The fate of our country

I am sick to death of being able to understand what is happening. I long for the days of youthful ignorance. Party all night, sleep all day, worry not about things I can't change. That time is gone.

We have a very serious problem with this country and it gets worse every day. I am not talking about Obama or Bush or even Clinton. This goes way beyond any of that. Our country is being driven by an elite few who are seemingly looking out for each other and not US. I don't mean the NWO or the Illuminati either. Those are just names people put on them to justify not being able to do anything about it.

We have lobbyists working for corporations that can make anything they want happen. We elect delegates and expect them to carry our ideas to capital hill. Guess what? they get lost along the way. Our ideas are of the foolish and uninformed. Only the lawmakers know what is best for us.

We are in the age of information, yet we are spoon fed propaganda instead of information. And we are too stupid to stop asking for seconds. We have technology to let the entire voting public show a real time poll of how they feel about different bills. The problem is the public gets two or more different versions of "truth" from the news outlets. I will propose some ideas to fix the problems I see. I am sure most if not all can be shot down with simple "you can't do that" garbage, but they can also be expounded upon and fixed to be fool proof. Like that paper that forged our country. That large piece of toilet paper called the constitution.

1.no bill is allowed to have riders. No pork. Each bill must stand on it's own merrit and either pass or fail. They need to be written in plain english with no doublespeak to even I can understand them. Therefore no news spin will be required.

2.Our currency needs to go back to a gold standard. If it isn't backed by anything tangible, then it's just paper. Worthless paper.

3.We need to do a study to eliminate the people who do government studies. We need to limit the allowable size of our government. there are thousands of positions that are costing us millions that serve no discernible purpose.

4.We need to re-evaluate where we send our military and why. Too many times our soldiers have been sent to places based on lies, misinformation, or outright greed. An old saying that seems to have been forgotten is "A Nation of the people, for the people, and by the people". The people need to be a bit more involved in the decision making process.

5.The presidency needs to be an elected official who deserves the position based on past experience, not a popularity contest. And I don't just mean Obama, I mean Bush, Clinton, and any others who floated around without any real presence. That is not a partisan complaint at all.

6.Do away with the electoral college. Let the people have votes that count again. Make it possible for the election to be announced after all the votes have been tallied. Not just when the last congressman has been bought. Absentee ballots aren't counted for weeks after the announcement of president is made. Does anyone else see a problem with that?


I may be way off on my thinking. I believe myself to be a conservative. And I fall in line with a lot of what Ron Paul has to say. I think we the people need to take back our country. If you have ideas, enhancements, or outright disagreement with anything I have posted, please let me know. And if you happen to be a leader who feels the same way, I will stand behind/beside you.

reply to post by network dude


I think you got the core requirements covered

I should not matter what political view anyone has, it is clear to see something is very wrong and real change is needed urgently before the next war or crisis...

This would be a good time to let you all know that on the History Channel tonight, there's going to be a special with.......help me out, the ex gov of Idaho, I saw a clip and he said "You are not going to believe the conspiracies I have been subjected to and what I have to tell you......" it should be very interesting. I only saw the advertisement for it this morning first time.

I agree with almost everything you have said great post star and flag for you. We need more patriots like you to speak up and not make it a right vs. left thing. This is the game they want us to play to make us look the other way and many idiots play right along.

Your ideas of how to change our country are alot like mine.

1. Elimate the Senate, no more disproportional representation. Create a Parliament system with a Prime Minister and a total of 475 MAP(Members of American Parliament) 1 for every 650,000 people.
2. Require a 2/3 majority be required to pass a bill.
3. Get rid of all government business such as the CIA and the U.S. Postal service.
4. Taxes at a rate of 0% for corporate, 0% personal, 0% for payroll, and 10% for Sales. This would leave the government with just enough money to pay the MAP's the president and their secretaries, etc.
5. Reduce our military spending to only .5% of GDP which would be $71,021,610,000. Just enough to buy new stuff and pay our soldiers. Shut down all international military bases.
6. Make lobbying a form of corruption, basically it is anyway.
7. Require the president to pick a minimum of 75% of his cabinet be from the private industry, and not Wall Street either.
8. No more requlation or money goes to Wall Street, cut all ties between wall Street and Washington.
9. No more government censorship of anything, not even television, it is freedom of speech and of the press.
10. Do not allow any campaign contributions come from Wall Street, but they can come from Main Street and private individuals under a certain amount.

reply to post by network dude


Now all we need is the A-team....Love it when a plan comes together....."I ain't gettin on no plane Hannibal"

I think they are in the phone book under "crack commando specialists".

Truly though, Nice thoughts, but you know we are past fixing.

Ben Franklin said, revolution every 27 years...we went a little over the mark.

Peacee

Originally posted by network dude
1.no bill is allowed to have riders. No pork. Each bill must stand on it's own merrit and either pass or fail. They need to be written in plain english with no doublespeak to even I can understand them. Therefore no news spin will be required.

