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Welcome to the

Cheryl Lindsey Seelhoff for President Wiki

My name is Cheryl Lindsey Seelhoff and I am running for President on the Freesoil Party ticket. I announced my candidacy on the 4th of July, 2007, as follows:

"When in the course of living our lives, as women, we recognize that once again, as has been true for, by now, centuries in the United States, we can find no presidential candidate on the horizon upon whom we can depend and look to to (1) pay attention to what we say about our lives, our aspirations, our hopes, our needs, our struggles and concerns; (2) faithfully represent and advocate for our interests; (3) make our concerns a priority; (4) work diligently and tirelessly on our behalf; and (5) whom we feel we can trust, then it’s time for us to step up to the plate and take action. So, that’s what I’m doing today."

My platform in its most current, updated from is here.

Table of Contents

Bill of Missing Rights
Issues
About Heart
About the Free Soil Party

A Bill of Missing Rights

Whereas, the original bill of rights permitted slavery of black people and women, wanton disregard for and exploitation of the environment, and other abuses of economic and political might too numerous to list; we therefore declare the following rights fundamentally necessary to secure blessings of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all:

The right to food and nutrition adequate for health and well-being;
The right to competent medical and dental services as necessary to maintain good health and quality of life;
The right to adequate housing;
The right to both privacy and safety. The property, dignity, actions, and bodies of human beings as they peaceably and lawfully conduct their daily affairs comprise an inviolable boundary against uninvited and unnecessary intrusions;
The right to adequate basic and vocational and/or professional education necessary to secure employment that is reasonably consistent with the individual talents, abilities, potential and happiness of every human being;
The right to procreative and sexual autonomy, to birth control, abortion, prenatal care, gynecological, midwifery and obstetrical services, and sex education and information;
The right to full disclosure of anything potentially dangerous to human health or life, including any potential side effects of drugs or medications, potentially toxic substances in food, any poisons, irradiation, drugs, hormones, or other treatments used in food production; all possible consequences of medical procedures and exposures to hazards in work, living, and other environments;
The right to free and unlimited access to any and all government files, documents and information of whatever kind, excepting instructions for creating weapons of mass destruction. The government belongs to the people, not bureaucrats;
The right to prevent unwarranted disruptions of ecological quality and balance, including: nuclear power; radioactive, ozone-depleting or other unconfined, unselective harmful substances; high energy waves; genetically-engineered forms of life; the endangering of species; deforestation; strip mining, monoculture; deep tilling, cloud seeding; overfishing; whaling and other ecologically irresponsible practices. An appropriate bounty shall be paid for evidence of covert polluting or poaching. The people or legislators of any state or locality may vote for additional specific restrictions, including banning or taxing the production, sale, or use of any selected polluting substance within that area. The earth belongs to all human beings and to the animals and its health and survival are of paramount and central importance to the survival of all life.
The right to fair and equal consideration, treatment and opportunity before the law, and in all fields of endeavor, without regard to sex, ethnicity, or persuasion.
Nothing in this Bill shall be construed to deny or limit any right defined in the Constitution or its Amendments. As Amendment IX states: "The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." The people of any local community or state may vote to overrule any restrictions on rights, or tighten rules on business activities, regardless of previous recognition.

Issues

I will actively push for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment

The text of the Equal Rights Amendment, as proposed in 1972 by the 92nd Congress, and as published in Volume 86 of U.S. Statutes at Large (Pages 1523-1524), reads as follows:

Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

Ratification of the ERA would:

subject legal claims of gender discrimination to the same strict scrutiny given by courts to allegations of racial discrimination;
allow women to sue for higher wages and other benefits;
"[The ERA] provides a legal basis for attack on the most subtle, most pervasive, and most institutionalized form of prejudice that exists. Discrimination against women, solely on the basis of their sex, is so widespread that it seems to many persons normal, natural and right." -- Shirley Chisholm, 1970(1)

War and Defense

I am a lifelong peace and anti-war activist. I first actively participated in anti-war political activism as a student at the University of Washington in 1969-70 and in years following during U.S. incursions into Cambodia and Laos and have continued in anti-war activism throughout my life.

Peace talks
I believe the U.S. should initiate -- that is, request -- peace talks in the Middle East. We should make it a priority to negotiate a truce with all current or former enemies willing to negotiate in good faith.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
The U.S. should assume a leadership role in seeing to it that all aspects of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty are enforced, including decommissioning all existing nuclear weapons, providing any assistance that may be required and leaning on reluctant allies to comply.

