Political

When your candidate loses an election in a battle for a political office or even on a show like “America’s Got Talent” it can be quite depressing.  Although having your candidate losing a political battle can have a greater impact on your daily life both situations make you feel like you “what the hell were they thinking”?  You wonder even for a moment whether “Democracy really works”? I believe it still does (see below)

(1) PERCEPTION- The people will more likely accept the reality of their life’s when they have a say in how it’s decided.

(2) SELF FULFILLING PROPHECY- The majority will work to see that there candidate is more successful then their policies would lead us to believe.

(3) HAPPINESS- The majority will appear happier even if things go worse then expected because they’ll “stand by their man/woman”

(4) CHANCE FOR TRUE CHANGE- If things really fall apart many in the majority will move to the position of the opposition or not vote in the next election and then the opposition will come into power

Please note for this to occur the Fifth Estate/ The Press must do a better job in reporting the whole truth (not a biased truth) and the opposition must have a charismatic leader with  clear vision of their goals and how they will achieve them.

Many people who are opposed to raising the debt ceiling believe that is the only true leverage they have in getting the President to truly make significant cuts in our deficit. These individuals believe that the President will only act if their is a crisis right around the corner and therefore he is forced to move. Yet I wonder if you don’t trust the President to act until the brink of a crisis why would you trust him to act if there truly is one?

We have seen how the President has caused  undue duress to the American people during the government shut down just to hurt the Republicans then why wouldn’t he up the ante if you don’t pass the debt ceiling.  I believe we might have to pass a short term debt ceiling and fund  the government  but with the following provisions (below). This will insure that the cards are still in the people’s hand.

(1) Agree to the debt ceiling for 6 months and to fund the government for a six month period as long as a panel of Democrats and Republicans are selected to deal with the problems in the deficit (change in entitlements) , increase revenue (tax simplification, growth programs etc) and problems with Obamacare.

(2) The agreement that this panel puts together must be voted on intact by both the Senate and the House without any amendments.

(3) If it passes the House and Senate then the President agrees in advance to sign this legislation

If the President and Senate refuse to go along with this modest proposal then the blame squarely is on them. If on the other hands legislators vote against this bi-partisan agreement then the people will send them home during the next election cycle.

What do you think?

It’s time we build a bridge over the impending fiscal cliff. This bridge will be built with compromises from both sides. It will postpone the debt ceiling debate  for another year and allow the government continuing resolution to be passed. Here is an example of how it could work. YOUR COMENTS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED

(1) The President and Senate agree to stop the tax on medical devices in Obama-Care and subsidy for government officials – (2 for the Republicans)

(2) The House of Representatives agrees to increase funding for Head Start and increase funding  for drug treatment facilities (2 for the Democrats)

(3) The Senate Agrees to lower Capital Gains (1 for Republicans) the House of Representatives agrees to increase sin taxes on gambling (1 for Democrats)

(4) The President agrees to open up the Keystone Pipeline (1 for Republicans) the House agrees to continue subsidies for Solar Energy (1 for Democrats) .

Many politicians who have a poor case will try to get the voter to make their decision on straws instead of bricks. These are truly irrelevant issues that are brought up to distract the voter from the key issues that effect their pocket book and their families pocket book. For example they will try to move the debate on a comment or group their opponent joined/made twenty years ago. By moving the debate in this direction they  try to make the voter believe that their opponent can’t be trusted or is “extreme”. Then they might make a big issue on their opponents position on an issue that truly would have no effect on in the political arena they are entering  (faith, gay marriage etc) . Finally they will give you the “Razzle/Dazzle effect” with bright teeth and beautiful children.  The Razzle Dazzle effect will show a beautiful candidate that will try to tie at your emotional strings. Here is a bit of a battle plan you can mount to break those straws.

(1) Don’t look at any pictures of the candidates until you study the issues they believe in that actually effect your life.

(2) Ignore all forms of distraction that are put up to keep you away from those key issues.

(3) Point these factors out to friends, family and associates before they make their decisions.

It’s amazing that in a city that is open to terrorist attacks that we don’t have the precautions that could have avoided the tragedy, that occurred yesterday. Please tell me why there weren’t tire spikes put up by the White House and Capital Buildings to protect those buildings from not only those who might commit acts because of mental health issues but also those who might in an act of terrorism. If they put these spikes up at car rental locations  surely they could be in areas of vital security to our country.

The key to solving any disagreement/stalemate is finding points common ground that both sides can agree on and then working to make sure both sides safe face. Point one the U.S shouldn’t default therefore they must increase the federal debt limit. Point two the United States can’t keep spending like it us forever and must have a plan to grow the economy. Finally point 3 Obamacare  has many problems with it (including  having  a special exemptions being implemented that aren’t in the legislation) . Now that we agree with these three points here’s how we can come to a solution.

(1) Obamacare is to be enforced as it has been written (no exemptions for government officials and big business exemption must be ended in 3 months)

(2) A panel made up of Republicans and Democrats from the House and Senate will review the implementation of Obama-Care for six months. This panel will come up with specific recommendations  for improvement, that must be voted on (without modifications) by the  Senate and House. If these recommendations are approved by the legislative branch the President will agree to sign them into law.

(3) A panel  made of Republicans and Democrats from the House and Senate will review the complete budget and ways to improve the economy (tax simplification, Keystone Pipeline etc). These panels recommendation must be voted on (without modifications) by the Senate and House. If these recommendations are approved by the legislative branch the President will agree to sign them into law.

(4) There is an agreement by both sides  to pass the debt ceiling and fund the government as is until the recommendations (above) have been voted on by the house and Senate,

In a recent poll it was suggested that more Americans then ever don’t trust their fellow citizens in making the correct political decision. This is extremely dangerous in a Democracy which entire basis for existence is to serve these people. The key to regaining that trust is to  insure that the citizens are well informed and that they are listened to whether their party wins or loses an election.  Here are some key steps (below) that should be enacted to regain that trust. Your comments are greatly appreciated.

(1) More open forums where citizens from various political beliefs can state their opinions directly to their elected officials (if need make these forums mandatory for those that serve)

(2)Panels for citizens- Enabling citizens to be on more advisory boards to suggest policy changes to enact. These panels will be selected only based on skills needed and not be “political appointments” (based on lottery type system)

(3) Civics Training for all students – Where students will participate in local political and/or community projects in their area to receive credits.

(4) Politicians listening to all- We don’t want political leaders that won’t hold on to their convictions, but they should be able to debate and discuss these convictions especially with those they serve with different opinions.  Therefore political officials must actively seek regular meetings (mandatory if necessary) with citizens and private political groups that have differing views. Who knows maybe they’ll learn something

(5) Tax credit for those (TV networks, Radio Shows, Newspapers, schools)  that find ways to educate the public on the constitutional,  political views and political principles from various political points of view. These institution must use key players from those political prospectives to get there tax credit

(6) More debates between those who seek public officials in front of different types of audiences (mandatory if necessary).