Well... Shit.

I really do think this country is no longer for the people.

While some of our elected officials may be for the people, the majority are not. I think the ones more for the people are the ones elected on municipal levels, county levels, and moreover, state levels. US Senators, and Representatives, and hell, even the President aren't for the people. Some of them may be, and I'm sure there is a few that really are for the people that elected them, but the rest are not. They're more concerned with their political agendas and the party loyalties most of them have.

It's sad really, that we all have been complacent to this. We sit back and complain when the politician's views don't mirror our own. We sure as hell don't protest or petition which is our right. At least, we don't protest at the levels we should. For instance, the former administration had the shittiest approval ratings since approval ratings were taken. What did people do? They sat back and disapproved. The amount of people that wanted Bush out of office probably wasn't much, but if they all decided to get together in DC right on the National Mall and protest, I'm sure it would have struck a certain chord with the people they'd have been protesting against.

God damn, we've become lazy when it comes to our government. Keywords: our government. Our government should be doing what the people want, not what they want. While this country may not be a pure democracy (it's a representative democracy), who do the people representing us think they represent? You say you elect a politician because you agree with them on the issues. Yeah, fuck that, few people really do it that way. You elect them because they're a Democrat or a Republican or whatever party you happen to support. Yeah, that's right is it not?

What Senators and Representatives need to do is go to their respective districts, find a big ass meeting hall, and listen. Fuckin' listen to the people and what they want to see happen. But with that happen? You can bet it never will. These politicians are in it for themselves, and their political party.

Hey guys! Guess what?!

So, here it is:

You know the fear of Socialism that is in close kinship with the Cold War fear of Communism? Yeah, you know that, you're smart people (well...). People in this country should realize that this country is as much Socialist as it is Capitalist.

All the public institutions. Public works, public parks, city/county/state/country infrastructure, fire, police, public schools, Social Security... In other words, anything funded by public tax money. Socialism. Simple as that. All this stuff we rely on on a daily basis. And no one complains. They only complain when there is talk of government takeovers of institutions we see as private entities (banks, as per today's current argument. But of course, there is the Federal Reserve, a national bank that supplies this country's money). Not that I don't complain myself, I just say that they should have let the banking system fail. This is supposed to be a capitalist nation after all. Even with all these public institutions. As a capitalist nation, the banks would have failed, and other banks would have grown to fill in the blanks.

In other words, The government of the United States of America is a Socialist government. The business world of the United States of America is Capitalist; the only Capitalist thing in this nation.

Cheney is an ass.

No one needs to say more.

I've always held most of the blame against Cheney anyways. I don't need to hear his King interview to see that he's the one I should blame for a lot of the stupidities of the last administration. I don't care if he's a Republican, that matters little.

People said Cheney and Bush protected our country. They didn't protect our country. You can't protect against an enemy you can't directly fight (a lesson from the Vietcong, and all other guerrilla forces throughout history). Also one can't protect against an enemy driven by ideological and religious means (which are both outside of our country, and within it). This country doesn't need the security that Cheney proposes, because ultimately, it's counterproductive and ends up creating more enemies from both outside the country, and inside of it. These people he consents to torture will not give up the information that we want because they see what they do as an honor, and look upon us with hatred. It's sad, really, that we have these kinds of enemies. Hell, that anyone has these kind of enemies.

Also, I think Cheney belongs in jail, or simply tortured with the same things he wants other people to be tortured with. A lot of people say, "Well on what charges can we charge him on?" How about perjury? That's a crime. Perjury to the American people. His former employers. Also, crimes against humanity, how about that one? I bet if you investigate the Bush administration as a whole, you'll find that there's a paper somewhere out there that has Cheney signature approving the torture methods used. Ooo, war crimes is another. He talked Bush into pushing for the invasion of a sovereign nation. And a couple hundred thousand Iraqis have been killed for no real reason. I mean, the reason still remains that Saddam Hussein was in charge of a dangerous nation. Yeah, dangerous to who? I think only dangerous to the Iraqi people. It's not our job to do either, get rid of tyrannical despots. There's a leader complacent to genocide in the Sudan, but that's right, the West doesn't really care all that much what happens in Africa. We like to 'express concern' and 'exert pressure' on those people, not invade. That's only reserved for the Middle East, and countries who had little to do with the reason why we're over there now.

