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There are thousands of both major and minor issues the people of our nation and state face every day. Some issues affect every one and some affect only a few. Some issues can be resolved by government action, but others can only be resolved by private action. Some are resolved by the passage of time and others linger. There is no way I could ever write a comment on every issue we the people face. The best I can do is pick a sample of issues and use them as an example of my way of thinking. As most might know, I ran for the state legislature and lost three times. I wrote comments on a list of issues facing our state back then. Since nothing, other than a few bandages, has changed I will simply keep the list as is and keep adding to it. When the school board member who represented my area has resigned, several teachers said I should run in the up coming special election. I gave it a shot but could not beet the machine. That race allowed me a fresh look at some different issues. I have decided to add to my list of issues several items related more directly to schools. A lot of the issues facing the school board are just boring routine business like paying utility bills and keeping the busses on schedule. Sometimes raw politics come into play such as when bond issues come up. (Bond is secret government code for tax increase) I think the most important issues for judging school board candidates are the social issues such as Darwinism, global warming, birth control and altered history. Keep watching as I continue add more. One important note: Just after my stint of Air Force active duty I worked as an instructional assistant in the California schools less than 25 miles from Berkley. California kids can pass a standardized test but grow up believing false things about life. We still need a watchdog on our school board who can recognize coming problems. Even though I am not inside the smoky room I might still be able to find out a few things going on. When I see danger I will as a citizen raise the red flag.
I am not conservative because I am Republican. I am Republican because I am conservative. I do not follow lock step with the party, but I find that very often the party agrees with me. A few advisors have told me not to say clearly what I stand for. Some say it is better to make people judge the book by the cover but never let them read it. I don't want to win a campaign just because my name sounds more familiar or because my photo looks manlier. I want people to actually know some of the things I stand for. Following is a partial list in alphabetical order of the issues I consider important. There are, of course, hundreds of important issues I could mention, but this is a Web site, not a book. This is a sample that shows the type of character I am, so the voters and supporters can make an informed decision.
Abortion If a human fetus is both human and alive, it is a living human. If you plan in advance to kill an innocent living human, then carry out the plan, except in self-defense, that is premeditated murder. I don't see how the age of the victim makes any difference. The state of Mississippi already has the best laws in the nation for preventing the murder of babies, but that does not mean that the fight is over. We must continue to make our laws better. We must strongly defend our state against organized forces such as planned parenthood, and ACLU who target our state. We must vigorously promote fathers responsibilities, and abstinence. We must protect the free speech rights of people who speak against abortion. We must clean up the bureaucratic red tape involved with adoption. I personally want to see Roe vs. Wade overturned but I am not expecting it. Until then we must do what ever is necessary to reduce the cruel practice of baby killing. If it involves wrapping the clinics in red tape then so be it. Whether elected or not I can still continue to use my right of free speech.
Business My goal is to bring jobs to the district. Of course I would like to see some large industries move in who can hire people by the hundreds or thousands, but I would rather see a large number of small businesses who each hire a few people. When we depend too much on a single super sized industry and that one industry moves to Mexico it hurts bad. Those small and medium sized industries can be encouraged to develop by just getting government out of the way. We need to reduce needles regulations, lower taxes on the people who hire people and begin to promote business friendly places. Just because I see the value of small businesses does not mean I will discourage large job providers. There are certain things they need, such as land, utilities, low taxes, freedom from government interference, transportation facilities, good law enforcement, and an educated labor force. I have heard too many liberals say that conservatives give too much to big industry, but there is not an item on that list that would not benefit us all. Build a smooth road to a factory and watch both management and labor drive on it.
