Dirigo State Opportunity

How about we, the Dirigo state, take the lead once again in America. Let us have a year of politics without calling someone a Nazi. Please, we can end the madness by simply having civility and common sense.

Sarah Palin Continues Reagan Principles

In a recent statement regarding her endorsement of Doug Hoffman, she said the following:

Doug Hoffman stands for the principles that all Republicans should share: smaller government, lower taxes, strong national defense, and a commitment to individual liberty.

Quote over. Not mentioning pro-growth policies I forgive, but she mentions almost word for word the same principles Reagan stated were the core of Conservative thought. It should be noted Hoffman is running as the Conservative Party candidate and not a Republican.

Religious Right ideas and Conservativism may agree on some things, but the Religious Right does not represent Conservatives; only a Conservative can.

Walk along with nothing better to do
Just see the sights and enjoy the view
Yet as you walk you hear a fight start to brew
A man throws her against the wall and you enter with only a single clue

To intervene on her behalf
As he strikes and makes a laugh
Your bound to make sure she isn't another dot on a graph

As you shout for him to stop
He doesn't so you give him a bop
He turns and you suddenly wish there were some cops

The guy pulls out a knife
Stabs you seven times trying to end your life
You fall back hoping this is the end of her strife
As you scream in pain entering a whole new fight

Later as you lay and recover
You think of her and wonder
Before this lightning had there been other rolls of thunder?
What made that man go asunder?

How can we turn on those we love?
Clip their wings and cage them like doves?
The tears fall like boulders in troves,
so I wish you all luck in having safer homes.

Working Families Party

The political wing of ACORN and the weld connecting the Democratic Party to ACORN has appeared in the news for voter fraud and possibly stealing an election.
For example:

Thirty-eight forged or fraudulent ballots have been thrown out -- enough votes, an election official admits, to likely have tipped the city council and county elections in November to the Democrats.

Excerpt over. They may have stolen an election. This isn't your standard accusation of gerrymandering or disenfranchising voters, this is inventing votes. Who did this? Take a read:

Someone took my signature and voted with it and I felt extremely violated," Suozzo [said]. He is a soft-spoken 28-year-old environmental engineer who says he never saw, let alone signed, the Working Families Party Absentee ballot application that carried his supposed signature. He was flabbergasted that someone would vote for him and submit it.

Excerpt over. The WFP, highlighted as the political side of ACORN in my assessment, should face the same pressure as ACORN. I say that for a time period of two years no WFP candidate (even when affiliated with other political parties) can receive Election Funds from the government. Considering the scale tipping they are willing to take when the rules are provided for them to follow, the scales should be tipped against their candidates as a punishment for tarnishing the most valued civic duty in our nation.

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/10/20/tried-steal-election-ny-voter-fraud-case-heats/

Time for Honesty

I haven't been posting as much as I'd like to. I have followed the process of events in Venezuela for several years now, and watched how freedom of speech has slowly been wiped out. Cuba is cracking down on bloggers, and China has strengthened its "Great Firewall of China". I have been watching the opening salvos of the Fox News v. White House battle and am greatly concerned: the White House has gone to the extent where a reversal of their position will simply end their credibility and leave us with three years of basically useless government. They may be there and they will be crying, but America will have put them in the corner, turned out the lights, and closed the door.

To watch the situation go this far this fast is the same thing going on in other countries around the world. America is on a dangerous path, and my blog has already made me the target of some, but to have real power behind the attacks against me is something, to be honest, I do fear.

I'm not regretting what I post at all. I am fearful of the power some will have if they are able to say what I can post, or to tell me I can't post at all. Even worse is my fear that I will be punished for what I have posted: which is the truth followed by my opinion.

Halloween Political Correctness

A costume with a gray alien in a jumpsuit labeled "Illegal Alien" was removed due to immigrant rights group's demands.

I am only angered by this because I've made that joke for years during Halloween. People always joke I'm from another planet and should go back, so I chide back "yes, I'm an illegal alien, I forgot to get my passport from Mars." This simply shuts everyone up so we can move on to something more constructive. It becomes either silent, awkward, or both and that is just how I like it when I get insulted.

Now, taking that joke and saying other people can't indulge in expressing it through other, possibly artistic, means is simply an attempt to deny freedom of speech. Look at all the offensive things done to religions in this country protected by freedom of speech, if a person who has broken the law can't take a joke then they should simply leave the country.

With Friends Like These...

It has been revealed, allegedly, that the Italian Secret Service paid the Taliban to not attack their forces in Afghanistan. This deal ended when French forces took over as the region's NATO force of control and the French sent in troops expecting the ease the Italians had there, leading to the deaths of 10 French soldiers when confronted by the Taliban. This was the worst loss for France in over 25 years.
France has had a massive increase in demands to withdraw its forces ever since.

So what should our military's response be?

I say get out of our way. We are pulling out of Iraq, or so we are told, so how about we take some of those 140,000 troops, bring them home, send some of our other 1 million strong forces over to Afghanistan to replace all NATO and otherwise forces. Let this be a U.S. and Afghanistan military war. The Europeans don't have the stomach for a war obviously. So they should get out of the line of fire and let us do the job that needs to be done.

You see, in World War 2 allies worked together to win the war. We raced for control of Sicily with British and American forces. With the Allies and Soviet forces we raced to Berlin. The war had allies operating jointly, but separately but the difference between then and now they raced to win. We seem to be in a race to quit with the other nations.

Whether it be Spain's shameless withdrawal of troops from Iraq to the lesser vocal but still very active withdrawals by other nations from Iraq to the current calls for withdrawals in almost every nation in Europe and Canada, we have joined those calls.

Iraq was luck because of the surge. Afghanistan? It is at its worst right now. A withdrawal of forces would lead to a collapse of the Afghan government and the return of Taliban control and continuous civil war which would grant the Taliban new recruits constantly. Long road traveled would lead to more attacks on the U.S.

So instead of letting the situation get worse by having cowardly allies or withdrawals let the American forces take over and do the job the way it needs to be done.


Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/world/europe/16italy.html?em

Gary Locke and Missile Tech

The current head of the Commerce Department, Gary Locke is a very unique Democrat (yes, Democrat, he served as governor of Washington). Now he controls, well, here is the article:

President Obama recently shifted authority for approving sales to China of missile and space technology from the White House to the Commerce Department. The president issued a little-noticed "presidential determination" Sept. 29 that delegated authority for determining whether missile and space exports should be approved for China to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.

Excerpt over. I didn't know the White House had any issues in dealing with these problems. If it isn't broken, don't fix it. However, as for the risk, lets look at what Gary's priorities are shall we? I mean, his record should show if he actually puts money ahead of, say, the American people:

Among his spending-reduction proposals were laying off thousands of state employees; reducing health coverage; freezing most state employees' pay; and cutting funding for nursing homes and programs for the developmentally disabled. In his final budget, Locke suspended two voter-passed, pro-school initiatives while cutting state education funding. That same state budget, though, had record-high allocations for construction projects.

Excerpt over. The Wikipedia article used here is sourced, and the sources check out for the most part, several are broken (thanks Yahoo) but most check out.

So in the sake of money over us, I think it is quite clear he will go with money. Should we really let him handle sensitive materials when given the option to put them on the open, or not so open, market?

Common sense people.

Campaign Note

The recent path of the gubernatorial elections has increased the number of those running and while every candidate may be important, unless they say something not already said I will probably give it a pass. However, there is one tactic of fund raising being used by Lynne Williams in her recent email:

But this can't happen without YOUR participation.To qualify for Maine Clean Election funds I MUST raise a minimum of $40,000 in seed money paid directly to the campaign AND collect a minimum of 3,250 $5 Qualifying Contributions for the Maine Clean Election fund. Once we meet these goals, we will qualify for $800,000 in Clean Election funding, so your $105 in contributions can yield a 7,200 percent return on your investment to allow my campaign to move forward on the issues of importance to you and to Maine.

Email quote over. The Maine Clean Election fund is, in fact, already paid by us. So we are not actually get the return she says. We also are not getting the return because her campaign, not us, is getting the funds. Would you, if a person came to your door, give them a hundred dollars if they said that with your one hundred dollars they were guaranteed $7,200 which they would not give back to you? Of course not, it would sound like a scam. Which, in essence, campaign funding really is a scam. It is a false investment, and for some reason people in this country, rich and poor, are willing to place money in these no-guarantee places. The lottery is among them, so are drugs (including tobacco and alcohol), and campaigns for politicians.

Common sense tells you a scam is a scam, but for some reason people think they can get big returns without risk, and then wonder why they don't have enough money. Guaranteed investments, such as a savings account, or a government bond (considered guaranteed) need to be looked at right now. The stock market is about as much of a science as voodoo, so I suggest against it. Thank you for reading.

Deja Vu?

On 9/11 I had a feeling. It was of knowing something was going on that was bigger than us, but not knowing what it was. I was just young, but after a day of the two towers being hit when she told is the Pentagon had been hit, I told my teacher we were under attack. I didn't know by who or why, I just knew I suddenly cared.

I've been tracking the reports from Afghanistan, Somalia, and our own corrupt politics for a while now and today was a series of events that don't make sense to me.

Barack Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize doesn't add up. It isn't just me, nobody at the university could believe it, we all agree, liberals and conservatives, that he hasn't done anything to deserve it.

