Waging Politics, Part 6

Political Action Committees...

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John. L. Lewis was born in 1880 in Cleveland, Iowa. Cleveland was established when the Whitebreast Coal and Mining Company began working a shaft of coal to the east of Lucas, Iowa, and decided to establish a company town there. Lewis went to work in the coal mine, but also tried his luck in business, and ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Lucas in 1907. By this time, Lewis was involved with the United Mine Workers (UMW), and in 1911 Samuel Gompers, the head of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), hired Lewis as a full-time union organizer.

By the 1920's, Lewis had worked his way up to being president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). However, by this time, the unions were leaning socialist, and communist operatives were busy trying to subvert them. Lewis played hard politics, appointing to the union bureaucracy men loyal to himself, and using tactics such as armed force and ballot-box stuffing to retain control of the union and to fight off communist-backed political attacks.

Lewis framed a plan for a contract between the UMWA and coal operators that so impressed President Coolidge and then-Commerce Secretary Hoover that Lewis, a Republican, was offered a position in Coolidge's cabinet, which Lewis declined.

Years of union-building and organizing during the Great Depression led to Lewis' attempt to organize steel workers, and bring them into the AFL. There was in-fighting, and when the dust settled, Lewis' organization was expelled from the AFL, and Lewis was elected president of the newly-formed Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO).

World War Two started, bringing the US out of the Great Depression. However, by 1943, wartime inflation was having an impact on the wages of workers in America. In response, 400,000 coal miners - led by Lewis, and not affiliated with either the AFL or the CIO - violated a wartime no-strike pledge, and went on strike: their demands were 1) retention of the existing 5-day, 35-hour work week; 2) inclusion of travel time between mine pit entrance and underground jobsite as part of the hours worked; and 3) a raise of $2 per day. Union leaders cited a tremendous increase in mining accidents that resulted from the wartime increase in coal production: in 1941, 64,000 workers were killed or injured, and in 1942, the number was up to 75,000.

President Roosevelt had to intervene to break the strike, though not without the striking miners gaining significant concessions.

Interestingly, it was a Republican union leader who challenged the government on behalf of workers, and a Democrat who used federal power against the unions.

In response to these events, in 1943, the Smith-Connally Act was passed – over Roosevelt's veto – allowing the federal government to seize and operate industries critical to the war effort which were threatened with strikes. A provision of this act was that unions could not make contributions in federal elections.

In 1944, the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), since 1940 led by Philip Murray, established a political action committee – a PAC – to get around the provisions of the Smith-Connally Act. Money was given to the PAC; the PAC would then give money to pro-union candidates for elected office.

In response, businesses began to create PACs to counter the influence of pro-union PACs.

PACs have been limited as to how much money they can give per candidate per election. Also, there have been limits on how much money an individual contributor can give to a PAC.

However, PACs can be created, and PACs can donate money to each other.

Thus, PACs are now a key means of getting around inconvenient campaign finance laws.

Also, because money can be shuffled from PAC to PAC, PACs are a key means of laundering campaign money.

For example, a corporation can give a $100,000 bonus to each of ten executives. Each executive can give $5,000 to each of twenty PACs. The twenty PACs can each give $5,000 to a given candidate. Thus, $1,000,000 of corporate money can be laundered into the campaigns of ten different candidates using twenty different PACs.

Additionally, the corporation can give another $50,000 bonus to each executive who, in turn, can give $5,000 directly to each of the ten different candidates.

Instead of a corporation, a drug cartel can give money to each of ten operatives; the rest of the process is the same.

Increase the number of PACs, and you can increase the flow of money, and complicate the task of tracing it.

Thus, legal and illicit money can be mixed together; money from decent, honest Americans and illicit money from foreign entities can be mixed together. Only the politician need know where the money is really coming from, in order to repay donors with expected favors.

Sometimes it is difficult to understand how a politician can be so stupid as to do something that is clearly against America and clearly against the constituents that politician is supposed to represent.

But, if you can follow the money flow, you can see how money buys influence.

It is interesting to note that Arizona Senator John McCain has been a champion of campaign finance reform. Yet, money has been laundered to him from Albanian organized crime groups, which are tied to Islamic terrorists, via people and PACs in the United States. McCain takes the money, talks about campaign finance reform, and furthers US policy that helps Islamic terrorists.

