water shutoff - feild trip

Last Friday my class experienced a water shortage at my school. Our core teachers and Dean announced that the budget cuts at our school were so dire that it was necessary to cut off water for hours at a time. They added after this announcement that the school would be receiving portable lavitories by the next week. Now, my class acted as expected and became somewhat concerned immediately. I turned to one of my friends and asked them how it all came to this scenario. To our comfort, we were informed it was just a demonstration of how some schools in other countries have to deal with water shortages on a weekly bases.

My reactions weren't created by my sudden reaction. I have been watching the looming drought over San Diego county for a very long time and have heard rumors about an inevitable war for purified water. I was not surprised by this pretend scenario, but this isn't saying I wasn't frustrated by it.

After this introduction to the looming water crisis, we participated in a feild trip that toured an example mini-refuguee camp created by the organization Doctors Without Borders. Everything was cliche, however I was concerned with the safety of the volunteers who are placed inside these dangerous countrys. I had discussed a privatised security force with a peer of mine, but the discussion lead to the thought of ultimately purging and industrializing Africa.

If I was 18.

I would push for a national political test that determines whether or not a citizen even has an understanding of key issues, that based on results, could ban that person from voting in an election.
My political understanding is more potent than most of America. I would have voted for a third party candidate regardless of this, though. I predicted Obama's win, but I didn't expect a fallout of the third party candidates. The more political platforms our country has, the more informed the masses become.

Obama was literally forced down our throats.

And yet there are people who still call this country free. What they do not understand is the vice grip these two parties (Republican and Democrat) have over our country. News networks bow to them. There is no alternative. You are either for or against, and no in between.

The One PSA that stood out.

None. I am not convinced to vote by their simple immature ramblings.

Rather, we should be offended that they see us at such a low level. If America doesn't see the purpose of voting we should ban any sort of democratic election. If the masses don't care, why should the elite? These normal Americans serve as the fodder for the politicians, without a slight realization that their purpose is the will of another man.

Shame on Americans. Shame on the politicians who don't exploit them.

If I could Register for any party (old)

I wouldn't. I simply refuse to obey this system of two party domination. We as intellectuals deserve far more in the political landscape. We need a party that ignores moral issues and instead focuses on the more important crises at hand. Consider a campaign that gave attention to the daunting questions of Sept. 11, 2008, the location of Osama Bin Laden, the Economy, etc. We don't have time to care about abortion or animal rights anymore. This country has become unstable and the masses refuse to acknowledge the elephant's and donkeys in the room who are truly the one's to blame.

Remember; Freedom is not free. Sacrifice is needed for success. Everything you know true about politics is probably a lie.

Get Out and Vote (PSA)

Another PSA that Nico and I created in hopes of inspiring citizens to vote.

See it here.

My PSA (The Patriot Act)

Nico and I created a PSA in regards to the United States Patriot Act. We considered the usefulness of the said act, and expressed a scenario in the PSA.

See it here.

"It's fun being the devil's advocate."

Reaction to the 2008 Presidential Election.

Victory is always a great thing to feel. I had personally wanted Obama to win regardless of third party contributions, but I still feel uneasy about the government and the direction this country is headed. I guess I felt accomplishment for a moment, but that was shadowed by the thought of how easy Obama had won. The country was beginning to fall apart, and suddenly a candidate that seemed perfect to many won by a landslide.

Overall my trust in the government has been shattered. So many questions have gone unanswered; What caused the third World Trade Center to fall? Why are there now only 3 dominant banks that control most of the world's currency?

These questions have fallen on a country that refuses to answer them. Why is this? Why has our country blindly followed their government? I feel powerless against such an ignorant force. Obama wins. Now what? How does he plan to get this country out of debt? Most people would be excited by this historical change in the White House, but others like myself who refuse to be bound by what society says is true are horrified by the problems we face in the future.

But, only time will tell.

Enjoy this culture while it lasts, for I feel something is going happen that none of us expected.

National Socialist American Workers' Party

My political party platform: The Fourth American Reign and/or the National Socialist American Worker's Party.

We stress the societal purification of the American country, hoping to restore America to its rightfully pure state. It it unacceptable that American politicians withhold our citizen's Manifest Destiny; their right of domination. It is here and now this country faces the obvious collapse of global Capitalism. It is here and now we shall rebuild in a new image. 

We believe:

• Social Welfare is the business of the State.
  
• "Granted that the XIXth century was the century of socialism, liberalism, democracy, this does not mean that the XXth century must also be the century of socialism, liberalism, democracy. Political doctrines pass; nations remain. We are free to believe that this is the century of authority, a century tending to the 'right', a Fascist century. If the 19th century was the century of the individual (liberalism implies individualism) we are free to believe that this is the 'collective' century, and therefore the century of the State."  - The Doctrine of Fascism
• The state shall interpret, develop, and reform a citizen's life. 
• The will of the state is the law, and the will of the people. 

