Summary of political beliefs

[RBH]

Social Issues

General philosophy: Social Libertarian

Separation of church and state: I support the current constitutional wall between organized religion and the Government. I don't care too much about if "Under God" is in the pledge or what's on our coins, because it's not unconstitutional.

Freedom of speech: I support it in it's current constitutional status. I also feel the Internet is helping more people exercise that freedom.

Right to an abortion: The status quo works for me. The government should be more concerned about reducing unwanted pregnancies than trying to find ways to restrict abortions.

Affirmative action: Favor until it's unneeded. But, we should have a fair check of that sometime soon.

Gun rights: Support it. Handguns, Shotguns, Rifles. I don't care if you like guns and I won't stop you. We should do more to crack down on illegal sales.

Civil unions or gay marriage: Civil Unions, but in a way that is basically like Gay Marriage, but maybe the details can be worked out.

Euthanasia: Support if the person who is going to die clearly wants to die.

Prostitution: Leave that up to states.

Capital punishment: Support it if it's done responsibly. It's constitutional too, in my POV. We should make sure there are ways to prevent bias due to anything other than the manner of the crime.

Economic Issues

General philosophy: Compassionate Capitalism.

Employers and Employees: Employees shouldn't have to be harrassed. Basically, if they want to sue for discrimination or harassment, that's fine.

Taxation: Raise taxes on higher income brackets. Remove loopholes. Get enough to reduce the debt and deficit.

Spending: Spend responsibly and don't cut blindly.

Free trade: I support trade where we don't get screwed and where we don't screw others. I support free and fair trade.

Funding of the space program: I'm tempted by the idea of letting private groups run some sort of space business. Also, We should make sure our space program isn't wasting money and that it's safe.

Foreign policy

General philosophy: Fair but not Stupid

Iraq: Skeptical at first, Opposed now. We should remove all the troops if the Iraqi government wishes for it. We should also make sure they can deal with the terrorists and rebels in their nation. When it comes to Iraqi Democracy, I hope they can pull it off, but I suspect they may have another dictator within the next decade.

War on Terror: We should make sure that the number of people joining terrorists goes down. We should infiltrate and destroy terrorist groups. We should shut the backdoor and hammer them from the front. Bin Laden's terrorism is based on his personal interest and his personal grudges.

[RBH]

General philosophy: Social Libertarian

Possibly a misnomer.

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Still true

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Still true

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The government probably can't reduce abortions anyways. But, ineffective nudging beats banning.

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Still true.

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Left of the NRA, Right of the Gun Controllers

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Although I'd rather not have people be ordered to die due to medical conditions if they don't consent to such a thing.

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Granted, there's no real way to get prostitution to work. And I'd rather try to keep the government's hands out of that.

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Still true

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If such a thing exists.

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Although free trade isn't always free.

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"A friend to all who seek honest friendship"

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16 months, no real change

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Yeah, I don't think a lot of progress is being made there.

Other stuff.

Unions: Support em. They're needed to balance the playing field.

Immigration: I haven't figured out if there's a good idea on this. Red tape needs to be cut in the INS.

Flag burning: A stupid means of protest. I'd rather prosecute those people for some form of littering.

Hate crimes: A good idea in some instances, as long as it doesn't go too far and as long as it's fair.

Hate speech: We're not Canada. Words don't kill, people do.

Smoking: If people wanna do it, let them do it. And tax them too.

Alcohol consumption: Tax these people too.

Drugs: Find new ways to crack down on drugs. Find sensible ways to stop drug prosecutions from overcrowding prisons.

Gambling: It's the state's right

Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Support it federally and state-wise.

Social Security: Keep it strong, don't allow privatization.

Workers' Rights: Yes, they should be able to strike and fairly negotiate with employers

Welfare: Keep it working well for people who need it.

Healthcare: Find ways to expand the scope and reduce the costs.

Education: Workable funding, with minimal waste

Foreign Policy

United Nations: A force for good when focused. Don't pull out.

Israel: I support their right to exist and I like them more than the Palestinean terrorist groups.