If you were president... What would you do?
#1
Posted 12 July 2005 - 10:15 PM
-Invest in a vast broadband/wifi network
-Fund stem cell research, well, invest heavily in the sciences
-Invest in NASA but at the same time, encourage private enterprise (Burt Rutan/SpaceShip One)
-Encourage legal immigration but efficiently deport illegals
-Legalize medical marijuana and cut back on some minor drug offenses
-Increase in the minimum wage
-Increase supply of affordable housing, especially making it easier for first time buyers to purchase
-Initiate "smart growth" plans for cities and their suburbs
-Repeal Patriot Act
-Tax breaks for those who buy energy efficient cars
-Allow for gay marriage
-Investigate and close tax loopholes for corporations
-Force corps to maintain stricter environmental regulations
-Provide for cleaner drinking water, no flouride shit in it
-Force food makers into using less artificial crap in their foods
-Reinstate the estate tax
-Reinstate the Brady Bill
-Universal healthcare
-Stop supporting the illegal terrorist state of Israel
-Increase troops' pay
-Provide cheaper education
-Talk China into pricing their yuan at its real value, not based on our dollar
-Join Kyoto and get China and India to making the same provisions
-Try to reconcile with France, Germany

#2
Posted 12 July 2005 - 10:20 PM
#4
Posted 12 July 2005 - 10:36 PM
DMZX politics threads are just FAIL.
That said, well, your ideas range from the good (pay increases for the military) to the bad (higher tax rates for higher tax brackets; way to encourage people to actually succeed, man!) to the silly (reconcile with France and Germany? How? What for? We really didn't do anything to them and it's not like they ever offer much help to us anyway. Certainly people can talk about "international goodwill" and all that crap, but in the past "international goodwill" has gotten us precious little that we didn't already have. For all the stupid countries that have been assisted or saved or whatever by the US, how many of them actually do anything when we could use a hand? {answer: pretty much just Japan, Israel, and the U.K.})
<img src="http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/2655/quakemarinepz1.gif" border="0" class="linked-sig-image" />
--------------------
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences."
- P.J. O'Rourke
--------------------
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
- C.S. Lewis
--------------------
This week, on LANCER PONDERS:
<lolilover> I notice alot of Japanese fiction involving kemono-mimi characters always has the main character saving an innocent animal and then the animal returns as a girl to reward him for his kindness.
<lolilover> Well there's a cat that is always wandering around in my backyard. Should I feed it in the hopes that one day a catgirl will show up at my door?
#5
Posted 12 July 2005 - 11:06 PM
commodorejohn, on Jul 12 2005, 10:36 PM, said:
DMZX politics threads are just FAIL.
That said, well, your ideas range from the good (pay increases for the military) to the bad (higher tax rates for higher tax brackets; way to encourage people to actually succeed, man!) to the silly (reconcile with France and Germany? How? What for? We really didn't do anything to them and it's not like they ever offer much help to us anyway. Certainly people can talk about "international goodwill" and all that crap, but in the past "international goodwill" has gotten us precious little that we didn't already have. For all the stupid countries that have been assisted or saved or whatever by the US, how many of them actually do anything when we could use a hand? {answer: pretty much just Japan, Israel, and the U.K.})
The progressive income tax existed in the Clinton era and there was no shortage of people trying their best to succeed even then. If anything, we should be relaxing taxes on our lower and middle classes, which make up something like 95% of the population.

#6
Posted 12 July 2005 - 11:08 PM
Also, "international goodwill" helps when you're trying to impose your desires on international communities. It has before, though admittedly it's difficult. An example of where squandering this is problematic: the G8 summit (talks held during the London bombing - huh). We're not getting anywhere because Bush wants to strongarm (with respect to global warming) and Blair opposes Bush's plans, not to mention how the other six countries involved feel. Also, conservative thought may poo-poo the UN, but they're not going to do us any more favors for a long time. UN disapproval is an effective psychological barrier (if not much else).
<Exophase> HES STEALING MAH AIRSHIP!!!!!!11111111
#7
Posted 13 July 2005 - 12:35 AM
i have an idea. instead of trying to tax successful people into oblivion, how about we cut down on unneccesary government programs?