Then I see we are abandoning a base in Afghanistan where some of our troops died recently, and this is just another move in that country that doesn't add up to me. We are at war, and we should fight to win which means keeping the enemy on the run, not letting them put us on the run.

Add this to Ethiopia's attack on the Somaliland government, supposedly an ally, Iran helping Venezuela find uranium, and Socialists taking over Greece and while not as apparent as 9/11, something is going on. I do not know what it is, but there is something big in motion that I can't figure it out. I've had this feeling for a while, but not as powerful a feeling as it is today. So I thought I might as well let you know, so clarity might be gained somehow if we compare notes so to speak.

We Are Doomed, Again

In Somalia, due to the drought, even the camels are dying.

Should Schools Pay For Sports?

Fundamentally, humans are evolved not because of our ability to wrestle a rhino. We are evolved because of our brains, and the things which strengthen our minds should be valued more than the things which strengthen our fists. It takes a lot of effort to wrestle someone, but just a twitch to pull a trigger.

We'll talk about who survives the apocalypse when it actually comes.

Quote

The greatest endorsement of government is silence.

Social Security Solution

We all hear about Social Security having problems and running out. We never hear of a solution. I will warn you this is going to be a long post, this is a big problem. This post, however, if followed in full by everyone in the country, would solve our social security woes (unless proven otherwise).

Where to start, this is big. We know its a problem and we know that nobody has a solution which works when keeping Social Security in existance. The problem that has brought the house of cards down: more old people than young people.

This can't be solved by killing old people, well, it could, but that just isn't nice. It is worse than nice: it is age genocide. We don't do that in this nation.

We could just print money to pay for it but that would lead (among our current spending) to hyperinflation.

So what should we do? I say we end the program.

Please stop running around like the end of the world is approaching. Hear my case before screaming about my evil heartless existence.

How do we end it? We could just stop paying now and witness our elderly bankrupt families who care enough to try and care for their elders, and see the elderly without caring families homeless in our streets and killing themselves to give mercy to their families wallets.

That isn't what I meant by end the program. We need to phase out the program in a way that new entries do not expect to receive the benefits but those who were promised those benefits receive them.

Hear that? Those who worked thinking they were going to get it will get it, those just starting won't get it.

Solution: an alternative.

Fact of life is you do not (if your lucky) work until the day you die. So having a place, an account, to put your money for retirement (still by government mandate) is the best option. An account where you pay the Social Security tax (possibly even Medicare, but that isn't the program I studied for this) and the cash builds up without having it pay for someone else, the government, or a bank's bad loans. An account which can only be increased until you retire and can only be touched by you.

Why this approach of a mandated approach to retirement? People just don't, en masse, plan for the future. Think of this: when you were 18 did you think of how you were going to pay the bills when you retired? People really don't think about saving. This account would allow that, but there is a catch.

All those people who were promised their retirement will still get it. How will we pay for it? Well, everyone will still pay the Social Security tax. Yes, a double dose of taxes for people. It is a very painful thing I know, but hey, such a problem requires some unsavory solutions. You have a better solution, let me know.

This will allow the funds to be raised to pay for social security without (long term) leading to the unending bankruptcy of the nation.

Four paragraphs and things sound pretty sound, but wait, there is more. The fund can not stop raising (as in collecting, not increasing) the Social Security double tax (double in the sense that it goes to two places) until the last person receiving benefits has, well, stopped receiving those benefits. This means having a shift of Social Security to just handling retirement accounts, and allowing and creating other programs for disabilities and other things.

When a person with the account dies, the funds should go to declared beneficiaries. Will you get all the funds when a person dies? No, the government will never let go of that inheritance tax. So basically, when a person dies, half of the funds in their account will go to the heir, and half to the government. This way the government still gets it's cut to pay for managing the accounts.

The agency could be called the Retirement Account Agency, and a requirement of a yearly audit would ensure proper handling of the finances.

Now the rate someone withdraws their retirement should be left up to them. I would personally recommend people prepare to live for 100 years. Odds are you probably won't live 100 years, but planning that far ahead will give you some breathing room to give a helpful boost to your beneficiaries for funeral costs and other purposes.

You got a better idea? Let me hear about it. Think my plan won't work, let me know why.

Bruce Poliquin Interview

I had an interview today with Bruce Poliquin, a Republican candidate for governor. The conference call was very successful, many questions were asked and the responses were to the point and (for my taste anyway) very well spoken. We covered many topics. The first being education in which several points were made. First, he knows the schools work best without the state running them. He has the experience in managing and common sense, very important quality there to be able to balance the struggle of state and school board sovereignty. However, he did not give a specific answer to how state funds would be given if the state was giving no input.

The position of the governor on social issues being provided by the Constitution was avoided, but he did say that social issues such as same sex marriage should only be approved by the voters. He as governor does not feel like such an issue is best resolved for 1.3 million people just by his approval. He is very aware of the process that makes Maine unique in terms of voter petitions and supports that being used on such problems.

Reduced taxes in an all encompassing approach to making the code simpler is one of his primary goals. The need to expand business and give it, at least on the state level, the room it needs to grow with a combination of fewer and more streamlined regulations. The environment for business, Bruce says, needs to be made more attractive so we get the businesses we need to keep our kids here, provide jobs we need, and expand our economy.

However, politics is rarely without controversy. So I asked my first question on campaign controversy ever, which was a moment where Bruce became very passionate.

On the issue of a recent debacle in Portland, he said the accusations are baseless. He was invited like all other candidates, and his campaign accepted instantly. It was going to be a fundraiser event for the Portland City Republicans, not for the Poliquin Campaign. His campaign offered to pay for the campaign fee of $750 for their campaign to be represented, thus saving the Portland Republicans money so the event would not cost the group any funds. The other campaigns it seems made a completely false accusation in order to, by my own understanding of the situation, avoid paying the fee. He continues to be willing to fulfill that commitment at any time. Poliquin's campaign, however, supports giving voters as many opportunities to know the candidates and will take part in as many debates as possible.

To conclude: Bruce says the accusations were baseless and there will never be a conflict of interest with his campaign.

[The event in Portland was boycotted by the other campaigns on allegations of the Poliquin Campaign having a staff member benefiting from the fundraiser and, as the report I read stated, making this into a campaign fundraiser instead of the Portland City Committee fundraiser. Personally, I trust Bruce since no state filings for campaign ethics have occurred and his statements were either Emmy worthy performances or pure honesty.]

As I remember more of our half-hour conversation, I'll let you know. One thing you can be certain of: Bruce Poliquin is one of the most energetic people in politics I have ever seen. He has constant positivity and faith in this state and its people. Some candidates focus on other campaigns, but his is entirely focused on his message and policies.

There is another side of the story here. The outreach of the Poliquin campaign is one of the best I've ever seen. This opportunity to talk with Bruce was given to me by their invitation. I didn't even have to ask for it. My three emails each to the other candidates still go unanswered. However I've gotten two opportunities to speak with Bruce already and both times it was their outreach which gave me that opportunity.

I've written before about how a campaign needs a good outreach, and the Poliquin campaign has one which continues to have my support.

Afghanistan

The White House has rejected the call for more troops in Afghanistan. They wish to take a more reconstructive approach.

You can not build a school and have the benefits when the Taliban just have the workers building it bribe them not to attack, and when the school is finished burn the school down because we can't provide enough security. You need to secure the situation before you rebuild the nation. I really wish our president would do his job and use common sense at the same time.

Pacific Gone Wild

I want to send my condolences to the people of Samoa and wish them a quick recovery to normalcy, if possible. The people of Indonesia in the earthquake have the world's support, as do the super-typhoon victims in the Philipines.

What you may not have read about during all of this is two American soldiers killed in a fight against Abu Sayaff in one of the lower Philipine islands. Just so you know, we have, by my last count, 5,000 active troops there fighting the war on terror.

Constitutional Alert

From: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/technology/02distracted.html?hp
Quote:
Federal employees will no longer be allowed to send text messages while driving government vehicles or when driving their own cars and using cellphones paid for by the government, according to an executive order signed Wednesday night by President Obama.

Quote over. Does this mean that in states without a texting law, Federal Employees, in their own cars with their own cell phones, will still be breaking the law? Does a Federal Law in this actually have any method of enforcement?

The Federal government says it is only on federal employees, but the income tax was just on the wealthiest one percent in this country at one time. It is only a matter of time until this is expanded to everyone regardless of state laws.

Whoopie, Your Not Funny

To say that the convicted rapist movie director "didn't rape rape, you know" is not funny. It is in fact not only stupid but detrimental to common civility in our country. (He was convicted of statutory rape.)

Syria- Swing Nation? Skip if under 18.

Do not read if under the age of 18, I'm serious. Don't, this is a very mature post, the first and hopefully the last, but it was just too good to not write about.

I think Syria would be on Iran's side in a war. Some in the news are saying otherwise. Obviously we need to take a rational look at the most recent public issue for Syria. While we are talking about health care, Russia about its alcohol and drug problems, Syria is focusing on something addressed, for the most part, over a hundred years ago.

What is this issue? Follow the link to find out. I will however give some very very very very memorable quotes from this debate raging in Syria:

"Come on guys," he wrote, arguing Syrians "should not be silent about it because of modesty."

