English Wikinews RSS feed.

Slovak Henrieta Farkašová wins downhill event at 2013 IPC Alpine World Championships

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:56:11 GMT

Wikinews Sports

Sources [edit]

This article features first-hand journalism by Wikinews members. See the collaboration page for more details.

Share this:

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

2013 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships preparations underway

Sat, 16 Feb 2013 18:14:51 GMT

Wikinews Sports

Sources [edit]

This article features first-hand journalism by Wikinews members. See the collaboration page for more details.

"U.S. Paralympics selects team for IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships" — US Paralympics, February 8, 2013

Share this:

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

On the campaign trail, July 2012

Sun, 05 Aug 2012 07:04:19 GMT

Sunday, August 5, 2012

2012 United States Presidential Election

2012 U.S. Presidential Election stories

7 November 2012: World leaders react to Obama win
7 November 2012: United States re-elects Barack Obama
7 November 2012: Australian Broadcasting Corporation plans to call California for Obama before polls close
5 November 2012: Wikinews interviews former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson, presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party
5 November 2012: On the campaign trail, October 2012

The following is the ninth in a monthly series chronicling the U.S. 2012 presidential election. It features original material compiled throughout the previous month after a brief mention of some of the month's biggest stories.

In this month's edition on the campaign trail: the rules of third party candidate polling are examined, a third party activist causes four other parties to lose their place on the Illinois presidential ballot, and the new vice presidential nominee of the Justice Party speaks with Wikinews.

1 Summary
2 Polling rules restrict and fuel third party campaigns
3 Ballot access denied in Illinois
4 Wikinews interviews newly-selected Justice Party VP nominee
5 Related news
6 Sources

Summary [edit]

Like June, July began with poor economic news as the monthly Jobs Report showed slow economic growth with unemployment remaining above eight percent, precipitating a fall in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and President Barack Obama's re-election chances on Intrade. In response to the report, Obama proclaimed "It’s still tough out there". Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney responded that Obama's "policies have not worked" and said it's "time for Americans to choose whether they want more of the same." Romney also reacted to June's National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius Supreme Court ruling that upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. He explicitly referred to the individual mandate as a tax, mirroring the decision, despite comments from campaign adviser Eric Fehrnstrom, who deemed the individual mandate as a penalty, sharing the view of the Obama administration. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch criticized the Romney campaign, tweeting that it needed to hire political professionals and said it was doubtful Romney could win the election. After meeting with Romney early in July, Murdoch expressed dissatisfaction with the campaign's message and its lack of attacks on the "incompetent" Obama administration.

Romney speaks at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City for which he served as Organizing Committee CEO.
Image: Uncleweed.

Additionally, speculation about Romney's vice presidential selection intensified earlier in July as Romney's wife Ann revealed that her husband was considering choosing a woman for the ticket. This came out before Romney appeared at a Fourth of July parade with Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, who had been mentioned as a potential pick. Other women discussed as possibilities included South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, New Mexico governor Susanna Martinez, and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who took herself out of contention last month. Others receiving speculation in July included Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, and Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal. Also in early July, Romney spoke at an NAACP convention. Despite the fact that most African Americans supported Obama in 2008, Romney said, as president he "hope[s] to represent all Americans, of every race, creed or sexual orientation, from the poorest to the richest and everyone in between." During the address, after he mentioned his plan to repeal Obamacare, Romney was met with a chorus of boos. Nevertheless, he continued the speech and proclaimed that if elected, conditions would improve for African Americans. He received applause after arguing in favor of traditional marriage. The next day, vice president Joe Biden addressed the convention, and alluded to voter ID laws, asking the audience, "Did you think we’d be fighting these battles again?" President Obama was unable to attend the convention, but sent a taped message instead. Also, in mid-July, physician Jill Stein, who previously challenged Romney for governor of Massachusetts, won the presidential nomination of the left-wing Green Party. She selected homelessness activist Cheri Honkala as her running mate.

Obama meets with a victim of the 2012 Aurora shooting
Image: Pete Souza.

Throughout the month, Obama continued his attacks on Romney for allegedly outsourcing jobs while at Bain Capital, releasing a new advertisement referring to Romney as an 'outsourcing pioneer.' However, the Romney campaign disputed the attacks as misleading. and Romney himself said that the alleged outsourcing took place during an absence from the company while focusing on the operation of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Obama heightened attacks on Romney's refusal to release all of his tax records, with one surrogate calling Romney's actions possibly "felonious." Romney described the comment as "beneath the dignity of the president" and asked Obama for an apology. Obama refused, suggesting, "Mr. Romney claims he's Mr. Fix-It for the economy because of his business experience, so I think voters entirely, legitimately want to know what is exactly his business experience." Furthermore, Obama argued that entrepreneurs like Romney should not take all the credit for their successes since others chipped in: "If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen. The internet didn’t get invented on its own. Government research created the internet so then all the companies could make money off the internet." Romney highlighted the comments to go on the offensive against Obama; he referred to them as "insulting to every entrepreneur, every innovator in America". Later, citing 100 Obama fundraisers versus zero meetings with his jobs council in the last six months, Romney delivered a fiery speech in the swing state of Ohio in which he suggested that Obama's "priority is not creating jobs for you [but]...trying to keep his own job. And that's why he's going to lose it."

Following the July 20 Aurora shooting, both Obama and Romney suspended campaign rhetoric out of respect to the victims. The next week, foreign policy came to the forefront as Romney embarked on an international tour to meet with foreign leaders. While in London, ahead of the 2012 Summer Olympics, Romney suggested the city was not ready for the event, which prompted British Prime Minister David Cameron to argue that London is "one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities anywhere in the world" and that, as with Romney's 2002 Salt Lake City games, "it is easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere." After this, Romney visited Israel, where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres, and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, and voiced his support for Israeli actions against Iran to prevent nuclear proliferation in that nation. Romney received some criticism after a meeting in Israel in which he argued that cultural differences impacted the economic disparity between Israel and its neighbors. He completed his trip in Poland, where he received a warm reception, and endorsed a missile defense system in the nation that President Obama scrapped in 2009. In response to the trip, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs argued that Romney "both offended our closest ally and triggered a troubling reaction in the most sensitive region of the world...He certainly didn't prove to anyone that he passed the commander-in-chief test." The Obama campaign announced at the end of the month that former President Bill Clinton would be given a prime-time slot at September's Democratic National Convention, while San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro was slated to deliver the keynote address. On July 31, Obama led Romney in the national RealClearPolitics average, 47.0 percent to 45.0 percent.

Polling rules restrict and fuel third party campaigns [edit]

Third party presidential candidates are often excluded from most presidential preference polls. However, because of the criteria of the Commission on Presidential Debates, strong showings in polls are critical for third party candidates to effectively communicate their message to voters. In addition to the constitutional requirements to be president and the attainment of enough ballot access to potentially win the election, the Commission requires a 15 percent average in five nationwide polls to participate in October's three presidential debates. Since these rules were adopted in 2000, no third party candidate has been invited to the debates due to the inability to meet the polling standard.

Gary Johnson speaks at the "Conservatives Against Unconstitutional Wars" rally in July.
Image: Gary Johnson campaign.

In early July, for the first time in this election cycle, Gallup released a national poll that included the three third party presidential nominees with the most ballot access. In addition to Romney and Obama, who registered 40 and 47 percent, respectively, the poll gauged three percent support for the Libertarian Party presidential nominee, former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson; one percent for Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein; and less than half a percentage point for the Constitution Party presidential nominee, former Congressman Virgil Goode. According to Communication Specialist Alyssa Brown, the Gallup organization uses "editorial judgment...including assessments of news coverage of third party and independent candidates" to determine whether or not to include certain candidates. Brown says her firm also measures inclusion through the interpretation of "responses to open-ended vote preference questions...[and] name identification of third party candidates."

Two other polling firms have included just Johnson in their nationwide polls for a three-way race: an April Public Policy Polling survey showed him with six percent support, and a July JZ Analytics poll found a five percent backing. JZ Analytics Senior Analyst John Zogby says that third party candidates are included in polls usually to see how they affect the race between the two main candidates. His firm added Johnson because "libertarianism appears to be growing in support among young people...[and] we wonder if he can be a factor." Zogby says that additional candidates will likely be included as the election draws nearer. When asked why JZ Analytics does not simply include all ballot-qualified candidates on a state-by-state basis, he gave three reasons: expense from the time taken to read all the names; questions on how to deal with candidates that appear multiple times on the ballot; and the lack of any significant support for certain candidates, which provide no useful data when applying the view that "the value of a poll is not to predict but to create accurate results that can be interpreted." Wikinews attempted unsuccessfully to contact other firms about their inclusion criteria for third party candidates.

Gary Johnson supporters picket outside CNN headquarters in July to protest the lack of campaign coverage.
Image: Gary Johnson campaign.

Despite his inclusion in some polls, Johnson does not believe it is enough. He feels that because "only three polling organizations out of 18 are including my name," debate participation looks to be a nearly insurmountable task. However, he clings to the hope that if he can qualify for the debates, he can possibly win the election. Another kind of poll may assist that goal.

Statewide polls, which measure voter support in individual states, do not count toward the average for the presidential debate qualification; but polling high enough in them could significantly improve a third party candidate's chances. Russ Verney, who worked on the 1992 presidential campaign of the last third party candidate to appear at the presidential debates, industrialist Ross Perot, and who later served as the campaign manager for 2008 Libertarian Party presidential nominee Bob Barr, says the Barr campaign's ideal strategy was to utilize local media in western states that were already "predisposed to Libertarian viewpoints" to work to improve statewide polling above 20 percent. Though this was never implemented due to low campaign funds, Verney believes it could have created a national news story that would have boosted the campaign's national profile and exposure, perhaps improving the showings in national polls, and like Perot, leading to debate inclusion.

Though third party inclusion in statewide polls remains infrequent, such polls often reflect broader support. For example, in his homestate of Virginia, Virgil Goode has nine percent support in a July Public Policy Polling survey, substantially more than his national average. Jill Stein tripled her national standing with three percent in her homestate of Massachusetts in a late June Public Policy Polling poll. Nevertheless, no other third party candidate is faring as well as Johnson in multiple states: a July poll from Public Policy Polling showed him with 13 percent in his homestate of New Mexico (down from 23 percent in December); he stood at nine percent in Arizona in May; and had an eight percent backing in Montana during the same month. These showings in western states are significantly better than Johnson's national showings. Since his campaign, unlike the 2008 Barr campaign, has access to federal funding, Johnson could possibly employ the Verney strategy, and improve his chances.