Waging Politics, Part 5

In previous posts in this series, we looked broadly at how government in the United States is supposed to work, and then we looked at political strategies that could remove Democrats from power, even where they are strongly entrenched. Next we looked at how to turn up the heat on elected officials, though the main focus has been legislators.

Now we consider a totally different class of political target: judges.

Why is this important?

Well, stupid rulings by liberal judges have long left decent Americans wondering what is going on.

But, it's getting worse.

Islamic law, known as sharia, either places severe limits on the exercise of other religions, making Christians and Jews into dhimmis, or it outlaws other religions altogether. More extreme interpretations of Islamic law simply require non-Muslims to convert to Islam or be killed. In contrast, the First Amendment to the Constitution of our Republic guarantees Americans the free exercise of religion, which includes a freedom from religion.

Islamic law devalues women. In an Islamic court, for example, the testimony of a woman is worth half that of a man. In another example, under Islamic law a woman has not been raped unless four men witness the act and agree it was rape; otherwise, in the absence of four male witnesses, a rape accusation by a woman is paramount to a confession of fornication or adultery: fornication is punishable by lashes, adultery by death. In contrast, the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees Americans equal protection under the law, the Fifth Amendment provides protection against self-incrimination, and the Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishments.

Islamic law allows for slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution prohibits slavery.

Article IV, Section 4, of the Constitution says that the United States shall guarantee to every state in the Union a Republican form of government. This has been widely understood to mean that Americans cannot Constitutionally have their rights denied. In the Reconstruction South, when former slaves were denied their full rights by local governments, the US Congress reasoned that these states were denying a Republican form of government to their people, and refused to seat Senators and Representatives from the south. Consequently, any effort to systematically infringe on or deny the rights of people would violate this section of the Constitution.

Furthermore, to look to international precedents – which should not be considered binding on America, since our supreme law is and should be the U.S. Constitution – Turkey outlawed one political party in 1998 because its goal was to implement sharia, and, on appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, it was found that sharia was fundamentally incompatible with democracy.

So, it is not just crazy, gun-toting, Bible-thumping, intolerant, racist white folks who find sharia offensive; the government of a largely Islamic country, Turkey, found it offensive, as well, in 1998, and so did the Europeans who, despite their horrendous crime of being white, have been recognized by the Left in this country as being very "progressive" ( = "communist").

In short, Islamic law is un-American, and America is un-Islamic. With due respect to decent Americans who try to be good Muslims, and to decent Muslims who try to be good Americans, the reality is Islam and America are incompatible.

I refuse to sit by and allow America to be made into an Islamic state (which is the stated goal of influential Muslim organizations here). Any Muslim who leads a life compatible with the US Constitution is, by definition of more "devout" Muslims (the "extremists" who make up so much of the Islamic world), an apostate, under penalty of death.

Let me put it another way: there exists an organization called the Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR. Why is there a need for an organization to deal with relations between America and Islam, unless America is un-Islamic and Islam is un-American? That a Muslim organization calls itself by that name is prima facie proof that the Muslims affiliated with that organization understand that America and Islam are antithetical.

Yet, despite this, there are judges who are ruling that Islamic law – sharia – can be considered in US courts.

This is no longer a series of stupid rulings that leave Americans wondering; this is now an attack from the judiciary on the very foundations of this Republic.

What is at risk is our Constitutional Republic. This must be stopped. I prefer and advocate peaceful means of stopping this, and I feel that peaceful means are far from exhausted. However, make no mistake about it: this must be stopped by any moral means necessary, most definitely including armed rebellion and civil war.

Since we are not at that point yet – despite efforts by various Islamic groups, their anti-America leftist allies, and the administration of our Terrorist-Loving-Pretender-in-Chief in the White House – we need to consider peaceful means of addressing these grievances, even as we refuse to surrender our guns, but rather arm ourselves further and prepare for what we hope will not come.

So, to the point: What do we do about a judiciary that is spiraling out of control?

Federal judges are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate; the same is true of cabinet members.

Federal judges can be removed by impeachment: articles of impeachment are issued and voted upon in the House and, if passed, the trial is held in the Senate. By the way: the same is true of cabinet members.

With the Democrats in control of the Senate, it is questionable whether some of these federal officers could currently be successfully removed from office. However, why does the Republican-controlled House not at least try? Perhaps they should start not with a judge, but with our Attorney General, Eric Holder. So what if they fail... let's send a message.

Other judges serve at the state and local level.

