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All posts by Ellis Goldberg
Foreclosing Banks Neglect Property – cost lives
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Did Carly Fiorina OK bribes?
The California media is encouraged to connect the dots. The media should be asking Carly Fiorina if she knows anything about this alleged bribe, and if she did not know, why did she not know. Here are the two dots:
DOT#1
In July 1999, Hewlett-Packard Company named Fiorina chief executive officer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C… .
DOT#2
Wall Street Journal September 10 2010
H-P Bribe Probe Widens
U.S. Investigators Are Looking at Multiple Transactions, Some Outside Russia
By JOSEPH PALAZZOLO
Hewlett-Packard Co. disclosed Thursday that a probe by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission of possible bribes the company paid in Russia is now wider than previously reported.
The disclosure, in an SEC filing, pertains to a long-running German investigation of allegations that H-P, through a German subsidiary, paid bribes in Russia to secure a contract valued at €35 million, or about $44.5 million, with the office of the prosecutor general of the Russian Federation.
The contract spanned 2001 to 2006 and was for the delivery and installation of an information technology network.
U.S. authorities have joined in that probe, as The Wall Street Journal first reported in August.
Thursday’s filing says U.S. authorities recently requested information about “certain governmental and quasi-governmental transactions in Russia and in the Commonwealth of Independent States subregion dating back to 2000.” The wording of the filing suggests a broader probe than previously revealed.
Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/…
Don’t let California become a failed state
Democracy is about empathy — caring about your fellow citizens, which leads to the principles of freedom and fairness for all. Empathy requires both personal and social responsibility. The ethic of excellence means making the world better by making yourself better, your family better, your community better, and your nation better. Government has two moral missions: protection and empowerment for all. To carry them out, government must be by, for, and of the people.
From George Lakoff in the Huffington Post
A government that cannot carry out those missions of protection and empowerment begets failed states, like Somalia, Afghanistan, Haiti and possibly California. War, poverty and earthquakes are not the threat, California is threatened by a few who believe that government should be for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many. Loopholes and giveaways that cannot be closed or stopped allow a few to take far more than a fair share while California is ripped with budget cuts that are moving the California we love toward a failed state.
One third plus one of either houses of the state legislature currently can veto any budget or revenue legislation – and they do, refusing to consider any new sources of revenue including closing loopholes and ending giveaways. They want to privatize California and run it like a business for the benefit of a few. The purpose of a business is profit for the owners – the purpose of government is protection and empowerment. These two purposes are contradictory and are in conflict.
Californians for democracy will not standby and let California fail. We will put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November 2010 that says
“All legislative action on revenue and budget must be determined by majority vote.” The California Democracy Act will change the California Constitution in two places – replacing “two thirds” with “a majority” one for revenue the other for budget. Over 700,000 signatures of Californians who are registered to vote are needed to put it on the ballot. This is your chance to change California history.
The petition is now available at www.CA4Democracy.com, both in the 4 signature version (14″ x 8.5″ legal sized) that we have been using and a single signature version (11″ x 8.5″ letter size). These petitions can be downloaded, printed, signed and mailed.
In order to make this campaign go viral it is important that you help by telling everyone you know in California to go to www.CA4Democracy.com and get the petition.
1. Email all the Californians on your email list and tell them to similarly forward the email. Make sure the email has the website in it.
2. Write on your facebook wall and those of your friends & groups with the same message.
3. Find blogs that mention the California budget crisis or similar topics and leave a comment telling readers that they can do something about this issue by signing the petition and helping it go viral. The best way to do this is to write a short comment in Word and then paste the same message in all the blogs you can find.
4. Look for letters to the editor opportunities and mention the website every time.
5. Those of you who Tweet – please drive your listeners to the website.
6. Become a circulator of petitions or more involved with the campaign, visit the website.
Will California join Somalia, Afghanistan & Haiti as a failed state?
Democracy is about empathy — caring about your fellow citizens, which leads to the principles of freedom and fairness for all. Empathy requires both personal and social responsibility. The ethic of excellence means making the world better by making yourself better, your family better, your community better, and your nation better. Government has two moral missions: protection and empowerment for all. To carry them out, government must be by, for, and of the people.
From George Lakoff in the Huffington Post.
A government that cannot carry out those missions of protection and empowerment begets a failed state, like Somalia, Afghanistan, Haiti and now California- possibly! War, poverty and earthquakes are not the cause. California is threatened by a few who believe that government is evil and should facilitate the greed of a few at the expense of the many. Loopholes and giveaways that cannot be closed or stopped allow the greedy to take far more than a fair share while California is ripped with budget cuts that are making the California we love a failed state.
