We need a third party

On October 19th I early voted. For one of the first times in my voting history I voted a straight Democratic ticket. Beyond President, Senators and Congressmen (both national and state) I had no clue who I was voting for. I was voting against a party. So I looked seriously for other options.

New Mexico has in the past been host of a relatively strong Green Party. And I have voted for them in local offices. This election they did not seem to be running any candidates. There were six people running for President. I have a friend that is an advocate of the Libertarian candidate Johnson.

Sadly our current campaign laws and financing make it impossible for a third party to compete. And given the huge division between the two parties we now have we need a third party. Badly. If for no other reason that to make our two party system pay attention to itself and realize how very much they have turned off a large proportion of the populace. While that bile is still lurking in our mouths we need to get serious about campaign reform. No longer than 100 days and no more money spent by a candidate than twice the annual salary of the office they are campaigning for. And definitely no out of state or out of district funds.

A third or fourth party candidate could compete viably in a campaign under such restrictions. And the American people would benefit from having more choices. How many of us are truly red or blue, Jesus or Darwin like the illustration. I think of myself as a centralist more than liberal or conservative. I admit to some believes that are far right (not beyond Attila the Hun but out there) and others that are as far left. But I am not Christian (and the more fanatic the fundamentalist become the more that is true). And while Darwin's work was ground braking current science is proving him wrong in some instances. Like it may be survival of the fanciest and not the fittest. Scientific theory is a moving target. Quite literally were earth sciences are concerned but that is another blog.

I believe in my right to carry a gun, and in the right for same sex marriage. I think the US is not a Christian nation and would fight to defend that. And contrary to my blog friends that did not vote for either of the major party candidates because they did not mention Global Warming, I seriously believe it needs to be a campaign issue. But because of our entrenched two party system the only topics that get heard are those that are important to five or six swing states that because of the Electoral college matter more than the one citizen one vote principle. We are a republic and not a democracy.

If there is good news in this election it is that it has made some people truly upset at the sad state of affairs. We could end up with a Mormon Theocracy if Romney wins or a totally broken Republican party if Obama wins. Frankly I am for the latter because it gives us a real chance to end the Red State/Blue State civil war.

Either way we are going to have a large group of people very upset about the sorry state of politics in the United States. Read up on Article V conventions. Let's change the path we are taking.

After?

What is it about the whole election process that seems to bring me to wanting to ask the Queen of England if she will take us back?

Mind you I was a very political animal in my youth (voting for Snoopy not withstanding) and my sister would say I am too political now. But there are things I find worth fighting for - women's rights being the primary one this election. What a shock to find that one on the cutting block again. And obviously wishing the rapture would come and the fundamental Christians be whisked away did not work.

Given those two issues alone I definitely cannot check none of the above. In fact for the first time in my history of voting I am not voting for a single solitary Republican. I have been a registered Republican. I have worked for a US Senator that was a Republican. It was definitely a different Republican party. I frankly cannot see myself voting for a Republican candidate ever, ever again. This has been a horridly divisive election. Have have some Republican ex-friends I may never ever chat with again on line.

All of which begs the question of after the election. Regardless of who wins. But it will be worse of the Republicans win. See paragraph about women's rights and Christian Right. But also my truly rude and crude Republican acquaintances will be graceful winners. And if they lose they will be even worse.

I do have some friends across the aisle that have behaved well. We have tap danced around all the forbidden subjects. So win or lose I will be able to talk to them for as long as the world lasts. I am not sure the US will last if the Republicans win all houses. I know I am considering leaving social media. And of course asking England if they will take us back is an option.

But regardless of the outcome of the election we need to change the election process: length and financing has got to be changed.

Sometimes you just have to stand up

I was a rebel for almost any cause in my youth. From free speech to against illegal wars to save the mini skirt. I was working on a United Churches campaign to end the draft when a young draft dodger noticed my ERA pin - Equal Rights Amendment. He told me women were not equal and had no right to be. That God said we were the hand maidens of men.

I quietly got up from the desk and leaned over and told him in a whisper I hope he was drafted and walked out. From that day forward my goal was to make women equal in the eyes of the law. On March 22, 1972 the ERA was passed by the congress and began moving through the states for ratification. It ultimately failed. If it hadn't would we be having this current rash of vagina politics? Would presidential candidates be telling us we shouldn't be having sex except to procreate? Would states be passing laws that infringe on our rights to control our reproductive lives? Would companies have the right to refuse to cover birth control prescriptions even if they are used for other health reasons?