Fadal then listed "the problems caused by this abominable practice," among them a loss of focus, physical inactivity, testicular pain, bloody excretions after excessive [performance], and loss of ones ability to control urination.

"Boys are unable to concentrate on their studies and are looking very pale before prematurely ejaculating and losing consciousness in schools. Their balls are blue and sore as hell and when they sneeze or cough they are allegedly pissing in their pants. They are falling on their backs after bleeding to death from their weenies."

"Girls, Lord Have Mercy on us all, are doing this despicable, blinding and atrocious act secretly without the written consent of their male pimp," Fares continued. "They, someone hold me please before I pass out, are losing their virginity to their fingers out of wedlock."

"Let's move ahead, forge our destiny and join forces together in beating our meats and beating around the bushes, to reach an unprecedented Syrian Orgasm

Blogger Yazan Badran, from Latakia, Syria, then started a campaign in favor of (rather than against) moral decay, calling on his readers to listen to heavy metal, smoke joints, eat publicly during Ramadan, drink hard liquor and engage in public sexual experimentation.

"You shall skip school and stay home enjoying the vast porn directory on the Internet," he wrote. "Your plan for the day should include nothing but long sessions of masturbation."

Quotes over, well, wait, there is one more that just can't be left out:

"You see why we're a little disappointed with Obama here in Syria," he added. "We expected him to help, in particular with the rampant problem of masturbation."

Quotes over. I wonder what- No. Just no.

From: http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=26617

University of the Stupid

From: http://schoolsmatter.blogspot.com/2009/09/seeking-solidarity-among-k-12-and.html

There is a protest in which a building on the UCSC campus has been taken over by students and faculty in protest of the California budget cuts.

After the blog author mentions the back story and introduces the interview, one of the people he interviews states the start of their movement following the start of the protests:

[S]ome of us walked in uninvited on the large undergraduate lectures of those professors who failed to honor the picket line to make an emergency announcement about the Walkout.

Quote over. Civility is clearly not a guideline of this campaign. While their teachers go on strike, others try to do their jobs and actually teach. Seeing this as unacceptable they disrupt the non-striking professors classes. It goes on to their complaints:

The Community Studies program was gutted; minority student programs were cut back; faculty searches for departments desperate for replacements, such as the History of Consciousness, were cancelled; health-care costs for graduate students were forced up;

Quote over. "History of Consciousness" was canceled, what evils! I'm not sure what Community Studies entails, whether it is a sub-section of biology or a society examination class, I think observing demographics in political science, or the biology in zoology or basic biology covers that topic. How dare health care costs rise with the actual cost of health care! Seriously, these people think everything as a necessity, a right guaranteed to them based on their misinterpretation of the highest law of the land: The Constitution, not the Declaration of Human Rights.

But wait, there is more:

We would like to see a broad social movement against cuts to education and all other state social programs and services.

Quote over. So, despite having a massive shortfall in the California state budget, and a vote by the people saying there should be no increase in taxes, somehow 25% of the shortfall should still not be cut. The logic is non-existent in these people I swear.
But wait, there is still more:

The one-day Walkout and our occupation are only first-steps, the genesis of a year-long or multi-year effort to take back the UC, to rewrite its priorities in the interest of public education and not privatization.

Quote over. A revolution is what they are talking about. Also, to say they shouldn't move to privatization is very ignorant of them. The school isn't privatizing, the cuts are based on the public sector's budget!
But wait, yes, there is more:

We want to express our thanks for the support across the nation. Why stop at the borders of California? Let's take this effort to escalate to the nation as well! Public universities are being run like corporations all across the U.S. This must be brought to an end.

Quote over. So because corporations operate for a profit, and the public sector is being run to just be balanced, the university system is like a corporation? There is no profit in the state budgets! The state budgets have no money to spend so how this person ever thinks the state could afford it is ridiculous.
You know the phrase:

A broad-based social movement that has the capacity to articulate an alternative collective vision to the narrow, corporatist special-interests that control our budgets and strategic planning will be necessary. Nobody is sure what this will look like yet.

For now, we believe one of the first steps to building such a movement is to show that escalation and occupation is necessary and possible. We hope that groups of students, faculty, and everyday Californians can begin to see themselves, too, as people who can organize, occupy, and escalate to fight back.

Quote over. So while they do not know what the solution is or what it will look like, more protests like their own are certainly going to simply bring the answers forth from the vast collective minds in solidarity of protest about the same thing. They think that if others do the exact same thing they are doing somehow an answer to the problems will appear from their movement, which so far has no solutions.

To the people who want a solid community of one thought which results in the communal efforts to solve a problem by expanding the community, not the openness to ideas, as an approach to providing solutions: open your eyes and look at the big picture. Just because you protest does not mean the legislatures which had budget cuts did not try to solve the problem. Just because you protest and join together with others does not mean the legislatures will magically come up with a solution to appease your anger. It does not work like that. You don't like something, do the constructive American thing and solve it yourself.

We are doomed *really doesn't matter what number*

"This is not an American battle; this is a NATO mission"

-Barack Obama, on Afghanistan.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/30/content_12131915.htm

In the event you hadn't noticed, it is an American battle as long as Americans are in the fight. As long as Americans have shed blood in the conflict it is an American war. Sure, other nations can call it otherwise to their liking, but for us in the U.S. that is what matters: Our troops, our war. End of story. We will win our wars, or that should be our constant commitment. To delegate the most advanced force in the world to an allied structure is fine, but to have that structure, notorious for paper shuffling, command our forces is a disgrace. We lead NATO, not the other way around. We lead the world, not the other way around.

Mr. Obama, lead this nation, instead of following the world.

Guinea- Conakry Massacre

Whether it is 58, 87, or 157 killed, depending on the source, a massacre of people demanding nothing less than freedom and democracy occurred in Guinea's capital. Instead of sanctioning Honduras, where is the Obama outrage against Guinea's actions? Last year I saw the events taking place in the coup and thought the promises of democratic elections was sound. At the time no massacres were taking place, just awkward military patrols that made everyone confused. (The coup last year came after the death of their 30+ year ruler who himself came to power in a coup.)

Initially, they promised free elections the world could monitor and the coup leader said he would not run. Now he is running and the election is going to occur later than promised. Finally, his soldiers have slaughtered a democracy protest at a soccer stadium. The various methods of killing are numerous, and women were degraded. Where is the call for sanctions and the demand for the rule of law?

The White House still condemns Honduras despite the calls for violence coming not from the interim government, but Zelaya. Yet they chose the side of Chavez in that case. In Iran Obama chose to not interfere. He then chose to obviously interfere in Honduras. So far the path chosen as been silence on Guinea, highlighting the lack of consistency this administration has in support of "freedom". It is clear the United States government no longer is advocating freedom in the world, but is giving a pass to tyranny.

Honduras Elections

Based on a New York Times op ed, I got some ideas to give perspective on Honduras.

The upcoming elections have been denounced by many nations and said that it will not change their stance on Honduras (which is to return Zelaya to power, which would have him in office longer than he is allowed by the Constitution of Honduras).

If the leaders of Burma said they were going to hold free and fair elections, would we say no simply because they are currently run by a dictatorship?

Let the elections be the voice of the people and respect that voice as you would any other when allowed freely.

Update: I had lost the article in my travels, but I found it again. It was from the Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704471504574439090743723958.html

Summary of Thoughts

Iran has a nuclear facility that has been kept secret not only by our government but Iran as well. The United Nations IAEA misses it completely. Unless Iran opens up completely by the end of the year, we will be at war by January, if not sooner.

The Post Office is going to need a bailout. They lost four billion dollars in September.

Earlier in August the Federal Reserve requested that the debt limit be raised, again.

Summary: I told you so.

This message brought to you, sponsored by, and proven by the facts of life; otherwise known as the reality of the world around you.

Corruption

Corruption can never be eliminated. However, it can be controlled and brought within the reach of punishment. This is a realization which recognizes the ever persistent fact that humans have emotions. The system which best recognizes that greed is inherent in human behavior will be the system which is best in the world. Capitalism is one of those systems.

We Are Saved 1

The discussion over civility that has arisen over recent events is a good sign for this country. Not only is "civil behavior" and "civility" commonly being used, but they are not having to place definitions with them. These two things show that this country not only remembers the days of civility, but wants them back in a way that makes us never forget.

What DO Conservatives Fundamentally Believe In?

I have always known colleges are liberally bent, nobody denies this at all. I accept that. However, there is a textbook for my reading/history class ("A People and a Nation")which has no sources and opinions which are lies or don't make sense.

For example, it mentions conservatives in the 1760s supporting the British control of the colonies. This is not possible because "conservative" thought and policy did not begin to form until the 1790s in France. While some ideas can be identified as conservative, remaining with the British Empire was not one of them.

In fact, it is the Founding Fathers, the ones who separated from Britain and formed this nation, which are looked to for the ideas of American conservatism. Wikipedia explains it as: Conservatism refers to various political and social philosophies that support tradition and the status quo.

This is a lie. In the context of a classroom many do not know the difference between worldwide conservatives and U.S. conservatives. In evidence, one person in the classroom said "they are people who want to conserve the environment right?" While conservatives may believe that depending on their stance on the issue, that is not the fundamental core of Conservative beliefs.

