Where Have The Blog Posts Been?

Interesting question. More interesting answer.

Note To Whom It May, or May Not Concern: 

You chose to allow me no respect, civility, courtesy or rational discussion on your blog. No problem. I'll do it on mine. Come and find me. Just remember, I know where you write, as well. It ain't over until I've had MY say, too. Deal.

I am, after some serious discussions with several different groups of individuals, corporations, national affiliations, etc., choosing to stand as a candidate for the Presidency, Board of Directors, Coffee Party USA. (I KNOW!) :)

Should I be honored enough to win this election, I will immediately be 2,847,091.06789st in the line of succession to the Presidency of The United States. So, I believe we're safe. No, I'm sure we're safe.

Because of that particular diversion of my life, the previous two PPTS shows have removed the show from the intended track just a bit.

A. Two weeks ago, the Acting President of the Coffee Party USA, Debilyn Molineau was my Special Guest. We spent the show discussing all things CPUSA from primarily her point of view. We talked of her plans and goals for the movement in the next two years, as well as her feelings of the accomplishments the Coffee Party has been able to achieve in the 2 months since her coming to the Board of Directors, having been appointed by a greatly reduced Board to the position. Mine was an offer to the Acting President of Coffee Party USA to face our membership, answer some important inquiries of concern to the organization's membership, and try to smooth some ruffled feathers within the membership.

Great show. No problem.

Last week, I invited several potential candidates to share the show with another potential candidate (myself), to perform together a bit of Kabuki theater. My idea was to have an educational experiment, whereby:

B. Potential candidates might seriously reflect upon the roles they would assume in the Coffee Party USA organization with a successful campaign and election. To that end, I believe most of the candidates did a superb job of genuinely considering the responsibilities and obligations of leadership, generally and within a fractured Coffee Party USA membership, specifically. There were some developments into particulars regarding current or future potential (or both) members of the board that came up, and I take full responsibility for every one them. It was not, as has since been falsely alleged, a "campaign ploy using Coffee Party USA Radio to further candidates in favor of other candidates". It was not "ill-conceived and unfortunate timing" by myself or anyone else, for that matter. Two things on that:

     1. We responded to questions from our audience about specifics. This was absolutely intentional. Having my Special Guests interact from the potential capacity as a sitting member of the Coffee Party USA Board of Directors was a specific educational intent of this particular show. I specifically informed my guests that, if a specific question arose, either from the audience OR the panel, it should be addressed by the person(s) whose position should most likely be responsible for handling it AFTER the election.

     2. I was on that panel, as well. I understood from the beginning that this might get "dicey" down the road, and spent many hours with many people arguing that the educational value for these potential candidates, and our general membership outweighed the potential for unnecessary drama from the ... anything.. After hearing all the arguments for and against, I went with "For" the motion. As much as this was an educational experiment for the potential candidates, I also wanted there to be a real sense of what it feels like for these candidates, now loosely confederated into some ethereal (at the time; it would concretize on this show!) entity loosely referred to as "The Civility Slate". The goal was to have real-time interaction to, and from our membership. Who are our members? What do they truly and passionately care about? I don't know, let's ask them--and listen intently to their response. They spoke, as did we, the potential candidates. We listened, as did they, the audience of PPTS. The experiment proved successful, purely on those grounds.

Not so good.

CPUSA pulled the show. CPUSA excoriated the show, myself and staff, the episode's panel--and the membership--on the (then) front page of the CPUSA blog. These actions were, according to Debilyn in a subsequent, and completely uncivil conversation on my part, the work of both Debilyn and CPUSA current Vice President Egberto Willies.

Both of these events were undertaken and completed without preamble or notice to me. I learned of them as I was preparing to leave for an emergency medical consult with my Physician. I learned of them as my Facebook page exploded in front of me. I stayed and dealt with it, and lawyers, and corporate Boads of Directors wanting some serious CPUSA financial blood. I'm dealing with the medical stuff still. I was angry then. I'm sore now. I'll most likely, at this particular point survive both. No problems. Moving on....

I own the show, not CPUSA.  It is the proprietary intellectual property of a corporation NOT CPUSA. It is my corporation's intellectual property, not CPUSA. Courtesy matters where I come from. Respect is due those who give their time, talent and treasure to your cause. Yadayadayada.

For some mysterious reason, the show suddenly reappeared. I had nothing to do with either occurrence. It disappeared, and reappeared. Again. It disappeared and has not, as of this writing, reappeared.

