You're THE man

[poptart]

One thing folks on the right, left, and middle all have in common is an unhappiness with the current state of American affairs.
Well, I suppose you could find a small percentage of idjits who think GW is da total bomb, and everthing is swimming along just fine.
But reality ........

Anyway, let's assume that YOU have been given ultimate authority to order steps which you believe will move the country in a positive direction.
Whatever you mandate WILL happen, and all necessary steps to accomplish what you say WILL take place.
No dissent, and no vote from anyone else within this country will be needed.
What you say happens.

What 3 domestic steps would you mandate, and what 3 foreign policy decisions would you make ... ?


What six moves are you going to make .... ?

[BSmack]

Domestic

1. Extend the payroll tax to all income levels instead of capping it at 97,500.

2. Repeal "No Child Left Behind" and instead fully fund those who wish to attend in state public colleges. Those who wish to attend private colleges would receive vouchers equal to their in state tuitions. All student loans would be forgiven.

3. Enact a Constitutional Amendment protecting net neutrality.

Foreign

1. Order an immediate redeployment of all US troops in Iraq from security to border interdiction. From now on Iraqi troops are to handle internal security arrangements. The US role will be to guarantee that no outside help reaches the insurgents.

2. All import duties to be calculated on a sliding scale based on the average wage of the country of origin. The lower the prevailing wages, the higher the tariff.

3. Osama must be captured. By any means necessary. He's back to priority #1 on my watch.

[Mikey]

Domestic

1. Extend the payroll tax to all income levels instead of capping it at 97,500.

2. Repeal "No Child Left Behind" and instead fully fund those who wish to attend in state public colleges. Those who wish to attend private colleges would receive vouchers equal to their in state tuitions. All student loans would be forgiven.

3. Enact a Constitutional Amendment protecting net neutrality.

All good ideas, unfortunately #2 wouldn't work.

First, it would be incredibly expensive. Second, every time you provide more financial aid for students to go to private colleges, the colleges just raise their fees to match the aid increase. These fuckers are expert at finding out exactly how much equity parents have and taking all of it.

[Cuda]

Domestic:

1. Repeal all gun control laws, no matter how lenient

2. Repeal all drug control laws

3. Institute a tax system in which everyone pays the exact same amount- which would be his share of the national budget. There would be no exemptions for the poor and no punishment of the rich.

Foreign:

1. Eliminate the UN- it serves no useful purpose

2. Offer a deal to China: They topple & take over the government of North Korea, and we pull all our troops out of South Korea.

3. Evacuate all American personell from Iraq-but only after insuring a world-wide Shiite vs Sunni civil war.

[Cuda]

And that would be a bad thing?

[See You Next Wednesday]

2. All import duties to be calculated on a sliding scale based on the average wage of the country of origin. The lower the prevailing wages, the higher the tariff.

Horrible idea.

[Tom In VA]

I'm not qualified, not even in my imagination. I can't imagine what it takes to be the President and if I had it, I'm not so sure I'd want to be "tha man", it's a thankless job.

But I am intrigued by the ideas and notions that BSmack raised.

Interesting.


C'mon mvscal, I have to know, what would YOU do. You're one of the political heavy hitters on this board and I'd think you to have some great ideas.

[BSmack]

1. Order an immediate redeployment of all US troops in Iraq from security to border interdiction. From now on Iraqi troops are to handle internal security arrangements. The US role will be to guarantee that no outside help reaches the insurgents.

Not a bad idea. You do realise that would mean war with Iran and Syria, right?

If that is what they wish, then so be it. They do have the choice NOT to aid the insurgents.

[BSmack]

2. All import duties to be calculated on a sliding scale based on the average wage of the country of origin. The lower the prevailing wages, the higher the tariff.

Horrible idea.

Yea, for multinational corporations. It's a great idea for American workers.

[BSmack]

Domestic

1. Extend the payroll tax to all income levels instead of capping it at 97,500.

2. Repeal "No Child Left Behind" and instead fully fund those who wish to attend in state public colleges. Those who wish to attend private colleges would receive vouchers equal to their in state tuitions. All student loans would be forgiven.

3. Enact a Constitutional Amendment protecting net neutrality.

All good ideas, unfortunately #2 wouldn't work.