-Invest in a vast broadband/wifi network
this has never been the role of the government. the government isn't here to give out free internet just like the government isn't here to give out free cupcakes to all school children.
-Fund stem cell research, well, invest heavily in the sciences
not a bad idea, except i would focus more on umbilical stem cells because they appear to be working.
-Invest in NASA but at the same time, encourage private enterprise (Burt Rutan/SpaceShip One)
never heard of the two private ones, but not a bad idea. (on a side note, go read dave barry's article on the mars probe.)
-Encourage legal immigration but efficiently deport illegals
excellent idea. in fact, i have a great idea on how to cut down on illegal immigration. it involves building interstate 2 across the southern border.
-Legalize medical marijuana and cut back on some minor drug offenses
i've never really cared for this idea. heck, they've managed to extract the beneficial chemicals from marijuana, but people still aren't satisfied. it's always seemed like an excuse for a first step to legalize it completely. and why would you cut down on minor drug offenses?
-Increase in the minimum wage
nope. i don't think it's a good idea. is it the government's job to guarentee money to everyone?
-Increase supply of affordable housing, especially making it easier for first time buyers to purchase
once again, i don't really see how this is within the role of the government.
-Initiate "smart growth" plans for cities and their suburbs
not sure what you mean by this. perhaps you could elaborate?
-Repeal Patriot Act
why? why repeal something that was passed in the interest of national security?
-Tax breaks for those who buy energy efficient cars
i'd say tax breaks for everyone, but if you want to reward people for energy efficiency, this isn't a bad idea.
-Allow for gay marriage
i've never understood why we should change the definition of a word that's been around for thousands of years just because a small group wants us to. why should we? just because gays say so?
-Investigate and close tax loopholes for corporations
i'm not sure what loopholes you're talking about here, but please forgive me when i say that this almost sounds like just a standard anti-corporation statement.
-Force corps to maintain stricter environmental regulations
i'd tend to think that this is a bit overblown. look at it this way: we bowed to enviromentalist demands and banned several CFCs because they eroded the ozone layer. while it's true that they do erode the ozone layer, you have to remember that they have only caused 5% fluctuations in it while it fluctuates naturally by up to 50%. while the erosion of ozone by CFCs can't be traced to a single human death or illness, banning them does have ill effects. they are a very effective firefighting chemical, are used for food refridgeration, and are also used for sterilizing medical equipment. the losses seem to outweigh the benefits.
-Provide for cleaner drinking water, no flouride shit in it
i don't know much about flouride in public drinking water and what legislation is behind it, but i'd like to see your ideas for making it cleaner.
-Force food makers into using less artificial crap in their foods
what's "artificial?" do you mean something that doesn't occur in natural food? if so, then i'd like to point you to this.
-Reinstate the estate tax
why not cut useless spending instead? why do we need this anyway?
-Reinstate the Brady Bill
don't know much about this one. can you please enlighten me?
-Universal healthcare
it sure worked for canada, didn't it? "our healthcare system has determined that you won't need a doctor until, um, 2007. and you're here for a kidney transplant. wait, no, that can't be right..."
-Stop supporting the illegal terrorist state of Israel
WOAH WOAH WOAH! how is Israel a terrorist state? how many suicide bombers have come out of Israel? how many muslim extremists has Israel harbored. and i'd like to remind you that Israel was created by the UN. i thought that the UN is a good, intelligent orginization and that we should care about what they say. so why would we stop supporting one of their brainchilds?
-Increase troops' pay
not a bad idea, but i'd like to hear more on your ideas for this.
-Provide cheaper education
dude, pre-college education is FREE. what more do you want? free college? just get motivated and get some scholarships. personal initiative is almost always better than government intervention.
-Talk China into pricing their yuan at its real value, not based on our dollar
i'd be more interested in taking care of the horrible human rights crisis in china right now. heck, even the late senator wellstone was in favor of dealing with it.
-Join Kyoto and get China and India to making the same provisions
nope. i like my fossil fuels, thank you very much.
-Try to reconcile with France, Germany
i almost laughed out loud when i read that. why? what on earth have they done for us? and what did we ever do to them to deserve the hate that they're spewing at us?
i'd tell you more about what i'd do, but i have to log off now. oh well, there's always tomorrow.
