If Dems regain control, how can we ensure that Bushworld™ never returns?

[Fridays Child]

If we ever get the chance to begin repairing the damage done to this country by the neocons and the GOP, what legislation would you lobby your representatives to support? Here's my short wish list and, except for the first one, these aren't in order of priority because they're all important:

♦ Require verifiable voting systems in every jurisdiction
♦ Withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan
♦ Mandate full civil and contractual rights for LBGT people
♦ Investigate and prosecute all Bush administration and GOP crimes back to November, 2000
♦ Reinstate the Fairness Doctrine and outlaw media consolidation
♦ Prohibit K Street lobbying
♦ Convert to 100% public financing of all federal elections
♦ Repeal all tax breaks to the wealthy and increase tax breaks for the poor and Middle Class
♦ Institute universal health care
♦ Sign Kyoto
♦ Strengthen and protect collective bargaining

Beyond all of the above, I'd also like to see Yertle the Turtle become required reading in early elementary school so children will learn that even the lowliest of turtles can bring down a Yertle.

[Radical Activist]

1. Lots of public hearings and investigations

It almost doesn't matter if it leads to impeachment. The public needs to know the whole story of just what has been happening and how crooked these people are. They need to know it now before the '08 election, not in 50 years once documents are declassified and no one cares anymore. Let's educate the public on how their trust has been abused.

[Fridays Child]

41. And to make sure the story is accurate, Ban Fox News.

Well, a girl can dream, can't she? :)

[liberaldemocrat7]

88. A progressive agenda for America.

A progressive agenda for America.


I demand that the Republican Party hold a press
conference and accede to these demands. Until such a
press conference happens and the legislation and/or
actions gets passed I will boycott products from
Republican contributors Dell Computers, Walmart,
Wendy's, Outback Steak House, Dominos Pizza,
Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Eckerd, CVS and Walgreens,
Curves for women health clubs, General Electric and
Exxon/Mobil.

I demand that congress pass legislation ending the war in
Iraq and withdraw the troops and arrange with the
United Nations to replace US troops with UN troops to
defend Iraq until The Iraqi army can defend Iraq.

I demand that the Republican party end their aggressive and
hateful action to end a woman's right to choose
abortion or not.

I demand that the Republican party end their aggressive and
hateful action to harrass immigrants to this country.

I demand that the Congress of the United states and the
president of the United States enact a law to increase
the minimum wage to TEN dollars an hour and also to
extend unemployment benefits to a year or more for all
people whose unemployment benefits expired after 6
months even though they still seek work.

I demand that the Congress of the United States to not
privatize social security benefits in any form
including taking a percentage of the social security tax
and placing it in private accounts. People can
already create their own pensions with money after
taxes in the private sector.

I demand that the congress make all of a person's earned
income taxable for social security FICA tax purposes
and remove the 88,000 dollar taxable income limit. This
will make social security solvent for many years to
come.

I demand the congress increase the payroll tax in order to
make social security solvent as well.

I demand congress and the president enact a prescription
drug benefit under Medicare Part B which covers 80
percent of medication cost, with no extra premium, no
extra deductibles, no means test and no coverage gaps,
and no penalties for signing up in a succeeding year.

I demand congress repeal the faulty Medicare law HR 1 / S 1
passed by congress in Nov 2003 which includes repealing the means
test for Medicare Part B.


I demand the congress roll back the Medicare Part B monthly
premium to 78 dollars a month.


I demand congress enact single payer universal health
insurance for every citizen as minimum coverage.

I demand that congress and the president enact universal
vote by mail throughout the 50 states of the United
States of America with paper ballots easy to fill out
and difficult to change or invalidate by Republican
Party officials. This will prevent Republicans from
vote suppression by skin color and political party
which happened electronically and in person in the 2000
and 2004 elections.

I demand that congress and the president enact that civil
servants on every state payroll keep track of voter
registrations and vote counting of mail in votes in
each precinct and not companies such as Choicepoint. We
need to take the Republican Party out of the business
of keeping track of voter registration and counting
votes.

I demand that congress and the president ban the secretary
of state in each of the 50 states from engaging in
politics especially acting as a campaign official for a
presidential campaign.

