GREENS ARE GATHERING SIGNATURES. . . The Green Party is qualified for ballot status this election cycle in all of the four biggest states: New York, California, Florida, and Texas. At this time, 20 states have ballot status in November 2012. For brief information about current candidates for President, click here.
NGP is gathering signatures so voters here will also have the choice of voting for the Green Party presidential slate. In Lincoln, petitions are available at Meadowlark Coffee and Espresso, 1624 South Street. Registered Nebraska voters are invited to stop by for coffee, visit with Adam Hintz from 6:00am to 2:00pm daily, sign a petition, or pick up one to circulate. In Omaha, look for Charles Ostdiek at McFoster’s, 38th and Harney, to sign and pick up petitions.
You must be a registered voter to circulate the county specific petitions. Fill out a voter registration application online here.[ pdf] If you can help us identify a public place in CD 3 where petitions could be available, if you would like us to mail you petitions to circulate, or to participate in the ballot access process in any way, please let us know by e-mailing mjberry [at] inebraska [dot] com. Printable NGP brochures on FaceBook are here. Let’s take Our democracy back from Wall Street!
PAGE DOWN FOR KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE.
Lincoln area: Congressional District 1
VIGIL AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY . . . Every Monday, noon to 1:00pm, Nebraskans for abolition of the death penalty meet in front of the governor’s mansion when weather is good, 1425 H Street, Lincoln. When weather is bad, the vigil is inside the capitol, near the Information Desk. The lunch-hour presence reminds the governor of a constituency that does not want state killings. Weekly vigils have taken place year-round since July, 1991. All abolitionists are welcome to participate for a few minutes, or the hour. For more information about NADP, click here. “It is the deed that teaches, not the name we give it. Murder and capital punishment are not opposites that cancel one another, but similars that breed their kind.” –George Bernard Shaw
WATER MONITORING . . . The Nebraska Environmental Action Coalition, in collaboration with the Nebraska Wildlife Federation, is holding an information/training session to lead and promote the formation of citizen water monitoring and testing groups at the Legion Club in Fullerton, Nebraska on Monday, April 2, 2012, from 3:30 to about 6:00pm. The program and its objectives will be discussed in the first part of the meeting, and then Duane Hovorka, Executive Director of the NeFW will demonstrate how the actual water tests are done.
OCCUPY EDUCATION . . . “American History: Mocking Ourselves With Falsehoods” is the current Occupy Education Series every Monday through April 23, 2012, 7:00 to 8:00pm, at Indigo Bridge Books, 701 P Street, #102, Lincoln. This series, led by Richard Hargesheimer, will address discrepancies about and within the traditional narrative of American History, from the Gilded Age to today, with focus on various movements to include the Labor Movement, Populism, and the Rights Movements of the 1950s and 1960s. Monday, April 2nd, will be “Part 2: Workers Unite! – The Labor Movement 100 Years Ago.”
TEACH-IN TUESDAY . . . Each week a different member of the Occupy Lincoln community will host a short class on a topic of their choosing, Tuesdays, 7:00 to 8:00pm through April 24th, at Meadowlark Café, 1624 South Street, in Lincoln. April 3rd, “Exploring Amnesty International’s Campaign for Dignity for All” will be presented by Christy Hargesheimer.
COFFEE WITH JOHANNS . . . There will be Coffee with Senator Johanns on Wednesday, April 4, 2012, in Lincoln at 11:30am to 12:30pm, at the Downtown Holiday Inn, 141 North 9th Street. That morning, from 9:00 to 10:00am, he will be at the Wahoo Public Library, 637 North Maple Street in Wahoo. Tuesday, April 3rd, Coffee will be in Elkhorn, 12:30 to 1:30pm at the Bess Johnson Public Library, 2100 Reading Plaza. All Coffees are open to the public. Go and share your thoughts about building the Keystone XL pipeline V. saving our environment for the children of this state and protecting the world from monumental pollution.
