WATCH THE GREEN PARTY PRESIDENTIAL FORUM . . . The Green Party Presidential Forum with Jill Stein and Roseanne Barr from San Francisco was the Number 1 newstream on livestream, and Number 11 of all streams live on Saturday, May 12, 2012, 9:30pm Central Time.  If you ever dreamed of a new paradigm for electoral politics in this country, please watch this model of extraordinary cooperation and agreement between candidates, in stark contrast to the competitive status quo. View the 1:42:42 minute video here.  Please help us get this out to the public by posting on FaceBook, Tweeting, and sharing with your lists.

FARMERS MARKETS RESUME . . . The first Farmers Markets of the season have opened statewide. There are more than 90 local Farmers Markets in Nebraska this year. For a partial schedule of current Buy Fresh Buy Local Markets, click here.

KXL PIPELINE CORRIDOR PUBLIC MEETINGS . . . The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality will conduct a series of information sessions in May to discuss the proposed Keystone XL pipeline route corridor with the public. The four meetings are located along the proposed corridor area.  Remaining dates and locations are: Albion – Wednesday, May 16th, 4:00 to 7:00pm, at the Boone County Fairgrounds, 11th and Fairview Avenue; and Central City – Thursday, May 17th, 4:00 to 7:00pm, at the Central City Community Room, 1515 17th Street.
           The information sessions will be an opportunity to meet and talk with those involved in the review, in an “open house” format. To find out more about the process, review documents or submit comments, go to NDEQ’s website here.  Lincoln Journal Star coverage, “Meetings planned for alternate Keystone XL pipeline route,” by Art Hovey, April, 27, 2012, including a map of the new proposed route, is here.

Lincoln area: Congressional District 1

MOVE TO AMEND/END CORPORATE PERSONHOOD . . . Nebraska Move to Amend is gathering signatures on a petition to End Corporate Personhood by a Resolution to be presented to the Lincoln City Council. To get involved with the local campaign, e-mail Carol Smith, smithcarol [dot] 49 [at] gmail [dot] com

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.  NADP’s Action Committee will meet on Saturday, May 19th.  The Action Committee is a team of people who help strategize and implement plans that can expand our cause to as many Nebraskans as possible. If you are interested in joining this team, e-mail stacy [at] nadp [dot] net  Save the Date: June 2, 2012 Training Sessions in Lincoln and Omaha.  “10 Tough Questions About the Death Penalty” will present the most effective ways to discuss the death penalty–over the water cooler, or presenting to your book club, Bible study, or social studies class. The Lincoln training will be from 9:00 to 11:00am, at the Unitarian Church of Lincoln, 6300 A Street, Lincoln. Identical Omaha traning will be from 1:00 to 3:00pm, at the Second Unitarian Church, 3012 South 119th Street, Omaha. A suggested $5 donation would cover the cost of materials, but it is not a requirement. 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

OCCUPY EDUCATION . . . The Monday Occupy Education Series continues with PLANET IN PERIL: HOW BUSINESS AS USUAL WILL TAKE US OVER THE CLIFF, weekly, 7:00 to 8:00pm, through May 21, 2012, at Indigo Bridge Books, 701 P Street #102. May 14th, “Part 3: De-Industrializing Agriculture,” will be presented by Linda Ruchala.

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.

FREE SATURDAY . . . Saturday, May 19, 2012, 2:00pm, there will be a public Occupy event to celebrate the community of Lincoln at Antelope Park. There will be a Community Pot Luck with main dish provided by Food Not Bombs! (Please bring a side to share.) For the Really REALLY Free Market, bring things to give away. (If you have anything left over please take it with you.) There will be Seed Swapping and Seedling Giveaways at the Gleaners’ Market where you can trade excess homegrown produce. LIVE MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT! EVERYTHING IS FREE! Any community organization is welcome to set up a table, and any local musician is invited to participate. It’s time to reclaim our city, overcome our fear of our neighbors, and celebrate the beauty that lies within our community. E-mail Lynette Katrina Xavier, katrinad13 [at] gmail [dot] com for more information. (NOTE: This might be a good place to get signatures for Green Party ballot access. Contact mjberry [at] inebraska [dot] com for petitions if you’d like to help Greens get a November ballot line for the presidential nominee.)

HERBS FOR HEALTH AND JUSTICE . . . Led by Alex Svoboda, this Occupy Education Series is organized with the intention of fostering community and sharing knowledge about herbal healing and health justice. May 19th, Alex will present “Intuitive health and empowerment–Basic tincture making.” Each Saturday class through June 2nd will be from 2:00 to 4:00pm, at the 4th floor auditorium at Bennett Martin Library, 136 South 14th Street, in downtown Lincoln.

SATURDAY FARMERS MARKET . . . The Haymarket Farmers Market, on 8th Street in Lincoln’s Historic Haymarket District, is now open every Saturday, 8:00am to noon, through October 13, 2012. More than 100 vendors bring farm-fresh produce, flowers, baked goods and handmade items to the local gathering place that also features a “Performance Showcase” for Nebraska folk, jazz, blues, classical, and dance talent, plus educational demonstrations and informational booths. Buy Fresh. Shop Local.

SUNDAY FARMERS MARKET . . . The Old Cheney Road Farmers Market offers local produce, baked goods and natural meats every Sunday, 10:00am to 2:00pm, at 55th Street and Old Cheney Road.

BEES . . . Sunday with a Scientist May 20, 2012, 1:30 to 4:30pm, at the University of Nebraska State Museum, Morrill Hall, just south of 14th and Vine Streets in Lincoln will feature Professor Marion Ellis, Department of Entomology at UN-L, highlighting the work of scientists on BEES. Discuss getting started in beekeeping experienced beekeepers, participate in a honey tasting quiz to recognize the floral source of honey samples, and learn about native bees, beekeeping, and pollination at the “ask a beekeeper” booth. Collections of native bees will be on display to help visitors learn to identify common Nebraska bees.

TEACH-IN SUNDAY . . . Each week a different member of the Occupy Lincoln community will host a short class on a topic of their choosing, Sundays, 7:00 to 8:00pm, through May 20th, at Meadowlark Café,1624 South Street, in Lincoln. Sunday, May 20th, “Local Government: Who Does What in Your Community?” will be presented by Trina Derickson.

OCCUPY LINCOLN . . . Lincoln Journal Star coverage of the raid on Occupy Lincoln with “Forty-five police officers, K9 units and a helicopter swarming Nebraska’s Centennial Mall”  to confront two remaining campers cleaning up the site before leaving is here.
There is a calendar of Occupy Lincoln events here. 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, May 16, 2012, the film will be “The Interrupters,” the story of three ‘Violence Interrupters’ who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they once employed. Watch a 2:29 minute trailer here.  For more information, click here.  The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

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.

OMAHA FARMERS MARKETS . . . click here for an Omaha Market schedule.

OCCUPY OMAHA . . . The official Occupy Omaha website is here. http://occupyomaha.info/ The FaceBook page is here. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-Omaha/256875934351305 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

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . The first of four Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality information sessions to discuss the new proposed Keystone XL pipeline corridor with the public were held along the route in O’Neill and Neligh last week. Lincoln Journal Star reported on the first session in “Long line gathers to testify on Keystone XL,” by Art Hovey, posted May 9, 2012. “TransCanada reapplies for oil pipeline” was posted May 4th.  Dates and locations for remaining public meetings are: Albion – Wednesday, May 16th, 4:00 to 7:00pm, at the Boone County Fairgrounds, 11th and Fairview Avenue; and Central City – Thursday, May 17th, 4:00 to 7:00pm, at the Central City Community Room, 1515 17th Street.
Nebraska Sierra’s Ken Winston has listed some of the most important reasons he continues to oppose the KXL tar sands pipeline:
The tar sands process. It starts with verdant forests filled with vibrant life, and kills every living thing in its path, ending with toxic tailings ponds. Sort of like finding the Garden of Eden and converting it to hell on earth in one process.
TransCanada’s dealings with landowners. They repeatedly threatened to use eminent domain against fourth and fifth generation Nebraskans, although there are serious questions whether they had the authority to do so. Many attorneys believe it is fraud to obtain property by false representations, and TransCanada obtained easements by claiming eminent domain authority and by claiming time limits that were simply not true.
TransCanada’s dealings with Nebraska public officials. TransCanada has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars lobbying the Nebraska Legislature. LB 1161, the bill that created the current siting law, had at least 10 different versions, the last one introduced minutes before it was debated in the Legislature. There was no opportunity for public input on this final version, contrary to the usual rule that all legislation receive a public hearing. LB 1161 gives TransCanada special eminent domain authority and gives Governor Heineman the authority to approve the route, the same Governor who has been saying the pipeline should be built as soon as possible. Talk about a lack of objective review.
The new proposed route has many of the same problems as the original route. For three years, TransCanada said the route through the Sandhills was the best one. Now that they have been forced to change the route, their proposed route still goes for miles over areas where the depth to water is 10 feet or less and the Ogallala Aquifer contains a huge amount of water. This poses the same risks to our water supply as the previous route.
TransCanada’s safety record. They had at least 14 spills in their first year of operation on Keystone I, including a 21,000 gallon leak that featured a 60 foot geyser of oil. We can’t afford to risk our resources to this kind of operation.”
When he learned that National Future Farmers of America took One Million Dollars from TransCanada, and in return TC is using the FFA logo to promote KXL, Bold Nebraska’s Ben Gotschall created the following petition to Rob Cooper, Executive Director of the FFA Foundation, Dr. Steve Brown, National Advisor, and Dwight Armstrong, Chief Executive Officer.
“National FFA leaders: The controversial Keystone XL pipeline is a highly political issue that has negatively affected many farmers and ranchers across the middle of our country. FFA’s logo, which appears on TransCanada business cards, should not be used as an obvious political ploy that exploits FFA’s good reputation in rural communities for TransCanada’s political gain. Please set a good example for young people across America. Cut ties with TransCanada and demand that they remove FFA’s logo from their business cards and other promotional materials.” Please click here to sign the petition.
An extremely confusing & slow to open DEQ Public Document Search website makes it very difficult to access route map posted online. A Lincoln Journal Star map of the new proposed route is here.
TransCanada has secretly submitted its permit application for the Southern portion of the Keystone XL Pipeline to the Army Corps of Engineers. To evade a meaningful review, TransCanada applied for an expedited, insufficient permit. And the Army Corps, which has an abysmal environmental track record, could approve the project in 45 days – or sooner – unless the EPA steps in.  Learn more and add your name to a petition telling EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson not to allow TransCanada’s project to get rubber stamped at the CredoAction petition here.  A similar Friends of the Earth Petition is here.  Please sign them both.
Monday, May 7th, Reader Supported News circulated an Esquire Magazine article about Nebraska’s XKL opposition hero Randy Thompson. “The XL Pipeline’s Accidental Activist,” by Charles P. Pierce, begins “It has gone right into being summer here this year. It has been a time of low, flat heat during the day, and glowering purple skies in the evening, and warning sirens in the dead of night. Flowers that don’t usually bloom until June are in full blossom, and the butterflies have come early. Randy Thompson’s spread in this unincorporated piece of land just south of Lincoln off Highway 77 is bright and alive and about six weeks ahead of schedule. The downrunning sidehill property has a straight view down through the pastureland to the spire of the Nebraska state capitol building, one of the few skyscraper capitols in the country. Randy Thompson stands in the kitchen of his house and gazes down through the green miles, through the lowering haze of the morning. “You know,” he says, “I used to like that view. Don’t like it much anymore.”
Against anyone’s expectations, including his own, Randy has become the face of local resistance to the Keystone XL pipeline, the massive project aimed at bringing oil from the tar-sands moonscape of Alberta, down through the heart of the American plains, to refineries on the Gulf coast of Texas. He is big and burly, a cattle-buyer who looks as though he could make his purchases and carry them personally to whoever had ordered them. By his own admission, Randy is a Republican and, for years, a resolutely apolitical one. “I guess I’m kind of an accidental activist,” he says. “I did it because it needed to be done. Some people asked me to do it and I said, ‘If you think it’s important, if you need a face to rally around, I’ll do it.’ ” Since then, Thompson has testified before the Nebraska legislature. He has testified before Congress. He has testified before members of the State Department. (Because the pipeline crosses the border, the State Department has to pass on the project, too.) He has written letters. His face appears on T-shirts and on hats sold by an organization called Bold Nebraska, which has been fighting the construction of the pipeline for more that five years.” The article is continued here.
RSN also sourced “Game Over for the Climate,” by James Hansen, from the New York Times. It begins “Global warming isn’t a prediction. It is happening. That is why I was so troubled to read a recent interview with President Obama in Rolling Stone in which he said that Canada would exploit the oil in its vast tar sands reserves ‘regardless of what we do.’ If Canada proceeds, and we do nothing, it will be game over for the climate.” Read the Hansen article here.  Read Bill McKibben’s response to Hansen’s article here.
Even people working in the tar sands want renewable energy. Click here for a 350.org Connect the Dots photo taken in Fort McMurray Canada and posted by an oil sands worker risking his job to take the picture. The caption reads, in part, “Myself, along with the majority of my co-workers, are ready for a renewable energy revolution. We need to stand together to eliminate the corruption that exists in this industry, start taxing carbon emissions, and creating green jobs for a sustainable future. We do not work in this industry because we like supporting large oil companies; we simply have no other choice. We want jobs that provide long term economic, social and environmental sustainability for ourselves, our country and our planet.”
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.
“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.

