… would you like to say a few words?

TODAY we have a CHOICE… tomorrow our decision will have been made, and our future will be sown. Our perch on history right now, whether seen as exciting or exhausting… no one can say it has NOT been amazing!

And because of the path I am on, I feel like the most IMPOTENT person on Earth. Like the guy on-deck, swinging away in the batter’s box, a front row seat no closer than THIS… none more helpless or vulnerable.

The antithesis of the pentacle, the polar opposite of everything that stands at the height of power. I sit and scribble on notebook paper words of OPPOSITION, while Men in High Office craft LEGISLATION that will destroy a family. I am searching within myself, to find some calm during this turbulent time, Our President uses the BULLY PULPIT… against us.

On my tablet, I get notifications from different apps through out my day. Uploads, comments, but also weather notifications and… I’m disturbed by a thought I had the other day. I opened my iPad, read through the list and thought, “What a relief… it’s only a Geomagnetic Storm.”

So, I’m watching… swinging away. Trying to get my timing down. CHOMPING at the bit… cliche, cliche…

I feel guilty. Unable to help, but knowing that I can…. humbled that I will. Desperate for patients, but unable to find any. Delusional to believe anyone is actually listening to a word I say. But STUBBORN and persistent. Unable to bend, as required by Our Constitutional Duty. Yes, we are all bound by the SAME OATH the Presidents take when they enter the Office, because they come from US.

We are the balance upon which EVERYTHING is weighed. And I assure you… that weight is felt.

Stand up and speak out. Use your voice to make things better in YOUR life, for the people YOU care about. Because, when you do that, you are supporting ideals a MAJORTIY of Americans support. Good and caring people still live in the Land of the Free! And when you STAND UP and defend Liberty and Justice… FOR ALL, you are NOT ALONE, here… in the Home of the Brave.

When we choose to make things better for ourselves, we make it better for everyone.together without even realizing.

Keep your head UP!!

So… that’s what I’ve got. That’s the pitch. It’s not magic. It’s not LIES. It’s not flashy or trendy… but, then again- That’s not up to me.🙃

The State of OUR Union

What if there is something else going on… what if there is a hidden element we are NOT aware of? Does that change anyone’s calculations? Would that give anyone PAUSE?

Would anyone be willing to trade their Trophy of Pride for a Badge of Humility, and recognize the truth… whatever that TRUTH may be? If it showed the errors and ACTUALY illuminated where we were led astray, would you be able to accept it… would anyone?

To call into question conclusions reached based on LIES is not a surrender, it is an adaptation. It is a natural progression. Every traveler follows the path East, toward the LIGHT. We are ALL fallible, and anyone can be deceived… for a PRICE.

The political position I have staked out is barron at the moment, but the “tent” I’ve raised has room for EVERYONE… because I cannot do it alone.

BOTH sides have a “boogieman”.

BOTH sides spew venom and hate.

BOTH sides have been VICTIMIZED because we have ALL been lied to. Do you have ANY doubt? Read through Donald Trump’s Tweets.

WHO’S TO BLAME is spoon fed to us DAILY. WHO’S TO BLAME is shifted from cycle to cycle. The person we blamed becomes the “voice of reason” if given enough time. And through the GENERATIONS, when we look back far enough, we can find the ROOTS of the problems we see today in divisive rhetoric of the past.

We will not stand much longer if we continue to fight the wars of the past. Our future is dying in classrooms and churches because the divisive leadership of the PAST refuses to listen to the People they lead.

WHY? …we know why.

“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” -JFK to Congress, May 25, 1961.

This speech gave birth to the Apollo Program. NASA had the vision, the leadership, the daring. THIS speech secured the FUNDING. The program that would send Mankind to the Moon in 8 years was ready to put theory and practice into production. The first contract issued for the production of the Saturn V rocket was to MIT for a navigation system. A flight control computer system that DID NOT EXIST.

We knew we could fly Man to the Moon. On paper, in practice, in knowledge of the Laws of Physics we were prepared to build a vessel that could make the journey. The VERY FIRST piece of equipment NASA invested in was the most infeasable piece of the mission.

Because they BELIEVED it could be done. Because in Our Country, ANYTHING can be done!

