Dean Moore for Congress 2010

We are Americans. From there, the differences begin. A grand mosaic of peoples, traditions, faiths and dreams. The Americans in San Francisco are different than the Americans in Sarcoxie, but they are both Americans. The Americans in Boston are just as American as those in Branson, but I would imagine they have different goals and ideas. I think that a federal government needs to address the common interests, something along the lines of "establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity" while leaving the different areas of this great country free to decide for themselves how they want to live the American Dream.

Energy

I think as Americans we can dream big, and do great things. I just don't think the Federal Government has the Constitutional authority to do them.

Encourage electrification of everything possible, trains, homes, businesses etc. I don't think government should be doing it, just encouraging it.

We need to encourage enough geothermal, wind, solar and nuclear power plants to supplement existing coal, natural gas and oil-fired power plants. We also need to encourage the building of more Pumped storage hydroelectricity reservoirs across the United States to help balance the load during off-peak times. people need to be educated that wind and solar cannot be the only source, as they are not constant sources. nuclear likewise cannot vary loads quickly and easily. Other sources must be accessible to prevent brownouts during peak times, and periods of rapid growth.

Allow tax free time periods to encourage building and operating these expensive plants. We need to fast-track the permitting process for nuclear and hydroelectric power plants. For the short term, include secure spent-fuel storage on-site. Long term we need to find productive uses for spent fuel to reduce the storage problem. I support the use of the Yucca Mt. site in Nevada. Opponents seeking a million year guarantee are just using a tactic to delay use of this facility, and will oppose any facility, anywhere.

Eventually electricity should be cheap enough that heating oil, natural gas and propane are not needed for most homes and businesses. But conversely by putting all our eggs in one basket, we need to assure that the system is bulletproof. We need to encourage utilities to bury all local electrical and communication services in a standardized manner to protect them from the weather and other intrusions into the grid. Usually these placements would be safe under, and next to existing roads and rights of ways. We understand our systems would need to be to be protected from EMF attack, and buried infrastructure fits this need well.

 This system would be especially noticeable during hurricanes, severe storms, ice storms etc. these events cost the nation billions each year already.

 Our existing infrastructure is crumbling quickly, and since we are going to fix it anyway, I would like to explore new technologies in buried high-voltage transmission lines, safely and not prone to overheating.Several companies are using gas-filled lines to dissipate heat.  Adding many additional power plants may reduce this need as well.

  Create EPA waivers for electrifying railroads, allowing the expense of erecting necessary infrastructure to be a dollar for dollar write-off.  

Locomotives are already electric, add overhead canterary to the existing diesel gensets, for mixed-use on and off the grid until primary rail routes are 100% electrified. Trains decelerating will use the dynamic braking function to feed power back into the grid to further increase efficiency. Electric trains are in use everywhere else in the world without problems, we have a long history of them here as well.

Save natural gas presently used for power production, export and heating for automotive and local trucking use. Enlarge tax breaks for LPG cars, personal LPG fueling stations and other alternate fuels. We already have these resources, its stupid not to use them wisely.

Our individual right to travel freely is extremely important, and needs to be protected from a controlling Federal Government.

 Allow 100% multi-year tax deduction for homeowners to insulate walls, floors and attics, replace non-insulated windows, and update HVAC systems.

Allow similar deduction for rental units and privately owned high-density housing.

In the event we pass the FairTax, there would be no deductions as we know them, so they should then be tax-free.

Set aside appropriate remote areas for wind power, wave power and similar clean energy.I support drilling for our natural resources in ANWR and along our natural coasts. I would encourage diagonal drilling close to shore however to balance the need for uncluttered coastlines. conventional drilling platforms beyond view from shore should be encouraged.

Encourage solar roof tiles on new construction, and include generous tax credits for personal solar power and heating.

Encourage energy efficient buildings systems such as berm homes, thermal heating/cooling, grey water/drainage collection systems etc.

