A new amendment to the Constitution ? pipe dream
Godfather.
Posts: 12,504
The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971...before computers, before e-mail, before cell phones, etc.
Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land...all because of public pressure.
I'm asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.
In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.
Congressional Reform Act of 2011
1. Term Limits.
12 years only, one of the possible options below.
A. Two Six-year Senate terms
B. Six Two-year House terms
C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms
2. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.
3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people.
4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/13.
The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.
If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S. ) to receive the message. Maybe it is time.
this was one of the "please pass it on e-mails"(I deleted) cool idea but a pipe dream in my opinion.
Godfather.
Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land...all because of public pressure.
I'm asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.
In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.
Congressional Reform Act of 2011
1. Term Limits.
12 years only, one of the possible options below.
A. Two Six-year Senate terms
B. Six Two-year House terms
C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms
2. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.
3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people.
4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/13.
The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.
If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S. ) to receive the message. Maybe it is time.
this was one of the "please pass it on e-mails"(I deleted) cool idea but a pipe dream in my opinion.
Godfather.
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
It is terrifying when you are too stupid to know who is dumb
- Joe Rogan
It is tough to blame the politicians in office... when WE are the ones putting them there. The PEOPLE are the stupid ones in this equation. WE are the ones responsible for hiring... and FIRING them with our ballots.
...
Ask yourself this... did you vote for an incumbant?
If yes... blame yourself.
Hail, Hail!!!
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Godfather.
However I am also for only allowing those that pay taxes the right to vote. People who sit on their asses in public housing and that are on food stamps with no income and refuse to work even if they are able-bodied should not get to vote.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Illinois has a proposal going that if you use a LINK (foodstamp) card you will be getting new cards with your picture on them to reduce fraud. Many of these are sold for less than the value and the money is used for things like alcohol. A picture would go a good way at stopping that.
Of course a Democrat State Rep is calling that racist.
Of course a Democrat State Rep is calling that racist.[/quote]
are you kidding ?....what dose that tell you ?
Godfather.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
except when voters do get out to get rid of the established politicians in droves they are seen as crazy, and the people they vote in receive no respect at all.
Term limits changes the goal of politics as a whole. right now it is simply to do what will get you re-elected and that shouldn't be the goal. The goal should be to make the country better off than it would have been without you in office...Term limits would end career politicians, and that is something that is more damaging to the country than any voter apathy in my opinion. Voters ARE at fault as well, but politics has changed, the career politicians are now basically running on the platform of lesser of two evils and that is bullshit.
you both could very well be right, that it is more the people's fault than anything, but something needs to change, and why not start with what could be the biggest problem, at the very least things will remain the same, and at the best politicians no longer are governing in terms of what is electable and start governing in terms of what is best for the country.
Something is wrong with the system, where we spend millions of dollars every few years for someone to win a job that only pays ~170,000...where tricks and have truths are how you get elected, and poll watching is how you stay there...
It is terrifying when you are too stupid to know who is dumb
- Joe Rogan
same process should be used to save early childhood ed
You are right... the one thing that needs to change is the lobbying system that greases the machinery. Those are the people who Congress represents.
With term limits... who do you end up with? Would you ever sign on to a career with a term limit on it? What term limits would create is a system where the decades long continuity is only with the lobbyist... whom we have absolutely no control over. We will end up with short term opportunist looking to make as much money in a short period of time representing us. Think our interests are not being Represented? Imagine someone just looking to mak a careere's worth of retirement wealth in 12 years.
Change campaign funding rules and limit what lobbyists can contribute. And educate the people to QUIT voting based solely on political party.
Hail, Hail!!!
I'm guessing... you voted incumbant Republicans, right?
Hail, Hail!!!
McCain / Palin...
Godfather.
Why is there a term limit for the president and not the senate and house?
edit: but you are right, people need to quit voting based on party line and campaign funding should be limited to debates that are televised and broadcast on the radio every week. Fuck the ability to put out misleading commercials that tell 1/4 of the story...
It is terrifying when you are too stupid to know who is dumb
- Joe Rogan
or at the very lest an honest politician would be great.
Godfather.
They shouldn't be able to vote. It's a conflict of interest.
"When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic."
