Big Apple Coffee Party was formed with an intentionally narrow focus in reaction to Citizens United and the emergence of the “Tea Party.” It agreed to work to get money out of politics and fight undue corporate influence of our democracy. BACP since included environmental issues, the Don’t Do Koch Campaign/boycott, TPP, and other issues that it adopted after extended debate and consensus.
We are now facing a potential state of emergency with many areas of urgent and immediate concern. It was therefore agreed that BACP should expand its reach and adopt a slightly alternative way of organizing.
BACP has thus created an extended list of issues that it supports in general. Big Apple Coffee Party is now able to work with allies, protest, flyer, sign petitions, use social media, write letters, etc., in support of these issues. If or when an emergency situation arises, BACP will be free to act quickly and mobilize.
Following is a list of New Issues to date followed by the Resolutions that define each issue.
1. In Defense of Single Payer Medical Care
2. Against Targeting Muslims and Other Groups
3. Standing up For Immigrants
4. In Defense of Public Education
5. Right of Workers to Organize
6. To Eliminate the Militarization of Police
7. To Protect and Expand Medicare and Medicaid
8. In Opposition to the Trade in Services Agreement
9. Working to Improve, Not Weaken, Health Coverage
10. Protecting Freedom of the Press: Mainstream and Alternative; Traditional and Digital
11. To Protect Social Security
12. In Support of the Struggle Against Mass Incarceration
13. In Support of Judicial Reform and Accountability
14. To Eliminate Partisan Redistricting (Gerrymandering)
15. In Support of the Abolishment of the Electoral College and/or a System
Whereby The U.S. President is Elected By Popular Vote
16. In Support of Seccure U.S. Elections
17. Against War
18. In Support of Women’s Rights
19. In Support of the Environmental Regulation
20. In Support of Efforts to Combat Global Warming
21. In Support of Action to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
22. In Support of Julian Assange
23. In Support of Greater Antitrust Enforcement Against Monopoly Power
24. In Support of An End to All United States Imposed Economic Sanctions
Big Apple Coffee Party New Issues Resolutions, 1/17/17
(Updated, 1/15/20)
1. In Defense of Single Payer Medical Care
WHEREAS,
the average cost of family health insurance in the United States has
increased 131% over the last ten years while inflation during that
period has been increased by only 28%, and
WHEREAS, healthcare in the United States is rated poorest in the developed world in terms of equity, efficiency
and outcomes, and
WHEREAS, the United States ranks 1st in healthcare cost, it ranks 49th in life expectancy, and has a higher infant
mortality rate than any of the other 27 wealthiest countries.
WHEREAS,
healthcare must be universally available to all Americans because
healthcare is a fundamental right not a privilege, therefore be it
Resolved, Big Apple Coffee Party will work, along with allies, to establish the creation of a sufficient and
affordable
universal, single-payer healthcare system or Medicare For All, through
education, activism, and when advisable in support of targeted
legislation.
2. Against Targeting Muslims and Other Groups
WHEREAS, racial profiling is a violation of our civil rights, and
WHEREAS, identifying “potential terrorists” by their religion or ethnicity is discriminatory, and
WHEREAS, singling out any group for special registration harms all of us, therefore be it
Resolved, Big Apple Coffee Party will work, along with allies, to oppose any registry that targets Muslims
or any arbitrary group of citizens or immigrants.
3. Standing Up For Immigrants
WHEREAS, the United States has always been a nation of immigrants and,
WHEREAS, immigrants have been a beneficial source of a strong economy and social progress, and
WHEREAS, we have welcomed and been a refuge to all seeking freedom, and,
WHEREAS, keeping families and communities together and free of fear is a goal of a just society, therefore be it
Resolved, Big Apple Coffee Party will work, along with allies, to oppose deportation of those currently protected
by Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or other undocumented immigrants without cause.
