I've Been Accused of being Liberal. Okay I'm laying my cards on the table (3 Viewers)

Gum Control: Brushing regularly should be taught to children at an early age.

Gay Mirage: Sometimes a guy will act gay, but he might not be. That's no reason to go up and ask him out on a date.

Abhortion: I realy do hate everything.

Churn and Ate: I made a mistake. I don't hate butter....... delicious freaking butter.

Texas: Bigger is not necessarily better. Country music kills brain cells.

Foreigner Policy: I could handle most all of it up to 4, but when I've Been Waiting came out, that was when I gave up on them.

EdNation: The Broncos will never be the same without Elway.

Tirade: What's the deal with stupid rear window stickers of Calvin urinating on everything from Ford logos to the INS? The cartoon wasn't very funny as it was and got even unfunnier after the 30 millionth sticker I saw of him on the freeway.

Dellaware fair: The most exciting thing to happen there all year. Except for that time Mrs. Johnson's cat got stuck in that tree.

Champagne Finance: I allot a small amount of change for the one time a year I enjoy toasting a bit of the bubbly...... Secretaries Week.

Death Penalty Box: This would make hockey way more interesting.

SoCal Security: I lock my doors at night.

Synergy: If I hear one more stupid buzzword from some do-nothing middle management monkey, I'll rip his head off and punch the severed head until I get him to smile his death smile.

What Ron Meant: Yeah. Even I'm not sure at this point. Something to do with a towel and a photograph of Bill Bixby in the nude.

Lemming Ration: Yeah, like we're running out of them....

Cybil's Beauties:
cybilmom.jpg


Healthy Car: Change your oil, moron. That stuff doesn't last forever.

Drugged Politely: I always say please when requesting that Bogart to puff puff pass.
 
Like others I stole Sev&#8217;s format and some of his answers. It required the least amount of editing.<o>
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Gun Control: handguns/rifles yes, assault weapons/RPGs/SAMs no, mandatory licensing, background checks, and education.

Gay Marriage: let everyone marry/civilly unionize or get the government out of the business. Leave &#8220;marriage&#8221; itself as a religious ceremony that the churches control. Some church will &#8220;marry&#8221; gays for the money.

Abortion: Yes on morning after, no on anything else except in the case of the mothers health. Nobody knows with certainty when life begins and I say if your going to error then error on the side of life.

Church and State: remove it and keep it out. However, use some commonsense in determining what is and isn&#8217;t a combination of church and state.

Taxes: Targeted corporate tax cuts for struggling industries like manufacturing. Move to federal sales tax and away from income taxation for citizens. Increase &#8220;luxury&#8221; and &#8220;vice&#8221; taxes under the Fed sales tax system.

Foreign Policy: stop being the world's police. Finish off dealing with enemies in the ME then move back to the Reagan plan of not keeping US troops on Muslim soil but keep them close enough to deal with emergencies. Form a UN / NATO like organization comprised of the worlds committed democracies and push democracy through it. Limit foreign aide to democracies and give democracies favored trade status (don&#8217;t buy from a non-democracy what you can from a democracy). Force Democratic change in the world economically rather than militarily.

Education: federal funding and research, revamp public education methods, don't treat kids like criminal sardines, offer free higher education at state universities.

Trade: Democracy first trading principal. Fair trade meaning match tariffs with what other countries do to our imports. Tax cuts to encourage American companies to keep jobs in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1>America</st1></st1:country-region>.

Welfare: Move to privatization of support services through charitable organizations. Let it be a choice then people who believe in it can give as much as they want to the United Way etc. to provide these services. Maintain government oversight to ensure the money people give makes it to the needy. (Note to Sev, Unemployment isn&#8217;t welfare, its insurance. We pay to have that safety net).

Campaign Finance: fully public campaign finance, restrict 527s/PACs.

Death Penalty: Support it in the age of DNA evidence but need to reform the appeals process.

Social Security: One word&#8230; &#8220;lockbox&#8221;.

