January 21, 2008 Volume VII, Number 4
A PROJECT OF THE CASCOGREENS
Paul Stephens, Editor and Publisher 406.216.2711 greateco@3rivers.net
THIS BULLETIN IS NOT AN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF ANY GREEN PARTY (see disclaimers and selected resources at end)
Much of the content of this Bulletin is now being posted at
and http://www.myspace.com/greateco
Table of Contents:
UPCOMING AND ONGOING EVENTS
Conservation Council meets Thursdays at noon, Penny's Gourmet to Go, 815 Central Avenue (New location!!)
From Montana Conservation Voters (timber sale actions) http://www.mtvoters.org/
Helena: Public Service Commissioner Ken Toole on "Martin Luther King, Corporate Power and Energy Issues" Jan 21st (MLK Day) at 7 PM, Neighborhood Center, 200 S Cruse Ave.
Today's "Beneath the Surface" with Suzi Weissman http://www.kpfk.org/>
http://justicewheels.org
MORE ON MURRAY BOOKCHIN
Book excerpt and exchange between Mitchel Cohen and Joel Kovel
LINKS TO STORIES FROM RABBLE.CA
FROM GREEN LISTSERVS
Green Party Presidential Debate in San Francisco: Show of Unity?
By Robert B. Livingston
Indybay (San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media), January 13, 2008
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/01/13/18472264.php
FROM ZNET
The Anti-Empire Report January 15, 2008
By Bill Blum
An Unreasonable Man
http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2008-01/15blum.cfm
A NOTE ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION
WEBSITES AND OTHER RESOURCES
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THE GREENS SUPPORT:
HEALTH CARE DOLLARS FOR HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS -- NOT INSURANCE COMPANIES AND CORPORATE PROFITS http://www.pnhp.org
STOP THE WARS! BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW! WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION ARE NOT A LOCAL GROWTH INDUSTRY! http://www.antiwar.com/
COAL DEVELOPMENT MUST BE MINIMIZED, NOT MAXIMIZED: GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL! http://www.ipcc.ch/ http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/ http://www.realclimate.org/
END CORPORATE DOMINATION AND PREDATION: CORPORATIONS AREN'T PEOPLE, AND THEY DON'T HAVE "PROPERTY" OR OTHER RIGHTS! http://reclaimdemocracy.org/
For an introduction to Green Party philosophy and programs, go to http://www.gp.org/welcome.shtml
You can join the Montana Green Party at the NEW MONTANA GREEN PARTY WEBSITE!! http://www.mtgreens.org
Please read the Platform to find out what we support and oppose:
http://www.mtgreens.org/node/25
New section on Instant Runoff Voting with model bills/initiatives:
http://www.mtgreens.org/node/22
Please help us circulate petitions to regain our ballot status. Information is available at http://www.mtgreens.org/node/104
CYNTHIA MCKINNEY The rising star of the Green Party, with a firm political base already established in Washington, D.C.! Check her out!
http://www.allthingscynthiamckinney.com/
http://www.s6k.com/page.cfm?id=93913181
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If you would like to join the Billings or Great Falls Green Party forums/listservs, here are the links:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/YCGForum/ (Billings)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CascadeCoGreens/ (Great Falls) phone (406) 216-2711
We have reactivated the Great Falls listserv, in hopes of establishing an active local Green Party group. Click on or paste the link, and join! (Spammers are now excluded).
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UPCOMING AND ONGOING EVENTS
Do you support the Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement?
Some local municipalities get it on the climate crisis and have been working to meet these objectives. There are now over 500 city, town and county governments representing over 50 million people that have signed onto the Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement,
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GF Conservation Council
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NEW MEETING PLACE: Penny's Gourmet (Central Avenue between 8th and 9th)
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January 2008 -
1/24/2008 Grant Grisak, FWP Region 4 Fisheries Biologist, "Missouri River Trout Spawning Study"
1/31/2008 Graham Taylor, FWP Region 4 Wildlife Manager "Proposed MT Wolf Hunting Program"
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FROM MONTANA CONSERVATION VOTERS http://www.mtvoters.org/
TAKE ACTION!