4. In Defense of Public Education
WHEREAS,
public schools are the bedrock of our democracy and a unifying force in
our nation, where currently over 90% of our children receive their
education, and
WHEREAS, since 1995, over $3.7 billion has been
used by the federal government to expand the charter school industry
diverting taxpayer funds to private and religious schools which severely
weaken our public schools and degrade the quality of education that our
children receive, therefore be it
Resolved, Big Apple Coffee Party will work, along with allies, to stop the privatization and destruction of our
public schools and oppose for-profit charter schools and the institution of school voucher
5. Right of Workers to Organize
WHEREAS, the rights of workers to organize and collectively bargain has had an historic impact on the betterment of
all our lives, and
WHEREAS, organized labor has helped establish the 8-hour day, 40-hour week, child labor laws, overtime pay, workplace
safety standards and regulations, sick leave, vacation pay, and
WHEREAS, there has been a call for the passage of an anti-labor national version of the so-called right-to-work
laws and the outright elimination of collective bargaining, therefore be it
Resolved, Big Apple Coffee Party will stand with our allies in defense of the rights of workers to unionize
and collectively bargain and fight to keep laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Davis Bacon
Act that protect workers on the job.
6. To Eliminate the Militarization of Police
WHEREAS,
the character of local policing throughout the United States has
changed radically since the 1033 Program was created when President Bill
Clinton signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act on Sept.
23, 1996, facilitating transfer of excess military equipment to local
and state police forces, and
WHEREAS, the ACLU has reported,
“American policing has become excessively militarized through the use of
weapons and tactics designed for the battlefield” and that this
militarization “unfairly impacts people of color and undermines
individual liberties, and it has been allowed to happen in the absence
of any meaningful public discussion,” and
WHEREAS, the NYPD has
spent $100s of millions on a broad spectrum of equipment and training
since 2014, including armored trucks, mortar carrier artillery vehicles,
M4 automatic rifles, ballistic vests, helmets and vehicles, tactical
escape hoods and belt-worn trauma kits, OC spray and Tasers, along with a
host of training initiatives, and therefore be it
Resolved,
Big Apple Coffee Party will work with allies to eliminate the
militarization of the police, to restore the deployment of militarized
tactics such as SWAT team use to hostage, barricade and active shooter
situations only, and military weapons and equipment returned from the
NYPD to the Federal government for storage or disposal.
7. To Protect and Expand Medicare and Medicaid
WHEREAS, based on 2014 data, 44.9 million elderly rely on Medicare for almost all of their healthcare needs, and
WHEREAS, as of 2016, 71.7 million poor, disabled and elderly rely on Medicaid and CHIP for essential healthcare needs, and
WHEREAS, there are numerous efforts to privatize and/or reduce Medicare and Medicaid, therefore be it
Resolved,
Big Apple Coffee Party supports the continuation, strengthening and
expansion of Medicare and Medicaid and will oppose any efforts to
privatize, reduce, restructure or otherwise destabilize/undermine these
essential programs.
8. In Opposition to the Trade in Services Agreement
WHEREAS,
the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is working in secret on a
Trade In Services Agreement (TiSA) with 49 other countries representing
the majority of the global economy and
WHEREAS, the stated purpose of the agreement is to constrain government regulation and promote, and lock in, privatization and .
WHEREAS, the definition of “services” is so broad and vague that nearly any activity can come under its purview, and
WHEREAS, while, because of the secrecy, we cannot know the current language of the proposed treaty, extensive leaks of the text makes it clear that it would have numerous detrimental effects, including
that the agreement would constrain national, state and local governments from implementing or enforcing crucial regulations including those related to financial stability or environmental safety, and
that the agreement would grant rights to transnational corporations, so-called “investors”, that will not be granted to people or to non-governmental organizations such as labor or environmental groups, and
that the agreement would promote abuse of labor and corporate tax avoidance, therefore be it
Resolved, Big
Apple Coffee will work, along with allies, through education, lobbying
and activism to mobilize opposition to TiSA and to prevent this
agreement from being successfully negotiated or, if negotiated, work for
its rejection by Congress and the other countries and entities that are
party to it.
