06/22/2017
**Installing a new constitution is a lot of trouble. Why bother?
We gave some hint of it in the introductory post. We will provide much more detail in this post.
The short answer to the Why Bother question is that none of the major problems we face can be solved by itself, because each happens to be intertwined with many other problems. We have to address them all (or all the ones we can see right now). We can't even the US Constitution to address even the most basic issues today. Dissolving world wide military conflict will require an international sovereign, which has never existed. So, we have to install that at the same time (called Human Federation).
MORE INFO BEGINNING WITH OUR INTRODUCTORY TEXT
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The introduction says, "The revised version of the US Constitution addresses many weaknesses and faults that have become apparent over the past 230 years, which, for practical reasons, cannot be changed by amending. Wholesale replacement is required, as it was required in 1787."
We also bring up the abolition of war in the introduction. This specific item is mentioned right off because we have found it is the most compelling feature of the plan. We can tell from our site statistics what people react to the most, and that's it.
We also point out in the introduction that. "This basic purpose of the Human Federation (HF) would be to make swords into plowshares -- collect the world's military hardware and recycle it.
As more countries join, the need to retain any of it diminishes.
The other basic purpose of the HF is space -- mostly to get colonization started (beginning with the Moon). Over time, the function is mainly monitoring, while continually improving readiness to respond to extra terrestrial hazards (like incoming Near Earth Objects)."
List of issues addressed
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Here is a summary of what's in the proposed draft constitutions. They are included in the same document because one cannot be enacted without the other. The new US Constitution would refer to the Human Federation.
We expect further revisions, with additions, changes, and deletions as more people become involved. However, we feel the basic ideas are here. The revised US constitution has 16 articles, and the Human Federation draft constitution has 17 articles. Some of the material is new; some of it is recycled from the US Constitution; some of the wording in the Human Federation's article 17 if from the German constitution.
To get the details, you have to read the 31-page document. Here is a summary of the proposed constitutions:
1) Preamble edited to include "secure the Rights of the People" and provide for common defense deleted.
2) Gender neutral language
3) "Indian" changed to "Native American"
4) US Constitution linked to new Human Federation (see US Article 9 on sovereignty), which has to be adopted concurrent to adoption of new Human Federation Constitution (first clause says, "This Constitution is the Supreme Sovereign for all people choosing to be governed by it").
5) Electoral College removed and replaced. We specify electors which are not people, but tokens which will become fractional when apportioned. Small state weighting retained, but winner-take-all removed.
6) Basic structure of government described in articles 1 - 4 of deprecated constitution retained.
7) Article 5 shortened because there is no need to prescribe how a constitutional convention can be called. It's the Right of the People to alter or abolish the government
8) Article on Elections inserted. States each have a consortium to maintain their voting technologies. Software has to be open GPL.
9) Six amendments proposed by retired justice John Paul Stevens all adopted. Two of -- banning Gerrymandering and 2nd amendment restriction -- are covered differently, however.
9a) Gerrymandering banned -- automated rule-based procedures for drawing lines maintained by the Census bureau. We simply leave out the language for the 2nd amendment, as it is not considered a right, but a privledge covered by state laws
9b) Anti-commandeering rule (add "and other public officials" to Supremacy Clause)
9c) Campaign finance restrictions, clean money. JPS language included
9d) Doctrine of Sovereign Immunity gone.
9e) Death penalty eliminated
10) Office of Local Governor established -- the immediate government official people interact with all the time
11) Article on Equality
12) Free public colleges and universities
13) Peace declared a human right.
14) Supremacy clause of the Constitution retained since it declares itself the "supreme Law of the Land" but not the Supreme Sovereign (which owns no land). The Constitution of the Human Federation is itself the Supreme Sovereign for all people choosing to be governed by it.
15) War Abolished
16) nuclear weapons abolished
17) nuclear power phased out, and nuclear waste permanently stored (by 2100 C.E.)
18) possession of fissionable material banned (except for Human Federation)
19) fossil fuel burning phased out (by 2040)
20) work toward a zero-waste economy with extensive recycling. Right of future generations to inherit a viable land
21) Calendar System defined. Deprecated Constitution has times and dates that were not defined. New era declared -- Solar Era, with Year 16 S.E. equivalent to 2016 C.E.
22) Universal Heath Care -- health care a human right guaranteed by government; abortion rights spelled out ( #5 by Dorf). #6 says reproductive health care and family planning included in these services.
23) Luna established as a county and a member of the Human Federation, Outer Space Treaty to be changed accordingly.
24) Mars also defined as country and Mars Epoch specified (coincidentally Mars and Earth were very close to the same position in orbit around sun 01/01/00 ~275 +/- degrees).
25) Most of the Bill of Rights from deprecated US Constitution contained in Article 15, although 10th amendment moved to section on sovereignty. Other amendments moved to appropriate articles.
27) Presidential term starts 2 weeks earlier.
28) Term limits on Congress members (24 yrs including service in both houses)...
29) SCOTUS members fixed at 9, with regular terms -- new one on odd years; 18 yr max
30) Clause added: "Citizens come under protection of the laws of the United States at birth."
31) voluntary population control -- states publish their Carrying Capacity
32) Default for Human Federation is open, non-secret. Anything held in secret must have strong justification for being kept secret
33) HF Article 16 to establish state autonomy -- one country cannot muck with government (or elections) of another
34) Human Federation would investigate and enact measures to protect earthlings from collisions with space junk, including human-made junk as well as natural near earth objects
35) The Human Federation has highest authority, but limited scope of responsibilities. For example, it has nothing to do with regulating commerce, or other day-to-day human activities on earth.
