Unity08 seeks to give you – the voter – the voice and the means to change presidential politics. This website will be the central organizing tool to recruit and engage voters, to discuss, debate and decide the crucial issues, and ultimately nominate a Unity Ticket via a secure online convention in 2024 - we have a lot of work ahead of us!
What you see today is just a fraction of what's in store. We have many ideas about the kinds of networking, discussion, and community engagement tools and features we want to build, but we need your participation to help decide what to build, when to build, and how to build it.
Just as we’re using Drupal, an open source software for the site framework, we like to think of Unity08 as an open source movement. We want all of you to tinker with the movement’s “source code” so Unity08 and, more specifically, this website evolves into a vehicle for change that’s designed and driven by you – the American voters behind it.
To jump-start the conversation, we will introduce a “Shoutbox” later this week. It will be an open forum for posting ideas and comments – and giving those postings a thumbs up or thumbs down rating. The postings with the highest ratings will rise to the top of the heap and be featured on the homepage. When it's ready, the Shoutbox will let unity08.com users share their suggestions for what are "crucial" v. "important" issues, which of those issues a Unity Ticket should focus upon, and even who should be on the Unity Ticket. Of course, you don’t have to wait for the Shoutbox to join the discussion – check out our Unity08 blog and add your comments to the mix.
As candidates emerge for the Unity Ticket nomination we envision featuring daily candidate blogs, vlogs, streams and discussions with the Unity08 community. It’s all about giving you direct access to the candidates and vice versa; a virtual town hall without a script. We can imagine folks sending in their own, home-grown nominating commercials and letting the community rank them.
And when it's time for our ground-breaking online convention in 2024 we'll have secure online credentials and a robust voting system in place.
But before then, and with your help, we'll be coming up with all sorts of powerful and fun stuff right here on the site. We came up with DemocracyLand (go ahead, just try to make it across the street the first time) to kick-off the fun, but we’d rather feature your games, photos or multimedia - send it in. Have a great idea or for the website? Send it in. We started the site, but it's your community to grow and develop. So let's get crackin'.
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Each election cycle brings out someone's list of the 4 or 5 issues that THEY have decided will be the ones discussed to the near total exclusion of all others. Unfortunately, the media accepts this, explaining that it's their job to just report the news, not influence it, though they're perfectly willing to add their spin. This is incredibly frustrating for those of us who think it's far more important who will choose the next supreme court judge than whether the couple down the street are gay or straight. When I try to offer some input to a major party or politician, I find that the ONLY input accepted is in the form of a monetary contribution. NO ideas are welcome...ONLY money. Issues like the widening gap between rich and middle class, the absurdity of deciding that it's too expensive to educate kids but OK to incarcerate enormous numbers of them when they go astray, the lack of affordable health care for all but the most affluent, dramatic increases in the number of government documents classified as secrets, the replacement of science with religious dogma and many other issues that I think are important and well worth discussion in public forums are replaced by issues that are either so hard to resolve that no legislation is likely to be forthcoming (like immigration and social securtity issues) or unworthy of a place in serious discussion (like flag burning ammendments and gay marriage). This isn't accidental. Politicians are chosen for their ability to raise funds and add special interest earmarks to legislation to benefit of the donor class, and NOT for their expertise in governing. Because they lack expertise and don't value it, they fill administrative positions with hacks whose expertise is limited to running campaigns and who know little or nothing about the job of the department they're hired to head and who seek input only from highly paid lobbyists and behind the scenes string pullers. No wonder government serves us so poorly. It's not true that all tasks are better performed by the private sector. Many can be performed at much lower cost when profit motive is removed from the equation but ONLY if they're run by professionals for the benefit of the public. Even corporations fail miserably when they're run by incompetent or unscrupulous executives and it always costs more to have a large task performed by profit driven corporations headed by highly paid executives than to have the same job performed by a well managed government agency free from the profit motive, staffed by dedicated individuals who really care about the public good and headed by folks who are professional and willing to work for a small fraction of the pay available in the private sector. How could it be otherwise?
I'm supposed to get onboard a movement that can't tell me where it stands on the issues?
Unity?
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz...
> "Zzzzzzzzzzzzz..."
More like, "baaa baaaa..."
Jeez, are you guys going to be sheep your entire life? This is a chance to say what *you* want it to stand for. Instead of listening to some old white guys tell you what's good for you.
