American 3rd Party Policies. Response to Platforms and Parties in General.

Constitution Party- In general I think this party is a very large contradiction. It follows such a strict following of a document that was written over two hundred years ago that it does not allow for changes in society and government since that time. While the party states that it promotes religious freedom on the grounds of the Constitution, it also uses the Bible and Christian Doctrine to back up its Party Platform arguments. It uses a few letters from the time to back up this opinion. Had the Party done its homework, it would have found that many of the individuals that we look at as our founding fathers were deists such as James Madison, John Adams and potentially (it cannot be proven, though they did have deist tendencies) Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Paine, which today would be called an agnostic, meaning that they believe in God, but not necessarily one religion or any religion to contain God.

Communist Party- Personally I find Communism to be a good idea in theory but not so much in practice. It seems that every attempt so far has resulted in a totalitarian regime. I have found the more Socialist Practices of the Communist Party of the United States of America to be much more realistic than the violent overthrow of Capitalism that Marx and Lenin had foreseen. I find the Bill of Rights Socialism to be a refreshing revision of the Communist Party and while still slightly overidealistic, does contain revisions to Communism such as environmental reform and religious freedom that appear to make the Party less radical and more acceptable to the average citizen.

Pacifist Party- Personally I have found this Party to be overly idealistic. While I may agree with most of what they have to say, I don’t think it is a realistic view. Violence is wrong, but it will most likely always be there. Should the United States simply open its borders and accept anyone who wants to come in and dismantle our military, there is no way to protect citizens should an emergency arise. I do agree that our defense system is way larger than it should be I do not think it would be prudent to get rid of it all together. While there is so much hatred in the world simply letting anyone in the country could allow for terrorists or people with international criminal records against humanity to simply enter the country without worry. We would have no idea who was in the country or not. I do however, find their opinion of nationalized healthcare, education family and environment to be a positive one and definitely one worth working towards.

Sources: http://www.constitutionparty.com/, http://www.cpusa.org/, http://www.uspacifistparty.org/

German 3rd Party Policies. Response to Platforms and Parties in General.

1.NPD
I have to admit that working with the NPD's homepage and trying to find information about certain issues was quite simple, since the party really seems to have an opinion on everything. You just have to type in a key word and get what you are looking for. The problem I have with this party is not the easy way you can find information, but the kind of information you get. I have tried to be as objective as possible while working on the blog, but when I read things like Arbeit zuerst für Deutsche (jobs for Germans first) or Heimreise statt Einreise (homeward journey instead of entry) I found it quite hard not to become too subjctive. If I had to describe my impression of the NPD in three words, these would be:
Undemocratic. Reactionary. Racist.

2.DKP
If I did another blog project on 3rd parties, I would not go for the DKP again. Trying to get information from their homepage was not very satisfying. I had the impression that the party solely uses communism as an argument for everything. They hardly seem to seize on current issues, which would explain that the average of age of the members is outstandingly high compared to other German parties. In three words:
Lefty. Pugnacious. Outdated.

3.PBC
The PBC is the by far least spectacular of the three parties. On the surface it is the only party that does not want to change the political system of Germany completely – on the surface. Anyway I found it quite puzzling that the PBC prefers a bible based jurisdiction to our present one. I'm wondering in how far the party could be expected to cope with realpolitik, if in power. The bible is, objectively speaking, taken much more seriously and literally by the PBC than by the vast majority of the German population, hence the PBC only is a 3rd party, not a major party. In three words:
Evangelical. One-sided. Un-zeitgeisty.

Sources: www.npd.de, www.dkp.de, www.pbc.de

German and American 3rd Party Policies. Election posters and logos.

We have kindly asked all of the six parties we are dealing with, if we were allowed to post some of their election posters or use their logos for our blog. That was ten days ago, but so far the parties did not even bother to respond to our e-mails. None of them. Hence we have to confide that we cannot post any party logos or election posters in the blog.

American 3rd Party Policies. Religion.

Constitution Party- declares that Article I of the Bill of Rights reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The Party goes on to state that they are for religious liberty of all people and that there should be a seperation of church and state in the form of no taxation of churches or religious organizations. It goes on to say that organizations should be free to determine its own religious standing, its example being the Boy Scouts of America.

Communist Party-“the Party has its own Religion Commission, which seeks to build positive relations with religious people and communities in the struggle to make life better for working people. Most religious people believe in justice, peace, and respectful relations among the peoples of the world, and many are motivated by their faith to work for those goals.” The Party goes on to say that religion can play an important role in socialist reform because of these similar beliefs and therefore is to be a part of what the Party calls “Bill of Rights Communism.”

