A “SUGGESTION BOX” FOR OUR DECLINING DEMOCRACY …
The United States of America turns 238 years young this July Fourth – a veritable spring chicken in the pantheon of great civilizations (Macedonians, Romans, Ottomans, etc).
Will we last as long as those great empires? Eh …
On previous Independence Days, this website has held forth on the declining status of the American Republic – waxing indignantly nostalgic for a time when our homeland resembled the credos upon which it was established so long ago.
“While some may contend that its unpatriotic to state ‘America’s best days are behind her’ on Independence Day, we’d argue that it would be unpatriotic not to say it,” this website wrote back in 2012. “After all, the nation that once pledged to uphold these fundamental liberties has become their most pernicious enemy.”
And that was before we learned from Edward Snowden what the “land of the free” was really up to …
But enough bitching and moaning … what do we think ought to be done?
Glad you asked …
First and foremost, America must abolish its income tax – and the sprawling, corrupt bureaucracy that administers it (a.k.a. the Internal Revenue Service). No levy is more pernicious to consumerism, job creation and investment than the income tax, and if America’s leaders truly wants to restore our global competitiveness (and slow the growth of the dependency state), they must fundamentally change the way revenue is collected in this country.
Oh, and reduce the amounts collected …
Second, draconian cuts must be made to government – including the elimination of unnecessary agencies (Commerce, Education, Energy, etc.), the consolidation of duplicative core functions and the reform of entitlement programs. The Republican Study Committee recently came up with around $1 trillion in proposed spending cuts … but we think that’s just the beginning of what ought to be done. At the very least, a hard freeze on spending is long-overdue.
Third, America’s military must transition from nation-building and protecting wealthy allies in Europe to doing what we pay them to do – protecting our homeland (a.k.a. our “freedom”) and our core global interests. Oh, and that process must be driven by legitimate battlefield needs, not political pressure on behalf of unnecessary projects.
Speaking of freedom, the fourth item on our checklist is the immediate elimination of America’s domestic spying program. We have no problem with law enforcement agencies monitoring the phone calls and emails of American citizens – but such snooping must always be justified by warrants issued on the basis of probable cause. The warrantless collection of personal information – either individually or en masse – must never be permitted again.
Fifth, sweeping ethics reforms is desperately needed in Washington, D.C. as well as state and local governments across the nation. Elected and appointed officials at all levels of government (and their family members and business partners) must not be permitted to profit off of their offices – and strict safeguards must be established to ensure that they don’t. One vital reform? Term limits for legislative leadership positions. We’ve soured on the notion of term limits for specific legislative offices – but there is clear value in rotating politicians out of committee chairmanships. We also support lifetime lobbying bans for any ex-lawmaker or ex-bureaucrat.
Sixth, government should no longer legislate what Americans do with consenting adults in the privacy of their own homes – or in the broader free market. Our leaders must immediately end the failed “War on Drugs” by decriminalizing marijuana and other recreational substances. Gambling and prostitution should likewise be decriminalized, thus expanding the reach of the free market and the potential for individuals to make a living free of government dependency.
Seventh, a great unwinding of the American regulatory state must be undertaken – beginning with the full repeal of the latest socialized medicine law (a.k.a. “Obamacare”) but extending throughout the health care industry and the economy-at-large. This includes, but should not be limited to, an end to the government subsidization of unions.
Eighth, government must get out of the education business – at least beyond providing low- and middle-income parents with scholarships to pursue academic options in a true free market environment. Meanwhile, all taxpayer support for “higher education” must be eliminated.
Ninth, government must stop the ongoing transfer of wealth from the middle class to the “one percent” via quantitative easing and other inherently unfair monetary policies pursued by the Federal Reserve. Each year the Fed’s balance sheet must be audited, too.
Tenth, our nation must aspire to a fundamental redefinition of “equal protection” under the law across all levels of government. That means no bailouts for politically correct corporations every bit as much as it means no discriminatory laws against individuals on the basis of their gender, race, religion or sexual orientation. Government must transition from attempting to enforce equality of outcomes into fairly and even-handedly protecting equality of opportunity.
So … what do you think?
