League of Non-Aligned Voters

Updated to reflect better visualizations...

http://youtu.be/ioQYKn2tLzU

Trillions In Debt A quick look at the financial problems facing this country

Do you really want to get your butt kicked by a 236 year old cartoon? Get out and VOTE!

Better do what he say's. He's armed!

I've spent a lot of time over the last couple of years reading and thinking about politics in America today.

I've read hundreds of books written by authors ranging from Jefferson, Payne and Adams to Noam Chomsky and Doris Kearns-Goodwin. I've read the truly partisan stuff from Al Franken and John Stewart on the left to Ann Coulter and Shawn Hannity on the right. I've even read the centrists like John Avlon and Thomas Friedman. I've read about congress. I've read about lobbyists. I've read about judges and the Supreme Court. I think I have read a biography on every single president this country has ever had. Yeah, that's right. Even Franklin Pierce.

Hell, I even wrote my own book about politics; "The Forgotten Cost of Freedom" (shameless plug)

I'm what you would call an "über-geek" when it comes to American politics. It wasn't always this way. For a long time I paid very little attention to what went on in Washington D.C. or my state capital. Like most people, I was too caught up in all the little details of living my day-to-day life to care about what they were doing. I had my business and hobby's, my wife and family. The only politics I was interested in we're the ones going on at home and at work.

Then my wife got sick and everything in my life changed. What was important yesterday held no interest for me today. And when we lost her, I quit caring about anything at all.

Over time, that changed. It took a while, but little by little the color came back into my world. And when things were just about as normal as I could expect them to be, I noticed that it wasn't just me that had changed. This whole country seemed different.

Politics ain't what it used to be. You have all heard me rant about court rulings like Citizens United and how they have corrupted the system. I've written about how there is no justification for the belief that "money equals speech" unless you have an agenda. I've spoken about how Special Interest Groups have begun to actually believe they are "special" and therefor better than the rest of us. And I've 'gone off' on how I am convinced that the two party system is basically the root of all evil in America today.

I have written, blogged, posted and generally shouted at the top of my lungs about how political party's are not a part of the constitution, and that we were warned about their bad influence by our founding fathers. I've ranted about how even if they originated from the most honest of men and the highest of ideals that over time they eventually become corrupted. And how we must all see that party's serve only one purpose -- to divide us. Seriously, you only need to turn on a cable TV news network for a couple of minutes to see what I'm talking about.

Now, I'm no constitutional scholar. Truthfully, I'm not any type of scholar. But I did learn a handful of "true-ism's" from all those books I read that scared the bejezzus out of me. They are as follows:

1) While most politicians may start out with the best of intentions, politics almost always gets in the way of accomplishing anything of real importance.
2) Over time, money has become the single most important factor to todays politicians. In order to stay in office they must raise a lot of money or they won't be around very long. And when one loses, the other team wins.
3) The quickest place to get serious money is from Special Interest Groups. Conversely, the hardest way to raise money is from individual donors.
4) Those Special Interest Groups are lining up at the doors of the national parties with deep pockets for anyone who will promise to vote their way. And
5) If the current trends hold, pretty soon Special Interest Groups, Corporations and the extreme wealthy will be the only ones whose vote will matter in this country. Regular Americans, like you and I, will wake up one day without a voice in the process because we can't afford one.

Folks, you must not believe for a single second that our elected representatives will do the right thing unless we force them too. This isn't rocket surgery. It's fact.

Question: When was the last time you actually made a donation to a particular candidate or party? And if you did donate, how much was it? So I ask you, if you were a politician and needed to raise money, would you want to spend time getting it from the people in small amounts, or would you rather go to a Special Interest Group and get a big chunk all at once? Politicians are not stupid, they know which side their campaign is buttered on. They go where the money is. Please, if you don't believe me just go look at the donor list of one of your favorite politicians.

If this country is to survive the huge issues facing it in the 21st century, then we NEED real leaders -- Desperately. We must find Men and Women who will put aside their own ego's and ambition's to do the hard work of governing in the challenging times ahead. Citizens who will put the welfare of this country ahead of their own re-election prospects. People who would challenge their own party if it means being on the right side of history. Politicians who are independent enough to break away from "pack mentality politics", yet still enough of a team player to build multi-partisan support for a just and worthy cause. And most importantly, people who can see beyond the limits of the past and embrace America's place as a global neighbor going forward.

Obviously, neither mainstream party is giving us candidates who live up to these standards. So, why maintain a broken system that limits itself to only two ideologies? And why continue to align ourselves with them if they are not doing what we ask them to do? This is not how we will be able to sustain this country or the ideals on which it was founded.

So, if the parties are not giving us good honest people as candidates how can we ensure the ones we have do their job? No one knows for sure. But I do have a couple of ideas;

What I know is this:
~ I know that political parties are the "banners" under which this country has divided itself neatly down the middle.
~ I know that those party banners, being a 'Republican' or 'Democrat', have become part of our core identity and that we use those labels to make judgements about ourselves and others.
~ I know that the main purpose of political parties is no longer implementing political ideology, its about winning. At any cost.
~ I know that extremists have hijacked the two mainstream parties leadership and are unwilling to allow compromise. And;
~ I know that the politicians who come out of these parties no longer listen to 'We the People' very much anymore. Instead, 'They the Incorporated' have all the power because they can give more money and will hold them accountable if they don't deliver.

I also know that, this being the case, that makes them my Enemy.

I can simply no longer stand by and wait for the destruction of the country I love and witness the end of the freedoms I hold so dear because our political parties have been corrupted by organized Special Interest Groups with an agenda. I refuse to stand by and let this happen.

So, regardless of who wins the election next Tuesday, I am formally declaring war on the mainstream political parties in America. I am making it my life's work to literally end both the Republican and Democratic Parties as we know them today.

As a founding member of the League of Non-Aligned Voters (LNAV) and as a concerned citizen of the United States of America, I believe it is my duty and responsibility to do my part to help preserve, protect and defend the principles upon which this country was founded.

One of my core beliefs is that "To whom much has been given, much is expected". I have been truly blessed in many ways over the course of my life, not the least of which was being born an American. So I, and a few others, have re-prioritized our lives so we can spend time getting out the message regarding the inherent corruption and obvious damage of continued partisan affiliation. The members of the LNAV and I intend to convince as many people as we can to drop their political party and become "non-aligned voters". We intend to convince the citizens of this country that we should not be labeling ourselves for political purposes, but if we absolutely must, the best label we could take on would be to simply call ourselves 'Americans'.

You may think I've gone a little nuts, and that is fine. But I ask you to consider one thing before you judge me too harshly; "Do you know why a small organized and determined group of people can, in fact, change the world?"

"Because its the only thing that ever has."

So whether you think we are 'Political Weirdos' or some 'Crazy Fringe Group', or even if you consider us 'Anarchists', you should know this; "Yes", we may be only a few, and "Yes", we may be idealistic. But we are "The League of Non-Aligned Voters" and we are the enemy of "politics as usual".

More information will be coming soon.

Eric J. Kiser
The League of Non-Aligned Voters.

Here it is.... the reason for my insanity.

How Gamblers -- History's Most Accurate Election Forecasters -- Are Betting on 2012 I don't like uncertainty, and the current presidential polls are a hotbed of uncertainty. Fortunately there are veritable election oracles I can turn to instead: gamblers.

Uncle Sam: If your going to all this trouble to lie to me, the least I can do is pay attention...

This came out better than I had hoped...

How many times can a 40 year old movie be relevant?

How smart is he?

It says it all.....