History is full of examples of human creativity outpacing what is “possible”. The Pioneers of Flight themselves, the Wright Brothers, did the same thing 66 years earlier. As scientists and inventors were risking their lives attempting to break the laws of gravity, many people believed it couldn’t be done. They risked their reputations and their financial security because they BELIEVED it could be done.

Robert Goddard, the father of modern rocketry, was not recognized for his insight for most of his life. But he understood what was needed to reach orbit, the benefits of using liquid propellant, and multistage flight… and he understood all of this in 1914.

Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, Jobs, Gates, Musk, Dorsey… Great Vision is useless without PROBLEMS to SOLVE. These visionaries would not be know without the hunger and drive of a populace where creativity and knowledge lead to advancement and adapting… No one knew they needed a light bulb until EVERYONE had one. No one knew they needed a radio until EVERYONE had one. No one knew they needed an iPhone until everyone had one.

The SOCIETY creates the need and the inventor, the scientist, the thinker and the doer fills the demand. But sometimes a need is not recognized. Sometimes we have no idea that there was a better way. When I graduated from high school in 1998, I knew everyone needed a PC in their pocket. Now that I have one, I realize I had no idea how CORRECT that idea was!

The computer that assisted the crew of Apollo 11, it’s navigation system, the hard drive is literally magnets and MILES of copper wire-

wire thru magnet= 1

wire outside magnet= 0

repeat…

It had a storage space of 72K bytes and was smaller than a bread box.

The potential of the creation was unrealized and its reliability was unknown. How unknown? Mathematician Katherine Johnson was the ‘computer’ NASA tasked with ensuring the accuracy of the digital computer. She did so through the entire flight. She continued to do so until her retirement in 1986.

From the size of a HOUSE to the size of a bread box, down to the size of a wrist watch. The power to do mathematics at the speed of light to the ABILITY to predict and simulate the outcome of the collision of atoms. When my dad brought home my first PC, I was excited to have access to libraries across the planet, right in my bedroom! In 1996, we had NO IDEA what else we were missing.

ALL of these advances. ALL of the technological evolution of the past 230 years has been influence by The United States Constitution and the SOCIETY it has created. From the elimination of Small Pox, to the creation of the Cotton Gin. Transistor radios to the Arecibo radio telescope.

… and all of these facts and figures. Images and inspiration. Historical words heard ALOUD, as if their speaker were alive today! I find them all in my pocket.

Infinite Potential

The ability for anyone to read the words I write is only possible because of Our Society. The device I use to contemplate and create is only possible because WE created the DEMAND… we just didn’t know it. That is a small example of the POWERFUL force for good Our Country is, and a demonstration of the limits of our ability to see what is possible 230 years from now.

The ability to SEE something that does not exist and make it reality, like the MIT software programmers did for the Apollo program, THRIVES in a Country like Ours! The Liberty to apply knowledge gained, to question answers long established, and realize individual talents within a community of like-minded people all working on bettering the lives of all Mankind, on SOME level, gives Our Union a tilt toward Justice. Our desire to make a positive difference in the world shows in our intentions, if not always our deeds.

And no one should be surprised! The Framers of Our Demorcacy were idealists at heart. At a time when Mankind had been ruled by oppressive monarchs, these Men DARED to say Mankind CAN rule itself, fairly, and in peace! They knew, with a sufficient level of common history, the bedrock ideals of Our Constitution would STAND the test of time. That ability… the Liberty to dream big AND make it happen is the Country I believe in.

… where do YOU STAND?

Individual Responsibility

I hope I have been “honorable”. At some point, on my Twitter feed, my name will have a banner that reads “2020 US Presidential Candidate”, and then WORDS… from MY mouth! I’ve said almost 6,000 things on Twitter. I hope I have not said anything that degrades the Office I seek.

Stephen Douglas… everyone knows that name today for ONE reason- Abraham Lincoln. I realized that a couple months ago. And it is a thought that crosses my mind daily. I try, intentionally, to be OPEN with my thoughts and opinions in order to avoid coming across as ‘fake’ or ‘a troll’. As if I were speaking in real life.

