The basic tenets of conservative politics were first writ by the philosopher John Locke, an english philosopher and physician who’s considered by many to be one of the founding fathers of modern thought. Locke was an atheist who believed in the supremacy of secular humanism – in other words, he believed that if humans were allowed to proceed unencumbered through life by either theocratic superstition or governmental interference, that we could achieve our greatest potential as citizens of the world. His theories were influential from Russia to the Americas, and had a profound impact upon the founding fathers of the united states, with special notation for his contributions to liberal theory.

And that’s the funny part: Conservative politics have their roots in liberal theory. Conservatism as it is now, of course, is not Locke’s conservatism at all, but that kind of irony tends to be lost on people who consider themselves conservatives.

Conservative politics these days are vastly different from Locke’s liberal theory, though of course most conservatives still pay lip service to the notion of non-interference from government interest. Of course, they do so for a different reason. Locke’s motivation was to produce a free and unencumbered people able to proceed through life on and by their own means, repressed by none and free to communicate with all.

Conservative politics today, on the other hand, focus on a lack of governmental interference in order to maintain the stratification of the classes. Government policies as a whole tend to be aimed toward things that will help the working and middle classes – stuff like jobs programs, health care, welfare, unemployment benefits and the like. These programs are pricy, but on balance they more than pay for themselves by providing jobs and training and helping the underclass gain some sort of enfranchisement.

Conservative politics tend to say they oppose that – and all government spending – in principle. However, you’ll find very few conservatives who oppose military spending, the bank bailout, or other governmental programs that favor big business. So they’re clearly not in tune with the principles that Locke put forth. They merely pick and choose the talking points that most favor themselves for their upcoming campaigns.

And that’s without even touching Locke’s other premise – that religion is superstition and god is a crutch used to oppress the working class. If you can find a single conservative in modern America who held those views, you’d have found literally one-in-a-million.

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“Social conservatism was really bringing me down,” says former MTV VJ and current host of Music in the Morning on 98.7 FM Kennedy. “And I realized, as time went on, that I wasn’t a Bush conservative. I was really a libertarian.” Kennedy sat down with Reason.tv’s Tim Cavanaugh to discuss efforts by the ATF to prevent gun vendors from selling firearms to medical marijuana users, the strain of right-wing political thinking running throughout alt-rock and punk of the ’80s and ’90s, what it’s like working in Hollywood when you’re not a liberal, and her political evolution from conservative to libertarian. Interview by Tim Cavanaugh. Shot by Zach Weissmueller, Tracy Oppenheimer, and Sharif Matar. Edited by Weissmueller. About 10 minutes long. Go to Reason.tv for downloadable versions of our videos and subscribe to Reason.tv’s YouTube channel for automatic notification when new material goes live online.

Thinking about a new career? A career in public service can be a rewarding way to utilize your life and work experience.
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This documentary takes a very honest, much needed look at the state of nursing in America. By interviewing doctors, hospital administrators, union representatives, members of the public and nurses themselves we get a complete picture of this severe and growing problem. Produced and hosted by Paula Packwood MHA, RN, a health care professional with over 35 years of experience in the field. She has presented this video to politicians and policy makers in Sacramento and Washington DC. Directed and edited by Greg Wyatt. Originally aired on the now defunct Adelphia Channel in the fall of 2003.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

New members have been elected to the Board of the East Bay Zoological Society (EBZS). Patrick Sherwood, Jim Wunderman, Kirsten Vital, Meredith Burke and Marianne Laouri, Ph.D. will each provide an important role as trustees in nurturing and furthering the mission of the Oakland Zoo. I am thrilled to have this group of successful individuals join the Oakland Zoo Board, said Dr. Joel Parrott, President and CEO of Oakland Zoo. This new group of people will bring a wealth of knowledge, experiences, and new ideas to the Oakland Zoo. They will further help us provide a quality experience to the community we serve. The Oakland Zoo welcomes these outstanding members to the Board.

