Stop Trying to Level the Playing Field

Those who know me well, are aware of my reluctance to offer advice. Generally, the advice that one really wants to give and the advice that others are looking for are two entirely different strategies. However, it's now a hard and fast rule. It's more of a tendency on my part. That is why I am going to offer the Democrats and other incumbents (there are Republicans, Independents and even Green Party members in office these days) a strategy to not only keep their jobs, but actually do the best job possible. I return to my recent call for TRUE DEMOCRACY.
I have been receiving a number of requests for money of late to support this or that bill,initiative, party or candidate. The Democrats are particularly worried that the Republicans are out spending them and therefore are going to buy the election. I think this is a danger, not because one party might suffer, but because MONEY IS AT THE ROOT OF MOST OF OUR POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS in this country. That was the core of my TRUE DEMOCRACY message from my last post.
When I receive these requests for money, and some of them are headlined, "Help us Level the Playing Field" I think it shows that some politicians are falling into the same old belief pattern that money makes right. I am committed to ending this way of thinking. Instead of trying to level the playing field, we need to "change the game." The field that we currently play on is the problem. Money is NOT always the answer. In fact, I believe and I hope this election bears witness that it is NEVER the answer.
Case in point: Jerry Brown is not only holding his own against Meg Whitman in California, spending only a tiny fraction of what she does on negative advertising, but he is leading. When he wins California, it will be a testament to the fact that money cannot always win. Meg has spent $150 or so millions of dollars of her own money running on the platform that she wants to reduce regulations on oil companies, extend tax credits to the rich and basically oppose any social gains that have been made in the U.S. regarding banking. When we defeat every candidate who blatantly acknowledges that they are only interested in the rich, the oil companies, big business or the promotion of banking interests over the welfare of the common person, then we will be sending a message with our most powerful asset...our vote.
Don't just vote against the incumbent. Make sure that the alternative is not worse than what you've got. Reward those candidates who tried to regulate banking, save the planet for future generations, reduce or dependence on oil, give you an opportunity to modify your mortgages, give you an opportunity for healthcare by limiting the abuses of insurance companies and improve the lives of future generations.
Send a message to ALL candidates for public office and to all those who try to confuse the referendum process with deceitful ads and ecologically and economically BAD BILLS. When in doubt, VOTE FOR THE CANDIDATE OR LEGISLATION that has not been bought by narrow interests. If you are not sure, then vote for the incumbent or the candidate who has SPENT THE LEAST.
Finally, here is a special note to candidates: NOW IS THE TIME TO harness the dissatisfaction and frustration of the average person and RETURN TO THE PRINCIPLES OF TRUE DEMOCRACY. Don't continue to play the game of the ELITE RICH. Don't continue to try and level the playing field by obsessing over money. Base your candidacy on integrity and honesty. CHANGE THE GAME!

I am a Patriot--by Gordon Richiusa

More and more the fundamental problems with our government are that MONEY and party politics have corrupted it beyond compromise. We need to change the way we allow our Senators to operate—but we must remember that we elected these same officials to do the job that they are doing. We need to govern outside the political parties. “Government by referendum! Throw the bums out!” These are cries that we hear more and more these days which remind me of a shouts from the back of a lynch mob.
I am proposing the creation of a political MOVEMENT (not another party) of PATRIOTS who will work against any lobbyist or party. If you want to be AGAINST something, then be against the things that are counter productive to your countries interests. When I speak of “country” I’m talking about THE PEOPLE and the Government that they have established to do what is best for the whole.
From this moment onward I am not going to judge someone by their political party or allow others to judge me. I am a TRUE PATRIOT and since I’m making up the term, I am going to define what it means. The dictionary defines a patriot as, “a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against against enemies or detractors.”
This is the key reason that the Civil War was fought in this country and why it continues to re-fought today, by loudmouthed politicians and pseudo-politicians (members of parties of “no” or “hell no”) whose agenda is really nothing more than thinly veiled bigotry in the guise of anti-federal-government movements. In the war between the states, between those who believed that the states should be allowed to operate outside the control of the federal government and those that supported a STRONG UNION, the self-serving Southerners LOST! When I hear elected officials or those vying for these jobs suggest that armed conflict with the federal government is the next step in the process if the GOP doesn’t get their way in the next election, I CALL THAT TREASON. Anytime a state senator or elected official (especially a governor) suggests succession from the UNION as the answer to their individual problem or prejudice against doing what’s best for the whole, then I believe THEY are guilty of the same thing. We must be ready to defend our government—the one that a majority of us voted for in the last election! Anyone who says otherwise is not being patriotic.
So, what do TRUE PATRIOTS believe in? We believe that any action, activity or movement that is merely anti-government is suspect. We believe that the ORIGINAL CONSTITUTION had checks and balances in place for good reason. The original government had no provisions for the current form of voting. There were no political parties, no primary elections, no electoral college. WE DON’T HAVE A DEMOCRACY in this country right now. We should have. We continually boast throughout the world that we are spreading democracy everywhere we go, but we don’t have it at home!
So TRUE PATRIOTS BELIEVE that we need to establish TRUE DEMOCRACY in this country, THE WAY THE FOUNDING FATHERS INTENDED IT. The MOJORITY should rule! If you don’t like it, then spending all the money in the world to mask your self-serving intentions should also be illegal.
TRUE PATRIOTS ARE DEDICATED TO ESTABLISHING AND FORTIFYING TRUE DEMOCRACY—doing what is truly best for the greatest number of people. To this end, our only other “platform” is to rid government of the influence of vast wealth (something the majority of us don’t have). It’s o.k. for you as an individual to try and amass vast wealth, BUT NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF THE GOVERNMENT or of TRUE PATRIOTS. If our elected officials vote outside the interests of the majority or work against the common good (such as campaigning to reverse Health Care or any other kind of reform, which is obviously good for the majority—or campaigning to eliminate regulations on the wealthy or bankers) then we need to get rid of THEM, not those who have supported these efforts.
Let’s keep it simple. Let’s stick to these two objectives in our thinking. TRUE PATRIOTS are for TRUE DEMOCRACY and TRUE DEMOCRACY IS NOT GOVERNMENT BY BANKING.

