It’s been almost one year ago that I posted this commmentary on this site. Meaning that I’m happy to be able to report that at the State Committee meeting on Saturday, the Green-Rainbow Party formally adopted the following as our position on legalization:

Geez, I just heard that Joe Bageant–probably my favorite politico-cultural critic, though he’d have hated the hi-falutin’ label–is dead.

This obit does a pretty nice job–others are on Alternet and elsewhere.

I never met him, but had a few e-mail conversations with him. He was always gracious.

What I loved most about him was that, radical progressive that he was, he never forgot his roots. Never looked down on the type of folks too many Democrats take for granted–the kinda people who look with some real interest on the Tea Party, and if you want to understand why, you could do a lot worse than reading his recent book, “Deer Hunting With Jesus.” His real scorn was for the limousine liberals, the holier-than-though progressives, the alleged friends of the working class who wouldn’t be caught dead in a real working class bar–much less hunting, playing poker, enjoying a chaw, watching NASCAR. Essays like “A Feral Dog Howls in Harvard Yard” often helped give me a real sense of balance and perspective.

Damn, and his writing! If we could learn to write like this, we’d actually have an audience.

I’m REALLY gonna miss him.  

You’ll find lots of Joe’s stuff here

Adam Friedman’s Op-Ed in The Boston Herald:

Boston taxpayers, take heed: You just paid $29 per ballot to elect a city councilor. You probably could’ve used that extra money for a half-tank of gas, or a night out at your favorite restaurant. Instead, you spent an estimated $83,000 so that 7 percent (2,886) of District 7’s registered voters could brave the cold last Tuesday to elect Chuck Turner’s successor. At that price, those must have been some pretty nice ballots.

Tito Jackson won the race in a landslide, drawing 1,943 votes (67 percent) against five opponents. But Jackson did not win the office – not yet. He only topped the field in the preliminary election. Voters still have to return for the general election March 15 to vote for one of the two front-runners. This would make sense, except that the second-place “front-runner,” Cornell Mills, received only 271 votes (9 percent). So, taxpayers will plunk down another $83,000 for a second election.

Welcome to the electoral antique road show, where a 19th-century paradigm trumps 21st-century common sense. As thin as city budgets have been in the past two years, we continue to pay double the tab for primitive runoff election procedures. Although runoff elections are important to ensure a candidate wins by a 50 percent majority vote, holding two elections when the vote gap between the top two candidates is 58 percent is simply wasteful. It is the electoral equivalent to the Alaskan Bridge to Nowhere.

There a way to run our elections more intelligently. The District 7 example serves as the perfect opportunity to upgrade our electoral system to Instant Runoff Voting (also known as Ranked Choice Voting), which combines the preliminary and general into a single high-stakes election. Instant Runoff Voting uses a “smart ballot” that lets voters rank all of the candidates by number – 1, 2, 3 and so on.

Green-Rainbow Party members were among those attending a rally in support of Wisconsin union workers on Tuesday (February 22), where Beacon Street had to be closed off to accommodate a boisterous crowd. Greens in attendance offered these reflections:

From the Green-Rainbow Party:

We all know that our legislature has a record of ignoring badly-needed reforms year after year.  Ultimately, we’ll change this by electing Green-Rainbow candidates who are not beholden to corporate special interests. But in the short term, we will work to promote worthy bills, since, occasionally, enough pressure can be mounted to pass real public interest bills (like last year’s CORI reform).

With that in mind,we’re passing along a call to action on behalf of Ranked Choice (aka Instant Runoff) Voting, an urgently needed voting reform that lets you rank your choices and vote your values without fear of  “throwing your vote away” or “spoiling” the election.  We encourage you to contact your state representative right away.  

Here’s the memo from Citizens for Voter Choice:

“In a partnership between Representative Alice Wolf, MassVOTE, and the Citizens for Voter Choice, we’ve filed a practical bill that will put Ranked Choice Voting on the map in Massachusetts by allowing cities and towns to voluntarily opt in to a Ranked Choice Voting system.

CALL YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE’S OFFICE NOW.  ASK THEM TO CO-SPONSOR HD.02026

Look up your State Representative here (click on the photo to get the phone number).

Here’s what you can say:

“Hi, my name is __________, I’m a citizen who lives in your district, at _[address]_.  I’m calling to urge the representative to co-sponsor HD.02026, the Instant Runoff Voting Local Option Bill.

I believe this practical bill will improve democracy by allowing cities and towns to opt into a voting system that is a great improvement over our current system.

Instant Runoff Voting (Ranked Choice Voting) will allow me to truly vote my values by ranking the candidates in my order of preference, and it will provide true majority winners and more competitive elections by solving the problems of vote splitting and spoiler candidates.

Will you co-sponsor HD.02026?  Thank you for considering.”

