it's just my opinion, i could be right

Never argue politics or religion because you can't change any one's mind. And you just piss them off! I know I shouldn't, but I sometimes do anyway. I'm always sorry that I do. Kind of like eating sugar as a type two diabetic. I eat it anyway. Then feel sorry afterward.

Last week I was with two good friends chatting. They were making fun of Obama and his "failed" policies, and laughing about how he will be trounced in 2012. I smiled and nodded and said nothing. I'd like to be proud about having kept my mouth shut, but I really just didn't feel like disagreeing with two people that I like. Two people that I want to like me.

A while back another friend of mine was telling me about Herman Cain and how he was now this friend's best choice. And how he liked 9-9-9. I was wincing on my side of the phone conversation but I said nothing and tried to change the subject. I want this friend also to like me. You see, I don't have very many close friends and I like it that way.

I guess my close friends know that I am a liberal and an atheist (or agnostic or non believer). But just about everybody that I talk to assumes that I believe in God. And since I'm a white collar, white male, over 50 they just assume I'm a republican. If they suspect I'm an atheist liberal, they still talk to me as if I am a right wing republican like they are. I think this must be to "help me" and pull me over to the "high moral ground" that they are on. They are my friends after all. They're just looking out after me.

So every once in a while I just like to air out a few things lest my friends mistake my smiling silence with tacit approval for their beliefs. We don't have to agree on everything to be friends.
so here's a few position statements using as few words as possible:

I am a liberal Democrat. Not because I agree all the time with that platform. But only because it is a default position due to my hating what the Republicans think.

My vote for Obama in 2012 will be against the Republicans, not for Obama.

I disagree with 10 commandments in court and faith based initiatives

I disagree with "pro life" including the name "pro life"

I disagree with the "war on drugs" and favor decriminalization of all drugs, as far as possession.
This is a social, not criminal, problem.

I agree and accept the reality of global warming, but I think we have more pressing environmental and social problems to be dealt with first

I disagree with prayer in school and consider "creation" equivalent to fairy tales.

I consider it impossible not to believe in evolution. This blog post I am typing is "evolving" as I write it. We are bigger sized humans than we were in WWII. All of us alive today are descendants of people who were more successful at reproducing, for one reason or another, than their contemporaries. "Everything is the way it is because it got that way"

I don't think you should tax the poor. Set a limit and give the poor that break. I'd rather give someone a free ride they don't deserve than put someone deeper into poverty that doesn't deserve it.

Government is imperfect. Just like the private sector.

I believe we should tax the rich. This is what our graduated income tax is supposed to do. If you don't redistribute the wealth you have a class society. That's better than socialism, but just barely and you spend a lot of money policing the have- nots. Of which there will be a lot. Just because our tax system is antiquated and has flaws like loopholes, and is complicated and cumbersome doesn't mean the graduated income tax is a bad idea. Lets come up with a simple and fair modern tax code. No loopholes.

If you want to make the government smaller, and I think we all do, that's fine. But don't lay off government workers and then complain about unemployment when you just created unemployment during a recession.

Democrats and Republicans criticize each other for trying the same program again after it has already failed. Democrats and Republicans criticize each other for programs that failed when it is uncertain how , when, and if, the programs actually failed. They need to stop doing that. Just do your best. Don't worry about who started the program or who should be blamed for it. We all just want to fix the economy.

Lets put term limits on every seat in congress.

Let's limit the President to one term

Let's encourage a third party. Perhaps there is a way to prevent it from being a spoiler. Such as, if it can't or doesn't win, then it is out and another election is held.

Don't come down on the "Occupy Wall Street" or "Tea Party" movement. You don't have to agree with them. Just read the First Amendment. And don't underestimate them.

I don't know about my conservative friends, but I really, really, don't care if gays get married. No one is asking anyone to be gay. Or even like gays. Or go to a gay wedding. Do you really want to trade votes on Bills in congress over this? What does this have to do with the government? Are we going to wind up spending more money on this?

I would gripe right now about stem cell research, but it's going to become a moot point. The bio tech world will leap frog this if they haven't already. Sooner or later the religious right will have to decide what they want to try to do about cloning and the manufacturing of body parts, and spare parts and androids. They will lose every battle because you can't stop knowledge. Knowledge is power and the church has less every day.

Second Amendment. I don't have good happy feelings here. Guns scare me. They are powerful. The bearer of a firearm has the responsibility of that power. Bad people who are violent and not responsible scare me. If they are bad people with a firearm, the average citizen is dead or a slave soon to be dead. It scares me very much to have everyone have a gun. I don't like it. BUT.... as long as there are guns, everyone should have one and be trained to use it. Not because that is my hard thought out opinion, but for two reasons: 1. each citizen needs to protect himself and his family from danger and 2. the constitution doesn't just permit each individual to own and bear a gun, no the document has a special separate amendment to insure the right to bear arms for protection against enemies and for use in coordination with militia should it come to that. I hate it when the Republicans wave the flag and talk about "traditional" values. But the US Constitution gives us rights. Without the rights we are slaves. I'm a liberal and I wish we could all live in peace, but for now while we can't seem to, we need the protection the founding fathers wisely put in the document.

OK. I'm almost done with this rant. One more thing while I'm on the subject. If we are spending too much then let's cut defense right along with everything else. But let me be clear. Once we have a person in uniform who is sworn in to defend our country. Who puts his life on the line and his family on hold, be he front lines or rear guard, he is ours. He is supported by every taxpayer, every citizen, every businessman, every single American. We thank that person every day. We do not cut his pay or benefits to try to make up for some banking snafu we had while we were safe in our beds and that individual was in Afghanistan. We not only give him or her all that we agreed on when they were sworn in, but we give them more. When they come home we give them their benefits and more. People running for office take note... we all feel this way. Cut defense all you want and pull the troops home, fine. But nobody gets a pay cut. If we want a smaller peacetime army fine. Just pay these people what they sign up for. We can never compensate them enough for their duty and bravery.