DOMAIN MAP

When we began slowly giving up our rights for the good of the "collective", that's when things began flying terribly out of hand. Now, a man can't smoke a cigarette OUTSIDE without offending someone. You face terrifying punishment when you tell anyone the bald truth that we are not all the same, we are all wonderfully different. If you suggest the idea that a qualified person be hired by a company regardless of race, sex or creed then you face imminent punishment and reprogramming by the soon to be established Ministry of Happy Thoughts.

The truly terrifying thing is that neither major political party has the answer. The Democrats dream of a government where everyone is equal, and there is no incentive to better yourself, forgetting how well that worked in the former Soviet Union. The Republicans have great ideas, but are fettered by the infiltration by closet Marxist sympathizers and religious hard-liners who want to cede control to The Church. Both parties are interested only in maintaining Control. This Control translates to Power...and we all know what Absolute Power does.

It's time for a REAL change. It's time to stop looking at a person based on how much he can spend on a campaign. It's time to stop voting for someone just because he listens to hip-hop or follows polls that tell him what is "cool".It's time, my friends, to remember those wonderful lines on an old parchment that tells us what type of government we need: A Government FOR The People BY The People. A government that should fear it's citizenry because the people don't trust it enough to let it grow too large.

This isn't to say that it was a fairie-tale existence, though. Over the years, I have lived through many experiences that others might not have been able to handle. My life could have turned out horribly wrong, and I could have blamed it all on something else. After all, we are all being taught that it's okay to blame someone else for our problems. My parents divorced after 20 years of marriage, throwing our family into disarray and scattering us to the four corners. I was left on the streets to fend for myself. I lived all over, eventually travelling down the coast of California. I survived, homeless, for almost four years...travelling aimlessly through the country; flirting with death on a daily basis and praying for it every day.

It took a series of near death experiences for me to see that I have a purpose in this world, that the pain only reminds us that we are still alive. I decided to take responsibility for myself and for my own actions. I'm no angel, and I will never claim to be, but I understood that I needed to stop blaming the world for something it wasn't responsible for. In life, bad things happen to everyone except the very privileged. This gives me the advantage over them because I survived it, while they can never understand it.

More sensitive people feel that we should pull our troops from the battleground. However, that would only enable those who wish to destroy our way of life. From the lips of Osama himself, he advises his followers to just wait a while longer; wait until the American People tire of seeing their sons returned in body-bags. Then, we predictably will pull out and leave the sore to fester. This is the reason that there are problems bringing peace to the region. The Iraqis fear that after another election, or when poll numbers drop low enough, we will leave them behind yet again to suffer under a newer, even more empowered dictator.

There is no doubt that there needs to be a clear plan. However, pulling our troops early, or setting arbitrary dates for a pull-out only muddies the waters and does nothing to bring lasting peace to the region. We need to properly supply our troops. We need to properly PAY our troops for the sacrifices they are making for us. We need to pull the politics out of the quotient, so that our troops can feel secure in knowing that they have the full backing of the American People. They need to know that our leaders don't give a damn about poll numbers as long as there is a single soldier in harms way.

I have a view that merges both ideas. I do not think that Roe vs. Wade should be overturned, but I am against the idea of the Federal Government being involved in this issue at all, whether through legislative or judicial branches. The States should be allowed to make their own laws on the subject, but they should not be allowed to criminalize women who seek to circumvent the state laws by going to states that do allow it. I am not a woman, so I don't think I have the right to tell them how to make healthcare decisions. HOWEVER, I don't believe that any civilized nation should sanction uncontrolled abortions on demand.

There is sufficient evidence that this is a LIFE that is being terminated. SO, I think that in cases of rape, incest or egregious danger to the mother abortion is and should be available on demand. If a young woman makes a mistake once or twice, she should have the services of a qualified physician who can counsel her on the important decision of whether to keep or terminate the birth.

Where I make a distinction is when they have more than two abortions just because the pregnancies are "unwanted". I think that if a woman is so ignorant that she doesn't understand the mechanics of what causes pregnancy, and has had to terminate two prior pregnancies due to not understanding good prevention policies, she should have to carry any subsequent children to term and give them up for adoption if she doesn't want them...or face sterilization. There needs to be a time when we say "enough is enough", and there are so many people in our country who DO want children, but are unable to have them.

I am also a supporter of the "Born Alive Infant Protection Act" that allows doctors and nurses the ability to save a child if it lives through an abortion. There is absolutely no reason, or justification, for any healthcare worker to leave a child screaming in a trash can until it dies. If it is alive outside of the womb, and it is not being sustained by the mother...it is a human life by any standard of measure, and should be protected.

We need to make it easier, not harder, for good people to become future citizens. In the same token, we must strengthen our borders against those who would seek to attack us where we are weakest.

Our borders are pitifully manned, and it has taken the determination of volunteer groups of citizens to man these borders and report cases of illegal entry. This is not acceptable. We must properly man our borders. We must do whatever it takes to stop the influx of illegal aliens through our borders, even if it takes building a 20 foot wall. This may sound extreme to some. I say it is always good policy to protect our citizens from ALL threats...not just those that are politically feasible.

Another controversial solution would be to cede Mexico into the United States as part of an "eminent domain" action. This would offer solutions to several issues currently plaguing our country. Mexican citizens would no longer be making the long and sometimes deadly exodus to the United States for jobs. They would already BE citizens. Companies who have downsized and moved to Mexico could consider themselves the first to help industrialize this formerly impoverished country and would again be contributing to the economy that will be helping these new U.S. citizens adapt. We would also have a much smaller border to protect at the borders of Guatemala and Belize...countries who already protect their borders sufficiently, and who are friendly with us.

