GREETINGS

As candidate for President, I'm not going to tell you what you want to hear. But I will tell you what you must hear, if you, your family, your state, and your nation (and the world, which often emulates, or imitates, America) is to be given the best chance for happiness, in the complex, difficult, and often disturbing world of today.

Pandemic, terror (i.e. terrorism), 9-11, climate change, George Floyd, cyberhacking, foreign interference in U.S. elections, ransomware, rising suicide rates among both teens and middle-aged persons, loneliness, low wages, bigotry (i.e. racism) against African-Americans and now even Asians, the recent murder of Gabby Petito, too many families going without a mom or dad, hunger, poverty, mental illness...where does it all end?

And how about a set of problems that may, indeed, affect America greatly, but which are presently known to far fewer people, such as the imminent global water shortage crisis? Can you believe nations going to war over access to water?

In fact, Water.org writes:  "According to a report by the World Economic Forum, the water crisis is the #5 global risk in terms of impact to society."

Fellow-Americans, Brothers & Sisters:  is there a root cause for all of this, or many different causes? Maybe just some kind of crazy, or very unusual, period in American and world history?

I believe that I have the answers.

THREE DIMENSIA OF MY CAMPAIGN

1. HONESTY.  TRUE TO MYSELF: I'm 61 years old. I've lived a long time, and my personality and value system is formed. I can be nothing other than precisely who I am. What you see, hear, and experience now, during my campaign, is what you'll get were I President, allowing, of course, for growth on-the-job.

2. REALITY.  REAL LIFE: No fantasies, illusions, deceptions, or pie-in-the-sky perspectives. I will talk about, and govern, from the standpoint of real life, the real life that we're all attempting to negotiate, with all its bumps, bruises, problems, and challenges, perhaps especially for young people.

3. PEDAGOGY.  LEARNING: (i.e. education; learning. pron. PED uh goh gee). America is to become a learning nation. 1.) I personally as President will implicitly teach language and conceptualization in the way I present myself to the public, 2.) we will take every opportunity teach each other, while ensuring that the information that we convey, if fact-related, is actually fact, and 3.) critically, we will teach and acquaint young people with the history of America, their own country.

   Little tolerance will exist for explicitly ego-or-commercially-driven dissemination of information that is obviously specious, bigoted, or otherwise lacking integrity, as is commonly broadcast from radio talk-shows of every political stripe.

INACTUALIZED

In my book draft LOVE, PROPERLY UNDERSTOOD I use the term (i.e. the word) "Inactualized," (pron. in AK shuw ul eye' zd) as in:  the problem with the United States, and the world, is that they are morally and functionally Inactualized. But for our purposes I'm going to express this idea a little more simply, using simpler language.

To "actualize" simply means to be the best that you are capable of being. Look it up in your psychology textbook. This idea can pertain to an individual, group, company, or country.

The term Inactualized can also be represented in writing or speech as "non-actualized." "In" means "non."

In short, Inactualized means not actualized. Not the best that you, or your team, or your company, or your community, or your state, or your country, can be.

Becoming Actualized, or not becoming or remaining Inactualized is a key concept in my work in social science.

The problem is that American (and global) society is rife with the functional mistakes that comprise (i.e. make up) Inactualization:  these mistakes appear in every form, kind, and severity, making the simple living-of-life inordinately difficult, complex, and, in fact, dangerous for all of us.

The Real Cause of Death

Having the power of the Philosopher, I can tell each of you, in general terms, how you're going to die.

In fact, I've already told you, above.

Inactualization is the root cause of death, whether the proximate (i.e. immediate) cause is cancer, heart attack, automobile accident, falling down the stairs, murder, drug overdose, gunshot, animal attack, or anything else. Because persons and systems remain Inactualized, they engage in behaviors, or permit or even encourage others to engage in behaviors that inevitably lead to injury, and then death, and sometimes simply death, itself, immediately.

Every death of every human being, through the ages to the present, save those genuinely occurring from "old age" or inescapable natural disaster, is an example of this.

ME

I am certainly Inactualized. My campaign for President is Inactualized. Meaning, neither are yet the best they can be.

I'm looking for your gracious, loving, and knowledgeable support and help in improving both!

---

THE PROBLEM:  OUR TWIN DEFICITS

deficit, (DEF ih sit) noun:  shortage or lack.

The fact is, there are two root causes of just about every problem humankind (i.e. every human being) has. The two deficits that drive and generate our entire host of problems, are:

1. MORAL INADEQUACY

   This has to do with how people treat each other, and themselves. People refers to individuals, and groups of individuals such as communities, companies, and nations.

   There are thousands and thousands of examples, large and small, of moral inadequacy. Here's one quick-and-dirty (i.e. fast, possibly somewhat imprecise) example:  at the end of a telephone call, if you're courteous, you'll say "Goodbye" before hanging up. But have you noticed that many people simply hang up without saying "Goodbye"? They just--hang up. To me, it almost feels like a small slap-in-the-face (In fact, it can even be considered what is now termed a "microaggression").

   Another example can be proffered by the activity at this moment on my block, next-door, Tuesday, November 16, 2021, 2:31pm. My next-door-neighbors, an orthodox Jewish couple, are evidently having their sidewalk replaced, and a young man has been breaking up their old sidewalk with a jackhammer since about 12:30 pm. That's two full hours of almost constant noise. Is this the loudest jackhammer that I've ever heard? No. Is it irritating and an impediment to normal living, nonetheless? Yes.

   Would it have been considerate of them to have notified us that this work would be taking place, especially since I'm caregiving a 90yo, ill woman mere feet from the work, which they are aware of? Obviously.

   I'm not necessarily blaming these individuals. The larger problem is lack of moral training or education. This failing is what I cite and present as the basis for Plank #1 in my Presidential platform, and what we'll begin to address under the DeBENEDETTO ADMINISTRATION.

   The above are small, but significant examples. However, our lack of morality, in many other cases, is far more significant. For example, what of the recent murder of 22-year-old Gabby Petito? This is another example of what our lack of morality brings. Two sets of examples, very different in kind and consequence, but, examined deeply, having the same root cause:  lack of consideration and concern for others. As consideration and concern are both expressions, subsets, or more simply put, examples of Love, these examples clearly display lack of Love, Properly Understood.

   
   What's Love Got to Do With It

   Some may wonder what Love, of all things, has to do with anything relevant to the progress, future, and fortunes of America, or for that matter, any nation. Those who are politically savvy, however, or even simply well-informed about present-day national and international events, not to mention those with a knowledge of the deepest and most important teachings of just about every religious leader and great teacher through history, understand with a knowing smile precisely the wisdom, and in the present age of technical and moral complication, actual necessity of citing Love as a critical national requirement that must be properly understood, and employed.

   Besides the powerful and relevant examples, above, it's not news to report that a powerful, perhaps permanent schism between persons of what are seen as competing political viewpoints has taken root in America:  how deep this root will grow depends on us. This increasingly deeply-rooted toxic plant is clearly seen, for example, in phenomena such as the near-categorical inability of even persons in Congress to work together, including now even the Senate, the U.S. institution Constitutionally-engineered and historically shielded from such pointed conflict and even vitriol. According to the Feb. 12, 2022 edition of The Guardian:  "The 116th Congress, which was in session from 2019 to 2021, was one of the least productive in US history." The disturbing depth of root of this toxic plant is made perhaps most explicit in the unprecedented organized insurrection against the United States that occurred on January 06, 2021, the most explicit latter-day indication that a violent, criminally-oriented anti-government consciousness has grown substantially in America--and I'm not even talking about foreign-inspired terror, but homegrown domestic terror, disloyalty, and criminality.

   While some of the participants or defenders of that attack may try to justify, and characterize, it as informed by love of country, an assertion more-or-less specious and ridiculous on its face, as you don't display love for your country by attacking your country, that action in broader philosophical terms was obviously defined by this writer as nothing but the social phenomenon of what I term NonLove (©2022 VFD), that I define as:  that which is left or remains when all goodness is exhausted or segregated, the moral dark matter of the social universe. Any principle or action that is not Love is NonLove.

   The America, for example, of the World War II years, when everyone pulled together in common purpose, would never have spawned the grossly-misguided American evident at the U.S. Capital on January 06, 2021:  disloyal, aggressive if not violent, obviously hostile to both the U.S. Constitution and Courts, and indeed prone to actual criminality, which is what the physical break-in and associated acts constituted.

   Under the DeBENEDETTO ADMINISTRATION, the ringleader of that act of outrage and infamy would have risked his neck, literally, as U.S. law still permits traitors to be executed.

   
   

   America the Violent

   And what of the regular acts of mass murder that pepper our news broadcasts, such as, most recently, the Tops Friendly Market murder resulting in 10 dead, itself coming on the heels of the June 2015 shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, in which nine African Americans were killed at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, 21 year old Dylann Roof having been arrested and convicted of this crime.

   Such major acts of violence simply burnish and drive home the point that Americans (and human beings, generally) remain completely alienated from each other, each existing in their own world, all worlds, however, underwritten by the force of NonLove, defined, above, that ethic fully and categorically opposite, opposed, and existing counterpoint to that of Love, which is a foundational problem that has already started to erode American democracy, as the next section will explain.

   
   

   Love Prerequisite for Democracy

   Surfacing just a few days ago is the news that some American so-called Conservatives are questioning whether democracy, itself, is compatible with freedom. The emergence of this phenomenon while Vladimir Putin has been hard at work for years now attempting to undermine the notion of democracy--a task made all the easier given the chaos that American democracy seems to have degenerated into and is now seen by many to represent.

   Implicit in all this is the reality of the 900-lb. gorilla in the room, the Emperor with no clothes that this writer and Presidential candidate, nearly alone, appears to perceive and understand:  LOVE IS REQUIRED FOR DEMOCRACY TO WORK.

   This assertion becomes instantly comprehensible upon receipt of understanding of the proper definition of Love, a rubric informed by action:

   Agape, the principle of love, commonly referred to as "brotherly love," the "love ethic," or sometimes "universal love," as I define it, is the active consideration of, and acting upon, the interests of other people, all people, in more-or-less the same proportion as you consider (and usually act upon) your own interests.

   Agape is not a romantic or otherwise emotional form of love that we "fall into," but a generalized, unconditional love we practice toward everyone, a form that actually requires a commitment of will. Strictly speaking, in fact, the practice of Agape need not require any emotion or sentiment, at all. As a practical matter, however, in our present society it is unlikely that we would distribute our time, energy, and money to others in approximate proportion to that which we expend it on ourselves if we did not feel care and concern.

   (It is possible that in a future society where Agape is formally and officially taught and reinforced from birth to death, its practice could become rote and devoid of care and concern. However, the new society will preclude this possibility if it teaches Agape in its fullness, including teaching the desirability of care and concern, at once rooted in and reflecting our status as brothers and sisters in one human family.)

   Our Agape praxis (i.e. practice) is to be active, meaning we must remain continuously alert to the needs of those around us and volunteer to act on those needs to the best of our ability, approaching the "needer" without waiting for them to approach us. In large measure because of this active, or in the parlance of the day "pro-active" form of love we espouse, the love paradigm I espouse can be said to constitute the theory and practice of "radical love."

   Revered and desirable values and behaviors rooted in the love ethic include compassion, empathy, patience, tolerance, understanding, courtesy, sensitivity, a general open-mindedness, cooperation, solicitude, respect, honesty, the impulse to help people and alleviate suffering, and all basic conceptions of "human rights." All good springs from love, all bad from its opposites. Under-appreciated and under-utilized, it is arguably the most powerful social force available to humankind.

