One of my peeves is the outcropping of politically active (loudmouthed) attention-getters that make a rather substaintial living from bitching about everything that's wrong with our society, or current political regime. Bitching without resolution is like having sex without an orgasm -- it feels good at the time, but when everything is said and done, there's nothing to show for your effort. Since I like orgasms, this page/pages will try to provide solutions to recognized problems. If you like what you read, then write your senator or representatve and tell them what you want. It probably will not make a difference, but you can promise them some money to get their attention. 

Problem 1: elected officials do not vote for what the majority wants. 
Problem 2: gold effects elected officials judgement, causing Problem 1. 
Problem 3: low regard for people's worth; i.e. people outside the mainstream 9 to 5 "politically correct" lifestyle. 

A Noteable Quote:

"Get off your wallets..."
from Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R) 

Lott warned the insurance industry to "get off their" wallets if they want the Republican Party to stick their necks out on the healthcare issue. 

The New Tobacco War (or the Prostitution of Your Politicians)
There’s an old joke that still rings true and helps provide insight to our current political dilemma. Here goes.

The man at the bar decided to make his move. He approached the attractive woman and introduced himself. He then said, “If I paid you one million dollars, would you make love to me?” The woman was surprised by the question, but answered YES quickly. The man then asked, “Would you make love to me for ten dollars?” The woman angrily replied, “What kind of woman do you think I am!?!” and the man answered, “I thought we already determined that – we’re just dickering over the price.”

Such is the case with many of our politicians nowadays. If the recent killing of the Tobacco Bill did nothing else, at least it let Americans know – in no uncertain terms – where they stand. The truth is that big business or those with a lot of money are really in charge of the country. The free and democratic society Americans love, while still better than most places on Earth, is a façade. It took a popular Democratic president that was not afraid of change to rinse out the barrel and make certain politicians rise to the brim to take a stand. Given this opportunity to prove themselves ethically and morally, the majority took the easy way out, as many of these politicians elected to side with their special interests above the safety and best interests of the people. In essence, these politicians sold their integrity for money, much like a prostitute sells a piece of themselves with every trick.

In the aftermath of a “session”, a client returning from the prostitute feels a great sigh of relief – including new power and a sense of fulfillment, not to mention a clean set of pipes. In the aftermath of the Tobacco Bill, the tobacco companies saved 500+ billion dollars, and can use the saved money to flex their muscles, as they proved some well-placed money can and will get them exactly what they want with our politicians. Think about it: if they can get the government to support them, whose going to stop them? It doesn’t even matter if you approve of smoking or not, as the concept for purchasing our government remains the same. What happens if some well-funded White Supremacists set their eyes on our government? Will the Republican Party kill the bill that could stop them for monetary reasons or political gain? What happens if that dog’s tail gets wagged? You can bet the big tobacco companies will be the first to test the waters. 

Case-in-point: A new Camel billboard ad in downtown Philadelphia displays a picture and slogan that would outrage woman everywhere, as it demeans the very core of the ERA with a single sentence. The line: Get yourself a pleasure piece. The picture displays an elderly man with a young blonde under his arm – both smoking a Camel. This is a first-wave indication that the tides are turning – and the U.S. is headed for a new civil war. I call it The Tobacco War. The winner of the first round of fire goes to big business tobacco. It appears the remaining fights will be easy, as they have already undermined the integrity of the leaders we look to to protect us for the rest of the war. 
 

Is Kenneth Starr Worth It? 
Imagine you're the manager of a large company and you discover that one of your associates has been working diligently for the past three years with little or nothing to show for it. Then you discover he's spent an estimated 40 million dollars doing it. Sure, he has a lot of friends and is politically connected to other key owners of the company, but when push comes to shove, all he has to show for his work is a lot of meetings and interviews, and that he can't be trusted not to leak important company information. Now imagine that his work is making your company look bad to the entire global community that you do business with.

