Tag: End Citizens United

The Case FOR The People

I hear what they’re saying… free tuition for ALL, free healthcare for ALL, debit forgiveness… They want to give away the STORE! To please you… to please “THEM”… to please ME.

But how many times have they promised us THE MOON, then stuck US with the bill on a $400 HAMMER? Talked about being greeted as “liberators”, only to be kicked out by THEIR elected government.

Assuring us that there WAS WMD… but they must have DISPOSED of it.

All of them are clambering around to take a shot at the “Big Banks” and “Big Tech” and “reign in Wall St.” Just as they did after 2008? Statutes and regulations passed, then slowly degraded through DE-FUNDING, eroding protections, issuing fines that amount to “pocket change” when (and IF) laws are found to be broken… actions taken by elected officials BEHOLDEN to the SAME entities for THEIR re-election. It is a COLD HARD TRUTH-

MONEY DECIDES OUR ELECTIONS.

After the Speakership of Paul Ryan ended, for the FIRST TIME in 10 years The House held a hearing on GUN VIOLENCE. For 10 years, The House did NOT actively investigate solutions to PREVENT GUN DEATHS. The Dickey Amendment forbids the CDC to FUND RESEARCH into PREVENTING GUN DEATHS… while the NRA spent over $30 MILLION in the 2016 election, donating to re-elect politicians loyal to their FUNDS.

In 2009, our elected officials passed the TARP Act to “bail out” the banks. Most news outlets did not call out the fact that these institutions were INSURED… on top of the bailout, they were REIMBURSED for their losses.

… my mortgage is STILL underwater.

Donald Trump inflated the value on a $20 MILLION property to over $200 MILLION in an attempt to secure a loan to buy a FOOTBALL TEAM.

Meanwhile I couldn’t write off snow tires as a work expense for my wife, a PEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE NURSE who was designated a critical team member, required to show up during ANY natural disaster… guess I need a better TAX MAN.

 

In 2003, when my wife and I purchased our home, we knew the school district wasn’t the best, but we hoped we could rehabilitate our house and turn it into a profit, then move somewhere with better schools before our kids reached that age. The housing market has not returned to where it once was, and the schools have not improved.

We decided the work on our house could wait, and we enrolled our boys in a private school. It’s NOT EASY… financially speaking. But not everyone HAS that option! Many families are STUCK with whatever their elected officials provide for education. Elected officials, who are influenced by the FUNDS of wealthy groups who have earned their wealth… in PRIVATE, FOR-PROFIT EDUCATION.

History books are compiled and decided, curriculum, accountability, and standards decided by appointees… appointed by elected officials, BEHOLDEN TO FUNDRAISING.

The DONOR over the VOTER.

The people on the ballot, when it comes time for us to vote, are there because they were the BEST FUNDRAISER. At the beginning, in the primaries, in the LOCAL race for State Rep or State Atty General. MONEY decided who COULD run, and ultimately who DID run.

Look now at the Democratic Primary Debates. The idea of FUNDRAISING deciding who should have the HONOR of addressing the PEOPLE… couldn’t they have just as easily employed a polling/survey method of SOME type?

“If you want your VOICE to COUNT, you better throw in a BUCK!”

INSERT ISSUE HERE ______. IF a politician can manipulate a particular issue in such a way that it motivates DONORS to DONATE to the PARTY, then that issue will NOT BE RESOLVED. It will continue to be “on the verge ” of being “taken away” or you will be “forced to submit” to it ANY DAY NOW…

“… so you’d better throw in a BUCK!”

 

The question is… are we ready to DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT?

The system WORKS, so well in fact, the FATAL FLAWS within it have become OBVIOUS to anyone of GOOD FAITH. We must make a CHOICE.

We can either fundamentally alter our system in an attempt to legislate a solution to every possible flaw that could arise, while continuing to correct mistakes AFTER they have presented themselves…

OR

We can CHANGE the way we CHOOSE the people we elect to represent us. Ensure the VOTERS have the ultimate say in EVERY STEP of the election process…

 

From PRIMARY ELECTION to GENERAL ELECTION.

WE FUND THE CANDIDATES.

Every Federal election.

EVERY time.

