progressiveissuesblog

How I Determine My Positions on Issues

Research and years of experience have formed my opinions! I realize that I am not all knowing on everything, so of course, I will always be open to making alterations to any of my positions, but only if justified by facts and critical thinking analysis!  I will not change my positions on issues to win a vote, get an endorsement or campaign funding!

MICHAEL ERNEST KERR

GREEN PARTY CANDIDATE FOR 2022 CALIFORNIA CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 10

MICHAEL KERR FOR CONGRESS WITH PEACE AND JUSTICE

“CENSORSHIP AND THE TRUTH ARE NOT COMPATIBLE”

www.CreatingBetterWorld.org

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Why I Am Running for Public Office

We have a government and mainstream media under the control of the military-industrial-prison complex and a few hundred powerful and rich people who comprise the Deep State. They are real and too be feared.

They act to smear and frame those who might successfully oppose them.

When that fails, they have orchestrated the deaths of outspoken leaders such as JFK, RFK, MLK and Malcolm X.

They attack imprison, exterminate whistleblowers and activists like Karen Silkwood, Brian Willson, Judi Bari, Mumia Abu Jamal, Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, Julian Assange, Daniel Ellsberg, Ralph Nader, among others.

They conspire to keep or remove from political office those who would defy them publicly, such as Dennis Kucinich, Cynthia McKinney and Bernie Sanders since 2015.

The Deep State relentlessly promotes racial, religious, and social issues to divide, control and conquer us.

The Republican and Democratic Parties along with the Corporate Media have become the Deep State tools to subvert us.

Only when we understand this will we have a chance to unite and slay this demon that would willingly destroy us and the world for power and wealth.

With the Corporate Media long censoring opposing viewpoints of the government narrative on important issues, now we are seeing massive flagrant censorship in social media platforms at a level only seen in the most authoritative of governments.

I will be a bullhorn exposing the corruption in Congress and all our government agencies!

9/11 Attack

My Congressional Campaign Statement    Absolutely nothing about the government/corporate media story is truth.  The 9/11 attacks were planned, managed and covered-up by my government.   Corporate media ownership joined in the cover-up.  Since the release of the 9/11 Commission report, which I consider a confession, I have offered a $100K reward to the first person who can prove (even demonstrate) that the government didn’t do 9/11.    More

Engineers and Architects Over 3500 Engineers and Architects have risked their professional reputation and sometimes jobs have signed petition demanding new independent investigation of 9/11 attacks, especially concerning the now proven demolition of the WTC 1 and 2 towers and WTC 7.

1000’S OF PROMINENT PEOPLE DEMANDING AN INDEPENDENT 9/11 INVESTIGATION

Abortion

My Congressional Campaign Statement   The Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision was an excellent compromise concerning a divisive issue.   The Democratic Party has failed us in not making the Supreme Court’s excellent compromise in the Roe v. Wade decision into legislative law.   That should be a priority in the future.  

Why does the “Pro-Life” movement keep electing politicians who act as if the “Sanctity of Life Ends at Birth”. Social programs are often needed to guarantee the health and safety of mothers and children! Where is the Pro-Life in Pro-Life? Why do Pro-Choice people defend a woman’s right to control her own body and yet support a government policy that forces people to inject experimental vaccines into their body? Why do Pro-Life people want to force a woman to bear a pregnancy for 9 months yet scream against being forced to take a mandated vaccine that takes a minute? Lots of hypocrisy from both sides!

Assange, Julian

My Congressional Campaign Statement I demand that Julian Assange be freed immediately! Although he has done no wrong, in order to protect him from further oppression, I demand President Biden provide a full pardon! There needs to be significant reparations paid to Julian for all that he has been forced to suffer by England and the U.S. The attack on Julian has also been an attack on Wikileaks. The treatment of Assange and Wikileaks has been a grave threat to the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech and the press!

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”    https://defendwikileaks.org/

Banking

Ban Payday Loans   They often charge astronomical interest rates for short term loans which can trap low income into a never-ending struggle to survive financially.   They should be banned and replace with low interest post office and community bank loan programs.

Breakup Big Banks   Big Banks charge excessive fees and interest to middle and low income people while making special deals with the rich..  They promote loans to multi-national corporations for large infrastructure projects in smaller nations against the will of the local people.    They take money out of local communities and give back little in return.

Cap Credit Card Interest    Credit Card Interest rates are highway robbery, and they negatively affect the poor the most. Those who can’t make large payments so suffer years merely paying high interest.   The interest rates should be fixed to the Fed’s prime rate at a much lower rate.

Community Banking    Credit Unions and Community Banks provide reasonable financial service to most members of the community. They keep and invest the money in the local community.

Dodd-Frank      Dodd-Frank should only be improved and enforced more.    [The Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (commonly referred to as Dodd–Frank) is a United States federal law that was enacted on July 21, 2010.[1] The law overhauled financial regulation in the aftermath of the Great Recession, and it made changes affecting all federal financial regulatory agencies and almost every part of the nation’s financial services industry.]

Post Office Banking   Would provide low-cost checking accounts to help replace the outrageous Payday loan centers.  

Public Banking     I support the California Public Banking Option Act (AB 1177) which has Passed the CA State Legislature. 

