MAKE AMERICA THE GREATEST AGAIN.
(Or Ideas On How We Can Improve The U.S. In Order To Make It The Best That It Possibly Can Be, While Subsequently Improving The Entire World).
- By Michael Macintosh & Crystal Macintosh.
WE CHOOSE TO GO TO MARS :
We choose to go to Mars in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard...because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too.
PROMOTE AND ADOPT BITCOIN AND OTHER CRYPTOCURRENCIES :
Since 1913 and the Federal Reserve Act, signed into law by Woodrow Wilson under the premise of ensuring economic stability, the United States has been held hostage economically by narrow, special interests. Those who print the currency, as our Founding Fathers forewarned us would happen, have ended up influencing our day to day lives via the power granted to them to print money, up to and including our foreign policies and what military conflicts we engage in. We must put an end to this imbalance of power by adopting, en masse, the unique, decentralized, uncontrolled, unregulated, digital currency known as Bitcoin. We can also use and adopt, for other practical purposes, where applicable, digital currencies and tokens such as Shiba Inu, Stellar, Ethereum, Ripple, Amero and others. This will reduce the probability of outside, economic forces influencing (or even dictating, as has been the case) how our government legislates. This will lead to less involvement in wars, conflicts and overseas entanglements to further the interests of a narrow few at the expense of the greater good. We also propose that the Federal government invest a modest amount of resources into creating Bitcoin mines from which each and every U.S. citizen will receive a regular digital payment, directly to their Bitcoin wallet address. This will act as a sort of regular economic impact payment or universal basic income for each and every American man, woman and child. There is no reason we cannot do this very easily, thus, we should.
NONE OF THE ABOVE OPTION :
When "None Of The Above" is listed on a ballot, there is the possibility of NOTA receiving a majority or plurality of the vote, and so "winning" the election. In such a case, a variety of formal procedures may be invoked, including having the office remain vacant, re-opening nominations or holding another election. We need this in the United States now more than ever - on a national, state and local level. It is far too often that we end up with elected candidates who do not accurately represent the people, simply because of the idea that they 'weren't as bad as the other guy'. We can no longer afford to take these kinds of risks in the 21st century. Our elected representatives MUST truly reflect the will of the American people, or should not be allowed to serve. A NOTA option will properly ensure this.
BEGIN THE DE-NUCLEARIZATION OF EARTH :
U.S. leadership in the world in the 21st century is, as described by former President Obama, indispensable. Republicans and Democrats agree virtually unanimously on this. We need to bring our parties together on this issue and begin disassembling ALL nuclear weapons worldwide. We also need to replace nuclear energy with alternative sources. The reasons are obvious. We have no room for error with technology that could cause a literal extinction of our species. Therefore, we must not use it any longer. We also, along with other nuclear powers, cannot legitimately claim to be the champions of freedom and democracy in the world while the rest of the planet lives in fear of a nuclear strike at any give moment from us. We must begin the process of global peace by building trust and friendship with other nations and peoples, NOT by holding them hostage to our whims.
INDEFINITELY HALT ALL IMMIGRATION INTO THE UNITED STATES :
As of 2020, our population is approaching 400 million people. Until such time as our economy operates in a manner which can properly sustain living for all of our Citizens and legal residents, we should halt all immigration into our country. This just makes sense. Our economic system operates in a manner that still does not adequately provide opportunity for all Americans, does not treat Veterans fairly, shows bias, often in an extreme manner, towards people of Christian faith, women, differing skin colors, foreign-born legal immigrants or Citizens, children and other vulnerable segments of our population. If we consider ourselves to be a just nation, we cannot allow our country to be flooded by more people while the people already living here are suffering. This will cause more suffering for those here. We have done this before, after periods when immigration into our country increased dramatically. It is time to do this again so we can catch up with creating an acceptable standard of living for those already here.
AMEND THE PRESIDENTIAL ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS :
The current Constitutional requirements and prevailing attitudes towards Presidential eligibility are discriminatory, especially towards younger and foreign-born members of our society. Although the draft was done away with, we still, effectively, have a draft by default. In times of war or conflict, it is always our young people, many of whom see no job alternatives but military service, who are called upon, regardless of whether or not they agreed with the decision to engage the country in a conflict. However, anyone under the age of thirty-five is legally prohibited from being commander-in-chief of our military forces. In order to reduce the likelihood that our young people are being abused by involving our country and our armed forces in dangerous situations for ulterior motives and the furtherance of special interests that have nothing to do with those of the American people - such as many of our wars and conflicts after World War 2 have been; we propose allowing those of military age to also run for any office in our nation. Think about it: would a young American in the White House or Congress send their peers or former schoolmates off to engage in a conflict while they stay at home in the White House or in Congress? No. However, would, for instance, a wealthy older person in office who has little or no vested interest in the well-being of the children of poorer, perhaps even foreign-born, Americans, but perhaps has interest in the profits of their businesses or investments be overly concerned about sending these Americans off to fight, kill or die to maintain their interests? Possibly not. Twentieth century history has proven this to be a matter of serious concern. To further balance the powers of our government in times of potential foreign conflict, we propose an amendment or alteration to the Constitution in order to allow younger Citizens to participate fully in our government. We also propose a 21st century clarification of the fact that foreign-born Americans are, and always have been, despite unfounded popular opinion, Constitutionally eligible to be President and commander-in-chief, according to Section 1 of Article 2: "a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States". This would include persons such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ted Cruz and others, as it did Arthur St. Clair, a Scottish-born American who was President during the period between the Revolutionary War and the enactment of the Constitution in 1789. Therefore, additionally, we also propose legislation which bars any form of discrimination against a person in regard to their eligibility to hold any office in our country because of their place of birth and other factors which are, effectively, irrelevant to their ability to perform their job.
