Summary of political beliefs

[perdedor]

Social Issues:
Abortion - Completely pro-choice, including partial birth and all three trimesters. The government should not have a hand in regulating women's reproductive organs and no, I do not believe that a fetus is life. Sorry (not really).

Gay Rights - I support completely removing the states from the issue and taking steps to ensure equality for the GLBT community. A comprehensive (Yeah, I know. This word makes me chuckle too) anti-discrimination bill ought to be passed. However, just as a note, I only support gay marriage because I know that the state will never stop recognizing marriages, which is the position I support.

Gun Control - The current regulations are fine. I will say that I do not think that gun ownership should be designated a 'god given' right and I would be perfectly content with abolishing the second amendment.

Drugs - Full legalization/regulation/taxation across the entire drug spectrum. The government should not be in the business of regulating what people do to their own bodies. This would also do considerable damage to underground drug market that is becoming increasingly violent. You could apply this same logic to prostitution.

Censorship - This goes against a core principle of mine regarding the act of covering one's eyes and shutting one's ears. People should view the world as it is naturally and not look for versions that are more comfortable.

Immigration - Serious crackdown on employers who are capitalizing on the plight of less fortunate nations/races of people. One should have to provide a valid birth certificate which the employer must verify through a federal database to recieve employment/social services. Strict penalties should be enforced against these agencies including large fines and potential jail time depending upon how many undocumented workers there are employed by the company. All of that said, legal immigration desperately needs to be simplified and citizenship easier to achieve. FWIW, I think both 'the wall' and establishing english as the national language are both stupid, nationalistic ideas.

Civil Liberties - We have them. Unfortunate a truth as it may be sometimes (teabaggers) you can't simply send the National Guard after protesters that disagree with you. Abolishing the Patriot Act and Department of Homeland Security would be a good starting point. Furthermore, ending the War on Terror would be the deathnail to most of the nationalistic propaganda that floats around this country like a foul smell.

Education - I would prefer a federal system of education that is properly funded and is actually designed to build an intelligent populace with a good sense of culture and common sense. Abolish NCLB/standardized testing, raise educational standards to be met by both teachers and students, and potentially create a mandatory two year college program to follow high school. Our people (at least on the large scale) are stupid and culturally inept. I'm left to believe that the initial failure starts with our educational system that puts more focus on sports and memorizing test answers than actual education.

Economic Issues:

Nationalization - I support nationalizing a wide array of industries including: utilities (electric, water, etc), heavy industry, mass transit, insurance (one general, universal plan), banking, health care, and energy. In addition to this, I would be completely behind universal internet access. While I could understand arguments against this, we live in a world which is almost entirely operated via the internet and it seems almost wrong to me to think that some people are denied such a tool.

Taxes - Increase them across the board in order to install new social programs. Deficit reduction is another potential benefit of this, though it is certainly a smaller priority to me than social programs. In addition to this, I believe that we should introduce new taxes on industries that are harmful to the public well being such as fast food and inefficient vehicles. I also believe that we should remove tax exempt status for religious institutions and that we should double corporate, estate, and capital gains taxes.

Minimum Wage - Should be a living wage that is adjusted for inflation and taxation. I'm thinking around 15$ an hour.

Trade - Abolish NAFTA/GATT, and install various tariffs to protect and promote American made goods.

Social Services - We need a vast overhaul of programs that are designed to help the less fortunate. This would include doubling welfare payments, making food stamps more available to the general populace, extending and increasing unemployment benefits, and establishing a state run employment agency to employ people until they are able to find another job (should they want to). You'll notice that I don't mention medicaid, this is because I am a supporter of single-payer, nationalized health care.

Foreign Issues:

War(s)/Military Intervention - Unless directly threatened with military activity, the United States should not involve its military in international disputes. The one exception I could make is the situation in Africa. If ever there was an opprtunity to truly free and bettert the lives of a people through military expedition, it would be the African continent.

Military Funding - Reduce by 75% across the board excluding pay and post-service benefits.