We also have the opportunity now to build a new alternative banking system through locally-controlled socially and environmentally responsible public banks, enabling cities and counties to recapture public dollars and have a say over the financing of our own communities.   Cities and counties hold billions of dollars of public money in Wall Street banks. Legally, these corporate banks own and control this money which they have used to finance harmful industries including: private prisons, immigrant detention centers, weapons manufacturers, fossil fuel pipelines, and other investments that prioritize corporate profit over the people and the planet. These too-big-too-fail banks are also engaged in risky and fraudulent practices that crashed the global economy in 2008. https://californiapublicbankingalliance.org/  

Would help keep money in the community for home, business and vehicle purchases and loans.

Business     

Breakup Monopolies      Breakup monopolies!  Monopolies enrich a few individuals at the expense of communities, workers and local small businesses. Example: Walmart and Amazon warehouses could be a number of individual businesses that supply (at same wholesale prices) all retail stores regardless of size in their region. Then there would be affordable priced local retail stores in every community.

End Corporate Welfare      End tax breaks and subsidies to large corporations.  

Stop Corporate Blackmail   Prevent Corporations from blackmailing and pitting communities against each other for tax breaks and other perks.

Small Businesses First     Eliminate unfunded bureaucratic legal paperwork on small businesses.  Encourage public bank and credit union financing of small business.

Worker Cooperatives         Encourage worker owned cooperatives!   Allow workers first right to purchase companies being closed or moved along with public financing.  Promote Cooperatives businesses!

California Democrats, the Fake Progressive Party

My Congressional Campaign Statement California has the wealth and knowledge to do the policies below. California is under total control of the Democratic Party, yet it has not implemented these policies for 12 years! One excuse after another!

Homelessness   Haven’t done anything that actually solves the problem as it keeps getting worse.   Homelessness is a complex, life-threatening problem. The Democrats could solve homelessness, but only if systems are designed to continually reduce and end it. Built for Zero.  About 0.4% of Californians and people who live in the state (161,000) are homeless.  California in 2017 had an oversized share of the nation’s homeless: 22%, for a state whose residents make up only 12% of the country’s total population.   “Housing First” principle, a policy in which the government offers unconditional housing for all. To put this into perspective, cities that do not abide by the housing first principle usually want the homeless to meet certain conditions and criteria before being made eligible for permanent housing.  An individual who is suffering from, for example, substance abuse, must first complete an intensive drug rehabilitation program before qualifying for public housing. Chronically homeless people cost the government a lot of money when they’re living on the street, because of services like emergency room visits and jail time.   

Medicare for All   Passed twice by the California legislature only to have Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger veto it both times! It hasn’t passed the CA legislature for 12 years since despite increased Democratic control while CA has had two “progressive” Democratic Governors neither of whom has publicly demanded the bill on their desk!

Public Bank   Public banking serves as a powerful tool to keep taxpayer dollars in local communities.   Cities and counties hold billions of dollars of public money in Wall Street banks. Legally, these corporate banks own and control this money which they have used to finance harmful industries including: private prisons, immigrant detention centers, weapons manufacturers, fossil fuel pipelines, and other investments that prioritize corporate profit over the people and the planet. These too-big-too-fail banks are also engaged in risky and fraudulent practices that crashed the global economy in 2008.  We have the opportunity now to build a new alternative banking system through locally-controlled socially and environmentally responsible public banks, enabling cities and counties to recapture public dollars and have a say over the financing of our own communities. Why do Democrats refused to create a California Public Bank?

California Public Banking Option Act – AB 1177 (Santiago, Carrillo, Chiu, Garcia, Gonzalez, Kalra, Lee, Ting, Wicks, Gipson), or CalAccount, closes the financial services gap, bolsters the economy, and ensures an equitable economic recovery by providing a stable, accessible platform for underserved communities especially hit hard by the pandemic. It builds on the success of financial access programs CalSavers and CalKids and brings us closer to bridging the racial wealth gap.

Campaign Finance Reform

Electoral Reform   Until there is a level field in elections as to financing and public access, we will continue to have corporate monied sponsored candidates win most elections.

100% Public Campaign Financing Allow the necessary funding to candidates and propositions to counter dark money and super PACs support of opposition. Expensive at first, but will eventually discourage use of Dark money and super PACs in elections. Way to neutralize Citizen United Supreme Court decision.

End Citizen United It is insane to consider corporations as people with more rights than people.

Rank Choice Voting Helps eliminate the spoiler effect of voting and allows voters to vote their conscious without fear of helping to elect undesirable candidates.

End Election Suppression of Third Parties Prevent collusion by Republican and Democratic Parties to suppress election participation by Third Parties.

Modify Presidential Electoral College Make each state’s Electoral College based on proportional voting rather than winner take all. Helps negate the current unrepresentative system without unfairly hurting small state influence in Presidential elections.

Modify Congressional District Format Create fewer larger Congressional Districts. Example in California: the current 52 Congressional Districts would be broken into 10 Congressional Districts where the top 5 or 6 candidates would be your Congress people. Effect is that more voters in each District would likely have Congresspersons who share their values. Also makes it more possible for Third Parties to elect some members to Congress that represent viewpoints different from the two corporate parties.

Fairer Election Media Coverage Require media as part of their FCC licensing agreements to provide free media access such that it will equalize coverage to public audience for all election candidates and propositions overwhelmed by advertising purchased by large money interests!

Reinstate the Fairness Doctrine Require the FCC to act to promote and encourage the larger and more effective use of broadcast and social media in the public interest. The airwaves and internet belong to the public.

Censorship

 My Campaign Slogan      Censorship and the Truth are not Compatible.

Government Censorship Right to censor and classify documents should be more limited especially concerning media access.

