Shouldn’t there be a warrant out for the arrest of Jonathon Ross based upon his own cell phone evidence? And warrants for every other ICE agent present as accomplices?
THE COMMON GOOD MANIFESTO
A society built for people, not predators.
We are at our best when we invest in each other.
We are at our worst when we abandon the vulnerable.
This manifesto is how we return to the common good.
I. DIGNITY AND JUSTICE
1. Release the Epstein files — full transparency, no exceptions.
2. Impeach, convict, and imprison Donald Trump and every handler who enabled his corruption.
3. No federal office for any convicted felon.
4. End the weaponization of the justice system against the poor, immigrants, LGBTQ people, and marginalized communities.
II. DEMOCRACY THAT ACTUALLY WORKS
1. Abolish the Electoral College — one person, one vote.
2. Abolish ICE — replace it with humane immigration policy that honors human rights.
3. Ban gerrymandering with a standardized national apportionment method.
4. Two-term limits for every elected office.
5. Mandatory retirement at 70 for all elected officials.
6. Paper ballots only — end the era of hackable voting machines.
III. AN ECONOMY THAT SERVES PEOPLE
1. Restore 1950s-style progressive tax rates — when America was prosperous and fair.
2. Overturn Citizens United — corporations are not people.
3. Eliminate the Social Security payroll cap and tax capital gains for Social Security contributions.
4. $25 minimum wage indexed to inflation.
5. Medicare for All, one unified system — no A/B/C/D maze.
6. Congress receives Medicare, not boutique private insurance.
IV. WORKERS, CREATIVES, AND PUBLIC SERVANTS
1. Big pay raises for social workers, teachers, librarians, artists, and cultural workers — the people who actually hold society together.
2. Universal childcare — because families are the foundation of the nation.
3. Free public university education.
4. Full forgiveness of all student debt.
V. CLEAN GOVERNMENT
1. Root out corruption at every level, starting at the top.
2. Full financial transparency for every elected official, appointee, and senior bureaucrat.
3. Ban lobbying for former officeholders for life.
VI. THE FUTURE WE CHOOSE
We choose a country that values:
• Compassion over cruelty
• Community over greed
• Truth over propaganda
• Shared prosperity over billionaire hoarding
• Democracy over minority rule
• Human dignity over corporate profit
We choose a nation where the common good is not a slogan, but the organizing principle of public life.
This! This is the audiobook I’ve been seeking! I implore you to narrate and produce this audiobook, including all the insights, asides and laughs. I’d buy a copy with my Audible membership and another one for my library collection. The warmth and humanity of your voice is exactly what’s missing in audiobooks today, and why I find it so difficult to finish an entire book. Definitely, this book should be in the catalog.
Oh boy, you are just the mischievous encouragement I need.
From my sensible producer’s vantage point, I would say the book really needs either the author’s voice, especially if he’s good at mimicking the other characters, or — since that’s a big ask — a talented actor who can do the BRitish, the French, the multi-language communities of India and their dialects in English! There are many of those folks in Bollywood and London, especially. That would be the RESPONSIBLE thing to do.
However, you are right that having warmth and being able to ACT, to be a real raconteur, is such a gift, that it can allow one to overcome language/dialect unfamiliarity. I read aloud all the time from texts that have nothing to do with my California background, and somehow get away with it.
I also like interrupting the text and explaining what “bhang-water” is. I like laughing at the funny parts and crying when it breaks my heart. I think I will add a glossary in my next comment!
Yes. There’s so little available. The authors voice is great, see Prince Harry, but sometimes the warmth of a reader who sees the humor others might not be attuned to receive can be extremely helpful. You are the kind of reader that I believe would keep the reader/listener engaged to the end. Plus, is it just me or is there a dearth of serious literature these days. Everything seems to be fantasy or romance or thriller, and often all three. I want a book that is engaging and will make me think. Sometimes the reader/narrator is the element that makes the book. I cannot tell you how many times I stop an audiobook just a chapter or two in because the narrator kills it for me. (Sometimes i suspect it’s an AI narrator based upon improper pronunciation and lack of human warmth, but I’m sure not always, if at all.)
Here I am.
Shouldn’t there be a warrant out for the arrest of Jonathon Ross based upon his own cell phone evidence? And warrants for every other ICE agent present as accomplices?
THE COMMON GOOD MANIFESTO
A society built for people, not predators.
