Plan of Action for an Unfinished Nation AMERICA WILL BE BETTER By: Shara Rena Richards I. Government Reform A. Code of Ethics written into law for all Elected Officials. 1. Honesty and integrity will be mandatory. 2. All elected officials will be required to account for all monies they have 3. Politicians will not be motivated by self-interest 4. All decisions made will be based on what is best for it citizens and the nation 5. No public official shall receive a pay increase until the minimum wage is increased 6. Anyone breaking this code of ethics will be removed from office immediately B. The constitution and laws written in technical terms will also be made available in layman’s terms so that big government doesn’t seem so big C. There will be an independent accountability committee D. There will be a national audit 1. All unnecessary funding will be reallocated to paying off the deficit and progressive programs that are vital to our survival E. There will be a national Budget available for the public to see 1.The budget will itemize where every penny is spent 2. Nothing in this time of national need shall go to waste a. Every department that audits its self and has surpluses shall be poured back into that department until it is fully funded 3. Citizens will be encouraged to donate to any programs they choose and will receive detailed accounts of where their money went F. There will be no long-term vacancies of any government position to make transitions easier G. There will be more national votes on many issues so the people’s voices will be heard and counted 1. Votes will be counted by a minimum of three independent counting agencies that have no ties to anyone in government . 2. Will be counted a minimum of three times each 3. All levels of government will be required to give a one-month notice of any upcoming meetings or changes of any kind to encourage citizen participation 4. Government officials shall no longer take long sabbaticals or adjourn until these issues are taken care of H. The Electoral College will only be used in case of a tie I. There will be a separation of big business and government 1.Lobbying will no longer be done with money 2.Current lobbying is the same thing as bribery, which is punishable by law 3. All public officials convicted of a felony will not receive any further monies from the government J. Most, if not all of our military bases will be reopened and staffed 1. Iraq will have a 3-year period to get themselves organized 2. All people will be allowed to volunteer for the military 3. Voluntary military personnel will be respected K. All borders will repaired organized and staffed 1. Any person entering or leaving this country will register so we will have better knowledge of who is in this country at any given time 2. All persons wanting citizenship will be required to register, pay taxes and take English education classes 3. Any persons owning a business will be required to start paying taxes immediately L. Emergency preparedness is vital and we need several back up plans available *Government will make emergency preparedness and education a priority for all its citizens 1. Homeland Security and FEMA will be separate a. FEMA will handle natural emergencies b. Homeland Security will handle terror attacks 2. There will be clear concise communications and a defined reliable chain of command 3. A diagram of all departments’ state and nation wide will be made available this will help with our lagging bureaucracy and help empower the people M. All information updates and progress will be given to the media so the public can stay informed 1. The media will return to an independent source that will not bend to any type of censorship *we need to have ourselves in order first and be a stronger nation II Social Reform A. Stop the outsourcing of America 1. Everyone will be encouraged to buy American made first 2. This will drive up all levels of business and jump-start the revenue we need for change 3. Farmers will be encouraged to farm cutting down on unnecessary subsidies 4. This will help factories and communities to reopen and help small town Americana to achieve a better future B. Government will take rapid steps to re initiate communities love, respect and to appreciate Cultural diversity. C. Laws shall be passed immediately to let all mentally and financially stable citizens married or not to adopt D. Laws shall be passed immediately to allow connubial union rights to all same sex couples E. The DHS system will be overhauled immediately so it will enable citizens and encourage positive growth 1. DHS will account for monies after taxes not before 2. DHS will include car payments as a monthly bill 3. Any citizen that is on assistant shall continue to receive benefits for 1 year as long as they stay employed 4. DHS will be required to have child advocates on staff to investigate alleged abuse 5. Any purchases with a food stamp card must require identification F. Universal insurance will take the place of Medicare and be made available to all citizens who cannot afford their own insurance 1. The amount you contribute to universal insurance will depend on income and total number of household members 2. Universal insurance will help cover hospital bills, doctor visits, and prescriptions, long-term and short-term health care, dental, disabilities, and funeral expenses *universal insurance will drive down some of the economic traps we are setting for ourselves and will free up time and money to hospitals and pharmaceutical companies so that we can make the medical breakthroughs we so desperately need G. The social security system will be tiered 1. When you join the work force at 16 you will pay 15% 2. At 25 years you will go to 13% 3. Every ten years you will go down 2% until age 65 at which time you will be paying 5% and can go no lower than that (every ten years you would get a 2% raise in income) 4. 3% of these funds shall go to universal insurance 5. Stay at home moms and dads filing income taxes will automatically deduct 10% from their yearly tax check to pay for their social security until returning to work *all citizens should be encouraged to invest in mutual funds, stocks, IRAs and 401K’s to help guarantee their own retirement until the government can make these changes and guarantee your social security check this would also give our stock market a boom III. Environmental Reform A. The government will enact an environmental branch to be proactive in enacting laws immediately for a betterment of our future 1. All states with positive environmental laws shall submit these policies and procedures to the federal government to be adopted into law immediately for national use. B. Recycling will be made available on a mass scale •the current recycling rate of 28% saves the equivalent of more than 5 billion gallons of gasoline, reducing dependence on foreign oil by 114 million barrels. Recycling just 35% of your trash reduces global warming emissions to the equivalent of taking 36 million cars off the road. These numbers could be much higher! C. The state or federal government will back recycling plants this will be a major source of revenue and employment *Incinerating ten thousand tons of waste creates one job. Land filling ten thousand tons of waste creates six jobs. Recycling ten thousand tons creates 36 jobs. D. Our water sources shall be protected immediately 