What would you do if you were president right now.

Great Debates
1

I read alot of armchair quarterbacking on what should and should not be done concerning the governence of the US. If you were in the oval office right now what actions or stances would you take on the following topics:

The economy

The terrorism threats

The conflict in the middle east

The environment

Political reform

Domestic issues ie. current social issues

If you were to set a course for this nation for like a 10 to 20 year period what would you endorse or promote as your cause?

Let’s have some CREATIVE thought here instead of the back and forth banter and name calling for a change hmmm?

Ok, I’m interested in all points of view so please with that thought in mind don’t just shut out others because theirs doesn’t jibe with yours please.:slight_smile:

2

I’d declare a national holiday for everyone’s birthday. Then I would declare that everyone gets to drink for free on their birthday, and we will pay for it by taxing Canadians.

We will be able to tax the Canadians because I will send the Marines into Ottawa and make them let us.

3

Moderator’s Note: Why was this posted in the Pit? The original post doesn’t appear to be ranting at anything.

Political discussions belong in Great Debates, to which I am moving this thread.

4

First I would hire Clinton as an adviser.

5

I would first off issue a formal apology to France for my Nation’s pathetic behavior to them, and reaffirm our friendship by commissioning a monument similar in scope and size to The Statue of Liberty.

Then I would issue executive orders ending the Bush Tax Cuts, halve military spending, use the money saved to strengthen infrastructure, retool education, foreign aid (and lots of it), end corporate welfare, work for single payer health care, work to make third and fourth and fifth parties viable (i.e. Proportional Representation, instant runoff voting)…oh, who the hell am I kidding?

I’d be impeached the minute I said “We’re sorry” to France.

6

I’d get me one of those cool carrier landings.

7

I’d tell Mahmood Abbas to kiss my ass and end this “Roadmap to Peace” garbage immediately. I’d tell France to kiss my ass, too.

I’d cut most foreign aid bigtime. I’d completely cut off aid to countries who do nothing but talk smack about us but gladly take our money. Let some other country throw money down a rathole on the ungrateful #%(#%( for a change.

All illegal immigrants living here would have till a certain date to get the ball rolling to go legit, and after that deadline they’d be headed for home. The money spent on flying them back home surely would be far less than the money they suck from American taxpayers every year.

English and Spanish would be our official languages.

If I had the power to do so, I’d make it a hell of a lot easier to adopt a baby in this country.

Two words: school vouchers. Lots of them. If public schools can’t compete, shut 'em down.

I’d make it a point to hang out with the PM of Australia a lot because, as we learned by watching the 2000 Olympics, Aussies throw the best parties.

8

Ask everyone in Congress to resign. If not, arrest them as traitors. Then work with each Governor to replace them.

Order all foreign bases closed and return all troops within the US borders.

I would then call a constitution convention and rewrite the document for a parliamentary government. Then rewrite other portions to add an amendment for personal responsibility, an amendment removing government from one’s home, an amendment guaranteeing freedom from religion, and an amendment stating that a bill may only be of one subject.

After that I would move toward legalizing drugs, stop the war on terror, and move the military budget into education.

After that, I would turn the country over to a trusted military aid to ensure that the above was resolved, then move to some other country until the shit blew over. amen.

9

**
The economy:
**

I would submit a glorious 5-Year Plan to the Politburo, to further the cause of International Socia-Oh, wait. This is America, a free-market capitalist system, so as President, I would direct the government to do as little as possible.

Without going into gritty details:

-Institute a flat-tax.

-Drastically cut back social welfare.

-Completely eliminate corporate welfare.

-‘Restructure’ business regulations. Regulation needs to focus on consumer and worker protections, and little else.

**

A couple of the things I would do:

-Overthrow any state that supports terrorism. Syria, Iran, and Saudi Arabia come to mind. Since the CIA couldn’t spy it’s way into a Las Vegas whorehouse, much less do anything worthwhile when if it got there, the job would largely fall to the ‘big hammer’ of the Armed Forces.

-Get rid of the CIA. Where as our Army/Navy/Airforce/Marines have done yeomans work in not only keeping up with changes in the nature of their business, they are ‘trend setters’, best in their field. The CIA may once have been able to flip unfriendly governments and take out whoever, whenever, but no more. Of course, I would replace them with another, more ‘humint’ oriented agency, based on a mesh of Mossad and MI-series aspects.