I demand congress enact legislation protecting private
pensions from corporations deliberately declaring
bankruptcy or ending pensions outright.












boycott travel to South Dakota and Louisiana and their products as best as you can unless you reside in these states and will call or send email to the governor of Louisiana and South Dakota and tell them that unless they get their legislatures to repeal the abortion bans fully, you will not do business with them any more and that you will not do business with antiabortion and Republican Party supporting companies Dominos Pizza and Curves for women health clubs.








Copy the text above and place it in the text box of the

mail forms provided by these links.

You can send email to speaker of the House Dennis Hastert by clicking on this form link.

You need to use the ZIP code 60510 in order to write to the speaker.

http://www.house.gov/hastert/write1.shtml

You can contact Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist by clicking on this link.

You need to use the zip code 37205 in order to write to the Senate Majority leader.

http://frist.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=AboutSenatorFrist.ContactForm


You can contact Wendy's Restaurants at

http://www.wendys.com/contact.jsp

You can contact Outback Steakhouse at

http://www.outback.com/contactus/index.asp

You can email General Electric by going to the web site http://www.ge.com

or at their consumer electronics feedback page

https://www.home-electronics.net/CustomerContactUs/1,7315,CNUS-LNUE,00.html

or at their general feedback web page.

https://www.ge.com/ge/feedback.htm

You can contact Eckerd Pharmacies at

https://www2.eckerd.com/content.asp?content=help/postoffice

You can contact CVS Pharmacies at

[e-mail]

You can contact Walgreens Pharmacies at

[e-mail]

You can contact Exxon/Mobil at

http://www.prod.exxonmobil.com/servlet/contactUsForm?formtype=0&Category=General%2520Comments&Email=1&Title=General%2520Comments

You can contact Red Lobster restaurants at

[e-mail]

You can contact Olive Garden restaurants at

[e-mail]

You can contact Dominos Pizza at

http://info.dominos.com/dominos_pizza/contact.nsf/frmContact?openform

< Dominos Pizza claims that they no longer associate with the Republican Party and the antiabortion movement but the new CEO David Brandon, a high level Republican almost ran for the senate in Michigan as a Republican and their company PACs gave money to the Republican Party. Ignore their text about the former CEO. The current Dominos Pizza CEO David Brandon also opposes raising the minimum wage and on that issue alone should give you reason to boycott Dominos Pizza. >


You can contact Dell Computers at

https://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/en/site_feedback?c=us&l=en&s=gen

Important. Remove the referring url on the Dell computer web form. Thank you.

You can contact Walmart at

http://www.walmartstores.com/GlobalWMStoresWeb/navigate.do?catg=221

You can contact Curves for women health clubs at

http://www.curves.com/contact_us/questions.php

[Protagoras]

2. We can't insure it never returns

as long as there is wealth, and power, and envy the corrupt will claw their way up again at some point. It's not a struggle we ever get to stop fighting.

But I do think all of your suggests make it harder for them.

I think above all that if we teach good history and critical thinking in our schools much of the rest starts taking care of itself. So for the long term I vote for massive public education efforts. Right below that I want to remove corporate personhood and restore tax balance.

[Fridays Child]

23. Roger that.

[Sherman A1]

38. Agreed

but the electorate must be eternally vigilant and involved.... probably won't happen. Everything goes in cycles and here we are once again in the era of the Robber Barons enhanced with greater technology and more efficient ways of killing people.

[musette_sf]

3. i'll add to one of your points...

"Investigate and prosecute all Bush administration and GOP crimes back to November, 2000"

and declassification, and review and analysis, of every previously unclassified document that Bu$hCo has classified over the past 6 years. and then go back and check what Poppy and RayGun did, too, and undo any of that which should be undone.

sheesh, it's just been a festival of war criminals, hasn't it?

[MissWaverly]

5. I think anyone involved in dirty tricks should be prosecuted

to the fullest extent possible. Too long have we been held hostages by the devotees of Lee
Atwater.

[bananarepublican]

65. Any corruption of the electoral process should be deemed to be an act of..

... TREASON!

[MissWaverly]

4. prohibit signing statements by presidents

[Fridays Child]

24. Excellent!

[Speck Tater]

6. Empires rise and empires fall. It has always been that way.

Human memory is too short for "mankind" to ever learn how to avoid disasters such as the present regime. Someday, in another generation, it will happen again. Maybe not as bad, or maybe much worse.

[sweetheart]

14. Yes, the laws of social physics prevent a meltdown

The need for uz to plan the future is irrelevant on a space shuttle
with missing tiles facing reentry.