1. There will be national reclamations of all bulky items in our waterways to reduce pollutants a. Monies earned from this will be poured back into all the new environmental programs 2. All storm drains and run offs shall have mesh grates to slow litter and pollution from getting into our rivers, lakes, streams, and ocean *the current water companies can do this at little or no expense by charging installation maintenance and upkeep fees. E. All business will be required to be environmentally and employee friendly 1. Business shall allow time for employees to volunteer and participate in government 2.Business would be required and homeowners would be required to utilize green space and solar panels 3. Tax credits would be given to alleviate the expense *Green space would increase our oxygen, decrease pollution and help fight global warming *the solar panels will help us build up our own energy store and help us be a more economically independent country and help us to use less of our non-renewable resources. When our energy store is at maximum level we can sell or trade our excess energy to foreign countries especially the countries that are developing nuclear technologies for an “energy source” to help annihilate the threat of nuclear attacks F. We need to slow the destruction of our natural laws and start utilizing the space we have and enact a law that temporarily restrains any new development and insist on redevelopment. *this policy will help communities fill up and get more people involved in what is going on around them *this will also drive up the real estate market and help all areas of construction thrive G. There will be state and national composting heaps 1. The government can turn this into fertilizer and sell to farmers and other struggling nations to help with land enrichment and decrease the amount of unnatural fertilizers needed a. Any restaurants that contribute will get tax cuts H. All states shall back ethanol or bio fuel plants to decrease are dependency on oil 1. Funds from this can be used as each state sees fit for its own improvements 2. We will lower the gas price *the companies that put oxygen into tanks should consult with the EPA to figure an amount of oxygen they can stream into the air to fight the carbon dioxide I. All businesses and government departments will be required to recycle. IV. Education Reform A. Our children are our future workforce to have a better future for us all we need to act now 1. Until each school can get better funding a recycling program will be installed to get immediate funding 2. Teachers will be treated like the prized treasure they are and be paid accordingly 3. Each school must be brought to code so that our children have safe healthy learning environment 4. We will tailor the education to the child that way we utilize each child natural gifts and abilities a. We will have stronger math, science, english, literature, foreign language, physical education, recess, sports, music, and art programs b. There will also be sexual education and abuse education classes c. Firm environmental and volunteer programs and theology classes 5. Block scheduling will make these new programs work more efficiently a. We will lengthen the school day by thirty minutes b. Have year round school V. Untapped Resources *each state has the right to regulate trade between its borders A. Legalize gambling in all states B. Legalize lotteries 1. Have a one time national and or state lottery 1 million dollars to gain funding for new aggressive programs C. End the prohibition against marijuana *the current laws breed distrust and disrespect for the law and justice system overall. In addition, these laws are causing the major disconnect and defunct in our communities. 1. Citizen shall be able to smoke in their own homes 2. No one under 21 years of age can smoke or obtain permits 3. We will require permits to smoke and buy of $25 each per year *according to government figures, nearly 70 million Americans have smoked marijuana at some time in their lives. Of these 18 million have smoked in the last year and more than 10 million are regular pot smokers. That would be a minimum of 500 million annually a. The funds would be applied as the following (1) 13% each to police, military, and borders (2) 10% will go to the environment, education, and universal insurance (3) 7% to fund emergency preparedness and improving our state and national roadways (4) 5% to fund prison/ jail reform and national drug rehabilitation treatment facility (5) 3% to mental health institutions and neighborhood revitalization (6) 1%to taking care of national treasures 4. Permits and id must be shown a time of purchase 5. Sellers, farmers, and dealers will pay $500 for a yearly permit 6. Current farmer and dealers will gain federal backing after legalization 7. Current farmers will help in mass production and distribution of marijuana to sell in stores a. Stores will tax marijuana based on each states current tax b. Individual dealers will record all purchases and pay taxes on their entrepreneur business 8. The permit for an individual to have one plant will be $5000 dollars per plant a. For current farmers and dealers this grow permit amount and how many plants you have would vary based on distribution rate 9. No driving under the influence will be tolerated *each company that did not do a THC test would save on average $50 per each new employee hire *may also be a viable source making ethanol *is also a good for the medicinal relief smoking gives VI. Jail/Prison and Law Reform A. Crimes will no longer be considered blue collar or white collar we will mainstream laws to consider crimes violent or non-violent B. Prisons and jails will be separated by the type of crime either violent or non-violent 1. All non-violent offenders will be offered a recommendation to enlist in the military to work off their time and can reenlist if they choose 2. Persons charged with doing drugs that harm (meth, ice, heroine, crack or cocaine) and that are causing our social decline and have become raging epidemics will go to drug rehabilitation 3. Mentally unstable persons shall be remanded to the mental health institutes *this would give some individuals a new opportunity to a better future in life 4. Punishment shall be streamlined and make no exceptions based on color, gender or monetary station in life C. Prisons shall return to hard manual labor 1. Prisoners may clean out landfills and help keep our roadways beautiful D. All persons convicted of just marijuana crimes will immediately be released *this would free up desperately needed jail space 1. Records of marijuana convictions will be expunged 2. All persons with former marijuana charges shall regain the right to vote E. We need to update the laws to stay current with the changing times 1. All states will enact anti stalking laws 2. No one should be allowed to photograph or video tape you with out your consent 3. Anyone who talks to a minor under the age of 18 over the Internet about sexual acts with or to that child will be convicted of abuse of a minor 4. Child and victims advocate lawyers shall be made available that way all parties get equal representation 5. The three strikes law will be enacted for all states after committing three crimes you will go to jail for the combined time of all crimes committed VII. Things you can do to help (the American people are our best untapped resource) A. To show support in any way you can and to participate in these Peaceful demonstrations. 