The Jacksonian Party Agenda Platform

The following is a position paper of The Jacksonian Party.

[The following is a work in progress due to the health of the writer. Lots more back linking to do yet.]

From the course set for this Nation in 1787, the People of this Nation set about to take up the tasks of actually making a Nation. To do that and hold forth ideals of liberty and freedom, the founders of this Nation recognized that those things, of themselves, were not a guarantee in life and that they would need personal direction by individuals. That could only be done by stating that common agreement in that founding document of the Republic known as the Constitution and it was put forth in the opening sentence known as the Preamble. Key and item one of being part of The Jacksonian Party is adhering to the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States of America. When individuals have bemoaned the lack of a 'Bill of Responsibilities' they are to be informed that this is what the Preamble is.

That course is then given further outlook by the rest of the Constitutional framework and Jacksonians adhere to that framework as it is the foundation of how to apply the rights of the Individual to the Nation. Many put forth that the Declaration of Independence should be Primary and that Rights come first. Jacksonians acknowledge the Rights that are inalienable to being human, but put forth that those rights become meaningless and lead to anarchy, disorder, and other forms of uncivilized behavior without putting those Rights into a framework held in common by the People. To Jacksonians *Responsibilities* are put first and primary as those allow Rights to work for the betterment of society and individuals. Without adhering to that framework society descends into dissolution and, finally, corruption to tyranny.

The Constitutional layout for methodology is clean, crisp, clear and concise, and follows this preferential ordering of concepts.

1) Responsibilities are laid out first. As it is for the Legislative, Executive and Judicial branches, so it is with the People as a whole. And the Responsibilities for the entire Nation do *not* rest upon Government, which is seen as a necessary device to act in ways to stop the removal of rights from the People and do those few things it is granted to do by the People to ensure that the Nation remains whole. When Government cannot address a problem, Jacksonians see that the People must find new and legitimate means to address those problems using the Constitutional framework as a guideline.

2) Methodology and means are second. Each branch of Government gets its methods on what it can *do*. And as the entirety of Rights are held by the People, that is ALL it can do. Those methodologies include this concept known as 'Due Process of Law' under which the entirety of Government must act. And, as the Constitution holds that up time and again as the primary method and means to achieve things, Jacksonians see 'Due Process of Law' as a foundational method and means for addressing the Nation as a whole. As 'Due Process of Law' is blind to race, creed and religion, so are Jacksonians. Being a part of We the People is an honorable thing to be and is non-discriminatory. And as Government is to only do those things of common need to all of the People, it does *not* attempt to enshrine methods or means that infringe upon anyone's beliefs, no matter what they may be. Actions are the guide to character and to adjudging things to Jacksonians and it is those actions that fall within the framework of 'Due Process of Law'.

3) Rights are third and last. Rights are an inalienable part of being a human. Framework for those Rights allows them to be constructive to society as a whole. Government does not deny any Right and recognizes that the very, very few Rights handed to it are the ONLY ones it gets. Any attempts for Government to gain *more* Responsibilities and the Rights that go with them is seen as contrary to the foundation of the United States. And each individual, who is Responsible for ALL of their Rights, even and especially those granted to Government, are accountable for the things DONE with those Rights.

Jacksonians are *not* 'strict constructionalist' in terms of the Constitution and see it as a basic and honorable framework upon which set Responsibilities with good and honorable methods lead to the greatest freedoms for the People of the Nation. It is that framework that is honorable and the stated goals of it, the actual 'construction' is that which makes the overall construction clear. In that way actually amending the Constitution or trying to make it a 'living document' are anathema to Jacksonians, but it is also seen that as We the People ARE living, we need to do so in accordance with the outlook of the Responsibilities that We have agreed upon amongst Ourselves to HAVE a Nation. The outlook of the Constitution is clear: extremely limited Government is necessary to 'referee' We the People and do the few things necessary to make the Nation a working whole. Some of the rules may need amending, in the case of laws to establish due process, but the referee does NOT start taking the rules and start to 'expand them' to change the very game itself. The greatest concept for Jacksonians in this Nation is that if you do not see something being done that needs to be addressed, you do it YOURSELF. And it might be a good idea to find a few other folks who *agree* with you, in whole or in part, to do these things so that they GET DONE.

What is also recognized by Jacksonians is that there is an in-built design within the Constitution to allow the more localized States to bring Federal Government to account for itself when the People of a State or States are put at risk by the Federal Government's actions or inactions. States have the right to summarily recall their Representatives and Senators if the State wish to do so. Further, the States may use their own Governmental processes to pick Representatives and Senators. That is for the People of a State to decide upon. The best and most accountable Government to Jacksonians is Local Government. And whenever any higher form of Government wishes to do something contrary *to* Local Government it had better have a damn good reason to do so and be ready to PAY out of its pocket to do them.

Another backstop to dissolution and tyranny is given to the States and the People to join together in times of invasion or danger when the Federal Government cannot act in a timely manner and to Defend their State from such invasion or danger. To do so is an explicit right in the Constitution and is an additional way to call the entirety of the Federal Government to account when those things common to the Nation are *not* done for any State of the Nation. The People, with legitimate arms, may use them in accordance to the State's law for survival of the State as a unit and act in such manner as necessary to ensure the safety of their State and society until such time as the Federal Government can get in to defend the State from such invasion or danger. The entirety of that bill is handed DIRECTLY to the Federal Government as the State is doing the JOB of the Federal Government for such times.

Any declaration by the Federal Government of not adhering to the Responsibilities set them by the People shall be cause for the Governor of that State to ask other State Executives to call a Convention to seek Justice and call into question the legitimacy of the Federal Government as it then stands. Action against those things it is set to do or inaction and abdication of Responsibilities are prime movers to bring the Federal Government to be held accountable by the States and the People.

Above all things the concept of Honor of the Nation is held as something that is over and above that of any individual. As Jacksonians understand that, it means that one does not give offense unless one is ready to back it up unto death, one does not take offense without first giving the other party a chance to apologize, and as individuals learning how to apologize is a necessary thing so as to act in honorable means and not wrongly give accusation against another individual. The highest enactment on this at the personal or National level is a concept known as *friendship*. One is born into one's family and that may or may not be of some help, but the friends of one's life are the stalwarts that we stand beside as individuals and will do anything to help them. Jacksonians tend to have few close friends, and many, many acquaintances. Jacksonians will do as much as they can to help family members, but do learn that those within family trying to exploit such ties will soon get very little recognition or help. It is Honorable to help out one's friends and even die for them, and in defense of one's own family that is also true. Even those we dislike, will get defense, just not much help within the family. The bonds of thought and camaraderie that are grown between individuals are just as important in making a family as making friends, until the adherence to both comes to a point where there is no functioning difference between them. And as it goes for individuals, so it goes for the Nation as whole: Jacksonians realize that the United States has very, very few dear friends and allies in this world and it is necessary to show them respect and help them out to build their Nations so that the friendship can grow stronger as BOTH Nations grow stronger from that doing.

From these things the actual Agenda of The Jacksonian Party is clear and concise.

The Jacksonian Party wishes to form a more perfect Union. Representative democracy requires that Representatives actually get to hear from the People directly, without trying to make things difficult.

- In 1911 the House of Representatives, using their previous formula had recognized that its size would grow to over 600 members by the 1940's. In their view that was unmanageable. To Jacksonians this is letting Congress dictate its own size to the People and anathema to the concept of local representation that is accountable to the People.

- And as modern communications and networking capability have grown in ways unimagined since 1911, a huge House of Representatives is not difficult to manage. Getting partisan bills passed is another matter, but the House was *not* designed to be a partisan caucus chamber but a reflection of the Voice and Will of the People. The primary check upon tyranny was the House of Representatives and by limiting its size to be 'manageable' it has stagnated into a sinecured caucus chamber that so rarely changes sides in a significant way that it is laughable to call it 'representative'. It has further been put to use as a National Grandstand by this limitation and made so that only the well connected have any chance of getting elected. In short it is no longer the House of the People.

