Political Life According to Lavender

[lavender]

1. The Electoral College Should be Banned
2. Abortion, in the first and second trimesters, should be covered
in Medicaid.
3. Homosexuals should be considered a discrete, insular minority
protected by the 14th Amendment and covered in the Civil
Rights Act.
4. Judicial appointments should receive more scrutiny by
Congress, especially for their propensity for radical (liberal) or
reactionary (conservative) views.
5. The Death Penalty should be outlawed.
6. The United States should forge more alliances and give more
credence to the United Nations and halt so much unilateral
action.
7. We should have massive campaign reform. Our elected officials
should not have corporations as the "people" they represent.
8. We should find some way of providing health care for all
individuals in America - but I do not want a single payer system
and HMOs need to be improved.
9. Education needs to become more of a priority on the federal
and state level. We're just not cutting it. Teachers should be
paid more, class size should be decreased, and special focus
on ages 5-8 should be given priority to improve the likelihood
for academic success later in life.
10. Sex education should not rely on abstinence education.
Condom distribution should become mandatory for school
districts who are above a certain % of teen pregnancies and in
communities where the instance of teen venereal disease is
high.
11.All drugs should be legalized and we should spend the
egregious amount of money we spend on the drug war into
education and rehabilitation.
12.Separation of church and state means there is SEPARATION.
13.Censorship is evil and should be avoided if at all practicable.
14. We, as citizens, have a right to privacy that is almost as
fundamental as our right to life, liberty and property.

 

[RooudyruffKK]

ok

cliff notes on wut u said?

 

[Guru]

 

[Calamity Jane]

10. Sex education should not rely on abstinence education.
Condom distribution should become mandatory for school
districts who are above a certain % of teen pregnancies and in
communities where the instance of teen venereal disease is
high.

One of the scariest things I've ever seen. A billboard in East St Louis... reminding people to get checked for Syphillis because it's now the fastest spreading disease in the city.

I didn't even know people still got syphillis.

 

[Spinaroonie]

oops

11 won't work, we make too much money from drug enforcement and it employs millions.

 

[CelestialBody]

 

[Ham Murabi]

1. The Electoral College Should be Banned
2. Abortion, in the first and second trimesters, should be covered
in Medicaid.
3. Homosexuals should be considered a discrete, insular minority
protected by the 14th Amendment and covered in the Civil
Rights Act.
4. Judicial appointments should receive more scrutiny by
Congress, especially for their propensity for radical (liberal) or
reactionary (conservative) views.
5. The Death Penalty should be outlawed.
6. The United States should forge more alliances and give more
credence to the United Nations and halt so much unilateral
action.
7. We should have massive campaign reform. Our elected officials
should not have corporations as the "people" they represent.
8. We should find some way of providing health care for all
individuals in America - but I do not want a single payer system
and HMOs need to be improved.
9. Education needs to become more of a priority on the federal
and state level. We're just not cutting it. Teachers should be
paid more, class size should be decreased, and special focus
on ages 5-8 should be given priority to improve the likelihood
for academic success later in life.
10. Sex education should not rely on abstinence education.
Condom distribution should become mandatory for school
districts who are above a certain % of teen pregnancies and in
communities where the instance of teen venereal disease is
high.
11.All drugs should be legalized and we should spend the
egregious amount of money we spend on the drug war into
education and rehabilitation.
12.Separation of church and state means there is SEPARATION.
13.Censorship is evil and should be avoided if at all practicable.
14. We, as citizens, have a right to privacy that is almost as
fundamental as our right to life, liberty and property.

1. I see no reason to ban the electoral college. Enlighten me.
2. I fail to see why a taxpayer should be forced to subsidize any abortion.
5. Agreed. Let's put all those people who would have received the death penalty in some cold, miserable place, with unheated cells, and make them work 14 hours a day.
6. Credence to the U.N. The same group that has Syria and Libya on the Human Rights Council?
7. In a truly free society, people should be able to donate as much money as they want to any candidate they support. If that money is available to corporations, so be it.
8. When government (taxpayers) start paying for it, the quality of healthcare for everyone will go down. Check it out (you need look no further than Canada).
9. Increase spending on education, decrease the quality of education for our children. Check the stats and you'll find no correlation between spending and quality of education. In fact, since the Dept. of Education was established in 1978 and billions of federal (taxpayer) dollars have been spent, results on standardized tests have done nothing but go down.
11. Legalize all drugs, and make people who get hooked on them responsible for cleaning up their own act. It's just like abortion. Why would you expect me to cover the cost?

