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Questionnaire from Wisconsin College Students
International Affairs
What are the candidate’s views on the actions President Bush has taken in Iraq?
Cost of the War in Iraq 400 billion and growing. We went there to find weapons of mass destruction and to kill the evil Saddam Hussein, We bombed and destroyed the entire country. Saddam is still alive, no weapons have been found, Bush now wants another 100 billion or so just for next year and he only thinks it will take another five years to bring about a democratic self sustaining government. We paid an Iraq citizen 30 million dollars for turning in Saddam's sons.The war in Iraq is costing $3.9 billion a month, as opposed to the $2 billion a month that the Pentagon had originally estimated, its now said that it's going to take five or more years as opposed to the 60 day miracle war that Bush sold us...
Meanwhile back home, the federal, state and city budget deficits are soaring.The continuing war in Afghanistan is costing almost a billion a month. We went there to find and Kill Bin Laden. Blew up the entire country, toppled the government and never found the man. Troops to stay 5 to ten years?
That makes almost $5 billion a month for the two. And, no rational planner has yet been able to put forward a credible possible end-date for either enterprise.
Can you imagine how different the country and the world would be today if Bush had spent this same amount of money to foster economic growth at home?
What are the candidate's views on military funding?
Only in defense of the of the country and not beyond our shores and borders.What will the candidate do to ensure that military actions taken will not be pre-emptive?
Only the president or Puppets named George Bush are allowed to make a pre-emptive strikes at foreign countries, I would not support or sign off on a pre-emptive strike...
Is the money that is currently invested in the national security really necessary?
NoHow much do we need?
Half or less of current if we bring US troops home to protect US.Can we put the money to other uses, such as education or poverty?
YesWorking Conditions
What actions will the candidate take to decrease the required weekly work hours?
Change the 40 hour work week to 36 hoursWhat actions will the candidate take in order to increase the pay for overtime work?
None, a raise in overtime would only result in hours being cut from those who may need them.What actions will the candidate take in order to increase the minimum number of mandatory paid vacations?
NoneWeapons
What are the candidate’s views on personal gun possession?
If we take guns away from lawful citizens, only outlaws and police will have guns...What are the candidate’s views on gun rights in general?
Guns are dangerous tools, like automobiles and should be registered. Owners should be trained in proper use and safety.Environmental Issues
What actions does the candidate plan to take in order to slow/attempt to stop the process known as global warming?
Serious promotion of people/solar/alternative/hybrid powered cars. Particularly in cities and flat areas where they will implement the easiest.
What does the candidate plan to do about the California energy crisis?
Promote Hydro/ wind/ solar /geothermic/ how about just using less electricityHow does the candidate plan to prevent urban sprawl, which in many cases results in the destruction of a prime farming land?
Support of urban renewal, a great deal of our land is being occupied by dead factories, dead strip malls and ghettos.
What does the candidate plan to do to promote the manufacturing of gas-electric or fully electric cars?
Tax credits for users of alternative energy vehicles.What steps does the candidate plan to take in order to decrease the usage of natural resources?
Full support of Recycling as well as Hydro/ wind/ solar /geothermic power.How does the candidate plan to decrease the cost of health care for all citizens?
Law suit limitations, allow imported prescription drugs and shorter patents on life saving drugs and procedures .
Education
What steps does the candidate plan to take in order to increase the amount of funding for educational institutions?
We could all do what our representatives in D.C. do, when faced with some of the worse schools in the country, send our children to private schools. We could also embrace home schooling. Of course the only way to provide equal education, would be for the country to have one teacher for each subject and one book for each subject. Technology gives us this option, through the internet or television, but is it really practical? Are the American people ready to accept that 90% of the knowledge that those degrees represent is available free on the internet? and all you have to do is know how to read...
The Republicans are trying to blame the current situation on the Clinton/Gore years, but it is obvious that the real problems grew immensely when the federal government started to chip away at school funds to build more prisons ie: Reagan/Bush years. The Democrats are current touting the nineties as the growth years of education, because
now 90% + of high school graduates now go on to college. Is this good?
People are graduating from college who can't read, make change for a dollar or even calculate taxes in their head. So now we have College grads who don't have the education that I had when I finished sixth grade. Is this what we deserve for $40,000 education? Those same grads are expecting $50,000 a year jobs for their worthless piece of paper... Around 50% of the current jobs in this country are still in Food Service ie: at or near minimum wage. People are going $40,000 in debt before they start their adult life and having to work 2 or 3 jobs just to get by... Now instead of two income families we have four income families who still can't get by, and have no time to teach their children basic math and reading skills, the cycle continues and there is no end in sight.
Solutions
#1. No child should be allowed past fourth grade without the ability to read and reason out words and meanings.
#2. No child should be allowed to pass sixth grade, without demonstrating the four basic math skills addition subtraction, multiplication and division.
#3. College entrance should be made much much harder, anyone who is not in the top 40% of their class should be excluded from college and start their working career earlier without the debt$ of a useless education.
#4. School funding and teacher shortages, can be solved over a two or three year period. If we bring our education standards up to the rest of the industrial world's, we should have our children prepared to graduate by tenth grade. This could be accomplished by doubling up first and second grade teachings into first grade and third and fourth grade into second grade teaching. These early years are the peak years for curiosity and learning. By moving each grade back two years we have high school graduation at 16, when minds turn to other things. By eliminating two entire grades, we automatically cut the cost of high school in half....
