What five changes to the government would you make?

[Antityranicals]

Anyone. With price-tags that cheap, worrying about that getting funded is like worrying about a girl scout camping trip getting funded, and those do all the time, despite being far less important.

So..no one.

You assume that people are purely selfish, which they are quite simply not.

[Kaltovar]

That study is laughable and has a sample size of under 10,000 (To be more precise, under 500)

Recent studies have pegged it at being around 16% That is SIXTEEN PERCENT OF CRIMES COMMITTED BY OFFICERS, not 16% of officers committing that crime.

https://kutv.com/news/local/40-of-polic ... study-says

40% when self reported, 16% when an actual arrest was made.

Read your own damn sources.

Methodology matters.

My source does not say that, and explicitly disagrees with the idea that 40% of police commit domestic violence. The source sited by my source (as an example of a bad source) does not appear to say that either. It claims that "40% of police families experience domestic violence (mentioning nothing of self reporting)" according to a thing a guy said one time during a congressional hearing (with no further evidence) as the first citation, and a publication from 1992 that's locked behind a paywall as the second. If you have a source that actually says what you claim, I will be happy to examine it. http://womenandpolicing.com/violenceFS.asp#notes

My source claims "The percentage of total police crimes that were OIDV cases remained relatively stable from 2005 (17.2%) to 2007 (16%),"" That is 16-17% OUT OF THE PERCENT OF CRIMES COMMITTED BY POLICE not PERCENT OF POLICE THAT COMMIT THIS CRIME ... Do you see how those two things are different?

If methodology matters, why are you citing studies with sample sizes of under 500 from 1992 as "The reported percent" of domestic violence among police officers almost 30 years later?

[Neutraligon]

So..no one.

You assume that people are purely selfish, which they are quite simply not.

This is not about being selfish. This is simply about the likelihood of someone paying for something they are unable to afford paying for. Well there is an aspect of selfishness, there is also the question of if someone would use their drone to id others, particularly the type of drone describe, after all, once ued you woul need to pay for another, and another and another. Expenses add up.

[Kaltovar]

This thread now has a poll! Feel free to vote, or recommend replacing one of the options with something else.

[Big Jim P]

Exactly what it says: Eliminate every thing not explicitly written in the constitution. That would reduce the government back to acceptable levels.

This is almost as dumb as what the Anarchist proposed.

Hardly dumb. The government has long-since exceeded its mandate and need to be returned to its original state.

[Kaltovar]

This is almost as dumb as what the Anarchist proposed.

Hardly dumb. The government has long-since exceeded its mandate and need to be returned to its original state.

The thing is that when you say "Make it govern according to how the Constitution is written", there are different understandings of what that means. For example, "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech" can be taken to mean that death threats should be legal but most people don't take it that way.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion" can be taken to mean "It is illegal for the government to prevent a religion from kidnapping people and lobotomizing them."

"The right of the people to keep and bear arms" can be taken to mean "All people must be allowed to keep and bear Tabun gas"

I'm going to assume you don't understand the Constitution to mean any of those things, so it's NOT actually simple. Where do you think the right to keep and bear arms stops, for example? Can we start there?

[Heloin]

This is almost as dumb as what the Anarchist proposed.

Hardly dumb. The government has long-since exceeded its mandate and need to be returned to its original state.

An English Colony clinging to the side of North America.

[The JELLEAIN Republic]

Give the government more power.

Give the people more power over government / fix corruption and manipulation stuff.

Increase states power/independence.

Make delegates in the electoral college vote based on the states percentage.

Increase subsidies bubbling economic flow (small business), education, and infrastructure.




I voted something else as only one potion was available.

[GLDF]

This is almost as dumb as what the Anarchist proposed.

Hardly dumb. The government has long-since exceeded its mandate and need to be returned to its original state.

The Constitution literally says that there are existing laws not written in the Constitution. Not only would doing this be absurd, but it would be a paradox. Of course, we could cut out the last two amendments in the Bill of Rights, but that would fundamentally alter the country, not to mention take away most rights and autonomy.