What do you do? Your associate keeps promising, "I'm really on to something. Just a few million dollars more and I'll prove my point." And that sums it up: the associate is spending millions of dollars to prove a point. If this was a real business, the associate would have been fired two years ago. Since this is politics, the associate, aka. Kenneth Starr, just keeps on pushing like a demented Energizer bunny on Lithium batteries. And the 50+ million dollars finds its place in the hole of politics. 

Recent polls have identified that the majority of the country likes President Clinton, and his politics. While they feel it's a little distasteful, the majority of the people don't think a misplaced zipper makes a maniacal, untrustworthy criminal -- the portrait Mr. Starr is trying to paint. Quite the contrary -- being a little horny makes him seem a lot more alive. On the political flipside, many people find it hard to believe that Trent Lott even has a penis (we all know Bob Dole didn't) and are terrified that Jesse Helms might. The recent comparisons to Watergate are a hilarious example of Mr. Starr's ability to hype the media for attention. 

Bob Woodward, one of the reporters that broke the Watergate scandal, said, ". . .Kenneth Starr's investigation is endangering the presidency." When asked why he felt that way, he commented on the severity of the crime vs. the public's need to know. Watergate was about about invasion of privacy, and personal amendment rights, and the President using the FBI and CIA to illegally wiretap peoples phones, break into peoples homes and businesses, invade peoples privacy and harass their enemies. Very serious issues that undermine the freedom that makes the U.S. the land of the free and home of the brave. In comparison, Zippergate is about a two-year-old semen stain on a dress that is under investigation. The key witness is now immune from prosecution, and since she lied at an earlier deposition about the alleged affair, she can now legally say anything she's been paid to. The truth is just a matter of words and consequences. 

At this point it doesn't matter, because our associate Kenneth Starr has accomplished what he's been paid to do from his conservative backers -- undermine the popular Democratic president at a time when the Republicans are catching a lot of heat for defending their backers over the best interests of the people (i.e. killing the Tobacco Bill, imposing welfare laws for gun dealers and trying to repeal the Assault Weapons ban).

It's up to the people to decide whether or not we approve of having a Kenneth Starr around, or if we will continue to endorse a political party that puts the needs of political backers above and beyond the safety of the people. If this was Kennedy's administration, Starr would probably be off checking facts somewhere. Then again, at least Clinton is still alive.

Update: On August 13, Starr stated that the law governing protecting witnesses from disclosing their name to protect their safety also applies to the reporters he "interviewed" during the Clinton investigation. This is one slippery bastard - but his actions in this matter disclose his true character. If he was truthful, and did not disclose information to the press, then there would be no reason to try to keep Judge Norma Holloway from pursuing the investigation. If Starr is found in contempt for disclosing information, then he faces possible disbarment. A disbarment could protect Clinton through Starr's illegally compromising the investigation. Maybe Starr is playing both sides. Or maybe he'll do anything to prove a point. 
 

New Jersey Republicans Use Legal Loophole to Oust Democrat 

This story reads like a political "how to" for the new millennium. Think of it as a recipe for success, one that proves elections are not what they used to be. One that proves elections are all but pointless in this day of political ownership via the corporate dollar and incumbent majority party. Here's the recipe:

1) Take one election, and let the other guy WIN. (Don't worry, you'll get in office in just a month or so.)

2) On election day, make sure enough ballots "disappear" to allow your opponent to win by a small margin.

3) Once the new incumbent is in place, go to the courts and file that the election was void because ballots were missing (previous step). Here's your hook, an incomplete election requires a new ballot. Since only a small percentage of people voted on election day for the REAL election, you can count on even less voters come repeat election day. This improves your percentage chance of winning.

4) Have the other house members (all majority party of course) appoint a fill-in politician until the results of the new election are complete. Note: Depending on your ties to the incumbent majority party, you could be the appointed politician. Voilla, you're in office. If not, go to the next step.

5) Before the repeat election, accuse other politician of fixing the earlier election, thereby diminishing his character and his chance of winning again.

6) Wait patiently and don't cheat on your wife. You're in, because the incumbent majority party says so.

