Joe:
Grope, either with one hand or both or alternately, etc.
Richard
On 7/31/2016 1:38 PM, joe harcz Comcast wrote:
If he was blind then what?
Grin....
----- Original Message -----
*From:* Alice Dampman Humel <mailto:alicedh@xxxxxxxxxxx>
*To:* blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
*Sent:* Sunday, July 31, 2016 1:58 PM
*Subject:* [blind-democracy] Re: Some Green Party positions
Diogenes thanks you.
On Jul 31, 2016, at 1:14 PM, Richard Driscoll <llocsirdsr@xxxxxxx
<mailto:llocsirdsr@xxxxxxx>> wrote:
Alice:
Dear Diogenes:
Good luck in your search.
Richard
On 7/31/2016 8:03 AM, Alice Dampman Humel wrote:
Cynic that I am, I can’t quite bring myself to believe that.
Just call me Diogenes (which I hope JAWS and WindowEyes
pronounces better than does VoiceOver.)
On Jul 31, 2016, at 8:56 AM, Richard Driscoll
<llocsirdsr@xxxxxxx <mailto:llocsirdsr@xxxxxxx>> wrote:
Alice:
(Opinion)
Since we are all from the same gene pool I conjecture that the
presence of a new political group such as the Sanders Socialist
Party will become corrupt to the same extent or to a greater
extent than its originating group.
Richard
On 7/31/2016 12:40 AM, Alice Dampman Humel wrote:
It all sounds very good. I wonder how much of it would end up
as rhetoric once the Greens were in power? Isn’t that what we
were talking about with Obama and the rest? Their words sound
so lofty, their ideals sound so
noble, their concerns for us, working people, the elderly,
children, the disabled, minorities, the poor, immigrants and
refugees, the sick who must struggle in their pain and misery
financially and with the unbelievable morass of bureaucracy
and paperwork and red tape, sound so sincere, their passion
for change and reform and righting the world’s wrong sound so
real, and yet, their actions fall short, their inaction leaves
the same problems unsolved that have been talked about for at
least 100 years, the promises remain empty. Would the Greens
do any better? Or would it end up with fancy wine and cheese
parties in the Hamptons for the party faithful and the same
old, same old for the people? Would there be massive burn out
as big money and corporate power chew the Greens up and spit
them back out?
Obviously, no one has the answers to these questions.
Even if we think about foreign policy, the philosophy and
ideals espoused in their points sound wonderful, but what
would they look like in more concrete terms?
Again, where are the details? Some things are outlined, like
the election reforms, repealing citizens united, etc.
I do like what the Green Party has to say about itself. But I
also came around to liking what Obama says, too, although it
took a long time for me to overcome my skepticism and cynicism
about his words. And my disappointment in what he has and has
not done has made me even more cynical about eloquence and
beautiful words, and sad, too, because I love that eloquence
and rhetoric. On Jul 30, 2016, at 11:30 PM, Miriam Vieni
<miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>>
wrote:
I started looking through the material on the Green Party
platform and I've
copied some of it so you can get an idea of what the party
stands for. I
haven't found anything in there that supports socialism per
se, which is
interesting because Chris Hedges, who rights in positive
terms about
socialism all the time, is supporting Jill Stein and the
Green Party. For
those of us who aren't committed to a specific ideology, (I
think of myself
as an anarchist), there's a lot to like in this material, and
I haven't
copied the huge amount that is available in the platform link.
Here are the 10 key principles of the Green Party.
The Ten Key Values
The Ten Key Values came about at a marathon session at the
first Green
meeting in 1984, facilitated by then Los Angeles-based and
later Eugene, OR
activist Jeff Land, with primary contributions by Charlene
Spretnak and
Murray Bookchin of the New England Institute for Social Ecology.
According to Mark Satin, a journalist invited to cover the
meeting, "About
50 of us were trying to think of a project that could help
define us and put
us on the political map. Everyone sensed that something
important could
come out of [the workshop designed to come up with the
document]. A
"collective brain" seemed to take hold, and we began working
together as
one."
