John Kerry TO DO LIST as President-Elect

[Homerr]

With all the outragous news coming out on Bush this week I'm finally starting to feel confident that Kerry will be President of the Uninted States. Visualizing what Kerry can do will get me through these last few days before the election, I want a light at the end of the tunnel to think about!

What should President-Elect Kerry put on his TO DO LIST once he is sworn in?

What items should be on his list to prevent the unbelievable crap that Bush has pulled? What investigations should be launched? Should all Haliburton contracts be suspended? How would this effect the efforts of the military in the field? A 'Truth in Media' act? Pushing for different CAFE standards?

I don't want to start a witch hunt, but it is important that these crimes against the American people not be repeated.

What do you think? Anything goes that could actually get done.

[TwilightZone]

1. Arrest the entire Bush administration.

Ok, they might not all be guilty of a crime, but isn't it Bush policy to arrest everyone first, then figure out if they committed crimes or not?

That's one policy we should keep long enough to arrest 'em all.

[Parche]

2. to do list

i will let you know next thursday!!

[Sagan]

3. throw away the concilatory acceptance speech...

The worst thing Kerry can do is to believe that, when elected, the reich-wing smear machine will go away.

He has to attack, attack, attack and keep on attacking. Reinstate the Fairness Doctrine. Release all the classified information that Chimpco is keeping under wraps to protect themselves, prosecute the traitor who blew Plame's cover.

Attack. And keep attacking.

[Vox_Reason]

7. Amen!!

That's the attitude.

Let's be real--if Kerry wins this thing, the reich-wingers will be out for blood like never before. The best defense is a good and relentless offense.

[arbusto_baboso]

4. Apologize to every world leader for our 4 year national insanity.

[shraby]

5. Fix or eliminate the Patriot Act I and II

[arbusto_baboso]

8. Another good idea...

[Steelangel]

12. I agree!

[ronnykmarshall]

6. Fire Michael Powell

Free the FCC!

[George_S]

18. ! And restore the Fairness Doctrine

[terrya]

9. Roll back the tax cut for the ultra-wealthy.

And begin to get a handle on the ridiculous deficit. The economy isn't going to go anywhere if the President doesn't.

[gcomeau]

10. Immediately undo Executive Order 13292.

Let historians get the look at the Reagan era records they were SUPPOSED to get in 2001.

-Grant

[lutherj]

11. Have all the Diebald BBV machines pushed into the street and

call up the RNC and tell them to come pick up their shit.

[dqueue]

13. hmm...

1. Arrest cheney, ashcroft, libby, rumsfeld, rice and the rest of the administration, ship to Guantanamo for questioning as enemy combatants.
2. Assign AWOL his two years active duty for desertion during a time of war. FWIW, there is no statute of limitations for desertion.
3. Really investigate 9/11. Clean house of all those complicit.
4. Rebuild foreign relations.
5. Open the political arena to other parties.

[Vox_Reason]

14. Great replies, folks:

Here's a summary and some additions:

Come out tough from day one with a detailed, public plan to implement the Kerry agenda

Roll back environmental deregulation and assure the world that we understand our interdependence and will work with them to ensure all of the world's people share the cleanest, safest environment possible

Reinstitute the Fairness Doctrine to ensure a variety of viewpoints are presented over public airwaves; clean house at the FCC as necessary

Set a goal to institute as much of the "low-hanging fruit" of 9/11 commission recommendations as soon as possible, such as fully funding port and border security, upgrading airport security competence, reducing red tape in the immigration system, etc.

Roll back secretive executive orders hiding records that would implicate * junta operatives

Roll back tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy that don't need the extra pocket change, and exempt the first $30k of income from payroll taxes

Set up a deficit-reduction task force to deliver comprehensive recommendations in 90 days with a goal of reducing the deficit by 50% in 4 years

Set up an energy "Manhattan Project" with a goal of ridding ourselves of oil dependency within 10 years

Set up a jobs and trade task force with a goal of producing a set of recommendations in 90 days to improve our trade deficits and grow high-paying jobs in America

Set up a health care task force to come up with a solution to the insurance/drug company vs. health care consumer problem and widen our options for imported medicines, vaccines, etc.