Is it essentially fatalist to watch stupid people crash, and perhaps
wisely deny the world their surplus.

[iconoclastic cat]

7. .

[Cooley Hurd]

8. Frankly, I think the media needs to be regulated - a "Fairness Doctrine"

...with TEETH! All media ownership deregulation enacted in the last 25 years needs to be repealed.

Once a truly unbiased, investigative media is in place, the truth will surface and I doubt we'd see another neocon dark age again.:thumbsup:

[OnionPatch]

73. Bingo!!

We would never have found ourselves where we are today without the enormous propaganda campaign for the right the media has been involved in and is still involved in. We fight an uphill battle every single election because of this. It's time to neutralize the media and if Dems in charge don't do something about this then they are absolute idiots.

Right Wing hate radio saturating every single band of radio waves has to stop as well. I'm tired of turning on my radio and hearing people calling me a traitor and an American-hater on virtually every number on the dial. How did it come to this in the first place?

[AndyA]

9. Two more: I think the possibility of making an amendment to the

Constitution should be considered. This amendment would prohibit any one party from controlling all branches of government again. It should be prohibited to allow one party to control the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches all at the same time. The manner in which this would be accomplished would have to be worked out, but we must ensure this can never happen again.

There are things going on today that the wise men who wrote the Constitution could have never predicted, and we've seen what the loss of checks and balances has done.

Also, I think the ability to tack on unrelated things to a bill should be prohibited. If a bill is dealing with minimum wage, that's the ONLY thing it should deal with. It should not be allowed to tack on a tax break for the wealthy, or a bridge to nowhere, or anything else. This is an insult to the original bill, and allows for too much manipulation. It will be easy to see how your reps are voting for individual things. No more hiding the real reasons for their votes.

I think these two items would make our government more responsible, because a Congress member can't say they didn't vote for a bill because of the add-ons. Each vote stands alone. Oh, and they might need to work a few extra weeks a year to make this happen. Which is also a good thing.

[Fridays Child]

28. I agree with your ideas.

I think that lifetime judicial appointments were intended to ensure that at least one branch could not be as frequently manipulated by the political process as could the other two. But, as we're now seeing, even the independence of the judiciary is eroding. Congressional term limits might be part of the answer. And, as a corollary to that, severe restrictions on lobbying should prevent retiring members of congress from legislating by stealth, from behind the walls of corporations.

As for tacking unrelated items onto legislation, theoretically, a line-item veto would address that issue. But I think it should be prohibited at the outset of the legislative process, not at the end.

On a related subject, Congress needs fewer vacations and more sunlight. And the entire enterprise needs to be more straightforward. They know that, when they make the legislative process too difficult to follow, most people give up trying.

[AndyA]

36. It wouldn't bother me one bit if they did away with the lobbying industry

completely. All the lobbyists do is put pressure on government officials so that their clients get what they want. It costs a lot of money, the cost of which is passed on to consumers, so we're essentially paying for legislation that is often not to our benefit. The phone company wants to charge more fees, so they spend millions paying lobbyists to make it happen, then pass the cost of the lobbying along to their customers, in addition to the new fee that they usually seem to always get.

Lobbyists are the new used car salesman. The lowest of the low, and we should just do away with them. Let them find legitimate jobs. They do nothing to help the American people, they just cost us money.

[Fridays Child]

39. A lobbyist...

[MissWaverly]

51. are they the guilty parties or the victims

Once the Contract for America crew came in, the culture of corruption was in place, it was no accident that the number of lobbyists tripled during their reign. Who was it that was constantly
demanding goods and services for favorable votes on important legislation.

[Fridays Child]

52. Are lobbyists victims?

If that's what you're asking, I don't think so. They're predators, imho.

[MissWaverly]

55. I know someone that works with lobbyists in DC

they are not lobbyists themselves but the congressman if they spot a lobbyist across a restaurant would expect the lobbyist to pay their tab even if they have not been dining
with them and are on their way out the door. I know that lobbyists have been monopolizing
the view from the hill lately, maybe that is why Lieberman is so shocked, yes, there are
constituents and yes they expect you to represent them and yes they can vote you out.

[bananarepublican]

67. How do you get rid of the behind the scenes puppeteers? n/t

[DocSavage]

83. If in 1963

the republicans suggested that no party control all 3 branches, what would you have said then? We democrats never complain when we have the white house and both houses of congress....just postulating.