Whistleblowers Protection They are a vital element in keeping government honest and less corrupt. Whistleblowers who act in public interest to expose corruption and illegal activities should not only have full immunity, but reasonable compensation for their courage and risks undertaken.

Climate Change    

Climate Catastrophe   The U.S. needs to lead the world in attacking the climate catastrophe with the same level of effort as was made during WWII.    Yet our government and many others are not doing anything of substance.  The government acts like it is not an emergency and the financial market will solve the problem.

Climate Catastrophe Future? The Scientific Community gave us 10–20 years to prevent civilization ending runaway Global Warming. Little has been done politically since to address the pending Climate Catastrophe.

Covid

My Congressional Campaign Statement Is there any circumstance that the government should mandate vaccines for the public?  There may be a circumstance, but it should never have happened during the current Covid-19 situation.   Covid was a serious health risk only to those with multiple comorbidities.  95% or more people either never suffered any symptoms or only mild cold flu symptoms.   The CDC director a few months ago stated that 75% of those who have died with Covid virus association had 4 or more comorbidities.  How many died with 3; with 2; with 1.  

People were mandated to take experimental unproven vaccines in violation of the Nuremberg Medical Code established after the trials of medical personnel at the Nuremberg trials of the Nazi after WWII.    There were some unusually rapid approvals of several of the mRNA vaccines.   However, the approved vaccines have never been distributed.  The vaccine manufacturers were allowed by CDC to first deplete their large stock of the experimental vaccines.  The manufacturers are in no rush to provide the approved vaccine which they are liable for adverse effects, while their experimental vaccines are immune from liability.   Meanwhile the CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) released recent reports of 1,217,333 reports of adverse events from all age groups following COVID vaccines, including 26,699 deaths and 217,301 serious injuries between Dec. 14, 2020, and April 1, 2022.  This is about a 1000% increase in adverse reaction from all vaccines in each of the previous 10 years.  Data experts also claim that less the 10% of adverse reactions to vaccines ever get officially reported.  Yet CDC and media keeps claiming these vaccines are safe.  More

A simple Summation of Covid Stupidity 

• Imagine a vaccine so safe that you have to be threatened to take it;
• a vaccine manufacturers have to be given total immunity from any damages to your health;
• for a disease so deadly that you have to be tested to know you have it;
• for a disease that requires you to have multiple pre-existing comorbidities to die from it;
• for a pandemic that doesn’t register in increased worldwide death totals;
• for a society that wants to experimentally vaccinate children that have near zero chance of death or even severe illness;
• for health aftereffects that are deliberately called “long covid” instead of “long vaccine”;
• for a government that managed a massive wealth transfer from the middle class to the super rich;
• for a society that will believe anything that corporate media & government might say when told to be afraid;
• for a government that needs massive censorship and attacks on whistle blowers to accomplish all this!

Censorship     Massive censorship of even experts in the field of medicine, vaccines and mRNA technology!  WHY?

 The U.S. has world’s Worse Covid Death Rate     This fact alone should have stopped massive censorship and opened up discussion as to why this was happening!

Worldwide Death Rate      Demonstrates only a slight death rate increase in 2020 (7.612), 2021 (7.645) and 2022 (7.678) from 2019 (7.579).  The death rate actually started increasing in 2019 after decades of gradually dropping from 20.15 in 1950 to a low of 7.546 in 2018.   It was only in 2009 (7.969) that the death rate first dropped below 8.0.    In past 72 years only 6 years had lower worldwide death rate than the covid years and barely.  Where is the pandemic?  More

Health Care   “COVID-19 has exposed how poorly prepared the U.S. healthcare system is to handle an epidemic,” said Green Party National Co-Chair Margaret Flowers, who also serves on the Board of Advisors to Physicians for a National Health Program. “We’ve missed the window for containing the virus through screening, testing and monitoring infected people and their contacts — as they did in China, South Korea and other countries. And so we can expect millions of cases.” Flowers also warned that “getting ill in the United States carries the extra burden of potential financial ruin. We need to move to a National Improved Medicare for All health system and paid medical leave as rapidly as possible.”

Death Penalty

Abolish Death Penalty       Allowing the state, the right to kill anyone is obscene.   Too many innocents have been on death row!  Financially it is less expensive to imprison someone for life than to execute.

Families and Community    It’s a long process that further damages the families of the victims & the incarcerated.    It is an emotional, moral, and financial drain on society.

Deficits

Abolish Debt Ceiling     The debt ceiling is used as an excuse to limit needed social spending.   The military budget needs to be sharply reduced.  We spend more money on “Defense” than the next 10 nations combined.   Foreign aid should only be for humanitarian and social needs.   Domestic social spending and helping the poor increases the tax base as money exchanges hands more frequently!

Democrat-Republican Divide  

Military-Industrial-Prison Complex   We have a government and mainstream media under the control of the military-industrial-prison complex and a few hundred powerful and rich people who comprise the Deep State.   Both Parties use the “Good Cop – Bad Cop” to control their people bases, but they both answer to the MIPC! Both use the other as excuses on why they can never seem to be able to help the average person.

Roe v Wade   Another brick in the wall dividing red and blue America

Drugs

Addiction Is Illness     Drug usage abuse is an addiction and mental illness.    Local community should provide medications to help those addicted to recover. more

End Drug War           Destroy the profit driven criminal drug empire by providing free drugs at community medical centers with offers to help end addiction!    End drug use incarceration!

Legalize Marijuana      Legalize marijuana use & cultivation for personal use, but severely limit corporate control & promotion.  Research hemp and its uses especially those which can help alleviate environmental damage!

