Year Ahead

The Bush administration's previous term has dramatically illustrated that despite the many reforms made since the 70s, our executive branch still operates without meaningful accountability in many critical areas.

The most disturbing examples perhaps are:

1)the continuing failure of Congress or the Judiciary to assert accountability for the treatment of persons detained by our military and intelligence agencies.

2)The ability of legislative conference committees to operate in complete secrecy

3)The ability of the President or even the Sec. of Defense alone to send troops into combat and spend funds for combat without complete oversight from Congress as "suggested" (or some might still be bold enough to say "mandated") by the Constitution

4)The ability of government agencies to remove more information than ever from public review under the label of "secret" or "sensitive" information

5)The complete failure of the congressional ethics enforcement regime to punish such behavior as a)misusing the FAA to track a plane for political purposes b) receiving contributions illegal under state law or c) systematically undermining the purpose of rules against soliciting campaign funds in connection with a charitable organization or d)someone making an offer to contribute $100,000 to a campaign in return for a vote in favor of the prescription drug benefit.

All of these stand in stark contrast to CC's vision of an "open, honest and accountable government."

Congress should be prodded to enforce the commitment of the United States to the Geneva Conventions.  The entire debate over what is and what is not a violation of the convention can be shut down simply by Congress saying what it thinks.  The executive will then be bound by that interpretation.  Lets see Bush send people to testify in favor of waterboarding and hooding and enforced sex acts and extended restraint etc.  Its an uphill battle considering Congress'quiet approval of these methods but a battle that the public seems overwhelmingly to support.  Thats a perfect issue for CC to promote.  

It may seem a bit lofty from a domestic perspective, however America's international image is likely to be identical with that of the hooded Iraqi for the next decade or so unless the government is held accountable.

The use of secret conference committees to skirt the democratic process was put to heavy use by the White House and Congressional Republicans in the last term.  This tactic will no doubt increase with their stronger hold on both majorities.  The practice is fundamentally undemocratic and devoid of any accountability.  CC should move to take conference committees out of the shadows.

I put these at the top of my list.  They are a little beyond what CC normally pursues, however both are hugely important.

I support many other initiatives already underway as well but feel these two have gone unadressed despite a wealth of commentary and polling showing that both are hugely unpopular.  When no politicians are bringing up such issues, it is the role of groups like CC to do so instead.

Money and politics

In the past, it has been more or less accepted that members of the executive and legislative branches of government were corrupt and would sell out to the highest bidder.  The judiciary were supposed to be higher-minded than that.  For a long time, the fact that judges were not paid a lot of money ensured that only dedicated men and women who had already made a half-decent living would accept a judicial appointment, since there was no fortune to be made as a judge.

Then judges' salaries were raised, and the pigs flocked to the trough.  Instead of upholding the U.S. and State Constitutions and the laws of the United States and the several States, as they swear to do, judges began looking out for each other and for their political friends, while trying to rake in as much money as possible--whether legal or no.

It used to be that the courts were the last refuge of dissidents.  Now, because the politicians control the judges, only the most courageous and independent judges are likely to go against the politicians--and their numbers are rapidly dwindling.  The average citizen does not stand a chance.  Whistleblowers are punished rather than rewarded--if you don't believe me, go to www.surrickbook.com and read the sample chapters that are available there for free.  Yes, the book concerns corruption in Pennsylvania's judiciary, but I cannot believe that such corruption is limited to a single State.

When I was a law student some 10 years ago, if you had told me that judges would behave in this fashion, I would not have believed you.  Unfortunately, I have since seen it myself.  I have seen judges decide a case fairly when no political implications arise--but as soon as a decision that actually follows the law will be politically dangerous, the case is decided the other way.  I have seen this for myself far too many times.

Unfortunately, the electorate is largely complacent, and tends to believe what their so-called "leaders" tell them to believe, whether those "leaders" are political, religious, or family members.  Too few people take the time and expend the effort to read and think for themselves, and to evaluate the statements of politicians.  The media has been largely cowed by the threat of libel lawsuits brought by politicians--and with the politicians' pet judges deciding the cases in their favor, to the tune of million-dollar payments from the media, who can blame the media for being afraid to report on government corruption?  

