Political survey... need help for class

[Winston Smith]

Okay answer me these questions. Digress. Say a lot. overtype. Be verbose. Please.

1-Political Affiliation

2-Relevant background information and what led to your political point of view

3-What you most appreciate about the US of A

4-What aspect of the US you would most like to see changed

5- Tell me what you think of immigration, abortion, the war, and gun control.

I really appreciate it.

-Jack

[USP45usp]

1-Political Affiliation - Independant

2-Relevant background information and what led to your political point of view - After weighing in who I thought would turn this country around and what could be done to do so, I realized that the current parties in office today were not the ones that woulc do anything except give us the same tired old lies and scare tactics.  Since I am one not to be lead and one not to believe everything I hear, I do my own research into issues and found that again, both parties today are useless and lie out their teeth.

3-What you most appreciate about the US of A - That one can get ahead in life.  Sure, to do so is hard work but if you really want it there isn't really anything (except the government) to stand in your way.

4-What aspect of the US you would most like to see changed - The current "two-party" system that we've seemed to have created.  Total government, at all levels, reform.

5- Tell me what you think of immigration, abortion, the war, and gun control.

Immigration:  If you do it legally, follow the rules, then I welcome you with open arms.  If you do it illegally and then have the nerve to DEMAND amnesty, then you should be packed up in a van and taken back to your own country.  And if you come back illegally, then put into a prison hell hole in the middle east or Africa.

Abortion:  There is no right to an abortion and if there is then legally everyone has the right to do with their body as they see fit.  This includes putting drugs into it, using it for money or taking the life out of it without government interference.  You can't have it both ways.  Also, to me it morally repungnant because it is no less than murder of an innocent.

Gun Control:  There shouldn't be any such thing.  NO LAWS what so ever.  Not even against felons owning them.  If they trust you to let you out, then all your rights should be returned.  If you are that much of a danger to society, then you shouldn't be in society.  And if you are in society, then society owes it to itself to have the means to ensure the felon/criminal pays the ultimate price for their actions.

Hope this helps.

Wayne

[cosine]

1-Political Affiliation - Republican/libertarian (little "l") (i.e., Independant. I vote for whoever is the best and most practical candidate for a position. I may register Republican though to have a say in the primaries.)  

2-Relevant background information and what led to your political point of view - Senior in high school, no experience in the real world, but who thinks he's learned something and so still can have an opinion. The main factors that lead to my political point of view are my religious beliefs and the morality which stems from them, a desire for fairness and justice, and a desire for others to let me live my life without undue intereference, so I therefore will let others live there life with me providing undue interference.

3-What you most appreciate about the US of A The fact that we have a Constitution which so far has provided stability of government and restricted governmental power from interfering unduly in my life. Sadly, that seems to be fastly disappearing.

4-What aspect of the US you would most like to see changed - Well, I'd like everyone to believe in God and adhere to my standards of morality, but, seeing as that is extremely unjust and does not acknowledge the liberty and free will of the individual, I'll just have to keep wishing. (Seeing as I don't want anyone else to do so to me, I can't in good conscience do so to anyone else. ) Besides that, I'd like to see the USA return to a very strict, very limited Constitutional government, with maybe just a few more provisions added to allow foreign policy to be less strictly regulated. (i.e., make it easier to provide for intervention in places like Iraq without having to bend and break the Constitution.)

5- Tell me what you think of immigration, abortion, the war, and gun control. All for legal immigration. Streamline the system a bit to make it easier for those who truly wish to become American citizens to do so. Against abortion because of moral and philisophical beliefs. For the war in Iraq, because of blatant disregard for human rights. Finally, fully against gun control in all forms. Theoretically my opposition to gun control extends all the way up to allowing private ownership of [military] arms greater than handheld weapons (tanks, airplanes, nuclear, chemical, biological weapons). However, practically I'm not fully comfortable with private ownership of such weapons. And "fully against" means fully against. No restrictions on age for buying weapons, type of weapons (i.e. full auto is just fine), previous behavior (i.e., felons no longer serving time have no restrictions placed upon them).


