If you were in complete control of this country

[gtp1976]

No Senate. No House. No Supreme Court. You are the absolute Law. The buck stops with you. You can't be impeached or recalled and whatever you say is. You even define the definition of the word "is." :-)

What would you change about this country?

What would you leave the same?

[Sannum]

1. I would put Bill Clinton in charge.

After all, he did well for 8 years, and I am a dolt.

[Neoma]

2. I'd give my power to Al Gore and Kerry

[babylonsister]

3. Really tough question.

I wouldn't presume to know the answer, but would also pick someone with experience to lead the way, though that's a job I would also never wish on anyone. So guess I don't know, though in recent memory, Bill Clinton did more positive things than anyone I can recall. Would this include putting a muzzle on the Repugs?

[mhr]

4. Here Goes - A Start

Public Affairs

1. Public financing of all campaigns

2. Campaigns begin no sooner than 4 months before the election

3. No PACS of any kind

4. Corporations expressly forbidden from political activity

5. National voting standard used in every precinct across the country

6. Campiagn contributions limited to residents of political districts

7. Tax Reform - Steep progressive tax system

Business

1. Corporations expressly defined without the rights of people

2. Mandatory multiple on employee compensation 10-1 low to high

3. Reestablish the fairness doctrine

4. Strict media ownership rules limiting ownership

[Z_I_Peevey]

5. I'd revoke corporate personhood, bust the media trusts

and convene a Constitutional convention to reinstate democracy. And I'd get me one of them presidentin' jackets.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. All games on TV must show the score and the clock

at all times during the broadcast, even during the commercials.

No roadwork on major highways during rush hour.

All stores are open 24 hours, even on holidays.

All car radios must display the artist and song title, like satellite radios do.

No more colored food! I would ban blue butter and green ketchup. The person who came up with this idea will be arrested and imprisoned for stupidity.

No more drug commercials. And drug prices will have to come down. Pharmaceutical companies will have to figure out new ways to rip off the American public. But without their expensive advertising budgets, they should be able to swing the lowered prices with no problem.

Free health care for all. And I don't care how we pay for it. A healthy society is worth too much to quibble over this.

I would pull all military out of Iraq.

The president's sex life would be none of anyone's business.

My final act would be to name John Kerry president.

[The Straight Story]

7. I would

Realize, as I do know, that diversity is really what freedom is all about, let the states have more power to decide things, and tell people who wanted to restrict freedoms to join together into their own sub groups (ala amish, et al) and feel free to not be free but that every citizen had a right to leave such groups anytime they wished. Local Community would have more say so in what they did and how, and I would work with all people to come up with a clear set of rules which encapsulated their freedoms within a society that will have rules and regulations which we all must follow so as to keep people as free as they could be.

I would make certain that our resources were not owned by individuals but could be utilized by free enterprise with restrictions - ie if you cut down a tree, plant more, redwoods off limits, and so on etc. The land belongs to all and in a society where we all live we must take into account how our actions could affect others - we punish drunk drivers (et al) and we will similarily punish those who want to pollute and harm others.

I would work with the people of all types to insure they were free to live as they see fit and to mandate a basic education of how their actions could affect those other then themselves, and how to integrate that into their free enterprise. Do what is best for yourself, and others and we can all win. Want to live in a strict community where you don't allow certain things - fine, people who want to can join but can leave when they want (as mentioned) but you must also understand that if actions within that community affect those outside you need to take those into consideration.

Etc :) Someone from work is pinging me and have to run for a few.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

8. This is really tempting

1. Cut back the military to the minimum required to defend the country. This includes recalling all troops from foreign bases. Give those back to the countries where they're located. Reduce troop numbers by attrition.

2. Use the money saved to
a. fund national health care
b. build mass rail transit in every major city and a complete inter-city rail system
c. subsidize affordable housing --give no-interest loans to builders who will build affordable housing with the stipulation that if the rents go up faster than inflation, the builder/owner will have to make back payments on what the market rate interest would have been.

3. Put the school system under national control like a normal country to eliminate district to district disparities in quality. Bring every district up to the levels of facilities and curricular offerings found in the nation's most affluent communities.

4. Require that all new housing tracts have pedestrian and/or other non-automotive access to shopping and services. Ban storefront parking lots and require parking to be behind, on top of, or under stores. There's a method to this madness: reducing the anonymity and isolation of the suburbs, the factor that feeds the fundamentalist churches.


5. Raise the minimum wage

6. Make taxes as progressive as they were in the 1950s.

7. Deny and/or revoke government contracts to any company that sends jobs overseas. If all its manufacturing jobs are already overseas, 100% tariffs to be put on the products manufactured there.

8. Announce elections in six years with the following rules:
a. paper ballots counted by representatives of all parties. No voting machines.
b. no Electoral College--strict popular vote
c. no television or radio advertising, period. National candidates each given free broadcast time on a regular basis. Local candidates required to campaign in person. Publicly financed campaigns after the primary season.
d. instant run-off voting


9. A generous pension for me so that I can retire after the election. Not too much, just so I can live a genteel Bohemian life and travel a lot.

