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Post by the sandman on Jan 3, 2012 11:44:22 GMT -5
You can ONLY put 3.
Here's mine:
1. Corporations Are Not People. From this point forward, corporations shall no longer legally be considered people. Corporations shall have no rights or privileges normally accorded only to human beings. The citizens who own and operate the corporations shall retain all their rights, but will be held personally and legally liable for the actions of the corporations they run and the decisions they make on behalf of the corporation.
2. All Political Contributions Shall Be Public And Transparent. All those seeking any sort of public office or the advancement or reform of public legislation or regulation shall publicly declare the source of all financial support immediately upon receipt. A public record will be maintained with this information which will be readily and freely available in a multitude of formats. All those contributing to political candidates or causes shall also publicly and immediately declare where that money came from as well. This transparency will continue up the chain of contributions until the names of the individual persons where the money originates is revealed and listed.
3. No More Anonymous Nomination Holds Or "Understood" Filibusters. If a Senator wishes to place a "hold" on a nomination for Federal office or appointment, that Senator must go on public record as being the originator of the hold. If a Senator wishes to filibuster a bill, that Senator must physically filibuster in the original meaning of the term.
Well, those are my 3.
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Post by Vene on Jan 3, 2012 11:58:24 GMT -5
I'm stealing your 1 and 3, because I like them that much. But not number 2.
My number 2) Publicly financed elections: It is not right that the winner of most elections comes down to who can raise the most money, elections should be decided upon by the issues and values of the American public, not by the wallets of a select few. Candidates are not allowed to use private funds for any campaigning and those that are caught shall be deemed ineligible to hold office (retroactively if need be).
ETA: Typo
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Post by cestlefun17 on Jan 3, 2012 12:02:19 GMT -5
1. Severely change the filibuster. Start at 60 votes required to end a filibuster, but every two days this requirements drops by 1 vote until it reaches 50. This way if there is majority support for a bill (50 Senators + the President of the Senate) the bill will always be able to be passed, but the filibuster is still kept in some form as it preserves the Upper House's role as more austere deliberative body that keeps the whims of the more fickle Lower House in check.
2. Any law burdening people on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is subject to strict scrutiny, meaning laws that forbid equal marriage for same-sex couples are unconstitutional under Amendment XIV.
3. The citizens of the District of Columbia are considered citizens of an autonomous community of the State of Maryland, allowing them to vote for and serve in Congress as if the District were an integral part of the Maryland. Citizens of the District will also be allowed to elect unpaid members to the Maryland legislature as if they formed an integral part of Maryland, but such representatives shall have no voice or vote except on measures pertaining to Article V of the United States Constitution. This gives the citizens of the District all the voting representation of the states, but preserves the federal seat of government as being outside the jurisdiction of any sovereign state.
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Post by driewerf on Jan 3, 2012 12:06:27 GMT -5
Double the budget for education.
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Post by Dragon Zachski on Jan 3, 2012 12:24:50 GMT -5
1. Require that the CEOs of any company are limited in how much salary they can take to a certain percentage of funds. Everyone who works under these CEOs have a MINIMUM percentage that they can be paid.
2. Add a program that essentially stores funds, and then uses it to give people coming out of welfare a boost in money so that they can get on their feet and pay their bills. Also, make it so that you can stay on welfare until you've gotten a steady, liveable wage to LIVE on for at least six months. And then there's a six month period after that where, if you're fired or released for a petty reason on their part, the place of establishment is penalized. (On the other hand, if you quit for a petty reason [emotional abuse explicitly being a non-petty reason], then YOU are penalized)
3. Double the budget for education on the condition that it actually goes into education, hiring teachers, and stopping bullying. Football is not education.
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Post by Meshakhad on Jan 3, 2012 13:35:10 GMT -5
1. Congress has the right to regulate how much citizens or corporations can contribute to campaigns. I have no problem with a corporation giving $500 to a campaign. It's when they give $500,000,000.
2. Filibusters must be conducted in person, in the traditional sense. Perhaps filibustering congresscritters could introduce us to some decent literature while they're up there.
3. The dates for presidential primaries shall be chosen at random. Any state that moves its primary shall have its governor executed.
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Post by Vene on Jan 3, 2012 14:30:46 GMT -5
3. The dates for presidential primaries shall be chosen at random. Any state that moves its primary shall have its governor executed. And if the governor isn't the person who moved up the primary?
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Post by dasfuchs on Jan 3, 2012 15:03:28 GMT -5
I'm stealing your 1 and 3, because I like them that much. But not number 2. My number 2) Publicly financed elections: It is not right that the winner of most elections comes down to who can raise the most money, elections should be decided upon by the issues and values of the American public, not by the wallets of a select few. Candidates are not allowed to use private funds for any campaigning and those that are caught shall be deemed ineligible to hold off (retroactively if need be). This I'm totally on board with. It also gives the average guy a shot at office
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Post by Old Viking on Jan 3, 2012 16:15:46 GMT -5
1. Everybody wear a chicken suit. 2. See #1. 3. See #'s 1 & 2.
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Post by Doctor Fishcake on Jan 3, 2012 17:35:08 GMT -5
1) Democracy is over. Strict meritocracy replaces it.
2) All - ALL - public transport is nationalised. Freedom of movement too fundamental a right.
3) Strict marriage equality. Another fundamental of a decent society.
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Post by the sandman on Jan 3, 2012 17:44:03 GMT -5
1) Democracy is over. Strict meritocracy replaces it. Well, surely then you wouldn't be in charge anymore..........
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Post by affirmedatheist on Jan 3, 2012 17:46:17 GMT -5
1. Initiate and establish a full Charter of Rights, including marriage equality, that is not repealable under any circmstance (though it would be permitted - indeed, encouraged - to add additional rights.
2. Full public funding of elections. Political donations are to be disallowed, with funding stripped and steep fines (and potentially jail time if it's on a large enough scale) . The big political fundraisers could continue, but said funds could only go to charities, and not to the party or candidate.
3. Charities would be subject to a 'public benefit test' and the same anti-discrimination laws as businesses, and proselytising would be disallowed by a charity. Only said charities would gain tax exempt status, and religious organisations would be taxed like a business.
A religious organisation would be permitted to have a charitable arm, but said arm would be required to be organisationally distinct, and only the charity arm would receive tax exempt status. The charity arm would be subject to the public benefit test, and the 'no proselytisation rule' would still apply.
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Post by Smurfette Principle on Jan 3, 2012 17:46:53 GMT -5
1) Institutionalized equality. Marriage equality, hate crime restrictions, and no discrimination because your organization is religious. 2) Universal health care (including birth control and abortion), unemployment benefits, and welfare. The first to everyone, the second for everyone actively looking for a job (after four months), and the third on an incremental scale that increases your current wage to a living wage, decreasing as your work wage increases toward a living wage. 3) Campaign finance reform.
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Post by Meshakhad on Jan 3, 2012 18:06:37 GMT -5
3. The dates for presidential primaries shall be chosen at random. Any state that moves its primary shall have its governor executed. And if the governor isn't the person who moved up the primary? Then they get shot too.
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Post by ironbite on Jan 3, 2012 18:39:16 GMT -5
1. Marriage Equality for all regardless of race, religious leanings, or sexual orientation. If any group cannot come up with a repeatable reason why this should not be, they shall be shot.
2. Rush Limbauh, Glen Beck, and Ann Coulter have their mouths sewn shut
3. Anyone who asks for a President's birth certificate gets shot....in the gonads.
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