Ballot access denied in Illinois [edit]

The state of Illinois, which accounts for 20 Electoral College votes, automatically grants ballot access to any presidential candidate that files a petition on time. However, if a petition is challenged and does not list 25,000 valid signatures, ballot access is denied. In 2008, an individual named John Joseph Polachek took advantage of this law and submitted a petition with no signatures. No one challenged this and so Polachek appeared on the ballot.

In this election cycle, Constitution Party nominee Virgil Goode; Justice Party nominee, former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson; Socialist Party USA nominee Stewart Alexander; and candidate Michael W. Hawkins all submitted petitions with less than 25,000 signatures in hopes that they would not be contested. However, on July 2, Cook County Green Party chairman Rob Sherman filed a challenge to the four petitions, arguing the candidates did not put in the same amount of effort as the Green Party petitioners, who, along with the Libertarian Party, collected more than 25,000 signatures. He also reasoned that additional candidates would divert potential votes from the Green Party.

Virgil Goode collects signatures for his petition to appear on the Virginia ballot.
Image: Brian D. Hill.

Several third party activists and even some members of the Green Party condemned the actions, and asked that Sherman withdraw his challenges. He initially remained unwavering, but attempted to withdraw the challenges just ahead of the final court decision. The court would not allow Sherman to voice his change of heart, and proceeded to remove the four candidates from the ballot.

According to Sherman, Illinois Green Party counsel Andy Finko requested that he be the main objector. He further claims that before this, Finko contacted then-presumptive presidential nominee Jill Stein's campaign chairman Ben Manski, who purportedly labeled the challenge as a "decision for the Illinois Green Party and not one for the Stein campaign." However, Sherman says that both Manski and Stein personally contacted him a few days later, and asked that he withdraw the challenges. Sherman argued to them that he "had staked [his] national reputation on it" and that a withdrawal would hurt the Green Party ticket. He did not decide to withdraw the challenges until he felt the Stein campaign had completely deliberated over his arguments, which eventually came a couple of weeks later. Wikinews was unable to contact Manski or Stein to confirm that these conversations actually took place.

Virgil Goode offers a different perspective on the challenges. He says that Sherman, a self-identified atheist, offered to drop the Constitution Party petition challenge if Goode gave his support for the removal of "In God We Trust" from U.S. currency and "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance. To this, Goode replied "no deal", explaining that he co-sponsored "legislation in the House to put 'In God We Trust' back on the face of the Presidential dollars so that it could be readily seen by the public." It is not known if the other candidates were given this same opportunity, but Rocky Anderson says that he personally was not. Sherman did not respond to inquiries concerning such a deal.

For Goode, the decision may have affected his ability to participate in the presidential debates. Without Illinois' 20 electoral votes, he may fall short of the Commission on Presidential Debates ballot access requirements. Goode currently has access in 18 states for a total of 169 electoral votes, over 100 less than the required 270. Nevertheless, the campaign is still working to get on the ballot in additional states. Furthermore, the removal may affect Green Party ballot access elsewhere. According to ballot access expert Richard Winger, the party is currently a co-plaintiff with the Constitution Party in five states in cases where ballot access laws are being challenged. He says that "state attorneys...attack the plaintiff parties ...[using] the number of states in which each of the parties is on the ballot nationwide" as evidence of strength or lack thereof.

"It's tough enough to get on state ballots without other third parties undermining the efforts" says Anderson, whose Justice Party has thus far attained ballot access in Colorado, Utah, Oregon, Mississippi, New Mexico, and New Jersey, Anderson does not fault the entire Green Party for Sherman's "unfortunate behavior", but the events do affirm one thing for him: "In my view, third parties should all hang together in promoting ballot access."

Wikinews interviews newly-selected Justice Party VP nominee [edit]

Justice Party Vice presidential nominee Luis Rodriguez.
Image: Rocky Anderson campaign.

On July 17, Rocky Anderson announced his selection of Chicano writer and community activist Luis J. Rodriguez of California as his running mate on the Justice Party presidential ticket. Rodriguez is a published poet, columnist, and author of such books as the 1993 bestseller Always Running, which documents his youth and involvement in the street gangs of East Los Angeles.

As an advocate for urban social change, Rodriguez hosts readings and workshops, and frequently speaks at schools, prisons, churches, homeless shelters, and migrant camps. For his activism, he has received numerous awards including KCET-TV's "Local Hero of Community", and the "Unsung Heroes of Compassion" from the Dalai Lama.

Anderson described the vice presidential selection process as "arduous", but held that Rodriguez exceeded his personal expectations. He proclaimed that his running mate "brings with him a wealth of knowledge and real-life experience, inspirational personal growth, and proven commitment to social, economic, and environmental justice."

With Wikinews, Rodriguez discusses his initial reaction and reason for accepting the nomination, his responsibilities as the vice presidential nominee, and how he hopes to complement Anderson on the Justice Party ticket.

WSSWhy did you accept the Justice Party's vice presidential nomination, and how exactly did that nomination come about?

Luis Rodriguez: I was quite surprised by the invitation to be Rocky Anderson's running mate, and honored. I'm convinced that we need to have a strong voice in the political arena for justice in all its forms--in our social and civil relationships, in the environment, and in the economy. I see this ticket as an opportunity to express new ideas and new ways of organizing for concerns of mine such as urban peace, the arts, labor rights, and immigrant rights as well as those espoused by the Justice Party, which I agree with. As far as how my name came up, I'm sure it was from within Rocky's team, somebody who knew my work around the country and the many talks I do to open up a new vision for America. I'm convinced the two-party system we have today has pushed out too many voices and concerns of vital importance from the conversation and from actual policies.

WSSWhat are your responsibilities as the Justice Party vice presidential nominee?

Luis Rodriguez: Being that the election is only a few months away, I see my main role as speaking out as articulately and rationally as I can on these very issues... in the mass media, the Internet, social media, and blogs. I'm also a published writer/essayist and speaker and will try to get our views as a ticket out in as many forms as possible.

WSSHow will you complement Rocky Anderson on the ticket?

Luis Rodriguez: America is a very diverse and vibrant country. This ticket is in the direction of encompassing how this country is actually made up while finding the unity-in-diversity necessary to move everyone forward toward true justice in all areas of our civic and political life. I think Rocky Anderson is brave and insightful to select someone like myself, not for celebrity or to cater to any "winnable" ticket, but one that is real, addresses what really matters, and actively works to bring in those constituencies often forgotten. Rocky as a former mayor of Salt Lake City will be complemented by someone who has never held political office yet has spent more than forty years in grassroots organizing and community building.

Have an opinion on this story? Post it!

Sources [edit]

This article features first-hand journalism by Wikinews members. See the collaboration page for more details.

"ElectoralVote" — Electoral Vote Predictor, August 4, 2012 (date of access)
"Summary data for Gary Johnson" — Center for Responsive Politics, August 4, 2012 (date of access)
"Summary data for Bob Barr" — Center for Responsive Politics, August 4, 2012 (date of access)
Eric M. Appleman. "The Fall Debates: 2012 Presidential Campaign" — p2012.org, August 4, 2012 (date of access)
"2012 Candidate Selection Criteria" — Commission on Presidential Debates, August 4, 2012 (date of access)
"General Election: Romney vs. Obama" — RealClearPolitics, August 4, 2012 (date of access)
Richard Winger. "Seven Minor Party Presidential Nominees on New Jersey Ballot, as Well as Independent Candidate Jeff Boss" — Ballot Access News, August 1, 2012
Neil King Jr.. "Democrats Pick San Antonio Mayor for Keynote" — The Wall Street Journal, July 31, 2012
Maeve Reston and Seema Mehta. "Mitt Romney recovers footing in Poland" — Los Angeles Times, July 31, 2012
Richard Winger. "July 2012 Ballot Access News Print Edition" — Ballot Access News, July 30, 2012
Harriet Sherwood. "Mitt Romney declares unity with Israel over Iranian nuclear threat" — The Guardian, July 29, 2012
Steve Holland. "Romney's adventure abroad begins with stumbles" — Reuters, July 27, 2012
"Rob Sherman Explains Inability to Withdraw Ballot Access Challenges" — Independent Political Report, July 25, 2012
Stephen Dinan and Seth McLaughlin. "Johnson to voters: Give Libertarian a chance" — The Washington Times, July 23, 2012
Elizabeth Flock. "Gary Johnson Could Appear in Presidential Debates" — U.S. News & World Report, July 23, 2012
Richard Winger. "Four Presidential Candidates Removed from Illinois Ballot" — Ballot Access News, July 23, 2012
David Nakamura, Felicia Sonmez, and William Branigin. "Obama, Romney set aside campaign rhetoric to mourn shooting victims" — The Washington Post, July 20, 2012
AP. "Romney: Obama's protecting his own job, not creating jobs" — Arizona Daily Star, July 19, 2012
Tom Jensen. "Presidential race tightens in New Mexico" — Public Policy Polling, July 18, 2012
"Luis Rodriguez Joins Rocky Anderson's 2012 Campaign As Vice Presidential Running Mate" — Rocky Anderson, Our President 2012, July 17, 2012
Sara Murray. "Romney: Obama Insults Entrepreneurs and Innovators" — The Wall Street Journal, July 17, 2012
Stephanie Condon. "Romney camp: No VP yet, despite reports" — CBS News, July 16, 2012
"Obama and campaign offer no apology to Romney" — Fox News, July 15, 2012
"JZ Analytics Interactive Poll of US Likely Voters 7/10/12 to 7/13/12" — JZ Analytics, July 13, 2012
Wyatt Andrews. "What was Romney's role at Bain during outsourcing?" — CBS News, July 13, 2012
David Nakamura. "In appeal to NAACP, Biden warns of refighting civil rights battles under Romney" — The Washington Post, July 12, 2012
Alex Pappas. "Romney to NAACP: I’m better for black community than Obama" — The Daily Caller, July 11, 2012
Elise Foley. "Mitt Romney Booed At NAACP Convention For Saying He'd Repeal Obamacare" — The Huffington Post, July 11, 2012
Tom Jensen. "Obama holding serve in the upper South" — Public Policy Polling, July 10, 2012
"Rupert Murdoch coaches Mitt Romney: Hire some ‘real pros’" — The Capitol Column, July 8, 2012
Tom Cohen. "Obama downplays weak jobs report; Romney blames him for it" — CNN, July 6, 2012
"For Obama, a jobs report that keeps stinging" — Boston.com, July 6, 2012
Matt Egan. "June Jobs Report Deepens Economic Gloom" — Fox News Business, July 6, 2012
Jeffrey M. Jones. "Little Support for Third-Party Candidates in 2012 Election" — The Gallup Organization, July 6, 2012
"Howie Hawkins, Others Respond to Rob Sherman On Illinois Ballot Access Challenges" — Independent Political Report, July 5, 2012
"Statement from the Illinois Ballot Access Petition Challenger" — Independent Political Report, July 5, 2012
"Romney's Tax Confusion" — The Wall Street Journal, July 5, 2012
Callum Borchers. "Mitt Romney considering a female running mate, wife says" — Boston.com, July 5, 2012
Jan Crawford. "Ann Romney: Obama's whole campaign strategy is "let's kill this guy"" — CBS News, July 5, 2012
Laura Meckler. "Obama Sticks With Outsourcing Attacks" — The Wall Street Journal, July 3, 2012
Richard Winger. "Justice Party, Socialist Party, Constitution Party Presidential Petitions in Illinois are Challenged" — Ballot Access News, July 2, 2012
Tom Jensen. "Obama Leads Romney By Double Digits in Massachusetts" — Public Policy Polling, June 27, 2012
Tom Jensen. "Romney pulls ahead in Arizona" — Public Policy Polling, May 23, 2012
Tom Jensen. "Romney up five in Montana" — Public Policy Polling, May 2, 2012
Tom Jensen. "Obama cleaning up in New Mexico" — Public Policy Polling, December 16, 2011
Richard Winger. "No Illinois Challenges to Any Presidential Petition" — Ballot Access News, June 30, 2008
Marc Ambinder. "Update From The Barr Campaign" — The Atlantic, May 19, 2008
Ted Kleine. "Rob Sherman's Bad Year" — Chicago Reader, December 16, 1999
Patrick Sullivan (Sonoma County Independent). "Class War" — Metro Silicon Valley, February 4–10, 1999