[Kaltovar]

Give the government more power.

Give the people more power over government.

Increase states power/independence.

Make delegates in the electoral college vote based on the states percentage.

Increase subsidies bubbling economic flow (small business).

I would have to agree with all of these, honestly.

[Nobel Hobos 2]

Arggh, why does the poll ask "most important areaS" then allow only one?

1. Transparency. Lobbying should be permitted but it should be live streamed. Secret lobbying should be punished with fines and imprisonment.

2. Conflict of interest. Serving politicians should not even be allowed to own shares. Sell it all up when gaining office, it goes in a term account.
… A politician's immediate family would likewise be banned from owning shares. Perhaps a more liberal approach, they could have managed funds.

3. Process. Nations lacking preferential voting should get it for all offices. Including President: it's the foot in the door for third parties/independents.

4. Process. The national parliament should be proportionally representative of the vote. Senates may use other methods, providing they do not have absolute power of veto … in which case they should be proportional too.

5. Universal Basic Income. I believe most proponents underestimate how economically disruptive this would be. I would introduce it for people of all ages but at a low rate, say $50 week.

[Nobel Hobos 2]

I can't believe I'm the only vote in the poll for "give people more welfare"

Lyndon B. Johnson would spit right in your face.

Still it does show that the poll needs more simultaneous options. How about five options like it says in the title??

[East Gondwana]

The poll seems specific to, I'm guessing, the US?

[The JELLEAIN Republic]

This thread now has a poll! Feel free to vote, or recommend replacing one of the options with something else.

I recommend giving 5 options to the poll to reflect the op

[Diopolis]

Hardly dumb. The government has long-since exceeded its mandate and need to be returned to its original state.

The thing is that when you say "Make it govern according to how the Constitution is written", there are different understandings of what that means. For example, "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech" can be taken to mean that death threats should be legal but most people don't take it that way.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion" can be taken to mean "It is illegal for the government to prevent a religion from kidnapping people and lobotomizing them."

"The right of the people to keep and bear arms" can be taken to mean "All people must be allowed to keep and bear Tabun gas"

I'm going to assume you don't understand the Constitution to mean any of those things, so it's NOT actually simple. Where do you think the right to keep and bear arms stops, for example? Can we start there?

The right to keep and bear arms is pretty explicitly referring to weapons in common military issue, so it would include things like grenade launchers, bayonets, submachine guns(although arguably not heavy machine guns), assault rifles, sidearms, anti-materiel rifles, rocket launchers, grenades, etc, but not poison gas, hollow point ammunition, pepper spray, nukes, etc.

[Northwest Slobovia]

Hardly dumb. The government has long-since exceeded its mandate and need to be returned to its original state.

The thing is that when you say "Make it govern according to how the Constitution is written", there are different understandings of what that means.

Oh, yeah! I think it's strange how people insist on some notion of "original intent" of the Framers of the Constitution, when even those Framers didn't agree on most things. There were big arguments during the Constitutional Convention, some resolved by the Great Compromise, but many not. They couldn't agree on how big/powerful the federal government should be, whether we needed a Bill of Rights(!), or that little, teeny, tiny matter of slavery.

But to get back to the OP's question, my five changes:

1) Reform election financing (this one seems pretty popular)
2) Take legislative redistricting out of the hands of legislators and others with conflicts of interest about the districs
3) Voters should have the right to recall elected officials and dismiss appointed ones (at least those who break the law or violate their oath of office)
4) Replace first-past-the-post voting with some other system
5) Expand voters' right of referendum

and a fifth-and-halfth, because I can: fix legislators' compensation to some measure of their state's income, rather than them voting their own pay (or the Articles of Confederaton system, where the people voted on their pay, which led to the opposite problem of legislators being paid a pittance)

[Kaltovar]

Arggh, why does the poll ask "most important areaS" then allow only one?

