xtcian

Mandatory Bumper Stickers that say:

"Live Aloha"

It's a lifestyle and definitely more than just a word!

Not many single words have such multifarious meanings and we all need reminding.

ALOHA. Live it. Love it. Mean it.

Aloha to all,

Lisa

I agree with Lisa! In fact, I have that same bumper sticker here on my cube wall -- a souvenir from our trip to Hawaii two years ago. We spent two weeks on the Big Island and Kauai. In my perfect America, everyone will have the chance to visit Kauai before they die. It is the most beautiful place in the world.

Also in my perfect America:
>our bogus FMLA will be extended so that all Americans can take a paid year-long maternity leave and be able to return to the same job. What we have now (12 weeks, unpaid, just for some companies that are big enough) is a total disgrace.
>a four day work week.
>a vacation system modeled after the European way. I am tired of spending my life in my cubicle, man!

Bring back kegs to fraternities, for god's sake life is already hard enough.

Pamela Anderson is prohibited from writing "novels." So is anyone else who can't really write.

I, on the other hand, am given a big fat high six-figure book contract.

Anyone who uses a cell phone while driving dies.

People actually say "Good Mornin'" to each other and mean it.

One free scoop of ice cream per person per day.

Kegs in fraternities, hear hear!!! Oh, and give the option of 1 scoop of ice cream OR 1 scoop of a lower fat alternative - I'm thinking a sorbet or gelati - and I'm in.

More hazelnut-flavored things.

Authentic gelato everywhere.
Midday siestas.
Topless/nude beaches replace topless/nude bars.

Widespread foreign-language-pronunciation-survey classes at the elementary or junior high school level, designed to teach students the basic pronunciation rules of a broad spectrum of foreign languages, so that everyone knows how to say escargot, gnocchi, paella, bruschetta, etc., even without studying multiple languages for multiple years. It's ok with me if all the examples taught involve food. In fact, that's really the point.

We are not so hung up on nudity
Less violence
More people riding bikes in a friendly enviroment
Good radio in every town like The Penguin in Wilmington, NC
Government more concerned with taking care of biz i the USW rather than tilting at windmills in other parts of the country.
I'm okay with gay men holding hands too.
Key Lime pie everywhere

All Hummers would be melted into slag and reconstituted for rebuilding hurricane-damaged cities.

* Chick-fil-A restaurants thorughout the U.S., not just mostly in the Southeast. Their chicken biscuits rock my world!

* sitcoms should have laughter audio only if there really is a studio audience

* jeans at work for those working for The Man

*fully funded public schools starting at age 2 with low class size, well paid teachers, and no violence and drugs (well, only the really neat ones).

All restaurants would have wheat-free and dairy-free alternatives so that I didn't have to eat at home all the time.

You wouldn't have to wear a helmet on a scooter.

Bouganvillia would grow wildly in North Carolina.

Republicans wouldn't be so mean.

Living at the beach would be affordable.

Everybody would meditate daily and seek peace.

Big dogs would live longer than 8-12 years.

And yeah! to the 4 day workweek!! And 1 month vacations!! And a year off if you decide to not have children, too :-)

You guys have nailed it as far as your own American lives. I have something more global in mind.

1. No more slavery. It still goes on in the world.

2. No more killing people who live in rural areas caught in the middle of a military conflict, just for being in the way, or suspected of harboring one side or the other.

3. A market of Oxygen Production Credits, where countries that produce more than their share of greenhouse gasses pay countries to preserve and restore their Rain Forests.

4. Set a per-capita benchmark for fossil fuel usage. Work agressively to reduce all industrial countries

Everything LFMD and Lee said, plus-

-Public health care, with an emphasis on wellness.

-Less advertising; and consumers would have to opt IN to receive any spam, junk mail or telemarketing.

-Bike trails connecting every city and town, and within every city and town.

1. Always blame Clinton.
2. Never blame Bush.
3. Come to liberal blogs and basically say "LA LA LA LA LA" while sticking fingers in ears.
4. Show no respect for people who have created a space, but instead accuse them of being unthinking dumbasses.
5. Be unthinking dumbass.

J BOOGIE, WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS SO GOD-DAMNED NEGATIVE ABOUT EVERYTHING!? TONGUE-IN-CHEEK OR NOT, YOU'VE HAVEN'T HAD A DECENT, HUMAN-ISH RESPONSE TO ANYTHING IN THE PAST WEEK. WHY DO YOU EVEN BOTHER READING ANY OF THIS IF ALL YOU ARE GOING TO DO IS DROP A STEAMING DUMP IN THE MIDDLE OF IT?

Ouch.

i second kevin's response, and i add that civil debate, oration, rhetoric, and critical thinking skills should be woven back into the curriculum starting in kindergarten.

also, jon stewart should become the new voice of the main stream media.

it would be great if urban centers could make the consequences of our habitation more obvious - garbage dumps and polluted water and air more tied to our habits, so that we all feel motivated to recycle more, use solar and electric power, and turn the sink off when we brush our teeth.