1. If having read this you believe that this will help then put out sign in your yards with the Internet address americawillbebetter.com on them 2. Pass out flyer's with the Internet address americawillbebetter.com on them to places where ever you go 3. Tell everyone you know about this spread the word 4. We want everyone to go outside his or her house on Saturday July 21, 2007 at noon and stay outside as long as you can. Walk through your neighborhoods and network. Then go in, watch the news, and be inspired at all the people who want change and want to help. 5. Then on Sunday July 22, 2007 at 1:00 PM. please flood the main roads near where you live and commune with your neighbors. Join ranks and spread the word so that all know there is hope for the nation. Get organized, to gain strength. Work with one another and join in. Go to the hearts of your towns and peacefully demonstrate strength in numbers 6. On Monday, go register to vote and grab a handful of cards so that you may help spread our power. 7. On Wednesday July 25th, 2007 and on Thursday July 26th,2007 have National Family Day's. It is your right to demonstrate and you will not loose your jobs because of your participation. Unplug all of your appliances that you can. Do not buy anything, no gas, no food, no telephones, no computers, use as little energy as possible, have a national stoppage of consumption. This will severely impact their Gross National Product. *To send them a message loud and clear that we do matter, we are heard and there will be changes. We have the right to protest at anytime and anywhere, we need a very peaceful demonstration, to show there is strength and stability in our mass numbers. B. Any affluent persons should write letters pledging funds to be available once the national budget is activated C. The government should facilitate these changes immediately, upon request or we will have to take over the November elections and do it ourselves. *we need to slow the upper class lower class spread encourage all citizens to donate whatever they have to help fix the problems and to help create a trickle down effect that would pour *so many things impact and affect one another that with so many people in this nation every little small thing you can do really will make a big difference *these programs will show other countries that we can think globally and be progressive like our forefathers and improve our international reputation and relations We need to update the laws and principles of government, there are new freedoms that our government needs to consider and protect. Like our freedom to go outside and breath, clean air, our right to healthy environments. Our pursuit of happiness is being infringed upon. Government can only exist when they have the consent from the governed, this current government is no longer concerned about it citizens and has broken its contract with us, so it is time for renegotiations. It is not only the peoples right, it is their duty to throw off such a government and provide new safe guards for their future security. Please spread the word. This is the letter from which the outline was drafted. Dear Citizens, Paul Revere did not get his message out by saying nothing at all so neither can we. We have decided to spread this letter to every person living in the United States of America. Together we can fix our problems. This is a detailed workable plan of action for an unfinished nation. America will be better. We need a total government, social, environmental, educational, and prison reform. We need to think reorganization and utilizing untapped resources. Remembering everything is connected. This open letter to the public will start a mass media buzz that will be hard to ignore, please let that buzz turn into a roar. Why should we push our belief that your nation is the greatest nation in the world when we are not half the nation we could be. Many people say something should be done and it is terrifying to hear elected officials saying they do not know what to do. It shows their ineptitude to all other nation. We should walk the walk and talk the talk. Show other countries that we can think globally and take the progressive measures that are necessary to safe guard the future of our planet. We need to lead by example and follow through, be held accountable and do the best we can to start fresh and new. To do what is best for our nation, our world and ourselves today. Our American forefathers set forth to bring about a new nation, one nation under God, for the people by the people. Well we say we should get back to that and do one better. We need a government for the people by the people, for the nation, for the world. More people vote for American Idol than they do in elections, because we have been sent a message, loud and clear, that our votes do not count and frankly neither do we. Well we do matter and we can make the difference, together. The people we elect are our leaders yes, but they do work for the people who elect them. We need to spark honesty and integrity at all levels. We need a strong code of ethics written into law for all public officials. When they break this law they will be removed from office. All Elected officials will be required to account for all monies they have. We need a common sense government that is going to do what is right for the majority of the population. No public official shall receive a pay raise until they can raise the minimum wage. The constitution and laws written in technical terms it will also be made available in layman's terms that way big government doesn't seem so big. We will have an independent accountability committee to make sure what has to be done gets done and to uphold the code of ethics. Our system of checks and balances is there for a reason and things do not seem that balanced to us. There will be a national audit to find out where every penny is spent. To audit our books and take all unnecessary funding and reallocate these surpluses to paying off the deficit and paying for the progressive programs that our vital to our survival. When we all put our heads together we can find a lot of untapped resources to generate revenue. All departments who audit themselves and find extra monies in that department that money should be put back into that department, so that it can make the necessary changes for improvement until it is completely funded and stable. Then what is left over can be transferred to pay on the deficit. With all changes being outlined, viewed by the public, so that we can see the changes in action. There will be a national budget available for the public to see. We need to slow the upper class, lower class spread so that we do not end up like Rome. There are things we can learn from our histories. If we all act now it can change for the better and this does not need to be a slow process. Government officials shall no longer take long sabbaticals or adjourn until these issues are taking care of. Change needs to start at the top levels and individually. In this time of great national need, if you own a house an economically safe car and can invest money in the stock market,and you have enough money to live comfortably on, then donate what is left of your money to help fix the problem. Half