Crime and Punishment I learned a long time ago that most petty crime is committed by minors. I used to assume it was because minors know their punishment will be light if they're caught and because parents and guardians don't know what is going on. Recently, I learned that most of the parents who don't know don't care. I also learned that most parents actually do know what their kids are doing and are either enabling them or teaching them to do it. I have caught several adults teaching their own children to steal. Once I even saw a woman hide stolen items in her baby's diaper. The solution to juvenile crime is simple: strengthen and strictly enforce laws against contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Going after small crime will reduce large crime, but it will not eradicate it. The main reason people commit felonies is because the reward is greater than the penalty. We need a "three strikes, you're out" law and a streamlined appeals system for capital punishment. Nearly every police department in this state is overworked. They respond to a crime scene, investigate to find the criminal, make the arrest, and investigate more to get evidence for a conviction, then a few months later arrest the same thug again, but then he is more experienced. Our court systems are overloaded because we prosecute the same criminals again and again. Overworked cops who are frustrated because they deal with the same habitual worms over and over are more likely to become abusive, fabricate evidence, or just give up. An overloaded court is more likely to wrongly convict. Some say three strikes will fill up jails too fast and, in the first years, it will. However, once criminals realize we mean business, there will be less crime. I believe prison populations will actually decline. Some say most crime is drug related. Instead of three strikes, we should reward addicts with free treatment. In some cases addicts who don't resort to crime can and should be helped. If someone is manufacturing, transporting, or selling drugs, he should get a strike. I believe we can make transporting drugs to or through our state so risky that dealers from New Orleans will go through Memphis to reach Mobile. Then drugs will no longer be an excuse for crime. Some say three strikes might put someone away for a minor offense. That is impossible for several reasons. First, minor offenses don't count as strikes. Only felonies count. Second, it takes three felonies, not just one. Convictions committed before the three strikes law wouldn't count. The law could be written to exclude felonies committed in other states, or even certain exempted crimes such as not understanding the federal tax code or exercising your right to keep and bear arms. Some say a criminal going down for the third time might be dangerous to the arresting police. The truth is any arrest might be dangerous. It is safer to make three arrests than twenty. There are certain crimes, such as forced rape and armed robbery, that are so bad they should have an automatic third strike. Premeditated murder should have an automatic death penalty. This is a personal note: Recently my wife was assaulted by a group of angry customers in the parking lot of our own business. That is an open criminal case so I cannot tell all that I know about it but I invite you to read what little I can say on my blog entry titled "Wife has broken arm". The false religion that that preaches God is not the Creator. More about that later, but for now I will say that when that crap is taught in our public schools it must be taught as theory not fact.
Drunk Driving
Education Eminent Domain One of the most important foundations of the United States Constitution is the protection of individual rights. That includes the ownership of personal property. It is necessary in some cases for governments to take personal property for government use. We need schools, roads, military bases, jails and government offices. Recently the U.S. Supreme Court created a provision in the constitution that allows the taking of personal property for use by other private persons. That is a step toward Communism and should not be tolerated. We the people of just one small southern state may not have all the tools to stop our federal government from seizing personal property for non-government uses, but we can and must pass state laws to protect our people from state, county and local takings.
Gambling Does anyone remember how good the restaurants in the casinos were when they first opened? After they ran most of the local restaurants out of business, the quality went down and the price went up. That's just the economic argument against gambling. The moral and social arguments are obvious. The big problem we have now is that the toothpaste is already out of the tube. We can't shut down an established legal business, but we can put limits on it. At a minimum, we must continue to make sure there is no cheating, and we should remove the unequal government aid to that industry so that other industries can compete. (see also Tourism). Yes, I know that a few places like Tunica have benefited from legal gambling. I also know that the casinos have built great golf courses and such. I do not want to take away the few good things they brought and could not even if I made it my life's goal. All I am saying is to think about the fact that we are still trying to figure out how to pay our school teachers. Gambling is not what it was billed to be. We already have enough casinos. NOTE: I wrote the above statement on gambling before Katrina. Any legal business damaged by the storm should have the right to rebuild. The Casino companies have put a lot of money into our state and have proven that they are more efficient rebuilders than the government. They deserve some reward for that good deed but letting them move on shore is too much. We must make sure that the science teachers in our schools actually teach science, and are not forced to feed kids the pseudoscience promoted by Al Gore and others in the "Mother Earth Cult". Mississippi has taxes stacked on top of taxes and every one of them is too high. Nearly every politician who wants to support a pet project or give something to his voters makes up a new tax or user fee. There is even a proposed new tax on peanuts, (SB2986). Granted our government does have bills to pay and needs some money but it does not need as much as it takes from we the people. This year and last year our state legislature had the chance to reduce the tax on groceries, but failed to do so. I personally would rather see a pure tax cut that did not come with a tax increase on something else. The thought of raising any tax, even on something as nasty as tobacco, does not thrill me, but given a choice between a tax on a necessity and a tax on a vice, I would say tax the vice. There are a lot of reasons to go against the tax swap idea so we should look at each one. The first is Katrina recovery. It takes a lot of money to recover from a thing like that. In the first year a lot of that money comes from the government. Our governor was running to the federal government with his hand out and changing our own taxes might have made that job a little more difficult. In the second year of recovery most of the money must come from economic growth. You stimulate that growth by lowering taxes. Imagine if last year we had cut the grocery tax in the coast counties followed by a state wide tax cut this year. The people busy rebuilding would have had more to spend on food. It would have also drawn shoppers from other areas to the coast and we all know that the coast needs more people spending money there. Some people ignore impact studies from places like Mississippi State University so they can say small towns will be hurt. It is true that small towns depend on sales tax revenue but it is not true that groceries are the only thing taxed. If people can save money on food they will spend some of that extra money on non grocery items. The total sales and all the good things, such as jobs, that go with total sales would go up. There might be a very small temporary decline in sales tax income but would be off set by money from tobacco. There is a fear that this is part of an overall plan to limit smokers’ rights. There are separate bills aimed at banning all smoking in public places. There are even bills that would prevent bar and cafe owners from allowing smoking in their own property. I agree that smoking should not be allowed in public areas where non smokers have no choice but to go. Taking choice from private business owners is a whole other issue. There is a question about bootleg tobacco. By having lower tobacco prices than our neighbors we attract buyers into our state. Raising that price will send buyers out of our state. There could even arise tobacco buyers’ co-ops who pool their money and send one person out of state to buy for the group. Limits could be put on such groups if they operate as a for profit business. Most smokers would smoke a little less and pay the state tax. There is concern that if people drastically reduced tobacco use the state would loose tobacco tax money. Yes, but the state would save money spent on tobacco related problems from health issues to fire issues.