- To bring more perfection to representative democracy, The Jacksonian Party pushes hard that the very foundation of that democracy be restored and then set to the maximal level that the founders saw was reasonable to reflect the local Will of the People. That requires the House size be set at 1 Representative for every 30,000 People. This *returns* the local election to Federal Office in a meaningful way to the People as every damn vote does count and voter fraud is damn difficult to coordinate without someone talking at such highly distributed levels of democracy.


The Jacksonian Party wishes to establish Justice. Not only for the Nation but to secure the liberties of the People.

- The primary way to do this is to put a Federal Government-wide *sunset* law into place so that every law, rule, order, finding or other bureaucratic structure is given a 10 year sunset date to be re-upped by the Legislative and the Executive.

- And each of those requires a *separate* vote. If it is such a 'good idea' then it should 'easily pass' without notice by the People. This will help get ancient laws, rules and sinecured *honeypots* of funding out of the Federal Government. If laws are not being enforced, they should be closely examined to see *why* they are not being enforced.

- In this era of electronic media, this should be a relatively easy and quiet thing to do and the overwhelming majority of this should be done openly and online and the Public given a 30 day feedback period for any law, rule, order or other such to be voted upon. Congress would be well advised to look at some of the criticism of their past work as re-upping damn fool things will get *noticed* and *publicized*.

- All parts of the Federal Government shall go under the Freedom of Information Act. Thus Congress and the Judicial Branches shall now be under these laws.

- Congress may no longer exempt itself from any civil law it passes.


The Jacksonian Party wishes to insure domestic Tranquility. There are many parts of the Federal Government that are dictating things to the People that are not liked. Many call them 'necessary evils'.

- These include bribes paid to Citizens in the form of Social Security and Medical relief because there is this strange belief that Citizens cannot figure out how to look after themselves and need to be looked after. This is actually *true* for the deranged and mentally incompetent and The Jacksonian Party *supports* giving those individuals help, oversight and care so that they do not become a harm to themselves or society.

- This direct bribery to the People by taking money from the wallets of the young and putting them into that of those that should be older AND wiser is a highly demeaning way to treat BOTH. That must *end*. Those taxes eat up more of the pay of individuals in this Nation than all other things the Federal Government does COMBINED. This system cannot be reformed.

- As promises were made to those who entered the system, they shall get a pro-rated amount back as the system *ends*. Individuals may either ask for a total withdraw of the funds they put in or get the promised coverage at its current point for their accounts when they retire. This will be a one-time, huge shock to the Federal Government and will need a separate Bond passed to help defray the costs of this. The Federal Debt will take a one time huge increase. And then the Nation shall pay off its debts for doing a damn fool thing that diminished individuals, disrespected their ability to make decisions in life and *mandated* when they should quit working.

- These decisions were taken from the hands of individuals and given to the Federal Government and the trade off in lost liberty, lost finance, lost wages, lost earning, and lost opportunity to expand the marketplace in those areas of investment are staggering beyond belief.

- This also goes for Medical subsidies, as well, and the lost opportunities of individuals forming companies to meet the needs of the People without Government bureaucracy has caused untold heartache and problems and having to appeal to Bureaucrats to get benefits. That makes the elderly and sick into something known as 'supplicants' to a higher power. That *must* end to ensure freedom and liberty in the Union. The Jacksonian Party will offer some things that Government *can* do, but they will be more *options* for individuals to make their own decisions in these things, NOT a mandate that things MUST be done to Federal Bureaucratic rules. Better a local or national company's bureaucracy than that of the Federal Government.


The Jacksonian Party wishes to ensure and provide for the common defense of the Nation. The United States has the strongest military capability on the planet and that must be ensured and enhanced.

- A process of stepping over an interim generation of equipment and doctrine to move to a new era of adaptable and flexible military capabilities is necessary in this modern world. This is wholeheartedly supported and endorsed so as to give the warfighter the best possible equipment and training on the planet so as to overmatch *any* competing Nation.

- The Armed Forces of the United States are dedicated to the mission of defending the Nation from other Nations and fighting those Nations that oppose the United States. As these threats have grown more distributed, the actual size of the military and its proportions between Active and Reserve needs to be addressed with a higher concentration on Active Forces and expanding the overall size of the Armed Forces by at least double or triple its current size staged over a five year period so as not to strain the excellent resources of the Armed Forces and give them chance to expand slowly and not lose their fighting trim.

- The era of warfare is transforming because of this mighty capability into an area that has long been overlooked by the United States, much to its sorrow: non-Nation based warfare. The Republic of the United States actually has an entire methodology system for dealing with such things OUTSIDE of the regular Armed Forces and is *still* a warfighting capability. That methodology and means is through the Letters of Marque and Reprisals language in which Congress sets up a system of Warrants to find capable individuals and their companies, give those that meet the requirements Warrant to arm themselves as they see fit for fighting, and then hand out Letters of Marque and Reprisal against Nations, companies and individuals to go after them and those that support them.

- As this is not a regular force of the United States it needs special oversight via the Warrants set-up so that necessary safety and Due Process of Law can be established. This includes such things as non-enforcement of treaty language for acts that would be a civil crime overseas in times of Peace but are not for those acting on behalf of the United States while at war. Further, normal international trade can be brought to heel under this so that enemies of the United States are not resupplied and those confiscated goods sold either at auction or due Bounty given for the return of such goods which includes the entirety of any vessel and its cargo that is seized. Supplying the enemies of the United States comes at a cost and Nations and companies and individuals had best *learn* that.

- As part of this the ship and aircraft 'graveyards' of the US Armed Forces shall be open to those with Warrants and nominal cost for items will be levied. Returning old equipment back to use in defense of the Nation in current times is an honorable thing to do and makes living history of them. Most companies will most likely not avail themselves of this, but that option must be left open as these things were made to *defend the Nation* in the first place.

- Such a program shall be run by the Executive and the State Department's list of those Nations, companies and individuals acting against the United States shall be used. Further, the Treasury and Commerce Departments shall do the same along with a listing from the Department of Defense, so a full and complete list of ALL enemies of the Union will be known and addressed. Included in this list shall be every Nation that has given a Casus Belli against the United States since 1945. They shall all be posted publicly and note made that they are now targets and may at any time surrender to any Embassy of the United States or to the Armed Forces of the United States. They shall be left up to the mercies of companies and individuals with Warrants and their own judgment as We the People trust Ourselves in these things. You become the enemy of the Free People of the United States at your own peril.

- One non-Nation, non-State, non-person threat that needs to be covered is that of infectious diseases. The Federal Government shall establish a combined Agency to research, develop, combat and give medical guidelines for fighting such diseases. As this is an organization related directly to defending the Nation it shall fall under the Department of Defense. More generalized genetic disorders will be left with their current institutions. All medical, food and public health and safety organizations shall be brought under the Surgeon General of the United States. The Surgeon General will work under the Department of Defense to ensure that food and other means of contamination are addressed by the Department of Transportation, Commerce, and the State Department and properly instituted by NORTHCOM.

- The Health and Human Services organization shall be abolished. As Social Security becomes a small, set payment system that is in decline and no mandate for medical work, the remaining parts of this organization shall also go away, save those necessary to defend the Nation from disease.

- Department of Homeland Security shall be abolished. Immigration and Naturalization shall move to the State Department. Border Patrol and Coast Guard are no longer seen as Civilian Law Enforcement operations, but military operations to counter terrorists and shall be run by trained military personnel. The INS shall have an interior component to track visas and legal immigrants with work permits.

- The Transportation Safety Administration shall discontinue baggage screening and all airlines shall be held fiscally responsible for all damages done by means of firearms, explosives, chemicals or other items or devices carried upon them. They may wish to procure private screening services. The TSA shall therefore fall under Department of Transportation to ensure the sobriety and ability of pilots or drivers for the commerce needs of the United States, all other of it functions shall be abolished.

