As a party of non-intervention and basically minding our own business, the Party of Commons thinks that Independence Day is a good day not only to celebrate and think about our nation's relative freedom, which is under severe stress these days, but to think about the right of sovereignty and independence as it relates to all nations, and the basic natural rights of individuals. Which is why it is time for our nation to withdraw troops from foreign countries where we are not bound by treaties or not in declared wars. Since the world actually does need some policing, let it come from a cohesive effort of all nations, paid for by all, in which our nation would play a role as one of many.
On another independence front, it is past time to release from American prisons those non-violent prisoners caught up in draconian sentencing from the so-called war on drugs.
On this Independence holiday, as well, may the Almighty watch over our troops in foreign lands and bring them home safely when the time has come for their return.
[revised on 7/4/09]
Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM
The Party of Commons does not sponsor or produce advertising.
7/4/09
7/3/09
Mark Stays Apace
Chairman Mark Greene visited the Municipal League of King County on July 1st for an interview in relation to his candidacy for King County Council. Mark was asked a number of questions, such as what was his related experience that would prepare him for the council position. Mark referred specifically to his career as a paralegal and to the satellite legal office near the Georgian-Alabaman border that he was in charge of while working for the parent corporate firm in Atlanta. Mark knows the corporate world as well as the world of labor, as both backgrounds give him a keen insight into the problems of our nation and helps him to stay apace in the election for council.
Post-script: The local press got their facts wrong, again. One report had Mark about 1500 votes down from the actual total that he received in the Secretary of State primary in Washington last year (Mark got 22,800 votes). The same report, much of which was a re-hash of their articles from '07 & '08, made it seem that Mark was ignorant about the powers of town councils, but Mark realizes that only the United States House of Representatives has the power of federal impeachment. Mark has been involved in politics since 1964, and he knows "civics" pretty well.
[revised on same day as first posted]
Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM
Post-script: The local press got their facts wrong, again. One report had Mark about 1500 votes down from the actual total that he received in the Secretary of State primary in Washington last year (Mark got 22,800 votes). The same report, much of which was a re-hash of their articles from '07 & '08, made it seem that Mark was ignorant about the powers of town councils, but Mark realizes that only the United States House of Representatives has the power of federal impeachment. Mark has been involved in politics since 1964, and he knows "civics" pretty well.
[revised on same day as first posted]
Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM
6/26/09
Blog News IX
The Party of Commons has started several new blogs:
Northern Pacific Report: http://commonsnorth.blogspot.com
Commons South: http://commonssouth.blogspot.com
Southern Northwest Commons: http://commonsouth.blogspot.com
Common Denominator: http://commonator.blogspot.com
The Political Playwright: http://commonswriteplays.blogspot.com
Post-script: Please, see our new site, "Commons Cool Sovereign," which is geared towards young adults interested in politics (can see by clicking on title link, above), and make a contribution to the Party of Commons, P.O. Box 612, Bellevue, WA 98009. Thank you!
[revised on 7/1/09]
Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM
The Party of Commons does not sponsor or produce advertising.
Northern Pacific Report: http://commonsnorth.blogspot.com
Commons South: http://commonssouth.blogspot.com
Southern Northwest Commons: http://commonsouth.blogspot.com
Common Denominator: http://commonator.blogspot.com
The Political Playwright: http://commonswriteplays.blogspot.com
Post-script: Please, see our new site, "Commons Cool Sovereign," which is geared towards young adults interested in politics (can see by clicking on title link, above), and make a contribution to the Party of Commons, P.O. Box 612, Bellevue, WA 98009. Thank you!
[revised on 7/1/09]
Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM
The Party of Commons does not sponsor or produce advertising.
6/24/09
Mark's "New Department" Idea
In a bold new proposal for King County politics, Mark Greene has energized the King County Council, District 9 primary race with his idea of a county Department of Grievances, Solutions and Whistleblowers. As we mentioned in yesterday's essay, Mark first told the Seattle Times editorial board about this idea during his debate with Reagan Dunn (Ms. Tonda chose not to attend).
Yesterday, we listed the divisions in this proposed new department. Now, we will explain exactly how this department would work.
County or parish employees generally, in any state, often feel intimidated about the prospect of going to the brass in their own departments to talk about problems, make grievances or to give their ideas about how something should be done. They also do not feel welcome in human resource or personnel departments, because of the connection between department heads and the central hiring and disciplinary office. As a result of this distance between employees and management, employees will often keep their work related problems pent up inside themselves or ignore them altogether. Then problems fester and become bigger, and frequently become full blown crises within a section or entire departments. These crises can have a huge negative effect on county operations, budgeting and employee morale, and usually do.