Pharma       End Pharma financial control of Medical Schools & Journals and government officials.

Economy

Equitable   Government should act to bring people out of poverty by providing free or low-cost essential services.  

Tax the super-rich and billionaires out of existence.

Jobs        Create a livable Minimum Wage.  Guarantee public jobs to those unemployed!

Universal Basic Income    A universal guaranteed livable income for all U.S. adults would create a more equitable society.  It would help to eliminate poverty and a major impetus causing most crime.   Tax the rich whatever it takes! I suggest:

• $600/week to every adult American citizen, $31K yearly (no exceptions)
• All able bodied must work average 30hr/ week, 10 months/year
• 5% (of $600) for every year a Green Card holder/legal resident
• Convicted and serving Prison time (Your $600 distributed goes 1/2 to your family and 1/2 to your victims/victim fund)
• Work requirement exceptions: pregnant, a parent w/ child under 7, over 50 years old, disabled (while temporary or permanent), full time students (part time less)

Products 3Rs    Will need a 100% repairable, reusable, and recyclable society! 

Education

Charter Schools     No tax money should go to private charter schools

Critical Thinking    Next to reading and math, critical thinking should be taught at every level of schooling.  Critical thinking might be the most important subject of all, yet it is seldom taught if at all.        Critical thinking is an important skill to have among the electorate, if you want a Democracy to survive and prosper.

Free Public Universities     Education is an important public resource that makes our country and the world a better place.  The U.S. should provide free public education from pre-K through college

Fund Public Schools     Public schools should be fully funded through our income tax system rather than with separate regressive school bonds and local taxes.  The quality of education and teacher salary should be the same in poor communities as well as rich.  

Private Universities      Low income students should be eligible for government assistance

Student Loans      Forgive existing public student debt and negotiate for payment of private loan student debt.  Establish program to help reimburse students for school loans already paid if they haven’t financially benefitted!

Support Teachers      Teachers should be support by their communities with respect and decent livable wages. The quality of education and teacher salary should be the same in poor communities as well as rich.   

Teaching and Learning    The education system needs to recognize that students don’t always learn in the same way or rate.   I find the grading system to be detrimental to wholesome learning.   Test with pass/fail system with no negative reference if someone needs many opportunities to pass.  Teaching should help encourage debate and discussion.  Nothing in real life is black and white.

Election Reform

• Get money out of politics. All of it. We should have a public financing system with a limited campaign window. Or allow the necessary public financing to balance voter access with candidates and issue campaigns with excessive financial advantage.
• Pass a Federal Voter Rights Bill to regulate election practices of states that restrict the ability to vote fairly.
• End gerrymandering. Mandate Independent Commissions to establish voting districts!
• Implement Ranked Choice Voting.
• End the 60 vote Senate filibuster. A filibuster should only cause a temporary delay (maybe a week) in the legislative process that allows brief expression of strong dissent by a legislator(s).
• Enact Proportional Representation.
• Abolish the electoral college and elect the president by popular vote.
• Term limits for members of Congress. Would support only with strong public financing and equal access to public through the media.
• Re-establish the fairness doctrine in media. Require social media algorithms that allow for diverse viewpoints to users!
• Establish reasonable free and equal access for candidates and propositions on media that uses public airways and internet.
• End ballot statement fees and include candidate website on voter ballot
• Provide for fair ballot access and regulations.
• Full ex-felon voting including probation period.
• Lower voting age to 16. Engaging youth in the election process should help increase greater participation as adults. Non-partisan discussion and election promotion during school hours but the Equal Access Act (EAA), passed by Congress in 1984 controls as to after school clubs!

Energy & Climate

Climate Emergency      The U.S. needs to lead the world in attacking the climate catastrophe with the same level of effort as was made during WWII

EPA – Environmental Protection Agency

Toxic Chemicals  I support the ability of the EPA to find “reasonable certainty of no harm” before chemicals could enter or stay on the market. Because of the chemical industry’s influence in Congress, I oppose any law that would pre-empt the ability of states to impose stricter standards. CA has some of the most stringent chemical safety regs in the nation. In fact, at least 18 states have enacted more than 200 laws or policies governing chemical safety due to lack of action under TSCA.

Congress passed a major overhaul of the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act with bipartisan support on June 7, 2016. The bill was a compromise between industry groups wanting predictable, federal regulations and consumer advocates who long argued TSCA didn’t do enough to protect Americans from unsafe chemicals. The new soon-to-be law includes important policy advances: The bill allows the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate chemicals based on their human health effects alone, and it will ultimately allow the EPA to review 20 chemicals at a time, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Generally, state action on a chemical is preempted only when EPA has acted – either by finding a chemical to be safe or by regulating a chemical to address identified risks. State action is also temporarily “paused” when EPA is evaluating a chemical, although states can avail themselves of a mandatory waiver from the “pause” if they still seek to pursue their own regulation.

For nearly 40 years, industrial chemicals have been regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, one of the oldest existing environmental statutes.   Since the law was passed, though, the EPA has regulated – or attempted to regulate – just five dangerous substances that were on the books before 1976 and four new chemicals, and has fully tested only a couple hundred chemicals for safety. That’s a minuscule percent of the roughly 84,000 chemicals on the market today, or even of the 22,000 that have come on the market since the law was passed. About 62,000 chemicals were grandfathered in when the law was passed.  See Open Secrets and Toxic Chemicals.

