The Brewing Arms Race

With the stupid Clinton and Bush II policies of N.A.T.O. expansionism and their general adolescent tweaking of Russia, and the globalization pacts that have led to increasingly stronger militaries around the world, an international arms race is brewing even in the midst of the global depression. This is very bad news for people who wish for a sane planet. Why on earth has our nation been upsetting Russia by encircling them with NATO forces and bases? This is a stupid policy, and as a result, Russia is strengthening their nuclear armament capabilities, both tactical and strategic, which will lead to a new arms race where once we were making progress with START, otherwise known as the strategic arms reduction treaties. What is the point of expanding NATO? There doesn't seem to be a good reason other than to agitate Russia and thereby stoke an arms race, which would further enrich the already rich military industrial complex, and also put the doomsday clock at a little closer to 12. The Party of Commons stands with Ron Paul's sentiments to the extent that we should get out of NATO. The "Cold War" is over. Let the European Union keep this organization afloat by themselves for their own common defense if they think that is in their best interests, and then if they choose, they can conduct negotiations with their neighbors, including Russia, as to alliances, deployments, bases and so forth. This should be an entirely European affair. China is also strengthening their nuclear capabilities and their overall military forces, obviously noting a more aggressive geopolitical atmosphere. The world doesn't need another Cuban Missile Crisis because imperialists, here, want to tweak Russia and dominate the world, thus risking the end of civilization as we know it.

Post-script: Earlier this month, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, addressing a disarmament council in Geneva has called for new negotiations to enhance START, for a nuclear weapons-free Middle East zone, and prevention of the weaponization of outer space. All of these goals, very essential and critical to international peace, should also be declared by the Obama administration. However good a start a Middle Eastern nuclear weapons-free zone through a treaty or treaties would be, nuclear weapons-free zones anywhere should eventually be extended to a nuclear weapons-free planet through erudite diplomacy and improved international inspection administrations.

Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM

Biography of an Elder Statesman

There was a glitch in the biography section of Mark Greene's campaign website, but it has now been fixed, and the short biographical summary, including a photograph, can now be seen (just click on the title above to get to the campaign website, and then find the biography link on the home page).

For a longer biography of Mark, which includes several essays about his late mother, Elizabeth Greene, a theologian and an educator, go to the site http://360.yahoo.com/poc_senator. This weekend, the essay is called "Annie and Ike," about Mark growing up with his family in the late 1950's when President Dwight Eisenhower and the characterization of Annie Oakley's life on television were both popular (although Mark's mother, voting for president for the first time, voted for Adlai Stevenson in 1956). Next week's essay will include Mark's mother seeing presidential candidate John Kennedy at the Michigan State Fair in 1960. The year 1960 began the era of the academians and the priests in Mark's family, as Mark's mother reached out heavily to that community in the early '60's. New rules have been made for being able to view the full biography on "Yahoo/360."

[revised on 3/28/09]


Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM

Senate Campaign Off to a Strong Start

Throughout the previous fall and winter, and this early spring, the Party of Commons has kept a strong internet presence in the state of Washington, particularly in the Puget Sound area and Spokane, as we are the main trumpeters of Mark Greene's campaign for the U.S. Senate, but we are also looking into expanding this presence throughout Washington, particularly in our Skamania County, Clark County, Stevens County and Kittitas County strongholds.

Now, that the weather should be getting warmer in the state of Washington for the next several months, we will also be making more personal contacts with the people of Washington and conducting party meetings, throughout the length and breadth of Washington, hopefully. We are presently looking for 39 county chairpersons for the Party of Commons for each of the 39 counties of Washington, and 5 division directors for Mark's Senate campaign, one for each of 5 distinct geographical sections of Washington. This is a total of 44 volunteers we are seeking just for these positions, let alone the many more we will need for other executive and rank-and-file positions.

Mark is positioning himself as the candidate with the strongest credentials for advocating a great turn about in foreign policy, namely withdrawing from the interventionist agenda that the last several congresses and administrations have embarked on. He is also against bail-outs for "Wall Street," that his likely main opponent next year, Patty Murray, voted for. Mark is also the strongest environmentalist running for senator. Has Murray even attempted to label genetically engineered food? We doubt it. If elected, Mark will try to get hearings in the Senate started on dubious scientific experiments, regardless of whether they are alledgedly for utilitarian purposes or not. Mark, if elected, will also be one of the best advocates for labor rights in Congress, trying to make sure that unemployment compensation is easier to get if a worker becomes unemployed through no fault of his or her own, even if a worker must resign from her or his position for a good reason. Mark supported the presidential candidacy of Ron Paul in 2008, although he differs with the Texas congressman on several economic issues.

