Religion

I am a Christian. That should cover most of it. I’m not going to try to ram my beliefs down your throat. It’s your choice, I’ve made mine. I will not legislate my morality, it’s your choice if you want to be a moral person or not. I only answer for my own self. There is a but coming here. But, I am a Christian and will act as one. I will be honest, I will be hardworking, and I will respect everyone as much as they respect me. I believe in turning the other cheek to a neighbor but I do not believe that everyone is a neighbor. I can back this up with the bible. I do believe in the separation of Church and State but not as some of you do. I do not feel I have the mandate of God to force anything on you, I do not believe it is the position of government to mandate religion on you, but I believe a government (ours) was meant to offer a haven to Christians or anyone else who wishes to practice their religion in a manner that DOES NOT force others to believe as they do. I think our current government is “hostile” to Christians and I think “political correctness” has run amok.

Gun Control

My first thought on gun control is being able to effectively hit your target. My next though on gun control is anyone who wants to legally possess a firearm should be allowed to do so. I think if you are convicted of a felony, are mentally impaired, or have ever been convicted of any violent crime (spouse abuse included) you do NOT have that right. If you want to have an AR-15 in your bedroom, then by all means go for it. Some opponents of guns have no problem with you having meth in your bedroom but they have a problem with a gun. Personally, I don’t get it. If you are stupid enough to leave a loaded gun around where your 3 year old blows a hole in the wall then you have (1) forfeited your right to have a gun and (2) you go to jail for endangering the life of a child. If you want to carry a hand gun (concealed) then I think you have the right to do so AFTER you have been trained and tested by a government agency (local police department) and that includes a psychological test. You have to take one to work in a nuclear plant so you should have to take one to carry a gun. If you use your weapon to stop a criminal you get a reward, like a free dinner to the White House with overnight stay. If you pull a gun in anger or shoot the moon, you (1) forfeit your rights to ever own or carry a gun and (2) you go to jail. If you injure or kill a civilian you will go to jail. If you injure or kill a law enforcement officer you (1) get a needle, FAST TRACKED. It is the cost of having the right to carry.

Education

It is not the Federal Governments job to educate our kids. The Fed should get out of the business. Other than prosecuting wars, the government doesn’t do very well at anything else. We are spending money at a throwaway rate. Our education system is failing. We should cut off ALL federal funds to education. Why should we take money from Montana and send it to a school in New York City? Let the funds come from the community. It is not our job to redistribute wealth within the country. If that’s want you want then move to Europe, Russia, or some other successful (as if there was one) socialist or communist country. I think parents should have the right on where to send their kids. Parents pick colleges all the time what’s the difference. Competition is what makes our country great. It is what put us in space, created companies like Microsoft, Google, and made millionaires of the guys who started YouTube. So why shouldn’t schools work the same way. You’re a school district, you have several schools, you have an underperformer? Well, it’s not because the paint is the wrong color it’s because the people running it stink at it. If schools had to compete with each other, if teachers had to perform to keep their jobs (just like the rest of us) if teachers and principles had the right and the authority to “decline” your neighbors bratty kid then our schools could excel. I think every child has a right to access to education but if they choose not to exercise their right then they can pay the price. Why should the students who want to learn or the ones who are supported by their parents have to suffer because a minority of children want to throw their education opportunity away. If your going to be stupid, you better be tough. Once again we see what a government bureaucracy can NOT do.

Taxes

I’m tired of paying taxes. You’ve all seen the list of taxes, federal, state, tobacco, gas, sales……. It goes on for pages. Personally, I like the Fair Tax. Just think if you are making below 35K a year you will pay ZERO taxes. Businesses from around the world would flock to do business in the US. We would once again become an economic power house. It is well researched and if you actually READ it, I challenge you to find why it won’t work. If you haven’t read the book, then you are basing your decision on what someone told you who might actually have a personal reason that they want to keep the present system and couldn’t give a hoot on how it would benefit you. So please, research this idea. Tell me what is wrong with it?

