If Democrats want to win in 2014 ...

[DissidentVoice]

69. Legalising weed down the food chain

I did not ignore your other points.

Legalising weed is way down the food chain (maybe I'm saying that because I don't smoke weed) from strengthening Social Security and guaranteeing a stable living wage. They all go hand-in-hand with health care for ALL.

I was in the Air Force. I know that DoD is not a good steward of the public purse. Getting rid of money pits like the F-35 would free up a lot of funds for these other priorities.

There is so much waste and duplication among the armed services.

Do the Marines, who are a component of the Navy, need their own "air force?" Let Marine aviators fly Navy aircraft in support of Marine operations.

Do we really need both an Air National Guard and an Air Force Reserve (I was in the ANG)? Move the ANG units into the AFRES and restructure the ANG to be more directly responsible to state needs, or fold it into the Army National Guard aviation branch.

Does each service have to have its own "snake eaters?" Rangers, Green Berets, Marine Recon, Navy SEALS, Air Force Special Operations Command...

I'm not advocating merging the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard into a single service, the way Canada tried to do in 1968 and failed badly (they've restored their three services). But surely there are a lot of wasteful things that could be eliminated...and boost service personnel's quality of life in the process.

I see health care as THE overriding issue in this country. It is the source of most bankruptcies. We are the only industrialised nation in the world not to guarantee health coverage to all. "Obamacare" is not the way to do it, though it's better than anything from the GOP (and face it, the Republicans are going to oppose anything and everything except the status quo).