Bird Dogging

I'm always humbled when I find a gaping hole in my vocabulary. 

The other day, someone in a political activist group suggested that it would be effective to 'bird dog' incumbents about a rather controversial issue we were discussing.

Mind you, I have made this tactic central to my electoral campaign proposals, integral to implementing my candidate contract electoral strategy. I just didn't know the name for it.



See?  Even the Google definition mentions bird dogging in a political context.

Yes . . . "dogged determination" . . . very cute.

That cute characterization is the polite, PC way of describing what I'm proposing.
As I presume will happen, my enlightened, progressive, honest and transparent people's candidate has signed one or more contracts on issues that reflect the will of the majority of voters in the district where the contest is taking place.  You can view the contract and the laundry list of progressive issues here, one that's drafted for the House of Representatives.

But . . .

His opponents, whether newcomers or an incumbent, are establishment candidates, thus HAVE NOT SIGNED THE CONTRACT.  I've explained elsewhere why they cannot and will not sign these contracts, but basically it boils down to their all but certain loss of campaign funding and major party machinery support.

For simplicity sake, let's say the contract in dispute is not the one listing the whole gamut of populist issues, but just one for raising the minimum wage.  It would look like this.

Of course, raising the minimum wage is the main focus in the battle for voters.

But the actual centerpiece of the publicity is the contract for raising the minimum wage.  This is where the bird dogging comes in.

At every public rally, campaign event, fundraiser, town hall meeting, meet-the-candidate barbecue or hotdog eating contest -- literally everywhere the establishment candidate(s) show up in public -- there will be protesters wearing t-shirts, carrying signs, chanting:

Why won't you sign the contract for raising the minimum wage?

Understand:  'Why won't you sign the contract for ...' is not a genial request for an answer.  It's an expression of outrage!  It's a condemnation!  It's saying:  You are insulting us!  We as voters are making a simple, fair, reasonable request.  And you are defying the will of the people!  It's a rhetorical question challenging the empty rhetoric of the candidate.

Of course, every candidate, especially when speaking to younger folks who are most likely working for or just barely above the minimum wage, is going to discharge billowing gusts of smiley-face vapor about the "crisis in the availability of good jobs in this country", and "all workers deserving a livable wage".  This always sounds nice but is really a lot of stinky poop, considering that the official rate hasn't increased in seven years, and moreover, that adjusted for inflation the current $7.25 per hour is worth less than it was 50 years ago.

There's only one way to take such patronizing oratory seriously, and that is to have him or her sign on the dotted line -- put it in writing, in the form of a candidate contract.

The corollary to that is:  The only way to boldly and loudly declare that such a candidate is NOT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY is by challenging them for NOT SIGNING the contract.

That's how the candidate contract becomes a sledgehammer in a political campaign, a serious tool for exposing an establishment candidate's hypocrisy and duplicity.

Why resort to harassment?

To be blunt about it, at least at first, any candidate which signs any version of the contract I'm proposing won't have much choice.  He or she will not have much in the way of funds, will not have the organizational support of a major party's machinery, will be marginalized or entirely ignored by the mainstream media.  Such an outsider campaign will have to get in the news by making news!  By creating so much trouble and controversy, the media and anyone within any proximity can't help but notice!  Using street theater, outlandish stunts, sit-downs, sit-ins, blocking traffic, naked acrobatics . . . whatever!  All to call attention to the fact that the slick, well-groomed, smooth-talking sack-of-hot-air opponent REFUSES to sign the contract.

Along those same lines, this is how the candidate contract works around big money.  Yes, those establishment types will have huge campaign chests to run slick ads, to disseminate their carefully-worded and misleading messages.  Those messages will always seem to be saying the right things.  They've got the best spin doctors, PR and campaign consultants money can buy, massaging their images and words to a milky silky stream of lovely goo.

But voters are waking up.  And people don't like being manipulated and deceived.

As with our example, either a candidate is for or against raising the minimum wage.  That being the case, if he or she is claiming to be with the voters on this particular issue, and the voters by a vast margin are for raising the minimum wage, why is it unreasonable to ask for a clear and unambiguous commitment in writing?  After all, that's what this candidate contract is -- a clear and unambiguous commitment to raise the minimum wage.

If indeed it does turn out to be too much to ask a particular candidate, then it appears that WE'VE GOT A SERIOUS PROBLEM.  And the problem is the candidate is blowing smoke!  He or she is full of the brown stuff that comes out of the south end of a bull heading north!

