I AM OF THE LOONY LEFT- Here's What I Want

[Orwellian_Ghost]

- Single-Payer Universal Health Care

- US Withdrawal from Iraq

- US Withdrawal from Afghanistan

- Dismantling of US military bases abroad

- Nationalization of US banking system

- Public Transportation renewal projects- Rail, Trolley, Bus etc.

- 4 day work week

- Removal of monied lobbyists from political arena

- Elimination of Agribusiness subsidies

- Elimination of NAFTA and other "free trade" agreements

- Public funding of elections

- Affordable/Clean public housing options with subsidies for the indigent

- Elimination of all reactionary drug laws

- Reformation of American penal system

- Elimination of the CIA

- Increased taxes on the wealthy and big business

- Nationalization and expansion of Food Banks serving healthy food instead of government cheese

That's the short list. Add your own.

Crazy stuff huh?

[lapfog_1]

1. Add to that.

100% renewable energy use.

As much recycling as we can do.

More forests, and not just pine forests.

Solar panels on every rooftop, failing that, paint them all white.

White asphalt for all roadways.

[timeforpeace]

44. Once we have all that, we can start wanting more stuff! Utopia is always just out of reach.

At least, that's what the adults keep telling me.

[Ken Burch]

124. Utopia IS, in fact, always just out of reach, what with humans being imperfectable

radical improvement is always possible, and always needed, however.

We'd have a much better country and a much better world if all of the above were achieved.

[rhett o rick]

149. Is Utopia a brand of vodia? Goes good with a little lime. nt

[grahamhgreen]

164. Disatisfaction drives the economy.

[Kitty Herder]

183. Well said, Ken! nt

[bridgit]

190. Then 'utopia' is just another word for 'heaven', in a kaleidescope within which...

'hell' is said to be a place where things are as well forever just out of reach even for people who idolize John Lennon; a person who famously put forward that there is no hell below us above us only sky in the course of having a form of instant karma befall him...

Which is part of why I pine to a lesser extent for lists filled with matters forever just out of reach; most everything else is a Kodak Moment

[Dr_Willie_Feelgood]

168. Wish List

- Public ownership of all residences, with assignment of living space based on individual and societal need, not personal resources
- Public ownership of the production and distribution of necessities (food, clothing, energy)
- Occupational assignment from a single central agency with the responsibility to place workers in a socially productive manner, based on a combination of skill and historic compensation for prior discrimination
- A ban on health-robbing food (esp. red meat, empty calorie salty snacks, unnatural sugary beverages), alcohol, and tobacco
- Immunity from taxes for the first $20,000 in income, 50% tax rate for six figure incomes, and 80% tax rate for everything above $1,000,000

[Enthusiast]

49. Yes!

No more White Pine plantations on State land in Ohio!

[YOY]

2. You commie madman!!!

-Getting rid of NCLB and standardized testing.

-Complete reformation of the public educational system to allow for career oriented vocational schools starting in HS.

-Free education for those willing. Straight across the board to the doctorate level. If you are smart enough to get in...you can struggle to get the degree.

[kenfrequed]

29. Lifetime free education

That is how I see it. Go to school, any school, as often as you are willing to and get whatever and as many degrees as you like. For free.

[Laelth]

60. YOY: Hear, hear to all of that! Excellent additions. n/t

:dem:

-Laelth

[alittlelark]

3. Elimination of Corporate Personhood.

[intheflow]

17. YES!!! n/t

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

26. Yes!

[Cronus Protagonist]

32. +1

Should be the top item on every true American's punch list.

[TheCoxwain]

38. [phone]

[Enthusiast]

50. +1, Lark! nt

[Kaleko]

88. A generous billion thumbs up.

[Greyhound]

96. +00110110 n/t

[scarletwoman]

97. Yes! My first thought! (nt)

[RoccoR5955]

111. ABSOFRIGGINLOUTELY!!!!!!!!!!!! n/t

[ima_sinnic]

113. +1 x 10^15

[daleanime]

119. Hell yea!

:bounce:

[uberllama42]

145. Single most important change we could make, IMO.

Treating corporations like the legal fictions they are rather than like citizens would do more to change the system we live under for the better than any other single measure.

[lib_wit_it]

171. Have any politicians actually shown an awareness of the importance of this?

[The Doctor.]

157. +1

[lib_wit_it]

170. Awww. But corporations are people, too. Ruthless, nasty, selfish, hateful, greedy people. Kind of

like Republicans.

[Greyhound]

217. You left out immune to the law and immortal. n/t

[lib_wit_it]

219. My bad. Very bad.

[stlsaxman]

186. Bingo!

[janet118]

199. Amen . . .

No one who lives forever, cannot be imprisoned, can avoid responsibility for its actions by dissolution and name changes, and whose stated mission is to drain the natural, economic, political and human resources from a society for private profit should be allowed U.S. citizenship. This list would include not only corporations, but also vampires, shape-shifters and warlocks.

[barbtries]

203. YES.

a biggie

[midnight]

211. That is another mechanism that is driving slavery... Get rid of it.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

4. - A pony. n/t

[Festivito]

14. My cousin in socialist Sweden afforded a pony for his daughter.

And he wasn't even from the rich side of the family.

We also have family members on the dole over there. They could not afford a pony.

[Voice for Peace]

103. and ponies get rounded up, and sold off, or euthanized

just because people don't want horse poop out in front of their houses.

[Ken Burch]

128. Let's just say it...sometimes ponies end up here:

[Voice for Peace]

133. augh... blue dog dogfood

if people would just teach their kids to watch out
where they step, they'd be a lot more graceful, and ponies
could run free.

[Orwellian_Ghost]

25. No need for a pony

Once we get the basics then maybe we can consider a government run domestic pet program.

What are your thoughts on these radical ideas?