I think not.

And I feel a bit guilty that I stopped fighting. I believed that line in the 1964 equal rights amendment that stuck in sex as well as race would be enough. It obviously is not.

I live in a conservative community. And as an artist I depend upon my "friendly" presence on the web to further my reputation and my sales. So there were a lot of reasons to not get involved in fighting this current round of oppression of my sex. And I was trying to be quiet and lady like in my subtle support. Until Rush Limbaugh. And the most recent round of oppressive laws in Virginia (maybe they should change the name of the state to a man's name).

But I have a bumper sticker on the back of my car (which was there when I got the car) which says, "Your silence will not protect you," Audre Lorde. And it occurs to me that my silence might get me burned at the stake. We all need to speak up about this horrid trend of the religious right before we are all victims of the next inquisition. Four million women were put to death by the Catholic church during those times. Now they just want to deny us equal access to health care. It all begins with one small step.

But they are way past that small step. They have allied themselves with the Christian Right (which is wrong) and with one of the two major parties of our country. And it is not just the laws but the attitude. They have made it right for a major public figure to rant for three days against a coed witness before a congressional committee. To defame her sex and her character nationally over and over and over.

And this morning when I thanked Carbonite, Inc for withdrawing their sponsorship I became a victim of the same nasty, sexist abuse. I will not be silent on this issue if it kills me. It feels rather lonely out here but it feels right.

This Would Be Funny if it Wasn't So Pathetic

The House of Representatives of the United States has at last passed a universal health care bill. It is only one step on a very long road to passage of a measure to be sent to President Obama for signature. But it is one step further than any president in the history of our country has gotten.

We have been trying to pass something for decades. We are the only developed nation in the world without universal health care. And we are the one with the highest medical costs in the world. I won't go into all the reasons why we should be writing our representatives and urging them to move forward with this. I have written lots of blogs on the subject. But just yesterday I was talking to a long time and very dear friend of mine. We have remained friends inspite of the fact she listens to and believes Rush Limbaugh. We just avoid the subject of politics. But every once in a while some subject we are discussing sidles into forbidden ground and it did so yesterday.

I have been busy (too busy to even keep up on this blog - mea culpa) and have not made myself check in on the extreme right. So rather than stop the conversation yesterday I just let her ramble on about what is being said in the dungeons about health care reform. Frankly, I was rather stunned. The AARP and the American Medical Medical Association have deserted the conservatives and endorsed this "socialistic plot." The end of the world as we know it is close. Oh, so close. Well, according to my extreme liberal friends (studiers of the Mayan Calendar) it is suppose to end in 2012 anyway. I think it would be nice to have good and cheap health care for the last couple of years.

I always rather wonder if my friend has it right - what she says they say. It always sounds so obsurd so I tripped off to various Internet sites after the conversation (why I did not get as much painting done as I wanted) and found out it is even worse then she reported. Being intelligent she naturally threw out a few extreme claims of the right.

I have an ex-husband who loves to reuse key phrases to skip over large sections of background information he knows I am aware of. It is one way to move the conversation forward rapidly. One of his favorite is: What are they thinking? To which I generally reply: Isn't it clear they are not thinking?

In fact, having exhausted all meaningful argments regardless of how innane, they have moved on to pure scare tactics. The dreaded monster in the closet approach of GW Bush. It would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic.

But the really, really, really scary part is there are people out there that believe in that monster.

In a Just World the Bullies Wouldn't Win

Sticks and stones my break my bones but words will never hurt me. Mother taught me that when I came home crying from school after being teased mercilessly. She was wrong. She was also wrong about those teasing me secretly wanted to be my friends. She was right that I was too thin skinned.

I have never gone into politics other than in the background because of that thin skin. Who really wants to make themselves that miserable. I can get all emotional about my chosen candidate getting called names even.

I have not blogged here on my "political" blog of late because I have not even been able to objectively watch the news with all the unreasonable anger and name calling going on over the health care issue. Aren't adults suppose to be able to sit down at the table and talk in a reasoned tone of voice? Okay, maybe there are no adults in congress.