One third plus one of either houses of the state legislature currently can veto any budget or revenue legislation – and they do, refusing to consider any new sources of revenue including closing loopholes and ending giveaways. They want to privatize California and run it like a business for the benefit of a few. The purpose of a business is profit for the owners – the purpose of government is protection and empowerment for the people. These two purposes are contradictory and are in conflict.
Californians for democracy will not standby and let California fail. We will put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November 2010 that says “All legislative action on revenue and budget must be determined by majority vote.” The California Democracy Act will change the California Constitution in two places – replacing “two thirds” with “a majority” one for revenue the other for budget. Over 700,000 signatures of Californians who are registered to vote are needed to put it on the ballot. This is your chance to change California history.
The petition is now available at www.CA4Democracy.com, both in the 4 signature version (14″ x 8.5″ legal sized) and a single signature version (11″ x 8.5″ letter size). These petitions can be downloaded, printed, signed and mailed.
HELP MAKE THE CAMPAIGN GO VIRAL
1. Email all the Californians on your email list and tell them to similarly forward the email. Make sure the email has www.CA4Democracy.com in it.
2. Write on your facebook wall and those of your friends & groups with the same message.
3. Find blogs that mention the California budget crisis or similar topics and leave a comment telling readers that they can do something about this issue by signing the petition and helping it go viral. The best way to do this is to write a short comment in Word and then paste the same message in all the blogs you can find.
4. Look for letters to the editor opportunities and mention www.CA4Democracy.com every time.
5. Those of you who Tweet – please drive your listeners to www.CA4Democracy.com.
Will California join Somalia, Afghanistan & Haiti as a failed state?
Democracy is about empathy — caring about your fellow citizens, which leads to the principles of freedom and fairness for all. Empathy requires both personal and social responsibility. The ethic of excellence means making the world better by making yourself better, your family better, your community better, and your nation better. Government has two moral missions: protection and empowerment for all. To carry them out, government must be by, for, and of the people.
From George Lakoff in the Huffington Post.
A government that cannot carry out those missions of protection and empowerment begets a failed state, like Somalia, Afghanistan, Haiti and now California- possibly! War, poverty and earthquakes are not the cause. California is threatened by a few who believe that government is evil and should facilitate the greed of a few at the expense of the many. Loopholes and giveaways that cannot be closed or stopped allow the greedy to take far more than a fair share while California is ripped with budget cuts that are making the California we love a failed state.
One third plus one of either houses of the state legislature currently can veto any budget or revenue legislation – and they do, refusing to consider any new sources of revenue including closing loopholes and ending giveaways. They want to privatize California and run it like a business for the benefit of a few. The purpose of a business is profit for the owners – the purpose of government is protection and empowerment for the people. These two purposes are contradictory and are in conflict.
Californians for democracy will not standby and let California fail. We will put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November 2010 that says “All legislative action on revenue and budget must be determined by majority vote.” The California Democracy Act will change the California Constitution in two places – replacing “two thirds” with “a majority” one for revenue the other for budget. Over 700,000 signatures of Californians who are registered to vote are needed to put it on the ballot. This is your chance to change California history.
The petition is now available at www.CA4Democracy.com, both in the 4 signature version (14″ x 8.5″ legal sized) and a single signature version (11″ x 8.5″ letter size). These petitions can be downloaded, printed, signed and mailed.
HELP MAKE THE CAMPAIGN GO VIRAL
1. Email all the Californians on your email list and tell them to similarly forward the email. Make sure the email has www.CA4Democracy.com in it.
2. Write on your facebook wall and those of your friends & groups with the same message.
3. Find blogs that mention the California budget crisis or similar topics and leave a comment telling readers that they can do something about this issue by signing the petition and helping it go viral. The best way to do this is to write a short comment in Word and then paste the same message in all the blogs you can find.
4. Look for letters to the editor opportunities and mention www.CA4Democracy.com every time.
5. Those of you who Tweet – please drive your listeners to www.CA4Democracy.com.
Will California join Somalia, Afghanistan & Haiti as a failed state?
Democracy is about empathy — caring about your fellow citizens, which leads to the principles of freedom and fairness for all. Empathy requires both personal and social responsibility. The ethic of excellence means making the world better by making yourself better, your family better, your community better, and your nation better. Government has two moral missions: protection and empowerment for all. To carry them out, government must be by, for, and of the people.
From George Lakoff in the Huffington Post.
A government that cannot carry out those missions of protection and empowerment begets a failed state, like Somalia, Afghanistan, Haiti and now California- possibly! War, poverty and earthquakes are not the cause. California is threatened by a few who believe that government is evil and should facilitate the greed of a few at the expense of the many. Loopholes and giveaways that cannot be closed or stopped allow the greedy to take far more than a fair share while California is ripped with budget cuts that are making the California we love a failed state.
