We need to move beyond the partisan labels of Conservative, Liberal, Republican and Democrat.  We need to move past partisan stupidity so that we can start real discussion and move toward real solutions.  Pardon the wording, but stupidity seems to be the correct word.    We need to stop placing blame on the other political party and take a good look at what has happened to this country.  We are at a point in time where corruption within the political system is at an all time high, yet we can’t seem to have civil discussion in public places about it.

The last time this country experienced a revolution, it did so because the population in the United States didn’t feel that they had any representatives looking out for their interests, at a time when they were being taxed, the proceeds of taxation were going toward something that they had no control over.  “No taxation without representation!” Remember?

Let’s take a look at our current system.  The current political system is so intertwined with corporate interests that our representatives and policy makers seem to have forgotten that the U.S. Constitution was originally written to protect people.  Corporations currently have more rights than people to the extent that we no longer have the right to know where our taxes are being spent.  Usually, when governments are formed, taxes go toward society and toward a common good.  Examples of  things that developed countries allocate taxes toward are roads, schools, social services like 911, and in all cases except the United States – healthcare.

Instead of allocated American taxes toward things that benefit society, taxes and American wealth are seemingly vanishing behind odd accounting, business privacy rights, and with private government contractors situated  in various places across the world.  (Halliburton being one of them.)  The war/occupation/freedom fight in Iraq (whatever it is called, depending on which media you listen to) has billions of unaccounted American tax dollars that can’t seem to be found.   The bailout money for banks and other financial institutions or any other oddly connected corporations – insurance for example, also can’t seem to be wholly traced.  When they do tell us, we don’t learn of the full story.  AIG  (the American International Group, which along with having various holding companies, supplies insurance and other things) recently disclosed that some of its securities lending subsidiary – arm gave our bailout funds to Barclays PLC of Britain, Deutsche Bank of Germany and UBS of Switzerland.  While the U.S. financial giants of Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch received their own bailout funds, they also received bailout funding through AIG.

How could such a thing happen?  If one looks at our political leaders who also received contributions from AIG, Barach Obama, former senator from Illinois tops the list at $120,582 closely followed by Chris Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.  Those that hold stock in AIG are also interesting.  Former Republican senator from North Carolina Robin Hayes, held $2,750,004 to $11, 500,000, while Democrat John Kerry of Massachusetts  with over 2 million dollars in assets.  The current system of corporate lobbying and political finance does not discriminate between Republican or Democrat, Independent, Conservative or Liberal.   Whoever is in a position of potential power will have large amounts of corporate money somehow given to him or her.  It’s not that our representatives are bad people, (perhaps weak or slightly lame) however, it does highlight a major problem within our representative democracy.

It seems that there has been a wide gap in reality between those in national politics and the People that policy makers are supposed to represent.  The United States is at a point in time when we must begin difficult, complicated, mature discussions upon the current state of our country and looking at realistic solutions.  In such a system, it no longer matter what party line a person aligns to.    Representation for the People continues to be a major issue in government.  It’s usually why people want democracy.  What entity is our policy ultimately benefiting?  The People or corporations?  Just something to think about.

I just returned from being a juror for the Big Muddy Film Festival.  It was like a slice of heaven – being in a dark room for hours, watching films, one after another, then deliberating about them.  I’d have to honestly admit that I’m a bit jealous of the other jurors’ backgrounds.  I didn’t go to film school and instead have a degree in U.S. History.  So when they talked about referencing films, I added them to my list of films to see.

The process also made me think about distribution – or the method and means of getting the film out to audiences.  It’s currently changing and many debates are raging as to what, and how to do it.  One of the other jurors made a film, Chameleon Street, that won the Grand Jury Award at Sundance Film Festival in 1990, and was just recently honored again in 2009.  It, however, did not get a distributor.  If the film had been made last year, would the film have been able to get out to a larger audience using the internet?  While the internet has the ability to amplify voices, how successful is it really?

Considering Democracy also screened.  It was interesting-cool to have the film return to see how it had impacted people.  One audience member asked a question to the effect of, “If you could do it over again (since we have a new president) how would you or would you want to change it?”  This is an interesting question.  While the American People voted for change, the overarching political-corporate system has not changed.  It will resist change, and while the dominant party (of two) has changed, many of the political pay-to-play type scandals have not.  I still think that all 8 questions and sections of the film still have revelevant societal topics that could use some thought.

