Elizabeth Ross-Harrison - Politics

<< Elizabeth Ross-Harrison

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Illegal immigrants have a neutral impact on the economy. In spite of the many claims of jobs being taken by them, without them a trip to the produce section at the grocery store would cost quite a bit more for one example. (I know I'll end up with comments and objections on this one, but the bottom line is that they work at lower rates than most citizens would in jobs that have a direct effect on the prices of many items we purchase daily.)

Accused terrorists should be tried in civilian courts. Unlike standard acts of war, terrorists target civilians. They should be tried in civilian courts. Whether or not civilian penitentiaries are appropriate places to house convicted terrorists is another issue.

The ban on taking pictures of flag-draped coffins returning from war should not be overturned. The ban should remain. However, if a family wishes photos of their fallen relative, it should be allowed only under the circumstances the family describes in a request.

The government does not have a responsibility to keep Social Security as is for those already invested in the program. It has a responsibility to offer a reasonable facsimile if the system crashes. Regardless, it has a responsibility to give something in return for the peoples' investments.

Endorsements do influence the outcome of elections. If they didn't, candidates wouldn't bother trying to get them. People vote the way organizations they trust tell them to - it saves them the time of finding out what a candidate is really about. (Yes, that's my ultra-cynical response to the question on election eve.)

The government should not be able to access your financial, library, travel, video rental, phone, medical, and religious records without your knowledge or consent. Never. The government should only access such information when engaging in a criminal investigation, for one thing. Warrant-less searches are a legacy that needs to be ended entirely. And the government has absolutely no business accessing library, video rental or religious records under any circumstances.

The economic policies of the Obama Administration will not lead the U.S. towards socialism. That might be the intention, but it won't happen. Americans are far too stubborn to accept that it is possible to have a mix of socialism and capitalism without being completely one or the other. Further, they are too stubborn to recognize that some socialistic principles applied to specific sectors (like health care) could really be in the best interest of all.

President Obama's inauguration speech was good.

The Tea Party protests are not a grassroots movement.

President Obama should loosen restrictions on federally funded embryonic stem cell research.

President Obama should push towards a bipartisan approach to governing.

Columbus Day should not be celebrated as an official holiday. Just another excuse for those in government to take the day off.

Racism has played a role in opposition to Barack Obama. But no one should be expecting him to do anything about it. He's the President, not the leader of the current civil rights movement.

Tim Kaine is a good choice for Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Theoretically, based purely on the concept of his appeal for centrist voters, he is a good choice. Best case scenario would be mass poaching from the GOP, offering a ideologically similar leader for moderates. He won't agree with them on everything, but would most likely agree with them more than their current party. Time will tell.

Barack Obama's election does not represent the fulfillment of Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'dream.' If it were, there is no way that someone would have called him a liar out loud on the floor of Congress during the joint session.

Relations between the U.S. and Cuba will improve now that Fidel Castro has left office. They've gotten a taste of how it could be, and it's unlikely that the people there would stand for going back to the way it was (or worse.) Shutting down relations with U.S. at this point would increase the chances of a revolution.

The U.S. will use military force in Iran. Eventually Iran's leadership will do something stupid enough to instigate military retaliation from the U.S. Hopefully it will be something that the rest of the world will consider actionable, and we won't end up with another Iraq.

Israel should not negotiate with Hezbollah. Why should Israel negotiate with a terrorist organization?

The U.S. should expand coal-to-liquid fuel production. Coal from the U.S. is better than oil from the Middle East, hands down.

The Department of Justice should not prosecute CIA officials who carried out Bush Administration interrogation methods. This one definitely relies entirely on semantics here! CIA officials who carried out Bush Administration interrogation methods that have been determined within legal bounds should not be prosecuted. However, it is becoming clear that there were officials who went beyond those limits, and they most certainly should be prosecuted.

The U.S. should not unionize airport screeners. Absolutely not! Unions in the past served an important purpose - give workers a voice and some power against tyrannical employers that made them work in horrendous conditions. Today, more often than not, they protect workers who have no business being protected - individuals who are incompetent, or have other major issues that affect their performance on the job. The last thing we need is a union protecting screeners that continually make mistakes on the job for any reason.

