Tag Archives: media

C-Span Coverage of GPUS Convention

Here is what I’ve been able to find so far on the c-span site.  They have a link to “Green Party Presidential Candidate” on the right sidebar on their home page:
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http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&tID=5&src=atom&atom=todays_events.xml&products_id=206375-1
Green Party Presidential Candidate

Product ID:     206375-1
Format:     Convention
Last Airing:     Not Yet Aired
Event Date:     07/12/2008
Length:    
Location:     Chicago, Illinois

The 2008 U.S. Green Party National Nominating Convention was held in the Chicago Symphony Center. The acceptance speech of their presidential candidate was shown.
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So it looks like it *will* be aired, they just aren’t saying when yet.

GP RELEASE News, highlights from the Green National Convention in Chicago

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Friday, July 11, 2008

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org
Ruth Weill, National Convention Coordinator, 414-350-2107, ruthweill@gmail.com
Patrick Kelly, Illinois Green Party Media Coordinator, 773-203-9631, media@ilgp.org

News and highlights from the Green Party’s 2008 National Convention in Chicago

Key links:
• Green Party web site, with updated links to news articles on the convention http://www.gp.org
• 2008 Green National Convention: Live Green, Vote Green http://www.greenparty2008.org
• Media credentialing http://www.gp.org/forms/media
• Video of Green presidential candidates http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/presidential-videos.php
• Links to Green Presidential Candidates’ web sites http://www.gp.org/committees/pcsc/index.shtml
• Green candidate database for 2008 and other campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• Green Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Green Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Green Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-elections

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS — The Green Party of the United States opened its 2008 national convention at the Palmer House Hilton in downtown Chicago on Thursday, July 10 and continued with numerous meetings on Friday.

Greens are also preparing for the party’s presidential nomination, which will take place on Saturday, July 12, at the Chicago Symphony Center, 220 South Michigan Avenue.

Reporters, bloggers, and others covering the convention may register on site on Saturday, or may fill out the media credentialing form (http://www.gp.org/forms/media) in advance.  The Saturday schedule is appended below.

On Friday evening, the four candidates for the Green presidential nomination — Jesse Johnson, Kent Mesplay, Cynthia McKinney, and Kat Swift — participated in a forum moderated by 2006 Illinois gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney, who drew over 10% of the vote.  The forum, titled “A Presidential Debate That Matters,” took place at the Palmer House Hilton, where Greens have been meeting since Thursday morning.

Some highlights of the Green National Convention so far:

Green presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney has announced her running mate, Hip-Hop activist and journalist Rosa Clemente:
Statement by Ms. Clemente: http://www.runcynthiarun.org/node/296
Ms. Clemente’s web site: http://www.rosaclemente.com

The Green Party’s Black Caucus accredited Ms. McKinney’s parents, Billy and Leola, as delegates in order to allow them to enter all four of the Caucus’s votes for their daughter during the voting process for the nomination.

Press conferences on Thursday and Friday featured dozens of candidates for public office.  Among them:

• Jesse Johnson is seeking the presidential nomination but has won the Mountain Party’s nomination for Governor of West Virginia.  He spoke Friday morning about the West Virginia’s environmentally disastrous mountaintop removal, in which the state’s pristine landscapes have been blasted to access to coal, in the process spoiling nearly half of the nation’s headwaters and exacerbating droughts in the South.  Mr. Johnson called West Virginia ‘ground zero’ in the energy crisis and in the advance of global warming.
http://www.jesse4wvgov.org
http://www.jesse08.org

• Farheed Hakeem talked about her growing involvement in the Green Party and decision to run for public office as a Green.  A former Green mayoral candidate and currently a candidate for Minnesota State Representative (District 61B), Ms. Hakeem has rebuffed Democratic Party efforts to recruit her, saying that her Green Party membership gives her the leeway to pursue ideals that would not be possible in the either of the two established parties.

• Omar Lopez, running for Illinois District 4 member of the US House of Representatives, discussed his role organizing for the March 10, 2006 march for immigrants’ right in Chicago, the model for the national May Day marches and rallies across the US a few months later.