<pyro1588> "welcome to australia, can i help you find what you're looking for?"
<Tox> pyro1588, I'm giving you the most reproachful of glares right now.
--------
Go show those nutty Koreans what us crazy Europeans are made of pirate.gif pirate.gif pirate.gif - Saike
<exophase> The old Commodore strategy of, "Go friggin' bankrupt!"
<wervyn> Go away! I'm writing the same engine I always do!
#8
Posted 13 July 2005 - 12:59 AM
Pyro1588, on Jul 13 2005, 02:35 AM, said:
nope. i like my fossil fuels, thank you very much.
lol.
#9
Posted 13 July 2005 - 01:10 AM
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this has never been the role of the government. the government isn't here to give out free internet just like the government isn't here to give out free cupcakes to all school children.
Ditto, we can get our own internet access. The government don't need to provide that.
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never heard of the two private ones, but not a bad idea. (on a side note, go read dave barry's article on the mars probe.)
Invest in that AFTER we invest in problems that are still down here on EARTH.
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once again, i don't really see how this is within the role of the government.
Seriously, ditto again.
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i've never understood why we should change the definition of a word that's been around for thousands of years just because a small group wants us to. why should we? just because gays say so?
Yeah, but trying to pass a CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT saying they CANT use a word how they want to is jackassery.
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why? why repeal something that was passed in the interest of national security?
Because the act basically makes it legal to wiretap everything just in case someone talks about terrorism.
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i'd say tax breaks for everyone, but if you want to reward people for energy efficiency, this isn't a bad idea.
Cmon, they'd save money on gas anyway.
Seriously, all of us would make CRAPPY ASS presidents. I'm glad none of us are or ever will be.
#10
Posted 13 July 2005 - 01:30 AM
<a href='http://ubanimator.com' target='_blank'><img src='http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/1200/userbar797134vd.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></a>
--VinceP :D
#11
Posted 13 July 2005 - 02:06 AM
#13
Posted 13 July 2005 - 03:28 AM
...
I need to stop playing Master of Orion.
xx̊y (OST) - HELLQUEST (OST) - Zeux I: Labyrinth of Zeux (OST) (DOS OST)
w/ Lancer-X and/or asgromo: Pandora's Gate - Thanatos Insignia - no True(n) - For Elise OST
MegaZeux: Online Help File - Keycode Guide - Joystick Guide - Official GIT Repository
#14
Posted 13 July 2005 - 05:52 AM
Here's my mindset lately: One day I woke up and realized my Republican party were constantly making idiots of themselves, possibly even more so than the Democrats. Or maybe I couldn't take the constant onslaught of ridicule and angry editorial pages. So I don't want to be a Republican, but I don't feel right calling myself a Democrat either. And, well, nobody pays attention to Libertarians. ^^ There's a deep problem in effect here.
Let's admit the obvious, George Bush is a divider, not a uniter, and so is Kerry, so is every media outlet, and so is everyone else. It's this division I can't take anymore. You merely identify yourself as one thing or the other, and bam, you've already caused artificial microfractures between you and people you could connect with and love. The harder you push this cheaper, shallower, misleading, man-made, invented identity of yourself, the deeper you drive a wedge. I don't want that. I don't like politics.
So when I post my sarcastic comebacks when somebody around here spouts off something political, that's just me trying to fight the division I can't stand anymore, but being blind about it and going about it wrong, letting my anger about it take over. Please forgive me that.
I just don't want to see people valuing their way that they want the stupid country run over the people around them. Why the hell does that happen? It inspires all this needless judgment, dismissals, and disconnections. God bless some other country that has this figured out better than we do.
#16
Posted 13 July 2005 - 09:50 AM
Oh yeah, djtiesto: I don't know what you mean by "flouride shit". Our water isn't currently "polluted" by flouride anyway. Regardless, nothing bad could come out of putting flouride in our water.
#17
Posted 13 July 2005 - 09:53 AM
[18:02] <mira> Wait, jastiC! You forgot your lunchbag!
[18:02] <zamros> jastiC just got PWNz0ReD by scorchX3000 ! I kan haz another kick, scorchX3000 ?