Embargoes
Embargoes and blockades in Cuba, Iran, North Korean, Syria, Burma/Myanmar, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, which principally affect women and children, should be lifted.

Landmines
Landmines should be immediately banned.

Commitment to Peace The U.S. should announce a new commitment to peace and to the protection of the democratic and autonomous operation of nation-states.

Iraq

I support:

The immediate and orderly withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq;
Immediate withdrawal of U.S. corporations and interests from Iraq, with contracts for reconstruction given to Iraqi companies;
Seeking assistance and support from the United Nations and regional human rights organizations, NGOs, and international women's rights organizations in facilitating a coalition to oversee the transition of the U.S.out of Iraq;
Working to ensure adequate representation of women in the regional coalition;
Prioritizing protection of journalists, media, and Iraqi bloggers post-occupation as they report the progress of returning Iraq to the Iraqi people and ending the U.S. occupation.

Iran and Syria

No military or other confrontations with Iran or Syria.
The U.S. should be outspoken in its condemnation of the crackdown on and arrests of women's rights activists in Iran, on the One Million Signatures Campaign and of the closure of magazines and censorship of Iranian media

Pakistan

No military or other confrontations with Pakistan.

Afghanistan

I opposed U.S. intrusion into Afghanistan from the very beginning. Afghanistan is now in disarray, is impoverished and is dominated by warlords.(2) The U.S. left Afghanistan in worse shape than it was before our intrusion.
The U.S. and NATO countries, in their occupation of Afghanistan, have created and supported a government run by warlords, drug lords and Islamic fundamentalists. As a first order of business, the U.S. should insist on the reinstatement of Malalai Joya, who has great grass roots support amongst Afghans working towards genuine democracy and women’s rights, to parliament.

Foreign Aid

Cancel the debt of all Third World countries, taking into account the principles of responsibility, transparency of information and accountability.
Empanel international monitors to ensure that this money is employed to eliminate poverty and to further the well-being of people most affected by structural adjustment programs, the majority of whom are women and girls.
Implement the 20/20 formula between the U.S. and the recipients of foreign aid. 20% of the sum contributed by the donor country must be allocated to social development and 20% of the receiving government's spending must be used for social programs.

Violence Against Women

I am a survivor of domestic violence. My first husband, who died in 1997, attempted to kill me by beating me with a tire iron in September of 1975, fracturing my skull and eyesockets. I have worked with and been committed to domestic violence victims and to ending domestic violence since that time. I have been a witness to the feminist creation of, and development of, the shelter movement since around the time of my own severe battering.

The domestic shelter and anti-rape movements in the United States are faltering, in part because DV/rape organizations and shelters are increasingly operated by religious organizations and male professionals rather than those most affected by domestic violence and most vested in ending it-- survivors themselves and the women who support them. Ending male violence against women is central to American women's economic well-being and quality of life. Domestic violence and rape devastate women of any age, and all racial, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds. Domestic violence is a leading cause of injury to girls and women and can lead to difficulties on the job, job loss, depression, substance abuse.