If you think this how-to seems a little far-fetched, think again. Something very similar just happened in New Jersey. While there is no proof of any foul play, and the incumbent party is not under any form of investigation, the results are still the same. A Democrat was elected, and shortly after the election the Republican opponent filed with the court that the election was incomplete due to missing ballots from one of the districts (a heavily slanted democratic district). The first judge turned down the request because of the democratic slant. On appeal, the case was created and the Democrat was replaced with a "temporary" Republican until the repeat election is complete, which bodes well with the majority Republicans that recommended him.

I purposely omitted the names above because it's inconsequential. In this instance, it's the procedure that matters. If this procedure is used all over the country, then it doesn't matter who we vote for or what we want. Pretty soon we'll be a facist state with little or no rights. Not because we voted, but beacuse with a creative (and legal) gameplan, a vote is not a vote.

Why Politicians Do Not Vote

Since so many politicians are catching heat for voting in a manner that just can't please all the people all the time, they've found an easy way out - they simply don't vote. How can government work if our paid politicians refuse to vote? Very easily, with a little creative use of the media, either political party can make a non-vote appear to be a good thing. How? By focusing on the voting percentage, and ignoring the actual number of voting members.

Since it's the number of votes - for or against - that determine the outcome of a bill or law, just who votes is really inconsequential. Neither the House or the Senate need be full for both parties to vote. Just think about the possibilities.

For example, if you're in charge of the party, and you have an important bill to pass, this option lets you clear out the party members that might vote against you, and gives a certain amount of creative leverage should you need it.

How do you turn this into a good thing? Just send the party members off on a Carribean fact-finding tour or to open a homeless school for the blind with full press coverage. Your party looks great, and your vote passes, lickety-split.

This voting season, check to see whether your politicians really vote - or simply hide out - it could be the most important thing you do before signing our country away.

Of Major Interest:

Did you know that a federal law prohibits you from sueing the management of your Healthcare Management Organization (HMO)? Since management is responsible for setting insurance guidelines for managed care, this law makes HMO executives immune from prosecution for their policies and decisions. It's a scary thought when you're on the table and the doctor is a little distracted. That's what I call Political POWER! 

Some facts concerning politics and money

Information from The Center for Responsive Politics was used to create this section.

Fact 1
The residents of one zip-code area -- 10021 -- on New York City's Upper East Side contributed more money to Congress during the 1994 elections than did all the residents of each of 24 states.

Fact 2
On average, House incumbents, regardless of party, spent more than three times as much as their challengers ($572,000 vs. $180,000) and won their races 90 percent of the time. If a challenger did not spent at least $250,000 -- and fewer than one-third did -- his or her chances of winning were only 1 in 100.

Fact 3
During the 1980's, U.S. corporations paid $67.5 billion in federal taxes, while receiving tax breaks (or loopholes) of $92.2 billion. Full story.

Solution 2 - Paint Your Politician
Volleyball players do it. So do race car drivers and other sports promoters. What do they do? They wear their sponsor names like a cloak that says: this is who writes the checks! If politicians take money from business, they should be required to do the same. If my "Paint Your Politician" idea became a law, then the people would know what they're dealing with. Trent Lott would have a Camel tattoo on his brow and when the Tobacco Bill got killed, we would all know why. Instituting this policy along with Solution 1 would clean out the dead wood and move politics into the future.

Solution 3 - Walk a Mile in Their Shoes
With high-dollar fund-raising events as commonplace among politicians as a new Republican PAC, it's hard to imagine they give a damn about the man waiting in 30 degree weather at a bus stop for his ride to work. Maybe they should -- wait at the bus stop that is. With my Walk-a-Mile plan, every newly elected politician, or existing politicians serving yet another term, must ride public transportation -- at their own expense -- for a month straight. No limos, personal vehicles or cabs either -- on or off duty. The idea is to get the politician to understand there is an entire subset of society that relies on buses and trains to make a living, including providing for their families and buying groceries without the convenience of throwing their bags in the backseat of a mini-van. If the politician's district has no public transportation, then they get to beat the streets like everyone else -- and possibly understand where a large portion of their people are coming from.