justanyone's Journal: Open letter to Congress

I've come up with a list of things that I would like congress to consider in their funding priorities. This is not complete, but will do for now. I tend to be centrist - a free market democrat. My dad used to call himself a social liberal and a fiscal conservative, and I like the notation. Here's my list:

• Fund a set of X-prizes for astronautical feats. Include (a) first to 50 miles (300K feet) and return twice, the standard X prize, (b) first to orbit a human privately, (c) pictures over a certain resolution of any astronomical body except Earth, payable per picture up to a max dollar, (d) contract for delivery of bulk aluminum trusses & girders, liquid oxygen & hydrogen, etc. to a 200 km orbit, payable only on delivery to that location.
• Biological weapons labs fully funded for defensive work (there's too many twisted people with access with bio weapons makings);
• Energy tax that funds basic energy research. The tax would benefit green energy generation R & D.
• Pollution taxes - permit but tax them a lot. Dedicate money gathered to pollution cleanup, national parks land acquisition / maintenance, research on pollution reduction R & D.
• Remove agriculture subsidies and really implement the freedom to farm act of 1996 - passed but repealed gradually piece by piece.
• Require federal government offices to prove that open source software will not work for what they are doing before allowing MS software to be purchased / installed.