The Benefits of Citizenship

Citizenship is a privilege.  This is how we define ourselves as "nations".  The idea of a democratic republic has been around for thousands of years, and is as old as the idea of Civilization itself.

As a Citizen, you should expect certain Benefits, as for any Membership in any society.  The right to vote, for instance, is a common benefit of citizenship.  If nothing, a Citizen should expect at least the rights of a Prisoner,  But citizenship should confer much more than just that, and to each of us equally:

I recommend the following:

1.  Universal health insurance, free from "payroll taxes";
2.  A clear Pension and Disability policy;
3.  Full tuition grants for education in academic or vocational curricula, based on merit;
4.  That county and municipal job services actually provide jobs in their local area, public service jobs if necessary, for anyone able and willing to work;
5.  That Federal block grants be used to fully fund county and municipal governments in conjunction with a single-tax, "revenue sharing" plan;
6.   ... something about general assistance
7.  .... to be continued.

That's as far as I've gotten.  Infrastructure and Civil Protection are the next big topics.  But what you see above is an outline of SPENDING issues.  It can't be considered a "Fiscal Policy" unless it includes the questions of Taxation and Banking.

I'm working on that.  I'll come back to this thread and edit it if I come up with anything.

What do you think so far?

I'm tired of the word "Patriotism" applying to crazy people.  This is America.  We live in a democratic republic, and there are those today who would corrupt that very same.  Strange too, because it is THEY who hide behind the Flag, claiming to represent the Spirit of '76 that defined the beginnings of a truly Progressive nation.

Right or wrong, America stood against Monarchy for 100 years and against "Communism" for another 100.  We find ourselves today SO corrupted by Money and Power that neither the Democracy nor the Republic it is intended to control has any real effect today.

The Coup is over.  It began with Reagan (Nixon actually, but ...), and it ended with Obama.  The next Presidential election will be for Emperor.  Mark my words.

The real fight this nation has is at the US Congressional District level.  What a game of Gerrymander was used to secure GOP dominance!  And the corruption of the Democratic Party is almost complete.  How many "progressives" are there, really, in our federal legislature today?

People aren't stupid.  They know there's a war on.  All this noise from the "right" has been everywhere, billions invested, with wimpy MSNBC push-back.  Honestly, I think Stephen Colbert is one of the few voices saving this Nation.  Think about it.  People don't want a revolution, they just want a better world.

Job opportunities, health care, pensions, education... these are the issues of "social welfare" that I believe should be universal to every US Citizen.  The are not the entirety of where government should "spend", but they are an essential part of it.

If you believe that the function of government is to "protect the people and secure their rights", then the expansion of Citizen Rights should be your definition of "success".  Life doesn't have to be as hard as it is for so many.  We don't have to endure poverty or injustice.  We, as a Nation, can provide certain Benefits to each and every Citizen, and that's what I intend to do.

Egypt, and the Quest for Sovereignty

Great events are unfolding in the world today, here at the crest of this great wave of humanity as it spreads over our entire planet and up, into the heavens. While I, here, in the comfort of a small home in western Pennsylvania, am not directly affected by these events, I do hold a great concern toward them, as I hope you do.

Modern geopolitics is now focused on Iran as the remaining centerpiece for Islamic theocracy.  Yet, the images of their presidential elections a few years ago shows a nation desiring and growing as a democratic republic. This is what the protests in Egypt are today, the largest protests in human history. They protest, not for the spread of some ideology.  They protest for Citizen Rights.

It's funny too, in a way.. Human civilization really hasn't been around all that long, not in the great scheme of things. Egypt was one of the early agrarian cultures to emerge from neolithic man. Sovereignty was extended over the Nile Valley some five thousand years ago and has remained, in one form or another, to this day.

The democratic republic, as a general model, has also been around for thousands of years. It too has evolved, and recently covers most of the land on the planet. This came to Egypt in 1952 just as it came to many nations in the wake of World War Two, and the people of Egypt have, for half a century, been part of a global, progressive community.

Now, in the year 2013, they have assembled by the millions, a full quarter of the population, to demand citizen rights. It is by citizen rights that the democratic republic defines and controls its own government, and the people want those rights.

The Egyptian military is neutral in all of this, being funded directly by NATO and the US Government. They are not shooting people in the streets, in spite of the overwhelming protests going on right now as I type. The protests against Mumbarik in 2011 are dwarfed by the protests, and counter-protests, toward the new Morsi regime.

So there you have it. A petition of 22 million Egyptian citizens want new, fair elections. They want citizen rights and they do not want to be ruled by a theocracy. They, like me sitting here in the comfort of my Pennsylvania home, just want peace and prosperity, liberty and justice, for all.

My opinion is that the UN should supervise elections in Egypt immediately, and should continue to support the Egyptian military as a neutral policing force that respects human rights. Representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood should have their seat at the table, but Morsi should not be backed by Iran or by the West by suppressing and corrupting the democratic process.

Liberty and democracy are not opposing ideas, they are two sides of the same coin, two principles of the democratic republic that should guide Egypt in their quest for sovereignty.