Hell, Pakistan is the most dangerous of the countries over there now in terms of tolerance. They allowed the Taliban too much freedom (counter-intuitive). Now, I'm all for letting the Taliban be assholes, because it's not our job to impose our views on them. It seems that our country is so right, that is has to go to war to prove it. Woodrow Wilson would be ashamed. He said something like our country is so right that we have no need to fight to prove it so. At this point, our country is half-right, and we still have no reason to fight to prove it so.

A Government of Dumbshits

As you know, at least as I hope you know, the US government's Congress is full of a bunch of dumbshit partisans. I've said it before, I say it again. Yes, there may be the people with a little bit of smarts here and there, but that doesn't cut it. I want them to have to pass an I.Q. test before they're able to run, it would help a lot.

Anyways, the Democrats have rolled out a little 'party of no' deal, which I think is as dumb as they are. They're just complaining that the Republicans aren't hopping onto their train. On some things I would like them to get in with, but that'll never happen. Not so long as they make up their mind before they hear the issue. That's America's partisan politics after all. Happens on both sides. I don't think it will ever change, I'd like it to, but it won't.

You know, with all this Democrat-backed spending on the shit economy, there's Republicans and retards complaining from every angle. Especially on the idea that the Democrats are the 'big government' party. Let me tell you, this government is fucking huge even without the Democrats. Hell, I don't mind a big government, what I don't like is that we have an ineffective government. Big government, yeah, whatever, as long as it's an effective government that gets good shit done, I don't complain. But (I've said this before many times) this government doesn't get a lot of good stuff done because of the partisan politics that goes on. Work on the common ground, please.

We need two parties, or three, that like to talk, like to work together to get things done. Like to play nice. Because ours don't, and they never will as long as the politicians remain the same politicians from the same political parties. We need to get some (no not Independent) people in there that are liberal on some things, and conservative on others (I hate to use those terms, really, they're thrown around too much). If you do one thing liberally, it gets done liberally. If you need to get some things done over here, but you aren't liberal on them, you get them done conservatively. Sounds good doesn't it? But not even Independents are like this, they tend to lean more than straddle, so we can throw them out the sixth story window with the rest of them.

A lot of Americans like to say that they're liberal on some things, and conservative on others, which is fine and dandy, because I say the same about myself, but they don't do anything but discuss this stuff within their circle of politics. They don't run for office, because if they do, they get defeated by partisan politics (or end up like Lieberman, who leans Democrat, so fuck him). These people need to form a major party, they need to organize and stop saying that they're Independents. They need a name that strikes fear into Republicans and Democrats alike, strike the fear that makes those two parties realize they aren't the only two in contention for the Presidency. They need a base of people that strikes fear into the RNC and DNC. They need to bring out the big motherfucking guns.

If this party does form, it can start to take away from the dominance of the Democrats and Republicans. Because I have an equal hatred for both. They're both arrogant, stupid, and hell, the Democrats have even forced the Republican National Convention to put a black man as their head. And also thrust out the dumb fuck Bobby Jindal. That's when you know a party has fallen far, when they have to try an imitate the other party substituting their own ideals in. Either way, I think it's stupid.

Back to the party of Conservativeness/Liberalness. This party could get things done, because most people that say they're conservative on some issues and liberal on others actually agree on those issues. Of course, there will be the people that see things other ways, but they can just fuck off, this party is about agreeing on how to get things done, not internal bickering, or bickering with other parties. This party is about getting things done where everyone agrees on how to do them. Conservative on gun control, alright, gun control is dealt with in the general conservative way (i.e. the lack there of control). Abortion, alrighty then, you guys are liberal on that? Good, keep politics and religion out of it and bar any legislation proposing against it (at least, that's the way I see it). You just got two rather controversial things out of the way, one more so than the other, but at least they're out of the way (for now, hopefully forever).

This party, whatever may it be called, is the party that gets things done they way everyone within it agrees to. This party could grow to oust Democrats and Republicans once and for all from the forefront and turn them into just another set of parties in this party-filled nation. I 'd like to see it happen.

Who wants to help?