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

75. My thoughts are that your thoughts are self-righteous and trite. n/t

[alittlelark]

125. This from the person who wants a pony?

:eyes:


It sounds like the OP wants a similar system to the ones that work well in the rest of the industrialized world - you know, those places where ppl are healthier, live longer, and generally more happy than we are with our military industrial complex sucking up our wealth only to spit it out in the form of bombs and missiles used to destroy countries that never hurt us.

[Duppers]

136. WTF?!!

[PVnRT]

180. Spoken like a true corporatist DLC stooge

[Voice for Peace]

135. do you mean national health insurance for pets?

[Greyhound]

98. No thoughts, just snark. How very typical.

Once again we hear the shouting from the "NO!" faction.

[Nitrogenica]

5. According to the righties, people like you are.....

.........Fascist Communist Acornist Trotskyist Racist Reverse-Racist Leftist Marxist Socialist Empathyist Sorosist Leninist Hitlerist Euthanasiaists who are stupid, lazy, hate America, want to offer therapy and understanding to terrorists, want to ram agenda down throats, don't read the bills they write, want to suck on the gubbermint teat, and are angry and unhinged.

In my opinion, you are just an average American.

[Orwellian_Ghost]

9. It seems like just decent and just things

yet these demands are the sort of things that get one labelled as "loony" by more than just the right-wing reactionaries. Then again maybe the folks who do such labelling have more in common with or are in fact quite "rightie" themselves.

Very excellent list as people add to the OP and these things which are considered radical are essentially our rights. To demand these rights is radical in today's political climate it seems.

[harun]

15. Agree, average American that the media portrays as Leftist Extremist.

[xchrom]

6. recommend -- a tax/government/legal system

that actually supports the vast majority of it's citizens.

[ashling]

7. And. pull the plug on Rush Limbaugh

[Jackpine Radical]

90. I would go for putting him in a zoo with a microphone &

an unlimited supply of Oxycontin. We could bring kids in & show them the Missing Dink.

[RoccoR5955]

114. Put Rush in a zoo...

...with a microphone, and a horny baboon! Put it on TV, so that his minions could watch.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

172. I remember that scene from the movie Trading Places.

Amtrak Baggage Handler and gorilla in cage....

And the fabulous thespian Al Franken!

:rofl:

[PVnRT]

8. I agree with about 90% of that. I guess I'm loony, too

[barbiegeek]

10. Paid manatory 4 week vacation

[Enthusiast]

52. That would reduce mental health costs. nt

[The Hope Mobile]

87. Seriously! nt

[Chisox08]

151. Make it 6 and we have a deal

[harun]

11. Superb list, here is mine

* Ending Cuba embargo, normalizing relations
* Single Payer Health Care
* Making higher education more accessible and affordable to Middle/Lower class
* Making housing more accessible and affordable to Middle/Lower class
* Reducing military spending
* Ending occupation of Iraq
* Ending occupation of Afghanistan
* Closing Guantanamo Bay
* Capping Credit Card interest rates
* Getting electric cars available for sale (not lease)
* Building new high speed rail routes
* Break up Corporate Media

[truedelphi]

205. +1. n/t

[Rhysling09]

12. oh mannn!

:eyes: Don't tell us you're against Valveeta!!!

[Rhysling09]

13. Oops, guess that's VELveeta!

[PSzymeczek]

132. I LOVE Velveeta! n/t

[Echo In Light]

16. Why you no good WINGNUT conspiracy theorist WHINER!

;)

Rec 9

[Octafish]

18. We can do all that. But the people who OWN GOVERNMENT say, ''We can't.''

As you and like-minded people like me in the LOONY LEFT know: We can't afford not to do all that.

Thank you for an outstanding post, Orwellian_Ghost.

Two things I'd add are:

1. Revitalize NASA to advance the civilian exploration of space.

We must in order to develop new technologies, harness material resources, and do something "fun" besides fighting each other.
Colonizing space also helps us improve our chances of surviving as a species.

2. Open the investigation in the assassinations of President Kennedy, Dr. King, Sen. Kennedy and Mr. X.

A lot of our enormous problems today have their origins in these treasons. Besides there being no statute of limitations on murder, we must remove the cancer.

[Laelth]

61. Excellent additions. Hear, hear! n/t

:dem:

-Laelth

[Octafish]

156. ''...nor tolerate those who do.''

The Cadet Honor Code

EXCERPT...

a. The Cadet Honor Code is defined as "A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do." The Honor Code expresses four succinct prohibitions. On a behavioral level, the Code represents a simple standard for all cadets. On a developmental plane, West Point expects that all cadets will strive to live far above the minimum standard of behavior and develop a commitment to ethical principles guiding moral actions.


b. West Point's core mission is develop leaders of character for our Army. A leader of character knows what is right, and possesses the moral courage to act on that knowledge. The principles of truthfulness, fairness, respect for others, and a personal commitment to maintaining values constitute that fundamental ideal known as the Spirit of the Code. A leader of character will apply the Spirit of the Code when making decisions involving ethical dilemmas.

SOURCE: http://www.usma.edu/Committees/Honor/Info/main.htm

Talk about the definition of "Liberal."
Talk about the definition of "Conservative."
The terms have been co-opted, corrupted, and confused
by most one and all.

[daleanime]

120. Oh I like that first one...

and I'll let you talk me into the second:popcorn:

[Octafish]

161. Poppy never answered where he was on November 22, 1963.

Two of the Warren Commission members had extensive ties to NAZI war criminals.
I believe they failed to discover the truth about the assassination.
I know, and can show below, they fixed the facts to make their case
that Oswald was the lone assassin, magic bullet and all.
I also know they didn't report to us the full story.



Know your BFEE: Poppy Bush was in Dallas the day JFK was assassinated.