Some state judges are nominated by the state governor, and confirmed by the state legislature, in a process parallel to that of the federal government. And, in a process parallel to that of the federal government, these judges can be removed from office through impeachment. Articles of impeachment are issued in the state assembly or state house, and the trial is held in the state senate. We should be able to win a few of these battles. ;)

Other state and local judges are elected. They can be recalled for rulings which are blatantly repugnant to the Constitution. The recall failing, judicial elections do not garner the financial contributions that legislative and executive elections garner. It would not take much money from good Americans around the country to influence a judicial election somewhere. We should be able to win a few of these battles, too. ;)

When you hear about a ruling that leaves you shaking your head, research it. Confirm the story, find out the details, and get information on the judge in question.

Then, if the judge is appointed, contact your Congressional Representative if the judge is federal, and an appropriate state assemblyman or state representative if the judge is a state judge. Ask them to issue articles of impeachment. Contact your local government, and ask that they issue a resolution calling for the impeachment of the judge by the appropriate legislative officials. Stir up trouble, and let these elected officials know that if they don't impeach this judge, you will seek to recall them (remember - state recall initiatives do not apply to US Congressional Representatives or US Senators) or to replace them at the next election.

If the judge is elected, move directly to recall the judge or replace the judge at the next election. Stir up trouble; contact friends all around the country, and get the matter the notoriety it deserves. If a million bikers can show up in DC to make a point (big hat tip to the bikers!), then we can easily find a few hundred people to contact elected officials and perhaps donate some money to a recall campaign or to the challenger in a judicial election, especially considering those few hundred people need not own a bike! :)

Ladies and gentlemen, fellow Americans... it's time to rumble!

More to follow...

Waging Politics, Part 4

In Part 2 we looked at how to remove a deeply-entrenched Democrat from a Congressional district that will in no way support a Republican. In Part 3 we considered how to remove a deeply-entrenched Democrat from a state that can go either Democrat or Republican. These are two of the most common situations we deal with when considering Democrats that are destroying our country.

The same methods can be used in similar circumstances elsewhere. For example, if one needs to remove a state legislator, or a county commissioner, or a city councilman, from a heavy Democrat area, the same basic strategy as suggested for Nancy Pelosi may work. (In fact, Pelosi's entire district is basically a big Democrat-controlled city ward.) If one needs to remove an entrenched Democrat from a state legislative district, county commission district, or city council district that votes swing or split-ticket, the strategy suggested for Harry Reid may work.

But, what can we do to pressure these guys in between elections? And, how can we get RINOs to toe the line?

For state and local elected officials, recalls are interesting.

Colorado gave us a nice lesson in how to recall elected legislators; a comprehensible review of the recent recall there can be found at No excuses: What was really behind the Colorado recalls. The analysis is interesting; it provides hope in the fight against politicians who are moving too far left, even for their Democrat bases.

There was also a recall attempt against Wisconsin's governor in 2012. In that election, Republican governor Walker prevailed, as did the Republican lieutenant governor.

Both of these recall elections – the one this year in Colorado, and the one last year in Wisconsin – went the way we would want, and this offers us hope. But another lesson to be learned is that recalls do not always work, and conventional wisdom about who is more organized, who has more money, and so on, does not always explain the outcome.

What can you do you short of a recall? This is an important question, since courts have upheld that US Senators and US Congressional Representatives are federal officers, and as such are not subject to state recall initiatives.

You can lobby your state legislature to pass a resolution instructing the state's delegation (Senators and Congressmen) to Washington, DC, to vote for or against a certain bill, to support or obstruct a certain policy, etc. Such a resolution is not binding; however, if the state legislature passes it, then that sends a powerful message regarding what the people back home want.

Your county commission, city council, town hall, or other local government body can also pass a resolution sending instructions to your Senators and Congressmen.

Keep in mind the relative impact these actions will have.

A resolution by a local school board from a rural area will have less impact than a resolution passed by a state legislature. A Senator may feel this school board's resolution does not represent a threat to re-election, while a resolution passed by the entire state legislature could mean a real fight for re-election, should the Senator not do as instructed.

The same school board resolution sent to a Congressional Representative from a rural district could have a significant impact, as that school board resolution may be considered indicative of the mood of the voters district-wide.

