(#144) 27 October 2016, Vol.3, No.31 > MOUNTAIN
PARTY ALTERNATIVE!
Welcome
to Pocahontas County
– the Rain Forest of America –
A place
where Rainbows end!
The
POCAHONTAS CRIER
‘When the Righteous succeed the people rejoice,
But when the bad govern, men groan!’ – Proverbs 29:2
You are visiting < https://crier88.blogspot.com
>
MOUNTAIN PARTY ALTERNATIVE
IN WEST
VIRGINIA!
While DONALD J. TRUMP &
MICHAEL PENCE are trying to DRAIN THE SWAMP OF CORRUPTION in Washington, D.C.,
we folks here in West Virginia have a similar dilemma faced with two candidates
for governor that are not very popular due to their indiscretions,
forked-tongues, and special interests that have corrupted the politics in
Charleston and around the state! And as
most folks are aware, the WORST OF ALL CHOICES for Governor is JIM JUSTICE,
running as a Democrat who owes TENS-OF-MILLIONS of dollars to fellow West
Virginians as well as the Citizens & States within the Appalachian
Region! Just as Hillary Clinton has
earned the title of CROOKED-HILLARY nationwide for her corrupt practices as
Senator of New York & Secretary of State internationally as well as selling
her political position for money & political favors, ad nauseam, well so
has Jim Justice done the same as a coal-producer & coal-operator here in
West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and elsewhere throughout the Appalachian
States!
When the recent flood that hit
Greenbrier County and specifically White Sulphur this past summer, Jim Justice
tried to present himself as a self-styled ‘hero’
by claiming to offer his Greenbrier Hotel as a refuge for victims of the flood
– when the reality of the situation was that ONLY TWELVE (12) flood victims were allowed to stay at
the Greenbrier Inn before being ‘kicked-out’
on the Fourth of July! Meanwhile Justice
claimed a huge tax-deduction for allegedly helping victims of the White Sulphur Flood! CROOKED-JIM is as bad as they come…& then
some!
Meanwhile, a TRUE TO THE HEART FRIEND OF
HER FELLOW CITIZENS IS CHARLOTTE PRIT, CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR ON THE MOUNTAIN
PARTY TICKET!
CHARLOTTE
JEAN PRITT
HERE IS THE PLATFORM FOR WHICH SHE
STANDS…
The MOUNTAIN PARTY PLATFORM
OVERVIEW:
The West Virginia Mountain
Party seeks to implement policies that will ensure West Virginia prosperity for at least seven
generations. Our activities are based on
the assumption that a worthwhile West
Virginia future depends on sound democratic
processes, economic fairness, corporate accountability and on improving our
infrastructure and environmental health.
• GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY – We
are working to increase public participation at every level of government and
to ensure that our public representatives are fully accountable to the people
who elect them. We also work to create new types of political organizations
which expand participatory democracy by directly including citizens in the
decision-making process.
• SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY – We strive to consciously confront in ourselves, our
organizations, and society at large, barriers such as racism and class
oppression, sexism and homophobia, ageism and dis-ability, all of which act to
deny fair treatment and equal justice under the law.
• ECOLOGICAL WISDOM – Because we are part
of, not separate from, nature, we must live within the ecological and resource
limits of our communities and planet so that future generations will
benefit–not suffer from–the practices of our generation. To this end, we must
practice agriculture which replenishes the soil; move to an energy efficient
economy; and live in ways that respect the integrity of natural systems.
• NON-VIOLENCE –
Believing it is essential that we develop effective alternatives to society’s
current use of violence we are working to demilitarize, and to eliminate
weapons of mass destruction, without being naive about the intentions of other
governments. We recognize the need for self-defense and the defense of others
who are in helpless situations. Promoting non-violent methods to oppose practices
and policies with which we disagree, we will guide our actions toward lasting
personal, community, and global peace.
1. Protection of our air, water and land by promoting policies which encourage environmentally sound energy, agricultural and economic development; a halt to mountaintop removal coal mining in order to preserve precious forests and water supplies; timber regulation that reduces flooding, erosion and wildfires by eliminating clear-cutting and the destruction of old growth forests; full enforcement of current environmental protection laws, including the effective prohibition of toxic waste dumping, and the phasing out of ecologically destructive energy production while promoting renewable sources; Protection of the environment from the harm caused, or potentially caused, by exemptions from environmental protection regulations, through the lawful establishment of the plenary right for county commissions and municipal boards to individually draft, pass and require enforcement of, ordinances protecting all individuals from hazards and/or nuisances either caused, or which may potentially be caused, by corporations and individuals holding state permits under such regulatory exemption schemes, either directly or indirectly; A ban on horizontal hydro-fracking to protect the health, safety and well-being of all.