   We do see acts of love occurring in our society, but as philosopher and social psychologist Erich Fromm points out above, and elsewhere, these acts usually occur randomly and sporadically, by single individuals, not by large numbers of people in any systematic way. This is because love of our neighbor (and ourselves) is only weakly and inconsistently encouraged, and more importantly, not a formal part of the actual written rules of our social and economic system.

   Democracy requires trust, cooperation, and a cooperative spirit--each of which a function, expression, or subset of the rubric Love. Where good human relationships do not exist, neither can democracy.

   In other words, then:  the De Benedetto Presidential Platform stands alone as that which understands and presents the key, Love, properly understood, to literally saving American democracy (and with it, democracy worldwide).

   
   

   Absence of Love, Internationalized

   We also see playing out on the world stage at this very moment a dramatic example of what is reaped when the influence of Love is absent, and the bad seeds of NonLove are sown:  Russia, abetted by other willing and malign foreign technical actors such as hacking and disinformation groups, some officially part of the Russian government, some not, has been trying for several years now to discredit Democracy, itself, and worse, actually destabilize the Democratic West--yes, folks, this means us, America, and all her allies. Capture and ransom of U.S. computer systems, large-scale disinformation planted in media and social media, and intrusion, surveillance, and theft of U.S. political and industrial information are the tools in this dangerous Russian black bag.

   I can think of few more pernicious and insidious actions wrought by the absence of Love than this.

   However, I posit two other tools in that black bag, yet undiscovered and identified by Western Intelligence:  1.) the drive to legalize and decriminalize dope in America, and 2.) highly provocative propaganda information both textual and photographic planted in Internet chat rooms about a kind of de facto collusion between African-American men and Caucasian women to actually "breed out" the Caucasian ethnic group (aka "white race"). More on this, with examples, further down the page.

   If you are unaware of either of these possibilities--you'd better pledge yourself to a more knowledgable Presidential candidate.

   Remember, Love, properly understood is a rubric, a category, a parent or umbrella term and principle, by itself meaning little, but informed by its expressions or manifestations, meaning everything--a principal powerful and extensible enough to inform all human infrastructure from interpersonal interaction, to world affairs, to the very erection of an entire economy. The notion includes behaviors and attitudes such as respect, tolerance, empathy, compassion, understanding, cooperation, sympathy, solicitude, and flexibility, attributes that are precisely and flagrantly missing in the actions of Russia toward the West, and indeed, increasingly missing in our interaction toward each other, as Americans, ripping us apart as a people and a nation, and ironically, making it that much harder, if not impossible, to counter the malevolent actions of enemy foreign actors. "A house divided against itself cannot stand," said Abraham Lincoln.

   As an American--is this what you want?

   Love irrelevant? Love is nothing but relevant in our fraught and dangerous modern world, both inside and outside our borders.

   
   

2. FUNCTIONAL INADEQUACY

   This has to do with how well people do in their day-to-day activities, regardless of what they are doing, ranging from how well they perform their jobs, to how well they negotiate (i.e. perform or address) every kind of task they are called upon to perform, every moment of each day. Are they competent in what they do, or do they tend to make mistakes? If the latter, what is the severity and frequency of their mistakes?

   There are thousands and thousands of examples, large and small, of functional inadequacy. Here's one quick-and-dirty (i.e. fast, possibly somewhat imprecise) example:  have you ever purchased a box of tissues? Have you noticed how difficult it often is, to simply extract the very first tissue?

   Why, in the year 2021, can't the paper companies that manufacture these products devise a way for the first tissue to pop out easily from the opening, at the top of the box? This ridiculous failure is an example of what I consider a functional inadequacy in the paper industry.

   I, as you, run into such flaws, gaps, and defects in the functional competence of humanity all the time.

   A useful way to conceptualize (i.e. form into an idea in your mind; pron. kon sep' shew ul ize) this problem is:  the world, as it stands, at every level and in every sphere and quarter, operates grossly, that is, with insufficient attention to every detail, whereas the world, especially with the key, urgent, and increasingly foundational twin demands of 1.) technology, that is, a means of operating the world using technical methods, and 2.) humanity, that is, the increasing rightful demands of human beings for fair, indeed loving, treatment, requires not gross operation, as such operation cannot possibly pay attention to the details required by these twin objectives, but a world that is finely or fine-tuned.

   Below is a blog, starting today, of some of my experiences in the grossly-operated world of today.

   Fellow Americans, email me your own, and I'll add them!

USE THE POWER THAT I'M GIVING YOU

The two elements above that comprise the basic divisions of my Platform, 1.) Love and Connection, and 2.) Functional Competence, are sorely missing in America, and together their absence is, and forms, a pernicious force, and pair. A representative example of this phenomenon exists in the world of nutrition and health:  what are called "vegetable seed oils" such as Soybean, Canola/Rapeseed, Sunflower, Safflower, Cottonseed, and others are ubiquitous; in other words they are found in almost every food item, at least every packaged food item such as frozen dinners, sold in America (and elsewhere). Yet their injury to the arteries and other blood vessels of the human body, leading directly to cardiovascular disease, stroke in particular, is an open secret. Consumption of these oils has, does, and will continue to put more Americans in a box (i.e. casket), especially older Americans, far faster than would otherwise be the case. Yet they are widely used and their use shows zero sign of slowing down. If you have (or are) parents of middle-age or older, it is imperative that they immediately discontinue consumption of these oils (see dedicated section below, for more).

Do not eat what is not food. And vegetable seed oils are not food.

The root cause of this continuing use of vegetable oils, in my present example, is obviously either one, or the other, or likely both, of my two identified factors, above.

But whether you ascribe this continuing use to my Presidential Plank #1, above, immorality, that is, lack of Love, manifesting in this case in lack of concern for their fellow citizens by corporate food interests, or to my Presidential Plank #2, above, absence of functional competence, manifesting in corporate food interests, and even consumers, themselves, remaining unaware of the hazards of vegetable oils, or ascribe the continuing use to both phenomena, the result is the same:  continuing large-scale injury and death to you, your family, and many of our fellow Americans.

My identification of these two elements as the foundational cause of every American (and human) problem comprises a powerful discovery in Philosophy and Social Science, generally, and Political Philosophy in particular--let's make full use of this unique and powerful conceptual tool now that we have it. Of course, as President this is precisely what I and my Administration, working in concert with You, the American People, will do.

America was, and arguably remains, a Great nation by all objective standards. One such standard, however, has either been absent from the start, depending on your reading of history, or is missing-in-action now:  Love, properly understood, the "parent" (i.e. source or originating) concept of such characteristics as ethics, morality, and the feeling of connection between us. If this missing element, Love, largely responsible for our decline, is not meaningfully rebuilt and restored, America will never be great again, nor great, period.

Luckily, MY PRESIDENCY IS GOING TO COMPLETELY CHANGE ALL THIS, and solve this fundamental problem--presuming, of course, that you get me elected.

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCE & ACTUALIZATION WEBLOG

As you read through the entries, below, you'll begin to understand the troubling pattern of incompetence and inadequacy that I'm talking about. You'll also begin to realize that there is, in fact, no way I could easily record every instance, large, small, and moderate, of in-or-semi-competence that I, and you, run across each and every day. It's a staggering problem, that has compromised America in every way.

And, Brothers & Sisters, the problem is going to get a lot worse as dope (i.e. marijuana, hashish) becomes legal across the country, leading to an increasingly sprawling subset of Americans walking around stoned. Insidiously, because of the often-subtle nature of the marijuana high, you'll probably never know that your doctor, nurse, auto mechanic, bus driver, waiter, tax-preparer, police officer, the teacher or teachers of your child, or even your priest, rabbi, or imam, is high, on the job, or off.

And given that no person will ever really know what other person or persons whom they are interacting with are high, indeed in many cases persons whom they are depending on, sometimes in serious or even life-and-death situations, how will people ever trust each other again? What happens to trust, already rated low in America, between person and person, person and business, and person and government? Trust--that foundational element without which you simply cannot have a healthy and functioning society?

Trust will obviously be gravely injured, if not destroyed.

Fellow Americans, how do we maintain, and build, a healthy and prosperous society under such conditions? We don't. We simply shed a tear as we watch America continue to inexorably (i.e. can't be stopped) decline from Great Power to third-world-nation.

Fight, and terminate, this powerful and destructive enemy by A.) reading my book GRASS NOT GREENER, and B.) electing me President.

Here is the Blog.

As some of you may realize as you increasingly acquaint yourself with my political beliefs and the Presidential candidacy they inform, my value and belief system is a hybrid (hi' brid), this latter term defined by dictionary.com as:

"anything derived from heterogeneous sources, or composed of elements of different or incongruous kinds"

My beliefs are often, but not always, conservative, though always ground in Agape (uh gop' aye), which is "brotherly love" in the language of Greek philosophy, as taught by Christ, Martin Luther King, Jr., Erich Fromm, myself, as a system, and others, including my page of Agape Mentors, link on left-side NavBar at that site.

A large part of the seminal nature of my politico-philosophical corpus is my frequent ground of conservative assertions and beliefs in Agape, that is, Brotherly Love, not egoism, egotism, narrow forms of political conservatism, arguments based solely on "Constitutional principles," or Christian ideology, as such, but simply Agape, that is, Love, which should please thinking liberals, moderates, and radicals, indeed, anyone who values the love ethic and its possible ground for personal behavior, social reform, or even the erection of a society. Mine is a truly unique, seminal, and powerful conceptual engine for change, spanning or rooted in the full range of socio-and-politico-existential bases, pleasing everyone.

Whether conservative, or liberal, buckle up your psycho-cognitive seat belt and prepare to be taken on the wildest political ride of your life, as your beliefs are both affirmed, in some measure, and denied, in another, as you encounter Conservative-position after Conservative-position ground purely in Love, a standard for behavior, or more broadly, for adoption of programs, associated with Christian theorist Joseph Fletcher, based on which is understood as the more loving option in a given situation (I don't imply that I accept Joseph Fletcher's entire philosophical system or critique).

Conservatives, and Liberals, as well as persons, in fact, of every political stripe may find themselves greatly surprised at the unique and wholly unexpected path to Conservatism that I've laid out:  Love. Indeed, persons on the Left likely think that following a path of Love will lead to a left-wing or Progressive agenda: unrestricted immigration, liberal drug policies, unrestricted abortion, reduction in military and police spending, stricter gun laws, and automatic expansion of homosexual rights. I'm arguing that Love, properly understood, just as easily, perhaps far more easily, lends itself to a Conservative agenda.

Example, one of many:  Americans believe that National Security should exist and remain optimal at all times in service of the security of the nation--and of course this is correct. But from an AGAPE standpoint, National Security exists to keep us secure because 1.) protecting ourselves is an act of self-Love, 2.) protecting ourselves, collectively, the United States, is also an act of Love toward our allies, who benefit when the historical standard-bearer and Western protector is seen as, and is, strong and secure, 3.) insofar as this historical standard-bearer and world leader, us, is seen as, and is, strong and secure, it tends to keep the world stable, and thus comprises an act of Love toward the world, 4.) it's difficult to Love others if one doesn't Love themselves, and thus is this and other acts and forays into collective self-love necessary, for a weak America would be in a poor position to assist any other nation, and, last, 5.) Love of both others and self comprise the proper structure of AGAPE; anything less would detract from principle and practice.