Yesterday, because my own personal life was going relatively well, I got on my objective observer hat and took a tour through the health care debate (actually my speech teacher would have never used the word debate for a shouting match) again. A couple truths (or as I see it) stood out: All Republicans are shouting these days, and they are not shouting logical arguments.

Republicans, be they on the floor of the house or in town halls or just in front of a Fox camera being egged on by a Fox reporter (did you by chance see that brief clip on CNN before it was pulled from the internet?), are bullies. They are the type of people that used to make me run home from the fifth grade (it reached an all time high that year) in tears and develop a tummy ache for the next week. I even knew the foods I was allergic to that I could eat and break out in hives. Just anything to not got to school and have to face their shouted names and cruel innuendos (none of them would have known what that word meant).

And so why I became a writer. It gives me distance. And here on blogland ultimate power. I can delete your abusive comments. But what I want is reasoned debate. An open forum for logic. The impossible. Republicans are bullies. Democrats know the meaning of words like innuendo. And most liberals I know are frightfully thinned skinned. I guess we are always going to lose in what my father (ever more truthful than Mom) would have called a pissing match.

Shut off the TV and the streaming videos and read only the reasoned articles on the subject and then write your congressman. We need health care reform and all the name calling led by Rush and Fox news won't change that.

What I Heard?

I watched President Obama's address to the joint session of congress last night on health care reform. Today all the talking heads and bloggers are taking apart his speech line by line. I read a few before tackling this blog. Yahoo News has one: What he said, what he meant. As if they know what he meant.

I am not going to discuss the pros and cons of his speech here. Nor am I again going to address the various health care plans. Been there and done that.

I have also attended more than one joint session of congress. As a spectator in the gallery when I lived in Washington, DC and worked for a US Senator. And quite frankly I was abhorred when Rep. Wilson (Republican of South Carolina) yelled out, "You Lie" in the middle of the President's speech. Bad manners. Democrats sat through eight years of GW Bush without once doing that. Admittedly his speaking style was so boring the opposition may have fallen asleep but nobody snored let alone heckled. For Shame!

I had fully intended to watch the Republican response but that little episode and the scowling faces of a handful of Republicans put quit to my interest to be bipartisan. Ram it through, Obama, I don't give a damn if they like it.

And would everyone please just grow up. Sarah Palin, GW Bush, and Cheney lowered the level in politics and nobody among the Republicans has been able to rise above it since. But please can't we at least have good manners?

Stop Your Whining

If the current business atmosphere were a Monopoly game (does seem like they thought it was as it was not their money) this is about the time my father would have charged into the room, told us to stop whining, and confiscated the game, "If you cannot play nicely with each other nobody plays."

Evidently President Obama did the adult diplomatic version of that in a White House conference with bankers. He told them to work together. I wonder if there was an "or else" attached. The United States can take the Monopoly game away in a number of ways from strict new regulations to nationalizing the banks. Whatever else the President said the bankers left the meeting voicing approval of his financial plans.

Course the banks are not the only whiners in this game gone horribly wrong while GW was calling the plays. There are the auto companies that refused to build greener cars and fueled our appetities for more and bigger. While of course the UAW (no favorite of mine after ten years working building auto plants) kept upping the Union contract requirements and priced the US out of the internation auto market. In this recent effort for the big three to make themselves economically viable the UAW have been some of the biggest whiners. Shut up you do have jobs. Currently. That could change.

The whiners I hate at the most are the Republicans and those Democrats currying favor with the voters in 2010. "You have an alternate plan?" my father would ask when we would whine about the length of the walk back or the difficulty of erecting the tent in a drenching rain. We hardly ever did. And I have noticed that none of the Republicans that blithely voted us into this mess have any alternate plans on getting us out. So shut up and row the same direction as the rest of those in the lifeboat and shut up unless you have something constructive to say or a good upbeat song to sing.

Michael Rowed the Boat Ashore might be nice. And those Fargo citizens working so tirelessly together to save their town from the rising flood waters of the Red River could embrace that theme.

So bankers, car manufacturers, UAW, Republicans, and naysayers take a tip from Fargo. When the water is about to top the levees it is time to work together with no whining.