And don't let anyone tell you that passing such a resolution is not the purview of a local governmental body. Members of that governmental body can pass a non-binding resolution on whatever they want. Elected officials can weigh for themselves the merits of disregarding it, and the elected members of the body passing the resolution will answer to their voters for doing their job or not doing their job in the next election, or in a recall election if the situation warrants it.

This pattern of passing resolutions can be iterated, and used to bring leveraged pressure on higher-ups.

For example, the Hometown city council can pass a resolution calling on its Congressional Representative to issue articles of impeachment against President Obama. The same city council can instruct its representatives in the state senate and the state assembly to introduce a resolution calling for all federal officers from the state to support such a proceeding in Washington. If other city councils, county commissions and local governing bodies (and even non-governmental entities) do the same, pretty soon there is a bandwagon effect: RINOs are placed on notice, and Democrats have to decide between party loyalty to a President, who would sacrifice them at the drop of a hat, and complying with the instructions of the people of their state, who are ready to rumble. (And here's a hint on how that will go: when it comes right down to it, Democrat politicians generally lean whichever way the wind blows.)

With these thoughts in mind, it becomes fairly easy to stir up trouble for elected officials, even those from other states.

If a Democrat or RINO is supporting our nation's enemies from Washington, then Republicans in that official's state or district can have local officials introduce measures in local governmental bodies such as city councils and county commissions calling for that Democrat or RINO to do what's right, and later calling for that official's resignation, if necessary.

State legislators and local officials who fail to act to rein in their US Senators or Congressmen can find themselves targeted by a well-organized local electorate with support from all over.

Democrats can be opposed in local elections by Republicans with contributions from out-of-district and even out-of-state.

Democrats can also find themselves being removed from office in a primary election by a Democrat who is even farther left-wing than they are, but who is being supported by conservative dollars. Again, the goal is to remove an entrenched enemy and replace him with a new guy whom, it can be expected, we can then remove from office in the next election by supporting yet another challenger. In this way, Republicans can keep hard-core anti-American politicians off-balance, rather than letting them become powerful and entrenched, as has happened in the cases of Pelosi, Reid, Feinstein...

Districts that show themselves to be too unappreciative of America need to find themselves defunded of federal dollars for local programs. You can let your Congressman and your Senators know that they need to watch what kind of deals they make with Congressmen and Senators from districts or states that are hostile to traditional American values.

Thus, you are not powerless. You can intervene in local elections across the country, and leverage power into Washington, and you can intervene in Washington with your Congressional Representative and Senators, and leverage power into local areas across the country.

Knowing that you are not powerless, if you are aware of out-of-control government at any level anywhere in America, contact the officials involved and let them know you will exercise your rights as an American to hold them accountable for their conduct. Then learn about who is opposing these officials, and see if there is any way you can help this opposition, even if you have to hold your nose while you're doing so.

Remember: the Left has been doing this and much worse for decades. In Wisconsin's recall election, for example, lots of people were coming up from Chicago to protest and even vote. We, on the other hand, are not advocating bussing in professional malcontents, thugs and homeless people, nor are we advocating for voting rights for dead people and non-citizens. But, we do have a legal right to make our voices heard and to make legitimate campaign contributions to any race in the country, as allowed by law.

The enemy of America's enemies is your friend, even if this "friend" you are dealing with is a snake of the same species as your enemy – one who will eventually try to bite you.

Encourage these snakes to fight it out, then stomp the winner.

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Some final thoughts...

I knew what kind of a guy McCain was when he ran for President in 2008. I was aware of his connections with ethnic Albanian organized crime which, in turn, was connected to Islamic terrorists. I knew heroin money, money from trafficking in human body parts, money from trafficking in weapons and women for forced prostitution... it was all finding its way into McCain's campaign and, in return, McCain was using his position in Washington to help the enemies not just of America, but of humanity.

I refused to vote for McCain in 2008.

Obviously, there was no way I was going to vote for Obama, so what could I do?

Later, people called me a fool for not supporting McCain – as if it were my fault Obama got elected.

But, with McCain's waffling on the bank bailout scheme from 2008, with his support of Obama since then, my analysis from back then turned out to be correct: Had McCain won, things would not be substantially different, though perhaps we would not be going downhill so fast; however, the Republicans would be getting the blame for what was happening, when the blame really belongs to the anti-American element of the Democrat Party (which is huge) and to RINOs.

McCain was the lesser of two evils.

And, the devil keeps doing this to us.

