Now this would make a good presidential candidate....

editorial | 1.24.04 | ashrak

[ashrak]

Hi folks. I am new here and would like to take this post to explain what I think would make a real down to earth presidential candidate that would truly be fair and representative of all americans. Indeed, one that would take this country forward to eventual peace ,prosperity and harmony with the rest of this planet.

The USA is the leader among leaders on this world and thus we must act like it. To many this will be seen as a negative thing, but alas this is just part of the job description. Don rumsfeld said it best..."no matter what a person does or does not do, someone will always be unhappy with that action". He is exactly right and this fact must be accepted as the truth that it is.

There are hundreds of issues that devide us on this quest of perfect leadership and I will attempt to lay out what I feel are a set of compromises that will aid this country in the move forward over the coming decades. Some will agree and some will not....let us explore thru debate what I have right and what I have wrong and why.

[ashrak]

It seems to me that ever since I was a kid Abortion has always been a hotly debated subject. As well it should be. BUT...to think that it will be the same debated issue in 2075 seems quite foolish to me. The truth of it is this...The hard left AND the hard right will never agree on this issue....so we should accept that fact and do what is needed to move forward. In my oppinion,abortion has to be a legal thing based on the right of the mother to do as she sees fit with her own body (with limits placed for the sake of compromise). The line I see is this...once a fetus can live outside the mother on its own, with or without the aid of modern medacine, it has its own rights and the mother no longer controls that decision. IMHO a fetus is rather parasitic by defenition until that point and thus the spot where the line be drawn. To me this is a fair comprimise that both sides can claim victory, not toal victory mind you , but indeed progress.

On to gun control. Now it\\the constitution states pretty clearly that the right to keep and bear arms lays with the people.The only place the gov't has in this issue is the punishment for people who do wrong with them. I can see registering as an owner but that is as far as it should go. No limits on how many or what kind. Heavy punishment for improper use and abuse. NO punishment for those that buy and use them with the respect they desreve. micro managment here is futile and clearly devisive.

Affirmative action has outlived its intended purpose. It has simply reversed itself in regards to race and I would target its purpose today on economic status instead of race. A simple jaunt that would solve many of the problems and abuses that AA brings about today. No we are not where we need to be today, but the current AA status is not moving ud forward.

Healthcare is another issue that is the same argument over and over. Obviously there is no simple answer here, but indeed progress can be made. First, I would break the strangle hold that the most powerful lobby group, the insurance industry, has on this country.That word beoadened this subject, but it is all the same to me. A percentage of what a person makes in income would be taken and then the govt or other designated payer would be the sole payer of all medical expenses and turn a sick care system into a health maintanence system. As for perscription drugs...well I think the FDA needs one hell of an overhaul and this would eliminate many of the problems we face today. If people want to buy drugs from other countries they should be free to do so.

Education, another keyword, should be the utmost priority. We pay the drivers of our garbage trucks more money than bus drivers that safely deliver our kids to school. Teachers spend their own hard earned dollars on supplies for the kids. This is unacceptable to me. Administrative costs should be seperate from teachers salaries in one section of the budget and kid related items be stand alone.I recently saw a blurb about a company that edits school books. They deleted a set of words out of a story problem that dealt with a mountain. Claiming that some kids were "geographically challenged". UTTER IDIOCY. No liberal or conservative slant should enter this arena and a clear message should be sent regarding this. Stick to the reading writing and arithmatic. Let the kids make up their own minds as they travel thru life.

Immagration is a touchy one for both major parties. I say it needs not be touchy for either. The fact is we have a border that should be respected. If it is not then thatis the problem for the one that did not do so. No pandering. I call for deportation for all illegals found. Babies born here to illegals would have no claim to cotizenship based on the illegal status of the parents.This eliminates the constant crap from both sides about breaking up a family and would detter others in the future from coming here to do just that. All illegals deported that have outstanding medical bills should take with them a bill address to vincente fox and the mexican gov't, not billed to medicaid. 70% of the USA population growth in the 1990's was due to immagration and that is just too much. American born people deserve first dibbs and today they are left standing at the end of the line. I do support legal immagration but it must be halted for a time. The INS or other body appointed to this task would be set up in this downtime and all immagrants and even visitors would have to follow the stringent rules put in place. If they do not like it TOUGH.....it is a privalidge to come here NOT a right.

