Tennessee's 9th District Congressional Candidate Platform For Joe Ford, Jr.

The Campaign to to Elect Joseph S. Ford Jr. TOP 10 KEY ISSUES FOR THE 9th DISTRICT IN 2006
ECONOMY
HEALTH CARE
SOCIAL SECURITY
EDUCATION
CRIME
ENERGY
SOCIAL ISSUES/CIVIL RIGHTS
MILITARY/WAR IN IRAQ
HOMELAND SECURITY & THE WAR ON TERRORISM
IMPEACHMENT DISCLAIMER: This Platform cites and references to statistics and information which may be proprietary to various third party entities and/or protected by U.S. and international copyright laws. The information cited and referred to herein is for informational and educational purposes only. This Campaign does not make any claims whatsoever to such proprietary information except for content originally created by this Campaign and its staff. PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 1 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

PREAMBLE This Campaign calls on all residents of the 9th District to think deeply about the meaning of government of the people, by the people, and for the people. We the citizens are the government, and we the citizens can direct it to fulfill its finest goals and purposes. We, the People, have a responsibility to participate in self-government through all the means that our Constitution provides to improve our community. Citizens of a democracy must have the information and ability to determine the actions of their government. The true owners of the public lands, resources, social security, pension funds, and the public airwaves are the American people, who today have little or no control over their pooled assets or their commonwealth. The power of civic action is an antidote to the corporate control of so much of our law-making and regulating. The pervasive abuse imposed by corporate power increasingly undermines our democracy. The Campaign is an ongoing, unfolding project that is dynamic and creative in nature. We are committed to the strengthening of our civil society, including the institutions at the community level that have always characterized us. We seek to heal the alienation and apathy that has been cultivated in the citizenry by the power-brokers of the status quo. Righteous anger is rising in the District, and my Campaign offers constructive alternatives. In addition, we seek to repair the plummeting opinion of the Ford family name in the 9th District resulting from arrogant, narcissistic behavior in recent years on behalf of many politicians in the regional government.

CANDIDATE STATEMENT BY JOSEPH S. FORD, JR. JR. The average person does not believe in the government today. People have lost faith in their representatives who seem to care more about special corporate interests instead of the People’s interests. I believe in Grassroots Democracy where everyone contributes his/her part in society. Today’s neo-conservative military industrial complex government threatens the American economy, family, church, and way of life. While many politicians refuse to fight the battle for the “common man,” I have been away from the District for many years educating myself in the nation’s top universities to fight this battle. Although my business has kept me in California the last few years, my heart has always been with the District and Memphis. Now, I am returning home on a permanent basis, and my overall experiences and knowledge make me the candidate to best properly balance the interests of everyone in the community to improve lives. I plan to listen to the people of District. If you have some issue with the federal government, then I want to hear it. I’m taking your concerns to Washington, D.C! I will work to increase people’s participation throughout my term and to ensure that I am fully accountable to the people for all actions. I will work harder than my opponents, and I will take PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 2 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

responsibility for my mistakes. I will also work to create new types of political organizations which expand the process of participatory democracy by directly including citizens in the decision-making process of the 9th District Representative. My goal is to listen to the needs of the community and come to a consensus that best represents the interests of the community as a whole. As a computer science major, I will utilize the latest multimedia and technology to improve communication and response times for needs of the District including but not limited to establishing toll-free hotlines, online help centers, and house-calls. I am not a careerpolitician. I believe in term limits. If elected, I am going to perform public service for a few years to the community that helped me grow into the man I am today, and then move aside for others to do their civic duty at the federal level.

CAMPAIGN PLATFORM The Campaign supports the following positions on the issues relevant to the 9th District and representation in the federal government as a United States Congressman. Because I’m running for federal Congress, I will mostly focus on national issues within this Platform. Those who live in the 9th Congressional District know our region is blessed with beauty, faith, love, courage and economic strength.

ECONOMY LABOR, WAGES AND FULL EMPLOYMENT Globalization and overseas competition have eliminated quality jobs in manufacturing and industry throughout the community and the country. The 9th District must become an attractive location for global businesses and corporations producing tangible goods. Past methods and models for attracting global business must be disregarded and/or modified, and new competitive models must be developed that stress the interests of the 9th District in the 21st century economy – namely globalization and the global economy. We will introduce bills designed to improve minimum wages. We believe in increasing the number of “blue-collar” job opportunities. Many quality manufacturing and industrial jobs have been replaced with jobs in the service sector that pay less wages and offer fewer medical and retirement benefits. The rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer. As great wealth has accumulated at the top, the rest of our hard-working society has not been benefiting proportionally. Middleranking Americans are being squeezed, because the top ten percent (10%) of earners have captured almost half the total income gains in the past four decades and the top one percent have gained more than the entire bottom 50 percent (50%).

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No wonder working men and women and their families are strained to cope with the rising cost of health care, pharmaceutical drugs, housing, higher education, and public transportation – all of which have risen faster in price than typical family incomes. The book, "Economic Apartheid in America: A Primer on Economic Inequality and Insecurity,” describes how thirty zip-codes in America have become fabulously wealthy while entire urban and rural communities and regions are languishing in unemployment, crumbling infrastructure, growing insecurity, and fear. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job growth over the last five years is the weakest on record. The U.S. economy came up more than 7 million jobs short of keeping up with population growth. Over the past five years the U.S. economy experienced a net job loss in goods producing activities. The entire job growth was in service-providing activities--primarily credit intermediation, health care and social assistance, waiters, waitresses and bartenders, and state and local government. U.S. manufacturing lost 2.9 million jobs, almost 17% of the manufacturing work force. The wipeout is across the board. Not a single manufacturing payroll classification created a single new job. Communications equipment lost 43% of its workforce. Semiconductors and electronic components lost 37% of its workforce. The workforce in computers and electronic products declined 30%. Electrical equipment and appliances lost 25% of its employees. The workforce in motor vehicles and parts declined 12%. Furniture and related products lost 17% of its jobs. Apparel manufacturers lost almost 50% of the work force. Employment in textile mills declined 43%. Paper and paper products lost 20% of its jobs. The work force in plastics and rubber products declined by 15%. Even manufacturers of beverages and tobacco products experienced a 7% shrinkage in jobs. The knowledge jobs that were supposed to take the place of lost manufacturing jobs in the globalized "new economy" never appeared. The information sector lost 17% of its jobs, with the telecommunications work force declining by 25%. Even wholesale and retail trade lost jobs. Despite massive new accounting burdens imposed by Sarbanes-Oxley, accounting and bookkeeping employment shrank by 4%. Computer systems design and related lost 9% of its jobs. Today there are 209,000 fewer managerial and supervisory jobs than 5 years ago. In five years the U.S. economy only created 70,000 jobs in architecture and engineering, many of which are clerical. As a result, engineering enrollments at universities are shrinking, because there are no jobs for graduates. There are several hundred thousand American engineers who are unemployed and have been for years. Offshore outsourcing and offshore production have left the U.S. awash with unemployment among the highly educated. The low measured rate of unemployment does not include discouraged workers. Unemployment benefits were intended to help people over the down time in the cycle when workers were laid off. Today the unemployment is permanent as entire occupations and industries are wiped out by labor arbitrage as corporations replace their American employees with foreign ones. PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 4 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

If free trade and outsourcing benefit the US economy, how did America run up $2.85 trillion in trade deficits over the last five years? This means Americans consumed almost $3 trillion dollars more in goods and services than they produced and turned over $3 trillion of their existing assets to foreigners to pay for their consumption. Consuming accumulated wealth makes a country poorer, not richer. Economists who look beyond political press releases estimate the U.S. unemployment rate to be between 7% and 8.5%. There are now hundreds of thousands of Americans who will never recover their investment in their university education. It is difficult to maintain that the creation of 1,054,000 net new private sector jobs over five years is an indication of a healthy economy. The total number of private sector jobs created over the five year period is 500,000 jobs – less than one year's legal and illegal immigration! For example, when a new Wal-Mart recently opened on Chicago's city boundary, 25,000 people applied for 325 jobs; or that 11,000 people applied for a few Wal-Mart jobs in Oakland, California. This demonstrates that employment is far from full. Once upon a time: people shopped on downtown city streets, frequented local diners, and had a choice of jobs to choose from. Towns employed parents in auto plants, machine shops, textile mills, ship building, farming, fishing, and every imaginable manufacturing job. A man working in a steel mill or auto plant; could encourage his son/daughter, to go to college, and attain a profession that he had only dreamed of. If not college, a trade, that saw one with a livable wage, was readily available. This country had marvelous craftsmen, machinists, designers of great buildings, bridges, and damns. Now fewer things are made anymore. Wealth is really created by making things. What's created by a prison, a casino, a garbage dump, an incinerator, or a service sector job? Nothing is produced except a person eking out a living; hardly able to afford the gas to travel to work, let alone that college education for his child. Forget a home, a decent vehicle, or ever taking a vacation. All one has to do is look around and note that it is almost an impossibility to buy a product made in America. Fifty years ago, a third of U.S. employees worked in factories, making everything from clothing to lipstick to cars. Today, a little more than one-tenth of the nation's 131 million workers are employed by manufacturing firms. 80% are in services! The Commerce Department released a record U.S. trade deficit in goods and services for 2005--$726 billion. The U.S. deficit in Advanced Technology Products reached a new high. Offshore production for home markets and jobs outsourcing has made the U.S. highly dependent on foreign provided goods and services, while simultaneously reducing the export capability of the U.S. economy. This Campaign supports/endorses: •

The right of free persons to associate or not associate in labor unions.

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Raising the minimum wage to a universal basic level to help families struggling to pay utility bills and buy food. Federally-funded public works programs to rebuild the nation's infrastructure and restore the environment. International trade agreements that guarantee the protection of workers and democratic rights in all participating countries. Re-formulating all international trade relations and commerce so that the growth of local industry and agriculture has the advantage over foreign corporate domination. Employee ownership in all industries. New economic programs and schools that are responsive to the 9th District. Investment and support for socially responsible corporations and locally owned businesses as much as possible, provided those businesses are run ethically. Some form of basic economic security, open to all.

BIOSCIENCE INDUSTRY Bioscience is changing the world. Its impact is on the news, on the pages of medical journals, and on the minds of community leaders across the nation. It's the fastest growing industry in the United States. Fred Smith, Chairman, President, CEO, FedEx Corporation says, “I personally believe that the whole area of medical technology will be the next phase of growth in Memphis.” Even with heavy competition nationwide, the 9th District is emerging as one of the leading centers for bioscience. High-tech real estate doesn't mean much unless it is filled with extremely skilled and motivated employees. To successfully compete in the knowledge economy, the 9th District must elevate the level of science and technology curriculum in area schools, providing a continuous flow of qualified talent to the bioscience industry. For that reason, we will work with community leaders to create new educational programs and outreach efforts designed to keep pace with industry demands, and that offer the skills, courses, and experience required to attain each level of specialized training matched against potential jobs in the industry. Future biotech jobs will pay better than your typical logistics or warehouse worker. Biotech jobs could include anything from a machinist who works will titanium for the latest orthopaedic device or a laboratory technician in a highly regulated drug manufacturing facility.

REVITALIZING URBAN COMMUNITIES

A major component of this Campaign is to revitalize the 9th District and our urban communities. This Campaign supports/endorses: • Cleaning up more of the abandoned and polluted industrial sites known as brownfields.

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• • •

Providing tax incentives to small businesses operating in depressed areas of the 9th District. Opening usable land for small businesses and residents in hundreds of communities, and creating thousands of jobs. Revitalizing urban neighborhoods, both aesthetically and economically.

PROPOSED PRESIDENTIAL BUDGET CUTS This Campaign opposes the President’s proposed budget cuts and WE WOULD OPPOSE these budget cuts as the 9th District representative. We would work with the President and his administration to ensure the security needs of the Country are met without sacrificing vital domestic programs. President Bush's budget would increase the federal deficit by $35 billion in 2006 and by more than $1.2 trillion over the next decade (source: the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan office). Mr. Bush's tax-cutting proposals would cost about $1.7 trillion over the next 10 years and that his proposals to partly privatize Social Security would cost about $312 billion during that period. Mr. Bush proposes to trim $36 billion over five years from Medicare, cut $2.1 billion next year from education, and cut money for community development block grants, low-income housing, child-support enforcement against deadbeat fathers and scores of other programs with support in Congress from other representatives. The Bush administration released its budget request for fiscal year 2007 on February 6, 2006. The budget proposes the elimination or significant reduction of 141 programs and deep cuts in domestic spending. Non-security domestic discretionary spending would be cut by $15 billion, or 4.4%, after taking inflation into account. Many of the administration’s proposals would reduce funding in grants to state and local governments across a range of areas. The following Tennessee (and 9th District) programs would be significantly affected and/or cut by the Bush administration’s proposed budget (statistics taken from National Priorities Project): Food & nutrition  The budget proposal would eliminate the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, cutting off at least 400,000 senior citizens from nutritious, packaged meals. The budget also proposes to cut funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) by $200 million, after taking inflation into account. Tennessee would lose $3.6 million in WIC funding, while 11.5% of the state’s residents currently experience food insecurity. Community development  The budget proposes to cut Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), which help cities and towns ensure affordable housing, provide services and create jobs. Memphis and the 9th District would lose $1.9 million in CDBG funds under the budget proposal. Environment  The budget proposes to cut the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) budget by 7% and EPA grants to state and local governments by 14%. For example, Tennessee would lose $3.3 million in funding for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund even though 433,077 of Tennessee’s residents drink water with a reported health violation. PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 7 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

Head Start  The budget proposal includes ‘level funding’ many domestic programs. But level funding results in a loss of services because of rising prices. For example, level funding of Head Start could cost Tennessee 346 Head Start slots. Low-income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)  The budget request does not factor in the rapidly rising energy prices in its slight increase for LIHEAP. In view of fuel costs, Tennessee would lose the equivalent of $1.1 million. Education  The Department of Education would be cut by 9% and many programs such as Even Start and vocational education would be eliminated. This year, Tennessee receives $24 million for vocational education alone, all of which would be cut under the current proposal. Community Policing  The Community Oriented Policing Services would be essentially eliminated. This year, Tennessee receives $6.6 million for community policing, most or all of which would be lost. Spending would rise for military and war  Though domestic spending is squeezed, the Defense Department budget is on the rise with a $29 billion increase, or 7% before inflation. But the budget does not fully account for the rising cost of the Iraq War. Only a $50 billion ‘placeholder’ is listed for fiscal year 2007 for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Another $70 billion war-related request for fiscal year 2006 will be submitted to Congress in a few weeks time. Assuming the $70 billion request is approved, the total cost of the Iraq War through fiscal year 2006 will be $311 billion. Spending on the Iraq War in fiscal year 2006 alone will reach $96 billion. The cost to taxpayers in Tennessee of the Iraq War in fiscal year 2006 would be $1.5 billion with a total taxpayer cost of $4.8 billion since the Iraq War began.

TAXES

WHERE DO TAX DOLLARS FROM MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE AND THE 9TH DISTRICT GO? The average household in Memphis paid $4,325 in federal income taxes in 2004. Here is how that amount was spent: • • • • • •

Military and Defense (including the govt. definition of national defense, other military programs, and the Department of Homeland Security): $1,296 Health: $877 Interest on the Debt (Military): $382 Interest on the Debt (Non-military): $423 Income Security (including Supplemental Security Income, tax credit programs, TANF, child care spending and other programs aimed at families): $285 Education: $159

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Veterans’ Benefits: $149 Nutrition: $116 Housing: $93 Natural Resources: $75 Job Training: $17 Other (including general science, space and technology; international affairs other than military assistance; energy; agriculture; commerce and housing credit; transportation; community and regional development; labor and social services other than job training; justice; general government; and undistributed offsetting receipts): $455

Distribution of Security Dollars Military dominates security spending. Close to one-third of the income-tax dollar is spent on national security. This money is divided into military spending, homeland security, and preventive measures such as diplomacy, peacekeeping and development aid. Less than a penny goes to preventive measures (including non-military forms of international assistance, conduct of foreign affairs, foreign information and exchange activities and international financial programs) that help mitigate conflict and alleviate many of the conditions that produce breeding grounds for terrorists. MORE ON YOUR TAX DOLLAR… Only half of a penny is spent on energy conservation Safe, reliable and affordable energy alternatives will insure our country against future instability and conflict by reducing our dependence upon fossil fuels. Housing assistance accounts for about 2¢ of every tax dollar and made up $36.6 billion in federal outlays last year. By contrast, homeowners with mortgages claimed $70 billion in reduced taxes. Two thirds of that amount went to those with incomes more than $100,000 a year. Interest payments on the national debt consume 18.6¢ of every income-tax dollar While interest rates have remained low, stemming the impact of growing debt, large deficits this year and to come may demand a larger portion of income-tax dollars in the future. Veterans’ benefits account for about 3.4¢ of the income-tax dollar and include health, education, retirement and other benefits for veterans. Veterans organizations have put forth an alternative budget which indicates that $4.3 billion more is needed in funding. Other changes are required to address rapidly-rising health care costs, special needs of disabled veterans, and other promised benefits for veterans. This Campaign supports/endorses: • A simpler tax code. • An investigation into the viability of a flat tax and a national sales tax. • Fewer corporate loopholes to avoid paying taxes.

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Utilizing a participatory democratic process to assist in creating the federal budget which will provide immediate government accountability. Minimizing the influence of special interest groups. Cutting government waste, implementing technologies to analyze where we can cut costs. No subsidization of corporations with our tax dollars. Repealing the upper class tax cut, but should lower taxes after our budget has stabilized and the military is no longer a juggernaut.

GOVERNMENT DEBT Our government is bloated. It is way too fat and is only getting fatter. There is no fiscal responsibility in today’s government. We support a constitutional amendment requiring government budgets be balanced by cutting expenditures and not by raising taxes (except in emergencies).

AGRICULTURE

Agriculture has always been a vital part of the 9th District. Agriculture has been the community’s backbone for centuries. The agricultural system for the 21st Century must provide a high quality of life for farmers, nutritious and safe food for consumers, and reward farming methods that enhance the quality of water, soil, and air, and the beauty of the landscape. We will encourage and introduce legislation that assists new farmers and ranchers, that promotes widespread ownership to small and medium-sized farms and ranches, and that revitalizes and repopulates rural communities and promotes sustainable development and stewardship. We support new farming and growing opportunities and urge the inclusion of nontraditional crops and foods in farm programs. We encourage public support for producer and consumer cooperatives, community kitchens, community supported agriculture, urban agriculture, and community farms and gardens. We advocate the creation of a Food Policy Council composed of farmers, including small farmers and consumers, to oversee the USDA and all food policies at the local, state, and national level. We will urge the banning of sewage sludge or hazardous wastes as fertilizer, and of irradiation and the use of genetic engineering in all food production. We will support legislation that provides energy and fuel conservation through rotational grazing, cover-crop rotations, nitrogen-fixing systems, and fuel-free, clean renewable energy development on the farm. This Campaign supports/endorses: •

Federal resources for family and small farms in the 9th District to ensure their continued survival.

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•

• •

A moratorium until the safety of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) can be demonstrated by independent (non-corporate funded), long-term tests for food safety, genetic drift, resistance, soil health, effects on non-target organisms, and cumulative interactions. The growing international demand to eliminate patent rights for genetic material, lifeforms, gene-splicing techniques, and biochemicals derived from them. Mandatory, full-disclosure food and fiber labeling. A consumer has the right to know the contents in their food and fiber, how they were produced, and where they come from. Labels should address the presence of GMOs, use of irradiation, pesticide application (in production, transport, storage, and retail), and the country of origin.