What you just read in the preceding paragraph is my striking and seminal "Argument-from-Love" in favor of a robust national security.

My definition of Love, officially established at another of my foundational projects THE AGAPE ORDER, and consistent across all my work, is presented as:

Agape, the principle of love, commonly referred to as "brotherly love," the "love ethic," or sometimes "universal love," is defined as follows:

Even the most fundamental of human social behaviors such as civility and basic courtesy are expressions or manifestations of their parent principal, Love. Thus, were the Love ethic adopted and implemented in American society there would be an immediate basic elevation of all social interaction, by everyone, from the man on the street to the woman in Congress. This elemental step, alone, would comprise a huge improvement in our current abysmal standard of social interaction in this country--and it would certainly help prevent any further treasonous incursions into U.S. Government buildings or other facilities. In fact, everyone's lives would actually get a touch brighter, as those around them displayed a smile and a bit of warmth.

Such is the power of Love, properly understood, even in its most routine application. There is simply no question that this country is going nowhere without it, but will simply continue its present moral, ethical, and even political and technological descent and devolution, since a minimum of regard and respect for each other, which we're rapidly losing at every level of American society and governance, is required even for basic cooperation in any area or sphere of social endeavor or activity.

Our lack of connection to each other impedes our moving forward as a nation in at least three ways:

1. In any sphere of national life, we can't achieve.

2. Insofar as we do achieve, the achievement is of lesser quality or import.

3. We can't readily or optimally implement or otherwise make use of said achievement.

Conservatism is clearly the future of this country, and this world, perhaps especially now that the Love-based path to this political perspective that I've created (see HYBRID SYSTEM, above) may more readily bring Liberals and Moderates to this view, if not to the movement, itself.

Let me define what I mean by Conservatism. For the same powerful and expansive intellect that I bring to every other idea on this page, is at work in formulating and understanding our most helpful conception of Conservatism.

Some prelims on my brand of Conservatism:

1. As Conservatives, especially as Conservatives, let's ensure that we have a nice word to say about everyone:  other Conservatives, Moderates, Liberals, even Radicals. For I can think of nothing more worthy of conserving than our best and highest single human value:  LOVE.

And it bears reminding that, for Christians (and persons of other Love-oriented belief systems), this is already supposed to be our orientation to the world.

2. Conservatism in a political context is simply a subset or example of the general notion of conservation, taking care to conserve, that is, keep, that which is, and has always been, best, and indeed, defining about this nation. And to do so with character and love, not ego, vitriol, and the easy distortion or manipulation of fact to serve an agenda or viewpoint.

3. While I like its intention, I don't care for the George W. Bush-created title "Compassionate Conservatism," as it implies that Conservatism is not or cannot be inherently compassionate.

For example, Thomas Jefferson is a defining figure in and for America. Ergo (i.e. therefore) should his thought, likeness, and general legacy be conserved, preserved, taught, and learned. His ownership of human beings is not defining of America, ultimately, however, so we rightly deconstruct, critique, and reject such practice today, while adopting the intelligent and common-sense understanding that President Jefferson was a product of his time, as we are a product of ours.

In presumably rare cases where said likeness of Thomas Jefferson, or indeed any historical figure, be it in a painting, statue, or other artistic form, is credibly reported by one or more individuals as genuinely and substantively subjectively injurious, our Love for all our Brothers and Sisters would certainly warrant an inquiry. A positive finding, however, could not facilitate wholesale removal of all artistic and other works bearing the likeness called injurious, only that or those deemed most injurious to the individual complainant or complainant class, such instances of said likeness reasonably expected to be few in number.

Suppose, for example, that on a country road in South Carolina stands a statue memorializing a Mr. McHale, a slaveowner in the Antebellum (i.e. prior to the Civil War) South. Every day a young African-American woman, Rose, must travel down this road to get to work, the only such road. Rose is the great-grandniece of Robbie Evans, a slave "owned" by Mr. McHale, and thus has an intimate knowledge of his murderous abuse by Mr. McHale. As such, comprehensibly, Rose is traumatized each time she must pass this statue. In this circumstance, since the case meets three relevant criteria:  1.) special injury, 2.) to a limited class of persons, 3.) unavoidably, it would be reasonable and indeed the loving response to remove, and perhaps relocate, this artifact. This action would not affect other statues of Mr. McHale, elsewhere, that did not meet these three criteria.

I have just presented you with what is perhaps the most powerful and explicitly utilitarian Conservative argument regarding such matters, balancing the desideratum of conservation, with the equal desideratum to practice Love, whether based on Christianity, or another system of belief or philosophy. There is neither kneejerk reflexion from the Conservative perspective, nor blind political correctness from the Moderate or Liberal, in my argument; simply a negotiation between two genuine competing claims, based on a single value system, Love. Use the most reasonable and comprehensible criteria to determine which claimaint is suffering more, unavoidably, and favor that claim.

Regarding the desirability of honoring, or at least remembering such historical figures, whether Thomas Jefferson or Robert E. Lee, a key question to ask is:  "Do you really expect such persons to exceed the morality of their day?" How many persons through history, and today, are able to exceed the morality of their day?

Such persons are few and far between, and when history does produce them, they are rightly recognized and lauded.

Ultimately, persons responsible for the suffering of others, especially that large-scale or especially pointed, should not be publicly celebrated, whether in the form of events such as holidays in their name, or artistic commemorations such as the commission and display of statues or paintings. Small scale remembrance, such as regional, or family or other private commemoration, is always appropriate and is permitted.

This section under construction. But some of these topics (i.e. subjects) are already remarked upon here, in the PICK YOUR ISSUE section.

INTRODUCTION

Let's begin at the beginning, shall we?

What constitutes a "young person"?

The first key fact that must be placed on the table for the benefit of young persons, that can be a powerful assist in them understanding themselves, is that the human brain is not fully developed until at least age 24, with some researchers asserting the age of 30, or even a few years beyond. What is the significance of this if you're young? It will help you to understand your own behavior:  why perhaps you do or say things that, shall we say, represent less than your best. Once you understand this, you can give yourself a break, and not be so hard on yourself if you make a mistake.

Ease up!

Also benefitting from this research in human development are adults in regular intercourse with young persons, such as educators, law enforcement, and even business leaders whose products and services are marketed to young people, were this a culture based on genuine concern for others and not simply the accumulation of as many dollars as possible, with young people as a whole seen and identified as the "youth market," this or that segment of which is seen and understood as just another exploitable business opportunity.

I have great respect for young people and what they must go through today, to survive and try to be happy, to try to build a life for themselves. And I have respect for, and a strong belief in, their intellect and their ability, and willingness, to learn. If I didn't, I wouldn't be presenting so much complex and sometimes difficult information and content here, at my Presidential website, and in my larger campaign.

IF YOU'RE A YOUNG PERSON I BELIEVE IN YOU.

I ALSO BELIEVE THAT IF YOU CAREFULLY AND SLOWLY ACQUAINT YOURSELF WITH MY UNIQUE AND POWERFUL IDEAS, YOU'LL JOIN ME, AND TOGETHER WE WILL GO FAR IN CREATING A FAR BETTER, MORE PEACEFUL, MORE SANE, AND SIMPLY HAPPIER WORLD. FOR YOU, ME, OUR FAMILIES, THE NATION, AND, I BELIEVE, THE WORLD.

PROBLEMS & TOPICS

Abortion

Bigotry (i.e. racism)

B*tch, being a

Body Issues & Self-Image

Bullying

Cannabis (i.e. dope)

College

Confidence, & Confidence, Lack of - see Insecurity, below.

Crime

Culture. I'll be asking African-American professional Classical Music expert, scholar, enthusiast, and host Terrance McKnight to embark upon a 1000-city speaking, listening, and playing tour to various schools around the entire United States, to introduce our young people of every social class to Classical Music.

In further service, fellow Americans, to the power of healthy human hearing and the places to which it can transport us physically, psychologically, spiritually, I want to begin exposing American kids of every social class, as well as the rest of us in this increasingly-noisy culture, to the notion and phenomenon of silence, increasingly identified not as a luxury, but an absolute necessity to maintain physical and psychological health.

The drive to eliminate such damaging beasts as the so-called "leafblower" for various reasons, starting with 1.) its categorical destruction of quality-of-life via noise and other pernicia, and 2.) significant contribution to climate change, are consistent with, and support, what will be our newfound acquaintance with healing silence.

We can begin to do this through an introduction to the work of Acoustic Ecologist Gordon Hempton, which includes, notably, the quest to preserve the last remaining 12 quiet places in the United States.

Death

Depression

Dope

Drinking

Drugs, Drug Use

Education

Gender (i.e. being homosexual, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual)

Illness, psychological

Illness, physical

Insecurity. In making a mistake, many young people (and even older persons) will berate themselves with rebukes like, "God how f*cking stupid can you be? I DON'T F*CKING DESERVE TO LIVE."

Forget that, kids. Instead, in making a mistake, remain silent for about 20 seconds to calm down. Then say to yourself, quietly, yet firmly:  JUST DO BETTER NEXT TIME.

Loss

Marijuana

Mental Health

Money & Career

Obesity

Pain, psychological, emotional:  (PAIN --> PROFUNDITY [i.e. deep thoughts] --> PROGRESS)

Pain, physical

Parents

Partying

Police

Porn

Pressure (from Parents, Boss, BF, GF, etc)

Racism, see Bigotry, above

Rape

Religion

Romantic Relationships

Sex

Sexual Abuse

Social Media

Suicide

Work & Job Issues

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Young People:  What am I missing? Email me!

HYPOTHETICAL QUERY FROM A VOTER

Q. I'm Beth, a 17yo girl voting in 2024 for the first time--I'm really excited!

But I have pink hair and a belly-button ring, I'm into rock and punk and a little hip-hop, I try to look sexy but I definitely also consider myself a feminist. And to be honest, I tune-out about 90% of what my parents tell me, lol. Your ideas seem a little conservative. Mr. D, What do you have to offer somebody like me?

A. Beth, as President, the first, or certainly the most important thing that I'm going to do for you, is literally:  SAVE YOUR LIFE.

I'm going to save your life, and the lives of your family, friends, boyfriend, and everyone you know.

If you've been following the vicissitudes (i.e. difficult, unexpected changes) of the Pandemic, you know that the medical authorities haven't always had a handle on how to respond to the virus, and they still don't, especially as it continues to mutate from variant to variant. They posit a first-line defense of vaccination. This is incorrect, however, and as the Coronavirus continues to mutate, the tenuous foundation of this approach becomes increasingly apparent. A vaccine is effective against one variant, but not necessarily against another, and what of the next variant, and the one after that? Is modification required of the various available vaccines, manufactured now by at least five companies? Who's keeping track of it all, and can such a sprawling and unwieldy phenomenon even be kept track of?

Clearly, vaccinations are an important tool in the toolkit--but not our most important tool. Our most important tool has been left to collect dust in the toolkit, when, in fact, it is our most potent tool and must be restored, immediately.

You've already heard of the tool of which I speak:  it is masking. Mandatory masking on a global scale is the only real solution that our species has. The only answer that will save your life, and the only methodology that will give you your life back, that is, your old existence. After a specified period of mandatory mask-use every variant of the virus will have been eliminated, and will be gone. This is because the virus is transmitted through air, propelled along in the airstream from one person to another. As you know, this is how it survives, and thus reproduces. But if every person is masked, the virus is stopped dead in its tracks--it will have been robbed and deprived of its vector (i.e. means) of transmission--air.

