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(and now that we know that Blackwater is operating in Pakistan, it’s a pretty safe bet he doesn’t care about Pakistani, Afghani, or Iraqi people either)

As times goes by, it sounds more and more like the US government’s response to the crisis in Haiti suffers from the same cold-hearted ignorance, arrogance, and ineptitude that defined its response to Katrina. Kanye West’s famous “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” line during a fundraising telethon seems sadly apropos to our new “post-racial” President.

Read this synopsis by Slate’s Ben Ehrenreich if you can stomach it.

Continue reading Barack Obama Doesn’t Care About Black People
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I wasn’t going to vote today. I was lukewarm on a few different options that I was considering:

1) Write in a candidate I believe in – the clearest statement my vote could make.

2) Vote for Joe Kennedy – support a third party anti-war, anti-corporate-duopoly candidate

3) Vote for Martha Coakley – keep the Senate seat out of the hands of a regressive/oppressive Republican.

But leading up to today I felt stronger and stronger about throwing in with the largest bloc of Massachusetts residents — those who won’t be voting at all.

Then along came the pleas from friends. Now, I’m not moved by the inside-the-box thinking that accompanies these pleas. But today I’m making a swap. While my heart wants to stand in solidarity with the people of the world that the corporate duopoly is ravaging, and raise my voice against this brutal and unjust system instead of tacitly supporting it, I’ve made another decision — a somewhat crass political decision. I asked one of my Coakley-appealing-friends to cast their vote in November for the Green-Rainbow Party candidate for governor, no matter what impact that vote might have on a precious Democratic victory. The result is that today I will begrudgingly vote for the Democratic Party candidate for US Senator.

Continue reading Vote, Then Organize
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The horrific scenes in Haiti tend to hit most everyone in their hearts, in a place that is guarded from political squabbles or self-aggrandizement.

But Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, points out one egregious exception on her website. Apparently, the Heritage Foundation sought to strengthen her argument that disaster capitalism is on the rise, by getting all giddy about the opportunities this combined human and natural disaster has created:

In addition to providing immediate humanitarian assistance, the U.S. response to the tragic earthquake in Haiti earthquake offers opportunities to re-shape Haiti’s long-dysfunctional government and economy as well as to improve the public image of the United States in the region.

It’s not just Pat Robertson who is worthy of disdain.

For coverage on Boston-area reactions to the crisis, check out the Boston Haitian Reporter.

Our hearts and prayers are with all the victims of this devastation and their friends and families.

Continue reading Disaster capitalism hits Haiti?

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According to this Globe article, the chair of the Framingham Democratic Town Committee, abruptly resigned her post because of disillusionment with the Democratic Party. What they interesting leave out is that she quit the party altogether and registered Unenrolled, which she makes clear in her letter to the Democratic Town Committee (which they did publish).

Sivan says:


1. Our state of Perpetual War is continuing and even expanding. Next thing you know we’ll be in Yemen. Our resources are being spent, horrible atrocities are being committed by US troops, and the wars are pointless and unwinnable…

2. The bailout which favored the very people who were to blame in the first place and has left in place the deregulation and too-big-to-fail institutions, while doing very little for the bottom 95% of us.

3. The continuing erosion of our civil rights to the point where American citizens are no longer guaranteed due process or habeas corpus, which basically means anyone the government deems as troublesome can be “disappeared”…

The final straw was the travesty of the Health Care Insurance Reform bill that was passed in the Senate on Christmas Eve. Not only is this a huge giveaway to Insurance companies, not only will this leave millions uninsured, not only does this bill include no cost controls and is structured as a means-based entitlement, which means that like welfare it will constantly be under attack from the Right, the 30% co-insurance will leave many families unable to utilize their insurance without going into bankruptcy. Just like today, except that today they aren’t forced into buying something they can’t afford. And as a final insult, it includes provisions stripping women of the most basic right of all – ownership of their own bodies. Note to Democrats – pro-choice is in the party’s platform and you don’t compromise on principles.

Open Letter to Rochelle Sivan below the jump.

Continue reading Open letter to Rochelle Sivan, former chair of Framingham Democratic Town Committee
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Stein to jump into gov race with Green-Rainbow bid

By Jim O’Sullivan / State House News Service  Thursday, January 7, 2010

Dr. Jill Stein plans to join the race for 2010 race for governor, running as a Green-Rainbow candidate and pushing the issue of universal health care, posing a challenge to Gov. Deval Patrick’s left flank.

Stein told the News Service late today that she plans to formally announce her campaign later this month. Her candidacy will further complicate a field that already has two major Republican candidates, a state treasurer running as an independent, and Patrick, the Democrat seeking reelection.

“I am very excited to offer voters a real choice for change,” Stein told the News Service in an interview. “We’re looking at three candidates for governor who have very similar opinions on a variety of key issues. It’s very important that voters have a second choice.”

Continue reading Dr. Jill Stein throws her hat into 2010 gubernatorial race
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Green Mass Group is an effort by concerned global citizens (who happen to live in the state of Massachusetts) to build an online community that will engage in a political discourse that is rooted in reality and steeped in compassion.

We have seen the word “Green” robbed of its meaning and we will use this site to reclaim it.

The Green movement is an ecological movement, based on the idea that the whole human experiment is part of nature and not separate from it. Human systems are subject to nature’s laws whether we like it or not. Human endeavors are inextricably linked to our biosphere. Our health and well-being is intricately connected to the health and well-being of plant and animal species across the planet. Our economic, social, and political systems cannot change this simple fact — they must reflect it.

Continue reading Taking back “Green”, taking back the planet
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