OK, so I have not been posting lately due to family, and work demands.  I have also been working more on items with my other interests in Theater and Playwriting.  I do need to post this though...  I feel that it is important to really look at the root issue and that is that is Politicians can make a career out of being a politician and have no accountability to getting things done, other than wanting to get re-elected, then we need to fix this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIcqb9hHQ3E

I agree that I think that it is the responsibility of the elected President, to steer the ship, and if he can't make the case to change the way we are paying and using money to manipulate the political system then we need to vote someone in there that will.

Campaign Process

I have been watching the Presidential Candidates in their bid for being the GOP nomination.  I have been disappointed in the fact that a few of the candidates are showing their naivety to other races, ethnic backgrounds, and finally religion.  There are a few that are attacking Mitt Romney for being a Mormon, and they feel that Mormonism is a cult.  Well, if they would actually take the time to understand their opponent and his religious background they would find that Mormons are definitely Christians in all sense of the word.

I think that it is a weak tactic of a shallow mind and moral character to attach someone over something without getting the truth before hand.  This is a tactic of candidates that don't have solid ground to stand on, so they feel that if they can tell enough people a lie, then it must be true, or at least everyone else will think it is true, even if it is not.  I would classify this as "bullying"  We teach or kids that it is wrong for someone to bully another at school, we teach them that it is punishable....  So what mixed message are we sending our kids when we allow this to go on from the people we are about to choose to lead the greatest country in the world?

I really wish that we could just have every citizen that wants to participate, send in the one thing they are most concerned about for our country, and then after tallying them all up, put those to each candidate, let them respond separately and then all of that info would be made available to every citizen....  Not how to bash the other candidates, but an honest answer to each issue, what plan they have, and how they plan to execute that plan to create a solution.  I would like to see how they have voted in the past, what programs they have ran both successfully and those that might have been failures to some and why, what did they learn, what would they do different. 

I already know who I would like to have as a politician to run in the Presidential Election, but honestly, I still do not know for sure if that person is the best for our country now, cause I do not know for sure how this person has been able to execute plans that truly make a difference in the lives of those that were involved....  I still don't know the details on how this candidate plans to tackle the growing issues with our economy, illegal immigration, foreign policy, war, and a whole host of other issues we as Americans face in this day.  Just like in buying a medical plan....  I want to know what it is going to cover and how that coverage applies to me and my family.

Let's quit the bickering about religion, and let's get on with talking about the real issues that face Americans!

Is big money censoring coverage of certain events

The other day my oldest son and I were talking about an issue that he was finding disturbing...  the seemingly censorship of the events around the Occupy Wall Street event that is taking place in NYC.

I have to admit that I have really not seen anything about it on the news or in the papers and yet in social media by individuals there is some info getting out to the public.  When he mentioned it, I had not heard of it at all, and we pulled up some info online and there was info but only really on side social media sites.  Since then I have been seeing more and more posts about it either on FB (among the posts for how much people don't like the new FB..  lol) or other social sites.  I have become more and more concerned about this due to other issues that I have posted about before with the medias coverage of other events

http://kiss-politics.blogspot.com/2010/12/i-wish-some-people-would-just-grow-up.html

and also on FB...

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=129784867068601&id=1442156172

In these cases the media coverage was enormous and for what, a complete quack in my opinion trying to get his name in the papers and on TV for his own personal gain.  There was no sane reason to try and burn Qurans, only in the fact of getting attention.  It did no good, and only fueled the fires of hatred.  If you ask me, that is not the message that I was taught in Sunday School, and it definitely is not the message that I know comes from Jesus Christ, but in this event that was going to take place which didn't happen at that time, but good old Phelps did (and was covered) in order that Terry Jones did not get all of the spotlight, thank goodness.

I think that there is a problem with the way the media is handling events and news worthy issues these days...  are they being paid off, or not is probably the real question, among other things like illegal spying on people through phone hacking and other practices that are or should be illegal.

I do understand the need for papers to have "news" that people will read, and then there is censorship.  I know that in my posts about Terry Jones that I suggested the the media ban coverage of him, to not give him any outlet for his crazy and insane ideas, but isn't that censorship as well?  I guess in someway I fall into the same category, I feel that censorship for things that I feel need to be censored is justified.  Am I just falling victim to the same things as others are in not covering the Occupy Wall Street events, are they not justifying their actions in some way and that is the reason that they are not covering the events.

