United Solidarity Alliance
E A Aldridge, Chairman
HISTORY OF UNITED SOLIDARITY
The United Solidarity Alliance was founded
in 1993, but its roots go back to the 1980 Presidential campaign.
Allegations of connections between GOP
Presidential candidate Ronald Reagan, his leading opponent for the party
nomination, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency George Bush
and the radical Iranian Muslims who, having siezed power from Shah
Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, siezed and occupied the American Embassy in Teheran
in late 1978, made many of us question the integrity of existing political
party structures and organizations.
Disaffected Republican candidate John
Anderson left the party in the Spring of 1980, running under the auspices
of the National Unity Campaign, to challenge the entrenched
mainstream political organizations. National Unity, underfinanced and
under-publicized, nevertheless showed surprising electoral support in the
November general election, despite active oppostion from the Republican
Party. (Italics are the author's.) Yet, pundits continued to insist
that America would not support a multi-party system, and asserted, when
pressed, that American government, with only two parties, avoids the
fractiousness and bumptiousness so common to the electoral processes of
the pluralistic governments of most Parliamentary states, with their
chaotic consensus politics; an assertion most continue to advance.
Of course, many of these "fractious,
contentious" nations have existed far longer than we have...
During that spring, a group of concerned
citizens gathered in a North Seattle neighborhood to discuss what we
believed were the shortcomings in the political system as that system
was then being applied, and to discuss changes which, we believed,
were needed in the governmental process, in order to restore control of
the system to the citizens of this nation. None of us laid claim to any
particular political expertise; rather, we were all "ordinary people",
united in the belief that the "common citizen" was perfectly capable of
running the affairs of government. We believed in the basic common-sense
wisdom of the Common citizen, and rejected the notion that only those who
study government are qualified to make decisions about the running of
government. While the group was never formally organized, and, indeed,
disbanded following the 1980 general election, we did reach consensus on
some basic ideas and ideals. The seeds had been planted, and it is these
which have come to form the basic principles of United Solidarity.
PRINCIPLES OF UNITED SOLIDARITY
It is the basic premise of United Solidarity
that, in order that a nation be strong, in order that a people be both
secure and free, there are certain basic principles to which both that
nation and that people must firmly and faithfully adhere:
- No nation can be secure against threat from without, unless it be
secure against rot from within;
- The principles upon which a nation is founded can never be compromised
without destroying the moral and ethical basis for the existance of that
nation;
- The greatest foe of freedom is that body of citizens who, in the name
of Freedom, pervert those institutions which safeguard those freedoms;
- The second greatest foe of freedom is that body of citizens
who, by inaction or neglect, condone or permit such perversion;
- When the conduct of the Nation violates those principles upon which
that Nation is founded, it is the moral, ethical duty of the citizen to oppose
that conduct, even if life and liberty be forfeit.
GOALS OF UNITED SOLIDARITY
- Social Covenant
- Human Rights
- Priority to basic Human needs
- The Rights of Children
- Reduction of Government
- Individual Self-Reliance
- Community Interdependance
- Restructured Foreign Policy
- Restructured Defense Policy
- Pure Democracy
- Freedom of Opportunity
- Equality of Opportunity
- Quality Education for ALL
- Ecological Sanity
- Development of the Space Frontier
...to be continued...
POLICIES OF UNITED SOLIDARITY
This is an ongoing project -- as such, it will never be "finished"...
A number of Policy Statements have been written over the twenty years since the inception of United Solidarity -- these will be collected and added to this site as they become available...
stay tuned...
PLATFORM OF UNITED SOLIDARITY
PARTY PLATFORM OUTLINE
I. FOREIGN POLICY
A. ALL FOREIGN POLICY WILL ADHERE TO THE COVENANT IMPLICIT WITHIN THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION;
Foreign policies which are abusive or paternalistic are not only in violation of both the spirit AND the letter of the Constitution, but are also morally and ethically indefensible in and of themselves.
1. All Peoples with whom the United States has contracted treaties ARE SOVEREIGN, and will be recognized as such before all world bodies and governments.