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 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.

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.“

FARMERS MARKETS RESUME . . . The first Farmers Markets of the season have opened statewide. There are more than 90 local Farmers Markets in Nebraska this year. For a partial schedule of current Buy Fresh Buy Local Markets, click here.

KXL PIPELINE CORRIDOR PUBLIC MEETINGS . . . The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality will conduct a series of information sessions in May to discuss the proposed Keystone XL pipeline route corridor with the public. The four meetings will be located along the proposed corridor area.  Dates and locations are: O’Neill – May 9th, 4:00 to 7:00pm, at the O’Neill Community Center, 501 S. 4th Street; Neligh – May 10th, 4:00 to 7:00pm, at the Neligh-Oakdale High School Gym, 600 J Street; Albion – May 16th, 4:00 to 7:00pm, at the Boone County Fairgrounds, 11th and Fairview Avenue; Central City – May 17th, 4:00 to 7:00pm, at the Central City Community Room, 1515 17th Street.
The information sessions will be an opportunity to meet and talk with those involved in the review, in an “open house” format. To find out more about the process, review documents or submit comments, go to NDEQ’s website here. Lincoln Journal Star coverage, “Meetings planned for alternate Keystone XL pipeline route,” by Art Hovey, April, 27, 2012, including a map of the new proposed route, is here.

Lincoln area: Congressional District 1

MOVE TO AMEND/END CORPORATE PERSONHOOD . . . Nebraska Move to Amend is gathering signatures on a petition to End Corporate Personhood by a Resolution to be presented to the Lincoln City Council. To get involved with the local campaign, e-mail Carol Smith, smithcarol [dot] 49 [at] gmail [dot] com

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

OCCUPY EDUCATION . . . The Monday Occupy Education Series continues with PLANET IN PERIL: HOW BUSINESS AS USUAL WILL TAKE US OVER THE CLIFF, weekly, 7:00 to 8:00pm, through May 21, 2012, at Indigo Bridge Books, 701 P Street #102. May 7th, “Part 2: Nebraska’s Role in Coal” will be presented by Tim Rinne.

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.

BEEKEEPING . . . Thursday, May 10, 2012, UN-L Entomology Professor Marion Ellis will present “The Joys of Beekeeping,” the the Wachiska Audubon May General Meeting, 7:00pm, at the Union College Dick Administration Building Auditorium, 3800 South 48th Streeet, Lincoln. An April 13, 2012 Lincoln Journal Star fro9nt page article about Ellis is here.  There will be fresh bread, crackers, and honeycombs filled with honey to sample, plus cookies and coffee. EveryOne is Welcome at the free presentation.

HERBS FOR HEALTH AND JUSTICE . . . Led by Alex Svoboda, this Occupy Education Series is organized with the intention of fostering community and sharing knowledge about herbal healing and health justice. May 12th, Alex will present “Investigation of local plant communities – Infusions and decoctions.” Please bring a mug from home for Tea Tasting. Each Saturday class through June 2nd will be from 2:00 to 4:00pm, at the 4th floor auditorium at Bennett Martin Library, 136 South 14th Street, in downtown Lincoln.

SATURDAY FARMERS MARKET . . . The Haymarket Farmers Market, on 8th Street in Lincoln’s Historic Haymarket District, is now open every Saturday, 8:00am to noon, through October 13, 2012. More than 100 vendors bring farm-fresh produce, flowers, baked goods and handmade items to the local gathering place that also features a “Performance Showcase” for Nebraska folk, jazz, blues, classical, and dance talent, plus educational demonstrations and informational booths. Buy Fresh. Shop Local.

SUNDAY FARMERS MARKET . . . The Old Cheney Road Farmers Market offers local produce, baked goods and natural meats every Sunday, 10:00am to 2:00pm, at 55th Street and Old Cheney Road.

TEACH-IN SUNDAY . . . Each week a different member of the Occupy Lincoln community will host a short class on a topic of their choosing, Sundays, 7:00 to 8:00pm, through May 20th, at Meadowlark Café, 1624 South Street, in Lincoln. Sunday, May 13th, “Rocks on Fire: The Physics and Economics of Oil” will be presented by Quentin Dudley.

OCCUPY LINCOLN . . . In response to the City’s demand that the campsite be removed from Centennial Mall by May 1, 2012, Occupy Lincoln relocated on the public right of way on the north side of Capitol Parkway near A Street. Lincoln Journal Star coverage of the move is here.  Occupy Lincoln’s letter to the city asking that “officials continue to respect our rights in this matter and work with us in finding a solution that is agreeable to all” is here.
Lincoln Journal Star coverage of the subsequent raid with  “Forty-five police officers, K9 units and a helicopter swarming Nebraska’s Centennial Mall Wednesday morning, sweeping away the last Occupy Lincoln protesters and their encampment” is here.
There is a calendar of Occupy Lincoln events here.  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, May 9, 2012, the film will be “Magic Trip,” author Ken Kesey’s documentary of the Merry Band of Pranksters’ epic journey across America in a psychedelic school bus. From the Progressive Omaha website, “Veteran Oscar winning director Alex Gibney (Taxi To The Dark Side, Client 9, etc) and Alison Ellwood have re-edited Kesey’s raw footage, giving the freewheeling material structure and context. They have added a number of interviews and incorporated some fascinating archival footage to provide insights into the era. They have also used original recordings made by Kesey himself during the journey…” View the official trailer here.  For more information, click here.  The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

PROGRESSIVE OMAHA MEETING . . . This month’s Progressive Omaha meeting will be Saturday, May 12, 2012, 6:00 to 9:00pm, at 1517 North Happy Hollow Blvd. (mapquest: http://mapq.st/o7rcsI). All are welcome. Professors Bob Ramaley and Beth Furlong will discuss “The Cuban Health Care System–A Model for the U.S.?” and their 10-day educational trip to Cuba in March of this year. Potluck supper will be from 6:00 to 7:00, discussion will continue until 8:00pm, followed by business and social time. For more information, e-mail Karen Abrams, kabrams123 [at] cox [dot] net

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.

OMAHA FARMERS MARKETS . . . click here for an Omaha Market schedule.

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

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . News broke Thursday, May 3, 2012, that TransCanada has secretly submitted its permit application for the Southern portion of the Keystone XL Pipeline to the Army Corps of Engineers. To evade a meaningful review, TransCanada applied for an expedited, insufficient permit. And the Army Corps, which has an abysmal environmental track record, could approve the project in 45 days – or sooner – unless the EPA steps in. Learn more and add your name to a petition telling EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson not to allow TransCanada’s project to get rubber stamped at the CredoAction petition here.
The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality will conduct a series of information sessions in May to discuss proposed Keystone XL pipeline route corridor information with the public. The four meetings will be located along the proposed corridor area.  Dates and locations are: O’Neill – May 9th, 4:00 to 7:00pm, at the O’Neill Community Center, 501 S. 4th Street; Neligh – May 10th, 4:00 to 7:00pm, at the Neligh-Oakdale High School Gym, 600 J Street; Albion – May 16th, 4:00 to 7:00pm, at the Boone County Fairgrounds, 11th and Fairview Avenue; Central City – May 17th, 4:00 to 7:00pm, at the Central City Community Room, 1515 17th Street.
The information sessions will be an opportunity to meet and talk with those involved in the review, in an “open house” format. Topics will include NDEQ’s role in the review process, a large area featuring detailed map enlargements, an overview of the next steps in the review process, and an area to submit comments to be considered by the agency. NDEQ has also invited TransCanada to attend the information sessions, to respond to questions that are beyond the scope of the state’s review.
To find out more about the process, review documents or submit comments, go to NDEQ’s website here.  Lincoln Journal Star coverage, “Meetings planned for alternate Keystone XL pipeline route,” by Art Hovey, April, 27, 2012, including a map of the new proposed route, is here.
Inside Climate News published Lisa Song’s April 26th article “New Keystone XL route: Out of the sandhills, but still in the aquifer.” Read page 1 of 3 here.
Click here to review the KXL pipeline timeline for a better sense of TransCanada constant change of message depending on the situation, and the many ways that LB 1161 sacrifices Nebraska’s landowners and waters for the interests of a foreign corporation. Tweet (or Facebook): Gov. Heineman goes back on his word to Nebraskans.  Now says only concerned with Sand Hills, forgets Ogallala Aquifer.
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.
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.

