Monday, November 5, 2012

When I run for President...

**** Updates will be noted with the 4 *s and highlighting 

##### 2nd updates are annotated like this

My beliefs that would be my platform if I ran for President....

All people should have access to affordable health care (if you think that is true now you are beyond wrong)

Equal means equal - not special
Things like Title 9 were needed once but now they need to go. Same for affirmative action. I believe in equal pay for equal work, equal right to a job irrespective of race or sex but not special treatment where you get a job because someone has set some BS quota that there has to be "X" number of women etc.

I believe in equality for all.
Gays should be able to marry and have the exact same rights as straight couples. Just like women should be able to vote and people of all races should be able to vote - equality.
**** Gay couples also will have the right to adopt because quite frankly - why not?! Last time I checked there are plenty of heterosexual couples who are absolutely lousy parents so there is absolutely nothing that shows that having a man and a woman in the house is necessarily the best thing all the time. Additionally I see nothing wrong with an individual choosing to adopt provided that they have the means to support the child. There is no such thing as a "standard" family anymore and that's not a bad thing in my opinion. Children are entitled to love and that can come from a home with a mom & a dad, 2 moms, 2 dads, 1 mom or 1 dad...

I believe in Darwin. Stupid people should be left to their own devices and if they hurt themselves and take themselves out of the gene pool the world is a better place for it. We need to quit making laws and regulations to protect people from their own stupidity.

Tort reform - if you are stupid enough to put hot coffee between your legs and it spills there is no one to blame but yourself. You can not sue the person who sold & served it to you. Need another example? If you're too stupid to understand that McDonald's is NOT healthy you can not sue McDonald's for making you and your kids fat. DUH!

Campaign Finance reform - the fact that we could have launched more than 13 shuttle missions and had some money leftover for the cost of the presidential campaign is not just absurd it's disgusting. We need to start capping how much can be spent. This will also help people with less money potentially run for office.

I believe people make mistakes and sometimes fall on hard times.  I believe we should help you once... you then need to get your shit together and take care of your business. You will NOT collect welfare checks for numerous kids. ONE! that is all...

I believe women should be in control of their own bodies. You don't get to tell me (or any other woman) that I have to have a child I don't want to. (That said I believe that there is an element of reason. Based on science I believe this should only be allowed as an option in the first 2 trimesters.) You also don't get to tell me that I have to have something shoved inside me for an ultrasound because you think it will change my mind about an abortion. Not to mention that you won't even be allowed to ask a single question more that is in a "questioning" once it's known it's a case of rape or incest.

I believe it is cheaper to provide birth control for people than health care for the children that they will have. It's simple logic people - it's not rocket science. As such I do believe everyone should be allowed access to FREE birth control.
**** If you are a parent who does not provide for your child I will throw you in jail. Period. You chose to have the child that child is now your responsibility. If you can't be responsible for the kids you create then I support a vasectomy or having your tubes tied compliments of your health care. I don't want these kids to not have the attention they deserve and have to live off the system 

I believe in keeping our military strong. I don't believe in sticking our noses where they don't necessarily belong but I don't want to worry about another country deciding we are weak and coming after us this we need to keep our military strong. I believe in taking care of those who are willing to serve and sacrifice for our country. They absolutely should have good benefits. However I will take all of our troops out of Afghanistan. Frankly most of the military guys I know don't even understand what the heck we are doing there anymore.

I believe in a balanced budget. If we can't afford it - we don't do it! It's really quite simple. It doesn't take a complex accounting degree to understand this concept.

Along the lines of spending money - we have a heck of a lot that needs to be fixed within our country - we are going to stop sending so much money elsewhere and take care of more of the issues in our own "backyard."

I would institute a flat tax or consumption tax. This way no one pays federal taxes at the end of the year instead you pay it as you purchase items (yes we can exempt necessities such as milk, food staples etc.) - with this plan EVERYONE pays taxes whether you are a regular person who would anyway or you're here illegally or you're getting paid under the table (so as under the current tax system to skirt the tax laws) or you hide your money in the Cayman Islands or or you're a drug dealer making money off selling drugs....

I believe (based on scientific facts) that we are destroying our planet. We need to quit relying on fossil fuels and come up with renewable energy resources. We will NOT be drilling in the Arctic or in National Parks to make gas cheap for Americans. Our gas is already ridiculously cheap here and the only way we will wean ourselves of this dependence is for it to cost enough money that it hurts our pocket books.

I STRONGLY believe in Separation of Church & State. Putting the word God into political matters should never be allowed. For that matter we are going back to before the McCarthy days when the word God did not exist in our Pledge of allegiance or on our money or in many other places. Do you realize that it was added out of fear and hatred for others in the 1950s? Also - if you are a massive church where the person in charge makes loads of money (think Joel Osteen) you no longer get to claim nonprofit status because who are you kidding? You are definitely for profit.

I FULLY endorse that everyone should be allowed to buy beer on any day and time that they want to. No longer will there be dry counties or a lack of ability to buy beer on Sundays in any way because that is based on a religious belief that alcohol shouldn't be allowed to be purchased during those times. Like I said - separation of church and state.

