#universal campaign finance reform

[some-triangles]

STUPID POLITICAL IDEAS I HAVE HAD #3

Total financial transparency.  Any purchase or transfer of over $1000 is logged and posted publicly as it happens, searchable by spender and recipient. We can carve out some exceptions (stuff that would be covered by HIPAA, etc) but most of it is just out there.  Find out what your coworkers are making, what your elected officials are spending their money on, where all that money is coming from, who’s buying crypto and who’s withdrawing interesting amounts of cash.  Make financial crime much, much easier to prosecute and tax avoidance more difficult. Make conspicuous consumption redundant.  As long as we’re stuck with the panopticon we might as well democratize it.

[lboogie1906]

Ann Marie Brown Fudge (born April 23, 1951) in DC to Malcolm R. Brown, an administrator at the US Postal Service, and Bettye Lewis Brown, a manager at the National Security Agency.

She married Richard Fudge, Sr. (1971) an educational and training consultant. They have two sons. She received a BA in Retail Management from Simmons College and earned her MBA from Harvard University Business School.

She was the workforce specialist with the General Electric Company. he worked with General Mills Corporation in several leadership positions including marketing assistant, assistant product manager, product manager, and marketing director. She joined Kraft General Foods where she was associate director of strategic planning. She became vice president for marketing and development in the Dinners and Enhancers division at Kraft. She received the Black Achievers Award from the Harlem YMCA.

She was named by Kraft Foods president of the Maxwell House Coffee division, she became the first African American woman to head a corporate division. She was named by Fortune magazine as 30th on the 50 Most Influential Women in American Business. Adelphi University, Howard University, Marymount College, and Simmons College all awarded her an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.

She was the chairman and CEO of Young and Rubicam Advertising in New York City. She became a member of the Board of Trustees at Morehouse College, as well as a Trustee with the Rockefeller Foundation.

She was a member of the Barack Obama presidential campaign’s finance committee and was named by President Obama to the 18-member National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.

She joined the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. She served on the boards of directors of General Electric, Novartis, and Unilever. She served as chair of the US Programs Advisory Board of The Gates Foundation and as vice-chair of the Harvard Board of Overseers. She was installed in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture in the District of Columbia. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[qqueenofhades]

What, in YOUR opinion, is mainstream Democrat policy now?

On a briefly and unavoidably pedantic note, the adjectival form is "Democratic," not "Democrat," and since right-wing idiots spend all their time bloviating about "Democrat" policies, it's worth noting the correction. So yes.

On that note, I would say mainstream Democratic policies, whether or not they were legislatively acted on in the last two years (though indeed most of them were in some shape or form) include:

Women's rights, including abortion rights;

LGBTQ rights;

Protection of American democracy;

Racial, religious, ethnic, and economic equality, including the redress of historical injustices;

Corporate and campaign finance reform, including tax code reform and billionaire taxation;

Expanded investment in education at all levels, including pre-K/childcare, community college, vocational training, public schools, etc

Gun control and gun safety reform;

Climate change action and stronger environmental policy, including the development of green energy/industry and cuts to carbon emissions;

Affordable and/or universal healthcare;

Student debt forgiveness/discharge (to varying degrees);

Legalization/decriminalization of marijuana;

Affordable housing and new infrastructure investment and development;

Immigration reform;

Job creation and investment in American manufacturing;

And more which I am probably forgetting, but I would say these are the major ones.

[beardedmrbean]

New Zealand's new government says it plans to scrap the nation's world-leading smoking ban to fund tax cuts.

The legislation, introduced under the previous Jacinda Ardern-led government, would have banned cigarette sales next year to anyone born after 2008.

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in New Zealand, and the policy had aimed to stop young generations from picking up the habit.

Health experts have strongly criticised the sudden reversal.

"We are appalled and disgusted... this is an incredibly retrograde step on world-leading, absolutely excellent health measures," said Prof Richard Edwards, a tobacco control researcher and public health expert at the University of Otago.

"Most health groups in New Zealand are appalled by what the government's done and are calling on them to backtrack," he told the BBC.

The legislation passed last year had been acclaimed internationally with research models backing the key reforms.

Measures included restricting the number of tobacco retailers, and reducing the level of nicotine in cigarettes.

Modelling had suggested the Smokefree laws could save up to 5,000 lives each year.

New Zealand's laws were believed to have inspired the UK government in September to announce a similar smoking ban for young people. A spokeswoman said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's position remained unchanged after New Zealand's reversal.

While it has been praised as a public health policy, the Smokefree measures drew opposition from some business groups in New Zealand. Owners of newsagents and corner shops criticised the loss of revenue - even with government subsidies.

Some lawmakers - including the new Prime Minister Chris Luxon - also argued a ban would lead to a black market for tobacco.

However his National party, which won 38% of the vote in the 14 October election, hadn't mentioned the Smokefree laws during election campaigning. The announcement by the new finance minister Nicola Willis on Saturday that the government would repeal the laws shocked health experts who believed the policy would be untouched.