He Said Things Would Change

I have been off-roading and spending quality time with my sister and my best friend here in Cedar Crest and not even watching the political news. But I get these alerts in my e-mail from New York Times and they said Obama was again heading to the hill to confer with Congressional leaders and Republicans on his economic stimulus bill!

Wait this is a sitting president. Not a president elect or a presidential wannabe. GW Bush spent eight years enshrined in the Oval office! He never even invited a single Democrat to the White House until his final two months in office. And President Obama has not only had everyone up for lunch and conference but is going once again to the Capital to confer with the opposing party!

For those of you looking for signs that he is fulfilling his promise for change look no further. This is a huge change. And not only is he talking to them but asking questions like, "Do you have a better suggestion?" Boy is this a far cry from the belligerent, "I am the decider" we have all become so used to in almost a decade of disastrous leadership.

But it takes more than just one side to make for bipartisanship. Come on Republicans get into the spirit of this new cooperation. Let's all pull as a team to get us out of this quagmire into which we have sunk.

We are not Republicans and Democrats or liberals and conservatives or Red States and Blue States. We are Americans all in the same state of economic collapse with an eroding infrastructure and an over-dependence on foreign imports be they oil or Parker Toys with lead paint from China. If you cannot cozy up to the opposition at least give President Obama an honest hearing when he comes to your house to extend the hand of cooperation.

I Have Voted

In part because New Mexico was one of the states investigated in 2004 by the BBC for voting and registration irregularities I drove the three hour round trip to my county seat to vote early.

I drove through the ranch land dominated by McCain/Palin signs on fences to vote for Obama. I had two Democratic candidates I wanted to support and one I decidedly wanted to vote against. I wanted my vote to count. I did not want problems on election day and have to cast a provisional ballot.

I am a registered Democrat but mostly because in this state the Democrats seem to have more people running in the primaries to vote for. If the Republicans have one for every office in the primaries they are doing well. In my youth I even was on the staff of a Republican Senator who was working to end the war in Vietnam. I vote issues and people. Not parties.

Well, until this whole Red State/Blue State crap. I wore blue to vote but I refuse to be so branded. And I think we need serious reform with the Electoral College. States should be able to divide their electors on the basis of percentage of vote. We can divide our Senators and our Congressmen. I voted for Democratic Senator Udall. He has been my US Representative for a good many years and I like his approach to issues and his response to his constituency. His vacated congressional seat is being hotly contested. I don't like the Democrat Lujan or the Republican so I voted Independent. I don't think he has a snowball's chance in the Bahamas but at least I can say I did not vote and am not responsible for either of the other two.

I wish there had been, like on the multiple choice tests of college, a "none of the above" option. There were a couple instances when I would have opted for that. As it was I chose to not vote for a couple choices merely because I wanted it known that I did not approve of any choice offered me.

If either party learns anything from this election it should be that we do not like the electoral college as it stands today. I makes it so possible, as in 2000, for a person not liked by the majority of the people to be made president, and it leads to sharp divisions at a time when we should unite to solve our problems. And negative campaigning just makes it harder and harder to come together after the election.

If the parties are not going to work together for reform on elections, the electoral college, and campaign financing then we need to start a movement for a Constitutional Convention to change it ourselves.

That's It I'm Out of Here

"In a sharp turnaround, Republican John McCain has opened a 5-point lead on Democrat Barack Obama in the U.S. presidential race and is seen as a stronger manager of the economy, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday."

I currently see absolutely no reason to identify myself as a citizen of the United States. There is nothing about the current political situation that I can in anyway embrace or identify with. And because of "swift boat" politics it seems that we are in for eight more years of the same thing. My goal is to now do all the necessary upgrades on my house so if and when the housing market turns around I can put it on the market and make plans to out-migrate to another country. Canada is making it very difficult because there are too many of us that want to go there. My pick would be Italy but the dollar is not doing very good against the Euro.

I will do all in my power to get Obama elected but failing that I am out of here. I think I find it hardest to see myself as a citizen of this country when they express the desire to vote for someone that is going to give us just more of the same thing. Who are these people? How can they think four more years of Bush politics will do us any good?

