Too many questions here Solace to be honest it might discourage posting, but I will pull a few I liked.

They should make an express lane and stop all these damn appeals and delaying the process. They should be sitting in the gas chamber/electric chair while being sentenced and if found guilty hit the switch. Save the country a ton of money and would make criminals think twice about killing innocents.

Let them fail. No company or bank is to big to fail. Economy will always correct it self in the end. Why can't the average citizen be to important to fail? If anything save the company but put the entire leadership in prison for not using the peoples money responsibly.

Of course. 20ft high concrete walls with armed guards. Illegal aliens in the USA is screwing up the economy badly and a good portion of them are collection welfare benefits and or social security isn't that amazing. For someone here that is breaking the law. Start deporting people.

18-21+ whats the difference really, as long as the laws apply I am open to this.

No. But I could be swayed in my decision if we can put up a religious symbol next to Mecca.

Yes. Nuclear power is cheaper and very safe. NH has had one for the past 30yrs and not one issue, ever. We should have one in every state.

18-19 yes. Anyone below that no. Unless the state/gov't is willing absolve parents of any legal responsibility for their childs actions and treat them like adults and and get punished like one when they break the law.

Well my military background and hard knocks up bringing is coming through now. Society lacks responsibility and accountability.

1. Should the government should prohibit gun ownership by private citizens?

no

2. Should Marijuana should be legalized?

no

3. Should the death penalty be abolished?

yes, except during certain cases such as a mass serial killer

4. Should the government control, regulate, and ban video games, including banning video game sales to teens?

no

5. Should we pull our troops out of Afghanistan?

no

6. Should abortion be legal or illegal?

It should be legal. If it was illegal it would force women to go to unprofessional black market doctors that don't know what they are doing, and cause both the mother and the baby to die.

7. Should stem cell research be legal?

yes

8. Should criminals who sexually assault and/or rape children under the age of 13 be killed, castrated, chemically castrated, or simply imprisoned and registered as a sex offender?

yes, but only if they are guilty beyond a reasonably doubt

9. Should the police get money directly from tickets or should ticket money be put in with other government spending?

no

10. Should the police have a monthly/weekly quota of tickets that they must meet?

no

11. Should we stop Iran's nuclear weapons program?

yes

12. Should we liberate North Korea and install a peaceful democratic government?

yes

13. Should the government give money to failing businesses in order to keep them from going bankrupt?

no

14. Should the government control the economy (command economy), should the government never intervene in the economy (laissez-faire), or should the government intervene in the economy only when it is necessary (mixed economy)?

mixed

15. Should lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals be given equal rights as straight individuals?

yes

16. Should we pull our forces out of Iraq?

no

17. Should gay marriage be legalized?

yes

18. Should we recognize the independent nation of Kosovo?

yes

19. Should we recognize the independent nation of Azerbaijan?

yes

20. Should we recognize the independent nation of Jonathanland?

yes

21. Should we recognize the independent nation of South Ossetia?

yes

22. Should Puerto Rico become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?

US State

23. Should Guam become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?

US State

24. Should American Samoa become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?

US State

25. Should the US Virgin Islands become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?

US State

26. Should the US Minor Outlying Islands become US states, become and independent countries, or remain US territories?

US States

27. Should we make Iraq a US state?

yes

28. Should we make Afghanistan a US state?

yes

29. Do you think WikiLeaks should get shutdown?

neutral

30. Should the government minimize it's military spending?

only a little bit to help fix the economy

31. Should the government make stronger efforts to stop illegal immigration, especially from Mexico?

yes

32. Should citizens of the District of Columbia be granted full voting rights?

yes

33. Should New York City become it's own state, an independent country, or remain part of New York?

either remain part of New York or become it's own state

34. Should the United States create a North American Union with Canada? If so should we allow Mexico to join?

not now, but perhaps in the future, but not with Mexico unless Mexico becomes a first-world country by that time

