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Declaration of the people of the United States of America for the 21st century:
We the people of the United States of America feel the need to make a new declaration for the 21st century. There has been so much corruption in the local state and federal governments that we are forced as a people to declare that this type of corruption will longer be tolerated. We need to look at the process in which we elect people in this country. Money and corporate interest, and how they have worked their way into our electoral process.
1. As to the election process, we must find a way to clean up the process and reduce the large amounts of money it takes to run a campaign. Perhaps we should have a C-SPAN channel free of charge for all candidates who want to run for office on all levels of government. This would open up the opportunity to serve to all people, not just the wealthy and those with wealthy friends. Over 200 years ago, we decided not to have a King or Queen or a ruling class but a representative government. But now it seems only the wealthy can afford to run for office. This is not right in a free country. I and many others still say that we do not want to be governed by a ruling class. We also must remind our elected officials that they are there to represent the views of the people that elected them. Once again, we demand to return to government by the people for the people. We must return to this now.
2. As to corruption in government; corruption is rampant at our local state and federal governments. We must close down the K Street Projects immediately. We no longer can afford to have businesses hire a lobbyist to influence politics with large amounts of money and bribing them with free trips free hotels free lunches, and so on. We must stop the practice of letting our elected officials and retiring bureaucrats become lobbyists working against the will and good of the people. It is the duty of governments to not only ensure civil and political rights, but also to guarantee economic, social, and cultural rights.
3. Let it be known by governments and corporations of the world that we the people understand what's going on. The new world order you speak of where the rich get richer and the poor work for less is nothing but the new form of slavery in the 21st century. And as we the people of the United States of America and other working people of the world will no longer stand for this. “All over the world, evidence points to the failure of globalization and the so-called "free trade" policies of the last decade - loss of jobs and livelihoods, displacement of indigenous peoples, massive immigration, rapid environmental devastation and loss of biodiversity, increases in poverty and hunger, and many additional negative effects.” Social justice and greater equality, among nations, within n We the people of the United States of America feel the need to make a new declaration for the 21st century. There has been so much corruption in the local state and federal governments that we are forced as a people to declare that this type of corruption will longer be tolerated. We need to look at the process in which we elect people in this country. Money and corporate interest, and how they have worked their way into our electoral process.
4. And let it also be known to our elected government officials that we will no longer abide by them enforcing laws selectively. We hereby remind them that they have taken Oaths of office and have sworn to uphold the laws and the Constitution of the United States of America. By selectively enforcing the laws that are convenient for their corporate friends will no longer be tolerated. If we have a law on the books it will be enforced or changed by the process that is given to us by our Constitution. Perhaps it is time to charge our elected officials, under the penalty of law for not acting in good faith and protecting the laws and the Constitution of the United States of America.
5. Globalization brings large and widespread benefits to large corporations in the US. But this process imposes costs that are concentrated on the workers in domestic industries whose products compete with imports. Workers who are at risk of losing jobs and wages pay the big price for globalization. Import-competing job loss is very costly. Vulnerable workers experience considerable difficulty regaining employment. Two-thirds of trade-dislocated workers earn less when they find a new job than they did on their old job. One quarter of these workers experience earnings losses in excess of 30 percent. One third of workers who loss their jobs were not reemployed at all when surveyed.
FOOD & WATER SECURITY AND SAFETY: Local self-reliance in food production and assurance of healthful, safe foods & water should be central to any economic model. Current trade policies undermine local food security by emphasizing an import-export model, making people dependent on food sources thousands of miles away.
Global consumption of water is doubling every 20 years, more than twice the rate of human population growth. According to the United Nations, more than one billion people on Earth already lack access to fresh drinking water. If current trends persist, by 2025 the demand for fresh water is expected to rise by 56 percent more than is currently available.
The wars of the next century will be about water not oil. As the water crisis intensifies, governments around the world — under pressure from multinational corporations — are advocating a radical solution: the commodification and mass transport of water. Proponents of commodification, and subsequent privatization, say that such a system is the only way to distribute water to the world's thirsty. But, in fact, experience shows that selling water on the open market does not address the needs of poor, thirsty people. On the contrary, privatized water is delivered to those who can pay for it, such as wealthy cities and individuals and water intensive industries such as agriculture and high-tech. As one resident of the high desert in New Mexico observed after his community's water was diverted for use by the high-tech industry: "Water flows uphill to money." Selling water to the highest bidder will only exacerbate the worst impacts of the world water crisis.
