“If the Mountain will not come to Muhammad, then….” and so on… Francis Bacon 1625
The Unabridged Version of a (relatively) brief Note to a recently re-politicized friend (of many years): as a starting point for discussion of the urgent need for a revolutionary change in American politics. (preferably without descending into utter chaos.) IT IS, OF COURSE, OVERLY LONG, AS I SEEM CAPABLE OF AUGHT ELSE… and it incorporates some “fantastical” elements, as is, souvent, my wont.
(Offered here at “The Karasshole…” a place for more-or-less like minded people to collide with one another (and, as we all know, “collision” is not illegal) and share and develop ideas for An Action against the real “Enemy of The People” ……. ignorance.
July 31, 2018. NYC
“good luck, love…. we’re all political from here on in..!!! Until the revolution is accomplished, the current “failing” system is supplanted by a more direct social democracy… and we are ruled by true citizen Representatives, educated on the issues and needs of a society based on, not just laws, but, Laws that are Just.”
….and now (to stir the pot) let me add, as this is of primary importance, (to my way off thinking) laws executed, exclusively by women (or those who identify as women…that might work) who, once they have swept both houses of congress and the executive in the next two election cycles , may peacefully (relatively speaking ) legislate the changes needed to put the power of self-determination into the hands of the People (for the very first time [in this country’s history] since Gouverneur Morris (not a governor, but, a Founding Father and then, Senator from New York) wrote those first three hopeful words, “We the People” (echoing TJ’s wildly, idealistic sentiments expressed in his/our Declaration of Independence 11 years earlier) in his preamble to our Charter (The less than perfect United States Constition, although Morris was one of the few who spoke out loudly at the Philadelphia Convention against slavery)and Amendments thereto…[more of which will be needed], two and a half centuries ago) and this Revolutionary Congress of the People can begin the process of redistributing the wealth (with, for example, a 69% marginal tax rate for all those with assets in excess of 10 million dollars and an income of over $1million/year and capital gains and estate taxes on a sliding scale from 10% to 90% depending on the situation of those fillng.Tax breaks (loopholes) will be available, perhaps, but only to those who can offer documented proof that their enterprise is dedicated , in some essential way , to the betterment of some part of our Noosphere (and/or its attendant Biosphere) which until further notice shall be construed to mean: “The planet Earth and its Environs and ALL inhabitants thereof, regardless of their “apparent” degree of sentience) and then, the first People’s Congress of The United States of America, and the first Ms.President, can really start moving (in the absence of lobbyists and graft….campaign finance reform being first off the block to be instituted…. and to replace the “voice of the people” as fraudulently represented by these corporate bribe artists…we must, seizing the “power of the Moment” put together a Constitutional Convention that will amend the Constitution to allow for a “more direct” representative democracy… whose main features might be (if we are to avoid a total meltdown of our country into a Staten off outright anarchy, [ and, just as a suggestion] A few amendments to the constitution… more or less, as follows…
First, Amendment #28, (The Equal Rights Amendments) guaranteeing women full citizenship rights , including equal pay/benefits, etc….in recognition of their meritorious service in the name of Life, since the dawn of time….[better late than never]
Amendment #29...(the Universal Suffrage Voting Rights Act.). all citizens registered at birth and/or at Naturalization with full rights, in our society including the right to vote at an age to be determined (initially 18, but, after the education system, is brought up to snuff by the newly empowered Dept. of Education, we may discover that just as genius appears in arts and sciences at a very early age, we might find that 16 is a more appropriate age for our young people to have a say in their society..) in any case…with all major, major questions voted on in referendums
