Just Say NO, NO, NO

It is time the American people took back their power and their rights. Big money and illegal politics have stolen our lives, liberties and happiness. There is not a minute of time when some politician is not running for office. And this jams up our email in boxes, and our quiet time at night with pleas of money to support their campaigns.

Why should we. With the Citizens United verdict from the Supreme Court of the United States, our money does not count because the Koch brothers and their rich friends can always give more. They have already picked their winners and we are just for window dressing. Don't hang their curtains. It just encourages them.

And why should it take two years to run for any office in these United States? With mass media and the Internet 90 days should be enough. Australia does it. And we have already proven we can make bigger mistakes with two years to consider our candidates.

We are supposedly electing these citizens (seekers of higher paid lobby jobs) to govern. An elected president of the United States has two years to learn his job and then he is once again running for office. A congressman of the United States only holds his office for two years, so the minute he is sworn in his campaign for the next term is in full swing. When does he govern?

We have been asking for campaign reform since I was old enough to vote. But those that succeed at this game know the rules and how to play them so they are not going to vote to change them. But we can decide not to play. I propose a political boycott. I do not mean not vote. I mean do not encourage them. Do not back or encouraging or fund a candidate or his party until six months before the election.

Do not open political email. They have programs that let them know how opens and reads them. Just relegate them to spam. Unsubscribe doesn't work.

Do not answer political calls. Yes, you can block those annoying telemarketers but not politicians or political polls. Even if it is a robo call they know you picked up.

Do not back a candidate on social media.  All your friends are for Hillary and you seriously think you are voting for her but do not share her posts. I used to share Bernie Sanders posts but he has not come out as a presidential candidate. No more shares or likes.

No bumper stickers or buttons. They used to give these away and now they are tied to a minimum donation of $5. Just don't.

If they want to continue to campaign fine. But do not encourage them. We live in a vacuum while they play their political games in Washington or our state capitals. None of the bills we want get passed. So they want us to support them? DO NOT.

We should not encourage or support a system we do not believe in. We may believe in democracy (question as to whether we have one) but we never signed up for constant campaigning. Let them know the only way they get our attention is by doing their jobs.

DO NOT GIVE FUNDS, DO NOT SUPPORT, DO NOT POST THEIR RHETORIC ON YOUR BLOG OR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT UNTIL JUNE 8, 2016.

That gives them six months to campaign. I think that is generous for just empty sound bytes produced by an advertising company. And we can use our free time for meaningful activities: Write our congressmen and women on issues; back policies we want to be passed as laws and sign petitions to repeal laws we do not like; Campaign for an amendment to overturn the SCOTUS decision on Citizens United. And we can work to make our corrupted elections fair again. We can try to ensure correct counts of votes. And we can organize in our neighborhoods to get every citizen registered to vote, and help them secure all the documentation they need to not be turned away at the polling place in November 8, 2016.

Let's make this next election real to win back the confidence of voters.

JUST SAY NO TO POLITICS AS USUAL.

Just a Horse Race

My father always said it was the difference of opinion which made horse racing possible. I would think how boring it would be without horses. And horse races. Or contests of any kind. It only seems in politics that I am inclined to think, "How stupid are you to think your candidate is better than mine?"

I believe this thinking first was evident during the campaign of Richard M. Nixon. I recognized in him a certain insanity that seemed reflected in the people that fell into what I have come to think of as "mad dog" supporters. Those individuals who will absolutely no listen to reason or hear a single bad think about their candidate. It was shortly after he resigned from office and was pardoned that I fell into voting for the lessor of two evils. I have always voted. But I will admit I seem to vote for losers. Even with horses I might add.

I voted for Gore and for Kerry. I worked on McGovern's staff. Was clean for Gene. Frequently the candidate I most like is eliminated in the primaries like Biden or Richardson. Since I liked him I just knew Obama was going to lose the fight with Hillary. I was rather shocked that he didn't. So having learned something with age I didn't break up marriages or relationships or kiss off friendships over this primary. I have a few friends that are Hillary supporters. Fewer that believe in McCain. I admit I fall back to the, "How can you be so stupid?" gut reaction with avid McCainites.

A Hillary supporter friend of mine was half apologetic following Hillary's non-concession speech on June 3rd. I think she thought I would rub her nose in it. No, that was one horse race. Now we are on to the second horse race. Who do you like in his field? I am finding this rather refreshing actually. Because during the ten year campaign of G. W. Bush it was hostile and all about make wrong. After 9/11 you were either for the dictator or a traitor. We started whispering in corners. And by his second stolen election we were sure we were going to be burned at the stake or hung from the yardarm. I had anti-war friends during the Nixon years that vanished from the face of the earth. I fully expected it again.

So we have run a long and difficult horse race and we are all still here. Nobody has died or vanished yet. When you live through JFK, RFK and Martin Luther assassinations you start expecting the worst routinely. So far it is just a horse race. And that is good. Now on to the second horse race. Wouldn't it be nice if there was no bloodshed, no cheating, no name calling, nobody dying? Just a race for President of the free world. Wouldn't it be nice if the world was really free.

This all comes down to a lapel pin?

I watched the Hillary and Obama debate last night and personally think Obama won because he politely tried to get the debate focused back on the issues. It seemed to be all about US flag lapel pins. And why Obama does not wear one.

Was I the only one to notice that Hillary did not have one on her jacket lapel. Nor was she wearing one of the acceptable "I am an American" colors. Bush can always be predicted to wear a blue suit, white shirt and red tie when he is trying to sell us on staying in Iraq.

