I was busily listing what I want to see political candidates address, and realized there are probably more than a hundred! And then I wondered what other people worry about and what they want to see done about it.

So if anyone cares to share:

Pick an issue, any issue, or a bunch of issues, and say what you want your future public servants to do about it.


I'll start:

"Free Speech" zones: It's unconstitutional, both Democrats and Republicans have used them to push protestors away from areas where the media and public are looking on, and I want legislation outlawing the practice. If pro-whatever people can gather in any street or other public location (such as a park or outside a public building), then anti-whatevers have the right to gather there, too, with whatever paraphenalia the pro-whatevers are allowed to have, including pamphlets, signs, t-shirts, and buttons.

Racial Inequality: Stop helping people! Treating one group differently from another [i.e. AA programs] makes tension worse and is the DEFINITION of inequality. AA programs are unConstitutional and violate Civil Rights and the government has been given no power to make sure some people are advanced in society. Also, end all laws that prevent private business owners from hiring/firing anyone for any reason, let them live with the consequences of their bigotry, it's no the government's job to intervene there.

CP

Health care in America- Universal health care and disability insurance for all- only private insurance to supplement. The profit motive and health care are mutually exclusive- allow free market principles to wages and salaries for workers- but take away restrictions based on how many Drs can graduate from Med school per year as the AMA does right now.

This is my biggest pet issue- our system is the worst in the developed world, I have personally seen many of the European ones up close- and ours just sucks. 43 million uninsured mean 43 million poeple on the edge of financial ruin in this country.

Wow, where to start.

Gangs: This would be solved in four parts. Part A would be to classify gangs and other organizations that engage in violent criminal activity as terrorist groups.

Part B would include infiltration of gangs by members of the various special forces units in our military. Infiltration would be made on the outside as well as the prison system. Psychological operations would then be executed to encourage current gang members to give up this activity as well as discourage recruitment into gangs. In prison, efforts will be made to eliminate the command and control element.

Part C would involve taking children of gang members out of that environment. Placement would favor other family members first, and foster homes second.

Part D would be to increase funding towards youth outreach, rehabilitation, and other social programs that would keep youths out of these groups, help rehabilitate those who have left such groups, and overall help to mentor and increase the chances of a positive, sucessful life.

Just one issue? OK, national security. Without an ambitious national security agenda designed to protect our society, our nation, our people, our way of life, and our freedoms against the "Jihad" that has been declared on us (not us on them), all other issues are moot. Who cares a rip about free speech zones, for example, if a major US city is boiling under a Jihadist's mushroom cloud?

This is the single greatest issue that our society faces at this moment in our history. We will either prevail or be swallowed up by the movement that abhors our views with respect to inalienable rights that Americans take so utterly for granted.

We can face this challenge or go back to burying our heads in the sand like we did for 8 years during the 1990's.

Taxes, Switch to a modified flat tax so save the lower and middle classes from an infair system disguised as one that benefits these groups. Put in a floor under which no income is taxed. Tax the rest at the same rate.

Work in balanced budget targets. Fight out the budget and (With recession nd crisis exceptions with accompanying Keynesian surplus accumulation in the boom years) move the tax % from year to year to meet the spending.

Roll payroll taxes, capital gains, business profits, inheritence etc. along with earned income into the same pile called income.

Adjust in a minor way for household number or dependents (I'll have one of my people refine this one)

Then send out the bills and collect the money and look to the next year

Nah, not just one. I was just warming up. As many as you like (although you and Titus are starting to scare me a little! ).

Here's another of mine:

One person, one vote. No more Electoral College. No more being disenfranchised because you live in a state that is overwhelmingly one party or the other.

Some of my issues are the same as others-- but I will go ahead anyway:

(1) Health care is not a commodity it is a basic human right. The sooner we "get" this as a nation, the better off we will be;

(2) Taxes: I like the flat tax idea from Eeyore. I also love the idea of putting all types of income on the same level. Why is it that we give preferential treatment to individuals who become wealthy from something they don't even "work" for: exs. capital gains; inheritance etc.