**

-I would stop interfering with Israeli actions. The Palestinians have had decades to stop terrorism. Apparently, they are unable or unwilling to do so, and the task is up to Israel.

-Which goes back to my point above. When Israel is no longer surrounded by nations that have a vested interested in supporting anti-Israeli terrorism, there will be the best chance for a final peace yet. Two birds, one stone.

**

-Uh…I’d plant trees, and stuff…

**

If I were President, there would obviously be no need for ‘political reform’. In fact, there would be no need for ‘politics’. ‘Emperor Brutus the Pious’ sounds good…

**

-Get rid of the ATF. They do have excellent arson and bomb investigation units, which would get rolled into the FBI.

-Get rid of federal firearms controls. It is up to the states to decide what, if any, level of gun-control there citizens are to be kept at.

-Scale back the pervue of the federal gov’t in general. We have gone from power is reserved to the states, except where noted, to power being reserved to the federal gov’t, except where noted. No good. If State X wants to become a leftist utopia, let’em. Just don’t make the rest of us suffer for it.

10

Back to the Moon, an on to Mars.
And really do it, this time.

11

I don’t think a mere President could accomplish some of the things other posters have listed; might be better to arrange to crowned as an absolute monarch. Were I such, I would

legalize industrial hemp,

legalize marijuana,

decriminalize hard drugs,

repeal the global gag rule,

scrap that absinence only nonsence,

bring all public schools up to the level of the best public schools now existing,

see to it that every qualified kid who wants to attend college gets to do so,

have a real space program,

lower the drinking age to 16,

make the marijuana age 16,

make the federal govt butt out of matters more properly left to the states (this would include leaving gun regulation completely in the hands of the states).

stop spending money on highways,

start spending money on mass transit,

make drivers lisences harder to get and easier to lose, in order to see to it that people who are not capable of being safe drivers do not get to drive,

eliminate corporate welfare,

change welfare for the poor: no deadline to get off, instead help to get off, in the form of education, job training, etc. (including child care provisions, so they can attend the job training, etc),

see to it that abortion is legal, easily obtainable, and affordable for all, regardless of age (free for low income women), while working to reduce the need for it via better, earlier contraception ed, research into improved contraceptive methods, improved access to contraception,

outlaw “sin” taxes and sales taxes,

redesign the income tax. Eliminate the loopholes and favoritism that allow large businesses and rich and powerful individuals to avoid paying their fair share. Make it simple, straightforward, easy to understand. Add a “negative income tax” whereby people with very low incomes get payments to bring them up to enough income to live on.

Inexpensive housing is virtually non-existant. I’d find out why and change or eliminate whqtever laws and policies are causing or worsening the situation.

Redesign foreign aid. No military aid to despots. Plenty of humanitarian aid where it’s needed. Especially medical aid to countries where babies and young children are dying of easily preventable causes. Set up plenty of clinics to provide health care, including contraception for all who want it.

In preparation for a return to democracy (after my long and glorious reign), I’d end govt support for Presidential nominating conventions. I’d scrap the Electoral College. We’d count the votes in each State. Each State would report its totals. We’d add 'em all up. Candidate with most votes wins – if he or she has 51% or more of the votes. If not, we have runoff between the two front runners. OR, we use instant runoff voting.

The military. I’d cease and disist from spending huge sums on weapons systems that don’t work and/or are not needed. I’d reduce the size of the military and give the enlisted personnel pay raises. I’d stop having permenent bases all over the world defending other counties against the “red menace” that actually does not exist any more.

I’d institute a crash program to invent time travel, then send a team back to 2000 to see to it that Florida has a fair and proper election. This would be much easier than trying to extricate us from the mess Bush and his advisors have gotten us into in Iraq.

Once my people have seen to it that the rightful winner is inagurated in 2000, I’d take a look a the record. If 9/11 had still occurred (on that or any other date), I’d send a team back to prevent it.

12

If I were President?

My first act would be to transfer ownership of the country to Australia.

My second act would be to use the military to stage a coup in Australia.

My third act would be to install my self dictator of Australia, with America as an Australian territory.

I think I’d make an excellent President.

13

I would secede from Canada.

14

First I would thank the American people for having elected an Austrian as president of their country.

I would require from politicians to finance their campaigns themselves.

I would give the petrol industry 3 years to develop an alternative energy source. Afterwards, every year the taxes on petrol consumers (industrial or private) would increase significantly.

I would severly limit commercials in all kinds of media, especially on TV. I would ban product placement in movies.