But Ms Willis said National's partners in the governing coalition- the populist New Zealand First and libertarian Act - had been "insistent" on reversing the laws.

Despite election victory, the centre-right National party has struggled for weeks in policy negotiations to form a government with the two minor parties.

A deal was only agreed to on Friday, six weeks after the election, allowing the new government to be sworn in on Monday. New Zealand First - which won 6% of the vote - had been the only party to campaign on repealing the smoking laws.

Both minor parties blocked a flagship National policy to open up foreign property ownership - which the party had been relying on to fund tax cuts for middle and higher-income earners. Ms Willis said on Saturday that had led to the party looking elsewhere.

"We have to remember that the changes to the Smokefree legislation had a significant impact on the government books, with about a billion dollars there," she told New Zealand broadcaster TV3's Newshub Nation.

The laws still need to be actively repealed through parliament, where the government has a majority.

"The suggestion that tax cuts would be paid by people who continue to smoke is absolutely shocking," Emeritus Prof Robert Beaglehole, chair of New Zealand's Action for Smokefree 2025 committee told Pacific Media Network.

A national Māori health organisation, Hāpai Te Hauora, called it an "unconscionable blow to the health and wellbeing of all New Zealanders".

Smoking rates, and associated disease and health issues, are highest among New Zealand's indigenous Māori population, for whom experts had said the policy would have the most positive impact.

"The government is flying in the face of public opinion and obviously in the face of the vast majority of people who work in this field, health professionals, doctors, nurses," said Prof Edwards.

Public health modelling conducted in 2022 had shown the Smokefree policy would have saved New Zealand's health system about NZ$1.3bn (£630m; $790m) over the next 20 years.

New Zealand still aims to reduce its national smoking rate to 5% by 2025, with the aim of eventually eliminating it altogether.

More than 80,000 adults have quit in the past year, its national data shows. Currently, about 8% of its adult population smokes.

[dhaaruni]

Honestly, the way the media talks about the Clintons explains why they hate the media so much.

Like what is this shit?

"He came in here and he trashed the place," says Washington Post columnist David Broder, "and it's not his place." For Roger Wilkins, history professor at George Mason University, "the White House is the holiest of America's secular shrines." Wilkins sees the president's conduct as "a betrayal of the ideals we have for the metaphysical office and the physical office" of the presidency. "For this man to say that his conduct of exploitation of this girl is private in a place we revere, a place we pay for, a place we own is not only absurd, it's condescending and insulting." "Americans will be hurt by his reckless behavior," says Rep. McHale. "We might have enacted into law a patients' health care rights bill, campaign finance reform, comprehensive tobacco legislation. The president was not engaged on these issues. You can't do Paula Jones, the lawyers, tobacco and Monica all at once. Compartmentalization is a nice idea but not a reality." "Ambrose is right on both scores," says Howard Baker. "But the difference between Clinton and Nixon is that Nixon resigned because he couldn't stand it. Clinton is not cut from the same cloth. He can compartmentalize. I drive by the White House at night and think, 'What in the world are they doing right now? How do they function?' I would be destroyed."

What Clinton did with Monica Lewinsky was unequivocally wrong but honestly, that's between him and his wife! It's not Washington's business, and the rest of the country knew it, hence why his approval ratings went up after the impeachment. Also lmfao at quoting Joe Lieberman who literally endorsed McCain over Obama and tanked the public option of the ACA.

"This is our town," says Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, the first Democrat to forcefully condemn the president's behavior. "We spend our lives involved in talking about, dealing with, working in government. It has reminded everybody what matters to them. You are embarrassed about what Bill Clinton's behavior says about the White House, the presidency, the government in general."

[shirkers2018dirsanditan]

btw this is exactly what i mean by we do not have real democracy in this country and specifically in texas. abbott will probably beat beto next month and it will mean nothing other than that our elections are bought long before they even happen. that is why campaign finance reform should be the most important issue and why it is so infuriating how reactionary some people have gotten after 2016 toward this issue. voters rights legitimately mean nothing if corporations and wealthy people can just buy off candidates like they're picking a race horse in a rigged derby. rich people and corporations own the governorship in texas. they own the state house and the senate. they own the university i went to (UT austin) and other large public universities in the state. they own local races, like the harris county and fort bend county judge races (that have also been flooded with corporate money). and yet if beto loses, the commentary will be bullshit about crime or the economy or wokeness or whatever stupid nonsense the idiot commentariat will cook up to avoid the real structural issues (and to legitimize their redundant existence). when is enough enough?

[gunlovingpacifist]

Now I have to block you because people on the right celebrate ignorance and Mooch of blue states. Them gunz ain't gonna feed your family......

I have posed this question a few times and never get a response

.... 🤔

Here is why I am a liberal...

Why are you a Republican?

The 40-hour work week, and thus, weekends!

Overtime pay and minimum wage.

Paid Vacations.

Women’s Voting Rights

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

The right of people of all colors to use schools and facilities.

Public schools.

Public libraries

Public transportation

Public universities

Public broadcasting

Public police and fire departments

Worker’s rights

Labor safety and fairness laws

*Nixon gave us the EPA

Child-labor laws.

