The Christian Libertarian Party

So, Sarah, you think you can beat Barack ...

2010-11-18T11:01:00.000-05:00

So, Sarah, you think you can beat Barack ... from Salon.

It is more likely, should the desire to toss out Obama exist, that a third party candidate would win if Palin were the nominee. Possible contenders are Romney, Clark and Bloomberg. Heck, I could beat Palin in a three way race, assuming she would debate me. One major lapse of poise and she comes in third

The Iowa Center for Fiscal Equity: Revised submission to Fiscal Commission

2010-07-13T10:25:00.000-04:00

The Iowa Center for Fiscal Equity: Revised submission to Fiscal Commission is a link to my briefing charts, notices and attachments.

Prospects for an Article V Convention

2010-06-23T11:15:00.005-04:00

Of late, I have been more heavily involved in the Article V Convention movement. There is a new effort under this movement to do an online Article V convention, which will operate until a real one is convened. You can reach it at https://www.convusa.com/ This movement seems to bring together the usual suspects who believe in term limits, limiting delegations to the executive, reforming the Supreme Court, etc. In other words, the usual right-wing libertarians who believe the current regime is operating outside the wishes of the founders. The Hon. Thomas Brennan, a retired Michigan Supreme Court Justice is the organizer of this, He is on blogspot at http://oldjudge.blogspot.com/ This entry is a riff on what he stated as his agenda. My comments on his agenda are on that entry, at least until he deletes them - and I don't think he will. Certain of my comments are more applicable to the general case of an Article V convention, so I will repeat them here.

I am also involved in another Convention bid, which seeks to dissolve the United States into 10 indendent nations which can unify by treaty. The sponsor thinks that Nixon's regional breakdown would be a good idea. My suggested breakdown, which can be found on this blog at http://xianlp.blogspot.com/2009/10/regional-government.html, is for 7 regions of equal electoral vote strength (which yields a smaller NW/Plains states region in terms of population - since equal population - or even equal House strength produces too large a plains state region).

I would keep a national union for civil and workers rights enforcement, a unified currency, a unified foreign and immigration policy, a unified military command in national service or for foreign deployments and for the cleaning of environmental disasters (although regions would have a big part as well). Aviation and auto safety would also be national. There would also be national parks and a national space program. The debt would be paid off on a national basis with a national progressive income tax (high incomes only) although you could split the debt up based on the latest income tax collection figures as well - however the income tax would also fund overseas deployments and naval sea operations.

Most pork, however, including pay and maintenance of domestically stationed armed forces, would be paid for with regional taxes - probably a VAT, an expanded Business Tax or a Fair Tax. Regional caucuses would pass their own laws, regulations and appropriations with signing or vetoing recommended by the regional VP, with the Congress passing without amendment on a pro-forma basis by consent and the President allowing legislation to pass without his signature or vetoing only if the act goes beyond regional boundaries or upon the request of the regional VP.An amendment is not required for regionalization, given that most functions could be taken care of under changes to rules in each house. Indeed, it is easier to enact this by electing a party promising to do these things and THEN ratifying the action with the appropriate constitutional amendment.

I believe that regional reform by statute is much easier to accomplish - even though it would probably require organizing a new political party or coalition - than holding an Article V convention. It is easier to get control of Congress than it is to get control of 38 state legislatures.

The convention mythos is that state legislators can be convinced that Congress and the Federal Government are their enemy - or are at least usurping their authority. In practice, this is not the case. Partisan gerrymandering has resulted in the linking of state legislative and house political organizations in the most profound ways. The local congressman usually works very closely with the local state senators and state assembly members. Indeed, until very recently, my local state house delegate was the brother of my local congressman - and the former would be in office still had he not run for Governor of Virginia. This is true in both parties. Congressional district and county/city party committees are the lynch pin that keeps this relationship strong and these are the biggest reason why there will likely be no Article V convention.

So, why am I spending $120 to join an online convention? Because it could be the basis for a new party that could be elected to actually do reform. Indeed, as some members of the Tea Party movement attach themselves to Palin and the social conservatives, especially on immigration, I suspect that the Republican Party will shrink and a new party will take up the slack. Some Tea Partiers will stay with the GOP until the better end, while others will join the new party - since most will never become Democrats and many Catholic Obama Democrats will eventually leave that party over abortion (which, in reality is a non-issue in the real world since for now the law is settled on this). Of course, abortion might not be the Democratic tipping point. It could be some other issue, maybe the debt, that causes the schism. A living wage might also do it. The point is, things are in flux right now and a round of creative destruction will eventually lead to reform.

The ony real hope for an Article V convention seems to be gay marriage. As I write this, the US District Court for Northern California is about to overturn Proposition 8. The Speaker of the House is from that area and she will never let a federal defense of marriage amendment be considered on the floor. I suspect that popular outrage over this decision, and its certain affirmation by the 9th Circuit and likely affirmation by the SCOTUS, will be used both polticially to try to elect Republicans to Congress to get rid of Pelosi and to call an Article V convention. I suspect, however, that their list of particulars will be very different from yours - although I suspect there will be some overlap. Again, however, if there are 17 blue states that are unwilling to go along, even this effort is doomed.

The best strategy here is to look at the states where there is no chance of such a convention being called for.The contest of for the day is to list states that won't even call an Article V for gay marriage (which is shooting fish in a barrel).

Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, California, Oregon, New Mexico, Washington State (maybe Virginia - which has a liberal state senate). That's 12 or 13 right there. The battlegrounds here are Iowa, Minnesota, New York, Virginia and Michigan. If all my blue states cited hold firm against and half the battlegrounds do as well, the chances of ratification are nil. If you lose all the battlegrounds there will be no convention. Getting the other states to support a convention on a center right or defense of marriage basis should be like shooting fish in a barrel. The key to success is in picking off all of the battlegrounds, including Virginia.

Thoughts on Public Accomodations

2010-06-21T11:07:00.004-04:00

As I was relaxing at the pool at my condo this past weekend (which has lifeguards who are guest workers and clientele which reflects our multi-ethnic mix of owners and renters), I had a final thought on the whole Rand Paul debacle over the public accommodations provisions in the Civil Rights Act.

The standard libertarian critique over these provisions, which Paul expressed to Rachel Maddow, is that private property holders should be able to refuse service to whomever they please, even if it is based on racism. My usual response is that if a business is open to the public, especially if it is incorporated, it cannot do that. Indeed, private clubs are still free to discriminate - as much as we dislike that. Someone who does business from their private home can certainly not take all clients, but if the public space is used, the freedom to deny service does not exist. Hanging a sign that says "open" rather than "by appointment only" pretty much obligates you to take all comers.

Let me now add another piece to the argument - one that shuts down any libertarian objection to public accommodation.

The essential part of the freedom to exclude is what happens when someone comes in and demands service, even though a "White's Only" sign hangs in the door. The police are called, or private security is summoned, and violence is used to remove the person. This fact alone should settle the question for any true libertarian, since the violence involved was most likely governmental violence. Indeed, without direct violence, or a right of private violence, restricting service based on race is impossible, especially when the excluded parties come in anyway. If big L libertarians are really serious about their pledge to do no violence, then public accommodation laws are actually the most libertarian option - much more than a faux respect for private party which really masks a culture of violent racism.

Let's now remove the "right to refuse service" meme from the liberty conversation forever.

OK, so I couldn't stay away

2010-05-11T00:36:00.002-04:00

Since I have been involved with libertarian blogging, I have constantly been called a statist or a socialist. This is odd, because I left the Green Party of the US precisely because they were statists and I really was not. Lately I have been attracted to the Independent Green Party of Virginia, which is "unaffiliated" with the Greens and recently affiliated with the Independence Party of America. I will leave it to the reader to research the Independence Party (which seems to be dominated by Reform Party veterans and Bloomberg supporters) and will confine this entry to the various ways to pursue liberty.

Being a cantankerous lot, libertarians have many factions - probably as many as there are libertarians. There is, of course, the Libertarian Party, the stawarts of which hold fast to the Pledge to exercise no force or violence. There is also the reform movement within the Party which seeks to end the pledge and to field a more realistic platform. I wish them well, but I doubt they will live down the reputation of past ideology. Speaking of ideology, there are libertarian anarchists - who Carl Milsted calls Radical Libertarians, Social Libertarians (who Carl calls Left Leaning Freedom Lovers) and Economic Libertarians (who Carl calls Right Leaning Freedom Lovers). In a somewhat analagous breakdown, there are the laize faire libertarians who resist the state, but not corporate power, as typified by the Austrian School (and who are as likely to be Republicans as LP members). Their close cousins are the anarcho-capitalists, who favor individual solutions. There are the libertarian socialists (aka anarcho syndicalists), who also reject corporate power and priviledge. They believe in cooperativism (as I do) but reject government action to help it along. True anarchists fall into both camps. Then there is me. I have been called an anarcho-synidicalist by our publisher, but I really am not, since I believe in changing taxation in order to encourage private cooperatives and social action, rather than abandonning taxation and expecting society to organize.

Examining implementation scenarios is instructive to this exercise. The LP does not expect to ever win power at the ballot box and does not seek electoral victory - and if it did the hardcore partisans believe in tearing down the system rather than reforming it. They believe in using campaigns as an educational tool, rather than a means to gain power. Similar to the LP are the anarchists, who encourage people to opt out of the system in what amounts to separatism - either in place or as a group - depending on whether one is an indvidualist or a cooperativist. At the heart of both philosophies is the belief that if only the state were out of the way, people would self organize and everything would work out fairly quickly. Of course, the state will not just get out of the way, people need to stop supporting it or it is expected to collapse, perhaps in a debt crisis or an environmental catastrophe. There are also the non-libertarian anarchists who believe in violent resistence, however I do not take these people seriously as what they are espousing is a form of terrorism. To me, they are no different then al Queda.

I find none of the societal collapse or separatist notions very appealing. First, I don't think they will be successful. People are not unaware drones who continue to vote bad people into office because they have no choice. Most people with a high school education know and accept the basic parameters of the electoral system and most citizens draw their income from some governmental salary, contract or benefit program - and have for decades. They will not part with these benefits easily and certainly will not be guilted out of them. Neither do most of them have a decent appreciation of the rights of their fellow citizens, especially in the areas of criminal justice and free expression. It is mostly government elites that protect society from the un-freedom loving ways of its citizens.

The only way out has to be a system that the population will accept and the solution must make sense. While appeals to liberty are certainly viral, as with the Tea Partiers who screamed last summer that they did not want socialism but they didn't want their Medicare touched (for the record, benefits were not altered, however Medicare Advantage providers did lose some money), they did not project the kind of clear message that could lead to action or even alternative policies. It is not enough for libertarians to stop action, since demands for governmental action usually arise from an unmet need.

The problem of the uninsured is very real and simply resisting action did not prove effective. What is needed are alternative policy solutions within the realm of government action. In the Medicare area, this could have looked like an exemption from Medicare taxation for those companies that provide comprehensive retiree health care which is at least as comprehensive as the governmental plan. Indeed, if senior Medicaid and Medicare were funded by the same tax, it could be avoided by providing long term insurance coverage (or direct care) to retirees instead of letting the government and medical sector do it. The alternative to single-payer health care (which is almost inevitable) could be direct medical care (hiring doctors and pre-paying hospital care and specialists) rather than participating in a single-payer system and paying a single-payer tax. What I cannot see, at least right away, is that absent some kind of taxation, the emergence of the libertarian alternative.

Charitable contributions are at their highest when tax rates are high. Cutting taxes leaves a lot of givers out of philanthropy - which contradicts the claim that charity cannot or should not be forced. A more productive approach is to offer a charitable alternative to governmental action, the funding of which eliminates the obligation to pay tax. Without the existence of taxation, however, all you will get is an unmet need, since most employers and taxpayers will advance their individual interests over the interest of the group. After a generation or two of such alternative systems, it could very well be that alternatives become ingrained so that taxation might be dispensed with, but I have my doubts.

Obviously, advocating the continuation of taxation puts me outside either the "anarcho" part of anarcho-syndicalism or the libertarian part of libertarian socialism. Indeed, what I am advocating demands political involvement. To be a player at the table and offer alternatives to governmental action, one must be part of the government and eventually control the government. This is not Animal Farm, which was an allegory for the replacement of one group of authoritarians (the Tsar) with another (the Bolshevicks). What I advocate is a way to ween the people off of dependence on the state for services, with the eventual hope that cooperative arrangements will make the state unneccessary. I believe this is a more realistic path than hoping for a collapse - and one which won't have old people suddenly losing their Social Security and Medicare - regardless of their - or their children's - ability to pick up the slack.

The remaining question is what to call this ideology. It could be seen as a part of what I call inter-independence, where a cooperative builds systems for its members that make them totally independent - including habitats which have food production capabilities. That is fine for explaining the macro ideology, but it does not fit into the usual typologies without a great deal of explanation. If I am not an anarcho-syndicalist or a libertarian socialist, then what am I. I am not a politico-socialist, since I don't believe (like my former mates in the Greens) in having an expanding governmental sector. The Greens believe in a different kind of libertarian socialism. Unlike Kerpotnick, they believe in strong government but personal liberty in social issues. I would contract and eventually elimiate public agencies (although not public obligations).