He offers us two choices: Damned if you do, and damned if you don't. Then, like that Far Side cartoon, he stands behind us with his pitch fork, prodding us to choose between the lesser of two evils, and we agree with the devil on one of the two evils.

Why don't we turn the tables on him?

Why don't we create a situation where the bad guys have to choose between the lesser of two goods?

In God We Trust... but, do we really?

Because with His help, we can do this.

Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, Whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands."

1 Samuel 17:45-47 NKJV

More to follow...

Waging Politics, Part 3

In Part 1, we did a general overview of the government landscape in this country, and in Part 2 we looked specifically at a strategy that might help us unseat Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi.

Now, let's look at more big game: Democrat Harry Reid from Nevada.

Ballotpedia has information on Senator Reid, including his most recent election victory in 2010.

There is also information on Nevada's other US Senator, Dean Heller, including his victory in 2012:

Democrat Reid won in an off-year election with more votes than all his opponents put together. However, Republican Heller won in a Presidential year with a closer margin.

To do proper electoral targeting, one would need to look at all the other partisan races in every precinct, and compare that data for various Presidential and off-year elections. However, such analysis would not impact the basic strategy for unseating Senator Reid; this strategy can be adequately understood by comparing the data provided.

Unlike Pelosi's district in California, which is solidly Democrat, Nevada – taken as a whole - swings (votes for one major party in one election year, and the other in another election year) and votes split-ticket (for a Republican in one race, and a Democrat in another, in the same election).

Reid is a powerful incumbent. This swing/split-ticket factor helps him, as people tend to support incumbents, even in years when "throw the bums out" is the battle cry. Consequently, in addition to solid support from Nevada's Democrats, he can typically count on swing and split-ticket voters who might otherwise support the Republican, as well as some fringe party voters who swing/split-ticket vote between their own party and the Democrats.

His power base is difficult to attack: rank-and-file Democrats are going to vote for him. But, if we can split off the swing/split-ticket voters, we can make him fight. And, if we can make him fight, those who are buying his influence may realize they need to hedge their bets. A few subtle adjustments to the dynamics can easily result in success for us and a disaster for Reid.

The approach needs to be two-fold, both parts dealing with challengers in the Democrat primary.

First, there needs to be far-left-wing challenger and a more conservative, middle-of-the road Democrat. They need support from outside Nevada, just like Harry gets. Reid needs to be simultaneously accused of being too far left, and not far enough left. These need to be serious, documented allegations, and the primary needs to be heated.

We can anticipate the media will do contortions to defend Reid, just like it does to defend Obama. However, those who vote in the primary are more likely to think more for themselves and have hot-button issues than are those who only show up in the general election, where turnout tends to be greater. Thus, even though the media may be defending Reid, direct campaigning, such as buying radio spots and doing targeted mailouts, can have its impact.

Reid will, of course, win the Democrat primary.

So, second, these challengers who lost in the primary need to throw their support to other candidates.

Here's a problem: most of the third parties in Nevada would be more likely to strip votes from a Republican than from a Democrat.

However, if one of Reid's Democrat challengers can take his supporters to the Green Party, and if the more mainstream guy can take his supporters to the Republican candidate, then we could peel away enough votes for Reid to lose. That failing, as we mentioned above, the special interests that buy Reid may see the need to hedge their bets, and this could mean Reid's challengers are stronger in the next election.

Waging Politics, Part 2

Okay, the preliminaries are over: see Part 1.

Now we address the real question. What do you do if this elected official refuses to do her or his job? What do you do if this official is part of the problem? You have contacted these guys, and you are fed up. You are perhaps frustrated and angry enough that you feel ready to resort to violence, but, being a good citizen, you do not wish to start a civil war, and you believe your elected officials have themselves not yet crossed that line themselves, though they are close to it. What do you do? How do you take action?

How do you go all-in for defense of your family and friends, your community, and your country, and wage politics until such time as 1) you win or 2) this enemy of our country crosses the line and starts the shooting?

Let's examine some scenarios. Specifically, let's start out hunting big game: Nancy Pelosi.

We are going to wage politics on her; the rules are we will not do anything that is wrong; that is to say, we do not wish to break any American law (I'm not talking about speeding here) nor do we wish to do anything that would displease our Creator. We disagree with Congresswoman Pelosi, but it's professional; personally, we render to her and her family and friends every kind consideration that we know our Lord expects of us. So, how do we help her move on to a new job in the private sector, or perhaps into retirement?

