If you're still reading this, here are twenty plus things about me.

I am:

1.  Not looking to convince anyone that they are wrong and I am right. See #23.
2.  Pro-life.
3.  Anti death penalty/pro forced labor camp.
4.  Pro War on Terrorism.
5.  Anti-conventional war / Pro Brown Note Warfare.
6.  For limited government.
7.  For term limits.
8.  Pro-guns.
9.  Pro-weed, coke, snow, ...  (not really)
10. Anti genetic experiments.
11. Anti-Ear Marks.
12. Pro space exploration.  Not sure about gov't run space exploration.
13. Not sure about the climate change.
14. Against discrimination, including affirmative action.
15. Pro-marriage.
16. Pro United States before all others.
17. Pro drilling for oil where ever there is oil.
18. Pro alternative energy / Against using corn for fuel.
19. Not really hyped about technology and other luxuries.
20. Not a fan of the media.
21. Not sympathetic to irresponsible people. 
22. Pro Legal Immigration.
23. A neophyte.
24. American-Hispanic.
25. No longer in Texas.

2. Pro-life.

There are a number of different scenarios wherein someone can envision abortion to be necessary. Rape, incest, and health risks come to mind. Given its long history in our judicial system, I do not expect abortion to be outlawed any time soon. Rather than changing the law, it is my sincere hope for people to realize that, no matter what our nation's laws may allow, abortion ends a life. Those that are faced with this terrible issue must live with their decision.

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3. Anti death penalty/pro forced labor camp.

I'm pro-life. That extends to the worst among us.  As much as they may deserve it, killing a criminal is too kind. BUT coddling a criminal with crap like cable TV is stupid and a waste of my money. 

Instead, criminals should serve in labor camps. Hard labor.  Put them to work.  Force them to work for the rest of their lives.   Have them make a product and then sell that product, using the profits to support the prisons and the victims and the victim's families.

Such a scenario isn't likely to happen so I'd sooner side with those that favor the death penalty over those that oppose it.

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4. Pro War on Terrorism.

My concern is the protection of our citizens first and foremost.

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5. Anti-conventional war / Pro Brown Note Warfare.

We are moving into a period where drones are used to target our enemy. This is an effective tool that minimizes our exposure, but I am not looking to kill folks. I just want to put the fear of God into them.

I imagine there has to be an effective way that we can incapacitate the enemy without having kill them. We invest a ton of money on our military machine. Spend some of that budget to build giant robots armed with mega-rays! The ray would have to be something that will make the enemy feel like their guts are being turned inside out, but it should not be anything too grotesque, otherwise we will lose the PR battle and be demonized for torturing the enemy. It just has to be something effective enough to give the enemy second thoughts about taking up arms against us.

Behold, the brown note.

The brown-note, despite it being an urban legend, may be something worth looking into- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_note  With one ZPHTPPPPHT!!! The enemy would crap themselves, then run home and warn their brothers. Sure, their brothers will want to find out for themselves and when they do, they too will experience the uncontrollable need to drop trou and blow brown rain.

Giant robots and bowel shaking mega-rays are silly, I know.  The whole point here is to come up with a way to, ahem, drain the enemy of their will to fight us. We're not going to kill the enemy.  We'll just scare the crap out of them! 

We can call it "Shock and Ewww".

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6. For limited government.

I expect my government to protect the borders and the interests of our country.

The government should not control, but help ensure that we have a solid infrastructure to provide an adequate power supply, energy, communication network, travel network, food supply, emergency response system, and anything essential for basic survival. We can do the rest.

For those that can't help themselves, the government should be equipped to help those that need a hand in getting started. But there should be limits to this and the recipients of such aid should provide a service in return- like training others to build giant robots and such.

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7. For term limits.

I think people should be able to vote in who they want as many times as they want.  Trouble with that is we end up with people that spend their entire lives in political office.  After a period of time, it would seem that they tend to get greedy.  Term limits would help counter this.  Do your time, accomplish what you can in two terms, and get the hell out. If you're still jonesing to play a role in the government, seek a different office or become active in helping someone that shares your goals get elected.

Furthermore, reduce the salaries and benefits of all politicians. They should have other jobs as well as their political office. They should be in office because they are willing to make a sacrifice for a number of years, not for the perks. In fact, there shouldn't be any perks. Civil servants shouldn't be pampered. Anything but. Fly coach (or first class if they can afford it on their own dime). Drive their own car or take a cab to the next meeting, press conference, campaign stop.

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8. Pro-guns.

I favor guns as a means of hunting and for defense.  Basically, I'm not for killing folk, but I think we should be able to defend ourselves and our property. So just wing 'em!

I am interested in bio-technology as a means of limiting who can fire a weapon.   Seeing how we live in such a high tech world, I'm pretty sure the technology exists for all guns to use biometric technology so that the only people who can fire the weapon are those who's finger prints are recorded in the gun's memory. That's the way it works in the movies, anyway.