I'm evidently the only leader on planet Earth who sees this.

As President and leader of the free world, I'm going to immediately call for a global summit of all world leaders to present our case and our argument:  they must mandate that everyone in their country, with few exceptions, wear a mask all the time, for a specified duration, probably four months.

Result? The end of the mandatory-masking period will see the end of the virus. No more virus means no more masking (or vaccinations) necessary, meaning you now get your life back, in full. This is precisely what I'm going to do for you as President, Beth--keep you alive. And give you your life, back.

Beth, under my Presidential governance, you and the rest of the country are going to learn, and have repeated opportunities, to Actualize, that is, to be and do the very best of which you are capable, and do so as a way of life, transforming that life and the life of the nation, in amazing ways!

Here's an example. Suppose your final exam in history is coming up, and I asked you how well you might do. You respond, "Well if I study every night this week I'll probably get a B." Then I say, is that really the very best you can do on the test? You respond with a nervous laugh, not quite sure where I'm going with this, and you say, "Well, if I study every night this week, *and* all weekend, *and* Dad relieves me of chores all week and I use all that extra time to study, I think I could probably get an A or even an A+."

So I respond back: Well, I just spoke with your Dad. You're free of your chores for the entire upcoming week so you can study for your history final, provided you also study every night this week, and the entire weekend, as you said--agreed?

Now, boxed in, you agree--"OK!, you affirm. OK."

So, the entire week and weekend pass, you're studying your a** off, and you take the exam, and two days later you receive your grade:

A+ !

You did it !

We can say that in regard to that exam, your History final--you ACTUALIZED. You performed the very best of which you were capable!

Now imagine performing this way in regard to everything that you do, in your life! And imagine everyone around you doing the exact same thing:  everyone performing at a rate much higher than they usually do, with real excellence, if not actual perfection. Imagine the kind of America this would give us! In the economy, medicine, military, technology, education, poverty, everything!

This is precisely what we'll be shooting for under a DeBENEDETTO ADMINISTRATION--ACTUALIZATION!

Regarding this possibility, Beth, renewal of a slowly devolving America, I quote the Alicia character from the powerful film A BEAUTIFUL MIND:

NOTE:  had you done all this studying and received a grade of B, or even C, it would still be true that you Actualized, because you tried to perform the very best of which you were capable. You're still not always going to succeed.

SANITY, SECURITY, LOVE

In general, if elected I'm going to give you a world of Sanity, Security, and Love. A world of that duality (i.e. something made of two parts) presently and fatally missing from this planet:  1.) beautiful social harmony as we encourage the natural connection between persons and groups of persons, all Brothers and Sisters in One Human Family, and 2.) social and economic functionality as people are encouraged toward competence, at least, and excellence, at best in what they do and how they do it, whether their job or anything else.

Here's a quick-and-dirty example of #2, above:  are you tired of people screwing up your food order at Burger King? Or hearing your Mom b*tch and moan because she ordered the blue couch but they delivered the brown one? Or feeling really sorry for your Dad because he went into the hospital for a simple procedure and came out with a punctured lung? Because some doctor or nurse made a stupid or obvious mistake?

Many times the mistakes that we all make, and their consequences, are far more severe even than those I just mentioned. For example, how about millions of people who had their credit card information stolen from the Home Depot or Target databases? Or reading every other month that yet another American military helicopter crashed? Or how about a planeful of religious extremists who, in 2001 flew their planes into the (former) Twin Towers in Manhattan--a multi-tier act of Terror that our own American intelligence agencies (especially, acting in concert with those of our allies) arguably could have, and should have, detected and prevented?

You get it, Beth? The price for incompetence, or even mediocrity (i.e. poor quality or performance), whether in a family, community, school, state, region, country (or even the world) is often high--sometimes VERY high. Yet this phenomenon (i.e. thing happening, often not fully understood) is ubiquitous (i.e. all over the place) and seemingly endemic (i.e. an actual part of what it means to be American). My Presidential platform and program calls for an end to this retrograde state of affairs, and instead, for we as Americans, and human beings, to begin striving to become the very best that we can be, in everything.

So once the nation adopts this new ethic of behavior, you can see that everything around you is going to change dramatically, for the far better--including your own life.

In essence, Beth, I'm going to work tirelessly every moment of every day to provide you with a world of Sanity, Security, and Love. You can't beat this combination, and I'm just the guy to do it--it was my idea.

More to come.

Let's understand what crime actually is. Crime is a template, an overlay that we place on certain kinds of transgressive behavior. If a kind of transgression is prohibited by a law, then its commission is called crime. It's important to understand this because once we do, we understand that in regard to these violations, whatever they may be, we're not actually dealing with a "crime" problem. There is actually no such thing as a "crime" problem, because there is actually no such thing as crime. There's only transgression against others, some forms of which are officially prohibited by man-made rules against that form of transgression, these rules being called laws.

Crime is an excellent example of our lack of connection. Is your mother or father going to mug you? Is your son or daughter going to steal your car? Is your next-door neighbor going to burn your house down? Is your cousin going to rape your wife? Is your best friend going to hit you with a baseball bat? Is your child's school principal going to commit fraud against you?

The answer to all these questions is:  "Highly unlikely."

Why? Because in all these cases the possible assailant has a human connection to you--husband, wife, son, daughter, cousin, grandmother, grandfather, best friend, neighbor, high-school principal, and persons don't generally harm others with whom they have or feel a connection. So even the crime problem would greatly benefit were there a greater sense of connection among people.

Thus, when we apply the DeBenedetto Diagnosis the crime problem evaporates, and we're left simply with we had before and, in fact, have always had, nothing less and nothing more:  human transgression, the mistakes that we all make, of every kind.

I've claimed in this Internet document that Love, properly understood is the foundational answer to every human problem. So-called crime is another excellent example, as even crime is affected by Love--in the presence of Love crime is virtually non-existent.

Now that we've cleared the field conceptually, and clearly understand what we're dealing with, we can address the problem.

NOISE - OUR NEXT GREAT AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE

As this Internet document will, and many other on-and-offline print and other resources have, documented, noise, a problem garnering essentially no attention from those in authority nor even our mainstream environmental organizations, is, in fact, an utterly horrific problem for everyone. Noise is a many-headed hydra whose aggressive tentacles reach directly into every sphere of American life, and directly into the human mind, itself.

The most egregious, pernicious, and insidious noise problem today is probably the gravely-misnamed leafblower.

For the most tentative of beginnings, please see Quality-of-Life, below.

QUALITY-OF-LIFE - Among the key issues eroding American's quality of life is noise, so this issue will be aggressively redressed by the De Benedetto Administration.

Redress of this problem is also, like restoration of gym and math considered above, relevant to whether the United States could ever produce another Einstein. Given present noise levels across much of America, especially from that now-ubiquitous device, as odd as it is injurious as it is superfluous--the so-called "leafblower," one can't even hear themselves think, much less generate the intensive and extended streams of thought required to achieve Einsteinian excellence in Physics, or any other discipline.

Another Einstein? In fact, with present levels of noise and cultural distraction I wonder whether the United States could even produce another Steve Jobs or Bill Gates.

These unnecessary devices, moreover, are significant contributors to climate change, a problem now of existential proportion, so for this reason, as well as the noise, vibration, and toxic airborne mix that they generate--they must, and will, be gone under my Administration.

In fact, you'll find this "Another Einstein," the "AE Question," serving as the grand referent or arbiter on many questions of policy and program:  if a given action would tend to increase the likelihood of producing another Einstein, the De Benedetto Administration will tend to support it, and vice-versa.

Best, Brightest, by the Boatload

"Quality of Life" (Q.O.L.) is a notion and reality that covers a lot of ground in terms of what it means, and to whom it applies. For example, besides describing the relative satisfaction of life in America for our own native-born citizens, Q.O.L., poor Q.O.L., can affect the flow of talented foreign students and professionals who elect to emigrate to America for her premier educational institutions, and later to live, work, and we presume achieve here at the highest levels, further enhancing and burnishing the image of America, as both the center for global innovation and the country offering the most advanced, robust, and world-class post-graduate education and research facilities, programs, and opportunities.

Questions, then, pertaining to noise, levels of violence, and a number of other Q.O.L. parameters remain key for short-and-long term viability of this nation for everyone, native-born and foreign, alike, and as such will remain fixed on my radar as President.

GUNS - I assert to owners of firearms that my policy toward their guns can be summarized in one word.

What is the DeBenedetto Administration going to do about your guns?

Nothing.

There will be no changes to federal, state, or local policy, unless said changes would tend to expand the rights of gun owners. Yes--expand.

Yes, aggressive encouragement of voluntary safety checks and secure storage. Occasional reminders that, as intelligent policies bear fruit and citizens tend to feel safer, we do want, as biblically prescribed, to voluntarily beat as many of those guns into plowshares as we can, as soon as possible.

And we must and will seriously consider the views of the law enforcement community, as this is the group going up against firearms every day.

I take this general policy position because:

1. We have a tradition in America of legally-mandated gun ownership. We are a gun culture. It is not the place of government to abandon or emasculate essential American traditions.

2. Guns, inanimate objects, are not our problem, anyway. Our problem is people, us, and the moral void in which we live, an American and, indeed, human family lost in the ethico-existential wilderness. And as such, striking out at others using any weapon we can find. Just yesterday came the news, for example, that a man in Norway killed five persons using...a gun? No, a bow-and-arrow.

3. The affinity that many Americans have for guns is comprehensible. Aside from hunting and sport, we're drawn toward guns because we rightly perceive the present danger and volatility (i.e. wild unpredictability) in society:  that our property and even our lives, or that of our loved ones, can be taken from us at any time through violence or theft, and we see guns as providing protection and control, which, of course, they do.

In fact, rather than any subtraction from the firearms-owning experience, through my new T.A.B. paradigm for personal defense and protection, briefly introduced above in my POLICING section, I'm going to bring an interesting, exciting, and certainly challenging addition!

Fellow Americans, being a gun culture doesn't mean that this is all we can be--the America that I know, that I've always known for her excellence and exceptionalism is a place that is nothing if not tough, confident, innovative, successful, and flexible on all counts.

Ergo (i.e. therefore), America can have and be a gun culture and a culture of love, respect, and support for one another, and, in fact, as many hard-core firearms enthusiasts are also Christians, we might remind ourselves of our roles not just as gun enthusiasts, but Christian gun enthusiasts, and thus our duty and desire to remain committed to the continuing maintenance, and growth, of our American Christian culture. We want our hard-core gun ownership and enthusiasm to bring with it hard-care, that is, the active attention to, and assistance in, the welfare of others that is the radical love that Christ taught, the Second Great Commandment of Christ, in fact.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

No, to my firearm-owning brothers and sisters in the Southern United States and other Conservative parts of the country--as President, I'm not messin' with your guns.

I'll tell ya whose guns I might mess with:  Vladimir Putin.

NUTRITION - Here's a suggestion or tip that you and your family can, and indeed, I would argue, must begin using immediately to improve all aspects of health. Such change will make an immediate and likely discernible (i.e. noticeable) difference:  discontinue consumption of sugar, in all its forms, as soon and as severely as possible.