Every woman that votes for McCain ought to get her head examined. She is clearly a Stepford wife to some man telling her how to vote. He wants to turn us into baby machines. Or Barbie Dolls to stand beside our men. If you doubt that you merely have to look at his pick for a wife. And he believes life begins at conception. Does anyone get that that statement is not just pro life but anti contraception. The birth control pill and the IUD do not prevent conception but attachment of the fertilized egg to the wall of the uterus so it can develop. i.e. they are on a par with the day after pill or in Republican parlance an abortion.

I think there was a plot. First you get no child left behind in and make everyone stupid. Then you reduce politics down to name calling and everyone that is illiterate because they dropped out of school will not check the facts. The Republicans have built the perfect "Brave New World" population. We don't even question that Bush cheated his way into office twice. Or that McCain is on his way to cheating himself into office.

Any decent country would have a revolution.

Super Delegates?

Chicago 1968 Democratic Convention

What's that wonderful line? If you can remember the sixties you didn't do them. Well, technically I didn't in that sense. I was this terribly serious student that got involved with the political issues of the time but not the sex, drugs, and rock and roll part. I came very late to that party. So I really remember the 1968 Democratic Convention. The party of inclusion blew it and called out the cops . . . or as we referred to them in those days . . . the pigs.

The end result was long lasting. The Democratic Party ended up deeply divided. Many of us young Democrats defected to the SDS, the Communist party, and later alternatives like the Green party. We are not easy to get back in the fold. I worked for Republican Senator Charles Goodall in the 70's because he was against the war in Vietnam. To this day my party registration depends upon the demographics of where I live. I like to vote in primaries so I register with whatever party gets me the best slate of candidates. Here in northern New Mexico that is Democratic.

But I vote my conscious. Which is a phrase I am sure both the Republicans and Democrats do not like hearing. And I align behind candidates because of issues I am deeply concerned about. Since McCain's stance on illegal immigration effectively nullifies that issue in the Presidential campaign I am in the Democratic camp because of Iraq and the economy and gas company profits.

But I digress. The subject of this blog was to be Super Delegates. After the disastrous 1968 convention and the subsequent lost White House to the Republicans the Democrats, to give them some credit, decided to mend their ways. And that was basically to oust the smoked filled room way of choosing a flag carrier and give more people a voice in picking standard bearer for the party. Ergo our current, and evolving, primary system. Mind you there is nothing in the constitution regarding primaries and they do not have to be democratic, small d. In 1982 the Democrats, capital D, came up with the super delegate concept but it has been largely under the radar until this election.

Last night I tried to explain this to a slightly younger friend of mine who did do the 60's. And is still endowed with that moral outrage that led to the fighting in the streets of Chicago. He wants this whole process to be transparent and democratic, small d. What are super delegates? Personally, I think they are the vestiges of those smoke filled rooms buffed and fluffed to be presentable. Will they ignore the popular vote, elected delegates, states carried, and will of the people? Only if they want 1968 all over again.

And the Democrats have been so great thus far this election. They conducted every primary with paper ballots or machines with a paper trail. The Republicans continued to use the electronic ones with no backup. They have let all the candidates play this out long after it would have once been called up short. And those voting in the primaries have turned out in record (and thus far peaceful) numbers. But as we near the end it is all going back to that smoked filled room of the party bosses - the Super Delegates. The ball is in your court. Are you going to play fair?

The Political Roller Coaster

Been watching the political pundits dissecting the latest moves in the very complicated political process we have here in the United States. I was reminded that I began this series of political blogs to attempt to explain the politics in America to my blogland friends in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. And in the process I have learned more than I think on retrospect I wanted to know.

I have discovered for instance that there is nothing democratic about the primary process. There are attempts on the part of both parties to make it look more democratic but it really has not gone that far from the old smoked filled rooms of the 1800's except that they are not allowed to smoke anymore.

The puppeteers in the back rooms are almost visible in the Republican campaign. McCain starts using Bush's words and phrases and he comes from behind, Romney challenges with non-Bush policies and gets asked to step out of the race if he wants to position himself with the party in 2012. I even wonder if Huckabee is being asked to stay in and fight to make it look like the registered Republicans might have once had a choice . And as McCain heads to Texas to be endorsed by the senior Bush as the anointed successor you wonder why they even bothered to put on the show. And didn't the pundits say just a few months ago that being endorsed by any Bush would be the kiss of death?