Amendment #30 (On instituting a (more) direct democracy) all polling done by registered personal computers/mobile devices and/or at all post offices and libraries and public buildings] with everyone pre-registered and the right to vote inalienable…each major proposition will/might have a voting period of 7-10 days (lets say) and we will hopefully (after bringing back civics classes from 1st grade forward)have an average vote in excess of 200 million with 250-odd million registered voters over the age of 18 by the midterms of 2022) For all of the standard day to day work of government… this will be handled by the more responsive People’s Congress(or Congress)
Amendment #31 (reorganization of congress and representation) with a complete computerized redistricting of the entire country and to allow for more responsive representation and the institution of regular town halls within their constituencies… the congressman will represent no more than 50,000 registered voters (instead of the current 700,000 plus) in each district bringing the number of congressman up to 5,000 …each voted in for four year terms with a four term limit and Senators will each represent one million voters making the Senate composed of 250 Senators with 7 year terms and a four term limit.( New York-17 senators, Texas-20 and California-30 and with a minimum of one per state Alaska will have 1…(500,000 over 18) South Carolina-4, Ohio- 9, Vermont-1 Massachusetts 6 Then a few more urgent considerations while the constitutional convention is taking place
Amendment #32( Immigration reform) a) control the borders naturalize all those within the borders of the country when the amendment passes unless they are guilty of major felonies in which case arrange deportation with the authorities of their country of origin (unless its a bunch bof depraved rednecks run by a dictator(like the current administration of the United States…..in which..case deliberate and perhaps incarcerate here…where hopefully a new wave of egalitarianism and the advent of a true(r) democracy will encourage each state to make major advances in the often misunderstood and bizarrely conflated fields of Mental Healthg and Criminal Incarceration/Rehabilitation and finally (nowhere near,but, this is already a lot to discuss/work on)
the #33rd Amendment to the Constitution is a (much needed) retooling of the 2nd Amendment (commonly known as The Right to Bear Arms) first, a sensible discussion of the whole shebang(no pun intended) dispense and/or clarify this militia business, for instance…no minor may purchase a gun (have to go hunting with an older friend or family member, if you absolutely must…with a “learner’s permit…) all guns purchased 18 years or older from a list of acceptable weaponry, for sport, for hunting, for self defense (i dunno, no 50 caliber machine guns [no automatic “assault “ weapons, no land mines, tanks, rpgs, ieds, grenades, mortars, anti-aircraft, heat seeking missiles, tactical nuclear weapons, etc…) all rifles, shotguns and sidearms must be registered purchased with serious background checks and waiting periods….all ammo must have identifiers and be registered at point of purchase. Gun show/antique show weapons…same registration and background check….all police force weapons must be registered and tightly controlled inventoried …all armed force ordnance… tightly controlled registered and held in protected armories along with this emendation of 2nd Amendment was a serious look at the D.O.D. (move funds into intelligence and special forces and away from training of cannon fodder….. Replace Army with Americorp with a mandate for border defense…rapid response to natural disasters, infrastructure and general training for deployment within our borders …have special forces focus on intel gathering and coordination with state department ….help re formulate international court to create a united nation force capable of intervening in regional horror stories worldwide …genocidal madmen, etc…intel, intel, intel…money, money , money..!!!)