Gun Control There are, of course, certain people who should not have deadly weapons. The Constitution does allow the states to remove certain rights and privileges from convicts and mentally ill people. The vast majority of us are neither criminals nor insane. Society is much safer when honest people are armed.
Health Care There is another side of health care that somehow gets pushed aside because there is shame associated with it. That is mental health. I am not a doctor, but I do know that some people are sick in their bodies and have a certain set of symptoms. Other people are sick in their brains and have a different set of symptoms. Both groups are equally sick and in need of help. I don't understand why mental health should be considered less important. In many ways, mental health has a greater impact on society and should be considered more important. Under a different heading, I spoke about crime and punishment. I believe people of sound mind who choose to commit crimes should be held accountable, but I also know that everyone does not have a sound mind. I also know that some people fake mental illness to avoid jail. We need to find a more reliable way to evaluate people who use the insanity defense. We also need better ways to treat mentally ill people who commit crimes. Mentally ill people who don't commit crimes need at least the same level of care as physically ill people. I admit I don't have all those answers, but I do listen to advice. History is what actually happened in the past and why. It is not what would have made up feel better if it had happened. We must get our schools back to teaching real history.
Homosexuality Once upon a time we had "sodomy laws" but they proved t be unenforceable. Our best approach is to make 100% sure there is no loop hole in our marriage laws that allows civil union contracts. We must also take a hard look at the special privileges homosexuals call gay rights. Personal note: I lived in the San Francisco Bay area for six years. That is long enough to see what was going on around myself. Our current radical speaker of US House of Representatives is about average for the district she is from. We in the states need to watch our backs. That is usually thought of as a federal issue but since the federal government has proven to be a total failure on border control, the states must step up. It is the tax payers of the states who pay for the schools, medical cost and sometimes jailing of foreign invaders. We may not be able to stop Illegals from coming into the United States but we can make it of no use for them to enter our state. We can and must stop all funding for non-lifesaving services to foreign invaders in our state. We must also vigorously prosecute any employer, apartment renter or any one else who knowingly aids and abets fugitives. So far our state legislature has tried to ignore this problem. The only legislator to step forward so far is Representative Michael A Lott (House District 104) from Petal. He needs some one to stand with him on that issue and I will do just that. Personal Note: My wife is a naturalized citizen of the United States. She followed the immigration laws and learned the English Language. She does not believe someone who refused to follow the laws should have the same rights that she earned the hard way.
Pornography
Race Relations Some people who live in different types of communities might think this is an example of bad race relations. I believe most of the people who live in our community are comfortable with the way things are. I know a lot of places where things are worse. The question is what the government did to cause this type of community to develop. Other than draw school district lines, they did nothing at all. That is simply the way society develops when people are left alone.
Roadside Litter We use a very small amount of prison labor to attack the problem in certain areas, but we need to get serious. We need to add habitual polluters to the prison labor force.