It is not only problems that are pent up, but solutions to problems. It is often said in the workplace that common everyday laborers, office workers, or lower level technicians have some of the best ideas regarding creativity, productivity, and overall improvements in the workplace. However, as a result of this employee - management disconnect, which is often due to management not wanting to be second guessed or surpassed in intellectual capability by their subordinates, many positive ideas and solutions to problems never see the light of day.
This is why employees should have a third option besides management and human resources that they can go to with their grievances and solutions, or to blow the whistle on abuses or incompetencies that they see in their sections or departments, or anywhere in the county system that they happen to come upon.
The general public, especially those who are citizens of the county, also needs a place within the county where they can more easily participate as volunteers in county operations and offer solutions to problems. They also need another place besides the council and the executive's office to make their grievances and to blow the whistle on negative governmental activities that may not be generally known.
The new Department of Grievances, Solutions and Whistleblowers will take care of all of this from both the employee and public standpoints. The following is a short synopsis of the responsibilities of the proposed seven divisions within this proposed department:
WASTE & INEFFICIENCY: This will basically be the auditing division. The division will investigate complaints about waste and inefficiencies in the county system and also conduct their own audits, random and scheduled, of county departments.
ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEES: This will be the division that organizes environmental committees in virtually every department. These committees will consist of employees within their own department that will come up with ideas to improve the environmental standards within their department, and to actually implement ideas that are approved by the Department of Grievances, Solutions and Whistleblowers.
VOLUNTEER COMMITTEES: This will be the public outreach division, where the public can come in to offer thier ideas for government operations and planning, and individuals can be selected for committees that are approved by the Department of Grievances, Solutions and Whistleblowers.
CREATIVITY: This will be the employee outreach division for ideas and solutions to problems. This will also be the volunteer committee outreach division, where members of the public can advance to a division where creative ideas would be the main focus.
EMERGENCY PLANNING: This will be the division in which planning for emergencies would be done, such as preparations for emergency responses, evacuations and temporary housing. This division would consider every possible emergency from flooding to earthquakes.
WHISTLEBLOWERS: This will basically be the grievance division, where employees and the public can make their grievances known incognito or otherwise. This division would also be responsible for complaints about lawbreaking, harassment, malfeasance, hooliganism, incompetence and outright abuse.
RECOMMENDATIONS: This will basically be the solutions division, whereas they would take the recommendations of all of the other divisions, county employees generally, and the general public without making revisions, and make a report to the King County Council on the pros and cons of each recommendation. This division would be the main liaison between the council and the Department of Grievances, Solutions and Whistleblowers, along with the head of the department.
[revised on 7/3/09]
Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM
The Party of Commons does not sponsor or produce advertising.
Yesterday, we listed the divisions in this proposed new department. Now, we will explain exactly how this department would work.
County or parish employees generally, in any state, often feel intimidated about the prospect of going to the brass in their own departments to talk about problems, make grievances or to give their ideas about how something should be done. They also do not feel welcome in human resource or personnel departments, because of the connection between department heads and the central hiring and disciplinary office. As a result of this distance between employees and management, employees will often keep their work related problems pent up inside themselves or ignore them altogether. Then problems fester and become bigger, and frequently become full blown crises within a section or entire departments. These crises can have a huge negative effect on county operations, budgeting and employee morale, and usually do.
It is not only problems that are pent up, but solutions to problems. It is often said in the workplace that common everyday laborers, office workers, or lower level technicians have some of the best ideas regarding creativity, productivity, and overall improvements in the workplace. However, as a result of this employee - management disconnect, which is often due to management not wanting to be second guessed or surpassed in intellectual capability by their subordinates, many positive ideas and solutions to problems never see the light of day.
This is why employees should have a third option besides management and human resources that they can go to with their grievances and solutions, or to blow the whistle on abuses or incompetencies that they see in their sections or departments, or anywhere in the county system that they happen to come upon.
The general public, especially those who are citizens of the county, also needs a place within the county where they can more easily participate as volunteers in county operations and offer solutions to problems. They also need another place besides the council and the executive's office to make their grievances and to blow the whistle on negative governmental activities that may not be generally known.
The new Department of Grievances, Solutions and Whistleblowers will take care of all of this from both the employee and public standpoints. The following is a short synopsis of the responsibilities of the proposed seven divisions within this proposed department:
WASTE & INEFFICIENCY: This will basically be the auditing division. The division will investigate complaints about waste and inefficiencies in the county system and also conduct their own audits, random and scheduled, of county departments.
ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEES: This will be the division that organizes environmental committees in virtually every department. These committees will consist of employees within their own department that will come up with ideas to improve the environmental standards within their department, and to actually implement ideas that are approved by the Department of Grievances, Solutions and Whistleblowers.
