Emperor's Rants and Observations

For those of us that haven’t already voted, we have a clear and fundamental choice to make on November 2, 2010 when we step into the voting booth.

Do we want a country that turns it’s back on the elderly, disabled, sick, poor, unemployed and our Veterans?

Do we want a country where the top 2% of Americans have record increases in their wealth while the middle class disappears and the poor are getting poorer?

Do we want a country where we give tax incentives for American companies to outsource jobs?

Do we want a country led by people who are more concerned about winning the 2012 election than they are concerned about fixing what’s wrong with our country today?

Do we want a country that is governed by hate, fear, anger, distrust and intolerance of others based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin and/or sexual orientation?

Do we want a country where groups fight against one another over slices of an ever decreasing economic pie?

Do we want a country with leaders that would turn back civil rights and dodge questions from the media?

Do we want a country that believes deficit spending is ok to fight wars but not ok to help our own?

Do we want a country where our government protects and defends multi-national corporations despoiling our air and water? Even going so far as to apologize to them when we try to hold them responsible?

Do we want a country that believes health care should be rationed to those that can afford it?

Do we want a country that would make children born in the US criminals?

Do we want a country that would require everyone to carry and present papers on demand of law enforcement officers to prove our legal right be here?

Do we want a country where financial institutions can act with impunity, gambling with other peoples money?

Do we want a country where unlimited amounts of corporate and foreign money flow into elections undisclosed?

Do we want a country that won’t invest in education?

Do we want a country that won’t provide funding for teachers, police and fire fighters.

Do we want a country that legislation is held hostage by minority representation for simple partisan reasons.

Do we want a country that will cut spending and jobs at a time when we are already experiencing high unemployment.

If we want that kind of country then all we have to do is vote for Republicans (or not vote), because that’s what they have promised to deliver if elected.

If that’s not the kind of country we want then we better show up to vote. We better talk to our friends and family and make sure they go vote. This is about what kind of country we want to have and it’s up to us to decide.

Candidates may only accept donations, of any kind, from individual registered voters, eligible to vote for that candidate.

If you can’t vote, you can’t donate. It’s really that simple.

In political campaigns, money is more akin to a vote than it is to speech.

Corporations can’t vote. Unions can’t vote. Political Parties can’t vote. All the various groups, committees, foundations, think tanks, etc can’t vote. Foreigners can’t vote. Non-citizens can’t vote. Lobbyist can only vote where they are registered and eligible.

With that as a the standard, anything that promotes a candidate would be considered a contribution to the candidate and can only be done, paid for, provided by, a registered voter eligible to vote for the candidate. Individual rights to free speech are protected, playing field is level, and the rules are uniform across the board.

The result of this single one line change would be:

• Lower cost of campaigns
• Less TV, Radio and Print advertising
• Encourage more debates and town halls
• More use of the Internet
• Reduced lobbyist influence
• Improved quality of candidates
• More citizen involvement
• More accountability to voters
• Reduced interference from outsiders
• Increase voter registration and voting

Makes sense. Sounds good. But like a lot of sensible, good ideas, probably won’t happen. Because nobody wants to give up their exception to the rule. The power brokers would lose their power. Control would revert to the people and thats the last thing that anyone vested in the current system wants.

Want to test my theory that this idea will be attacked from all sides? Click the link below to post it to your Twitter status

Candidates may only accept donations, of any kind, from individual registered voters, eligible to vote for that candidate. http://bit.ly/cHOPYV

Last week I posted about Anchorage Mayor Sullivan’s veto of an amendment that would provide equal protection for Anchorage citizens of any sexual orientation. The ensuing discussion led to whether the Mayor had an obligation to do the will of the majority. Although, in this case he is doing the will of a vocal minority who we don’t even know if they reside in Anchorage or not.

So here is the oath of office that the mayor took.

I solemnly swear (affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Alaska and the Charter of the Municipality of Anchorage, and that I will faithfully perform the duties of Mayor to the best of my ability.