My ticket would be:
Rudy Guliani and Barak Obama.
Like it is wrong to profit off the sick and elderly, it is wrong to hold higher education hostage from the people of the society. Certain elements of society should not be capitalized upon or the society will self destruct like the United States is today. Total and unconditional capitalism will not work if the following critical social functions are raped and pillaged by the private sector. These critical social functions are healthcare, education, judicial, legislative process. For clear policy visit www.appyp.com/fix_main.html
I love em! Corporate Profit Pirates is more like it! Put em back in their market cage! Greed is a great thing and drives markets but it cannot drive governments!@ Be real - when did our leaders misplace their marbles? When marbles became very, very profitable! First it was local corporations bribing the political parties for pork! That caused enough legislative fraud. Now the whole world is in on it! Even Chinese companies ran by the Chinese government are permitted to bribe our political parties for bogus and fraudulant trade policy! Would someone say "legislative auction block for profit!" I can't think of a better reason to hang someone than selling out American for profit from elected office. But it's much worse than that! It's not the individual politician - it's both political parties and the monopoly they have on legislative process - working as two heads to prevent reform with gridlock (or as they call it bipartisanship) PLEASE! For clear policy solutions visit www.appyp.com/fix_main.html
I am wondering what has happened in the last six months to make this so much more of a hot topic compared to the preceding six months. Is it media-driven? Or is it because our federal government has once again displayed its inability to deal with a chronic issue.
I live in Arizona, which might regarded as one of the front-line states for illegal border crossings. There is a lot of concern. Towns on the other side of the border have a worse situation, with shoot-outs. Part of the speculation is that, as the border has been tightened in California, and perhaps elsewhere, criminals are battling for the new best places to smuggle people and drugs across the border. If one secures some areas of the border, that puts pressure on the less secure areas.
I get the feeling that people think this is problem is easily resolved increasing the guards or the fences or the roads. It will take a long time, and the federal government has a poor track record at maintaining lengthy commitments (longer than the election cycle). Consider the poor job of levy building around New Orleans. The unwillingness to address the AIDS epidemic for nearly a decade. The virtual demise of FEMA.
There seems to be this notion that we could secure the border in a year or two, and that in the meantime those who have entered the country illegally will just go home, because nobody will hire them.
Both these notions seem wrong to me. If the border is tightened, I would think it less likely that anyone would risk going home because the chances of sneaking back in are worse. And putting pressure on employers to discharge their illegal immigrants is going to put more of them out on the street, and into the hands of those criminal enterprises that will sell their labor regardless of the laws congress passes.
America has gone through many periods where immgrants were believe to be a threat. There was the "yellow peril" of Chineese immigrants brought in to construct the railroads in California, for example.
Both sides of this debate seem mired in slogans. One side saying how illegal immigrants do the work "no American wants to do". Of course, some Latin Americans that are citizens or legally in this country are doing that work, so it seems silly to me for them to say "no Americans" want to do these jobs. The truth is, illegal workers will do it cheaper. The other side seems to take a high moral ground, talking about how these illegal immigrants are "cutting in line". This resonates with school days; nobody liked being cut in front of. No fair! Line-cutter! And the line-cutters were often bullies. Scary line-cutters!
Well, that line is what? 10 years long? 16 years? depends on who you ask. And to get in that line you need, what? A relative here in the U.S. preferably. Essentially, you are saying they cannot get in.
But they know they can; just not legally.
There was this idea to build factories along the Mexican side of border. This has been profitable for U.S. companies, but it has done little to stem the flow of illegal immigrants across the border, because those places are really rough, filthy places. And the pay is about 50 cents an hour. Can you imagine it? You don't see much cover of what it is like on the other side of the border, what is creating all this pressure to cross. The media keeps showing shots of people running on this side of the border, not so much what they are running from.
I don't have a side in this; I really don't have a solution. I think the flow of people across the border needs to be reduced. I think it is impossible to stop. I think the focus needs to be on those that are doing the smuggling of people and contraband, rather than the people, who are pawns in this game. Border security starts with the reduction of the involvement of criminal elements, and the regulated flow of people.
As long as the wealth and work opportunities are present here and absent there, people will find a way to get here.
If that fact can be accepted, it becomes pretty clear that more than a physical barrier is needed to control the immigration. The flow of people needs to be allowed in order to reduce the pressure, so that the criminal elements obtain less profit. Part of the profit from a criminal enterprise is used to expand and fund other criminal enterprises, just as in any other business.
