(A series of
modest proposals)
"The
art of politics is to make the impossible, possible."
Critical-
1. To
re-instill an atmosphere of peace and tranquility throughout the land.
2. To
enforce all of the laws uniformly on all Americans and to provide sufficient
means for legal redress of grievances.
3. To
strengthen and train our law enforcement officers and our military to adapt to
21st century realities.
4. To bring
known conspirators, traitors, and criminal leaders to justice.
5. To stop
all forms of domestic, foreign, and international terrorism.
6. To
abolish all forms of sex trafficking, human trafficking, and child labor in the
United States.
National-Government
7. To reform
all governments- (RE: Government Streamlining, Accountability,
Cost-Efficiencies, & Performance Metrics)
a.
Governments can and should adopt the practices and policies of the private
business sector to the extent feasible. This includes the concepts and
techniques of marketing, sales, customer service, advertising, human resources,
inventory control, property management, capital (long-term) planning and
budgeting, finance, and investments.
b. All too
often individual agencies have overlapping responsibilities, entrenched
bureaucrats, and underutilized employees. For this reason, similar agencies
must be combined, intransigent agency heads must be replaced, and redundant
employees let go.
c. A market
analysis and cost-benefit study must be conducted before the roll-out of a
government funded program; and throughout the life of the program customer
satisfaction surveys must be done. Programs where demand has dramatically
shrunk, when the satisfaction and expectations of the program's participants
are not being met, or when the costs far exceed the benefits will either be
redesigned or scrapped.
1) Every
effort will be made to transition the participants of a defunded program to a
comparable funded program.
d.
Performance metrics for all departments, divisions, agencies, bureaus, and
staff can and should be implemented. Even the most esoteric social services
program can be evaluated against a set of performance metrics. Annual,
semi-annual, or quarterly performance reviews can and should be completed by
and for all departments, divisions, agencies, bureaus, and employees by the
immediate overseeing supervisor. This measure of accountability will be applied
to the lowest grade worker up to the Cabinet level. All government workers,
including political appointees, can and will be fired if they fail 3
performance reviews in a year.
e. A short
formal appeal process is available to terminated employees; small awards,
bonuses, promotions, or public service commendations will be given to employees
who outperform and exceed all performance review criterion.
f. All
outdated laws and regulations will be voided.
g.
Taskforces, work groups etc., with limited goals and objectives will be
sun-stetted upon the completion of their goals.
h. Outdated,
worn, scrapped, or abandoned property and equipment must be disposed of in the
private market at a reasonable price. All old, outdated, or buggy computers,
servers, I.T. equipment, software, and accessories must be replaced by the
newest or next newest equipment or software. This system-wide replacement and
upgrading of government equipment will be awarded to the top 2-3 U.S.
manufacturers on a competitive bid basis.
1) Inasmuch
the government is a non-profit entity, and cannot show a profit perse,
practices and procedures geared toward saving money, cutting costs, exercising
fiscal responsibility, and returning money to the Treasury are not precluded.
For this reason, policies aimed at repairing, recycling, reusing, saving time,
money, and energy shall be encouraged. Practices, procedures, and measures of
cost-controls, precise budget analysis, inventory control, and assessing the
effective life-span of the product will be followed.
8. To
balance the budget as realistically as possible.
9. To pay
down the national debt as realistically as possible.
10. To amend
the tax code so that everyone pays the same percentage of gross income.
11. To
promote the idea of "customer user fees" wherever and whenever
feasible, practical, and reasonable.
12. To phase
out Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare slowly gradually and methodically
over a 10-20-year period and replace them with self-directed or employer
directed government backed securities with fixed incomes, premiums, payments,
etc. Heath Savings Accounts, etc. can and should be used in place of Medicare
premiums.
13. To
merge/combine all federal retirement plans, programs, and agencies into one
Federal Retirement Agency. This will include military, civil service, foreign
service, railroad workers, forest service, public health service and other
federal retirement programs for specific groups of people.
Areas of
Major Spending-
14. To
develop a cost-effective and honest health care system.
a. A sizable
health care regulatory agency must be established with enforcement powers to
curtail the widespread abuse and dishonesty prevalent throughout the current
health care systems
1) The major
problem of health care systems, past and present, is the proclivity of all of
its participants (including doctors and patients) to lie, exaggerate, and
embellish the facts.
2) No system
can survive and succeed when most people involved are dishonest.
15. To
reform the criminal justice system including the police, courts, prisons,
parole, probation, related law enforcement agencies, hospitals, and other
related facilities.
16. To
provide Affordable Housing to those who cannot easily purchase a home. The
exact placement, size, composition, style, and location for the construction of
affordable housing will be left to the local community to decide. To provide
low-cost equitable loans to married couples qualifying as first time home
buyers.
17. To
rebuild the nation's infrastructure including freeways, highways, truck routes,
bridges, tunnels, canals, ports, waterways, airports, water systems, dams,
railroads, the electric power grid, all public buildings, and to provide for
the development of public transport.
18. To
relocate the residents of pre-WWII public housing into temporary housing,
demolish all dilapidated public housing, and build new sustainable medium
quality public housing for all poor and low-income families.
International
Relations & Foreign Policy-
19. To
assure friend and foe alike on the international scene that we will not
interfere in the domestic affairs of another country. We will honor all
existing treaties and agreements if they are in our best interest to do so.
Treaties, agreements, that are not in the best interest of the United States
&/or put the United States at a severe disadvantage, will at the
appropriate time, be opened for renegotiation or annulment.
a. Treaties,
agreements, codicils etc., which came into being by Executive Order and without
the consent of Congress will be reviewed, voided, or sent to Congress for
formal adoption.
20. To
promote, support, encourage the concept of a territorial imperative. In
furtherance of this we hold that the individual sovereignty of each
nation-state is inviolate and of a high order.
a. We will
respect, protect, and enforce the concept of national borders, boundaries, and
demarcation lines.
21. To work
with multi-lateral, regional, and international organizations for the
maintenance and defense of an interdependent world order. This type of world
order is founded on the laws of each nation-state as well as a series of
international laws that stipulate the rights and responsibilities of each of
the actors. In place of direct foreign aid, we will donate/contribute funds,
supplies, people, equipment, and services to other countries on an as need
basis and through IGOs and NGOs. In addition to promoting the principle of a
fair open democracy based on a popular vote for elected officials whenever and
wherever reasonable and practical, we will support genuine efforts to alleviate
hunger, disease, poverty, abuse, and the aftereffects of disaster throughout
the world.
a. Since
this is primarily a description of a political world order, it does not
directly address the international economic scene or the advance of global
trade. We assert that the responsibility for the economic well-being of each
and every nation state lies within its own economy and will be managed by its
own national government. On the one hand, large multinational corporations,
financial institutions, strategic alliances etc., can and do affect the economy
of nation-states; but on the other hand, we must guard against the unwarranted
encroachment of private businesses into other country's domestic affairs. We
recommend that if a company or business has a major and direct effect on a
foreign country's economy, then it should also have a lawful and abiding
interest in its culture, morays, and customs.
1) While the
U.S. government can act as an intermediary in resolving international political
and economic disputes, and enforces applicable U.S. Customs regulations, it
will not interfere with the local laws, practices, or customs of other
nation-states.
National-Political
Reform
22. To
create rules of conduct and ethics for all prospective candidates. A thorough
background check will be conducted before each political party's national
convention of all of the finalists including criminal civil, financial, and
political improprieties. Candidates will be forbidden to accept funds or make
pledges/agreements with foreign governments, agencies, parties, or businesses
before, during, or after their campaigning.
a.
Prospective candidates with a proven long-term track record of unsavory or
criminal behavior will be barred from running for public office.
b.
Muck-racking, rumor mongering, candidate character assassination, the bribing
or cajoling of a "witness" cannot and will not be tolerated.
Unsubstantiated stories that are published under the guise of factual reporting
will be prohibited. Individuals, companies, or organizations that create,
publish, or disseminate prejudicial reports/articles will be fined or sentenced
up to 20 years in prison. In short, publishing damaging and false news is a
crime.
c. A
moratorium/blackout period on presidential coverage will be put into effect on
the news media 48 hours prior to election day.
d. Every
effort will be made to improve the accuracy, time involved, and the efficiency
of tabulating voters' ballots throughout the country.
23. To
impede, curtail, restrict the influences of special interest groups, lobby
groups, and PACs of all kinds in the nation and states' political processes. A
procedure will be developed that puts lobbyists, etc., at arm's length from
elected officials.
24. To
overturn Citizen's United.
Services
& Programs-
25. To
promote and fund technical training at the high school and secondary school
level.
26. In view
of enormous unemployment, underemployment, part-time, seasonal, and temporarily
employed population; trends that leave most Americans scrapping by, we will
curtail current immigration as much as possible. All current immigrants will be
afforded a pathway to citizenship &/or an opportunity to repatriate to the
home country. Any employer who knowingly and willingly hires illegal immigrants
will be sentenced to 8 years in jail. We will not deport illegal immigrants
unless they have committed a crime within the past two years.
27. To
explore and develop all forms of energy with an emphasis on developing the
local energy sources that best fit the resources and needs of the local
community, city, or state.
28. To
address poverty, crime, hunger, homelessness, and sickness in a wise,
impartial, and humane manner.
29. To address
unhealthy and counterproductive demographic trends in the United States.
30. To
listen carefully to the American people, seek the guidance and wisdom of the
Almighty, and to closely consider the desire outcome, its implications and
repercussions before making a policy decision. To achieve a balance in all
areas of public life.
Education,
Media, & Internet-
31. We are
now in an era of overwhelming news and information, and the public can no
longer discern fact from fiction. In view of the explosion of media outlets,
on-line and print commentaries and the reprehensible behavior of many
journalists, bloggers, reporters, columnists, and commentators we will begin
monitoring and censuring those individuals and organizations that falsify,
distort, lie, and manufacture rumors and wild speculation. This will be done by
an impartial panel of journalistic experts trained in ethics and the laws
governing Free Speech.
a. The
current high level of distrust and animosity of the American people is/has been
exacerbated by blatantly irresponsible news reportage and commentary.
b. Since the
bedrock of our American democracy is an informed and enlightened public, this
rule is endangered when the public is misinformed, confused, and
misunderstanding.
c. Barring
any strict enforceable code of ethics from the industry the government must set
policy expectations for all those employed in the field and punish those who
distort the truth.
32. To
establish an Internet Enforcement Agency to investigate and bring charges
against individuals, agencies, foreign governments, or businesses that engage
in cyber-crime, child porn, identity theft in addition to a dozen other
internet crimes. The IEA will work in conjunction with law enforcement, the
intelligence community, and the military to track down and apprehend national
and international cyber-criminals. In addition, the IEA will work with them to
detect, monitor, and thwart spying, surveillance, hacking, and denial of
service by foreign governments, their agents, or private parties. Finally, the
IEA will work with private industry to monitor, track, and apprehend
individuals and companies responsible for malware, viruses, and other
unwarranted applications or fixes installed within computers that are
intrusive, harmful, annoying, and mischievous.
33.
Educational Reform-To encourage, promote, support, and fund conservative
teachers, researchers, and academians in the nation's high schools, colleges,
and universities. Publicly funded schools must achieve a balance between
liberal-minded and conservative-minded teachers, professors, faculty, and
senior administrative staff whenever possible. Presently, about 90% of all
those employed in the field of education are of a liberal mind. Qualified but
conservative minded candidates have been barred from employment through a
selective recruiting process. This has led to a less than objective approach to
all subject matter.
34. To
rewrite all current textbooks- In conjunction with the prevalence of liberal
left-wing academians, we've observed that most of the textbooks written in the
last thirty years have taken a clearly contrarian view of society, both here in
the United States and globally. Theories, studies, reports, and the fundamental
assumptions of life eschew the positive, rational, or healthy precepts of
humanity instead they reveal a distasteful, drab, and pessimistic approach to
their subject matter. As if to throw off or reject hundreds of years of thought
and study, the authors of college texts in use today adhere to a dogmatic
philosophy of socialism, feminism, revolution, secularism, and liberation. By
teaching such a narrow-minded ideological perspective, the student is deprived
of a truly liberal education when he/she is allowed to wonder and ponder all of
the possibilities. Perhaps, theories in general have outlived their usefulness,
but in either case, students who are unable to see the pros and the cons to
every argument cannot be well-balanced and reasonable thinkers. For example,
almost every textbook in the broad range of social sciences emphasizes racial
and economic inequality as the primary problem of life. Subsequently, the student
is indoctrinated to the radical concepts of white male privilege, hidden
discrimination, sexism, and a host of suddenly discovered phobias. The student
is then persuaded that all of society's problems can quickly and completely be
eliminated through violent revolution. It would be much to their alarm to find
out that there have always been social problems of one type or another. In our
opinion, there can be no wisdom but only foolishness and danger in this
unenlightened and evil pedagogy.
a. Professors,
teachers, researchers, or other employed in the field of education who distort
or under report the facts, falsify their research data, teach, publish, or
promote a patently misleading book, study, report, or publication will be
severely disciplined. Barring an enforceable code of ethics by educational
authorities, the government will censure, fine, and/or void the academician's
credentials when they knowingly and willingly distort the truth.
35. To hold
teachers accountable, perform performance reviews, and terminate teachers who
consistently show poor academic achievement of their students over 2 ½ years.
Minor-
36. To
abolish the predatory practices of time-share re-sellers or brokers. All time
share owners must be given the opportunity to sell or forfeit his/her time
share unit back to the management company with agreeable terms.
Other-
Constitutional Amendment(s)-
37. To
reestablish the connection between religion and state. A government devoid of
all moral, ethical, spiritual, or religious principles and beliefs does not
have a firm foundation; no guiding light, and consequentially is immoral and
baseless. However, there shall be no official state religion. Matters of great
weight shall be discussed openly but in a somber tone and a consensus of the
entire body must prevail.
a. Each
citizen has the right to adhere to the religion of their own choosing providing
such religious practice does not interfere with the religious rights of others,
and is not treasonous, criminal, barbaric, or satanic. No one will be forced,
coerced, bullied, threatened, or ridiculed to adopt a religion not of their own
choosing.
b. A dispute
over the infringement of a religious practice will be resolved in a court of
law providing the jurors and court officials are trained in resolving religious
disputes equitably.
c. Within
the public arena, politicians and elected officials shall not attempt to
evangelize but merely state the core belief or principle at stake. A polite,
civil, and mannerly discourse shall follow and the stronger most constructive
argument shall prevail.
d. We
believe that most major religions contain similar moral precepts, hence from a
public policy perspective, disagreements over major religious principles should
not happen.
e.
Government(s) shall not promulgate rules for religious worship or in any way
restrict the expression of sound healthy religious beliefs. Only broad
religious concepts can be applied to broad areas of public policy.
f. If
legislators, public policy makers, and those involved in enforcing the law do
not feel qualified or are unable to intelligently articulate their own
religious beliefs in addition to understanding the beliefs and concepts of
other religions, the above item shall be struck in its entirety.
38. To seek
fair, reasonable, realistic, and balanced compromises on: a) gun control, b)
pro-life vs. pro-choice, c) climate change, d) nuclear proliferation and arms
control.
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