Seems pretty simple and straight forward. How is vetoing an ordinance that would protect people from discrimination performing the duties set forth in his oath of office?

The United States Constitution

Amendment 14 – Citizenship Rights.

1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Permitting people to be discriminated against based on their sexual orientation would be a classic example of denying those people the equal protection under the law.

The Constitution of the State of Alaska

Article 1 – Declaration of Rights

§ 1. Inherent Rights

This constitution is dedicated to the principles that all persons have a natural right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the enjoyment of the rewards of their own industry; that all persons are equal and entitled to equal rights, opportunities, and protection under the law; and that all persons have corresponding obligations to the people and to the State.

There it is again, “equal protection under the law”. How can we have equal protection under the law when we are free to discriminate against anyone simply because of their sexual orientation.

The Home Rule Charter For The Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska

Article II The Bill Of Rights

(7) The right to opportunities in housing, public accommodations, employment, and education without regard to race, religion, sex, color, national origin, marital status or physical handicap; and the right to an Equal Rights Commission at the municipal level in the aid thereof.

While perhaps not as clear as the US and State Constitutions, the Home Rule Charter in spirit of the law is pretty clear that discrimination in “housing, public accommodations, employment, and education” is generally unacceptable.

When it comes to education the Anchorage School Board policy states:

Appendix A — Statement of Rights and Responsibilities:

Non-Discrimination

This Statement of Rights and Responsibilities will be enforced fairly and uniformly without regard to race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex or gender, sexual orientation, or disability.

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Office. ASD Statement of Nondiscrimination

Individual and/or groups are in violation of this policy if they:

* Make demeaning remarks directly or indirectly, such as name-calling, racial slurs or “jokes”; or
* Physically threaten or harm an individual; or
* Display visual or written materials or deface, damage, or destroy property or materials; or
* Perform any other act that is clearly discriminatory or harassing in nature;

because of the person’s race, creed, gender, national origin, age, language spoken, ability, disability, martial status, political or religious beliefs, physical or mental condition, family, social, or cultural background, or sexual orientation.

So apparently government at every level, even in our own Anchorage School District, recognizes the need to protect people from discrimination based on sexual orientation. But in the infinite wisdom of our Mayor he has found “clearly a lack of quantifiable evidence necessitating this ordinance”. Or perhaps this was just the payoff to Prevo and his cult members for their campaign support?

The majority of the Anchorage Assembly, representing the majority of Anchorage residents, voted for the ordinance. The Mayor ignored the obligations he undertook in his oath of office. It is now up to the Assembly to have the courage to do the right thing. Protecting the fundamental rights of every Anchorage resident. Giving them equal protection under the law, and access to the “Equal Rights Commission at the municipal level in the aid thereof.”

From what I’ve been told, only an Assembly member can call for a vote to override the veto. I appreciate those members that supported the ordinance in the past, but now is not the time to quiver in the face of bigotry. Anchorage needs you to stand up and stand tall to what is blatant bigotry. We need to have it on public record who supports the rule of law and equality for everyone. We also have a right to know who supports denying equal rights of some based simply on religious dogma and political expediency.

Anchorage is waiting and watching. We won’t forget when it comes to election time which side you stood with.

2. Campaign contributions restricted to individuals eligible to vote for the candidate. No cash or in kind contributions from ineligible to vote individuals or any entity including businesses, organizations, political action committees or political parties.

We live in a Constitutional republic.

A constitutional republic is a state where the head of state and other officials are elected as representatives of the people, and must govern according to existing constitutional law that limits the government’s power over citizens. In a constitutional republic, executive, legislative, and judicial powers are separated into distinct branches and the will of the majority of the population is tempered by protections for individual rights so that no individual or group has absolute power. The fact that a constitution exists that limits the government’s power makes the state constitutional. That the head(s) of state and other officials are chosen by election, rather than inheriting their positions, and that their decisions are subject to judicial review makes a state republican.

Nowhere in our Constitutions are there any mentions of political parties, special interest groups, political action committees or any other subset of individuals. It’s government and individuals. The rest is just BS that has evolved over time. Things like the two party system or primary elections, just happened in response to a vacuum left by the absence of enough individuals engaged in the system.

