ANALYISIS OF YOUR ELECTION WORK .

You as a citizen of your country are able to vote.  But, you have many things to think about and make decisions.  Hopefully, you will not keep all these items in your head, but you will make a list about the items within the election, such as the items in my last blog.  Please make notes next to those items you feel strongest about.

Of course, there are special items that you know about, i.e. abortion.  How much weight do you place on those items?  An item like abortion may carry a large percentage of weight in your selection, anything over 50% means that you have slipped into a “polarizing” issue.   An issue that places so much weight in your selection that whatever else the candidate supports you will or will not support him/her.  For you, your decision is made.  It is the easy way to vote. 

An election is full of issues that deserve full attention.   Voting for something that is a polarizing issue should be your last consideration before voting.   Take a look at those items that you have made notes next too.   You might want to establish a “weight system based on 100%” and place a percentage next to the items you feel strongest about.   Start to make out cards, or notes next to those items and see how strong the contenders match up.

Starting down the list of “contenders” you will quickly see that you do not have the knowledge you would like to contain in your brain to make a decision that you could live with.  Does it have enough strength for you to support one specific candidate?  Perhaps if you had been following the election closely, you could have received the necessary information.  Now, you are going to have to go several resources for answers. The best of the batch include; The Christian Science Monitor, www.csm.com                                     www.factcheck.com , www.commondreams.org , www.commoncause.com , www.cnn.com , www.foxnews,com ,  www.projectvotesmart.org , www.msnbc.com,  www.centerforresponsivepolitics.net, www.legislativeinformationfromthelibraryofcongress.com,Thomas.loc.gov/ , www.npr.org , www.GOP.com , wwwldemocraticparty.org   .  Your local newspapers are available on the web system and can easily find articles that would answer questions.

These sources could provide you with answers to the questions you desire.  Next election perhaps you could come up with your own system which might include:  taking the local newspaper (cutting out articles) keeping the articles in your own system be it a file system or binder.  Reading the articles and keeping them to help you in discussions throughout the election will further strengthen your vote.

Usually the county where you vote will send your ballot sheet that has everything in the election.  No, this is not for you to vote on and hand in, but it is for you to make semi-final decisions.  Select those candidates that you have decided deserve your vote, place an X next to their name.  Do the same thing with all the propositions.  After finishing, go over the entire ballot and see if you have made your final decisions.  Once that is completed, take the sample ballot INTO  where you vote—into the actual booth, so you can fill out the actual ballot the same way you did on the—that takes all the anxiety and pressure off of making errors on the ballot.

The ballot booth and ballot itself.    The booth is supposed to be private.  A pull sheet is provided for that purpose.  The ballot procedure is different everywhere.  Make sure you have familiarized yourself with that procedure.  This simple item was the basis of the Supreme Court case that cost Al Gore the Presidency to George W. Bush in the state of Florida.  Please be careful about getting to the balloting place before it closes.  As long as you are in line, they must allow you to vote.  Also, watch out for signs that direct people away from balloting locations.  This is a trick played on voters by one of the political parties to lower the vote count because people didn’t get to the ballot station in time.  Again, in the State of Florida.   A last word of advice.  If you have to work, get to the ballot location in the early morning—before you get to work, there are less people, lines are shorter.  The State of Oregon has done one thing better—they are an all absentee ballot state.  All ballots are mailed into the County to be counted.  I hope you feel confident in your selections and you help in electing a solid ballot that will correct our ship of state.

Partial list of discussion-Pres.Election

Howdy.  I have had problems with my hook-up with google, but I have it corrected now.
Well, the Presidential Campaign has moved right along.  Currently, the Republicans are represented by Mitt Romney for President and Paul Ryan as Vice Presidential Candidate.
The Democrats appear to be keeping the same two representatives, Barack Obama as Presidential Candidate and  Joe Bidden as Vice Presidential Candidate
The main issues:
1. The economy--8.2 unemployment rate (supposedly no president has ever been elected with an unemployment rate above 8.0--
2.  Health Care--Medicare--Obama Care.
3.  Democrats want to gain control of Congress.
4.  Republicans want to lower taxes for the 1%, raise taxes on the 99%.
5.  Less money for defense--no more wars--more funds for transportation and highways.
6.  Regulate Wall Street so they will not fail again.
7.  Correct the Immigration problems.
8.  Wealth needs to spread around to include the middle-class.
9.  Legislation to keep American jobs in America.  Bring back "outsourced" jobs.  Stop legislation that gives 
     corporations incentives to move out of the USA.
10.Have a free market that is not a free license to take whatever you can from whomever you can.  The Free
     market only works when there are rules of the road that ensure competition is fair, open and honest.  It
     should not include monopolies, but have those companies compete for consumers with better services
     and better prices.  Make sure businesses couldn't profit by exploiting children or selling food or medicines
     that isn't safe. (Obama speech Dec 6, 2011)