I support

The Military Extraterritorial Jurisdictional Act which would allow for prosecution of defense contractors and corporations abroad for rape and acts of violence against and harassment of employees by employees and staff members;
Returning control of the domestic violence/shelter/rape crisis movement to women, as opposed to government bureaucrats and men;
Funding domestic violence, rape crisis shelters, and men's domestic violence shelters via a $100 yearly tax on all adult men whose annual incomes are above the poverty level (the "Man Tax");
Supplementing funding for domestic violence, rape crisis shelters, and men's domestic violence shelters via taxes on pornographic magazines, films, websites, strip bars, "gentlemen's" clubs, brothels, establishments which appeal to male clientele via the objectification of female employees (i.e., Hooter's), and music featuring violent misogynist lyrics and imagery (i.e., Eminem);
Requiring domestic violence shelters to create and to be accountable to governing boards comprised of former domestic violence victims or advocates for victims for decisions about policies, budgets and hiring of staff and directors;
Requiring domestic violence shelters to clearly, visibly and transparently disclose any and all affiliations with religious or faith-based groups in their advertising and informational materials;
Creating a list of domestic violence shelters nationwide denoting which are faith-based and which are secular;
Requiring domestic violence shelters to clearly disclose in their promotional and informational materials whether they have male directors, male owners or male staff members;
No government funding of faith-based domestic violence shelters;
No faith-based "partnerships" with government- or independently-funded secular domestic violence shelters;
Allowing experience working with domestic violence victims to substitute year-for-year for college degrees in staffing government-funded shelters;
Creating a grievance process for victims of rape and domestic violence who believe they have been mistreated in shelters, with grievances heard by governing boards comprised of former domestic violence/rape victims and their advocates as described above;
Requiring those accused of domestic violence who are under court-ordered restraining orders to wear ankle bracelets so that their movements and location can be tracked. Thousands of women are assaulted and/or killed every year despite having obtained restraining orders against their abusers;
Transitional housing is essential in order for domestic violence survivors to take control of and move forward with their lives. Congress should fund this transitional housing and should give this project its own line item in the budget. Transitional housing should include co-housing and community housing for greater protection of domestic violence survivors moving out of shelters;
Women should be permitted to refuse child support from abusive men so long as those men are willing to relinquish parental rights;
Fathers' parental rights should be terminated where both mother and father agree;
Men convicted of murdering, battering or raping their children's mothers should have their parental rights terminated;
Battered women charged with assault or murder as a consequence of defending themselves against their batterers should retain parental rights to their children;
Child support for children whose fathers have voluntarily given up their parental rights should be paid for via the Man Tax described above.

Education

I am the mother of 11 children, ages 9-36, and the grandmother of four grandchildren. Various of my children have at different times and for some length of time attended public school, private school, community colleges, trade schools, and four-year colleges. All of my children have been homeschooled beginning in 1983, and several of my children have never attended any school. For years I published a magazine for women at home, and in particular, for homeschooling mothers. I spoke across the United States and on radio and television to audiences of homeschoolers about homeschooling. I am the founder of the Coalition of Independent Homeschoolers, and have written extensively on the subject of homeschooling. I have a keen interest in education, alternative education, and homeschooling.

I support:

Ending No Child Left Behind;
Public health nurse visitations to the homes of all new parents;
Expanded funding of WIC (Women, Infants and Children program);
Providing tax incentives to employers who encourage telecommuting and who offer flexible hours and onsite child care;
Homeschooling, charter schools, school choice, and alternative forms of education like cooperatives;
Allowing working parents who want to homeschool their children to create homeschooling co-ops and similar projects with at-home homeschooling parents;
Expanding school districts' rights to terminate teachers and school staff members who are abusive, who have sexually assaulted students, who are found to be sexual offenders, or who are incompetent;
Rewarding teachers in low-income schools receiving comparatively low salaries by forgiving their student loans;
Tying teachers' salary raises to performance or merit;
Strengthening bilingual education;
Guarantying scholarships/financial aid to state colleges for low and middle-income children, with eligibility tied to high school academic performance and citizenship and participation in AmeriCorps for at least one summer;
Expanding funding to Head Start;
Encouraging flexibility in school hours for high school students;
Art, poetry, and music are as important as mathematics, history and English and should be treated as such in the nation's school systems;
Good grades alone do not equal preparation for jobs or adult life;
I do not support vouchers or "partnerships" between homeschools and schools'
I do not support government payouts, subsidies, vouchers or gifts to homeschooling families.

End Poverty

I am a middle-income taxpayer and have been for most of my life; however, because of my large family, and because of my divorces, during many years, I found it tough to make ends meet. I have been the sole or primary support of my family for decades. I know very well what it is to struggle to survive.

I support:

