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Dare to Vote, Dare to Win?
Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace:
Why McCain and the GOP Are So Afraid of Discussing the Economy
Frances Moore Lappe
Democracy and Elections:
Seven Ways Your Vote Might Not Count This November
Steven Rosenfeld
DrugReporter:
Obama's Biden Pick Signals 'More of the Same' Stupid Drug Policies
Paul Armentano
Election 2008:
McCain's Palin Gambit: Are Americans Weary of the Culture Wars?
Sanho Tree
Environment:
Boatloads of Trouble: How We Are Importing Our Way to Destruction
Stan Cox
ForeignPolicy:
The Bush Administration Checkmated in Georgia
Michael T. Klare
Health and Wellness:
Hospitals' Lessons From Hurricane Gustav
Sheri Fink
Hurricane Katrina:
From the Bayou to Baghdad: Mission Not Accomplished
Amy Goodman
Immigration:
Leader of Anti-Immigration Movement Calls Issue a "Skirmish in a Wider War"
Eric Ward
Media and Technology:
Only in America Could a Two-Faced Creature Like McCain Attain Such Media Status
Rory O'Connor
Movie Mix:
Does "Working Girls" Still Work?
Ariel Dougherty
Reproductive Justice and Gender:
Five Women Buried Alive -- and the Media Ignore It
Riane Eisler
Rights and Liberties:
On Top of Jail Time, Prisoners Now Face Fees and Surcharges
Emily Jane Goodman
Sex and Relationships:
What Republicans Can Learn from "Gossip Girl"
Sarah Seltzer
War on Iraq:
One Fifth of Iraq Funding Goes to Private Contractors
Willam Fisher
Water:
Is California on the Brink of Environmental Collapse?
Rachel Olivieri
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| Mayor Jason West |
Editor's update: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome has been leading the charge in favor of gay marriage by controversially marrying gay couples, including Rosie O'Donnell and her girlfriend. Following Newsome's lead, Jason West also started marrying gay couples, which resulted in charges being brought against him by the Ulster County District Attorney on March 2nd. He is being charged with violating New York's state constitution by solemnizing gay marriage.
Stevphen Shukaitis: You ran for state assembly twice, and town council once before [becoming mayor]. What motivated you to enter politics?
Mayor West: I guess I've been politically aware most of my life, but I didn't really get politicized in terms of organizing until 1998, when I helped people here in New Paltz organize a demonstration against Governor Pataki, who was raising tuition and cutting financial aid for state universities. A bunch of us organized a demonstration that turned out 300 people, and we did it in two weeks. Just seeing the fear in the governor's eyes when he came out of the bookstore and saw all those people protesting tuition raises gave us a sense of our own power to make change.
Two of the people who did that were the people who founded the Green Party New Paltz. Running for office basically became an extension of protesting, where you were given a chance, a podium, and platform to bring concerns like universal health care, environmental issues, workers' right issues to a large segment of the public who you may not otherwise be able to talk to. Running for state office as a Green is basically a form of protest at this point -- but you get your views in the newspapers and a chance to articulate a vision of a better world.
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| Stevphen and Nell interviewing Jason |
West:
Well, I don't see myself as an idealist at all. I see myself as a very pragmatic person. In terms of the issues you raised: the soybean fuel is something called biodiesel, which is designed to run on any diesel engine without any modification. You don't need to buy new trucks; you just need to change the fuel you buy. Municipalities in New York state are required to buy their fuel through something called the Office of General Services. Last August, the Office of General Services made biodiesel fuel available to municipalities. So it's just a matter of changing the writing on our purchase order, and we can have biodiesel rather than petrodiesel and support this newer technology that is a cleaner burning fuel. The solar panels, again, are a very pragmatic issue.It's just a matter of how long-term you're willing to look. The costs of having an oil-based economy, through human lives lost in wars (in Iraq or Afghanistan), the environmental cost of burning fossil fuels, or the cost to our democracy, having a government controlled and run by oil corporations -- that's a cost I'm not willing to pay.
Nell Geiser: What do you say to young people who are cynical about the electoral process, party politics and maybe even the Green Party? After all, the 18 to 25-year-old demographic has generally had the lowest voter turnout rate nationally.
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Five Women Buried Alive -- and the Media Ignore It Reproductive Justice and Gender: Why is it that we get so outraged over war but look the other way when women and girls are beaten and murdered in the name of tradition? By Riane Eisler, AlterNet. September 6, 2008. |
On Top of Jail Time, Prisoners Now Face Fees and Surcharges Rights and Liberties: Prisoners across the country are facing court fees, arrest fees and booking fees in addition to their sentences -- and states are raking in the cash. By Emily Jane Goodman, The Nation. September 6, 2008. |
One Fifth of Iraq Funding Goes to Private Contractors War on Iraq: If spending continues at the current rate, the U.S. will have spent 100 billion dollars on military contractors in Iraq by the end of the year. By Willam Fisher, IPS News. September 6, 2008. |