Equal Rights

The foundation of any democratic society is the guarantee that each member of society has equal rights. Respect for our constitutionally protected rights is our best defense against discrimination and the abuse of power. There is an intimate connection between our rights as individuals and our responsibilities to our neighbors and the planet.

We should strive to secure universal and effective recognition and observance of the principles and spirit expressed in the United National Universal Declaration of Human Rights as an international standard that all nations must meet.

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

My Congressional Campaign Statement I fully support the passage of the ERA.  While the original United States Constitution may have been a major step in world history as to rights and freedoms it also only recognized white male property owners as worthy of those freedoms.  Our constitution minus amendments would now be considered one of the worst in the world.   Despite a number of amendments that have address some of our original constitution’s short comings, the recognition of the same rights and freedoms for women and LGBTQIA community has been long delayed.   With the recognition that we have a Supreme Court that is especially antagonistic toward individual rights of people, we need the ERA amendment more than ever.  Time to recognize the rights of women and LGBTQIA community with the passage of the ERA. 

Foreign Policy

End Our Foreign Wars   The U.S continues to be the greatest purveyor of violence in the world as MLK said in the late 60’s.   I believe the situation is much worse today! 

Guns

Universal Background Checks      We need universal background checking everywhere; stores, gun shows and individual sales. 

IDs on all guns like cars do.  Maybe each separate part of a gun

No Assault weapons except for legitimate gun collectors.  

Child Safety devices with guns. 

Parents responsible for minor’s access. 

Need License and training to have or use a gun

Need liability Insurance to own a gun!

Green New Deal

The Green Party first began calling for a Green New Deal in the United States in 2010. It combined a 10-year timeline for a transition to 100% clean, renewable energy and zero emissions, with an Economic Bill of Rights focused on a guaranteed living wage job, universal health care (expanded and Improved Medicare for All), housing, and education.  The Green New Deal – Green Party

Healthcare

Medicare for All     We need a Medicare for All similar but all the better than other industrialized nations.   If government is the single payer of healthcare, it will be motivated to promote healthy people and environment.

Housing    

Affordable Housing     Housing should be a right.  Providing decent housing to all makes for a better safer community and it is cost effective.

Rent Control    Current rent control programs act to imprison low income renters to the same housing that degrades over the years from poor maintenance.   All apartment complexes should be under a rent control based on inflation plus maintenance costs and not tied to a particular renter.  This would help discourage speculation and free renters to move as needed without undue financial burden. 

Stop Real Estate Speculation        End housing speculation.  End property tax on primary residence.  Tax progressively hell multi-home ownership to discourage this practice!     Aid public banks & credit unions to prioritize home ownership!

Walkable Neighborhoods    Government should be active in maintaining friendly, safe and environmentally sound communities   Create Car less communities and cities in future.  Promote bicycle and pedestrian friendly communities.

Stop the Ellis Act Evictions     The Ellis Act (California Government Code Chapter 12.75) is a 1985 California state law that allows landlords to evict residential tenants to “go out of the rental business” in spite of desires by local governments to compel them to continue providing rental housing.

Immigration

Amnesty    Policing the U.S.’s over 15 million undocumented is a waste of tax money. It also wastes FBI, community police and border control time and energy.  We need a comprehensive immigration policy.  

Asylum Seekers    Respect the humanitarian rights of refugees as required by International Law and the United Nations.  Need to end Title 42, where over 1.7 million people seeking refuge in the United States have been expelled at the southern border, almost always without being allowed to make an asylum claim or have their day in court, despite the legal right to seek asylum in the U.S. Human Rights First documented more than 10,000 kidnappings, rapes, and attacks on people turned away at the border because of Title 42. 

Need a Humane Foreign Policy Stop negatively interfering with other nations and their people.  No more wars, coups, and sanctions!  No more military and police aid.  No more using NGOs to subvert governments!   Only foreign aid should be provided that promotes Democracy and the well-being of the people (e.g. water, electricity sewage, food production).

Path To Citizenship    Green cards and reasonable path to citizenship for those undocumented. 

Support Dreamers   Quick citizenship available for Dreamers.

Work Visas     Low-cost renewable yearly work visas not connected to any company! Government should provide information, assistance and protection when needed.   Limit the visas for skilled workers if Americans can do the work.   Skilled worker visas have been used to lower wages and benefits in the workplace.

Inequality

Living Wages       We need a guaranteed living income for all U.S. adults regardless of work status that includes those on SSI and Social Security.  Tax the rich whatever it takes!

Unions     Get rid of “Right to be Slave” laws.  Promote right to form unions.   Encourage a National Union of all workers regardless of corporate or industry status!   Unions should have united and shut down the country when President Reagan fired all the air traffic controllers.  Horrible mistake by the AFL-CIO. This was the beginning of union membership decline!  

Cooperatives     Allow workers first right to purchase companies being closed or moved along with public financing.  Promote Cooperatives businesses!

Interest Rates

Prohibit Usury

Limit Credit Card Interest Rates Limit maximum rate of 10% over Federal Prime Interest Rate

Internet

Internet Neutrality      I fully support Network Neutrality, most commonly called net neutrality, which is the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) must treat all Internet communications equally, and not charge users different rates based on content, website, platform, application, type of equipment, source address, destination address, or method of communication.   With net neutrality, ISPs may not intentionally block, slow down, or charge money for specific online content. Without net neutrality, ISPs may prioritize certain types of traffic, meter others, or potentially block traffic from specific services, while charging consumers for various tiers of service.