#5. Exclude from college anyone under 18, this will give high school grads a chance to work, or explore self education and decide just exactly what they may want to do with their lives.What steps does the candidate plan to take in order to make post-secondary education more financially affordable?
Grants and loans for those deserving...How does the candidate feel about the low wages we provide for the teachers that educate our future generations?
Not as bad as he feels for those working in restaurants for half of minimum wage.How does the candidate plan to adjust the way in which the success of schools is measured?
Ask graduates if they can make change for a dollar and calculate taxes in their heads.Social Security
How does the candidate plan to ensure that the younger generation will receive benefits of social security?
Replace SS with a working plan.What are the candidate’s views on the Patriot Act?
Big Brother stomping on the personal rights that we the people cherish.Will the candidate take any steps toward changing the Patriot Act?
Repeal, burn throw awayWhat will the candidate do to prevent the abuse of foreign workers that
allows big business to maintain prices while paying workers less and less money?Ah Capitalism, what should we do about it?
It's pretty much up to the consumers to support the companies that support the American people and the American economy. What I would not do is give tax cuts and corporate welfare to those companies that chose to hire overseas...What is the candidate’s stance on the issue of abortion?
If I were in the situation where a woman was carrying my child I would do everything in my power to protect that child. If said women, wanted to abort this child, I would do everything in my power to convince her to have the child and raise it myself. My spirit tells me it is the right thing to do. My spirit also tells me that if women were being forced to have abortions. That I would certainly take to the streets in outrage.
My real point is the problem has been solved, Roe vrs Wade. Settled, those who would like to kill their offspring can,(up to 14 weeks) and those of us who don't can believe that they and their doctors will burn in hell for all eternity. Seems like a fair compromise to me. I remember a famous spokesperson once said no compromise is a good compromise unless all parties are pissed off at the outcome...
So Abortion is here to stay, it will not go away, laws can't and won't stop it. Now that the question has been settled, what can anti-abortionists do to reduce the number of abortions being preformed?
Is the ritual extraction of a fetus the problem or is it something else?
How about condoning safe sex or abstinence?
How about fighting date rape drugs?
How about adopting unwanted children?
How about supporting RU-486 as the morning after cure?
How about banning inter-womb surgeries?
Abortion will go away if the need for it goes away...
for more see abort.htmWhat steps does the candidate plan to take to allow for same-sex marriages?
Government need take no steps to allow for religious ceremonies.Taxes
How does the candidate plan to cut the tax deficit?
Says the Republican questioner...
Cut government waste, pork projects. Cut spending not raise taxes.
WelfareWhat views does the candidate have on welfare?
Support long term programs to get people off welfare and stay off.How beneficial are the welfare-to-work programs that keep parents away from
their children, while paying near-minimum wage salaries?
Economically beneficial, socially disastrous.What will the candidate do to change this system?
Raise minimum wage.Alcohol and other Drugs
What are the candidate’s views on marijuana as a medical drug?
Marijuana has been a medicine a lot longer than the USA has been a country...What position does the candidate take on the legalization of marijuana for the general public?
As a long time Activist in the the legalization my position is clear and posted at
http://webstation19.itgo.com/policy.htmWhat am I recommending?
Drop the "zero tolerance" baloney and the unrealistic goal of a drug free society. Accept that drug use is here to stay, and accept that marijuana is an herb, no different than saffron or st John's wort. or at least available the way we have alcohol and cigarettes.
More specifically, I'm recommending:My Minimum Acceptable Marijuana Policy
The Minimum Acceptable Marijuana Policy would have to meet ALL of the following criteria:
Makes it legal for any person any age to possess and use Marijuana with permission and / or prescription of their personal physician.
Specifically prohibits the use of marijuana before or while driving, in public areas, restaurants, offices and workplaces.
Makes it legal for any person 18 years or older to smoke marijuana for medicinal or recreational use in the confines of their own home or in designated Clubs.
Makes it legal to smoke outdoors only with permission or by policy of the property owners, out of sight of those who would / could object.Makes it legal for persons 18 years of age or older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana anywhere anytime period.
Allows for not more than a 10% tax and or users fee for State and not more than 10% for the federal Government.
Makes it legal to grow Marijuana for any and all industrial uses from rope to biomass and for any person 18 years of age or more to grow up to 24 plants per person on private property for personal and or family / household use.
Also
* that doctors be allowed and encouraged to prescribe whatever drugs or herbs that work best, notwithstanding the demonized status of some drugs in the eyes of the law, because Doctors and their patients are best qualified to decide what is medicine not lawyers in Washington D.C..
* that people not be incarcerated for possessing small amounts of any drug for personal use. But also that people who put their fellow citizens at risk by driving while impaired be treated strictly and punished accordingly;
* that employers reject drug testing because they reveal nothing about whether people are impaired in the workplace, but what they have done on their own time over the weekend;
* We step up our efforts to provide honest and effective drug education rather than propaganda programs like DARE.
This is a call for a fundamentally different drug policy. It's not legalization, it's a matter of spending more on treatment and prevention and less on interdiction and enforcement.
Some call it "harm reduction" an approach that aims to reduce the negative consequences of both drug use and drug prohibition.What steps would the candidate take toward lowering the legal drinking age?
The candidate believes that there exists a constitutionally guarantee of equal treatment to those 18 years of age and over, and further asserts that the denial of any legal substance to those 18-21 is a violation of that basic right.
If this is not the case, I would pass any law to correct this problem (Flaw in our Government)
