In recent voting, 2022, the percentage of people voting in the area of Tennessee where we live was 13%; this pattern of voter participation is increasingly being replicated across the US. The average person, whether so-called 'liberal' or so-called 'conservative' is not voting at levels that can protect America's basic information system…
In recent voting, 2022, the percentage of people voting in the area of Tennessee where we live was 13%; this pattern of voter participation is increasingly being replicated across the US. The average person, whether so-called 'liberal' or so-called 'conservative' is not voting at levels that can protect America's basic information system, or its bottoms up democracy any longer. In states where voting by mail has been 'allowed' or where provisions for absentee voting are flexible people vote has done slightly better. https://www.eac.gov/vote-mail-trends-and-turnout-six-election-cycles-2008-2018. Voting in person in giant urban centers or in rural areas with people having to travel miles to vote is an archaic approach in 2022.
Unless people insist on voting, or unless basic privileges are suspended unless you vote, apparently people will no longer vote. However, to break the system, perhaps a new approach may be risked: 1. A record of voting automatically confirms your driver's license - and a record of Not voting suspends your driver's license. 2. A record of voting automatically confirms your Social Security payment, and a record of not voting suspends payment for one month. 3. A record of voting automatically transmits a $100 grocery voucher from the treasury. 4. A record of voting automatically renews your auto license for one year. 5. A record of voting automatically issues a voucher for one week of free child care.
Families with children do not take the time any longer to attend to their school boards, as a result many strange things have been happening in our schools; this has created a generational cycle of dysfunctional young adults:
1. We are NOT teaching a full year anymore - we are testing our children to distraction for at least 30% of the school year.
2. We do not have Home Economics anymore; students are not learning how to cook or raise children.
3. We do not have Student debate teams any more; students are not learning how to talk with others in a polite manner.
4. We are not teaching Math or Science at comparative Western levels; we are churning out students who spend more time on gender politics, FaceBook or how NOT to do home work
5. Our public schools are all using the very liberal notion that children are equal and that they must all be passed up at each grade level regardless of effort or ability to master grade level subjects. It's a SOCIAL PROMOTION SYSTEM WITH NO ACCOUNTABILITY.
On this generational background in the US, it's hardly difficult to understand the consequences of a growing mass of voters who do not have the literacy to read, write or understand the consequences that follow families and children when they don't take the time to monitor their school boards, their elected representatives and their neighbors.
The monopoly practices that the elite Democratic Party allowed under Clinton's cloaked benevolence is of equal scope to what the Republican Party has allowed with Reagan and the Bush Boys.
Mr. Hartman is spot on: Democracy in America is realistically being expressed with low voter turn outs, no local media, a failing public school system (a shortage of circa 300,000) https://www.nsba.org/Services/Center-for-Public-Education/teacher-shortage and a population growth of almost 200 million from the Democratically sponsored immigration Act, https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/us-immigration-since-1965 and the complete decimation of the US middle class by NAFTA, along with almost 75 years of endless wars have come together to destroy America's ability to function and believe in itself.
In the end, unless voters systematically neuter the re-election cycle and automatically begin to NEVER VOTING FOR AN INCUMBENT POLITICIAN AT BOTH LOCAL AND NATIONAL LEVELS we will never be able to trust ourselves and our public decision makers again. https://cusdi.org/faq/why-are-sitting-members-of-congress-almost-always-reelected/
The forever liberal whining is pathetic, really. We all have the ability to go and DO SOMETHING RIGHT for each of our communities. And that means doing something that will be respectful and of use to all of us: Not just to those who think and live like we do. We have to go BACK in TIME to figure out how to build common ground and let small incremental changes be enough to carry all of us forward.
Let's get focused:
1. Get the roads fixed, 2. Get more male teachers. 3. Figure out why husbands are not helping to raise our children any longer, 4. Stop social promotion in our schools. 5. Get clean water and sewers to everyone. 6. Get preventative healthcare to everyone and 7. Make social security funded by taxing all income, 8. Stop sending our young people into a military that destroys other countries, 9. Require two years of public service of all 18 year olds and then give them back a free adult education system to become doctors, dentists, plumbers and electricians and finally 10. Let's get the electricity grid updated so we can get green energy before it's too late. And maybe it would be helpful to focus on getting a safe national train system that everyone can afford to use.
