Where do you stand on the issues?

You are on the money all the way!

 

I agree with the exception of civil unions and Cuba. Unfortunately kennedy wimped out at the Bay of Pigs.

 

~ * I'm a RIGHT thinking girl * ~

 

Agreed

Abortion- I oppose abortion. I agree with the declaration of independence that said it is the governments job to protect LIFE, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I also deny the opinion that the baby is the mothers body. I may be dwelling in the body but it is its own person and its own body and must be protected.[/QUOTE]

Agreed

Seperation of church and state- The Government shall make no establishment of religion. [/QUOTE]

Looks like the first ammendment to me...agreed.

Illegal Immigration- I disagree with Bush on this one. This act must be stopped. I support the use of troops to help patrol the border.[/QUOTE]

If the troops are available, I agree here. In reality, I don't think we need more manpower. What we really need is more willpower from the weak spines in Washington, including Bush, to enforce the laws we already have and stop trying to make it profitable for them to commit crimes.

Death penalty- Should be used in instances of murder, rape, and child molestation.[/QUOTE]

The only thing I would add is that it should be administered at all ages. Other than that, I agree.

Iraq- I support our commander-in-chief, the generals on the ground, and our troops. I hope that this will turn out for good.[/QUOTE]

I agree.

Education- We keep spending more and more money. The kids performance is dropping. We need reform badly. Encourage the use of private schools.[/QUOTE]

I would only add that we should encourage this, but not with taxpayer money. I think we should also encourage Churches to take education on as a ministry and start funding it as such through their tithes, and also to help those who are less fortunate with scholarships. We should in no way ask the government for any financial help. The government must be kept far away from private schools as humanly possible.

World hunger- I think instead of spending bookoo amounts of money that won't fix the problem, we need to encourage capitalism in these countries.[/QUOTE]

Actually, we need to start by encouraging democracy and human rights reforms. Until they have democratic governments who respect human rights, no amount of money will ever put an end to poverty in these countries.

Health care- Costs way to much. I think Government should keep its hands off.[/QUOTE]

I agree.

Same sex marriage- No marriage. Possible civil unions but that should be left up to individual states.[/QUOTE]

I agree.

Farm subsidies- I have a hard time with this one considering I live in Iowa. But I think it should be a system of survival of the fittest. If you need further explanation I will provide.[/QUOTE]

I agree.

Animal rights- They taste pretty good.[/QUOTE]

Yes they do. Some of my favorite animals are cows, chicken, duck, alligator, pigs, and lamb.

Gun contol- I am in total support of the second amendment.[/QUOTE]

I agree.

Eminent Domain- The latest decision by the Supreme Court was very wrong imo.[/QUOTE]


I agree.

Cuba- I have a hard time with this one too because I don't see how we can ban relations with them but China is such a great partner in trade. They have bad human rights violations also. [/QUOTE]

Both should be banned...but again, the weak spines in Washington don't have the political will to do the right thing because it would hurt big business, and this is on both sides of the aisle.

Joseph Botwinick

 

Quick, short replies on complex issues follow. Take each as a broad brush overview, and not a detailed plan:

Social Security- While the system is not perfect, it provides a very minimal safety net that should not be privatized. People can privately save now, but we need to keep this program to at least allow elderly and disabled American's enough money to eat.

Abortion- I generally oppose abortion as birth control. However, I don't equate a zygote with a life. I also believe in those cases where the choice is for one to live, the mother or the child, the mother's life is equally valuable to that of the child.

Separation of church and state- religion is a private matter, and the First Amendment free exercise and establishment clauses should be respected. Church & state do not mix.

Illegal Immigration- Our borders are too porous, and need to be more secure. As the American economy continues to send our jobs overseas, there will be less and less opportunity here, and the economic reasons for illegal immigration will decline. Sad, but true.

Death penalty- DNA analysis has freed many innocents on death row. This points out the flaws in the system. I believe the death penalty should be extremely rare.

Iraq- A dreadful error by our government that has exponentially increased the number of terrorists and justified to them how evil America is. We have created our own enemy.

Education- The public school system is fundamental to a first world power like the U.S. Private schools are important, but not everyone can afford them, therefore funding should not be siphoned off and given to private institutions.

World hunger- A problem that will only get worse as the global population mushrooms. Technology to produce more foodstuffs must be explored, along with continued efforts to find new ways to get food from producers to consumers. The economic issues must also be figured out. No easy fix exists.

Health care- Everyone pays for indigent care anyway, and it is usually when situations have gotten so bad that the help is expensive. I believe in a hybrid system whereby the private sector provides services, with some form of socialization of payment to insure noone goes without needed services. Today's system in the US gives those who can least afford it, the highest costs; insurance companies get huge price breaks, while those who cannot afford insurance pay exorbitant prices for medicines and services. Employer-based programs create a double whammy...lose your job and you lose your health coverage. Without a job, who can afford COBRA payments?

Same sex marriage- Don't confuse religious marriage with civil contracts. Everyone should have inheritance rights, hospital visitation rights, etc, to those who share their lives. I do not support requiring a religious organization to perform or recognize same sex unions, but on the civil side, perhaps theere is a need. I don't care if you call it a marriage or a civil union or whatever. The word is not important. Two lesbians or gays making a commitment to one another in no way changes my own marriage. It also encourages monogamy, which impacts public health.

Farm subsidies- I have not given this one a lot of thought, but it is a way to manipulate the growing of particular crops. In general I do not favor paying people to not produce something though.

Animal rights- Animals should be treated with care and respect, even those who are in feed lots and slaughterhouses. I vehemently against inhumane treatment, but I also enjoy a good barbeque.