 

Give EVERY candidate EQUAL ACCESS to election funding and the press, and debates will focus on solutions to issues, not stoking fear and anger… pointing fingers instead of TAKING ACTION.

Any candidate who runs on a platform like that will be CLEARLY exposed by full public scrutiny… of their message, of their policies and positions… and without the filter of DARK MONEY. FUNDS donated by people who might prefer it if… SOME people didn’t know they were donating to such a cause. Groups and individuals who DONATE to campaigns on BOTH SIDES, expecting to buy influence with whomever wins the election… because the POLITICAL PARTIES need money, too.

 

Over the course of the last 16 MONTHS of this campaign, I’ve posted 100 entries here on my website and Tweeted over 15,000 Tweets, clarifying my position on every topic, from Kavanaugh to Parkland. From disenfranchisement in Georgia to disenfranchisement in Dodge City, Kansas. I’ve attempted to be OPEN and HONEST about my positions and have encouraged folks to press me for clarification if needed and will continue to do so. Even though it could be seen as a political cop-out, ducking and dodging policy positions so as not to be tied down to ONE position over the OTHER… I question the entire PREMISE OF THE DEBATE on EVERY ISSUE being tossed around right now. The desire of every candidate to pin down EVERY position on EVERY issue seems premature…

Don’t forget, the United States Senate is where good legislation goes to DIE.

The president ALONE does NOT make the Law. Where do these Senators expect to find the bi-partisan support necessary to FUND all of these campaign promises? BILLIONS on Trump’s wall… TRILLIONS on tuition forgiveness?

What about the SYSTEMIC PROBLEMS that have created the ASTRONOMICAL COST of secondary education? And the financial institutions left unchecked to take advantage of the unsuspecting and vulnerable?

A Band-Aid won’t fix the KNIFE IN OUR BACK… and back ’round we go again, back to the attack on the MAIN financial tool middle class Americans have relied on for the last 75+ years for our social advancement- INCREASING HOME EQUITY. Homeowners can only do SO MUCH to make that happen. A large part of it relies on the UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT to do it’s part by making communities SAFER and keeping INFRASTRUCTURE up-to-date and IN GOOD REPAIR, among MANY others.

The NEXT President of The United States should NOT be the candidate who says, “I went out and listened to what ORDINARY AMERICANS have to say.” The next President of The United States should already know what’s on the mind of Ordinary Americans… because THAT’S WHO THEY ARE. Because MY SURVIVAL is tied directly to YOURS.

WE are the BALANCE upon which the entire system is judged…

What do we want our government to LOOK LIKE?

WHO should our government work FOR?

 

Is our system what we want it to BE? Remove the CORRUPTION and restore HONOR in governance… and we will discover how much MORE our system of governance can BE.

THE PEOPLE, and their UNIVERSAL ACCESS to the ballot, become the SECURITY SYSTEM protecting our Constitutional Democracy. Ensuring FAIR and EQUAL REPRESENTATION, based NOT on DOLLARS… but on EACH OTHER.

 

ONE CITIZEN= ONE VOTE

 

We MUST End The Electoral College.

 

 

JC

 

… de minimis.

Why do you lock the car doors when it’s parked in YOUR driveway? Why do you lock the FRONT DOOR of your home? Safety and security can be seen as one-in-the-same-

You would not want an eight-year-old to have access to a brand new sports car… both for the sake of the car, AND the eight-year-old!

To be SAFE helps us to STAY SECURE.

The meaning of these values may have been watered down in the buzz-word, focus group, kid-tested, monetized world we live in. Lady Liberty sells me car insurance in 5 second spots, and Ben Franklin can apparently set me up with some sound retirement planning. SAFETY is JOB #1… because it sells a bunch of cars, but please wait. You are a valued customer, someone will be with you shortly.

CRYSTAL CLEAN, but still somehow FILTHY…

Like the impromptu questioning of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Waiting for an elevator, she was asked about her administration’s decision to cut funding for the Special Olympics, and stood in SILENCE… when questioned.

About HER actions.

… pleasantly!

When HER BOSS was then asked about the same, he TRIUMPHANTLY proclaimed… as any NOBLE KING MIGHT DO when he feels that his SUBJECTS are unhappy… “We’re taking care of it.” Huzzah…

god save the KING of the united states of america.