In 2017, Trump’s Republican FCC Board overturned Obama’s FCC net neutrality policy.   Currently there is no Net Neutrality except in California.   Late in 2021, Biden named Jessica Rosenworcel the permanent chair of the FCC. Biden’s other nominee for the FCC, Gigi Sohn, had her Senate confirmation hearing in December and now awaits votes from the committee and full Senate. If Sohn makes it through the confirmation process, Democrats will have the necessary 3-2 majority to lead the agency and reestablish the FCC’s authority to impose rules of the road for the internet.

Internet Access     I support full free access to the internet.  The internet should be a government run utility available to everyone across the country.

Judicial Law Reform

Abolishing Civil Asset Forfeiture

Legalize Cannabis at the Federal Level

Ending Cash Bail across the United States.

Labor

Unions     Get rid of “Right to be Slave” laws.  Promote right to form unions.   Encourage a National Union of all workers regardless of corporate or industry status!   Unions should have united and shut down the country when President Reagan fired all the air traffic controllers.  Horrible mistake by the AFL-CIO. This was the beginning of union membership decline!  

Cooperatives     Allow workers first right to purchase companies being closed or moved along with public financing.  Promote Cooperatives businesses!

Work Visas     Low-cost renewable yearly work visas not connected to any company! Government should provide information, assistance and protection when needed.   Limit the visas for skilled workers if Americans can do the work.   Skilled worker visas have been used to lower wages and benefits in the workplace.

Mass Shootings

We must look at the broader issues around the epidemic of violence in this country.   “We need to stop normalizing gun violence and discuss real systemic solutions. More

In the 10 years since Sandy Hook, 2,654 mass shootings have occurred. Just one day before the shooting, the FBI reported a 52.5% increase in active shooter incidents in the U.S. from 2020 to 2021. It is essential to point out that due to federal legislation in 1997 stating “none of the funds made available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may be used for research on gun violence” that the federal government essentially blocked funding for preventive measures until 2019 when Congress specifically allocated funds to the CDC more than twenty years later.

Medicare

Medicare Direct Contracting and REACH   Demand an end to Medicare Direct Contracting and REACH. This program pays third-party middlemen to manage seniors’ care, allowing them to keep as profit what they don’t spend on medical services. Even worse, seniors who chose Traditional Medicare are being automatically enrolled in Direct Contracting without their knowledge or consent. We cannot let Wall Street profiteers take over Medicare.

Medicare for All

Healthcare should be a guaranteed right of all people. Healthcare for all should be guaranteed and funded by the government as in “universal healthcare,” or “medicare for all”. As we have seen with covid and other diseases it only makes sense to cover everybody in the U.S. regardless of their immigration or visitor status.

Medicare for All exists in a variety of forms across the industrial nations of the world. We thus should be able to create the best Medicare for All in the world! It is insane that the U.S. does not have Single Payer Medicare for All like most of the nations in the industrial developed world. Millions of Americans have died and tens of millions have suffered from the lack of affordable quality healthcare.

Although Democrats have had total control of California for years and their platform calls for Medicare for All, the corporate beholden Democratic Party always finds a reason not to pass Medicare for All during the past ten years despite supposedly progressive Democratic Governors. When Arnold Schwarzenegger was Governor, he twice vetoed in 2006 and 2008 the only Democratic legislative Medicare for All bill ever passed in California. Despite increasing Democratic control in California where Republicans effectively have no say, Democrats continue to refuse to pass Medicare for All despite overwhelming support among the public.

Because of how poor our current profit driven insurance driven healthcare has been, we should expect some initial increased costs caring for people that have long been neglected. As everyone first starts getting the complete affordable healthcare that have been denied in the past, overall healthcare costs will go down gradually in future years.

With the government covering all of Medicare for All costs, the government would have a tremendous incentive to make all our lives safer in the products we buy, the food we eat, in promoting lifelong healthcare, in creating safer work and living environments, in a less toxic environment in our air, water and ground and more.

I have heard many great ideas on how Medicare for All would pay for itself. I would like to offer an additional way that I have never heard mentioned. The top 25 products or services that are shown to cause adverse medical conditions in people, should be charged a surcharge to cover those medical costs. For example, if car accidents cause several $billion in health costs each year, then the that cost over the average life of the car should be added to the manufacturing cost of the car. This would help the government in covering healthcare costs from car accidents. This shouldn’t add significant costs to the car manufacturer but would save the taxpayers significant in paying for Medicare for All. There would be additional incentive for car manufacturers to make safer vehicles!

Military

Repeal the 2001 AUMF The Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) (Pub.L. 107–40 (text) (PDF), 115 Stat. 224) is a joint resolution of the United States Congress which became law on September 18, 2001, authorizing the use of the United States Armed Forces against those responsible for the September 11 attacks.

End Our Foreign Wars      The U.S continues to be the greatest purveyor of violence in the world as Martin Luther King said in the late 60’s.   The Military-Industrial Complex has become that grave danger to America that President Eisenhower warned about as he left office in 1960! 

Cut Military Budget Military budget has become cash cow for the Military Industrial Complex.

Close 90% of U.S. foreign military bases

Military Pay Our low-ranking military personnel are being paid close to minimum wage while required to risk their lives for our country (actually for the military-industrial complex).

