Senator

School and Morality

2011-07-10T23:55:00.000-07:00

In the first half of the nineteen sixties decade, I attended a private school in Detroit, Michigan for elementary education. The former west side Catholic school was only a few miles from the Detroit cultural center on Woodward Avenue, the avenue that divides Detroit between east and west sides, and incidentally where one of the largest and most acclaimed art museums in the nation is located. I happened to be thinking of my old school, which has been defunct for quite some time, now, because of the moral degeneration that is occuring in the country today, with political corruption and madcapper antics in Washington D.C. & the state capitals, violent crime rates that the nation seems to just shrug off as normal, Hollywood and video game producers who will stoop to any degeneration as long as they're not legally liable and it will put dollars into their bank accounts, and on and on.

Really, though, it all goes back to how we were educated as children, and I don't mean just formal school education, but today the schools scoff at moral values education and are more and more only concerned with making sure that kids become cogs and instruments of the great corporate nemesis (e.g., the emphasis on testing over real education, and becoming compliant to the narrow educational demands of CEO's as opposed to a broad-based liberal arts education), the same entity that has put us on the brink of environmental calamity with their nukes and mountaintop mining, to name just a couple, and has thrown people that don't fit into their plans to the curb, so to speak, although in some cases quite literally as the number of people without jobs and homes grows.

Schools are more concerned about placing kids into the greedy hands of the corporations after their graduations, those relative few that can get in, in the present "free trade" era, than teaching civics in which they can learn that government is suppose to serve the greater good (the Republic, "We the People") rather than just a handful at the very top of the economic echelon. Now, colleges are even being dictated to as to what their curriculum should contain by big private funders with a corporate agenda, because too many people in the nation have bought into the lie of "big government," and as a result, many state and public colleges, and other schools indirectly, are not getting the necessary funding that they need. Of course, we need a big government, this is a nation of more than 300 million people, after all. To the nation's detriment, academic freedom in the schools and colleges is waning. It should be noted that the saint whom my old school was named after practiced self-denial and austerity. Values that the colleges which accept corporate funding with strings attached could learn something from, not to mention the nation as a whole, which prides rugged individualism, maybe, a little too much.

So a lot of these decisions being made in government, in the corporate world, and in the Hollywood studios, all goes back to the first grade, in a sense. What were we taught about moral values in the home and in the school, and how does that, in the aggregate, affect how our nation makes the big decisions overall? To me, the first grade cannot be underestimated, and although some people shrink from talking about moral values, because they, themselves, cannot possibly live up to its most idealistic tenets, as if anybody except the most rarest of people could (and I don't include myself in that rare category), I think this issue should be discussed more, and that we should demand that the schools teach basic moral values, not necessarily with a religious content as that would relate to whether the school is public or private.

Finally, I want to pay tribute to Sister Ruth Patrick, my first grade teacher from 1960 - 1961, who drilled me and all her students in reading, writing, arithmetic, and morality with great dedication. My late mother praised her, rightly, as the best teacher that I ever had.

- by Mark Greene

Copyright 2009 - 2011, Party of Commons TM

Testimony

2010-12-05T00:40:00.001-08:00

A panoply of complacency across the nation takes hold as some are bowing to the brazen impudence of Uncle Sam and mercilessly deriding courageous whistleblowers who uncover unholy truths. It's as if living in a Potemkin Village sans the intrusion of truth is OK. In other words, see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil, but then there are those who are called to bear testimony to that which is just and right, and if they happen to be Christian, that which aspires to the vision of the Sermon on the Mount, and about the Lord who gave that great sermon.

Copyright 2009 - 2010, Party of Commons TM

Anti-Capital Punishment Bill

2010-01-30T06:59:00.000-08:00

State legislator, Ed Murray, of the Washington Senate has introduced legislation to end capital punishment in the State of Washington. Though way late for this state and the so-called liberal Democratic Party majority, here, in attempting to join several states, Europe and much of the world in banning this anachronistic practice, this is an important effort. Death penalties are error-prone, discriminatory and seemingly go against the teachings of Christianity. Society has the option of life in prison for the most dangerous criminals. "Commons" also calls for a federal ban on capital punishment.