Schedule for SATURDAY, JULY 12: Green presidential nomination

Location: Chicago Symphony Center, 220 S Michigan Avenue
Media Check-In: Mezzanine
The Media Registration table hours: 8 am – 5 pm (flexible)
Press Conference Room: Grainger Ballroom, Mezzanine Level

• 9 am: Press briefing and news conference with Green presidential candidates; on-stage program begins

• 9:30 am: Keynote speaker Cliff Thornton

• 9:45 am: Adoption of the 2008 Green Party Platform

• 10:45 am: Keynote speakers Kathy Kelly, Malik Rahim

• 11:15 am:  Speeches by the four Presidential Candidates

• 12 noon: Lunch

• 1 pm: Keynote speakers Omar López, Dr. Jill Stein

• 1:30 pm: Voting, state roll call

(Times for events after this are tentative, depending on how long it takes to complete the nomination process)

• 2:30 pm: Vice Presidential acceptance speech (nominee will be introduced by Pat LaMarche, 2004 Green nominee for Vice President)

• 3 pm: Presidential acceptance speech (nominee will be introduced by David Cobb, 2004 Green nominee for President), followed by photo op for all Green candidates and the nominees

• 4 pm: Press conference featuring Green nominees for President and Vice President

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
• 2008 Green National Convention: Live Green, Vote Green http://www.greenparty2008.org
• Media credentialing http://www.gp.org/forms/media
• Video of Green presidential candidates http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/presidential-videos.php
• Links to Green Presidential Candidates’ web sites http://www.gp.org/committees/pcsc/index.shtml
• Green candidate database for 2008 and other campaign information: http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• Green Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Green Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Green Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-elections

~ END ~

Today is the day: Selecting a Presidential Candidate for the GPUS

The GPUS convention will be aired live at Pacafica Radio, which will air a live three-hour broadcast from the Green Party Convention in Chicago on Sunday, July 13th as the convention comes to a close.

The broadcast will air Sunday, July 13th, 12 to 3 PM EDT (11 AM to 2 PM CDT; 9 AM to 12 PDT)

Also, remember to access the various blogs:

California Greening
Detroit Greens
Green Party Watch
Greens for Greens
lounovak – Provides a play by play synopsis of what’s going on – Thanks Lou!
On the Wilder Side

UPDATE: NPR publicizes Green Party Convention – other news sources

The latest news:
Cynthia McKinney favored for the Green Party’s presidential nod (Los Angeles Times – http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/07/cynthia-mckinne.html)
Green Party Holds Media Workshop (Chicago Public Radio – http://www.wbez.org/Content.aspx?audioID=26491)
Green Party prepares for convention (HO1-19 — http://hoinews.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=157630)
Greens to Nominate President in Chicago (Chicago Public Radio – http://www.wbez.org/Content.aspx?audioID=26455)
Election Unspun July 10 – Green Party Convention Starts Amid Criticism (Free Spech Radio – http://www.fsrn.org/content/election-unspun-july-10-green-party-convention-starts-amid-criticism/2749)
Green Party To Tap Hip-Hop Activist For VP (Vibe – New York,NY – http://blogs.vibe.com/jeffchang/2008/07/green-party-to-tap-hiphop-activist-for-vp/)
McKinney picks Clemente for Green Party running mate (Third Party Watch – http://thirdpartywatch.com/2008/07/10/mckinney-picks-clemente-for-green-party-running-mate/)

NPR today mentions the Green Party Convention in their headline news today, with a special piece beyond just mentioning it in the headlines.

More news today on the Green Party Convention:

Chicago Hosts Green Party Convention (Chicago Public Radio)

Green Party prepares for convention (Chicago Tribune)

Whitney gets his snark on (DailyHerald.com)

Green Party to hold convention, nominate presidential candidate (Chicago Sun Times)

McKinney expected to get Green Party nomination this week (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Pat LaMarche: Chicago a city of political change (Bangor Daily News)

Utah Free Media

A group of former KRCL DJ’s and Show Hosts have formed Utah Free Media as a repsonse to the reformatting of what used to be independent community radio, KRCL.
(“used to be” is my opinion….)

Utah Free Media is a non-profit entity, founded by people who know community radio and will rely on the involvement of volunteers who are dedicated to quality on-air programming, are already trained to use a board, and, in some cases, have an established listenership from their former programs at KRCL. It is founded around the idea that community radio should be as transparent as possible. To this end, Utah Free Media is committed to posting as much information about the processes and procedures governing the station not just to the volunteers, but to the listeners as well.

UTAH FREE MEDIA is up and streaming live Monday through Friday 9am to 9pm (then we rebroadcast overnight 9pm to 9am).

Iacocca on Leaadership?

Lee Iacocca has written an article called Where Have All the Leaders Gone? over at Common Dreams Based on his book by the same name, Iacocca blasts the current administration and state of affairs.