First, it would be incredibly expensive. Second, every time you provide more financial aid for students to go to private colleges, the colleges just raise their fees to match the aid increase. These fuckers are expert at finding out exactly how much equity parents have and taking all of it.

That is why I would cap the aid levels to the prevailing in state tuition. If you want to go to a big fancy private college, get out and work for it. If private colleges want to offer their own grant programs, then they can have at it.

[Terry in Crapchester]

1. Eliminate the UN- it serves no useful purpose

I took the topic to be limited to what could be done in the U.S. Nobody in the U.S. -- even a President with the sweeping powers in Poptart's hypo -- could accomplish this.

[Bizzarofelice]

off the top of my head

Domestic:
1) find out why we pay much higher health care costs than the rest of the world. rectify that situation.

2) change the way congress does business. 4 day weeks mandatory and no more riders or tiny stipulations inserted into a bill before people have time to read. that place is 100% fuct and our country suffers accordingly. congresspeople won't have to spend so much time away from DC and raising money thanks to public funding of elections. candidates will have to get their point across in their allotted time with Tim Russert.

3) Rip up Patriot Act and start anew. There's plenty of things in there that can be brought back, but others will be going.


Foreign:
1) war on terror defined. as it exists now it is up to the discretion of one person, and that person isn't always reliable (see 2001-present)

2) foreign aid diminishes greatly. these countries stab our backs as they extend their hands.

3) Israel ain't that important. Don't publically say that we've cut ties, but don't rush to listen to every little whine and whimper they offer.

[Dinsdale]

Domestic --

1. Free beer for everyone, every Friday afternoon through midnight.

2 and 3. I'll come up with these at 11PM Friday.



Foreign --

1. Not a bad idea. Share the wealth. At least 5% of all Friday's beer consumption shall be from Samuel Smith, or an equivalent brewery. Mexican imports only count as as .5% credit to the import quota, since they probably brought the case of Corona to the party illegally.


2. Fuck all them other countries...we've got free beer. But maybe the CIA can covertly drop cases of wheat beer on Al Queda strongholds. That should assure us of a resounding victory, since the terrrrists will be too busy sucking cock to cause any trouble after downing free wheat beer.


3. No free beer for China.

[PSUFAN]

They can't metabolize it right anyway. They can have sesame stick, or fuckin' something.

[titlover]

2. All import duties to be calculated on a sliding scale based on the average wage of the country of origin. The lower the prevailing wages, the higher the tariff.

Horrible idea.

Yea, for multinational corporations. It's a great idea for American workers.

but not for american consumers, ooops, that includes american workers.

[Justa Heel]

Horrible idea.

Yea, for multinational corporations. It's a great idea for American workers.

but not for american consumers, ooops, that includes american workers.

Yeah, blue collar manufacturing workers are SO much better off today all thanks to saving money on toilet-paper at Wal-Mart.

[poptart]

1. Eliminate the UN- it serves no useful purpose

I took the topic to be limited to what could be done in the U.S. Nobody in the U.S. -- even a President with the sweeping powers in Poptart's hypo -- could accomplish this.

That's right.

We could pull out of the U.N.

But then again, that just might eliminate it.
Hmmmmm .........


Can't believe nobody has said a word about our southern border.

I will when I give my 6 points later.

[Mister Bushice]

What 3 domestic steps would you mandate, and what 3 foreign policy decisions would you make ... ?

Domestic:

1. Force all politicians to go on Social Security and medicare when they retire, just like most other Americans have to. That should fix it.

2. Immediate Tax reform. Decision #1 will help with that, since the Social security tax will be rolled back when the pols are forced to pay it. Outside of that, make it a flat tax, thus minimal paperwork, and abolish the IRS along the way since they won't be needed anymore if everyone has to pay the same rate based on income with no deductions.

3. Turn this country into a fortress. Fuck the world welfare scam, start taking care of our own by turning that money inward. Secure the water ports, the borders, the air ports. Any non citizen who has never been here who is visiting must go through a screening process and be checked in and out. Anyone who sneaks in or fails to leave when they were supposed to gets shipped out, bused out, kicked out, with the warning that if they return illegally, they will be put to work on a chain gang for 10 years, paving the roads, which will free up quite a bit of DOT money for other things.