The Montana Land Board will feature the massive Three Creeks Timber Sale in the Swan River State Forest on their 1/22/07 Agenda - we need to generate public comments to have them keep their conservation promises.
We sincerely urge you to contact Governor Brian Schweitzer
Attorney General Mike McGrath
Secretary of State Brad Johnson
State Auditor John Morrison
Superintendent of Public Instruction Linda McCulloch
BACKGROUND
This Land Board decision is disturbing for a number of reasons. First, the Land Board has reneged on a commitment it made to have DNRC form and consult with an advisory committee prior to considering Phase II of this sale.
Second, the Land Board has failed to hold the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) accountable to even the most basic procedural directions given by the Board.
Third, at its December 17th meeting, Land Board members implied that somehow the public was responsible for DNRC’s failure to comply with the instructions provided by the Land Board on the process that needed to be followed before Phase II could appear before the Land Board for a vote.
Towards that end, we specifically request that the Land Board:
Immediately halt Phase II of the Three Creeks sale from proceeding;
Require DNRC to form and consult with an advisory committee representing diverse interests before proceeding with this Phase II timber sale;
Reaffirm its February 20, 2007
review Phase I of the Three Creeks timber sale;
discuss DNRC’s assumptions on the Three Creeks Timber sales regarding predicted impacts to water quality and wildlife;
and develop recommendations for Phase II of this sale.
When the Three Creeks Timber sale was first proposed, people around the state expressed concern over the insufficiency of the MEPA process, the amount of old growth habitat included in the sale, and the impact of this project on both water quality and threatened and endangered species.
This concern arose because the Three Creeks area specifically, and the Swan River State Forest generally, contain some of the most biologically important forestland in Montana, providing important habitat for species like the grizzly bear, lynx, bull trout and pileated woodpecker.
Follow these links to find more information on the Three Creeks Timber Sale debacle:
Objectionable Three Creeks Timber Project Goes to Phase II
The Three Creeks Debacle:A Call to Arms for Conservationists!
Land Board Unanimously Approves Controversial Three Creeks Timber Project
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FROM MONTANANS FOR CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY, Helena
CORPORATE POWER vs. HUMAN VALUES -- the Fifth in a Series of Events
Montanans for Corporate Accountability presents a talk and discussion featuring Public Service Commissioner Ken Toole on "Martin Luther King, Corporate Power and Energy Issues" on Monday, January 21st (MLK Day) at 7 PM at the Neighborhood Center, 200 S Cruse Ave.
"Many people forget that Dr King’s primary message was about who has power in our democracy. The rise of corporate power has profound implications for democracy, individual freedom and human rights," Toole said, pointing out that King was in Memphis to support striking workers when he was assassinated in 1968.
King is most widely known for his civil rights campaigns across the south, which culminated in passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. According to Toole, "the King story ends in 1964 for a lot of Americans. In reality he continued his work for racial justice in the south, but he also began to articulate a strong message of economic justice for all."
Since King’s death in 1968 big corporations have steadily increased their power across the globe and here in the US. The great peoples’ movements of the 20th century, the labor movement, the civil rights movement and the women’s movement, have declined while the power of big corporations has continued to grow. "The Enron meltdown and deregulation of the power industry provide a lens through which to examine the political changes that have come about since King was assassinated," Toole said. "Hopefully it will prompt us to examine what we can do to change that."
This event is free and open to the public.
Contact: Cedron Jones, corp@mhrn.org
(406) 442-5506 x18 or 442-1271 (home)
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Today's "Beneath the Surface" with Suzi Weissman
Monday January 21, 5-6pm on KPFK 90.7fm (streaming live and archived at
Why are these primaries so politically superficial (not to mention misleading) and ultimately unsatisfying? We talk to David Sirota, the populist rabble-rouser – who says if we want change we’re looking in the wrong place, and if we want electoral reform, it is easier than we’re being told. You can read his work at
We then honor Martin Luther King Day. King spent the last part of his life talking about ending the war and fighting against inequality and for economic justice. As we face a bleak economic outlook and a superficial presidential campaign, we talk to Horace Small of the Union of Minority Neighborhoods, who has committed his organization to fights that can be won – and has just scored a victory in Massachusetts for ex-criminal offenders who never get a chance of re-entry. This is one of the key civil rights struggles of our generation with one in four black males in some phase of the criminal justice system. (see
And finally, the coming recession – is it already here? Or is it a coming Depression? Jack Rasmus takes a look at Bush’s palliative stimulus on offer and shows why it won’t work – he says it is too little, too late. Jack's articles can be found at
Suzi Weissman Beneath the Surface, Mondays 5-6, KPFK 90.7FM in Los Angeles; 98.7 Santa Barbara
Streaming live and archived at
Podcast information, audio archives and more at
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Doug Wendt's Film Class
new MONDAY NIGHT MOVIES!
