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The "COMMON SENSE" Party...
17 years ago
It's that time of the half-decade again, people. The time where rainbows, rimjobs and lies are abundant; where kissing hands and shaking babies is more than the norm, but a requirement. It's time for another presidential election....Hurray. (Can you taste the enthusiasm in the air? [/sarcasm])
I, for one, think the party system of politics is absolutely ludicrous. Why should I have to vote for a group of ideals that I don't agree with? Parties should be obsolete with modern technology. It's pointless. It's futile. And it is definitely NOT in the best interest of America, on the whole. So here's a new one on you - the "Common Sense" party. Use your brain, it's there for more than wall decoration.
The idea of democracy is great, if only it were applied in a more equal fashion. Why not create a social-security number driven voting system? The SSA maintains birth/death records for every citizen in America. Who cares if you're a felon? You're still a citizen, and should still have the ability to vote. With the Information Technology industry as it is, it wouldn't be difficult to set up a system of voting that cross-references your SS# and a few special PINS when you register to vote that would prevent fraud. Add an internet-based voting system and I guarantee you'll get a more accurate voter-base of Americans, on the whole. Right now the only people who vote are those who have enough money, time, and energy to feel like they are making a difference. That in NO way encompasses the majority of our citizens - which kinda defeats the purpose of a democracy in the first place, does it not?
1) HEALTHCARE - Nationalized healthcare systems are a good idea. Ensure that everyone in America can be seen and treated free of charge or for a low fee. You wonder how that can be afforded? See point 2.
2) DRUGS - Legalize them. All of them. You're worried that uncle Charlie is a heroine addict who refuses to clean up his act? That's his problem. If he kills himself and it breaks your heart, that really isn't your fault, and it really isn't your place to prevent. Stop being so damned selfish and let him make his own decisions. Government should NOT take the place of personal responsibility, or common sense. Instead, tax the shit out of the drugs! Use the money to educate the public - and I don't mean in scare-tactic campaigns that just say "Drugs are bad, mmmkay?" and point out the disadvantages of use and abuse. Be honest and candid about all aspects of drug use. Allow people to make their own choices and be satisfied that you have the freedom to CHOOSE what you do with yourself. Focus on the education of the masses and you can't go wrong.
Legalize and tax narcotics, and we can afford to allow everyone in America to live comfortably within a few years time.
3) Poverty & Welfare - STOP focusing on third-world countries who don't have enough to eat, and START focusing at HOME! There are enough starving people in this country eating from trashcans, having to STEAL for the basic necessities of life. Poverty creates crime, moreso than greed. Make sure all mouths are fed, backs are clothed, and roofs are over our heads and you will fix many of our problems. Rich, poor, or middle class, we should all be able to live without fear of desperate need hanging over our heads.
4) EDYAKASHON - I can't stress this enough. Put qualified teachers in schools. It's not about time spent in classrooms, but the quality of material being taught and those who are teaching it. Make a smarter future for us all. Teach the children to rely on themselves, that anything is possible with simple thought. Thought is the basis of all things we do - be it an unconscious action or a conscious choice. Teach the kids to use their brains, not just memorization of textbooks.
5) Energy - Use OUR oil, while we need it. Before long everything will change to alternative energy sources, and it won't be a necessity anymore. For now, while we need it, use it. Being "Green" and "Environmentally conscious" does not mean to expect other countries to to the dirty work for us.
6) IF THIS IS A DEMOCRACY, MAKE SURE EVERYONE VOTES! Voting should be MANDATORY. The patriot act has already raped us of our constitutional rights, the government forces us to conform to what they want - we HAVE to pay taxes, we HAVE to go to school in some fashion or another, if there are so many things we HAVE to do, why not add one more that would actually make a difference and make apparent the wishes of the TRUE majority of people?
Just basic common sense. With mandatory voting, then the majority WILL rule. The government needs an overhaul from the ground up - it's time we stand up and DO IT RIGHT!