I would strictly forbid media companies to have any other industrial branches or even ties to other industries. If this is not yet done, I would ban donations to media companies.

I would cut the military budget by 95% and put it into education/environment.

I would install a global unique currency for petrol and word trade, a currency which is not tied to a single national currency but to a some or all national currencies.

I would install tobin tax.

I would stop military aid to any country except Israel. Because I would stop military AND economic aid for Israel.

Finally, I would rename “liberty fries” into french fries - no - belgian fries actually.

15

Short term, I’d drill oil in every square inch of US space that would produce it. We are the consumers of the product and should be the responsible party for drilling it. Then I would start a “Manhatten Project” to develop a a hydrogen based fuel for transportation. The fuel would have to be: burned in a conventional motor (that requires only minor modification) and it would have to be distributed through current energy nodes. I would then give this technology to the world as a gift.

I would make welfare parents demonstrate they can raise children who will be self-sufficient. I’m sick of people breeding on my dime who have virtually no parenting skills. If you really care about children you will separate them from the hellish life that bad parenting condemns them to.

I would eliminate income taxes, lose the IRS, and tax purchases, all of them including food and Internet purchases.

I would tax profits from stock purchases but not stock dividends. This would be to encourage long-term profits/growth in business and discourage short-term manipulation of stocks.

Not sure what I would do about the Mid-East, but at the core would be a Palestinian state. I would gather funds from around the world and “buy out” the Palestinians. By that I mean I would encourage the separation of Jews and Muslims in Israel by establishing new communities in the land’s that are destined to be Palestinian.

Oh, and nothing against the population of France, but Chiraq would not be on any of my guest lists.

16

The Economy
Try to stimulate the economy for the long term. Give businesses more freedom, while rigorously enforcing the laws regarding stock trades, etc. It’s terrible if people are cheated out of their savings, but imposing unfair business regulations is not the answer. Big business is not inherently evil and the government should interfere less in the economy,

Terrorism
Give the FBI the maximum possible power without abridging individual liberties. Airport security checks should be extensive, for example, but collecting data on checked library books should be forbidden. (Ultimately, there is no way to ensure that terrorism will not occur, since, as long as people are willing to give up their lives to harm others and further their cause, a democracy cannot prevent every incident. With airplanes, for example, they could just get training as pilots, finish school, get a job for United and crash the plane into some highly populated area.)

The Conflict in the Middle East
Continue to support Israel economically and militarily. Send food to the Palestinians if the PA can prove that it is being distributed to the people for whom it is intended. Challenge the Palestinian government to actually govern its people, and that includes arresting any terrorists as well as refusing to give or receive aid to known terrorist organizations. (If it can’t enforce the law, it’s not a government. Offer to help them enforce the law if they wish.) Encourage Israel to finish the security wall, but demand that innocent Palestinians be allowed to pass (after being checked for weapons). Request that Israel release any innocent Palestinians they are currently holding and put the suspected ones on trial. Tell Hamas to release all hostages. Stop the flow of weapons into Palestine.

The Environment
Work to quench the fires and restore the forests.

Protect national parks.

Not drill in Alaska (at least for now).

Political Reform
Support McCain in campaign finance reform.

Legalize all drugs.

Keep cameras out of the courtrooms.

Lower the drinking age to at least 18.

Legalize prostitution.

Support laws that preserve individual liberties and privacy.

Legalize gay marriage and adoption.

Make sure abortions are legal all the way until the baby is born.

Domestic Issues
Get rid of affirmative action.

Fully separate religion from state politics.

End censorship.

Allow parents to annonymously leave their child at orphanages and police stations without leaving it on the doorstep and running off. If they choose to leave their names but don’t want to be responsible for the child, they can never be forced to care/support him. Also, if a woman becomes the pregnant, the man who is responsible can request that she get an abortion (for which he’ll pay half). If she refuses, and he does not wish to have children, he can sign a legal document stating that he is in no way responsible for the child. Sperm or egg donors can never be held responsible for the children that are produced as a result.

Encourage more channels like C-SPAN–news channels that only provide factual news, with no editorials or opinions. Hopefully, the news will become more objective instead of pundits like Ann Coulter and Michael Moore trading insults.

