[North-NV-Greens] Fwd: [media-states] Start writing! Green Blitz begins today

Thu Nov 18 00:47:29 PST 2004

>
>This is a reminder that the November 17-19 'Green
>Blitz' begins today....
>
>Start writing and sending letters to the editor,
>op-ed column submissions, articles, etc. on the
>Ohio recount, and help us get the Green Party
>into the media!  More information, talking
>points, sample letter, and writing tips below.
>
>If you write a letter, column, etc., please post
>it to discussion lists too as a model for others.
>  If for some reason you don't write, please match
>other Greens' creativity with generosity, and
>send the Green Party a donation:
>https://secure.democracyinaction.org/dia/shop/Greens/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=26
>
>Scott
>
>
>*  *  *  *  *
>
>
>GREEN BLITZ
>Wednesday, Nov. 17 to Friday, Nov. 19
>
>Write letters to the editor, guest op-ed column
>submissions, articles, etc.!  (Sample letter
>below)
>
>Please forward this to all Greens and all Green
>e-mail lists!
>
>
>Dear Green Party members,
>
>We're launching an effort to make the most of the
>press we're getting this week in connection with
>the Ohio recount that the Cobb/LaMarche campaign
>has undertaken, as well as the Green Party ad
>placed in The New York Times on Tuesday, November
>16 <http://www.gp.org/press/pr_11_15_04.html>.
>We've already gotten some good coverage from
>MSNBC.com and other media.
>
>We're inviting all members and friends of the
>Green Party to help us out with a Green media
>campaign from Wednesday, November 17 to Friday,
>November 19.  We're calling it 'Green Blitz' --
>we want to blitz the media with as many letters,
>column submissions, and articles as possible
>about the Ohio recount, the Green role in it, and
>our principled defense of democracy.
>
>Here's what we're asking you to do:
>
>==> Between Wednesday and Friday, write a letter
>to the editor, a guest op-ed column, an article,
>or an essay about the Ohio recount.  Send it to
>your local daily newspaper, weekly community
>periodical, or monthly magazine.  See below for
>suggested 'talking points' about the Ohio
>recount, a sample letter, and advice about
>writing.
>
>==> Post your letter, column, etc. on e-mail
>discussion lists for other Greens to read.
>Notify the Media Committee <mclarty at greens.org>
>if your submission gets published, so we can
>circulate and archive it.
>
>==> We challenge any Green who doesn't write a
>letter, column, etc. during the Green Blitz to
>make a donation of $25 or more to the Green
>Party!  Donate on line at:
>https://secure.democracyinaction.org/dia/shop/Greens/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=26
>
>Please join the Green Blitz, and help the Green
>Party, either through your creativity or your
>generosity!  The more letters, columns, and
>articles that get published, the more people will
>see the Green Party as the beacon of hope in the
>next four years.
>
>Thanks!
>
>Scott McLarty
>Media Committee co-chair
>
>
>//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//
>
>
>TALKING POINTS
>Basic facts and suggestions for what to write
>about the Ohio recount, Green involvement, and
>Green dedication to democracy
>
>-- Two presidential candidates, David Cobb (Green
>Party) and Michael Badnarik (Libertarian Party)
>will formally demand a recount of the
>presidential ballots in Ohio.  The Ohio Green
>Party and the Green Party of the United States
>are cooperating with Mr. Cobb.
>
>-- The Ohio recount is necessary because of
>documented voting irregularities: numerous press
>and independent reports of voter intimidation,
>mismarked and discarded ballots, problems with
>electronic voting machines, and the targeted
>disenfranchisement of African American voters.
>
>-- Cobb and Badnarik are demanding that Ohio
>Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, a
>Republican who chaired the Ohio Bush campaign,
>recuse himself from the recount process.
>
>-- Greens are demanding auditable paper ballot
>trails to verify all votes cast on computer
>voting machines.  If the result of the Ohio
>recount movement is the implementation of
>auditable paper ballots, it will be a huge
>victory for democracy.
>
>-- Most of the malfunctions allegedly favored
>Bush; the exit polls gave accurate results for
>Senate candidates, but not for the presidential
>candidates. 
>
>-- Greens aren't pushing for a recount because
>it'll change the outcome of the election.  (It
>probably won't.)  We're not fighting for John
>Kerry.  Greens are pursuing a recount because
>it's the best way to ensure fair elections and
>accurate vote counts now and in the future.  The
>integrity of the voting process is at stake: we
>won't know what other problems there might be
>with the election unless we recount.
>
>-- The Cobb and Badnarik campaigns have raised
>the required recount fee for the recount, and are
>now collecting money and volunteers for the
>monitoring effort.  To donate:
>http://web.greens.org/c/cobb/supporters.cgi or
