MP3 copy of this weeks (Aug 21st) show part 1
MP3 copy of this weeks (Aug 21st) show part 2

Interview - Craig Salins - Clean Elections

Join the www.makegovwork.org radio show Friday Aug 21st at 9am. You will be able to hear it at 89.9 or 92.3 FM, or STREAMED on the internet at http://www.live365.com/stations/kyrs?site=pro. This show is meant to be a forum for you and the local community, so feel free to participate and tell us what you think.

You can e-mail me at gorbob@gmail.com about the show or with comments, and I will get to anything I have time for.

Or you can call the show at 747-3807 and speak your mind. Please call.

This Friday we will cover -

POST-ELECTION DEBRIEF - As of this blog, I am 200 something votes short of 2nd place i the 3rd district city council race. It's not over, but it's really going to be difficult to catch up. It's really hard to be this close, but not be able to continue the discussion I've been part of for the last two months. Sadly it's the nature of the beast. But I do want to discuss some of my post-election thoughts. Hopefully I don't come across as a sore loser. I will miss all the new people you meet when running for office.

The biggest thing that burns me is the obvious broken election/money system we have built. Mostly you run around raising money to get "name recognition. It seems that we don't vote on idea's. The other problem is that these elections are partisan even thought they say it's "non-partisan". And in the 3rd district it was hard to watch the results where the conservatives came out almost 3-1 ahead of lib/progressives. Maybe the Inlander was right when it called NW Spokane a conservative citadel?

MONEY IN POLITICS/WHERE DOES AVISTA SPEND YOUR RATE INCREASE? - What can you say about money and politics that has not been said already? Especially annoying is the use of corporate money from places like Avista and the developers in Spokane. Is this really how are country was designed. No, corporations actually didn't have the same rights as people until the late 1880's. But think about this when Avista asks for a rate increase, while generating record profits for their shareholders and CEO's. And do you have the right as a citizen to ask for fairness in your elective process? Or is spending money equal free speech?

Check out the poll on the makegovwork.org website.

ELECTIONS REFORM LOCAL AND OTHERWISE - So do you think that the system is really broken? And what can you and I do about elections reform? The first and best place to start is my always favorite group "Washington Public Elections". This group is highly dedicated to both elections reform and health care reform. And being a Washington group, they are the local effort that really matters to our local issues. National groups are nice, but they have less of an effect on local issues. And here is another site that discusses all the issues of political reform. Remember, the two main parties won't support these idea's that weaken their power structure.

MONTHLY THIRD PARTY/INDEPENDENT MEETING - Finally I have thought long and hard about joining one of the two main parties to further my political goals. But this would be an effort to help the very powers that are ruining America. So I am going to start an effort for a monthly group of NON-major party citizens. Perhaps there are ways that all the non D or R people can help each other with getting some different candiate on the ballot. We can use the meeting room at Merlyn's whenever we want, and it holds about 100 people. I am thinking of a once a month schedule to start with. Maybe this could be the start of something great. Please contact me if your interested. If I don't hear anything, I'm not going to waste my time.

And the other idea I had way back was the formation of what I thought really would be a broad, healthy platform for a new group. Please feel free to check out the "Common Sense party platform". There has to be a better way than the narrow ideology of the two main parties.

Please drop me a note if you have any other ideas - John Waite gorbob@gmail.com

GOLDMAN SACHS = RAPE OF AMERICA - Short and sweet, read the article if you want to know the truth of Goldman/Sachs, the FED and America's fiscal abuse of it's citizens.

GOOD OBAMA/BAD OBAMA - Here is this weeks scorecard,

GOOD OBAMA = OBAMA AND CATHOLIC CHURCH LEADERS - DROP CUBA EMBARGO

BAD OBAMA = AFGHANISTAN WAR DRAINS OBAMA AND AMERICA

Permanent links of note -
WASHINGTON FREE PRESS, INDEPENDENT NEWS JOURNAL
PROJECT CENSORED, STORIES THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA AVOIDS
WASHINGTON CLEAN ELECTIONS, PUBLIC FINANCED ELECTIONS
WASHINGTON COALITION FOR OPEN GOVERNMENT, TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT
SPOKANE LOCALS = SPOKANESKEPTIC, SPOVANGELIST, SR FORUMS

"THE PRICE OF FREEDOM IS ETERNAL VIGILANCE" - THOMAS JEFFERSON

John Waite gorbob@gmail.com
www.makegovwork.org