One high school teacher is using the film within the classroom as a teaching and discussion tool.  It’s really fabulous to hear that a film can have impact beyond its original screening.   As a filmmaker, we don’t really know what happens to the film, nor do we know where it goes, or how far its potential reach.  We could definitely use some solutions right now.  Could it possibly affect Change?

This week has shown the effects of a 28 year shift in U.S. policy. The National Intelligence Council reported that in twenty years, the United States would no longer be the dominant power in the world. As a country, we have slipped precipitously in per capita GDP, in healthcare statistics, in our education standings, our economy is starting to plummet and our overall standing in the world has gone down. As the leaders of top economic countries met, this is how the world leaders reacted to George W. Bush.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6Y_ncOVlDw

While I think that the United States is a great country and has the ability to regain a higher standing, we need to rethink our foreign and domestic policy. The United States is very unique in its policy. The most stunning is our willingness to allow private corporations to dictate our policy. The United States is the only developed country to collect a Medicare tax and not cover its entire population. The United States remains unique in its allocation of public sources to private gain, now more than ever. It wasn’t always this way. Here’s a link to Bush defending another 20 Billion to Citigroup. (They previously received 25 Billion when the bailout was first past. Link to LATimes article) Does Treasury Secretary Paulson seem uncomfortable or is he always like this?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7746669.stm

Let’s rethink what our government’s role should be. Should it be of and for the People as the Constitution of the United States proclaims? If so, then we need to re-plot this country’s course. Just something to think about.

I really question the theories driving our policy. Are other people out there doing the same thing? It seems that not so long ago, the manufacturing sectors shouted, “Let the free markets work! The strongest and best will survive! Do away with regulation. It only hampers us and holds us back.” So then our lawmakers and policy makers started deregulating industries. When the rest of the world worked to lower emissions standards, (the automobile industry really fights against these types of standards) the United States, under the Bush administration, succumbing to strong lobbying pressures snubbed the rest of the world and the Kyoto Protocols and backed out.

Largely ignoring logic, science, and the common good, U.S. auto manufacturing built large, inefficient cars, hired large marketing firms and sold inefficient vehicles first for battle – (which it’s debatable as to the merits of why the U.S. continues to have a large, economically draining presence in Iraq, but that debate is for a different day) then they sold the large vehicles to the U.S. public. They pushed for NAFTA, arguing that it would level the playing field, that it would stop illegal immigration into the U.S., that it would give jobs to those who need it the most… except those that lost their manufacturing jobs in Detroit… So then, my question – what entity is driving U.S. policy? Because the opposite of what they said and say seems to happen.

A lot of people voted for change in November. Perhaps we could start conversation about creating policy that benefits the American people. Does it seems as though no matter who gets into Congress or the White house, that something else, some other force, or thing, is behind the scenes and pushing policy? Why is it that Pelosi is advocating for a automobile bailout? Could it have something to do with corporate lobbying? Perhaps we could start a Peoples’ Party. We could start talking to one another and also start looking toward solutions.

I don’t think we should bail out the automobile industry. I think all Americans should have basic healthcare (remember, we’re the only ones that don’t have it. It’s just us, and the rest of the developing, third world) before we bailout any more of the private sector. Let’s also remember that we do pay into Medicare. Somehow they convinced consumers that it’s for the old and the poor. Now how could they have done a thing like that?

Thank you to all the veterans out there, who have served the country in different capacities. It is my hope that we will have national and international policy that will benefit veterans in a more humanistic way. Whether that means protecting veterans in their overseas missions by creating policy that keeps them safe, giving them the tools they need to protect themselves, and equally important, having leadership that will engage in strong and intelligent diplomacy enabling a safer world and environment. I also  hope that veteran healthcare, after returning to the States, will also provide veterans with high quality, caring services. Thank you.

I recently saw a rather shocking documentary, “A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash”. It is a beautifully done documentary, yet brutal in the view of reality that it leaves in its wake. Its interviews, its recounting of history and formulated argument are are carried out like clockwork. It is the ticking sound that we can faintly hear, but is amazingly absent from the mainstream corporate media; it is a message that gets either buried or is drowned out by other sounds and distractions. Yet the oil crash, combined with other difficulties ,will soon impact our society, the world, and will affect us all in more ways than we would like it to.

