CAN CONGRESS BE REFORMED?        Anyone with a thimble-full of political sense can readily determine there is no way to fix America unless the influence of big money is eliminated from the political process.  Any other plan is mainly a big waste of everyone's time, if we don't as all-partisan citizens, regardless of religious, political or other persuasion, rise up and demand the complete elimination of bribery from sea to once shining sea.        Nothing illustrates this need more than the current crop of malfeasant ne er-do-wells of both parties in Congress.  They are far better at pontificating and political posturing and otherwise filling the overflowing troughs of the wealthy, than accomplishing anything we the people actually need.        Apparently, they fail to comprehend that repairing roads and bridges ready to collapse at any moment and, replacing electrical, sewer, dams about to burst and other badly decaying infrastructure, is what sane governments do.  Rather than helping average Americans, Congress and the White House have engaged in endless bend-over political charades, increased rather than reduced troop levels and war funding and, signed away even more of our swiftly vanishing rights.        Our children's future has been sold down a no-strings-attached, golden-platter river of unprecedented gilded tax haven and bailout bonus bonanza.  Experts say rather than being reformed, banks are behaving worse than ever, driving the world to the brink of far worse economic catastrophe.        Because the Supreme Court will always otherwise, declare any and all manner of corruption-eliminating reform unconstitutional , ¹  the only way to get rid of big money influence is by constitutional amendment.  Attempts at other methods of reform have left a long historical trail of tears of utter frustration and defeat.        We need an amendment making it punishable by life in prison without parole, for any organization or group of people of any kind, for any reason, to contribute one penny or anything of higher value, to one small-town city council office seeker on up to president of the United States.  And, we need to limit individual contributions to 1% of the median income per candidate per year, including candidates themselves; about $500 in 2013.        In order to be licensed for broadcasting on what are theoretically the people's airwaves, we need to require all radio and television stations to grant free equal airtime to qualified candidates; qualification determined by obtaining enough signatures of registered voters, amount determined by office and number of people represented.  And, we need to eliminate the electoral college, elect everyone by popular vote, hold all party primaries on the same date and require a verifiable paper trail.        There is much tweaking necessary for the amendment proposed here, but this sketch outline is sufficient to grasp the basic idea.  No law will eliminate all corruption, but what is suggested would eliminate well over 90% of the current problem and allow the majority of we the people to actually have a voice.        Will the nefarious bottom-feeding corporate-puppet juvenile delinquent treasonous reprobates of Congress ever be ousted and cast into federal prison where they belong?        You decide. NOTES: 1. Many, mostly highly inadequate forms of graft control legislation, have been proposed over the years and a few half-baked ideas have actually been passed into law, only to be struck down by the Supreme Court as "unconstitutional". The anything but justice highest American court has a long crooked history stretching back even before the infamous Dred Scott decision, of siding with big money interests at the expense of we the people, repeatedly pretending that corporations have the same "rights" as actual living and breathing citizens. The sun is more likely to rise in the west and set in the east, than anything short of Constitutional amendment achieving any semblance of adequate bribery control. Welcome to RichardAberdeen.com   ~   click on train to eMail Richard Aberdeen