CPUSA used the blog post to refute the show, the candidates opposing them in the upcoming election, screaming of "unfair advantage" "incivility", etc. While I would have LOVED to respond with a Blog post of my own, I was not afforded so much as the courtesy of an opportunity to reply to that blog post. Evidently, I am persona non grata on the Blog. Time out for bad behavior. Please see item A above.

So, a potential candidate for the Presidency, Board of Directors CPUSA comes on my show, at my invitation and spends two hours presenting herself in every possible position, and it's all fine and good. "Her" camp approves. (By her own statements after the fact, just so ya know. It was honestly a tough show to host, and my guest stood in the face of an ill wind with considerable aplomb. She deserves credit for that, and I happily give what I can of it to her.)

C. We are all, as I write this, potential candidates. No applicant has been given that status of "Candidate" yet. HER candidate vetting committee is currently determining for themselves who will be found worthy to stand for the general membership to choose which candidates (that survive the vetting process) will be on the ballot. The deadline has passed (currently) for applications. The applications closed on the midnight, Hawai'i time following the show last Sunday. No more applications would be accepted. You didn't pay your membership dues until two days following the deadline for financial or other reasons? Sorry. Thanks for the bucks. Hope ya run next year. (Twice). Yeah, some of my Special Guests last week, in fact. Don't know, but haven't heard of any others.

Well, except the one person who my Special Guest from two weeks ago "supposedly" begged to run...yesterday. (Pease carefully note the quotes. This is nothing more than pure, unsubstantiated speculation--except for the email, the sworn testimony of the allegee, the eyewitnesses to the events and those immediately following the alleged incident, etc.) Are their others? Who knows? Only a few select persons (Members of the current BoD, and some 3 "volunteer members", one of whom was a previously paid employee of CPUSA, but I do digress...

Yus, I haz a sad. I'm sorry, does it show? Ignore, move along. Nothing to question here.

Ergo, the basis of why about 40% of the known general membership has been demanding for some time now that the current board step down.

Which is why I chose to run in the first place. Choice matters when you speak truth to power. Things change, or at least they can change. Silence changes nothing other than the irrational belief that there is now consent. If the membership of Coffee Party USA are willing to vote me to be the next President of our organization, it will be because I have earned their vote, I didn't buy it, or intimidate it, or promise in return for it. If I have not done so honestly and honorably, I should not be elected to this important (and volunteer) position. Nobody should. Ever.

Given that, in light of these and other difficulties over the past couple of weeks, the PPTS you know and love has gone forward to what will be, this coming Sunday, a continuation of our originally intended show's operation and investigation on "The War On The Poor: The Battle For Religion" (Part 2 of 3) PPTS is safely and permanently ensconced, once again, in our previous digs at Progressive Politics: Tennessee Style" (PPTS). The show will no longer, for at least the foreseeable future, reside or be a part of Coffee Party USA Radio Network. Why?

1. Call me names. Don't take my stuff. I don't like it when you take my stuff. Ever. Call it Hillbilly Privilege. Don't hurt my people. As in, stop hurting my people. People say that I'm not significant enough to worry about. They are probably correct. They are correct in the exact same way as when they say a Mother Bear is not significant to anyone threatening her children, the baby bears. Probably. Well, close at least. Close enough? We'll see.

2. In all honesty, whether or not I am "vetted" and allowed to stand as the opposition candidate for the Presidency of the Coffee Party USA, having my show on Coffee Party Radio Network in it's current form is simply lightening waiting to strike. I learned this last week, as well. It's not Conflict of Interest which worries me, although that has already emerged as an issue for some people. Some people have told me that do not listen because they do not care for the theme music. Some say that, while they love the show, they are hesitant to recommend it to others because of the first word in the title.

Simple. Problem solved. It's not about any "unfair advantage". One potential candidate got two uninterrupted hours with me. Problem solved. You will find that show here. You will no longer find that show there. Fairness for all concerned is only fair.

This election matters to many thousands of members and interested persons looking to the Coffee Party USA to be dispassionate arbiters of compromise. As it's potential President, one of the conditions of my candidacy (and every other person's candidacy, too!) is that my obligation as Candidate (if and when that happens) requires something of me that would be only marginally required otherwise as PPTS. Here, I'm not a freakin' public figger, for cryin' out loud. I'm just a Hillbilly with a big mouth and a microphone. Who cares?

As a leader of Coffee Party USA? Yeah, that's an equine of an entirely different hue! (A famous line from one of my novels.) The show's separation does offer a couple of distinct advantages in this regard. Candidates have been urged not to campaign at all until the official ballot is released. Great, if not hilarious. Yeah, right.

We'll see you right here, on Sunday, June 15th, 2014. We'll be on the air (and we'll STAY on the air!)

We'll see YOU there!

The Tennessee Progressive