[GreenNotes] GreenNotes - 2/5/2008

Tue Feb 5 09:25:49 PST 2008

Please circulate widely. Contact us to include your announcement in GreenNotes.

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PROGRESSIVE CALENDAR

* Feb 06 - Bike Advocacy Meeting, South Bend, 7pm. 
           Contact Jeff at 246-1682.
* Feb 07 - Global Warming 101, IUSB SAC 225, 5:30-6:30pm. 
           http://www.focusthenation.org
* Feb 08 - Community Sustainability Project Film Series
           downtown Goshen 7pm
* Feb 11 - SJVGreens February meeting
* Feb 14 - Valentines Day. Don't forget the Fair Trade Chocolate!
* Feb 15 - Midwest Black Man's Think Tank
* Feb 16 - Midwest Black Man's Think Tank
* Feb 17 - Progressive Town Hall
* Feb 19 - Community Forum on Economic Development
           Minority Hearthcare Coalition Office, 7pm. 
           http://www.communityforum.typepad.com/ 
* Feb 21 - Protecting America's Public Lands
           Sierra Club, Mishawaka Public Library, 209 Lincolnway E., 7pm.
* Feb 23 - Michiana Social Forum follow up meeting.
           IUSB Student Activities Center 10:30am-12:30pm. 
           http://www.michianasocialforum.org/

Ongoing Events:

 * MPJC peace vigil
   Mondays, 5-6 p.m. at Jefferson and Main St. South Bend
   574-289-2126 or http://www.michianapeacejustice.org.
 * Progressive discussion group
   Wednesday evenings, 7-9 at 611 Portage Ave, South Bend
 * Portage Avenue salon
   Sunday evenings, 7-9 at 611 Portage Ave, South Bend
 * South Bend Equality Meeting (gender equality, human rights amendment)
   1st and 3rd Monday of each month, 7pm
   Unitarian Church on Northshore Blvd in South Bend

Thanks to Just Goods for calendar submissions, www.justgoods.net. 

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MIDWEST BLACK MAN'S THINK TANK

Friday, February 15, Indiana University South Bend, Weikamp Hall 1001. 
 * Presentation about IU South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center, 5:30 - 6:15 p.m.
 * Q&A, 6:15 - 6:30 p.m., followed by: Community panel and IUSB student's panel
 * Post KWANZAA celebration and African feast, 6:45 - 7:15 p.m.
 * An indigenous percussionist from Honduras, Popo Arriola

Saturday, February 16, Indiana University South Bend, Northside Hall 158.
 * Registration and continental breakfast, 8:00 - 8:45 a.m.
 * Keynote speaker, 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. 
 * Small groups, 10:15 - 11:00 a.m.
 * Lunch, 11:40 - 12:15
 * Report backs, 12:30 - 1:45 p.m.
 * Closing session, 2:00 - 2:30 p.m.

This is an annual program that focuses on the issue of males not attending college.  The emphasis is on Black Males, but, all Males of Color and Working Class White Males are at special risk of not graduating from high school.  The same can be said of females in these same categories.

The program starts Friday, February 15, 5:30 p.m.  The IU South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center will have a branch at the old South Bend Natatorium that is in the process of being renovated as we speak.  A 3D video allows you to view the expansion of the IU South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center into the community.  There will be a panel of community members to give the history and the significance of that expansion. The presentation will be followed by a post KWANZAA Celebration, a feast, and music by a drummer from Honduras, Popo Arriola.

Saturday morning will feature, Charles Pittman, Senior Vice President - Publishing, Schurz Communications, South Bend, Indiana. Charles and his son, "Tony", both were football players for Penn State and played for Joe Paterno, "Joe Pa".  Charles and his son wrote a book about their experience, "Playing for Paterno". The presentations will be followed by small group discussions divided by grade and gender.

The emphasis is always on youth attending college.  Youth of all ages, male and female, black, white, Latino, Asian, and Native Americans are strongly encouraged to attend.

The program always culminates in a presentation by a Black Male who graduated from a South Bend high school and who also obtained a degree from IU South Bend.  This year we will feature, Patrick Shelton II, a school teacher at Cleveland Elementary School, Elkhart, Indiana.

For information, contact Charlotte D. Pfeifer at IUSB Office of Campus Diversity, tx: (574) 520-5536 fax: (574) 529-5019.