FEMA

The US Government is an awesome force. FEMA is a disaster. Florida can handle 5 hurricanes in a year but Louisiana can’t handle one. Did FEMA make a difference? Nope, it came down to the states. The government should get out of the disaster business. FEMA should be a support role, stage equipment and resources around the US. At a states request, send in the material. That’s it. Each state should KNOW what it needs and where it needs it. After all the state is being run by people who live in the state and answer to the people living in the state.

State Control

I read a study once that 4 out of 10 people that left California would return if given the chance. That meant that 6 out of 10 were voting with their feet. That is as it should be. If NY needs more money to fix its roads, school system, rebuild its ports then let the people of NY pay for it. If it is a worthwhile endeavor they will pay for it. If the roads are bad, then let the local contractors fix them and the local people pay for them. If the local politicians want to rip the people off and they keep getting elected then fine by me. If the schools are good and producing productive people then they should be supported by the community. If they fail the community and the people pool together and create a private school then so be it. If the ports are a vital part of the community then rebuild them and pass the costs on to the people using the port. Add the price to the guy buying the widget imported through the port just don’t expect the farmer in Georgia to pay taxes to import peanuts from Mexico.

The government should be there in case of need, but each state has its own laws and what happens in the state should stay in the state. Federal highways should be maintained through the Fed, there should be some services offered by the Fed, military bases and such. The main source of state funding should come from the state. If they want to add a tax on their products that is there choice. If people really want the product they will pay the tax until another state competes.

Federal Justice Reform

First off, the Federal Prosecutors work for the President visa vi the Justice department. If there boss doesn’t think they are doing a good job he has every right to fire him. Heck, Clinton fired over 90 of them right off the bat. So what is all the fuss about. Just another political bunch of hoeeey.

The ninth circus? Anytime you have a group of guys that have a majority of their rulings overturned it’s pretty clear to me they aren’t playing with a full deck and need to be replaced.

It is my opinion that judges are there to implement law, NOT interpret the law, or choose what laws they are willing to enforce.

Did you know we have a judge serving prison time and collecting his pay? This system is messed up and needs to be taken to task. I would have a group of federal prosecutors investigating judges all over the country.

Speaking of the law, I am NOT a lawyer. I’m sure I will have to hire a few as time goes on. Maybe we should have free legal care while we are at it. Or free auto insurance care. Let’s make everything free and we will all do our jobs and everyone will have whatever they need. Oh yeah, that’s been tried (look at the Mayflower compact) and see how that worked out.

Military/Research

If there is anything that should be in our budget it is the Military. We have the best but it can be better. They should have the best healthcare. They should have benefits as good as our congressman and senators have. If they are good enough to earn retirement with 5 years of service then so is our military. If it’s to good a package for the military then maybe it’s to good for our politicians. We should have a system that protects the US and its allies from ANY missile attack in the world. If you’re a foreign country and you don’t like it then get on our neighbor list. If your not on the neighbor list then tough. Build your own.

We can take all the oil that we don’t need and use it for jet fuel and tank fuel.

National Security

This should be at the top of the list. I’ve already covered a few things like moving the UN, creating the FUS, border security (why don’t we have a problem at the Canadian Border), enhancing the military. I have no problem with a computer program that searches for key words and then flags a conversation that a real person can listen too. If you use words like Allah, bomb, nuclear, death to America, you should have your call listened too. Face it people we have people that WANT US DEAD. Only 10% of Muslims are considered radical, and I thank the 90% but that still means there are over 100 MILLION people who want us DEAD! We should get our heads out of the sand. I believe in personal rights. I think we should have more personal accountability but I have no problem with an agency that is closely monitored by a bi-partisan group investigating every possible lead. Why not select a group of congressman from both parties that have access to all surveillance so that no one group can use it against another. If you are on that group and you leak data you will be PROSECUTED. If a single death of a US citizen results from your leak you will face the death penalty. Oh yeah, I’m in favor of the death penalty in an extreme case. I know of no executed felon that ever committed another crime.

Prisons.