[4morewars]

9. Bring the troops home now

Release the gitmo prisoners
Legalize weed/end war on drugs
Health care is not for profit, and is for all
Pull the US out of NAFTA<WTO<IMF<WorldBank<NATO
No More Rush,Hannity,Coulter,etc/Break up media monopoly
Close the SOA
Make it easy for workers to form Unions
Free education up to college for all
Break up the Food Monopolies
Fair Trade for farmers
Sieze the assets of overpaid robber barons
Stop dumping chemicals/shit in the water
Alternative energy
Make peace with the Native Americans

I could go on, but you get the picture !

PEACE

[DS1]

10. I'd be driving a Porsche

911 Turbo to be exact.

[NEOBuckeye]

11. Establish a Parliamentary-style system of government

I'd keep the two houses, but make the Senate equal to the House in seats. The Senate would have representative districs, similar to the way the House does now. I'd make the House party-proportinal, however, so that the number of seats would be based upon the percentage each party wins in national elections. In other words, if the Democrats win 55% they'd have 55% of the seats. If the Republicans won 30% of the votes, they'd have 30% of the seats. If the Greens won 7% of the votes, they'd have 7% of the seats, etc. Basically, like Parliament. This, of course, would force true coalition building, and would empower the current minor parties such as the Greens and Libertarians, and might even lead to some major splits in the current Dems and GOP (i.e. Christian Republicans, Labor/Union Democrats, etc.)

I'd also abolish the Vice Presidency (not worth a warm bucket of spit) and split the Chief of Government and Chief of State roles currently assigned to the President, keeping the President as the ceremonial & diplomatic (though largely ineffectual & irrelevant) Chief of State (a la France's President Chirac). Chief of Government should go to the House Majority leader, who would become known as the Prime Minister (think Britain and Canada). I think with more clearly defined executive roles and a proportional system of government, my plan would go a long way towards ending the bullshit issues we see with the Presidency and Congress now.

You could also duplicate this system with great success in all state governments, and with some modifications in a major, multi-county city like New York.

[NEOBuckeye]

16. I'd also abolish Corporate Personhood

If CEOs, Shareholders and Boards of Directors all suddenly became personally liable for the actions of their corporations, you'd see a lot more big-shot corporate executives broke and behind bars. But as the law stands now, corporations have all the rights of individuals, and so, are treated as such by the government. This is the beginning and end of MANY of our problems in this country.

Also on my list: Establishing mass transit-high speed-rail to all major cities and destinations, as well as a system of light rail that would connect all major points of interest within mid to large metropolitan areas.

[AuntieM1957]

12. First, some changes at Guantanamo Bay

Inter the real terrorists...

John Ashcroft first...

[dolo amber]

13. "Abortions for some; miniature American flags for others!"

:7

[4morewars]

14. LMAO !

We already have that !

:bounce:

[Radical Activist]

15. Give all power to the people

and set up a government that could never be controlled by a small group of people. Teach all the people how to engage in cooperative acts of non-violent civil disobedience to guard against oppression and militarism.

And THAT is why I'm called Radical Activist.

[mcscajun]

17. What a pleasant thought...

...me in charge of everything. :)

Severely raise the Corporate Tax rate and the income tax rate on persons making above $200,000 for sure. Keep a nice, healthy Capital Gains tax going.
Institute Universal Health Care.
Reinstate the Fairness Doctrine governing the press, TV, radio.
Tighten media ownership rules to limit 'corporate media' issues.
Standardize Voting procedures to ensure openness, fairness and accountability; prohibit corporation involvement in voting as an "industry".
Legalize Marijuana.
Eliminate constrictive 'mandatory minimums' federal sentencing guidelines; allow judges to determine appropriate sentences for crimes.
Bring affordable housing, electricity and sanitation to long-neglected areas of the U.S. like the Appalachians.
Change building codes to prohibit construction beyond "human scale"; e.g., no more 100-story buildings; no mega-malls.
Begin a "Manhattan Project" type operation to bring viable alternative energies to fruition before "Peak Oil" hits.
Raise the minimum wage and index it to inflation for future adjustments.
Eliminate all "right-to-work" laws that prevent union organizing.
Eliminate all tax breaks for corporations that offshore jobs or move their headquarters offshore, and create tax incentives to keep and increase jobs here.
Legalize gay marriage.
Strike all sodomy laws from the books wherever they are.

And just for fun...
"Child-free" restaurants.
"Stroller-free" days at the mall.
All idiots stopping at the tops of escalators and just outside the elevator doors will be shot on sight.

Oh yeah...and the word "Is" stays "is." :)

[gtp1976]

18. Ban all clothing? Everyone completely nude.

Sure, there would be certain instances in which we would all wish to repeal the law, but in my opinion, the pros would outweigh the cons. Plus, once everyone got used to seeing everyone else naked, perhaps there would be far less stigmata attached to sex and sexuality. I think rapes would decrease a lot, and pedophiles wouldn't have to kidnap children to see them nude. Porn sites would pretty much fade away and strip clubs would no longer be profitable.

Sex is such a strange phenomenon in American Culture. If everyone were naked, perhaps we could finally address the "sex issue" with some common sense.

[gtp1976]

20. c'mon now...all nude.

nudity is our friend. :-)

[Deja Q]

19. I'd put DENNIS KUCINICH in charge. Anyone else doesn't deserve it.

Especially Clinton, forgive me, but he was no leftie and the reward for his good deeds of bipartisanship was a lot of punishment.

[gtp1976]

21. bump.

This is interesting to me. I admit that I am guilty of being an "attention whore" at times when it comes to threads I start. Forgive me. :-)