Resources
This page is under Revision from FourC - Concerned Citizens of Clallam County
Basic Resource Reading
If we want to understand why Washington no longer cares and
acts on "what is good for the Country," We must start with two basic
references which can be obtained from Amazon.com or Alibris.com as
inexpensive basic resources.
How did our government go wrong? "The
5000 Year Leap - A Miracle That Changed the World" by
W. Cleon Skousen describes what the founders intended.
"In showing how our system was designed, Skousen goes through 28
principles that the Founders developed from their study of sources
such as Cicero, Locke, Montesquieu, Adam Smith, and others. Skousen
has done what most people don't have the time or inclination to do:
Study the original source materials and bring it all together.
Obviously, it would be great if every American studied the sources
listed above as well as The Federalist Papers, the writings of
Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, and others. Since that is unlikely,
this is a great way to gain a good general understanding of the
roots of our nation.
One great thing about this book is that the author discusses some of
the problems that we have faced in recent years due to failing to
follow the Constitution and the principles of the Founders. Some of
these are issues like the mounting national debt, excessive
taxation, and judicial activism.
Dr. Skousen also does a great job of explaining the political
spectrum and the absurdities of the left-right labeling so often
used in discourse today. He explains in an easy-to-understand manner
that the far left and far right as the terms are used today are
really the same thing, ruler's law, and are totally out of step with
the way the system was intended."
The details in Jonathan Rauch's 1999 Book "Government's
End -Why Washington Stopped Working" have been covered
before and since but few have captured the problems with our
government quite as well.
Thomas Dye and Harmon Zeigler were the original authors of "The
Irony of Democracy-an Uncommon introduction to American Politics".
It is basically a detailed layout of how and why we have over time
let the elite directors of special Interests take over our
government and work to the disadvantage of the people they pretend
to represent. It is a textbook used in many college courses and
republished with up to date information every two years. A clear and
easy read and absolutely essential for those who intend to take back
our government and get some idea of how the Constitutional intent of
the founders slipped away. Alibris can get you an inexpensive copy.
Tea Party Movement Web Sites
As we start to build this site for FourC it is valuable to look at
some of the other regional and local Tea Party web sites.
For A different type approach to Tea Party like efforts using
Educational Citizen Assemblies but working tea party type issues go
to
Citizen Assemblies in California
National Sites - Tea Party
The Tea Party express
has a bus traveling around the nation raising the word. They also
list a group of local and other interesting sites.
For a National site that reports day by day on the Tea Party Efforts
go to
TaxDay Tea Party
For the Libertarian oriented approach to Tea Party Efforts go to
American Liberty
Alliance You'll also get some information on efforts that seem
to be for profit or primarily money raising meetings at this site.
TeaPartyPatriots.org.
States that "Tea Party Patriots is a national grassroots
organization that provides logistical, educational, networking and
other types of support to over 1000 community based tea party groups
around the country. Tea Party Patriots national coordinators
understand that we are mere servants to the grassroot groups. We
understand that we do not set the course for our member groups, as
they have developed their own vision and plan for how to address the
local and national challenges that they are facing".
The Tea
PartyCoalition Goals are :
-
To Defeat Tax and Spend Politicians at the Polls on Election Day, November 2010.
-
To Place a Fiscally Responsible Politician as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
For an example of a small local site at Las Cruces Tea Party site go to Las Cruces
Washington State Sites
Evergreen Freedom
Foundation A Washington State Site that public research
organization devoted to advancing individual liberty, green
enterprise, and limited accountable government. Preceeds Tea Party
effort.
Washington State
Sovereignty
Washington
State --Citizens' Alliance for Property Rights
For local information call Earnest Spees
State Republican Site
--has a lot of information on bills of both parties
State Senate Republican
Site From the Senate side
State Democratic Site
Information from the Democrats
State Senate Democrats
site From the Senate side
National Sites - Republican
For A Republican effort to Send Pelosi AstroTurf which is what she
called Tea Party and other national Protesters. Go to
http://sendastroturf.com/
General Political Sites
The political site at politics1.com bills itself at the most popular political site on the net. It is certainly comprehensive. For individual state issues go to stateline.org. Checking your facts:
Sorting out who and what is what in the political World
We are all prone to getting our facts wrong and there is a lot of
false agitation on the web. Some sites that might help are:
Open Secrets.org at
http://www.opensecrets.org/about/index.php
Their Stated mission using open Secrets.org "Center for Responsive
Politics" is the nation's premier research group tracking money in U.S.
politics and its effect on elections and public policy. Nonpartisan,
independent and nonprofit, the organization aims to create a more
educated voter, an involved citizenry and a more responsive government.
In short, CRP's mission is to:
- Inform citizens about how money in politics affects their lives
- Empower voters and activists by providing unbiased information
- Advocate for a transparent and responsive government
For those who want to know the connections between the powerful
elites that control our lives go to
http://littlesis.org/about
TruthorFiction.com - go there
for those stories we get in the mail, slanders and assertions in the
news that are flat wrong.
urbanlegends.com or
snopes.com cover the more weird
stories on the web. Worth a check.
