An Introduction

This blog is about politics. If that's not something you enjoy, you are excused.

Ok, now that those folks have left the room, let's get acquainted. If you read "About Me" or have read my sports blog, "Just a Thought" (shameless plug,) you already know that I am conservative, more Republican than anything else. What you don't know, is that I'm a bit of an oddity. Here's how.

1. I am pro-choice.

 

I detest abortion. That does NOT make it my right, or the Federal Government's to deny a woman that choice in the first trimester of pregnancy. Existing law subsequent to Roe v. Wade allows it and it should stay that way. Far too many people have used the fear tactic of "If so and so is elected, they will take away a woman's right to choose." Not true. Folks who are elected to the Presidency may choose Supreme Court Justices, but once elevated to the highest court in the land, the Justices are the only ones who can change Court precedent. If you study the history of the Supreme Court, you'll understand why I personally think Roe v. Wade is safe.  First, "The Supremes" do not like to overturn their brethren. Second, the only other way to overturn Roe would be with a Constitutional Amendment and the chances of that are even less.

I remember the days when abortion was illegal. I remember the horror stories of black market, back alley abortions. I don't want those creeps to ever be allowed to practice their brand of butchery anymore. Period.

That being said, if a woman wants to make the choice to terminate a pregnancy, it is not MY job to pay for it through my tax dollars. There are ample means available, many at very reasonable prices, to forestall pregnancy without getting to the extreme step of abortion. If you allow yourself to get into that condition, it becomes your responsibility, not mine. I suggest you consult the father who SHARES that responsibility.

At the same time, there are thousands of couples who would be more than willing to adopt. Every year we hear stories of people going to the ends of the earth to adopt children from foreign countries and not all of these stories have happy endings. At some point in the process of abortion, serious consideration should be made for adoption.

2. What consenting adults do in the privacy of their bedroom is none of my business.

Nor is it the business of the Federal government. I am not a huge fan of gay marriage. For a long time, I thought that civil unions were the answer. However, the business community's refusal to allow
"life partners" to share in benefits such as health insurance has forced me to reconsider.

Where I have a problem is with exposing first through fourth graders to the discussion of such topics as "Heather has two mommies." In my youth, sex education was a subject that was never broached before 6th grade or junior high school, if then. From my perspective, we all survived. Now, it seems the pendulum has swung too far in the other direction. I mean really: first graders??? How about we worry about teaching them to read, write, spell, and do math before we try and give them the lowdown on "adult" relationships.

3. The idea that we are going to round up 11 million illegal aliens and deport them is foolish.

Not only is it foolish, it would be a huge waste of time and resources to try. First of all, the 11 million number is probably ludicrously low. My personal suspicion is that the number of illegals is probably closer to 20 million. Fact is, they're here and quite likely to stay. Having said that, I believe that if you are here illegally, you have no right to vote. Nor do you have a right to state or Federal benefits, in-state tuition, or government assistance in any form or fashion. If you choose to work here "off the books" and not pay taxes, you and your employer should be penalized if you are caught. If it is your desire to stay, you should at least make some effort to assimilate our culture and speak our language. We're not going to cede Texas or California back to Mexico regardless of how much you shout and wave your Mexican flags, so get over it.

Now that I've enraged a substantial number of people, let me acknowledge that our system of legal immigration is broken. It is the zenith of stupidity to ask folks to wait years and years for a chance to be an American citizen, all the while accepting those who have chosen to circumvent our laws and handing them their piece of the American dream, healthcare, and welfare benefits. Far more intelligent people than I will have to work  together to come up with an acceptable solution. In order to keep the politics out of this process, voting rights should never be granted until citizenship is granted. Too many of our best and brightest have given their lives to preserve this constitutional republic to cheapen that right.

OK. Now that I've pissed off half of the Tea Party as well as most liberals, let's get down to some basic principles I believe are important.

Our Federal Government does one thing very well (and not much else.)

With a very few exceptions, our Federal government keeps us safe. That is their Job 1. Sure, there may be some inefficiencies and redundancies, but by and large we're not speaking Russian, Chinese, or Farsi here, so they've done their job. The reason why is simple: Our military has its own infrastructure and, to some extent, bureaucracy. These guys do this for thirty years or better and it sure as Hell isn't for the money. Their advancement in their careers is based on achievement much more than simple seniority or political ass-kissing. And let's face it, when it comes to killing people and breaking things, our guys are the best. It speaks volumes that our greatest failure as an armed force was Viet Nam, when that war was micro-managed by, you guessed it, the politicians.

