Joe Luchbuckett's Blog

CIA shuts down unit targeting bin Laden

2006-07-05T10:51:00.000-07:00

CIA shuts down unit targeting bin Laden

Terrorist tracking team reassigned to other duties

Spy agency insists finding Al Qaeda leader still priority
Jul. 5, 2006. 01:00 AM
MARK MAZZETTI
NEW YORK TIMES

WASHINGTON—The CIA has closed down a secret unit that for a decade had the mission of hunting Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his top lieutenants, intelligence officials say.

The terrorist tracking unit, known inside the spy agency as "Alec station," was disbanded late last year and its analysts reassigned to other offices within the Central Intelligence Agency's Counterterrorist Center, the officials said Monday.

The decision is a milestone of sorts for the agency, which created the unit before bin Laden became a household name and bolstered its ranks after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, when U.S. President George W. Bush pledged to bring him to justice "dead or alive."

The realignment reflects a view that Al Qaeda is no longer as hierarchical as it once was, intelligence officials said, as well as growing concern about Al Qaeda-inspired groups that have begun carrying out attacks independent of bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri.

CIA officials said tracking bin Laden and his deputies remains a high priority, and that the decision to disband the unit is not a sign that the effort has slackened. Instead, the officials said, the realignment reflects a belief that the agency can better deal with high-level threats by focusing on regional trends rather than on specific organizations or individuals.

"The efforts to find Osama bin Laden are as strong as ever," said Jennifer Dyck, a CIA spokeswoman. "This is an agile agency, and the decision was made to ensure greater reach and focus" for counterterrorism efforts.

The CIA's decision to close the bin Laden unit was first reported Monday by National Public Radio.

The disclosure came as the wife of slain Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi said her husband was sold out by fellow Al Qaeda leaders in exchange for a promise to ease up on...

For full story
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1152049812589&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154&t=TS_Home

4 Ways to Improve Your Communication Skills

2006-06-16T22:19:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been to a function in a room full of strangers and found yourself lost for words? It can be a very lonely experience, especially if you intend to date.

The art of introducing yourself to others and creating small talk may come naturally for some, but most people confess to feeling shy, embarrassed and don’t know where to start. Your inner ambitions are crying out for you to relate to others – just as other people are deeply interested to know you.

The key to knowing where to start is to understand the four levels of communication.

1. Small Talk

When you meet someone for the first time, the safest place to start is to talk about surface issues. For instance, make a comment about the weather, current events or the surroundings you are in.

This is called “small talk”, and is used to “size up” the other person to determine the comfort zone between the two of you. There is no need to disclose any personal information with the other person at this stage, as this initial interaction assists you to determine how “safe” they are on your first meeting.

If you are comfortable engaging each other at a surface level you can easily slip into the next level of communication: fact disclosure.

2. Fact Disclosure

This level of communication is slightly deeper than small talk in that you disclose facts about yourself without triggering topics of emotional interest.

The purpose of fact disclosure is to find out if you have something in common. You can use these common areas to build a bridge of friendship later on. You may want to talk about your career or occupation, hobbies, where you live, etc.

Avoid topics like marriage and divorce, politics, sex and religion in this second level of communication. With a little creative thinking, and the use of open-ended questions, you should easily find a topic that interests you both.

If you find a topic of mutual interest then you may progress to the next level of communication: sharing viewpoints and opinions.

3. Share Viewpoints and Opinions

Once you have established that the other person is “safe” through small talk, and have found areas of common interest, you can build rapport by sharing your opinions and viewpoints.

By sharing your viewpoints and opinions you allow yourself to become vulnerable to the scrutiny and objections of the other person, so you would only enter this level of communication once you were comfortable that you both share positive feelings through the first two levels.

Some people give an opinion about politics or religion as their starting point at this level. But you may firstly want to comment on the things you have in common that you found through fact disclosure. This is a safe place to start.

Be prepared to listen to the opinions of your new friend. It is just as important to listen to their viewpoint as much as you expect them to listen to yours. This will enable your friendship to survive.

Make sure you don’t use your opinions as a form of “character assassination” of other people. You may be thought of as a negative person and this may cause your new friend to distance himself/herself from you.

Over time you will learn to find a safe distance in your communication levels, and if you are forming a bond of friendship you may eventually enter into the fourth level of communication: sharing personal feelings.

4. Share Personal Feelings

Only solid friendships survive time to enter the fourth level of communication. After building upon trust, finding things in common and listening to the viewpoints and opinions of others, you may be able to share your personal feelings.

This is where an acquaintance becomes a genuine friend. You know that despite having differing opinions and viewpoints you can trust your friend’s judgement, and may go to them for advice.

Things of deep value to you can be shared without feeling threatened. You listen closely to each other without the need to “solve” your friend’s problem. You are happy to reflect their feelings back to them – forming a bond of empathy and compassion between the two of you.

At this level of communication, it is important that you provide a little distance between yourself and your friend. If the distinction between yourself and your friend becomes unrecognizable, it is possible for your relationship to go sour. If you know how to handle your own feelings, attitudes and behaviors while maintaining your friendship at this level, you will build a successful friendship that can last a lifetime.

By using these four levels of communication with prospective 'dates' you will find that they will become interested in you and want to get to know you all the more.

America's 21st Century Declaration of Dependence: I Can't Do Anything About It

2006-05-26T05:42:00.000-07:00

Let me ask a question. How many people have you noticed recently who shake their heads in frustration, and utter something like, “The war in Iraq was a huge mistake, but I can’t do anything about it.” Or “The Bush Administration’s illegal wire tapping just blows my mind, but what can I do about it?” Or, “I know that politicians on both sides of the isle are owned and controlled by big money, but since I’m not one of the rich and the famous, I just avoid thinking it about it. It’s a waste of my time.”

Political Cancer of the 21st Century
To be honest, I hear this sentiment so often that I’ve come to think of it as a America’s 21st century Declaration of Dependence, our modern day battle cry…or battle whine. And to the degree that Americans are convinced that they can do nothing about it, they won’t even try to do anything about it. And if you refuse to try, you’re destined to fail, at which point the whole thing devolves into one big self-fulfilling, self-defeating prophecy. We fiddle while modern day Rhome burns, using the excuse that we can’t do anything about it. It’s 21st century political cancer…American style.

The Antithesis of I Can’t Do Anything About It
But allow me to introduce you to a friend of mine who’s the antithesis of the “I can’t do anything about it,” mentality. I won’t use his real name because I know he prefers to operate in the background. But this much I can tell you. He’s an immigrant from thousands of miles away who won his American citizenship the hard way, as opposed to having it handed to him at birth. He came to our shores at a young age, specifically to study engineering at one of our nation’s most prestigious universities.

He’s a family man who raised three happy, healthy kids. He had a distinguished engineering career from which he’s now retired. But during his working days, he was required to travel extensively, and as such, his perspective is international in scope.

It’s Unbelievable Who He’s Influencing
He’s a devout Catholic, and in his “retirement years” this seventy something gent now uses his ingenuity, his persistence, his optimism, and his computer to play an active role in helping to resolve problems ranging from the war in the Iraq, to political shifts in South America, to our own Gulf Coast disaster, and world poverty. Recently he’s even taken an active interest in childhood obesity. In other words, while natural born Americans all around me are constantly declaring their impotence, my seventy something friend is all about DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

He Will Be There…But you’ll Never See Him
I will close this part of my commentary on this note. If there’s ever a democratic solution to Iraq, it’s likely that my friend will have played an active role. If there’s ever a democratic solution to Venezuela, Bolivia, and Cuba, it’s likely that my friend will have played an active role. If we ever come to grips with the Gulf Coast disaster and poverty, around the world and in America, it’s likely that this gent will have been in the middle of it all. But since he operates backstage, in the shadows, and he will take no credit, encouraging others take the bows. That’s just the way he likes it.

Even If You Have Mouths To Feed
Now to be totally honest, I’m not trying to suggest that my other acquaintances have the discretionary time that my retired friend has to work with. They don’t. Like most of us, they still have mouths to feed, and bills to pay, which restrict them from doing all the altruistic kinds of things that my very active friend participates in. But that certainly doesn’t mean that they can’t do anything about it either. In this spirit I will list ten things that anyone can do…if theywant to do something about it. Here goes…

1. Despite encouragement to the contrary, you can understand and operate from the perspective of enlightened self-interest, which contends that what’s good for my family is good for me, what’s good for my neighbors and my neighborhood is good for me, what’s good for my township, my county, my state, and my country is good for me…and vice versa. It’s the infinite we VS the finite me.

2. You can stay informed by tuning into good, thoughtful electronic programming on TV and Radio, reading newspapers, magazines, books, and web sites, all from the perspective of enlightened self-interest.

3. You can take the time to think over, ponder, and meditate on the information that you absorb daily.

4. You can ignore the conventional wisdom that warns against talking about politics and religion (the powerful certainly want you to avoid talking about these topics), and actively dialogue with others on these topics because they’re so incredibly important to the world and to future generations.

5. You can have confidence in your own intellect, your own integrity, and as the result you can draw your own hard won conclusions, and avoid allowing others to think for you…unless you prefer being a vegetable.

6. You can recognize that in the end, word of mouth advertising is the single most powerful form of promotion on earth, and all the bought and paid for stuff is just a commercial attempt to influence word of mouth advertising. People telling people can overcome all the money and all the ads, as long as the real people avoid being intimidated and manipulated by the controlling few.

7. You can cast an informed vote. On a side note here, did you know that only 35% of all Americans are registered to vote, and are thus eligible to vote. And of that 35% fourteen percent vote a straight Republican ticket, and fourteen percent vote straight Democratic ticket, without even thinking about it. This leaves 7% of the people, the ones they call swing voters, to decide on the future of our nation. If you win over half of that 7%, or a mere 3.6%, you control America. This effectively leaves over 96% of Americans without a voice in their democracy. If you do nothing else, cast an informed vote.

8. You can multiply yourself by inspiring ONLY two other people to register, and to cast an informed vote. If everyone did that, we’d overcome our problems in a heartbeat, despite the Big Brother/Big Money controllers.

9. You can make up your own list of ten things to do, AND DO THEM!

10. You can stop saying “I can’t do anything about it,” and like my incredible seventy something friend, you can take action, one step at a time, and pretty soon, you’ll lose your self-imposed impotence, and in the spirit of America’s original Declaration of Independence, Thomas Paine, and democracy worldwide, you will be able to do something about it. Carpe Diem.

Help!

2005-11-26T06:52:00.000-08:00

Help Me If You Can!

His most debilitating character flaw was an overriding inability to ask for help. It was a radical sense of independence, bordering on fear of being dependent on anyone for anything. After all, dependence is a sign of weakness so you could think of this condition as a bad case of testosterone fever, egocentrism, or as some would say, pridefulness, resulting in impotence, an inability to multiply oneself. It was the feeling that if there was a job to be done, work to accomplish, or a challenge to be met, that he’d do it, he’s accomplish it, and he’d meet it without needing to ask for anyone’s help.

In the words of John Lennon, his favorite Beatle, “When I was younger, so much younger than today, I never needed anybody’s help in any way.”

He Was Disconnected
He was in this sense disconnected from the world and the people who surrounded him. He suffered from a level of self reliance (a distrust of others) that cut him off, alienated him, and radically minimized his own ability to do what he passionately wanted most to do…help others to help themselves. He was a rock, he was an island, and ironically he was unable to give help to others because he was unwilling, and so unable to ask for or receive any help himself.

What He’d Failed To Understand
What he failed to understand was the reality that being able to give help goes hand in hand with the ability to ask for help and actually receive it. When you close your door to one, you also close it to the other. In Lennon’s words, “But now these days are gone I’m not so self-assured. Now I find I changed my mind, I’ve opened up the door.”

The trick, as he was about to learn, is to open the door, to reconnect, and to recognize that nobody in this world is or ever has been completely self-reliant. In one sense, those who seem to be the most independent are the ones who ask for, and then receive the most help from others.

Sinking In A Sea Of Independence“
How ironic,” he thought to himself. “How incredibly ironic. And why has it taken so long for me to see this? Maybe it was because I refused (or was afraid) to look,” he answered to himself. But the fact was, he was sinking in an infinite sea of independence and suddenly found that he needed somebody to throw him a life-line, somebody to help!

What he suddenly was coming to recognize (at least he was catching the initial glimpses of) was that it’s not so much independence, but disconnectedness that’s the true sign of weakness, impotence, resulting in the inability to multiply oneself. On the other hand, when you connect, you can multiply yourself infinitely, even miraculously.

The Challenge
The question at this point was, how was he going to go about making a change in his life? How was he going to detonate the wall that he’d constructed between himself and other people? How would he go about swallowing his pride, and admitting to other humans that he himself needed help, and that he really isn’t this totally self reliant, self contained, self-absorbed vessel that he had always portrayed himself to be? That was the challenge that was staring him right between the eyes. “I’m going to need some help with this,” he thought to himself smiling.

Despite Being Armed…
Despite being armed with the greatest idea of the 21st century, he’d generated little interest and no real buy in. As he percolated on this dilemma he thought of the classic Stone Soup fairly tale that his Mom used to read him decades before (insert) and the Sermon on the Mount where Christ fed the masses, starting with only 12 loaves of bread, and finishing with lots more at the end (insert). In both cases, the hero asked for help and had miraculously received it.

Lennon’s haunting lyrics came echoing back again and again. “Help me if you can I’m feeling down. And I do appreciate your being ‘round. Help me get my feet back on the ground. Won’t you please, please help me?”

The Momentum of Conventional Wisdom

2005-07-18T14:42:00.000-07:00

It’s Not Just A Conspiracy
It’s The Cumulative Momentum Of Conventionalism
That’s Blocking The Way To Real Progress!

I have people come up to me and say “OK Mr. Buckett, if this idea is everything that you seem to think it is, why haven’t economists like say Allen Greenspan, Milton Friedman, Paul O’Neil, or John Kenneth Galbraith embraced the ideals of Binary Economics and Capital Homesteading?” And to tell you the honest truth, I had exactly the same questions when I was first run over by Kelso/Adler’s Capitalist Manifesto. I mean to me, it was so obvious and blatantly right that I wanted to know why in the world “the experts” hadn’t picked up on it, implemented it, and made the world a better place?

But the more I looked at the situation, and the more knowledgeable friends I talked with, the more I began to understand why “the experts” WILL BE THE LAST ONES to tune into and endorse this incredible, but highly unconventional idea, regardless of how great it is. The reason is that they have far too much invested in conventional wisdom (far too much to lose) to ever embrace an idea as revolutionary as this. Even if they see it clearly, which most of them don’t, their conventional lock step prevents them from even talking about such things in public.

So What Do They Have Invested
So what do they have invested? Well let’s start with years of education and study, high school, college, graduate school, post graduate school, etc. And then there are the professional papers, the articles, the books, the lectures and speeches declaring their allegiance to and support of conventionalism in a myriad of ways. And ultimately there’s the JOB, which is what gives them value, stature, distinction, and worth in the eyes of their friends, peers, and colleagues, if not their family whose bills are paid by this JOB.

In other words even if one of these well invested experts recognizes that the emperor is wearing NO CLOTHES, they can ill afford to point it out without jeopardizing their lifelong investment, their identity, their JOB. So people like Greenspan and Friedman cannot say that Kelso is right because doing so would be confessing that they themselves ARE WRONG, and that’ll never happen.

This Dilemma Applies To Much More Than Just Economists
In a very real sense, what we’re up against is conventional wisdom itself, and this dilemma applies to more than just mainstream economists like Greenspan and Friedman. Academicians generally speaking, often suffer from a similar, uncontrollable case of conventional indoctrination.

I mean that these people are paid by the state to know the conventional answers in their respective fields of endeavor. They’ve studied the conventional subject matter. They’ve thought long and hard about it. They’ve discussed and consulted professionally. And their students and clients are all supposed to look up to them because they are recognized by convention. After all, these folks are educators and teachers and without the answers, then who the hell are they?

To say this a little differently, academicians are the vehicles that our society depends upon to pass conventional wisdom on to the younger generation, and they (the academics) can easily feel threatened by situations that make them look as if they don’t know what they’re talking about, and they tend to avoid these situations like the plague. One other factor, get below the college level and (public) academics are union, through and through…for very good reason I might add. Most own very little wealth producing capital and unionization is a much better alternative than being divided, pitted against one another, and conquered by administrators like the teachers in most private schools. Anyway, academicians will never be the ones to light the binary fire either.

How About Professional Politicians?
Well then, what about professional politicians? You’d think that there would have been at least a few ambitious players who had read about the solution, understood it, and said “My God, I can ride this one all the way to the White House. I’ll be a national if not an international hero by telling the people I represent about the magic in this 21st century concept.” But to date, there have been no such takers.
Of course the problem with politics these days is that the surest way to victory in the third millennium is to get your hands on lots of money, hire the best PR agency you can afford, and spin your way into office. And when it comes to money people, they only back conventional wisdom, which has obviously worked well for them.

Add to that the fact the professional pols are also deeply vested (books, articles, speeches, reputations, etc.) in conventionality and they can ill afford to announce that Kelso has been right all along, because that would mean that they’ve been wrong all along. So the fate of this concept cannot be left in the hands of politicians either.

How About Professional Journalists?
Inevitably someone will suggest that professional journalists should be ripe for a new, outside the box idea like this. After all, they’re always looking for a scoop, an angle, something with which to surprise, provoke, or otherwise capture a reader’s attention. Why would they be averse to spilling the beans on conventionality and to telling they’re readers what they should have been told decades ago now?

To be honest, there have been a few of these journalistic renegades who have dared to think for themselves including Mike Wallace in a 60Minutes story back in the mid seventies, Bill Moyers in one of his famous interview books, and a guy named Nicholas Van Hoffman whose razor sharp pen and wit allowed him to challenge conventional wisdom regularly back in the day. But alas, these rogues were too few and far between to make a legitimate dent in the armor of conventional wisdom.

Furthermore, conventional wisdom owns the newspapers, the magazines, the TV and radio stations and networks who pay the professional journalists salaries. If they fly in the face of convention too hard and too often, they will not only find themselves unemployed, but unemployable in their chosen field of work…a large risk for anyone who lives and dies by the pen.

And Now Throw In The Totally Frustrated, Demoralized Majority
So far we’ve talked only about the protective layer of experts who are effectively paid to guard the palace gates of conventional wisdom, to repeat the company line, and who are unwilling, unable, or both, to risk their own immediate futures for the futures of generations to come. But let’s take one final step here and throw in the myriads of non-experts who have become so dazed and confused, so thoroughly disgusted and frustrated by today’s politics as usual, that they’ve been labeled the demoralized majority.

These people have lost hope. They’ve stopped listening. They’ve stopped thinking about it because it’s too frustrating, and such a waste of time. They feel totally impotent, and unable to make a real difference in the face of the crushing momentum that conventional wisdom has accumulated over the decades. And if they’ve lost hope, if they’ve stopped listening, and stopped thinking, these folks are playing right into the hands of the same status quo who pays the experts to say and think what they want them to say and think. This group of people also offers conventional wisdom a humongous layer of protection that will also have to be pierced if real change is going to occur.

