02 February, 2011
Community Policing
24 July, 2010
Citizens United - How to Handle a Pernicious Ruling
For those of you who aren't familiar, a quick synopsis:
On January 21, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. The 5-justice majority, over a stirring dissent by Justice John Paul Stevens, used the case to overturn two prior court decisions that limited the role of corporate money in politics and to issue a sweeping new rule: For-profit corporations have a constitutional right to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence federal and state elections. Litigation Group attorney Scott Nelson was co-counsel for the key congressional sponsors of the McCain-Feingold law, who filed amicus briefs in the Supreme Court.
The decision is likely to be enormously harmful. Corporations already dominate our political process-through political action committees, fundraisers, high-paid lobbyists, personal contributions by corporate insiders, and more. On the dominant issues of the day-climate change, health care, financial regulation-corporate interests are leveraging their political investments to sidetrack vital measures to protect the planet and its people. Citizens United offers them new tools to influence and intimidate lawmakers.
18 November, 2009
23 June, 2009
02 June, 2009
Incorporate California Today!
California needs to become a corporation, fast! I think it may be the only way to save the State. Think about it. If we incorporated, we could be the largest employer in the United States. Of course, all businesses chartered in the State would become subsidiaries of California Inc.
Why the hell would I suggest this radical course of action? Bailout money. California, as a corporation, would be too big to fail and the Federal Government would print money faster than Limbaugh can deliver the smackdown to a dissenting Republicant.
Think of the press conferences! Geithner and Obama telling us how important we are to the Nation. Media outlets burning through hours of programming talking about all the superficial and unimportant details of the "painful" reorganization. Our former State representatives jockeying for a prime spot in the new management team.
Of course, our CEO would have to be let go as a sacrifice to the pissed off taxpayers. I wouldn't feel too bad. If Gray Davis was kicked to the curb over the VLF, Schwarzenegger should have seen this coming from a mile away.
Argh, I can't keep this up. It's too depressing.
:(
30 May, 2009
Darwin's Taxi - The Evolution of Dry Earth Community Transit
For questions or comments, please call T.R. Lingly @ (TBD).
05 April, 2009
Election Integrity - Best Vision I've Seen Yet
Machines, software, and all esoteric voting methods and procedures are forever incompatible with transparency of process. Transparency being defined as a process where the average literate voting citizen may be randomly culled from the population and then be able to perform any function within the elections process.That is my standard…and it is a hard sell because it is simple. Modern people have come to believe that sophisticated equals complex and shiny, when in reality elegant processes are always a function of accomplishing specified work with the fewest actions.
Jim James Strait
www.straittalks.com
www.weirdmissouri.com
www.wifi1460AM.com
www.wnjc1360.com
www.VoiceoftheVoters.com
As a consultant who does process redesign for a living, I couldn't agree more.