Approved minutes of the CTGP SCC(State Central Committee) meeting on Monday, December 3rd, 2012 at 7PM. Quorum was met. Location: Portland Senior Center (first floor), 7 Waverly Avenue, Portland, CT 06480 CTGP attendees by chapter: Fairfield: Cora Santaguida, Rolf Maurer, Richard Duffee, David Bedell, CTGP treasurer; Greater Hartford: Christopher Reilly, CTGP co-chairperson: S. Michael DeRosa, CTGP secretary: Barbara Barry; New Haven: CTGP co-chairperson: Allan Brison; New London: CTGP co-chairperson: Ronna Stuller. CTGP At-Large: Douglas Lary. Facilitator: David Bedell.
1. Approved minutes of the 6-27-12, 8-9-12 and the 10-8-12 SCC meetings and accepted the 9-17-12 and 11-26-12 EC (Executive Committee) meeting minutes.
2. Treasurer's report from David Bedell: $ 1036.22. Christopher Reilly is interacting with the Federal Elections Commission regarding if the agenda has/will recognize the CT Green Party as a political party of federal candidates under their criteria.
3. Secretary’s report from Barbara Barry: a) Linda Thompson and myself are still trying to reach an appropriate contact with the Women’s Caucus of the GPUS to: a) determine if it is active and b) if so, who is the appropriate contact so Linda and the CTGP secretary may officially contact the caucus that Linda has been elected as CTGP member to this caucus. We have had no response to numerous communications with the Caucus or the GPUS secretary or GPUS contact. b) BAB has contacted print and on-line media outlets which have covered CTGP candidate with responses of thanks from them.
4. Reports from our five (5) representatives to the GPUS: S. Michael DeRosa and Allan Brison. Absent: Linda Thompson, Tim McKee and Jeffery Russell.
5. Any proposals/ resolutions from chapters or a group of five (5) CTGP Members: a) Resolution passed with seven votes, one opposed without blocking concern and no abstains.
Resolution from Richard Duffee and Fairfield Chapter requesting:
Resolution on Palestinian Statehood and International Human Rights Law:
Contrary to the vote of the US government, the Connecticut Green Party (CTGP) applauds the 138 to 9 vote of the UN General Assembly to recognize Palestine as a non-member observer state, recorded in GC/11317, November 29, 2012. The vote paves the way for the two-state solution the Palestinian people have come to prefer. For 45 years votes of the UN General Assembly have consistently favored the 1967 borders between Israel and Palestine, and the CTGP supports those resolutions.
The UN resolution also paves the way toward the ability of Palestine to bring actions against Israel in international courts and tribunals. The CTGP maintains that the evidence of Israeli crimes against humanity committed against the Palestinian people in Gaza, and presented at the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission, constitutes a serious indictment against the government of Israel that should be taken up at the International Criminal Court (ICC) with a view to prosecuting Israeli officials. However, Israel, like the United States, is one of the thirty-two states that have not signed the statute of the ICC, and the ICC has rejected the case on grounds that Israel has not granted jurisdiction. The CTGP calls for Israel to accept the jurisdiction of the ICC and urges any and all other competent international organizations, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN General Assembly, the UN Security Council, the International Court of Justice, and the European Union to demand that Israel accept the jurisdiction of the ICC and to refer issues between Israel and Palestine to it and, where appropriate, to the International Court of Justice, for adjudication.
All of the resources of international human rights law should be applied. These resources include the Genocide Convention, the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, the Nuremberg Rules, and the Convention of the Rights of the Child. Humanitarian law of the Geneva Conventions may also be Applicable.
6. November 6, 2012 election results of our CTGP and GPUS candidate were unsuccessful. Results were:
S. Michael DeRosa for the 1stCongressional District (Hartford, East Hartford and along central of CT River): 1.9%;
Colin Bennett for the 2nd Congressional District( from Eastern CT from MA, RI to CT shoreline): 1.2%;
We had no candidates for 3rd Congressional District ballot line. And no ballot line for the 4th or 5th Congressional Districts.