[see: "ON TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY"]
B. ALL PEOPLES ARE CREATED EQUAL; thus, all PEOPLES are to be treated with AS PEERS in U.S. foreign policy;
1. Domestic and/or regional affairs shall be handled by those peoples affected;
The role of the U.S. shall be limited to supporting the rights of those affected to non-interference;
[see: "ON INTERVENTION"]
C. ALL PEOPLE HAVE THE ABSOLUTE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF RELIGIOUS CHOICE;
1. Such choice includes the right to NOT believe;
2. The United States can not, must not and WILL NOT interfere in the right of any people to set up, and be governed under, a THEOCRACY, or even a RELIGIOUS DICTATORSHIP, if such be the true, freely expressed WILL of that people;
[see: "ON RELIGION AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY"]
D. The United States shall not encourage, by its policies, the violation of the basic human rights of any people by any nation;
1. Compliance with human rights guidelines shall be monitored by private agencies (along lines of Amnesty International, the International Red Cross and Crescent, et al.) who shall make regular and frequent public reports in mass-circulation print media;
2. Aid to nations in violation of human rights requirements shall be strictly prohibited;
E. Every effort shall be made to reduce the size of, and eventually eliminate, all arsenals of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons throughout the world;
1. There shall be a total ban on U.S. strategic military assistance;
2. Economic and political pressure shall be brought to bear when and where needed to eliminate strategic arsenals and systems;
F. The United States shall encourage Private Sector aid to PEOPLES in need;
1. Aid shall be furnished through private charitable bodies [see ID1 above];
2. Aid shall be restricted as follows:
a. Medicine and prophylaxis
b. Food and agricultural aid
c. Housing and clothing
d. Basic educational support for the above
3. Aid to be monitored as in paragraph D, section 1 above;
4. Aid to be prioritized as follows:
a. Basic health and sanitation;
b. Agricultural self-sufficiency;
c. Basic construction and textiles;
d. Primary literacy;
5. Student visas for education in the United States shall be controlled in accordance with the afore-mentionedpriorities;
[see: "ON NON-RESIDENT STUDENTS]
II. DOMESTIC POLICY
III. ECONOMIC POLICY
IV. DEFENSE POLICY
A. The military mandate of the United States government is the DEFENSE of the homeland; all policies: foreign, domestic, economic, military or other, MUST be designed to ensure, to the degree possible, that the homeland is impregnible, and that other peoples have no reason to fear our intent; offensive military have no place in such non-aggressive policy; thus, shall be eliminated.
B. There shall be a major commitment by the National government, in conjunction with the world scientific community, to study, design, develop and deploy as widely as possible systems to deter, prevent, or negate the effectiveness of, any nuclear attack;
C. There shall be an equal commitment by the National government to expand the National Center for Disese Control (C.D.C.) to provide an equally effective defense against biological warfare;
D. There shall be a HOME DEFENSE FORCE [H.D.F.], which shall be made up as follows:
1. The NATIONAL GUARD -- a streamlined professional force, equipped with the latest defensive military systems, both conventional and NBC; this cadre shall be fully and properly trained in the use and maintainance of these systems, in the training of militiamen in the use and maintainance of these systems, and in logistics, command and co-ordination;
2. The CITIZEN MILITIA -- an all-volunteer force which shall comprise the bulk of the H.D.F.; it shall have full emergency powers and local autonomy;
3. Each local unit of the H.D.F. shall act in concert with other local units as needed, and on the scale needed, to handle existing emergency.
E. As the H.D.F. comes "on-line", the standing army shall be phased out, along with all other "offensive" military forces; such strategic assets which are of purely defensive function, or which can be converted to purely defensive function, shall be transferred to the authority of the H.D.F.; all other assets shall be scrapped.
[see: "ON CITIZEN MILITIA"]
Soon to come: a Reader Response page!
Meanwhile, feedback is heartily welcomed by the Alliance!
More to come...
THE RESOURCES OF UNITED SOLIDARITY
Here are some sites we've found to be useful:
- THOMAS, an Index to Legislative Information
- I used this listing to look up HR 292, "The Enumerated Powers Act"; under :Search by Word/Phrase" feature, found full text instantly! Also found, much to my chagrin, HR 292, though introduced nearly 2 years ago, has not yet been enacted. If you're not familiar with HR 292, check it out.
- The Democracy Network
- A joint project of the League of Women Voters and the Center for Governmental Studies, TDN is tasked to increase citizen control over the institutions of government.
- US-Congress Email/Web Directory
- Your congresscritter works for YOU; shouldn't you at least be able tocontact your employee at your convenience? This site, while incomplete, contains some e-mail links and URL addresss; every effort will be made to obtain complete listings before the next congress convenes.>
- The Concord Coalition
- The Concord Coalition was founded in 1992 by the late former Senator Paul Tsongas [D-Mass], former Senator Warren Rudman [R-NH] and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Peter Peterson as a nonpartisan, grassroots organization advocating fiscal responsibility while ensuring Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid for all generations.
