If I were U.S. president... (unemployed, enemy, weapon, borders)

[LancasterNative]

Originally Posted by Moth

Did it not remove forced segregation in public schools? The busing came later in the 70s. I agree with the futility of it, but I do not know if I would blame Brown for that.

A strange irony, usually overlooked in discussions like these, is that segregation often occurs voluntarily. People naturally gravitate to those they have more in common with—whether it's culture, educational background, income level, or even something as trivial as skin color.

Perfect example: Columbus Africentric School

No joke! This is not something any white establishment ("The Man") came up with. The school in question here is a bona fide attempt by African Americans to "develop an African-centered holistic education system" for their own kids.

What's more, I'm not knocking it. My overall premise here is that voluntary, personal choices lead to better overall results for people than government-made dicta.

[fishmonger]

I don't have answers, so I would hire smart people to answer my questions and then judge their answers and base my decisions on those judgements. I'm not going to pretend like I KNOW what the best option is for Iraq, for healthcare, education, poverty, etc. I have opinions but I don't completely trust them--what if they're tricking me? But... if I were president, to be vague, I'd probably want to gear up the War on Poverty, legalize some of harmless "crimes," replace the Iraqi occupation/government bolstering with some type of international peacekeeping force (Seems like the best idea to me but maybe I'm wrong... then again I'd probably be wrong if I had any other opinion on Iraq since nobody really knows what the best one is), not invade any countries that don't directly attack us or our allies, but support international peacekeeping efforts for humanitarian issues (have a foreign policy that emphasizes WORLD interests instead of just US interests), try to create single-payer healthcare or something similar, change campaign finance/elections to be more democratic, and probably fail at nearly all of this because I'd be a weak leader and an even worse politician. Don't vote for me!

[grew-up-3rd-culture]

Originally Posted by fishmonger

I don't have answers, so I would hire smart people to answer my questions and then judge their answers and base my decisions on those judgements. I'm not going to pretend like I KNOW what the best option is for Iraq, for healthcare, education, poverty, etc. I have opinions but I don't completely trust them--what if they're tricking me?

Not smart. You would be contradicted at times. But more importantly, it would be a conflict of interest.

[Moth]

A strange irony, usually overlooked in discussions like these, is that segregation often occurs voluntarily. People naturally gravitate to those they have more in common with—whether it's culture, educational background, income level, or even something as trivial as skin color.

Perhaps true, but we are not talking about naturally gravitating. It seems to me that the government has no business telling black students or white students where to go to school beyond the reasonable, geographic boundaries of their local school district. If it ends up 50/50, 90/10 or 99/1 without interference, so be it.

[grew-up-3rd-culture]

Originally Posted by Moth

Perhaps true, but we are not talking about naturally gravitating. It seems to me that the government has no business telling black students or white students where to go to school beyond the reasonable, geographic boundaries of their local school district. If it ends up 50/50, 90/10 or 99/1 without interference, so be it.

I think I would agree with your statement at this time.

[LancasterNative]

Originally Posted by KerrTown

*Institute SI Metric as the sole and official measuring system of the land as per Article I, Section 8 and lead by example by using ISO A4 paper instead of "Letter" and using hole punchers and other office supplies compatible with the new environmentally friendly ISO series papers. (My First Commandment: Thou shalt not have other Kings besides Me--the foot's length is based on a 12th-Century ENGLISH King's foot. This is not acceptable in our Republic.)

The Metric system sucks! I have a better idea: let's teach the rest of the world to appreciate the beauty and merits of the English Imperial system. The Metric system to me is another one of those "globalist" cultural infringements on U.S. sovereignty, kinda like soccer. I refuse to give up good ol' feet, miles, pounds, gallons, and acres...

Originally Posted by KerrTown

*Replacing the polluting dollar bill with the more environmentally friendly dollar coin and propose a new quarter-eagle ($2.50) coin to replace the $2 bill.

I have no strong feelings one way or t'other. Coins do last longer, and would be more cost-effective in the long run...but I wish they'd figure out a way to make them clearly larger than a freakin' quarter! Your idea for a new $2.50 quarter-eagle is very intriguing!

Originally Posted by KerrTown

*Eliminating Daylight Savings Time and transitioning to UTC to eliminate time zones and jetlag.

Amen! DST sucks and serves no apparent purpose.

Originally Posted by KerrTown

*Prolonging the flashcut of February 17, 2009 to a date 15-20 years in the future and requiring that all TVs sold must have a digital tuner.

I'm not even sure I understand what this is about

Originally Posted by KerrTown

*Re-establish the FREEDOM of Movement by eliminating immigration laws and basing rights and responsibilities on residency and making moving to the U.S. easier. Ex-pats who vote in elections make me mad!

American citizenship is a sacred privilege. I do not want to see it watered down or compromised in any way. As for illegal aliens, doesn't the Constitution require the FedGov to defend us from foreign invasion?

Originally Posted by KerrTown

*Legalizing Drugs and removing ageist Alcohol laws and other ageist legislation. Use the time for drug commercials to educate the public about the rules of SI especially for spacing, symbols, and prefixes.

At least I'm with ya about the alcohol...

Originally Posted by KerrTown

*Establish Pay-As-You-Go as a constitutional amendment. I've seen it work in TEXAS with majority Republican-representation. Without that Constitutional provision, TEXAS would be bankrupt. I heard a rumor that they cannot even balance their own chequebooks.

Does this mean replacing taxpayer-subsidized gov't programs with gov't services supported by user fees? If so, I agree this idea has merit and should be explored further

[fishmonger]

Originally Posted by grew-up-3rd-culture

Not smart. You would be contradicted at times. But more importantly, it would be a conflict of interest.

I don't mean I would follow them, I'd listen to their ideas (which I would have them write based on my own general ideas) and decide whether I liked them or not. I'm better at deciding whether I like an idea than I am at coming up with one of my own, especially when it comes down to the little specifics, loopholes, etc. But like I said, I'd be a bad president.

[Greatday]

Let's see - it is my turn in the Oval Office:

I would,

See that legislation was introduced to allow our military to actively participate in sealing our borders. I would also enhance the Immigration controls to allow for expedited deportation of those in this country illegally. At the same time, I would assure that the military has the latest and best equipment possible. I would see to it that our brave men and women received significant pay and benefit increases

I would propose a phasing out of the income tax to be replaced with a flat tax with no deductions with the first $25,000 of income being tax free.

I would eliminate the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. I would return education back totally to the states

I would appoint judges to the court who would not be activists on the bench and who would adhere to the Constitutional intent of our founders

I would propose allowing younger workers to be able to invest in private securities from a portion of their social security withholdings - giving the worker the right to decide what to do with their money

I would request an amendment to the Constitution to prohibit flag burning

I would request an amendment to the Constitution to make English the primary language of this country for all government activities

I would, by executive order, require a review of all departments in government to see where there was duplicity in efforts - so that these duplicate efforts could be eliminated. And, to see where any existing departments could be sunseted or where they could be reduced in size.

[LancasterNative]

Originally Posted by Moth

If it ends up 50/50, 90/10 or 99/1 without interference, so be it.

Exactly! I'm in agreement

[grew-up-3rd-culture]

Originally Posted by fishmonger

I don't mean I would follow them, I'd listen to their ideas (which I would have them write based on my own general ideas) and decide whether I liked them or not. I'm better at deciding whether I like an idea than I am at coming up with one of my own, especially when it comes down to the little specifics, loopholes, etc. But like I said, I'd be a bad president.

If using your idea, I don't think you should even be president. LOL Let alone if you somehow won the presidency and were a bad one.