Please sign up NOW for Doug Wendt’s new class on Film History happening on Mondays January 28th-March 3rd from 5:30pm-8:45pm at MSU-GF for college credit or as workshop. Call Grayce at 771-4372 for more info.
From Silent Classics thru The Age of Reality
Monday January 28th : SILENCE IS GOLDEN & THE DAWN OF SOUND
-featuring historic first films, the early film magic of French master George Melies plus Laurel & Hardy and more
Monday February 4th : HOLLYWOOD’S GOLDEN AGE
-the 1930s and 1940s are widely recognized as American cinema’s greatest age and representative works will be featured including some astounding dance clips done by Busby Berkeley plus Betty Boop and more
Monday February 11th : FOREIGN FILMS & EXPANDED CINEMA
-other countries add to film’s development while the proliferation of ‘experimental’ cinema works explore the unique language of the new art form. Federico Fellini’s JULIET OF THE SPIRITS will also be shown.
Monday February 27th : HOLLYWOOD COMES OF AGE
-1970’s films are some of American cinema’s greatest, a decade that also began the blockbuster syndrome
Monday March 3rd : REALITY CHECK
-the advent of independent film and how inexpensive technology sparked the success of documentary films
-attendance & discussion involvement are all that is required to pass this course
-our time will mostly be spent watching a lot of great film clips and movies
$30-$72 with Senior Citizen discounts - $145 for workshop - $167 for college credit
please register online or at MSU-GF right away to insure that this course will take place!
www.msugf.edu for Course # ART-116-04 (credit) or ART-119-04 (audit)
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FROM TAPS - Taking Action for Peaceful Solutions - Butte
Dear friends,
Hope to see you, family and friends at these events on Monday and Tuesday
"Citizen King" film and potluck Monday
Butte's Peace Seekers have teamed up with a local church to provide an opportunity for everyone to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.
St. John Episcopal Church, Broadway and Idaho Streets, hosts the free public event on Monday, January 21 (use Broadway Street entrance). The potluck dinner is at 5:30 pm and the film "Citizen King" will be shown at 6:30 pm.
Co-sponsors are TAPS (Taking Action for Peaceful Solutions)and the Montana Tech Peace Seekers Club.
"Citizen King" is a PBS "American Experience" film made by Orlando Bagwell in 2004. It explores King's last few years as he recast himself by embracing causes beyond the civil rights movement, by becoming a champion of the poor and an outspoken opponent of the war in Vietnam in 1967.
Everyone is invited to bring an entree, side dish or dessert at 5:30. Beverages will be provided. Over dinner people may share remarks in honor of America's great exponent of Ghandian non-violent resistance against oppression and injustice. The King film will follow 6:30 pm, ending at about 8:00 pm..
For more information, call 723-3851.
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New film series starts Tuesday at Tech
"No End in Sight" is the first documentary of the spring semester's free documentary series running 7:00 pm on Tuesdays from February 22 until the end of April. It is part of the ongoing Citizens Public Education Project of the Montana Tech Peace Seekers, co-sponsored by TAPS (Taking Action for Peaceful
Solutions) and Sacred Ground.
Tuesday's is a 2007 film by Charles Ferguson and the first documentary to chronicle the reasons behind Iraq’s descent into guerrilla war, warlord rule, criminality and anarchy. Ferguson edited over 200 hours of interviews with mid-level federal officials to discover what happened among Bush administration decision-makers once Baghdad had been occupied in 2003. Reviewers have praised the film for providing citizens an insider’s view of data behind accusations of arrogance and incompetence leveled at the Defense Department and White House
while the Iraq occupation policy was created.