(3) Strengthen States' rights: Limit the reach of the federal government and the application of the 14th amendment substantive due process clause.

(4) Establish a strong independent third party: the two system party is broken in this country;

(5) Get rid of affirmative action: it is racial discrimination

(6) Stop confusing individual rights with government regulation. No one should ever be able to argue that they have the "right" to have the government regulate their conduct.

(7) Social Security: Why is it that the government stops withholding for social security beyond the first $90,000 (or whatever it is) in any given year? If someone earns a billion dollars in a tax year-- every penny of it should be subject to social security. We'd clear up the deficit in no time at all.

Heh, mine should be pretty obvious for anyone who read my posts.

1.) Foreign Aid:

For all the the loud repetition of that tired old line:

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day
Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime"

No one has seemed to actually learn what the darn thing meant.

Knee-Jerk Liberal Response: Give them enough fish for a lifetime, then.

Knee-jerk Conservative Response: Stop giving them fish!

I would like someone in congress to actually apply the second line for once in their lives.

Poverty is no mystery it has identifiable practical causes many of which can be solved by development aid.

Quit asking countries with no money to use their money more wisely it makes you look....slow.

2.) Role of government in religion

I would like to see "under God"removed from the pledge of allegiance it's a slap in the face to many loyal Americans who don't believe in a God or believe in deities that cannot be described by the term "God." Same for "in God we trust" on the money.

I would like to see the government keep its nose out of religious matters whenever possible. That includes passing (or repassing, it was struck down by the Supreme Court")

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act

It shores up "free exercise" protection.

That's a start....

OK, here are a few more of my hot buttons.

Education: We spend more per student than any other country but get mediocre results. Why? Public education is a union controlled monopoly that has no real credible competition or incentive to improve quality. The NCLB act was a good start in establishing more standards. The bar should be incrementally raised every year on both students and teachers. Also, any idea that increases competition (vouchers) is a good thing. As it stands, quality of education is not a priority. It needs to be with a carrot and stick approach.

Crime: I favor the nationwide elimination of parole for all violent criminals. If you do the crime, you do the time... all of it. There is no rational reason why the average time spent in prison for homicide should be less than 8 years. With respect to people convicted of sex crimes against children, they should be put away for life. Lock them up and throw away the key. Drugs? Well, my view is not popular but I favor increasing the penalties associated with illegal drug use. Perhaps jail time is not appropriate but large fines would certainly have an impact (I know my personal idea of caning drug users would never fly in the USA). The troika of crime/poverty/out-of-wedlock births has to be broken for our country to improve overall. We are only as strong as our weakest links. We must deal with crime in poor areas harshly otherwise we fail to create an environment where progress can occur. I also think that most "gun control" legislation targets honest citizens, not the criminals who get coddled when they are caught with illegal weapons. I favor the intent of the second amendment and right to carry laws nationwide. The right to protect one's self, family and property is inalienable in my view. Preventing people from possessing the means for that self defense is wrong.

Health care: I favor a lot more emphasis on prevention rather than just medicating our citizens to an ever increasing extent. The fact that the majority of our society is overweight and that a significant portion is "obese" is a health issue that will continue to add costs to all Americans. I also favor limiting the out-of-control malpractice suit industry which has driven costs up in every area related to health care.

Energy: The US should explore "alternative energy" as Bush is doing (fuel cells, etc.) but we should also dramatically increase our domestic oil exploration in places like ANWR and along our coastal regions. The technology of oil exploration has improved dramatically. It may be a pipe dream (no pun intended) but I see no reason why the oil industry should not be proactive and make partners out of the "environmentalists". Get them on board. Convince them that new drilling technologies are viable and get them to sign off on the technologies. Then, the fringe environmentalist crowd (who abhor capitalism anyway) will be on the fringes instead of dominating the debate through the generation of the most noise.