Doubling the minimum wage and indexing it to the cost of living.
Guarantee the right of all workers to organize and to strike and forbid replacement of striking workers.
A guaranteed income for those who cannot work.
Ending the oppression and harassment of homeless persons: abolish vagrancy laws and police "trespassing," end the practice of tearing down and destroying tent cities and the homemade dwellings of homeless persons, and provide a basic income and services to end homelessness.
Making it illegal for prospective employers to use applicants' credit records to screen job applicants.
Banning mandatory private arbitrations between businesses and individual consumers.
Protecting and serving the "unbanked" millions by outlawing "payday" loans, high-fee "check cashing" services, and front-loaded cash cards which do not enjoy the protections of bank-issued debit cards.
Creating incentives for banks to provide "second chance" bank accounts to the "unbanked" and those who have had credit and banking problems. These bank accounts could not be overdrawn, would provide debit cards and free online bill pay, would provide a certain number of free money orders per month, and would charge a fee of $5 per month.
Regulating bank check holds on low-balance bank accounts and banning the banking practice of prioritizing amongst multiple NSF checks so as to maximize fees paid by low-balance customers to banks.
Offering incentives and protections for banks and credit unions to provide "second chance" low-interest consumer loans to customers and members who have credit problems in place of payday loans and other forms of predatory lending.
Prohibiting the practice of insurance companies correlating home and auto insurance premiums with credit scores;
Fixing subprime mortgage rates for two years;
Extending unemployment benefits by 26 weeks;
Phase out current tax cuts over a four year period;
Replace the current tax system and structure with a 10 percent flat tax on all individuals earning incomes above poverty level and on all corporations. Institute luxury taxes, defining luxury in the wide sense to include such things as pollution and degradation of women as well as things commonly defined as luxuries
$500 rebates to all taxpayers;
Institute a rollback of hostile corporate take-overs; require board approvals for all takeover bids, mergers and acquisitions except in the case of insolvency where management is recalcitrant and is not acting in the best interests of shareholders
Repeal the Taft-Hartley Anti-Union law
Eliminate all tax havens (there are about forty havens including Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands, Liechtenstein, etc.) whose existence constitutes a form of legalized theft by allowing financiers, companies, political leaders, criminals and the very wealthy to hide “their” money and to avoid paying taxes and obeying the laws and regulations of the U.S.

Fixing bankruptcy laws by:

Removing credit counseling requirements now required so people can qualify as "debtors";
Eliminating mandatory arbitration;
Creating minimum homestead exemptions;
Curbing excessive mortgage company fees in bankruptcy;
Ending the bankruptcy code's special treatment of home mortgage loans;

I support the Credit Card Bill of Rights Act which would prohibit:

Bait and switch interest rates and fee hikes for any or no reason during the life of a credit card;
Assessing hidden and unfair interest rate charges by charging interest on balances already paid off;
Maximizing interest charges by requiring consumers to pay off balances with lower interest rates before those with higher rates;
Charging late fees when consumers mail payments seven days in advance of the due date;
Applying unfair interest rate hikes retroactively;
Setting a cap on interest for charged-off accounts;

Additionally:

We should require honest and full disclosure of credit card terms in ways which are understandable to ordinary consumers;
Outlaw the practice of making arbitrary, unpredictable and changing payment due dates (resulting in missed payments and late fees);
Ban "universal default," the practice of hiking interest rates or closing accounts for consumer behavior unrelated to the card (like a falling credit score).

Moving towards a gift economy:

A gift economy is one in which gifting -- free and voluntary giving -- replaces quid pro quo exchanges of goods for goods or money for goods or services. Examples of gifting we are all familiar with are tithing in religious communities, giving offerings, shareware or "open source" developing, and institutions like public libraries and churches. Potlatches are a kind of gifting. Freecycling is another kind of gifting and is becoming increasingly popular in metropolitan areas. Women are intimately associated with gifting, oftentimes, without realizing it, in that women have been the primary caregivers and homemakers, cooking, cleaning and caring for their families. When giving is valued in its own right, instead of viewed as something which should be exchanged for money or compensation, and all are giving as much and as often as all are receiving, all such giving is viewed as dignified quite apart from exchanges of any kind.

Health Care

I support universal, single-payer national health care, with guaranteed treatment regardless of age, ability to pay, employment, or prior medical condition, and with choice of doctors and hospitals. This should be paid for by rolling existing state and federal health care funding into one program and adding a 3 to 5 percent payroll tax on employers.
Alternatively, I would support the choice to fund cash-only, non-insurance health care plans like Simple Care together with catastrophic health insurance.
I support returning control of birthing to women, including midwives, labor and delivery nurses, doulas, childbirth educators, and female gynecologists and nurse practitioners.
I support the de-medicalizing of birth and women's right to determine how and where they will birth to include home birth with midwives, birthing centers, hospital birth or unassisted birth.
I oppose compulsory immunizations for newborns.
I would support incentivizing health by, for example, taxing junk foods.

Trade

I oppose all trade agreements, pacts and institutions (NAFTA, FTAA, CAFTA, WTO) because they result in erosion or elimination of labor, environmental and human rights protections. In particular, NAFTA has been disastrous for working people in the U.S. and Mexico and has benefitted only multinational corporations. I would eliminate tax cuts for businesses moving overseas and would tax or otherwise penalize businesses for outsourcing.

