America’s Government
IS BROKEN
Disfunctional
Good Governance Demands
Leaders with the Highest Standards:
Impeccable Integrity
Genuine Statesmanship
Selfless Service
Only Together Will We Fix it!
With One Click
How Can We Fix Something
Broken for so Long?
All Past Efforts
Have Been Too Small
It Will Take Time
And the Dedication of 10 Million Americans
Just 3 Percent of Our Population
Many of Our Leaders Are the Cause,
Manipulating The Truth
A Half-truth is the Most Cowardly of Lies
Mark Twain
Just 3 Percent of Our Population
With Each Supporter Putting Up
An Average of $100
To Raise $1 Billion
To Counter the Influence of $55 Billion
Spent by Special Interests in the Last 20 Years
The First 24 Issues
To Reform Our Governance
Many of Our Leaders Are the Cause,
Manipulating The Truths
A Half-truth is the Most Cowardly of Lies
Mark Twain
It Will Take Time
And the Dedication of 10 Million Americans
Just 3 Percent of Our Population
With Each Supporter Putting Up
An Average of $100
To Raise $1 Billion
To Counter the Influence of $55 Billion
Spent by Special Interests in the Last 20 Years
The First 24 Issues
To Reform Our Governance
Many of Our Leaders
Are the Cause,
Along with Aspects
Of Our Government’s Structure
And Unjust
Political Traditions…
Like These…
Lying as a StrategyLying, as a political strategy, is entrenched in our political system. We need to stop it and confront leaders who lie. One solution is to add the legal requirement to – speak the truth – to their oath of office, with repercussions when it is broken. Money Corrupts Politics Over $3 billion is spent yearly on lobbying, over $55 billion since 1998. This corrupts politics. $6 billion is spent during our general elections. If you are not sure that this is too much, imagine a pile of $1 bills over 400 miles high, twice as high as the International Space Station. We spend 120 times more than is spent in England’s general elections. We could learn from them, and what one country can do, another can do. It must be our priority to take at least 95 percent of political spending out of politics. Lack of Integrity We must no longer tolerant politicians who lack integrity. We must speak out each time they lie or support special interests above the interests of the people. We can’t expect good government to flow from electing politicians who lack integrity. False Ideology Replaces FactWe must run our government on the best factual information, rather than using political or ideological information. We must base our country’s governance on facts, not unproven or false ideology or ideology catering to special interests.
Gerrymandering & Voter Suppression Gerrymandering has been used since the 1780s for politicians to select which citizens can vote for them, by setting voting district boundaries. The citizens should be the only ones selecting who will represent them. Some states are now setting district boundaries using non-political committees. Voter Suppression is still going on. We have state politicians who think it is proper for them to control who can vote, by culling voter lists if anything varies in different sources of personal information, requiring street addresses from people who don’t have them, moving or reducing polling places, and more. Reform Congressional RulesCongressional Rules need to be reformed to promote greater cooperation in Congress, and more democratic functioning. When the Senate eliminated the 60 vote rule to confirm Supreme Court Justices, the selection process became completely partisan. This is not beneficial for American Justice. The Problem Solvers Caucus, a bi-partisan group of U.S. House members, is working for bi-partisan solutions. Lack of Term Limits46 states have Term limits for State Supreme Court judges, from 6 to 14 years. 15 states have Term Limits for elected officials. In 1947 Congress pushed for and passed a Constitutional Amendment to limit Presidential terms after Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to 4 terms. They wanted to limit Presidential power, and the same is necessary for Congress. We now have government policy by re-election. If a policy supports re-election, Congressmen will support it and vote for it. Term limits are necessary to encourage our leaders to focus on serving the people, doing the right thing, rather than that which supports re-election or the wishes of special interests, who are funding continuous re-election. National term limits for Congress, Federal Courts, and the Supreme Court, would promote better governance and weigh more power toward the people.
Lack of Recall20 states have Recall for state officials. 34 states have Recall for local officials. Our Republic’s responsiveness to the people would be enhanced by a National Recall Amendment – to remove members of Congress, the President, and Federal or Supreme Court Judges, allowing the people to play a bigger role in directing and approving of government. Low ApprovalIt is hard to imagine that recently our Congress has had an approval rating as low as 10 percent; our President – as low as 32 percent; our Supreme Court – below 50 Percent. No other organization could continue to operate with such low approval. The Incompetent actors would be removed. Suspension of Regular OrderIn the last two years Congress has regularly suspended the Regular Order of legislation – crafting laws behind closed doors; without expert public testimony, debate, public review, or even time for lawmakers to read the bills. This type of behavior will never support good governance. Revolving DoorThere is a revolving door between government employment and business employment. This serves to further increase the influence of business in government. It must be stopped if the people truly want to own our Democratic Republic.