ALL laws should not be based soley on prior rulings and there should be NO legistaling from the bench. Harsh penalties would ensue for this action. I would take away the right of the supreme court to avoid hearing tough cases and make them do the job they were appointed to do.

Moving forward with judges...lol....I would indeed like to see them work three shifts seven days a week like most other professions. I would stop the price fixing done by lawyers of today and install fair limits on fees they can collect.

Gay marriage...NOT A CHANCE, I do support the right of a man or woman to be gay and have a life committed partner. I do support their right to fair treatment under the law. They should be able to obtain a legaldocument thru the state giving them medical,inheritance, and tax equality. But it stops there. They can call it civil union or whatever they so choose. Marriage is taken and they have NO right to infringe upon others rights if they choose to operate outside of the definition of marriage. They were right to come out of the closet and should not be beaten in the streets, but they themselves poured into the streets with their parades and such...this i think is to far and they should at least go back into the house..in my oppiniojn they should go back into the bedroon and leave their sexuality there...as heterosexuals do.

jobs....always the frontline issue. Many jobs would be created by other changes made....border security would require many as other security issues would..posi comitatus would no longer be an issue. We need major border patrol and military is the way to go, at least to start with. Minimum wage should be set at ten bucks an hour more orless based on cost of living in a particular area.

Taxes....oh boy. I support a %17 flat one time transaction tax on all monitary transactions by all people all the time. This is a stand alone tax and no others would be enforced. A monthly stipend of 1000 dollars would be sent to all social security numbers eligable to recieve it on a monthly basisto offset basic needs and the transaction tax that would be incurred. No more IRS tax filings. But that infrastructure could be modified to regulate the transaction monies,their collection and dispursal to the govt. This would make all people voluntary taxpayers and if they do not wish to pay any more tax, they simply refrain from spending. Some will argue that this will stifle the economy and limit revenues. I say that americans will spend regardless and the more money they have to do so the more they will spend. Thus the economy will be volitile for a time but it will pass.Adjustments can be made in dollar supply to change parameters and avoid massive inflation and interest rate hikes.

There are many more issues but I will stop here for now. Enough targets for one post LOL.

real eyes realize real lies

[Conservative Me]

ABORTION - To equate the unborn to parasites is sickening to me. Two people engaged in an act that formed the blastocyst/zygote/fetus/baby. Only ONE has a say in any decision about its life until the child is born. IMHO, if people insist on legal abortion, the man should have EQUAL say in the life of HIS child, especially since we would be talking about consensual sex between TWO people. Now, let's consider since sex, by definition, is used to procreate, you would have to consider that the two about to engage in sex would realize that the possible SIDE EFFECT could be pregnancy. Instead of taking responsibility for their actions, instead we allow them to shirk it and get an abortion. This is shocking to me and is NOT progress.

GUN CONTROL- Although I agree with you, the argument could be made that the interpretation of gun control laws today does not coincide with the actual idea of the Founding Fathers. Some have made the argument that the right to bare arms had more to do with state militias than average citizens. I would go so far as to say that after a background check (keep the guns out of the hands of violent offenders and psychos) people should be able to buy whatever kind of gun they want and have the right to conceal that weapon.

HEALTHCARE - I wish there was a way to provide everyone with medical care without having to deal with HMO's and socialized medicine. If there was a way to provide healthcare to everyone at a reasonable rate AND still keep private practice I would be all for it. I just don't see it happening. One aide to physicians would be to limit court settlement amounts. Malpractice insurance costs would decrease and in turn would reduce the cost of medical care, not to mention attract more people into the medical profession. As it stands now, it is very expensive to be a physician and the risks are too high. I forget the percentage of doctors sued for malpractice.

