Cynthia McKinney Unsaddles in D.C. After Cross-Country Bike for Peace

Photo by Patricia Lake
By Kevin Gosztola

This week, Polidoc continues its production of Seriously Green. Yesterday, Cynthia McKinney was interviewed in front of the White House after she and others rode from Capitol Hill to Pennsylvania Avenue to mark the end of their biking trip with Bike4Peace from California to D.C.

McKinney compared her trip to running as a Green Party presidential candidate in 2008. She talked of what it was like to bike across the country when she had no idea how to bike at all. And, she discussed the need for Americans to establish a Peace Lobby that could combat policies of war.

The trip had its rough spots. McKinney fell and busted her lip on the first day. She had to return to her home in Georgia when she found out her house had been broken into. She missed part of the trip but rejoined Bike4Peace before the trip ended in D.C.

Later that night, Polidoc attended a National Press Club event with McKinney in the Sarah McClendon Room. The experience provided an opportunity for McKinney to show her spirit of perseverance to 30-40 people there who had packed into a room to eat dinner with her and celebrate the end of the bike trip.

She touched on her work as a congresswoman and mentioned how she was the only Democrat to lose in 2006 because, as Rahm Emanuel said, she was not a “team player.” She told of her travels with peace envoys that made attempts to break the siege and deliver aid to Gaza. She talked about how, on one of her trips, the Israelis rammed the ship she was on and also how the US Embassy could not be bothered to help her when she ended up in an Israeli prison except they did give her underwear.

McKinney also spoke of the way her family is constantly being spied on. She talked about her son being outside and a van rolling by with the side door open and people inside taking pictures.

There was an opportunity for Cynthia McKinney and Ingrid Betancourt, who ran on the Green Party ticket for president of Colombia, to meet since Betancourt was doing a book signing of her new book “Even Silence Has an End” at the National Press Club. Had they crossed paths, it would have been a rare opportunity for two former presidential candidates to meet each other.

The production continues through the weekend at a D.C. convergence of anti-mountaintop removal activists called Appalachia Rising.

International Climate Action Day Storms into San Francisco

Saturday marked a day of unprecedented international climate actions by activists in 181 countries who are building momentum to inspire political leaders to take substantial steps towards climate reform at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this December.

In the Bay Area of California, cyclists from as far away as Arcadia descended upon Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco in the culmination of the kickoff. City Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, urged people to push their municipal and state legislatures to take aggressive action to reform climate regulation, regardless of what the international community does (or does not) do.  A consistent fighter for green legislation in one of the greenest cities in the country, Mirkarimi most notably initiated the anti-plastic bag initiative which has since spread internationally.

The international day was spearheaded by the group 350.org and supported by numerous environmental activist groups, including GreenPeace. The number 350 represents the parts per million of carbon dioxide emissions that the atmosphere can bear if we want to avoid runaway global warming.

Gore Calls for Scientists to Engage in Politics

At the 2009 International Day of Peace held on September 21 in New York City, former Vice President Al Gore addressed a crowd of scientists and urged them to become involved in politics, but added with a smile, “Keep your day job.”

Citing how other scientists have joined the Administration, Gore said, “Scientists can no longer in good conscience accept this division between the work you do and the civilization in which you live…We do have the capacity to make this generation one of those generations that changes the course of humankind. The stakes have never been higher.”

US Secretary of Energy Doctor Steven Chu was amongst the first scientists tapped by President Obama to serve in the administration. However, Chu’s political engagement had begun before the 2008 Presidential Election cycle, when an organization called Science Debate 2008 entreated Democratic and Republican candidates to engage in a national debate on science issues.

As a sign of the times, faith trumped science in the public arena. Science Debate 2008 chased the candidates throughout the campaign season. During the run-up to the Pennsylvania primary, Obama and Clinton put their campaign markers down on a faith-based conversation instead, which McCain (not renowned for his position on faith) declined. In a last ditch effort to establish a conversation, Science Debate 2008 acquiesced to receive written responses from the final candidates, Obama and McCain, to questions that only glazed the topic on which environmentalists and scientists craved to vet candidates. Ironically, the Green Party, largely seen as the environmentalist party, was shut out despite efforts to get one of its Presidential candidates, Kent Mesplay, Ph.D., an environmental scientist in on the debate.