Yes, I know that there are inconsistancies in this post and in my political beliefs.

[Monkeyleg]

OK, I'll be the first.

1. Political affiliation: Republican waiting for Libertarian Party to get their act together.

2. Self-employed, overtaxed small business owner; gun owner and NRA member. I didn't really completely grasp how overtaxed we are until I had to start doing my own payroll withholding. And I didn't realize just how anti-gun the media was until the very early 1980's when Katie Couric rererred on PBS to the NRA's "death grip" on Washington.

3. I appreciate the relative level of freedom (relative to othe countries, not to the level of freedom we enjoyed just decades ago).

4. What aspect of the USA would I like to be changed? I'd like to see liberals live on the east side of the Mississippi, and conservatives on the west side. Two separate countries. Neither could cross the river without express permission. Within a decade, the Western United States of America could buy New York for a handful of beads.

5. Immigration is great. Breaking the law is not. Don't want to discuss abortion.

I'm in favor of the war in Iraq, as a believe that a success there will give us the needed leverage and strategic positioning in the region to pressure other countries, Saudi Arabia and Iran in particular.

Gun control has never worked and never will. There isn't a single gun control law that has had any effect on crime, suicides, or firearms accidents.

[cosine]

OK, I'll be the first.

Almost. You may have started first, but some type faster than others and have less to say.

[Twycross]

1-Political Affiliation: I am a libertarian (little 'l')

2-Relevant background information and what led to your political point of view: I was raised in a conservative christian home. The predominant view was a sort of quasi-republic-quasi-theocrasy, with a nation under God's direction. My folks always voted (R). But about a year ago, I began to question this. I couldn't see any actual, rubber-meets-the-road difference between the (R)s and (D)s. I was uncomfortable with all the functions the government had assumed. Also, looking over church history, I saw nothing I really wanted to see in the USA. Power corrupts, and the christian church is no exception. I started posting at TFL and later THR, and was introduced to the libertarians, group I had not even heard at the time. The idea of a small, non-religious government appealed to both my disillusionment with big government and theocracy, and my leave-me-alone tendencies.

3-What you most appreciate about the US of A: The written constitution. Even if it has been ignored since the war between the states, there is something we can point to and say "you are out of line" to the current .gov.

4-What aspect of the US you would most like to see changed: The huge, unconstitutional leviathan of a government that we've been building for the past 150 years.

5- Tell me what you think of immigration, abortion, the war, and gun control.

Immigration: Streamline the process of legally getting in, beef up border control (probably with the National Guard), and remove the nanny-state incentives to come here. Enforce the existing laws regarding hiring illegals.

Abortion: This is an issue I'm still sorting out.

The war: I'm against the invasion, but now that we're in, we need to reconstruct and then get out. The sooner the better. This is is at best a waste of military resources.

Gun control: If the military can have it, you can have it, under the same safety restrictions as the military. For example, if you have the money and desire for some VX nerve gas, you can buy it. But you can't keep it stored in your basement in a ziplock bag. There should be no restrictions on who can and cannot own weapons. If you are safe to be on the streets, there is no basis to restrict you from owning guns.

[The Rabbi]

1. Political affiliation: Reagan Republican
2. Parents were typical NY left-leaning McGovern-voting secular Jews.  I grew up in the era of Jimmy Carter and saw the US getting its butt kicked world-wide, politically, economically, and militarily.  My parents' way obviously wasnt working.  I took an intro econ seminar with one Prof Rendigs Fels, who was a famous economist in the Milton Friedman model.  I voted for Reagan in my first election and watched things turn around dramatically. I never looked back.
3. Most appreciate about the US.  That a person gets ahead with hard work no matter what his background, that the US system is superior to all other systems devised thus far.  THat the US has a history of helping people internationally, even where that might go against our own interests.
4.Most want to change.  The entitlement mentality both in gov't and out, that for every person in need there is someone else out there who must help them.
5.a. Immigration: in favor of it
b. Abortion.  Opposed to it
c. the war (I assume you mean Iraq).   Support it wholeheartedly
d. Gun control.  WTF??

