The Declaration

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To: The 99%

It is time for us to accept responsibility. Time for us to stop pointing fingers, telling congress what they ought to do, and do it ourselves. If the job is too hard, if it can't be done, then we have no right to shift the blame on any other.

What made this nation great was the skeptical vigilance of its citizens after overthrowing a tyrant king. They vowed to never again let corruption and injustice be the law of the land. Their watchful eyes kept the government in check for many generations, and were indeed so successful in establishing a free and prosperous union that little effort was required by future generations to maintain the momentum of progress. However, at this point, that momentum has halted, and our shortcomings as the dutiful citizens of this nation have become apparent. We have allowed the patriotic attitude of our ancestors to expire, resulting in a cascade of misfortune. For all of these things, we have only ourselves to blame. The people have always had the power, we simply have not made any attempts to use it. Before the government grew into a monstrosity, we sat by with silent consent. Never again. We must educate ourselves and participate pro-actively in our own government. This is your chance. This is a new era.

Our goal is to create a single document, containing common sense solutions to all of the most complex political issues mishandled by our government, and present it to that government as a clear message of intent. "We, the people, have come to an agreement. We have done your job for you, and now you need only to manifest our will as it has been laid out before you in simple terms, in a polite and organized fashion. If you serve the people as you so claim, then you will certainly have the opportunity to prove it, by administering to our civilized requests, as are found here in this document."

Who can edit the document?

EVERYONE! I have left it open to all anonymous users. That means you don't even have to sign up for an account to make an edit. I am putting my faith in the people that they will be respectful, productive and progressive. Please do not vandalize the site. If we can not work together, then we can not hope for a brighter future.

I have created sample paragraphs under each article and section, based on my own personal beliefs. ALL of these articles and sections CAN and SHOULD be edited. Let your voice be heard! The truth can only be reached through honest, open, respectful and vigorous debate.

Note: As is shown at the bottom of the page while editing the site anonymously, a shortened version of your IP address (i.e. 30.192.26.X) is saved in the document's history to differentiate between edits. If you are not comfortable with this, you may want to create an account instead, or edit from a public place such as a library, etc.

How to edit the document

Scroll down to the bottom of the page. Click "Edit." Find the section you want to edit within the text box. Change the language. Click "Save." Do not attempt to change any of the titles or coding. If a new title is to be suggested, suggest it in the forum under "Suggestions for Webmaster(s)."

Forum

There is a forum, linked at the top navigation bar, for discussing issues in more depth, if you so choose, though this is not explicitly required, it is encouraged. The more discussion we have, the better ideas we will come up with. Please follow the forum rules if you choose to participate in them.

Guidelines for Editing (Please Read First)

1. Please add very brief comments to summarize your edits, using the "Short description of changes:" box just below the edit box. These comments will show in the "History" of edits, which allows others to recognize what has been changed recently, without having to re-read the entire document. History can be viewed by scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking "History" in the bottom right corner. If no comment is left, you can still view the difference between the previous and updated versions using the "Compare versions" function just above the displayed History.
2. Keep all statements as brief and concise as possible. As with congressional bills, we have seen how quickly and how large they can grow. When it gets to the point where no one has the time to read a section in order to fully comprehend the beliefs stated in this document, we have defeated ourselves. You are doing yourself and your fellow citizens a favor by keeping it short and sweet. Remember, we are not writing laws, only laying down clear and concise guidelines. There is no need for complicated, redundant legal language. If the administrators of this site see a section that has grown too large, they will either remove the data and leave it blank, or attempt to summarize. Since it is preferred that the information be summarized, we ask that other editors assist in this process wherever they may see an overgrown section or article.
3. Keep all articles and sub-sections broken up and properly labeled. The whole idea behind setting everything up this way is to make it easily accessible and manageable. It would be unfair to those who have busy schedules and very little time to participate if this was presented as one large text. The way it is set up now allows users to edit ala carte. Let's keep it that way.
4. Address your edits as if speaking to the U.S. congress, to the best of your ability. Others will help proofread for language, etc.
5. Cite sources wherever possible or necessary, i.e. studies, research, evidence, quotes
6. Do not simply delete others opinions and re-paste the same text verbatim. We are not looking to start a war of attrition with ourselves, which would be fruitless. In order to succeed, we must be willing to compromise. If you notice that your suggestions are being rejected by the public, try changing them to accommodate the beliefs that others are expressing to the best of your ability. The end result will not represent the left, or the right, but the evolution of ideas, toward a unified belief, through the filters of many great minds.
7. Keep the Articles numbered properly and in alphabetical order, to the best of your ability