I did notice however, this morning on a local news station that there was a brief mention that some got arrested in a protest called Occupy Wall Street, they did not talk much about the event, but did mention it.

Tell me your opinions...  do you think that there is reasons to censor certain news events, and if so, why?

Third Alternative to the Debt Crisis... Please Read

I definitely could not have said it better. I have loved hearing his guy speak, teach, and motivate. Great article he posted in the Huffington Post.

Steven Covey

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-r-covey/a-third-alternative-to-th_b_919211.html

Campaign Spending Reform

Okay, I am on my soap box again about campaign spending. Not that I have seen anything in the media about it again, it is just that I am hearing about everyone gearing up for re-election and the like and know that it is going to be a media blitz again.

I would really like to get a Bill submitted to Washington that would completely reform how we go about allowing candidates to campaign. I have posted about this before:

http://kiss-politics.blogspot.com/2010/10/campaign-reform-well-where-are.html
http://kiss-politics.blogspot.com/2010/10/campaigning-what-crock.html

I have long thought that the way we have our campaign laws have no real effect on the problem that I see.

Issues:

• Only those that are rich or very well connected get elected - in order to get elected you have to know someone, or have a lot of money to spend on barraging the public into knowing your name.
• Too much time is wasted on negative campaigning - most voters really have no idea what the candidates actually can do to fix problems, only that the other candidate is bad for ___ and ___ reasons.
• The public has no real way of telling really who could get things done or who is just blowing smoke.

Okay, so enough with the problems... what can we do about it? Here are my thoughts, and I would love to get your feedback and opinion:

First of all, set the amount that can be spent to a reasonable amount. Let's say $25,000. I know that there will be a lot of politicians that will say that, it cannot be done for that, well here is how I propose that it is taken care of.

• Each candidate gets a Bus and a support vehicle to tour the country, these are provided and so much in gas to get around.
• Each candidate gets a few central locations to debate the issues in front of potential voters in each of the states (could be multiple depending on the population). Each candidate has dates that they are to present their ideas and solutions.
• Media companies need to provide a set amount of airtime that is available to each candidate for actual campaign ads. In turn then the candidates need to be wise with their airtime and make the best use of it. This amount should be set and all candidates have the same amount. Also, media companies would cover all debates in their entirety without commentating, only coverage of the event, and verifying accuracy of the comments made by the candidates.

Second, Each candidate can do fund raisers over the set amount, but this money is to be put into programs that they start while on the campaign. For example if the candidate is into job growth and job creation, then the money they raise should be put into their program that will begin to create these jobs and the like. Then the candidates need to report on the progress of their programs and how they are helping. If the candidate is working on a program for helping the homeless then they create a pilot program and put the fundraising money into that. In each case, the voters could see and evaluate the effectiveness of the candidate in getting programs and solutions created and executed.

Third, each candidate would be able to get additional money from the party they are associated with (up to a limited amount, say $100,000) for additional campaign needs or to put toward their programs as they see fit for those candidates that the party feels has their best interest in mind. once they are the only candidate that will run on that party ticket for that position.

In this process it would really be up to the Party that the candidate is associated with to pay the additional that might be needed to go all the way, but it would be in an amount that is not obscene but reasonable. The 25K would be there for a person to run to be a party nominated candidate. In each case though, there would be an equal playing field for the campaign. Since each candidate would have a very finite amount of airtime and funds, they would need to get creative on the best use and the bast way to get their message across. Instead of a process that rewards the person that can spend the most, it would reward the person that has the best ability to make the most from very little. I would much rather see that in a candidate than the ability to spend and spend. We would also get a chance to see them in action, and of course the media could report on progress of programs and projects, so those candidates with the programs making headlines could get more airtime, but the media would have to be kept in check to make certain that they are reporting on the facts and outcomes, and not hearsay and conjecture, or because they are being paid under the table by the candidate or the political party (campaign watchdogs to keep this in check).

This in my humble opinion could work... yes there needs to be more thought in all of the situations that could come up and how to handle those, but it is a starting point and could have the kinks worked out.

Sure would be nice that in the new Presidential Election coming up that we would hear of the candidates accomplishments, and how they are actually fixing the problems, rather than ad after ad on how the other guy sucks.

