Summary of political beliefs

[Mechaman]

Social issues: Immoral Antigovernment Libertine

Abortion: Prochoice
Immigration: Pro-Amnesty
Marriage: Get the government out of it completely. It shouldn't be you and me and the state of Nevada, it should be you and me and if permitting, about 5 other people. Everybody should be able to marry anyone or anything in multiples if they want to. Love makes people do crazy things, embrace it.
Flag Burning: Support it, especially if it's cold outside
Free Speech: Support completely and get rid of all censorship laws. This includes no fines on networks for bad language and "fair speech" laws.
War on Drugs: End it. We should be throwing in child molesters and wife beaters, not crackheads. Plus, legalize drugs to spur the snack vendor industry.
Affirmative Action: Endorses collective racism. Reinforces stereotype that some people are collectively stupider than another.
Gun control: Gun control is a backwards draconian statist policy. Why should I support something the KKK supported to disarm blacks in the late 1800s? The idea that we can still be free when only the coercive arms of government are armed is like saying the sheep would be safer sleeping with wolves.
Death Penalty: What? Being another dude's butt buddy for the rest of his life isn't enough? If I was a psycho serial killer I think I would rather go to prison for 3 months and then get injected over being butt humped for the next 50 years. That's why I'm against the death penalty, I think the threat of eternal butt rape is alot more of a deterent than "we'll friggin kill you!" Plus, if there are no death penalties it's impossible to accidently kill the wrong man. What the hell? I don't like the death penalty because it's wrong, alright?
Voluntary Euthanasia: Totally legalize it. If you want to kill yourself it's a voluntary action (there's my answer for suicide). If you want someone else to do it, sign a release waiver on your life and have the ender sign also with a third party witness to prove it's legit for this person to kill you.
Draft: Get rid of it, NOW.
Patriot Act, domestic spying, etc.: Get rid of it. The government has no right to be spying our phone lines. There is a correct way to do searches, it's called A WARRANT. All you have to do is fill out a friggin piece of paper to search somebody. Why is the government so lazy it can't even sign a piece of paper before searching somebody?
Stem Cell Research: We have to use those fetuses for something.....
States Rights: The power of the states should be a little more respected. For example, if a state passes drug legalization the federal government shouldn't overrule it.
Three Strikes Law: Against, what if the person in question commits three petty crimes? It's too excessive and broad.
Prostitution: Legalize, you know what they say: sex sells.
Separation of Church and State: Stop enforcing your fake god on us! It's called separation of church and state for a reason!! Stop bribing public officials to enforce your backwards social agenda! Now if you just want to preach in your churches or hell even have radio stations or tv stations, fine. Just don't have the government give you any special favors. For it is written "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibit the free exercise thereof."
Electoral College: I guess we should keep it, but needs reform.

Foreign Policy: Free Trade monger
War on Terror: Stop pissing people off and giving them a reason to kill us. Let the Mideast solve it's own problems.
Palestine: It's really none of our business what happens in Palestine. We should take a neutral role and have free trade relationships with both sides.
Israel: I hate to sound like an Israel hating bastard but we should let them be. They already got enough of our military technology to ward off full on invasions from 6 different fronts. And if they get wiped off the face of the planet by an Iranian nuke........sorry, shouldn't be our problem. Our support for Israel is what got us in hot water in the Middle East, maybe if we let everyone fight their own battles they won't have a reason to kill us. However, we should have a free trade relationship with them.
War in Iraq: Get out now and let them destroy themselves. Sadaam was a dick and the world may arguably be a better place with him gone but the people of Iraq need to grow their own balls and learn how to defend themselves without having us baby them.
Iran: Do you really think Iran would be stupid enough to nuke us? Epic fail. People forget about the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction so quickly. We should stop acting like dicks to them and start a mutual trade relationship with them. The more we trade with nations that don't like us the more they will like us because who doesn't like cable tv?
North Korea: Like I said, M.A.D. They're probably just freaked out because we're constantly threatening to kick their asses. THis isn't 1952, this is 2009. Things have changed. We should begin a mutual trade relationship with them like we should China which would do way more to destroy authoritarian communism than say an all out invasion that costs hundreds of billions of dollars a year.
9/11: Not real sure anymore. Could've been the government, could've actually been terrorists. What I do know is that it's gotten us into a lot of s#$t.
Afghanistan: Get the hell out and sign a free trade agreement.
Pakistan: Stop harrasing them and sign a free trade agreement.
Torture: Not necessary and not ethical. Can't we just bribe them? Who can't resist free cable?!
Diplomacy: Should always be the 1st step and always preferable to war.
Free Trade Agreement: If Diplomacy works, should always be the 2nd step.
Military involvement: Should require a damn good reason. Pre-emptive military action is not an option. President doesn't have authority to declare war, only Congress does. This option should be a VERY LAST RESORT.

Economic Issues: Capitalist Loving Bastard
Taxes: Eliminate the income tax. There are lots of other taxes out there to pay for stuff.
Welfare: Get rid of it, gradually. You don't need to be dependent on government, you've got friends and family who'll always be looking out for you..go to them when you're down on your luck. Also, there are charitable organizations that do exist that takes care of people down on their luck and two words: soup kitchen.
Trade: This protectionist Bulls*$t has got to end. The idea that by antagonizing our fellow trade partners with excessive tariffs and other economically nationalist ideas will somehow juice up our economy is insane. We benefit from trade with other nations, penaltilizing our trade partners is no way to get them to be more open to trading with us.
Health Care: Leave it up to each individual state to decide what kind of healthcare system they want.
Spending: Can the military budget, eliminate or reform ineffective programs.
Education: Start up a voucher program so kids not well off can get into private schools easier to help spurce competition between the schools to provide the best possible education for our nation's children. Keep public schools since competition with private schools for the most kids will encourage public school systems to become better at educating kids instead of teaching them how to pass year end exams that won't mean anything 10 years from now.
Regulations: Support environmental regulations (but not excessive), I don't want some company's toxic waste in my backyard. Kind of iffy on anti-trust and monopoly regulations.

[Mechaman]

Imagine a world with no corporations. Imagine a world with no government. Imagine a world at peace.

That's my philosophy.

[Mechaman]

I'm an anarcho communist, how the hell do I summarize that?

[Mechaman]

You made the claim that the 1861 C.S.A. secession from the U.S. was treason. If this is the case, explain how the 1776 U.S. secession from Britain wasn't.

The 1776 secession was treason. I don't think anyone ever claimed otherwise.

Well in Einzige's defense, he never defined whether said "treason" was justified or not justified. People always assume that "treason" has a negative connotation. Not many people consider that in some cases, "treason" is the moral choice.

[Mechaman]

Trade: Needs reworked to make sure that we don't take advantage of poorer countries labor, at the expensive of losing our own jobs, all to the benefit of large multinational corporations that don't have the everyday struggle working Americans do. "Free" trade isn't free and it definitely isn't fair.