We need to be more serious about what our goals are, and not assume either of the phony "moral high grounds" of the two camps: 1.the people are suffering, let them all come here; 2.they should stay home and fix their own country.
Both of these are extreme solutions and, if this is really a moderate forum, one should search without and within for solutions that are workable rather than "perfect".
Most of us have ancestors who immigrated here from elsewhere, be it two, three, four, or five generations back. Some maybe go back to the Mayflower, but most of us have ancestry that arrived later than that. And most of them did not have to contend with the entrenched dysfunctional bureacracy that hands out visas. I travel on international business, and I can tell you that the system of giving out temporary visas is just not working. One company has an employee who they employ in sub-saharan Africa. He is a college graduate. They had to wait more than a year to obtain a visa to bring him to the U.S. for a couple months of advanced training. So when I hear that "get in the back of the line" phrase, I know it is just posturing. There is no real line, just a quagmire.
We have to ask ourselves what we are willing to give up for increased border security, because nothing is free. Should we levy an immigration tax on industries known to employ large numbers of illegals, in order to fund the cost of hiring more border security personnel, build better walls,etc?
Or just "put it on the tab" of the soaring national debt? How about taxing the money being repatriated back to these countries? This is a big big business in Arizona. Lots of wiring of money. And these cards, these biometric cards to control legal immigrants or guest workers, who is going to pay for them and the database behind the cards? Should the immigrants have to buy their card and their visa? And how do we decide who has to have a card, anyway. We don't really know who is illegal or how long they have been here, do we, because everyone has forged documents. Another thriving business here in Arizona, selling fraudulent documents. Or are we just going to require that everyone have a biometric card? Are you comfortable with that concept?
I don't know the answers, but the answers I see our politicians putting forth don't seem like the sort of answers that will solve anything or even make it better.
The answer is simple. First; fence off the entire boarded. Second; enforce all existing laws. Third; overhaul the current immigration rules to reflect this country’s real need, not the political whims of Washington; Democrat or Republican.
While there so many Americans that cannot afford health care, illegal immigrants are flooding are hospitals and our taxes are paying for it. If a someone robs a bank, they can't go back there and make a deposit and get interest. But that is exactly what is happening with this illegal immigrant sitiutation. As compasionate as we are, we simply cannot afford them to have a pathway to citizenship. It will change this country forever. All of us have to stand up and say NO MORE ILLEGALS. I see them all around everyday out in our community and our own local government are the ones hiring them. STOP THEM NOW.
I agree, the Immigration issue is a complicated one. I feel it in part directly effects our poor economy be keeping the wages artificially lower than they would have to be to compete with other jobs that pay a decent wage and provide health care. It's bull to say no american workers will do those jobs, they just won't do them for what they want to pay.
As far as the immigrants themselves, I say welcome, as long as you come in legaly. I work in the tech field, and we have a LOT of foreign contractors, so I know it isn't all that tough to do things the right way. And to me giving any illegals here already amnesty is a slap in the face to all those that have done things the right way, i say NO! The need to leave and come back in the proper way, period!
Who really and truely feels they are represented today?
I think our polititians are out of touch with reality! Many it seems are "groomed" to be politicians, and even in the campains they ridicule thier opponents that have little or no experience.
I don't know how other feel about this, but I am sick of it! FED up! Look at the way they run stuff, the bogus laws they pass! What world are they living in???
I want real people representing me, someone that knows what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck, to struggle to pay bills, to work their butts off to be able to spend one day a week enjoying their family!
When was the last time any of us got to vote outselves a raise!!! Are you kidding me? Our economy is in shambles, we are in a nasty no win situation that our incompitant prez got us into and congress followed right along instead of using any common sense what so ever!
I want REAL people, that are good problem solvers and decision makers, and know the importance of relationships outside of our own.
We speak with out vote, our vote is our voice! Let's show them we ARE fed up! Better yet, let's clean up and start over the right way!!!!!