11.  Maintain the status of Social Security.
12.  Help Congress convene a Constitutional Convention.  Similar to what Congress did when they changed
       from the Articles of Confederation to the U.S. Constitution and The Bill of Rights.  It is necessary to
       have 34 State Legislatures call for a Constitutional Convention, there are 32 states that have already
       voted to call for the convention.  It only takes 2 more states.  Arizona had agreed earlier, however,
       pulled out, perhaps they could be convinced to vote for the call.  Oh, yes, there is one major problem.
       Most of Congress is afraid that once called the states will also call for a renewed, updated Constitution,
       i.e. balanced budget, eliminate Article I restriction to coinage of real money, or even eliminate gun or
      property rights, reduction of existing liberties,  change the existing 50 states to 11 Republics (Santa 
      Barbara Group), justice system could have the ability to legally ignore the Constitution--to modify its

Partial list, page 2--Pres Campaign

modify "problematic " provisions to reflect the philosophical and social mores of our contemporary society.
    13.  Delegates could revise the 1st Amendment into a government controlled privilege, replace the 2nd
            Amendment with a "collective" right to self-defense, and abolish the 4th, 5th and 10th Amendments
            and the rest of the Bill of Rights.  Additions could include the non-existent Separation of Church
            and "right" to abortion and euthanasia and much more.
     14.  Individual rights would be replaced by "collective" rights, awarded and enforced by government
            for the "common" good.
     15.  The above are only suggestions letting you see why most people don't want a new Constitutional
            Convention  (www.call for constitutional convention)
     16.  Somehow get the climate under control SOON.  Can you imagine the movement from warm
            climates -We need to listen to our scientists, look at reality (Iceland--The North Pole ice)  What
            about the water level, pretty soon Arizona will be beachfront property.
     17.  Stop obstructionist tactics in Congress.  Congressmen need to work for their constituents.
     18.  Amend the Constitution to resend Citizen's United.
     19.   Amend the Constitution to stop hypocrisy.  All use of funds must be reported by Congressmen, all
           loopholes in taxation removed.  Business CEO's may not receive more money for compensation than
           eight times a normal worker's salary.  Have a Congressional committee with the power to remove
           Congressmen for being arrested for a felony, no long process.(Common Dreams articles)
     20.  Federally elected officials may not sign a "Pledge" of any kind that would deture doing the work
            for the Common Good of the people.

Law withholds cruise-safety information

I have attached a link for you to read.  It is from The Arizona Republic, business section, first page, Sunday 06/09/2012, Page 1.  The writer, Robert Anglen, accurately describes how lobbyist and Congressmen create "Hollow Logs"--those laws that appear just what the constituents have been asking for--on first appearance (or on the outside of the log, while inside the law (log core) the bill has been completely negated by specific wording.  In this case the law appeared to be going forward in the manner the constituents wanted..(http://www.azcentral.com/news/politics/articles/2012/06/09/2012)
The bill's main meaning was" requiring cruise lines to report all serious crimes aboard ships to the FBI .  Originally, it required the U.S. Coast Guard to maintain a public database of all serious crimes on cruise ships.  Language added before passage altered the bill so that only crimes "no longer under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation were reported in the public database ."
"The upshot: The public is not allowed to see reports of all alleged crimes aboard ships.  Where the FBI once publicly reported more than 400 crimes a year, only six crimes on ships in the past nine months have been listed on the public database.  And cases not investigated by the FBI--for example, allegations handled by ship security staff--never will be reported in the database under the new law".

Several things to notice:
1".  The people supporting the law worked with the public entities until final wording was worked out, they felt secure that what they had shepherded was going to be the law, however small changes were made in the final wording that was not privy to the public prior to passage.
       a.  Lobbyists from the cruise industry have a great deal to lose if this information gets out to the public
            they will lose a large amount of business.  The way the bill is written now, the public is not allowed
            to see the reports of alleged crimes--the FBI had reported over 400 crimes a year, this past nine
            months period had only listed 6 crimes on ships
             i.  The driving force behind this bill is Kendall Carver whose daughter mysteriously disappeared
                 on an Alaskan Cruise in 2004, he has dedicated his life to holding the cruise line industry more
                 accountable for passenger safety .  Carver had no idea it had changed until last year 
                 when the first crime reports came out.  Mr. Carver and other cruise-safety experts have spent
                 months trying to determine how and why the wording in the bill was altered."
      b.  The way things stand now.  People looking for safety issues on cruise ships, won't find much on the
            record .  This gives people a false sense of security.  This could be considered fraud by the  Cruise
            Lines with a complaisant federal government trying to protect an economic asset.