Not meaning to pick on the Republicans only because I doubt there is any more democracy in the Democratic primary process though they made a more convincing show of things. But it is fairly clear they have lost control. Right about now they were suppose to be crowning another Clinton but the people actually got out and voted. Democrats across the nation are turning out for primaries and caucuses and are joined where allowed by independents. Hilary is clearly pissed. Someone in some room at some time told her she was a shoe in and now some of the rats (the super delegates) are fleeing the ship.

All this reminds me of standing in line to ride a roller coaster. My sister and I used to be junkies. You get off the roller coaster and immediately rush around to get in line again. The ride is under five minutes and the line can be that or 10 times that. You get more time to study the line than the ride. Everyone starts out really giddy. Lots of chatter and laughter and kidding around in line. And the closer you get to the front the quieter it gets.

If you have taken the ride before you know what is coming. You know you survived. You liked it well enough you are here again. And yet . . . there is this sense of anxiety. Is this the time the cars jump the track? The track collapses under the weight of too many trips by too many people? The drive mechanism jams and you are left suspended upside down in one of the loops.

Will the whole political process come to a bone shattering halt in mid loop? Have the men behind the scenes lost control and will they try to regain it. Or has something unique happened for once in my lifetime and the people will actually get a say in how it goes.

It's not over until it's over

In the state of New Mexico due to the heavy turn out for our Democratic Caucus all the votes are not even totally counted yet. Hillary and Barack are currently running at 48% each. They are almost as close nationally. Hillary went into Super Tuesday 60 delegates ahead and Obama narrowed that margin.

While on the Republican front McCain may be announcing he has the Republican nomination wrapped up but he is also in a position where he may be forced to talk Huckabee into being his running mate.

Hillary and Barack essentially battled to a draw with several more state primaries ahead; several of which Barack is leading in the polls. It is basically too early for any candidate for President of the United States to crow. But I was struck last night about the differences in the two parties process for the primaries.

One: The Democratic caucuses and primaries relied on paper ballots so that there would be a physical proof of how the people voted and allow for a paper count. The Republicans on the other hand chose to continue to rely on the paperless computerized voting machines that the previous elections have proven can be manipulated with a cell phone in the hands of a hacker within 30 feet of the machine. And there is no paper trail. So do we really know that McCain won? He is the candidate most espousing the "Bush Views."

Two: The Democrats allow for a splitting of the delegates roughly along the popular vote for each state while the Republicans are winner take all. Win that state by one vote and you get all their delegates. Even if this works perfectly (and there is no cheating at the polling places) this means the Republicans are wanting to please only those states with the most delegates. Like Bush the Republican nominee will be the president of only a small group of the citizens of the United States.

I am however encouraged after yesterday by two things: We the people voted in record numbers. This was especially true of the Democrats. And among the Republicans of the Evangelicals that turned out to vote for Huckabee. The other thing I found encouraging, oddly enough, was the exit poll.

I had never been involved in one of these before. They have a selection process for which precincts are so polled. And they ask more than just, "who did you vote for?" I found taking the "short survey" helped me to see my own reasons for how I voted. And watching ABC and CNN last night where the results of this poll were used in various ways I was able to see that it is through this poll many voting in minority (or even the majority) will have a voice for the direction of the campaigns as they move forward.

It is not over by a long shot. Next big voting day is February 9th with more primaries. Some primaries are as late as April. McCain may have it sewn up before the nominating convention for the Republicans but it does not look like the Democrats will have a clue. And that is good. It means more of our voices will have to hard, more of our opinions considered if they want our votes in the general election November 2008. If they don't there is always going Independent.

The Three Stooges

I don't often watch the State of the Union Address by G.W.Bush. In fact I rather avoid watching him speak ever. I find him embarrassing. And having taken speech classes a bit painful. I usually wait until the talking heads have reduced it to just the sound bites of importance.

But last night was an event: His last State of the Union Address. The last by the worst president in history if the pundits have it right. I tend to agree with them. But it was not his speech (with its usual disconnect to reality) which was interesting but the choreographed dance of the assembled members of the house and senate. The Republicans had to stand up and clap a lot, but it was rather half-hearted I felt. The Democrats got a lot of seat time and practice clasping their hands in their laps. The vice-president and Madam Speaker of the House, shown here behind the man with the stupid grin, were the applause signs or the directors of this dance. If they stood and clapped members of their parties better stand and clap. One can only assume that if they don't you better not.

