Dave Jarvis for Senate

Tag: #Karishma Manzur

  • Be Depressed, for a Minute…

    Be Depressed, for a Minute…

    It’s over.

    Go home.

    The winner of the Democratic Primary, an intelligent man, a sweet man, the kind you want in front of you in the supermarket, the kind you introduce to Mama, the pure-heart who yawned indifferently at genocide, the campaign-finance reformer who spent eleven million dollars to knock New Hampshire voters into Bidenesque submission, is your Democratic candidate.

    The winner of the Republican Primary, a nepotistic, weird-grinning bobble-head, sat quietly during the genocide as well. He then watched his country get dragged into war with Iran while sipping Earl Grey and murmuring about inflation while his party’s leaders had done everything possible to manufacture that very same inflation.

    While having his face massaged with cucumbers and honey to the sound Jessica Fletcher on TV solving a crime from the ’80s (those years when his political ideology was dripped into his ear by his dad’s friends over at MKUltra), he watched his party’s leader attempting to bribe New Hampshire voters with five thousand dollars each if his party wins. And the Republican champion said nothing. With democracy suffocating, he said nothing.

    There are no more political leaders. They have been drummed out of the business by bucket-loads of cash that you can’t even look at without buying a ticket.

    There is a worse candidate here. I am a Democrat and there is a reason. But I won’t tell anyone who to vote for. When the least worse candidate for United States Senate is covered in blood and oil money, I shut the hell up.

    Just clowns.

    The game is over.

    Go home.

    Smoke ’em if you got ’em.

    If you are depressed, that is the appropriate response. Not feeling that way is a sign of either ignorance or apathy. Both of which will send you to the psyche ward when AI kicks in.

    Be depressed for a minute, then start again.

  • America is a Verb

    America is a Verb

    I would like to thank everyone who has either read or shared anything I have said during this campaign. You are the strength of democracy. I hope I have provided some food for thought or changed something for the positive somewhere.

    I would also like to reiterate some of the more important points that I hoped would create some dialogue about our very important future.

    First, about twenty million people in the United States currently live in mobile or manufactured housing. If that share of the market were to shift over time toward off-grid tiny houses, with people renting space for those homes from other landowners, it could provide stability to the real estate market and stimulus to critical industries.

    Hospitals, farms, supermarkets, and even residential landowners could benefit from hundreds of billions of dollars in rent, helping much of our economy survive in a future low-employment environment.

    Next, I believe healthcare is a right. But it’s not number one by any stretch.

    FOOD. Food is the most important issue facing Americans. The farms that produce the food, the practices they use, the farming techniques, the logistics systems, the marketing, and the dangers of the food industry preying on the American people, all of these are part of our number one priority.

    Quality food is the first priority of a healthy people.

    We can use the power of SNAP to affect real change. We can use financial stimulus by shifting our existing farm subsidies toward regenerative farming initiatives. And we can use a symbiotic relationship between tiny homes and small farms to give regenerative farming a fighting chance.

    Evidence of this already working can be found on Harvest Hosts, but it is nowhere near as powerful as it could be if we were to give this kind of initiative public support.

    This image shows all the farms currently hosting tiny houses for short stays. Many of them are restricted from renting for longer stays due to zoning restrictions. They are represented by the purple bubbles:

    Finally, LIFE.

    We need to end the wars. We can become a peaceful people. We can stop letting the powerful prey on the weak. And we can ask ourselves if free and unfettered abortion until the moment of birth is really the hallmark of a free and peaceful people, or if it is the height of cynicism. There are other ways of protecting pregnant women in crisis pregnancies. That is, if we pull away from extremes.

    We can use ideas. We can stop using red and blue to define us. We can get into the mix and hash out our collective mindset without attempting to curbstomp our supposed political enemies.

    Some conservatives have supported LGBTQ rights along the way. Some liberals have supported lower taxes or responsible gun ownership.

    When we stop throwing stones and when we stop predicting Armageddon if the “other side” wins, we get back to the practice of being American.

