Probitas

It all comes down to one saying. From George Bernard Shaw: "Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it." I would love to consider myself a Libertarian and push for a Libertarian philosophy, but in reality, I can't see most people being responsible enough to make the ideas work.

Back when I started teaching, the principal's philosophy was Freedom with Responsibility. It sounds so easy, but as we have seen through they years, it ain't gonna happen. People want their freedom, but they aren't responsible enough to handle it.

I am bothered by the news of late whether crime or economics or politics, our society is on the edge of out-of-control - we're living in a Lord of the Flies world. For our society to work, all people need to do is be responsible - whether a "high-powered" CEO or a kid in the inner city. People are promoting and living their own agendas and the rest of 'em be damned. Whether power, fun, freedom, survival, or belonging (from Wm. Glasser), chances are good one or more of the aforementioned concepts motivate most people to be who they are and do what they do.

JFK had it right: "Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country."

An Incomplete Victory

To the right is a photo of "Winged Victory of Samothrace." The sculpture is 11 feet tall and, coincidentally, was found on the island of Samothrace; sculpted around 190 BC, it was discovered in 1863. It is currently on display in the Louvre in Paris and represents the Greek goddess Nike, but I suspect the real goddess had a head and arms.
Anyhow, perhaps the sculpture is a good symbol for my senatorial campaign. While the election is still a few weeks off, I already feel a small but incomplete sense of victory. At a local diner and at the local supermarket, someone has stopped me and said, "I hear you're running for office." That suggests to me that some word of my candidacy has gotten out.
I doubt any papers have run the press releases I sent out; why should they? Think about it - The System has given us two opposing mainstream candidates who represent, well, The System. They have raised and will spend millions of dollars for a job that pays $169,300! I, meanwhile, am spending nothing but some time. Just suppose for a moment that the papers did run my press releases, and suppose the papers' reporters and radio and TV personalities picked up on them and called me and asked questions that I answered "right" enough. And suppose as a Washington outsider and independent thinker I appealed to enough people who ended up electing me, and I, as one of the ordinary people, ended up making a real difference. As a person who owes nothing to anyone, I can do that; real "politicians" can't.
As we get closer to the election, I will send out another press release or two; I am doing my part. If I can just get the papers to do theirs....

p.s. To see my press releases and some positions, go to www.bermansbits.com and click on Politics.

Press Release

The image to the left is of the first known politician; I found it online and used it without permission (if you are the owner, may I use it?). Anyhow, it speaks for itself.

That said, I have decided that because I am so upset over today's passage of the sell out, oops, I mean bailout, I am declaring my candidacy for United States Senator from New Hampshire. I know I have less of a chance than Pat Paulson (at least people knew him from TV). Consider the following from www.paulson.com:

"JAN-22-DETROIT, MI - Even deceased, presidential candidate Pat Paulsen managed to garner more votes than Democratic candidate Kucinich in several precincts of Michigan’s January 15th primary.

Paulsen’s two-week Michigan effort to get out the vote on a Democratic ballot that featured Hillary Clinton, Dennis Kucinich, Mike Gravel, Christopher Dodd and the ultimate second-place finisher, UNCOMMITED, turned out to be a treasure trove of votes for Pat Paulsen.

In spite of the warnings posted by bureaucratic clerks that write-in votes would not be counted in the early Michigan Primary, hundreds of voters, both Democratic and Republican, exercised their conscience and their constitutional right to choose the next president of the United States by writing in Pat Paulsen on Tuesday, January 15, 2008."

He got "hundreds of votes." I'll be happy with dozens.

Here is the Press Release I will be sending out this coming week:

Rumney Man is None of the Above

(RUMNEY) “This is what happens when my wife leaves me home alone,” winks Dave Berman, a retired high school English teacher who lives in Rumney, NH. “I followed the progress of The Bailout from its original three pages up to the 451-page version that was finally approved, and I was outraged! I knew I had to do something! We average citizens have been shafted enough!”

With that, Berman has tossed his cap into the political arena as a last-minute, None-of-the-Above write-in candidate for New Hampshire’s United States Senator opening (either party). “This is my campaign,” he says about this interview. “I owe nothing to anyone, and that’s the way it should be. If one person gave me $100 to help my efforts, I would owe that person. That’s what Washington is all about.”

