Change the US Constitution

[emzie]

The limits in place are enough. It's just that nobody's paying any attention to them.

Yeah, for instance Iraq only happened because of a rubber-stamp Congress. Human-rights abuses? Rubber-stamp Congress.

The Presidency in itself doesn't come with a ton of powers.

 

[IglooDame]

Making Voting Day a national holiday would be good.

I have a solution to identifying illegal immigrants - a national database of fingerprints/DNA, which does not have personally identifiable information in it.

When a child is born in the US (and as a part of getting its birth certificate), it gets a DNA swab taken and a lab processes it and sends (say) three-dozen markers to the central database. As part of the ceremony where an immigrant is granted citizenship, their DNA and fingerprints are added to that database. When someone enters the country legally on whatever visa, their fingerprints/DNA are taken and they are added to that database with whatever expiration date is on their visa. If someone is found without ID and is a suspected illegal immigrant, just take their DNA and check it against the citizenship database - it comes back with a yes/no, and they can be deported immediately with no further investigation. As an add-on, their fingerprints/ID get added to the "bar entry" database and they're never allowed legal immigration into the country ever again.

Probably too much to go into a constitutional amendment, though.

 

[scy12]

Making Presidential Election day a national holiday
The Arnold Rule: Allowing non-americans to serve as president
I have a different idea. I am now president with dictator powers for life. My first action is to make Usa a vassal of the Greek empire.

 

[IglooDame]

Making Presidential Election day a national holiday
The Arnold Rule: Allowing non-americans to serve as president
I have a different idea. I am now president with dictator powers for life. My first action is to make Usa a vassal of the Greek empire.

Whups, you forgot to nerf the Second Amendment.

 

[scy12]

Whups, you forgot to nerf the Second Amendment.

Who cares ? I got the military ...

 

[Grisu]

only voted for the Arnold Rule. not because of Nöldi, though. I just find it kinda funny that a getting a citizenship won't get you the same rights and duties as someone born with it.

 

[emzie]

only voted for the Arnold Rule. not because of Nöldi, though. I just find it kinda funny that a getting a citizenship won't get you the same rights and duties as someone born with it.

My British citizenship has limitations compared to a 'normal' British citizenship.

 

[Ayatollah So]

Creating a national set of standards for election procedures

I missed that one. I like it, but IMHO what should be in the Constitution is just the requirement that Congress write such standards, and once written the first time, thereafter should require a supermajority to revise them.

On the national holiday for elections: yes, and combine it into some already existing national holiday (Independence Day seems logical to me).

 

[Masquerouge]

Why don't you just make Presidential Election Day a.... SUNDAY?

Case closed!

 

[DaveShack]

I voted "other ideas".

Rewrite the 1st amendment clauses relating to religion to reflect the original intent, which was to prohibit "establishing a state religion", not the current mis-reading of prohibiting "supporting any religion".

First amendment revision requiring reporters to reveal their sources in evidentiary matters and other matters where the greater good is overriding.

Second amendment revision taking out the militia reference (and thus allowing firearms to anyone whose rights are not forfeited by right of law).

Fourth amendment revision limiting the practice of discarding questionable evidence to those cases where there is substantive evidence that it was or would have been obtained illegally. (assume cops are honest and criminals are not)

Repeal the 8th amendment entirely.

 

[downtown]

I
Repeal the 8th amendment entirely.

Thank God you weren't a framer!

 

[Fugitive Sisyphus]

Thank God you weren't a framer!

I assume it is because the term "cruel and unusual punishment" has changed considerably since 1791. Originally it referred to things like torture devices. Today, not serving ketchup in a prison cafeteria is considered cruel and unusual.

 

[Godwynn]

Why don't you just make Presidential Election Day a.... SUNDAY?

Case closed!

Then people would . .. .. .. .. . about Sunday being the day of rest.

So we move it to Saturday, but that would be too easy.

 

[Masquerouge]

But seriously, why don't you hold the Presidential Election day on a sunday?
Would that require a change of the constitution?

EDIT: Crosspost with Godwynn, but still... why on Earth is Election day not on a day when people can go vote?

 

[Fugitive Sisyphus]

Then people would . .. .. .. .. . about Sunday being the day of rest.

So we move it to Saturday, but that would be too easy.

The Jews who control the United States wouldn't allow that to happen.

 

[Godwynn]

But seriously, why don't you hold the Presidential Election day on a sunday?
Would that require a change of the constitution?

I think the election day is something like the Tuesday following the first Monday in November. I'm trying to find it in the constitution somewhere.

EDIT: Its not in the constitution, it was a law by Congress in 1845 IIRC.

 

[Masquerouge]

I think the election day is something like the Tuesday following the first Monday in November. I'm trying to find it in the constitution somewhere.

Wow. So you're still voting on Tuesdays because it says so in a document written when voters were white landowners who had nothing else to do on Tuesdays but go voting...

I understand not wanting to fix what's not broken, but we've hit the limit here, don't you think?

 

[Godwynn]

Wow. So you're still voting on Tuesdays because it says so in a document written when voters were white landowners who had nothing else to do on Tuesdays but go voting...

I understand not wanting to fix what's not broken, but we've hit the limit here, don't you think?

It was in the 1800's so the voters were just white males. Cut us some slack.

 

[CIVPhilzilla]

Abolish the income tax, a horrible amendment to a great document.

 

[emzie]

Election Day Holiday doesn't require an amendment.