9. Working to Improve, Not Weaken, Health Coverage
WHEREAS, Big Apple Coffee Party supports a universal, single-payer health care system to provide essential
health care for all, and
WHEREAS,
many provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare) take the
U.S. healthcare system in the wrong direction including subsidizing
insurers, pharmaceutical companies and other giant corporations, and
WHEREAS, the ACA also expanded Medicaid eligibility and resulted in 17 million more people enrolled on Medicaid since 2013, and
WHEREAS,
outright repeal of the ACA without a more comprehensive,
government-funded replacement would deprive millions of people of health
insurance, therefore be it
Resolved, Big Apple
Coffee Party will work, along with allies, for a replacement of the ACA
with a single payer system while opposing any efforts that would make
people ineligible for Medicaid without immediately providing them a
better replacement.
10. Protecting Freedom of the Press: Mainstream and Alternative;Traditional and Digital
WHEREAS, freedom of the press is critical to a democracy in which the government is accountable to the people, and
WHEREAS, freedom of the press is protected by the First Amendment, and
WHEREAS, media needs to be free to investigate and report on government wrongdoing, and
WHEREAS, a free and independent press allows a wide range of ideas and information to be available to ordinary citizens, and
WHEREAS, the rise of the national security state has created a new challenge to media freedom, therefore be it
Resolved,
Big Apple Coffee Party will work, along with allies, to protect and
strengthen the freedom of the press, mainstream and alternative,
traditional and digital; and protect against the unprecedented
governmental targeting of journalists in order to uncover their sources.
11. To Protect Social Security
WHEREAS,
Social Security was established as a means of providing for the general
welfare by establishing a system of Federal old-age benefits, and by
enabling the States to make more adequate provision for aged persons,
blind persons, dependent and crippled children, maternal and child
welfare, public health, and the administration of their unemployment
insurance, and
WHEREAS, Social Security has become the most
successful domestic program in our nation’s history, contributing to the
basic well-being, health and quality of life of the American people,
and it assures a certain economic standard of living for the community
and the nation, and
WHEREAS, Social Security has been a target
of privatizers since its inception who have unleashed an incessant
barrage of negative propaganda against Social Security in an attempt to
destroy it, therefore be it
Resolved, Big Apple
Coffee will join with allies to protect Social Security from all
attacks calling for its privatization, cutback, or reduction of benefits
12. In Support of the Struggle Against Mass incarceration
WHEREAS,
citizens, particularly black and brown (young people, children and
adult men and women), are disproportionately imprisoned for non-lethal
offenses and minor infractions while white-collar crime is tolerated,
and
WHEREAS, black and brown people make up about 30% of the US
population while accounting for 60% of those imprisoned is a clear
indication that the system is plagued by racism, and
WHEREAS,
mass incarceration has taken the form of an extension of a slavery
system in which imprisoned people’s labor is exploited in addition to
the punishment of being deprived of their freedom, therefore be it
Resolved,
Big Apple Coffee Party will work along with allies to dismantle the
system of mass incarceration through education, activism, and when
advisable, in support of targeted legislation.
13. In Support of Judicial Reform and Accountability
WHEREAS,
police officers are hired to protect all communities, rogue cops commit
unjustified homicide against segments of the population with impunity,
and
WHEREAS, these same rogue police officers continue to earn salaries, be granted promotions, and receive
pensions for which the public pays, and
WHEREAS, the public pays through its taxes compensation to victims families when these heinous murders
are committed by rogue cops, and
WHEREAS, in the face of overwhelming evidence of crimes often recorded on video tape, these rogue cops
are exonerated, therefore be it
Resolved,
Big Apple Coffee Party will work along with allies to reform this
unjust system through education, activism, and in support of targeted
legislation.
14. To Eliminate Partisan Redistricting (Gerrymandering)
WHEREAS, political parties manipulate district lines for partisan purposes.
WHEREAS, politicians choose their own voters instead of the other way around.