The Fourth American Reign is a party of and for the American people. A vote for us is a vote for patriots and model citizens alike. 

The Green? Party.

For the Record: I think the website and its alignment quiz is completely ridiculous. Indeed, this party is in no way related to my philosophies or political and moral belief. I could care less about the environment. 

In our Government class, students were to take a quiz and based on our results we were to include the history of the party, name, animal symbol, slogans, site for the convention, an issues platform, famous party candidate/individual, and a three-minute (3-5 minutes) opening speech for our party's convention.

Logo/symbol of Green Party

History

The Green Party is a political party which was first established in Tasmania in 1972. Organization in the United States began in 1984, inspired by the success of the German Green party. In 2007, it became the third modern party with a Federal Elections Commission-recognized Congressional Campaign Committee. The Green Committees of Correspondence were the first Green political organization in the United States, forming in 1984 and eventually becoming known as the Greens/Green Party USA. This organization still exists. The first candidates to run on the Green Party ticket in the United States were Wes Hare (NC), Joel Schechter (CT), and Richard Wolff (CT), who ran for local offices in 1985. Official ballot access was not achieved, however, until Jim Sykes' run for governor in Alaska in 1990.

Idealogy

The Green Party of the United States emphasizes environmentalism, non-hierarchical participatory democracy, social justice, respect for diversity, peace and nonviolence. Their "Ten Key Values," which are described as non-authoritative guiding principles, are as follows:
Grassroots democracy
Social justice and equal opportunity
Ecological wisdom
Non-violence
Decentralization
Community-based economics and economic justice
Feminism and gender equity
Respect for diversity
Personal and global responsibility
Future focus and sustainability

Famous Party Candidates

In the year 2000, the ASGP nominated Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke for president and vice-president again. This time, the pair were on 44 state ballots and received 2,883,105 votes, or 2.7% of all votes cast. Nader's strong showing in several states solidified the changes in the Green Party from an "anti-party party" to an organization primarily dedicated to electoral campaigns. In particular, that was the widespread understanding of thousands of recruits to the party, as it went through an unprecedented rate of growth.

Site for the National Convention

The 2008 Green National Convention took place on July 10-14, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois at the Palmer House Hilton and Symphony Center. This served as both the venue for the Presidential Nominating Convention and the Annual Meeting of the Green Party of the United States.

Slogans

"Under Republicans, Man exploits Man. Under Democrats, it's just the opposite." - Earl Gray
"The Green Party is the party for the 21st Century"
"In a nutshell: Ecology and Community!"

Political Platforms

War on Terrorism

The use of Homeland Defense monies to spy on citizens exercising First Amendment rights is particularly onerous, as are "sneak and peek" provisions of the U.S.A.P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act that allows surveillance of libraries, readers, the Internet, and computer users. Basic rights ensuring individual privacy are under attack. The U.S. government's use of high tech tools, including intrusive monitoring, data mining and analysis to identify and disrupt citizen activists, should be seen as an attack on fundamental rights of an engaged, active citizenry.
The Green Party calls on Congress and the courts to reign in constitutional and civil liberties abuses that have become prevalent in the Bush administration and the John Ashcroft Justice Department

Healthcare

Medicare, which provides health care for over 40 million Americans, is at risk. We would vigorously pursue savings and cuts from abundant waste and fraud, eliminate unnecessary services that benefit providers more than patients, and rein in pharmaceutical industry price-gouging. National measures to reduce work hours, promote cyber-commuting for work, and increased vacation time for workers will significantly improve the public's health. We advocate access for all, irrelevant of income, to stress management training such as meditation techniques, yoga, tai chi, qigong, and biofeedback. improving the quality of our nation's food supply and our personal eating habits will lessen the strain on our health care system. We advocate subsidies for organic foods, as well as removing sugar/caffeine snacks from schools. This could save our nation as much as $700 to $850 billion of the $1 trillion annual health costs. We support the teaching of holistic health approaches and, as appropriate, the use of complementary and alternative therapies such as herbal medicines, homeopathy, acupuncture, and other healing approaches.

Education

Educational funding formulas at the state level need to be adjusted as needed to avoid gross inequalities between districts and schools. Educational grants should provide balance to ensure equal educational access for minority, deprived, special needs, and exceptional children. In higher education, federal college scholarship aid should be increased and offered to any qualified student. It is time to stop disinvesting in education, and start placing it at the top of our social and economic agenda. We oppose vouchers, or any scheme that will transfer money out of the public school system. That course only leads to a separate and unequal educational system. We also oppose charter schools or the administration of public schools by private, for-profit entities. We advocate state funding for day care that includes school children under the age of ten when after-school programs are not available. Classroom teachers at the elementary and high school levels should be given professional status and salaries comparable to related professions requiring advanced education, training and responsibility. We support tuition-free post secondary (collegiate and vocational) public education. Until tuition-free schooling is available to all, student loans should be available to all students attending college, and should be repayable as a proportion of future earnings rather than at a fixed rate. The Leave No Child Behind Act must be repealed, especially the section that gives the military access to student records.