Having been very involved in the Reform Party of Ross Perot, I saw that Party self destruct as several factions within began to seek power to control the Party. I'm not sure how to control this problem for Unity08, but the quest for power will surely become an issue as the Party forms and grows. As long as Perot was in charge, things went reasonably well, despite his sometime odd behavior. The minute he stepped aside and the top positons were open to nomination by state delegations, the infighting began. Then, even though diminished in stature and strength, the threat of a third party was apparently too worisome for the Republicans, and I believe that they planted Pat Buchanan in our Party. He proceeded to gain the nomination and promptly completed its destruction.
I believe part of the problem with lack of governmental representation may be the lack of self-representation. Among my friends and colleagues, I find I am the only one writing my Representative and Senators expressing my position on many issues. It is sad that out of 50 people I know, 49 are willing to have someone, or some lobbying group, speak for them, and then complain. Now, to date, I have received nothing but automated email 'thank you for writing' responses. That won't stop me.
Your a bit naive in think that your represenative gives a good d*mn about your opinion. Did you really really think they are where they are to improve our government. Believe me, they are immersed in the 3 icons of status. wealth, power, and sex.
That is what this, Unity08, is all about. I hope this will work.
I am excited about the creativity and thoughtfulness that I see in reading through many of the messages on this blog. It tells me that there are a lot of Americans, with a lot of varying opinions, who are frustrated because they have no means of expressing those ideas and opinions where they will be heard and given true consideration. I would like to see a lot of changes in our nation's politics too, and what I realize is that people who have true mastery, in various fields, are seldom willing to get involved in the dirty business of politics. So, what we get is those who run for office because they (& their supporters) have hidden agendas that often don't come out until after they are elected. It might be neat to have a website of the federal government, where any American citizen could go online anytime and express their true feelings about any given issue, or their frustration with things in general about their government. I would propose that this site be monitored by an independent group of highly educated and qualified individuals who would analyze the data, by category, and report it daily to the American people. I would also propose that every elected official be "graded" each day according to how they respond to the issues, i.e. what they actually do, toward resolving the issues. It is time we get serious about the issues that REALLY concern Americans, and stop being distracted by one of two hot button themes that have very little overall effect on the long term success of our country, but are highly promoted, by those in power, to keep us in the dark about what is NOT being done on our behalf in Washington. Thank you for the opportunity to express my opinion. I hope there is some way you can organize and analyze what all is said on this blog, and publicize what's really on the minds of our fellow Amereicans.
If there was ever a time a third party had a chance in American politics it is now. The problem that you will NOT surmount is waiting until 2024 to have a candidate and then trying to keep up with the juggernauts of the two major parties. A third party does not have the money to run with the big boys when you wait until they start campaigning. A third Party MUST start Now. You need your candidate in the field NOW.
If you have no candidate Now you must get one. You must also get OFF line and into the major media, Papers, TV, Radio, starting NOW.
This is why the Libertarians never have a chance, they wait until it it too late.
I have voted third party for years knowing they do not have a chance because they are waiting until too late to introduce their candidate and their platform and allow media to dismiss them as not viable. If you don't get into the debates you have NO chance. The best Badnarik of the Libertarian Party could do in the last election was get himself arrested trying to get in the debate. You will have to do better than that.
Good luck,
jd
If there was ever a time a third party had a chance in American politics it is now. The problem that you will NOT surmount is waiting until 2024 to have a candidate and then trying to keep up with the juggernauts of the two major parties. A third party does not have the money to run with the big boys when you wait until they start campaigning. A third Party MUST start Now. You need your candidate in the field NOW.
If you have no candidate Now you must get one. You must also get OFF line and into the major media, Papers, TV, Radio, starting NOW.
This is why the Libertarians never have a chance, they wait until it it too late.
I have voted third party for years knowing they do not have a chance because they are waiting until too late to introduce their candidate and their platform and allow media to dismiss them as not viable. If you don't get into the debates you have NO chance. The best Badnarik of the Libertarian Party could do in the last election was get himself arrested trying to get in the debate. You will have to do better than that.
Good luck,
jd
If there was ever a time a third party had a chance in American politics it is now. The problem that you will NOT surmount is waiting until 2024 to have a candidate and then trying to keep up with the juggernauts of the two major parties. A third party does not have the money to run with the big boys when you wait until they start campaigning. A third Party MUST start Now. You need your candidate in the field NOW.
If you have no candidate Now you must get one. You must also get OFF line and into the major media, Papers, TV, Radio, starting NOW.
This is why the Libertarians never have a chance, they wait until it it too late.