Pacifist Party-calls for “Opposition to all forms of racial, sexual, and religious discrimination, and all unjust socio-economic barriers.” Based on its desire to end religious discrimination, the Party appears to be for religious freedom for citizens and for people to be treated as people and not according to their religious beliefs.

Sources: http://www.constitutionparty.com/, http://www.cpusa.org/, http://www.uspacifistparty.org/

German 3rd Party Policies. Religion.

1.NPD
The NPD states that it strongly supports article 4 of the Basic Law which enhances religious freedom in the Federal Republic of Germany, and according to the statute, the NPD is religiously neutral. Nonetheless, the NPD stirs up hatred against non-christian minorities, especcially muslims (particularly Turks). In the first place the party criticises all visible signs of other religions, e.g. the vexed minarets of mosques: "The initiative of the NPD directs against one of the most visible symbols of hyperxenesis, occupants and oppressors: The Anatolian minaret."

2.DKP
The party states that their approach for the realisation of socialism is based on scientific socialist ideas and theories of Marx, Engels and Lenin. Anyway the DKP acknowledges that there can be religious or humanist approaches to socialism as well.

3.PBC
Although the manifesto of the PBC does not have an article or even a paragraph exclusively dealing with religion, as the name suggests, the whole concept of the party is based on religion, more precise on christianity. Hence, many of the articles of the PBC's manifsto include bible quotes related to the particular issue. Article 3, Youth and Educational Policy, starts with Ecclesiastes 12, 1: "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth" and article 5.3, Fair Politics, Prayers for all Poltiticians, quotes 1 Timothy 2, 1 – 2: "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty."

Sources: www.npd.de, www.dkp.de, www.pbc.de, www.bibleserver.com

American 3rd Party Policies. Tax Policy.

Constitution Party- states that according to the United States Constitution “Article I, Section 8, gives Congress the power to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts, and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States,” and “Article I, Section 9, no Capitation, or other direct Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census of Enumeration herein before directed to be taken. No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.” The Party interprets this to mean that Federal Taxes are unconstitutional and should be removed from the governmental system. The Party then suggests the creation of a “state-rate-tax” which would be divided amongst states to pay for a portion of the federal deficit based on the number of citizens living in the area. The Party wants to repeal the 16th amendment, which they believe provides the Federal Government with too much power. The Party would also like to keep the motor fuel tax but only for funding to fix and or build highways, not for programs that would create public transportation. They would also like to get rid of tax incentives as it overly favors the wealthy.

Communist Party- affirms, “We call for nationalization of the banks, railroads, and industries like steel and auto. Everyone who wants to work should be guaranteed a job or get unemployment payments until she/he can find a job.” The Communist Party is pro-taxes which would be used to build up the infrastructure and wealth redistribution along with the implementation of public projects such as public transportation, public schools, environmental protection, socialist reforms and housing for the homeless. The Party believes that this will provide those in the United States with better lives.

Pacifist Party-calls for the “Creation of a Canadian-style, single-payer national health care system with universal access, comprehensive coverage, and freedom of choice in the selection of doctors, medical facilities, and methods of treatment,” and “Full employment through private enterprises, cooperatives, worker-controlled and managed industries, and federally administered public projects,” along with “A guaranteed minimum income for U.S. citizens through the establishment of a negative income tax (A negative income tax gives checks to people whose income lies below the poverty level).” The Party is pro-taxation, like the Communist Party in order to implement reform on a national and local level that will allow for a level playing field and equal opportunities for employment, health care and living amenities.

Sources: http://www.constitutionparty.com/, http://www.cpusa.org/, http://www.uspacifistparty.org/

German 3rd Party Policies. Tax Policy.

1. NPD

The NPD criticises the contemporary German tax system and asks for a radically simplified system instead:

• taxation only on national, but not on EU level
  
• no taxation of staple food and medication
• less taxation of labour-intensive services
• avoidance of multiple taxation
• reformation of the financial law
• tightening of the criminal code for tax offences

2. DKP

Again, the DKP hardly gives any concrete comments on how they would like to change and improve the German tax system. They only criticise privatisation of state property and support a stop of tax concessions and subventions for monopolies.

3. PBC

The PBC demands a transparent tax system. Especcially families (with many children) should be relieved. Therefore the consumption tax and value added tax (VAT) on basic requirement goods and services ought to be lowered while the VAT on luxury goods should be raised. In addition to that, the tax system ought to offer an incentive for building houses for families with many children.

Sources: www.npd.de, www.dkp.de, www.pbc.de

American 3rd Party Policies. Immigration Policy.

