Warren Buffett or Jimmy Buffett?

Here's an URGENT APPEAL I received the other day on Facebook:

This is an idea that should be passed around.  The BUFFETT Rule!  Let's see if these idiots understand what people pressure is all about.

Congressional Reform Act of 2017

1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman / woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they're out of office.
2. Congress (past, present, & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 3/1/17.

The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women. Congress made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and go back to work.

If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people, then it will only take three days for most people in the U.S. to receive the message.

It's time! THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS! If you agree, pass it on.

There's a lot of confusion about this initiative.

 

According to several sources I looked at, Warren Buffett is not even officially behind the so-called Buffet Rule, that it was just a comment made in passing.

Moreover, he is not in any way responsible for the "Congressional Reform Act of 2017," which is just the latest version of the dubious and rather flawed "Congressional Reform Act of 2011".

Regardless, it absolutely astounds me that no one seems to see the ONE MAJOR DEFECT in this noble attempt to reform Congress.  This fatal error happens to apply to most of the ideas I've recently encountered, intended to fix America and get our country back on track.

This proposed act has to be passed by Congress.

Which begs the obvious question . . .

Why would they pass it?

 

This is like me challenging Roger Federer to a tennis match for a $1,000,000 prize, and then turning to him and saying:  "I have one simple request, Roger.  Please have both of your arms chopped off at the elbow before we meet on the court." 

What are these folks thinking?  Do they actually think that the current crop of corporate pay-for-play lapdogs who sit in their comfy jobs in Washington DC are going to do anything to jeopardize their free ride with the rich and powerful of this country?

I just love it, for example, when people propose progressive constitutional amendments.  According to the Article V:  "The Constitution provides that an amendment may be proposed either by the Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislatures." Apparently, these wild-eyed dreamers haven't read the newspaper lately.  The Republicans own the White House, both chambers of Congress, most governorships, and the majority of state legislatures.  Even more shocking, we often see Democrats siding with the extreme right-wing legislative ideologues on a host of key issues -- increasing defense spending, perpetuating war, advocating more tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy.

Consider this . . .

It's impossible to get GMO labeling on food product legislated, something supported by 93% of all Americans, regardless of party affiliation.  Do progressive strategists actually believe they can get anything through Congress which genuinely serves the majority of Americans, with the current cutthroat mercenary puppets installed in the seats of power?  Here we have something 93% of Americans want and it gets killed by corporate greed and legislators who couldn't spell 'representation' if a gun was pointed at their heads.

I've said this over and over.  But it bears repeating until folks get it.

There is ONLY ONE SOLUTION!

We have to have a CLEAN SWEEP OF CONGRESS.  Regime change in Washington DC!

Let's stop kidding ourselves.

The people now in positions of power will not do anything for everyday U.S. citizens.  NOTHING!  They will do the bidding of their deep-pocketed financiers, their mega-rich and powerful masters . . . and that's it.  End of story.  So let's start doing some real work!  Let's begin the daunting but absolutely necessary task of swapping out 33 senators and at least 400 of the traitors who are currently in the House of Representatives in 2018.

I have a method for accomplishing this.  It's summarized in two of my books -- Candidate Contracts: Taking Back our Democracy and Fighting For The Democracy We Deserve -- and dozens of articles published here and all over the web.

In each congressional district, good decent citizens must choose four or five issues which are critical to them, things which are totally non-negotiable, things they are absolute and unswerving about.  For example:

1. Make no changes in Social Security and Medicare.
2. Raise the federal minimum wage to $12.50 per hour.
3. Eliminate corporate welfare and increase taxes on the rich.
4. Reverse by law the Citizens United decision.
5. Cut back on military spending.

The good news is that nationally there is already enormous support for these.

75% of Americans want a federal minimum wage of $12.50 per hour.
76% of voters want a cut back on military spending.
79% of voters want no reductions in Social Security, 70% support expanding it.
79% of voters want no reductions in Medicare.
80% of voters oppose the "Citizens United" U.S. Supreme Court decision.
68% of voters think taxes on the wealthy should be increased.


