Monday, September 05, 2005

Who am I?



I am a non-party-affiliated, progressive independent. I have concealed my identity to focus attention on my message rather than my media appeal. My sole goal is to take back our country from the cabal in the White House and build a government (that really IS) of the people, by the people, and for the people... a government committed to taking care of its most vulnerable people and ending war as a way to solve world problems.

I am a dreamer.

I dream of:

• A United America, where the leadership works for the benefit of ALL Americans, not just the elite.

• An America with character. A country with morals and ethics and actions that inspire the rest of the world to emulate us, not hate us.

• An America that unites the world against terror, rather than alienating the world with aggressive, unilateral actions.

• An America that puts the needs of the American people first, with priority attention to the most vulnerable among us.

• An America where humanitarian causes are a-political, leading all of us to make the world a better, safer place for
humanity.

• An America that is fiscally responsible. An America that uses our money wisely, in our best interests.

• An America that is honest. Honest with the American people. Honest with the world community. Honest and open to
criticism -- good or bad -- of our actions at home and abroad.

• An America that rejects "fear" tactics and safeguards our freedoms at all costs.

• A United America. An America that serves ALL of her people. An America that brings people together through respect and honest debate and compromise for the good of all.

• An America that embraces American Values in more than just rhetoric, but, rather, lives her values – justice, freedom, opportunity for all, peace – in every action she takes at home or abroad.

• An America that spurns secrecy, and secret deals, and Presidential privileges and opens it’s arms to every single citizen in this country and says, we, the government, work for YOU. We are RESPONSIBLE to you. To each and every one of you.

• An America where you have the inalienable right to know the truth about what your government is or isn’t doing for you in your name.

• An America where you are the auditors of this country. You are America’s conscience. You are the keepers of America’s Flame.

• An America where truth prevails, and candidates are judged honestly and fairly by an open debate on the issues.

• A new America, where it is not only immoral, but illegal, for our leaders to slander others, to bend the truth, to mislead and misrepresent either their own records or the records of their opponents.

• A new America where dissent is encouraged, where difference of opinion is sought out, where voicing heart-felt objections is considered as patriotic and essential to a free society, as a stamp of approval.

• A new America, where a president who dares to take this country to war under false pretenses, or otherwise, bears the full responsibility of his actions to his troops, to the American people, and to the world community.

• A new America that respects the world community and their beliefs, that values building bridges over building walls, that values diplomacy over ultimatums and bullying, that knows the difference between strength and abuse of power.

• A new America where our ethical and moral conduct, domestically and internationally, set the example that inspires the rest of the world.

• A new America where the media holds itself to the highest standards and reports the news without bias rather than creating the news and spinning it to their own agenda.

• An America where no one is elected to office until every single vote has been counted, and even the Supreme Court cannot take away this basic right of every citizen.

• A new America, without labels, without hatred, without dirty tricks, but rather, an America that pulls together, as one, with
one single purpose: the good of all.

• A new America where those who can, reach out to help those who can’t.

• A new America where peace is not equated with war, where we work feverously to find peaceful solutions to all problems, with war only as a last, last resort.

• A new America that values a Department of Peace more than a Department of War.

• A new America where every citizen would gladly sacrifice in some way for the good of the whole country, because they recognize that it is that sacrifice and generousity of spirit which has made this country great.

• A new America that is not divided by our differences: by race, or gender, or religion, or politics, but, rather, is united in it’s respect for and honor of those different from ourselves.

• A new America where democrats listen to republicans with respect, and republicans listen to democrats with respect,
and issues are debated and policies made with one goal: to make America a better place to live for all of her citizens.

• A new America where there are enough good jobs for every American who wants to work.

• A Revolutionary America, where the right to first rate health care is every American’s right.

• A Revolutionary America where corporations value their people above their products or services, and treat them as fairly, and respectfully, as they would like to be treated.

• A Revolutionary America where workers are so valued by their companies, and employees so proud of their work,
that the phrase “Made in America” is viewed as the benchmark for quality and innovation throughout the world.

