Green Beat-NEWSLETTER OF THE GREEN PARTY OF OHIO
GREEN BEAT
NEWSLETTER OF THE GREEN PARTY OF OHIO December 5, 2009
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Dennis Spisak to Make Governor’s Run
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Green Party member Dennis Spisak, who was recently re-elected this past November to his seat on the Struthers, Ohio Board of Education announced that he will seek the Green Party nomination for Governor of Ohio.
“My campaign will focus on Single-Payer Universal Health Care for all, Blue-Green Jobs for all, and Better Funding of Education for all.” Spisak added, ” We will also campaign for fixing the housing mortgage crisis facing this state as well as looking into ways of reducing the nursing home costs for the elderly.”
Spisak believes the past 12 years of Republican and Democratic Leadership in the Governor’s Mansion has failed Ohio and the current Democratic and Republican candidates have failed Ohio as well.
“Governor Strickland’s platform of “Turnaround Ohio” has failed. Our public schools are facing an 800 million dollar shortfall in the state budget. Republican candidate John Kasich brings us nothing new but failed economic plans from the days of President Bush. Kasich also sat in his Lehman Bros. Office and watched the banks and Wall Street fail.”
Since Green Party Candidates do not accept donations from Lobbyists or Political Action Committees, now is the time to show your support for public funding of political campaigns and help Dennis Spisak win the 2010 election for Ohio Governor!
A key component of Dennis’s strategy to win is the grassroots funding available to statewide candidates in Ohio. By taking advantage of the Ohio Income Tax Credit for Campaign Contributions, we can prove the viability of publicly funded campaigns and help bring an end to corporate and special interest control of our elections.
This is not a check-off contribution to a common fund but a full tax credit for campaign contributions to a specific candidate of up to $50 per individual or $100 for couples filing jointly. This is not a deduction. It is a full tax credit. You will be reimbursed with a credit towards the taxes you are assessed by the State of Ohio when you file your 2009 return. This is a great way to promote the new priorities that need to be enacted if we are to move beyond the failed policies of our present corporate funded leadership.
By donating now at the end of the year, you will help Dennis raise funds to run a winning campaign and direct our government to spend your tax dollars in support of the issues that are important to you and your family.
Please make your check payable to:
Spisak for Governor
548 Poland Ave.
Struthers,Ohio 44471
Donate the full amount and receive the full tax credit. Remember to file this donation with your 2009 Ohio Income Tax to receive the 2009 credit. Act now. Don’t let these funds go unused!
Ohio law mandates that your check must have your full name and address on it – PO boxes are not allowed. Contributions over $100 must include your employer’s name.
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State Convention Saturday, January 23, 2010.
Save the Date! The Green Party of Ohio state convention will be held in Columbus on Saturday, January 23, 2010 from 10am- 4pm . The day-long event will be in Room 100 of the Northwood Building, 2231 North High Street. There is ample parking behind the building and public transportation serves the area. http://www.universitydistrict.org/room100.php
Join us for grassroots democracy, camaraderie, political activism, potluck lunch and an immediate opportunity to effect real change in Ohio.
More details will be forthcoming in this newsletter and at the Ohio Greens web site. Stay tuned!
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Exciting Election News Coming Soon!
We are anticipating big news coming your way soon that will be of great interest to all Green Party members and supporters. You can expect this election season to be like no other yet! When we receive word from the Secretary of State’s office you will be the first to know. All the more reason to make it to the State Convention on January 23!!
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Run For Office in 2010!
If you, or someone you know would like to run for office in Ohio as a Green Party candidate contact Logan Martinez at loganmartinez@hotmail.com, (937) 275-7259. Join those Greens who have run for Governor/Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, US Congress, Ohio House and Senate, City Council, Township Trustee and Board of Education. More and more Green candidates qualify for the ballot every year and you could be the next Green to be elected!
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Join the Green Party of Ohio on Facebook
by Vaughn Stull
The Green Party of Ohio has recently established a group on Facebook in order to further our outreach to all progressive Ohioans. By joining this group, you can easily converse and organize with other Greens throughout the state! If you don’t already have a Facebook account, I highly recommend making one and joining the GPO group. Here is the link for the group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=199849692677&ref=mf
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Permaculture(1) Planning in Central Ohio
By Geoffrey Tolle
(1) Permaculture derives from PERMAnent (agri)CULTURE. It is a practice of building cultures (human, agri-, or otherwise) by treating them as collections of interactive and cumulative systems. Try Midwest Permaculture’s website for a more detailed description
As a result, we have decided to begin conducting permaculture presentations throughout the year to the general public, to organizations, to schools, and to any venue that is interested in us and for which we have a presenter and a developed topic. This means that this could be YOUR chance to get involved! If you would like to join us in this effort, attend the presentations, provide information, or just generally support us, then please come over .google.com/group/columbus-permaculture-guild?lnk=srg and join us. We could especially use teachers and people with specialized skills such as raising chickens, hooking up alternative energy systems, setting up greywater systems, etc. I’d also like to plug this group because we do get together on permaculture projects (especially home projects).
Some of us have presented topic before. Some of us have presented certification workshops before. Some of us have installed rain gardens, grown fantastically fruitful gardens, or begun to get involved in local politics. Nearly all of us have something to bring to the planning table and we’re all going to have to bring something if we want to slip through the 21st Century more than stumble or collapse. So we need ideas and expertise for presentations. We also need ideas on presenting permaculture to elementary and secondary school kids. Here, for example, are some ideas that I’m bringing to the meeting:
What Is Permaculture?
Yardening in the New Year
Cleaning the Olentangy
Sustaining Butterflies
Sustaining Birds
Urban Chick
Perennials for Ohio Permaculture Gardening
Worms in the Kitchen
Sauerkraut and Soda Pop
Home-Made Cheese, Yogurt, and Kefir
Bring your ideas. We’ll discuss the ideas, whittle them down to a manageable number, start setting a presentation schedule, and select volunteers to develop the presentations.
Our next meeting will be at the
Spore Infoshop (172 E. 5th Ave. Columbus, OH, 614-299-4636 (INFO)) on Tuesday, December 8, at 7 PM. There will be snack and drinks this time (contact me – Geoffrey Tolle, gtolle0709@wowway.com – if you’d like to bring some yourselves). After that, our next meeting will be in January. We will communicate through the Columbus Permaculture Guild (see above) while more general announcements will go out more broadly.
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From SPANOhio… Urgent Action Required!
Hello Single Payer Health Care Advocates,
Last night Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont filed an amendment to Senate Bill 3962 which essentially would replace 1300 pages of the bill with “Medicare For All” reform language. We supported this in the House of Representatives–now let’s do it in the Senate.
First, call Senator Sherrod Brown and thank him for co-sponsoring this amendment. SA 2837.
Senator Sherrod Brown (202) 224-2315
Second, call Senator George Voinovich and urge him to support the most fiscally responsible course: Medicare for all!
Senator George Voinovich (202) 224-3353
Also Call these senators’ local offices.
BROWN VOINOVICH
614-469-2083 614-469-7733
513-684-1021 513-684-3265
440-242-4100 740-441-6410
216-522-7272 216-522-7095
419-259-3895
This amendment may come to the floor over the weekend so act NOW.
Kurt Bateman, State Director
SPAN Ohio