You know what's even more unfair? Backwardass Protectionist policies. If we had stayed with the old "Support America businesses" bullsh*t the old GOP wanked off to constantly we would probably be driving heavy ass Chevys. Don't give me that working man vs. multinational corporation crap either, there are many American corporations who would be orgasmic at the thought of the government punishing the hell out of foreign competition for their benefit and they would still screw over their workers. Why is it then that since America started making liberal trade relations with other nations that the overall standard of living kicks the hell out of what it was back in the good ole days when corporations could squash unions relentlessly without reproach? I find it very ironic how you view welfare as a handout yet can't see protectionism as the exact same thing. Maybe if American workers were more productive they wouldn't see their jobs going to China or Thailand, but no we have to let the great benefactorial government make up for the fact that Billy Bob was too much of a lazyass fratboy partier in college to keep his GPA above a 2.3 while his Chinese friend Tan was at the top of all of his classes! Maybe if Americans got off their own asses and competed with foreign labor, instead of asking the government to play daddy and break up the fight, they could get honest results without downgrading our own foreign relations and further destroying any hope for world peace. If you don't want American labor to become more productive, continue supporting backwardass protectionism. It is only by letting American labor face the realities of a global economy that they can become more productive, not by having Big Brother show up to fight their fights for them.

[Mechaman]

Trade: Needs reworked to make sure that we don't take advantage of poorer countries labor, at the expensive of losing our own jobs, all to the benefit of large multinational corporations that don't have the everyday struggle working Americans do. "Free" trade isn't free and it definitely isn't fair.

You know what's even more unfair? Backwardass Protectionist policies. If we had stayed with the old "Support America businesses" bullsh*t the old GOP wanked off to constantly we would probably be driving heavy ass Chevys. Don't give me that working man vs. multinational corporation crap either, there are many American corporations who would be orgasmic at the thought of the government punishing the hell out of foreign competition for their benefit and they would still screw over their workers. Why is it then that since America started making liberal trade relations with other nations that the overall standard of living kicks the hell out of what it was back in the good ole days when corporations could squash unions relentlessly without reproach? I find it very ironic how you view welfare as a handout yet can't see protectionism as the exact same thing. Maybe if American workers were more productive they wouldn't see their jobs going to China or Thailand, but no we have to let the great benefactorial government make up for the fact that Billy Bob was too much of a lazyass fratboy partier in college to keep his GPA above a 2.3 while his Chinese friend Tan was at the top of all of his classes! Maybe if Americans got off their own asses and competed with foreign labor, instead of asking the government to play daddy and break up the fight, they could get honest results without downgrading our own foreign relations and further destroying any hope for world peace. If you don't want American labor to become more productive, continue supporting backwardass protectionism. It is only by letting American labor face the realities of a global economy that they can become more productive, not by having Big Brother show up to fight their fights for them.

The unions YOU SUPPORT make any kind of labor competitiveness impossible. If a job can be done by someone in Mexico at the same rate as in America, it will be done in Mexico- much more efficient and profitable for companies. So basically you support Americans having a standard living wage, but other nations being sh**tcanned. Well, if you really support the benefit of few at the expense of many... You might as well find a home in 1950s era Soviet Union.

I don't actively support unions, I just don't believe corporations should have full authority to squash them. Also, compared to what those workers in poorer nations were facing before their evil evil American international business job, I say they would take a sweatshop job over say living life as a poor villager with little contact to the outside world. Not that that is justified, but their standard of living is higher than it was in the past. We can not expect for them to get better if we revert to the past, doing so would only discourage foreign workers from seeking jobs in American companies due to the reactionary trade policies their own country would enforce against American companies. Instead of having to work in a sweatshop with a "pathetic" wage, alot of those workers would get fired and released back into their way more sufferable lives before having that American job. Protectionism isn't just one sided: if we enact protectionist policies other countries would retaliate against American products and businesses. Jobs would be lost and our overall trade benefit would go down. Less money would go into the US due to other nation buying less of our stuff.
If you are suggesting that the US base it's trade policies on working conditions, then yes I could possibly see the light on that. If you are arguing that free trade is all evil and no good and protecitonism is great, I respectfully disagree.

I bolded that last part to emphasize that my opinion of you hasn't lessened, just that I disagree strongly. I bet most people on here I strongly disagree with on at least a few issues.

[Mechaman]

Trade: Needs reworked to make sure that we don't take advantage of poorer countries labor, at the expensive of losing our own jobs, all to the benefit of large multinational corporations that don't have the everyday struggle working Americans do. "Free" trade isn't free and it definitely isn't fair.

You know what's even more unfair? Backwardass Protectionist policies. If we had stayed with the old "Support America businesses" bullsh*t the old GOP wanked off to constantly we would probably be driving heavy ass Chevys. Don't give me that working man vs. multinational corporation crap either, there are many American corporations who would be orgasmic at the thought of the government punishing the hell out of foreign competition for their benefit and they would still screw over their workers. Why is it then that since America started making liberal trade relations with other nations that the overall standard of living kicks the hell out of what it was back in the good ole days when corporations could squash unions relentlessly without reproach? I find it very ironic how you view welfare as a handout yet can't see protectionism as the exact same thing. Maybe if American workers were more productive they wouldn't see their jobs going to China or Thailand, but no we have to let the great benefactorial government make up for the fact that Billy Bob was too much of a lazyass fratboy partier in college to keep his GPA above a 2.3 while his Chinese friend Tan was at the top of all of his classes! Maybe if Americans got off their own asses and competed with foreign labor, instead of asking the government to play daddy and break up the fight, they could get honest results without downgrading our own foreign relations and further destroying any hope for world peace. If you don't want American labor to become more productive, continue supporting backwardass protectionism. It is only by letting American labor face the realities of a global economy that they can become more productive, not by having Big Brother show up to fight their fights for them.

The unions YOU SUPPORT make any kind of labor competitiveness impossible. If a job can be done by someone in Mexico at the same rate as in America, it will be done in Mexico- much more efficient and profitable for companies. So basically you support Americans having a standard living wage, but other nations being sh**tcanned. Well, if you really support the benefit of few at the expense of many... You might as well find a home in 1950s era Soviet Union.

I don't actively support unions, I just don't believe corporations should have full authority to squash them. Also, compared to what those workers in poorer nations were facing before their evil evil American international business job, I say they would take a sweatshop job over say living life as a poor villager with little contact to the outside world. Not that that is justified, but their standard of living is higher than it was in the past. We can not expect for them to get better if we revert to the past, doing so would only discourage foreign workers from seeking jobs in American companies due to the reactionary trade policies their own country would enforce against American companies. Instead of having to work in a sweatshop with a "pathetic" wage, alot of those workers would get fired and released back into their way more sufferable lives before having that American job. Protectionism isn't just one sided: if we enact protectionist policies other countries would retaliate against American products and businesses. Jobs would be lost and our overall trade benefit would go down. Less money would go into the US due to other nation buying less of our stuff.
If you are suggesting that the US base it's trade policies on working conditions, then yes I could possibly see the light on that. If you are arguing that free trade is all evil and no good and protecitonism is great, I respectfully disagree.

It is no surprise that the biggest supporters of "free" trade have also been the most heinous figures in American history- from Southern slaveowners to bastard businessmen, free trade has been their cause. But free trade policies don't help American workers- free trade policies don't help other countries' workers- they enslave them or create unemployment en masse. If all workers were paid the same comparative wage, with the same protections and benefits and regulations, etc. Free trade would work fine. But we don't live in that perfect world, therefore, we must adjust our policies to those which are beneficial to the nation as whole, and fair to those who are voiceless. Free trade is NOT a means of preventing war or creating peace.

Yes and in a perfect world Protectionism (at least the kind your hero Hamilton subscribed to) would work. Nowdays such a policy would only discourage friendly trade relations between us and other nations and the US would end up relying total on self-sufficiency to create products. Sure the laborers may still have their jobs (at least in this country) but it wouldn't change the fact that the amount of resource used would be far greater and use up alot more of American land (thus creating environmental degradation) than the other choice. Also, due to lack of competition from foreign markets there would be less incentive for society to technologically advance and we would still have 500 lb refrigerators and 5000 lb Ford Fairlanes.

There are downsides to everything. Right now it seems like a mixed trade policy would work best, if only until other nations develop reasonable worker rights.
Believe me, I've already taken two courses over Economics. I don't say alot of this just out of personal bias.

[Mechaman]

I will just list some of my beliefs.

Universal Health care: SUPPORT!
Gay marriage: Oppose
NAFTA: Oppose
Immigration reform: Support
Union rights: Support
Taxes: Lower
Social Security: Support
Stimulus/BAILOUTS: sUPPORT
Abortion: Strongly oppose
Affirmative action: oppose
Expanding public universities: Support!
War in Iraq: oppose
Drug legalization: HELL NO

You fail hard.

[Mechaman]

As I've done a lot of rethinking of my views the past few days, I figured I'd update this.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Crossed out means I no longer believe that, bold things are new.

So you are done claiming to be a libertarian, right?

A WINNER IS YOU! In other words I agree and you, despite what I perceive as not quite libertarian positions, are probably ten times the libertarian Vepres is
(not sarcasm by the way)

[Mechaman]

Social issues: Immoral Antigovernment Libertine

Abortion: Prochoice
Immigration: Pro-Amnesty
Marriage: Get the government out of it completely. It shouldn't be you and me and the state of Nevada, it should be you and me and if permitting, about 5 other people. Everybody should be able to marry anyone or anything in multiples if they want to. Love makes people do crazy things, embrace it.
Flag Burning: Support it, especially if it's cold outside
Free Speech: Support completely and get rid of all censorship laws. This includes no fines on networks for bad language and "fair speech" laws.
War on Drugs: End it. We should be throwing in child molesters and wife beaters, not crackheads. Plus, legalize drugs to spur the snack vendor industry.
Affirmative Action: Endorses collective racism. Reinforces stereotype that some people are collectively stupider than another.
Gun control: Gun control is a backwards draconian statist policy. Why should I support something the KKK supported to disarm blacks in the late 1800s? The idea that we can still be free when only the coercive arms of government are armed is like saying the sheep would be safer sleeping with wolves.
Death Penalty: What? Being another dude's butt buddy for the rest of his life isn't enough? If I was a psycho serial killer I think I would rather go to prison for 3 months and then get injected over being butt humped for the next 50 years. That's why I'm against the death penalty, I think the threat of eternal butt rape is alot more of a deterent than "we'll friggin kill you!" Plus, if there are no death penalties it's impossible to accidently kill the wrong man. What the hell? I don't like the death penalty because it's wrong, alright?
Voluntary Euthanasia: Totally legalize it. If you want to kill yourself it's a voluntary action (there's my answer for suicide). If you want someone else to do it, sign a release waiver on your life and have the ender sign also with a third party witness to prove it's legit for this person to kill you.
Draft: Get rid of it, NOW.
Patriot Act, domestic spying, etc.: Get rid of it. The government has no right to be spying our phone lines. There is a correct way to do searches, it's called A WARRANT. All you have to do is fill out a friggin piece of paper to search somebody. Why is the government so lazy it can't even sign a piece of paper before searching somebody?
Stem Cell Research: We have to use those fetuses for something.....
States Rights: The power of the states should be a little more respected. For example, if a state passes drug legalization the federal government shouldn't overrule it.
Three Strikes Law: Against, what if the person in question commits three petty crimes? It's too excessive and broad.
Prostitution: Legalize, you know what they say: sex sells.
Separation of Church and State: Stop enforcing your fake god on us! It's called separation of church and state for a reason!! Stop bribing public officials to enforce your backwards social agenda! Now if you just want to preach in your churches or hell even have radio stations or tv stations, fine. Just don't have the government give you any special favors. For it is written "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibit the free exercise thereof."
Electoral College: I guess we should keep it, but needs reform.

Foreign Policy: Free Trade monger
War on Terror: Stop pissing people off and giving them a reason to kill us. Let the Mideast solve it's own problems.
Palestine: It's really none of our business what happens in Palestine. We should take a neutral role and have free trade relationships with both sides.
Israel: I hate to sound like an Israel hating bastard but we should let them be. They already got enough of our military technology to ward off full on invasions from 6 different fronts. And if they get wiped off the face of the planet by an Iranian nuke........sorry, shouldn't be our problem. Our support for Israel is what got us in hot water in the Middle East, maybe if we let everyone fight their own battles they won't have a reason to kill us. However, we should have a free trade relationship with them.
War in Iraq: Get out now and let them destroy themselves. Sadaam was a dick and the world may arguably be a better place with him gone but the people of Iraq need to grow their own balls and learn how to defend themselves without having us baby them.
Iran: Do you really think Iran would be stupid enough to nuke us? Epic fail. People forget about the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction so quickly. We should stop acting like dicks to them and start a mutual trade relationship with them. The more we trade with nations that don't like us the more they will like us because who doesn't like cable tv?
North Korea: Like I said, M.A.D. They're probably just freaked out because we're constantly threatening to kick their asses. THis isn't 1952, this is 2009. Things have changed. We should begin a mutual trade relationship with them like we should China which would do way more to destroy authoritarian communism than say an all out invasion that costs hundreds of billions of dollars a year.
9/11: Not real sure anymore. Could've been the government, could've actually been terrorists. What I do know is that it's gotten us into a lot of s#$t.
Afghanistan: Get the hell out and sign a free trade agreement.
Pakistan: Stop harrasing them and sign a free trade agreement.
Torture: Not necessary and not ethical. Can't we just bribe them? Who can't resist free cable?!
Diplomacy: Should always be the 1st step and always preferable to war.
Free Trade Agreement: If Diplomacy works, should always be the 2nd step.
Military involvement: Should require a damn good reason. Pre-emptive military action is not an option. President doesn't have authority to declare war, only Congress does. This option should be a VERY LAST RESORT.

Economic Issues: Capitalist Loving Bastard
Taxes: Eliminate the income tax gradually. Enact across the board tax cuts on a "progressive scale" on par with reduced spending.. There are lots of other taxes out there to pay for stuff.
Welfare: Get rid of it, gradually. You don't need to be dependent on government, you've got friends and family who'll always be looking out for you..go to them when you're down on your luck. Also, there are charitable organizations that do exist that takes care of people down on their luck and two words: soup kitchen.
Trade: This protectionist Bulls*$t has got to end. The idea that by antagonizing our fellow trade partners with excessive tariffs and other economically nationalist ideas will somehow juice up our economy is insane. We benefit from trade with other nations, penaltilizing our trade partners is no way to get them to be more open to trading with us.
Health Care: Leave it up to each individual state to decide what kind of healthcare system they want.
Spending: Can the military budget, eliminate or reform ineffective programs.
Education: Start up a voucher program so kids not well off can get into private schools easier to help spurce competition between the schools to provide the best possible education for our nation's children. Keep public schools since competition with private schools for the most kids will encourage public school systems to become better at educating kids instead of teaching them how to pass year end exams that won't mean anything 10 years from now.
Regulations: Support environmental regulations (but not excessive), I don't want some company's toxic waste in my backyard. Kind of iffy on anti-trust and monopoly regulations. Against anti-trust.

Update
Changes are in bold.
Funny how I seem to be where I was when I first got on here.

[Mechaman]

Abortion: Staunchly pro-life. Abortion is murder. Exception granted to save the life of the mother.

War: Opposed to all war except in self-defense against imminent attack or invasion. Oppose both Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Taxes: Abolish income taxes. Replace as much taxation as possible with voluntary user contributions.

Spending: Spend on nothing except to provide essential services to society. No spending to interfere with the economy as with bailouts or subsidies. Abolish nearly all government agencies and departments.

Healthcare: Go for all-or-nothing approach to healthcare. No half-assed corporatist schemes like Obamacare.

Gun control: Opposed completely. No restrictions whatsoever on concealed carry. Vermont is a good model for other states to follow.

Death Penalty: Opposed, though it is not on the same plane as abortion, which is far worse.

War on Drugs: The government has no right to dictate to anyone what they may choose to consume that would affect only their own body. End the war on drugs. Also abolish all restrictions on alcohol and tobacco, such as age limits.

PATRIOT Act/Homeland Security: Repeal it completely. Abolish the FBI, CIA, BATF and DHS.

Foreign Policy: Non-interventionism.

Palestine: Free Palestine from Zionist occupation. End all aid to the state of "Israel".

Not too bad. You need to drop the pro-life stuff and the generic anti-Israel stuff though.

No, I maintain consistency in my views. I think you need to drop the pro-death and pro-imperialism stuff.

I'm sorry Libertas (and I really want to start a clean slate this time, really I do) but how does wanting to free Palestine work with your supposedly "non-interventionist" foreign policy?
It is called "non-interventionist" for a reason.

[Mechaman]

Abortion: Staunchly pro-life. Abortion is murder. Exception granted to save the life of the mother.

War: Opposed to all war except in self-defense against imminent attack or invasion. Oppose both Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Taxes: Abolish income taxes. Replace as much taxation as possible with voluntary user contributions.

Spending: Spend on nothing except to provide essential services to society. No spending to interfere with the economy as with bailouts or subsidies. Abolish nearly all government agencies and departments.

Healthcare: Go for all-or-nothing approach to healthcare. No half-assed corporatist schemes like Obamacare.

Gun control: Opposed completely. No restrictions whatsoever on concealed carry. Vermont is a good model for other states to follow.

Death Penalty: Opposed, though it is not on the same plane as abortion, which is far worse.

War on Drugs: The government has no right to dictate to anyone what they may choose to consume that would affect only their own body. End the war on drugs. Also abolish all restrictions on alcohol and tobacco, such as age limits.

PATRIOT Act/Homeland Security: Repeal it completely. Abolish the FBI, CIA, BATF and DHS.

Foreign Policy: Non-interventionism.

Palestine: Free Palestine from Zionist occupation. End all aid to the state of "Israel".

Not too bad. You need to drop the pro-life stuff and the generic anti-Israel stuff though.

No, I maintain consistency in my views. I think you need to drop the pro-death and pro-imperialism stuff.

I'm sorry Libertas (and I really want to start a clean slate this time, really I do) but how does wanting to free Palestine work with your supposedly "non-interventionist" foreign policy?
It is called "non-interventionist" for a reason.

How does Palestine being free from occupation conflict with a non-interventionist U.S. foreign policy?

The point of a "non-interventionist" foreign policy is that we don't intervene, that is why it is called the non-interventionist policy. Assisting Palestine would be interventionist (just like we do with Israel), pulling all funding to the Middle East and favoring neither Palestine or Israel is non-interventionist.
Favoring one side (with actual aid) in a conflict that doesn't involve us is not non-interventionist.
So both you and Winston are wrong.

[Mechaman]

Abortion: Staunchly pro-life. Abortion is murder. Exception granted to save the life of the mother.

War: Opposed to all war except in self-defense against imminent attack or invasion. Oppose both Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Taxes: Abolish income taxes. Replace as much taxation as possible with voluntary user contributions.

Spending: Spend on nothing except to provide essential services to society. No spending to interfere with the economy as with bailouts or subsidies. Abolish nearly all government agencies and departments.

Healthcare: Go for all-or-nothing approach to healthcare. No half-assed corporatist schemes like Obamacare.

Gun control: Opposed completely. No restrictions whatsoever on concealed carry. Vermont is a good model for other states to follow.

Death Penalty: Opposed, though it is not on the same plane as abortion, which is far worse.

War on Drugs: The government has no right to dictate to anyone what they may choose to consume that would affect only their own body. End the war on drugs. Also abolish all restrictions on alcohol and tobacco, such as age limits.

PATRIOT Act/Homeland Security: Repeal it completely. Abolish the FBI, CIA, BATF and DHS.

Foreign Policy: Non-interventionism.

Palestine: Free Palestine from Zionist occupation. End all aid to the state of "Israel".

Not too bad. You need to drop the pro-life stuff and the generic anti-Israel stuff though.

No, I maintain consistency in my views. I think you need to drop the pro-death and pro-imperialism stuff.

I'm sorry Libertas (and I really want to start a clean slate this time, really I do) but how does wanting to free Palestine work with your supposedly "non-interventionist" foreign policy?
It is called "non-interventionist" for a reason.

How does Palestine being free from occupation conflict with a non-interventionist U.S. foreign policy?

The point of a "non-interventionist" foreign policy is that we don't intervene, that is why it is called the non-interventionist policy. Assisting Palestine would be interventionist (just like we do with Israel), pulling all funding to the Middle East and favoring neither Palestine or Israel is non-interventionist.
Favoring one side (with actual aid) in a conflict that doesn't involve us is not non-interventionist.
So both you and Winston are wrong.

Eh, what? Show me where I said anything about intervening in any other country's affairs.

"Free Palestine from Zionist occupation"?
Needs more clarification, more sauce. To me it sounded like you were saying WE should FREE Palestine.
If you're saying that Palestine needs to be freed from unjust rule (not by us), then disregard this.

[Mechaman]

God when did Winston become such a protectionist?

[Mechaman]

Death penalty - gun ownership.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbria_shootings

Death penalty for gun ownership? lol

LOL indeed.
This makes him way worse than the average pro-gun control hack.

[Mechaman]

Death penalty - gun ownership.

I possess a gun. Should I get the death penalty?

Well, obviously. Winston made it clear that he wants gun owners lined up and shot, what makes you think you're any different?

I would ban guns and compensate owners. Anyone found to be breaking the law after that would face the penalty.

Somehow I knew you would be in the BATSH*T INSANE quadrant by this time, but this is just crazy.  Gun bans are one thing, but THE MOTHERF***ING DEATH PENALTY WINSTON!?
(bangs head against wall in shock of your totalitarianism)

[Mechaman]

I figure it's time I should post an update

Social
Overall: Liberalish
Abortion: Legal, while I have a moral distaste for it the alternative, that is giving the government authority over somebody's body, is a very dangerous slippery slope.
Drugs: Legalize most drugs.  Voluntary self-harm shouldn't be considered a crime.
Death Penalty: Shouldn't exist.  Needs to be a Constitutional Amendment or something to ban this as "cruel and unusual".
Gay Rights: How about, instead, we talk about universal rights?  Or why is it that we even have to discuss the concept of love and government?  I think the answer is quite obvious: We stop asking questions about what people do in the privacy of their own bedrooms and we back our rhetoric on that piece of paper called the Bill O'Rights that says that we shall not have a government that prohibits or endorses the practices of one religious philosophy over another.
Gun Control: Non-issue.  Those who automatically jump in the air for more controls after every shooting committed by some nutcase tend to overlook (but not ignore) the joke of a mental healthcare system we have that has an almost contemptible view of people with mental disabilities.  People who start foaming at the mouth that gun control will lead to a fascist one party dictatorship give the proles of this country too much credit if they think that the right to an M-16 rifle will prevent said police state.  I don't own a gun, don't ever plan on owning one, and I could give a sheyit if I get shot by someone with one.  NON.  FUUCKING.  ISSUE.

Economic
Overall: Left Wing State Skeptic
Taxes: Ideally I would prefer a Georgist tax structure that taxes the unmodified value of land over the income tax structure we have now.  The immorality of property ownership warrants it.
Social Security: Is a joke.  People should be able to opt out if they choose.  OF course, if they do choose to opt out of it, they don't get the benefits they would get otherwise.
Healthcare: Is a right, not a privilege.  There needs to be a public health system for those who can't easily and readily afford privatized healthcare.  However, I do believe that it would be an excessive use of state power and quite authoritarian to ban the practice of private healthcare.  So really, I guess a favoring of a mixed healthcare system with easily affordable public care for those who choose so.
Free Trade:  Is not perfect.  However, with globalization it's inevitable.  And is infinitely preferable to the system that came before.
Immigration: Abolish the authoritarian concept known as "the national border" and institute Quik-Stop citizenship registration.  Take a process that used to take years to accomplish and slim it down to a matter of minutes.
Campaign Finance Reform: My solution to this is simple: Kill the Corporations.
Environment: Should be a no brainer.  Keep your head clean of fumes, play nice with others, and keep your space uncluttered.  Otherwise, our planet ends up looking and smelling like your old college dorm room after one too many bong hits.
Education: I'm not sure how we fix this, but a lot of people really need to get the sheyit together.  We're talking about our nation's future here damn it!

Foreign Policy
Overall:Don't know what exactly yet
Iraq War: You know those Joel Schumacher Batman movies you saw as a kid and you see them when you're like fuuckin' 24 years old and stoned out of your mind and you're like "damn, did this movie suck major" even though you swallowed enough qualudes to have met your own father in the past?  Yeah, this was a bit worse than that.
Interventionism: Stop playing big daddy policeman.  You know that one jackass who used to bully everyone and took karate?  Yeah, that's what America has become to many people.  And, newsflash Obama, the drones don't really help shake that perception.  Now, we are the kid who bullies everyone, who knows karate, and is very proficient at flying remote control airplanes that drop sheyit on everyone when he's bored.  We need to cut back, so we save money and goodwill, unless a situation is REALLY calling for military action.  Oh yes, also be a good idea if the President (who isn't a fuuckin' god, like everyone who supports him seems to think) doesn't have as much authority to just off and send troops where he likes, congressional approvals/disapprovals of war be damned.
Foreign Aid: This isn't 1946.  We need to be smart with how we send our money overseas.  We need to delegate to humanitarian/charitable organizations more and less outright to governments.  Not against direct government aid to implement social justice per se, but am also in favor of private organization involvement in aid.  Really, just keep a humanitarian perspective on it and keep bureaucratic interference to a minimal.

More should come out later.

[Mechaman]

1. The right to individual autonomy is important, even if it threatens collective security. (Agree)*
2. The government should penalize organizations that practice outsourcing. (Disagree)
3. Giving faith-based charities the same government resources as secular organizations is a good idea. (Disagree)
4. We should increase foreign aid to countries struggling with poverty. (Usually Disagree)
5. We should increase funding for education. (Agree)*

6. Heterosexual couples should receive higher marital recognition than same-sex couples. (Disagree)
7. Overall, free trade hurts more than it helps. (Usually Disagree)
8. We should reduce the number of government programs substantially. (Usually Agree)
9. Abortion should be illegal or very heavily restricted. (Disagree)
10. The government should fund museums, theaters, and other cultural institutions that are unable to survive independently. (Agree)*

11. The government should subsidize health insurance for those who cannot easily afford it. (Agree)*
12. The government should work to reduce children's exposure to offensive radio and television content. (Disagree)
13. It is unfair that wealthier people pay higher tax rates. (Disagree)
14. The minimum wage should be raised. (Usually Agree)*
15. Marijuana should be legalized. (Agree)*

16. Society focuses too much on forcing equality at the expense of real merit. (Agree)
17. Violating individual rights is acceptable when it comes to fighting terrorism. (Disagree)*
18. Current levels of government regulation on industry are excessive. (Usually Agree)
19. The government should provide basic needs for all people. (Disagree)*
20. The death penalty should be an option for serious crimes. (Disagree)
21. We should reduce the difficulty of immigration. (Agree)*

22. Union workers should be protected against being fired during strikes. (Neutral)
23. Prostitution should be legalized. (Agree)
24. Flag burning should be banned. (Disagree)
25. I support affirmative action. (Neutral)
26. The government should impose tariffs to protect industries from foreign competition. (Disagree)
27. Physician-assisted suicide should be legal if the patient is capable of informed, rational consent. (Usually Agree)

Result:

E: -0.06
S: -8.26
[/quote]

[Mechaman]

Economic Positions:

Something Something Evil Socialist

Debt: Is perhaps the greatest advantage Government has.  However, with unjustified wars, corporate welfare, American empire, and fiscal policies that fly in the face of logic it has gotten to unacceptable levels.  We don't need to kill grandma or your kids to fix this, we need to kill imperialism.  Once we're a power that respects national self-determination of others and stick true to the principles of keeping government out of the business of subsidizing industry, don't be so surprised to see a large number of our debt problems go away.
Education: More funding for public education.  Axe out federally funded "vouchers" for private schools.  There are public schools for a reason and having some "voucher" program, espoused by of all people libertarians, makes little sense.  If the government is paying a family money to send their kid to a private institution, is it really a private institution?
Healthcare: Universal Healthcare.  The whole nine yards.  The fact that this is still a question disturbs me.  Healthcare should be a right, not a privilege.
Labor Rights: All too often when talking of the rights of us as Americans, many fail to realize just how much our modern society owes to the labor movements of the 19th-20th centuries.  The austerity craze sweeping not just this nation but many other nations is quite evident that labor rights have taken a back seat in many cases.  With all the fancy talking over, here are a few of my positions related to this issue:
Minimum Wage: It's called "Minimum Wage" for a reason.  Paying "tipped" employees as low as $2.13 an hour makes absolutely zero sense except to create a culture of guilt for those employed in those industries.  If I tip a waiter, I want to do it because they did a good job, not because I worry about how they can survive on such miserable pre-tip earnings.  And don't give me any of that crap about "well it'll cost the owners too much!"  or "prices will skyrocket!"  Plenty of other businesses seem to do just fine paying their employees only $7.25, the current minimum, which should really be indexed for inflation.
Mandated Breaks: Not sure if this is law, but each employee working eight hours or longer should be guaranteed at least one hour long break.  This is necessary due to the nature of many jobs that require such hours.  Employers who work their employees to death should be reprimanded, not rewarded.
Work Place Safety: Basic compliance with workplace safety laws.  Fire escapes, ventilation, what have you.  Cutting corners on this issue to save a few bucks is unacceptable.
Unions: No non-union worker should be forced to pay union dues.  Workers have the right to form a union in any occupation they please.  Companies that forbid the formation of such unions are forbidding the right of the workers' freedom of association.  Uphold the right to secret ballot.  Seniority rules are flawed, but should be left up to the individual unions to address.
Social Welfare: If current times have taught us anything it is that a strong social safety net is a necessity.  In favor of expansion of unemployment, food card, low income housing, and various miscellaneous programs for those down on their luck.  Increase the amount of time one qualifies for unemployment benefits, as current economic realities show that many people go beyond the traditional 26 week period.  Prosecute discriminatory practices by welfare offices (both federal and statewide) that affect welfare recipients adversely.
Taxation: Current structure is acceptable.  For now.  However, I would prefer a most just taxation system based on Georgian economic principles of general public ownership of the land.  That is, replacing all forms of income taxation (since it taxes the labor of the populace) with a progressive Land Values Tax.  Hopefully, such a plan would yield less disparity between rich and poor.
Trade: Nothing short of free trade.  I realize this is a controversial position for a left winger now days, but really I feel it is the only left wing position one can take considering the tendencies of corporate greed.  People who think that using protective tariffs is going to help American workers are fools, history has shown that companies protected by heavy tariffs prefer to instead pocket the extra profits soaked out of the pockets of workers.  I say we make these robber barons compete on an even playing field with the competition without suffering the lower classes.  We used to have a powerful labor rights segment in society, maybe it's time we revived it.  Thinking that tariffs would force a country to rethink it's labor policies is also bunk, considering how little effect it has had in China.  Hell, we've banned trade with Cuba for fifty years and we look like the bad guys!  More on that later.  Protectionist trade has no place in the world of the 21st century.  This is one instance where, shocker, the free market is right.  However, I wouldn't be opposed to punishing American business that outsource labor to countries with lax labor rights.

I think that's all for tonight.  More to come later.

[Mechaman]

Environmental and Energy Issues:

Anti-Automobile Warrior Climate Hater

Alternative Energy: All for.  We need to boost investments in developing new sources of energy in addition to those that are already being pursued.  Wind, Solar, Geothermal, and yes even Nuclear need to be pursued as alternatives to the US addiction to Coal and Oil.  Clean Coal is hilarious, but probably a little better than Not Clean Coal I guess.  Same thing for alternative fuels.  Plain unleaded with 10% ethanol is just not enough (in fact, I would argue it's more trouble than it's worth) to address the problems with traditional oil.  Same thing with feel good Hybrid cars, which while offering more miles to the gallon ultimately does little to address the real issue at hand: consumption.  Looking at a lower gasoline bill of $30 instead of say $72 usually leads to two things: 1) Look at how much money I saved on gas!  Hooray, which leads directly to 2) Driving is so much cheaper now that I got this Hybrid I can do it more and more and more!
See, the process?
Now, ideas like the Electric car sound good in theory, until we take in consideration the energy usage it would take to recharge these cars.  Granted, Electric automobiles have gotten more efficient since the horror days when they had to be charged all day to go 90 miles.  However, this brings up another problem that will arise in the future: energy cost inflation.  I'm no expert, but I bet that charging a freaking thousand pound car (conservative estimate) probably costs a bit more than powering your PS3 or phone.
So you ask, Mechaman, if you are such a naysayer of almost all forms of automobile usage currently available, what would you recommend?  Well, a few things:
1) Use Research Development to find a way to create a cheap and efficient way to produce a Solar powered car.  This is not a 100% foolproof solution, given that some areas on the planet receive very little sunlight.  In that case perhaps there needs to be a way to convert wind, hydrogen, earth, or other common resources into a readily available source of energy.  I am not fool enough to believe that a Solar car capable of going 150 mph available for $30,000 is possible in ten years.  Hopefully someday though it will work for people in sparsely populated areas devoid of public transport, which brings me to point
2) Enormous public transport budget, including the development of a National High Speed Rail Program.  Might end up being the most expensive public works program in history, but necessary for the future conservation of resources for better purpose than to soothe our addiction to the automobile.  Some user fees might be necessary, but largely would like to see this funded by heavy unleaded gasoline taxes (I'm thinking maybe 50 cents a gallon).  However, if sane fiscal policies are followed (more on that later), worries of currency manipulation and the like in response to such a grandiose program could be avoided.
I'll readily admit that I don't know if this would all work.  Just a few ideas.
The Climate Change debate: I'll be real honest, this issue might be dead last out of all the ones I will address in this section.  I do believe that Climate Change is real, however I don't believe the way it's being addressed at the moment is the right course.  Paranoia is not helping address the issue, and there needs to be more than just buying green products or banning incandescent lightbulbs to address this issue.  More to the point, I believe the focus of the debate needs to be changed.  People aren't so thrilled to have religious fundamentalist wackjobs telling everyone the world is going to end and we're all f***ed, why do they think the doomsday mantra will rally people to act on the Climate Change front?  At this point, I don't think Climate Change can be avoided thus the best strategy should be follow a more logical strategy: preparing the nation, and the world, for surviving Climate Change.  I believe that people would be more willing to go with green taxes and the like if they are given the impression that yes, this is going to suck a bit but we can survive, versus the current "REFORM OR DIE!" mentality of the advocates.  Appealing to people's optimism is way better than using the politics of fear as a highly ranked president once stated: "We have nothing to fear but fear itself."  If Climate Change really is as horrible as advocates claim, last thing we need is a panic stricken populace.
Parks and Recreation: Reduce some public land ownership out west.  At the same time, increase enforcement of standards in upholding National Parks and other areas.  Support Urban Green Zones and even some Urban Farming.

Wow, only a few issues.  Maybe more will come up later

[Mechaman]

Social Issues:

Anti-Bloomberg Liberal

Women's Reproductive Issues: I'm not a woman, therefore I don't feel in a position to tell them what to do with their bodies.  I can't imagine what it's like to have an abortion, but I bet it's not like going to get groceries at the local IGA.  Nor should it be.  Abortion isn't exactly a thing I approve, but the alternative sets a much worse precedent (government mandate on controlling an individual's body).  In a phrase: Safe, Legal, and Rare.  Birth Control should be readily available and affordable, for obvious reason.
Firearms: I am a Constitutional Liberal.  I believe that possession of firearms is a Constitutionally protected right and should be protected as such.  I agree with the Heller decision, gun bans are unconstitutional and should be overturned.  However, I wouldn't be wholly opposed to gun regulations like limiting the size of magazine clips or child locks on guns, given the whole "well regulated militia" bit.  Draconian measures, like a National Gun Registry, I oppose on principle to similar slippery slope as alluded to in the Abortion segment.  Sure, in the event of a revolution an AK-47 isn't going to help at all against tanks and F-17s, but that doesn't mean that I shouldn't be wary of a government with information on all legal gun owners in the nation.
Alcohol, Drugs, and Tobacco: All fall under the category of "vice".  In most of these cases the decision to partake in these vices are of a conscious choice.  And considering the amount of public health information on the hazards of these vices, I find it hard to believe that many engage in these activities out of pure ignorance.  The war on Marijuana and other soft drugs must end with legalization and regulation similar to laws on tobacco.  In favor of reducing the Alcohol age down to 18 years, as the 21 age limit has done very little to actually reduce underage alcohol consumption.  Tobacco is a deadly substance that has proven side effects that lead to cancer from both first hand and second hand smoking.  I am against the banning of smoking Tobacco for the same reasons I support Alcohol and Marijuana.  It is a free choice and people who partake of it are more than often well aware of the dangers posed by it.  However, I do approve of establishments that ban the smoking of such a product in public spaces and would agree with policies that prosecute smokers that smoke in establishments that disallow it.  Also okay with advertising regulations and warning labels.  Same thing for Marijuana and Alcohol.  Mostly, I support common sense regulations on these vices and the right of individuals and businesses to allow/disallow the partaking of these activities on their own grounds.  Support of the decriminalization of hard drugs.  Penalties, of course, should be minimum.
Euthanasia: Lightly approve.  I agree with the principle of it, but believe that there needs to be a well regulated legal process in regards to it to avoid abuse of the system.  My fear mostly is that some might abuse the system to get away with murder thus leading to increased crime and prosecution costs.
Equality: I won't say what has already been said by 90% of the people on this forum.  Full equality for LGBT individuals.  Duh duh duh.
Crime and Punishment: Death penalty must be abolished!  It's unethical, immoral, and makes little sense.  In favor of a more reform minded jail system that puts convicts to work and addresses the mental factors that drove them towards crime.  And for the love Gul, give them some half decent food.  Really, look at the policies of Scandinavia to get an idea of my ideal system.
Freedom of Speech: Flag burning is an act of free speech and should be protected.  So to is the throwing around of racial, ethnic, sexual slurs.  So to is the right to condemn people who do.  We need to abolish the FCC, which really has no purpose beyond being a board of censorship on the airwaves.  Parents can regulate their own children and don't need a government appointed nanny commission to do so.  $250,000 fines for saying the word "fuck" on national tv is an excessive fine.  The networks seem to do well enough on their own self-regulating and have in the process made censorship agencies virtually useless.
Freedom of Religion: The proliferation of religious bias in legislation and law is getting out of control.  People's personal religious beliefs are all too often negatively affecting the direction of this country.  The Government exists by the Bill of Rights to neither enforce or prohibit the exercise of religious values.  We need Supreme Court rulings that enforce the 1st Amendment more clearly and limits such activism in government.  I fully support students saying prayers at high school graduation, manger scenes, and even voicing religiously motivated opinions on controversial issues.  What I don't approve of those people using government as a platform to enforce those values over those of others.  The way this is worded is likely to get some opposition.
Civil Liberties: Need to be strongly enforced in this age of government onslaught and interventionism.  In these times of conflict and strife the right to a warranted search needs to be a guarantee, as should the right to due process.  Ideas like drones patrolling the skies for people going five over the speed limit in West Texas is more than intrusive on liberty.  It's simply freaking overkill and such things should be avoided.  And the people deserve assurances, court rulings, and various other methods to assure that at any moment they can't be f***Ing arrested or killed by their government without proper process.  It's a shame that his is a low priority for the American Left when it should be one of the top issues promoted by us to combat corporatist neoconservatism.  We should be trying to win over libertarians genuinely concerned by the expansion of government power in prosecuting private citizens, not condemning them as seems to be the trend.

More might be coming.

[Mechaman]

Very socially conservative. A few examples;
Abortion: Only when the life of the mother is seriously threatened.
Gay "Marriage": Completely and totally illegal.
Drugs: Marijuana should be completely illegal, and I'm not too fond of alcohol or cigarettes but I realize those two would be nearly impossible to illegalize, so I'll tolerate them in moderation.
Church and State: Keep "In God we Trust", school prayers should be allowed but determined based on the school districts, freedom OF religion not FROM religion, take out the "Solemnly swear" parts of oaths and return to what it was, etc.

Moderately economically conservative. A few examples;
Taxes: Should be a universal tax rate from the bottom of the ladder to the very top, with the exception being the absolute poorest of the poor, whom should receive government assistance, but must prove they are actively trying to secure a job that can pay for themselves.
Deficit Spending: Slash spending across the board, with the only exceptions being education and the military.
Welfare: Only for the poorest of the poor, and drug test applicants.
Debt Ceiling: Lower, lower, LOWER!!!!

May I be the first to say that you make me, as a gay man, an atheist, a man who thinks government shouldn't control what you put in your body, a man who believes that those who can afford it should give back to the community, who believes that science should lead the way on issues of women's health and that women shouldn't be made to carry their rapist's baby, that our military is bloated and needs to be cut, and that everyone deserves a basic standard of living, sick? I think you might find a certain other Vladimir to be a good friend of yours.

Are you really losing your sh*t to an obvious troll?

Then again, I'd probably do the same thing.  THese trolls are like watching a train wreck.  So horrible, but you just got to watch.

[Mechaman]

Destroy capitalism.

F-

The Requirements for the paper are at least 1500 words.  Son, you got to quit drinking.

