Roger J. Wendell
Defending 3.8 Billion Years of Organic EvolutionSM
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Politics |
pass laws under which you make money... and out of your profits, you further contribute to our campaign funds to send us back again to pass more laws to enable you to make more money." - Senator Boise Penrose (R-Pa.), 1896 |
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people who count the votes decide everything." - Josef Stalin |
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Click Here for my page on economics! |
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Click Here for my '08 KGNU voting report from Green Mountain |
| In his 2008 documentary, Religulous, Bill Maher interviewed all kinds of people about the place of religion in our government and society. In one scene, Maher is speaking with United States Senator Mark Pryor (D) Arkansas. In this scene the good Senator is expressing his doubts about evolution and reinforcing his belief that Adam and Eve, and a talking snake in a garden, may have been the start of it all: |
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Maher: "See, this is my problem. You're a Senator, you are one of the very few people who are really running this country. It worries me that people are running my country who think, who believe in a talking snake."
Senator Pryor's response: "You don't have to pass an IQ test to be in the Senate." |
Forget Red vs. Blue -- It's the Educated vs. People Easily Fooled by Propaganda
by Chris Hedges, Truthdig, 11-12-2008
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"The illiterate rarely vote, and when they do vote they do so without the ability to make decisions based on textual information. American political campaigns, which have learned to speak in the comforting epistemology of images, eschew real ideas and policy for cheap slogans and reassuring personal narratives. Political propaganda now masquerades as ideology. Political campaigns have become an experience. They do not require cognitive or self-critical skills. They are designed to ignite pseudo-religious feelings of euphoria, empowerment and collective salvation. Campaigns that succeed are carefully constructed psychological instruments that manipulate fickle public moods, emotions and impulses, many of which are subliminal. They create a public ecstasy that annuls individuality and fosters a state of mindlessness. They thrust us into an eternal present. They cater to a nation that now lives in a state of permanent amnesia. It is style and story, not content or history or reality, which inform our politics and our lives. We prefer happy illusions. And it works because so much of the American electorate, including those who should know better, blindly cast ballots for slogans, smiles, the cheerful family tableaux, narratives and the perceived sincerity and the attractiveness of candidates. We confuse how we feel with knowledge." |
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"It is unconscionable to perpetuate fraudulent or biased electoral practices in any nation. It is especially objectionable among us Americans, who have prided ourselves on setting a global example for pure democracy. With reforms unlikely at this late stage of the election, perhaps the only recourse will be to focus maximum public scrutiny on the suspicious process in Florida."
- President Jimmy Carter, Chairman of the Carter center in Atlanta |
"...in Western Europe and in countries like Canada, and Australia, and Japan where you can not be a public figure professing absolute certainty about the divine origin of the Bible and be taken seriously. These are embarrassing convictions in much of the world, and, in fact, we are virtually alone, in the developed world, as a society that still conducts it's national discourse under the shadow of religious literalism."
- Sam Harris interviewd by Michelle Martin on NPR's Talk of the Nation
about his new book, Letter to a Christian and keeping religion out of public policy.
Broadcast on Monday, October 02, 2006 and transcribed by Roger J. Wendell
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
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"Anarchism is not a romantic fable but the hardheaded realization, based on five thousand years of experience, that we cannot entrust the management of our lives to kings, priests, politicians, generals, & county commissioners."
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 Political Outhouse |
- Senator Mark Hanna, chair of the Republican National COmmitee, 1895
"Our fight is with those who have stolen the name Democrat - the party hacks, the lobbyists, the weasels who somehow couldn't cut it in the Republican Party because they didn't have what it takes to destroy a national forest, or close a thousand libraries, or take free breakfasts away from the malnourished little ones in the inner city. You have to have real guts to do stuff like that, and you have to enjoy it. Those who don't, get jobs over at the Democratic Party."
- Ralph Nader being interviewed by Amy Goodman, July 2004 |
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Click Here for my page on media and Democracy... |
 Democratic Cafe - Washington State |
"America wasn't built by conformists but by mutineers - we're a big, boisterous, bucking people and now is our time. Our democracy is being dismantled right in front ofour eyes by our own ruling elites. This is a crucial moment when America desperately needs you and me to stand up as citizens. We are not only what democracy counts on, we are what democrcy is."
The Public Spirit of America |
 (Near Grand Canyon) |
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"...Big Money from a narrow and self-interested elite group of donors distorts democracy and produces perverse outcomes that favor a privileged few and hurt the rest of us in all sorts of ways."
