Permaculturist & twice guest editor for the Permaculture Activist journal John Wages is running as a Green candidate for US House of Representatives!! Right on, John!
http://www.newmenu.org/votejohnwages
http://newmenu.org/blog.php?blogOK=9&candidate=votejohnwages
Speaking to friends and supporters on January 1, Wages announced plans to run for Congress,
“With respect for the past, hope for the future, and confidence in the rightness of this quest, in accordance with the State Election Code, I have submitted qualifying papers to the State Executive Committee of the Green Party of Mississippi, seeking its nomination for the 1st Congressional District.
America faces challenges unlike any we have ever faced before this time:
• An incredible burden of debt amassed by banks and other financial institutions threatens to dissolve our economy. We must begin to address this crisis not in terms of saving Wall Street, but of saving Americans who stand to lose their homes, savings, and retirement accounts.
• Even after the folly of NAFTA, Congress continues to approve free trade pacts that send America’s jobs overseas and that undermine workplace protections for American workers. We must replace NAFTA and similar treaties with Fair Trade agreements that benefit and protect American workers as well as their trading partners.
• Here in Mississippi, we have begun to experience global climate change firsthand in the twin disasters of a devastating hurricane and the ongoing drought. No one person, city, state, or nation can address this problem. Working with other nations, we can limit human suffering and the worst effects of climate change.
• Global petroleum production appears to have peaked in 2006. Our economy is based on the cheap energy contained in liquid petroleum. We must begin a crash course of implementing a national energy policy anchored in conservation and renewables.
• Hiding behind a curtain of lies, the Bush-Cheney administration launched an illegal war of aggression in Iraq. We must immediately end the war, dismantle our bases in that country, bring our soldiers home, and give our veterans the health care and support they deserve.
• Despite these daunting problems and the others space and time do not permit me to mention, the politicians we sent to Washington to represent us spend their time raising campaign cash, strategizing, and winning the popularity contests that our elections have become. Problems in education, healthcare, and other areas are never solved because of the influence of money in politics. We must enact radical campaign finance reform that outlaws all corporate contributions, severely limits contributions from wealthy individuals, mandates equitable media coverage for all candidates, and provides a fair and reasonable level of public financing for campaigns.
• Furthermore, we must call to account, whether by impeachment or by trials in a court of law, all members of the administration and Congress who have violated their oaths of office to support and defend the Constitution. This is not only the Constitutional remedy for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” it is the requirement and obligation of all those in elected office who take their responsibilities seriously under the Constitution.
Every challenge is also an opportunity. If we rise to the occasion, with grace and humility, we may not only overcome these problems, but enjoy the fruits of Liberty that are the unrealized vision of Washington, Jefferson, and Madison. If chosen as the nominee, these are the things I will speak about during my campaign.”
Important Issues:1. End the war in Iraq. Give our veterans the respect and support they deserve. Almost 4,000 Americans have died in Iraq...more than were killed on 9-11. Yet, America is less secure. Bring our soldiers home now.
2. Withdraw from NAFTA and other free-trade agreements that fail to protect American jobs. Corporations have benefited from these agreements, but working Americans have lost.
3. Healthcare for all Americans. No American should live in fear of an illness that bankrupts them or forces them to lose their homes or property. Canada, Britain, and France have national healthcare. America can learn from these existing systems and design one that is right for the US.
4. Establish energy independence for America. Emphasize conservation and renewables. On Jan. 2, 2008, the price of oil hit $100/barrel for the first time. It is time we stop tax breaks for oil and coal and started using solar and wind.
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