Had Enough?
Am I the only guy in this country who’s fed up with what’s happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder.  

0508 06

We’ve got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we’ve got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can’t even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, “Stay the course.”

Stay the course? You’ve got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I’ll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!

Iacocca describes his  “C” list that serves as a “test of a leader”:  Curiosity, Creative, Communicate, Character, Courage, Charisma, Conviction, Competent, Common Sense.  He states that the Biggest “C” is Crisis.

Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It’s easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else’s kids off to war when you’ve never seen a battlefield yourself. It’s another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.

On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history. We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. Where was George Bush? He was reading a story about a pet goat to kids in Florida when he heard about the attacks. He kept sitting there for twenty minutes with a baffled look on his face. It’s all on tape. You can see it for yourself. Then, instead of taking the quickest route back to Washington and immediately going on the air to reassure the panicked people of this country, he decided it wasn’t safe to return to the White House. He basically went into hiding for the day—and he told Vice President Dick Cheney to stay put in his bunker. We were all frozen in front of our TVs, scared out of our wits, waiting for our leaders to tell us that we were going to be okay, and there was nobody home. It took Bush a couple of days to get his bearings and devise the right photo op at Ground Zero.

That was George Bush’s moment of truth, and he was paralyzed. And what did he do when he’d regained his composure? He led us down the road to Iraq—a road his own father had considered disastrous when he was President. But Bush didn’t listen to Daddy. He listened to a higher father. He prides himself on being faith based, not reality based. If that doesn’t scare the crap out of you, I don’t know what will.

Common Dreams started allowing comments to its articles.  There are some very interesting points made to this post:

what leaders?!?!? have not seen one in years!!!!! Iacocca, were you ever a leader? what did you ever do to improve the overall quality of life in the united states. after 82 years….well… better late than never. use your “business skills” to empower people!

I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn’t elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity. What is everybody so afraid of? That some bobblehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don’t you guys show some spine for a change?”

And the “gang” in Congress, as you sensibly call them, has news for you too, Lee. Currently, it’s called the PR Plan. The Pelosi-Reid Plan to Abolish America:

Pelosi and Reid have turned to their plan for controlling Iraq – popularly known as the PR Plan.

They vowed, “We will work with the President in whatever way we can.” They meant the statement to be totally ambiguous, but unfortunately for them, upon uttering it, the official pair instantly collapsed to the ground, apparently for lack of some vital measure of blood and bone, as well as some bizarre overabundance of scales, claws, and oozing oil.

“Defunding the war immediately is totally impossible,” uttered Pelosi and Reid in unison while slithering across the ground, sliming their way back to their Gang of Democrats. The Republican Gang applauded silently from the side.

“It seems clear now,” one observer remarked, “that the Democrat and Republican parties are gone – if parties they ever were – and are replaced by gangs. Official suite gangs.” Oddly, no one was heard to contradict him.

Within hours, a person we can only identify as Deep Source delivered to us the following rather striking internal document. We have rarely seen a government document quite as internal as this, and we must confess, as good members of the press, we hope to see very few more like it. “The 10 Point PR Plan (For Internal Consumption Only)”:

1st: Pretend that you intend to end the War against Iraq.

[etc]

http://apragmaticpolicy.wordpress.com/2007/05/06/the-pelosi-reid-plan-to-abolish-america/

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Dear Mr. Iacocca: Once again I read a clear delineation of the problems this country confronts, and I agree with your findings. Unfortunately, no one in our government is willing to respond with the same firmness and clarity, least of all, those who most want to head the government. There is not a leader in the lot, though one or two – Mr. Kucinich or Mr. Gravel, perhaps – show some potential. But to articulate the problems is not enough. Nor is your call to “shake off the horseshit and go to work.” What is missing most, what we are seeking, is an equally clear course of action to take. We are all tired of the garbage that passes as news, the platitudes our overpaid politicians have convinced themselves are meaningful. We are all outraged at the actions of those who pretend to be leaders. We need something more, much more. I now find myself among people so disheartened that they are talking reluctantly and sadly about the growing need for a tangible revolution, because everything else seems to have failed to produce a badly needed change.

I tend to agree with the readers: “Where have all the leaders gone?” is a misnomer indeed.