Immigration

Abandon plans for any barrier or fence between Mexico and the U.S.
Appropriate adequate funding and manpower to conduct a thorough investigation into the murders of hundreds of immigrant women crossing the border from Mexico into the U.S. It is a national disgrace and atrocity that these murders remain unsolved and that women continue to be murdered.
Create a path to citizenship for immigrants now in the U.S. illegally .
Deny citizenship to, or deport, male immigrants convicted of rape, sexual assault, child abuse, domestic violence, pimping or procuring, or sex trafficking.
Outlaw the mail order bride trade and forbid the practice of U.S. citizens purchasing mail order brides from foreign countries.
Allow foreign partners of gay and lesbian Americans legal immigrant status, just as foreign spouses are allowed to immigrate.
Grant asylum and a path to citizenship to battered women, abused children, and trafficked persons seeking to enter the U.S. Deny entry and citizenship to their abusers, pimps, traffickers.
Immediately end the practice of immigration raids.

War on Drugs

Decriminalize drug use, end prohibition, treat drug addiction and dependence as health care issues.

Environment/Energy

I have been a suburban or rural homesteader since 1983 and have practiced organic gardening using principles of sustainable agriculture since that time, relying primarily on the research and work of Ecology Action of the Mid-Peninsula in California. In addition, I have raised sheep, goats, chickens, and turkeys, and have grown herbs and wildflower/herbal ground covers. I've lived for long periods of time without central heating (in the Pacific Northwest, where winters are cold and rainy) and my water has come from a well on my own land since 1991. I was born into a family of fishermen, hunters, gardeners and mountain people and feel a deep connection to the earth, the ocean, the hills. Love and respect preclude exploitation; this is as true for the natural world and for relationships between animals and human beings as it is true of relationships between human beings. Whatever you exploit, you will not respect; whatever you exploit and disrespect, you will ultimately destroy. Again, this is as true for relationships with the earth and its creatures as between human beings.

I support:

Phasing out our dependence on carbon-based technologies in favor of exploring and funding alternative energy research into renewable energy sources, especially wind, hydro and solar power and geothermal energy. If many citizens came to rely on these energy sources, they could, in turn, sell them back to the power grid, meaning the grid would be invested in continuing to support new, renewable and sustainable sources.
Phasing out nuclear power as an energy source. It is too toxic, too polluting, and too risky to human and animal life and to the earth itself.
Providing tax incentives and microloans for startups of small local farms, urban and suburban homesteads, neighborhood gardens, food co-operatives, small local businesses, consumer co-ops, and for consumers who buy and sell locally.
Promoting education in the practices of sustainable agriculture, biodiversity, low-till and no-till gardening, double-dug, no-rototiller raised beds, small-space gardening and heirloom seed preservation, in universities, colleges, and via county Extension Programs available to local communities;
Providing incentives for employers to encourage telecommuting and flexible hours;
Ending drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and designating it permanently as a wilderness;
Moratoriums on new offshore oil and natural gas drilling;
Maintaining the protections of the Wildlife Endangered Species Act ;
Fighting global deforestation;
Negotiations and meetings with leaders in China, India and throughout the world with the goal or researching and ending global warming and dependence on fossil fuels;
Ending environmental racism; no toxic dumps in the back yards of the poor, indigenous people and minorities.

Lesbian and Gay Issues, Bisexual, Transgender Issues

I support same-sex marriage and/or civil unions;
I oppose the Defense of Marriage Act;
I support expanding hate-crime legislation to prohibit lesbo- and homophobic and transphobic hate speech;
I oppose the military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy;
The U.S. should grant asylum and a path to citizenship for persons who have experienced discrimination because they are lesbian, gay or transgender;
I support the rights of lesbians to create, define, protect and enjoy woman-born-woman only spaces, organizations and activities.