To: Anonymous

I will manage this project on my own as long as necessary, to the very end if need be. However, I am not as tech savvy or as capable of delivering widespread messages as you seem to be. I would absolutely appreciate any help you are willing to offer and will cooperate in any way I can without breaking the law. Thank YOU, all of you, for being the catalyst for what has now become a movement of freedom and pride for people around the world. In my eyes, you are true patriots. The embodiment of the revolutionary spirit that united our nation to declare its independence. If any foul slander has been cast upon you with malicious intend by the media, corporations, the ignorant, or the government, it is only the same slander that was cast upon our founding fathers as they resisted historical tyrants to secure the freedom we all hold so dear today. Like them, you are heroes, though faceless, you will be remembered.

To: The 1%

Our anger is not blind, nor destructive. We understand that not every member of the upper 1% is evil. We are aware that the 1% donates billions to charity every year, creates the majority of jobs, many innovations, and provides valuable services to the people. For that we thank you, however, we also understand that many of the 1% are interested in an unethical abuse of their power and positions. They do not regard our lives, our pursuit of happiness, or our right to liberty. They pollute our environment, corrupt our government, lie, cheat and steal to swindle us out of our homes. In response to this, we evoke a universal law, self evident throughout history. That is: oppression will never last. The oppressors are always defeated by the oppressed. There has never been an example in recorded history of oppression enduring. You will not be the exception. Wherever there is evil, good will rise up to meet it in time, and good has never lost a battle. It's never too late to wise up and change your ways. Do the right thing. We don't ask you to deny yourself profits, only to know the limits of your greed, which are force and coercion.

To: Our Government

You have failed us, but we have also failed you. The people fell asleep, we stopped paying attention, and in our absence you went on vacation. You allowed corporations to set policies while you danced for the media with soundbites and vague, empty promises. We are awake now, and we will be expecting nothing less than true patriotism from you once again. We will be keeping an eye on you, and you will know when we are disappointed. There will be no more excuses for failed policies, secret proceedings, partisan politics or lies. We do not care about the shortcomings of your opponents, or those across the isle. We care only for what you stand for and whether or not your promises are met. When you say you will do something, be prepared to do it, or you will not be re-elected. If you really want to impress us, open a new conversation with the people of the United States. Not just some town hall meeting for political points, but a REAL discussion, using the vast resources at your disposal. If we can put together this wiki, impromptu, and clearly define the will of the people, you should be able to do ever better. Ask and listen. We want a voice, give it back to us, and we will love you for it.

To: The Media

You are supposed to be one of us. You are supposed to be of the people, for the people. We entrusted you to be the eyes and ears of the working class, who have little time to read over stacks of congressional bills. Instead, you have become something else, something between a greedy corporation and a corrupt politician. Allowing ratings and special interests to write your stories, instead of your conscience. This is unacceptable, yet still we must take responsibility for our own contributions to this mess we've all created together. We, the people, acknowledge that it is our uneducated desire for empty entertainment that created the incentive for the selling of your souls. If we were not so willing to change the channel from those reporting the real news, to those reporting celebrity gossip and useless bite sized political musings in place of robust information, you would have remained true to your role. Our promise to you is to develop a healthy appetite for truth, to never again deny real hard hitting journalism in favor of fluff. We will reward you for doing your job with ratings en mass. In return, we ask that you lead the charge, as was intended by our founding fathers, and stated in the constitution, as the watchdog for government waste and corruption. To those journalists who have remained true to their trade and conscience, we thank you. In a world where compromised morals equated to bigger paychecks, you held fast in the face of temptation. It did not go unnoticed. We knew who the good guys were, and who the bad guys were. We still know. History can not be undone.

