To Be Fixed
Published by William October 6th, 2006 in US PoliticsRecently in discussion with friends it was suggested that the accumulated damage being done to our social fabric by the actions of this administration was possibly nearing the point of irreparability. I held this not to be the case, and mentioned a list I have been keeping for some time. This is my To Be Fixed list. I thought it might be a useful exercise to publish the current version here. Suggestions for additions are welcomed, but I would prefer additions that either are sourced in identifiable governmental actions, or can be addressed with executive order.
List below the cut.
Stuff that will be Hanging Around that the Next Administration Will Have to Fix
Doctrine of pre-emptive self-defense
–repeal formally
–make clear that we do not strike first
Iraq
–…God, I don’t know.
Early 2000’s tax cuts, many others
–rebuff any effort to make permanent
–repeal those that are still in effect, whether not run out yet or permanentized
USA PATRIOT
–repeal whole
–if any provisions are defensible, reinstitute after reasoned debate
–find any Patriot II provisions snuck in, and treat similarly
Enemy combatant doctrine
–move Guantanamo prisoners into federal system
–charge or release
–disavow use of military tribunals
–provide lawyers
–provide sufficient information to defense
Clear Skies Act
–repeal whole
–if any provisions are defensible, reinstitute after reasoned debate
–Has this bill been defeated?
FBI guidelines
–reinstitute restrictions against spying on political discourse
Separation of Church and State
–dissassemble Office of Faith-Based Activities
–reaffirm that fed money will not, even indirectly, finance religious activities
–repeal land-use zoning negations of Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000
–repeal Public Expression of Religion Act - H.R. 2679, 2006
Protestor Guidelines (”First Amendment Zones”, “Free Speech Zones”)
–allow persons to engage in activity wherever they please, with regard solely to safety and without regard particularly for the content of their views
Import tariffs
–remove, and reaffirm commitment to free trade principles
–immediately request that retaliatory tariffs be ended
Don’t ask, don’t tell
–remove the policy in general
–rehire persons, such as translators, fired for this reason, if still needed.
Cheeseburger bill
–repeal immunity of fast-food companies from obesity lawsuits
Torture
–repudiate claim (in March 2003 legal memorandum and numerous subsequent laws) that President has ability to authorize torture
–reaffirm that America is bound by international treaty in the matter
Partisan Division (* no specific act)
–reach out across the aisles
–improve the tone of public discourse
Culture of Secrecy
–repeal laws and administrative declarations that demand and encourage secrecy as a first resort; respect the flow of information and quit classifying documents at a mad rush
–declassify wrongly classified documents
Gun Laws
–Retain gun-check records indefinitely, rather than destroying them after 24 hours
–Remove immunity to lawsuits for gunmakers and negligent gunstore owners
Forests
–reinstate roadless rule
Lobbyists (* no specific act)
–rebuild more seemly distance between lobbyists and policymaking jobs
Sex Ed
–re-edit publications to say condoms work!
–stop funding abstinence-only programs
Science
–fund NASA
–stop teaching intelligent design in states where it is allowed
–remove as much politics as possible from scientific agencies
–insert as much science as possible into decision-making
Copyright
–return copyright to 14 years from date of creation
–get older, life+70 copyright struck down as unconstitutional (serves no purpose)
Signing statements
–are not an excuse for the President to ignore laws. Repudiate earlier signing statements formally and seek legislative/judicial guidance on the matter.
No Child Left Behind
–repeal and take serious consideration of educational imrpovements
–de-privatize public schooling; discourage charters
Fortunately, the nature of our system of government is such that it’s extremely hard to do permanent damage. However, the damage that has been done, especially the economic damage with regard to redistriubtion of wealth and the massive debt will take generations to undo.
Iraq: See Peter Galbraith’s The End of Iraq, we’ve reached the point where it really is that bad.
In addition for separation of church and state, rescind all religious guidelines for foreign aid (ie resume funding for aids prevention programs that don’t (t|pr)each abstinence-only).
For lobbying, the only way to fix it at this point is to completely remove money from the lobbying process, which likely requires public financing of elections. And it has to be done first or nothing else gets done
In the “you missed a spot” category, election reform. We need federal legislation that all electronic voting machines leave an auditable paper trail and standards for their security and pre-election handling. Also, something to keep anybody involved in the running of elections from being involved in campaigns.
Finally, of some relevance and possibly interest to this topic, Nancy Pelosi’s preview of her first hundred days as Speaker of the House.
Can I get my habeas corpus rights back, too?
But but but…the tax cuts make it so that we can’t abolish the Alternative Minimum Tax! :)
Confusion in the tax system brings in the clients.
But it’s interesting to note that most presidents get one major tax act while in office. Reagan got 2, but he was a two-termer. Bush had 5 in his FIRST TERM, and one more in 2005, so he’s actually been more active in changing the tax system than most presidents. (Yeah, it’s technically Congress that is ACTUALLY changing the tax system.)
KETRA - Tax reform due to Katrina
Tax Act of 2001
Simplification: Uniform definition of child (which is anything but uniform or simple)
Some Jobs-saving tax act I don’t remember off the top of my head
and the Tax act of 2005…just to name the ones I remember offhand…
-Salinn
Allow Medicare to negotiate with Big Pharma for lower drug prices.
Aggresively pursue stem cell research.