What makes all of this possible?  Money.  Pure and simple.  Follow the money, and you'll find the corruptors.  I fear that our system is doomed to rot from within.

Most citizens would rather watch whatever sporting event is on TV, or some "reality" show--all the while avoiding the very unpleasant "reality" that is really happening in this country.  It is the modern-day version of the "bread and circuses" given by ancient Rome.  As in, "give the people bread and circuses, and they won't pay attention to what their leaders are doing."  We have come to that.  It may be too late to do anything about it.

Accountability

Presidential helicopters

--Paul G. Jaehnert
808 Bur Oak Ct.
Vadnais Hts, MN  55127

phone: (651) 407-0754

Government reform

Democracy,election reform and general ...

Johnny Hempseed

civil liberties

Common Cause Poll

Energy Independence

Dividing issue

religion and state

The National Government will regard it as its first and foremost duty to revive in the nation the spirit of unity and cooperation. It will preserve and defend those basic principles on which our nation has been built. It regards Christianity as the foundation of our national morality, and the family as the basis of national life.

    - Adolf Hitler,
    My New World Order
    Proclamation to the German Nation at Berlin
    February 1, 1933

I saw a elderly German lady interviewed recently.

They asked her how the German people could have gone fascist so quickly. Her answer haunts me still:

"We didn't realize it was happening until it was too late."

Insurance Reform Web Site

Abortion?

Mammalian pregnancy is an iffy thing at the best.  A considerable fraction of fertilized eggs simply do not take.

If all foeti are of human worth, how are we to view fertilized eggs which do not attach to the uterine wall?

Is the foetus that attaches to the uterine wall of more human worth than the one which is shunted out of the body and simply flushed away down the toilet?

If, on average, every third mammalian pregnancy does not take, does that mean that anybody who has a certain number of living children has also, by the rules of chance, flushed a portion of children down the toilet?

Arguing for the sacred nature of every single foetus seems like arguing for the sacred nature of Easter eggs.

Easter Eggs

www.stinz.com

Democracy in The U.S.A., What a radical idea?

I have contributed to Common Cause when I was on my last 50 Dollars, so please listen to what this member has to say.
I (as well as so many Democrats and some rank and file Republicans) am tired of this corrupt electoral system.
We as a Country are so far behind the rest of the free world when it comes to Democracy, I think the United States needs to be the arsenal of democracy, as it once was in World War 2.
More voices preserve Democracy.
Democrats need to introduce Fairness Doctrine and Equal Time Bill to prevent the Mainstream Media from undermining Democracy.
The Democratic Party Chair needs to support Serious Media Reform, We will never regain the U.S. House and Senate unless this is accomplished.

The Democratic Party Chair needs to work for serious media reform, including substantial free air time for candidates and parties. Given the high cost of campaigns, the power of corporate special interests, and the fact that the networks are given free use of the public's airwaves, I believe that the networks should be required to give something back other than "reality" shows.

Media conglomerates are currently among the most powerful lobbyists against media reform, but I believe that were the media to provide substantive coverage of politics it would actually boost both media ratings and voter turnout.

In addition to requiring free air time for political campaigns, we need a House and a Senate who will create a greater diversity of viewpoints in the media by breaking up the major media conglomerates, encouraging competition and quality as well as diversity. We need new caps on media ownership and would ban the granting of exceptions to those caps. Limit the number of media outlets one corporation can own in a given medium, such as radio, print, or television. Work to strictly prohibit cross-ownership and vertical integration.

The people should be involved in the maintenance of their airwaves, creating public media outlets controlled by community boards similar to the model of Pacifica Radio. Funding for public broadcasting channels on television and radio should be greatly expanded, assuring the existence of media outlets free of the influence of advertisers.

Please promote knowledge of the public process through which citizens can challenge the licenses of local broadcast outlets failing to provide local coverage and coverage directed at the whole community, or outlets airing excessive violence.