I, for one, think the party system of politics is absolutely ludicrous. Why should I have to vote for a group of ideals that I don't agree with? Parties should be obsolete with modern technology. It's pointless. It's futile. And it is definitely NOT in the best interest of America, on the whole. So here's a new one on you - the "Common Sense" party. Use your brain, it's there for more than wall decoration.
The idea of democracy is great, if only it were applied in a more equal fashion. Why not create a social-security number driven voting system? The SSA maintains birth/death records for every citizen in America. Who cares if you're a felon? You're still a citizen, and should still have the ability to vote. With the Information Technology industry as it is, it wouldn't be difficult to set up a system of voting that cross-references your SS# and a few special PINS when you register to vote that would prevent fraud. Add an internet-based voting system and I guarantee you'll get a more accurate voter-base of Americans, on the whole. Right now the only people who vote are those who have enough money, time, and energy to feel like they are making a difference. That in NO way encompasses the majority of our citizens - which kinda defeats the purpose of a democracy in the first place, does it not?
1) HEALTHCARE - Nationalized healthcare systems are a good idea. Ensure that everyone in America can be seen and treated free of charge or for a low fee. You wonder how that can be afforded? See point 2.
2) DRUGS - Legalize them. All of them. You're worried that uncle Charlie is a heroine addict who refuses to clean up his act? That's his problem. If he kills himself and it breaks your heart, that really isn't your fault, and it really isn't your place to prevent. Stop being so damned selfish and let him make his own decisions. Government should NOT take the place of personal responsibility, or common sense. Instead, tax the shit out of the drugs! Use the money to educate the public - and I don't mean in scare-tactic campaigns that just say "Drugs are bad, mmmkay?" and point out the disadvantages of use and abuse. Be honest and candid about all aspects of drug use. Allow people to make their own choices and be satisfied that you have the freedom to CHOOSE what you do with yourself. Focus on the education of the masses and you can't go wrong.
Legalize and tax narcotics, and we can afford to allow everyone in America to live comfortably within a few years time.
3) Poverty & Welfare - STOP focusing on third-world countries who don't have enough to eat, and START focusing at HOME! There are enough starving people in this country eating from trashcans, having to STEAL for the basic necessities of life. Poverty creates crime, moreso than greed. Make sure all mouths are fed, backs are clothed, and roofs are over our heads and you will fix many of our problems. Rich, poor, or middle class, we should all be able to live without fear of desperate need hanging over our heads.
4) EDYAKASHON - I can't stress this enough. Put qualified teachers in schools. It's not about time spent in classrooms, but the quality of material being taught and those who are teaching it. Make a smarter future for us all. Teach the children to rely on themselves, that anything is possible with simple thought. Thought is the basis of all things we do - be it an unconscious action or a conscious choice. Teach the kids to use their brains, not just memorization of textbooks.
5) Energy - Use OUR oil, while we need it. Before long everything will change to alternative energy sources, and it won't be a necessity anymore. For now, while we need it, use it. Being "Green" and "Environmentally conscious" does not mean to expect other countries to to the dirty work for us.
6) IF THIS IS A DEMOCRACY, MAKE SURE EVERYONE VOTES! Voting should be MANDATORY. The patriot act has already raped us of our constitutional rights, the government forces us to conform to what they want - we HAVE to pay taxes, we HAVE to go to school in some fashion or another, if there are so many things we HAVE to do, why not add one more that would actually make a difference and make apparent the wishes of the TRUE majority of people?
Just basic common sense. With mandatory voting, then the majority WILL rule. The government needs an overhaul from the ground up - it's time we stand up and DO IT RIGHT!
2. Damn good idea! The percentage of the US population addicted to opiates and stimulants is essentially the same as it was when drugs were cheap and legal (before the WWI Progressive Era Harrison Narcotics Act). Drug prohibition has gotten us exactly what alcohol prohibition got us - lots of violent crime and oft lousy quality products.
