Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Current Events

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My friends understand that my political views are generally to the conservative side. In order to cement that perception, I’ve listed my views on current events:

1. I support Governor Walker’s position in Wisconsin, as well as the governors of Ohio, Indiana, and Florida. Governor Scott of Florida summed up my bent thusly: People must understand that we can no longer support the entitlements they have become accustomed to. (Quotation marks not used as I am paraphrasing his remarks.) Retirement pensions should be paid into by all workers and not subsidized by tax revenue.
2. I think that people have lost much of the self-sufficiency of the early settlers and now depend on others far too much. This psychological shift from independency to dependency accounts for the growth in welfare rolls, the unsustainable costs of Medicaid, and unemployment compensation.
3. The Koran teaches violence and lack of tolerance. Much of the turmoil in today’s society has its roots in Islam. In my view, moderate Muslims do not stand up to the radical faction, therefore justifying the condemnation of the entire faith by many. This position may apply to the African-American bloc as well. Remember, incarceration from this group for exceeds its percentage of the total population. The position held by some in this group that descendants of slaves should be given special privileges has been obviated by actions of last four decades.
4. The hue and cry of many pundits and letter-to-the-editor writers denigrating the “rich” and bemoaning the treatment of the “poor, old, and sick” vis a vis the fair tax concept forget or deliberately ignore the fact that the top two percent of the rich pay almost 50 percent of the income tax revenue in the U. S. while 40 percent of the so-called oppressed group pay no income tax. They also tend to forget that most charities are supported by the rich.
5. I do not support the U. S. intervention in foreign affairs when that entails the use of American armed forces. The involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan should not be halted abruptly, but disengagement should be implemented as soon as practical. Future engagements should only be instigated when the safety of the U. S. is threatened directly. These conflicts have become too costly in both lives and funds. The track record of success whenever the U. S. tries to intervene in other countries’ social conflict is poor to say the least. Case in point, Viet Nam. The United Nations was created to police threats to humanity and should be forced to assume that role or be disbanded.
6. Abortion laws should be re-worked to deter, not support indiscriminate aborting of viable fetuses. I do not ascribe to the overriding theme that women have a right to control what happens regarding their own body. After all few people I know support suicide. Above all, I do not support to abortion clinics, no matter what name they operate under, being supported with tax revenue.
7. I support raising the age for maximum benefits of Social Security, greater penalty to those who opt for earlier retirement, application of need analysis to wealthy recipients, and SS tax being applied to all levels of income. My position excludes deserving SSI recipients. I also support the voluntary privatization of Social Security.