Political Opinions

[Frodo]

1. Should the government should prohibit gun ownership by private citizens?

Assuming these are normal law-abiding citizens we're talking about like you and me, most definitely not.

2. Should Marijuana should be legalized?

Yes -I would go as far as saying that we should bring an end to the Drug War entirely.  


3. Should the death penalty be abolition?

I assume you meant to say 'abolished'.  And my answer in either case is 'no'.  


4. Should the government control, regulate, and ban video games, including banning video game sales to teens?

Normally I would say no, but I have so little faith in parents nowadays that as with sex education, I think government does need to step in.  


5. Should we pull our troops out of Afghanistan?

Undecided.


6. Should abortion be legal or illegal?

It should be left to the states to determine for themselves.  And if it were up to me to determine what state I most want Virginia to emulate when it comes to birth control and abortion, it would be a state like Washington.  


7. Should stem cell research be legal?

Yes.  Though I would draw the line when it comes to human cloning.  


8. Should criminals who sexually assault and/or rape children under the age of 13 be killed, castrated, chemically castrated, or simply imprisoned and registered as a sex offender?

The latter -rape is not driven by sexual desire but a lust for power.  If the rapist is castrated, he is likely to use a pipe or some other object instead.  

9. Should the police get money directly from tickets or should ticket money be put in with other government spending?

The latter.


10. Should the police have a monthly/weekly quota of tickets that they must meet?

No.


11. Should we stop Iran's nuclear weapons program?

It would be nice if we could get them to stop, but if worse comes to worse then a strategy of containment is eminently more palatable than a bombing mission and/or an outright military invasion.


12. Should we liberate North Korea and install a peaceful democratic government?

Only if they launch a Pearl-Harbor style attack on South Korea.  There is no use in conquering the peninsula in its entirety and bringing the ROK border up to the Yalu if the average citizen in South Korea is not on board.  


13. Should the government give money to failing businesses in order to keep them from going bankrupt?

I supported TARP when the Bush administration begged Congress to pass it, and I still support it now.  Hopefully the financial regulatory reform law passed by Congress earlier this year will enable us to avoid that option -assuming it is fully funded and implemented.  If not, we're right back to where we started.  


14. Should the government control the economy (command economy), should the government never intervene in the economy (laissez-faire), or should the government intervene in the economy only when it is necessary (mixed economy)?

The third option like most normal people would.


15. Should lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals be given equal rights as straight individuals?

Absolutely.


16. Should we pull our forces out of Iraq?

I have no objections to keeping a minimal garrison there.


17. Should gay marriage be legalized?

Not by the Supreme Court.

18. Should we recognize the independent nation of Kosovo?

No.

19. Should we recognize the independent nation of Azerbaijan?

Yes.


21. Should we recognize the independent nation of South Ossetia?

No.


22. Should Puerto Rico become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?

The choice is theirs, not ours to make.  But I would prefer if they chose statehood.


23. Should Guam become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?

I prefer the status quo.

24. Should American Samoa become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?

Ideally, I would prefer if it joined with the independent nation of Samoa.


25. Should the US Virgin Islands become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?

Status quo.


26. Should the US Minor Outlying Islands become US states, become and independent countries, or remain US territories?

Status quo.


27. Should we make Iraq a US state?

No.

28. Should we make Afghanistan a US state?

No.


29. Do you think WikiLeaks should get shutdown?

Yes.


30. Should the government minimize it's military spending?

Yes -but it ought to be careful how it does so to ensure that any decrease in overall defense spending does not adversely affect our overall readiness.


31. Should the government make stronger efforts to stop illegal immigration, especially from Mexico?

What it's doing now is enough.


32. Should citizens of the District of Columbia be granted full voting rights?

No -it should be retroceded to Maryland if they want voting rights so badly.  And if they don't like that option, then I am perfectly happy with the status quo.  


33. Should New York City become it's own state, an independent country, or remain part of New York?

Remain part of New York.


34. Should the United States create a North American Union with Canada? If so should we allow Mexico to join?

No -I prefer the status quo.


35. Should the government censor books, movies, and other entertainment mediums?

No.


36. Should it be made illegal to deny that the Holocaust happened or to claim that the government is responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks?

No.

37. Should the government offer free broadband internet to all citizens, like Finland does?

No.


38. Should the government increase it's power to enforce internet laws and put a stop to internet crimes?

Yes.


39. Should the government shutdown 4chan, just /b/, or neither?

What?


40. Should 13 year olds be given universal suffrage?

No.


41. Should the drinking age be lowered to atleast 18?

Yes.


42. Should church and state remain separate?

Yes.

43. Should we allow a mosque to be built next to Ground Zero?

Yes.


44. Should the government offer free healthcare?

Yes.

45. Should the government offer free college/university education?

Yes.


46. Should tobacco be made illegal?

No.


47. Should alcohol be made illegal again?

No.


48. Should the government keep secrets from and lie to it's citizens?

Yes.


49. Should classified and top secret documents be declassified?

No.


50. Should the government take greater steps to promote political awareness among teens, so they know how to make better informed political decisions?

Yes.


51. Should public schools bring back the ability to beat their students and force them to wear school uniforms?

Only in urban settings.


52. Should we allow weapons in space?

Yes.


53. Should the United States join the International Criminal Court?

Yes.

54. Should the age of consent be lowered to 13?

No.


55. Should Julian Assange be tried in court for sexually assaulting (and raping) women and for releasing top secret government and military documents to the public?

Yes.


56. Should NASA work harder to accomplish goals such as making first contact, building space ships, and colonizing other planets?

Yes.


57. Should NASA set-up a colony on Mars using their proposed one-way trip system?

Yes.


58. Should nuclear weapons be banned globally?

Eventually.


59. Should nuclear power be actively used in the United States?

Yes.


60. Should teenagers (from 13 to 19) be given the same rights and privileges as adults?

No.

61. Should we allow private military contractors to continue to exist?

Yes.


62. Should the government and military work to help stop and prevent genocides, civil wars, and other atrocities happening around the world, such as in Africa?

Only if such horrors impact our national interests.  Otherwise, no.  


63. Should research into cloning be conducted?

Only for animals -not human beings.


64. Should we close the Guantanamo Bay prison?

No.


65. Should Guantanamo Bay become a US state?

No.


66. Should the United States become imperialist again, but this time we make the places we conquer become permanent US states?

No.


67. Should the world unite under a democratic world government that is just like the United States, but governs the entire world?

Yes, eventually.  That's the ultimate end-game here, and one that is at least centuries in the future.