    America is less a noun than a verb. It’s an action. It’s a way of dealing with fear, with change, and with differences of opinion.

    We aren’t using that verb very much these days.

    These last few months have been fun.

    America is fun when we give it a chance.

    If you want to change the world, hit me up at:

    davejarvisnh@gmail.com

    +1 603 842-3426

  • We Can’t Have Campaign Finance Reform Without a Little Magic

    We Can’t Have Campaign Finance Reform Without a Little Magic

    You can’t have campaign finance reform without actually believing in democracy.

    Democracy and love have something in common. You either believe in magic or you don’t. You either trust that voice when it arrives and allow it to pull you forward, or you overanalyze it and capitulate to the cynicism you’ve accumulated along the way.

    I trust that voice, all day.

    The summer I was born, 1969, the Summer of Love, half a million young people gathered at Woodstock. They passionately believed in the power of music. They believed music could change the world.

    And in many ways, it did.

    That era produced some of the greatest sounds ever created, filled with themes of love, peace, and freedom. I can’t explain the metaphysical mechanism, but I believe the spirit of Woodstock was part of it. That music, born from passion, hope, and a desire for peace, still saves me every day. It probably saves many of you as well.

    When I declared my candidacy, I paid one hundred dollars to place my name on the ballot for the U.S. Senate primary. In the wealthiest and most technologically advanced country on Earth, it took only one hundred dollars to earn the opportunity to compete for one of the nation’s highest elected offices.

    That is our inheritance.

    Our ancestors believed in self-government so deeply that they left the door open for the unexpected, for the underdog, the outsider, and the spark of something different.

    Soon after filing, however, the mail began arriving from every direction, offering campaign support. Everywhere I turned, people talked about fundraising, consultants, advertising, signs, and money, as though those things were the purpose of an election.

    I didn’t feel comfortable asking for or accepting money from anyone. And when something doesn’t feel right to me, I don’t do it. But I haven’t lost an iota of faith in myself or in my ability to win both the primary and the general election.

    All of this made me realize that campaign finance reform isn’t ultimately about laws. It’s about how we view elections.

    When we vote for candidates simply because they’ve raised the most money, even though social media is free and publishing ideas has never been cheaper, we’re telling ourselves that campaign finance doesn’t really matter.

    The first thing many people do during an election is check the polls, read what the media says, and look at FEC fundraising totals to see who supposedly has a chance of winning.

    That, ladies and gentlemen, is a poor substitute for belief.

    I have spent a great deal of time thinking about our AI-enabled future, and I believe it will become much less tolerant of excuses. Information will become cheaper and cheaper. Work, and lives centered primarily on careers, will slowly lose their luster. Love, gratitude, and passion will become the new gold standard.

    And sellouts will become society’s dropouts.

    In that future, the reasons we give ourselves for abandoning our dreams, our morality, our faith, our talents, and our passions will stare back at us like the Ghost of Christmas Past. Like a personal Judgment Day, we’ll be forced to confront the gap between what we claim to value and how we actually choose to live.

    So, when that little voice tells you to learn the saxophone, listen.

    Finding meaning in the little things will become essential, not just for happiness, but for sanity. It will return us to a simpler way of life, one filled with gratitude, creativity, joy, and, dare I say, peace.

    Following our passions contributes to something larger than ourselves. There is a deeper meaning behind that quiet voice inside us, a kind of Woodstock effect. If we never learn to trust it, we lose something essential about being human.

    I was nervous about running for the U.S. Senate, but that voice kept saying, “Go for it.”

    So here I am.

    I trust that instinct because I believe I must. Win or lose, I know that impulse is there for a reason. When this election is over, regardless of the outcome, I’ll be able to say I believed as deeply as I could, worked as hard as I could, and remained true to who I am.

    I couldn’t wish for anything more, for myself or for the people of New Hampshire and the United States.

    The field has its millionaires. If you’ve done your research and genuinely believe one of them is the right person, then vote for them. Get involved.

