Who Is Jake Towne? Let Us Tell You.

So, you know who Charlie Dent and Johnny Casino are. Oh, you don’t? Ok, welll… read the incumbent congressman Dent tackle Bethlehem Mayor and “idiot for entering a political race where they are going to dig up your past” John Callahan in this awesome debate.

I’ll wait….

Ok, now that you’re up to speed on the Republican and Democratic choices for the upcoming November election you may be asking yourself… “Who is Jake Towne?”

Wait, you’re not? WTF? Ok, well Jake Towne is running on his own ticket. The ticket of awesome, or something, and he’s been doing grassroots campaigning to take a stab at the mightily funded and politically chiseled Dent/Callahan tag team of doom.

So, I was able to track down Towne when he wasn’t out setting up his campaign signs on Route 378 and, well, prepare to get some more information on why you should pay more attention to local (well regional) congressional races.

*Note, this is freaking long, but I PROMISE YOU it’s worth it. So, sit back, kick back, kick a cat and read it. Oh, also, I edited NOTHING because I’m lazy.

1. So, Jake, Tell us a little about you. Not so much in the David Copperfield sort of way because who really cares where you grew up, but like, what do you do and stuff when you’re not trying to get elected to congress.

JT: Sure, I am a LV native but spent the past 4 years in Shanghai, China, working as an engineer in the semiconductor industry.  My hobbies include marathon running, hiking, and traveling to new places.  While my Chinese is getting rusty, I’ve been very fortunate to make a trek to Mount Everest base camp in Nepal, and backpack all over New Zealand and SE Asia in countries like Thailand and Cambodia.

My hobbies these days are pretty much limited to trail running, weightlifting, writing and yoga — though I suppose politics and running for US Congress is also a hobby, as I am enjoying the experience of meeting people from all over the area.

Hear that ladies? Trail running, weightlifting, writing and yoga.. seriously. Just sayin…

To be frank, I did not care much about politics until I realized just how much the government affects our lives.  Like Pericles of Athens said in 430 BC - except it was in Greek - ”Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you.”

The genetically-modified foods we eat, the light bulbs in your home, how many gallons your toilet flushes, how much of your wages you are permitted to keep, and even the value of each dollar are all affected or controlled by the government.  Over $1 trillion of our tax money goes into defending foreign countries like the 55,000 troops we have stationed in Germany - we have over 761 military bases in 150 of the world’s 194 countries.

2. Do you really think you have a shot to take down either Johnny Casino (oh that’s John Callahan) or Charlie “Good Lookin’” Dent? I mean, we always see these third party guys as just trying to steal the spotlight a bit, right?

Well, I’ll never call Dent good looking, but different strokes for different folks I guess. :)   The definition of insanity is repeating the same thing and expecting different results, so voting for either of my Republocrat competitors is really a wasted vote.  Unless you are excited by MORE taxes, MORE war, MORE debt, MORE spending, LESS liberty, FEWER jobs, and LESS prosperity, I am the only sane option in this election.  

America is in great peril.  The greatest enemies to the rule of law and our society are not to be found in far-flung deserts and caves on the other side of the world, but are rather here in DC with the failed two-headed, one-party Republocrat system.  My volunteers have fought through the unfair ballot access process in order to give the people in the district their one precious chance to elect a private citizen who will defend the rule of law and their liberties, not pander to corporate lobbyists and DC power brokers.

My campaign is one of the largest independent or third party congressional races in the nation, and some volunteers have been working for the campaign for over a year now.  I have promised real accountability through a novel-yet-simple plan for transparent government I nicknamed “Our Open Office.”  Every individual who wants to be heard will be heard, and I believe Our Open Office will revolutionize politics.  To learn more, see this.

If there ever was a time and place for a candidate like myself to win, it is right here in the greater Lehigh Valley.  80-90% of the people I speak with do not trust the Republocrats.  Many are unemployed by the economic misadventures of Congress.  

He said REPUBLOCRATS! Awesome… ok continuing…

Sending a true independent - who has refused corporate lobbyist and special interest money, refused the lucrative congressional healthcare and pension plans, and will donate $116,000 of the $174,000 salary to local non-profit hospitals - will send a strong message to not just DC but the rest of the country.  Remember, close to 40% of the electorate is not registered with either the Democrats or Republicans, and all I need is 40% to win in a three-way race.

The incumbent (Dent) is a 20-year career politician who has done nothing to prevent the economic depression our country is entering.  He routinely receives 50% of his funds from corporate lobbyist and special interest groups. He is a Big Government Republican who voted away our economic freedoms with the Banker and Mortgage Bailouts, and our personal freedoms with the Patriot Act. 

Callahan is just another 13-year career politician backed by the White House and special interests, and the people of the district can expect him to obey orders and vote the party line from what can be learned from his very limited website and public talks.  He supported the Banker Bailout and taxes like the $1 trillion tax bill Congress recently passed.  I would not be surprised if he would reauthorize the PATRIOT Act and continue the wars along with the rest of the Democrats in Congress — who, mind you,  spent many years griping about Bush and Cheney — but have recently voted to EXTEND the PATRIOT Act and EXPAND the Afghanistan war.  Information here.

So yes, I do think I have a shot against Tweedledee and Twiddledum.  Plus everyone loves the underdog :)

3. How has your grassroots campaign been going? I think I saw you at Senior Fest mixing it up.

The volunteers and I have made some fantastic progress the past few weeks.  Campaign HQ just opened near the Route 378/309 junction in an old 1800s tavern, I was invited to take part in the Morning Call debate this October, and we’ve finished the signature gathering process.  

On July 30th the campaign is throwing a Freedom Concert at the Garfield Hotel and Grille in Northampton from 7-11 pm, the event is open to the public and free, more details will be upcoming on the campaign website.  

4. Awesome, I can’t wait to come drink with you. You have many nice.. um… photos on your website. Do the ladies dig a guy who wears eyeliner, I mean who took your photos?

LOL.. if you must know, my brother snapped the one for the campaign flyer with my digital camera.  Give a grassroots campaign a break, a replacement will be out once we use up the current flyers.  The one on the website is untouched, and I’ve never worn eyeliner - though several girlfriends have tried and failed.

5. Dude, seriously, there is no reason why we are not hanging out every weekend listening to The Cure, just sayin’. Ok, so What is the MOST important issue, in your opinion, at stake in this election? (this is not a trick question.)

The economy - which includes both the unemployment problem and also the upcoming debt crisis with the dollar - Congress is simply spending too much and printing too much money.  

Governments do not create jobs, only people do.  To cure the unemployment problem, all that must be done is to stop the government interventions into the tax, labor, and regulatory laws.  The only barrier preventing our society from succeeding in fixing the unemployment problem is the separation of the state’s interventions from the economy.

The typical, dime-a-dozen schemes by career politicians primarily consist of resorting to the printing press or market interventions such as “jobs programs.”   We must always remember that GOVERNMENT HAS NOTHING – it must create the dollars out of thin air or tax someone else to be able to distribute out funds in the first place!

http://towneforcongress.com/platform-issues/jobs/

Sound money is the hallmark of a prosperous society, yet the US dollar is not backed by anything.  Sound money not only imposes fiscal discipline upon government, impeding reckless federal spending and imprudent warfare, but it also provides a stable unit of account, store of value, and medium of exchange for entrepreneurs, businesses, and individuals.

When the Federal Reserve inflates or deflates the money supply, there is no net benefit to society whatsoever.  Obviously, the key to prosperity does not lie in running a printing press endlessly, like Zimbabwe, and it defies logic that America’s prosperity would increase if every American helped deflate the money supply by burning a $100 bill.

http://towneforcongress.com/platform-issues/sound-money-and-jobs/

6. I only burn $100 bills when lighting my illegal Cubans, (and I don’t mean cigars!) but enough about me, what do you love the most about the area you would be serving if you got elected?

Serving the people.  I volunteer at a soup kitchen every week in Bethlehem, and working with the other volunteers and chatting with our customers is one of my favorite times every week.  When I am elected, the people will have a servant and defender who will never betray them to the immoral madness of the Republocrats, central bankers, and corporate lobbyists.   

7. You said Republocrat again. Do you think you can drink John Callahan under the table?

Only if we are playing water or chocolate milk beirut like I used to back in my Lehigh University days.  As a candidate and while in public office, by my own personal choice, I’ve decided not to drink alcohol, smoke, or use drugs unless necessary for medical reasons.  While there is nothing wrong with drinking or smoking as long as you do not harm other individuals, I believe that as a representative of the people, I should have a clear mind at all times. Citizens should not have to worry about their Congressman being influenced into backdoor DC deals by vices that change their state of mind. 

