If you were POTUS for one week, name anything you would do.

[Jamaal510]

I'll start: I would bring up issues that I feel should be addressed more such as national legislation for marriage equality, legalization of marijuana, more gun control laws, instant run-off voting, universal health care (considering we're the only industrialized country remaining that doesn't have it), and why we can't end the Afghan war sooner.
In addition, I would also explore the entire White House and take photos, I would ride around in the president's limo, and I would go and meet all of the prominent political figures.

[SwampG8r]

1. all of the above and

prank phone calls
order the rock and roll hall of fame to induct the monkees
ghost tours in the white house followed by ouija board
white house wine cellar
have a kennedy center night for blues guitarists real ones not the shit that walks around going "oh..well im a blues guitarist"
what else block party
sleep in the bedroom everyone said the clintons rented out and not pay
secret white house tunnels
go to the smithsonian and put on all the jewels in the natural history museum
order in ribs from dreamland

[Syrinx]

3. Yum. Dreamland.

I'm only about five miles from the original location. Unfortunately it's 3:35 A.M. Otherwise I'd ride over there and eat.

[SwampG8r]

4. i bet there are some in there if you can just get inside

here is a alabama story
wife and myself in huntsville pick up rental car at airport
lady says"aint got no tags but you tell them susan at the airpot said we were getting it in the mail and show them your papers"
and she said it so sweet and pretty it made sense at the time
that night going to find dreamland we got pulled over
"wheres your tags?" the giant huntsville bubba asks
so we told him all about susan at the airport and he looked at the papers and he said
"well..ok if susie says it i guess its right where yall going tonight?" and we said dreamland to which he replied
"oh man i love me some dreamland.... come on and follow me" and proceeded to give us a lights and siren escort to dreamland
and refused to let me pay

[Syrinx]

5. Those ribs are great, but I don't want to get sent to the big house for grand-theft-ribs

Plus, I would have to cook them myself, and I'd probably mess them up.

[lovemydog]

10. possible duzy nominee

possible because I don't know how to do it.

[Syrinx]

2. end the war on hippies

[JVS]

6. End the wars.

[SydBAThule]

7. End the United States as we know it

basically divide the country up to either 50 states or a number of regions.
a large group wants a gun toting christian theocratic nation they can have it.

We as a people would all be better off too.

Besides this is not unprecedented, the Roman Empire became too large to govern so they divided the empire.

America had a population of about 2.5 million people in 1776 when our form of Government was born.

Today we have over 350 million people; our current form of Government is clearly not working.

[Diclotican]

17. SydBAThule

SydBAThule

In all fairness, the communications in the roman world was different from what is possible today - and it was seen not as a final way for the Roman Empire.. The idea of an single roman empire was there, the whole way from 290 and forward to at least the year 1000 that it was One single roman empire in the world.. It was seen at the time, just as an necessary setback, as one single emperor was not able to be everywhere at the same time.. The whole roman world was at the time in chaos, threatened by "barbars" on all borders.. From a logical point, it was necessary to have more "commanders in chief" on important points, to wage the war against the barbars more effective.. And a idea of two emperors - Augusts and two Caesars (crown-princes) who learned the rops under the aegis of a August was just a smart move, to get the roman Empire more effective... And the idea of two Emperors and two Caesars, was at the time not that bad an idea.. Better than to keep to one emperor - and in the end the whole empire broke down... After all, it was "the eternal empire" ruled by emperors who had specially powers (even though it first got into the game late in the empire, in the first part, the emperors was mere "first by equals".. A idea by Emperor Augustus, who camouflaged the idea of an Emperor by republican collors...

And the empire lasted long after Diocletian's and his fellow soldiers was dead - it was first, in the west by 476 the empire finally ended, when Odovakar, the barbarian King in charge, decided he could be "King of Italy" for himself.. And end the idea of an Emperor all togheter... And the idea of an roman empire in the West Survived the whole way down the histories to 1806, when Bonaparte deiced the last emperor had to be used to be a smaller man, and ended up been the Emperor of Austria instead.. In the east, the empire ended first when the Ottomans conquered Constantinople in 1453, 19 of May if the history is correct....

US can, reform, and work out a government who could work more effective and better for more than 300 mill pepole.. Other nations, who have similiar population - or larger manage to do it, why should not US do it?

Diclotican

[SydBAThule]

19. You ask why should not US do it?

I ask why waste the time, effort and money?


America is moving further and further apart, IMHO the grand experiment has failed.

Our current form of Government evolved from a Democratic Republic into a Full Blown Fascist State.

It is time for a do over, even Jefferson knew it would not last.

[Diclotican]

21. SydBAThule

SydBAThule

Well, you are just one voice, that feel that the best solution to the current problems, where parts of the US is different (by some way way worlds apart) and the best is to split it up, and let it goes to smaller parts.. Who could be more easy to govern...

Every government could end up in a full blown fascist state - but every nation, and government can reform, and be more easy to work with.. But it is more easy just to quit, then to do the hard, brutal, often painfully reformers, who could make a country better, and more for the people than before....