[Perd Hapley]

So you're trying to set a new record for the longest, driftiest, most divisive thread ever?  Good way to start: it keeps your nails clean, and even makes it look like you're doing a good thing.

[Guest]

1-Political Affiliation

 While still on the roster of the Libertarian Party due to my previous-century donations, I do not participate in partisan politics anymore.

2-Relevant background information and what led to your political point of view

 I had no interest in politics until about 1980. Gun control was the first motivator to learn more. I started as a Republican, became a Libertarian around 1992 and finally became an anarchist in 2001 after realizing that all politics is a form of violence/coercion - if vicarious. I no longer vote -to express my belief that it would make me somewhat responsible for the actions of the candidate I chose. I pay taxes only out of fear of the state's punishments.

3-What you most appreciate about the US of A

 There is nothing to appreciate about the United Stated Government, however, under its thumb is a very pretty and varied landmass.

4-What aspect of the US you would most like to see changed

 I would like to see the state eliminated.

5- Tell me what you think of immigration, abortion, the war, and gun control.

 I believe in one's freedom to move and travel to private areas to which the traveler has been invited. For instance, if, in the anarchy, there was a factory or farm in North America which owned apartments, stores and such, too, they could invite anyone they pleased to work/live there. Or, they could make agreements with nearby stores, etc.

 I don't particularly like the idea of abortion but I would not stop anyone from having one...or hire anyone to do so. Mothers should own their children until about puberty.

 I am anti-preemptive war and would only take up arms to defend myself, kith and kin. In the anarchy I would either support or join a local private defense firm and probably own a few defensive weapons not normally owned by current citizens. It doesn't cost much to down a helicopter these days, I'm told.

 I wouldn't let anyone have purely offensive weapons near me - the type commonly called "wmds". If they tried, I would try to muster a group to disarm them. I want all defensive weapons to be "legal". IOW, I wouldn't live in an area where they were banned by local agreement.

[Ron]

1-Political Affiliation

Republican, I have voted Libertarian in the distant past.

2-Relevant background information and what led to your political point of view

I grew up in a family where grandpa was part of the "machine" that keeps the Daley family in power in Chicago to this day. I was a party monster through high school until I was 20 when I became born again. While I am a believer I never was able to integrate into fundamentalist/evangelical culture. It has been over a decade since I was a regular church attender. Both my parents are entrepreneurs and became Republicans during the Reagan years. I voted Republican when I first was able to vote, when I discussed it with my dad I was shocked to hear he voted for Reagan also! He hasn't voted for the D's since. Even my grandma confided in me that she thought that if "Daddy" was alive at the time he would have voted for Reagan.

3-What you most appreciate about the US of A

Without question this is the greatest nation on earth, ever. The possibilities are endless.

4-What aspect of the US you would most like to see changed

Like to see us get back to limited government. Privatize education and a gradual disengagement from all the foreign aid we provide. Lock down the border while increasing the visas for unskilled workers from the south.

5- Tell me what you think of immigration, abortion, the war, and gun control.

Lock down the border while increasing the visas for unskilled workers from the south.

Nobody has shown me when life begins. Until we know we should err on the side of caution, no abortions unless the life of the mother is in jeopardy.

I was in favor of invading Afghanistan, it was the right thing to do.
I was lukewarm on Iraq, it was a judgment call. 100% support for the mission now that we are there.

I believe we should all have CCW and the ability to own all small arms including full auto.

[garrettwc]

1. Political affiliation - conservative, if you need to tie me to a party I would say Reagan Republican.

2. Relevant background - raised in a Republican, middle class, christian home. Never much watched the news, or concerned myself with politics until high school. Starting taking government, civics classes in prep for my career. Working part time seeing what taxes and big government were doing to my hard earned money. In 1980 a man came to town to give a speech. He was running for president. That man was Ronald Reagan. Those things all coming together at once sort of set me on my current path.