Jeffery “Jeff” Russell for the 1st CT State Senate District (southern Hartford/northern Wethersfield): 1.9%;
Ron Sala for State Senate, 27th District: 1.5%;
Don Alexander for State Senate District 30 (Brookfield, Canaan, Cornwall, Goshen, Kent, Litchfield, Morris, New Milford, North Canaan, Salisbury, Sharon, Torrington, Warren, Winchester). The CT Secretary of the State’s office (SOTS) advised Don did not garner enough valid petition signatures to gain ballot access. And Don choose not to run as a write-in candidate.
Melissa Schlag for 33rd State Senate district from Haddam: 8.7%;
Remy Chevalier for State Senate, 36th District: 1.7% ;
Robert J. Ouellette for the 25th state representative position (New Britain): 1.1%;
Nicholas Payne for State Representative, District 67 (New Milford): 5.0%;
Matthew Went for the 84th state representative(Meriden): 2.6%
David Bedell for State Representative of 125th District: 1.8%;
Gabriel B. Rossi for State Representative for the 135th District: 2.6%;
Rolf W. Maurer for State Representative for the 148th District: 1.6%;
Mary T. Farrell for Stamford Registrar of Voters: 3.8%;
Jane B. Weston for Weston Registrar of Voters: 3.6%;
Douglas Lary for Willimantic Registrar of Voters: 625 votes or about 9% on the Green Party line and about 3% combined total from the Bottom Line and unaffiliated ballot lines. Total number of votes: 875.
Caleb Kleppner for New Haven Registrar of Voters: was not accepted as a candidate by the CT Secretary of State because the New Haven Registrar of Voters was not provided with the results of the New Haven Chapter endorsement of him.
Cora Marie Santaguida for Stamford Board of Education: 4.5%;
Misha Schmidt for Stamford Board of Education: 8.8%.
Results of our write-in candidates are unclear despite a number of interactions by S. Michael DeRosa, a CTGP co-chairperson, with various members of the Secretary of the State’s (SOTS) office inclusive of Shannon Wegele. SMD requested the following: were all provisional presidential votes counted in the 169 towns in CT within the 4 day requirement? If so what were the results? Were write-in votes counted in all 169 towns? If so what was the tally? Please provide the regulatory clause which the SOTS have used to advise the 169 town clerks that there is no requirement that they have to post a listing of write-in candidates. NOTE: The GPUS write-in candidates were: presidential candidate: Jill Stein with vice-presidential candidate: Cheri Honkala and the CTGP candidate: Jeffery Russell for U.S. Senate .
The GPUS indicated in a news release as of 11-26-12 the following: Jill Stein, GPUS presidential candidate and Cheri Honkala, for vice president are: the Jill Stein campaign: "As the votes are counted and reported, our numbers are rising. As of today, Monday, November 26th, the total number of votes reported for Jill Stein for President are 455,846. This total does not include several thousand of votes projected but still unreported by state officials. And it does not include write-in votes in several states. When all is said and done, the total reported vote should be between 460,000 and 470,000 nationwide. The states with the highest vote percentage for Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala were Maine (1.30%), Oregon (1.03%), Alaska (1.0%), Arkansas (.87%), Idaho, Hawai'i, and West Virginia (each with .70%). California and New York both reported 0.6% of the vote for the Green ticket. Overall, this performance means that over one out of three hundred voters voted Green in this election, or .36%. This total is almost exactly three times the performance of the Green ticket in 2008 as measured by vote percentage." The Green Party of the United States had twenty successful wins in state elections.
7. Feedback about the campaigns, strategies used and how to maximize voter rights. a) SMD is considering filling a Freedom of Information request to acquire the above information and urges CTGP chapters and members to do the same. b) Consensus: the EC may file a Freedom of Information request about the above issues to the SOTS. c) Consensus: SMD may approach the newly elected state representatives about voter reforms: Ed Vargus of Hartford and Tim Bolles of Norwich.
