It is a time of fear in the face of freedom, a time for the widening of previous roads and the opening of new paths, a time of an emptying country and swelling cities, yet a time when these paths are mined by knowing algorithms of the all-seeing eye. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection.
 | Kelcey Wilson A to C. Will You Read to Z? |
Kelcey Wilson is mounting a run for President in 2008 as part of a Unity08 ticket, although Unity08 is apparently refusing to communicate with him.
Wilson has drafted an A to Z set of platform positions. Here are positions A through C:
APOLOGY TO IRAQIS - I will offer an apology on behalf of the United States of America to Iraqis who lost friends and family in the invasion of Iraq.
ADHERE TO THE GENEVA CONVENTION - I will shut down the Guantanamo and CIA prisons, and move all U.S. prisoners into the justice system.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM - One of the reasons we need universal broadband Internet access (see plank, below) is because it will, to a limited degree, level the playing field with regard to building campaigns. Universal access will not, however, be sufficient to overcome the stacked deck that is the current campaign finance system, which takes its form in large part due to two faulty court rulings: Buckley v. Valeo and Santa Clara v. Southern Pacific. To be blunt, the majority opinion in Buckley v Valeo is wrong — limiting money is not limiting speech, it is limiting money. It’s that simple. Money is a thing that can be exchanged for other things and services. Speech is an inalienable right the First Amendment guarantees to all Americans in equal measure. The fact that a very small minority of people control the vast majority of money in the U.S. and world does give them the right to more speech. If 100 people sit down at the table to have a discussion, but only 1 has a bullhorn and uses it, it is not a discussion among equals.
Santa Clara v Southern Pacific (or at least how it has been interpreted) is wrong — corporations are not people and therefore they should not have the right to influence the political process as persons. Because the members of the corporate boards, business owners, etc., already have a vote and can contribute to campaigns as individuals, business interests are already represented in that way. Allowing businesses to establish and contribute to PACs gives their controllers more influence multiplied by the factor of how many boards they sit on, companies they own, etc. Corporations should be banned from using corporate funds for political purposes.
CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATION FOR WASHINGTON, DC - Under the principle of “no taxation without representation,” I will support expanding Congress so that the residents of the Washington D.C. can elect their own representatives.
COPYRIGHT LAW - I will not sign any bill that further extends the length of copyright protection.
COUNCIL OF ELDERS - George McGovern has created a bipartisan Council of Elders. I will incorporate the Council of Elders into any policy debates in which they believe they can be of help. (http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2006/07/mcgovern_create.html)
COUNSEL OF FORMER PRESIDENTS - I will seek the counsel of former presidents.
What do you think of them? Do you find them ridiculous? Or do they tempt you to read on to Z?
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Actually, from what I can see it’s A to V - though he’s doubled up on many other letters of the alphabet.
Should we start a Kelcey WIlson for President section in one of our presidential campaign shops?
Comment by J. Clifford — 8/20/2007 @ 10:28 pm
I did read them already, except for the links. He has given a great deal of thought to some things I had not considered. But he has no hair. Does this bother anyone else? It bothered me when Alan Augustson was not closely shaven in his campaign photo (especially when his opponent is so immaculately and expensively groomed), and this skinhead look bothers me even more. I know the meaning of hair changes with time and different generations, but the only meanings I know for butch-short hair are 1)militaristic thinking, 2)conservative reactionary thinking, 3)neo-Nazi thinking, 4)avoidance of head lice, 5)doesn’t care what women think of him 6)his mother makes him. None of these things fit what I think the country needs in a president.
Comment by Iroquois — 8/20/2007 @ 10:32 pm
Uh, what about possibility number 7 - receding hair line?
Comment by J. Clifford — 8/20/2007 @ 10:34 pm
There are Irregular writers who manage to have receding hairlines without looking either like Neanderthals or like they engage in daily hand-to-hand combat.
Comment by Iroquois — 8/20/2007 @ 11:06 pm
Hey, not me! I’ve got a full head of hair (checking in the back).
Comment by J. Clifford — 8/21/2007 @ 4:57 am
No, it wasn’t you I was thinking of, J.Clifford, but I didn’t want to name names and disturb a certain fragile Truce.
Wilson just doesn’t look like he could cuddle. Eeeww.
Maybe he lost his hair through no fault of his own from cancer treatments.
Comment by Iroquois — 8/21/2007 @ 10:49 am
You know, this test of whether a presidential candidate looks like he could cuddle is worth just about as much as the test of Bush as a candidate according to whether you would want to have a beer with him. Presidents are not for cuddling.
I think we should evaluate Kelcey Wilson according to his words and deeds, not according to his haircut.
Comment by J. Clifford — 8/21/2007 @ 11:09 am
so back to the meat — i’m afraid there isn’t much here though i do see a few things i like.
(1) the author knows the difference between council and counsel (and knows that neither of them is always right). that’s an indication of a level of education, i suppose, which i like to see. please ignore inherent hypocrisy of my uncapitalized comments.
(2) copyright law does need reform, and not in the form of caving, again, to disney’s ridiculous demands for the ever-longer life of their stupid mouse.
(3) i’m torn about what to do with DC; i agree that no representation sucks, but face it, most of us have no representation; i don’t think that geography is the primary unifying trend of interests as it was perceived to be when this system was set up. I’d much rather see a number of “members at large” to be elected by various demographic groups (each person could opt out of voting for their local rep to vote for a MAL; the top N MALs would get seats). But at least he isn’t calling for DC statehood. not that the point against putting the capitol in a particular state carries much weight any more, but i do feel traditionalist on that point.
(4)(a) i hope this is a typo: “The fact that a very small minority of people control the vast majority of money in the U.S. and world does give them the right to more speech.” because i agree with the rst of that paragraph.
(4)(b) “corporations are not people and therefore they should not have the right to influence the political process as persons.” — true, and part of the great injustice that is modern corporate law. we give them almost all the benefits of being people and almost none of the responsibilities. however, while i agree with the spirit of what he’s getting at in this paragraph, I’m not sold on “Corporations should be banned from using corporate funds for political purposes.” because i think there’s a big fat grey line between donating to a political candidate and giving to charity, and there’s all sorts of things on that line that i think corporations must be allowed to do.
overall, however, this look better than most of the candidates in the current field.
Comment by Vynce — 8/21/2007 @ 1:43 pm
Hi folks! I really appreciate that you read and thought about my platform. I wasn’t sure anybody was doing any more than skimming.
I’m going to upgrade my site pretty soon, so that you can post questions and comments, so if you want, you can get me to address the concerns you mention. You can also correspond with me directly if you want at kelceywilson@wilson2008.com. Check the planks first, though, because I occasionally make refinements. (I plan to tweek the campaign finance plank a little.)
I’ll also be webcasting my campaign on my site starting this September.
As for the crucial hair question: I surf-kayak a lot and having little hair makes life a great deal easier. I also save a fortune in haircuts — especially relative to what Edwards pays. I clip it myself. Having said that, I have been keeping it a little longer these days…
Comment by Kelcey Wison — 8/22/2007 @ 10:50 pm