People, Planet & Peace Over Profits

RIP Mel King

Co-founder of the Green-Rainbow Party, Mel King, died on March 28, 2023, at the age of 94.  He was a respected and renowned politician in the Boston area for over 70 years.  In 2022, Mel King and members of the Massachusetts branch of the Rainbow Coalition merged with the Green Party of Massachusetts to form the Green-Rainbow Party.  The current members of this party remain grateful for the commitment and grace that Mel King brought to civil rights and diversity throughout his life.

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178 Years for Telling the Truth

On March 22nd, Jill Stein introduced Ithaka, at the Somerville Theater.

A moving and intimate portrayal of one father’s fight to save his son, Ithaka exposes the brutal realities of Julian Assange's incarceration and of the fight to challenge the United States' threat of 178 years behind bars. The film follows the behind-the-scenes campaign to free the WikiLeaks founder.  To many, Julian Assange has become an emblem of freedom of the press, government corruption and unpunished war crimes.

 

John and Gabriel Shipton accompany this heavily acclaimed film will be to movie theaters around the United States.


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Save Cape Cod Bay! 

Halt Holtec!!

Learn the Status of Status of 1.1 Million Gallons of Holtec Nuclear Waste Water Dumping

Monday, March 27, 2023
5:30 PM Save Our Bay rally on Town Hall front lawn [weather permitting]
6:30 PM NDCAP meeting Great Hall, Plymouth Town Hall
26 Court Street, Plymouth, MA
State laws prohibit the discharge of radionuclides into our waters.  Nevertheless, Holtec plans to discharge 1.1 million gallons of water from those sources into the bay, claiming to be applying for an amended permit and asserting with confidence that an amended permit will allow them legally to discharge water into the bay.  Lois Gagnon and Mike Pascucci, co-chairs of the Green-Rainbow Party urge our members and supporters to join the Save Our Bay rally and Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel meeting in Plymouth Town Hall.

 

 01 favicon transparent 400Willow, Joe Biden's Carbon Bomb

The Co-Chairs of the Green-Rainbow Party condemn Biden's Approval of the Willow Project, especially in light of the Final Warning Report from the IPCC.
On March 13, 2023, President Joe Biden approved the largest oil extraction on federal lands known as the Willow Project in northern Alaska.  Lois Gagnon and Mike Pascucci have issued an eloquent rebuke to this highly destructive decision.  Their statement is included in the April issue of Green Voices.  An extract follows:  
"The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s “Final Warning” report on the climate was released just days after the world’s second-largest polluter, the US, authorized new drilling in Alaska. The Willow Project, over its expected lifespan, will add 278 million metric tons of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, the equivalent of 70 new coal plants per year, according to the EPA’s greenhouse gas calculator. The Willow Project expects to be drilling through at least 2050, the same year the world should be at net-zero emissions."
Read their full statement and let your representative know that you oppose President Joe Biden's decision.

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Earth Day to May Day 2023

April 22 - May 1st:  We have only one earth.  Step out and speak up.  Greens will be joining others across Massachusetts to stand out and to write letters to their representatives.  Check out the Green Party's EcoAction page.


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Green Candidate Gloria Caballero Roca runs for

School Committee in Holyoke's Ward 4

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I am running for the School Board of Holyoke, MA for many reasons:

