Position Overview

By Marta Ann Jorgensen

My views on various issues

The Supreme Court ruling reinforces basic civil rights for minorities. We must learn to treat people more humanely and this is a start.

Veterans + Provisions for medical help. Do I support Senator's GI Bill S-22/HR5740? Why or why not? This bill is the modernized GI Bill to cover "educational benefits for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan attached to the $165 billion emergency war funding package which must be reconciled with a House passed bill. The GI Bill covers tuition at any university up to the cost of public school in-state tuition. Bush wants to veto the bill (war funding) as long as the GI Bill is part of it. Pelosi does not want to OK another $165 billion war funding. I don't like it being attached to a war budget.

Do I support Universal Health Care? I just took an advocate training class and also had a town hall meeting on SB 840 and HR676, the Expanded Medicare bill. As a nurse I have seen the horrors of our healthcare system. I will work to educate the public on the need for this and rebut the claims of insurance companies and people who sell health insurance that it is socialized medicine.

Women's Rights + Roe vs. Wade and women's rights. The government needs to stay out of the personal decisions of families and women. As a nurse I understand this. I will work against judge appointments that are anti Roe VS Wade. And I will work to educate the public on the importance of family planning, and fight for its funding. Will work to keep this as part of the HR 676. But as for abortion, I do not believe that abortion should be done after the first trimester and that people should realize abortion is your last resort.

Illegal Immigration. What is my plan for handling illegal immigration or what plan do I support?

We need to take the fear mentality from out of our reform efforts.
1. To make it easier for the adjudication of filing of applications and decrease many of the fees that are extremely high. For example + $710 application for status as a temporary resident under Section 245A.
2. Children who are brought here and grow up here. Dream Act + Development Relief and Education of Alien Minors, which addresses the situation faced by young people who were brought to the US years ago as undocumented immigrant children who have since grown up here, stayed in school and kept out of trouble. HS grads can apply for conditional status which would authorize up To 6 years of legal residence during the 6 years period, the student would be required to graduate from a 2-year college.
3. Wages for workers who come on worker and seasonal visas as Seasonal workers + better.

Reform Bills - There are the Bush-Kennedy Compromise (S.1348) and Flake-Gutierrez (H.R. 1645) and the White House Plan. These are a good place to start.

Do I support Clean Money? + yes I do. Full public financing of elections. This brings in more diversity of thought and stimulates the marketplace of ideas. We need people who are not politicians to run. I am running on this premise. In my case I am self funding with a paycheck.

Do I feel the media is biased? Hell yes. Media should not be consolidated and controlled. Our free speech and information we need to survive in this world is not a commodity like a car. It restricts dissent and creates a facade. If we do not have real communications we only have a facade of a democracy. How do I feel about the Fairness Act? What is the Fairness Act? It requires broadcasters to devote some of their airtime to discussions of controversial matters of public interest and to air contrasting views. "It is the purpose of the First Amendment to preserve an uninhibited marketplace of ideas in which truth will ultimately prevail.." US Supreme Court + Red Lion VS FCC 1969. The Doctrine was repealed in the mid 1980's and since that time we have had much coverage of issues. There is more coverage on talk radio of unanswered conservative opinion. Almost all of the political talk shows are right wing and too much of the media owners get their opinions expressed. Not fair and balanced.

What is my plan to end oil dependency? I will stand up to the commercial interests profiting from our current energy situation. We need a major environmental health agenda that challenges these entrenched interests with major new initiatives in solar energy, doubling motor vehicle fuel efficiency, and other quantified sustainable and clean energy technologies. Promote recognition that current fossil fuels are producing not just global warming, but also cancer, respiratory diseases, and geopolitical strife. Work to fight environmental racism that leads to more contaminated water, air, and toxic dumps in poorer neighborhoods.
1.Instituting a carbon tax. 2.Signing a strong global treaty (not named Kyoto) with de facto compliance date being moved from 2012 to 2010. 3. A moratorium on construction of coal powered plants not fitted with carbon capture and sequestration features. 4.Electranet-smart grid. 5. Push for electric powered cars and more alternative fuels. The potential of solar energy is enormous. The energy from sunlight that strikes the earth in just 40 minutes is equivalent to the total global energy consumption for an entire year, according to Scientific American. In the U.S., we have an a tremendous potential resource; 250,000 square miles of land in the Southwest, which are suitable for constructing solar power plants and where there is an abundance of solar energy. Photovoltaic Farms - In the past few years the cost to produce photovoltaic cells and modules has dropped significantly, opening the way for large-scale deployment. Various cell types exist, but the least expensive modules today are thin films made of cadmium telluride. To provide electricity at six cents per kWh by 2020, cadmium telluride modules would have to convert electricity with 14 percent efficiency, and systems would have to be installed at $1.20 per watt of capacity. Current modules have 10 percent efficiency and an installed system cost of about $4 per watt. Progress is clearly needed, but the technology is advancing quickly; commercial efficiencies have risen from 9 to 10 percent in the past 12 months. It is worth noting, too, that as modules improve, rooftop photovoltaics will become more cost-competitive for homeowners, reducing daytime electricity demand.

Redistricting. How do we end gerrymandering? Get California's Voters First Initiative on the November 2008 ballot.

Do I support Impeachment? Yes, before Bush leaves office.

Do I support The Responsible Plan? Yes I signed it and have it featured on my website.

Support the troops + Bring them home! We will need more accessible mental health services For them as there is a serious PTSD and suicide rate among them. There is a long wait to Get into the VA system. Pass the GI Bill.