[18:02] * jastiC (~bdauh@cloak-5F72C0EC.superkabel.de) has joined #idiots-club
[18:02] <crank[AWAY]> Remember jastiC?
[18:02] <Rogue_Robots> GOOOOooOOAAAAAAALLLL!!11!11
[18:02] <Fungahhh> Aww how sad jastiC got kicked..
[18:02] <gbelo-bot> Beep. jastiC is acting highly illogical.
[18:02] <coyote> jastiC presses the big red button!
[18:04] * jastiC was kicked by scorchX3000 (~IceChat7@cloak-D9B6A48B.mid d.cable.ntl.com) Reason (let's see what happens this time.)
[18:04] <mira> Ooh, that's gonna leave a mark, right on jastiC's backside
[18:04] <zamros> jastiC just got PWNz0ReD by scorchX3000 ! I kan haz another kick, scorchX3000 ?
[18:04] <coyote> jastiC spins out of control!
#18
Posted 13 July 2005 - 11:40 AM
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You would be surprised!
#19
Posted 13 July 2005 - 12:02 PM
Also since when has the government had anything to do with internet service? 0_o
Oh yeah, I guess I'd figure out how the heck to end this war on terror with success. I believe if we start giving enough international aid to some of these terrorist countries or whatnot, they'll be too busy thanking us for improving the economic situation to bother trying to blow us all up. However if that doesn't work we could probably think of something else. Nothing's impossible, after all. Just some things are tricky.
Oh and I figure that the tax rate for lower, middle, and upper classes should be about the same. If for all classes the tax rate is 3%, then everyone is getting taxed the same amount, 3/100 of their income. No one can complain because when they try to say "HEY THEY'RE GETTING MORE MONEY THAN US" someone points out that it's because they have a bigger income and not because the taxrate is significantly smaller
Of course I'd probably make a bad president.
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and the stupidity of mankind, and I'm not sure about the former." -Albert Einstein
"I wanna take a ride on your disco stick." -duvel
#20
Posted 13 July 2005 - 12:28 PM
asgromo, on Jul 13 2005, 09:50 AM, said:
If you want to know whether statements like that are true I'd recommend reading up in the Nation Library of Medicine ( www.pubmed.com ). All the articles you find there are peer reviewed by experts in their respective fields. Note though that without a subscription you can only read the abstracts (summaries).
It is important to look at other fluoride sources to make sure that dosage does not exceed 1 mg/kg. If this is the case, fluorosis can occur, which'll turn teeth into an unsightly mess. Fluoride hardens mineral tissues (like teeth and bone). Lots of the information regarding fluoride is controversial. The amount of fluoride in drinking water alone won't cause fluorosis, but considering the use of fluoride in toothpaste, at the dentist and in various other medical practices it is important however to keep track of fluoride ingestion in the population.
A couple of effects regarding fluorosis have been noted. The main effects of fluorosis are gastrointestinal intolerance, painful lower extremity syndrome and skeletal fluorosis.
The last (which is the most severe) is caused by an effect on osteoblasts (bone producing cell). Fluoride increases the division rate of these cells, causing more cells to form, yet it has a toxic effect on cells with mineralization impairment. In case of lack of Vitamin D (the vitamin that is formed when you're standing in the sun, and is present in things like milk and fish) or bad renal function (kidneys) severe bone deformities have been statistically linked to fluorosis.
As for mortality rates, no significant increase has been measured in statistical research between people who have fluorosis and people who haven't.
There.
- Sai`ke
- Bertrand Potato
#21
Posted 13 July 2005 - 01:14 PM
Nothing bad could come out of putting flouride in our water that couldn't be caused by the average modern diet in first world countries.
WTF; ZoMbIe is suggesting world conquest with ninjas ZzCrook is proposing war on Canada, and Scorch favors treason and you people instantly start jumping on my support of water flouridation? Just because it's based on twenty-year old science doesn't mean it isn't perfectly innocent and good-natured.
#22
Posted 13 July 2005 - 01:28 PM
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and the stupidity of mankind, and I'm not sure about the former." -Albert Einstein
"I wanna take a ride on your disco stick." -duvel
#23
Posted 13 July 2005 - 05:41 PM
djtiesto, on Jul 12 2005, 11:06 PM, said:
commodorejohn, on Jul 12 2005, 10:36 PM, said:
DMZX politics threads are just FAIL.
