Hey NYC Police....Why The Secrecy All Of The Sudden?

In what seems to be a huge setback for transparency, the NYC Police Department has decided to hide from the public disciplinary actions for it's officers. A standard practice for journalists and families to review, has all of the sudden disappeared. The department is taking advantage of a state statute that the legal department never knew existed to hide from the public disciplinary actions of it's officers.

By doing so, it will be much less transparent.

Why is this important? If a police officer breaks the trust of their position, their transgressions can be hidden from the public. This sort of privilege can be taken advantage of by officers who are reckless on and off duty. What may seem to be an accident to the general public, could be a cover up of a negligence by officers. In a sense, they can hide behind the badge when they make mistakes or worse yet, purposeful damage to another individual.

This surely will not help bridge the gap of mistrust with groups like Black Lives Matter. In fact, it only proves their point. Another problem is the silence of Mayor DeBlasio, who ran on a platform of greater transparency for all departments in NYC.

Why Are There Only 3 Peace Pagodas In The United States?

Civilization is not to kill human beings, Not to destroy things, not to make war;  Civilization is to hold mutual affection And to respect one another.”
–Most Venerable Nichidatsu Fujii

Peace Pagodas have a significant place in the development of humanity. Peace Pagodas are a symbol of non-violence dating as far back as 2000 years ago. During that time, the Emperor Ashoka of India, a notoriously bloody warlord, was approaching after a particularly wretched battle by a Buddhist Monk who admonished him for his wrong doings. From that time on, Ashoka became a became a fervent believer in Buddhism. After his conversion, he gave up his warlike ways and began erecting Peace Pagodas.

There are 80 in the world today. Of which 3 are in the United States, a country that has a military budget that is the equivalent of the next 10 nations combined. In an ironic twist, Peace Pagodas are lacking in a nation that is best prepared for the destruction of the planet earth if need be. For over 100 years, the United States has been the most militaristic nation in the world. Yes, we have fought battles that have led to peace, however we have contributed to wars around the world for generations that were covert and unnecessary.

New York State and Massachusetts have 2 of the 3 Peace Pagodas. One is under construction in Tennessee. Peaceful and a place for reflection, they offer children and adults the opportunity to reflect upon civilizations and how we choose to live our lives today. We have a choice to be violent or non violent as a society. We can destroy or build things based on empathy, and compassion. It is a choice, if we seek out the truth. This blog is dedicated to exploring what can be, as much as we need to understand what is.........

Rethinking Political Parties

Is it time to rethink political parties? Have millennials already started the process? Great questions, and Americans are starting to pay attention. Over half of millennials have registered independent. Tired of the political process, they are sending a clear message. That message is, political parties are the problem.


Political parties are interested in winning so that they can have power and control over the major branches of government. Over the past 50 years, trillions of dollars are transferred to power changes for Democrats and Republicans. House domination is the equivalent to corporate welfare. The political process has been hijacked, and without many older Americans realizing, we have converted to a Corporatized Democracy. Corporations first, people second.


Millennials have figured it out. We can not have change until we change the political process. The marriage of Corporations, Media, and Political Parties has changed out country, and not for the better. There is a stranglehold on issues of decency. We live in a lottery system of services based on political whims instead of social policy.

Our educational system is another example of the problem with political parties. Hijacked for decades by political parties, the system is a revolving door of standardized educational testing and corporate control. Teachers are not treated as professionals. They have been incorporated into a system of professional test givers. The same is true for Guidance Counselors. Often relegated to data analysis, they have help more with the administration of tests than working directly with students. Parents have demanded for years reform, priorities for curriculum and less tests, only to fall on deaf ears. It seems that corporatized curriculum is more important than local control.

The decline of political parties will continue. However, the corporations control the agenda as political parties decline. It will take a greater decline in political parties to increase the possibility of positive change for the United States. How long this change will take is anyone's guess.

Hey Michael Moore - Remember President Bush and Katrina?

Call me crazy, but the Democrats have lived on a platform for years of President Bush's handling of Katrina. He was late arriving on scene, and everyone criticized him for not responding. Many allegation included race as a motivation. Some like Michael Moore profited from Katrina by documenting the events in his movies.

Fast forward to 2016. Flooding has led to a massive evacuation in Louisiana and President Obama is on vacation. Not a hint of his presence. Why is there no outrage similar to President Bush?  The problem in political loyalty. The Democrats are silent, and should be ashamed of themselves. People in crisis often do not have a name, and a political party to lean on, they just need help.

This is a great example of the polarization of the United States due to the media. Michael Moore and the likes of him on both sides of a position lean toward parties and platforms when they should bring equity to the discussion of human rights.

What Happened To The Idea That Robots Will Make Our Lives Easier?

Over the past 30 years, automation using robots has changed our society. Robots essentially have replaced people. We were sold a proposition that robots would make our lives easier, and in some ways provide us a much simpler lifestyle.

Automation has worked quite well. We produce as much as we consume thanks to technology. In fact abundance is more of an issue versus the shortfalls predicted a generation past. The question I have is for our readers is, "Did we miss on opportunity to make our lives easier?"

Think about it, in Europe some countries have factored in the benefits of automation. Shorter work weeks, extended vacation times, and universal health care for all. All paid for through the benefits of automation, and of course careful planning and social policy.

