The Top Ten Must Haves for My Political Party by Robert R. Odle

The Top Ten Must Haves  for My Political Party (Version 1). Robert R. Odle

My top value in life is compassion and I want to be a good citizen of the earth.  I want a party that reflects my values.  I care little for rules or laws that are not compassionate and the only religious concept that I buy into is that I am my brother’s keeper.  I have observed what has happened to the middle class over the last 40 years and the formation of an elite rich that runs the world, and I want to take back my country.  I believe we are all (99%)  fundamentally the same -- good people trying our best -- each of us has a fictional story of our life, our country and our party  that we back with carefully chosen facts (ignoring all facts that don’t fit in the story).   I’m analytical by training, compassionate by nature.

1. I want a party that feels compassion for immigrants and their families.  

Someone that came here to take better care of their family is alright with me and I don’t really care if they broke some unrealistic, out-dated, ineffective, and counter-productive immigration laws.  I really love children coming to our country for help -- I’m proud when we are a generous country, especially to kids.  Simple, isn’t it.

The win-win solution to the immigration laws is to make them legal ASAP and then tax them.  The cost of sending 11 million home I’m guessing has to be in the tens of billions of dollars and even more important is that it breaks up families.  If your kids are U.S. citizens, staying here and taking care of them sounds like the right thing to support.  But, even more, anyone that has come here for their family is okay by me.

I want a party that supports all families and people to live better lives independent of their nation of birth.   I believe in compassion for the those that pursuit life, liberty and happiness.

McCain, Rubio, and Obama seems close to a reasonable position on immigration.   The conservatives are hung up on retribution which is not my cup of tea.

2.  I want a party that has compassion for the difficulties that gays face in not being able to be married -- and in life in general.

I want a party that supports equal rights for all including gays.   Simple enough.  I believe in freedom to be yourself -- consenting adults is good.  Simple enough.

I need a party that embraces gays and doesn’t just tolerate them.  My first wife left for a woman and I supported her as much as I could.  It was my first introduction to the gay life and I think I did okay.  I want my party to do at least as good as I did 30 years ago -- I’ve grown some and I want my party to grow.

3.  I want a party that does not cater to and promote the super-rich.

The concept of trickle-down economics is stupid - just look at what’s happened in the world.  The top 85 people now control 50% of the wealth in the world. The top 10% has 80% of the wealth in this country.  If you think that’s okay, we don’t need to change anything, just keep trucking.  I’m not good.

As a first step, I believe in progressive taxation for all income, yes, including long term capital gains, inheritances, and salaries, etc.  Just a progressive tax on salaries only impacts the middle class and gives a free ride to the wealthy.  Not okay with me, part of the rules that makes the elite rich possible.  I’m not good.

I would phase out corporate taxes which is a double taxation scheme that makes no sense.  Money from corporations goes to individuals.  When it does, tax it progressively, see above.  Corporate taxes actually complicates fairness and gives companies plenty of incentive to misallocate resources to avoid taxation.  KISS.

I want a party that supports moving the wealth being created back to the middle class. Simple enough. Any more ideas on how to do this?

4. I want a party that has compassion for its citizens - those with pre-existing conditions .

For example, I want a party that has compassion for those with pre-existing conditions that could not get insurance before Obamacare.  I want a party that has compassion for all those without medical care.  This is standard stuff for most of the civilized countries in the world.  Simple enough.

And yes, I lost most of my life savings because a the pre-existing condition of my wife.  And Obamacare saved my daughter … a work still in progress, but he changed the rules to let children be covered under their parents policy until they are 26.  Otherwise, I am pretty sure she would have died and I would lose what is left of my life savings. And now she has hope because she can get Obamacare (I hope although she is in a Republican state) and we (her and I) still have a fighting chance. Thanks Obama for the compassion that saved my daugher.  I wish you had come earlier when my late wife had cancer, but I’m eternally grateful, Obama.

 5. I want a country that has compassion for all the children in this country and all of the downtrodden.

A society is judged in my opinion by how well they take care of the weakest among them.  If a child is in distress, our society needs to be there to pick him up.  Helping the mom usually helps the child; for example, if she needs childcare, birth-control, public transportation, etc. (similar to the Denmark model).  Investing in our children is the same as investing in our future.

I want a party that Supports subsidized child care and birth control for the poor -- and anything else the children of this country need to become healthy adults. Simple enough.  What can your party offer me?