would go to the deficit and the other half would go to help initiate some of the new progressive programs that our vital to our survival, or individuals can choose which areas they want to fund. Since we will have a national budget then people will get an itemized list of where their money went, when they make their donations. What good is having all that money if your grandchildren and memory cannot live on? We need to get the officials who are bankrupting our American dollar and our economy out of office. When we all work together, we can make the dollar worth a dollar again. There should be no long term vacancies of any position. Hire people right away that way our government is properly staffed to make these transitions easier. We will have more independently counted national votes, on many of our issues, not just who is going to be president. All elections will be counted by three different agencies a minimum of at least three times each to ensure that our elections are our elections. The counting agencies can have no ties to anyone in government. The Electoral College was primarily enacted due to the slowness of news travel and we no longer have that issue, so now it will be used only in case of a tie. The past two terms show that our leaders did not choose wisely. When people know their opinion counts and it does, they will be more apt to register to vote, get more active in government, and community. Government needs to announce any upcoming agendas that way everyone can participate and help make the appropriate decisions for our nation. There is a separation of church and state; there will be a separation of big business and government. We will not let big business run our government. We will have strict anti-lobbying and no political self-interest laws because it is becoming painfully obvious that some of the current officials are willing to sell-out this nation to line their pockets. Sometimes lobbying is just a fancy word for bribery, which is punishable by law. Political self-interest is not what is best for the people. If businesses have enough money to give out, to swing votes then why don't they give the money directly to the government, to help pay off the deficit. All public officials convicted of a felony will not receive any further monies from the government. Most, if not all of our military bases should be reopened. All persons will be able to join the military. We need lots of voluntary military personal, who are respected,and available. Now that would be homeland security. This will also help individual communities to prosper. Homeland Security and FEMA shall be separate. They are already on the same team but they work much better as individual units. We need several back up plans in case of an emergency. Let FEMA handle all of the natural emergencies and save Homeland Security for fighting possible terror attacks. When need be they can all work together FEMA, Homeland Security, military, police, fire, and ambulance. We need clear concise communications between all parties and a defined reliable chain of command. There should be a diagram available for all departments nationwide and statewide to know who each person is and what they are responsible for. This will let people know who to talk to about their problems and if they are not being followed through with, then they will know who is above them, to get things done and to get citizens to help the government be more efficient. This would help speed up the lagging bureaucracy. When we follow a definitive chain of command our system will work much better and be more cohesive. We need to concentrate on the future, with the weather and other situations in the world it will only get worse before it gets better and we need to be prepared. We are in Iraq to spread democracy and freedom. We gave them our word and as people of honor we will do what we say. However, lets give them a time frame say 3 years to get themselves straight then withdrawal and staff our own bases with us supporting them if need be. When we have ourselves in order, we can go out and help the world, but we have to help ourselves first. We will have our borders and bases staffed and organized to be prepared for future risk not only from terror attacks but from epidemics as well. At one point or another, we were all immigrants. This is the great melting pot. We should appreciate each other’s differences and utilize them to the best of our abilities. This nation has become to worried about overpopulation and needs to go back to the Ellis Island idea where everyone registers at the borders, and any time entering or leaving this country. We will already be improving the borders through Homeland Security. This registration would give us more information as to who is in this country at any given time. Everyone wanting new citizenship will register and pay taxes which is yet another source of revenue for our government. Any person here who owns a business or has a job needs to start paying taxes immediately. English education classes would be mandatory for all new citizens to help communications with all parties. Allowing these new citizens in would also help our communities because the empty houses in our neighborhoods to fill up. Everyone needs to get back in the practice of loving thy neighbor because we are all neighbors. All progress information, will be given to the media, so that we the people, can stay informed. The media needs to remain an independent source that reports the facts and does not bend to any type of censorship. We will stop the outsourcing of America. We will encouraged to buy American first, any item made in America. Farmers will be encouraged to farm and get tax write offs for donations of food when there are surpluses. This would drive up all levels of business and jump-starting the revenue we need for change. Put a label on it to let people know that it is American made. This would also add pride and quality to our products and reopen a lot of plants, factories, and communities that were closed and help small town Americana to achieve better futures. We do need to keep our import export trade open due to our mass consumption and we cannot shut ourselves off to the rest of the world, so use the American brand first and when that is out of stock buy other countries products. One day the American brand will not be out of stock, then we can donate surpluses to the other countries suffering from famine. If you can hire a maid, gardener,personal assistant or a craftsmen, who will give you a unique and handmade item then do it, help stimulate our employment in all states. Help the workforce in any way you can. The government must not only reform in money matters but also in matters of the heart. This government needs to take rapid steps to re initiate communities, love, respect and to appreciate cultural diversity, to help stop the downward spiral we can all see. The people need to know that our nation cares for us. We must have a new era in life of human kindness to nurture the goodness in all people. One nation under God, one nation created by God and God is love. There are signs all around us that God is showing us. We can all see them. When we move forward with steadfastness and have respect for God's gifts then God will show us signs that it will get better. We have our human rights but we also need to think human responsibility