Layer Upon Layer Of Conventional Armor
So what we’re talking about here is a situation where conventional wisdom is protected by layer upon layer of vested interest which discourages the likes of economists, academicians, politicians, and journalists from entertaining any new paradigm. But if they’re unusually adventurous and they happen to taste the forbidden fruit, they’ll find themselves in a situation where revealing a new-found truth would cost them dearly. They’re simply unable to say THE EMPEROR IS WEARING NO CLOTHES OUT LOUD, without having the emperor chop their heads off…a true dilemma for anyone.

If Not The Experts Then Who…
OK, now if “the experts” will not, or cannot afford to tell the public about this amazing new 21st century solution to 21st century problems, who can? The basic answer is that this revolution is going to depend on many non-experts, people whose livelihoods and identities are not owned, controlled, and dependent on the bondage of convention.

Using the emperor as our analogy once again, it was the non-expert, (THE CHILD) who revealed to all the wise old experts, (THE ADULTS) that the emperor was wearing no clothes. It’s going to take independent minded people who, like the child, recognize that what we’re talking about here is not some gigantic, mystical mountain, but something that the average Joe and Josephine walking around on Main Street USA can understand if they’ll only trust their own god given intellects and give it a try. Of course failing to try, effectively prevents all understanding.

Average Folks Cannot Afford To Wait For The Experts To Lead
The moral of the story is that the average folks in this nation can ill afford to wait around for the economists, the academicians, the professional pols, and the journalists to lead the way out of the mess that they led us into. We’re going to have to lead ourselves. And if we fail in that endeavor, the future of justice, democracy, peace, and prosperity for generations to come in these United States and around the world is in deep trouble.

Red Ink Unlimited

2005-02-10T17:43:00.000-08:00

“At Its Current Pace The Bush Administration Will Run Out Of Numbers With Which To Calculate The National Debt By Mid 2007!”

Washington, DC - So How bad is the national debt anyway? That’s the essential question being addressed by the conservative, accounting oriented think tank calling itself Mathematics Unlimited. Wrestling with the overwhelming national debt being created by the invasion of Iraq at about two billion a week, combined with the mega tax cuts the administration implemented in its first go around, and the entitlement programs that no politician is willing to take on, Math Unlimited spokesman Dr. I.M. Prudent came nose to nose against a really tough question.

Deep Accounting Doo Doo
In Prudent’s own words, “What number comes after nine hundred and ninety nine trillion and change? See what I mean? If we don’t come up with an answer soon, we are going to find ourselves in some deep accounting doo doo, because we’ll be unable to calculate the national debt that these boys are so hell bent on creating. How’ll we keep track of who owes who what?” Prudent asked with a quizzical look on his face. “This dilemma will require some brave mathematician to boldly go where no other mathematician has ever gone before.”

Cackajillion Is Coming On Strong
There have been several suggestions offered by Bush Administration supporters including things like “a sicillion” (offered by a friend from the mob), or “a dillion” (offered by a pickle manufacturer), and “a villion” (offered by Donald Rumsfeld himself). Someone even suggested “a Willion” in honor of W. Another guy suggested that the answer might be found in “light numbers” kind of like the astronomers who now deal in light years.

But the leading contender according to Prudent, came from a West Texas golf teaching pro named Dalton McCrary who suggested the new category of numbers should be “a cackajillion.” Asked to explain his idea McCrary said, “It just had a nice ring.”

In any case, in case any if readers have a suggestion for heading off this pending accounting disaster, just waiting to happen, please email Dr. Prudent any time at the following address, Prude@mathunlimited.com . He’s most anxious to hear from you.

Some Pregame Quarterbacking Thoughts

2005-02-05T05:18:00.000-08:00

Some Pre Game Quarterbacking Thoughts For Your Reaction

Goal Number One For The American Revolutionary Party is to field a Capital Homesteading candidate who will win the White House in 2008.

Goal Number Two for the American Revolutionary Party is to field CH Candidates to win other public offices from the local level through the Federal level in 2006/8.

How Do We Accomplish These Two Goals?
We must generate a sufficient number of people who understand, and actively support Capital Homesteading and our candidates.

How Do We Generate These Numbers?
We must double ourselves each month by becoming radioactive with understanding and so contagious that we naturally talk about it, and attract others without even trying.

How Do You Become Radioactive With Understanding?
You become radioactive with understanding by getting down in the mud wrestling with the beast. The more you wrestle with it, the deeper your understanding will be. And the deeper your understanding, the more radioactive and contagious you’ll become.

How Do You Wrestle With The Beast? Let’s Check Out Several Possibilities…
1. You could find the time to check out Joe’s “10 Things You Can Do Almost Immediately,” page and activate yourself by doing one or two of these things.
2. You could talk on the phone to or email fellow members and ask all the really tough questions you can come up with.
3. You could weigh in on Joe’s blog once or twice a week.
4. Carol is planning to record a series of interviews with ESOP employees in order to get an “inside the box” prospective on that part of our solution.
5. Monica and Brooke are interested in addressing local groups with the Capital Homesteading message.
6. Jen Zuri is helping JLB to develop a power point presentation that Brooke, Monica, or anyone else in the country could use to make presentations.
7. You can make the monthly meeting a priority, and if you don’t, you’ll never really become radioactive with understanding, and the big idea whose time has come, will be written off again by the powerful few at the expense of the many.
8. However, by wrestling with the beast in any one of these ways (and there are countless other possibilities) the message will not only be getting out to other people, but the wrestlers themselves will become more and more radioactive by growing their own understanding to deeper and deeper levels.

If We Persist And Succeed In Doing These Things Month After Month…
If we can all actively wrestle with the beast just a little bit month after month, we will attract the attention of many people, and eventually political superstars like say Barak Obama, will get on board with us because the people have gotten on board with us, and we’ll drive this idea whose time has come into the White House, into the House and the Senate, at the national, state, and local levels, and we will succeed in helping to transform our nation into one that our own kids, and future generations can look back upon, be proud of, and be thankful that in this time of real crisis, real people were willing to stand up and take real action. Carpe diem!

A Valentines Thought For Resolutionaries

2005-02-01T05:58:00.000-08:00

Political Junkie Turned Love Counselor Claims…
“I Know The Secret Of What Girls Really Want, But I’m Willing To Bet Nobody’s Ever Told You…”

OK already, I know that people out on the street think of Joe L. Buckett as a political junkie/hack and not a love counselor. However, for Valentines Day I’m going to swap my political junkie/hack hat for a love counselor’s hat and see if I can make a point here. You see, in my younger years, after a great deal of research and exploration, I discovered a secret. I discovered what girls really want from a relationship with a guy. Then I found the girl I really wanted, I gave her what she really wanted, and guess what…we’ve been happily married now for over thirty years.

Now I recognize that all the girlie magazines claim to be able to reveal this same deep, dark secret…if you’ll only buy their monthly publication. Their revelations though are so incredibly shallow and predictable that you know what they’re going to say before you ever check out the table of contents. They always “reveal” to you that girls want bigger body parts, harder body parts, trimmer and slimmer body parts, heavy breathing, and a man with a slow hand…and all kinds of other inane drivel that leaves you without a clue about what girls really want. Am I right? You know I’m right. Tell me I’m wrong?

And The Secret Is…
But I’m procrastinating, and I know that you’re anxious to learn the secret that I’ve promised to reveal, so let’s get on with the show. But I warn you, when you hear it, you’re going to exclaim, “My God, I knew that all along. It’s so obvious. Why didn’t I think of it?” So before you get more upset, here’s the secret. And you can quote me to any girl you know and ask her if I’m not absolutely correct in my analysis.

What girls want most of all is to spend their days and nights, weeks, months, and years being actively engaged in activities that are interesting, meaningful, creative, colorful, and just plain worth doing. To be engaged in such activities effectively makes your life meaningful and worth living, right?

On the other hand, what girls want to avoid at all cost is being engaged in activities that are boring, tedious, repetitious, routine, mundane, mechanical, and ultimately unworthy of any genuine human’s legitimate attention. Are you with me so far? After all, doing such things makes your life meaningless and unworthy of living.

If You Really Want To Really Impress Her…
So, if you want to make a really great impression on that girl of your dreams, then put her in situations in which you’re both actively exploring things and places that are really interesting, meaningful, creative, colorful, and ultimately worth exploring… together! And if you do these kinds of things together, she’ll soon begin to associate all those good times with YOU. And when you become the recognized source of all of her great times, you’ll have a huge advantage over your competition, I guarantee it. You’ll be in position to win her heart. Now go ahead and say it. You knew this secret all along, didn’t you. It just never quite lit up on your radar screen. See what I mean?

The One Big Fly In The Ointment
The one really big fly in the ointment though is, what happens if you are personally living one of those totally dull, boring, mundane, and ultimately tedious lives yourself. How in the world are you ever going to create situations full of legitimate excitement and adventure for her, and eventually win her heart if you can’t even do if for yourself? That’s right, if you’re incapable of creating adventure in your own life, what are the odds that you can produce that miracle in someone else’s life?

How Can I Pursue Excitement And Adventure When I Have Bills To Pay…
“Hold on, hold on,” you say. “Now you’re insulting me and making me mad. You see the reason I’m unable to create excitement and adventure in my own tedious and totally boring life is that I’m caught up in the modern economics of making a living. I mean those exciting adventures you keep yakking on and on about require money to make them happen. And in my case, I wasn’t born a Kennedy or a Rockefeller. I wasn’t born on a yacht, I didn’t grow up playing polo, and I didn’t inherit the opportunity to live adventurously. I’m the paycheck to paycheck kind of guy who’s just trying to meet his mortgage payments, car payments, food, and utilities with THE DAY JOB!”

“Not only that, but the company I work for squeezes me for between 40 and 50 hours each week, which means that any excitement and adventure has to be stuffed in and around the stupid DAY JOB. And to be honest, when five o’clock rolls around, I’m bushed and ready to put my feet up. And all you want to talk about is how I need to create excitement and adventure if I want to attract and impress the girl of my dreams.”

I Already Know The Girl Of My Dreams, But…
“But there’s more. I actually know the girl of my dreams and I happen to know that she’s caught up in the same bloody dilemma. I mean like me, she grew up being sold on the idea that hard work, and keeping your nose to the grindstone will get you ahead in the good old USA. But the only thing that hard work has produced for either one of us are two incredibly boring DAY JOBS, which we both loathe, but for the moment neither of us can afford to quit, because, as they always say, A DAY JOB you hate beats bankruptcy and starvation every time.”

“I mean when you say wage slave, my girl and I can both fully identify. When you say industrial sharecropper, we know exactly what you’re talking about. I mean we’re both working the master’s plantation, and we’re both supposed to be thankful to him for giving the opportunity to us instead of some other poor slobs. And if we complain out loud, we’re out on our ears. But honestly, I don’t know what to do about this problem. And without a viable answer, I don’t see how I am supposed to be able create a life full of meaningful excitement and adventure for me or for her. What do you suggest Joe?”

Slaying The Wage Slave Dragon
I suggest that winning a girls heart is, and always will be, a matter of romance, adventure, and slaying multi-headed, tail swishing, fire-breathing dragons. The modern day beast may not always be as easy to spot as the original fire breathers of a previous era. But they’re still very big, very powerful, very intimidating, and extremely dangerous, just like their predecessors back in the days of King Arthur and Sir Lancelot. So let’s have a quick look at four ways that guys today challenge the fire breathing, Wage Slave Dragons of the 21st century, and analyze where they succeed, and where they fall short, especially in terms of winning the heart of your dream girl.

Slaying The Wage Slave Dragon, Level One…
So what kinds of things do modern guys do to spice up their lives, to counteract their adventure and excitement free lives of wage slavery, and to win the heart of their dream girl? Well some guys join the health club and try to make certain body parts bigger and harder, and other body parts trimmer and slimmer. Others buy hot, fancy cars because all the advertisements portray cars as sexy and adventurous. And there some guys who take exotic vacations to far away places, cultivate a taste for gourmet food and drink, become sports or rock and roll junkies, go to movies, play poker, gamble, or worse. And for these guys variety is the spice of life. These kinds of activities certainly are better than nothing. They will provide temporary relief (the dragon still controls most of their week) from the ravages of a tedious and stressful day job, and they will win the hearts of some girls…at least temporarily.

Slaying The Wage Slave Dragon, Level Two…
Another strategy used to slay the wage slave dragon is when you start your own business, work for yourself, direct your own traffic, be your own boss, and eliminate the guy who owns 40 to 60 hours of your life each week so he can tell you what to do, and when to do it, for that specific period of time. Generally speaking, starting your own business is an adventure, and done right, you’ll at least have the potential to eventually own and control your own life, to experience the financial independence (freedom) that employees seldom experience, to create the discretionary time in which real adventure can develop into a way of life, and win the heart of your dream girl.

The problem however is that ninety percent of new business startups fail within their first year. And for those who don’t fail, the owner is usually so caught up in keeping his company afloat, that he still works 60 to 70 hours a week. As the result, the freedom and discretionary time that should be the fruit of his hard work and dedication, is seldom experienced. In other words, although the boss has been eliminated, the wage slave dragon is still lurking in the shadows of the days, weeks, months, and years of most small business owners, and it generally prevents him from ever getting around to creating the adventure, and the excitement required to win the heart of his dream girl.

Slaying The Wage Slave Dragon, Level Three
At this level you and your family actually start to break free from the wage slave dragon. The big antidote for you and yours is when the wealth producing capital that you own generates enough passive income to pay all your bills, and meet all your financial obligations. When and if that day ever arrives, you’ll be financially independent, and free to give your days, weeks, months, and years to those activities that YOU decide are most important and most meaningful in your life, instead of what the boss or the customer thinks are most important and meaningful.

The problem with slaying the wage slave dragon at level three is that it’s extremely limited because so few people ever achieve it, which means that so few get to experience this level of freedom. Furthermore, if this level is achieved, (think of your favorite movie star, rock star, or sports hero here) you’re now faced with the challenge of actively finding something meaningful (yachting anyone?) to do with your life. There are no more excuses because your life now belongs to you, not to the boss or the customer. And if you’re unable to solve that little dilemma, you’re destined to come face to face with the vacuum of meaninglessness and ennui, which has caused many a privileged human to escape into the bottle, the needle, or some other self destructive behavior.

Not only that, in the current confused economy, the natural tendency is for capital (and financial freedom) to accumulate (be monopolized) in the hands of a few (YOU) at the expense of the many, which itself is the root cause of social unrest, crime, and what we now call TERRORISM in the 21st century. And while this level of dragon slaying may win the hearts of many girls, that real girl who wants to live a meaningful and fulfilling life will probably find this level of adventure extremely shallow, and meaningless. But at this stage you’ve certainly broken away from the grasp of the wage slave dragon yourself. On the other hand, you’ve left most others on the hook and struggling to free themselves from the monster’s grip. And one of them could be the girl of your dreams.

Slaying The Wage Slave Dragon, Level Four
At this level you will be encountering the dragon at its most dangerous. You’ll be encountering him at the systematic level. To do this will not only require tremendous courage, but tremendous skill, and tremendous knowledge of your opponent. You see at this level you’ll be attempting to destroy the Wage Slave Dragon not only for yourself and your girl, but for people all over America, and eventually the world. Talk about a real live adventure with wide ranging consequences! This one really is the big one!

And to even entertain such an incredibly outrageous thought, many of your friends will laugh at you, and think you’ve gone completely off your rocker. But if you really understand the immensity of the stakes, the nature of your opponent, and method by which you can win this epic battle with history’s most ferocious beast, you’ll be able to chew up all those criticisms and spit ‘em out, you’ll find the heart to persist, and you’ll win, not only the heart and respect of your dream girl, but the hearts, minds, the respect and thanks of generations for years and years to come. You’ll also feel good about YOU.

I Suggest That You Ride To The Rescue Of Your Damsel In Distress…
So as a political junkie now turned love counselor, I work with people like you all the time…people who are facing exactly the same problems. My suggestion is as follows. I suggest that you first take stock in yourself, then leap into the saddle of your proud black stallion, draw your terrible swift sword, and then ride off to rescue your modern day damsel in distress.

I suggest you devise a clear and potent strategy with which you can successfully go toe to toe, eyeball to eyeball with this all intimidating, fire-breathing dragon who has his bloody claws wrapped around the lives of both you, your girl friend, not to mention most of the world’s people, and slay this dragon at level four, once and for all, in such a way that he never ever rears his ugly head again.

Identifying The Enemy
But if you’re going to accept this incredibly romantic and adventurous challenge, with any realistic expectation of success, it’s essential that you fully identify this enemy, and to know as much about him as you possibly can before you mount your lethal attack. So let’s start that ball rolling by giving the dragon a name. Let’s call him…
· Concentrated wealth/power
· Concentrated capital ownership
· Anti-democratic capitalism that benefits a few at the expense of the many
· A system of wage slavery
· A system of industrial sharecroppers
· The Federal Reserve and The World Bank
· Thought control through ownership and control of the mass media
· The modern and thoroughly confusing political shell game
· The Republican Party owned and controlled by the corporate elite
· The Democratic Party owned and controlled by the corporate elite
· The Libertarians, the Socialists, the Greens
· Shock and Awe
· Etc…there are lots of other names, but these will do for starters

Learning All About Your Enemy
Now that we’ve given the dragon a name, an identity, the next task is for you to learn all that you can learn about him, including his strengths and his weaknesses, so that when you mount your attack you will succeed in bringing him to the ground, and you’ll be in a position where you can cut off his head, and finally slay this dragon once and for all. I mean once he’s down, you’d better keep him down, right?
Now in my own prejudiced view, the best way to become well informed about the characteristics of this absolutely hideous, modern day dragon is to check out several good websites that explain this subject thoroughly. They include…

www.joelunchbuckett.com
www.americanrevolutionaryparty.us
www.cesj.com and a number of others that are referenced on these three sites.

Then You Will Cut Off Its Head, And…
And once you’ve made a thorough study of the enemy, you need to gather your troops and prepare for the attack. At this point you will have approximately 45 months to gather your team together. At the end of that period of time you will mount an attack that will bring this modern fire-breathing dragon to its knees, you will proceed to cut off its head, and mount it on a stake for all to see.

Finally You And Your Girl Will Ride Off Into The Sunset, And…
In the mean time you will have courageously gone toe to toe, eyeball to eyeball with the largest fire-breathing dragon the world has ever known, lived through 45 months worth of romantic excitement and adventure in the process, rescued not only your damsel in distress and won her heart, but you will have rescued yourself and many others from the dredges of wage slavery and industrial sharecropperism at the same time. And after all that, I think it will be safe to say that you and your girl will be able to ride off into the proverbial sunset and live happily ever after. What do you think?

P.S. Ladies, the excitement and adventure recipe works just as well on guys. I say let’s all ride off, slay this bloody dragon, and finally live meaningful lives of our own. While we’re in the process, let’s help our kids and their kids, etc., etc. to do the same. And if we fail to achieve that noble goal, we have nobody to blame but ourselves.

January's Notes From The Underground

2005-01-24T10:09:00.000-08:00

Notes From The Underground
The January 9th (Our Third) Meeting
45 Weeks And Counting…
· One quarter has passed and we’ve had three good, enthusiastic meetings

· But for the first time we had less than the expected number of participants

· This caused us to dispense with the agenda and to focus on recruiting issues

· Monica had invited four people and they all were unable to find the time

· Brooke invited four people, and one (enthusiastic) couple made it to the party

· Pam invited a couple and they were unable to find the time

· Breaking the rules, JLB invited two couples and they were unable to find the time

· Although to be completely accurate, several of these did call to report conflicts and to say they’d be in attendance for the next meeting

· We discussed the $3,000 Plan (Capital Homesteading) as our primary attraction

· We listened to a portion of the Norm Kurland interview which was well accepted

· Jim suggested that an audio recording of Joe’s $3,000 Plan could be helpful

· Monica suggested that meeting in a public place (i.e Starbucks) could help

· Brooke suggested that a Saturday morning may be better than Sunday PM

· So we changed from second Sunday, late afternoon to a second Saturday, mid morning meeting in a local coffee house to be announced next time around.