Foreign Aid - To be reduced.

UN - I oppose U.S. involement.

Nuclear Arms - Until the U.S. disarms and requests the same of its allies, it should stay out of the business of North Korea and Iran.

[perdedor]

UN - I oppose U.S. involement.

Explain.

That's pretty self-explanitory. I personally am not fond of the idea of a globalized pseudo-government meddling in the affairs of independent nations. I feel largely the same way about U.S. foreign policy.

Pro-choice in all three trimesters?! Jesus.

Is it really that troubling to read? A fetus is not a human life, it is the potential for human life. Until we are born, we are the physical property of our mothers. This could be argued sure, but it seems more ridiculous to me for a governing body to differentiate between certain segements of the birth cycle as if they should have such authority over a women's body at any given stage of her pregnancy.

[perdedor]

domestic.
abortion-- i'm opposed to all restrictions on abortion. drug war-- end it immediately. legalize and tax marijuana. decriminalize all other drugs. grant clemency to all non-violent "drug offenders". gun control-- i'm for background checks and mandatory safety locks. i'm generally opposed to everything else. prostitution-- this industry, much like the drug industry, could be safer for both the seller and their clientele if it were legalized. immigration-- i support a guest work program for current illegal immigrants and a path to citizenship. no mass deportation, border moats, or other silly things. lbgt-- i support a constitutional amendment legalizing gay marriage on the federal level. crime-- first nationalize the prison system (no private prisons) and slowly reform it into a community service system of various degrees, the most severe of which would be an arduous labor camp. i'm completely opposed to the death penalty and i don't believe that protesting in a street that you paid for is an arrestable offense. national health-- i like the idea of a flat "health tax" of 5-10% on items such as alcohol, cigarettes, fast food, and soft drinks. there should also be a national standard  by which it's determined what products are given this additional tax, so as to help companies improve their products to avoid the tax. public transit-- i support a national public transit program that works with city governments to improve the quality of local bus and rail services. the ultimate goal being to achieve universal transportation, which could add more versatility and flexibility to the economy. environment-- the most progress we've had in protecting the environment is at the grassroots, market level. it's what we buy and consume that pollutes the environment, naturally. i'm for more environmentally friendly tax incentives and funding of national environmental awareness campaign (as well as a water conservation campaign for drought states such as Texas). energy-- i agree with continuing  clean energy funding in the hopes of eventually finding a realistic, large scale alternative to fossil fuels. education-- i support nationally standardized curriculum (which would include art, foreign language, and elective physical education) and a ban on financially rewarding school districts for standardized test results. the internet-- i oppose any legislative attempt by the government or legal attempt by corporations whose aim is to decrease internet freedom. campaign finance-- i support banning corporations and organizations from donating to campaigns, individual donations only.

economic.
employment-- i support a national jobs program that coordinates with state and local governments to put the unemployed to work on rebuilding national infrastructure such as highways, bridges and the previously proposed national transit. this would be a federal program, not a subsidy to state or local government. create a variety of jobs that are easily accessible to the unemployed. favor the currently unemployed in  the hiring process. taxes-- i support a negative-income tax  that ensures a base income of 10,000$ a year to every citizen over the age of 21; this would replace all welfare and government assistance programs. i support a top earners rate of 45%. corporate tax-- eliminate all deductions and loopholes and ensure full participation. keep top rate at 35%. health care-- i am for nationalizing the health care industry and ensuring universal access. trade-- i believe in leveling the playing field and protecting american labor from cheaper, foreign competitors. i support tariffs as a means to raise revenue and believe trade should be dependent on human rights records and environmental standards. minimum wage for tying the minimum wage to inflation and raising it to 10.00$/hr. banking-- i support nationalizing the banking industry and the federal reserve,

national security/foreign policy.
i am generally for using the military in a humanitarian capacity. i would be for liberating and industrializing the african continent before i would support going to war with iran over nuclear energy, though even the former would not be an immediate priority. i am for cutting the military budget in half, mostly be reducing our presence around the world.