Eventually a committee of Spretnak, Satin and Eleanor LeCain
(coordinator of
the Peace and Environmental Coalition) were charged with
writing a draft
Values Statement from the notes, and reporting that back for
approval.
The eventual set of Ten Key Values they submitted was
approved by consensus
in late 1984, and became a foundational basis for U.S. Greens
going forward.
Yet it would not be long before the Left Green Network (LGN),
formed in
1988, issued their own, this time with 14 Values. Over time,
Greens in
different states would adopt their own versions of the Ten
Key Values, most
often modifying Post-patriarchal Values into Feminism and/or
Gender Equity;
Personal and Social Responsibility as Social Justice, and
Future Focus to
include Sustainability.
1. Grassroots Democracy
Every human being deserves a say in the decisions that affect
his or her
life and should not be subject to the will of another.
Therefore, we will
work to increase public participation at every level of
government and to
ensure that our public representatives are fully accountable
to the people
who elect them. We will also work to create new types of
political
organizations which expand the process of participatory
democracy by
directly including citizens in the decision-making process.
2. Social Justice and Equal Opportunity
All persons should have the rights and opportunity to benefit
equally from
the resources afforded us by society and the environment. We must
consciously confront in ourselves, our organizations, and
society at large,
barriers such as racism and class oppression, sexism and
homophobia, ageism
and disability, which act to deny fair treatment and equal
justice under the
law.
3. Ecological Wisdom
Human societies must operate with the understanding that we
are part of
nature, not separate from nature. We must maintain an
ecological balance and
live within the ecological and resource limits of our
communities and our
planet. We support a sustainable society which utilizes
resources in such a
way that future generations will benefit and not suffer from
the practices
of our generation. To this end we must practice agriculture which
replenishes the soil; move to an energy efficient economy;
and live in ways
that respect the integrity of natural systems.
4. Non-Violence
It is essential that we develop effective alternatives to
society's current
patterns of violence. We will work to demilitarize, and
eliminate weapons of
mass destruction, without being naive about the intentions of
other
governments. We recognize the need for self-defense and the
defense of
others who are in help- less situations. We promote
non-violent methods to
oppose practices and policies with which we disagree, and
will guide our
actions toward lasting personal, community and global peace.
5. Decentralization
Centralization of wealth and power contributes to social and
economic
injustice, environmental destruction, and militarization.
Therefore, we
support a restructuring of social, political and economic
institutions away
from a system which is controlled by and mostly benefits the
powerful few,
to a democratic, less bureaucratic system. Decision-making
should, as much
as possible, remain at the individual and local level, while
assuring that
civil rights are protected for all citizens.
6. Community Based Economics
Redesign our work structures to encourage employee ownership
and workplace
democracy. Develop new economic activities and institutions
that will allow
us to use our new technologies in ways that are humane,
freeing, ecological
and accountable, and responsive to communities. Establish
some form of basic
economic security, open to all. Move beyond the narrow "job
ethic" to new
definitions of "work," jobs" and "income" that reflect the
changing economy.
Restructure our patterns of income distribution to reflect
the wealth
created by those outside the formal monetary economy: those
who take
responsibility for parenting, housekeeping, home gardens,
community
volunteer work, etc. Restrict the size and concentrated power of
corporations with- out discouraging superior efficiency or
technological
innovation.
7. Feminism and Gender Equity
We have inherited a social system based on male domination of
politics and
economics. We call for the replacement of the cultural ethics
of domination
and control with more cooperative ways of interacting that
respect
differences of opinion and gender. Human values such as
equity between the
sexes, interpersonal responsibility, and honesty must be
developed with
moral conscience. We should remember that the process that
determines our
decisions and actions is just as important as achieving the
outcome we want.