- NORTHCOM shall gain all military duties with regards to border inspection, territorial waters of the United States and towards construction of a permanent, armed barrier along any border of the United States where illegal immigration happens. Surveillance of the direct border regions is also a mandate for this Command. NORTHCOM shall work with the Commerce Department to work up a method of port screening and ensuring of shipping of cargo to the United States with Friends and Allies so that those vessels so screened are deemed safe for entry. All other conveyances shall be inspected, no exceptions.

- As the Dept of Energy has been unable to come up with long-term solutions to the Nation's energy needs, its nuclear security component shall fall to the Department of Defense. The rest of the Department shall be abolished. Private industry will be given an awards incentive program to find safe and reliable ways to store, re-use and dispose of any nuclear waste.


The Jacksonian Party wishes to ensure the general Welfare of the Union. This does NOT mean a welfare-based Nannystate. This means regularity of commerce, regularity of protection and regularity of enforcement of ALL the laws of the land so the Citizenry can better look after their own welfare.

- On the commerce side the Federal Government shall *only* ensure the regularity of interstate commerce so that NO taxes are applied against it.

- To increase the Welfare of the Union all drugs and medications shall no longer have Federal prohibition upon them, but non-medical use of all drugs and medications shall receive taxation upon them, save those things done and made freely by individuals that are not for sale. Only those things that cause immediate death or loss of life in miniscule quantities or are so highly poisonous either via toxicity or radioactivity shall be restricted upon the marketplace of the Nation.

- The States already have many laws for those who are no longer able to control their actions via the use of substances and it is suggested that they actually enforce those laws. For all work that is in mass transportation or oversight of things that would directly cause loss of life or negatively impact the Nation shall a 'clean and sober' clause be put into all Federal Contracts. One does not drive, fly or control dangerous substances or power plants while in a state of incapacitation due to use of substances or their misuse. This includes all aircraft and international shipping and interstate commerce transport. Those are things the Federal Government can and should oversee and endangering commerce between States by willful negligence for one's own pleasure should carry a penalty with it.

- To increase options for the People, the Federal Personnel Health and Investment systems shall be opened to the Public for those willing to pay their ENTIRE amounts. Only employees of the Government get a subsidy as is currently the case.

- To ensure that the very neediest will be able to get care, a Federal Employment system for those being educated in various aspects of medicine will be established. Those applying to it and accepted will have the entirety of their medical and pre-medical tuition paid for and then spend three times as long in the Federal Service as they did getting educated. Those that serve in the Armed Forces will have that reduced to two for one. In cases of giving emergency aid to Nations struck by disaster, the Civilian force will be deployed there and time served will be one and half for one. While on the military side, serving in active war theaters is a one for one repayment.

- To any and all Health Plans and all Federal Plans in any event, the Federal Government shall act as an intermediary *mass purchaser* to garner the lowest possible cost of medications for all Health Plans wishing to avail themselves of such. By law no one shall pay a lower cost than the mass purchase of same for the Citizenry save for those medications given for FREE to the destitute and poor by companies.

- And, as the general Welfare has been intruded upon by the current system of taxation, that shall be brought to an END. The new taxation system will be placed upon *earned income* via jobs or from sales. This shall be the exact SAME percentage across the Nation and the only exemption given is to the portion that companies pay their employees. Individuals who earn money via working shall pay that same rate, personally, so as to remind them that the Nation has a personal cost to them. All other forms of income are EXEMPT. Note, that this is not a 'National Sales Tax' as this is applied to companies and individuals, not directly to the commerce. Prices may rise, but it shall not be directly attributable to a tax upon the sale of goods and services themselves.

- To supplement this, all Nations that are neither Friends nor Enemies of the Union shall pay a 10% tariff on all goods sent to the United States based on their price of purchase to the importer will be paid by the exporter. In this way those Nations that are Friends to the United States get Free Trade and both economies will grow thereby. Those that are Neutral shall pay a price for enjoying access to the market of the United States.

- All Patents and Copyrights shall have a term of 15 years. After that all that falls under those shall go into the Public Domain. No exemptions. No extentions. Nothing excluded. This includes all current information that has gotten *extensions* that are heading into 'perpetuity'. That thing is not a 'limitation' but a way to sequester information from the People and must END.

- The Federal Government has no business giving subsidies to farmers or industries and all such subsidies shall *end*. This includes cheap use of water for agriculture. All land reclamation for mineral and natural resources extraction shall be highly enforced. Further the Federal Government will end all Departments for these things including Agriculture and the Small Business Administration.

- The Federal Government has no business dictating how schools teach only to reward good teaching to standardized tests and that shall be the only goal of funding for education. The rest of the Department of Education shall be abolished. All payment for education shall be performance based against standardized testing until the level of Master's Degree and then individual parts of the Government can address advanced research and funding from there.

- To promote energy resources Federal land that is already polluted shall be opened up to companies that look to either expand current production or refining capabilities or start or investigate new ones. These companies shall be held to ninety-nine year leases and expected to have the land they are on *cleaned up* by the end of that term.

- To promote energy innovation and research, prize award systems shall be set up for finding new and innovative ways of creating, generating, transmitting and storing energy.

- To promote industrial expansion a prize award system for staging payloads and personnel to orbit and orderly and efficient transport of same shall be awarded. Additionally, the Federal Government shall contract out for such transport that has proven itself and shall guarantee use and utilization of such services to get to orbital energy installations, stations and research facilities. As this is an area of growth and potential unlimited energy for the foreseeable future of the Nation, this is a good and wise investment to move energy accumulation and transmission along with heavy industry out of the environment and into the vacuum of space. The 30 year goal is to move half of the energy generation capability of the United States into orbit and move from a chemical storage based system to an electrical storage based system.

- Starting in two years NASA shall be ended and a specialized space exploration and utilization Department shall be formed with a mandate to use Commercial Off The Shelf technologies to get to space and utilize it and then set up space-based research and development centers both in Earth Orbit and the Lunar Surface. It is a goals based agency but with the 30 year mandate for energy acquisition and transfer from space, it has a limited lifespan.


In doing these things The Jacksonian Party aims to secure the blessings of Liberty for ourselves and our Posterity and to grow the gift of Freedom that was handed to Us and hand it on undiminished to future generations.

This is not the full or thorough going through, but the framework and outline is clear: remove Federal Government from things it should not do and has been unable to do, and move towards empowering Citizens and the Nation to move boldly into the 21st century in a way that the founders of the Nation would understand.

The Plan to Stabilize Iraq

The following is a position paper of The Jacksonian Party.

[UPDATE: Apparently there are some folks who need some backgrounding on my views of the Middle East and don't like the various and sundry links I provide and thus go off on tangents everywhich way. So the quick and easy links to further verbiage are as follows: Creating an Army - a MUST READ; Synopsis view 21st century US armed forces; How to fight in the 21st century and why; Transformed warfare and transforming our view of it ;Why Cold War ideas on Iran will not work; Transnational Terrorims and how it evolves; How States play a part in Transnational Terrorism, but do not drive it;Iran raises curtain on Act II; What Peace in the Middle East means; The Golden Opportunity; The major faultlines driving the Middle East a MUST READ for this article; What is Lebanon to Iran?; Iran's First Foreign Legion - Hezbollah; Iran's Second Foreign Legionn -Mahdi Army; Iranian Foreign policy; Iran's First Foreign Legion Act II, phase I; Iran's First Foreign Legion's teething pains;War with Iran first view, second view; Coalescence of Barbarism; Legitimate armed political party is an oxymoron; The al Qaeda plan for Victory - a MUST READ; The Long Term Consequences of Defeat - a MUST READ; Terrorism is illegitimate war not civil crime; The strategy in Iraq - a MUST READ; Ending unreal 'Realism' - a MUST READ and priority to examine the tribal overlay in the Middle East; Post-Warism - a MUST READ and necessary to understand the underlying structural problems of the Middle East; Some reminders of how Iran operates circa 2000; James Baker and the ISG echo chamber.

And if you don't like this plan, then perhaps a Jacksonian Retreat would interest you?