IF I do self censor it is because of the platform from which I speak, knowing what I say might someday be seen as “relevant”.

A couple days ago I made a late night run to Walmart. Jess was making potato soup and needed almond milk and I needed to replace a headlight on the van. I was looking for a good reason to get out of the house, to try and take my mind off stuff.

I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.

I tossed my items in a cart, shot the breeze with a couple people while I was there, paid and headed out the door. Just as I was pushing my cart through the automatic double-doors, out of the corner of my eye to my right, a woman was throwing some trash into the can. As I walked out, she was just about to turn and start walking back to where she came from, and I anticipated…swinging my cart to the left and avoiding her walking into my cart.

She turned, just as I thought, and she saw me swing the cart to the side and stop. Now, I wasn’t going to hit her with a cart… I’m a better driver than THAT! And, even if she suddenly turned and started sprinting, I wasn’t going fast enough to where I couldn’t have just full-stopped and avoided her. I just wanted to be safe.

As we both came to a stop, I pulled the cart back slightly, and said “Excuse me. Please, go ahead.” As I said this, she turned her eyes away from the cart and made eye contact with me… Now, I am not an unpleasant looking guy. Some people might say a little more pleasant than the south side of a north bound horse, and so I’ve seen that sparkle in the eye of a few people… ladies AND gents… and sometimes, flirtatious looks can turn into a bit of flirtatious banter, all in a few seconds. Just in passing alone and nothing more.

As she looked up, startled at first from the image of some guy dodging to avoid running her over, she made eye contact with me and her expression changed. I said “Please, go ahead,” and she stepped back, stood a bit straighter, and said “No… Please, you go. I insist.” I hesitated, smiled, being flattered by her expression of insistence, nodded my head and said “Thank you,” and I walked on by.

It makes me feel good when someone slyly acknowledges someone else in that way, makes you feel kinda special… but, as I approached my van, I thought a couple more times about that look in her eye. That was NOT the look of infatuation. I am NOT that handsome! No Way!… I think she recognized me. Well, the spongebob hat at least.

If I had to guess her age, I would say 16-22. That is about the range for the MFOL crowd and I know there is strong support in the Kansas City area for what David Hogg is doing. So it could be possible. And IF that is the case… I don’t believe it! I don’t have proof of that being the case, I would only be assuming. I’m not sure though.

The look in her eyes expressed a sence of HUMILITY, of AWE, of PRIDE… of what I would express if given the chance to meet a Presidential Candidate.

So, that’s a heavy responsibility. I understood that from the beginning. That COPYRIGHT/TRADEMARK “U.S. President” idea is what gave me pause originally. How can one live up to the painting that hangs in the heart of every American Citizen? Be it a portrait of a President or a pivotal patriotic event, the IMAGE in one’s own mind is flawless, even more so than the painting itself. I felt the responsibility of the Office when I changed my Twitter bio. Little blue check mark be damned… just read the title at the top of that feed, it is a statement.

I am not shying away in this moment, I am absorbing and learning (with cat videos and funny goats in between to keep my sanity…) and planning. Mapping out what could be, how to get there, and hoping to find disparate voices, looking for common ground. Wise counsel who, watching the deprevaty in the halls of Congress, have come to their breaking point.

A rag-tag group of misfits, from a diverse range of backgrounds. All with individual specialties that can be utilized at the most opportune time against an evil villain… hell-bent on destruction…

Cue- Cliche 70s Rock Anthem

I think we can move “Through the Looking Glass” over to the Reference section now.

Into the Great Wide Open

We STAND at an extraordinary time! With SO many things fueling the passions of debate, and solutions needed so desperately but seeming so distant…

Consider the sacrifice our Founding Fathers had to make. In order to achieve Independence, to establish the Constitution, sacrifice and compromise was the only way. And in THAT spirit they made their choice, their sacrifice, because they knew in their hearts… at their CORE, Mankind is ‘good’ and will find the way.

They sacrificed themselves. To achieve unanimity they sacrificed their “idealistic purity” to have the CHANCE for it to occur. Their opinion was in the minority then. The MAJORITY opinion in the late 18th Century, on this continent, was only CERTAIN MEN are created equal.