Next step is to draw up a contract or set of contracts on those issues.  Such a contract will look and read like this, one I drew up for raising the minimum wage to $15.00 per hour.

Then we simply put it to the candidates.  It's up to them.  Will they sign the contract(s) and guarantee that they will go to Washington DC and hit the ground running, doing exactly what we want them to do?  Or not?

If they sign, we vote for them.

If they don't, we vote for someone who will.

It's that simple!  And it's that clear.  Either they will decisively and unequivocally, with no excuses or double-talk, do the job we vote them in office to do . . .

Or we don't vote for them!

In the event there is no major party candidate willing to sign the contract -- and recognize that is a very distinct possibility -- then we turn to a minor party candidate, or put one on the ballot ourselves.

THAT'S how you take back our democracy!

THAT'S how we take the guesswork out of voting!

THAT'S how you make sure the voice of the voice of the people is heard!

THAT'S how you put "people" back in the equation . . . government of the people, by the people, for the people.

It's either that . . . or drink a lot of tequila and watch our country steadily descend into the sewer of economic medievalism and kleptocratic tyranny.

I like a good time as much as the next guy.

But maybe we should wait until we have good reason to celebrate.



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



Warren Buffett or Jimmy Buffett?

Putting Boots (Birkenstocks) on the Ground: Part V

 

Bernie Sanders talks eagerly about a "revolution".

While this obviously is fantastic campaign rhetoric, his presidential aspirations fall a bit short of a revolution.  Many of his ideas for reforming the political system, revamping our national priorities, and replacing the current agenda with one that serves the greater good of the vast majority of citizens, notably are consistent with revolutionary change.  It is hopeful, heartening, inspiring, truly a breath of fresh air in the stagnant and highly toxic atmosphere of the now dominant neoliberal/neocon regime in Washington DC.

But the simple fact remains:  We're not electing a king.  We're only electing a president.  Reform comes from changing the laws.  Changing the laws comes from changing the law makers.  Either we change their minds or we change them, meaning we replace them with elected public servants who will serve the public instead of their corporate masters.

This entire series of articles is about exactly that . . . the need for such change and how I see that coming about.

It's all about people power.  Not PACs and SuperPACS.  Not big piles of money -- though the enormous sums the wealthy throw into the ring present a formidable obstacle for even the most organized and energetic citizens groups.

Change still comes down to the choice each of us personally makes in the voting booth.  Power resides in our aligning our individual choices, so that collectively -- as in tens of millions of us united in an unstoppable juggernaut of people power -- we get done what needs to get done.

I've already pointed at many crucial issues where there is substantial agreement.

75% of Americans want a federal minimum wage of $12.50 per hour.
63% of Americans want a federal minimum wage of $15.00 per hour.
75% of voters want fair trade agreements protecting jobs, workers, the environment.
76% of voters want a cut back on military spending.
76% of voters want the U.S. completely out of Afghanistan.
79% of voters want no reductions in Social Security, 70% support expanding it.
79% of voters want no reductions in Medicare.
80% of voters oppose the "Citizens United" U.S. Supreme Court decision.
68% of voters think taxes on the wealthy should be increased.
71% of voters support massive infrastructure renewal.
74% of American voters are for ending oil industry subsidies.
93% of voters want GMO labeling on their food.

In Part IV of the series, I recommended collecting signature from people on a combination pledge-petition, which does two things:  1) it ascertains the level of local voter support for specific issues; and 2) invites individuals to take a stand on those issues, i.e. solicits their commitment to only vote for candidates who if elected will represent them and promote the agenda their constituents have united behind.

So we are now confronted with a critical question . . .

How do we know a candidate will do what we want once elected?

My solution is so simple and so obvious, many scoff and dismiss it immediately.

These are the same types of people who, by the way, stood on the beach at Kitty Hawk, scoffing and derisively observing:  "Ha! That contraption will never fly!"

The short answer is . . . we make the candidate sign a legally-binding contract.

While the contracts can address any number of issues, here is an example, specifically for a candidate running for House of Representatives, demanding an increase in the minimum wage to $15.00 per hour.


