Iraq
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"There is, of course the question of this "war without end." We need the immediate withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq and from the rest of the Middle East. This includes all military advisers. It also includes closing all military bases in the region."
"I would support the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to inaugurate a just peace and I would deploy a Peace Corps to the country that would work in concert with the reconstruction needs of the Iraqi people and their leadership."
Other Foreign Policy Issues
"But this is not all. We need to bring all of our troops home from Europe, Asia and Africa. We don't need our young women and men in harm's way. We need a Department of Peace instead of a Department of State. This Department would put forward projects for peace all over the world. In the meantime, the Pentagon must oversee the withdrawal of U.S. troops from about 100 countries around the world. Our presence in those countries, through our foreign and military policies, only stokes wars and conflicts."
Climate Change/Energy
"An extra component would come from Green jobs. We need to manufacture technologies that diminish our carbon footprint. This makes good economic and global-warming sense. We need a new economic and foreign policy that promotes alternative energy technologies for heating and cooling -- like solar and wind power. "
"The situation is now quite clear. The United States can no longer hide its truculence under the mask of weather fluctuations or unclear science. Islands are disappearing; indigenous ways of life are threatened; indeed the world as we know it is at risk if the US continues to do nothing. Therefore, a drastic cut in emissions is necessary. This can be accomplished by using the tax code to incentivize behavior. From retrofitting buildings, demanding new standards for all new construction, utilizing existing technologies and developing new ones, to subsidizing infrastructure rehabilitation, not only can the US reverse its deadly inaction, but it can become a world-class leader. The US could declare itself carbon and nuclear free. It has not. The urgency of the situation has been made clear by many popular articles and films. The next step is to create the political will to change course."
Healthcare
"Health care is another major issue. All too often patients cannot receive the treatment they require because the treatment is blocked by the profit motive of the insurance companies. You have to take the insurance companies out of the health-care equation.
We in the United States spend far more money than any other country in the world and we get less. Close to 50 million people are uninsured. Countries that have what others pejoratively call "socialized medicine" are better performing. We need a universal, single-payer health-care system in this country."
Education
"And we need to focus on education, but not with "reforms" like No Child Left Behind that are basically aimed at dismantling public education. We need to instill pride and a desire to learn. We need free higher education for all. India's socialized economy provided free higher education. Now our jobs are being shipped to India.“"
Homeland Security
"We must reject this "war on terror," which is only aimed at promoting a failed foreign policy. It's past time to repeal the Patriot Acts, the Secret Evidence Act, and the Military Tribunals Act."
"In fact, we need to retool our military to ensure the adequate protection of people's interests at home. We could deploy our Army Corps of Engineers to rebuild infrastructures and communities here and abroad. We could deploy our diplomats to help resolve conflicts through peaceful means.
We need to redefine what is meant by national security. We need to put in place a social index so that national security exists when our people feel safe in their communities, when they are free from hunger and poverty, when they are fully literate, when there is health care for all, when they are making a living wage, when they are free from drugs and incarceration. "
"The numbers of unarmed Blacks and Latino men murdered at the hands of rogue police is unacceptable. The police are once again becoming an occupying force rather than protection for the community."
Family
Taxes/Fiscal Policy
"Regarding the more general programmatic planks, we just heard the announcement that unemployment is at two-year high. There is a need for a real jobs program. We need to make resources available to provide jobs to Americans who need them. A massive public works program would rebuild our crumbling infrastructure, with union jobs at a living wage. The funding exists for such a program. It would be provided by slashing the war budget and making the rich pay their fair share of taxes.
Then there is the issue of "free trade." We have to put a stop to these "free trade" agreements, and quickly. After 14 years of NAFTA it is absolutely clear that unemployment in the United States has risen as a result of this treaty. We are losing jobs -- especially jobs with living wages and benefits -- to all these "free trade" agreements, be it NAFTA, CAFTA, the Caribbean FTA, the U.S.-Peru FTA, you name it.
The American workers are not benefiting from these agreements. Their jobs and communities are being destroyed. Nor are working people in the rest of the world benefiting from these agreements. Quite the contrary: Their working conditions and living standards, which were already bad, are deteriorating exponentially. Only the transnational corporations are benefiting. They are reaping super-profits. This new "globalization" has become a race to the bottom. And now the American workers have joined in this race. "
Illegal Immigration
"It is impossible to discuss the issue of so-called "illegal immigration" without addressing the reasons millions of people are forced to flee their countries to come to the United States. It's our economic "free trade" policies and our military interventionist policies that destabilize countries the world over and create the massive movements of people escaping their plight in the hope of supporting their families."
"An amnesty program, such as was instituted in the 1980s, would be a way to deal with this question equitably while the economic conditions producing the massive flight of people from their countries is addressed."
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