8. Have you ever been to the Your Welcome Inn?

No, but I think it is right next to Sal’s and the Wildflower where I eat lunch or hang out every now and then, so maybe I will stop by sometime.

9. Favorite album from the 1990s? (They probably have it at the Your Welcome Inn.

Smash by the Offspring, still my favorite album ever.

Editor’s note: Awesome choice.

10. If you happen not to win, are you going to be looking to go into any other sort of politics?

After I win on November 2nd, I have promised to run again in 2012.  I think 4 years is enough time to propose, share, and promote my ideas.  I want to serve as a temporary public servant to help save the country, not make a career of this politics stuff.  Plus, with the salary I will be accepting (just the median household income, the rest will be donated to local non-profit hospitals) - I am sure I will want to return the private sector, and maybe work as an engineer like I did for the past 8 years.

11. Oh, that reminds me, I recently decided to go vegetarian. Do you think blue is a good color on me?

I have no idea, but I can tell my own “funny vegetarian-for-a-month” story of my own from the time I lived in China that involves a dog and a hatchet.

12. If you were to challenge Dent or Callahan, specifically, on one of the campaign issues they are touting, what would each be?

Great question.  For the incumbent, his fiscal responsibility.  His vote to approve the Banker Bailout is indefensible.  Not only did it cost the taxpayer $800 billion, but the big banks profited at the expense of the rest of the economy.  Congress let the Federal Reserve secretly spend another $2 TRILLION in off-the-balance-sheet transactions per the Bloomberg Financial lawsuit.  Today the FDIC (which “insures” bank deposits) is insolvent as the deposit insurance fund is $21 billion in the red.  

The government should not be issuing special favors to any corporation for any reason, as to do so the government must first steal from someone else.  When government hands out taxpayer money to select groups, they have the advantage of using it first – paying higher wages, creating jobs that have less economic benefit to society, and investing or leveraging money to the detriment of their competition.

The bailouts and stimulus plans served to benefit the government’s favorite corporations at the expense of every individual in America. By creating more future debt, the government has worsened the present imbalances and placed our next generations into bondage. Whether it is the military-industrial complex, Big Oil, Big Pharm, Big Ag, or the financial firms who bankroll their Establishment politicians into power, the crony corporatism and revolving door between the Treasury Department, the FED and Wall Street must end.

http://towneforcongress.com/platform-issues/bailouts-and-corporatism/

For Callahan, a year after he began his campaign, he has yet to issue any serious positions.  I would instead challenge him on a topic he has not been completely silent on so far - the wars abroad.  My stance on the wars has always been very clear: to avoid bankrupting our nation and causing even more “collateral damage” in the countries we now occupy.   As Congressman, I will drive for a rapid immediate and orderly withdrawal from both Iraq and Afghanistan.  I will not approve a single dollar for these unconstitutional wars of aggression.  

Per the Pentagon, there is less than 100 members of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.  Using a conventional army to capture Al-Qaeda is just plain ridiculous.  It is like paying the entire Eagles defense to tackle Justin Bieber.  Special op forces operating under special constitutional warrants (called letters of marque and reprisal) is the lawful and most efficient solution to the terrorist problem.  

Addressing the threat of suicide terrorism by the use of occupational, conventional armies has only worsened the situation at the extreme cost of hundreds of billions of dollars and thousands of lives.  To defeat suicide terrorists one must capture the current generation and prevent the next generation from being created from collateral damage and blowback.  Our armies in Iraq and Afghanistan are creating more future terrorists and aggression against our country.  Letters of Marque and Reprisal would be extremely cost-effective – or we can choose to let the “War on Terror” grind on for another 9 years as our economy crashes. The annual $1+ trillion military spending is not economically sustainable.

http://towneforcongress.com/platform-issues/iraq-war/
http://towneforcongress.com/platform-issues/afghanistan-war/

13. Have you ever texted while driving in Bethlehem?

All the time before they made it illegal. I will admit I barely had time to drive in between reading the Encyclopedia Britannica and eating lunch. :)  Driving is quite dangerous enough and texting, eating, changing the channel on the radio are all activities that can impair a driver.  

There you have it kids! Jake Towne texts while driving. Well, he did, you know, before it was illegal. I wonder what else he… eh, nevermind. Thanks Jake!

Go tell your friends you can read stuff here that may not dissolve your brains.