8. Reports from CTGP members to the potentially active (GPUS) National Committees: Ballot Assess (BA): discussion of efforts, difficulties, strategies and successes of the state Green Parties gaining ballot access. S. Michael DeRosa and (absent) William Glickman. SMD indicated that the GPUS presidential candidates did better this year than in 2008 when the candidate was also a write-in candidate. And different states have different requirements for ballot access and often less stringent than CT requirements. Eco Action (EA): develop strategies for the GPUS regarding ecological matters. Absent: Jeffery Russell and William Glickman. International Committee (IC): develops/promotes GPUS positions regarding world issues. S. Michael DeRosa: no information. Absent: Hector Lopez, Justine McCabe and S. Michael DeRosa. Merchandizing Committee (MERCH): determines and acquires items for the GPUS. Rolf Maurer: no information. Peace (GPAX): discusses/develops strategies of how the GPUS may promote peace throughout the world. Richard Duffee: no information. Absent: Jeffery Russell. Platform (PC): promotes positions on issues for the GPUS which are consistent with Green Party Ten Key Values. Absent: William Glickman. Steering (SC): the seven (7) co-chairpersons of the GPUS which promote GPUS actions and strategies. See medial release from GPUS above.
Apparently inactive GPUS National Committees: Accreditation (AC): reviews any state chapter which petitions to join the GPUS; reviews criteria for state delegates to GPUS annual meetings and conventions Annual National Meeting (ANMC): working on the 2013 GPUS National Meeting. Bylaws, Rules, Polices Procedure (BRPP): for the GPUS officers and national committees. Coordination Campaign (CCC): distribution of GPUS money to Green Party public office candidates. Dispute Resolution (DRC): mediation of any disputes within the GPUS organization. Diversity (DC): strategies and actions to urge/maximize diversity within the GPUS: Linda Thompson and Cora Marie Santaguida Finance (FinCom): review and determine how to spend the money of the GPUS organization. Fundraising (FC): raises money for the GPUS operations. Green Party of the US internet news: acquire and write articles for the GPUS website. Media Committee (MC): writes GPUS press releases: Jeffery Russell. Outreach (OC): interacts with groups who have similar interests of the GPUS: Linda Thompson. Presidential Campaign Support Committee (PCSC): develop strategies to support any GPUS presidential candidates. Timothy McKee. Black Caucus. Latino Caucus: Hector Lopez. Women’s Caucus: Linda Thompson.
9. CTGP Bylaw Committee update: Ronna Stuller, Barbara Barry, S.Michael DeRosa, Jeffery Russell and Christopher Reilly. Try for 1st meeting on January 13, 2013 then determine if face-to-face meetings are desired.
10. Political actions and legislative agendas to be taken in the future: a) RM: suggest CT government and taxpayers keep their money in locally headquartered banks and credit unions; b) BAB: a series of articles in the New York Times (www.nytimes.com )which also affect CT:The Empty Promise of Tax Incentives for Corporations, 12-2-12 article; Lines Blur as Texas Gives Industries a Bonanza=12-3-12 article; 12-4-12 article: Michigan Goes Into the Movie Business.
11. Chapter reports: verbal to the attendees and the written approved minutes to the CTGP secretary. RS regarding 11-17-12 New London chapter meeting: is reviewing potential platform items which may be used by potential 2013 CTGP candidates; DB regarding Fairfield: no updates since last meeting prior to the 11-6-12 elections. SMD for Greater Hartford chapter: next meeting pending in a week. AB regarding New Haven: unknown.
12. Selection of the date, time and site of the next SCC meeting is the 2nd Monday, 1-14-13. RS: try to have SCC meetings in the middle to the state. Reason: have deferred rotation of SCC meetings to various parts of the state due to the length of time needed to get to the various sites (e.g. 2 or more hours, one way). Passed by consensus without any blocking concerns. SMD will try to acquire SCC meeting sites in the center of CT.
13. Other concerns: a) SMD: people who are going to the CTGP Facebook believe that when they go to it they become a Green Party member or are a registered as a CTGP voter. DB stated he will update the CTGP website with a link to the CT Voter Registration form where CT residents may register as a CT voter (and signify that they choose the CTGP as a political party affiliation). b) DL: an analysis of CT voter history: a candidate for a Registrar of Voter position typically needs to get 18-19% of votes to beat the second highest vote getter. Also note that some of the 169 towns in CT, only allow two registrars of voters to be elected i.e. not more than two as are allowed in city of Hartford. DL suggests CTGP run focused campaigns.