IT’S DIRTY… everyone can see it just the same! Does it BREAK LAWS… THAT question is NOT being fully addressed regarding MANY ASPECTS of our current elected government officials’ actions. But EACH ONE, every time they are questioned about cutting FUNDING for education, or redirecting FUNDING from military developments to build a wall, or stealing FUNDING from FEMA to imprison refugees, their legalese and dogged determination seems to be enough to let them SLIP… dodging any real accountability for CRIMES COMMITTED… documented.

Ours is a country of LAWS, written in plain terms, so ANYONE can understand them, and if they so choose, pledge allegiance to them. Whether you are a scholar of the Law or a carpenter framing a home, you know the Law! You’re SUBJECT TO IT everyday. And ignorance of the Law is no excuse! I’ve heard stories of judges explaining that to some of my friends. Many of those friends ALREADY KNEW that BEFORE they attempted to use the bogus excuse! And they paid the price. They were served with Justice. And most of them have been better people ever since. Because our Law is fair, rehabilitation is ALWAYS the goal. Encouragement and support is ALWAYS the surest way forward.

Our system of Law has become OPPRESSIVE of the PEOPLE because JUSTICE is now served based on WEALTH… NOT guilt or innocence.

Disproportionately effected by penalties and punishment, financially unable to secure counsel to ensure a fair outcome, and many times corralled into pleading guilty to an offense to simply avoid the appearance of guilt for another crime…

The public defenders here in KCK don’t usually go OUT OF THEIR WAY to get their clients’ case dismissed when they are facing charges of possession. In fact… there’s an old saying in the customer service biz- “Turn ’em and BURN ’em”, meaning get as many customers served as quickly as possible, put the hammer down, cliché cliché…

Justice, weighed against GOLD. The balance can never be fair. At any point in our lives, we can point to a time where we were not financially secure… hell, for me- DOWN RIGHT POOR. But that time did not dictate what I am today, nor who I will BECOME in the future. It may guide my decisions for the rest of my life, but that is just human nature… and sometimes I have to burn my hand on the stove TWICE before I learn!

If you BELIEVE in the Rule of Law, if you believe in Our Constitution… STAND UP. See through the rhetoric. See through the agendas. See through the LIES. We know our system of governance is a system that only works when men and women of HONOR put the GOOD OF THE NATION above ALL ELSE. And we know what issues DIVIDE US with ease.

Don’t let them do it! NOT this time around. Every time an elected official or a candidate for office ducks back into stoking FEAR, ANGER, and DIVISION by blaming “THEM”… question it!!

– HOW DO WE SOLVE THAT ISSUE?

– WHO STANDS TO BENEFIT from that issue NOT being RESOLVED?

– WHY IS THIS PERSON SAYING THIS?

– Is the elected official or candidate for office attempting to FUNDRAISE by appealing to WEALTHY DONORS when they spout the newest “Their side sucks!” chant?

– WHO would LIKE hearing this person SAY those things… and would that group/organization/institution DONATE to a political organization LARGE AMOUNTS OF CASH?

The phrase I’ve learned since I began my campaign, that describes this mess PERFECTLY is ‘de minimis’. When dealing with a Presidential Campaign and the VAST OCEAN OF CASH, accounting errors are made. Numbers can be crunched incorrectly or funds can be collected mistakenly… or SPENT mistakenly. NOT with ill-intent, but subject to punishment just the same.

Some amounts are considered to be ‘de minimis’, or lacking in significance. Amounts SO SUPERFLUOUS that investigating criminal activity is seen, in the eyes of the Law, as unnecessary, irrelevant.

Mistakes of $10,000… of $15,000.

“OOPS!”

“… don’t worry about it! That amount of money is MINISCULE.”

 

A handful of mistakes over the course of a fairly successful campaign, and that amount of money, seen as ‘de minimis’ to the Law, could total MORE THAN THE VALUE OF MY HOUSE. That amount of money could change the life of ANY American Citizen I’ve ever known!

