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Post by Tim Collins on Feb 22, 2010 7:46:39 GMT -7
I will be speaking to the San Juan Neigborhood Improvement Assocation tomorrow (2/23) evening at 6:30pm. I am attending and speaking to test the waters for a run for office, potentially in the November 2010 elections as a write in candidate for U.S. Representative. Here is the information on the meeting "On the 23rd of Feb at 6:30 pm we will be having different candidates show up and addressing our members. The way I will run the meeting that night, will be all candidate speakers will have 5 to minutes with maybe 2 to 3 questions each. No debates just your minutes and a few questions. When: Feb 23rd 2010 Where: San Jun Senior Center, 5701 Tamburo El Paso, TX 79905 Time: 6:30 pm San Juan Neighborhood Improvement Association Map maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=5701+Tamburo+El+Paso,Tx&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=5701+Tamburo+Ct,+El+Paso,+TX+79905&gl=us&ei=6JeCS7-HLsionQf_5r2PBw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CAcQ8gEwAA
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Post by flash on Feb 22, 2010 15:39:29 GMT -7
Tim Run!Let them know that there are others out here in El Paso willing to knock on the door. Tim,what do you have to do to be a write in candiate to be in the general election in November? Run Tim Run! Thomas
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Post by Tim Collins on Feb 22, 2010 15:51:34 GMT -7
Tim Run!Let them know that there are others out here in El Paso willing to knock on the door. Tim,what do you have to do to be a write in candiate to be in the general election in November? Run Tim Run! Thomas There are a lot of rules etc, both Federal Election Commission and State of Texas. The important ones - that get me on the ballot - are gather 500 signatures of registered voters or pay $3,100. I cannot officially submit the signatures or money until 7/26 at the earliest. Once I publicly say I am a candidate under FEC rules I must register with them. It is a paperwork nightmare, but I am 99% sure I will be plowing through it to see if I can get on the ballot
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Post by webrunner on Feb 23, 2010 23:13:03 GMT -7
I will be speaking to the San Juan Neigborhood Improvement Assocation tomorrow (2/23) evening at 6:30pm. I am attending and speaking to test the waters for a run for office, potentially in the November 2010 elections as a write in candidate for U.S. Representative. Here is the information on the meeting "On the 23rd of Feb at 6:30 pm we will be having different candidates show up and addressing our members. The way I will run the meeting that night, will be all candidate speakers will have 5 to minutes with maybe 2 to 3 questions each. No debates just your minutes and a few questions. When: Feb 23rd 2010 Where: San Jun Senior Center, 5701 Tamburo El Paso, TX 79905 Time: 6:30 pm San Juan Neighborhood Improvement Association How did it go, Tim?
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Post by Tim Collins on Feb 24, 2010 5:31:25 GMT -7
It went well. Since when all the candidates were speaking about 4 voters approached me to speak, I guess I am now a member of the politician club
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Post by BRAVOBRAVO on Feb 24, 2010 20:38:21 GMT -7
Taking the plunge? Well I am disappointed in you, but alas it is your life. I hope you enjoy it, but I support Reyes because I have gone to his office 3 times now about various issues and so far he has been 2/2 and number 3 is in the hopper.
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Post by Tim Collins on Feb 25, 2010 6:51:18 GMT -7
Taking the plunge? Well I am disappointed in you, but alas it is your life. I hope you enjoy it, but I support Reyes because I have gone to his office 3 times now about various issues and so far he has been 2/2 and number 3 is in the hopper. Why disappointed? In any event, I am happy you have found Congressman Reyes personally helpful. He has served long and from all I can see honorably. I just think there is a time to go with the flow and a time to paddle against the current and given the state of our nation and the times we live in (and will live in going forward) that time is now. Tomorrow matters and I think our current Congress (as a whole) has forgotten that in their efforts to preserve today based upon the rule and conditions of yesterday. I hope to bring new ideas and new ways to the table
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Post by BB on Feb 25, 2010 21:01:24 GMT -7
Why disappointed? I had hoped you were a real person who cared about the issues...an activist. Instead you were just preening for a run at office. Just like so many before you. Disappointing.
