Date: Sat, 5 Jan 2002 2:19:23 -0800 (PST)
From: Michael Idrogo (TX)

"AGENDA FOR PROGRESS..
IN THE NEW CENTURY FOR AMERICA"
-- Michael Idrogo, Candidate, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DIST. 20 (TEXAS)

"We are tired of the lies..
We want..
We need THE TRUTH..!"

We need to move forward into the new century with an "Agenda for Progress in the New Century for America." We must, with proposals from Michael Idrogo, candidate for U.S. House of Representatives, Dist 20, provide Ability, Flexibility, and Leadership for true reforms that Americans are still searching for from Our government.

1. POVERTY
As our nation moves forward into a third century, and as our world celebrates the arrival of a new year, poverty is still poverty and still prevails in Our Nation. Other nations are fairing better than the United States.. we must study them and implement models for the purpose of wiping out poverty in the United States within the first half of this century. New technologies, new foreign trade, etc. can easily throw millions out of work -- yet much of our recent legislation and rulings from our courts has just about done away with all of the "safety nets" created around the Depression Era in the 1930s; while the rich get richer.. the poor are in fact getting poorer.. and the "safety nets" (economic, medical, health, judicial, etc) of the past have been done away by "rich" bureaucrats, legislators, and judges.

2. TAXES
A moratorium on income tax, for current residents of District 20, for the next six years. (Optional, certain Americans may still opt to pay their income tax.) (To curb the appetite of big government-- we must take the bone away from the dog!) (As a test of income economic generator versus taxes)

3. TAXES
Reimbursement of property taxes with income tax deductions. (As long as property taxes do not tax "improvements" but solely the property in tax.) (Income tax with property tax is nothing less than "double taxation.")

4. EDUCATION
Smaller class size. (From two teachers who recently did not notice that a student's parent had died-- to school violence in the nineties -- we need more attention paid to the needs of our children in schools -- we need smaller class size and more teachers.)

5. EDUCATION
A means and a guarantee of allowing for all Americans to attend at least two years of college to attain at least an associate's degree.

6. EDUCATION
Establishment of new colleges (and tutorial courses as necessary) in areas where college education is now very low.

7. SOCIAL SECURITY
Stop the "raiding" of the Social Security by Congress and a system to guarantee Social Security for all Americans.

8. HEALTH CARE
Ensure to All Americans as sovereign their 'Right to Privacy' in health care.

9. HEALTH CARE
Open more competition, systems, methods, and fraud prevention for the purpose of keeping health care costs down.

10. CRIME/VIOLENCE/DRUGS
Implement high-tech "smart systems" for the purpose of bringing crime, violence, drugs down to near zero percent.

11. CIVIL RIGHTS
Civil Rights, as with poverty, has suffered a substantial weakening; we must reform our government and reinforce civil rights once again. Government has even discovered innocent people on death row.

12. ENVIRONMENT/ECONOMY/LABOR
The family farms have just about all disappeared. The numerous airlines we once had are now just a handful. Railroad companies that once existed in the hundreds are now just a handful. On and on, mergers and monopolies have gobbled up much of our economy and are a threat now and in the future to our environment, our economy, and to labor rights. Bigger is not necessarily better. Bigger concentrates the wealth to just a few. A few who apparently are able to also buy influence.. and not necessarily by illegal means but also by legal methods -- methods with ulterior motives which still may cause damage.

13. LABOR/ECONOMY/JOBS
Our Congress must seek every possible method to attain the lowest unemployment rate to every American seeking or holding employment; to seek every possible method to keep jobs in the United States as opposed to letting them go "overseas."

14. ECONOMY
The United States has succeeded in the past century at being a leader in commerce.. and to maintain leadership.. ideas and patents are necessary. Apparently the patents of our nation are begining to decline while compared to the number in other nations.. we must establish patent libraries (or library depositories) in every major city and/or state capitol city, with internet links, in order to help encourage every patent possible.

15. ECONOMY/EDUCATION/QUALITY OF LIFE
An internet terminal in every home. A high-tech Congress will provide for systems and implementation of an internet terminal in every home as common as a telephone.

16. ECONOMY/EDUCATION/QUALITY OF LIFE
Our Congress must seek to ensure the option for free internet access for every home.

17. ECONOMY/EDUCATION/TRADE
Long-arm prosecution of computer-virus creators to include all possible prosecution of international internet perpetrators. A new "cold war" has developed on the internet.. as international threats are coming through the internet in attempts to disrupt American computer systems.

18. STRONG DEFENSE OF THE NATION
Our Coungress must seek and maintain a strong defense of the nation.

19. CORRUPTION
Our Congress must establish a Committee to weed out Corruption and Graft. To seek out and report on Corruption and Graft at all levels of government within the jurisdiction of the United States.

