Personal Information

Zygotes, embryos, and fetuses are human beings and are alive. Thus they deserve full protection under natural and civil law. The only exception is in the extremely rare case, where the mother's life is at risk. As the fetus puts the mother's life at risk, she has a right to protect herself and abort the pregnancy. While I support the death penalty for rape, I do not believe that it is a fetus who should be killed, but the assailant. Thus I do not support any exemption for rape or incest in principle, although I do support the exemption in law.

The right to life of adults and children are now increasingly under attack. While I feel for anyone with a terminal illness in enough pain to wish for death, I fear a society that turns its caregivers into bearers of death. All to quickly the option of euthanasia will become the responsibility and involuntary euthanasia for the feeble of mind will become the norm.

The right to life does have limits. Those who murder others, order such killings, or commit similarly heinous crimes forfeit this right. There is no contradiction between protecting life and killing murderers. Proper respect for life mandates that we see innocent and guilty as separate and punish those who have killed the innocent. Prudence dictates that we do so carefully. While all miscarriages of justice are damaging, that an innocent be put to death, while the guilty walks free is, would be damning. All reasonable steps, regardless of the cost, must be taken to ensure the guilt of those on death row.

I strongly support property rights. No person, group of people, or government has a right to appropriate or regulate property without just compensation at market value. Anything else is stealing, regardless of civil law. Moreover, the arbitrary use of Eminent Domain laws, even if owners are paid, is inherently tyrannical.

I support the absolute right of adults to defend their natural rights from individuals or the government. In order to defend their rights, people have the right to any small arm (handgun or rifle). A century of totalitarian governments shown the danger of allowing the government to monopolize weapons. The "shot heard 'round the world" occurred when the British tried to steal weapons from the free citizens of the colonies. The Patriots understood the role of guns in a free society and enshrined it in the Second Amendment. I also support conceal and carry laws, allowing registered citizens to carry concealed weapons. This has led to public and private safety.

I support free trade between free nations. People have the right to trade and to purchase items free of government intervention. Free trade has always led to higher productivity and competitive advantage, although the dislocations caused by the concurrent creative destruction cannot be ignored. The preference that trade should be free does not extend to non-free nations as government interference is implicit. Moreover, our current system where foreign trade and investments are subsidized by the government must end. It is immoral to have the benefits of foreign investments protected at the risk of the public expense when investments in unstable countries falter or are nationalized. Moreover, this does not mean that this country should not put restrictions on trade for security purposes. Protecting vital industries through tariffs and blocking trade with hostile regimes is more important than having American consumers pay $.50 less for a widget.

While I believe in limited government, I believe that we have a moral responsibility to spread our liberties through out the world and to promote natural rights in all countries. Supporting freedom will benefit us in the long term, but should not be promoted in place of our current national interest. We should act as a beacon of liberty and a protector of free allies. The Jacobin/Jeffersonian/Wilsonian idea of spreading Democracy through warfare is counterproductive and undermines our values.

I believe that a country is based not only on laws but also on a culture. No governing system is independent of the values of its citizens. In keeping with the ideas of the founders, we believe that only a virtuous country can remain free. The United States was founded by men who shared a common British heritage and Protestant values. This culture of liberty has been the thread that has held us together and has kept us from the fate of other Republics. The loss of these ideals virtues through a failure to transmit these to posterity and to assimilate immigrants is an existential threat to the United States greater than that of any foreign power. Our education and immigration policies must suit the needs of this nation and our posterity, not those of special interests.

Though I support universal rights and free trade of products, ideas, and services, I believe that sovereignty must be protected. For freedom to mean anything, we must allow peoples to chose their own paths. Supranational government, lacking all dependence on the people, is a threat to freedom everywhere. The UN was founded by agreement between socialists and communists from the US, socialist representatives of the British Empire, and Stalin's minions. It is time that it is dissolved or the US leaves so that the freedom of Americans is maintained.