More love.

That every displaced family would find a loving home to recuperate in
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/fema.html

To recieve even .01% ($3.5M and counting...) royalty on the reproduction budget, $350M and counting, of the Intel Centrino brandmark, and to be able to get by on .01% of that while giving the rest away.

To be gently woken each morning by the cooing noises of my upstairs lesbian neighbor and her girlfriend making love as I was this morning.

Solar panels, wind mills, and bio-diesel / vegetable oil burning engines.

Sustainable harvests for clothing, paper, construction materials, and pharmeceuticals.

- I heartily agree with the ice cream/gelato comments, as long as mine is UMD's ice cream. Has anyone else out there had it?
- More school funding that does not include the phrase "No Child Left Behind" and a foreign language program for preschools. (Yes, it works and makes for bilingual 3-year-olds.)
- An emphasis on travel after high school/college graduation. Or even an emphasis on study abroad programs.
- Better tips when I work so I don't come away from 6 hours of waitressing with $12.
- NO MORE REPUBLICANS TO GET IN MY LIBERAL WAY!

Just kidding (a little bit) about the last one.

Ian, is the title for this entry inspired by the movie 'Better Off Dead'?

Thanks for this one Ian. I've actually been keeping a running list that I was going to use on my site, but I'll just plop it down here. I'll probably get clay pots thrown at me for some of these, but here goes.

No smoking at bars or restaurants- it would reduce the temptation for me:)

People have licenses to have guns, drive and vote...they should also be screened and given a license to have children.

If you are under a certain income bracket, you are not allowed to exceed a certain amount of children. If you do exceed that number, you're out of luck.

Everyone should have the opportunity at a college education.

Everyone should have be able to have good health care.

Tall people at music concerts should have their own standing room so I can see the stage. Either that or put me in a swing and hoist me above the crowd so I have a better view.

Teachers, Social Workers, Firemen, Doctors and other people that positively impact people's lives should be paid 6 figure salaries. I know, Drs. already get paid a seemingly large amount, but they save and bring life, they've earned it.

Sports figures and should have their salaries chopped into quarters. Just cuz you hit a ball or can dribble one should not entitle you to millions.

People famous for being famous shouldn't get paid for a penny.

Testing on Animals should stop and instead, testing on prison inmates that have committed crimes that have hurt or killed other people should be tested on. Their crime would have to be pretty bad... drug dealers and money launders are exempt.

A healthy diet would include butter, bacon, chocolate, whipped cream, vodka and pepperoni pizza.

David, that's a freaky story in your link.

Hey, I really like Betty R's idea about testing on inmates! And the melting down of Hummers! And Chik-Fil-A (kids eat for free on Monday's, by the way) And all the ice cream ideas! Emily -- what is UMD's ice cream? Where can I get some? I am addicted to ice cream. And coffee. Have you ever had Starbucks ice cream? Good stuff.

I also think that we should have full day kindergarten all day everywhere (that half day option is for the birds).

Pets should be allowed in stores and restaurants -- not just PetSmart. Where I go, my beagle goes too.

And, everyone should watch Oprah. I love Oprah. It would be a warm, fuzzy world if we all shared in the Oprah experience.

LFMD,

University of MD, College Park, sells ice cream in the two diners on campus and in the Dairy, which is inside the visitor's center. The school can't sell it anywhere else because the fat content is too high to pass FDA approval. The Dairy sells half-gallons and the diners just have one- or two-scoop helpings and milkshakes. You can taste every single calorie, and it is delicious. They have at least 10 permanent flavors (probably more) and seasonal stuff.. like Midnight Madness in October when basketball season starts.

AND we have a Chick Fil A inside the Student Union food court. But if you're going there, I suggest checking out the Food Co-Op one floor down for great HEALTHY sandwiches and snacks.

I've never had the Starbucks ice cream because I try not to keep ice cream in my apartment... otherwise it's gone within 24 hours. My roommate had some Starbucks popsicles when she had her wisdom teeth taken out and said they were great.

Laurie-likewise, I love the Hummer idea and letting pets roam wherever, but I'll add to that and say that a) people should have a license to own a dog and b) the dog should have some type of certification to go to public places. Otherwise, if you let any old dog in, that opens up room for yippy, snappy and unruly dogs that will be a bad influence on my trained dog:)

Emily,

I thought you were talking about College Park! I am going to give my husband some grief for never mentioning this in the 13 years I have known him! The nerve! To think that I could have been enjoying some excellent ice cream while watching his Terps play . . . it must be part of this Tar Heel resentment that he is harboring. Or, he might be doing me a favor, knowing that I would probably triple in size if I had access to half gallons of that stuff.

Anyway, I am so there the next time we are in College Park. I may just park myself at the Dairy, while he watches the Terps. Thanks for the tip!

And Mary, I agree with your license and certification idea. Although, the certification idea might be bad news for my beagle. He is an obedience school flunkie.