Use domestic coal supplies to also produce synthetic gasoline and aviation fuels, as well as existing and expanded domestic power production.

Transportation/Infrastructure

100% of federal fuel taxes should go to interstates and related bridges and roads, eliminate mass transit from this funding source.Mass transit needs to pay its own way, or be funded locally or better yet privately.

If infrastructure issues are eventually fixed to the point that fuel taxes can’t be fully spent, fuel taxes should drop accordingly to meet needs. Existing high traffic 2-lane highways need to be expanded as possible and desirable to divided four lane roads for safety and more expedient travel.

Eliminate car pool lanes on interstates allowing for higher capacity per lane, instead allow for tax incentives for car pooling.Encourage states to drop car pool lanes in favor of other incentives.Forcing all taxpayers to pay for "special" roads to be used by few, is grossly unfair, and taxation without representation at its most basic level.

 CAFÉ standards should be eliminated, but barring that, they should certainly not be levied on police vehicles or civilian vehicles based on the same platforms. We need sturdy and powerful police vehicles, and the low numbers sold each year will not justify proper R&D for future vehicles. Vehicles such as the Ford panther platform (Crown Vic/Grand Marquis/Town Car), the Chrysler RWD Magnum platform and the GM Impala and Tahoe platforms should be exempted from the fleet average to assure future stable numbers of suitable vehicles for government use, while allowing the public access to safe cars at the expense of fuel economy. The current government micromanagement of the auto industry, is in my opinion a main cause of its current troubles.

Railroads should be encouraged to re-assume the passenger and mail duties of Amtrak.

Railroads once competed for passenger service, and with increased rider ship caused by the real possibility of reduced air travel it can compete again. Set minimum acceptable standards not to drop below current standards with goals rising in the future. Private Interurban rail travel should be re-established, as well as local and regional private light rail/interurban projects, and high-speed long-distance rail. Tax exemptions and fast-tracked or eliminated environmental impact studies would make private investment more likely. In much of the country, interurban rail once connected thousands of communities, those rights of ways should be allowed to be restored for that purpose.

Create incentives to build national water pipeline and storage system to reduce flooding in river basins, and to ship water to drought affected areas, pump excess filtered or UV purified water into natural water tables, and additional artificial reservoirs for power production, recreational uses, and hydroelectric programs. Build aqueducts where appropriate, and allow for additional water transportation where possible. Current policies of riparian restoration that allow populated areas to be flooded, need to be canceled,

 Air travel needs to be allowed to be profitable or go away. Eliminate guaranteed air travel to mid-sized towns that cannot support enough revenue, with an exception for medical flights. Eliminate subsidies for airlines, several airlines are running a profit, and prospering, allow the dead weight to die off or make changes to save themselves.  For short trips air travel should be avoided allowing for surface travel. Allow for guaranteed routes when needed to fill planes to capacity and allow for profitable operations.Missouri's 7th district is now home to the only private commercial airport. Branson's  non-government run airport should serve as a model for other areas to greatly improve passenger air service.

Government

Here are a few ideas guaranteed to make career politicians mad, and encourage the people.

Phase out pensions, convert to private savings. Honor our commitments to employees and former employees and their families, but we need to have a more flexible system to account for inflation and changing economies. Same solution for Social Security, funds need to be invested, and not spent to guarantee a return rather than being spent by congress and replaced with an worthless IOU.  There really needs to be a lock box if we are to keep this system.

SS should be replaced by individual accounts for retirement, with tax-free money going in and out.

Congress should prove a  constitutional basis for every proposed law, and any earmarks or additions to all bills need to be easily associated with its author(s).

Eliminate 40% of federal bureaucracy through retirement and reassignment to states and military/corps of engineers in the first two years, and further reductions by privatizing some government activities.

Pass a balanced budget amendment.

Allow for line-item veto.

