WI Crippler
DP Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2006
- Messages
- 15,427
- Reaction score
- 9,577
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Centrist
Well what to tell you guys about myself? Most of you at the forums here already know me pretty well, but there may be some lurkers or potential new members, so I'll start from the beginning(always a good place to start).
I was born in Indiana, but raised in Wisconsin a majority of my life. I tried my hand at college as a music major, but didn't quite hack it with the mandatory classes like math or sociology which were way too early in the morning for my liking. In fact I was severely disappointed that the college book store was only willing to give me 10% back for my math book, which was still in its original packaging. If you think oil companies are evil, they have nothing on the college bookstore refund system. But that is a rant for another day.
Soon after my exit from the university system, I found my self face down on the ground with some very pissed off people kicking dirt into my face. No, I wasn't the subject of a hate crime. I was in Marine Corps bootcamp. I spent the next 5 years of my life traveling the world, being exposed to new cultures, and of course getting to know the local women of these regions. My unit was involved with the initial invasion into Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom. We rotated back and I made what has been to date, the hardest choice of my life. I seperated from the Marine Corps, and started a family. I am now married and am raising a healthy 13 month old boy. I have no regrets about my decision now.
Politically, I am kind of all over the map but trend more towards the right than the left if we are judging my leaning on an either/or scale.
I favor a smaller government domestically, and believe in policies that empower individuals to fairly rise up on their own, rather than through government assistance. However I don't go as far as libertarians go, in regards to reducing our government domestically.
I favor a robust and agressive foreign policy that has at the heart of it, human rights interests and forging strong alliances with other democratic allies. This is oft confused as a desire for "American dominance", which it is not. I would be more than happy if other western democracies would be willing to step up on the behalf of humanity, and contribute something more that the weak efforts we see to date.
Socially, I favor again a limited government role. I tend to agree with the libertarian positions regarding drug enforcement, and I also support the right for gays to be able to marry. Religiously, I am an atheist, and I favor a very strong seperation of church and state. However I have tremendous respect for peoples individual faith, and come to a point of conflict with most of my fellow atheists regarding that issue. With immigration, I favor us revisiting our immigration policies and reforming them to meet the demands of our economy, but I also believe we retain the right to determine our own immigration laws and their enforcement.
Economically I favor lowering our taxes for individuals and limiting government spending. However, I recognize that the worlds economies are intertwined on many levels, and that imposing trade barriers would probably be a step backwards for the global economy. I think economies that are intertwined create mutually beneficial situations, but I can recognize that it also removes leverage concerning issues that may arise in the future. I waver on this alot, and have seen convincing arguments from both sides.
As far as climate change, I remain a skeptic as to mankinds role, but I do favor R&D for renewable and alternative energy sources. Oil is a finite resource, and we would be best served to ween ourselves from it in a responsible manner.
If there is one thing I absolutely detest, it would be the mindset of victim politics. I believe there are people and politicians that view our country and this world through the scope of victimhood, and they would rather champion the plight of people, rather than champion the people themselves. I've always believed that we set our own bars and limitations, both as individuals and as a society. If we choose to focus on victimhood, then we will always be victims. If we choose to view life through the lens of victory, then victors are what we will become. I believe mankind has a destiny to expand out from the piece of inter-galactic dust, and into other parts of the universe. That is best achieved by placing value on victory vs. victims, IMO.
But despite all that, I have a relatively optimistic outlook on life. I like to keep things lighthearted and open for discussion. Its a messageboard, and I know emotions can get the best of people, and some will try to convince you that the sky is falling. I suggest listening to the following anytime you are down on this forum..........
YouTube - Monty Python - Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
I was born in Indiana, but raised in Wisconsin a majority of my life. I tried my hand at college as a music major, but didn't quite hack it with the mandatory classes like math or sociology which were way too early in the morning for my liking. In fact I was severely disappointed that the college book store was only willing to give me 10% back for my math book, which was still in its original packaging. If you think oil companies are evil, they have nothing on the college bookstore refund system. But that is a rant for another day.
Soon after my exit from the university system, I found my self face down on the ground with some very pissed off people kicking dirt into my face. No, I wasn't the subject of a hate crime. I was in Marine Corps bootcamp. I spent the next 5 years of my life traveling the world, being exposed to new cultures, and of course getting to know the local women of these regions. My unit was involved with the initial invasion into Iraq for Operation Iraqi Freedom. We rotated back and I made what has been to date, the hardest choice of my life. I seperated from the Marine Corps, and started a family. I am now married and am raising a healthy 13 month old boy. I have no regrets about my decision now.
Politically, I am kind of all over the map but trend more towards the right than the left if we are judging my leaning on an either/or scale.
I favor a smaller government domestically, and believe in policies that empower individuals to fairly rise up on their own, rather than through government assistance. However I don't go as far as libertarians go, in regards to reducing our government domestically.
I favor a robust and agressive foreign policy that has at the heart of it, human rights interests and forging strong alliances with other democratic allies. This is oft confused as a desire for "American dominance", which it is not. I would be more than happy if other western democracies would be willing to step up on the behalf of humanity, and contribute something more that the weak efforts we see to date.
Socially, I favor again a limited government role. I tend to agree with the libertarian positions regarding drug enforcement, and I also support the right for gays to be able to marry. Religiously, I am an atheist, and I favor a very strong seperation of church and state. However I have tremendous respect for peoples individual faith, and come to a point of conflict with most of my fellow atheists regarding that issue. With immigration, I favor us revisiting our immigration policies and reforming them to meet the demands of our economy, but I also believe we retain the right to determine our own immigration laws and their enforcement.
Economically I favor lowering our taxes for individuals and limiting government spending. However, I recognize that the worlds economies are intertwined on many levels, and that imposing trade barriers would probably be a step backwards for the global economy. I think economies that are intertwined create mutually beneficial situations, but I can recognize that it also removes leverage concerning issues that may arise in the future. I waver on this alot, and have seen convincing arguments from both sides.
As far as climate change, I remain a skeptic as to mankinds role, but I do favor R&D for renewable and alternative energy sources. Oil is a finite resource, and we would be best served to ween ourselves from it in a responsible manner.
If there is one thing I absolutely detest, it would be the mindset of victim politics. I believe there are people and politicians that view our country and this world through the scope of victimhood, and they would rather champion the plight of people, rather than champion the people themselves. I've always believed that we set our own bars and limitations, both as individuals and as a society. If we choose to focus on victimhood, then we will always be victims. If we choose to view life through the lens of victory, then victors are what we will become. I believe mankind has a destiny to expand out from the piece of inter-galactic dust, and into other parts of the universe. That is best achieved by placing value on victory vs. victims, IMO.
But despite all that, I have a relatively optimistic outlook on life. I like to keep things lighthearted and open for discussion. Its a messageboard, and I know emotions can get the best of people, and some will try to convince you that the sky is falling. I suggest listening to the following anytime you are down on this forum..........
YouTube - Monty Python - Always Look on the Bright Side of Life