… but in their hearts the KNEW that WORDS MATTER. That IF it could stand the test of time, and survive the slowly waning majority opinion, someday the WORDS would be read and their TRUE MEANING would be recognized as LAW. So they were SILENT, sacrificing themselves, and allowed slavery in a system where ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL.

That price, paid in BLOOD, over FOUR CENTURIES, has inspired great movement. When measured as a whole, it looks like the end is within reach! We can ALMOST blow up the BALLOONS and light the CANDLES… and that has led to complacentcy. It has led to “perceived weakness”. It is seen as an opportunity, and now HERE we stand.

So… They were SILENT, sacrificing themselves, listening to WISE COUNSEL at home, saying ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL while OPPRESSING the voice of their domestic PARTNERS?

200 years ago, when the people who held the opinion that slavery was wrong were in the minority, the people who then believed WOMEN deserved EQUAL RIGHTS was EVEN SMALLER… and BOTH opinions were strongly SILENCED. I have learned, the POWER over others, alone, can be an intoxicant, and that “addiction” is a disturbing topic. Many of these “ills” are a matter of Learned Behavior. “THIS is the way it has been, so THIS is the way it is done– No questions!”

ALWAYS ASK QUESTIONS. KNOWLEDGE will keep us ALL FREE.

Today, as we fight about accusations of Criminal Behavior, ask yourself “What does the LAW say?” EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW.

I am EXCITED! Because right NOW, we have within our reach, the TOOLS to make this HAPPEN. It has been subverted and disguised. Made to look foolish and idealistic… that it could never happen. “There’s just NO support, so you should stay SILENT. No one would believe you anyway.” IF ONLY we had LAW that could guide us to an answer… What would the Founding Fathers say?

ALL MANKIND IS CREATED EQUAL

The Bill of Rights ensured that ONE DAY, if the country could survive long enough, the MEANING of the WORDS would, once again, be recognized. That mistakes made in THEIR TIME, could be AMENDED, and in time, they knew, their ideological vision had ALREADY WON.

We must memorialize their efforts by demanding LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.

Pull Up a Chair and I’ll Open a Vein.

I am uncouth. I am unrefined. I know OF refinement, but it is not required in the ‘hood where I was raised. I am a bit vulgar and at times melodramatic. I definitely have a dark sense of humor and may laugh at inappropriate times. Live with a pediatric intensive care nurse for 15 years and that’s what happens!

I believe in honesty and have at times upset people because of it. I learned as a young man lies are too hard to keep straight! (and life is too short.) So forgive me if I offend, but we are living in offensive times. Corrupt Hypocrisy practiced by elected officials cause the death of our fellow citizens. Families seeking the CHANCE to live here are SEPARATED and IMPRISONED. So, in this balance I weigh my deeds. And in this I find the answer.

I am the only son of a divorced, middle class family. When I was in preschool, up until 2nd grade I lived with my mom and spent vacations and summers with my dad. And from 2nd grade on, I would see mom on vacations. I was a rare exception. My father was granted custody and my mother was allowed visitation.

A young boy growing up in a bachelor pad makes for some interesting stories! I took it all in stride. Pizza as a ‘food group’ and the ability to disassemble the carburetor on my motorcycle in the kitchen (… because it was December outside!) is every 9 year old’s dream!

After my dad remarried I didn’t see my mom as often. The arguments that stem from money are the surest way to tear a family apart. I’ve seen it happen in my family twice- first over child support, and second when my grandma, dad’s mom, died. You’d never suspect money could destroy the relationship between siblings, but let me tell you…

Both my father and my mother drank and used drugs. They both have criminal records. My father was always one of my best friends growing up, and as I came of age, family traditions were easy to learn.

My greatest achievements go unnoticed to many people. I am an Eagle Scout. I am a proud father of two smart young boys and I am the husband of a nurse. By the time I graduated from Olathe North High School in 1998, I was the principle double bassist in the orchestra (lettered senior year) principle tubist in marching band and Concert Band, and the bassist in the Jazz Band. My passion for music and teaching was leading me to a promising future as a Band Director or performing in a symphonic setting after college. I hoped to follow the former Director of Bands at ONHS, Charles Menghini, to VanderCook College of Music in Chicago when I graduated…

But I got “bit” by the Rock n Roll bug. I received a mailer for Berklee College of Music in Boston, and realized what I wanted to do- Compose!