 
If you're immediate reaction is . . .

"Why, my congressman will never sign something like that!"

. . . all I can do is jump for joy!  It means we're getting somewhere!

I'll explain exactly how this is intended to work in the next installments of Putting Boots (Birkenstocks) on the Ground.  But before we go there, I have to make one critical point.  This really has to sink in and be fully understood in order to appreciate the power of the candidate contract and its potential as a game-changer in our current dysfunctional political environment.  Here it is . . .

While the candidate contract is a legally-binding agreement, properly implementing it is NOT A LEGAL STRATEGY.

IT IS A POLITICAL STRATEGY!

This is not about courts and juries and lawyers.

It is about forcing elected representatives to represent us.

It is using a legal instrument to our POLITICAL ADVANTAGE!

Please repeat this as often as needed for it to sink in . . .

Candidate contracts are legal instruments to force democratically-elected representatives to represent their constituents. They are political levers!

They are POLITICAL SLEDGEHAMMERS!

All will become clear in the next installments.



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



Putting Boots (Birkenstocks) on the Ground: Part V

Putting Boots (Birkenstocks) on the Ground: Part IV

 

This proceeds from my previous articles outlining my approach to community-based "regime change" activism.  I encourage you to read them to embrace the foundation for what follows.

Part I
Part II
Part III

Using basic social skills, personally engaging others face-to-face, we get people talking and listening about problems we individually and collectively face.  We talk about what ails us.  Most people love to complain.  Misery loves company.  Next . . .

We tactfully and respectfully navigate the discussion to those critical issues which are the direct consequence of government policy and can only be solved by our elected officials.

We find common ground.  This should be easy.  So much has gone wrong over the past several decades, it is almost impossible to find someone who hasn't been negatively impacted by the mess we find ourselves in.  Americans on the whole are hurting.  Individually we are victims of much misguided decision-making.

We continue to talk.  And most importantly . . . to listen.

Maybe this doesn't sound like much of a breakthrough, but if we get this far -- having a comfortable adult conversation about one or more specific things which are contributing to the ongoing dysfunction -- it actually is quite noteworthy, taking into consideration the current environment.  More typically now whenever anything appears to remotely involve politics, we expect to see folks either maniacally shouting or withdrawing into a coma-like state of mute detachment.

Talking and listening thoughtfully and graciously represents dramatic progress! 

So . . . where we heading with this?

Time for a refresher on the Constitution.

Congress makes laws.  The president enforces them.

Granted, this clear division of labor has in recent times been compromised, with abuse of regulatory powers and signing statements by the president, and the wholesale surrender of war making powers by the Congress.  Let's still be clear.  And I offer this both as a warning to the ebullient Bernie Sanders supporters, and to those anxiety-ridden progressives who live in fear of either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump ascending the presidential throne:

Without a supportive Congress, nothing positive -- or for that matter negative -- will get done, especially if the new president is isolated.  It will be animus, gridlock, confrontation, blame-gaming, a show of distrust and open hostility between the executive and legislative branches which will make the past decade look like a friendly game of flag football.  This would certainly be the case with either Trump or Sanders.  Perhaps the most frightening prospect is a Hillary presidency, since her most menacing and treacherous policies, both domestic and international, presently have widespread support by our current corrupt, corporate-owned legislature.

There is no question that a strong, visionary president would be a good thing.

But a responsible, responsive, representative people's Congress is absolutely crucial.

Strong, visionary congressional action is a matter of survival for our nation.

Nothing will change until we change the laws.

Laws won't change until we change the law makers.

This is exactly where our grass-roots, boots-on-the-ground, community-based campaign must be entirely focused.

It is about electing individuals to Congress, both the House of Representatives and Senate, who will be directly accountable to their constituents.  The immediate goal of our efforts is to elect representatives who will pass legislation on a number of issues which are clearly important to voters.  These are things the public wants done . . . but aren't getting done.

This means one of two things.  Either the incumbents running for office come around and do what the voting public demands.  Or they are replaced with fresh candidates who have made a binding commitment to do so.