35. Should the government censor books, movies, and other entertainment mediums?

no

36. Should it be made illegal to deny that the Holocaust happened or to claim that the government is responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks?

no, but it should be frowned upon

37. Should the government offer free broadband internet to all citizens, like Finland does?

no

38. Should the government increase it's power to enforce internet laws and put a stop to internet crimes?

yes

39. Should the government shutdown 4chan, just /b/, or neither?

maybe /b/, but only if they get out of hand

40. Should 13 year olds be given universal suffrage?

yes

41. Should the drinking age be lowered to atleast 18?

yes

42. Should church and state remain separate?

yes

43. Should we allow a mosque to be built next to Ground Zero?

yes

44. Should the government offer free healthcare?

no

45. Should the government offer free college/university education?

no

46. Should tobacco be made illegal?

no

47. Should alcohol be made illegal again?

no

48. Should the government keep secrets from and lie to it's citizens?

only if it's necessary

49. Should classified and top secret documents be declassified?

no

50. Should the government take greater steps to promote political awareness among teens, so they know how to make better informed political decisions?

yes

51. Should public schools bring back the ability to beat their students and force them to wear school uniforms?

no and absolutely not, school uniforms don't exist in the US and they could never exist here in public schools due to cliques and how high school students have always had the freedom of being able to dress how they wish, so long as they don't violate a dress code, plus people would rebel, and I'd be one of those rebels

52. Should we allow weapons in space?

yes, but only for the US, not for other countries

53. Should the United States join the International Criminal Court?

yes

54. Should the age of consent be lowered to 13?

yes

55. Should Julian Assange be tried in court for sexually assaulting (and raping) women and for releasing top secret government and military documents to the public?

yes

56. Should NASA work harder to accomplish goals such as making first contact, building space ships, and colonizing other planets?

yes

57. Should NASA set-up a colony on Mars using their proposed one-way trip system?

yes

58. Should nuclear weapons be banned globally?

they should, but it's not really plausible

59. Should nuclear power be actively used in the United States?

yes, but not near large population centers

60. Should teenagers (from 13 to 19) be given the same rights and privileges as adults?

yes

61. Should we allow private military contractors to continue to exist?

yes

62. Should the government and military work to help stop and prevent genocides, civil wars, and other atrocities happening around the world, such as in Africa?

yes

63. Should research into cloning be conducted?

yes

64. Should we close the Guantanamo Bay prison?

no

65. Should Guantanamo Bay become a US state?

yes

66. Should the United States become imperialist again, but this time we make the places we conquer become permanent US states?

no, but we should peacefully assimilate other countries into the US if they want to become states

67. Should the world unite under a democratic world government that is just like the United States, but governs the entire world?

hopefully sometime in the future

Wow. If you aren't connected to the Us Intelligence services, Solace, you should at least be awarded for trying to do their work for them! 😆

Wow. Lots of questions.

1. Should the government should prohibit gun ownership by private citizens?

Depends. Citizens that violate certain laws, or have certain mental handicaps, should not have equal rights to own firearms. Otherwise, gun prohibition seems to solve nothing.

2. Should Marijuana should be legalized?

As a controlled substance, similar to alcohol, I suppose so. Given that it's no more dangerous than tobacco, anyway.

3. Should the death penalty be abolition?

I don't like the death penalty, but I do think it's necessary for the moment and probably for the foreseeable future.

4. Should the government control, regulate, and ban video games, including banning video game sales to teens?

Depends. Games that depict child rape should not be allowed for purchase, as an example, but otherwise I think the ESRB ratings give parents the opportunity to act responsibly.

5. Should we pull our troops out of Afghanistan?

Of course. It's getting them out without causing more damage to everything else that is a problem.

6. Should abortion be legal or illegal?

Legal up to a certain point. Individuals can make their own decisions.

7. Should stem cell research be legal?

Definitely. Scientific progress in this field has already been stunning.