HEALTH HEALTH CARE Health care should be a right to the people of the 9th District, not a privilege reserved to a chosen few. People should not have to make the choose whether to pay rent or pay for health care. This Campaign believes that access to quality medical and dental care is a basic human right. We support health practices that emphasize education, prevention and nutrition. We will promote any law that provides basic health care coverage to everyone in the 9th District. Medicare, which provides health care for over 40 million Americans, is at risk. We would vigorously oppose the President’s proposed health care cuts, pursue savings from abundant Government waste and fraud, eliminate unnecessary services that benefit providers more than patients, and rein in pharmaceutical industry price gouging. 70% to 85% of illness in the United States (including the 9th District) is the result of unmanaged stress. This means that national measures to reduce work hours, promote working from home, and increased vacation time for workers will significantly improve the public's health. A large percentage of illness can be linked to diet (e.g., pork, beef, salt, fried foods, sugar, aspartame, etc.); therefore, improving the quality of our nation's food supply and our personal eating habits will lessen the strain on our health care system. We would support informed consent laws to educate consumers to potential health impact of various types of foods, ingredients, and medical treatments. Medical research must be increased, and alternative therapies actively sought, to combat new diseases that may develop (e.g, SARS and bird flu) and eliminate current health issues, especially cancer and HIV/AIDS. Every year, 98,000 patients die in US hospitals due to medical negligence and three to four times that number are left permanently-disabled." The United States medical care system, rates a seventy-second (72nd) worldwide. The system, the most expensive in the world, is the number one (#1) killer of Americans. Above heart disease, cancer and stroke, the medical system, itself, is responsible for the unnecessary deaths of 783,936 Americans every year. America’s neighboring countries can, in some cases, provide better, safer, cost-effective healthcare for Americans. Mexico, for instance, draws huge numbers of Americans across the common border, who not only buy cheaper, safer, medical care, but they buy first-rate dentistry at a fraction of the cost in the U.S., and they buy pharmaceuticals by the bag full at a tenth of the price of the same U.S. offering. The border clinics offer workable solutions to PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 11 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

cancer, for instance, that are almost completely outlawed in the U.S. - yet have awesome success rates. In the Northern States, Canada offers medications at less than half the price - an easy drive, and lunch at a nice place. Europe and Asia, also, blatantly offer Americans solutions to cancer and other health issues not found in the U.S. due to the restrictive policies of the U.S. FDA. We call for competent social and health services for those who have special needs: (1) the mentally ill; (2) the handicapped; and (3) the terminally ill. Public policy needs to include a voluntary, community-based mental health system that safeguards human dignity, respects individual autonomy, and protects informed consent. A wide variety of humane, effective, and empowering alternative and complementary approaches should be available for anyone who experiences a psychiatric problem or mental disability. This Campaign supports/endorses: • • • • • • • • •

Free immunization programs. No private patents on drugs developed through publicly-funded research. Price controls on drugs and medical technology. Safe pre-natal care, including women's choice of birth alternatives. More medical facilities to provide services and education in low-income neighborhoods. More substance abuse treatment and needle-exchange programs. More research into diseases and disorders caused by man-made substances. More community health care facilities. Special attention to preventing epidemics of communicable diseases, such as AIDS.

SOCIAL SECURITY The protection of social security is essential to the well-being of our senior citizens, and a healthy 9th District community. Many residents of the 9th District depend on Social Security to survive in today’s tough economic times. Nevertheless, Social Security is a tax, and it needs to be treated as such, rather than as a savings account. Fewer workers are contributing toward a system that keeps adding retirees as the 1st “Baby Boomers” retire from the workforce. While this Campaign doesn’t believe the system is in apocalyptic crisis that the media portrays, the system will be in a crisis within the next few decades without a few modest changes. If the system doesn’t live within its means, we will be forced, eventually, to either raise the SS tax or divert funds from other important programs. Despite published reports to the contrary, Social Security, the most successful social program in U.S. history, is on strong footing. That's precisely because it isn't based on individual retirement accounts, but rather relies on workers to pay taxes to support today's retirees, with the expectation that those workers will receive similar support in the future.

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The Social Security system, which currently relies on the interest paid on treasury bills, can keep paying full benefits by cashing in bonds until at least the year 2052, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. That is 46 years away! And while the current executive administration claims that the current program will worsen the federal budget deficit, the Social Security system is actually in surplus right now. By contrast, privatization plans would worsen the deficit by having the government borrow up to $2 trillion over the next decade to cover benefits for current retirees and those to come in the next few years. The simple truth is that Social Security benefits for soon-to-retire baby boomers could easily be paid, and even increased--by raising payroll taxes on high-income earners, who currently pay only on their first $87,900 of income each year. But higher taxes on the wealthy are dismissed out of hand by the executive administration and the compliant mainstream media. Instead, we are bombarded with crisis scenarios that assume historically low rates of economic growth. This Campaign supports/endorses: •

• •

• • •

Minor reforms to the system, such as eliminating payments to independently wealthy seniors and raising the retirement cap will fund social security for another 50 years. Major reforms to the system will destroy America’s security blanket. Vesting the rights of current members from future legislative cuts. Forming a non-partisan, non-political committee to review and analyze the current Social Security program to recommend ways to improve and maintain the program at current benefit levels. Social security remaining under the umbrella of the Federal Government (no privatization). Raising the Social Security cap to age 70, but people who want to retire as early as age 62 (or earlier if disabled) can still collect Social Security. Expanding its effectiveness.

EDUCATION Education—whether vocational or college based—is a proven path out of poverty and hopelessness. Education is the key to the future and is a lifelong experience. Forcing welfare recipients into workfare—without first teaching them job skills which pay a living wage—does not break the poverty cycle. Money and grants need to be invested in community trade schools specializing in practical and basic skills. Education starts with choice, and within public education we believe in broad choices. Magnet schools, Site-based Management, Schools within Schools, alternative models, and parental involvement are ways in which elementary education can be changed to make a real difference in the lives of our children. Parents should be as involved as possible in their children's education; values do start with parents.

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Federal policy on education should act principally to ensure equal access to a quality education. Educational funding formulas at the state level need to be adjusted as needed to avoid gross inequalities between districts and schools. Educational grants should provide balance to ensure equal educational access for minority, deprived, special needs, and exceptional children. In higher education, federal college scholarship aid should be increased and offered to any qualified student. Our teachers are underpaid, overworked and rarely supplied with the resources necessary to do their work. It is time to stop disinvesting in education, and start placing it at the top of our social and economic agenda. We oppose vouchers, or any scheme that will transfer money out of the public school system. We advocate state funding for day care that includes school children under the age of ten when after-school programs are not available. Classroom teachers at the elementary and high school levels should be given professional status and salaries comparable to related professions requiring advanced education, training and responsibility. Use of computers in the early grades should not supplant the development of basic interpersonal, perceptual, and motor skills as a foundation for learning. Dispute resolution is an important part of resolving classroom or after-school disputes, and a life skill that all children should learn. We call for the teaching of conflict resolution at all levels of education. We recognize the viable alternative of home-based education. Students should have greater control of their educational path. High school students should be encouraged to be active in their local school boards. Many school districts are mandating certain curriculum, without bothering to ask what career path the students plan or want, and whether university attendance is necessary for that career. Vocational schools and/or apprenticeship programs are better options for some students. When students feel overwhelmed by a curriculum they have no control over, experience shows they will often give up and drop out. Schools must safeguard students' privacy rights and not make private student information available on corporate (or federal government) request. We support tuition-free post secondary (collegiate and vocational) public education. In an economy that demands higher skills and a democracy that depends on an informed, educated electorate, opportunities for universal higher education and life-long learning must be vastly expanded. Until tuition-free schooling is available to all, student loans should be available to all students attending college. These student loans should be repayable as a proportion of future earnings rather than at a fixed rate. Students should have the option to obtain payment credits against their student loans in exchange for performing community service. Individualized training accounts should be made available to students who choose to pursue vocational and continuing education. This Campaign supports/endorses: • •

Safe schools with up-to-date equipment and smaller classes. A federal law requiring and funding equal average per-pupil expenditures by every public school district, with extra funds for students with special needs such as disability or economic deprivation.

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• • • • • • •

Tuition-free higher education available to all at public institutions. Restoring cutbacks in public education and public library services. No school voucher schemes. Decentralizing government, giving greater local control to states, counties, cities and school districts Review and/or modifying the No Child Left Behind Act so that it addresses the Act’s weaknesses and defects. New vocational schools and apprenticeship programs for the 9th District. Welfare payments for Parents for up to four (4) years in a row if they are making satisfactory progress in a college or vocational school.

CRIME VIOLENT CRIMINAL ACTIVITY This Campaign does not tolerate violent criminal activity and will bring and support laws/legislation aimed at preventing violent crimes (including white collar and corporate crimes). Any attempt to combat violent crime must begin with restoration of community. We encourage positive approaches that build hope, responsibility and a sense of belonging. Because of overcrowding, prisons should be reserved for violent criminals who hurt others. Those convicted of non-violent offenses should be handled by other programs including halfway houses, electronic monitoring, work-furlough, community service and restitution programs. Substance abuse should be addressed as a medical problem requiring treatment, not imprisonment, and a failed drug test should not result in revocation of parole. Incarcerated prisoners of the drug war should be released to the above programs. The aging of our prison population will lead to huge expenses in the next decade. Prisoners too old and those too ill to be a threat to society should be released to less expensive, community-based facilities. Juvenile offenders must not be housed in needlessly restrictive settings. They must never be housed with adults. Their education must continue while in custody. A single judge and a single caseworker should be assigned to oversee each juvenile's placement and progress in the juvenile justice system. Preventing future and repeat crimes should be a goal of parole. Parole should be treated as a time of reintegration into the community, not as a continuation of a person's sentence. Parolees need community reentry programs before release. Paroled prisoners should have access to education, drug treatment, psychological treatment, job training, work and housing. We call for more funding for rape and domestic violence prevention and education programs, and stiffer sentences for people convicted of domestic violence. This Campaign supports/endorses: • •

Crime-free communities in the 9th District. Programs to strengthen self-help and community action through neighborhood centers that provide well-funded legal aid, landlord-tenant issues, alternative dispute-resolution

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• • • • • • • • •

practices, mediated restitution, community team policing, and local crisis/assault care shelters. Elected or appointed independent civilian review boards with subpoena power to investigate complaints about prison guard and community police behavior. Judicial discretion in sentencing, as opposed to mandatory sentencing. Freedom on bail of all defendants charged with non-violent crimes. Repealing laws giving prosecutors the power to deny defendants the right to remain free on bail. Stopping the taking of the property of unconvicted suspects. A consistent policy of protection against violence in schools. Guarding and protecting victims' rights. Decriminalization of victimless crimes. Expanded drug counseling and treatment.