I would allow riders relevant to the bill. For instance a bill to increase VA spending could also have a rider for work aid to unemployed soldiers. Also, your plain English is my idiot-speak and someone else's incomprehensible technobabble. Laws are written in legalese because that's what legalese is for

2.Our currency needs to go back to a gold standard. If it isn't backed by anything tangible, then it's just paper. Worthless paper.

You are aware that gold is just as worthless as paper, aren't you? it has no real worth, except for that someone might go "that's worth something" - which is again, no different from "just paper". I also hope you understand that there simply isn't enough gold to back up the wealth of well over three hundred million people in this country - much less us and everyone else in the world. A gold standard is a guanrantee for economic failure these days, due simply to population. What we need instead are stricter regulations on credit to make it harder to manipulate and steal with.

3.We need to do a study to eliminate the people who do government studies. We need to limit the allowable size of our government. there are thousands of positions that are costing us millions that serve no discernible purpose.

And there are needless military expenditures that cost us billions. before you go around canning the beancounters, i'd suggest having a bonfire at the pentagon. We don't know how much money was spent on looking into a bomb that turns Muslims gay... but I'm certain it had lots and lots of zeroes on the price tag.

4.We need to re-evaluate where we send our military and why. Too many times our soldiers have been sent to places based on lies, misinformation, or outright greed. An old saying that seems to have been forgotten is "A Nation of the people, for the people, and by the people". The people need to be a bit more involved in the decision making process.

We need to put congress back in charge of making the decision to use the military, rather than the executive branch, as has been happening since Korea.

5.The presidency needs to be an elected official who deserves the position based on past experience, not a popularity contest. And I don't just mean Obama, I mean Bush, Clinton, and any others who floated around without any real presence. That is not a partisan complaint at all.

This is kind of odd, especially paired with your next point. So you want a free vote, but voters should only be allowed to vote for the candidate you think is qualified? Seriously, who sets the standard? What experience is needed? "Have you ever been in charge of a country before, sir? And how many years was that? Do you have a reference?"

Before the presidency was a popularity contest, it was a contest between who's team was more corrupt. I'll take an American Idol presidency before I take a teamsters presidency.

6.Do away with the electoral college. Let the people have votes that count again. Make it possible for the election to be announced after all the votes have been tallied. Not just when the last congressman has been bought. Absentee ballots aren't counted for weeks after the announcement of president is made. Does anyone else see a problem with that?

Well, not that i'm one of them myself, but i imagine republicans would, since they tend to hang out in the lower-population states that are affordeed an advantage by the electoral system. The electoral system is a form of minority protection, put in place so that the city of new York doesn't cancel out every single vote cast in North and South Dakota.

it's not perfect, but it does work better than the obvious alternative.

I may be way off on my thinking. I believe myself to be a conservative. And I fall in line with a lot of what Ron Paul has to say. I think we the people need to take back our country. If you have ideas, enhancements, or outright disagreement with anything I have posted, please let me know. And if you happen to be a leader who feels the same way, I will stand behind/beside you.

Well, your first mistake is trusting a man who thinks everyone in government needs to be fired, but who wants you to hire him into government every election.

It's not "the gub'mint" we need to take our country back from. Our government is controlled by others. They are the ones we need to stand up against. Think about it this way. Our government is Billy, the corporatocracy is Jigsaw. Doesn't do much good to blow up the puppet, does it?

What I find funny.

Campaign...why are they campaigning? That is a military term.

Run for office...Why is anyone running for office? I thought we elected people. It's not a land grab.

Vote...doesn't mean what we think it means.

vote (n.) Look up vote at Dictionary.com
c.1460, from L. votum "a vow, wish, promise, dedication," noun use of neut. of votus, pp. of vovere "to promise, dedicate" (see vow). The verb in the modern sense is attested from 1552; earlier it meant "to vow" to do something (1533).

Ballot...check again...same as "craps"
ballot Look up ballot at Dictionary.com
1540s, from It. pallotte, dim. of palla "ball," for small balls used as counters in secret voting (see balloon). Earliest references are to Venice.

Anyway...I find them funny.

Peace

I always thought America prided itself on being every man for them selves type culture. Or to put it into other words" the Individual over Society."

So what I'm seeing is just the culmination of that philosophy. Am I wrong?

reply to post by MOTT the HOOPLE


Yes that is how America is really, but now there are alot of people who want to change it to be more 'European' and others want to change it be more like the days before FDR. I am one of those people who support Pre-FDR times. I believe in basically government as minimal as you can without getting rid of it.

reply to post by TheWalkingFox


I thank you for offering suggestions where you disagree. As far as the riders, I still feel as if it is important enough to be brought up for vote, it should be good enough to stand on it's own. Legalese doesn't help the average citizen understand why things are as they are. It needs to be dumbed down a bit.(IMHO)

Gold is a universally accepted currency. It has the same value anywhere in the world. Individual currency per country is fine, but it needs to carry real value, not just inflated appearance of value. again (IMHO)

Voting for the presidency of the United States should be the most important position that exists in this country. The guy who gets elected should be able to lead the country on his own. Not be held up as a pretty puppet that talks good or has a real recognizable name. I don't mean anyone should be eliminated, I just hate the idea that the guy who has the most $ behind him is who wins. More TV commercials and cool posters = more exposure. Presidents should be limited to a set amount to spend on their campaign and their merit should ride on their content of character, not the depth of their wallet.