[Raffi Ella]

91. "Just postulating"...?

seems every post you make at D.U. stems from that same sort of sentiment...you seem to always be posting about Republicans and "their" point of view-Nice to know some of 'you' are here.No,really.Maybe you'll learn thing or two.

Enjoy yourself. :kick:

[DocSavage]

92. So

If I play devils advocate I am all of a sudden a republican. I am 50, I have seen a lot of politics, both good and bad. I have see good candidates from multiple parties. My point is that if someone advocates a position without looking long term, it can be counterproductive.

Passing a congressional resolution or suggesting that a constitutional ammendment be passed prohibiting a single party control effectivly shuts down the democratic process. Wether it be dems or repubs in control, you cannot force a voters vote not to count. The whole point of my post was to point out that previously, we had control of all branches of govt and we sure did not complain then.

One other thing. I did think that a bb was for discussion of ideas and postitions. If I am mistaken about DU please let me know. Thanks

[blm]

10. Your way would NOT ensure BushInc is exposed - BushInc goes back DECADES

and almost everything happening today is ROOTED in the records of IranContra and BCCI.

By opening the books on those two criminal actions, only THEN would you ensure that no Bush ever rises to power again in this country.

One of my big problems with DU is that so many good Dems only activated after 2000 theft, 9-11, or the Iraq war and many still have little understanding that the fascist agenda behind BushiNc has deep roots that are too often ignored to this site's, and to this nation's, detriment.

[AndyA]

16. The Bush Crime Family does indeed have very evil roots!

In addition to being drug addicts, alcohol abusers, murderers, drunk drivers, liars, thieves, cheats, and insider traders, Prescott Bush aided and abetted Adolf Hitler in obtaining weapons of war, during a time when this was explicitly prohibited by the United States Government. (This was prior to our involvement in the war.)

Then you take a look at Neil Bush's business dealings with a certain failed savings and loan in Colorado, (Silverado), his divorce from his wife (adulterer, among other things), and you find the whole family is pretty sleazy.

We'd be better off with Al and Peg Bundy in The White House!

[blm]

20. I side with Octafish - the Bush family RECORDS need SCRUTINY and it goes

way back. I believe their most criminal actions began around WW2 and their power increased steadily as they tightened their grip on the post WW2 intelligence community, and used parts of it for their own agenda.

[glitch]

17. Here's a link to help people learn about those deep roots

http://www.consortiumnews.com/

Fascinating reading, folks!

[Fridays Child]

31. Robert Parry...

He is, in my opinion, an American hero.

[Fridays Child]

19. I thought of that, too, but...

...there are literally not enough hours in the day to investigate all of their crap. You're right, though, about Iran-Contra and BCCI. Maybe setting a date, like November of 2000, it would be better to investigate the most egrepious and far-reaching crimes, regardless of when they occurred.

[MissWaverly]

34. Yes, but we can't open up Iran-Contra, they were pardoned

if I remember correctly by Poppy, so where does that leave us. I think you are right and I think
that it goes deeper than that to the cold war strategy that developed where covert operations
evolved to smear communists, promote corporate exploitation in other countries and perform
criminal acts that would have never been approved by the American people; all in the name
of a secret agenda. A shadow government that feeds on others.

[blm]

45. Doesn't matter that there were some pardoned, by opening the books

it's the big fish himself, Bush1, whose role is revealed.

Those pardoned were peripheral characters whose role in IranContra stemmed from the overall agenda pursued by Bush and Baker.

[MissWaverly]

46. well, I think you are being overly optimistic but I may be wrong

they are a great many people that have been s*****d over by the Bush clan. I really think there
was a chance they could have slipped by and maybe had Jeb as Prez later but I think they were just
too greedy. Since Jr. had to have two terms, it's all broken down and the American people are
starting to realize the truth.

[blm]

47. Few Americans realize how many of the documents were classified and

held back from public view in both cases, IranContra and BCCI. Documents that, had they been revealed in the 1990s, would have prevented the growing threat of terrorism and a 9-11 event would never have happened.

A Dem president devoted to open government could work to get all the documents released and this nation would have a really true FRESH START.

[MissWaverly]

49. I agree but I think we have had a very unusual situation

we have a former Director of the CIA, become vp then prez, then after he leaves the White House,
we have his son run for President, while his brother is governor of a swing state, there has
been so much influence and ignoring the facts due to power, position and prestige in the last
15 years in this country, it is sad, truly sad.