Back to our "conversation" with our neighbor, cousin, street cleaner, bartender, war vet.

We have been talking and listening.  It is obvious that the person we are talking to feels passionately about one, maybe several of the key issues.  Here's what unfolds next -- for each and every issue -- using Social Security here as an illustration:

 

"I see you feel as strongly as I do about keeping Social Security intact and if anything improving it.  Can I get you to sign this?"

"What is it?"

"It's a petition."

"Oh great!  Another petition.  Those never work."

"We think it will this time.  We're coming up with a way to force our elected officials to do what they say they're going to do."

"Who is we?"

"Well, 'we' is folks just like you and me.  This isn't a political party.  It's just citizens who want to see some important things get done.  Get some serious problems solved."

"How?  Politicians say one thing and do another."

"Exactly.  That's why we need to demand they stop playing games.  People like us have to stand up for ourselves.  The politicians are like children and will get away with whatever they can.  So if you and I don't take a stand, it'll never change.  We have to try.  If enough of us raise enough hell, stick together and refuse to take 'no' for an answer, we just might pull this off."

"How?  How are you going to get these guys with all their money and powerful backers to pay attention?  How can you make them do anything?"

"

First, we're going to get 40,000 people to sign this.  Look what it says.  'I will only vote for a candidate who will protect Social Security and work to increase benefits.'  I'd say that's pretty clear."

"And how will we know they will actually do this?  What's my signing a petition got to do with making my congressman get his butt in gear?"

"It's a place to start.  We will build on it to demand action.  For one thing, you're saying this is very important to you.  If fact, you're saying if he wants your vote, he had better step up to the plate."

"And they'll promise to do it, get elected, then break their promises."

"This time we won't let them."

"Hah!"

Most people are pretty jaded and pessimistic about the possibility of moving the system.  Inaction is the norm, the status quo the accepted state of things.  Resignation is endemic.

Many will want to argue at this point that we're wasting our time.

This is not an argument you can win.  No one knows for sure what will work and what will not.  And frankly, those skeptics have history on their side.  For the average American things are going backwards.  Very little is getting done, unless it benefits the rich.

At the same time, that's not an excuse for not trying.  Not trying guarantees failure.

"If we don't try, then we'll never get anything done.  If you don't want to see Social Security destroyed, then sign this and we'll take it from there.  It can't hurt."

That's all that needs to be said for now.  Here is what the petition pledge looks like:




What does a person have to lose by signing this?

Or signing similar petitions on other issues they feel strongly about?

Some might still be reluctant.  They may want to know why we need signatures on the petition.  If they press the matter, then explain what happens next -- which is what I'll discuss in detail in Parts V and VI of this series.

"Once we know we have enough voters behind this, we'll demand that each candidate signs a legally-binding contract.  That will be the 'absolute commitment' to do what you've asked them to do."

"And if they refuse to sign it?"

"We don't vote for them and we find someone who will.  No contract, no vote."

"They're not going to like this."

"But we will.  And we'll get something done for a change that we want done."

This idea is so simple, yet so powerful.  But there's only one way it can work . . . 

 

People must unite not under party banners, but as a voting bloc around issues that are important to them.  Party labels -- also very much the case with ideological labels -- muddy the waters, get people unfocused on what's truly consequential.  'Democrat', 'Republican', 'liberal', 'conservative', 'libertarian' -- even more so with  'socialist', 'Tea Party', and 'Green Party' -- have now become so emotionally charged, clear thinking becomes difficult, constructive dialogue impossible.

Forget the labels, affiliations, philosophies.  Stick with the issues.  They're staring us right in the face.

I hate sounding like a broken record, but please look again at the issue polls cited in my previous two articles:

75% of Americans want a federal minimum wage of $12.50 per hour.
63% of Americans want a federal minimum wage of $15.00 per hour.
75% of voters want fair trade agreements protecting jobs, workers, the environment.
76% of voters want a cut back on military spending.
76% of voters want the U.S. completely out of Afghanistan.
79% of voters want no reductions in Social Security, 70% support expanding it.
79% of voters want no reductions in Medicare.
80% of voters oppose the "Citizens United" U.S. Supreme Court decision.
68% of voters think taxes on the wealthy should be increased.
71% of voters support massive infrastructure renewal.
74% of American voters are for ending oil industry subsidies.
93% of voters want GMO labeling on their food.

