Jesse Ventura ( Or None-of-the-above ) for U.S. Senate!

Did I get to meet Jesse Ventura at the Mall of America tonight? You betcha! And of course, got a nifty autograph of his in his new book. I even got to the mall using light-rail that would not exist yet but for Jesse.

He was able to state much of his beliefs on the current state of our political system: it isn't working. The politicians and media are owned by the interests of making money. They are focused on short-term gain rather than long-term sustainment. And if there is one person who can create a truly multipartisan campaign of supporters, it's Jesse Ventura.

He discussed how NOTA (None of the Above) should be on the ballot, and would give voters the right to show their disapproval of those running for office. He discussed how the two-party system supported by an entertainment-based news media feed a corrupt system. Few wish to question how sad a state our nation is in, but a leader is one who asks the hard questions and demands better results from our government.

If he were to run for U.S. Senate, he has one issue that neither major party can dispute: the National Debt. How can they claim they didn't support this? It is holding America back, and the interest alone is just under 20% of our annual taxes! Democrats want to continue spending unchecked without new taxes, and Republicans want to cut the governments income without cutting budgets! Pathetic! Both Norm Coleman and Al Franken are highly supportive of maintaining the status-quo.

What we need in Washington is a Constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget - and no exceptions. If there is a war or economic depression - tough, raise taxes or cut spending. Our national budget has been living in fantasy land and reality will hit us hard when this illusion can no longer be maintained.

One of Jesse's ideas that I disagree with is that we should stop giving aid to poorer nations. I think that it is imperative that the wealthy nations improve the lives of those that are not. It would reduce human populations growth, eradicate malaria, and reduce the future likelihood of terrorism. I also believe it is the right thing to do, and will continue to support a Global Marshall Plan. We can easily do this by ending our imperialism and bringing ALL of our troops home - even Germany and South Korea. The United Nations should be the global peace-keepers - not the USA or China.

One of Jesse's media opponents decided to try to ask a question. But Jesse made clear that he would speak to no Minnesotan media. He was especially angry at one Star Trib columnist known as CJ. It is odd, I read the Star Tribune a few times a week and never really read her columns. I notice those by the awful Katherine Kersten and the decent Doug Grow among others. Who is this CJ? Anyways, she is someone who decided to make up a story about Jesse's son having parties in the Governor's Mansion. It was bogus, but she ran on this sensational story anyways. The rest of the media used her column as a source, and Jesse has hated the Minnesotan media for this very personal attack on his family ever since. Can't say I blame him, but the media don't always get their facts correct. It's amazing how they choose to only show so much of a story, or cut out illuminating context. But sensation sells right?

One issue Jesse doesn't really go into detail in his book or in any public appearance is Peak Oil. This is something that is important, especially if we are at the point. Okay, call it an undulating plateau - but it is still Peak Oil. But fortunately Jesse is paying attention to Global Warming and believes we must act - and he actually means that he would. Does he unplug his "vampire energy" sources? You betcha, and he noticed his energy usage drop immediately. I think it imperative that we elect a leaders who actually would enact a carbon tax and end our hydrocarbon addiction.

I highly recommend anyone interested in populist politics or simply the state of America read Jesse's book - Don't Start the Revolution Without Me! But read it one chapter at a time and stop to reflect a while before beginning a new chapter. I do not think it is meant to be read all at once. As a Minnesotan, I am still proud that he was our Governor. Would Norm Coleman or Skip Humphrey really have helped the future of Minnesota as Jesse did? No, they would not. And reading this new book gives one an even better appreciation of his time in office .

Illegal Minnesotans

Listening to Governor Tim Pawlenty on MPR yesterday, a caller stated his fear for undocumented immigrants. He didn't want illegal immigrants or their children to get his entitlements or tax money. This caller also attacked the Governor for not deporting illegal immigrants and their families.

If only the situation was simple - it isn't. Immigration is not a black and white issue - very few things are. If we wanted to solve the problem of undocumented workers using the criteria of this caller - we would see this:

1) Children of undocumented workers no longer able to attend school.

What makes these children different? If they are born in the US, they are citizens. But if we punish them for their parents, we create a new class in our society. We become like India and create our own class of "untouchables." While it will not be as dramatic as a caste system, it will have negative repurcussions nonetheless.

2) We force local police, especially Minneapolis and Saint Paul, to enforce Federal immigration laws

The Minneapolis police force is not the INS. If they become the INS, it will increase crime. Crime is the sole purpose for a local police force, unless you feel immigration a bigger issue than rape, drug use, and homicide.

If you were an illegal immigrant, would you EVER call the police if you thought they would deport you? Would you hide in fear if you thought the police were after you? If you witnessed a crime, you would pretend you never saw it.

What to do about illegal immigration?

Immigration has occurred for as long as human beings have existed. All Americans are immigrants, because these are truly Native American lands. And even the Native Americans emigrated here from Europe and Asia. We outnumbered natives and therefore earned the "right" to their lands.

There is not much value in undoing what American ancestors have done with our current generation paying the price. But their is a possibility to accept those who are here, either by being born or immigrant.

Ben Powers, Constitution Party candidate for Senate this year, stated that if all the unborn children had been born rather than aborted - we wouldn't have a worker shortage. Therefore undocumented workers were of no value and should be deported.

His logic is insane, but it does shed light on a solution. The primary source of illegal immigration is Mexico. What are solutions?:

1) Mexico needs jobs

Why not prevent the problems that lead to them leaving their homeland? Would YOU want to leave where you had been born, raised, and where you feel at home? No, but if you had no job and a family to support - you would.

2) Mexico needs family planning

If all women in this world had access to family planning, we could reduce the population growth to below the replacement rate. This would alleviate pressure on economic and environmental constraints. Mexico's current population: 106M In 2030 it will be 1432M


3) Mexico needs higher taxes

At 19.8% taxes, Mexico could be doing more. America's taxes stand at 26.8%. A lot of people make a claim that Mexico and latin America are moving to the left. With such low taxes and few services, why wouldn't they? America may not like it, and both political parties in our homeland work to stop their left from winning. ( But they cannot buy votes as easily as they do here. )

You can't educate all children on the free-market system. Nor can you build roads solely using that method, while ensuring transit to those unable to own or use cars.

Their government should be serving their people, not those who do not want to pay taxes.

If Mexico alleviated population growth and focused on its own people, it could drastically reduce those leaving for America.