P.O.T.U.S. '08: Independent Edition

So you know that there is a presidential election going on? Ok, well I want to take occasional oppotunities to talk about politicians that are running and even some who are not. I also will be taking time to discuss certain posts that are in the administration that a worthy candidate upon election will be filling.

I will choose them somewhat randomly. To begin with, however, I'm leaving out the Republican and Democratic parties and focusing on the lesser known ones (Hey, there are more than two parties here!!). I will work my way to the biggees later. They get more coverage so what's the point? In fact lets go with the completely unaffiliated candidates.

In a randomized order...

#1 Joe Schriner.

He calls himself "Average" Joe Schriner and he is from Bluffton, Ohio. He was bron in 1955 in Cleveland. Currently, his family consists of his wife Liz and three children. Mr. Schriner is a Roman Catholic.

A graduate of Bowling Green University and a freelance journalist, he is running for the third time in a row. He has worked as a painter and handyman. It appears that he is also a coach for Little League Baseball (yay, baseball).

There isn't much listed on his NPAT but that will likely be forthcoming. However, there is some information that says Mr. Schriner supports the implementation of a Department of Peace. He shares this idea with Representative Dennis Kucinich. There is some question as to his independence. He may be part of a so-called Third Party party. He registered with the Green Party in July of 2006.

To keep an eye on this candidate, go here. Otherwise, on with the candidates!

#2 Frank Moore:

A San Francisco artist and performer born in 1946 is running. He came under fire in the early '90's by Senator Jesse Helms for his "obscene" art. The NEA also was a bit wary of his tastes. He does actually do some rather erotic stuff. He was born with cerebral palsy and is unable to walk or talk.

He lists several issues on his platform. Some things are rather extreme compared to other candidates such as guaranteeing "universal prenatal-to-the-grave health care and universal free education with equal access". He has stated that every American would receive $1,000/month that would be non-taxable. His tax scheme also calls for a flat tax and an end to tax deductions for those who make more than $12,000. Essentially, those who make money and do not just live on the government stipend will be taxed.

He says he will cut the military by at least half. He also stated that he will make mass public transit "free, 24/7, and reliable". He also promises to "forgive the loans to the so-called third-world countries over the original principle".

If you'd like to read the entire platform which is very lengthy go here.

#3 Blake Ashby:

The Missouri entrepreneur became a republican during his sophomore year. He even ran in 2004 as a republican for the highest office in the land. He has since become disenchanted with the republican values of his fellow party members. Many of whom do not strictly hold the ideals of smaller government and fiscal responsibility. Mr. Ashby is a stronger proponent of free market capitalism and believes that many of the Republican candidates do much to hurt the free market with regulation and constriction.

Blake Ashby's website can be viewed here.

#4 Michael Moriarty:

The actor who, born in 1941, played Ben Stone on NBC's legal drama Law & Order. He has tonies and emmies. He is from Detroit. A Republican and pro-lifer, he has some rather interesting statements about how people in this country would have you believe that unborn children in the first 2 trimesters are "no more than egg yolk".

Mr. Moriarty left the United States in 1994 for Canada and was a self-proclaimed political exile. He has gained Canadian citizen which you would think might preclude someone from being able to run for President of the United States. His official party is the Realist Party. His campaign website is unreachable therefore, I've provided a MySpace link.

#5 Jonathan "the Impaler" Sharkey:
Ok, this guy I know. He is a self described Vampyre who drinks his girlfriend's blood. He is originally from New Jersey but makes his home in Minnesota which is why I know about him. He entered the gubernatorial race early in 2006 which cost his girlfriend her job as a school bus driver after outing her as a witch in the media. At the time he made claims that he would impale sex offenders on the lawn of the State Capital building. He has run for president two previous times and for other elected offices in New Jersey, Indiana and Florida. Mr. Sharkey is also a satanist and hates God but not his followers. He was arrested in 2006 but the subsequent trial ended with a verdict of not-guilty.

Apparently, he back in Jersey and still running on the impaling platform. After encountering an unreachable campaign site and a difficult to find myspace page, I have at least his myspace page. I post that picture of him, but there is apparently one of him in a suit from his race for governor here. There is also a documentary called Impaler about him.

I do not endorse these candidates nor an parties, if specified if they run for them. You may notice trends among them such as extreme views on certain issues or measures that should be undertaken. Take this what you will. At times, some candidates are stating causes that are related to problems that deeply affect them on an individual basis or, as in the case of Mr. Moriarty, a moral one. These candidates aren't tied to a political party machine and have less money to work with as well. It is unlikely that people outside their communities and obsessives like myself know of them. They are however, part of the political process and as citizens who are as equal to any other law-abiding citizen deserve the chance to run and be heard.

I, again, formerly endorse no candidate and merely serve to inform. I have my own convictions but until such time as they prove relevant, they shall not find themselves printed in this blog for the interest of avoiding bias.

Thats it for this edition of get to know the candidates.

Elections....

So, its been two days since election day. And three weeks since I posted anything. Let's just say, I needed the break. In fact, there are still things I should be doing like a mid-term and a presentation tomorrow but, eh...

The House is now controlled by the Democrats. If you didn't hear about this, put down the funnies. Nancy Pelosi, a congresswoman from the gloriously liberal city of San Francisco will indeed be the new Speaker of the House. Dennis Hastert, the outgoing Speaker of the House and Republican from the weird as all fuck state of Illinois (I'm from there, I can say that), has stated he will not seek any leadership positions in the new house.

