Let good ideas come forth no matter the party of the author. Give every bill a straight up or down vote, instead of burying them in committee. Prohibit legislators from becoming paid lobbyists until at least two years after leaving office. Eliminate the unnecessarily wasteful daily per diem payouts. Put an end to the legislature's willful violations of the Constitution's single subject rule. Fully fund our courts to ensure that justice is never delayed or denied.  And to ensure our judicial system remains accountable to the people and free of corruption, let's require Senate confirmation on all judicial appointments made by the Governor when filling a vacancy. It's time to restore accountability and statesmanship to our State Capitol.

It's time to completely fund all state obligations; reform our outdated local levy system; and create more stringent statewide standards stressing Civics, Math, Science, and English. We should also develop a new curriculum that ensures that all high school and home schooled students graduate with their college general education requirements already complete - saving almost two years worth of college expenses, and ensuring a stronger and more practical public education for our children. Throwing money at education has never solved any problems, now is the time for tough standards and targeted actions.

The real threat isn't natural warming and cooling, it's pollution. That's why it's time to set the partisan politics aside and create a government grant and loan program that can help businesses pay for making changes that cut smog and pollution causing emissions without endangering their bottom line or harming needed job growth. If we want to preserve our environment, keep our air clean, and protect our tourism industry, then let's enact real reform that keeps our economy humming and isn't based on flawed science.

Go beyond the superficial political analysis of pundits and media stars and learn how to keep consolidated power and special interests from hijacking democracy, by following the blog “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, Version 4.0,” by Gordon L. Anderson.  Anderson is the President of Paragon House, a company that publishes academic and non-fiction books in St. Paul, MN. He is also the editor-in-chief of International Journal on World Peace, an academic journal publishing articles related to all aspects of world peace. He has served on the Board of LEA since 1999 and was its President from 2007-2011. He is author of the books Philosophy of the United States: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness (2004) and Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, Version 4.0 (2009).