Share this:

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

Fred Karger officially ends 2012 presidential campaign

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 03:07:49 GMT

Saturday, June 30, 2012

2012 United States Presidential Election

2012 U.S. Presidential Election stories

7 November 2012: World leaders react to Obama win
7 November 2012: United States re-elects Barack Obama
7 November 2012: Australian Broadcasting Corporation plans to call California for Obama before polls close
5 November 2012: Wikinews interviews former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson, presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party
5 November 2012: On the campaign trail, October 2012

Karger in August 2011.
Image: Gage Skidmore.

Proclaiming that the fat lady had sung, political consultant Fred Karger of California officially ended his campaign for Presidency of the United States on Friday, three days after a last place finish in the Utah Republican primary. Karger was the first openly gay individual to seek the presidential nomination of a major U.S. political party, and accumulated a total of 12,609 votes in six primary elections.

Karger, who served as a political adviser for several Republican presidents before actively campaigning for LGBT causes, had started his presidential campaign in 2010, but did not officially announce until last year. Throughout 2011, he attempted to appear in GOP presidential debates, but was unable to meet the polling threshold for any; he believed he had qualified for an August debate, but was denied entry after organizers deemed his cited polls as inadequate.

In 2012, Karger appeared on the primary ballots in New Hampshire, Michigan, Puerto Rico, Maryland, California, and Utah. He had his strongest showing in Puerto Rico, edging Congressman Ron Paul in votes and claiming over one percent of the total. He received his largest vote total in his home state of California, winning 8,268. In the June 26 Utah primary, the final contest before the 2012 National convention, Karger finished in fifth place with 0.25 percent, behind former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, former Senator Rick Santorum, Paul, and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee who won with 93 percent of the vote.

In his withdrawal announcement, Karger thanked his supporters and reflected on the campaign as "the experience of a lifetime." He expressed hope that his effort had positively influenced political discourse on the economy, education, LGBT rights, and other issues. He now plans to "rest up for awhile" before getting "back at it to help in the fight for LGBT equality."

Karger did not endorse another candidate for the presidency, and had previously told Wikinews that he had no plans to endorse anyone at the conclusion of his campaign.

Have an opinion on this story? Post it!

Sources [edit]

This article features first-hand journalism by Wikinews members. See the collaboration page for more details.

"Utah Election Results: Republican for President" — State of Utah, June 29, 2012 (date of access)
"Presidential Primary Election Results" — California Secretary of State, June 26, 2012
"Unofficial Results for the 2012 Presidential Primary Election" — Maryland State Board of Elections, April 23, 2012
"New Hampshire - Summary Vote Results" — Associated Press, April 9, 2012
"Primarias Partido Republicano 2012" — Comisión Estatal de Elecciones de Puerto Rico, March 22, 2012 (Spanish)
"2012 Michigan Presidential Primary Results" — Michigan Secretary of State, March 19, 2012

Share this:

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

One Australian male and female archer qualify for Olympics after Ogden event

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 19:38:45 GMT

Wikinews Sports

Sources [edit]

AAP. "Taiwan knocks Australia out of the Games" — The Australian, June 23, 2012
"Olympic Team Qualifying Tournament" — Archery Australia, June 22, 2010
John Salvado. "Aust men's archery team miss Olympics" — NineMSN, June 22, 2010
"World Cup Ogden and Olympic Qualifying Tournament" — Archery Australia, June 21, 2012
John Salvado. "Two Aussie archers qualify for Olympics" — NineMSN, June 21, 2012

Share this:

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

Wikinews interviews Fred Karger, U.S. Republican Party presidential candidate

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 20:11:48 GMT

Saturday, April 28, 2012

2012 United States Presidential Election

2012 U.S. Presidential Election stories

7 November 2012: World leaders react to Obama win
7 November 2012: United States re-elects Barack Obama
7 November 2012: Australian Broadcasting Corporation plans to call California for Obama before polls close
5 November 2012: Wikinews interviews former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson, presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party
5 November 2012: On the campaign trail, October 2012

Fred Karger in 2010.
Image: IowaPolitics.com.

United States political consultant and gay rights (LGBT) activist Fred Karger of California took some time to discuss his Republican Party presidential campaign with Wikinews reporter William Saturn. Karger holds the distinction as the first openly gay person to seek the presidential nomination of a major U.S. political party.

Before entering electoral politics, Karger worked as an adviser for such prominent Republicans and former U.S. Presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. Since retiring as an adviser in 2004, he has been involved in LGBT issues: opposing California Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in the state; and leading investigations of such same-sex marriage opponents as the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (The Mormon Church).

In 2010, Karger first announced his intentions to seek the Republican presidential nomination, but did not officially announce until March 2011. One of his early campaign goals was to participate in a GOP presidential debate, but was never invited due to polling thresholds. However, Karger argued that he did meet the requirement for an August debate, but was still excluded after the organizers deemed polls he cited as inadequate.

So far, Karger has appeared on four Republican primary ballots including Puerto Rico, where he was able to top Congressman Ron Paul, who, at the time was one of the four major candidates in the race. Karger will next appear on the ballots in California on June 5, and in Utah on June 26.

Karger brands himself as "a different kind of Republican" that wants to open the party to outsiders. He backs gay marriage, is pro-choice on abortion, and wants to lower the voting age. However, he also holds some traditional Republican views: he favors a strengthening of the private sector and believes the U.S. should be steadfast in its support for the nation of Israel.

In talking to Wikinews, Karger discusses his personal political background and activism, the 2012 presidential election and his GOP campaign, as well as his political views on both domestic and foreign affairs.

1 Background
2 2012 presidential campaign
3 Political views
4 Related articles
5 Sources

Background [edit]

William S. SaturnI’m going to start with the background. What are some of your proudest accomplishments?

Karger with former President George H. W. Bush in 2006.
Image: Fred Karger.

Fred Karger: Well, I have been involved in politics for 55 years. I am very proud that I first began working on campaigns, and then evolved into a profession. I got to work with some of the great leaders in the country: George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan. I got to involve myself in a lot of the issues of the time; involved in initiatives, elections all over the country; and then, most recently was a direct activist in discovering a lot of illicit activities by the Mormon Church, involving itself in many of the anti-Gay marriage campaigns from 1995 in Hawaii to our current election going on now; and then also taking on the National Organization for Marriage, and then investigated in Maine, which resulted in a treasure trove of documents disclosing their illicit activities. So I would think those are certainly some of my highlights in my 62 years, but I got all the fight left in me.

WSSWhat did you learn from Ronald Reagan?

Fred Karger: Well, I learned about his great optimism and his ability to get along with Democrats and Republicans, conservatives [and] liberals. He had an innate ability to work with people of all stripes and get along with them. Good with speaking the language of the time, building alliances to get a lot of things done in the best interest of the country, unlike President Obama and the Congress today. Ronald Reagan never took himself too seriously...

WSSI read on your Facebook profile that you supported Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton during the 2008 primaries. Why did you support her?

Fred Karger: The Republican Party has moved too far to the right for my liking. And that was not the Republican Party that I grew up with. I think there’s room in the party for a broad coalition of thought...

I was very disenchanted with the Republicans running four years ago, and I liked Hillary Clinton. I liked her husband. I thought he was a good centrist and a good president. And I wanted to help out and support her. I didn't work for her, but I did max out. I gave $2300 over a period of time in 2008 to her. And I just thought she would have been a very good president.

WSSWho did you support during the general election?

Fred Karger: During the general in 2008, I didn't support either candidate. I had helped George W. Bush in 2000. We were working an independent expenditure committee that I helped with a gentleman named Charles Francis that was a Gay-Straight alliance that supported George W. Bush, but then he let us down with his vocal support for a federal Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and other anti-gay activities that campaign and he were involved with in 2004. So I did not help him. I did not vote for him in 2004. I voted for a third party candidate because then I was not too convinced that Barack Obama was the right man for the job. So I was a Ralph Nader voter. I didn't do anything with his campaign or more, but I did end up voting for him.

The public doesn't know enough about the Mormon Church, so I wanted to help make them aware because there are some very interesting parts of that religion that I think it’s certainly open for discussion with Mitt Romney as the likely Republican nominee

WSSYou have been very critical of the Mormon Church for its support of Proposition 8, and you created a website titled, "the Top Ten Craziest Mormon beliefs". Some of your followers on Facebook wrote comments that this went too far. What is your response to them?

Fred Karger: Well, the Mormon Church as I discovered by documents that were given to me, official Mormon Chuch documents going back to 1995, has led the way on all the anti-Gay initiatives, constitutional amendments in the country. All thirty one that have been successful, the Mormon Church was instrumental in efforts. So I have announced. I don't do things secretly like they do. I've been very up front about it. I signed my name to everything.