One third plus one of either houses of the state legislature currently can veto any budget or revenue legislation – and they do, refusing to consider any new sources of revenue including closing loopholes and ending giveaways. They want to privatize California and run it like a business for the benefit of a few. The purpose of a business is profit for the owners – the purpose of government is protection and empowerment for the people. These two purposes are contradictory and are in conflict.
Californians for democracy will not standby and let California fail. We will put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November 2010 that says “All legislative action on revenue and budget must be determined by majority vote.” The California Democracy Act will change the California Constitution in two places – replacing “two thirds” with “a majority” one for revenue the other for budget. Over 700,000 signatures of Californians who are registered to vote are needed to put it on the ballot. This is your chance to change California history.
The petition is now available at www.CA4Democracy.com, both in the 4 signature version (14″ x 8.5″ legal sized) and a single signature version (11″ x 8.5″ letter size). These petitions can be downloaded, printed, signed and mailed.
In order to make this campaign go viral it is important that you help by telling everyone you know in California to go to www.CA4Democracy.com and get the petition.
1. Email all the Californians on your email list and tell them to similarly forward the email. Make sure the email has www.CA4Democracy.com in it.
2. Write on your facebook wall and those of your friends & groups with the same message.
3. Find blogs that mention the California budget crisis or similar topics and leave a comment telling readers that they can do something about this issue by signing the petition and helping it go viral. The best way to do this is to write a short comment in Word and then paste the same message in all the blogs you can find.
4. Look for letters to the editor opportunities and mention www.CA4Democracy.com every time.
5. Those of you who Tweet – please drive your listeners to www.CA4Democracy.com.
6. Become a circulator of petitions or more involved with the campaign, visit www.CA4Democracy.com.
Help make California history. This is a pureley grassroots effort to save our state.
Will California join Somalia, Afghanistan & Haiti as a failed state?
Democracy is about empathy — caring about your fellow citizens, which leads to the principles of freedom and fairness for all. Empathy requires both personal and social responsibility. The ethic of excellence means making the world better by making yourself better, your family better, your community better, and your nation better. Government has two moral missions: protection and empowerment for all. To carry them out, government must be by, for, and of the people.
From George Lakoff in the Huffington Post.
A government that cannot carry out those missions of protection and empowerment begets a failed state, like Somalia, Afghanistan, Haiti and now California- possibly! War, poverty and earthquakes are not the cause. California is threatened by a few who believe that government is evil and should facilitate the greed of a few at the expense of the many. Loopholes and giveaways that cannot be closed or stopped allow the greedy to take far more than a fair share while California is ripped with budget cuts that are making the California we love a failed state.
One third plus one of either houses of the state legislature currently can veto any budget or revenue legislation – and they do, refusing to consider any new sources of revenue including closing loopholes and ending giveaways. They want to privatize California and run it like a business for the benefit of a few. The purpose of a business is profit for the owners – the purpose of government is protection and empowerment for the people. These two purposes are contradictory and are in conflict.
Californians for democracy will not standby and let California fail. We will put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November 2010 that says “All legislative action on revenue and budget must be determined by majority vote.” The California Democracy Act will change the California Constitution in two places – replacing “two thirds” with “a majority” one for revenue the other for budget. Over 700,000 signatures of Californians who are registered to vote are needed to put it on the ballot. This is your chance to change California history.
The petition is now available at www.CA4Democracy.com, both in the 4 signature version (14″ x 8.5″ legal sized) and a single signature version (11″ x 8.5″ letter size). These petitions can be downloaded, printed, signed and mailed.
In order to make this campaign go viral it is important that you help by telling everyone you know in California to go to www.CA4Democracy.com and get the petition.
1. Email all the Californians on your email list and tell them to similarly forward the email. Make sure the email has www.CA4Democracy.com in it.
2. Write on your facebook wall and those of your friends & groups with the same message.
3. Find blogs that mention the California budget crisis or similar topics and leave a comment telling readers that they can do something about this issue by signing the petition and helping it go viral. The best way to do this is to write a short comment in Word and then paste the same message in all the blogs you can find.
4. Look for letters to the editor opportunities and mention www.CA4Democracy.com every time.
5. Those of you who Tweet – please drive your listeners to www.CA4Democracy.com.
6. Become a circulator of petitions or more involved with the campaign, visit www.CA4Democracy.com.
Help make California history. This is a pureley grassroots effort to save our state.
HELP US RAISE $35,000 TO GET AUTHOR AND PROFESSOR GEORGE LAKOFF’S MESSAGE OUT!
We have an opportunity to pass a proposition in November 2010 to overturn the 2/3 requirement to pass the California budget and raise revenue. Right now (1/3 plus 1) of either the assembly or senate can block the will of the majority. Our proposition is simple – one sentence, 14 words:
“All legislative actions on revenue and budget must be determined by a majority vote.”
Dr. George Lakoff
The CA Majority Rule campaign is dedicated to making this happen. This is your chance to change California history with one simple sentence.