After graduation, I continued working as an assistant manager at Little Caesar’s Pizza in Olathe. I worked hard on an audition tape and got accepted. Having gained as much as I could in Olathe, I moved to Minnesota to live with my mom and stepdad to prepare for college life in Boston. My father had never been to college. He ran a printing press. He printed sheet music on a four color press for a music company named Wingert-Jones Music in KCMO. He knew nothing about the paperwork and processes involved with college.

I spent a summer with my mom getting my ducks in a row. My stepdad landed me a job in the kitchen of the country club where he was the Executive Chef, and I saved as much as I could. I packed my bass guitar , my 15″ amp, and all my stuff into my 1972 Ford Maverick, and drove to Boston.

side note- For a kid from Kansas, Boston was amazing! Oceanside, beach, seafood… 45 minute drive and I could walk in the mountains! The SMELL of the ocean… I did not know how beautiful it was until I returned home for Thanksgiving. The smell of Kansas is DIRT. Soil. Dusty plains… The contrast was striking!

$18,000

I went through orientation at Berklee. Got my instructions, learned where classes would generally be, practice rooms, etc. Then, the Sunday before classes were to start, I visited the Bursar’s office and they asked “How would you like to pay?” My mother and I had worked on securing grants and loans for college and anticipated having it all completed by semester’s end. “Berklee is a private school,” they said.

They required payment up front.

My mom went to 2 years of community college. My dad went to vocational school to learn how to operate a printing press. NONE of us had the knowledge necessary to get me into college. We just didn’t know it until that Sunday before classes started.

I found a job at the Holiday Inn in Government Center. Lived in Everett, MA, off the Orange Line. Lived like a Bostonian with the hope of trying again in a few months… but it’s a hard life in the city. Literally, I was fresh off the farm. And I gave in to my fears and moved back to KC just six months later. I thought by living at home with my dad I could save money faster than I could living in Boston. But the devil is always in the details, and living in a bachelor pad in your early twenties is not the best move for someone trying to save money for college.

I worked for Mars Music, selling Band and Orchestra instruments until they went under. Then I worked for Wingert-Jones for a a couple years, all the while attempting to gain a foothold as an original artist in a town full of cover bands. I wanted to write and preform original music, everyone wanted to hear “Free Bird”.

When I moved away from Boston, I moved away from the city that I needed to be in to make that happen.

No matter what, I failed because I was a 19 year old kid who had never been out of Kansas. Alone in a city without a base of knowledge. Without proper support and guidance. Without an example to follow. Had I known what I needed for success, I believe I would have been successful.

Before I got married in 2003, drugs and alcohol were my way of life. That and music, writing, and going to shows. Over time, those two worlds blended together. Slowly, music and creativity played second chair to the drugs and altered states of reality. Addiction changes a mind, both in thought and chemical substance. It alters your list of priorities, making a party appear where one is not, and places your needs higher than anyone else’s. By the time my first son was born in 2005, I had been arrested for suspected DUI. But it did not stop me from continuing to drink.

The birth of Matt forced me to realize I needed to grow up! I could not continue to pursue music as a profession, because that path was not one a family should walk. Late nights at bars and nightclubs, only to cover the bar tab, would not pay the bills at home. It would take two more years and the birth of my second son, Garrett, to fully understand my drinking was a problem.

I was raised in an environment where drugs and alcohol were Normal. Everyday activities. The term “self medication” is used sometimes, and the family histories of both of my parents explains why they used. Being their child, I understand, because I am as they were, and many of us all are today-

The product of imperfect people, carrying around damage caused by other damaged, imperfect people.

I have become successful in being a part of a happy family. I hesitate to say successful, only because of money. As would many Americans in my position. My wife works hard and provides for our family. I work hard raising two boys, but also since we purchased our home, I have been the physical laborer. We have worked to remodel our home, making it as energy efficient and self-sustainable as possible. We wanted to make it how we wanted it, believing that someday, after we paid off the mortgage, it would be worth more that what we originally borrowed. Through our labor and improvements and also the overall increase in value of the real estate in Kansas City, KS.