Environment: I'm in favor of clean air and water. But, I'm highly skeptical of PC environmental issues like "global warming" that have scant real evidence to back them up. This has become a wedge issue for no good reason. The difference between clean water standards implemented by the Bush and Clinton administrations is nearly not measurable. It's just political hot air in most cases. We need to take a rational approach and take the extremist environmentalists out of the drivers seat on these issues.

Poverty: The two drivers behind poverty in the United States are massive out-of-wedlock birth rates within specific demographics and a low emphasis placed on education within these same groups. We should realize that compassion driven programs designed to "help" have actually hurt by legitimizing illegitimate births and by minimizing the role of the father as provider. My republican friends won't appreciate one of my solutions; free contraceptives and free abortions for poor women. My liberal friends won't appreciate the fact that I would not increase welfare payments to single women who become pregnant and have more kids. With respect to welfare, I favor an approach that limits the time-frame that people can collect these payments without providing some service. Even if they can't find "a job", there are a lot of things that need to be done and ANYONE (outside of those mentally of physically handicapped) who receive taxpayer assistance should be required to provide some sort of community service. In Michigan, the city of Detroit has the largest concentration of welfare receipients in the state. Yet, the place is filthy. Garbage litters nearly every highway and street. Why don't we have an army of welfare receipients picking up the mess at a minimum? If you get a check, you get off your butt and not just sit around and watch Jerry Springer and "hang" with your friends. If nothing else, the enforcement of a work ethic would help those same people get OFF welfare and if the time-frame was limited, there would be an incentive.

Race relations: The United States should lead the world by implementing a truly "progressive" idea; the removal of the concept of "race" from consideration as an "important" descriptor of people. Moving toward a color blind society will take time, but we should start now. Those who favor self imposed segregation should realize that this is no solution; just a continuation of an age old problem. Affirmative action , in all of its forms should be eliminated. However, if discrimination based on race/sex is proven, it should be harshly punished legally (as it is now).

The Courts: I strongly favor appointing judges who vow to enforce the constitution as written and who will not legislate from the bench. I favor the IMPEACHMENT of judges who do this. The constitution ultimately puts congress in control of the judiciary and they must exercise this control. The courts are co-equal per our system yet they have taken power that is far beyond that standard.

OK, that's enough for now....

I want our legislators to make it a federal offense to quote entire posts on discussion boards for no apparent reason.

I knew I'd run afoul of lawmakers eventually. I had no idea it would be for that! Look, I'm a repeat offender!




Okay, here is another one I'd love to see:

A law against pain and suffering caps in state and federal cases. The Supreme Court long ago said it was for the jury to decide, but that doesn't apply in States, and if someone's gross negligence put me in constant pain for the rest of my life, $250,000 wouldn't buy me a lot of distraction or hope for experimental treatment (those would not likely be covered under medical expenses, by the way).

I was posting as participant, not as a "lawmaker". If you were really running afoul, you wouldn't hear about it in a public forum - except in the form of a Mod Note.

Pick an issue, any issue, or a bunch of issues, and say what you want your future public servants to do about it.

I'll select energy as the greatest challenge that needs to be met, and the challenge that can reap the strongest possible outcomes for our country.

We need to develop energy sources that are within our borders and entirely under our control. This can't be fossil fuels, and this doesn't need to be fossil fuels.

The solution can't be fossil fuels, simply because we don't have enough of that source.

The solution doesn't need to be fossil fuels, simply because we have plenty of other sources: Geothermal and ocean tides are the big two, followed by biomass and wind/solar.

We have the technical and engineering abilities to make this happen. Now all we need is the will to bring it about. The potentials are amazing.

One potential is to store geothermal and ocean tide energy in cracked H2O, where the hydrogen cracked out via electricity generated by geothermal and ocean tide energy can be stored and transported in the same way that natural gas and propane are currently handled.

