99% Spring Humor

Posted on 22. October 2013 by admin

Originally posted at Writeindependent.org on May 23, 2012

I had to laugh today at the following email. If you want to know how the 99% Spring is creative, this is a good example.

Dear MoveOn member,

This is shaping up to be the dirtiest presidential election ever. And the most expensive, with pro-Romney super PACs and huge corporations spending like drunken sailors, thanks to Citizens United.1 The sheer quantity of misleading ads will be stupefying.

But even if they buy the airwaves, they can’t buy the skies. So we can “rise above” their dirty ads—literally—and fly messages from the 99% over dozens of Mitt Romney events. We already did it successfully when we hired a plane to fly over Romney’s Liberty University graduation speech towing a banner that read: “GOP = HIGHER SCHOOL DEBT.”2

We can’t afford hundreds of millions of dollars of TV ads. But it turns out, if we all chip in a bit, we can afford to fly banners over Romney’s head. All the time.

Call it 99airlines.

Here’s the plan: if we can raise $150,000 today, we’ll use the opportunity of high-dollar Romney fundraisers to fly a plane overhead towing a message that reminds voters how he represents his corporate and 1% donors.

It’ll be fun—and it’s sure to grab the media’s attention. But most importantly, with Mitt leading in many polls, it’s a way to let millions of voters who are concerned about the economy know whose side Mitt is really on. Will you chip in?

Yes, I can contribute $5.

With 99airlines, we’ll transform Mitt Romney’s 1% fundraising tour into an airborne progressive message machine. If we hit our fundraising goal, we can secure enough plane banners so that at every Romney event, instead of looking at the podium, the reporters’ eyes and cameras will be pointing up, on the lookout for our banners.

According to Gallup, only 1/3 of voters under 29 are registered to vote and say they’ll definitely do so in November (far less than every other age group).3 That’s enough to swing the election. So with your support, we’ll also reach these voters by making 99airlines huge online—using Facebook and a Tumblr site, to post pictures of the best plane banners.

This summer, we’re pulling out all the stops to win the fight against the Romney super PAC ad assault. The 99airlines planes—and the messages they carry—will transform Romney fundraisers into an opportunity to remind voters what he really stands for—corporations and the 1%.

Can you contribute $5 to help launch 99airlines?

Thanks for all you do.

Posted in Money In Politics, Writeindependent.org | Comments Off on 99% Spring Humor

G8 Energy Policy

Posted on 22. October 2013 by admin

Originally posted at Writeindependent.org on May 22, 2012

It’s business-as-usual for the powers that be, according to the following statement made after the May 18-19 G8 summit at Camp David. No mention of hydrogen, solar, or wind sourced-energy, no mention of batteries with longer life spans or of geothermal or hydropower. But there is specific mention of fracking, deep water drilling for oil, and nuclear.

The biggest red flag of all is this: they promote the “evolution of global energy infrastructure.” Why should this be a red flag? Because “global” means not local. It’s anti- distributed energy, and anti- on-site generation. Distributed energy is anathema to big business, because its very essence means decentralized: small enough to get the job done in your home town. It means making power close to the consumer, so that the consumer can participate in the selection of the means for generation, so that energy does not have to be transported far distances from the generation facility, and so that neighbors can pool their resources for greater efficiency.

Again, G8 really only supports G8. They decide what works best for them, not the population as a whole. For the text of their statement, read:

“As our economies grow, we recognize the importance of meeting our energy needs from a wide variety of sources ranging from traditional fuels to renewables to other clean technologies. As we each implement our own individual energy strategies, we embrace the pursuit of an appropriate mix from all of the above in an environmentally safe, sustainable, secure, and affordable manner. We also recognize the importance of pursuing and promoting sustainable energy and low carbon policies in order to tackle the global challenge of climate change. To facilitate the trade of energy around the world, we commit to take further steps to remove obstacles to the evolution of global energy infrastructure; to reduce barriers and refrain from discriminatory measures that impede market access; and to pursue universal access to cleaner, safer, and more affordable energy. We remain committed to the principles on global energy security adopted by the G8 in St. Petersburg.

“As we pursue energy security, we will do so with renewed focus on safety and sustainability. We are committed to establishing and sharing best practices on energy production, including exploration in frontier areas and the use of technologies such as deep water drilling and hydraulic fracturing, where allowed, to allow for the safe development of energy sources, taking into account environmental concerns over the life of a field. In light of the nuclear accident triggered by the tsunami in Japan, we continue to strongly support initiatives to carry out comprehensive risk and safety assessments of existing nuclear installations and to strengthen the implementation of relevant conventions to aim for high levels of nuclear safety.”