VOLUNTEER COMMITTEES: This will be the public outreach division, where the public can come in to offer thier ideas for government operations and planning, and individuals can be selected for committees that are approved by the Department of Grievances, Solutions and Whistleblowers.
CREATIVITY: This will be the employee outreach division for ideas and solutions to problems. This will also be the volunteer committee outreach division, where members of the public can advance to a division where creative ideas would be the main focus.
EMERGENCY PLANNING: This will be the division in which planning for emergencies would be done, such as preparations for emergency responses, evacuations and temporary housing. This division would consider every possible emergency from flooding to earthquakes.
WHISTLEBLOWERS: This will basically be the grievance division, where employees and the public can make their grievances known incognito or otherwise. This division would also be responsible for complaints about lawbreaking, harassment, malfeasance, hooliganism, incompetence and outright abuse.
RECOMMENDATIONS: This will basically be the solutions division, whereas they would take the recommendations of all of the other divisions, county employees generally, and the general public without making revisions, and make a report to the King County Council on the pros and cons of each recommendation. This division would be the main liaison between the council and the Department of Grievances, Solutions and Whistleblowers, along with the head of the department.
[revised on 7/3/09]
Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM
The Party of Commons does not sponsor or produce advertising.
6/23/09
A Draw in the Boardroom
The main candidates for King County Council in District 9, Mark Greene and Reagan Dunn, appeared together in the Seattle Times Editorial Boardroom (candidates being together for board interviews is apparently the usual procedure at the Times). In effect, this was a debate, and it pretty much was a draw. Incidentally, the third candidate in the race, Beverly Tonda, excused herself from attendance to take care of personal business according to the Times. Greene and Dunn were interviewed by Times Editorial Board members, Kate Riley, Lynne Varner and Lance Dickie.
For the first time, Mark Greene unveiled his plan for King County to confront serious problems in an innovative and business-like manner by proposing the creation of a new department: the Department of Grievances, Solutions and Whistleblowers. This department would have close contact with the public and with county employees, and would be divided into seven divisons: (1.) Waste & Inefficiency division (2.) Environmental Committees division (3.) Volunteer Committees division (4.) Creativity division (5.) Emergency Planning division (6.) Whistleblowers division (7.) Recommendations division.
The department would act as a sort of a middleman between county employees and the council, but would be much more accessible to employees than the council is presently. This department would be better able to hear grievances and learn about acts of wrongdoing and incompetence within the county system, elicit ideas and information from both employees and the public, and would be an everyday drop-in center for ordinary citizens who want to take a more active part in participating in county planning and county government in general.
Reagan Dunn gave a fairly decent spiel in the boardroom, but really couldn't come up with a good defense about the auditing troubles within several county departments, especially involving construction contracts. It looks as if there are widespread incompetencies and abuses in regards to keeping track of county business, and the scandal made the front page of the Seattle Times, today.
Mark was also adequate, if not his usual better than average performance in debates, but may have stumbled his words a few times in giving his presentation and responding to questions due to an unusually severe bout with insomnia in the last few days. All in all, however, Mark was consistent in his answers and defended representative democracy for the masses, and the good of the commons.
[revised on 7/3/09]
Post-script: Tomorrow, Mark Greene will write a full review on his proposal for a county department of Grievances, Solutions and Whistleblowers. Please, look for it sometime tomorrow evening.
The Party of Commons does not sponsor or produce advertising.
Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM
For the first time, Mark Greene unveiled his plan for King County to confront serious problems in an innovative and business-like manner by proposing the creation of a new department: the Department of Grievances, Solutions and Whistleblowers. This department would have close contact with the public and with county employees, and would be divided into seven divisons: (1.) Waste & Inefficiency division (2.) Environmental Committees division (3.) Volunteer Committees division (4.) Creativity division (5.) Emergency Planning division (6.) Whistleblowers division (7.) Recommendations division.
The department would act as a sort of a middleman between county employees and the council, but would be much more accessible to employees than the council is presently. This department would be better able to hear grievances and learn about acts of wrongdoing and incompetence within the county system, elicit ideas and information from both employees and the public, and would be an everyday drop-in center for ordinary citizens who want to take a more active part in participating in county planning and county government in general.
Reagan Dunn gave a fairly decent spiel in the boardroom, but really couldn't come up with a good defense about the auditing troubles within several county departments, especially involving construction contracts. It looks as if there are widespread incompetencies and abuses in regards to keeping track of county business, and the scandal made the front page of the Seattle Times, today.
Mark was also adequate, if not his usual better than average performance in debates, but may have stumbled his words a few times in giving his presentation and responding to questions due to an unusually severe bout with insomnia in the last few days. All in all, however, Mark was consistent in his answers and defended representative democracy for the masses, and the good of the commons.