As one interested in health and nutrition for years, I tell you confidently that sugar is poison. Neither should you consume artificial sweeteners, however, such as Splenda, as they are unhealthy, as well. Your best course, if you must consume sugar, is to consume real sugar, but severely limit your intake. Keep your kids off of sugar, as well. Fruit, in moderation, and preferably organic, is a wise choice.

In building and maintaining the health of the body, the two most pernicious and insidious conditions, that must be guarded against mercilessly, are:

• Inflammation

• Acidity

Sugar causes and increases both.

Jobs

In proffering this advice, against use of sugar, I do what persons of liberal politics tend not to:  raise concomitant concern for our brothers and sisters in the sugar industry. Were the American population to greatly curb its consumption of sugar, some persons, perhaps many, in the sugar industry would find themselves without a job. We cannot permit this. With the slow elimination of jobs in the sugar industry must come a serious, concerted national effort to retrain these brothers and sisters for other jobs and industries. Better jobs, as well, whenever possible.

Ditto workers in every industry, coal is often cited, that must sunset per our increasing awareness of personal and planetary health. I will work tirelessly to ensure that no worker, no citizen, no brother or sister, no American is left behind. And I will endorse well-conceived market-based solutions, whether from inside or outside the White House.

MONO-AND-DIGLYCERIDES

Moreover (i.e. also), studiously avoid any food item that contains Mono-and-Diglycerides, or any variation such as Monoglycerides, as these are actually hidden forms of the dreaded Trans-Fat, the worst thing that you can put into your body. I'm telling you that any form of trans-fat will, over the long-term, and perhaps not-so-long in the case of older or unhealthy persons, put you into a casket, probably through heart attack or stroke, though dementia is a possibility, as well. Have I made myself clear?

Healthline.com states:

"Mono- and diglycerides contain small amounts of trans fat. They're classified as emulsifiers and not lipids, so the FDA ban doesn't apply to them. As trans fat is phased out, food companies may turn to mono- and diglycerides as low-cost alternatives."

...

"Currently, there's no way of knowing how much trans fat is in products with mono- and diglycerides listed on the label. ... "Food products with mono- and diglycerides are also likely to be high in other fats, as well as refined sugar and flour."

Did you catch that? "...no way of knowing how much trans fat is in products with mono- and diglycerides..."

May turn? They have turned--with a vengeance. And in turning to MAD (apropos acronym, huh?) these companies have turned on us--the consumer and fellow citizen.

VEGETABLE OILS

Last, studiously avoid any food item containing even one vegetable oil, listed on the nutrition panel of the bottle or jar as either Canola or rapeseed, safflower, sunflower, corn, cottonseed, soy, soybean, simply "vegetable," or any other oil save olive or coconut. These man-made industrial seed oils damage arteries and blood vessels, setting you, or perhaps your parents or grandparents, up for a stroke, which is caused by compromised blood pathways, especially arteries.

This is also a key reason that deep fried foods such as French fries and onion rings must avoided at all costs.

If you take this urgent recommendation seriously, you'll quickly see that you're going to have to effect a wholesale shift in the way you eat, as most foods contain vegetable oil of one kind or another.

My Mother just suffered a small-moderate severity stroke, almost certainly in part because of her consumption of vegetable oils. Fellow Americans--don't let it happen to your family.

WHAT'S FOR DESSERT

For moms and dads seeking to solve the "dessert problem" for their kids, or themselves, that is, providing a dessert item that genuinely tastes good yet does no damage to health, I present my Presidential concept of:

DESSERT

and

DESSERT+

Notwithstanding that there actually should be no such thing as "dessert," a sweet, dessert-style item must always be a piece of fruit, or two. Nothing more.

However, for kids, or adults with a sweet tooth that simply won't be argued with, DESSERT can easily be enhanced into DESSERT+, which is fruit topped with ingredients that are tasty, even a bit luscious, but don't harm health, and in fact can even enhance it. A banana, for example, is DESSERT, while a peeled banana in a dish, covered with a good drizzle of chocolate sauce or syrup, and cinnamon, perhaps even a dollop of whipped cream, as well, is DESSERT+.

Cinnamon is understood to help lower blood-pressure, though such therapeutic use probably requires its consumption in large amounts--so have your banana DESSERT+ every other day!

I assure you that DESSERT+ is going to be very delicious and satisfying, especially after you and your family get used to this new way of eating.

Best to use organic ingredients, and the whipped cream would best be heavy whipping cream that you beat yourself.

Parents, this is going to solve your dessert problem! There--I've solved yet another problem for you, and I'm not even President yet!

AMY'S "NATURAL" FOODS FRAUDULENT

Amy's natural foods are fraudulent, as so many of them, from frozen dinners like their cheese enchilada, to their canned Minestrone soup, actually contain the aforementioned vegetable oils! They are listed uniformly across all Amy's products that contain them as "...high oleic safflower and/or sunflower oil."

Each Amy's customer who imagines that in purchasing and consuming Amy's products they are maintaining, and in fact extending, their lives is laboring under a very dangerous and insidious misconception, insidious because the Amy's line is marketed as categorically healthy, and most persons spending the extra money for these products thinks that this is exactly what they are.

The truth, however, is far different:  regular consumption of any Amy's product containing these vegetable oils will put they who consume them in a box (i.e. a casket) far faster than would otherwise naturally occur.

I registered my concern to Amy's, itself, in the form of an email communication on March 01, 2022:

March 01, 2022

Greetings,

This is the first of what could generate a wider conversation. Myself and my family have been consuming Amy's products for years, and you have much to be proud of. However, many Amy's products seem to contain "high oleic safflower and/or sunflower oil." Many health authorities consider vegetable oils to be very unhealthy, damaging the arteries, for example, and safflower oil is probably considered the worst of the bunch.

Your thoughts?

PS. I'm exploring a run for President in 2024 and I certainly want forward-thinking companies like yours to flourish, not just nationally but internationally. Yet we must always ensure that success does not compromise our commitment to actively look out for each other as Americans. We must restore that sense of connection that we used to have for each other, or continue to slowly devolve as a people and a nation.

My other principle plank concerns, and seeks to redress, the low level of functional competence among many Americans. I'm advocating, for example, that we get our noses out of our smartphones and start paying much better attention to our jobs, and all our productive activities both at work and even home. This will produce a far more creative, industrious, and competitive America, in all spheres, from economics, to defense, to familial and personal relationships.

Warm Regards,

VINCENT FRANK DE BENEDETTO
Vincent2024.com

Amy's responded thusly:

As you can see, Amy's elected not to take the opportunity to work mutually with me to find Truth, that is, whether my initial statement of the dangers of vegetable seed oils (VSOs) as I understand them have merit. Instead, they ignored my assertions, framing them as a prosaic matter of simple personal preference.

How, then, does this make Amy's any different than any fast-food company, such as McDonald's or Burger King? These companies sell injurious food to earn profit--Amy's sells injurious food to earn profit. And the mere presence of these oils in Amy's products implies their healthfulness; implies that they're not harmful and won't injure us. But they will, everyone knows that they will, and moreover, I just explicitly pointed this out to Amy's, to which their bland, amoral reply was a slap in the face to every Amy's customer. Amy's then, is lying. To us, if not at very least, to themselves.

"There's a sucker born every minute" is the cynical assertion attributed to American showman P.T. Barnum. Is this the company ethic to which Amy's subscribes?

Would that we could create a society where the predicates and operation of all social spheres are based on the mutual search for Truth. Such a society would, indeed, represent the Actualization of human society--an explicit objective of my Presidency, were I to win. My tagline, above, refers to the "primacy of ideas," and, indeed, there are few ideas more powerful than Truth. Insofar as America embraces the most powerful ideas such as Truth and integrates them into what she is, she will, indeed, continue to build, maintain, and even perfect her Exceptionalism.

Nor is any of this incompatible with a morally and ethically-informed free-enterprise.

Amy's & Socialism

To Conservatives who decry the tendency of many of our young people toward socialism, or what they understand socialism to be, I will add that from this political standpoint, behavior such as that exhibited by Amy's and similar companies informs and strengthens the argument of persons opposed to capitalism, itself. For it suggests that the varied options available in the marketplace is less true than suggested by proponents of free-enterprise:  if one seeks to refrain from what is understood as the unhealthy food sold by outlets like McDonald's they can always buy and consume the healthy food sold by outlets like Amy's--well, not really. Not when Amy's ingredients are just as deadly as those of McDonald's.

If Amy's feels it absolutely necessary to utilize food agents such as VSO's, yet do so ethically, they should include a warning label on their food package. Will this impact sales? It might. Which gives Amy's and similar American companies a sufficient incentive to find a healthier approach, thereby adopting a more loving posture toward its customers, most of whom are Americans, by the way, and helps to create and preserve an image of truth, health, and integrity around American products and services, generally, which will help American competitiveness tremendously in the global marketplace.

In fact, I call upon the CEO of every American company to emplace a small mousetrap or replica on their desk as a continual reminder of America's historic reputation:  the nation that simply builds "the better mousetrap." Whatever your product or service, I want you to spend more time, or better utilized time, perfecting it, thus increasing your own sales, while doing it all in an ethical manner that displays respect, which is a function of Love, to your customers both here, and abroad.

I've set down as a guiding principle, above, the notion that we're all brothers and sisters on this planet, in one human family--and I mean it. Must this view be incompatible with success in the global marketplace? Let's find out.

In underscoring such hazard and hypocrisy as evidently displayed by Amy's, then, I intend no injury to American corporations, companies, or entrepreneurs--to the contrary, as a careful read of this web document reveals. What I intend is for American corporations, companies, or entrepreneurs to conduct business ethically, as this shows fidelity to fellow Americans, and is simply the right thing to do. That is, the moral, even loving, thing. Moreover, such responsibility also makes American products and services more competitive in the global marketplace, as it helps create and reinforce the idea around the world that in purchase of American products and services foreign consumers are getting those that both function well, with good design, and are presented truthfully as what they are, no more and no less, thereby earning a credible American promise and imprimatur like:

American business has nothing to fear from me. To the contrary, as a careful read of this web document readily indicates. My ideas will enhance and optimize business. For example, the stamp shown, above, will be just one of several that my Administration will create to denote a new standard of both quality and safety for American products, and fully re-establish the American brand around the world. And it should go without saying that political conservatives, who are usually Christian, should find the exhortation to ethical business appealing and highly desirable, economically and morally, as it is a proper expression and manifestation of the Second Great Commandment of Christ:  Love Your Neighbor.

EASY TRIPARTITE CARDIO PROTECTION

Just now, 5:19p, Monday, March 14, 2022, my beloved Mother's 91st birthday, I took my first draught of a healing mixture that I recently read about whose nutritional logic made immediate sense to me:  tomato sauce. I intend, and strongly recommend, daily medicinal consumption of a small amount of low-sodium tomato sauce, as this miracle concoction contains at least three superfood-type ingredients especially protective of cardiovascular health:  extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, and potassium.

All three ingredients will protect the heart and cardiovascular system, reducing the possibility of heart attack and stroke. Watch your overall level of Potassium, however, as an excess of this electrolyte can actually damage the heart.

Opt for low-sodium tomato sauce as standard recipes have high levels of sodium, which can be very dangerous in leading to stroke. Also elect for a tomato sauce product that is, at least, GMO-free and packed in glass. Organic sauce, of course, packed in glass, is best.

THE 911 CALL YOU WON'T HAVE TO MAKE

If your family doesn't own a blood pressure monitor, run, do not walk, to purchase or order one. Hypertension, that is, high blood pressure, "The Silent Killer," has wrought a path of destruction across this country and everywhere else, with heart disease the #1 cause of death worldwide.