We have 2 more days to get co-sponsors for the Local Option Bill. Deadline: FEBRUARY 4.

We did it in Maine, and now is our chance to do it in Massachusetts. But we can’t do it without your help.  If you want to empower voters, reduce the power of incumbents, and eliminate vote splitting for good in Massachusetts, then call your state representative now.  Urge him or her to sign on as a co-sponsorr to HD.02026 – The Instant Runoff Voting Local Option Bill.

In case you’re curious, here is the working draft of the bill text.

 

[End Voter Choice memo]

Thanks much for your support for this critical legislation!

This is a public service announcement

With guitar

Know your rights all three of them

I don’t ordinarily pass around online petitions. They’re of dubious efficacy, and too often reek of slactivism.

But I know that this one comes with a strong real-time effort behind it. It’s the real deal. And I’m especially impressed in that it adheres to my dictum, “for every `no,’ a `yes'”–meaning that every time we oppose something, we offer up a viable alternative. Peter Vickery’s editorial in The Daily Hampshire Gazette–you can read it here–does just that:

So, if you live in MA–I’d urge that you read the editorial, and read, sign, and FORWARD (to EVERYONE you possibly can) the following petition:

CLICK HERE FOR PETITION”  

Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party

December 21, 2010

BOSTON – Labeling the Deval Patrick administration’s decision to sign on to the “Secure Communities Act” as a mistake, the Green-Rainbow Party declared its unequivocal support for efforts by the immigrant group Centro Presente  to halt harsh police enforcement against “undocumented” immigrants.

Noting that criticism of the Secure Communities Act has come from The New York Times,  the Congressional General Accounting Office, law enforcement officials, and city councils across the countr, the Green-Rainbow Party called upon Governor Patrick to reconsider his commitment to the federal mandate.  According to the Green-Rainbow leaders, the measure has flagrantly missed its stated priority of targeting violent criminals, resulting instead in the harassment, detention, and deportation of many non-criminals. It has also stripped local law enforcement agencies of their right to adopt more flexible ways of dealing with immigrant issues within their own jurisdiction.

According to Green-Rainbow Party co-chair Michael Horan, “The Secure Communities initiative was created to ensure that dangerous (`Level 1′) criminals would face additional scrutiny by ICE, resulting in their possible deportation. In practice, however, more than half of those deported following ICE investigations in Boston have turned out be non-criminals.  One credible report notes that `traffic violators and day laborers’ have become the central target of this operation. The system is not only misleading and unjust, but creates a barrier between local police and the very people they are entrusted to serve and protect.  Safe, strong, and secure communities do not arise from policies that sow fear and distrust.”

Today, because of the hard work and dedication of a brave troupe of candidates–Nat Fortune, Rick Purcell, Jill Stein, Scott Laugenour, and Mark Miller–and their corps of volunteers, voters actually have real choices on the ballot that stand for real change. Candidates devoted to actually fixing what’s broken.

Tonight we are celebrating all of YOUR efforts in making these choices avilable. We hope you can make your way to one of three regional celebrations — in Lee, in Holyoke, and in Boston. Details after the jump.

Tomorrow (after a little rest) we’ll get back to work, building on your work throughout this election to build THE progressive political alternative to the Beacon Hill political machine. After bringing your vision and your values to the voting booth today, we hope you’re planning to bring them to the Green-Rainbow Party state convention on Sunday, Nov. 14, at Clark University in Worcester. Let’s keep building the independent political force that can take our government back and get it working. See www.green-rainbow.org for more information on the convention and REGISTER TODAY!

VICTORY PARTIES TONIGHT

EASTERN MASS: 7:30-10:00 pm, Jill Stein Campaign Headquarters, 1558 Dorchester Avenue, Boston (Jill to speak about 9pm). We’ll have pizza on hand; please bring your own beverage and any additional food you’re moved to supply. Come out and hear the campaign band of Ken Selcer, Rich Collagero, Pat Keaney and friends (joined by Jill) MAP HERE. To RSVP or for more information, write theo@jillstein.org

PIONEER VALLEY: 7:30-11:00pm, TNT Pizza on 548 South Street in Holyoke. Rick Purcell and Nat Fortune will be there. – long time supporters of Rick Purcell – are opening up especially for us Tuesday evening 7:30 – 11 for the Jill Stein/Rick Purcell/Nat Fortune victory party. There’s plenty of room – let’s fill the place and cheer the election returns from our valley and the state at large! Let us know you’re coming! Send an email to mlikins@natfortune.org or RSVP on the Nat Fortune for Massachusetts State Auditor page on Facebook. No outside food or beverage. Thanks!

BERKSHIRES: Join Green-Rainbow Party State Rep. candidates Scott Laugenour and Mark Miller in Lee when the polls close for a celebration, which will be held at The Locker Room pub, located at 232 Main St. For more information, call Dave Eisenberg, 413 243 2662.