Preamble

We, the people, evoke the first amendment and our right to "petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

This document is not a threat, nor is it a bill. We are not attempting to supersede the authority of the government. We are simply attempting to remind the government of a promise they made to us, a long time ago. That we would have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That promise has been broken, time and time again. We present to you a direct and numbered path to refresh that promise and restore our faith in you.

Should you find this document in whatever form may be handed to you, through the media or other channels, to be unsatisfactorily vague or impractical, please do not brush it aside. Call upon us and we shall elect representatives to clarify our positions before congress, the president, and the courts if necessary. Do not let the discussion end.

Article I : Abortion

Abortion is a medical procedure and as such is exclusive to all but the woman who is pregnant and any doctor whom she chooses for such procedure or advice thereon. The ethical pursuit of the preservation of the life of his patient(s) is the sole obligation and individual responsibility of the physician in any medical setting or procedural capacity relative to his patient and the context of their lives. Intrusion into that sphere of medicine and applicable normative ethics by any party of the state, federal government, religious body or organized society shall not be permitted nor tolerated. Interruption or coercion of the medically and ethically exclusive doctor-patient relationship by any party named or any individual or individual agenda shall not be condoned nor permitted by law nor by religious asylum. No physician shall be bound by state, federal government, religious body or organized society to perform abortion against their medically and ethically informed discretion, nor shall they be prevented from performance of abortion at their medically and ethically informed discretion, except where a recognized jury of their boarded and licensed peers may rule on the consequences of such discretionary action. Such jury shall not be regulated nor otherwise bound by law of state, federal government, religious body or organized society, except where that organized society is comprised of equally boarded and licensed medical professionals. The charter of such a society shall not carry the weight of legislative or judicial law as it applies to any and all United States citizens.

Article II : Affirmative Action

It is outside the scope of government to mandate the subsidization of any race, gender, creed, origin or religion. Everyone's rights must be protected equally, regardless of the aforementioned distinctions. Likewise, to favor any group removes the individual's rights and instead implies rights are granted by affiliation. This is unacceptable and a red flag of a government that is neither fair, nor neutral. No mandates or laws should be made in the interest of one group over another, under any circumstances. It is not the role of the government to decide who should succeed and who should fail. It is up to the individual to determine their own fate, through their own free will, and the free will of others. Likewise, for the government to subsidize any group is to judge that group, as otherwise no decision could be made on their needs and status. If the government judges people based on their group affiliation, such as race, then the government is promoting racism. In such a case, there will always be one group oppressed by the other, through the power and authority of the government. More efforts should be placed on improving the education system for minorities so that affirmative action is not needed when they seek a job.

Article III : Budget & Taxes

Section I : Debt

Under no circumstances should the government ever be allowed to borrow money against the credit of the people and our nation. The government has proven to be irresponsible financially and will continue to do so indefinitely into the future. The only means to guarantee a fiscally responsible government is to require that a balanced budget be presented before it will be accepted. An amendment to this end may be added to the constitution.

Section II : The Federal Reserve

The Federal Reserve has no place in a free market, nor in government. The power to print money without any physical backing is far too tempting (especially for a PRIVATELY owned agency, such as the Fed), and far too destructive to our economy. The only means to guarantee a balanced budget and healthy economy is to prevent such frivolous treatment of our currency. The power to print money without backing shall be revoked and never granted again. It is not necessary to implement the gold standard, however, some form of liquid asset or index must be present to grant the currency its value and prevent dangerous inflation. The process of eliminating the Federal Reserve is expected to be slow, and careful, but also progressive and without reaching a point of intentional stagnation.