Foreign:

1. Eliminate the UN security council guidelines of "all or none" and make it a 3 out of 5 majority vote, which would eliminate the useless paper "Resolutions" and while you're at it, replace them with a world based military force which all member nations will be required to contribute soldiers to or lose all forms of financial aid until they do so. This military force will be used to end conflicts and intervene in situations that 3 of the 5 SC members agree need intervention. The other UN members would also have the ability to use this force, provided they could get a 60% voting majority and SC approval.

2. Make the use of any nuclear fission related materials subject to approval by a world based body and make violations punishable with immediate destruction of all nuclear energy development facilities for any country that develops nuclear energy of any type on their own without supervision and oversight by an independent organization. Said organization to be appointed by the 2/3 majority SC and 60% of UN members as outlined in #1.

3. Institute a world wide 4 day work week. That way no one can argue about it.

Can't believe nobody has said a word about our southern border.

Pssst Pop. Bsmack covered it.

[Mister Bushice]

What 3 domestic steps would you mandate, and what 3 foreign policy decisions would you make ... ?

Domestic:

1. Force all politicians to go on Social Security and medicare when they retire, just like most other Americans have to. That should fix it.

2. Immediate Tax reform. Decision #1 will help with that, since the Social security tax will be rolled back when the pols are forced to pay it. Outside of that, make it a flat tax, thus minimal paperwork, and abolish the IRS along the way since they won't be needed anymore if everyone has to pay the same rate based on income with no deductions.

3. Turn this country into a fortress. Fuck the world welfare scam, start taking care of our own by turning that money inward. Secure the water ports, the borders, the air ports. Any non citizen who has never been here who is visiting must go through a screening process and be checked in and out. Anyone who sneaks in or fails to leave when they were supposed to gets shipped out, bused out, kicked out, with the warning that if they return illegally, they will be put to work on a chain gang for 10 years, paving the roads, which will free up quite a bit of DOT money for other things.

Foreign:

1. Eliminate the UN security council guidelines of "all or none" and make it a 3 out of 5 majority vote, which would eliminate the useless paper "Resolutions" and while you're at it, replace them with a world based military force which all member nations will be required to contribute soldiers to or lose all forms of financial aid until they do so. This military force will be used to end conflicts and intervene in situations that 3 of the 5 SC members agree need intervention. The other UN members would also have the ability to use this force, provided they could get a 60% voting majority and SC approval.

2. Make the use of any nuclear fission related materials subject to approval by a world based body and make violations punishable with immediate destruction of all nuclear energy development facilities for any country that develops nuclear energy of any type on their own without supervision and oversight by an independent organization. Said organization to be appointed by the 2/3 majority SC and 60% of UN members as outlined in #1.

3. Institute a world wide 4 day work week. That way no one can argue about it.

Can't believe nobody has said a word about our southern border.

Pssst Pop. Bsmack covered it.

I would also be a big supporter of Net Neutrality.

and If I could add a bonus one, I would make a law that anyone found to be involved in a suicide bombing should know ahead of time that every single one of their living male relatives would be chemically castrated so they would never be able to bear children again, and all of their immediate female family members would be spayed. Maybe being cursed for eternity by your relatives might make martyrdom seem less appealing.

[IndyGunClown]

[quote="Cuda"]Domestic:

1. Repeal all gun control laws, no matter how lenient

2. Repeal all drug control laws

3. Institute a tax system in which everyone pays the exact same amount- which would be his share of the national budget. There would be no exemptions for the poor and no punishment of the rich.

Foreign:

1. Eliminate the UN- it serves no useful purpose

2. Offer a deal to China: They topple & take over the government of North Korea, and we pull all our troops out of South Korea.

3. Evacuate all American personell from Iraq-but only after insuring a world-wide Shiite vs Sunni civil war.[/quote]

You are a fucking idiot!!

LOL!!! I love this shit. You cant be more of a fucking fag if you tried. This is sheer stupidity at its finest.

