The Upgrade Partnership Plan

The following is a policy position paper of The Jacksonian Party.

America is a Nation on the move and progressing quickly in areas of science, technology and industry. Indeed, being the most productive people on the planet, Americans far outdo any others at their rates of productive work and their creativity and then upgrade the entire infrastructure necessary to create new ways of life and work faster than anyone, save, perhaps, the Japanese with 'Hello, Kitty!'. That said Americans also discard these old devices because they just aren't modern anymore. Entire industries have come and gone in the United States leaving their industrial wastelands behind them. And growing businesses shift from capability to new capability and the old equipment hits the scrap heap.

The following is the Upgrade Partnership Plan of the United States.

Today two Nations that the United States has helped out from the heel of despotic and tyrannical rule are now hard pressed to become productive societies in all areas of endeavor. On the Academic, Medical and Scientific realms, organizations public and private have found partners for their old equipment from Universities, Colleges, Teaching Schools and Laboratories in Iraq and Afghanistan. These needs to not only be encouraged, but rewarded and expanded. To do this and to help partnerships foster between these new democracies and America, the Federal Government needs to be involved to first offer such rewards and then give capabilities not easily had by even the industries of America to ensure that old equipment is properly moved from the United States to Iraq and Afghanistan, installed and individuals trained in their use.

To do this the United States proposes that the Dept. of Commerce do the following:

1) Solicit lists of all old industrial equipment, agricultural equipment and any other supporting equipment that American businesses and private concerns now find on their books but with no longer term utility as they are 'outmoded'. Further, those in the ongoing private organizations in the Academic, Medical and Scientific communities may add to this list any of those items that they have found to be unplaceable or that they do not have the capability to easily transport due to mass or size. Such things as make, model, serial number, original equipment manufacturer and such are to be included in this along with original purchase value.

2) The Dept. of State will be handed this list and will then work between the US Government and the Governments in Afghanistan and Iraq to partner organizations based on need. The Iraqi and Afghani Governments shall ensure that companies, hospitals, businesses and any other group or organization is a valid one to receive and utilize such equipment. Points of Contact from the original list will then be contacted and the Dept. of State shall facilitate meetings between the donor and receiving organizations to ensure that the entire scope of equipment type, maintenance, training and other sustainment information is passed on and that any pre-delivery training or inspections are facilitated so as to allow the receivers to ensure that they are getting what they are looking for. All such recipients shall demonstrate plans, backing and ability to utilize such equipment and are to be the end-recipients, not intermediaries or re-sellers.

These two Nations get first priority and right to look over such lists. Then this list shall be provided to every Nation that has helped the United States in its endeavors in Afghanistan and Iraq since the start, or has shown unwavering support in these efforts, and have not withdrawn from them in reverse order of their per capita income or other indicator so that the poorest of Nations has the greatest opportunity to benefit from their work in support of the United States. If no such receiving organization can be found, then the donor shall be informed and given a full tax write-off of said equipment and its disposal in accordance with all Local, State and Federal laws covering such if necessary.

3) Once this is done the USAID or other trade and commerce arms of the US Government shall ensure that the equipment is dismantled and properly shipped. On those projects that are too large for commercial industry to handle, the US Army Corps of Engineers will be given the task of designing the most cost efficient method of dismantling, transporting and reconstructing such equipment in cooperation with both the donor and receiver organizations. Private construction and transport capability is to be used whenever possible and it is cost effective to do so. When that cannot be done, US Transport Command will be given the task of transporting such equipment and the US Army Corps of Engineers shall be used as the organization of last resort for installing such equipment. Such transport by the US Transport Command or other military organization is done free of charge to this program and the cost carried by the People of the United States. Some creation of new facilities will be necessary and the receiving organization must work that out prior to delivery and ensure that such facilities are fully ready for the equipment.