What seemed key to me about last night's event was the lack of thunderous applause. And how even his most divisive issues were phrased in a way that to not politely applaud at the least was indication of your support of the terrorists or those that don't have the good of the United States at heart. And then there were the number of times he wanted the Democrats to cut spending as long as it was not the War in Iraq or any of his faith-based plans to save America. And yet he wants to boost spending to boost the economy which he says is still sound.

I have had a blizzard for the last 24 hours. I think I got to watch a snow job on television last night.

Give Me a Break

Another title for this blog could be: They lie to you all the time. And of course I am talking about politicians. Didn't they promise a kinder and gentler campaign process?

Sorry, but having a husband or political action committee do your down and dirty comments and ads is not a kinder and gentler campaign process. And just because we have gotten used to ignoring the whispered side effects at the end of a drug commercial does not mean we don't hear the, "this commercial has been approved by. . ." at the close of an obnoxious campaign ad.

The disturbing part is this is just the primary. And I get the feeling the candidates are shooting themselves in the foot. Usually we wait until the main campaign to dig up the dirt but we seem to be doing this for the opposing party. AND I do not believe any candidate when he says he is unaware of a commercial a PAC is running against his opposition. And just why would I want someone to be President of this country and leader of the free world when he cannot even keep his own supporters in line? Ignorance is not bliss in this case; it is ignorance and stupidity.

I am just so embarrassed by the whole process. All those mother phrases spring to mind like Play Nice, Potty Mouth, etc. Just go home, go straight home, do not pass the White House. And send your parents out so I can talk to them about how they raised you.

The only candidates I can exclude from this condemnation are those no longer running like Governor Bill Richardson. Nice guys finish last I guess. Even Evangelical Huckabee is not innocent of throwing the first stone. And Obama is no longer Mr. Nice Guy. I really do not want to vote for any of you. Grow up and act like someone we would want to put in our highest office.

Until then I am really tempted to just say no. None of the Above

Red State/Blue State Made Simple

On with the political manifesto as it were. Today I would like to deal with the state of polarization which exists in the United States due to the divisive political strategies of those running the George W. Bush campaigns in 2000 and 2004.

We have always had to make a choice come election day. And American's have historically been very quiet about that choice until shame was heaped upon them by the Bush campaigns and his religious right supporters. Suddenly whether you were Republican or Democrat became about whether you believed in Jesus or Darwin. Whether you were educated and snobbish, or Christian and for the people. Whether you were bad or good.

Political debate is a long standing tradition in the United States and we have been known to carry it on long after the election but almost always in a good natured way. Following the Supreme Court appointment of G.W.Bush as president in 2000 there was a deafening silence. And a real fear. Which was only magnified after his actions following 9/11. Those whispering in the corners were seriously afraid they would be sent to Gitmo for any criticism of the Bush policies.

So when the 2004 election rolled around those opposing him were virtually silenced in the media and in all conversation. To vote for Kerry and against GW was to vote for the terrorists and for the Muslims that want to "destroy our Christian Nation." I kept thinking of the Salem Witchcraft trials. Something inside of me was literally scared I would be burned at the stake. I cut off all contact with my Republican friends and with anyone that attended a Christian Church. Yes, there were and still are people that do not fit into these two categories. Bush really lost the 2004 election. The majority of the people of the United States voted for Gore. And there are those that believe because of electronic voting machines with no paper trail that Bush cheated himself into office in 2004.

The result was that most of us believed we were powerless over his machine and those backing him. We were suddenly not people with a different opinion but WRONG, BAD, WORKING FOR OUR ENEMIES. The list goes on. Bush has succeeded by the end of the 2004 election in complete polarization of the United States (assisted by our electoral college - winner take all system) and divided it into Red States and Blue States.

po·lar·i·za·tion (plr--zshn) KEY

NOUN:

1. The production or condition of polarity, as:
   1. A process or state in which rays of light exhibit different properties in different directions, especially the state in which all the vibration takes place in one plane.
   2. The partial or complete polar separation of positive and negative electric charge in a nuclear, atomic, molecular, or chemical system.
2. A concentration, as of groups, forces, or interests, about two conflicting or contrasting positions.