We begin by examining her current situation and that of her district.

Ballotpedia is an excellent resource to provide a quick overview of the situation. From there, click on the state of California, tab over to federal officers, then scroll down until you see Pelosi, then click on the link for her 12th Congressional District.

The statistics are interesting (see also Wikipedia: California's 12 Congressional District). This is an urban district in San Francisco; the median income is nearly $70,000, with a more than 50% college graduation rate.

These are the rich liberals.

Think about that.

The 2012 election was the first election after redistricting. Significantly, it was also held under the rules of California's new Top Two Primaries Act, which limits participation in the general election to the two candidates who gained the most votes in the primary election.

In the November, 2012 general election, of the nearly 300,000 votes cast in the Congressional race in this district, Pelosi took over 85%, while the Republican candidate took less than 15%. There is no way a Republican will win in this district any time soon (short of a miracle from the Lord), and Nancy Pelosi really needs to go.

We need to consider a realistic, attainable objective: replacing Pelosi with someone else from the extreme left wing. The benefit of this is simple: any time you can remove an entrenched enemy, and replace him with an enemy who is not entrenched, you make that enemy position easier to assault. By eliminating a political leader who has been in power for a long time and who has built up a solid powerbase of campaign donors, and replacing that person with someone new, we weaken the other side.

How do we do this?

First, due to the Top Two Primaries Act, there were no fringe candidates in the 2012 general election. But, in the 2012 California 12th District Congressional Primary (scroll down to page 5), there were three Democrats besides Pelosi, as well as a Green Party candidate.

The Republican easily came in 2nd place in the primary, winning a place in the general election which, in turn, was even more easily won by Pelosi.

However, the Green Party candidate came in third.

What would have happened if the Republicans – who want to see Pelosi taken out – had thrown their money and support to one of the Democrats and to the Green Party candidate, instead of supporting the Republican candidate?

What would happen if Republican money from all over the country came in to all the candidates opposing Pelosi, except to the Republican?

Any Republican there who wants to be the Congressman from that district needs to understand: the district, as it is now, will not send a Republican to Washington. Let's work to unseat Pelosi.

What if there were no Republican opposing her, but other Democrats, a Green... a socialist, if we can find one... got plenty of Republican money, with the goal of getting Pelosi out.

Obviously, these other candidates, and the voters who support them, feel their district could do better, or there would not be three other Democrats and a Green running against her, and over 14,000 voters supporting someone other than Pelosi, but not a Republican.

But, we still have a problem: in the primary, Pelosi took nearly 90,000 votes – roughly three times the number of votes that were cast for someone else.

You know, most of Pelosi's money came from special interests. She took money from Goldman Sachs, she took money from defense contractors... money came from big business and from out-of-state... is this the kind of representation her constituency is looking for?

The primary campaign has to be bitter. Every candidate needs to direct his attacks at Pelosi over these issues. The candidates need to agree on one thing: Pelosi needs to go, and all opponents will unite to oppose her in the general election.

Now, instead of facing off a Republican in a general election in a predictable district that is heavily Democrat, Pelosi will be under attack for being a sell-out to her constituency, and will face a Democrat opponent in a Democrat-controlled cauldron. And Republicans will have to vote for the left-winger who opposes her.

And, yes, Republicans may have to support a candidate who is laughable. The goal is to replace a powerful, traitorous, laughable official with a less powerful, less dishonest, but perhaps even more laughable, official.

The Republican position is simple and principled: We Republicans disagree with Pelosi's politics, and we disagree with the politics of the candidate who is opposing her. However, as Americans, we are tired of being sold out to the highest bidder. We would rather the election go to an honest, principled person, with whom we disagree on nearly everything, than to someone who sells out the very people who put her in power – someone with no honor and no integrity.

Approached from this perspective, Pelosi can expect a fight in every election, assuming she wins the previous election, and the Democrats in Washington will be in the difficult position of having to betray their power base very openly, very blatantly, and very repeatedly, in order to keep her in power. Or, they can sacrifice one of their own to stay in power themselves. Either way, it's good for U.S.

For information on which political offices are up in state and federal elections, please look at Politics1. Specifically, the page on California has links to Pelosi's opponents. The one Democrat candidate so far listed, David Peterson, seems to understand that Pelosi is corrupt and in bed with the Washington crowd, and that war profiteering is having an impact. I can support his candidacy against Pelosi, and work with him as he looks into and tries to stop profiteering. The rest of his agenda... well, the Democrats are pushing that anyway. I would rather have Peterson than Pelosi; wouldn't you?