Patrick Sherwood

Patrick Sherwood is an Executive VP for Wells Fargo Bank. He has worked for Wells Fargo for twenty-five years, most recently as the Western Region Head for Wells Fargo Banks Global Finance Institutions US Banks group, covering the domestic bank portfolio for the Western U.S. He has served in leadership roles for the Cal Aggie Alumni Association (UC Davis) for the past ten years, currently serving as president. Sherwood has a BA in Economics from UC Davis and an M.S. in Management from Stanford Graduate School of Business where he was a Sloan Fellow. He lives in Danville and his oldest of 3 children attends UC Davis. Past non-profit activities include former Treasurer/Board Chair for the Central Coast YMCA and serving as a Trustee of the Hartnell College Foundation.

Jim Wunderman

Jim Wunderman is the President and CEO of the Bay Area Council, a business-backed public policy organization formed in 1945 by then California Governor Earl Warren and top CEOs in the Bay Area. Since becoming CEO in 2004, Wunderman has honed the councils regionalist approach to advocacy in the key areas that impact the Bay Areas economy and competitiveness, including: Education, Transportation, Renewable Energy, the Sustainability, Land Use and the Business Climate. Wunderman led the Councils efforts to promote the Bay Areas global leadership that included the opening of its first overseas office in Shanghai. He has played an instrumental role in securing federal, state and regional funding for major transportation projects completed or currently under construction. He has created strong programs to support education improvement reform at all levels, with a particular focus on the use of data systems to inform decision making and the educational needs of young children.

Under his leadership, the Council has continued to play a key role in efforts to achieve consensus-based solutions to Californias water challenges, and is leading the regions business community in the effort to make sure the economy is a primary driver of planning and regional sustainability efforts.

Prior to his work at the Bay Area Council, Wundermans career from 1984 to 2004 was split between both the private and public sectors. He served as Chief of Staff to San Francisco Mayor Frank M. Jordan from 1992-95, following five years of work for Mayor Dianne Feinstein. From 1997-2004 he served as Senior Vice President for External Affairs at Providian Financial Corporation. He also served as Vice President and General Manager of two major waste collection, disposal and recycling firms in the Bay Area under its parent, Recology, Inc.

Wunderman has served on numerous Boards and Commissions. He currently serves on the board of directors or advisors of the Bridge Housing Corporation, Fisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics, The Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure, The Oakland Zoo, Californians for Clean Energy and Jobs (CCEJ) The Pew Charitable Trusts, Sierra Energy, TMG Partners, and also serves on the Transit Sustainability Project Steering Committee, and the San Francisco Renewable Energy Task Force.

Wunderman is a Visiting Professor at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management. He is a graduate of San Francisco State University, Majoring in Political Science, and received an Associates Degree in Business Administration from Kingsborough College, City University of New York. He has four children and resides in Contra Costa County.

Kirsten Vital

Kirsten Vital is Superintendent of the Alameda Unified School District, a position she has held for over three years. Previously she served as Chief of Community Accountability, an Associate Superintendent position in the Oakland Unified School District. She has held various roles in education including high school teacher, site principal and district office administrator. She serves on other boards including the Boys and Girls Club Advisory, Great Oakland Public Schools, and the Alameda Education Foundation. She holds a BA from Northeastern University, a Masters Degree in Education from Whittier College and is ABD, in Educational Leadership at Saint Marys College of California. Vital lives in Oakland with her husband and their black Labrador retriever.

Meredith Burke

Meredith Burke is a CPA with a Bachelors Degree in Accounting from Louisiana State University and a Masters Degree from Wake Forest. For the past four years she has been a financial manager at the Sun Products Corporation, serving in various roles including financial planning and analysis. Prior to Sun Products, she worked for Visa, Arovit Pet Food (UK), Doane Pet Care, and KPMG. She moved to Oakland last May and has two young children. They are members of the Zoo and visit often.

Marianne Laouri, Ph.D.