I don't know the pluses or minuses on that issue- but it seems to me that such a device would help prevent accidental deaths. Maybe it would even keep gangs from obtaining newer weapons. Maybe not.

In any case, bio metrics or not, you have a right to defend yourself. Guns are a highly effective and convincing way to do so.

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9. Pro-weed, coke, snow, cain, sherm, red, bud, crack, dippers, primos, pcp, kool, p-dog, angel dust.

Drugs? Just say "now". Just kidding! I'm not pro-drugs.

I'm fine with drugs for medicinal purposes, like medical marijuana.  I can't imagine the mayhem that would ensue if all drugs were legalized for the purpose of just getting high. Would they serve it at bars? Seems kind of odd to sit at a table and order up a tray of cocaine or a piping hot cup of crack. And just imagine all those that would do nothing but get high all day. They'd want the government to help them do the other things, like pay for food and clothing. I don't think legalizing drugs would put dealers out of business. It could help dealers establish franchises. Still, if you want to get high, have the decency to keep it off the street and do it in the privacy of your own home. And if or when you fall, don't expect much help from the government. It'll be too busy building the giant robots.

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10. Anti genetic experiments.

This is for the betterment of mankind. Think of all the good things that have come and will come from such experiments. Still, I think we should be wary about fiddling with such things. 

I read somewhere that researchers combined human and cow DNA and that the test subject survived for three days.

I'm not sure if that is true or how it all works.  Still, I believe we each have a soul. What if our souls are part of our DNA. Some of us make it. Some of us get aborted. And now, some of us just get mixed with cows.

Bad juju there.

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11. Anti-Ear Marks.

I don't want politicians to use my money as a carrot to sway someone's vote.  I don't want my government to spend my money on crap that people just want.  And when a government program comes asking for money, they should have a detailed plan for how every penny will be spent. Any money left over from projects that come in under budget should go back to the people who gave the money in the first place.

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12. Pro space exploration.  Not sure about government run space exploration.

Our government put men on the moon; we have a space station orbiting the planet; we've sent robots to Mars and satellites throughout the solar system.  We have benefited in many ways from these efforts. Still, all this government run space exploration comes with a hefty price tag and even then it's not enough. There is a lot that can be done but won't for some reason or another- usually political.  Perhaps some form of corporate sponsorship would help cover the costs?  Maybe Nabisco or Coca-cola or some multi-billion dollar corporate giant could chip in?   It wouldn't bug me to see the shuttle adorned with some marketing slogan if it meant we'd save a little money in the process.   I'm lovin' it.

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13. Not sure about climate change.

I'm convinced al gore was putting us on with his global warming/climate change slide shows. A while back, I read John Coleman's comments on the global warming hoax.  A compelling read, indeed.  I'd love to visit a land fill just to see first hand how that stuff works. 

No denying it, we make a lot of trash! I think we are doing better than our parents did.  The roads seem cleaner.  Air seems better.  And we are doing better than other countries on this front. Look at China and other countries.  No one ever talks about the Asian Brown Cloud anymore. 

Still in all, I prefer to focus locally on making my corner of the world a decent place to thrive. For my part, I recycle what I can and am patiently waiting for the day when science (without the aid of genetic experiments) produces a time traveling DeLorean that uses garbage for fuel. Until then let's send the garbage out to space on the next Starbucks Shuttle.

My township now recycles through this thing called Recycle Bank, which offers coupons for groceries, entertainment, and other things in exchange for your recycled stuff. Since starting the program, I noticed that much more than half of what I throw out is now recycled.  I get discounts at places I already shop.  Fewer tax dollars are spent on landfills. Pretty nifty!

If you are a fan of using something till the wheels fall off, check out freecycle.org- it is made up of similar minded folks that rather not toss out something they don't want but could still be used by someone else- books, cds, type writers, whatever. Reduce, reuse, recycle!

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14. Against discrimination, including affirmative action.

Yes, we are all equal. Now, what we do with that equality is up to each of us. I don't expect to have the advantage over someone of equal skills just because of my skin color, ethnicity, height, weight, gender, or sexual preference.

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15. Pro-marriage. 

If you are fortunate in life, you will find your soul mate. I love my wife. She loves me. We are soul mates. We are married. I wish the same kind of happiness for everyone, no matter who they wind up with. As for the social implications, benefits, etc- work it out amongst yourselves. I'll be over here when you are done.

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16. Pro United States.

The United States is a great country with the ability to do great deal of good around the world.  I think that we can do more for ourselves first. Use some of that money to create opportunities here, conduct maintenance and repairs, reduce taxes, etc. If we are going to help others around the world, we should make sure we are helping ourselves, too.

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17. Pro drilling for oil where ever there is oil.

I'm not in favor of making a big mess and leaving things worse that we found them, but I believe the technology exists that would allow companies to do what they need to do without causing a lot of damage. Also, unlike some, I like the sight of oil derricks and ocean platforms on U.S. territory. It makes us look busy.

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18.  Pro alternative energy / Against using corn for fuel.