The Constitution Party states that according to the United State’s Constitution Article 4, Section 4: The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion. The Party interprets this to mean that there should be little or no immigration to the United States. There should be no rights or healthcare or education to illegal aliens and any children born to anyone in the United States illegally would not be considered a United States citizen. If a group or private agency requests to bring a person to the United States, they should be responsible for all of their housing and well being until they become productive members of society. The immigrant must understand and speak basic English as a precondition of receiving American citizenship. There should be only English used in government documents.

The Communist Party believes that Immigration is a basic right. They state that “Since the early nineties world migration and immigration to the United States has increased fairly steadily. Worldwide, as a result of neo liberal and free trade policies there is increased migration from poorer to richer nations globally and within particular countries. In the United States this means that more people, from more countries, and more economic strata, with more of them undocumented than ever before. The immigrants are going to more regions of the country, in more industries and are becoming more significant parts of the work force nationally and regionally.” This means that the Communist party sees limits on immigration rights as being a form of racism and that new labor is good for the economy and should be not only tolerated but encouraged.

The Pacifist Party is pro immigration. They would like to open the borders of America to anyone who wants to come. They would also like to provide healthcare, accommodations and education for Immigrants. This would be paid for in full if the United States liquidated its so called Defense Program, which according to the Pacifist Party, is more of an Offense Program and used the now freed money for more peaceful and efficient causes such as educating and caring for citizens and anyone else who wanted to become a citizen or live in the United States.

Sources: http://www.constitutionparty.com/, http://www.cpusa.org/, http://www.uspacifistparty.org/

German 3rd Party Policies. Immigration Policy.

1.NPD
The NPD argues that Germany could never be a country of immigration because of its small size. The party wants to stop immigration into Germany and proposes expulsion in place of integration of immigrants. Instead the preservation of the German people's substance should be urged. The six main aims of the NPD regarding immigration are:
a national job-protection-security-law (nationales Arbeitsplatzschutzsicherungsgesetz; jobs should only be offered to immigrants, if no equally skilled German employee is available);
no demand for social or annuity insurances for immigrants;
strict obedience of the immigration law;
immigrants should not be allowed to buy or own estates, because German ground exclusively belongs to the German people;
repeal of the right of asylum;
right to nationality based on parentage only (Jus sanguinis)

2.DKP
Neither the homepage nor the manifesto of the DKP comment on immigration policy. Hence the hereafter information regarding immigration policy within the European Union is taken from the homepage of the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung. The DKP's demands concerning immigration are:
citizenship according to residence, not according to parentage;
universal right to asylum without restrictions;
more permeable EU borders;
no deportation of refugees

3.PBC
The party advocates an immigration policy in conformity with the Bible. Furthermore, it is taken that the German society is sensitised for the problems of immigrants and especcially refugees because of its own refugee past after the Second World War (from East Prussia, Silesia etc.). So, according to the PBC, all immigrants are to be encountered with love and respect, so they can experience the love of God and Jesus Christ. Both the German language and the Word of God should be brought near to immigrants. Nonetheless, a superior concern is the restoration of good living conditions in the countries of origin to prevent immigration from becoming a problem.

Sources: www.npd.de, www.bpb.de, www.pbc.de

American 3rd Party Policies. Environmental Policy.

Constitution Party believes that “the powers not delegated to the United States Government by the constitution nor prohibited by it to the states are reverted to the states respectively or the people” This makes Environmental Policy to be more in the realm of control of individual states. The Party goes on to say that the responsibility of the people is to be “prudent, productive and efficient stewards of God’s natural resources.” The Constitution Party approves of efforts to prevent pollution and preserve the environment. However, it does not believe that Global Warming is a real threat, but rather a term thrown around by Globalist’s in order to “gain control of worldwide sustainable development.” Because the 5th Amendment limits the use of federal purchase for public use not public ownership, the Party does not condone the use of public property for urban renewal, environmental protection or historical preservation. In addition the Party is against legislation such as Federal Wastelands Legislation, the Endangered Species Act and UN Environmental Protection Programs such as UNESCO as they reduce the United States sovereign rights and the right of the citizen to private property.

The Communist Party Platform on Environmental Policy states “we are for developing policy that provides for a sustainable economy and a sustainable ecology. Where possible we participate in environmental movements and recognize and work on the environmental aspects of struggles on the shop floors and unions.” The Environmental policy continues to describe why capitalist systems are not good for the environment by saying that “Capitalist industrial development is based on not having to pay the costs for most of the waste products it generates. When socialist countries used that as a model to develop their own industry they ended up with the same skewed waste model.” The Party continues to state that they are against drilling for oil Alaska as well as nuclear power. Should nuclear power be disposed of in a safe way then the party would be willing to change their stance. They are also against the exposure of untested chemicals to the workers of any company due to the potential health and environmental risks. They would like sustainable forest practices because it is not only better for sustaining the environment but it would also provide job growth.