    But there are also people without famous names who run not because they’re wealthy, hope to become powerful, or want to massage their own egos. They run because they sincerely believe they can make things better.

    And when voters elect that kind of candidate, the world notices. The next election becomes richer with new voices, new ideas, and new possibilities.

    Successful politicians sow the seeds of future elections.

    Whatever you choose, allow yourself to feel it. If you truly believe in democracy, then trust your own judgment instead of outsourcing it to polls, pundits, consultants, and political professionals.

    Believing in political change comes with a price. It requires faith, in yourself, in your fellow citizens, and in the possibility that ordinary people can still create extraordinary change.

    So start a love train.

    Let it be.

    Because we are stardust.

    We are golden.

    And we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden.

  • To the Twenty Percent of Democratic Party Voters for Senate Who Still Remain Undecided…

    To the Twenty Percent of Democratic Party Voters for Senate Who Still Remain Undecided…

    We need humor these days. Don’t judge me.

    To you, the twenty percent of Democratic voters who are not only undecided but whose numbers are growing…

    You are a Democratic Party voter. You have been barraged with ads, news, lawn signs, and political drama. Your “front-runner” in the Senate race, who has spent the last twenty years in politics and is currently a member of the United States Congress, has made less than fifty percent of Democratic voters excited about his Senate campaign. All of that while spending a mint to convince you, and begging you for more money, a lot more money.

    Gaza burned, his donors pulled us into a global war, and with that, his star began its descent. It’s karma. He’ll be out of the penalty box next election.

    His “close second” is an intelligent and passionate person whose lack of awareness of economics concerns you. It concerns me too.

    Socialism is rising, and it’s scaring the kids.

    A vote for me is not wasted. If I win you over, and maybe five percent of undeclared voters, I win.

    Can I win the general election? I don’t know. Can you? Take responsibility for yourselves. You are the ones who win or lose. I am just a guy applying for a job.

    I am sensible. I will make sure that, through the coming storm, you will all eat, are safe, and that you remain free. Most importantly, I will help break down the walls that divide our country. I will help us avoid a slow drift into partisan violence.

    My common sense, friendliness, and my sense of humor will help me, and you, a great deal.

    Think about it.

  • Our Beautiful Future: Tiny Houses

    The first automobile was created in the mid-1880s. For two and a half decades, human beings were aware of them. We thought they were quaint, interesting, a curiosity. But we preferred horses. We spent a quarter century walking through horseshit before the idea of the automobile finally started to take hold.

    It was the leadership of Henry Ford that took the world somewhere new. The automobile revolutionized life itself and dramatically transformed the economy. Speed and range of movement became principles of modern society, driving our world to new heights.

    For the last twenty-five years, the ingenuity of everyday Americans dissatisfied with the cost of housing has driven Tiny House design to amazing levels. We all scroll through pictures of them when we feel hopeless, allowing ourselves moments of inspiration and dreams of something different. We see and feel their potential, but we wait at the gates for the idea to manure. Excuse me, I meant to say “for the idea to mature.”

    My opponents in the Senate primary are suggesting breaking ground on millions of new homes to resolve the current housing affordability problem. They show little concern for the environmental consequences. They don’t dive very deeply into the cost of construction and, therefore, the cost of that new housing. And they never touch on the real potential size of the problem.

    It could reach into the tens of millions.

    They want to pave paradise and put up a parking lot.

    Tiny Houses are the kind of technology that, if they were readily available today, if financing were available, and if government simply got out of the way by changing zoning laws to support them, could explode faster than traditional construction ever could. Thus, reducing housing costs much faster.

    And if Tiny Houses were within reach of the average person, the way the Model T eventually became, they could immediately provide hope, inspiration, and the possibility of a different life to an expanding part of our population, people who currently see very little hope and act accordingly.

    Thoughts of Tiny Houses elicit dreams of the ocean, the lakes, the rivers, the mountains, the desert, the heartland. Open skies. Gazing at the stars. Freedom of movement. Travel. Financial manageability.