The right to unionize

Health care benefits

National Parks, Monuments, and Forests, “America’s Best Idea”

Interstate Highway System (Eisenhower (R) and Al Gore Sr. (D)

Safe food and drugs (via the FDA)

Social Security

NASA

The Moon Landing and other space exploration

Satellites

The Office of Congressional Ethics.

The Internet

National Weather Service

Product Labeling/Truth in Advertising Laws

Rural Electrification/Tennessee Valley Authority

Bank Deposit Insurance

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Rights of the disabled (via Americans With Disabilities Act)

Family and Medical Leave Act

Clean air and water (Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency).

Civilian Conservation Corps

Panama Canal

Hoover Dam

The Federal Reserve

Medicare/Medicaid

The United States Military

The FBI

The CIA

Peace between Israel and Egypt

Peace between Israel and Jordan

Veterans Medical Care

Federal Housing Administration

Extending Voting Rights to 18 year olds

Freedom of Speech

Freedom of Religion/Separation of Church and State

Right to Due Process

Freedom of The Press

Right to Organize and Protest

Pell Grants and other financial aid to students

Federal Aviation Administration/Airline safety regulations

The end of slavery in the USA (The Emancipation Proclamation, The 13th Amendment)

Unemployment benefits

Smithsonian Institute

Americorps

Mandatory Food Labeling

Peace Corps

United Nations

World Health Organization

The Lincoln Tunnel

Sulfur emissions cap and trade to eliminate acid rain

Earned Income Tax Credit

The banning of lead in consumer products

National Institute of Health

Garbage pickup/clean streets

Banning of CFCs.

LGBT rights

Expanded voting access via polling places

Erie Canal

Bailout — and thus continued existence — of the American Auto Industry

Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Established the basis for Universal Human Rights by writing the Declaration of Independence

Miranda Rights

Banning of torture

The right to a proper defense in court

An independent judiciary

The right to vote

Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

Fair, open, and honest elections

The founding of The United States of America

The defeat of the Nazis and victory in World War II

Paramedics

Woman’s Right to Choose

The Civil Rights Movement

National Science Foundation

Vehicle Safety Standards

NATO

The income tax and power to tax in general, which have been used to pay for much of this list.

911 Emergency system

Tsunami, hurricane, tornado, and earthquake warning systems

The Freedom of Information Act

Water Treatment Centers and sewage systems

The Meat Inspection Act

The Pure Food And Drug Act

The Bretton Woods system

International Monetary Fund

SEC, which regulates Wall Street (weaked by conservatives)

National Endowment for the Arts

Campaign finance laws (weaked by conservatives)

Federal Crop Insurance

United States Housing Authority

School Lunch Act

Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act

Vaccination Assistance Act

The creation of counterinsurgency forces such as the Navy Seals and Green Berets.

Voting Rights Act, which ended poll taxes, literacy tests, and other voter qualification tests (weaked by conservatives)

The Brady Bill (5-day wait on handgun purchases for background checks)

Lobbying Disclosure Act

"Motor-Voter" Act

Civil Rights Act of 1968

Job Corps

Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

Teacher Corps

Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966

National Trails System Act of 1968

U.S. Postal Service

Modern Civilization

BIDEN WINS:

• Inflation Reduction Act

• CHIPS & Science Act

• PACT Act for veterans

• First major gun safety legislation in decades

• Took out the leader of al Qaeda

• Historic job growth (+12.8 million)

• Historically low unemployment

• Expanded the NATO alliance

• American Rescue Plan led to fastest jobs recovery in history

• Confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson

• Rallied our allies in support of Ukraine

•Once-in-a-generation infrastructure investments

• Student loan forgiveness

• Rural broadband investment

In not a republican. I lean right on one issue. The second amendment. Why's that hard for leftists to comprehend

[a-god-in-ruins-rises]

How would your ideal state exterminate corruption?

ruthlessly.

for real though it would attack the issue from a variety of angles. there are the obvious, direct examples like voter reform and campaign finance reform. but it would also support more indirect methods like building more close-knit, walkable (and better policed) communities to foster a more high-trust society, education reform (with emphasis on civic virtue, also more affordable higher education), and wealth creation/distribution (bringing jobs back from overseas, paying higher wages, universal basic income, healthcare, etc). increasing the penalties for corruption (including capital punishment for particularly grievous corruption) and streamlining regulations (one common reason for corruption is because doing things the "right" way can be a cumbersome process and so paying a bribe will expedite the process. by making these processes easier and quicker -- in combination with greater risks -- we will incentivize people to do things the legit way). i think rebuilding trust in our institutions is critically important. doing this will require extensive reform.

[jyleshay]

Here's your Big Summer Blog Blowout

What an eventful summer it has been, I'm not even sure what topics I should write about here. Elon Musk is trying to terminate his contract to purchase Twitter for $44 billion. Not gonna cover that; he's a silly rich man who thinks rules don't apply to him because 100 million people (and bots) follow his every posted thought. If that story interests you, I'd recommend finance blogger Matt Levine as a good source of analysis.

