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I was a FL certified teacher from 1997-2012, and I now live in MA. I
am writing because of a problem I perceive with elections – and I am
suggesting a possible solution.

As a voter, I believe I should not only have the right to vote, but I
should be able to know facts about whom I am voting for. Yet, because
of the 1974 federal law FERPA, I am unable to review a candidate's
college transcript unless I file a lawsuit under that law.

Jeb Bush ran for governor three times in Florida, and also ran for
president. Each time he portrayed himself as a graduate of a 4-year
public university, but after much research I now believe he dropped
out of college after two years, and his father covered it up for him.
I am now sure Jeb Bush never attempted nor completed two of the four
years of his alleged degree in Latin American Studies. He dropped out,
but since 1988, his father, mother, friends, and the government make
false claims about his actual college status.

Should a candidate be able to run for office posing as a college
graduate when he is actually a college drop-out?

I think not. Had Jeb Bush's bio been that he is a college drop-out, I
doubt the Republican Party of Florida would have allowed him to
attempt a 2nd run for governor in 1998 after he lost his first race
for governor in 1994. Jeb Bush would not have become governor (someone
else would have run and won/or lost), he would not have been able to
collect $14 million from Lehman Brothers, and he would not have been
able to implement policies many disagree with over eight years in
Florida.

But because his bio was the result of fake news, published for 30
years, and because no one ever filed a lawsuit under FERPA to obtain
his college transcripts, he got away with it.

Here is a possible solution: In Canada, my understanding is they
require candidates to "register" with their political party, stating
personal information and keeping such information in a national data
base used by journalists. If the info turns out to be false, the
political party withdraws their support of the candidate.

This type of national registration of candidates accomplishes several
things: it forces the candidate himself (and not surrogates) to make
material biographical statements – and swear to truthfulness; it makes
the candidate risk loss of party support if the registration turns out
to be false; and it provides all journalists and the public with
access to the same information.

Had the US done this with candidates for governor and president, and
had a national registration data base of candidates asked questions
such as the following, below, then Jeb Bush would have had to disclose
his actual status as a college drop-out instead of relying on his
daddy, mommy, friends, the government, and the university to cover up
his actual drop-out status.

And, I believe: he would have never won an election as governor, after
running only one time [as a college drop-out and losing].

Last night President Obama gave an impassioned speech about ordinary
good citizens not wanting to become involved in politics because they
tune out. I am writing to you to change things. I do not want my vote
wasted on a fraud in the future.

In this new Age of Trump, "fake news" is all the rage, but the truth
is that at least 30 years of fake news has already been published
about Jeb Bush and his college status.

Can we please consider a national registry of state and national
candidates that include registrations from candidates swearing to the
truthfulness to their parties, since these candidates think nothing of
telling lies to the media and the public? Thank you. Here are some
questions I would like to see asked on a [candidate] registration
form:

1) What month and what year did you graduate from college? (Jeb Bush
has never once disclosed a month and year of graduation, because he
never graduated. Instead, journalists are forced to write how many
years he attended, and then add that he has a degree in Latin American
Studies from UT.) See my thread on this at DU here for more than a
dozen examples of fake news from journalists, always omitting a month
and year of graduation for Jeb Bush:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=7537718

2) If you are claiming to have a college degree, did you actually
attempt and complete all the required coursework for the degree?
(Because if you didn't, maybe your powerful political daddy somehow
convinced the college to pretend  you have a degree when you really
did not attempt nor complete years of required coursework.)

Thank you again for considering my suggestion. I think this is a
serious problem, because I sincerely believe any candidate who has
such a "secret" to conceal becomes a tyrant, in his effort to continue
concealing his secret. I do not want tyrants in office.

Nor do I want to vote for them.

I also believe any candidate who has worked for the CIA should also be
required to disclose that affiliation on such a public registration if
that person is now  a declared candidate running for office. I also
wrote about that idea here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026937425

Whether this helps or hurts a candidate, I do not know. One candidate
in Texas did it - disclosed he was in the CIA - and won.

All I am saying is this: more transparency about our candidates in
this country is a good thing, not a bad thing, and that applies to
candidates of all political parties. We could do with fewer crooks and
better choices. Having a method by which the truth could come out, and
by which candidates would be held accountable, can only improve all of
our lives. The present system does not work in this regard.

Many say the media is corrupt, and maybe it is, but it is also true
that "garbage in" equals "garbage out" -- as they say in the tech
world.

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Susan Alyn susan.alyn@gmail.com