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.
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.“

FARMERS MARKETS RESUME . . . The first Farmers Markets of the season have opened statewide. There are more than 90 local Farmers Markets in Nebraska this season. For a partial schedule of current Buy Fresh Buy Local Markets, click here.

GREENS ARE GATHERING SIGNATURES. . . NGP is gathering signatures so Nebraskans will have the choice of voting for the Green Party presidential slate. For brief information about current candidates for President, click here.  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.
If you would like to participate in the ballot access process in any way, please e-mail mjberry [at] inebraska [dot] com. Printable NGP brochures on FaceBook are here.

PAGE DOWN FOR KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE.  Note the public meeting to inform landowners of their legal rights on Thursday, May 3, 2012, in Neligh.

Lincoln area: Congressional District 1

MOVE TO AMEND/END CORPORATE PERSONHOOD . . . After getting 100 signatures at Antelope Park on Earth Day, Nebraska Move to Amend now has 280 signatures on a petition to End Corporate Personhood by a Resolution to be presented to the Lincoln City Council. To get involved with the local campaign, e-mail Carol Smith, smithcarol [dot] 49 [at] gmail [dot] com

COFFE WITH JOHANNS . . . Monday, April 30, 2012 Senator Mike Johanns will host two Community Coffees in CD 1: Coffee in South Sioux City, 11:30am to 12:30pm, at Marina Inn, 385 East 4th Street, and Coffee in Norfolk, 3:15pm to 4:15pm, at the Northeast Community College Lifelong Learning Center, 801 East Benjamin Avenue. Questions will be invited.

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

OCCUPY EDUCATION . . . The Monday Occupy Education Series continues with PLANET IN PERIL: HOW BUSINESS AS USUAL WILL TAKE US OVER THE CLIFF, weekly, 7:00 to 8:00pm, through May 21, 2012, at Indigo Bridge Books, 701 P Street #102. April 30th, “Part 1: Why We Must Act Now!” will be presented by UN-L Economics Professor and author
Hank Van den Berg.

JOHANNS IN SCHUYLER . . . There will be a Community Coffee with Senator Johanns on Tuesday, May 1, 2012, 2:30pm to 3:30pm, at the Municipal Building, 1103 B Street, in Schuyler.

NPPD GENERATION OPTIONS ANALYSIS, SPRING 2012 PUBLIC OUTREACH MEETINGS . . . Nebraska Public Power District is gathering input from stakeholders as it faces decisions about its future electrical generation options. These generation decisions will determine whether or not NPPD has enough room in its portfolio for additional wind energy generation, or not. Nebraska has the fourth most wind energy capacity in the nation, yet is far behind in both wind energy developed or as a percentage of our state portfolio when compared to other top ten wind capacity states or bordering states. If NPPD locks in more coal generation, they lock in less wind.  The final open house meeting to gather public input on NPPD’s future electrical generation options will be Wednesday, May 2, 2012, at Divots Conference Center in Norfolk, from 2:00 to 8:00pm.  Please attend and share your support for wind energy as a part of a more appropriate state portfolio.

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.

CONNECT THE DOTS . . . The 350.org Connect the Dots Event – Give Our Children a Future – will be Saturday, May 5, 2012, 1:30 to 3:30pm, at Hyde Observatory in Holmes Park. There will be speakers, games, storytelling, a display from the Lincoln Children’s Zoo, and free family photographs will be taken throughout the event. A group photo that will be part of an online collage from events around the world will be taken at 2:30. Be part of a global movement to solve the climate crisis by helping bring awareness in Lincoln. Watch a 2 minute video here, and be there Saturday.

HERBS FOR HEALTH AND JUSTICE . . . Led by Alex Svoboda, this Occupy Education Series is organized with the intention of fostering community and sharing knowledge about herbal healing and health justice. The May 5th Introduction will focus on growing community and establishing dialogue about herbal and allopathic medicine. Each Saturday class through June 2nd will be from 2:00 to 4:00pm, in the 4th floor auditorium at Bennett Martin Library, 136 South 14th Street, in downtown Lincoln.

SUNDAY FARMERS MARKET . . . The Old Cheney Road Farmers Market offers local produce, baked goods and natural meats every Sunday, 10:00am to 2:00pm, at 55th Street atn Old Cheney Road.

TEACH-IN SUNDAY . . . Each week a different member of the Occupy Lincoln community will host a short class on a topic of their choosing, Sundays, 7:00 to 8:00pm, through May 20th, at Meadowlark Café, 1624 South Street, in Lincoln. Sunday, May 6th, Quentin Dudley will present “Rocks on Fire: The Physics and Economics of Oil.”

OCCUPY LINCOLN . . . In response to the City’s demand that the campsite be removed from Centennial Mall by May 1, 2012, the new Occupy Lincoln is located on the public right of way on the north side of Capitol Parkway near A Street. Lincoln Journal Star coverage of the move is here.  Occupy Lincoln’s letter to the city asking that “officials continue to respect our rights in this matter and work with us in finding a solution that is agreeable to all” is here.  “…We envision maintaining a safe and family-friendly presence that does not hinder the long-awaited renovation of Centennial Mall.” There is a calendar of Occupy Lincoln events here.  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

TRANSPORTATION CELEBRATION . . . Tuesday, May 1, 5:00 to 9:00pm, part of Harney Street will be shut down from 24th to 25th Avenue for a Transportation Celebration with music, food trucks, sidewalk chalking, art, yoga, roller skating, games, and outside fun at 25th & Harney in Omaha. The City is about to adopt an updated Transportation Master Plan, and this will be a celebration party for the proposed multi-modal ‘Market to Midtown Connector.’ Bicycle, bus, shuttle (from Midtown Crossing), carpool or walk to join the fun. Group bike rides will be organizing from around the city. Follow updates about the event on Facebook.  For questions, e-mail info [at] modeshiftomaha [dot] org.

COFFEE WITH JOHANNS IN OMAHA . . . Senator Johanns will hold a Community coffee in Omaha on Tuesday, May 1, 2012, 7:30am to 8:30am, at Courtyard Marriott Aksarben Village, 1625 South 67th Street. Ask him about his position of whatever issues interest you in person.

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, May 2, 2012, the film will be “AbUSed,” a documentary that “tells the gripping personal stories of the individuals, the families and the town that survived the most brutal, most expensive and largest immigration raid in the history of the United States.” View a 2:05 minute trailer here. For more information, click here.  The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

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.

OMAHA FARMERS MARKETS . . . Click here for an Omaha Market schedule.

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

PIPELINE LEGAL RIGHTS INFORMATION MEETING . . . Thursday May 3, 2012, 6:00 to 8:00pm, at the Neligh Public Library, 710 M Street, there will be a public meeting to inform landowners of their legal rights relative to TransCanada and its agents. Landowners do not have to sign anything, and there is no legal obligation to respond when approached by TransCanada. Indeed, landowners are advised to *not* respond to any communications from TransCanada.  Meet with other landowners and a legal team Thursday evening to understand your rights.

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality will conduct a series of information sessions in May to discuss proposed Keystone XL pipeline route corridor information with the public. The four meetings will be located along the proposed corridor area.  Dates and locations are: O’Neill – May 9th, 4:00 to 7:00pm, at the O’Neill Community Center, 501 S. 4th Street; Neligh – May 10th, 4:00 to 7:00pm, at the Neligh-Oakdale High School Gym, 600 J Street; Albion – May 16th, 4:00 to 7:00pm, at the Boone County Fairgrounds, 11th and Fairview Avenue; Central City – May 17th, 4:00 to 7:00pm, at the Central City Community Room, 1515 17th Street.
The information sessions will be an opportunity to meet and talk with those involved in the review, in an “open house” format. Topics will include NDEQ’s role in the review process, a large area featuring detailed map enlargements, an overview of the next steps in the review process, and an area to submit comments to be considered by the agency. NDEQ has also invited TransCanada to attend the information sessions, to respond to questions that are beyond the scope of the state’s review.
To find out more about the process, review documents or submit comments, go to NDEQ’s website here.  Lincoln Journal Star coverage, “Meetings planned for alternate Keystone XL pipeline route,” by Art Hovey, April, 27, 2012, including a map of the new proposed route, is here.
Inside Climate News published Lisa Song’s April 26th article “New Keystone XL route: Out of the sandhills, but still in the aquifer.” Read page 1 of 3 here.
Click here to review the KXL pipeline timeline for a better sense of TransCanada constant change of message depending on the situation, and the many ways that LB 1161 sacrifices Nebraska’s landowners and waters for the interests of a foreign corporation. Tweet (or Facebook): Gov. Heineman goes back on his word to Nebraskans  Now says only concerned with Sand Hills, forgets Ogallala Aquifer.
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.
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

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.
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.“

NPPD GENERATION OPTIONS ANALYSIS, SPRING 2012 PUBLIC OUTREACH MEETINGS . . . NPPD is gathering input from stakeholders as it faces decisions about its future electrical generation options. These generation decisions will determine whether or not NPPD has enough room in its portfolio for additional wind energy generation, or not. Nebraska has the fourth most wind energy capacity in the nation, yet is far behind in both wind energy developed or as a percentage of our state portfolio when compared to other top ten wind capacity states or bordering states. If NPPD locks in more coal generation, they lock in less wind. This week there will be two open house meetings to gather public input on NPPD’s future electrical generation options:  Wednesday, April 25th, at the Holiday Inn Kearney, from 2:00 to 8:00pm; and Thursday, April 26th, at the Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln, from 2:00 to 8:00pm.  Please attend one of these public forums and share your support for wind energy as a part of a more appropriate state portfolio.

GREENS ARE GATHERING SIGNATURES . . . NGP is gathering signatures so Nebraskans will have the choice of voting for the Green Party presidential slate. For brief information about current candidates for President, click here.  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.
If you would like to participate in the ballot access process in any way, please e-mail 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

THINK YELLOW, GO GREEN . . . “Think Yellow, Go Green,” is the fourth annual Lincoln telephone directory recycling drive, now through Friday, April 27, 2012. Outdated telephone books can be dropped off at the following parks and recreation centers in and around Lincoln: Auld Recreation Center, Belmont Recreation Center, Easterday Recreation Center, F Street Recreation Center, Holmes Lake Park, Irving Recreation Center and the Cornhusker Council’s Outdoor Education Center in Walton.

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

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 23, 2012, will be “Part 5: Today’s Great Reversal – After So Much Progress, What Happened?”

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. Tuesday, April 24, 2012, Linda Ruchala and Hank Van den Berg will present “The Dark Side of Outsourcing: Apple’s Problems with the Foxconn Sweatshops Are Only the Tip of the Iceberg.”

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.

BRING STUFF TO CIRCULATION DAY . . . Saturday, April 28, 2012, 9:00am to 4:00pm, EveryOne is invited to bring items they don’t want anymore to the Unity Lincoln parking lot, 135 North 31st Street. EveryOne can than take whatever items they want–no money will be exchanged. Leftover things will be donated to an appropriate thrift store. Drop off clean items in good repair from 10:00am to 6:00pm, Monday through Friday, or bring them on April 28th.

