More Reasons to Quit the Two Established Political Parties The movement to abandon the Big Two parties is picking up steam from several sources including two unlikely characters: Lou Dobbs and Scott McClellan. In Lou Dobbs words, “Both of our major political parties have become little more than well-funded marketing organizations, advertising brands that the corporate and special-interest elites manage for their own benefits, with almost no regard for the common good and the national interest.” That explains why the hypocrisy of career politicians like Trent Lott and Dennis Hastert has become the norm on Capitol Hill. They are not the first to resign congress in order to cash in to lobby their former colleagues. Their hand was forced by the upcoming restrictions on former congress member lobbying that starts early next year. Senator John McCain had one of best descriptions of the system when he described it as legalized bribery. Add former White House press secretary Scott McClellan’s upcoming book “WHAT HAPPENED: Inside the Bush White House and What’s Wrong With Washington” scheduled to be published in the spring as fodder for more defections from the Big Two parties. It boils down to lost trust in the whole political process. McClellan discloses when he lost trust in the president by first offering an alibi of why he trusted him to begin with. "The most powerful leader in the world had called upon me to speak on his behalf and help restore credibility he lost amid the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. I had unknowingly passed along false information.” Later, McClellan admits that senior Administration officials including the president and vice-president were responsible for the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame. This is getting little national headlines since these revelations come as no surprise to those who follow Washington politics. Speaking with Joe Wilson in 2004, I could sense his sincerity and conviction as he stood alone to accuse senior Bush Administration officials - he specifically named Karl Rove – as responsible for the leak that outed his wife’s CIA identity. While campaigning for congress in 2004, I made a list of offenses that I could not believe this Administration was getting away with. They ranged from forged evidence for war to trampling our basic constitutional rights. Running for office provided a unique opportunity to question the legitimacy of Bush/Cheney decisions and my congressman’s vote for the war. At one point I was able to ask Congressman Tom Davis if he had read the PATRIOT Act before voting for it. To which he answered, “I didn’t have to read it, I knew what was in it.” In 2008 American voters may only be offered the choice between an individual with fatally impaired judgment to give the Bush/Cheney Administration the power to invade Iraq, or a former New York mayor who failed to protect the lives of several hundred first responders on September 11, 2001 by locating his command post in the World Trade Center complex. These life and death mistakes cannot be taken back. Still not convinced to abandon the Big Two? Consider what they have planned for 2008. Little attention was paid to the recent announcement of four debate sites selected by the Commission on Presidential Debates – the monopoly created by the Big Two political parties to offer meaningless sound bite debates between the nominees of only those two parties. Voters ought to know that once again there are no provisions for allowing legitimate candidates from outside the Big Two to participate. During the 2004 race, there were only five candidates that had a mathematical chance to win the White House based on qualifying for enough state ballots to earn enough electoral votes for victory. Regardless of the long odds, what would have been so terrible about hearing from all five of these contenders in a nationally televised format? We are witnessing debates now with up to nine candidates, though as former Senator Mike Gravel proved they still practice the politics of exclusion. In 2004, candidates from the Libertarian and the Green party staged debates that featured empty chairs for the Big Two to appear. Of course they refused because as Libertarian nominee Michael Badnarik stated, they fear the voters may hear something they can relate to. Debate exclusion continues the direct insult to the democratic process. It strengthens our argument for Independents to boycott not just the coming primaries, but all activities, words and actions of Big Two party candidates. I am repeating the call made a few weeks ago for one million people to abandon their membership in the Big Two political parties before the upcoming primaries. Voters and non-voters alike need to declare their independence, or register for a third party. This will send a message that we are tired of the politics-as-usual scripted infomercials that substitute for real debates and stifle legitimate voices in the political landscape. To hear Lou Dobbs report about the record number of people registering independent, you get the impression that it was all his doing. In reality, before his book, there have been thousands of advocates suggesting abandonment of the Big Two parties. Promoters of the National Election Reform Platform have been attempting to secure pledges from each party’s nominees for federal office committed to repairing the broken elements of our electoral system: ballot access, voting machine security flaws, voter disenfranchisement and the influence of special interest money. An example of why clean elections and campaign financing are so critical is clearly demonstrated in this LA Times description of Gov. Schwarzenegger, once considered “the champion of the people against the special interests, the man who was so rich he could say no to campaign donors seeking favors. [Yet the record haul of] $125 million that Schwarzenegger has pulled in comes from the same special interests he campaigned against and that have made the purchase of political access and influence a dark art.” Workshops presented at the Claim Democracy conference in Washington in November, 2007 covered additional reform items such as universal voter registration, rank choice voting, Election Day holiday and voting rights for DC citizens. Our growing election reform coalition – having secured an endorsement from Green Party presidential candidate Kent Mesplay – welcomes the infusion of Mr. Dobb’s voice in our cause. Now we hope that he will invite us on to his television program to explain why election reform is so critical. Those who agree, please forward him my e-mail address: VoteJoinRun@aol.com. - Joseph Oddo is the director of Independent America Political Committee based in Washington DC. ###
