One man's stand on the issues. Bring your torches and pitchforks and meet us at his house tomorrow at dawn.Another Presidential election is pending in the United States, and I am forced to wonder if it's even possible that this one, unlike those in 2000 and 2004, might possibly be allowed to reflect the will of the people without the fraud and conspiracies that have tainted and corrupted the U.S. government for nearly a decade now.
I saw a list of these issues on a website recently. I guess they are the issues that the site feels defines the coming election. I wondered, as I looked at it, where I would stand on the issues if I were running for President?
* Abortion Rights -- While I want every woman to have the power to decide for herself, in every instance, whether she should or should not remain pregnant, I believe the issue would be far less troublesome if every citizen of the United States were educated about reproduction and human sexuality beginning at a very early age. And even before that, parents should be frank and honest with their children about these issues, so that by the time they learn the facts in school, they already have a solid grounding in reproductive ethics and realities. This is one issue on which the entire structure of the country is utterly broken, and we've been paying for it forever.
* Death Penalty -- I used to favour the death penalty in cases of extremely aberrant criminal behaviour in which there is no doubt whatsoever that the perpetrator is guilty. Not for revenge, not as a deterrent, but just to remove the most dangerous people in society from society. But as I have gotten older I have come to realize that no one ultimately has the right to end the life of another person unless that person presents a direct and immediate threat to their own life or the lives of others. So I am opposed to the death penalty.
* Education (No Child Left Behind) -- "No child left behind" is one of the many programs the current, illegal government created as smoke and mirrors to mask its true intentions. It has done nothing to improve the education of the nation's children, and it has allowed the military unwelcome access to private information about children for the purposes of coercing them into military service. It's a fraud and a disgrace.
* Embryonic Stem Cells -- I favour any and all ethically sound medical research that does not involve involuntary, uninformed harm to a living human being.
* Energy & Oil (ANWR Drilling) -- This is another issue on which the majority of citizens is hopelessly undereducated. We're at or past the point of peak oil right now, and there's every reason to believe that a catastrophic reorganizing of human society will be forced upon us within most of our lifetimes. No alternative energy or conservation effort can hope to change the one inarguable fact, which is that the lifestyle of the vast majority of United States citizens will change in ways few will enjoy. The solution is a return to more local economies operating at a human scale, and the fact is that this will happen eventually no matter what anyone says or does; it simply has to, there are no other possible outcomes. The only question is whether people wake up to the realities in time and manage to adjust to the difficulties that lie ahead. If not, the world is in for horror unprecedented in human history. Unfortunately, I expect the latter outcome, and I expect it within the next 10 to 20 years.
* Energy & Oil (Kyoto) -- See above, with the added comment that the U.S. flouting of the Kyoto Accords is another example of how the rogue government of the country has disgraced the entire nation before the eyes of the world.
* Guns (Assault Weapons Ban) -- No human being should be allowed to possess these weapons, and the companies that produce them are guilty of crimes against humanity.
* Guns (Background Checks) -- I am opposed to private ownership of guns of any kind, but if gun ownership remains legal in the United States, there should be a one-year waiting period during which the applicant undergoes extensive psychological testing, gun safety training, and pledges to never allow their weapon within a mile of anyone under the age of 18.
* Homeland Security (Patriot Act) -- This should be repealed immediately and anyone who voted in favour of it should be removed from office and put on trial for treason.
* Homeland Security (Guantanamo) -- This surreal nightmare should be closed immediately, and a full, U.N.-led investigation should occur in the run-up to war crimes trials for all involved.
* Homeland Security (Torture) -- Anyone who has tortured another human being for any reason should be put on trial in the World Court. If found guilty, they should be imprisoned for life with no chance for release.
* Homeland Security (Wiretapping) -- I'll profess ignorance of the details of this issue, except to say that wiretapping was always legal in the United States as long as a warrant was secured from a judge, and I don't see why that should not continue to be so, as long as the police agencies involved provide genuine probable cause that the wiretap is needed to prosecute actual criminals.
* Immigration (Citizenship Path for Illegals) -- If someone is living in the United States with a family and ties to their community, they should be allowed to become citizens, period. Ignorance and racism are at the heart of the anti-immigration movement, and it needs to stop.
* Immigration (Border Fence) -- Once a fair and workable immigration system is in place, this racist pipe dream should no longer be a viable idea. But solving the problem starts with educating those who are in favour of it.
* Internet Neutrality -- No one should have any say whatsoever in what legally happens on the internet, unless it is on their own website(s). There is no greater place to test the ideas of a free market and freedom of speech than on the world wide web.
* Iran (Sanctions) -- It's time to say no to this bullshit.
* Iran (Military Action as Option) -- It's time to say no to this bullshit.
* Iraq (War Support) -- It's time to say no to this bullshit.
* Iraq (War Troop Surge) -- It's time to say no to this bullshit.
* Iraq (War Withdrawal) -- Immediately and with all perpetrators within the government to stand trial in the World Court. If found guilty, they should be imprisoned for life with no chance for release.
* Minimum Wage Increase -- The entire minimum wage system needs to re-evaluated with an eye to determining what a true, living wage is -- allowing for all necessary expenses and basic human rights. The minimum wage should reflect this, and perhaps it's time to institute a maximum wage as well.
* Same-Sex Marriage -- The right to marry is a basic human right all consenting adults must be free to exercise.
* Same-Sex Civil Union -- The right to marry is a basic human right all consenting adults must be free to exercise.
* Same-Sex Constitutional Ban -- It's time to put an end to this ignorant bullshit.
* Universal Health Care -- Free, available health care is a basic human right every person is entitled to. It should be one of the primary purposes to which our tax dollars are spent. If this country cannot afford to look after the health of its citizens, it certainly cannot afford to wage war against other nations or provide obscene salaries and tax breaks to the country's wealthiest citizens.
In short, and as evidenced by many of my responses, I believe the resources of the United States have been criminally diverted away from carrying out the basic tenets under which this country was founded. It's time for the United States to actually allow its citizens to enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I fear that a complacent and uninformed populace will not seize those rights for themselves until blood is running in the streets, if we continue on as we have. The coming end of the cheap-oil era means we'll see the ideals of America put to the test sooner, rather than later. I'd like to believe there's hope. I wish there was someone with a plan that suggests there might be.