[blm]

53. Except for one thing - Kerry SAW the documents and kept all his files on

BCCI. He knows what was there because he took Bush1 to court to get them declassified. If some documents were shredded, Kerry would know.

In the oval office he could take the steps necessary that any president can make to declassify the material.

It would be the single best move for this country and the world effected by what goes on in this country.

[MissWaverly]

56. well, I think the investigation should go on, you are right

and I have been thinking lately about Plame, do you think that Team Bush has been granted
immunity as long as they are in office. They are the darlings of the Department of Justice.
And Gonzo considers Bush his client, not the country.

[blm]

57. I never doubted that because of Plame and other reasons, it was CIA agents

more loyal to the country than to BushInc that were trying to get the press to take notice of important inside stories BEFORE the election in 2004. Shortly after, Bush sent Goss in to PURGE all agents suspected of working to elect Kerry.

The corporate media really failed this country by taking little notice of the important revelations the agents were risking their careers for.

[MissWaverly]

59. Yes, I thought so to

Yes, I think the CIA was trying to help by leaking information which was then "sat on"
by the media moguls like the NY Times.

[Road Scholar]

11. Investigate them for treason during time war. Well you know the

rest. Just say I don't agree with Al Franken.

[C_U_L8R]

12. Education...

Too many dumb repub f*cks out there without a freekin' clue.

And media fairness ... with tougher libel laws (those swift boaters should be behind bars).

Oh and more courageous prosecutors... these republican crooks
are getting away with way too much... it's appalling.

[Totallybushed]

27. Libel laws used to

be tougher. It was lieberal judges who loosened them up, and for good reason.

Freedom of speech is a hard-won right, and I don't think that we should give it up just because our opponents have learned how to use it, too. We'll need it again, some day. We need it now.

[Somawas]

13. it is my hope

that the mere invocation of the name of our Dear leader will be sufficient, at least for a generation, to get people to vote for anyone other than a Republican. I'd hope that the image of the Noe-Cons visiting their theocratic fascism upon us would be enough to turn off all but the most devoted kool-aid drinking fundies.

Still, I couldn't support all of your list. At least three of your suggestions appear to violate the First Amendment. I do believe, however, that many of the evils that you want to repress through the methods that seem to me to violate the First Amendment could be mroe easily addressed by recognizing that a corporation is a legal fiction, not a person, and that as a fiction it has only such rights as are bestowed upon it by the law of the state that created it.

[Fridays Child]

40. Not being a constitutional expert of any kind...

...I defer to others who would better understand how to effect change within the perameters of that document. But didn't corporate personhood spring from an amendment intended to advance minority rights? I recall that point being made in the documentary, The Corporation.

[Somawas]

60. The notion of corporate "personhood"

springs from a headnote inserted by the reporter of decisions in a case interpreting the 14th amendment. It is not an essential constiutional doctrine.

[Occulus]

78. Little info about that guy...

...He was the former president of a company in the industry tied up in the case. I'm more and more convinced, the more time passes, that it was intentional that he be reporting on this case, specifically.

The court, in its decision (or was this part still in the headnote?), stated clearly and emphatically that it would not hear any arguments regarding the status of the corporation as a person; it had already reached the opinion that the corporation, for their purposes, was in fact a person. IIRC, the SCOTUS revisited this sometime in the 1970s, only to say something to the effect that it coud not rule on the issue, as any ruling would cause too much economic hardship.

I think this was an admission by the SCOTUS that the original finding- that corporations are persons under the law- was completely bogus, but too much law had subsequently been based on the ruling for the incorrect ruling to be changed. Or some such.

I think I should point out that many, if not most, progressive ideals can only be fully realized if corporate personhood is eliminated. Things such as corporations suing individuals and such shenanigans ought to be outlawed, period, as should the usage of eminent domain for exclusive ownership/use/lease by any corporation, to name two examples.

I want these.... things.... put under the thumb of the public, where they belong. I want corporations to live constantly with the threat that if they break even one law the public (locally or statewide) may at will put on the next ballot that that corporate branch be required to close its doors. I want corporate officers to live constantly with the threat that they can and will be held personally, criminally liable for the misdeeds of their corporate employers. I want it to be illegal for corporations to own other corporations. I want the corporate charter to be a limited thing, subject to public vote.