Monkeypox has been a story, but I think collectively we're all trying to ignore that pandemics are a thing to worry about anymore. The Daily did a good episode on how we bungled that one.

There is a water crisis in the United States. The cause is a combination of climate changes and human behavior, we are using water, and have been for years, in a completely unsustainable way. The resulting problems are bad...sometimes even apocalyptic. For 100 years the states sharing the Colorado river have been using an allocation system that grants right to the water that add up to more than 100% of the actual water in the river. In Utah, the Great Salt Lake is drying up too. You may be thinking, "Silly Billy, that's a salt lake, we don't drink out of that one." That's true, but we are using up its tributaries and the resulting dust pollution from the dried up lake is kind of poisonous to living things. Also, migratory birds rely on the brine shrimp in the lake; humans aren't the only living things in the ecosystem. Here's your further reading from the NYT on that story.

Maybe let's switch to some good news. The James Webb telescope was successfully deployed a million miles away and we got some incredible new images from the great expanse of space. This story is the one I'm the most excited about, but also the one I'm the least equipped to write about. In short, there is some much information we are going to learn about the universe that we didn't know before and that's very exciting!

Okay, getting more political now, the Search of Mar-a-Lago. The former president had his home searched for documents that he took with him from the White House. Trump has claimed that this is a political witch hunt and that he had a standing order to declassify all documents that he took to his residence while he was President. It's a tough place for Republicans to be; if you believe him then you have to ask if that's really a smart security policy for a President to have. Also, it requires some mental gymnastics considering the now ironic attacks he made on Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election campaign. If you don't believe him (which I certainly don't) then he's a liar AND a security risk. It raises a lot of uncomfortable questions if you're a thoughtful Republican.

While Trump was dealing with that, Congress got busy passing the Inflation Reduction Act. This bill attempts to counter some of the inflation-contributing spending from the stimulus bills of the pandemic, while also investing money in infrastructure to curb the effects of climate change. It is projected to raise more in revenue than it spends on climate change. I really like that.

New corporate taxes, drug reform, and funding for the IRS are the main avenues for raising revenue. A few clients have asked me if the IRS getting more funding will mean more audits. Maybe, but I'm still in favor of it. A lot of IRS funding will simply go to upgrading their computer systems. Here's a very interesting thread on how archaic the current IRS processes are, upgrades as a result of this bill should make the IRS more responsive and taxpayer friendly. It will also encourage more taxpayers to be honest in paying their taxes, shouldn't we all want that?

And finally, we have Biden's executive order to cancel $10,000 of student debt for borrowers with income below $125k. I have mixed feelings about this one. It is good that the student loan payment suspension is ending. People have argued that this loan forgiveness will add to inflation. I think the suspension and the pandemic stimulus added more to inflation than this forgiveness will. Forgiveness does not solve the underlying problem, college costs have been rising too fast; this forgiveness just allows colleges to maintain their poor behaviors.

I am generally in favor of policies that add people to the middle class, giving them the financial security and safety to live their lives freely. One of the issues I had with PPP loans was that it primarily gave the money to people who were already financially secure. There were no income limitations, so wealthy business owners were able to get free money in the government's effort to provide confidence that the pandemic wouldn't tank the economy. Simply put, the student loan forgiveness is different in that it targets more people that are not financially secure yet and will make it easier for them to reach financial security.

Yes, there is a crisis that has developed in the US around college education and student loan forgiveness is only treating a symptom, not the crisis itself. However, the loan suspension during the pandemic created a situation that required some form of action by the government, and I think this order resolves that situation. Here is a great podcast discussing the situation a lot better than I can articulate it. Also, the whole thing may get blocked by the Supreme Court, so it might not matter?

Favorites:

Since my last post I've read two books: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir and Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. Project Hail Mary was a very fun sci-fi romp through outer space. Same energy as the author's previous book, The Martian, I really enjoyed it. Sapiens is a very interesting book. A Brief History of Humankind, it spans the whole of human's history and discusses our breakthroughs and changes from the days of being hunter gatherers all the way to today. It was thought provoking and I highly recommend it to see a different perspective on who we were and how it affects who we are.

Movie: Bullet Train - Don't sleep on this movie. It is original and fun with a great soundtrack.

Series: Only Murders in the Building Season 2 - This is kind of a comfort show at this point.

YouTube: 10 Levels of Sleight of Hand - Daniel Roy. I just thought this was interesting.

YouTube: The Supreme Court Declares War On The Environment -Climate Town

Phew that was a lot, good luck in September!

[mariacallous]

Turmoil in the leadership of the centrist Europe Now movement could affect support for Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic’s government in parliament, analysts claim.

Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic, who was also Europe Now’s vice-president, left the party on Saturday, accusing it of a lack of transparency and claiming there was not enough internal dialogue.

“The current way of working [within the party] is contrary to the promises and values ​​that I had in mind when creating the Europe Now Movement. For this reason, I am resigning from all positions in the party,” Milatovic said in a press release.

Europe Now responded by claiming that Milatovic’s resignation was an attempt to undermine the government’s stability.