Allow not-for-profit groups to obtain high-power FM radio-station licenses, while encouraging the development of new, community-based, noncommercial broadcasting outlets.

Please work to withdraw the United States from the World Trade Organization, which media companies are currently lobbying for the creation of trade sanctions against countries that fund public broadcasting, limit foreign ownership of media, or establish standards for local content. For similar reasons, Please block U.S. participation in the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas.

The next Democratic Party Chair must push for
Serious Electoral Reform.
The Electoral College has to be abolished, We need (Full)Proportional Representation, Instant Run-off Voting, Cross-Party Endorsement or "Fusion" and Public Financing For Elections.

Common Cause needs to work with www.fairvote.org rr@fairvote.org

We need to build a working relationship with the Greens to accomplish these reforms as well as develop a United Front, (Full) Proportional Representation Cross-Party Endorsement and Instant Run-off Voting would create unity because there would be a place for all of us on the Center-Left and Left, which historically speaking has always been fractured and divided in The United States.

Please contact Fair Vote

F a i r V o t e
The Center for Voting and Democracy
6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 610
Takoma Park, MD 20912
www.fairvote.org
rr@fairvote.org
Phone(301) 270-4616
Fax  (301) 270-4133

Government Accountability

Government Accountability

9/11 & NO CHOICE

WE ARE PRESENTED WITH A SUPPOSSED CHOICE OF  ONLY 2 PARTIES (WHILE THERE ARE AT LEAST 6-4 OF WHOM WE NEVER HEAR  ABOUT AND WHO ACTUALLY DISCUSS ISSUES IMPORTANT TO THE PEOPLE.) NO MATTER HOW WE CAST OUR VOTES-WE END UP WITH FASCISTS. GORE ROLLED OVER JOYFULLY, KERRY ROLLED OVER TOO QUICKLY WHILE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF OHIOANS WERE PREVENTED FROM CATSING THEIR BALLOTS AND WHEN THEY DID THE "MAGIC" ELECTRONIC MACHINES GAVE THEM ALL TO BUSH. KIDNAPP A FEW AND HAVE THEM CHECKED OUT!

Election reform

Politics of Polarization

In this context, if the Democratic Party persists in trying to win over Republicans by being a little right-ish, our Party will eventually vanish into the proverbial dustbin of history.  But if the Party would meet the Republicans'  polarization of society with principled polarities of our own and take its position firmly in the ranks of the working public, it could take a clear, principled stand in opposition to the interests of the right and the corporate power-elite.   Those current Republican citizens who are disgusted with the deterioration of their lives and the status of America under Republican government would then have the option of changing parties to represent their own interest as clarified by the new, principled, Democratic Party.  

The denial of the on-going polarization of American politics is to play into the hands of the right that wishes to ply its class-based trade without the inconvenience of an overt ideological class war.  They have started that war, and we cannot pretend it doesn't exist while the right deepens it and wins it.  Our confusion on this serves them.  

So I say "POLARIZE!"   The Democratic Party must take a clear, principled stand against that power that is seizing excessive control of America in the interest of its own excessive power.   But if we fail to accept the challenge and instead opt for the warm fuzzies of non-confrontive middle-of-the-road politics, we will be rendered impotent by the right and discarded by the public who looks for real leadership.

I don't think there is any alternative to the polarization of politics but to watch the Democratic Party decline into insignificance while America is destroyed by the extreme right-wing greed that has seized control.  These powerful elite aren't about to reverse their course for our benefit.  We must stand against them, -not argue with them over how best to serve their class needs.

You Missed the Most Important Issue

Confront the Religious Right with Truth/Inquiry

Confront the Religious Right with Truth/Inquiry

peace idea

friendly criticism: flaws of your poll

Powerful network -Coimmon Cause

Thank you for being an important voice for democracy.

Money and Politics

Money.  It's just that clear to me.  Some will say that we were in Iraq to free the people, but honestly, wasn't that a secondary notion?  I mean, if it was a primary consideration, wouldn't we have tried to build the nation first before trying to get every contractor over there for the "rebuilding" operation.  Perhaps some things were needed, but the whole thing is just seedy and needs to be looked at carefully.

