What I believe and Why I believe that way
 

This gives you some insight into what I believe and why I believe.

Yes to the Death Penalty: However I would not be opposed getting rid of the death penalty so long as something like hard labor were instituted. And I mean, hard, tortuous labor. Banging rocks every day for the rest of their life til they fall over and die seems suitable, but that'll never happen.

Yes to term limits - I understand the concept of seniority and having someone in a position of power that can represent your state, but I just don't agree with the lifetime politican. Orrin Hatch might've been a good friend of my Dad while they were at the University of Pittsburgh together and may have bailed my Dad out of jail once, but good grief Orrin...enough is enough.

No to legalizing drugs like Marijuana. Every side can site every study in the world til their blue in the face, but there's something inside of me that tells me this is just wrong. Yeah I know...it's a gut feeling but that's how I feel.

No to raising taxes excepting in rare instances. For example, I voted yes on a tax increase here locally in Utah that is supposed to be going towards traffic and road constructioin and the expansion of commuter rail lines.

No to socialized medicine. In fact a big fat Hell no to that. I could do an entire section on why I feel this way, but I digress.

I think the ACLU is Satan incarnate. The epitomy of wolf in sheep's clothing. Pretending to be the protector of Civil Rights under the guise of extreme liberal leanings. I really feel they've done more harm than good.

I mostly vote for the Republican candidate, but from time to time have voted for a Democrat or Independent. For example: My cousin Derek Smith ran against Jim Matheson for the 2nd Congressional Seat at the turn of the Century. At first I was heavily involved in the Smith campaign after he beat out incumbent Merrill Cook in the Republican primary. After seeing up close what Derek was really like I became very dis-enfranchised with the way he treated people and how robot like he was. It was almost like he was built in a Republican laboratory somewhere with no personality and wouldn't hesistate to cut your throat if he knew it would give him the upper hand. During the many debates I attended, political functions I was at, I was behind the scenes and had many opportunities to also interact with Matheson. I stopped volunteering my time to the Smith campaign and ended up voting for the Democrat Jim Matheson, even though there were some issues that he and I vehemently disagreed on. He seemed like a high quality guy compared to Smith.

I'm strongly anti-abortion: I've read too much and seen to much to believe that this practice isn't anything short of vile and lacking anything remotely approaching human. The only time I would understand it is in cases of incest and rape, or if the Mother's life is in danger. I'm not in support of it simply because one chooses to act irresponsibly. In my mind and my opinion it is flat out murder of a human being, and I've heard the "the embryo" discussion ad nauseum. Abortion performed in the final 2/3-trimester are especially disgusting. In interviewing a couple of different women for baptism while an LDS missionary...2 of them had an abortions, one of them more than once, and the pain an anguish I saw and felt from them was incredible. The regret was almost too much for them to bear, (they told me that)..I felt so bad for them and wished I could help them. Also, my ex-wife had an abortion behind my back when we were married. To this day I can't honestly say if it was my child or not, because she has numerous affairs, but I've got strong reasons and feelings for why I'm anti-abortion.

Euthanasia: Wow, this is a tricky one for me. I don't feel it's the duty of human beings to substitute themselves as the role of God and decide when it's someone's time to die. On the other hand I understand the compassion side of it, and were my mother, father, or family member suffering needlessly and their desire was to have us pull the plug if death was a 100% inevitable certainty,,,I would respect their wishes. This may sound lame to some, but there have been instances where I've been involved or been in the room when a Priesthood blessing was given, asking that person suffering to be released from their mortal life, and in every instance within a few days or less that person has been alleviated of their suffering and passed on. I'll admit this is a very grey issue for me. Having said that I'm not for stamp n go Euthanasia like the whackjob Kevorkian was for and practiced.

More Dollars for Education: I think it's utterly disgusting that Utah is #50 in the Country for dollars spent per child on education, and admittedly the Republicans are completely to blame for that. There's just no excuse for it, given the incredible the budget surpluses the state has had over the past several years. Ironically though Utah students typically score in the top %'s of the country, so that's an interesting thing to look at and wonder why given the lack of spending.

Taxes for Funding Stadiums/Arenas: As big of a Sports freak I am my answer to this is no and hell no. I don't think Tax Dollars should ever go to building teams arenas/stadiums. These owners can get together a group of investors to make a bid and buy these franchises, but yet that can't pool the same or similar kind of resources to build an arena? Sorry, I just don't believe it.

Why I'm a BYU fan: I grew up in a BYU house. I'm the product of a zoobie marriage. I was 8 years old when the Ainge full court play against Notre Dame happened and when The Miracle Bowl with Jim McMahon happened. We had season tickets when the newly remodeled stadium opened in a loss to Air Force in 39-38 in 1982. I've been a hardcore BYU fan ever since.

lol...no surprise to many and the Yewt fans I'm sure. ;) My Mom and Dad met at BYU in the 50's. They were engaged 30 days after they met and were married several months later. They had 2 children in Provo, then moved to Pittsburgh so my Dad could attend Graduate School and had 2 more kids. Then moved to Cincinnati where my Dad worked in City Government. They had 3 more there,,,,including me. Then moved to Walnut Creek, CA where my Dad worked for Cal-Berkeley. Yes my Dad, the Ultra-Conservative Mormon was a Professor at one of the more liberal universities in the country during the 70's. They had 1 more child a week before moving the family to Utah.

I don't know why I just wrote all that. I guess maybe to give you all more of an insight into who I am and why I believe the way I do. I'm also bored and just waiting for an appointment to go see the Bishop. Sundays SUCK when you're single. They go on forever and you get lonely and bored.

I'm interested in hearing more about Hatch bailing your Dad of jail. ;)

Nice insight as to what makes you tick.

So this is the blueprint of an asshole?

JK rocky, i agree with you on most of this stuff, but i am not single so sundays are not boring, so i wont go on and on with my take on this stuff right now.

That actually looks more like this: *

My husband calls Sunday afternoons the long dark teatime of the soul. Which I think he borrowed from the Hitch-hiker's Guide.

It reminds me of the old saying:

A good friend will bail you out of jail, but a true friend will be sitting next to you in jail saying, "Man, we really f&%#d up."

So, was Hatch a good friend or a true friend?

Term limits are overrated. They shift power from the politicians to crafty lifetime congressional staffers who aren't accountable to anybody. They also hurt smaller states where effective representation comes largely as a result of the seniority system.

I do agree with you about Derek Smith. The Republicans blew it big time in that election. Now Matheson is pretty much unbeatable. What is it with Republican candidates in that district? Enid Greene, Merrill Cook, Derek Smith, John Swallow? I don't know if I remember a Republican candidate from that district who wasn't a little messed up.

Term limits have been a disaster for the California legislature. They've shifted power to lobbyists and special interest groups.

I agree with you on most things Rocky, especially the ACLU. They truly are "wolves in sheeps clothing".

I disagree somewhat on Utah and education spending. This state spends ALOT on education, if I'm not mistaken all of the state income tax and of course, property tax. The per-pupil spending is low because of the sheer volume of children out there. However, if you look at education spending as a % of GDP, it's pretty high.

There's only so much the legislature can do without significantly increasing taxes, which will put as at a big disadvantage economically with other mountain west states (Utahns already have a larger tax burden than their neighbors).

So far, Utah students seem to be doing fairly well, per-pupil funding notwithstanding, proving that parental involvement is really the most critical factor in educational success.

I have never understood the term limits debate. Terms limits are already contained in the constitution; they are called elections.