>http://www.votecobb.org
>
>-- For the Democratic Party's leadership, the
>lesson of the 2000 Florida scandal was that
>controversy should be avoided, even if votes were
>obstructed or uncounted.  For the Green Party,
>the lesson of 2000 is that we need to fight for
>fair elections, the right to vote, accurate vote
>counts, and the future of our democracy.
>
>-- The Green Party has consistently spoken out
>for the right to vote and the right of every vote
>to be counted, for investigation of obstructed
>votes, and for auditable paper ballot trails to
>verify all votes cast on computer voting
>machines.  Greens are also campaigning for clean
>election options, Instant Runoff Voting,
>abolition of the Electoral College, enforcement
>of the 14th Amendment's guarantee of voting
>rights. 
>
>-- YOUR IDEA HERE
>
>
>//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//
>
>
>Letters to the Editor
>The Daily Newspaper
>Tuesday, November 16, 2004
>
>To the Editor,
>
>George W. Bush's reelection might not be in
>doubt, but the votes cast by many voters in Ohio
>and other states are, according to thousands of
>complaints about obstructed votes, legitimate
>voters who were disqualified, malfunctioning
>computer voting machines, and other
>irregularities in the 2004 election.
>
>The efforts of presidential candidates David Cobb
>(Green Party) and Michael Badnarik (Libertarian)
>to effect a recount in Ohio probably won't alter
>the outcome of the 2004 election.  But the
>recount deserves support because it's the best
>way to test and begin repairing the integrity of
>our elections, and to ensure that every vote is
>counted.
>
>If one result of the recount is auditable paper
>ballot trails for all computer voting machines in
>Ohio, it'll be a victory for all voters.
>
>For the Democratic Party's leadership, which
>refuses to press for a recount, the lesson of
>Florida in 2000 seems to be that controversy must
>be avoided at all costs.  For those of us in the
>Green Party, the lesson is that we need to fight
>for the right to vote, for accurate vote counts,
>and for the future of our democracy.
>
>Joe/Jane Green
>Mudville, USA
>
>
>//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//
>
>
>ADVICE on writing a letter to the editor, column,
>or article:
>
>-- The talking points are suggestions -- use as
>many or as few of them as you like.  Rewrite them
>using your own words if you prefer.
>
>-- Be concise!  Newspaper editors usually have a
>500 to 750 word limit on columns, and a 250 word
>limit on letters.  (Look it up on line before you
>start writing, and make sure you follow all the
>requirements.)  A letter to the editor that's
>four sentences long is a lot more likely to get
>printed than one that's four paragraphs. 
>
>-- Don't incorporate all the recommended talking
>points.  In a letter to the editor, it's best to
>make one or two strong points.  A column can
>include a lot more information, but should still
>focus on one or two points.  Delete all
>unnecessary words, especially phrases like "In my
>opinion..." and "I think that...."  Don't repeat
>yourself.
>
>-- Be extremely clear and punchy in the way you
>express yourself.  Also, a letter or column that
>includes a little humor or irony or says
>something in a novel way is more likely to get
>published.
>
>-- If you can personalize the letter or column
>("My nephew was sent to Iraq..."; "I'm one of 45
>million Americans without health insurance..."),
>you'll increase your chances of getting
>published.
>
>-- It often helps to reference an already
>published article in the newspaper to which your
>letter is addressed.
>
>-- Be specific; avoid abstractions.  For
>instance, "Greens support working people" and
>"Greens support economic justice" are meaningless
>-- Dems & Repubs say the same thing.  Instead say
>something like "Greens support living wages and
>repeal of Taft-Hartley restrictions on workplace
>organizing" or "Greens support the efforts of UAW
>Local 27 to win better wages etc..."
>
>-- Be sure to mention the Green Party somewhere
>in your letter or column, or mention that you're
>a Green Party member, or mention a Green
>candidate or officeholder.
>
>
>MORE INFORMATION
>
>Cobb/LaMarche campaign http://www.votecobb.org
>Ohio Green Party http://www.ohiogreens.org
>Article on Ohio vote manipulation
>http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2004/810
>Disparity between exit polls and vote counts
>http://www.ilcaonline.org/freeman.pdf
>Voting irregularities throughout the US
>http://www.demos-usa.org/page196.cfm
>Center for Voting and Democracy
>http://www.fairvote.org
>Beyond Voting Campaign
>http://www.beyondvoting.org
>November 3rd Democracy Movement
>http://www.nov3.us
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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>
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-- 
Paul Etxeberri

"Forests precede civilizations and deserts follow"   ---Chateaubriand