Unless you regularly take your, and your family's blood pressure, you simply don't know who is walking around--parents, grandparents, siblings--with a ticking time bomb inside them. Don't relegate the task of monitoring to the occasional visit to the doctor. The haphazard nature of this kind of approach to blood pressure monitoring is completely inconsistent with the gravity of what are routinely the pernicious consequences of unrecognized and untreated hypertension:  grievous physical and mental injury--or death.

Purchase, locally, or order a blood-pressure monitor right now, this very second, while you're reading this and the idea is fresh in your mind.

YOU'RE WELCOME

Fellow Americans, I'm an American, and I'm running for President, but the truth is, if you want to avoid a life that will likely end in physical or psychological suffering, possibly including madness, followed by death, you've got to unplug, to disengage, from American culinary culture.

Whether you ultimately vote for me, or not, it's likely that through my health counsel here, teaching you 1.) to recognize and avoid the most common killers found in our food, and 2.) most common potentially deadly health threats such as hypertension, or 3.) through another of my Internet projects such as my effort to promote use of masks, which, if implemented in my specified manner would quickly bring the entire Pandemic to a halt, I will actually save the life of yourself and your loved ones--possibly several times, over.

If you elect me President, I will continue saving your life, as well as leading the effort to Actualize yourself, everyone you know and love, and our entire nation, that is, the effort for each, and all, of us to be the absolute best that we are capable of being. To fully live up to our potential.

TOUCH EVERY LIFE

Why am I, right in the middle of my campaign platform document, inserting fragments of information about health? As one interested in health and nutrition for years, I state categorically that these are not fragments, they are just about the most important health counsel anyone could give you--far more important, in fact, in the immediate than even a change in President.

Who says that I can't start saving American lives now, even before entering the White House? The point is to assist, even save, the nation. Being in the White House is simply a method to permit me to do this far more quickly, efficiently, and effectively.

As President it's my duty and my pleasure to take as active a role as possible in improving the lives of the entire American population--every single one of you. The U.S. Census Bureau projects the United States population was 332,403,650 on January 01, 2022.

If you want to begin saving the life of yourself and your loved ones, co-workers, and neighbors, carefully watch and heed this guidance on eating.

And again, any workers displaced as America transitions to a healthy or healthier lifestyle will receive active assistance from the DeBenedetto Administration, to secure new and better positions.

Indeed, one of the taglines of my campaign--because I genuinely feel this--is that I want my work and the work of my Administration to Touch Every Life. I want to ensure, and I'm going to so instruct my Cabinet, that it is our mandate to ensure that at some point during my tenure in office something we do will touch a life, such that every life, yes, all 332M of you, are helped in some way, large or small, during my time in office.

Touch Every Life means--touch your life.

BLOCKCHAIN / CRYPTOCURRENCIES

Analysis Pending.

Preliminary judgment on Cryptocurrency:  Do not support, as U.S. currency is already global standard, helping maintain American dominance in world economic and financial matters.

Additionally, as technology grows more complex and thus drives an increasingly complex world, key or foundational systems, or at least the principles, predicates, and paradigms that underlie them must remain relatively clean and simple. One national currency is optimal based on this standard.

Complex systems paired with complex foundational ideas are simply too overwhelming for beings of a finite lifespan, the point of which, after all, is to create and maximize human happiness and freedom.

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 4.0

Analysis Pending.

MURDER - PETITO, GABBY

Firstly, our Deepest Condolence to Ms. Petito and her family.

Crime is a natural part of a society devoid of any formal and official adoption of the Love ethic.

Ms. Petito was killed, and indeed many other horrible things happen in this country and world. People ask "Why?"

This is the wrong question. In a society absent Love, the question is:  Why not? Why wouldn't people commit transgressions and violations of every kind, as there's no genuine and widely promulgated and adopted moral code to inhibit them?

"The Law" alone is not enough, for, how many laws can we possibly pass? Can we pass a law to cover every single violation and transgression that human beings are capable of conceiving and executing, now, and a hundred years from now?

Impossible! The only real answer is the one that no one considers, and insofar as they do, dismiss as unrealistic:  a change in the human heart.

Indeed, brothers and sisters, if you're a serious Christian, or a member of any of the belief systems underpinned by Love, you already accept and believe this thesis, or are supposed to.

Given such an ethico-existental change or shift, the many violations and transgressions that we commit against each other will simply not occur in the first place, from corporate corruption to street crime and everything in-between. I say that what's unrealistic is the assumption that the human race can continue hurting itself as it does, and still think that it's going to survive, much less flourish.

And happily, Love, properly understood, is powerful enough to accommodate the necessary shift to a Love-based culture. This is why every major philosopher and theologian through history has venerated Love as essential. As stated above, incorporation of Love into our society is a core part of my Presidential platform, as contained in the document that you are now reading.

MURDER - BUFFALO, N.Y. TOPS MARKET

Firstly, my Deepest Condolence to the family of the ten victims.

As stated, above, in regard to the Gabby Petito murder:  crime is a natural part of a society devoid of any formal and official adoption of the Love ethic, and the larger argument and reasoning thereto remains the same and applies.

In terms of the necessary task of removing euphemisms and conceptual overlays, "crime" simply refers to the phenomenon of violation or abrogation of existing laws and the deleterious consequences of this violation or abrogation, referring in the first place to actual codified laws, as opposed to natural, moral, or spiritual laws, or other of those that exist only conceptually.

Now, specifically, I'm struck, first of all, by the near-ubiquitous reference to the 18-year-old child who committed these murders as a "man." His professed reason for the crime is based on the so-called Replacement Theory.

I'll also add, for now, to be expanded, that I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss Replacement Theory or something like it, as these recurring images suggest.

More pending.

JANUARY 06, 2021 CAPITAL INSURRECTION - Contrary to what some conservatives and others assert, that the insurrection holds no importance, likely because they want former President Trump exonerated of implied guilt for it, I assert the obvious:  that incident is one of the most significant for the country in modern times, for it cogently illustrates that:

1. The American people are no longer a unified, patriotic whole, as we were for much of the 20th-Century.

   Recall the cohesion of the American population during World War II, for example. In fact, at no time in modern American history would the American population or elements within it have even dreamed of assaulting and encroaching upon the Unites States Capital in such a manner. It would be unheard of--as it still is, thankfully, for most Americans.

2. Unfortunately, there has developed within the American population large-scale elements who evidently hold the law in complete contempt.

   This group in whole or part appears to have cohered around Donald Trump, a formation whose allegiance he appears to relish, not repudiate.

Why I am Not a Republican

In reading my policy positions, which are generally conservative, one might wonder why I haven't simply declared myself a Republican. Aside from my respect for the progressive, small "P," work of the Democratic Party over its recent history, and general posture of actual and active care and concern for all peoples, I remain generally enthralled with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a figure who, while not perfect, himself remains a man both titular and practical for so much of the values of love and goodness that this country, and indeed this world simply must have, if it is to survive, no less, Actualize.

Moreover, the Republican Party has shifted character dramatically, indeed radically, in its continuing embrace of Donald Trump, and especially his continuing, preposterous claim of victory in the 2020 Presidential election, a short-sighted and ignorant figure who appears, in regard to the January 06 Capital insurrection, to have inspired it, if not provided a de facto authorization.

Regarding the absurd assertion that former President Trump actually won the 2020 election, I'm just one of a string of writers and commentators who note the broad spectrum of authorities who have soundly and thoroughly debunked that claim. In fact, the former President and his legal team were fined several times for initiation of frivolous lawsuits in this regard. Yet, inexplicably, the Republican Party, at least broadly in terms of on-the-ground electoral politics, have essentially made concurrence with this fantastic assertion a litmus test for election.

And I wish to point out, in defense of a proper Conservatism, that it is agreement, or at least acceptance, of the verdict of the established electoral mechanisms and bodies of one's own society that constitute the clear Conservative posture, while Mr. Trump's view that so many Republicans now seem to accept as an article of faith, that he won the Presidential election, and his attempt to reject, and indeed violently or otherwise forcibly overthrow that result, thereby defying established governmental mechanisms, is not the Conservative response, at all--but the RADICAL one. Of this there is no question. Thus, much of what appears to be the Republican Party of today actually embraces the same theory and ethic of to-the-ramparts, violent revolutionary action that is the stock-in-trade, the coin-of-the-realm, of radical political groups and figures. In this, the Republican Party appears to have fueled its own devolution and retrogression into some kind of proto-party:  an earlier, amorphous assemblage with yet-forming ideals and principles, the civic and moral courage and clarity forged by years of Republican thought and action--gone.

Were I a Republican, I'd be asking in this regard, not merely what Jesus would do (always ask this), but what Nixon, Reagan, Eisenhower, and indeed just about any Conservative (or moderate, or liberal) politician would do, were they in Mr. Trump's electoral position at the finish of the 2020 election. I don't see any of these vaunted figures humiliating themselves and America with infantile antics in conjunction with a very real quasi-violent attempt at overthrow of staid and traditional electoral principal, praxis, and institution of the Republic.

There is a very important recent article by Francis Fukuyama proffering a cogent and highly pedagogical initial deconstruction of this event, the continuing Republican response and posture, and their pointedly deleterious effect on the role and status of the United States in the world, therefrom.

In essence, then, I do not declare myself a Republican because that party has now devolved into something else:   group now not merely of extremism--but violent extremism, and as such, no longer a sound, legitimate, and productive example, expression, and part of what America is.

Witness, indeed, the gathering effort of groups like the Renew America Movement to restore practical and philosophical competence to the American system of governance.

Ranting & Raving

Secondarily, I don't declare myself a Republican, nor fully relate to that party, as so many of its most public de facto or purported representatives, typically media personages such as radio talk show hosts, like Mark Levin or Michael Savage, seem little more than small-minded, vindictive, purveyors of little more than invective. I've listed, particularly, to many hours of both of these hosts and in my view they represent the Republican Party, or at least Conservatism, poorly. Where is the focus, not on who's right, but what's right? Where is the assumption that the Democrats are the loyal opposition? Younger readers may be wholly unacquainted with the latter notion.

During the Obama Presidency, I heard Michael Savage level Ad hominem invective at the President any number of times. It was clear that Mr. Savage despised him personally, and he made no attempt to hide it, but was actually profligate in his attacks. Note that I never voted for Barack Obama. Mark Levin, whom I've listened to any number of times, besides having a poor radio voice, is, to me, almost unlistenable as his monologue follows its predictable pattern:  he slowly works up to an enraged fever pitch that is always my cue to switch him off. He also appears to engage in personal attacks, or at least focus on persons and personalities, not just ideas, theory, and programs.

Where is the reasoned, soft-spoken, magnanimous Conservative commentary and analysis? The fact that Christianity comprises a traditional part of American Conservatism calls unequivocally for a loving posture on the part of Conservatives, at least Christian Conservatives. I hear nothing like this in major radio media such as WABC-RADIO NYC. Commentator David Brooks strikes me as an able and emulatable representative of a general Conservatism.

Thirdly, I don't declare myself a Republican, nor fully relate to that party, because, though my own present-day political programme calls for market-based solutions whenever possible, the Republican party in the main appears to hue to the blind dictates of capitalism too reflexively. I was surprised to learn recently that no less a guru and exponent of free enterprise than economist Milton Friedman asserted that markets cannot be permitted to operate with no supervision or governance:

FRIEDMAN QUOTE PENDING

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"The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions."