[revised on 7/3/09]
Post-script: Tomorrow, Mark Greene will write a full review on his proposal for a county department of Grievances, Solutions and Whistleblowers. Please, look for it sometime tomorrow evening.
The Party of Commons does not sponsor or produce advertising.
Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM
6/21/09
Blog News VIII
Two new blogs by "Commons" chairman, Mark Greene, will be started; one of which will be personally oriented rather than involving Party of Commons's business, although there will be a loose association. The Party of Commons gets virtually no contributions and Mark's hard work in running the party earns him no money whatsoever. Mark is trying to earn a living, independently, outside of party business, but will take a legally sanctioned salary from party business if forthcoming. Mark will start publishing his plays, prose and poetry, and start making his legal and political consultant business more known through the internet and through Party of Commons's websites and blogs. Mark needs business from lawyers, paralegals, or companies who would like to sign him up for a paralegal services contract, either short or long term. Readers who follow the Party of Commons will begin to notice this somewhat minor change, about Mark's job inquiries, immediately.
Regarding the new blogs, which we will tell more about on Blog News VIII through an added post-script, one blog will be solely about Mark's writing as a playwright. The other blog will be a kind of a government watch blog that will have more of an association with the Party of Commons, although technically not a party blog. This blog will center on Mark's and his P.O.C. colleagues' personal observations of courts and various government hearings, such as council meetings, legislative committees and so forth.
Please, tell your relatives, friends and associates about these new blogs specifically as well as about the Party of Commons generally. Also, tell them that Mark can help them with filling out legal forms and with rudimentary legal-oriented services, consistent with a legal assistant's work, for a relatively small fee; this would help Mark with his consultant business.
Post-script: Please check out our new non-party business blogs which are now up and running:
Northern Pacific Report (can also see by clicking on title link, above): http://commonsnorth.blogspot.com
The Political Playwright: http://commonswriteplays.blogspot.com
[revised on same day as first posted]
Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM
Regarding the new blogs, which we will tell more about on Blog News VIII through an added post-script, one blog will be solely about Mark's writing as a playwright. The other blog will be a kind of a government watch blog that will have more of an association with the Party of Commons, although technically not a party blog. This blog will center on Mark's and his P.O.C. colleagues' personal observations of courts and various government hearings, such as council meetings, legislative committees and so forth.
Please, tell your relatives, friends and associates about these new blogs specifically as well as about the Party of Commons generally. Also, tell them that Mark can help them with filling out legal forms and with rudimentary legal-oriented services, consistent with a legal assistant's work, for a relatively small fee; this would help Mark with his consultant business.
Post-script: Please check out our new non-party business blogs which are now up and running:
Northern Pacific Report (can also see by clicking on title link, above): http://commonsnorth.blogspot.com
The Political Playwright: http://commonswriteplays.blogspot.com
[revised on same day as first posted]
Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM
"Interrogator" Quizzes Chairman
While the chairman was campaigning for Initiative 432 (easy steps for candidates to run for office initiative), a man quizzed him regarding "Commons's" philosophy overall and position on health care. Mark met the challenge by explaining that we're economically progressive and that we're for a national health care plan, universal in nature, but not necessarily a single payer plan. Mark explained that any universal plan would be better than the present system, implying that incremental steps are sometimes necessary to eventually get to the most productive and worthwhile program. Then the man started questioning Mark about the specifics of "Commons's" plan. Mark explained that we don't have a detailed plan, implying that we are not a major party or even a relatively large minor party that has dozens or scores of staff people that can work on researching various issues and writing detailed position papers.
The Party of Commons is a very small party. Our platforms and policies may be general in outline but they are representative of the masses, which is better than having detailed position papers that are approved by the corporate behemoth. However, you can help us grow bigger by joining the Party of Commons as a future candidate, a director, or as an assistant, or making a contribution. We also need you to ask for an Initiative 432 petition page or pages, and get signatures for us. We can't get a quarter of a million signatures by New Year's Eve all by ourselves:
[revised on same day as first posted]
Domain Website: www.partyofcommons.com (can also see by clicking on title link, above)
E-mail: partyofcommons@yahoo.com
Address: P.O. Box 612, Bellevue, WA 98009
Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM
The Party of Commons is a very small party. Our platforms and policies may be general in outline but they are representative of the masses, which is better than having detailed position papers that are approved by the corporate behemoth. However, you can help us grow bigger by joining the Party of Commons as a future candidate, a director, or as an assistant, or making a contribution. We also need you to ask for an Initiative 432 petition page or pages, and get signatures for us. We can't get a quarter of a million signatures by New Year's Eve all by ourselves:
[revised on same day as first posted]
Domain Website: www.partyofcommons.com (can also see by clicking on title link, above)
E-mail: partyofcommons@yahoo.com
Address: P.O. Box 612, Bellevue, WA 98009
Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM
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