[Originally posted on "Commoner" on 1/30/10.]

Copyright 2009 - 2010, Party of Commons TM

Senate Organization

2009-10-26T16:43:00.000-07:00

The Party of Commons Senate:

Progress * Tradition * Ecology

Senator Mark Greene (chairman)

Unique among U.S. political parties, the Party of Commons Senate was temporarily established at the party's inception on November 23, 2006 and was given permanent status on March 7, 2009. The Senate will consist of established and meritoriously honored ex officio members of the Party of Commons, who are either appointed by the chairman or who receive a two thirds majority vote by the Nomination Committee and approved by the chairman.

Please send an e-mail, if you're interested in applying to be a member of the Party of Commons, send an e-mail to PartyofCommons@yahoo.com. Please, put the phrase "party membership" or the name, "Party of Commons," in the subject heading.

Copyright 2009, Party of Commons TM

An Ages-Old Civil Guidepost

2009-08-16T05:50:00.000-07:00

Given the choices of candidates, in 2008, that had a viable chance of winning the presidency, we endorsed Barack Obama for president in the general election, but that doesn't mean that we don't differ with the policies of his administration sometimes. "Commons" tries to be respectful when we differ with anybody about politics, but being courteous and respectful in political debate doesn't seem to be the case in some surprising places in the corporate media.

Some media broadcasters have made villainous and vitriolic statements about politicians and others with whom they disagree with, even the president. Some of the statements have gone beyond common decency and some others seem to have gone beyond 1st amendment rights and protections. Money and status apparently puts some above the law, not to mention in violation of their alleged faith. Some of these broadcasters seem to have an open or slight Christian facade, which is even more surprising, but it is not just broadcasters caught up in duplicitous behavior these days, of course.

Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, said that anybody who says, "You fool," could face hell. In our society, which unfortunately seems to be more and more undisciplined, the word "fool" seems relatively tame, and this instruction often is neglected, but Jesus's instruction in this matter is a lesson in civility and godliness, and societies and individuals who heed this lesson pave the road to peace.

[Revised on same day as first posted.]

Copyright 2009, Party of Commons TM

The Theologian

2009-06-07T07:50:00.000-07:00

The daughter of a middle class auto worker family in Detroit during the Great Depression, as a teenager, she was sent to a Catholic school for girls on the east coast for a time, and converted to Catholicism from her original Baptist upbringing. Upon her first opportunity to vote for president of the United States in 1956, she cast her vote for Adlai Stevenson. In 1960, raising two children by herself, she was impressed upon seeing John Kennedy campaigning at the Michigan State Fair, and cast another presidential vote for him. Particularly, in the 60's and early to mid 70's, she immersed herself in educational pursuits and clerical (as relating to the clergy) interests, befriending academians and priests. As a mother and clerical activist, she and her two kids were heavily involved in church activities, including going to the ordination of priests.

Going to colleges in the Midwest, she received a master's degree in theological studies along the way of becoming a teacher, counselor and theologian; fields in which she received many accolades from her colleagues. As the campaign manager for her son's run for Congress in 2002, she helped him win a major party nomination in Alaska, his second in a row. She was among the American dissenters that opposed Bush's drum beat for war in Iraq and influenced Mark to speak out against the war resolution in Congress during his '02 campaign. As the major influence of her son's political career, and thereby the rise of the Party of Commons, we are proud to name Ellen Elizabeth Greene (1933 - 2006) to the Party of Commons's Hall of Fame.

Copyright 2009, Party of Commons TM

Memorial

2009-05-24T19:18:00.000-07:00

Heavy does the news of the befallen come to our nation's heart.

Thus falls heavy (sadness) in their faraway nation where their journey began, if not far from the vision and the dreams that their (our) nation bespeaks.

Thus falls heavy in the hearts of their beloveth, if not the stranger whose admiration of their service brings us together (e pluribus unum).