Energy: do everything possible to reduce oil consumption. Strict pollution controls on coal, large push for solar, wind, geothermal and other alternative energy adoption/research. Open to new nuclear technology. End anti-trust exemption for oil companies. Expand domestic drilling.

Environment: Balance needs of economy and environment. Tax incentives for environmentally clean production/cars/etc.

Immigration: overhaul the management of the current system, encourage immigration of those with advanced degrees, seal the border. Enforce existing laws. Kill 51B visa program.

Civil Liberties: Government should expand our freedoms not restrict them. If your going to error then error on the side of liberty.

Health Care: Better regulation of the medical industry as a whole including medical insurance. End link between corporate pharms and the medical community.

Drug Policy: Legalize not addictive drugs. Fair punishment for distribution (why is crank one quarter the penalty as crack?)

Tort Reform: Force unsuccessful plaintiffs to cover the legal fees of the defendants. Institute a grand jury like system to determine if lawsuits should ever even make it to civil court.

Government - Balanced budget Amendment with and exception for a true declared war. Line Item veto. Require spending to be related to the principal subject of a bill.
 
Here is how I stand....

Issues:

Gun Control: See 2nd Amendment...yes. But the Second Amendment says that because we need guns for the militia that the government cannot take away the right to bear arms. Since we do not need to bear arms for the militia anymore, I don't see an absolute right to bear arms anymore. Accordingly, the government should have the right to regulate it. With that said, just because the government can do something, doesn't mean that it must or should do it. Long winded way of saying, that there is no absolute right to bear arms, but that does not mean the government should outlaw the ownership of guns.

*Gay marriage/abortion: I see them as two different deals. Gay marriage...I could care less. A big non-factor in my life. If two guys want to get married, let them. Abortion: See 5th Amendment: nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. Here, IMO, someone is being deprived of life without due process of law. To go here you have to believe that life begins at conception, which I do. I understand those that say the unborn aren't life, I just disagree with them.

*Church and STate: 1st Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. IMO, having a nativity scene outside city hall is not the establishment of a religion. Church of England is the establishment of religion. I don't have a problem with government interacting with religion that some do. Before you call me a crusading Christian, I am agnostic.

*Taxes: When High, tax cuts are good, when low, keep them low. Tax subsidies to large corporations has to go. No more corporate welfare. I agree with Reb on this completely. Plus, get away from the income tax and go to a national sales tax.

*Foreign Policy: Stay in Iraq. It has been handled poorly up to this point, but we need to try and stabilize the country before we leave.

*Education: Abolish Federal intervention; some funding is good, but abolish oversite. Agreed, education is best done locally.

Trade: I'm for free trade....Agreed.

Welfare: I think some social welfare is good and necessary; we need a social safety net, but not a hammock. Agree.

*Campaign Finance--Here I might be considered a bit liberal. Corporations and lobbyists are way too powerful; reign them in somehow. Agreed. Special interests rule Washington.

Death Penalty--I am in favor of the death penalty.

Social Security--I was actually for the Bush plan--making it more privatized would net a better return for workers' money. Agreed.

*Energy--I might be construed as a liberal on this issue; nobody can sit here and tell me this country can't invest in some Manhattan project to get this country off the dependency of fossil fuels. It would have miraculous effects vis a vis middle east policy and making this country more entrepreneurial. I agree. The sooner we aren't dependent upon fossil fuels, the sooner we can ignore what goes on in the Middle East.

*Environment--I am not much of an environmentalist.

*Immigration-- Control the border. If that means building a fence, then build a fence that will work, not some half-baked deal that won't even be patrolled. Enforce all laws, even if it hurts your special interest group.

*Civil Liberties--I really don't have as much of a problem with the Patriot Act as I do with the IRS. Real freedom comes from being economically free...from being able to decide what you want to do with YOUR money. The government and the IRS takes that away from us. Big Brother is already here, and his name is IRS.
 
Gun Control - The definition of proper gun control is the ability to hit your target. All joking aside, contrary to some people's belief, there is still the very real need for the right to bear arms. But not assault rifles you say? Why? What difference does it make? "Assault" weapons are little more than hunting rifles/shotguns with a different style.