8. Respect for Diversity
We believe it is important to value cultural, ethnic, racial,
sexual,
religious and spiritual diversity, and to promote the
development of
respectful relationships across these lines. We believe that
the many
diverse elements of society should be reflected in our
organizations and
decision-making bodies, and we support the leadership of
people who have
been traditionally closed out of leadership roles. We
acknowledge and
encourage respect for other life forms than our own and the
preservation of
biodiversity.
9. Personal and Global Responsibility
We encourage individuals to act to improve their personal
well- being and,
at the same time, to enhance ecological balance and social
harmony. We seek
to join with people and organizations around the world to
foster peace,
economic justice, and the health of the planet.
10. Future Focus And Sustainability
Our actions and policies should be motivated by long-term
goals. We seek to
protect valuable natural resources, safely disposing of or
"unmaking" all
waste we create, while developing a sustainable economics
that does not
depend on continual expansion for survival. We must
counterbalance the drive
for short-term profits by assuring that economic development, new
technologies, and fiscal policies are responsible to future
generations who
will inherit the results of our actions. Make the quality of
life, rather
than open-ended economic growth, the focus of future thinking.
The wording of the Four Pillars has varied slightly as
different local Green
Parties have adapted them.
GREEN SOLUTIONS
1. Electoral reform
a.Enact proportional representation voting systems for
legislative seats on
municipal, county, state and federal levels. Proportional
representation
systems provide that people are represented in the proportion
their views
are held in society and are based on dividing seats
proportionally within
multi-seat districts, compared to the standard U.S.
single-seat, winner-take
all districts. Forms of proportional representation include
choice voting
(candidate-based), party list (party-based) and mixed member
voting
(combines proportional representation with district
representation).
b.Enact Instant Run-off Voting (IRV) for chief executive
offices like mayor,
governor and president and other single-seat elections. Under
IRV, voters
can rank candidates in their order of preference (1,2,3,
etc.) IRV ensures
that the eventual winner has majority support and allows
voters to express
their preferences knowing that supporting their favorite
candidate will not
inadvertently help their least favored candidate. IRV thus
frees voters from
being forced to choose between the lesser of two evils, and
saves money by
eliminating unnecessary run-off elections.
c.Provide full public financing of federal, state and local
elections,
including free and equal radio and television time on the
public airwaves
for all ballot-qualified candidates and parties.
d.Prohibit corporations from spending to influence elections,
preferably by
constitutional amendment abolishing corporate personhood, or
as a condition
of receipt of a corporate charter by federal chartering of
corporations.
e.Eliminate all ballot access laws and rules that
discriminate against
smaller parties and independents, and otherwise place undue
burden on the
right of citizens to run for office.
f.Abolish the Electoral College and provide for the direct
national election
of the president by Instant Runoff Voting. As a step in that
direction,
support National Popular Vote legislation which would
guarantee the
Presidency to the presidential candidate who receives the
most popular votes
in all 50 states (and the District of Columbia), which would
take effect
only when enacted, in identical form, by states possessing a
majority of the
electoral votes-that is, enough electoral votes to elect a
President (270 of
538).
g.Create a new publicly-funded People's Commission on
Presidential Debates,
and open its presidential debates to all candidates who
appear on at least
as many ballots as would represent a majority of the
Electoral College and
who raise enough funds to otherwise qualify for general
election public
financing. Any candidate who refuses to participate in such
debates would
lose general election public financing for their candidacy.