He is hoping a grass-roots, neighbor-telling-neighbor movement will get his name out and result in at least several votes which will say nothing other than that people are fed up with Washington’s fat-cat business-as-usual attitude. Berman says that politics is a rich person’s world. “I just read a report that showed the wealthiest Congress people have worth in the tens of millions of dollars. It’s time we have someone who really understands what the average person is going through these days. As of July, Senator Sununu was sitting on over six million dollars of campaign funds; former Governor Jeanne Shaheen had just under four million dollars. Berman has his computer, his desk, and his website (for more details and to view his main positions, visit www.bermansbits.com – click on Politics), all of which cost considerably less than $6 million. “If newspapers will publish this release, it’s a start. The people who are as disgusted with the Washington insiders as I am will do the rest.”

The self-described Liberal-Conservative, Conservative -Liberal candidate has no experience with politics but feels he has to do something. “I want to give the average person another choice. In some ways, I am the Sarah Palin of New Hampshire, but she knows more about politics than I do (and is better looking).” When word came that the bailout (“Sell out,” says Berman) passed the House, he was furious. He says a newspaper editorial lead paragraph sums it up: “The American people responded to the gigantic "trust us" bailout plan by screaming, "Hell, no!" The people demanded more accountability and less risk for their tax money. But instead, we got "sweeteners" to make the same plan more palatable to hold-out House and Senate members. This is exactly why the people distrust Washington” (Union Leader 10/3/08).

Berman adds, “If you send me to Washington, I won’t forget you. The only connection I have to big oil is through the hose that fills my car. Seriously, remember my name, and write me in. Your vote for me will say nothing more than ‘I agree – enough is enough! Throw ‘em out!’”

-30-

If you live in New Hampshire, I ask for your write-in vote Can I really be worse than the other choices? Contact me at: senatorberman@gmail.com for details or go to www.bermansbits.com and click Politics for more information.

If elected, I will, um, well, I don't really know what I'd do except the best I can for the hard-working, decent people of New Hampshire. Thank you.

Politics - FEH!

Americans as consumers need to wean ourselves off our voracious appetite... for credit. Read on.

There are still those people who don't understand why many "politicians" (meant in the most extreme pejorative sense) are loathed by so many. The past several weeks are a particularly good example.

I have tried to follow the "bailout" (even though the media have recently stopped using the word), and while I have only heard one person describe it in possibly acceptable terms (Senator Judd Gregg), I really don't understand it other than many did wrong and will be rewarded, while the public who is hurt will be hurt more by the costs. Yeah, it's complicated, but I don't feel I can accept the government's word that this expensive (talk about understatement) "fix" is all for the best - time will tell. Instead of throwing more money at a problem (the American way), I'd be looking at what happened, who did what and why, and how can we prevent this from ever happening again!

Anyhow, the original bailout was three pages long. Then the House politicians discussed and "negotiated," and the draft was suddenly 42 pages long. Not yet satisfied, nearly a week of ongoing talks between Treasury Secretary Paulson and key lawmakers followed, and the new working version was now up to 102 pages. It was voted down, because the people spoke... wrote letters, emailed, and called.

Then the Senate decided to get in on the action (here's the good part): Once the Senate was done adding "sweeteners" today to "entice" reluctant House Republicans to change their minds and vote for the bailout, the bill heading for discussion and probably passage tonight (I am guessing) had grown to 451 pages (a most appropriate number if you are into allusions [think Bradbury]) ! I would love to know what else ended up in it! Government pork is not my meat of choice. I believe it was Ronald Reagan who described the government as being like an infant with an insatiable appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other. That about sums it up as we see how eagerly some are trying their darnedest to spend us into bankruptcy! I predict the bailout will pass, and I only hope for the best but expect the worst.

I need to do more than call and email my representatives, which I have done. I have decided to offer voters a choice of someone else (a sort of None of the Above); someone who is of the people and for the people! I am not ready to write our country off. So, I will soon be promoting myself as a write-in candidate for the position of United States Senator from New Hampshire. If you are reading this, you are among the first to know as I am still in the planning stages. There will be more soon, but I figure why not? I have nothing to lose and a lot to gain. Putney Swope did it, so can I. I would enjoy Being There. If Chauncey Gardiner can do it, so can I! In the movie Chauncey noted, "In the garden, growth has it seasons. First comes spring and summer, but then we have fall and winter. And then we get spring and summer again." I fully agree!