PRISON CONDITIONS There must be adequate space for prisoners in the criminal justice system. Prison conditions must be humane and sanitary and should include heat, light, exercise, clothing, nutrition, libraries, possessions, and personal safety. Prisoners are entitled to psychological, drug, and medical treatment, including uninterrupted access to all prescribed medication. Prison officials must institute and enforce policies that discourage racism, sexism, and homophobia in prison. This Campaign supports/endorses: • • • • •

Ending racially segregated prison housing. The First Amendment rights of prisoners. Giving all prisoners to have the opportunity to obtain a G.E.D. (high school equivalency diploma) and higher education. Community-based prisons, where possible. Reinstatement of voting rights and the right to hold public office to ex-felons who have completed their prison sentence.

DRUGS

Drugs destroy lives in the 9th District. It is important to determine ways to remove harmful drugs from the community. Education is the key to decreasing drug usage in our community. The effects of all types of drugs on the 9th District, including but not limited to legal, prescription, over-the-counter and illegal drugs, should be discussed. Drug laws are best controlled at the state level. Federal law should recognize and respect the laws of states where the citizens of those states have legalized medical marijuana.

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This Campaign supports/endorses: • • •

Giving states the autonomy to create their own drug laws provided that those laws do not affect other states. Rehabilitation for drug offenders. Incarceration for drug offenders only as a last resort in violent cases.

RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS (GUNS)

Illegal guns kill hundreds of people annually in the 9th District. We will pass and introduce laws designed to reduce the number of illegal guns in our community. We will also look to stop the trafficking of illegal handguns. We affirm the right to keep and bear arms and oppose all laws at any level of government restricting, regulating, or requiring the ownership, manufacture, transfer, or sale of LEGAL firearms or ammunition.

ENERGY In many cases, government regulation of the energy industry has resulted in high prices, shortages, lack of competition, and stunted exploration and development of alternative energy sources, while granting advantage in existing markets to those with political access. Tax-exempt bonds should be authorized to finance public ownership of utilities and to allow publicly owned utilities to finance conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy projects. The U.S. is blessed with tremendous renewable energy potential, enough to meet the entire electric demand of the country. This Campaign will call for a Manhattan Project-level of commitment to developing clean renewable energy technologies—technologies that do not create pollution in the course of generating electricity. These can include wind, solar, ocean power, geothermal, and small-scale hydro. Since even clean renewable energy can have negative environmental impacts, care must be taken to minimize such impacts. We support efforts of individuals and institutions in the 9th District to voluntarily purchase wind and solar power products through tradable renewable energy certificates. Transportation and Distribution are two key industries in the 9th District. These industries cannot survive without a cheap supply of oil and gas. U.S. dependence on oil and gas has made the country vulnerable to terrorists who have the ability to disrupt our oil supplies. Any major disruption in the international oil and gas supply will have serious consequences on the 9th District’s economy. We will introduce bills for the development of fuel systems based on clean hydrogen production and the use of hydrogen in fuel cells. Fuel cells (using hydrogen sourced from water and separated by electrolysis with power provided by clean, renewable energy technologies) should be used to efficiently distribute electricity as needed. New construction should be required to achieve substantial portions of its heating energy from alternative energy production methods. PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 17 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

This Campaign supports/endorses: • •

• • • • • •

Decreased foreign energy dependence. The use of hydrogen as an energy storage medium, which makes it possible to operate a decentralized grid on intermittent energy generation methods, such as solar and wind. The continued development and use of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal until alternative energy sources are introduced. Building codes for new construction that incorporate the best available energy conservation designs. Implementing sustainable energy technology such as solar and wind power for homes/businesses, and waste (recycled) vegetable oil/biodiesel for cars. Efforts to decentralize regional electric grids by promoting energy efficiency and localized clean renewable energy. Programs and federal tax exemptions for existing homes and buildings to aid in their weatherization and increased energy efficiency. Increased federal funding to the national highway program for new freeways, mass transit and other methods to relieve urban congestion.

CIVIL RIGHTS & SOCIAL PROGRAMS VETERANS’ RIGHTS We support veterans’ rights and seek to increase the current pay levels, monthly imminent danger pay, and family separation allowances for those risking their lives in combat zones. This Campaign supports/endorses: • Establishing a panel of independent medical doctors to examine and oversee the policies of the military regarding forced vaccinations and shots, often with experimental drugs. • Honoring all laws concerning time limits on deployments. Provide better care for the wounded, sick, and injured soldiers returning home. • A smooth transition from active military service to civilian life by providing counseling, housing, emergency management, job protection, and other support systems. • Restoring full funding for veterans’ health programs. • Enacting a new GI Bill, similar to the one that began after World War II and ended in 1981, to provide (1) Tuition grants for four years of college or other educational opportunities; (2) Low interest loans for housing or business start-ups; and (3) Free medical care for military personnel and their families for ten years following separation from the armed forces—until universal health care becomes a reality. • Recognized, independent veteran organizations having access to military personnel to ensure they are being informed of their rights. This is especially true for those who are hospitalized due to service related injuries or illnesses. PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 18 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

DISABLED’S RIGHTS It is important that the rights of disabled persons are protected. The disabled should participate fully in the allocation decisions of state rehabilitation departments’ funds. This Campaign supports/endorses: • Increasing rehabilitation funding so that persons with disabilities can pursue education and training to reach their highest potential. • Funding in-home support services to allow the disabled to hire personal care attendants while remaining at home. • Allocating adequate funding to support community-based programs that provide outpatient medical services, case management services and counseling programs. • Providing a residential setting within the community for those who do not need institutional care but who are unable to live independently. • Making it easier for the chronically mentally ill to apply for and receive Supplemental Security Income. • Increasing the training of teachers in regards to the needs of disabled students. • Discouraging stereotyping of the mentally and physically challenged by the entertainment industry and the media. • Funding programs to increase public sensitivity to the needs of the mentally ill and differently-abled.

RACISM AND NATIONAL OPPRESSION

Racism is an ill that destroys people. The 9th District and Memphis have a special place in the history of American civil rights. The 9th District will continue to work toward eliminating racism in the government laws and programs. Minority families are disproportionately victimized by cutbacks in health care, education, child care, welfare, food stamps and jobs. This Campaign supports/endorses: • Ending all forms of racial discrimination. • Enforcing non-discrimination in hiring and promotion. • Expanding diversity in the District and the learning about the different cultures living within the 9th District. • Prosecuting and punishing police and prison officials who brutalize and murder. • Vigorous enforcement of civil rights laws. • Aggressive prosecution of hate crimes. • Strengthening of legal services for the poor. • Efforts to overcome the effects of over 400 years of racial discrimination. • No police brutality and racial profiling.

DIVERSITY It is important to value cultural, ethnic, racial, sexual, religious and spiritual diversity, and to promote the development of respectful relationships across these lines while maintaining the PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 19 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

traditional values of the 9th District. The many diverse elements of society should be reflected in our organizations, and we support the leadership of people who have been traditionally closed out of leadership roles. We acknowledge and encourage respect.

THE ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Arts and creativity are essential to a complete and happy 9th District. Arts are generally some of the 1st budget cuts in a military administration. Arts must not be sacrificed. The 9th District has a rich history in the arts & entertainment. Performing artists such as Elvis Presley, Three 6 Mafia, Cybill Shephard and Morgan Freeman have all made the 9th District their home at one time. We would support programs designed to increase art awareness and programs in the 9th District. This Campaign supports endorses: • Increased funding for the arts appropriate to their essential social role at local, state and federal levels of government. • Tax-incentives and programs to bring movie and television productions to the 9th District. • Community-funded programs employing local artists to enrich their communities through public art programs, including public performances, exhibitions, murals on public buildings, design or re-design of parks and public areas, storytelling and poetry reading, and publication. • The establishment of non-profit public forums for local artists to display their talents and creations. • Education programs in the community that will energize the creativity of every community member from the youngest to the oldest, including neglected groups such as teenagers, senior citizens, prisoners, immigrants, and drug addicts. These programs would provide materials and access to interested, qualified arts educators for every member of the community who demonstrates an interest. • Diversity in arts education in the schools and exposure to the arts of various cultures and stylistic traditions.

CHILDREN’S RIGHTS We will support all laws that protect our children. Children are not the property of their parents or guardians, but are under their care and guidance. Children have the right to survive by being provided adequate food, shelter and comprehensive health care, including prenatal care for mothers. Children have the right to be protected from abuse, harmful drugs, violence, environmental hazards, neglect, and exploitation. Children have the right to develop in a safe and nurturing early environment provided by affordable child care and pre-school preparation. Children have the right to an education that is stimulating, relevant, engaging, and that fosters their natural desire to learn. Children’s creative potential should be encouraged to the greatest extent possible. Children should have input into the direction and pace of their own education, including input into the operation of their educational institutions. Children should be provided the opportunity to express themselves in their own media, including television, PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 20 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

radio, films and the Internet. Children should also be given skills in analyzing commercial media. Our young people should be kept free from coercive advertising at their educational institutions. This Campaign supports/endorses: •

• • • • •

Implementation of Children's Boards, whereby representatives are elected by students to discuss, debate and make proposals to their city councils, school boards, county legislative bodies on a local level, to state legislatures statewide, and to Congress nationally. Social policies to protect families. Programs that ensure children receive basic nutritional, educational, and medical needs. Expanding Head Start and Pre- and neo-natal programs. A Children's Agenda to focus attention and concerted action on the future for the children. A universal, federally funded childcare program for pre-school and young schoolchildren.

ELECTRONIC VOTING Voter confidence in the system is the key to the people’s faith and confidence in the process. If the voting process is inherently unjust, then people will lose confidence in the system. This Campaign supports strict requirement of a voter-verified paper audit trail for all voting machines installed across the United States. Electronic voting machines must include a verifiable paper trail that allows every voter to verify that his or her vote was recorded and counted accurately, coupled with random audits based on the paper trail. Technology must be used that incorporates a voter-verified paper trail that is accessible to vision-impaired voters. To protect against fraud, voting machine computer source code must be open for public inspection and verification before and after an election.