In short, let's quit whining about FOX News and the Billionaires, and DO SOMETHING THAT NEEDS DOING . The volunteers at www.commondreams.org could do more if each reader committed to sending in $10 each month; perhaps some local entrepreneurs could establish local 'commondreams' news outlets.
Personally, I teach, instead of playing golf, and instead of whining about all the BIG Things. And I encourage young men to be brave and help raise the next generation a little better. Finally, with a national US teacher shortage of approximately 300,000 I encourage all adults to set aside a little weekly time to volunteer again in our schools, on our sports fields and in our churches. Giving of ourselves can be a blessing, and all our young people really need some help these days.
Mr. Hartman's citation referencing Finland and Mr. Biden's presidential ability to bust all the news media monopolies is an excellent focus. How many phone calls and emails can 350 million voters make?
Mr. Hartman citation:
Finland has taken an unique approach to the problem of fake news, particularly on social media, by incorporating news and media training into required elementary and secondary school classes. America could consider the same, although, like the snit we just saw about teaching American history or sex education, it would almost certainly provoke squeals of outrage from rightwingers.
But screw them. America is in a crisis right now caused, in large part, by dishonest actors across the rightwing spectrum of our media and social media.
Forty percent of Americans don’t believe the results of the 2020 election, and nearly half of Republicans think Democrats engage in ritual drinking of children’s blood and worse. There is no corollary or even similar misunderstanding of reality or bizarre set of beliefs among the left or those in the center.
For the moment, media literacy training in schools across America and requiring transparency from social media — both things Congress would have to undertake to succeed — seem like the best approaches we can take to both protect free speech and diminish the impact of lies and propaganda on American political and social life.
If the Biden administration were to enforce the nation’s antitrust laws and break up the media conglomerates, or Congress were to bring back the media ownership limits as they were before being gutted in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, either or both would go a long way toward increasing the social and political diversity of voices across our media public squares
In recent voting, 2022, the percentage of people voting in the area of Tennessee where we live was 13%; this pattern of voter participation is increasingly being replicated across the US. The average person, whether so-called 'liberal' or so-called 'conservative' is not voting at levels that can protect America's basic information system, or its bottoms up democracy any longer. In states where voting by mail has been 'allowed' or where provisions for absentee voting are flexible people vote has done slightly better. https://www.eac.gov/vote-mail-trends-and-turnout-six-election-cycles-2008-2018. Voting in person in giant urban centers or in rural areas with people having to travel miles to vote is an archaic approach in 2022.
Unless people insist on voting, or unless basic privileges are suspended unless you vote, apparently people will no longer vote. However, to break the system, perhaps a new approach may be risked: 1. A record of voting automatically confirms your driver's license - and a record of Not voting suspends your driver's license. 2. A record of voting automatically confirms your Social Security payment, and a record of not voting suspends payment for one month. 3. A record of voting automatically transmits a $100 grocery voucher from the treasury. 4. A record of voting automatically renews your auto license for one year. 5. A record of voting automatically issues a voucher for one week of free child care.
Families with children do not take the time any longer to attend to their school boards, as a result many strange things have been happening in our schools; this has created a generational cycle of dysfunctional young adults:
1. We are NOT teaching a full year anymore - we are testing our children to distraction for at least 30% of the school year.
2. We do not have Home Economics anymore; students are not learning how to cook or raise children.
3. We do not have Student debate teams any more; students are not learning how to talk with others in a polite manner.
4. We are not teaching Math or Science at comparative Western levels; we are churning out students who spend more time on gender politics, FaceBook or how NOT to do home work
5. Our public schools are all using the very liberal notion that children are equal and that they must all be passed up at each grade level regardless of effort or ability to master grade level subjects. It's a SOCIAL PROMOTION SYSTEM WITH NO ACCOUNTABILITY.