This thread now has a poll! Feel free to vote, or recommend replacing one of the options with something else.

I recommend giving 5 options to the poll to reflect the op

On Nation States, one can only have up to 10 options in the poll. 8 of them are diametrically opposed. There are only 6 coherent choices a single country can make to not contradict itself, so allowing five choices would just result in a mostly party lines test rather than narrowing down the one that people find truly important.

The thread is for naming your five, the poll is for deciding which one is the most important.

However, in another few days I'll make a new poll with 10 completely different options if you want. The only issue is they will have to be formatted like this: "Change the healthcare system" such that they are ambiguous as to WHAT you'd like to change, in order to allow for enough options, because again NS only allows up to 10 options on a poll and to allow 5 choices all 10 are going to have to be fairly unique.

The right to keep and bear arms is pretty explicitly referring to weapons in common military issue, so it would include things like grenade launchers, bayonets, submachine guns(although arguably not heavy machine guns), assault rifles, sidearms, anti-materiel rifles, rocket launchers, grenades, etc, but not poison gas, hollow point ammunition, pepper spray, nukes, etc.

That's not precisely correct. While the 2nd Amendment does protect weapons in common military use according to the supreme court, it does not exclusively protect items in common military use and also according to the Supreme Court there are restrictions. While I agree that as written it DOES protect automatic weapons, the fact that you're referencing "Weapons in common military issue" means you're referencing Case Law, not "The constitution as written". As written the Constitution never says "And only weapons in common military use", and as a matter of fact, neither does Case Law! Case Law just says "And (sans only) weapons in common military use EXCEPT automatic weapons and destructive devices."

Ignoring the restrictions on automatic weapons and DDs imposed by the same courts you're referencing when you say it protects "Weapons in common military issue", It protects weapons of all kinds so long as they are in common use OR have military application ... Not AND! That's why .22 caliber handguns are protected ... Even though the military doesn't use them, they're weapons in common use. This is why sawn-off shotguns aren't protected by the current interpretation, it was ruled they have "No military application" AND are "Unusual or exotic".

There is no language in the 2A that explicitly protects only weapons "In common military issue", unless you're going to interpret the language to mean that, which is what the court has done ... But the same courts have, again, also protected weapons "In common use" outside of a military environment.

[Diopolis]

Arggh, why does the poll ask "most important areaS" then allow only one?

I recommend giving 5 options to the poll to reflect the op

On Nation States, one can only have up to 10 options in the poll. 8 of them are diametrically opposed. There are only 6 coherent choices a single country can make to not contradict itself, so allowing five choices would just result in a mostly party lines test rather than narrowing down the one that people find truly important.

The thread is for naming your five, the poll is for deciding which one is the most important.

However, in another few days I'll make a new poll with 10 completely different options if you want. The only issue is they will have to be formatted like this: "Change the healthcare system" such that they are ambiguous as to WHAT you'd like to change, in order to allow for enough options, because again NS only allows up to 10 options on a poll and to allow 5 choices all 10 are going to have to be fairly unique.

The right to keep and bear arms is pretty explicitly referring to weapons in common military issue, so it would include things like grenade launchers, bayonets, submachine guns(although arguably not heavy machine guns), assault rifles, sidearms, anti-materiel rifles, rocket launchers, grenades, etc, but not poison gas, hollow point ammunition, pepper spray, nukes, etc.

That's not precisely correct. While the 2nd Amendment does protect weapons in common military use according to the supreme court, it does not exclusively protect items in common military use and also according to the Supreme Court there are restrictions. While I agree that as written it DOES protect automatic weapons, the fact that you're referencing "Weapons in common military issue" means you're referencing Case Law, not "The constitution as written". As written the Constitution never says "And only weapons in common military use", and as a matter of fact, neither does Case Law! Case Law just says "And (sans only) weapons in common military use EXCEPT automatic weapons and destructive devices."

