1) Whenever a politician or media person appears in public, they must wear patches, a la NASCAR drivers, identifying their top 5 corporate "sponsors". In print or on TV they must be identified as follows: "Rep. Smith (D-NM; BAC, GS, XOM)" or "Glenn Beck (Fox; AIG, C, PFE)" citing the stock symbol for each major contributor/advertiser. On radio, this information should be read by way of introduction. This should include major contributors by industry, e.g., pharmaceuticals, carbon-based energy, churches, etc.
2) Every article in print, online, or via broadcast, that covers a local, state, national or international story concerning decision-makers, office-holders and CEOs must, at the end of that story, provide the name, e-mail addresses and phone numbers of those parties so readers and viewers are not left frustrated and powerless but can instantly open the phone or type an e-mail to express their views.
3) Every broadcast on any network purporting to deliver news or infotainment must have a crawler at the bottom that indicates A) the company or companies that own the network or are owned by the parent company of that network, and B) the companies who advertise on that network. If a story touches on any aspect of business conducted by these companies (owners or advertisers), those companies should be highlighted on the crawl for the duration of that story.
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I like all three idea, especially #1, requiring "patches" to be worn by politicians and others. However I have dug down to a deeper level of possible change for the better. See "Direct Election of Lobbyists?" on my new blog, http://indemnican.blogspot.com.
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