IMMIGRATION- There are already so many threads on immigration because of the President's plan. I won't comment in this one.

LEGISLATION - The only problem with basing rulings solely on prior rulings is that some prior rulings are wrong. I don't agree necessarily with legislating from the bench, but times change and sometimes laws need to be changed (i.e. Roe v. Wade).

MINIMUM WAGE - The more you increase minimum wage, the more small business suffers. IMO, minimum wage should not be legislated by the federal government. Wages should be dependant on job location and the cost of living in each location.

TAXES - Part of me wants a flat tax to be enacted, and the other part just wants the current tax code simplified.

[ashrak]

I thank you for the welcome. I never aim to stir up ant trouble. I simply type what I am thinking at the time I am posting. I understand that sometimes I may seem blunt, but hey thats me. I also understand that I think waaaaay faster than I type. At times It may be hard to understand or follow my posts due to this, so if this happens than I will be happy to try and explain any questions posed to me about a post I made.

I am looking forward to reading posts here and posting myself. Communication is the device that we all can use to get along better and make this world a better place.

[ashrak]

I tried to draw a similarity rather than equate. If one thinks about raw meaning, a fetus draws on the host body (mother) and cannot survive without doing so...parasite similarity holds true. It may sicken you..the truth sickens many.
I agree that a father needs rights in this area but those rights can not infringe upon the rights due the mother as it is her body. A difficult gray area, but when it comes right down to it, the mother has the decision.
A right the man is due first off is to be notified of this happening...this applies also to parents of minor children. Does not mean that a man can stop it, but he should at least know about it.

I think the defenition of sex has evolved from strictly procreation and morphed into entertainment as well. I agree that responcibility for ones actions are needed but I would argue that a 12 year old girl having to live with an abortion for the rest of her life would qualify. A baby having a baby would not in my book. To say that an abortion has no affect on a person long term and that it simply a shirk shows that you do not understand the mental anguish so many women live with after having one.
I think most know about the possabilities but take the " its not gonna happen to me" attitude.
My point is this ONCE the pregnancy has already happened it is pointless to talk to that woman about what she should have done. Maybe what she should do in the future is appropriate but after it has happened it has to be dealt with in the best way poaaible, many times an abortion is the best way forward for all parties involved.

As long as a person does not use a gun for criminal purposes they should be able to have any they want.
The argument that the founding fathers meant malitias only can have guns makes me laugh....if they meant that they would have written it that way. That arguement is a last ditch effort by those that wish NO guns be owned by any civilian and shows that even they know they are finally losing this battle.

Doctors that commit real malpractice should be held accountable for it...to a reasonable degree. Insurance companies are the real problem in many areas, this being one. Maybe if they paid out deserving claims with a fair settlement amount without tying up the courts the judgements in court would not be so high.
The high judgments for plaintiffs sometimes reflects a penalty for their lack od payment to start with.
Insurance companies would function a bit better if they were more concerned with honoring their clients contracts that they took money for and a bit less concerned about a thousand percent profit margin. Not completetly not for profit...but a bti less monstrous in that area.


Changing times does require changing laws...but that is the legislarors job, plain and simple.

I think that the small buisness arguement is partially valid. I also think however, that real tax reform would facilitate this transformation. Small buisnesses do get hammered badly but not predominantly by wages it is the taxes on those wages and the fact that many smalls are taxed as a personal income. Real reform, meaningful reform, would indeed address this imho.

[JoJo Gunn]

I think it is. Smells like a Leftist. Throw the bum out.

[trussell]

I made a report and nothing was done, so I guess the mods dont think this is a lefty. I didn't think conservatives believed in abortion?

[JoJo Gunn]

"IMHO a fetus is rather parasitic by defenition until that point and thus the spot where the line be drawn. To me this is a fair comprimise that both sides can claim victory, not toal victory mind you , but indeed progress."

Compromise? Yeah, right.