20. GOVERNMENT/CORRUPTION
Our Congress must require the immediate revocation of an FCC broadcasting license if a broadcast is being used as a propaganda tool for any government entity, IF IN PART of a corrupt political machine for the benefit of the corrupt political machinery; and especially where the sovereign Americans are restricted from equal-time rebuttal.

21. CORRUPTION/JUDICIAL
Our Congress must seek judicial reform. Seeking the inclusion of TV cameras in Federal Court.. the Courts are owned by "The People".. if the Courts have nothing to hide.. there should be no objection.. if the Courts object then the judge should resign.

22. CORRUPTION/JUDICIAL
Our Congress must seek judicial reform; seeking that ALL rulings be PUBLISHED.. Federal Judges are not publishing rulings as they try to "hide" what is going on in the Courts (for the cover-up and benefit of the judge(s)).

23. JUDICIAL
Our Congress must seek judicial reform; seeking a term limit of 12 years on Judges to the Federal Courts. Only royalty are appointed "for life".. the U.S. Constitution forbids royalty within the United States.

24. JUDICIAL
Our Congress must seek judicial reform; seeking that Federal Courts shall only "interpret law" and "NOT MAKE LAW" from the Federal bench.

25. JUDICIAL/CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM
Our Congress must seek judicial reform; no Judge within the jurisdiction of the United States shall be able to receive directly or indirectly campaign contributions from those (most specifically attorneys) practicing within any Court in the district or State of that Judge.

26. CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM
Currently special interests, labor unions, or corporations can "decide" the winner of an election long before the election is held as they move campaign finance money through PACs; Our Congress must seek to eliminate those entities from contributing to Federal candidates -- and Our Congress must seek to allow only individual voters to contribute to Federal candidates.

27. ECONOMY/LABOR/TRADE
We have the "Finest Navy in the World!" and at the same time we have the worst merchant fleet in the world! We could no doubt improve our economic/labor/trade if we embark an "American Capital Ship Program!" We need to create a program whereby any American can invest a small sum and in return a ship will be built to sail the oceans of the world.. moving the freight and cargo of the world.. and that will pay Our American "investor" as the ship receives revenue from shipping. We need to build the "Finest Merchant Fleet the World has ever seen!"

28. ECONOMY/LABOR/TRADE
As Our Nation no longer maintains control of the Panama Canal; Our Congress must take a leadership role to bring about the strengthening of transcontinental railways for the purpose of maintaining lines of communication during any period of national emergency. One such railway is the Sunset Route which flanks (goes around the Rocky Mountains along a southern route -- from southern California across southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, El Paso, Del Rio, Houston, New Orleans, and across to Florida. FURTHER, a high-speed passenger rail is in planning in Florida with extension currently envisioned to New Orleans and Houston. Our Congress must seek to plan for a high-speed passenger rail, (France is test running trains at 350 mph), to be built within the next 6 years between Florida and southern California. Thereafter, extensions can follow from Florida to Boston, and from southern California to the State of Washington. Passenger trains for example, on some rails in Texas cannot exceed 20 miles per hour because they may derail. Our Congress must seek to designate railways as "highways" eligible for Federal Highway Funding.

29. ECONOMY/LABOR/TRADE
How many more train-school-bus collisions must we read about? We need "zero tolerance" for railroad crossing accidents -- we need to require and build that every rail crossing be an underpass or overpass of a road under or over a rail line where never the two shall meet. Such is already being done, and has been done in some European countries -- as was necessary for implementation of their high speed rail lines. See for example: http://www.angelfire.com/tx6/rr21stcentury.

30. GOVERNMENT (FEDERAL)
A "Sunset" provision -- whereby Federal agencies are reviewed every 7 years to determine whether or not that agency should continue to operate or be systematically shut-down, i.e. "the sun will set" on that agency.

31. U.S. MINT
While on active duty in Africa, I saw something that I had never seen in my life, the image of a Black man imprinted on a coin. There has apparently never been an African-American on a U.S. coin.. all we have are "white men" on our coins. As we move into "A New Century for America" we must go forward into the future while at the same time reflecting on the recent history for Our Nation. Reflecting on our most recent accomplishments in Civil Rights as we still continue to attempt to achieve the fundamentals goals laid down by the Founding Fathers in a Nation where "all men are created equal." It is time for us to mint a Martin Luther King, Jr. 20-cent coin for general circulation.

32. WE ARE TIRED OF THE "DOG AND PONY" SHOWS
Have you ever watched the evening news while changing from channel to channel, and did you notice how the 3 major networks all "play" the same news as opposed to "reporting" the news? Some news stories are bought and sold for broadcast to an unknowing public audience. We must place an FCC requirement for a PUBLIC NOTICE when any news story is nothing less than a paid broadcast. We need a "truth in broadcasting" notice so that we can be sort out news from propaganda or advertising.

Respectfully,
Michael Idrogo, Candidate, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DIST 20 (TEXAS)