Thus falls heavy in the stirrings of the universe, a mightiness that sometimes seems indifferent to the passions of the earth, let alone the passing of one that shakes the vision of the earth, if not the universe anew.

Thus falls in the arms of the Almighty, where heaviness ceases to dwell, and inspiration transcends for generations to come.

[In honor of our fallen troops.]

[revised on 5/25/09]

Copyright 2009, Party of Commons TM

Crossroads

2009-05-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

The news has been depressing in the last week, a little more than the usual mere depressing. Still, as a nation, we must muster up some spirit and go forward. We have no other good choices besides learning from our history and trying to do the right thing from here on out.

Where to begin? Well, let's start with Kenneth Cockrel, Jr., a person whom most of the nation has never heard of, although he was the mayor of Detroit until this week. By all accounts, Cockrel is an honest, sober man who took over the daunting task of being mayor of one of America's most beleaguered cities after a scandal ousted the previous mayor. To be honest, the Party of Commons hasn't followed Detroit politics hardly any, seeing that we have all we can handle keeping up with Washington state politics, but from what tidbits we know, Cockrel did a good job in the short time that he was mayor, restoring confidence and integrity to the mayor's office.

Then the former National Basketball Association star, Dave Bing, decided to uproot himself from a suburban gated community to move to Detroit for the purpose of running for mayor. All the ingredients for winning in American-style politics were there: money, fame, celebrity and ambition. Unfortunately, Mayor Cockrel couldn't outdo the N.B.A. Although, we doubt that the carpetbagger, Bing, who had innoculated himself from the problems of the city through his former gated community, will turn out to be anything except another dime-a-dozen politician. Kenneth Cockrel, Jr. has decided to return to the Detroit City Council; the best of luck to him.

Meanwhile, back in Washington, we found out that the Gates Foundation is continually trying to make inroads into the continent of Africa through starting hundreds of think tanks or something like that. It must be intoxicating being kind of imperial grand dukes of the world by waving billions of dollars around with the strings that your conditions must be met, such as promoting and planting controversial genetically modified seeds in that part of the world.

In the national political world, the Republican faithful, and more than a few Democrats and others, can't seem to decide whether Cheney-esque barbarity or the "Sermon on the Mount" is more fitting.

Finally, things keep leaking out from sources other than the Corporate Mainstream News Media that otherwise would be covered up entirely. Yesterday, we listened to a non-corporate media radio report about something so outrageous about the conduct of contractors at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad some time ago, in which the U.S. military brass was in charge of at the time, that we almost didn't believe it. However, we believed every word of it, and our nation has more serious problems than we ever imagined. Especially, very serious problems of the soul, the sort that wilted and broke the Roman Empire.

[Originally published in our "Commoner" blog, same day, with the title, "Notes From the Nation."]

Copyright 2008 - 2009, Party of Commons TM

The Parable of the Sower

2009-05-03T12:53:00.000-07:00

As the debate about torture goes on, some are putting forward the "ticking bomb" exception to what they otherwise admit is evil. For those of us who say that torture is never right, the "ticking bomb" exception is hard to counteract, because it is human nature to want to take desperate measures in order to save life in emergency circumstances.

Then there are those who say we have to make one other exception, and that being to do whatever is necessary to thwart the ruthless enemy. This exception is easier to oppose, because there is no condensed threat that must be challenged on the spot, but a metamorphic one in which measures taken to fight it can be thought out and reasoned.

When it comes to exceptions, however, there are no exceptions in the Sermon on the Mount.

There is also the parable in the Gospel of Luke: the parable of the sower, where Jesus talked about the farmer who went out to sow his planting seeds, and some fell along the path he was walking and it was trampled on, and the birds ate it.

The seed that fell along the path stands for the ones who hear the word of God, although it is taken away from them by the devil so that they won't believe it.

Then some of the planting seed fell on a boulder, but the plants dried up because they had no moisture.

The seed that fell on the boulder stands for the ones all accepting of the word with great smiles, but they have no root and thus they do not follow through. They fail the test of time.

