I have to start with this politics quiz that I found on a different blog.

http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html
As, I always knew. I am a centrist.  I am all for the government staying out of people's lives, but yet I believe that they should be there for those who are the most vulnerable.  I believe that businesses would be better competitors if the world was a free trade zone.  The world would be getting the best products for the best prices.  Yes, this would mean the end of many jobs in the short term, but in the long term - more people around the world would improve their living conditions.  I have always oppose political extremes.  I do not see any issue as black or white.  I see issues as having a lot of gray.

of the economy and personal behavior. Depending on the issue,

they sometimes favor government intervention and sometimes

support individual freedom of choice. Centrists pride themselves on
keeping an open mind, tend to oppose "political extremes," and

emphasize what they describe as "practical" solutions to problems.

I would like to look a few current issues.  Some of them I have already written about, but others I have not. 

1.  Charities taking over the welfare system.  The main reason why I oppose this is that most charities in the United States are connected to one religious sect or another.  There are very few charities that are not religious based.  I believe that it would be wrong to force those who are in the greatest need to have to be subject to any religion in order to get help.  One of the major reasons why the European pilgrims came to the "New World" involved having religion dictated to them.  They were not allowed to pratice their religion in the open. 

2.  Privatization of Social Security:  Right now, every worker in the US pays 6.2% of their wages and each employer pays 6.2% of each worker's pay into the Social Security System.  Social Security was started during the Roosevelt years, in reaction to the Great Depression.  It was to help the elderly be able to take care of themselves in their later years.  I am not sure how it happened, but then Social Security became a disability benefit.  If a worker became disabled, they could start receiveing the Socail Security benefits before they turned 62 years old.  Soon the Social Security "fund" is going to become a deficit program.  The ratio of worker/receipient is decreasing because the Baby Boom generation is hitting retirement age. 

The current governments solution is to privatize a portion of that 12.4%.  This would allow the worker to invest for their own future.  There are several problems with this plan.  a.  Those who are retiring are still entitled to their Social Security benefits.  b.  The excess that the governement has received for the past 60+ years has not been invested, instead it has been spent on other government programs.  c.  The amount that the worker would be allowed to invest is not enough to make up for the potential loss in benefits.  The number that was thrown out in the last debates was $1000/year.  That would mean that the average worker would have approximately 30 - 40 years to invest.  It would be a stretch to get that money to grow to $150,000 or more.  I am afraid that it would give the workers a false sense of their retirement savings.

3.  Foreign Policy:  The US Foreign Policy is wrong and has been wrong for a very long time.  Since WWII, it was all about limiting the growth of Communist countries.  Especially those who might fall under the influence of the Soviet Union.   This meant that the US lost a relationship with the closest country that does not share a common border, Cuba.

Since the 1967 - Six Day War - the Middle East Foreign Policy was two fold.  Keep the Middle East from falling under the Soviet Union's influence, but also make Israel the strongest country in the Middle East.   The problem with this policy is that the US has aligned itself with the newest colonizer.  It is like, the US has not learned anything from its own violent history with the Native Americans.  People do not like having a group of people moving into their lands only to destroy the lives of those who were living there. 

To me this is not a Jewish/Arab problem.  Jews, Muslims and Christians have lived together in the Middle East for centuries.  This problem was created by the Zionist colonizer who came mostly from Europe.  They came before the concentration camps.  They came not caring about those who had lived there.  They didn't care about the Muslims, the Chrstians or the Jews, they just wanted to rule over the land.  They have used the claims of the Bible, that they are the Chosen ones and that God gave them this land.  No matter what reason they have for re-creating Israel, they are still Colonizers.

Today, this is the most FAILED US Foreign Policy.  

US involvement with the United Nations:  To some in the US, the UN is a failure.  The reason why is because the US does not get to control the UN's reactions.  Right now, on World issues, the UN is the only thing standing between the US and its total domination of the World.  I really believe that there are some Americans who see the US as the leader of the world.  I see the US as closing in on the disasterous Empirical Tyrant.  This can only lead to the down fall of the US.  I truly beleive that it is up to the American Citizen to start voiceing our opinions.  We need to make sure that the people in the world realize that there are Americans who disagree with the actions that are being done in our name.  There are Americans who have no one to represent them. 

Since I have turned 18, and became elgible, I have never voted for a "Winner".  That is because I can not throw away my vote to just vote for the better of two evils.  To others, my vote is seen as a wasted vote, but I can not compromise what I see as my civic duty to vote for those who best represent the voice of reason.

Ok, this is going to have to continue until later.