GRANT COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION

APRIL 21, 1990

BIG BEND COLLEGE, MOSES LAKE, WA. 98837

Convention Chair: Pat Schrom               Convention Platform Chair: Dr. Mohammad Said

ADOPTED PLATFORM - RESOLUTIONS

LABOR, AGRICULTURE, ECONOMY, TRANSPORTATION

1. Concern for the small business and their survival.
2. Objection to the proposed County Small Business License.
3. Tax incentive for small business.
4.Mass transit needs to be addressed in tandem with environmental protection, developed and implemented within the next four years.
5. Recycling should be increased in all cities in Washington State.

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES:

1. National health care plans and insurance for all regardless need to be made and implemented within the next four years.
2. Support universal health access and cost containment act.
3. Refer injured workers to a panel that includes their attending physician if they are disabled more than six weeks, to resolve their cases in an efficient way.
4. Consider the quality of life rather than prolongation of life when treating patients with costly procedures.
5. Support the creation of a trust fund for Social Security surplus outside of the Federal Budget.

ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES:

1. We object to the location of the Robanco Hazardous Waste site in Grant County, and project should be delayed until proper study of the damage to the crops and the Columbia river have been fully analyzed.
2. Put more emphasis on the elimination of hazardous chemicals in the atmosphere.
3. Citizens need to care about Old Growth Timber, the whales, etc.
4 Create a special fund to increase Wild Life.
5 State legislators should pass a law to make oil tanker owners fully responsible for all cost associated with cleaning up an oil spill.

DEFENSE, MILITARY POLICY AND ARMS CONTROL:

1. Cut military spending by a least 10% a year for the next five years, resulting in a 50% reduction by the year 1995.
2. Reinvest the dollars saved from military spending cuts to address vital needs in Education, the environment, transportation, housing, and human services, which will address the homeless and create jobs for our returning troops.
3. Cut 50% of our bases overseas in the next two years and 80% in five years.
4. Make our Allies share the cost of our troops stationed in their countries in the next two years and increase over the next five years if they want us to stay.
5. Allocate the savings to fund every American to own a home in five years.
6. Assist industries and communities affected by military cut backs to convert from military to civilian industries in order to maintain high quality jobs in the community.
7. Develop a post Cold War National Security Policy which emphasizes international cooperation and common security rather than East-West conflict.
8. No new land from Grant County for Yakima Firing Range.

FOREIGN AID:

1. Cut existing foreign aid at 50% across the board.
2. Allocate the savings toward the National Debt.
3. Allocate the savings to other emerging democracies in Europe and Central America, as an investment in future trade relationships.
4. Use some of the foreign aid to send Americans, such as Peace Corps, to underdeveloped countries.

EDUCATION:

1. Increase the salary of teachers.
2. Consider the major issues and causes of the present low esteem of our children.

CAMPAIGN FINANCING:

Limits should be placed on the amount of money that can be spent on all Senate and Representative campaigns for both Federal and State races. Such as Half a dollar for State races and 25 cents per voter or person in the area represented. 

INTERNATIONAL:

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, (Please see attached Preamble and Analysis).

It is resolved that the historic Palestine, which includes the West Bank, Gaza and Israel be renamed Abraham in honor of the Patriarch, who was the father of both Jews and Arabs, and that this new country adopt a Democratic system, without discrimination where Arabs and Jews live in peace on the basis of one man one vote, and be allowed to settle anywhere they want, with the one Capital to be Jerusalem,with a policy of immigration without discrimination against any group, which allows both Jews and Palestinians to immigrate to the new State on equal opportunity as a family reunion.

HUMAN RIGHTS:

1. The Democratic Party stands for fairness, equality and freedom from oppression for all.
2. We support self determination for all people without distinction.
3. In particular, we mention the Lithuanians in Europe, the Nicaraguan and Salvadoran in Central America, the blacks in South Africa, the Palestinians and the Kurdish people in the Middle East.
4. We salute the emerging Democracies in Eastern Europe, Central America and Jordan in the Middle East for the new Democracies.
5. We call upon the emerging Democracies in Europe, with particular emphasis on the Romanians, to respect their Ethnic Hungarians, the Bulgarians toward their Ethnic Turkish minority, and the Yugoslavian, Serbians toward the Ethnic Albanion in Kosova Province.

HOSTAGES:

We call upon the President of Iran, Hashemi Rastanjani and his declaration that the hostage taking is against the spirit and the Law of Islam, and urge him to follow his words with action, by using his influence for their unconditional release.

ASSAR ARAFAT

We look with alarm the denying of a Visa to Chairman Arafat to come to the United States to speak, which is against the tradition and fairness of the American people, and urge the State Department to issue him an invitation.

FAILED RESOLUTIONS

1. Allow local governments to charge developers for new roads, schools, parks, camp;
other services
2.Make Welfare patients pay $2. every time they use hospital, $1 for Doctor or Pharmacy.
3. Allow hunting or fishing every other year, issue licenses with more restrictions.
4.Channel 50% foreign aid through non-government organizations, I.E. charitable,environmental.
5. We urge the U.S. Government to release the frozen assets of Iranian Government.

WASHINGTON STATE
GRANT COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION MOSES LAKE, WASHINGTON 98837

ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT

PREAMBLE, ANALYSIS AND RESOLUTION
APRIL 21, 1990

WHEREAS Grant County Democratic Convention passed a resolution in 1988 calling for a Palestinian State in the West Bank and Gaza district along side Israel.
WHEREAS the State Platform Committee in Ellensberg approved a similar resolution by unanimous vote in 1988.
WHEREAS The Democratic State Convention in Olympia passed the same resolution by acclamation in 1988.
WHEREAS Dr. Said, as a member of the Democratic Platform Committee carried the resolution to Algeria in 1988, where the Palestinian National Council meeting with significant impact.
WHEREAS Dr. Said carried the same resolution as a member of the Palestinian Delegation to the General Assembly of the United Nations in Geneva with a tremendous contribution to the peace process and the opening dialogue between the U.S. Government and the Palestinian Liberation Organization in Tunisia.
WHEREAS the resolution, which was supposed to be implemented between the Israeli and the Palestinians, is in a stalemate, with the peace process quite remote.
WHEREAS significant changes world wide happened since then, including the emerging Democracies in Europe and the beginning process toward a majority rule in South Africa.
WHEREAS Ethnic groups with different languages and cultures in those countries are emerging under the banner of Democracy.
WHEREAS our American tradition, Constitution, and system allows people from diverse backgrounds, Ethnic, cultural, and languages to live in peace and harmony under our constitution and the universal law which allow one man, one vote.

And in order to accomplish this goal, the following steps should be taken.
1. Rename the historic Palestine which includes Israel, West Bank and Gaza as Abraham in honor of the Patriarch who was the father of both Arabs and Jews.
2, Establish one man, one vote of the residents of the new state.
3. Abolish the Israeli Law of Return which allows only Jews to immigrate to the State of Israel.
4. Establish new policy to allow Jews and Palestinian to immigrate to the new state as family units.
5. Allow any Palestinian or Jew to settle anywhere in the new state, and Jerusalem is the capital.

FOR ALL OF THIS:
It is resolved that the historic Palestine, which includes the West Bank, Gaza and Israel be renamed Abraham in honor of the Patriarch, who was the father of both Jews and Arabs, and that this new country adopt a Democratic system, without discrimination where Arabs and Jews live in peace on the basis of one man, one vote, and be allowed to settle anywhere they want, with the one Capital to be Jerusalem,with a policy of immigration without discrimination against any group, which allows both Jews and Palestinians to immigrate to the new State on equal opportunity as a family reunion.