"Hasn't it always been this way? And haven't we already tried to fix it?" "The short answer is yes. Politicis in America has always been a contest between organized people and organized money. But that's no reason to throw up our hands and become reisgned to the situation. After all, the history of America is the history of steady efforts to expand democracy and include everyone on an equal footing."
Is that a Politician in Your Pocket? (Washington on $2 Million A Day) p. 211 |
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bumper sticker by John W. Lacher click on this image for a larger view |
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Click Here to find out "Why I'm Joining the GOP!" |
A Registered Republican Since the 70s - Me!
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Perennial third-party presidential candidate Ralph Nader had it right when he labled our two-party system a corrupt duopoly that's anti-choice. Since both parties, once in power, are pretty much the same, it didn't matter much which one I belonged to so affiliation is pretty much a cointoss. Yes, I've always been impressed with what the Republicans had to say about maintaining a "tight" fiscal policy and economics. And, I've always been impressed with what the Democrats had to say about the environment and helping those less fortunate. But, our huge population problem, the narrowing distribution of wealth, religous domination of our society, and a dozen other serious issues are hardly ever mentioned by either party.
Since being unaligned or "independent" gives me even less voice I decided long ago to register as a Republican with the hope of making some positive change in not only the party, but our system in general - albeit small. So, although I still have complaints about the "other" party I still harang the Republicans about their support of monopolies, big religion, expensive military and their war on the environment - all big disappointments. As a Republican, I'll continue working to attempt bringing honor, reason and decency to the Republican party and our system in general... Not only have I been a regestered Republican, since the early 70s, but I was elected twice as a delegate to their Arapahoe County Assembly and once to their Jefferson County Assembly! (Click on the red photo, at right, for an even larger view) Also, although not directly related, I have served on the City of Aurora's Election Commission in addition to serving as an Election Judge. Plus, I've voted in nearly every election since the early 70s, including special ones like the Public Service Company franchise, etc. Even when I was out of state, while serving my four year enlistment, I still voted by mail every chance I could!
Unfortunately, in the early 2000s, the bad guys gained control of my state and federal government. So, I've devoted a little more of my free time (I don't get paid for this stuff, like they do!!) in having these "evil doers" removed from controlling our government - Not only is it my right to take such action but the founding fathers would have expected it of me!!! (On a happier note, despite religion taking even more control of American politics, in the 2004 elections, Colorado's House and Senate took a turn for the better!) |
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Here is a Denver Post Affidavit of Publication for a Legal Notice that I published on my 40th birthday (November 12, 1995). It was in their Sunday edition under section 8901 "Legal Notices." Here is what it said;
"I am 40 yrs. old & have been a registered Republican my entire adult life. Although I agree with the party's position on taxes, and other related issues, I am ashamed of their 'war' on the environment. I appologize to the American people and promise to continue working to protect wilderness and wildlife. Sincerely, Roger J. Wendell, POB 460101, Aurora, CO 80046-0101. E-mail: aq328@freenet.uchsc.edu (I paid for this notice with my own money and am only interested in policy change, NOT remuneration)" |
Here's something of mine that made it to the Republicans' Arapahoe County Assembly:
(It was passed by Precinct 2509 on April 11, 2000)
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Resolution: Children and Open Space
Whereas; Colorado Republicans recognize that the quality of life
Be it resolved; that Colorado Republicans, in the interests of |
Every political party has its bad apples. During the time when I was involved in
local government my party turned a blind-eye to Reagan and number of his minions
involved in all kinds of not-so-nice work in the name of the American people:
On December 20, 1983 President Ronald Reagan sent Special Envoy
Donald Rumsfeld to Iraq to shake the hand of Saddam Hussein - this
was at a time when America was arming, supporting and encouraging Saddam...
545 People
Written by Charlie Reese in 1995, updated in 2009
(former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper)
[verified by Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/reese.asp]
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are really against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are really against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.
You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of representatives does.
You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason.. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.
Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the Speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to. Stop and think how long she has been Speaker of the House.....
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red .
If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ
If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way. If they were on Social Security then they would fix it fast.
There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do. Change the law so that it is unlawful for quasi public companies (like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) to donate to politicians or political parties etc and unlawful for those persons/organizations to accept donations from those over which they have oversight.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power..
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses... provided the voters have the interest and incentive to manage their own employees.
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!
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 (Senator Harry Reid, Nevada) |
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