6.  I want a party that will not be the policeman of the world.

I want a party that shows compassion for those families we terrorize around the world with drones, bombs, and our might-is-right philosophy.  (Our irresponsible support for Israel falls under this category and takes a whole document on its own.)  I want a party that has compassion for our children and the pile of debt our military industrial complex is piling on our children.  Each war ends up costing about a trillion dollars - borrowed of course. And each year it costs about $600 billion to be the policeman of the world.  Our military is now in 150 countries around the world- America the big brother. I’m not good.

I also see an arrogance that we think we are always right and our total lack of respect for most other countries of the world.  We desert our values out of fear, Guantanamo Bay and the Patriot Act are an examples.  And to be the world’s big brother, we get in bed with lots of people that aren’t so nice … Saudi, Israel, Egypt, etc.

I don’t believe you can win religious and ideological wars with guns.  Every war since Vietnam seems to prove this to me … Perhaps Afghanistan will be an exception but I doubt it.

Unfortunately, both our parties support the U.S. being big brother for the world.  I need a new party, perhaps Gary Johnson.

7. I want a party that has a long term strategic plan for America that includes investments in:

• Children, see above.
• Free Public Education …through college, see our competitors (other countries). See one scheme here.
• Traditional Infrastructure.  bridges, roads, canals, electrical grids, public transportation (see advanced countries of the world).
• Leading edge infrastructure … including universal wifi, and devices for all our students to access the internet … development of tools/software for the modern class room.
• Some loan forgiveness/management for the trillion dollars in college loans.  Obama’s rule that debt repayment can only take 10% of a young person’s income is a good start.  Again, we need to invest in these young people, not bury them in debt just to get an education to help themselves and America compete.
• Research into renewable energy and lower CO2 emissions.

The best example of long term planning is China.  Capitalism used to be the only way to manage and grow an economy.  But, now with huge computing power that is available, centralized planning coupled with capitalism at the street level seems a viable option.  For example, look at rare earths (RE).  China 30 years ago decided they would be important and now they control 97% of the world supply. Computers, cell phones, our fighter jets and drones, etc. all must have RE.  There are hundreds of such examples, they have us by the balls and are just waiting to squeeze.

So, give me a political party that wants to invest in the future.  I need to see some long term thinking.  What’s your party got to offer?

8.  I want a political party that has compassion for the world we are destroying including:

• Depletion of finite resources including energy and mineral resources.
• Depletion of habitat for the other creatures on this planet.
• Depletion of water supplies in arid areas, including California.

I generally favor replacing traditional taxes, like income taxes, with taxes on consumption of finite resources.  A carbon tax (CO2 emissions) seems a reasonable way to track this consumption.  Consumption taxes in general seem like a good idea, but devising progressive taxation schemes is beyond our collective willpower at the moment. So, let’s stick with progressive taxes the old fashion way for now.

I favor eliminating subsidies to oil companies, big farmers (the only kind there is really), and big business in general.  Keeping peace in the middle east is just another type of  subsidies for our oil habit.

9. I want a political party that does not make WAR on everything.

War on Drugs (actually on black people that do drugs) , War on Terrorism (can you drop bombs on bad ideas and ideologies),  War on Poverty (what does that mean, is there a positive way to say this?), War on Women, War on Democracy, War on War, War on Want, the War on Cancer, War on Voting, War on Christmas, War on Cash, etc.

A war on something is a mind-set that with enough might and power we can make someone do what we want them to do.  Those with this philosophy believe that we do not have to change their mind, we simply attack their actions and make them change their ways.  We punish the drug user, help the alcoholic, we punish the felony and wonder why they don’t really change.  The result, the highest incarceration rate than anywhere else in the world.  I want a party that believes you should try to bring out the good in all people.

10.  I want a party that normally complies with the will of the majority of the electorate.

In our days of computers and smart phones, it should relatively easy to poll the country on major issues, and even subtopics in the bill.  Social media could be used to present and argue ideas for a few months, followed by some poll taking.  In the beginning we would still need Congress to formulate the bills based on public opinion.  The goal would be to move us toward being a democracy again. Perot proposed this idea of an electronic town hall a few decades ago.  Of course, there are naysayers and it would take time and effort to get it going, but the goal is a noble as it gets.

For example, does most of the people of the U.S. want term limits?  A balanced budget? Pot legalized? Elimination of PAC’s?  U.S. being the policeman of the world? Let’s debate then have a non-binding referendum.

In conclusion, I want a party, and government, that is of the people and for the people.