Section III : Tax Reform

The tax code must be changed. Replace it with a Community Value Tax (CVT). In a CVT system individuals pay one of four (4) tax rates dependent on their "value" to the community. Manufacturers, farmers and emergency service personnel have the highest "community value" and would pay the lowest rate. Those in the financial/banking industry, marketing and private attorneys have the lowest "community value" and would pay the highest rate. Ideally, there would be a safe transition from the current tax code to a CVT tax, perhaps testing it in some states but not others, based upon local votes. Also, the people should have the choice to determine where their tax dollars go based on programs. If the people do not believe in a project, for moral, religious, or logical reasons, the people should be able to prevent funding of said project.

Section IV : Repeal of the 16th Amendment

No one expects this to happen overnight, or for it to mean that the government must sustain itself with zero income. However, we absolutely reject the notion that the government owns our money. Any taxation must be done on a basis of program participation.

Section V : Earmarks

Earmarks represent a temptation for individuals to circumvent the will of the whole in order to obtain benefits for themselves or their constituents. Such incentives for evil are the rust on the gears of democracy. All earmarks should be eliminated from future, pending bills and shall never again be submitted.

Article IV : Campaign Finance

All campaign finance must be absolutely transparent, and the financing information should be posted in clear, simple form, on a centralized government website. PACs should be made illegal, as they are essentially shell companies that make it far too easy for money laundering and other illegal activities to occur. If a company or organization is going to donate to a candidate, let it be directly, and on record for all to see. In this way, a candidate who accepts corporate money will be known to owe favors to that corporation, and his status as a patriot will become a matter of serious question, subject to much cynicism.

A cap on contribution, including from the candidate to himself, should be in place to ensure all persons have an equal voice. The cap should be small enough to prevent the richest individuals from having excessive influence, but large enough that it is not impossible for a candidate with a smaller grassroots support to get started. A trivial figure suggestion might be $1,000.

Article V : Civil Liberties

Those aspects of the Patriot Act that deal with the present threat of terrorism and acts of war against the United States should not be made permanent but voted upon on a regular basis for re-authorization until the congress has determined the measures are no longer required. Violations of the rights of the people are absolutely unacceptable and direct Congressional oversight is required to prevent the abuse of these temporary laws. The government should never be allowed to police our thoughts, nor target U.S. citizens as enemies unless said citizens are actively involved in War with the United States or providing aid and support for countries, organizations, groups or persons in a state of War with the United States. It should never be a crime to speak out against your government nor seek redress.

Section I : The Right To A Speedy and PUBLIC Trial By An IMPARTIAL Jury

The sixth amendment is very clear in how the accused shall be treated. No law should ever supersede this right, unless you are willing to amend the constitution to eliminate it, which would incur an outrage of epic proportions. The notion that an individual is assumed innocent until proven guilty should once again be the standard in American courts and government. This idea that the government can murder citizens based upon allegations of them being a threat to the state is preposterous and unconstitutional. Miranda rights should also be reinstated and respected. We are a country of laws and rights, not a dictatorship where individuals of authority allow their personal morals and opinions to overrule the agreed upon standards. Juries must once again be empowered to judge the law as well as guilt or innocence of the accused as originally intended.
Note this does not apply to individuals who are in open insurrection against the United States (see Civil War), or in a state of War with the United States, or those providing aid and comfort or planning support to those who are at War with the United States