Milovic’s resignation was followed by Europe Now’s dismissal of Justice Minister Andrej Milovic on Sunday.

Since it was founded 2022, Europe Now, led by former Finance Minister Milojko Spajic and Minister of Economic Development Jakov Milatovic, has become an increasingly strong political force, focusing on the economy and reforms.

At the April 2023 presidential elections, Milatovic beat incumbent Milo Djukanovic, while Spajic was voted in as prime minister last November after Europe Now won early elections in June.

But even during the negotiations to form a government last August, Milatovic was criticising Spajic for a lack of transparency, and later criticised some of his decisions in government.

Podgorica University professor Nikoleta Djukanovic said the clash within Europe Now will have an impact on the government. Europe Now won 24 seats in the 81-seat parliament, but two MPs Jevrosima Pejovic and Radinka Cincur have already left the party, while media have reported that at least two more MPs could support Milatovic.

“Milatovic’s resignation will have an impact on Europe Now’s stability. Despite the speculation that a third of the party membership could support him, how the Europe Now MPs will respond to that split is more important,” Djukanovic told public broadcaster RTCG.

“What will eventually happen with the government in terms of the support of Europe Now MPs is a much bigger question than in relation to the party itself,” he said.

Last October Spajic’s government came to office with the support of 46 MPs in the 81-seat parliament.

On Sunday, Europe Now sacked Justice Minister Milovic from the party, saying that his position in government was affected by his ministry’s progress in the areas of the rule of law and European integration.

Media reported that Milovic was sacked for public comments and decisions that hurt government support. On January 23, Milovic refused to extradite Turkish citizen Binali Camgoz, the alleged leader of a criminal organisation who is accused of killing two people, because of his disability and Kurdish ethnicity.

On February 10, Milovic had disagreements with the head of the Special Police Office, Predrag Sukovic, accusing him of conducting a media campaign against the Europe Now movement. Sukovic responded by claiming Milovic had relations with organised crime groups.

On the same day as dismissing Milovic, Europe Now sacked MP Radinka Cincur and dissolved the party’s headquarters in the capital Podgorica and the town of Bar.

[plethoraworldatlas]

To organize a National Eucharistic Congress in 2024, the Catholic bishops in the United States have partnered with an event planner who was accused of charging exorbitant rates during the preparations for Donald Trump's presidential inauguration in January 2017.

The bishops are also relying on conservative Catholic organizations to provide funding and create catechetical and promotional materials for a multiyear National Eucharistic Revival that will lead up to the four-day congress in July 2024. The bishops intend to set up a nonprofit organization to handle logistics and raise $28 million over the next two years to hold the event in downtown Indianapolis.

...

"This should be the kind of thing we can all unite around. If we can't unite around the Eucharist, and Jesus' presence in the Eucharist, I don't know what we can unite around," Matt Manion, director of the Center for Church Management at Villanova University, told NCR.

But some other liturgists, sacramental theologians, lay Catholics involved in church reform movements, and clergy abuse survivor advocates question the revival's premise, its price tag and the prelates' motives.

"You had low Mass attendance long before COVID that coincided with finance and sex abuse scandals. But the bishops think [confusion about] the Eucharist is the cause for the disaffection? Really?" asked Donna Doucette, the executive director of Voice of the Faithful, a reform group formed in the aftermath of the revelations of clergy abuse in the Boston archdiocese in 2002.

Jesuit Fr. John Baldovin, a professor of historical and liturgical theology at Boston College's School of Theology and Ministry, told NCR that previous public opinion polls, including an oft-cited August 2019 Pew survey, do not support the argument that emphasizing the Real Presence will draw fallen-away Catholics back to church."

The real question, I'd say, is not exactly the Eucharist," Baldovin said. "It's the credibility of Catholicism."

...

Arguably the most difficult aspect for the bishops in marketing their project is the congress' estimated $28 million budget. That figure prompted Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the U.S. Military Services to ask Cozzens at the conference's fall 2021 general assembly how the bishops could successfully market an initiative with a price tag that would seem "scandalous" to many Catholics.

"That's my budget for four years for the archdiocese, and I would imagine in much smaller dioceses, that probably represents much more," Broglio said.

...

The congress will take place during the height of the 2024 presidential campaign season. The Democratic and Republican nominating conventions are usually held during the summer.

Bishop William Muhm, an auxiliary for the Archdiocese of the Military Services, suggested last November that the bishops' conference reach out to both political parties to ask that they not schedule their conventions the same week as the eucharistic congress, to not make it appear that the bishops were trying to "politicize" the Eucharist

...

Despite the promises of best practices, transparency and spiritual returns on investment, the scope and expense of the eucharistic revival and national congress remain a tough sell to many observers."

They'd be better off putting that money into improving the quality of the celebration of the Eucharist, and of preaching. Then you'd have something to work with," Baldovin of Boston College said.

Deborah Rose-Milavec, co-director of FutureChurch, an organization that advocates for reforms in church governance and practice, said, "To put that kind of money into a revival for [the bishops'] image and their authority is a really sad chapter in a very long history of this group of bishops leading the church wrongly."