This semester the venue for the films is room 204 of the Mining-Geology Building (Administration building). It is located on the north side of Park Street directly across from the Student Union Building on the Montana Tech campus. Room 204 is on the street level with parking adjacent.
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FROM DEMOCRACYNOW.ORG
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Cay Johnston joins us to talk about his new book, "Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (And Stick You with the Bill)." Johnston reveals how government subsidies and new regulations have quietly funneled money from the poor and the middle class to the rich and politically connected.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/1/18/free_lunch_how_the
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GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org/
Greens back Indian Trust lawsuit against Interior Department
over billions in broken obligations, mismanaged funds, and appropriated natural resources
WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders and candidates expressed support for an ongoing class-action lawsuit to force the US Interior Department to account for billions of dollars owed to Native Americans since the late 19th century.
"Since the 1880s, the US government has failed to make good on its promise to provide Native Americans payment for mining, oil and gas extraction, timber, and grazing on their homelands. It's time for the US to reverse hundreds of years of broken treaties and stolen resources, account for the breach of Indian Trust obligations, and restore honesty," said Rodger Jennings, Green candidate for Congress in Illinois (12th District) http://www.rodgerjennings.org.
Filed in 1996, Cobell v. Norton (later renamed Cobell v. Kempthorne) addresses funds belonging to about a half million Native Americans and their heirs. In 1999, Judge Royce Lamberth held Clinton Administration officials (especially Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt and Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin) in contempt of court for stonewalling, destruction of documents, and misrepresentations before the court.
More recently, the US Court of Appeals sided with the federal government and removed Judge Lamberth from the case, rejecting the judge's findings of evasion and malfeasance and his charges of racism.
The Bush Administration is now taking steps to limit the government's liability and to ensure that only 1.3% of the trust accounts are reconciled, which means only a tiny fraction of those covered under the trust plan might see some form of restitution.
Greens, calling on the Bush Administration to honor the financial debt of the US government to Native Americans, also expressed frustration with the White House's recent violations of treaties and agreements.
"Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne is taking action to limit drastically the scope of payments owed to Native Americans. He's trying to get his department off the hook on its obligation to account for the historical theft of billions of dollars when white-owned firms were allowed to profit from natural resources on Indian land. His actions are consistent with the Bush Administration's refusal to honor numerous treaties signed by the US, from the Kyoto Accords to the Geneva prohibitions against torture," said Rebecca Rotzler, an Alaskan Native, a former co-chair of the Green Party of the United States, and an elected Green.
For further details, background information, and recent news on Cobell v. Kempthorne, see:
. Indian Trust: Cobell v. Kempthorne
http://www.indiantrust.com/
. "Interior again shifts duty to account for Indian trust," Indianz.com, December 5, 2007
http://www.indianz.com/News/2007/006198.asp
. Justice Department documents
http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/cases/cobell/
. Findlaw page
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=DC&navby=case&no=025374A
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Video links for Green Party Presidential candidates
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party has posted a new page featuring video links of Green presidential candidates, including debates and forums.
The address of the video page is http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/presidential-videos.php. The page will be updated regularly with new video as more Green presidential campaign events take place around the US.
Six Green candidates are on various state ballots for the Green nomination, which will be decided at the party's National Nominating Convention in Chicago, July 10-13.
The video page currently has links to video clips of the January 13 Northern California Green Presidential Debate at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/president/sf_debate.php, and a January 5 forum with candidates Kat Swift and Jesse Johnson in Minnesota http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/president/Minneapolis-debate.php.
The page also carries a link to audio of the entire San Francisco debate http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/display.php?ID=25.
An additional page has been opened at the Green Party's blog
2008 Green presidential candidates:
Jared Ball
http://www.jaredball.com/
Howie Hawkins (serving as a placeholder until Ralph Nader announces his intentions for the 2008 election)
http://www.draftnader.org/
Jesse Johnson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMxgYnmdHfg
Cynthia McKinney
http://www.runcynthiarun.org/
Kent Mesplay
http://www.mesplay.org/
Kat Swift
http://www.bexargreens.org/katforprez
Not all six of the candidates will be on the ballot in every state where Greens are participating in primaries. In states where deadlines have already passed, most but not all of the campaigns have submitted required petitions with valid signatures to their respective elections offices.