Beyond that.... To use a car analogy, if a well run business such as Apple, Microsoft, or Exxon-Mobil
was a car, you might call it a Mercedes or a Cadillac; If today's Federal Government was a car, it would be a Yugo. You can list the failures and they are many: The Post Office loses so much money that it's quite possible they may eliminate home delivery entirely. Stamps, which when I was in high school cost a nickel, now cost almost ten times that. and it's STILL not enough to keep them solvent. Social Security is sufficiently stressed that without some major reform, our children may not have it at all. Medicare and Medicaid are in similar shape.

How is this possible? Many would tell you that Government has no accountability for its failures because unlike business, where achievement of a stated goal and efficiency in the process is virtually mandatory, Government has no such incentive. Too often, success in government is signified by the increase in the size (and budget) of a particular government entity. While "better, faster, and cheaper" is the mantra of most business, at times it seems as though government's catchphrase is "more employees and bigger budgets." Until that mindset is changed, it is unlikely that government's efficiency will improve.

Government is too big and spends too much.

Nobody said my principles had to be original. Folks have been decrying the downhill snowball that has been the growth of government since FDR was President. As this snowball has achieved critical mass, the Federal Government has become more and more a part of everyone's life. In my lifetime alone, I've seen six huge bureaucracies born: Housing, Health and Human Services, Education, Environmental Protection, Energy, and Homeland Security.

Each of these new cabinet level departments has grown exponentially and as they have done so, they've become more intrusive into our daily lives.

I am pretty sure that President Nixon had no idea the monster he was creating when he brought the Environmental Protection Agency into being. I was a junior in high school when we had the first "Earth Day." It seemed like such a "today" idea back then. A government agency to look out for Mother Earth. Stopping pollution of air and water was a noble cause. As the bureaucracy grew, however, the nice little happy face agency became an angry, money grubbing monster bent on stopping anything that even looked cross-eyed at the snail darter or the spotted owl.

I get that we don't want any more "Love Canals;" I don't get "Cap and Trade." I get that we need to protect wildlife from man-made extinction; I don't get, "Electric rates will necessarily skyrocket," (thank you, Barack Obama.) I get clean water and air; I don't get "Carbon Tax" and it's ugly stepsister, "Carbon Tax Credits."

And this is only one agency.  I won't even go into the current corrupt mess involving the most feared agency of all, The Internal Revenue Service. That's another topic for another post.

And spending? If I spent money the way the Federal Government spends money, in no time I'd be out on the street, homeless. And believe me, the world notices when we as a nation have our credit rating downgraded. Unfortunately, our concept of a Government that is the "be all and end all for all," is almost certain to lead to further downgrades and a potential default. It is absolutely imperative that we get our financial house in order which is why...

It's time for a balanced budget amendment.

I don't think there's any other way to get Washington on board with financial responsibility. Both parties have a wink, wink, nod, nod relationship to spending. They'll promise that if we give them more in revenue (spell that t-a-x-e-s,) they'll cut spending. They're good at getting the tax part done, but for some strange reason, the spending never gets cut.

If it was my job to write such an amendment, I would add in the following idea: For every new or increased tax dollar in the budget, two dollars must be cut from spending. In other words, if you want to spend $1 million to study the mating rituals of the spider monkey, (that pet project for your contributor-constituent,), you'd better find $2 million you can cut somewhere else, or forget it!

It's really not rocket science. You simply can't consistently outspend your income. We can't do it as individuals, nor can we do it in our businesses; The Government shouldn't either. Unfortunately, we've established an entrenched group of professional politicians on both sides of the aisle who think they simply must bring home the goodies for their constituencies in order to perpetuate their power and keep their job. So maybe it's...

Time to seriously consider term limits and end the "lifetime pension."

Our founders had no concept of the professional legislator. Nor should we. 12 years is plenty of time for one person spend in the Congress. Two terms in the Senate, 6 terms in the House, or any combination of the two adding up to 12 years might lead to a legislative body less beholden to special interests and more connected to their "bosses," the people who elected them to begin with.

It is absolutely unconscionable that we give these professional legislators a lifetime pension. We do not give such a benefit to the individuals who make the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefield, and I firmly believe those who fight and die for our liberty are far more worthy of the remuneration. If you want to start cutting money out of the budget with the hope of controlling what we spend, this is where I'd start.

Our recent foray into socialized medicine, (next week's topic,) tells me that it is also time the Congress be required to adhere to the laws they pass. The very idea that our "employees" be able to exempt themselves from laws they propose for the rest of us is ridiculous.



Those are just a few things of many that we'll talk about over the coming weeks and months. You are more than welcome to subscribe to this blog, even if you're a liberal. All I ask is that you prove you can think. It is my plan to post this blog on Saturdays on a weekly basis. Comments are welcome from anyone, but I won't dignify trolls with a response. We've gotten away from being able to discuss issues rationally, (without name calling,) and I want this blog to be a forum for just that. Who knows, we might find that there are more areas where we can (at least) understand each others' positions, if not agree.