So, yes, I have taken time to look at the Middle East, see the problems, trace their roots, look at historical analogies and fits, see what does and does not work in similar situations, and so on. There are quite simple driving forces in the Middle East, but there are many of them. They must be understood individually and then put into interplay which is multi-divided factionalism. A good start there is the War of the Roses and the entire Italian Peninsula circa the Medicis, plus the Spanish Revolution. For the last time the West failed and continues to do so elsewhere, the post-warism article is a chilling concept as no one wants to address complexity arising from simple causes. The complexity is in the number of things and the interactions, but not in the underlying causations. This article addresses how to use a simple set of actions to strike across those causational drives and put them to work in a different means. And do note that stability is not "Peace". The world has never known this thing called "Peace", but has been more peaceful and less peaceful over time. Keeping conflict down is a dynamic tension, not a static one, which must shift scales and magnitude continuously. This plan aims to start getting that dynamic in place and to hold some of these offshoots to account. Getting from here to there requires changing the direction of those drives away from ones that they are currently in and destructive. That requires that we *do something else*, not just pull out moldy plans and try to apply them but to understand the dynamics in the region and address they dynamics to set up a better and more self-balancing one. In conception the actual plan is extremely simple, but its outcomes are not simplistic. Simplistic plans to address complexity fail due to the complexity shifting in response to the plan. This plan addresses the shifting complexity so that it can change to a new state that is dynamically self-balancing. No one else has tried to address this nor put a map from here to there.

The commentary rules are enforced. One free criticism and THEN PUT UP YOUR OWN PLAN WHICH IS BETTER. If you cannot do that, then do not criticize those trying to build. It is 'Put up or Shut up'. Building and solutions are necessary, and criticism without either is mere destruction and self-preening. Offer better and help build or be quiet. Thus ends the update.]


Many are complaining about the fighting in Iraq and the fact that there appears to be 'no end in sight'. On two levels this is correct and on one level wrong. It is firstly correct that fighting for liberty and freedom is an ongoing and endless task. That is part of being Republic run as a representative democracy: even if the whole world came to understand and accept this, the slide into Authoritarianism and Dictatorship must be watched for and fought. And since those that purport such things have come to value their rights over yours, violence ensues as this meets resistance. Authoritarian and Dictatorial regimes offer the simplistic view of one man or one party rule being 'perfect for the times'. It is not perfect for *all* time. That must be fought as it gives rise to the end of liberty and freedom of individuals. Further, even Nations that are fully democratic can go to war and have conflict: democracy is not an antidote for the human condition, but it alleviates the worst of it. Nations will always have National needs and goals and those will be at cross-purposes to other Nations even in this conceptual perfect world of democracy.

On a second and more specific level, Iraq can only be stabilized to a relatively high percentage, even if the MNF and Iraqi Armed Forces are *perfected* and able to wipe out those currently fighting them and their leaders. Why is this the case?

1) Because the native Ba'thist insurgency has disappeared and no longer exists. This has, in actuality, escaped the attention of the MSM, most military analysts and ALL political analysts. Ba'athism hit the 'ash heap of history' in Iraq soon after the Riverine campaign ended at the border town of Tal Afar. Facing very long and tenuous supply lines, hatred by the Sunni population that was viewing them as 'just another set of thugs' and still being targeted by al Qaeda, the Shia militias, MNF and, increasingly, the New Iraqi Army, National Guard and Police, the Ba'athists have quietly shuffled off the board to Syria. They do what they can, but their adherents are either dead or fled. This is necessary to the long-term stability in Iraq and the only success of the current plan is in this sole point. In removing the Ba'athists as a 'major player' the other players now gain high and stark definition. Thus, while the actual milieu of players is decremented by one, the remaining players gain much higher visibility for each and every act they do because they are, generally, sectarian. The higher media profile now entrenches the remaining players that use the media to push their agenda of hate-filled destruction. That said the current plan is addressing this, but doing so on the much slower basis of tribes needing to realize that the current crop of players have no good end for them.

2) Now for one of the major players we have al Qaeda from Saudi Arabia infiltrating into the southern Sunni population, with their adherents being in the percentage points of that population, with an upper limit at 10% or so. And, as the Arab Sunni population is 20% and declining of the entire population that is a 2% base to draw upon and an even smaller fraction that is willing to die for al Qaeda. Foreign infiltrators still make up a good percentage of their forces, but those are being more rapidly identified and, after having attempted to put their version of Sharia law into place, the rest of the Sunnis have had it with them. The Arab Sunni tribes are joining with the Government to help put al Qaeda out of business and will, presumably, have as much chance as, say, France or Great Britain has of doing that: nil. The tribes have recognized that as splintered tribes their *say* was getting diluted and exploited by outsiders and still is, to some extent. Getting picked off piecemeal by al Qaeda and Ba'athist remnants has endangered their entire tribal structure and society. They heavily resisted the US post-invasion clean-up until they found themselves coming face to face with the New Iraqi Army. They could 'fool those dumb Americans' for awhile, but their shrewd Iraqi cousins of the Shia strain were joining up with the New Iraqi Army and Police and even the 'dumb Americans' used a hard training and indoctrination cycle to start understanding the tribes, making friends and undermining enmity. These two things forced the Sunnis into National politics and is now forcing the tribes to band together and join up with the Government to find protection. They have realized the old Franklin saw: "We can hang together or hang separately." They then started to sign up to the New Army and Police forces and were even MORE harshly targeted by al Qaeda. This is making al Qaeda unwelcome even more than previously.

3) The Shia population is, itself, split into three major groupings, each consisting of multiple factions within those groups. Thus the 60% Shia majority is in no way seen as cohesive as a sectarian outlook as the splintering of Shia Islamic thinking that is based in Iraq has brought out many separatist groupings and followings who are willing to switch allegiance and be opportunists. That said they do fall into three main groups that broadly cover those intra-sect rivalries. They are as follows:

a) The followers of Iran/Khomeinist views. This is estimated to be a relative minority within the Shia population with estimates running between 10 % to 20% of the Shia population. These followers are mostly in the southeastern and Iranian border regions, with some good sized number of adherents all the way to Baghdad, where it starts to peter out badly. These are typified by the Iranian Foreign Legion of the Mahdi Army led by al Sadr, the Badr brigades, tribes aligned with their brothers in Iran and many imported followers from Iran over the porous border. Thus Iran is directly backing these groups and tribes for sectarian reasons and no love is lost between them and the majority of the Shia community over this. The simplistic view is that these folks are the *cause* of the troubles. Even in that view, however, the source of this being Iran is *not* being addressed. The current government, needing Sadrist support to come to power, has now found itself in the difficult position of having to *neutralize* the Mahdi Army and Badr Brigades. They are reluctant to do so as their government has a low probability of remaining if that support is withdrawn and trying to even *ask* for Kurdish or Sunni Arabs to *help* them may isolate the government even further from their majoritatian base.

b) The followers of al-Sistani, the 60% majority of Shias and possibly more, in Iraq. Ali al-Sistani *wants* a Federal and non-sectarian government and has been stating so since the end of the major part of the conflict against the Ba'athists in 2003. His viewpoint, privately as related by numerous authors and reporters, is that he says the Sadrists will be *taken care of*. And, all indications of the emotional phrasing of that language is on the order of a Mafia Don talking about a smaller, rival gang. These folks who follow al-Sistani, hate, with avengence, the Khomeinist schools of thought and volunteered in huge numbers during the Iran/Iraq war. The reason we have not seen mass bloodshed of 'Lancet Proportions' is due wholly and completely to this grouping that supports a secular and common Federal Government. They do, however, sit on their hands and offer INTEL and anything else that does not make them an obvious target at home and sign up for the Army and Police in droves. The followers of al-Sistani are becoming the committed Nationalists of the New Iraq and prove that day in and day out by fighting and pacifying *anyone* in those organizations, even the upstart minority followers of al-Sistani that are militant.