It is not clear if the Senate will be controlled by any party. The Senate race in Virginia between George Allen and Jim Webb has not been completely decided. Due to the slim margin, there is a recount going on. Allen's people have stated that he does not wish to drag this out. This is the last thing to decide before control can be determined. It would come down to 49 senators for both parties and two independents, both from New England. Joe Lieberman, a Democrat until he lost the primary to Ned Lamont, ran as an independent this year due to backlash for being pro-Iraq war.

Bernie Sanders, the only independant in the House, will take over for outgoing independant Senator, Jim Jeffords. This is an interesting story. Sanders is a Democratic socialist. Jeffords was a Republican until 2001 when the GOP shunned him enough to make him flee the party. So, he decided not to run again and is seat was won by another independant, albeit, a very different independant. So, does this make Vermont the capital of Independant thinking, or what?

Both Senators have stated publicly that they will caucaus with the Democrats. Lieberman is still a registered Democrat and may literally announce his decision to remain a Democrat. One can switch their party affiliations without any conscience or consultation with say their constituency. Just ask that fucker Norm Coleman from Minnesota. He was elected as the mayor of St. Paul as a Democrat (from New York, no less), then two years into his term, he decides he wants to be a Republican (granted the DFL party ain't lemonade and sweetcakes). St. Paul elected a Democrat and got a Republican. Let me tell ya, they felt gypped. So, go ahead Joe.

President Bush held a press conference yesterday and was properly humble. He announced that Donald Runsfeld, one of his toadies, would resign from his office as Secretery of Defence. He will be replaced by former CIA cheif Robert Gates who also ran the Iraq War Study Group. Apparently, this was in the works prior to election night. Why choose to announce it the day after the election? Well, it looks like Bush is listening to us. It also would have smacked of political ploy (more than it does now?) if he had done it in the last days of the election. I suppsoe the saying "The Buck Stops Here" means very little to the president. However, he took the blame for his party's loss this week to the outrageously motivated Democratic party.

And this is a loss for the GOP. The Democrats did not win the election. It was merely the GOP doing poorly. With Mark Foley and the fallout from that, the stupid asinine things Republicans did and the fact that a one-party government with no concerns for the largest sector of the country (the Middle Fucking Class!!!) was doing nothing to help them might have done it. When the Republican Party starts to regroup and figure out what they did wrong, I hope they realize it was not soley the war that turned voters off. It was the cronyism, response to Hurricane Katrina, the Religious Right, contracts for Halliburton and anyone else in Iraq, No Child Left Behind, Macaca, The Faith-Based Initiative, Arrogance, Karl Rove, Record profits for Exxon-Mobil, Dick Cheney's Shadow Government...

I could go on and I likely will. There are more things that leave middle class voters with a bad taste in their mouths. But I think nearly 3,000 dead is also one of them. Those who've died in Iraq for a cause that many of us are uncertain about should never be discounted. THese men and women are fighting and dying in service to our country. Our reasons for going into this war were vague and proved uncredible. Yet, we must remain until the job is done. My reasons for stating this is history. In 1983, there was an attack on the Marine barracks in Beirut. Over 200 marines were killed (and some Navy and Army personell) and the US left Lebanon. This was followed up by our hasty withdrawal from Iraq in 1991 after then President George Herbert Walker Bush told the Kurds and Shi'ites to rise up against Saddam Hussein. Regardless of how anyone feels about the war, we have to continue until the job is done and done well or we will be seen as the country who can't follow through with shit in the Middle East. That, dear readers, is what is at stake now.

Moving on to local politics: Amy Klobuchar, the Hennepin County Attorney, was elected to the Senate seat being vacated by fellow DFLer Mark Dayton. The margin of victory for Klobuchar was 1,278,915 to Mark Kennedy's 837,484. In precentages, that's 58% of total votes for Klobuchar to Kennedy's 38%. There were 87,324 votes cast beetween Independence (Ventura's formerly named Reform Party), the Green Party and the Constitution party.

Colleen Rowley, the FBI whistleblower, who lives literally down the street from me, did not win
the 2nd Congressional District here in Minnesota. The seat was won by its incumbant, John Kline, a man who once carried the "football" for Reagan.

To many here in Minnesota, the re-election of Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty was a surprise. As the night went on it appeared at one point that Hatch had a sizable and insurmountable lead over the Governor. But when all the ballots were counted, Pawlenty had won a second term. The margin of victory was slim: 21,132 votes seperate the two. Independence party Peter Hutchinson, a far cry form the flamboyant Jesse Ventura, yet endorsed by him, won 6% of the vote. While this is, yes, not enough to win, it does enable the party to gain more public funding for campaigns. This can only help to build the party to be an even stronger and legitimate voice here in Minnesota. That is a good thing.

One other point about the Minnesota Gubernatorial Election this year: the withdrawal of Jonathon "The Impaler" Sharkey. This Satanist and Vampire announced his candidacy for Governor on Friday the 13th of January. On the 31st of that month, after his schoolbus driver wife lost her job due to being Wiccan, he was arrested for stalking, fleeing and I think faking his own death. His trial was supposed to begin in July but I've heard nothing on him. The man also founded the Vampires, Witches and Pagan party last year. One can only imagine what happened to that.

On this day, in 1989, an event occured that changed my life forever. After 28 or so years, the wall dividing Berlin was opened. East and West Germany ceased to exist as seperate entities. Since that day, I've looked at the world with a different view. I've seen what can be done when people work, strive, dream, hope... for change. I have since then devoured the news looking for more stories like this. Well, I really just love the news. But my desire to work in the field of politics, NGOs, diplomacy or journalism was sparked by seeing people dancing on the Berlin Wall.

That's about it from here. Currently, CNN is reporting that Ed Bradley, correspondent for CBS' 60 Minutes, has died of Leukemia at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital. I can't help but be a little sad as another of my heroes passes. His candor and style will be sorely missed.