Ignoring the restrictions on automatic weapons and DDs imposed by the same courts you're referencing when you say it protects "Weapons in common military issue", It protects weapons of all kinds so long as they are in common use OR have military application ... Not AND! That's why .22 caliber handguns are protected ... Even though the military doesn't use them, they're weapons in common use. This is why sawn-off shotguns aren't protected by the current interpretation, it was ruled they have "No military application" AND are "Unusual or exotic".

There is no language in the 2A that explicitly protects only weapons "In common military issue", unless you're going to interpret the language to mean that, which is what the court has done ... But the same courts have, again, also protected weapons "In common use" outside of a military environment.

My argument is that existing case law is entirely wrong, on almost every issue, and has been so since early in the republic. A sane interpretation of the 2a would be something like "the average citizen, if so inclined, must be allowed to purchase weapons in common military issue", which would in some ways be looser than the current law and in some ways stricter.

[Kaltovar]

My argument is that existing case law is entirely wrong, on almost every issue, and has been so since early in the republic. A sane interpretation of the 2a would be something like "the average citizen, if so inclined, must be allowed to purchase weapons in common military issue", which would in some ways be looser than the current law and in some ways stricter.

I'm just pointing out that it's not the literally precise meaning of the words written down. The words written down don't actually specify any exceptions to the kind of arms it protects.

I do agree that your interpretation of them seems to be the intention for how they were written, but I'm just trying to establish that it is an interpretation. Apparently you already knew that, but I couldn't tell from your original post.

I was originally talking to someone who wanted to use 'The constitution as written' and didn't elaborate on what that meant, so I thought we were still having that conversation.

[Diopolis]

My argument is that existing case law is entirely wrong, on almost every issue, and has been so since early in the republic. A sane interpretation of the 2a would be something like "the average citizen, if so inclined, must be allowed to purchase weapons in common military issue", which would in some ways be looser than the current law and in some ways stricter.

I'm just pointing out that it's not the literally precise meaning of the words written down. The words written down don't actually specify any exceptions to the kind of arms it protects.

I do agree that your interpretation of them seems to be the intention for how they were written, but I'm just trying to establish that it is an interpretation. Apparently you already knew that, but I couldn't tell from your original post.

I was originally talking to someone who wanted to use 'The constitution as written' and didn't elaborate on what that meant, so I thought we were still having that conversation.

Oh, yeah.

[New Periapsis]

1. Establish meritocratic technocracy so that everyone in charge is of competent and educated leadership for their positions, followed by establishing term limits.
2. Enforce and modernize anti-trust laws, update various outdated laws such as copyright and COPPA, and get rid of several federal laws such as the one that classifies cows mild as a type of oil.
3. Abolish various tax write offs for the top 1% and make it more challenging to horde wealth offshore, in turn having more money to reduce poverty and use for the public good.
4. Launch an investigation into DoD and Pentagon fraud/misspending, cut that out of the budget, and invest those millions into public services such as healthcare, education, and scientific research. This would also be supplemented by ending the marijuana prohibition and merely adding a small tax to it just like tobacco.
5. Begin a program that would try to make the national census able to update yearly instead of once every decade in order to modernize administration nation-wide and have a viable system to more quickly address problems that need to be solved.

[Yawkland]

1) Moratorium on all immigration and the end of automatic birthright citizenship
2) Removal of all American troops from the Middle East and severance of diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia - AIPAC must register as a foreign agent
3) Social media companies to be regulated as telecoms
4) Make continuing technical education free across the United States
5) Introduce progressive income tax

[Vascottozer]

1. Make every citizen a member of the government

2. Switch to proportional representation in elections

3. Switch to universal healthcare

4. Lower the age on alcohol and tobacco use (or any drugs in general) to 16

5. Get rid of borders

[New Bremerton]

These are the ten changes I would make to the government of Malaysia, my passport country and current country of residence, with the first five being my top priority:

1. Racial policy:

End affirmative action, quotas, special rights and privileges for ethnic Malays, and all forms of government-sanctioned racial discrimination against ethnic Malaysian Chinese, Malaysian Indians and other ethnic minorities in Malaysia. Promulgate a new constitution that enshrines equality of opportunity into law, effectively outlawing the racist New Economic Policy.