This leads me to the following label: politico-syndicalist. Does this fit what I have been talking about or does someone have a better term. Comments please.

Folding the Party

2010-04-08T19:12:00.002-04:00

This blog is going dark. Today I transferred most of the posts to the Iowa Fiscal Equity blog. I have left only those posts which were purely about trying to build a party. That effort is over. I am taking the plunge into the Independent Green Party, which is now affliliated with the Independence Party of America (rather than anyone who comes along and believes in third parties). The Indies have a chance, so I am going to throw in with them rather than trying to duplicate their efforts.

For any who have read this blog, please check us out at http://independenceamerica.com/

See you there and good luck!

Christian Libertarian Party Manifesto

2009-10-26T16:18:00.001-04:00

Geocities has gone away, so I have transferred everything I posted on my Christian Libertarian Manifesto page on Geocities to this blog. Here are links to the essays transferred that have a libertarian bent.

What is Christian Libertarianism

Christian Liberarian Summary

Liberation Morality

Rebuilding the Body of Christ

The Limits of State Power

Education, Welfare and Religion

Drugs, Mental Health and Crime

Racial Justice

Gay Rights

Birth Control and Stem Cell Research

Roe v. Wade and Reproductive Freedom

Abortion and the Christian Left

Limiting Congressional Meddling in District Affairs

The Budget Process and Regulatory Reform

Improving Budget Execution

Health Care for Seniors

Medical Lines of Credit

Medical Malpractice Reform

The True Nature of the Social Security Crisis

Comprehensive Tax Reform

State and Local Finance

Transportation Systems

Social Security and Ownership

Corporate Governance

Pay Equity

21st Century Homes: Interindependence

The 21st Century Career

Professional Sports Teams and the Entertainment Industry

Employee and Union-owned Multinationals and Trade

Converting Socialist Enterprise to Employee Ownership

Fighting for Justice

An International Bill of Rights

Elections and Campaign Finance

How to Pick Better Bureaucrats

Reform of the Civil Service

Reorganizing the US Government

Regional Government

Bringing Peace to Israel

Lessons from the War in Iraq

Toward Allied Government

A Private Space Transportation System

Going to Mars

Aerospace Firm Management

Ending Government as We Know It

Taking Action

I Like Mike

2007-12-10T16:35:00.000-05:00

First off, as I have been selected for Federal Service, I am no longer in the running for President on the Unity 08 ticket. This has me searching for another Christian Libertarian/Leftist to run instead.

Lately, my online activism has been expressed in writing for The Free Liberal. Carl Milstead posited that Ron Paul might be a good occupant for the territory left empty by the major parties: communal libertarians. I countered that Dennis Kucinich and Mike Huckabee might also occupy this space.

Ron Paul has been doing great fundraising and is certainly attracting many small and large L libertarians. Whether he will win the GOP nomination is another matter.

Dennis Kucinich, although the darling of the progressives, does not seem to be picking up where Mrs. Clinton is stumbling.

Mike Huckabee is taking off, big time. While some of his positions are hardly libertarian, he may be the least objectionable of the Republicans. Here are the points in his favor:

He is a two-term governor, which means he will likely do a better job than any member of the House or Senate (the former are hardly ever elected and the latter are only re-elected 50% of the time).

Unlike the other Republicans, he is not in favor of abandoning 14th Amendment jurisprudence to overturn abortion - meaning he does not believe in a states rights solution, which if used as the key to overturn Roe, would put all federal supremacy on civil rights and equal protection matters in jeapordy. He realizes that giving rights to the fetus, if done, must be a national decision.

He will not create a permanent underclass or put women in the position of being unable to get an abortion while also denying them social services or income support for their children. The hardline conservatives attack him for this. For me, a member of the Christian Left, this is a plus.

Unlike Rudy Guiliani, he does not have a record supporting the denial of civil liberty in the war on terror. The more I hear about Rudy, the more he scares me (from his hardline security stances to his likely choices for judicial nominations).

Given the likely choices, I like Mike.

My Unity*08 Candidacy

2007-08-23T00:03:00.000-04:00

For myself, I would like to run if there is interest. Why would I run in Unity*08?

I believe in reforming our tax laws to end the filing of income taxes by most individuals, replacing it and the usual credits with an expanded business income tax where wages are not deductible but dependent support is creditable at $500 per month per dependent (refundable), with a minimum wage subject to tax at $10 per hour in addition to any credits (so no one pays their employees just with credits). There would also be credits for charitable contributions made in the employees name for education and social services to either public or private schools and social service agencies, a tuition credi, a capped mortgage interest credit and a health care/insurance credit. The dependent credit is high enough to discourage abortions, especially if matched by a similar state credit.

The reason I would run as a third party candidate with this position is that the Republicans think my plan is socialistic for the large dependent credit and the Democrats think it is fascist because I favor privatizing most government services and do not support abortion as a form of birth control.

The Libertarians and Greens have the same opinions, except they will add curse words to this description. (*!$% Socialist and ^%$% Fascist).

To run, I need 100 names on a "hard copy" petition. If you are interested in signing such a petition, comment to this post and I will give you the address. Note that to sign such a thing you must be a registered voter.

Yo, Rudy!

2006-12-19T08:55:00.000-05:00

Michael Powell and Chris Chillizza read the tea leaves on a Giuliani primary candidacy as a Republican. They are not optimistic.

The way the GOP is going, with other libertarians looking elsewhere - and the donor base not far behind, they may be right. What they don't highlight is that if Rudy raises a lot of money from libertarian Republicans and loses, these donors may take their money and go elsewhere - especially if Rudy does the same thing.

Yo, Rudy! Over here. Check out the call for candidates on the right. If you find it interesting, perhaps you should look to a third party. I am making this call now, knowing that your tenancity will probably drive you into a few GOP primaries. If that doesn't work out, there is still time in early 2008 to get something going. As I have said here previously, there are quite a few of your fellow Catholics who disagree with the GOP, either on economic grounds or on social grounds. The party has never been a good fit for us, and the Dems are not that much better. If you can relate, a lot of people will relate with you.

Call for Candidates

2006-07-15T09:54:00.000-04:00

The Christian Libertarian Party is looking for candidates.

If you are in the mushy middle on abortion, consider running with us.

If you believe in paying off the national debt, consider running with us.

If you believe in ending the income tax on the wealthy after (and only after) the national debt is paid, consider running with us.

If you believe in ending the income tax for everyone else immediately, consider running with us.

If you believe in creating a living wage by setting up a tax credit for employers to pay one, consider running with us.

If you believe in going from public Social Security to the real security of employee-ownership (with federal insurance to protect pension assets), consider running with us.

If you believe in ending our nation's drug laws while providing the resources for the treatment of drug addiction and mental illness through religiously based programs, consider running with us.

If you believe that private schools do a better job than public schools and that they should recieve public funds, consider running with us.

If you believe that the best way to help children succeed is to provide literacy through their parents through religiously operated remedial schools, consider running with us.

If you believe in expanding democracy in all areas of life, from the workplace to the church to the school, consider running with us.

If you are a likely vote-getter, which means you are a war veteran, a sports hero, an attorney or physician, drop me a line today. If we want to get rid of Cheaney-Bush, now is the time.

What is Christian Libertarianism (Geocities rescue)

2004-06-04T23:22:00.000-04:00

Christian Libertarianism is a world-view based on Judeo-Christian values which emphasizes freedom and social justice. The purpose of morality is the benefit of humans and discipleship consists of justice for the oppressed rather than a stand for personal righteousness. It can also be called the Christian Left. Since the advent of Rush Limbaugh, Focus on the Family and the Christian Coalition, radio listeners and broadcast experts have been speculating on the possibility of a radio talk show capturing the other side. This book is the user guide to a talk radio talk show that is an attempt to do just that.

These essays are a product of years of study and thought about the problems of this world and some possible solutions. They are a presentation of my personal philosophy and the nexus of four key beliefs systems that I feel are stronger in combination. They are Christianity, Cooperativism, Libertarianism and Internationalism.

The essays on Christianity reflect my own faith journey. They come from a Christian perspective because that is what I know. This does not mean I exclude fellow liberals from other religious or moral traditions, including and especially Judaism, which is the source for all of the teachings of Jesus. I relate my Christianity as a social ideology based in the teachings of Christ that all can join in, whether Christian or not. I am going to attempt to claim the ground that the Christian Right seeks to claim for itself. I refuse to let them have a monopoly on God.

For me, the core difference between the religious right and the religious left is how God is defined. The religious right, including many in my own Catholic faith, hold fast to the idea of an angry God who demands perfection in every detail. In doing so, they justify themselves as the righteous voices of an angry God. Those who oppose their view of God are outside the bounds of faith and damned to eternal Hell. Religious conservatives look at man as basically evil and fallen, doomed to hell without the church, which stands between man and an angry God. To reach heaven in this church, the anger of God must be satisfied. This has led to a self-important church focused too much on the things of this world, such as monetary success and political power.

The Right’s view of God as angry is a reflection of their own anger at those they disapprove of, but this anger has little to do with God. However, as long as we allow the religious right to define God in terms of their anger, that anger dominates public policy. It also leaves many that are otherwise saved by a gentler theology in the wilderness of unbelief. In essence, the harshness of the conservatives is counter-productive because it keeps people away from God. Many do not see a God of anger as a God of Love, which leaves them outside the comfort of God's mercy which the church provides in the here and now. The horrific vision of an angry God leads many to go so far as to deny the very existence of God. Let us redefine God as a lover of mankind, who rescues us from the self-imposed exile of suffering. Seeing God in this way allows a renewal in the relationship between God and people, justifying our call to constitute a polity of service to others and of human freedom.

I address some interesting questions that may help non-Christians understand Christianity from a different perspective. The Jesus I present is a humanist, rather than an absolutist, and His sacrifice is put in terms that the average seeker can understand, rather than as a grand mystery. My Christianity is infused with a healthy dose of humanism, which leaves room for liberty that the group dynamics of dogma do not allow. It is also infused with the Cooperativism of the early church, which was abandoned when it became the state church of the Roman Empire. Such an infusion defeats the atheism of Marx and Lenin and allows Christianity to reclaim the high ground in the battle for workers rights.

The Cooperativism presented here is a free market alternative to state Socialism. It strives for the same type of worker equality that Socialism strives for, but attempts to surmount the allocation problem inherent in state control. The goal of Cooperativism is the equality of workers at the corporate level, rather than the political level. It is also described as Inter-Independence, working in an interdependent manner so that each worker is financially and environmentally independent. My Cooperativism is also internationalist, so as to avoid nationalism and protectionism, which so often taint the struggle for workers’ rights. Previously, this topic was called corporate socialism. I have since learned that this term is in use by Ralph Nader to describe corporate welfare. This is not that. I use Cooperativism to describe the free association of workers for their common independence in a way similar to the way Silas Allen, my great-grandfather, used the term when he helped start the cooperative movement.

My Libertarianism is richer than that which is practiced by those on the right. It is more than a reaction to governmental power; it is an affirmation of individual rights in all organizational settings, from the church to the office to the condominium association. If right wing Libertarianism were to ever succeed, big government would surely be replaced as an oppressor by big business. I will not replace a tyranny where I at least have a vote with one to which I must bear allegiance or starve. I will not give up on liberty in the workplace and on the rights of workers as individuals to economic justice. My Libertarianism is also tempered with Internationalism. I stand for the rights of people everywhere, not just those within our borders. The isolationism which Libertarians propose reminds me far too much of the isolation of the 1930s, which allowed tyranny to hatch on a global scale, leading to world war. Finally, my Libertarianism is tempered by my Christianity. While I believe in freedom, I do not believe in moral license or the freedom to ignore the suffering of others. Freedom and liberty serve the cause of human dignity; they are not an end to themselves.

My Internationalism is in the service of people, not national or economic interests. Current international bodies are collections of sovereigns. I believe Internationalism is more than that. I stand for the exporting of the values of liberty, tolerance and human dignity to all nations who would relate with us, and for the election of a sovereign legislature by all people who share these views. Such an Internationalism guarantees the rights of workers and stamps out slavery with overwhelming force where ever it again rears its ugly head, whether in sweatshops or in forced prostitution. Such an international government is a limited government, whose main focus is to protect the liberties of its citizens from tyrannical local government (even when democratically elected) and exploitive employers and lenders.

This should be an interesting journey. I hope you enjoy it.

Christian Libertarian Summary (Geocities Rescue)

2004-06-01T23:00:00.000-04:00

Having described Christian Libertarianism by its main themes: Christianity, Cooperativism, Libertarianism and Internationalism, we will now summarize positions on the various issues of the day.

Christian Humanism

Proof of God
We first examine the proofs of the existence of God that I find most convincing. The surest proof of God is on a personal level, the experience of grace. While this cannot be offered as evidence to another, if enough individuals share such a common experience it is best not to ignore it. Of course, all proofs come down to a personal choice as to whether the universe can exist on its own or is created, moment-to-moment, by a God who sustains existence itself.