As the farmer traversed along the path, some of the planting seed fell among thorns which grew up with the plants, but ended up choking the plants.

The seed that fell among the thorns stands for the ones who hear the word, but as they make their way in life they are choked by life's concerns, riches and pleasures, and therefore they do not mature.

For all the falling seed going willy-nilly, some fell on good soil and it produced a yield a hundred times greater than what was sown.

The seed that fell on good soil stands for the ones with hearts that are noble, who hear the word, keep it, and by persistence and follow through their crops are produced.

Copyright 2009, Party of Commons TM

Crime Against Speech

2009-05-01T20:13:00.000-07:00

Back during the presidential campaign of 2004, we never understood the admiration that some Democrats had for the former general, Wesley Clark, who was mostly famous for prosecuting the Clinton regime's unwarranted bombing of the Serbian population in 1999, and he is still fawned upon to this day by Democrats.

Now, we just learned from the website, "Counterpunch," that Amnesty International has just gotten around to declaring the deliberate bombing of a Belgrade radio and television station, under Clark's orders, a war crime. That is hardly news to people who keep abreast of Uncle Sam's imperial march across the planet, but better late than never as far as Amnesty International is concerned. The people working at the Belgrade station that day were civilian journalists and media workers who were conducting their duties of speech, under extreme pressure, as they saw fit, not combatants, which makes the case even more succinctly that some Clinton-ites are as culpable for war crimes as the Bushians whom succeeded them.

[revised on 5/2/09]

Copyright 2009, Party of Commons TM

Who Wants to Disarm the Nation? Almost Nobody

2009-04-27T12:01:00.000-07:00

Listening to Thom Hartmann's radio program today, the subject of guns and disarming the nation's citizenry came up. Hartmann said or implied that only a very small minority wants to do the latter. So if the overwhelming majority of Americans opposes any kind of radical disarmament scheme, including us, why does this issue seem to be so prevalent on talk shows and generally in the news? The answer lies in the success of the Limbaugh-ite disinformation campaign to give the false impression that there is some kind of disarmament campaign going on, which there is not. These people will distort almost any subject if they think they can get some political capital out of it. What most Americans want is not general disarmament, but some sensible limitations on military-type weapons and automatic machine guns.

We strongly support the second amendment of the national constitution and the right of the citizenry to bear arms, not in the least because an armed populace could well be the last check in defending the Constitution, but the right to bear arms, generally, should be a right of individuals, and that shouldn't be construed as meaning private armies, which should be outlawed, as some states do, nor buying bazookas and compact missile launchers, nor other military weapons of that type, nor should it mean that the public cannot keep certain weapons from being allowed in some public spaces. On the whole, there needs to be a balance between armament rights and common sense.

Copyright 2009, Party of Commons TM

New Orleans and Detroit

2009-04-26T06:16:00.000-07:00

With New Orleans still grappling to overcome the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, and Detroit struggling to overcome the impact of the economic crises in the automobile industry, these cities must empower themselves through the faith of the ages, but it is also the solemn duty of our nation, as a whole, to come to their aid, like we may do for a parent, sibling or cousin who is down on his or her luck. In our bigger family of states, cities, towns, and countrysides, we must also come to the aid of each other if we are to survive together as a nation. So the next time you get ready to buy a new car, think of the problems of Detroit and consider buying an American car instead of a foreign car, as much of the economy of our nation, outside of Detroit, is tied to the success of the auto industry.

As for the faith of the ages that was mentioned above, this came to mind as we remembered yesterday's Feast of Saint Mark, the writer of the 2nd gospel of the New Testament, though actually the first gospel written. So we read some passages from "Mark" in honor of his day, and came upon Jesus's raising of the girl from the dead and the woman who was healed by touching His cloak.

A woman who was distraught because of her long illness became aware that Jesus was in the area and managed to get close to the Great Teacher, and touched His cloak as He walked by, as she thought just by touching His clothes, she would be healed. After touching His cloak, the woman was immediately healed, and Jesus asked, after realizing that power had passed from Him, "who touched my cloak?" His disciples were amused at the question since there were so many people around, but the woman, trembling, came up and fell at His feet, admitting everything. Jesus told her that her faith had healed her and to go in peace, and be freed from suffering.