I have voted third party for years knowing they do not have a chance because they are waiting until too late to introduce their candidate and their platform and allow media to dismiss them as not viable. If you don't get into the debates you have NO chance. The best Badnarik of the Libertarian Party could do in the last election was get himself arrested trying to get in the debate. You will have to do better than that.
Good luck,
jd
I watched, with interest the interview on Sunday's 'Washington Journal on C-Span. Attractive as the proposition might be of a Joint Ticket at a future Presidential Election - A joint possible Republican / Democrat ticket being suggested. It strikes me that in politics, as always, people by and large vote for established political parties. Thus, the major difficulty of establishing anything new is always going to be one of getting the ticket established and convincing the electorate to make a break from lifelong allegiences.
The formation of new political parties will always run up against these obstacles.
It is, of course, always possible that a credible ticket would be able to establish itself outside the normal party framework perameters, but this would surely only stand any chance of winning an election if one of two main conditions appertained. Firstly, the main planks or policies of the ticket would have to be of a sufficiently attractive nature to captivate, seduce and retain voters interests............and by extention their votes. Second, the ticket leadership, (for the purposes of this discussion the two figureheads being put forward as candidates for both President & Vice-President), would have to be capable of sustaining support over more than one election term.
In the likely event of the ticket being unsuccessful, there would be calls for the ticket to be changed if it did not win.
Establised political parties have the grounding and historical background to address the issue of either sticking with a team that has failed, (in the hope that they can fashion it for a win in the future), or of deciding to change it because it has lost and they feel no confidence in it being capable of being fashioned in such a way to give it a chance of winning.
Unity08 would be unlikely to have such a background.
I also have voted 3rd party in several elections, knowing that, realistically, I had no chance of my candidate being elected.
However, I would rather vote for someone I want, and lose, than vote for (or against)someone I don't want and "win".
It's just too bad the general population wants to vote for a "winner" and doesn't want to "waste" their vote by voting their conscience.
Replacing Crooks with Thieves is never a good Idea. These two parties have had their chance in power and have done America wrong.
Why would any rational thinking person think they would get better by joining forces?
How about this?
1. A national referendum on a balanced budget amendment (we need one, but congress will never pass one on its own),
2. Closing off our boarder with Mexico now, and working on a guest worker program, etc., later,
3. An executive order, or legislation, mandating a total conversion to Ethanol in 5 years time,
4. Tax reform, i.e., a conversion to a national sales tax (the "fair tax") with the mandate that the price of all consumer goods be reduced (by the amount of the so-called "hidden taxes") to pass along the tax savings manufacturers would realize,
5. Adopt a more globalistic foreign policy that takes into account the way the rest of the world sees us. Specifically, the President should forge better relationships with all other world leaders, be more open-minded, and expand his/her advisors to include great thinkers with more diverse viewpoints;
6. Make an effort to de-isolate the isolated regions of the world by infusing them with media and communications resources (the less isolated, the less likely to create conflicts),
7. Clearly define our exit plan in Iraq, and stick to it (the most logical one seems to be that we should offer as much or as little help as the new government wants us to, with the understanding that they should become self-sufficient ASAP)
The desired result is to get the issues important to the people addressed. I suggest that you join the Lincoln Initiative which will in no way interfere with your Unity Party goal. It will only give an additional chance of success.
I believe that the people can dictate the platforms of both parties by a show of strength and the threat of a protest vote for "Honest Abe" before the election.
The Lincoln Initiative is a new and unique movement. It has no organization, no leaders, no contributions, and no meetings. It only has a $2.00/month web page which provides assistance. It requires only that each member write four letters and mail them to the national and state campaign headquarters of both parties. Not as much effort required as is required to pull off a million man march but 10,000 letters/day for 100 days is a more impressive result. Make "government of the people, by the people, and for the peoople" a reality. Click on http://lincolninitiaitve.org
We should build more Nuclear Power Plants. We can control the spent Nuclear waste or enriched byproducts.
Iran can then "keep" their Oil reservses and use it to produce the local energy they need.
If we vote ABI for two terms the message will be very clear to those in office, those going out of office and the current "ins"
Voting ABI is voting for ANBODY BUT INCUMBENTS. Almost to the person people I associate with have lost any hope of having a representative government for the Citizens of the USA. Minorities, Illegals and Special Interests trump the average American who as of today are still the majority. Our elected representatives are spitting in the face of average Americans. It must be stopped.