That said, well, your ideas range from the good (pay increases for the military) to the bad (higher tax rates for higher tax brackets; way to encourage people to actually succeed, man!) to the silly (reconcile with France and Germany? How? What for? We really didn't do anything to them and it's not like they ever offer much help to us anyway. Certainly people can talk about "international goodwill" and all that crap, but in the past "international goodwill" has gotten us precious little that we didn't already have. For all the stupid countries that have been assisted or saved or whatever by the US, how many of them actually do anything when we could use a hand? {answer: pretty much just Japan, Israel, and the U.K.})
The progressive income tax existed in the Clinton era and there was no shortage of people trying their best to succeed even then. If anything, we should be relaxing taxes on our lower and middle classes, which make up something like 95% of the population.
I never said that people weren't trying, I just said that taxing higher incomes at higher percentage rates is a good way to discourage them from doing so. In my mind, the best solution would be a flat tax: everyone pays x% of their income, regardless of how much they make.
Oh, and Es pretty much nailed it (though I think he was a little hard on Bush.)
<img src="http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/2655/quakemarinepz1.gif" border="0" class="linked-sig-image" />
--------------------
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences."
- P.J. O'Rourke
--------------------
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
- C.S. Lewis
--------------------
This week, on LANCER PONDERS:
<lolilover> I notice alot of Japanese fiction involving kemono-mimi characters always has the main character saving an innocent animal and then the animal returns as a girl to reward him for his kindness.
<lolilover> Well there's a cat that is always wandering around in my backyard. Should I feed it in the hopes that one day a catgirl will show up at my door?
#24
Posted 13 July 2005 - 06:17 PM
- BAN GAY MARRIAGE 4EVER. If men were meant to be with men, there wouldn't be any women. Besides, you're not effectively reproducing this way, which leads me to my next point.
- NO ABORTIONS. If you make a mistake, it's your fault. You should have to suffer the consequences.
- STEM CELL RESEARCH = OKAY. I mean, it's not like it would develop anyway, unless it were implanted into a womb.
- NO CLONING. You can't make a copy of yourself for spare parts. You can, however, do that other cloning where you can grow yourself an organ.
- IF YOURE NOT DISABLED, OR HOMELESS, YOU CANT BE UNEMPLOYED FOR MORE THAN 6 MONTHS AT A TIME. THIS DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN GET A JOB EVERY 6 MONTHS AND QUIT EITHER. Let's stop with the leeching.
- LEGALIZE MARIJUANA. Yeah, I said it. It's not like marijuana is any more harmful than tobacco. Just don't let people go out high in public...that's just WACK.
- MAKE PENSION CHECKS BIGGER FOR THE HARD WORKING OLD PEOPLE. I've lived with my grandparents for almost my entire life, from check to check. IT AINT FUN.
MAN I WOULD BE A
#25
Posted 13 July 2005 - 10:22 PM
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lololololol =(. Why not bean asexuality while we're at it? You're not reproducing that way. No wait, anyone who's single should be shot because they're not breeding in this already overfull world :(. AND YOU FORGOT TO MENTION WOMEN TO. SEXIST BASTARD :(((((((((((((((((((((.
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lololololol =(. Let's ban all things mistakes. Make it death sentance on default even spelling wrong :(.
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Hooray I agree.
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To be serious here, I think cloning is ok to an extent. Extended cloning however would pose giant threats, if a lot of people had the exact same genetic make up and a virus struck that they were especially weak to... yeah. We'd lose a lot of lives =/.
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Add: If you're homeless the goverment should provide you with a home in return for that you work.
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I vote delagalization of tobacco because it's insanely unhealthy, not only to you but also to people around you when you smoke.
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Agreed there. Since my granddad died my grandmother has had everdeclining economy, though she still manages.
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YES YOU WOULD SIR, YES YOU WOULD.