Governor Patrick should make a temporary appointment to replace Ted Kennedy in the U.S. Senate. Governor Patrick was absolutely right when he stated that we are facing historic issues in our senate, and that his state needs to be fully represented. The state legislature needs to set aside differences, and act quickly on this. Failure to do so will leave the potential for their state to start fresh arguments about lack of representation - a diversion the rest of the country doesn't need.

Democrats will win the most seats in the 2010 Congressional elections. This is a really premature call on this one, but the GOP is still far too disjointed and bitter to take seriously in 2010. That is taking this as "if the 2010 Congressional elections were held today..." situation. Regardless, the GOP has a great deal of work to do before next November. Given how they've been making use of internet media, it's not out of the question for them to come out ahead. However, scandals will be a sticking point for them, as they have been. Also, the current talking heads on their behalf (requested or not) have the potential to do them more harm than good.

Early voting should be permitted. Allowing early voting would help to encourage more people to vote. Far too few people actually participate in the process, and we should do anything we can to change that.

Barack Obama's national security team is "Satisfactory." Simple answer: there haven't been any terroristic attacks, so they must be doing something right. Not so simple answer: they're effective on dealing with threats from outside the U.S., however they are apparently asleep at the wheel when it comes to the homegrown variety. If that wasn't the case, there wouldn't have been headlines about someone showing up to see Obama while wearing a side arm. Sorry New Hampshire, protecting the President overrides your gun laws. If the national security team was on the ball with this sort of thing, they would have ordered the Secret Service, FBI, or somebody to censure that sheriff for allowing an armed individual anywhere near the President, period.

Both parties are equally responsible for the federal deficit. Sad but true. But don't try telling that to the neo-cons who still believe that Bush didn't spend money, and that Cheney isn't a war profiteer.

Iran should be held accountable for Hezbollah's actions. If a country supports or aids a terrorist organization, that country must be prepared to face the consequences.

People residing illegally in the United States should not be offered a path to citizenship. If someone came here illegally, that person shouldn't be given the means to stay here legally.

The U.S. should suspend military aid to Israel. File it under "what have you done for me lately?". Admittedly, I have no love for Israel, never have, and probably never will. But the reason I think this way cannot be denied. A great deal of the hatred directed toward us in the Middle East is directly related to our relationship with Israel. The argument could be made that we would not have anywhere near as much trouble in that region if we left Israel to fight its own battles without our help.

Preemptive military strikes cannot be justified. As a general rule no, they cannot be justified. However, if a preemptive strike would be used solely to prevent a known plan to attack a nation, it would be justified. Specifically, if a leader planned to drop a nuclear bomb, publicly threatened it in such a manner that there would be no other choice but to believe it, attacking that nation (specifically the location of the nuclear bomb) would definitely be justifiable.

Georgia should not become a member of NATO. Right idea, wrong time. Georgia is not stable enough now to join NATO.

The federal government is not distributing anti-terrorism funding appropriately. If it were, there wouldn't be any "investigative reports" about potential "easy" targets for terrorists.

Sarah Palin should not pursue political office again. Sarah Palin should drop out of politics altogether. It is too much to expect, but it is a reasonable hope. She is incompetent, crass, unprofessional, and probably will be viewed by future generations as a detriment to the cause of equality for women. (In case you didn't guess, I really don't like her at all!)

Programs that primarily teach pregnancy and disease prevention are successful at reducing abortion rates. Teens still do what they're "forbidden."

Sarah Palin had a negative impact on John McCain's candidacy. She's the GOP's gift to the Dems. So many flaws, so little time....

Race had no impact on Barack Obama's election victory. He won in spite of his race, obviously. Doubt that? Take a good look at the Sotomayor hearings.

The U.S should try to prevent nuclear proliferation in other nations. We don't need more crazies with big bombs.

Rush Limbaugh is the most powerful person in the Republican Party. He must be, since so many from the party follow his every utterance.

Bobby Jindal has the best chance at becoming the Republican Party's presidential nominee in 2012. He's the only one who hasn't been totally smeared on one level or another - yet.

Rush Limbaugh has had a negative impact on the Republican Party. But don't tell him.