MORE INFORMATION
Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org/
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
Green Party News Center
http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
Video of Green presidential candidates
http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/presidential-videos.php
Green candidate database for 2007 and other campaign information:
http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
Green Party Speakers Bureau
http://www.gp.org/speakers
Media credentialing
http://www.gp.org/committees/media/kit.shtml
Green Party Presidential Campaign Support Committee
http://www.gp.org/committees/pcsc/index.shtml
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DEMOGREEN WATCH
Dear MoveOn member,
Something is happening across our country right now. The Democratic caucuses in Iowa saw nearly twice as many voters as expected.(1) Voter turnout among young people was three times higher than in 2004.(2) In New Hampshire, so many people voted that they almost ran out of ballots.(3)
For the first time in years, voters of all ages and backgrounds are inspired by what the future might hold. If we can sustain this excitement—and make sure it translates into progressive votes in November—we'll be inaugurating a progressive president exactly one year from today.
But that will take work, from all of us. We have to make sure every citizen who's eager for change actually shows up to the polls. We'll have to make sure they see through Republican spin. We'll have to counter the dirty tricks Republicans use to keep people from voting.
That's why MoveOn is planning the largest, most effective voter-turnout effort that progressives have ever run....
If, a year from today, we inaugurate a new president who's accountable to progressives—coupled with a Democratic Congress and a country hungry for change—we could push for a wave of progressive policies that could literally transform our country. This could be our moment!
Ready for the best news? Our plan to win has been tested and proven—so, we're ready to turn this opportunity into a reality. It combines the most successful aspects of our big voter-turnout campaigns in 2004 and 2006.
We'll use highly effective neighbor-to-neighbor contact in swing states to persuade and get more voters to the polls. And we'll layer the massive phone-banking effort we ran in 2006 on top of it to turn out progressives in some of the tightest races in the country.
Here are a few highlights:
A high-tech voter persuasion program—to tip swing voters our way. New sophisticated tools to connect volunteers to folks who probably won't vote without a reminder. Fun house parties, modeled on our 2006 calling parties to increase our outreach to key voters. Cutting-edge "microtargeting" to find every progressive voter, even those in Republican neighborhoods. A new effort to target people who vote by mail and need to hear from us well before Election Day.
This November, we have an opportunity to push America into an era of progressive reform, but it's going to take a lot of hard work and we need to get started right away....
Thanks for all you do.
–Nita, Daniel, Wes, Marika, and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Sunday, January 20th, 2008
Sources:
1. "Iowa, New Hampshire are appetizers," Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, January 12, 2008
2. "Youth Involvement Soars In Iowa," N.H., CBS News, January 8, 2008
3. "Voter turnout in New Hampshire sets new primary record," Associated Press, January 9, 2008
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Gen X and Gen Y Heading for Congress in November
Aaron Blake, The Hill, writes: "More than a dozen 20- and 30-somethings have a real shot at being elected to Congress this November, suggesting that the apparent surge of youthful participation in national politics is not confined to the presidential contest."
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GREEN SOLUTIONS by Paul Stephens, CasCoGreens
The Demogreen Challenge in 2008
Most readers of this Bulletin are familiar with "Moveon.org.", the group originally established to cover up and defend the Clinton's from impeachment charges and other indictments against them. That is what they are "moving on" from - the Monica Lewinsky scandal, along with Hillary's profiteering from the public trust, etc. (Needless to say, they have not been vocal supporters of the Impeach Bush and Cheney initiatives, nor have they ever mentioned Ralph Nader or other Green Party candidates or campaigns.) By now, Moveon.org may be the focus of the "demogreen" movement - the conspiracy of "progressive" or "Left" Democrats to pretend that they represent Green values, and siphon off all the Green voters (particularly young activists) while undermining, destroying, and eliminating entirely, the Green Party as such.