- The United Nations
More to come...
WASHINGTON STATE LEGISLATIVE ACCESS LOGS
Finally, a list [complete as of 25Apr99] of e-mail addresses and WebSite URLs for Washington State's Congressional delegation, along with a link to E-Mail your Representative, provided by the United States Congress; AND a link to Seattle City Council e-mail and phone directory.
UNITED STATES HOUSE [CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS]:
- Jay Inslee {http://www.house.gov/inslee}
Representative Inslee has no listed e-mail address at this time
- Jack Metcalf {http://www.house.gov/metcalf}
E-mail to: Jack Metcalf {mailto:jack.metcalf@mail.house.gov}
- Representative Brian Baird has no Web Site listed
E-mail to: Brian Baird {mailto:brian.baird@mail.house.gov}
- Richard "Doc" Hastings {http://www.house.gov/hastings}Representative Hastings has no listed e-mail address at this time
- George Nethercutt {http://www.house.gov/nethercutt}
E-mail to: George Nethercutt {mailto:george.nethercutt-pub@mail.house.gov}
- Norm Dicks {"http://www.house.gov/dicks}
Representative Dicks has no listed e-mail address at this time
- Jim McDermott {http://www.house.gov/mcdermott}
Representative McDermott has no listed e-mail address at this time
- Jennifer Dunn {http://www.house.gov/dunn}
E-mail to: Jennifer Dunn {mailto:dunnwa08@mail.house.gov}
- Adam Smith{http://www.house.gov/adamsmith}
E-mail to: Adam Smith {mailto:adam.smith@mail.house.gov}
CITY OF SEATTLE:
SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS [Through 14Jan2000]
e-mail and phone directory.
- Council President Margaret Pageler {mailto:margaret.pageler@ci.seattle.wa.us}
Phone: (206)684-8807
Council Assistants:
Peter Clarke
peter.clarke@ci.seattle.wa.us
Edna Shim
edna.shim@ci.seattle.wa.us
- Jim Compton {mailto:jim.compton@ci.seattle.wa.us}
Phone: (206)684-8802
Fax: (206)684-8587
Staff:
Irene Namkung
Julian Saucedo
George Allen
- Richard Conlin {mailto:richard.conlin@ci.seattle.wa.us}
Phone: (206)684 - 8805
Legislative Assistants
Sheila Capestany
sheila.capestany@ci.seattle.wa.us
Tye Ferrell
tye.ferrell@ci.seattle.wa.us
Phyllis Shulman
phyllis.shulman@ci.seattle.wa.us
Legislative Intern
Ben Capestany
ben.capestany@ci.seattle.wa.us
- Jan Drago {mailto:jan.drago@ci.seattle.wa.us}
No access or Staff information available
- Nick Licata {mailto:nick.licata@ci.seattle.wa.us
(206)684-8803
Legislative Assistants
Newell Aldrich
(206)386-9011
newell.aldrich@ci.seattle.wa.us
Lisa Herbold
(206)684-5331
lisa.herbold@ci.seattle.wa.us
Frank Video
(206)684-8849
frank.video@ci.seattle.wa.us
- Richard McIver {mailto:richard.mciver@ci.seatte.wa.us}
Phone: (206)684-8800
Legislative Aides:
Michael Brown
michaelc.brown@ci.seattle.wa.us
Eric Parsons
eric.parsons@ci.seattle.wa.us
Yvonne Newson
yvonne.newson@ci.seattle.wa.us
- Judy Nicastro {mailto:judy.nicastro@ci.seattle.wa.us}
Phone: (206)684-8806
Fax: (206)684-8587
Legislative Assistants:
Jill Berkey
Charlie McAteer
- Peter Steinbrueck {mailto:peter.steinbrueck@ci.seattle.wa.us}
Phone: (206)684-8804
Fax: (206)684-5664
Andy Grow
Legislative Assistant for housing issues
(206)684-8881
andy.grow@ci.seattle.wa.us
Tiffany Stilwell
Legislative Assistant for human services
(206)684-8572
tiffany.stilwell@ci.seattle.wa.us
Jennifer Ramirez
Legislative Assistant
(206)684-5334
jennifer.ramirez@ci.seattle.wa.us
- Heidi Wills {mailto:heidi.wills@ci.seattle.wa.us}
Phone: (206)684-8808
Fax: (206)684-8587
Legislative Assistants:
Michaelanne Ehrenberg
michaelanne.ehrenberg@ci.seattle.wa.us
Tony Gepner
tony.gepner@ci.seattle.wa.us
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