Pacifist Party describes their Environmental Policy as working to end Global Warming by implementing a Crash Program and utilize solar bower based on solar generating systems. They would prefer limited or very controlled use of fossil fuels and want to disuse all nuclear power plants not only in the United States, but worldwide. If there must be a nuclear power plant then it must be placed under international control. The Party also calls for an end to the privatization of logging, grazing and oil drilling on public lands along with creating a tax for industries which pollute in order to create incentives for pollution reduction and to obtain funding for new environmental protection agencies.

Sources: http://www.constitutionparty.com/, http://www.cpusa.org/, http://www.uspacifistparty.org/

German 3rd Party Policies. Environmental Policy.

1.NPD
The NPD states that the German environment is a cultural environment and hence needed for cultural development. Unrestrained economic growth will, according to the NPD homepage, lead to alienation of nature and man and therefore to a loss of culture. All enterprises ought to be tested for their environmental sustainability since it is more important than profit. The party supports subsidisation of farms, even in areas, which are hard to cultivate. Although the party is not explicitly against nuclear power, alternative energy should be given more financial support by the government. In addition to that the NPD maintains the extension of animal protection and opposes genetically changed food.

2.DKP
According the the manifesto of the DKP, communists are fully committed to work against global warming, the destruction of ecological systems, the profusion of resources, the monopolisation of energy supply and the transport of nuclear waste. The party supports an immediate nuclear phase-out and and the permission of genetically changed food should be decided via plebiscite.

3.PBC
The PBC advocates a careful commerce with God's creation. Children should be concientised for environmental protection at school and a long-term nuclear phase-out and alternative energy research are affirmed. Global warming is seen as a real threat. The party's main aim in this context is an increasing independance of the Gulf States: "Every wind turbine, every solar cell are a little declaration of independance: Independance from Gazprom and independance from the sheikhs and mullahs from the Persian Gulf." In addition to that the PBC states that God's biodiversity has to be protected, which leads to a demand for less animal testing and better animal protction.

Sources: www.npd.de, www.dkp.de, www.pbc.de

American 3rd Party Policies. Family Values and Educational Policy.

Constitution Party states, “No government may legitimately authorize or define marriage or family relations as affirmed by the 10th amendment delegating the people as our founders understood the family as necessary to general welfare.” The party platform goes on to state that God saw marriage as the union between one man and one woman, that there should be no special protections for sex offenders due to the fact that creating labels such as sexual orientation/hate crime only legitimizes offensive behavior, and states that there should be no government funding of partner benefits to couples who are not married. The Constitution Party also states that there should be no recognition of Homosexual unions and such individuals should not be allowed to whether they are single or in a union be allowed to adopt. The Platform also states that parents should have to freedom to educate, discipline and nurture their children according to their values.
Constitution Party-“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” The Party states that it is the parents job to educate the children since religion and God’s will should play such a large role in the topic and the Party is against the combination of church and state.

The Communist Party’s view on family values is that of “Bill of Rights Socialism.” This means that while the government has complete control of the industrial sector, the individual is guaranteed complete individual freedoms. This area of ideology in the Communist Party also declares their affiliation for workers rights, the rights of everyone for sexual orientation including the GLBT community, rights for young and elderly individuals in order to live according to their personal beliefs.
Communist Party- is a great promoter of the public education system. Based on the system of government owned and sponsored industry, the school system is included in this and the public school system would be reformed to be more socialist with schools receiving more equal funding than is currently received.

The Pacifist Party’s Family Values Platform states that they are working to end sexual and religious discrimination in the United States. The Party is in favor of international family planning programs and sexual education within the United States and the rest of the international community.
Pacifist Party- does not have a clear platform on education. It does say in the immigration section of the Party Platform that the abolition of the Defense Program would provide health and education to immigrants, so one could assume that the monetary gains would go to the education of the citizens of the United States as well, however there is no definite evidence of this.

Sources: http://www.constitutionparty.com/, http://www.cpusa.org/, http://www.uspacifistparty.org/

German 3rd Party Policies. Family Values and Educational Policy.