I am not advocating the legalization of drugs that destroy lives, such as Cocaine, Heroin, Crack, Crystal Meth, etc. We should continue to combat these drugs in a sensible, intelligent, and aggressive fashion that includes treating the offender and helping them after they get clean so that there will not be a market for these drugs. If you treat the problem from the demand side, you will eliminate the supply side.

Marijuana has been sufficiently examined, and proven not to be the "killer of children" that our government has purported it to be since the 50's. When are we as a society going to say that we're tired of sending our fathers, our mothers, and our children to prison because they smoked a joint or sold some to a friend. Alcohol has destroyed more lives, yet it continues to be legal.

I have a controversial solution to the so-called "marijuana problem". We should thoroughly examine the idea of legalizing this benevolent plant. If you make it legal, you destroy the black market for it...and if we legalize it, we control it. This holds many benefits and could be a much needed boon to our economy in these days of waning support for tobacco. If we could corner this market, we could eliminate the Federal Deficit in less than four years...and create a truly healthy economy that would rival any other in the world. It's not just about marijuana, either. Hemp is useful in creating many products that have nothing to do with the "drug culture".

It is also time that we adjust the role of the D.E.A. They should not work autonomously without oversight, prosecuting on a whim. They are supposed to be enforcers of the law, not the Spanish Inquisition. We need to stop prosecuting Native Americans for the religious use of plants in their ceremonies. We need to remember that we once were strangers to this land and shouldn't trample on those who were here long before us.

In the same token, we should repeal the so-called "statutory rape" laws that are deceptive on their face. In many states, if a young man or woman has a consensual relationship with someone who is over the age of 18, the "adult" can be charged with "statutory rape" regardless of the consensual nature of their relationship. States should have the right to decide the issue for themselves, but it is my opinion that calling a person a "rapist" when no force or coercion was involved is just plain wrong.

The truth is that these laws were created because prosecutors, judges and children's advocates were seeing offenders calling a relationship "consensual" when it clearly was NOT. Many times this led to a bad situation for true victims of rape or molestation. So, in their wisdom, they made it impossible for young people to "consent". Unfortunately, this is again creating a class of criminals who might have only made a bad judgment at a time when judgment is impaired. What our leaders should have done is what I advocate: raise the penalties for rape and molestation and use these laws appropriately. I think you would also see fewer cases of false accusations if we didn't have this deceptive law in place.

There needs to be some type of litmus test that would prevent sending innocent people to prison. Obviously, if you have some jerk saying that a 10 or 12 year old was "asking for it", we should summarily submit him to varying bursts of electricity to his genitals.

We should humiliate and imprison the real rapists and molesters...not destroy the lives of those who were consensually involved. We should encourage people to tell the truth about their situation. If it is consensual, let's leave them be. If not, throw the offender in a dark hole to rot.

A reason given for so-called "gun control" is that criminals use guns. Well, I'm here to tell you that criminals don't register their guns. They know that if a registered weapon is used in the commission of a crime, we'll find them and put them in jail. A gun is nothing more than a tool, and we should hold the PERSON, and not the TOOL responsible. Opponents say that kids are shooting up their schools. Again, shouldn't we hold those children, and maybe the PARENTS responsible for that? Is it the gun's fault that these disturbed children used it to commit a crime?

As a non-Christian, I am not offended by the words, "Merry Christmas" or "God Bless You". Nor am I offended when someone wishes to pray before a game, or before a meal, or privately to themselves when they feel they need guidance. It is clear to me that although our government should not ENDORSE any religion, it also should not discriminate against any...including the one it was founded on.

To me, it is sad that you can hardly see the Ten Commandments in a courthouse anymore without some jerk complaining that it is an implicit endorsement of religion. Our country's rich and vibrant history is being slowly erased by an insane minority whose true goals are unknown, but certainly malevolent. It is sad to hear that communities are being cowed down by a minority of people who have enough money to fight for years, while these communities are afraid to spend taxpayer monies on a protracted legal battle. Our local and state governments, our schools and libraries, should not have to pay any legal fees until the case is finally decided. Let the loser pay all the bills, so that frivolous lawsuits by Atheists and Anarchists will be discouraged.

These people are trampling on traditional American values that I and any other good American should hold dear; we should show a little pride and stop letting the minority push the majority around.

It is my belief that school CORPORATIONS are at fault because they are inherently interested in their own political and financial gain rather than being concerned with the needs of students or hiring good teachers and paying them the salaries that they deserve. Instead, they offer tenure to inefficient teachers and administrators who are making MORE than they deserve. They beg for tax increases to fund a new football field when they need a better library.

All one needs to do is look at the salary of a school Superintendent. It's usually in the 5 or 6 figure range and they are always angling for a raise. I characterize these people as giving a few coins with one hand, while taking mounds of cash with the other. They constantly complain that there isn't enough money in the budget to make sure our children are being properly educated, yet are somehow able to justify their own salary.

I think if they want to prove they are truly interested in balancing the education budget that they should first reduce their salaries to slightly more than that of the highest paid teacher. It's disgusting to me that school boards, administrators and principals are among the highest paid staff members of a school...while the teachers and students get the shaft. It's shameful, and it's high time that something is done about it.

Parents also need a CHOICE in where they send their children for schooling. It's shameful that they fund public schools through property and direct taxation...even if they disagree with the curriculum or track record of that school.