Did we miss an opportunity to extend the same freedoms to our citizens? If we shortened the work week to 30 hrs, we would improve the health of our citizens, increase employment, and provide for the intellectual freedom promised by our very own Constitution.

Time For A Do-Over

Take a deep breathe, sit back, and really contemplate this election for President. Now imagine yourself as someone neutral, or from a foreign country. What would you think about our election process for President? Better yet, imagine this election through the eyes of our children.


2016 is the year of corruption. Many historians will point to past elections and say, "This happens every election cycle." Simply not true. We have one of the most unbalanced unhinged candidate in American History, and we have one of the most corrupt public figures and political party since the days of Boss Tweed.

The media is another problem. We have journalists covering the election that have connections to political parties that are inappropriate. Fox, CNN, MSNBC to name a few hire the political consultants from both parties to provide coverage of the candidates. In today's social media empire, the connections to mainstream social media is helping control the election process.

We also have voter fraud in most states. Whether ID fraud, or cooking the books in highly populated counties across the U.S., the odds are that your vote only mattered if you vote for the 2 major political candidates that won the election.

Finally, nothing gets a candidate disqualified anymore. Whether it is their behavior or their unethical practices, we are sending a message to our children that the content of your character does not matter. We have witnessed 2 people, broke all the laws spoken and unspoken to win an election. Violations in ethics and the law have been skirted, without consequence.

The solution: The President and Congress need to step in, and disqualify the primary results. They should extend the current President's term by one year, create a bi partisan commission, and clean up the election process. What a powerful message to send our children, and the rest of the world. How we vote for a candidate is more important than who wins. For this reason, please consider the following petition to the Congress and the White House.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/call-democrats-and-republicans-postpone-upcoming-presidential-election

What Two 19 Year Old Rapists Can Teach Us About A Broken System Of Justice

The criminal justice system has been broken for decades in our country. The most glaring injustice is sentencing, especially when it comes to race. Drug sentencing has devastated the African-American community. Yet, the outrage for such an imbalance in sentencing seems to hardly get the attention of mainstream America. People seem to doubt the accuracy of such claims that the color of your skin is a barrier to justice.

The recent sentencing of two 19 year old rapists are clearly an example of what role race plays in our justice system. Brock Turner, a white male was an athlete from Stanford. He raped a woman as she was unconscious. In fact, he raped her behind a dumpster. Clearly not a nice guy. Corey Batey is an African American college athlete that raped a woman as she was unconscious.

Brock Turner was sentence to 6 months in county jail. He could be released for good behavior in 3 months. Many were outraged. The judge's explanation was that at such a young age, a longer sentence would have a negative impact on the young man's life. Contrast that with the sentence for Corey Batey. He was given 15-25 years for the same crime.

U.S sentencing for African-Americans are 20% longer than their white counterparts. In the case of Turner and Batey, the difference is 3000% for the same crime. For those frustrated by Black Lives Matter, maybe it is time to see why so many African Americans are frustrated by a broken system of justice.

Corruption On Both Sides - Fair and Balanced

What a mess! Daily we are barraged with stories of corruption. Both sides of the aisle are abusing the powers granted to them via the Constitution. While Trump dominates the headlines, it is important to note, any thing scandalous to him was committed in the private sector. What voters need to be outraged by is the abuse that happens within the public trust.

Emails being deleted, pallets of cash delivered to Iran, and corruption stories today without any form of justice that locked people up just a few years ago. The most concerning is lying under oath. It would seem that Martha Stewart did not get away with it a few years ago, however our elected officials can routinely commit perjury without consequence.

It is time of Americans to wake up and demand a higher standard in nation's capital. We the people decide what is just, not our elected leaders. This summer will resonate with millennials and hopefully older generations. It is important that all of us recognize that ethics are compromised which is dangerous for a democracy. When our corruption perception index goes up, we as a nation plunge into mistrust. It is time to clean up this mess.

Is It Time For Pariliamentary Democracy In The United States?

The past 30 years have seen a large transition to the office of the POTUS. The position itself has become lost in money. It takes a few billion to elect someone to the highest of offices. It is a shell game in a broken two party system. The elections have become to long, and the leadership is to compromised by the time they take office due to financial donations to their campaign.

Maybe it is time for a change. A Parliamentary Democracy would better represent the people, versus the electoral college and our current system of electing a president. Parliamentary Democracies do not have a presidential election at all. The ruling party elects a Prime Minister, and the Prime Minister answers to the entire legislative body and the people.

A Parliamentary process brings the elections back to the local level. Voter turnout would improve because each congressional district is in play. Currently, voter turnout for the Office of the POTUS has declined to 50% of the population voting. One could conclude that citizens do not feel invested in the election process for President anymore. It has been in steady decline for multiple decades. The media and political parties consider a no vote as laziness. It is actually the opposite. People feel like their vote does not matter anymore. This is a dangerous precedent in a democracy.

Recent presidential elections had strange anomalies such as one candidate earning more votes in a district than registered voters. Some have one precincts by 100%. We reduce the risk of this happening by returning voter control to the people. A Parliamentary process might be what the United States needs to reinvigorate the principles

of the Constitution, even if it means amending the electoral process for President of the United States.