Researching
For groups. groups.google.com, groups.yahoo.com, groups.aol.com
Free Columbia Encyclopedia (except for ads) http://www.bartle.com/65
Encyclopedia of Philosophy -Stanford www.plato.stanford.edu
Great Links and info from Smithsonian Institution http://www.si.edu/resource/faq/start.htmThe unconstrained vision people:
thenation.com - Liberal or left. Probably a bit far out for many people. I'm sure some will tell us about more moderate unconstrained publications for the unconstrained view.
democrats.org - Democratic National Committee. State sites can be reached from here.
Democrats movement to the center www.ndol.org/index.cfmThe constrained vision people:
federalist.com - "The Conservative e-Journal of Record"
rnc.org - The Republican National Committee. State sites can be reached from here.
Somewhere in the middle or...
www.reason.com Free minds and free markets is their tag. Conservative and Libertarian but like New Democrats trying to get to the middle.
cato.org - Libertarians - In the middle or on the fringe depending on your issue, but if property rights and limited government are your issues you might start here. Their issues come primarily from the Republican side and serve as a balance to the Greens whose votes come from the Democratic side. See John J. Miller's Nov 16 article of the National Review )a Conservative publication for the impact of these votes on the Republicans.
http://www.americanpolicy.org/ They favor property rights, free enterprise and privacy, They have problems with the U.N. and environmentalism National-level Independent and personality groups:
http://www.johnmccain.com/ - John McCain is still a force to be reckoned with. You might want to know about his current positions.
jesseventura.com - Ventura was thrust on the stage again by Wellstone's death. He is still a potential vote getter for the disaffected. This site tells a bit about the man who may rise again on the political scene.
natural-law.org - A personality led Natural Law Party which has minimal connection to the western classical conception and meaning of natural law. John Hagelin was the Natural-Law Party presidential candidate in 2000. The vedic tradition of India and teaching of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi are inherent parts of the party platform.
Single issue parties
greenpartyus.org Green Party of the United States is a confederation of state Green Parties. They state that they are committed to environmentalism, non-violence, social justice and grassroots organizing. See on non-violence. The Green Party draws most of their votes from liberal Democrats and can and has caused elections to go to the Republicans. Erudite comments on propaganda and B.S. in the press.
Follow the money
opensecrets.org Organ of The
Center for Responsive Politics which is a non-partisan, non-profit
research group which conducts computer based research on campaign
finance issues for the news media, academics, activists and the public
at large.
“In the long run of history, the censor and the inquisitor have
always lost. The only sure weapon against bad ideas is better ideas. The
source of better ideas is wisdom. The surest path to wisdom is a liberal
education.” A. Whitney Griswold
For a political change maker or analyst some references are essential.
The following are short, quick, and easily accessible as starters:
"History of The United States" -The Teaching Company, Audio
Tape of Course Number 830 - 70 lectures (45 minutes/lecture) lists at
about $400, wait until they have it on sale, which seems to occur about
once a year, for about $100.
Note: New Social Contract has no financial interest in this or any other
references listed herein.
There are many worthwhile histories of the United States but these tapes
may be the quickest and easiest way to get there. If you want to change
an institution or culture from inside the system you must first have an
understanding of how and why it became what it is now and what the
failures and successes were. These are not the best lecturers of
The Teaching
Company but they are a long way from the worst. Combining these
tapes with daily walks or treadmill exercise will enable you to enjoy
both the exercise and know more of the people around you, as well as
learn more about the political development of U.S. institutions. The
Teaching Company makes a serious effort to find some of the best
lecturers in the U.S. If you can work while listening to a cassette,
you've found a great way to pass the time and start, or revisit, a
college education.
There are few things new under the sun, but the political development of
America is a fortuitous innovation that still offers hope to the world.
The lessons and possibilities of the experience are endless. You can
find more detailed histories but you will find it difficult to locate
one with a daily program that will easily get you the knowledge you
need.
“A Conflict of Visions - Ideological Origins of Political
Struggles” - Paperback by Thomas Sowell - see
Amazon,
Powells,
Barnes and Noble,
etc.
A short, but very important, discussion of why people end up on opposite
sides of some fundamental, political, religious, and moral questions.
One of the quickest ways to get an understanding of the conflicts
between Conservatives (constrained vision) and Liberals (unconstrained
vision). Sowell is a black conservative who writes with clarity and much
balance.
"A Nation Under Lawyers" by Mary Ann Glendon
While most of us love to hate Lawyers some would argue that the Legal
profession is the balancing mechanism which has allowed our unique
Constitutional system to prosper. Currently some of the most capable and
knowledgeable observers cite chaos in the ethics of the legal profession
as a central problem to our continued prosperity. Mary Glendon's book is
a very interesting and extremely worthwhile book. If you want to change
things it is essential.
“The ink of the scholar is more sacred than the blood of the martyr.” Mohammed 570-632