2. Promotion of political justice through election law reform including: an independent, nonpartisan election commission; full public financing of elections; free media air time and access to debates by all qualified candidates; accurate and verifiable voter rolls; enhanced voter access, and same day registration; verifiable paper trail ballots; instant runoff, and other progressive voting systems.
3. Progress toward corporate accountability through enforcing laws governing corporate crime and violence; holding executives directly liable for harm resulting from their decisions; requiring corporations to pay their fair share of taxes and be responsible neighbors; and challenging corporate person-hood.
4. Promotion of economic justice through small and community-based business organizations and activities; a living wage for all West Virginia workers; and the freedom to form unions and engage in collective bargaining.
5. Promotion of
appropriate educational opportunities including small, community -based public
schools with enforced time limits on busing; a realignment of state budgetary
priorities to ensure that all citizens attain an educational level that will
allow democracy to flourish; and provision of a civic education that encourages
active participation in the democratic process that goes beyond voting.
6. Promotion of healthy
lifestyles in order to decrease medical expenditures for preventable disease
along with enactment of universal health care including medical, dental and
prescription benefits as a right; promotion of patients’ rights and strictly
enforcing rules that ensure West Virginia’s environment is protective of
health.
7. Promotion of true democratic principles
in government through dismantlement of oppressive political machines and
replacement with politics based on citizen’s direction; reversing the
privatization of government; proportional representation in the state
legislature; and transparency and sunshine laws for all government functions.
8. Promotion of a
progressive tax code including elimination of the sales tax on clothing and
food; tax relief for small businesses and elimination of corporate welfare; and
fair assessments of mineral and other natural resource holdings.
9. Mandating citizen
referendums on any gambling initiatives in the state.
10. Promotion of Fair Trade, not Free
Trade through opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA),
the Free Trade Area of the Americas Treaty (FTAA), World Trade Organization
treaties (WTO), the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and any
future global trade treaties that threaten to override state and US sovereign
laws with the use of secret tribunals.
*The 2016 Platform also includes the following Planks, which were ratified at this year’s convention. However, they have not been refined by their primary movants for the purpose of smooth incorporation into the body of the Official Platform.
2016 SOCIAL JUSTICE PLANKS:
The Mountain Party endorses full equality rights for lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, trans, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) individuals. Full equality extends protections for LGBTQ individuals: against discrimination in the workplace, public accommodations, and housing; in adoption rights; protections from hate crimes; and for putting an end to school bullying.
ADDRESSING INCOME INEQUALITY AND LACK OF OPPORTUNITY:
In response to the rampant poverty and lack of opportunity we face in West Virginia, we seek:
A raise in, and the removal of exemptions for, the severance tax on all fossil fuels extracted, as well as on all natural gas traveling through pipelines in the state; an immediate $15 minimum wage pegged to the consumer price index; a public bank to fund public works projects, infrastructure improvements, and sustainable, cooperative industry, in order to put West Virginians back to work; a Universal Basic Income for all those unable to find a job or who face disability.
ADDRESSING EDUCATION IN WEST VIRGINIA:
Recognizing the “brain drain” and the strained, under-funded education system in West Virginia, we call for:
Full and complete funding of public education, from pre-school through post-secondary education; recognition of both university and trades-based education as integral to our state’s future; the democratization and control of our state’s schools by the teachers that work them, through empowering rank-and file members of teachers’ unions; and a limit to all classroom sizes.
2016 ECONOMIC JUSTICE PLANKS
THE MOUNTAIN PARTY OF WEST VIRGINIA condemns the repeal of Prevailing Wage regulations in West Virginia, and urges reenactment of this legislation by the 83rd or subsequent WV legislatures.
THE MOUNTAIN PARTY OF WEST VIRGINIA condemns the enactment of the 82nd WV Senate Bill 1, THE WORKPLACE FREEDOM ACT, and demands the repeal of this legislation by the 83rd or subsequent WV legislatures. We further endorse efforts to reform NLRB regulations to allow “card check’ voting in union representation elections under NLRB regulations.
