GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
GREEN PARTY OF MICHIGAN
>>> -------------- <<<
>>> MEDIA ADVISORY <<<
>>> -------------- <<<
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 27, 2003
GPUS Contacts:
-------------
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator
phone: 202-518-5624
e-mail: scottmclarty@yahoo.com
Dean Myerson, National Political Coordinator
phone: 202-296-7755
e-mail: political.coor@verizon.net
Adam Eidinger, Shirts Off Coalition
phone: 202-744-2671
e-mail: enrages@bellatlantic.net
Natalie Johnson Lee, Ward 5 member of Minneapolis City Council
phone: 612-673-2205
GPMI Contact:
------------
Marc Reichardt -- Chair/Treasurer, GPMI
phone: 734-668-9628
e-mail: treasurer@migreens.org
>>> Green Party to Reply to "State of the Union" <<<
>>> ============================================ <<<
Minneapolis Council member Natalie Johnson Lee will speak
on behalf of the party during "The Real State of the Union"
Rally and Concert on January 28
WASHINGTON, DC -- Minneapolis City Council member Natalie Johnson Lee
will deliver the response from the Green Party of the United States (GPUS)
to President Bush's State of the Union address on Tuesday, January 28.
Ms. Johnson Lee will speak at "The Real State of the Union" (also called
"The Sorry State of the Union") Rally and Concert to take place on the west
side of the Capitol, near the Reflecting Pool at 3rd Street NW. The event,
organized by the Shirts Off Coalition and scheduled from 6 pm to 2 am, will
also feature live music, DJs, dance and spoken-word performances, heaters,
and a giant video screen.
President Bush's address and the Democratic Party's response will air
between 9 and 10 pm, after which Ms. Johnson Lee will begin her speech.
NOTE TO REPORTERS:
-----------------
Natalie Johnson Lee will be available for interviews during the day
on Tuesday. A photograph of Ms. Johnson Lee can be found at her web site
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/ward5/
Green Party Steering Committee member Anita Rios and secretary Nathalie
Paravicini will also be available for interviews during the same time. To
arrange an interview, call the party office at (202) 296-7755.
"America is in the midst of being threatened from many directions, but
not the directions that some would have us believe," said Johnson Lee, a
Green Party member who was elected in November, 2001 to represent Ward 5
on the Minneapolis City Council. "Our greatest threat is not Iraq, North
Korea, or Iran. Our greatest threat lies in our sense of hope eroding,
our civil rights stripped, our economy toppling, our seniors starving,
our children not cared for, and our collective talents remaining untapped."
"The American people deserve to hear the Green Party response to
President Bush's State of the Union Address," continued Johnson Lee. "While
the president will address our hopelessness with a march toward war, we will
spread a message of peace throughout the world. While the president will
tackle the racial tension in our nation by rolling back affirmative action,
the Green Party will advocate inviting all to the table who have been left
behind. While the president proposes to heal our financial woes with tax
cuts for the rich, our message will be to invest in the untapped workforce
in our midst. The Republicrats' tired message of yesterday must be replaced
with the Green Party's reinvigorated message of today. We are on a new
mission with a new vigor and we mean business!"
"President Bush will be the first President of the United States to face
significant protest when he makes his second State of the Union address,"
said event organizer Adam Eidinger. "The Shirts Off Coalition is named for
the fact that President Bush is taking the 'Shirts Off Our Backs' to pay for
his war."
MORE INFORMATION
================
The Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
National office: 1314 18th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
202-296-7755 / 866-41GREEN
Natalie Johnson Lee, Ward 5 member of Minneapolis City Council
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/ward5/
The Real State of the Union
http://www.thecriticalmoment.org/union
[==========] * [==========] * [==========] * [==========]
Green Party of Michigan (GPMI) chair Marc Reichardt noted, "As many
as a million Americans have marched in the last week to show their
opposition to the Bush administration's plans and push for war. Millions
more share that opposition. The Green Party speaks for those millions of
Americans -- yet another reason why it is the fastest-growing party in
Michigan and across the United States.
"The narrow views expressed in Bush's speech and the Democratic
response will not represent the interests and ideals of all Americans.
The Green response to be delivered by Ms. Johnson Lee deserves full
coverage, and we urge all media outlets in the state and around the
country to cover it fully, and accurately, for their audiences."
GPMI is preparing to present its own response to next week's
scheduled State of the State speech by newly elected governor Jennifer
Granholm. The party will also be holding a quarterly meeting at
Marygrove College in Detroit on February 8-9.
Anyone wanting to find or start a GPMI local in their area, or make a
donation to the party, can contact the Green Party of Michigan Committee
at 548 South Main Street; Ann Arbor, MI 48104 or by calling 734-663-3555.
The party also has a Web site at:
http://www.MIGreens.org e-mail: info@MIGreens.org
# # #
Green Party of Michigan * 548 S. Main Street *
* Ann Arbor, MI 48104 * 734-663-3555
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Green Party of Michigan was formed in 1987 to address environmental
issues in Michigan politics. There are Greens organized in all 50 states
and the District of Columbia. Each state Green Party sets its own goals
and creates its own structure, but US Greens agree on Ten Key Values:
Ecological Wisdom * Grassroots Democracy
Social Justice * Nonviolence
Community Economics * Decentralization
Feminism * Respect for Diversity
Personal and Global * Future Focus/
Responsibility Sustainability
created/distributed using donated labor
Other Contacts:
Green Party of Michigan
548 S Main St
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734-663-3555
info@migreens.org
page last modified 29 Jan 2003