· But we all know that the effectiveness of our efforts depends on our ability to get the message out on the street, and to inspire people who are normally politically domesticated, dormant, and generally inactive to become politically active.

· And to everyone at the meeting, this meant that we have to boil our message down into a more clear and concise, user friendly package to get the job done

· To that end I consulted with one of our members who got caught in an emergency home plumbing project (Jen Zuri) and asked if she would help me to wrestle together a power point presentation around The $3,000 Plan, which I would like to present, live and in person, at our next meeting. She consented.

· I think that this may help drive the central message home for both the wrestlers, and I think it will also help clarify some of the latent uncertainties that I believe are still lurking in the shadows, and are at the root of our recruiting challenges.

· I know that we’re all relatively amateur activists who have never really done this kind of thing (challenge the status quo?) before, and that includes JLB

· But I’m also convinced that we all see that we’re onto a BIG IDEA that is sorely needed by this nation, and it’s one that will never find its way onto the radar screen either mainstream party, or any of their third party cousins unless we push.

· We also know that the Democrats (nationally) are in big trouble and in dire need of a BIG IDEA around which to rally their troops.

· And their looking to a guy named Obama from ILLINOIS to lead them out of the woods, and into the winner’s circle. Without it the Dems are DOA in 2008.

· We also know that the Republicans (in ILLINOIS) are equally lost in space and thrashing about for the BIG IDEA around which to rally their troops.

· Without it the ILLINOIS Republicans are DOA in 2006 and 2008.

· And here we sit out in the western suburbs, in Starbucks, or Carol’s or Brooke’s living room discussing THE BIG IDEA that both D’s and R’s are desperately looking to find….quite literally, a weapon of mass attraction!

· In other words, they currently have the money and the organization, but WE HAVE THE BIG IDEA THAT THEY BOTH MUST HAVE OR DIE!

· In order to move this agenda forward we must feel a SENSE OF URGENCY within ourselves, and if we do, we can create a sense of urgency in others that will translate into actions of various sorts. But it will include putting a meeting date on the calendar and making absolutely certain that, barring major conflicts, they are attended, because if we fail to do so we’re destined to have instant replays of 2000, and 2004 in 2008, and 2012, and our kid’s lives are in the balance.

· We’re all going to be part of the problem or part of the solution, and the choice belongs to us. I challenge myself, and all of you to dig deeper, to understand more thoroughly, and to come up with creative ways to make this BIG IDEA a reality.

· The clock is ticking. We have ONLY 45 MORE MONTHS to grow and become a force to be reckoned with. Let’s all find a way to make it happen together.

Oh Yes I Can...

2005-01-08T07:58:00.000-08:00

Pablo: The Little Boy Who Didn’t Know He Couldn’t…Yet

When Pablo came into this world he had one big advantage, which was that he hadn’t yet learned that he couldn’t do certain things. As the result he tried doing all kinds of things and he discovered, much to his amusement, that some of the things he tried he could do, while others he couldn’t do…yet.

For example, he discovered that if he wanted to do so, he could stretch his arms, his legs, his fingers, and his toes out so they felt longer, or he could pull them back in so they felt shorter. He found that if he reached out and touched things he could find out what they felt like, hard, soft, cool, warm, smooth, rough, etc. He also found that if he could wrap his fingers and thumb around an object that he could kind of control it and bring it in closer. He could throw it on the floor, which is when he discovered that he could expect Mom and Dad to fetch and bring it back to him…a couple of times anyway.

He tried laying on his stomach, and rolling over to his back. Mom sat him up and he found that to be an interesting experience. He watched Mom and Dad do the things that they could do and Pablo wondered if he could do them too? The most interesting thing they did was to stand on their feet and legs, balance, and move around wherever they wanted to go. Mom helped Pablo to hang on to the high chair to help him to stand up and that worked out pretty good. But when he let go and tried to move across the room like Mom and Dad, Pablo fell right on his face. Dad picked him up, dusted Pablo off, and consoled him.

Mom And Dad Encouraged Pablo
But Mom and Dad kept encouraging Pablo to walk, the falls became easier, and one day several weeks after he began trying, he took his first four steps…and then he fell again. But four steps, that was something to celebrate, at least his Mom and Dad thought so. They kept encouraging him and Pablo kept walking and doing all kinds of new things all the time. Mom and Dad thought Pablo must be a very bright boy. And one of the other things Pablo learned was that if you keep trying to do the thing you want to do, the odds of doing it become better and better until you succeed.
In fact during his first four years of life, Pablo tried and learned to do all kinds of things all because he didn’t yet know that he couldn’t do them. And if he didn’t know that he couldn’t, then maybe he could. Not only that, but the only way Pablo could find out whether he could or couldn’t do something, was to try it. That way he knew for sure. In other words, if he didn’t try something, he’d never find out what he could do and what he couldn’t do. It was about that simple. And Pablo wanted to know. For all these reasons Mom and Dad always thought that Pablo must be a very bright young boy.

Then Pablo Turned Five And Went To Kindergarten
Then when he turned five years old, Mom and Dad enrolled Pablo in kindergarten along with lots of other five year olds, and instead of comparing what he could do yesterday to what he could do today or tomorrow, the teacher taught Pablo to compare himself to the other kids in class. The teacher was very good at this kind of thing and she saw all kinds of things like some kids were tall and some were short, some had blonde hair and some had brunette hair, some were skinny and some were stocky, some were fast runners and some were slow runners. And most importantly to the teacher, there were some kids who were smart, some who were average, and some who were below average and she placed them all in groups that reflected this assessment of them.

Pablo Was Labeled Average
As it turned out the teacher put Pablo in the middle group, but he had no idea why. Anyway he learned this new way of looking at himself from the teacher. Then he found out that when he tried stuff because he didn’t know that he couldn’t, the way he’d always done, some of the kids would laugh and make fun of him if he failed to do what he was trying to do. They thought less of him when he tried and failed, and the teacher seemed to think less of him too.

From this experience Pablo learned that it was embarrassing and painful to fail in front of the other kids and he never knew that before. But once he learned that lesson, he decided to avoid trying when other people were around and in doing so, Pablo would avoid having the other kids make fun of him, laugh at him, and make him think less and less of himself.

Pablo Learns To Stop Trying
By the time his kindergarten year was over, Pablo had switched gears when it came to trying new things. Prior to kindergarten, as you will recall, Pablo didn’t know that he couldn’t, so he would try it and find out whether he could or not. And back then when he failed nobody made fun of him, his Mom and Dad encouraged him to keep trying, and so he’d persist until he learned how to walk, how to talk, and how to do all kinds of very difficult things, because he just kept going until he finally learned to do what he wanted to learn to do.

But once in school Pablo learned that failing in front of the teacher and the other kids was embarrassing, painful, and that the simple solution was to stop trying in front of them. At least then he had an excuse. After all…he wasn’t trying, right? And when he stopped trying, he could no longer find out if he could or he couldn’t do things. But at least he wasn’t embarrassed, at least the other kids weren’t laughing at him and making him feel bad about himself, because they wouldn’t know if he could or couldn’t because he refused to try.

Pablo Learns To Shoot Himself In The Foot
Now the problem that developed over time was the more that Pablo refused to try, the less he learned about what he could and could not do. And the less he learned, the more his teachers and his peers just presumed that he couldn’t learn to do new things, otherwise he would. Nobody wants to be labeled a dummy.

By the time he’d reached junior high school Pablo was no longer in the middle group, he had been labeled a slow learner, and a low performer. Even Mom and Dad threw their hands up and bought into what the teachers said about Pablo. Apparently he was not bright like they’d originally thought. After all, all parents think their own kids are bright, but some of them have to be wrong, right?

Pablo Even Began To Believe His Teachers
Worst of all Pablo began to believe what the teachers and his peers said about him. He began to feel angry and frustrated when he was in school…which by now, he absolutely hated. He began getting in fights with other kids and giving teaches a hard time, so now he was also being labeled a behavior problem too. Pablo finally dropped out of school without graduating, without a high school diploma, and then he went looking for work.

He applied for job after job, but found that the market for young people who’d dropped out of school, and who were also considered behavior problems, was pretty bad. And the jobs he was offered paid so little that they guaranteed Pablo would stay on the bottom of the heap, no matter how hard he now tried.

Let’s Go Over How All This Happened…
Now you can use your imagination and finish this story any way you’d like, but the main thing to understand is that Pablo, like almost every other kid who comes into this world, was born with a gift of curiosity which he turned into knowledge of many amazing things. He knew he didn’t know that he couldn’t do something unless he tried it and failed. Then he discovered that if he kept trying, sooner or later he’d often succeed.

So Pablo explored his environment, watched Mom and Dad, and he tried to do the things that he saw them doing. And this entire time Mom and Dad always encouraged and even expected him to be able to learn and do all these wonderful things, if he persisted, which he usually did.

But when he was enrolled in school with a teacher and with other kids, they taught him that if he tried and failed, that they’d make fun of him, and think less of him. And in the long run, they convinced Pablo that he couldn’t do much of anything, and that it was no longer worth trying.

Pablo learned to hate school, his peers, and eventually to hate himself, all because he was systematically taught that he couldn’t do things, and for whatever reason, he and his parents thought the school system knew what it professed to know. After all, these people have college degrees and they are smart, right? But once Pablo himself bought into their suggestion that he couldn’t…his fate was sealed.

The First Really Good Question
Now, the first real question at this point is…who’s to blame? How would you answer this controversial question?
· Is it the overworked and underpaid teacher who’s given the task of sorting out the strengths and weaknesses of 25 to 30 kids each year in order to begin the selection and labeling process that we now call “education” in the 21st century?
· Is it the school administrators who are hired to oversee and operate the system?
· Is it local school board members who are elected to oversee and direct the administrators, and the school system?
· Is it the country, state, and federal educational administrators who concern themselves with marketing unfunded mandates like No Child Left Behind.
· Or is it Pablo’s parents who presumed that the people who made up the system knew what they were doing when it came to educating Pablo?
· Or Pablo himself who should have been stronger
· His peers who should have been more compassionate and understanding
· Or do each one of these parts kind of go along with, and feed on the others while under the hypnotic presumption that questioning the system that’s served this nation well so for over 200 years, is a sign of disrespect, disloyalty, is unpatriotic, and cannot be tolerated?
· And if you choose this last one, then who’s in charge of evaluating the bloody system and what it’s producing?

The Second Really Good Question
The second real question is, what can we do about this problem? What would you tell Pablo, his peers, his parents, his teachers, his school administrators, the school board who oversees the system? I know what I’d tell them. I’d say it’s the expressed goal of this school system to teach Pablo and all his peers that the only way to find out if you can or you can’t do something is to try doing it. And just because you can’t do it today doesn’t mean that you’ll be unable to do it tomorrow…so long as you keep on trying. No, there really is no substitute for persistence.

I would say that in order to succeed the system must convince Pablo and his peers that there is absolutely nothing wrong with failing to perform, and there is everything wrong with failing to try. After all, in the big picture, human life is all about exploring and testing our limits from day to day, plotting and planning how to push those limits back over weeks, months, and years.

Winning And Losing In Education
To the degree we achieve that goal, the system and everyone in it wins. To the degree we fail, everyone loses. As the old saying goes, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. So the job of educational systems around the country is to do everything possible to produce strong links who know that if they only keep their eyes open, think for themselves, and relentlessly persist, persist, and persist, they can probably learn to do whatever they really need to do in life.

It’s the job of school systems to strengthen each and every one of those links, every day, every week, every month, and every year, and to make sure Pablo knows that if he keeps on trying, there’s very little that he can’t accomplish. On the other hand, Pablo needs to know that if and when you ever give up on yourself and stop trying, you are limiting yourself, you are shooting yourself in the foot, and you are dooming yourself to future failure after failure. For me this is the biggest lesson any child can learn during their formative years, and teaching kids to really believe, down deep in their gut, that they can do it as long as they persist…is what education in the best sense, is all about.

What Does This Have To Do With Joe And The American Revolutionary Party?
To be honest, I wrote this piece for a different book, but I’ve decided to include it in this one too because I think it applies so profoundly to what we are attempting to accomplish in the new American Revolutionary Party. I suggest it’s not only the school system that’s at fault here. I suggest the system at large is designed to eventually convince people that they should not, and indeed they cannot, challenge authority and win. It starts with parents, moves on to teachers, professors, supervisors, managers, business owners, and of course at the top of the list is the government.

I mean how many people do you know who don’t even bother to show up to the voting booth to vote for the President of the United States and his colleagues in Congress because they are thoroughly convinced that THEIR VOTE MEANS NOTHING. Or how many people do you know who show up to vote, but are convinced that they’re being asked to choose between the lesser of two corporately sponsored evils? And how many people do you know who are absolutely convinced that they are absolutely powerless in the face of the mega money, and the multinational corporations who own and control both mainstream parties (and to an extent the lives of the people) in America today?

The Disease…
When people are finally convinced of all those kinds of things, they are suffering from the same systematically generated disease as Pablo. The disease is called the I CAN’T DO IT SYNDROME, and it’s effectively a systematic domestication, a systematic neutering of the people in order to protect the status quo. Once the people believe that they can’t do it, guess what. They stop trying just like Pablo stopped trying. And when you stop trying, THE BIG BOYS AUTOMATICALLY WIN BY DEFAULT.

The Antidote…
The antidote is the I CAN DO IT IF I RELENTLESSLY PERSIST bacterium. Now the thing to understand about this antidote is that it won’t work by itself. That is to say if you sit in the lotus position and repeat to yourself over and over again I CAN DO IT, I CAN DO IT, I CAN DO IT like the little train who could, you will go absolutely nowhere at warp speed, and accomplish nothing.

On the other hand if you understand the central message of this book to the point that you are on fire, and you’re bubbling over with excitement over the fact that YOU JUST LEARNED THAT WE CAN DO IT, you will become contagious, and you will begin to infect all kinds of people around you…without even trying. They will see the excitement in your eyes, hear the enthusiasm in your voice, and they’ll become so curious about the changes they sense in you that they’ll start to ask questions.

Coming Back From The Dead, And Fully Embracing Life
And when you start filling in the answers to those questions, these people will actually start thinking and seeing for themselves that they’ve been sold a bill of goods by the system. They will come to realize that, just like Pablo, there was a point in their lives when they too didn’t know that they couldn’t. They were magical. They were adventurers who were discovering new things almost every minute of the day. Their lives were fun, exciting, and they were alive in a way that they have not been alive in the longest time because the system succeeded in convincing them that they couldn’t do it.

The ARP Challenge
This then is the challenge for the members of the American Revolutionary Party who have discovered the antidote to the I CAN’T DO IT SYNDROME. Once we’ve returned from the dead ourselves, we must then bring friends, relatives, neighbors, and other acquaintances back to life. That is to say, the first step of the journey is to clearly recognize that we can do it, but only if we try. If we don’t believe we can, there is no reason to try. And if we fail to try, the big boys win by default, while we the people, and generations of people to come, will lose because we the people of this generation swallowed the systematically produced kool aid, and we failed to try…just like Pablo.

The January '05 Meeting Agenda

2005-01-07T09:24:00.000-08:00

American Revolutionary Party: Meeting # 3 Agenda
Only 46 Months Remaining Until November, 2008

Date: Sunday, January 9, 2005
Place: The home of Brooke Hamlin
Time: 3:30 PM (after the NFL)

Structure·
FYI, in an effort to be a bit more organized than last meeting, we’ll dedicate the first hour of the meeting to the enclosed agenda. At the end of the first hour anyone who needs to run will be allowed to do so. But if you’re inclined to chew on the issues afterward, the second hour will be dedicated to discussion, dialogue, and digestion of the basic ideals around which this new party is being formed. If you plan to stay for hour two, bring all your questions/comments/etc. and let’s throw ‘em all out on the table for discussion.

· Floating Board of Governors Idea - Carol has recently suggested that we consider having what she calls a Floating Board of Governors instead of formal officers. This group would be temporary (say a quarter?), and it would consist of a small group of partners (say four) who’d take ownership of the coordinational responsibilities for that short period. Then, each quarter, half of the board would be replaced by two new partners who will coordinate things for a quarter themselves, before being replaced. The intention would be to have everyone be a board member sooner or later. If we like it, we could implement the idea immediately. Comments/suggestions?

· JLB posted a “splintering” strategy on the blog that we should discuss briefly.

Projects
· Capital Homesteading CD recording (an interview with author Dr. Norm Kurland) will be posted on JLB’s website before the January meeting for anyone to download or pass on to interested colleagues.

· The Power Point Presentation has yet to be done. Let’s discuss.

· Carol and Brooke suggested that doing some interviews with employees from ESOP companies would be valuable. Comments or suggestions?

· Blog feedback – we got some this past month, but we’ll need to continue growing that electronic dialogue in order to maximize it/s potential. Comments?

· List of local groups who’d be good candidates for a power point presentation (Monica/Brook suggestion). Has anyone compiled anything here yet?

· JLB talked with Norm Kurland about doing an ARP blog, and at this point he’s inclined to defer to Joe’s blog.

· Bank Account – is anyone in a hurry to start this? Comments?

· Data Base – Pam has started it. Carol suggested that an official membership application form might help our data base collection. Comments?

· Jim’s suggestion of combining the CD and the Book – the book will be ready to send to the printer before the 1/9 meeting, and the Kurland CD will be ready for tasting by the 1/9 meeting. Jim and JLB need to discuss logistics of this project.

· Barak Obama has been invited again, and to keep things even, we also invited former Republican Senator Phil Crane who rumor has it may have an interest in attending our meetings. JLB will give details on 1/9.

· Streetwise (homeless) newspaper column – have heard nothing from them and will give potential reason why if anyone is interested.

· Notes From The Underground – if there’s anyone else who’d like to take over the gathering of the official notes of our meetings, type ‘em up, and distribute ‘em, please indicate by raising your hand. If you want it temporarily that’s fine too.

· New Issues……………………

· Break for Discussion

It's All About People

2005-01-02T08:40:00.000-08:00

No People Equals No Movement, Two People Equals A Landslide

At the risk of pointing out the obvious, this movement is all about PEOPLE. Without people, all the great ideas, all the great theories, all the great articles, books, web sites, publicity, planning, intentions, and all the money in the world mean ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! In short, NO PEOPLE, NO MOVEMENT. By the same token, if every who claims to have fire in their belly over this red hot idea goes out the door and ignites ONLY two more flames (no more than two are allowed), then we’ll have a LANDSLIDE on our hands come November of 2008.

Here are the kinds of questions we all need to be asking ourselves. Who else in my small, but immediate sphere of influence do I know who feels like the American political system is TOTALLY BROKE AND BANKRUPT? Who else feels as if they’ve been expected to go the voting booth and choose between the lesser of two corporately sponsored evils, instead of between candidates who truly represent the American people? And most importantly, who else agrees that if this nation does not pick up the remote, switch off the boob tube, get up out of the Lazy Boy, and go out and do something about it, the fiascos of 2000 and 2004 are destined to repeat themselves all over again in 2008?