4) All such equipment shall have a full write-off of original equipment value from all donor organizations so as to reduce their tax burden. All time and materials expended shall also be written off so as to reduce the tax burden of those organizations. Anything above and beyond that is considered to be a Charitable Donation and its cash amount is also written off on taxes in full and without restriction for the entire project. Any amounts that cannot be written off in one year by bringing taxes due to zero, shall then be applied the next year and following years until the full sum is expended.

5) The organization(s) in charge of transfer shall perform annual inspections and reports on such donations and identify any long-term help needed in the way of supplies or maintenance and work with American industry to ensure that such can be done on a sustainable basis both for the recipient and for the companies involved. At the end of 5 years the last inspection shall be performed and Medals of Industrial Citation struck so and given to the donor(s) and recipient(s) involved in each transaction. A historical marker will also be placed at the donor site to establish that this site once housed the equipment listed and that it was given to the recipient(s) so as to help them build a free society.

6) All donations are subject to standard security caveats for 'dual use' equipment and other safety provisos for long term security initiatives and standard industrial safety. Any such equipment that is duly transported with such security concerns shall be tracked until its end-of-lifecycle and final destruction by the recipient.

As part of the need for American Academia, Industry, Business, Medicine and Science to show its willingness to extend a helping hand towards those Nations coming into the light of democracy and freedom, and sustaining the valuable Friends and Allies of the Nation is this done. The United States recognizes that while older equipment may have less value to the Nation, it may still have high and great value to those that have NONE.

In any case where old industrial property was purchased so as to allow private individuals and companies to remove old industrial sites that are not in working condition, such individuals and companies must show a plan for rehabilitation of such sites, especially those that have hazardous waste at them. States may certify any waivers or plans that vary from this if the State is satisfied that the good of removing the equipment outweighs the need for site remediation. Any long term uses are acceptable, save abandonment of such sites.

Let us not see the building of new societies to become free as one that need expend cash and cash only. Let the Nation come to see that doing the equivalent of 'cleaning out the attics and closets' of America at older and unused sites is an opportunity to re-invigorate those areas and return them to their communities as a better place for their goods having gone to Peoples in need.

Who gets the 50 Questions?

Yes, now that there are 50 Questions to hand out, they get to go to the major campaigns, first.

So this week is the major party candidates as listed at Ron Gunzberger's Politics1 Site. My thanks to him for compiling and updating this list and as new candidates arrive they will also get a copy of the questions. I will just be taking the HTML from my post, making a letter and sending it to every campaign. They will get the text of the post, plus minimal introductory sentence with link-back to the post. If they do not have html capability then they get the plain text of the post plus a plain text html link in the introduction. And there are going to be some categories of response that will be given:

1) No response. Typical expectation of Party Elites who do not need to respond to Citizens. Call this the 'Aristocratic Response'. Automatic email replies will be considered this after 1 week from that reply if nothing further is sent.

2) A staffer will 'flack' the response. This is pretty much standard for all the Congresscritters and is representative of their not wanting to be in contact with real, live voters that are mere Citizens of the Union. Hard to categorize this as it is the 'run of the mill' way campaigns have to deal with anyone so as to not bother their poor Candidate with actually having to think. So it can be called the 'Plastic Bubble Response' as any communicating with real people might cause an infection that would be instantly fatal to the Candidate's thought processes. Candidates in this are so highly protected that they have no way to actually think about alternative ways of doing things nor address them.

3) The 'Technowonk Response'. This category is reserved for any campaign that puts forth their 'programs' and does not wish to deal with their outlook on various subjects that matter to the Union. In this category is also such responses as: 'just read this/that book the candidate endorses' and 'we have all the programs we support up on a website.' These are not addressing issues, but addressing details. Can't know if they are the right details unless the issues are addressed.