As mentioned in Part 1, information on the challengers to your Congressional representatives can be found on websites such as Politics1 and at your county elections office.

In Part 3, we will look at hunting more big game.

Waging Politics, Part 1

This series outlines a multi-pronged approach that can be used to retake America's government within the bounds of the peaceful measures foreseen and codified by our national Constitution and by such Constitutional federal and state laws as have been established.

America is under assault by elected and appointed officials at all levels who, at best, do not have the balls to stand up for what is right. Towards the bad end of the spectrum, these officials hate what America stands for and seek to undermine our nation; they are also corrupt, having sold out to potentially hostile foreign powers and to transnational organized crime, which itself is often associated with organizations that are ideologically opposed to everything America stands for.

This is a radical and dramatic change from times when American officials stood up for what they believed in, when they were raised with an understanding of and love for what made America great, and when corruption among political leaders meant working deals with American organized crime figures, rather than with foreign cartels that are tied to terrorist groups.

This series will address practical means of pressuring government and replacing defective government officials. The fact that the American people are serious about doing so and know how to go about it may cause such officials to toe the line, making the need to replace them less immediate. The focus will be below the Presidential level, and will address federal, state and local officials, both elected and appointed. I am going to assume you have basic knowledge of how government is supposed to work, but will nonetheless review some key points.

As you of course know, the US government has an executive lead by the President and Vice-President. Also, there is a bicameral legislative branch consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. These are all elected officials. This structure is paralleled at the state level with a governor and lieutenant governor, as well as a state legislature, typically comprised of a state senate and a state house or state assembly.

Just as each state has two Senators in Washington, and each state is divided into one or more Congressional districts, so are states divided into districts for the state senate and the state house or state assembly. Additionally, states often have other statewide elected officials; at the national level, these officials might be part of the President's appointed cabinet, but at the state level, they are directly elected by the people.

Similarly, counties in the United States tend to be divided into districts for a body often known as a county commission, which is a legislative-type body. Executive authority at this level may be held by an executive officer who is appointed by elected officials, or by someone directly elected by the people. Also at the county level are county sheriffs and other county officials who are elected.

There are also municipal governments, with a chief executive – a mayor – and a legislative body, often a city council. Members of the city council are elected from districts within the city, in a manner similar to the way Congressional Representatives are elected from districts within the country, while the mayor is generally elected by the entire city.

There are also township and other local government structures, in addition to school boards (both state and local), as well as elected officials for various other purposes, which can be quite diverse in some states.

In addition to all of this, we have judges. Federal judges are appointed by the President with the consent of the Senate. At the state level, judges may be appointed in a similar manner, by the governor with consent of the legislature, or, more often, they may be elected by the people. Then, there are local judicial positions, many of them elected.

This, then, is the general landscape of government in our country.

But, what is government for? It is here to serve the people, though this fact often gets lost on those who are supposed to serve us. Thus, one can get help from many government officials, but in a situation where a government official is doing what he should not be doing, or not doing what he should be doing, the key to changing that is to pressure the appropriate elected official: this guy's boss who can compel him to do something or fire him, a sheriff who can arrest him, a legislator who can impeach him...

Before we can do this, we need to identify who our elected officials are and how to contact them. In the case of the US Senate and the US House of Representatives, it is very easy to go to the appropriate websites and find out who these people are, and communicate with them directly through their official website. Similarly, states maintain websites for state offices and state legislatures, through which one can find out who one's elected officials are and communicate with them directly through their official website.

However, a more systematic approach is to go to one's county elections office, which should maintain a list of every elected official who has a district which includes places within the county. As election time approaches, a county elections office also usually has available for the public a list of all candidates who have filed to run for an elected office, as well as contact information for that candidate, such as a candidate's home address. For some municipal offices, one may need to go to a city elections office for the information. States usually have some kind of elections office (see my sidebar), often under the secretary of state, which may have helpful information, as well. In any of these places, employees are generally quite happy to help residents, citizens and voters find out districting information and learn who their elected officials are and how to contact them. Much of this information is available online; I have plenty of useful websites linked in my sidebar.