1.NPD
According to the NPD the German family and especcially children are the basis of German society. Hence family-related expenses are considered as direct investments in the future of the German people. Families and particularly mothers deserve a special support by the government. For that mothers are expected to raise their children at home instead of sending them to a kindergarten and go to work. The NPD demands a mother's-wage (Müttergehalt) of 1.000€ for the first, and additional 400€ for every further child. In addition to that the child allowance (Kindergeld) should be raised to 500€ for every German child (at present: 184€ - 190€) and a marriage credit (Ehekredit) ought to be introduced. This means that every German married couple is eligible for a public loan of 18.000€ with a life of 15 years, payable after the birth of the first child. The first five years are repayment-free, the birth of a second child redeems another third of the credit and for every German family with three or more children the whole credit is defrayed by the government.

2.DKP
The DKP urges the expansion of child care, since it is seen as an effective average to counteract the traditional role of women and to ensure equal occupational outlooks for both, men and women. Apart from this, family policy does not seem to play a dominant role for the party, since this is the only context in which family policy is mentioned in their manifesto. One reason for this could be the party's underlying idea of socialism which is based on general social security, including social equity for all families.

3.PBC
The family is seen as the basis of the state. Hence dysfunctional families indunce a dysfanctional state. In this context the PBC asks for:
bible-abiding family policy;
marriage as foundation of families;
no equation of homosexual marriages;
protection of marriage and family according to the basic law;
all constitutional bodies are summoned to exhibit all laws which constrain the protection of marriage and family to the Federal Constitutional Court

Sources: www.npd.de, www.dkp.de, www.pbc.de, www.bpb.de

American 3rd Party Policies. A brief introduction.

In this blog I will be discussing three Political Parties of the United States of America. However they will be the Constitution Party, the Communist Party and the Pacifist Party. Such third parties are often ignored by the mainstream media and rely on the internet to get their views out to the public. I will start with a brief introduction to the parties.

Constitution Party was founded in 1992 as the US Taxpayers Party. In 1999 the Party changed its name to better reflect its platform. The party labels itself as neither conservative nor liberal and simply states that it desires to base United States laws and policy on the strict interpritation of the United States Constitution.

Communist Party of the United States was founded in 1919. This Party works to install socialist reform in the United States. It desires a Socialist rather than Democratic system that puts its citizens before the profiting of the government. This is based on the ideas of Marx-Leninism.

Pacifist Party was founded in 1983. This party is non violent and is opposed to war and any spending of the United States government on any form of violence. The Pacifist Party has been utilizing the internet to get its platform out to the public since 1996 to promote its ideology.

Sources: http://www.constitutionparty.com/, http://www.cpusa.org/, http://www.uspacifistparty.org/

German 3rd Party Policies. A brief introduction.

In this blog I would like to focus on three of the so called German ''3^rd parties''. Throughout the next weeks I will present their policies regarding immigration, education, taxation etc. Today I would like to start with a brief introduction of the parties, which belong to very different political camps.

1. Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands (National Democratic Party of Germany), NPD:

The NPD was founded in 1964. The party's aim is a ''national democracy'', which is based on the idea of a homegenous German population and anti-capitalistic elements. The present German democracy, combined with social market economy is seen as an outdated political model (Demoliberalism), which contradicts the NPD's idea of the satisfaction of needs of the German people. Although democracy is officially affirmed, it is stated that it needs pre-democratic elements to be solid. The party calls this model The third way. Today the party has about 7.000 members and is categorised as right-wing extremist by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

2. Deutsche Kommunistische Partei (German Communist Party), DKP:

The DKP was founded in 1968 since its predecessor, the KPD, had been outlawed. The party can be seen as a conservative communist party (orthodox communism), since it refuses all ideas off rather progressive euro-communist parties as social-democracy and still represents leninist ideas and ideology. Nontheless the party is strictly pacifist and supports a democratic way to communism. Today the party has about 4.200 members and is categorised as left-wing extremist by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

3. Partei Bibeltreuer Christen (Party of Bible-Abiding Christians), PBC:

The PBC was founded in 1989 by Pentecostals. Today about 50% of the party's members belong to free-churches, while about 40% are members of (protestant) national churches, which leads to a predominantly evangelical character. The PBC wants to achieve a democratic political system based on the messages of the bible. They are explicitly against abortion, homosexual relationships, divorce, anti-christian influences (Islam) and hyperxenesis. Three of the party's main concerns are the strengthening of families as the smallest social units within the nation, a stronger reference to God in the Basic Law and an intensified support of Israeli politics. The party has about 3.700 members and is not observed by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

Sources: www.npd.de, www.dkp.de, www.pbc.de, www.bpb.de, www.im.nrw.de, www.remid.de