Military-Industrial-Prison Complex   

My Congressional Campaign Statement We have a government and mainstream media under the control of the military-industrial-prison complex and a few hundred powerful and rich people who comprise the Deep State.   They act to smear and frame those who might successfully oppose them.  The Deep State relentlessly promotes racial, religious, and social issues to divide, control and conquer us.   The Republican and Democratic Parties along with the Corporate Media have become the Deep State tools to subvert us.   Only when we understand this will we have a chance to unite and slay this demon that would willingly destroy us and the world for power and wealth.

MICIMATT It is the Military-Industrial-Congressional Intelligence-Media-Academia-Think Tank Complex. They now control everything in your life. Your employment, your income, your food, your heath, your education, your politicians, your information sources. They know almost everything about you and what you do in your life. They now own you and can manipulate even what you think & believe!

Police Reform

Prosecute Police Abuse    There is no excuse to train police to shoot to kill just because they believe they feel threaten.   Just like anyone in society, if you kill someone you need to be independently investigated and tried the same as anyone else.

End Qualified Immunity    There shouldn’t be any qualified immunity, in fact these highly trained individuals, trusted with lethal weapons should be held to a higher standard

Stop Police Militarization     Equipping police like they are soldiers in a war zone does not create a safe neighborhood, but distrust and fear.  It promotes a me and them attitude among police.   It encourages violence over de-escalation!

Mandatory Bodycams    Bodycams have helped expose false narratives by police involved in violent encounters.  They need to be better and more locations including vehicle and weapons.

Community Policing   Unarmed or lightly armed police walking or bicycling a community where they learn to know  the people helps create a  peaceful friendly neighborhood.   De-escalation tactics work best with community policing where people having mental episodes or committing petty crimes are seen as humans and not threats. 

Independent Investigations    The State should lead independent investigations of all incidents of police involved violence, instead of local internal police/DA run investigations.

Evidence Transparency      All evidence concerning violent actions by police should be promptly turned over to the DA, state agencies and attorneys for families of victims of police violence.   Police should be required to immediately write report of incidents and to submit to prompt interviews by DA and other investigative offices when place on leave.

Political Activities   Police, individually or through unions,  should not be able to endorse, fund raise or otherwise support candidates for elected office that might have future official involvement or official business with police. 

National Database of Police Misconduct   On the anniversary of George Floyd’s death, President Biden issued an executive order addressing policing. While largely symbolic, one useful thing it did was finally create a national database of police misconduct.   Although as an Executive Order it can easily overturned by another President.

Presidential and Government Powers

End the AUMF – Authorization for Use of Military Force    The authorization granted the President the authority to use all “necessary and appropriate force” against those whom he determined “planned, authorized, committed or aided” the September 11 attacks, or who harbored said persons or groups. The AUMF was passed by the 107th Congress on September 14, 2001 and signed into law by President George W. Bush on September 18, 2001.  Since 2001, U.S. Presidents have interpreted their authority under the AUMF to extend beyond al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan to apply to numerous other groups as well as other geographic locales.  In December 2016, the Office of the President published a brief interpreting the AUMF as providing Congressional authorization for the use of force against al-Qaeda and other militant groups. Today, the full list of actors the U.S. military is fighting or believes itself authorized to fight under the 2001 AUMF is classified and therefore a secret unknown to the American public   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authorization_for_Use_of_Military_Force_of_2001

Improve Freedom of Information Act as to access and promptness   The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, is a federal freedom of information law that requires the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government upon request. The act defines agency records subject to disclosure, outlines mandatory disclosure procedures, and defines nine exemptions to the statute.[1][2] The act was intended to make U.S. government agencies’ functions more transparent so that the American public could more easily identify problems in government functioning and put pressure on Congress, agency officials, and the president to address them.[3] The FOIA has been changed repeatedly by both the legislative and executive branches.   Apart from the U.S. federal government’s Freedom of Information Act, the U.S. states have their own varying freedom of information laws.                              https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Information_Act_(United_States)     https://www.foia.gov/

End the Patriot Act     The USA PATRIOT Act (commonly known as the Patriot Act) was a landmark Act of the United States Congress, signed into law by President George W. Bush. The formal name of the statute is the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001.   The Patriot Act was enacted following the September 11 attacks and the 2001 anthrax attacks with the stated goal of dramatically tightening U.S. national security, particularly as it related to foreign terrorism. In general, the act included three main provisions:

expanded surveillance abilities of law enforcement, including by tapping domestic and international phones;

easier interagency communication to allow federal agencies to more effectively use all available resources in counterterrorism efforts; and

increased penalties for terrorism crimes and an expanded list of activities which would qualify for terrorism charges.

The law is controversial due to its authorization of indefinite detention without trial of immigrants, and due to the permission given to law enforcement to search property and records without a warrant, consent, or knowledge. (Though generally, they need a warrant or consent to conduct the search.)[2] Since its passage, several legal challenges have been brought against the act, and federal courts have ruled that a number of provisions are unconstitutional.

Protecting Our Democracy Act    House passed a bill in December that would impose significant curbs on executive power after the Trump years, including a provision that would require disclosure of the emergency action documents to congressional overseers.

Prison System

Prisons    Eliminate Private Prisons.   Corporate Prisons have the financial incentive to lobby for harsher laws and more people to be imprisoned.  Public prisons provide financial incentive to reduce prison population, rehabilitate, prevent recidivism.

Community involvement   End all the obscene surcharges that help isolate family and friends from the incarcerated.  Encourage family visitations and contact.

End Prison Slavery   All prisoners should be paid minimum wage (rate of their home state) for any outside labor.  Funds should either go into a prisoner’s monetary account or to support outside family.    Monthly pay outs for commissary, etc. expenses should be established out of prisoner’s monetary account.  Monitored outside family and friend contributions should be encouraged to prisoner’s account.

