We all have lives and jobs and families to keep track of, we don't have 8-10 hours a day to keep an eye on what the government is doing at all levels. Unfortunately for us, the extremists on both sides of the political aisle, as well as the corporate lobbyists and political talking head pundits all do. Because of this, and large influxes of cash, these special interests have worlds more influence than the average citizen and that is not the way the government is supposed to be. This is a nation of the people, by the people and for the people.
Project PunditTree is something I started working on in March. It is intended to be a non-profit grass roots US political site for those of us, regardless of political party or ideology, who aren't happy with the what the US Government at all levels has been doing over the last several years. It occurred to me that part of the reason why the US has so many problems both at home and abroad is because our government has become so monolithic, secretive and corrupt that it is an arduous process for any average citizen to understand what's going on. As such, the government as ceased to be accountable to the very people who give it the power it wields - us. This corruption, isn't limited to any one group or division in the government but rather spreads throughout and goes largely unnoticed and unpunished. It is time for that to stop.
A perfect example of this phenomena is the Transportation Equity Act (HR 3, S 907) of 2005 sponsored by Representative Donald Young (R-AK), enacted by the 109th Congress and signed into Law by President Bush on August 10th, 2005. The bill contained $1.7 million to improve Guy Lombardo Avenue in Freeport New York, $3.5 million in funds for horse trails in Virginia and $223 million to build a bridge in Ketchikan Alaska to link to Gravina Island, whose population is 50 people. The area already hosts a fully functional and drastically less expensive ferry system running every 30 minutes. This represents a federal expenditure of $4.5 million for each one of those 50 residents. According to an article by USA today ( Alaska Thanks you, By Nick Jans 5/17/2005 [/url]) the proposed bridge will be nearly as long as the Golden Gate Bridge and higher than the Brooklyn Bridge, as Ketchikan's main industry is tourism and the bridge must be able to accommodate the cruise ships that travel through the area in the summer. Even presidential hopeful, John McCain (R-Az) cited this bridge as an example of unneeded pork barrel spending.
Would you as a regular citizen have voted for this if you knew about it? How about the provision in the 2005 amendment ( Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 now ), to the USA Patriot Act which made the possession of more than 9 grams of pseudoephedrine sulfate ( the active ingredient in Sudafed and Clartin-D) a crime? Now a federal law, it requires that the name and address of everyone who buys claritin-D or other similar medications be kept on file for two years. I will not in this post, debate the utility of turning an over the counter allergy medicine into a controlled substance in order to prevent drug dealers from producing crystal meth. Nor will I debate the utility or futility of the 'war on drugs' - but what has this ban to do with fighting terrorists? The answer is: absolutely nothing.
These bills are a perfect example of the sorts of back door dealing and assorted nonsense that our government is currently involved in and neither of these issues even touches on the major issues such as Katrina recovery or the Iraq war. People need to know, and understand what their representatives are doing in order to make informed decisions about whom to elect.
Hence I am starting a project called pundittree, a joomla based data store/web magazine/personal assistant that anyone can join in order to help make this information easy to find, easy to digest, and easy to act upon with expediency. The American people are being force fed lies, half truths and myths by the government they pay for and the propaganda outlets it employs. They elect officials that they expect to make life and death decisions which will actively benefit the nation. Some times this happens. Some times it doesn't but it's up to us as citizens to keep our government honest. Whether it be a $200 million dollar bridge for 50 people, or $90,000 in bribes in a congressman's freezer. We can't do that unless we know what they're doing in our names with our tax dollars.
Unfortunately with all the things I want this site to be capable of doing, it has become a job beyond one or two people. I need coders, template writers, authors, editors, researches, graphic designers and anyone else who is willing to help out even if it is only for a few hours a week. It has become even more necessary to have clear, unbiased, factual information the closer the next Presidential and Congressional elections get. I love my country but I am not pleased with the course it has taken over the last few years and I believe it is long past time that we as citizens get our government back under our control.
Thank you for listening. If you are interested in helping out you with project PunditTree please respond in this thread or email me at the email in my profile.
Eire
'Alaska Thanks you': http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/ed ... edit_x.htm
Project PunditTree - Seeking assistance Topic is solved
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