Throw in the Towel? Or Fight Back?

Here’s a safe bet: the two major political parties will nominate Presidential candidates from the corporate wings of their parties.

What will that leave us in this election year?

Corporate control as usual.

If this happens, we have two choices – throw in the towel.

Or fight back.

If we choose to fight back, here’s a good option:

Join with a person whose life is one of dedicated service to the public interest.

To help him organize a political campaign in every state against corporate control over our lives.

Luckily, that person – Ralph Nader – is considering such a campaign.

But he will need active and informed citizens in every Congressional district in the country.

He will need volunteers.

He will need funds.

He will need dedication.

That’s why we’ve signed on at Nader’s exploratory web site: www.naderexplore08.org

Check it out.

And spread the word.

In 2008, it’s either sit back and watch the drift.

Or get off the couch and fight back.

Hope you will join us.

Thank you.

The Nader Team



Nader 2008 Presidential Exploratory Committee — Join with us today

Stop The Spying

Make a call to Senator (D-Michigan) Carl Levin's Office
Phone: (202) 224-6221
District Phone: (313) 226-6020


Make a call to Senator (D-Michigan) Debbie Stabenow's Office
Phone: (202) 224-4822
District Phone: (517) 203-1760


UPDATE: Call Sen. Stabenow and ask her why she voted for immunity!

Stop The Spying

Support For Elaine

Detroit Greens Resolution on Elaine Brown

Detroit Greens are in solidarity with Elaine Brown. She is a prominent African-American political leader, author and thinker who joined the Green Party of Georgia, ran for office, and offered her candidacy to the Green Party for president in 2008. Now, she has renounced her membership and resigned from the presidential campaign. Her life-long devotion to ending racial oppression and commitment to revolutionary political struggle was not respected in the Green Party. An opportunity to work on transforming the Green Party into an organization where Elaine Brown, and the hundreds of fighters like her across the United States, are welcome and respected was lost. She was badly treated by some leaders and other members of the party.

We urge the Steering Committee, representing the Green Party, to apologize, in writing, to Elaine Brown for slanderous and demeaning comments about her character that were made by a staff member. A follow-up phone call by a member of the Steering Committee would also be in order. This apology to Elaine Brown should consist of something like the following:

We apologize for inexcusable and unsubstantiated comments that were made by a GP staff person and echoed by others. We can understand how demoralizing it must be for you with your long history in the social justice struggle. Such comments are unacceptable and are ammunition for those who seek to destroy attempts to develop independent political action.

We seek avenues to restart collaboration with you because we believe that, whether you are part of the Green Party or stand outside, we need to work together on social justice issues as well as finding ways to build a movement for independent political action.

The Detroit Greens express our deep regrets for comments unbecoming of movement activists which were completely insensitive to you as an African-American woman who has spent most of your life fighting for social justice.

Fifth Annual MLK Day Rally & March in Detroit

Event: Fifth Annual MLK Day Rally & March for 2008
Date: Monday, January 21, 2008, Gather at Noon
Location: Central United Methodist Church, Woodward at
East Adams in Downtown Detroit
Sponsors: Detroit Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee
Contact: http://www.mlkdetroit.org
Phone: 313.671.3715

Detroit MLK Day Rally & March to Feature Rev. Dr. Lucius Walker of IFCO and Pastors for Peace

Monday, January 21, 2008 is designated as the federal holiday to honor the life and legacy of the slain civil rights and anti-war martyr, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The upcoming holiday will mark the fifth annual MLK Day rally and march in downtown Detroit as organized by the local planning committee composed of activists in the ongoing struggle for social justice and peace.

This year we are honored to have as our keynote speaker the Rev. Dr. Lucius Walker of the Inter-religious Foundation for Community Organization (IFCO) and Pastors for Peace. Rev. Dr. Walker is a veteran activist in the civil rights and anti-war movements and has travelled internationally to represent the people of this country in various efforts aimed at building a better world for the oppressed and exploited.

At present Rev. Dr. Walker is involved in a national campaign to recruit young people from the United States to study at the Latin American School of Medicine in Cuba. Several students from the Detroit area who are currently enrolled at the school will be in attendance at this year's MLK Day event at Central United Methodist Church.

Each year the Detroit MLK Committee presents a "MLK Spirit of Detroit" award to a notable activist in the community. The awardee for 2008 will be Judge Deborah Thomas of the Third Circuit Court of Michigan. Judge Thomas has been a proponent of representative jury pools and the need for citizens to become involved in reforming the legal system in Wayne County and throughout the state.

In addition to the granting of this award, there will be cultural presentations from various locally-based artists including: Rev. Robert Jones, the Mosaic Youth Theater, Big A & Zhaoski, Invincible, Markeeta Moore, the Matrix Theater as well as the display of essays, poems and art work from students that will be attending from metropolitan-area schools.

At this critical juncture the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day March & Rally is an essential component of the Detroit community's response to the challenges we face in southeastern Michigan and throughout the state and nation.

The continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have claimed over 4,000 American lives as well as over one million Iraqis and Afghans. This is taking place utilizing a $729 billion annual defense budget which is designed to maintain the occupations of both of these predominately Muslim nations in the Middle-east and Asia. Moreover, the Pentagon has plans to establish military bases in Africa through the "African Command" (AFRICOM) as well as the persistent efforts to carry out a destabilization campaign leading to war against Iran.