It is our constituional right to lobby our representatives. But I am sure our founders did not intend lobbying to grow into todays lobbying style or they would have insisted that lobbyists have signed purchase orders before they could buy our politicians.
While the 2024 election is the goal of Unity08, as its title implies, is there not an important opportunity to raise our awareness during the 2024 congressional elections? Should our "crucial issues" be addressed by aspiring congressmen/women? Given the incredible poll numbers indicating dis-satisfaction with congress and both parties, this would seem like the best congressional election in many years for moderate influence with candidates. Who knows, perhaps we could influence some of them to join us?
Unfortunately, there exists no referece in the constitution that gives one the right to lobby his representive. Not even to meet him/her nor him/her to meet with their electorate ever. You only have the right to vote for your rep or establish a grievance.
I'm certain that a viable third party is the only way to engage our country in worthwhile dialogue rather than subtle lies and occasionally subtle truths. I think that this party can't help but take the wind out of the sails of the polarization we now live within. Fresh thinking is possible when you are not just reacting to spin. I have always felt that when two anything presented a dilemma a third allows a real choice. So I will hope, I will contribute and I will say that to me the issues aren't as important as a spin free discussion so that we might all learn more about ourselves. I also think the energy we put into this new endeavor could for many of us take our angry and fearful energy into a more positive hope for the future. Who knows about the collective unconscious? But at least we now have a way to begin to talk about what we want to see happen rather than what is wrong with everything.
Do you know the difference between a politican and a prostitute? You know when a prostitute does it to
you.
How about some 50 caliber machine guns on the border.
I know this is off subject but we need to research ethanol abit before jumping on that wagon, too. I only bring it up because someone else just did.
I have read and heard that ethanol requires great energy to be produced. Energy source of choice is coal.
The coal industry pollutes waters and cuts off mountain tops to rain debris on the valleys below. It is a nasty business that could be done more intelligently but...
Our current government has stopped prosecution of and investigations into safety violations by coal producers. A lot of people have now lost their jobs for trying to do their jobs in Mine Safety Admin.
We may not want to jump on that one too fast. But buying into buzz words without research is an American trait, though one that needs changing and fast.
We need this site to offer different categories so discussions are specific to a subject matter. Perhaps then we can start to solidify a consensus vs. being all over the place with scattered input.
Most campaigns try to focus on two or three issues that are of the greatest interest. I liked the "choose your most important issue" polling on this site, although it was clear by postings that not everyone agreed with the selection list and did not want to be marginalized into the "other" category. When I think about my biggest concerns, I find that some are interconnected. If I had to put them into three "big picture" categories, I think they would be something like this (in no particular order):
>>Energy/Energy Independence/Environment:
What energy sources are used, now and in the future, globally and domestically, and how they probably impact the environment and quality of life. What needs to be done? What can be done? Who should do it? How do we pay for it?
>>>Foreign policy/homeland security:
Is foreign policy, including the war in Iraq, making us safer, or is it making us less safe? What about port and border security? Illegal immigration goes in here of course, although I do not feel particularly threatened or angry about my neighbor's non-English speaking gardner (I mow my own lawn). I am more concerned about criminals and terrorists than whether the hotel maid has a green card.
>>>Health care, retirement, the social compact, growing inequity of income, deterioration of the middle class, education, yahta, yahta. These issues tend to have a personal face for me, and I think others. My employer's medical insurance coverage just keeps costing me more and covering me less, rumor has it that next year it will be replaced by a "health savings account" (nice if you are a healthy 20 something but a heavy hit to those in their fifties) there is no pension for me, just a 401k, there probably will not be much comfort from social security, and this kind of rubs me the wrong way when I see the pay packages of ceo's that seem to be rewarded nearly as much when they fail as when they succeed (the money flowing from my 401k stock funds into their villas) and congressmen talking about the punitiveness of inheritance ("death") taxes on billionaires (so ok, it starts at 3 million, I can see raising it to start kicking in at 20 million, but not repealing it, we don't need an autocracy of billionaire family dynasities!) at a time when the national debt is totally out of control. I put the federal deficit in this category because most of the federal budget is transfer payments. You cannot think about one without thinking about the other.
These are the areas where I think the majority of Americans can accept that we have problems that need discussion. You might have a different "big 3".