Probation Period After Release   Housing and other living costs should be guaranteed by state for at least a year or length of probation period, along with public jobs at twice home state minimum wage.  Establish programs that help encourage private employment options.   Probation mission should be to continue rehabilitation into normal society and prevention of recidivism.

Prisoner Isolation   Any frequent or long-term use of this punishment becomes torture and can have lasting negative psychological effects on a prisoner.  

Race & Racism

Black Lives Matter   This movement has played an important role in the public acknowledging the long-term systematic racism in society against people of color.  It has especially brought to attention police oppression and brutality inflicted on people of color and galvanized support for the families who have lost loved ones to unjust police violence.

CRT -Critical Race Theory     There needs to be acknowledgement of past wrongs by our society and in our education system.   Let’s all work for a better society and world for all.   [critical race theory (CRT), intellectual and social movement and loosely organized framework of legal analysis based on the premise that race is not a natural, biologically grounded feature of physically distinct subgroups of human beings but a socially constructed (culturally invented) category that is used to oppress and exploit people of color.]

Equality For All     All-lives matter, but special consideration needs to be acknowledged for those communities that have suffered oppression and societal forms of racism.

Reparations      I believe any reparations should include programs to help those who most need extra assistance to become full and equal members of society.  

Social Security

 My Congressional Campaign Statement   The minimum SSI and Social Security payments should be the minimum wage in each state. Time in the U.S. legally, should be only limiting factor. All income earned and unearned should be taxed. The age to get Social Security should be lowered to 50-55.

Taxation

My Congressional Campaign Statement Tax the Rich!  It is insane to allow individuals to be so wealthy that they can control and compete with our government.  Tax the billionaires and other super rich out of existence, income and wealth wise.  Have no mercy!

Tax Reform

• No tax on Guaranteed Livable Income plus first $5K, but everyone must file a tax return *
• Progressive tax rate from 10% on first additional $10K to 99% on income over $10 million*
• No deductions, no loopholes*
• Also 25% yearly wealth tax on wealth over $20 million*
• Same equivalent individual tax rates must be paid by all corporations operating in the US for any corporate management, board members, and stockholders who don’t claim US residence*
• We need more wealth equity in the US.

End Regressive Taxes: Government financing from sales tax and primary residence property tax. However, tax additional homes to discourage ownership and make more homes available to first time buyers, especially families.

Transportation

City Design   Create Car less communities and cities in future.  Promote bicycle and pedestrian friendly communities.

Public Transit        Free Public transportation should be a priority.   

Trains      Promote trains and its infrastructure as an extremely energy efficient transportation system of goods and products.  Make high speed trains part of major infrastructure policy and public sponsored employment!

Vehicles      Rapid transition from fossil fuel driven vehicles to hybrids and then to all electric.   Make vehicles easy to repair, reuse or at least recycle. 

Car Sharing      Make liability vehicle insurance be paid at the gas pump, at least while fossil fuel dominates transportation.   Liability is one of the biggest hinderance to car sharing.   Regulate “Ubers” , “Doordashers”and Taxi services as to guarantee worker rights and benefits and for fossil free vehicles.

Ukraine

My Congressional Campaign Statement The climate catastrophe rapidly approaching the world requires a WWII like 100% response that must involve all nations especially China & Russia. There is no sanity in creating any kind of conflict with two smaller but still military powerful nations if civilization and the world are to be saved!

The U.S. first started this war with its sponsored 2014 coup and with its promotion of Ukraine attacks on Eastern Ukraine along Russia’s border! The U.S. was eventually able to force Russia into an actual invasion of Ukraine!  

U.S. policy seems to be willing to risk possible nuclear war and the end of all civilization rather than have any peace deal and end to the war!    For a more detailed response!

Why I couldn’t Sign this Petion in Support of Russian Peace Activists

Washington D.C. Statehood

I support Washington D.C. Statehood as it is hard to believe that the residents of Washington don’t have any voting rights in Congress!

For more than 200 years, the residents of Washington, DC have been subjected to systemic inequality and denied the full rights of citizenship that the residents of states enjoy including voting representation in Congress. It is time to right a great historic wrong.

• The District of Columbia is the only political and geographical entity within the United States of America whose citizens bear the responsibilities of citizenship, including taxation and Selective Service registration, without sharing in the full rights and privileges of citizenship.
• Washington’s residents pay more taxes than residents in 22 states and pay more per capita to the federal government than any state—yet they have no votes in Congress.
• DC is subject to the whims of the federal government where Congress interferes with our local laws, local funding and operations.
• DC has all the same responsibilities, but not the same rights, as our fellow Americans—we are treated as second-class citizens
• Like our counterparts in all 50 states, D.C. residents pay federal taxes, serve in the military and on juries, start businesses and families, and contribute to our national economy.
• Yet, we are still unable to control our own budget or our own laws, and we still have no votes in Congress.
• DC residents want statehood and made their voter clear during the 2016 referendum with an 86% in favor to make Washington, DC the 51.
• Congress passed the Democrat-dominated House by a vote of 232-180. It was the first time that a chamber of Congress had passed such legislation. Currently, legislation was introduced in both chambers and has overwhelming support among Senate Democrats.

see https://statehood.dc.gov/page/why-statehood-dc

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My 2022 Campaign Questionnaires & Issues

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Specific Issues Index

from Creating Better World

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