Hear ye, Hear ye, the founder of the Liberty and Networking Party (LAN Party) will now shoot off the cuff and craft the Platform version 1.0 Beta! Know ye that comments are welcome!
1 : Social Issues Social Issues are based upon the assertion that the United States of America is the Richest Nation on Earth, and that a LAN Party government would use these resources for the benefit of all citizens, residents, and temporary visitors.
Don't Be Evil.
If you are hungry, you will eat, no matter your income or lack thereof.
If you are sick or injured, you will become well again no matter your income or lack thereof.
If you are being rained upon, you will have a roof over your head, no matter your income or lack thereof.
Food, Health Care, and Shelter will be the best that can be provided.
If you wish to work, you will have a job utilizing your abilities, and fairly compensated for said work.
If you want want to learn, you will be taught, no matter your income or lack thereof.
Private Enterprise is encouraged to compete with the government to provide these things to the citizenry, but if found to be evil will be disenfranchised, their clients receiving equal or better services from the government until such time they decide to leave the government program(s) and seek services from the private sector again.
10 : Civil Rights
Don't Be Evil
If it does not harm others, yourself, property, or society, it should be legal or decriminalized.
Religious principles will never be the sole basis of any law.
The Government will see marriage as a binding contract between people that have decided to hold property in common, share financial burdens, and assignment of a spouse as next of kin, and holder of all the rights entitled to next of kin.
The Gender of those in the marriage contract has no bearing on the contracts validity.
The number of participants in a marriage contract may be any number greater than one.
One can only belong to a single marriage contract at a time.
When joining an existing marriage, one is married to all the participants of the marriage equally, as they are all married to one another equally.
One may leave a marriage contract (divorce or anullment) without dissolving the marriage itself, as long as two or more people remain in the marriage.
The LAN Party will strive to re-strengthen the First and Fourth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States. Any laws that can weaken these amendments or any other civil right(s) will be voted nay in the legislature and not signed by the executive.
There will be established a body whose function is to enforce the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), with the power to conduct inspections (with warrant, do not forget the 4th!) fine non-compliant businesses and close businesses until they become compliant. If a business cannot afford to become compliant, they will be given a government grant to do so.
There will be an oversight committee in the legislature with the responsibility of guarding the established and implied civil rights of the American Public.
11 : Environmental Policy
Don't be Evil.
We don't give a shit about how entrenched oil companies are, or how much money they have, or how much money they will lose if we move to an economy based on cleaner, renewable energy sources for our power needs. They are welcome to remain in business as long as their product is in demand or petroleum remains in the ground.
Burning stuff for energy is not sustainable in the long run, nor is it particularly efficient. We will encourage the development of many energy sources that does not require burning stuff, or if we are gonna burn something, let it be a resource that is renewable, or in such great quantities will last the population of the Planet Earth until the sun goes nova.
Technology that will clean, inexpensive energy will be strongly encouraged, and funded well.
Trees are nice to look at, and they make oxygen. Let's leave the old ones where they stand. If you must use lumber for your products, grow your own. In the meantime, any trees you take, must be replaced by the current or following spring, whichever is sooner
Our waterways are nice to look at, swim in, they give us something to drink, and help grow our food. Let's keep them as clean as technologically possible, by cleaning current pollutants and keeping them from becoming further polluted.
Our atmosphere does many things for us, and we need it. Let's keep it as clean as technologically possible. No more allowances for pollutants. Any process that emits particles into the air will be the cleanest technologically possible. If you can afford it, you will upgrade at your own expense (feasibility to be determined by the government (loss of expected profit is not a valid justification) ) otherwise a grant will be awarded for needed upgrades.
100 : Information & Data Policy
Don't Be Evil.
You jointly own any information or data about yourself with whoever generates the information or data
When information about you is gathered you will be notified that it happened and who by.
When information or data about you is accessed you will be notified that it happened and who by.
You have the right to see, retain, and correct any information gathered about you.
If information or data about you is sold, you get a cut of the sale.
Copyrights will not last forever. Steamboat Willy WILL be put in the public domain. No more extensions for Mickey Mouse.
Work For Hire will be abolished and replaced with Work for Rent. Corporations may only rent and no longer own creative works. The Creator of a Work may rent it to whomever he or she chooses, but will retain the rights to said work. Only the original creator(s) of a work may hold copyright on it.
The patenting of naturally occurring phenomena or constructs (such as genes) will cease, and all existing patents of this kind made invalid. Discovering that something is so is not the same as invention.
The patenting of natural, logical, and intended uses and applications of software or programing languages or mark-up languages will be forbidden, and such patents already existing will be busted.
101 : Election Policy & Reform
All ballots used in elections must have a human-readable, voter confirmed, hard copy either as a primary ballot or as a back-up copy to be used in the event of a recount, or auditing of electronically recorded votes.
Electronic Voting Machines will be open source, and publicly audited.
Voter Registration and Voting Procedures will be standardized across the entire United States, all 3,143 Counties, Parishes, and Independent Cities.
The right of a citizen of the United States of America to vote for the President of the United States of America will be guaranteed. As it stands, there is no federal law stating so.
Reformation of the Electoral College system.
The Electoral College will become automated.
Electoral Votes will be proportional to the votes of the State's voters. If 40 percent of popular votes went to one candidate, 50 percent to another and 10 percent to a third, the Electoral Votes will divided along the same lines.
Electoral Votes will be established to represent Citizens not living in a state.