“We recognize that increasing energy efficiency and reliance on renewables and other clean energy technologies can contribute significantly to energy security and savings, while also addressing climate change and promoting sustainable economic growth and innovation. We welcome sustained, cost-effective policies to support reliable renewable energy sources and their market integration. We commit to advance appliance and equipment efficiency, including through comparable and transparent testing procedures, and to promote industrial and building efficiency through energy management systems.”

Source: http://www.utilityproducts.com/news/2012/05/20/g8-summit-confirms-adherence-to-energy-security-principles-adopted-at-st-pete.html

Posted in Energy, Writeindependent.org | Comments Off on G8 Energy Policy

South Carolina Makes Ballot Access Difficult

Posted on 18. October 2013 by admin

Originally posted at Writeindependent.org on May 21, 2012

I called the South Carolina Elections Commission this morning (803-734-9060) and asked if write-ins are allowed for federal Senators and House of Representatives. The woman who answered the phone said that write-ins are not allowed during the primaries, but they ARE allowed during the general election! So apparently, as long as you’re electable, you can run as a write-in.

South Carolina is among the top two states having the most difficult independent ballot access requirements in the nation.

http://www.ballot-access.org/2012/05/15/wpde-tv-in-south-carolina-covers-attempts-by-candidates-to-petition-as-independents/

http://www.carolinalive.com/news/story.aspx?id=754165#.T7XhAiPevqt

http://www.ballot-access.org/

Posted in Voting, Writeindependent.org | Comments Off on South Carolina Makes Ballot Access Difficult

How Political Parties Will Divide (and Ruin) the USA

Posted on 18. October 2013 by admin

From my friend, Sally Baptiste, who used to align with the Tea Party until she realized that the parties are part of the problem…

President George Washington warned us the political parties and factions/associations would divide a united people.  In the words of President George Washington…….

17 All obstructions to the execution of the Laws, all combinations and associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation, the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels, and modified by mutual interests.

18 However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people, and to usurp for themselves the reins of government; destroying afterwards the very engines, which have lifted them to unjust dominion.

20 I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the state, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party, generally.

21 This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.

22 The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty.

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How Proposition 14 Works in California

Posted on 18. October 2013 by admin

Originally posted at Writeindependent.org on May 19, 2012

California’s Proposition 14, also known as the “Top Two Primaries Act” passed on June 8, 2010 and went into effect April 19, 2011. It affects elections for each state elective office and congressional office in California, including federal Representatives and Senators.

The gist of the bill is that the primaries determine whose names appear on the ballot in the general election. Only the top two vote-getters will advance, and all other candidates no longer have ballot access and write-ins are not counted. It also means that two Republicans can run against each other in the general election on November 6th, because the top two vote-getters win ballot access, irrespective of party affiliation.

Is this good for democracy? Would you not feel as though your choices were limited if you were, say, a Green party advocate and the only two choices were Republican and Democrat?

Both the League of Women Voters and the American Civil Liberties Union opposed the bill. Much more funding went toward passage of the bill than through fighting the bill, which begs the question: who wanted to get this legislation passed?

Michael Feinstein, attorney and former Mayor of Santa Monica is probably the best versed in Prop 14. He and Brandon Gesicki debate the merits/problems of the proposition in practice. Since the law was written to be misleading (calling the new type of primary an “open primary” instead of what it is: a top two primary), the points outlined by Michael Feinstein bear highlighting here:

  1. Prop 14 eliminates the right for all parties to have a candidate on the ballot in the general election
  2. Vote splitting among numerous candidates in the primary will have the effect that the top two vote getters may not be the best choices or most qualified
  3. It favors incumbents. In Washington state which has a similar law, only 1 incumbent lost in the general election out of 139 offices.
  4. The person who raises the most money the earliest in the race is motivated to push out all other candidates running in their same party, to avoid splitting party votes and lose the top two positions.
  5. It makes gerrymandered districts easier for the funders to win earlier in the race, by appealing to their base before the primaries rather than to a more general population of voters prior to the general election
  6. It makes it difficult for voters to know what ideals a candidate really represents, since candidates can change their party affiliation between the primary and the general. It can mislead the public into voting for someone who does the opposite in Washington than what the voter expected.

Prop 14 claims to allow more people to run in the primaries, because all party members and undeclared candidates can run. Also, every voter gets to vote in everybody’s primary. But these benefits were already available even before Prop 14 was passed, so did it really give voters anything new?

