Author: Dave Cohen

Initiated by CodePink and RootsAction

FCCPR has signed onto this statement.

As organizations representing millions of people in the United States, we call upon President Biden to end the U.S. role in escalating the extremely dangerous tensions with Russia over Ukraine. It is gravely irresponsible for the president to participate in brinkmanship between two nations that possess 90 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons.

For the United States and Russia, the only sane course of action now is a commitment to genuine diplomacy with serious negotiations, not military escalation – which could easily spiral out of control to the point of pushing the world to the precipice of nuclear war.

While both sides are to blame for causing this crisis, its roots are entangled in the failure of the U.S. government to live up to its promise made in 1990 by then-Secretary of State James Baker that NATO would expand not “one inch to the East.” Since 1999, NATO has expanded to include numerous countries, including some that border Russia. Rather than dismissing out of hand the Russian government’s current insistence on a written guarantee that Ukraine will not become part of NATO, the U.S. government should agree to a long-term moratorium on any NATO expansion.

Reluctantly, due to the bad weather coming, we are postponing the Voting Rights Rally scheduled for Monday Jan. 17th on the Greenfield Common.

We will be in touch with other national groups that are organizing around voting rights to plan when we will reschedule the rally.

Please be sure to contact our Senators and urge then to end the filibuster and pass both the voting rights acts.

The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would make illegal voting rules that discriminate on the basis of race, language, or ethnicity and empower voters’ to challenge discriminatory laws.

The Freedom to Vote Act would solidify comprehensive voter protections, including a minimum of 15 days for early voting, mail-in ballots, and making Election Day a national holiday.

• Overturn Citizens United.
• End the Filibuster and Pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.
• End racist voter suppression and partisan gerrymandering.
• Abolish super PACs and replace corporate funding with publicly funded elections that amplify small-doner donations.

Please contact Senator Markey https://www.markey.senate.gov/contact/share-your-opinion

Senator Warren https://www.warren.senate.gov/contact/shareyouropinion

Monday January 17th

10:30 to 11:30 am

Greenfield Town Common

In 2021, 52 restrictive voter laws were passed in various states across the country, limiting options to vote and undermining local elections officials’ ability to mind elections. Georgia’s law, SB 202, criminalized handing out water to voters standing in long lines. Texas’ SB.1 would have election officials face prosecution for regulating poll watchers’ inappropriate behavior in the polling place.

The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would make illegal voting rules that discriminate on the basis of race, language, or ethnicity and empower voters’ to challenge discriminatory laws.

The Freedom to Vote Act would solidify comprehensive voter protections, including a minimum of 15 days for early voting, mail-in ballots, and making Election Day a national holiday.

• Overturn Citizens United.
• End the Filibuster and Pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.
• End racist voter suppression and partisan gerrymandering.

• Abolish super PACs and replace corporate funding with publicly funded elections that amplify small-doner donations.

Please contact Senator Markey https://www.markey.senate.gov/contact/share-your-opinion

Senator Warren https://www.warren.senate.gov/contact/shareyouropinion

Saturday, November 13, 2021
Greenfield Town Common, 11 am – noon 

November 11, 2021, is Remembrance /Armistice Day —  103 years since World War I ended in Europe. This year, the Traprock Center for Peace & Justice and Franklin County Continuing the Political Revolution Peace Task Force will mark the anniversary during their weekly vigil at the Greenfield Town Common, on Saturday, November 13, 11 am – noon.

“We will be out to support calls from Veterans for Peace and World Without War to return Armistice Day to its original meaning, a day to advocate for the ending of all war,” explains Marty Schotz, convenor of the Continuing the Political Revolution’s Peace Task Force.

Bells to ring for peace

“We are grateful to the Second Congregational and Unitarian-Universalist churches in Greenfield for supporting this call by ringing their church bells at 11AM on the 13^th “ says Traprock’s Pat Hynes. “This is a traditional and solemn way to call the public to attention.”

Traprock and the Peace Task Force invite all interested to join the Standout. Signs to hold and printed information to read and share will be on hand. All are welcome.

Background: from Armistice to Veterans Day

“For decades in the United States, as elsewhere, this day was called Armistice Day, and was identified as a holiday of peace, including by the U.S. government. It was a day of sad remembrance and joyful ending of war, and of a commitment to preventing war in the future. The holiday’s name was changed in the United States after the U.S. war on Korea to “Veterans Day,” a largely pro-war holiday on which some U.S. cities forbid Veterans For Peace groups from marching in their parades, because the day has become understood as a day to praise war — in contrast to how it began.” — worldwithoutwar

Veterans For Peace calls on everyone to stand up for peace this Armistice Day. See more on their website https://www.veteransforpeace.org/take-action/armistice-day

Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021  from 11:00 – 12:30 on the Greenfield Common

The international climate conference that will affect all our futures starts October 31 in Glasgow. Extinction Rebellion is holding readings of the IPCC report and die-ins in various towns to draw attention and demand truth and action. Everyone is welcome to take a turn reading. You are encouraged to wear black or costumes of mourning that you could lie down in on the grass.