Unless we can make more than enough to do both, I would prefer to eat the corn, not use it to fuel my car. Otherwise, I'm all for finding alternate sources for energy (solar, nuclear, wind, water, fusion... whatever). 

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19. Not really hyped about technology and other luxuries.

I prefer to slow life down rather than look for the latest and greatest to speed it up. Yes, I know, I am writing this on a webpage on the Internet.

Of course I think technology is great and that we can all benefit from the use of technology. It makes our lives easier, provides us greater access to a greater number of things, entertains us, protects us, heals us, and feeds us. Yet it seems to me some people are irresponsible with technology. I am referring to those who cannot see that it is more important to save their money for essentials like food, clothing, diapers, education and such rather than spending it on stuff like fancy cars, cable television, satellite dishes, FIOS, nintendo, xbox, ipods, HD TV, flat screens, lap tops, hand held PCs, cell phones, blue tooths, digital cameras, WI-FI,  and on and on. 

I drive to work everyday through some poor neighborhoods. Many of the houses are run down and in need of maintenance.  Yet they all have satellite dishes! Maybe they get it for cheap- still, it would seem to me that the money they spend on such a thing could be put towards saving for college or other worthwhile investments.

Technology should not take the blame. I am not sure about the half-cow/half-human folk, but it is in our consumerist DNA to seek out the newest and coolest products out there. I suppose if these techno luxuries did not exist, people would still spend money on something else.  And they are welcome to do so.  It is their money.  But it bugs me when my tax dollars go toward paying for the certain things that people should have paid for on their own.

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20.  Not a fan of the media.  

I like reading news, but I hate "news" programs and most news papers.   I can appreciate the lure and need for opinion columns and shows.  But the news media are incapable of reporting just the facts.  News is their product, which they hype up to sell ad time.  The people in the media look for the sensational and exploit it.  Screw that. Just tell me the facts. 

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21. Not sympathetic to people that refuse to take responsibility for their actions. 

Today many good people have been hurt by bad decisions made by others.  Still there are folks out there that refuse to help themselves and instead look to the government as the primary cause/solution to their problems.  This "news" article about a family that cannot afford to buy meat comes to mind. 

I understand how people can fall into a rut, I've been there.  I know it's not easy to get out of and it is easy to slip further down.  But I cannot understand those that don't even try to help themselves. 

People - not you or me, but other people, of course - have become selfish and lazy. Well, not me anyway. I can't really say whether or not you have.  In any case, many people have become selfish and lazy. So much so that those of us that are selfless and motivated (namely me and maybe even you) are considered the exception to the rule when we should be considered the norm.

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22. Pro Legal Immigration.

I'm in favor of folks coming to the United States in a legal manner.  Those that don't should be sent back.

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23. A neophyte.

I am sure it is obvious, but I'll still point it out- I have no clue how to solve the worlds problems and don't think of myself as an expert in political affairs. I am fairly certain that if I were in charge, the world would be a smoldering ball of cinder before the end of the week.

Anyway, given the twenty points listed above, I don't consider myself a hard core conservative- maybe I'm a libertarian lite.  Like a conservative, I'm pro-guns, pro-life, pro-limited government, anti-earmarks, and put the United States before all others.  However, I am anti-death penalty, okay with medical marijuana, and neither for nor against gay marriage.

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24. American-Hispanic! 

I'm American.  I'm Texan. I'm Mexican-American. I'm Hispanic.    I have one sister but we come from a huge family.  I like that I have lots of aunts and uncles, cousins, and second cousins.  I should keep in touch with them more often.

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25. No longer in Texas.

I was born in Texas! I was born in a small town and spent the first part of my life in a country/small town environment. I love small town life. When I was 11 my parents moved us to Houston. I hated it at first, but after three years or so I warmed up to it and it started to feel like home.

Houston is an interesting experiment in urban planning. There is no zoning and for a while the city just seemed to annex neighboring towns like a kid collecting baseball cards. Anyway, I like Houston and consider it home base. I stayed there until I was 28ish, then moved to Fort Worth to be with my future wife while she was in medical school.

We moved to NJ when I was 33. I miss Texas, but I do not miss the Houston humidity. NJ is our home now. Unlike Texas, which sports a mean summer and a mild winter, NJ has all four seasons! I was surprised to find out that I really enjoy the bitter cold weather. I was also surprised to learn that it really is a Garden State, mostly made up of small townships that look like something out of Mayberry. At least the southern half is. I haven't spent too much time in the northern half. We live about 15 miles from Philadelphia. In some ways, it is very much like living in a suburb of Houston.

One more thing. I am amazed at how people in NJ are so willing to open their wallets to the government. Some that I have spoken with seem to look at paying more taxes as a matter of pride. For them, giving more money means they are helping more people. I suppose it makes them feel better and maybe even more patriotic. No thank you. I do not want my government to tell me what to do with my money nor do I trust my government to spend my money in the best interest of others.

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"If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?"- Will Rogers.