Posted in Voting, Writeindependent.org | Comments Off on How Proposition 14 Works in California

Americans Elect Drops Out

Posted on 15. October 2013 by admin

Originally posted at Writeindependent.org on May 17, 2012

I must say, I was disappointed to find out that Americans Elect, a well-funded organization seeking third-party (read: independent) ballot access in all 50 states, has dropped out. At least they gave employment to many people, especially petitioners asking for signatures in nearly every state.

The reason they cited for abandoning the effort to promote an alternative to Obama or Romney is thus: “no candidate achieved the national support threshold required to enter the Americans Elect Online Convention in June”.

Americans Elect will automatically show up on the ballot in 2016 in about twelve states and will continue their efforts in Texas and Idaho. Apparently, with four million subscribers, they may come back in another four years and try again.

For the press release, visit: http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/americans-elect-sorry-no-candidate-this-year

Source: http://www.ballot-access.org/2012/05/17/americans-elect-wont-nominate-anyone-for-president-this-year/

Posted in Voting, Writeindependent.org | Comments Off on Americans Elect Drops Out

Fracking in California

Posted on 14. October 2013 by admin

Originally posted at Writeindependent.org on May 3, 2012

Fracking is the dangerous method of oil and gas drilling that’s causing poisoned water and air in Wyoming, earthquakes in Ohio, and tap water that can light on fire in Pennsylvania.1

Fracking is happening here in California, too.

Yet state regulators have no idea where, or how much our state is being fracked — and even worse, California has no laws to ensure we are protected from fracking!2

Last week, Vermont became the first state to ban hydraulic fracturing. As gas companies scramble to expand this risky practice, Governor Brown needs to follow Vermont’s lead and stop the unregulated fracking of California, now.

Tell Governor Brown: Ban Fracking in California

California has some of the best environmental and public health protections in the country. And our state understands all too well the importance of our precious water, and keeping it clean.

But on fracking, we are dangerously behind, leaving our water at risk.

Fracking uses millions of gallons of our precious water, mixed with secret, toxic chemicals, pumped deep underground at high pressure to release trapped pockets of oil or gas — a process that has contaminated groundwater water across the country with toxic chemicals and gas.

Yet California’s Monterey shale formation – which stretches from Monterey County and the Central Valley to the Northern Los Angeles area, is a top prize for frackers. We can’t wait until a drilling disaster to take action.

Tell Governor Brown: Ban Fracking in California

Despite the dangers, fracking also remains unregulated at the federal level. In a massive giveaway to his buddies at Halliburton, Dick Cheney exempted fracking from federal regulation in his 2005 energy bill.

Now, efforts to regulate the practice both federally and at the state level have met tremendous opposition from polluters, who appear to get the upper hand at every step.

President Obama has repeatedly caved to the gas industry, and substantially weakened new federal rules to reduce air pollution from fracking, to regulate it on federal lands, and even refused to take action to ban diesel fuel from fracking fluid.3

In California the State Senate was considering a bill that would have set the strongest standards in the nation for companies to disclose the chemicals used in fracking fluid. But pressure from the gas industry stalled the bill, and now it has been hopelessly watered down.4

Governor Brown shouldn’t continue allowing fracking to move forward as we wait for rules that may or may not be sufficient to protect our state. Governor Brown needs to show leadership on behalf of California, and implement a statewide ban now.

1. “Fracking,” Water Defense
2. “California Government Has No Idea Fracking Is Happening,” Mother Jones, February 29, 2012
3. “Obama Warms to Energy Industry by Supporting Natural Gas,” Bloomberg, May 9, 2012
4. “California fracking bill would protect industry ‘trade secrets’,” Los Angeles Times, April 18, 2012

Posted in Ecology, Energy, Writeindependent.org | Comments Off on Fracking in California

Patriot Alert!

Posted on 14. October 2013 by admin

Originally posted at Writeindependent.org on May 2, 2012

If you believe in our Constitution and want to take America back…….Spread the Word…….

We the People must go after the “Ballot Box Establishment” which includes the “GOP Establishment” and the “Fox News Establishment”.  What the GOP and Fox News are doing to Ron Paul is WRONG!  It is un-American. It is anti-American!

We the People must take our vote back!  GOPers must take back their vote in Tampa, Florida! Let’s work together and make sure the GOP Establishment hears all of us in Tampa, Florida!

With that being said…….As promised, Charles Klein and I have filed our complaint “We the People v. The Ballot Box Establishment” with the FBI office in the Maitland Center, Maitland, FL.  We filed our complaint on Friday, May 4, 2012 at approximately 2:00 pm.

