How about the American Pirate Party?
p2pnet news view P2P | Politics:- “Lot of good suggestions here,” says Mike in an email.
“I would LOVE it if we had this party…”
What party?
The AMERICAN PIRATE PARTY —-
—- not to be confused with the US Pirate Party.
Mike points to a Reddit link from levmyshkin who says >>>
I am not the right man to head such a party, but I wanted to bring this up anyway.
I’m in my late 20’s (fuck), and as I sat eating a breakfast of turkey bacon fried in pork grease with eggs and a corn tortilla this morning I had a flash of understanding. For the first time in my life my demographic is a political force.
We are technologically savvy and we have the ability to organize in a way that is incomprehensible to corporate entities and governmental bodies. We are faster, better and more efficient – and we know how to have fun with it.
So here are the guiding principles I propose for the U.S. Pirate Party:
- Internet neutrality and progressive legislation regarding technology. (1)
- Legalization and taxation of drugs, prostitution, and all other activities we currently classify as “consensual crime.” <—–Quite possibly the most asinine term of all time. (2)
- Fiscal conservatism, social liberalism. (3)
- An end to corporate personhood. (4)
- A Public Option health care system. (5)
- Reducing the power of filibuster by restoring it to its original place in Senate procedure, requiring simple majorities to pass laws. (6)
- Eschew professional politicians in favor of politically knowledgeable citizens interested in political positions. (7)
- Campaign finance reform that prohibits corporations from giving money to a political candidate in any form. Only contributions from private citizens. (8)
That’s what I’ve got. I don’t want to put too many more down – I’d like to to be a collaborative effort. What tenets would you like to see on the official U.S. Pirate Party platform?
note Apparently the name, “U.S. Pirate Party,” is already taken. They’ve done such a wonderful job with it I hadn’t heard of them until I posted this thread, so I propose we make like pirates and take over the U.S. Pirate Party -or- change the name to the American Pirate Party.
note 2 I just created the American Pirate Party sub-reddit. Post, collaborate, plot. I’m a terrible organizer, so anyone who wants to mod this and help head up the party, just send me a message.
Arrrrrrrrrr
Stay tuned.
..… and identi.ca
p2pnet music downloads – and stuff
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
January, 2010
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January 20th, 2010 at 5:40 pm
Soooo, you mean a restructureing of the democratic party then?
January 20th, 2010 at 6:48 pm
You will meet opposition on points 2 and 5, mostly from Republicans, and opposition on most everything else from corporations which will fund the crap out of the Republicans to keep their power. I’m part of the US Pirate Party and I agree that it hasn’t made a splash even though they have a Facebook group, website, and Twitter. It seems like nothing is happening. Just not enough people know about it. It would be great to have discussions in a public forum that is looked at constantly, like reddit. I don’t see a need to create a new party, changing the name is feasible as the US Pirate Party is having trouble getting recognition in any state. American Pirate Party sounds better in my opinion.
January 20th, 2010 at 7:23 pm
“The Pirate Party” brand stands for Copyright and Patent Reform, Personal Privacy and Government Transparency. They’ve chosen to limit policy to those issues so as not to divide support.
If you want to start a party with substantially broader goals then I would suggest you give it some other name. Is “The Liberal Party” already taken?
Also there’s a bit of a recurring problem here; the U S Pirate Party is currently being run by a small number of people who are terrible organisers. So is the N Z Pirate party, and you’ve just admitted that you’re also a terrible organiser. What do you expect to happen? That someone who’s a good organiser is going to join you and magically make everything work? We’re still waiting for that miracle too.
January 21st, 2010 at 3:48 am
“The Pirate Party” brand stands for Copyright and Patent Reform”
And me I stand to get ride of all the corporate parasites first.
January 22nd, 2010 at 1:51 am
“Soooo, you mean a restructureing of the democratic party then?”
Actually No.
Internet neutrality and progressive legislation regarding technology. – Bush put someone from Gator, a spyware company to work in the dept of homeland security, Obama has hire RIAA hacks, I’m not sensing the love from EITHER party here.
Legalization and taxation of drugs, prostitution, and all other activities we currently classify as “consensual crime.” – Plenty of Democrats against this, although more republicans than dems, still this is more a libertarian platform than a democrat one.
Fiscal conservatism, social liberalism – The last time the democrats had even a hint of that was under Bill Clinton, then Bush and the democrat congress started spending like drunken sailors, and Obama is even worse.
An end to corporate personhood. – The Democrats have proposed this when???
Reducing the power of filibuster by restoring it to its original place in Senate procedure, requiring simple majorities to pass laws. – It seems like both parties have taken advantage of this, again not a dem OR repub reform issue.
Eschew professional politicians in favor of politically knowledgeable citizens interested in political positions. – You mean like Ted Kennedy, who died in office? Again neither a dem or repub issue.
Campaign finance reform that prohibits corporations from giving money to a political candidate in any form. Only contributions from private citizens. – This has become irrelevant in the U.S., thank you(insert sarcasm here) Supreme Court.
The democrats receive big money from the entertainment industry, so I wouldn’t rest any hopes with them for serious reform.
January 22nd, 2010 at 4:13 am
If we could attack and board an existing party, I think we would do that. But I think most of us regard the existing two parties essentially as dead weight on what used to be America. We want it back. So we’re taking it.
January 23rd, 2010 at 8:02 pm
“An end to corporate personhood. – The Democrats have proposed this when???”
I don’t know the actual answer to this myself, but there’s definitely something going in this regard. Unfortunately, it seems to be going in the REVERSE direction.
Lots of stuff out there, like this…
http://www.opednews.com/articles/A-Supreme-Act-Of-Judical-T-by-thepen-100123-2.html
Personally, I think corporate personhood is one of the biggest obstacles democracy faces today, and needs to be challenged.
January 24th, 2010 at 10:24 am
Are corporations really persons?
Do corporations think?
Do corporations grieve when a loved one dies as a result of a lack of adequate health care?
If a corporation ever committed an unspeakable crime against the American people, could IT be sent to federal prison? (Note the operative word here: “It”)
Has a corporation ever given its life for its country?
Has a corporation ever been killed in an accident as the result of a design flaw in the automobile it was driving?
Has a corporation ever written a novel that inspired millions?
Has a corporation ever risked its life by climbing a ladder to save a child from a burning house?
Has a corporation ever won an Oscar? Or an Emmy? Or the Nobel Peace Prize? Or the Pulitzer Prize in Biography?
Has a corporation ever been shot and killed by someone who was using an illegal and unregistered gun?
Has a corporation ever paused to reflect upon the simple beauty of an autumn sunset or a brilliant winter moon rising on the horizon?
If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a noise if there are no corporations there to hear it?
Should corporations kiss on the first date?
Our lives – yours and mine – have more worth than any corporation. To say that the Supreme Court made a awful decision on Thursday is an understatement. Not only is it an obscene ruling – it’s an insult to our humanity.
http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY