On this page I will state my positions and thoughts on various topics. This will be more of a static page, for reference purposes really, not an interactive page like the primary blog. It will always be subject to review and update, whenever appropriate. Issues are arranged in numerical / alphabetical order:
17th Amendment:
Should be repealed. I know, it sounds counter-intuitive. It sounds like I favor taking government away from the people. Nothing could be further from the truth. In the original form the people had the House to represent them and the states had the Senate to represent their interests. The 17th Amendment upset the balance of power. Now, the people are being abused by the federal government through state mandates precisely because the states no longer have a voice in Congress.
Example: We have so many unfunded mandates to the states, and extortion from Washington in the form of “If you don’t do what we want, we’ll take away your highway money.”, precisely because the states have no voice to stand up for themselves. The 17th Amendment essentially legitimized extortion.
Abortion:
My position on abortion will make some people’s head explode. Simply put… I… don’t… care. I don’t care what happens, and I don’t care about the endless debate that never goes anywhere. As far as I’m concerned, it is the ultimate wedge issue and is used to distract people from the deeper issues that affect them on a daily basis. It will be rare, indeed, that I discuss abortion as a topic.
What I DO care about, and will comment on frequently is how the law treats abortion, especially any inconsistencies. I’m a big believer in consistency on pretty much any topic. This includes individuals and their specious arguments for either supporting legal abortion, or opposing it. Let’s face it, some of the arguments on either side are just dumb.
Balanced Budget:
I do not support a balanced budget amendment. In short, I believe it would hamstring our government functions too much. Supporters will often say that allowances emergencies can be written into an amendment, but if so then what’s the point? Especially when our leaders have shown to be so good at working around the letter and intent of our laws, that I predict almost anything would be perceived as an “emergency” So, no, I do not support a balanced budget amendment, but we definitely do need to rework how we budget… and a big step would be to eliminate “baseline budgeting”, which is one of the most insidious methods of government operation there is.
Civil Asset Forfeiture:
This is my #1 pet topic. It was wrong to begin with in its inception, but it has devolved to nothing but legalized theft. The idea that a person’s property can be taken without a conviction, or so much as even an formal charge of a crime, is about as un-American as you can get. It is my opinion that no person who claims to know and respect the Constitution can support civil asset forfeiture.
Death Penalty:
I was once a staunch supporter of the death penalty, but I now oppose it. Not because of any moral objection to putting someone to death who has committed an egregious crime. That aspect has always been fine with me, and still is in concept. No, my objection to the death penalty is that we have proven that we are utterly incapable of getting it right often enough to justify it. Putting the wrong person to death is not an “Oopsie!”. It’s serious and cannot be taken back. As such, life without parole is an acceptable alternative.
Gerrymandering:
We need to figure out a better process. The current process of allowing those in power to manipulate the districts so that they have the best possible chance of staying in power is simply corrupt.
Immigration:
I am a huge supporter of legal immigration. I am a huge detractor of illegal immigration. See my post dated 11-4-2018 for a more detailed and comprehensive plan.
Police Over-reach/Militarization:
This has become my #2 pet issue. (More later)
Race Relations:
Race has become “the new abortion” in the sense that it is simply impossible to have rational and adult discussion.
Term Limits:
I oppose them. In all circumstances. The bottom line is that the people should be free to elect whomever they choose, and that point alone trumps all others. And in case you’re wondering, yes, I believe the 22nd Amendment should be repealed.
A detailed position can be found in this post: The Case Against Term Limits