Article VI : Corporate Regulations

Need input

Section I : Anti-Trust laws

It appears that the government sees it as their job to determine how corporations should conduct their business. This should not be the case. While it is appreciated that the government would like to prevent any individual company from becoming too powerful in controlling consumer choices, please leave it up to the consumers to determine when this is the case. What absolutely boggles the minds of the people is the fact that banks, who are pandered to by the government, have an excessively tight grip on consumer's choices, yet they are not being broken up. People are very upset with the banks for treating the consumer unfairly, cheating, and lying. Unfortunately, the government has not listened to our cries and pleas. On the other hand, Google, who is a company well supported by the people, due to their satisfactory products, is being threatened by anti-trust committees. This is unacceptable. Why are companies that DO serve the people being threatened, while companies that abuse the people are protected? If anti-trust laws are to prevent monopolies, that must be applied across the board, beginning with those companies with the most obviously negative public sentiment, such as the banking industry and the oil industry. No single entity should own or control more than one single current event information service. Any programing that purports to relay news or any factual content must be disbarred if such reporting is found to be fictitious or misleading.

Article VII : Drugs

A person has the right to do whatever they choose with their own property, including their own life, so long as it does not violate the rights of another. Drugs should not be outlawed by the government, as the government must remain neutral on ALL issues that do not directly violate a citizen's rights to life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness. In fact, for the government to imply that a person can not put into their body whatever they so choose, directly implies that the government owns that person's life and property ( body ). This implication is the foundation for the greatest crime known to humanity, which is that of slavery, especially to one's own government.

Section I : The FDA

If the government chooses to regulate the industry of food and drugs, they should do so through guidelines, not mandates. An educated population can be trusted to make their own decisions, with their own property.

Article VIII : Education

If schools are to be publicly funded, rather than privately funded, then local communities should be evoked to vote on all matters pertaining to the regulations of their local schools. In this manner, each school will likely be different, and broad experimentation will take place. Whatever schools prove to be most successful, other schools in other states and cities will copy their methods in order to mirror their success. The government clearly does not understand education.

Section I : Student Loans

Note: Questions should be directed to the forums and the question posted here has been replied to in the forums under Article VIII : Education -> Student Loans

If the government is going to subsidize education, they should do so completely. Education is easily the most important service you can provide to your people, beyond their basic rights and necessities such as food, water, and shelter. It creates innovation, jobs, exports, and many other valuable assets. To hand over student loans to banks is not wise. A student should not have to begin their life in debt to a bank. In this manner, we are essentially being bred to pay interest from birth. If the government wants to encourage higher education, there should be no limit on their commitment to do so. How can money be squandered on bridges to nowhere or the testing of similar frog species DNA, when bright minds are being wasted and left to rot in low wage, low skill jobs due to a lack of higher education? When a student has proven that they can not afford to pay for tuition, books, rent, gas, food, etc. The government should not offer to pay for books and tuition ( such as through pell grants ) but nothing else. What good is a student who attends school but can not afford to live, eat, or travel to and from the school they are attending? Furthermore, a student's ability to secure a loan should not be so dependent upon their parents. A student should not be denied a loan because their parent is either unwilling to support their education morally, or unable to qualify as a co-signer financially.

Article IX : Environment

A carbon tax is not the best method, as we have seen for centuries, the costs are simply passed on to customers. Your attempts to regulate generally result in hurting us, the consumer, who you were trying to protect. Also, it cripples the competitiveness of our companies. If a company in the United States is banned from producing a product due to the emissions it creates, those jobs go overseas where countries like China and India do not care about pollution standards. That leaves us with few options. 1. Convince China to adopt our policies 2. Subsidize the industry, which is a waste of money and would only lead to an over-sized government and an unnatural market. 3. Invade China, which is a terrible idea. 4. Lower the emissions standards so our companies can begin producing again and jobs can be recovered
The real solution is diplomacy. As is the case with de-weaponization, no one will give up theirs until everyone else does so first. America has not decided to set the first example here, so why should we do so with the environment, where there is less of a threat to global safety? We must first convince all the other countries who are polluting to stop doing so, and adopt a universal standard for emissions limits. Until that is accomplished, we are only going to lose more jobs and tie the hands of our manufacturers by attempting to act hastily on an issue that is still hotly debated by scientists. So as not to be entirely negligent toward the environment while a diplomatic solution to a universal standard is being worked on, we should be investing in green technology, which in the long run will save more trees and create a cleaner environment than immediate pollution limits.