Terence McKiernan, co-founder of BishopAccountability.org, a website that tracks the bishops' response to clergy sex abuse scandals, told NCR he believes the $28 million expense will be "galling" for clergy sex abuse survivors, unless the bishops act concretely in the next couple of years to prove they stand with survivors.

"The last thing you want is for a celebration of the Eucharist to look like conspicuous consumption at the expense of survivors," McKiernan said.

[schattenmetapherlieder]

Not to get political on my fun theatre blog, but I was thinking about how a few weeks ago I saw what I think was a Tumblr post talking about the rise of automation and the phrase “the promise of automation,” meaning that automation would make it such that humans no longer have to do menial or repetitive jobs and our focus could go to more meaningful or otherwise fulfilling pursuits if we freed up a whole chunk of our workforce.

But now I’m thinking about it again and realizing how much political change would be required (at least in the US) for that to be how this trend develops. If we take this concept of automation replacing jobs to its biggest positive extreme and said that no one would have to work to be able to afford to live, that would require A) some form of UBI (universal basic income), and therefore B) a transition to our taxes consisting mostly of corporate taxes, since there would be a drastic reduction in income taxes from the lower and middle classes.

But of course, the .01%ers will never be for an increase of their taxes, so they will find some way to keep us employed doing increasingly bullshit jobs and donate money to make sure that things like UBI and increased corporate taxes never become policy.

Like, I think if we had a system where wealthy individuals didn’t have so much influence over our elections and we didn’t vote as though we secretly think we would one day be rich, we really could have a positive outlook on the rise of AI and automation.

Imagine if artists never had to draw corporate stock art again. Imagine if we didn’t need people to be copy editors and writers could focus on writing. Imagine if actors didn’t need to have survival jobs and could just focus on making their art. There really is so much potential with all of this, but we need to make sure that when the robots do take over, they are taking over the parts of industry that are draining to the human spirit rather than nourishing it.

All this to say, campaign finance reform is sounding pretty good right now.

[dan6085]

Here are 20 policies that Democrats or liberals are fighting for, along with details and why they are important:

1. Universal Healthcare: Democrats believe that healthcare is a basic human right, and they are fighting for a system that ensures that every American has access to affordable, high-quality healthcare.

2. Climate Change Action: Democrats recognize the urgent need to address climate change and are fighting for policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase renewable energy production, and protect vulnerable communities from the impacts of climate change.

3. Immigration Reform: Democrats are fighting for comprehensive immigration reform that provides a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, protects Dreamers, and ensures that families are not torn apart by deportation.

4. Criminal Justice Reform: Democrats are fighting for policies that address systemic racism in the criminal justice system, including ending mass incarceration, reducing police violence, and reforming sentencing laws.

5. Voting Rights: Democrats are fighting to protect the right to vote by expanding access to voting, ending voter suppression, and ensuring fair and secure elections.

6. Women's Rights: Democrats are fighting for policies that promote gender equality, including equal pay for equal work, reproductive rights, and protections against workplace discrimination and harassment.

7. LGBTQ+ Rights: Democrats are fighting for policies that protect the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals, including marriage equality, anti-discrimination laws, and protections against conversion therapy.

8. Gun Control: Democrats believe in common-sense gun control measures, such as universal background checks, banning assault weapons, and implementing red flag laws to prevent gun violence.

9. Education Reform: Democrats are fighting for policies that improve access to quality education, including universal pre-K, affordable college tuition, and student loan forgiveness.

10. Affordable Housing: Democrats believe that everyone deserves access to safe and affordable housing and are fighting for policies that address the affordable housing crisis, including expanding affordable housing options and increasing funding for affordable housing programs.

11. Labor Rights: Democrats are fighting for policies that protect workers' rights, including raising the minimum wage, expanding collective bargaining rights, and strengthening workplace safety laws.

12. Infrastructure Investment: Democrats are fighting for policies that invest in infrastructure, including roads, bridges, public transportation, and broadband internet, to create jobs and improve quality of life.

13. Social Security and Medicare: Democrats believe in protecting and strengthening Social Security and Medicare to ensure that seniors can retire with dignity and receive the healthcare they need.

14. Consumer Protection: Democrats are fighting for policies that protect consumers from corporate abuses, including strengthening financial regulations and protecting consumers from predatory lending practices.

15. Racial Justice: Democrats are fighting for policies that promote racial justice, including addressing systemic racism in healthcare, education, and housing, and providing reparations for slavery and other historical injustices.

16. Disability Rights: Democrats are fighting for policies that protect the rights of people with disabilities, including improving access to healthcare, education, and employment, and ensuring that people with disabilities receive the accommodations they need to fully participate in society.

17. Net Neutrality: Democrats believe in protecting net neutrality and ensuring that everyone has equal access to the internet.

18. Science-Based Policy: Democrats believe in using science and evidence-based policy to address the complex challenges facing our society, including climate change, public health, and technology.

19. Campaign Finance Reform: Democrats are fighting to reduce the influence of big money in politics and ensure that our democracy is responsive to the needs of all Americans, not just the wealthy few.