As for paddling against the flow? Are you kidding? That time has come and gone. It's over. Empire on decline and no reversing it. My dad lived better than I did, I will live better than my children...and so on. You know it's true for most of us out here. We live in a corporate fascist state. No matter who goes to congress the reign of free trade agreements trumping the constitution will continue. The demise of the middle class will continue unabated as long as quasi slave labor in the 3rd world is the standard to which employers measure the worth of it's employees.
There are no solutions. Haven't you watched our best and brightest recently? They don't know what to do...so they throw mud at one another instead. Let's face it, the best and brightest got us here anyway. If you look at one issue (free trade) you can see all the bullshit that was slung to get that turd in play. People actually believed it. Look at the banks and Wall Street another group of bullshitters who didn't know what they were talking about...yet they are the very people who are supposed to fix it? Amazing.
I say we go ahead and privatize the entire federal government. That should save a few bucks and end this silly illusion of a representative democracy. Sell it all. Sell the White House to China...who cares. Take down the Lincoln memorial and put Mao in the chair. What difference does it make? I figure we should treat the federal government the same way they treated the working man when it mattered. They sold us out and ain't nobody going to fix it.
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Post by Tim Collins on Feb 26, 2010 4:57:06 GMT -7
Free trade is an issue you and I agree on 100%. The issue should be fair trade. "Free Trade" agreements - removing barriers to international trade has come to mean a race to the bottom in terms of worker wages and benefits. It is one of the key reasons our industrial capacity and the jobs that go with it has fallen so quickly. In theory these agreements have provided good jobs to poorer nations - if that is so wouldn't it be smarter to set up a "tariff" system based upon the differential between US MINIMUM wage and benefit costs and the country to which our companies are moving production? If we did that possibly 2 things would happen 1) wages would rise in those countries thus actually benefitting the workers and perhaps stimulating a middle class thus producing a market for more goods, and 2 fewer companies would be moving out of the US.
"Free" Trade agreements have benefitted only those who already have - not the economy or population as a whole.
Sorry I am still a dreamer - I think by running for office and fighting for these types of changes we can reverse course
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Post by BRAVOBRAVO on Feb 26, 2010 12:47:15 GMT -7
Free trade is an issue you and I agree on 100%. The issue should be fair trade. "Free Trade" agreements - removing barriers to international trade has come to mean a race to the bottom in terms of worker wages and benefits. It is one of the key reasons our industrial capacity and the jobs that go with it has fallen so quickly. In theory these agreements have provided good jobs to poorer nations - if that is so wouldn't it be smarter to set up a "tariff" system based upon the differential between US MINIMUM wage and benefit costs and the country to which our companies are moving production? If we did that possibly 2 things would happen 1) wages would rise in those countries thus actually benefitting the workers and perhaps stimulating a middle class thus producing a market for more goods, and 2 fewer companies would be moving out of the US. "Free" Trade agreements have benefitted only those who already have - not the economy or population as a whole. Sorry I am still a dreamer - I think by running for office and fighting for these types of changes we can reverse course Dream away! It won't change anything. Be honest with me for a minute. When NAFTA was first being talking about did you support it or not? How about the war in Iraq? Lots of people can flip-flop on issues. When it matters is at the beginning...not the end. For all the crap Ross Perot took he was right on so many issues.
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Post by Tim Collins on Feb 26, 2010 12:53:31 GMT -7
NAFTA - in all honestly I do not recall where I stood on the issue. It was signed in January of 1994, that would make me around 33 or 34 years old at the time. I really do not remember, if I had to guess I would say I probably supported it without knowing more than what news reports reported about it.
Iraq War - I supported it.
PS if you would like to discuss these and any issue in person, my contact information is in my profile
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Post by BRAVOBRAVO on Feb 26, 2010 15:05:20 GMT -7
How do you feel about the Iraq war now? Would you have supported it then if you knew what you know now?