Three Basic Obligations Of An American Revolutionary Party Member
Now, once you identify these people, and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t know at least a couple of people who feel this way, you have three basic obligations if you’re going to cross the dividing line and become a fully activated member of the solution instead of just another hand wringing part of the problem. And mark my words. You are destined to be one or the other. It all depends on what YOU do.

Obligation Number One
Obligation number one is to RECRUIT YOURSELF. What do I mean by that? I mean, if you suspect what I think you suspect, namely that this idea really is the big idea that the world has been waiting for, the real McCoy around which genuine government of, by, and for the people can finally be built, then you owe it to yourself to dig into it further. Ask questions until you’re blue in the face. Check out related books, web sites, Google the internet, and wrestle with the issues until you have finally taken a position one way or the other. Either you’re in favor of this unique and new free market paradigm for the twenty first century, or you’re against it. And you know why in either case.

Now how can you tell when you’ve come to a decision? You’ll be able to tell when you suddenly say to yourself, “My God, why in the world have our leaders failed to implement this blatantly obvious solution? Why didn’t my teachers tell me about it back in school? You’ll know when the understanding you’ve developed turns into a level of excitement and enthusiasm that makes you glow in the dark, renders you contagious, and bubbles over naturally in the middle of normal conversations over cups of coffee, and causes you to tell other people about what’s going on in your life because they can see the excitement in your face and they can hear the enthusiasm in your voice.

Obligation Number Two
This phenomenon leads us right into obligation number two, which is RECRUIT TWO OTHER PEOPLE. But I don’t want you to see this as recruiting in any normal sense of the word. In other words, I don’t want you to feel like you’re selling anything to anybody. If you’ve really covered the bases of obligation number one, all you have to do is be around people, listen closely when they talk, and it’ll be easy to recognize those people who are aware of what’s going on politically. And when you do this, it’ll happen naturally, with absolutely no effort on your part whatsoever. Your understanding, enthusiasm, and excitement will begin to bubble up and boil over in the conversation, and before you know it you’ll have people wondering OUT LOUD just what in the world you are so incredibly excited about?
You see, genuine excitement over anything (let alone something as large and far reaching as this) is a rare these days. And when people see it bubbling out in you, they’ll start asking you questions without your prompting. Then all you have to do is fill in the answers... naturally, tell them what you’ve discovered, and before you know it they’ll be asking you how you got involved, and effectively, how they can become involved too?

Obligation Number Three
Once you’re contagious the real problem becomes the fact that you are allowed to recruit NO MORE than two people. That’s it. So your second basic obligation is to ignite two new fires, and your third basic obligation is to make sure that these new fires continue to grow brighter and brighter every day, every week, every month until they are as contagious as you are, and they naturally, without trying, ignite two more fires.

Two Quick Questions For You
At this point I want to ask YOU two questions. First, have you ignited two other fires and brought them to a meeting? Next, have you have you poured gasoline all over these two fires, rendering them white hot, and contagious enough to become fire lighters themselves? If not, the real question becomes, have you really recruited yourself? Have you cultivated your own fire to the point that you’re contagious? If your answer is “yes I have,” then lighting other fires will happen quite naturally.

It’s All About People
A genuine revolution (even a peaceful one like this) is always all about PEOPLE, and ACTIONS that will attract PEOPLE? If we can get to people to understand this revolutionary ideal, the American Revolutionary Party is destined to become a force to be reckoned with over the next 48 months. We must avoid laboring in the fields of ideals and theory. We must bring the revolution to the street, which is the only place where genuine fires can be ignited and grown into movements that will eventually demand the attention of those who are in power, because WE’LL BE ELECTING THEM!

No People Means No Movement
None of this is to say the other things we do are important. But in the end, when push comes to shove, No people, means NO MOVEMENT. And No movement means NO CHANGE. But TWO people, duplicating themselves over and over again over a 48 month period will develop into a LANDSLIDE that’s destined to change politics and life in these United States, and the world…forever and ever.

JLB's Grass Roots Politics Leadership Bootcamp

2004-12-27T13:41:00.000-08:00

JLB’s Grass Roots Politics Leadership Boot Camp
In order to avoid the cumbersomeness and the depersonalization of large groups, what would you think of entertaining a planned split off strategy that would cap the size of our meetings at fifteen around participants? Here’s what I have in mind…

1. The January meeting should get us up to fifteen participants over which I will preside, unless someone else wants to do so. But the February meeting will presumably kick us up to thirty participants, and that borders on cumbersome and impersonal.

2. So what if the February meeting is split into two groups of 15 with Carol running one meeting that would include the people that her side of the group has brought to the table, and Zuri and I running the other one that would include those who her side brought to the table.

3. Before presiding over one meeting, a member will have actively participated in three previous meetings, had three months of time to dig into the concept, wrestle with the various issues, read what you need to read, ask all the questions you can possibly think of, and effectively satisfy yourself that we are indeed embarking on a revolutionary strategy that is destined to democratize America’s free market economy, and eventually do the same for the world’s people.

4. Once you’ve jumped those hoops you will undoubtedly be ready to preside over a meeting. In other words you will have had ample opportunity to saturate yourself in the concept and to effectively become Joe Lunch Buckett yourself. You fire will have been completely ignited, and you will be a self motivated, self learner who is ready to choose your own unique role in the party from that point on. You will be a graduate of JLB’s Hands On Political Leadership Bootcamp.

5. When you have presided over a meeting you will eject and become a FREE AGENT who will be awarded the coveted Lunch Buckett containing one copy of Joe’s new book, one copy of Norm Kurland’s Capital Homesteading for Every Citizen, and one official set of ARP business with all of your info on them for the purpose of future reference.

6. Once graduated from Joe’s Grass Roots Politics Leadership Bootcamp you will be encourage to attend a monthly meeting of your choice (maybe one that needs a little boost?) and then to specialize in various projects within the party including things like…

a. College campus development
b. Power point presentations to local groups
c. Web site development
d. Niche market development, i.e. teachers, or women, or ethnics, etc.
e. Community Investment Corporation development
f. You could consult on ESOP, CIC, or other related ownership projects
g. And even running for public office on the ARP Ownership Platform
h. Fundraising
i. WAVG real people interviewing
j. And anything else you can think of to move this revolutionary concept into the forefront of the American voter’s radar screen.

Charismatic Leadership...Do We Really Want It?

2004-12-22T05:14:00.000-08:00

Charismatic Leaders…Do We Really Need Them, Or Want Them?

In politics these days it seems that we’re always looking for that charismatic leader who can charm the pants off an audience. That person who can stand up in front of a crowd of people, feel their pulse, and get them to sing in harmony, in rhythm, and to feel good about doing it…all at the same time. In the past half century we’ve seen several examples of what I’m talking about, starting with Jack Kennedy in the early sixties. In the wake of his assassination, brother Bobby was picking up the slack right nicely until somebody gunned him down.

From The Kennedy’s To Ronald Reagan
The Kennedy’s were followed by a collection of less than charismatic leaders until we hit the 1980 election when, whether you approved of him or not, Ronald Reagan became a national political icon, the great communicator, the Republican with enough charisma to win lots of Democratic votes, and in the wake he became the ideal of every Republican politician since he left office in 1988.

And Then Came Clinton
Then in the 1992 along came a guy named Bill Clinton who was as charming as Reagan. He strode onto the international stage, stealing the show from a dull Bush I, and then from a droll Bob Dole. And despite his administration being undermined from the very get go by right wing nutcakes like Rush Limbaugh and Rupert Murdoch, Bill Clinton’s eight year term in office was very pleasing in the eyes of many Americans, and his many admirers around the world…because of his charisma.

The Current Charismatic Depression
We’re currently in a charismatic depression after Karl Rove and company helped John Kerry to self-destruct, decompose, and disappear leaving us with another four years of George W. But charismatic George W is not. In fact he often times has a hard time making sense of the English language, and is famous for addressing crowds that have been well vetted before they are allowed to listen to W’s drivel, and then cheer wildly for each confused and incomplete sentence. And now there’s a guy named Barak Obama who has climbed on the Democrats horse and is threatening to become our nation’s first black President…because of his charisma.

An Exercise In Avoiding The Responsibilities Of Citizenship?
But my real question is as follows. Why do we want charismatic leaders anyway? Why do we think we need a charismatic leader? And what does that longing for leadership have to say Americans anyway? Does it reflect a lack of self confidence? Does it say something about our own insecurities? Does it say something about our need to be told what to do and when to do it, by someone other than ourselves?

And to what degree is it an exercise in avoiding the responsibilities of democratic citizenship, while expecting someone else…like that guy with all the charisma, to move the masses, and carry the load on our behalf while we occupy ourselves with more important issues like professional sports, gourmet food, or which movie star or rock and roll singer is sleeping with whom, as reported in the National Enquirer, or People Magazine, USA Today, or the hottest talk (gossip) radio show in town.

But The Better You Know Yourself…
My contention is that the better you know yourself, and the more you’ve been willing to wrestle with your own demons, over and over again, the more confident, the more self assured, and comfortable you will be with YOU. And the more comfortable you are with your own well-earned conclusions, and the less important any leader, even a charismatic one, becomes.

The More You’ll Lead Yourself…
Under these circumstances, you’re effectively your own leader. You trust in yourself, and you think for yourself. To do anything less would be self-destructive. You have absolutely no need to have anyone else tell you what to do, or what to think about your own life…thank you. As a matter of fact, when and if someone else is presumptuous enough to presume that you need their advice and direction, even though you asked them for nothing, they’ve crossed the line of mutual respect. And the minute that mutual respect is ignored, conflict has walked in the door.

So I Say To Hell With The Charismatic Leader
I suggest that the job of a real leader is to build a stronger, more clear thinking, understanding, and empathetic nation that’s full of independent minded people who are perfectly capable of thinking for themselves, directing their own traffic, and who have absolutely no need for any charismatic leader to tell them anything. Instead let’s find representatives who know and understand how to systematically produce a nation full of justice, freedom, democracy, peace, and prosperity for everyone, and in the process, how to underwrite a true government of the people, by the people, and for the people, and then vote them into office to represent us....not to lead us.

Sheep Need Border Collies, But…
In short, sheep need border collies to move from one grazing spot to another. But real, live, thinking humans do not. So, in simplest terms, are you a sheep in human skin who needs a charismatic border collie to motivate and move you? Or are you a full blown human who is perfectly willing and able to wrestle with his own demons, to win the right to draw your own conclusions, and to ignore the charismatic border collie despite what that old dog may think? The choice, as they say, is yours to make.

A Golden Opportunty That NHL Strikers Will Never See

2004-12-17T08:58:00.000-08:00

“The Golden Opportunity That NHL Striker’s Will Never Consider”

The National Hockey League strike…is this thing hilarious or what? I mean on one side of the table you have one group of spoiled adults who are being paid minimally $185,000 per season to PLAY hockey. In the off-season these guys PLAY golf, and cut lucrative commercial deals through their agents who take their own cut of the cut. Other than that, these guys are placed on social pedestals, revered by family and friends, and now they’ve gone on strike in order to get…MORE!
On the other side of the table you have the owners who are wallowing in potential revenue from a variety of hockey related sources or else they wouldn’t be at this bargaining table in the first place. And these guys are doing everything they can think of to avoid giving up…ANY MORE.

In principle this well publicized sports brouhaha is no different from a classic Teamsters or a teacher’s strike in which each party is battling for a larger piece of a finite economic pie. But in terms of real dollars per participant there’s a huge difference because the relative size of the NHL pie is so much greater, which is precisely what makes the whole situation so laughable.

Here’s How They Could Turn The Tide
But I suggest that there is an opportunity for the NHL to turn the tide here, and go from looking incredibly stupid and greedy on both sides, to exquisitely intelligent in a single bound. This move would not only settle the strike, but it would delight the fans, increase the size of the business pie, and also provide an economic role model for this nation and the rest of the world who is so desperately in need of a way to get beyond the old US VS THEM, 19th and 20th century economic paradigm that’s had all us all (including the NHL as we speak) in its grip since before the dawn of the industrial revolution many moons ago.

What is this move you ask? The move is to unionize or unite on the ownership side of the table. The move is to transform the players into owners, into partners, who actively participate in the economic wins and losses of their respective companies (their teams) as owners instead of employees. And when the company/team does well in economic terms, the player/owner reaps the benefits. If the company/team does poorly, the player/owner suffers the consequences…as an owner.

Eliminate The Reason For Strikes Forever
In making such a move you’d immediately eliminate all future strikes by replacing the old worker vs. owner paradigm with a new, all for one and one for all OWNERSHIP paradigm. And since all the participants would benefit from working together and succeeding, you’d also provide both sides with a system in which working together toward a single, productive goal, both on and off the ice, wins.

The Profound Potential Of Such A Move
But on a much larger scale, if the NHL were to make such a move, it could provide the entire nation (and eventually the world) with a high profile model for a free enterprise based, OWNERSHIP SOCIETY that the Bush administration keeps crowing about, but seems to so know so little about implementing. But my contention is that if the NHL could actually get it, surely their fans, and all those incredibly smart guys in the US Congress could get it too. And when it works like gangbusters, maybe we as a nation could take a tip from the NHL, apply the same principles to our economy, and see ours finally grow into a government of the people, by the people, and for the people

Yes, this represents a golden opportunity for the NHL to turn their proverbial lemon into lemonade, delight and enlighten their fans, increase the size of their pie, and have an absolutely profound effect on the rest of the world at the same time. On the other hand if they all continue to behave like greedy, spoiled brats, I sincerely hope they kill their golden sports goose, crash and burn as a league, and may they all finally get a real good taste of actually working for a living. They’ll all deserve it.

P.S. For anyone who’s really interested in an Ownership Society (like say the Bush Administration perhaps), a user-friendly roadmap for this new, 21st century economic paradigm entitled Capital Homesteading For Every Citizen has recently been published by Dr. Norm Kurland through the Center For Economic and Social Justice, and it’s available special order through Amazon, Borders, and Barnes & Noble web sites.

December's Notes From The Underground

2004-12-14T06:44:00.000-08:00

December 11th 2004 Notes From The Underground, ARP/JLB Mtg.

Structure…
· Officers – we decided that we would put off electing officers until the January meeting when we expect to see a minimum of 15 people participating.

· Projects – status of projects listed below

· Committees will be project based and we also decided to wait until the January meeting to organize them.

· Discussion – there was a lively discussion of what’s going on and where we are headed. If the excitement level at this meeting is any indication, I have no doubt that we will attract the projected number of fifteen people to the next meeting.

Projects…
· Recruiting - our goal is 8000 people by end of year one. One of the fairly immediate tasks will be to decide how and when to break off into smaller groups in order to maintain active levels of participation/ownership from every partner.

· CD Recording of Capital Homesteading Summary as a recruiting tool. JLB promised to have an original edition done before the next meeting, but speculated that we will be able to find someone else who would prove to be a more effective reader of this material.

· Power Point Presentation for COC’s, ESOP companies, even church groups – this will be a project in which everyone will participate and benefit from wrestling with the Capital Homesteading concept directly in order to develop sufficient confidence to make public presentations on the subject. JLB suggested that Jen Zuri would be the right point person for this project.

· Monica suggested that there are all kinds of local groups who would be candidates to hear a power point presentation. Brooke suggested that everyone come up with a list of these kinds of groups in their own communities.

· Brooke suggested that we should put meeting dates and times on business cards, and everyone liked that idea.

· Interviews with real people on real problems – both Monica and Brook said they would be happy to be interviewed by JLB and Al Robinson of WAVG talk radio and we’ll try to have both of these done before next meeting/

· Web Site/Blog Involvement – everyone agreed to actively participate in a democratic dialog through Joe’s web site message board and on Joe’s Blog starting in the near future….like hopefully this coming week.

· Carol asked about an American Revolutionary Party blog and JLB said Norm Kurland was investigating that possibility, and it’d probably be up by next mtg.

· Joe’s Book – JLB reported that was in the works and would likely be ready by next meeting as well. How do you like the title “The One Big Idea: The Missing Link In America’s Political System and What YOU Can Do About It!” Other suggestions for the title are most welcome.

· Register with FEC - we have the forms to do that when the time comes.

· Establish bank account - JLB suggest that Carol and Pam be co-signatures

· Brochure/Cliff’s Notes – we agreed this project is less important than the CD recordings and the power point presentation, so it was tabled for the time being.

· Data Base – Pam got caught with her hand in the air when this came up, so that project now belongs to her.

· ARP Platform – everyone at the table had read it and seemed to like it. There were no negative comments, only positive ones, but folks will read it more thoroughly before the next meeting.

· Mid Term Elections – everyone agreed that we should be considering a 24 month plan of attack in order to get things moving on a more local level, and to have some suggestions next meeting.

· Jim suggested that a combination book and CD (both of which we’ll have within weeks) could be packaged in the same way that software is packaged and could be something that would look very professional. Jim and JLB will be looking into that possibility and will report back on what they find next meeting.

· Get Barak Obama to our table within the first year – JLB reported that Obama had officially been invited to this meeting, and would continue to get invitations, along with notes and numbers of participants until he shows up.

· JLB said he had talked to a Chicago based homeless newspaper about doing a regular column in their bi weekly newspaper Streetwise and would update the group when he heard more. Brooke suggested the name of the column could be “Through The Cracks.”

· Pam suggests that someone who knows Roberts Rules should be running the meeting from now on, and that someone who knows how to take more conventional notes should take over the Notes From the Underground. Since this suggestion was not formally discussed, we’ll talk about it in January.

· The Onion Headline that JLB failed to come up with on Saturday is “It’s Really Hard When Someone Close To Someone You Pretended To Like, Dies.”

A Tool With Which To Identify Peaceful Revolutionaries

2004-12-13T20:44:00.000-08:00

12 Questions To Ask Potential Revolutionaries

1. Are you happy with your current job?

2. Are you happy about having to work for somebody else, doing what somebody else wants you to do, instead of what you really want to do, forty to sixty hours a week?

3. Are you happy about having to squeeze your own personal agenda in and around the cracks and crevices of your week, while the day job (someone else’s agenda) occupies the most productive hours of your week, month, and years of your life?

4. Do you harbor any realistic hope of ever breaking FREE from that dilemma, which has been aptly characterized as wage slavery, or industrial sharecropperism?

5. Do most of your friends and family members find themselves caught up in the same dilemma, and do they also lack any plan eventually to FREE themselves?

6. Do you find that the conflict between those things you naturally want to do, and those things you’re financially required to do a great source of STRESS in your life?

7. Do you suspect that most of your friends and family members are living under the same form of STRESS, and that it could be grinding away on their health, their family relationships, the quality of their weeks, months, years, and ultimately their lives?

8. Do you like the fact that the same people who own and control the most productive hours of your week, month, year, life, also own and control the supposedly democratic government here in the United States of America…whether you like it or not?

9. Do you like the fact that these same people who own and control the most productive hours of your week, month, year, life, as well as your government, also control the media and most of the information to which you have access?

10. If someone could show you a peaceful way to unravel the political/economic system that has you, your family members, and friends under its control, would you be interested in hearing just a little more about it?