WHEREAS, political parties in some states achieve control well beyond their proportion of the population.
WHEREAS, there is, currently, no judicial standard to stop partisan gerrymandering, therefore be it
Resolved, Big Apple
Coffee Party will work, along with allies, to oppose gerrymandering;
(the practice intended to establish, during the required redistricting
process after every census, a political advantage for a particular party
or group by manipulating district boundaries) and support solutions
that fairly represent the population of the state.
15. In Support of the Abolishment of the Electoral College and/or a System Whereby
The U.S. President is Elected By Popular Vote
WHEREAS, the U.S. Electoral College was created by the Constitution to elect the U.S. President in a society that was very different from the one we live in today and as part of a compromise to perpetuate slavery, and
WHEREAS, all other elective offices in the U.S. are decided by popular vote, and WHEREAS, the Electoral College has on several occasions elected a President who lost the popular vote, and
WHEREAS, the Electors are allowed to, and on occasion do, ignore the mandate even of those who elected them, and
WHEREAS, permanently abolishing the Electoral College will require an amendment to the Constitution, and
WHEREAS, as an interim step, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is advocating for a system in which states would cast their electoral votes in a manner to assure that the winner of the popular vote becomes president, and
WHEREAS, the Electoral College undermines confidence in our political system and results in unequal representation of Americans, therefore be it
Resolved, Big Apple
Coffee Party will work, along with allies, toward abolishment of the
Electoral College system through an amendment to the U.S. Constitution
and will support the Interstate Compact or other similar efforts in
favor of a system in which the U.S. President is elected by popular
vote.
16. In Support of Secure U.S. Elections
WHEREAS, faith in our democracy rests on the integrity of our elections, and
WHEREAS, U.S. elections are ranked last among all Western democracies by The Electoral Integrity Project, and
WHEREAS, there has been a serious erosion of confidence in the outcomes of our elections, and
WHEREAS, computerized electronic voting systems have been proven to be insecure and outcomes easily manipulated, and
WHEREAS, hand-counted paper ballots can be verified and recounted, providing reliability, security, and transparency, be it
Resolved, Big Apple Coffee Party will work, along with allies, toward a fair and honest voting system using voter verified hand-counted paper ballots and the elimination of computerized voting for all U.S. elections.
17. Against War
WHEREAS, war is immoral, endangers us, threatens our environment, erodes our liberties, and impoverishes us, and
WHEREAS, in the year 2017, US-led coalition bombings of Iraq and Syria have led to the death of thousands of civilians
including hundreds of children, and
WHEREAS, in the year 2016, alone, the United States dropped 26,171 bombs on Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya,
Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan, and
WHEREAS, the United States’ total military budget for Fiscal Year 2018 is $824.6 billion, more than China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, United Kingdom, India, France, and Japan combined; and the United States possesses 99 percent of the military bases in the world located on foreign soil, deploying nearly 200,000 troops overseas, and
WHEREAS, moving, even a percentage of the monies now spent by the United States on war, toward spending on
basic human needs, would improve the lives of millions of people, and
WHEREAS, since World War II (the last U. S. declared war) the United States has used its military might to overthrow governments, drop bombs on people in dozens of countries thus being responsible for the deaths of millions of people, and
WHEREAS, in 2017, 14,923 nuclear weapons exist around the world of which the United States and Russia possess
93 percent, and any conflict can escalate to the annihilation of the planet, and therefore be it
Resolved, Big
Apple Coffee Party will work with allies to rein in the power of the
military-industrial complex, convert our warfare economy into a peace
economy, dramatically reduce the defense budget, negotiate an end
to nuclear weapons, and encourage resolution of differences through non-violent means.
