chuck kottke

set the system up to promote the best in us all, and the results will generally follow in a positive direction. It is our world, we are the keys to making it what we wish; paradise is within reach!

Amendment movements, ideas, and the adoption of resolutions at local levels: Lawrence Lessig calls for a Constitutional amendment on campaign financing - Boing Boing We the People, Not We the Corporations | Move to Amend Los Angeles City Council Calls for Constitutional Amendment to End Corporate Personhood | Move to Amend

I've only had Bailey's maybe once or twice, tho it was pretty good!:) > But if it's just hot cocoa, Fair Trade cocoa tastes the sweetest of them all, since there's no child slavery involved. It makes the sweetness go many miles farther. :) I guess what I'm really thinking is this: We can buy the fair trade products, and yes is does make a difference for a few fellow humans here on earth, but we need to make the levers at the top move to turn this trickle into a waterfall. With the listing of rights to right the wrongs and make fair the elections & governments + reform the economy, and enact laws to prevent such amassing of power, and promote equitable business practices, we can make the exception the norm, and end the slavery used to make products the world over.

Thinking about how we need open debates between all qualified candidates running for office as a right, so all the candidates voices get heard and then we can be better informed, and equal airtime for all, so they all get their messages out on equal footing. Things have gotten so corrupt here, it's ridiculous. And now, there's unlimited cash flowing into candidate coffers and into ads, I am thinking there isn't much else we can do but demand and amend the constitution, and press hard for laws to make those amendments have salience, to set up a fair system for all citizens. A representative democracy, if you can get it!

Interesting to note that there is another Republican who bases his campaign on donations of $100 or less, and on grass-roots support: Buddy Roemer. He was shut out of the debates, first because the debate organizers insisted that he garner 1%, then 2% of the voters, which he did, and then because his campaign didn't reach the $500,000 mark, which disqualified him from the debates by their rules. Buddy was governor of Louisiana, then representative, so he has experience, he supports the Occupy Wall Street movement, believes in Fair Trade, and the right of state employees to collectively bargain, but doesn't believe state employees should have the right to strike. I see him as a progressive candidate, what we need more of in this country, and the fact that he was shut out of the debates is indicative of the grip wealthy donors have on the process; clearly this must change. Buddy Roemer for President | America Needs Buddy for President 2012

The only Bachman I like it Bachman Turner Overdrive! :cool: The rest can go Bach.:P The right-wingnuts though do spend an awful lot of time demonizing gays, that's such a backwards thing to do. It's as though they need someone to hate, to redirect attention to for all the frustration their adherents sense in life; a boogie-man to be afraid of, or to try and make a monoculture out of a land of diversity.

Achieve Nirvana with Teas & Fair Trade Cocoa! :sunny:

Brent, thanks for posting this story! This got me thinking, and I began to wonder about what is it that leads to all this... The story of Jesus is uplifting and all about redemption, overcoming hate and corruption, a willingness to sacrifice by caring for those truly in need, and accepting the fate one is dealt. I think what happens is that the religion gets co-opted by a few who rewrite and embellish on the original story to suit their power positions and rivalries throughout history - for example Paul rewrote the story of Jesus's death to blame the uppity Jews for insisting that Jesus be put to death, claiming the Romans were asking them what to do with Jesus, when in reality, what may be closer to the truth is that the Romans put Jesus to death and the Jews were terrified by the horrible spectacle of another good Jew being killed for standing up against the corruption of the day, and for Jesus and the essenes trying to restore the Kingdom. And then in Europe, given Paul's version of events, when problems arose, it was easy to blame a minority group, the Jews, for anything that went wrong, and to use them as a scapegoat. Never mind the fact that Jesus was a Jew, and the Romans were to blame for his death! So the story of Sodom and Gomorrah is often used as a pretext to scapegoat gays as being "bad", when in fact the whole story of Sodom and Gomorrah was about greed and pride overtaking people, and God's wrath coming down upon them. Gays are scapegoated I believe because of the twisted few who relish in using power to control some and do damage to others (by convincing others that gays are somehow "bad people" according to God). They are a minority, and because gayness causes a sort of confusion in a world where many like simplified normal patterns of behavior & simple human arrangements with which they feel comfortable with and can make sense of easily in their own minds. Hence, simple formulaic views of human relations and confusion, coupled with job loss and frustration in life, can make some easily persuadable to do the cruelest of things to another human being, and then going out and hurting another who is different and gentle, simply because they are searching for a scapegoat, or are on an ego-trip of sorts as well, is their unfortunate path of action. It's the strangest of things for some to use the same bible that exalts Jesus as the prince of peace, the righteous one, and the savior, to twist a story in the old testament/ Hebrew Bible into something it isn't so they can justify their witch-hunts. This is a real tragedy. So this man of the cloth has done his best in a world where sometimes bad men create misery for others who are a bit different, and I find his courage and ability to rebound uplifting! He sees the good and gentle souls as the true salt of the earth, and that's where it's at. I hope he keeps on helping others, caring as Jesus did for the sick, the poor, the needy, and setting right the injustices in this world, for he is truly walking in Jesus's footsteps. Walk On!!