Touch To View
But We can Fix it!
Benjamin Franklin
We Watch Our Leaders
Remain Silent in the Face of Injustice
When Conscience Demands
Speaking Out
Too Many Leaders are Driven by
An Ideology of
Perpetuating Power and Self Interest…
Rather than Dedication
to Serving the People
We Need Leaders
Who Care More About Us
Than About Their Political Careers,
Who Seek First to Act
In Our Best Interests!
To Create a Government
Of High Ideals and High Integrity
Our People Must Actively
Participate In Politics
Thomas Jefferson
The American People have Never
Created an Organization
With the Political Power
To Fix Our Government’s Flaws.
Isn’t it Time
We Do So.
Citizen Involvement Is The Missing Ingredient Of Good Governance!
“If You See Something Wrong Happening In The World,
You Can Either Do Nothing, Or You Can Do Something,
And I Already Tried Nothing”
Steve Trevor
We Must Become
America’s Most Powerful
Political Force…
To Lead and Inspire Our Government
Americans Desiring Better Governance
Can No Longer
Forsake Participation in Government.
Enlightened Governance
Demands The People’s Oversight.
First Five
Crucial Steps
To Responsible Government
1
Unite 10 Million People
Of Conscience Who Desire Just Governance!
Raise $1 Billion Dollars
Just $100 Per Person
To Counter Over $55 Billion
In Lobbying Dollars
Spent by Special Interests Since 1998
And Tens of $ Billions More – Spent to Fund and Sway Elections
Take a Look…
This is the Face of Money Corrupting Our Government for 20 Years
Misc Business $8.37 Billion Health $8.33 Billion Finance/Insur/RealEst 8.31 Billion Communications/Electronics $6.65 Billion
Energy/Nat Resource $5.91 Billion Other $4.15 Billion Transportation $4.12 Billion Ideology/Single-Issue $2.61 Billion Agribusiness $2.4 Billion Defense $2.31 Billion
Compliments of: Center for Responsive Politics – some of 121 industries profiled
Click For Link
2
Organize And Fund 22 Reforms
Shown Below In Detail
Hiring a Cast of Thousands – to Simultaneously Reform Many Issues!
 1 Our Goal Unite All Groups Seeking Greater Justice & People’s Rights Open Secrets, Politifact, Snopes, Fact Checker, League Of Woman Voters, And Hundreds More… _________________________________ Many groups are working to preserve freedom in America, and improve the level of justice in our government. We can unite as many as possible to work together toward a common goal of improving our society. We can even help fund those that need assistance. |
 4 Constitutional Recall Amendment to Recall The President, Congress, Federal & Supreme Court Judges We Elected the President & Congress; We Need To Be Able To Remove Them – Including Judges. _________________________________ 20 states have laws that allow the recall of elected state officials. 34 states have some form of recall for local elected officials. It makes sense that those who have the ability to elect officials, should also have the power to remove them for just cause. |
 7 Reform Rules Reform Political Parties Democrats finally Reduced the Power of Super Delegates Our Goal Must be to Expand the Power of People, Not Party Leadership _________________________________ Political party rules reflect the desire of party leadership to maintain power. If we want a government more responsive to the people, it must start at this level. Fixing The Democratic Party Virginia GOP Rules – Restrict Voting |
 10 Financial Balance The Budget – 22 Trillion Deficit Winning Re-election Takes Priority Over Balancing Our Budget. That Must Stop Term Limits And A Balanced Budget Amendment Are Possible Solutions _________________________________ Both of our main political parties have done a bad job balancing the budget. The last revenue surplus existed under Bill Clinton. Because our leaders have their focus on winning the next election and making a career of politics, rather than a time of service, they have failed to do what is necessary – to increase taxes to cover spending and/or decrease spending to match taxes. Unlimited election terms have removed the desire for sensible monetary policy. |
 13 Reform Rules Reform Laws – To Encourage Voting For Much Of Our History, Voting Has Been Discouraged Only 55.4 % Voted In 2016, 90 Million People Failed To Vote Government “By The People” Needs Increased Voting _________________________________ In this chart, you will see that it took until the mid 1890s before we reached 20 percent of the U.S. population voting for President. What does this say about our governance? 22 Countries have mandatory voting laws, with penalties ranging from mild to more severe. We should consider this and offering incentives to vote, making voting easier. |
 16 Our Goal Create The First Website with Unbiased, Accurate Facts On America’s Issues No Spin, No Slant, No Disinformation, No Misinformation Government Decisions Must Be Based On Accurate Facts _________________________________ Politics stands alone among all disciplines, in choosing not to seek accurate information to guide it. Why has our government never created a reliable source of information on America’s issues, to educate our people and our leaders? |