1. Guncontrol: Cool that ni..........gger you hate kills you. Straight up.

2. Drug control: that ni.... gger is so doped up he finishes your wife off. Straight up.

3. Those billionaires just enacted those laws and that non paying tax guy who killed your family didnt have to pay anything to kill you. Straight up.

....................

1. Eliminate the UN. With no worldwide system of what is right and wrong that ni.. gger just killed your family and Canada loves it. They love the fact that your pussy ass is fucking dead.

I could go on, but you fucking suck. Go kill yourself you fucking ignorant dickheaded mother fucker, before we all do.

[poptart]

Pssst Pop. Bsmack covered it.

He didn't say anything about our borders.


I'm pretty sure I disagree with Bace on a whole lot of political issues, but I like a lot of what he put forth in his 6 points.
They won't be exactly in my TOP 6, but there is a lot of sense spoken there.

[Diego in Seattle]

off the top of my head

Domestic:
1) find out why we pay much higher health care costs than the rest of the world. rectify that situation.

1) The rest of the world has health care subsidized by the government.

2) The same reason we're paying so much for gasoline right now, except that it's the drug companies instead of the oil companies.

You're welcome.

[War Wagon]

The same reason we're paying so much for gasoline right now

You do realize that we pay much less for gas than 98% of the "rest" of the world, don't you?

[War Wagon]

As the big Kahuna, I'd eliminate all individual Federal, State, and local income taxes and institute a National sales tax to make up the difference. We'd set a budget and by God, we'd stay with-in that budget or heads would roll. 10% of that budget would be set aside to pay down the national debt until it was eliminated. Once that was out of the way, that 10% would go towards ensuring that Social Security would remain solvent for the forseeable future.

Once a surplus was achieved, we'd set-up our own World Bank and start taking out mortgages on China's future.

[Mister Bushice]

Pssst Pop. Bsmack covered it.

He didn't say anything about our borders.

Yeah, My bad. I misread it, but hell it was about 1 am. even double posted my own .

[Tom In VA]

Yeah, guys that fight and bleed for the security of our constitution can't even get decent health care from our gubmint, what makes you think it'll be any different when it comes to the rest of the population ?

[Bizzarofelice]

Absolutely. Anyone pressing for government health care needs to spend a few days in a VA hospital.

laughing.

[Tom In VA]

VA and military hospitals have always sucked if you ask many folks who have gone through them.



P.S. Combat Surgical Hospitals notwithstanding.

[Mike the Lab Rat]

Absolutely. Anyone pressing for government health care needs to spend a few days in a VA hospital.

You know, sometimes you and I completely disagree.....but not this time.

This time, you are dead, frigging on. 100% on the money.

Socialized medicine sucks.

And yes, I realize that some folks around here don't want to hear/read this, but in no way, shape, or form, do people have an inalienable right to CAT scans, MRI's, the hottest/latest treatments at bargain-basement prices (or for "free"). I absolutely frigging guarantee you that if you are stupid enough to make the government slap price controls on medical care, very, very bad things will happen. Research costs money. Doctors have very large student loans and insurance bills to pay. Nurses expect to be paid. So do the techs who do your labwork, run the expensive machines that you want to be scanned with, and do the "grunt" work you keep calling the docs for the results of.

[Tom In VA]

Don't you know everything should be free of charge except what "I" do for a living Mike.

[PSUFAN]

Here's what sucks about our health care system in a nutshell...it is set up so that execs who seemingly add very little value to the system can bleed the system of funds for their insanely bloated compensation packages.

I'm not claiming that socializing medicine would change that in any shape or form...just that the real enemy lies in the waste that goes on at the top.

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

So, now the care and recovery of maimed vets = Stalinism?

You numbskulls are truly out to lunch.

[Tom In VA]

You raise an interesting point PSUFAN. But their "insanely bloated compensation packages" exist because they can command that on the market of "executives".

The boards and what not that hire these dudes must have something on the ball.

From my seat they look like overpaid spoiled rotten shitstains, but shit rolls down hill, and I'm pretty far down the hill.

I have the think the market would correct itself as it pertains to executives just like it would anything else.

(Of course, I'm wrong, they just pass those corrections onto middle managers with four kids and a measily mortgage)

[Bizzarofelice]

the health care system can be adjusted without resorting to socialized medicine. It isn't an either/or situation as the lobbyists would lead you to believe.