In a Pickle of Greenwash

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Voters Sing Out for Reverand Billy as NYC Mayor

Here is the latest campaign video for Reverand Billy, running for Mayor of New York City on the Green Party ticket.

Matt Reichel in Homestretch for Rahm Emmanuel’s Seat

Congressional candidate Matt Reichel speaks up for peace during the run-up for election for the Illinois Special election to replace Rahm Emmanuel in this video produced by Polidoc correspondant, Kevin Gozstola.

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Reverand Billy Strips Credit Card of Power

Activist and anti-consumerist advocate Reverend Billy displays his funky, soul-filled exorcism skills on the cursed credit card in this short video.

What will he do next?

Homestretch for Illinois Congressional Seat Election

Candidates for Illinois' 5th Congressional District Seat

Article and Photo by Kevin Gosztola

On February 23, 2009, the 5th District of Illinois held al candidates’ forum which included more than 20 people vying for the Congressional seat vacated by Rahm Emanuel who took the post as President Obama’s White House Chief of Staff early this year. This special election has been a circus, with Democrats, Greens and Republicans eagerly jockeying for the coveted office. And while Democrats presumed to battle between themselves, it was the “fringe candidates” who offered a breath of fresh air from the conventional wisdom.

Organizers separated the forum into two segments: the first featured only Democrats; the second included Republicans and Greens. Despite this segregation of parties, it proved suprisingly effective in highlighting the key issues and solutions that differentiate them from one another.

It was Green Party candidate Matt Reichel’s response to a question on Section 8 housing during which the forum took a spontaneous turn. Reichel suggested that domestic issues could be solved once we end the wars and cut the military budget. This was the first time that the Middle East Wars had been brought up. The audience broke out in uproarious applause while the moderator struggled to regain control by asking  Reichel to “answer the question.”

Fellow Green Party candidate Deb Gordils seconded Reichel’s answer and added that it was time that people suspend their loyalties to the Democratic Party and vote Green. She too was told by the moderator to “answer the question.”

During the course of the forum, the independent Republican Jon Stewart (no relation to Comedy Central), had surprised listeners with his support for untraditional Republican solutions, including amnesty for illegals and single-payer health care. When he also agreed with Reichel and said you can take care of domestic problems by ending the killing of people, the crowd applauded loudly. Ironically, the moderator’s efforts to gain control and stifle the enthusiasm only instigated further laughter.

Other Green candidates in attendance were Matt Fredrickson and Simon Ribeiro; other Republican candidates included Greg Bedell, Tom Hanson, and Daniel S. Kay.

Kevin Gosztola studies documentary filmmaking at Columbia College in Chicago and is a YP4 2009 Fellow. He is an At-Large Senator for the Student Government Association and is working to create a Student Civic Collective and increase funding and resources for political and social student organizations on campus. He has also served as a researcher and Production Assistant on several documentaries during the course of the 2008 election, including Polidoc Productions’ “Seriously Green.”

Irish Green Party Holds YouTube Video Competition – Where’s the Beef?

The Irish Green Party launched a video contest on YouTube, hoping to utilize the social network to build a stable of green message videos makers as well as messages. Now, at it’s end, the contest has 8 videos entries, not all of them clearly on message. It’s a great idea for a grassroots party, but the lack of participation spells disaster. So, where are all the green videographers?

AR Rep Carroll Attempts to Take God Out of Politics

Newly elected Arkansas House Representative Richard Carroll has wasted no time digging into the archaine “isms” of Arkansas’ state politics. First was the bill to extend the petitioning period for ballot access from a mere 60 to a still challenging 90 days. Then, on February 11, he introduced a bill to remove the language from the state’s Constitution which prohibits a declared atheist from holding public office or testifying as a witness.

Article 19 Section 1 : No person who denies the being of a God shall hold any office in the civil departments of this State, nor be competent to testify as a witness in any court.

Wednesday was the last day members of the 87th General Assembly could file a bill for purposes of proposing a constitutional amendment. The Bill has been referred to the Committee on STATE AGENCIES & GOVT’L AFFAIRS.

• Carroll’s State Legislator Page
• Great background article on Carroll
• Godless Geek’s list of State Constitution with restrictive language
• Nice article on Progressive Democrat and Green Party alliance