Let me know your thoughts

Alright, I have to make a post!

I am sooo sick of hearing Democrats are doing this, Republicans are doing that, Tea Party this, and that! You know, I really don't give a crap about what party the politician is associated with, I know of those that I voted for that got elected, I expect them to work to make the country better, not sit there and play the blame game! Grow up and be adults, get the job done like smart people, and if not, let's clean house and put people in there that can get the job done regardless of how long they have been in politics. I am almost thinking now that maybe it would be better to just remove 1/2 and replace, then after 2 years, remove the other half, and by that point could almost start over.

Why is it so freaking hard for those in Washington to just put the petty differences aside and roll up their sleeves and get something worthwhile done up there? I really hate to think that they are only concerned about their re-election possibilities and so are not willing to make the hard choices and make things work. If you fix it, we will vote you back in... Period!!

Now I know that this financial and economic crisis that we are in is not something that can be easily fixed. It has been band-aided for years now cause each president does not want to be the one to pull the band-aid off and deal with the pain and unsightly mess that is under there, but in order for us to remain a great country, we have to make this happen now, we cannot let it keep festering, and try and just cover it up.

I am one that really feels that we have to do both cut spending, and raise taxes. It is a double whammy, and I know that it will cause mass hysteria for a little bit (because the media feels they need to over dramatize the real issues and the outcomes), but after a little bit of pain, and dealing with the unsightly mess, we can begin to really work on the issue piece by piece and get the healing started. Even a kid in HS can tell you that a business will go out of business if you spend more than you bring in, and cannot grow, if you have not been frugal before and now have the reserves to capitalize on opportunities. As a nation we really have no reserves, we are in debt up to our eyeballs and just like the banking industry in this country, are looking for a bailout, a reset button, and do over to get us back in line with where we need to be. Well, just like almost every American that has been going through hard times, there is no reset button in life, there is no bailout for us normal people, and I think that Washington has forgotten about reality.

Would any of you seriously invest in a company that has been in debt, going farther in debt each day, brings in less money than it is spending, and has a management team that can't get anything done? It is no wonder the countries credit score was downgraded. I am surprised we even have the credit rating we do now... If it was any normal business, we would be out of business already, and if for some reason was clinging to life, we would have a D rating if not worse.

No one likes to hear about increase in taxes, no one like to hear about programs getting cut, but unfortunately we have prolonged the inevitable for so long, that it is now going to be very painful for awhile. If we had fixed things along the way, it would have been a lot easier to bear.

I know that I don't understand everything that goes on in Washington, I am certain that I have a very limited and naive view, but sometimes simply looking at a problem in the most basic way can help to keep things focused on the right path to take. As an American, I would like to see us stop being the police force for the world, and bring the majority of our troops back home and have them take tours guarding our borders, we have a huge issue right now with illegal drug trafficking on our southern border, and I would think that a influx of full military presence with the power to patrol as if it were a hostile border would slow influx quite a bit if not stop it all together. Other countries do it all of the time, why should we be any different. I would like to see us, take the steps necessary to cut spending back to levels that are manageable. If we were not policing the world, then the cost of the Afgan and other wars would be directed back into our State and Local economies. We have to get the spending under control, that is something that has to get done, it is not something that anyone will like, and it will cause a lot of issues, but these could be temporarily limited, and as things get better, put them back in place, maybe even a little more efficient. Finally, as much as I hate to say it, I think that we need to increase the amount we pay in taxes, at least for a while till we can get everything back and working on lowering our overall debt. I know that most will say, once the government has their teeth in you and has a tax rate in place it never goes down, that might be true, but I fear terribly for my kids and what they are (if anything) going to have in the next 10 to 20 years. Increasing the tax rates by a little and removing some of the deductions would allow money to be freed up for those programs that are absolutely necessary (I know there is a lot to debate about what would be absolutely necessary).

Well, enough of my rantings, I am certain that most will feel that I just don't understand the "process"... well, from my seat... the process is busted, let's get a new one!

Praying for those affected in Japan

I hope that we can all find our humanity and pray for those affected by the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan. This really makes you realize what should be important in our lives... family, relationship with God, friends, essentials... most of what we argue and fight about is all senseless when you look at the devastation and loss that the people of Japan and their friends and family around the globe are experiencing right now.

Maybe we can all gain some perspective from this and re-evaluate our priorities.