NEOPROG

I can only get inside of my own head, and nobody really understands the human brain very well. I do know my brain is wired a bit differently than most because I am cross dominant - half left handed and half right handed. I sometimes wonder how the brains of the majority right hand dominant people work. It just seems like most people are so easily swayed by propaganda and so happy to live in blissful ignorance. I prefer to associate myself with the reality based community. I seem to be able to see the big picture better than most, so I was not fooled for a minute by

the NeoCons and Bush or the NeoLibs and Obama about the bipartisan support of such crimes as the Iraq invasion/occupation, the USA Patriot Act, Wall Street/Big Bank bailouts, MedCorp Wealthcare fake reform, Faux Financial reform, etc, etc.

Political and philosophical labels are so imprecise and prone to distortion. So-called Conservatives are not very conservative and Liberals are not very liberal. Those who are labeled Conservative conserve nothing but their own wealth and power, and only strive to accumulate more. They seem unconcerned about conserving our environment. They claim to be super patriotic, but they seem unconcerned with conserving and preserving our Constitutional civil rights. They claim to be fiscally conservative, but run up the National Debt. Those who are labeled Liberal often vote for things like illegal Oil Wars, FISA, NAFTA, Corporate Welfare, the Patriot Act, and fake healthcare reform. Those who label themselves Libertarians are usually more like Conservatives who are liberal on social issues. They say they deplore Big Government, and then they nominate a candidate for President who was a leader in the impeachment of President Clinton and very much in favor of the War On Drugs. Big Government anyone? Populist movements, like the Teabaggers, are strong on personal liberty and fairness to the average citizen, but they often seem angry, and even bigoted, while tending to lean right on just about everything else because they are easily manipulated.

Those who are sometimes called New Progressives are actually more like New Democrats, which are actually more like Corporate Democrats.

So I wonder what to label people similar to me - even if at only 10% that would be 33 million Americans. Some might call me a white progressive and some might call me a dirty f'ing hippie. I have always labeled myself as a rock musician/songwriter. Politically, I guess you could label me a Liberal/Progressive with some Libertarian leanings. I am a Liberal concerning most social issues, I am a Progressive concerning most societal issues, and I am Libertarian concerning many personal freedom issues - but also truly conservative regarding environment and preserving the natural order of Earth. Historically, I think people who think similar to me are closest to the Progressives. Therefore, as a 21st Century Progressive,

I label myself a NeoProgressive - different in many ways from a 20th Century Progressive. If you search the internet you will find different political definitions of the term, and In just my own opinion - based on my own analysis - I will define some aspects being a NeoProg.

A NeoProg is among the top 20% of the population in IQ - and probably even more so in the top 5% - almost by definition. Only someone who keeps themselves relatively well informed and who has reasonably good instinctive analytical skills would even be inclined to be a NeoProg. This is necessary to be able to navigate through the ocean of propaganda that is the Corporate Media and hypocritical elected officials. As a Lefty, a NeoProg is an empathetic pragmatist. The greater good for both humanity and planet Earth and all it’s life are the long term prime directive - while striving to live a happy life each day. Moving forward on all fronts, whenever each is possible, is always AGGRESSIVE because there is not a lot of time to make a lot of big changes that must be accomplished if we are to survive as a species. Therefore, great care must be taken to avoid fake progress that is one step forward but two steps back. Only the truth about everything is acceptable - as it can most honestly be determined. A NeoProg is free of the traditional prejudices involving race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation etc. A lot of (but not all) NeoProgs are agnostic about religion. All of the Arts are in the forefront of importance, because they contribute so much to the evolution and celebration of the human species. Personal growth is a lifelong endeavor including fair and honest success in business. Capitalism puts money at the center of everything, but it should be more a system of Commons Capitalism that shares and protects the Earth while rewarding entrepreneurship, innovation and all good work.

