The Laws of Kvodia

1. Voting and Elections

   1. Informed Voters

      1. Votes from informed voters count more

         Voters, on their ballots, will be required to answer a few straight forward facts about the issue at hand. Some of the questions will be non-partisan, others will be partisan. There will be an amount of partisan questions equally favoring & disfavoring all parties involved. Voters who answer an increasing number of the questions correctly will have votes that count increasingly more than those answering fewer questions correctly. This process will allow everyone a voice in government, but it will offer a stronger voice to those who are factually informed. Answers to questions can be acquired via reading a government and independent (non-profit) prepared document of party platforms and subsequent independent, non-partisan critiques and fact-checking of those platforms.

   2. Electoral College Reform

      1. State representatives and electoral college voters, if the electoral college still exists, will be calculated by the average number of votes cast (i.e. per I.A., informed voters cast more votes) in national elections over a ten year period.

         Vermont has a population of 10 & Nevada a population of 20. 50% of Vermont votes in the 90's & 25% of Nevada votes in the 90's. Both Vermont and Nevada will have the same amount of representation in the house of representatives and electoral college, as both states averaged 5 people voting in national elections, over ten years.

   3. Campaign Reform

      1. Running for political office will be free

         Running for political office will be free. All costs will be covered by the Kvodia government, or through services supplied by private industries, for endorsement considerations and tax breaks during the duration of the term of the office for which services were supplied.

      2. Candidates will be required to publicly debate with each other

         Debates will occur at intervals to be determined later, but perhaps every two weeks, throughout the length of the campaign. Candidates will be scored on their debate, with points being deducted every time they do not directly answer a question or provide information that is false. Candidates will be issued at least three scores - one from their party, one from every opposition party, and one from official, non-partisan, non-profit organization.

      3. Advertisements referencing other candidates will be strictly disallowed

      4. All candidates involved in primaries will be given equal amounts of money and media coverage.

      5. No phone calls allowed.

2. Gun Control and Private Defense

   1. Handguns for None

      Guns will be better regulated. Handguns are banned for public use. Assault rifles are banned for public use. Sniper rifle certification will be allowed for members of well-trained militia, required to register with a non-profit, non-government related database.

   2. Shotguns for all

      all homes will be encouraged to have a shotgun.

   3. Private Defense

      all homes will be encouraged to have burglar, fire, CO and other alarm systems.

3. Governmental and Religious Autonomy

   1. The church and the state will be two separate entities; they will not meddle in the other's affairs.

      Issues of spiritual beliefs are and should be deeply held, but should also be deeply individual. The government of Kvodia exists, primarily, to ensure that all its citizens have rights to life and freedom that are not trampled upon and to ensure that services and knowledge that are essential to the flourishing, efficiency, and safety of our society are provided to the public. Kvodia will not offer or decline any benefits, privileges, or rights to any Kvodia citizen, based on religious alignment, or status within any given religious alignment.

   2. Kvodia will not endorse the establishment of any religion as a state religion.

   3. Kvodia will give equal representation in government art and memorial to all religions represented in its land.

4. Education

   1. Education is required, and will not suck.

      It is Kvodia's great responsibility to give our children both basic knowledge to survive in the world, and the ability to acquire more knowledge through exploration and discernment. It is not Kvodia's responsibility to create hordes of test-takers, drones, and rote-memorizers. School children will be treated as sentient beings, capable of processing complex information and able, at once, to understand the benefits and dangers of actions.

   2. Media proficiency for all.

      All students will be required to take classes in media proficiency, through the end of high school. These classes will include topics such as, but not exclusive to, the following: understanding the production of print media and live media, a study in propaganda, a very specific understanding of the world of advertising, data verification for news sources.

   3. Statistical Analysis for all

      All students will be required to take course learning how to manipulate data for statistical purposes.

   4. Sex Education is required and will not suck.

      School children will be taught not only the basics of a safer sexual life, but will also be taught the virtues of healthy relationships, having high self-esteem, and never feeling like they need a 'significant other' to complete or validate their existence. They will be told that while these are ways to keep yourself healthy, safe, and sane once you do enter into relationships of varying degrees, they should still, if they choose, heed the advise of their religious or spiritual beliefs as to when they should enter into these relationships. Armed with this knowledge, they will have necessary skills to decide when they are ready to enter into a multitude of relationships and how to handle themselves healthily once they do.

   5. The entertainment will be required to give to education

      The professional sports industry, the sports entertainment industry, and the entertainment industry, including, but not limited to, the music industry, the movie industry, the video game industry, will be required to use a percentage of their income to fund the public education system. All people associated with this industry, who could be considered talent (athletes, actors, dancers, etc), and their agents, will be strictly required to tutor young children 3 hours a week. Anyone seeking a title that would make them exempt from tutoring based more on technicality and semantics than a distinguishable difference in their vocation will be vigorously pursued, fined, and forced to tutor young children.

5. Government Finance

   1. The Government is a not-for-profit business

      The Government exists to provide its citizens peace, justice, and order, not to provide itself, or its members, with profit. The government will follow the same rules it sets for business and repay loans at an expedited rate. Excess income will be stockpiled, given to education programs, or returned to taxpayers

   2. During their terms, elected or appointed government officials' only job will be as an elected or appointed government officials

      Being an elected or appointed government official is a full-time, year-round job. As such, full-time dedication must be accorded the position.

   3. Elected or appointed government officials' pay will be fair and in-line with national wages

      Base pay will be median income of presiding area. Pay will be prorated based on performance, as determined by employers (Kvodians residing in official's presiding area), and experience

   4. All people will be taxed based on their ability to pay.

   5. Tax cuts and federal benefits will go directly to those supposedly aided by tax cuts and/or benefits.

6. Substance Regulation

   1. Tobacco and marijuana will be considered legal or illegal in identical ways, regulated in identical ways, taxed and sold in identical ways.

   2. Drug offenders will be charged equally regardless of profession, or lack thereof

7. Transportation and Energy

   1. Getting a driver's license will be tough

      Driving is easy. Driving safely and with respect to other drivers, pedestrians and other road users is something that requires a great deal of responsibility. It is of primary importance that not only do all drivers know the rules of the road, but also understand why they are there, so they can better make choices under duress and unforeseen circumstances.

   2. Keeping a driver's license will be tough.

      Because roads are not generally bounded by state lines, licensing will be at a standard, federal level. Drivers need to complete maintenance tests every 30 months and will be completely reevaluated every 5 years.

   3. Higher expectations, greater penalties

      Increased fines for violations will be accompanied by stricter enforcement in an effort to discourage bad driving. Repeated offenders will be increasingly likely to lose licensure, dependent on infraction severity.

   4. Zero Tolerance for Impaired driving

      There will be zero-tolerance for driving drunk or impaired by drugs. Licensure will be immediately revoked and a yet to be determined (multi-year) waiting period before reassessment will be mandatory.

   5. Restricted Driving Areas

      The areas where people can actually drive will be reduced. For instance, non-commercial driving in densely populated urban centers will be prohibited between the hours of 6am and 6pm. In this example, any driving done in the restricted area will need to be covered by a Commercial Driver's License.

   6. Public Transportation

      Public Transportation will be provided in all densely populated urban centers. It will be safe, comprehensive and cheap (and even cheaper in bitterly cold winters e.g. not Florida). Secure travel hubs (parking lots, metro stations, bus terminals) will be dispersed through all parts of a metro area.