  • I am an educator by degree and by experience. Having a Ph.D. in Hispanic Linguistics and Literature with a double major in Latin American, Caribbean, and Portuguese studies, and a second Ph.D. in Gender and Diversity, majoring in Autoethnography, along with two Master's degrees in Latin American Studies and in Women's and Gender Studies, plus a BA in English Language Translation and Interpretation makes me a very well rounded candidate. With experience teaching at high school and college levels both public and private, in national and international contexts, I have experience working with diverse communities, designing curricula, and collaborating interdisciplinarily.
  • I am deeply committed to my city, its students, and its teachers.
  • My campaigns in 2021 and 2022 both for Mayor of Holyoke and for State Auditor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have taught me great respect for the role of government in our children’s education. 
  • I am running because I want to make sure that we talk about and take action on the social determinants of our children's underperforming in school, including housing disasters, polluted water, lack of quality of life, working and struggling families, and depression associated with returning to school after two years of Zooming and lockdown.
  • Some questions for which I will seek answers:
    • Are we connecting more with the youth and letting their voices be heard inside the political and academic circles?
    • Is there an academic support system providing tutorials to our children?
    • Are the students understanding the curriculum? Is the History of our countries being studied from 1492 to the present?
    • Why can't we eliminate the Standardized Tests here in Massachusetts, here in Holyoke, when it has been more than proven that it does not prepare our students for the future, it is an elitist proposition and does not stimulate critical reading or thinking?
    • Why can't we teach our children real-life, culturally oriented, sustainable traits, that stimulate more hands-on projects, more internships, and partnerships with businesses and the five colleges?
  • Let's bring more stimulating conversations inside the school department. A conversation that should be bilingual,  not monolingual: In English and in Spanish so that all the families are included when it comes to our children's education.

 

These are just some of the reasons why I want to be a member of the Holyoke School Committee. In order to be able to get on the ballot, I need to collect 180 signatures from my ward, Ward 4. I would really appreciate gathering all those signatures from my neighbors. This would be a great opportunity to engage even more with them, hear their suggestions and represent them on the Holyoke School Committee. 

Please, support my campaign!

Gloria Caballero Roca, Ph.D., for School Committee Ward 4

Because a good education matters!


 

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 The Ukraine War must end now!

On the first anniversary of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine and the 9th year of Ukraine's civil war in the Donbas, the Green-Rainbow Party demanded Peace, not War across the Commonwealth.  

The Green-Rainbow Party joined the Massachusetts Peace Action and others at rallies in Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Ipswich, and Northampton on Friday, 2/24 from noon to 2 PM, and on Saturday in Greenfield.


Think Global, Act Local

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3 Municipal Officials Explain How They won Elections as Greens

 Joyce Palmer Fortune, Chair of the Whately (MA) Select Board described winning in Massachusetts

The vast majority of Green Party candidates run for local office as opposed to state and national offices. Thirty-five percent of them win. This live webinar on February 22 introduced three Green candidates who were recently elected to city/town council positions. Hear the stories they told about their successful campaigns and contributions to their communities as elected officials. Be inspired by their determination and example. We were.

Click here to watch our Winning Candidates


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They Raged Against the War Machine February 19th

Watch Jill Stein, Cynthia McKinney, Tulsi Gabbard, Chris Hedges, Dennis Kucinich, and many others from both the progressive and the conservative wings of the American activists who are deeply united on at least one point:  They speak out powerfully against the war machine and its proxy war in Europe.  Listen here.

 

 Rage Against the War Machine


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The Future is Green

Just released!  Video by John Blumenstiel.  Watch it here.

The Green Progressive Alternative


 

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Doomsday Clock Reset to 90 Seconds to Midnight on Jan 24th!

Our world inched 10 seconds closer to total annihilation in the past year according to the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists which set the Doomsday Clock at 90 seconds to midnight.  

Our leading peace activist, Jill Stein, offers the following perspective:

"Russia appears to be countering US nuclear threats on its borders by moving Russian missiles towards our borders.
Specifically, the Russian warship, Admiral Gorshkov, is heading towards the US coast, in apparent response to NATO's expansion - including nuclear-capable missiles - right up to Russia's borders. This follows the US moves to:
1) dismantle nuclear treaties that would have made nuclear conflict impossible
2) declare a first-strike policy on the use of nuclear weapons,
3) ignore Russia's offers to negotiate, dismantle a tentative agreement brokered by Turkey, and disregard the Minsk accords.
Admiral Gorshkov may well be equipped with Russia's hypersonic missiles that are unstoppable by any technology the US is in possession of. If so, Russian nukes can be here in 10 minutes.
Clearly, it's time to end the game of nuclear brinkmanship that's put all our lives in the crosshairs.
We need an immediate ceasefire, negotiations to ensure security for all parties, and an end to nuclear weapons via the ban treaty.
Tell Biden to sign on to the nuclear ban treaty -- while we still have a world to save. Check out the forum on the nuclear danger that's going off the rails, and see the resources below, including Scott Ritter's latest.
Peace and Solidarity!"
Jill Stein

 01 favicon transparent 400Celebrate Ranked Choice Voting Day in 2023

Voter Choice Massachusetts is celebrating RCV Day by showing folks that RCV really is as easy as 1-2-3. If you haven't already, you can join in on the fun with our multi-winner RCV poll! Your ballot is ready, no sign-up is required. 