I have gone to GOP meetings for the past year regularly in various forms and never has maintaining the status quo come up as a goal. It has always made a focus on a reverse heirarchy, like our Founding Fathers believed in, which started from the bottom up, not top down. Conservatives will enable the individual, then the family, then the community, then the state, then the government to care for their needs. When you have a strong government and a weak populace you have a dictatorship. When you have a strong people and a "weak" government you have a successful Democracy. A government with a division of powers with elected representatives that make the top a gauranteed entity of force you have a Republic. We have a Republic where the Founding Fathers knew that government was a necessary evil, but as little as possible was desired to have a strong populace. Today, the government is growing in power while our population is being weakened by taxes, poor education (involving lies), and a government which takes our ability to work and removes it through various policies which make us reliant upon the government.

This book that also says "There was no definition of civil rights in America before the Civil War." Three things off the top of my head: Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights. This book is biased, and so much so that I am going to go through page by page and bring truth to the class.

This one is up to you...

Look up the latest data on Social Security. Find the info, its out there, just google it. We are yet again, maybe this time enough to wake some of you up, screwed.

My Response to The President at the United Nations

I am writing this as I read through President Obama's speech. I recommend you read the transcript or watch his speech before reading my response. I have sent the following to the White House, and prefaced it with a request that this be promoted by Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe. Here it is:

To use a global forum as a place in which to apologize for your predecessors is a terrible display of bias without recognition for our efforts of the past. To present your efforts as the first and only committed movement for global betterment since the times of FDR is selfish and detrimental to our image in the world.

I believe that the hopes of any child will always enrich our world, never impoverish it. There is only innocence in a child's hope that has ideals for betterment, and it is only removed when the reality of corruption takes hold. The hopes of a child never impoverish our world, the removal of those hopes does. To not make this distinction is a philosophical failure of you to present an understanding of the human peoples for whom you claim to speak of.

Again, to present the focus on your actions as the only effort for which our commitment to the global community can be judged is disrespectful to the efforts of maintaining peace in the world after our efforts in founding the U.N.

To claim that you prohibited torture by the United States is a lie. You signed a bill confirming the rights granted to prisoners within the Constitution, nothing more.

No war is responsibly started and thus can never be responsibly fought, controlled, or ended.

As a nation with immense wealth and various measurements of higher quality than the rest of the world our leadership role should never be diminished for the inclusion of all nations for solutions which could involve the very dictators which wish to see our nation's freedom crumble.

The alignment of nations rooted in the Cold War are various and involve NATO, the European Union, the WTO, and to say we should move away from these alliances is a betrayal of the cooperative and beneficial relationships we have with other nations of the world.

To demand that Israel surrender control of areas acquired in wars against Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria and abandon the territory of Israel to 1947 boundaries, including their capital, the Holy City of Jerusalem, amounts to a biased approach to resolving the conflict in the Middle East.

In placing the United States support of democracy worldwide as a negative influence is an insult to all the nations which have waved American flags with their own to honor the joy they have at our support of their freedom. From Japan to Kosovo, supporting Democracy has been the most effective foreign policy goal of the past seventy years. To present a negative for our support of Democracy in such a paradox on the global stage is perhaps one of the most dangerous mistakes you made in your speech.

Mr. President, I demand an honest discussion of the issues I raise, and expect you to hold yourself to my level as individuals in this global community and respond to my statements.

Freedom of Speech?

Keep in the back of your mind a very simple question: For who does freedom of speech apply?

Alright, Senator Baucus, according to the New York Times, has taken a Humana Inc. letter to their members, which stated that his bill's $123 billion cut to Medicare is going to hinder care for seniors, as a, well, here is the quote:

Mr. Baucus took it as a declaration of war. He complained to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal health-care agency, which on Friday duly ordered Humana to cease and desist. CMS claimed the mailer was "misleading and confusing" and told the company it has opened an official probe as to whether the mailer violated laws about how the insurers that manage Advantage plans are allowed to communicate with their customers, as well as other federal statutes.

Article quote over. If by now your common sense doesn't tell you why this has struck me as odd, I'll guide you a little further:

"it has opened an official probe as to whether the mailer violated laws about how the insurers are allowed to communicate with their customers"

So there are laws about how a company can communicate with its customers? Does this law LEGALIZE only certain forms of communication, like store front displays? Does it regulate those displays to be reasonable, fair, unoffensive? Where are these laws? Who passed the laws? Why has nobody asked these questions, found the answers, and made a Constitutional challenge?

Now, remember that question: For who does freedom of speech apply?

It is without doubt that it applies to us, citizens, people within the United States. We as citizens have the right to form companies, or join unions. However, does our freedom of speech extend to those companies and unions?

It does for unions. I can name at least four precedents off the top of my head where union speech was protected regardless of controversy. However, laws, according to Baucus, exist to dictate how a company may use its freedom of speech. Two possibilities come up: not only Baucus but CMS, a government agency, has lied about these laws or: unions are protected, companies are not. The first one is very likely, and the second one leads to yet another question: why are unions protected by freedom of speech but companies are not?

However lets look at the full scope: one company against the health care gets threats and investigated and the rule is expanded to all Advantage providers. What about those other companies supporting the plan and sending out messages? Will they be charged with the communication violations?

I will do something I have only done in regards to the international alliance so far and make a prediction: We will not see the news reports about the Humana investigation when it starts. If charged, Humana will be the primary example of government intimidation and you will see market opposition to the government's proposals disappear. When the "elite" they constantly claim is the only source of opposition is gone, we will see individuals, based on wealth and then by audience, become targets and be silenced.

When we allow companies to be given double standards to unions and other companies when it comes to freedom of speech, we also allow it to be applied to individuals. Companies are an economic art, a form of expression of skills in management, product creation. When art projects such as the infamous "Jesus in a jar of urine" display are funded by the government and protected by freedom of speech, we must allow the arts in business to be protected as well. A message sent by a company is a message sent by an individual or groups of individuals. If the message of a union represents its members, the message of a company must also be protected as it represents its owners.

We must challenge these "laws" which violate our Constitution, the highest law of the land.

Honduras Proven Legal

I have been saying it for months based on a very simple review of the Honduran Constitution. Our government which initially responded with declaring a coup, has now come to its senses. In a report found here:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204518504574423570828980800.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

The report states the following:

Now a report filed at the Library of Congress by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) provides what the administration has not offered, a serious legal review of the facts. "Available sources indicate that the judicial and legislative branches applied constitutional and statutory law in the case against President Zelaya in a manner that was judged by the Honduran authorities from both branches of the government to be in accordance with the Honduran legal system," writes CRS senior foreign law specialist Norma C. Gutierrez in her report.

Do the facts matter? Fat chance. The administration is standing by its "coup" charge and 10 days ago, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went so far as to sanction the country's independent judiciary. The U.S. won't say why, but its clear the court's sin is rejecting a U.S.-backed proposal to restore Mr. Zelaya to power.

Report over. You know why they won't change their stance? They have a stubborn need to appeal to Hugo Chavez; because after the "declaration of war" Hugo claims we have against him with our bases in Colombia we can't support the regime in Honduras because of some small realities as that too was a direct response to the Bolivarian process of Constitutional rewrites to empower dictators.

So why would we support a position just to be in line with Chavez and Castro when the facts directly contradict the thinking? I do not know.

Selling A Bill

If you are in the executive office, whether it be a mayor, governor, or even president, you can not sell a bill based on its specifics. Why? Because you are letting the legislature write the bill. Lets use an example.

You want to get health care passed, so how do you sell it to the American public? You can't sell the specifics because people will get bored and you also don't know the specifics, the bill isn't written by you. So what do you do? You sell its merits instead.

You connect the bill to a better America. Instead of going through subsection c of the fourth proposal for a bill from a fifth committee, you sell your vision of an America without high costs and exemptions for pre-existing conditions. Often you tell horror stories of the current system to connect the bad with the current, and the good with the future. Don't slip up and lie about the horror stories though, or you'll lose your support and never gain it back.

Sometimes when a bill seems certain to be the one coming to your desk, you can sell some general improvements that are very shiny, say, a health insurance exchange. Something bad in the specifics? You can try to sell the bad, but you'll lose more support. So what do you do? Connect it to the very shiny improvement and make the public connect the bad as an acceptable side effect of the good. Don't promote the bad too much, or you'll be lying again. And never, ever deny saying something when it is recorded on video tape or you'll lose more points.

You can slip up and correct yourself on any one of these, but never correct one and you won't sell the bill. If you have all but one making you lose support and never change that one thing, you'll never sell the bill.

This all of course only applies if your the standard generic politician. From the current health care issue, to the Iraq War, to the Mogadishu "Black Hawk Down" Incident when you are a standard politician you need to sell its merits and focus on the merits because the details are not going to sell. Sometimes you can sell it even with the bad, but you'll never have an easy time doing anything else ever again.

So what do you do to avoid this struggle of the standard politician? You could slow down and get something done right, such as the Reagan Tax Cuts, which took a year to write and pass. However, the careful monitoring of a bill to make sure it reaches that perfect blend of good details and good merits can take time. If you need something fast for an emergency or want to get things done quickly just to say you did it, what can you do? Break the cycle.

Allow the legislature to do the regular stuff, but take the time yourself to draft a bill on your own that is short, to the point, has the merits, and gets the job you need done quickly. Then, make the bill public, let the legislature look it over and see if they'll pass it. If you wrote a good bill, you'll have no trouble at all.

