Some crucial items on the political campaign agenda should cover: 16) Raise the minimum wage rate one dollar each year for the next three years and legislate cost of living index thereafter. 17) Fund a public education overseas TV channel in foreign languages giving an objective account of democracy at work. 18) Develop a peace project for the western hemisphere stressing the need to replace dictatorships and oppression with democratic objectives. 19) Assist in mor...

Some crucial items on the political campaign agenda should cover: 1) A voluntary civilian defense corps made up of primarily school drop-outs, and high school students not college-bound and senior citizens for nominal stipend; this corps would be organized and supervised by local enforcement agencies and paid for by Homeland Security. 2) Incentives should target the national guard to recruit more for the express purpose of border patrol. 3) Appropriations should be increa...

During these primaries the exchange has been more about the economy than the war. The bleak picture the Democratic candidates paint is echoed by many of the Democratic faithful who feel for those affected by job loss and outsourcing. To the Republican faithful, however, this scenario flies in the face of a stock market rebounding that is attributed to the tax cuts. Most Republicans voters are of the unscathed middle class and higher and don’t care about factory-shut downs or the exodus of job...

The old cry that communism equally degrades everyone to little above serfdom could conceivably be apropos to the current economic strategy of corporations in search of minimal labor costs abroad. Conservatives and Clinton Democrats as well argue that it is logical to continue relentlessly free trade since they claim it creates jobs here, too. What they don’t tell you is what kind of jobs are created here. Free trade generates flea markets, dollar store, auto foreign parts outlets, Wal-Marts an...

In the nation’s quest to leave no child behind, the politicians are admitting that indeed there are children left behind. In the spirit of the land of opportunity, the nation is ostensibly bent on bringing up to par the nation’s children by impossible tests that have nothing to do with the reality — a term more than ever blurred by “reality” TV — which everyone knows has to do with the child’s home environment, the child’s DNA, the schooling of the parents, the disrepair of the school attended, ...

“We follow too easily, question authority too little. We cannot allow ourselves to go abroad again with guns. I do not trust our society enough to hold back.” No, this is not a protester of the war, or Howard Dean. Still, it would serve us well to heed these words in light of the cacophony of disinformation filling the foul atmosphere of our foreign policy, regardless of its quasi-humanitarian efforts to sanitize parts of the world of their totalitarian leanings. We have the UN to do th...

“The earth belongs to each… generation during its course, fully and in its own right. The second generation receives it clear of the debts and incumbrances of the first, the third of the second, and so on. For if the first could charge it with a debt, then the earth would belong to the dead and not to the living generation. Then, no generation can contract debts greater than may be paid during the course of its own existence.” Thomas Jefferson, Letter from Paris, September 6, 1789 ...

Washington Post-ABC Poll shows that Kerry leads, however slim, in issues that matter to the people. Kerry leads 50% to Bush’s 44% if the election were now with 4% undecided and 2% for Nader. They trust Kerry 52% to 44% as commander in chief and only 2% undecided. In handling the economy Kerry leads by eleven points but with seven points undecided. In understanding the problems of ordinary people Kerry leads 51% to 37% but with 12% undecided. As a strong leader, however, he loses by six po...

It has been my experience that the award of the Purple Heart is as a rule honorable. I know that my marine outfit used to joke around that the best way to take a break from the front-line was to shoot yourself in the foot or cut your finger opening a C-ration and to boot maybe get a Purple Heart for the folks at home to brag about. Yet no one in our platoon ever seriously considered it, much less did it — Pride of the Marines, you know. To suggest that Kerry was awarded three Purple Hea...

It has been my experience that the award of the Purple Heart is as a rule honorable. I know that my marine outfit used to joke around that the best way to take a break from the front-line was to shoot yourself in the foot or cut your finger opening a C-ration and to boot maybe get a Purple Heart for the folks at home to brag about. Yet no one in our platoon ever seriously considered it, much less did it — Pride of the Marines, you know. To suggest that Kerry was awarded three Purple H...

When will the Republican Party cross over to the millennium on economic issues? The Party is extremely defensive by connoting labor rights with entitlements. This is in the face of no apology whatever in the hierarchy of the corporate world bestowing outrageous and unearned executive salaries, gauche perks and top of the line health plans. The word “unearned” is seldom used in the hierarchy — other than the internal revenue nomenclature — because of the symbiotic rise to power deemed as a wel...

Why is it whenever one — Kucinich in particular — mentions single payer universal health care the red flag goes up? Isn’t Medicare single payer health care? I don’t hear seniors objecting to it. In the good old days when Blue Cross-Blue Shield was predominant and the cost of health care was still reasonable, millions of workers were either generously covered by large companies, or through small businesses offered a group plan at a cost that would not take bread off the table. But that was in t...

With the amount of time, energy and big bucks spent on the battleground states, the rest of the nation is taken for granted and thus devalued. Had I remained a resident of New York my vote wouldn’t be worth two cents because of my loyalty to the Democratic party. Here in Florida it must be worth about five bucks because of the fifty dollar swing voters down here that will decide who is the majority. Voting has become the return of the prodigal son of politics. Politicians pander to the base on...

I think it is time to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq, but redeploying some of them to Afghanistan where they are needed to protect the women voters in their coming election and to rout the warlords. This move would send a dual message to Al Qaeda and the Iraqis. The latter will intuit that the U.S. is not going to babysit them much longer and the former will grow wary that the U.S. is intent on crushing its sanctuaries. Pakistan, as well, will be put on notice that they can no longer dilly...

In post 9/11 climate it is difficult to espouse a gentle strategy toward Islam. From the Attorney General’s profiling to the “bring it on” challenge the consensus seems that only through “bad cop” imagery and the leviathan of military prowess will the civilized world defends itself from the sinister ilk of Al Qaeda. Yet it is clear that a religious war-environment will not solve the terrorist threat, nor will theological warfare from either side do anything other than add fuel to the fire. Th...