On the domestic front we are facing rising unemployment in Michigan, the epidemic of home foreclosures, virulent racism and gender oppression, anti-LGBT biogtry, over 47 million people without health care in the country and within Detroit itself, there are tens of thousands who will live this winter without homes or even with housing, they are facing the torment of surviving absent of water services, electricity, heating and transportation.

The Fifth Annual MLK Day Rally & March provides an opportunity for local activists and organizers to demonstrate their long term committment to transforming society. This event is co-sponsored by the Detroit City Council and Central United Methodist Church among a host of other community, religious, peace and labor organizations.

For more information on the upcoming Fifth Annual MLK Day Rally & March please contact the Detroit MLK Committee at: http://www.mlkdetroit.org
Phone: 313.671.3715



Volunteers are need for the march on Monday. Tasks include cleanup, ushers, leaflet istribution, and march marshals. If you are interested, please show up at 10 AM at the Central United Methodist Church. Thank you.

Council Member Jo Ann Watson holds Meeting on Incinerator

The Largest Solid Waste Incinerator is in Detroit

Are You Aware of the Detrimental Effects Caused by Exposure to the Byproducts?

Have You Ever Wondered Why Detroit is the Only major City that Lacks a Comprehensive Recycling Program?

How Much Money Is It Costing the Citizens of Detroit to Maintain this Impractical Form of Waste Disposal?


The office of City Council Member Jo Ann Watson Invites You To An Environmental Justice Task Force Meeting


WHEN: Thursday, January 17, 2008

WHERE: Coleman A. Young Municipal Center
2 Woodward Avenue at Jefferson
13th Floor Auditorium

TIME: 4:00 p.m.


For More Information Call Council Member
JoAnn Watson at 313-224-4535

Your Support for the Jared Ball campaign is needed!

Your Support for the Jared Ball campaign is needed!

Dr Jared Ball, Green Party Presidential candidate very accurately states,"Given the societal need and function of mass media and popular culture, all that is popular is fraudulent. Popularity is in almost every case an intentionally constructed fabrication of what it claims to represent." This analysis can be extended to the realm of politics and describes how the dominant parties perpetuate the myth of democracy while suppressing actual participatory democracy. Thus their debates become a carefully orchestrated fashion show of poll generated sound bites with this seasons most popular attire being a call for change.

The Green Party in putting forward real candidates and conducting real debates is providing an indisputable model for genuine political change. The January 13 Green Party Presidential Candidates debate in San Francisco California will be an important milestone in our effort to replace that "carefully constructed fabrication" of politics as usual with a discussion of the most pressing issues of our times by leaders who are of the people and for the people. Six-time Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney, longtime consumer advocate Ralph Nader - who is not yet an announced candidate, university professor Jared Ball and environmental engineer Kent Mesplay will participate in "Campaign 2008: A Presidential Debate that Matters."

The debate will be held Sunday, January 13 at 2 p.m. at the Herbst Theater/Veterans Memorial Building, 401 Van Ness Avenue, and is open to the public with a suggested donation of $10-25. "Peace Mom" Cindy Sheehan will co-moderate the debate.

For more information go to http://www.acgreens.org/debate.

Our candidates stand by our Green principles and do not accept corporate money, and the corporate media suppresses news of their campaigns so it is up to us to make sure that all our candidates can be present for these important debates. Your donation to the Jared Ball campaign will help us to cover the cost of attending this important campaign event.

To make a donation at our website go to: http://www.jaredball.com/donate

Or send a check to:
Jared Ball for President,
P.O. Box 7423,
Silver Spring MD 20907

Thank you for your support!
Sincerely,
The Jared Ball for president campaign team
Anita Rios & Head Roc co-campaign managers

Do you feel lucky?

Rally for Marie Thornton, Detroit School Board

91,338 Voters and Marie Thornton RALLY

Rally in support of YOUR vote

The Detroit Public Schools Board of Education has decided that YOUR vote for at-large member Marie Thornton can be disregarded and YOU won’t do anything.

The Board’s misdeeds include closing nearly one-third of the schools in Detroit, voting hundreds of millions to contractors like Aramark who left the closed schools in shambles, and doing business with their friends and campaign contributors, leading to scandals like the $46 million wire transfer deal.

Marie has voted against and closely questioned all these matters. Her questions led to the wire transfer investigation. She has withstood two years of attacks from corrupt board members and their allies like Rev. Loyce Lester, but is still staying strong on behalf of the children.

“I am YOUR school board member,” she tells viewers of her Monday morning show from 10-12 a.m. on WHPR TV 33, where she educates the public on DPS matters.

In an effort to cover up their misdeeds, the board voted to sanction her Dec. 13, barring her from informational and committee meetings where she gets important information to make crucial decisions. In her campaign to be transparent, she has relayed all non-confidential information to her constituency.

Marie won a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the board’s sanctions Dec. 21. The complaint says the board violated its own decorum and ethics policies, by-laws, and state law. She needs YOUR help now, both financial and moral. She has fought for YOU, now YOU must fight for her.

RALLY
Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008 6:30 to 9:00 p.m.
TULC 8670 Grand River, Detroit, MI
Free food for first 50 people

COURT HEARING ON TRO
Thurs. Jan 3, 2008 2:30 p.m.
City-County Bldg. (CAYMC) Rm. 1421
Judge Cynthia Stephens

For further info, contact Gladys Woolfork at 313-342-4256, or 313-623-0827