Poppy Bush brought up JFK Assassination and "Conspiracy Theorists" at Ford Funeral

A fact curiously missing from American history and any mention of the Warren Commission



Henry J. Rybka was the Secret Service agent who asked ''Why?''

[indepat]

19. Crazy stuff, well beyond loony in the eyes of the true-believer in this RW land

:D

[angry old white man]

20. Mostly agree but I think we need to establish some presence in

Afghanistan for a bit longer

We should cut down on foreign bases but not entirely

"True" free trade is a good thing and contributes to world peace

We need a proper CIA- the world is still a dangerous place

additions:

have a proper vocational training program for kids not going to college

increase number of kids going to medical school

Have a volunteer public service that allows kids to either go into military or some
non-military service with the result of educational credits

[Laelth]

62. Welcome to DU.

:dem:

-Laelth

[WildEyedLiberal]

206. Welcome to DU - I agree with most of what you say

I don't think wholescale withdrawal from Afghanistan is a good idea right now, and I think the CIA has a purpose, though it's very obvious that it has wielded rogue, unchecked authority for way too long and needs to be reined in.

However, I'm not sure what you mean by "true" free trade. I'm all for FAIR trade, but "free trade" as currently exists benefits only corporations and screws the middle class and poor in America as well as the sweatshop slave laborers in other countries.

I totally agree about vocational schools, though. We need to admit that not everyone is cut out for four year universities and that that isn't a bad thing, and that people who aren't need to be able to learn a trade and make a decent living too.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

21. EEK!!! Too liberal!! Impractical!! You don't understand!! Conform!!!

[Echo In Light]

23. And those appeals often stem from those who make A LOT more $ than those they claim are impractical

Funny how it tends to pan out like that, eh?

[bobbolink]

42. What an alarmist, elitist fear-monger!

:rofl:

:hi:

[John Kerry VonErich]

22. Summing everything up...

Might as well have a new constitution, period.

[14thColony]

35. How are any of these things not possible under our current constitution?

[John Kerry VonErich]

66. The arguement of unspecification.

Some of it may get through. But if you look at the big picture, it basically is all generalization.

[Greyhound]

100. Which, again, has what to do with The Constitution? n/t

[Xenotime]

67. I am all for that. The old one doesn't work any more.

[Rhysling09]

24. See, we can't

take any paths that might result in mankind succeeding; we Have to come to a horrific end!
or Geebus won't come!

[Laelth]

59. Welcome to DU.

:dem:

-Laelth

[daleanime]

122. Oh noes....

we'as missed the Geebus:rofl: when it coming back?:applause:

[ChiciB1]

198. Is That The Geebus Who Was A LIBERAL??? N/T

[mudplanet]

27. I guess that makes me crazy, too.

[Stinky The Clown]

28. I am NOT a Crazy Left person and I disagree with your loony left list .......

.... on three points, to wit:

4 day work week. A return to 5 would be fine with me.

Elimination of drug laws (unless the word "reactionary" is definitive of something rather than simply hot rhetoric.)

Elimination of the CIA. Sorry. Its a nasty world out there. I would be happy with more and meaningful oversight.

Apart from that .... K&R

[wickerwoman]

81. On the 4 day work week:

American productivity has increased 70% since the mid-70s (mostly thanks to the internet and other technologies). So technically we could all be working a two and a half day week and have everything we need, assuming that society was organized in any kind of rational way.

I agree we need something like the CIA (but with much stricter oversight and accountability) and that we need drug laws but they should focus on smuggling, distribution and manufacture rather than use.

[waiting for hope]

129. A two - three day work week would also

greatly increase a lot of kids productivity in school - for the life of me, I don't know how working single parents and parents with more than one job manage to help their kids with homework and be a part of their school.

[DireStrike]

92. I also would be happy with the CIA on a TIGHT leash

Maybe with publicly financed elections, we could put that responsibility on our representatives and expect them to be able to do their job instead of having to fundraise 365 days a year.

The CIA has deep roots with all sorts of powerful ghouls and illegal enterprises under its control. It would possibly be the hardest thing on the list to accomplish.

Whoops never mind, that would be removal of lobbyists from the political arena. That's a TALLL order.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

140. Read the CIA and the Cult of Intelligence before you say we "need" the CIA

It's an old book, but if anything, things are worse than they were then.

[WildEyedLiberal]

207. I'm kind of with you, although the 4 day work week sounds nice

Otherwise, yeah. I also don't think we need to pull out of Afghanistan right now. Iraq, yes. Afghanistan - well, the only reason it's such a mess is because we neglected it to send all our troops to the Iraq boondoggle, and pulling out now would ensure that an even more radical Taliban takes control. And I don't think that's a good thing for anyone - Afghanis, Americans, or anyone in that region.

[superduperfarleft]

30. I agree with all of that, and do you one better:

Slavery reparations. :D

[SidDithers]

31. I'm part of the sane left...

and I want:

The US and other countries out of Afghanistan and Iraq
National, single-payer health care for all citizens (lucky me, I've already got this)
The recognition of a woman's right to choose as fundamental
Equal marriage rights for gays and lesbians. (yup, got that one too)
Sane drug laws.
Sane political representation.

plus a whole bunch of other stuff.

Sid

[14thColony]

33. I'm good with the whole list!

I'd add:
- Pay public school teachers a whole lot more
- Eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for crimes
- Eliminate the death penalty
- Reduce 'defense' spending to the level required only to defend the territory of the United States
- Require the state to not only provide a defense attorney regardless of the accused's income, but also to fund the defense to the same level that the prosecution is spending to prosecute the accused. Nobody should go bankrupt while still presumed innocent.
- Repeal drug laws that allow for seizure of assets without/before a determination of guilt. Current drug seizure laws make a mockery of "presumption of innocence."