Voting ID's in a Compassionate Society by RR Odle

Voting ID’s in a Compassionate Society  (Good Citizens of the World)

Many states, mostly Republican states, have passed laws that citizens must have an official state or federal ID to vote.  So, its not such a bad idea on the surface to require an ID to vote.

But, what if you are an old person who no longer has an ID since you stopped driving and you’ve lost your birth certificate, never had one, or have one that has an error on it.

What if you can’t get off work or don’t have transportation to get your ID up to speed.  Or what if you have changed your name several times, i.e., a woman that has got married a few times, and you can’t document all your marriages and divorces.  And yes, I know the challenge here since my wife has been married three times (third time the charge) and got her first name changed once just for fun.  I witnessed the hassle even though she had a pile of documents to work from … even then it was touch and go and took an hour.  If it was me, there is no way I am organized to keep all those papers and court rulings.

So how do we get the Republicans who want ID’s and the Democrats who believe no one should be denied the right to vote together.  Simple. Compassion.  If we pass a law that everyone who votes needs an ID, we should have compassion on those that do not have an ID and provide them support to get an ID.  Maybe even some rule changes will be needed to get some people an ID.  It should be the government’s job to make it possible to get an ID for everyone. No one should be denied the right to vote in a democracy.  Maybe even some temporary ID’s will be needed until the more complicated cases are resolved.  Compassion as usual, will recognize that some people will have problems getting an ID, even insurmountable problems, and it is our job as a compassionate society to help those who need it … and not accept anyone being not allowed to vote.

Compassionate Societies Do Not Focus on Retribution

Compassionate Societies Do Not Focus on Retribution  (Good Citizens of the World)

The theory of retributive justice that is intrinsic in all three Abrahamic religions, prohibits any of them from being at core, "religions of peace". On the other hand, their contribution is to reinforce a mindset likely to support a cycle of violence. Which, of course, is what we have seen historically, and what we see today, Just look at the geographic home of the Abrahamic religions, Israel and the mid-east.  By Brad Garrison.

Behind the Islamic and Christian religion is the idea of punishment when someone does something wrong (sin, an immoral act).  Most of our prison systems are an example of our punitive attitude toward someone that has done something illegal (not immoral necessarily).  With this punitive attitude we put first time offenders in with hardened criminals and then wonder why the punishment does not result in a reformed individual.  For most people, punishment does not cause them to change their attitudes, beliefs, or actions - it barely works on children.

A compassionate society realizes that we are all very similar and that we might have "fallen from grace" given the same upbringing and circumstances of the "sinner".  Being slower to judge and more likely to feel compassion for the "sinner", the compassionate society is more concerned with helping the "fallen person" to become better (rehabilitation).  Of course, I am using the words of religion, but the concepts are valid nonetheless.  

Compassionate societies also tend to be more egalitarian and treat all people equal since they recognize we all struggle and are inherently the same. Here are some issues where the retributive and compassionate viewpoint are contrasted.  

Issue	retributive bias	compassionate bias
Immigration	they broke the law they must go home. The law is absolute.	They, like we, have broke the law but they are people and their family will be harmed if we send them home.
Person committed felony or serious misdemeanor	they must be punished	perhaps we can help this person to become a better person despite the crime he committed, after all, he probably did not have a good start in life.
Women having children out of wedlock.	They had the kid they should take care of him/her and themselves	They need help with childcare to raise the child and we owe the child a good start in life.
People on food stamps	They are not working so they should not get free food.	Everyone deserves food no matter their mistakes and shortcomings, not to mention their children deserve food.  We should help them improve themselves.
single, poor parents	they had the children, they should take care of them.	We should realize how hard it is to rise from the ashes and help them with free childcare so they can improve themselves and their children have a chance of breaking the cycle.
students with large college loans	They got the degree they should pay for it. No sense crying after the fact.	The children are our future, they need our support.  Affordable college education is essential for our future, we should support those struggling to improve themselves.
people addicted to drugs	They were weak and screwed up, they deserve what happens to them.	They made a mistake, they need help.  With the young especially, their brain is particularly vulnerable to peer pressure and drugs and they will need a lot of support to get and stay clean.

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The Role of Consumption in Being a Good Citizen of the Earth, by Odle

The Role of Consumption in Being a Good Citizen of the Earth Good Citizen of Humanity

Consumption takes raw materials and energy.  So far, capitalism only seems to work if the economy is expanding, growing, and consuming more raw materials and energy.  I was once told and believed that capitalism was the only workable economic system in the world.  Of course, China even though it uses some capitalism to motivates its people is a centrally planned government that works great by our own metric of increasing the GNP.  But, it also needs to keep growing to be considered successful by its people.  But, there is a big difference in the maturity of two economies.