4) The 'BTDT Response'. Very few Candidates can actually do this as very few have actually laid out their views on America and philosophy of governing. If they have actually written a book on same and then still *require* payment, then one must begin to wonder exactly *why* they should be paid for something that should be freely available to all Citizens if that is their true viewpoint. Those unable or unwilling to put out their text into the Public Domain will gain the 'Extortion Response' as they do not look for the Nation as a whole, but to line their own pockets and let people hope they will govern by what they have stated.

5) The above items 1-4 should cover 99.99% of all Candidates given past views on how others have acted once they have gotten into High Office. Anything else will get a 'Singular Response' and demonstrates some minimal level of open-ness, fairness and willingness to engage in even minimal dialogue with the Citizenry. In truth, I do not expect to get ANY of these.

Now time to get the list going and I will follow the ordering on the Politics1 site and only those OFFICIALLY announced for anything get this:

1) Sam Brownback - website - Now, his website uses the ever lovely 'webform', so that will now get a filling out. And the webform is NOT html enabled. So be it, they get a hardcode plain text of it at the start and they can find it at their leisure. Sent, no confirmation page. [24 JAN 2007]

2) Jim Gilmore does NOT have an official contact site as yet. And I do not trust anyone at a Drafting committee to be able to actually get information through to their espoused candidate. So nothing sent his way until he gets his act together.

3) Rudy Giuliani - Has an exploratory website, no contact info. Will wait for developments.

4) Duncan Hunter - Has a website under construction. Will wait for developments.

5) John McCain - website - Webform. Sent, no confirmation page. [24 JAN 2007]

6) Ron Paul - website - Has email contact at the site. Mail sent. [24 JAN 2007]

7) Mitt Romney - website - Oh, my, a 'Policy Contact'! Well, that gets an email. Mail sent. [24 JAN 2007]

8) Tom Tancredo - Has exploratory website, no contact info. Will wait for developments.

9) Tommy Thompson - website - General info email at site, and I do want general info! Handy, that. Mail sent. [24 JAN 2007]

Fun so far, isn't it?

Now for the Democrats:

1) Joe Biden - website - General info email at site, still handy! Mail sent. [24 JAN 2007]

2) Hillary Clinton - website - Yes, the good General Info is there too! Mail sent. [24 JAN 2007]

3) Chris Dodd - website - Now, what sort of politician first puts up a recruitment interstitial page? Luckily one can skip it. A webform! Sent, no confirmation page. [24 JAN 2007]

4) John Edwards - website - What is it with these 'join up' interstitial splash pages? Yes you can skip them... but it is a bit off-putting if you are trying to find OUT about a Candidate and you get the recruitment poster. A webform! Sent but they have a Confirmation Page! Amazing! [24 JAN 2007]

5) Mike Gravel - Dear Senator, you webpage currently gets a 403 Forbidden. Suggest you get someone to put up a nice little photo page and a 'coming soon' on it.

6) Dennis Kucinich - Now here is something special on this day, 24 JAN 2007: Mr. Kucinich has TWO web sites. The first one is non-functional and the website has declined to show the page. The second is all snazzy, save for the broken center section in my web browser... but, by looking around you can get in contact with Chad at the website! Poor Chad. One hopes he is not hanging. Time to send him a lovely little email, just as formulaic as all the rest without one peep on the non-functioning of the sites in question. They might want to hire Gen. Info in the future... Mail sent. [24 JAN 2007]

7) Barack Obama - website - Gen. Info on duty there! Mail sent. [24 JAN 2007]

8) Bill Richardson - website - Webform. Sent and a Confirmation Page! [24 JAN 2007]

9) Tom Vilsack - website - Webform. Sent and a Confirmation Page! [24 JAN 2007]

Well, that is it for the 'big name' folks. A long morning, but worth it.

This post will be updated as necessary over time and most likely broken out a bit more.

The 50 Questions For Those Running For President

As Senator Frist has put up his questions to ask Hillary, or any Democrat running for office, and asked for more, I do feel that there needs be some pointed questions asked, also.