• A Revolutionary America where a first rate college education is affordable and available to every person who wishes one,
where quality pre-schools are affordable and available to all working parents, where the best possible schools are available to every child, because insuring their future is insuring America’s future, something we are unwilling to compromise.

• A new America where the environment is protected and nurtured, where every citizen and every business willingly does his part to ensure that our planet and our air will be healthy, beautiful, and hospitable for generations to come.

• A Revolutionary America where women’s rights, and civil rights, and gay rights are no longer devisive issues, because we have finally realized our constitution: All men – and all women – are created equal and are treated equally—and never separately, under the law.

• A Revolutionary America where the best America has to offer run for public office and participate in our government eagerly, without hesitating due of a lack of money, because we finally instituted campaign finance reform that removes all private money from any political campaign.

• A Revolutionary America where “politician” is no longer a dirty word, where constituents can trust that what their representatives pledge, will be honored, because in this new America, politicians are soley focused on their constitutional duty of serving their constituents and not special interests.

I dream of a Revolutionary America.

There’s only one way to make that dream a reality:

Make it your own.

Follow your heart and vote to make this country live up to the bold, new, American dream we all grew up believing in.

8 comments:

José Roldan said...

Mr. Unknown

While it appears that the basic thrust of your "dream" is of having an America of higher decency, I would like to put forth some questions to you on some points that are ambiguous and troubling.

How exactly do you intend to create "an America that rejects "fear" tactics and safeguards our freedoms at all costs"? The term "at all costs" could be interpreted to mean almost anything. Please expand and clarify your position.

"... where the media holds itself to the highest standards and reports the news without bias rather than creating the news and spinning it to their own agenda" - how exactly do you propose changing the media? Are you suggesting governmental pressure on the media? or, is this merely something you are wishing for?

"... that values a Department of Peace more than a Department of War" - Are you suggesting changing the Dept. of Defense to the Dept. of Peace? Should not we maintain the peace by having a strong defense? How exactly would a Dept. of Peace protect us from criminal nations? Are you saying our national foreign policy should be pacifistic?

" ... where every citizen would gladly sacrifice in some way for the good of the whole country ..." How do you intend to indoctrinate self-immolation as a virtue, beyond what religion already does? And for those of us that see self-sacrifice as an irrational doctrine and choose not to - what happens to us? - imprisonment? re-education camps?

" ... where the right to first rate health care is every American’s right" - How are your ideas any different from any other socialist? How do you suppose this supposed right is to be paid for?

" ... where a first rate college education is affordable and available to every person ..." - Again, how are you planning on paying for this free education program? Would they be governmental colleges, as are today's public schools? Given the failures of today's educational system, what makes you think that by extending college to everyone the quality will improve?

" ... that puts the needs of the American people first, with priority attention to the most vulnerable among us" - More social welfare projects?

" ... campaign finance reform that removes all private money from any political campaign" - Again, if not private contributions, then who should pay - the taxpayers?

Should I have any reason to believe that you do not simply want to expand socialistic big government with its corresponding sacrifice of the individual to the needs of whatever you consider to be the public good?

Jose Roldan, Abolitionist.

The Unknown Candidate said...

General comment: The "I am a dreamer" piece is just that: "A Dream". Idealistic, and meant to inspire and illuminate serious problems in America that, in order to solve, demand change. You have taken me quite literally, which I never intended, but I will try to clarify:

1. "An America that rejects 'fear' tactics and safeguards our freedoms at all costs." I am referring to the fear tactics used by the Bush administration in order to frighten Americans into giving up their freedoms (ie. The Patriot Act) and consititutional rights. It is in that context that I would protect our freedoms "at all costs"--meaning, the "terrorists" win if we have to give up our freedoms to fight them. I would vehemently oppose all laws that would sacrifice citizen freedoms and civil rights in the name of fighting terrorism and "spreading freedom".

2. "... where the media holds itself to the highest standards and reports the news without bias rather than creating the news and spinning it to their own agenda." The media must change itself. However, as you know, it has been willfully misused and compromised by this administration: propaganda stories reported as real news by government paid journalists, etc. The FCC definitely needs new non-partisan leadership and the media congromerates are a problem. Government can put in place guiding laws and enforcements; the rest is up to the media and journalists. This is really much too complicated to go into in this forum. Safeguarding the freedom and integrity of the press is crucial to democracy. Period.