- Benjamin Franklin
so now some americans on this board are of the opinion that the 15th amendment and the voting rights act of 1965 should not apply to all citizens.... :shock:
unbelievable...
i would honestly cry for this nation if the stupidity of some of its people didn't make me shake my head and laugh...
so i guess franklin's quote does not apply to lawmakers as well... or does it???
if we are talking about potentially altering the bill of rights, i have some issues with that second amendment...
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
So... you are saying you are all for a dictatorial regime where the state gets to dictate to the electorate who get to vote and who doesn't... not a Democracy, where everyone is equal at the human level, not their financial standing regarding their right to vote?
How about we only let those who make at least $250,000.00 annually vote? After all... aren't they the only ones creating jobs here? Those are the only people that really matter here... right?
Hail, Hail!!!
What about the election after that? You know, we had an election in 2010.
Hail, Hail!!!
I'm curious as to how you came to the conclusion that I believe the 15th Amendment should not apply to all Americans. :-? I never once even came close to suggesting that anyone should be denied the right to vote on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
And you should really stop with the "everyone who disagrees with me is stupid" comments. The purpose of this forum is to debate the issues, and such comments reflect very poorly.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
so now some americans on this board are of the opinion that the 15th amendment and the voting rights act of 1965 should not apply to all citizens.... :shock:
unbelievable...
i would honestly cry for this nation if the stupidity of some of its people didn't make me shake my head and laugh...
so i guess franklin's quote does not apply to lawmakers as well... or does it???
if we are talking about potentially altering the bill of rights, i have some issues with that second amendment...[/quote]
I'm curious as to how you came to the conclusion that I believe the 15th Amendment should not apply to all Americans. :-? I never once even came close to suggesting that anyone should be denied the right to vote on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
And you should really stop with the "everyone who disagrees with me is stupid" comments. The purpose of this forum is to debate the issues, and such comments reflect very poorly.[/quote]
the 15th amendment guarantees the rights of american citizens to vote. you saying american citizens should not be allowed to vote for any reason contradicts the 15th amendment and the voter right's amendment, SO i just put 2 and 2 together..... you did not specify race or color or previous condition of servitude, but you did advocate taking away the right if someone fails to pay taxes. it is not just here, people on other forms have said citizens should not be allowed to vote for varous reasons, and i do not think you personally are stupid. i just think that that line of thinking should be criticized. any time the discussion of taking away anybody's rights for any reason it should be heavily scrutinized. and i never said that "people who disagree with me are stupid", i just happen to know that i am right :P
Fair enough on knowing you are right...hard to argue with that.
However, the 15th Amendment does NOT guarantee the rights of every American citizen to vote. No right is an absolute, and there are indeed American citizens who do not have the right to vote (most incarcerated felons, for example). The 15th Amendment, in pertinent part, reads as follows:
"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
I don't see anything in there prohibiting denying the right to vote to those who don't pay taxes.
So now you can hopefully see how odd it is that you would jump to that conclusion.
Godfather.
Wow... that's from way out in left field... line the next area code left of left field left.
What was your reasoning for voting for Jerry Brown??? What political opinions do you share with Brown? His openess on immigration??? His increasing your taxes??? What???
Hail, Hail!!!
WELL....... to be honest it was a brain fart,when I got to the voting poll's everybody running at the time
worried me in one way or another and at the time Brown seemed like a harmless old man taking his last act of defiance on the shit bag we had at the time...I have no excuse man.
Godfather.
No way, Godfather. You did the right thing. Jerry Brown, no matter what his faults- we all have 'em- is one of the most hard working people in politics. I made eye contact with Jerry in the CA Sate capitol and his look was "How are you? Everything OK?" No bullshit. And what other governor sends his or her constituents video updates? Who in politics works as hard as this man? Who else, as a politician, has voluntarily lowered their pay?
As for voting- I think any registered voter should have at least a basic knowledge of how our government works. If you don't care enough to understand at least the basic process, don't vote. Don't vote just because you think a particular candidate is a "maverick". Don't vote because you think a particular candidate is "hot". And please don't tell us you're an anarchist unless you really understand what that concept means as well.
Oh, and remember, when you vote, you're voting for not just your own interests, but also for those less fortunate and you're voting for the planet as well.
Peace.
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
That IS shocking, gimmesometruth27! :oops:
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"