On this generational background in the US, it's hardly difficult to understand the consequences of a growing mass of voters who do not have the literacy to read, write or understand the consequences that follow families and children when they don't take the time to monitor their school boards, their elected representatives and their neighbors.
The monopoly practices that the elite Democratic Party allowed under Clinton's cloaked benevolence is of equal scope to what the Republican Party has allowed with Reagan and the Bush Boys.
Mr. Hartman is spot on: Democracy in America is realistically being expressed with low voter turn outs, no local media, a failing public school system (a shortage of circa 300,000) https://www.nsba.org/Services/Center-for-Public-Education/teacher-shortage and a population growth of almost 200 million from the Democratically sponsored immigration Act, https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/us-immigration-since-1965 and the complete decimation of the US middle class by NAFTA, along with almost 75 years of endless wars have come together to destroy America's ability to function and believe in itself.
In the end, unless voters systematically neuter the re-election cycle and automatically begin to NEVER VOTING FOR AN INCUMBENT POLITICIAN AT BOTH LOCAL AND NATIONAL LEVELS we will never be able to trust ourselves and our public decision makers again. https://cusdi.org/faq/why-are-sitting-members-of-congress-almost-always-reelected/
The forever liberal whining is pathetic, really. We all have the ability to go and DO SOMETHING RIGHT for each of our communities. And that means doing something that will be respectful and of use to all of us: Not just to those who think and live like we do. We have to go BACK in TIME to figure out how to build common ground and let small incremental changes be enough to carry all of us forward.
Let's get focused:
1. Get the roads fixed, 2. Get more male teachers. 3. Figure out why husbands are not helping to raise our children any longer, 4. Stop social promotion in our schools. 5. Get clean water and sewers to everyone. 6. Get preventative healthcare to everyone and 7. Make social security funded by taxing all income, 8. Stop sending our young people into a military that destroys other countries, 9. Require two years of public service of all 18 year olds and then give them back a free adult education system to become doctors, dentists, plumbers and electricians and finally 10. Let's get the electricity grid updated so we can get green energy before it's too late. And maybe it would be helpful to focus on getting a safe national train system that everyone can afford to use.
In short, let's quit whining about FOX News and the Billionaires, and DO SOMETHING THAT NEEDS DOING . The volunteers at www.commondreams.org could do more if each reader committed to sending in $10 each month; perhaps some local entrepreneurs could establish local 'commondreams' news outlets.
Personally, I teach, instead of playing golf, and instead of whining about all the BIG Things. And I encourage young men to be brave and help raise the next generation a little better. Finally, with a national US teacher shortage of approximately 300,000 I encourage all adults to set aside a little weekly time to volunteer again in our schools, on our sports fields and in our churches. Giving of ourselves can be a blessing, and all our young people really need some help these days.
Mr. Hartman's citation referencing Finland and Mr. Biden's presidential ability to bust all the news media monopolies is an excellent focus. How many phone calls and emails can 350 million voters make?
Mr. Hartman citation:
Finland has taken an unique approach to the problem of fake news, particularly on social media, by incorporating news and media training into required elementary and secondary school classes. America could consider the same, although, like the snit we just saw about teaching American history or sex education, it would almost certainly provoke squeals of outrage from rightwingers.
But screw them. America is in a crisis right now caused, in large part, by dishonest actors across the rightwing spectrum of our media and social media.
Forty percent of Americans don’t believe the results of the 2020 election, and nearly half of Republicans think Democrats engage in ritual drinking of children’s blood and worse. There is no corollary or even similar misunderstanding of reality or bizarre set of beliefs among the left or those in the center.
For the moment, media literacy training in schools across America and requiring transparency from social media — both things Congress would have to undertake to succeed — seem like the best approaches we can take to both protect free speech and diminish the impact of lies and propaganda on American political and social life.
If the Biden administration were to enforce the nation’s antitrust laws and break up the media conglomerates, or Congress were to bring back the media ownership limits as they were before being gutted in the Telecommunications Act of 1996, either or both would go a long way toward increasing the social and political diversity of voices across our media public squares