The Socialist Party of Michigan 2008 State Convention will be held on Saturday October 4th in Meeting Room No. 1 at the Ypsilanti District Library (Michigan Ave. Branch) in Ypsilanti, MI. SPMI State Conventions, are the highest ranking body of the Socialist Party of Michigan. At State Conventions, SPMI members amend the SPMI By-Laws and Platform, propose and amend SPMI resolutions, nominate and/or confirm SPMI candidates, and elect the SPMI State Executive Committee.
The 2008 Socialist Party of Michigan State Convention will begin at 10:00AM and last until 5:30PM. The Convention is free and open to the public and everyone interested is encouraged to attend!
Socialist Ticket Among Only Two Presidential Campaigns Since the 2000 Election With the State Recognition Required to Have Write-in Votes Counted in Michigan
For Immediate Release September 15th 2008
LANSING - The Michigan Secretary of State’s Bureau of Elections has now confirmed that the 2008 Socialist Party USA ticket of Brian Moore for President and Stewart Alexander for Vice President is certified for official write-in status in the state of Michigan . The qualification establishes that all Michigan counties are now required to count write-in votes cast for the Moore-Alexander ticket and that each county will be informed of this requirement by the Secretary of State’s Office in Lansing . The campaign’s write-in qualification also establishes that the Socialist Party presidential ticket’s vote totals will be published in the listing of election results on the Michigan Secretary of State website, municipal government websites, and printed elsewhere where election results are officially provided. Michigan law requires that all write-in candidates for any office qualify for Official Write-in Status prior to the November Election in order to have votes for them legally counted and reported in state or municipal election results.
The Socialist Party of Michigan has endorsed the September 17th March on Lansing to Stop Foreclosures and demand the passage of S.B. 1306 which would place an emergency two-year moratorium to stop foreclosures in Michigan.
MARCH ON LANSING TO STOP FORECLOSURES STATE CAPITOL WEDS., SEPT. 17, 2008 11:00 a.m.
Socialist Party National Organizing Conferences, which take place once every two years, provide a combination of workshops, panels, speakers, discussions, and theater to strengthen movements for socialist and radical politics in the United States and facilitate dialogue and education within them. This year's Socialist Party National Organizing Conference provides an especially compelling list of workshops and events on a range of topics relating to both theory and activism.
Although Not Visible from the Road, the ICC Education Center is Located Behind the Luther Cooperative House at: 1510 Hill St.
Special Event: Saturday July 12th. Howard Zinn's award-winning play Marx in Soho. Directed by Michael Fox Kennedy with Jerry Levy as Karl Marx.
"Imagine all Karl Marx would have to say after one hundred years of just being able to watch..."
Saturday July 12th 2008 7:00PM-9:00PM ICC Education Center 1522 Hill St. Ann Arbor, MI 48104 (Behind the Luther Cooperative House)
A People’s History of the United States,” Howard Zinn humanizes the man behind the ideas in “Marx In Soho;” casting a divergent light from the totalitarian movements his theories have often been associated with. Howard Zinn’s “Marx in Soho” portrays the return of Marx. Embedded in some secular afterlife where intellectuals, artists, and radicals are sent, Marx is given permission by the administrative committee to return to Soho London to have his say. But through a bureaucratic mix–up, he winds up in SOHO in New York. Responding to the fall of the Soviet Union and the conventional perception that Marx’s ideas are dead, Zinn resurrects this controversial historical figure, embraces democracy and passionately rejects the ideological rigidity of many of his followers with the phrase “I am not a Marxist.” Instead we come to know Marx as a complex character struggling to survive with his family as an impoverished immigrant in London. Marx returns to clear his name and tell us about his life with his wife, daughters, friends and enemies. In poignant , funny, and intimate narrative, Zinn convinces us not only that Marx is not dead but rather his critique of capitalism is more than relevant today.
Conference Suggested Minimum Donation: $25 No one will be turned away due to inability to pay
1. The Nuts and Bolts of SP and Coalition Organizing 2. Analyzing Capitalism Closely 3. Organizing for Healthcare
11:30AM - 1:30PM
Plenary -"Organizing for Socialism in an Election Year: Supporting Our Candidates, Building the Movement"
Plenary, moderated by Susan Dorazio (SP Women's Commission)
I. Opening remarks on electoral activity as an organizing tool-- Susan Dorazio
II. Background on socialists and the ballot box -- Eric Chester (historian, SP International Commission)
III. Major organizing issues of 2008, and how socialist candidates connect with them.
1. Brian Moore (SP candidate for U.S. President) on the anti-war movement as it can and should relate to socialist principles and platform (confirmed)
2. Courtney Campbell: Socialist Electoral Politics as an _expression_ of International Solidarity. Independent Socialist Electoral Action in the United States and Brazil.
III: Closing remarks on why independent socialist electoral action is important, what socialist campaigns can accomplish, and proposals for increasing the resources and visibility of socialist campaigns-- Matt Erard (SPMI candidate for State Representative)
1:00PM - 2:30PM
Lunch
2:45-4:00 p.m.
Workshops Session 2:
1. Working with the Peace and Justice Movement 2. The Role of Ballot Access in Our Electoral Strategy
4:15-5:30 p.m.
Workshops Session 3:
1. Rescuing Lenin from the Leninists 2. Breaking Down Walls: A Look at Immigration Policy in the United States
7:00PM - 9:00PM
Marx in Soho. Howard Zinn's award winning play, performed by Socialist Party Co-Chair Jerry Levy as Karl Marx. Fundraiser for the Socialist National Committee (Electoral Fund).
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Sunday July 13th
10:00-11:15 a.m.
Workshop Section 4:
1. Marxism 101 2. Animal Rights
11:30 a.m.- 1:15 p.m.
Workshop Session 5:
1. LGBTQ liberation 2. The U.S. and World Economy
1:30-2:15 p.m.
Workshop Session 6:
1. How Open Source/Free Software Can Revolutionize our Socialist Organizing Efforts 2. Our Agenda, Not Their's: Socialist Feminist Organizing in the Electoral ArenaSocialist Feminism 3. Electoral Alliances/Regroupment
Click: "Read More" for Workshop Descriptions, Transportation and Lodging information
Saturday Oct. 4th 2008 Socialist Party of Michigan 2008 State Convention 10:00AM - 5:00PM Ypsilanti Public Library Meeting Rm. #1 229 W. Michigan Ave. Ypsilanti, MI 48197
The 2008 Socialist Party of Michigan State Convention is open to the public and anyone interested is encouraged to attend!
The Michigan Socialist Magazine
Click on the image above to download the Summer 2008 issue of The Michigan Socialist
Socialist Ticket Among Only Two Presidential Campaigns Since the 2000 Election With the State Recognition Required to Have Write-in Votes Counted in Michigan
The Socialist Party of Michigan has endorsed the September 17th March on Lansing to Stop Foreclosures and demand the passage of S.B. 1306 which would place an emergency two-year moratorium to stop foreclosures in Michigan. 
"Imagine all Karl Marx would have to say after one hundred years of just being able to watch..."