 

[Guru]

 

[Ham Murabi]

Re: oops

11 won't work, we make too much money from drug enforcement and it employs millions.

Explain to me how "we" (the taxpayers) make money off drug laws that require millions to be employed.

 

[Calamity Jane]

Thanks CB, that's now the scariest thing I've ever seen.

I swear, when my girls turn 12, they're getting a case of condoms and more sex ed than they'll know what to do with.

Sometimes I wonder how I survived my misspent youth.

[/hijack]

 

[KillerMuffin]

1. No. It would concentrate power in specific coastal cities and make issues relevant to the middle areas and smaller coastal towns obsolete politically. If that happened, I predict civil war.

2. No. It's not a necessary surgery, it's entirely elective. When we give away free boob jobs and face lifts, then yes. Medicaid doesn't even adequately fund health care for obesity or other eating disorders.

3. Yes.

4. Maybe. I thought they did that already. This should not obfusicate state power.

5. Yep.

6. No. The US should be run and managed wholly by US citizens.

7. Yes.

8. No. I get health care from a system just like that. The quality sucks. Socialized medicine doesn't work, either. Why don't you ask the tons of Canadians who come to the US every year to take part? Health care reform requires making it not-for-profit, not socialized. Abolish the AMA, instead.

9. Education needs to be out of the federal level. Funds should be sent to the states, instead, and all education should be run at state level. It's why we have state governance.

10. Sure.

11. Yes.

12. Separation of church and state does not mean separation of a man's principles and values from the man.

13. Yep.

14. You're dreaming. Privacy is totally an anachronism. You're right, but it's not happening.

 

[CelestialBody]

 

[CelestialBody]

 

[LadyDarkFire]

1. The Electoral College Should be Banned
2. Abortion, in the first and second trimesters, should be covered
in Medicaid.
3. Homosexuals should be considered a discrete, insular minority
protected by the 14th Amendment and covered in the Civil
Rights Act.
4. Judicial appointments should receive more scrutiny by
Congress, especially for their propensity for radical (liberal) or
reactionary (conservative) views.
5. The Death Penalty should be outlawed.
6. The United States should forge more alliances and give more
credence to the United Nations and halt so much unilateral
action.
7. We should have massive campaign reform. Our elected officials
should not have corporations as the "people" they represent.
8. We should find some way of providing health care for all
individuals in America - but I do not want a single payer system
and HMOs need to be improved.
9. Education needs to become more of a priority on the federal
and state level. We're just not cutting it. Teachers should be
paid more, class size should be decreased, and special focus
on ages 5-8 should be given priority to improve the likelihood
for academic success later in life.
10. Sex education should not rely on abstinence education.
Condom distribution should become mandatory for school
districts who are above a certain % of teen pregnancies and in
communities where the instance of teen venereal disease is
high.
11.All drugs should be legalized and we should spend the
egregious amount of money we spend on the drug war into
education and rehabilitation.
12.Separation of church and state means there is SEPARATION.
13.Censorship is evil and should be avoided if at all practicable.
14. We, as citizens, have a right to privacy that is almost as
fundamental as our right to life, liberty and property.

Sounds good, except I think there are some better alternatives for 8 and 11. Health care is never going to have an easy answer, and as for the drugs... well, I think to a certain extent, certain drugs being legalized would be good, but only with strict laws about their purity, and what levels of certain chemicals they can contain.

 

[d_arthur]

1. The Electoral College Should be Banned
2. Abortion, in the first and second trimesters, should be covered
in Medicaid.
3. Homosexuals should be considered a discrete, insular minority
protected by the 14th Amendment and covered in the Civil
Rights Act.
4. Judicial appointments should receive more scrutiny by
Congress, especially for their propensity for radical (liberal) or
reactionary (conservative) views.
5. The Death Penalty should be outlawed.
6. The United States should forge more alliances and give more
credence to the United Nations and halt so much unilateral
action.
7. We should have massive campaign reform. Our elected officials
should not have corporations as the "people" they represent.
8. We should find some way of providing health care for all
individuals in America - but I do not want a single payer system
and HMOs need to be improved.
9. Education needs to become more of a priority on the federal
and state level. We're just not cutting it. Teachers should be
paid more, class size should be decreased, and special focus
on ages 5-8 should be given priority to improve the likelihood
for academic success later in life.
10. Sex education should not rely on abstinence education.
Condom distribution should become mandatory for school
districts who are above a certain % of teen pregnancies and in
communities where the instance of teen venereal disease is
high.
11.All drugs should be legalized and we should spend the
egregious amount of money we spend on the drug war into
education and rehabilitation.
12.Separation of church and state means there is SEPARATION.
13.Censorship is evil and should be avoided if at all practicable.
14. We, as citizens, have a right to privacy that is almost as
fundamental as our right to life, liberty and property.