And I am determined to try and get them to reconsider their vehement opposition, not just to gay marriage, but the way they treat gay and lesbian members of the Mormon faith. And there's a wonderful new video out with a dozen students from BYU talking about that and how difficult it is to be gay and Mormon. And this church, which is on the cusp of having a President of the United States, is cruel [through] activities that have been done to LGBT members and followers and as well as all of us non-members, who have been critical of their activism.

I think it is the wrong direction and I will continue to shadow that and keep them honest in politics, which they have not been as we found in California. And I think as their public affairs director had invited, which is why I put that website up, the public doesn't know enough about the Mormon Church, so I wanted to help make them aware because there are some very interesting parts of that religion that I think it’s certainly open for discussion with Mitt Romney as the likely Republican nominee.

2012 presidential campaign [edit]

WSSLet's talk about the campaign. I've seen from your photos that while campaigning, you've encountered such candidates as Jon Huntsman, Jr. and Michele Bachmann. Do they recognize you and/or acknowledge the historical significance of your campaign?

Fred Karger: I've met every single candidate running and have general pictures with all. The only one [exception] I think is Ron Paul, who I did meet with in his office in Washington. He was the one, who actually set up a formal meeting with me in January of 2011. We had a wonderful meeting. He had not made up his mind yet.

Karger with Jon Huntsman, Jr. in 2011.
Image: Fred Karger.

But yes, Rick Santorum knew me well. We would run in to each other all the time. Everyone was very courteous to me. Some I became more friendly with: Gary Johnson or Jon Huntsman, very, very cordial to me. I would actually say that Gary Johnson and me became friends. We would see each other all the time, went to meals together.

So I had asked all the Republican candidates running to have lunch, dinner, coffee with me. I thought it would be a good opportunity for the other Republicans running, and in a friendly manner to meet, to get to know an openly gay candidate for president, which no one has done before. But I think it was just my olive branch. As I was saying earlier, what Ronald Reagan did and what he taught me, which was to reach out to everybody. And certainly there’s some Republicans, who have said some very bad things about my community and I want to help them based on that and come up with the areas we have in common as opposed to the areas where we disagree.

WSSYou previously said that one of your goals in your campaign was to participate in a GOP presidential debate, now that no more debates have been scheduled, what are you hoping to achieve by continuing your campaign?

Fred Karger: Well that had been my primary goal to get in a presidential debate. A big feat for someone who has never run for office before and doesn't have tens of millions of dollars to spend on his campaign. I came very close. I did qualify. I met the criteria for the Fox News debate last August in Ames, Iowa, but they changed the rules and prohibited me from participating. So I am holding out hope that there still may be another debate. There's talk of a Texas debate. Governor Romney might not do anymore but there may be a situation where there's just a handful of candidates. There's only four of us now that are still actively running that are on state ballots like California and Utah. So I still have hope that there might be a debate. But short of that I will be campaigning vigorously in California. That's the next ballot I am on.

The numbers obviously don't add up for me to be the nominee, but I can certainly be a factor and that is one of my goals.

We are shooting our first California commercial on Saturday. It's an elaborate production, and I'm hoping we'll be running it on television in California. Hopefully it will catch on in a viral manner like some of our commercials have and maybe be kind of an introduction to California about my campaign years. So I'm going to be spending the next almost eight weeks all up and down my home state. I'm the only Californian on the ballot. And on our California ballot, it doesn't list occupation. It just lists hometown and state. So I will have Laguna Beach, California as my ballot designation, which none of the other three remaining candidates, of course, are from here. So that's an advantage. And we've got a lot of volunteers. A lot up and down the state. And I hope to register here. I'm going to be targeting three congressional districts, because the delegates are awarded by congressional district here. So I'm hopeful that I can pull out some delegates and be more of a factor in this race. The numbers obviously don't add up for me to be the nominee, but I can certainly be a factor and that is one of my goals.

WSSAs you've said, it seems very likely that Mitt Romney will win the Republican nomination. Might you support him in the general election?

Fred Karger: Well, I said that I'm very uncomfortable with anyone who signed this marriage pledge of the National Organization for Marriage. I asked him specifically to disavow that pledge. They just endorsed his candidacy yesterday. This is a very shady organization that is under investigation for money laundering in Maine. It has just been revealed by four unsealed documents by a federal judge that were subpoenaed from NOM of their devious and illegal activities. We now know that there have been illegal activities that have taken place by them. And I am uncomfortable with Mitt Romney as long as he is willing to connect with this very very questionable organization. And so I'm going to weigh the field. I am not going to make any decisions if he were to be our nominee as the Republican Party. I liked his dad a lot. I'm not quite there with Mitt Romney, but I'll have to wait and see how things develop.

WSSYour best showing in the Republican primaries so far came in Puerto Rico last month. In terms of campaigning, what did you learn from that experience?

Fred Karger: Well, Puerto Rico has an open primary as did Michigan. I tend to do better in states with an open primary because Republicans that are voting in a primary tend to be far more conservative. So if they have heard of me and know that I'm an openly gay candidate that of course could eliminate a potential vote. So I like that. I like the fact that I got an enormous amount of attention down there.

Karger campaigning in Puerto Rico in March.
Image: Fred Karger.

The [Puerto Rican] media was very interested. I was endorsed by the number one radio talk show host in San Juan, Carmen Jovet, who had interviewed me on her show.

Puerto Rico is way behind the states in its support for gay civil rights. There's a gay and lesbian center that's only been open for one year, as opposed to the states where gay centers have been open for 25 or 30 years or more. So they are very much behind the times. But they are coming around. They are very grateful for my presence there. I got a lot of speaking engagements. The media was very interested. I was endorsed by the number one radio talk show host in San Juan, Carmen Jovet, who had interviewed me on her show. And she's a very prominent media personality. And when there was a hurricane there, they got her to chair the foundation. We just spoke, having fun with it. I didn't know that after that she would endorse me and that had a lot to do with it.

And we did things in Puerto Rico well: we campaigned in the big towns that were competitive right before the election; did a lot of speaking; a lot of meeting the voters; colleges that we'd go to all over. So we did a blitz there in six days that was successful and I was proud to beat Ron Paul. And of course, what Romney did, and what Santorum didn't do was to listen to the voters and listen to the citizens of Puerto Rico, which you have to have respect for their heritage. And to come in and say this whole territory must learn English in order to be eligible for statehood is just not smart, spin politics. So I listened. I do. And I respect their heritage especially years of Spanish speaking that can't expect to transform that as a bargain, a negotiating bargain for statehood. So I just had regard for the culture and the people, and responded to what I think was a good fit for Puerto Rico. But I also, along with statehood, which is still a mixed issue down there, a lot of the younger people want independence than even want statehood, but I'm open to whatever that would be and to whatever the Puerto Ricans really would like to be for themselves.

Political views [edit]

WSSLet's get into policy. You proposed that the voting age be reduced. How might you convince Republicans to support this when polls suggest that the youth generally support Democrats?

Fred Karger: Well, it's something that I've not advocated as a particular constitutional amendment. I suggested that we should hold a discussion for lowering the voting age to 16 or 17. And that's one of the things I've been doing for our campaign. And in regards to your question, the Republican Party is doing everything it can to drive away this younger generation. Candidates like Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, or Mitt Romney are doing and saying things that are so anathema to younger voters. Ron Paul is doing the opposite. That's why he gets 6400 people at UCLA. He gets thousands of students coming out. And I applaud him because he's the only one who has the foresight to realize there's a future to this Republican Party beyond November.

Karger speaking with youth in Puerto Rico.
Image: Fred Karger.

So one of the things I've tried to do, I've tried to reach out to students in high school and college. I've spoken at a lot of high schools. There are 18 year old voters there. And I'm looking to the future of the Republican Party. And I think we need to do and say things and put the policies that will appeal to young voters. Currently jobs is the number one issue and I talk about that. That's a concern of younger voters in high school, college, wherever they are. So we just need to be a little more aware of that generation, so if there are 16 or 17 year old voters someday, they will be split, and that we will have welcomed them as Ronald Reagan did. There's a 70 year old man that just completely brought back a younger generation to the Republican Party that they had been driven away by Watergate. I know because I was a younger voter then who was working with then-Republicans to bring younger voters into the Republican Party. And if they think it's tough now, it was ten times tougher then.

We need to be much more aware. Think out all of the ways to do it: to speak the language; to offer them the opportunity to participate; to teach them voting at a younger age in high school so that they get in more of a habit once out of high school and off to college or in workforce, and are less likely to become advantageous voters. I think we need to teach voting in high school. Bring candidates like myself, Congressional candidates, their own candidates from city race, into the high school and I think that'll help people become better voters. And I also think it'll also help a certain percentage stay in high school that may not ordinarily, cause we're of course, losing a million high school students a year dropping out, and the 2 or 3 percent love politics and they're learning from politicians. They may be less likely to drop out. It's helping to then lessen that crisis.

WSSConsidering the Tenth amendment, should same sex marriage be a state issue?

Fred Karger: I am a strong advocate of states' rights, but not on a civil rights issue like gay marriage. And had we left interracial marriage to the states, we know that would have been a long time and coming, and the Supreme Court interceded and made that the law of the land. And I think on this issue that the court will ultimately decide that this issue should not be left to the voters. That is a gigantic mistake. A legislature are better. Some have more courage. But it's too hot a political issue. It should be a legal issue. And I'm looking forward to the Nevada case for that to work its way up to federal courts and then for the California Perry case. I think those two will be very important in making all the different people equal.

WSSHow can high energy costs be reduced?


Karger during the 2012 presidential election. Image: Gage Skidmore.		Theodore Roosevelt during the 1912 presidential election.

Fred Karger: Well, that's a very complex issue. Talking about certainly making America energy independent is number one. Conservation, which no one else is talking about, and that I am beating my chest about is so important. There's so much energy that is wasted in this country. Not just driving, but in our public buildings and homes, where you go into a movie theater in the summer and it's freezing or the airports. There's so many public places where we should not have government mandates, but certainly building owners and managers to take responsibility to really make it comfortable, and to set thermostats at a comfortable temperature. And personal responsibility, there’s so many light-timers that go all night. I grew up with parents who were children of the depression and World War II. So I couldn't leave my room without turning the light off. And I think we need to instill those values. We got to stop releasing so much energy. That will be a big contribution toward keeping costs down.

