There can be no doubt as to the meaning of the second amendment. Thomas Jefferson wrote, "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." He also quoted Cesare Beccaria when he wrote, "Laws that forbid the carrying of arms..disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed one." One last quote is from George Washington where he said, "The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference - they deserve a place of honor with all that's good."

Health care has been debated by both the government and the media for more years than anyone cares to remember. Nothing ever seems to get done, but what is currently being proposed in Congress is worse than nothing. When was the last time the government made something more effective, efficient, and user friendly than the private sector? Government programs always exceed their budgets. For instance, in 1967 the House Ways and Means Committee predicted that the new Medicare program, launched the previous year, would cost $12 billion in 1990. However, actual Medicare spending in 1990 was $110 billion. That is 10 times higher than the original estimate (Joint Economic Committee). We can find examples of this in every facet of government spending. Giving the government control over health care, an industry that is one sixth of the economy, is a disaster waiting to happen.

I can tell you that I am 100% Pro-Life. As to why I did not address this issue on my website initially, I hope I can explain it in a reasonable manner. I did not address abortion because both sides of the issue seem to use it to excite their base supporters. They either say if you don't vote for me unborn children will be murdered, or if you don't vote for me your right to choose will be taken away. Unfortunately, both sides know that they will not have to live up to anything they say because the abortion issue is squarely in the realm of the judiciary. Until we can change the make-up of the Supreme Court, there will be little we can do to change the current law.  I did not want to make empty promises to people just to get their votes.  I would rather be completely honest with each of you.

There has been a lot of talk in Washington about how "free trade" would bring even greater prosperity to this country, but it has only served to undermine our industries and our economy. Every study has shown that the workers of the U.S. are the most productive workers in the world, yet jobs disappear by the thousands and end up in foreign countries around the globe. How can the country with the most productive workers be losing jobs to less productive workers? “Free trade" agreements are undermining our economy.

It is time that the United States discontinues the idea of policing the world. We have military bases throughout the world in more than 35 different countries at over 700 sites. There are over 150,000 military personnel, 20,000 U.S. civilians, and 70,000 foreign civilians employed at these sites. None of these numbers include the bases and personnel deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan.

James Madison wrote, "When we are considering the advantages that may result from an easy mode of naturalization, we ought also to consider the cautions necessary to guard against abuses … aliens might acquire the right of citizenship, and return to the country from which they came, and evade the laws intended to encourage the commerce and industry of the real citizens and inhabitants of America, enjoying at the same time all the advantages of citizens…"

As a nation, we obviously need energy. The best method for securing this energy is to promote a free market. We need ingenuity and efficiency, and these things are never associated with government management. Private property rights should be respected, and the federal government should not interfere with the development of potential energy sources, including natural gas, hydroelectric power, solar energy, wind generators, and nuclear energy.

Most of us now know that the Federal Reserve sets the interest rates for this country, but few know anything more than this. The Federal Reserve was established in 1913 to provide the country with a stable monetary and financial system. Since that time the Federal Reserve has grown in power. The Federal Reserve has little to no oversight in their decisions. They are not accountable for who they lend to, what the terms of the loan are, or what impact it will have on the economy.

Everybody can agree that the best education starts in the home and local community. The federal government has once again overstepped its constitutional authority by establishing the Department of Education. This effectively takes control of schools away from the parents and local community, and places it in the hands of an inept and corrupt bureaucracy. This past year the Department of Education was allocated over 72 billion dollars of funding, and test scores are continually abysmal.

Federalism under the Constitution was a system in which the sovereign states granted certain enumerated powers (Art. 1, sec. 8, para. 1-17) to a central government but retained all other powers to themselves. What is called federalism today is simply nationalism. Today the central government pretends to be the sovereign, and all the states go along with the pretense in order to get the money which the central government hands out. The central government today is playing the role of the sovereign it was never intended to be. Our founders specifically warned us of this danger. Thomas Jefferson wrote, "Most bad government has grown out of too much government." George Washington said, "Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." Those words have never been more true than today.  

It is a travesty that the United States finds itself in the condition that it is in. Our debts are so large there is almost no end in sight. The country's debt is well over 12 trillion (a number so large we really cannot comprehend it). However, that is only part of the picture. If all the unfunded liabilities like social security, Medicare and Medicaid are included; our debt is over 106 trillion dollars! Even if we would not add another program, by 2050 those three programs alone will consume nearly the entire federal budget. Yet we have passed TARP, a stimulus bill, and we are considering adding untold trillions with a government run health care option.

The federal government this past year passed a $787 billion stimulus bill. This bill was designed to help the economy recover and create jobs. However, what happens next year when the funding for those jobs created is no longer there? Those people will once again be unemployed, and we will be in the same situation that we find ourselves now. That is why the government should not be in the business of job creation.

Hate crime legislation is one of the worst laws passed by our federal government. There are countless problems associated with the implementation and enforcement of hate crime laws. First of all, the authorities have to determine a person's intent instead of just the crime itself. In all honesty a person's true intent can never be known for sure unless they tell us, but even then, we are taking a criminal's word for why they committed the crime. Secondly, we already punish a person for the crime that they commit. To think that having additional laws based on intent would do anything to stop a person from committing a crime is absurd. Finally, giving the government the power to trump local authorities in criminal matters is once again unconstitutional.

This year there were countless town-hall meetings held around the country for discussions of health care. However, some of our representatives refused to have any town-halls. They remarked that the town-hall meetings were unproductive and full of angry individuals. They did not take into account that their constituents had not been heard for so long that their anger was boiling over. The majority of individuals were against the passage of TARP and the stimulus, but nobody would listen to them. Therefore when the chance to meet directly with their representatives over the legislation of health care came about, they were ready to let the legislators know how they felt.