PROGRESSIVE TOWN HALL

A reminder, the next Progressive Town Hall Meeting will take place February 17th at 4pm in the Fiddlers Hearth Pub downtown South Bend. We will be discussing becoming a “Human Rights City” with Jackie Smith, Sociology Professor at Notre Dame. Eugene, Oregon is a great example of a Human Rights City and you can check out their website for information on how they did it. Basically, a human rights city propels human rights to the forefront of daily work. From the Peoples Movement for Human Rights Learning:

“What are human rights cities? Imagine living in a society where all citizens have made a pledge to build a community based on equality and nondiscrimination; --where all women and men are actively participating in the decisions that affect their daily lives guided by the human rights framework; where people have consciously internalized the holistic vision of human rights to overcome fear and impoverishment, a society that provides human security, access to food, clean water, housing, education, healthcare and work at livable wages, sharing these resources with all citizens-- not as a gift, but as a realization of human rights. A Human Rights city is a practical viable model that demonstrates that living in such a society is possible!”

I hope you can all attend!

ST. JOE VALLEY GREENS

The SJVGreens are selecting a new monthly meeting date and place. Enough member's schedules have changed to warrant a new meeting date. Until further notice, the meeting will be the second Monday of each month. The next meeting is Monday, February 11, 7:00 p.m., at IUSB, Weikamp Hall 2187.

3RD ANNUAL COMMUNITY FORUM ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT LOOKING FOR CO-SPONSORS

The third annual Forum on Community Develpment - "Improving Our Quality of Life" will take place on Saturday, April 26, from 9 AM to 4 PM, at Indiana University South Bend, Weikamp Hall 1001. The event is being organized by the Community Forum on Economic Development (CFED) and will be co-sponsored by other labor and community organizations.

CFED invites your organization to become a sponsor as well. In order to be considered a sponsor, an organization should participate in one or more of the following ways: 

* by having one or more of its members actively involved in planning and organizing the forum;
* by providing financial support; or,
* by communicating information about the forum to its members and contacts.

A sponsoring organization should also be in general agreement with the mission of CFED, which calls for economic development that promotes residents' living standards and quality of life, and which is accountable and democratic.

The program will include presentations by Indiana State Representative Ryan Dvorak, who will address the issues of smart growth and sustainable development from a state perspective. Marty Wolfson, an economist from Notre Dame University, will discuss the challenges of     acting locally in a global economy.

For more information, or to indicate your desire to become a sponsor of this year's forum, contact Linda Wolfson, lwolfson at sbcsc.k12.in.us (phone: 574-234-7235).

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FORMER DEMOCRATIC REP. CYNTHIA MCKINNEY SEEKS PRESIDENCY AS GREEN PARTY NOMINEE

Former Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney is now seeking the Green Party presidential nomination. McKinney is among the most outspoken critics of the Bush administration, and one of her last measures in office was to introduce a bill for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney. She joins us to talk about her new campaign and why she left the Democratic Party after more than a decade in public office. [includes rush transcript]

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/2/4/former_democratic_rep_cynthia_mckinney_seeks

LUECKE WARNS OF LOSS OF SOUTH BEND CITY FUNDS

In January, Luecke told the Indiana House Ways & Means Committee that House Bill 1001, a plan to reform property taxes, would result in a $25 million loss for South Bend. Monday, he told members of the Common Council that number is around $26.8 million. The change comes from refined estimates, he said.

http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008802050320 (link good for 7 days)

DONNELLY WATCH BLOG DEBUTS

Donnelly Watch was started in January 2008 to serve as a resource for progressive citizens of Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District. This site intends to provide up-to-date coverage of Congressman Joe Donnelly including both praise and criticism as his actions warrant. Please do not hesitate to contact Donnelly Watch with comments, concerns or if you are interested in contributing to the site.

http://donnellywatch.wordpress.com/

SYTHESIS-REGENERATION

Synthesis/Regeneration is a journal of debate on social and political matters of interest to Greens and a resource for Green and allied organizers working on technological, environmental, trade and other issues, and on Green Party organization-building. We invite articles from all Green perspectives.

http://greens.org/s-r/

INDIANA: WASTED VOTES

This blog reports on examples of repressive election laws and undemocratic customary practices in the administration of Indiana elections, especially the ways in which voters are discouraged from voting, citizens find it futile to run against the dominant political machines, and small parties are prevented from having ballot access, excluded from debates and press coverage, and thus unable to campaign effectively and publicize their ideas.

We document the fight against these laws and encourage others to join us.

http://indianavotes.wordpress.com/

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KEY VALUES OF THE GREENS

1. Ecological wisdom
2. Social justice
3. Grassroots democracy
4. Nonviolence
5. Decentralization
6. Community-based economics
7. Feminism
8. Respect for diversity
9. Personal and global responsibility
10. Future focus

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St. Joe Valley Greens, South Bend, IN
http://www.sjvgreens.org/
mailto: tbrown at sjvgreens.org or khardy at sjvgreens.org