    And then all the other dreams that people stuff down inside themselves when they spend their whole lives trying to pay a rent bill. The music, the art, the hobbies, the passions.

    Tiny Houses change the way the mind works.

    They very quickly and effectively put a new American Dream back into our heads. They give direction to the soul: exploration, adventure, and fun.

    It’s my dream, whether I win this race or not. Whether I win a billion dollars in the Powerball or not.

    I want the open sky.

    I want the beach.

    I want all of America.

    I want the potential of anywhere, at any time.

    And I want to look at the stars again, knowing I am free.

    If today’s Tiny House is the Model T, I can’t wait for the future.

    I am excited about where the designs will go. And I dream about my sons, and their children, and their children, living lives of adventure and discovery in this world.

    The fruit is ripe.

    It’s easy to pick.

    The moment is now.

  • Chris Pappas and Gaza:When Being Nice isn’t Enough

    I don’t know Chris Pappas. I have no insight into his personality. But the word on the street is that he is a nice guy.

    The truth is, the world is filled with nice people.

    Many nice people are currently on the streets of New Hampshire’s cities, holding signs, asking for money and, in many cases, appearing powerless to their own circumstances.

    Chris Pappas’s signs are huge.

    Over the past few months, we have seen his campaign produce content, advertisements, statements about his Senate campaign, fundraising appeals, and warnings about Washington corruption. We have seen the polished machinery of a well-funded modern political campaign operating at full speed. And his message consistently implies moral urgency.

    But what about genocide in Gaza?

    I am neither a political supporter of the Palestinians nor the Israelis. I’m an American. And having lived and worked in the Middle East and having listened to many opinions on Israel and Palestine, I feel even more grateful to call myself an American. As an American, taking sides on this issue means allowing hell to grab you. The violence and hatred on both sides are unthinkable.

    I would be more supportive of both peoples if their leadership were to change. I am sure they could say the same about our country. But history has proven that blind support can make bad situations worse. And these days, when it comes to the politics of the Middle East, we are blind enough to know that the only thing we can confidently support is diplomacy.

    It seems simple.

    We need to stop the killing. We especially need to stop the killing of civilians. We should be extraordinarily protective of the lives of children. And we can’t let genocide happen in foreign countries with weapons we produce. If any of this were to happen, our elected leaders should be screaming from the watchtower to make it stop.

    Twenty thousand children killed in Gaza. Thirty thousand wounded. Fifty thousand overall.

    Kids.

    Whatever concern our Congressman Pappas has demonstrated about Gaza has been repeatedly outdone by the likes of Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Piers Morgan, and others in the right-wing media.

    It’s just foul.

    Buried beneath the rest of his political messaging, he has written statements echoing the interest his society around him feels. But he follows behind and drags his feet. I don’t hear moral clarity. I don’t hear leadership.

    And then there is the money.

    The fact that he received around $820,000 from Netanyahu supporters turns whatever concerns I have into full-blown nausea.

    $820,000.

    What do they want?

    What do they expect in return for $820,000?

    Those are the questions I would have.

    It would seem that a hundred thousand dead Gazans, the utter destruction of Gaza itself, silence from the United States Congress, and continued military support and funding for the Netanyahu regime would seem to be the appropriate cost in services for that kind of money.

    Furthermore, keeping foreign thugs and lack of judgment in mind, there are the nine million dollars already raised for his Senate campaign. What do those donors expect from a United States senator from New Hampshire? How much more can nine million dollars buy?

    Diving through all those receipts and checking the motivations of donors and promises given is an impossible task.

    It would seem much easier to just stop feeding the beast.

    People are complex. Power corrupts. Chicken tenders are very tasty, and Chris Pappas may indeed be a nice guy. But being nice is not the same thing as having clear judgment.

    To this day, I haven’t heard anything resembling real concern, regret, or alarm indicating that he is aware he may have been receiving hush money from a genocidal regime. I just hear him asking for more money. So, I suggest the people of New Hampshire take a look around their cities at the people at stoplights holding signs asking for money and ponder the level of desperation behind those signs.