Some good thoughts there Lavy. I agree with most of what you said, except for:

1. Not sure where I stand on this one. I waiver back and forth about the Electoral College.
4. Insane judicial appointees are one of the few things that make reading countless legal opinions tolerable.
5. I disagree. I still think there are cases where the death penalty is appropriate. Though, this is not to say that I agree with the marked inequity of the current death penalty system is some states (read: Texas).
8. I’m not sure that I could agree with you here. There are a few countries who’ve managed to sort out a workable system. Still, I doubt that with the current state of healthcare in America that, any of today's major healthcare providers would jump on board a program similar to the one in say Germany (which I would consider moderately successful).
9. Education in America sucks plain and simple. There is too much pandering to the middle 50% of the students, while the top and bottom quarters of all students are either bored out of their mind or left in the dust. Something should be done to remedy that inequity if America wants to make any real improvements. One way to do this would be to have different levels of difficulty for each major subject area. Sadly, this would never work, as there would be an endless line of parents waiting to bitch out the principal because their precious little angel isn’t in the top English/math/history/etc. class.
10. Condom distribution should be mandatory in all high schools regardless of the local teen pregnancy rate. (I might buy into your criteria about teen pregnancy rate and VD instance for junior high/middle schools though.)
11. I’m not sure that ALL drugs should be legalized, but I’d be up for legalization of > 90% of all drugs. PCP is Really Bad Stuff (tm).

 

[Coolville]

2. Abortion IS COVERED BY MEDICARE.
3. Homosexuals ARE REGARDED AS EQUAL CITIZENS. THEY CAN MARRY, ADOPT AND ARE NOT OSTRACIZED IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM.
5. The Death Penalty should IS OUTLAWED.
6. WE GIVE CREDENCE TO THE U.N.
7. OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS REPRESENT THE PEOPLE.
8. THERE IS health care for all individuals in the nation
9. Education IS A PRIORITY
10. SEX ED. IS UP TO SPEED WITH A MODERN WORLD.
11."SOFT DRUGS" ARE LEGALISED. SUPPORT IS GIVEN TO HARD DRUG JUNKIES.
12.Separation of church and state means there is SEPARATION.
13.Censorship is AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS.
14. We, as citizens, have a right to privacy that is almost as
fundamental as our right to life, liberty and property.

With a couple of ammendments, you've aptly described my part of the world and the realities we live with each day.

 

[Kuntmode]

n/a

What the fuck does the majority of what you want to change have to do with fucking politics?

Sure politicians make decisions, but it is usually the fucking minority of wowsers that lobby governments to install pathetic systems or ideals, based on some Professor's thesis or academic beauracrat's evaluation.

Whatever rules and regulations exist in the US right now, it seems to me for a nation that raves on about liberty and justice for all, and likes to tell the world of how fucking moralistic and perfect it is, have a look at the shit you want to change.

Seems to me your country is one big fuck up.

This you already know, yet you don't like people like me pointing it out.

Sorry Killer M, I still want your mouth on my cock, even if your views are a little wayward than mine.

Lavender is a political activist. Go march on the White House and get arrested for being a public nuisance.

You could always write to Riki Lake and ask to appear on her show to thrash out your views. Like the other 100,000 puppets that need to be heard.

 

[teddybear4play]

1. No. The College is the most balanced, fair way to hold elections, and serves as a virtual tiebreaker for elections within any standard error percentage.

2. Hell no. Even from a nonpartial standpoint, there's no way to split a divided issue like this. It'd be like arguing that government funds ought to go to the NRA. Too divisive.

3. It's pretty much de facto at this point already.

4. No. Judicial appointments are Executive Prerogatives. "Advise and consent" does not mean "Scrutinize and critique." It's a check on power, not politics.