I'm more like a Theodore Roosevelt, who took on a lot of corporations and was controversial at those acts he did

But the oil companies need, and I know there's many factors in the high gas prices, but it's no coincidence that ExxonMobil makes record profits when gas prices at the pump go up. You can parallel those two. I've taking on ExxonMobil. I'm not afraid to do that. I'm more like a Theodore Roosevelt, who took on a lot of corporations and was controversial at those acts he did, very different of course a hundred years ago, monopolies and things like that. But I have no problems with going after big oil, and fine companies that have made a trillion dollars of profit off of the consumers, who are struggling right now with of course the trickle effect of high gasoline prices [which] affects the entire economy, not just at the pump. So there's a lot of ways. I've got some on my website, the issues tab. I talk about ways to bring this down. But those are two areas certainly where we need to pick it up: conservation and making America energy independent.

WSSThis is my last question. On your website you say that "Israel must be defended at all costs." Does this apply to other nations as well, and if not, why should one nation be given preferential treatment over others?

Fred Karger: Well, Israel is our number one ally. Israel's enemies are our enemies. We have Syria and Iran, and Palestinians for now, Hezbollah. We have a common way of government. We should defend them. They're a smaller country that's in a very unstable part of the world. Our mutual interests are at stake. But all of our great allies, most of which are stronger because they've been around longer, but when we have friends, just as we do in life, you look out for your friends and you defend your friends and help your friends out. And we have members all over the world and I think we need to always look out for those allies. Israel just happens to be in a more dangerous spot than Australia or Great Britain, or the other allies we have of like minded democracies around the world.

Have an opinion on this story? Post it!

Sources [edit]

This exclusive interview features first-hand journalism by a Wikinews reporter. See the collaboration page for more details.

"Issues/Jobs Now! Plan" — Fred Karger for President, April 22, 2012 (date of access)
David Taffet. "Karger tops Paul in Puerto Rico primary" — The Dallas Voice, March 19, 2012
"Fred Karger to be First to File for President With the Federal Election Commission" — Fred Karger for President (Press Release), March 21, 2011

Share this:

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

Rocky Anderson announces he will seek Americans Elect nomination

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 14:18:09 GMT

Thursday, March 15, 2012

2012 United States Presidential Election

2012 U.S. Presidential Election stories

7 November 2012: World leaders react to Obama win
7 November 2012: United States re-elects Barack Obama
7 November 2012: Australian Broadcasting Corporation plans to call California for Obama before polls close
5 November 2012: Wikinews interviews former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson, presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party
5 November 2012: On the campaign trail, October 2012

Rocky Anderson in 2009
Image: Don LaVange.

Former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson announced yesterday that he will seek the U.S. presidential nomination of Americans Elect, an independent organization hoping to field a nonpartisan presidential ticket. Anderson is already the nominee of the Justice Party, which he founded late last year.

Anderson served as mayor of Salt Lake City from 2000 to 2008 as a Democrat. During his time in office, he enacted proposals to reduce the city's carbon emissions and reformed its criminal justice system. After leaving office, he grew critical of President Barack Obama, and left the Democratic Party. He later established the Justice Party, which promotes "social justice, environmental justice, and economic justice" as well as campaign finance reform. The party has qualified for the ballot in Utah and Mississippi.

Americans Elect has already attained ballot access in eighteen states, and is petitioning to appear in all fifty. It hopes to nominate a ticket "responsive to the vast majority of citizens while remaining independent of special interests and the partisan interests of either major political party." Former Louisiana governor Buddy Roemer and economist Laurence Kotlikoff have both announced their intentions to seek the party's nomination. Additionally, former Utah governor and 2012 Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman, Jr. has received recent speculation that he will make a run for the nomination with former Democratic Senator Evan Bayh as his running mate.

In a press release, Anderson explained, "The Democrats and Republicans no longer respect nor represent the public interest. They both feed from the same trough of, and depend upon, special interest money", but Americans Elect "gives the American people the ability to select their choice for President without worrying about the corporate investors backing their campaign."

Have an opinion on this story? Post it!

Sources [edit]

"Candidates" — Americans Elect, March 15, 2012 (date of access)
"Rocky Anderson: Officially Declared Americans Elect Candidate (Press Release)" — Rocky Anderson, Our President 2012, March 14, 2012
"AE Begins Signature Drive to Gain Ballot Access in Texas (Press Release)" — Americans Elect, March 14, 2012
"Unsubstantiated Rumor Says Jon Huntsman Will Seek Americans Elect Presidential Nomination" — Ballot Access News, March 13, 2012
"Justice Party Utah Petition is Valid" — Ballot Access News, March 6, 2012

Share this:

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

Wikinews interviews former Salt Lake City mayor and 2012 presidential candidate Rocky Anderson

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 15:56:51 GMT

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

2012 United States Presidential Election

2012 U.S. Presidential Election stories

7 November 2012: World leaders react to Obama win
7 November 2012: United States re-elects Barack Obama
7 November 2012: Australian Broadcasting Corporation plans to call California for Obama before polls close
5 November 2012: Wikinews interviews former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson, presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party
5 November 2012: On the campaign trail, October 2012

Rocky Anderson in 2009
Image: Don LaVange.

Former Salt Lake City mayor and human rights activist Rocky Anderson took some time to discuss his 2012 U.S. presidential campaign and the newly-created Justice Party with Wikinews reporter William S. Saturn.

Anderson served as mayor of Salt Lake City for eight years (2000–2008) as a member of the Democratic Party. During his tenure, he enacted proposals to reduce the city's carbon emissions, reformed its criminal justice system, and positioned it as a leading sanctuary for refugees. After leaving office, Anderson grew critical of the Democratic Party's failure to push for impeachment against President George W. Bush, and for not reversing policies on torture, taxes, and defense spending. He left the party earlier this year and announced that he would form a Third party.

Anderson officially established the Justice Party last week during a press conference in Washington D.C.. He proclaimed "We the people are powerful enough to end the perverse government-to-the-highest-bidder system sustained by the two dominant parties...We are here today for the sake of justice — social justice, environmental justice and economic justice." The party promotes campaign finance reform and is attempting to appeal to the Occupy Wall Street movement. It is currently working on ballot access efforts, and will hold a Founding Convention in February 2012 in Salt Lake City.

Among other issues, Anderson discussed climate change, health care, education, and civil liberties. He detailed his successes as mayor of Salt Lake City, stressed the importance of executive experience, and expressed his views on President Barack Obama and some of the Republican Party presidential candidates. He spoke in depth about former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, with whom he worked during the 2002 Winter Olympics, and fellow Utahan, former governor and U.S. ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, Jr..

1 Background
2 The Justice Party and opposition
3 The GOP race
4 Public policy and the state of democracy
5 Related articles
6 Sources

Background [edit]

William S. SaturnCould you list some of your accomplishments as mayor of Salt Lake City?

Rocky Anderson: I served for eight years and during that time, Salt Lake City became known as the model city for providing leadership on climate change solutions. Just before the 2002 Winter Olympic games, I declared that we would meet at least the Kyoto Protocol goals, and we far exceeded those in a very short period of time with 31 percent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions during the course of three years.

Downtown Salt Lake City during the 2002 Winter Olympic games.
Image: debaird.

I was a vigorous advocate for mass transit and was able to resurrect a light rail system that was voted down by our city council within days after my election. I was able to turn around the public opposition and not only received a unanimous vote from the city council but also obtained federal funding.

I put in place a comprehensive restorative justice program that became a nationwide model. We were one of three finalists for the World Leadership Award by the World Leadership Forum in London for our restorative justice program, which focuses on solutions rather than simply punishment and retribution.

I worked to provide real and effective drug prevention and education programs filling the completely ineffective D.A.R.E. program and getting proven effective programs in our schools and providing much better public education on substance abuse issues. We focused not only on the abuse of illicit drugs but also the abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs, which is an enormous problem in Utah and throughout the country.

We fought against sprawl development incorporating principles of smart urban growth development with transit orientation development projects and opposition to sprawl-inducing new highways and increased dependence on the automobile.

I started a city-wide youth afterschool and summer program called YouthCity, and always pursued public policy with the understanding that upfront investments in making things better including opportunities for young people was far better for all in our community and far less expensive than ignoring those upfront needs and having to deal with the disasters down the road. We know that if we keep our young people engaged and teach them skills including social skills, we have a lot better shot of building safer healthier and sustainable communities, and at the same time keeping these young people out of trouble.

Anderson at the 2007 Salt Lake City Marathon.
Image: Jen Wakefield-Dillier.

I helped change, well, I led for the change in the culture of our police department where there was much more community-oriented policing where police were held accountable for not only excessive force against our residents and visitors but also even for rude behavior. I instituted a crisis intervention team program where officers were trained in recognizing and dealing with people with mental illnesses. Before I was mayor, I noticed that police were getting in confrontations with people with mental illnesses and escalate situations to the point of, in some cases even shooting and killing mentally ill people. We see that happen in communities all over the country and it’s so important that our police be trained to recognize the root causes of some violent behavior and understand when to back off and resolve the situation without further violence.

Our prosecutor’s office and police department were very supportive of our restorative justice program, which took a solution based approach to a wide variety of situations including public sex, drug abuse, prostitution, dealing with both prostitutes and johns. We had a homeless court, we had a mental illness court so that if homelessness or mental illness was at the root of illegal conduct, we could deal with those issues in a constructive way rather than simply running people through the criminal justice revolving door, which is very expensive and in the end destructive to everybody’s interests.

I was a big proponent and testified before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee regarding the proposal to transport and store high level nuclear waste, first, on a supposedly temporary basis at the Goshute Reservation in Utah and ultimately at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

WSSHow critical is it for a presidential candidate to have executive experience?

Anderson: I think it’s extremely important for someone to be able to demonstrate in an executive capacity, he or she can handle the pressure, know how to deal with differing interests, and come to the best solutions. I know some people get in an executive position and they become very dictatorial and dogmatic about what they’re doing. I’ve always held the view both as a practicing lawyer, as president of my law firm and of course as mayor and then later as executive director of High Road for Human Rights, that you’re going to do a much better job if you learn as much as you can about any topic before you form your views and then still bring in those who have opposing views to hear them out and to learn, try to learn.

Public transit with the skyline of Salt Lake City in the background.
Image: CountyLemonade.

I think in terms of executive experience, knowing how to bring those opposing forces together, solve problems, being respectful, and always having in mind that just because you’re in that position doesn’t make you any smarter or wiser than you were before. That shared wisdom can mean everything in terms of one’s success.