These are huge consensuses.  These are the big issues.  To set the stage for real reform, to get our future elected officials listening, these are the issues which draw a line in the sand.  Either the candidates commit to getting these things done or they simply don't get elected.  Period!

This is how we force candidates to pay attention.

Why will they pay attention?

Their jobs depend on it.



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


Putting Boots (Birkenstocks) on the Ground: Part IV

What if . . . ?

 

What if you had a favorite cause or a host of issues which were important to you?

∞  Better schools.
∞  Taxing the wealthy.
∞  Mortgage debt relief.
∞  Raising minimum wage.
∞  Protecting social security.
∞  Expanding Medicare.
∞  Reducing the military.
∞  Ending police brutality.
∞  Free college education.
∞  Money out of politics.
∞  Safer water and food.
∞  Ending the wars.
∞  GMO labeling. 

What if you knew with absolute, 100% certainty that a candidate if elected would go to Congress and fight to get new laws passed on those issues?

What if you knew that the candidate when elected had no choice? That there was no room for excuses or quibbling? That this candidate was bound by legal contract to do precisely what you wanted him or her to do?

What if this candidate was not a Democrat of a Republican?

Would you be afraid to vote for this individual, even knowing with absolute certainty that he or she would go to Washington DC to do exactly what you wanted done?

Would you be throwing your vote away voting for this candidate?

Or would you be throwing away your vote by supporting a Republican or Democrat, who you knew would promise all the right things, then go and vote the way the corporations, bankers, rich and powerful, and their mercenary lobbyists told them to vote?

Obviously, if you were the only person to vote for this candidate who was required by contract to keep their promises, your vote wouldn't count for anything. Your vote would have been "thrown away" by all the other votes which defeated your candidate of choice.

But what if hundreds and thousands and tens of thousands of voters did the same as you and voted for someone they could trust?

What if . . . ?
__________________________________________________________

 

"Candidate Contracts: Taking Back Our Democracy" is now available. This is how we get the representation we deserve. This is how we make our elected officials do our bidding, to stop taking orders from the 1%, the rich and powerful who have destroyed our system of government with their truckloads of money . . .

Amazon (Kindle) . . . amzn.to/1QJRiNZ
Apple (iBook) . . . apple.co/1BXnPcy
Amazon (Paperback) . . . amzn.to/1Cuq0du
Barnes & Noble . . . bit.ly/1GpTTLq
Smashwords . . . bit.ly/1B4DQCp
Direct from printer . . . bit.ly/1MGjDnN


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

We’ll just have to agree to agree.

 

Agree to disagree?

How about if we agree to agree?

Did you know that 72% of American voters want a federal minimum wage of $10.00 or more.

74% of American voters are for ending oil subsidies.

76% of American voters want to cut back on military spending.

79% of American voters want no cuts in Social Security and Medicare.

93% of American voters want labeling of GMOs in their food.

There is vast agreement that the Citizens United decision was bad for America, with 80% 
against it and 65% strongly opposing it.

In a very recent poll, 68% of voters said that taxes on the wealthy should be increased.

I was very surprised, considering the stream of anti-Iran invective issuing from Congress, 
that 61% of Americans think we should do everything we can to cement the recent deal on
monitoring and controlling development of nuclear technology by Iran, as
opposed going to war, as is being promoted by Israel, Saudi Arabia, and
a rabid core of saber-rattling warmongers here in the U.S.

Glancing at the headlines, the constant stream of partisan yelling, social
turmoil, reports of widespread anger, mistrust, alarm and frustration,
you would never know that on many extremely crucial issues, there is
such a broad range of consensus among us normal, sane folks. You know
the people I'm talking about __ real people who have better things to do
than rail at everything and hate everyone in sight.