GAY MARRIAGE The issue of gay marriage has become a heated issue in many parts of the country. We do not support any universal federal laws on gay marriage. Congress should not be in the business of marriage. We do not support a constitutional amendment addressing gay marriage. The definitions of Marriage should be an issue for each state to decide individually based on the morals, traditions, customs, and laws of each State. If a community chooses to grant gays the legal right to marry, then that community should be able to allow gays to marry. However if a community does not want to grant gays the right to marry, then that community should have that right to deny that right, provided that gay partnerships are allowed for legal reasons. This Campaign supports/endorses: • Congress getting out of all “marriage” business. PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 21 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

•

Each state individually deciding the gay marriage issue according to individual community standards.

WOMEN’S RIGHTS

Women are the backbone of the community and the 9th District. We demand full equality for women in all aspects of our society. Sexism is a major instrument for teaching relations of domination and inequality and for keeping one-half of the workforce underpaid or unpaid. We will work to end oppressive sex roles in society. This Campaign supports/endorses: • • • • •

Equal pay for equal work, and for work of comparable worth. Provision of free, high-quality, community-controlled child care. The convenient provision of safe, free birth control information and materials to men and women of any age. Safe prenatal care. Ending violence against women.

ABORTION/STEM-CELL RESEARCH Recognizing that abortion is a very sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on both sides, we believe the government should be kept out of the question of abortion. The Supreme Court granted a woman’s right to abortion in Roe v. Wade, and that ruling must be honored. However, this Campaign does not believe that abortion should be used as a form of birth control. This Campaign supports/endorses: • • •

• •

Woman’s right to abortion as interpreted in Roe v. Wade, and subsequent Supreme Court decisions. The government being kept out of the question of abortion. Programs that will make abortion rare in most general cases. To keep abortion rare, we will (1) better promote adoption as an alternative to abortion; (2) support organizations which houses homeless pregnant women and teens; and (3) have birth control widely available at low cost (including “morning after” contraception), and extensively publicize where low-income citizens can obtain such birth control. Support federal funding for stem-cell research using the discarded embryos from fertility clinics on a limited basis. A ban on human cloning. Man is not God.

FLAG DESECRATION AMENDMENT This Campaign does not agree with anyone who chooses to burn the American flag. However, we support someone’s right to do so under the Constitution and Bill of Rights. This PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 22 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

Campaign believes that any amendment designed to take away individual freedom of expression is wrong.

CONSUMER PROTECTION Consumers should have the right to participate in decisions that affect their lives and protect their interests, beyond simply voting on election day. We would require legal monopolies and regulated industries (including electric, gas, water, and telephone utilities) to set up statewide consumer action groups to act on behalf of and advocate for consumer interests. This Campaign supports/endorses: • The creation of consumer advocacy agencies in order to protect the interests of consumers against corporate lobbyists who have too often successfully argued before regulatory agencies against consumer rights. • Better information for consumers about the products they buy, and where and how they are made. We endorse truth in advertising, including the clear definition of words like “recycled” and “natural.” • The rights of individuals to participate in class-action lawsuits against manufacturers of unsafe products. • Laws to protect “whistle blowers.”

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE Low-income citizens and minorities suffer disproportionately from environmental hazards in the workplace, at home, and in their communities. Inadequate laws, lax enforcement of existing environmental regulations, and weak penalties for infractions undermine environmental protection.

• • •

•

This Campaign supports/endorses: Imposing a moratorium on siting new toxic chemical or waste facilities in those areas of the 9th District with the highest percentage exposure to hazardous substances. Not forcing workers to choose between a hazardous job or no job at all. Preventing communities, especially low-income or minority communities, from being coerced by governmental agencies or corporations into siting hazardous materials, or accepting environmentally hazardous practices in order to create jobs. Preceding the siting of hazardous materials or practices with public hearings, conducted in the language of those community members who will be directly affected.

HOUSING We will support federal legislation that protects tenants including preventing evictions without just cause, restricting owner move-in evictions of long-term tenants, the elderly, and disabled persons, and cracking down on landlords who refuse to maintain their properties in habitable condition, or who engage in illegal evictions.

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This Campaign supports/endorses: •

• • • • •

• • • •

•

• •

•

Increasing the affordable housing supply by using vacant housing—whether at closed military bases, housing kept off the market by speculators, or landlords delinquent in taxes—to shelter homeless persons. Building human-scale, low income housing. Subsidies, trade-offs with developers, and the creative use of city and county zoning ordinances to increase affordable housing. Expanding community-based services for homeless persons and making them more readily available. Repealing all laws that criminalize any facet of homelessness or helping homeless persons. Strictly enforcing all the laws that are designed to provide for the homeless, such as the laws that require opening National Guard armories to homeless persons during inclement weather. Allowing homeless people to take part in decisions about long- and short-term solutions to their situation. Strengthening and increasing funding of mental health and drug rehabilitation systems. Strengthening and enforcing fair-housing laws against discrimination based on race, sex, familial status (children), marital status, disability, or sexual orientation. Fully funding the Fair Employment and Housing Commission and providing government funding to non-profit organizations engaged in fair housing monitoring and enforcement. Insisting that architectural review boards and planning commissions represent the concerns of citizens, rather than the concerns of economic segments of the community. Promoting development that discourages urban sprawl. Allow industrial and commercial developers to provide housing instead of parking spaces in new developments, and permit housing development in existing industrial and commercial zones. Reform zoning, occupancy, and building ordinances so that residential needs can exist in balance with commercial and industrial needs, and so that alternative approaches are encouraged rather than restricted.

WELFARE It is time for a radical shift in our attitude toward support for families, children, the poor and the disabled. Welfare is the right of those presently in need and an investment in our future, and should not be given loosely. We must take an uncompromising position that the care and nurture of children, elders and the disabled are essential to a healthy, peaceful, and sustainable society. We should recognize that the work of their caregivers is of social and economic value, and reward it accordingly. Ensuring that children and their caregivers have access to an adequate, secure standard of living should form the cornerstone of our community. Only then can we hope to build our future on a foundation of healthy, educated children who are raised in an atmosphere of love and security. All people have a right to PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 24 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

food, housing, medical care, jobs that pay a living wage, education, and support in times of hardship. The Campaign supports/endorses: •

•

• • •

• •

The restoration of a federally funded entitlement program to support needy children, families, the unemployed, elderly and disabled, with no time limit on benefits. This program can be funded through the existing welfare budget, reductions in military spending and corporate subsidies, and a fair, progressive income tax. A graduated supplemental income, or negative income tax, that would maintain all individual adult incomes above the poverty level, regardless of employment or marital status. Reinvesting portions of the military budget into family support, living wage job development, and work training programs. Opposing enterprise zone give-aways which benefit corporations more than inner-city communities. Tax incentives for businesses and corporations that apply fair employee wage distribution standards, and income tax policies that restrict the accumulation of excessive individual wealth. Not forcing welfare recipients to accept jobs that pay wages below a living wage drives wages down and exploits workers for private profit at public expense. The position that corporations receiving public subsidies must provide jobs that pay a living wage, observe basic workers' rights, and agree to affirmative action policies.

SUSTAINABILITY

Our actions and policies will be motivated by the long-term goals and needs of the 9th District. We will seek to protect valuable natural resources, safely disposing of or “unmaking” all waste created, while developing sustainable economics that does not depend on continual expansion for survival. We will make the quality of life for the community and District, rather than open-ended economic growth, the focus of future thinking.

WAR IN IRAQ/MILITARY IRAQ/MILITARY This Campaign supports our military soldiers 100%. Our number #1 priority is the best interest of the United States and 9th District soldier. We will support any legislation that benefits and supports the best interests of our military soldiers. However, we are opposed to the war in Iraq, which was not justified. The U.S. spends more money on its military than all other nations combined yet do people feel safer? Ask any person on the street. “Do you feel safer?” Military spending accounts for the largest chunk of our federal budget: a whopping 21%. For every tax dollar ($1) you pay the government, 21 cents (21¢) goes directly to funding the war machine. Yet, “DO YOU FEEL ANY SAFER?”

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A tiny reduction in the military budget could better fund other programs to improve reading literacy rates, infant mortality rates and the ability to provide healthcare for the masses. Any U.S. military policy should have the objective of providing security for the lives, liberty and property of the American people in the U.S. as inexpensively as possible and without undermining the civil liberties it is designed to protect. 72 percent of those troops in Iraq want to come home. Zogby International, a leading polling organization, just did a major poll of 944 American soldiers and marines in Iraq and found that nearly three quarters of them thought the U.S. should exit Iraq within a year. More than half thought the U.S. should leave within six months, and 29 percent said the US should leave "immediately." The strongest opposition to "staying the course" in Iraq came from reserve and National Guard troops, but even among active-duty Marines, the most gung-ho of troops in Iraq, 58% favored a pull-out within a year. Nearly half of reserve and guard troops favored an immediate pull-out. Taxpayers in Tennessee will pay $4.9 billion for the cost of war in Iraq. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided: 1,825,934 100,753 668,630 1,892,037 52,094 683 1,090,477 99,132 137,551 5,917,470 63,807

People Receiving Health Care Elementary School Teachers Head Start Places for Children Children Receiving Health Care Affordable Housing Units New Elementary Schools Scholarships for University Students Music and Arts Teachers Public Safety Officers Homes with Renewable Electricity Port Container Inspectors

The unjustified Iraq War has directly cost Memphis and 9th District over $385 million dollars ($385,000,000) which instead could have: • • • • •

Paid for 51,000 students to attend a year of Head Start; or Insured over 231,000 children for one year; or Hired over 6,600 public school teachers for 1 year; or Provided 4-year scholarships to over 18,700 students at public universities; OR Built over 3,400 housing units

This Campaign supports/endorses: • • •

An immediate implementation of a Congressional plan to bring our troops home from Iraq without undermining Middle East security. A U.S. military that will remain the strongest in the world even after some mild cutbacks. Decreasing the recruitment of minors in high school.

