March 2023 Greenstar
March 2023
Working toward a future where people and planet are valued, and our government represents all of us.
PA Greens Celebrate International Women’s Day, March 8
By Tina Olson
“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”
-- Alice Walker
Women in America have come a long way despite the work that still needs to be done. This year’s theme for International Women’s Day (IWD) will be “Embrace Equity.” The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) supports the principles of this day of recognition on March 8 because it adheres to our Ten Key Values.
We believe that in order to confront inequalities we must include the diverse intersections many people cross. This includes gender, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, mental, and physical challenges. Our circumstances are not always equal. There is no equality without equity. “Embracing Equity” means recognizing and supporting policies that lift everyone up to a level playing field.
In the big picture, it will be women who blaze this trail for future generations. It was women who plowed through the decades with protests for the equal treatment that we deserve. None of this was easy and sometimes the gains feel slow like stone work. Nevertheless, each stone is building a new inclusive world.
“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are different from my own.”
-- Audrey Lorde
... In the past year, we have seen some rights be challenged as Roe V Wade was overturned. This sliding backwards came as many Democrats became complacent while being chummy with the Republican Party, which would rather see women forced to give birth. In Florida, Republicans are banning books and Critical Race Theory. They would rather see our children never learn the importance of equity while drinking from a sippy cup of watered-down U.S. history. We see these negotiations and compromises becoming more invasive to women and other marginalized communities. This cannot continue, we need proportional representation so that Greens can hold the line for our freedoms.
“We don't need a seat at the table, we need a new table!”
-- Lilly Saini Singh.
As we celebrate women on March 8, it is important to understand the difference between equality and equity. Equity is essential for equality. Our job is far from done.
Tina Olson (Northampton) was co-chair of the GPPA Steering Committee during 2021.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
PA Green News
Edited by Chris Robinson
New Leaders Vow to Expand PA Green Party
On January 8, fifty delegates and friends of the PA Green Party of PA (GPPA) State Committee met online to elect their 2023 Steering Committee. The Green Party members present hailed from Philadelphia and Allegheny, Beaver, Berks, Bucks, Butler, Centre, Chester, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Huntingdon, Lancaster, Lebanon, McKean, Monroe, Montgomery, Wayne and Westmoreland Counties.
GPPA Co-chair Jay Ting Walker (Allegheny), who was halfway through a two-year term in office, had proposed a plan to expand the GPPA’s membership and influence. This plan, “GPPA 2023 Goals,” was adopted by the party in November 2022, and will be implemented by the newly elected Steering Committee. It calls for organizing well-functioning Green Parties in ten PA counties.
In explaining his plan, Walker said, “My intention is for the Steering Committee to be focused on implementing the 2023 Goals. With our 2023 Goals, county delegates to the GPPA state committee will focus on a return to the basics of organizing. We will build up our county parties so that we can better act on the issues we care about, while supporting Green Party candidates around the Commonwealth."
Target to Win Regent Square
At their February General Assembly, the Green Party of Allegheny County passed a plan to organize one neighborhood. “The focus of this plan is to dive deep into a single municipality in 2023. By adopting elements of the Green Party of England and Wales' Target to Win plan, we’re hoping to overcome the zero name recognition the Green Party has. This plan includes putting out and delivering a physical newsletter, conducting a neighborhood survey, a series of events hosted by Greens, and a regularly-meeting neighborhood Green group. This plan is only talking about the Green Party of Allegheny County’s work in Swissvale.”
The new plan has three goals, “Build a sustained presence in a municipality to be continued long after campaigning; Recruit local Green Party members [who] can support candidates in the Regent Square area and set the direction for Green elected officials; and Touch every single voter in a municipality with our message and information on our candidates.”
PA Green Party Joins MLK Week of Peace Actions
By Jocolyn Bowser-Bostick
For about two billion people throughout some Asian countries such as China, South Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam, the lunar calendar is used to mark the progress of months and years. The Lunar New Year began on January 22 with celebrations lasting up to 16 days. The Chinese predict this lunar year to be marked by peace, prosperity, and optimism.
As a member of the Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA), I long for this to be true because the U.S. is a key player in sustaining too many violent conflicts around the world instead of being, as it could be, a major force for facilitating and maintaining peace, prosperity, clean energy, and environmental sustainability. The U.S. could and should be a leader in achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include the four goals cited above. They were adopted and committed to by the U.S. and 192 other countries in 2015.
These SDGs are about achieving social, economic, political and environmental progress for all of us but especially for the most vulnerable and exploited people on our planet. The Green Party’s 10 Key Values are very similar to the United Nations’ 17 SDGs . . . . There are other NGO’s, thankfully, that make agitating for peace a high priority, and the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) is one of them.
Early last year, UNAC called for several days of actions and protests titled, STOP U.S. Wars: MLK Week of Actions, to run from January 13 through January 22, because it encompassed the U.S. holiday that celebrates the birthday of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a great visionary who understood the importance of promoting peace, love for humanity and the use of non-violent protest as a strategy to gain needed societal changes and social/economic justice. The GPPA Steering Committee endorsed these ten days of action to focus on changing policies and funding priorities to promote peace domestically and internationally, such as:
- Cutting the U.S. military budget in half;
- Ending new U.S funding of nuclear weapons and having the U.S. sign onto treaties that reduce nuclear weapons and the threat of nuclear war;
- Having the U.S. deescalate the war in Ukraine and promote a peaceful resolution to the violence between Russia and Ukraine;
- Stopping the U.S. military support of the Saudi-led war in Yemen; and
- Ending U.S. financial, political, and military backing of the physical, social, and environmental violence and oppression being inflicted by Israel on the Palestinian people.