3. Most appreciated about the U.S. - opportunity. You are only limited by your imagination in what you can achieve.

4. Most like to change about the U.S. - the irresistable, ever growing leviathan that is the Federal government. I would like to turn back the tide and restore the liberties we have lost gradually over the years.

5. Immigration - I would like to see it defined as what it is. What some are calling immigration now is more accurately called invasion and occupation. The first thing we need to do is get control of the border. After that we can set clearly defined requirements for legal immigration, such as learning english, contributing in some fashion, rather than leeching off the welfare state, etc.

Abortion - morally wrong. Period. Some may disagree. I don't believe involving the government resolved anything. It's a divisive issue that each individual involved should decide and be accountable for. It's just like any other moral dilemna.

The War - the right thing to do. Poorly presented to the American people. It's shameful what some people have done to express their displeasure. I think it's going to be a long war. Unlike most wars where you have a clearly defined enemy with a standing army, this one lives in the shadows and strikes in small jabs, death by 1,000 cuts if you will.

Gun Control - has nothing to do with guns. It's all about control. Even a casual review of history will tell you that the first thing a tyrant does before taking over is to disarm the populace to prevent them from fighting back. The most basic human right of all is that of self - defense. Gun control seeks to take that right away.

[Stickjockey]

1-Political Affiliation

While my VRC says Republican, I'm more of an independent/"small 'l' libertarian. I started voting in the Reagan era, which seems to me to be about the time that the Left/Right split really started taking hold. At the time, it seemed that the Republican platform was more in line with my thinking. As time went on and the split grew, it seemed that both sides had abandoned their bases and had gone into "did not/did too" mode, each one blaming the other for the failings of both. The Clinton impeachment was a media circus, and it seemed that the biggest reaction from the Dems became, "You tried to get ours, so we'll do our best to get yours." Case in point, the whole "selected, not elected" thing followed closely by the ongoing attempt to get an impeachment going against Bush. Anymore, they're so focused on getting back at each other for wrongs either real or perceived, that the rest gets thrown by the wayside. Result: both sides abandoned by the people chosen to represent them.  

About that same time, I found THR. Discussions with people there caused me to rethink many of my views, increasing the rift between my own political  thought and  that of the political mainstream.
   
2-Relevant background information and what led to your political point of view

See #1.

3-What you most appreciate about the US of A

That we can even be having this conversation without having to take it to some underground bunker or hidey-hole.

4-What aspect of the US you would most like to see changed

I'd like to see a shift of power back to the State governments. If I'm going to be forced to give money to deal with the "homeless problem" or the "Meth epidemic", why shouldn't it go to the people who are  in more of a position to do something real about it? What good is giving money to a Senator from Arkansas, living in Washington, going to do for the homeless in Portland, OR? More local control would be good.

5- Tell me what you think of immigration, abortion, the war, and gun control.

A. Immigration:
     If a person wants to come into this country and work, we have a system in place
     for that. That system does NOT involve sneaking over the border and losing
     yourself in the populace, then taking advantage of our social structure while not
     paying for it.

B. Abortion:
     Morally, I think it's wrong; especially partial-birth. Th only exceptions I might
     entertain would be to save the life of the mother or incest/rape.

     Politically, I say get the government out of it all together. Don't ban it, don't
     subsidize it. This issue should be handled socially.

C. The War:
    This issue has been muddied so much Im not sure what's right and what's just
    filler. On the one hand, my jury's out on whether we were right to go in or not.
    Were we lied to, or just fed incorrect information? Whatever, we're there. Since
    that's the case, we should do what we need to and get he job done right. One thing
    we should not do is leave a power vacuum. That country is a civil-war time
    bomb waiting to go off. We've got to leave some stability.

D. Gun control:

It's one aspect of a larger problem, and I agree with garrettwc. It's about control. Our govenment has been growing at an immense rate, with more and more incursion into people's lives every day it seems. The PATRIOT act was a huge win for the Big Brother-ites. As an issue in itself, I think there will soon be a showdown with the RKBA itself at stake. If the antis win that one, get ready to think of the PATRIOT Act with fond remembrance.