And as far as Ron Paul, I have a hard time finding his core beliefs to be flawed. His thoughts on the bailout were spot on. years ago, not just months ago. He has some out there theories but he also has some damn good ideas, anyone who thinks like I do at least seems to think so. But to each his own.

Again, thanks for not just telling me it wont work. I think if enough people throw in ideas and a general consensus is formed, we the people could enact real change. But we need LEADERSHIP!!!

reply to post by Misoir


Great ideas to add. Thanks.
Know anyone dynamic who can take an but whoopin and still stand tall?

Originally posted by letthereaderunderstand

Truly though, Nice thoughts, but you know we are past fixing.

Ben Franklin said, revolution every 27 years...we went a little over the mark.

Peacee

every day I have struggles that would be so much easier if I just took an easier way out. Then I endure these struggles, and everything seems to work out. I have tried to do that my whole adult life. I am not ready to sit back and take the easy road this time either. Until my heart stops, I will try. the fat lady hasn't even had her second piece of pie yet. Jimmy Valvano said it best. "Never give up!"

reply to post by network dude


Thanks for the OP! I'll make my own additions:

1. Lobbyists are banned from communication with elected Congressmen and their staff. Corporate interests may represent themselves in judicial aspects; however, corporations don't cast ballots on members of Congress, so why are they allowed influence over those members?

2. Term limits for members of the House and Senate.

3. Political parties that reach a certain membership (say 500,000) and have members in at least half of the states qualify as a national party.

4. All national parties receive equal funding from a Federal election chest and are given equal media exposure.

5. Streamline immigration policy to make becoming a permanent resident much easier and more affordable than it is currently.

6. Issue an unlimited number of Visas to qualified professionals and extend similar residency Visas to their immediate family. We need a strong means to lure foreign talent to our country to keep us competitive and innovative with other nations.

reply to post by network dude


Riders are a method of saving time. Our legislators are people too; they have 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, 365 days a year. They eat, they sleep, they read the paper while doing their business, and I'm sure a few of them do actually want to spend some time with their families on occasion. If we used your idea, that every idea needed to be voted on independently, then, well, most of them would never get voted on, ever, because of time constraints.

Gold only has universal value in a single small universe of people who want gold, who paradoxically measure its worth with paper money. it's heavy, putting it to practical use makes it useless as currency, and it's simply too scarce to meet the economic needs of any one nation, except perhaps like, Luxembourg or Bhutan or something tiny like that. Might as well base our money around high-grade rubies or something

I'm not saying Ron Paul's completely wrong. I'm saying he's mostly wrong. He has a few good points, but I really get the feeling that he doesn't know what he's talking about. He's anti-regulation and anti-tax, but also decries the power and influence of corporations in America. He's for prosperity in trade, but he's also for American isolationism. His supporters call him complex. I call him confused.

'Course, if I were 75 years old and stuck in the chaotic madhouse of beltway DC, I'd probably hardly be able to not wear my pants on my head, so...

Originally posted by TheWalkingFox
reply to post by network dude

 

Riders are a method of saving time. Our legislators are people too; they have 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, 365 days a year. They eat, they sleep, they read the paper while doing their business, and I'm sure a few of them do actually want to spend some time with their families on occasion. If we used your idea, that every idea needed to be voted on independently, then, well, most of them would never get voted on, ever, because of time constraints.

I see your point on the riders, but as it stands now, there is no limit to how much crap can be shoved into a bill to pretty it up enough for the opposing side to put a stamp of approval on it. That seems like another way to push and agenda nobody really wants.

Gold only has universal value in a single small universe of people who want gold, who paradoxically measure its worth with paper money. it's heavy, putting it to practical use makes it useless as currency, and it's simply too scarce to meet the economic needs of any one nation, except perhaps like, Luxembourg or Bhutan or something tiny like that. Might as well base our money around high-grade rubies or something

Rubies, diamonds, whatever. As long as it has actual value. the way it stands now, my monetary value seems entirely dependent on the will and whim of the Fed. Value should be congruent with worth.

I'm not saying Ron Paul's completely wrong. I'm saying he's mostly wrong. He has a few good points, but I really get the feeling that he doesn't know what he's talking about. He's anti-regulation and anti-tax, but also decries the power and influence of corporations in America. He's for prosperity in trade, but he's also for American isolationism. His supporters call him complex. I call him confused.

I don't see as many problems with his policy as you do and I guess that is why there are different people with different ideas in this world. Keeps it interesting. BTW, do you agree with the original premise of this threat that a change is needed, or are you happy with the way things are? (real question, not intended to be an ass)

'Course, if I were 75 years old and stuck in the chaotic madhouse of beltway DC, I'd probably hardly be able to not wear my pants on my head, so...

No argument there. I can't stomach a drive through DC more than once a year.

reply to post by Avenginggecko


we are definitely on the same page.
thanks.