Abortion: Pro-choice.
Guns: Legal with mandated background checks, proper training, and refresher courses over time with tests. Treated like having a drivers license, something you have to prove your ongoing ability and safety skills
**Gay Marriage: ** For. Any people who want to stand up in public and say they want to spend the rest of their lives together have my support. … and notice I didn’t qualify that by saying ‘any two people’. If three people (or more) want to say it, more power to them.
**Drug War: ** Against. All drugs should be legalized. Like alcohol, there should be support for those unable to handle using them properly and in moderation. If you commit a crime, it should be punished regardless the cause. ie. robbing someone to get your next ‘fix’, or robbing someone so you can go on a spending spree.
War on Terror: Terrorists are criminals. Criminals should be prosecuted regardless of the cause. Pissing off other countries while doing so is counterproductive and likely to produce even more terrorists.
**Bush: ** Think he is still emotionally a child trapped in an adult body. Most of his actions align with either ‘what can I do to make my friends like me more?’ or ’ I’m so big and tough and important, better not get in my way.’
**Religion: ** I highly approve of people who are spiritual, but religion is a dirtyword in my book. Religion gives people rules so they don’t have to think for themselves.
**Economy: ** I’m a card carrying Libertarian. I don’t think Government controls over the economy can just ‘poof’ go away. Business is used to government control and doesn’t know how to think for themselves, yet. But a slow removal of those controls would be a good step in the right directlion.
**War in Iraq: ** Think we did the right thing for the wrong reason. The world has gotten global. (yes, I meant to say that) The days of saying ‘I’m just going to stay inside my borders and let eveyone else do what they want’ is out dated thinking. Governments were formed to keep petty thugs from taking power in their towns and police were established to use force to stop them when thugs tried it anyway. Like it or not, the US needs to step up when those ‘petty thugs’ are other governments. (Yes, supposedly the United Nations should do that, but they have no real police force, and the ‘thugs’ have too much influence on it to allow it to do anything.) … That being said, I also think the war in iraq was poorly planned since the time it was won. There should have been a clear exit plan, that should have been followed through on regardless of any continuing insurgent attacks.
War in general: See war in iraq above. It’s time to stop seeing the world as seperate countries and manage it as a whole.
Torture as a means of interrogation during war time: For, but with limitations. Torture can destroy someones life (perhaps not kill them, but the psychological effect can be the same.) Thus, in war, if someone is guilty of war crimes serious enough to warrent the death penalty, then they could be tortured to extract information that might save lives.
**Homeland Security: ** Against
Obesity as an epidemic: If someone doesn’t care enough about themself to stay fit, why should I? Likewise with smoking, riding a motorcycle without a helmet, or any other thing that statistically will shorten your life. … Of course I also think that insurance companies should be allowed to set their rates based on someones lifestyle, OR they should be allowed to put in exemptions for coverage based on those lifestyles. (No, you don’t have to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle, but any injuries to your head are not covered, and there will be an extra surcharge on your policy for state taxes to pay for the police having to scrape your brains off the pavement, and the therapists counciling those officers)
Medical Malpractice reform: I haven’t studied this and thus have no opinion on it.
National ID card: I don’t like it, not even someones idea to put a picture on your SS card. Identity thieves already have lots of ways to get your information. Given the number of times I have to use ‘the last 4 digits of my SS number’ to prove who I am over the phone, I never carry my SS card for fear of loosing it. Having one source of ID about me just makes it even scarier.
Medical Marijuana: Of course. (See war on drugs above)
Capital Punishment: For. I’ll even expand this to people given ‘life in prison with no chance of parol’. If they are so bad that we want them removed from society for the rest of their lives, lets just get it over with now.
. Even the hawks say that (and even most pacifists wouldn’t argue with using military force to end massive genocide, etc.).