CITY-WIDE RECYCLING DAY . . . Saturday, April 28, from 9:00am until 4:00pm, the City of Lincoln will host its first annual City-wide Recycling Day to benefit the People’s City Mission. Bring unwanted clothing and accessories (shoes, hats, purses, belts, etc. IN ANY CONDITION) to any Super Saver or Russ’s Market location in Lincoln. The City Mission will give them away, or recycle them. For more information, click here or call 402.475.6888. Useable items can also be dropped off daily at the Homeless Prevention Center, 21st and N Street.

SPRING AFFAIR . . . Saturday, April 28, from 9:00am until 4:00pm, more than 500 plant varieties will be available at the Lancaster Events Center, 84th Street and Havelock Avenue, Lincoln, for the annual Spring Affair. Educational talks and garden vendors will also be part of the day-long sale event. Admission is free.

FINANCIAL CRISIS PANEL . . . Saturday, April 28, 2012, 3:00 to 5:00pm, there will be a session on the financial melt-down of 2008, focused on what the Wall Street banks and investment houses did to create it, featuring a video segment from Bill Moyers, “John Reed (former president of CitiBank) on Big Banks Power and Influence,” at the Unitarian Church of Lincoln, 6300 A Street. A panel discussion with Q & A will follow. The Panelists: Author/UN-L Economics Professor Hank Van den Berg, Les Manns, Professor of Economics at Doane College in Crete, and Mark Vasina, who worked for federal banking regulators in New York during the U.S. banking crisis in the 1980s, and spent the 1990s working in risk management for Wall Street firms Bear Stearns and Oppenheimer. All are welcome at this free presentation.

NATURE CAMP SCHOLARSHIPS . . . Friends of Wilderness Park is awarding scholarships to members whose children have an interest in attending the Wilderness Park Nature Camp this Summer. If you are interested in applying for the scholarship or know a child who is deserving of the experience please contact Adam Hintz by May 1st at 402.421.8464 or e-mail friendsofwildernessparkne [at] yahoo [dot] com. For more information on the camp, call 402.441.7895.

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!

SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, May 5, 2012, 1:30 to 3:30pm, 350.org Connect the Dots Event – Give Our Children a Future – at Hyde Observatory in Holmes Park. Be part of a global movement to solve the climate crisis by helping bring awareness in Lincoln. Watch a 2 minute video here and mark your calendars for May 5th.

Omaha area: Congressional District 2

OMAHA TAX BURDEN FORUM . . . How our tax dollars in Nebraska are divided among the rich, middle class and poor will be discussed on Wednesday, April 25, 2012, 4:00pm, at Hot Shops, 1301 Nicholas Street, Omaha. UNO’s John Bartle, and State Senator Abbie Cornett, Chair of the Revenue Committee, will be featured speakers. Click here for more information.

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 25, 2012, the film will be “Burzynski,” a documentary about biochemist Stanislaw Burzynski, who won a legal battle against the Food & Drug Administration in U.S. Discussion will follow the film. For more information, click here.  The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

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

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . An AP report April 19, 2012 by Grant Schulte begins “Officials unveiled a new preferred route Thursday for the Nebraska portion of the stalled Keystone XL oil pipeline that avoids the state’s groundwater-rich Sandhills region.”
“New route proposal for Keystone XL pipeline,” by Art Hovey, for Lincoln Journal Star April 20th: “Just two days after Gov. Dave Heineman signed supportive legislation into law, the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality is circulating a preferred alternative corridor for taking the Keystone XL pipeline around the Nebraska Sandhills. So far, an option that would add about 25 miles to the controversial project’s north-south movement across the state is the preference of pipeline builder TransCanada only. The work of the state’s environmental regulator is just beginning.” The article, including a map, is continued here.
A new post by Deena Winter April 18th reporting on “TransCanada’s new preferred pipeline route,” for Nebraska Watchdog describes preferred “corridors” for a newly routed pipe.  The report recommends “a 174-mile-long route that crosses 65 bodies of water, 1.76 miles of “ecologically unusually sensitive” areas and one mile of a wild and scenic river, according to the report. It also crosses the Ogallala aquifer, which lies below most of Nebraska and all but the first 10 miles of the pipeline study area.” Read the post here.
BOLD Nebraska created a new video to honor Earth Day. “Stand and Defend, Stop the TransCanada Pipeline,” by Jane Kleeb, April 21st, begins “We created this new video (thanks marty, mitch, landowners, fighters and everyone else) to honor Earth Day and to be used at a conference in New York next week to tell our collective story. But most of all to say we are not done fighting and will not give up until we stop the pipeline.” Watch the 3:03 minute video here.
An Omaha World-Herald letter to the editor by Kim Harris, “TransCanada’s Bailout Bill” was published April 13th. “Taxpayers spent money to have a special session and now we are all slapped in the face with a new bill that wipes out what was already done back in November. According to the Unicameral Update published April 5, 2012, Senator Smith introduced this bill because the federal government halted the process. Why are we allowing a bill to be introduced that bails out TransCanada? Why should a foreign pipeline company be able to use eminent domain prior to a permit approval? Any other company to my knowledge NOT building a pipeline that is trying to obtain an easement cannot use eminent domain prior to permit approval. How is this not special legislation? …It has always been the American Dream to be able to own property. This new special legislation not only tramples the rights of the landowners for a foreign pipeline company but it crushes the sentimental values that families hold over that American Dream and Freedoms of owning property. Please stop the non-sense Senators and start representing and LISTENING to your citizens to protect our futures, land and water.”
Click here to review the KXL pipeline timeline for a better sense of TransCanada constant change of message depending on the situation, and the many ways that LB 1161 sacrifices Nebraska’s landowners and waters for the interests of a foreign corporation. Tweet (or Facebook): Gov. Heineman goes back on his word to Nebraskans Now says only concerned with Sand Hills, forgets Ogallala Aquifer.
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.
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.

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.“

EARTH DAY IS SUNDAY, APRIL 22, 2012. Find Lincoln and Omaha Events in Green Notes below.

STAND FOR THE SILENT DAY . . . ‘Nebraska Stand for The Silent Day,’ recognize victims of bullying who often endure the torment in silence, will be Friday, April 20, 2012. “Nebraska students urged to Stand for The Silent,” by Erin Andersen, LJS, April 1, 2012 reports “Every seven seconds, someone somewhere is bullied. Often that person remains silent, internalizing the torment until he or she no longer can take it. …Stand for The Silent is a national anti-bullying movement started in Oklahoma in response to the suicide of 11-year-old Ty Smalley, who killed himself after being suspended for retaliating against the bully who had picked on him for two years. Smalley’s parents, Kirk and Laura Smalley, were in Lincoln and surrounding communities two weeks ago sharing their story.”
People interested in taking part in “Nebraska Stand for The Silent Day” can click here.  For more information, contact Heather Millard at 712.203.1852 or e-mail heather [dot] millard [at] nebraska [dot] gov; or Cathleen Plager at ServeNebraska, 402.471.6226.

GREENS ARE GATHERING SIGNATURES . . . NGP is gathering signatures so voters here will have the choice of voting for the Green Party presidential slate. For brief information about current candidates for President, click here.  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.
If you would like to participate in the ballot access process in any way, please e-mail 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

THINK YELLOW, GO GREEN . . . “Think Yellow, Go Green,” is the fourth annual Lincoln telephone directory recycling drive, now through April 27, 2012. Outdated telephone books can be dropped off at the following parks and recreation centers in and around Lincoln: Auld Recreation Center, Belmont Recreation Center, Easterday Recreation Center, F Street Recreation Center, Holmes Lake Park, Irving Recreation Center and the Cornhusker Council’s Outdoor Education Center in Walton.

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

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 16th, will be “Part 4: The Rights Movements in the 1950s and 1960s – The Unique Period of Advancements in Civil Rights, Women’s Rights, Reproductive Rights, and Economic Rights.”

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. Tuesday, April 17th, Nick Svoboda will present “Drawing Inspiration from Global Popular Movements.”

WHEN WE STOP COUNTING . . . Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 7:00pm, there will be a special showing of “When We Stop Counting,” a film about six Hispanic students in Crete, Nebraska, at First-Plymouth Congregational Church (Mayflower Room), 2000 D Street, Lincoln. A discussion following the film will be led by Lincoln Superintendent of Schools Steve Joel, the filmmaker, Karen Buchfinck, a bicultural counsellor with the Crete schools, and Paul Olson, long active in the reform of education. Sponsored by the Lincoln Chapter of Nebraskans for Peace, the peace and justice team of First-Plymouth Church, and the National Association of Social Workers, Nebraska Chapter, the film and discussion is open to the public.

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.

420 AT WOODS PARK . . . Friday, April 20, 2012, gathering signatures for Nebraska’s Prop. 19 Cannabis Initiative will be the focus of a 420 Celebration at Woods Park, 33rd & O Street, in Lincoln. The day will begin with speakers at the State Capitol from noon to 1:00pm, and continue at Woods Park, 33rd & O Streets, from 4:00 to 8:00pm. EveryOne is welcome.

LINCOLN EARTH DAY FESTIVAL . . . The Lincoln Earth Day Festival is Sunday, April 22, 2012, from 12:00 noon to 5:00pm, at Antelope Park. There will be live music, exhibit booths, food, and kids activities. Start the morning with a fun run. That night, celebrate the Earth with food, drink and dance at Earth Night.  Click here for the entire day’s schedule of events.  Stop by the Nebraska Green Party table, sign a ballot access petition, and meet Dallas, the Green-Winged MaCaw.  E-mail mjberry [at] inebraska [dot] com to help circulate petitions in the park. We’ll have NGP t-shirts for volunteers.  In case of inclement weather, please check the website.

NATURE CAMP SCHOLARSHIPS . . . Friends of Wilderness Park is awarding scholarships to members whose children have an interest in attending the Wilderness Park Nature Camp this Summer. If you are interested in applying for the scholarship or know a child who is deserving of the experience please contact Adam Hintz by May 1st at 402.421.8464 or e-mail friendsofwildernessparkne [at] yahoo [dot] com. For more information on the camp, call 402.441.7895.

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!

SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, May 5, 2012, 1:30 to 3:30pm, 350.org Connect the Dots Event – Give Our Children a Future – at Hyde Observatory in Holmes Park. Be part of a global movement to solve the climate crisis by helping bring awareness in Lincoln. Watch a 2 minute video here and mark your calendars for May 5th.

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 18, 2012, there will be a Special Earth Day Event: “Pipe Dreams” and “Downstream.” The two short films deal with our homegrown Nebraska environmental issue and ‘political football’ – the Keystone XL pipeline. A local guest from the Omaha activist community will lead the discussion following the films. For more information, click here.  The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

SIERRA CLUB PROGRAM . . . “An Adventure Quest in Prairie Country,” with Jeffrey Grewe, will be presented at a Sierra Club sierranebraska.org meeting on Thursday, April 26, 2012, 7:00pm, at First United Methodist Church, 7020 Cass Street in Omaha. (Enter north door Education Wing.) Grewe is an arborist and nature photographer, with a passion for the prairies of Iowa. He’ll show a selection of his best photographs, and time-lapse videos. Sierra Club programs are free and open to the public.