To charge those batteries takes renewable energy! So I found it interesting that there is a new coating for solar cells which has excellent long-term durability in the sun: New Polymer Film Improves Efficiency of Solar Panels | Renewable Energy Resources | Solar Power Alternative Energy Environmental Action & Green Living Guide

There's a double entendre I think, it seems to me to refer to those corrupt power elites and their tendency to use spying, cameras, and internet surveillance to damage citizen's rights, detain people, and do much worse. Egypt's "crocodiles", America's "alligators", all similar in nature. ;)Who Are The 1%? Vote on it now.

Hm, I think Unions vary in their leadership, I know there are corruption issues and power issues at the top, yes, but generally I still see them as working for their members, which are diverse and on more equal footing than wall street's financiers and power brokers. I haven't studied the matter closely; perhaps it's as bad as you say it is Nick. President Obama has been captured too much by the plutocrats, I agree. What is needed goes beyond all this, into the realm of amendments and citizen-led conventions.

Iraq, Iran believe it or not it's on this globe! (but I wonder if this is just a mapmaker's sense of humor!:laugh3:)

Xenia Seeberg actress

Hm, well last time he ran, President Obama received over 50% of his campaign donations from small donations of $200 or less; I haven't checked where he is this time around though, and I suspect that will be less. Unions are member organizations that represent large groups of working class citizens, so they're not like some billionaire who wants it all for himself. It is the big checks in the end that sway all of them, I agree. My focus is on reform, on amendments to make elections fair and end the buying of government - those are progressive issues that may hold more weight than anything else, since it's at the root of the problems we face. And you know, you're right - he is President Obama.

11:19 and ready to hit the hay.:sleeping:

answers > Hm, well I had a very good experience in public schools in terms of getting a good education, aside from the disruptive types in class and not enough effort to end bullying at that time, so we had very different experiences then. I think perhaps the problem centers as much around healthy, stable, and supportive families as it does around the school system. But quality education requires good colleges to prepare excellent teachers, and for there to be descent pay as well to attract well qualified teachers, which varies considerably from state to state and place to place. Merit based rewards, checks and balances, and conscientious teacher recognition tops the list of priorities to get the standards up as far as I see, but what do you see as the reason for poor pubic schools in your state? > I recall the argument for it being unconstitutional, but I think it ought not to be, and if it is, well then we need to decide to either amend the constitution to include it, or not have it. But when the super-wealthy don't pay their fair share, cutting their taxes further erodes what good the government does do. Right, the money is wasted on bloated military contracts and wars and on corruption, which I think can only be remedied with amendments to make it possible for anyone to afford a contribution and have equal pull with their representative and end the big donations, end the side-offers for ads and posh lobbying jobs, and include term limits. End the corruption and the Federal Government will work for us. The impasse I see with simply cutting the government and having almost no tax is that the money returned may not allow for much boosting of the economy, since we've lost so much manufacturing here, and then all those social and economic boosters which help the poor and the needy are lost. The puppet government funding too is a product of money in elections and through future lobbying jobs and investments - we need to make elected officials beholden to us to stop that, otherwise, it would just be private mega-corporate puppet governments directly and private mercenary armies doing their bidding in its place. > That's a plus! To accomplish that though, I think he will need the amendment for fair elections and fair candidate races, including caps on donations - otherwise, he would be mostly alone! It is mostly a matter of economic inequity that allows for wage suppression by the wealthiest, using the government they corrupted to block breakups of virtual monopolies and preventing more socially conscious ventures from becoming the mainstay. It should be that government acts on our behalf to check the consolidation of power in ownership and properly regulates to ensure that the best behaviors and market practices succeed. They're not just taking our money, they're owning the whole process. > That appears to be true, so I consider that as one of his greatest assets as a candidate. If however we focus on amending the constitution and pressing for real reform measures, then we might be able to regain a representative democracy, which is essential since no one candidate can make the difference. But you're right, at least he has the support of many real contributors and isn't bought off by the crooks. > Yes, that is true. President Obama didn't stand up, and he should have gotten citizens to rally around amendments to reform the whole election process, and he should have broken up the big banks and ended the tax breaks to the billionaires who control the whole government. Perhaps though it's too early to say Paul is the only candidate who isn't controlled by the plutocrats - there may be some other entrants yet. I've often wondered why Bill Moyers doesn't run, or Russ Feingold. > Good thinking, but I think the answer is more with the process, however I get your point Nick, I think it sends a strong message to the other plutocratically-controlled politicians to either do the right thing or face uncertainty in their election bids. But I think there are other ways, namely amendments and possibly a convention, if and only if we can prevent it from being hijacked by those interests. > Well, President Obama is funded to a large extent by small contributions and through unions which generally represent broad bases of working citizens, but the influence has eroded my confidence in his ability to create real change. I would probably vote for Ralph Nader if he ran, and push for amendments, or vote for Russ Feingold or for Bill Moyers, since I would rather see Ron Paul's ideals with campaign funding coupled with a more progressive government philosophy.