We will move towards Proportional Representation, hopefully ending the two-party strangle-hold on the legislature
.
110 : Foreign & Domestic Policy
Don't be Evil.
The power to wage war will return to the hands of the Legislature, and such powers will be taken from the Executive. If you want to go to war, you will have to justify your vote to your constituents, and cannot pass the buck to the President. We support a constitutional amendment to prevent the President usurping such powers and preventing congress from giving them up.
Help those other countries that require it the best we can, but not to the detriment of our own nation.
111 : Technology Policy
Don't Be Evil
Technology is good. Lets have lots of it. Lets have the best.
Access to the Internet should be unlimited and total for all.
No one should be kept from computers because of a lack of money.
Bureaucrats will not have the power to make rules that will break the net. Technocrats will make the rules, and if the nets break, they will be fired, replaced, and the rules repealed.
"Because its never been done" or "its scary" will not be basis to ban research or the introductions of new technology.
Technology that will cause an end to the world as we know it will be banned if evil, but encouraged if good. And the evil stuff will be looked at again later.
It was only established because votes had to be delivered on horseback from remote places, and because it was assumed that only land-owning males were intelligent enough to cast a vote.
I say, popular vote means popular vote. Forget this representative crap.
I used to think popular vote was the way to go. But doing so would allow the presidency to be won by only addressing the desires a few population centers, instead of a nation of a whole. We are still a Republic.
I think getting rid of the EC down the line would be a good thing, if a president was beholden to rual America as he or she would be to urban America.
112: Anyone who posts an entry long enough to warrant others having to hit the "PgDn" button SIX times to get past the entry after reading it the first time must institute LJ-cuts. ;-)
Oh, to live in a world where all of this would work. As is the problem with party platforms everywhere, the devil's in the details. Who pays for all these wonderful-sounding government grants? What effects do the 90% income taxes have on anyone's ability to be able to afford the things they need, much less want? How do you leave the President freedom to react in a time-sensitive situation that doesn't allow for Congressional consultation?
Dude, its a Party Platform, reality, and how to fund the programs are never part of campaign promises. The emphasis for the LAN Party is PARTY.
Every political party has an ideal. None ever reach it. Politics is an art of compromise.
This is pretty much a comic exercise, but I will stay in character and address your concerns.
Obviously other stuff will have to be cut to fund the social programs and Govt. Grants. One such thing will get rid of many sensless subsidies. Especially community recycling programs that end up costing more money, and using more resources than using virgin materials (paper & glass are the largest culprits here whereas aluminum recycling is actually cost-effective and enviromentaly sound). The Wool subsidy will go away, since it was started to motivate the production of wool needed for our military's uniforms in the first World War. Ditto with Hydrogen subsidies which was started to provide gas for the navy's airships and is no longer needed. (which might be reinstated if Fuel Cell technology takes off) The LAN party will Hire John Stossel of "Give me a Break!" fame to help us find Govt. waste to cut. We will also hire Penn & Teller as Press Secretary (they count as ONE entity, right?) to tell the people why these things are being cut in the format of thier popular Showtime series, "Bullshit!".
I bet you can think of a Govt. program or two you would like to see cut?
Yes, taxes will be high. Such is needed for a socialist democracy.
Forgot to address about war-making. The model would be that already spelled out in the constitution on a State's right to wage war. The model would be "No State shall, without the Consent of Congress,... engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay." That is only common sense. The situation that calls for action without delay will be met without delay.
Entering into a foreign war just cuz the President doesn't like how another country is run won't happen without a declaration of war from the congress. But a President should not be given the power to make war as he, a sole individual, sees fit. It was bad when Congress allowed it in Vietnam, but at least they had the wisdom to have a sunset on such powers. This open-ended deal the President is acting under these days is just an evil thing all around.
If you are sick or injured, you will become well again no matter your income or lack thereof. That's a real gray area. Doctors can't cure everything, and certainly personal preference and/or religion is allowed to veto doctor's efforts. I also imagine you'd be allowed to kill yourself (after suitable counselling effort was expended).
Wait, so we can be evil in elections? (you forgot one)
There could be a conflict with the "unless it's harmful it'll be legal" policies. How powerful will be, eg, your FDA? Will new tech be innocent until proven guilty, like DDT?
# If you are hungry, you will eat, no matter your income or lack thereof. # If you are sick or injured, you will become well again no matter your income or lack thereof. # If you are being rained upon, you will have a roof over your head, no matter your income or lack thereof. # Food, Health Care, and Shelter will be the best that can be provided. # If you wish to work, you will have a job utilizing your abilities, and fairly compensated for said work. # If you want want to learn, you will be taught, no matter your income or lack thereof.
These sound dangerously like a communist manifesto. I don't support rampant capitalism, but the communist 'each to his own ability' rule has been proven to fail. I know you made thses based on the fact that we as a nation can afford to do this. But I don't think the government has enough money to make this model sustainable.
I think every one SHOULD work. Not just those who wish to. No government should feed lazy people who are capable of working. the current system has it faults, but it works. Maybe all we need is a better welfare system that makes sure people on welfare receive fruitful training, which will help them find jobs. No one should be allowed to sit dile when they are capable of working.
And all remuneration should still be based on how much value a person contributes to his employer. Again, Which is pretty much how the current system works. However, the LAN party should provide free health care for all, free and cheap housing for all homeless people. However, it will definitely not be the best available...
zenmondo
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