So, you have identified a matter you want addressed. Begin by contacting whatever official may be able to address it, whether elected or not. Some of these people actually care; in any case, give them a chance to do their job. Assuming the matter is not addressed in a satisfactory manner, you have identified an elected official who has power over the matter, or power over the people who have power over the matter. Contact that person. Be polite, be professional, explain your position, and offer to provide the official with more information.

But, what if your elected official won't play ball?

What if your elected official is the problem?

More to follow.

Resisting Unlawful Searches

Good vid. People are resisting unlawful searches.

Mainly, these are Border Patrol agents, but they are some distance from the border. I support the Border Patrol when they patrol the border. I understand the need to have Border Patrol working in depth, in case they have to intercept someone who got past our guys at the border. But, that does not give them the right to search everyone traveling along a US highway dozens of miles from the border.

When they stop you, they ask if everyone in the car is a US citizen. I think they need to ask if everyone who lives in the White House, or who travels on Air Force One, is a US citizen.

Just sayin'...

The Problem is the Republicans

There's a political satire called G20 Ends Abruptly as Obama Calls Putin a Jackass that is making the rounds on the social media. It is an article in the Borowitz Report at the New Yorker.

People on the right side of the issues :) are sharing this and commenting on it as if it were true.

IT'S SATIRE!

I am reminded of when that Stink Bomb Donald Trump got on the birther issue. If that wasn't planned...

And all the conservatives were talking about having Trump, a big supporter of Obama and the Democrats, run for President.

These are the same conservatives who were voting for McCain in 2008, and are now beginning to realize something is wrong with the Senator from Arizona.

Why is the country in the trouble it is in now?

It is NOT because of Obama. There have always been people like him... slick-speaking, no morals, no honor, no integrity. In the past, they worked as con men; now, we elect them President.

It is NOT because of evil people who hate America. There have always been people who hate America... they can't stand success, they hate our freedom, they are jealous, they are criminals, or they just want to control everyone and everything, often under the guise of doing it for our own good. ;) In the past, such people had to attack us militarily, and when that happened, we stomped them; now, we fund them.

It is NOT because of the stupid people who vote for someone like Obama. There have always been stupid people... In the past, they had trouble in life, because they were so stupid, and smart people outnumbered them, so it wasn't a problem; now, we subsidize them, and so they outnumber us, and they have time on their hands while we don't because we work so hard to support them.

It is NOT because of mainstream media with its anti-American agenda. There have always been incompetent journalists, biased media, with no clue, with an agenda... In the past, we just chuckled and moved on, knowing they would speed the downfall of the agendas they pushed, because there were enough smart people who knew how to check things out that their bad info wouldn't get too far. But, now... well, see the comment above about stupid people.

No, the problem is Republicans.

Didn't anyone else check into Donald Trump when he started talking his crap? Am I really the only one?

Don't tell me I am the only one that knew something wasn't right with Obama, even before others started looking into his past and exposing him.

I know I'm not the only one who knew about McCain. But, I was called a fool for not voting for him.

If McCain had won, things would not be substantially different. We would still be supporting terrorists, because the organized crime that funds terrorism pays McCain off. Oh, we might not have Obamacare, but we would have something else. Do you think the borders would have been secure under McCain?

The major difference if McCain had won is that the Republicans would be getting the blame, and that would set things up for a Democrat victory, just like Trump's attack on Obama about the birth certificate set Obama up to spike the ball with a new fake birth certificate, making it look like Obama settled the question once and for all to the humiliation of the birthers, even while the question still hangs in the air, because we know he's a fraud!

In fact, as I think about this now, I am beginning to think the guys who support Obama - not the rank-and-file hate-America-first give-me-something-for-free crowd, but the real guys who pull the strings - screwed up. Many of them are also behind McCain. I think their plan was to push Obama, hoping we would run to McCain. Much to everyone's surprise, Obama won, and now they are realizing they have overplayed their hand. I wonder if this isn't what really happened.

We don't have real Republican candidates to offer (don't even get me started about Romney) because we don't have real, thinking Republicans voting in the primaries. McCain and Romney never should have been more than fringe candidates.

We've screwed up, and now those who seek to destroy this country have made tremendous progress.

But, we are Americans.

Things have been tough before, and Americans have pulled through.

Get your heads out of your asses, and start checking, verifying, digging. Stop being spoon-fed dupes, and start being the kind of real, thinking Americans who founded this country.

If I've offended you, good. You needed it.