[revised on 3/26/09]

Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM

Nader's Thoughts on the Bush Regime

"Commoner" does not usually post essays from those outside of our party, but we liked this one well enough that we made an exception. We are taking advantage of the Fair Use Doctrine in Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code) to publicize this essay.

The essay called, "Bush the Teacher," written by Ralph Nader, about the most lawless and corrupt presidential administration in American history, can be seen through the comments section, directly below.

This essay is a good lesson on why the present Attorney General of the United States, Eric Holder, should start the prosecutions of the several members of the Bush regime, including Mr. Bush, himself, that trampled over basic morality and the Constitution.

Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM

What Our Nation Needs: Policies for the People

Did the guy on "60 Minutes" actually say to President Obama, "Do you expect our best people to work for two hundred fifty thousand dollars a year ... ?" or something like that, suggesting that 250K per year is just pennies? What "best people?" The financial gurus that have brought our nation to financial ruin? That would include the so-called gurus on Obama's staff, Timothy Geithner, the treasury secretary who never should have gotten close to being in that office, and economic advisor, Larry Summers, and others. These super rich cabinet members and advisors are part of the greedy, wretched corporate behemoth that is swallowing up our nation, throwing people out of work, causing unwarranted wars and the destruction of nations, wreaking general havoc, and Geithner and Summers, in particular, have done nothing since being in office except to cater to their own kind, which is part of the reason why we criticized Obama's transition as shoddy in the first place. Geithner and Summers care not one iota about Commoner America, they should be summarily fired from their jobs (Geithner should be investigated for the role he played in the bail-out chicanery), and then Obama could decide whether he is going to be the president of the people or the president of the super rich. The times demand bold action, including nationalization of failed banks, re-instatement of the Glass-Steagall Act, enactment of protectionist measures, especially higher tariffs on foreign goods, 2/5 tax surcharges on the income of billionaires, and other tax surcharges on the other super rich. We doubt very much that Obama is anywhere close to refraining from the embrace of the corporate powers that he has so heartily endorsed.

[revised on 4/7/09]

Post-Script:

Just a reminder: Patty Murray voted to effectively retire "Glass-Steagall" and thus did her part in starting the whole banking de-regulation frenzy that has caused the collapse of the economy, and she voted for the "Wall Street" bail-outs, of which billions of dollars have since been unaccounted for. The Party of Commons is on record for opposing the "Wall Street" bail-outs.

Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM

Leno's Pathetic Complaint

With all the wars going on in the world (Palestine, Congo, Darfur, Afghanistan, Iraq, Indonesia and elsewhere), thousands of nuclear missiles on hair-trigger alert, biological and chemical threats an increasing worry, people starving, refugees and homelessness rising, rising unemployment, water resources running dry, the planet besieged by worrisome climate changes, crazy scientific experiments increasing and no government trying to put a stop to them; with all this, what's scary to entertainer Jay Leno? Believe it or not, a 90% tax on the bonuses of millionaires who have all but put the world economy in a ditch. Of course, Leno is a millionaire, himself, and no ordinary one. In other words, he's filthy rich. So no wonder he doesn't seem to like what amounts to a surtax on the rich, and he apparently thinks the prospect of more "surtaxes" to come is one of our country's biggest problems. Leno's complaint is so poor and pathetic that it should be a part of one his jokes rather than a real concern of his. The 90% tax on the AIG laggards was generous (the idea of these people getting any bonuses at all is ludicrous), it should have been 99.99% and that would only be the tip of a very huge iceberg as far as bringing fairness in the distribution of wealth in America is concerned.

Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM

Time for Labor to Assert Thier Rights

The Washington Legislature stopped labor rights legislation recently, believe it or not, due to an e-mail. It was a pretext, of course, so on the one hand they could say they were trying to look out for the rights of workers, and on the other hand they could actually do the bidding of their Corporate Paymasters and Bosses. This law would have given workers the right to refuse to attend meetings that had no business application, but would rather be corporate propaganda. Too often labor in America is coerced into situations that have little or nothing to do with work, but everything to do with appeasing the high-handed mentality of employers who care little for thier workers or the rights of workers. Workers are often unable to collect unemployment compensation after losing their jobs for refusing to obey unjust rules or refusing to sacrifice their dignity, because the unemployment compensation rules are rigged in favor of corporations and employers who often use spurious claims of misconduct to bolster their power and control over workers.

Workers, however, are not indentured servants and should not have to bow and curtsy to employers, and it is past time for the legislature and Congress to make it easier for workers to collect unemployment compensation when they quit a job, or are fired from a job for alleged misconduct. The reasons for quitting a job and still being able to collect unemployment compensation should be expanded to include that of an overcontrolling employer or an employer that is outright disrespectful. If a worker is refused unemployment compensation for misconduct, then the misconduct should have to be among the most serious of charges, either criminal conduct or gross misconduct that would almost be criminal and shown to have maliciously diminished the employers' production or business to a high degree.

