So I’ve been relatively tight lipped during the recent campaign season and elections. I haven’t directly addressed any of the issues truly at hand. I now feel compelled to do so. I

I voted for Barack Obama. I did not vote for the Democratic Party. If I must affiliate myself with a political party it would be the green party. However, given the opportunity, I would vote for Chuck Hagel … again.

I believe the best way to keep people from further harming the Earth by over-population and habitat destruction is to make sure that birth control is available, safe and effective. This includes birth control and safe access to abortions. I work everyday with children who were unwanted, treated as such and dumped into a system that can’t take care of them because their numbers are too grand. This shouldn’t keep happening generation after generation.

I believe very few people are looking at the environmental, archeological and historical ramifications of continued large-scale violence reeks on the planet. We must be leaders in halting this destruction.

I believe that drilling off the coasts of America will further pollute the oceans to a point we will no longer be able to traverse them or eat from their once bountiful schools of fish. The destruction of ANWR is unacceptable for any purpose. We are merely one part of the Earthly equation and our greed as well as laziness must not constantly outrank the needs of the other species around us.

I believe better, free health care for EVERY child -legal or illegal-, not just the rich, will benefit the entire nation and every nation on Earth. A healthy workforce creates better products. A workforce that can go to work instead of staying home with sick children is much more likely to do so and, in turn, to pay their bills.

I believe it should be mandatory to learn a foreign language to graduate from any federally funded public high school and it should be a useful one. There is time for Latin in college for those planning to need it. Japanese, Chinese, Spanish (like Mexican and South American Spanish),French, Farsi and other logical languages spoken by the greatest number of immigrants to this country and the countries with whom the U.S. does the greatest amount of international business. In turn, all immigrants should have a working knowledge of English as opposed to being asked to pass a U.S. history most Americans can’t pass. I only got a B (90%) on it, had to take it twice and I was a history minor.

I believe public school teachers should have up to 75% of their student loans forgiven with an approval rating of more than 90% after the first five years in the classroom.

I believe a pubic college education should be accessible to all students who want it. However, it should be merit-based in order to be maintained.

I believe marijuana should be legal. More people are killed every year from alcohol-related accidents and illnesses than were killed by marijuana in the last five. There must be consistency in the face of the law. And let’s face it; people who are drunk are generally assholes. Stoned people are kind of fun to be around.

I believe in a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. They are a vital part of our nation’s economy. And they don’t just come from Mexico. There are an estimated 50,000 from Ireland, 30,000 from the continent of Africa and an uncountable number from Asian countries. If they are here, dong their part and only taking from the coffers to tend to their children (public schools, VNA shot clinics and Medicaid for kids most often born in the US) why send them and their immeasurable manpower away? If you really need to kick someone out, ditch the native-born welfare mom who doesn’t hold up her end of the bargain to either work part-time or go to school so she can eventually work full-time or the repeat offender. People often say the illegals should leave because they don’t play by the rules. Neither do these folks. Again I say, “Consistency in the face of the law.”

I believe that mass transit must be initiated in all major cities in order to ebb the lusty desire for oil. Light rail, train and trolley systems and reliable fuel-efficient buses will be the most effective forms of transportation. Or maybe we could all start riding our bikes and walking like we did in eighth grade. It didn’t kill anyone reading this. I ride my bike to vote every year. I ride my bike wherever I can and as often as I can.

I believe in harnessing the power of wind. It is clean and efficient. It is also really cool to look at. Those windmills are awe-inspiring and can bring a new face to American energy.

I believe that lobbyists should not be allowed to enter any Congressional building on business. As private citizens on a guided tour: Whatev. But, they do not belong in those hallowed halls in order to make sure Senator Whatshisnuts knows how much PharmaceuticalsRUs loves him.

I believe all individuals in SUVs should have to pay an additional fuel tax upon their annual registration renewal. If you really need to drive a giant Suburban to take your two kids half a mile to school, dance class and soccer or hockey then you’ll pay it. Or perhaps you’ll get a more environmentally responsible vehicle and not treat your car like a romper room on wheels.

I believe there should be a TV tax. Seriously. We aren’t getting any slimmer as a country (I’m probably the guiltiest among us about being a lard ass). The televisions, while more environmentally sound then the ones of my youth still guzzle up electricity and gray matter. I mean do you really need a TV in your kitchen, kids’ rooms and in the bathroom? The tax should be double if you have one in your car.

I believe in the arts and in artists. Their work should be supported and there should be a careful mind paid to their intentions and projects. They are the greatest inspirations to any culture whether we admit it or not.

I believe in diplomacy. It is imperative that we intellectually explore all of the peaceful options available to us as a nation and as responsible members of a global community. “Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate. “-JFK

I believe that a competitive marketplace is not exclusive of a fair, sustainable and responsible market. The problem isn’t capitalism; it’s the greedy people within the system at all levels. Be it the employee who milks the clock for an extra 15 minutes worth of pay or the CEO of a failed bank taking his severance package while making sure the pension plan is bankrupted before he leaves. Don’t tell consumers you can no longer guarantee their mortgage because you need to take your executive board to a “meeting” in Aspen at the height of ski season.

I believe socialism saved our country in her hour of greatest need. Thank you, FDR.

I believe socialism and capitalism don’t have to be mutually exclusive of each other.

I believe, as technology connects so many from all over the world, there is no need for official languages and religions. ESPECIALLY religions. Religion has no place in law-making. Laws must be drafted using the inherent goodness of the human being, the logic of the intellectuals and the facts at hand. Whether you sit next to me at mass or not, your God is not mine.

I believe any law abridging the rights of any law-abiding citizen of this country to marry is wrong and blatantly unconstitutional. Defend that stand without citing the Bible or other religious document. Marriage, given the high rate of divorce and adultery around the country, is very rarely a religious covenant. It is a legal contract between two people of legal age to enter into such an agreement. For the love of Pete, the guy who married Johnny and I is my body piercer (and dear friend)! Does that make my marriage less important than yours? I dare you to tell me so. My best friend and his partner have been together longer than Johnny and I. They are entirely devoted to each other and incredibly faithful. Should they want to be married in a manner that will afford them the benefits of marriage like health insurance and bedside visitation in hospitals, they deserve it as much as anyone (if not more).

I believe that it is right to share. If your child was on the playground with six other children and 20 bags of M&Ms wouldn’t you tell her to share? Wouldn’t you encourage by explaining she has so much she couldn’t possibly eat them all herself and that even if she gave each other kid there half a bag she’d still have 17? Why is it different for you as an adult? Will your daughter’s playground generosity make the other kids mediocre? I have no qualms paying extra taxes to help my neighbors and I do every year. I give an additional $5 every payday in to my federal taxes. I give $3 a payday to the United Way of the Midlands. I give $25 a year to Boys and Girls Club. And, you know what? I never even miss that money. I can guarantee, in my field, I make less than you.

I believe in term limits and in restricting the benefits paid out to members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, most of whom were wealthy before ever making it to D.C. I will never believe that someone who served this country behind a desk and gavel for six years is more deserving of lifetime medical benefits and retirement pay than the guy who was shot twice in the hip, exposed to a near fatal dose of heavy metal poisoning that left him with seizures and survived a sinking ship.

I also believe that the annual Congressional pay raise should be eliminated. It should be up for vote every four years just like our president. I have a funny feeling we could eliminate some fraud, waste and abuse (and awkward bathroom rendezvous) if their pay raises were merit based.

I believe puppy and kitty mills should be outlawed. It is an affront to every compassionate inkling in my being that Americans call themselves civilized and treat animals which rely on us like property and products made in a factory. Some crimes against animals including animal fighting, bestiality and violent assault should be punished by lengthy jail terms.

This were several of you will never believe it’s coming from me.

I believe death sentences should, in fact, mean death sentences; not life with three hots, a cot, a state appointed lawyer and a free audience with the Supreme Court. If these convicted child killers and abusers, violent felons and traitors (the three most likely convictions to get you put to death in the United States) want to stay alive longer then they should be given the option to become human lab rats.

I believe in a brief period of limited isolationism. We must get all of our ducks in a row, affairs in order, or any cliché you enjoy before we can adequately attend to the needs of a world that does clearly need the assistance of others.

I believe that there needs to be a timetable to get the hell out of the Middle East, but I have no business seeing it. Every once in a while government secrets should actually be secrets.

I believe that in exchange for welfare programs women and men must be willing to enter into a “No More Children” agreement that would eliminate benefits for anymore biological children than those that are already born or the result of a pregnancy, known or unknown, that has already been conceived with the intention of being carried to term at the time of the agreement. It is socially and environmentally irresponsible to bear more children to which one can tend.

I believe convicted child rapists, if not sentenced to death, should be castrated. Not chemically. I mean their testicles should be cut off.

I believe every healthy American should have to serve two years after high school in the military. It works in several other countries around the world. I say we give it a shot. If nothing else, everyone will come out of the service with some sort of job skills and several others will stay and create a career of which they can be proud.

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