We would become a major world energy supplier, not just a major consumer, as a result. This would rejuvenate our economy and reduce our need to spend on dubious national defense initiatives.

However, that's not where the benefits stop. We would once again be leaders in technologies for the world, where other nations with significant land and ocean coastline resources would be buying our technologies to get off of imported fossil fuels. Japan would be an important customer, as would African nations, Asian nations, S. American nations, Australia, and so on.

Bringing it down to the individual consumer level, we are already quite far ahead of the game. Ford Motor Co. has developed and built a prototype hydrogen-burning internal combustion engine. I've seen solar panel house shingles on the market. The electric companies have to allow you to feed the energy collected via solar into the grid, thus running your meter slower or even backwards.

We are so close to a golden age of peace and prosperity, but do we have the will to bring it about? I think so. It is encouraging that President Bush has put some alternative energy technology on his ranch, indicating that beneath the party line cover, he's aware of what needs to happen in this country.

I want my future politicians to use their enormous skills at swaying public opinion, support, and strength toward this goal. What could we do with virtually unlimited energy?

Think about the possibilities. No longer would a commodity market dictate higher prices in gasoline and heating oil. The supply would be steady, predictable, and controllable. The cost of manufacturing goods would fall dramatically, thus bringing back a healthy domestic manufacturing sector, where the cost of labor is offset by the cheapness of energy.

Consider how much less a city would have to spend to light its roadways, feed electricity to its office buildings, and supply its citizens' homes.

What about desert areas, now unproductive? Death Valley could become a significant source of solar energy, but there's more: We could build massive greenhouses to grow fresh fruits and vegetables in the desert, rather than importing them from South America and elsewhere, thus supplying our food stores with domestic produce all year round.

What about fresh water? We have the technology to remove salt from sea water, and we have plenty of access to sea water. During drought periods, we could pipe freshened sea water to our reservoirs, and folks could then happily water their lawns whenever they wanted to.

These possibilities are as endless as the supply of energy right within our grasp. Let's take the challenge and make it a done deal.

I'll just be careful to never vote you in as a lawmaker for public office. Who knows what havoc you might wreak on my posting habits?

Affirmative Action: It is racism by definition.

Illegal immigration: Close the borders. Rapid processing and deportation of violators.

Social Security: Get rid of it completely. I'll never see a dime.

Welfare: Get rid of that too. If you don't work, you don't eat.

Taxes: Flat tax across the board. No more penalizing hard workers who contribute most to the economy. Let's move election day to April 16th - then we'll see come real change.

Environment: Make Alaska a 24 hour gas station.

Terrorism: See Illegal immigration. For captive terrorists, set their faces on fire and put it out every five minutes with an icepick until they tell us where Osama is.

Prayer in schools: Religion is the root of all evil. This has been proven for the last 8000 years. (has nothing to do with school but I wanted to fit it in.)

Foreign aid: $0

North Korea, Pakistan, India, other nuclear neophytes: Monroe doctrine. You shoot anyone, we'll erase you. Kennedy did it.

Stem cell research: $0. Should all be private funding. I'll pay for that.

Abortion: Over 18 ok.

Gun control: No law is going to keep a criminal from having a gun. Laws penalize the law abiding - ONLY.

Hate crime: Have you ever heard of love crime?

Child abuse: Striking a misbehaving child is not abuse, it is discipline. The Simpson's should be considered child abuse.

Censorship: Not the government's problem. Parents are responsible.

Steroids in Baseball: Who cares?

Education: 100% private.

National ID: Great idea. There is no downside. Just don't print my SSN on the front. Helps with immigration too.

Anchor babies: Bye, bye. Take your anchor baby and jump off a pier.

Transportation security: You do not have the right to travel conveniently by air.

Gay marriage: No problem as long as they have to pay the same taxes as a hetero couple.

Health care: You do not have a right to affordable health care.