And I believe US to be able to make the transition from what it is today, to a better, maybe less powerfully state intact.. Even when it would be a hard time, where mad-mens, extremist and the like would love to make the situation as worse at it comes... And you have indeed many extremist in the US this days... Specially in the "conservative" camp.. The irony is that the conservatives maybe look at this camp, and say the exactly same....

US is an great experiment, thats for sure - and it might fall - as all empires of the past.. But I do believe the United States of America have many years ahead of it yet - before the dark nights end the experiement...

Diclotican

[dballance]

8. Single Payer

And I'd go for pulling out of the Middle East, squashing the rhetoric on Iran.

I'd also look at increased fees, taxes, and tariffs on all that crap coming in from China that has drained the jobs from the US and all the service work that went to India. Tariffs can be dangerous so I'd have to really look at that before acting.

I'd also look at ending the "drug war." It's foolish and wasteful of resources. Not to mention it, like prohibition before it, has done nothing but help create a great mafia making millions that aren't even taxed.

[cali]

9. alas, you couldn't do anything to affect change.

[vlyons]

11. 3 things I would do as POTUS

1. All troops home from Afghanistan by Thanksgiving
2. Decriminalize marijuana to same category as alcohol and tobacco
3. Actively campaign for Amendment to get money out of politics

[Cooley Hurd]

12. Ban the Republican party

Use the military for a complete takeover of all branches of government. Order the arrest of Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld, etc. I would rename the USS George HW Bush the USS Cooley Hurd and use it as my private airfield. I would make Rachel Maddow my Prime Minister (since I would then be King) and the former Republican members of the House and Senate would be the new White House groundskeepers.

I would then attack/invade the Vatican so I could also be Pope.

[bamacrat]

13. Legalize Marijuana, Single Payer, cut defense budget in half...

I would do those three things while raising tax on richest 1% to 40%, and re-institute Glass-Stegal, or at least a modernized version of it. Oh and I would want to find out if aliens are real, who really killed JFK and any other paranormal/supernatural stuff the government knows about.

[lovemydog]

14. I'd use my only State of the Union address

to say I'm not doing a thing until Congress passes free national health care and eliminates the deficit by cutting military spending in half. During impeachment proceedings I'd combine crying with raging attacks on Fox News, before getting involuntarily committed while giving everyone the finger.

[Selatius]

15. Advocate for a constitutional amendment formally instituting publicly funded campaigns.

If we can get corporate special interest money out of political campaigns, then Wall Street would likely lose its grip on Congress after a few elections.

Also, election day should be made into a national holiday. That should be included in the amendment.

If you can get this one amendment passed, I think the obstacle to most other necessary changes would also be removed.

Without private cash polluting the campaigning process, I think the military-industrial complex would quickly lose its grip on Congress as well. You might actually see a federal budget that isn't so grotesquely tilted towards war and war preparation at the expense of everything else. If we look at a pie chart of the General Fund of Congress, it looks like something that came out of the Soviet Union. More than half of it is spent on the military.

[lovemydog]

16. that would kick ass

how can we start a grass roots movement on this?

[Vinca]

18. I would figure out how many things I could get done by executive order and start signing.

[no_hypocrisy]

20. First call John Boehner and Eric Cantor and tell them to watch me.

Then all of the stuff in the original post.

[rgbecker]

22. Close Gitmo.

[madokie]

23. I'd put forth an idea for a law outlawing Greed

Thats pretty much what it boils down too isn't it?

[meow2u3]

24. Here's what I'd do

I would:
- push for Constitutional amendments banning corporate personhood
- Constitutional amendments calling for Congressional term limits with a 12-year limit for Congress (2 Senate terms, 6 House terms, or 3 House terms and 1 Senate term).
- Constitutional amendments limiting the terms for Supreme Court justices and Federal judges to 10 years, with the option for the President to renominate the judge for one additional 10-year term upon the completion of his or her first term.
- A law that requires that a judge or Justice recuse him or herself when he or she has, or appear to have, a conflict of interest, with severe civil and/or criminal penalties for refusing to do so.
- single-payer health care with sliding-scale premiums. The more you make, the more you pay.
- steeply progressive taxation which taxes wealth at a higher rate than work.
- abolish the taxation of unemployment benefits, social security benefits, and monetary awards from civil rights and/or personal injury lawsuits.
- nationalize the Fed.

[HopeHoops]

25. Try not to get shot.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

26. Easy: Two chicks at the same time...

[IMG][/IMG]

[lpbk2713]

27. Investigate Katherine Harris and the Y2K Florida selection.

The hell with any statute of limitations. That blatant miscarriage
of justice is what got us to where we are today IMO.

[HooptieWagon]

28. Arrest the lobbyists.

Eliminate congressional healthcare and pensions. Eliminate corporate personhood.

[MrScorpio]

29. The magic of this imaginary exercise...

Is that, unlike the president himself, the player is free to engage in inconsequential speculation without the disadvantage of relevance or actual expectation of viable outcome.

But who cares?

Play on.