Our democracy is sick.  Our whole electoral system is diseased.  This has largely because the professional political class of this country has discredited itself -- and seems to be bent on continuing to discredit itself -- every time one of them opens his or her mouth.  We the voters didn't bring on this crisis of trust.  The political establishment did.  By consistently and intentionally lying to everyday Americans and with almost a religious fervor breaking every campaign promise that might actually benefit the majority of American citizens.

Worst of all, any newcomers to this corrupt system have been vilified, marginalized and excluded, unless they are willing to play ball by the corrupt rules of ruling class obeisance.  Bernie Sanders's brilliant campaign was systematically undermined by the Democratic Party establishment.  I surely don't need to review here how the major parties in sinister, symbiotic collusion with the media openly mock and trivialize attempts by minor parties to introduce some integrity into the river of political filth the current system has become.

Yes, the duopoly of the two corporate parties has gotten control of just about everything having to do with electoral politics.  But there's one thing they haven't been able to shut down completely.  That's word-of-mouth.  That's people talking to people.  Which is why even the most powerful individuals can be brought down by the right scandal.

What's more scandalous than lying to voters just to get their votes?

What's more cynical, what's more insulting, what's more corrupt than refusing to stand up for what's right and good for the majority of good, decent, hard-working citizens?

And since it's every citizen's right to know where a candidate really stands on issues that affect the everyday lives of everyday Americans; it's every citizen's right to be informed, and to be treated with candor and respect; it's every citizen's right to know with certainty who is on their side and who isn't; sometimes we need to let that dog-bird, bird-dog, that hybrid-GMO-predator out of its cage, and proceed with "dogged determination".

Let it be known . . .

You're being put on notice, establishment Democrats and Republicans.

Just the right amount of bird dogging might make honest politicians out of you after all!

If not, then it's really quite simple . . . you'll be replaced.

By politicians with the integrity to sign the contract.

Woof woof chirp chirp!

---

 

"Candidate Contracts: Taking Back Our Democracy" was published middle of last year and is available worldwide from all the usual suspects:

Amazon (Kindle)  . . . amzn.to/1QJRiNZ
Amazon (Print) . . . amzn.to/1Cuq0du
Apple (iTunes) . . . apple.co/1BXnPcy
Barnes & Noble . . . bit.ly/1GpTTLq
Kobo (Indigo) . . . bit.ly/1OEI2xj
Smashwords . . . bit.ly/1B4DQCp
Direct from printer . . . bit.ly/1MGjDnN

" 

Fighting for the Democracy We Deserve" was published this past September and also is available both in every popular ebook format and as a deluxe paperback:

Amazon (Kindle) . . . amzn.to/1VMf2Ft
Amazon (Print) . . . amzn.to/1L9SdIC
Apple (iTunes) . . . apple.co/1JD1YAg
Barnes & Noble . . . bit.ly/1ZUJUpn
Kobo (Indigo) . . . bit.ly/1IX6rO4
Smashwords . . . bit.ly/22PXWLf
Direct from printer . . . bit.ly/1i7ISFM


[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]



Bird Dogging

Trump Makes Russian the Official Language of the U.S.

In a surprise move that caught just about everyone flat-footed, President Donald Trump by executive order today made Russian the official language of the United States of America.

Trump came out of the box swinging.  When a reporter yelled out a question to him on the 7th hole at the Trump International Golf Course, the president appeared very excited and wasn't going to take any crap from anyone about his controversial decision.

"I promised jobs, didn't I?  Well, we've got a helluva lot of signs to replace.  Also a lot of smart phones.  The Russian alphabet is in . . . uh . . . acrylic.  It's a whole different deal from our alphabet.  A whole different deal!  But I tell ya, it's great!  Really really great! Gotta say, I can't wait to start Tweeting in Russian!"

 

Of course, this announcement comes on the heels -- just 48 hours -- of another truly extraordinary development, that of Trump's replacement of Nikki Haley with Alex Jones as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. 

With the efficiency that is becoming the hallmark of this administration, the transition was quick.  Literally the following day, Ambassador Jones was seen sitting at a U.N. Security Council session with bottles of his highly-acclaimed Caveman nutritional supplement lined up in front of him, as he read a new U.S.-sponsored resolution proposing that UNESCO, under the auspices of NATO, administer Crimea as a newly-founded leper colony.