What reforms do you believe America’s leaders should implement to get our nation back on track? We look forward to reading them in the comments section below …
89 comments
Legalize prostitution? Is your wife not able to supporting your desired standard of living?
Rest assured, he can always count on the bible, as you and your children do .
Yeah, right. And why care about other families?
l try to bring them back to realty by asking “What if it was your family?”
TBG has lawyers in his family…
I have wondered what criminals would resort to if drugs, gambling and prostitution were legalized, but now you have me wondering what lawyers would do?
I notice Will left out ‘equal protection’ for the unborn.
Go figure. I guess if you support pro-abortion candidates like Tom Ervin and TR ya have to feel that way.
He also left out protections for the undead.
How many unwanted fetuses have you taken into your home or agreed to take into your home? Since you wish to see women forced to carry pregnancies to term, surely you have done this or are in the process of making it happen.
Thank you for asking. Many.
I can’t force women to do anything. It is legal in this country for a woman to kill her own unborn child with a beating heart at this time yet many of you liberals cheer Obama on as the DOJ allows thousands of illegal children into this country..Don’t understand how a judge can find a ‘right to privacy’ for a woman to kill her own child unless they are evil however it is the law of the land and I have to respect that.
My point is the same one Mother Teresa made…”If a mother can kill her own child, what can be next” ?
Look at the breakdown of the family and our public schools. She predicted this. A generation of soulless fools that would elect a Barack Obama.
I would hardly call CorruptioninColumbia a liberal.
You are correct. A RINO?
Sandi cares about anything other than a republican ? Where did I go wrong ? Sounds like a democratic liberal ???
Because illegality does not stop immorality and wastes time and money?
Lie detector tests for political office.
no more elected officials. Great job, euwe
Just curious. It is a fact that liberals hate America and the latest Pew Poll proves that.
What do liberals do for entertainment on July 4th while ‘real’ Americans like conservatives celebrate this great country?
Pull wings off of flies? Piss on a Veteran? Put nails in the street so the floats get flat tires in parades? Collect fireworks so Bill Ayers can bomb government institutions again? Use the Constitution as toilet paper like Obama does everyday? Turn your neighbors into the DOJ and the IRS because they hang an American Flag outside their house?
Please share! :-)
Thank the good lord for REAL Americans like Sandi!! And yes – I saw gangs of liberal hooligans roaming about today with their pants unzipped and at the ready to piss on veterans – some carrying copies of the Constitution and vowing to wipe their ass and piss on a veteran at the same time!! They were also looking for cars with those “I Believe” license plates and those displaying a yellow “Support Our Troops” ribbon magnet to fire-bomb – and planning to do the bombing tonight under cover of the fireworks! Gollee! Gee whiz! If I were only patriotic enough to be a REAL American like Sandi!?!?
LMAO!! Sweeeeeeeeeet Jesus!!!!! A liberal with a sense of humor!!!!!!
Good stuff “Blues”. :-)
A fact, huh, and pew proves that. You are the most uninformed idiot in the land. Vote for Nikki and keep complaining about YOUR world.
And mandatory drug testing.
“And mandatory drug testing.”
Now stop all that hating on my boy, T-Rav!!
for all in the USA !
Phcyopaths pass lie detector tests with ease.
Phcyopaths pass lie detector tests with ease.
———–
That might be true, but Psychopaths can’t.
http://polygraphreality.wordpress.com/2009/10/05/psychopaths-cant-beat-a-polygraph-test/
Start over by first enslaving all Mexicans that cross illegally. Give every Amercian 2acres of land, hang thieves, stone corrupt politicians and blow up that damn bridge with that chump sitting in the middle when you do it.
The republican choice, set up machine guns all over the border, and kill everyone that comes into view. Same thing in Iraq. It’s a lot, economical way to do things.
Concealed Carry
Open Carry
Open Carry Loaded
Open Pointing
Open Pointing Loaded
Open Shooting
Sounds like fun. Where and when?
“Sounds like fun. Where and when?”
The Great State of Georgia 24/7/365.
Legalize attractive nudity for women.
Agreed, just DO NOT show pics of Nikki. I go limp on that one.
Try it this way: legalize nudity for attractive women.
Here,Here !!!
Heck, maybe we ought to mandate it….
