I’m 36, married, 5 4 cats (we lost one in early 2007), 11 0 pet rats (the family has moved on to that big nest in the sky), 6 computers, three TiVos and an Xbox 360.  I own three iPods.  Right now I have three (why always three?) digital cameras, but my pride & joy is the Nikon D70.  You can see my flickr photostream here

For the record: I’m not rich, I don’t worship Bush, I don’t give to the RNC.  Moore did not get us insurance when we couldn’t get it ourselves (we already had it), nor did he save my wife’s life.  I did thank him, a number of times.  Moving on.

My Manifesto

I am a registered Republican.  I do not believe all the tenets of the Republican party.  I feel they are closer to my point of view than the Democrats, kind-of.  (Since that was written three years ago, I have since decided that I am not a Republican, and that no party accurately represents what I hold dear.  I am not registered at this time.)

As a subset of the first point, I do not support George W. Bush in most anything he does, especially domestically.  In fact I kind of hate and fear him.  Or rather, fear what he’s done to consolidate power into the office of the Presidency.

I believe the war in Iraq was never about oil, but rather an attempt to establish a base of operations in the Middle East for future strikes against the countries that sponsor terrorism.  The plan was conceived by people with no clear concept on how to maintain the peace.  It was led by a man who is easily led by those around him.  It has been bungled beyond all belief, even though our men and women in uniform have done amazing things to keep pushing forward toward a victory.  In short, I blame George W. Bush and Donald Rumsfeld for the current state of things.

I believe the war in Afghanistan was diluted by moving too quickly into Iraq.  We are now in a lot of trouble in the ‘Stan and we don’t have the political capital or military resources to do it right.  Again, , I blame George W. Bush and Donald Rumsfeld for the current state of things.

I believe in the least amount of laws possible in order to maintain a civil society.

I believe that health care in America should be a private industry, as the government cannot be trusted not to abuse the power a single-payer system would give them over our lives.  I’d rather die four years earlier than have the government tell me what to do in yet another area of my daily life.  This country used to be about freedom, liberty and the risks that come with those ideals.  If we’re all willing to step away from government and do more things privately, we can be that way again.

I believe in freedom and liberty, and to that end, I support the least amount of federal government it is possible to have.  I don’t trust the government to run a single-payer health system, and I don’t think anyone else should either.  Governments are good at taxing, building roads and war.  Everything else we can do for ourselves or help each other without the federal government taking over.  We have city and state governments for a reason, and that is something Americans have forgotten.

I do not listen to Rush Limbaugh.  EVER.  Nor do I listen to or watch Sean Hannity or Bill O’Reily or Fox News or any conservative talk radio.  I don’t watch ANY television news.  I find it banal, inflammatory, ridiculously biased and often sloppy.

I read.  A lot.  I read more news sites and blogs in a day than most people read in a week.  I use two different sources to gather news, an aggregator and a subscription to a news service.  I see tens, dozens, often hundreds of different versions of popular stories, from every perspective imaginable.

I believe in the inalienable right of gay people to be married, of the state to execute capital murderers, of a woman’s right to choose and in the separation of church and state as a guiding principle to governing the people.

I believe the Bill of Rights is the most important document in American history, maybe superseding the main body of the Constitution itself.  I actively support ALL ten amendments in the Bill of Rights.

I believe that people are primarily responsible for their own destiny.

I belong to the EFF and the NRA.  I believe in the basic mission of both organizations.

I believe that people have a right to be safe from physical harm, and they have the right to defend themselves with deadly force if they feel their life is threatened.

I believe the money I earn should be mine, and that taxation should be as small as possible, and the federal government should be as small as possible.

I believe that the free market can handle almost anything with a minimum of interference from the government.  I think that government’s role should be reduced to nothing more than policing criminal behavior, protecting the borders, defending the nation and building infrastructure.

I never met a tax cut I didn’t like.  Milton Friedman was a genius.