I'm not a conspiracist. But it sometimes seems as if a certain minority of
self-absorbed miscreants, who don't agree with the majority of decent
people in our country, decided to mangle and manipulate the
conversation. They seem bent on keeping things stirred up, making sure
we don't have a civil, constructive exchange of ideas, try to work out
our differences, then join together to move things in a good, positive
direction.

It's as if they intentionally mislead and misinform us.

By keeping us divided, they control us . . . making it easy to get their own way.

This is nothing new to other countries who view America as the greatest threat to world peace, as a source of chaos, a force not for unity and order but mayhem and disarray.

What we are beginning to recognize within our borders is what the world has for a long time observed outside of them.

They see an America which wantonly uses its military and economic power to muck things up, keep people scrambling, divided, confused, desperate. They watch in horror and fear as we destroy entire nations, killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people, and then claim we're safer now because those countries are in shambles and no longer organized enough to stand up to us, oppose our policies, our exploitation, our callous bullying.

Is this what we want?

Surely we don't really want to live in a nation that is at war with itself
and everyone else. That's not the America we believe in . . . that we
care about . . . that we're proud of . . . the America we hope to hand down to future generations.

We can agree on that, can't we?

I'd say that's a good start.

Let's agree to agree.

Go from there.


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

Extreme? Radical? Or just realistic?

 

We are constantly being lied to. We are being sold wars  we don't want. 
We are having our best social programs cut. Our jobs and tax dollars are
being shipped overseas.  Our treasury is being looted by Wall Street
banks and corporate oligarchs. Our education system at all levels is
being systematically destroyed. Our privacy and personal freedoms are
being whittled away. We are being asked to work harder for less money.
Our minimum wage is so minimum, no one can possibly live on it. We are
told we have to tighten our belts while the rich are carting away
billions from the public till as tax breaks and corporate subsidies.
7-11 clerks and fast food cooks pay higher tax rates than corporate CEOs
and rich Wall Street bankers.

How long does this have to go on before the American people have finally 
had enough?

The typical American citizen is being shafted on so many levels, what
totally astounds me is that there are not outraged mobs in the streets
demanding the heads of the politicians and the cold calculating country
club elites they serve.

Okay . . . okay . . . mass insurrection is not going to happen. At least not for now.

So it seems obvious to me that since we're not going to have a revolution in
this country, the very least we can do is replace the elected officials
in our federal government who have been the cheerleaders and
implementers of these onerous policies. The very least! 

I've stated over and over that we need to replace at least 500 of our
legislators, then put someone in the White House who understands and
serves the needs of all Americans, not just the filthy rich. I've even
dug up that old electoral battle cry: "Throw the bums out!"

As a result, I've had people say I'm extreme . . . out-of-touch . . . radical . . .
and even call me an ungrateful, unpatriotic, American-hating whiner. I get it.
Attack the messenger.

Let's be honest here. If our government on practically every critical front is
headed in completely in the wrong direction and I say it's time to clean
house . . .

Am I extreme?

Am I radical?

Or am I just being realistic?

I am proposing here simple, straightforward tests, applied locally within
each community. These are based on the electoral strategy outlined in my
recent book, "An Unlikely Truth." Just ask yourself . . .

• Did my congressman or senator vote against raising the federal minimum wage?
  If he or she did, it means that this elected official is voting against
  the stated will of 72% of the American voting public. Apparently the
  demands of the greedy businessmen who fill his or her election campaign
  coffers are more important than people being able to earn a decent
  living.

• Did my congressman vote for the Ryan budget in the House or did my senator
  vote for continuing tax breaks for the rich in the Senate? That
  vote would go against the 71% of the voting public who think the wealthy
  should bear more of the burden, as they did for most decades of the
  20th Century. Supporting historically low income tax and capital gains
  tax rates means more money into the pockets of the already wealthy, paid
  for by the rest of us who are struggling to make ends meet. It's Robin
  Hood . . . but in reverse.
  

