>1)
>Democracy must empower and enable citizens
>to obtain timely and accurate
>information from their government, enable
>citizens to band together in
>civic associations in pursuit of
>a just society, and communicate
>their judgments through modern technology.

Because to think that democracy can actually cover everyone and give full power to the people is unrealistic. People are individuals, and have individual thoughts and ideas through nature. Democracies only protect the majority. But what about the minority? What about the individual?

>2)
>The American people should have reasonable
>control over the public lands,
>public media airwaves, pension funds,
>and other societal assets which
>the public legally owns, rather
>than having these public assets
>controlled by a powerful few.

Substitute public for GOVERNMENT. The GOVERNMENT should have control over the GOVERNMENT lands, media airwaves controlled by GOVERNMENT, pension funs, and other societal assets that the GOVERNMENT legally owns. The only thing public about that is that you will elect the representatives every couple of years. What, you think every time an issue comes up there is going to be a referendum? You'll have to go to the ballot box every single day. Good luck. Hence that mean that someone is going to be making the decisions for the public on whether or not to do this or do that. The public still has no power, other than to remove their representative whenever election time comes.

>3)
>We need modern mechanisms so that
>civic power for self-government and
>self-reliance can correct the often
>converging power imbalance of Big
>Business and Big Government that
>weakens the rights of citizens.

You're going to use Big Government to stop big government. Sure.
The way you empower citizens is to actually reduce the power of government, not give it more power.

>4)
>Citizens should have measures to ensure
>that their voting powers are
>not diluted, over-run, or nullified.
>Such measures include easier voter
>registration, state-level binding initiatives and
>referendums, public financing of campaigns,
>and term limits not to
>exceed 12 years.

Easier voter registration? How? You're going to make it easier for criminals and illegal immigrants to vote? Public financing campaigns limit freedom of speech. If you want to support a campaign by giving something out of your wallet, why shouldn't you be able to? Why should government be in control of how much support a candidate should have?

>5)
>Citizens must have full legal standing
>to challenge in the courts
>the waste, fraud, and abuse
>of government spending. Overly complex,
>mystifying jargon in our laws
>and procedures must be simplified
>and clarified so that the
>general public is not shut
>out from readily understanding and
>challenging them.

*LOL* Here's what they are saying in lamen's terms: "The citizens of the United States are too lazy and stupid to understand the content of the law, so we are going to dumb down the working and context of the law so these poor simpletons can understand." Yeah. That's having good faith in the people.

>6)
>Citizens should be accorded computerized access
>in libraries and in their
>homes to the full range
>of government information. Inserts in
>billing statements from monopolized utilities
>and financial companies should invite
>consumers to join consumer action
>watchdog groups. The public, which
>owns the tv/cable/radio media airwaves,
>which are leased for free
>to large commercial businesses, should
>have its own Audience Network
>to inform, alert, and mobilize
>democratic citizen debate and initiatives.

There is a reason why citizens are not allowed full government access; it's called National Security. If the public can get access to it from the internet, then what makes you think enemies of the US won't either? With this Audience Network, you are encouraging people to turn against each other. Also, what about the people who DON'T agree with the majority? Do they not have rights too?

>7)
>Effective legal protections are needed for
>ethical whistleblowers who alert Americans
>to abuses or hazards to
>health and safety in the
>workplace, or contaminate the environment,
>or defraud citizens. Such conscientious
>workers need rights to ensure
>they will not be fired
>or demoted for speaking out
>within the corporations, the government,
>or in other bureaucracies.

This whole idea REAKS of corruption. Blackmail, bribes, dirty money, favors, everything, espeically if they are given immunity. Also, who is going to set these standards? The government?

>8)
>Working people need a reasonable measure
>of control over how their
>pension monies are invested, rather
>than it being controlled by
>banks and insurance companies.

By controlling it through their private banks and companies they ARE given control. What, is social security supposed to be an example of public control? Yeah, the government has done a great job with THAT program.

>9)
>Shareholders, who are the owners of
>companies, should not have their
>assets wasted or worker morale
>victimized by executives who give
>themselves huge salaries, bonuses, greenmail,
>and golden parachutes, self-perpetuating boards
>of directors, and a stifling
>of the proxy voting system
>to block shareholder voting reforms.

*shaking head* Lamen's terms: "There are shareholders that are too stupid to understand when to jump off of a sinking ship, therefore government must rush in to save them."

>10)
>Our country's schoolchildren need to be
>taught democratic principles in their
>historic context and present relevance,
>with practical civics experiences to
>develop their citizen skills and
>a desire to use them,
>and so they will be
>nurtured to serve as a
>major reservoir of future democracy.

Lamen's terms: "It is Government's job to indoctrinate the people's children in schools so that they may develop into the citizens we wish for them to be." A very common Communist tactic.

You have had the pleasure of reading
Expertise's posts.

Okayplayer forum, Boondocks forum,
Blackplanet member (but I don't do
anything there now but email because
it's lame), member of Go Network's
African-American Chatroom
(AmericasRealExpert, YoungIntellect),
and a member of Yahoo.com (real_expert,
expertise.rm)

And a PROUD black conservative.

"Darkness comes so others may see the
light"

Expertise@rocketmail.com or
therealexpert@hotmail.com