And make it a felony for fat men to take off their shirts and/or wear a speedo at the beach . . .
They should make fat guys sit inside.
“other recreational substances” That sounds like you talking about boiled peanuts and cotton candy.
“That sounds like you talking about boiled peanuts and cotton candy.”
LOL Folks outside of SC will not get that one, BT! (But I love it!! Best post of the day in my opinion!)
Top Ten Federal Reforms (from my point of view):
1. Return to the Constitutional designation of a US Congressional Representative for every 30,000 in population:
a. Elected Officials must serve from within their districts.
b. Drastic cuts in pay, benefits and office and staff allowances.
c. All voting would be done over secure networks with public access feeds.
d. All meetings and debates would be held over secure networks with public access feeds.
e. This would provide better access to the electorate, reduce the effects of lobbyists and disincentivize pork spending amendments.
2. Federal Public Education Vouchers – Allow parents and guardians to direct the federal portion of the federal per student funding to accredited public and private schools.
3. Ranked Voting for popularly Elected Officials
a. Provide a better consensus. Removes the risk of third party candidates throwing an election, while allowing the electorate to still express their confidence in a third party candidate.
b. see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant-runoff_voting
4. Representative Accountability,… Either
a. Elected Officials should be liable of felony perjury when voting for legislation that they have not read (hard to prove/enforce) or understood (even harder to prove/enforce), or
b. Elected Officials must satisfactorily pass a comprehension test in order for their vote to count towards the passage of any legislation. Passing the test submits the vote to pass.
c. Voting records should include the comprehension test score so that the electorate can gauge the intelligence of their representative.
d. There should be a clear distinction between a vote not to pass and a vote that failed to pass due to miscomprehension.
5. Abolish the IRS Agency and Statute
a. Make an example out of violating the public trust.
b. Any replacement funding should have the following characteristics:
i. no loopholes
ii. no credits
iii. no exemptions
c. Consider a constitutional amendment to cap the overall citizen tax burden at 10% of income and/or wealth.
6. Common Sense worded preamble on all legislation with concrete measures of success.
7. Sunset on all legislation, (legislation will expire if not re-passed, revisions optional), (see comprehension tests above)
a. Early trigger for legislation not meeting its stated measures of success (see above).
b. Consistent sunset term on all new legislation.
c. The greater of the consistent term above or the half-life based upon age for existing legislation.
8. Taxpayer’s Right of Conscientious Objection
a. Allow taxpayers the optional step to prohibit their taxes paid to be applied to specific budget programs and/or departments.
b. To be an effective objection, and to prevent non-utilization, the funds should be directed to a replacement program and/or department of the taxpayers choosing instead of going towards the general fund and *unintentionally* washing out another taxpayer’s objection.
9. Autonomous-Gerrymandering
a. Each voter should be able to designate which district they think they should belong to.
b. Ignoring outliers, use an area smoothing algorithm to optimize the voting districts close to the voter selected desired boundaries while maintaining equitable voter densities per district.
10. No Lame Duck Representation
a. Move the Federal Election date to mid-December, coinciding with the beginning of the year-end congressional break.
b. Make the newly elected official immediately in charge, once the election is uncontested, with a transition period in which the outgoing official is active and available until no longer needed.
Require proof of citizenship to buy any food, anywhere.
Absolutely – only Americans should be allowed to eat!! And while we are at it make it mandatory that EVERYONE in the US wear those little American Flag lapel pins – that’ll show ’em how patriotic we are!!
Come see America, tourists! Just bring your own food!
Nah, let them buy if they have a valid passport and entry stamp.
“Nah, let them buy if they have a valid passport and entry stamp”
You old commie liberal!!
Agreed, ANYONE that does not look like a AMERICAN .
“Come see America, tourists! Just bring your own food”
Can’t we at least allow them to eat our Freedom Fries!?!? (super-sized of course)
“Require proof of citizenship to buy any food, anywhere.”
If your requirement becomes law then based on my recent experience on South Carolina’s beaches and seeing some our citizens “living large” and hanging out of skimpy bathing suits then some would do well to renounce their citizenship – at least for a while . . .