Now I know you're thinking that can't be done. However, anyone can write a bill, and any senator or representative can bring it to vote. As evidence, it already has.

Now you know the slow and steady approach by Reagan, but the fast and quick approach was taken by FDR. The bill that gave the government massive powers to remove us from the Great Depression? Eight pages written by the Roosevelt administration. Imagine, eight pages. We have thousand page bills for TARP, health care, the budget and on and on and on and we still have massive problems.

So if you want to break the Washington cycle, either take it slow and let the legislature make baby steps to get something done right, or do it yourself and let them run with it.

Abkhazia and South Ossetia

Venezuela now officially recognizes these two nations. Abkhazia and South Ossetia are, as stated by officials in both secessionist regions, willing to join Russia. With Russia having troops in their borders, citizens of the two regions considered Russian citizens, and the leaders saying they would be willing to merge with Russia, are they really independant?

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/10/content_12030863.htm

Mr. Anonymous

How about you stand by your statements and use your name when you comment. In fact, lets have a debate, and actually debate. You can choose any topic you want, post first, or second, and lets have more than one post. Come on, I dare you. Or are you still afraid to stand and defend your own statements?

Obama Pulls Missile Shield Deal From Poland

I've seen an alliance forming against the United States. This is a very big way our country has now encouraged this global alliance against us. As my blog is failing to reach sane minds and I face the same trolling Mr. Anonymous on my blog, I have only one thing to say unless encouraged otherwise: I QUIT.

Message to Jimmy Carter

If your reading this blog Mr. President, stick to Habitat for Humanity and keep your mouth shut because we like you better when your doing something constructive, instead of dividing this country.

Poll Rigger: Matt Jacobson

I like politics when they are conducted to present the best candidate. However, polls simply judge who people support.

Yet, despite this, leading a poll is a big deal for some. Matt Jacobson sent out an e-mail which urged his supporters to vote on The Maine View gubernatorial poll located here:
http://themaineview.wordpress.com/maine2010primaries/

As of my last check, despite leading his herd to the poll, he is still behind in the numbers by at least 100.
The e-mail is as follows:

The Maine View has a poll up for who you would choose in each primary of Maine’s gubernatorial election.
http://themaineview.wordpress.com/maine2010primaries/
Please go and vote – and pass it around to your friends and family. We know Matt is the best candidate – let’s make sure that others know as well!

E-mail over. Matt Jacobson has lost any and all support he had from me. To place this in the context of the extreme times we live in, if he is fine with rigging a poll how much further is the steps to rig a vote?

If you disagree that this is an attempt to rig the results of a poll meant for people who visit The Maine View blog, please let me know what you think.

My 9/12 Project

Alright, so today I took it upon myself to do a little project of my own. I went to a pro-health care anti-war protest, and a Tea Party.

First, the anti-war pro-health care rally covered several topics with its signs and songs:

Respect our Constitution - Do not torture people or spy on our citizens.

Leave Afghanistan - I was talking to a Vietnam veteran who was against the war in Afghanistan who said we should just leave Afghanistan like we left Vietnam.
Sir, 2 million people were slaughtered by the North Vietnamese when we left Vietnam. I hope you do not wish this fate upon the Iraqi people.

Fund health care, affordable housing, instead of the military in order to give us real security - Common sense alert. Without the military a few guys, notably the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, we would be royally screwed. That, and any nation that would like a slice of our country would have not only an open border to invade across, but no resistance once they did. If they wish for money for health care and the military, with waste overall removed, they sound very similar to the Tea Party protest.

At the Tea Party, the core themes were:

Spend less overall to tax less overall - We can buy our own cars, we don't need a government stimulus check given to us from our own taxes to pay for it, just for you to not take it from us in taxes in the first place.

Respect our Constitution - Do not spy on our citizens, do not expand government beyond its original purpose, and have every person in the administration face a congressional hearing to be appointed.

This was the core of the Tea Party.

You see, the liberal Americans and conservative Americans are divided by where government's role in charity is. Liberals want the government to tell us to feed those in need and control the mechanisms through which that happens. Conservatives believe it is our responsibility as neighbors, Americans, and believers in God to feed those in need and to do so as individuals, friends, and families, not government workers.

9/11 Prayer

This is the anniversary of the attacks on 9/11. Prayer may not be your way and to be honest it isn't mine either. However, every 9/11 I always say a prayer, once a year and different every year. Foolish I know, but I do. So if prayer is your way, this message may appeal to you.

On 9/11 my uncle Wilfred, a priest, was going to fly to California. The flight he was going to be on was overbooked, and he gave up his seat for someone else to go on that flight. That plane hit one of the Twin Towers.
Life is like that isn't it? Sometimes we just luck out. Kindness led my uncle to not be on that plane. Perhaps if we were all kinder to each other we would all luck out.

God bless America.
Amen

March Tomorrow

Grass roots- the common or ordinary people, esp. as contrasted with the leadership or elite of a political party, social organization.

In other words, a genuine movement by people not directed by an organization or political party.
So lets fast forward to tomorrow, where a "Walk for Real Security" will be taking place downtown by the Progressives from UMaine. Lets examine their message:

We  need folks who are willing to act as peacekeepers on Saturday in case hecklers show up.  Let us know if you can arrive at Davenport Park  around 11:45 to meet with Larry Dansinger who will coordinate the peacekeeping team.  We will have handouts about dealing with hecklers available. We will also have signs for people to carry.
The walk is being organized by area peace & justice groups to demonstrate there is a visible and vital grassroots movement calling for policies and priorities focused on meeting human needs. 

Message condensation over. Lets translate:

We need folks who are willing to act as peacekeepers on Saturday in case hecklers show up. We will have handouts about dealing with hecklers available. We will also have signs for people to carry.

Translation over. It seems translation is not necessary, only common sense. Think of this when considering what grass roots is, now lets translate again:

The walk is being organized by area peace & justice groups to demonstrate there is a visible and vital grassroots movement calling for policies and priorities focused on meeting human needs.

Translation over. It seems again common sense is only necessary. If the walk is being organized by peace and justice groups, does this not instantly destroy the "grass roots" description? See, I'm a grass roots person. I write this blog of my own power, and I am going to go down there to ask them questions of my own will. I am not "organized" into marching for anyone.

Yes, you read correctly, I will be attending to ask questions. I want to have a discussion with them, and what better time than a three mile walk on a beautiful Saturday? I will bring an audio recorder which I hope will not be drowned out by the traffic.

See, this blog has a purpose. It is to inform people. This march is also to inform people, but marches occur every day in D.C. but they are never heard. This, I believe, will have the same result. Which is why I am going to ask first about why a march, and secondly what their beliefs are. Their "peacekeepers" will hopefully not charge me with their blue helmets. That was a joke. You know: HAHA HEHE. Critic.

We are Doomed 101

A jobless recovery.

Common sense alert:
It isn't a recovery without jobs.

We Are Doomed 53-100

For all the people who think Glenn Beck raped and murdered a girl in 1990.

He didn't. If he did, he would be in prison.

Alright, Keith Olbermann has decided to play the dig up dirt game on someone other than a politician, and chose Glenn Beck.

Reading through the Daily Kos article which covered the request for information on Glenn Beck, his side kick Stu, and a third guy higher up, I read the comments below. Among them was this one:

Olbermann,

Are you sure this is what Obama would have you do? Do you think He wants this dragged through the public eye yet again?

Obama thanks Jones for his service, but agrees that he must go. He is a distraction to this administration and to the plans this President has. You should learn to listen.

Don't put yourself into opposition to Obama and the Party. Listen, and learn.

He will lead. You only need follow.

Quote over. Erm, "He will lead. You only need follow." Is it me or does that just not sound right? Anyhow, to help Olbermann's cause, I can give a synopsis of this past week of listening and watching.

Stu likes to dress like Sebelius, Glenn promotes prayer on his radio show, and the other guy heads Fox News (as is my understanding, that is a crime in your opinion Olbermann). Well, having done my civic duty for the State, I am going to continue reading the news for things that actually matter.

Daily Kos article:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/9/6/777880/-Send-Me-Everything-You-Can-Find-About-Glenn-Beck

Obama's Speech To Schools

I am opposed to the speech Obama will be giving to schools. I oppose it because teachers constantly complain about not having enough time to teach what they have to every year. Also, the timing (at least for schools in Maine) would interrupt lunches, which really means kids will not even be listening to the speech if it cancels the lunches because the speech will be drowned out over complaints of hunger. I also do not think that kindergarten students will even remember the speech in high school when it really would matter.

So, to also provide a solution which would be more effective: speak to the parents of the country. I know cutting out the middle man is often desired in government deals, the parent is one middle man which should never be taken out of issues involving kids. Make a speech to parents instead of students and request an effort for parents to get more involved in their student's schools. Let parents know they are a crucial part of keeping their kids away from drugs and inspiring their kids to finish high school and look to college as the best option following high school. That is a speech that needs to be made by someone other than our pastors and school principles. It would also keep the parent in control of the final decision as it should be. A government close to, but not controlling of the people is what this country was founded on.



I would also like to point out to blogger.com that Barack and Obama should no longer be words which are underlined as misspelled. It would make my typing so much faster as I always pause at an error.