. . . . .

Leonardo da Vinci

BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT/ORGANIZATION - Do not support BLM. Support Dr. King. Do black lives matter? Of course, this goes without saying.

In fact, I have a knowledge of what I presently understand as the dark underbelly of the BLM movement:  the sub-movement to "breed out" the entire Caucasian ethnic lineage.

Not on my watch. Every culture has the right to survive, including, and in America especially, European culture, if that's its natural path.

See Affirmative Action, above.

RUSSIA

UKRAINE INCURSION

"To subdue an enemy without fighting is the greatest of skills."

-- Sun Tzu

And such is NATO and the Biden Administration rightly trying to subdue Russian President Vladimir Putin without firing a shot. Gross restriction of Mr. Putin, his associates, and Russia, itself to operate freely and to its own benefit, including in the area of economic activity, may prove an effective counter, and should be and is being attempted.

For example, oil, in particular, is a mainstay of the mediocre Russian economy, and thankfully, longstanding U.S. ally and key NATO member Germany has finally gotten on board in threatening to cancel all further development and operations of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, a major project to convey oil from Russia directly to Germany and the larger European Union. For Russia, this has got to hurt--let's hope so.

Of course, it goes without saying that we must give Mr. Putin's complaints a hearing, in other words, listen to and consider them.

War, I have said, is almost categorically unacceptable and is to be eschewed and urgently avoided because, among many other deleterious consequences, it will make one child cry. The child can have no understanding of what is happening around them; can have no full, mature understanding of the violence, terror, and physical destruction at their feet. Bad enough we traumatize adults this way; we cannot do it to children.

My Platform includes several key steps intended to strengthen U.S. military capabilities and project that newfound strength to the world, thus, itself, comprising an effective counter to untoward action by Russia or any other state actor.

TRUMP, DONALD - Did not write The Art of the Deal; this book was ghost-written.

It should come as no surprise that former President Trump lied about this:  persons with ghost-written books generally don't disclose it, and, Mr. Trump, even before becoming President had publicly stated that he sometimes considers it necessary to lie.

This fact alone fatally indicts Donald Trump's character, and with it his qualifications to be President, for the originating and First Principle for the role and position of President of the United States is complete candor (i.e. frank honesty) with the American people--us.

I cast one vote for Mr. Trump, but once his behavior in-office, as President, was demonstrated, his fatal deficits become clear, a second vote was obviously out of the question. Likely the worst President we've ever had.

For this and other reasons to be discussed, it is critical to the fate of, not merely America, but the world, that this gentleman remain in the real estate and entertainment businesses, roles for which he has clearly shown great interest and occasionally excelled, and where he clearly belongs.

As opposed to further deleterious involvement in, as he gracelessly put it, "This politics stuff."

I support RENEW AMERICA, the organized Congressional movement to eradicate the Trump stain on America, and what has unfortunately and, indeed, inexplicably, become his long coat-tails. See link, below.

THE REAL COST OF DECEIT

Tyranny, Truth, & Trump

In stark contrast to former President Trump's non-authorship of his famed book, I wrote every word of my approximately thirty web sites, providing voters and non-voters alike more-than-ample opportunity to fully acquaint themselves with just about every parameter necessary to judge and assess me, to determine whether I deserve their vote.

But what of the so-called "little white lie"? Firstly, there's no evidence that in his Declaration of Deceit the former President was referring only to "little white lies." Secondly, in the context of an especially volatile political and social "kindling" such as arguably exists in the United States, today, even a little white lie can spark, then ignite, the volatile and highly flammable kindling to generate a social, political, or economic conflagration.

Comparatively, a given assertion may be little, that is, limited in the scope of its ill effect, either because it concerns a subject of little perceived consequence or a subject of great perceived consequence, but an element of that subject perceived as of little importance or consequence.

Comparatively, a given assertion may be little, that is, limited in the scope of its ill effect, and a given assertion may be a lie, that is, a deliberate misstatement of reality, but such an assertion will never be white, that is, fully devoid of any ill-effect since rooted in good intention. In fact, a small lie can be more pernicious and insidious than a larger lie, for, just as marijuana, the drug perceived as milder than other drugs and thus less damaging, may actually be more harmful than other kinds of drugs because its very mildness obscures its ill-effect, and the extent of the damage to the mind, thereto, so too, can a small lie generate worse effects than a big one for numerous reasons. For example, the small lie may require continual reinforcement with assertions supporting it, themselves lies, and thus initiate a pattern, perhaps even a cascade, of dishonesty, that, in the end, can prove extremely damaging.

In fact, Brothers & Sisters, historically the greatest criminals of all time, including Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, and others, from the most pernicious ideological camps of all time, such as fascism and (faux-)communism, skillfully utilized the lie as a key weapon in their authoritarian armory.

MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN

I'm afraid that this is another key area in which I must respectfully disagree with our former President.

This was, and presumably again will be, Donald J. Trump's ubiquitous (i.e. widespread) political slogan. It recalls (i.e. remembers or refers to) a time in recent American history, probably the period from about 1940 to about 1980, especially the decade of the 1950s, when America was, and remains, perceived to be stable, strong, peaceful, and prosperous.

However, congruent (i.e. consistent) with my Actualization principal, I do not intend to make America great again; in other words, I'm not going to restore the America that was, which, admittedly did speak to and reflect greatness, while suffering bigotry and other problems, I'm going to EXCEED that standard and make America the best that she's ever been, create America anew, the best that she's capable of becoming!

Do What You're Good At

Your doctor, automobile mechanic--and President of the United States--are all essentially detectives who must have superior analytical skill to do their job and manage that to which they are assigned and trusted. Moreover, just as your mechanic can't be versed only in older, more traditional or conventional vehicles, but must possess expertise in the new and very advanced automobiles of today, your President, similarly, must be versed in knowing, understanding, and negotiating the most advanced and up-to-the-second realities of America and the world today, in technology, medicine, defense and military affairs, terror, environment, quality-of-life, and every sphere and area relevant to life today.

This was the problem with our former President:  hire him to construct you a hotel, or put you on a television show or in a beauty pageant. These are his longstanding, demonstrated strengths. Hire people to do that at which they excel, and for which they show a natural affinity. Therefore, based on this commonsense standard:  DON'T hire Don Trump to govern your nation--he just doesn't have the analytical skill (among other shortcomings).

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- RENEW AMERICA MOVEMENT -

- DEFUSE DISINFORMATION -

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ENTREPRENEURIAL IDEAS

In the continuing spirit of Love toward, faith in, and respect for, the American people, including both our entrepreneurs and established companies, of all kinds and sizes, I offer the following set of my original entrepreneurial ideas, free for the taking by anyone, to help generate new business and economic activity, and propel America to the very pinnacle and summit of the economic mountain.

In my capacity as President, I will assist in securing and building business based on these, and other, ideas.

{LIST PENDING}

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More About Me

I am a 61+ year old native born American, holding a B.A. in Philosophy from Seton Hall University. My original writing on Terror has been quoted and cited by the New York Times. The gist of my piece:  that, for eight substantive reasons, the Twin Towers must be rebuilt to a minimum of their original 110 stories. This is why the web site where I published the piece was, and remains, called 110Again.org. It's now a general anti-terror portal, though updated infrequently.

In terms of real-world politics I consider myself a conservative Democrat. I did not vote for Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, or Joe Biden. It's a virtual certainty that I'd never vote for any Democratic candidate, again, in my life, as they all seem to advocate abortion. Generationally, I'm a Baby Boomer, of which Wikipedia asserts:  "The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964, during the post-World War II baby boom..." My generational status and identification is likely one of the reasons that many of my beliefs and corresponding political postures are conservative.

Though a huge Star Trek fan, I, by choice, have not seen even one episode of Star Trek: Discovery, nor will I, as, for one thing, I reject a Star Trek series with an explicit homosexual theme, or at least explicit homosexual behavior. Over my many years as a fan, I've always understood Star Trek to be a family program. I even objected strongly, and still do, when the Data character used an epithet (i.e. curse word; vulgar term) in the ST film Star Trek: Generations.

So what am I--some kind of boy scout? Response:  what's wrong with the Boy Scouts?

Other than the fact, ridiculously, that they've been forced to let girls in, a decision condemned in the first place by none other than the Girl Scouts organization, itself.

Consistency! I eschew Star Trek series or episodes trading in unsavory or nontraditional themes such as homosexuality or displaying such behavior for the same reason that I elect not to restrict gun ownership:  because I respect, and thus elect to conserve what is, especially when what is is generally working, including that which represents a more elevated morality or moral position. Regarding guns, America is a gun culture, rooted in our very Constitution and it's not my place as President to try to use my governmental power to change this. Regarding Star Trek, similarly, this series, for much of its earlier history has always been known, gratifyingly so, as family entertainment, and this is the show character that I've retained in my intellectual and emotional memory. So I will and do reject any Star Trek content that departs from this desirable standard. This obviously does not mean that I fail to recognize the reality of homosexuality. Our homosexual brothers and sisters must be loved as we love everyone in our human family. I do ask, as President, for everyone's benefit, that they undergo certified therapy or a similar formal process for at least three years to confirm their professed gender-orientation and identification.

I am a writer and philosopher working with unique and powerful social and political ideas; comprising a statement of principle, plan of action, and personal and social belief system. Were I to become President I would attempt to recast the nation based on this programme. I am working with this plan now, prior to becoming President, and I'll be working with this plan after my bid for the Presidency, whether I'd won, or not. The only difference is that were I to win, I'd have the opportunity to implement this unique and powerful plan and likely improve the country immeasurably, in a way that, frankly, no other candidate likely could.

A substantial introduction to my intellect, value system, and general world-view is available through a careful examination of the free online draft of my upcoming book LOVE:  Properly Understood, the most Powerful Social Force Available to Humankind, an Internet resource for which I wrote every word.

Please also see THE BEST OF WORLD CULTURE, a kind of companion site to this one, presenting and describing what I feel is important in society, and OUR BETTER SELVES, my Internet resource containing several of my politically-related essays.

Last, search my name as presented for my 30+ web sites, each conceived, researched, written, and built by me, and incorporating my basic perspective.

Andiamo

I am a 61 year old Italian-American. In background I am "full" Italian, meaning that both my Father and Mother are Italian.

As many know, if you really want to get something done, especially that requiring energy, vigor, commitment, or creative, innovative thinking, or, using a different skill set, assertiveness, courage, or even aggression--you likely need and seek an ITALIAN. Well, stop needing and stop seeking--you've found him.

Does the name Leonardo Da Vinci mean anything to you? An Italian polymath acclaimed as one of the greatest thinkers of all time.

How about Galileo Galilei? Enrico Fermi? Guglielmo Marconi? Michaelangelo? Or in the sphere of music, Enrico Caruso? Tony Iommi?

Fellow Americans, andiamo (on dee om' oh) is Italian for:  "LET'S GO!"

Take Hold of the Flame

A lifelong music fan, I enjoy almost all forms though favor selected metal and hard rock such as Queensryche, Black Sabbath, and Dokken, and love classical music, as well, and country. I lament the apparent recent loss of the one country radio station broadcasting in the New York City area, where I reside.

The official song of the DeBenedetto Campaign is Get Together by the Youngbloods. See above.

I remain an amateur metal guitarist, composer, and vocalist. I remind fellow Conservatives and others that "metal," though perhaps not to everyone's taste, remains a European musical form, and thus close to the classic American cultural project.