And all this to facilitate the enormously fundamental tasks of reorganizing our tax laws and reprioritizing our national budget to focus on health, education and welfare; the maintenance of our environment (with an eye to the continuance of the species, Homo Sapien and the biological panoply of flora and fauna from which it sprang.) and the modernization of the physical infrastructure of this, Our Country (and, in liaison with other progressive societies, that of the the Entire World…) Women will be/must be (please mothers, sisters, daughters of the world Unite…!!! ) You make up more than half of the potential American Electorate of 250 million voters above the age of 18…. 250,000,000 voters within 6 years (if you take over within four..!)….!!! please run…!!! Field and fund good candidates..).a lot of us men , who are sick of the macho bullshit of this totally, moronic, huckster bully Trump are also disenchanted by our reading of world history and the endless sangu-i-nanety of our gender (particularly when in positions of power) IT MUST STOP ..! Vote Women…!!!! Completely in Charge of the Adminstration of the Government Bureaucracy including all Political, Military and Diplomatic functions. 10,000 years is far too long…!!! Men will have a role, maybe even a number of vital roles in the society at large in the Arts and Sciences, sports…and manual labor…but, they should never ever EVER be permitted allowed to govern again..NEVER …. EVER…!!! Only men, (or women who think like men), wage war and are capable of formulating the most obscene of notions ever formulated by the human mind (and that’s saying a lot) …the concept of “Acceptable Losses” and it this idea that made it possible to enter into one bloody conflict after another World Without End for, roughly, ten millennia…now.. Since the rise of Agriculture and the return of men from The Hunt to the Hearth and to Community Life, ruled by Women and the White Goddess for several hundred thousand years, and more, prior to the advent of “civilization” Now..since the rise of this stick-around-the-house Agrarian culture and by virtue of their size and strength…men bullied their way onto the throne with Misery as their chamberlain and…then…oh, misery of miseries…! The concept of “acceptable losses” is born…!!! Initially in the form of blood sacrifice to the gods and then….!!! Well, just look around…!!! What woman who has given birth or Any Being with even the capacity to create, carry and nurture life…could ever seriously countenance such a notion..” Sheer madness and the worship of Mammon…!!!! “Well, boys, “our time is up…!!!” Men can be useful in many ways more than merely as donors in the process of procreation (although some might, with, sadly, a significant amount of justification, argue that point. BUT, TESTOSTERONE BEARERS should not have, and must never again determine the fate of humankind through the establishment of governmental policies… with Men in charge We have arrived at a point where the Earth will not mourn our passing, but, rather breathe a sigh of relief when we’re gone IF we do not recognize our kinship with this beautiful planet itself that, together with thE Sun offers us (undeserving though we may be) enough renewable Resources to live in abundance (of course, we’ll need to sit down and chat and come up with a number and work towards educating the people of this world to arrive at and maintain that optimum number…probably 5 billion or less and as we are over 7 heading to 10 by the end of the century there’s a Lot of Work to be done…so, please Rebecca …..run for office and tell all your Women friends (and low testosterone peaceable men) to Run run run and Win Win Win…!!!!!!! And as i said before i ran away with myself….good luck….love… dc von t.
ADDENDUM
The problem, as i see it, with term limits, loves…is that, if you have someone utterly fabulous (like you two, for instance) and willing to devote their lives (say, up to twenty years[5-4year terms] in the 5,000-6,000-seat House, and/or up to 28 years [4-7year terms] in the 250-seat Senate, for a combination of 48 years [i.e. if the people in their constituency want them, they should be able to keep them] ; and, if they max out in both, anything is possible (remember Arianna Grandissima * who was in public service for 111 years during which time she proposed and/or signed into law/and or adjudicated upon 1,492 bills, propositions, cases and Amendments [we had two Constitutional Conventions during her time in office, one in 2021 and another in 2069]) Now, most citizens will serve only one term and then split to have a life (because eliminating the perks provided by lobbyists, etc… will make the job less…uh…”interesting”; i would also attempt to limit/ curb abuse of the new system. By insisting that all Chairs and other Important Positions within the 5,250-seat Congress Would Have Term Limits and would be merit based, not based on seniority AND, regardless, the two main checks we would have to insure, (legislate) will be: A.) Campaign Finance Reform…(0$ in private and/or corporate contributions) if you meet the requirements to be on the ballot , you will all receive an equal stipend and equal time on the 10 Independent (but, government financed) CSPAN channels (all available in several dozen languages) N.B at this juncture, i also want to briefly mention the Department of Education sponsored/fully independent “Knowledge Network”** of several hundred channels offering extensive, and of course, free, classes from pre-school through advanced graduate degrees…all of which offer fully accredited diplomas at every level (and allow for home-schooling, in many courses of study, [in liaison with Physical.Ed./Performing Art reqs.and/or Electives, which may be fulfilled at the local Y’s, which will offer free facilities to every person in each Congressional District…five fully staffed and equipped Ys for each 50,000 voting age citizens{and their dependents] if required/desired….this , in addition to fully equipped public and private schools [pre-K thru Post-Grad] situated in all localities/regions of the country..)