c) The highly secular city dwellers and remoter tribes that approach religion in a more Westernized fashion as something of 'personal belief' but not to be fought over with blood and guts on the street. This grouping makes up 20% to 30% of the remainder, with a high cross-over to al-Sistani for belief, but non-alignment with him in actions. These folks do *not* want a return of Ba'athists, view Iran with crawling skin and are also signing up for the military and police, although not in proportion to the Sistani followers as these folks have the jobs in manufacturing, banking and industry necessary to get the Nation up and running. These are the people getting heavily trained in Western Nations and have stood up a National bank and lending system, a stock exchange, a foreign currency market, are measuring employment rates and can now figure out 'sector outputs', have targeted spending on agriculture and infrastructure so as to stand up the Nation as a whole. They are joined with a scattering of non-aligned Sunni tribes and the Kurds in the north to get an entirely new power grid in place that will slowly replace the old one which was a Soviet monstrosity. Re-conversion of power plants away from their Ba'athist patchwork use of crude oil to their original capability for natural gas is a slow and ongoing concern that will take until about 2012 to complete. Once done the natural gas now vented and wasted will be used for power generation and crude oil will go to refineries. Iraq, like the US, lacks refining capability. Unlike the US they do NOT have environmental laws and will be putting up new and modern refineries in the coming years. These people are targeted as they are the *glue* holding the Nation together for this generation. The followers of al-Sistani will take that long to get educated, trained and aligned into the infrastructure of Iraq to give it a solid manufacturing foundation and some large amount of heavy industrial employment. They have seen the results of decades of living off of oil wealth in other Nations and want ZERO part of that. The overall objective is to make Iraq into a modern, manufacturing Nation with a strong natural resources segment, not a vestige industrial sector living off of the leavings of crude oil sales.

What a 'best case' scenario holds is a decade or more of 'holding action', sectarian strife, and a slow and steady push by the New Iraqi Army in a slow form of 'sectarian cleansing' against the Khomeinist followers and the minoritarian al Qaeda and Ba'athist supporters. This is a *Hamiltonian* conception that works just fine, so long as everything remains *just as it is*. Looking at the 'Defeatocrats', The Jacksonian Party reply is: fat chance of THAT happening!

So the two-levels of correctness are covered: ideologically - representative democracy is in a continuous struggle against simplistic authoritarian, theocratic, socialistic and other viewpoints that diminish human freedoms, and, on the specifics of Iraq, this is played out against two sectarian ideologies looking to make a new Empire that is global in expanse, thus quavering *there* will start that ball rolling in a harsh manner that we will live to regret and quickly.

And those bemoaning 'staying the course' are realizing that *Hamiltonian* ideas cost time, lives and money, require some sort of stability and take for-freaking-ever to get anywhere. Americans like 'faster, better, cheaper' and hate 'choose 2 out of 3'. They do go together, unfortunately.

And as the *Jeffersonians* have been wishy-washy and unable to come to terms that 'all men are created equal' and actually mean it regardless of cultural background and SAY SO, they are not helping the matter. They should be the very FIRST to denounce ANYONE using cultural bias to demean the idea of human liberty being universal as something anathema and foreign to the Nation. Too busy knitting, I guess.

Finally, those splendiferous *Wilsonians*? They got us INTO THIS MESS and will NOT clean it up! The fool and daft notion of 'International Law' the 'UN handling everything' and then undermining the Nation's foreign policy in the region since "shuttle diplomacy" all the way to the Clinton diplomacy of 'huh?' and lack of foreign policy is still reflected by that lack of 'Guiding Principle Foreign Policy' under this Administration and Condaleeza Rice is a problem directly traced to Wislonian conceptions of higher world order. Both the Wilsonian Internationalists and the Wilsonian higher order folks want the Cold War paradigms to work and are unable to cut the bonds to that conflict to address this one properly. *Wilsonians* have not been addressing the Middle East since before we were attacked by Iran in 1979 and the first response we have given that had any meaning to this latest generation of deadly Islam was in 2001!

And they, the *Hamiltonians* and the *Jeffersonians* will NOT realize that this is a deadly conflict that cannot be addressed by 'wonderful international institutions'. These three strains of US political thought are holding onto the Cold War boat anchor after the chain has been released and the anchor, itself, is now submerging quickly. This lack of conceptual space leads to defeatism and there are long term consequences to that which these practitioners of these schools of thought try to wash their hands of, although the stench of it, it still clings to them. All three of these strains of American political thought are endangering the Nation *before* we even get to the Transnational Progressivists.

The *Jacksonian* viewpoint, which is the contrary side to the other strains of thought and reviews the struggle the Nation is in within the context of the actual, real modern world, and thus offers the way out and points out the incorrectness of the other strains lacks, is that: if the game is going against you, then it is time to change the operational parameters of the game itself, and then *play harder*. Jacksonians see that the US has been at war with Islamic Fundamentalism since 1979 and with Islam, periodically, all the way back to Thomas Jefferson. Strange that Jefferson could send the US Marines to 'kick butts and take names' TWICE and modern day Jeffersonians will not stand up for the SAME.

Jacksonians have a simple but not *simplistic* view of Foreign Policy based on HONOR not on things too complex to talk about to the common man. From that I put together a very basic set of Goals on the Global War on Terrorism that depends upon the strengths of the 18th Century Republic of the United States to still EXIST as it was enshrined in writing and we still hold to that to this very day. From that conception comes the plan of enaction which uses the enemies paradigm of 'asymmetrical warfare' against them in a way that *they* cannot combat effectively. This offers a way *out* of Iraq on a National level, also, as I went over a framework for Peace in the Middle East that is wholly consistent with the Foreign Policy, Goals on the Global War on Terrorism, *and* uses a robust conception of Foreign Policy to do the one thing necessary on a National level in the Middle East. It is the thing that Our enemies have been promising and I propose to turn the tables and GIVE IT TO THEM. By changing the nature of the *idea* of what the conflict in Iraq *represents* changes the actual GOALS of that conflict and offers new means to address it in ways that fall outside the scope of Hamiltonians, Jeffersonians and Wilsonians *combined*.

What is that, pray tell?

The Jacksonian way out?

I promise you, you will not like it.







It is to widen the war and take out SYRIA using Egyptian or Jordanian or Kurdish troops in an 'Afghanistan style' light infantry attack and use US air supremacy to wipe out the forces of Syria wherever they appear. From the moment allied forces hit the ground with some US Special Forces and USAF spotters, this force will be 'Rolling Hot': it will be a continuous forward assault starting from a small entry point and racing through Syria to demolish the regime there. That took two weeks in Afghanistan and three months in Iraq. Syria is the 'weak brother' of the Middle East and a hard case of influenza would turn it over, so two weeks sounds about right, given that any forces we get for this will be MORE CAPABLE than the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan. And that is not saying much, believe me.

The modern US arsenal now will decimate any pre-2006 armored force on the battlefield via the use of Sensor Fuzed Weapons. Two were used in Iraq to wipe out the 'Elite Republican Guard' counter attack that was forming up and demolish its forward component and cause the rest of it to flee. Time involved: 10 minutes. Syria may think of this in conception, but not believe it operationally. Further, if used at a storage depot, this could wipe out any organized counter-attack before it begins. If Israel can have dominance over the 'impossble' Bekaa valley, the US will have absolute air supremacy over Syria. At that point, to drive home the stakes in this Middle Eastern policy, the Kurdish areas will be given autonomy and allowed to vote on joining their Iraqi brothers and the Nation of Iraq. The rest of Syria does not get this option and may find itself land locked with the port area and northern areas handed over to Iraq.

This result does multiple things simultaneously.

First: it removes support for Hezbollah in Lebanon. It will be isolated and contained without ready means of resupply. Israel will thank us as will the people of Lebanon. Hezbollah's days there will be *numbered* without a single US soldier needing to attack them and whatever Arab or Kurd force containing them during and after the conflict.

Second: it removes the entire Ba'athist support sturcture in the Middle East and removes it from the region totally. We will see ZERO return of Ba'athist insurgents in western Iraq. It will end all operations based out of Syria against Iraq from al Qaeda, Hezbollah and Ba'athist insurgents. It will remove easy overland supply from anywhere for the insurgents in western and central Iraq.

