Only a few times in one's life does a person get to hear the call. An invitation that lifts the soul and reminds it of its truer nature. A swell of understanding and gratitude that builds within the breast and burns like a fire.
This burning is the natural response to the call. There is no bravery, because there is no fear. Only righteous love and joy. Only the sense of purpose and cause that is soul-borne.
I have heard the call a few times in my life. I heard it again last night.
As some of you know, I have been very critical of the Obama Administration during this first year of office. I have been highly cynical and aggressively critical of the pay-to-play politics that I have witnessed on the hill.
I have also been very suspicious of the body politic's efforts to strip regulatory restrictions on U.S. businesses and have written and lectured on issues ranging from California Deregulation to International Development (Neoliberal) agendas and how those agendas were then (2000) being focused on the U.S. domestic economy.
I have become very concerned about the long-term viability of functional democracy in America. It has really come to where we are at a "tipping point". That is to say, with the current long-wave (or Kondratieff) economic cycle hitting at the same time as trans-national corporate entities gain unfettered control over domestic politics.
In modern times, the "new" economic liberalism, Neoliberalism, transcends the traditional efforts of liberal economic theory. Instead of attempting to remove government from matters of markets it attempts to restructure government so that transnational corporate dicta define political expediency.
Now, be sure, I realize that what has transpired as "functional democracy in America" to date has been mostly back-room deals and pay-to-play politics. At least as long as this country has been in operation.
So the real issue is that, "I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO LIVE IN THE AMERICA MY FAMILY SANG ABOUT BEFORE EVERY PUBLIC SPORTING EVENT AND GATHERING WE'VE ATTENDED FOR GENERATIONS."
And I believed, truly, that this was possibly going to happen with Barack Obama. After the Health Care Reform process debacle, I began to see that he was compromised by his advisers and we had lost that transformational opportunity, possibly permenantly.
Now, I know that he is willing and able to find his way through compromising rhetoric and "expedience" strategies given to him by advisers who are ideologically captured in a realm of "what has always been" AND and I know he will do what needs to be done.
so, here is what (I think) needs to be done:
- Have all visitations and SUBSTANCE of all lobby contacts for congress and the president AND THEIR STAFFERS listed online -- to the point that transcripts of conversations are accessible. Public Servants must have public accountability. Call this the "Supernova Law" (as opposed to the "Sunshine Law").
- Immediately and vociferously attack the Supreme Court interpretation of the first amendment and OVERTHROW CORPORATE PERSONHOOD IN THE LEGAL SYSTEM. While the legal battle is being put into place, support massive restrictions on international and trans-national corporate influence in elections.
- Push for real SHOVEL ready transportation projects. Push for renewable energy projects that will transform the domestic economy:
My personal solution involves a federal department of Renewable Energy Production involving the development of SOLAR TOWER technology in the desert. These solar towers are the real solution to America's energy needs. They need to be manufactured identically, designed and licensed by the government, along the same lines as the French Nuclear Industry.
520 of these 5-mile wide structures would provide enough energy to power every home in America.
This techonology, in addition to third-generation nuclear plant production (yes we are on the third generation now, the U.S. has skipped a generation since 1982.) will provide for a complete shift away from CO2 producing energy systems, importing oil which is running out and allow the U.S. to shift its transportation sector to:
A. Electric and Electrical powered Highspeed rail and public transportation
until a further shift (of personal transportation) to
B. A pressurized-air personal vehicle fleet and (solar powered) personal air-compression packaged system manufactured in the u.s. using the Midi Mini-Cat at 110 miles of travel for each air tank charge.
--Special Bonus-- There is a Direct Link between the Solar Tower technology and the Air Car Technology, a massive and necessary infrastructure, can you guess what that is? --Special Bonus--
note: all energy used for transportation in the U.S. that is generated within the borders of the U.S. will create 10-fold domestic economic gains.
- GET THE HELL OUT OF AFGHANISTAN -- Economic development is the only solution -- real economic development. Start by fully funding the Millennium Development Goals. Get this, If the U.S. spent only 1/3 of the money it spent on war since 9/11 we would have no terrorist threat in the world today. This is because no one on the planet would see us as a satan. Because we would have been responsible for ending (or radically decreasing) in the world:
poverty and hunger
gender inequality
childhood illness
malaria
aids/hiv
global dispair and failed states
Dennis Kucinich spoke about this during his run for the 2008 election when he discussed "Peace Through Strength".
- Use the Executive Order for the creation of a Deficit Reduction Commission to restore a tax-system that is responsible and patriotic.
- Place a high-level transaction fee on the current banking activities that are being pursued for profit by the banks. This fee has to be prohibitive in nature. These (non-lending) activities are currently more profitable than lending AND THIS PUTS THESE BANKS IN A VIOLATION OF THEIR CORPORATE CHARTERS -- these banks are chartered as LENDING INSTITUTIONS, not casinos.
7a. Pass a National Health Exchange via reconciliation. Enact sweeping and gold-plated national regulations that achieve real reform, remove the insurance industry anti-trust exemption, and place insurance companies in the realm of a regulated monopoly with a pre-determined Rate of Return.
7b. Agressively move toward federal price-point negotiations with health care providers for procedure and pharmaceutical cost reduction.
- Institute the National Service Corps
- Develop a solid understanding of how the banking industry became so deregulated that they were allowed to destroy the u.s. economy, once again. In the way of the Kondratieff cycle of a once-in-every-generation economic collapse. Who was it that authored the bills? These things are put into place 10-years before implementation. (just like Enron wrote the verbage setting the stage for electrical deregulation in the Bush Sr National Energy Plan - and then launched it in the Bush Jr. National Energy Plan)
----------
This is the short list.
I am done criticizing this administration. I have faith in this administration's efforts to secure peace and prosperity for coming generations. I will work to help ensure that these goals are achieved. My hope has been restored. I have faith.
The iron is hot so hit it. If you miss, swing again.
.
.
Change is not easy but it has to happen.
Love and Peace or Else
------------------------
update from Matt Taibi regarding (9) above:
Brooks here is trying to say that by criticizing, say, Goldman Sachs for mass thievery — criticizing a bank for selling billions of dollars worth of worthless subprime mortgage-backed securities mismarked as investment grade deals, for getting the taxpayer to pay them 100 cents on the dollar for their billions in crap investments with AIG, for forcing hundreds of millions of people to pay inflated gas and food prices when they manipulated the commodities market and helped push oil to a preposterous $149 a barrel, and for paying massive bonuses after receiving billions upon billions in public support even beyond the TARP — that in criticizing the bank for doing these things, people like me are primarily interested in being divisive and "organizing hatreds."
Regarding the cornering of the Oil markets, see my diary titled, "Regulation, The Enron Loophole, and Economic Collapse"