I guess it is hard for us to break with tradition. I think the first instance of extending food assistance to undocumented immigrants was 1620 when a group of refugees arrived at Plymouth MA. Americans made the mistake of not letting them starve and the rest is history.
Take 3-6, 9, and scrap most of the rest. Replace the ACA with single payer. Slash corporate welfare. Pass the Buffett rule. Drastically tie down the student loan system and enable those loans to be dissolved in bankruptcy under certain circumstances. End student aid for diploma mills. Limit meat and junk food purchases with food stamps. Pass a constitutional amendment pulling back Citizens United and McCutcheon. Allow Medicare/single payer to negotiate drug prices so Big Pharma stops raping us. Break up the big banks. Close Gitmo.
More or less.
Big Pharma?To Fits thise bastards rape of normal folks is the epitome of the “free market.”
Protest planned at WIS tonight at 10:30 for the firing of Ben Hoover and not allowing him to anchor on his last day.
https://www.change.org/p/wis-tv-bring-ben-hoover-back-to-wis-news/u/53b726aa29348b5969038214
Hear, Hear! They need to fire Donita (Butch) Todd. The quality of that station’s news reporting has gone steadily downhill since she took over as General Manager. They have been hemorrhaging talent since she came on board.
Check out this piece of drivel by the pretentious, hypocritical, cunt, as she says that we should not tolerate a “Boss Hogg mentality” from our politicians. Yeah, I guess that’s why she kept Jody Barr on a short leash, ultimately seeing him leave the station, as so many other good people before him have done. She is guilty of not only tolerating, but acquiescing in the Boss Hogg mentality of our politicians, by not letting Jody do his job to the best of his ability, which was considerable.
http://www.wistv.com/story/25881595/wis-gm-corruption-seems-to-be-the-order-of-the-day
I’ve noticed that she’s scared to death of black anchors and reporters, some of them are the worst I’ve ever seen on television… ever and she gives them anchor jobs.
Then there’s that horrible, horrible fucking excuse for a sports reporter Joe Gorcho, that guy in North Dakota who said “fuck” on his first day on the air did a better job than this Dick Vitale wannabe.
I fly the American Flag 24/7 and proud to do so, I even have one of those little American Flag lapel pins.
I think that is wonderful and more power to you! Is this a great country or what? You obviously enjoy displaying your patriotism – again, more power to you! My American Flag is flying just outside my front door as I type this while I must admit I have never worn the flag pin. And believe it or not, but I know folks who eat French Fries and call them French Fries who are every bit as patriotic as you are! Happy 4th!!
Thank you, and have a great 4th yourself.
BTW I call them French Fries also and they were much better when the Golden Arches used real potatoes and fried them in lard.
” . . . they were much better when the Golden Arches used real potatoes and fried them in lard”
Those WERE the days!!
Two whole fried chickens and a coke!
TBG will have some toasted white bread, please.
duar – Daughters of Ugly American Rednecks?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XOPZFhB3gE
Completely missed that one – and I own the DVD, a favorite of mine.
I’m on a diet.
Better than the oatmeal at Cook County…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfjyfaPyPxY
No lard, just 7 percent cottonseed oil and 93 percent beef tallow until about 1990, then to all vegetable oil — but with beef flavoring, for which McDonalds apologized and paid a $12 million settlement to Hindus, Sikhs and vegetarian groups in 2002.
To clarify in case people don’t know – tallow is fat rendered from beef, and lard is from pork.
I fly the crescent in front of my tent at the duar.
What’s duar – Daughters of Ugly American Rednecks?
Daughters of the Unamerican Revolution.
I am a proud member of the Sons of Confederate Deserters.
Cresent? South Carolina Patriot or Islamic? Could be either.
Works for me.. for a start.
The local news interviewed TRav. He literally said he had used cocaine and been arrested for DWI and that’s all not even an excuse or explanation.
I don’t support him, but if I was a campaign adviser, I would tell him never to discuss his flaws, especially in interviews that will be cut to a sound bite. He should criticize his opponent only so that he knows that will be the sound bite.
What America needs now, is a nation of people who refuse to stay asleep. We need a sober, aware, serious, and skeptical citizenry.
All of the changes mentioned are great as policy, but without a thinking and active people to hold the thieves and liars in check, all of your policies would eventually be eroded back to what we have today, or worse.
Sleeping at the wheel is no longer an option. Being ignorant to the truth will not exclude you from the consequences.
The Constitution was created as a policy, yet we find the thieves and liars chipping away at it with ease. The “living, breathing” element of that document meant that the people of this country had to constantly take care to protect it and to advance its agenda of liberty, not that any asshat with a little power could endeavour to change or destroy it.
It’s a mantra that repeats itself endlessly. “The Power is In YOUR Hands”. “We the People”.
America was created as a platform for this mantra to manifest itself through the people via the rule of law and a system of checks and balances.
The people made this land great. and Free. It’s a responsibility of the people to take their country back from the political actors and the sociopath. Refuse to accept the fake plastic smile. Demand integrity from your elected representative. Demand ethics reform. VOTE. Expose liars, don’t ignore them. Fight against the injustices you see around you. Nobody else will fight your battles for you. If you can help others, help them. Focus on your community, not your ipad.
Realize that every time you choose not to act, your are giving your power away.
Be thankful that you live in the land founded on a philosophy of freedom and the rights of the individual, and make sure that YOU are willing to do what it takes to make sure it stays that way for your kids, and their kids.
What America needs now, is a nation of people who refuse to stay asleep.
Figure 5.6 Past Year Methamphetamine Initiates among Persons Aged 12 or Older and Mean Age at First Use of Methamphetamine among Past Year Methamphetamine Initiates Aged 12 to 49: 2002-2012
http://www.samhsa.gov/data/NSDUH/2012SummNatFindDetTables/NationalFindings/gifs/nfr-Fig5-6-2k12.gif
+ Difference between this estimate and the 2012 estimate is statistically significant at the .05 level.
1 Mean-age-at-first-use estimates are for past year initiates aged 12 to 49.
——–
People obviously don’t want to wake up badly enough.
No taxes for retirees at all, who no longer get to vote.
“who no longer get to vote”
You would deny them the opportunity for futility?
There will be no fix. Governments rarely relinquish power to any significant degree, they never stop spending, and the good news is they never last forever.
Yaaaawn! The same old rightist shibboleths.
Yeh,underlying everything Fits comments on when it comes to national economic issues?
Pity the Billionaires.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/las-marijuana-farmers-market-opens-today/story?id=24428970
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1887250/original.jpg
http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1887264/original.jpg
This site is kinda slow:
Check out: http://scdigest.blogspot.com/
It’s Fourth of July weekend, only people with no friends or family have time to post all day.
I can pretty much agree with the above article. I would add in #2 the EPA. The hard freeze should include a 1% across the board cut in every program. In #1 doing away with the IRS and replace it with the Fair Tax. If there were just some way to get this through congress, but too many pet projects / kick backs are involved. Great thought anyway.
Sounds like T-Rav’s platform…..
People Who Call Obama Worst President Since Second World War Also Blame Him for Starting It
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)— A new poll released Wednesday revealed that people rank President Barack Obama as the worst President since the Second World War, and also blame him for starting the Second World War.
While the respondents slammed the President for his handling of the economy, Iraq, and a host of other issues, his perceived role as the primary cause of the Second World War was the biggest drag on his numbers.
Even more troubling, when compared to the three leaders of the Axis powers during that war, President Obama polled at the bottom of the list, finishing far behind Emperor Hirohito of Japan.
“Fair or not, the American people hold the President responsible for starting the Second World War,” Davis Logsdon, a political-science professor at the University of Minnesota, said. “If the President hasn’t gotten his version of the story out, there’s only one person to blame for that: Barack Obama.”
In other poll results, the most popular President in the survey was Ronald Reagan, widely credited with ending the Second World War.
I think the House of Representatives should be expanded to 1 representative per 100,000 citizens. The current district sizes of 600,000 people are too large for a single representative. Running every 2 years in a district that size basically ensures incumbents will win time and again.
on a serious note … as a home remodeler/flooring installer how can the government expect me to continue to pay taxes to them as I struggle to find work. though every morning I pass van loads of illegals going to work . who pay no taxes have no workers comp or general liability and continue to pack the hospitals etc. freeloading and enjoying the resources that I pay for ??? am I crazy , blind or what ???