In my post-mortem of the Campus Greens, I found a number of still-existing Green campus-group websites (inactive since 2002 or 2004, in nearly every case) with the tell-tale link to "Moveon.org". It was like finding weasel droppings in the carnage of a hen-house - with a lot of dead chickens.
MoveOn didn't oppose the Iraq invasion and occupation, or the lead-up to it. How could they? The Clinton Administration was responsible for more Iraqi deaths (through sanctions and almost continuous bombardment from 1993-2000) than Bush I. Nor has it endorsed universal non-profit health care or any other fundamental reforms. (True to the "demogreen" tendencies, they favor only marginal "reforms" which favor Democratic candidates and campaigns over Republicans - although it seldom works out that way - especially when they call the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq a "traitor"). Indeed, we'd best consider the 8 years of Clintons in the 1990's as being merely a transition between Bush I and Bush II. And now the Hillary juggernaut is poised to become Clinton II! A "fearful symmetry" if ever there was one!
"If, a year from today, we inaugurate a new president who's accountable to progressives-coupled with a Democratic Congress and a country hungry for change-we could push for a wave of progressive policies that could literally transform our country. This could be our moment!" (from Moveon release, above).
I guess the relevant question is, "Who do they consider progressive?" And what do they mean by "transform?" Why do they think that a spineless Democratic Congress which can't even abstain from supporting the Bush policies, let alone oppose them, would be any improvement?
Make no mistake about it: Moveon.org is one of the most insidious propaganda machines now in operation, and their intentions are entirely different from what they pretend to support. Worse, they believe their own propaganda - they really think a victory by the DNC, the DLC, and other Democratic Party fronts would be an improvement, and something which the American people would willingly support. By co-opting the Left, the peace and justice movements, and the rest of the core progressive constituencies, they practically guarantee that there will be no change. At best, we would then be under the same "Hillary vs. Obama" umbrella; the same Neo-Con, AIPAC "bomb Iran", build-more-prisons, build more weapons, Military-Industrial-Congressional-Prison-Education-Scientific Complex. (MICPESC) The Machine Democrats's dream of a Stalinist regime where no one can dissent or pursue their own values would have come to pass. It's time, indeed, to move on from Moveon.org. -- PHS
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Stranger Empires, or The Empress Wore Weasel Skins
I applied for a job last week with the local tribe, the Little Shell band of Chippewa Indians who have lived as "landless Indians" for the past century and more around Great Falls and throughout central Montana (there are quite a few in Billings and Helena, too). Nearly all of them are Metis (the French word for "mixed blood"). They have their own flag, which includes the Shamrock and the Fleur de Lis (a stylized image of an iris, the symbol of the Bourbon's.) http://www.littleshelltribe.us/
The Shamrock, of course, refers to the Finian Irish Revolutionaries (of whom Thomas Meagher was a leader), who were allied with Louis Riel in his attempt to build an independent Metis State in Central North America between the U.S. and Canada. It would have extended over most of what is now the prairie provinces of Canada as well as the former Northwest Territory. This flag, they tell us, is derived from the battle flag of the Riel forces in a series of major campaigns between the British army and the French/Celtic Voyageurs and traders who intermarried with the Native peoples of the continent, from the Great Lakes region (mostly Cree and Ojibwa) to Hudson's Bay, south to St. Louis, and west to the Rocky Mountain Front. Besides the Norman and Breton French, most of the European component were Irish and Jacobite Stuart Catholics, who were the original Hudson's Bay Company men. Chartered by Charles II in 1640, the original name of this "empire" was Rupert's Land, named for the royal cousin who was given the HBC monopoly on trade and development. With the gradual conquest of the North American heartland, other tribes like the Assiniboine and Blackfoot were gradually taken over and assimilated. The Blackfoot, still one of the largest and most powerful tribes, has three regional divisions, extending originally from central Montana nearly to the Arctic Circle.
The University of Great Falls has (had? - I haven't heard about it for years) an Institute for Metis Studies, and hosted a large conference back in the early '90's, which I attended with great interest. Most of the Metis's registered (there were over a thousand historical names documented in their archives) were from Canada, with Winnipeg being the focal point of Metis history. It would have been the capital of the independent nation of Pembina, as Riel envisioned it. An earlier version was called "Assiniboinia," which included those parts of the Red River basin which empty into Hudson's Bay, and wasn't part of the U.S. until the Treaty of Ghent ending the War of 1812. This would have included about half of Minnesota and North Dakota, as well as a bit of northern Montana.
