Kathy writes:
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(This is a sticky post, please find current news items below) in About Kathy |
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Back in the Winter of 2006, a friend of mine showed me a movie called 9-11 Mysteries, Part I Demolition. We traveled all across the country helping spread the word. I realize, as most of you here today realize, that our government is not working for the People or the Constitution. I'm running with the Green Party partly because it is the only party willing to impeach the president. It's understandable that many Congresspeople were fooled into supporting the war in Iraq just as most of us here were fooled, at first. Most of us believe the Regime lied about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction. My opponent Senator Durbin doesn't have that excuse. He was a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2002 and knew Bush was lying to us. That's an important part of why I'm running for office. I'm also an activist for peace and justice, a retired school teacher, mother of two, grandmother of two. Back in 2006, I went with 4 other activists to Durbin's office to ask him to stop funding the war. At that time, I wasn't aware that Durbin already knew Bush had lied about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and was keeping quiet about it. In his office, we were told to either leave or be arrested. That was when I realized someone else needed to serve the People. I decided to run with the Green Party because they're the only party for Peace. I'm running to unseat Senator Durbin because in 2002 he knew Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction. He kept that information from the public. He allowed Bush to fool the American people into starting an unjustified war. You can see Durbin confess to this on YouTube. See his "Bombshell announcement" on my website, Kathycummings4senate. He kept quiet for 5 years because he claims he was sworn to secrecy by the Senate Intelligence Committee! By doing so, he showed his loyalty was with a dishonest regime and not with the People. I'm running with the Green Party because the Green Party is the only party for Peace! None of McCain's 100 years of war, or Obama's shifting the war to Afghanistan and Pakistan. We've got to say goodbye to problem-makers, the war-mongers, incarcerators, polluters. I'm running with the Green Party because Green Party candidates take an oath not to take corporate donations and PAC money, unlike Democrats and Republicans. My loyalty can't be bought by corporations or wealthy individuals. The Green Party is for saving the planet, cleaning our air, water, soil, and food. The Green Party is for Life! We want to use clean sustainable, renewable energy, have a Green Collar Work Corp, keeping jobs here, weatherizing our buildings, building greenhouses and growing organically, building and installing solar, wind and geothermal systems, We are for single-payer health care and Peace! Our guiding lights are our Ten Key Values. See them on my flyer and find out more about the Green Party, Cynthia McKinney, and the 56 other IL Green Party candidates on the ballot in November. Gp.org, RunCynthiaRun.org, and ILGP.org. Thanks for your time and attention.
These are my most strongly held stances, if you share them vote for me.
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(This is a sticky post, please find current news items below) in About Kathy |
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Kathy Cummings
Green Party Candidate for US Senate
Here are some of my guiding principles and positions.
If you share them, vote for me.
- Return to the original intent of our U.S. Constitution (ex., repeal USA Patriot Act and Military Commissions Act).
- Recognize war is terrorism; end all wars now.
- End U.S. interference in other countries' affairs.
- Remove all U.S. military bases outside the US.
- Cut military budget by at least half.
- Initiate single-payer health care.
- Establish and fund Green Collar Jobs Corp.
- Move quickly to sustainable, alternative energy sources, i.e., wind, solar, geothermal, tidal, etc. while shutting down all nuclear and coal-fired power plants.
- Mandate at least 40 mpg for autos.
- Expand public mass transit trains and buses.
- Close the School of the Americas.
- Eliminate factory farms.
- Establish an independent, public citizens' review board of 9-11.
- Ban all genetically-modified organisms.
- Feed school children organic, locally-grown food.
- Preserve choice and protect children.
- Institute Fair Trade and discard Free Trade by repealing WTO, NAFTA, CAFTA, and GATT.
- Make all regulatory agencies (ex., FDA, FCC, DOE, etc.) accountable to the People.
- Compel corporations to see their responsibility to people's health and safety, the environment, their employees, and the community in which they do business.
- Work to abolish the Electoral college.
The Ten Key Values
of the U.S. Green Party
These are the Ten Key Values of the U.S. Green Party, as ratified at the Green Party Convention in Denver, CO, June 2000, edited March 2006, by National Coalition of Organized Women (NCOW).