I have attached a PDF copy of the final complaint that was presented to the FBI, but the complete package given to the FBI included approximately 170 pages of supporting documentation and citizen petitions.  Please let me know if you would like to see the complete package as we presented it to the FBI.

You may be asking….Why did they file this complaint?

Our Answer…… As it stands today, We the People are denied our right to elect the representation of our choice and to equitably seek public office. The actions described in the attached article are more proof that the political parties are illegal monopolies. We the People are also denied honest and ethical participation in our government due to corruption of the public referendum process. Thus, we have filed our complaint with the FBI requesting an investigation of “The Ballot Box Establishment”.  We contend “The Ballot Box Establishment” is made up of the illegal monopolies of the Democrat and Republican political parties AND various governmental officers and agencies that work in collusion with the political parties to manipulate and control the results of our elections (aka the ballot box). We contend “The Ballot Box Establishment” has violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, the Clayton Act, the Hobbs Act, Florida U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Wagner v. Gary – 1954, etc. Please see attached complaint for additional details.

Bottom line……. Stolen Votes = Stolen Elections = Stolen U.S.A.!

Americans will never take back America if we do not take back our ballot box (aka our vote).  History proves we must protect our ballot box.  See “The Battle of Athens, Tennessee in 1946”  “As Recently As 1946, American Citizens Were Forced To Take Up Arms As A Last Resort Against Corrupt Government Officials”. http://www.constitution.org/mil/tn/batathen.htm  and U.S. House Resolution 1941 – “Voter Freedom Act of 2003”  “To enforce the guarantees of the first, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments to the Constitution of the United States by prohibiting certain devices used to deny the right to participate in certain elections.”  http://www.theorator.com/bills108/hr1941.html

Please share this FBI complaint filing with other citizen patriots and let them know they can join Charles Klein and Sally Baptiste to take back our vote and our country. Anyone with Internet access can read the complaint and sign-up on our website www.AmericanStatesman.org. We encourage citizen patriots to contact the FBI office in Maitland, FL at 407-875-9976 and show support for our complaint.

You can also tune into American Statesman Blog Talk Radio and join others in the 2012 Battle for America. www.blogtalkradio.com/americanstatesman

Thank you,

Sally Baptiste

No Party Affiliation American Voter

Orlando, FL 32822

407-761-9016

Posted in Voting, Writeindependent.org | Comments Off on Patriot Alert!

The Comedy of Louis C.K.

Posted on 14. October 2013 by admin

Originally posted at Writeindependent.org on May 1, 2012

I watch Louis’s show. It’s one of the few things on television that I Tivo. Watching his show is like witnessing a slow-motion train wreck: you can’t look away, even though you know something bad is happening. And I admit it; I laugh. He’s very very funny. I totally “get” him. He’s the only comic who can make sadness funny. That’s the genius of Louis C.K.

What has this got to do with politics? A lot.

As you grow older, you realize that life gets more complicated. Not less. People are always trying to simplify things, or to say things are simple when actually there are all shades of grey. Nothing is black and white.

I spent way too much time yesterday talking to a guy named John Mulkins. He’s brilliant, because he’s devised a very simple way of fixing our government, based on some basic tenets that everyone can agree upon. See his brainchild here. He’s suggesting a General Assembly of Americans that realigns with our forefathers’ original intent and updates a few items for modern society and technological changes.

But I know people. We are having a hard time getting together on anything, aren’t we? We can’t even figure out what went wrong with our government, many of us, because the media tells us what it wants us to hear, and not the truth.

It’s going to take some huge miracle for the masses to realize what is happening here. It’s going to take a miracle because the very people who keep this illusion of a democracy going are the same people we need to help make it change back to a democratic republic. Right now, your country is strong-armed by the media moguls, the banksters, the oil companies, the military industrial complex, and even the medical/pharma industry. And if you think otherwise, then you are the person we need to reach. We need YOU to fix this country, not the wealthy few. They have what they want. Do you?

Back to Louis. Why is this country like a slow motion train wreck? Because we can’t look away, and because life is complex. It can be sad and ridiculous at the same time.

Lucky for us, there are solutions. Let’s see if we can fix the government from the inside, rather than having to resort to a huge General Assembly, the way John Mulkins and Occupy envision things. If we must go that far, then we really will have to throw out our government “representatives.” And I guess that’s not such a bad thing.