That’s how we were able to get the light rail project completed right in the beginning of my term. There was a group called Citizens Against Light Rail that formed and they even had their own letterhead and logo, and the leaders of that group will tell you that the first thing I did was brought the opponents all together at my home, went through what caused them to oppose light rail, and we figured out through a really constructive problem solving exercise during the course of several intense weeks, how to resolve most of those issues, and those opponents to light rail were very much in favor of it and are real champions of the community-based problem-solving process that we’ve put into place. That’s also become the national model. We put together a community team of people that was comprised of businesses and residents all along the construction route that would determine whether the contractors would receive bonus payments, and then we set very clear guidelines for those contractors in terms of dust control, noise control, hours of construction, keeping one lane of traffic open at all times so businesses could continue to have access. This system had the contractor very very sensitive to the concerns of those along the construction route and ways we certainly didn’t see during the construction of light rail down Main Street under my predecessor. And contractors ended up received either 96 or 97 percent of possible bonus payments because of that increased sensitivity, and members of the community felt like they had real power, which of course they did. That’s how it ought to be.

WSSAccording to an article in The Nation publication from 2006, a supporter asked you to run for president, but you told them that a run would require money and the backing of the state machine, which would be virtually impossible in conservative Utah. You added, “If I thought I could win, I would [run].” How is the atmosphere in 2012 better for you than it was in 2008?

Anderson: Well first of all, as reflected by the Occupy Movement, people in this country across the board understand how diseased and corrupt our system is, both our electoral system and the system of governance. We know now that there have been repeated failures in public policy that are a direct result of the corrupting influence of money. We’d have a universal health care system like the rest of the industrialized world were it not for the corrupting influence of medical insurance money. We wouldn’t be wasting billions, upon billions of dollars for unnecessary weapons programs, where the stranglehold and the corrupting influence of money from the military-industrial complex; we were warned about that by President Eisenhower during his last speech.

President Dwight Eisenhower warned, "we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex."

The deregulation of the financial institutions that led toward this nation’s and the world’s economic disaster from which we’re all still suffering, would never have come about were it not for the corrupting influence of money in the system. President Obama for instance, received more money from Wall Street than any other candidate in our nation’s history, and so they got a really good return on their investment because the Obama administration has not brought one person to justice for the massive financial fraud that took place that helped lead to this economic cataclysm.

The failure of our nation to provide international leadership on climate change and to develop a policy that would result in energy independence is a direct result of the corrupting influence of money from the coal, oil, and gas industries. I don’t think President Obama woke up one day and decided it would be a really good public policy to veto the EPA’s position of more strict limits on ozone in our communities. Ozone creates so many illnesses and even death. Rather, his decision was just another example of his kowtowing to polluting industries. Likewise, he could have put an end to any possibility of the Keystone Pipeline, yet he’s just put it off, delayed it until after the election, and by all other signs from how he’s conducted himself as president, it is pretty apparent that he will end up approving that pipeline if he is reelected.

So, the American people understand that. They want to see people in elective office that for a change are not going to be sustaining and sustained by the corrupting influence of money in our government. They want to see that the public interest is promoted for a change. So, we have that elevated awareness about what’s going on in our government, about which people are very unhappy as reflected in 9 percent approval rating for congress and a low 40s percent approval rating for our president.

And at the same time, and this is what’s different than even just a few years ago: we have the democratizing impact on communications from social media. We’ve seen revolutions now in different parts of the world, the overthrow of dictators through a combination of courageous, tenacious people working at grassroots organizing and utilizing the tools now provided through social media. That’s why we’re going to be able to run this campaign limiting campaign contributions to $100 per person for the election cycle and maximizing in every way we can, the use of social media. This will be a people’s movement that is already gaining unbelievable traction after just one week since we announced.

The Justice Party and opposition [edit]

William S. SaturnLet me ask about the Justice Party. What is it? How large is it? And how can people join?

Rocky Anderson: People can join in a number of different ways. There’s a website: justicepartyusa.org. There have been hundreds, probably thousands of inquires from people from dozens of states about getting on board, helping out as they can. There’s a steering committee, and we’re building on that steering committee as we speak. These are some great passionate, engaged, brilliant people, who’ve been working on this. But to see this happen in the sense, quite organically over time starting with discussions with people who have been contemplated doing this kind of work, coming together, building coalitions; I see the possibility of alliances or coalitions being built with different organizations around the country. The head of the Libertarian Party in one state came to us and said that he was publicly going to support what we’re doing. I’ve had Republicans contact me, telling us that they’ve had it with the craziness in that party; this extreme right wing approach that that party is now taking since the Tea Party’s had such enormous impact. We’re hearing from people who have been lifetime independents, members of the Green Party. We’ve got members of the Progressive Democrats that are being threatened to have their charter jerked by the Democratic Party because of their support for what we’re doing. In fact, one gentleman from the Progressive Democrats of America out of Chicago, is now on our steering committee. So this is an amazingly, cross-partisan representation of people who agree about the fundamentals and that is we need to change, not just the candidates that are playing within the system, but we need to change the system.

WSSYou mentioned Republicans and Libertarians, what about those that believe, ideologically that the government should not be involved in regulating carbon emissions or providing health care?

Anderson discusses Global Warming during a 2008 speech.
Image: NikiSublime.

Anderson: Those who believe the government shouldn’t have any involvement in providing essential health care for our citizens are not only on the margins in our country but throughout the industrialized world. The United States is the only country that allows reliance that in fact fosters reliance on for-profit insurance companies for the provision of essential health care for our citizens. It’s simply wrong that people are dying by the tens of thousands throughout this country every year because of inadequate health care services being available to them and you know we oftentimes hear from people like former President George W. Bush that people can go to emergency rooms, well that’s just simply not true. For a lot of the early diagnoses, early diagnostic work that can save lives, there’s not an option for that if you don’t have health care coverage. A lot of people can’t afford those diagnostic tests, and as a result they’re dying because by the time they’re properly diagnosed, the opportunity for saving their lives is gone, and yet the care that then has to be provided to them until they die is going to be extremely expensive. It’s so cost ineffective what we’re doing. We pay in this country more than double per capita health care than the average among the industrialized world, and part of our so-called health care dollars is going toward the profits for the for-profit insurance companies, dividends for their shareholders, huge bonuses, all the marketing for those companies. We are the most inefficient of nations in the industrialized world in terms of how we pay for health care. Our medical results are mediocre by comparison with other health care systems. And people are paying more money for mediocre results and we still don’t cover all of our citizens. So we come out looking very very badly by comparison with the rest of the industrialized world. If we were running a corporation here, and shareholders were determining how that corporation was doing in comparison to its competitors: higher costs, far less coverage, and mediocre results? I think we’d be replacing our board of directors and the officers and demanding that we catch up with our competitors.

The same thing is happening with education in this country. Our students are not equipped to compete with students from so many other countries. Ivy League schools are now putting quotas on the number of Asian students that they can accept because if they accept all of them on the basis of their merits, there would be relatively few Caucasian Americans being admitted to those Ivy League Schools. Why is Singapore doing so much better? Why are their students doing so much better on their testing than our students? It’s an utter failure of our educational system and it’s going to have an enormous impact in terms of the future. We’re not making the investments in education and innovation and in our nation’s infrastructure, all at the same time we’re wasting trillions of dollars on wars of aggression and continuing tactics in these countries that are creating so much hatred that leads to far less security in the long term for our nation.

And at the same time, we’re creating conditions for absolute catastrophe. Hundreds of names of environmental refugees, utter devastation in so many communities, loss of water resources, drought, starvation because of our failure to do what is required to reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses. If there’s any role for government, it’s to provide for, not only for the short term, but long term health, safety, and national security of our people and our approach on climate change has been absolutely counter to that. Pentagon studies discuss how oncoming the imminent consequences from climate change are going to create such major national security problems, and that’s going to be the case all over the world. It’s absolutely irresponsible to not be looking out for the future, and doing what’s necessary to prevent the most catastrophic consequences of climate change. And the science is as robust as one could ever expect from science. Every nation’s science academy, every major scientific organization in the United States feels the climate issues are all in agreement: the world is heating up, generally, at a much faster rate than previously predicted. We’re already seeing massive consequences including the melting of the tundra, the melting of the arctic ice cap, melting of glaciers from which communities for centuries have depended for their water supplies. All of these consequences are happening faster than people believed they would just a few years ago and the future consequences are going to be horrendous. And we know that it’s all because of human’s conduct, either the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse emissions, particularly from the burning of coal, oil, and gas, and from deforestation and the failure to reforest.

WSSIn 2008, you said that you voted for Barack Obama as the “lesser of two evils”, but Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney were also on the ballot in Utah. Looking back now as a third party leader, do you regret not voting for a third party candidate in ’08?

Anderson: In ’08…I actually…I think it was in ’08 but I…or was it ’04? Sorry. In one of those years, I swapped my vote with a Nader supporter elsewhere so that Nader would still get a net of one vote, but in a battleground state, it wouldn’t take away from the Democrat; it wouldn’t help the Republican get elected. But with the Electoral College, the sad fact is my vote doesn’t count in Utah because it’s always so overwhelmingly Republican. The Electoral College is an immensely anti-Democratic part of our electoral system, it needs to be changed, we need to get to the point where we’re all electing the president based on the principle of one person, one vote.

[Obama] has greater contempt for the rule of law...than George W. Bush

Anderson speaks at an anti-war rally in 2008.
Image: Jeremiah Roth.

And the reason that I said that I felt President Obama should be supported over McCain was that he was the lesser of two evils, but I recognized that President Obama had already shown his true colors. Then, I think in the pocket of the nuclear power industry when he was in the Illinois state house. He had never really stood up on any major issue. I asked his supporters, they fell for the whole hope and change hype during his campaign, and I was always asking people, so point to one thing that he stood for, where he’s shown any courage in standing up for principle. The entire time he was in the United States Senate, he voted for full funding for the occupation of Iraq. He never stood up against torture or the other human rights abuses that were occurring during that time. He promised us before he received the Democratic nomination that he would join the filibuster in opposition to Congress providing retroactive immunity for the telecom companies for their illegal participation in the Bush surveillance program. And by the way, not all the telecom companies participated in that, they recognized that it was illegal so it wasn’t a matter of people were fooled about whether it was legal or not. But for those telecom companies that did violate the law, they should have been held accountable. But in the classic American way, the corrupt way that has developed in our system of government, three telecom companies spend some twelve million dollars on lobbyists during the course of three months they put on the press, Congress passed legislation providing for the retroactive immunity and among those voting for the immunity, now after he received the Democratic nomination was then-Senator Obama, completely betraying those that he had promised to join the filibuster. But it was just a sign of things to come, they always talked about the rule of law, he has greater contempt for the rule of law, I think, than George W. Bush. He comes into office, says, “oh, we’re going to look forward, not backwards” in terms of holding accountable war criminals? And those were criminals not only under international law, the Geneva Convention, the Convention Against Torture, but under our own laws passed by Congress: War Crimes Act of 1996 and the federal torture statute. Clearly, an illegal act, and he says, “let’s just look forward, not backwards”. But he’s done the same thing for the people who committed such massive financial fraud on Wall Street without holding any one of them accountable.