East London, South Africa!

Well, as for his means of financing his campaign, I believe Ron Paul deserves high marks - the majority of his contributions are from individuals, he's one of the lowest in lobbyist receipts, and the 4th highest in small-donor receipts. But I think many of his proposals are extreme and damaging to the strengths of our democracy and to our society and to the world in general. >He wants to eliminate the department of education, which is truly sad because there is so much inequity between levels of educational funding for K-12th grade, both within states and between states, this is very unfair to youth in general. I believe we ought to put more money into education, improve the merit based system and cooperative efforts within schools, to strengthen our economy and create a more enlightened citizenry. To fund schools federally would allow for equal opportunity for all students, be they in Mississippi or in Minnesota, and in conjunction with this we need to restore representative government, to allow the funding to be appropriated fairly and wisely. >I give him kudos for voting against the wars, and for his aim to reduce the military in such a way as to truly improve global stability by transferring more over to peace initiatives. But voting against aid to hurricane Katrina victims, that's just cruel. >I think what we need is a Federal Government responsive to our will as citizens, which is the real problem. Ron Paul authored a bill to abolish all income taxes, which to me would eviscerate the US Federal Government, and consider what has occurred in recent times - we've seen the wealthiest 1% cut themselves huge tax breaks, run up an enormous Federal debt, and deregulate oversight over the very entities which needed careful oversight, the "banking industries." So what resulted is massive unemployment, growth in wealth inequalities, budget shortfalls and the cutting of services, reductions on money for education, and the list goes on. Considering this, I believe we need a strong Federal government, fully funded, and make the wealthiest of the wealthiest pay their fair share. To make government responsive to our will, amend the constitution, call a convention if necessary with very careful citizen oversight and participation, to ensure we retain control of our government by capping the donations to campaigns to a level affordable by all, enact term limits to prevent consolidations of power, and end the revolving door of congress members morphing into lobbyists. On matters of trade, Ron Paul voted against NAFTA (kudos there too!), but then his ideas of unregulated free trade lack considerations for human rights, the environment, and fair business practices. I would much rather see trade policies with oversight to protect worker's rights globally, protect the environment globally, and set up fair trade practices as well. To do so would require a properly functioning Federal government and agencies tasked with protecting those things we share in common, responsive to our will, not to the will of a powerful few. Reform with election and campaign funding takes center stage there again. For more on that: Lawrence Lessig on How We Lost Our Democracy | Lawrence Lessig | Rolling Stone

Zvolen Slovakia

Ulm, making great strides in being green! Solar power production 2nd largest in Germany, with a regional goal of being powered by 100% renewable energy by 2030!! Ulm - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia & then there's ... Venice!:heart:

Terre haute, Indiana, USA

Welcome Ellie from Liverpool (you're a born lever puller then?;)) birthplace of the Beatles!! & welcome Isuru from Sri Lanka:sultan: Land of teas and gems! & welcome to Daria from Poland! :daisy: (I think of gingerbread when I think of Poland:chef:) & welcome smithereens from Croatia:husky: (I think of Dalmatians coming from the coast):snoopy: & welcome to vivacious from Poland:gorgeous: & welcome Coldplayer 1996 from planet Earth :sunny: & welcome to Leonie from Amsterdam:mudkip: (nearly on the North Sea) & a great Coldplay Song!! & Welcome Stephen J (Gould?:stunned:) from the United Kingdom!:crown: Welcome Everyone!:)

Ahh, the windy city! I can just imagine the wonderfully fresh air blowing off the lake! ;) Eat some pizza, you'll feel better.:P

Toulouse, Lautrec

Qishn, Yemen