18. In Support of Women’s Rights
WHEREAS, women have been historically disenfranchised, subjugated, excluded, infantilized and–in
many societies–disfigured, and
WHEREAS,
women have had to fight and are still fighting for control of their
rightful assets and their own bodies; to be freed from pernicious
marriages; to be hired for work reserved for men; to earn comparable
wages for comparable jobs; to be unencumbered by fear of maltreatment by
male associates and extortion by male superiors;
WHEREAS, we
live in a world where domestic violence, assault, rape, sex trafficking,
child marriage and sexual harassment continue to threaten women and
deprive them of autonomy and opportunity as well as dignity and peace of
mind, therefore be it
Resolved, Big Apple
Coffee Party will work, along with allies and dedicated organizations,
national and international, to advocate, promulgate and support women’s
rights and to oppose infringements on those rights.
19. In Support of the Environmental Regulation
WHEREAS, environmental protections and regulations are essential to maintaining a livable environment, and
WHEREAS,
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been important in writing
and enforcing rules and regulations that protect the environment, and
WHEREAS, the Environmental Protection Agency requires at least its 2017 level of funding and staffing to perform its duties, and
WHEREAS,
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is antithetical to the mission of the
agency and has taken steps to reduce information provided to the public
and to restrict the ability of scientists at the EPA to express their
opinions, and
WHEREAS, scientists at the EPA and elsewhere require intellectual freedom and ability to express their opinions, and
WHEREAS, to achieve its goals, the EPA needs an administrator who is committed to its mission, therefore be it
Resolved,
Big Apple Coffee Party will work, along with allies, to defend the
Environmental Protection Agency against efforts to gut its funding, cut
its scientific staffing, reduce transparency, impede intellectual
freedom or otherwise hamstring its operation or ability to achieve its
mission.
20. In Support of Efforts to Combat Global Warming
WHEREAS, global warming is a major threat to the lives and well-being of people around the world that
requires urgent action, and
WHEREAS, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is only a first step to what is needed, it is still essential for global
cooperation for the United States, and all countries, to fulfill their commitments, and
WHEREAS, a large fraction of the known reserves for fossil fuels must remain undeveloped to avoid catastrophic
climate impacts, and
WHEREAS,
agricultural practices, notably including beef production and the
extensive use of fertilizer, also contribute significantly to greenhouse
gas emissions, and
WHEREAS, to achieve this goal, public pressure on, and regulation of, fossil fuel, agriculture and other industries are
needed, therefore be it
Resolved,
Big Apple Coffee Party will work, along with allies, to ensure that the
United States achieves its commitments in the Paris Agreement on
Climate Change, and advocate for additional measures to reduce
greenhouse emissions in order to reduce the severity of global warming.
21. In Support of Action to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
WHEREAS, the Big Apple Coffee Party has resolved to work to prevent or reduce global warming, and
WHEREAS,
the Big Apple Coffee Party has resolved to support the actions of the
Environmental Protection Agency in its efforts to combat global warming
and otherwise protect the environment, and
WHEREAS, fracking,
other development of oil and natural gas also needs to be stopped to
avoid climate change and other environmental degradation, and
WHEREAS,
corporations and people should not be allowed to emit tons of carbon
dioxide, methane or other greenhouse gases without paying for the social
cost of their actions, and
WHEREAS, public, endowment and union
money should not be invested in companies that are developing or
selling fossil fuels and related industries or banks that finance such
investments,
therefore be it
Resolved, Big
Apple Coffee Party will work to stop fossil fuel development and
emissions through measures including efforts to ban fracking and other
development of fossil fuels; to impose a tax or fee on carbon emissions
and to support efforts to divest public, endowment and union investment
funds from fossil fuel companies and related investments; and otherwise
support efforts to raise awareness, understanding and action on these
issues.