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2007 Op-Ed News Article April 26, 2007 Election Reform & A Billionaire for President By Joseph Oddo With all the focus on the wide open presidential field for 2008, the down ticket congressional seats present a unique opportunity for Independents to demand Election Reform to include fair ballot access, secure voting machines and public campaign financing. 50% of all elections have only one name on the ballot. That makes it more important than ever to encourage citizens to run for office. Americans should no longer tolerate this phenomenon created by the Big Two political parties. Both parties actively engage in the politics of exclusion by refusing to debate Independents. We know why. They fear voters would agree that elections are unfair and need fixed. Presenting our case for public campaign financing, Independents ask voters to look beyond the rhetoric decrying the potential cost. The current system is far more costly to taxpayers. Political contributors are rewarded with government jobs and no-bid contracts that rob billions from our Treasury – no matter which political party is in charge. Here is a summary of the main points of our National Election Reform Platform (NERP): * Uniform Ballot Access * Loosen Third Party Ballot Restrictions * Universal Voter Registration * Election Day Holiday * Equal Media Access/Debate Inclusion * Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) * Secure Voting Machines * Public Campaign Financing * Direct Popular Vote Election of the President * DC Congressional Representation
Before the naysayer can say "this will never happen", we repeat the words of one 2008 presidential contender. "America is a can-do nation." That is the attitude we need to finally fix our electoral process. Competent Americans of diverse economic backgrounds and occupations will run for office once it doesn't require committing financial suicide, or becoming skilled at political begging. Election Reform brings new voices, new choices, and new ideas to addressing the issues of war, immigration, health care, the environment, education, trade, net neutrality etc. Without it, these issues rotate through legislatures with feeble attempts at solutions. Take health care for instance. Former Senator Mike Gravel wrote about the need to address health care back in 1971. Now as presidential candidate, his party is excluding him from the debates. It is time that Americans quit settling for the politics of exclusion. Most Americans have no idea just how articulate and fresh the ideas of those outside the Big Two were. Gravel and others considered B-tier candidates advocate for fixing the broken tax system – something the Big Two cannot attempt since they would be stepping on those who fund them. Our campaign theme is "Action Against Apathy". It consists of these four main actions: 1. Run a self-financed independent for president; 2. Run 435 House and 33 Senate candidates to support the independent for president and generate grassroots get-out-the-vote activity; 3. Secure pledges from our candidates to enact our ten-point National Election Reform Platform. 4. Ask all independents, third parties and members of the Big Two to suspend their ideological differences long enough to establish fairness in elections and improve the process so that ordinary Americans will return to civic duty and run for office.
We put out the call now for a full slate of independent congressional candidates to prepare to make the ballot in 2008. It is time to hold the Big Two accountable for continuing to raise the debt ceiling in order to earmark valuable brownie points for reelection. The fourth point asking Independents, third-party loyalists, and swing voters to suspend their deepest ideological principles will only succeed if we secure pledges and hold those who get elected to honor them. We understand that supporting a true independent at the top of the ticket requires a stretch of faith. Most will not align squarely with our chosen nominee. But the trade-off will be worth it in exchange for Election Reform that will allow our candidates to compete. As it stands today, our default candidate based on his ability to pay for an election without begging to the Big Box party financiers is New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He brings credentials as a capable elected executive that Ross Perot did not. A draft committee (DraftMichael.com) has started recruiting Independent candidates for offices all over the U.S. in 2008. Building a grassroots network will turn out the crucial independent vote to finally elect an "Independent" chief executive to the White House in 2008. Supporting Bloomberg will be a challenge, but with a pledge to enact election reform measures in his first 100 days, he is the one we should support. I appeal for the nearly 40% of the electorate who consider themselves independent to take up this challenge in order to fix the flawed election process. Commit to not wasting another vote on the Big Two candidates. Better yet run for office. Why should we as voters – and nonvoters – allow those who broke the system to continue in power? The Big Two simply write laws to legalize their misdeeds acting as though there is no problem. Politics, government operations, and our electoral system can all be improved if we shake up the establishment, and introduce new ideas and invite new operators that are not bought and paid for by the highest bidders. No use trying to get money out of politics; our energy needs to be focused on getting people in. That is why we need a billionaire like Bloomberg to promote our platform. ### E-Mail Capitol Hill Covered!