PROMOTING THE GENERAL WELFARE CONFERENCE . . . The UN-O Labor Studies program’s 13th Annual Promoting the General Welfare Conference will be Saturday, April 21, 2012, 8:00am to 5:00pm, at the CPACS Bldg-Commons, 6001 Dodge Street, Omaha. Click here to view the day’s agenda. Presentations include Understanding the Importance of Creating Messages that Move People; Understanding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Lessons from Wisconsin; Building effective coalitions and alliances; and Putting it to work. Register here or by phone at 402.595.2344.

OMAHA EARTH DAY . . . The 22nd Annual Earth Day in Omaha is Saturday, April 21, 2012, 11:00am to 6:00pm, in Elmwood Park, 802 South 60th Street. There will be environmental speakers, live music, more than 100 exhibiters and demonstrations by local green organizations, food booths and a beer garden. On-site electronics recycling will be available, and the Earth Day Omaha Coalition’s annual Friend of the Environment Awards will be announced. View the schedule of Omaha Earth Day events here.

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

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . Nebraska Lawmakers voted 44-5 Wednesday to give final approval to a bill (LB1161) that will allow Nebraska to proceed with a $2 million study to find a route for TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline through the state. Lincoln Journal Star coverage by Kevin O’Hanlon is here.
Say thank you to the 5 Senators Who Voted Against LB 1161: Senators Danielle Conrad, Ken Haar, Annette Dubas, Mike Flood and Rich Pahls.  Senators Conrad, Haar and Dubas had been outspoken against the bill in earlier stages of debate. Senator Pahls had not made any statements related to the bill previously. Speaker Flood was the architect of the agreement during the special session. He had responded positively to concerns about constitutional issues. They were right, and history will prove them right.
It is believed there are several options for challenging this bill and think it is likely to be challenged. Please continue to stay engaged in the issue, because this battle is far from over.
“Rubber Stamping TransCanada’s Route, What’s Next?,” by Jane Kleeb, April 12, 2012, begins “Most of our state senators voted to “rubber stamp” TransCanada’s pipeline and give them faster eminent domain authority to seize Nebraskans’ land for their private gain. TransCanada may have snuck a left jab in yesterday, but we are far from being down for the count.” Read the vote count, and find links to e-mail your state senator here.
A BOLD Nebraska Compilation of LB 1161 News coverage includes:
Omaha World-Herald “Groups: Pipeline law will be unconstitutional,” by Paul Hammel, April 12, 2012: “Environmental and landowner groups say a new bill that is expected to win final passage Wednesday will “rubber stamp” approval of the Keystone XL pipeline through Nebraska but will be struck down eventually as unconstitutional.” Continued here.
Daily Nebraskan “Legislature restarts review of Keystone pipeline,” by Dan Holtmeyer, April 12, 2012: “Canadian pipeline developer TransCanada and the Nebraska state government are set to begin working together, once again, on the final route of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Wednesday afternoon, the State Legislature voted 44 to 5 to approve LB 1161, a bill that will kick-start a $2 million route review process.” Read here.
KHASTV “Lawmakers approve new review for Keystone XL pipeline,” by Jordan Shefte, April 11th: “Wednesday legislators cast their vote on a bill that will speed up Nebraska’s pipeline review process. The bill, LB 1161, passed with a 44 to 5 vote. The bill will give the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality the authority to certify a route for the pipeline. This overwrites the legislatures’ decision of the special session in November to give review authority to the Public Service Commission.” Continued here.
NRDC Blog “Nebraska’s Legislature considers measure to exempt Keystone XL tar sands from state’s pipeline siting law,” by Anthony Swift, April 11th: “Nebraska’s unicameral legislature is expected to vote on a bill on Wednesday that would amend the Major Oil Pipeline Siting Act by exempting the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline from review by Nebraska’s Public Service Commission. The Major Oil Pipeline Siting Act was passed in a special session after the people of Nebraska urged their leaders to prevent TransCanada from building the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline through the heart of the Ogallala Aquifer in the Sandhills region. Now, the legislature is on the brink of passing LB 1161, which will allow TransCanada to skirt the process established to protect the people and resources of Nebraska.” Continued here.
From the LA Times, “New Keystone XL pipeline route? Nebraska Legislature moves ahead,” by Kim Murphy, April 11th: “The on-again, off-again Keystone XL pipeline gained new traction in Nebraska on Wednesday. State legislators authorized the state Department of Environmental Quality to begin evaluating options for a new route outside the sensitive Nebraska Sandhills, the marshy hills and grasslands that lie atop the nation’s most important agricultural aquifer.”
…The bill, passed on a 44-5 vote, sidesteps an earlier law adopted in a special session of the Legislature only last fall. That measure requires most new oil pipelines to undergo a rigorous review process through the publicly elected Public Service Commission. The new measure instead allows the Department of Environmental Quality to study the route. It also allows the governor — who has already said he wants the pipeline to go forward, as long as it avoids the Sandhills — to decide whether to approve or deny it. Gov. Dave Heineman is expected to sign the bill into law, though opponents already are considering the possibility of constitutional challenges.
“It’s crystal clear to us that the senators who voted for this wanted to rubber-stamp a route for TransCanada, and make it as quick and easy as possible for TransCanada to get their route approved, even before they have a federal permit,” Jane Kleeb of Bold Nebraska, a citizens group fighting the pipeline, said in an interview. She said the bill would allow TransCanada to acquire rights of way for the pipeline from reluctant ranchers through eminent domain once the governor approved the new route. “We thought the senators worked for the citizens of Nebraska, not a foreign corporation, but clearly we were wrong,” she said.” Continued here.
From The Associated Press “Neb. lawmakers approve Keystone XL pipeline bill,” by Grant Schulte, April 12th: “A bill that would relaunch a state review of the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline won final approval from Nebraska lawmakers Wednesday, although the project’s strongest opponents said they will likely challenge it in court.
Lawmakers voted 44-5 to forward the measure to Republican Gov. Dave Heineman, who has said he supports the project.
…Nebraska became a pivotal battleground for the project last year, pitting environmentalists and some landowners against unions and the oil industry. …The bill approved by Nebraska lawmakers would allow the state review to continue, regardless of what happens with the federal government.” Continued here.
And here we go again… “House GOP hopes to revive Keystone fight with tie to highway bill extension,” by Andrew Restuccia and Vicki Needham, April 12th: “House Republican leadership will take another crack at forcing approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline on legislation extending federal transportation funding for another 90 days.”
Click here to review the KXL pipeline timeline for a better sense of TransCanada constant change of message depending on the situation, and the many ways that LB 1161 sacrifices Nebraska’s landowners and waters for the interests of a foreign corporation. Tweet (or Facebook): Gov. Heineman goes back on his word to Nebraskans Now says only concerned with Sand Hills, forgets Ogallala Aquifer.
Letters to the editor of Lincoln Journal Star have resumed, and are very much encouraged following the passage of LB 1161.
“Protect the aquifer,” by Susan Dunavan, April 10th: “The colorful phrase by University of Nebraska-Lincoln law school professor Richard S. Harnsberger should be carved on the hearts of Nebraska state senators and our governor: “All water is interrelated and interdependent. If groundwater were red, most streams would be various shades of pink; if groundwater were poisoned, the streams would also be poisoned.” The Keystone XL pipeline, which is being fast-tracked by our Legislature with LB1161, is a threat to our water supply. It is not enough to pass legislation to detour the Sandhills; the pipeline also should detour the Ogallala Aquifer. We are denied information about what chemicals, such as benzene, will be carried through the pipeline. The content of solvents mixed with the tar sands to make the oil flow and the protection of the aquifer should be demanded by the Legislature to show senators’ true interest in the people of Nebraska and its resources.”
“Test of Character,” by Nancy Packard, April 9th: “We’re anxious about our schoolchildren: Are they learning? Are they thinking? Can they pass the test? But what about our governor and our senators? Are they learning? Are they thinking? Can they pass the test? Consider the facts about the Keystone XL pipeline: 1) TransCanada is a foreign company using our eminent domain process for its purposes. 2) The Keystone XL pipeline will add only a few permanent jobs (unless you’re counting all the oil-spill mop-up troops). 3) Keystone XL oil will go to the highest bidder. 4) Keystone XL oil is likely to raise our gasoline prices. Can our elected representatives discriminate between facts and advertising? If so, why are they rushing to accommodate TransCanada? This a big test, and it is a test of character.”
“Senators’ action deplorable,” by Joyce Petit, April 9th: “It boggles my mind that all of our state senators, except for two, are doing everything in their power to allow TransCanada, a foreign company, to come into our state and steal our personal property with eminent domain. TransCanada doesn’t even have a permit or an application for a permit in our country. I thought we voted our senators into office to protect Nebraska citizens. Well, I was dead wrong. Does anyone see anything wrong with this picture?
Our legislators are putting in laws just for TransCanada. We paid state senators to have a special session to put in laws last year to protect us from pipelines, and at the time they exempted TransCanada. Now that TransCanada’s permit was rejected, our senators are making a new law so that TransCanada doesn’t have to abide by the state law in place.
Eminent domain was supposed to be allowed only if a permit had been approved by the federal government. But here state senators are handing TransCanada our personal property on a silver platter. Eminent domain is supposed to be used in any case only if it is for the public good. We all know that Keystone XL is only going to be for the good of TransCanada.
It will not lower our gas prices; if anything, it will increase them. The picture gets clearer all the time, and it looks like our country has been overexposed to TransCanada.”
“Your Land is My Land,” by Peter Gorman, Fort Worth Weekly, April 11th: Keystone pipeline company runs roughshod over Texas landowners – and maybe Texas law. “When someone from the TransCanada company asked the Crawford family in 2008 about an easement to lay pipeline across their farm on the Texas bank of the Red River, the family wasn’t interested.
The Crawfords thought that would be the end of it, and why wouldn’t they? Twice before the family had been approached in a similar fashion by pipeline companies, and when the family said they didn’t want their Lamar County farm disturbed, the companies simply used another route.
But TransCanada wouldn’t do that. The firm, hired to move tar sands bitumen — a mix of sand, clay, and water saturated with an extremely dense petroleum — from Alberta, Canada, to the Houston refineries along what’s been dubbed the Keystone Pipeline XL, upped its offer on the easement a couple of times between 2008 and 2011 from $7,000 to $21,000. When the Crawfords continued to say they weren’t interested, TransCanada went ahead and condemned the land it wanted in September 2011.” Page 1 of 3 continued here.
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.“

GREENS ARE GATHERING SIGNATURES  . . . NGP is gathering signatures so voters here will have the choice of voting for the Green Party presidential slate. For brief information about current candidates for President, click here.  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.  To participate in the ballot access process in any way, please e-mail 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

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 9, 2012 will be “Part 3: Populism – Nebraska’s Role in the Populist Movement.”

