If a politician is convicted of a crime while in office, can the constituents file a class action suit against them for breach of contract, using the oath of office as verbal contract?

I have an idea to reform US federal politics. I just came up with this yesterday, so it needs a vast amount of refinement and improvement, but hear me out.

The way our system is structured (despite what many people seem to think) it's congress that has the power. The function of the senate is to be more temperate and calm, but the House is supposed to reflect the will of the people. The Senate is long term planning, the House is short-term reaction. The shorter terms and smaller-group, population based selection of the House reflects this. However, our nation has become, in some ways, too homogeneous for geographically based assigning of representative districts to work well. So, my idea is to change how representatives are elected. Rather than drawing districts by arbitrary geographic boundaries, which allows for gerrymandering, as well as insuring that in some districts, some minority populations effectively have no representation; I would suggest making Representatives directly elected, by the population as a whole.

Term length would become "at the pleasure of the people". At any time a group could gather 10,000 signatures to call for a replacement of a Representative. This would force a special election, in which all candidates would be selected by write in. A minimum of 30,000 votes for a person would make them eligible for the seat, and the person with the most votes above 30,000 would then take the seat. If no one got 30,000 votes, the incumbent would retain their seat.

This would serve as a method of allowing minority groups to band together to insure that they had at least one representative, and add a performance review aspect to the election. Rather than unseating "your" existing Representative, you could unseat the one who is least effective, and therefore has the least support.

I think this would lead to a more vibrant and dynamic House of Representatives, that would more accurately reflect the populace's desires.

Like I said, there are a lot of holes in this theory, but it's a start.

A quote from "The Audacity of Hope" by Barak Obama

I'd begun to see how any challenge to convention harbored within it the possibility of its own excesses and its own orthodoxy.... In this slow, fitful process of sorting out what I believed, I began silently registering the point in dorm-room conversation when my college friends and I stopped thinking and slipped into cant: the point at which the denunciations of capitalism or American imperialism cam too easily, and the freedom from the constraints of monogamy or religion was proclaimed without fully understanding the value of such constraints, and the role of victim was too readily embrace as a means of shedding responsibility, or asserting entitlement, or claiming moral superiority over those not so victimized.

I know too many people who repeat what they've heard without adding any knowledge of their own. What's worse, is that their sources are limited to a single stream, so there is little chance of a new idea developing. I'm sure I'm guilty of it myself from time to time. Too often now, a statement is critiqued not so much for content, as it is for who has created it. A singer who agrees with you is now considered a better source of information than a scholar who does not.

Bell's makes my favorite beers. (Actually, they make one of the only beers my non-beer-drinking wife likes too.) Unfortunately it's going to be harder to get them. The franchise to sell Bell's in Illinois, was apparently put up for sale. They buyer was a large "less than friendly" company that the owner of Bell's didn't want to work with, so he's pulling the beer from Illinois as a form of protest.

Chicagoist has more.Chicagoist - The Bell's in the Distance

While I applaud Mr. Bell's decision, I'm saddened by the effect it will have on us, the people who appreciate good beer.

There are two dates that are more than simply entries on a calendar to Americans. July 4th and September 11th. Everything about our country is different because of those two dates. They define us and shape us are are inseperable from who we are as Americans. We are a country of individuals who believe that we can be individuals and be unified at the same time. It is that individuality that gives the unity its strength. And like the individuals that make up this country, America has made good choices and bad ones, done things that others admire and that others hate. We, as a people, have done what we thought was best and we have learned that sometimes what we thought was best, really wasn't. We've made desicions that we are proud of and decisions that we regret. In the end though, we are still Americans. The very fact that there is so much controversy, so many arguments, and so much disagreement is what makes us strong. We have the ability to discuss both sides of an issue. Sometimes those discussions become shouting matches, but we're still free to have them.

For a few moments, five years ago, all those voices were silent. For a few moments, someone took our most fundamental trait away from us. For just a moment, the voices that are our freedom, were silenced. But they came back, louder, stronger and more determined than ever. We still disagree, we still fight, we still believe a million different things. And we always will, simply because we can.

Thank a firefighter, thank a police officer, thank an EMT. Hug someone you love. And speak up for what you believe.

I've decided to pretend I'm a State Senator. Now, as I'm not raking in the phatty cash that they make, all I'm going to do is respond to bills that have made it out of comittee and are up for vote. I'm starting with the 18th Legislative Day, the last day for which Senate Journal is available right now. Here goes.