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• •

• • •

Decreasing our overseas troop numbers and military bases. Keeping the National Guard in the United States. The 9th District National Guard members should serve 9th District interests and not interests thousands of miles of away. Increasing military recruitment to reduce the strain on National Guard. Positioning our troops in key border locations and transportation ports to protect national security. Integrating advanced science into the military to create new technologies that help improve our District and community (e.g., Internet in the 1960s).

MILITARY (STRENGTHENING OUR MILITARY) Our military must meet the new threats of the 21st Century. Today's American military is the best in the world, but tomorrow's military must be even better. It must be stronger, faster, better armed, and never again stretched so thin. This Campaign supports/endorses: • Our military always being the best-led, best-equipped and most respected fighting force in the world armed with the right weapons, schooled in the right skills, and fully prepared to win on the battlefield. • Expanding active duty personnel and forces. • Keeping our military operating on a volunteer basis unless extreme circumstances dictate otherwise. • A commitment to ensure that our defense funding is spent effectively and to help pay for these new forces. • Increase our civil affairs personnel – those who arrive on the scene after the major conflict ends to work with local leaders and officials to get the schools back in shape, the hospitals reopened, and the banks up and running. • Educating, training, and arming every soldier with state-of-the-art equipment, • Employing the most sophisticated communications to help our troops prevail and protect themselves in battle. • Standing up for military families. • A Military Family Bill of Rights to ensure that our men and women in uniform and their families receive the benefits and respect they deserve: competitive pay and quality housing, decent health care and dental care, quality education for their children, and timely deployment information. And we will ensure that America will care for them and their families if the worst should happen. • Making better use of a key asset in homeland defense – our National Guard. We will make homeland security one of the Guard's primary missions.

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“UNIFIED SECURITY BUDGET” (USB) A possible alternative? During the last year, the focus of the national security debate has begun to shift. A diverse and growing universe of voices, including former national security advisors, representatives of the business community, and the President’s administration itself, now recognizes that expanding the role of nonmilitary tools in our portfolio of security spending is necessary to keep Americans and the rest of the world SAFE. We support funding nonmilitary security programs which would balance the overall proportion of resources which are currently severely unbalanced. A task force of security experts outlined the Unified Security Budget to balance our security budget without worsening the fiscal crisis that also threatens us all. It identifies $53.1 billion in cuts from the fiscal year (FY) 2006 military budget and explains why each of budget cuts can be made with no sacrifice to security. It identifies $40.5 billion in additional spending on nonmilitary tools and explains the role of each in building a more secure world. U.S. nonmilitary security-related programs include things like State Department diplomatic operations, international broadcasting and communication, nonproliferation programs to secure dangerous nuclear materials abroad, economic development aid, and funding for regional organizations and the UN, including their peacekeeping operations. The administration’s budget concentrates security resources overwhelmingly on the military, at the expense of other security tools. It allocates seven times (7X) as much on the military as on homeland security and all other nonmilitary security programs combined. We would support changing the current seven-to-one ratio to four-to-one — a better balance for the long-term security needs of the United States and the 9th District. Eliminating redundant weapons systems with little or no relevance to fighting terrorists will free up resources to gear a larger proportion of the force toward small- and medium-scale interventions relevant to countering terrorists, and toward peacekeeping and stability operations. We realize that emphasizing a reallocation of resources toward nonmilitary security tools will require adjustments in our international relations, because many of those relations underwrite the sale of U.S.-made weapons to mostly non-democratic regimes around the world. The overemphasis on security through military force has begun to affect our quality of life. The major escalations of the U.S. military budget and machine in recent years, exacerbated by increases for current military operations, and compounded by a series of major tax cuts for the upper class and rich, has increased the pressure on spending for our citizens’ education, health care, environmental protection, social security, and other public services. The USB would save money and improve security cut unnecessary military programs. The Administration’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2006 continues to fund military programs that were designed to meet the challenges of sophisticated Soviet aircraft and battleships from the Cold War era. This is the 21st century and the Age of Terrorism. The F/A-22 Raptor PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 28 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

Aircraft, the SSN-774 Virginia class Submarine and the DD(X) Destroyer are examples of programs that are redundant or unnecessary given the capacity of other existing weapons systems. The budget proposal includes $8.6 billion for these programs next year. Address Security Deficits (Nuclear Plants and Facilities) Currently, the federal government does not require chemical or nuclear plants to demonstrate they are secure from attacks. These plants are vulnerable to attack. The Administration’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2006 does not include any spending to ensure these plants conduct vulnerability assessments and take appropriate security measures. The USB includes $750 million to enforce these assessments and necessary protective steps. More Money To Address Domestic Needs In Memphis, Tennessee The Unified Security Budget’s proposals would provide better security, and include $13 billion in total savings. Memphis taxpayers’ share of the savings is $19.6 million. If that money were redirected toward meeting needs of residents of Memphis and the 9th District, it could: • • • • •

Expand the number of teachers in Memphis schools by 408; or Provide health care coverage to 7,392 uninsured residents; or Provide scholarships for 4,415 students at the University of Tennessee; or Hire 557 more public safety officers; or Build 211 affordable housing units creating 99 new jobs in Memphis.

BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE Taxpayers in Tennessee will pay $146.9 million for ballistic missile defense in Fiscal Year 2006. For the same amount of money, the following public services could have been provided: 55,264 3,049 20,237 57,264 1,577 21 33,004 3,000 4,163 179,098 1,931

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People Receiving Health Care or Elementary School Teachers or Head Start Places for Children or Children Receiving Health Care or Affordable Housing Units or New Elementary Schools or Scholarships for University Students or Music and Arts Teachers or Public Safety Officers or Homes with Renewable Electricity or Port Container Inspectors

NUCLEAR WEAPONS Taxpayers in Tennessee will pay $268.8 million for nuclear weapons in Fiscal Year 2006. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided: 101,131 5,580 37,033 104,792 2,885 38 60,397 5,490 7,618 327,744 3,534

People Receiving Health Care or Elementary School Teachers or Head Start Places for Children or Children Receiving Health Care or Affordable Housing Units or New Elementary Schools or Scholarships for University Students or Music and Arts Teachers or Public Safety Officers or Homes with Renewable Electricity or Port Container Inspectors

FOREIGN OWNERSHIP OF MILITARY FACTORIES The United Arab Emirates has announced its intent to operate U.S. military factories after the UAE acquisition of a British manufacturer of engine components for U.S. military aircraft and main battle tanks. The British firm operates nine factories, including military production facilities in Connecticut and Georgia. Dubai International Capital has acquired the Londonbased Doncasters Group for $1.2 billion. Doncasters produces engine components and turbine blades for military platforms, and its clients include Boeing, General Electric, Honeywell and Pratt and Whitney. UAE has been linked to terrorists and terrorism in the past. Allowing a state with terrorist ties to have access to America’s military factories is a breach of oath and a potential threat to national security. We do not support legislation or bill that proposes to transfer ownership and control of America’s military factories to a foreign company.

HOMELAND SECURITY & THE WAR ON TERRORISM ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION It should not be impossible to immigrate to America. However, the illegal immigration problem needs to be addressed ASAP. In a December 2005 Center for Immigration Studies report based on the Census Bureau's March 2005 Current Population Survey, Steven Camarota writes that there were 7,9 million new immigrants between January 2000 and March 2005. The current immigration laws on the books must be enforced, and we will support any legislation designed to address the problem of illegal immigration. It is out of control and threatens national security along with the economy of the 9th District. There should be an increased military presence along the American borders. PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 30 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

It is not a racist policy to want to slow immigration. Many poor Americans simply want less competition and higher wages for low paying jobs. The President claims that illegal immigrants do the jobs that Americans will not do. However, there are no jobs that Americans will not do, provided these jobs pay living wages. Why hasn’t anyone gone after the employers of illegal immigrants? As long as there are jobs in America, nothing short of a Great Wall of Mexico topped with machine gun turrets will keep out immigrants hoping for a better life for their children – desperate, hard-working people have little to lose. Corporate employers, on the other hand, scare easily. Instead of Congress arguing whether it should be a felony for an immigrant to come here illegally, if Congress made it a felony to hire an illegal immigrant and backed that with consistent enforcement, jobs for illegal immigrants would dry up overnight. If the jobs dried up, poverty-based illegal immigration would stop overnight too, as would exploitation of illegals by the corporations. No one has thought of this, because the ideal situation for employers is an illegal workforce and no federal inspectors. Illegal immigrants don’t have to be paid minimum wage or overtime, their workplaces do not have to be up to code, and they never complain or unionize. They can also handily be used to drive down wages and break strikes. And we all know it is the corporate employers, not workers, who write the checks to politicians. It is these employers who exploit illegal immigrants. As a union organizer, César Chávez was no champion for undocumented workers, but his spirit is alive in today's fight for compassionate immigration reform. However, Chávez was no friend to undocumented immigrants during his time. He was born a U.S. citizen in Arizona, and was loyal to American farm workers. In fighting for the rights of agricultural workers, in 1969 his union protested farms that hired illegal immigrants as scabs during a union strike. They even reported some suspected illegal immigrants to INS. Just as Chávez was not a simple man, immigration reform is not a simple issue. It is not a black and white issue. There is no perfect answer. However, rather than pitting poor American citizens against poor illegal immigrants, this Campaign proposes that we take Chávez's vision of social justice and apply it to all. Let’s fight for workers’ rights and some form of legalization for illegal immigrants who have worked in this country and want to be a part of the “American Dream.” There is enough American wealth to support all our nation's laborers and service workers, citizen and non-citizen, alike. We need to concentrate on forcing those who own the wealth to share it with their employees, rather than blaming our nation's newest immigrants for our crappy wages. So, rather than fighting one another for the pennies that corporations throw at their workers, let’s make the corporations of the world pay up. After all, the problem is not a lack of wealth, it is the disparity of the wealth. Why else would so many Latin American immigrants come here? We will introduce legislation to phase out free trade agreements such as NAFTA and GATT and phase in an International Fair Trade Treaty where U.S. companies cannot import from PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 31 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

international companies that do not provide adequate wages, decent work conditions, and environmentally safe manufacturing; nor can they import goods made via forced or child labor. Fewer American companies will want to relocate to countries with lax labor laws, which will, of course, save American jobs and reduce our trade deficit; and labor conditions will improve around the world, evaporating the economic desperation that often precedes emigration. Will Americans pay a few cents more for imported goods as a result of the IFTT? Perhaps. But shredding NAFTA and CAFTA will restore enough domestic jobs to raise spending ability higher than costs increase. Investments in local or domestic national economies pay off for that economy, one way or another. An IFTT is an investment in American security and in global security.