GREATER RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE :
Now that the American public in general is slowly becoming more aware of the widespread, systematic abuse of children and young people - people who are among the most vulnerable of all in our country - in our society, it is time for sweeping legislation designed to protect them fully and punish those who would attempt to harm or exploit them. We propose a 'Children's Rights Amendment' to our Constitution, clarifying and enumerating these rights and protections. We also propose that those who are tasked with the enforcement of these laws are treated with greater scrutiny before being permitted to work at protecting children, as we have found that child protection services and government can and often do become avenues for acquisition and exploitation of children. Broad legislation, along with a new system of enforcement, is the only way to more successfully combat these issues in our country and provide a safer, better future for the children and young people of America. We also propose removing the voting age requirement for every Citizen below age 17 - and creating a standardized test to determine whether a minor is competent enough to vote based on their understanding and passing of said test. In other words, if a 7 year old can pass a 'voter aptitude test' successfully, then he or she should be permitted to vote if they so choose - comparable to a driving test or permit.
DISCLOSE ALL KNOWLEDGE OF THE E.T. PRESENCE ON EARTH :
Since the incident at Roswell, many insiders and whistle blowers claim that there has been a gigantic, widespread systematic cover-up via a policy of denial by our government pertaining to the existence of extra-terrestrial life and e.t. visitation to this planet. At best, there has been an ongoing soft disclosure attempt to tell the truth from within. We, the people, demand that our government disclose any and all information relating to the visitation of alien beings to this planet, the nature of their visits, and the level of interaction with our governments that has occurred thus far. We can handle the truth - the full truth. We should compile any and all documents into one single, official government database and release the information via the internet for the public to dissect, absorb, process and understand. The time has come.
MAKE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC :
As a nation and people, America has acquired and developed some of the most advanced technology in human history, much of which has been kept hidden from the public, but has been reported on by various insiders and whistle blowers, including: time travel, teleportation, chrono-vision, secret space programs, deep sea exploration and habitation technology, free, clean energy sources, high tech transportation vehicles and more. We must begin the process of making all of this technology available to the general public. It is, simply, the right thing to do. Obviously, there will be instances where it is not practical to do so fully, so we must do so responsibly with respect to our national security and the safety of our friends and allies around the globe. However, where it is safe to do so, we should, for the benefit of our people and humanity.
RATIFY THE REED AMENDMENT :
In 1810, Senator Philip Reed of Maryland introduced a Constitutional amendment modifying the Title of Nobility Clause. Under the terms of this amendment any United States citizen who accepted, claimed, received or retained any title of nobility from a foreign government would be stripped of their U.S. citizenship. After being approved by the Senate on April 27, 1810, by a vote of 19–5 and the House of Representatives on May 1, 1810, by a vote of 87–3, the amendment, titled "Article Thirteen", was sent to the state legislatures for ratification. On two occasions between 1812 and 1816 it was within two states of the number needed to become a valid part of the Constitution. As Congress did not set a time limit for its ratification, the amendment is still technically pending before the states. Currently, ratification by an additional 26 states would be necessary for this amendment to be adopted. We should fully adopt this proposed amendment to ensure the removal of this potentially very serious conflict of interest in our country.
MAKE OMAHA THE NEW U.S. CAPITOL :
In 1776, the new nation of the United States of America was much, much smaller than it is currently. Our capitol of Washington, D.C. was created to facilitate more convenient travel for government persons from the furthest reaches of the then smaller territory of the United States. Our national territory has grown exponentially, however, our capitol has not been relocated to accommodate travel and convenience for those who work in our Federal government. We should relocate our capitol to the most centrally located city in our nation, which is Omaha, Nebraska. Not only would this facilitate those working in our government, but would likely give greater opportunity to our Citizens to visit the new capitol of our nation and help all of us to better understand how our country works and be an even greater part of it. It just makes sense. Think about it: how many Californians can realistically expect to visit Washington, D.C. regularly? However, for most people in our Eastern states, it is no more than a few hours by car to visit where the President lives, where Congress works, where our laws are made and where our nation is governed from. This creates an imbalance which can be rectified by a simple change of address for our Federal government.