Senate Bill 74CRIM PRO-COMM INTERCEPT

Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. Provides that the State's Attorney, or a person designated in writing or by law to act for the State's Attorney and to perform his or her duties during his or her absence or disability, may authorize, in writing, an ex parte application to the chief judge of a court of competent jurisdiction for an order authorizing the interception of a private communication (rather than a private oral communication) in specified cases. Effective immediately.

My Vote: Yea.
I feel that it is important that governments recognize that the same privacies must apply to on-line communications as to phone and oral communication. I think this change, by making these conversations legally identical, recognizes this fact.Senate Bill 99VEH CD-WINDOW TINTING-MEDICAL

Amends the Illinois Vehicle Code. Provides that the prohibition against tinted windshields and front side windows does not apply to a vehicle owned and operated by a person who is afflicted with or suffers from lupus or albinism and must be shielded from the direct rays of the sun. Provides that the prohibition does not apply to a vehicle used to transport a person with one of those conditions if the person resides at the same address as the registered owner of the vehicle. Effective immediately.

My Vote: Yea.
While tinted windows on '83 Escorts are sad and pathetic, and in general, a stupid idea, I think if a person has a condition that requires them to be protected from the sun, they should be given opportunity to lead functional lives without having to rely on others for their transportation needs. Untill the public transit system in this state is repaired, in many areas driving is the only option for some people.Senate Bill 123DNR-HUNTING LICENSES

Amends the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act and the Department of Natural Resources Act. Requires the Department of Natural Resources as soon as practicable to assign a customer identification number to each applicant for a hunting or fishing license. Provides that after the applicant has been assigned a customer identification number, the applicant may use that customer identification number in place of his or her social security number on any subsequent application for a hunting or fishing license. Requires the Department to keep a record of the social security number of each applicant and to notify each applicant that his or her social security number is kept on file with the Department. Provides that a licensee's social security number shall not appear on the face of his or her hunting or fishing license.

My Vote: Yea
Because the SSN has become an all-purpose ID, used for far too many things, protection of this information is vital. Not printing it on Hunting Licenses is a good step.Senate Bill 169MUNI CD-PEST EXTERMINATN LIENS

Amends the Illinois Municipal Code. Provides that the corporate authorities of each municipality may provide for the extermination of pests (now, rats only). Defines "pests" to mean undesirable arthropods (including certain insects, spiders, mites, ticks, and related organisms), wood infesting organisms, rats, mice, birds, and any other obnoxious or undesirable animals. Effective immediately.

Senate Committee Amendment No. 4Further amends the Illinois Municipal Code. Replaces the definition of "pests" with this definition: undesirable arthropods (including insects, spiders, mites, ticks, and related organisms), wood infesting organisms, rats, mice and other obnoxious or undesirable animals, but does not include a feral cat, a "companion animal" as that term is defined in the Humane Care for Animals Act, "animals" as that term is defined in the Illinois Diseased Animals Act, or animals protected by the Wildlife Code.

My Vote: Yea
Clean up after yourself, if the local government has to do it for you, you pay for the service. This shouldn't only apply to rats, so the amendment is good.Senate Bill 173CREDIT UNIONS-POWERS

Amends the Illinois Credit Union Act. Authorizes a credit union to: (i) make reasonable contributions to certain civic, charitable, religious, or service organizations and to fundraisers to benefit persons in the credit union's service area and (ii) to act as a trustee or custodian under health savings accounts and similar tax-advantaged plans established under the federal Internal Revenue Code. Provides that loan applications shall be made in the manner prescribed by the Credit Committee, credit manager, or loan officer (now, the applications are made in writing upon a prescribed form) and may be evidenced by an electronically stored or generated record. Provides that the signature on a loan application includes any symbol executed or adopted, or any security procedure employed or adopted, using electronic means or otherwise, by or on behalf of a person with intent to authenticate a record. Prohibits any individual, firm, association, or body politic and corporate, including, without limitation, any corporation, limited liability company, general partnership, limited partnership, or joint venture that is not an authorized user from using any name or title that contains the words "credit union" or any abbreviation thereof. Authorizes the Director of the Division of Financial Institutions to impose a penalty of up to $10,000 for each violation. Effective immediately.

My Vote: Yea
Giving credit unions the ability to process and store applications and forms electronically is a good idea. Protecting consumers from false "Credit Unions" is good as well.