5. Whatever. I'm not really an ideologue on this issue, but somehow criminals need to be made to fear the justice system again. Whether it's through more executions, or chain-gang hard labor, I could give a damn at this point.

6. As long as "giving more credence" doesn't mean ceding our soverignty.

7. I would be more tempted to agree with this if unions were also covered (as a matter of principle), and if the individual donation limit were also raised and indexed to inflation. A thousand dollars doesn't mean what it meant during Watergate when it was set at that point.

8. So long as it's voluntary. Forced government management usually does not fix problems, and in fact, usually fucks them up more (see #9).

9. This has been the plan for decades and scores have been downhill. Throwing money at the problem without demanding accountability is tantamount to subsidizing poorer education. Meanwhile, most if not all of the locations that practice some sort of voucher system, even on a limited basis, have seen their scores improve.

10. Wrong. Sex ed should boil down to "the safest option is abstinence, but if you DO have sex, these are the ways to be safer." Contraceptives don't always work, and people shouldn't trust that a thin layer of latex will keep them safe from HIV.

11. Day by day I'm getting closer to believeing this for marijauna, but I can't see allowing drugs in which the user has a propensity for violence to be legalized. I just can't.

12. Unfortunately, there is no such phrase in the Constitution. There is one about the government not prohibiting "the free exercise" of religion, though. Which means if I'm a government employee and I want to have a crucifix in my office, or a Koran in my desk, the ACLU can just shut the fuck up and like it.

13. Agreed, but citizens should also have the right to know the content of the work as much as possible. I fail to see how a "TV-MA" square or a "Parental Advisory" sticker is tantamount to censorship.

14. I'm not sure what your point is here, so I would tenuously agree, I guess.

TB4p

 

[estevie]

Lav, I have no thoughts to share on the politics. But I do like your new av. I can't wait for Spring.

Have a great day!

 

[Lost Cause]

So you're saying...

We should be Canada?

Abolish Constitutional Guarantees?
Create a Special class of Protected citizens apart from the whole?
Y'all are fuckin' nuts!

 

[busybody..]

1. The Electoral College Should be Banned
2. Abortion, in the first and second trimesters, should be covered
in Medicaid.
3. Homosexuals should be considered a discrete, insular minority
protected by the 14th Amendment and covered in the Civil
Rights Act.
4. Judicial appointments should receive more scrutiny by
Congress, especially for their propensity for radical (liberal) or
reactionary (conservative) views.
5. The Death Penalty should be outlawed.
6. The United States should forge more alliances and give more
credence to the United Nations and halt so much unilateral
action.
7. We should have massive campaign reform. Our elected officials
should not have corporations as the "people" they represent.
8. We should find some way of providing health care for all
individuals in America - but I do not want a single payer system
and HMOs need to be improved.
9. Education needs to become more of a priority on the federal
and state level. We're just not cutting it. Teachers should be
paid more, class size should be decreased, and special focus
on ages 5-8 should be given priority to improve the likelihood
for academic success later in life.
10. Sex education should not rely on abstinence education.
Condom distribution should become mandatory for school
districts who are above a certain % of teen pregnancies and in
communities where the instance of teen venereal disease is
high.
11.All drugs should be legalized and we should spend the
egregious amount of money we spend on the drug war into
education and rehabilitation.
12.Separation of church and state means there is SEPARATION.
13.Censorship is evil and should be avoided if at all practicable.
14. We, as citizens, have a right to privacy that is almost as
fundamental as our right to life, liberty and property.

1- If you eliminate the EC, you give large states with large populations inordinate control over elections. Small state voices will never be heard.

2- Women should be more careful when having sex, ever heard of the Pill or birth control? Abortion should be paid for by the women herself. Society need not bail out "mistakes".

3- All people should be treated the same way. To single out a certain group is wrong. Why are gays more deserving of special laws then other so called minorities?

4- Since all judicial nominees are passed by the Senate, they are all scrutinized. Radical thinkers are in the eyes of the beholder. You cant dictate thought! When a party is elected by the people they are entitled to have their judicial "thoughts" heard.

5- Death penalty is appropriate.

6- The US should do what is in the best interest of our country. Often that may be at odds with what others may believe, tough! Case in point, the US put in missels into Europe during the 80's, despite the protest of many in Europe. It lead to the collapse of the Soviets.