 19 Financial Minimum Wage A Living Wage Minimum Wage Jobs Are Needed People Working These Jobs Need A Living Wage _________________________________ Companies are finding that when you pay very little, people have no loyalty and leave for better opportunities. Some companies have found the cost of hiring and training new people, exceeds the cost of paying people a reasonable wage to stay in their jobs. |
 2 Legislative & Justice Stop Voter Suppression & Gerrymandering No State Should Discriminate Against Minority Voters No State Should Set District Boundaries To Manipulate Voting _________________________________ Voter Suppression was once by pole tax, literacy tests, and intimidation. Now it is more subtle: purging people from voter lists; requiring people to have a street address, which might not exist on an Indian reservation; and moving the voting center out of town. Gerrymandering has existed since 1788 and is still alive. Gerrymandering Defined Pennsylvania Gerrymandering Voting History |
 5 Constitutional Term Limits For Congress, Federal & Supreme Courts Prevents Policy Making To Secure Re-Election Stops Continual Fund Raising From, And Allegiance To Special Interests _________________________________ 15 states already have state congressional term limits. 46 states limit state Supreme Court terms, from 6 to 14 years. The lack of U.S. Congressional, Federal and U.S. Supreme Court term limits fosters dysfunction and corruption in government. Unlimited and lifetime terms has not proven to benefit American governance. Majority Favor Term Limits Term Limits Explained State Term Limits |
 8 Constitutional Abolish Electoral College The Electoral College Concept Is Out Of Date Created Out Of Fear And Lack Of Knowledge Of Democracy Abolishing It Would Move Our Government Closer To Democracy _________________________________ We have an Electoral College because America’s founders distrusted democracy. There was a fear of the tyranny of the majority. One way to stop that is with an Electoral College. In 2000 and in 2016 the candidate winning the popular vote, did not win the Presidency. Electoral College Defined Bypass Electoral College Fact Check Electoral College |
 $91 Billion in Fines for Bank of America 11 Financial & Ethical $321 Billion In Bank Fines But No Jail Time Since 2008, Banks Fines Exceed $321 Billion Bank Of America Fined $91 Billion Only One Banker Goes To Jail – Astonishing Injustice _________________________________ In some states stealing $1000 is a felony, subject to jail time. How can our society justify allowing bank managers to steal billions of dollars and serve no jail time? Only one banker goes to jail. $321 Billion In Fines Bank Of Am. Fined $91 Billion |
 14 Legislative & Justice Affordable Universal Healthcare 120 Countries Have Less Expensive Universal Healthcare We Can Emulate The Most Successful _________________________________ When big money flows into U.S. Congressional campaigns from health insurance companies, our elected officials protect them from competition. Many countries have proven that there are better solutions for Universal Healthcare than putting profit making insurance companies between a doctor and the patient. In reviews of the best healthcare systems in the world, France has come in as number 1. The U.S. is always way down on the list. What one country can do, another can do. Healthcare Cost by Country Cost Comparison Countries With Universal Healthcare |
 17 Legislative & Justice Equal Women & Minority Rights The First Woman Was Elected To U.S. Congress in 1916 & The U.S. Senate in 1932 All White Women Could Not Vote Until 1920 Same Sex Married Became Legal in 2015 by Supreme Court Ruling People of Color are Still Denied Equal Rights _________________________________ Women are sometimes paid less than men while doing the work. Minorities are incarcerated at a greater rate than white people. Only recently have protections and rights of LGBTQ people shown some improvement, but they still have a long way to go. |
 20 Financial Affordable Or Free College Democracy Requires Educated People 36 or More Countries Offer Free Or Low Cost College Education _________________________________ What one country can do, another can do. We must continue to educate our people – for better governance, for better jobs, for a better life. 24 Countries With Free Tuition 7 Countries Tuition Free More Free College 33.4 Percent Over 25 Have A College Degree The Issues In Germany |
 22 Legislative & Justice Resolve Immigration Issues Every Person In America Came From Somewhere Else, Even Native American Indians We Need To Decide How Many People Can Enter And For What Reason _________________________________ America is a country of immigrants – every single one of us. Even Native American Indians came across the land bridge from Russia to Alaska. Our diversity has been our strength. Anthropological studies of DNA now show that mankind originated in Africa, then mixed with Neanderthals in Europe and Denisovans in Asia to populated the earth. There is only one race of humans on this planet, even though we may look different or have different skin colors. |
 3 Financial Remove Money From Politics $6 Billion Spent In General Elections $3 Billion Yearly Lobbying Political Spending Is Out Of Control _________________________________ England has a population 1/4 the size of the U.S. population, yet in the 2012 general elections in both countries, the U.S. allowed political spending 120 times that of England. BBC – $6 Billion vs. $49 Million Money influencing election |