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. Tuesday, April 10, 2012, Tim Rinne, Executive Director of Nebraskans for Peace, will present “Nebraska’s Role in Climate Change.”

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.

WACHISKA ANNUAL . . . The Wachiska Audubon Earthkeeper Award will be presented to Duane Hovorka, Executive Director of Nebraska Wildlife Federation, on Thursday, April 12, 2012, at the Wachiska annual meeting and potluck dinner beginning 6:15pm, at Spring Creek Audubon Center near Denton. Marian Langan, Exeuctive Director of Audubon Nebraska and Vice President of National Audubon Society, will present an overview of the new strategic national plan. The public is invited to bring a favorite dish to share, and table service. Phone the Wachiska office for more information at 402.486.4846.

PEACE AUCTION . . . The Crete Nebraskans for Peace Auction will be Thursday, April 12, 2012, 7:00pm, in the ARC, United Church of Christ, (west end/new addition), 12th and Ivy, Crete, NE. The auctioneer will be Cody Vance. Contributions to past auctions have included a wide variety of small items of inestimable value such as food (Mid-Eastern meal, candy, kolache, rolls, jelly, bread, etc.), books, games, puzzles, videos, jewelry, hats, and sundry items culled from the treasures commonly found in basements, attics, closet shelves, shoe boxes, under mattresses and in safety deposit boxes. Keep those items in circulation. Call Pat or Rob at 402.826.4818, or Jane at 402.797.3855 for more details. Refreshments will be served.

FREE GARDENING WORKSHOP . . . Saturday, April 14, 2012, 9:30 to 11:30am, From Mowing to Growing, a free community gardening workshop, will be presented in the garden on the northwest corner at 26th & T Streets, in Lincoln. Learn how to transform your lawn and block into a productive food system. Pre-registrations would be appreciated, by e-mail to Barb at barb [at] communitycrops [dot] org or call 402.474.9802. Click here for more details. All are welcome.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS TRAINING . . . ACLU Legal Director Amy Miller will present “Know Your Rights,” a training workshop focused on your rights and responsibilities in encounters with law enforcement, on Saturday, April 14, 2012, 2:00 to 4:00pm, in the Colonial Room at the UN-L Student Union, 14th & R Streets, in Lincoln. Whether contact is made in your car, on foot, or in your home, learn your rights at this free training session.

NATIVE PLANTS . . . Sunday, April 15, 2012, 2:00pm, there will be a Native Plant Program at Lincoln Unitarian Church, 6300 A Street, presented by Roland Barth and Neal S. Ratzlaff, authors of “Field Guide to Wildflowers: Fontenelle Forest & Neale Woods Nature Centers.”

NATURE CAMP SCHOLARSHIPS . . . Friends of Wilderness Park is awarding scholarships to members whose children have an interest in attending the Wilderness Park Nature Camp this Summer. If you are interested in applying for the scholarship or know a child who is deserving of the experience please contact Adam Hintz by May 1st at 402.421.8464 or e-mail friendsofwildernessparkne [at] yahoo [dot] com. For more information on the camp, call 402.441.7895.

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 “Orgasm, Inc.,” a powerful 73 minute film that looks inside the medical industry and the marketing campaigns that are literally and figuratively reshaping our everyday lives around health, illness, desire — and orgasm. An informal discussion will follow the film. For more information, click here.  The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

GREEN NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE . . . There will be a Green Neighborhood Council Roundtable Discussion on “Urban Prairies & How You Can Create a Bit of Prairie In Your Own Yard,” 6:30 to 8:00pm, Thursday, April 12, 2012, at the Neighborhood Center, 115 South 49th Ave, Omaha. Longtime ecologist Glenn Pollock will discuss how protecting our natural environment benefits everyone, and how using native wildflowers and other native plants benefits our ecosystem. All GNC workshops are free and open to the public.

GREEN TEEN RALLY . . . There will be a Green Teen Rally Saturday, April 14, 2012, 11:00am to 2:00pm, at Bellevue West High School, 1501 Thurston Avenue – just off the Kennedy Freeway at Cornhusker, sponsored by the Omaha Area Green Club Network. There will be Round Table Sharing, informal connecting over pizza and cupcakes, a presentation by a Master Gardener, Breakout sessions on Gardening, Recycling, and Attracting New Members, and a tour of one club’s native prairie flower garden or paper recycling program. For more information, phone 402.593.1810, or e-mail incompassion [at] yahoo [dot] com. “Like” on Facebook: Green Teen Rally. Follow on Twitter: @GreenTeenRally

PROGRESSIVE OMAHA MEETING . . . Nebraska State Senator Gwen Howard will speake at the next Progressive Omaha meeting, Saturday, April 14th, 2012, from 6:00 to 9:00pm, at 1517 North Happy Hollow Blvd. (mapquest). Senator Howard will discuss her candidacy for incumbent Rep. Lee Terry’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. In the May 15th primary, Howard will face Douglas County Treasurer John Ewing, Jr. to represent the 2nd Congressional District.  Howard’s official campaign website is here, and here.  There will be a pot luck from 6:00 to 7:00, discussion until 8:00, and business/social time until 9:00pm. All are welcome.

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

OCCUPY GRAND ISLAND . . . In conjunction with Nation-wide “Occupy Week” activities, on Saturday, April 14, 2012, from 1:00 to 3:00pm, there will be a public demonstration in support of Occupy Grand Island at Pioneer Park on U.S. Hwy 30 (West 2nd Street) between Eddy and Walnut Streets in downtown Grand Island. All interested individuals or groups are invited to attend and participate in the gathering and march. If you and/or your group wish to participate, please feel free to just show-up. For finalized plans and further details, please phone Mena Sprague, 308.754.4901, or contact Robert O’Dell, 308.384.1282, or rdodell [at] charter [dot] net

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . Nebraska’s Unicameral advanced LB 1161 April 5, 2012, for a final vote, probably in the morning on Wednesday, April 11th. Text of LB 1161 and amendments is here.
From the Omaha World-Herald, “Keystone XL bill advances despite calls to return to committee,” by Paul Hammel, April 6th: “Over the objection of a trio of lawmakers, the Nebraska Legislature advanced an amended bill Thursday that would resume a state review of a Keystone XL pipeline route that avoids the groundwater-rich Sand Hills.” The article is continued here.
BOLD Nebraska posted “Pipeline Bill is Unconstitutional and Continues to Threaten Ogallala Aquifer” here.  In part, it says “as the Nebraska state legislature considers legislation that will hastily fast track a route review of TransCanada’s Keystone XL tarsands pipeline, and undo laws passed last year during the historic Special Session, a few important points remain critically unaddressed:
Nebraska’s state constitution forbids any law being passed for the benefit of one company. The pipeline bill (LB 1161) and the various amendments from state senators trying to “fix” the bill come up short on the legal front and are long on handouts to TransCanada. Gov. Heineman just vetoed a bill yesterday because it created a “closed class” and is unconstitutional special legislation, citizens expect him to do the same on this bill.
After promising in January it would provide a new route to Nebraska within days, TransCanada is now refusing to disclose a new route. Instead, TransCanada will only identify a “corridor” and will only do that if the Unicameral passes a bill that fast tracks their project and gives them immediate eminent domain authority—all paid for by Nebraskans to the tune of $2 million.
The Sand Hills and Ogallala Aquifer are both still at risk since Nebraska does not have anything in writing from TransCanada or in state law to avoid these sensitive areas. Meanwhile, landowners are on pins and needles not knowing if their land will be threatened by tarsands and eminent domain.” More details on LB 1161 and various amendments are here.
Randy Thompson’s letter to the Lincoln Journal Star, published April 8th, begins “TransCanada’s LB1161: Here we go again. As a Nebraska citizen and landowner, I find it unsettling that TransCanada has basically been allowed to write its own legislative bill, which once again grants the company special treatment by our Nebraska lawmakers. Sen. Jim Smith may have his name attached to this legislation, but for anyone who attended the hearings on this bill, it was quite evident that TransCanada’s attorneys had written it. …The intent of LB1161 is to allow TransCanada to be exempted from current Nebraska law (LB1) and fast-track the review process. The thing I find most outrageous is that TransCanada would immediately be granted eminent domain powers with the passage of this bill. In other words, a foreign corporation could start condemning the property of Nebraska citizens prior to even submitting an application for the project. This is unheard-of and should not be tolerated in the state of Nebraska.” Thompson concludes “I truly believe our state legislators need to start worrying a little less about their so-called commitment to TransCanada, and a little more about their commitment to serve the best interest of Nebraskans.
“No to LB1161,” by Amy Schaffer, is an April 6th letter to the LJS. “…If TransCanada wants to move the denied Keystone XL project forward, the company needs to reapply for a permit and follow the laws we enacted during the special session. The citizens of Nebraska did not call and pay for a special session to turn around and have the laws undone four months later.  It is clear that TransCanada miscalculated the risk of moving forward on the Keystone XL project without a federal permit. Nebraska government leaders need to remember that it is not government’s duty to compensate TransCanada for its poor business strategy. It is, however, its duty to look out for the good of Nebraska citizens by requiring entities to abide by Nebraska law.  I urge people to ask their state senators to vote no on LB1161.”
A 3:02 minute video, “The Apple Pie Brigade Speaks Out Against The Pipeline,” features Mary Pipher, Nancy Packard, Christy Hargesheimer and other grandmothers against the pipeline at the State Capitol on Thursday, March 29th.
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.“

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.“

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

RALPH NADER AT PERU STATE . . . Monday, March 26, 2012, former Green Party presidential candidate and consumer advocate Ralph Nader will speak on “Social Justice and World Affairs” at Peru State in the College Theater at 7:00pm. Greens will be there with ballot status petitions, collecting signatures before and after the event. Join us. We’ll have NGP T-shirts for circulators to wear.

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.

MIRRORS OF PRIVILEGE: MAKING WHITENESS VISIBLE . . . Saturday, March 31, 2012, 9:00am until 4:00pm, there will be a transformational anti-racist, anti-oppression experience based on the powerful documentary “Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible,” in Lincoln at the Unitarian Church, 6300 A Street. The film features white women and men who have worked to gain… insight into what it means to challenge notions of racism in the United States. Watch a 3:10 minute trailer here.  his workshop is open to all who are interested in justice, spiritual growth and community making. Participants will watch the video and engage in small group discussions. Facebook Event Information is here. For more details, and to register, click here.

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 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

KXL PIPELINE COMMUNITY MEETING . . . BOLD Nebraska and partner groups will host a meeting to update the Omaha community on the status of TransCanada’s rejected Keystone XL pipeline Tuesday, March 27th, 7:00pm, at the First Unitarian Church, 3114 Harney 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.)