3. ... that values a Department of Peace more than a Department of War". Just what it says. People with vision seek to solve problems peacefully before taking a country to war. Simple as that. War should ALWAYS be a last resort and should never be waged against a sovereign nation who is not even threatening us--ie. Iraq.

4." ... where every citizen would gladly sacrifice in some way for the good of the whole country ..." Of course I don't intend to indoctrinate self-immolation as a virtue. "And for those of us that see self-sacrifice as an irrational doctrine and choose not to - what happens to us? - imprisonment? re-education camps?" Of course not. It's a free country. It has to do with one's ethics and morals. If you choose to stand by and do nothing while your brother starves, so be it. That's your choice. What I was actually referring to was a fairer tax code, where the super-rich don't get off scott free--especially more tax breaks in time of war--and all of the financial responsibility falls on the backs of those least able to handle it.

5. " ... where the right to first rate health care is every American’s right" The right of health care for all Americans is not "socialist". You seem to like labels: abolitionist, socialist, liberal. To me labels are part of the problem and limit thinking. We are the only industrial nation that doesn't provide health care for our citizens. Are you really in favor of only the rich having access to doctors and medicine? If so, we disagree. There are many ways to fund the program--the Senators have already instituted a great plan for themselves. Again, this was an idealistic statement and is not the forum--yet--for a specific plan.

6."... where a first rate college education is affordable and available to every person ..." You have read statements into my simple statement that I never made. Nowhere does it say "free". Again this is a complicated issue that I cannot solve in a few sentenses. I believe we need to revamp our entire education system--for a conversation about this in more detail...see http://inoodle.com/2005/11/testing-educationan-open-conversation.html --search on that blog for part 2 & 3 as well. Without an informed citizenry, democracy is a joke. Education is crucial--and it starts at pre-school on up.

7." ... that puts the needs of the American people first, with priority attention to the most vulnerable among us" - "More social welfare projects?" Never said a word about social welfare. You did. The statement means exactly what it says. You can label it however you like. It means finding ways to help those who are at the bottom help themselves up and trying to lessen the gap between the "haves" and "have nots" to the point where everyone can have a decent life--which, by the way, will help the economy--more people can afford to buy more things.

8." ... campaign finance reform that removes all private money from any political campaign" - Again, if not private contributions, then who should pay - the taxpayers? Yup...but without a tax increase. Campaign budgets would go WAY down from the rediculous amounts spent now. Again, I've blogged on this in detail..too long to go into details here.

9. "Should I have any reason to believe that you do not simply want to expand socialistic big government with its corresponding sacrifice of the individual to the needs of whatever you consider to be the public good?" You, my friend, are obviously going to think what you want. You have a rather biased Ayn Randian view...I love her, by the way. I am NOT for big government. I am fiscally conservative. But I am also NOT for pork--it needs to get out of government. That alone would give me the money I'd need to institute all the programs I'd want. I'm not for "hand-outs". I'm for programs that "enable".

I'm not a socialist, communist, abolitionist, or any other "ist". I am for common sense solutions to common problems of common (and not-so-common) men. No more, no less.

Thanks for your questions and interest. Again, this was meant as an idealistic statement of goals, not specific policies. That will come later. This blog is not meant to be a forum for the latter.

Peace, TUC

José Roldan said...

Mr. TUC:

I appreciate the candor of your reply and have no doubt about the sincerity of your idealism. Would one be remiss to call you an idealist? Despite your aversion to such a categorical identification, it happens to be true. One who displays great idealism is an idealist. Let us call a spade a spade. Labels exist to identify categories, in this case political theory and philosophy. It is not a subjective evaluation of "labeling however I like". Rest assured when I talk of oranges, that is what they are, not apples. I just want to be sure we speak the same language.

This attempt at understanding the person behind the mask, the candidate hidden behind a veil, is nothing less than discovering if your incognito reveals someone who lacks the courage of his convictions or is a determined visionary.