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Political Speech Samples available upon request. We do write non-political material as well... Sample 15 - 20 minute speech
February 3, 2005
Speech to Convention of Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, Orlando, FL Feb 2005 by ___________, Regional Safety Manager.
Speech Draft:
Good evening. There are moments in life when reflection is in order. I reflect most graciously for the opportunity to be with you tonight. Being one who has taken risks all my life, from Special Forces in Vietnam to the harsh conditions of the North Pole, to the hazardous duty of being on the road 90% of the year, I have developed an appreciation of the importance of safety, and I want to share my thoughts on that with you tonight.
We all made it here to Orlando, and I hope you make it back safely. But as we wish each other safe trips and hear from our spouses, "Have a Safe Trip", there is only so much we can do to be safe when traveling. Some things are just out of our control. We're not going to drive the train, plane or cab. But we may drive a few golf carts when we return, and then safety reenters our consciousness.
So let me start by asking you, how many of you are employing a lockout/tag out technique? For those who don't it is the practice of de-energizing your power equipment while being maintained. There are really more steps involved than what may be apparent at first. For instance, did your technician not only shut off the power source, but secure the source from outside intervention and accidental reactivation? That is just one of many aspects of a comprehensive safety program that we employ; and I'll be happy to discuss more details on that later.
While we may not be in charge of a massive production like monitoring gas flow at an oil refinery, where human errors and shortcuts can be catastrophic, we do have power carts that can flip us, mowers that can chew us up, and chemicals that can send us to the hospital. So it is important that we keep safety issues on our minds. Not just to protect our jobs, but the people we work with and the consumers we serve.
I'm going to share with you a five-step safety program that we implement company wide. I'll try to focus mainly on the golf maintenance side of our business. Currently we own 16 courses and manage 26 others. It is a private company that works hard to maintain the trust and compassion for its employees. Even with committed owners, it takes time to implement a complete safety program, but the rewards can be substantial as we found out in our third year of the program.
I have outlined the five steps on the handout, so hopefully you won't need notes, and I'll be happy to answer questions afterward.
* I mentioned committed owners because that is where it has to be decided that expenditures of time and money are worthwhile for long-term gain. All owners are leery of spending money, and they usually expect immediate results. When I pitched the program, I flatly stated that I expected it was going to take three to fives years for the investment to be considered a success. However, as a result of bringing a new awareness to the safety issue, we achieved an instant drop in accident and injury claims.
* Now once we discover that owners are committed we have to get through the upper management that the inconvenience of implementing safety procedures is worth every hour or four that slows down the job. So it is essential that upper management do not succeed in watering down or using politics to scuttle a safety-related modification on the job. We have all see it happen before. People naturally resist change. We get comfortable with a certain way of doing things. And none of us likes to be criticized or be subject to evaluations that suggest making changes.
But on the flip side, there are always alternative ways to accomplish tasks. Efficiencies are generally achieved when more eyes are on the subject. And it is usually the eyes of an outside observer that can spot things not so readily apparent. I like the example that someone showed me once. Without looking at your wristwatch, describe to yourself the face of it. What colors are in it? What type of numbers? How many numbers, all 12 or just four? Some things we see numerous times a day, we don't really see. So it is that a potentially dangerous safety issue, whether it is an overload on an electrical circuit, or a loose handrail over a bridge, could easily be overlooked time and time again. This is why we stress that upper management get involved. Because they have to be critiqued, then supervise the improvements to the rest of the crew. A vital element in improving safety.
* Once all parties are prepared to implement a program, then the safety managers must be appointed and trained. The program they are responsible for starts with pre-job qualifications, or a thorough evaluation of present conditions. Here we look at the current environment, gauge the knowledge of the safety officers, help them gain the resources needed to fill the gaps between what they know and what they need to know.
