Whitney Proposes Social Security "Security Plan"

NOTICE!

WTTW Gubernatorial Forum on Thursday, October 26

While the Whitney campaign vies for fair coverage from some
outlets, one outlet that is proving to be unbiased is WTTW-11,
Chicago's PBS station. This Thursday night at 7:00 they will
host a live gubernatorial forum from their North Side studios.
Rich Whitney is included, and Judy Baar Topinka will also
participate. Rod Blagojevich pulled out of the event several
weeks ago, consistent with his refusal to debate Rich Whitney in
any setting.

WSIU (Carbondale PBS) is also expected to air the forum at
broadcast time. Other PBS stations might do so as well; check
with your local PBS affiliate and if they do not have it
scheduled, ask them to air it at a later date. There may also be
some house parties associated with the airing. People in the
WTTW broadcast area are strongly encouraged to host small house
parties on their own where they invite people over to see the
televised forum so people can learn about Rich in a comfortable
setting. Contact Jessica Bradshaw, jbradshaw21@yahoo.com, if
you'd like to host such a house party and would like other ideas
or would like to invite people in your immediate area.

George Ochsenfeld
==============

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – October 25, 2006

WHITNEY ADDRESSES SECURITY VULNERABILITY, PROPOSES STATE PLAN

CONTACT:
Dave Sacks, Office Manager
Whitney for Governor, 773-557-9411
office@whitneyforgov.org

Rich Whitney, the Green Party's candidate for Illinois Governor, today responded to news that a security vulnerability at the Chicago Board of Elections has exposed the Social Security numbers and birth dates of more than 1 million registered voters to potential identity theft and other privacy violations.

"This regrettable and unfortunate incident underscores the need to improve information security in all government agencies, including within state government. I am proposing a stronger statewide information security strategy that includes three major components--prevention, detection, and response," said Whitney.

A key prevention component in Whitney's plan is the expanded use of open-source software in state government. "Not only is open-source software more secure than secret, closed-source, and proprietary software; but it is also significantly less expensive," said Tim Tacker, the campaign's Communication Director.

Whitney claims that a move to open-source software and other non-proprietary standards will be a boon to business because it will foster competition amongst software vendors in the state, rather than forcing consumers to be locked into non-compatible, proprietary solutions. In addition, Whitney has stated that any software developed for use by the state would also be made freely available to businesses and the public, significantly reducing their overall software costs.

"This proposal will allow us to better protect people's privacy rights. We will also be taking a leadership role in promoting competition in the information technology sector. Combined with full funding for schools, to ensure a well educated workforce, Illinois has the potential to lead the nation in this area," said Whitney.

The Whitney for Governor campaign website is built upon Joomla, a freely-available and open-source content management system.

MORE INFORMATION:
www.whitneyforgov.org
www.opensource.org

SUPPORT DOUBLES for GREEN Gubernatorial Candidate, Rich Whitney!!!

Whitney Support Doubles, Beating Blago Among Independents
Reply-To: communicationsdirector@whitneyforgov.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – October 24, 2006

CONTACT:
Dave Sacks, Office Manager
Whitney for Governor, 773-557-9411
office@whitneyforgov.org

Despite refusing all corporate campaign contributions, and facing widespread media bias, Rich Whitney, the Green Party's candidate for Illinois Governor, is now polling at 14% support, according to the most recent independent SurveyUSA poll, conducted on October 20-22.

This figure is double Whitney's results in the last SurveyUSA poll, released on September 20th. Whitney is the only candidate to have gained support--his opponents' numbers have both decreased.

The poll showed Rich Whitney's strongest support coming from Independent voters, with 29% supporting Whitney, compared to 27% for Blagojevich.

A civil rights attorney from Carbondale, Whitney is also polling as high as 20% in the Chicago collar counties and 23% amongst those age 18-34.

"This is an encouraging sign that a people driven campaign can be successful in this day and age without the necessity of raising and spending millions of dollars. People in Illinois, as elsewhere, are tired of politics dominated by big money and this is a sign of popular rebellion against it," said Whitney.

MORE INFORMATION:
www.whitneyforgov.org

Whitney Faces Media Bias

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – October 23, 2006

WHITNEY FACES WIDESPREAD MEDIA BIAS, REQUESTS FAIR COVERAGE

CONTACT:
Dave Sacks, Office Manager
Whitney for Governor, 773-557-9411
office@whitneyforgov.org

Rich Whitney, the Green Party's candidate for Illinois Governor, claims that he is facing widespread media bias and is requesting fair coverage.