[Mechaman]

Ideology: Social Ecologist/Green Anarchist/Georgist, or something or other

Social Policy:
Abortion: The right to one's own body is a fundamental human right.  I support abortion up to the date of birth, with funding provided by a universal healthcare system.
Marriage: The institution is a joke.  Get rid of government recognition of this outdated social construct and let people sort it out on their own.
Drugs: The War on Drugs is the new Jim Crow.  It has put millions and millions of poor and minority Americans into prison and left many families fatherless and motherless.  The results of the War on Drugs is far worse than the alternative reality where we did nothing at all to address drug addiction, leaving us with a yearly bill in the hundreds of billions if not trillions in government welfare expenditures to maintain a stigmatized underclass that cannot find decent paying jobs to live off of.  I support the immediate end of the War on Drugs with no hesitation or gradualism and the replacement of the punitive clauses of it with an emphasis on free drug rehabilitation treatment for those who seek it.  Those who choose a life of drugs, being fully aware of the consequences of such from years of public education and health and safety campaigning, should be allowed to do so.
I take the same view of alcohol, soda, tobacco, and many other "vices" that the modern day Puritan movement want to strongly regulate to death.
Stem Cell Research: This issue is so 1999, but support.  Whatever helps us get more sciency and advanced with our medicine the better.
Death Penalty: Obviously immoral.  I don't really think there is much more that needs to be said here.
Gun control: Generally not a fan of it, but I am not really a fan of the American gun culture either.  The idea that one needs a gun to feel free is a very concerning one.  I feel, however, that most efforts to regulate guns will fail pretty hard simply due to the number of guns on the streets and I feel very wary of giving the State (especially as it is) a monopoly on firepower.  Correcting the root causes of social inequality would do a lot more to correct the problem of gun violence and ultimately the paranoid gun culture than half arsed attempts at regulating ownership would (I know I know IT WORKS IN EUROPE! doesn't necessarily mean it will work here).
Affirmative Action: I would say keep it, but my position on public education would make it necessary.  However, if we exclude my support of nationalization of college campuses, I believe that Affirmative Action needs to be reworked to change the focus to those of low income rather than ethnic origins.  I believe this would still allow many disadvantaged non-whites to pursue college degrees and professional jobs while also allowing many often overlooked poor whites to do the same.  The poor are poor, regardless of their race.
Prostitution: Full bloody legalization. In the 19th century Prostitution was actually one of the best paying and safest (I know, shocking) jobs for women of the era.  Then the freaking "Progressives" came in and changed all of that by stigmatizing prostitution as some sort of mad dog social ailment and thus helped lead the crusade to ban it in the vast majority of US States.  Ever since then women in such positions now find themselves the pawns of violent and abuses Johns who rob them of a good amount of their earnings.  There is nothing inherently wrong with making an earning via sexual intercourse, as long as it is consensual.
Euthanasia: Again, a person has a right to their own body.  If they choose to take their own life, that is their choice.  Oh sure, I do support funding for anti-suicide programs and other measures, but if someone willingly wants to end it for good, we shouldn't have punitive laws in place that punishes them if they fail or their kin if they succeed.  Rather than having a society that prefers to hang themselves from their closet hangers or cut their throat open and leaving their master kitchen a bloody mess, howse about we at least give them a relatively clean and safe medical process?  Just a thought.

Economic Issues:
Minimum Wage: Obviously I support raising it.  However, we must be very smart with how we pursue this.  In the current system we operate under a blanket raise to $15/hr would be unwise.  And really, let us not ignore the overall problem of the Cost of Living that is causing us every few years to consider raising the wage.  Rather, I would support a Guaranteed Income for all households matching the number of dependents reliant on that income for food, water, and shelter.  If we wage a few less wars this would be very easy to afford.  Other than that, in regards to wage work, I would support any efforts (even including tax credits for small businesses) to increase the minimum wage to a level to provide not just a survivable but comfortable living for most people.
Welfare: See my previous post on the Guaranteed Income.  This would be given to all Americans to provide basic survival (food, water, shelter) for themselves and their families.  Right now programs like Medicare and Medicaid work fine, but will become redundant if we adopt a Single Payer Healthcare system.
"Right-to-work" Fundamentally fascistic laws passed to stifle the influence of the working man in this country.  Anybody should have the right to join/form a union if they want to, regardless of what their boss(es) might think.  This is not a socialistic/communistic issue, this is an issue of liberty.  And when workers cannot organize in the workplace we might as well be back in the Gilded Age.
Taxation: Land Use Taxation now.  The ownership of land is a crime against the earth.  As such we should recognize it as such with 100% taxation of it (payable by those with the means to do so).  Ideally, this should replace all other forms of taxation as the most ideal way to combat real societal inequality.  The taxation of income, even the "progressive" system we have in the US, does very little to nothing to combat the wealth gap and even encourages it by the economic model of Capitalism which demands the economy be run by solvent businesses.  Under a socialistic system funded by revenue from the value of the land itself, we would not have this problem.
Corporations: Should be illegal.
Healthcare: I support Single Payer obviously.  This idea that you should pay for healthcare is one of the biggest moral failings of the American experience.  Policemen don't ticket you to come to your house in response to a burglary.  Firemen don't print you an invoice after putting out a fire.  Why, oh why, should we pay thousands of dollars just for an ambulance ride!!!!!!!!?  A publicly owned and ran healthcare system might not pay their doctors hundreds of thousands of dollars, but it would save most Americans hundreds of thousands of dollars of emergency care costs as well as save them from the evil and parasitic entity known as the "Insurance Industry".  Like I noted earlier, in the event that we do have Single Payer, we should dissolve Medicare and Medicaid as those programs would no longer be necessary.
Social Security: I would support abolishing Social Security and replace it with an additional system to make payments out to those people who are unable to work (for a wide variety of reasons).  As I am no fan of the Protestant Work Ethic, I would be much in favor of including Artists, Writers, and other liberal arts types who do not rely on a regularly occurring source of income.  Ideally, wealth should be eliminated to avoid all of these convoluted program ideas.
Trade: Supportive of real free trade, which is being made a mockery of with so-called "Free Trade Agreements". Real free trade recognizes the freedom of movement for labor.  Really, what we need to do is tear down the borders and allow unlimited freedom of movement.  This would allow the labor movement unlimited access to the worldwide market and act as a liberation for the oft abused third world.
Education: We need to destroy the privilege of the Ivy League and other high cost institutions of learning.  Further, we need to destroy the mentality that everyone needs a college education just to make a survivable living (the sin for which I lay at the feet of the evil college loan industry).  Both of these can be done quite easily with full nationalization of education in this country.  This will free millions from the cycle of debt slavery as well as loosen employer perceptions of what a college education really amounts to in many positions (which is, jack sh*t).  Obviously, some subjects like Accounting, Engineering, and Medicine you need advanced education for, but why in the blue hell would you need one for welding sh*t or working on a train?
Deficits, The Debt, etc. I think the current fetishization of the debt, both by Democrats and Republicans, is both ironic and idiotic.  For starters, that we live in a society where both parties have scores of politicians who are vying to be in the bragging spot about "Balanced Budgets" says a lot about us.  This idea that a government should be ran like a business is a dangerous one.  If government is making a profit then it is robbing the people, plain and simple.  Debt is and always will be necessary for the running of a state.
But at the same time we cannot be welcoming of excessive debt, which in most cases is oft the result of an abusive, violent, and authoritarian state that is getting off on the misfortune of others (whether that be drug addicts or oil producing nations).  I am sure that if we waged a few dozen less wars and threw a few less million people into federal penitentiary, we might be a bit closer to that budget surplus than merely raising the income tax rate five percent and then calling it a day.

More might come.