Onward

I am not running for city council. The past three days at Camp Wama-something-near-Winthrope-acha for the Onward camping trip has been an amazing experience. I am truly in a new family of sorts. A new community of about fifty people, and I know most of their names. We worked together, gained trust, had amazing conversations, and got to know everyone.

The commitment to this partnership for success in college will require me to give more than I was planning to. Onward has added the sense of wanting to be there to help people, which no amount of planning of the clock can adjust for. I had originally factored in travel, classes, and homework. I had disregarded the community I was going to be in and knowing what I do now has changed my priorities.

It is excellent to be in a group of people with the same goal. Don't get me wrong, our majors are as diverse as our names but our goal is to graduate. We know that without support we will not get there, and we know that if we do not provide that support to each other we will most likely not succeed this time through. I want to be part of that support which will consume time that can not be planned for. A lunch could become a great discussion, waiting for the bus could become a moment to help tutor someone making you take a later bus. Whether you are the tutor or the stydent, your time, your plans are changed by the need for support.

We all, for the most part, got along. A few decisions caused some concern over the possible outcomes for two people in particular, but we still recognize boundaries and know their decision is theirs and we need to let them face those results. It was an ultimate community of learners all knowing what the other person was going through.

With this new community comes a necessary commitment to let nothing get in the way. City council would not have college get in the way, and college should not have city council get in the way. It is just too soon for me to enter into public office while I have the necessary task of supporting my fellow Onward classmates, and other people on campus as well, on the table.

We are Doomed 52

From: http://delawarelibertarian.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-do-you-say-im-from-government-and.html

In Peru, the government recently delivered a boatload of laptop computers to over 2,000 school kids in indigenous communities. There's just one big problem. In 50 of the 73 communities where the computers were sent, there is no electricity to keep them running (these are not self cranking types).

As it turns out though, this is actually a big improvement over the last program like this. In that case, the computers were set up in English (!!!!) and the batteries were defective.

We are doomed 10-51

10-50 for every Czar and Dictator America has ever had.
51 is for having the Press Secretary of the Obama administration explain what the term "wee-weed up" means.

Campaign Mishap

While on campaign tonight I was attacked by a nasty horde of flies. I come to a door, knock, and suddenly a dozen or so flies go right at me. Very unpleasant.

Ethiopia Invades Somalia Again

This is good news for the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia. It gives them the needed forces to hold territory against Al Shabaab. While this will spark recruitment to Al Shabaab, if used properly Ethiopia's new intervention may be used to bring the military side of the conflict to an end. However, do not be too hopeful as the Ethiopian military probably has the resources to conduct up to six months of occupation, but then will probably stalemate like the previous occupation did. How Puntland responds to this will be crucial, as their merger with the TFG was the lifesaver when Ethiopia withdrew.

Humanity Of War

Currently, the only thing that makes the United States superior to what the rest of the world has done in the past millenia, which brought us to our dominance globally, was our respect for human life. This can be disputed but the situation we are in puts us against another ideology, one which Russia does not follow to this day, that accepts and encourages emotion in war. We do not have hardened soldiers with no regret for taking life. Those who lose their emotion often commit crimes which are punished severely, and when not punished the American public has an outcry for the punishment to take place.

This seperates us from the terrorists who target civilians and allow for no neutral zone. They have no emotion when they kill other than hatred. Taking away kindness and compassion for human life creates a terrorist. We do not fight home-grown terrorists on our streets. We do not have ethnic and religious violence caused by the government policies of modern day. Sadly, not long ago the riots in LA and the marches of Martin Luther King were inspired by injustices of our government. Luckily, many of those injustices have been corrected. The populace may have different views, but the government overall has improved.

Russia, however, has not. Their president recently spoke of a terrorist bombing which killed 25 and woulded over a hundred others:

Medvedev called Wednesday for tougher measures to fight militants.

"We must continue to fight them without ceremony and liquidate them without any emotions or hesitation, or we won't succeed," Medvedev said.

Excerpt over. Every American soldier, when no shots have been fired, must approach, declare themselves an American soldier and request a surrender. Should a shootout already have started, all bets are off and the battle is on. Yet, surrender is not an option given by Medvedev. He calls for their "liquidation". To say you must kill them to succeed is part of the failure of the former Soviet Union.

When you see your people angry and rebellious you do not oppress them. When you slaughter your opponents, the humanity in others observes this and knows the wrong doing, which leads to further dissent and a sense of fear which in and of itself creates doubts of a government. By taking away emotion you are becoming a terrorist yourself. I hope the words spoken by Medvedev, like those spoken by our own president, do not reflect the reality of the situation.

We Are Doomed 6,7,8......?

Recent news article located here: http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/19/news/companies/texas.banks.fortune/index.htm?cnn=yes

It says:

Guaranty Bank, an Austin-based savings institution with $13.5 billion in assets, is expected to be seized by the FDIC by the end of the week.

A private equity group led by investor Gerald Ford -- who got a federal bank charter in November so he could buy failed banks -- also reportedly made a bid for Guaranty. Other banks said to have expressed interest were JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) and Toronto Dominion (TD), which made a failed bid for Florida's BankUnited when that bank was auctioned by the FDIC in May.

Guaranty's (GFG) closing would mark the second-biggest bank failure of 2009, after last week's collapse of Alabama's Colonial Bank, which was seized by the FDIC and sold to regional bank BB&T (BBT, Fortune 500).

Excerpt over. I have a simple question:

Where in the Constitution is the FDIC allowed to take over failed businesses?

Simple question over. I have a more difficult question:

Why does a beyond bankrupt bank get sold to the highest bidder?

Difficult question over. I have a.... more difficult question:

Why do people not ask these questions?

In other news, this was in a VOA article:

The United Nation's World Food Program says rogue members of Somalia's extremist al-Shabab group attempted to raid its compound late Sunday in the Somali town of Wajid, about 300 kilometers northwest of Mogadishu.

Excerpt over. Turn on the common sense. Still don't get it? Al Shabaab is a terrorist organization, they are all rogue! Do not give them an excuse or try to explain their actions because they are simply driven by hatred. If you apologize for them they will still kill you.

Article: http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-08-17-voa29.cfm

Another article: http://www.reuters.com/article/africaCrisis/idUSLJ662663

In this one a clear contradiction is seen:

Eritrea has battled arch-enemy Ethiopia since the 1960s with a brief respite in the 1990s. The United Nations, Somali government and other groups accuse Asmara of sending weapons and providing training for Somali insurgents. Eritrea denies the accusations, saying that outside influence is what is causing Somalia's problems.

Excerpt over. Common sense please. I don't even need to explain this one.

In a rundown of other important, yet overwhelming amounts of news which can not fit into the single blog I write now that most of my day is campaigning:

SUCRE (the ALBA currency) moved forward this week.
Chavez said his name was "Bolivarian Revolution."
Haiti raised its minimum wage by $3.25 to 5 dollars. Pre-increase wage was $1.75.
And a blog worthy bit of news from Palestine... see tomorrow's post. I'm going to have a peanut-butter cup because it is late and I'm hungry.

Viva la American Regulation de Capitalism et Democracy Revolution! Ahem, lets rephrase this to what I really want:
Long live the American Democratic Capitalism with Limited Regulation Revolution!

Translation

Many world leaders say a phrase involving the following:

For too long the people of (Africa, South America, Southwest Asia, Europe, ect.) have suffered under the oppression of (Europe, Colonialism, The United States, ect.).

The next time you hear this, do a self translation:

Now it is time they suffered under our oppression.

The reason for my translation? Iran, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Libya, North Korea, Russia, France, ect. I believe common sense can make the connection.

Bangor and Brewer Advisory Committee

I say proper management of the budgets and city operations, independantly or cooperatively, should be the best way of saving the taxpayers money. Another committee isn't needed for this, just common sense management.

You can read about the proposal and how it failed in the Brewer city council here:
http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/116283.html

Update: The Bangor city council approved such a committee, it was pending approval by Brewer.

A Fear I Have

"Remember to keep smiling and paying your taxes, otherwise the police won't be a change you have to deal with."

I have often said this in a joking manner. Sadly, I fear that the direction our nation is going will make that statement a command and a threat, instead of a joke.

Cursed Humidity

It is only fit that the powers beyond my control would make the weekend, a time when people are naturally at home, unusable for my purpose through excessive heat which I have been repeatedly, by all sources of opinion ranging from family, friends, and complete strangers, told to avoid. So it is this day, a Sunday, in which the morning leaves many in cars or pews to their destinations for later today or in life that I have given in to the wisdom of eleven unanimous voices against my desire to continue to garner signatures in the heat of August, for there is no other time to do so.

It is with great dismay, and apologies, that I not be traveling the streets in an act of civic duty today.

Obama Contradiction

Today Obama had a town hall meeting. The last question asked why he villified insurance companies. His response was:

First of all, you are absolutely right that the insurance companies in some cases have been constructive. So I'll give you a particular example. Aetna has been trying to work with us on some of this pre-existing condition stuff and thats absolutely true and there are other companies who have done the same. I just want to be honest with you, and I think Max will testify, that in some cases what we've seen is also funding in opposition by other insurance companies to any kind of reform proposals. So my intent is not to villify insurance companies. If I was villifying them what we would be doing would be to say that private insurance doesn't have a place in the the health care market and some people believe that. I don't believe that. What I believe is lets work with the existing system and have some private insurance out there.