[bobbolink]

34. Hurrah for HOUSING!!! From your keyboard to the monitor of the goddesss!

:applause: :loveya:

[Libertas1776]

36. Oh

if only. Maybe when I die and go up to loony left heaven, I'll get to enjoy such things. For now, I am stuck here in rabid right hell.

[xiamiam]

37. i love you...nt

[TheCoxwain]

39. Oh my god ... I just had an ORGASM!!!!

A political Orgasm ofcourse !!!

[bobbolink]

40. I'm thowing down the gauntlet, big boy. I bet I can out LEFT you!

Here's what I want more than anything..... what our last liberal president (Nixon) proposed... a living wage for EVERYONE!

Imagine.... no more foodstamps... everyone would have the money for that necessity.

No more subsidized housing..... everyone would have the money to afford that necessity.

No moe LEAP.... everyone would have the money for the necessary utilities in their area.

What a concept....

See? I told you I could out-radicalize you.

Nixon would be proud.

:rofl:

[Orwellian_Ghost]

45. Nice try but...

the living wage isn't the issue as much as the costs that are required to live.

I don't want to see things ratcheting upwards I want the possibility that we are all able to live with less.

For example let's drastically cut the costs of what it takes to buy and/or rent a home. Let's dramatically reduce the cost of what it takes to transport ourselves. Let's dramatically reduce food costs. And so forth...

Yep I'm right there with you bobbo. All of these things are ours. They have been stolen from us. We are only taking back what is rightfully ours. So the next question is how do we do it?

:toast:

[mike_c]

41. my whole list has been mentioned in this thread, so I'll just...

...rec.

[winyanstaz]

43. As long as that list also eliminates the person-hood of the corporations.....

you can count on my vote for this list.
Good post :)

[mvd]

46. Wow, IMO those are all good!

Some more that I would do:

- abolish the death penalty

- provide a reasonable path to citizenship for illegal immigrants

- indefinite unemployment comp.

- free state (public) college education

- ceilings on harmful pollutant emissions

- agree with subsidies to provide all necessities (includes providing welfare)

- funding to states to help improve the public defender system

- scrap the Patriot Act and no NSA spying without warrants

- more restrictions on terms in credit cards

- cut the defense budget

- social security payments should be closer to what you earned while working

and more..

[Hannah Bell]

47. wotta nut.

[Enthusiast]

48. Public funded elections

might take care of the rest.

[waiting for hope]

127. +1 - the root of the problem starts there.

[Cleita]

51. Running our government as the Constitution intended.

Isn't Obama a Constitutional scholar? I'd say it's time for him to go to work. Also everything else you listed. K&R

[FormerDittoHead]

53. A FLAT TAX! A *FLAT* 2% Wealth Tax over $5 million. n/t

[RoccoR5955]

112. Flat tax is unfair. It hurts those on the bottom more. n/t

[bobbolink]

130. You'd think "progressives" would understand REGRESSIVE TAXES by now, wouldn't you?

Yet they still harp on these libertarian tax messes.....

:grr:

[FormerDittoHead]

142. I'll assume you're making a joke in the reply to my msg about *WEALTH* taxes. n/t

[bvar22]

54. Here:

* IMMEDIATE withdrawal of ALL US Military Forces from the Middle East.

* REDUCTION of Defense Spending by at least 50%.

* Immediate Civil Rights and Equal Protections for ALL....no exceptions.

* Single Payer Universal HealthCare.

* FREE Universal Education at ALL levels.

*Rule of Law, no exceptions for the Elite Class.

* I am an advocate for The Constitution as it is written.
The Constitutions places limits on Government.
Government may NOT alter those limits. (Patriot Act, FISA, etc.)

* I am a advocate for The Poor and the Disenfranchised.

* I am an advocate for Working Americans and Organized LABOR.
(Wall Street Bankers can go bust and stand in bread lines with the rest of us.)

* Economic Justice where Mom & Pop and the small Farmer can compete with Big Corpo on a level playing field.

* Transparent, verifiable elections

* Public Financing of Elections

* Instant Runoff or other methods that eliminates forced voting for the Lesser of Two Evils.

* STRONG opponent to "Free Trade" (Race to the Bottom).

* opponent of the MIC.

* opponent to the concentration of Wealth & Power into fewer hands.

* I am an opponent to Corporate/Republican Influence INSIDE the Democratic Party.

[corkhead]

55. nationalize the radio and tv airwaves

[jannyk]

56. Luv It!!! k&r

[TommyPaine]

57. Stricter food safety laws, for one

I’ll stick to one area of interest:

• Tougher laws for treatment of livestock
• Tougher laws for livestock waste removal
• A ban on certain pesticides
• More funding for pesticide alternatives and related research
• A ban on artificial sweeteners
• A ban on MSG
• A ban on artificial preservatives
• A ban on trans fats
• No subsidies for farmers growing corn used for sweetener purposes (e.g., high fructose corn syrup)
• Above all, HEALTHY DIETARY CHOICES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

That's a good start.

[Laelth]

58. Excellent list, for starters. k&r n/t

:dem:

-Laelth

[drmeow]

63. I'd vote for ya! n/t

[amb123]

64. Repeal the USA PATRIOT Act

Repeal the Military Commissions Act.

Defend the Separation of Church/State.

And of course, Single-Payer Universal Health Care for all Americans.

ALL OF WHICH (plus your list) ARE NON-NEGOTIABLE DEMANDS!

No hedging, no welching, no triming down.