It is the effort to heal this great rift in the soul of the American people which keeps us from impeaching G.W.Bush for crimes against our constitution and humanity in general, opening a criminal investigation into the cheating tactics of the 2000 and 2004 elections, and rioting in the streets. Deep in our hearts we believe we can heal this rift in the upcoming election.

And some positive things are being done:

1. Electronic voting machines with no paper trail are being replaced.
2. Many organizations like CNN are holding many open debates with the candidates
3. 87% of the American people are really upset with the political process
4. More voters are getting involved in the primary voting process
5. Candidates are standing up and demanding a positive and not a negative campaign
6. The clamor for change is building
   

More needs to be done. I would not oppose (as GW Bush did in 2006) having United Nation Poll Watchers. Yes, that is something which only happens in third world nations seeking to get out from under a political dictator. Yes, we are trying to get out from under a political dictator and we are attempting this through a democratic process rather than revolt.

None of the Above

In college I had this marvelous Sociology professor. After taking Sociology 101 from him I decided to get a minor in the subject.

His freshman level 101 class was in the major lecture hall which held 600 plus students, so we did not have essay exams but multiple choice. He wrote some of the trickiest multiple choice tests I ever took. There were seldom less than five choices and the instructions said that sometimes two choices would be correct.

Choice E was frequently, but not always, None of the Above. It became somewhat of a rallying call among Varley's students. Any time you heard the phrase on campus you knew they had taken a course from the man. D was often all the above but it just did not have the ring of None of the Above.

Watching the current political contests here in the United States I find myself wanting to scream at the political pundits on television - None of the above! I like it. We should put it on the ballot.

For President

• John McCain - Republican
• Hilary R. Clinton - Democrat
• Mayor Bloomberg - Independent
• None of the above

If no one candidate captures 33% of the vote or more or if None of the above has the highest number of votes the election is re-run. And why stop at President with this proposal? Start on the state level. And lets start in the primaries. It would give fair warning to all parties that they just have not captured our hearts and minds; dig deeper.

And just think of the fun when the pollsters call. No longer do you have to meekly reply that you are undecided (and let's face it if they were running a great slate of candidates would you be undecided). Just yell: NONE OF THE ABOVE.

The talking heads on television would be dismayed. "Well, Lou, it appears that the winner of the Iowa caucus will be None of the Above. What do you think that means for the future of the political process here in America?"

That it is broken and we want it fixed. Candidates and their future votes and vetoes should not be open for purchase by the big money interests in this country. And with None of the Above us little insignificant voters, the backbone of the representative republic, can take back our country.

Let's not wait until they get the message. We have write in votes. Write in None of the Above. Tell the pollsters, None of the Above. E-mail the news media with your choice of None of the Above. Why should we have to settle on the least obnoxious candidate for the leader of the less-than-free world? Just say None of the Above.

What we need is a new political party

And why do they call them parties? They aren't any fun. Political parties that is. I have been a registered Democrat since returning to the state of New Mexico. I did that because frankly that is the only way to have a choice during the primaries.

But I once worked for a Republican Senator. Senator Charles Goodall of New York. He and Senator Jacob Javits had sponsored the amendment to end the war in Vietnam. And the last election I voted for Democrats in hopes that it would get us closer to getting out of Iraq. So I was wrong. This election we are moving toward I rather like the Republican stance on illegal immigration (less the President's desires).

I am for the rule of law, against the illegal invasion of another country, for the environment, against "free" trade because it costs us too much, against the North American Union unless it is just Canada and the USA, against teaching for the test, for universal health care . . .

I could go on but basically I find myself split between two parties and not happy with either. I am considering changing my voter registration to independent but that opts me out of voting in the primary in this state. And besides there is no viable third party in this country.

I occurs to me that perhaps we have grown out of the need for parties. They only increase the graft and corruption. And maybe there ought to be a third option on every slate of candidates: None of the above. If someone does not get enough votes than obviously the public does not want them at all. And maybe the things congress does not pass within a set limit of time ought to be remanded to a public referendum. About the only way we will get campaign reform done and reduce the power of big lobbies. And I frankly like the parliamentary option of being able to call an election when the public has lost confidence in their leader. Bush would have been gone years ago.

Maybe it is not time for a new party but time for no parties. Let's get down to serious business and reform our democracy before it is completely stolen from us