The Nature of Soul and Spirit
If one depends on science alone, it is reasonable to conclude that man has no soul. Such a conclusion takes some of the joy out of life, at least for me. Luckily, even without religion, a soul is inferred using reason, as thinking is a spiritual act. The soul is both spiritual and physical, the Id, the Will and the Intellect (which bridges the two). Human freedom only exists because there is evil in the world, where the true presence of God is hidden from us.

How Christians Understand God
God is the perfect being. One can think about the Trinity as the Father being Perfection, the Son being the Knowledge of that Perfection made manifest, and the Spirit being the Love of the Knowledge and the Perfection made manifest. The Trinity is necessary to understand salvation in Christ. Jesus knew himself as Messiah first through his mother Mary and the virgin birth and then through the scriptures.

The Death of Jesus and its Meaning for Us
Jesus’ knowledge of himself points to the nature of salvation as a way for God to feel the abandonment that the sinner feels through his passion on the Cross, when he called out in despair to God. Jesus drank the vinegar on the cross before he died, which he promised he would only do in his Father’s kingdom. If the kingdom had to wait for the resurrection then Jesus lied, which would make the Gospel a farce.

Liberation Morality
Understanding salvation leads to a new structure for morality. Morality, like the Sabbath, is for man, not for God. What is moral is dictated by what is best for man, in whatever circumstances man faces. Absolutes exist only in the mind of God and are not knowable by man in this life.

Rebuilding the Body of Christ
To better serve the faithful, the Church must change the focus of its moral teaching. Salvation from sin is only the first step to holiness. After you are born again, you take up the Lord’s work of service. When the Church reorients toward service and moves away from Moralism it does this. End Priestly celibacy, which has its roots in disdain for the sexual act within marriage. For the sake of Christian unity, abandon clerical wealth and power to an elected lay deaconate, which in turn elects its own leaders. Clergy can then stick to teaching and ministry. Elect Patriarchs for the English and Spanish worlds, with the English patriarch uniting the Catholic and Anglican churches.

Social Politics

The Limits of State Power
God given free will replaces the divine right of kings. The General Will is only knowable in unanimity, which makes the protection of minorities and individual liberty essential. Attempts to regulate the behavior of the minority by majority vote lead to tyranny and should be resisted.

Education, Welfare and Religion
To effectively educate children, first make sure the parents are literate. All adults have a basic human right to literacy and to full financial support while they attain it. Tie public assistance to the pursuit of education, with social services available only through the schools. A system of Catholic adult education and vocational high schools can best provide these services. Vouchers are not the answer to school reform. The secret to reform is to organize the public school system the way that private schools are organized, with autonomous Principals reporting to school boards for each institution. Most functions are to be decentralized. Once this reform is enacted, private religious charter schools are funded through an increase in income taxes. School prayer in charter schools will be less of an issue, as will teaching of the “Intelligent Design” theory. This paradigm is more about religion than science (and is taught there with private funding). Teaching it in science class brings the debate on the interpretation of the scriptures to the realm of public decision, where the religious right will not really want it to be given the Sumeric origins of the creation myth found in Genesis.

Drugs, Mental Health and Crime
The War on Drugs is waged as much for cultural reasons as for public health. Like alcohol prohibition, it has not worked. A better alternative is mandatory treatment for addicts, as well as for the mentally ill. Mandatory treatment is preferable to using the prison system as the largest provider of mental health care services. Most crime has its roots in addiction, mental illness or illiteracy and is better treated in those arenas. Replace the insanity defense with a plea of guilty by reason of insanity. Non-acceptance of this plea by the prosecution must be reviewable. The state has proven itself incapable of providing mental health services. The Catholic Health Care system is a natural choice to step into the void, bidding as the prime contractor for private prison contracts for non-violent drug offenders and for the criminally insane.

Racial Justice
The federal government does not owe reparations for African American slavery, as the Civil War provided reparation at the federal level. Slave states, and the District of Columbia, do owe reparations, however. The federal government also owes reparations for systemic discrimination, for programs that hurt the African American community and for promises that were not kept. The heirs to the progressive movement must begin the process of apology. Accomplish affirmative action in education by admitting those sure to succeed, rejecting those who are likely to fail and selecting those in the middle randomly. Enforcement of fair employment and fair housing laws must be vigorous.

Gay Rights
Constitutionally, sexuality is not an issue, as regulating sexual mores is a state function. The only federal function is to guarantee equal protection of the law to all citizens. The recent Defense of Marriage Act is exactly opposite to the intent of the founders in this area and is a dangerous precedent. Gays have a right to not only tolerance, but also acceptance. A careful reading of the scriptures shows that homosexuality was not the sin of Sodom, the desire to rape the Angel of the Lord was. AIDS has produced such prodigies of care in the gay community that no one can argue with a straight face (excuse the pun) that gay relationships aren’t a sign of God’s love. The objection that heterosexuals find gay sexuality disgusting only proves that one sexual preference excludes attraction to the other, nothing more. A morality based on the fact that God loves man does not put gays outside the moral order, especially as there is strong evidence that God created them that way. Religious people cannot expect gays to trust their morality if they do not trust gays when they claim to have been born that way. Including gays in the moral order, and sanctifying their unions gives people of faith an opening to warn against promiscuity, an opening that does not exist if all homosexual relations are outside the moral order. In the Catholic tradition, marriages are made by the couple, not the Priest (who is only a witness). Apply this concept equally.

Birth Control and Stem Cell Research
Embryology is rather clear that an individual cannot be an individual until gastrulation, when the genes of the father are activated in the development of the child. This is a sign that ensoulment occurs at gastrulation, not conception. To believe otherwise burdens medical science with treating each embryo, inside and outside the womb, which is clearly unnatural as most embryos die because they are defective. This also means that neither stem cell research nor birth control are the same as abortion, so the Catholic and Evangelical churches are wrong on this subject.

Roe v. Wade and Reproductive Freedom
Regardless of whether a fetus has a soul (and it does) it does not have citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment, although Congress could grant it. Unless Congress does so, Roe v. Wade is constitutionally correct. Overturning Roe does not impact abortion to a great extent, since most places where abortion has any availability have legalized abortion by state law. Even anti-choice politicians understand that they cannot go too far in front of the public on abortion. Laws banning abortion were as unsuccessful in actually stopping it as the prohibition of alcohol or the War on Drugs. Such laws turn this country more and more into a police state. On the other hand, women must be careful about trumpeting the right to abortion, since some use the procedure for sex selection, usually to select a male.

Abortion and Christian Libertarianism
The abortion debate produces three factions, the avid pro-choicers, the avid pro-lifers and the mushy middle, which like neither abortion nor state action prohibiting it and where the Christian Libertarians and the likely plurality of Americans are found. The solution comes from this middle ground, though this comes much to the chagrin of fundraisers on the extremes and in the political parties. One option balances the interests of the mother against the child, although this is dicey as it opens the door for state coercion. The other option is to remove the incentives to abortion. Young women and girls must be assisted in both having a career and a baby without undue hardship. The Mommy Track must be integrated into a solid path of professional advancement. Change the tax system to make children truly affordable at a middle class level of comfort, regardless of the wage of the parent. Take the responsibility for providing for college out of parental hands and give it to potential employers. Consider shifting most of the tax system from an individual personal income tax to a Value Added/Business Income Tax to make the tax credit for additional children look like extra pay. Instead of supporting coercive action, the Church should take the lead in advocating economic justice as the way to end abortion.

The Nation’s Capital

District of Columbia Finance
Budgetary autonomy is a good first step in improving District finances. Ending the District’s responsibility to fund any part of Medicaid facilitates budget autonomy, as the need for a separate abortion rider on local Medicaid funds is no longer necessary. The Federal Government is in arrears to the District over the transfer of St. Elizabeth’s mental hospital, which was a regional, rather than a District facility and which continues to house referrals who want to “see the President.” The prohibition against a commuter tax is also federal and must either be repealed or replaced by the creation of regional authorities on education, corrections, mental health and Temporary Aid to Needy Families funded by a regional income tax, as well as a regional transportation authority funded by gas and property taxes. It is past time to audit the extent to which the District has been under-funded by the federal government, both in terms of service provided to the National Capital Service Area and of providing pension services to District employees who had paid into the federal system. Prior employee contributions were never transferred to the District when these costs were forced upon District taxpayers – who then accumulated more than $2 billion in assets over 20 years (which Clinton promptly spent to balance the budget when they were transferred as part of a deal to end the District’s obligation). History has shown that for much of its existence, the District of Columbia has been the first taxed and the last served by the federal government. Federal compensation to the District for its services should be automatic, since Congress almost always appropriates pork for the folks back home before fulfilling its obligations to D.C.

Limiting Congressional Meddling in District Affairs
Congressional interference in the District is traced to a tall tale on the “insult” of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia by rioting Revolutionary War veterans seeking payment. In fact, the insult was that the veterans ignored Congress, who was not good for the money anyway. The veterans wanted Pennsylvania to pay them. The First Amendment now provides everyone the right and even the duty to insult Congress whenever it messes up, which is frequently, so the justification for federal control is moot. The Fifth Amendment limits plenary congressional authority in some areas, but has not yet been extended to the rights of D.C. residents to vote on all changes to the closest thing they have to a state constitution, a clear violation of their equal protection rights. If Congress is the D.C. state legislature, it is exceeding its power in changing the charter without referendum, which it does almost annually and often not in the best interests of the District.

The District Government
The District Government is in dire need of reform, both in its organization and in its proposed constitution, of which it has two. Both of these problems must be fixed if its bid for statehood is to be taken seriously. Adopting state rather than local structures for its government gives the perception that DC is ready for statehood.

Getting a Vote on Voting Rights and Statehood
To get a vote on statehood, retrocession or voting rights, all three options must be debated and voted upon by District voters, the Maryland General Assembly and in Congress. One of these choices likely wins and any change is an improvement over the current situation.

Fiscal Politics

The Budget Process and Control of Regulation
To limit pork barrel spending, a three part budget process is needed featuring a Joint Budget Resolution, authorizing legislation and appropriations legislation. The Joint Resolution automatically appropriates funds if no appropriation act is passed by the start of the fiscal year. Authorizing legislation includes the examination and amendment of all regulation passed by the agency since the last authorization, putting Congress in the hot seat on these issues rather than “unelected bureaucrats” who are in fact presidential appointees.

Making Agencies Efficient
An effective surrogate for profit in the federal sector is to examine the percentage of spending on mission versus the amount spent on administration. Systematically tracking these costs at the sub-appropriation level allows managers to turn back money on administration without necessarily being penalized by budget cuts in future years. If anything, agencies that spend more on their mission are given more money (provided there is no funny business with the numbers).

Health Care for Seniors
Recent cuts in Medicaid and Medicare were far too severe, as is proven by the number of firms that opted out of treating Seniors in an HMO setting, leading to huge payments to participating providers in the latest Medicare legislation. These cuts were also a main cause of the nursing shortage, with nurses quitting as their hours were increased due to budget cuts. Medicaid is the other half of the story, especially on prescription drugs. Segregate Senior Medicaid from the program for needy families and manage it as Medicare Part E. The entire senior healthcare picture is then clear. Manage the entire program at the state level and increase federal revenues to save the trust fund through increased payroll taxes for Medicare or the incorporation of that tax into a broadened Business Income/Value Added Tax. Provide long-term care funding through a guaranteed loan program, so that patients avoid losing their fortunes when they get sick. Single-payer health plans for the elderly and the poor are recommended in small states.

Cost Control Using Medical Lines of Credit
Supplement Medical Savings Accounts with Medical Lines of Credit to cover the cost of co-payments and deductibles and to bridge the gap between medical savings and catastrophic insurance. Lines of Credit are also extended to the working poor whose employers refuse to provide any other insurance. Repayment of these accounts is through an automatic payroll deduction, limiting the risk of default. Lines of credit are tied to income, so that all costs after a certain point are deductible or even creditable, depending on income level. A line of credit approach for non-catastrophic events introduces price competition into health care, reversing the effect insurance has on consumption. Individuals who pay back more of their health expenses (which are still incurred immediately with a health security card) do not overuse the system, especially the emergency room.

Malpractice Reform
Single-payer malpractice insurance sponsored by state medical societies is becoming a real possibility, as insurance companies transfer their stock losses to their clients. Part of such an arrangement includes tying the adjudication of malpractice disputes to non-trial disciplinary proceedings before physician/citizen panels created by state practice boards, thus improving medicine and lowering cost.

A Reaction to President Bush’s Economic Stimulus Plan
The 2002 tax cut legislation has not ended the question of tax cuts, since most of the cuts have a sunset date. Dividend, alternative minimum and capital gains rates should be set to the 25% middle class rate and made permanent to facilitate later structural reform of the tax code incorporating a single rate. Tax cuts for the wealthy have been offset by deficits, the real fuel for the current recovery. Those who benefited from cuts to the top rates and net interest payments now put this money back into circulation by lending it back to the government. Of course, as a Dad, my preference is to simply tax the money rather than borrowing it. To end talk of a Death Tax, shift inheritance taxes from the estate to the heirs, with taxes paid only on cash disbursements or their equivalent from the income from or sale of estate assets.

The Real Solution to the Social Security Crisis
The solutions to the Social Security crisis offered by both parties involve increasing the savings rate, although the Republicans divert funds from Social Security taxes to do so while the Democrats offer incentives for additional savings and investment. Neither solution works in the long term, as the nature of the Social Security crisis is demographic rather than financial. To put the program on an even keel and to end the tragedy of abortion, alter the tax code to take the financial hardship out of having children and shift the responsibility for funding college from parents to future employers.

Basic Structural Reform to the Tax Code
The standard proposals to adopt a consumption tax or a flat tax have no chance of passage, since they penalize too many of our nation’s moneyed interests. A business income/value added tax is offered as an alternative. This tax proposal includes deductions for employer sponsored health insurance, home mortgage interest paid by employees or the employer for the employee and a credit for each child to be added directly to the employee’s paycheck, regardless of salary. There is also a credit for providing remedial, vocational and higher education to employees and potential employees, and a credit to fund faith-based and other private social service and educational agencies in lieu of taxation. Individual income and inheritance taxes below the $100,000 per year level are abolished (although sole proprietors with more than $10,000 in revenue still file Business Income Taxes). Income and inheritance over that level is taxed at a high enough level to pay the interest on the national debt, as well as debt retirement and international military operations. Business Income Taxes and miscellaneous fees and tariffs fund the remainder of government (except Social Security retirement), with a requirement that domestic spending be capped at Business Income Tax collections and fees.

State and Local Government Finance and Regulation
The 2001 tax cut and the collapse of the tech boom have led to a financial crisis at the state and local level. This shows the inadequacy of state and local tax arrangements. In the future, align taxes more closely with the social purpose of spending programs. Income taxes, which are redistributional, fund redistributional activities like education, aid to families, social services and even corrections. Sales taxes fund services to business, including a portion of public safety, and urban revitalization, while property taxes fund infrastructure and a portion of public safety. This proposal is particularly useful in Virginia, where taxes are generally inadequate to fund needed services. Linking taxing and spending demonstrates this. Business income/value added taxes are another alternative to replace income and sales taxes, especially if the federal government acts first. In Virginia, taking the lead on this reform requires a state constitutional amendment and repeal of the anti-Catholic Blaine amendment barring direct support for religious schools.

Transportation Systems
Electric cars eliminate death due to car smog and auto accidents, provided that central control and power are supplied through overhead lines with the entire system partially or fully underground. Fund this system with a combination of public and private investment and integrate it with mass transit, offering drivers the best of both worlds. Cleaner burning coal, nuclear fission and emerging fusion technologies power the system and also provide electricity to individual homes.

Social Security and Ownership
If President Bush had been serious about reforming Social Security he would have compromised to get his reforms past the Senate. Several of the possible compromises improve the program, although they would have alienated his base. First, link the employer contribution to average income, rather than individual personal income, and credit it equally for each full-time worker. Second, give workers the option of investing their personal retirement accounts in an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, rather than in an index fund, and require that representation on ESOP trusts and corporate boards includes factional representation for each type of employee (union, management, professional). Third, let Unions, rather than government sponsored brokers, manage the Personal Retirement Accounts of their members. Finally, since transition costs are most likely to be borne by wealthier taxpayers, either the personal income tax must be raised or the income cap on contributions to the trust fund eliminated.

Twenty-first Century Living

Building the Union-Owned Workplace of the Future
The hierarchical management and pay structures which are natural for capitalist firms do not work for union and employee-owned firms. For union and employee-owners to get the most out of ownership, they must change their mindset. Alter profit distribution to fully compenate employees for their share of the profits of the firm, based on the share of production cost contributed by labor. Represent union workers specifically on boards to the extent that their employees own company or ESOP shares. Distribute ESOP shares to employees equally, rather than as a reflection of income. Start share accumulation on day one, not after a year. Compensate long-term temps with shares of the client company. Staffing services must not be used to rob employees of ownership rights that are due to them. Organized labor then shifts its culture from contention and worker protection to ownership and innovation. If union and employee-owned firms out perform traditional firms, traditional firms either follow or fail.

Pay Equity for Unions and ESOPs
Management pay and selection change in the new culture of ownership. Managers bid for their positions in open auction, with ties settled by a vote of the employees supervised. Innovations are paid separately after results occur, rather than including the expectation of innovation up front in management or professional salaries. The firm also provides education, with salaries paid to students in training. Shifting the financial risk and training more individuals where there is a shortage equalizes salaries. Pay and benefits compensate for the supply cost of labor for young families and older workers. Families with young children receive higher pay tied to child rearing, while older workers receive pay for longevity through stock accumulation rather than pay increases, ending the perverse incentive to fire the most productive employees as their salaries increase. Financial services, such as payroll lines of credit and employer financed home mortgages are provided to employee-owners as a retention bonus. In a perfectly competitive labor market, salaries are equal and allocation between professions ideal. These structures create that type of market, also ending discrimination in the workplace.

21st Century Homes: Inter-Independence
Housing is to be provided in different ways to young and to long-term employees. Younger employees are provided dormitories or apartments. Longer-term employees are offered environmentally efficient homes with food production facilities and a shorter day so that they may grow their own food. This philosophy, called Inter-Independence, establishes an interdependent workplace for the purpose of making each worker self-sufficient. Employees who grow their own food decide what they want to eat and grow it. Basement agriculture provides retirees a productive activity. Technology developed for space colonies is adapted for home use, including the conversion of waste into grass into fertilizer, hydroponics and artificial protein synthesis. Small animals are also raised, especially chickens and sheep. The home produces wool and cotton, which is processed with automated equipment. Habitat size is adjusted for growing and shrinking families.

The 21st Century Career
After grade ten, young people either go down a vocational path or an academic path. Students in vocational training are sponsored by future employers and paid a salary. At age 20, after receiving a general education, some academic students enter the workforce, while others seek more advanced study, with training sponsored by future employers to the graduate level in exchange for a service requirement. In either case, students in training are provided housing and enjoy many adult rights, including the right to start a family. Medical students first train and work as nurses, then work more reasonable hours while in their post-graduate residencies because of this experience. Hospitals or health systems sponsor training and enough doctors are trained to influence the cost of medicine.

Mid-career workers are compensated with homes with food production facilities. Longevity compensation is through stock and dividends rather than through salary. Innovation is awarded through both cash and stock. If worker knowledge becomes obsolete, mortgage debts are forgiven and retirement funds fully funded so that retirement begins early. Intervention services are available for employees who under-perform or who lapse into addiction. Retired workers grow their own food, consult and continue to vote their stock, although surviving spouses are required to sell their stock back for an annuity, possibly to be set up through their house of worship. Young people learning how to grow food assist older retirees in managing their homes.

Professional Sports Teams and the Entertainment Industry
Celebrities still make big money in Cooperativism. The purpose of increasing equality is not to tear down the stars but to raise up new talent and support personnel. Teams are be bought out by their current and retired players in partnership with their home cities, to the extent that they play in publicly financed venues. Employee-ownership and a stronger team ethic increase pay equity. The entertainment industry also benefits from employee-ownership in the same way. A business income/value added tax credit is established for contributions to broad-based arts education, as well as for the training of up and coming talent. Ownership also helps prevent young talent from being exploited.

Global Justice for Workers

When Multi-Nationals Meet 21st Century Management
Multi-national firms that become union or employee-owned convert their overseas subsidiaries out of self-interest. These firms seek out talent missed by the current regime and generally attract the best workers. This causes entire economies to shift to 21st Century Economics and a middle class to develop in the developing world. Union-owned multi-nationals develop a common market basket of goods for transfer pricing and to expose exploitation in trade and economic policy. Publishing this information affects currency markets, which stabilizes at a new equilibrium. Stable currency markets lead to agreements on money supply growth and make currency conversion possible.

Bringing Socialist Enterprise into the 21st Century
Privatization in Russia failed because the Oligarchs were able to exploit new owners. The precepts of this book are useful to gradually restore ownership to Russian workers. In China, an evolving middle class eventually revolts, leading workers to demand renewed ownership stolen by party bosses. Firms that have not been privatized do so by awarding stock in relationship to tenure and holding it in trust until retirement, with representation on boards by occupational group and profit distribution for both labor and the ownership of capital. Outside capital is procured, but in a way that preserves the value of the worker investment.

Fighting for Justice
Ending exploitation requires establishing the rule of law, lest it be undone by fiat. Justice Advocates- International advocates the creation of the rule of law and the repeal of oppressive and exploitive law. It represents clients against exploitation by governments, employers and polluters, both in their native countries and in the home country of the multi-national corporation or the firm supplied by exploitive enterprise. It represents the rights of tribal peoples and those long denied land reform and works for electoral and campaign finance reform in the United States. A new International Bill of Rights will guide it.

Government Reform

Elections and Campaign Finance
Strengthening the link between presidential and congressional candidates decreases the influence of special interest groups. Sitting congressmen and congressional candidates select the presidential nominee and would endorse their choice for president prior to their primary. Losing presidential nominees also fulfill the function of party leader and propose a legislative program, especially when the government is divided. Funding for candidates for nomination is equalized to overcome incumbency. All contributions go to the party, who divide the proceeds equally between candidates for nomination, provided that the candidate brings in at least fifteen percent of the delegates to a special caucus to determine who is funded. In order to increase turnout in state and local legislative elections, proportional representation assures that every vote counts. When every vote counts everyone votes.

How to Pick Better Bureaucrats
A Senior Political Service program trains and pre-certifies presidential political appointees, speeding the transition when a new regime takes power and improves the quality of the appointed service, who now receive little training for their very important jobs. Executive Councils at the sub-cabinet level improve relations between appointees and the civil service. Appointees hold a majority on the council, but deliberate as equals with a career Senior Executive and a policy holdover from the prior regime.

Reform of the Civil Service
Giving federal managers more discretion to promote non-competitively ends the extreme waste of time many applicants go through in applying for positions where the winning candidate is already pre-selected by management. Another reform designed to increase recruitment is to delete questions on past drug use from the Personal Security Questionnaire while pre-employment drug testing is be made universal. Failing a drug test leads to treatment, not to dismissal. The current drug-testing program is draconian. Sick leave rules are modified, with the introduction of disability insurance, so that employees do not build up huge leave balances in this area. Annual leave is brought more in line with the private sector, with a lowering of the leave entitlement and the introduction of holidays in the week between Christmas and New Years. Armistice Day is replaced with Black Friday and Columbus Day is abandoned. Finally, it is past time to mirror industry and reduce the workday for federal employees and contractors to 37.5 hours a week and eventually 35.

Reorganization I: Consolidating Agencies
A simplification of the organization of the executive branch is proposed to increase accountability to the average citizen who does not understand the intricacies of public administration. I propose nine departments, with a Department of Human Resources created to include the Departments of Education, Labor, Veterans Affairs, and Housing and a Department of Science created from Commerce, Energy, Health, Transportation and Urban Development. To facilitate this reorganization politically, it is done concurrently with congressional committee realignment.

Reorganization II: Regional Government
A more radical reorganization is the inauguration of regional government. The number of regions is set at seven, with seven regional congressional caucuses and seven regional vice presidents. Each regional caucus gives full credit to the actions of every other caucus, with a national caucus of seventy members ratifying all regional decisions and deliberating on truly national issues. The President focuses on defense, foreign affairs and homeland security. The Vice President oversees departments of Treasury and Commerce, Civil Rights and Justice and Science, the Environment and Interior. The Electoral College eventually selects regional vice presidents.

Creating a World of Peace

Bringing Peace to Israel
Let us examine American support for Zionism in light of the role the U.S. plays in supporting and funding Israel. Two solutions to the crisis are possible. One is the creation of a Palestinian state for the Palestinians and the Israeli Arabs, who are still considered second-class citizens. A second solution that honors peace and justice is to consider both groups as full Israeli citizens and to annex the occupied territories. The second option honors the Law of Moses and is the only viable proposal if a goal of the Zionist state is the eventual restoration of the Holy of Holies. This is especially so given the evidence that the Ark of the Covenant is not buried under the Temple Mount but is instead under the protection of the Ethiopian Coptic Church.

Lessons from the War in Iraq
Now that the military question is decided, King Abdullah, the hereditary heir of the Prophet, is a better broker of Iraqi interests than either the current Authority or the United Nations. Many protested the war because of their continued anger at Bush. It is likely that Saddam Hussein believed, even in the face of a massive deployment and the rapid approach of summer, that the world would prevent the war. As a world government, the United Nations is not up to such a task. The part of international law that dictates American primacy in military affairs was all the international law the President needed to act. This primacy, absent the Soviet threat, is likely a major contributor to the world’s dissatisfaction with the war. The founders did not intend this primacy. It is potentially and actually a danger to liberty and no longer affordable. A better solution is the formation of an allied government along the lines of our American federalism.

Toward Allied Government
Until democracy is universal, an allied government is essential to share costs and decision-making. The government is composed of an Allied Congress, member regions led by regional vice presidents and a single President elected by both. The President of the Alliance is commander-in-chief of a common military. Domestic functions include a common Exchequer, an informal Conference on Regulation to facilitate cooperation among the regions, a Department of the Environment and a Department of Civil Rights and Justice.

Exploring Space

The Space Transportation System
As the need for a large Defense establishment lessens, the aerospace industry is encouraged to support and even undertake space exploration. Public funds for space exploration shift from direct spending to loan guarantees for private ventures using a consortium of aerospace firms. A Space Transportation System includes space stations, satellite construction, repair and maintenance in orbit, cheaper launching of materiel through ballistic means, space tourism, lunar colonies, space exploration, a private school for spacers, and technologies to further explore the earth’s oceans.

Going to Mars
A more advanced stage of space exploration is the colonization of Mars. Colonists on Mars and on space stations, as well as permanent space ship crews, purchase their own housing (like anyone else who works). A variety of funding mechanisms are explored for this venture, from broadcast rights to space tourism and the renting of facilities to scientists and businesses who want to do business with colonists. A set of space stations from Earth-orbit to Mars form an infrastructure for this project. Gravitational propulsion is also explored.

Applying 21st Century Management to Aerospace Firms
Either established consortia or new startups can use the advanced management practices presented in the discussions on twenty-first century living. Total Quality Management’s goal of driving responsibility to the lowest level is best matched by efforts to equalize pay. Otherwise, workers see through the hypocrisy and the program is doomed. Advanced recruitment and compensation methods are applicable to each type of operation, but in different ways. Older firms have access to capital but have to overcome an entrenched culture. Startups create a new culture but lack capital and have to compromise to obtain needed financing. Space exploration is the ideal venue to try 21st century housing, both for space and land-based personnel. ESOP structures are useful to buy out current owners or venture capitalists.

Ending Government as We Know It
The overall result of adopting these proposals is the end of government and the establishment of democracy in both the church and the workplace. Joining the discussion is the first step in this process.

Taking Action
A Yahoo discussion group starts the process. The next step is to form a political party, the Christian Libertarian Party of the United States. The Iowa Center for Fiscal Equity provides consulting services to move firms and governments toward reform. It also holds leadership conferences on the issues addressed in this volume. Justice Advocates International is the legal arm of the movement. International Currency Quarterly eventually publishes data on exchange rates versus price levels. An International Space Corps pursues private space exploration. Finally, the Christian Left discussion group is offered as a forum for rebuilding the Church.

The Limits of State Power (Geocities Rescue)

2004-06-01T22:03:00.000-04:00

Originally, the moral nature of society was based on hierarchy and the divine right of kings. The Western Enlightenment replaced this with the recognition of God-given Free Will. We now believe that all citizens have God-given rights of self-determination. Extremists on both sides of any debate on public morals resist liberty, which they see as giving individuals a license to do anything and everything. Calmer heads know that this is not the case and admit that respect for Free Will does give individual liberty a certain amount of deference unless an activity is particularly harmful, and the restriction of that activity does not cause more harm than good.

Ideally, a truly free society is based on the rational will of all, which Rousseau called the General Will. The General Will is thought to be present when all in a society agree on a policy, when it is unanimous. When this is not the case government policy is carried out by the majority against the wishes of the minority. For the majority to carry out these wishes some form of police power is created, turning society into a police state to varying degrees. This is why enlightened societies set forth and guarantee basic rights for minorities in an attempt to limit the advance of a police state and to guarantee freedom to violate the moral prejudices of one's neighbors.

This is where the Christian Left embraces liberty in matters having to do with public morality and social issues. However, this embrace of liberty is not an abandonment of either Christian principles or Christian charity. Making public policy is always a moral balancing act. The Christian Left prefers that the coercive nature of the state be lessened while the charitable nature of the state is increased. Instead of jailing individuals for immoral or dangerous behavior, we prefer that they be treated, especially when the moral question at issue does not garner 100% agreement, such as in cases of victimless crime.

The power of the state is also limited by its inability to effectively deliver compassionate services. From foster care to mental health care to education, religious institutions such as Catholic Charities, Lutheran Social Services and the parochial school system seem to consistently perform better.

In this chapter, the most interesting and most divisive political and moral issues are discussed. All of them are simply dripping in controversy. We will tackle welfare, religion in the schools and religious schools, the War on Drugs and the treatment of criminals, racial justice, gay rights, and reproductive rights and abortion.

Elections and Campaign Finance Reform (Geocities Rescue)

2004-06-01T21:00:00.000-04:00

This essay discusses how to better select congressional and presidential candidates and how to better fund elections. The underlying theme behind these proposals is the strengthening of political parties.

Linking the Executive to the Legislative
Many political scholars note that the rise of interest groups and the independent Congress makes party governing impossible, with interest group pluralism and PAC money blocking meaningful reform. This is particularly so in the agriculture, business and insurance areas, whose interest groups block changes in farm subsidies, transportation and health care, just to name a few cases. With the multiplying of interests has come the fragmenting of political life.

Stronger relationships are needed between presidential candidates and congressional candidates to make governing easier. To build these relationships, I propose a national July 4th primary for House and Senate candidates in Presidential election years. During these campaigns congressional candidates declare for a presidential contender, who accepts or rejects that linkage (a presidential candidate may link with more than one congressional candidate). On Election Day the voter casts one vote for House, another for Senate (if applicable) and by doing so votes for the Presidential candidate linked to that candidate. The nominees for each House and Senate race, along with state Governors, gubernatorial candidates and Senators not up for reelection, caucus in August to pick the party nominee. This nominee owes his success, in part, to the congressional candidates. The congressional candidates owe their success, in part, to picking the favorite in the presidential race. These debts are not forgotten after the election. This voting scheme also provides linkages in the minds of voters between the candidates of the same party, and lessens split ticket voting.

Party Leadership
Split ticket voting is never be totally eliminated, as the voters seem to use it to assure that one party does not get too much power. Often, one party wins the White House while the other wins the Congress. In much of recent memory the losing presidential candidate fades into obscurity while his party loses its unifying voice and attempts to govern with many leaders. This waste is almost tragic, and entirely unnecessary. In those cases where one party controls the White House while the other controls the Congress, the losing presidential candidate can retain the mantel of party leadership and present his or her legislative program as if elected. This will focus the energies of his or her party, which obviously held some attraction for voters. Further, in a free society the losing candidate has as much right to offer such an agenda as the winner, as the President's role as chief legislator is almost entirely traditional. To assist the party leader in this, allow parties to establish a fund to pay analytical staff, especially in the budget arena. The result is a party program that means something, and provides a clear choice for voters in each succeeding election.

Financing Elections
The other way to make elections mean something is to increase competitiveness in the nomination process. By far the biggest incumbency advantage is the ability to raise funds independently for election. Major contributors and Political Action Committees insulate party candidates from party influence and make governing more difficult. Many reformers in the past have proposed the adoption of public financing and spending limits, while limiting the size of PAC donations. Allowing PACs to give any money to candidates directly at any level leaves candidates independent of party control and simply multiplies the number of PACs. Spending limits fail on free speech grounds and because they naively assume that an excess of money is the problem in elections. Anyone who has fundraised in a campaign knows that there is no such thing as too much money.

The solution to the funding problem must strengthen the parties, or it merely invites accounting gimmickry. This premise leads to an obvious solution. Prohibit PACs and individuals from giving money directly to candidates. Instead, PACs and individuals contribute to the political parties, who then distribute the money strategically, and without regard to the wishes of the PAC. Candidates are then much more considerate of the party program, and less likely to sell out to individual interests. Additionally, the strictest of guidelines are set up so that donations earmarked for the benefit of a single candidate are minimized.

How this money is distributed to primary challengers is key, in both presidential and off-year congressional elections. In presidential races, which are publicly funded, the campaign of each prospective nominee distributes funds to supportive congressional candidates for their primaries. Of course, this leaves the problem of inequality between presidential contenders. There is a solution to this, however, which is used with either donated or public money.

For each congressional or senatorial race, two months prior to the national primary or off-year state primary, each party holds a caucus to decide who is eligible for funding. Each congressional candidate attends, bringing as many of her supporters as she can. All declared candidates who haves qualified for ballot access attend. Any candidate who brings at least fifteen percent of the total qualified attendees receives an equal share of campaign funds. Any candidate who fails to reach this threshold is removed from the ballot. This threshold level is high enough to weed out candidates who are not serious, but low enough so that serious contenders are able to overcome efforts by the incumbent’s political machine to pack the house. Judicious use of this process allows presidential candidates to emerge who otherwise are written off and overcome the incumbency advantage in most congressional races.

The method I propose here is so good, it is unlikely to pass on its merits. Only use by a third party, such as the Greens or the Reform Party, spurs its adoption, provided that the voters turn out for third party candidates selected in this way. I bet that even a twenty percent showing by such a party using this method scares the major parties into seeking its adoption.

Local Government Representation
Getting the vote out in local contests is another serious concern. In purely local elections, most voters do not vote, nor do they pay attention to local politicians, especially at the state legislative level (even though these elections affect them most). The major parties often don't speak well to individual local issues. Additionally, poor citizens, as well as minority party-members, often have disproportionately low turnout in local elections because of their slim chance in winning or their perception of low influence. In many races, candidates do not reach out to minority voters in fear of alienating the majority. Racial gerrymandering is still an issue, as well as partisan gerrymandering. To counter this, try local multi-party democracy and proportional representation. These systems give every party that turns out a minimal number of voters a seat, or seats, in the halls of government. With a lower threshold of victory, more parties and previously disenfranchised citizens participate. More participation results in the representation of all interested parties in local government, not just the richest or the loudest. Such a government requires more deliberation and coalition building, and is less likely to run roughshod over the rights of minorities (for example, closet Republicans in Ward 3 of Washington, D.C., many of whom are registered as Democrats so that they have an influence in the primaries).

Representation is increased in two ways. The first is total proportional representation, where everyone in the state, city or county gets one vote in the general election for his or her party slate. The total number of available seats is then divvied up by the total number of votes for each party, in proportion to the actual vote. This is currently how elections are held in Puerto Rico, which has a 97% rate of voter turnout. The other option is to have multiple seats per voting district, with at least one seat reserved for the non-majority party (as I proposed in the essay on improving the District of Columbia Government). In either case, voters are likely to have some effect on the composition of the legislature, making the legislature more responsive and increasing voter turnout.

Regional Government (Geocities Rescue)

2004-06-01T20:46:00.000-04:00

Presidential scholars describe “several presidencies” corresponding to the duties that dominate the office of President of the United States. Among the main policy realms are national defense, foreign affairs, economic policy and domestic governance. National defense and foreign affairs always have priority, with the economy a close second. This leaves little time in the President’s schedule to dwell on domestic governance. Congressional authorizing and appropriations committees and the various constituencies in their issue network dominate domestic agencies. This is a continual source of frustration for White House staffers, regardless of which party is in power.

Many domestic issues also exhibit a great deal of regional variation. Conditions in New England on any given issue has nothing to do with conditions in Arizona or Colorado. National economic and regulatory policies fail to take into account conditions that vary from region to region. Often one region of the country is in recession while another is expanding. Additionally, regulatory needs vary from sector to sector, as do the attitudes of citizens in each sector. The almost annual filibuster over grazing fees and public land policy is an apt illustration of this. To deal with these problems, a more regional approach proves fruitful for both the Executive and Congress.

Agencies already possess a regional infrastructure, although this is mostly for program execution rather than for policy development. Of course, informal policy development at the regional level, in concert with the relevant congressional committee members and staff happens more often. Setting out a formal process for regional policy making takes it out of the shadows and into the light, where it is more accountable. Congress then meets in regional caucuses to oversee policy and regional vice presidents are selected to fulfill a wide variety of functions, freeing the President to concentrate on those affairs that are most important for the nation as a whole.

The current regional breakdown is based on an Executive Order from back in the Nixon Administration, with variation occurring at the departmental and sometimes the sub-departmental level. The Federal Reserve and the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also have different regional boundaries. Regions can be broken down in a variety of ways. I suggest, abiding by the Constitution’s prohibition on discriminatory trade policy against any individual state, that regions be larger than the population of any state, and that they have roughly the same size congressional delegation in terms of total electoral votes. I have examined regional breakdowns ranging from four to ten regions. The breakdown with seven regions appeared the best one, as follows:

Region I - New York: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont

Region II - Washington: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia

Region III - Atlanta: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisianna, Mississippi, Tennessee

Region IV - Dallas: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas , Utah

Region V - Chicago: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio

Region VI - San Francisco: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon

Region VII - Kansas City: Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Executive Agency and Congressional Committee Reorganization
A joint task force accomplishes the transition to regional government with membership from both the Congress and the Executive. This task force drafts reorganization plans for national and regional agencies and the committees of the national and regional caucuses of Congress. The congressional portion of these plans is enacted by resolution, while the executive reorganizations are submitted to Congress, subject to a legislative veto of disapproval. The law setting up this task force also creates regional codes for applicable parts of the U.S. Code and the Code of Federal Regulations.