 6 Legislative & Justice Lying In Government Must Have Legal Consequences We Have Penalties For Lying In Court, Lying To Congress, And Lying To The FBI The Oath Of Office Can Contain A Promise To Be Truthful, With Repercussions For Lying _________________________________ Why would we make it illegal to lie in the three cases above, but allow our Leaders to lie to the American people? Shouldn’t we want and expect our leaders to be of highest integrity — true statesmen and stateswomen? If we create repercussions for lying to the American people, it can only make our form of government stronger. It will make it harder for those lacking integrity to serve in government, but that too is a positive thing. |
 9 Reform Rules Reform US Senate & House Rules To Encourage Cooperation Senate and House Leaders Have To Much Power To Control Legislation Legislative and Committee Rules Need to Foster Cooperation _________________________________ It is clear that U.S. Senate and House rules could be changed to promote better governance. They could be improved to promote bipartisanship and to reduce the power of Senate and House leaders. |
 12 Financial & Ethical Prohibit High Frequency Trading & Other Market Manipulation HFT Account For Over 50 Percent of U.S. Equity Trades Since 2008 They Profit From Other People’s Trades, Manipulating The World’s Computerized Trading System _________________________________ HFTs are manipulating the world’s computerized trading system by employing extremely fast computers, located near the exchanges. Their speed advantage allows them to front run other people’s trades – jumping in front of a slower buyer, buying the intended equity, then resell it for a profit to the slower trader. Battle against High Frequency Traders Money influencing election |
 15 Legislative, Justice, & World Protect The Environment Promote Renewable Energy Responsible Governance Must Go Hand In Hand With Preserving Our World, Recycling, Cleaning Up Past Mistakes _________________________________ We must question the sanity of anyone not wanting to protect and clean up our world. Our very lives depend on this planet sustaining us and all the other species. There is really no choice but to protect this planet, in the best way we can. |
 18 Our Goal Create Scorecards Revealing Our Leaders’ Integrity Create a New Tradition of Honesty and Statesmanship Discourage Lying, Spinning, Slanting, and All Disinformation _________________________________ Good governance can not exist without truthful information at its base. If we allow our leaders to lie to us, we are accepting dishonest government as the basis of our society. Who would want this? Why do we accept this. We need to monitor the level of integrity of our leaders and remove those who can’t deal on the basis of truthfulness. |
 21 Possibly Constitutional Gun Control That Protects People In Our World Americans Rarely Need A Gun To Hunt Food, Or Form A Militia, Or To Prevent Government Tyranny _________________________________ When the Second Amendment was passed in 1791, with a U.S. population of 3.9 million, the flintlock musket represented the most common gun technology. The Brown Bess, shown above, of which 4.3 million were manufactured, was used by the British Army, and Americans, from 1722 to 1838. It fired one shot and was cumbersome to reload. It was not much of an offensive weapon for close range fighting for this reason. It would have been nearly impossible to use for a mass shooting. While guns that could fire multiple rounds were available, they were uncommon. The power of current weapons to enable mass killings could not have been imagined when the Second Amendment was passed. Would they have allowed everyone to own current weapons? Flintlock Musket Purpose of Second Amendment Gun Violence Numbers Switzerland – Many Guns – Low Shootings > 357 Million Guns |
3
Unite the Hundreds of Organizations
Already Working on Behalf of Greater Liberty
Expand Citizen Power by Uniting Like-minded People
Like…
Common Cause
America Votes
Center for Responsive Politics
Sunlight Foundation
Project On Government Oversight
Center for Effective Government
National Security Archive
League of Women Voters
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
American Civil Liberties Union
New Voters Project
Advancement Project
Democracy Initiative
Fund for Constitutional Government
ProCon . org
And Hundreds More…
Open Secrets
Sierra Club
Environmental Defense Fund
Coalition To Stop Gun Violence
Center for Science in the Public Interest
FactCheck . org
NAACP
4
Create the First Website Devoted to:
Accurate, Unbiased Facts on America’s Major Issues
No Spin, No Slant, No Disinformation, No Misinformation
Only Truthful Information
Should Guide the People and Our Leaders
George Washington
5
Create the First Digital Score Cards
Showing the Integrity, or Lack Thereof,
of America’s Leaders
In Government, Business, Media, and More
“I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough
to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles,
the character of an honest man.”