More information and sign-up here.

We are pleased to announce that all six candidates that FCCPR endorsed and worked for in Greenfield won their elections.

The 3 School Committee candidates ran as a slate with the slogan, of “For Transparency, Respect, and Equity in Greenfield Schools.”

The winners are Glenn Johnson-Mussad, Elizabeth Deneeve and Kathryn Martini. The education task force of FCCPR looks forward to working with them.

Jim Geisman won a seat on the Board of Assessors. This is important as the Board had become fairly non-functional and there are many questions as to how tax assessments are done.

Two long time FCCPR members were running for re-election and winning their seats on the City Council. Sheila Gilmour won for Precinct 6 and Doug Mayo was re-elected for Precinct 8.

Rally for the Fair Share Amendment 

Saturday June 12

Noon on the Greenfield Town Common

The Fair Share Amendment is a proposal to amend the Massachusetts Constitution, creating an additional tax of four percentage points on the portion of a person’s annual income above $1 million. The new revenue, approximately $2 billion a year, would be spent on quality public education, affordable public colleges and universities, and the repair and maintenance of roads, bridges, and public transportation. To ensure that the amendment continues to apply only to the highest income taxpayers, who have the ability to pay more, the $1 million threshold would be adjusted each year to reflect cost-of-living increases.

For years, the highest-income households in Massachusetts – those in the top 1 percent – have paid a smaller share of their income in state and local taxes than any other income group. They’ve also benefited from repeated federal tax cuts: 83 percent of the 2017 tax bill’s benefits went to the top 1 percent, and last year, the Federal CARES Act included $135 billion in tax breaks for wealthy business owners. 

In June 2019, the Legislature advanced the Fair Share Amendment one step closer to the ballot with a Constitutional Convention vote of 147 in favor to 48 opposed. The Amendment needs to receive another 50% vote of the constitutional convention during the 2021/2022 legislative session in order to be placed on the November 2022 ballot. Independent polling conducted by MassINC in December 2020 found that 72 percent of MA voters support the Fair Share Amendment. 

FCCPR is taking a leadership role in the western Mass. Fair Share Organizing Committee. We need your help to make sure that this ballot initiative passes in 2022.

Register Today!! !! https://housingishumanright.com

Wednesday, May 5 6:30 pm

The town of Athol is creating housing by reclaiming two municipally-owned elementary schools. When completed, the project known as Riverbend Row will offer housing to families and grandparents raising grandchildren. We will also consider The Millers Falls Powers Block/Millers Falls Inn, the Montague Center School, and a planned mix use building on 38 Avenue A in Turners Falls. Greenfield has developed an inventory of vacant, abandoned and foreclosing properties and is identifying opportunities to work with local non-profits to create affordable housing, with Deerfield St. and Cedar St. projects successful examples.

Participants will learn the steps involved once a property is identified as feasible, including creating a long-range plan, exploring the target population, the housing models they might choose, options for financing and choosing a developer. Participants will then be in a position to determine if abandoned properties in their communities might be suitable for housing and if so, work with other like-minded people on the steps to make this happen.

Panelists:

• Shaun Suhoski, Athol Town Manager
• Walter Ramsey, Montague Town Planner
• MJ Adams, Director-Community and Economic Development, Greenfield

Resident Owned Communities: One Housing Answer

Thursday, April 15   7 pm

Resident Owned Communities (ROC) are one answer to the affordable housing crisis. There are approximately 1000 ROCs across the country, and more than 200 in Massachusetts. We will discuss what they are including how homeowners get organized to buy and what it means to be a member in a ROC. We will consider consumer protections: what to look for when buying in to a ROC, and what to do if there are problems. Third, we will talk about how to buy a home in a ROC and fourth, opportunities for new ROCs including how to start one.

Panelists:

• Paul Bradley, ROC USA
• Colleen Preston, Cooperative Development Institute, and a resident in a ROC
• Sandy Overlock, from the statewide homeowners’ association, and a long time resident in a ROC

Community Housing Trusts:  The Burlington, Vermont, Experience

Wednesday, April 21   7 pm

Community Land Trusts are a useful tool to community-controlled development. Can Community Land Trusts be an answer to the development of affordable rental and single family housing? The Champlain Housing Trust is a successful example of this kind of development in Northern Vermont communities, including the City of Burlington. Rather than rely on outside developers, the community land trust keeps the investment in, and value of, housing within local communities. 

Register today!!    https://housingishumanright.com

There is no fee for the keynote or any of the workshops.

If you would like one of these anti-mcas/opt out signs, please contact Doug at dougselwyn@aol.com.