LINCOLN PEACE VIGILS . . . Lincoln peace vigils continue at the Federal Building, 15th and O streets, every Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:00pm. Contact Mark at 402.499.6672 or e-mail mark [at] weddleton [dot] com for more information.
KXL PIPELINE COMMUNITY MEETING . . . BOLD Nebraska and partner groups will host a meeting to update the community on the status of TransCanada’s rejected Keystone XL pipeline on Thursday, April 5, 2012, 7:00pm, at the Unitarian Church of Lincoln, 6300 A Street. Find out about the possibilities of a new application, happenings in Washington, and review Nebraska’s Public Service Commission (PSC) public comment process for certifying oil pipeline routes. A goal is also to get input on what we as citizens and landowners think the PSC should consider when analyzing and certifying oil pipeline routes. The more public input the better! (There will be #nokxl cookies and lemonade.)
OCCUPY LINCOLN . . . “City officials and Occupy Lincoln have reached an agreement that will keep tents pitched on Centennial Mall until May 1, two months later than the city had planned.” Read Lincoln Journal Star coverage here.
The Occupy Lincoln camp site is located on Centennial Mall north of the state capitol. There is a General Assembly every Sunday, 1:30-2:30pm, at Bennett Martin Library, 14th and N Streets, in the 4th floor auditorium; Wednesday, 6:30pm at Indigo Bridge Books; and Friday, 6:00 to 9:00pm. The Facebook page is here. The Twitter feed is @OccupyLincoln. For more information, e-mail occupylincoln [at] gmail [dot] com or phone 402.585.5865. Corporate Greed is Revolution’s Seed!
Omaha area: Congressional District 2
OMAHA PEACE VIGILS . . . Omaha peacemakers vigil every Wednesday, 4:30-5:30pm, at StratCom/UN-O, 6801 Pine Street, east of the Scott Technology Center on the UN-O campus. Free parking is available at the NE Corner of 67th Street and Pine in a student lot. For more information, phone Jerry Ebner, 402.502.5887. Every Saturday, 1:00-2:00pm, there is a Peace Vigil at 72nd and Dodge Streets. Park next to 72nd Street, in the pet store parking lot. Contact Steve Horn at 402.426.9068 for more information about Saturday vigils.
OMAHA PEOPLE’S FILM FESTIVAL . . . There is a People’s Film Festival every Wednesday evening, 7:00pm, at McFoster’s Natural Kind Cafe, 38th and Harney in Omaha. Wednesday, April 4, 2012, the film will be “Radical Simplicity,” a 32-minute film of engineer and author Jim Merkel presenting his views on sustainable living that revolve around discussions on global economics and resource consumption. He demonstrates that a radically simple lifestyle is not only possible but extremely satisfying. An informal discussion will follow the film. For more information, click here. The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.
OMAHA AREA GREENS MEETING . . . Thursday, April 5, 2012, CD 2 Greens will meet 7:00pm in Benson at the Pizza Shoppe, 6056 Maple Street. (Please note the later starting time.) Business will be discussed first, then enjoy great conversation, and Benson’s best pizza. Bring your ideas, your news, your enthusiasm and your friends!
PETITION TO REVERSE DECISION CLOSING POLLING STATIONS IN DOUGLAS COUNTY . . . Open and accessible polls are essential to a representative democracy. Commissioner Phipp’s decision to close half of the county’s polls resulted in disproportionately closing more polling locations in low income areas of Omaha where citizens do not have their own personal transportation. Find more information here, and here. Election Commissioner Phipp’s CAN reverse this course of action. His decision was made without ANY public input or notice until he stated it was “too late.” Demand Election Commissioner Phipps make our elections accessible by calling 402.444.8683, and sign the petition here.
OCCUPY OMAHA . . . The official Occupy Omaha website is here. The FaceBook page is here. The Twitter feed is #occupyomaha
ENGAGE OMAHA . . . One of the nation’s first city-wide, virtual town hall websites, EngageOmaha, is now online. Omaha residents may weigh in on issues for the city to consider. Pick a topic, and join the mix here.