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The Sheehan Rule

Posted on 14. October 2013 by admin

Originally posted at Writeindependent.org on April 30, 2012

I like women. No, I love women. Occasionally I find a woman who is doing things that go above and beyond, and Cindy Sheehan is one of those women. I am reprinting one of my favorite blog posts of hers, below. She might just be the most sane person I know. I’m also adding a bonus: this song from political humorist/musician Roy Zimmerman, which sums up what Cindy is saying.

Linked here is an excellent blog I found called “Don’t tax the rich, smash their privilege: A Response to Warren Buffett” that explains … how terrible the so-called Buffett Rule is and why there are far better alternatives. Also, if the “Super Rich” were to pay more taxes, until the Military Industrial Complex is “smashed,” the extra money will probably go to feed that beast. 

I originally called this piece, “The Casey Sheehan End to War Bill;” but am changing it to, “The Sheehan Rule.” Maybe Obama will start promoting this on his campaign trail–yeah, and maybe puppies will start to fly out of his belly-button, too.

My son, Casey, joined the military in 2000, shortly before his 21st birthday, to help pay for college. He had already completed everything he could take at the local JC and was eager to move on—but he had a fulltime job, and even though we (his dad and I) helped out as much as we could, Casey also had three younger siblings and our family was firmly ensconced in the working-class.

Well, 16 months after he enlisted was September 11, 2001—and no matter what really happened that day—I had a horrible sense of foreboding that it would lead to my son’s early death—and no matter how much I prayed, or cajoled him not to go, or worried—my worst fears were realized and Casey was killed just hours after arriving in Iraq on April 04, 2004.

There is no forced military conscription in the US today, but many will tell you that since forced conscription ended in 1973, there has been a “poverty draft.” The poverty draft has only become more successful as the economy is tanking and our young people are finding less and less opportunity for work, or, as in Casey’s case, to be able to afford college.

I have been finding it extremely difficult to find recruitment stats—I went to the DoD (Department of Defense) website and, although, the site claims the stats are published every month around the 10th, there are no such stats available for June or July. I did see many “The DoD identifies Army (Marine) Casualties—five just for today.

I found a story that was published in the Boston Globe from March of 2009 that states beginning in October of 2008, the military was exceeding their recruitment goals each month, mainly due to two factors: the economy and confidence in Obama’s lies about Iraq.

So the beat goes on just like it always has: Poor people dying in rich men’s wars—but now instead of being drafted, our kids are willingly joining to kill or be killed for a paycheck.

I am not going to elaborate on the mountains of evidence that the longest war (The Global War OF Terror) in US history is about profit, opening new markets for the globalists, controlling precious natural resources, etc—we have been over and over this. It was no coincidence that recently it was discovered that Afghanistan is chock-full of precious minerals—or that the only countries that are seriously threatened by the US War Machine are likewise endowed: Iran, Venezuela. Certain people and corporations are making a crap-load of money—as is the custom.

I am going to propose a piece of legislation that I would love to see introduced by a courageous member of Congress—not that I really believe it would happen, but this is my dream bill that I call: The Casey Sheehan “End to War” Bill:

Immediately upon the president signing this bill into law, forced military conscription will begin.

The bill will have NO EXEMPTIONS to those who are eligible to the draft and the age limit is 18 to no upper limit. This bill seeks to draft those eligible from both genders and all gender and sexual preferences.

There will be very limited health exemptions as most people can perform a skill that is valuable to the military. As University is now open to all ages and attended by old and young alike, there will be no education exemptions. The draftees can resume or attend college when their stint in the armed forces is up. There will be no GI education benefits extended to the draftees, as they will be members of the wealthy of the US.

Citizens will be drafted in this order in the event of a Constitutionally declared war, or un-constitutionally started war, or any of these euphemisms (but not limited to) for war: police action, entanglement, theater, hostilities, occupation, special operations, interventions, cluster-fu@k, pacifications, war on drugs, peace-keeping, fighting for “freedom and democracy,” etc:

The President and his/her Cabinet and their age appropriate dependents, including spouses. No exemptions as outlined above.

Senators and Congress Members and their age appropriate dependents, including spouses. No exemptions as outlined above.

CEO’s of the Federal Reserve and Banks and their age appropriate dependents, including spouses. No exemptions as outlined above.

CEO’s of any company (including the media) that profit directly or indirectly from war and their age appropriate dependents, including spouses. No exemptions as outlined above.

Anyone who by word or deed supports the entry into war, or any of the euphemisms associated with war, and their age appropriate dependents. This includes media pundits, male or female and their age appropriate dependents, including spouses. No exemptions as outlined above.

Posted in Military, Writeindependent.org | Comments Off on The Sheehan Rule