Of the entire field of ALL Candidates as the problems are not those due solely to party alignment. So, let me start off with some of the important questions that have come up time and again in my writings.

1) As President what is your Foreign Policy Goals and Objectives? Not your *programs*. Your Goals and Objectives for the Nation in Foreign Policy.

2) As President what is the role the UN will play, if any, in your view of the National Foreign Policy Objectives of the United States?

3) As President do you support the diplomatic concept of Jus ad bellum in protecting the United States?

4) As President would you use the concept known as Casus Belli to actually name activities and organizations, State based and non-State based, so as to let the world know what the interests of the United States actually are when they are put in danger?

5) As President would you ask Congress for the full and complete exercising of their War Powers so as to involve the American People in their traditional role of war making that is not via conscription?

6) As President would you please define the use and utility of Social Security that had as its main goal is to remove older workers from active working life to combat the 1930's Depression?

7) As President would you explain why it is important that drug companies make 16% or higher profits off of the US taxpayer when Federal Limits for research and development for Federal contracts places a maximum of 12% on same?

8) As President would you favor the complete withdrawal from the quagmire policy due to medical payments that threatens to eat a larger portion of the Federal Budget second only to Social Security?

9) As President would you please cite the reasoning for having the Dept. of Education when reading and cognition statistics have not changed from 1958, when Johnny couldn't read?

10) As President what is your attitude towards the Congressional infringement of the Constitutional Powers of the President in the areas of War Execution and Foreign Policy?

11) As President would you enforce all the Laws of the Land set forth by Congress and ask them to budget for such so that all Laws may be enforced?

12) As President what would be your attitude to towns, cities, counties and States that break with the Constitution in all Six Articles via their giving sanction and immunity to those breaking the Laws of the Land to come to the United States?

13) As President how would you describe illegal labor, exploited at a price set below market price with background threats to keep such labor docile?

14) As President what are your Industrial Policy Goals and Objectives?

15) As President what are your Energy Policy Goals and Objectives?

16) As President how would you describe US Federal Armed Forces put at risk via open attacks from 'neutral' countries and what the response of the United States should *be* to such attacks without reservation of *which* Nation attacks the United States?

17) As President how would you counter the moves of Hezbollah to set up in South America to recruit locals that are ethnically Hispanic or Native Americans, but aligned to Hezbollah?

18) As President what are your Taxation Policy Goals and Objectives?

19) As President what are your Armed Forces Goals and Objectives for Force size, equipment, capability, pay, and outlook?

20) As President would you view illegitimate Acts of War as merely criminal circumstances or as destructive Acts of War upon the United States?

21) As President what is your view upon the legality of the House of Representatives setting its own size in 1911?

22) As President would you favor a 'Sunset Law' for all Federal Laws, Regulations, and Programs so that each would need separate addressing for renewal after a 10 year period? 15 year period? 20 year period?

23) As President would you favor that ALL Branches of the Federal Government be put under the Freedom of Information Act?

24) As President will you sign Bills into Law in which Congress has categorically exempted themselves from such Laws?

25) As President do you favor a Dept. of Agriculture that spends most of its money on subsidies to go to farmers who cannot work crops economically or at market cost?

26) As President do you favor subsidies to large industry, large agriculture or big business? All of these being organizations that employ above the minimal set Federal Standard for a small business.

27) As President what are your Business Policy Goals and Objectives?

28) As President you will need to address Armed Forces attacking from the South. Will you allow NORTHCOM to address such attacks so as to end them?

29) As President how do you view the Congressional expansion of Powers in the areas of interstate trade and commerce?

30) As the War on Drugs has been going on since the 1970's and has been continually escalated with minimal Congressional Oversight, as President would you be willing to declare the Nation defeated in this War?

31) As President would you offer legislation to bring all Patents and Copyrights back to the original terms set by the First Congress?

32) As President would you move the State Department to a pure merit pay, merit promotion and one year review of all Personnel in the Civil Service?