1. Water belongs to the earth and all species
2. Water should be left where it is wherever possible
3. Water must be conserved for all time
4. Polluted water must be reclaimed
5. Water is best protected in natural watersheds
6. Water is a public trust to be guarded at all levels of government
7. An adequate supply of clean water is a basic human right
8. The best advocates for water are local communities and citizens
9. The public must participate as an equal partner with government to protect water
10. Economic globalization policies are not water sustainable
A fair and workable plan to deal with illegal immigration:
How should we deal with so many illegal aliens in the United States of America? We say no to amnesty, but on the other hand, we cannot agree with sending 20 million people and their families back their countries of origins. So with that in mind we come up with a national security card embedded with biometrics, that cannot be forged and issue one to each person in the United States. It will clearly state if you are a citizen and if you are here legally. By doing this, we will have to have all people come and sign in for this card. Only then will we know who is in our country. If by a certain date you have not signed up for this card and you get stopped by the police for any reason, and you're determined to be in the this country illegally, or an illegal alien breaks the law after receiving the national identity card, they will be deported. Then you will be deported back to your homeland never to be allowed back in to the US. The penalty for coming into the United States illegally will be that; you can stay here as a legal documented worker, but without the right to vote for your entire life. The children of these legal documented workers that have signed up and gotten the national identity card will have the right to vote and be a full citizen at the age of 18 if they have not left the country during this time. There must be a penalty paid for coming across the border illegally, but the idea that we can deport 20 million people and their families is not acceptable either. Amnesty means that all is forgiven. With this plan, a penalty is paid by not receiving the right to vote. But to make this plan work we must build the fence and secure the border once and for all. This country must know who is in the country, who is coming in the country, who is staying in the country at all times for its own security. This country and all other countries have this right.
After the national identity cards are made and passed out, and the border fences are built, then the border is secure. Then we must develop a visa system that works, tracking the coming and going and where people are staying while they are in the US. This will be the time that we can come up with a workable solution to legal immigration. And what type of numbers, and from which countries we wish to let people immigrate into the United States.
We have to understand that the present lack of immigration policy is due to the influence of big business trying to get cheap labor for the purposes of corporate profits. We remind everyone that in the United States of America, “we have government for the people by the people”. We the people need to keep in mind that our government is at least 50% responsible or more for letting all of the illegal immigration take place for the purpose of corporate profits. Most people that immigrate into the United States are coming here to improve their lives, but they have to take the responsibility to do it legally. Perhaps it is time that the citizenry of the United States hold its politicians accountable for not upholding the laws and protecting the Constitution for which they have all sworn an oath. In some cases, we may have to charge our elected officials in criminal courts for criminal neglect and dereliction of duty for which they were elected. We must now close the borders to the illegal immigration and stop our politicians from looking the other way for the purpose of allowing multinational corporations to economically enslave the working class. America has long ago decided against slavery. We must once again pick up the flag of freedom and make it known that economic slavery will not be tolerated.
America's expectations have changed, we now demand more not less from our corporations. Customers want to buy products from companies they trust, investors want to minimize risk while also obtaining greater return, employees want to work for companies whose values they share, and government wants to work in partnership with companies and not in opposition to them. Cutting-edge companies understand that appealing to a growing number of environmentally- and socially-conscious consumers, and positively impacting the communities where they live and work are essential components of building a successful and sustainable business.
Forests are more than a symbolic ideal of wilderness, more than quiet places to enjoy nature. Forest ecosystems — trees, soil, undergrowth, all living things in a forest are critical to maintaining life on earth. Forests help us breathe by creating oxygen and filtering pollutants from the air, and help stabilize the global climate by absorbing carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas. They soak up rainfall like giant sponges, preventing floods and purifying water that we drink. They provide habitat for 90 percent of the plant and animal species that live on land, as well as homelands for many of the earth's last remaining indigenous cultures. Forests are commercially important, too; they yield valuable resources like wood, rubber and medicinal plants, including plants used to create cancer drugs. Harvesting these resources provides employment for local communities.
Healthy forests are a critical part of the web of life. Yet more than half of the earth's original forest cover has been destroyed due to human activity such as agriculture, development and logging. Much of the loss has occurred within the past three decades. Protecting the earth's remaining forest cover is now an urgent task.
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