I've Been Accused of being Liberal. Okay I'm laying my cards on the table

Been a long time lurker, but now that I'm posting I figure this is a good intro thread:

Gun Control: The problem lies not with guns but with the people who use them for ill purposes. An irresponsible person with a knife is more dangerous than a responsible person with an assault rifle. That said, I think we can draw the lines on practical limits like rocket launchers, tanks, or anything people could muster to raise a private army.

Gay marriage/abortion: Indeed, 10th Amendment and I'm sorry to see most Republicans don't embrace the full dictates of Federalism that. If a state like Massachusetts wants to have more liberal standards and a more robust equal protection clause in their state constitution such that it allows for gay marriage, more power to them. The states are the laboratories of democracy. If you don't like the fact that your state is more liberal than what the current federal constitution affords, you move to another state bringing your tax base and individual skills with you.

Church and State: I am not a very religious person but I appreciate the fact that religion has a lot to teach people and is a valuable part of our society. It should be one of many factors/considerations that influence our morals/laws but certainly not the prevailing factor.

Taxes: I've always supported a flat tax although I can't pretend I could effectively argue the benefits or detriments of it as opposed to the current progressive system. In terms of corporate taxation I am in favor of breaks and incentives to smaller businesses.

Foreign Policy: Limited Cultural Imperialism. If other countries want to have a Starbucks on every corner then by all means we should export that lifestyle. However, we can't pretend that every region on this planet shares western sensibilities particularly the Muslim world. It's just a different culture altogether. Terrorism should be fought through the CIA, FBI, and NSA through increased funding and a larger informant network. There are currently no crisis in the world that require the intervention of our standing army.

Education: The Department of Education should mostly be gutted. It's fine to have some basic standards and monitor them and run the federal loan programs but that's about the scope of it. The onus needs to be on state and local governments, charter schools, and perhaps private industry funding schools with a trade-off of them being able to plaster advertisement all over.

Trade: I think some protectionism is in order so as not to drive small business owners to bankruptcy. I think there should be penalties on U.S. corporations that make use of what is essentially slave labor. In the absence of that I would use federal money to advertise what companies do in fact use American labor and materials so that the public can be informed and can make a conscious choice to opt to pay a little more money for a product that helped employ fellow Americans in it's creation.

Welfare: I would prefer if more welfare/charity be local, private, and faith-based.

Campaign Finance: At the end of the day it's people who go to the polls and select their representatives. If the think the people who represent them are too beholden to special interests they need to vote them out of office.

Death Penalty: I don't have a strong opinion on this one way or the other although I know there is a big problem in this country with public defenders, especially in capital cases.

Social Security: There needs to be more privatization. People should have a choice in how their money is invested. Equality of results is not important, just make sure people have the same base to invest from and the results are up to them.

Energy: Way more funding should be put into making hydrogen a more practical fuel source. From everything I have read it is cleaner and cheaper.

Environment: The cumulative effects of modern society are eventually going to take their toll on the planet. Much like hydrogen fuel, to the extent things can be replaced with cleaner and viable alternatives, they should be.

Immigration: Enforcement is the key. Jail time for people who hire illegal aliens. It's commendable that people want to come to this country, but they should do so legally.

Civil Liberties: Although I am very libertarian in my social leanings, it isn't lost on me that sometimes 'bending' the rules may lead to the safeguarding of America lives. Unfortunately we live in the real world and not a con law seminar classroom.