It is past time for workers and Commoner America to assert their rights in the workplace.

[revised on 3/18/09]

Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM

"Commoner" To Publish More Often

The "Commoner" web log and commentary will be posting more often as of this week, as our readers get informative viewpoints about the pressing issues of the day from the Party of Commons. We will also keep you informed about the Senate campaign of our chairman, Mark Greene, for the election of 2010.

Mark Greene will also be accepting legal assistant consultancy positions on a case-by-case basis to pay the bills for both himself and the Party of Commons, so if you need any legal forms or papers filled out, just contact Mark at mark@partyofcommons.com for a review of your case and a possible contract.

Mark, a veteran of the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard, is also seriously considering running for the local council as an interim position between now and the possibility of becoming a U.S. senator in 2011.

Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM

Seattle Schools Curtsies to Gates Foundation

After a big contribution to the Seattle Public Schools at the beginning of the Zeroes Decade, the Bill Gates Foundation has wielded much influence in saying how the Seattle schools should be run, basically demanding that they be in accord with Gates' technocratic-oriented ideas of education. In other words, the public schools should basically be an adjunct of Corporate America, and if the schools don't toe the line in exactly the format that Gates and Company dictate, then the spigot of money from Gates' philanthropy, now, that the government has all but run out of money, will be cut off, as it was for the Seattle Public Schools from 2000 or 2001 until the recent grant of 7.2 million dollars this month.

As the pressure to bend to the will of corporations and moguls persists, the schools no longer inspire kids to be independent thinkers, but robotic drones, ready to go off and march to the orders of corporate field marshals such as Gates, Buffett and Ellison; thereby, becoming the pawns of the corporate behemoth. Hours long daily homework keeps kids from learning about things that they themselves are most interested in, or to explore thier surroundings, but drills them in the handiwork that will most benefit their future corporate masters. Kids hardly get instruction in arts, music, or physical education, anymore, as there will be no time for such "frills" in the Technocratic 21st Century where a new era of indentured servitude looms. The new and strange fanatical emphasis on school testing will make sure that anyone who goes astray from the orthodoxy of the so-called free trade market and the one world legions will be ostracized and unemployed.

Civics, political science and history have been continually downgraded in public schools, better to keep the masses from being too interested in democracy, as the corporatists themselves shall further enhance their practical monopoly on selecting elites to run the government. Religion has continually been mocked so that ethical considerations regarding the new era of dubious utilitarian science can go unchecked. They are saying take your number, stay in your place, and curtsy to the new technocratic machine of our time, but Commoner America must say nay.

[revised 6/5/09]

Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM

The Long War

When the skyscrapers of New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania were attacked on September 11, 2001, which killed thousands, the Taliban regime was in power in Afghanistan and was in league with Osama bin Laden and his cohorts who were responsible for the attacks, or at the very least the Taliban were hosting bin Laden, as they were when bin Laden attacked American embassies in Africa in 1998. Even though some commanding officers' tactics in ousting the Taliban from power were questionable as far as maintaining their obligation in avoiding civilian casualties is concerned, and although a declaration of war should have been passed instead of a Congressional resolution, the Bush administration was on the whole right in taking this military action in this particular country.

Although the Taliban abused human rights severely in Afghanistan, this would not have been a reason for our nation to go to war. It is only because of their connection with the 9-11 attacks as a result of their communion with bin Laden that should have led our nation to war. However, experts with great knowledge of Afghanistan say that there were factions within the Taliban that were not as connected to bin Ladin as the leader, Mullah Omar, was at that time, and that fracture or division still exists to this day. Our political and military leaders should be trying to deal with these less radical factions and thus trying to find diplomatic as well as military solutions in bringing the war in Afghanistan to an end. If the Obama administration's planned escalation of troops in Afghanistan will help to avert the counterproductive drone attacks that we discussed in the previous essay, then this would be an understandable and necessary step in the long war. However, the president should put a greater emphasis in coming up with a diplomatic solution rather than trying to force a total military solution, which most experts say would be exceedingly long and costly, although no solution should be a hindrance in capturing bin Laden.

Post-script: Despite the necessary overthrow of the Taliban regime from power in 2001, this once regime has still been strong enough to wage a war of resistance against the government that replaced them in Afghanistan, thereby threatening to regain control and enabling them to renew their alliance with the arch-terrorist, bin Laden. This is why our nation and our allies must continue to fight this long war.

[revised on 5/26/09]

Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM