What if...and what would you do...and why?

[clistensprechen]

If somebody waved a magic wand and made you king of the United States (you could do anything you want to and it would be enforced) for a week, what would you change and why would you change it?

[kentay]

I would try to change all of our hearts by removing greed, arrogance and selfishness from our heart and mind. The voice that speaks to you is your conscience, and it's your only measure of honesty and your selfishness. If you no longer hear that voice or care then you have lost one of the greatest things God gave us all a conscience and you are already spiritually dead. Maybe if at the end of a week of feeling and seen other by having empathy and compassion for others positions they were born into thought-out the world. You just might be able to get back what you lost over years because of your greed, your arrogance and your selfishness. kentay 

[Ted S]

I would change all of our hearts by removing greed, arrogance and selfishness from our heart and mind.

I may be wrong here but I think the only magic Clara had in mind is that you become king of the USA and you have the power of a dictator.  Basically, you can make laws and those laws will be strictly enforced but I don't think she meant you have magical powers of the kind that can change human nature or human physiology.

As I read Clara's question the king could declare that everybody have Sunday off for instance but I don't see the king having the ability to magically grow wings on people so they could fly around like butterflies.

If we're talking pure magic I guess I would just make the world perfect but if we have to deal with reality you certainly can't just order people to feel differently and change their core beliefs.  Humans don't operate like that.

[Woody]

1.  Return to the proper forum of government as outlined in the Constitution.  Sign an executive order ending all existing executive orders and send them to the legislative branch for proper debate and process.


2.  Allow line item veto power for the President.


3.  Remove all taxing or fee power from agencies like the EPA and send it to the house where it should start.


4.  After 10 minutes of that abdicate the throne and return to a constitutional government.

[clistensprechen]

I would change all of our hearts by removing greed, arrogance and selfishness from our heart and mind.

I may be wrong here but I think the only magic Clara had in mind is that you become king of the USA and you have the power of a dictator.  Basically, you can make laws and those laws will be strictly enforced but I don't think she meant you have magical powers of the kind that can change human nature or human physiology.

As I read Clara's question the king could declare that everybody have Sunday off for instance but I don't see the king having the ability to magically grow wings on people so they could fly around like butterflies.

If we're talking pure magic I guess I would just make the world perfect but if we have to deal with reality you certainly can't just order people to feel differently and change their core beliefs.  Humans don't operate like that.

You're basically right, Ted, but this was an open-ended question. Kentay's response is the basis of that old saw about how more peaceful this world would be if women, not men, ruled the world. It would necessarily mean different laws than we have now. Ya, I would have preferred specifics on policy, lawmaking, election method after the week was up kinda thing.

[kentay]

Ok Ted here is another one for you to critique.  I would change the Filibuster rules that lets Republicans say  on President Obama first day in office. That I as the Republican senate minority leader vow to make President Obama a 1 term President. kentay

[Ted S]

We've been down this path before but a few things come to mind:

1. Greatly increase the number of members of the House of Representatives on the theory that each member is too powerful now. I would like dilute the power so that each representative, represented maybe 50K to 100K people.

2. Give the states the right appoint senators rather than have them popularly elected as they are today.  States are under-represented at the federal level in my opinion.

3. I'd replace the income tax with a consumption tax on retail sales.

4. I'd consider making serving as a congressman, a seasonal job.

5. I'd eliminate all farm subsidies.

6. I'd close the Department of Education and replace it with nothing.

7. I'd close the Department of Energy and replace it with nothing.

8. I'd close the Department of Commerce and replace it with nothing.

I'm tempted to say amend the constitution so that congress would have to identify the particular section of the constitution that authorizes a proposed law, but I'm sure two rubber stamps would quickly appear, one with the words "Commerce Clause" and the other with "General Welfare" so forget that idea.

It's unoriginal but a good start.

[RWE]

1) Get 5 pounds of pot metal and mint a $16 Trillion coin with my face on it and use it to pay off the National debt.

[Ted S]

Ok Ted here is another one for you to critique.  I would change the Filibuster rules that lets Republicans say  on President Obama first day in office. That I as the Republican senate minority leader vow to make President Obama a 1 term President. kentay

I might eliminate the filibuster as well but I'd be fair and eliminate it for all.  Although, this wouldn't make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things.

[wbcoleman]

Ok Ted here is another one for you to critique.  I would change the Filibuster rules that lets Republicans say  on President Obama first day in office. That I as the Republican senate minority leader vow to make President Obama a 1 term President. kentay

I predict that, depending upon the election results, kentay's opinion of the filibuster may [OR MAY NOT!] change come January, 2013.

[clistensprechen]

Ok Ted here is another one for you to critique.  I would change the Filibuster rules that lets Republicans say  on President Obama first day in office. That I as the Republican senate minority leader vow to make President Obama a 1 term President. kentay

I predict that, depending upon the election results, kentay's opinion of the filibuster may [OR MAY NOT!] change come January, 2013.

Not--when one party was in power enough to threaten the "nuclear option" (Republican words when Republicans had a majority in the Senate), they chickened out. Dems could have done it right after Obama was sworn in, but they chickened out too.  Both parties love to just whine about how unconstitutional a supermajority for every law is.  Meh.

[wbcoleman]

Ok Ted here is another one for you to critique.  I would change the Filibuster rules that lets Republicans say  on President Obama first day in office. That I as the Republican senate minority leader vow to make President Obama a 1 term President. kentay

I predict that, depending upon the election results, kentay's opinion of the filibuster may [OR MAY NOT!] change come January, 2013.

Not--when one party was in power enough to threaten the "nuclear option" (Republican words when Republicans had a majority in the Senate), they chickened out. Dems could have done it right after Obama was sworn in, but they chickened out too.  Both parties love to just whine about how unconstitutional a supermajority for every law is.  Meh.

Both parties realize that they may be the minority in the next session.

[donni]

end corporate personhood

hold new elections

end all war, including the so called drug war-effective immediately

dissolve the cia and the pentagon

drop all oil subsidies and invest in truly green energy pronto!

close down all silly plastic gadget, and weapons of mass destruction making facilities.

universal health coverage-effective immediately.

invest in infrastructure-put people to work that can.

tax heavy polluters to the point they can't be in biz anymore.

place a cap on capitalism-say- you can't keep more than 1 million, annually, personally.

ownership of land will be only for if you are actively using it-if not used for one year-back on the market.

man i could write a book here, i guess. this is the short list. the why's i think are obvious.

[Gnosisquest]

end corporate personhood

hold new elections

end all war, including the so called drug war-effective immediately

dissolve the cia and the pentagon

drop all oil subsidies and invest in truly green energy pronto!

close down all silly plastic gadget, and weapons of mass destruction making facilities.

universal health coverage-effective immediately.

invest in infrastructure-put people to work that can.

tax heavy polluters to the point they can't be in biz anymore.

place a cap on capitalism-say- you can't keep more than 1 million, annually, personally.

ownership of land will be only for if you are actively using it-if not used for one year-back on the market.

man i could write a book here, i guess. this is the short list. the why's i think are obvious.

That is a great beginning!  :applause:

[clistensprechen]

Ok Ted here is another one for you to critique.  I would change the Filibuster rules that lets Republicans say  on President Obama first day in office. That I as the Republican senate minority leader vow to make President Obama a 1 term President. kentay

I predict that, depending upon the election results, kentay's opinion of the filibuster may [OR MAY NOT!] change come January, 2013.

Not--when one party was in power enough to threaten the "nuclear option" (Republican words when Republicans had a majority in the Senate), they chickened out. Dems could have done it right after Obama was sworn in, but they chickened out too.  Both parties love to just whine about how unconstitutional a supermajority for every law is.  Meh.

Both parties realize that they may be the minority in the next session.

That's no excuse.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, as often as necessary: the duopoly is more interested in grabbing power from the party opposite than it is interested in good responsible government.