...children of the world
Listen to what I say
If you want a better place to live in
Spread the word today
Show the world that love is still alive
You must be brave
Or you children of today are
children of the grave...

-- Children of the Grave, Black Sabbath, 1971

Touche'.

My Day to Day

What is my life like, day-to-day?

With neither hyperbole nor sentimentality, I state that my day-to-day existence is characterized by one word:

PAIN.

Many, if not most of the moments of my life are painful, psychologically, physically, or both. Primarily the former. Illness has made my adult years difficult:  physical illness in my family, and the overwhelming social illness of my society. In social science the usual term is pathology. So substantial, injurious, and shocking has the latter been, that it has generated its own volume, NEIGHBORS OF DEATH, publication pending.

Yet, I endure. And in the realm of political theory, and the construction of a philosophical paradigm that can save this country (and this world)--I achieve. I live principally in the life of the mind though my ideas are battle-tested in real life, as much as they can be.

And this works out rather well in terms of me representing you as President, because you know who else lives largely in pain?

You.

Or certainly many of you. The truth is, we all do in some measure. That is, to one degree or another.

Working together, however, let's turn PAIN into PURPOSE, PRINCIPAL, POWER, and a PARADIGM of achievement and Actualization.

For ourselves, America, and the human race.

No, I'm not kidding. Agape is simply that powerful.

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DECLARATION

"Somebody has to save our skins."

-- Princess Leia, Star Wars:  A New Hope

Why do I want to run for President?

I don't want to run for President.

But I look around me and see a country that's lost its way, has lost its identity, is being grossly mismanaged, all at a time of global military, technological, epistemological (i.e. concerning knowledge), environmental, and personal crisis. I readily see through the problems to their solutions, and so I run as a duty.

Writing today, then, Tuesday, September 21, 2021, at 3:57 pm, I declare that, over the last two or so weeks I've decided to attempt a run for the Presidency of the United States. Such decision and its consequent action is not rooted in ego in any measure, I have little interest in ego, but in confidence that the confluence of 1.) my intellect, and 2.) knowledge of Agape (i.e. brotherly Love), these both filtered and burnished through my unique life experience, can, in good measure, right many of the very many wrongs afflicting this nation, and in the best of cases, the world.

I did not begin my volume, LOVE, PROPERLY UNDERSTOOD, nor its two sister volumes, my AGAPE TRILOGY, in support of a Presidential run, but study of that work will be vital to understanding my approach to governance.

My governance of this nation, and the influence that such management will likely have on the world, will be based on Agape, as this principal is unquestionably powerful, dynamic, robust, and extensible (i.e. scalable) enough to comprise such a foundation. Of course, the principle is generally misunderstood even in regard to what is traditionally understood as its native area of relevance, personal and social relationships. Many will find its application to practical politics baffling. I'll explain all in due time, however, and the nation and world may just find itself surprised, amazed, and eminently cheered.

There is one thing and one thing alone that can change the face of humanity, and that is Love, properly understood (my Plank #1).

Especially in concert with a dramatic improvement in our competence and functional capacity (my Plank #2).

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BECAUSE THE NATION NEEDS AT LEAST ONE ADULT IN THE ROOM

I AM THAT ADULT

1. I AM "OF AGE." Many in American culture speak of persons "of color." I am introducing the notion "of age," referring to persons such as myself who are over 60 years old.

   As one "of age," I remember America as she was. Old America. The America that our younger people simply cannot remember, as they were simply not alive in those years, so they are unacquainted with America when she was tough, competent, principled, and feared. The America that we must return to--then exceed. Or continue to atrophy and deteriorate economically, militarily, culturally, and morally.

2. MY STOCK-IN-TRADE IS MORALITY. See below.

ABORTION TEST

As another Presidential candidate (or simply a citizen), do you imagine yourself to be "an adult in the room"?

Fair enough. But--reality check.

Do you support abortion? This is a procedure by which an unwanted nascent human being, whose tiny "heart" tube is already beating 65 times a minute by the end of their fourth week of life, is either cut up in the womb, then their remains sucked out with a medical vacuum cleaner, or is salted to death, their remains then sucked out with a medical vacuum cleaner, or sometimes is simply vacuumed out, period. In all cases, their body and remains are literally thrown in the trash can.

As of the fifth week of development, the fingers, toes and eyes of this emerging human in the womb (© VFD) are also forming. This is clearly a human being, separate from its mother:  a separate and distinct individual, whose existence is its own, and belongs to no one else--not even its biological mother.

Yet, Mr. or Ms. opposing candidate, you support the right of another human being to kill this human being or have it killed? It might be the mother wishing to kill it, the father, the mother's parent or parents, a relative, or a close "trusted" friend. In civilized society we consider and call the deliberate killing of a human being murder. You support murder, yet consider yourself an adult in the room? You are clearly an unthinking child in the room, and in this appellation I'm being charitable, as some might call you a criminal in the room, as murder is a crime. Definition:

Criminal, noun. One who commits a crime.

Women need not worry; no rights will be abrogated. If you don't wish to keep your child, they will be shifted to the integrated NATIONWIDE ADOPTION NETWORK that the DeBENEDETTO ADMINISTRATION will establish. See ABORTION elsewhere in this document.

I don't support any of the narcissistic brutality that is abortion, as described, above, and neither will my Administration. For this, and many other reasons, I am the adult in the room. Especially now, at this time of unprecedented complexity, challenge, and change in medicine, technology, military affairs, terror, environment and climate change, and social relationships of every kind, including the unique difficulties faced by our young people (due partially to the C19 Pandemic), it is absolutely imperative that America have, finally, an actual adult in the room, that is, governing the nation.

America is desperate for this, and as she remains a leading nation in the world in every way (though not by much at this point), we're still both widely emulated and looked upon both to keep the peace and set the moral standard, the world, itself, plagued with every manner of difficulty, is also desperate for an adult in the room in America. That is, for a restoration and renewal of the unique, powerful, wise, and moral guardian that America has historically aspired to, and often been.

I assure you, Fellow Americans, and Brothers and Sisters, for this, you need the DeBENEDETTO ADMINISTRATION.

CAN DO.

DRUG TEST

SHOULD WE CONSIDER A DRUG USER, DEALER, OR ADVOCATE "THE ADULT IN THE ROOM"?

WHAT ABOUT WHEN OUR POLITICAL LEADERS, THOSE WE PRESUME ARE THE ABSOLUTE SMARTEST AND MOST CAPABLE TO LEAD US, ARE THEMSELVES DRUG USERS, like New Jersey Senate President Nick Scutari?

"The Senate president also told reporters that he will "probably" buy recreational marijuana "at some point."

"Not today," he said. "I'm not gonna wait in line."

Does young Mr. Scutari sound like the adult in the room to you?

---

Your Support is Critical

I ask for your active support in this interesting and likely inordinately (i.e. extremely) challenging endeavor. Please begin by 1.) contacting me so I can add your name to my email list, 2.) talk to as many others as you can about me, my ideas, and my Presidential run. Persuade others of like mind to add their names to my email list, as well. And last, 3.) begin to study and think deeply about my nascent (i.e. just starting) platform statements, presented at this website.

If you like the genuinely unique and powerful ideas that you've read here, please assist this campaign by providing financial support:  describing this nascent (i.e. just forming) campaign as operating on a shoestring would actually be glorifying it! PayPal DONATE button, below.

Fellow-Americans, Brothers & Sisters, do you want a genuinely, dramatically, and permanently changed world?

Now is our chance. Let's not miss this rare, emerging opportunity.

Contact & Copyright

Concepts, terminology, and language at this website Copyright (©) 2021 Vincent Frank De Benedetto. Use permitted with no changes and full name and website attribution.

Contact Vincent Frank De Benedetto at v4p @ sent.com. In addressing your mail, omit the space before and after the "@" sign.

This site went live on September 07, 2017. It was substantively updated on September 22, 2021, reflecting my newfound serious intention to actually attempt to run for President. This site can also be accessed using Conserved.us, Vincent4President.com, and Vince4Prez.com. The Opera browser, without warrant, fails to access this site.

THEME:  October 03, 2021 saw it go live with it's changed theme, from beige/brown to black/white, a far cleaner and more modern look.

Contemplative Music

During this period of tumult and stress, Brothers & Sisters, I offer you a piece of ethereal, near-magical music to cheer, inspire, calm, uplift, & elevate you. I speak of the seminal 1987 release Glass Green by Tim Story.

If desired, you can listen as you read and consider my thoughts on this page, and form and consider your own.

I've found Tim's creation an utterly unique and compelling piece of contemplative music for years now, and still routinely listen to it. I believe and hope that it will transform, or at least lift, you, as it has, me.

Official Song of the DeBenedetto Campaign

Get Together by the Youngbloods. Not to say that I agree with every word and line, but in the main I do, and the song in lyric and tone speaks generally to what we must have in this country (and ultimately this world) if we're to Actualize, at most, and avoid annihilation, at least:  Love and Connection.

And I've tried to make clear at this site that Love and Connection is a key part of what my Presidency will bring us, explicitly, and implicitly as the foundation for everything that the DeBENEDETTO ADMINISTRATION will do, although, as explained, above, Love, properly understood and applied, often brings us, logically and organically, down paths marked by political and social Conservatism that most would not initially associate with this notion.

Regarding some issues and concerns, yes, I'll do something "for you." In regard to others, I'm going to open heretofore closed or non-existent conduits (i.e. pathways) to permit you to do for yourself.

Much of the answer to this question is contained in, or relatively easily inferred from, all above content.

The first thing I'm going to do if elected, if COVID19 remains prevalent and virulent, is SAVE YOUR LIFE, through the proper mechanism for eliminating this virus:  the time-limited implementation of masking. And the second thing I'll have done, since the virus will be eliminated, is given you your life, back, no further vaccines or masks generally required.

Please see my response to "Beth," above, for further detail.

Yes, There's More

Additionally, based on my knowledge of health and nutrition, partially shown, above, in my discussion of sugar, trans-fat, and vegetable oils, I will lead the effort to have removed from the American food supply its most common killers--again, explicitly and directly saving the life of yourself, your loved ones, and every other American.

Moreover (i.e. additionally), as a unique and far-thinking NATIONAL SECURITY CANDIDATE, I'm going to restore to full vigor the image of the United States around the world and across the globe, in terms of the two M's that matter:  MILITARY and MORALITY. See information, above, in my NATIONAL SECURITY section.

If you elect me President, I will continue saving your life, as well as leading the effort to Actualize yourself, everyone you know and love, and our entire nation, that is, the effort for each, and all, of us to be the absolute best that we are capable of being. To live fully up to our potential.

And much, much, much more:  read every word of this online document (i.e. this site) carefully, if you have not done so, already.

In general, if elected I'm going to give you a world of Sanity, Security, and Love. A world of that duality (i.e. something made of two parts) presently and fatally missing from this planet:  1.) beautiful social harmony as we encourage the connection between persons and groups of persons, all Brothers and Sisters in One Human Family, and 2.) social and economic functionality as people are encouraged toward competence, at least, and excellence, at best in what they do and how they do it, whether their job or anything else.

In essence, if elected, I'm going to spend every waking moment working to provide you, provide us, a world of Sanity, Security, and Love--a world that we most decidedly don't have now, and in fact seem to be moving quickly away from.

Join my campaign and stay tuned.