1. Grassroots Democracy
to increase public participation at every level of government, ensure that our public representatives are fully accountable to the people who elect them, and create new political organizations, including citizens in the decision-making process;
2. Social Justice and Equal Opportunity
to break down barriers of racism, class oppression, sexism, ageism, and disability;
3. Ecological Wisdom
to support a sustainable society using agricultural practices that replenish the soil, move to an energy efficient economy, and live respecting the integrity of natural systems;
4. Non-violence
to demilitarize and eliminate weapons of mass destruction and guide our actions toward lasting personal, community, and global peace;
5. Decentralization
to maintain decision-making at the individual and local level, and protect civil rights for all citizens;
6. Community-Based Economics and Economic Justice
to offer meaningful work with dignity paying a “living wage,” protect the environment and workers’ rights, encourage broad citizen participation in planning, enhance our “quality of life,” and support independently, owned and operated, socially responsible companies, co-operatives and public enterprises;
7. Feminism and Gender Equity
to promote equality between the sexes, interpersonal responsibility, and honesty developed with moral conscience;
8. Respect for Diversity
to value and respect divergent thought, cultural, ethnic, racial, sexual, religious, spiritual diversity, respect all life forms, and preserve biodiversity;
9. Personal and Global Responsibility
to foster peace, economic justice, and the health of the planet;
10. Future Focus and Sustainability
to protect valuable natural resources, safely dispose all waste we create, take time to understand and appreciate ourselves, community and world beauty, and ensure economic development, new technologies, and fiscal policies are responsible to future generations.
Do you know?
- Green Party candidates take an oath not to accept corporate and political action committee (PAC) donations and there are 56 Illinois Green Party candidates on the November 2008 ballot!
- The Green Party is a valid, viable third political party.
Pledged: Renew America's Promise
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(This is a sticky post, please find current news items below) in About Kathy |
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Renew America's Promise Pledge
If elected, I pledge to Renew America's Promise:
I promise to end torture, respect human rights, and restore America's reputation in the world.
I promise to respect the rule of law and to fiercely challenge anyone who seeks to undermine the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
I promise to root out corruption, special interest abuses and partisan prejudice in the administration of justice.
I promise to hold to account - without exception - anyone who breaks the law or violates the public trust.
I promise to protect personal freedom by rejecting warrantless spying, stifling of dissent, and other affronts to individual liberty.
Signed: Kathy Cummings
Date: 7-10-08
City: Chicago
State: IL
Phone: 773-276-3776
Why I Am Running
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(This is a sticky post, please find current news items below) in About Kathy |
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I'm running with the Green Party (GP), the Longhouse Coalition (LHC); see the platform here (pdf), and the New Broom Coalition (NBC) to unseat the incumbent because he repeatedly votes to fund the war.
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My 3 year old grandson and I went to the incumbent's office in 2006 with Kathy Kelly's Occupation Project to ask him to sign a commitment to end the war. I was shocked he wasn't available to us, didn't want to talk with us, and his office staff told us to either leave or be arrested. I knew this was not proper behavior for a "servant of the People" or his staff!
- I'm running to unseat the incumbent because he's not supporting impeachment. The world has to know we don't support Bush and Cheney! We, as a nation, cannot disregard international laws if we expect other nations to comply. We'll never have peace that way.
- I'm running to unseat my opponent because in 2005 he caved in to political pressure and withdrew his support for an investigation into torture policies conducted by the Bush administration.
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I'm running because the incumbent knew prior to invading Iraq that Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction. He publically admitted it on the Senate floor on April 28, 2007.
Now, and as senator, I know my responsibility to and for the People.
I'm running for peace and fairness, restoring the Constitution and Bill of Rights, sustainable alternative energy systems, rights of indigenous people, seeing Bush and his administration take responsibility for their actions, and corporations understanding their part in protecting the environment, human rights, public health and safety, employees and local communities.
I am for a Green Collar Job Corp, deep education reform, national single-payer healthcare, and poison prevention for our air, water, soil, food, vaccinations, and electromagnetic fields. I'm for erring on the side of caution, decriminalizing all natural herbs, and respecting all aspects of Mother Nature.