We need more of them and we need them now. Federal and state. I propose a multi tier system as in separate, completely separate facilities based upon your record. If it’s your first non- violent offense, you do your time in a facility designed to give you a second chance. You will be safe, you will be educated, we will help you get a start. You could learn a trade or get a degree. If it is a second offense or a violent offense, you are sent to a facility designed to rehabilitate and incarcerate with a group of your peers. You may not be as safe, you will get an education. If you are convicted of a third offense, a second violent offense in a second tier group, or you commit a capital (murder) offense you go to the top of the line for life with NO PAROL. Streamline the appeal process. Keep like with like. The ones who have a chance of redeeming themselves, give it to them. The mad dogs, lock up and throw away the key.

Lawsuits

A personal favorite. Have I mentioned I'm not a lawyer and don't actaully care too much for lawyers. I kind of like loser pays and I see the problems with loser pays. In my opinion if your suit is deemed “stupid beyond belief” then you should pay the opposing parties fees and the case thrown out. If you’re going to be dumb you should learn to be tough. This will be determined by the jury at any time during the case. It doesn’t have to be unanimous, just a majority. If you lose your suit, but it was deemed to have merit, then it stands or the judge or jury has the right to award you costs only. If you win, you are entitled to “real” damages (no more than 2X what you would normally earn over the course of your life plus medical expenses and actual legal fees) and a reasonable amount of punitive damages. Reasonable will be determined by the presiding judge and subject to appeal. Actual damages may be subject to appeal but only AFTER the loser pays them. No more people (who won) having their money held up for years by some fancy law firm. However, you don’t get the punitive damages. This is NOT the lottery. You have been compensated. Your attorney gets his share for his gamble that you would win and the rest goes to the court to cover costs of indigents. After all they have the right to “free” legal representation, don’t they?

I was personally involved in a lawsuit in US Federal Court. In a meeting with the attorneys and the judge I was told that over 90% of ALL federal cases are mediated prior to a jury trial. I thought we were right in what we did and the lawsuit was a waste of time. The judge informed me that “right or wrong” was not the point. That we should settle (for over a million dollars). His purpose was to mediate the dispute so that it would not go to trial. We went to trial. We WON. We did not even get our attorney fees covered. The other party was willing to drag things out in hopes we would just cave and pay them off. That is not RIGHT. But I do realize that if we were the ones suing this major company, and knew that if we lost we had to pay their attorney fees we would not be able to sue. So, if you think you have a good case then go for it and let the jury decide but I don’t believe you should have the chance to win the BIG ONE, you should be able to regain your losses with compensation but a couple hundred grand for a coffee burn?

Minimum wage

Why not make it $15 an hour? Because it would ruin our economy and we all know it. What is all the fuss about. If you are just starting out and have no skills other than “Would you like fries with that” what makes you think you should be earning enough to raise a family. Every time you buy a burger or get gas at the local Jiffy Mart you are paying for the product plus the cost of wages. If the minimum wage goes up, so do the prices. If the prices go up then your minimum wage needs to go up. It never ends. If you want to earn more money, get a skill. It’s called capitalism. If you could earn enough to raise a family working at Burger Doodle, why would anyone bother getting and education in the first place. This is America, you should earn what your WORTH. Learn to be a welder and help me solve the “climate change” thing.

Federal Budget

What a joke. If ANY of us ran our household the way the politicians are running our country we would be in jail. 2.9 TRILLION is the last budget I heard they were trying to pass. That is $2,900,000,000,000. There are 300 Million people in the US, that’s $10,000 for every man woman and child. These guys are out of control. $453 Million for 2 bridges in Alaska, one of which is expected to cost $1.5 BILLION when it is completed? I will not spend more money than comes in. I WILL reduce government and government spending. It is time we cleaned house. It is time we stopped sending our money overseas. Right now foreign countries are selling us junk for US dollars and investing those dollars in US notes. We are selling out our country for cheap dog food and gadgets.

Would someone explain why we are buying materials for cat and dog food from China? The latest rat poison issue has me wondering. Have things gotten so bad we can buy a can of cat food from a foreign country and ship it to the US cheaper than making it here? People listen up. This is just the beginning and if we don’t get a handle on this quick we will be at the mercy of the rest of the world. Our politicians are selling our birthright for a power trip.