[lee n. field]

Okay answer me these questions. Digress. Say a lot. overtype. Be verbose. Please.

1-Political Affiliation

2-Relevant background information and what led to your political point of view

3-What you most appreciate about the US of A

4-What aspect of the US you would most like to see changed

5- Tell me what you think of immigration, abortion, the war, and gun control.

I really appreciate it.

Like this doesn't get asked regularly on Inet gunfora.

1 -- no official affiliation.  L. sympathies.  Vote L. or R., unless the R. is too heinous.

A chance comment elsewhere got me rereading after 25 years Abraham Kuyper's Lectures on Calvinism (http://www.kuyper.org/main/publish/books_essays/article_17.shtml), delivered at Princeton in 1898.  I find myself in substantial agreement with his chapter on politics.

2 -- How I got here from there?  Honestly?  Getting beat up a lot as a kid.  Noone who I expected should have interveened effectivly did, which lead to the gut level conviction that I could not trust authorities to help.   My guess is you'll find a lot of libertarians and "right" anarchists like this.

3 -- we're not Euroweenies.

4 -- Government "mission creep"

5 -- Immigration: I hate the notion of passports and official control of movement.  

Abortion -- kills a human being.

The war -- this one?  Used to be that only Devilcrat state-worshipers got us into poorly thought through foreign adventures.  Who's running the show?

Victim disarmament -- why should I trust someone who'd rather see me dead?

[...has left the building.]

Okay answer me these questions. Digress. Say a lot. overtype. Be verbose. Please.

1-Political Affiliation

2-Relevant background information and what led to your political point of view

3-What you most appreciate about the US of A

4-What aspect of the US you would most like to see changed

5- Tell me what you think of immigration, abortion, the war, and gun control.

I really appreciate it.

-Jack

1- None.

2- The economic study of incentives and how incentives drive societies and individuals to certain choices. Also, the idea that the ultimate right, the individual's Right to Life, leads into other definitions of said right, such as the right to bear arms, to accumulate property, etc.

3- The number one thing that I appreciate is that information, in nearly all subjects, is freely available in the U.S. While we may not do the things that are most effective from a behavioral economic or the preservation of the Right to Life standpoint, at least I'm not a victim of informational assymetry.

4- For the U.S. to have a popular culture that respected the Right to Life in all of its various incarnations and NOT misinterpret this into a sense of automatic entitlement. This could mean lower taxation, better gun laws for law-abiding citizens, and millions of other effects in our daily lives.

5- Immigration- I'm completely fine with open immigration except for the fact that immigrants are given numerous incentives to stay illegals, at my expense no less.

Abortion - Since I respect each individual's Right to Life, babies also have the Right to Life. Unfortunately, no one can make a completely objective decision as to when a child's life begins.

The War - Since it is doubtful that the Iraq War will lead to any kind of stability in the Middle East...

Gun Control - As we all know, gun control is ineffective because A: Most of the crimes are committed with unregistered guns. And B: Gun problems result with the misuse, not the use of guns. Current laws punish all people who use guns in any capacity to some degree or another. Plus, violating my right to defend myself from deadly harm is a direct infringment on my Right to Life.

[Firethorn]

1-Political Affiliation
Small l libertarian, republican leanings in some matters.

2-Relevant background information and what led to your political point of view
USAF enlisted.  Been to the desert three times.  Parents are both accountants.  I view many things in a fashion tending towards efficiency.  Personal responsability is very efficient, so I support it.

3-What you most appreciate about the US of A
Being one?
Seriously, we're still one of the countries who's citizens are the most free and prosperous in the world.  We have it good.

