In a recent email exchange with Brian, I said that I was going to become a bit more partisan as a member of the Green Party.  Today, I want introduce you to one of the Green Party Candidates that are NOT named Nader.

Kent Mesplay was interviewed by Indian Country Today and that interview resulted in a front page (at least on the web site) placement (at least today). It is worth a read by all because Kent is a very unique individual.  

It is not often to find someone who grew up with stone aged people in Papua New Guinea, where Jared Diamond was a family friend, and then completed a Ph. D. in the sciences.  

‘So I grew up with Stone Age people in the middle of the rain forest. We didn’t have television or even telephones. We captured rainwater for drinking and had a garden. There was a small air strip where we had provisions flown in, but we were largely self-reliant and that’s part of who I am as a person.’

Sustainability and self reliance are crucial to security, Mesplay said.

“As a nation, we’re really living outside our needs. We import 80 percent of the food we eat. We import energy. In some parts of the country, we import water. In the time of any crunch – be it environmental or from terrorists – people are better off if they have their needs met in the community or in the region.”

But the government and large businesses don’t like that, he added.

”They act more in terms of stripping away wealth and breaking down people who are largely independent. That’s what they’ve done with the tribes and the nations over the years. That’s what they’re doing internationally now.”

While I support Mesplay, I have not idea how the Green Party nomination will play out.  I have heard that a Bay Area debate is tentatively scheduled for January 13,2008.  I am sure it will NOT be covered on Fox News.