• Did my congressman or senator vote for a defense budget which included the infamous F-35 advanced fighter jet, arguably the biggest boondoggle in the history of the nation?
  A whopping 75% of American voters want serious cuts in the defense
  budget. Voting for any of the bloated defense appropriations budgets
  means throwing away money on worthless defense projects while schools,
  streets, bridges are crumbling. It's putting bombs and bullets above
  quality of life.
  

• Did my congressman or senator vote for continuing oil subsidies for the oil industry? Alright, profits were a little off last year. So the Big 5 __ BP, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Shell __ only made $177,000 per minute.  Cry me a river! That
  added up to $93 billion in total profits. 74% of Americans want the
  government to stop throwing money at the these behemoth corporations and
  insist they start paying their fair share in taxes.
  

• Did my congressman or senator vote for funding attacks on Libya, Syria, Iran,
  the Ukraine or extending the waste of American tax dollars in
  Afghanistan, which 69% of Americans now oppose? Americans are sick of war.
  Fed up! Every dollar spent on these misadventures is one less dollar
  for critical needs here at home. Estimates for the wars in Afghanistan
  and Iraq are in the upwards of $6 trillion __ that's trillion with a 't'. That adds up to 12,000,000 good paying jobs here in America. Think about it!
  

• Did my congressman or senator vote for any legislation which cut benefits,
  raised the eligibility age, or tampered with the rate of increase of
  Social Security payments, for example, the "chained CPI" skullduggery?
  Such a vote, or even thinking about such a vote, is in direct
  opposition to the clear voice of the American people, 79% of which want
  no changes to the most popular and successful federal program in
  history. Putting the squeeze on our elderly, who have worked hard all
  their lives and can barely survive on the pittance that the program now
  provides, may be the most heartless, sinister, pathological proposal to come down the long pike of heartless, sinister,
  pathological proposals. The money to pay benefits would be there if the
  Social Security trust fund had not been raided to pay for unfunded wars
  and tax breaks for the rich, and having everyone's savings replaced by a
  bunch of government security IOUs. More to the point, those responsible
  for this theft should not only not be in public office. They should be
  in prison.
  
• Did my congressman or senator vote against labeling foods that contain GMOs? If he or she did, then this elected official is at odds with 93% of the voting public. Yes . . . I said 93%!
  And keeping people ignorant of what they're eating and exposing them
  to potential health hazards as dictated by the giant food and
  agrochemical conglomerates like Monsanto is the choice your legislator
  is consciously and unconscionably making.

As far as I'm concerned, a 'yes' on any single one of the above questions is a knock out.

Zero tolerance. Time to look elsewhere. Time to stop voting for the same ol' same ol'.

My reasoning is this. If your senator or congressman accepted what is
effectively a bribe __ lobbyist favors, campaign donations, expensive lunches or junkets 
or whatever __ on one critical issue where there exists a major consensus among the 
American voting public and in your voting district, it means that at some time in the 
future, if enough pressure is applied by powerful corporations and their cutthroat lobbyists 
 on other critical matters, your same representative will ignore you, his or her constituents, 
and vote lockstep with moneyed interests. If it happened once, it'll happen again. Politicians 
must be put on notice: We're watching and there is no margin for error. Or chicanery. Or excuses.

Of course, they'll him-and-haw, create a tsunami of obfuscation and evasion to
justify that one "compromise" or trade-off. I say we take the higher
ground and leave the guy to drown in his own bullshit. Then suggest to
Mr. Got-Lotsa-Excuses Legislator we've heard enough, point to the
parking lot and tell him, "Don't let the screen door hit you on the way out."

Remember, elected officials want your vote. They will tell you what you want to
hear to get you to check the box. Too often, once they are in office,
they conveniently forget that the promises they made were in effect a contract
with their constituents. A verbal contract. Based on what they said
they would do, we voted for them. There's a bond of trust and
responsibility operating. And if they can't honor any single one of
those commitments, then why should we trust them to honor any of them __
past, present of future __ after they disappear inside the Washington
bubble?

We have to keep focused . . .