So it’s time for us to re-assert our proper place at the TOP of the organization chart, not the bottom. First thing first our representatives are, our individual representatives. My neighbors shouldn’t get to choose my dinner if they aren’t eating with me. My neighbors shouldn’t be able to influence the election of my representative if they can’t vote for my representative.

Anything that gets between the people and our government is an enemy of the people and our government. That includes, first and foremost, the Democratic and Republican parties. Simply because of their shear size and how intertwined they are throughout all levels of government. Oh, and no other party is any better or worse.

The cool thing, we don’t even need a law to make this happen. We just need enough of us to agree, and refuse to vote for anyone who is a member of any political party or has accepted/will accept donations of any kind from anyone/anything that can’t vote for them. Since independent voters outnumber both declared democrats or republicans this seems like a doable thing to me.

From: Organizing for America

Last week, Republican Senator Jim DeMint made it pretty clear why the opponents of health care reform are fighting so hard. As he told a special interest attack group, “If we’re able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo. It will break him.” Here’s how the President responded:

Think about that. This isn’t about me. This isn’t about politics. This is about a health care system that is breaking America’s families, breaking America’s businesses and breaking America’s economy. And we can’t afford the politics of delay and defeat when it comes to health care. Not this time, not now. There are too many lives and livelihoods at stake.

With Congress only days away from finalizing their plans for reform, it’s time to stand with the President and fight back against this disastrous brand of old-style politics. So we need as many people as possible to publicly support the President’s principles for health care reform and call on Congress to act.

Before the first full votes in Congress, we’ll publish the signatures in newspaper ads across the nation, to make sure your voice is heard.

Watch President Obama’s full response, then add your name to support reform.

Or if you’ve already signed, please forward this message to all your friends and neighbors so they can join you.

Sign the declaration

The President is more dedicated than ever to passing health care reform that satisfies the three requirements he’s been talking about for months: Health care reform must reduce costs, guarantee choice — including the choice of a strong public insurance option — and ensure all Americans have quality, affordable health care.

If we do not reform our broken health care system this year, we will shackle future generations with spiraling costs and deteriorating care. The cost of inaction is simply more than this country can afford.

But the special interests who profit from the status quo won’t go down without a fight. The ads, the smears, and the attacks — targeting both President Obama and members of Congress who support reform — will only get worse. So it’s crucial that we show huge backing before Congress finalizes their plans this month.

Stand with President Obama on health care reform:

http://my.barackobama.com/hcdeclare

A couple of years ago 6/23/07 I wrote a post that included 10 Points of Change for campaign finance and election reform. A recent discussion at thealaskastandard.com reminded me of my post that included those “10 Points of Change”. So as Emperor I’ve decided that the 10 Points deserve a conversation of their own. So starting tomorrow, Wednesday July 15th for the next 10 weeks I’ll post a topic from one of the ten points. I won’t be doing them in numerical order. Follow me on twitter @Emperor_Bob to get which of the “Ten Points of Change” will be the newest 10 Points of Change topic.

Our public discourse on a wide range of topics from local to world wide has been dominated by extremists – at both ends of the political spectrum. Too often we find ourselves talking to people that think and believe like us, share our personal values, instead of reaching out to people we don’t agree with. Not to argue. Not to denigrate and insult. Just to understand. Perhaps with more of us truly trying to understand opposing points of views, we may find that there are some things that we can agree on.

I bring this up because I came across a site through twitter that I expected to disagree with it it’s entirety. I was surprised that I found a lot that I could agree with. Sure there is more that I disagreed with, but I did get a better understanding about at least this one individual.

We often forget that writing of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution wasn’t without passionate disagreements from the wording to the substance. Instead of vilifying and condemning each other, they found a way to reach compromises that the majority could agree with. I wonder if we could do as well today.

Oh and that site I am talking about can be found here A Bold Step Back

My favorite Steven Covey Quote “Seek first to understand, the to be understood.”