Yet, and thank goodness, there are things that can be done. I also recently saw “The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil”. It recounts what happened in the island nation of Cuba when oil importation suddenly dropped after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. They did what needed to be done. When they did not have fuel to put in their tractors, they went back to using oxen. Since none of the younger people knew how to use oxen in the fields, they recruited the older guys to teach classes on the farms. They no longer had fertilizers, so they began growing worms in troughs to produce castings and used this organic fertilizer. They began using renewable energy because they had to. It is something that we in the United States need to take a serious look at.

The United States is very dependent on oil. Our cities have been developed with the car in mind as the main source of transportation. Our box stores get their products delivered by semi trucks. Our chain food stores get their deliveries also by trucks. Our grocery stores also get their food delivered, often by truck. Our mail arrives to us through a vast network of cars, trucks, planes, walking and perhaps more driving to pick it up, – or get it delivered. I’m thankful for what gasoline does for me, (I do like being able to move around and go places when I need to) but realistically, with population on the rise, with fewer large oil discoveries, because it is a finite source that takes millions of years to create, it probably would be really good and smart to start to anticipate this shift. It is starting to occur, although it will need to accelerate.

Slowly, things are happening. Local farmers’ markets are beginning to be more commonplace. There are more people opting to live without a car. (Most of the people I know who do this live in large cities. But some also live in large cities and only ride a bike or walk!) Houses that are close to the cities’ center are gaining in value as people try to avoid a long commute. People who see this oil and gas shortage coming are building houses that are more energy efficient. People are building houses with alternate sources (straw bale) or are building houses for solar gain and using passive solar techniques. People are starting to have gardens and grow their own vegetables. (I’m going to try to learn canning next fall.) All of this and more is needed. Smart energy co-ops are encouraging alternative sources of energy (and buying it back!) because they realize that soon they will not have the capacity to support a growing population. There are other shortages coming as well.

Natural gas, which has been rather plentiful and inexpensive will be more difficult to access. As I have been traveling across the nation and reading papers, it seems that the norm for increasing energy prices this winter is anticipated at 20 to 40 percent. We as humans also need to shift the way that we react to this information. We need to become empowered to act and help one another, as opposed to passively saying that things are depressing. It’s depressing only if you feel that you are powerless. Take power. Be smart and creative. Talk to people. The more people that do know, and act, the less the impact it will be. (Because it will be quite the impact.)

I’ve been driving across the United States screening the documentary Considering Democracy. Screenings were arranged, then I’ve been driving to them then do a Q&A session afterward. I figured it was the fastest way to get the film out. It has been a fantastic, odd, exhilarating and exhausting experience. There have been other emotions, for sure, but while it was fascinating to travel outside of the States to do the film, it has been a most fascinating experience to screen the film to American audiences.

In driving across the country and engaging with different audiences, there are amazing patterns of similarities. I find it an odd polarization when both sides of it (yes, there are other aspects, but they are more subtle) say that they will leave the country if the other guy gets into the presidency. This is a fascinating phenomena because it seems to illustrate a vastly different perception of reality. Yes. It’s oddly true. Obama supporters say that they will leave if McCain gets in. McCain voters say that they will leave if Obama gets in. Will each side choose similar countries or will one side go to the developing world, while others choose industrial developed countries? Where will they go? I think both sides should just start talking to one another. Nicely. Then perhaps we could get some stuff done.

It has been an odd experience because the filmmaking process is at times a very solitary experience. The post production and editing phase was the longest phase, and one that I spent thousands upon thousands of hours by myself with a computer. There were many times when hours would pass, the sun went down, meals went by, as I sat at the computer – editing. This is a huge contrast to the experience of driving sometimes 9 hours to a screening,  sometimes turning on my laptop to get directions to the screening on the way in – then I get up in front of people to do the Q&A for the film. So in this sense it’s a very extreme situation to be the filmmaker, then to work on distributing the film. Ah, the digital age. Gotta love it. But it’s also odd that it’s kinda working. Okay, must sleep soon. More later…

I do love America and I will explain why I feel this way. I’ve been driving to screenings of my documentary “Considering Democracy” across the United States. Really, across the United States.  It even takes me by surprise to think that I was as far up north as Maine, and as down south as Virginia, a mere few weeks ago.  I’m now in Oregon and will be heading down the coast soon.  The United States a beautiful country and I’ve seen tremendous beauty both in the landscape and in its People.  I love a lot of things about States and that is what motivates me.

I love the hard working Americans.  We do work hard.  We pay taxes, we often work more than one job, and when we compare ourselves to the rest of the developed countries, we take the least amount of vacations away from work.  We bail out private institutions, we pay into a Medicare tax, we pay for private cable companies to let us glimpse into our Congressional world by paying for access to see our legislative process while they use our public airwaves.