I don't hate corporations. What I hate is their being treated like persons under the law. Corporate entities of any and all kinds should not have the same rights we do- they should have priveleges which may be revoked at will, for any reason, at any time. In fact, corporate entities should have no rights, period; they should have priveleges, and nothing more.

That is how we turn off the republicans' money spigots: revoke the personhood of the corporation and afterward shut down their entire money machine.

[Nite Owl]

15. We have to hit the

entire Republican party and conservatism not just this administration. What is happening now is just a culmination of many years of work for them to get here. The philosophy must be shown to be corrupt and anti-democratic. What exactly has conservatism done for the people of this country anyway? They don't balance budgets and what they do is not for the good of the people but for the corporate welfare of those who pay to put them in office. Regain the good name of liberalism.

[Raffi Ella]

63. Yes!Exactly-well said.

And,considering that this NeoCon movement has been happening for the last 30 years or so andin part was successful because it preyed on the faithful to help promote it? I would say that by firmly re-establishing the line between Sepration of Church & State and enforcing it would go a long way to help stop the madness that is BushCo.

And oh yeah,Make an example of this so called Christian who perverted the religion; IMPEACH the Bastard - IMMEDIATELY.

[teryang]

18. Place them under NSA surveillance without warrants...

Lock them up in GITMO without trials.

Rendition them to Syria for interrogation.

Give them a rifle, no body armor and send them to Iraq.

Give them a rifle, and send them to Afghanistan to find Bin Laden.

Put their adult children on the front lines for the attack on Iran.

[Fridays Child]

22. I hear what you're saying.

It's so hard to not seek bloody revenge against bloody tyrants. But, even though it's a cliché, the truth is that, if we do what they do, we're no better than them.

[ArbustoBuster]

87. Perhaps we're no better than them...

...but it means that our children don't live under these monsters. It means that they're gone from history, and will never again kill hundreds of thousands in the pursuit of their evil wars.

As John Adams said, "I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain."

[intaglio]

21. From an outsider

What about fixed terms for Supreme Court Justices? Perhaps 10 years; as each Justice leaves, dies or retires; the next to be appointed alternately by the 2 largest parties in Congress.

Abolishment of the Electoral College in favour of direct majority voting for the President.

Fixed terms for both House and Senate.

The IRS required to make public the current tax records of candidates and existing members for Congress and Presidency.

A minimally partisan Electoral Commission to oversee the geographical boundaries for House and Senate constituencies

[Totallybushed]

29. A Constitutional Convention.

An excellent idea.

[Fridays Child]

30. Your first idea...very, very interesting.

The others are good, too.

[Richard Steele]

25. "If there is no hoof and mouth disease...

... there will be no hoof and mouth disease".

[Totallybushed]

26. Some of those

would certainly prevent any Republicans from ever getting elected aain. But others have nothing to do with the electoral process, and everything to do with advancing progrressive ideas.

Which will happen anyway, if the Dems regain control. Which is not as overwhelmingly probable as a lot of DU'ers like to think. What's been done about election fraud, for example?

[The Sleeper]

32. Welcome to Botany Bay...

The state has graciously provided accomodations for you, your families, your peers, and your enablers. The generous donation of all your assets to the state is the first step in becoming productive members of society. Reeducation will begin immediately.....

[Malikshah]

33. Criminally prosecute all who allowed them to gain power through illegal

means -- punish to the full extent of the law. No mercy regardless of "party"

[Fridays Child]

35. Of course. Party affiliation can't be a factor. Illegal is illegal.

[samsingh]

37. at least two major changes

1. verifiable voting - no exceptions
2. deconsolidate the media.

[Fridays Child]

44. Those are the two most important...

Given that those are instituted, the common sense of the people may be enough to effect any other necessary changes. I do worry about LGBT rights, though.

[Zhade]

42. Step One: realize that this sad state of affairs is NOT...

...one caused solely by Republicans.

[Fridays Child]

43. Legislation that impacts both parties equally recognizes that fact.

Yes, what you say is true but let's fix things first and self-flagellate later.

[meldroc]

48. Stop gerrymandering.

Tom Delay gerrymandered Texas' districts, and was working on several other states. IMHO, district boundaries should be computer generated, using genetic algorithms that start with local population density maxima (also known as "cities"), and work out boundaries that leave an equal number of voters in each district, and where party affiliation of voters, or other demographic factors such as race or income, do not enter the equation. Just pure population distribution.