Human Rights

I oppose all forms of torture, indefinite detention, depriving persons of attorneys and the right to a speedy trial, Guantanamo and any and all detention camps;
I oppose capital punishment;
I oppose corporal punishment, whether by parents, school officials or caregivers;
Instate a moratorium on the hiring of male guards in female prisons and jails. There is currently an epidemic of rape and sexual assault of women prisoners by male guards throughout the country. Women prisoners who report these attacks are punished via yet more attacks. Male guards should constitute no more than 10 percent of guards in any women's prison;
I oppose all nonconsensual surgical procedures to include circumcision, female genital mutilation, infibulation, surgeries on persons born with ambiguous genitalia (intersex persons), sterilizations, and procedures such as the "Ashley treatment" performed on developmentally disabled persons.
The Patriot Act should be repealed.

I would work towards implementing principles of transformative justice:

Where no one's safety is at stake, bypass the criminal justice system and resolve issues between the parties and in the context of communities:

Emphasize prevention: educate about abuse, rape, sexual assault, anger management, and conflict resolution beginning in elementary school;

Provide adequate safe spaces, i .e., domestic violence shelters, shelters for homeless persons;

Allow for community service and reparations in place of fines and prison sentences for nonviolent crimes;

Treat addiction and substance abuse as health issues;

Decriminalize drugs;

End the practice of trying juveniles as adults;

Stop the cycle of arresting, incarcerating, treating and releasing persons who have been alcoholics for many years and who are homeless. Appropriate funds designated for building or buying apartment buildings in which they will have their own units and may drink alcohol in their own units and allow them to remain in their apartments so long as they follow rules designed for the safety of residents and the community. Use the programs of this type pioneered in Seattle as a model;

Allow felons to vote.
Animal Rights

Animals, birds, fish, insects, all are part of the web of benificent life. Human beings have no inalienable or inherent right to dominate, use, kill, or eat these animals, much less to treat them cruelly or inhumanely. I believe in a certain "personhood" of animals-- that each animal is born with certain rights, at the very least the right not to be born into a life of pain and torture. I believe it is often possible for human beings to communicate with animals, if we are willing to take the time to learn their language.

I support:

Programs like Seattle's Great Ape Project which is campaigning for the United Nations to adopt a Declaration on Great Apes, which would designate gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees and bonobos as a "community of equals" with human beings, giving them three very basic protections: the right to live, to individual liberty, and the right not to be tortured.
Funding research into communicating with animals.
Banning the use of animals in pornography.
Banning sex between human beings and animals.
Phasing out using animals for entertainment in circuses and zoos.
Freeing all circus elephants and retiring them to elephant sanctuaries.
I oppose inhumane factory farming practices, killing animals for their fur, horns or tusks, animal fighting as a spectator sport, killing animals for sport, and all practices which exploit animals and which cause them to suffer so that human beings can be entertained.

Campaign Reform

I support fully-funded, publicly-financed elections with free air-time, reasonable ballot access, and debates that are open to all legitimate candidates.

Abolish the "super delegate" system. Abolish the electoral college.
Elder Issues

Elders are increasingly being targeted by predatory lenders. I recently learned of a lawsuit brought in my area on behalf of a woman in her 80s who had been talked into refinancing her home more than 12 times over several years. She ultimately could not pay her mortgage bills and her home, which she had initially owned free and clear, was foreclosed. The elderly are often vulnerable to the pressures of predatory lenders because they are frequently on fixed incomes and are short of cash. They deserve the protections I described above in the Economics portion of my platform.
In addition, elderly people are often discriminated against in hiring and forced into retirement before they are ready or can afford to retire. This discrimination should not be tolerated.
Elders are vulnerable to elder abuse by caregivers and in nursing homes and are often forced into nursing homes and living situations they find dehumanizing and degrading. I would support health care reforms which included home-based care for elders along with senior villages and adult day care which allowed elders to stay in their homes and near friends and families.

I would also support:

Increased funding of meals on wheels and similar services for the elderly;
Prioritizing accessible public transportation by funding "kneeling" and wheelchair- and walker-accessible buses;
Simple public campaigns which emphasize the importance of honoring the elders in our communities. Honoring our elders improves the quality of life for all of us, infants through elders, and it is completely free.

Military/Veterans

Thousands of female troops over the past 40 years have been raped by their fellow troops while serving their country. Funds must be appropriated and a commission impaneled to investigate rape in all branches of the U.S. military and to recommend and implement changes which will end the rape of American soldiers. The commission should be led and comprised of persons with proven track records in domestic violence/rape prevention arenas
Appropriate necessary funds to screen all soldiers leaving the military or returning from duty during wartime for post traumatic stress disorder.
Declare soldiers suffering PTSD disabled and compensate them.