Well, if this ain't a Leftist, it's one of those fence sitters, who can teeter and fall either way. Just as bad.

Let it post. We'll find out soon enough what it is.

[JustPlainJoe]

He obviously thinks SO darn fast that he skims the surface, never getting very deep...

Too bad your mother didn't utilize her 'right' to squash the parasite sponging off of her body just prior to your birth.

[NCPAC]

You made a report about what - this newbie's bad spelling and grammer? Read his post again, on most issues he's at least mildly to the right.

One's view on abortion alone does not qualify or disqualify him or her as a conservative. If it did, Rep. Chris Smith would automatically be considered a conservative - and his voting record on other issues of importance to conservatives such as guns (horrible) taxes (fair), regs (fair) - wouldn't even be taken into account. It's the overall philosophy that matters, not any one single issue that pegs someone as a conservative or a lib.

For the record, although I am opposed to judicial activism, I do think it is incumbent upon the Supremes to overturn Roe v. Wade, thus taking an activist role in undoing a horrific act of judicial activism.

[ashrak]

hey joe if you have anything constructive to ask as far as in depth you would have asked it instead of trying to flame. Seems that your not good at either....but you did call it correct I do think very fast..dont you wish you could?

[ashrak]

a lefty huh? Just cuz I i see that all people will never agree on this issue and I think a comprimise is in order I am a bum? You wish to stifle my oppinion? You must not have read the part where I said that questions would be entertained. I think you have an inferiority complex and fear real debate, which is why you requested my boot.
Post your photoshop crap all you want....I see that a real comprimise is needed. I never said that all babies were parasites. I have three bone head,
Point is, line needs to be drawn for a comprimise to happen.
I drew that line with the parasite comment cuz it holds true.
L I F E...if it can not live on its own then it is not living. If it needs a host it is a parasite...take biology and you will learn that. The line that sperates the two is where an abortion line should be. If a baby can survive on its own or with medical assistance then it should not be aborted.

But i am a leftie calling for abortion on demand huh? Fool.

[ashrak]

a report huh? Well thats funny why did you not post to me?
I am a conservative. I also am a person that recognizes that no one group will get everything it wants exactly the way it wants it. That my friend is a pipe dream. If you choose to live in a world that does believe it is possible, then go ahead and do so. But do keep in mind it is your world not the real world.

I do not think abortion on demand is proper. I do not think taking the right totally away from the mother is either.
take a look at it from both sides for a minute and you may see where I am coming from.

[ashrak]

IT huh? piss off you are not even worth my time.

[ashrak]

spelling and grammar i concede.
I think maybe he should have read it once.
You did call it correct. I do lean a bit to the right, moreso on some issues. My feelings are mine and not boundried by any party or label.
Thanks for the the post.
Over turning wade is not really the answer imho...it will only turn things the other way around....i do not think that a direct flip flop is the answer here any more than I think Al sharpton's view of flip flopping the race issue is a good solution.

The same thing the other way around is just that....the same thing.

[JoJo Gunn]

And you ain't worth my vote....

[JoJo Gunn]

Where to begin?

You have three kids yet I have trouble believing that CUZ of the way you write.

I find it VERY interesting that you found that image antagonizing, (which is still at the source page below), and how you said it is a "photoshop". A couple of months back someone at an Indymedia said the exact same thing.

http://abortionno.org/GAP/delaware.html

Now, as far as "abortion on demand", are you implying erecting Vacuums R US? Just what the hell do you mean by compromise?

I said a few days ago to let you post, and you did, and I smell a DU'er.

[hellinahandcart]

L I F E...if it can not live on its own then it is not living. If it needs a host it is a parasite

What a scientific answer.

(eye roll)

[hellinahandcart]

I have three bone head

[JoJo Gunn]

Very strange logic throughout from a poster with three kids, no?

How can he/she look into their three faces and not have forged their opinion against abortion forever? Yet it's angry and wants to debate what'll be the same in 2075.

I say it's a rat, cuz I can't wait 'til 2075 to find out otherwise.