In general, work to end the intolerance of every racial, religious and any other group, no matter how heinous its beliefs may seem to you. The words conservative and liberal are used as insults by each of the opposing political affiliations. This has to stop. Pedophiliacs and other mentally ill people should not be shunned or attacked but rather should be encouraged to seek psychiatric help. No subject should be taboo. Once there is nothing veiled, no so-called unspeakable evil, people will be able to see the world for what it really is and recognize the real problems that must be dealt with.

17

I agree with a couple of sleeping’s: legalize prostitution; legalize same-sex marriage; allow same-sex couples to adopt.

Also: legalize gambling.

I would decree once and for all that Indian Reservations are not part of the States they are within or adjacent to, and are not bound by the laws of those states. They do not have to collect sales taxes, tobacco taxes, etc. for the States they are within or adjacent to. (Oh, wait, never mind that last one, I’m eliminating all sin taxes and sales taxes.)

I would order the State of Montana to cease and disist from killing buffalo that wonder out of Yellowstone National Park. If they want to keep the buffalo away from their cattle, let them establish a no-cattle zone around the park.

I would issue some orders to child welfare agencies. It seems that if they make keeping families together a goal, they leave kids with abusive parents, and if they make getting families back together a goal, they return kids to abusive parents. Therefore the only goal will be protecting the children.

I would tell the schools to quit showing students advertising-ridden morning news programs. I would tell them to provide kids with accurate information on health and nutrition (as opposed to dispensing propaganda from the various food industries). I would tell them to teach kids about personal finances. I’d order that the State governments have no say in selection of textbooks, nor should the Feds; that should be a local matter. Likewise, neither the Feds nor the States will set curriculums.

I would order a separation of school and sports. If kids want to join teams and play sports, they can do so on their own, during non-school hours. If parents want them to have uniforms and adult coaches, let the parents organize and pay for this themselves.

18

I would mostly just vote for Hazel, except I’d institute an agressive program to get handguns out of private hands and off the street, and make the sale of anything smaller than a hunting rifle illegal. And make it illegal for even a rifle to load more than one bullet at a time.

19

Assuming I was an American Patriot …

There would be two ways to go. Either embrace the “Benign Giant” role or help out create a way Bigger UN role. Intl. Affairs would work best if one of these were followed.

  • The economy: America is dependent more and more on high tech and services. So I would reduce tariff protection in certain areas that would allow overall prices of US products to fall. Steel for example. A lot of the 9/11 fuss is what is hurting the US economy too…

  • The terrorism threats: The key actions are working a better relationship with Allies and Middle East countries. Less aggressiveness mean more cooperation. Certainly a behind the scenes tougher stance with Saudis and MENA countries. No use openly humiliating them. Limited use of Military to strike known terrorist camps but otherwise rely on local authorities to clean up using US intelligence info.

  • The conflict in the middle east: Stronger stance on Israel. Its no use acting like Israel is some kind of angel. Either get your act together or face withdrawl of US funds and UN vetoes. Such pressure on Israel to be equally done on Palestinians by MENA countries. Big Stick and a Big Carrot too. Palestinian State should be viable and not a big concentration camp. More responsibility has to be given to a Pan-Arab congress of sorts…

  • The environment: Greenhouse Effect is clearly real and present danger. A new treaty is necessary and technology transfer is one thing where 1st world countries can really help out 3rd world countries. Higher standards for pollution too.

  • Political reform: Change the silly electoral system where the whole state goes to one candidate alone… this creates public apathy in landslide states.

  • Domestic issues ie. current social issues: Education certainly needs a boost. The US should stop importing so much brain power and start getting some more of their own. You cant rely economically in areas that you dont have enough human material yourself. Geography needs to be teached a bit better too… :slight_smile:

    Welfare needs to be given a chance… its better to dole out money than to cleanup higher crime statistics. Every school you close is a prison you open. Crime is way too high.

  • If you were to set a course for this nation for like a 10 to 20 year period what would you endorse or promote as your cause?

    American dominance is based on strong and global economy. With global affairs in turmoil the US is hurting the basis for its power. Most countries gladly accept US leadership that doesnt involve unilateral actions. I would go for a stronger UN tactics. Certainly a more agile UN. If the USA helps support stronger means of dettering aggression and WMD thru International Law and demands stronger European and International action and support for peacekeeping and sanctions. Then we might get to a point where future GulfWars will not exist.

    Smaller military budget and a bigger education budget concentrating in making the economic advantages of the USA ever greater. Economic power is what makes the US a giant.

20

  1. Make Al Gore Vice-President.

  2. Resign.