to our fellow man, our planet, and ourselves. Laws shall be passed immediately to allow connubial union rights to all same sex couples Laws will be passed immediately that allows all financially and mentally stable citizens, married or not, who have love in their hearts room in their homes to adopt or foster children. Children just want love and a home. This would ease the burden on the DHS offices and would make more money available for food stamps. The DHS office will be better able to be child advocates and investigate alleged abuse, so that not so many of our children will fall through the cracks. The DHS system is a good place that helps people but needs overhauling immediately so it will better enable citizens and encourage positive growth. DHS will take in to account applicants post tax dollars. DHS will include car payments as a monthly bill. Any citizen that is on assistance shall continue to receive benefits for one year as long and they stay employed to help the lower income American families be more stable. All Purchases with a food stamp card must require identification. Universal health insurance will be available so that Americans can get healthy and early detection is much cheaper. Some people can afford to pay full coverage for their insurance and the ones who cannot go by a percentage that they earn and based on members in the household. This universal health insurance would help cover hospital bills, doctors visits, prescriptions, long-term and short-term health care, dental, disabilities and funeral expenses This would drive down some of the economical traps we are setting for ourselves. Everyone would profit, the doctors will be paid and Americans would not be in such debt over hospital bills. Making it mandatory for all people to have insurance or Universal insurance, would ease the burdens of hospitals and pharmaceutical companies making them more capable to concentrate on finding cures for AIDS, Cancer, MS, Parkinson’s and to truly explore the human body, so that we will make medical breakthroughs that we all so desperately need. Elderly people of this nation need to be treated with respect and dignity. There should be funds allotted for prescriptions, nursing home improvements and funeral expenses. Show them we respect their wisdom because they are the ones who worked hard and labored for this nation with us. We will all be elderly one day and do you want to live like some of our current elders do. Not one person should wonder rather they should pay for prescriptions, energy bills, gas or food. The social security system needs a complete overhaul. It is amazing that our citizens can live off so little, when so many have so much. Currently all people pay an across the board fee of 7.65% to fund not only their retirement but also Medicare. With the universal insurance system in place, it would alleviate the need to pay in for Medicare, that is money saved for our government right there. The social security system will be tiered. Where you put in the most when you first enter the work force 15% at age 16 and then at 25 you go down to 13% and you would go down two percent every ten years, until age of retirement of 65, at which time you will only be paying 5% and you can go no lower than that. However, you can continue working for as long as you want. Every ten years you would automatically get a 2% rise in income. Stay at home moms and dads do work at home. When they file their taxes at the end of the year, 10% will automatically be deducted to fund their social security. That way they still get to contribute to their retirement funds, rather they are working or not. When they go back to work, they will go back to funding social security through paychecks. This would create a more family loving atmosphere, more moms and dads could stay home if they choose, to help nurture the minds and hearts of our young. All citizens should be encouraged to invest in mutual funds, stocks, IRA's,and 401k's to help guarantee their own retirement, which will also give the stock market a boom, until the government can make these changes and guarantee your social security check again. It is time to make sharp changes in the way we think of our environment. We have executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government, we will have an environmental branch. We need this new branch to be proactive enacting laws immediately, for all our sakes. All states with positive environmental laws shall submit these policies and procedures to the federal government to be adopted into law immediately for national use. We need to protect our estuaries, wetlands, and coastlines, which are our natural filters from pollution. This helps stabilize our environment. Encourage recycling on a large scale. Nothing should go to waste; we need to find a way to recycle anything and everything. Where we do not have recycling plants, the federal government or individual states will back them. Giving us another source of revenue, from trash to treasure, making the recycling trucks just as much a priority as the garbage truck. Incinerating 10,000 tons of waste creates one job. Land filling 10,000 tons of waste creates six jobs. Recycling 10,000 tons of waste creates 36 jobs. The current recycling rate of 28% saves the equivalent of more than 5 billion gallons of gasoline, reducing dependence on foreign oil by 114 million barrels. Recycling just 35% of our trash reduces global warming emissions to the equivalent of taking 36 million cars off the road. These numbers could be much higher! We really need to start thinking globally this is the only Earth we have and the only place we have to live on. We will protect our watersheds, which are our entire natural and man made tributaries. These water sources lead to the oceans, our streams, lakes and our lands. We are polluting our land and oceans, which is affecting not only the quality of water all over the world but also affecting our food sources. We humans are made up of 98% water what is going to happen when that water gets dirty to? There will be an immediate national reclamation of all bulky items in our waterways to help reduce pollutants. When the government recycles this material it will give them another source of revenue, to help fund the programs that are vital to our survival. All storm drains and run offs will have mesh grates to immediately slow the litter and other pollutants running to our oceans and streams. The current water companies and or city service providers can do this with little or no out of pocket expense by charging the customers installation, maintenance and upkeep fees, with them going and cleaning the grates after every big rain. Individual states that make these changes would get incentives from the government. We need businesses and individual homeowners to use green space and solar panels on their roofs, with tax credits given to alleviate the expense. Green space would increase our oxygen levels, decrease pollution, and help fight global warming. The solar panels would build up our own energy store so that we may be a more economically independent country. When we have the maximum level possible of stored energy, we could sell or trade our excess energy to foreign countries. Especially the countries that are researching nuclear technologies for an "energy source”, to help annihilate the threat of nuclear attacks. This