Native Americans

I support Native American sovereignty and the rights of Native American nations to secede from the United States with help during the transition period from NGOs, the UN and NATO.

Reparations

I support reparations for black Americans in the form of direct payments to middle-, lower-income, and poor black citizens who are at least third-generation Americans and tax credits to upper-middle class black citizens who are at least third-generation Americans.
I support reparations for women in the form of taxes on media representations which degrade women as well as a $100 per year tax on all men with incomes above the poverty level (the “Man Tax”).

Church/State

Ban the purchase and use of conservative Christian/evangelical materials, i.e., character "character curriculum" in government and public schools.
Ban abstinence education in favor of sex education.

Farms, Rural Amercians

I support:

Ending the subsidizing of mega farms which drives megafarmers’ neighbors out of business by bidding land away from them.
Ending loopholes that allow megafarm operations to receive millions in loan deficiency payments and marketing loan gains through generic certificates or by forfeiting commodities to USDA to pay off loans.
Setting enforceable payment limits on loan deficiency payments, marketing loan gains, and all other income support payments. This limit should be strictly applied to everyone, regardless of how many corporations they create.
Tightening rules on who can qualify for farm programs to require more active involvement in management or labor, except for landlords who share rent.
Entrepreneurial development in rural areas and strategies to build assets and wealth for rural people and in rural communities, and to address the persistent, deep-rooted poverty present in many rural parts of the nation. Both strategies address the growing economic disparity between rural and urban areas of the nation. And both strategies address the issues of how to repopulate rural areas and how to ensure the long-term future of rural America
Rewarding good stewardship of the land by placing a greater emphasis on working lands, communities and fostering a new generation of conservation-minded farmers and ranchers. Although each farmer has a moral obligation to leave the land at least as well as s/he receives it, the public also has an obligation to share in the cost of protecting the land and water on which all of us – current and future generations – rely for survival.

(1) See http://www.4era.org/
(2) Malalai Joya on Afghanistan

Platform discussion

Womensspace — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 14:11:52 CST

The last Missing Right was meant to cover all forms of discrimination, the principle of ERA applied to minorities. I see some redundancy there, but that is not necessarily an issue. The redundancy was intentional. Is there anything you said about ERA that would not be true of the larger civil rights definition? Will the lawyers find any loopholes? Language is usually open to interpretation, which people distort to promote their own agendas. There may be no way to foresee all loopholes, but careful language could close the foreseen loopholes.

Democrats like to refer to the Bush tax cuts as tax cuts for the rich. I think the tax system could be drastically overhauled so that most tax revenue would derive from luxuries, defining luxury in the wide sense to include such things as pollution and degradation of women as well as things commonly defined as luxuries. Some luxuries are costly in terms of damage to health and the environment; they should be taxed to extinction. Some luxuries are costly in terms of damage to women; they could be taxed highly, but not so highly as to foster a black market, depending on the degree of damage women determine will incur. Measuring degradation of women is by nature subjective, but there are various levels to how low men can sink. Sexual portrayals of women getting hurt are direct incitements to violence, which are hate speech, not protected as free speech. If assaulting women is criminal, so should filming it be, unless for documentation.

Some luxuries are relatively innocuous things only relatively wealthy people can think of buying. Taxes on such items should not be as high as damaging items, the most expensive items taxed more, up to 50 percent. Taxes on the most damaging items should be confiscatory, putting the producers out of business. If a black market might be created, the tax might have to top around 500 percent.

The lowest luxury tax rates could be on speculation, perhaps a tenth of a percent. The volume of that market makes that add up in a hurry. With a peace dividend, I think income and sales taxes could be replaced by such a luxury tax scheme. A flat tax is the only kind of income tax that is not artifically arbitrary. Were you thinking 10% of all income above the poverty level? I was thinking the cutoff could be a little higher than poverty. Perhaps poverty should be defined. If people did not have to pay for minimally adequate food, shelter, health care, and education, does poverty become extinct? There could also be a tax rebate for people who require only routine medical services for the year.

I would like to make a point of calling for independent investigations into all claims about health and disease treatment, by orthodox medicine as well as alternative modalities. Once what works can be identified, health care costs would drop dramatically.

I have issues with large dams providing hydropower. Environmentalists often specify small hydropower.