Again along those lines - when it come to going through security or getting a photo for a government issues ID etc. you can not wear any sort of thing on your head or face irrespective of your religion. This goes back to equality and separation of church and state.

I am pro Capital Punishment...
**** In fact I think I would like to consider the possibility of bringing back public executions. Perhaps this will help people reconsider their stupid ideas of committing heinous crimes. 

I think the concept of "No Child Left Behind" is complete bullshit and generally means "No child moves forward..." Standardized tests are causing our students to only learn what is on a test because teachers teach to a test instead of teaching what is really globally important. Standardized tests must be minimized. I would encourage the teaching of critical thinking skills to all students. (What the hell was Texas thinking when they said the opposite?!?!)

Space program - obviously I am pro-space but I suspect my commentary here will surprise many. I would do a massive RIF at NASA and slim down to the best of the best not down to just the civil servants. NASA has become a white collar welfare program where even if you are absolutely atrocious (I can give you so many examples it's disgusting) you will keep your job if you are a civil servant. I have watched amazing people be let go however. It's time to revamp and get lean. Then NASA should be refunded in a big way to inspire the youth of the nation. I would also bring in companies like SpaceX who are truly innovative and willing to push the boundaries and think outside the box.

I think you have the right to own a gun however I do not necessarily think you have the right to own an arsenal of AK-47s... I think there need to be stricter controls over crazy people getting guns (do I really need to remind anyone of what happened in Arizona just a short time ago?) However, I also believe that if you threaten someone within their home irrespective of what state of the Union you are in you should have every expectation that they will shoot you and I will endorse the judicial system ruling it as justifiable.
**** I know many outside of the US don't entirely understand this especially given the issues that they see with gun crimes in America; however I stand by the fact that this is a right that our country was founded on. And it doesn't change the fact that even if we had tighter gun control the hoodlums would still get their hands on guns and the innocent citizens would be left with the proverbial "bringing a knife to a gun fight" if their safety is threatened within their home

I would challenge Texas to either put up or shut up in regards to the fact that they have the right to secede at any time. Either secede now or I am removing that clause permanently and I don't ever want to hear it again. Be an American or get out.

Immigration... not entirely sure what to do about this one... I find it absolutely disgusting that people trying to get into this country legally have a major difficulty in doing so. (For example - I've seen a upstanding businessman who married an American have it take years to get his green card yet we let people stream over the border.) I don't have a good answer for this one and am open to suggestions but I agree something needs to change.

Term limits - I believe that there should be term limits for all Congressmen and Senators. Also I would propose that instead of a 4 year term for President we elect a President for 6 years and they only get 1 term. Let's face it under the current system it takes a year for someone to really hit their stride and then if it's their first term irrespective of what party they are part of they spend the last year campaigning and the whole first term they are beholden to people with money so they can try and get re-elected again. One 6 year term would solve quite a few problems.

The Electoral College absolutely needs to be revamped. It is absurd that our elections are decided by a few states. When you live in a state that is decisively one way or the other and the winner gets all the state's electoral votes it doesn't encourage people to vote and become informed.
#### Right now to have the argument about the popular vote is pointless because in many states people that are clearly in the minority of the state as far as political affiliation frequently don't vote. So it's irrelevant as long as the electoral college is in place to even discuss what the current popular vote means overall.

#### This is a big one but I think it's way past time that we have more than a 2 party system. I will devote MUCH effort to facilitating the creation of at least 1 more party and would prefer there be at least 2 more. It's too easy to draw a line in the sand when it can only go 1 way and no compromise happens that way.

**** I admire other cultures. In fact I love to travel and experience other cultures. (And when I do I adhere to the culture of the country I am in. America is a melting pot in many ways but at the end of the day it is America. The language here is English and we treat our women with respect and as equals (well at least most of the country does). Learn to speak the language or get out. Treat your women as equals not as your slaves who have to have their faces hidden and are expected to be subservient to men - or get out. I am happy for you to celebrate many of your customs because I think in many ways our differences in the world are what makes the world an amazing place; however don't expect America to change to bend to YOUR customs from whatever country you came from. If you like your previous country's customs so much that you want to force them onto unwilling Americans then go back and celebrate your customs back in your original country. 

#### Lastly as I expect other people to respect our culture I also expect that we respect theirs when visiting their nations. When I travel to other countries I will bow, if it's appropriate, to their leader. This is not a showing that America is week or deferent - it is a show of respect... the same respect I expect them to show me/us. We are but 1 country on this planet. It would do all of us a lot of good to remember there are other countries out there that are just as "worthy" as ours. Frankly I would like to see people travel to places that are outside their comfort zone (wether that's out of the country or North of The Mason Dixon line or South of The Mason Dixon Line) so they can better appreciate the thoughts, cultures and feelings of others. The lessons you learn from this are priceless. 

I'm sure there's more to my platform but I think I'll leave it at that for now... I'm sure I've irritated the daylights out of many already ;)











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