Greater Nebraska: Congressional District 3
COFFEE WITH JOHANNS . . . Monday, April 2, 2012, 2:30 to 3:30pm, Senator Johanns will host an open coffee in Kearney at the Kearney Public Library, 2020 1st Avenue. Share your thoughts about the Keystone XL pipeline with the senator.
KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . Nebraska Sierra’s Policy Advocate Ken Winston posted a Keystone XL Pipeline Bill (LB 1161) Update detailing questions that weren’t asked before the bill advanced: “Why give a private company eminent domain authority before they have a federal permit? Why give a private company eminent domain authority before they have even applied for a federal permit? Why not address eminent domain issues and abuses through legislation before we give TransCanada a special deal? Why give TransCanada a special deal on eminent domain given their record of abuse on this issue?” “Why should the state pay for the route review when TransCanada has spent millions on lobbying and advertising?” Lincoln Journal Star coverage of the 35-2 vote giving first-round approval to the bill that would allow Nebraska to proceed with a $2 million study to find a pipeline route through the state is here.
“Climate Change Disappears From Keystone XL Pipeline Debate,” by Lisa Song sourced from Inside Climate News by Truthout March 27, 2012 explains that “Mining and using tar sands oil creates more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional oil. But that’s rarely mentioned anymore. Neither the White House nor the EPA returned requests for comment. A State Department spokeswoman said the agency could not comment on the president’s Cushing speech. She added that the State Department has no involvement in reviewing the southern leg of Keystone XL, which would run from Cushing to Texas.”
“Enbridge spending $3.8 billion in race with Keystone XL,” in LJS, March 28th begins “Pipeline builder Enbridge Inc. is investing nearly $4 billion in a new round of construction to improve the flow of Canadian oil sands crude to the U.S. Gulf Coast and try to beat TransCanada there. The effects may be to raise the demand and prices of Canadian crude and raise the price of gasoline in the Midwest, now under pressure from the glut of North American oil unable to get to Gulf refineries.”
Two LJS letters to the editor this week continued the public discussion of KXL directly: “TransCanada getting its way,” by Shelly Clark Geiser, was published March 31st: “Once again, TransCanada’s representatives (i.e., “our” Nebraska state legislators) are hard at work at the Capitol to push legislation through (LB1161) to help their beloved foreign oil company get exactly what it wants. Never mind all the evidence that this dirty oil won’t help our current gas prices go down nor will the pipeline provide jobs in the inflated numbers TransCanada has claimed. Citizens should take a look at what this bill will do (hint, it will cost you, the taxpayer, $2 million for a new study, and this is only one facet of this ominous bill). Why won’t our representatives start working for the people they are supposed to represent and start protecting the resources of Nebraska? Perhaps they are helpless as they fall into formation behind TransCanada’s Pied Piper — Rep. Lee Terry.”
“U.S. oil exports,” by Bob Schneider was published April 1st: “An article in the March 26 Transport Topics magazine reported a Department of Energy statistic that the United States exported 1.12 million barrels of oil per day in the past month. Big Oil is still pushing to run a dirty and dangerous pipeline through Nebraska and marketing the project as a way to ensure fuel for the Midwest. …Remember the 1.12 million per day exported the next time some politician or oil executive says building a dirty pipeline through Nebraska is good for the “good life.” No to the pipeline.”
Addressing the Nebraska governor’s “failure to acknowledge the point of view of so many citizens and his unwillingness to address this [Humane Society] issue constructively,” Ben Gotschall wrote “Ineffective bully tactics,” published April 1st: “…Where was Gov. Heineman’s bravado when TransCanada threatened farmers and ranchers with eminent domain? A foreign corporation bullying landowners is a guerrilla tactic that an Army ranger wouldn’t stand for, yet he remained silent far too long. …in my lifetime, Nebraskans have lost a significant portion of our agricultural heritage. It has happened under the so-called leadership of politicians who don’t have the backbone to stand up to corporate power and defend farmers and ranchers with action, which speaks much louder than embarrassing, ineffective words.”
