Yeah, I know no one wants to hear this. Tough shit.
Ok, listen up. I don't care if you think I'm what passes for your God after this, or if you believe I am just some new Republican scum. Leave your feedback by all means, and any questions you may have. I've been wanting to do this for some time. and I just got my lazy arse to doing it. You see, I've quite frankly sick and tired of having people assume that I'm some sort of right-wing bible thumper after I tell them I like GWB. It's simply not true. I'm an Athiest (get your gasps out now people) and yes, I'm as Repbulican as they get. Why? You may very well ask that. A majority of Republicans, when asked about their ideology, respond with religoious dogma as their defense. I don't think that gives a complete picture of what being a Republican is. As such, I have put together my non-religious, yet Republican, stances on various issues that seem to be sources of cleavage in public opinion.
Just the big ones for right now. I'm tired. If I get feedback, I'll go on.
Abortion
Always fun to talk about. "Oh, the (Popes, God, w/e) said life begins at conception." Ok, that's fantastic. Don't believe in God? Ok, I have an answer for you. In this country, there are countless couples who are, due to various reasons, quite unable to bring children into the world. It's a given fact. If you don't believe me, look at the number of infertility clinics and sperm banks out there. By having an abortion, not only do you get lots and lots of excitable people angry, but you deprive one of these couples a chance (not their only chance, but a chance nontheless) to experience the joy that is bringing up a child. Secondly, abortion (unless it can be catergorically proven that the mother's life was in jeopardy if birth had gone on as planned) is quite simply selfish. The couple, or mother (if you want to call her a mother, I don't especially), are avoiding unpleasntness, embarassment, expense, &c. that would be brought about if the fruits of her reckless behavior had come to term.. For many adoption networks, the brunt of the cost is born by the families adopting. There is quite literally nothing for the mother to lose by having the child, except a few weeks (or probably quite less) in the hospital and/or nursing. Abstain or adopt, people. Take responsibility for your actions, and don't ruin someone else's life because you made a whoopsie.
Gay Rights
Ok, you have me here. I do not support the initiative, nor, however, am I explicitly against it. I feel it is a matter best left up to the majority opinions in the individual states. Oh, and none of the "ok, we're going to such-and-such state to get married, but coming right back." No. Sorry.
Death Penalty
Picture this scenario. Every year, a bill arrives in your mailbox. You are mandated to pay some of your hard earned cash towards people who have committed acts that undermine your saftey, your livelihood, and your way of life. Sometimes, you only have to pay a little bit for some people, and only a short amount of time. Others, it's a continual process, like what a leech does. Now, see, both of these "people" have done the exact same thing. One had a judge who believed in the death penalty, the other did not. Oh, sorry, this does happen every year. Called "Taxes." The basic economics of the issue lie in a single question. Given a criminal convicted of a capital offense, would you rather pay for his room and board (often INCLUDING CABLE TELEVISION!?!??!) for the rest of his life, or a single, lethal dose of chemicals that cause little or no pain for the executee, all the while punishing him for his crimes? I know what I'd rather do. Clear up some jail room for people who are, mostly, still people. Which brings up my second point. There have been numerous cries of "Waah! How can you be both pro-life and pro-death?" Give me a break. The world is not as black and white as that. In one case, you talk about a baby that has done nothing to deserve to die, on the other hand you have what used to be a person, commiting a heinous and unforgivable act, and being given both a trial AND an opportunity to defend itself. So, unless you want to have a trial by a jury of your fellow fetuses, or if you want to give the embryo a set of wirecutters, I don't want to hear that argument. There are also contentions of "Rehabilitation." I hate to break it to you, but, comparatively speaking, how often does this work? I apologize for not having any figures, but the Dukakis system of "weekend furloughs" comes to mind. I don't think many people need to be reminded of what a ferking disaster that was. No. rehabilitation may work in some cases, but chances are that if a person is able to commit a capital offense (dare I say heinous enough to go against what passes of normal human behavior), he or she has created a sort of mental bypass that circumvents said behavioral conventions- In their case, lightning can and usually will strike in the same place twice. Fourthly, and hopefully finally, I would answer to the charge that many of the criminals executed are, in fact, innocent.. People. Look, the average time from the sentencing of a capital criminal to his or her execution is approximately 13+ years. Not months, not weeks, years. During that time, parties concerned may bring legally obtained evidence (e.g. DNA testing) to court for evaluation and possible retrial. Failing that, we fall back on the basic principle of the American legal system- JURY BY PEERS, "BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT." Somehow, the evidence presented against an individual was convincing enough to twelve other Americans to find him or her guilty, possibly with the recommendation of the death penalty.
I'll be back with more. Hard to talk politics when talking to your prom date and falling asleep on the keyboard.
Thanks for listening.