Article X : Energy & Natural Resources

As in other things the government should not be picking winners and losers in choices of energy and other natural resources. The United States has significant energy reserves and natural resources. All of these resources will be needed to transition from a carbon intensive economy to alternative energy economy. The government is best and most effective supporting research into new ideas and technology but the free choices of the people decide the winners and losers. Oil may be the standard of the past but will be continue to be significant resource in the future, as such the United States must not be dependent on unfree areas of the world for this resource.

Article XI : Euthanasia

A person has a right to their own life, over which the government holds no legitimate claim. If a person chooses to end their life, it is theirs to end. The government has no place regulating such a personal decision. Legalize euthanasia.

Article XII : Foreign Policy

America's foreign policy has been one of nation building for too long. The people, not the government, suffer from war. War is not to be brought forth irresponsibly. It is a very serious matter, which puts the lives of many at stake, most of whom are innocent of the crimes of their governments and dictators. Under no circumstances should America enter into war without first declaring war through congress. Second, under no circumstance should America go to war unless its citizens are under direct attack by a hostile nation. To attack and occupy an entire nation, justified by the actions of a few of its citizens, is absolutely unacceptable. Such was the case in the occupation of Afghanistan.

Article XIII : Financial Markets

Need input

Article XIV : Freedom of Speech

Freedom of speech is paramount to the right to pursue happiness. It must be absolute, and unchallenged. Unless a person's speech directly violates the rights of another person, their speech is protected under the first amendment.

Section I : The Right of The People to Peacefully Assemble

"NO LAW SHALL BE WRIT" means exactly what it says. Under no circumstances should people be arrested, or assaulted, for peacefully protesting on public property. No permit shall be required to do so, as this implies that the people must first ask their government for permission to protest. If it be the government that they are protesting, asking permission is clearly an illogical act, and a tool for tyranny. When we, the people, choose to send someone a message, it must be heard.

Article XV : Internet Regulations

Quite simply, the internet will be left unregulated, and untaxed. Period. No exceptions. This is the last place where freedom is guaranteed by anonymity and a lack of unnecessary laws. The people are very satisfied with the state of the internet, minus the current government regulations that do exist. The government's role should be to address issues where the people are expressively unsatisfied. You should be regulating the present, not the future. When we are not happy with the state of the internet, we'll let you know, and then you can make laws to suit our needs. Until then, please do your best to stay out of our business.

Article XVI : Gay/LGBTQ Rights

The government is blind to gender, belief, personal use of property, etc. That is true neutrality. Unless it can be proven that LGBTQ people are in some manner violating the rights of others by expressing their personal preferences, no law shall be passed against them. As was stated in the section of affirmative action above, no law shall be passed to provide them with special treatment, either.

Section I : LGBTQ Marriage

Marriage can not be defined by the government. The government is not a dictionary, nor ought they pretend to be. The government has NO opinion on this matter. Marriage is not a government controlled contract, it is a personal private contract, which ought to be protected by the government as an individual's right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness. If a person wants to marry a tree, let them marry the tree. It is none of the government's business.

Section II : Gender Identity

No person should be discriminated against due to actual or perceived gender identity, gender non-conforming, or transgender status. Current laws regarding government identification documents (including birth certificates, passports, drivers licenses, and other ID cards) should be examined to ensure that everyone can have the their preferred gender preference (or lack of gender preference) indicated (or not indicated) on those documents. Why does gender matter so much anyway? We're all people!