Gay marriage - For legal purposes we should start using the term 'civil unions' and be done with it. Marriage is inherently a religous status and should be handled within the confines of the church. If two men, or two women, want to become legally bound, fine by me. It's none of my business.

Abortion - A tough, tough subject which I feel is best left to the individual states to decide.

Church and State - To quote a rock band, "you got to keep 'em seperated". For all those who feel God must be in government and that government must be religious, I ask you: Which God and which religion do you wish to have? Chances are you wouldn't want the same thing as the person across the street. You want to live in a country where religion is government? Move to Saudi Arabia or Iran.

Taxes - Our present tax & spend system is woefully broke. There is no reason for people to be taxed over and over and over on the same dollar. People should not be taxed on what they earn or save, rather on what they expend. Go to a consumption tax system.

Foreign Policy - We need to get out of the business of trying to police the world. There also needs to be a break in this ideology that the War in Iraq is part of the War on Terrorism. They're not. We cannot simply abandon Iraq at this point (ala Powell's "you break it you own it" analogy), but there needs to be a coherent and aggressive plan to give Iraq back to the Iraqis in full. We should have focused our military strength on Afghanistan and finished the job there. If we had, OBL wouldn't be alive and we wouldn't be bogged down in Baghdad.

Education - Broke, broke, broke. Our teachers are being forced to "teach the tests" and our children's education is suffering as a result. I'm not sure what should be done to fix it.

Trade - Free trade is fine as long as it equitable. We should increase tariffs to offset a reduction in taxes.

Welfare - Again, it's broke, broke, broke. I'm not advocating a full abolition, but it needs to be dramatically scaled down. People can and do take better care of their neighbors than the government can.

Campaign Finance - I don't believe the government should finance one's desire to run for office. At the same time, I don't believe the Republicrats should have the monopoly.

Death Penalty - I support it where there is irrefuitable evidence (such as DNA).

Social Security - How did we ever exist without it? /sarcasm

Energy - Eliminate, or at least severely curtail, our dependency on oil. Biomass fuels are the answer.

Environment - I break with the classical Libertarian ideas here a bit. I don't believe corporations will take care of the environment. Do a bit of research on Anniston, AL and the environmental problems we have here and you'll see what I mean.

Immigration - Unless you are 100% Native American, someone in your past immigrated here. Think about that for a second.

Civil Liberties - Abolish the "Patriot" Act. Call off the "War" on Drugs. Get out of the bedrooms of consenting adults. The relentless chipping away of liberties (one bite at a time) will eventually result in an America that has less freedoms than the former Soviet Union. That being said, liberties must always be balanced with responsibility and the protection of those who can't protect themselves.
 
Okay, I'll weigh in with a little help from BullDawg's points.:ezbill:

Gun Control - The definition of proper gun control is the ability to hit your target. All joking aside, contrary to some people's belief, there is still the very real need for the right to bear arms. But not assault rifles you say? Why? What difference does it make? "Assault" weapons are little more than hunting rifles/shotguns with a different style. Agreed

Gay marriage - For legal purposes we should start using the term 'civil unions' and be done with it. Marriage is inherently a religous status and should be handled within the confines of the church. If two men, or two women, want to become legally bound, fine by me. It's none of my business.Agreed

Abortion - A tough, tough subject which I feel is best left to the individual states to decide.Agreed

Church and State - To quote a rock band, "you got to keep 'em seperated". For all those who feel God must be in government and that government must be religious, I ask you: Which God and which religion do you wish to have? Chances are you wouldn't want the same thing as the person across the street. You want to live in a country where religion is government? Move to Saudi Arabia or Iran. Here is where I'll echo Sandman's sentiment. I don't get where a nativity scene or a cross on top of Mount Soledad in San Diego is a really big deal. We have freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion.