THE MOUNTAIN PARTY OF WEST VIRGINIA calls for meaningful collective bargaining by public employees for wages, benefits and working conditions which affect them.
Further, THE MOUNTAIN PARTY OF WEST VIRGINIA affirms the rights of public employees in West Virginia to engage in peaceful job actions, including peaceful strikes and labor interruptions.
*******
OTHER MOUNTAIN PARTY
CANDIDATES TO VOTE FOR:
- MICHAEL SHARLEY – WV Attorney General (Morgantown)
- ALAN BALOGH – WV House of Delegates – District 43 (Hillsboro)
ALAN BALOGH has been a long time
activist for placing THE COMMON GOOD BEFORE SELF OR ANY SPECIAL INTEREST &
for placing AMERICA
FIRST in both national and state politics. Alan was a candidate in 2002 & 2004 under
the WEST VIRGINIA REFORM PARTY as well as
serving as a member of the National Committee of the Reform Party USA representing West Virginia. Because of his popularity, when Alan attended
the 2016 State Convention of the Mountain Party, as an observer, the leadership
of the Mountain Party asked Alan to join their efforts and run for public
office in the House of Delegates. By
doing so, Alan now faces long-time Democrat Bill Hartman & Elkins attorney
Phil Isner.
For those that know attorney Phil Isner, he requires from $3000 -
$5000 or more to take on any given case.
In one such case known to The Pocahontas Crier, Isner charged over $800 to
come to Marlinton the first time, then over $700 for a second hearing, and then
over $600 for the third hearing – taken together @ $50 - $150 per/phone call,
it does not take very long before Isner asks for another $3000 - $5000 as a ‘retainer’! Win or loose, attorneys like Isner make a
living fleecing their clients & then some!
One can only wonder how much fleecing the public will receive with Isner
in the House of Delegates!
Meanwhile,
ALAN BALOGH would give a person the shirt off his back were he to fine someone
in need! The difference in a person’s
CODE OF HONOR may make all the difference in the world were we to have MEN
& WOMEN OF CHARACTER IN THE STATE LEGISLATURE! THEREFORE…
VOTE
FOR ALAN BALOGH FOR HOUSE OF DELEGATES TO REPRESENT THIS DISTRICT!
Nationally…AS A SAFE
ALTERNATIVE…JUST…
VOTE TRUMP
& PENCE and…
LET’S MAKE
AMERICA
GREAT AGAIN!
Statewide…VOTE:
CHARLOTTE
JEAN PRITT FOR GOVERNOR!
Locally…VOTE:
ALAN
BALOGH FOR
HOUSE OF
DELEGATES!
* *
* * *
* * *
“All must admit that the reception of the teachings of the
Christ (i.e., the Messiah) results in the purest patriotism, in the most
scrupulous fidelity of public trust, and in the best type of citizenship.” – President Grover Cleveland
“The reason that Christianity is the best friend of
Government is because Christianity is the only religion that changes the heart
(i.e., innermost feelings).” – President Thomas Jefferson
YOU ARE NEVER WRONG…IF YOU
DO THE RIGHT THING! Mark Twain
ONE WAY OR ANOTHER…WE ALL REAP WHAT WE HAVE
SOWN…& then some!
“The Gray
Riders are now gone, yet they remain asleep in our
soil, and alive in our veins. Untouched by fire, untouched by frost, they
whisper within us: ‘OUR CAUSE IS NOT LOST!’”
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
The Pocahontas Crier is an independent, free, non-subscription, Internet News Service
providing in depth reporting on important issues directly affecting the
Citizens
of Pocahontas County, West Virginia, and meant for entertainment in
the true ‘muckraking’ & ‘iconoclast’
tradition of questioning authority, challenging corruption, exposing
impropriety and the appearance of impropriety, and offering Common Sense
Alternatives for
THE
GREATER COMMON GOOD BEFORE SELF…
or any
Special Interests!
We fight for Social
Justice on all fronts and are an integral part of The
Crier Coalition of Internet News Services comprised of The Pocahontas Commentator, The Pocahontas Crier,
Signal Fires of WV, &
Rolling Thunder in association with
Echoes from
the Holl’r.
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