Third: it will bring a change in the demographic structure in Iraq and move it from its current: 60% Arab Shia, 20% Arab Sunni and 20% Kurdish Sunni to one of 50-55% Arab Shia, 15% Arab Sunni and 25-30% Kurdish Sunni. Exact numbers are hard to place, but the shift to a more Kurdish moderated Iraq is one towards *stability* and *prosperity*.

Fourth: it will be the first time an overland route from the Mediterranean to the Arab Gulf will appear in centuries under a single authority. To get *that* the Kurds will be holding the key to this and must be treated as full and fair EQUALS in a Federal Iraq and respected for their hard work. By playing the *middle man* Kurds suddenly gain regional respect and Iraq will look NORTH to the Kurds for answers, not East or South for division. The Arab tribes in the region will see which way the wind of this Sandstorm from the United States is blowing and push heavily for border provinces of their brothers in Syria to be allowed to join Iraq. The hammer will have fallen hard and they will not want a set of lesser hammerings from continuing on an insurgency that cannot be *backed*. This should be pushed to further move Iraq from Shia domination to one of divided equality between the major sects and get the tribes into more properly aligned provinces towards *them*. The tribes will suddenly start to get the hard understanding of 'Limited Federal Government' and 'Reserving All Other Rights to the Provinces and the People'. This is a *good* thing.

Fifth: this will be harsh payback to Turkey. They attempted to deny the Iraq war. They have not acted in good faith as allies. They will get conniption fits over a continuous Kurdish border of Iraq to their south. They will either have to 'put up or shut up' about integrating their society and getting equality of rights and opportunities for Kurds. Because Iraqi Kurds will now be seen as offering a way *out* to prosperity and equal rights for all Citizens. Turkey will have a scant few years to cleans their political climate of ideologues and follow the footsteps of Attaturk. My guess is that if they don't they will get a real, honest to goodness Civil War with Kurdish provinces staging it and trying to get *into* Iraq.

Sixth: the entire concentration of Iraq will be towards integration and securing its only unsecured borders with Iran and Saudi Arabia. This means that heavy,new infrastructure will need to be built in the new Iraqi provinces and the rump State of Syria given some minor trade agreements for use of that infrastructure. Let this smaller Syrian State realize that its bread is buttered on one side and that side is *not* that of conflict. My guess is the people of Lebanon will begin to take pity on the Syrians if they ask for Lebanese help.

Seventh: Iran will no longer like this idea of 'Getting the Caliphate' as they will now be facing unrest in THEIR Kudish and Azeri provinces along the Iraqi border. Funny thing is: once people start to see their brothers get freedom, they soon want it for themselves. Iran should be given harsh diplomacy to rid itself of nuclear aspirations, end funding to ALL of Hezbollah and the Mahdi Army and any other bits and pieces the State Department has found of their handiwork. They will balk. They will seethe. They will threaten. They will not be given the time to do a damn thing, really.

That was *stage one*.

Stage two is something folks will like even less, I am sure. The USAF and CVN battlegroups will be given time for R&R and resupply and whatever else they need to get back into fighting form. The next al Qaeda attack in Iraq traced back to Saudi Arabia will get this little bit of news in return to the Saudi Government: you have promised for a long time to get rid of these nasty and irrational fundamentalists their exporting of their vile creed. That you have promised for some years if not decades.

You have just seen Syria.

"Where's the beef?"

They will hem. They will haw. They will be face to face with the fact that their equipment is bought from the US as is their training. They will proclaim themselves protectors of the Holy Cities. They will do many things. They will invoke diplomacy and we shall use that to demonstrate that they really do *not* treat all parts of Islam equally. The second al Qaeda attack from Saudia Arabia will get this response:

"The US will back any non-aligned, Islamic forces to secure the holy cities in Saudi Arabia for ALL MUSLIMS. No muslim will be denied entry as part of this bargain. We will need 10,000 or so troops to do this and you will get aircover from the mightiest air forces on the planet. Luckily, the US owns them completely. Administration of the Cities will be done by 'Unity Councils' and supported by foreign donations. Every single sect of Islam gets ONE VOTE on the council. Size does not matter in this. It is FAITH that matters."

I can think of at least two or three Islamic Nations with a beef against Saudi Arabia and complaints against it. Iranians will not believe this, and yet still want to send forces. Their Regular Army will be *welcomed*. Iraqis will want a say in this just to counter Iran. The question is *not* getting 10,000 troops, but how to stop from getting a whole lot MORE. Either way this goes, either the Saudis finally start harshly pulling in the Wahhabists or the actual Islamic Coalition forming up in a couple of months and the end will still be the same. al Qaeda will wholly, and completely, lose its largest funding base. al Qaeda operations, already on a shoestring, will now get razor thin. In either case this works out much, much better for the US and we will STILL not have spent any significant troops to achieve these things.

The US will be seen as an 'honest broker' willing to support Islam and yet also cleanse it of radicalism. If Iran does NOT support this, it will be seen wholly and completely out for power ALONE without religious intent. The rest of Islam will be united in opening the Cities freely to ALL people of their faith without discrimination.

This is known as 'pulling the rug out from under the enemy'.

What is even better is that this offers a way out and a way UP for the Middle East. Iran, will either have to open up and HELP, in which case their people will get first hand knowledge of how the US operates and realize the insanity of going after us militarily and start to work hard on a new regime OR it will close up and become an immediate threat realizing that its existence is being threatened without a single shot being fired at it. It will lash out, in that case. And find the US Forces that have been stabilizing Iraq have already been shifting to counter them. The moment they *do* a two pronged attack from the southwest and northeast out of Afghanistan by US forces will put Iran out of operation in three weeks or so. Maybe even three or four months. Definitely not long as the regime is 'one deep' and are facing the hard demographics of their population coming to loathe them.

And who gets to run Iran while it recovers?

Simple: Afghanistan and Iraq.

There has to be some localized anti-terror cleanup in any event, and with US oversight, these two new democracies can help Iranians rebuild their Nation and understand how democracy *works* after having *hands on* experience. It would be a dissonance hear throughout the Middle East as the US would execute operations, but the control and oversight of what needs to be done would be jointly decided upon by Iraqis, Afghanis, a provisional Iranian council and the US. We can hold veto, but how to get this done is up to THEM, not US.

This does *not* eliminate the threat of Transnational Terrorism! Yes, all that fighting, dying, expenditure of capital and the original threat is still around. But, it will make the climate harshly more intolerant OF IT. And then, the third part of this plan, really ongoing from as soon as possible, is to actually exectue the Larger Goals on the Global War on Terrorism and start involving US Citizens and companies to hunt down and deprive these enemies of their goods, and their lives if need be. All that while securing banking and shipping and putting up border *defenses* that are *lethal*.

The concept for this war is to get a dialogue started within Islam by calling their bluff of being a "Religion of Peace". Jacksonians will help the Arab world clean up the mess of Syria and then enjoin the entirety of Islam to send REPRESENTATIVES to Mecca to hash out exactly WHAT ISLAM STANDS FOR. And while that takes a few *decades* the Middle East will find that its central Nations now have a dual ring of Democracies to deal with that it cannot ignore. The center of that ring is Israel. The first arm of that ring while be an expanded Iraq that cuts the Middle East in TWO. The final ring is staring in Afghanistan and causing a shift of thought there, so as to stabilize Central Asia. But that cannot be done until Islam hashes out just what, exactly, it IS. By putting the Holy Cities into the hands of ALL Muslims a new State is created that will be defended by them ALL. If they cannot find commonality and accommodation they will begin wiping each other out while the US sits on the sidelines. And if they can find commonality, then their unity will allow them to actually begin *purging* radical Islamic beliefs. Or unite them behind it, which will then, definitively, make them the "Religion of Empire". And with the US standing in the wings, that will last for a very, very, very short period of time.

Is this a good way forward? It is forward, goodness is for history to decide.

Wonderful? No.

Better than any damn thing that anyone else has thought of? Yup.