#26
Posted 14 July 2005 - 12:26 AM
Micah, on Jul 13 2005, 06:17 PM, said:
Banning abortion will be even worse because people will find other ways to get rid of their baby - coat hangers and after the baby is born doing horrible stuff to them. Better to allow a sanitary way for people to get them done, while encouraging safe sex and condom usage. (preaching abstinence from sex is one of the most pointless things you can do)

#27
Posted 14 July 2005 - 02:20 AM
1) I will withdraw our troops from Iraq, Afghanistan, South Korea, and other places around the world;
2) Once our troops are safely home and rested for a couple weeks, I will deploy them along the Mexican Border to seal off all illegal immigration.
3) Once the southern border is secure, I will use the military to go house to house, block by block town by town and round up EVERY SINGLE ILLEGAL ALIEN and forcibly deport them from this country.
4) With our troops back home, I will re-open many of the closed military bases around this nation, thus keeping the economic benefit of those bases here in America.
5) I will withdraw from (or have repealed), NAFTA, GATT and the WTO. The idea of "free and fair trade" is terrific but it has failed miserably since US workers cannot complete with foreigners earning ten cents per hour and living 20 to a house.
6) I will re-establish Tariffs on imports to protect American jobs and induce companies to return manufacturing jobs to this nation.
7) I will demand Congress cut off ALL foreign aid. We need that money in this country to take care of our OUR people and our infrastructure.
8) I will change US immigration policy to encourage folks from similar first world cultures to come here instead of encouraging third worlders to come here.
9) I will personally visit and sign a Peace Treaty with North Korea, officially ending the Korean War which, as of now, is only halted by an Armistice (cease fire). The Treaty will assure North Korea that we will not attack or invade them in return for them promising not to attack or destabilize South Korea which the US considers to be of a national security interest.
10) I will personally visit and re-establish Diplomatic relations, trade and commerce with ALL countries that we presently lack such relations with. ALL of them. To date, we have gotten nowhere by cutting off diplomatic and trade relations with countries. That policy has failed and it will be changed. This is in the spirit of George Washington, who said "trade with all, alliances with none."
11) I will withdraw the US from NATO. NATO was created to protect Western Europe from the then Soviet Union. The USSR is gone and Russia is a friend; there is no longer a need for NATO.
12) I will withdraw from Treaties of mutual defense. The world is older and more mature now. Foreign Countries can defend themselves without American blood. If they cannot, it is their problem not ours.
13) I will halt Section 8 housing subsidies. These subsidies allow people to live at taxpayer expense in communities they cannot afford to live in. They will have to move to where they can afford to live.
14) The war on drugs has failed in every regard. Anyone who wants illegal drugs knows where to buy them in EVERY town in this country. We will have to decide on a new policy: Either, we legalize drrugs to take the crime out of it or we wage hot war on drug dealers, using the military to bomb their factories attack and kill them. One way or the other, the policy must change because what we're doing now isn't working.
15) I will nationalize the Federal Reserve Banking system into the US Treasury. Right now, the federal reserve is a private bank which charges us fees and interest to circulate our own money! This system is costing us Billions a year to do what the US treasury is supposed to be doing. That will stop.
17) I will enact a Constitutional Amendment clarifying that protections afforded under the Constitution apply only to natural born citizens or others who are here lawfully. Persons here unlawfully or born to a parent here unlawfully will have no protection of law. None.
18) AIDS is spread by behavior. Once a person is infected, they fall onto the public healthcare roles to get help. I will give the entire country one year to determine their HIV status. People who are identified as "positive" during that time will be eligible for help. After that year, anyone who becomes infected will be denied all public assistance (except newborn babies or those infected by blood transfusions). Society should not encourage or subsidize bad behavior with free healthcare.
#28
Posted 14 July 2005 - 02:48 AM
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why? what makes you say it's pointless? it seems like the most logical way to avoid stds. but perhaps you are talking about total and complete abstinence. if that's the case, then i've never heard anyone talk about that.
<pyro1588> "welcome to australia, can i help you find what you're looking for?"
<Tox> pyro1588, I'm giving you the most reproachful of glares right now.
--------
Go show those nutty Koreans what us crazy Europeans are made of pirate.gif pirate.gif pirate.gif - Saike
<exophase> The old Commodore strategy of, "Go friggin' bankrupt!"