“The U.S. left Afghanistan in worse shape than it was before our intrusion.” Unfortunately USA has not left yet, and is making things still worse. Perhaps that should read instead of left, has put? Perhaps uranium residues from our DU weapons should get a mention. Using these weapons could be interpreted as a war crime under international law. Birth defects are rife in Iraq. Then again if you start giving details of the horrors USA has engendered, when can you stop? I think it is important to recognize the war crimes committed by our government, if there is to be any hope of peace. To come clean about our horrid foreign policy might defuse some of the widespread hatred for that policy. Pakistan is possibly the most dangerous place on earth for USA to be meddling with at the moment. I expect Pakistan to be a hot topic in the upcoming debates, since Democrats seem to center the "real war on terror" in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“Ending drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge”. I do not think it has started yet, though I could be wrong, exploration drills perhaps. There is lots of drilling near the refuge, but Clinton opened that huge petroleum reserve after decades of keeping it off limits, most environmentalists not raising a peep.

Regarding women-only spaces, why is this a right of lesbians, as opposed to women, to define? Perhaps very few heterosexual women feel they have any stake in that, but this almost sounds like lesbians defining women to me. I know it is not meant that way, but you know what people will do with any angle they can find. It seems lesbian-only spaces would have to be defined by lesbians, women-only spaces by born females.

“Charging late fees when consumers mail payments seven days in advance of the due date.” This is part of the Credit Card Bill of Rights Act? Does that mean six days in advance would be liable for a late fee if the mail is slow? I am curious, not being familiar with that act. I know the fine print says when the payment must be received, as opposed to when it is mailed, making the billpayer responsible for failure of the postal service. In some states I think the postmark is the relevant date.

These are some general principles underlying my contribution to the platform, rewritten by Heart since the sneak preview posted on my blog to start the new year:

The system is fundamentally corrupt, rigged to perpetuate the existing hierarchical order, all the way down to its core value and belief systems.

There is no political reality, besides what men create to maintain the system. That deserves no more credence than any other illusion men have created for their benefit.

Artificial hierarchies of any kind cannot be allowed to abuse authority.

At least a truce will be negotiated with all enemies willing to negotiate in good faith.

To break down the hierarchical order, a first step will be to roll back all hostile takeovers, another abuse of this unbridled exchange economy known as modern capitalism. Businesses should grow by providing quality products or services, not by taking over rivals or otherwise exploiting political or economic clout to force competitors out of business.

The free trade agreements are the modern face of colonialism and should be dismantled.

A Pollution Abatement Corps will clean up toxic messes, equip buildings to collect solar energy, and build wind farms in suitable locations worldwide to phase out nuclear power and fossil fuels as soon as possible.

Toxic chemicals will be phased out as quickly as possible, heavily taxed as luxuries to encourage alternatives.

All sacred cows are under challenge at the Free Soil Party.

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Hey Aletha!

Wow, that's a lot, but there's a lot of good stuff there. I really like the breakdown of your ideas for luxury taxes.

Great point re huge dams as opposed to small hydros.

I thought there was already some drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but I don't know why I thought that and will have to do the research.

I considered getting into the specific harms the U.S. has caused in Afghanistan, Iraq, etc., but like you say, where does that end?
I wonder if in the "War and Peace" part of my platform I could include, under the U.S. making a commitment to peace, a listing or delineation of the harms we have caused in the interests of the kind of full disclosure and acknowledgement it sounds like you are suggesting, maybe to include plans to amend and fix the harm we have caused. I'm thinking about things l ike landmines now, as well-- is there even a way to safely remove landmines? But also clean ups of all the toxic waste we've left behind.

I know the U.S. is still in Afghanistan, but NATO is there as well, so the feeling is more of ... what, peacekeeping or something like that, even though that isn't happening. It becomes more complicated to talk about a situation and our involvement in it, once NATO/UN bodies are involved. Now things have to go through the UN as well as being up to us.

Good point re woman-only space. I think we do not have to restrict it to lesbians, although I was thinking of lesbian nation, lesbian separatists there and of protecting women's lands operated by separatists.

I think the ERA passing might strengthen Title VII civil rights protections for women. Right now there are efforts underway to protect "gender" in ways which are of dubious benefit to women. If the ERA passed these other efforts might be unnecessary. I should e-mail you about this. But I haven't really considered that the same might be true with the Missing Bill of Rights.

I think I'll start a thread to discuss our discussion here, even though responses will have to be under a word limit.

Heart/Cheryl