I said at the end of the second installment that we need to figure out a way to rein in the federal government.\u00a0 And that is no mean task.\u00a0 We are the victims of the wildly successful growth of the American Empire.\u00a0 Our culture, technology and industry have transformed the world.\u00a0 We have created whole industries that allow us to produce weapons of staggering power and destructiveness.\u00a0 We have created an information infrastructure that allows us to control the news that the whole world receives.\u00a0 We\u2019ve even convinced the entire developed world, with a few exceptions, to believe in things that couldn\u2019t possibly be true and to punish any of their citizens who dare to deny these lies.\u00a0 We\u2019re even disassembling a lot of the industrial infrastructure that initially created our dominance.\u00a0 And now we\u2019re even going down the road of eliminating our own citizens just because they\u2019ve become politically inconvenient.<\/p>\n
It would be laughably stupid to claim that displacing this establishment would be easy.\u00a0 Eisenhower warned us about it.\u00a0 Kennedy may have taken a bullet defying it.\u00a0 Most presidents have kowtowed to it.\u00a0 And Trump got poleaxed for even trying to slow down the forever wars that this shadow government stokes.<\/p>\n
But that is the only way to upend their rule.\u00a0 The money they feed to the defense contractors and all the other players in these global games fuels their power.\u00a0 Cutting off that funding would bring the whole thing toppling down.\u00a0 That is why every Republican in Washington bends a knee to them and why Donald Trump is in court right now preparing to be railroaded into prison.<\/p>\n
But remember, we\u2019re talking about Goodenoughia.\u00a0 We don\u2019t have to conquer that monster.\u00a0 We just have to keep it at arms length.\u00a0 Leftwingistan is where that monster now lives.\u00a0 We just have to keep it from reaching out and dragging us back in.\u00a0 I would say that the first most important point will be maintaining some part of the nuclear arsenal in our hands and promise the people in Washington that mutually assured destruction exists between both sides of the divide in Central North America.\u00a0 After that we can set up our government along more moderate lines than what exists now.<\/p>\n
First and foremost, the foreign policy of Goodenoughia will be neutral and anti-expansionist.\u00a0 I think that Switzerland might be a good model for our foreign policy.\u00a0 I think we should eliminate the federal income tax and fund the federal government with appropriations provided by the states in accordance with a budget agreed to by the senators that have been appointed by each state to serve.\u00a0 I think the House of Representatives should exist to provide the people with a check on the activities of the executive branch.\u00a0 And that branch should be kept in check by keeping its budget severely anemic.<\/p>\n
I would eliminate the FBI.\u00a0 I would eliminate the CIA.\u00a0 The military should be quite small and professional.\u00a0 In time of war a military leader would be appointed by the Senate and given the powers to marshal the resources needed to put the country on a war footing.\u00a0 And the House would be the body that declared the beginning and end of war.<\/p>\n
There would be no barrier to a state seceding.\u00a0 Groups of states would be able to enter into limited enterprises like road building and financing projects and setting up policies that couldn\u2019t find approval in the federal government.\u00a0 Also a four fifths vote in the House of Representatives could vote to eject a state from the Union.<\/p>\n
The Bill of Rights (and the Bill of Wrongs) would be unalterable within the framework of the laws.\u00a0 Only the dissolution of the Union would allow for such changes.\u00a0 And the right to bear arms would be unchallengeable anywhere within the Union.\u00a0 The police would just have to work with it.<\/p>\n
So there you go.\u00a0 Have at it.\u00a0 Next up I\u2019ll continue with the clean-up program. A lot will have to be fixed to get us back to a sane place to live.<\/p>\n
Updates:<\/strong><\/p>\n ArthurinCali<\/strong><\/p>\n Excellent steps to getting us back to being a real nation again and not just a global economic zone.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Milo Mindbender<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe military should be quite small and professional\u201d<\/strong> <\/p>\n War Pig<\/strong><\/p>\n Unfortunately, as much as I dislike spooks generally, we do need some form of CIA, along with the NSA and NRO. We need to keep agents all over the world so that a finger on the pulse of a possible opponent can become a hand around the throat if necessary.<\/strong><\/p>\n The problem with the most general form of isolationism is that it is only reactionary, and in these times, waiting to react can be too damn late. We have to be able to fight on almost no notice with the troops and equipment and weapons on hand. There will be no time to ramp up production as in WWII.<\/strong><\/p>\n Also, given the chance, I always prefer to make the opponent support war on his own ground, not ours. So I\u2019ll fight or send troops, money and machines to oppose the dastards as far from our shores as possible. Our keeping at least one, and usually more, generations ahead in weaponry, tactics and equipment, including cyber, has kept the world rather stable since Korea. You may look around and say; \u201cStable? You\u2019re kidding, right?\u201d I am not kidding. Sure there are some regional catfights going on and a genocide attempt or two in places like Rwanda, but overall things had been quite stable until Putin got uppity and the Iranians backed the wrong players. Do NOT annoy the Israelis by raping and murdering hundreds of their women and children. Yet even with those two blunders, American (and Israeli) intelligence, reconnaissance and military technology are keeping a lid on things, if only a loose lid. Hamas and Iran have both been surprised at the depth of Israeli penetration into their plans, organization and personnel. Putin has been stymied so far by the technology, intelligence and tactics the US and NATO have been supplying to Ukraine. The weakness of Ukraine is manpower. They may run out of men to fight. Worn down by Russian war crimes of targeting civilians and infrastructure such as targeting hospitals and the like.<\/strong><\/p>\n While we suffered a political defeat in Vietnam and Afghanistan, both the enemy and the rest of the world knows we cannot be defeated militarily. That was the genius of General Schwarzkopf. Go all out, balls to the wall, and win the damn war before the politicians have the chance to muck it up. Barring nuclear weapons deployment, one US corps could roll up Ukraine and be in Moscow in less than two weeks. All Russia\u2019s aircraft would be destroyed, their fleet sunk, tanks turned into scrap. Putin is not stupid. He knows that, which is why he has been careful not to trigger Article 5 of the NATO charter by doing more than some occasional teasing of Poland, and giving a very wide berth to Romania, where over 3,000 troops of the 101st Airborne\/Air Assault have been relocated.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Glenn W<\/strong><\/p>\n In reply to War Pig.<\/strong> I really don\u2019t think we should be the world\u2019s police force. I told a good friend of mine a while back that we need to call the legions home and he disagreed with me (you may as well). He felt there are a lot of bad people out there that need killing. That is undoubtedly true but do we really need to be killing people on most every continent in the world? How do we benefit from this?<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Glenn W<\/strong><\/p>\n Once again I think there is much food for thought in this installment of your Republic. I think right now the U.S. states have the ability to call a constitutional convention by a two-thirds vote (see this article).<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThe original intent was to have a small cadre dedicated to maintaining the sinews of war, and to act as trainers for the new entries if there became a time we had to spool up for defense. We now have a semi professional military class that is scorned by our \u201cbetters\u201d, and only useful for advancing their power and career.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nI agree with much of what you said but, to be honest, I do lean isolationist. I certainly agree that we should be able to defend American interests (or the interests of Goodenoughia) but I would be fairly restrictive in defining the national interest.<\/strong><\/p>\n