[Jkid]

65. Here's what I also want

-Replace PBS, NPR, and VoA, with a Federal decentraized public broadcasting service. (American Broadcasting Service) Paid fully by our taxes.
-Implement Public Service Broadcasting regulations for all television and radio services.
-Depopulate prisons and reserve them for real criminals, make them regimated and structured so that idle time and prison gangsterism eradicated.
-Universal Free basic Wi-Fi for all.
-Replace the MPAA's CARA and the ESRB with one government regulated media classification system that protects children but outlaws censorship for adults (except for child pornography and incitement to immanent lawless action)
-Universal social security: Everyone gets a check for $400 a week if you are unemployed over 16 or a student.
-Expand Amtrak to every town or city with a population of 5,000 people. Make all public transportation free of charge (except for High-Speed Acela-like services and overnight sleeper services)
-Outlaw firearms except for hunting, pest control, and sport. Disarm the police in urban and suburban areas and restrict fire arms to armed response units.
-Get rid of the jail bond system, and release suspected defendants on recognizance or remand.

[Xenotime]

68. Adding.....

- Full and complete ban on all guns

- Elimination of all salaries (All EQUAL pay should come from the government)

- Fully Subsidized clothing

- Fully Subsidized housing

- Fully subsidized food and nutrition

- Collapse the current Constitution

- Ban on all oil related fossil fuels

- Limit on the number of kids one mother can have

- Ban on all tobacco products

- 100% rights for anyone who sets foot on this soil without fear of deportation

- Ban of all foul and offensive language

- Full prosecution of those who oppose any progressive movement

- Restitution for crimes against oppressed or enslaved cultures

[grantcart]

73. Now that's what I call the real Looney Left lol

Now when you say 'fully' subsidized does that mean = free?

[superduperfarleft]

79. No, it means the poster is being sarcastic and trollish.

And if I had my way, he'd be sent to the acid mines.

[Greyhound]

102. Thanks for the clarification.

Why don't these asshats just go back to the Republik Party where they are comfortable?

[Echo In Light]

193. Never underestimate the power of denial n/t

[Name removed]

94. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[scarletwoman]

101. FAIL. (nt)

[Warren Stupidity]

123. *cough*bullshit*cough*

[Voice for Peace]

134. you forgot mandatory euthanasia for old or sick people,

or republicans

[lark]

69. Here's a HUGE one

Totally revamping the US monetary policy so that banks pay interest to the govt. on money the govt. deposits in their institution. That would change would reshape the world! Of course, every president that has ever proposed this, or even discussed proposing it was killed. Kennedy was the last one. Since then, the presidents realize who actually runs the country and bow to their leader.

[Greyhound]

106. How about simply doing what The Constitution intended?

Banking is basically currency control and that power was specifically reserved to the Congress.

[autorank]

70. I am with you 100% n/t k*r

[inna]

71. i'll take basic social safety net mechanisms WAY before 4-day work week.

in fact, the latter is far down the list of my list of priorities.

[Piewhacket]

72. Put it in your journal and post it on your refrigerator as a "TO DO" list. nt

and check 'em off as ya get 'em done.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

74. Eradication of factory farming and big corps influence over farming

also letting people know what is exactly in their food.

[Mithreal]

76. K&R nt

[Jakes Progress]

77. In other words, you are a Democrat

in principle and not just in politics.

[Greyhound]

108. That's not the Democratic Party I see.

What we have is brutal enforcement of the status quo with more sophisticated PR.

One Party, One Way, One Result.

[Jakes Progress]

143. That is the gist of my post. nt

[dbonds]

78. Now thats the America I thought I chose to be born in.

[CrawlingChaos]

80. K&R from another Loony Lefty who agrees 100% (n/t)

[HomerRamone]

82. HAND-COUNTED PAPER BALLOTS nt

[JenGatherer]

83. It makes me feel good

just to read the list causes a part of me to dream...and it feels so good!

[muffin1]

84. Marriage equality. n/t

[wickerwoman]

85. Dismantle our nuclear weapons program;

safely dispose of nuclear arsenals;

no nuclear power until a safe way of dealing with waste products is developed;

prosecute polluters with extreme prejudice;

better whistle-blower protections;

shut down the revolving door between government and the entities they regulate (you can't quit Monsanto and get a job in the FDA the next week)

[ChoppinBroccoli]

86. But Wait A Minute..........

..........if we make rich people pay taxes, nobody will want to be rich!!! There will be SO MANY advantages to being poor, that nobody will ever work again!!! All those LUCKY DUCKY poor people who don't have to pay taxes are SO much better off than the rich people who have to sacrifice their solid-gold back-scratchers in order to help support the country that gave them all their opportunities.

I'm not kidding you, Republicans ACTUALLY think this way. If you make me pay a portion of my income, I won't want to be rich anymore. Sell off my mansion and the Ferrari, I'm heading downtown to live in a box. Life on the Government teat is GRRR-RRRR-REAT!!!

As I LOVE to tell people who are fond of complaining about all the "lazy people getting rich off of welfare" and the "welfare queens pulling up to the welfare office in their Cadillacs", if it's so great being poor, why don't you just quit your job and be one of them? Funny, I've never had anyone take me up on my idea yet.

[Greyhound]

109. The disconnect is simply staggering, isn't it?

Welcome to DU.
:hi:

[WillyT]

89. I'm In !!!

:kick:

[tekisui]

91. knr!~

[TBF]

93. That'll do for starters,

Free education through college (with nationalization so your neighborhood does not determine your level of funding)
Free health care for all (single payer preferred)
Guaranteed employment
Guaranteed housing
Nationalize energy industry
End monopoly of the press/music industries (Clear Channel and Rupert Murdock should not have all the fun...)

[Greyhound]

95. Not bad at all. I would replace the CIA with a new organization tasked with the original function

of the CIA, without the parasite-class management.

Expand the repeal of drug laws to include all laws regarding personal behavior. As long as you're not hurting anybody (that doesn't want hurting), it's nobody's business, least of all the government's.

Outlaw the financial and insurance industries. The function of insurance is something that falls under the commons anyway and there is no reason for the financial industry to even exist.

An absolute ban on all private money money in politics, period. Perhaps something like professional sports, with set rules and time-frames and impartial judges/referees to watch over it?