33) As President and witnessing any 20 year period of NASA against the general aviation industry, what would be your Space Policy for the Union?

34) As President would you favor opening the non-discriminatory Federal Employee Health System and Thrift Savings Plan System to the General Public?

35) As President what is your general policy for Tariffs?

36) As President what is your view on the concept of Free Trade as it is applied to Nations that have acted in a hostile manner towards the United States?

37) As President what is your Free Trade policy that will ensure that such trade does not empower State based and non-State based terrorist activities?

38) As President what is you Monetary Policy Goals and Objectives?

39) As President would you support 'The Monroe Doctrine'?

40) As President would you allow the spending of Federal Funds that have *not* been put on your desk for signatory approval for spending via the budget?

41) As President how would you address the long-term disaster needs of the United States for infrastructure and survival given such things as: Yellowstone Caldera events, Mid-Continental Earthquakes along the Mississippi basin, Atlantic tsunami threats from the Canary Islands or other volcanic islands, Cascadia large scale and magnitude earthquake and tsunami running from Northern California to Southern Alaska, large magnitude earthquakes in the Los Angeles to San Francisco regions.

42) As President would you support moving the Combat Air Support mission back to the Army and give the Air Force capability for construction of manned, permanent space based systems for continuous C4I?

43) As President would you support pushing new, modular ships so that the Navy may quickly refit such ships for ever changing roles in the future?

44) As President, if Congress does *not* give money for the full and complete enforcement of all the Laws that they have passed and Presidents have signed, would you then ask for the Congressional ordering of which Laws should be enforced?

45) As President you will find a backlog of letters and documents in the State Department from various organizations that have Declared War upon the United States, and other Departments may also have similar. Given 9/11 are you prepared to accept that these may no longer be idle threats?

46) As President what are your Goals and Objectives for the Intelligence Communities across the entire Federal Government?

47) As President you are to defend the Union against attacks which also includes that of infectious diseases. Would you support moving that role to the Department of Defense?

48) As President do you support the slow increase of the US Federal Armed Forces so as to address Nations that have hostile designs against the United States?

49) As President do you support the drafting of War Powers from Congress so as to involve the Citizenry via Warrants and Commissions to carry out missions to halt all commerce with enemies of the United States and give reprisals unto them?

50) As President would you be willing to read the Constitution out to the Public once per year so that it may be heard and the People reminded of it?


Well, now, that should be entertaining if even 5 of those ever get asked!

On the side column you can find links to the following from The Jacksonian Party:

1) Party Agenda Platform. A more thorough regularizing of the Domestic Agenda and hitting the Federal RESET button.

2) Foreign Policy - Simple enough to understand and stand by. Which means ending NAFTA and leaving the UN. This is so that the Nation can make up for the lack of actually HAVING a Foreign Policy.

3) Goals on the Global War on Terror - Something no other Party is willing to state.

4) Tired of politics as usual? Then why not ask politicians to run and behave ethically during campaigns?

5) And if you can't make head nor tails of the above, then reading on what it means to be a Jacksonian might be of some help.

Unlike the Two Parties, The Jacksonian Party admits it does not exist save for those that abide to it. The 21st century is looking less and less amenable to those things made in the 20th for Nations, but as our enemies go back to earlier times, so can we do so to address them. The Jacksonian Party is neither Liberal nor Conservative, Left or Right nor has any positional stance on the carbonated beverage of choice for individuals. To have a Nation, however, requires that a Nation stand up and be for itself *first* and foremost, above and beyond all other things. When the Nation embraces Friends and Allies it should actually do things to *help* solidify such Friendships and Alliances so that Nations may grow stronger together. And when the Nation fights, it fights to victory. And as no party is willing to stand up FOR the Nation, it is then incumbent upon Individuals to do so by forming such notional Parties as this one so that the obligations placed upon us as a Common Citizenry may be carried out as that is Our responsibility set to Us under the Constitution.

