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How Would You Change the US Constitution?
Okay. As tomorrow is the 4th of July, let's take a break from the day-to-day micro campaign issues and think about bigger issues.
An op-ed article in the NYT spurred thoughts that I have harbored in my mind:
1) The Founding Fathers were imperfect;
2) The Founding Fathers were fighting the Revolutionary War, not the Status Quo War.
I suspect that the FF would feel most flattered if we honored Independence Day by asking, "What Would You Change in the Constitution?"
(Note: My ideas were influennced by the book "A More Perfect Constitution," by Larry Sabato)
To start things off, I would:
1) Increase the number of members in Congress;
2) Limit the terms of SC judges to 15 years.
I hope LizB reads this so that she bartends. If not, here is my signature drink for the evening:
Chartini - 4 oz vodka or gin, 2 oz Green Chartreuse, 1 oz simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water)
As for the opening music, I recommend a download of an Umphrey's McGhee podcast.
Happy 4th of July!














Comments (8)
I want Article II powers more clearly defined and delimited.
Same for executive privilege and executive signing statements.
I'd let the other two branches of government decide exactly where the boundaries lie. I think I'd let the SCOTUS write it, and the Congress ratify it.
I would take every clause that refers to Congress's power (duty) of Impeachment and repeat it. Yes, repeat it. Twice maybe. Yes, repeat it.
I would also take Article II, Section IV, and repeat it as well. And maybe include more crimes.
July 4, 2008 1:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
I don't tend bar very well. I don't know how to mix drinks. I just talk it up. Get people talkin'.
And then when we all get along, we tell the bartender how to fix that certain drink.
You know?
July 4, 2008 1:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
I would add an article that stated any government official whether elected or in civil service shall be publicly prosecuted for corruption in any form. They would without exception be prosecuted for waste, fraud, or abuse of public funds. Penalties would be harsh and severe. This would be a mandate to prosecute without exception. Contractors with the government would also be included in this mandatory prosecution. This would include all levels of government officials and contractors. It would be understood by the public that any abuse of their tax dollars is unforgivable and any offical should become a social pariah.
The next article would be that anyone who desired to run for office at any level of government would be required to submit their resume to media outlets to publish. Any history of crimes or corruption would be an automatic disqualifier to run for any office. If a person is running for office or for re-election and that person is under allegations of wrong doing that might require prosecution; if elected and allegations turn out to be true, then said official must be sentenced to double the normal sentence as a deterrant to others who think they can be elected and get away with criminal acts. Americans deserve honest leadership.
However, if it is the President who is found to break the law, the penalities would include being water boarded in public, followed by sensory depravation, followed by a loud cacophony of sounds, followed by any manner of humiliation, which would occur everyday for a period determined by the judge based on the laws broken. This is to remind any President that we are a country ruled by laws and not men.
July 4, 2008 7:46 AM | Reply | Permalink
I would add an article that stated any government official whether elected or in civil service shall be publicly prosecuted for corruption in any form. They would without exception be prosecuted for waste, fraud, or abuse of public funds. Penalties would be harsh and severe. This would be a mandate to prosecute without exception. Contractors with the government would also be included in this mandatory prosecution. This would include all levels of government officials and contractors. It would be understood by the public that any abuse of their tax dollars is unforgivable and any offical should become a social pariah.
The next article would be that anyone who desired to run for office at any level of government would be required to submit their resume to media outlets to publish. Any history of crimes or corruption would be an automatic disqualifier to run for any office. If a person is running for office or for re-election and that person is under allegations of wrong doing that might require prosecution; if elected and allegations turn out to be true, then said official must be sentenced to double the normal sentence as a deterrant to others who think they can be elected and get away with criminal acts. Americans deserve honest leadership.
However, if it is the President who is found to break the law, the penalities would include being water boarded in public, followed by sensory depravation, followed by a loud cacophony of sounds, followed by any manner of humiliation, which would occur everyday for a period determined by the judge based on the laws broken. This is to remind any President that we are a country ruled by laws and not men.
July 4, 2008 7:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
That's going a little far, isn't it? Littering is a crime; Barack Obama's youthful indiscretions were crimes; and I don't want to list the number of our best & brightest who have DUIs.
July 4, 2008 11:48 AM | Reply | Permalink
Term limits for SC justices sound like a good idea, but 500+ members of Congress is more than enough IMO. Enough lazy bums for the public to feed.
I'd really like to see the 2nd Amendment clarified. What the heck did they really mean? The wording is honestly atrocious, and I'm sure if I wrote anything like that in an essay my English teacher would give me an F.
Another area that could use some sorting out is the issue of standing armies and military operations. Seems to me that the current practice goes very much against the spirit, if not letter, of the Constitution.
July 4, 2008 9:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
Term limits for Supreme Court justices certainly would lower the stakes for appointments, wouldn't they? The rhetoric against "activist judges" and "rogue justices" has become intolerably strident, and I wonder if term limits wouldn't calm folks down.
July 4, 2008 7:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
I would make Presidential elections be decided on the popular vote count. Why should a Wyoming voter have far more representation in the presidential election than a California voter. One equal vote for every person, regardless of which state they vote in is the only fair way to elect a President.
I do not have the answer to the following, but I think that something needs to be done about the two US Senators from each state situation.
Why should a state with only a million people, have the same US Senate voting power as a state with over forty million citizens. That is absurd. One million citizens of Wyoming can cancel out the will of thirty or forty million citizens in large state. That is not equal representation.
Add up the population of the four largest states in the union, and then add up the population of the four smallest states. Now look at what you have. Eight Senators from a tiny portion of the population get to negate eight senators from a huge portion of the population. It is absurd.
July 4, 2008 6:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
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