3. Damn right again! Raising the minimum wage to $9.50 per hour will increase the population of people dependent on government - which is just what those proponents want.
4. Monopolies maintained at the point of a government gun will always mistreat their customers. Give the parents the choice of where the money gets spent, and education will rapidly improve.
5. Right on! Coal to diesel, jet fuel, heating oil, and gasoline is profitable whenever oil is above about $80 per barrel. No new technology needed - the Germans did it during WWII and the South Africans during the apartheid embargo. We have enough coal in the US to supply 100% of our current oil needs for over 1,000 years. By then, oil as a fuel will be as obsolete as buffalo chips.
6. O-o... Forcing people to vote at the point of a government gun is yet another type of slavery - and we have way too much of that already. Moreover, the already meager quality of the information conveyed by voting will be degraded by even more noise.
Majority rule? Majority rule is 51 wolves and 49 sheep voting on what to have for dinner. Whites were a majority in the slave states; did that make slavery right? We need a hell of a lot less rule, not more majority rule.
4) Agreed - but more funds should be allocated to the public schools. The trick is to actually entice kids to WANT to be educated, and not use school strictly to improve social status (which is also an integral part of everyday life..) Unfortunately the majority of Americans aren't proactive, interested or insistant on the education of their children. I understand why, I see it every day here. Use education to teach education, I guess is what I mean :) (Hitler brainwased a nation using education...Imagine if that were applied in a POSITIVE way, instead of a detrimental one!)
6) I don't mean voting for officials to make the decisions for us, with our 'best interests' *coughcough* in mind. Again the party system and having to agree with a set of ideals instead of the individual ideals themselves seems pretty ridiculous to me! And the government already *makes* us jump through hoops at their whim, what's one more right taken away when it would actually make a difference? If a 51% majority of the CITIZENS of a county/state vote for marijuana legalization, for example, make it legal! That's the true majority rule, not some wishy-washy so-called political "equivilent" where, as you say, the sheep and wolves are arguing over dinner.
I actually wrote a pro-smoking article that was published in a college newspaper a few years ago that closed with the EXACT same thing you just said about slavery and racial dilemmas, so I do see your point and agree on it. But I'd like to think that, not as a nation but as individuals who can make educated decisions, we've evolved beyond pot-shots at one another and do promote equality, for the most part. The KKK might disagree, but then again, they don't comprise of the majority of individuals.
Just my opinion. The ultimate goal WOULD be self-sufficiency (not an absense of government, but a more loose government that relys on the people to make the right decision instead of "making the decision for them".) I'm just offering a few transitional ways to accomplish just that.
Doesn't the constitution state somewhere that, it is the right and DUTY of American Citizens to overthrow and replace our government once it became too big and power-hungry? Ben has told me about it, though I'm not sure on the specifics, exactly. I figure you might know :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_M._Buchanan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_choice_theory
No government larger than that of a village will be run for the benefit of the people, even if 100% of the people vote. The only way to save your freedom and life is to minimize the power of government in every way possible. A friend of mine emigrated from the Netherlands to the US because their National Health "Service" gives old folks lethal injections to open up hospital beds. I'm not talking about assisted suicide; they don't ask permission. I have read about this practice in European medical journals, too. It really happens. Nationalized Medicine means you die when the government can't take any more from you.
6. What if 51% thinks that gays should be castrated and dopers beheaded? Does that make it right? The principal purpose of the US Constitution was to take most decisions off the national political table where this sort of thing inevitably happens. The central government only has 18 enumerated powers, all other powers being reserved to the states and the people by the 10th Amendment. Read it. 75% of the money spent by the feds is without constitutional authorization, and the same is true for about 90% of the laws. The central government is way out of control.
"Doesn't the constitution state somewhere that, it is the right and DUTY of American Citizens to overthrow and replace our government once it became too big and power-hungry?" That is the central point of the Declaration of Independence (not the Constitution), and I whole heartedly agree.