It can be a daunting challenge to keep up with regulatory compliance. After our walk-through of the entire golf course including maintenance facilities, we check for reference materials. For instance, how many of you can quickly locate your MSDS binder? MSDS stands for material safety data sheet. Each chemical being used is detailed for its hazards and warnings on combining with other compounds. Considering how many hazardous materials we use in our golf course maintenance businesses, this is a critical tool for the safety officer. No one is expected to memorize all this data, but having it at easy reach is critical to avoid mishaps - some of the most common being unsafe combinations and interactions among chemicals, or lack of proper ventilation in confined spaces.
* The fourth step of our safety program is an incentive program that rewards individuals who are achieving safety objectives. Our company has created a safety metric that records instances of at-fault accidents and OSHA record-able injuries. We then make each field employee with at least one-year of employment and a safety record falling within the metric to be eligible for an annual big-ticket prize drawing. Our company is big, therefore we can afford to award five F-150 pickups (one in each of five regions in the country). Your company can use other means, but it does keep all eyes on the prize by forcing a close scrutiny of safety procedures on a day-to-day basis.
I've seen some companies use lottery tickets, whatever works for you. Since we have five regions we hold company picnic to announce the winner as well as present other tokens of appreciation to those whom earned it. Announcing the success stories in front of the whole group is a tremendous motivator for others to "get in on that action". Everyone likes to be recognized for a job well done.
I won’t attempt to explain the details of the metric itself, I can tell you that the combinations of factors are used to arrive at a figure that started at 25 in the first year, dropped to 12.5 the second and is now down to 10.5.
Now let me put that in terms, owners and managers understand. How many of you are familiar with EMR - Experience Modification Ratings conducted by your insurance companies? Great. As you know that is how your premiums are calculated. Since we implemented our safety program we have experienced double digit reductions in each of the last three years in the number of accidents and injuries. That has had a direct impact on the bottom line. For our company it translated to $1.4 million worth of reduced insurance fees. These results far exceeded the anticipated return. In fact, in most cases implementing safety programs are generally viewed as a defense mechanism to get a grasp on rising insurance costs.
A stated objective could very well be simply stabilizing costs during a five-year period. Because I tell you it will not be an easy sell to convince owners that they "might" save money five years from now with a better safety program. There are investments to be made. It takes time to implement a comprehensive program, and as I mentioned earlier, it could slow down or delay profits. But keep in mind; we experienced an immediate drop in claims. And accidents and injuries of any kind can be more detrimental to keeping a job on a timeline or meeting a profit objective. So that is the picture you have to paint to get all parties engaged in the process. Which brings us to the final aspect - the training of field personnel.
* I am impressed that the GCSAA has adopted many of the safety standards that we pioneering in their re-certification program. Our company has devised a curriculum that trains personnel to achieve up to 4.2 credits of the 15 credit hours required. Earlier I mentioned MSDS sheet that covers hazard communications, which entails the Right to Know Law. Beyond that we train in confined space training and First Aid/CPR. We offer a ten-hour course in OSHA compliance and for our northern climates, training on snow and ice removal. Have you ever seen people from Texas try to operate a snowplow truck? It can be ugly.
The point is don't overlook the fundamentals of safety. Just as Tom Brady has mastered the fundamentals of his game to avoid interceptions, we need to ensure that shortcuts are not being taken. Mistakes in our league lead to injury or death. That's why educating field personnel on fire safety; blood born pathogens; personal protection equipment as fundamental as steel toe boots and safety equipment is critical.
You would be surprised to learn how many people work on golf courses without hardhats while the course is in play. Our company experiences 5 - 7 people a year getting hit with golf balls.
You probably already know how difficult it is to comply with environmental regulations. So part of the course will review wash-off and waste management techniques. But besides all this former classroom type formats, simple steps can be taken to encouragement safety improvements. We utilize a Near Miss booklet. It is in checkbook size, formatted to record unsafe conditions and recommend improvements.
In summary, the essential ingredient in a thorough and effective safety program is education. Make everyone is aware of your commitment to safety, and you will improve the quality of the job and the positive experience of your customer, and of course your bottom line financially.
Understanding that the upfront investment will be a little higher than anticipated, and not initially recognized as a necessity, stay focused on the idea that Safety Pays. It may take a little extra time, but it can save a life or limb. It shows you care. In the long run, you'll see that safety does work side by side with production in improving productivity.
Thank you. I'll be happy to answer any questions.
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