11. Would you be willing to check out a couple of web sites to learn more?

12. Would you attend and participate in a monthly meeting in order to learn more?

If YOU answered as follows, YOU are a PRIME candidate for membership in the all new, twenty first century edition of the American Revolutionary Party. Congratulations!

1. No
2. No
3. No
4. No
5. Yes
6. Yes
7. Yes
8. No
9. No
10. Yes
11. Yes
12. Yes

Thoughts On Science And The Supernatural

2004-12-10T07:42:00.000-08:00

Seven Rambling Paragraphs While Approaching Christmas 2004…
I hereby confess, I believe in things that are inaccessible to empirical science, things that scientists, no matter how smart they are, will ever be able to wrap their omniscient tentacles around. These things don’t fit under a magnifying glass. You can’t track ‘em from outer space. And laser beams and X-Ray machines can never penetrate them.

Call it supernatural. Call it metaphysical. Call it God. Call it what ever you want to call it, but science will never be able to reduce, for example, the concept of beauty to numbers, formulas, systematic predictability, and shove it into a robot-like computer. Science will never be able to weigh and measure the feelings I have for my family and friends, heat ‘em up, cool ‘em down, and slice ‘em into a countable number of pieces.

Science will never be able to throw its empirical rope around ideas like optimism, pessimism, adventure, purpose, hopes, dreams, and/or some people’s relentless pursuit of them. Science will never be able to understand or explain the creative process of writing a simple poem, an eloquent essay, the lyrics to a ballad, the notes to which they’re attached, a symphony, or an opera.

The Girl From Ipanema?
Science will never fully appreciate or understand The Girl From Ipanema, the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, Rhett and Scarlett, Bogie and Bacall, Butch and Sundance, Ms. Saigon, Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Knute Rockne, George Halas, Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth, Roger Bannister, Bill Russell, Mohammed Ali, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, The Little Prince, and yet I truly believe in every single one of them. To me they’re every bit as real, (maybe more real) than E = MC square, or Newton’s laws of physics. *

They are the kinds of things that make life interesting, colorful, meaningful, fulfilling, and eventually…worth living. They are, for me, the locations in which the supernatural resides. And science, in its wildest dreams, will never be able to reduce them, understand them, or explain any one of them…empirically. That’s why I personally have no problem believing in the supernatural, the metaphysical, God, or what I like to call just plain…Good.

Creationism or Evolutionism?
Does that mean that I believe in creationism instead of evolution? Absolutely not! I believe that creationism is a creative, poetic, literary, and religious interpretation of how life here on earth began, while evolution is a scientific interpretation of the same subject. I also believe that both of them have their place, that I can fit both of these concepts into my brain, understand them in the way they’re intended to be understood, without being schizophrenic, without insulting either position, and without taking sides. And if anyone would care to explain why I cannot do this, I’m all ears.

*P.S. (I must admit however, that the processes of developing these miraculous pieces of hard core scientific data were certainly creative acts in themselves.)

The Official Invite To Our December Meeting

2004-12-06T08:04:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder that our December meeting is next Saturday morning, 10:30 at the Geneva Library...courtesy of Carol.

To date...

Obama has been officially invited to the Saturday meeting, but don't expect him to show up yet.

I presume the Notes From The Underground met with everyone's approval.

Have you had a chance to look over, (and even weigh in on) the developing ARP Platform?

Since JLB is admittedly all too structureless, any thoughts on the structure that we're going to need as we move forward?

Any thoughts on a future bank account? My own feeling is hearts and minds first and the $$ will follow. But sooner or later we're going to need to be able to accommodate those who want to contribute actual money. Let's talk about this on Saturday.

I did not get the suggested Cliff's Notes done. But recently it did strike me that collectively developing a Power Point Presentation that could be given by any one of us, and others, including people in other states, to local ESOP companies (there are plenty in Chicago area), Chambers of Commerce meetings, and other such events would not only be a great exercise in getting our own hands dirty (someone else uses this phrase I know) and deepening our own understanding of what we're constructing here, but it would also generate the materials that should make up the Cliffs Notes that I did not finish. What do you think?

I hate to tell you gang, but we are blazing the path on this thing, and there are lots of people around the country who are watching what we do, and are waiting for us to show them how to nail this thing together at the local level...just so you know.

Most importantly, bring any and all questions that you have about this impossible dream to the meeting so we can throw them out on the table, talk about them, and make sure that everyone's cup is overflowing when it comes to actually developing "an ownership society" instead of just talking about it like our wonderful Mr. W seems so prone to be doing these days.

If you have other SPECIFIC THINGS that you want to see accomplised at this next meeting, hit reply to all and let everyone know up front.

Hasta Sabado.

RO/JLB

Do You Believe In Good?

2004-11-30T05:36:00.000-08:00

Do You Believe In Good?
Do you believe in Good? As the general rule do you believe that treating others right benefits everyone, even you in the long run? In Christian terms, do you believe in the Golden Rule, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you?”

If so, you’re basically an optimist. And if you’re optimistic, it colors the way you see, experience, and interact with the people and the world around you. It colors your understanding of the past, present, your expectations for your future, and your ability to fulfill your dreams, your potential, and live a meaningful human life. And if so, you’re a Christian according to my own best interpretation/understanding of the term.

If I said someone was “Christ like” I’d mean that they treat others with respect, dignity, and consideration. This in fact, makes them what the world needs more of, namely good, humane, human beings. Call me a humanist if you will, but anti-human is anti-Christian to me. And being humane is being Christ like!

Now, does that mean you have to advertise your faith on the bumper of your BMW or Chevy truck? Does it mean that you have to tell others about the strength and the power of your beliefs and your God? Does it mean that you have to attend church, or publicly praise and give credit to God after you score a touchdown? Or pray before meals & bed time? Or disapprove, disrespect, discredit, or belittle in any way, people who wear religious labels (Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Jew) that differ from yours?

Does it mean that you have to approve of self-righteous, self serving, self indulgent, dollar hungry, commercial television evangelists who clog the airways today with poisonous socio-economic politics, prejudice, and hatred/bigotry, disguised as religious conviction? Does it mean that you have to vote Republican?

My answer? It means exactly the opposite! God doesn’t need your bumper sticker advertisement. God doesn’t need nor care about your public testimonial. He’s not pitching an infomercial or running for office. He doesn’t care if you ever walk into a church or tell him what you want in your prayers. (On the other hand he’d probably appreciate you just listening once in a while.) And he could care less about touchdowns.

God cares only about your heart & actions, not your label! More specifically, he cares about how you think of, and treat other people (the Golden Rule?) regardless of their religious affiliation/label, ethnic background, race, age, sexual orientation, or gender. And if you treat other people right, you may call yourself a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Hindu, a Jew, or even an atheist, and still be very Christian in my eyes. On the other hand, you can call yourself a Christian, but if you don’t treat other people with dignity and respect, even (especially) if they’re different from you, and if you don’t carry yourself with a tangible sense of humility, you fail my Christian test immediately!

If I was a betting man, I’d wager that God has as particularly low opinion of self righteous, self serving, self indulgent, money grubbing, bigots and hypocrites who wallow in religious talk, put on a show “in his name” and fill the minds of naïve friends and followers with social poison. My God would throw these charlatans, these anti-human money-changers out of his house on their ear, and tell ‘em to stay out. Amen!!

3 Principles of Economic Justice

2004-11-28T13:09:00.000-08:00

Kelso’s binary formula is grounded in…

The Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies…In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776
Which states, among other things…

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”

Kelso’s offers his Three Principles of Economic Justice.

The Principle of Distribution which simply confirms the age-old presumption that if you make something, it belongs to you, not someone else. No disagreement here, right?

The Principle of Participation states that all citizens are guaranteed the right to participate in the economy to the degree that they are able to provide themselves and their family members with decent food, clothing, housing, health care, education, etc. that are necessary to secure life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, those RIGHTS that are endowed by the creator, and according to the Declaration of Independence, are both self evident, and inalienable. That means they're intuitively obvious, and they cannot be taken away by anyone. In other words, people who are being denied access to participation in the economy are also being denied access to the rights endowed on all humans by God …those rights that constitute the American ideal for which our forefathers fought and died.

The Principle of Limitation/Harmony states that no one will be allowed to have so much of the American Pie that it infringes on the Principal of Distribution, or the Principal of Participation for anyone else.

In my mind, it’s logiclally impossible to agree with the assertions in The Declaration of Independence, without agreeing with the Principle of Participation. Furthermore, it’s logically impossible to agree with the Principle of Participation without agreeing with the Principle of Limitation as well. So, when you buy into the Declaration of Independence, you’re automatically buying into Kelso’s three principles of economic justice which include the Principles of Participation and Limitation. Amen

Hollywood Gossip
Movie Reviews
Cigars

ESOP Participants Of The World Unite!!

2004-11-26T08:11:00.000-08:00

“Former Presidential Candidate Calls For ESOP Participants To Close Ranks, And Unite!”

There are currently over 10,000 companies in the United States that are organized around the concept of employee ownership. And these 10,000 companies can boast of over 11,000,000 workers who double as owners, and who actively share in the wins and the losses of their respective companies by participating in the profits and the losses…the capital ownership side of the economy where most of the wealth is being generated in the twenty first century. Some even participate in the decision-making processes, depending on company policy in this regard.

But We’re Still Functionally Divided…
On the other hand, there are a variety of associations who represent the various interpretations of the employee ownership gospel, but who currently operate relatively independent of one another, despite the fact that they are all products of the same inspired piece of literature, namely The Capitalist Manifesto co-authored by Louis Kelso and Mortimer Adler way back in 1958…a half century ago.

If We’re Going To Stand Any Chance Of Winning…
“But, according to former 2004 Presidential candidate Joe L. Buckett, “if we’re going to have any chance of creating a legitimate Ownership Society in this nation, we must first find a way to appeal to our most natural constituency, the rank and file worker/owners who are active ESOP participants, because they are in fact already walking the walk, no matter which association their company happens to belongs. If we can’t get them to hear our message and identify with us, we’re dead in the water before we ever start the engines.”

We Must Come Together And Join Hands Over The Big Picture
Buckett, the current frontrunner for the 2008 American Revolutionary Party nomination, goes on to say, “ESOP enthusiasts must all put aside their petty differences and concentrate on the big picture where we all agree that spreading individualized capital ownership among all American citizens is the key ingredient to underwriting political and economic justice, freedom, peace, prosperity, and a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. After all,” he continued, “if we can’t get along with each other, how are we going to present our message in a clear and understandable way to voters who have yet to become familiar with this revolutionary, 21st century concept whose time really has finally arrived?”

To Learn More About The Ownership Campaign Of Joe L. Buckett…
To learn more about Joe L. Buckett and his 48 Month Plan of Attack to win the White House in 2008, check out his web site at www.joelunchbuckett.com, or the new, third party’s web site at www.americanrevolutionaryparty.us , or any of the affiliates who are already lining up behind Joe’s unique 48 Month Plan of Attack to win the White House. Or, if you want to talk to the candidate himself call his Press Secretary, Rick Osbourne who can be reached during the day at 630-495-3445. Why not CALL RIGHT NOW?

Hollywood Gossip
Movie Reviews
Cigars

Constructing A New Third Party Platform...

2004-11-23T04:26:00.000-08:00

Here's the latest, edited version (draft #10) of the new American Revolutionary Party platform. We invite all viewers to participate in the drafting of this historic document by going to http://jtw.editme.com/arpplatform, clicking on draft review, and offering your personal comments on any or all points in the latest edition. JLB

A Holiday Message To Pass On To Three Friends

2004-11-22T04:32:00.000-08:00

A Christmas Carol For The 21st Century...

Dear Friends:
WARNING: Please DO NOT forward this Christmas link on anyone else, UNLESS…
· you’ve read it,
· you understand it,
· you agree with it in principal and in spirit,
· you have a pretty good answer to the $64,000 question at the bottom of the page,
· and you want to make someone’s holiday season just a little more thoughtful and meaningful this year.

Now here’s the link…

http://www.joelunchbuckett.citymax.com/page/page/1523239.htm

And if you do, then choose no more than three truly open minded friends who you think will also read it, understand it, agree with it, appreciate, and grow from this special edition of Charles Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol, then forward this message to them, WARNING and all, and ask them to weigh in on the $64,000 question by clicking on the following link…

http://www.joelunchbuckett.citymax.com/page/page/830089.htm

On the other hand, if anyone wants to learn more about the $64,000 question, then suggest that they poke around the following web site (www.joelunchbuckett.com ), and see what they can uncover? Then let’s see how much interest we can generate BEFORE CHRISTMAS DAY, 2004?

Sincerely,

Joe L. Buckett

The ABC's Of Productive And Destructive Credit

2004-11-21T05:35:00.000-08:00

The ABC’s Of Productive And Destructive Credit

There’s a huge difference between…

(A) PRODUCTIVE (individual freedom creating) GOVERNMENT DEBT that you know can and will be repaid, by a particular individual/citizen, in a predictable period of time, without ever raising taxes on anyone else at all. The two best examples of this kind of debt include low interest Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans (government never loses money on, or has to raise taxes to support the FHA because it produces wealth instead of destroys wealth) with which citizens purchase housing, and the newly suggested Capital Homesteading Act (CHA) credit which does the same on a broader scale, and...

(B) DISTRUCTIVE (individual dependence creating) GOVERNMENT DEBT that can ONLY be repaid with the sweat from a productive citizen’s brow (i.e. via taxes) such as the Vietnam War, the current Invasion of Iraq, government pork barrel projects on the part of the people who REPRESENT US in congress, and the Social Security System, not to mention the flood of Federal Reserve backed, consumer credit card debt that banks create daily.

(C) But, people say, there’s also a big difference between the FHA, where people have to qualify, and earn their home ownership through productive work in order to pay off mortgages over a period of time, and the CHA, which is nothing more than a free government giveaway to all citizens from sea to shining sea. I mean it’s a self-liquidating loan that pays itself off with tax deductible dividends, so nobody has to work to earn their respective piece of the rock, right?

(D) There are similarities and there are differences. The main similarity is that, in the long haul both the FHA and the CHA are WEALTH PRODUCING PROGRAMS that serve to offer individual citizens the opportunity to actively participate on the ownership side of the economy which is where most (95%) of all wealth is being produced in the modern, 21st century, post industrial age.

(E) Furthermore, since both the FHA and the CHA create wealth instead deplete wealth (and drain the economy), neither one has ever, or will ever, COST THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER EVEN ONE THIN DIME.

(F) The big difference is that the CHA program is NOT BASED ON WORK, TOIL, WAGES, and SALARIES. Instead, it is BASED ON OWNERSHIP OF WEALTH PRODUCING PROPERTY/CAPITAL, which is precisely what makes it so liberating to each and every individual citizen who chooses to participate. In other words, it offers all citizens the opportunity to actively participate in the ownership side of the free enterprise economic system, the lack of which is what causes the rich to continually grow richer, the poor to continually grow poorer, and feeds the root cause of violence and terrorism the world over.

(G) And as far as the FREEBIE CLAIM is concerned, we already offer participative opportunities to individual citizens in all kinds of ways. For example, would you say that public education is a freebie or an investment in the future? Would you say that public libraries or public roads are freebies or investments in the future?

(H) The CHA program represents an opportunity for average citizens to get a leg up, a way to begin to participate in the 21st century “ownership society.” But in the long run as those seven year loans are paid off, year after year, and the individual owns more and more of the rock, they will have to learn something about managing wealth, and investing in the future, if they expect to hang on to and to maintain the leg up that they’ve been offered by this new program. And financial literacy (as it is called) is good.

The Infinite Power Of Two: The Wisdom Of Noah

2004-11-19T15:09:00.000-08:00

The Infinite Power Of Two
Noah Had It Right All Those Centuries Ago…

I must confess that I think Noah had it right all those centuries ago, before the great flood, by allowing two of each species to board the arc. I doubt that he was into higher mathematics or anything like that, but he knew intuitively about the infinite power of two multiplying themselves over, and over, and over again, and he knew that the could replenish the earth in the wake of the great flood.

At The Dawn Of A New Millennium…
Now here we sit at the dawn of a new millennium no less, in the wake of the most recent political flood (or fiasco whichever you prefer) that has left people on both sides of the isle, the world over, scratching their heads and wondering what’s going to become of planet earth if, despite our differences, we the people who populate planet earth are ultimately unable to work together in harmony, towards mutually agreed upon ends, without resorting to killing each other and violating each other in a multitude of innovative ways on our way towards getting that job done.

So, Let’s Start Building The 21st Century Arc…
I suggest that our modern, 21st century voyagers need to take a tip from Noah, become proactive, build an arc, and start bringing people on board two by two, week after week, month after month for 48 consecutive months. If we can do that, at the end of 48 months, we will find ourselves with an arc full of partners whose fires are burning brightly with the flame of understanding, enthusiasm, and conviction over the fact that, after all these years we’ve finally discovered a way that we can create economic justice, which will in turn will underwrite social justice, which is the primary requirement for peace, the world over.

Binary, Binary, Binary…
In this binary age (thanks to the inventors of the modern computer and Bill Gates), using a binary orientation to the economy (thanks to Louis Kelso and all the people who have kept his dream alive for over a half century now), and with the help of a binary system of reaching out to people two, by two, by two, etc., etc., etc., (thanks to Noah and his arc) there is suddenly a light at the end of the long, long tunnel.

A Coincidence? I Doubt It
Now let me ask, have you ever noticed that the victory sign which American President’s love to flash at the press ant the television cameras when they’re boarding Air Force One, IS ALSO THE NUMBER TWO? Coincidence you say? Could be, but I for one, kind of doubt it.

P.S. One More Interesting Observation…
For the sake of the conversation, if the group starts off with three partners (one fire lighter, and two fires being lit), and if each new partner doubles himself (3, 7, 15, 31, etc., etc.) or herself for 24 consecutive months (two years) our ranks will swell to MORE THAN THIRTY TWO MILLION PEOPLE, without any help from the mainstream media at all. Just handshakes, and eyeball to eyeball conversations full of fire in the belly understanding, conviction, and enthusiastic fire lighting is all we’re talking about here.

Now that’s pretty impressive for just twenty four months. And can you imagine what we can do with a full forty eight month program? Yes Virginia, that’s right. We can take the nation, and the world back from its corporate captors in the name of justice, freedom, democracy, peace, prosperity, and a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, just like our forefathers imagined over two centuries ago. Now close your eyes, sleep tight, and have sweet dreams.

WAVG Interviews Joe On Christian Economics

2004-11-18T06:12:00.000-08:00

“WAVG AM FM Talk Radio Interviews
Joe L. Buckett Over His Claim That He’s A Proponent Of Christian Economics”

Al: So I want to welcome all our loyal WAVG talk radio listeners out there in the heartland. This is Al Robinson with a special guest who’s making his second appearance on our show. Please give a warm welcome to America’s first and only virtual candidate for President of The United States, Mr. Joe L. Buckett.

Joe: Thanks Al. As always, it’s a pleasure to be here with you and your listeners.

Al: As usual we’re running short on time Joe so let me jump right to the point. When you claimed recently that your economic plan was and I quote, “Christian economics,” our phones began ringing off the hook and I knew we were going to have to get you back on the program. Now with all the controversy initiated by that comment, I’m now going to give you an opportunity to tell our listening audience exactly what you meant when you uttered the phrase “Christian economics?”