    Around the time the bombing of Iran started and our country blew up a school with children in it, the most prominent response I saw from my congressman at that moment was concern about the price of gas.

    It seems obvious that he needs a little time in detox. That’s what would be said in the general election, with more force than I have said here. He would make John Sununu look compassionate just as he currently makes Tucker Carlson look today.

    As I said, I don’t know him. But he seems like a nice person.

    We all get lost sometimes.

  • Reestablishing Trust

    Trust in government seems to be at a dangerously low level. That’s important since the thing that separates democracy from civil war is trust. At some point, we need to return toward balance on the topics that are the most important and which give our people concern for the future. And we must turn away from extreme political and financial ambition.

    The only ambition that truly makes sense is ambition for a better society. I have met billionaires in mansions surrounded by slums. I have seen princes rule over societies built on exploitation while living in constant fear of revolt. I have met the children of the global wealthy who wanted nothing more than to live the ordinary middle-class life I grew up with here in New Hampshire. Personal wealth without social unity is just another form of slavery. Trust and unity in society are the least expensive ways of generating real societal wealth.

    Our politicians destroy our trust constantly.

    Chris Pappas, technically, may not have accepted hush money to lubricate the destruction of the people of Gaza. However, he did receive approximately $820,000 in pro-Israel funds. Then, when we cancel out Netanyahu’s talking points from Pappas’s public statements about Gaza, what remains sounds a lot like silence.

    It doesn’t build much trust.

    Being an “alpha male” is not leadership. Those who aspire to dominate through intimidation, including the man currently occupying the highest office in the country, seem better suited to the social hierarchy of lower primates than to a modern democracy. Our president’s daily behavior and tone force the people who elected him to decide, over and over again, whether they trust him. He seems unconcerned with the fact that 65% don’t.

    Meanwhile, John Sununu has deemed that the people of New Hampshire don’t deserve to know whether he accepts or rejects the president’s endorsement. Perhaps being a Sununu means that transparency doesn’t apply to him. But, considering the mood in the country, it should.

    Here are some ways I will work to rebuild trust in our political system.

    Abortion

    I do not support restrictions during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. But I believe the current liberal de facto position supporting legal abortion through the third trimester is politically damaging, morally troubling, and ultimately unsustainable.

    Some restrictions and compassion across the board will help rebuild some trust across our society. It may not feel good for those on the extremes, but that’s how compromise feels.

    Food and Farming

    As artificial intelligence continues to reduce the amount of work available, we need a stronger agricultural system and reliable access to healthy food for those who need it. SNAP should be reformed so that it covers staple foods and fresh produce instead of unhealthy products. We should not make people sick with taxpayer dollars, especially if they are on Medicaid.

    Farm subsidies should be integrated more directly into a healthy food system, encouraging regenerative farming practices that improve both the quality of our food and the health of our environment.

    Health Care

    One of the greatest strengths of a free-market economy is that consumers influence both price and quality at the point of purchase. Unfortunately, the high cost of medical care has largely eliminated that influence. Most Americans cannot shop for major medical procedures. Instead, we gamble through an insurance system that inflates prices.

    We need to restore consumer purchasing power in health care while preparing for the economic disruption AI is likely to bring.

    The Environment

    We have to turn back to a concern for our environment. In the heat of the political contention of the last few years we have dropped the ball. We don’t need fear, panic, obsession, or denial. We just need to think clearly, find low cost solutions, and at least have concern for the environment as a national initiative again.

    God

    We need a higher power even if our level of belief is at empty. We need to try to believe in meaning to our lives and to our mission as a country. It doesn’t have to be a Project 2025 kind of God. We don’t need to return to some puritanical ideal. But forgiveness matters, and so does hope. God helps with both.

    Leadership

    We depend on open communication, trust, humility, compassion, and maybe even some friendliness. Once we rebuild those foundations, everything else becomes possible.