FOREIGN OWNERSHIP OF U.S. PORTS More than 21 port complexes in this country may be handed over to Dubai Ports World. The majority of the major port systems in the United States and North America will be sold off. We will oppose the port deal because selling off key infrastructure is a threat to the sovereignty and national security of the United States. The individual named by the White House to run security for all major U.S. ports under Maritime Administration, David Sanborn, is the current number two (#2) man at Dubai Ports World and head of their European and Latin American operations. Potentially, United Arab Emirates will be running security at the ports, because DP World's number two man will be in charge of all major U.S. ports by appointment of the current Administration. Instead of selling our ports to foreign companies, American companies should be contracted to manage and operate the ports in this country. If no American companies can handle the job, then funding should be provided for training and education of American companies. This Campaign supports/endorses: • • •

Opposing any legislation or bills that would transfers control and ownership of United States ports to foreign nationals or corporations. American companies managing American ports. Training of American workers to manage ports.

NEW MADRID FAULT/FEMA PREPARATION Millions around the country saw the horror last summer in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The failed levees were predicted for decades. Experts predict a similar tragedy for the 9th District and the region should an earthquake occur on the New Madrid Fault. FEMA, which was sharply criticized for its handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, began in earnest in December to prepare for the possibility of an earthquake along the New PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 32 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

Madrid fault zone, centered near the southeast Missouri town New Madrid, and which stretches from Alabama to Illinois. It includes the 9th District of Tennessee. A major earthquake along this fault would have potential, wide-ranging impact on the nation's economy, estimated in the tens of billions of dollars. A strong earthquake could disrupt the flow of commodities by underground pipeline, rail, barge and highway; halt the flow of food exports, fuel oil and coal outside the region; cripple FedEx's hub in Memphis; and block routes for emergency services. Most federal emergency funds have been tied to terrorism and not available for natural disasters. That needs to change. FEMA has "significant concerns" for the potential of a catastrophic earthquake equal in magnitude to those that struck parts of the Mississippi River Valley in 1811-1812, and again in 1895. The estimated magnitude of those earthquakes is 7.5 or 8. The probability of a magnitude 6 or larger earthquake is 25 percent to 50 percent (25%-50%) over the next 50 years. Even a magnitude 7 earthquake would destroy more than sixty percent (60%) of buildings in the 9th District, because most buildings predate building requirements aimed at resisting the shock. FEMA says that it will be a monumental challenge to address this issue. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, an earthquake today would rupture underground pipelines, burst levees, and wreak havoc in the Midwest and East. This Campaign supports/endorses: •

• •

Emergency response exercises along the entire New Madrid fault zone and in the 9th District to expose how response might be improved in the event of a devastating earthquake. Legislation for emergency funds in case of a major quake along the fault. Retrofitting federal highways in the fault zone to conform with today’s applicable standards.

TERRORISM We are currently waging a war against a global terrorist movement committed to our destruction without truly understanding our enemy or effort to address the underlying factors that has given rise to these terrorist organizations. Terrorists like al Qaeda and its affiliates are unlike any adversary our nation has ever known. We face a global terrorist movement of many groups, funded from different sources with separate agendas, but all committed to assaulting the United States and free and open societies around the globe. Despite spending billions of dollars, many of our efforts have fallen far short, because there has been no comprehensive strategy for victory. Agents of terrorism work in the shadows of more than 60 nations, on every continent. Victory in the war on terror requires the ability and willingness to direct immediate, effective military action when the capture or destruction of terrorist groups and their leaders is possible; a massive improvement in intelligence gathering and analysis coupled with vigorous law enforcement; a relentless effort to shut down the flow PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 33 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

of terrorist funds; a global effort to prevent failed or failing states that can become sanctuaries for terrorists; a sustained effort to deny terrorists any more recruits by conducting effective public diplomacy; and a sustained political and economic effort to improve education, work for peace, support democracy and extend hope. Improving intelligence to find and stop terrorists. We will support legislation that will train and equip the military to enhance its capabilities to seek out and destroy terrorists. We will strengthen the capacity of intelligence and law enforcement around the world by forging stronger international coalitions to provide better information and communication. We must also reform our intelligence system by creating a true Director of National Intelligence with real control of intelligence personnel and budgets. We must train more analysts in languages spoken by terrorists. And we must break down the old communications barriers between national intelligence and local law enforcement, taking care to fully preserve our liberties. Cutting off terrorist funds. We will move decisively to cut off the flow of terrorist funds. We will impose tough financial sanctions against nations or banks that engage in money laundering or fail to act against it. We will strengthen our anti-money laundering laws to prevent terrorists from using hedge funds and unregulated institutions to finance terror. We will support launching "name and shame" legislation against those that are financing terror. Preventing Afghanistan and other nations from becoming terrorist havens. We have all but turned away from Afghanistan, allowing it to become again a potential haven for terrorists. We must expand NATO forces outside Kabul. We must accelerate training for the Afghan army and police. The program to disarm and reintegrate warlord militias into society must be expedited and expanded into a mainstream strategy. We will attack the exploding opium trade by doubling our counter-narcotics assistance to the Karzai Government and reinvigorating the regional drug control program. Beyond Afghanistan, terrorist attacks from Saudi Arabia and Indonesia to Kenya, Morocco, and Turkey point to a widening network of terrorists targeting America and our friends. Failed and failing states like Somalia or countries with large areas of limited government control like the Philippines and Indonesia need international help to close down terrorist havens. Increasing public diplomacy to promote understanding and prevent terrorist recruitment. At the core of this conflict is a fundamental struggle of ideas: democracy and tolerance against those who would use any means and attack any target to impose their views. The war on terror is not a clash of civilizations. It’s CIVILIZATION vs. CHAOS. America needs a major initiative in public diplomacy to support the many voices of freedom in the Arab and Muslim world. To improve education for the next generation of Islamic youth, we need a cooperative international effort to compete with radical views. And we must support human rights groups, independent media, and labor unions dedicated to building a democratic culture from the grassroots up. //// PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 34 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

This Campaign supports/endorses: • • •

Legislation that provides for terrorism protection and security for America and the 9th District. A No-Torture policy by American military and its agents. Improved intelligence.

WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION The key issue is to KEEP WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION OUT OF THE HANDS OF TERRORISTS. There is no greater threat to American security than the possibility of terrorists armed with weapons of mass destruction such as suitcase nuclear weapons, biological agents, suicide bombers and digital sabotage attacking the 9th District and the rest of America. Preventing terrorists from gaining access to these weapons must be our number one (#1) security goal. First, we will support all possible measures to defend ourselves against the possibility of terrorist attack from both foreign and domestic terrorists. We must build and lead an international consensus for early preventive action to lock up and secure existing weapons of mass destruction and the material to manufacture more. We need to hire and train additional military interpreters fluent in Arabic and regional dialects. Increase intelligence on foreign nationals living in the United States and the 9th District with ties to terrorism. Locking away existing nuclear weapons and material. The first step is to safeguard all weapon-making material worldwide. We need to find it, catalog it, and lock it away. Our approach should be simple: treat the nuclear materials that make bombs like they are bombs. More than a decade after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Russia still has nearly 20,000 nuclear weapons and enough nuclear material to produce 50,000 more. For most of these weapons and materials, cooperative security upgrades have not been completed. Leading international efforts to shut down nuclear efforts in North Korea, Iran, and elsewhere. We will support the end of the nuclear weapons program in North Korea and prevent the development of nuclear weapons in other countries. The North Koreans have made it clear to the world (due to its limited economy) that they are open for business and will sell to the highest bidder. We must be prepared to talk directly with North Korea to negotiate a comprehensive agreement that addresses the full range of issues for ourselves and our allies. But we should have no illusions about Kim Jong Il. Any agreement must have rigorous verification and lead to complete and irreversible elimination of North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Iran has reportedly been working to develop nuclear weapons and an armed conflict appears imminent. A nuclear-armed Iran is an unacceptable risk. This is why strengthening the PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 35 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty is so critical. There needs to be a worldwide moratorium on the production and creation of nuclear weapons. We must close the loophole that lets countries develop nuclear weapons capabilities under the guise of a peaceful, civilian nuclear power program. We also need to strengthen enforcement and verification and make rigorous inspection protocols mandatory for all countries. We must work with every country to tighten export controls, stiffen penalties, and beef up law enforcement and intelligence sharing. That way we can make absolutely sure that a disaster like the AQ Khan black market network, which grew out of Pakistan's nuclear program, can never happen again. We must also take steps to reduce tension between India and Pakistan and guard against the possibility of their nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands.

FOREIGN POLICY PROMOTING DEMOCRACY, PEACE, AND SECURITY Promoting democracy, human rights, and the rule of law is vital to our country’s long-term security. We will work with people and nongovernmental organizations around the world struggling for freedom, even as we work with their governments to protect our security from weapons of terror. We believe that upholding international standards for the treatment of prisoners, wherever they may be held, advances America's national security, the security of our troops, and the values of our people. And we believe torture is unacceptable. America should abide by its own laws and the treaties it has ratified, including the Geneva Conventions. We will also support international efforts to address the problem of landmines. Ignoring the advice of military leaders, this Administration did not send sufficient forces into Iraq to accomplish the mission. And this Administration went into Iraq without a plan to win the peace. Having gone to war, we cannot afford to fail at peace. We cannot allow a failed state in Iraq that inevitably would become a haven for terrorists and a destabilizing force in the Middle East. And we must secure more help from an international community that shares a huge stake in helping Iraq become a responsible member of that community, not a breeding ground for terror and intolerance. We must do the hard work of engaging the world's major political powers to build a coalition of countries, including the other permanent members of the UN Security Council, to share the political, economic, and military responsibilities of Iraq with the United States. To win over allies, we must share responsibility with those nations that answer our call, and treat them with respect. We must convince NATO to take on a more significant role and contribute additional military forces. As other countries, including Muslim majority countries, contribute troops, the United States will be able to reduce its military presence in Iraq, and we intend to do this when appropriate so that the military support needed by a sovereign Iraqi government will no longer be seen as the direct continuation of an American military presence. U.S. and international policies must take into consideration the best interests of the Iraqi people. The Iraqi people desperately need financial and technical assistance that is not swallowed up by bureaucracy and no-bid contracts, but instead goes directly into grassroots PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 36 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

organizations. They need to see the tangible benefits of reconstruction: jobs, infrastructure, and services. They should also receive the full benefits of their own oil production as quickly as possible, so as to rebuild their country and help themselves as individuals, while also reducing the costs of security and reconstruction on the American taxpayer and the cost of gasoline to American consumers. And they need to be able to communicate their concerns to international authorities without feeling they are being disrespected in their own country. America also needs a massive training effort to build Iraqi security forces that can actually provide security for the Iraqi people. It must be done in the field and on the job as well as in the classroom. Units cannot be put on the street without backup from international security forces. If we fail to create viable Iraqi security forces – military and police – there is no successful exit for us and other nations.