Regional Caucuses
Both the Senate and the House meet in regional caucuses. In regions with fewer states, the Senate caucus meets as a committee of the whole, reviewing House caucus legislation. In other the other regions, the Senate caucus divides into committees. The House caucus elects its own Speaker. The Senate caucus elects its own President. Each caucus gives full credit to the actions of every other caucus and sustains any attempted vetoes by the President. Caucuses have the authority to amend the regional code and adjust the code of regulations for the region; enact the budget for the region, within general guidelines enacted by the national caucus; and oversee activities of regional agencies. The regional senatorial caucuses advise and consent on executive appointments, while the entire caucus consents to the initial presidential appointment of regional vice presidents and any appointment to fill a vacancy in that office.

National Caucus
A National Caucus consists of seven (7) representatives and (3) senators per region, with adjustments for population size if necessary, with partisan balance among representatives, for a total of 49 representatives and 21 senators. The National Caucus enacts regional actions on a pro forma basis, enacts the national budget resolution in aggregate terms, sets the pay of military officers and enlisted personnel, makes specific appropriations for national functions, enacts national legislation, consents to presidential and vice presidential appointments, and oversees national defense and domestic agencies. The full Congress only meets for the consideration of impeachment proceedings and their subsequent trial in the Senate, as well as for the enactment of Constitutional amendments. The Senate also meets periodically for the ratification of treaties. Note that everything I am proposing here can be enacted by statue. Because all regional actions are repeated on a pro forma basis at the national level, no constitutional amendment is necessary.

President of the United States
The duties of the President are adjusted to correspond to what actually occurs on a day-to-day basis. The most important duty is the initial appointment of regional vice presidents, and the filling of vacancies in that office. The other obvious duties are serving as the commander in chief of the armed services, the conduct of foreign affairs, space operations and intelligence operations, the appointment of Justices to the Supreme Court, Ambassadors, national military commanders and officers in national service, the approval or veto of national legislation, submission of the aggregate national budget the delivery of the State of the Union Address to the National Caucus, removal of officials from national agencies and executive clemency. Some actions are taken after consultation with the regional vice presidents, like the appointment of District and Appellate Court judges and Federal Reserve officials and the signing of regionally passed legislation. The Departments of State, Defense and Homeland Security report directly to the President.

The Department of Defense is be reorganized into strategic and regional functions. Strategic functions include planning, overseas operations and theater deployments, naval sea and Marine Corps operations, special operations and strategic nuclear forces. Regional functions include the establishment of seven regional armies and air forces with associated guard and reserve components, naval shore operations and the funding of military retirement. Strategic functions are funded by the personal income surtax on high-income individuals, excise taxes, tariffs and contributions from allies (which in olden times was known as tribute). The Business Income Tax funds regional functions. Peacetime procurement costs are born by the unit using the supplies or equipment, so if an Armored Division is based in Texas, Region IV purchases its tanks and its gasoline. As you have likely guessed by now, making the regions pay for these costs makes them think twice about the pursuit of pork barrel legislation. It is likely that this step leads to the closure of bases that are no longer necessary and the right sizing of the armed services that should have occurred at the end of the Cold War.

Vice President of the United States
The official duties of the Vice President are greatly increased under regionalization. The Vice President is the lynch pin that holds the whole system together. He or she presides over a national council of regional vice presidents and the three remaining national domestic departments, nominates the secretaries of these domestic departments for presidential appointment and recommends economic and budgetary targets to the President at both the national and regional levels. The departments reporting to the Vice President are Treasury and Commerce; Civil Rights and Justice; and Science, Environment & Interior.

The Department of Treasury and Commerce performs the economic analysis activities currently being performed by the Departments of Labor and Commerce; performs international economic analysis; oversees banking, deposit insurance and federal reserve operations; manages the public debt; administers the Social Security program – including the transition to Personal Retirement Accounts; and collects income taxes on higher income individuals and heirs, as well as providing an information clearing house for Business Income Tax records (although these taxes will be collected at the regional level). After the Debt is retired and income taxes on higher income individuals sunset, the primary funding for this department is through seigniorage, federal reserve and federal deposit insurance operations.

The Department of Civil Rights and Justice safeguards the rights of citizens against abuse at all levels of government and in the workplace, and represents the government in civil and environmental regulatory matters. It also provides assistance to a commission in the Department of Science, the Environment and Interior charged with distributing excess public land to the regions, individuals and Native American nations, as appropriate. It is funded primarily be fees, fines and judgments.

The Department of Science, the Environment and the Interior manages scientific research best sponsored at the national level in the areas of health, transportation, the environment and aerospace; operates the National Park System; provides environmental enforcement of Superfund and nuclear sites and distributes or sells public lands and forests among the national government, regional governments, state governments, Indian tribes (where a valid claim can be made that treaty obligations are unmet or that terms and conditions of treaties were coerced and remedy is possible) and individuals; awards patents and register trademarks; approves drugs and provides regulatory coordination between the various regions in all regulatory matters transferred to that level. . This department is funded with licenses, fees and fines.

Regional Governments
The remainder of the Federal government is transferred to the regions. Each regional caucus sets its own tax rates, sets up its own Open Market Committee to control interest rates in cooperation with the Federal Open Market Committee, sets its own budget, regulates interstate commerce, monitors regulations, enforces federal criminal laws and establishes human service programs. The functions of the departments of Agriculture, Human Resources, Interior, Justice, Science, Treasury and certain of the independent agencies are divided between the regions. The War Reserve components of the Armed Services are divided among the regions and are funded out of each regional budget. It is expected that most of what is called wasteful spending is cut out more effectively by the regional caucuses. Spending on pork barrel projects, unneeded military bases and generous tax benefits and subsidies to favored industry are less attractive in a regional capital than in Washington.

A vice president is appointed for each region. Ideally, appointees to this office have previously served as governors, senators or general officers. Initially, the President appoints these officers. In subsequent administrations, presidential nominees select running mates in each region. The Electoral College vote for each region then selects the regional vice presidents, regardless of who wins the White House. It goes without saying that service as a regional vice president makes a person very electable for national office. Regional vice presidents recommend acts originating in regions for signature or veto; recommend federal reserve and judicial appointments to the President (who has discretion to make up his own mind; nominate regional officials for appointment subject to confirmation by regional Senate; appoint and remove lesser officers and officials; see to the execution of the regional code and issuance of regional regulations; report on the state of the region to the caucus and the President; cooperate with the President on actions of the national government; submit a budget for the region, within the totals recommended by the President and enacted by the national caucus and act as supreme commander of regional military forces unless called into national service.

Fighting for Justice (Geocities Rescue)

2004-06-01T20:07:00.000-04:00

Establishing the rule of law is essential for protecting any development scheme in either the Third World or in economies emerging from state control. Corrupt regimes otherwise attempt by fiat to protect their own interests at the expense of their citizens, as current experience in Russia and China so amply prove.

As economic conditions improve due to the adoption of Cooperativism in the developing and formerly socialist world, a middle class emerges that demands basic human rights. Their aspirations should be supported by their employers and by people of good will everywhere. A worldwide consortium of attorneys is formed to assist in this effort. The need for such a consortium is not limited to the developing world, as the state of justice in the so-called developed world leaves much to be desired. This consortium is called Justice Advocates International, with the appropriate suffix given the customs of the nation in which it arises.

Legislative Advocacy

The consortium works in the areas of both legislative advocacy and legal representation. Legislative advocacy is essential, especially in nations with a less than developed common law. In these nations, the first function is to organize support for the rule of law and the right to injunctive and tort relief.

In many nations (including this one), the criminal code is particularly oppressive and is often used as a tool to oppress racial and sexual minorities. Many criminal felonies that are regarded as fodder for late night talk show humor are, or have been used in the American South to disenfranchise African-American males. Drug laws are also used to fulfill that function. Justice Advocates concentrates on the repeal of such oppressive legislation. Especially in the area of drug abuse, a shift is sought from criminalization to medicalization, as described in other essays. JAI also seeks the repeal of laws that reflect religious dictates, especially if their purpose is to place non-believers in an inferior status, as well as laws that are used to perpetuate slavery or slave-like conditions. Much immigration legislation in this country has this effect, since undocumented aliens fear that seeking relief results in sanctions against them, rather than their oppressors. Laws criminalizing prostitution often serve the interests of pimps more than they serve the interest of public morality. Rather than punishing prostitutes, mandate that they be tested for drug and alcohol abuse and referred involuntarily to treatment. In many places, laws against prostitution are used to advantage by corrupt police or military officials. This must end. Economic arrangements also come under scrutiny, especially when these involve usury or predatory financing, including check cashing services, sub-prime mortgage lending and exploitive car financing arrangements.

Litigation

Justice Advocates International represents citizens against exploitation at the hands of both governments and employers. It develops a foundation for the representation of anyone who is the target of organized oppression, especially those instances that demand less media attention. There are many organizations that already do this sort of work. Justice Advocates reaches out to them for inclusion in our efforts. JAI does not attempt to reinvent the wheel, but to seeks a coordinated partnership for all of its spokes. Instances where peonage is practiced come under intense scrutiny, especially when it is undertaken with the support of local law enforcement. Judgments are also sought against those who engage in usury or predatory financing.

Justice Advocates facilitates the move to economic justice. They represent employees who seek ownership in their place of employment, including workers in the former Soviet Union or in China who have been cheated by Oligarchs and party bosses. They also represent the interests of those in the developing world who have been blacklisted and seek damages in those cases where violence and murder have been used. Multi-national corporations who seek to exploit rather than empower workers are held responsible in U.S. courts of this nation for any support of activities that violate the rights of their overseas employees. Firms with exclusive supply arrangements which attempt to mask ownership are held accountable for the actions of their supplies and subsidiaries, as are firms who do business with Russian and Chinese firms who have cheated their workers or who rely on slave labor.

Justice Advocates also represents communities who are victimized by environmental pollution. Injunctive relief is sought to force the installation of adequate pollution controls. Tort relief is also sought, including relief against parent companies in the developed world. While the fights against deforestation, global warming and acid rain are commendable, as long as gross violations of reasonable restrictions on point-source pollution occur such causes seem trivial.

Justice Advocates seeks to guarantee the rights of native peoples to tribal and ancestral lands, both in the United States and in Latin America, where land reform has long been denied.

Justice Advocates proactively lobbies and litigates against political corruption in the United States, including electoral and campaign finance reform, which is discussed in the next chapter.

Finally, JAI is to be guided by a new International Bill of Rights, which is also proposed as the Bill of Rights for the Alliance described in the essay on Allied Government. Unlike the Universal Declaration of Human Rights enacted by the United Nations, violations of these rights are to be actionable.

An International Bill of Rights (Geocities Rescue)

2004-06-01T19:50:00.000-04:00

The rights delineated here are declared for all jurisdictions and levels of government in the Alliance.

Section 1. As God is not honored by forced worship, religious freedom shall not be abridged. The establishment of religion in any jurisdiction shall not be exclusive, nor shall state power in the Alliance be used to enforce dictates on public morals which the citizen or religionist has no voice in applying to law. Members may enact cultural holidays or customs which the individual shall be free to celebrate or ignore as his conscience dictates.

Section 2. No law or edict shall be passed or enforced which abridges the freedoms of speech, voluntary association, privacy, peaceable assembly, expression, press, petition for redress of grievances, or dissent. Further, no one may be compelled to join any organization. The consumption of marijuana shall not be interfered with by any government within the Alliance.

Section 3. None shall be deprived of life, liberty, property or entitled opportunity without due process of law, nor denied equal protection under the law. Life is recognized to begin in the Alliance at gastrulation. However, no law criminalizing abortion may be enacted prior to assisted viability.

Section 4. No slavery or involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime duly convicted, shall exist in the Alliance. As people are children of God human exploitation in other forms shall not be allowed. No contracts may be enforced which put the lesser party at a permanent disadvantage or permanently increasing debt, with the exception of pension arrangements which bind employers and religious vows. The rights to work, rest, join trade unions, receive just and equitable compensation for labor, attain education and literacy, and enjoy procreation are reaffirmed.

Section 5. Property seized by the government shall be compensated justly. Rights of compensation shall remain with descendants until compensation is received, and all debts against the Alliance or any of its jurisdictions shall remain in force against the Alliance and its members.

Section 6. The right to vote shall not be abridged to any adult citizen, excepting those under a prison sentence for a felony and those judged to be mentally incompetent. Persons may be recognized as adults as early as their fifteenth birthday, and not later than their twentieth, according to their ability to maintain themselves in society.