4-What aspect of the US you would most like to see changed
The ending of the war on drugs.  Seriously, the war on terror is cheap in comparison.
-edit: On second thought, getting the government out of our healthcare/retirement programs would also be nice.  That's a major part of how our medical system has become so messed up.  Some tax benefits to help people see the benefit of saving for retirement would be acceptable.  I like the idea of healthcare savings programs.  Oh, and changing mandatory healthcare programs to a cash benefit to said saving program.   That's one less problem with changing employers.

5- Tell me what you think of immigration, abortion, the war, and gun control.
Immigration: Fix the legal processes, concentrating on making it far easier.  Lock down the borders.
Abortion:  Pro-choice, but believe that the proper programs can make it properly rare.  These programs should be funded by the people who don't want abortions to happen.  I'm thinking of a subsidy/adoption program that pays expenses.  In return I'd support reforming laws so that a support contract can make the adoption mandatory.
the war: Which war?  We're engaged in so many?
War on Drugs: Eliminate, legalize them.  Solve so many problems and turn a tax money drain into a faucet.
War on Terror: Support.  Osama and his cronies need to be stomped on hard
War in Iraq: has become part of the WoT, whatever it's beginnings.  We must stay there until a stable government has formed, no matter what if we don't want another Afghanistan in 10-20 years.
Gun Control:  Means using both hands. .  Seriously, I'd remove most of the gun control laws.  With the war on drugs gone, most of the 'need' will be gone.  Crime will drop seriously.  Armed citizens can actually help against terrorists and other violent criminals.

[Guest]

1-Political Affiliation - Radical right wing liberal.

2-Relevant background information and what led to your political point of view - I hate rhetoric and people who choose a position based on the Great Book of Acceptable Opinions, and not on thinking about issues individually.

3-What you most appreciate about the US of A. Our freedom and our strong regard for the individual.

4-What aspect of the US you would most like to see changed. - Legislation of behavior and morals. Our government trying to protect us from ourselves. A full time legislature.

5- Tell me what you think of immigration, abortion, the war, and gun control. -

Immigration: I'm the child of an immigrant, so don't have much room to bitch. I also think our Ponzi scheme Social Security program is going to need some new blood to keep it solvent in a few years. I think it should be easier to immigrate here. I think the official language of the US government should be English and no other language should be required to be printed. I think AT&T should be able to have as many languages as they want listed on their voice mail system and that Spanish language cable channels are kind of cool.

Abortion: Opposed to it but also opposed to making 1st trimester abortion a crime. At that point, its between you and your God and your doctor, and not the government. For waht its worth, I don't think an abortion after rape is any more moral than any other time. More understandable, perhaps, but no more moral.

War: Which one? Afghanistan, I support. Iraq, I don't. Or didn't. Now that we're there, I want us to grow the spine to get the job done and over with and quit worrying about everyone's sensibilities. They saw people's heads off and we inprison our people for making them feel bad. That's no way to win a war. Get a little more Machiavellian on them. But I don't think we should have invaded to begin with.

Gun Control: Idiocy.

[jefnvk]

1-Political Affiliation

Independent, closest alignment to Republican/Lib

2-Relevant background information and what led to your political point of view

Lived in the country, outside a very business oriented conservative town.

3-What you most appreciate about the US of A

What was sacrafised to build it.  It wasn't somewhere people have lived for thousands of years, some gave up everthing they had to come here, and they made it the best place to live in teh world.

4-What aspect of the US you would most like to see changed

The sense of entitlement that more and more people seem to have.  No one was ever promised an easy or fair life, but everyone seems to think that they should get what they want when they want it

5- Tell me what you think of immigration, abortion, the war, and gun control.

Immigration - Immigration is what built America.  Immigrants that wanted to make a better life here, not turn it into little wherever.  Come here legally, live by our rules, and I have no problem.

Abortion - I view the abortion issue as more than a murder/no murder issue.  It goes along with the entitlement, people want to do what they want with no reprecussions.  That and it is murder.

War - Don't disagree with it, but I think that there may have been better targets than Iraq.

Gun control - As with most everything else, I am against preventative laws.  Hit them hard if a gun is misused, don't hit those who have done nothing wrong.