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 GREEN DRINKS . . . This month’s Omaha Green Drinks is convening on the 33rd anniversary of Three Mile Island, Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 5:30 to 8:30pm, at Whole Foods Market, 10020 Regency Circle, in the education room across from the coffee bar. All environmentalists are welcome. Walk, cycle, carpool or bus if possible.

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, March 28, 2012, the film will be “Not Just a Game,” a film described as “nothing less than an alternative history of political struggle in the United States as seen through the games its people have played.” View a 1:19 minute trailer here.  An informal discussion will follow the film. For more information, click here.  The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

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

NPPD GENERATION OPTIONS ANALYSIS, SPRING 2012 PUBLIC OUTREACH MEETINGS . . . NPPD is currently gathering input from stakeholders as it faces decisions about its future electrical generation options. These generation decisions will determine whether or not NPPD has enough room in its portfolio for additional wind energy generation, or not. Nebraska has the fourth most wind energy capacity in the nation, yet is far behind in both wind energy developed or as a percentage of our state portfolio when compared to other top ten wind capacity states or bordering states. If NPPD locks in more coal generation, they lock in less wind. This week there will be two open house meetings in CD 3, to gather public input on NPPD’s future electrical generation options:  Monday, March 26th, at the Gering Civic Center in Gering, from 2:00 to 8:00pm; and Tuesday, March 27th, at the Sand Hills Convention Center in North Platte, from 2:00 to 8:00pm.  Please attend one of these public forums and share your support for wind energy as a part of a more appropriate state portfolio.  For more information contact the Nebraska Farmers Union at 402.476.8815.

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . The president was in Oklahoma last week touting support for drilling, and the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline. Democracy Now! covered the president’s speech:  “Under my administration, America is producing more oil today than at any time in the last eight years. That’s important to know. Over the last three years, I’ve directed my administration to open up millions of acres for gas and oil exploration across 23 different states. We’re opening up more than 75 percent of our potential oil resources offshore. We’ve quadrupled the number of operating rigs to a record high. We’ve added enough new oil and gas pipeline to encircle the earth and then some.”
Also on Democracy Now!, 350.org’s Bill McKibben made the point that this year’s “Winter Heat Wave Underscores Need for Obama to Reject, Not Fast-Track, Keystone XL.”  Quoting DN!’s Amy Goodman, “Spring only began on Tuesday, but it has felt like summer this week throughout much of the Northeast, Midwest and parts of Canada. Record temperatures have been recorded in Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Indianapolis and Buffalo and many other cities and towns. Some 36 states set daily high temperature records last Thursday.”
After the speech, McKibben said “Earlier today, Barack Obama wrapped up his first trip to Oklahoma as President. He arrived just after a week of floods, capping off a winter that never came, which followed the hottest and driest summer Oklahoma had seen in thousands of years, perhaps ever. But he wasn’t in Oklahoma to talk about these climate disasters. He was there to laud his administration’s fast-tracking of the southern leg of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. It’s obvious from his speech today that President Obama isn’t connecting the dots between fossil fuel extraction, climate change, and the extreme weather that has reshaped so much of the American landscape this past year. It’s a painful reminder that sometimes we must be leaders ourselves, before we can expect our elected officials to do the same. In this case, it’s clearly up to us to connect the dots.”
350.org is launching a global day of action May 5th to call attention to these and other climate disasters. …However you choose to participate, your voice is needed in this fight — and you can sign up to host a local event here.  For more general info about the day, check the new website here.  Please join us — we need you to send the most important alarm humanity has ever heard.
Meanwhile, during Obama’s endorsement speech, Native Americans were forced to protest from a ‘Cage‘ as reported by Common Dreams.  “As long as I’m president, I’m going to keep encouraging the development of oil and gas infrastructure,” Obama said.”
A Reader Supported News report of the speech describes the scene: “President Obama stood in a red-dirt field before acres of stacked pipeline pieces on Thursday to illustrate his support for expedited construction of the southern leg of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. But his public declaration for the project pleased neither the industry and its Republican allies nor environmentalists.”
Responding to the speech for BOLD Nebraska, Jane Kleeb said “Many of us voted for President Obama because he shared a vision for a clean energy economy, one that lives up to what American can do. TransCanada’s export pipeline does not fit into this vision.
TransCanada is building an export pipeline to a refinery owned by Saudi Arabia. This type of energy project is not what Americans support and are being misled by Big Oil’s ads. Our country’s focus must be on developing American-made energy that brings us forward, not foreign tarsands that sets our country back.
No more favors for oil companies. We should not cut corners, we should not fast-track projects that risk our land and water. Tarsands emits three times more green house gas emissions and our country has no idea how to clean up the chemicals–like benzene–that tarsands leaves behind when a spill happens. Until we know we can clean it up, we should not build any more pipelines that risk our families health, water and land.” Kleeb’s remarks are continued here and here.
Lincoln Journal Star published two articles by Art Hovey, “Cushing extension could hike fuel prices in Midwest,” by and “Panel gives Keystone XL another nudge.”
Last Wednesday, BOLD Nebraska’s Ben Gotschall explained why Bill McKibben will be coming to Nebraska Friday March 30th to Rally Against LB 1161: “Six of the eight members of the Nebraska Unicameral’s Natural Resources Committee have become pro-pipeline activists, voting through their committee a bill that would give TransCanada a free pass to determine a pipeline route through Nebraska and to seize private property through eminent domain on a “fast track.”
LB1161 circumvents existing Nebraska state law that would require any major oil pipeline project to first obtain approval through a Nebraska Public Service Commission process. LB1161 would set a dangerous precedent by allowing a foreign corporation (which currently has no pending permit for a pipeline) to enact immediate powers of eminent domain, as if they were a public utility with the proper authority and permits.
The unicameral worked hard during the special session in November to pass laws that would give Nebraskans input and oversight over where and how pipelines would cross our state. Now, following the lead of TransCanada-loving Jim Smith (LD14), five other Natural Resources Committee senators Tom Carlson (LD38), Mark Christensen (LD44), Chris Langemeier (LD23), Beau McCoy (LD39) and Ken Schilz (LD47) are taking their pro-pipeline activism to the rest of the unicameral for a vote.
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.”  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.
The meeting schedule is as follows: Tuesday, March 27th, 7:00pm, First Unitarian Church, 3114 Harney Street, Omaha; Thursday, March 29th, 7:00pm, O’Neill Community Center, 501 South 4th (Hwy 281), O’Neill; Monday, April 2nd, 7:00pm, American Legion, 204 Broadway, Fullerton; Thursday, April 5th, 7:00pm, Unitarian Church of Lincoln, 6300 A Street, Lincoln. BOLD 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 from last week, 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.“

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!

CANDIDATE WORKSHOP . . . The candidate training workshop hosted by Nebraska League of Conservation Voters has been rescheduled for Saturday, March 24, 2012, in Lincoln and Omaha. Rescheduling allowed for time to reach out to conservation-minded candidates following the March 1st filing date.  E-mail Larry Zink, LarryZ [dot] nlcv [at] gmail [dot] com for more information.

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

OCCUPY EDUCATION . . . Occupy Education, an initiative of Occupy Lincoln, is offering a free and open university with weekly talks/discussions through March 19, 2012. The teach-in workshops are Mondays, 7:00 to 8:00pm, at Indigo Bridge Books, 701 P Street. The Monday Phil 99 Course, “A Philosophical Look at Law, Punishment, and Power,” consists of informal lectures, followed by an open discussion. March 19, 2012 will be “Part 5: Bringing the Offender, Victim, and Community Together — A Closer Look at Restorative Justice,” presented by Steve Swartzer, Lecturer of Philosophy and Assistant Director of the Center for the Teaching and Study of Applied Ethics at UN-L.
Tuesday Teach-In Workshops will be hosted by a different member of the Occupy Lincoln community, on a topic of their choosing, Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:00pm, at Meadowlark Coffee and Espresso, 1624 South Street. March 20th, the topic will be “The Psychological, Cognitive, and Biological Differences of the Political Spectrum” presented by John Hibbing, Regents Professor of Political Science and Psychology at UNL and co-director of the Political Physiology lab. For more information, e-mail Hendrik van den Berg, hvan-den-berg1 [at] unl [dot] edu

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.

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, March 21, 2012, the film will be “Forks Over Knives,” a feature film examining “the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods.” View a 2:12 minute trailer at the website. An informal discussion will follow the film. For more information, click here.  The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

CANDIDATE’S FORUM ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES . . . Thursday, March 22, 2012, 7:00pm, environmental issues including clean energy, the federal government’s role in protecting the environment, public transportation, and land conservation, will be among topics discussed at a non-partisan Candidates Forum featuring candidates for Nebraska’s Second Congressional District, at First United Methodist Church, 7020 Cass Street, Omaha. (Enter north door Education Wing.) The Forum is free and open to the public. For more information, click 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