Joe: Well Al, let me first point out that I wasn’t aiming to stir up any controversy with that remark. And I confess that to my knowledge, Christ never uttered the term economics in his life. I mean he was a carpenter, a real live blue collar man of the people who worked with his hands, and then became a little controversial himself by catering to the lower class, and effectively spitting in the face of the guardians of the status quo on numerous occasions.

So without his ever using the term economics, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know which elements of society Christ valued and respected, and which elements he devalued and disrespected. I mean it was Christ who claimed that it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, right? Now, what does that say about his economics?

Al: OK Joe, Christ was controversial because he embraced the poor and downtrodden, while he had little use for the guardians of the status quo. How does that play out in the context of your own orientation to economics? I mean you claim to be inclusive, right?

Joe: In our “two table theory of economics” we concentrate all our attention on the cancerous root cause of most of the world’s problems, namely concentrated wealth and power in the hands of a few people, at the expense of everybody else, and ESPECIALLY the SYSTEM that actively encourages that concentration to occur. And on one hand our economic program is designed to lift up the poor and the downtrodden, dust them off, and to offer them the same kinds of opportunity that middle class and wealthy Americans enjoy all the time. So we certainly line up with Christ in this regard Al.

Al: But when I hear you make those kinds of comments Joe, I begin to suspect that you’re some kind of modern Robin Hood or El Zorro who wants to run around, steal from the rich and give back to the poor. Now in modern terms that kind of redistributive thinking translates into you being a bleeding heart liberal, a socialist, even a communist doesn’t it?

Joe: Well, if you look at our program only in that way, you’re absolutely right Al. And for that reason many people’s automatic, knee jerk reaction to our plan is that our we are socialistic or communistic, simply because we do address and solve the problem of poverty in a way that’s truly systematic instead of just charitable. On the other hand, any real student of the subject knows that the primary goal of socialism/communism is to ABOLISH ALL PRIVATE PROPERTY. They (the Marxists) claim that private property is the root of all problems, and that abolishing it, makes the problems go away.

In contrast, we are unabashed and unapologetic PROPONENTS OF PRIVATE PROPERTY FOR EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN CITIZEN, which makes us the polar opposite of communists, socialists, or Marxists. Our position however is that concentrated wealth and power, whether it’s in the hands of a communistic politburo, a socialistic bureaucracy, or corporate autocrats IS THE REAL ENEMY OF JUSTICE, FREEDOM, DEMOCRACY, PEACE, PROSPERITY, AND A GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, AND FOR THE PEOPLE.

Al: OK Joe, but how does all that translate into a Christian message? I still don’t get it.

Joe: Well, there are several things in this regard that come to my mind Al. First, if I understand him at all, Christ was not a dictator in any way shape or form. He respected people from all walks of life so long as they respected (his term was “love”) others. The golden rule sounds right for this point. He was also a proponent of freedom and would have hated the thought of anyone forcing a religion in his name, down anyone else’s throat. He would have hated the thought of people being frightened out of their wits by hellfire an damnation preaching fundamentalist manipulators.

In my mind, Christ would’ve agreed with the claim that if a religion is not freely chosen by the will of the individual, then it’s absolutely worthless. He would agree with an old acquaintance of mine who used to say, “A leader is not someone who makes you do what he wants you to do. A leader is one who makes you want to do, what he wants you to do.” In other words, religion without free will has nothing to do with my understanding of Christianity. And so our economic support of justice, freedom and democracy is something that Christ would’ve taken to like a duck to water. Does that make sense Al?

Al: Keep on going Joe, it looks to me like you’re on a roll here.

Joe: There is more Al. I’d also contend that Christ was a non materialist, but that doesn’t mean that he accepted the condition where people are given the choice between wage slavery and starvation. As a matter of fact, in my view he was a strong proponent of sharing the wealth, which is best seen in the story about the five fishes and the loaves of bread. You know, the one where a minimal amount of food was passed around in order to feed the masses who had come to hear him speak. And when everyone was finished eating, there was way more food left over than when they’d originally started passing it around in the first place. The moral of the story of course is, share the wealth and there will be plenty for everyone. Hoard it and you actively create poverty. You choose.

Al: So how does this apply to your program Joe? Do you want everyone to share the wealth and create plenty for everyone? Is that it?

Joe: Well, that’s pretty much correct Al. I guess I’d say it a little bit differently. We want to offer individuals across the economic spectrum an opportunity to actively participate on the capital ownership side of the economy, where most of the wealth is being created in the 21st century. This in turn will reduce each individual worker’s need to auction off a significant portion of his life in order to feed himself, his family, and pay his bills. It will free him up to do what some folks like to call “leisure work,” of which the study of religion and philosophy are two of the very best examples. But if you have to spend all your waking hours scratching out a subsistence living from day to day, paycheck to paycheck, you’re actively being deprived of the chance to do leisure work and to make your own life as fulfilling and meaningful as it ought to be.

Al: Let’s dig a little deeper into this concept of leisure work Joe. I’ll bet that our listeners out there would get a kick out of hearing a more detailed explanation of that.

Joe: Sure Al. Leisure work is the work you freely choose to do when you have the discretionary time and opportunity to do so. For most Americans today, that discretionary time to choose your own activity comes on the weekend. Now I’m not talking about laying around watching the NFL on Sunday afternoon, drinking beer and munching chips. That’s primarily a non productive use of your discretionary time and it’s wasting that kind of opportunity that keeps most people behind the eight ball in life.

Leisure work on the other hand, is productive whether it’s an educational pursuit, a recreational pursuit (i.e. active athletic participation as opposed to mere spectatorship), or a charitable pursuit. It is what you would be doing with your hours, days, weeks, months, and years of your life if you didn’t have to auction off a significant portion of it in order to pay the bills. Leisure work in short, is a labor of love.

Al: Tell me again how that translates into economics Joe. I’m still missing something.

Joe: Discretionary time Al is largely dependent on your financial situation. If you find yourself in a situation where you have a family to support, and you own no wealth producing property that you can pay your bills with, then you’re required to auction off the only thing you do own, which is your time and your talent. And the more of that time and talent you have to auction off to the highest bidder, the less of it belongs to you. That is to say, the less time you have to do the things that are most meaningful and fulfilling to you…such as being a good spouse or parent for example, or reading things, or talking to people who can help you to grow and become more human, etc.

On the other hand, if you own plenty of wealth producing property, then you don’t have to concern yourself with paying the bills. It’s a non-issue. You are financially independent. You are FREE to do those things that make your life interesting, meaningful, and fulfilling. And that’s more likely to happen as you own more and more of your own life, and you’re not having to sell it to the highest bidder.

Al: Like last time you were here, we’re running short on time again Joe, and I have one final question for you. Are you a Christian yourself?

Joe: Good question Al and I’d tell you that I consider myself a Christian, but not in the sense of disrespecting anyone else for their religious views. I was raised Methodist in a small town of Burlington, IA. And back in the fifties and sixties in Burlington there were various denominations of Christianity in town from Methodists, Lutherans, Baptists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and Catholics. We even had a Jewish synagogue in town, but no mosques back in those days, although I’m sure they do today.

But back then, none of these groups were declaring themselves absolutely right, and superior to all others, like they do today. And I must admit, I kind of liked it that way. It was mutually respectful, and very Christian according to my interpretation. I mean there were ways that each one of these groups were different from the other, but I don’t recall ever having anyone tell me that their interpretation of God was the only correct interpretation, and that if I disagreed with them, I was going to burn in hell for eternity.

That would have been considered incredibly bigoted in a time when, most people recognized their own natural limitations with regard to empirically knowing what God said and meant in any one passage, or in any one book, be it the Bible or the Koran, etc. Back in the innocent fifties people at least had some sense of humility, and they knew when they didn’t know.

But today I think the problem is that too many people seem to be incapable of recognizing the difference between a belief and an empirical fact. I have an acquaintance from West Texas who used to say “God help them who don’t know that they don’t know.” Today I think it should be, “God save us from those people who don’t know that they don’t know, and who insist on stuffing their own interpretation of religion down other people’s throats.” It’s one of the two primary roots of terrorism…the other being the economic component.

So in answer to your question Al, regardless of the fact that many people who call themselves Christians today would exclude me from their ranks because I interpret things differently from them, I still consider myself a Christian. In other words my own edition of Christianity tends to be inclusive…kind of like Christ was himself. Their edition tends to be exclusive, kind of like the country club full of rich folks. Now you tell me which sounds like the more Christian position to take, and if this sounds like "Christian economics" to you?

Al: We’ve officially run out of time Joe, but I want to thank you for coming in for another WAVG interview, and for answering this controversy as best you can. Please say hello to Ms. Buckett for me, and until next time, this is Al Robinson for WAVG AM FM talk radio saying, we’ll be here again next week, same time, same station.

Ten Top Reason's To Avoid Supporting Joe L. Buckett

2004-11-17T04:20:00.001-08:00

The Ten Top Reasons To Fear Joe Lunch Buckett, And To Avoid Supporting Him At All Cost!

1. He’s different from any politician you’ve ever heard before. Beside that, he’s virtual! He doesn’t sing the same old, worn out battle hymns from the right, or same the old, worn out battle hymns from the left. He’s a totally different animal, and in your considerable experience, anyone who’s different MUST BE WRONG! And that’s that!

2. You are one of those top 1% whose net worth is greater than the bottom 95% combined, and you really do stand to lose if people hear what Joe has to say to them. Besides that, you think that things like justice, freedom, and democracy really are at their very best when controlled by the corporate elite, and parceled out to individual citizens at the discretion of the corporate elite.

3. You think that the modern, corporately owned and controlled mass media really does present all sides of the story to the people who take the time to listen. In other words, you contend that the modern media provides the American people with all the information they really need to make an informed decision with regard to who has the best taco restaurant in town, and who’s the lesser of two evils when it comes to being President of the United States.

4. You think that justice, freedom, and democracy can actually co-exist with an economy that actually promotes the concentration of wealth and power into the hands of a few people at the expense of the many. And anyone who disagrees must be a commie pig…right? Anyway, just look at us today. We’re living proof.

5. You really like the way our current political system works, where empty suited candidates from the conventional left and the conventional right, and neither of whom have any common sense solutions for 21st century problems, sling mud and insult one another (and the intelligence of the viewing public) for six straight months, then when one side eeks out a so-called victory, they claim a mandate for their own agenda, while a polarized public sits dazed and confused on the sidelines, which is where they really belong anyway.

6. You think that since he refuses to comment on two guys kissing, that Joe must be some sort of Godless, and immoral pervert who deserves no support.

7. You have not been laid off of your job yet, and you see the Dow Jones climbing on a weekly basis (despite the fact that job layoffs are gong on all around you) so you contend that the economy is heading in the right direction and you support the status quo. I mean why consider change unless you really have to?

8. You like being an industrial sharecropper, a modern day wage slave who spends his or her day doing what someone else tells you to do. After all, freedom requires thinking and taking responsibility. And that kind of thing is hard work. You actually prefer to have someone else think and take the responsibility so you can watch the NFL, the NBA, or even better the WWF and drink beer all weekend, every weekend. Awesome, huh?

9. If the economy actually did positively explode, just the way that Joe claims it will under his 21st century plan, we’d use up the earth’s natural resources even faster than we already are currently. And by some estimates we only have about fifty years left on the lease anyway. Why speed up the race to Armageddon…right?

10. You think that if all citizens were to develop the financial independence (i.e. freedom) that Joe is prescribing, they would be far too hard to control. The boss could no longer dictate to them 40 to 60 hours a week. The government could no longer buy their vote. And the end result of too much freedom for all is mass chaos and hysteria, which doesn’t sound too good to you. Let freedom ring is a nice marketing slogan. And a government of the people, for the people, and by the people rolls off the tongue nicely. But come on. Let’s get real. And besides, if people don’t know that they’re not free, why would you want to wake them up to that fact? A sleeping and well controlled citizenship is the key to today’s Brave New, 21st Century World, and you think we should just keep it that way.

Notes From The Underground: Our First Meeting

2004-11-17T03:28:00.000-08:00

Notes From The Underground:
The First Historical Event

Let it be known that on Sunday afternoon on November 14th 2004, at Starbuck’s Coffee Shop in downtown Geneva, IL the new 21st century edition of the American Revolutionary Party held its first ever, sit down and talk about it meeting to discuss the future direction of the United States of America. Seven people showed up and discussed the following items...

· Why the concept of democratic capitalism, which from now on will be referred to as Capital Homesteading, was potent enough to bring them to the table today.

· Why the task of recruiting new participants (partners) requires a handshake to handshake, eyeball to eyeball, first hand experience with someone whose knowledge, understanding, enthusiasm, and conviction for this new concept has rendered them contagious. In other words conventional, mass- media marketing techniques alone will be insufficient to light the fires required for our success.

· Why in order to succeed, this new party will require a sufficient degree of credibility and seriousness for people to take it seriously and to become engaged. In this light it was decided that the connotation given by the www.americanrevolutionaryparty.us (ARP) was better than Joe Lunch Buckett (JLB), which can easily, at first glance, be construed to be a mere spoof.

· Everyone decided that all the current attendees would like to have the opportunity to weigh in on the construction of the ARP platform, which JLB promised to email to everyone, along with the notes from the first meeting.

· Everyone also agreed that the goal of getting Senator Barak Obama to OUR TABLE within the first year of our existence was a viable goal and that we should plan to get that done. JLB promised to invite Obama to all meetings from now on, and to send him updates from the previous month’s meeting.

· We also agreed that each current partner would be responsible to bring (no more than) two new partners to the next monthly meeting, which was officially set to be the second Sunday of each month for the next 48 months.

· We also did the calculations and found that if each partner brought two more partners (they doubled themselves) that we’d grow from 3 to, 7, to 15, to 31, to 63, to 127, to 255, to 511, to 1023, to 2047, to 4095, and to 8191 partners within our first year of existence. And we felt if we could stick to these monthly projections that Mr. Obama would definitely find a way to OUR TABLE.

· Pam suggested that something like Cliff’s Notes (called Joe’s notes), developed to explain our concepts quickly and simply, would be a great asset to the organizational efforts of the new party.

· Jennifer agreed and added that if they could be made up into a mailer friendly brochure it would add a degree of practicality.

· Jim said that he had some graphic design expertise that he could throw into the pot for such an effort, and JLB promised to work with all three on developing a Joe’s Notes brochure.

· Carol suggested that we needed some structure and organization such as officers and committees, and she volunteered to bring suggestions along these lines to the next meeting. She was appointed head of the committee to explore this topic.

· Jennifer is a master organizer, and Pam is a natural border collie, and both volunteered to help Carol out in her pursuit of structure and organization. JLB admitted to being anything but organized, but volunteered to help when possible.

· Carol also suggested that we may need more space and more quiet for meeting #2 and volunteered to track down a meeting room in the Geneva Public Library.

· JLB announced that the ARP was planning to officially announce its existence to the world on the steps of the Federal Reserve in DC, on the third Friday in April, 2005, and that Fed Chairman Allan Greenspan would be invited to attend. Carol promptly grabbed her cell phone and called her travel agent to book her flight.

· Carol said she had some friends who wanted to contribute money to the party, but suggested that we needed to clarify the issue of our bank account before we could accept contributions. JLB promised to check with Joe’s treasurer, Al Robinson to see what was in that kitty, and to bring some suggestions to meeting # 2 with regard to the creation of a bank account.

· Carol asked JLB to check with Al over updating Joe’s merchandise page, moving from the 2004 election to 2008. With that change she said that she’d like to give some Joe Christmas gifts this year. JLB agreed to check with Al on this.

· Carol also suggested that we keep an eye out for a local business that’s going bankrupt, with which we might partner up and wrestle through the challenges of establishing a correctly done ESOPS with them, for their benefit and ours. We all agreed to keep an eye out for such a business.

· In discussing the meeting with Norm K Sunday evening, Norm suggested that JLB should think about bringing a busload of Chicago area people to the April announcement in DC…reminiscent of the Freedom Rides of the 60’s. Being a child of the 60’s himself, JLB thought that would be great fun and that he’d mention it in his Notes From The Underground.

· If anyone has anything to add or delete from these notes, please take the liberty to make the corrections and send them back to JLB who will add them to our official Notes From The Underground historical journal…JLB

The Official Invitation For Our First Ever Meeting

2004-11-17T03:23:00.000-08:00

The Official Invite For…
The Quixote Clan (Temp Name For The Original Seed Group) Initial Organizational Meeting

The Quixote Clan is dedicated to those people who are crazy enough to think the impossible is not only achievable, but inevitable…to those true, and occasionally naive optimists who respond to “It can’t be done,” with “It’s only a matter of time.”

Congratulations Immari! You are part of a small, handful of people who Joe L. Buckett thinks is equally as disgusted and crazy as he is.

You are one of a rare breed who looks back at the 2000 and the 2004 election fiascos and thinks to yourself, “This can’t be allowed to happen again in 2008 while I sit on the sideline for FOUR MORE YEARS allowing it to happen. If I’m unwilling to step up to the plate myself, then why in the heck should I expect anyone else, especially either one of the corporately owned and operated mainstream parties, to do anything about the problems? There has never been a time in my life that was so ripe for starting a legitimate third party. I say, let’s do it! Now, what time was that meeting again?”

In other words we sure would like to have you attend and participate in history’s first ever meeting of the Quixote Clan where we will discuss and hammer out a 48 month action plan intended to finally make the elections of 2008 a democratic (small d) event to celebrate! The meeting will last NO LONGER THAN ONE HOUR, and will be held at Starbucks on Main Street in downtown Geneva starting at 2:30 sharp.

Please see the two enclosed attachments for a suggested initial agenda, and to start your creative wheels turning.
· 48 Month Plan of Attack http://www.joelunchbuckett.citymax.com/page/page/1408140.htm
· Who is Joe L. Buckett http://www.joelunchbuckett.citymax.com/page/page/1442253.htm

Sincerely,

Rick Osbourne
Press Secretary
The Joe L. Buckett for President Project
Please RSVP to joelunchbuckett@chilitech.com or if you must, just show up!

AChristmas Carol Retold For The 21st Century

2004-11-14T19:15:00.000-08:00

A 21st Century Christmas Story Retold

Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house you go. The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh through the white and drifted snow…oh. When you arrive at Grandma’s house you go inside and discover that she has set two tables. One table is reserved for Uncle Scrooge, while the other table is reserved for everybody else.

The Two Table Christmas Dinner Arrangement
But there was a problem, namely that 95% of Grandma’s Christmas dinner was sprawled all over Uncle Scrooge’s table, while 5% of the dinner was carefully placed in the middle of the table for everybody else. That struck you as rather odd.
But there was a second problem as well, and it was that you knew Uncle Scrooge well, and he was a fine, upstanding, Christian citizen who always gave ten percent of his fortune to the church. That is to say, he tithed. He was even kind to his employee Bob Cratchett and his family, and he always made sure that the whole Cratchett family, including Tiny Tim had a present or two under the raggedy Christmas tree that they’d cut and dragged in from the surrounding forest.

You Disagree With Many In Your Community…
Knowing these things, it was impossible for you to conclude, as many in the community did, that Uncle Scrooge was nothing but a mean and greedy old possum who, through his shrewd business dealings, stole his fortune from the poor working class people for his own personal benefit. I mean, if they’d seen how Grandma had set the two Christmas tables this year, there are those in town who’d gladly kick over the two tables, take Uncle Scrooge out back, string him up to the highest tree, and celebrate in the name of good riddance. But oddly enough, you weren’t one of those people.