Adversarial parties get nothing done.

I was thinking about political parties and their asshattery. The only problem ours have is their ridiculous adversarial ways. They fight and disagree on just about everything each other has to say. That's all fine and dandy, disagreeing on things, but disagreeing on everything is retarded. They both have the same goals, just different ways of getting things done. It's stupid that they have to blast each other for the way they believe in doing things. They need to take a quick lesson from general Buddhism and learn the idea of a 'Middle Way.' If they found their common ground and worked on that, they may begin to get things done. In the process they might start agreeing on things they used to disagree on, therefore getting things done much more smoothly. They simply need to get it out of their head that they're adversaries. They're in the same country in the same political system. They need to learn to work together or get the fuck out.

Just a small incomplete thought.

American Socialist Programs

As much as the United States has fought against Socialism and the like (which it lost horribly), it needs to adopt certain principles of the Socialist ideals (more than it already has).

Though I'm not the first to suggest it, I think it would do a lot of good if the United States were to adopt it.

Socialist nations, and nations like Israel, have had for a long time mandatory service lengths at a certain point in their citizens age. What I'm proposing has been said before, but it hasn't been said enough. I'm proposing that the United States government enact a series of laws that would require, and fund, a two year mandatory service length after high school graduation. Whether it be civic duties, military, Peace Corps, or the like; the 18 year old citizen would need to serve their two year service length in whichever way they saw fit to. If they were to drop out of high school their civic service begins the day after so they aren't wasted youths. The benefits to the United State would be amazing. The amount of things that could get done with a large amount of government program-sponsored civic workers would be staggering. It is literally a perfect plan. The workers would get free food service, and free board if they were moved from their hometown, and when their service would expire they would be issued a check with a large sum of money ($10,000 to $20,000+ depending on inflations of the future), or gain a full-ride scholarship to any college in the nation.

Now, funding for this would be the main excuse not to enact it. But the way to get the needed funding for these things would be to reform the tax laws and make it harder for everyone to avoid taxation (especially the rich). Also, I would thing a national sales tax would easily replace the income tax. I would think it would only need to be 4.5 or 5.5% to encourage spending, and to stave oppositions. Though I think the opposition would be high in areas with already high county, or state sales taxes. I would also think corporations that provide civil services would like to invest in this program, though it may backfire if corporate agendas get in the way more than they already do. I, as an opposing candidate to church tax-exemption think that we should start a church property tax at around 25%, though the opposition to that would be monumental, but the income advantages would be just as monumental. In my opinion, church tax exemption is not a separation of church and state but an agreement between them. With those things I could see the funding problems for these projects to be easily overcome. Also, I find that bureaucratic jobs could easily be eliminated by this. The senior members of the bureau would be bureaucrats, but everyone under them would be mandatory-volunteers (oxymoron) without pay, a large sum of government money saved and put towards this beneficial program.

On another funding note, I would love if Marijuana legalized and taxed by the government, and imported. I see that as a funding leap, but I also think drug lords would have a fit even if they were the only suppliers of the drug. The only reason I think this hasn't happened is because drug lords have certain congressmen on their 'hit-list' if they were to ever do this. It really is a great funding opportunity, but an almost impossible one to enact.

If that was ever to be enacted, I think the income should go to the funding of school programs that teach civic duty and life education; a severely lacking area of education. Because out of high school students only a tenth of them approximately actually know how to live and learn out in the world on their own. It would be a step forward in education of our youth.

These programs would help the United States in their own way, but with the way things are going they will never be enacted unless a strong enough case and strong enough politicians are in the offices they need to be in.

By the way, the fear of Socialism, Communism, and Marxist ideals is outdated and stupid. The Cold War is over. Communism has failed in Cuba, North Korea, and most importantly, the Soviet Union. China is also just a state-run Capitalism. Get over you fear of it or get the fuck out of America. Plus, America is a transitional country. We're in between Socialism and Capitalism. Think of all the public programs, from Social Security (look at that, Social Security), to public schools, fire, police, parks, and all the things funded directly by tax money for everyone within the country (yes, even the 'illegals'). It's all Socialist. The only thing capitalist is the business world, because most hospitals are private, because you pay for their services. Yeah, I'm done.