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. 

Dig, Dig, evaluate, decide

Now is the time you dig into the candidates' statements, videos, speeches, reactions, essays, stands on the issues.  It appears to be a very easy assignment:  1.  Dig into your frame of reference, all of the above, plus more and come up with a justifiable decision.  2.  Start discussing the issues with your friends, listen to radio and TV, read editorial pages in periodicals, see if your decision stands the test of questioning and do your answers represent solid positions.  3.  Alter your position if needed and go after it again.  REMEMBER, YOUR VOTE DOES COUNT!!

Articles on: Cooperatives instead of Corp and Purchasing the Presidency

I have included two sites for you to read. The first one is concerning an alternative to the "Citizen United" Supreme Court decision--Cooperative. Jim Hightower discusses a fine way that already exists and may be the common man's way to avoid corporations.
The second one is "Purchasing the President: the 2012 Super-PAC Mega-Donors. Great article about how the corporations are using the power the Supreme Court gave them. It explains limitations and amounts. Great articles in Common Dreams.org.

Presidential National Convention--Parties vying for Presidential Office

The past few months, the Republican party has been having candidate debates and primary elections, all the process of trying to select the most capable candidate to "run" for the office of President for their party. There is a new twist this time. PAC's have been given the authority to "give" as much as they wanted to a candidate. This came as a result of a Supreme Court decision known as "Citizen United", which said that corporations have the same privilege of "speech" as a human-being, meaning that a corporation may give as many campaign funds it wants instead of being stopped by the usual $2,300 they had prior to the decision. What that translates to is: a candidate merely needs to get one very large donator who would foot his campaign and that is all he would need--so, no more "grassroots" or small donors (usually from the regular population)
Now, the Republican party has narrowed their selection to four candidates. Those candidates are attempting to "win" each of states they "run" in so they can accumlate "votes" going into the Presidential Convention.
The Presidential Convention is where the final candidate is selected. In the pre-50's days, the convention was a brokered convention, usually in a smoke filled room with the party big-whigs attempting to convince the remainder in the room of the ability of their candidate.
The convention today is changed. No-more smoke filled rooms, the candidate comes to the convention usually with the election in the bag because he has accumulated the largest number of "state" wins to achieve the election.
Other things go on at the convention: The party platform is solidified, that is where the party states what they believe in and where they are headed in the upcoming Presidential election. Many personalities are highlight by speeches they deliver and will begin growing within the party.
Usually a sitting President has a good position if he has done a good job in his last term.
What is your job. First, you need to familiarize yourself with both of the candidates; their positions on the issues; that means you need to do some research and become familiar with their reasons for their position. Next, you need to start to form questions that you would like to ask on the issues, do the candidates answer with good answers? Start forming an opinion, once formed, challenge their positions, use letters-to-the editor (remember to keep the letters to one question--yes, you can send more, however publishers do not like long letters, it takes up too much space) call in responses, attend meetings--and on and on--GET INVOLVED--BE ABLE TO DISCUSS THE ISSUES--POSSIBLE ANSWERS!!!!!STAY INVOLVED!