Put up or shut up. The 'same old, same old' is going to get us killed.

You wanted a new way forward to *stabilize* Iraq? Well, you now HAVE ONE.

A real live, honest to goodness plan.

A Jacksonian Plan.

So we can get this nonsense in the Middle East done with for good and all, and get the fighting down to the pesonal level. Because these terrorists don't DESERVE death at the hands of Our Armed Forces. Terrorists sully the concept of Armies and Nations. They need more personal retribution.

From Citizens that see profit in their hides.

That is what they *deserve*.

From We the People.

What it means to be a Jacksonian

This is a personal outlook piece by the founder of The Jacksonian Party.

Quite some number of people have been putting down their responses on conservatism and other political outlooks in response to the What it means to be a liberal piece done at the Chicago Tribune. Unlike others I will not be tearing into their work but using it as a framework to look at Jacksonian concepts as I see them. And because Jacksonianism with a large "J" is very much individualist centered, these will reflect that conception from my own, purely personal, viewpoint. I cannot and do not push the actual foundational conceptions on *anyone*, but try to demonstrate how they can lead to valid alternatives that are neither 'liberal' nor 'conservative' unless you go back to the more 19th century reading of those terms.

1) Individuals should make up their own minds on everything within the framework of their own, personal beliefs and that of the greater society they are a part of and support. Jacksonians, thusly, do not push beliefs or faith on *anyone*, but try to ensure that honorable representation of themselves and their understanding of others is done. As part of that, Jacksonians do not believe that fighting is the 'first resort' to any conflict, but it is also not the LAST resort, either. Crossing individuals or Nations should have consequences and those need to be understood before taking action. Thus, to fully get understanding of viewpoints done, Jacksonians view censorship, 'hate speech', 'political correctness' and any other attempts to quash ideas or language as anathema to them. Sometimes only rough language can properly express a person's feelings and that should not be delegitimized from the very start. And when a Jacksonian sees that the person they are talking to is unreasonable or will not listen, then they often just reciprocate and 'agree to disagree' without being disagreeable. Personal slurs need to either be fully backed up, or apologized for when spoken. If they are a personal 'feeling' an individual may state them as such to recognize that there is NO backing to them. If such attacks continue, then response can be expected, which is usually done legally today, and in pre-20th century times via the duel.

2) Jacksonians are very much 'live and let live' individuals. This means that so long as no harm is done and no laws broken, individuals should be free to practice what they want, imbibe what they want and act as they please. When taken with the first point, this also means that an individual should learn the effects of what they ingest, how it alters them and fully understand their own, personal response to such things. Personal freedom and full civil rights for all Citizens of the Union and those properly protected as part of the Constitution are seen as full social Guarantees. The Constitution does not need to give 'extra rights' to individuals and the only social and grave import that need changing since the founding was slavery, in which it was made a due process punishment so as not to indict wide portions of the population with that social ill. Equal rights are a due process guarantee via the Constitution and what is not given to the Federal Government by the States and the People is RETAINED by the States and the People. The Federal Government is seen as the very LAST thing you want to go to so as to ensure your individual rights which START with the individual.

3) Jacksonians believe that individuals are responsible for their speech in debates and the public forum as seen in point 1. This also means that debate is to be kept non-defamatory and should impugn no individual wrongly by giving them a 'label' and then ascribing things to that label which an individual may or may not adhere to. Jacksonians do *not* see label adherence as something that would be referred to in computer languages as strong-type bonding: a label is *not* the full valuation of an individual, but only a weakly associated thing that should be cast off as viewpoints and outlooks change. Labels should only be applied to things known as *actions* as they are then fully applicable. A series of actions may then be seen as a broader type and associated with that type weakly unless that type is proven out and then it gains strong type adherance for that individual. Putting large category labels on others due to mere speech is reprehensible, anti-individualistic and, in the end, destructive to personal liberty and the depth of social intercourse necessary to run society. Jacksonians believe that the heart of representative democracy is responsible voting by the individual. Jacksonians also believe that the most accountable government is the BEST government, and thus, push for the highest number of representatives duly elected for the People and by the People. Over time this leads to difficulties found common with the People: learning to network between representatives so as to support common causes and needs as they see them. These social contact networks are also weak-type networks that change due to personal outlook and viewpoint and an individual is a part of MANY networks to reflect their diverse opinions on matters. Any attempt to sinecure parties and personal affiliations by rigging non-geographically compact districts and attempting to make 'safe' seats for mere political parties is anathema to Jacksonians as representatives should REPRESENT all the People, not just those that adhere to a political party. Diverse government is *good* government as it is self-limiting. When limits are put on representation, government then calcifies into set pathways that are neither welcome nor good for the overall health of representative democracy.

4) Jacksonians adhere with strong typing to the Constitution of the United States. Further, as that typing goes, the actual Preamble is highly meaningful for Jacksonians as it sets out the responsibilities that ALL that fall under the Constitution MUST adhere to. Jacksonians see the Nation as an honorable construct amongst Free People and the Nations Honor is seen as one's own and a precious thing to hold and uphold. As part of those responsibilities, all individuals have the widest possible swath of rights which they retain and then lend a few of them to Government to get larger and socially necessary things *done*. As with the rest of the Constitution, Jacksonians understand the framework to be: responsibilities first, methodology second, and rights third and last. Rights are to uphold the responsibilities given to individuals as part of the larger social agreement to have an honorable Nation between them. And to exercise those rights the best form of Government is seen as LOCAL and SMALL government as that is the most accountable to individuals. National government is given very few things to do to safeguard and backstop the entire Nation from invasion and to ensure that laws are justly administered. The States may have many differences in outlook and law, but there needs to be some overall 'regularity' to them and only National government can help that out on the issues it is given to oversee. Outside of those few issues, the States and the People may do as they see fit, keeping in mind the social compact and personal outlooks they hold and that individuals should be free to lead their own lives so long as they live within those guidelines. Anything that attempts to put a 'social good' upon the people via law is seen as unnecessary: if it is a good thing to do it will not NEED a law to be followed, and if it needs a law, then it must be so widely disregarded as a social good that it is a law 'in name only' and unenforceable. Jacksonians abhor the 'Nannystate' and the concept of 'doing it for your own good' moralizing of issues.

5) Jacksonians believe that all rights, save those few lent to government, are retained by the People as individuals. Jacksonians believe in full 'due process' to ensure rights are properly upheld and retained. Jacksonians also have this notion that equal representation in the courts should be equally funded so that NO ONE may gain advantage via high pay for privilege for good counsel. Thus, when the State brings legal proceedings against indigent individuals, the disproportionate weight of able legal presentation is given to the State and only the least means given to the individual. In such cases the State should ALSO need to find a 'pro-bono' attorney to present the State's case, which may have much time and funding behind it, but will start of equally in capability of representation before the law. This also goes for high profile civil cases and the need for equality of legal counsel should *not* lead to disproportionate results due to financial ability to gain excellent counsel to tie up the legal system. Further, Jacksonians view the idea that laws should be divided into an 'intent' or lawful intention statement that is the viewpoint of any law, and a 'content' portion which is the more legalistic enaction of the 'intent'. Via a system of 'intent' and 'content' a law may have legal intentions and that 'intent' upheld, but legalistic 'content' struck as not respecting the rights of the People or the laws which they must be part of. Thus, laws that would have meaningful intent would still be abided by until proper content to enact them can be made. Only improper intent would allow a law to be stricken immediately from the books. With this, Citizens who abided by the 'intent' of a law could gain legal recourse and NOT suffer petty prosecution so long as demonstration of following that 'intent' is done. Via these methods the responsibilities of the People would be justly stated and well understood, equality of counsel gained and the widest possible leeway given for minor violations of 'content' or 'rules' but the highest possible adherence to the overall 'intent' or outlook of laws. Jacksonians have major problems with the legal system as it stands today.