Later that same day, Jesus accompanied a man to his home, as the man and his family was frantic in trying to save his young daughter from some condition that left her near death, and he appealed to Jesus to help her, though by the time they arrived, the girl was dead. The family was stricken with grief, but Jesus consoled them and told them not to worry, and He said, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!," and the girl immediately stood up and walked around. Jesus told the family to give her something to eat.

These stories brought to memory the first Bible that the chairman ever remembered, a huge and heavy Bible owned by his mother when he was a young child. Going through the pages as a child, he particularly remembered the artistic portrait of the incident of the woman touching the cloak of Jesus. This was probably the most memorable of portraits in that Bible, especially, since it was associated with the gospel from which he is the namesake of the writer.

Through these passages in "Mark" about the life of Jesus, we learn never to give up hope no matter how devastating the circumstances may be. Take heed, New Orleans and Detroit.

Copyright 2009, Party of Commons TM

Initiative Papers Submitted to Secretary of State

2009-04-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

Senator Mark Greene has submitted initiative papers to the Washington Secretary of State that would change the system regarding election petitions; particularly, the petition in lieu of the filing fee that indigent or nominally indigent candidates have the option of using when running for office. Presently, the number of signatures required for the "filing fee" petition has to equal the number of dollars required to file for the particular office that the candidate is running for. The filing fee is 1% of the annual compensation for the office filed for, which effectively makes the number of signatures required for statewide office in Washington number at least around one thousand and usually considerably more than that.

This is a number that never remains static and increasingly rises, because pay raises for elected government officials increase frequently with cost of living adjustments or otherwise. Therefore, the indigent candidate, if he or she decides to run for office, must consider the prospect and bear the burden of collecting more signatures from election to election, whereas other candidates, often bankrolled by contributions from special interests, do not have to concern themselves with the work and time consumption of signature collection.

Our initiative proposal would end the burden of increasing signature requirements, which is basically unfair to indigent candidates, and would make the signatures needed for petitions in lieu of the filing fee a static number for each type of position. In this essay, we will not go into details of the initiative much as we will publish the exact wording of the initiative, later in "Senator," after it is reviewed by the Office of the Code Reviser, and other officials assign a number and a ballot title. The basic details are as follows:

Initiative to the Legislature

Make petitions in lieu of the filing fee a static number regarding the number of signatures required, as follows:

Statewide offices: 500 signatures;

U.S. House of Representatives: 200 signatures;

All other offices, state, county or local: 50 signatures.

POST-SCRIPT:
If you would like to sign the petition or go even further than that by helping to collect petition signatures, please, write the Party of Commons at PartyofCommons@yahoo.com (write "initiative petition" in the subject heading, please).

The Party of Commons Senate: http://geocities.com/partyofcommons/senate

[revised on 4/26/09]

Copyright 2009, Party of Commons TM

"Senator" Prologue

2009-04-25T06:54:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our new blog, "Senator," by the Party of Commons, in recognition of the Party of Commons Senate, a unique entity in an American political party, and an organization for our most distinguished members. Presently, the Party of Commons Senate has only one senator, Mark Greene.

"Senator" will concentrate on election campaigns that members of the Party of Commons are running in and election issues that we are involved in. This blog will also specialize in federal and state government issues from around the country, particularly covering the District of Columbia, the 46 states from other than the Pacific Northwest, and the territories of the United States. The "Evergreen" blog, also new, will cover the Pacific Northwest states, Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Alaska, as well as environmental issues.

Evergreen: http://commonwash.blogspot.com

Commoner: http://partyofcommons.blogspot.com

Senator: http://commonsenate.blogspot.com

Red Wings: http://360.yahoo.com/poc_senator

The Party of Commons Senate: http://geocities.com/partyofcommons/senate

[revised on same day as first posted]

Copyright 2009, Party of Commons TM