This is the party of One.

Each and every One of Us.

"One man with courage makes a majority." - Andrew Jackson

On re-making the world and why the US doesn't do such things

The following is a position paper of The Jacksonian Party.

That old burden seems to be hanging around. Which one is that, you may wonder?
Way back at the end of the 19th and early 20th century it was the burden that the Civilized people's of the world saw as the necessary work to remake the world into a more civilized place fit to live in. That lovely era of progress during the 19th century that saw the birth of industry and the expansion of economies on levels never before imagined soon led to the overwhelming feeling that this was an era to end all eras. And that burden was seen as a good one to take up: colonize the less civilized parts of the world and bring them into the sphere of civilization.

"The White Man's Burden"

That was supposed to bring that lovely culmination to mankind, in which the whole world would slowly get its act together with the oversight of the industrialized Nations. What happened, instead, to end that era was the "War to end all Wars", save that it did not do that, either. By needing to bring those far-flung Natives 'up to speed' on things, they needed to be educated. Soon they were needed in the civil service to oversee large districts and run things. That education gave rise to cohesive ethnic identity and the move towards Nationalism in many of the colonies. By the end of that first World War the Empires had shattered, their colonies flung asunder to cope as best they could with their newfound identities. Some few have not coped over-well with that, and dictators, tyrants, and authoritarian regimes of many stripes marked the checkered history of those new Nations on their own.

In the US this was preceded by the concept of "Manifest Destiny" which is not something you check off on a cargo ship heading out to sea, but the idea that the US is on a mission to inhabit all of the North American continent and a few even looked towards the entire hemisphere. Let me say this: they did have vision, even if it may have been clouded by a bit of smoke and industry. The US Civil war put paid to many such dreams as the Nation came to the realization that there were quite enough in the way of problems without asking to take on those of other folks. Just prior to that was Fifty-Four Forty or Fight, which would finally set the National territories of Canada and the US, so even the Manifest Destiny concept had to confine itself and after the Civil War ground to a slow halt. By the end of the Westward expansion only the idea of competing, in some way, with Imperial powers remained and that got you to "The White Man's Burden".

Now this did not stop another group of folks, those looking for the Final Destiny of Industrialization Globally to look forward re-making the world as they saw it 'should be', either. Those folks were the Socialists and they looked to hasten the end of Capitalism and usher in their perfect world of Socialist Ideals. And they put together the International Workingmen's Association or First International as it became known in later Socialist and Communist circles. After they quit the Second International came forward to continue the good-ideas and spread them further, but also found that they might be able to work within the political systems of various Nations to hurry the day of Socialism forward. It was this group that started the Adult Education classes, indoctrination concepts and other such things as trying to get their various outlooks on life put in place so as to slowly ease Capitalism out of the way without all that mess of Revolutions and such. That is until the Russian Revolution which threw a spanner in the works and pointed out that by working with the system it is continued. The post-WWI Comintern hewed a bit more to this line and re-making the world became a top item on the agenda, after throwing out all the corrupted Socialists. We are still living with the dregs of that utopian dream land, as it twitches its last twitches in Venezuela, Cuba, China, Vietnam and North Korea. Of course that set of Nations isn't looking for real Communism or Socialism these days so the real dream of it is relegated to discussion groups and such, along with the US education system which is chock-a-block with them.

Another Nation that had a "Manifest Destiny" was that of Germany one of the last European Peoples to actually put a Nation together. A German Empire, allied with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was a late comer to the scene of colonialism and always felt second-rate compared to the prime Empire of their day: Great Britain. Thus, no matter what the achievements of Germany, the Empire could never just get a hold of its duly sized set of colonies to show off its industrial power. And because Germany owed so much to the sciences they also came to think that they should be applied everywhere, even if there were no basis for the application. By using the Darwinian concept of evolution of species and applying it to societies, one gets Social Darwinism, which is a form of racism. With that you get the idea of 'advanced' and 'degenerate' races and 'racial purity' all without any applicational basis from the original theory which is applied via genetics, not via philosophy. All sorts of means and methods were devised to 'measure' social degeneracy, but as those measures had no reliable method to correlate them to actual, underlying principles, they were just means to perpetuate that racism.