<wervyn> Go away! I'm writing the same engine I always do!
#29
Posted 14 July 2005 - 02:58 AM
#30
Posted 14 July 2005 - 03:16 AM
i have an idea. instead of trying to tax successful people into oblivion, how about we cut down on unneccesary government programs?
What do you deem unnecessary? Research into the sciences to better mankind? Welfare for those who are disabled or unable to work for other reasons? Universal healthcare?
-Legalize medical marijuana and cut back on some minor drug offenses
i've never really cared for this idea. heck, they've managed to extract the beneficial chemicals from marijuana, but people still aren't satisfied. it's always seemed like an excuse for a first step to legalize it completely. and why would you cut down on minor drug offenses?
Minor drug offenses fill up prisons (which we, the taxpayers pay for) with people who probably shouldn't be in there. The "War On Drugs" initiated in the Reagan era has wasted tons of government money and put many people in jail (cocaine dealers serve more jail time than murderers! unbelievable), mostly from minorities.
-Increase in the minimum wage
nope. i don't think it's a good idea. is it the government's job to guarentee money to everyone?
Yes, are you familiar with the concept of a "welfare state"? The government's job is to better the lives of its citizens by doing what's best for the population as a whole. You can't trust big corporations to do everything, in fact many of them have been shipping jobs overseas to try and find the cheapest people to do the labor.
-Increase supply of affordable housing, especially making it easier for first time buyers to purchase
once again, i don't really see how this is within the role of the government.
See above - the government should better the lives of its citizens. What do you think the role of the government is? And right now we're in a housing bubble, which is extremely detrimental to first time buyers. I have a feeling you're still rather young but you'll soon learn the difficulty of financing a house.
-Repeal Patriot Act
why? why repeal something that was passed in the interest of national security?
Because the national security in question infringes on the rights of innocent citizens. Under the Patriot Act, ANYBODY who the government suspects, could have their private phone convos tapped. I'm actually surprised you're in favor of this, especially after quoting PJ O'Rourke and reciting some other Libertarian style principles.
-Initiate "smart growth" plans for cities and their suburbs
not sure what you mean by this. perhaps you could elaborate?
Are you familiar with suburban sprawl? Builders are building poorly planned out subdivisions ever so far from the city core. This stretches out the cities infrastructure - they need to build roads, sewers, phone lines, power cables, drainage systems to reach out there. Not to mention that there is no downtown usually in these suburbs, so most of them are isolated and have to drive for 10 minutes just to hit a mall or supermarket. And they have to drive even further to their jobs (usually in the city downtown), which means even more traffic. A smart growth plan (look up "New Urbanism") will provide more walkable communities, closer to schools and commerce, provide stable mass transit, and will (hopefully) rise from the ashes of burnt out inner cities or first-ring suburbs.
-Allow for gay marriage
i've never understood why we should change the definition of a word that's been around for thousands of years just because a small group wants us to. why should we? just because gays say so?
Because it's not hurting the population to allow it, except for those so taken in by religious dogma.
-Investigate and close tax loopholes for corporations
i'm not sure what loopholes you're talking about here, but please forgive me when i say that this almost sounds like just a standard anti-corporation statement.
I feel corporations have to be responsible community partners, i.e. give back to the community that helped them thrive. (example: the corp I work for has built schools, donated to museums, etc). Why should some corps with their offshore business centers in like Aruba, Bermuda, etc. be excused from taxes? They should have to pay like everybody else.
-Force food makers into using less artificial crap in their foods
what's "artificial?" do you mean something that doesn't occur in natural food? if so, then i'd like to point you to this.
Artificial meaning the overly processed food, hi-fructose corn syrup, etc that Americans seem to be so hooked on (that's contributing to their ever-increasing obesity rate). I've had organic vegetables and pesticide-treated vegetables, not only does organic taste fresher and better, but it's not fucking up my body like god knows what pesticide. And don't quote PJ O'Rourke if you want to be taken seriously - libertarians always carry that stigma of being cracked
-Reinstate the Brady Bill
don't know much about this one. can you please enlighten me?
Ban on all assault weapons. I support the right to own guns, but I think assault weapons are overstepping the bounds of that a little bit.
