The DU perfect candidate creator!

This week I spent most of my time ranting about the "Protect America Act" that gutted FISA. During that time, many people called for positive action, and many of us who had put our faith in the Dems in Congress were at a loss as to who to turn to for protection from the Bush Administration.

I had many ideas for my journal, but most of them were not the most positive. That's when I had a brainstorm- everyone here thinks that we as a community can't come together with a common set of values and goals, and I had the thought that perhaps we could agree on a broad platform of things.

The brainstorm was this: Frequently, I've felt I could do a better job than many of our elected officials, and that my policies would be more effective. In the spirit of that, and inspired by the YouTube debate idea, I will stand as a pretend presidential candidate, and you can question me as to my policies, positions and priorities.

Since this is a pretend scenario, there will be no lying or misdirection. If I have no answer, I'll tell you so and ask for suggestions. In general, post your questions, and I'll post answers. From there, feel free to criticize, agree with or add to the position. Like any good candidate, I'll modify my position based on feedback received.

The more questions and replies to my positions I get, the more we'll be able to refine DU's real stance on matters, and eventually, we'll have a list of "must haves" in our future president.

If this works, we can form an open letter to our candidates with the "must haves" spelled out. I think this is perhaps the best way we can make it clear what our needs are from the person we are voting for.

If you agree with this, please rec this so it makes the greatest page for maximum exposure to the community, and please post questions. I'll answer them tonight and most of tomorrow if the interest is high enough. Thank you to all who participate.

--------------------------------

Hello, my name is Hydra, and I am looking for your support for the Democratic Presidential Nomination.

Our nation is currently under siege by the Bush Administration. Our freedoms and legal rights are being eroded by an Executive Branch that does not believe in separation of powers, checks and balances or and an independent Department of Justice. Our Foreign Policy has become one of preemptive military action, or the threat thereof, which has lead us to invade Iraq in defiance of international law.

The problems run deeper, however. The economic policies put in place by this Administration have led to a vast widening of the gap between the rich and poor, and neglect of basic services have left many people out in the cold, not the least of which were the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and more recently, the tragedy in Minnesota.

These tragedies have simply highlighted the problems with our system, and they need to be corrected before yet more victims are caught up in the mess that is our government.

If elected, I intend to have the laws repealed that violate the protections spelled out in our Bill of Rights. I intend to correct the imbalanced economy by moving to a more socialized system, with strict regulation of business entities. I will advise the Congress to craft policy that encourages individual rights, and provides more opportunities for education, healthcare and basic needs, while discouraging outsourcing, tax shelters and corporate welfare.

If elected, I will remove as many of our combat troops from Iraq as is possible while still providing protection for a new initiative to rebuild Iraq and recover the historical treasures that were allowed to be looted during our invasion. We will rebuild the infrastructure, and will allow the Iraqi State to control the oil resources there. Private companies, especially among our allies, will not be invited to do so.

Our military presence in the world will be greatly diminished. Most of the bases we have established around the world will be dismantled, and our troops will be coming home as soon as we have corrected the damage we've caused.

Our future depends not on the military, but on our people. We need to find alternative energy sources that have low environmental impact, and we need to lower the pollution levels for our industries. We need a healthy economy that is based on work, rather than blood.

Does anyone have any questions?

and the creation of American jobs? If so, please spell it out completely, including transportation plans, heating/cooling buildings, and the generation of electricity. Thank you.

Thank you for the question.

I believe that energy independence and american jobs go hand in hand.

Right now, we are on an oil and gas based system. Until a full conversion is possible, I'd like to raise efficiency and look at technology that will allow us to use as little of it as possible...if we can get away with it, I'd like all of our oil to be domestically produced and refined until such time as we can wean ourselves entirely from it. I would also like to phase out nuclear power as new sources become available.

Right now, solar, wind and wave power are making huge progress despite not having the support that ethanol has benefited from. Solar films have recently been produced that provide power as roughly the cost of oil based electricity. I will also make hemp legal for the purpose of cultivation, which appears to have promise as a biomass for fuel production. MIT has also put forth an idea regarding geothermal power that I believe will be worth looking into.

All of these alternative industries will provide jobs, as they will be based here, and will have government support based on plans they provide regarding efficiency increases and new technologies. This will also require support from our universities, which will benefit as well.