The U.S. with 5% of the world’s population consumes about 20% of the world resources.  China with 30% of the world population consumes 12% of the world resources.  In  America, on average we have plenty.  Of course, with our growing wealth inequality about 12% of U.S. Families live below the poverty level.  But, there is plenty of money in coffers of many American companies, for example, Apple has a trillion in cash while U.S. citizens and the government wallow in debt.  

Consumption by humans uses resources and produces carbon dioxide.  Renewable energy sources reduces the consumption of resources and produce far less CO2 and all other forms of pollution.  Germany is being a good citizen of the earth and is rapidly pushing toward getting 80% of its energy from renewable sources by 2050.  

But here is the challenge.  Can we as Americans and people of this planet ever say we have enough, we do not want to consume more?   Instead, are we willing to say we are willing to share more and find more value in things like family and friends and consume less stuff?   If you value animals like the elephant, tiger, etc. that are losing habitat to the expansion of mankind, then we as a country and we as a world are going to have to find ways to consume less and find pleasure in helping the less prosperous on the planet.  Can we be more efficient and do more with less, of course.  

Which statement do you think is true:  1) the entire world can consume at the same level the U.S. consumes without harming the planet or 2) the U.S. must slow, perhaps reduce, its rate of consumption if it wants to do its part to reduce pollution, reduce the encroachment of man on animal habitats, and preserve finite resources for future generations.  Likewise, if we want to be good citizens on this earth do we push for more renewables like Germany or just depend on fracking for our energy future?  If we want to be good citizens on this planet, do we learn to live and be happy with less consumption or do we just let the rest of the world worry about it?  Perhaps, we should move toward a tax based on consumption?  

Worried citizen of this earth,

Robert R. Odle

Australia, a gentler, kinder America

Australia, a gentler, kinder America Good Citizen of Humanity

I lived in Australia for a year back in 1997.  My family came and visited me for a long summer for some great times. At the time I still thought that America was the greatest place to live on the earth, because that was what I’ve always been told.  We were always the good guys.   The Aussies soon tired of my bragging about America and they told me, we do not want to be America, we want to be a Gentler, Kinder America.   I slowed down my bragging but the phrase stuck in my head, what do they mean, a Gentler, Kinder America.

By the end of my stay and with a decade to think about it, I think I have the answer -- which I can share with a couple of stories.

The Australian Medical Scene

My family and I visited the outback to see kangaroos, parrots, all sorts of strange mammals and wolf bats among other things.  Somewhere in a log cabin my daughter, Olesia, got something in her eye.  She was in pain and we couldn’t get it out.  We were directed to a local clinic in the middle of nowhere.  They got to us quickly and the doctor soon had Olesia on a big table, got a magnifying glass and deftly picked out a piece of what looked like part of a plant from her eye.  He then put some eye drops in her eye and handed us another bottle of eye drops.  

I asked the doctor, what do we owe you.  He answered, “there is no charge, I am sure if I were in your country and needed help your country would do the same for us.”  I nodded, but I knew it wasn’t so.  In the U.S. if you don’t have medical insurance you are more or less screwed.  Perhaps an emergency room could remove that piece of grass from one’s eye for about $1000.  But, nope, we would not take care of a foreigner at a clinic for free. And well, a doctor’s office would give you the unnegotiated rate that it charges people who have no insurance to negotiate for them.

The Texan Medical Scene

My brother in Texas recently got a blood clot in his leg.  He went to the emergency room and they gave him a shot and then a prescription for two more shots that he could pick up at the pharmacy for $700.  He said he didn’t have the $700.  They told him then the only recourse was to wait until he had a heart attack and if he lived come  back in because they could help him once his heart attack started.  Big brother of course, bailed him out.  He unfortunately lives in a Republican state that did not extend medicaid up to cover people that make too little to be on Obamacare and too much to be on medicaid.  In short, they had no compassion for these people.

Caring for the Weak is being a Gentler, Kinder America

Of course, Australia takes care of more than just little children from foreign lands with grass in their eyes.  They take of all the weak in their society.  Yes, universal medical care, universal retirement and low-cost public transportation that is very good.  Its not too expensive for Australians and the country does not go up in flames.  I went to a doctor several times and it seemed about the same as here.  I have no doubt that my brother and the other Americans caught in the gap between Obamacare and Medicaid in the 34 Republican states would be better loved and cared for in Australia. They have compassion.  