ABOUT OAKLAND ZOO:

The Bay Area’s award-winning Oakland Zoo is home to more than 650 native and exotic animals. The Zoo offers many educational programs and kid’s activities perfect for science field trips, family day trips and exciting birthday parties. Nestled in the Oakland Hills, in 500-acre Knowland Park, the Zoo is located at 9777 Golf Links Road, off Highway 580. The East Bay Zoological Society (Oakland Zoo) is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization supported in part by members, contributions, the City of Oakland and the East Bay Regional Parks. For more information please visit our website at http://www.oaklandzoo.org.

The East Bay Zoological Society has managed and operated both the Zoo and surrounding Knowland Park for the City of Oakland since 1982. Under its management, the Oakland Zoo presents an award-winning experience for visitors, fosters knowledge and understanding of animals and the environment through educational programs, and has earned national awards and international acclaim for its animal management and endangered species programs. Over the years, exhibit by exhibit, the Oakland Zoo has been reinvigorated and revitalized, making it a place where animals thrive and visitors enjoy. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.oaklandzoo.org.

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march 16, 2011 IN NO WAY DO I WANT ANYONE TO KILL HER OR TO BEAT HER UP iM JUST SAYING THIS SHE MADE MANY PEOPLE MAD AND YOU SHOULD WATCH WHAT YOU SAY WHEN A WHOLE PEOPLE WENT THROUGH WHAT THEY DID. DO NOT KILL HER OR HURT HER SOME PEOPLE ARE JUST STUPIED here is the real link to the dumb woman Alexandra Wallace was here name and her major a third-year political science major www.youtube.com I really hope she gets a map so she can learn where japan is at least a long with china maybe lay of the drugs and partying so next time you learn something at ucla so upsetting to read this here even her dad says its ok to put people down www.mercurynews.com a youtube user that left me a comment sent me this link you should get a mill hate calls you dumb hoe. they just hate you the way you hate all asians dose not feel so good when everyone hates you. fyi you should lift something up u buy in the store and see where its made even your cloths. this guys video is damn funny on this girl to www.youtube.com
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In addition to being the host of public television and radio travel programs and the author of over 30 travel books, Rick Steves is an active and charismatic lecturer. In the Rick Steves Lecture Series you’ll travel with Rick across the United States as he speaks on topics ranging from European Travel Skills to Travel as a Political Act. In this first installment, Rick explains why a travel writer would have something to say about politics.

Alex talks with Ron Paul, a physician and Republican Congressman for the 14th congressional district of Texas. Paul is the founder of the advocacy group Campaign for Liberty and his ideas have been expressed in numerous published articles and books, including End The Fed and The Revolution: A Manifesto. Ron Paul has the most Constitution friendly voting record of any member of Congress since 1937. www.ronpaul.com www.infowars.com www.prisonplanet.tv
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Dr. Paul Craig Roberts www.infowars.com July 27, 2011 In my last column I suggested that an unintended outcome of the debt ceiling impasse could be Congress’ loss of the power of the purse. In this column I suggest an intended outcome that the ongoing political theater might be designed to produce. President Obama has said that he will not resort to the various powers open to him to keep the government running should Congress fail to deliver a debt ceiling increase. This is a suspicious statement, as it is not credible that a president would leave troops at war unpaid and without supplies, Social Security checks unsent and stand aside while the US dollar collapses and the credit rating of the US government is destroyed. There are national security directives and executive orders already on the books, as well as the 14th Amendment, that Obama can invoke to set aside the debt ceiling. Congress would sigh with relief that Obama had prevented the lawmakers from destroying the country. So what might be going on? One possibility is that the political theater is operating to bring about otherwise politically impossible cuts in the social safety net. If the drama continues to the absolute deadline without a deal, Obama, who perhaps favors cutting the safety net as much as do the Republicans, would have to accept the Republican package in order that the troops are not cut off from supplies, Social Security checks can continue to go out, and the dollar be saved. Having opposed the …

Army veteran and retiree, Lt. Colonel Joseph Weinstein, aka Bob, fitness trainer, author and president of the Health Colonel Corporation in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, published his new book, 60 Wisdoms and Some Dumb Things, after Dr. David Taub, of Holy Cross Hospital successfully removed aggressive prostate cancer with da Vinci robotic surgery in January 2012.