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Post by Tim Collins on Feb 26, 2010 15:24:30 GMT -7
How do you feel about the Iraq war now? Would you have supported it then if you knew what you know now? That's almost a trick question, no one can act on hindsight. Once engaged in hostilities I will always support finishing the job. But since you asked Militarily - Yes. It was handled masterfully and given the attacks on our planes (enforcing the UN Mandated no-fly zone), and the actions of Sadaam and his henchmen against the Kurds, and the "swamp" Arabs in southern Iraq during the many years prior to launching the war, I believe removing him was a good thing if for no other reason than providing the Iraqi people with an opportunity for self determination. The "war" went to hell on three fronts (IMHO and with hindsight) a) The dispersing of the Iraqi Army - was dumb. They should have been handled as we did with the Germans after WWII. Returned to their Barracks and disarmed. There is no way all of them were henchmen of Sadaam. Disbanding them in their entirety punished the good as well as the bad and feed the ranks of those who would fight us. b) The ridiculous use of "private contractors" ie blackwater and others, to provide logistics and security support. The US should NEVER employ mercenaries, there are too many risk for too little benefit, and it is basicall just morally wrong in my mind for a nation to do so. 3) and probably most importantly - the use of outside contractors imported to rebuild the country. It would have been much better to employ the locals. Men with a job and a hope for and a stake in building a better future, do not engage in suicide bombings and underground war fare. In sum, we failed to conduct the post war situation in an intelligent manner, but militarily it was a brilliante and to the extent possible a humanely fought engagement.
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Post by BRAVOBRAVO on Feb 26, 2010 16:03:05 GMT -7
Self determination? You really thought that was a possibility with this war? Like what Panama got when we ousted Noriega when he no longer was willing to take orders from the CIA? Panama got a "president" (ENDARA) who was sworn into office on a US military post. Our modern history has shown time and again when dealing with the 3rd world we do not support self determination in any fashion whatsoever. To suggest otherwise is laughable.
The issue of the Kurds is laughable. Saddam and his "henchmen" were good guys when killing Iranians. Let's not pretend we give a crap about the Kurds...it's insulting.
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Post by Tim Collins on Feb 26, 2010 16:32:36 GMT -7
Self determination? You really thought that was a possibility with this war? Like what Panama got when we ousted Noriega when he no longer was willing to take orders from the CIA? Panama got a "president" (ENDARA) who was sworn into office on a US military post. Our modern history has shown time and again when dealing with the 3rd world we do not support self determination in any fashion whatsoever. To suggest otherwise is laughable. The issue of the Kurds is laughable. Saddam and his "henchmen" were good guys when killing Iranians. Let's not pretend we give a crap about the Kurds...it's insulting. I can only speak for myself, not the actions of others, nor for actions in the past. Same goes for you. I personally believe in self-determination for all, does not mean I can make it happen, but does not lessen my belief in the concept. Personally I think our military role in the world needs to change drastically. Since the end of WWII we have held the role of world policeman or defender (not saying how well or how purely, but undeniably it was our military that shielded Western Europe, Japan and many parts of the Far East as the rebuilt). Well the wall came tumbling down in 1989 and The big bad evil empire broke up in 1991. so somewhere between 18 and 21 years have passed yet we still hold that role. I think it is time to bring all our troops home, maintain a military large enough and capable enough to deter and/or defeat any conventional military aggression aimed at us directly. I also think we should assume a new role - EMT to the world. Let us build a first responder force if you will capable of responding anywhere quickly to bring relief in times of natural destruction. I don't know about you, but whenever I see our military and volunteers rushing into scenes of devastation (think typhoon and Katrina) I am extremely proud of my country. Such a role would have many benefits such as: Deterrence - other nations would be less likely to want to attack us if memories of us are tied to a helping hand. Opportunity for our young. Many young people could benefit from service in the military but do not do so because they are not attracted to the role the military by design assumes. Why not offering a constructive role instead of a destructive role as a choice. The military model has shown how it can effectively train young people to perform any number of roles from medic to construction. Lets integrate this ability toward building an organized, disciplined corp of professionals in the fields of logistics, construction, public works (ie water purification, telecommunications etc), security, medicine, all the tasks needed in a natural disaster. Why do we only maintain 2 Hospital ships? Why not convert some of the old ships in dry dock to serve a humanitarian role? Can you picture a ship the size of an air craft carrier loaded with hospital wards and helicopters for immediate transport? It is hard to write all this on a forum, but I have given this a great deal of thought.
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