This culture of secrecy should be changed. One place to start is by immediately overturning Bush II=s really quite evil, secrecy-maintaining order that reversed Clinton=s prior order under which millions of pages of absurdly classified documents would have been made available -- a Bush II secrecy order that, many think, has the effect and may in part have been specifically intended to hide misdoings by the Bush family. This would be only a start, however. The whole culture of secrecy must be drastically curtailed everywhere if we ordinary people are to be able to gain control of our destinies, instead of frequently being screwed over a hundred different ways, physically, financially and morally.
8. Finally, there is the matter of money in politics, a.k.a. the current campaign finance system. It seems a no brainer to say the current system should be scrapped in favor of federal financing of campaigns, with only relatively limited federal financing at that. The current system, which is money uber alles, and in which bribery has been legalized by calling it campaign contributions, has led to a crooked Congress, a crooked executive, continual focus on raising money instead of on what should be done to better the country, vast favoritism to the rich and powerful who give money, a correlative effing over of the little man, a corrupt army of lobbyists and lawyers on K Street in Washington, D.C., and disgraceful judicial rulings which protect the massive legalized bribery of politicians by conflating money with speech, when in fact money is only money and speech is speech.
* * * * *
This brings us to the question of what, concretely, is to be done to obtain reform. In my judgment it is now necessary, as it was in the 1850s, to create a new political party. As when the Republican Party was created, the old parties are played out. As has been shown by Gulf II, they are incapable of doing the right thing. They are too beholden to big money -- money is virtually all that our politicians care about. The pols, far too often, are people who have spent or want to spend their whole lives and careers, or at least 20 to 40 years of them, in politics, with all the kowtowing, hypocrisy, venality and evil that this causes. They have gotten to used to the ethically crooked, morally criminal ways of our system, cannot even envision serious change in the political and electoral system, and even regard the possibility of serious change as not only naive, but also as semi-treasonous. They do not represent the millions of us -- one suspects the tens of millions of us -- who want serious change. If there is to be serious change, it will not come from either of the two existing political parties, who for all their claimed differences are, at rock bottom, tweedle dum and tweedle dee as someone once said (George Wallace? Ross Perot?). Rather, it must come from those of us who are disgusted with the situation, and are idealistic and hopeful enough to think that, at least in the long term, something can be done to improve things. Those of us who share these characteristics must form a new political party to agitate for, to press for, change as fast as possible but certainly in the long run.
But how does one create a viable new political party, and contest elections, given the current power of television, given the associated need, it is thought, for scores of millions of dollars for public relations, ads, campaigning, conventions, etc., and given the size of the country. How does one build a political party and fight electoral campaigns at a cost that is only a small, even a tiny, fraction of the elephantine sums spent on politics today? The answer, to this question is: use of the internet. (Perhaps an odd answer from one who does not even yet know how to turn on a computer, but clearly the answer nevertheless.) The answer is use of the internet far beyond anything discussed by politicians to date, use of it far beyond websites or appeals for money. The answer is use of the internet, especially its rapidly advancing full motion video capacity, to do virtually everything that has to be done in politics: to have small group discussions, to have meetings, to make speeches, to trade writings, to conduct both the written and oral back-and-forthing needed to work out positions, to raise whatever money is needed, to arrange for signing of petitions (one of the requirements that the two major parties use to keep third parties off the ballot), to campaign, to communicate with and to see and be seen by voters. Telephone calls and face to face discussions, and especially in-person conventions at appropriate times, will still exist and be used sometimes. But the main work and the main campaigning will be over the far less expensive internet, often using, as I say, its rapidly growing video capacity.
One especially crucial use of the internet will be to develop positions on issues discussed above and on other issues. The internet, and its expanding full motion video capacity, should be used to trade and comment on papers addressed to issues and to hold real time audio/video meetings with regard to issues. Carefully considered positions can be worked out in this way through lengthy, extensive and highly considered deliberations. Through such decisionmaking made possible by the internet, one can foresee positions and compromises being given much greater and far deeper consideration than they receive from the two present major parties with their in-groups, back rooms, and pressuring lobbyists and money men. As well, the use of the internet to work out positions should be a continuous process, so that any necessary changes can be made as facts and circumstances in the world change.
America will only be the better for the kind of deep and continuous consideration of ideas, problems and possible solutions that is being spoken of here.