State Flag
Taxes We should carefully prioritize the things the government needs to buy. At the top of the list would be things such as police protection which we must have but only the government can provide. Next would be things like roads that cause people from outside our state to bring money here. Some politicians have a "Santa Claus" list of goodies they believe we, the people, ought to pay for. Some of them are nice things to have, but could be done more easily privately. Some things actually hurt the people they are intended to help. Those things are of course at the bottom of the priority list. We should completely defund all counterproductive things, and most of the things that are nice but not necessary. That leaves only high-priority items which should be examined closely for fraud, waste, and abuse, then fully funded. All the money that is left over should be given back to the people it belongs to. The formula is simple. First, reduce spending. That will cause less need for taxes. When taxes are lowered, the economy will grow and the needs of the people, once met by government, will be met by the people. A stronger economy will increase the total amount of resources from which taxes are drawn. Even though taxes are lower, the actual amount of tax collected will increase. That increase should be used to replenish our rainy day fund. When the rainy day fund is full give the rest back. Since our state's economy has fallen into dire straights, automatic budget cuts have taken effect, but that didn't seem to help the economy. That is because we didn't set the priorities first, and there was no corresponding tax cut. State tax is not the only source of our state government's money. Some of it comes from the federal government. The federal government taxes people in the states, then gives some of our money back to the states. Some people say we should try to get back as much of our money as we can, but I would rather not lose it in the first place. Most of the federal money comes back with strings attached. We can have our money if we do this or that. Most of it requires matching funds. Some federal money funds programs that are counterproductive to our own needs. Even though it really should be our money, we should be very careful when we reach into the cookie jar. I said earlier that we should first cut spending, then taxes, but the formula still works if we cut taxes first or do them together. The question now is which of our many taxes we cut first. The answer is that I don't care. All taxes are too high. I have some thoughts on which taxes are the biggest drag on the economy, but I don't want to waste time bickering over which ones to cut and end up cutting none. I will support lowering any tax.
Term Limits Another career protection technique involves selling favors to donors. Most politicians make great headlines hollering against obvious quid pro quo situations, but that is just part of the illusion. The payoff usually comes at a different time and for a different stated reason. Most money goes threw laundered sources. A lobbyist will often support a puppet belonging to another lobbyist with the agreement that he in turn supports his puppet. Most voters don't understand that some payoffs do not have measurable material value. The endorsement of certain "good buddies" is usually worth more. Another way incumbents grab attention is by pointing boney fingers at other politicians who campaign at taxpayers' expense. They make a big show out of sending out mailings with the statement "Not at taxpayers' expense" printed on the envelope. Those same politicians often fabricate the need to send out official government notices with their own names on them. I even know a county agent who had his phone number added to a list of frequently called and emergence numbers. I do not know of a single elected county sheriff in our state who does not have his name painted on county owned cars. Look at bridges and public buildings all over the state and you will find that many were built as monuments to incumbent politicians. There is obviously a huge amount of tax money spent to create needs so career politicians can be seen filing them. The best way to prevent them from doing that is to stop politics from being a career. There was a great public outcry which forced some changes in campaign finance laws, but it was incumbents who wrote the laws to govern themselves. All they did was limited the free speech of challengers, and created another illusion. The only way to prevent terms of service from turning into full time jobs and full time jobs into careers is with term limits, especially for legislators. I have greatly studied this issue and I believe the best way is not to limit the total number of terms a person can serve in the same position. The total number of terms is not the problem. The problem is consecutive terms. No legislator or county supervisor should ever have more that two consecutive terms.
Tort Reform (Lawsuit Abuse) I am not a member of the ACLU or any bar association.
Tourism
Voter Fraud The war we are currently in is not popular, but we have never in the history of this nation fought a war that was popular. During the war of independence from England there were many colonists who were loyal to the King and many in England who wanted to cut the rebels loose. The second world war never became seen as a just cause until the fourth quarter (After December 7, 1941). The first three quarters of the war was usually called "over there". As many of you know, I joined the Mississippi Air National Guard while Jimmy Carter occupied the White House, and I served for 24 years including many long and short deployments and four consecutive years of active duty. My teenage daughter is currently serving on active duty in the Air Force. I see the war on terror as necessary for the survival of our nation but I have some major disagreements about the way it is being fought. Someday I might write a large book about terror starting with the hostage crises in Iran during the Carter years, but I will not attempt it in this web page. All I will do here is talk about what the state of Mississippi must do. The first thing is to prepare for disasters. That includes both natural disasters and those caused by our enemies. We cannot depend on rapid response from FEMA. We must stockpile our own recourses. We must make our own action plans. We must train our own first responders and our own follow up responders. We must get our own health care system in order. We must put generators at our own water wells. That is a tall order but it can and must be done. We must get a handle on illegal immigration. It is more than just a burden on our legal and health care systems. It also leaves our door open to terrorists. We must recognize the fact that national guard and reserve members are major parts of our civilian communities but are also parts of the military. We tend to be poorly prepared for their absence when they are needed for duty. Several law enforcement agencies, especially the highway patrol, are badly under staffed. Several civilian companies do not understand either their legal responsibilities or their patriotic duty to our national guard members. That must be corrected.
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This is just a sample of the issues that
face our state. As time goes on I will add more issues!
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