Provide the funding necessary for the military to deploy state of the art armor for all our troops and vehicles as soon as possible

Go to the UN and announce that our ears are open once again, and that we need the world's help to provide the intelligence and on-the-ground expertise to go after and incapacitate terrorists

Appoint an IAEA czar to work closely with that organization on de-proliferation efforts

Signal a strong intent to be an honest broker in the middle east once again; appoint Bill Clinton to be the principle negotiator and set up substantive talks to begin ASAP

Make the case to the international community that safety is an international concern that must be met with an international commitment; set a goal of doubling the # of countries actively working with us to promote peace and security within 6 months

Set a goal to eliminate poverty and hunger in America by 33% in 4 years, and to reduce the international prevalence by at least 25% in the same period

Engage with Mexico and other Central and South American countries on immigration and labor issues

All right, that's what I could come up with in a couple of minutes. There's much more.

Now it's your turn!

[terrya]

15. One more: the fight against global AIDS.

AIDS around the world is more of a desperately serious problem than ever before. Imagine how much respect we would win in the world community if President Kerry spoke at the United Nations about the United States spearheading a renewed fight against AIDS in Africa, Southeast Asia. Not just bullshit rhetoric about giving 15 billion during a State of the Union address to make yourself look "compassionate". Real, serious leadership from the United States.

[Homerr]

16. Some more......

Accept the Kyoto Treaty.

Reinstate the ABM treaty and cut funding on Star Wars. Kick Putin in the nuts and tell him to quit being a dictatorial ass - the Bush era is over!

Iraq:

Something has to be done about the weapons there, RPGs, heavy machine guns, mortars, explosives. Offer amnesty to turn them in until Kerry is sworn in, then if caught you go out in the desert and are target practice for the Iraqi Police. May sound harsh, but something SERIOUS has to be done about this. 100 tons of munitions turned in may mean we are there 100 days less.


CIA:

Step up human intelligence around the world.

[mumon]

17. FIRST THINGS FIRST

1. Repeal that stupid Bush executive order about keeping presidential papers "secret."

We want the juiciest bits from their scandals.

2. Repeal the "gag order" on abortions.

3. Release the CIA 9/11 report.

[jmowreader]

19. Fixing the media should be high on his list

Specifically, reinstating the Fairness Doctrine and the pre-Reagan media ownership limits. He should give the media conglomerates until July 3 to find buyers for their excess stations. On July 4, we should nationalize all of the over-the-limit stations and auction them off, with the proceeds going to pay down the deficit. (Call it an object lesson: do what we tell you, or We Will Act and You Won't Like It.)

Next, he should repeal all of Chimpy's executive orders. During the 2000 campaign, Shrub railed against governing by polls and ruling by executive order--then he made his administration the most poll-driven in history and issued more executive orders than anyone else ever to live in the White House.

He should then create an Office of Truth and Reconciliation. Similar to the one the South Africans established after apartheid ended, the purpose of this office is to round up all of the criminals in the Bush Administration and deal with them properly.

Next, we have GOT to go through Guantanamo and figure out who the hell is in there. There are real terrorists in Gitmo; there are also goat farmers who got picked up because "we're looking for a man of medium height and build with a full beard who dresses in brown robes and a turban." The real terrorists need to be tried in a real court by real judges and thrown in a real jail. The goat farmers need to be paid $100 per day for each of the days they have lived in a dog cage, they need to be returned to the place from whence they came and they need to be apologized to.

And finally, we need to hold a conference. We need to go around Iraq, collect up all of the warlords, sit them down in a big room, and ask them, "what besides the United States leaving Iraq will it take for you people to quit fucking killing each other and to live in relative peace? We can't leave so long as you bastards keep shooting each other, and there is nothing we would like more than to leave." Then we need to do what has to be done to make it happen.

[Frank Rose]

20. One for discussion...

make a congressional district consist of between one and four straight lines, drawn exactly north-south and/or east-west.