{"id":2514,"date":"2013-11-07T06:05:34","date_gmt":"2013-11-07T11:05:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=2514"},"modified":"2013-11-07T06:40:35","modified_gmt":"2013-11-07T11:40:35","slug":"government-repairs-part-5-of-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=2514","title":{"rendered":"government repairs:  part 5 of 5"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><i>If the government is <\/i><b><i>not <\/i><\/b><i>irreparably broken, then how can we fix it?\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Through the course of our repair posts, I\u2019ve actually become even more convinced that the government is <b>not<\/b> irreparably broken.\u00a0 In fact, perhaps what\u2019s swayed me most is the significant feedback I\u2019ve received both publicly and privately \u2014 from those of you on the far left, far right, solidly in between \u2014 and those who are too disgusted or disillusioned to lay stake to any such position.\u00a0 It\u2019s fascinating to see the agreement among you.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Term limits.\u00a0 Money limits.\u00a0 Basic respect.\u00a0 Several of you wholeheartedly \u2018amen-ed\u2019 those 3 suggestions.\u00a0 That\u2019s a great start.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Included today, no less, are other suggestions I\u2019ve received.\u00a0 Some I agree with; some I do not.\u00a0 But in our efforts to fix government, I think we need to give ample, outside-the-box consideration; we need to consider ways that are different than our engrained thinking.\u00a0 We need to listen to one another well.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In no particular order, here are other suggestions to fixing the government:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Draw congressional districts by non-partisan commissions.\u00a0 Gerrymandering is the routine practice <em>(utilized by Democrats and Republicans)<\/em> of drawing voting districts in such a way as to give an unfair advantage to one party.<\/li>\n<li>Make all members of the federal government \u2014 including all members of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches \u2014 abide by the laws they promote, pass, and interpret.<\/li>\n<li>Outlaw lobbyist organizations \u2014 the organized attempt by members of the public to influence politicians or public officials.<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t allow former congressmen to become lobbyists.\u00a0 See former Majority Leader, Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-MO), who has substantially profited since leaving the House, lobbying on behalf, for example, of the healthcare industry, Boeing, and even the Republic of Turkey.<\/li>\n<li>Refrain from collective bargaining with government employees, ensuring tax dollars are not part of the process.<\/li>\n<li>Reduce the percentage necessary to break a Senate filibuster.\u00a0 Also, add rules that allow the minority in the Senate and House to bring legislation to a vote on the floor.<\/li>\n<li>Reinforce and embrace the family as the primary, basic unit of society.\u00a0 We\u2019ve lost sight of the significance and worth of family.\u00a0 Policy should reflect that.<\/li>\n<li>Have Senators be appointed by the Governor of each state as they used to be.<\/li>\n<li>Put term limits, also, on the Supreme Court, so that ideology doesn\u2019t become the primary driver of a judge\u2019s decision.<\/li>\n<li>Get the government out of our food choices.\u00a0 There\u2019s no need to legislate farms nor individual food choices.<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t allow <i>(as Benjamin Franklin forewarned) <\/i>a permanent, salaried ruling class.\u00a0 We may have reached the tipping point on this.\u00a0 Our bureaucrats have become bloated and permanent.<\/li>\n<li>Follow the Ten Commandments.\u00a0 They are basic rules that everyone can abide by.\u00a0 Throwing them out of our courtrooms and classrooms has led to a country that is challenged in giving God basic respect.<\/li>\n<li>Adopt a balanced budget amendment.\u00a0 We differ on how to spend our money \u2014 fine.\u00a0 But we cannot sustain spending more than we have.<\/li>\n<li>Encourage and allow states\u2019 rights.\u00a0 If states desire a different set of laws, allow even for succession.<\/li>\n<li>Eliminate political parties. Senators and Representatives should serve and represent those who elected them \u2014 not be bound to party politics.<\/li>\n<li>Eliminate the Electoral College.\u00a0 Let the popular vote decide the presidential election.<\/li>\n<li>Eliminate tax exemptions for corporations that contribute to politicians, wherein the politicians offer favors in return.<\/li>\n<li>Limit immigration, so as not to build a majority of people dependent on government assistance.<\/li>\n<li>Care for \u201cthe least of these,\u201d but don\u2019t simply adopt policy that increases \u201cthe least.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Legislate according to the Constitution.<\/li>\n<li>Embrace the Constitution.<\/li>\n<li>And if all else fails, revolt.\u00a0 Not with might nor militia \u2014 more a peaceful but strong revolution.\u00a0 We the people need to stand up and say, \u201cWe\u2019re not going to take this anymore.\u00a0 We refuse to be governed in such an unethical, irresponsible way.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Good ideas.\u00a0 Now what to do&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Respectfully,<\/p>\n<p>AR<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If the government is not irreparably broken, then how can we fix it?\u00a0 &nbsp; Through the course of our repair posts, I\u2019ve actually become even more convinced that the government is not irreparably broken.\u00a0 In fact, perhaps what\u2019s swayed me most is the significant feedback I\u2019ve received both publicly and privately \u2014 from those of &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=2514\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;government repairs:  part 5 of 5&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[339,344],"class_list":["post-2514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-issue","tag-broken-government","tag-fixing-government"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2514"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2522,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2514\/revisions\/2522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}