Amend federal
law to remove the non-profit tax exemption status that allows
corporations
to fund the existing Commission on Presidential Debates and
other such
exclusive privately controlled debate entities.
h.Amend the Federal Election Campaign Act to change the
percentage of the
presidential popular vote required for a new party's
candidate to receive
first time General Election public funding from 5% in the
previous General
Election to 1%; and change the percentage of the presidential
popular vote
required for a new party to receive public presidential
convention funding
from 5% for its candidate in the previous general election to 1%.
i.Include the option to vote for a binding None of the Above
(NOTA) on all
party primary and general election ballots.
j.Support the right to initiative, referendum and recall at
all levels of
government. Enact signature gathering standards that empower
volunteer
collection efforts and financial disclosure requirements that
identify the
sources of funding behind paid signature efforts.
k.Enact a national "right to vote" law or constitutional
amendment to
guarantee universal, automatic, permanent voter registration,
along with
fail-safe voting procedures, so that eligible voters whose
names are not on
the voter rolls or whose information is out-of-date can
correct the rolls
and vote on the same day.
l.Enact statehood for the District of Columbia. Ensure that
residents of the
District of Columbia have the same rights and representation
as all other
U.S. citizens.
m.Restore full citizenship rights to felons upon completion
of their
sentence, including the right to vote and to run for elected
office. Enable
greater enfranchisement of overseas voters.
n.Support strong enforcement of the Federal Voting Rights Act
and, where
applicable, state voting rights acts like the California
Voting Rights Act.
o.Make Election Day a national holiday and/or have weekend
elections.
p.Amend the U.S. Constitution to require that all vacancies
in the U.S.
Senate be filled by election rather than appointment.
The Green Party strongly believes that quality of life is
determined not
only by material aspects that can be measured and counted,
but also by
elements that cannot be quantified. We firmly support the
separation of
church and state, but we also acknowledge the spiritual
dimension of life,
and we honor the cultivation of various types of spiritual
experience in our
diverse society.
We believe that artistic expression and a thriving structure
of art
institutions are key to community well-being. We believe that
a deep and
broad embrace of nonviolence is the only effective way to
stop cycles of
violence, from the home to the streets to the international
level. We
advocate a diverse system of education that would introduce
children early
to the wonders of the Great School (Nature), and would
cultivate the wisdom
of eco-education, eco-economics, eco-politics, and
eco-culture. We seek to
protect our children from the corrosive effects of mass
culture that trains
them to regard themselves first and foremost as consumers.
We support the shift in modern medicine to include healing
through
complementary therapies and engagement with the Great
Hospital (Nature). We
seek, in short, to facilitate the healthy unfolding of the
person within the
unfolding story of the family, community, bioregion, state,
nation, and
Earth community.
A. Civil Rights and Equal Rights
The foundation of any democratic society is the guarantee
that each member
of society has equal rights. Respect for our constitutionally
protected
rights is our best defense against discrimination and the
abuse of power.
Also, we recognize an intimate connection between our rights
as individuals
and our responsibilities to our neighbors and the planet. The
Green Party
shall strive to secure universal and effective recognition
and observance of
the principles and spirit expressed in the United National
Universal
Declaration of Human Rights as an international standard that
all nations
must meet.
One of our key values is respect for diversity. We are
committed to
establishing relationships that honor diversity; that support the
self-definition and self-determination of all people; and
that consciously
confront the barriers of racism, sexism, homophobia, class
oppression,
ageism, and the many ways our culture separates us from
working together. We
support affirmative action to remedy discrimination, to protect
constitutional rights and to provide equal opportunity under
the law.
1. Women's Rights
Since the beginning of what we call civilization, when men's
dominance over
women was firmly established, until the present day, our
history has been
marred with oppression of and brutality to women. The Green
Party deplores
this system of male domination, known as patriarchy, in all
its forms, both
subtle and overt - from oppression, inequality, and
discrimination to all
forms of violence against women and girls including rape,
trafficking,
forced sex which is also rape, slavery, prostitution and
violence against
women within marriage and relationships and in all
institutions. The change
the world is crying for cannot occur unless women's voices
are heard.