In order to run an effective campaign, we first need to conduct a public opinion poll to aid in our message strategy. George Lakoff has drafted questions and we are in the process of hiring a reputable polling company. We need to raise money to conduct this unique poll.
http://www.actblue.com/page/ge…
Pass to all your lists please.
The grassroots will drag the leadership & electeds kicking and screaming, that’s our job!
Ellis Goldberg
Majority Rule for budget only is a really bad idea
In Silicon Valley we have a marketing mantra “under promise and over deliver” it keeps customer satisfied. If a majority for budget only prop passes the voters (customers) will expect an end to the fiscal gridlock from the Democrats since they gave the Dems what they asked for. However without majority rule for revenue the Dems can’t deliver California from gridlock. “over promise and under deliver” is the formula for disaster for Democrats.
Some Key Concepts
Majority rule = democracy = 50%+1
Minority rule = tyranny = protection of loopholes & freeloaders = 33.3%+1 veto
Fair revenue in a wealthy state – revenue lost to loopholes & freeloaders = extreme budget cuts & lost pay for state workers. getting worse dailyGovernment that fails to empower and protect citizens = dysfunctional state
California is the only fiscally dysfunctional state in the US because of minority rule
Majority Rule for Budget & Revenue >> Passes CDP Executive Board
This weekend at the California Democratic Party (CDP) Executive Board Meeting several hundred board members unanimously passed this resolution:
Majority Vote BRG09.08
WHEREAS, the California Constitution requires certain bills making appropriations from the General Fund, for changes in state taxes for the purpose of raising revenue, to be passed in each house of the Legislature by a two-third vote; and
WHEREAS, this requirement amounts to minority rule by one third, plus one and has brought the State of California to a revenue crisis and a situation of paralysis because of a vocal minority of conservative Republicans; and
WHEREAS, the people of California deserve urgently to have a functional, effective and balanced government, able to respond and adjust to economic downturns and upswings for the benefit of the majority of its citizens, rather than be held hostage by the ideologies of the few;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the California Democratic Party supports a change to only require a simple majority (like the U.S. Congress and 80% of states) for revenue bills, thus restoring majority rule and representative democracy to California’s government.
This resolution combined with a similar resolution for majority rule for budget put the CDP in the position of favoring majority rule for both budget and revenue related legislation.
Dr. George Lakoff spoke on behalf of the resolution before the Resolutions Committee. Flyers and buttons were handed out. Encouraging words came from all but a few. Those few would like to see majority rule but did not believe the revenue part would pass as a ballot measure. Among the few was John Burton the chair of the party, who slammed the measure during his opening comments while the buttons and flyers were handed out at the door. Shawnda Westly the new Executive Director said that his and her opinion were based on polls that I pointed out were poorly framed and amounted to asking if the person minded having taxes raised. I told her that Lakoff had written a set of poll questions and I summarized them. She suggested that we raise some money to take the poll. Then they would look at the results and reconsider their position.
I presented the argument that a “just budget” measure, if passed by voters would not end the gridlock as expected by the voters and that the Democrats would be blamed. I told her “under promise and over deliver” is a Silicon Valley marketing mantra and that a “budget only position would be “over promise and under deliver” and a disaster for the party.
It is important to have the support of Mr. Burton and his staff because the campaign for majority rule will be very expensive and they are able to raise money and induce other organizations to support the campaign.
Several prominent CDP officials are in favor of Majority rule for both budget & revenue; most vocal was Assemblymember Alberto Torrico the Majority Leader, Lt. Governor John Garamendi, CDP Vice Chairs Eric Bauman and Alex Rooker and CDP Controller Hillary Crosby. Assemblymember Nancy Skinner counseled on the importance of getting Burton’s support and the need for money for a successful campaign.
ACTION PLAN
Prepare a ballot measure for submission to the Attorney General for approval.
Do you know a lawyer(s) who might be of service?
Find sponsor(s) like labor union(s) or environmental group(s) to administer Lakoff’s poll.
Can you open the door to some organization that would consider sponsorship?
Find a suitable polling firm.
Do you know of one?
Lobby John Burton and Shawnda Westly.
Do it!
This is going to be one helluva fight, the kind that builds the party and draws activists into the political fray. The Obama campaign is waiting for the just cause – this is it! The Governor has been good enough to loan the Majority Rule campaign thousands of state employees for three Fridays each month to work on the campaign, in addition to thousands of pissed off college students who won’t graduate as planned because of canceled classes, and parents with kids in school who can’t find their favorite teacher or play in the band or join a team Thousands more who took back our country in 2008 will take back our state in 2010.
Ellis Goldberg
TriValley Democratic Club President & Webmaster www.TRIVALLEYDEMS.com
Office/home 925 831 8355
Cell 925 451 4303
[email protected]