Hillary was wearing green which does not score really high on the dress for success scales and no American Flag lapel pin. So this morning I got up and Googled Lapel Pins. And was surprised to find that there are any host of US leaders that have been caught without one.

President Reagan seems to be one of the first. But his presidency predated 9/11 and I am not sure if there were different rules for then. I was working for the Village Court during this pivotal point in our US history and I know that suddenly you were at risk of being hung as a traitor or at the least fired if you did not adorn every outfit and every ball cap with at least one depiction of Old Glory. As an ex-hippy that was constantly put down for sewing American Flag decals on jackets and pockets of jeans I found myself rather divided by this sudden emergence patriotic display. Were these often not righteous depictions of a symbol of the United States really disgracing it? There is never room for enough stars or stripes. And do we get into a snobbery of my lapel pin is real gold with enamel not paint debate.

They are all Made in China. So how very American is that?

But while surfing along through Google I was surprised to find the above photo of Senator John McCain without his requisite lapel pin. Probably there are a whole group of political photographers frantically searching their digital image files this morning to see if they can find GW without one. Does he wear one while chainsawing dead wood on his ranch?

He is a Texan and it has been my experience that all Texans wear the Texas state Lone Star on everything. And it is the major decoration for all cabins owned by Texans here in New Mexico. Do you wear the Lone Star Lapel pin above or below the US Flag lapel pin?

Ask me if I care? Frankly if the issues facing us Americans do not get some serious attention in the very near future then I will cease to be proud of this country. I already have to apologize for our president (lapel pin or no) to all foreign friends and visitors. So let's stop playing this picky, picky game of make wrong and try to address the real issues that concern us.

A kinder and gentler political season ahead?

I watched the most recent Democratic debate between Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama and was pleased that it was not the bitter slug-fest of the Republican event the day before. Does this mean a more civil political season ahead? Or will the Republicans again resort to the soap commercial tactics of the Bush campaigns with their spin lines like flip flopper?

I would certainly hope not. It paints a bad picture of the United States political process around the world and turns off all potential voters. Not that they are not already turned off by the illegal operations of the Republicans in the last two elections.

If our politicians can strike a higher note with a civil debate the least we can do is demand a fair and uncontested election process even if that means allowing United Nations poll watchers. We would all feel better if there was a paper trail, no hanging chads, no Supreme Court intervention, and no disputed results. How about we all behave like adults?

Let's ban cellphones and all electronic devices within 100 feet of our polling places. No computer polling machines without a paper trail for verification of the results. And my personal favorite: No television commercials within the last week of the campaign. Let's all have a week of commercial silence in which we can consider all the information we have already garnered about the candidates.

Same old nightmare

My internet service provider was down this morning and I had to revert to watching my morning news on television. It is probably a hang over from the days when I lived where I could pick up a morning paper but I like Internet site hoping for my morning news. The televised talking heads just seem to rude before my first cup of coffee.

And this morning they really were a nightmare. Or at least what the were proposing was a nightmare. I skipped last night's Republican debate because I just could not stand anymore name calling and back biting and I figured there would be more than enough of that in the Hilary/Obama debate tonight. So I definitely did not want to hear that it looks like it will be McCain vs Hilary in the 2008 race for the White House. The two worst dirty politicians running against each other !!!!???

I immediately began to consider my battle plan for the election year: cancel my land line telephone so nobody can call and poll me as to my choice, cancel my satellite television so I do not have to listen to the avalanche of negative political ads, change my part affiliation to Independent or Green party, put my house up for sale and look at out-migrating to New Zealand or Australia or Canada, or begin campaigning for legalization of preemptive assassination.

If the reign of G.W. Bush has left me with any lasting legacy it is a total fear of politics as usual and old school politicians. Make that total terror of politics as usual. And we seem to take entirely too long to impeach them when they have devastated our economy, ruined our world reputation, violated all parts of the constitution, and mired us in an illegal invasion of a country. Please deliver me from the evil of politicians.

Much Ado About Nothing

Senator Edwards won my primary vote last night when in the midst of the mudslinging between Barrack and Hilary he called for it to stop because, "all this is not getting health care for children." Here, here. Or is it Hear! Hear!

The egotistical, egomania, my way or the highway was what got us into this mess our country is in. And we do not need another person at the helm of this country who is so driven by their own ego that they will fight over petty issues on national television. I would not vote for either of them unless they were the only person able to dethrone Bush.

Sorry! I really had to get that off my chest. I have seen two year olds in sand boxes behave better. I was really writing this blog about a question I received from a friend on the previous blog: What can we do? WRITE. About any issue that concerns you.

Write your state and federal representatives, write your newspaper, write a blog, write the national news media. The computer makes this so easy with the old control C/control V functions. My e-mail contacts include Lou Dobbs of CNN, my US Representative, my US Senator, the Governor of this fair state, letters to the editor for the two biggest newspapers in New Mexico, etc. Mind you they want their own letters. Cannot CC everyone. And a couple of my representatives what it done on their websites but with autofill and paste this is not difficult either because I have bookmarked their sites.

Our lawmakers will roll along and do their own thing until they are aware they are being watched by people that can vote them out of office. Letters and phone calls on legislation can reverse the progress of a vote. I am not sure it can change the direction of a political campaign but I am determined to try because as it stands in both parties I just want to scream: Stop the boat I want to get off. I will swim to some foreign shore.

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.