Article XVII : Government Oversight

Section I : Re-opening the investigation of the 9/11 tragedy

Many people were not satisfied with the investigations into the 9/11 tragedy. A great deal of controversial evidence has been presented by the public, potentially accusing sensitive parties such as the George W. Bush administration, that has gone without an adequate response. We believe it is time to open a new investigation, conducted by an independent party selected by the people. Citizens should be able to have faith in their government, and when a significant number of those citizens draw up serious allegations against said government, they must be put acknowledged. To ignore them shows blatant disrespect for the concerns of the citizens, and their right to be satisfied by the truth.

Section II : Reducing the size and scope of congressional bills

There are too many bills moving through congress at any given time, most of which are unnecessary, and almost all of which are far too long and complex. It is imperative to the people, who desire to monitor their government transparently, that we are able to read each bill passing through congress. This is entirely impossible as the situation currently stands. The average number of pages for a congressional bill continues to increase, and the language used continues to become more and more legal jargon. There is a fundamental implication here that seems to have been overlooked. If an issue is so complex that the government can not write a bill without excessive legal language, creation of committees, creation of agencies, etc. Perhaps government should not be writing a bill on this issue in the first place. It should be fairly obvious when an issue threatens the civil liberties of the people. That is the role of government, not to force morals upon people through laws, or to regulate the thoughts of its citizens.

Section III : Executive Orders

No where in the constitution does it grant the President of the United States the power to write and pass executive orders. All current executive orders should be slowly phased out, and no new executive orders should be written. The founding fathers, through the constitution, established a system of checks and balances for a reason. No one branch of government was ever meant to have that much power.

Section IV : Government Immunity

The government shall write no law that applies only to the people and not to themselves. The government shall have no exemptions to the law of the land. If government officials do not live as the people do, under the same laws that the people do, how can the government understand and represent the people?

Section V : Amendments unrelated to the bill

All amendments that are not directly and obviously related to a bill should be wholesale rejected. If you want to add something such as a gun rights amendment to a health care bill, you need to write a separate bill advocating gun rights. This sort of political gaming is an example of immaturity that has no place in the halls of congress, where matters of life and death are literally being decided.

Section VI :

Article XVIII : Gun Laws

The constitution provides for the right to bear arms. The government's job is to enforce the law, not to preempt it. Thought policing is among the most dangerous acts of tyranny imaginable. A person has every right to own a gun, but no right to use it on an innocent. Such cases are for the courts, not government mandates. As to the degree of weapon, it is again none of the government's business. Criminals have always proven to be crafty enough to obtain weapons when so desired, through whatever means necessary. It is the right of an individual to defend their life against an attacker, and thus they should be permitted to have the necessary means to do so. No bans on weapons should be in place. To create a law based on the presumption that a person "could…" should be an act of treason.

Article XIX : Health Care

It is understandable that many people, in and out of government, want to provide free health care. However, the failure of social security and medicare, as well as all other government managed programs, should be a sign that such an endeavor is not in the best interest of the people. Health care should not be subsidized by the government, which ultimately feeds into corporate and political corruption. People are struggling to pay for health care because of the government's poor management of the economy, and their failed regulations/subsidization within the industry. If government does its job and taxes are low enough, individuals will be able to afford health care through private insurance companies. If the government should have any role what so ever within the health care industry, it should only be to ensure that the contracts are being fairly upheld by the insurance companies. Dropping insurance coverage that was promised in a legal and voluntary contract is in fact a violation of an individual's right to life and liberty. When a person dies from cancer because they were lied to by a corporation, that is murder. Murder DOES fall within the jurisdiction of the government, and they should prosecute these companies to the full extent of the law. Laws should be passed to ensure that no individual is turned down for private health insurance due to pre-existing conditions.