6) Jacksonians see that the Government has very few responsibilities laid out to it and that handing *anything* up to higher in government guarantees loss of responsibilities for the People as individuals and the Rights that are attendant with those responsibilities to ensure that these things are done properly. To the neediest and poorest government should offer a temporary hand 'up' via finding meaningful jobs and minimal help while transitioning those individuals to private sector or publicly financed, non-governmental jobs. Working is a key to liberty, and self-fulfillment and the individual is responsible for *investing* their money for their own benefit and government should not tax the PROFITS of those investments as they are rightful gains of individuals that are BUILDING society. Income and only income should be taxed, and at a low rate that is even across all the People and businesses, using *sales* as *income* but taxed as a whole, not as a *sales tax* so that *wages* can be exempt from that taxation and only taxed for the individual so that they are not taxed *twice*. Note that *investment* is not taxed. Government should take no role in such things as job training and should only serve to facilitate personal responsibility and self-teaching so that individuals can act as responsible Citizens within the Union. More localized government can and *should* offer more things, but then they will have a greater view on the localized needs to be addressed. Here, again, the Federal Government is the LAST resort for communities, not the FIRST.

7) Government shall make no law with respect to religion and all those in the government agree to have a non-sectarian, non-religious viewpoint on their actual *work* for the People. Religion should not be *pushed* by Government, nor by religious proselytizing beyond asking if someone wants to 'hear about the faith you hold'. If the answer to that is 'no', then THAT should be respected. Government has NO business in putting forth any faith, credo, set of arbitrary maxims or anything else out of what it is given to do as these are DISTRACTIONS to its job of governing well. Scientific work, as it produces measurable material results that are of benefit to the People is non-sectarian as it pushes NO religion at all but a working framework that allows understanding of how the physical world works. The difference between science and non-science are important and the ability to put forth propositions that can get measured results are a standard by which they operate. As has been stated for the business realm: Government is not here to ensure that your business model survives, only that the entire business climate remains. If one's religion is at odds with scientific views, that is up for each individual to reconcile within themselves, not something that is a matter for Government at the Federal level to get involved in. Your State and Local governments may do as they please so long as there is regularity and adherence to the Constitution.

8) Courts are the final safeguard of liberty and freedom and the LAST resort in the legal realm to ensuring that they are upheld. Any attempt to diminish the rights of the People or remove responsibilities from individuals by law, need to be addressed by the legislators FIRST, the executives SECOND and the courts LAST. The Courts are seen as having the role of ensuring that due process of law is retained, even when a law, itself, is harebrained. The Courts should not be in the business of deciding what the underpinnings of the society ARE nor if the actual law, itself, is RIGHT: that is what legislators and the executive are for in the first instance, and what a 'jury of peers' is for the second to not uphold idiotic laws. If juries refuse to uphold a law because it is asinine, that should give a loud and clear message to society, legislatures and executives to MAKE BETTER LAWS. Ruling on laws by judges are limited to those things that matter to them: the legal and Constitutional framework behind those laws. When laws break that framework they should be ruled against *immediately* with reasons given.

9) Government has no business being a 'Nannystate' and deciding what is safe and good for the People. Any attempt to dictate 'good behavior' beyond those that protect individuals from harm are seen not only as demeaning but dishonorable. There are many laws on the books that address irresponsible behavior and those should be broadened to cover such things as currently illegal drugs, but the drugs, themselves, should be made LEGAL. The only thing the Government should worry about is enforcement of research to find out the impacts of such drugs, their physiological uptake and effects, purity and dosage levels and then, for those drugs that have no medicinal value or that have recreational value, to tax those USES that are non-medicinal nor for treatment of valid diseases and disorders. For areas of personal communications there is an understanding that the entire Nation has limits upon where laws are and are NOT enforceable. There is an actual set of spatio-temporal coordinates in which the rights of individuals for the Union can be validly upheld and Jacksonians realize this and enforce those limits with a strong-type match adherence: having a Nation is meaningful and *any* attempt to expand notions of National Sovereignty beyond those meanings is not only illegal but dishonorable. The Republic of the United States is represented by USA *not* by SPQR and folks need to learn the difference. As part of that defense of the Nation the Union needs to understand the spread and changes in diseases and other problems, and then offer pathways to remedy and defense of the People against them. Those things which are purely attributable to 'bad habits' are for the People to decide as individuals, not to be proscribed by government.

10) Jacksonians adhere and believe strongly in the Constitution and that ALL rights emanate from the People and need to have the widest leeway of play and to have the highest degree of individual accountability possible. Thus, laws should be few, government minimal and enforcement of rights done via due process. Unjustly punished individuals need strong recourse against such punishment, for no matter how vile an individual is as a person, they can not and should not be imprisoned or lose life or liberty by conviction of things they did NOT do. And that means that individuals should NOT be 'tried by the media' nor have their lives investigated by the media to show how 'good or bad' an individual is. That is not the BUSINESS of the People as a whole nor of companies nor of government. Invasion of privacy, no matter who does it, is seen as reprehensible and using that to impugn individuals is seen as an abomination. Individuals are to be held accountable for these things known as 'actions' for they are the measure of the law and of the activities of society. Ideas, no matter how vile, are *not* actions and individuals should not be segregated by ideas nor punished for them by society. Being denigrated as an asshat for spouting off is one thing, but being put at loss of liberty for mere hateful verbiage is something entirely other. This is the time-honored and HONORABLE method of doing things and personal liberty and upholding the honor of the Nation and one's own personal honor are paramount. Just and equitable laws that receive full due process with equality of representation and a jury of peers to decide not only on guilt but on the *applicability* and *rightness* of the law are the full and final fail-safe against dictatorship. Unjust laws will *not* be ruled upon and scoffed at and any attempt by Government to RULE not GOVERN will be destroyed by such review by the People of such laws. In the areas of military conduct and National secrets, the Congress has set up rules and, as part of the judicial system in that area, should have instantiated a system of jury or jury-equivalents to do the EXACT SAME THING. That is how due process WORKS: review by peers. On the personal level of duels, peers were there to oversee them and the one *challenged* had choice of weapons which the one impugned graciously allowed them as it was *their* honor to be upheld to the DEATH. And, while some few were done to the death, most were done to something less than that to ensure that personal honor was upheld and that final and just decision was meted out on an even basis. Civility arose from this as very, very, very few wanted to die over impugning another individual and civilization stood on this foundation of a well-armed populace upholding their own honor and the honor of the Nation. And when that was outlawed, the path to dishonorable impugning until it met a final and *legal* definition has belittled discourse to that very, very low level. Liberty, honor and justice are all things that have their recourse for Jacksonians and none of them view fighting as a *last* resort: that is left to the Courts when NOTHING ELSE WORKS.

“Peace, above all things, is to be desired, but blood must sometimes be spilled to obtain it on equable and lasting terms” - Andrew Jackson

The Republican Nannystate

This is a personal outlook paper of The Jacksonian Party.

To those Republicans and any Democrats unwise enough to vote for an internet gambling ban in the US, just a couple of questions:

1) Got the terrorism problem all solved?

2) Got the illegal immigrant problem all solved?

3) Got the illegal drug problem all solved?

4) Got the rebuilding of Iraq finished yet?

5) Got a viable defense against the avian flu and anthrax done for the population yet?

6) How does this make you different than China in regards to Google?

7) Say, how about that nuclear test by North Korea, anything shaking in the Congress yet?

8) Are you going to strongarm companies to comply like China did with Microsoft?

9) Got a nationwide system of tracking sexual predators done yet?

10) Have the military fully funded for everything needed yet?

11) How about that cancer problem that Richard Nixon was so hot on solving, got that licked yet?

12) Checked your pork levels for your district recently?

13) Still funding the UN? And if so, why?

14) Why are we *still* subsidizing farmers?

15) Why are we *still* subsidizing big business?

16) How about education, do we have that above the levels of 1958, yet?

17) Have you checked your election numbers yet?

18) Funding Social Security in perpetuity is *all fixed now* right?

19) How about affordable medical care for the population, gots that for thems that need it?

20) How about those lovely oil prices going up and down, any word on the Continental Shelf, yet?

Just asking.