There it is then. There is the idea towards which the whole of this lengthy blog posting has been directed. There is the concept of a third party and, in part, how it will operate. One hopes people will react favorably to the idea, and will work to implement it, notwithstanding the various forms of blockade that the major parties have set up to maintain their oligopoly. For only if a major third party arises, one that is devoted to and insists upon decent principles, will there be a real chance of turning this country around. The two major parties are played out; they care only for winning elections and various forms of graft, and not for doing the right or decent thing. If we do not get a major third party, and soon, then one fears that, as an increasing number of people are saying, we shall in relatively short order go the way of Rome and all the other prior empires. Such an American decline would be something of a tragedy, and not less so because enabled by the moral midgetry and lack of decent principle of the two major parties, a moral midgetry and lack of principle that are not offset nor counter balanced nor slowed nor overcome by the existence of a third party that stands for decency, honesty, competence and other essential principles.*
* This posting represents the personal views of Lawrence R. Velvel. If you wish to respond to this email/blog, please email your respon
8. Finally, there is the matter of money in politics, a.k.a. the current campaign finance system. It seems a no brainer to say the current system should be scrapped in favor of federal financing of campaigns, with only relatively limited federal financing at that. The current system, which is money uber alles, and in which bribery has been legalized by calling it campaign contributions, has led to a crooked Congress, a crooked executive, continual focus on raising money instead of on what should be done to better the country, vast favoritism to the rich and powerful who give money, a correlative effing over of the little man, a corrupt army of lobbyists and lawyers on K Street in Washington, D.C., and disgraceful judicial rulings which protect the massive legalized bribery of politicians by conflating money with speech, when in fact money is only money and speech is speech.
* * * * *
This brings us to the question of what, concretely, is to be done to obtain reform. In my judgment it is now necessary, as it was in the 1850s, to create a new political party. As when the Republican Party was created, the old parties are played out. As has been shown by Gulf II, they are incapable of doing the right thing. They are too beholden to big money -- money is virtually all that our politicians care about. The pols, far too often, are people who have spent or want to spend their whole lives and careers, or at least 20 to 40 years of them, in politics, with all the kowtowing, hypocrisy, venality and evil that this causes. They have gotten to used to the ethically crooked, morally criminal ways of our system, cannot even envision serious change in the political and electoral system, and even regard the possibility of serious change as not only naive, but also as semi-treasonous. They do not represent the millions of us -- one suspects the tens of millions of us -- who want serious change. If there is to be serious change, it will not come from either of the two existing political parties, who for all their claimed differences are, at rock bottom, tweedle dum and tweedle dee as someone once said (George Wallace? Ross Perot?). Rather, it must come from those of us who are disgusted with the situation, and are idealistic and hopeful enough to think that, at least in the long term, something can be done to improve things. Those of us who share these characteristics must form a new political party to agitate for, to press for, change as fast as possible but certainly in the long run.
One especially crucial use of the internet will be to develop positions on issues discussed above and on other issues. The internet, and its expanding full motion video capacity, should be used to trade and comment on papers addressed to issues and to hold real time audio/video meetings with regard to issues. Carefully considered positions can be worked out in this way through lengthy, extensive and highly considered deliberations. Through such decisionmaking made possible by the internet, one can foresee positions and compromises being given much greater and far deeper consideration than they receive from the two present major parties with their in-groups, back rooms, and pressuring lobbyists and money men. As well, the use of the internet to work out positions should be a continuous process, so that any necessary changes can be made as facts and circumstances in the world change.
America will only be the better for the kind of deep and continuous consideration of ideas, problems and possible solutions that is being spoken of here.
There it is then. There is the idea towards which the whole of this lengthy blog posting has been directed. There is the concept of a third party and, in part, how it will operate. One hopes people will react favorably to the idea, and will work to implement it, notwithstanding the various forms of blockade that the major parties have set up to maintain their oligopoly. For only if a major third party arises, one that is devoted to and insists upon decent principles, will there be a real chance of turning this country around. The two major parties are played out; they care only for winning elections and various forms of graft, and not for doing the right or decent thing. If we do not get a major third party, and soon, then one fears that, as an increasing number of people are saying, we shall in relatively short order go the way of Rome and all the other prior empires. Such an American decline would be something of a tragedy, and not less so because enabled by the moral midgetry and lack of decent principle of the two major parties, a moral midgetry and lack of principle that are not offset nor counter balanced nor slowed nor overcome by the existence of a third party that stands for decency, honesty, competence and other essential principles.*
* This posting represents the personal views of Lawrence R. Velvel. If you wish to respond to this email/blog, please email your respon
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