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . At the national level, there was good news in a McClatchy article by Sean Cockerham, March 14, 2012, “Senate Rejects Arctic Drilling and Keystone Pipeline,” sourced to Reader Supported News, beginning “The Senate on Tuesday resoundingly rejected a sweeping measure to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other protected areas to oil drilling, as well as to approve construction of the Keystone pipeline project.”
“Another Keystone XL Victory,” by Bill McKibben for Reader Supported News, March 11th, begins “A year ago almost no one had heard of the pipeline. Even four months ago, a poll of 300 ‘energy insiders’ still found 97 percent predicting it would get its permit. But it didn’t. For now, people power … overturned the odds.”
SAVE THE DATE: Friday, March 30, 2012. 350.org founder and Keystone XL opposition leader Bill McKibben will speak at a Rally to Protect Land and Water, Friday, March 30th, at either at 5:30 or 7:30pm, in Lincoln. Details are still being worked out.
Why a Rally Now?  From BOLD Nebraska, “the Nebraska Legislature is considering a bill (LB 1161) that essentially grants TransCanada immediate power of eminent domain (versus waiting for a federal permit) and creates a loophole just for TransCanada to have a “new route” approved by Nebraska before TC submits a new application through the State Department. The bill also sticks Nebraskans with a $2 million price tag for pipeline review.”
From Press Releases March 13th, after LB 1161 was voted to General File for first round consideration, 6-2:
“Nebraska Farmers Union is encouraging Nebraska landowners and citizens to contact their state senators and ask them to reject LB 1161. It is likely unconstitutional, is a sweetheart deal for TransCanada, and breaks faith with promises made to Nebraska landowners. All new oil pipeline projects were supposed to follow the process delineated in LB1”, said John Hansen. “The state bargain made with TransCanada ended when the President denied their pending permit. It is now important to follow the law and process for all new oil pipelines. That is the bargain made with Nebraska landowners and citizens,” Hansen said.”
From Bold Nebraska: “The Natural Resources latest move to give TransCanada everything they ask for is another example of how our Unicameral is simply bought and paid for by big oil and how they have forgotten their Nebraska roots. “Most of the Natural Resources Committee can no longer say they represent the people of Nebraska and can no longer say they are looking out for our state’s natural resources. Senator Smith and those that voted to advance his bill care about their “duty” to TransCanada and have forgotten about their Nebraska roots and responsibility to our state’s constitution. Citizens will fight to block LB 1161 and continue to protect our water and property rights from this risky export pipeline. Enough is enough. TransCanada does not deserve special treatment. They do not deserve a special law written just for them. TransCanada should re-apply for a federal permit and then submit their proposed routes to Nebraska’s Public Service Commission. We have a law in place to review any future oil pipelines that was passed during the pipeline Special Session last year. TransCanada should follow our laws. The Unicameral needs to get out of TransCanada’s pocket.” Background on LB 1161 is here.
From Nebraska Sierra Club:  “The vote by a majority of the Natural Resources Committee to advance LB 1161 disregarded the Nebraska Constitution, the rights of Nebraska landowners and the wishes of all the Nebraska citizens who testified at the committee hearing,” said Ken Winston, Nebraska Sierra Club spokesperson. “The committee had been given a legal memo that raises serious questions about the constitutionality of LB 1161, but disregarded that opinion. They had heard testimony from landowners that the rights of Nebraska landowners needed to be strengthened against eminent domain threats by private pipeline companies, yet they advanced this bill that weakens landowner rights. And every Nebraska citizen who testified on LB 1161 opposed it, yet the majority of the Committee ignored their testimony.”
From “XL-Pipeline Community Meetings, Input on PSC,” by Malinda Frevert, March 15th, “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.
The meeting schedule is as follows: Tuesday, March 27th, 7:00pm, First Unitarian Church, 3114 Harney Street, Omaha; Thursday, March 29th, 7:00pm, O’Neill Community Center, 501 South 4th (Hwy 281), O’Neill; Monday, April 2nd, 7:00pm, American Legion, 204 Broadway, Fullerton; Thursday, April 5th, 7:00pm, Unitarian Church of Lincoln, 6300 A Street, Lincoln. BOLD will be gathering public comments to deliver to the PSC. The more public input the better! (There will be #nokxl cookies and lemonade.)”
“Rebuilding land destroyed by oil-sands may not restore it, researchers say” by Ben Weber, The Canadian Press, March 11th, begins “In a small corner of the vast scrape the oilsands have left on northern Alberta, wetlands reclamation is underway. But academic researchers point out at least half the region’s wetlands will be permanently lost. And then there is the carbon. …There’s the fate of a huge ecosystem being disrupted at an increasing pace. There’re the millions of dollars companies have spent studying how to rebuild wetlands destroyed by oil-sands mining. And there’s the social licence of an industry that promises to restore land — in the words of one ad — to “where you’d never know there’d been a mine in the first place.”
“Ogallala Aquifer still at risk,” by Lisa Song, March 14th, for InsideClimate News reports that the map used to define Nebraska Sand Hills doesn’t include nearby areas also vulnerable to contamination. “…It was always about the water,” said Amy Schaffer, a fifth-generation Nebraskan whose father runs a Sand Hills ranch. “This isn’t over until they get [the pipeline] out of the Ogallala aquifer.” Landowner concerns with LB 1161 were also reported at Chadron.com on March 14th. There is an excellent map of current and proposed pipelines here.
Paul Hammel, reporting for Omaha World-Herald in “Pipeline lobbying costs incredible,” writes “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.”
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.“

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!

McFOSTER’S UPDATE. . . McFoster’s Will Stay Open!  See CD 2 Green Note below for details of this week’s meeting at Omaha’s Nebraska Green Party home, McFoster’s.

PAGE DOWN FOR KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE.

Lincoln area: Congressional District 1

WOMEN’S WEEK AT UN-L . . . There will be special Women’s Week 2012 events at UN-L Monday through Friday this week, March 12 through March 16th. Find a complete schedule of events here.

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

OCCUPY EDUCATION . . . Occupy Education, an initiative of Occupy Lincoln, is offering a free and open university with weekly talks/discussions through March 19, 2012. The teach-in workshops are Mondays, 7:00 to 8:00pm, at Indigo Bridge Books, 701 P Street.
The Monday Phil 99 Course, “A Philosophical Look at Law, Punishment, and Power,” consists of informal lectures, followed by an open discussion. “Part 4: Criminals are People Too — How We Dehumanize Suspects and Offenders,” will be Monday, March 12th. The five-week seminar will be presented by Steve Swartzer, Lecturer of Philosophy and Assistant Director of the Center for the Teaching and Study of Applied Ethics at UN-L.
Tuesday Teach-In Workshops will be hosted by a different member of the Occupy Lincoln community, on a topic of their choosing, Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:00pm, at Meadowlark Coffee and Espresso, 1624 South Street. Tuesday, March 13th, the topic will be “Protest Songs,” with Ian Egenberger. For more information, e-mail Hendrik van den Berg, hvan-den-berg1 [at] unl [dot] edu Education is a Basic Human Right.

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.

RUN FOR WILDERNESS PARK BRIDGES . . . A “Run for the Bridges,” to benefit Wilderness Park will be Saturday, March 17th, at the Fitness Loop/Day Camp area (First and Park) in the Park. The 1/2 Marathon and 6 mile run will help Raise Funds to Replace Bridges in Wilderness Park. Due to overwhelming interest, the number of entrants exceeded all expectations and registration was closed before the March 7th deadline. For more information, contact Rosina Paolini at 402.423.1260 or rapaolini [at] gmail [dot] com

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

MEET WITH OMAHA GREENS AND CELEBRATE McFOSTER’S . . . Tuesday, March 13, 2012, Omaha area Greens will meet at 6:00pm for a March meeting, and to celebrate McFoster’s continuing in business at 38th and Harney where Tom and Mary have been for 18 years, and where Nebraska Greens have had a home since 2000. Stop by to sign or pick up ballot access petitions and brochures, plan for spring events where teams can gather signatures, and discuss Green concerns. We’ll plan to be upstairs. Please join us. Now is the time to get re-involved and help Greens grow in Nebraska. For more information, contact Mark Zimmermann, markalanzimmermann [at] gmail [dot] com

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, March 14, 2012, the film will be “Aristide and the Endless Revolution,” a detailed account of the United States’ removal of Haiti’s democratically elected president, featuring Aristide, Sen. Maxine Waters, Noam Chomsky, Rep. Charles Rangel, and others. The trailer is here.  (This film was scheduled for March 7, but didn’t become available until March 14th.) An informal discussion will follow the film. For more information, click here.  The People’s Film Festival – Expanding Political Consciousness Since 2004.

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

KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE UPDATE . . . From “Senate Rejects Keystone XL By Narrow Vote,” by Brad Johnson, March 8, 2012, “An amendment by Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) to force immediate approval of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline failed to get the 60 votes it needed, on a 56-42 vote. Democrats Max Baucus (MT), Begich (AK), Conrad (ND), Hagan (NC), Landrieu (LA), Manchin (WV), McCaskill (MO), Pryor (AR), Tester (MT), and Webb (VA) voted with Senate Republicans to strip authority for the pipeline’s approval from the president of the United States. Despite the intensity of climate activism in the region, New England Republicans Ayotte (NH), Brown (MA), Collins (ME), and Snowe (ME) stayed with the Republican bloc in favor of the Keystone XL pipeline. The amendment was attached to the unrelated highway funding bill. Moments earlier, Republicans killed an amendment that would have approved the pipeline if it used American steel and kept the oil for American use.
350.org‘s Bill McKibben responds: “Today’s vote was a temporary victory and there’s no guarantee that it holds for the long run. But given that this thing was a ‘no brainer’ a year ago, it’s pretty remarkable that people power was able to keep working, even in the oil-soaked Senate. We’re grateful to the Administration for denying the permit and for Senate leadership for holding the line. The reason this fight has been so hard is because of the financial power of the fossil fuel industry, so that’s what we’re going after now. …We’ve learned a lot, not all of it savory, about how the political process works and we’re going to put that to use.”
From “Confusion Surrounds Federal Review of Southern Leg of Keystone XL,” by Lisa Song, InsideCli*+mate News via Truthout, March 10, 2012: “TransCanada’s decision last week to build the southern half of the rejected Keystone XL has raised a tricky question about who will regulate the project review … The process could be stickier at the federal level. The U.S. State Department was the lead agency on the original Keystone XL because it crossed an international boundary. But so far, no agency has stepped forward to take responsibility for the Gulf Coast Project.” A second Lisa Song article, “Canadian Government Targeting Opponents of New Oil Sands Pipeline,” published March 11th, reports “As U.S. environmental groups renew their battle against the resurrected Keystone XL oil pipeline, their counterparts in Canada are facing a deeper problem—a government campaign to limit their influence over Canada’s Northern Gateway pipeline.”
In a March 9th Christian Science Monitor report, “Inside the Keystone pipeline: How much would it really help US consumers?” page 1 of 5 begins “Politicians paint a rosy picture of lower gas prices and abundant supply, but Canadian firms behind the Keystone pipeline expect it to supply Gulf Coast export markets and raise Midwest oil prices.”
Paul Hammel, reporting for Omaha World-Herald March 5th in “Pipeline lobbying costs incredible,” writes “How serious is TransCanada, Inc., about building its Keystone XL pipeline? If money for lobbying Nebraska state senators is any indication, very. With a capital “V.”  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 — or nearly as much as a lawmaker’s annual $12,000 salary.”
Quoting a March 5th report by Brenda Norrell, “Lakotas arrested blocking tarsands trucks on Lakota land!,” “Debra White Plume, released from jail in Kyle, South Dakota, said Monday night, “Alex White Plume, myself, Sam Long Black Cat, Andrew Iron Shell and Terrell Eugene Iron Shell were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. We formed a blockade to stop tarsands oil mine equipment from passing our lands. BOLD The truckers told us the corporation office from Calgary, Alberta, Canada and the State of South Dakota made a deal to save the truckers $50,000 per truck, there were two trucks, from having to pay $100,000,” UNBOLD Debra White Plume told Censored News.”
Also on March 5th, a Vancouver Tyee article by Mitchell Anderson, “Spill from hell: Diluted bitumen,” reported on the poisoned air, sunken gunk, and clean-up nightmare at the Kalamazoo River DilBit spill disaster. “On a July morning in 2010 in rural Michigan, a 30-inch pipeline owned by Calgary-based Enbridge Energy Partners burst and disgorged an estimated 843,000 gallons of thick crude into a tributary of the Kalamazoo River. This was no ordinary crude — it was the first ever major spill into water of diluted bitumen from the Alberta oil sands. The cleanup challenges and health impacts around Kalamazoo were unlike anything the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had ever dealt with, and raise serious questions about the preparedness in British Columbia to respond to such a disaster on the B.C. coast — or the Vancouver harbour.”
And Reuters reported that another Enbridge U.S. oil line was shut down this past week after a deadly vehicle accident in Illinois caused an oil leak and fire.”
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.