Right after Trump signed the executive order mandating the change in the U.S.'s official language, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was interviewed at a charter school volley ball meet she was attending in the Hamptons:  "Well, it's a challenge.  But we're making America great again.  So we've got a handle on it.  Some of my best friends are Russian.  And hey!  Have you ever had a Black Russian?  Come on!  Don't give me that look!  I'm not talking about sex.  I mean the drink.  It's vodka and Kahlúa.  Yum yum!"  Asked about how this might impact her plans for retooling America's educational institutions, she replied:  "Obviously we need some native speakers fluent in Russian.  But we're on top of it.  I was online just this morning and personally hired over forty excellent teachers, so no worries.  I'd say we've got this covered."

 

Among pundits, Rachel Maddow was first in line to lambast Trump's game-changing maneuver.  She called it a cheap Soviet-style stunt to sabotage the important work of Congress.  Under the strict guidelines established by the directive, from now on, all of the business of government -- including any calls for Trump's impeachment -- must be conducted in America's new official language.  Maddow looked into the camera and seething with contempt said, "He knows no one up on Capitol Hill knows any Russian. He and his KGB buddy Putin are behind this treachery . . . having a big laugh at the expense of the American people."

Unfortunately, no one understood a word of her acrimonious rant.  Since Trump's order was already in effect, her entire show was overdubbed in Russian.  No English sub-titles were made available.

What really prompted Trump's bold, unprecedented move?

Of course, there's much speculation.  Hillary Clinton along with the DNC leadership posed under a huge banner that said:  See? We Told You So!  Because it wasn't in Russian, they were promptly arrested and are now awaiting arraignment.

 

Perhaps more reliably, an unnamed source from within the president's most private circles at Mar-a-Lago -- rumor has it that it's an African-American maid named Jemima -- stated that Ivanka Trump had just received a Matryoshka doll from a friend in Russia and was carrying on about the gift:  "Oh daddy!  Isn't this just adorable?  I love everything about Russia!"  President Trump reportedly then smiled, and looking dreamily at her breasts, proudly patted her on the butt and said:  "That's my girl!"

We thus conclude that as with the cruise missile attack on the Al Shayrat air base in Syria, Trump will do anything to keep his daughter happy.  Having everyone in this great nation of ours speaking Russian from now on was just his gift to his precious little daughter.

Ivanka is a Russian name, isn't it?


[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]



Trump Makes Russian the Official Language of the U.S.

Public Shaming

 

Many folks actually believe our elected "representatives" -- quotation marks are warranted since they don't in fact represent us at all -- listen to us.  To put it mildly, this is a bit naive.  The simple truth is, it's completely refuted by the facts.

Granted, these professional politicos put on a good show.  They all have at their disposal the best handlers, who tell them how to gesture and when to smile. They have the best speech writers money can buy, who twist words into incomprehensible but delightful-sounding gobbly-gook, smearing just the right among of cake frosting on often the most insidious acts of blatant treachery.  We buy into this three-ring circus because we foolishly trust these clowns.

We think that if we call their offices enough times, routed into the digital black hole of automated message machines; that if we attend the rare town hall meeting when he/she has found time between lunches with lobbyists, and fundraisers blessed by deep-pocketed corporate benefactors; if we sign online petitions, that add to the growing pile of tens of thousands of similar petitions; if we organize rallies and protests which while unreported by the media we're sure will attract some attention; if we write letters to the editor of our hometown newspapers, which in all probability won't get published but whose message will, we believe, still somehow magically get communicated; surely all of this effort will make a difference and we'll see some good, positive changes take place.

Talk about a disconnect!  Talk about willful denial!  Talk about delusional thinking!

Look around, folks.  Could it get worse for those of us with some humanity and decency?  Look at all levels of government. We have a card-carrying member of the .1% in the White House, lapdog puppets of the rich and powerful in control of both chambers of Congress, Republican majorities in all of the state legislatures, and Republicans also as governors of the majority of the states.

What does this mean?  What can we expect? 

Aristocrats and their pay-for-play toadies in high places are elitist and anti-democratic to the core, they are relentlessly greedy and insatiable, and will use their power to further enrich themselves at the expense of the rest of us.

How will this end?

The ultra-rich have been and will continue to plunder our nation until there's nothing left to plunder, then they'll move on to other countries -- it's quite evident that the process is already well underway throughout Europe and Asia, funneling vast amounts of wealth to the already ultra-wealthy via hyper-capitalism and the neoliberal juggernaut.