George Washington August 28, 1788
Let’s Supply
The Missing Pieces
America’s History of Injustice
Is the Source
of Our Political Dysfunction
243 Years of Slowly
Evolving Governance, where…
Human Rights and Equal Rights
Were Reluctantly Bestowed
It Took 50 Years After The Declaration Of Independence
Before 5 Percent Of Our Population Could Vote For President – in 1826
It Took 80 Years Before All White Men Could Vote, Not Just Landowners – in 1856
It Took 89 Years Before 4 Million Slaves Were Granted Freedom – in 1865
It took 94 Years Before Black Men, In Some States, Could Vote – in 1870
It took 137 Years Before U.S. Senators Were Selected By The Vote Of Citizens – in 1913
It took 140 Years Before The First Woman Was Elected To U.S. Congress – in 1916
It took 144 Years Before All White Women Could Vote – in 1920
It took 148 Years Before All Native American Indians Were Granted Citizenship – in 1924
It took 156 Years Before The First Woman Was Elected To U.S. Senate – in 1932
It took 178 Years Before The Legal End To Segregation – in 1954
It took 188 Years Before The Civil Rights Act Attempted To Outlaw Discrimination – in 1964
It took 189 Years Before The Voting Rights Act Attempted to Protect Minority Voting – in 1965
It took 192 Years Before The Fair Housing Act Tried to Prohibit Housing Discrimination – in 1968
It took 192 Years Before the First Black Woman was Elected to U.S. Congress – in 1968
It took 230 Years Before the First Muslim Man was Elected to U.S. Congress – in 2006
It took 233 Years Before the First Black President was Elected – in 2009
It took 242 Years Before the First American Indian Women were Elected to U.S. Congress – in 2018
It took 242 Years Before the First Muslim Women were Elected to U.S. Congress – in 2018
Our History Shows
Gradual Progress Toward
Greater Freedoms and Justice.
But it has Yet
To See Us Create
A Truly Principled and Just Government.
Let’s Not Wait… To Accomplish This!
United States Constitution
It has Taken 27 Amendments
And Many Laws To Reach
Our Current Level of Justice.
It Will Take More…
United States Constitution
We Must Decide…
How Much Control
Must Reside with the People?
How Much Integrity
Must Exist in Our Leaders?
How Much Participation
Must Arise from the People?
To Create Government
“Of the People,
By the People,
For the People.”
Abraham Lincoln
We are the Hope for
Just Governance…
This Is A Call
To 10 Million People Of Conscience...
Just 3 Percent of America
TO UNITE!
Robert H. Jackson
U.S. Attorney General, U.S. Solicitor General, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
“It is not the function of government
to keep the citizen from falling into error;
it is the function of the citizen
to keep the government from falling into error.
President James Madison
On Knowledge – In 1822
“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance;
and a people who mean to be their own governors
must arm themselves
with the power which knowledge gives.”
Education is the basis for creating enlightened governance.
Our Declaration Of Independence
States that the People have
the Right to Change the Government…
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
Politicians Respond To
Pressure!
Only Many Active Voices
Will Encourage Congress
To Act In The Best Interests Of The People
“The best way to predict your future
is to create it.”
Abraham Lincoln
President James Madison…
“Justice is the end of Government. It is the end of civil society.
It ever has been, and ever will be pursued,
until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit.”
President Thomas Jefferson
Noted In 1799:
“The most effectual means of preventing
the perversion of power into tyranny are to illuminate,
as far as practicable, the minds of the people.”