Joseph Kinsey Howard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kinsey_Howard , a journalist and long-time news editor of the Great Falls Leader (then owned by the Warden family, along with the Tribune) was a fervent advocate for and student of the Metis people, as well as being a nationally recognized contributor to major periodicals and the author of two great books about Montana. "Montana, High, Wide, and Handsome" was the first - a simple history of Montana and its formative events - suitable for middle school or high school students, although I've never heard of it being used in any public school classes. May I recommend it to the local Roman Catholic education community?
The second, which was complete but unedited at the time of Kinsey's death in 1951, was published as "Strange Empire" - a title which Howard, himself, might have strenuously opposed as totally misrepresenting the contents of his book. "Strange Revolutionaries" would have been more accurate, except that Howard's main point was that they weren't "strange" at all! They were normal people, devout Catholics and pan-spiritualists, with all the beauty and richness of traditional Native American life, successfully merged and integrated with European technology, culture, and thinking. And it was these people which the forces of Imperialism, capitalism, and racist genocide decided to eliminate and outlaw forever. "Strange Empire," indeed - the Empire of book publishers, perhaps? It was also related to the perennial Jesuit dream of a communalistic "empire" encompassing all of the "New World." Although the most famous example of this is now the nation of Paraguay in South America, there are smaller versions scattered about - one of the most notable being Father DeSmet's Jesuit mission to the Flatheads (Kootenai & Salish) in Western Montana.
If you're wondering about the weasel skins, weasels are better-known as "ermine" in their winter coats, and ermine skins were traditionally restricted to the garments and other accoutrements of emperors. (It's true - they were also the head-dresses and ornaments of Northern Plains tribes, and probably many others as well. But is this enough to call Riel's Metis State an "Empire?" Probably not.) -- Paul Stephens
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Pieds Noirs of the World Unite! You have nothing to lose but your empires!
I was wondering how long it would take to unite the Pieds Noirs of France (those with ties to former African colonies and spheres of influence) with the Pieds Noirs of Montana (the French word for Blackfeet Indians). Actually, it's always been there - especially through military personnel who once served in Francophone North Africa. This would include the British, Italians, Germans, and Americans who fought there in World War II. And there would seem to be a number of local Montanans who have served in the Peace Corps or otherwise worked in North Africa as journalists, diplomats, missionaries, business representatives, or whatever.
The French appear to be the major investors in Montana these days, with the International Malting Company plant, built by the French and South Africans, but later bought out by ADM, and the proposed Highwood Generating Station, to be built by Alstom, a French company. This can hardly be called an "investment" on their part, though. They will take the money and run - as quickly as possible - from the technological disaster they are trying to inflict on us. Francophobia will have reached its apex when the facts of this "deal" have finally surfaced. Hopefully, we can still "nip it in the bud." -- PHS
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Speaking of Chicken Ranches...
One of the more bizarre stories to come out of the primary campaigns thus far was David Muir's segment on Saturday's ABC News about Nevada prostitutes supporting Ron Paul. One wonders: exactly who or what was responsible for this story? Basically, a group (union, or whatever) of Nevada sex workers donated their tips for a day to the Ron Paul campaign. He visited them in the friendly manner of the state health inspector checking out the sex workers in an official military or other state-regulated brothel. He is their friend, protector, and guardian against physical damage and exploitation. After all, he is a physician, and his specialization is ob/gyn, which is the relevant one for these purposes.