He has reinforced this notion that there’s this narrow special aristocracy in this country, who are the most wealthy and the most powerful, and the contributors to his campaign, by the way, who aren’t going to be held accountable to the law while the rest of us oftentimes suffer just the most extreme consequences from the application of the laws, especially in the area of drugs, where tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, people have in our prisons because of violations of our drug laws.

The GOP race [edit]

William S. Saturn What is your take on the GOP field, particularly Jon Huntsman, Jr., and Mitt Romney, both of whom you’ve endorsed in past elections?

Rocky Anderson: They both have been good friends of mine. The Mitt Romney I knew is a very different Mitt Romney than the one who's been running for president. The Mitt Romney I knew believed in Roe v. Wade, that it came to the right result and with that ought to be established law and that we should just move on with it. This Mitt Romney, who, the last time he ran said we shouldn’t politicize Guantanamo, he doesn’t seem to have any regard for human rights, he’s gone back and forth and back and forth…Well, he did it as governor before the time he announced that he was going to run for president. But he’s even done it while he’s been running for president, this time, in terms of climate change. Out of one side of his mouth, he’s talking about how climate change is a problem, we need to deal with it. By the way, George W. Bush even said that. And then later on, he says, well we don’t really know the causes of climate change. But, he knows very well the causes of climate change. He knows how the scientific community feels on that issue. But he’s doing whatever he can to win the election.

Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. Anderson referred to Huntsman as "a bright, good man."
Image: United States Department of State.

Anderson addresses the GLBT community of Utah in 2005.
Image: Jere Keys.

I think Jon Huntsman is on the whole very different than that. He stood by his views. He was governor of the state of Utah, advocating domestic partnerships, that is equal treatment under the law for members of the GLBT community. And I say equal, wasn't quite equal because he still hasn’t reached a point where he embraces the idea of marriage equality as I have for decades. And actually had marriage equality when I ran for Congress in 1996, it became a core part of the opposition against me and probably led to my defeat in 1996. But he’s stood up on these issues, he’s stood up on the issue of climate change when he was governor. I think it was fantastic when he stood up during a debate and talked about how the Republican Party should no longer be the anti-science party. What an amazing thing. I mean one would think the bar is set that low that it would be amazing, but in this environment right now, for him to say that to the Republican Party while he’s running for their nomination. And then of course he was one of only two people who had the moral courage and sense to say “we should never be torturing”, and that is so counter to our nation’s heritage from the very beginning George Washington prohibited torture of British soldiers, and that’s been not only the law, but the ethic of our country from the very beginning. It’s only changed during this last decade and that’s part of a very dangerous trend toward an imperial presidency and the disregard for human rights, and it’s really so undermined our standing and not only undermined our standing, but created so much hatred toward the United States in many parts of the world.

So, Jon Huntsman is a bright, good man. We differ on a lot of things: I differ with him on offshore drilling, I differ with him on the keystone pipeline, on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. But I think Jon, especially having served as U.S. ambassador to China understands all the amazing progress China has made in the area of green technology. China is just beating us in every possible way when it comes to green technology. They’re producing more than half of world’s solar panels, they’re producing more than half of the world’s wind turbines. Now, they’re incorporating these green technologies in their buildings and they’re insisting every mayor find ways to cut down on the use of energy in their communities. They know how to get the job done, and in this country, I mean, we look at our country and say well that they’re totalitarian, and yeah they have people who can say this is what we have to do, this is our goal, and now you have to go get it done or you’re not going to hold your job anymore. In this country, we have the pretense of democracy, but we know that it’s with corporations that are benefiting so much from these disasters in public policy that are calling the shots. And we're not moving toward what would serve the public’s interest, and that’s clearly shown in the area of climate change and energy policy as it is when we see the work that we’re paying a lot more for drugs than other countries because of the corrupting influence of the pharmaceutical industry and the way that we’ve been sold out by those in Congress, both Republicans and Democrats who are feeding at the same special interest trough of corrupting money.

WSSDid you watch last night’s [December 15] GOP debate?

Anderson: No. I didn’t.

WSSWell, one candidate that was not invited to the debate was former Louisiana governor Buddy Roemer, who like you, is limiting individual campaign contributions to $100. Did your idea to do this come from Roemer?

Anderson: No. No I didn’t, frankly, I didn’t realize that he was doing that. I heard Jeffrey Sachs talking about how these races could be won and the message to get across to people, and I said, absolutely that’s what we ought to do. Just set a $100 limit and let everybody know: they’re equal players, we’re all shareholders, we’re all shareholders in this, and no special interest is going to come along and have any special access or influence.

Public policy and the state of democracy [edit]

William S. SaturnWhat is the single most important issue facing Americans right now and how will you address this as president?

Rocky Anderson: The single most important issue facing our country is providing jobs, education, enhanced infrastructure, and encouraging innovation because we are falling so far behind the rest of the world. And part of that innovation and investment needs to be addressing climate change because in the long run, the impacts from climate change are going to be greater than…from any other shorter term issue right now.

Fiscal policy of course relates to all of that. We need to bring in adequate revenues so that we’re not passing off on to the next generation this enormous debt and interest burden, and we also need to get our spending under control, but still with an eye toward priming the pump during this recession and providing the kind of infrastructure, education, and innovation that’s going to serve this country not only for the present but far out into the future.

WSSThis is my last question. What necessary freedoms are currently lacking in American society?

Anderson:There has never been a time in our nation’s history when the executive branch has claimed so much power and abused that power and that runs the gamut. Our president has asked for the legal authority to point to anybody, even citizens of this country; have them taken away, essentially kidnapped, disappeared, detained without any limit; no legal representation, no charges, no trial. It is so absolutely contrary to what our constitution is based upon and what our system of government is based upon. It’s contrary to our nation’s heritage, to our most dearly held values. The Senate just passed this incredible bill, the Federal Military Authorization Act that would allow for that detention based on who-knows-what kind of information, no standard of proof, no public hearing. It’s not like these people are infallible.

The rule of law has been denigrated to the point never before experienced in this country.

The rule of law has been denigrated to the point never before experienced in this country. People can commit war crimes and if they’re rich and powerful enough, the United States says let’s just look forward and not backwards and let them off the hook. Not even an investigation. So we the American people have lost the freedom to even know what our government is doing and to know whether or not they’re going to be held accountable under the law.

All three branches of government have been part of this deterioration of the law. Courts through the very subversive state secrets doctrine will dismiss cases, not on the merits, but on the basis of the very perpetrator, the executive branch, coming to it and saying that the case cannot move forward because to do so would mean the disclosure of state secrets that would be contrary to national security, and so the courts throw the cases out. That is perhaps the most subversive thing that’s ever happened in this country because our system of government is based on the system of separation of powers and checks and balances. The courts are there in large part to protect against abuses of power including illegal conduct by the executive branch. If that check isn’t there, that spells tyranny. That means the executive branch can do whatever it wants, regardless of the law, even domestic laws and treaty obligations that have been passed by Congress.

Anderson (right) shakes hands with a peace activist and Iraq War veteran.
Image: Jeremiah Roth.

So there have been torture victims, and by the way, these torture victims it has been established, they have zero connection to terrorism. Torture victims have come to our courts with the claims and they’re proven claims by the way that they were kidnapped by the CIA, disappeared from their families and other loved ones, whisked off, one to an Afghanistan prison and another one to a Syrian prison. They were tortured. They were held for several months: one five months, the other one a year. One was a German citizen, the other a Canadian citizen. They come to our courts to challenge that illegal conduct, and by the way, the United States has assured the United Nations Committee Against Torture that we provide these kinds of remedies for victims of torture. So they come in, seek justice, seek a means of getting the truth out, and what is the response of the both the Bush and the Obama administration? They oppose the lawsuits even moving forward on the merits because, among other reasons, the state’s secret doctrine and the courts dismiss the cases. That is absolutely un-American.

[The state secrets doctrine] is perhaps the most subversive thing that’s ever happened in this country...

The Bush administration, contrary to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act approved over the course of years, numerous dictates, we don’t know how many because the truth hasn’t come out, but likely tens if not hundreds of thousands of instances of warrantless surveillance of communications by American citizens. Not just telephone calls, but e-mail communications and otherwise. President Bush promised us the warrants were being obtained in all those cases. He was lying to us. He later admitted “yeah I ordered the national security agency to go ahead and do that.” So there hasn’t been one person prosecuted when people have come into our courts to challenge that illegal surveillance and a 2 to 1 decision by one of our circuit courts, the determination was made that they don’t have standing to pursue the cases because they can’t prove that their individual communications were subjected to that illegal surveillance, and the reason they can’t determine if their communications were subject to that surveillance was because of the state’s secrets doctrine. The government was able to block them from getting that information once again asserting the state’s secrets doctrine.

So we have lost freedoms in very fundamental ways. We’re a country where no longer can even pretend to abide by the rule of law. Where congress will pass retroactive immunity legislation, letting corporations that can pump $12 million into their lobbyists in three months, letting them off the hook for their felonious misconduct. Where torturers are not held to account. Where there aren’t even investigations. At least, in the late 70’s, when there were abuses in the intelligence community, Congress had states’ people that would come together as under the Church Committee and investigate these matters and disclose to the American people, which led to legislation that would help deter these kinds of things from happening in the future. There’s none of that. There’s nothing to deter that kind of misconduct; the kind of absolutely subversive un-American activity within our executive branch. And Congress sits by let like the biggest bunch of patsies. Not asserting their constitutional prerogatives, not exercising their constitutional responsibilities to provide a check against those kinds of abuses.

Have an opinion on this story? Post it!

Sources [edit]

This article features first-hand journalism by Wikinews members. See the collaboration page for more details.

"Justice Party USA - In the public : Events" — Justice Party USA, 2011
Alex Pappas. "Romney once endorsed liberal now running as third-party presidential candidate" — The Daily Caller, December 19, 2011

Share this:

This article is a featured article. It is considered one of the best works of the Wikinews community. See Wikinews:Featured articles for more information.