I'd also make some changes to the state secrecy laws. State secrecy is no longer to be a blanket priviledge. Make it a felony to use state secrecy protections to conceal criminal activity, and expand oversight. Make sure Congressional oversight is back in place, and that Congressmen aren't hamstrung by lots of rules (such as not being allowed to bring aides, or even take notes.) Also expand judicial oversight. Federal courts and related infrastructure should be created, not dissimilar to FISA courts, where all judges, lawyers & aides have security clearances, and can dig wherever they have to in their oversight duties, to ensure that you can't have Bush or anyone else saying "The investigators are denied security clearance, their investigation can't go forward."

[ThomWV]

50. First By Impeaching Bush - A Lesson To All That Follow

If this man can not be removed from office then no one will ever be removed no matter how bad they are.

[Fridays Child]

54. Very true.

[helderheid]

58. I'd also like to see campaign finance reform. It has to be possible for

those without millions to get their messages heard and have as much a chance as anyone to get elected. Love your list. Recommended

[POAS]

61. A constitutional amendment

defining persons protected under the constitution in a way that does not include corporations.

[Fridays Child]

68. Agreed. In fact, corporations should be specifically excluded...

...from every right that accrues to private citizens.

[calimary]

62. Disable the American Enterprise Institute.

I wouldn't even begin to know how, but I do know that a lot of what ails America now came straight from that snake pit. And it was the hatchery of the PNAC.

[Fridays Child]

66. The AEI, The Federalist Society, and the Heritage Foundation...

...should all be destroyed and the earth beneath them salted.

[HomerRamone]

64. EXECUTIONS for war crimes nt

[Vidar]

69. Impressive list.

[Syrinx]

70. "I'm Yertle The Turtle"

I had one of those pull-string toys when I was a kid. Haven't thought about in years. Thanks for bringing back a fond childhood memory.

And I agree with your list too. ;)

[upi402]

71. Dad,is that you? You drunk again?

:toast: :hi: :pals:

[Fridays Child]

81. According to Philip Nel, the author of Dr. Seuss: American Icon...

...the story of Yertle was "was modeled on the rise of Hitler." That would also make the story a perfect allegory of the B*sh dynasty. Now, if only a lowly "Mack," the turtle who toppled Yertle, would come along and undo B*sh.

[druidity33]

72. thank you!!!

I love that you didn't just ask the question, but gave constructive answers to your query as well. That's just a little rare around here.

-I would also suggest that we examine every law and every appointment that has been made or changed since the B*shco regime has reigned. Gut or dump anthing that smells the least bit fishy.

-Also maybe a national initiative towards renewable energy production...

-And perhaps a mandatory domestic peace corps service for our graduating HS seniors... with college actually paid for as a result. Like Americorps, but more useful and on a truly national scale...

-A national Time Dollars program...

-legalization or decriminalization of drugs...

-legalization and possibly encouragement for the widespread cultivation of hemp for oils, fabrics, foods, industrial materials, etc.

-A national affordable housing program that is FUNDED and staffed adequately, that is accessible to all... with a potential review of national building codes to include guided/owner-built homes...


i'm sure there's more, but that's all i've got for now.

[Fridays Child]

80. I'm totally onboard with all of your ideas.

If you ever run for office, let me know. Ideas such as yours show insight and leadership.

[Raydawg1234]

74. yeah, all of that

[area51]

75. offshoring

Great list, but don't forget, offshoring & inshoring need to be stopped.

Offshoring/inshoring = unemployed Americans & a weak America.

[Zorra]

76. Investigate the 2000 election. Pass an Act of Congress to declare it

null, void, and moot.

Based on this, Congress declares that all actions and political appointments during the Bu*h tenure be declared moot, and all appointees appointed by the Bu*h administration (Federal Justices in particular) be removed from their office or position.

Congress has all Bu*h administration war criminals and traitors tried, convicted, and sent to a maximum security military prison for the rest of their lives.

Elecctronic voting machines are made illegal, and Congress implements a federal standard voting process insuring completely transparent, clean elections.

Transparent, totally effective public campaign financing gets legislated.

Something similar to the "Fairness Doctrine" is enacted, and Congress appoints and funds a powerful non-partisan oversight committee to insure that totally partisan MSM media such as Fox News can no longer be used as a political propaganda tool against the American people.

