The U.S. and NATO must cease meddling in Ukraine and attempting to manipulate the Crimean crisis for geopolitical advantage, said leaders of the Green Party of the United States.Greens said that the complex crisis must be resolved by Ukraine, Russia, and other countries in the region, and that the U.S. should encourage negotiation and respect the democratic rights of Ukrainians without outside interference. Such interference includes military and economic pressure.Read the full statement here.

The Green Party of the United States is seeking proposed amendments for the party's national platform. According to the national party's rules, amendments can only be proposed by a state party, caucus, or committee. The Maryland Green Party is currently considering amendments to submit. If you would like to suggest a specific amendment to the Green Party platform, please e-mail your proposal to the Maryland Green Party at [email protected] as soon as possible. Guidelines for proposing amendments are available here.  Proposals will be discussed and voted on by the Green National Committee this summer. 

From the Baltimore City Paper: Baltimore City state Senator Bill Ferguson (D-46th District) is worried about the state of democracy in Baltimore, across Maryland, and countrywide. "Voting is the fundamental building block of any democracy," he says, "and the numbers of those voting is a smaller percentage than it should or could be, particularly if you look at age cohorts of young and middle-aged voters." This creates a "looming" problem for democracy, he concludes, so lawmakers need to find "new ways to reach citizens no matter their political persuasion," so that society has "an informed populace that engages in the process" of electing its leaders. The dismal state of voting affairs in Baltimore City were made manifest, to much public hand-wringing, in the 2011 mayoral election. In the Democratic primary - the tally that, by default, determines the winner in this nearly one-party burg - victor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake got 39,829 votes, 8% of Baltimore's voting-age population. Less than 10% of some districts' electorates backed the winners in the City Council races. Given this, perhaps Ferguson's crisis isn't so much looming as here already, at least in Baltimore. So Ferguson has introduced two bills in the current Maryland General Assembly session that aim to ease the way for those who aren't Republicans or Democrats to engage in political life. One would make it easier for third parties, like the Green Party or the Libertarian Party, to retain status as officially recognized parties in the Free State...Click here for the full article.

The Maryland Green Party has joined the Marijuana Policy Coalition of Maryland. This coalition of non-partisan and partisan groups supports the end of marijuana prohibition and the legalization of marijuana for sale in Maryland. The coalition supports the passage of the Marijuana Control Act of 2014, which would allow adults to use, possess, and grow limited amounts of marijuana. The Maryland Green Party has publicly supported legalizing marijuana and ending the disastrous national "war on drugs" since the party's establishment in 2000. 

Let’s talk about the weather. Or not. Let’s talk about the climate instead.It has been cold and snowy for most of the US, but the global temperature continues to rise. Democrats and Republicans want to expand fossil fuel dependence with the Keystone Pipeline and hydraulic fracking. This winter has been long, and we’ll weather the storm. But our climate won’t last with these policies.Let’s talk about the weather. Or not. Let’s talk about the homeless population being devastated by it, and the families still being driven to the streets by the foreclosure crisis.Let’s talk about the weather. Or not. Let’s talk about the rain of bombs our president keeps ordering on innocent civilians.Let’s talk about the weather. Or not. Let’s talk about the climate of corruption instead.Corporate money has pervaded every level of government. The Supreme Court has guaranteed it through their ruling in Citizens United, and Congress spends more time fundraising than governing. Only the Green Party refuses all corporate and PAC money. When we lead, we lead by example.The 2014 elections are eight months away. Don’t get cold feet. Donate now to fund our efforts to get more candidates on the ballot and in office. Let’s give everyone something to talk about other than the weather.Donate to the Green Party of the United States here. Donate to the Maryland Green Party here.