Any racist Malays who insist on clinging on to their special rights can all move to PAS-controlled Kelantan and Terengganu, where they can declare their independence from the federal government to the benefit of what's left of Malaysia. They can have their ethnostate all to themselves. They will lose their Malaysian citizenship and forfeit their right of abode in Malaysia. They will also forfeit any property and possessions they have left behind in Malaysia. Their former homes will be seized by the federal government under a policy of absenteeism. This only applies to those who wish to become citizens of newly-independent Kelantan and Terengganu. The choice is theirs to make.

2. Republicanism:

Abolish the corrupt and useless Malay monarchies that serve no useful purpose and are a drain on the national coffers.

3. Religious policy:

Outlaw sharia at all levels of government and enforce strict separation of mosque and state. No more special rights for Muslims and no more special place for Islam in Malaysia. No more public money to facilitate Hajj. The age of Muslim supremacy and entitlement MUST come to an end. Malaysia can set an example for the rest of the Muslim world.

4. Political freedom and civil rights:

Enact absolute freedom of speech and expression, especially the right to "insult" (read: question and criticize) Islam, the Malay monarchy, the Malay language, Malay "rights" (read: privileges) and other languages, cultures, races and religions. No more threats, intimidation and humiliation of liberal Malays and Muslims and non-Muslim minorities for daring to challenge the status quo. No more lengthy jail terms for "insulting Islam". End censorship of TV programs and websites, including porn sites, kissing, Renaissance paintings and statues and even naked babies. I don't want to have to keep using a VPN at the risk of breaking my in-built wireless network adapter. Fuck censorship and long live muh free speech. The MCMC has gone too far.

5. Political reform:

Implement proportional representation. The traitors and sellouts in the ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition government and the far-right racist, Islamist and fascist parties in opposition must be swept aside by a new, secular, liberal, republican, populist party led by a charismatic leader like Donald Trump or Boris Johnson who isn't afraid to speak his mind and trigger the right-wing, Malay supremacist, Islamist establishment to death. Only proportional representation can guarantee such an outcome. The ruling PH parties will be forced to make concessions in order to remain in government, and some of the more treacherous, medieval component parties such as PPBM and AMANAH will be excluded.

6. Immigration policy:

End all Muslim immigration to Malaysia. Round up and deport all the illegal Muslim migrants who have transformed the east Malaysian state of Sabah from a predominantly indigenous ethnic Kadazandusun state to a Muslim-majority state within the span of a few decades, thereby enabling UMNO, a racist, Malay supremacist political party and the largest component party of the former ruling Barisan Nasional coalition at the federal level, to seize power in that state.

Bar all Muslim refugees from acquiring Malaysian citizenship or a permanent right of abode. Take them in, house them in temporary accommodation, feed them, clothe them, nurse them back to health, then deport them to the next country down the line i.e. Indonesia. Prioritize non-Muslim immigration sans Mainland Chinese. Open our doors to any pro-democracy Hong Kong refugees seeking to flee Hong Kong and the oppression of the Chinese Communist Party. All of them, without exception. This will serve as a huge boost to Malaysia's economy and finally turn things around for good.

Any former ISIS fighters and supporters seeking to return to Malaysia will be barred from doing so, and those already here thanks to the pandering incompetence of the current government will be swiftly deported back to Syria and stripped of their Malaysian citizenship like the traitors and threats to national security that they are. That's if they are not handed the death penalty for egregious offenses committed abroad as Malaysian nationals.

7. Foreign policy:

Normalize relations with Israel and recognize Jerusalem as its national capital. Withdraw from the Organization of the Islamic Conference and sever all ties with Iran and Saudi Arabia. Recognize the Republic of China (Taiwan) as a separate independent state from China and establish formal diplomatic ties, and sever all ties with the People's Republic of China. Impose crippling economic sanctions and develop a nuclear deterrent with warheads pointed toward Beijing, Shanghai and other major cities. Strengthen ties with the USA, the UK, the EU, Canada, Australia, Japan and South Korea. Closely align Malaysia's foreign policy with that of the United States and other Western countries.