would also help all countries in their dependency on our natural resources, which are very limited. We will utilize the space we have and enact laws that temporarily restrains any new development and insists on redevelopment. This would drive up the real-estate market and help all areas of construction thrive, which would give us an economical boost. We need to slow the destruction of our natural lands. We need neighborhood revitalization for all the people who live in this nation. This policy would force the purchasing of already developed areas. When everyone has to buy existing houses, buildings, empty lots and vacant land, that they can remodel as they see fit, the communities would fill up and be more involved with what is going on around them, making neighborhood’s safer. All changes to the environment will be made for the people to see through constant updates of progress given to the media. Everyone’s involvement, education and motivation is critical to the survival of our planet. Trash dumped can pose a significant threat to all species on Earth. The government will pay workers or make prisoners go through our landfills and gather all recyclable materials. There will be national and state composting heaps. Which the government could turn into fertilizer and sell to the farmers in the U.S., at a very low rate or to other struggling nations, which would help with land enrichment and would decrease the amount of unnatural fertilizer that anyone has to use. This will also reduce the amount of pathogens that threatening the health of our planet. The restaurants that contribute to the compost heap would get tax cuts for being environmentally friendly. The companies who put oxygen into tanks should consult with the EPA to figure out how much oxygen they can stream into the air, to help fight the methane gases that are causing some of the hot house effect we are seeing. We have to have lower gas prices. We need to be at least semi oil independent so that we can be a stronger nation. We will follow in Brazil's footsteps and have each state back an e/85 or bio-fuel production plant. The states will use those profits to fund programs that each state needs for improvements. All citizens will be urged to plant a garden not only so that they help the environment, but also to give a food source in case of terror attacks or epidemic outbreak. We all need to have a short supply of water and first aid kit in case of an emergency, because being prepared is essential to our safety. There is no question, we are evolving. The question is, do we want to evolve to the people who helped destroy the earth or do we want to evolve into the type of people who deserve to live on this earth? Utilizing all of our natural resources so that these changes can help slow the melting of the ice caps, which are our natural reflection of the sun and stunt the growth of global warming. We will have strong funding for our education system. Our children are our future and we need to fortify them with as many tools as possible. This is do or die time, sink or swim. Our world is changing and we need to prepare our children for these changes, so that we have a very strong and intelligent future workforce. We will treat our teachers, who spend so much time with our kids, like the prized treasure they are and pay them accordingly. We will have strong math and science classes, so that we have future astronauts, scientist, and architects. We will have strong English, literature, and foreign language programs, so that our children speak well and read more books. To have more knowledge and be able to communicate with people all over the Earth. There should be no illiteracy. No child or person should fall through the cracks. We will strong physical education, recess, and sports programs so that our children learn at an early age, how to take care of themselves. To get active and stay active. We will have diverse music and art studies classes, so that there will be future great artist of this world. Not all parents can afford private classes and the best way to involve children in the arts is by exposing them to it where they are, school. We will have sexual education and abuse education classes. When we teach them the truth about good touching, bad touching, tell them knowledge about diseases, abstinence, the human body and ways to protect you, then they will be informed. Better-informed people make better life choices. Their will be firm environmental and volunteer programs, to educate them on how to help, to know earlier that they can make a difference. The volunteer and environmental programs will help children earn college credits and it will also help cut down on gang violence, due to the fact they would have some different options in life. When we spark the seed of volunteerism early, it encourages the children's natural want to help and do well. There will also be theology classes that cover the broad spectrum of all religions to help young adults be more understanding of different religions and different beliefs. Each school will have a recycling program; most parents want our kids to go to the best school possible and would be willing and able to carry recycling materials to school, to fund the account each school will have with a recycling plant. Each school will receive credits monthly from the recycling to help cover the cost of improvements, so that our children have a safe, healthy, learning environment and many diverse educational programs. We will regularly exam and test individual children, to gauge their level of advancement, and help their natural aptitudes. Tailor the education to the child, so if a child shows strong math skills, they could receive two classes of math a day while, still covering all subjects. Block scheduling, where you have three days of educational classes and two days of extra curricular classes and the following week it will be three days of extra curricular and two days of educational that will make this new system more balanced and more effective. We also will extend the school day by 30 minutes and the children will go to school wear round. All schools will be brought up to code so that our children may have safe healthy learning environments. We need our children to be strong advocates not only for the environment, truth and justice, but also for themselves. A good foundation of knowledge is a priceless gift, which will help ensue all our futures. When we institute these changes, we will have a more evolved workforce for our great progressive future that will help guarantee our survival. We need to do this so that our nation can rank #1 in education and by doing what’s right for ourselves, we are doing what is truly right for our nation and our world. We will aggressively pursue any and all untapped resources that would not only drive down the level of unemployment but will also increase the revenue we need for our economy and our new aggressive plan for the future. We will legalize gambling in all states. It is a win-win situation, more jobs, more growth, and more stability in our nation. The government could have a one time national lottery of 1 million dollars. With the population being well over 20 billion, a lot of people would be willing to give a dollar, not only to help their government, but also for the chance to win a million. What is left over after the million, can go to