Excerpt over. So, not villifying the companies and working with them on the solution. First, what would he call his previous statements on insurance companies?
Statements like these (which I gained from his town hall transcript at whitehouse.gov) :

Right now, insurance companies are rationing care.

We are held hostage at any given moment by health insurance companies that deny coverage or drop coverage or charge fees that people can't afford. It's wrong. It's bankrupting families. It's bankrupting businesses. And we are going to fix it when we pass health insurance reform this year.

Right now we have a health care system that too often works better for the insurance industry than it does for the American people. And we've got to change that.

In the past three years, over 12 million Americans were discriminated against by insurance companies because of a preexisting condition. Either the insurance company refused to cover the person, or they dropped their coverage when they got sick and they needed it most, or they refused to cover a specific illness or condition, or they charged higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs. No one holds these companies accountable for these practices.

One woman testified that an insurance company would not cover her internal organs because of an accident she had when she was five years old.
Despite all the hand-wringing pundits and the best efforts of those who are profiting from the status quo, we are closer to achieving health insurance reform than we have ever been.

But let's face it, now is the hard part -- because the history is clear -- every time we come close to passing health insurance reform, the special interests fight back with everything they've got.

And insurance companies will continue to profit by discriminating against people for the simple crime of being sick.

All we want to do is just make sure that private insurers are treating you fairly.

Obama quotes over. He isn't villifying them? How do you feel about those companies when you read or hear those statements? Think about it before you go on with this blog.

See, for me, they bring out a sense of wrong being done to someone. The statements hold the insurance companies as responsible for the wrong doing and thus are the bad guy, I.E. villan. However these statements definately blame insurance companies for causing the problems in health care. Now they are working together to solve the problem which I think is good. However, why is he working with them if he thinks they caused the mess considering this statement:

“But I don’t want the folks who created the mess to do a lot of talking. I want them to get out of the way so we can clean up the mess. I don’t mind cleaning up after them, but don’t do a lot of talking”.

Quote over. I don't have the answers, it is up to you to ask him for the answers.

One final note on a health care related item, Obama mentioned his grandmother once saying the following:

I will never forget my own mother, as she fought cancer in her final months, having to worry about whether her insurance would refuse to pay for her treatment.

Quote over. Yes, this last statement I included because of the fact that his grandmother died two days before he was elected. If he cared so very much for her, why didn't he, a millionaire, step in and pay for it himself? Use common sense and realize who is lying to you.

Bangor, Trees, and Responsibility

By code and policy, all trees in the city of Bangor, unless otherwise determined, are the ownership of the city. If the tree is not damaged or dying from whatever reason (in which case it is covered by the city forester), any removal or altering of the trees must be covered by a council vote. The trees are the City's property.

So when those tree's roots damage pipelines which flood basements, or breaks through the walls of someone's basement, it should be the city's responsibility to pay for the repairs. Similar to how a parent is responsible for their child's actions legally, the city should be responsible for our trees.

I've heard several complaints about how the city denied responsibility and place the cost of repairs to several homes where a tree's roots damaged the water line to the house and broke through the basement walls thus flooding the basement. The tree caused the damage, but the city did not do the responsible thing. From what I know of the situation the homeowners were at no fault.

I will make certain the council takes responsibility for damages caused by our trees, and anything else we "parent" in the city.

We Are Doomed 5

A book which covers the controversy of the cartoons over Islam's Prophet Mohammed will not include, by decision of the publishers to avoiding controversy themselves, will not include the cartoons. A book about a picture which will not include the picture. We are doomed.

Lockerbie Bomber Released

Quoting an article:

Britain has decided to release the former Libyan agent convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing on compassionate grounds, two British television stations reported late on Wednesday.

Excerpt over. If this report is true, then I have only one thing to say on releasing the bombers on compassionate grounds:
The bombers did not have compassion for the 270 people they killed. No amount of compassion should interfere in the necessary justice that must be followed.

The Apollo Project Part 1

When you think of the Apollo program you think of the supremacy of U.S. technology, society, and freedom over the totalitarian regime of the Soviet Union. We proved our nation's greatness in the world and finalized our position as one of the greatest nations to ever have existed.

So now, with a new Apollo Project in progress, we are not seeing the massive praise and promotion for the program. Yes, we have a second Apollo Project. It is focused on our economic shift to green technology. $500 billion dollars has been approved for this program.

Why haven't we heard about this? Where is the national spotlight on our future greatness to come from this program? Why are we not following it with eager eyes and ears to see our nation prosper step-by-step? It is because Obama wanted it, and now has it, and no longer cares what happens with it, because he now has focused on the rest of his agenda.

He didn't even have to fight for this one. The stimulus bill and bank bailouts and the budget and health care have distracted us from so many other things. Once Obama gets something he wants, he pushes it aside for his czars and other government agencies to act on while he takes the cameras and moves them onto the next issue. The more he fights for something, the less accountable he has to be (and those in his administration) on the other projects already passed.

This is where health care has failed. He didn't distract us long enough because the House of Representatives took too long to rush it through like they did the other things. That is why the opposition to it was initially, and to a certain extent, still referred to as artificial and had an evil source.

So now the Apollo Project has grabbed my attention because of the contradiction between the former and the current Apollo project. The original was a source of pride and achievement for our nation as a whole. That is why we all followed it. This one, however, is more selective:

The carefully constructed plan, The New Apollo Program: An Economic Strategy for American Prosperity, was prepared over the last year by a coalition of experts from business, labor, the environmental, and social justice communities.

Excerpt over. A plan made by experts from the business, labor, and environmental communities is an excellent plan. So what is with the social justice communities? Shouldn't the Apollo Project, in any form, be a plan for America as a whole and not only the communities who are deemed to have been wronged by society?

What place do they have in this? Does the plan use affirmitive action to create a clean energy industry in a city of those who face "social injustice" over other cities that are exactly the same in every way?

We need a plan to make all of America great. Social justice will come if we do that. A plan which targets only bringing social justice does bring all of America forward, just those deemed deserving of justice. Who is punished in these attempts for justice? The answer, quite simply, is everyone else.

In addition this website has many companies supporting it, yet rarely shows where a company has paid for any of it. It does, however, encourage us to contact representatives to support legislation to send more money to this program and its affiliated business, labor, environmental, and social justice communities. Where does this money come from? The government. I will leave it up to common sense for you to know where the government gets the money it sends out (hint, it is us, and printing).

To explain the emphasis of social justice, I shall continue to use quotes from their own website:


-Up-front financing for home energy retrofits, which will allow low and moderate income ratepayers to get deep savings on their energy bills.
-Community-driven outreach and mobilization, which will reach economically marginalized neighborhoods where utility marketing is ineffective.
-High-road jobs for community residents in energy efficiency retrofit work, providing family supporting wages and benefits, strong health and safety measures, and a path to unionization.
-A voice in the process for marginalized communities.
On July 28, the EEAC passed a resolution that partially approved the utilities’ proposals but required them to add:
-Up-front financing, probably including on-bill cost recovery (you make the repairs now and pay them off over time on your utility bill).
-Community mobilization as an outreach strategy.
-High job standards and responsible contractor provisions.
Fully implementing the Green Justice Coalition’s proposals will help the utilities achieve 3% energy savings every year.

Excerpt over. This does sound like a good proposal. It also explains what area of the nation will be improved: the community organizing, and economically marginalized neighborhoods, and unions. It will also give those marginalized communities a voice in the process they currently do not have from voting, or attending their local government sessions and speaking to their representatives on any level of government. I agree completely (not) that these people deserve more of an opportunity to represent themselves than I do in this country where all are created equal.

However, you may be slightly confused. It said this was from the Green Justice Coalition. Well, who are they? Lets read their website:

The Massachusetts Green Justice Coalition, an affiliate of the national Apollo Alliance, won a victory for social justice and the environment yesterday.
The Green Justice proposals combine energy efficiency with racial, economic, and environmental justice – thus, “Green Justice.”

Excerpt over. Time prevents me from finishing this blog, I shall in time.

http://apolloalliance.org/

Areas To Watch

The world is slightly less stable in the past month for various reasons. So, a simple listing of areas which have gotten worse in the past month should give perspective.

Isreal-Hezbolla (Lebanon)
Russia-Georgia
Ecuador, Venezuela-Colombia
Yemen
Eritrea
Iraq

Government - Good or Bad?

Considering the discussion has always been philosophical, and sometimes humorous, lets have a serious discussion. So, I am going to be reporting in addition to my campaign over the next two weeks, the arguements for and against big government. My source for big government positions is the number one supporter of big government:
http://governmentisgood.com/


To simply quote:
Let me clear about what I am not arguing here. I am saying that government is good, but not that every particular government is good. People often say they dislike the government when what they really mean is that they dislike the policies of the current Democratic or Republican administration – such as the Bush regime’s war in Iraq or its failures in responding to Hurricane Katrina. But just because the policies of a particular administration are bad doesn’t mean that government as an institution is bad. That would be like condemning film as a medium just because you are disappointed with the current crop of movies. This website is about the value of government as an institution, because that is what is under attack by conservatives. They are trying to undermine the basic enterprise of modern democratic government itself– with its substantial commitment to social programs and regulation – and that is what I am defending. I am arguing that the large democratic state and the basic functions it fulfills have been good – very good – for Americans.