"Imagine" :thumbsup::fistbump:

[scarletwoman]

116. The "original function" of the CIA has ALWAYS been to serve the interests of the "parasite class".

If you've never read Steve Kangas' "The Origins of the Overclass", you really must!

The Origins of the Overclass

The wealthy have always used many methods to accumulate wealth, but it was not until the mid-1970s that these methods coalesced into a superbly organized, cohesive and efficient machine. After 1975, it became greater than the sum of its parts, a smooth flowing organization of advocacy groups, lobbyists, think tanks, conservative foundations, and PR firms that hurtled the richest 1 percent into the stratosphere.

The origins of this machine, interestingly enough, can be traced back to the CIA.

<snip>

During the 1970s, these men would take the propaganda and operational techniques they had learned in the Cold War and apply them to the Class War. Therefore it is no surprise that the American version of the machine bears an uncanny resemblance to the foreign versions designed to fight communism.

<snip>

How did this alliance start? The CIA has always recruited the nation’s elite: millionaire businessmen, Wall Street brokers, members of the national news media, and Ivy League scholars. During World War II, General "Wild Bill" Donovan became chief of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner of the CIA. Donovan recruited so exclusively from the nation’s rich and powerful that members eventually came to joke that "OSS" stood for "Oh, so social!"

Another early elite was Allen Dulles, who served as Director of the CIA from 1953 to 1961. Dulles was a senior partner at the Wall Street firm of Sullivan and Cromwell, which represented the Rockefeller empire and other mammoth trusts, corporations and cartels. He was also a board member of the J. Henry Schroeder Bank, with offices in Wall Street, London, Zurich and Hamburg. His financial interests across the world would become a conflict of interest when he became head of the CIA. Like Donavan, he would recruit exclusively from society’s elite.

By the 1950s, the CIA had riddled the nation’s businesses, media and universities with tens of thousands of part-time, on-call operatives.

<snip>

Historically, the CIA and society’s elite have been one and the same people. This means that their interests and goals are one and the same as well. Perhaps the most frequent description of the intelligence community is the "old boy network," where members socialize, talk shop, conduct business and tap each other for favors well outside the formal halls of government.

Many common traits made it inevitable that the CIA and Corporate America would become allies. Both share an intense dislike of democracy, and feel they should be liberated from democratic regulations and oversight. Both share a culture of secrecy, either hiding their actions from the American public or lying about them to present the best public image. And both are in a perfect position to help each other.

How? International businesses give CIA agents cover, secret funding, top-quality resources and important contacts in foreign lands. In return, the CIA gives corporations billion-dollar federal contracts (for spy planes, satellites and other hi-tech spycraft). Businessmen also enjoy the romantic thrill of participating in spy operations. The CIA also gives businesses a certain amount of protection and privacy from the media and government watchdogs, under the guise of "national security."

Finally, the CIA helps American corporations remain dominant in foreign markets, by overthrowing governments hostile to unregulated capitalism and installing puppet regimes whose policies favor American corporations at the expense of their people. (my bold)

The CIA has NEVER been about protecting US, it's ALWAYS been about protecting the interests of the wealthy elite. I say, eliminate it altogether.

Show me where we need real, honest-to-goodness intelligence gathering done that ISN'T in service to U.S. Imperialism and militarism, and I'll grant a need for some spycraft. I just wonder whether such a need would actually exist if we weren't so intent on furthering the interests of our Oligarchy.

sw

[Jackpine Radical]

188. And let me add Perkins' Confessions of an Economic Hitman to the recommended reading:

From Amazon:

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man reveals a game that, according to John Perkins, is "as old as Empire" but has taken on new and terrifying dimensions in an era of globalization. And Perkins should know. For many years he worked for an international consulting firm where his main job was to convince LDCs (less developed countries) around the world to accept multibillion-dollar loans for infrastructure projects and to see to it that most of this money ended up at Halliburton, Bechtel, Brown and Root, and other United States engineering and construction companies. This book, which many people warned Perkins not to write, is a blistering attack on a little-known phenomenon that has had dire consequences on both the victimized countries and the U.S.


On target as always, SW.

[Greyhound]

218. I should have said the original stated function. We do need covert information gathering

outside the U.S., especially if we were to buck the global parasites.

And both of John Perkin's books are worth the read.

[MasonJar]

99. A very strong climate change legislation to stop the USA contribution to

global warming. Otherwise I agree with your list.

[Voice for Peace]

104. great list

great thread, many beautiful ideas

[green917]

105. A few to add from a fellow loon

Dissolution of the World Bank

Dissolution of the International Monetary Fund

Creation of a Department of Peace (thank you Rep. Kucinich)

Creation of an International "Apollo Project" spearheaded by the United States to end hunger and poverty throughout the world (with nothing but altruism as the ultimate goal)

Creation of an International altruistic project to end deaths from preventable diseases like Tuberculosis, polio, Typhus, etc.

Slashing, across the board, of the United States Military budget by Billions of dollars (which can, then, be used to fund things like health care or the aforementioned programs)

I could go on and on and on

[Greyhound]

110. Regarding your "Apollo Project", you would probably be amazed at how cheaply

this could immediately be done. Once you learn how comparatively little it would take, you will be angry forever.

[green917]

137. I do know how little it would cost

I know, for a fact, that it would take, at most, a very small fraction of either our military or intelligence budgets and I am mad as hell about it!

[Greyhound]

196. Only about 10% of the "officially stated" military budget.

Poof! 99% of the reason for having this bloated military disappears.

I don't know which is worse, the criminals that perpetrate this obscenity, or the morons that support and participate in it.

[Initech]

107. Elimination of private prison corporations

Really that should not be something that people make money off of!!!

[RoccoR5955]

115. Bring back tariffs, and get rid of taxes

If it costs a dollar to make here, and 2 cents to make in China, put a 98 cent tariff on it.