Taxes - Our present tax & spend system is woefully broke. There is no reason for people to be taxed over and over and over on the same dollar. People should not be taxed on what they earn or save, rather on what they expend. Go to a consumption tax system.Wholeheartedly agree

Foreign Policy - We need to get out of the business of trying to police the world. There also needs to be a break in this ideology that the War in Iraq is part of the War on Terrorism. They're not. We cannot simply abandon Iraq at this point (ala Powell's "you break it you own it" analogy), but there needs to be a coherent and aggressive plan to give Iraq back to the Iraqis in full. We should have focused our military strength on Afghanistan and finished the job there. If we had, OBL wouldn't be alive and we wouldn't be bogged down in Baghdad.Agreed, but even with Bin Laden dead, I think we'd still have a problem with Iraq.

Education - Broke, broke, broke. Our teachers are being forced to "teach the tests" and our children's education is suffering as a result. I'm not sure what should be done to fix it. I'll tell you what needs to be done. Abolish the Education department and quit catering to the teachers unions. Isn't the point of teaching about the student and not the teachers union? Let local governments handle education.

Trade - Free trade is fine as long as it equitable. We should increase tariffs to offset a reduction in taxes. Agreed

Welfare - Again, it's broke, broke, broke. I'm not advocating a full abolition, but it needs to be dramatically scaled down. People can and do take better care of their neighbors than the government can. Agreed

Campaign Finance - I don't believe the government should finance one's desire to run for office. At the same time, I don't believe the Republicrats should have the monopoly. Heh, agreed but I think the playing fields should be evened out for government's sake.

Death Penalty - I support it where there is irrefuitable evidence (such as DNA). Agreed

Social Security - How did we ever exist without it? /sarcasm Heh

Energy - Eliminate, or at least severely curtail, our dependency on oil. Biomass fuels are the answer. Yes they are but I think we have enough oil in the U.S. to support ourselves. Why not use what we have while trying to find suitable alternatives. Believe me, we have enough.

Environment - I break with the classical Libertarian ideas here a bit. I don't believe corporations will take care of the environment. Do a bit of research on Anniston, AL and the environmental problems we have here and you'll see what I mean. I don't know anything about Anniston, but I liked her on "Friends." She's hot. Seriously, I'm not yet convinced of our part in global warming, but I do believe we should be good stewards of the planet.

Immigration - Unless you are 100% Native American, someone in your past immigrated here. Think about that for a second.I think that's a little oversimplifying the issue. I'm all for immigration. LEGAL immigration. Patrol the dang border for once and enforce laws on the books. I know we can't deport all of the illegals back to their home country but quit letting them come in here unimpeded.

Civil Liberties - Abolish the "Patriot" Act. Call off the "War" on Drugs. Get out of the bedrooms of consenting adults. The relentless chipping away of liberties (one bite at a time) will eventually result in an America that has less freedoms than the former Soviet Union. That being said, liberties must always be balanced with responsibility and the protection of those who can't protect themselves.Agreed
 
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While it is almost as if Severum performed a Vulcan mind meld on me when I wasn't looking, I must say ra's contribution to the thread did give me cause to ponder just where I am philosophically at this point in my life.

His sheer and utter grasp of the complexity of the issue (nay, issues) is how discourse must be conducted. While one may or may not share his interpretation of the nuances of the issues and how each has dictated what our geo-political culture has become, you must agree with the depth and breadth at which he delicately and elegantly unlocks the true meaning of what each these issues means, not only for us, but for those who walked before and those who shall walk after us.

Thank you sir. I am not worthy.
 
.....Countries with universal health care pay about half per capita for healthcare than we do under our current system. I fit would only raise taxes about 2% and you wouldn't have to buy private insurance, my guess would be that you would save a lot of money......

Questions/Comments:

1. Help me with some data and source on that (not being sarcastic)
2. What countries are you comparing with? The USA has the highest standard so who wants have 1/2 the cost with 1/2 half the standard of care. This is the crux of the matter and the truth that is not told typically.
 
While it is almost as if Severum performed a Vulcan mind meld on me when I wasn't looking, I must say ra's contribution to the thread did give me cause to ponder just where I am philosophically at this point in my life.

His sheer and utter grasp of the complexity of the issue (nay, issues) is how discourse must be conducted. While one may or may not share his interpretation of the nuances of the issues and how each has dictated what our geo-political culture has become, you must agree with the depth and breadth at which he delicately and elegantly unlocks the true meaning of what each these issues means, not only for us, but for those who walked before and those who shall walk after us.

Thank you sir. I am not worthy.


Purple threemonkey dishwasher.
 

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Issues:

*Gun Control: no one needs to own an assault rifle. handguns and hunting rifles are fine by me.

*Gay marriage: I could care less if gay folks want to get married, as long as it isnt in the catholic church. personally i think the solution is to strip any tax benefits from married couples and treat us all as equal individuals.

*abortion: im pro life.

*Church and STate: keep them separated. faith based initiatives are bad bad news. as soon as the gubment funds a faith based initiative, that initiative is tied to that funding and easily manipulated by said gubment.

*Taxes: i hate taxes, but i hate corporate tax breaks even more. lets all play on an even playing field and initiate the flat tax, or a sales tax on non consumables for personal use. i have no problem tying in sin taxes to that as well (and i smoke like a chimney and enjoy the occasional beverage). if a corporation is entitled to every right as a citizen, save voting in public elections, they should be taxed in the same damn manner.

*Foreign Policy: this one is tough. i dont think we should have ever came to iraq, but now that we are here, we must finish the job.

*Education: give cash to the states and let them run education.

*Trade: tarrifs on countries that place tarrifs on our exports, and free trade with those that dont.

*Welfare: complete reform with additional funding. we must ween people off of welfare, and create a payment system, via cash or volunteer efforts in the community, to repay what was given. education goals should be tied to every welfare recipient, either through themselves and or their children.

*Campaign Finance--demand the broadcast companies give free and equal airtime to every candidate. limit campaign contributions to 100 per citizen and corporation.

*Death Penalty--im against the death penalty. it isnt a deterrant.

*Social Security--i will probably never see it but...forgive me, but i just dont trust american companies with that much money. i have no solution...

*Energy--get off of oil, or start uncapping the wells we have in our own back yard.

*Environment--we need a common sense balance with a plan to replenish natural resources.

*Immigration--stop worrying about mexico and concentrate on the canadian borders. thats where the terrorists cross.

*Civil Liberties--gubment, leave me alone please...patriot act is bad news.

i consider myself a constitutional conservative. if it were up to me, i would strip the majority of the powers from the feds and ask them to concentrate on a few simple things. gubment, keep the infrastructure sound. that includes highways, digital and traditional, as well as power grids. gubment, protect me from enemies foreign and domestic. gubment, use the FDA to keep bad stuff out of the medicine cabinet...

give all the power to the states. we pride ourselves on capitalism right? why dont we apply the same principles to our governing system? dispurse tax dollars according to population and land mass. if a state is doing a great job with health care, business development, and education, chances are businesses and people will flock there...
let the market work...


do you own any weapons?

As for "assault rifles", most folks wouldn't know one if they were bayonetted.

There should be no new gun laws and I would like to see some taken off the books. However, anyone convicted of commiting a crime w/ a firearm should have an automatic 20 or 30 yrs added on their sentence. Currently, I believe the law adds 10 yrs, but it's hardly enforced.
 
Productive thread, more agreement than disagreement with most.

Sorry for straying off format here, but

For the pro-universal health care Americans...

do you all agree with this statement?

"universal health care to control rising costs"

cause that just makes no economic sense to me.

does anyone realize how terribly abused the Medicaid system is, and to make it bigger? yipes.

I wish there was a way to get everyone covered in some manner, but if the government is involved I would guess we all would pay another 2% a year in extra taxes. We need some kind of free preventative coverage I think.

I view health care as an inalienable right. We shouldn't have 50 million uninsured, several million effected by medical bankruptcy every year, and costs rising at triple the rate of inflation. Our medical system needs to be redone from the ground up, abolish medicaid and form a system based on the best parts of other universal health care systems. Dean and Kucinich both had interesting plans. Done correctly I believe it would be cheaper and make our labor market more competitive. Major reforms, price controls, catastrophic and preventative coverage, and universal coverage for young and elderly would be acceptable stop gaps. I will agree that our current government might be unable to develop a sensible plan, the medicare drug benefit plan is terrible.