The First World War did not remove this from Germany and this concept, along with National Socialism or Fascism, would join together to put together one of the nastiest industrialized Nations looking for lebensraum. The Dictator Mussolini would use collectivist concepts from Socialism/Communism and fuse them with Nationalism and put forth a return to the Glory Days of Rome: the Roman Empire. That would not come to much as Italy was not industrialized enough to do this. Germany, however, would fuse Fascism with Social Darwinism and create an industrialized State that would seek to enslave or kill lesser races and allow Germany to reign supreme as it was Manifest Destiny to do so. Both regimes used the Socialist/Communist concept of inculcating the youth, forced re-education and Germany would institute large prisons for the racially and socially impure and then would form death camps to kill these people on a systematized and regularized basis.

The British Empire, from its slow growth all the way to its lingering demise in the 20th century, would be one of the few Empires that actually *did* try to stick to some ideals while expanding into foreign lands... early on at least. The expansion of the latter part of the Empire under Queen Victoria would definitely lead to its own forms of racism overseas. That would not withstand the attacks from inside the Empire itself, and the press of the First World War would weaken the ability of the Empire to be well governed. The Second World War would definitively end "The White Man's Burden" and finally put that entire chapter of mankind to rest for good and all.

Throughout all of this we do get to see something beyond the 'education', indoctrination and use of force for original purposes. No well run Empire, or even a poorly run one, could do without Colonial Constabulary Forces. These are *not* Military Police, used to safeguard supply lines during active combat, find saboteurs and generally make sure that martial law is properly imposed. Constabulary forces are those forces that are much lighter than the regular military forces of a Nation and yet better armed than local police. In the American Old West, these were Cavalry units that had little in the way of major support firepower, were highly mobile and capable of breaking up small bands of Natives that would attack here and there. In the US, after the major work of forming up the States was done, these forces would slowly wither away while more regular police forces took over. That said, a number of smaller, specialized police groups were formed up until the need for a National Police became necessary and that is the current Federal Bureau of Investigations. They bear almost no resemblance to their Cavalry forebearers who were not mere 'peace keepers' but 'peace makers'.

One of the very first, well organized groups for this was the Praetorian Guards of the Roman Empire, that would serve to quell uprisings and generally keep things together when Rome was at war. The problem with a paramilitary or adjunct military police that is given wide powers is the idea within that force that it may know how to run things better than the commanders of it. In Rome this would be seen when the Guards would start to kill Emperors for 'the good of Rome' and install new ones. That is, at best, a metastable situation, and with the falling of the Western Empire so, too, would the Praetorians fall. By having been unable to do their original set of missions to make the peace and secure it, the Empire itself would fall apart. Emperors grew distant from governing, knowing they could be removed by the Guard at any moment.

The true Constabulary that most in the West know the best is the British form of it, with their Colonial Constabulary units, such as the Royal Ulster Constabulary or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Such units started out as direct military adjuncts, but soon took on policing and administration duties for law enforcement on a scale above that of local police. These types of units were the ones that ensured that Imperial Law would be upheld throughout the Colonies and fairly overseen. Within the Socialist/Communist world, however, ensuring alignment to doctrine became as important or more so than law enforcement. The birth of the various Socialist/Communist Secret Police organizations which had existed throughout Europe, took a turn towards brutality as mere political dissent could be punished by death or exile to the Gulag. In the USSR this was the KGB which also had a role in post-military cleanup operations following its predecessors into that role after WWII. In Nazi Germany this counterpart would be the Gestapo for policing on the political side and the Waffen SS would be used for direct action in newly captured territories to round up those that needed to be shipped off as 'degenerates' or just kill them outright. Similarly in Italy the Blackshirts would be the first group to be organized to protect the Fascists and the OVRA would be formed for National means similar to the Gestapo.