Many of these issues and other policy changes that promote peace and social/economic justice are addressed in the Peace Platform of the Green Party of the U.S.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Team Reports
Edited by Patrick O. McNally
On February 13, the GPPA Steering Committee appointed two new team leaders:
Theron Gilliland Jr. (he/him) (Allegheny) will lead the Core Team; and
James E. Rasmussen (Butler) will lead the Green Wave Team.
The Green Party’s Core Team establishes party rules, develops the platform, and manages the tools and systems that maintain the party and allow it to grow. The Core Team’s email is [email protected]
The Green Party’s Green Wave Team identifies, recruits, and supports candidates for office who represent our Four Pillars and Ten Key Values. The Green Wave email address is [email protected]
On January 15, the GPPA Steering Committee reappointed Chris Robinson (Philadelphia) to continue leading the Green Party Communication Team, and appointed David Ochmanowicz Jr. (Bucks) as ComTeam co-leader. The ComTeam’s email address is [email protected]
To learn more about the GPPA’s Action Teams, please visit here, https://www.gpofpa.org/teams and stay tuned to the monthly GREEN STAR newsletter for updates on the activities of Core, Green Wave, Finance and Communication Teams
National Green News
Edited by David Ochmanowicz Jr.
We the People are Taking a Bath
Lead story in Greening the Dollar, newsletter of the Banking and Monetary Reform Committee of the Green Party of the U.S.
GPUS 2022 Campaign Review
The GPUS Coordinated Campaign Committee presented a webinar on January 10, 2023. A panel of 2022 Green Party candidates reflected on their recent campaigns and talked about next steps. VIEW THE WEBINAR HERE
"Don’t ever let anyone . . . make you feel as though our demands are on the fringe"
My name is Tony Ndege. I am a co chair of North Carolina Green Party and one of several national co-chairs of the Green Party U.S. Today I come here first and foremost as an anti-war fighter of more than twenty five years and one of dozens of organizers who helped to put together the largest action against U.S.-led war in North Carolina history right here in Raleigh [on] Feb 15, 2003. That event was part of the largest global day of anti-war resistance in history...
“Don’t ever let anyone tell you or make you feel as though our demands are on the fringe. We are the majority. The vast majority of working people want peace because we do not profit from destruction. We want jobs that give us meaning and which help humanity – not divide and destroy us. We want a real stake in the future of our society and we want to wake up without fear of repression or sudden ruinage. Don't let anybody tell you wanting these things is too unrealistic. Our entire system is designed to force us into submitting to this falsehood. Stand up for your beliefs.”
Global Green News
Edited by Hal Brown
Japanese Green Party Calls For End To Nuclear Power
12 years after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster . . . the Green Party of Japan is speaking out against the policy, citing the dangers of nuclear power plants and the radiation exposure in all aspects of the industry . . . . The government is currently conducting four public comments on the promotion of nuclear power and the GX realization policy, and the Green Party is calling for the public to voice their opposition. The party is also focusing on the unified municipal election in 2023 and appealing to address the climate crisis...READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Criticism Surges as German Green Party Sends Tanks to Ukraine
The recent decision by the German government to send battle tanks to Ukraine has sparked criticism from opposition groups and the general public. Sevim Dağdelen (pictured), a member of the opposition Left Party . . . spoke out against the move during a recent interview on DemocracyNow. She accused the German Greens and the liberal coalition partners of succumbing to the heavy pressure from the U.S. Biden administration, leading to a historic wrong decision. According to recent polls, the majority of the German population is against sending battle tanks to Ukraine and is in favor of more diplomacy and a negotiated peace in Ukraine. Dağdelen also warned of the potential consequences of the move, including a heightened mobilization in Russia and the destruction of the relationship between Germany and Russia... READ THE FULL STORY HERE
First Commercial Flight test of a Hydrogen aircraft
...After obtaining its authorizations at the end of the year, ZeroAvia has just carried out its first flight test. Made with a 19-seater Dornier 228, it lasted 10 minutes. It took place from the ZeroAvia research center situated at Cotswold Airport, itself located in the English county of Gloucestershire . . . . However, while hydrogen can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the energy is not totally green. Nearly 95% of the hydrogen produced in the world still comes from fossil fuels. READ THE FULL STORY HERE
GPPA Meeting Dates for 2023:
All State Web Conferences will begin promptly at noon.
Sunday, March 12, RSVP for Zoom information here https://www.gpofpa.org/gppa_state_committee_20230312 .
Saturday and Sunday, June 10 and 11, location to be announced.
Saturday and Sunday, September 9 and 10, location to be announced.
Sunday, November 12, via Zoom.
GPPA Communications Team
Issue Credits:
Editors: Hal Brown, Patrick O. McNally, David Ochmanowicz Jr. and Chris Robinson
Contributors: Jocolyn Bowser Bostick, Theron Gilliland Jr., Joseph U. Murray, Tina Olson, James E. Rasmussen, Chris Robinson and Jay Ting Walker
Layout: Hal Brown, Sherri Miller, and David Ochmanowicz Jr.
Graphic Arts: Kevin Richardson
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The GREEN STAR is an official publication of the Green Party of Pennsylvania Communications Team * 2023.