Members of Congress should spend at least 50% of their time in their home district, I would even suggest that they should be in Washington only 2 weeks a month, spending the other two at home communicating electronically. Members of congress should be required to line item check off every provision in every bill they pass. (Verify that they or a member of their staff have read and understand and relayed every provision)

Eliminate hidden unrelated add-on provisions through public oversight, and exposing authors of earmarks (like Canadian rail car money hidden in the housing bill passed in 2008, and national health care provisions in the 2009 bailout)

With the current "workload" congress has now this would be tough, but I would send most of the "load" back to the states where it belongs.

I believe that your local state representative and senator should have more influence on your daily life than their federal counterparts.

Local officials are easier for you to interact with, and since they live beside you full time, they share your common experience better than someone who only comes "home" to run for office.

Not only does local control return more power back to "we the people" it diffuses power from lobbyists and power brokers.

If I were to be elected to office, I would not purchase or lease a home or apartment or condo in Washington D.C. (or the surrounding areas) instead I would stay at an extended-stay hotel, and fly home to Missouri each weekend, (not withstanding weekend sessions). I would also buy a used car for use in Washington, to be left at the airport when I'm home. Seeing members of congress being ferried around in private limousines isn't wrong if the car is theirs, but is sure does not look right when Americans are losing their jobs due to government malpractice.

 Encourage merit pay scales for government school teachers. Greatly downsize dept. of education to only promote national standards and to administer bi-yearly tests.

For the long term, I would encourage the sunset most of our federal education laws and entities. People have successfully educated their kids for thousands of years without a top-heavy government system dragging it down. I do think we need to have a federal education presence, to maintain common standards. I think this is allowed for in both "promoting the general welfare" and the interstate commerce clause. we need standards to remain a functioning society. I do however think the federal presence needs to be limited to a tiny fraction of the overall education budget, with more than 99% of money going back to the local school districts.

 Federal standards should be set by grade level, with bi-yearly secure tests administered at the classroom level after the first quarter, and after the third quarter, and results quickly returned electronically at the end of each testing.

You can’t teach to the test if you don’t know what’s on it.

Make it a felony to release excerpts of standardized tests.The tests should be relevant to grade level, and different enough each time to encourage teaching a wide array of areas and subjects.

Failures in any specific area could then be addressed quickly at the classroom level before the child suffers critical loss in subject mastery.

Children falling more than a year apart from their grade peers need to be incorporated into a special education class to either get them back to age appropriate grade level, or kept in special education classes to maximize their potential, without distracting the class as a whole.

These systems allow teachers to effectively address individual children with needs in a timely manner. Teachers also need to have more power in how things are run in their classrooms, with assistance in dealing with combative and un-teachable children. Parents of habitually disruptive children need to be encouraged to fix the problem, or find an alternative education plan for that child.

Your local school board should have more control over your school than a Washington bureaucrat. I have five years experience in the classroom as a private high school teacher. as a private school we had the ability to quickly address problems, and situations without looking for guidance from Washington or any other group, other than our parents. Government schools should have that same advantage. (BTW we were much cheaper, and tested as good or better than the area government schools).

We have drifted away from our previously exceptional education system. We need to strive to regain our leadership in this obviously important area.

Social engineering has overcome the educational needs of our children.

Schools are not supposed to be a place of social experimentation, they are a place of learning, allowing our children to acquire the knowledge to be a beneficial citizen, and have enough common knowledge to assure sharing of our common history, and culture. Basic education is the cornerstone of a stable society, and our decaying society is further evidence of a failure to be cohesive as a people.

Allow for parents to sue for malpractice when schools fail on wholesale basis.

Government education needs to be mostly administered in English. Non English speakers need to be set aside into fast-track English education classes until such a time they can be incorporated with their peers in regular classes.

Foreign language classes are to be encouraged, as Bi-lingual employees are a prized commodity. But to survive as a cohesive society we need a common language taught in our schools, to do otherwise is to guarantee our eventual downfall as a nation.

The American experience is best experienced in English.

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