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

Former Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson announces presidential bid

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:06:27 GMT

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

2012 United States Presidential Election

2012 U.S. Presidential Election stories

7 November 2012: World leaders react to Obama win
7 November 2012: United States re-elects Barack Obama
7 November 2012: Australian Broadcasting Corporation plans to call California for Obama before polls close
5 November 2012: Wikinews interviews former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson, presidential nominee of the Libertarian Party
5 November 2012: On the campaign trail, October 2012

Former Salt Lake City, Utah mayor and human rights activist Rocky Anderson announced yesterday at a press conference in Washington, D.C. that he is officially a candidate for the office of President of the United States. He also formally announced the creation of a new third party: the Justice Party, under which he will make his run.

Rocky Anderson in January 2009.
Image: Don LaVange.

Anderson, who is known as an outspoken advocate of campaign finance reform, immigration reform, and LGBT rights, served as Mayor of Salt Lake City for two terms from 2000 to 2008 as a member of the Democratic Party. During his tenure, he enacted proposals to reduce the city's carbon emissions, reformed its criminal justice system, and positioned it as a leading sanctuary for refugees. Since leaving the office, Anderson has been critical of the Democratic Party and president Barack Obama. Earlier this year, he left the party, faulting it for failing to push impeachment against President George W. Bush, and for not reversing policies on torture, taxes, and defense spending.

Talk of an Anderson presidential run goes back at least five years. According to The Nation, in 2006, after delivering a speech on the steps of city hall, supporters asked Anderson to run for president. He responded "I'd be torn to pieces" as a candidate, but "if I thought I could win, I would [run]. This country certainly needs leadership." Last October, Anderson announced that he wished to create a new political party, and last month, confirmed that he would run for president.

At yesterday's press conference, which was attended by about 30 people, Anderson remarked, "We the people are powerful enough to end the perverse government-to-the-highest-bidder system sustained by the two dominant parties...We are here today for the sake of justice — social justice, environmental justice and economic justice." The low turnout at the event was attributed to the lack of notice and sufficient planning.

Speaking of the low turnout, Anderson argued that "This is what grass roots looks like at the very beginning." He says he will limit campaign contributions to $100. He is working to have the Justice Party appear on state ballots in time for the election next November, and hopes to draw support from the Occupy Wall Street movement.

According to The Salt Lake Tribune, the Justice Party's three primary goals include: the removal of corporate money from politics through a Constitutional amendment, an abolition of the country's two party political system, and the election of Anderson as president. A nominating convention is planned for February 2012.

Have an opinion on this story? Post it!

Sources [edit]

Matt Canham. "Rocky Anderson launches presidential campaign at sparse gathering" — The Salt Lake Tribune, December 12, 2011
Richard Winger. "Justice Party Announces Its Own Formation at Press Conference in Washington, D.C." — Ballot Access News, December 12, 2011
Dennis Romboy. "Rocky Anderson forms Justice Party, plans to run for president" — Deseret News, November 30, 2011
Paul Rolly. "Rolly: Rocky Anderson says adieu to the Democratic Party" — The Salt Lake Tribune, August 11, 2011
Sasha Abramsky. "The Other Rocky" — The Nation, December 17, 2006

External links [edit]

Justice Party home page

Share this:

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

Scientists sequence small genome of a pest: spider mite

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 03:07:31 GMT

Friday, November 25, 2011

Science and technology

Sources [edit]

Ana Godinho. "Spider mite's secrets revealed" — Eurekalert!, November 23, 2011
"Big pest, small genome: Blueprint of spider mite may yield better pesticides" — PhysOrg, November 23, 2011

Share this:

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

Two Santa Clara, Utah teens in critical condition after lightning strike

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 18:19:25 GMT

United States

Sources [edit]

Sheena McFarland And Erin Alberty. "Two boys, 17, struck by lightning near St. George school" — The Salt Lake Tribune, October 5, 2010
Nicole Gonzales and Nkoyo Iyamba. "2 Santa Clara teens critically injured in lightning strike" — KSL, October 5, 2010

Share this:

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

Utah police investigate polygamist family from reality show 'Sister Wives'

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 19:41:23 GMT

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Television

Sources [edit]

Erin Alberty. "Lehi police investigate ‘Sister Wives’ stars for bigamy" — The Salt Lake Tribune, September 27, 2010
Dennis Romboy. "‘Sister Wives’ family under investigation following TV debut" — KSL-TV, September 27, 2010
Hank Stuever. "TLC's 'Sister Wives': Frank, entertaining TV about polygamist Browns in Utah" — The Washington Post, September 25, 2010

Share this:

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

Loneliness unhealthy as smoking and alcoholism, new study says

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:13:02 GMT

Health

Sources [edit]

Adam Cresswell. "Isolation as harmful as smoking 15 a day" — The Australian, July 29,2010
Rachel Stockton. "Social Relation Linked to Longer Life" — Food Consumer, July 28, 2010
BJM Group. "Can your friendships save your life?" — The Guardian, July 27,2010

External links [edit]

Original review article: Holt-Lunstad J, Smith TB, Layton JB (July 27, 2010) Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review. PLoS Med 7(7): e1000316. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316. The Public Library of Science, Cambridge (UK)/San Francisco (US).

Share this:

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

Two tornadoes touch down near Wellington, Utah

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:46:17 GMT

Disasters and accidents

More articles about disasters and accidents on Wikinews:

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Two tornadoes touched down around the same time yesterday afternoon near the small town of Wellington, Utah in the Mill Creek Subdivision area. Initial reports are that both tornadoes rated somewhere between F0 and F1, on the lower end of the Fujita scale. Several trees were reported to have toppled over, a mobile home was severely damaged, and a travel trailer was reported to have been thrown over 50 yards. Other homes had minor damage.

It is exceedingly rare for a tornado to touch down in settled areas of Utah, and even more rare for two to touch down at the same time. The last tornado to touch down in Utah was the Salt Lake City tornado in 1999.

Wellington is about 130 miles (200 km) by road south-east of Salt Lake City, the capital of the US state of Utah.

Have an opinion on this story? Post it!

Sources [edit]

"Twister - Miller Creek gets brunt of rain and wind Monday afternoon" — Sun Advocate Newspaper, July 26, 2010

"Possible tornado sighted near Price" — Fox 13 News, July 26, 2010

Dan Metcalf Jr.. "Possible tornado touches down in Carbon County" — ABC 4 News, July 26, 2010

"Tornadoes touch down near Price" — KSL News, 26 July 2007

Share this:

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

Ronnie Lee Gardner executed by Utah firing squad

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 08:08:17 GMT

Related news

Obituaries on Wikinews

10 May 2013: Former Pennsylvania Governor George Leader dies aged 95
8 April 2013: Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher dies aged 87
20 February 2013: Presenter Derek Batey dies at age 84
12 January 2013: Report: hacker activist Aaron Swartz commits suicide
4 December 2012: Australian Paralympian Janet Shaw dies aged 46

Collaborate!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Ronnie Lee Gardner was executed by firing squad in Utah at 0020 local time (0620 UTC) on Friday. His execution was performed by five volunteer riflemen. Gardner would not have seen his executioners due to bright lights during his final words before a bag was placed over his head. The execution was carried out at a prison in Draper, a suburb of Salt Lake City.

This is the first execution by firing squad carried out in the United States since John Albert Taylor on January 26th, 1996. Taylor was convicted of raping and then murdering an eleven year old girl. Gardener chose his death by firing squad because he murdered with a gun and so stated he would die by the gun. The first man in Utah to be executed by firing squad was Gary Gilmore in 1977 for murdering two people.

In 1985, Gardner was convicted of fatally shooting a lawyer, Michael Burdell, during a failed attempt at escaping a courthouse. This was during his trial for the murder of Melvyn Otterstrom in 1984.

The five volunteers were not informed if they were given a live or blank round to ensure that they did not know if they gave the lethal shot. Gardner was asked if he had any final words and said: "I do not. No." There was then a count-down from five, with the guns being fired on two. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff used the Twitter micro-blogging site to say he had given the go-ahead for execution. "May God grant him the mercy he denied his victims". Friends and family members had gathered outside the prison to hold a vigil with some wearing t-shirts showing his prison number, but none were allowed to view the execution.

In 2004, Utah passed legislation stating that all death-row inmates will be killed by lethal injection, however those sentenced before 2004 are allowed to opt for the death by firing squad, as Gardner did.

Have an opinion on this story? Post it!

Sources [edit]

BBC News. "Utah firing squad executes US killer Ronnie Lee Gardner" — BBC, 18 June 2010
Ed Pilkington. "Death row inmate executed by Utah firing squad" — Guardian News UK, 19 June 2010
Nick Allen. "Ronnie Lee Gardner put to death by firing squad" — Telegraph UK, 18 June 2010

Share this:

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

English Wikinews RSS feed.

Slovak Henrieta Farkašová wins downhill event at 2013 IPC Alpine World Championships

Related news [edit]

Sources [edit]

2013 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships preparations underway

Sources [edit]

On the campaign trail, July 2012

Contents

Summary [edit]

Polling rules restrict and fuel third party campaigns [edit]

Ballot access denied in Illinois [edit]

Wikinews interviews newly-selected Justice Party VP nominee [edit]

Related news [edit]

Sources [edit]

Fred Karger officially ends 2012 presidential campaign

Related news [edit]

Sources [edit]

One Australian male and female archer qualify for Olympics after Ogden event

Related news [edit]

Sources [edit]

Wikinews interviews Fred Karger, U.S. Republican Party presidential candidate

Contents

Background [edit]

2012 presidential campaign [edit]

Political views [edit]

Related articles [edit]

Sources [edit]

Rocky Anderson announces he will seek Americans Elect nomination

Related articles [edit]

Sources [edit]

Wikinews interviews former Salt Lake City mayor and 2012 presidential candidate Rocky Anderson

Contents

Background [edit]

The Justice Party and opposition [edit]

The GOP race [edit]

Public policy and the state of democracy [edit]

Related articles [edit]

Sources [edit]

Former Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson announces presidential bid

Sources [edit]

External links [edit]

Scientists sequence small genome of a pest: spider mite

Sources [edit]

Two Santa Clara, Utah teens in critical condition after lightning strike

Sources [edit]

Utah police investigate polygamist family from reality show 'Sister Wives'

Sources [edit]

Loneliness unhealthy as smoking and alcoholism, new study says

Sources [edit]

External links [edit]

Two tornadoes touch down near Wellington, Utah

Sources [edit]

Ronnie Lee Gardner executed by Utah firing squad

Related articles [edit]

Sources [edit]