20. International Cooperation: Democrats believe in working with our international partners to address global challenges, including climate change, pandemics, and economic inequality, and promoting peace and diplomacy as a means of resolving conflicts.

These policies are important because they address some of the most pressing challenges facing our society today, including healthcare, climate change, social justice, and economic inequality. By fighting for these policies, Democrats are working to create a more just, equitable, and sustainable future for all Americans.

[gatekeeper-watchman]

The Democratic Party. Who or What Are They?

Time magazine writes in its September 21st issue last year, “Divided Democratic Party Debates Its Future as 2020 Looms”. Not only does 2020 “Loom”, November 6th, 2024 year’s election day “Looms” also— and when we will come together to elect a new Congress for —and the party is still divided as to whom they wish to represent in our government—we the people, whom they represented in our more prosperous years in the past, the Corporatocracy and Power Elite, whom they represented since the election of President Clinton in 1992, or just the Democratic Party, i.e. to hell with the best interests of the people or the nation (Isn’t that what we have been doing? Isn’t that the way it now is—all about party politics? Isn’t that how we got stuck with the “Bad Joke” we now have for president? ). Every time we have an election, for the most part, all that is discussed is party politics. Relatively little time is spent discussing issues; and, even then, the depth of the discussion is so shallow, it’s embarrassing. Think about it. 

As you do so, you might also recall that the Corporatocracy and Power Elite are already represented by the Republican Party and have been since their inception (Check out the history of our nation since the industrial revolution in the nineteenth century). Must we allow them to continue their take-over of the Democratic Party also? If we allow them to rule over both parties, our democracy will surely be lost. And where will we go from there? It would appear to me that we already consist of the “haves” and “have-nots”. Every day the gap between our working class and the wealthy grows larger. Is that what we want for our children, grandchildren, and generations to come? I don’t think so, and I don’t think you do either.

I submit to you that the Democratic Party needs to return to being the representative of the people, just as the GOP... This is where Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry Truman brought us. This planet belongs to the people, all of us, and not just to the wealthy and powerful—and certainly not to corporations, legal entities with neither hearts nor souls. To that end, they need to promote and provide a sound government for all in conjunction with our corporations and businesses which should serve the people who created them, with quality products and services. After all, that is their real purpose or what was supposed to be. Even those who invest to “make money” exist, in the final analysis, to serve “We the People” by financing these businesses.

What, then, kind of government should we expect from them? 

I submit, first and foremost, we need leaders who can lead—the ability to “unite” us rather than “divide and conquer” us as is now being done. This is the most important and necessary task before us today. As I have said before, we have never been this divided as a nation since the Civil War of the nineteenth century. We must come together as a people once again. 

Second, we must rid our politics of money in campaign financing. Corporations are not people, and they must not be allowed to “vote”. Our Shadow Government of Lobbyists must be eliminated.

Third, we must get our finances in order. We must eliminate our deficit and, in turn, our national debt. To that end, we must reform our system of taxation. Taxpayers must pay according to their ability to pay, corporate welfare must come to an end, and loopholes eliminated. We must balance our budget(s) as needed—surpluses in good times and deficits in hard times.

Fourth, we must provide our people with a single-payer universal healthcare system with access for all. I suggest it be based on the model of our present system of Medicare and that it must be a standalone self-funded system external to our Federal Budget as currently is our present Social Security program. Not only will this provide affordable healthcare to all, but it will also significantly provide relief to state and local budgets, corporate expenses, and our national deficit.

Fifth, we must put an end to the “dumbing down” of our people. We must provide taxpayer-paid public education Pre-K through college for all citizens—college for those who desire and/or qualify for such and vocational training for those who don’t attend college—high school graduation, and vocational training being mandated minimums for everyone (the college graduates excluded), the mentally and/or physically disabled excepted.

Of course, there is more that must be accomplished—these are just the basics, but I must make note of something else. We are no longer an agricultural country of thirteen colonies in the “woods”. Yes, we want and need to be free people. But let us not forget. Your freedom ends where mine begins and vice versa. It is that very reason that causes us to need a bigger government, albeit as little as possible. The bigger we grow and the more complicated the world around us becomes the larger government we need. To those who think “Big Government is inefficient and unworkable, let me remind you that there are huge corporations “out there” all around us who compete in size with our government, and they are very efficient. There are only two reasons they can operate more efficiently than the government, the intrusion of politics and the qualifications, abilities, and rates of pay to the people they hire. If we want a more efficient government, I suggest we discontinue or minimize the extent of our political intrusion. Where we need markets, let us have them; but when we need government, let us have government. There is plenty of room for both. What we don’t need is the hate, greed, avarice, dishonesty, and corruption that envelopes us.

Get with the program, Democrats and Republicans—Go Bernie, the Revolutionary. And, to you Republicans: after Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton (Yes, he’s a Republican too—in disguise as a Democrat), George W. Bush, and (last and the worse president of all), Donald Trump, you should be ashamed of what you have done to this country over these past many years and the condition in which we find ourselves today.