Scrooge Owned Factories, And…
The reality was that Uncle Scrooge, through his shrewd, and totally legal (he knew and he played by the rules) business dealings, owned factories, machinery, rental properties, and numerous other business enterprises in town that provided lots of jobs for lots of people like Bob Cratchett. And those things that he owned, churned out a fortune in passive income for dear old Uncle Scrooge. His main job these days was to endorse and to cash checks that flowed like water into his post office box every day of the week.

The Cratchetts Owned The Clothes On Their Backs
On the other side of the coin, the Cratchett family owned little more than the clothes on their backs, and as the result they all found themselves in a position where they had to auction off eight, ten, and twelve hours of their 24 hour day to the highest bidder, which generally speaking, was not very high because there were lots of people in town who were in the same position as the Cratchetts and needed to have the job to put food on the table. So in this sense, Cratchett and family were fortunate to have a job this Christmas, because there were many in town who did not and were much less fortunate.

The First Real Question In Your Mind Is…
So the real question in your mind was that, if Uncle Scrooge actually figured out a way to purchase and to own all these wealth-producing properties…which effectively produce 95% of all the town’s wealth, why should anyone claim that he deserves less than 95% of the benefits? Furthermore, on what basis would anyone in town legitimately argue that everyone else, who collectively produces only 5% of the wealth, deserves any more than 5% of the benefits?

The Second Real Question Is…
Then a second question popped into your mind. Was it possible that Uncle Scrooge understood, at an early age, that owning productive property was the real key to success in this free enterprise economy? And was it equally possible that the Cratchetts had unwittingly bought into the old and trite claim that if you work hard, and keep your nose to the grindstone, you’ll do just fine? After all, that’s what the teachers taught you in school, right? In other words, is it possible that Scrooge’s ownership orientation to life was vastly superior than the Cratchett’s workers orientation to life when it comes to self control, self government, and freedom?

Auctioning Off Your Life VS Freedom
I mean Uncle Scrooge doesn’t auction off any hours of his life to the highest bidder, right? He’s financially independent, which is to say that he is FREE to come and go when he pleases, and to spend the hours and days of his life dancing to his own tune, not dancing to someone else’s tune. Uncle Scrooge governs himself, while the lives of most other (financially dependent, and thus not free) people in town are effectively dominated and governed by… none other than Uncle Scrooge. Of course that’s why it’s so easy to simply loathe Uncle Scrooge.

So Here’s What You Know Now
So, what you know at this point is that the system, the way it’s currently set up, tells people…work hard and you’ll do just fine. But if people really have both eyes open, they will see that all the people who do what the teacher says to do, that is to say they work hard for a living, find themselves on a perpetually running treadmill that goes a little faster every week, every month, every year, and at best it allows them to break even, but hardly ever allows them to get ahead in the big game of life. In fact the odds of falling further and further behind, no matter how hard you work, are so great that many people find themselves missing a step, tripping, and falling off the back of the treadmill, never to get back on again.
Not only that, but people who work for a living are always dependent on people who own for a living. That is to say, people who work for living are not financially free or independent, while people who own for a living are financially free and independent. And equally important is the fact that owners give themselves the opportunity to live their lives on a higher and more meaningful level than the industrial sharecroppers and wage slaves whom they employ.

The $64,000 Christmas Question Is…
With all that said, the $64,000 question now is, what can we do to the current system to encourage more and more workers to become owners of wealth producing capital, so that they too become more and more financially independent and free from the economic chains that bind their own lives, and the lives of their family members. Now if you can answer that question, then next year Grandma promises to have her Christmas table set a bit differently than this year. And finally, God bless Tiny Tim.

So Where Does All The Money Come From?

2004-11-11T16:05:00.000-08:00

Where Does The Money Come From?

And indeed, where does the money come from? It comes from exactly the same source as when Bank One extends credit card offers to college kids all across the country. Now what does Joe College purchase with all that credit? Boom boxes, CD’s, DVD’s, MP3’s, video games, gas for daddy’s car, a six pack of beer for this weekend’s party, and other essential items required by the modern collegiate learning experience.

Bank One And Joe College VS…
Now don’t get me wrong here. Bank One knows exactly what it’s doing when it extends that credit offer to Joe College. They’ve carefully studied all the data, and they’ve concluded, based on empirical evidence, that this particular marketing strategy is profitable for them. In other words, before they ever extend this credit offer to Joe College, they know that they will make their money back and lots more…or else they would never do it. It’s a good bet. It’s just as simple as that.

Capital Homesteading And Johnny Paycheck To Paycheck
Now let’s contrast Joe College’s credit offer from Bank One with the concept of extending a Capital Homesteading credit to Johnny Paycheck To Paycheck. What you’ll find is that the credit extended to JPTP cannot be spent on non-productive consumer crap. On the contrary, it must be spent on a well-vetted, stock purchase, the kind that the conservative local banker (not some wild ass, dice rolling venture capitalist) would advise his local bank to purchase.

Like the boys from Bank One, the local banker will have studied all the data and will have a real good idea what the odds of repayment are going to be, before he ever advises JPTP to place his investment bet. Actually the odds of repayment are much better with JPTP’s Capital Homesteading credit than with JC’s consumer credit.

Consumer Crap VS…
There is one much more important difference however. The difference is that the purpose of Bank One’s Joe College marketing strategy is to get JC hooked on the consumer mentality of easy (buy now pay later) money, and in the long run, program him to believe that it’s completely normal to exchange his long term financial freedom for immediate gratification when it comes to consumer crap that he wants to have right now. Once he’s fully programmed, Bank One will wrap its financial tentacles around Joe College, who will then be producing profits for Bank One for years to come.

A Legitimate Piece Of The Rock
On the other hand, the Capital Homesteading credit, as we’ve already said, must go toward winning Johnny a piece of America’s growing economic pie, a piece of the rock that will predictably pay itself off and in the process, begin to transform Johnny Paycheck into a capitalist who has a vested, ownership interest in the future of a particular company, in a particular community, in a particular county, in a particular state, located in the United States of America.

Let Freedom Ring…
And as his productive piece of the rock grows year after year after year, JPTP will begin to feel the chains of wage slavery loosen, and the bell of financial freedom ring louder and louder, until he can finally be able to sing with Martin Luther King himself, “free at last, free at last, thank God, I’m free at last.”

In the long term big picture the Capital Homesteading strategy is specifically designed to create a nation spilling over with more and more capitalists, instead of a nation spilling over with more and more workers who are effectively cut off and alienated from the modern economic miracle known as the free enterprise system. The Bank One strategy is specifically designed to create programmed automatons who willingly trade their financial freedom and future in for consumer crap, and who, as the result can be easily controlled and dictated to by the captains of industry and by Wall Street.

It’s Our Choice
So I guess the choice comes down to…do you really want to underwrite a free enterprise economic system, and transform America into a real capitalist nation chock full of real live capitalists? Or do you prefer to create a nation that’s primarily full of workers (sounds communistic/capitalistic to me), who are systematically required to compete tooth and nail with each other, driving wages lower and lower (let’s become a third world nation ASAP, or redistribute from top to bottom in order to temporarily prevent the economy from falling flat on its face!) so that the captains of industry can oversee their respective monopolies without having to concern themselves…really, with legitimate competition. That way they can all get together, buy out the little guys, fix prices, fix elections, smoke big Cuban stogies, drive their fancy cars, and generally live off the fat of the land. Yes Tonto, I guess you could turn the clock all the way back to them good old days of yesteryear, if you really wanted to. But do you really want to?

P.S…Viva Las Vegas!
I have one final thought to offer here. If all those incredibly bright and intelligent, bureaucratic bean counters in Washington, DC are simply unable to recognize a good bet when they see one, then I know there are plenty of folks out in Las Vegas who don’t suffer from that moronic, myopic malady. I mean it’s they’re business to assess the odds accurately, facilitate the bet, and they make lots of money in the process. They do it every day of the year and twice on Sunday. Yah sure, I know you’re going to tell me that those folks out in Vegas are crooks. But that comment simply begs the question. How does that claim make them any different from the crooks in DC? Now if you’re unable to come up with a believable answer to that last question, I suggest that we consider taking bids from both DC and Vegas. If Vegas wins, we’ll just call it…outsourcing. Amen.

WAVG AM FM Talk Radio Interviews Joe L. Buckett

2004-11-09T13:18:00.000-08:00

WAVG AM/FM Talk Radio Host Asks Presidential Candidate Joe L. Buckett…
If I Vote For You, What’s In It For Me?
Al: This is Al Robinson with my special guest today, Presidential candidate Joe L. Buckett. Welcome to the show Joe. Some of our listeners have heard about your candidacy, and others have not. But since we only have twenty short minutes here, let me get right to the point and ask you the question that our listeners would most like to ask. I want to know, if I vote for you, Joe L. bucket, what’s in it for my family and me?

Joe: Great place to start Al, and I’d answer by telling you that if elected, in accordance with section 13 of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, we (it’ll take the understanding, and active support of the majority of America to activate this plan) will extend to every American citizen (man, woman, and child), an annual credit for at least $3,000 designated solely for the purpose of purchasing stock in qualified companies.

Over the years every citizen will develop a sufficient ownership stake in the American economic pie that it will produce a property income over and above their current wage or salary, and provide a solid retirement nest egg so each American citizen can actively avoid ever becoming dependent on the U.S. government, i.e. social security...which we all know is mathematically destined to crash and burn under the weight of retiring baby boomers within the next three decades anyway.

Financial dependence, whether it’s on a government or a corporate entity, is economic slavery to be avoided if at all possible. If we really want to let freedom ring, that can happen…but not if you elect either one of the mainstream party candidates, both of whom are hopelessly lost in 19th and 20th century economic paradigms. In order to come up with 21st century solutions to 21st century problems, you must have both feet firmly planted in the 21st century.

By the way Al, before we go any further, I need to confess that this entire 21st century recipe for success was purloined directly out of Dr. Norm Kurland’s ingenious new (2004 edition) book entitled Capital Homesteading for Every Citizen. To get a copy listeners can visit his web site at www.cesj.org.

Al: Sounds good to me Joe, but I have one minor problem with what you’ve said so far. That sounds like a $3,000 dollar loan to me and I want to know how my friend Johnny Paycheck to Paycheck is going to pay for this loan when he can’t even keep up with all his credit card bills? That looks like one gigantic problem to me.

Joe: Yes Al, despite the fact that we’re talking about a zero interest loan, from inside the 20th century paradigm that is an insurmountable problem. But let’s step outside the box for a moment so I can tell you that the credit I’m talking about is going to bypass Wall Street and travel directly from the Federal Reserve, through local banks, to Johnny Paycheck. And these local banks have a vested interest in the health and welfare of the local community, and they will help guide the investor toward qualified companies who, among other things, have proven themselves to be solid, predictable growth companies.

Now one of the ways a company must be qualified will be according to its willingness to pay dividends out to their stockholders, which we’ll encourage by making all paid out dividends, tax deductible to the company. Johnny Paycheck’s loan will then be repaid, in approximately seven years using those paid out dividends, not with his salary or wages. When the loan is paid off, the dividends will keep coming and will go directly to Johnny in order to supplement his income, and to help him to earn a solid retirement nest egg and avoid government dependence. This is effectively a leveraged buyout for individuals.

Al: OK Joe let’s back up one more step here and ask…where’s all this money going to come from in the first place? Are you planning to jack up taxes on the wealthy and redistribute back to the less fortunate? If so, are you a communist, or a socialist.

Joe: OK Al. That’s actually another very good question to which my first answer is, we can accomplish this without raising taxes on anyone, and we will not redistribute anything to anybody. That would indeed be communistic, or socialistic where the state assumes power, and people are financially dependent and enslaved. We already have too much of that, and it’s the polar opposite of what we have in mind.

Now let me also tell you that, according to a Presidential report published in 2001, the US economy grows by about $2 Trillion dollars each year, which works out to be an average of $6775 for every man, woman, and child who’s an American citizen. And most of this annual growth requires investment in order to happen.

Our plan simply takes advantage of less than half of that FUTURE GROWTH (let’s avoid taking anyone’s currently existing piece of the American economic pie…thus NO REDISTRIBUTION!) that NOBODY OWNS YET, and makes that ownership accessible, in the form of capital credit, to all individual citizens (as opposed to only the well collateralized few at the top of the economic food chain) who, for what ever reason, often lack the discretionary funds to actively participate in the modern economic miracle known as the free enterprise system of economics.

Again, this effectively a leveraged buyout for individual citizens designed to render them less and less dependent on both government bureaucracy or autocratic corporate power. It’s specifically designed to underwrite more and more financial freedom for each and every American citizen, from sea to shining sea.

Al: OK Joe, I’m following so far, but I still want to play devil’s advocate and ask, what happens when that company who receives some of this capital credit investment, is poorly managed, and goes belly up? What happens to the nest egg, and who pays the loan off? Is it the American taxpayer by any chance?

Joe: Of course in our current system that’s exactly what happens. Tax payers are always bailing out poorly managed big businesses from Chrysler back in the 70’s, to Silverado Savings and Loan back in the late 80’s, to major banks, United, and Delta Airlines in the wake of 911…just to mention a few.

In our case however, there will be an insurance mechanism, much like when you or anyone else buys a house with FHA mortgage insurance where for a small premium the FHA insures against the risk of default, and underwrites the purchase, so that the bank and the individual are both covered, and not held directly liable if the loan cannot be repaid. By the way, one of the individual’s investment choices will be to purchase the stock in this insurance company, so that won’t require raising taxes either.

The other answer to this question though is that since the capital credit will be traveling through local banks that have a vested interest in the health and welfare of the local community, investors will avoid the Wall Street dice rollers seduction, and lots of these funds will end up in the hands of local business enterprises that people in the community will know well, and often work for, who are up front and transparent about their books and the future of their business, who local bankers know directly, and have a unique ability to predict future successes. In short, the capital credit investor will get guidance from knowledgeable locals, with vested interests in the advice they hand out.

Al: Joe, please allow me throw one more wrench into your system here. This all sounds like so much theory to me because it’s never been tried, tested, and proven, right? What empirical evidence is there that this wild ass theory of yours has any real world viability?

Joe: Al you keep coming up with these wonderful questions and I really appreciate the opportunity you’re giving me to answer them. And on this last question, you’re half right and half wrong. While it is true that it has not been tested in the municipal, state, or federal sector, it has been tested in the business community all over the nation.

I’m here to tell you that this 21st century ownership model to our 21st century economic problems has been tested in well over 10,000 business enterprises around the country who’ve implemented Employee Stock Ownership Plans, usually called ESOPS. Several years ago a group called the Center for Employee Ownership conducted a study of the nation’s 2000 best ESOPS oriented businesses, and among other things they discovered that companies who are organized around employee ownership, GROW 10% FASTER EVERY YEAR than conventional, autocratically organized companies grow.

And for my money that’s sufficient empirical evidence to at least roll out a test at the municipal level. And if that works, let’s roll it out at the county level. And if that works, let’s roll it out at the state level. And if that works let’s roll it out at the national level, after all the bugs have been worked out. And there will be bugs.

Al: We’re almost out of time here Joe, so would you kind of wrap this thing up in a summary for our listeners out there in WAVG AM/FM talk radio land?

Joe: Sure Al, I’ll be happy to do that. I’d say that the key thing to recognize is how this strategy disrupts our nation’s current systematic tendency towards concentrating wealth accumulation and power (it used to be referred to as monopoly) in a few hands, and instead it spreads the ownership of wealth producing capital out among individual citizens. This in turn underwrites, instead of undermines, freedom, democracy, and a dramatically smaller government…of the people, by the people and for the people.

Now can you imagine a family of four in which each member has been investing minimally $3,000 annually over a substantial number of years, without using wages or salaries to do it? Can you fathom what kind of demand that scenario would generate in our economy? By the same token can you believe that all this can be accomplished while reducing the role and size of government, lowering and simplifying taxes (actually we’ll endorse a simple flat tax), and eliminating inflation because supply and demand are finally both working in harmony, on the same wave, moving in the same direction?

That is to say, when production (supply), including sales, increases, then income (demand in the form of paid out dividends) automatically follows in its wake, which will automatically soak up the production/supply, and eliminate the “too much demand chasing too little supply” recipe for inflation. And when you keep supply and demand in balance, on the same wave, you also eliminate the troublesome bust and boom cycles that conventional economists accept as “just part of the free enterprise system.” Done right, we contend that bust boom cycles aren’t an inevitable part of the system at all.

Finally, understand that this plan is designed to gradually phase social security out, while rescuing it from its pending bankruptcy. It’s also designed to gradually phase out welfare as we know it, to reform health care and education, and to enthrone individual citizens over corporate autocrats and government bureaucrats so that they (autocrats and bureaucrats) are once again subservient to financially independent (i.e. FREE) citizens. In other words we’re showing citizens how to actively avoid becoming financially dependent on, and thus subservient to the government bureaucrats or corporate autocrats.

Al: We have officially run out of time here, but I must confess that you’ve won my interest, and you’ve probably won the interest of many people out there in the listening audience. By the same token there are still many details that we’ve left uncovered in this twenty-minute session. So my last question is, can you give our listeners a book or a web site, or both where interested parties can learn more about this fascinating, outside the box, 21st century vision for the future of America’s free enterprise system?

Joe: Sure Al. There are several places for your listeners to go. The first and probably the simplest is my own web site which is www.joelunchbuckett.com . The second is www.americanrevolutionaryparty.us . And the third and most important is www.cesj.org which is a virtual cornucopia of information when it comes to the concept of binary economics, which is the official name for the concept that we’re talking about today.

And once you’re on the www.cesj.org, click on the book entitled Capital Homesteading For Every Citizen written by Dr. Norman G. Kurland, his extremely capable colleagues Dawn K. Browhawn, and Michael D. Greaney. Norm is the single most knowledgeable human on planet earth today when it comes to the subject of binary economics. His book is a wonderfully written, and user-friendly commentary, which provides all the details that you’ll need in order to understand this incredibly innovative concept. If you really want to see what free enterprise economics is going to taste like in the future, this book is absolutely a MUST READ!

Al: Thanks Joe, and to all you listeners out there in WAVG land, check out Joe’s web site at www.joelunchbuckett.com where you will find references to all the other references that Joe just mentioned. Until next week this is Al Robinson for WAVG AM/FM talk radio saying, feng shui for now and have a bien fin de semana.

Time Is So Ripe For A Third Party

2004-11-07T17:51:00.000-08:00

Disappointed and Disgusted With The Recent Election? The Time Has Never Been So Ripe For A Third Party!
Lombard, IL – Here’s a hard fact. In the recent election, Presidential candidate Joe L. Buckett got fewer votes than Ralph Nader who himself turned out to be a non-factor in Bush’s conservative march to victory. But standing around and complaining about things is not the recipe for changing anything according to candidate Buckett.

Act Or Else…“
If you truly think that this nation is heading down the wrong track, and you think our democracy is under siege, being sold downstream to the highest corporate bidder by both mainstream parties, and that the choice on November 2nd was in reality no choice at all, or a choice between the lesser of two evils, then you really have only one choice. You must allow your current level of disgust to manifest itself into 48 months of action, seeking ways to put our nation back on the right track,” Buckett said. “Complaining without acting is just a consummate waste of time,” he added.