The preferred fuel that we will be switching to will be hydrogen, as the waste products are non-toxic and without carbon dioxide.

As for transportation, I would like to create a system of electromagnetic monorails both above and below ground. Also non-polluting, these train could carry people or supplies. The underground monorail system will be airless tunnels, so the trains could easily move faster than airplanes. I would like this system to be used to distribute food and other goods cross-country, so that trucks will not be necessary except for the beginning and end stages of transport.

For building heating or cooling, I would like to use the geothermal energy whenever possible, and will be giving incentives to insulate properly with non-toxic substances. In various climate areas, I would like to have larger areas of natural growth and trees to lower the higher temperatures caused by unbroken building in urban areas. When possible, I would like to do as Germany has done and have buildings topped with sod and have solar film or panels installed. This would also help with sewer drainage issues.

Did I cover all the specifics you were interested in?

Since I live in a geo-thermally heated house, and my husband is looking into hydrogen conversion (did you know that if you have a wind turbine, you can use the excess electricity generated to create hydrogen by electrolysis? I LOVE your idea for high speed rail, and could see it working. I would add that using electric bicycles may be an option for those areas where public transportation is not available.

I have no idea why no one else asked you questions, btw. I thought it an excellent premise.

unfortunately, this post sunk like a rock. I don't expect any more recs or questions. I'm not sure if it's because people thought I wasn't serious, or because the general mood is so down on DU lately.

I did know about the hydrogen via excess because I read a story about a guy that converted his house to entirely solar, and used the excess during the summer to power his house during the winter. I've also heard about some suppressed technology that is a form of very efficient hydrolysis, but I don't like to talk about things I haven't seen or haven't been verified by reputable sources.

The bicycles aren't a bad idea, but my premise for environmental and energy reform has always been to try and get the support of the people who like their toys. "You can have your toys, and they can be clean too!" I think most environmentally minded people get sucked into the idea that some sort of sacrifice is required, and I don't see it that way. We just have to be smart and open to new ideas. The SUV isn't the problem, it's the fuel it's running on.

I don't know about cost, and whether you want to convert your car to hydrogen, but I heard that one of the major oil companies sells something like a gas pump for your house that you plug in and add water, and you get hydrogen. I hope that helps you, and I thank you for the question and the rec.

Given that intense regulation takes up time and is thus easier for big companies to absorb and still be profitable?

What about the American's dream of starting his own business? Do the people who want "jobs" working for others take precedence over these entrepreneurial Americans?

I believe that small business should be encouraged in any way possible! I believe that we have lost our way, and that many of the regulatory issues are coming from the very large companies. For them, it's easy to pay fines right now that are capped and continue bad behavior.

In the future, I would like to see as many businesses as possible be local and small, and money will be made available in the forms of grants and loans as startup and expansion money.

I myself am trying to start my own business, and as you say, red tape abounds. While keeping businesses above board, employee friendly and environmentally clean, I am in favor of tiding up the laws so that you need not have a lawyer to navigate all the rules for startup and compliance.

Because I favor smaller businesses, my auditors will be quite a bit busier. I plan to pull many from the IRS due to tax reforms which will make many of their random audits unnecessary. One of the complaints is that the businesses often have to foot the bill to be inspected. That will not be the case as long as the information required is unobstructed, and the impact on the function of business should be minimal. That will be considered a government service.

As to whether workers or entrepreneurs will be favored, I believe that we need both, and both will be treated as fairly as possible. Our societal vision of what that means has to change, however. Since the gov't will be absorbing more of the risk, the business owner will have to pass on their profits in an equitable fashion to the workers. I feel that in a more balanced society, however, and with more goods available, that there will still be adequate incentive to the entrepreneur- the profit will still be there, just not 400x what his employees are making.

business owner has to stay afloat, let alone make 400x what his employees make, and that the CEOs of the big huge corporations are not typical.

But unfortunately many people believe that to be the american dream- to have success on a wild scale.

I didn't want to get into the problem of large corporations in detail, as that is an entire issue by itself, but I feel that many small businesses are squeezed out by larger ones. I would be my intention to use existing antitrust laws to break up many of these larger companies, and regulations put in place that protect smaller businesses from artificial pressures that can be placed on them by entrenched, larger entities.

I would also like to see a shift away from Wall Street public companies. When a company is forced to make a profit for it's investors, shortcuts and abuses are a natural outgrowth of such a requirement.