22. In Support of Julian Assange
WHEREAS, Julian Assange is the Australian founder and award-winning publisher of WikiLeaks, an international non-profit organization which publishes information from whistleblowers and other anonymous sources, and
WHEREAS, WikiLeaks published historic exposés including the Collateral Murder video, the Afghanistan war logs, the Iraq war logs, Hillary Clinton and John Podesta campaign emails exposing corruption within the Democratic National Committee, and Vault 7 – a trove of documents that detail the activities and capabilities of the CIA to conduct electronic surveillance and cyber warfare, and
WHEREAS, Julian Assange, to avoid arrest and likely extradition to the U.S., was granted asylum by Ecuador, and has remained in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, England, under dire circumstances since August 2012. He has held Ecuadorian citizenship since December, 2017, and
WHEREAS, the recently elected Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno revealed that he has begun talks with British authorities to withdraw the asylum for Assange, and
WHEREAS, if Assange leaves the embassy, he will likely be arrested by the UK, then extradited to the U.S. where a sealed indictment awaits him. He is expected to face torture, be tried in secret, and imprisoned for the rest of his life under the Espionage Act of 1917, and
WHEREAS, Julian Assange and WikiLeaks courageously serve the public good by bringing the crimes of governments to light. Julian Assange and WikiLeaks are under attack, and therefore be it
Resolved, Big Apple Coffee Party will work, along with allies, to defend Freedom of the Press and to protect Julian Assange’s life, and to restore his liberty.
New Issue Format
23. In Support of Greater Antitrust Enforcement Against Monopoly Power
WHEREAS, the basis for antitrust enforcement is more than just the adherence to the outmoded “Consumer Welfare Standard” (if the consumer benefits, there can’t be any antitrust issues), so that the community benefits of small business can be better recognized and protected, and
WHEREAS, there should be a review of the tech platforms and their effect on competition, barriers to entry, privacy, and market concentration, and
WHEREAS, because of the lack of antitrust enforcement, the number of new (small) business formations has been seriously reduced that leads to lack of competition, reduction in product quality, variety and innovation, and
WHEREAS, there should be a clearer and more expansive approach and guidelines to the review of mergers and acquisitions that includes the effect on consumer prices, promotion of greater competition, and concentration of economic power, and stronger enforcement of existing antitrust regulations, therefore be it
Resolved, Big Apple Coffee Party will work, along with allies, to support the greater use of existing antitrust laws and regu- lations and, if necessary, the creation of news laws and regu- lations to maintain a proper balance within the market structure of commercial enterprises.
New Issue Format
24. In Support of An End to All United States Imposed Eco- nomic Sanctions
WHEREAS, sanctions are imposed by the United States and its collaborators against countries that resist U.S. regime change efforts and/or neoliberal agendas, and
WHEREAS, in every U.S. imposed sanctioned country, the most vulnerable— infants, children, the chronically ill and the elderly—suffer the worst impact of this economic warfare, and
WHEREAS, U.S. imposed sanctions are economic warfare, create severe economic disruption and chaotic hyperinflation, result in chronic shortages of basic human necessities, lead to famine, disease, and poverty, and
WHEREAS, U.S. imposed sanctions are a crime against humanity, currently impacting 39 countries— a third of humanity—and are in violation of international law, and
WHEREAS, U.S. imposed sanctions, as deadly as military intervention, are often used to topple autonomous and democratically elected governments by undermining successful social programs that improve health, nutrition and education, by blocking access to fuel, raw materials and replacement parts in- terfering with the functioning of critical infrastructure i.e. electrical grids, water treatment and distribution facilities and hospitals, while lending false credulity to the slander against popular leaders and social movements, and
WHEREAS, the U.S. uses its economic and military influence to force other na- tions to end established financial and trade relations with the targeted country or risk retribution. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, in 2019,
U.S. sanction violations have resulted in civil penalties imposed by the U.S. ex- ceeding $1.28 billion. Additionally, violators of U.S. sponsored sanctions are subject to U.S. criminal charges, and
WHEREAS, the banks and financial institutions, responsible for the devastation of our communities at home derive benefit from the plunder of countries abroad, when asset freezes and property seizures, create massive redistribution of public wealth from these sovereign countries into the accounts of U.S. banks and financial institutions, therefore be it
Resolved, that Big Apple Coffee Party will work along with SanctionsKill.org and other allies to end all United States imposed economic sanctions.