Although this may be a familiar scene (and transaction) in more enlightened nations or regions of the country, it struck a rather bizarre note as "family values" news. Half or more of the God-fearing "Social Conservatives" and Constitution Party people who were aching to vote for Paul have probably lost their taste for him as a consequence. Maybe that was the point. Now, they can vote, instead, for the Green Party candidate, who might better represent their concerns about a candidate who supports himself from "the earnings of prostitutes." In most parts of the country, that is still illegal. It's also called "pandering." Look it up. -- PHS
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Las Vegas As a Workers' Paradise
Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect writes: "Ever since it was a gleam in Bugsy Siegel's eye, Las Vegas has been America's No. 1 Pottersville, rife with gambling, pawnshops and prostitution. Now, courtesy of Local 226, it's also America's No. 1 Bedford Falls - the only city in the land where service-sector workers in supposedly dead-end jobs can afford to buy homes, retire securely and put their kids through college. 'We've forced the social contract [into existence] HERE,' says D. Taylor. And 'forced' is a carefully chosen word."
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THE MESPLAY CAMPAIGN
Health Care http://www.mesplay.org/healthcare.html
I recently took the following pledge, initiated by
I promise that I will:
1. Make developing a universal, non-profit healthcare system a priority during my elected term.
2. Support legislation for a non-profit healthcare system for all Americans.
3. Avoid delays in providing the non-profit healthcare system that Americans urgently need.
4. Accept accountability for this pledge, knowing that my re-election is at stake if I do not uphold it.
Medical attention is a human right not yet recognized by the United States government. Nearly every other industrialized country on the planet has National Health Care. We are tied with South Africa for last place. In the same manner that we have a socialized military that at best provides for some aspects of our physical security, single payer health insurance is necessary to ensure that all people within our borders receive at least a basic level of medical and dental care. Quality care can be accomplished in a cost-effective manner guaranteeing high salaries for practitioners without burdening the middle class any more than we already are by high costs, poor performance and by having to contribute both to private (company health insurance) and public plans (social security). Our current system of treating health care as a commodity is failing tens of millions of citizens. Haphazard coverage renders us all susceptible to transmittable diseases.
The cost of current health care is attributable to advertising and administrative costs (think "many forms to fill out") that can be streamlined and reduced, as well as the actual cost of medical attention in terms of supplies and salaries. Legal suits, or the threat thereof, also add to the cost in terms of malpractice insurance. Medical attention will still cost us, in terms of taxes and perhaps fewer choices, but we already pay literally and figuratively in terms of anxiety over the high cost of coverage when it is needed. Moreover, small and medium-sized businesses, which are the work-engine of any economy, are already forced into providing privatized coverage or passing the charges onto their employees. The private sector, treating health care as a lucrative industry, is not interested in providing coverage to all.
Green Party advocacy of National Health Care is one issue in which we are on the political "left." Health care is a basic service that more properly ought not be left up to the whims of market forces. Even in old age one is forced with a dizzying array of alternate plans and exclusionary clauses (fine print). Moneyed interests, be they private insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, or other exclusively profit-driven players in our current system dominate the "debate" as there is no medium though which disenfranchised citizens can communicate their concerns. The political field could provide a venue for such discussion, but it is currently dominated by big money and snap-shot analyses. I really do believe that the only way we will have more adequate health coverage in this country is for physicians who are truly interested in living the Hippocratic Oath to become politically aware and active and to donate their services when they can.
Figuring out exactly what to do about health care in this country is an on-going issue of debate. I recently read an interesting article in Green Horizon Quarterly, to which I subscribe (GREEN HORIZON QUARTERLY: Welcome
With changes to the climate and the likely increase of disease vectors such as insects we will want to have a good public health program in place at the local, community level. To not do so will be costly in human terms. The future economic cost of such care can be mitigated now by designing communities better able to, at a ground level, meet anticipated catastrophic challenges. Indeed, when disaster strikes (hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, terrorism) within days the number killed due to hunger, thirst, exposure and disease propagation can match or exceed the number killed by the "initial" event. Helping societies become as self-reliant and self-sufficient as possible means that people are prepared and know what to do after their three-day supplies of canned goods run out. Sustainability is a security issue with a health component. This is not understood by our so-called leaders with their sheltered outlook and their emphasis upon centralizing power and rewarding campaign contributors by ear-marking bills and granting favors with little regard for the common good. Waiting for the feds to help during time of extreme crisis is the wrong approach. Got water? Got a place to go to the bathroom if the water is cut off? (and how about your neighbors?). Poor post-catastrophe hygiene causes misery (almost as much as political commercials).
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