Colonel Weinstein just celebrated his sixtieth birthday and had no symptoms of any possible disease or illness. Then, in the fall of 2011 his wife, Grit, came down with what appeared to be the flu and so he accompanied her to the Holy Cross Medical Group in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and saw Dr. Kassandra Bosire.

He decided to get a routine blood test with a PSA test to determine if there may be indicators of health issues with the prostate. The results came back with an extremely elevated PSA value. A second test confirmed the elevated PSA. Dr. Bosire then referred him to Dr. Taub for further examination.

Dr. Taub performed a biopsy and diagnosed him with aggressive prostate cancer and recommended complete removal of the prostate. Dr. David Shrivastava of the Cleveland Clinic confirmed that complete removal of the prostate was the best solution. On January 17, 2012 the cancerous prostate was successfully removed using da Vinci robotic surgery.

Asked about his first response to finding out that he had cancer, he thought to himself, Well, I might not be on this earth as long as I thought. The news was devastating but also became an opportunity to more deeply think about the meaning of life and why he is here.

The result of this thought process was his newly published book, 60 Wisdoms and Some Dumb Things. Along with talking about some of the important values in life, such as integrity, faith and family, he did not shy away from talking about controversial topics such as sex, politics and pornography.

60 Wisdoms and Some Dumb Things recaps some of the life lessons Colonel Weinstein has learned and is still in the process of learning. How we treat each other and our attitude both rank very high. His new book is available everywhere books are sold in print and as eBook.

About Lt. Colonel Bob Weinstein:

Website: http://www.beachbootcamp.net

Office 954-636-5351

Born in Washington, D.C., Lt. Col. Bob Weinstein grew up in Virginia and spent 20 years in Berlin, Germany; he is retired from the United States Army as a Lieutenant Colonel with 30 years of service and spent about half that time as a senior military instructor with the Command & General Staff College. His background is unique and diverse, including military instructor, attorney, motivational speaker, wellness coach, certified corporate trainer, and certified personal trainer.

He is nationally known as the Health Colonel and is a popular motivational speaker and conducts military-style workouts on Fort Lauderdale Beach at the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort & Spa. Col. Weinstein has volunteered his time for homeless and run-away kids at the Covenant House and also devotes time to training youth who are members of the US Naval Sea Cadets Corps, Team Spruance, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

He is the author of Fitness Boot Camp For All Shapes and Sizes as well as other books. He has been a guest speaker for Sony, DHL, American Express, KPMG, AOL, IBM, AARP, SmithBarney, Green Bay Packers and Humana.

In celebration of Black History Month, Regions Financial honored civil rights pioneer Odessa Woolfolk and presented her with the companys fourth-annual History in Motion award at a Feb. 28 reception held at Regions headquarters in Birmingham, Ala.

Bill Horton, North Central Alabama area president for Regions Bank, presented Woolfolk with the award in recognition of her commitment to education and public service, including her leadership role in creating and sustaining the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.

Odessa Woolfolks commitment to making life better in Alabama and beyond continues to be an inspiration to people everywhere, said Horton. At Regions we know that we are only as successful as the communities we serve and we are pleased to recognize the many contributions that Odessa Woolfolk and countless others have made to promote civil liberty, education and economic justice for all people.

This is the fourth year Regions Financial has presented the History in Motion award, which honors prominent African Americans with ties to Regions headquarters state of Alabama. Previous honorees include Dr. Bernice King, Dr. Richard Arrington Jr., and the Honorable U.W. Clemon.

Woolfolk is recognized nationally for her work as both an educator and civic activist. She played a leadership role in creating and sustaining the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, an internationally recognized museum in Birmingham, Ala. depicting the struggles and victories of the American civil rights movement. Woolfolk was one of the founders of Leadership Birmingham and has served on the boards of dozens of civic, community, corporate, and public policy organizations.