8. Should criminals who sexually assault and/or rape children under the age of 13 be killed, castrated, chemically castrated, or simply imprisoned and registered as a sex offender?

After they get a pysch evaluation to determine just how broken they are (to aid in preventing similar crimes in the future by other people), they should be sentenced appropriately by a court of law.

9. Should the police get money directly from tickets or should ticket money be put in with other government spending?

Both. Law enforcement budgets are already thin, and I like roads.

10. Should the police have a monthly/weekly quota of tickets that they must meet?

No. Most States don't in the United States, at least not officially, though a few do.

11. Should we stop Iran's nuclear weapons program?

We can't. Nuclear technology is a natural evolution in the tech-tree of nations. True story! We should do what we can to prevent them from developing weapons with it, if possible, but the only way to "stop" them from doing it is to offer them something better or invade / kill / lose lots of soldiers.

12. Should we liberate North Korea and install a peaceful democratic government?

No. It seems like a wise solution on the surface, but two words immediately make this ridiculous: Nukes; China.

13. Should the government give money to failing businesses in order to keep them from going bankrupt?

I don't think so, no. Not unless those business agree to hire more local workers instead of hiring people from overseas to replace them anyway. No offense to my overseas friends!

14. Should the government control the economy (command economy), should the government never intervene in the economy (laissez-faire), or should the government intervene in the economy only when it is necessary (mixed economy)?

The government should regulate businesses to ensure the laws are followed and that a small minority of people don't ruin out economy as frequently. Total government control isn't likely or really possible with the current infrastructure / legislation.

15. Should lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals be given equal rights as straight individuals?

Yes. Unless they are felons.

16. Should we pull our forces out of Iraq?

Yes. Again, doing so without upsetting the regional power structure is what makes this a lot harder to do than an overnight operation.

17. Should gay marriage be legalized?

Yes. It has no impact on me, my relationship with my wife, or any of my rights or privileges.

18. Should we recognize the independent nation of Kosovo?

According to the Kosovo Campaign Medal I was awarded a decade ago, we pretty much have.

22. Should Puerto Rico become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?

That's up to their people and Congress.

24. Should American Samoa become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?

That's up to their people and Congress.

25. Should the US Virgin Islands become a US state, become and independent country, or remain a US territory?

That's up to their people and Congress.

26. Should the US Minor Outlying Islands become US states, become and independent countries, or remain US territories?

That's up to their people and Congress.

27. Should we make Iraq a US state?

Oh. Wow. No.

28. Should we make Afghanistan a US state?

No. No one in Afghanistan would want that anyway.

29. Do you think WikiLeaks should get shutdown?

Freedom of speech versus security of state. I already know how this story plays out.

30. Should the government minimize it's military spending?

Yes -- better if we focused spending in ways that actually progress our military dominance rather than paying 100 X more for consultations and other ridiculous contracting services. I have a lot of opinions about this, actually, as a former serviceman, but they're well beyond the scope of this questionnaire.

31. Should the government make stronger efforts to stop illegal immigration, especially from Mexico?

Hmm. If I say "yes" how do we pay for it? If I say "no" how do we pay for them? There are other ways to approach this issue, it most certainly can't be looked at as a black and white issue without limiting our available options tremendously.

32. Should citizens of the District of Columbia be granted full voting rights?

They seem to think they should have them. I don't really care -- so I say, sure.

33. Should New York City become it's own state, an independent country, or remain part of New York?

... heh. The history of this question is actually kind of interesting. But "no" is my answer.

34. Should the United States create a North American Union with Canada? If so should we allow Mexico to join?

I don't see the point. The NATO bloc is sufficient.

35. Should the government censor books, movies, and other entertainment mediums?

No, with obvious limits based on reason.

36. Should it be made illegal to deny that the Holocaust happened or to claim that the government is responsible for the 9/11 terrorist attacks?