Global "free" trade, is one big failure. It only makes the rich richer, and does little for the poor or middle class.

[Butch350]

117. I think the 4 day work week can be arranged.

[mckara]

118. And...

Two Kinds of Cheese on Cheeseburgers! Crazzzzyyyy!!

[Warren Stupidity]

121. That'll do.

K&R

[Ken Burch]

126. Democratic control of major economic decisions and democratic management of enterprises

Plus, anything that's nationalized should be placed under employee self-management, since the failure of Stalinism was to make bureaucrats, rather than the actual workers, the managers of the economy.

[DonCoquixote]

146. One issue

Do you really think the employees are actually up to managing? Half of them are too stupid to follow a conversation.

[Ken Burch]

147. That's a pretty sweeping assumption

Generally, in any business, the employees know more about what needs to be done to improve things simply from day-to-day contact with the realities of the situation than anyone in the boardroom does.

And with employee management, you could also have greater opportunity for training in various skills, such as at the Mondragon Cooperatives in Spain, where employees are always getting the chance to increase their workplace education.

What can read as ignorance or apathy is actually alienation. Workers appear not to know or not to care because there isn't a real stake in it for them-they are carrying out someone else's plan, and their minds and not respected by the management, who sees them only as drones. I hope I'm wrong, but I sense that attitude in your post.

[DonCoquixote]

167. No

What you sense in my post is the frustration of someone who has tried to ask questions in the workplace, only to get called a lazy commie spic by the same yahoos who would benefit more than me. I have never been management, but I have seen people take opportunity and just use it as an excuse to be lazy, steal from the till, and take their fifth smoke break of the hour.

[lib_wit_it]

175. Funny, I've found this to be more true of management than the workers. Especially on the listening

side of a conversation.

[Motown_Johnny]

131. Repealing Reagan Era Tax Policies

[Amos Moses]

138. sounds good to me

K&R

[treestar]

139. All nice, but it would take more than 8 years given the country we have now

and the populace in it. 30% think Palin is OK! There is a lot of work to do. Most people are pretty middle of the road and they aren't going to just change their minds tomorrow.

We aren't the right wing, telling these people to leave. And when they told us to, we didn't, did we?

[windoe]

141. American companies hire Americans as employees

I know, sounds really loony.

[Hugabear]

144. Nationalizing the energy industry

Incorporating FDR's Second Bill of Rights

[steelmania75]

148. Yes, very elitist

:sarcasm:

[rhett o rick]

150. That's a good start. nt

[jonestonesusa]

152. K & R - Great List!

Let's also bring back the Fairness Doctrine and FCC enforcement of ownership limits on media companies, as was common practice until Ronald Reagan. The 80s were hard on everyone!

[Chisox08]

153. Also Add

+ Elimination of Cooperate personhood
+ Reparations for Slavery (Its time to finally get some closure and put that dark part of our history behind us)
+ Prosecution of the Bush Administration for various war crimes including torture
+ Nation wide Broadband access
+ Elimination of the Death penalty
+ Equal rights for all
+ The break up of companies that are "Too big to fail"
+ Nationalization of the Banks
+ Elimination of Predatory lending practices such as Adjustable Rate Mortgages

[spin]

154. Well we could replace the CIA with CNN and be better off. (n/t)

[digidigido]

155. and bring back the fairness doctrine, and declassify immediately all documents on the Kennedy

assassination

[earth mom]

158. Great List! Only thing I'd add is addressing Global Warming in a big way.

What's happening now is half assed at best.

[MrsBrady]

159. you are such a horrible person

do i need the sarcasm thingy?

[Autonomy]

160. Slightly less looney left of center here

But I still support most of your bullet points, except the following:

- US Withdrawal from Afghanistan

- Dismantling of US military bases abroad

- Elimination of NAFTA and other "free trade" agreements

- Elimination of the CIA

I'm not for dismantling of military and economic presence around the world in those places where we can do some good. Also, we're still at war with the people who allowed the 9/11 bombing... that job was never finished by the previous shaministration.

[leftstreet]

162. K&R

A good start

[grahamhgreen]

163. Ending poverty and homelessness.Prosecuting crimes committed under the previous administration - inc

Prosecuting crimes committed under the previous administration - including possible war crimes.
Ending wars for profit.
Instant run-off elections.
paper ballots.
Publicly funded elections.
Renewable/unlimited energy.
End global warming.
Environment over profits.
Ending rendition and torture.
Closing Gitmo.
Breaking up monopolistic corporations and banks.

etc......

[Mosaic]

165. A Futuristic Utopia

A death to right/left politics and capitalism. A perfect union.

Scientific progress not imagined. A Total Safety net from cradle to grave for all not seen in Europe or anywhere.

If we do these things I will be a proud American, proud to lead the world.

[Political Heretic]

166. U Dangerous!

:kick:

[Grinchie]

169. I only have one thing to add - Mandatory Labeling of GMO Food Ingredients

While a complete scientific review of all GMO Food organisms is funded with long term feeding studies using real, independant researchers.

All the other posters above have listed everything else I can think of except for this crucial step towrds the health of the Nation.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

173. To go with free college education:

Jobs for all the highly trained and skilled people with degrees -- like the New Deal putting artists to work, and all other sorts of degrees that are now considered impractical.

Investment in R&D such as the Superconducting Supercollider that was yanked, that was to be built in Waxahachie and would have put thousands of engineers and physicists to work.

[democrat2thecore]

174. A Senator named Fred Harris ran on an almost identical platform in 1976

Arguably the most radical senator to serve in the U.S. Senate (and from Oklahoma!) ran in the Democratic primaries for president in 1972 - and much more seriously in 1976. Quite a few of us cut our teeth working on that '76 presidential campaign.