Born in the Titusville community of Birmingham, she graduated from A.H. Parker High School, then earned a bachelors degree in history and political science at Talladega College and an masters degree in urban studies at Occidental College in California. She has done additional graduate study at the University of Chicago and was a National Urban Fellow at Yale University.

Woolfolk began her career as a teacher at Birminghams Ullman High School, and then moved into public policy work with the Urban Reinvestment Task Force, Washington, D.C.; New York State Urban Development Corporation, New York City; YWCA, Utica, N.Y.; and Arbor Hill Community Center and Inter-Racial Council, Albany, N.Y. In the 1970s, she returned home to Alabama as executive director of the Birmingham Opportunity Industrialization Center and associate executive director of the Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity. For twenty-one years, she served the University of Alabama at Birmingham as director of the Center for Urban Affairs; lecturer in political science and public affairs; staff associate, Center for International Programs; and Assistant to the President for Community Relations.

About Regions Financial Corporation

Regions Financial Corporation, with $ 127 billion in assets, is a member of the S&P 500 Index and is one of the nations largest full-service providers of consumer and commercial banking, wealth management, trust, mortgage and insurance products and services. Regions serves customers in 16 states across the South, Midwest and Texas, and through its subsidiary, Regions Bank, operates approximately 1,700 banking offices and more than 2,000 ATMs. Its investment and securities brokerage trust and asset management division, Morgan Keegan & Company Inc., provides services from over 90 offices. Additional information about Regions and its full line of products and services can be found at http://www.regions.com.

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Republican congressional candidate Ken H. Fortenberry officially filed today for the U.S. House of Representatives seat currently held by Patrick McHenry in North Carolinas 10th district. Fortenberry describes himself as a Southern conservative who believes in small government and fiscal responsibility. He pledges to fight for jobs and traditional family values.

Ken Fortenberry has been meeting with people all across the 10th District since last August, listening to their concerns and sharing with them his commitment to jobs, traditional family values and smaller, less-intrusive government. Everywhere I go, people tell me they are fed up with business as usual in Washington and want a representative who will represent them not highly-funded special-interest groups. They want a congressman who will honestly listen to them and work earnestly to get our country back on track, he said.

Fortenberry strongly shares the concerns of voters across his district and pledges to avoid the petty partisan bickering in Washington and work to get things done, not stand in the way of improving the lives of the American people.

Fortenberry describes his opponent, Congressman Patrick McHenry, as a Washington insider and career politician who has lost touch with the people of his district. He defines McHenry as a politics-as-usual elected official who is more worried about his job security than creating jobs for the American people.

Furthermore, Fortenberry states, As a member of Congress, I will restore integrity to the office and I will not be a puppet of corrupt leadership clearly alluding to Patrick McHenrys association with his staff underage drinking and voter fraud scandals as well as the Congressmans close relationship with now-disgraced former House GOP leader Tom Delay.

Fortenberry also faults Congressman McHenry for his cozy relationship with big banks and says, Jeff Taylor of the John Locke Foundation said it best when it wrote we actually have the chairman of a subcommittee of the House of Representatives [Patrick McHenry] suggesting, in deed if not word, that the first job of local government is to pay bond traders and mega-banks instead of cops, firemen, and school teachers.”"

Republican candidate Fortenberry promises a congressional campaign focused on policy issues and personal values. He describes himself as born-again Republican who has at times wandered the political desert” since first volunteering for the Barry Goldwater for President campaign in 1964. Like Ronald Reagan, Jesse Helms or Michelle Bachman, he was at one point a registered Democrat. But he says, I have always held true to the values of traditional conservatism and small government, personal integrity and ethics in government.

About NC Congressional District 10:

The 10th Congressional District of North Carolina includes all of Lincoln, Gaston, Cleveland, Polk, Rutherford and parts of Buncombe and Catawba counties.

Contact:

Media inquiries:???? ken(at)kenfortenberry(dot)org

Campaign phone:????704.607.5753

Campaign website: http://www.KenForCongress.com

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