Electon Day

Okay first of all, I don't care who you vote for, I don't even care if you write Cookie Monsters name in, but go vote, it's a right people Die and kill for, seriously! And if you don't vote you have NO right to complain about basically anything. So stepping on my soapbox and borrowing some of these great points from a friend, mingling them with my own, here's my polical statement of the year:

Here's my ten. I'm kinda interesting, to say the least, because I'm very conservative economically but very liberal on certain social issues and animal rights. And like my mama' taught me, the president is only a puppet, it's who makes up the house/senate/etc., that matters. And warning, I don't really fit into any party's niche (and I think a lot of people don't!).

1. Legalize gay marriage already. For heaven's sake, marriage is a legal contract and if adults want to enter into it, let them. Homosexuality has existed since the beginning of time. It is not a product of some kind of corrupt phase our society is in or a trend that you can somehow reverse if only you keep them from actually marrying. There are so many other worthy "causes" then to worry about who's on top....k?

2. Taxes: I'd like to see sales taxes on non-necessities (i.e. not food or gasoline) and nothing else. You know, it makes perfect sense to me. If we did that, the money is made off of the successful people who are spending money. People who are living hand to mouth and can only afford their basics don't get taxed. Retired people who are trying to hang on to their home to live in don't get blasted with property taxes they can't pay. It'd be the end of taxation that punishes you for being single, for being childless, for not being a homeowner, etc. It'd be the end of people escaping taxes by working in the underground economy, because all taxes would be collected at the point of sale. No more audits - except of anybody selling something who might be trying to cheat the system. No more having to DO your taxes or hire someone because it's so freakin' confusing. You pay at the point of sale, flat percentage, end of problem. No drama, no loopholes, and it's completely fair. No, I don't think the rich should have to pay a greater percentage because they're rich. They will naturally pay more with this system because they spend more. That's fair.

3. After you lose the second child because of neglect or abuse, or after you are convicted of killing or hurting even one child or animal, you get sterilized. End of discussion. The world cannot continue to clean up after the addicted folks who pop out addicted children then abandon them if not physically emotionally. There are not enough homes for those children. Those children tend to lead horrible lives and are set up for failure from day one. Birth control is free - Planned Parenthood is everywhere. If you are too lazy to use it, I truly believe the government should have the right to step in at some point and make you stop.

4. I have always been completely in favor of vouchers and any other program that helps parents send their kids to a private or alternative school. Seriously if you don't know it yourself, how can you teach it? We need the best, not the mediocre - and we DO need to pay the best in a way that makes it worthwhile for them to continue teaching. If their classes are testing off the charts, give 'em a big bonus already! Teachers are underpaid and overworked and shaping OUR future generations, doesn't it make sense to INVEST in the future of our country?!?

5. If we are going to help the poor, we have to stop cutting them a check for them to do with as they please. While some people are responsibly using welfare funds, many more are taking that money and buying cigarettes and beer if not worse. Enough! We need distribution centers where that person can go and pick up food, clothing, diapers, household supplies, and put gas in their car. They will get off the system a lot faster when they have zero cash to buy what they want to buy and all the system is doing is allowing them to survive. Boredom motivates.

6. Gun control. Gun control makes me laugh. We set all of these laws and do you know what laws regulate? Law abiding people. A criminal, the person you are worried about, doesn't obey the law to begin with. Why would he or she obey gun control laws? The truth is, allowing the law abiding citizens to have firearms discourages crime. Most criminals are cowards, looking for the weakest link to victimize. Nobody wants to mug the girl who might be packing.

7. Drunk Driving. First offense, the ignition interlock goes in your car and stays there the rest of your life. I am so sick of hearing about innocent people getting killed by drunks on the roads. If you are caught driving without the device, you can go sit in jail for awhile and think about your bad decision. Better yet, you can go help scrub out the morgue and look at bodies for awhile. There's a good community service project for you, and maybe it will make you choose to sleep on the couch at your buddy's house the next time.

8. The Budget. I really don't know why the government has so much trouble balancing a budget. You know what, we have X amount of dollars. We get to spend X amount of dollars. If there isn't enough money for everything, we need to make cuts. Cuts should be made to non-necessities. I am pretty sure any American picked off the street could tell you what is a necessity and what isn't but thanks to special interests with well-financed PAC's, our representatives seem to be in a constant state of confusion. The government is not your sugar daddy for your arts program or your scientific study about the mating habits of foxes or your program to provide perks to inmates that make prison sound better than the way the average college student is living. On a related note, it's not the government's problem if you can't balance YOUR budget, whether you're a private individual or a company. I'm not a fan of bail-outs in general with the exception that I'm glad the government federally insures deposits, because clearly our banks are being run by packs of monkeys these days. I read the stories and just think, well, what kind of a moron EVER thought that the dude who made $32K a year and had four kids was going to be able to pay for a $450K house? Those people need chaperons, problem is I am not sure that most of our elected officials or people in a position of authority have any more common sense than the home buyer I mentioned, kinda scary, huh?

9. It probably goes without saying that I'd like to see much stricter penalties for animal abuse and neglect. I'll add in that I'd like to see much stricter penalties for child abuse and neglect. Parenthood and animal ownership are choices. They are completely voluntary. Don't take on the care of another if you suspect that you don't have the patience, know that you have an addiction or other problem that makes it unlikely you can be consistently kind, loving and provide good care. Notice I said kind and loving, not rich, money can't make up for any lack of love, compassion or care.

10. The borders. *sigh* What a mess. Look, the fact is that Americans are really super addicted to cheap Mexican labor - and good luck stopping that. Go rent a movie called "A Day Without A Mexican," if you can find it. It's satirical and overdone, but it makes a good point. So far, every illegal I've met in this country was working their ass off. In many cases they were more productive than a lot of the native born Americans I've met, and yes, they DO often do jobs American won't do. (Personally I'd like to keep some of them and ship some of the shiftless Americans I've met who think they are too special to clean stalls or scrub floors to Mexico but I don't think I can get Mexico to go for that) If we went to my tax system, these people wouldn't be avoiding taxes anymore. For the most part, my feeling is that if you have an employer and you're willing to work, America should welcome you. If you come here and you make trouble or you try to live off the system, out you go. And if you are a useless American, stealing from the "system", slapping your wife and poping out kids with any toothless Chica out there, ship your irresponsible azz out of here too...I don't care what color your skin is, there is nothing worse than white trash, nothing.

Okay, Ladies and Gentlemen, you can go back to your regular routine now, that is if you've VOTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jen