CraigBert — Feb 24, 2010Why change it when they can simply ignore it? If you read the original healthcare abomination after the first vote, you'd see clauses that treat some people differently. Also, I'm willing to bet a lot of money (if I had any ;D ) that the 2010 Census will ask for your race. How are either of those the same as "All men are created equal?"
Free speech is allowed as long as you don't say anything that pisses people off (and, whatever you do, don't say "Fuck" on TV or you can get fined $250,000 - the same applies for showing a nipple). Well, at least you can still take any supplement that you want. Riiiiiiiight.
Craig, nowhere in the Constitution does it say "all men are created equal." You are quoting from the Declaration of Independence, which does not have any force of law over the citizenry. In fact, you'd probably find the preamble to the Constitution reprehensible, since it includes the statement "promote the general Welfare". Look at that. Fucking WELFARE in the first paragraph of the Constitution.
Chase, I would change many things. First among those, States should be equally represented in both the House and the Senate. There is no decent argument that anyone can make that California, with 12% of the population, should have two Senators, and Wyoming, with .2% of the population, should also have two. It is entirely possible, under the Constitution, that legislation can be passed through the Senate by representatives of 20% of the US population. And a fillibuster-proof supermajority requires representatives of only 25% of the country.
Sure, you can say, you live in California... but that's my point. I have a 1 in 8 chance of living in California as a US citizen. It's not just that I think we get the short end of the stick, I think we don't even get the bark, based on our population.
And the electoral college is the same thing. Wyoming gets 1 elector for every 170,000 people. Texas gets 1 for every 700,000. It's ridiculous. Assign an elector for every 200,000 people. Or every 500,000 people. Or get rid of the electoral college altogether.
I don't think Supreme Court justices should serve for life. I think they should get a limited term. E.g. 24 years. A supreme in the prime of life could theoretically serve 50 years in the current court. This is way too long. A lot can change in 50 years, and we need fresh, smart, able legal minds on the court.
I don't think representatives should be elected every two years. I think 3-4 years at a minimum. The current system requires representatives to campaign constantly, and consequently, posture constantly, and consequently, get nothing done.
I think political campaigns should be publically financed, with a limit for each candidate that is the same, per office. You run out of money? No more ads. Go do some interviews.