21st Century Problems Require 21st Century Solutions
But if you’re going to succeed, Buckett suggests that you must break out of the conventional conservative mindset, and the conventional liberal mindset. In Buckett’s words, “You can’t just keep on shuffling the same old 19th and 20th century deck of cards and expect to come up with a 21st century solution. You must have some new cards, some legitimately new ideas, if you’re going to win this 21st century game.”

The American Revolutionary Party
Interestingly enough, Buckett contends that he’s discovered those new cards in the writings of a long lost revolutionary thinker by the name of Louis Kelso, and he has laid them out for anyone to digest on his new website www.joelunchbuckett.com where he explains what he calls the economics of freedom, democracy, peace, and prosperity. Furthermore he suggests that readers check out www.americanrevolutinaryparty.us for more information on where Buckett and his thoroughly inflamed colleagues are looking to take the USA over the next forty eight months.

Concentrated Power Is The Enemy Of Freedom And Democracy
“Concentrated wealth/power, whether it’s in the form of a communist dictatorship, or a corporate aristocracy/dictatorship is the enemy of freedom and democracy,” Buckett said. “And if future generations of Americans are going to remain free, this generation must find a way to reverse the rapid trend toward concentrated wealth and power that’s undermining our American democracy today!”

Stop Complaining And Get Into Action
In short, stop complaining and do something about the problem. If you’re unwilling to do that, then you have nobody to blame but yourself if and when America’s freedom and democracy are totally flushed down the toilet. In Buckett’s view, “There’s no time like the present. Do something right now or we’ll all lose.

A Mandate...Not!

2004-11-03T10:58:00.000-08:00

A Mandate…NOT!

Lombard, IL - As I sat in front of the TV and watched film footage of long voter lines, listened to the returns, and saw state after state labeled red or blue, Bush or Kerry (Ohio has yet to be called one way or the other yet), I reflected on what I learned over the past several months of the contentious, name calling, mud slinging contest that we’ve all come to know as American politics. Here’s what I came up with.

Both Presidential Candidates Were So Convincing That…
First, George W. Bush definitely convinced me that John Kerry is a spineless, flip flopper with no conviction, principals, or character on which to stand. Furthermore, Kery’s a chameleonic political opportunist who’d turn almost any color in order to win votes from the naïve, well intended, yet gullible American citizenry. Even Kerry’s Vietnam service and medals were badly tarnished by Bush and his Swift Boat cronies from Texas. No, John Kerry is not the real deal he claims to be after all.

On the other hand, John Kerry, along with Michael Moore, and the rest of the world have convinced me that George W. Bush is an arrogant, mindless, and dangerous ideological empty suit, who has successfully isolated the US from the world community, polarized the American public, and deserves to be rated the worst President in our two hundred year history. Furthermore, he should be tarred, feathered, banished to a foreign country…like Crawford, TX, and put on a steady diet of pretzels while our nation digs out from under the carnage of his accidental four, and now possibly eight year stint in the White House.

A Mandate?
In other words, if they’re anything like me, most Americans voted against someone, not for someone. And at the end of the day, when all the votes are in and counted, what we really know is that almost half of the American public loathes G.W. Bush and the Republicans, while the other half loathes J.F. Kerry and the Democrats. If any kind of mandate that can be gleaned from this political mine field, it is that…the time is ripe to flush the two corporately owned, mainstream parties down the red, white, and blue toilet, and start the engines all over again.

Why Can’t They Raise Themselves Above NFL/NBA Trash Talk?
Now let me pose the following question to you. Why is it that neither one of these self professed, high minded, and devoutly Christian candidates for the most powerful position in the world, have been unable to raise their rhetoric above the level of NBA, NFL trash talk? Why did the political discourse between these two %^&*’s have to be carried out at the lowest National Enquirer level? Why is it that in the recent debates these two corporately chosen and sponsored ‘leaders’ were not only insulting to one another, stopping just short of expletives deleted on numerous occasions, but were even more insulting to the listening audience…worldwide?

The Only Two Possible Answers
I suggest that there are two possible answers to these questions. Number one is, since the days when master Republican mudslinger Lee Atwater defined the way that the modern American political game was destined to be played back in the early 80’s, politicians have discovered that World Wrestling Federation politics wins. In other words, the lower you’re willing to go, the better your odds get in America these days.

The second answer however is that both candidates lack any legitimately good ideas that address legitimate, 21st century problems. In the midst of that void, their only choice is to sling mud at their opponent, and whoever ends up with the most mud all over them, loses…along with the totally confused, and cynical American public.

Choosing Between The Lesser Of Two Evils…
The result is that, for most of the past quarter century, Americans been left to choose between the lesser of two corporately sponsored evils. In other words, for that period of time, we’ve been voting against someone we loathe, instead of voting for someone we revere and respect, and this year is no exception, and possibly the best example of, that rule. That in a nutshell, is the current state of American politics.

So, Just How Disgusted Are You?
Now allow me one more question here. How thoroughly disgusted and repelled are you by the charade that now calls itself 21st century American politics?
· Are you disgusted enough to say, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more,” …and mean it?
· Are you disgusted enough to entertain the possibility of voting for a legitimate third party candidate since the two mainstream parties have shown themselves to be so incredibly inept, lost in space, and out of touch with America?
· Are you disgusted enough to actually listen, to think, and to actively participate in the formation of an all new party which is dedicated to rekindling America’s original Spirit of Democracy, and to reinventing the American political system in such a way that it actually becomes a government of, by, and for the people instead of a puppet of the international corporate elite?

If So, Let Me Introduce You To The American Revolutionary Party
If your answer is yes, then I want to tell you about a new party that’s evolving on America’s horizon. It’s called The American Revolutionary Party, and I want you to hear what they have to offer you in terms of cutting edge, 21st century answers for real live, 21st century problems, and how they differ from the chameleonic drivel you’ve heard coming out of the two mainstream candidates for the past several months.

But to be honest, I have to admit that this is going to require more than the proverbial thirty second sound bite. However, if I’ve succeeded in piquing your curiosity, I want to refer you to our new web site, www.americanrevolutionaryparty.us where you will find solid, concrete answers that you’ve never heard from the mainstreamers.

You will also see the kind of people who have already lined up behind a concept that is destined to produce a steady, 48-month march (from November 2004 to November 2008) into the hearts and minds of individual Americans, from sea to shining sea. Until then…Let Freedom Ring, Let Democracy Grow, Let Peace And Prosperity Finally Prevail, And May God Bless The Entire World!

Sincerely,

Joe Lunch Buckett
America’s First And Only Virtual Candidate For President of the United States
www.joelunchbuckett.com

P.S./Warning: Let me warn you that from this point forward, presuming you check us out, you’ll find no more trash talk, no more World Wrestling Federation, or as some have called it, Yo Mama politics. It may be a shock to your system to discover a political party who is just talking about good, positive, common sense ideas that’ll move this country forward FOR EVERYONE, NOT JUST A FEW. But I promise, you can get used to it. You may even grow to like it after the first ten seconds or so. But I wanted to give you a fair warning so it didn’t just sneak up on you. Consider yourself warned!

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An Upset Victory For Joe L. Buckett

2004-11-01T05:38:00.000-08:00

“Virtual Candidate For The US Presidency Gets Boost From Batavia Based Company”

Batavia, IL - Aquascape Designs Inc. is a $50,000,000 company headquartered in Batavia, IL that’s best known for its charismatic leader (President/CEO Greg Wittstock), its fast growth (cover of Inc Magazine in November 2003), and its innovative, outside the box approach to the newly exploding water gardening market. But while celebrating Halloween this past Friday, their innovative approach to the world, and to life in general took an unexpected turn when Project Manager Jennifer Zuri, and cubicle partner Patti Brannon decided to come dressed up, one as anti Kerry, the other as anti Bush, and offered a mock election for the company’s 85 Batavia based employees, many of whom were caught up in the contentious politics of the day.

Virtual Candidate Is Added To The Ballot At The Last Minute“
At the last minute we decided to add a third party candidate to the ballot for all those independents in the crowd,” said Zuri. The candidate they decided to add was America’s First Virtual Candidate For President, Joe Lunch Buckett (www.joelunchbuckett.com ) whose platform is primarily based on the concept of employee ownership which Buckett labels “The economics of freedom and democracy, peace and prosperity.” “A number of Aquascape employees had shown an interest in Mr. Buckett’s candidacy, so we decided he’d make an interesting addition alongside the two mainstreamer’s,” Brannon said.

In A Stunning Victory Over His Two Well Financed Opponents
Rumor had it that Democratic employees were recruiting votes from outside the company while Republicans were doing everything in their power to suppress the vote. But when all the dust cleared, and all the votes were counted at 2PM Friday afternoon, nobody could believe their ears. “In a stunning, upset victory over his two well financed opponents,” Zuri announced, “Joe L. Buckett is our official winner with 37% of the vote, compared to 33% for Mr. Bush, and 29% for Mr. Kerry.” Then they played Hail To The Chief over the company loudspeaker.

Michael Moore Comments on Joe L. Buckett
Keep in mind now, Joe L. Buckett is the Presidential candidate about whom political satirist Michael Moore posed the rhetorical question, ‘If a guy can be President without winning, can we replace him with someone who doesn’t exist?”

So What Does Joe L. Buckett’s Victory Mean?
So what does all this mean in terms of the upcoming Presidential election on Tuesday? “If we’re any indication, it means that the American people are totally fed up with a system that coughs up a poor choice between the lesser of two evils election after election,” said Zuri. “Our company obviously prefers a non-existent candidate over the two candidates offered up by the two mainstream parties. Can you blame us?” she asked.

The Incredible Power of Two...

2004-10-30T13:38:00.000-07:00

The Power Of Two: Making The Case For The Binary Revolution In The Binary Age…

Hey there boys and girls, are you looking for a way to impress your (occasionally know it all) friends, your teachers, or God forbid…even your parents if you wanted to? Here’s what I suggest. Just walk up to a group of your friends (teachers, or parents) and when there’s a lull in the conversation just ask, “So, what are your impressions of binary economic theory?” Then just stand there and watch as their eyes glaze over while they frantically flip through their mental Rolodex for the term “binary economics,” which they won’t find, because it just ain’t there, and it never was.

The Trick Is…
Now the trick to all this of course, is to put them in a position where you to know the answer to the question, and they don’t have a clue. This serves a couple of purposes. First it makes them look intellectually inferior to you, because of course they presume you know and they know they don’t. Secondly, if they want to know what it is, it’ll almost force them to ask you, because none of their friends, not even the adults will have the answer to this simple little question. But you will if you read on. Let me explain.

Binary: It Sounds High Tech, But…
The term binary sounds high tech and complicated, but the fact of the matter is that it simply means “two.” A binary numbering system for example, is a system with only two numbers, one and two. In fact the richest billionaire in the history of planet earth, Bill Gates of Microsoft, invented the computer industry on the basis of binary theory in which the machine (the computer) is given a choice of two possibilities at any one time. So it chooses between one and two, either or, right or wrong, right or left, black or white, over or under, good or bad, etc. And since it has only to make this simple choice, it can do so very rapidly and accurately. As a matter of fact, because of the computer’s influence, one could accurately call the 21st century, “The Binary Age.”

Now Let’s Add The Term Economics
Now let’s add in the term economics which is basically all about one thing, MONEY. People who study economics, study how money (wealth or value) is created and distributed. And money is a real important thing in the world these days since having enough of it can determine whether you eat or starve, whether you have health insurance or have none, whether you drive a brand new Corvette, or a rusty, old beater, whether you get that date with that beautiful girl or she turns you down, whether or not you impress your know it all friends, your teachers, and even eventually your parents. Now as you may be able to tell, we’ve reverted again to the binary in our description of economics.

Now How About Putting Them Together Under Once Roof
OK, now let’s see what happens when you throw the term binary and economics together into the same phrase? It’s actually quite simple. What you get is an economic system that recognizes right up front that there are two ways to make a living. You can either work and make things for which you are paid a salary or a wage. Or you can OWN things (machines for example) that are used to mass-produce things for which you get paid. So you either work or you own for a living. Got that so far?

If It Requires Your Time…
Now check this out. If you work for a living you are being paid by someone else to do a particular job. If you lack any special skills, you may have to sell your time for minimum wage flipping hamburgers at McDonalds, or something even worse if McDonald’s turns your application down. Or if you have a special, unique skill or two that people are willing to pay lots for (like Doctors, Lawyers, Sports or Rock Stars) you can make lots of money by selling your skills and your time to the highest bidder. But in either case, when that person is on the job, even when (s)he can make lots of money, doing so will still require your time and attention. In other words, if and when it requires your time, you’re participating on labor side of the economy.

But If It Doesn’t Require Your Time…
On the other hand, if you own an apartment complex for example, for which people pay you money in exchange for a place to live, that really doesn’t require your time, you own for a living. And the things you own (in this case the apartment complex) are called capital. Other examples of capital could be if you owned a factory, or the machines in a factory, or stock in a corporation that pays dividends, or the rights to a book, a movie, a record album, etc. that generate money for you to live on, but doesn’t directly require your time. If you own enough of these things, you don’t have to work for a living. Your time belongs to you and you don’t have to sell any of it in order to pay your bills. In short you are FREE!!!!

The Key To Understanding Binary Economics
Now the key thing in binary economics is to recognize that the more technology grows and the more machines can make the things that we humans need and want to buy, the more money and wealth is created for that small percentage of people who own for a living. And as that same technology train moves on down the tracks, the people who work for a living become more and more dependent on those who own for a living, in order to pay their bills. This condition has been referred to as being an industrial sharecropper, or a wage slave…neither one of which rings of freedom and justice for all.

Do You Want To Work Or Own For A Living?
Now with all this said, let me ask you a couple of questions. Would you prefer to work for a living or own for a living? And what if I could show you a way for both you and your parents to become owners, and to become more and more free, would you be interested in knowing more? Yes or NO?
If you answered yes, that means you have a pretty good, basic understanding of binary economics. You know enough to dazzle your friends, your teachers, and your parents with your all new, high tech knowledge. I presume that you’d like to continue with lesson # 2 in the very near future. So stay tuned.

Meet Joe Lunchbuckett

2004-10-28T09:38:00.000-07:00

I thought I would start off my first blog by introducing myself.

“An Average Joe Runs For President In 2004!”

Before telling you anything about myself, I'd like to make one simple, yet profound observation. Never before, in all of human history, has an average human being, armed ONLY with an incredibly inspiring idea, (next to no money, and absolutely no friends in high places), had the opportunity to actually run for the most powerful political office on earth, and have the logistical potential to reach tens of millions of voters around the nation (and around the world) and to seriously effect the outcome of the upcoming Presidential Election .

So my run for office, is hereby dedicated to all the Average Joe's and Josephine's out there who have gone before me, who, for lack of means, were unable to get their message out to the people, and were effectively muzzled by the financial gatekeepers of the system, the controlling few who buy and sell human futures like so many bushels of soybeans on the commodities exchange. The internet has changed all that, and it's given people access to other people in a way that they've never had before. Let us now celebrate, and take advantage of this incredibly golden opportunity to actualize true freedom and true democracy. Sieze the Day! In fact Sieze the Moment, and do it RIGHT NOW! JLB

OK, Now I'm Ready To Talk About Myself...

I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Joe L. Buckett and I’m running for President of the United States in 2004. I hope that you will seriously consider my candidacy for the following reasons.

First, I’m just an average guy. That is to say, I'm not condescendingly intelligent like… well, you know who. On the other hand, I’m not incredibly stupid like… well, you know who. I’m in between these two extremes. I’m average, much like you.

As a matter of fact when I graduated from high school back in ’65 I wasn’t voted the student most likely to succeed or most likely to fail. I was voted “the student most likely to be average” by a vote of my fellow classmates. So I’m not Rodney Dangerfield who gets no respect. But I’m not given all kinds of unearned respect like…well you know who. I mean if there were 101 people in my graduating class I would have been ranked number fifty one, with fifty people above me, and fifty below. I’d be right smack dab in the middle.

Along these same lines, I’m not wealthy like both you know who’s, nor am I poverty stricken either. And just like you, I’d love to be wealthy, but I know the odds of that happening are exceedingly poor. On the other hand I’m scared to death of being very poor, and I know the odds of that are much greater at the end of every month when I check my bank account, and the red ink on my credit cards. Does that sound painfully familiar to you? Yes, I thought it might if you’re average, just like I am.

Now I’m not tall and I’m not short, nor am I particularly athletic. I’m about 5’9” tall and I carry an extra 30 pounds of extra weight, mostly around my midsection I know it’s mainly the result of bad eating habits, but the more fat and calorie filled food is, the better I like it. And being very average, I just can’t say no to temptation.

Now I’ve never been considered ruggedly handsome, but I’m not ugly either. I mean I’d love to look like James Dean, Brando (in his prime), Sean Connery, Brad Pitt, or Russell Crowe. But I don’t, and I never will. Yet I’m not grotesquely ugly …no Hunchback of Notre Dame or Frankenstein Monster either. I’m just average. I don’t turn a lot of heads when I’m walking down the street, or through the airport.

I’m 54 years old, so I’m not young and I’m not old. I’m a baby boomer who has a college degree , a BA in Education, like approximately 50% of the American population. In school I got average grades - not good, not bad – average. I taught school and coached for 17 years, and most of the students and athletes I came into contact with were also average – much like me. So we were all in there together working, playing, wasting time…being average.

Politically speaking I’m totally disconnected. I don’t know the Governor of my state (IL). I don’t know any of my Congressmen (there are currently no women from IL). I see “W” on TV all the time, but I don’t know him, and God knows he doesn’t know me from Adam Smith. I know who the mayor of my suburb is, but wouldn’t know me. Disconnected…does that sound familiar to you?

Now I am a male, not a female. It’s kind of hard to be completely average when it comes to gender. But I also think that women should have equal rights in the market, just like guys. I don’t think there should be a discrepancy between a guy’s wages and a girl’s wages if they’re doing the same job, with the same degree of efficiency. I mean, even an average guy can understand that, right?

And I’m ambivalent on abortion. On one hand, I sure don’t want the government telling a woman what she can and can’t do with her own body, her reproductive organs. I mean that’s a little invasive wouldn’t you agree? But I disagree with convenience abortions. Abstinence still works if you want to avoid pregnancy. On the other hand, I can understand a woman wanting to avoid bringing a child into a world of grinding poverty. On this issue, I’m just plain confused, probably just like you. So much for my thoughts on women’s issues. After all, I’m a guy.

Equally problematic to my average-ness is the fact that I’m white, not black, brown, red, or yellow. So I’m a member of America’s historically most dominant race…the Caucasian race, which makes it almost impossible for me to really understand and represent the average Black, Hispanic, Asian, or Native American person.

However if you pull the lens back far enough to see the big picture, you’ll quickly recognize that it’s not color, gender, age, nationality, ethnicity, etc., etc., that really distinguishes one group of humans from another. The great divide, the real separation between church and state…is the economy stupid!!

In this regard gender, creed, and ethnicity all blend together and suffer from the same disease. In this sense I can feel your pain, and I can empathize with you...if you're average too.

P.S. Oh, and if you want to know details about the one incredibly inspiring idea check out (http://www.joelunchbuckett.citymax.com/page/page/601748.htm).

Or if you get real ambitious, check out The Shovel Story, Part I and II on that web site.

P.P.S. I'm the "The Ownership Candidate," and I want your vote in 2004!! A vote for Joe is a vote for OWNERSHIP!