In general I stand for Liberty, Responsibility, and Simplicity in government. I’d like to propose what I call “The Fifth Grader Rule”:
“For each Bill to be considered: Send a copy to 100 random, normal, public-school fifth graders. If at least 80 of them understand it, continue. If not, re-write the bill.”
That should have a triple effect of encouraging civic participation among our youth, encouraging reading comprehension, and making our laws easier to understand.
With the above in mind, these are where I stand on various issues:
- Gun Control I stand with Thomas Jefferson, Mahatma Gandhi, Patrick Henry, and every tyrant in the world when I say that no free person should ever be debarred from the right to self defense, and as such, I believe that we should enforce laws against actions which cause harm. Possession in and of itself should NEVER be a crime. That said, I AM in favor of mandatory safety training for everyone who wishes to own a firearm: it is the “well regulated” part of our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Two additional points: First that the Second Amendment is not about “Sporting Purposes”. It is to prevent tyranny. It is to allow each and every capable citizen to be allowed protect his or her Life, Liberty, and Property, individually, and in common. Second, please remember that the opening battle of the American Revolution, the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World”, encompassing the Battles at Lexington and Concord, was fought because the people in authority were trying to take HEAVY ARTILLERY and guns and ammunition stockpiles away from the hands of private citizens. It boggles my mind how Massachusetts came up with their current restrictions on firearm ownership.
- The War on Terror Perpetual, un-winnable wars are a waste of resources and lives. “Terror” is an idea. Have you ever seen the movie, “V for Vendetta”? You cannot win when you fight an idea. I believe we have perpetrated enough damage upon the Middle East. It is time we acknowledged our mistake (see “Principles” section) and change our course. Time to pull our troops out and – IF invited – to provide non-combat, humanitarian relief.
- Abortion I stand in a tough position. I was adopted. I was born just before Roe vs. Wade. I was born to a 16 year old girl. I have seen adoption as a good choice in more cases than just my own. At the same time, though, I am not a medical doctor. Abortion is a medical procedure and thus should be left to the choice made by the woman and her physician. While for my own reasons, I will always advise against having an abortion, it is not my call. It is also not the job of Congress to dictate medical procedures.
- The War on Drugs It has sucked the American People dry. It is a war on an idea (see above). It is a series of laws banning possession (see elsewhere above). Let the FDA continue to regulate the safety of commerce regarding drugs. Growing, harvesting, and using natural fauna should not be illegal. I am against “medical marijuana” because we have THC already available. I am FOR the complete and total legalization of cannabis sativa and any other naturally occurring substance. I believe addicted users of “hard” drugs should seek and have available to them, treatment. Said treatment should be funded by private institutions, “faith based” institutions, etc.
- National Defense & the US Military I stand for a smaller, stronger, better trained, better paid military. I stand for bringing our troops home from messing around in the affairs of other nations. The idea I have for our Military is a small group of modern knights, fighting for peace and justice and all that is good. I envision them as protectors first and foremost, of the United States of America. I would like to see our standing military reduced in size and our volunteer militia increased and reorganized.
- Education Our schools are woefully underfunded, staffed with some of the greatest people I have ever met. Money saved from ending the War on Drugs and the War on Terror should in large part, be diverted towards making our public education the best in the world and then – even better. Those wishing to educate their own children in their own way should have every right to do so and the full support of the public education system. A high quality, basic education should always be available, free, and optional.
- Oil We need to stop relying on oil. We should concentrate on wind, solar, and hydro first, and research nuclear energy safety. I stand for major tax breaks for manufacturers of non-petroleum based vehicles.
- The Environment I am in favor of environmental conservation and protections. I believe in harsh penalties for those found to be destroying our environment. We do not need complex regulations, but rather simple, strong, enforceable laws.
- Gay Marriage I don’t think marriage is any of our government’s business. My stance is to move the decision down to the person officiating the wedding. Each religion has its own teaching on the subject and under the First Amendment to the Constitution, the government should never dictate religion. If your church believes gay marriage is wrong, you shouldn’t be forced to marry gay couples. If your church believes it is OK, then the government has no right telling you not to perform the wedding. On a personal note, I have no problem with it, but I do not believe in forcing my religious beliefs on others.
- Taxes I’m on the edge here between a consumption tax (levied on all forms of income by corporations) and a flat rate income tax. The flat rate income tax would be simpler to roll out but is difficult to enforce. A flat rate “corporate consumption tax” would be a better idea. Corporations enjoy certain privileges and they should pay for those. These corporate taxes should be higher if they use fossil based fuels as this adds undue burden on our nation. This would place a “Value Added Tax” on any transaction involving a corporate entity. Private transactions and non-corporate businesses would be exempt to encourage small and start-up business.
I’ll be elaborating these and adding more as I have time. If you’d like to know my stand on some issue that interests you, please ask your question via the Q&A link above or to your right.