N.B. As for women becoming ruthless, like men…their are certainly, historically speaking, individual examples of terrifying behavior by Them…but, i still believe, by and large, that women are probably less bloodthirsty than men, and, if they are in the majority and not forced to play “the man game”, they might formulate a more humane and egalitarian notion of what it is to rule a nation/world….Anyway…in some very important ways, for Men, its “Time’s up..!” So grab the reigns [sic], Vonnie, and let’s see what happens..! Whooooooppeeee..!
* {Arianna Eleanor Grandissima born..April 2, 2000 and deceased… May 31, 2137……at the age of One Hundred and Thirty Seven…..daughter of journalist/activist Arianna Huffington and Albert Einstein’s banked sperm, with additional genetic material from श्री और श्रीमती। Mohandas K. Ghandi, Dr. and Ms. Martin Luther King and, with a smattering of Eleanor Roosevelt and Michelle Obama thrown in for extra empathy..!} , she was in Congress from 2020-2068 (entering the House as a Representative from a part of Greenwich Village, NYC [the part once referred to as The Meatpacking District] when she was 20 years old…minimum age reqs. for various offices, as follows: House of Representatives…18 years old….Senate…25…Presidency…30 and Supreme Court Justice…35 and up…}) and then, at 68 she topped it off with one 7-year term as President…and finally to end that distinguished career she spent her last 36 years in public service as Chief Justice of the United State’s Supreme Court, retiring at age 131 in the fall of 2131…..along with these achievements she managed to acquire 5 doctorates and a Post-Doctoral Transcendent Meta Degree [TMd) in Nexialism; gave birth to two children whom she raised with her Tanganyikan husband and Brazilian wife’s two children , along with their 8 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren , 32 great-great grandchildren and 9 great-great-great-grandchildren…most of whom were present with their mates/lovers/friends in the spacious brownstone with the beautiful garden near the corner of Jane and Hudson in Greenwich Village (“Casa Grandissima”) where she breathed her last in the big, old double-King four poster bed where she and her two lovers had lived their lives and which had been moved to the roof garden of her home at Sunset on May 31st, 2137… Her last word was “ Erleichda…!” Which she whispered into the ear of her five-year old, great-great-great-granddaughter LaVonne de Chardin. The Street around her home and throughout the isle of her birth with standing room only on the bridges connecting Centre Ville to the GMS (Greater Metropolitan Sprawl) with more than seven million mourner/celebrants there to sing her into the next world ..(and when, at Sunset, the moment of her passing, they raised their voices in a chorus of her favorite song, Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Garota de Ipanema” (The Girl From Ipanema) it was said that it could be heard as far away as the Philadelphian hub of The Sprawl…!
** All these government sponsored channels are commercial free and cover all sessions of congress and/or discuss all aspects of each proposition put up for popular vote (in the case of the CSPANs and with the “KN”, the curricula are constantly moderated and kept up to date to ensure maximum utility and offer flexibility for designing personalized courses of study (certain standards must be attained for those seeking actual [fully accredited] degrees. In addition, ALL curricula will be designed with an eye to stimulating maximum creativity and engendering v. free thought…also, trade “apprenticeships” will be offered in every field in association with a physical multi-disciplined (and free) Trade University ‘campus located within each state…where all tools and materials will be available for hands-on learning…the same will be true for the Arts & Sciences and the Citadels of Curriculum Knowledge Also, these Villages of Learning will offer free tuition, room and board to all students...[we can’t even begin to imagine the things that will be possible once there is no longer a situation where .3% of the national/global population possesses over 90% of the world’s wealth]