We are at our best when we invest in each other.
We are at our worst when we abandon the vulnerable.
This manifesto is how we return to the common good.
I. DIGNITY AND JUSTICE
1. Release the Epstein files — full transparency, no exceptions.
2. Impeach, convict, and imprison Donald Trump and every handler who enabled his corruption.
3. No federal office for any convicted felon.
4. End the weaponization of the justice system against the poor, immigrants, LGBTQ people, and marginalized communities.
II. DEMOCRACY THAT ACTUALLY WORKS
1. Abolish the Electoral College — one person, one vote.
2. Abolish ICE — replace it with humane immigration policy that honors human rights.
3. Ban gerrymandering with a standardized national apportionment method.
4. Two-term limits for every elected office.
5. Mandatory retirement at 70 for all elected officials.
6. Paper ballots only — end the era of hackable voting machines.
III. AN ECONOMY THAT SERVES PEOPLE
1. Restore 1950s-style progressive tax rates — when America was prosperous and fair.
2. Overturn Citizens United — corporations are not people.
3. Eliminate the Social Security payroll cap and tax capital gains for Social Security contributions.
4. $25 minimum wage indexed to inflation.
5. Medicare for All, one unified system — no A/B/C/D maze.
6. Congress receives Medicare, not boutique private insurance.
IV. WORKERS, CREATIVES, AND PUBLIC SERVANTS
1. Big pay raises for social workers, teachers, librarians, artists, and cultural workers — the people who actually hold society together.
2. Universal childcare — because families are the foundation of the nation.
3. Free public university education.
4. Full forgiveness of all student debt.
V. CLEAN GOVERNMENT
1. Root out corruption at every level, starting at the top.
2. Full financial transparency for every elected official, appointee, and senior bureaucrat.
3. Ban lobbying for former officeholders for life.
VI. THE FUTURE WE CHOOSE
We choose a country that values:
• Compassion over cruelty
• Community over greed
• Truth over propaganda
• Shared prosperity over billionaire hoarding
• Democracy over minority rule
• Human dignity over corporate profit
We choose a nation where the common good is not a slogan, but the organizing principle of public life.
And we refuse to apologize for demanding better.
This! This is the audiobook I’ve been seeking! I implore you to narrate and produce this audiobook, including all the insights, asides and laughs. I’d buy a copy with my Audible membership and another one for my library collection. The warmth and humanity of your voice is exactly what’s missing in audiobooks today, and why I find it so difficult to finish an entire book. Definitely, this book should be in the catalog.
Mesmerizing!
Oh boy, you are just the mischievous encouragement I need.
From my sensible producer’s vantage point, I would say the book really needs either the author’s voice, especially if he’s good at mimicking the other characters, or — since that’s a big ask — a talented actor who can do the BRitish, the French, the multi-language communities of India and their dialects in English! There are many of those folks in Bollywood and London, especially. That would be the RESPONSIBLE thing to do.
However, you are right that having warmth and being able to ACT, to be a real raconteur, is such a gift, that it can allow one to overcome language/dialect unfamiliarity. I read aloud all the time from texts that have nothing to do with my California background, and somehow get away with it.
I also like interrupting the text and explaining what “bhang-water” is. I like laughing at the funny parts and crying when it breaks my heart. I think I will add a glossary in my next comment!
Do it!
Yes. There’s so little available. The authors voice is great, see Prince Harry, but sometimes the warmth of a reader who sees the humor others might not be attuned to receive can be extremely helpful. You are the kind of reader that I believe would keep the reader/listener engaged to the end. Plus, is it just me or is there a dearth of serious literature these days. Everything seems to be fantasy or romance or thriller, and often all three. I want a book that is engaging and will make me think. Sometimes the reader/narrator is the element that makes the book. I cannot tell you how many times I stop an audiobook just a chapter or two in because the narrator kills it for me. (Sometimes i suspect it’s an AI narrator based upon improper pronunciation and lack of human warmth, but I’m sure not always, if at all.)
Love this 🥰what Lucian K. Truscott said Also I made a conscious decision to enter ‘Floating World’ last January I may never leave
Thank you, Shawn. Good advice
The rickshaw passage brings to memory another ultra romantic scene—the concluding crowd scene in the movie Children of Paradise.
One of your best, so heartfelt yet full of energy and love.
Thank you, Lucian! Nothing like an inspiration and a little time