Democracy cannot work without equality for women, which
provides equal
participation and representation. It took an extraordinary
and ongoing fight
over 72 years for women to win the right to vote. However,
the Equal Rights
Amendment, first introduced in 1923, has still not been
ratified by 2012,
representing a continuous struggle of 87 years with no
victory in sight. We
believe that equality should be a given, and that all Greens
must work
toward that end. We are committed to increasing participation
of women in
politics, government and leadership so they can change laws,
make decisions,
and create policy solutions that affect and will improve
women's lives, and
we are building our party so that Greens can be elected to
office to do
this. In July 2002 the National Women's Caucus of the Green
Party of the
United States was founded to carry out the Party's commitment
to women.
We also support, and call on others to support, the many
existing and
ongoing efforts for women:
Social Equality
a.We support the equal application of the Constitution of the
United States
of America to all citizens, and therefore call for passage of
the Equal
Rights Amendment (ERA). We urge accelerated ratification by
three or more of
the remaining 15 states that are required to pass ERA into
law and into the
Constitution. We urge renewed efforts and campaigns to ratify
the ERA. We
support the Equal Rights Amendment reintroduced in the U.S.
Congress, and
support using the precedent of a three-state strategy for
ratification.
b.We call for equal representation of women in Congress
instead of the
current 17% in 2012.
c.The Green Party calls for U.S. passage of CEDAW, the
Convention on the
Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women,
which was adopted
in 1979 by the U.N. General Assembly and ratified by 173
countries. The U.S.
is one of the very few countries, and the only industrialized
nation, that
have not ratified it.
d.The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission should
actively investigate
and prosecute sexual harassment complaints. Women who file
complaints must
not be persecuted and should be protected under federal and
state law. We
must enshrine in law the basic principle that women have the
same rights as
men, and promote gender equality and fairness in the work
force to ensure
that women receive equal pay for jobs of equal worth.
e.We support the inclusion of an equal number of women and
men in peace
talks and negotiations, not only because these efforts
directly affect their
lives and those of their husbands, children and families, but
also because
when women are involved, the negotiations are more successful.
Reproductive Rights
Women's rights must be protected and expanded to guarantee
each woman's
right as a full participant in society, free from sexual
harassment, job
discrimination or interference in the intensely personal
choice about
whether to have a child.
Women's right to control their bodies is non-negotiable. It
is essential
that the option of a safe, legal abortion remains available. The
"morning-after" pill must be affordable and easily accessible
without a
prescription, together with a government-sponsored public
relations campaign
to educate women about this form of con-
traception. Clinics must be accessible and must offer advice on
contraception and the means for contraception; consultation
about abortion
and the performance of abortions, and; abortion regardless of
age or marital
status.
We endorse women's right to use contraception and, when they
choose, to have
an abortion. This right cannot be limited to women's age or
marital status.
Contraception and abortion must be included in all health
insurance policies
in the U.S., and any state government must be able to legally
offer these
services free of charge to women at the poverty level. Public
health
agencies operating abroad should be allowed to offer family
planning,
contraception, and abortion in all countries that ask for
those services. We
oppose our government's habit of cutting family planning
funds when those
funds go to agencies in foreign countries that give out
contraceptive
devices, offer advice on abortion, and perform abortions.
We encourage women and men to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
It is the
inalienable right and duty of every woman to learn about her
body and to be
aware of the phases of her menstrual cycle, and it is the
duty for every man
to be aware of the functions and health of his and his
partner's bodies.
This information is necessary for self-determination, to make
informed
decisions, and to prevent unintended consequences. Unplanned
conception
takes control away from individuals and makes them subject to
external
controls. The "morning-after" pill and option of a safe and
legal abortion
need to remain available.
Economic Equality
Since, nationally, women earn only 77% of men's wages for
equal work,
despite outnumbering men in the workforce and despite the
U.S. 1963 Equal
Pay Act, we support intensified effort to see this unfair gap
closed,
including support for the Paycheck Fairness Act and similar
legislation, and
greater effort at enforcement.
Single mothers are the largest and most severely impoverished
group in the
United States, which explains why 22% of the children in our
country live
below the poverty line. Welfare reform has forced mothers to
abandon their
children while they travel to work at minimum wage jobs. With
the extreme
pay inequity, single mothers cannot afford child care,
nurture their
children, and move out of poverty.