Dear Friend Lost His Retirement and House from Our Lack of Compassion

Dear Friend Lost His Retirement and House from Lack of Our Compassion in U.S.

Good Citizen of Humanity

 I saw that an old friend of mine, Bob, had a birthday on FB the other day.  I dropped him a line and was happy to see that he is still working full time, he was 73 yesterday.

When he was about 62 or so, Bob (and I) got laid off from Fluor.  After his Cobra expired, his wife got very sick with fibromyalgia and later cancer.   Not being able to buy insurance for her because she had a pre-existing condition, he went first through his retirement to keep her alive and then he mortgaged his house and lost that also.  Around 65, he was broke, homeless, and still had a sick wife.  

Let me tell you about Bob.   He was a metallurgical engineer that worked in the copper smelting industry when it was booming.  At the time of our graduation, the copper industry in Arizona alone produced more copper than the rest of the world put together.  It was a good career and people with degrees in Metallurgical Engineering often got THE top salary offers their senior year.  Life was good.  Over the next few decades environmental regulations, high wages, falling ore grades, and outsourcing drove the industry out of America.  For decades after that people with metallurgical degrees traveled the world and used their expertise to get a lot of projects going in South America, Australia,  and all around the world.  Bob was in Australia.  Then the good times ended. Jobs were hard to find and American metallurgists were old.  They were laid off right and left. I don’t know how many times Bob was laid off.

I met Bob in Denver for supper one night has his finances were going down the tube, unable to find work, unable to buy insurance, and with a sick wife.  I asked him out for supper.  He told me he had no money to go out with me.  I asked him for sushi and told him I would get the tab.  Bob, liked sushi, he loves ginger -- I assume from his days in Australia where a lot of ginger is grown.  That night in Denver, I took a couple of pieces of my ginger and gave the rest to him to eat.  I tear up thinking about how grateful he was for the ginger … and the sushi.  I can’t eat ginger without thinking of Bob until this day.

Bob a year or two after that dinner got a job, he is now 73 and still working at a power plant in Tucson. What happened to Bob was not his fault. If he lived in a more compassionate society like exists in most of the civilized world, for example, Australia, England, Denmark. Switzerland, Germany, etc. he would not have lost life savings trying to keep his wife alive. Bob had done everything by the book, he simply lived in a country that still largely lacks compassion.  Bob used to be a very conservative, Republican.  I wonder what he thinks about Republicans now as they keep trying to repeal Obamacare - which came too late for him.

Unarmed Illegal Gun-downed Like a Rabid Dog By Robert R. Odle

Epitaphs

1. Rubén García Villalpando, 31, father of four children, bread winner. He was a car mechanic that lived illegally in the U.S. where he provided for his wife and children for 15 years.  Gun-downed, unarmed by police after traffic stop.
2. Antonio Zambrano-Montes, 35, orchard worker missing for two weeks from family.  Illegal, probably mentally ill. Gun-downed by police for throwing rocks.
3. Unknown, mentioned by Mexico but didn’t make the news here.

• Warning this video looks like cold blooded murder to me of a man who allegedly threw some rocks:  Police Murder Rock Thrower in Pasco, Washington.

• Another illegal in Grapevine Texas  asks when is pulled over “are you going to kill me” before the police kill him.
• Mexico call for investigation by Justice Department for the shooting of three immigrants by police in the last month.

Of course since they are illegals, their lives are not as important as us white Americans.   Is this thinking why these murders by police don’t even make the news.  Lucky someone had a phone camera or the Pasco case would probably just disappear - it may anyway.  

A Good Citizen of Humankind

The police often reflect the prejudices of the culture they represent -- and not necessarily the most humane aspects of the culture.  Words like immigration and illegals are being thrown around with words like terrorists, heroin, and border SECURITY.  Yes, they are used in this way to cause fear.  They make you forget that illegals, who may also be dads, moms, children, humans, students, poor people, desperate people, hard workers, etc. , or they may be less desirable people like other criminals born in America. All you really know about these HUMANS is that they probably broke some laws to feed their families.

As A Good Citizen of Humankind we must remember that they are humans who are as valuable as you and me and should be afforded the same rights as any human found anywhere.  Our Declaration of Independence says "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" are three examples of the "unalienable rights" which has been given to all human beings by their Creator, and for which governments are created to protect. A Good Citizen of Humankind realizes these rights apply to the father above who was also an illegal.