Section I : Treatment of the 9/11 response workers

Anyone who participated in the heroic rescue attempts of 9/11 should have all illnesses that appeared after 9/11 paid in full. It does not matter whether or not pre-conditions existed that may have lead to the illness. They risked their life and the likelihood that the toxicity of ground zero at that time agitated any illness that occurred afterwards is high enough to justify the simple sign of our gratitude. To question their honesty and the legitimacy of their illness is outright insulting. To bail out banks and auto-companies for trillions of dollars, but leave the firefighters and policemen who respond to a national emergency high and dry is a new kind of low. Support them, no question asked.

Article XX : Immigration

It is recognized that the United States is a nation of immigrants who came here seeking a better life. Naturalization should be open to everyone, regardless of how they entered the country. Citizenship must be a requirement for all benefits paid for by citizens. If any government program is citizen funded, it may not, under any circumstances, be taken advantage of or utilized by non-citizens. If you do not pay into the system, you do not take out of the system. Furthermore, if proof of citizenship is required to utilize any of the benefits that undocumented immigrants are seeking by crossing the border, they will be caught and prosecuted upon attempting to access them. Naturalization options will be offered when such a situation arises.

Section I : Border Defense

Murder is not a justifiable action in defense of a border against a non-militarized citizen of another country. The laws of the United States, as they stand at the time of this writing, do not permit an individual to use lethal force to defend property, only the life of themselves or another. The individual is, however, permitted to use other non-lethal force to defend said property. The United States of America is the collective property of its citizens. Citizens and government, thus, may be permitted to use non-lethal force ( such as in the case of riots, etc. ) to compel non-threatening invaders ( such as innocent, but illegal, immigrants ) to leave our property. If America were not deploying its state and national guard overseas in illegal quagmire wars, those soldiers would be available to guard our borders as is implied by their title "guard". This is, however, a short term solution, as it is impractical to permanently deploy our guard to the southern borders. Private property should be defensible by private parties, without the use of lethal force unless defending against lethal force. Public property should be defensible by public organizations, such as border patrol, local law enforcement, minute men, volunteers, etc. Once again, without the use of lethal force unless defending against lethal force.

Section II : Ethical treatment of Illegal immigrants present (i.e. Who have already crossed the border)

Ethical treatment of illegal immigrants should not be punished, as they are not enemies of the state. Once an illegal immigrant has crossed the border, they should be refused all rights intended for U.S. citizens only. They should be refused access to all U.S. citizen programs such as food stamps, Social Security, free medical care, free education, etc. If they still choose to remain here illegally, despite having no access to the benefits of U.S. Citizenship, that is their choice to make and risk to take with their own life and the life of their family, if applicable. Little opportunity to game the system presents little incentive to cross the border illegally. In the case of the authorities discovering and capturing an illegal immigrant, such an individual will be deported without further penalization.

Section III : National ID Card

We cannot afford to institute a new program for a national ID card when our debt is so high. A national ID card will enable the government to overreach and cross-reference your ID number with all transactions and generate a summary of activities. The Fourth Amendment states that "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated …"

Section IV : English as official language

While English should certainly be an official language of the United States, there is no reason it should be the only language officially recognized. Our nation is made up of immigrants with various languages and that should be celebrated and respected. Our motto "One Out of Many" was originally written in Latin (E Pluribus Unum). Everyone can understand the rights and responsibilities of being an American when told in their own language.

Article XXI : International Trade

Need input

Article XXII : Labor Unions

Labor unions should never be illegal. So long as corporations take advantage of their employees, there will be a need for unionization.

Article XXIII : Medicare

Need input

Article XXIV : Military & Defense

Need input

Section I : Veterans Rights & Care

Need input, especially regarding the treatment of illnesses including stress and trauma disorders, which may belong in the article on health care.

Article XXV : Social Security

Social security is a failed program. Young people should be given the chance to opt-out, so we do not have to pay into a system we will never see the benefits from. In the meantime, social security should be propped up by the government until those currently relying on it no longer require it.
In the future, if another social security style program should be started, it should always be optional to participate in. Of course, those who did not participate would not be allowed to reap the benefits.

Article XXVI : Welfare

Need input

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