Environmental Justice

Devoting greater efforts to full enforcement and prosecution of environmental crimes. Funding environmental crime units for district attorneys in counties with significant pollution problems.
Imposing a moratorium on siting new toxic chemical or waste facilities in those counties with the highest percentage exposure to hazardous substances. Not forcing workers to choose between a hazardous job or no job at all. Preventing communities, especially low-income or minority communities, from being coerced by governmental agencies or corporations into siting hazardous materials, or accepting environmentally hazardous practices in order to create jobs.

Abortion - Reproductive Rights

Women's right to control their bodies is non-negotiable. It is essential that the option of a safe, legal abortion remains available. The "morning- after" pill must be affordable and easily accessible without a prescription, together with a government-sponsored public relations campaign to educate women about this form of contraception. Clinics must be accessible and must offer advice on contraception and the means for contraception; consultation about abortion and the performance of abortions, and; abortion regardless of age or marital status. We endorse women's right to use contraception and, when they choose, to have an abortion. This right cannot be limited to women's age or marital status. Contraception and abortion must be included in all health insurance policies in the U.S., and any state government must be able to legally offer these services free of charge to women at the poverty level. Public health agencies operating abroad should be allowed to offer family planning, contraception, and abortion in all countries that ask for those services. We oppose our government's habit of cutting family planning funds when those funds go to agencies in foreign countries that give out contraceptive devices, offer advice on abortion, and perform abortions.

LGBT

The Green Party affirms the rights of all individuals to freely choose intimate partners, regardless of their sex, gender, or sexual orientation. We support the recognition of equal rights of persons gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender to housing, jobs, civil marriage, medical benefits, child custody, and in all areas of life provided to all other citizens. We support legislation against all forms of hate crimes, including those directed against people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, transgender, and intersex.

Immigration

Preferential quotas based on race, class, and ideology should be abandoned for immigration policies that promote fairness, non-discrimination and family reunification.The Green Party calls for permanent border passes to all citizens of Mexico and Canada whose identity can be traced and verified. Work permits for citizens of Mexico and Canada must be easily obtainable, thereby decriminalizing the act of gainful employment. This action would help eliminate exploitation of undocumented persons by criminals engaged in human contraband (coyotes) and unethical employers. It would also help ensure that taxes will be paid in each corresponding nation per its laws. These measures will also help temporary residents from Mexico and Canada to secure driving privileges and liability insurance. Labor laws must be adjusted to take into account seasonal foreign workers. Employers must provide full rights to wages and health benefits to immigrant workers who make voluntary contributions to pension plans and pay Social Security taxes. We advocate an end to employer sanctions, which have been shown to hurt not only undocumented workers but also U.S.-born workers (especially those of color). A fair and equitable legalization program will provide equal access to working people of all nationalities, not tied to a specific employer or guest worker program. Programs involving temporary worker status must include the option of permanent residency for immigrants already in the U.S. and protection of migrant worker savings. Greens oppose "English-only" legislation. We would advocate legislation to ensure that federal funds marked for communities to provide ESL (english as second language) training, and health and social support services to immigrants actually go to them. When funds are spent in other areas, immigrants are being deprived of benefits that they earn as productive workers in their communities.

Rock the Vote PSA

In Elika's class we were shown a psa sponsored by the 'Rock the Vote' campaign. The PSA was short, to the point, and vague enough to leave the viewer thinking. I enjoyed watching the clip, mostly because the target audience was my age group. However, I wasn't the best candidate to watch the clip because I already think voting is essential in determining a person's rights as a citizen. We now are assigned to create our own PSA with the point of inspiring people to vote. Now, after viewing multiple examples my group and I dissected the key creative aspects and Incorporated those said aspects into our own ideas. Of course, since my group is so determined I believe we will express the main points of the assignment with ease and grace.

Why vote?

A better question would be; why wouldn't you vote? The fact remains: If a United States citizen doesn't vote, their opinions and voice are silenced. We as individuals can make a difference in this Republic, and such power comes responsibility. The voter turn out for the last presidential election was sickening: Only 55.3 % (elections.gmu.edu/Voter_Turnout_2004.htm) of the entire population voted. That is extremely unsatisfactory. Where has the power of the people gone? Where has the motivation to make a difference gone? Why is it people just flat out don't care? If a Government becomes to powerful, your rights have become so restricted if you lift a finger in true defiance you can be labled a terrorist and shipped off to Guantanimo Bay. The Patriot and Military Acts that have passed did so because the population refused to rise against and force the worms back into the white house.

Of course there is always the excuse of ignorance, but whose fault is that? Yours. You don't care enough to research the different propositions and bills that are being passed weekly. You are the citizens who are being monipulated on an hourly bases. For a critique, you are diserving the opression politicians are force feeding you.