It doesn't matter whether your current congressman or senator has a pleasant
smile, looks dashing when going to church on Sundays, has enchanting TV
ads showing him or her at the local Kiwanis Club annual bake-off
fundraiser, is a model family man or woman, and gosh-by-golly is again this year 
the Grand Marshall for the Independence Day parade down main street of your 
home town.

What does matter is whether he or she is listening to you,
or taking marching orders from the deep-pocketed campaign donors who
pay for those TV ads full of patriotic slogans and empty campaign
promises, those slick video bites and photo ops designed to fool you
once again into voting against your own interests and needs.

Is it extreme to expect honest representation?

Is it radical to want a functioning democracy?

Or is it just realistic to expect our system of government to work for all of us, 
not just the privileged and powerful?

______________________________________________________________


I am doing what I can to address the destruction of our democratic system.

Without taking back our government, nothing will change.

In my new book, An Unlikely Truth,　I offer an electoral strategy which I 
believe can effectively remove the crooks and liars from office, and begin to 
restore representative democracy to America.

An Unlikely Truth (Literary Vagabond Books) is now available worldwide in 
 every popular ebook format and as a deluxe edition paperback.

Throw the bums out!

 

72% of American voters are for raising taxes on the wealthy.

That equates to 108 million people.

76% of American voters want to cut back on military spending.

That's 114 million people.

72% of American voters want a federal minimum wage of $10.00 or more.

108 million people.

74% of American voters are for ending oil subsidies.

111 million people.

79% of American voters want no cuts in Social Security and Medicare.

Over 118 million people.

93% of American voters want labeling of GMOs in their food.

That's nearly 140 million people!!

But none of this gets done!

The simpleand insulting truth is that a mere 500 or so men defy the will of
millions, that the very people we elect and send to Washington to create
laws that protect our interests, refuse to represent us, ignore our
clearly stated will on these crucial issues and many more.

They ignore "we the people" and do the bidding of "we the rich". Until 
we confront these play-for-pay lapdogs, they will continue to serve a tiny
elite minority of rich and powerful oligarchs and America will continue
its slow but certain decline. You and I will live like beggars and
America will become a Third World country.

We've all been appalled by recent events. We've watched as our government 
was shutdown. We've been horrified by the fight over the debt limit. We've 
seen the systematic destruction of our democratic way of life.

So what can we do? With millions of dollars of fat cat money floating
around, the voice of the regular guy has been drowned out. There has been 
no way to get rid of the crooks and liars. But I believe now there is.

How did that old expression go?

"Throw the bums out!"

We do this using a new, unique and powerful strategy
for taking on the corrupting cancer of money in politics __ an end run
around the iron grip which Wall Street, big banks and corporate
oligarchs now have on our political system. This sledgehammer approach
gives the 500 corporate toadies in Congress, who arrogantly sit inside
the Washington DC bubble and ignore the very people who voted them into
office, a simple straightforward ultimatum: Do your job and start
representing "we the people" or collect your pink slip.

It's a no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners method for cleaning up the corruption
among our elected officials and putting people in office who will do our
bidding. It forces the men and women we choose on election day to start
taking their orders from us, instead of the deep-pocketed puppet
masters who have effectively stolen our government by buying off our
senators, congressmen, even our president, with huge campaign donations.

This is an election year and people are frustrated and angry. Congress 
started the new year at a historically low 13% approval rating.

I say we channel that frustration and anger into a unified and constructive
effort to restore true representative democracy to our country.

It's up tous. But something has to happen immediately. We are fast 
approaching a point of no return, beyond which the specter of a
rigid totalitarian state looms. Either we replace our current legislators 
or they will replace our country with one we don't recognize.

Look around. It's already happening.

So either we rise up now in a bloodless coup at the polls or we rise up 
later in the streets. Revolution in the streets will not be bloodless and I 
suspect it won't end well. The blatant and ruthless dismemberment of OWS 
was a warning.

Time to unite and act decisively.

Hopefully it's not too late.

Sometimes truth comes from an unexpected place and from an
unlikely messenger.

It doesn't matter the source. It's still the truth.


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