Quote over. As you can see this is a website meant purely to provide the arguements for big government, which the conservatives dislike and when in office screw up, but I swear we won't be side tracked by conservatives too often.

Ahem, in other words this website is simply a creation to be a contradiction to the conservative way of thinking and to insult Republicans on the issue of big government. So, my response will be to take the high road and only quote, never use my own adjectives, to describe Democrats approach to big government.

Stand Up For Democracy

The man in the following video provides the best demonstration of Democracy and our freedoms in this country. He also highlights the dangerous path we are going down in which we allow our freedoms to be controlled by the government. A road in which we allow the government to tell us when we can excercise our freedoms.



First, as I watch the video, two things immediately stand out to me: the reaction of the guy two rows behind the man who spoke out to stand up and push the speaker back to his chair, and the voice of the man who spoke.

Do not ever resort to violence as a rule of civility.

Now the man's voice stands out to me because of the passion. This man was lied to, promised a chance to speak to someone meant to listen to him, and then not given the opportunity promised to him. His voice says everything.

Our system is not broken, the people within it are. At no point in my career do I ever want to have someone brought to emotional hysteria because of my policies or a lack of communication between my staff and myself. The best way to do this is to make certain people always can communicate with me and I will do my best to always reply to e-mails within the day while I am on city council. If I am given the opportunity to serve in higher levels of government at the state level I gaurantee within a week I will respond. If I am lucky enough to go to Washington and not be the president, within a month. No letter or e-mail will go without a reply and I gaurantee that.

By a reply I do not mean it will be the standard message either. There will be no standard message. I think serving the people should require that I write more to my constituents than I do the bills I sign because we need simplified legislation that everyone can read.

It is an interesting thing that I think of these thousand page bills now, yet the New Deal legislation passed by Roosevelt was eight pages. Perhaps the largest government involvement in our economy in history and it was done in eight pages. We do not need a thousand page health care bill. We need a ten pages or less policy in all legislatures across the country. This will also cut down on the wasteful spending because the other projects will not be added in.

Muse - Uprising

Pursuation

As an odd combination of Republican, conservative, libertarian, and a follower of factual logic, I am often disregarded as an opponent to all sides. I was snarled at by Republicans for stating that Barack Obama was a naturally born U.S. citizen, and my belief in basic human rights was called "a liberal fantasy" at a Democrat's forum. With me enjoying rap music and also being gay, many respond "how can you be a Republican!" and some believe that being libertarian instantly means you are a progressive, which I am not.

So, to all who insult, push, and expect me to fulfill some belief this message is for you.

I am responsible for myself. My actions are my responsibility and your actions are your responsibility. I will not apologize for the torture of the Bush administration, nor will I say it was not torture. I will condemn torture but not apologize for what I did not cause or take part in.

The town hall meetings across the country I will encourage and take part in questioning and furthering the discussion of the health care issue. I will not apologize for the rude actions of some, nor will I say it is right. Dialogue, not screams, should be the goal of the town hall meetings. The meetings should allow discussion instead of question and answer formats.

You are responsible for your actions, and nothing can change that. You do something, you are responsible. You hurt someone, you are responsible and justice will be carried out. You earn a reward, you keep that reward for yourself. Your actions led to both outcomes, and you are equally deserving of the results.

You are not deserving of my kindness, respect, or friendship until you earn it. I will give the basic civility to meet someone, but I will not give my trust to those who do not earn it. You are not entitled to anything from me until you earn it.

Some call me aggressive, and this is not true. I respond to aggression. You push, insult, or take from me I simply push, insult, and take back. I will not be treated badly without making certain those who cause suffering also know what I felt, but no more than what I felt. Does this mean I break the law? No. They break the law, I use the justice granted to me for being a human being. However, my friendship is not gauranteed to anyone as a human right; until you earn it you will not recieve it from me.

So stop complaining and accusing and lying about me. I have had enough. Basic civility has made me keep my silence for many years, but I have finally had enough. You doubt my efforts and goals, I accept that. You insult me and the people who have earned my friendship and my trust is something I will not accept. Be civilized and hold discussions instead of riots.

Former Website Evolves

The joshh19.webs.com website has changed, and although no longer part of my campaign, it is for a good cause. I encourage you to check it out, and hope you learn from the successful experience of Josh Haskell and his tips for a successful diet (nothing is being sold, its honestly to help people.) Enjoy.

What is the value of one life? / My Health Care Insurance Reform

There is no price, or value to a life. It is however too valuable to give away. Some say the elderly or the young are less valuable than those who are 15-40 years old. It is an idea under the surface of some more radical beliefs. In practice, it is not desired but a resulting system of value for nations which seek to provide limited resources to as many as possible.

No life at any point is any less valuable than that of another. When I wrote about race I spoke of the equality of all people, our inherent possiblity being equal. I stand by than and wish to expand upon it. No matter how old you are your potential for success is the same as anyone else.

We are social creatures and every life we come in contact with leaves an attachment which, if broken, causes pain. A system which considers the attachment to the elderly as less valuable than the attachment to the young, or the "productive", will eventually dehumanize our emotions and remove our ability to connect. This will make us no longer human.

So when you look to countries which provide universal anything, be it college, health care, housing, think of how they value life. When a government you live under proposes giving everyone a part of something which is finite, question how they will value human life.

When I look to this health care insurance proposal by the House of Representatives, and Congress, and Obama's unwritten yet often spoken of proposal, I think of the various groups having more lines given for certain groups. I do not want, under a universal plan, to see veterans, or the elderly, or the young, or the rich, or the poor get a different deal from this. All people are created equal and should be treated as such.

As for what plan would be best, in terms of the government option in the health care insurance reform, I believe that a new approach needs to be taken. Instead of getting covered when your problem arises, have a system in which people are in a position to be prepared to pay for the treatments they need.

Having a bank account, one that will not be taxable, which will have an interest rate paid by a bank, like a regular account, but a fund-match program by the government. The money can only be retrieved after a person has gotten medical attention, which can have a system similar to a credit card where the account is instantly accessed at the store, in this case a hospital or doctor's office.

This program will be in combination with other insurance plans, but a government gaurantee of $1,000,000 for emergency medical treatments, usable only when the account has been overdrawn and for a chronic condition (cancer included). This could be expanded that chronic conditions always be covered by the government, while basic health care such as doctor visits and emergency surgery be paid for by the currenty system in combination with the bank program.

A law with this could be written, in common understanding (instead of "legal speak"), as the following:

A. Health Care Bank Fund
1. A savings account only accessable by medical practitioners.
2. A savings account which will have a match-fund through government funds.
3. A savings account not accessable for any other purpose.
B. Chronic Conditions Gauranteed Treatment
1. A government fund to cover the first $1,000,000 of a cancerous disease.
2. Upon the excess of $1,000,000 a secondary fund from which citizens choose to donate will be drawn upon.
2a. This secondary fund will be funded by citizens choosing an option on their income tax to donate.
3. A government fund to cover the unlimited cost of other chronic illnesses.

New law over. It isn't 1,000 pages long. It will improve the financial side which has to pay for treatments. Does this solve the rising cost of health care? No, but it is a start to the reform we need. It gives people another option, which is good. That option is not taking away other options, which is good.

More of my health care plan is in the works.

New Website URL

Alright, after some slight complications, a new campaign website is located at http://randyhughesking.webs.com/Index.html . Enjoy.

My Race (Campaign) Begins

Today I became a registered voter, and in the process became eligible for City Council. Getting the petition forms I needed, I left City Hall with all I needed to get on the ballot in November.

So it begins. This evening I am going to cover Somerset and parts of Essex street. My goal is ten signatures.

Now, for business cards and other campaign handouts, my budget limit of $0 (set by myself) has limited my options. While top professionalism is the goal, so is efficiency. Regular business cards cost money, so I have to take an original approach.

Enter in several thousand note cards from high school. Essentially brand new, and allows for customization. This allows me to address traffic issues on the cards for those who live in gridlock areas (such as Stillwater, or downtown). Such customization allows for a better outreach, and thus better connection with the voters.

As for professionalism, great ideas come from a great mind, not a great suit. Whether my ideas are great is up to the voters, but I believe practicality over expense is what we need from our leaders. This gives me an opportunity to have low cost, with the same effect. Leadership deserves a combination of professionalism and practicality, which is where my ideas come in. The ideas are my professionalism that proves I'm the man for the job.

Now tonight I will be knocking from 5 to 7. I would have started sooner, but today posed several issues of documentation (I am getting my photo I.D. tomorrow) which delayed me for most of the day. Now I am making my first pamphlet/contact cards to hand out.

These first fifteen are going to be basic (since I have less than an hour until I begin the travels). There is still something to be said about the culture of someone who still writes hand-written letters. My cards are no different. They will read as follows:

Randy Hughes-King For City Council
I am running for city council
because the City of Bangor deserves
leaders who have common sense and
good will. I have those qualities
and want to bring them to the council.


The back side reads:

I am running my campaign without money.
I want those who support me to do what
you do every day: talk to your friends,
collegues, and family about the issues
that you care about including this
November's election. If you'd like to
know more about what I will bring to
the Bangor City Council, you can visit
joshh19.webs.com or e-mail me at
rphkusa@gmail.com.