The Green Party supports real reforms to end poverty and
return dignity and
opportunity to all mothers. We call for implementing
innovative programs
that work with the particular and special needs of
motherhood. We also
support other programs such as a universal
basic income (known also as a guaranteed income or Citizen
Dividend, as
described in True Cost Pricing and Tax Fairness, IV. E.) that
will provide
for those who nurture the next generation - work that is of
incalculable
importance to our society.
Violence and Oppression
Language is often used as a weapon by those with power, and
women have
traditionally borne the brunt of inflicted injuries. Freedom
of speech is
vital to democracy. However, we believe that this freedom
should not be used
to perpetuate oppression and abuse.
Violence against women is increasing nationwide. We must
address the root
cause of all violence even as we specifically address
violence to women. We
support stronger legislation, programs and enforcement. We
also call for new
dialog and re-thinking that can lead to better language,
ideas and
solutions. We urge that the term "domestic violence" be
replaced by the term
"violence," because "domestic violence" is not perceived as
real violence,
which leads to it not being treated legally and practically
for the violence
that it is. We urge that the term "sex work" not be used in
relation to
prostitution. With the increasing conflation of trafficking
(the violent and
illegal trafficking in women and girls for forced sex) with
prostitution, it
is impossible to know which is which, and what violence the
term "sex work"
is masking. No source in existence knows which forms of
prostitution
comprise forced sex and which comprise free will or choice
prostitution.
Forced sex is rape, and it is a crime. An increasing number
of experts think
the percentage of choice prostitution is very small, leaving
the larger
number of women exposed to serious and often fatal violence.
Much of what is
commonly called prostitution is actually sex trafficking by
definition. The
Green Party calls for a safer world for women and girls.
The Green Party has zero tolerance for the illegal
international trafficking
in humans. Of the millions of humans trafficked worldwide,
the large
majority are women and children who are bought and sold as
slaves. They are
kept captive and in debt-bondage that can never be paid off.
Most are sold
over and over again for forced sex prostitution. Forced sex
is rape and a
serious crime. Some are forced to labor in agriculture, sweat
shops, hotels,
restaurants, domestic service and other forms of servitude.
According to
Human Rights Watch, in all cases coercive tactics - including
deception,
fraud, intimidation, isolation, threat and use of physical
force, or debt
bondage - are used to control women. Estimates of human
trafficking in the
U.S. vary greatly from 18,000 to 50,000 to over 100,000 with
a worldwide
estimate of 12.5 million, mostly women and children.
The Green Party calls for new U.S. legislation relating to
prostitution
modeled on the Swedish law passed in 1999, now adopted by
other countries
and being considered by more, that has drastically reduced
human trafficking
and prostitution in Sweden. That law criminalizes the
purchase of services
from prostitutes, pimps and brothel keepers instead of
criminalizing the
prostitutes. The Green Party urges the U.S. to open dialogs
and visit with
Sweden as a step toward introducing legislation in the U.S.
Congress to
address the exploitation, violence and harm to women through
prostitution.
The Green Party supports all efforts to eradicate this
extreme abuse of
human rights, including but not limited to enforcement of
existing laws and
passage of tough new ones, punishing traffickers, aiding
victims, increasing
public awareness, reforming immigration laws, supporting
existing programs
and creating new ones.
We support the State Department's annual Trafficking in
Persons Report as an
important document to begin to combat this abuse. We support
and urge
enforcement of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence
Protection Act (HR
3244) signed into law on October 28, 2000. This Act
authorizes funding for
the prevention of trade in human beings and for protecting
victims. It gives
the State Department a historic opportunity to create an
office with the
exclusive responsibility of ending traffic in humans and
protecting the
victims of this worldwide trade. We urge committed political
support to
achieve the cooperation of all different levels of government.