Section 7. No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. The right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury (or an unbiased judge if such option is taken by the accused) shall not be denied, nor shall the presumption of innocence. No person shall be twice put in jeopardy for the same offense, and civil and criminal proceedings shall occur concurrently for the same offense. Victims of crime shall be represented in all criminal actions, as shall the state. No attainder of treason or crime shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture except during the life of the accused. Further, no cruel or unusual punishment shall be inflicted or excessive fines or seizures imposed. Torture for information or intimidation shall not be used for either criminal or military purposes. No person may be executed unless failure to do so would result in greater loss of human life.

Section 8. None shall be required to incriminate himself in open court or in the investigation of crime, whether the case be criminal or administrative. Unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be permitted against persons, property, papers and effects, agents or electronic assets. All warrants for search and arrest shall be upon probable cause and supported by oath or affirmation. Recourse shall be available to those unreasonably searched or searched due to false witness, and malicious and unreasonable searches shall not yield evidence. No person may be convicted of a crime solely upon the testimony of a witness granted immunity without the corroboration of a second witness without such a grant or supporting physical or documentary evidence.

Section 9. Indictments for all felonies shall be by grand jury, and all indictments shall be reviewable before trial so that the particulars alleged by the state shall match the offense as delineated in law, and the accused shall be informed of the nature and cause of the indictment. The rights to confront hostile witnesses, have compulsory access to friendly witnesses, and to secure an attorney at the same level of funding as the opposition shall not be denied. Excessive bail shall not be required, except in the interest of public safety.

Section 10. The privilege of writ of habeas corpus shall not be abridged except in time of civil or international conflict. Treason shall consist only of acts of war against the Alliance, or in giving aid and comfort to the enemy in time of war. The testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or a confession in open court, shall be necessary for a conviction of treason. Troops shall not be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner. The right to keep and bear arms for personal protection, participation in the militia or lawful hunting and recreation shall not be unreasonably infringed.

Bringing Peace to Israel (Geocities Rescue)

2004-06-01T18:53:00.000-04:00

Currently, the United States is locked in a war against terrorism, the main issue of which is the Israeli-Arab struggle. If the U.S. wants any hope for peace, this struggle must be ended. The focus of discussion in the peace process has been on Israeli settlements. This is misplaced. The premise of a Zionist state that permanently puts Israeli Arabs and Palestinians at a political and economic disadvantage must be addressed. The United States justifies aid to Israel because it is an outpost of western democracy in the Middle East. The extent to which Israel mistreats its people is a mockery of that promise. While the United States is hardly pure in its treatment of ethnic minorities and indigenous people, at least we are not conducting helicopter attacks upon them. When we fund Israel, we fund the Zionist concept, which is at variance with our national ideals. If we fund any regime, it should be one that promotes human dignity and liberty for all within its boundaries. While our support for Israel has as much to do with domestic political concerns and the shame we as a nation so rightly earned for allowing the Holocaust to happen, and denying entry to Jewish refugees, it is time to begin to look to the future, rather than to the past.

There are two options for bringing peace to Israel. The first is partition - not just of Israel and the Palestinians on the West Bank and Gaza, but of Israel and a state that includes both Israeli Arabs and Palestinians. Israeli Arabs are still second-class citizens in many ways. In examining partition, we look to the example of India and Pakistan, who partitioned for the same reason. Even today, there is no peace between them, only better weapons. A unified Israeli Arab/Palestinian state is likely swallowed up by Lebanon, Syria or Jordan and leave Israel insecure, so we look to a second option.

The second option is less distasteful than partition, and more in keeping with the promise of both democracy and Judaism: total equality under the law for all Israelis and Palestinians in a single state (in other word, annexation). Consider Palestinians as full Israeli citizens - and abolish any legal or practical distinctions based on religion or heritage in keeping with the sacred Law as found in the Book of Leviticus. Palestinians must end their desire for a separate state and join with the Arabs in demanding full civil rights as Israelis, including a limited right of return. If a person is born in a country, or his parents have been, allow him to return without restriction (as long as that person wishes to live in peace). If one is looking to reoccupy the land of ones grandparents, it is probably best to stay put. The Palestinians must commit to non-violence. Without such a commitment to peace, the Zionist stance is justified and not even partition is an option.

To find peace, there must be a catalyst and it most likely is religion. For some, Zionism has as much to do with Judaism as ethnic nationalism. A major motivation for Zionism is religious, the desire for the restoration of the Holy of Holies. Many believe that the Ark of the Covenant is buried under the Temple Mount. However, there is scholarship on the issue indicates that the Ark was moved prior to the Babylonian Exile. It has been traced to an island in the Mediterranean Sea and then to the Jewish community in Ethiopia, which converted to Coptic Christianity. Its possession is a major tenet of the Ethiopian Coptic Church. It is said to currently be in the possession of a Coptic Monastery, who protect it with automatic weapons. Other scholarship claims the heirs of the Knights Templar are holding it in England. In either case, there is much evidence for the fact that it is not be found in under the Temple Mount.

The question arises, if it is not in Israel, how is it to be restored to Zion? Certainly the answer is not through violence. Ultimately, I do not believe that the deity that is shared by the peoples of the Book will allow the return of the Holy of Holies until there is peace, and peace through justice. The treatment of Palestinians and Arabs violates the Torah prohibition of molesting aliens, which is how they are viewed. In a real sense, however, the Arabs are not aliens but brothers in Abraham who have the right to reside in the land and who have been for generations. For the Holy of Holies to be restored, these brothers must be treated with justice. With that in mind, I offer Nine Points for Peace in Israel.

1. Annexation
Israel annexes all occupied territories and the United States, as Israel's long-term sponsor, will pay compensation to Syria, Jordan (update, Gaza is ceded back to Egypt). Residents of these territories are granted Israeli citizenship.

2. Recognition
Arab states recognize Israel.

3. Demilitarization
The war footing against the Palestinian people ends. Individuals disarm. All trials are by civilian authorities with the right of mixed juries made up of both Arabs and Jews.

4. Peace Keeping
In the interim, an international force undertakes peacekeeping activities as the Israeli military stands down.

5. Israeli Arab rights
Barriers to full participation in the political process by Israeli Arabs are removed. Religious laws, including Sabbath laws, do not apply to non-Jewish residents or businesses.

6. Constitution
A constitutional convention is called to draft a Constitution for the State of Israel, which is approved by plebiscite by all Israeli citizens, including those within the former territories.

7. Right of Return
Palestinians or their children born outside of Israel have the right to Israeli citizenship and citizenship in the country of their birth. Later generations apply for residency and petition for citizenship after a period of years. Members of certain terrorist organizations, such as Hammas and Islamic Jihad, forfeit their right of return.

8. Compensation
The United States underwrites compensation for land seized or abandoned that has been transferred to Israeli ownership at the current market value less improvements. Compensation is paid to returnees and to those who chose not to return or to their descendents, provided that members of certain terrorist organizations, such as Hammas and Islamic Jihad, receive no compensation.

9. The Ark of the Covenant
The Coptic Church of Ethiopia returns the Ark. A new Temple is constructed at a new site in the Jewish quarter. The Catholic Patriarch and his Orthodox counterpart transfer the Ark to the appropriate authorities.

Lessons from the War in Iraq (Geocities Rescue)

2004-06-01T18:39:00.000-04:00

The Future of Iraq
Before addressing the lessons of Iraq, let us first look at its future. Now that Saddam Hussein has been removed, American and British authorities are endeavoring to undertake nation building in a nation that itself was a product of colonialism. Iraq is an unlikely collection of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds, with the Shiites having sympathy for their co-religionists in Iran and the Kurds harboring dreams of nationalism and eventual unification with their fellows in Iraq and Turkey (a NATO ally that rightly fears both Kurdish terrorism and the loss of territory).

Part of the problem is one of scale, as Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Saudi, Lebanon, Egypt and Israel are too small for true viability. Perhaps the solution for both the Iraqis and the Arabs as a whole is a single, multi-state nation on the American model. The ancient Hashemite Dynasty is a unifying symbol for the formation of such a state, which potentially evolves into a constitutional monarchy based in Damascus, its former capital city before French colonialists expelled King Abdullah’s great-grandfather. While pan-Arab nationalism, as well as the eventual unification of Kurdistan may have to wait for another day, asking His Majesty to take the lead in the reorganization of Iraq seems preferable to any solution choreographed from the shores of the Potomac, even if it is designed and implemented by the best that Foggy Bottom has to offer. A satisfactory solution in Iraq brokered by the King, combined with a solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict, lays the groundwork for eventual peace in the region.

The Decision to Go to War
In December 2002, while much of the nation was in an uproar about whether to go to war in Iraq, I was not really excited one way or another. Unlike many Democrats, or even my fellow Nader voters, I did not use this issue as a surrogate for my feelings about the 2000 election. (As an aside, for Gore to pin his chances on a state where his opponent’s brother is Governor did not show presidential judgment. No Democrat who can’t win Ohio, or his home state, deserves the office).

Many protested that the war was not just. I would disagree, as any dictator who uses chemical weapons against his own people has lost any claim for justice on his behalf. The reception given the liberating American forces bears out the justice of this particular war.

Many thought the evidence of weapons of mass destruction to be flimsy, as recent reports seem to be bearing out. I counter, and echo others in doing so, that given the current climate it was up to Saddam Hussein to cooperate unambiguously in proving they were not there. He did not do so, even in the face of a massive American military buildup on his borders. He had to know that this buildup would be used before the onset of summer desert weather. To expect otherwise did not make sense. It can be called a miscalculation. If so, that miscalculation cost him his government, led to his capture and will likely cost him his life. He depended on international pressure to prevent President Bush from acting. He did not understand his enemy or the real state of international law.

The United Nations and International Law
International law is based entirely on bilateral and multilateral agreements among sovereign states. All agreements are of equal validity, so to determine whether an action is legal in the international sphere, one must look at all of them, not just the United Nations Charter. President Bush challenged the ability of United Nations to respond in Iraq. The U.N. ignored the obvious considerations having to do with desert warfare and the security of the United States, proving itself irrelevant. The UN only does so much because it is not sovereign. Rather, it is an assembly of sovereigns. To be sovereign, its legislature has to be directly elected, or it has to add an elected assembly to supplement the General Assembly. The other barrier to UN effectiveness is the diffusion of executive power. The Office of Secretary General carries much prestige, but no power. The real executive is the Security Council, which is structured to prevent action rather than to act. Without a single executive to provide leadership and implement policy, the UN has no hope of effectiveness. The final strike against it is its inability to raise funds. Currently, it depends on contributions after the model of the defeated Confederate States of America and the government of the United States under the Articles of Confederation. It is nothing more than a paper tiger, as the experience in Iraq has shown. President Bush was correct in his assessment of its effectiveness. He challenged it to greatness in Iraq and it failed.

There is an entire body of international law that is less ambiguous, the military alliances to which the United States is a party. Each of these makes one thing clear, that the United States is the first among equals, with an American in command of all joint operations and the American President in charge of that commander. In short, the reason George Bush can act as though he were king of the world is because for all intents and purposes, he is. The war in Iraq made this clear to much of the world’s population, which is why they protested, especially in Europe. I now address the prospects for the viability of this arrangement.

American Hegemony
In the days when the United States was the bulwark against Communist expansion, the position of the United States was necessary, especially after the Second World War when much of Europe and Asia lay in ruin. Since the response of President Truman to Winston Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech, America has maintained a wartime footing. Some demobilization was effected after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but it was by no means total. In the case of Iraq, the United States military was able to mobilize for war rather quickly because the military was already mobilized.

Is this constant mobilization a good idea? In Iraq and in the minds of everyone in the defense industry, the answer is yes. What about its constitutionality? The Constitution prohibits the existence of a standing army for more than two years. The framers did not believe in a permanent American military presence. This is why the military itself (although not the weapons systems) are only authorized for a year at a time. Technically, the government is in constitutional compliance, although the size of our forces and their planned use are everything the framers did not want.

Defenders of the current regime say that circumstances have changed these past two hundred years, that the founders could not have anticipated the current global situation. These forget that before the revolution the founders were subjects of an empire upon which the sun did not set. With our Middle Eastern presence, this is now true about the American military. Though technology has changed, the mind of man has not. Military force is projected worldwide now for the same reasons it was then, protection of the national political and economic interest.

Our founding fathers knew all too well the advancement of such national interests abroad leads to a diminution of liberty at home. Military and economic might lead to the necessity for secrecy (the enemy of liberty), the existence of nationalism, the promotion of hierarchy and a general lessening of the freedom of expression. The enactment of the Patriot Act is just the latest installment in this drama.

Under the Clinton Administration, the pathology of militarism was played out in the question of gays in the military, with military commanders actively subverting a policy advocated by their own commander-in-chief. By the reckoning of constitutional purists and civil libertarians, such subversion is dangerous at the very least and is an example of why the framers did not desire the establishment of a standing army.

Too often, American foreign policy is used to protect nations for strategic reasons rather than a shared interest in democracy. Nations that seek our protection must share that commitment. Compromising on this implies that our national security establishment does not view these freedoms as sacrosanct and this signal is dangerous.