Here's the straight talk, though it's not what you want to hear.

None of what we're doing works because . . .

The people we vote into office are not listening.  Not to you and I, the everyday citizen.

It's that simple.  We don't need to analyze this any further.  Sometimes it's just exactly what it appears to be.  If someone is laying in the middle of the street with six bullet holes in their head, brains scattered across the pavement, and a note pinned to their back which says, "I told you to stop hitting on my wife", we don't need an autopsy to see if maybe what the poor slob had for lunch caused his death.  Or whether maybe he's allergic to his new wristwatch band.

Our legislators are serving the rich and powerful and ignoring the needs of everyday folks like you and I.  Period!  It's right smack in front of our eyes.  This is not a rumor or a piece of conjecture.  The Princeton study by Professor Martin Gilens and Professor Benjamin Page in 2014 was unequivocal in its findings.

"Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organised groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on US government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence."

This means we are now forced to take DRASTIC ACTION.

I happen to know something that works.  Because it works with all public figures -- movie stars, pundits, sports celebrities, priests, ministers, rabbis, military leaders, pillars of the community -- and always works especially well on politicians.

Public shaming!

Some folks might be squeamish about humiliating so-called respectable and responsible men and women devoted to public service.  Don't they deserve better?

No, they don't!

They've sold out themselves and our political parties to a ruling class elite which is selfish, heartless, ruthless.  They made their own bed of nails, now let them sleep in it.  They made a bargain with the Devil.  They chose to align themselves with evil over selfless and honest service to the people who elected them to their wonderfully cushy jobs in Washington DC.  IT IS OUR PUBLIC DUTY TO CALL THESE PEOPLE OUT ON THEIR TREACHERY!

So . . .
Here is how we shame them, how we make it clear that we are fed up with the games, the deceptions, the double talk, the con.  This contract reflects what polls tell us by impressive margins what the vast majority of Americans want done.  And we put it to our politicos straight:  Will you sign or will you refuse to sign this contract before the next election?Dare any elected representatives stonewall us?  Refuse to sign?  Him-and-haw and make all sorts of ridiculous excuses about why they don't want to raise the minimum wage?  Say they can't get behind fair tax policies and closing tax loopholes?  Balk at providing decent health care to every U.S. citizen, refuse to cover the 35 million people now who currently without coverage?  Opt for having the elderly slip into poverty and hardship because fixing social security and Medicare might upset Wall Street hedge fund managers?  Insist that more young men and women should come home in body bags so we can protect oil, gas, and mineral interests in Afghanistan, Syria, every other place we've bombed recently?  Take the position that our electoral system is just dandy the way it is, that the evisceration of the democratic process by Citizens United and the corrupting influence of big money is just the way things have to be?  Declare climate change a lost cause and suggest that our children's children will just have to adjust to mass starvation, resource wars, and all of our coastal cities joining the Lost Continent of Atlantis, because some of our politicians were too dumb to make it through high school science class?

Here's what I say . . .

If our current congressman can't step up to the plate and play their very best game for the home team, they should be shamed, booed, reviled, scorned, humiliated, vilified, mocked, ridiculed, condemned, excoriated, burned if effigy!  That's if we're in a good mood.

Let them stew in the cauldron of the bad publicity they heap on themselves, then rot in a big foul steaming pile of their own wickedness, when we haul the garbage to the dump!

Now not everybody will agree with everything in the contract I've offered here.  There will be individuals who don't buy into every single item.  This is a work in progress and not written in stone. But the simple fact is, reputable polls tell us . . .

Most people buy into most of it.

Thus we have here the perfect device for drawing a line in the sand and asking candidates who are looking for our votes . . .

Are you on our side or not?  Will you sign this before the election in 2018?

Of course, the ultimatum inherent in this approach doesn't stop here.

Actually . . . it starts here.

This is the starting point for us everyday citizens taking control of the narrative, making a bold decisive claim on power that rightfully and constitutionally is ours in the first place, and putting all the smooth-talking, double-dealing incumbents on notice -- we can call it 'electoral probation' . . .

We've had it with the games.  We're watching your every move.  Shape up or ship out!

In my next posting, I'll explore how the above candidate contract will either get our elected officials to clean up their act, or if it looks like that won't be happening, will be used in the coming election to flush them out of Congress.


[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]



Public Shaming