[Mikey]

You raise an interesting point PSUFAN. But their "insanely bloated compensation packages" exist because they can command that on the market of "executives".

The boards and what not that hire these dudes must have something on the ball.

The thing is, the execs and the people who are on the boards are the same people. Really, look at the board of almost any major company (healthcare and all other segments as well). It's made up of CEOs and high execs of other companies. In other words, it's pretty much a closed little circle and they take care of each other.

Once you break into that circle you've got it made. You can get fired from one company, get a $20 million dollar severence, and get a better deal at the next place. The boards of both of those companies have members who are CEOs of companies for which you're a board member. Now you're in a position to help each of them game their $millions from the system.

And people wonder why the rich get richer while everybody else is stuck eating Stouffer's French Bread Pizza.

[War Wagon]

Absolutely. Anyone pressing for government health care needs to spend a few days in a VA hospital.

You know, sometimes you and I completely disagree.....but not this time.

This time, you are dead, frigging on. 100% on the money.

Socialized medicine sucks.

Well, I guess Time magazine begged to differ.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/artic ... 38,00.html

Saw this article last year and was kinda' surprised, because I had heard some horror stories 20 years ago when I first got out of the service. I have used the VA for some outpatient services and dental work, and had no complaints. I would never have wanted to actually been admitted to one and god forbid ever having any surgery more complicated than having a wart removed.

I guess I figured they had cleaned their act up since then... until these recent allegations came to light. Makes you wonder.

[Dr_Phibes]

Research costs money. Doctors have very large student loans and insurance bills to pay. Nurses expect to be paid. So do the techs who do your labwork, run the expensive machines that you want to be scanned with, and do the "grunt" work you keep calling the docs for the results of.

So nationalise not only the insurance, but the delivery system.

Problem solved.

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

Research costs money. Doctors have very large student loans and insurance bills to pay. Nurses expect to be paid. So do the techs who do your labwork, run the expensive machines that you want to be scanned with, and do the "grunt" work you keep calling the docs for the results of.

So nationalise not only the insurance, but the delivery system.

Problem solved.

Ding! Ding! Ding!
We have a winner.


The average factory worker in N. Korea gets better health care than the vast majority of Americans.
How farcical is that?

[Mike the Lab Rat]

So, now the care and recovery of maimed vets = Stalinism?

You numbskulls are truly out to lunch.

Pay attention.

mvscal made the valid point that if people honestly want to see how the government would handle healthcare, just check out a vet hospital.

There is absolutely NOTHING that would lead me to believe that more government (or "central") control of health care would lead to greater efficiency, greater innovation in patient care/medical technology, or greater access to care.

You know what happens when people don't have to pay for their own health care bills? They overload the frigging system with every piddly-ass twinge or cough. We see that already with uninsured people deliberately abusing the system by taking themselves or their family members to the ER for crap like colds, since they know that the hospital will have to eat the tab in NY. Those selfish fucking morons are the reason why you have to sit in the waiting room for four hours with a broken arm. I have several friends who are docs who see this crap all the time and bitch about it.

Fuck socialized medicine.

Christ, what next...an inalienable right to cable TV, internet, a car.....

Frig you. Work, earn money, and PAY FOR the stuff. No frigging "freebies" on my dime.

[Mike the Lab Rat]

The average factory worker in N. Korea gets better health care than the vast majority of Americans.
How farcical is that?

It's utter bullshit.

From "MDTravelHealth.com"....a website for "travel health information, updated daily, for physicians and travelers"

Medical facilities

Medical care in North Korea is extremely limited. There are frequent shortages of medications and other essential supplies. Hospitals may lack heat and power, and outbreaks of infection are common. The Friendship Hospital in Pyongyang, located in the diplomatic compound, has reasonable facilities and can perform emergency surgery, but the quality of care is not comparable to that of major hospitals elsewhere in Asia. There is a UN physician in Pyongyang, whose mission is to assist staff of international agencies. Emergency medical evacuation may be difficult or impossible to arrange. Those with underlying medical problems should not travel to North Korea.

Yeah...quite the worker's paradise...