8. You are free to vote against the people you dont like. Corporations, BTW, are a collection of small people that are its stakeholders.

9- We already pay enough for education. It is time for parents, especially Black and Hispanic parents to have their kids act like humans and not animals.

10- Sex ed should be taught in the home. Abstinance is a value that should be glorified not vilified.

11- Sure, so the cop, doctor, bus driver pilot will all be high!

12- It is seperate already.

13- Censorship doesnt happen in the US except in economic cases. If it sells, it can be said.

14- You are a FUCKING PARANOID LOON!

 

[ksmybuttons]

I like your list, Lavy.

Now the question is how do we get there? How would you prioritize?

What things would you be willing to give up to get the others?

Where could you compromise?


The easy part is making a list, the hard part is implementation...

 

[Ishmael]

1. The Electoral College Should be Banned
2. Abortion, in the first and second trimesters, should be covered
in Medicaid.
3. Homosexuals should be considered a discrete, insular minority
protected by the 14th Amendment and covered in the Civil
Rights Act.
4. Judicial appointments should receive more scrutiny by
Congress, especially for their propensity for radical (liberal) or
reactionary (conservative) views.
5. The Death Penalty should be outlawed.
6. The United States should forge more alliances and give more
credence to the United Nations and halt so much unilateral
action.
7. We should have massive campaign reform. Our elected officials
should not have corporations as the "people" they represent.
8. We should find some way of providing health care for all
individuals in America - but I do not want a single payer system
and HMOs need to be improved.
9. Education needs to become more of a priority on the federal
and state level. We're just not cutting it. Teachers should be
paid more, class size should be decreased, and special focus
on ages 5-8 should be given priority to improve the likelihood
for academic success later in life.
10. Sex education should not rely on abstinence education.
Condom distribution should become mandatory for school
districts who are above a certain % of teen pregnancies and in
communities where the instance of teen venereal disease is
high.
11.All drugs should be legalized and we should spend the
egregious amount of money we spend on the drug war into
education and rehabilitation.
12.Separation of church and state means there is SEPARATION.
13.Censorship is evil and should be avoided if at all practicable.
14. We, as citizens, have a right to privacy that is almost as
fundamental as our right to life, liberty and property.

1. Bull shit. This shows that you have absolutely no intellectual concept as to why the electoral college ever existed to beign with. There is a sound reason behind it.

2. Nope, there is no reason for the taxpayer to have to pick up the tab for an elective life choice.

3. Once again, it's a life choice. By this logic the same protections should be festooned on "Skeet Shooters" and "Tiddly Winks professionals".

4. Absolutely not. It is a check for fitness for office, not a political litmus test.

5. That is a 10th ammendment issue. Congress is NOT empowered to preempt this debate.

6. The United States should extract itself from many of the foolish alliances it's already forged. Contracts between nations are wasted paper. Always have been.

7. Since when do Corporations vote? So, you would do away with the first ammendment as well?

8. The cost of health care in the United States did not begin to skyrocket until the government got into the 'price fixing' game via medicare. Further, no nation with socialized medicine provides the level of care available in the US today. (This is going to draw some flak.)

9. Education is and always has been the province of the parent. THere is nothing any government can do to change that, unless the government is going to take on the role of the parent. Apparently there are many that would like for just such an event to take place.

10. If, as a parent, I am responsible for the acts of my children until they are 19 years of age then I, as a parent, am responsible for anything 'distributed' to my child. This is bullshit, pure and simple bullshit.

11. Agreed.

12. Seperation of Church and State means no State sanctioned religion. No more, no less.

13. Censorship is neither good nor evil. It just is. But for the most part I agree with the notion put forth here.

14. Agreed to a point. It depends on what you mean by citizens. If you mean that a 14 year old dependent female should be able to obtain an abortion without parental notification then I strongly disagree.

There are ways to effect these changes. Most would take a Constitutional ammendment. And the Constitution was not[/] written with a pencil and distirubted with erasers dangling on strings.

Ishmael

 

[SINthysist]

You prove yourself to be on a level with the p_p_DONWavians.

Nice job. I no longer have to point out that you are a loon whose had everything in the world handed to her by the Daddy who played the game according to conservative rules, mores, and customs. Nice job, putting it in print...

 

[Weevil]

I don't know, Lav, then your country wouldn't be the shithole it is today and I'd have no place to buy Jack Daniels mustard from.