14. Events: from Richard Duffee: December 8th in New Britain regarding: indefinite detention¨: Senators Launch Effort to Strike Indefinite Detention By Emily Bennion, KCSG, 29 November 12
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would protect American citizens from being indefinitely detained. The
amendment, which is cosponsored by several other Republican and Democratic senators, uses essentially the same language as the Due Process Guarantee Act, which Feinstein and Lee introduced last year. The language of the amendment assures that no authorization to use military force, war declaration, or any similar authority would allow
an American apprehended in the United States to be held without charge or trial.
During a discussion of their amendment on the Senate floor today, Sen. Lee said, "Senator Feinstein and I have worked closely together over the course of the past year to craft what we believe represents a very prudent course in protecting both our nation and our liberties at the same time. Security is important, and precisely because it's
important, it must not be acquired at the expense of our individual liberty. It may well be said that government's most important basic responsibility is to protect the liberties of its citizens. Our nation has fought wars on American soil and around the world in defense of individual liberty. And we must not sacrifice this most fundamental right in pursuit of greater security, especially when we can achieve security without compromising liberty. The Feinstein-Lee amendment does precisely that. "We must stand behind our 225-year-old founding document as it's been amended to ensure our liberty isn't taken away from us, to give us a path to providing for our security without jeopardizing the freedom that our American citizens cherish so much and have fought so hard and so long to protect. Granting the United States government the power to deprive its own citizens of life, liberty, or property without full due process of law goes against the very nature of our nation's great constitutional values. This amendment, the Feinstein-Lee amendment, protects those values." On the floor, Sen. Feinstein explained, "I want to be very clear about
what this amendment is and what it's not about. It's not about whether citizens such as [Yaser Esam] Hamdi and [Jose] Padilla or others who would do us harm should be captured, interrogated, incarcerated and severely punished. They should be. But what about an innocent American? What about someone in the wrong place at the wrong time, with the wrong skin color?
"The beauty of our Constitution is that it gives everyone in the United States basic due process rights to a trial by a jury of their peers. That is what makes this nation great. As Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote for the plurality in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, '[A]s critical as the government's interest may be in detaining those who actually pose an immediate threat to the national security of the United States during ongoing international conflict, history and common sense teach us that an unchecked system of detention carries the potential to become a means for oppression and abuse of others who do not present that sort of threat.' "The federal government experimented with indefinite detention of United States citizens during World War II, a mistake we now recognize as a betrayal of our core values. Let's not repeat it." The amendment is also sponsored by Senators Paul (R-KY), Coons (D-DE), Collins (R-ME), Lautenberg (D-NNJ), Gillibrand (D-NY), Kirk (D-IL), Tester (D-MT), Johnson (D-SD), Sanders (I-VT), Whitehouse (D-RI), Baucus (D-MT), and Heller (R-NV).
E.g.: Private Bradley Manning’s testimony at a pretrial hearing yesterday (11-28-12)disclosed circumstantial evidence of a conspiracy to subject him to inhuman conditions of imprisonment over the course of many months, including close confinement, sleep interruption, extended exposure to cold, solitary confinement, threats, forced nudity, constant surveillance, and other conditions amounting to torture. Manning is accused of distributing the video of a US Army helicopter crew killing a group of people on a Baghdad street and making it public, along with thousands of other documents his job gave him access to. All indications are that he was singled out for abuse and that his maltreatment was systematically inflicted as punishment, as well as to force him to testify against others. His case is unprecedented, and there is little question that his maltreatment could not have continued except on orders from the highest level. That could be Barack Obama, commander-in-chief of the armed forces throughout Manning’s captivity.
The conditions Manning described are not simply instances of prosecutorial misconduct or harsh military discipline but serious crimes. A judge hearing such charges is obliged by his/her oath to initiate an inquiry and ensure that the people responsible are brought to justice. Same with the Justice Department lawyers prosecuting the case against Manning. The judge and prosecutors could be subject to disciplinary measures if they fail to act on Manning’s testimony. The wheels of justice must grind in this case, and the law doesn’t care what offices the culpable people might hold.
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GREEN PARTY TEN KEY VALUES: non-violence, respect for diversity, grassroots democracy, social justice and equal opportunity, ecological wisdom, decentralization, community-based economics and economic justice, future focus and sustainability, personal and global responsibility, feminism and gender equality.