i can end the deficit in 5 minutes

Warren Buffett, in a recent  interview with CNBC, offers one of the best
quotes about the debt ceiling:
"I could  end the deficit in 5 minutes," he told CNBC. "You just pass a  law
that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of  GDP, all
sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election.  The 26th
amendment (granting the  right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months
& 8 days  to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in
1971...before computers, e-mail, cell phones, etc.  Of  the 27 amendments to
the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or  less to become the law of the
land...all because of public pressure.
Warren Buffet is asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of
twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do
likewise.
In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the
message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.
*Congressional Reform Act of 2011*
1. No Tenure / No Pension.  A Congressman collects a salary while in office
and receives no pay when they are out of office.
2.  Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.  All
funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security
system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system,
and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for
any other purpose.
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans
do.
4. Congress will no longer vote  themselves a pay raise.  Congressional pay
will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the
same health care system as the American people.
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American
people.
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective
1/1/12.
The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen
made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor,
not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours
should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.
If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take
three days for most people (in the U.S.) to receive the message. Maybe it is
time.
THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!!!!!  If  you agree with the above, pass it on.
If not, just delete. Please keep it going.

smoking at home is illegal now in a cali town

The Responsibility Project^®. Exploring what it means to do the right thing

by Liberty Mutual

Wednesday Nov 02

Should Smoking at Home Be Illegal?

March 20, 2009 by Kathy McManus




Two new legal commandments have been delivered to the Silicon Valley town of Belmont, California:
Thou shalt not smoke in thy apartment
Thou shalt inform authorities of anyone who does smoke in an apartment
Belmont is home to America’s most restrictive secondhand smoking law, which now makes it illegal to light up in an apartment or condo that shares a wall, ceiling, or floor with another unit. Violators face a $100 fine from the city, as well as eviction if smoking violates their lease agreement.
Additionally, the new law makes citizens responsible for enforcing it by encouraging them to call authorities and report their neighbors if they light up in any home other than a free-standing house.
All of which has left some residents fuming--outside.
“I’m absolutely outraged,” said one apartment dweller who now must leave home to smoke her two packs a day. “They’re telling you how to live and what to do, and they’re doing it right here in America.”
Proponents of the new law, including the California Lung Association, see it differently. “They simply said that secondhand smoke is no less dangerous when it’s in your bedroom than in your workplace,” explained a spokesperson.
“They” is the Belmont city council, whose members have received hate mail for passing the no-smoking-at-home ordinance, which one former council member likens to other matters of shared-living etiquette. “You can’t walk around naked in your house with the blinds open, or you’ll get arrested,” he said. “You can’t play loud music in your house and bother your neighbors. It’s illegal.”
But even some supporters of smokers’ responsibility to so-called third parties, such as neighbors, are questioning whether Belmont should butt out. “There are good scientific and public health reasons for restricting smoking in closed public spaces,” said an expert in public health ethics. “But when such restrictions are extended to beaches, parks, sidewalks and now to the homes of smokers, the argument that third-party harms must be prevented becomes increasingly untenable.”
Tell us what you think: Should smokers be responsible for their neighbors’ health? Should citizens be responsible for turning in at-home smokers? How far should government go in determining what you can do in the privacy of your home?