"While this campaign has been gratified by the favorable response by many front line reporters, the fact is that when it comes to the top of the institution, we're seeing a different story--one of institutional bias. It reflects the fact that these institutions have a economic and political sink in the same two-party system that most Illinois voters, as well as the green party, see as part of the problem--not part of the solution," said Whitney.

Some examples of media bias that the Whitney campaign is reporting include the following:

- Omissions from stories covering both of Whitney's opponents.
- Language suggesting there are only two candidates (i.e. "opponent" vs. "opponents".)
- Exclusion from debates, interviews, and other broadcast programming.

Citing two specific examples, Whitney pointed to recent endorsements of gubernatorial candidates by the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. Even though the Tribune hosted Blagojevich and Topinka, neither editorial board invited Whitney to be interviewed before issuing their endorsements.

"Both the Tribune and the Sun-Times are doing the voters a tremendous disservice by failing to provide them with all information needed to make an informed decision on election day. I believe that this is a reflection of the fact that both papers are themselves sizable media corporations, indebted to other corporate interests, that are literally invested in the Blagojevich and Topinka campaigns," said Whitney.

Whitney has also been arbitrarily excluded from broadcast programming, such as the debate sponsored by the Illinois Radio Network and CBS2 Chicago's "Straight 2 The Issues" segment, airing between now and Election Day. When asked for equal opportunity, the Illinois Radio Network indicated that Whitney would not be invited without permission from the Democratic and Republican candidates; and even though the most recent Zogby poll shows Whitney's support in the double digits and growing, CBS2 Chicago indicated that Whitney was "not polling high enough" to be included in their segment. When asked how high Whitney would need to poll in order to be included, CBS2 Chicago was unable to provide any type of pre-established, objective criteria for inclusion.

"CBS2 Chicago claims that the decision to exclude Rich Whitney was based on their good-faith news judgment; but unless their judgment is incredibly bad, I don't see how that is possible, considering that the most recent Glengariff Group poll showed that 70% of Illinois voters want Rich Whitney included," said Tim Tacker, Communications Director for the Whitney campaign.

"Media corporations are unique in that, not only are they themselves corporate entities, but most of their revenue comes from advertising from other corporate entities; so they have a very big material stake in maintaining the corporate status quo. The Green Party, and this campaign, represent a challenge to that status quo, which is why were are seeing this type of institutional bias against us and why these same media conglomerates are not serving the public interest," said Whitney.

MORE INFORMATION:
www.whitneyforgov.org

Whitney in Chicago Tonight! October 23rd

A+ Illinois Concerned Communities for Schools Forum

Start Time: 7:00 PM Monday, Oct 23

The event will be held at Chicago Embassy Church, at 5848 S. Princeton Avenue in Chicago at 7pm.

If you care about education, this is THE event to attend to find out candidates' positions on the issues facing our public schools today.

Come listen, and support Rich Whitney as he details the only gubernatorial education plan that does NOT include expanding gambling or selling the state lottery.

This is also your opportunity to pick up Whitney for Governor yard signs, bumper stickers, buttons, and brochures. Hope to see you there!

Jennifer Rose

Campaign manager

Blind Allegiance to the Flag

The Pledge of Allegiance

"Blind" has yet to be a added (at least officially) to a manmade, not God spoken, pledge to the U.S. flag.

This ever-changing manmade pledge is just that... ever-changing, just like the physical appearance of our flag. Stagnant, conservative thinking tends to treat such pledges as if God-spoken and written in stone. Perhaps the greatest lie is to put carnal words in God's mouth and then tell our children they are God's own, inspired words... And perhaps the greatest sin is then to have them "blindly" recite it over and over and over again.

Duane Short
October 22, 2006
============

I pledge allegiance to my Flag,
and to the Republic for which it stands:
one Nation indivisible,
With Liberty and Justice for all.
October 11, 1892

I pledge allegiance to the
Flag of the United States,
and to the Republic for which it stands:
one Nation indivisible,
With Liberty and Justice for all.
June 14, 1923

I pledge allegiance to the Flag
of the United States of America,
and to the Republic for which it stands:
one Nation indivisible,
With Liberty and Justice for all.
June 14, 1924

I pledge allegiance to the Flag
of the United States of America,
and to the Republic for which it stands:
one Nation under God, indivisible,
With Liberty and Justice for all.
June 14, 1954

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I invite you to visit:
ShortStream News Media
Duane Short