funding the immediate changes in our government and to hire staff necessary for these changes, not to mention that the interest accumulated would be a vast amount. Each state could also legalize lotteries to help fund individual changes. Our government needs to end the prohibition against marijuana. We are discovering that the crime and violence associated with prohibition is more damaging than the evil sought to be prohibited. Marijuana is far less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco, around 50,000 people die each year from alcohol poisoning and 400,000 deaths are attributed to tobacco smoking, when by comparison marijuana is non toxic and can not cause death by overdose. The prestigious European medical journal says, "The smoking of cannabis, even long term is not harmful to health,... It would be reasonable to judge cannabis as less of a threat... than alcohol or tobacco." Every state has the right to regulate trade between its borders. When we get people in office who want change, these new regulations will happen. Cannabis would increase our oxygen supply in that one plant gives off twice the oxygen as a tree. If companies did not have to do THC test, they could save an average of $50 per each new employee hire, which over a small amount of time, could save substantial amounts of money, to help each companies grow and improve. Marijuana also has many well-documented therapeutic uses. Cannabis provides symptomatic relief of a number of conditions. Everyone should visit norml.com for a complete informational outlet on this topic and any other truthful information about marijuana. People are in their houses right now smoking and do not call the cops on their neighbors being robbed, due to the fact their afraid if they call the cops, the cop will come bust them for there minor possessions. This is what is causing the major defunct in our communities. Most people, who smoke marijuana pay taxes, are law-abiding citizens, who love and support their families. And just for their recreational drug of choice, they are treated as criminals. If they are arrested and jailed then state agencies step in, declare the children of smokers in danger, and place them in foster homes. This causes great pain and suffering, not to mention financial hardships for millions of American families. The current laws breed distrust and disrespect for the law and justice system over all. The American people feel that the laws were not made for them so why should they participate. Many people associate marijuana along the lines of a cigarette or alcohol, a recreational outlet. Responsible marijuana smokers pose no threat to this nation or their children and should not be persecuted. There are drugs like meth, ice, coke, heroine, and crack that have become raging epidemics, which are causing our social decline. We will better benefit from our police officers concentrating on these and other hardened criminals. This will also help free up the police, to police our neighborhoods. Legalizing will help fund our police officers and help issue the total prison jail reform that we need in this country so that we can stop the revolving door. In 2000, the number of marijuana arrest, most for simple possession, exceeded the combined number of arrest for violent crimes including murder, manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault. In some states a person can go to jail for 10 years for a seed. We would much rather see that jail slot opened for a murder, rapist or child molester. Adults should be permitted to smoke in private. The government already has a marijuana tax stamp act all they have to do is make that stamp a permit and make it for sell. Legalizing is a great-untapped resource and would create a surplus and also employment opportunities. The current farmers will contact their governments, after it is legalized, so that they can be state and federally backed. To gain the permits to grow or farm it that way we can start to package the cannabis and sell it right away in stores, which would be taxed. In addition, stores must buy permits to sell this, as well as individual dealers and this is taxable income that the government is currently not receiving. The permit for an individual to have a single plant will be very high per plant to encourage mass distribution. These steps would also help obliterate the black market aspect of the drug. There is also the untapped resource of bi-products from the plant, like oil, rope and clothing. This might also be another ethanol alternative plant for fueling our cars. There would be strong fines for people without their permits, which must be shown at time of purchase, along with your ID., this would not happen very often because citizens would appreciate this gift of legalizing and would be very responsible. As with alcohol consumption, marijuana can never be an excuse for misconduct or other improper behaviors, such as driving or operating heavy machinery should never be accepted. According to government figures, nearly 70 million Americans have smoked marijuana at some time in their lives, Of these 18 million have smoked within the last year and more than 10 million are regular marijuana smokers. These people are not part of the crime problem and would not be treated as criminals if the government would take these progressive steps to creating an air of freedom and unity. The government will issue permits for $25 dollars a year each for people to buy it or smoke it.. With these new laws being enacted and people paying $50.00 dollars per year for permits to smoke and buy combined that would be $500,000,000.00 annual revenue. We should utilize these untapped resources right away. To fund 13% each to our police, military, and borders. The environment, universal insurance and school programs will get 10% each from the sales revenue of the marijuana. To also allot 7% each for emergency preparedness and improving our state and national road ways. 5% will go to prison/jail reform and the national drug rehabilitation centers. 3% will go to the mental health institutions and neighborhood revitalization. 1% will go to taking care of our national treasures. If a man goes in your house and steals $100,000 worth of stuff he would do hard time on charges of grand theft and larceny, so why should a corporate raider who stills $100,000 from your retirement account be treated any differently. White-collar crime, blue-collar crime, it is still crime and no person who commits crimes against other persons should be allowed special privileges. We need only non-violent and violent jails and prisons. We need to make all the jails uniform so that we can better use the funding; we have to create better safer jails that have better end results. Even some of our nonviolent offenders will be encouraged to enlist in the army, to work off their time and can reenlist if they choose. This will help give some individuals a new opportunity to a better direction in life and would also help staff our bases and free up valuable jail space. We also will fund the mental health institution, some people in jail would better benefit from the right care and this would be more humane. Use these funds from the marijuana revenue to initiate a national drug rehabilitation center to send non-violent offenders of drug abuse, of drugs that hurt and harm, like meth, crack, heroine and ice, so that