The most important things for the federal government to work on

Check out this list of America's priorities, as voted on by real Americans (these are results from a Gallup poll). I've been looking long and hard at this list for many of the priorities announced by the Republican Party (here are some), but I don't see any of the following:

  • Keeping gays out of the military or keeping gays from getting married.
  • Attacking worker's unions
  • Making certain that the Federal Government embraces the worship of God.
  • De-funding public broadcasting (NPR
  • De-funding Head Start
  • De-funding the Department of Education.
  • Deregulating businesses who provide America's food.
  • Promoting fossil fuel usage.
  • Prohibiting abortion.
  • Investigating American Muslims.
  • Protecting the wealth of the wealthiest Americans.
  • Enhancing the profitability of Wall Street banks.
  • Tearing down laws and regulations that protect the environment.
What else am I missing?

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Ham and Eggheads

Ken Ham is the head of Answers In Genesis, an organization that promotes and perpetuates the Creationist view that the Earth is less than ten thousand years old, that homo sapiens sapien trod the same ground at the same time as dinosaurs, the the story of Noah is literally true, and that evolution is All Wrong. He’s an Australian and a biblical literalist. He built the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky, in 2007. Check the link for an overview by an (admittedly) biased source, but for simple clarity is hard to beat. It is a fraud of research, flagrantly anti-science, and laughable in its assertions (in my opinion). Ken Ham is one of the more public figures in our current national spasm of extreme religiosity. He’s attempting to have built another show-piece in Kentucky, a theme park based on Noah and the Flood. The problem with this, however, is that tax dollars are being used in its construction and it is a blatantly religious enterprise. In the meantime, Ken Ham and Answers In Genesis have recently been disinvited from a conference on homeschooling.

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How to amend the U.S. Constitution in light of Citizens United

"Democracy is for People" is floating two candidates for Amending the U.S. Constitution to course correct after Citizen's United.

We’ve suggested a couple of possibilities at this point. One would state:
The freedoms of speech and the press, and the right to assemble peaceably and to petition the Government for the redress of grievances, as protected by this Constitution, shall not encompass the speech, association, or other activities of any corporation or other artificial entity created for business purposes, except for a corporation or entity whose business is the publication or broadcasting of information, when such corporation or entity is engaged in that business. A corporation or other artificial entity created for business purposes includes a corporation or entity that, although not itself engaged in business pursuits, receives the majority of its funding from other corporations or artificial entities created for business purposes.
Another possibility would be:
Congress and the States may make laws imposing reasonable restrictions on the speech and association of corporations and other artificial entities created for business purposes. This article shall not authorize restrictions not otherwise permissible on the freedom of speech or of the press enjoyed by a corporation or entity whose business is the publication or broadcasting of information, when such corporation or entity is engaged in that business. A corporation or other artificial entity created for business purposes includes a corporation or entity that, although not itself engaged in business pursuits, receives the majority of its funding from other corporations or artificial entities created for business purposes.
These two possibilities would have somewhat different implications in practice, but both would permit Congress to regulate political spending by business corporations. There are other possible approaches. These suggestions are just the beginning of what must be a thoughtful discussion to determine the best language to protect real people’s right to speak freely and to protect the press from government censorship, while making clear that these rights do not extend to corporations’ speech (except for speech by the media).
Democracy Is For People is a project of Public Citizen.

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Politicians try to clarify their confusion

It's amazing that someone as incoherent on Libya as Newt Gingrich is being considered to be presidential material. Gingrich is as incoherent on this topic as Barack Obama who, for the past few weeks, has been saying that Gaddhafi has got to go. Until today, when his press secretary (I just saw this on CNN) stated that regime change is not a goal of the military action in Libya.

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