Here's where we start: First remember the major problem of government is that the ideas that would actually help the change the system for the better, are not the notions that we actually implement.
For instance, each time an assembly member or congressman writes a bill, there is always, and I say always, some sort of rider on top of the actual intent of the bill.
This happens because we don't have an effective system.
What if we could write bills which were comprehensible and understandable and not necessarily backed by the richest and those with the most interest in how it all plays out?
Wow, we could make some progress.
So, we need to write a bill about how bills are written. This has been tried before, but much like term limits, it is not well accepted by those in power.
We put them in power, we gave them the power, or did we just give away our own power?
If you cast your vote and then walked away thinking "I'm a good citizen" then you have been fooling yourself for a long time.
Follow the vote. Who did you elect, what have they done in the past, what are they doing now, who put the money in their campaign, who has an interest in them?
You vote, but that is not enough. You have to oversee your employee, your government employee.
You can follow them on the internet, CSPAN, newspapers, and so on, and find out what they're doing.
If you don't agree, and find that the person you voted for is not fulfilling the promises they made during the campaign, it's time to ask some questions.
How do you do this? It's easy write to them and ask what is going on?
Again, you hire them, and you fire them.
So, how do you get rid of them if they didn't do what they said they would?
Start by writing letters and talking to others who may have voted for that person. Get as many people as you can to write letters to the public official, the local news outlets, and to different government watchdog groups.
The internet is a great place to get support for ousting a mediocre or ineffective politician.
Where's the resume and what qualifications would you need?
I've thought about this for years, as I have owned my own business, and have had to hire employees over the years.
Depending on the position I was hiring for, I had a certain set of qualifications I was looking for that would help me decide who would most likely be the best candidate for the position.
What qualifications do you need to be a governor or a state senator or a congressman? Well, not much.
Again, the campaign reform could never pass because both parties are equally afraid of the potential onslaught of legislation which could limit the power and even possibly bring about a higher ideal: Service to community and country.
We expect our soldiers who risk their lives to "serve" their country, but we see little in the way of serving others and more about serving themselves. There are exceptions, but they generally never go past a certain level, as the people living in the penthouse suite have everything they need.
But it's campaign reform that's needed and the only way it's going to happen is if, we the people, are the one's who push forward with it.
Simplify and it will attract the swarm
Let's say we want a Governor for our state of California. We do a search, yes, I said, search, we look for the people rather than them coming to us.
We establish a general set of qualifications and basically put out a "want ad."
Needed, FT, Governor, must be bi-lingual, but English is the primary language, has to be 40 years old, education: minimum master's degree, recommended types of courses and background: History, philosophy, economics, business, anthropology/sociology/psychology, geography, business management, education and definitely, spelling.
I see we need people with a background that is not tied directly to lawyers, corporations or acting. Not that these careers would necessarily put them out of the running, but target new perspectives.
Campaign reform, or the real deal, would have to come up from the grassroots tangling up the feet of those who have made a career for themselves as a politician.
Service to the people
Career politicians know everybody and they have ties to big business, oil resources, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and all the rest.
They mooch off the people. Yeah, that's exactly it. It's like at 30 year old living at home, watching tv all day while reclining in an armchair: not exactly the attitude which should be running the government, but it is.
Yes, there is a lot of work to be done, no doubt. But not all kids at school did their homework, and I'm sure that we see that with our politicians everyday.
CSPAN Scares the hell out of me, when I hear the politicians outside of the soundbites. It's like they're naked and real now. They say things they know won't be reported and it's generally something they know nothing about.
I remember turning on the TV while an Indiana congressman went about telling what was supposed to be a sad story of a woman who consumed too much marijuana and died. "It was terrible," he said.
I wrote to him and asked for actual proof of this story, that a woman died of an overdose of marijuana. What I found out was the woman was apparently a drug addict, and the other drugs, most specifically alcohol killed this woman. But right there in our faces we get lied to and we're supposed to be okay with this?
I'm dealing with a public healthcare district where two current board members actually aided and abetted a CEO who allowed the residents of the nursing home be utilized as test rats for a whole array of psychotropic drugs. Sleeping patients don't need full staffing.
These people will not give up their power and guess what? Neither will I.
We the people, I the person, whatever, will take a stand and continue to push for some justice and some change.
Progress does not come without pain
When we are unhappy, like the whole country is right now, we tend to get tired of not having any control over our lives.
We do have control over our lives. I'm not talking insurrection, I'm talking about following up on campaign reform.
It's our first line of action. It's not the term limits that were damaging us: it was the campaign and the political environment which stops progress.
Cam-pain in the ass
Oh, we could streamline this whole process and not even start a committee, couldn't we? But the old guard is going to fight that tooth and nail.
Politicians spend half there time in office campaigning. Do you really think that is how you want your representative to be spending his or her time?
No. They need to stay focused on the ever changing needs of this diverse state and country.
Stop the campaigning entirely. Does that sound blasphemous?
But start the research, background checks, ties to corporate businesses, any conflict of interest, first, then we can have a mini-campaign.
After we select the best candidates to run for office, then we may need more information which could easily be passed along via the Internet.
I can almost predict what readers will think of this blog, this idea, to stop the campaigning entirely and not just reform it.
There are modern tools for this type of things.
California, you're going to be the first:
Not known for doing much to help itself, California, can and really should try it out, something new.
But we have to deal with the constitutions both state and federal to even begin to straighten this problem out.
How does the great big oligarchy keep us from doing just that: they know it will take time. And they have the ability to slow down progress so that they can scoop in those extra dollars before the loophole (AKA money portal) closes up.
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