Jill Stein

We haven't thrown in the towel on this. In fact we haven't begun to fight. Fight we will because the American people deserve a real debate. The idea that a private corporation - the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) - controlled by the Democratic and Republican Parties is being allowed to silence opposition voices is anti-democratic and unacceptable. Please go to occupytheCPD.org and join the fight to open up our debates. This is just the beginning. EDIT: fixed link

Agree. The Green Party platform here takes an admittedly simple position on a complex issue, and should be improved.

I agree that just because something’s untested - as much of the world of alternative medicine is - doesn't mean it's safe. But by the same token, being "tested" and "reviewed" by agencies directly tied to big pharma and the chemical industry is problematic as well. There's no shortage of snake oil being sold there. Ultimately, we need research and licensing establishments that are protected from corrupting conflicts of interest. And their purview should not be limited by arbitrary definitions of what is "natural".

(For a technical discussion about the challenges/limits of health research, see the chapter on research in a book i co-wrote, “Toxic Threats to Child Development: In Harm’s Way” http://www.psr.org/chapters/boston/resources/in-harms-way.html .)

For the last decade (and more) we've been told we don't dare stand up for ourselves and what we deserve... that we need to be quiet and vote our fears not our values. The experience of the past decade makes clear however that this silence is not an effective political strategy. In fact, what we've gotten is expanding war and empire, an unraveling economy, attacks on our civil liberties, offshoring of our jobs, declining wages, massive Wall Street bail outs, and the melt down of the climate. Obama has not only embraced the policies of Bush, he's gone way beyond.

Bottom line is this. The politics of fear has brought us everything we were afraid of. We need to replace the politics of fear with the politics of courage. The establishment parties (Dems and Repubs) don't have a single exit strategy from the crises that afflict us. Yet good solutions are available. We - in this campaign - are standing up and pushing these solutions - that the American people are clamoring for - forward.

First let me say it's really important we keep war and militarism out of space, and that space research not be hijacked for the ever-expanding war machine. With that caveat, as a science-nerd, yes i'd love to see continued space exploration. No doubt spending on (peaceful) space exploration is far preferable to war spending. If we cut the bloated trillion-dollar military-industrial-security complex in half, we should have plenty of resources for research. Let's see how the budget looks once we have a Green New Deal up and running.

To look at the polls, people are clamoring for what the Green Party is offering. Not only an alternative to establishment politics, but a way to get money out of politics (public funding of campaigns, open up public airwaves to public use by qualified candidates, etc.). A way to create jobs and revive the economy (through the Green New Deal). A way to bail out students and provide free public higher education. (It pays for itself as we saw during the GI Bill post WWII that returned $7 in economic benefits for every $1 invested in college tuition.) A way to stop climate change. (Sorry but the Libertarian "personal responsibility" solution for climate change won't cut it.) A way to reign in Wall Street, break up the big banks and create state banks, and an economy that works for everyday people. It's all about getting the word out. Go to jillstein.org to make it happen.

On the second question - Yes. We need a diversified economy. The Green New Deal creates public and private sector jobs, including worker-owned cooperatives.

Actually the estimated cost (Phillip Harvey, Rutgers University) to get the Green New Deal going are about the cost of the first stimulus package. We can pay for this - and much more - by cutting the bloated military budget in half, having the rich pay their fair share (Wall Street transaction tax, taxing capital gains as income), and by moving to a Medicare for All health care system, (which saves trillions over the coming decade by eliminating the massive wasteful insurance bureaucracy and stabilizing medical inflation). More on this at jillstein.org .

All of the above. We also propose a commission to support economic democracy, including education and financing to promote worker ownership.

Every vote for the Wall Street sponsored candidates gives a mandate for 4 more years of Wall Street rule. It's a vote for the policies that are destroying our economy, our planet, shipping our jobs overseas, etc. Standing up and voting for the Green Party is a vote for yourself and the future you deserve. Go to occupytheCPD.org to help get our voices out there.

Agree. Strengthening local sustainable farming, family and community farms is a major initiative within the Green New Deal. Modern industrial farming (including factory farming of animals) has been devastating for small farmers, for greenhouse gas emissions, for toxic pollution, for public health and nutrition. The farm bill needs to incorporate the needs of public health, small farmers, a sustainable economy, etc.