I’ve heard several people now say that they’re leaning towards Ron Paul, so I thought I’d make a special post about him.

Ron Paul is a Libertarian at heart, so it helps to understand the beliefs of the Libertarian party. Much of what he says about smaller government sounds great, but there are a few looney things that over the years have kept the Libertarian party a meaningless third party. Below are a few of those things that Ron Paul ascribes to.

1) He’s anti-death penalty, but most Republicans are the opposite. Surprisingly he’s pro-life which isn’t a given for Libertarians, but from what I can tell Paul is coming from a Christian background. He’s mixed some of his Libertarian values and his Christian values, and that has led to his own special version of being a Republican.

2) He’s anti-drug laws. He’s made some crazy statements that the war on drugs is keeping down the black man in the inner-city.

3) He doesn’t understand the danger of Militant Islam. A woman in the Sudan was being threatened with death for a Teddy Bear named Mohammad. What does that have to do with us “meddling” in foreign affairs as Ron Paul likes to say? What about when Iraq attacked Kuwait in the first Gulf War? According to Ron Paul since we weren’t threatened, then it’s not our fight. You know what, just forget that whole peace through strength thing. It’s better to just sit on our thumbs and get attacked first, and then we can worry about protecting ourselves.

If you’re a pacifist then this whole discussion is probably lost on you, but go read some of Paul’s comments. He says some looney things.

Overall I love what he has to say about limited government, and that’s the best thing the Libertarian party has going for it. Unfortunately for me, the other crackpot beliefs far outweigh my desire for a more limited government. Not to mention there isn’t a chance in heck he could win the national election. I also don’t understand how people like BOTH Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee. Paul is a limited government person, and Huckabee sounds like a big government Republican like Bush.

I think Thompson has the right stance on a lot of issues, and he might be the most conservative at his core, but he’s too late to the party, and he’s not dynamic enough to win the nomination or a general election. Giuliani is top notch on everything except social issues, which I might be able to live with if it means no Hillary or Obama. For now Romney is my favorite.

Prop 83 - Sex Offenders. Sexually Violent Predators. Punishment, Residence Restrictions and Monitoring. Initiative Statute

My Summary: Sex offenders currently have to register with authorities and live between a quarter and a half-mile from a school. This law would expand the definition of some sexual offense felonies. Sexual offense felonies are more serious like rape and molestation, while a misdemeanor would be more like distributing lewd sexual materials. This law would require sex offenders guilty of a felony to wear a GPS tracking unit for the rest of their life and are barred from living within a minimum of 2000 ft of a school.

My Opinion: I have ZERO tolerance for law breakers. We don’t use the death penalty enough and we need to double the number of jails we have. That being said, the punishment against sex offenders couldn’t be strong enough. I think the living within a certain distance of a school is kinda lame, as if a person can’t walk to a school. The GPS costs are supposed to be offset by the criminal "if they are able to pay," haha. The added costs from keeping the scum of society away from the rest of us is well worth it.

Bottom Line: If you’re a pervert, say hello to an ankle bracelet.

I am voting YES on Prop 83.

2006 California Election Page

I’m tired but feel like posting something. Here’s a small sample of the idiocy of late:

• Rosie O’Donnell thinks "radical Christianity" is just as dangerous as "radical Islam." Nevermind that six Muslim nations officially carry the death penalty for homosexuals. Even more saddening is the reaction from the crowd. What the crap are you clapping for idiots? I have failed to notice the Christian suicide bombers around the world threatening to kill anyone who does not convert.

• The Pope points out the violent nature of Islam, to which many Muslims get violent about. Could he have been more right?

• Gas prices go up: life is bad. Gas prices go down: life is good. Consumers too idiotic to objectively judge their current happiness: par for the course.

• On the new Survivor contestants are split by race, and some feel the need to "represent" their race. I don’t care what color you are, you don’t represent anyone but yourself. Just shut up with the awareness for miniorities BS and get past the color of your skin. When you say "I’m proud to be a minority" and constantly invoke the color of your skin, eventually you will become the racist, not the people willing to accept you for your qualities as a human being.

• Arnold seems confused lately. First he raises the minimum wage to $8 by 2008. Minimum wage should be outlawed you socialist! Has he never been to the Subway at Florence and Paramount? The people there are way overpaid, thus proving why minimum wage is such a stupid idea (not to mention the economic forces like incentives that people don’t need when they get paid more just for being idiots). Now he’s signed a bill that makes using a cell phone in the car illegal. Why is this stupid you might ask? I think it’s a good idea, but the dumb bill doesn’t go into effect until 2008 (uhh, how about now?), and even then the first offense fine is only $20! It goes up to $50 after that, but who on earth is going to be deterred by a $20 fine? It’s not even worth the police officer’s time to pull someone over for a $20 fine. Some smart moves Arnold.

• Finally, if you haven’t heard, church let John go this last week. If it’s not public knowledge it will be in a couple days. I’m confused by this move, as if the music is the greatest concern church leadership feels needed to be dealt with. There is so much more I’d like to say about this, but I will bite my tongue.

Thank you for letting me vent about all the idiocy going on lately. I’m sure there is more, but that’s all I have for now. So now it’s your turn. Anyone want to get pissed at me for not liking minimum wage, sticking up for a Catholic, calling Arnold a socialist (and making it sound bad, because it is), insulting the intelligence of the average citizen, pointing out that minority status does not make you immune to being a racist, or finally for bashing church leadership?

I’ll go way out on a limb and assume that it was a pacifist on the jury that let Moussaoui live. All it took was one person on the jury to say "no" to the death penalty for him to get off. It’s not surprising that there was at least one person on the jury who thinks this scum should still be breathing. You know the type of person I’m talking about, someone who under no circumstances would consider the killing of a human justified.

Get a frickin’ backbone people.

Update: I thought I should also add that I know practically nothing about this case. All I know is that he’s the only person we’ve caught connected to 9/11. Even if this guy did nothing more than book a hotel for the terrorists on the planes, I say you gotta kill this guy.