You are perceptive in some of your comments about myself, but this is not about me, but about you and your belief systems. I merely posed questions, not making accusations. If you noticed that my questions reveal a bias, it serves not skirting the issue by noting such, as I am not the candidate - you are.

Now, my definition of socialism is: A theory of government where the common good is held as a higher value than the individual, and the statist use of force is used to achieve social objectives. Would you subscribe to this definition? and if so, would you consider yourself an advocate of this theory? If you disagree with this definition, please share with us what is your definition of socialism and whether you support it or not.

Many Americans, myself included, share your concerns about improving our society and having a government that behaves with wisdom and dignity. However, it is not enough to simply highlight the problems, but to explain exactly which method one chooses to achieve the social goal. Two men may agree on the problem, but differ greatly in the solution.

I look forward to seeing an explanation of how you plan on achieving your lofty goals. Please keep me abreast of your thoughts and feel free to consult with me if you are interested in non-statist solutions to your list. I will be more than happy to hash ideas back and forth with you.

The Unknown Candidate said...

Jose,

Sorry for the delay in responding to your last comments. I appreciate your thoughts.

Briefly, I define socialism as: a political or economic theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.

Using either my definition or yours, I do not consider myself a socialist.

As for my specific policies, I will delineate them in due time--in the proper forum.

In the meantime, I'd be quite interested in your non-statist methods of achieving the goals (ideals) I have outlined--should you care to share them.

Finally, as to whether I am an idealist, I would say no, in that, although I have an idealistic vision for the country, I believe that I am realistic about what is and is not possible.

I prefer the term "visionary" to "idealist." When you "reach for the stars" to paraphrase Leo Burnett, an advertising visionary in his day, "you may not actually grab hold of one, but you won't come up with a handful of dirt either."

I don't believe you can ever set your sights too high--the danger is in setting them too low and in not seeing the possibilities.

Hope you are having a wonderful holiday.

TUC

Anonymous said...

hahahahaha, you don't stand a snowball's chance in Hell, but I'll vote for you. :-) I always had a soft spot for gutsy-men-with-a-great-sence-of-humor!

Corporations have this country, our government, our politicians, our media, our constitution and everything in between life and death sewn shut!

The Real America died with Norman Rockwell. But I'll vote for you, because you got guts.

Anonymous said...

...I hope you are Lou Dobbs :-)

Anonymous said...

I do not have the time nor the inclination to address all of your illusions. I will address one. Education is affordable in this country for the poorest with the intelligence to seek it. We have free libraries and a host of places where knowledge is available at no cost. What you want is a free ride for those without the initiative to work it out themselves. Some of the financially richest in this country did not complete college. Also your denigration of Bush by the Molly Ivins slur shows who you are. Bush's propensity to denigrate his intellect and achievement is the mark of a real man. I don't agree with all he does, nor agree with all his philosophical bents, but unlike you and your ilk, I prefer to use reason and logic rather than put downs and name calling. Bill Buckley was a master at that, and while I am no Bill Buckley, I applauded his basic decency, a trait of which you apparently were deprived.

The Unknown Candidate said...

Dear Anonymous,

You have got to be kidding! You obviously did not read the above article -- it says nothing about FREE education.

Quote: "A Revolutionary America where a first rate college education is affordable and available to every person who wishes one,
where quality pre-schools are affordable and available to all working parents, where the best possible schools are available to every child, because insuring their future is insuring America’s future, something we are unwilling to compromise."

Perhaps you weren't aware that the words "free" and "affordable" have different definitions.

And the Molly Ivins comment refers to precisely what?

Bill Buckley was so DECENT, he wanted to put tattoos on every American who contracted aids. Great guy.

Bush has violated his oath of office, the Constitution, and committed a host of crimes too long to go into here -- read the blog!!

You do NOT use reason and logic, my friend. Your assertion that libraries can substitute for College degrees -- you can't get a job interview by listing "library" as your education -- is beyond ignorant. Obviously, you did not get much of an education in critical thinking. I suggest you exercise some.