.....Countries with universal health care pay about half per capita for healthcare than we do under our current system. I fit would only raise taxes about 2% and you wouldn't have to buy private insurance, my guess would be that you would save a lot of money......

Questions/Comments:

1. Help me with some data and source on that (not being sarcastic)
2. What countries are you comparing with? The USA has the highest standard so who wants have 1/2 the cost with 1/2 half the standard of care. This is the crux of the matter and the truth that is not told typically.

For the costs, OECD data is commonly used.

U.S. Health Spending Highest
The U.S. continues to have the highest per capita health care spending among industrialized countries, according to the most recent data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In 2003, U.S. spending per capita ($5,635) was two-and-a-half times the comparable median for OECD countries ($2,280) It also represented a significantly greater percentage of gross domestic product (15% vs. 8%).

Higher prices, not higher utilization or resources, appears to be the main driver. More spending does not translate into more services. In 2003, the U.S. had fewer physicians, nurses, and hospital beds than the median OECD country. And while the U.S. adopts many clinical technologies earlier than other nations, ultimately it does not make them more widely available, nor does it always provide the most sophisticated procedures compared with other countries.
http://www.cmwf.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=372221

Canada, Germany, and France are around 3k per capita with universal coverage and ranked near or better than the US in key health care indicators.
 
Gun Control: See 2nd Amendment. I know I'm a little odd on this one, but I see no way to restrict assault rifles, RPG's, etc. under the 2nd Amendment. The Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land whether I agree with a part of it or not. The reason the right to bear arms was given is so that we can form militias to protect ourselves from invasion and so that an armed rebellion can be mounted if necessary. I hardly think either would ever be necessary these days, but still, the right is there.

I don't think it's a good idea to be able to own any weapon you want and would probably support a new amendment that says you can something to the effect of you can have guns for hunting and self protection, but you can't have assault rifles and RPG's. As it stands currently, I think you can require background checks and education for gun ownership. Inherent in the Constitution is the concept that a right can be restricted in certain circumstances as long as there due process followed in that restriction.


Gay marriage: I think homosexuals should be allowed to marry. They have a right to equal protection under the law. States have power not given to the Feds by the Constitution, but that does no mean that they have the power to restrict rights granted in the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Constitution provides the floor of our potential rights, States can choose to give more rights than the Constitution, but they can not give fewer.

Abortion: I'm mostly on the fence on this one. I think at the point the fetus/bundle of cells becomes a person, it should be illegal to kill/abort it. I just don't know when that happens. I do not think it is a person at conception or within the first few days. It probably becomes a person when it becomes "self-aware", but I don't know when that is. As such, I don't think that the courts or the government can tell people to not have an abortion if they can't give compelling evidence of exactly when that bundle of cells becomes human. I guess the long and short of it is I am personally pro-life, but politically pro-choice. I wouldn't tell someone to have an abortion, but I don't think the government should tell someone that they can't.

Euthanasia: I think if someone wants to die and has expressed that desire, that desire should be followed. Freedom is of higher value than life itself.

Church and State: See founding fathers--keep them separated. I don't want your religion forced on me, nor do I want to force my lack of religion on you. You are free to practice your religion in any way you want, you just can't have the government sponsor or pay for it.

Taxes: I agree with Reb. When High, tax cuts are good, when low, keep them low. Tax subsidies to large corporations has to go. No more corporate welfare.

I'll add that I think the income and inheritance tax should be abolished. We should not be taxed for being productive and for attempting to pass that production on. It is antithetical to promoting progress and hard work. You should be rewarded for success and for earning more, not punished. We should return to our original tax base of sales taxes and excise taxes. I support a national sales tax because it is the most equal. The act of purchasing has costs to society in terms of having people work to make it and the use of roads, protection of police, etc.

Foreign Policy: We need to get the Iraqi Army, police and infrastructure as ready as possible and get out of Iraq. This may include bringing back some Bathists who were part of Saddam's government. They may not be good people, but they likely will not put up with religious wackos who are trying to tear their country apart. The Bathists likely have the desire and ruthlessness that we do not have to deal with this kind of threat.

We should make our foreign policy neutral in regards to Israel and their enemies. An enemy of Israel is not always an enemy of the U.S. It is not our job or duty to be the police force for the world or to protect Israel from its enemies. We should fully support international human rights and oppose those who violate those right whether it be a ruthless dictator or a terrorist. This should generally be done in cooperation with the international community, but when truly vital U.S. interests or U.S. sovereignty/lives of U.S. Citizens are involved, we should act quickly and in our own discretion. This would mean surgical strikes to kill terrorists that threaten us by use of a highly funded intelligence gathering community and highly trained special forces operatives. We should not get involved in long protracted wars.


Education: Abolish Federal intervention; some funding is good, but abolish over site. I also support vouchers and holding teachers accountable for their students' performances. Schools have no motivation to educate better if the funding comes no matter what and teachers are less motivated if they are not held accountable for the failures of their students. Is it fair to teachers? Probably not, it's a very tough job and it's difficult to teach some kids, but it's the job they chose and the rest of us are held to similar standards in our jobs.


Trade: I'm for free trade

Welfare: Some amount of social net is required. The current system is bloated. Far too much money is spent on bureaucracy. That bureaucracy allows for fraud, which I think happens far less than many think it does. The "welfare mother" is largely a myth and no one really wants to spend their life living on welfare. However, not everyone is motivated and they sometimes need a push to get off their butts. The key is that people need to be properly educated so that they feel some hope of bettering their lives through work. In order for that to work people also need to feel safe in their homes. We need to keep people educated and safe so that they see an opportunity better than collecting welfare or dealing drugs.

Campaign Finance: I don't see how you can limit contributions. The 1st Amendment gives us the right to free speech and I think limitations on financial contributions by individuals violates that. However, I think we can stop contributions by corporations or PACs. They are not persons, although an argument can be made that they are juridical persons, so they do not have the same rights as individuals. Freedom of individuals is key and corporations and PACs don't have that right. They key IMO is for voters to spend time thinking about who they are voting for and not vote based on party affiliation or a slick add campaign.

Death Penalty: I'm a bit torn on this issue. I certainly think that for some crimes a person should be killed. Punishment is a legitimate part of the criminal justice system. Not all criminals can be rehabilitated and not all crimes are forgivable. I support the death penalty for horrible murders, rape (not statutory rape, unless the child is under 12) and child molesters. However, I am not completely comfortable with the government being give the power to kill it's citizens. I'm tempted to support frontier style justice, but I know that the results of that are often unjust and that it does cause social unrest. So, I grudgingly support giving the government the power to carry out executions.


Social Security: I think Social Security should be abolished and replaced. All persons 45 (or so, I'm flexible on the number) would be grandfathered into the old system and an unbreakable trust should be set aside to fund it. It should not be part of the general budget as it is now. For those under 45, they get back the money they have paid in FICA, but are required to invest it in the equivalent of a 401K. Then each month anyone working has to invest what would have been FICA and put it into the equivalent of a 401K. You could choose to invest more if you chose. The effect of this I think would be to protect older people and allow younger people to get a higher return on the money than they would under the current system. Another added benefit would be that companies in the stock market would have new money for R&D and expansion. This could equal a boom in the economy. The criticism would be that if the stock market crashed it would be a problem, but when can deal with that if it happens, just as we did during the Great Depression and if the Market crashes, we have worse troubles than what to do when we retire.


Energy: I support environmentally conscious drilling for oil. However, I also support the investment into finding alternative fuel sources. We should invest heavily in solar, hydroelectric, windmills, nuclear and any other alternatives that our brightest minds can come up with. Solar panels should become an everyday sight. It's fairly cheap and there is no reason not to supplement our other energy sources. I also want to see the development of true electric cars. Electric cars with horse power. If we put our minds to it, we could have 250 HP electric cars within 5 years.


Environment: I tend to think like Teddy Roosevelt. I'm a conservationist. we should protect the environment, but not at the cost of people not being able to live their lives, get good paying jobs and get relatively cheap products. I slight increase in cost should be balanced with the cost to the environment. A common sense approach to keeping the place we live nice, but living in it is what I am supporting.


Immigration: I support sending illegal immigrants back across the border and denying them any social services or right that are due citizens of the U.S. They are not U.S. citizens and do not have the same rights. However, they should be treated humanely like all humans should, but they do not get the same privileges that we do. But, the fact is that it is difficult to keep people out. The "Big Fence" will not work. So, I support laws that allow for liberal use of work visas. That way, people will come and leave legally and will not be a drain on our government services and we need people to do those jobs.

Civil Liberties- The "Patriot Act" is a bad law. The executive should not have that much power. Our laws for getting warrants and requiring probable cause will not hinder our ability to stop terrorist if our intelligence and law enforcement community are well trained.

All other civil liberties are a given. The government should not be allowed to violate our rights, no matter the circumstances.

Wow, I'm long winded.:scratch:
 
I'm for reparations for the Inuit people. Am I a commie, I think not.
 
Oh why not. I try to be philosophically consistent in all my views... I think I do stray a bit, but mostly I think my positions reflect a belief that government exists to protect individual liberties, and that government itself is terribly inefficient at running programs.



Gun Control:
Tough one. The second amendment in my mind is pretty clear... no regulation of any arms. However, that clearly is not practical today, since arms includes ICBM's, nukes, etc. A few wealthy individuals with that kind of a fire power is more dangerous to individual liberty, IMO, than the government being in sole possession of those weapons. However, I tend to think regulation at the personal firearm level to be ineffective and against individual liberty. I agree with Mr. Paul Caruso (yeah, I know :)) -- the minimum sentence for anyone committing a felony while possessing a fire arm should be an additional 25 years without parole.

Gay Marriage: At the government level, it is a contract between two people. Nothing more, nothing less.

Abortion: Pro-life. I'm not comfortable with people choosing who is human and who isn't, and who can live and who can't. Yes, banning abortion is an abridgement of a woman's freedom over her own body, but I think a human's right to life trumps most other rights.

Church and State: Count me in the wall of seperation camp.

Taxes: Since I don't think government should be running too many programs, there is little reason to give it so much money. I do think the wealthy should pay at a higher rate, simply b/c they have more to lose if anarchy ensues. However, I like the idea of a consumption tax more than an income tax. I'm not an economist, however, if shown that one particular tax policy generates wealth for the entire country at a faster rate, then I would favor that.

Foreign Policy: US foreign policy should focus on American interests -- namely, no attacks from foreign soil, and fair access to resources and markets.

Education: I'm not smart enough to fix this. I think its in our own interest to make sure every citizen is educated... how to do this, and what kind of education... i'll admit ignorance.

Trade: I prefer free trade, so long as it is reciprocal.

Welfare: From a government stance, the interest is ensuring a stable population that won't lead to revolution. The main focus should be on a strong enough economy that everyone can work. And funding should be available for worker retraining... to some degree (yeah, i know, vague). Welfare itself is better administered by churches and such... so long as it is being donne.

Campaign Finance: Tough issue. I'm leaning towards total public financing and totally banning any private financing.

Death Penalty: Against it. Costs too much, mistakes too likely, isn't a deterrent.

Social Security: I lean towards the privatization camp.

Energy: I think money ought to be invested in other sources of energy mainly b/c it is a national security issue. I don't think there is any impending crisis though.

Environment: I trend to the "liberal" end of this issue, mainly b/c I prefer clean air, water, scenery, etc., and I'm willing to pay for it.

Immigration: Enforce borders. Encourage legal immigration meet our national needs.

Health Care: I don't think health care is a universal right, but I think it is in our interest to make sure that some level of health standards are accessible by all. The current system doesn't work well, IMO, but I'm not sure a government takeover is the best policy.
 

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