City Weekly’s Best of Utah

My good friend Raphael’s shop has earned a Best of Utah (City Weekly) award again this year:

http://www.slweekly.com/article.cfm/consumercontstrong
BEST STICKING IT TO THE MAN
Free Speech Zone
Ask most in Sugar House about Joe Hill, and you’re likely to get a blank stare. Never mind that the American labor hero was executed around the corner at what was then the state pen, now SugarHouse Park. No such problems at Free Speech Zone. Store owners know their history and will sell you posters commemorating Hill and other labor martyrs made, sweatshop free, in the most left-leaning enclaves of the country. More than a store to buy clothing to label yourself one of the goodies, Free Speech Zone is the spot to plan protests, screen progressive films and generally plot the revolution. 2144 Highland Dr., 487-2295, FreeSpeech-Zone.com

Sugarhouse, continued

 I have been posting about the demise of Sugarhouse’s Granite Block.  Today’s Deseret news continues reporting about this saga in its post, Redevelopment worries Sugar House:  Residents ask City Council to save area’s eclectic feel
Councilman Sorensen is an advocate for saving the businesses and look and feel of that block, I’m not sure how that will help the businesses currently located there, because.they have all been given eviction notices and will have to be out by around July 1st. 
By Doug Smeath
Deseret Morning News

      SUGAR HOUSE ? Sugar House fans on Tuesday begged the Salt Lake City Council to save their eclectic neighborhood from a development they worry will bring a dulling down of a vibrant community.
      The council, meeting at Sugar House’s Nibley Park Elementary School for its monthly neighborhood outreach meeting, heard from about a dozen people Tuesday evening ? and received a thick stack of comment cards from scores more. Most wanted to talk about the intersection of 2100 South and Highland Drive.
      The block to the southwest of that intersection, known as the Granite block, is home to several unique local businesses ? the Free Speech Zone, Artopia, Blue Boutique, Orion’s Music, Sugar House Coffee, Pib’s Exchange and others ? but many residents and business owners worry plans for a redevelopment of the area will do away with its funky feel.
      In December 2005, the council approved a zoning change on the block to allow for buildings as tall as seven or eight stories. Landowners, including Craig Mecham Management and California-based Red Mountain Retail Group, say they have plans to upgrade the area, though details have not yet been announced. In February, businesses on the block began receiving eviction notices.
      Orion’s Music owner Andrew Fletcher on Tuesday said the zoning change “steamrolled over the wishes of the neighborhood.”
      One woman, who lives farther west in Salt Lake City but said she regularly shops on the Granite block, asked, “Why do we need to rip down that nice little Haight-Ashbury-type of street to put up more office space and more retail space that is not going to be used?”
      Landowners hoping to redevelop the Granite block have told the Deseret Morning News they have no intention to change the area’s mood ? in fact, they hope to enhance it ? and that they need to give it a face-lift because some buildings are out of shape.
      Eric Nelson of Red Mountain said his plans would see “90 to 95 percent” of the area’s buildings renovated but remaining where they are.
      The developers say the local businesses currently located there could be part of the new development, but many business owners say they doubt they’ll be able to afford it.
      Simonsen, who tried unsuccessfully to revisit the zoning change shortly after taking office a little more than a year ago, has said he doubts the redevelopment can be stopped. But that doesn’t mean the city can’t guide it in a way that would preserve its character.
      On Tuesday, he asked the council to consider a handful of possible actions and received tentative support for his ideas.
      Among them would be looking into ways to make use of a citywide study of historical areas currently under way. The study, expected to be finished in about a year, will point out areas that need protection as historic, and Simonsen wants to be ready with ways to respond if the Granite block is named one of those historic areas.
      The council was generally receptive to the idea, and it will be addressed in more detail at a future meeting.
      Simonsen also wants the city to consider aiding local businesses currently on the block with loans or grants that would help them reopen on the block once it is redeveloped.
      He said “various elements” of that idea will be presented to the council in the coming months.
      Councilman Dave Buhler said money similarly doled out in the past was typically to help offset city action, such as light-rail construction work, so the idea in this case might be a little unusual. Still, he said he was supportive of the concept.
      “Sugar House is vital, not just to the neighborhood but to our city,” Councilman Eric Jergensen said, adding the city will find ways to protect it.


E-mail: dsmeath@desnews.com

More Protests on the Horizon – re: Cheney @ BYU

Milk: It Does a Body Good – but not if the media tells you it doesn’t.

Last Wednesday, KSL Channel 5 posted an Associated Press piece that reported Utah County Issues Health Warning After Severe Food-borne Illness Outbreak.

Here is the article, followed by what happened next:

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah County health officials issued a warning against raw milk consumption after seven cases of a severe food-borne illness were linked to products from the same dairy.
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