And always keep a good supply of torches and pitchforks on hand in case of emergency.

[kentuck]

77. They said that after Hoover and the 1920's...

They tried the same tricks then...

[sofa king]

79. Hunt them down and revoke the citizenship of every last one of them.

I can be a bitter and vindictive fellow when I wish to be, and I propose the following:

Take over the White House and Congress by 2009. Then, don't change a damned thing for twenty-four months. Use all the evil convolutions of the Constitution created by these criminals to instead to track down and prosecute their own crimes, specifically the crimes of election theft, the anthrax murders, terrorist funding and support of al Qaeda's attacks on America, domestic spying, and war crimes.

If someone invokes the Fifth Amendment, toss their asses in Guantanamo with a bunch of pissed off Afghanis until they talk, and when they do, revoke their citizenship and turn them loose in downtown Kabul or Baghdad.

Then, when the twenty-four month inquisition is complete, hammer through a new bill of rights which clearly reverses all of the wrongs done to our Consititution in the past twenty-five years and makes future such violations grounds for loss of citizenship and deportation. Let them live by their oft-spoken words, "if you don't like it, get the hell out."

[Cleita]

82. Besides enforcing the Constitutional provisions for the separation

of religion and state, we need an ammendment that separates business interests from state. No more campaign contributions from businesses or corporations should be allowed. No lobbyists should be allowed from that sector. If they are caught meddling in government actions, they need to know they can lose their right to do business in the USA.

Also, we need to overhaul what corporations may or may not do. In the first place corporations should not be considered people like they are now. They are businesses nothing more. I think the anti-trusts laws need to be brought back too. Next, any business who wants to do business in the USA needs to be incorporated here or at least the division that will be doing business here and in a manner that doesn't cause our money flow out of the country more than it flows in.

[madville]

84. Peaks and valleys

It runs in cycles. The Republicans get control, get over-confident, their agenda stalls after little headway because individuals start grasping at straws to get re-elected and retain their power, and the other side starts looking better because because they promise to fix everything.

Then the Democrats get elected, after a few years get over-confident, their agenda stalls after little headway because individuals start grasping at straws to get re-elected and retain their power, and the other side starts looking better because they promise to fix everything.

No party is going to gain control of this country and keep it forever. There will be times we are the minority and times we are the majority. The simple fact is ALL politicians irritate most people and attention spans are so short that people forget why the party in power was elected over the other in the first place. It is human nature to think the grass is always greener on the other side.

[On the Road]

85. The Founding Fathers Did Their Best

to design a system which would prevent tyrants from seizing control of power. But ultimately, the price of liberty is eternal vigilance.

[Fridays Child]

86. A timely reminder of that essential truth...

[leftofthedial]

89. don't buy the lie of "bipartisanship" or "healing wounds."

ruthlessly prosecute the traitors, war profiteers and thieves.

create a Nurnberg-style court and hold tribunals.

No member of the bush cabal (dating back to nixon) should survive with a penny, many not with their lives.

[Fridays Child]

90. I agree. These people must be stopped, once and for all.

[blm]

93. EXACTLY!!!! Clinton played that game and SCREWED OVER THIS COUNTRY by

closing the books on BushInc right at the very time when the revelations could have truly STOPPED the criminal cabal in its tracks.

[kentuck]

94. Yep...

Seems to be the Achilles heel of the Democratic Party - the desire to unite and bring the country together as the criminals run out the back door laughing their asses off...

[newspeak]

95. I believe all politicians should be held accountable

Investigations, like the Iran-Contra BCCI hearings, will be in order and any Democratic member of Congress wants to white wash it, needs to be ousted!!!! No more whitewashing, no more non-accountability from both parties. After all,all of the indictments in the Iran-Contra scandal, look whose running the show? The American people need to demand more from its' government; after all, they are our representation to the world. When or if the Democrats control Congress, I want to see serious investigations into the lies that led us to war, sweet deal contracts, missing money, voter fraud and more importantly what really happened on 9/11.
It's time to lift the veil of deception, and even if it might be painful for some Americans to face, we need to face it for our own conscience, for reclaiming the soul of America.

[warrens]

96. Systematic destruction of every building on K Street

Sorta like what the Israelis do to the houses of suicide bombers. For the same reasons. Not one brick left on top of another.

[Fridays Child]

97. And salt the earth beneath them.