-Universal healthcare
it sure worked for canada, didn't it? "our healthcare system has determined that you won't need a doctor until, um, 2007. and you're here for a kidney transplant. wait, no, that can't be right..."
Don't you think there's something wrong when us and South Africa are the only 2 first-world nations that don't have universal healthcare? I can't see any reason to not support universal healthcare. What if say, you were a computer programmer that had their job outsourced to India? And you were looking around for another job but nobody was hiring cuz the economy was bad? And your health benefits were terminated when you got fired? And then you break your leg or need surgery or something? YOU'RE FUCKED. I know quite a bit of people off healthcare that needed surgery that put them $20,000+ in the hole. Also, I haven't heard anybody being denied for a kidney transplant in Canada, maybe you can enlighten me?
-Stop supporting the illegal terrorist state of Israel
WOAH WOAH WOAH! how is Israel a terrorist state? how many suicide bombers have come out of Israel? how many muslim extremists has Israel harbored. and i'd like to remind you that Israel was created by the UN. i thought that the UN is a good, intelligent orginization and that we should care about what they say. so why would we stop supporting one of their brainchilds?
When did I say the UN was good? I think the UN needs their priorities in order, like they should be doing something about Darfur, since they ignored Rwanda. Israel still ignores UN resolutions. Not to mention Israel frequently retaliates against Palestine and its citizens, whenever a suicide bomber (not supported by the Palestinian Authority) strikes. Israel kills more Palestinians than Palestinians kill Israel, and by spending America's money to do it. Give me a valid reason why we SHOULD support Israel.
-Provide cheaper education
dude, pre-college education is FREE. what more do you want? free college? just get motivated and get some scholarships. personal initiative is almost always better than government intervention.
Yes, I think we should cut down on college costs. They're ballooning at an out of control rate. SUNY education fees were raised 20% last year, and a lot of people had to drop out because they couldn't afford it. Poor people should be entitled to an education, too - it's the only way they're gonna break out of the cycle of poverty. And I don't think college students should be saddled with big loans upon leaving school. What if those people can't find a job in today's rather rough economy? (I know plenty of CS people who ended up stacking shelves at Target since they couldn't find a job - I was one of the lucky ones. It's kind of hard to pay back $10,000+ of loans when you're making $6.50/hr) How old are you anyway? I can't wait to see when you have to pay back your college loans.
-Reinstate the estate tax
why not cut useless spending instead? why do we need this anyway?
To get more tax reserves so we don't have a massive-ass debt like we do now, and to prevent spoiled heiresses for not working at all for their money (*cough*Paris Hilton*cough*)
-Talk China into pricing their yuan at its real value, not based on our dollar
i'd be more interested in taking care of the horrible human rights crisis in china right now. heck, even the late senator wellstone was in favor of dealing with it.
There's a lot of places with even worse human rights violations than China (Zimbabwe, Sudan, several of the more stricter Muslim regimes), should we deal with them too? It's kind of hard to deal with all that at once, though I do support dealing with it. If China revalues the yuan, it'll help to balance the striking trade deficit between the US and China.
-Join Kyoto and get China and India to making the same provisions
nope. i like my fossil fuels, thank you very much.
And I like my lungs, thank you very much. Fuck these big ass SUVs on the road and the soccer moms driving them.
-Try to reconcile with France, Germany
i almost laughed out loud when i read that. why? what on earth have they done for us? and what did we ever do to them to deserve the hate that they're spewing at us?
Talking down to them after they didn't support the war effort in Iraq (aka they've actually got some brains and balls to stand up to the US) "Freedom Fries" anybody? The dumbest thing I've ever heard. If we truly want to create this "global economy" that everyone's raving about (esp. libertarians), we're not gonna do it by making enemies out of anybody we come across.
-Increase troops' pay
not a bad idea, but i'd like to hear more on your ideas for this.
-Invest in NASA but at the same time, encourage private enterprise (Burt Rutan/SpaceShip One)
never heard of the two private ones, but not a bad idea. (on a side note, go read dave barry's article on the mars probe.)
These are both part of that "useless government spending" you so quickly deride.
This post has been edited by djtiesto: 14 July 2005 - 03:16 AM


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