8. Crime and punishment:

Reinstate capital punishment for murder and any crimes involving murder, but make it discretionary rather than mandatory.

9. Language policy:

Make English an official language in Malaysia and ensure that it is swiftly implemented within a year, unlike in Sarawak where English is an "official language", but street signs, official documents, and language proficiency among civil servants remain exclusively Malay. What a fucking joke.

10. Education policy:

Replace the multiple National and Vernacular education streams with a single Malay-English bilingual stream to be phased in gradually, especially for older students, with English, Math and Science to be taught exclusively in English. Racist whining about how the special status of the Malay language is being eroded will be roundly ignored. Abolish Islamic studies for Muslims and "Moral" studies for non-Muslims. Outlaw and crack down on Islamic schools and madrassas. Their fire safety precautions are nonexistent and the potential for child sexual abuse by Muslim scholars is very high, according to Channel NewsAsia. Secularism MUST prevail.

See my other post by Glorious Hong Kong for the six changes I would make to Hong Kong's government.

[Glorious Hong Kong]

These are the six changes I would make to the government of Hong Kong, the country I was born and raised in, with the first five being my top priority:

1. Five Demands, Not One Less:

Implement the Five Demands of protesters, including genuine universal suffrage for LegCo elections and the election of the city-state's Chief Executive. No "functional constituencies" or extra votes for members of the pro-Beijing business community. No vetting or disqualification of candidates based on how they take their oaths. No arbitrary "reinterpretation" of the Basic Law by a foreign body based in a foreign dictatorship, and full judicial independence.

2. Sovereignty:

Complete and total independence for Hong Kong, with Cantonese as the national language, English remaining as an official language and Glory to Hong Kong and the Black Bauhinia flag as the new national anthem and flag respectively.

3. Language policy:

Outlaw the use of Mandarin and simplified Chinese characters in all official communications e.g. road signs, MTR announcements, LegCo official translations and transcripts, legal documents, etc. Ban the use of Mandarin and simplified Chinese as the language of instruction in all local schools, private and public, and discourage its use in international schools. Only extracurricular private Mandarin tuition schools are exempt and must be subject to regular checkups by inspectors to ensure that no pro-CCP indoctrination can ever occur.

4. Crime and punishment:

Replace the disgraced Hong Kong Police Force with a new Hong Kong Bureau of Investigation. Arrest and charge any and all members of the former HKPF who have committed human rights violations. Reinstate habeas corpus, the right of due process and the rule of law.

5. Immigration policy:

End all Mainland Chinese immigration to Hong Kong. End Chinese tourism in Hong Kong. No Hong Kong citizenship or right of abode for any Mainland Chinese. Decline to renew the visas of Mainland Chinese already in Hong Kong, and deny permanent residents of any foreign nationality (myself included) the right to vote and run for office. Uphold Hong Kong's unique cosmopolitan culture and identity.

6. Foreign policy:

Apply to join the United Nations as the world's youngest state and begin the process of establishing diplomatic ties with most countries except China and perhaps a few other countries (although China, being a veto-wielding permanent member of the UN Security Council, will likely block any attempt to recognize Hong Kong under the disgraceful One China Policy). Recognize the Republic of China (Taiwan) as a separate independent state from China and establish formal diplomatic ties. Impose crippling economic sanctions and develop a nuclear deterrent with warheads pointed toward Beijing, Shanghai and other major cities not too close to Hong Kong. Strengthen ties with the USA, the UK, the EU, Canada, Australia, Japan and South Korea. Closely align Hong Kong's foreign policy with that of the United States and other Western countries.

See my other post by New Bremerton for the ten changes I would make to Malaysia's government.