Some of the policy goals of the NeoProgs would include massively reducing the deficit and debt by doing such things as slashing the Military budget by at least 40% over 4 years and 60% within 8 years. This is accomplished by allowing No more earmarks and NO building of anything we do not need - at all. No more No Bid contracts. No more private contractor mercenaries. End the Oil Wars immediately and bring home from Iraq and Afghanistan 100% of the troops and usable equipment. Foreign Military Bases must be closed by at least 80%. Only the truly important strategic bases should be maintained (like on some of the islands, including Britain) but very few major land based military bases - and probably none in Europe or Asia. No more being policeman of the world. Instead, some of our military can be used to protect our borders. We cannot be isolationists. Militarily we should be "Fortress America" while, at the same time, be fully engaged in global diplomacy and transnational policing efforts against terrorism. Shut down The Empire USA Project and The Corporate New World Order Plans. Cooperate with the rest of the world to solve, or at least mitigate, the many major serious challenges in the near future.

Also, raise taxes on the rich and remove completely the Social Security payroll tax cap. Provide MediCare for all citizens and agressively stop fraud. Fire the Federal Reserve and let them eat some of the debt they created. The US Treasury should print and issue all money. Break up all the too big to fail banks and confiscate ill gotten gains. Modify all mortgages based on 1994 property valuations (plus maybe 15%). Cancel debts from fraudulent Wall Street financial instruments and levy a financial transactions tax. Regulate Financial Institutions and Corporations while eliminating offshore accounts, tax loopholes, unfair subsidies and corporate welfare. Speed up the Internet, lock in net neutrality and provide it cheaply to everyone. Get big money and voting machines out of elections. Fission based nuclear energy should be abandoned and research should be aggressively ramped up on Solar and Fusion. The national infrastructure should be rebuilt and modernized with an emphasis on railroads and water based facilities. End the War on Drugs and legalize marijuana on the alcohol model and legalize all the other drugs on the doctor’s prescription model. Then begin saving billions of dollars every year with no more wasted resources for investigations/prosecutions/incarcerations of crimes without victims. Then begin collecting billions of dollars in taxes every year on legal marijuana while putting the bad guys out of business. Another bonus - there will be plenty of room in the prisons for all the Banksters, Corporatists, judges, politicians and all the other enablers who have nearly destroyed both the Constitution and the economy. If we did those things, and more, we would get rid of the crushing debt that strangles everyone's future. Of course, this all will require a huge citizen uprising against the powers that be. Non violence is always the best policy - whatever that takes. The Class War must go ballistic from the ground up.

NeoProgs could become a dominant bloc in an existing alternative political party - like The Green Party, or remain an independent bloc. It would be difficult to start a new political party from scratch, although that may eventually become necessary. It might be a fairly long time before the NeoProgs could command majority support, so it is important to form alliances with Democrats, Libertarians and Populists whenever possible. Certain core issues can never be compromised, such as protection of the environment and the US Constitution and equal rights. One issue that can be compromised is gun ownership. The Democrats have long been associated with gun control and supposedly attacking the 2nd Amendment in the Bill of Rights. NeoProgs should be politically accepting of a pro gun ownership policy with a few sensible restrictions. Supporting a policy of pro gun ownership brings us closer to potential alliances if they will also compromise and agree to pragmatically support the Federal social safety net for citizens. Being anti illegal foreign wars, anti Drug War, pro Constitution, and pro civil liberties, are among some common ground issues for real Libertarians and NeoProgs. We may not agree on a lot of things, but we can agree on protecting The Constitution and civil rights. However, alliances with Republicans, Blue Dog Dems, so-called Libertarians who are actually Republicans and other right wingers are regressive and should be avoided. It is not worth going even one step backwards to accommodate them or negotiate with them - just have a full and fair debate and then outvote them.

So, who knows? Young Americans and progressive Boomers and GenXers could unite into a powerful voting bloc to elect some - then more people to office and also force the corrupt Legacy Political Parties to do more of the right thing. An as yet non-existant neo-progressive movement must move forward aggressively to preserve the Republic and the Earth upon which it, and we all, precariously reside.

curtblog....first day of Spring, 2010