Stuff on "process" like how the electoral college works and term limits, and campaign funding, well, yeah it may be important for getting things done, but it is just process, it does not actually address anything except its own political world that most Americans watch swirling about in a seemingly aimless effort of self-perpetuation at the cost of everything else.
You are going to have to vote enough of the people responsible for the present process out of office before you can expect meaningful change.
When the reform party opted to stake out its share of the political turf on the far right instead of the center, it missed a historical opportunity to reshape the American political system. Had it chosen the center instead of the far right, it could well have exercised working control of the american political system today.
The opportunity to establish a viable centrist party is essential to the reform of American politics. The Founding Fathers divided government into three institutions for sound reasons. Today we would recognize these as necessary to create stable feedback loops, so that the political system is capable of self regulation. We need a viable third, centrist political party for the same reasons as envisioned by the founding fathers.
When political control of the country is returned to the center, which is where it has alwasy belonged, notwithstanding the protestations of the political fringes, a modicum of sanity will be restored to the American system of government.
Which means first establishing the program that our candidates will run on, rather the the other way around. That'll send a signal that, while the candidates we choose will be important, it's the program that they're to pursue when elected that count most. This is necessary to do because in general political campaigns emphasize the looks, personality & other trivial instead of the heart of the matter - What a candidate stands for.
Who says the candidate has to be in politics now. Are not the politicians in office, servents of Unions, Oil, Military Industrial Complex. Special intersts.? At every level. Where do their priorities lay?
If we could make an effort to encourage citizens to write-in their choice in elections, then the party system would be broken. Write-ins are not controlled by party politics. I intend to be a write-in candidate for the Illinois Senate in 2024, especially if there is no unity like party to slate me.
To Hamilton, Gerald and Doug,
You guys are on the same track as I, but you are about a dozen laps ahead. So I'm excited about the chance to pitch in to your effort to unite the mainstream and bring about some immediate and much needed change to the way our great country has been functioning.
I was a political science major in college and one of the first would be volunteers to the Peace Corps. So now you can guess my age, but I'll tell you anyway,66. I lobbied for volunteers who served to be credited for their time as an alternative to the military service. The draft was then required(for men). I lost in my argument and so did not join. Now, nearly 50 years later, I feel more strongly than ever, that our military should be used for humanitarian aid wherever needed, particularly in our own country, and anywhere else in the world where our help is solicited.
Education is the key to everything and I hope you (we) can focus on involving the youth of our nation. There are tremendous opportunities for our entertainment industry to apply its creative talent and technological skills to produce educational programs that are interesting, informative and stimulating. There has always been one special teacher that got us excited about something. Let's make it possible for all those "one special teacher"(s) to influence much wider audiences. The downward cycle of ennui can be turned around by the enthusiasm of the involved.
There are two other points I want to mention while on the subject of education.
First is the extension of community involvement. Many of our kids are already learning to do this as part of their curriculum. It should really be up to the young people to decide for themselves, but why not have a draft again-but this time for peaceful purposes-and not just for men.
Second is the need to have accurate information about issues---local, regional and national. The facts can be studied, analyzed, discussed, under the direction of qualified, non-partisan leaders (teachers?). The students will then be required to have a discussion with their parents at home. The goal would be to have informed decision making. I have long believed the problem with democracy as we practice it in America is that many people vote on the the basis of wrong information or no information. I don't remember if it was Aristotle or Socrates, but one of them pointed out that anything constructed on a weak foundation will not survive. The idea about having to pass a qualification test on the issues in order to vote is too much to expect now. But maybe someday.
I hope you're still with me, because I want to talk about one other thing, CAPITALISM. Our nation became great because of capitalism and the opportunities that were created within that framework. We still believe in it today, but recognize flaws in the system. The biggest is the disregard for the social good in the name of maximizing profits. So if we want to reverse the decline in our nation's finances and reputation, what better opportunity could there be than to take the lead in becoming a one world economy. We could lead the way toward achieving world-wide parity in labor rates, establishing health care and retirement programs for everyone, and working together to spread freedom and eliminate (or at least reduce)hunger, disease and environmental degredation. I was an exchange student. It was a wonderful experience. Why can't everyone who wants to try it not have the chance. On a one-on-one basis, it brings people (and nations) together.
Thanks for staying with me thus far. You've done the hard part, getting Unity8 up and running. Now comes the harder part, getting it to work. I hope I can help.