Repeating last week’s call to action by Gotschall, “It seems the “Pipeline Six” are in TransCanada’s pocket, doing anything they ask rather than representing Nebraska citizens and our natural resources. Nebraskans deserve better. We deserve leaders who represent our interests, not the interests of a foreign corporation. We demand leaders who will take necessary action to protect and preserve our state’s land and water–not corporate puppets that will do anything in their power to ensure this pipeline is built. We will not allow this political pandering of a few state senators willing to sell out our state’s natural resources and our people’s personal property rights to their Big Oil buddies.
That’s why I signed a petition to The Nebraska State Senate, which says: “Dear Nebraska Unicameral members, The state of Nebraska pulled together behind Governor Heineman’s call for a Special Session last November, and you answered the call by passing laws to govern pipeline routing and siting in our state. Now, certain members of the Natural Resources Committee have thrown that progress by the wayside by passing LB1161 on to general file. Please stand with Nebraskans who believe we have a right to control our own destiny when it comes to pipeline routing and siting. Honor the laws we have on the books. TransCanada does not deserve special legislation just for them, just because they do not like our current laws. Please vote “No” on LB1161. Tell the “Pipeline Six” to get out of TransCanada’s pocket and get back to working for Nebraska.” You can still click here to add your name.
From “XL-Pipeline Community Meetings, Input on PSC,” by Malinda Frevert, “BOLD Nebraska and partner groups are hosting a series of meetings to update the community on the status of TransCanada’s rejected Keystone XL, the possibilities of a new application, happenings in Washington and to review Nebraska’s Public Service Commission (PSC) public comment process on how they will certify oil pipeline routes. Our goal of the community meetings is to not only give updates on the pipeline, but to get input on what we as citizens and landowners think the PSC should consider when analyzing and certifying oil pipeline routes.
Remaining meetings are scheduled as follows: Monday, April 2nd, 7:00pm, American Legion, 204 Broadway, Fullerton; Thursday, April 5th, 7:00pm, Unitarian Church of Lincoln, 6300 A Street, Lincoln. Bold Nebraska will be gathering public comments to deliver to the PSC. The more public input the better! (There will be #nokxl cookies and lemonade.)”
Worth repeating again, Paul Hammel’s report for Omaha World-Herald in “Pipeline lobbying costs incredible,” indicates “During the fourth quarter of 2011, when the Nebraska Legislature held a special session on the pipeline, TransCanada reported $529,099 in lobbying and legal expenses. That spending works out to about $10,800 for each of the 49 senators during those three months.”
Reminder: “The Keystone pipeline will spew a massive amount of carbon pollution into our fragile atmosphere. It should be stopped. ” –Jill Stein, 2012 Green Party Presidential candidate
Sign a Natural Resources Defense Council Action Alert telling Congress to reject all attempts to force approval of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline by attaching it to any unrelated legislation. The Keystone XL will deliver billions in profits to Big Oil while the people get stuck with poisoned water, contaminated land and an overheated planet.
STOP FRACKING NOW . . . Quoting Bill McKibben in “Why Not Frack?” “The planet is running short of the easy stuff, where you stick a drill in the ground and crude comes bubbling to the surface. The great oil fields of Saudi Arabia and Mexico have begun to dwindle; one result has been a rising price for energy. We could, as a civilization, have taken that dwindling supply and rising price as a signal to convert to sun, wind, and other noncarbon forms of energy-it would have made eminent sense, most of all because it would have aided in the fight against global warming, the most difficult challenge the planet faces. Instead, we’ve taken it as a signal to scour the world for more hydrocarbons. And it turns out that they’re there-vast quantities of coal and oil and gas, buried deep or trapped in tight rock formations or mixed with other minerals. Getting at them requires ripping apart the earth: for instance, by heating up the ground so that the oil in the tar sands formation of Canada can flow to the surface. Or by tearing holes in the crust a mile beneath the surface of the sea, as BP was doing in the Gulf of Mexico when the Deepwater Horizon well exploded. Or by literally removing mountaintops to get at coal, as has become commonplace across the southern Appalachians.”