I honestly think we need to get the money out of government as much as possible.  It has led to blood being spilled, candidates changing their views, and dishonest representation of the constituents that elect these people.  And it, honestly, is a problem all across the board and party lines.

If George W. Bush and his administration are so-incredbily Christian and moral, why not have them put the whole truth out there?  Why not get the tough questions answered?  Why not find where the money is driving the politics?  And then, we need to clean our own hands from any dirt because that doesn't make us look much better if we're getting involved in the seedy activities.

The Democratic party needs not be a Republican-lite party.  It needs to be the party of truth and what's right for the people.  Sure, there are principles to be shared between parties, but where they stray, we need to focus.

Take care and God bless,

Jared

We Should Focus on What Hit the Pentagon

What do you think hit the Pentagon?

It was a global hawk spy plane and a cruise missile.

What Now?

WHAT NOW?
or
Is Anyone Paying Attention?

The war in Iraq is a White House/Corporate complicity which is spilling the blood of America's youth, a war which is being paid for
by American citizen's tax dollars, a war that has helped drive the national deficit to such a depth that our grand children will be paying for it. This is a war that was founded and has consequently floundered on flawed intelligence, White House deceptions and distortions for the monetary gain of corporations. This "mistake free"
and "fault free" administration is in a deep moral and ethical deficit of its own, by its own arrogant design.
 At minimum, three expert examiners have all come to the same conclusion. There are no weapons of mass destruction. There were no weapons of mass destruction. For the President to say that this
was not known before the troops were on the ground is an abomination of the truth. As all in Washington are well aware, there was a cacophony of voices shouting in opposition of the President's claims. Bush made a concerted effort to ignore all those who did not support his predetermined conclusions. The most pertinent source of "flawed intelligence" continues to sit in the oval office.
 What now? You all know the numbers of dead and injured Americans and Iraqis. All of you are well aware of the financial straits that this deadly farce, among others, has created. The U.S. now
borrows $1.2 million dollars per minute. The lenders of which will not keep this up forever, especially while the greenback continues on its
global dive. You've read of or have first hand knowledge of the accusations that have been corroborated concerning from whom the orders came that allowed the torture and eventual deaths of
prisoners in Abu Graib, Afghanistan and Cuba. Yet another fine showcase of Bush's democracy before the world.
 The Iraq elections are still targeted for January 30th, in spite of the fact that it has not been possible for the one hundred plus
candidates to go safely around the country to campaign; in spite of the fact that thousands of Iraqi police and election workers have quit their jobs for fear of their lives; in spite of the fact that a very large portion of the population will not be able to vote because a very large portion of the country is in utter anarchy. Why must the elections take place when George W. Bush says they must take place? What's in it for him? Points?!
 Now that the U.S. election has come and gone, will you sit on your hands for yet another three years while General Bush and his comrades continue to deceive the public with impunity? Are you going to continue to collect your inflated pay checks while Americans continue to fight and die for all the wrong reasons? How much more suffering must the Iraqi people endure before you stop putting your own petty self interests before the welfare of others? Fight the good fight. Stand up for democracy in the face of arrogant
impunity. Get off the dime and call for an impeachment now! He has earned it! The Bush Administration has given you plenty of
reasons and plenty of corroboration to warrant full congressional hearings.
 It is the responsibility of those politicians who consider accountability for their actions and decisions to be an integral part of their job description to educate the American public of the
atrocities being committed by Bush and his own band of "evil doers." Do your jobs!
 To those of you who stood on your own principles, voted on the merits of your conscience, beliefs, respect for the truth, deference to international laws, goes this American's deepest gratitude, respect and admiration. You are the foundation and the backbone of the democratic process.  

 Most sincerely, John Gambardella.               An American citizen and veteran.
                           (johnandnette@dodo.com.au)    
1/18/05

John Gambardella

Govt accountablity,