These are my views. For all our good and the long-run good of our great country, I sincerely believe they should be yours. Whatever you choose to believe register to vote and go to the polls in November. At the very least, by doing so, you will help to unite us to one degree or another. May the will of the majority prevail. From: Elder Steven P. Miller March 31, 2023 @ParkermillerQ, Founder of Gatekeeper-Watchman International Groups Jacksonville, Florida., Duval County, USA. Instagram: steven_parker_miller_1956, Twitter: @GatekeeperWatchman1, @ParkermillerQ, https://twitter.com/StevenPMiller6 Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/gatekeeperwatchman Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElderStevenMiller

#GWIG, #GWIN, #GWINGO, #Ephraim1, #IAM, #Sparkermiller,#Eldermiller1981

[locustheologicus]

The Trouble with Trump:

Jon Stewart: This is why Trump became popular in the first place

The keywords that I want to highlight in this opinion by Jon Stewart (which I share) are "consistent accountability." And I want to say something about the concept of accountability. To talk about a system of accountability for the political and economic issues that Jon speaks about here is to talk about regulations: regulations of political and economic practices that have allowed corruption to flagrantly exist. As Stewart says to Fareek in this video is that "we either have the rule of law or we have no rule of law." We know that corruptive practices exist and are exploited by those with great financial means to control both the economic and political systems in America. Our American political system has suffered from this reality.

That is why it boggles my mind that people trust a candidate like Donald Trump to "drain the swamp" when he is a primary citizen of the swamp.

As president, Donald Trump has flouted all kinds of norms, starting with his decision not to divest from his business interests while in office. That set the stage for an administration marked by self-interest, profiteering at the highest levels and more than 3,700 conflicts of interest.

Jon Stewart is correct in calling us to promote consistent accountability on issues of corruption. Certainly, members of both parties can be implicated on corruption charges, but it is not correct to assume that all parties are created equal. Trump has taken corruptive practices to a whole new level and this cannot be ignored. Perhaps in doing this we can then identify the systemic issues that allow the swamp to exist in the first place. I assure you that Campaign Finance Reform will be a policy that must again resurface if we are to actually "drain the swamp."

My fellow Americans, if we actually care to "drain the swamp," then we need to regulate the swamp in a way that holds both parties accountable. And yes, one party is going to have to struggle with this more than the other... so be it.

As for those who express outrage over the indictment of Trump, I simply dont care. With everything he has done to undermine the American political system and debase our most cherished values (i.e., mutual respect, universal equality, a sense of justice, the rule of law), any expressed outrage merely falls flat and hollow.

[tamaraward-lucas]

The NABJ Producers, Editors, and Freelancers Databases

A diverse journalist and a former Brookings Legis Fellow, Tamara Ward-Lucas returned to public affairs during the height of the pandemic, where she currently works in a robust federal press office. Tamara Ward-Lucas is also a long-time and active member of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ).

With a membership base of more than 4,000, the nonprofit provides a range of service programs and advocacy support to Black journalists and media professionals across the United States and around the world. Tamara Ward-Lucas credits NABJ for providing with valuable training and employment opportunities through its producers, editors, and freelancer databases. After freelancing for almost a decade, Tamara Ward-Lucas became a full-time journalist covering government, politics and environmental issues in Maryland and on Capitol Hill.

For E&E News on Capitol Hill, she covered environmental and energy policy and politics and their intersection with the Trump Administration, 2020 Presidential Campaign, House impeachment inquiry, State of the Union Address, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Formerly, she covered the Maryland General Assembly, county government, local and state politics, as well as business, environmental and energy issues in Southern Maryland for APG Media. Her articles appeared in numerous newspapers, including The Calvert Recorder, The Maryland Independent, The Enterprise, and The Enquirer-Gazette. Tamara won two editorial awards from the Maryland Delaware DC (MDDC) Press Association during her time with APG.

As a young journalist, she interviewed Rosa Parks in the United States Capital for the UMTV show Coming of Age. There she also covered the housing foreclosure crisis in Maryland and other issues impacting residents in the Maryland Legislature.

Prior to her recent work in journalism, Tamara had been a public affairs specialist in the Federal Government. She also served as a Brookings Legislative Fellow in the House of Representatives, where she handled gun violence prevention, veterans’ issues, cybersecurity, voters' rights, government reform and campaign finance for a senior congressman.

She graduated from the University of Maryland College Park with a bachelor's degree in Speech Communications and, as an Eleanor Merrill Fellow, she earned a master's degree in broadcast journalism with an emphasis in Public Policy and Political Reporting. Her training experiences through NABJ augmented the skills she acquired in college.

In 2022, Tamara Ward-Lucas participated in the annual NABJ Authors Showcase which spotlights Black literature. She interviewed her sister Tanya Ward Jordan who has authored 3 three poetry books (under the pseudonym Tanya DeVonne) and one book on civil rights in the federal workplace. The featured work at the showcase was In Black Skin which takes readers on a poetic journey from slavery in America to the current Black Lives Matter Movement, for which Ward Jordan won an award.