“Confirmed: Fracking Caused Ohio Earthquakes,” by Brad Johnson, ThinkProgress, in Reader Supported News March 10, 2012 reports “A dozen earthquakes in northeastern Ohio were almost certainly induced by injection of gas-drilling wastewater into the earth, Ohio oil and gas regulators said Friday as they announced a series of tough new regulations for drillers.”
Petition Congress: “We, the undersigned, call on Congress to pass the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act this year. It’s time to hold the oil and gas production industry to the same standards as any other industry to ensure the safe protection of America’s drinking water.”
PETITION THE EPA . . . Tell the Environmental Protection Agency to immediately prohibit the use of clothianidin and conduct a full scientific review to determine its impact on honey bee populations. Learn more about clothianidin and sign the petition here.
TELL PRESIDENT OBAMA NOT TO CAVE TO MONSANTO AND THE BIOTECH INDUSTRY . . . The Obama administration has unbelievably chosen to approve three biotech crops, Roundup Ready genetically modified alfalfa, Roundup Ready genetically modified sugar beets and a new industrial biotech corn for ethanol production. These decisions are a devastating blow to our democracy and the basic rights of farmers to choose how they want to grow food on their land and the rights of consumers who increasingly choose organic and sustainably grown food for its positive health and environmental impacts. Please tell the President it’s time to stand up to Monsanto and reject GMO crops.
From FitLife.tv, “In the wake of a 12-year battle to keep Monsanto’s Genetically Engineered crops from contaminating the nation’s 25,000 organic farms and ranches, America’s organic consumers and producers are facing betrayal. A self-appointed cabal of the Organic Elite, spearheaded by Whole Foods Market, Organic Valley, and Stonyfield Farm, has decided it’s time to surrender to Monsanto. Top executives from these companies have publicly admitted that they no longer oppose the mass commercialization of GE crops, such as Monsanto’s controversial Roundup Ready alfalfa, and are prepared to sit down and cut a deal for “coexistence” with Monsanto and USDA biotech cheerleader Tom Vilsack.”
“Monsanto’s Roundup Shown to Be Ravaging Butterfly Populations,” by Mike Barrett, Natural Society, for Truthout, March 9th: “Although the butterfly population may be suffering, humans are taking heat from Monsanto’s creations as well. Past research has shown that Monsanto’s Roundup ready crops are leading to mental illness and obesity, primarily by destroying the amount of good bacteria found in the gut. The corporation’s Roundup, containing glyphosate, has also been shown to cause infertility and birth defects.”
To help organize or coordinate a Millions Against Monsanto and Factory Farms Truth-in-Labeling campaign in your local community, sign up here. To pressure Whole Foods Market and the nation’s largest supermarket chains to voluntarily adopt truth-in-labeling practices, sign editable text here.
BUY FRESH. BUY LOCAL . . . . Farmers, gardeners, and craftspeople meet through The Nebraska Food Cooperative, an on-line, year-round farmers’ market and local food distribution service offering the best in local freshness. For ordering and pickup schedules, refer to the calendar here. Click here for products and prices from North Star Neighbors, a Cooperative member that doesn’t therapeutically medicate or unduly confine animals. Click here for Tomato Tomäto, Omaha’s year-round indoor Farmer’s Market at 156th & West Center. Shop for fresh foods grown in or very near your own community at Open Harvest, Lincoln’s member-owned natural foods retail cooperative at 1618 South Street. Buying local grows family farming, grows the local economy, and is thousands of miles fresher.
HELP NEBRASKA GREENS WITH GOODSEARCH . . . Each time you search the Internet (or shop online at a participating store), a donation can be made to Nebraska Green Party at no cost to you! To help NGP in this way, enter Nebraska Green Party where it asks you to name your cause here. Bookmark the GoodSearch Homepage, or make it your own Home Page. Enter the url you want in the GoodSearch search box. Each time you do, one penny will be donated to Nebraska Greens. THANK YOU for your support!
Remember, every man-made by-product of the petroleum industry could be replaced by hemp. “Help Save the Earth, Time to Substitute Hemp for oil.“