The Green Party urges a more thorough dialog and
understanding of violence
against women and girls, including from prostitution and
trafficking, that
causes health and injury damage that seriously degrades their
lives, even to
death or premature death including from HIV, syphilis and
many other
diseases, as well as causing severe economic hardships. We
call for
solutions to this enormous problem that can result in
awareness and the
introduction of legislation in the U.S. Congress to address it.
2. Racial Discrimination
a.The development of the United States has been marked by
conflict over
questions of race. Our nation was formed only after Native
Americans were
displaced. The institution of slavery had as its
underpinnings the belief in
white supremacy, which we as Greens condemn. In slavery's
aftermath, people
of color have borne the brunt of violence and discrimination.
The Green
Party unequivocally condemns these evils, which continue to
be a social
problem of paramount significance.
b.The community of people of African ancestry whose family
members were held
in chattel slavery in what is now the United States of
America have
legitimate claims to reparations including monetary
compensation for
centuries of human rights violations, including the
Transatlantic slave
trade now recognized by the United Nations as a "crime
against humanity." As
our Nation has done in the past with respect to the Choctaw,
the Lakota, the
Lambuth, and more recently for Japanese Americans and the
European Jewish
community, reparations are now due to address the debt still
owed to
descendants of enslaved Africans.
c.We commit to full and complete reparations to the African
American
community of this nation for the past four hundred plus years
of genocide,
slavery, land-loss, destruction of original identity and the
stark
disparities which haunt the present evidenced in unemployment
statistics,
substandard and inadequate education, higher levels of
mortality including
infant and maternal mortality and the practice of mass
incarceration. We
recognize that reparations are a debt (not charity) that is
owed by our own
and other nations and by the corporate institutions chartered
under our laws
to a collective of people. We believe that the leadership on
the question of
what our nation owes to this process of right ought to come
from the African
American community, whose right to self-determination and
autonomy to chart
the path to healing we fully recognize.
d.We understand that until significant steps are taken to
reverse the
ongoing abuses; to end the criminalization of the Black and Brown
communities, to eradicate poverty, to invest in education,
health care and
the restoration and protection of human rights, that it will
be impossible
to repair the continuing damage wrought by the ideology of
white supremacy
which permeates the governing institutions of our nation.
e.While consensus is still evolving on what would constitute
full and
complete reparations, we support the following initial steps:
We support the
creation of a claim of action and a right to recover
inherited wealth and
other profits accumulated from the slave trade for the
benefit of a
reparations trust fund. We will initiate the repeal of the
slave clauses
that survive today in the U.S. Constitution. We will work to
restore lands
stolen through a variety of tactics including: violence,
terrorism and the
discriminatory access to operating capital that together has
robbed black
farmers and the broader community of their lands. We support
the release of
all political prisoners held by the USA. It is time that the
political
frame-ups, the prosecutorial misconduct and the racist
application of police
power that pass for justice in our country be buried and
those victimized by
these abuses of state power be given their lives back. We
will support
existing Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as
well as new and
existing Education and Development Funds.
f.We support efforts to overcome the effects of over 200
years of racial
discrimination.
g.We call for an end to official support for any remaining
symbols of
slavery and specifically call for the removal of the
Confederate battle flag
from all government buildings.
h.We condemn the practice of racial profiling by law
enforcement agencies,
which are guilty of stopping m torists, harassing
individuals, or using
unwarranted violence against suspects with no other
justification than race
or ethnic background.
i.We favor strong measures to combat official racism in the
forms of police
brutality directed against people of color.
j.We support effective enforcement of the Voting Rights Act,
including
language access to voting.
k.We oppose discriminatory English-only pressure groups. We
call for a
national language policy that would encourage all citizens to
be fluent in
at least two languages. [See section K. Immigration /
Emigration in this
chapter]
l.We strongly support the vigorous enforcement of
civil-rights laws, the
aggressive prosecution of hate crimes, and the strengthening
of legal
services for the poor.
