Things the government shouldn't be able to do

[AndyZ]

I'm well aware that as things stand now, Congress isn't going to pass laws voluntarily which limit its own power.  This isn't a thread about what can be done, so much as it is a thread of what could be done with a less corrupt system.

While a less corrupt system would not require such restraints, the debate allows us to focus on issues upon which we agree, and argue matters which come into question.  Even if we don't agree upon all of them, I'm sure we can come up with a large number where there is little doubt.

I'd also like to get things worked out to some significant degree.  While it's simple to say that privacy is a right and that the government shouldn't be able to watch people, it makes it completely impossible for the police to perform their duties or to catch criminals.  Search warrants exist because there are exceptions to the idea that the government cannot ever see what you're doing, but those exceptions must be clear and absolute.

I have absolutely no problem with bringing up things which are already in the US Constitution or lawbooks, nor of looking for logical fallacies in these rules.  It probably makes more sense, though, to bring up things which aren't currently listed but should be, unless it becomes too difficult to bridge a gap between debators that we must look to some alternate form for an example of why such rules exist.

It is my hope to find some sort of a pattern with these rules, because it is not possible for such a list to become exhaustive in a society with any significant degree of progress.