we can help them to gain control of their lives. In addition, this will stop some of the prison/jail overcrowding. When you become but a habitual offender, after three tries, you do go to prison, facing all three previous charges combined. Their needs to be child advocate lawyers available, to children who are currently in or will be in our court system. The victims of crime in this world will be protected and new laws shall be passed to keep up with the times. Anti stalking laws are a must. No one should be allowed to photograph or videotape you in compromising positions without your permission. When a person uses the computer to elicit sex from any minor or speak to them, in a manner illicit itself,it is abuse to that child and will be considered a crime punishable by law. We need to stop putting band-aids on our problems and actually fix them. Everything is a circle and all things are connected. We need to make these changes not only for ourselves, but also for the future generations that will live on this earth. Together we will usher in a new era. The question is not what have we done, but what we can do! Time is an illusion and luxury that we do not have. We need to stretch out what we have, so that it will last. We will make it happen. Eventually we have to stop fantasying about what we want this nation to be and stop asking what can be done. This is what can be done, this is how and the time is now. Be proactive in your own fate. We where giving a beautiful world and we need to show our appreciation for it by taking care of it, we need to do this for the survival of all humankind. These progressive measures would help our government, our economy and our society, truly leading all to richer lives. This will create a trickle down effect that would pour. This does not have to be a slow process. We will be able to have a deficit free government within 10-20 years as long as we follow through and continue to update and prioritize our plans. By that time our new progressive work force will be able to keep these measures growing. We need to make sure our interior structure is sound first. This will be the house of cards affect where as each level falls away, due to the unsteady construction, you are left with a clean slate to build a better stronger house that will not collapse. Everyone knows one little thing that they can do, to improve their lives, jobs, and neighborhoods, well do that one thing then move on to the next. Be informed, we do not have to be sheep to the bad Shepherd’s. We need to take our blinders off and see things for what they truly are. And make immediate changes; together we can each be great stewards of this Earth. The simple things you can do will make a difference. The American citizen is the greatest untapped resource that we have available. Any American who labors for this nation counts. We cannot continue as if everything is normal, when nothing is fine. These truths are self-evident. Do not be afraid change is good and we must all evoke it. We can do anything together and unity is the key. So many things impact and affect one another, that with so many people in this nation every little small thing you do can really makes a big difference. We the people can make a change and our voices will be heard. We all need to follow through with what is best for the U.S. and the world. We need to update the laws and principles of government, there are new freedoms that our government needs to consider and protect. Like our freedom to go outside and breath clean air, our right to healthy environments. Our pursuit of happiness is being infringed upon. Government can only exist when they have the consent from the governed, this current government is no longer concerned about it citizens and has broken its contract with us, so it is time for renegotiations. It is not only the peoples right, it is their duty to throw off such a government and provide new safe guards for their future security. So, participate in your local government in any way you can go to meetings, run for office yourselves so that we can have a government that is for the people by the people. We need patriots before politicians. Start recycling immediately, have a build up of materials to force the issue. The EPA will gladly give you any information to get you started. What does not surprise me is that the EPA has had this vital information available for quiet some time, what is shocking is that our government did not act not for the people or the environment. Yet, industry has profited, while the American people and the American land have been brutalized. So few have profited, well it is time for the American people to unite, so that all may profit. We need the more affluent people to write letters to their government, stating what areas you would like to help and what funds you would make available, once the national budget is activated. We would like for you to pass out flyer's with americawillbebetter.com on them. Put a sign up in your yard with the Internet address americawillbebetter.com spread the word about this to everyone. Most important of all is to show support in any way you can and to participate in these demonstrations. We want everyone to go outside his or her house on Saturday July 21,2207 at noon and stay outside as long as you can. Walk through your neighborhoods and network. Then go in, watch the news, and be inspired at all the people who want change and want to help. Then on Sunday July 22,2007 at 1:00 p.m please flood the main roads near where you live and commune with your neighbors. Work with one another and join in everyone needs to go to the hearts of their towns and get organized, to gain strength. Join ranks and spread the word so that all know there is hope for the nation. On Monday go register to vote and grab a handful of cards so that you may help spread our power. On Wednesday July 25,2007 and on Thursday July 26,2007 have National Family Day's. It is your right to demonstrate and you will not loose your jobs because of you participation. Do not buy anything, no gas,no food,no telephone,no computers, use as little energy as possible, have a national stoppage of consumption. This will severely impact their Gross National Product. To send them a message loud and clear that we do matter, we are heard and there will be changes. We have the right to protest at anytime and anywhere, we need a very peaceful demonstration, to show there is strength and stability in our mass numbers. The government should facilitate these changes immediately, upon request or we will have to take over the November elections and do it ourselves. The American people deserve admiration for the courage and hope that they still have with all that our nation has been through. Perseverance will get us through. The old saying goes if you don't mind it don't matter, well it does matter and you should mind. This is for all our futures and the future of the world. We guarantee when we initiate these changes that our lives individually will get better and it will spread. There can be positive repercussions from this so let there be a big bang. This is history in the making and we can all be apart of it. We all need to be Paul Revere’s but this time the message is “Change is coming and we can do it!" A very concerned citizen, Shara Richards americawillbebetter@yahoo.com Spread the word America will be better !
