Time to Start Paying Attention, America!

Full Article Here

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1. Abolish lifetime tenure for federal judges by amending Article III, Section I of the Constitution.
The nation's framers established a federal court system whereby judges with "good behavior" would be secure in their job for life. Perry believes that provision is ready for an overhaul.
"The Judges," reads Article III, "both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services a Compensation which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office."
Perry makes it no secret that he believes the judges on the bench over the past century have acted beyond their constitutional bounds. The problem, Perry reasons, is that members of the judiciary are "unaccountable" to the people, and their lifetime tenure gives them free license to act however they want. In his book, the governor speaks highly of plans to limit their tenure and offers proposals about how to accomplish it.
"'[W]e should take steps to restrict the unlimited power of the courts to rule over us with no accountability," he writes in Fed Up! "There are a number of ideas about how to do this . . . . One such reform would be to institute term limits on what are now lifetime appointments for federal judges, particularly those on the Supreme Court or the circuit courts, which have so much power. One proposal, for example, would have judges roll off every two years based on seniority."
2. Congress should have the power to override Supreme Court decisions with a two-thirds vote.
Ending lifetime tenure for federal justices isn't the only way Perry has proposed suppressing the power of the courts. His book excoriates at length what he sees as overreach from the judicial branch. (The title of Chapter Six is "Nine Unelected Judges Tell Us How to Live.")
Giving Congress the ability to veto their decisions would be another way to take the Court down a notch, Perry says.
"[A]llow Congress to override the Supreme Court with a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate, which risks increased politicization of judicial decisions, but also has the benefit of letting the people stop the Court from unilaterally deciding policy," he writes.

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Alright, America. Now that we have a someone actually trying to pass this, it's time to start giving a shit. Discuss.

Congress has too much power as is, they're what keep Congress and the President in line for the most part. The reason the Supreme Court has "unlimited" power is override bullshit bills and laws moved by Congress and to an extent the President.

When has the Supreme Court EVER caught the attention of the general public for doing something "out of bounds" or "unconstitutional" ? This man is fucking full of himself.

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3. Scrap the federal income tax by repealing the Sixteenth Amendment.

The Sixteenth Amendment gives Congress the "power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration." It should be abolished immediately, Perry says.

Calling the Sixteenth Amendment "the great milestone on the road to serfdom," Perry's writes that it provides a virtually blank check to the federal government to use for projects with little or no consultation from the states.

4. End the direct election of senators by repealing the Seventeenth Amendment.

Overturning this amendment would restore the original language of the Constitution, which gave state legislators the power to appoint the members of the Senate.

Ratified during the Progressive Era in 1913 , the same year as the Sixteenth Amendment, the Seventeenth Amendment gives citizens the ability to elect senators on their own. Perry writes that supporters of the amendment at the time were "mistakenly" propelled by "a fit of populist rage."

"The American people mistakenly empowered the federal government during a fit of populist rage in the early twentieth century by giving it an unlimited source of income (the Sixteenth Amendment) and by changing the way senators are elected (the Seventeenth Amendment)," he writes.

5. Require the federal government to balance its budget every year.

Of all his proposed ideas, Perry calls this one "the most important," and of all the plans, a balanced budget amendment likely has the best chance of passage.

"The most important thing we could do is amend the Constitution--now--to restrict federal spending," Perry writes in his book. "There are generally thought to be two options: the traditional 'balanced budget amendment' or a straightforward 'spending limit amendment,' either of which would be a significant improvement. I prefer the latter . . . . Let's use the people's document--the Constitution--to put an actual spending limit in place to control the beast in Washington."

A campaign to pass a balanced budget amendment through Congress fell short by just one vote in the Senate in the 1990s.

Last year, House Republicans proposed a spending-limit amendment that would limit federal spending to 20 percent of the economy. According to the amendment's language, the restriction could be overridden by a two-thirds vote in both Houses of Congress or by a declaration of war.

6. The federal Constitution should define marriage as between one man and one woman in all 50 states.

Despite saying last month that he was "fine with" states like New York allowing gay marriage, Perry has now said he supports a constitutional amendment that would permanently ban gay marriage throughout the country and overturn any state laws that define marriage beyond a relationship between one man and one woman.

"I do respect a state's right to have a different opinion and take a different tack if you will, California did that," Perry told the Christian Broadcasting Network in August. "I respect that right, but our founding fathers also said, 'Listen, if you all in the future think things are so important that you need to change the Constitution here's the way you do it'.

In an interview with The Ticket earlier this month, Perry spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger said that even though it would overturn laws in several states, the amendment still fits into Perry's broader philosophy because amendments require the ratification of three-fourths of the states to be added to the Constitution.

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@6 This man is complete off his fucking rocker. How is this buffoon a Governor. What the fuck is the tangible benefit to anyone of the banning of Gay Marriage. Is your religious belief offended? BOO FUCKING HOO, GET OVER IT. What the fuck happened to the Crusades when Christianity ransacked and destroyed the middle east for a good portion of history. Freedom of Religion in our constitution also means Freedom FROM religion, Why the FUCK does anyone not understand this!?

Number 5 is the only reasonable thing I saw in that article.

Sounds impossible to pass.

Consider this: he's a presidential candidate for 2012. If he's actually being taken seriously, this is a problem. Also, Congress would love to pass an amendment that gives them more power. If Congress can override the Supreme Court, you better start sucking up to the nearest large business to you. You may also kiss your rights goodbye.

Welcome to Canada. Rent starts at $250/week.

For a minute there I thought you were in favor of this Top Seven List of Shitty Ideas.

I think a ridiculous caricature like this guy is a good thing to have around. If he gets any attention at all, it's be as the Ronald McDonald of the religious right.

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Originally Posted by Amit

Welcome to Canada. Rent starts at $250/week.

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???

Canada has judicial oversight... parliament was struck down many times by court.

Also... isn't this the whole reason for the three branches?

P.S. -- Those "Nine Unelected Judges" don't decide how you live. The constitution, common law, and so forth decides how you live. The Supreme Court is supposed to decide how those laws apply in each situation. That's their job. That's one of the reasons why they don't make bills, just decide legality of them.

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Originally Posted by ejburke

For a minute there I thought you were in favor of this Top Seven List of Shitty Ideas.

I think a ridiculous caricature like this guy is a good thing to have around. If he gets any attention at all, it's be as the Ronald McDonald of the religious right.

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You would be surprised. It frequently wasn't the raping of Constitutional rights that turned people off of him. Only at the religion-meddling ideas did they thumb their noses.

I should probably change my post to "Canada welcomes you."

Can't we have a vB plugin that displays a flag beneath each user based on his country? Always having trouble spotting the Canadians.