Hawaiian Sovereignty

This is a subject of conversation in one of the classes I teach, so I thought I share a short video I found with the rest of you.

American Suckers

I know I've been going on about pesky problems such as medical insurance companies and big banks trying to subvert the political process in the U.S. but the fact of the matter is that I'm continually amazed that those who are in the greatest need and who would benefit most are the most vocal against change and progress. I won't belabor the points, or say anything more about the need to stop Lobbyists from inserting themselves directly into the Constitution as the driving force of our government, or somehow convincing the Supreme Court that buying votes is a Constitutionally protected right. I just want to say, THANK YOU to President Obama for accomplishing ANOTHER GOAL that he achieved. When we overwhelmingly elected him to office he made many promises. Some people did not like the goals he set to achieve, but the common person realized that things needed to change. Some people, once his supporters, now complain that the policies he pushed through were "not enough." We can't argue, however that he has not tried. He has brought the war in Iraq to an end. True, some are now saying that he should not leave ANY troops in Iraq, but I believe we can remove our troops from dozens of other countries first (Japan, Germany etc.etc.etc.)before we can call his success AS THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF of the armed forces, a shallow gesture. He has done, what he's promised to do against loud-mouthed and highly financed political opposition. Don't become a pawn in the political game. Make your choices based upon what is actually good for the common person...for YOU, not what is good for big business. Big Business is O.K. Profits for the richest corporations are UP, not down. If you are unemployed, it is probably because a corporate giant has decided to fatten his or her own bank account, at your expense. Don't make it easy for the very rich to take advantage of you. So, before you complain that you don't like the job that the government is doing, remember THE MAJORITY OF YOU VOTED FOR EVERYONE CURRENTLY IN OFFICE. There were reasons why you did. If you've changed your mind now, take a look at the possible motivations. Perhaps you are only responding to the constant barrage of lobbying and true special interest shenanigans that one political party is foisting against another. Politics directed solely AGAINST an idea or individual is seldom valid.
So, here, by permission we are presenting Russ Buchanan's AMERICAN SUCKERS video.

All-American Suckers
- Watch more Politics Videos at Vodpod.

Support Independent Journalism--by Gordon Richiusa

It's no secret that money talks and the opinions of those without it often must often go unheard. That's why I support Independent Journalism and have signed the petition below. Naturally, I don't believe that this petition is the end all and will result in immediate results in this area of concern. However, I do believe strongly in the power of the written word and am turning my abstract belief into action by signing this petition and by blogging here. So, if you'd like to support this simple, Constitutionally understood concept then click on the link below and add your two cents worth.

Vote for Brown in California

Jerry Brown was an excellent Governor and lived his ethical principles. I was always impressed that he would not live in the "mansion" that had been set aside for him and truly seemed to care about his decisions and how they affected the average person.

There are several reasons why we need to defeat Meg Whitman's campaign to buy the California Governorship. This video only presents ONE--although an important one--of them.

Support Journalistic Integrity

Last night the phone rang and an "independent political survey" person asked me my opinion on several issues. The questioner alleged to be funded through a source in Texas. The questions were awkwardly worded and appeared to be pointedly trying to gauge the political temperament of Californians, which I apparently was randomly selected to represent. Two questions stuck in my craw. One asked which political party I most closely associated with. My choices included the Republican, the Democratic and the Tea Party. I told the questioner that the Tea Party wasn't really a political party, but she made me choose anyway. She also wanted to know if I was a conservative who favored giving jobs to people and cutting taxes, or a "liberal." I said I couldn't really classify myself in exactly the way that she was allowing because her question was skewed in four different directions at the same time. So, in the end, after clarifying that I didn't like the question much, I chose liberal between the two options. I'm guessing that my answers will not appear in any real polling results and were meant to determine how much money someone like Meg Whitman needs to spend--and in which dishonest way her meager qualifications must be framed--to have a chance of stealing the California election.
Anyway, this morning I receive another request to sign a petition. I get a lot of these, on a daily basis. This one was from Care2 and purported merely to support integrity in the media. I personally believe that the precepts of journalistic integrity (such as merely telling the truth, instead of trying to sway opinion) have "almost" been completely lost in today's world. I would like to see a return to the time when a "news program" actually only reported the news. I signed this petition happily and if you want to sign it--or merely see what the petition says--click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser.
http://www.care2.com/go/z/19871635