AFRICA U.S. engagement in Africa should reflect its vital significance to U.S. interests and the moral imperative to help a continent struggling with the scourge of HIV/AIDS and under the long shadow of chronic poverty. The HIV/AIDS pandemic in southern and eastern Africa is a massive human tragedy that is unprecedented in today’s times. It is also a security risk of the highest order that threatens to plunge nations into chaos. Chronic and debilitating hunger also threatens the very survival of communities where investment in vital agriculture has suffered for over a decade. Within the U.S. itself, there is a perception that the world's superpower does deliver a lot for Africa. However, in sheer volume terms the world's largest economy is sending the largest amount of foreign aid to Africa, but as a proportion of national wealth only 0.16% of the U.S. budget goes on aid, far short of the 0.7% of GDP that is the U.N. target. A ridiculously small amount of U.S. aid, far less than 1% of its total aid budget, is spent in sub-Saharan Africa, the poorest place on Earth. We must work with the United Nations and Africa's regional organizations to address Africa's persistent, disproportionate share of the world's weak, failing states and chronic armed conflicts, and to promote effective relief efforts when there is a humanitarian crisis. We value the deepening economic ties with Africa, including Central and West Africa's rapidly rising position as a major source of non-Gulf oil. We recognize Africa's promise as a trade and investment partner and the importance of trade policies that reduce poverty and promote growth in Africa. We will continue to promote policies to support newly democratic states that have shown a commitment to economic reform and respect for human rights.

ASIA We must better engage with China to secure Chinese adherence to international trade, nonproliferation and human rights standards. We must seek to significantly reduce our significant trade deficit with China and other nations. We are committed to a "One China" policy, and will continue to support a peaceful resolution of cross-Straits issues that is consistent with the wishes and best interests of the Taiwanese people. We must maintain our strong relationship PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 37 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

with Japan, and explore new ways to cooperate further. And we will actively seek to enhance relations with our historic ally South Korea in order to advance our collaborative efforts on economic and security issues. We must seek to defuse any situations with North Korea that could potentially escalate into a military conflict. We must also work with our friends, India and Pakistan, in their efforts to resolve longstanding differences.

EUROPE The international goals that the United States pursues will be easier to attain if Europe and America are working together. We will support the continued consolidated peace in Europe. We look forward to the evolution of the European Union and to a prosperous and unified Europe that joins the United States in meeting today's security challenges and expanding the global economy.

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN We will return U.S.-Latin American relations to a place marked by dialogue, consensus and concerted action to address common concerns. We understand that the region’s collective security and prosperity are furthered by mutual efforts to promote democracy, generate wealth, reduce income disparities, and provide sound environmental stewardship. We are committed to strong and steady support for democratic processes and institutions in our hemisphere. We believe that democratic governments deserve our support, and that we should exercise our considerable diplomatic and moral force in support of democratically elected leaders. Mexico has made steady progress toward building a mature democracy, and while we will make relations with Mexico a priority in order to best address economic, environmental and social issues of concern, we will not support any legislation supporting Mexico or any other nation that is not in the best interests of the people of the 9th District. We support effective and peaceful strategies to end the embargo against the Castro regime as soon as possible and enable the Cuban people to take their rightful place in the Community of the Americas. We will work with the international community and representatives of the Castro regime to release all political prisoners, support civil society, promote the important work of Cuban dissidents, and begin a process of genuine political reform. Within this framework we support a policy of principled travel to Cuba that promotes family unity and people-to-people contacts through educational and cultural exchanges. We will seek to reinforce democratic values in Haiti and throughout the Caribbean. We will support economic development to increase employment and economic opportunity, reducing incentives for emigration by dangerous and life-threatening means. We will increase efforts to combat drug-trafficking throughout the Caribbean and ensure that those involved in bringing drugs into the U.S. are brought to justice. We will assist in combating corruption so that funds made available for development are used appropriately.

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THE MIDDLE EAST We recognize that our greatest contribution to peace in the Middle East will come through our impact on U.S. policy in the region. Our commitments compel us to support popular movements for peace, self-rule, and demilitarization of weapons of mass destruction, especially those that reach across the lines of conflict to engage both Palestinians and Israelis of good will. This Campaign supports endorses: • •

• •

•

•

•

The right of self-determination for both Palestinians and Israelis, which precludes the self-determination of one at the expense of the other. The recognition of the historical and contemporary cultural diversity of IsraeliPalestinian society, including the religious heritage of Jews, Christians, Muslims and others. This is a significant part of the rich cultural legacy of all these peoples and it must be respected. Equality before international law rather than absolute appeals to religious faith as the fair basis on which claims to the land of Palestine-Israel are resolved. The opposition as both discriminatory and ultimately self-defeating the position that Jews would be fundamentally threatened by the implementation of full rights to Palestinian-Israelis and Palestinian refugees who wish to return to their homes. A new policy, which itself recognizes the equality, humanity, and civil rights of Jews, Muslims, Christians, and all others who live in the region, and which seeks to build confidence in prospects for secular democracy. The recognition of the limited natural resources in Palestine-Israel and the necessity of creating an Arab/Israeli commission to negotiate the sharing of water by both nationalities. Congressional intelligence committees to conduct full and public hearings on the development and deployment of weapons of mass destruction, whether by the Israeli military, irregular militias, terrorist organizations, or Arab states. It should be U.S. policy to seek the removal and/or destruction of all such weapons of mass death wherever they are found.

IMPEACHMENT Article II, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution states that The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. This Campaign does not endorse impeachment proceedings simply for partisan reasons. Public officials must be held to a high standard of moral and ethical conduct. If the factual evidence shows beyond a reasonable doubt that the President, Vice President and other civil officers have committed treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors, then we will support impeachment proceedings against the President, Vice President and other such civil officers. PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 39 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

APPENDIX “A” THE U.S.A. BILL OF RIGHTS The United States of America’s Bill of Rights enumerates guaranteed rights to ALL citizens of this country based on explicit limitations on the powers of the Federal government, preventing Congress from abridging, infringing or denying: • • • • • • •

Freedom of speech; Freedom of the press; Freedom of assembly; Freedom of religious worship The right to bear arms, Personal and property rights by preventing unreasonable search and seizure, cruel and unusual punishment, and The guarantee of due process of law with a speedy public trial and an impartial jury.

The United States of America guarantees these rights to its citizens, and has a duty to ensure that these rights are never denied to any citizen. 1st Amendment - (Ratified December 15, 1791)  Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. 2nd Amendment - (Ratified December 15, 1791)  A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. 3rd Amendment - (Ratified December 15, 1791)  No Soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the Owner; nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. 4th Amendment - (Ratified December 15, 1791)  The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue; but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. 5th Amendment - (Ratified December 15, 1791)  No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 40 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. 6th Amendment - (Ratified December 15, 1791)  In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence. 7th Amendment - (Ratified December 15, 1791)  In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law. 8th Amendment - (Ratified December 15, 1791)  Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 9th Amendment - (Ratified December 15, 1791) The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 10th Amendment - (Ratified December 15, 1791)  The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

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APPENDIX “B “B ” JOB DESCRIPTION Article I, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution states  That all legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. Article, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution states  That The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature. No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen. Article 1, Section 7 of the U.S. Constitution states  All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives. Duties of the Representative Position The 9th District Representative will be a member of the United States House of Representatives – a part of Congress. Congress has many enumerated powers. As the 9th District Representative, Joseph S. Ford, Jr. shall have the right to vote, introduce, support, endorse and review many proposed bills and legislation to determine the overall effect on the 9th District. Article, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution states that the Congress shall have power: • To lay and collect Taxes; • To pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States; • To borrow money on the credit of the United States; • To regulate Commerce with foreign nations; • To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States; • To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof; • To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the money, securities and current coin of the United States; • To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries; • To declare War; • To raise and support Armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two (2) years; • To provide and maintain a Navy; PLATFORM2 5/19/2009 Page 42 of 44 ©2006 Joseph S. Ford, Jr.

•

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers.

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CREDITS/REFERENCES 1.

Budget statistics taken from (information taken from http://www.nationalpriorities.org); National Priorities Project  The National Priorities Project (NPP) offers citizen and community groups tools and resources to shape federal budget and policy priorities which promote social and economic justice. NPP is a nonpartisan and nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization The National Priorities Project provides data on the impact of federal spending policies for states, cities and counties; educates and trains citizens, activists, media and elected officials on the federal budget, the budget’s local impact and community needs; collaborates with national groups on federal budget initiatives; and facilitates dialogue and action between national social justice and security policy groups. The National Priorities Project (NPP) is a 501(c)3 nonpartisan education and advocacy organization that makes its tools, resources, and data available to the general public. NPP does not support any candidate or political party. NPP's intention in making this information available is solely to educate the public on the impacts of federal tax and spending policies at the community level. NPP does not in any manner endorse or oppose any candidates for public office. Use of the information gathered by NPP or links to NPP's website by other organizations does not imply NPP's endorsement of the views or actions of such organizations.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

http://www.fpif.org Democratic Party National Platform Republican Party National Platform Green Party National Platform Libertarian Party National Platform

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