Gun contol- America is a violent society, but in general I support private ownership of firearms. That said, I don't oppose regulation, which is also part of the Second Amendment.

Eminent Domain- The SCOTUS decision is a travesty to a free society. Sandra Day O'Connor's dissent was dead on. Will go down with Dred Scott as a major error by the Supreme Court.

Cuba- Castro won't be in power for much longer. We need to engage with Cuba to make a better future. The embargo on American's spending dollars there should be lifted.

 

You were once a zygote.

 

Magnetic Poles states:

Sadly his respect for human life is not as strong.

 

OldReg, you don't value the mother's life equally with that of her unborn child?

 

How about another hot topic...

Energy Policy - This country has got to get serious about developing alternative fuel sources and making real progress toward energy independence. This is imperative to preserve our economy, our independence (both political and economic), and it just makes sense. We have lost valuable decades by being addicted to cheap foreign sources of fossil fuels.

 

www.setamericafree.org/blueprint.pdf

 

In the 21st century there is no reason to kill an unborn child intentionally to save the life of the mother. There is a world of difference between intentionally killing an unborn baby and an unborn baby dying as the result of life saving procedures for the mother where the death of the unborn baby is a sad by-product of saving the mother's life.

 

Ken, I don't agree with the fact that there are not times that a late term abortion may be necessary to save the mother's life, but I don't know for sure, and doubt you do either, as neither of us are M.D.s. However, I don't see much difference in the two scenarios you posit.

Either way, I still say a pro-life position must also hold pro-life for the mother as equal to pro-life for the unborn child. Life sometimes gives difficult decisions, life and death decisions, and there is not always a perfect outcome available. I totally agree with the last part of what you wrote.

 

I think that Catholics say save the child over the mother, which seems to me to be an intelligent position. Actually, there have not been 40,000,000 mothers saved by the death of the baby, which is a baby from the second that the baby is a "zygote," which is fancy talk for being pregnant.

Most liberals want the status quo, which is a Latin term, as you know, for the mess that we are in now.

 

If it's LATE TERM, deliver the child in an attempt to save the mother's life. A previous pastor's wife got VERY ill, to the point of death, with HELLP Syndrome. At 27 weeks, they had to chose to either deliver the baby or lose them both. HELLP destroys platelets and by time it was discovered, the mother would have bled to death if they'd done a C-section. Dr.'s induced her but by time the baby was delivered, it had been without oxygen too long and was dead.

This mother lost two more and almost died again before delivering a baby very prematurely. The baby has been in neonatal ICU for months but is alive. http://hellpsyndrome.com/ It stands for Hemolysis, Elevated Liver, Low Platelet.

Another family in church birthed twins at 27 weeks. One did die but the other is doing very well.

Another family delivered at 27 weeks and their child was presented to the church at 9 months old, now well enough to be put in the nursery.

Another family delivered Brennan at 27 weeks and he's now 19 months old. I babysit him once in a while so mom can do things with her older child (like Six Flags). Brennan is quickly catching up with the other children even with a 'touch' of CP.

Late term 'abortions' are unnecessary. Early deliveries can be performed in extreme cases if the medical team do all they can to save the child.

 

I would say that the life of the mother takes priority over the life of the unborn baby. Thus, if saving the life of the mother results in the death of the unborn baby I think that is an acceptable outcome, albeit very sad.

 

Why did she keep trying to deliver a baby?

 

Ken, true. All things being equal, I think the mother's life does indeed take priority. I mistated my own opinion.

 

Why did she keep trying to deliver a baby? </font>[/QUOTE]The preacher was the only surviving child of his parents... He's left the ministry and I don't know her reasoning.... I would have adopted.

 

raunhawk,

Thanks for the post and welcome aboard!

Social Security - Phase it out eventually. It can't be done immediately either for practical or certainly political reasons. It is a failure and we should move to a market-based system. Constitutionally, it is illegal, IMO, but perhaps it has become Constitutionalized a la Madison's acceptance of the National Bank.


Abortion - I oppose abortion, period. However, politically it may be necessary to get rid of it in pieces: partial birth abortion, parental consent/notification, etc. I favor overturning Roe v. Wade at the earliest opportunity, though, if possible, through the Supreme Court.

Separation of church and state - A misnomer, which should tell you where I stand. Strict separation was never contemplated by the Founders, who had lived through an actual establishment of religion. What the Supreme Court has been doing is ignoring Constitutional history in an effort to re-write the Constitution.


Illegal Immigration - I also disagree with Bush. It must be stopped. While I do not oppose troops at the border, I would prefer a beefed up Border Patrol.

Death penalty - I absolutely agree with you: Should be used in instances of murder, rape, and child molestation, and, I would add, some case of espionage.

Iraq - I also agree with you here: I support our commander-in-chief, the generals on the ground, and our troops. I hope that this will turn out for good.

Education - Constitutionally, the federal government has no business in education. Let the states control and finance their own public education.

World hunger - Another agreement: I think instead of spending bookoo amounts of money that won't fix the problem, we need to encourage capitalism in these countries.

Health care - Another ditto: Costs way to much. I think Government should keep its hands off.

Same sex marriage - Disagree with you here. I don't think there should be either marriage between homosexuals or civil unions, which extend the same benefits.

Farm subsidies - Another echo: I think it should be a system of survival of the fittest. If you need further explanation I will provide.

Animal rights - Yes, they taste great. Animals don't have RIGHTS.

Gun contol - Yes: I am in total support of the second amendment.

Eminent Domain- Another yes: The latest decision by the Supreme Court was very wrong, and not just IMO. It's just wrong.

Cuba - Maintain sanctions and step up support for dissidents there.