FORM A NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS WATCH COMMITTEE :
As if the civil rights movement of the 1960s wasn't enough of a reason for us to take action - furthermore, in order to counter the widespread erosion of our civil liberties which have occurred since the enactment of the Patriot Act, we must create a new amendment to our Constitution containing a provision for the abolition of any further legislation derived from or similar to this act, and the creation of a national civil rights watch committee. Since 9/11, too many Americans have seen their personal freedoms eroded and even denied in the name of national security. We must never let this happen again in the United States. We must create an agency whose sole purpose is to dedicate themselves to preserving, protecting and defending the letter and spirit of our Bill of Rights, and who will redress grievances pertaining to such wherever they occur, so that we will be one step closer to becoming the United States of America that our founders envisioned - a nation where all men, women and children are considered equal under the law.
DECLARE WAR AGAINST THE ISLAND OF PLASTIC IN THE PACIFIC :
We must, by whatever means we have at our disposal, clean up and eliminate the Pacific garbage patch / Pacific trash vortex. We should use our military to do so if needed. We must also impose the highest possible sanctions and fines upon companies whose products are found to be contributing to the pollution and ruination of our planet. We must organize on an international level in order to make this happen. It is not just the responsibility of the United States to preserve our eco-system and planet, everyone must contribute their fair share. We should form an alliance of nations and states, similar to the United Nations, which is solely dedicated to the preservation and cleanup of our planet and the addressing of issues relating to the destruction of our environment. This is a 21st century issue which cannot be ignored any longer.
WE CAN END HOMELESSNESS :
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Annual Homeless Assessment Report, as of 2018 there were around 553,000 homeless people in the United States alone, on a given night, or 0.17% of the population. Homelessness emerged as a national issue in the 1870s. With the advent of 3-D printing technology, which produces modest, inexpensive dwellings at a rate we have never seen previously, we can, and should, completely end homelessness in the United States. With the formation of a national homelessness action group / committee, we can end this problem once and for all after one Presidential term. It will take work, dedication and mass refusal to accept this problem anymore as part of everyday life. Every American has a right to a home. We can afford this right. Not only is this investment in our people, but it is a moral obligation. Let's not ignore it any further.
FOOD AS A RIGHT FOR ALL :
The United States of America is one of the largest producers of food in the entire world. Our food industry is second to none. Our farmers are among the greatest on Earth. Our government can afford to provide adequate, healthy sustenance for all of our Citizens. Let's have a Federal food allowance program which grants every American the automatic right to purchase food, regardless of their income. It just makes sense. We can feed everyone.
BRING BACK MENTAL HEALTH CARE :
Because of the influence of his wife, Nancy Reagan, President Ronald Reagan cut back support for mental health greatly by reducing funding to mental health facilities, asylums, and other types of necessary mental health care. Our society has suffered greatly because of this: mass shootings, homelessness, addictions, family break-ups, rising divorce rates, and other social ills. Pharmaceutical medication has become a 'quick fix' approach to solving problems by treating symptoms rather than facing the real issues. We must address the mental health needs of each and every Citizen of our nation by bringing back funding for mental health care. No time must be wasted in doing so. We must also actively discourage and counteract the widespread stigma associated with pursuing mental health treatment. Everybody needs help at least some of the time. BUILD A BRIDGE TO
CONNECT NORTH AMERICA AND ASIA :
We will connect the whole world by roads. One bridge in China is over 100 miles long, a bridge connecting Alaska and Russia would only be about 55 miles long, however, this bridge does not yet exist because of differences in political opinion. We will put aside these differences in viewpoint and connect the Bering Strait, making it literally possible to drive from one end of the Earth to another.
ABOLISH PSEUDO-RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS :
We live in a country where the original intended meaning of 'freedom of religion' has been grossly misinterpreted, misapplied, and used to give legal protection to organizations such as the Catholic Church, Mormonism, even obviously reprehensible organizations such as the church of Satan. This is not what our founders intended whatsoever. We need to, in order to curtail the abuse perpetuated by these groups upon our civilian population and our friends and allies around the world, quite simply, halt the existence of these groups permanently. We propose military intervention where required, in places such as the Vatican City, a city populated by no more than 1,000 people, who are still, currently, dictating policy regarding massive portions of the land on Earth, causing exclusion, displacement and worse, all leading back to bigger problems for the United States. We can solve this problem by simply arresting the entire population of the Vatican, occupying it, never leaving, and turning all of their present land holdings into U.S. occupied territories until we can figure out a better plan for the usage of these resources. We can, and must, also do the same elsewhere.