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On Sunday, January 22, 2023, a coalition, hosted by the Green Party, held a Zoom meeting on the Nuclear Ban Treaty's Second Anniversary 

Stay tuned for actions everyone in the United States can--indeed, must-- take to demand that their president sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).  The power to initiate a global apocalypse lies in the hands of the leaders of nine nations, yet their citizens and citizens across the world do have the mass power to create the political will to ban this possibility. As 122 nations of the world indicated when they adopted the TPNW in July 2017, it is unacceptable that these few leaders of  Nuclear Weapon States should hold such destructive power. We must jointly act to avert catastrophe.

Greens, including Jill Stein, former US presidential candidate and co-chairs of the Green Party Peace Action Committee, joined with prominent national leaders, including allies from across the nation Vicki Elson of Nuclear Ban US, and Helen Jaccard of the Veterans For Peace Golden Rule Project, recommended three actions that anyone concerned with the American delinquency on nuclear weapons prohibition can take.

 


Bigger Than Roe

Greens at the Women's March in Boston

On January 22, 2023, the 50th anniversary of Roe V Wade, and the 7th month since these constitutional protections were erased, Greens helped to send another clear message in front of the Boston State House.  Speakers from the Women's March, NARAL Choice, Planned Parenthood, Party for Socialism and Liberation, and RiseUp4Abortion Rights all joined in the strong message:   We are putting all politicians at every level of government on notice: "If you come for our families, our freedoms, or our future, we are coming for your seat. Our movement is strong. Our movement is growing. Our movement is Bigger than Roe."

 


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Are you ready to speak out against rising gun violence?

Join Ajamu Baraka, the former Green Party Vice-Presidential Candidate, Green-Rainbow members, and other Greens around the nation.

 


 01 favicon transparent 400The Green-Rainbow Party made a difference across Massachusetts in 2022.  

Here are a few ways:

  • Joined the picket lines to support the successful nurses' strike in Worcester.
  • Broadened the Pioneer Valley Chapter to extend throughout Western Massachusetts.
  • Sponsored an experienced advocate for the underserved, Gloria Caballero-Roca, in her race for State Auditor, despite the virtual press blackout on third-party candidates.  Also managed the campaign of skilled Green leader, Juan Sanchez, who ran against the incumbent Secretary of the Commonwealth.
  • Interviewed the Boston organizer of mRNA4all, Harvard Medical School student Brendan Eappen, who demanded that Moderna's publicly-supported vaccine be used for public health, not just for private profit.
  • Supported the Green challenger and Town Selectman, Michael Lavery, in his bid to unseat three-term State Representative, Smitty Pignatelli.
  • Joined with Save the Pine Barrens and Extinction Rebellion in challenging AD Makespeace's plan to convert environmentally easensitive cranberry bogs into large industrial solar projects.
  • Welcomed the report of our Central Mass member, Brian Mulhearn, who attended the Annual Conference of the Latin American Global Greens held in the Dominican Republic.
We are energized!  In 2023, we look forward to joining with all who refuse to let the duopoly and Joe Biden greenwash our future and risk climate extinction.  Let us know how you want to help!
Lois Gagnon and Mike Pascucci, Co-chairs

BUILDING A BETTER FUTURE FOR ALL OF US

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Green Progressive Policies will improve the lives and health of all MA residents, not just the wealthy and powerful.  How?  Join us on May 6 for our Annual State Convention as we unveil our vision for a Greener, more just, Commonwealth and for fixing a system that is failing to meet the needs of everyday working-class people and the poor.

Enjoy our multitude of speakers and workshops addressing 4 major issues facing Massachusetts.

  • Improving the water quality of our communities
  • Pushing for a MA single-payer healthcare system
  • Affordable housing, enforced basic standards of living, and rent control
  • Reaffirming women’s reproductive rights

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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