARY

Tuesday, November 29
Location: South Bay

Wednesday, November 30
Location: San Francisco and East Bay
9a – 12p
San Francisco
12p – 2p
Fundraising lunch in San Francisco
2p – 6p
San Francisco or the East Bay
6p – 8p
Fundraising party at the home of Kate and Aki Tanaka in Oakland

Thursday, December 1
Location: North Bay
9a – 12p
North Bay
12p-2p
Speaking engagement in Napa
2p – 6p
North Bay
6p – 8p
Fundraising party in Fairfax, CA

Friday, December 2
Location: Central CA
11a – 1p
Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Fresno, Tulare, Kings or Kern counties
6p – 8p
CA Young Greens event in Los Angeles

Saturday, December 3
Location: Los Angeles County
9a – 5p
Los Angeles County
6p – 730p
Dinner at Green Party of CA business meeting in Los Angeles
730p – 900p
Speech at Green Party of CA public event in Los Angeles

Sunday, December 4
Location: Los Angeles
10a – 12p
Attend Green Party of CA business meeting in Los Angeles
1210p – 115p
Attend Green Party of CA Women’s Caucus lunch in Los Angeles

Jill Stein is Coming to California

Jill Stein for President!

Occupy Oakland “Re-Occupation” & Day of Action (11/19/11)

Saturday Nov 19, 2011

Liberate Oakland, Shut Down the 1%
DAY OF ACTION TO EXPAND THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT

Out of the Plaza and Into the Streets:
Converge on Downtown Oakland
Oakland United for People’s Needs!

MASS RALLY & MARCH
14th & Broadway! 2:00pm

LONG LIVE THE OAKLAND COMMUNE

• Solidarity with the worldwide Occupy Movement
• End police attacks on our communities
• Defend Oakland schools & libraries
• Housing for all, No more foreclosures
• Against a capitalist system built on inequality & corporate power that perpetuates racism, sexism & the destruction of the environment

called for by Occupy Oakland & Bay Area Labor

Occupy Oakland to Re-Occupy at 19th & Telegraph During Nov 19 Day of Action:

During the Mass Day of Action on Saturday November 19, Occupy Oakland will set up a new occupation to continue the growth of our movement in the park and empty lot on 19th & Telegraph adjacent to the Fox Theater in the rapidly gentrifying Uptown neighborhood and entertainment district. The mass march planned for the day will end at this park and Occupy Oakland will begin setting up a new camp. All Occupy Oakland committees (food, security, medics, media, entertainment etc) should begin making plans in whatever way they can to support this new occupation and come prepared on Nov 19 to make it happen.

Tax The Rich! Conference

November 19 8:30am-1:30pm
Claremont Middle School
(5750 College Ave, Oakland near Rockridge Bart)
taxtherichbayarea@gmail.com

Endorsed by: Oakland Education Association, United Educators of San Francisco, Peralta Federation of Teachers, Berkeley Federation of Teachers, SEIU 1021, Alameda Country Central Labor Council, United Teachers of Richmond, Alameda County Green Party, Peace and Freedom Party, International Socialist Organization, Grassroots for Democracy, Richmond Progressive Alliance, Against Cuts, Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency

Are you an educator sick of yearly layoffs and class size increases? Are you a parent or college student tired of tuition rising through the roof? Or are you just tired of hearing politicians talk about an ?All Cuts Budget?, that hurts everyone, when over half the corporations in California don?t even pay taxes?

There is a simple solution to all of these problems.  TAX THE RICH! The top 1% don’t even pay the proportion of tax that a public school teacher pays.  Yet, who is bearing the brunt of the economic crisis? Come to this half day conference to learn more about how you can help build a movement at the local, state and federal level that can TAX THE RICH!

Agenda for Tax-the-Rich Conference 

11/19/2011 Claremont Middle School

8:30-9:00    Registration
9:00-11:00  Opening panel:  Where We Are          Moderator:  Mary Prophet

Welcome:  Betty Olson-Jones, OEA, Josie Camacho ACCLC

Federal taxation:  National Nurses United Speaker, TBA
State taxation: Fred Glass California Federation of Teachers
Local taxation: Phil Ting  San Francisco City Assessor

11:10-12:10          Workshops

* Against the Cuts Workshop
* Revive Oakland Workshop
* 3rd Party Alternatives
* Grassroots for Democracy
* New Priorities Campaign
* Campaign to Tax the Super Rich
* Main Street not Wall Street
* OEA Bank Campaign

12:20-1:30             Closing Panel:    What are our next steps?     Moderator:  David  de Leeuw

Tonya Dennis                 Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE)
Lark Omura                    UCB student and Against Cuts
Betty Olson-Jones         Oakland Education Association
Discussion:  Speakers from the floor