Now, and as senator, I know my responsibility to and for the People.
I am for a Green Collar Job Corp, deep education reform, national single-payer healthcare, and poison prevention for our air, water, soil, food, vaccinations, and electromagnetic fields. I'm for erring on the side of caution, decriminalizing all natural herbs, and respecting all aspects of Mother Nature.
Do not send money and Please join my campaign Yahoo group! You will be sent electrifying e-flyers to forward on to friends and others around the country and world. If you like our platforms and send the e-flyers, you will be supporting other Green, LHC and NBC candidates around the country, too. See the links below.
Blessed be,
Kathy
- United States Green Party, http://www.greenparty.org
- Illinois Green Party, http://ilgp.org
- Join Kathy's Yahoo Group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group
/KATHY_CUMMINGS_4_Senate/ - Longhouse Coalition, http://longhousecoalition.org/
- New Broom Coalition, www.newbroomcoalition.org
- Kathy Kelly's Occupation Project, http://vcnv.org/
Ballot Access--An issue of choice
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(This is a sticky post, please find current news items below) in Kathy in the Press |
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Interview of Kathy Cummings with her representing attorney, Andrew Spiegel, following the events of her 2006 run for IL State Rep. and the Democrat Party's maneuvers to not allow her onto the ballot.
"Episode Twenty Three, part 2/3". Produced by Amy Cargill. Posted on Chicago Independent TV, a division of Chicago.Indymedia.org, Dec 2006. Retrieved 23 May 2008 from http://www.audiovideoweb.tv/CITV/E23/E23-part2.html. (Kathy & Andrew are in a segment that spans the last 2/3 of the episode. To view, follow the link and wait for entire episode to load, then pull the cursor to about 1/3 the way to the right. Runtime of this segment is ~6 min. Format is streaming Quicktime.)
The following is an conscientious transcription taken by Mari Vega from the same source video.
KC: Hello, I'm Kathleen J. Cummings, I'm running for State Rep. in District 4, in Chicago.
AS: My name is Andrew Spiegel and I am Kathy's attorney trying to make sure that Kathy will actually appear on the ballot in the November general election.
KC: Andy is well known as a ballot access lawyer and he likes my ballot. [gestures to antique ballot box.] This is an old fashioned ballot box that I came into possession of. There's loose boards underneath, so it was used in all sorts of ways.
From the outset, you should know that the reason more candidates aren't on the ballot is because the Democrats and the Republicans believe that if voters had more choice among candidates from other parties, they would get confused and would not know how to vote.
KC: So, Andy and I met each other because the Green Party, 3 members of the Green Party, asked me to run for State Rep in my district. I wasn't convinced until I got to read the Ten Key Values of the Green Party and I felt like I was at home, I felt like, that everything they talk about as a value resonated with me. So, because I'm a grandmother, and I care about the future for all children, the future of the planet even, I decided that I should do it.
KC: Okay, so then the the next process was to justify those signatures and we did that through what's called a "binder search" or a "records examination" where a Green [gestures to indicate seating arrangement] sat with a judge and clerk and, someone from the Democrat Party and we went through every signature.
AS: That was objected to.
KC: That was objected to, right.
AS: 2.440, in this case.
KC: And, we got so close that, that we thought we had it made and, I think at that point was when Mike Kasper ordered the services of a handwriting expert. Well, the handwriting expert went through and objected to 45 signatures that the clerk and the judge, the judge/clerk, had approved, that was in our favor.
AS: There were, well, if Kathy turned in 3,494 signatures, their objection to 2,440 signatures, so if Kathy would have done nothing to try and overcome those objections, she would have been left with 1,054 signatures that would have been declared valid and that was much less than she needed to be on the ballot because the signature requirement according to the authorities was 1,531.
AS: Well 1,531 versus 1,054 so, some 500 signatures.
KC: I want to interject here too that the the state slate did not have to go through a handwriting expert.
KC: So, at this point, I'd like to invite people to come forward; help us with fundraising activities, make donations, you can look at our website: http://www.kathleenjcummings.com
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... More items are available in my News Archive