The United States did not, generally, look to form these sorts of groups although the US Marine Corps was employed in such realms when nothing else would do. A major source of background against modern insurgents was learned during 'The Banana Wars' in Latin America to ensure US companies would retain their hold on plantations and such for production. By the end of those, however, the concept of trying to establish means for democracy was put forward by President Woodrow Wilson and the work in Haiti in 1915-34 would end in long-term failure as the inability of the United States to address the political questions necessary at home to properly decide on if trying to rebuild Nations was a good idea for a Republic of Free People. Going in to bust up insurgencies and criminal organizations or regimes looking to Nationalize private property was one thing, but re-making cultures was something else again. This concept is a very 'hard sell' to the American People, who have a view of the world of helping others to help themselves... and if they don't want to help then let them be so long as they don't get a notion to harm us. The Haiti experience is a contrast to the Philippine experience, in which, after quelling rebellion, the idea was to turn a relatively peaceful situation over to the local government. A couple of World Wars would delay that and require the Philippines to be recaptured, but final hand-over in 1946 was accomplished.

That is the same concept that the US put forward in post-War Germany and Japan and stayed long enough to ensure that radical elements or Imperial elements would not return to either Nation. Those Nations saw value to having troops stationed with them for some period thereafter, especially West Germany which became a front-line state in the Cold War. At this point in time there is some question as to *why* the US maintains troops in Germany, now that Germany is re-united and the USSR is on the 'ash heap of history'. Thus it comes as some surprise that all of those looking to try and indict the current post-war situation in Iraq will limit themselves to the last major conflict as their only yardstick, forgetting other post-war situations from previous conflicts, and the fact that the US does *not* see itself as a Nation to try and remake the world in its image. The main reason the US does not *have* Constabulary forces, which would be about half the size of the current, total armed forces is that it does not, as a Nation, see the need to have such. While such an idea drove things during the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War, along with "The White Man's Burden", the United States puts a very nasty spin on that: we do not want to be there and want the folks living there to live good lives, not threaten their neighbors and protect themselves on their OWN.

The US still has a number of minor island protectorates and possessions, but each of those is given absolutely free reign to get out from under the shadow of the US and go it on their own. Some stay for purely economic reasons, getting various *perks* via the tax code and not having to form their own military units and national police. A few stay because of sheer loyalty and they appreciate the liberties and freedoms of close association with the US without having to be a *part* of the US. What the US has not wanted to do for long decades is go to places to 'civilize' them or 'educate' them. That is far too much to the Socialist/Communist side of things and gives most Citizens a sour stomach as the end point of those systems is a Secret Police coming to ensure only the 'correct' opinions are held. And from what has been seen of Great Britain, they do benefit from many of their past colonies, but many others have gone their own way and generally declined in that doing. And those that have remained close are Sovereign Nations with minimal, titular fealty to the British Crown. By cooperation those Nations work together on common projects, but none is forced to do so... The US does not like the idea of Monarchy or Empire, and wants only *friendship* which can be deep, long lasting and abiding to be the touchstone of the Nation. The US does not want servants but friends to stand with and stand by in a harsh world.

Having a large, paramilitary Constabulary force would require a major change in outlook by the United States away from the view of universal equality of mankind, to one of having to say some 'deserve' more rights than others. The US has spoken on this plainly with its history and not having an Empire: We do not do that.

It does not work for a Republic of Free People to decide on such things, it is for them to get together and decide on their own how they will handle such.

The US does not overstay its welcome and when asked to leave by a Government that has been stood up with our help, we do so.

The US tries to make things a bit *better* for having to take down tyrants and autocrats, and works at that to let people see that this is how one ensures their Liberty.

By working at it continually to make things better.