His platform was yours (excepting the current issues of course) - including "Canadian-Style healthcare" and "Padlocking the doors of the CIA"



Senator Harris today - who now lives in New Mexico:

[Jkid]

221. Where can I find his political platform?

n/t

[democrat2thecore]

222. I have some stuff

Maybe I should scan some brochures and policy statements if there's any interest.

Here's a link to his brief announcement address in '76:
http://www.4president.org/speeches/fredharris1976announcement.htm

[lib_wit_it]

176. Imagine no religion.

[BB1]

177. You're not loony, you're Dutch!

Seriously, this is completely acceptable speech in countries like Holland, Sweden, Germany et al.

I got another one. A gagging order placed on Sarah Palin instead of Sibel Edmonds! (The latter is better looking, too!)

[info being]

178. Why do you hate Obama?

Kidding :-)

[BEZERKO]

179. I'm a loonie leftie too!

but there's a better way to put it. I believe that the government should care about its citizens. It should also be strong enough and responsible enough to act on that care. Lead with your values.

[Vidar]

181. You have my vote.

[pleah]

182. K&R

[Kitty Herder]

184. Another loony here, in complete agreement with you. nt

[Raster]

185. A Truth Commission convened specifically to examine and investigate the

cheney*/bush* administration BEGINNING with Selection 2000 and including, but not limited to: 9/11, Selection 2004, Iraq War, Afghanistan War. It's time for our country's Nuremberg Trials.

[stlsaxman]

187. Excellent list- glad to see "Public funding of elections"- THE #1 need (after single-payer)

:kick:

[StarfarerBill]

189. With fist upraised...

...I say, "Hear, hear!"

Thanks for this, Orwellian Ghost.

[L0oniX]

191. You are close to infringing on my nick name!

:silly:

[Blue_Tires]

192. signing on...

[marias23]

194. Economic Justice

...solves all

[pundaint]

200. Talk about utopian fantasy

Get back to us when you have three people agreeing on the details of economic justice.

[LWolf]

195. I, too, am the "looney left." I'll add:

1. repeal of NCLB, retirement of the "standards and accountability" movement, and putting an educator in as secretary of the department of education, to enact authentic, fully supported reforms that educators have been calling for for decades now. Universal public pre-school through trade school or college.

2. Election reform to include: 100% public financing of all elections; mandated equal, and equally neutral, media time; authentic debates that ensure equal time to all participants, and that require all participants to answer every question; and some form of IRV.

3. Re-regulation of everything that has been de-regulated over my life-time.

4. The end of privatization.

5. Stronger, and better enforced, anti-trust laws.

6. Some modern form of a fairness doctrine.

[ChiciB1]

197. Hear, Hear For The LOONIES!!! As A Boomer, We DID Make "Some"

difference, and regardless of ALL the name calling here, I remain a LOONY LEFT LIBERAL!!

Days gone by, and YES, we wore our hearts on our sleeves!! Compassion & Caring, Love & Peace!!!

:hippie: :loveya:

[DWilliamsamh]

201. Some things yes some things not so much.

Some of the things on your list would require a perfect world in which the US has no "enemies." Such a state of affairs isn't possible. But I agree with most of your list - especially the domestic policy/life points.

Cheers.

[barbtries]

202. i couldn't find one item on your list

that i wouldn't love to see happen. good work, no great work.

[mkultra]

204. the "solidarity" image is sweet irony.

[noiretextatique]

208. i'm just a loony at you are

:hi: great list

[midnight]

209. Wow. I like the way the loony left thinks. You thought of everything

and I can't add to it. Good job!

[jpljr77]

210. My edits to the list:

- Single-Payer Universal Health Care

- US Withdrawal from Iraq

- US Withdrawal from Afghanistan (except for intelligence operations)

- Dismantling of US military bases abroad

- Nationalization of US banking system No, never, ever. You obviously don't know much about community banks and credit unions.

- Public Transportation renewal projects- Rail, Trolley, Bus etc.

- 4 day work week The gov't should not dictate this. Besides, the culture is moving more in that direction anyway with flexible hours, telecommuting, etc.

- Removal of monied lobbyists from political arena

- Elimination of Agribusiness subsidies (I assume this means on large corporate farms, not small ones)

- Elimination The amending of NAFTA and other "free trade" agreements

- Public funding of elections

- Affordable/Clean public housing options with subsidies for the indigent

- Elimination of all reactionary drug laws

- Reformation of American penal system

- Elimination of the CIA The CIA is not the problem; those working withing their funding umbrella without oversight is. Intelligence is important and does way more good than harm. We just hear about the harm.

- Increased taxes on the wealthy and big business. I'll go further and say that investment income should be treated as and taxed at the same rate as regular income. The gov't missed out on about a trillion dollars over the course of the Bush 15% bracket run.

- Nationalization and expansion of Food Banks serving healthy food instead of government cheese


My addition: Elimination of the death penalty at all levels for all crimes.

[libodem]

212. Took me a while to click

but I agree with all of those, especially getting rid of the CIA. It has become the Gestapo/KGB of the f-ing world. No morals, no scruples, no ethics, and no adherence to any laws. Completely run amuck.

[blossomstar]

213. Excellent!

My question is why doesn't everyone want these things in a supposedly civilized country? Anyone who DOESN'T want this are selfish and have not a care for anyone but themselves.

[f the letter]

214. One more on the lunatic fringe. Solidarity.

i'm with you.

[BOG PERSON]

215. I want this

[Xicano]

216. Excellent list Orwellian_Ghost

Every single one of your choices I agree with 100%.

:thumbsup:

[maryf]

220. Kick

too late to recommend. Human needs first, including the need for fulfillment via an occupation/purpose (with no hierarchy), elimination of any form of torture, and OG for fearless leader! Fantastic list...

[Orwellian_Ghost]

223. Excellent list

by all.