The international protection of our economic interests must also end. Those economic interests who seek the protection of military might are better advised to promote liberty in the nations in which they operate. If they are successful in doing this they do not need the protection of our state, while if they resist the advancement of liberty they do not merit its protection. Freedom is essential for the operation of private enterprise and private enterprise is essential for the protection of liberty.

The projection of international might is an expense the nation can no longer afford. A budget deficit of almost half a trillion dollars testifies to this fact. (Update, $1.4 Trillion). The United States need no longer protect the entire world. Our republic is not constituted to perform well as an empire. Our ideals stop us from doing it well. A true empire charges tribute and is self-supporting. Ours is bleeding us dry. A well-run empire overtly controls its client states. We covertly subvert some and cow-tow to others, depending upon our economic interests.

The chief lesson of the war in Iraq is that our allies will not long accept American dominance absent the threat provided by the former Soviet Union. It is time for a new model of American power, one based on American ideals of freedom and federalism. All nations who share our commitment can join in a common polity. This new polity shares the cost of a common defense and shares in the decision to undertake both wars of defense and wars of liberation. This enhances the authority of our ideals and our ability to back them up when necessary.

Toward Allied Government (Geocities Rescue)

2004-06-01T17:11:00.000-04:00

The obvious question arises, "Why not support world government?" In answer, I don't believe the world is ready for one government. Most nations simply don't have a respect for the civil and economics rights of their own people and the United States must not essentially surrender its sovereignty to an organization where all other members lack this respect. A more fruitful alternative is allied government, where the members of NATO and other allies form an international body which functions like a world government, with a common military, currency, environmental protection and human rights. Nations only join if they have a common respect for the human and economic rights of their citizens and accept allied correction of any defects. (Until the Palestinian question is resolved, I do not include Israel in the list of possible members).

If Allied Government is successful, it is a force that leads all other nations to democracy and eventual membership. This is the ultimate goal of such an allied state.

The Allied Congress
The eventual size of the Allied Congress when all nations have joined dictates how many regions are formed and how populous the regions are. If you assume that the Allied Congress is to be 300 members, with each region sending between one and three members, with an optimum of two, then the number of regions is 150. Each region would then be one-one hundred fiftieth (1/150) of the world’s population.

The Allied Congress evolves from the National Caucus proposed in the essay on regional government in the United States. As members are admitted it becomes unicameral with one to three members per region.

Member regions
Allied nations form into member regions, with smaller nations consolidating to form larger regions and larger nations dividing into a number of smaller regions. Each region selects a regional vice president under its own customs to act as head of government. As I have proposed for the United States, most government functions are performed at the regional level or below (if funded publicly at all).

The regional vice presidents command the militia when called into regional service, see to the execution of government in the region and appoint members of the regional judiciary. Each region also has its own legislature and independent justice system. If not more frequently selected, the regional vice president stands for election once every six years.

The President
Following the American model, a single President heads the Allied Government. The President has a 12-year term. A long term assures time to learn the job and have an impact. The President is commander in chief of the armed and space forces. The President is the head of state and of government, receives ambassadors and negotiates treaties, removes ministers and their subordinates, appoints judges above the regional level and pardons offenses against the regions and the Alliance.

A College of the Alliance composed of the Allied Congress and the regional vice presidents meets to select the President by a majority vote and consider ratification of amendments to the Allied Constitution and the President's fitness to rule by a three-fourths majority. An indirect method of election is necessary to avoid demagoguery. The alliance and any subsequent international government is too nationally diverse to elect a single executive and anyone who could win such a majority is not to be trusted. The American Electoral College failed because its members held no other national office or power base and were therefore easy to push aside. Because the Allied Congress is included the Allied College stays independent. Because the regional vice presidents are included, a system of checks and balances is preserved. In the case of the death or incapacitation of the President, the Vice President assumes his duties without becoming President until the College of the Alliance meets.

A Common Military
A common military service is created, transforming NATO forces into a single allied force. The military services are divided into regional units and strategic units. Strategic units, which include units armed with nuclear weapons, naval forces and front line units, are funded from the Allied Income Tax and from tariffs. Each member region funds the non-strategic units based within it, as well as the military retirement costs of its citizens.

The Allied Congress drafts a Uniform Military Code for the military services of the Alliance. It uses the best features from the codes of all of nations that make up the Alliance, and of the American military code. It also undertakes to investigate abusive practices that have taken place under joining regimes and rectify them. The Uniform Military Code embodies the principles of modern military justice under the control of a free society.

The best way to insure a strong defense is to spread our ideals and our economic system to the rest of the world. If democracy, free markets, economic empowerment, and respect for individual rights are universal, we no longer need as strong a defense as in the past.

Domestic Affairs

A common Exchequer is created. It evolves from the Department of Treasury and Commerce described in a previous essay. It supervises currency conversion activities according to a common market basket of goods, as described in a previous essay; manages and retires the national debt of any member of the Alliance through an income tax on its wealthiest citizens; coordinates the activities of the Allied Reserve in each region, undertakes economic analysis and make recommendations on fiscal and monetary policy to the government of each member region, and conducts a decennial census.

A Conference on Regulation is established to provide a forum for the regulatory agencies in each region to discuss standardization. It operates at the sub cabinet level or below. Delegates meet on each area of regulation or procedure which involves commerce between regions or governmental action across regions, especially in the areas of postal services, the regulation of multi-national corporations, the provision of pension systems, the protection of the environment, and the regulation of workplace safety and airline safety.

A Department of the Environment sees to the elimination of large-scale pollution and gross localized pollution. If the sources of pollution are unwilling or unable to rectify the damage, it initiates cleanup of the site and bring suit in regional Court to cover the cost of such cleanup.

A Department of Civil Rights and Justice protects the civil rights of citizens of every region against regional and local governments and employers. It is the successor of the Department of Civil Rights and Justice and Justice Advocates, International.

Ending Government (Geocities Rescue)

2004-06-01T16:16:00.000-04:00

If everything I am suggesting in the Manifesto comes about, the result is the end of government as we know it, not only in the political realm but also in every facet of life. The practice of democracy in the religious and industrial sectors refocus both of these areas in a way that allows the now ever present hand of government to be withdrawn from all of our lives. Churches abandon Moralism and take on service, leading to an end of religiously and racially based laws that bring America closer and closer to a police state. Employee-owned businesses plan for the long-term rather than the short term bottom line and provide safe products and a safe workplace. This new business climate diffuses through multi-national firms to the rest of the world, leading to the end of both tyranny abroad and an all present defense-industrial complex at home. The aerospace industry then concentrates on the peaceful exploration and colonization of space and man begins to realize his true destiny, exploring both his soul and the cosmos.

For these things to occur, however, action is necessary. Institutions do not transform on the weight of logic but on the actions of everyday people. The first action which is necessary is to talk. A links is provided to the right to get involved in the discussion on-line. Use it. I have no monopoly on truth, and I am sure that you will let me know this. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Taking Action (Geocities Rescue)

2004-06-01T13:20:00.000-04:00

Organizing the Movement and a Party

To end government, we have to get organized. It is clear is that, given a progressive view on tax policy and reproductive choice, there is no hope for this ideology succeeding within the Republican Party, while adopting the view that human life begins at gastrulation and that tax policy should be used to protect it makes success in the Democratic Party iffy at best. It is clearly time to stake out new ground. The first step in organizing a movement for change is to begin talking. A Yahoo discussion group has been formed for this purpose. As our numbers increase, on-line discussion groups for every state will be formed. As these groups grow, face-to-face meetings occur at the congressional or state legislative district level to discuss issues. When a candidate is recruited from each district, petitions can be circulated creating the Christian Libertarian Party. When a candidate is recruited from each district, a political party is formed This party will conduct its affairs as suggested in the essay on electoral reform. Direct contributions to candidates are not allowed. Rather, donors and PACs contribute directly to the Party, which distributes funds to any candidate getting 15% membership at the district funding caucus. No run for national office is attempted until at least 233 congressional candidates have been recruited (216 House, 17 Senate) to vote in a national nominating convention.

Consulting Services

The Iowa Center for Fiscal Equity and Religious Left Productions provide consulting services to Unions and Employee Stock Ownership Plans, aerospace companies, faith-based organizations, political parties, state medical societies, state governments and federal agencies who wish to adopt the principles in these essays. The following services are available:
- Board structure and management selection reform,
- Payroll system redesign,
- Pension reform,
- Health insurance cost control using medical lines of credit,
- Company training and education system redesign,
- Public and private education system redesign ,
- Institutional board of education consultation,
- Commercial Space Transportation System development and funding,
- Privatization services,
- Private faith-based correctional and mental health system strategic development and marketing,
- Governmental budgeting systems development,
- Systematic redesign of local tax structures,
- Development of statewide senior healthcare systems,
- Medical malpractice accountability and arbitration systems,
- Agency and state financial management system development,
- Election and campaign finance reform,
- Training and credentialing services for potential political appointees,
- Civil service management and leave reform,
- Public agency reorganization,
- Diocesan organizational development,
- Environmentally efficient housing design services,
- Professional sport and entertainment union-ownership development,
- Automated transportation system development, and
- Economic analyses of currency markets for transfer pricing.

A portion of the profits from any consulting are contributed to the party. These proceeds go toward lobbying expenses, the printing of literature and the election of candidates. Donations are also gladly accepted. Employment is available in a variety of capacities, including marketing, fundraising, accounting, scientific, engineering, technical and legal.

Leadership Conferences

The Iowa Center for Fiscal Equity and Religious Left Productions hold a series of leadership conferences on the issues of the day. Opinion leaders for the various perspectives, government officials, congressional staff and the media are invited to examine several issues from a fresh perspective, with the goal of seeking a viable solution. The following issues are discussed:
- Creation of Personal Retirement Accounts in Social Security and their impact on the workplace,
- The economic impact of regulation, governmental spending and fiscal policy on the various federal regions,
- Organizing faith-based organizations to provide vocational education, TANF casework, mental health, drug and alcohol treatment, corrections, and retiree health care and annuities, - Election and campaign finance reform,
- The impact of Church organizational structure on Christian unity,
- The impact of various tax reform proposals on abortion, the aging crisis and the funding of state and local government programs,
- The empowerment of young and professional women who wish to have their children and the careers without resorting to abortion.

Justice Advocates - International

An international conference of leaders and attorneys from each nation is to be convened to discuss economic, social and environmental justice. This conference will become Justice Advocates, International and discusses and ratifies a universal statement on human rights and economic justice. Representatives to this conference return home to establish the rights of petition and tort in each nation where it is lacking now. If you are interested in attending this conference, contact the party.

A worldwide environmental defense network is to be established to study ways to end pollution. As new ways are developed, they are offered to companies. This network also sets up monitoring stations to catch violators. Justice Advocates brings suit against egregious violators who continue to pollute or who resist adoption of new environmental technology. Network scientists also study self-sufficient habitats for use on earth and in space.

International Currency Quarterly

An international meeting of economists is to be convened to discuss forming a common market basket of goods to measure price levels against exchange rates. The conference establishes a network to continuously monitor this relationship and publish a quarterly newsletter listing its findings and analysis, called the International Currency Quarterly.

Union-owned multinational corporations also use these data for transfer pricing. If you are interested in participating, contact us at the Iowa Center for Fiscal Equity.

Private Space Colonization

There are many private efforts to build work toward the private colonization of space. Most of these rely on the old model of corporate governance. An international space consortium of aerospace firms and an International Space Corps is to be created using the principles of 21st Century Economics outlined here. To form the backbone of this effort, job applications are now being taken for program managers for each of the space stations outlined in the essay on Going to Mars. Program managers are responsible for overseeing the design of the station, recruiting clients to use station facilities, obtaining financing once the client manifest is full and securing partners to build each station in orbit, as well as the attached spacecraft. This effort is divided into three teams, a Blue Team for Earth operations, a Grey Team for lunar operations and a Red Team for Mars operations. These are sweat equity positions until financing is obtained. Program Managers are eventually commissioned as members of the International Space Corps with the rank of Colonel. Colonels also receive permanent lodging on the space station they design. Applicants agree to abide by the principles of 21st Century Economics. Interested applicants should email me at Bindner_Space@Yahoo.com.

Rebuilding the Church

We end as we began, by talking about religion. It is my hope that the Church hierarchy heeds the comments made in the second chapter about putting away earthly power, creating a lay deaconate to manage its administrative, financial, educational and charitable operations, ordaining women and reinstituting priests who have married. If it does not, other actions are necessary. If events move as they have been, there is hardly an adequate supply of priests to meet the needs of the faithful. In some places, the need is already dire. Eventually, the faithful take matters into their own hands, demanding that the local clergy, and even the laity, reclaim the right to elect their bishops. The yeast for such a reform is those resigned Priests who have been cast aside, who are eventually the majority in many diocese. If groups of these priests met and elected new bishops it is hard to argue with the validity of this election, even though it is technically illicit. Whether such elections stand depends upon the reaction of the faithful. If the need proves as dire as it appears, such actions may meet with popular acceptance. Do these matters come to a head this year? Most likely they do not, but possibly in the next five years. I offer my Yahoo group as a forum of these discussions.