Because of this system, many Americans are spending tremendous amounts of energy and dedication to getting out truth and information out to others.  We see that certain types of news are not being talked about and we are motivated by a love of country.  Many Americans are working hard to maintain their lifestyles and ways of living and are indeed fighting the very corporations are are getting no-bid contracts.  In Colorado, ranchers who have been working hard for generations, are not able to continue to do so, because a company like Halliburton has the rights to access and extract the energy or natural gas that lies beneath the surface.  While there is some government regulation, the water that is used by the extraction company, often changes the chemical composition of the water after being used in the extraction process.   It is polluting the water that is needed for animals and humans to live.  I’ve seen this situation repeated again and again, across the U.S. and the globe.  I love America and that is why I ask questions.

I love America and that is why I think it’s important that people start talking, nicely and respectfully, to each other.  We need to begin looking at solutions.  Because I respect people and their families, their right to work, their right to live in a safe and clean environment, that is why I speak out and question what is happening.

I feel tremendous empathy and love for a working population that pays into a Medicare tax and is one of the only populations in the world that does so, and is not covered.  I am motivated by a love for humanity and the people that have given America the beauty and the strength that it has, because I can see that public resources are being squandered.

It is a love for America that motivates me to ask questions, because when I hear that a senior citizen, who has worked for over 50 years, giving his best years of work and of his life into a system that allows an insurance company to drop health coverage simply because it is not as profitable as the company would like, I question the system.  We, who question this are motivated by a love and concern for our country.

Many people are motivated by a love of country.  We come from different sides of the political spectrum.  We need to hear each other and respectfully start discussion.   We no longer can remain silent for fear of being called unpatriotic.  We need to start bypassing the major media networks and start talking to one another.  It is patriotic to look toward solutions.  Just something to think about.  Enjoy your day!

P.S.  I see that I’ve repeated myself a few times, but the time as come to, yes, drive again, and it’s probably also important to think about love, and why people question things.  It’s actually the most patriotic thing a person can do.  When we can’t freely question, that’s when there’s a really big problem.  Hmmmm.

As I’ve been driving around the country screening my film “Considering Democracy”, I’ve been trying really hard to support independent businesses. Instead of going to fast food – chains or restaurants which I have done some in the past, I’m making an effort to seek out and support independent businesses. This is sometimes difficult to do, but it is almost always more rewarding in a lot of ways. I think independent businesses are a really important asset to any successful society, but it’s sometimes really difficult to find them while traveling. Most of the time, interstates are the quickest way to get from place to place, and clustered around the exit areas are a growth of the same exact corporate behemoth-type institutions. While they can and do serve a function to society, it also can negatively impact local economies and communities. Here are a few reasons behind my decision to support local independent businesses.

Independent businesses tend to develop, support and nurture stronger community ties that are beneficial for those who live in the community. Relationships are important in any community and if the restaurant owner knows and supports local produce growers, then funds can stay within the community. The food often tastes better: the bread for a sandwich is sometimes baked locally. The vegetables, fruits, and meat sometimes comes from local sources. The entrepreneur has the freedom to choose his or her own ingredients and spices. It usually is more fresh, and it also offered the opportunity to try different local specialties as I traveled. The workers often get to wear what they want. There’s often a more independent personality to the environment, which I also appreciated. (These are just some of the reasons, and I’m sure I’ll think of more.)

In contrast, a fast food chain often gets its ingredients at the lowest possible price, which sometimes doesn’t create the most clean or safe growing and working conditions. Sometimes the food source isn’t even from the United States. They don’t have the freedom to change food or production sources unless someone else in charge of purchasing in the corporate chain decides that it should be changed. They often can’t and are not able to support local food suppliers. In this way, they often bypass vital benefits to the local economy. It’s true that workers are hired from the local community, but they can advance from only advance from say, burger flipper – possibly to management. It can give a person good workplace skills, but salaries are often limited to what the main – “empiremothership” of the corporation and their decisions.

The U.S. was built upon individual intiative and ingenuity. I think this is something that is precious and should be supported. I try to support independents along the way (as well as in my own community). I can’t all the time, but when I can, I seek them out. I think that large multinational corporations have beneficial aspects to society, but all actions have consequences and it sometimes seems that words and intentions are twisted to sometimes ignore certain sides and opinions. Just something to think about. Ah yes, and discuss.