Where I Stand

Thank You.

I want to thank you for your support. I appreciate you emails, calls, letters, showing up for the debates, volunteering, your contributions, and your vote. When all the votes have been counted, nearly a thousand people will have supported my common sense, bi-partisan, and “Get the money out of politics” platform. This is amazing to me, since there was zero money spent on advertising or marketing.

I was naïve and started campaigning late but I feel that my supporters and I had the opportunity to show young people and others that democracy is a gift and something we all need to participate in; it is lack of participation that has gotten us into our current mess.

I liked the words of Jared Huffman, the leader of the pack of candidates and the presumptive next Congressman for the 2^nd District, spoken after he won the primary:

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Campaign Finance — Our Democracy is NOT working!

America is in trouble. We are all on the Titanic. The problem is our political system. Our democracy no longer represents the people but answers to those who give our politicians money: the 1%, the hyper-wealthy, and the lobbyists.

The politicians would like us to buy their story that the other party is the problem. It’s not! Both parties are on the take. They are both taking cash from the very entities they are supposed to regulate. This is unethical! (more)

Environment — Our Planet is in crisis!

And Obama and the Democrats have been just as clueless as the Republicans. We are on the Titanic and we need to change course. The alarm bells are getting louder and louder. I propose that we rapidly pass a new constitutional amendment that says:

“Congress and the Executive Branch, in all their actions, will strive to recreate a biosphere like the one that existed when this country was founded.” (more)

Drug Policy — We must wind down our War On Drugs!

Our drug policy is not working. We spend billions on a “drug war” that leads to children having easy access to drugs, to 90% of active drug addicts receiving no treatment, and to countries like Mexico being taken over by narcotics gangs. I propose a comprehensive overhaul of our drug laws. (more)

Energy Sustainability — Sorry, but we are destroying Planet Earth!

For the sake of Earth and for the sake of our children, we must become sustainable quickly. We could have started this in the 1960′s. I am proposing the following Constitutional Amendment to halt the destruction of Earth:

“Congress and the Executive Branch, in all their actions, will strive to recreate a biosphere like the one that existed when this country was founded.” (more)

Real Democrats and Real Republicans — It is time to grow up!

We need to evolve to a post-partisan perspective. Both parties have their strengths but they both need to grow up, stop the bickering, stop selling their influence, and rapidly come together and fix some BIG problems with common-sense solutions. (more)

The Economy — Could we please have some sane people stand up in Washington? Please.

We need a balanced budget and a prudent reserve for a rainy day. What is so hard to understand about this? (more)

Food — Why can’t we even get healthy food in schools?

The system is rigged. We taxpayers give 14 billion dollars to 6 multi-national food corporations who bribe our politicians to sell fat, sugar, and salt at below-market prices. The result of this is that one in three children born after the year 2000 will develop diabetes and children of that generation will not live as long as their parents! (more)

Education — America is way behind many other countries in quality of education. Our children MUST be our first concern. We need to re-think our priorities.

All of us are saddened when we think about how our country manages education. (more)

Water — We must come out of denial. We are poisoning our biosphere.

Today, in Marin and Sonoma, we are dumping tons of deadly chemicals into our Bay. We are treating Mother Nature like an Ashtray! We can restore Mother Nature to the condition it was hundreds of years ago, if it mattered to us. And it must matter to us. (more)

Addiction Treatment — Addiction costs every one of us thousands of dollars a year. Addiction is our #1 Mental Health problem. And it is simple to treat.

It is estimated that over 40% of families are impacted by addiction, whether the addict is a parent, child, or spouse. What is the cost of this? The mental health of America is simply the sum total of the mental health of its citizens. Does it not seem odd that nearly half of our population is exposed to the insanity of addiction, and that this problem is not being addressed directly? (more)

Defense and Foreign Policy — Why does America need to spend more on defense than is spent by the rest of the world's countries combined?

What would our defense policy look like if the American political system were not corrupt? What would it look like if the military-industrial-complex were not purchasing votes from both parties? (more)

Population Plan — We have overrun our cage. It is time to face that fact.

I would like all of us to visualize a population that lives in harmony with Earth, a population that has repaired this small blue ball called Earth. (more)

Washington Post: Cory Booker commits the classic Washington gaffe

Link to story
In Washington, there’s an old cliché: A gaffe occurs when a politician is accidentally honest. That’s what happened when Newark (N.J.) Mayor Cory Booker spoke during his appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.

“Accidentally honest.”

Seriously! Why don’t we flip out at a statement like this?

OMG, WTF!

Nearly all of the media and most voters seem to simply accept what they’ve just read and move on.

Yo, listen up!

There is a big, fat, pink elephant in the middle of the room and you are walking around it. Don’t you see it? Doesn’t it seem weird?