Imagine if we elected a President who saw the salary of the Office as ADVANCEMENT, understanding the TRUE VALUE of the wealth that amount of money holds. (aside: I’m sure if you asked any of them, they’d say it wasn’t enough. BUT, I bet ALL of them would say, they’d do it all over again… free of charge.)

An appreciation for an amount as de minimis as $15,000 is something I cannot forget. Nor do I ever hope to.

To be honest, I can’t remember the last time I had a portrait of Ben Franklin in my pocket-  hashtag MAGA.

#EndTheElectoralCollege

JC

For The People

https://jackcharbonneau.com/2018/04/28/the-hastert-rule-full-transcript-of-the-youtube-video/

The tears were real.

At the tail end of my first campaign video, “The Hastert Rule”, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to get out the last line! I dropped about a minute from it. I didn’t want to bore everyone with my crying.

At this point last year, everyone had enough tears on their own.

I ended my self-imposed media blackout three days after the shooting at MSDHS and watched “Coffee Joe and the Brew Crew”. And when the “light turned on” in my head, after hearing Senator Blumenthal speaking about The Hastert Rule… I was worried I wouldn’t be heard. I knew I must start THAT DAY, so people could get inside my head. To have some kind of physical, documented case to present to The People. That’s where it began. One year ago today.

Fear? Anger? Excitement? … the only way to describe the feeling of doing this is-

Every emotion. All at once.
Both sides of the coin.
Every side of the die.
All the time.

There is a suprising calmness within it. To realize you are the servant of time, and what is decided is what shall be…

It’s freeing, in a restricted sort of way.

I am excited and optimistic BECAUSE of what can be, and ever mindful of who I am doing this for. All the credit for anything good that I have done so far goes to the people who have lifted me up and given me support. Any victory I attain is not mine alone, because the guiding principle of this campaign is ensuring the POWER lies in the hands of the people.

May the passing of the year to come bring us closer to our goal.

JC

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…

repeat…

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?

JC

The Space Between

I have reached an impasse. I have a desire to learn and grow, to gather all the knowledge and knowledgeable people necessary to define the processes involved in creating Constitutional Law. And I have to gain the INSIGHT of communities across this Nation. Thankfully I live in Kansas City. The diversity of the Kansas City Metro is why I love living here, but I know there is more I MUST learn, and soon.

There is so much to do! And I don’t want to be the weakest link. I want to spend the next few months leaning about the weaknesses in my ideas. Flaws in the legislation. Points of importance that a skinny white kid from Kansas could not have learned. See… It’s a question I know I should be asking, but do not even know what to ask or to whom it should be addressed! But I KNOW I CAN and I know right now I should.

I need a campaign advisor. And unless they all DONATE their services, first I need funds.

I am still currently taking care of a family as I run my political campaign. I am raising two sons, taking care of housework, grocery shopping, school, et al… And my wife, Jessica, works as a Pediatric Critical Care Nurse. She works nights, so she sleeps during the day. Living with someone who works a night shift automatically shifts your own schedule, so my “hours of operation” revolve around her sleep schedule. We understand the risks involved in such an endeavor. But we also understand the LIMIT to how much risk we can take, for the sake of our children. The benifit for EVERYONE is why I risk anything at all right now.

We WILL find the answers, but ONLY if we try!

What do we want to do… This fall, when we decide the next Congress in November, we will have two months… Of waiting? Of fighting? Of treading water while children remain detained? Or two months of planning, and preparing, and understanding that DIVISION is the root of all this evil. Rage fueled with intent, hell bent on pitting brother against brother. Questioning EACH OTHER instead of THE LIAR. Allowing the dread and drudgery to bring us to our basest instincts- fear and anger.

NO! Do not do that! We MUST look higher than that! We’re on a mission! It’s a WAR ON OUR CONSTITUTION, being fought online and at our ballot box. It’s leaders giving citizens lip service while bowing to our ENEMIES. We have to SECURE OUR LIBERTY. I want to LEARN MORE so I can EDUCATE everyone, to explain EXACTLY what must be done!

… because we CAN! I have learned enough so far to know it’s true. I BELIEVE we can do it. I see the path from HERE to THERE… THAT is the first step!

Help me do it, please! I just ask for the chance to be in the fight, and let the PEOPLE decide.

Keep your head UP!!

JC