Then the financial disaster of 2008 took that hope away.

And in 2016, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. My body had betrayed me, and the physical abilities I once relied on are now greatly reduce. Now, I have half finished projects that, when first envisioned and planned, required a much stronger man than the one that currently resides in this skin!

For example, in 2011, I remodeled the exterior of our home. I replaced the thin vinyl siding with with granite stone. Over the course of nine months I learned the trade of stone masonry and measured, cut, and placed 30,000 pounds of Chineese granite. Our home is much cooler in the summer, and our gas bill is less than $20 a month.

For the same price as local materials, I found a deal on a unique stone with excellent conductive properties. It is an ideal substance for a home exterior, and I would have never been able to purchase the services needed to have someone else do the labor! THAT is where I was a valuable asset for our family, in an economic sense.

Now, I get winded carrying in groceries from the van. I sweat if my blood sugar is high. I sweat if my blood sugar is low. The auto-immune reaction that took my ability to produce insulin also gave me a sensitivity to nightshade plants and a skin irritation to polyester. Two things that are in every single aspect of human life in modern society…

My body is no longer compatible with life on this planet.

So what am I supposed to do? Wait for death? Mourn the loss? I cannot do that. My brain would never let me do that! Even IF I could accept defeat in my heart, my mind would continue to pick at it, and process it, and push me to get up again… It is what I call “The Raccoon In My Head”. If you toss it something shiny it will play with it for HOURS! When I was a kid it was an enemy. I was the class clown. I was smart, but I would not complete assignments on time, or I would turn them in incomplete. As I got older and began self medicating, the problem got worse.

In our family, we would only see a doctor when it was necessary, either due to illness or for a physical. Dentists…? That was out of pocket and for emergencies only. And psychologists… What? Are you crazy?!! THIS is the setup that leads to a life of dependency, relationship issues, and lack of education… THEN it’s passed along to the NEXT generation… The CORE of our societal ills.

When I sought treatment for my alcoholism, I was finally able to see a counselor and a psychologist who diagnosed me as ADHD. My life hasn’t been the same since! Now that I have a healthy, stable life, and mental clarity, my mind is no longer my enemy. My random thoughts and endless mental rabbit chasing has given way to FOCUS. I gave the raccoon something shiny to play with, now I can get on with my day!

All this, as brief as it is, and as gut wrenchingly difficult as it is for me to write ALL of this… I feel as if I am floating in a sensory deprivation tank. (That’s a lie, I’ve never been in one, but I imagine it would FEEL, like an empty garage SOUNDS.) I am trying to do something that is, by all accounts, impossible. And, frankly, unbelievable. Sure! I understand… It’s new to me, too! But I believe it CAN BE DONE, so long as I am Open, Honest, and Transparent.*

(*IDK. There IS a conspiracy ongoing to overthrow the government of the United States by a foreign adversary… so some questions I might want to refer to legal counsel…? Seriously, this is unknown territory for EVERYONE, except a handful of very high ranking officials… I assume!? Hooray for our Constitution!!)

What IS the President? WHO should the President BE? EVERY AMERICAN CITIZEN, whether we STAND for the National Anthem, or TAKE A KNEE in RESPECT FOR the Rights that flag represents, knows WHAT A PRESIDENT IS and IS NOT. If we desire to see a day when we can, once again, elect Leadership that EXCEEDS the National Expectation… then we must start NOW.

I come bearing TRUTH, as told and delivered by the MIDDLE CLASS of MIDDLE AMERICA. The Majority of the Electorate. The reason we STAND today! The GOLD STANDARD that we base our global economic system upon… The BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS of hard working families.

NOT because I am gaming the system, attempting to gain votes, but because THAT is who I am. I cannot lie, and pretend I am anything but… average.

It is my desire to Amend The Constitution and End the Electoral College, to remove corrupt money from our elections, and SECURE our Constitutional Right to Vote for ALL citizens. So that one day, we CAN elect someone who is MUCH more suited, for a job as important as President, than I could ever be…

with great respect and humility.

Jack Charbonneau