Educated Citizens are not just informed, but are changed.

We have discussed many issues lately.  Notice, they all seem to force you to make a decision.  In doing so you are not only informed about what you covered, but you have changed your point of view. 
Hopefully, you have helped your frame of reference shore up that area so you may be able to talk about, make intelligent decisions that you can stand for, and help change your world for the better.

This all sounds very easy, however, if you have been attempting it, you realize you need too go through several thought processes before you accept a decision that sticks to your frame of reference.  It is a time consuming process that needs plenty of attention before you may feel comfortable with your frame of reference.  In that process you are changing, for the better.

To do this with strength, you must have the ability to integrate and apply knowledge from one discipline to help learn another.  You need the appreciation of the challenge that exists in truly mastering a subject matter.  It is somewhat like "building blocks", or laying a good foundation under constructing a brick house.  Once you have build the foundation, your "house" (frame of reference) will provide you with the knowledge to make strong, sound decisions.

Caution!  Political parties make up little white lies

 Political parties are not opposed to stretching the truth or telling a little white lie, it is up to you to search out the truth so you can vote for the best qualified candidate.  Bill Clinton stretched the truth with his sexual advances, he threw a mask on when dealing with Congress, he made the Republicans think he was a republican and got many items through Congress. Bush’s presidency was ripe with whatever it took to make their side of the issues shine a ray of sunshine on their faces.  The worst example being getting us into the Iraq war because they supposedly had “weapons of mass destruction”.

The past three years while the Republicans  have been in power in the House of Representatives, most all of their membership in that house have signed a pledge against any legislation that would increase taxes. They have become an obstructionist party, hardly allowing legislation to pass in Congress, while President Obama has been attempting to right the economy, get us out of wars and right the ship of state. 

Both parties have friendly journalist who make up stories for their benefit.  The most recent “story” is that the Social Security system is going to run out of funds in 2033.  The Common Dreams.org editorial staff has researched the folly of their “story”.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, the chairman of the Defending Social Security Caucus and also chairman of the Senate aging subcommittee says, “The most effective way to strengthen Social Security for the next 75 years is to eliminate the cap on the payroll tax on income above $250,000.  Right now, someone who earns $110,000 pays the same amount of money into Social Security as a billionaire.  That makes no sense.”

The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, said in a statement.  “The trust fund solvency date for Social Security has seen fluctuations many times in recent decades, from a depletion date as distant as 2048 in the 1988 report to as soon as 2029 in the 1994 and 1997 reports.  This year’s report is well within that range.  Contrary to the crisis myths perpetuated by fiscal conservatives and many in the media, the prevailing facts show once again that Social Security remains among the nation’s most successful and stable programs.  The Trustees report there is now $2.7 trillion in the Social Security trust fund, which is $69 billion more than last year, and continues to grow.  Payroll contributions and interest will full cover benefits for decades to come.

What I have shown you here is why you need to dig deeper into the media and political rhetoric that you see/hear and read.  Search for the truth through credible sources—go to the source when possible—

The source for this article is www.commondreams.org   April 24, 2012, titled “Experts: Contrary to Mainstream Myth, ‘Social Security is Strong’ and Could be made stronger.”

Keep notes, watch TV, Talking Heads, read, read!

Well, the Republicans have settled on Mitt Romney as their candidate going into the Republican National Convention.  It appears that the support is tenuous at best.  Most Republicans want to beat Obama and don't care who is the candidate going up against him.
If you are Republican--Tea Party member, Democrat or Progressive NOW is the time for you to bring all your support for your candidate--be they cut-out articles, magazine articles, video notes, notes from events you have attended, whatever it is, make sure you have your support established and are able to talk about your support for your candidate.  Things are going to get rough--people against the way you think are going to be prepared also, perhaps not as prepared as you, but they are their beliefs and they will try to convince you to change your way of thinking!!  Confrontation will take place in just about any location, on the way to work, visiting a neighbor, over coffee after church, at dinner with friends, you name it, you will need to be ready.  You will need to practice confrontation with your family.  Most people are not comfortable with presenting a point and winning an argument.  Remember, state your point, clearly, have hard evidence ready to back up what your are saying and try--please try to be calm!  Do not belittle your "friend", people don't like that.  Allow him/her to state why they support their view on the issue and listen for evidence.  Listen where they have received their evidence--you are going to present "neutral" evidence as much as possible--example, Christian Science Monitor information--your "friend" may not present unbiased evidence, example:  Opinions from newscasters, political news(CNN and MSNBC  FOX News,).  Hopefully you would have watched/listened/read your opponents point of view and be ready to have a come-back.  Maybe, just maybe, your friend may present enough evidence that will change your way of thinking!!  It is your job to be ready as possible to walk into that voting booth and be sure of your vote.