No, and it can't be without shitting on the constitution.

37. Should the government offer free broadband internet to all citizens, like Finland does?

I'd love to say yes, because I'd like that very much, but I'm saying "no" right now. We can't afford it.

38. Should the government increase it's power to enforce internet laws and put a stop to internet crimes?

I'd need a bit more clarification on this one.

39. Should the government shutdown 4chan, just /b/, or neither?

No. Freedom of expression.

40. Should 13 year olds be given universal suffrage?

No. The human brain isn't fully developed at that age anyway.

41. Should the drinking age be lowered to atleast 18?

Sure. Makes no difference to me.

42. Should church and state remain separate?

Of course. I just wish it was separate now.

43. Should we allow a mosque to be built next to Ground Zero?

I think it's a silly idea, but in the end I don't much care. Ground Zero is not a Christian holy site or anything, it's the location of a tragedy. I'd *prefer* it wasn't built there, but I'll answer this with a shrug.

44. Should the government offer free healthcare?

Yes, but we can't afford it. I rather enjoyed it while I was in active duty.

45. Should the government offer free college/university education?

Yes, but same as above.

46. Should tobacco be made illegal?

Heh. I'd like to say "yes" but I'm saying "no" anyway.

47. Should alcohol be made illegal again?

No point.

48. Should the government keep secrets from and lie to it's citizens?

It already does, some would say that it has to. Troop movements, platform capabilities, on and on ... I'd rather the government didn't LIE to us, but I'm not sure how you can have secrets without lies.

49. Should classified and top secret documents be declassified?

They already are, given the appropriate passage of time. Non-issue.

50. Should the government take greater steps to promote political awareness among teens, so they know how to make better informed political decisions?

No. Far too many opportunities to abuse that educational power. Students should have *access* to all the information they can, but not *direction* politically.

51. Should public schools bring back the ability to beat their students and force them to wear school uniforms?

Public schools never lost the school uniform ability, did they? Corporal punishment is against the law, at least in my State, so it's a non-issue for me. My wife is an educator: her students wear uniforms.

52. Should we allow weapons in space?

We already have weapons in space. Or is this a question of "who else should we let have them?"

53. Should the United States join the International Criminal Court?

Yes, but we won't.

54. Should the age of consent be lowered to 13?

No. Then again, I do understand the history of our species and that some cultures today still allow this; it's more of an emotional "no" on my part.

55. Should Julian Assange be tried in court for sexually assaulting (and raping) women and for releasing top secret government and military documents to the public?

Yes on the first, although we need to remember what this rape charge is actually contesting (it was consensual sex, but the condom was removed at some point). On the second, yes -- if it can be proven that he broke the law, then of course he should be penalized.

56. Should NASA work harder to accomplish goals such as making first contact, building space ships, and colonizing other planets?

They do what they can already with their current funding. I'd personally like to see them get more funding to do a lot more of *everything* they could be doing, but there's a reason I'm not a Congressperson.

57. Should NASA set-up a colony on Mars using their proposed one-way trip system?

Eventually, I think we'll have no choice. Yes.

58. Should nuclear weapons be banned globally?

Impossible. I wish they could be, but it'll never be universally agreed on.

59. Should nuclear power be actively used in the United States?

Absolutely.

60. Should teenagers (from 13 to 19) be given the same rights and privileges as adults?

17 and up, sure. 13 to 16, no. I hated being restricted as a teenager, too, but during those years you need to worry about developing yourself and learning all you can before you should make decisions that effect billions.

61. Should we allow private military contractors to continue to exist?

I don't think so. But I'm probably biased against them due to my history operating alongside some of them.

62. Should the government and military work to help stop and prevent genocides, civil wars, and other atrocities happening around the world, such as in Africa?

Stability in the world is stability for the United States. For security reasons alone, yes.

63. Should research into cloning be conducted?

It has to be. Unless we want to be left in the dust when 10,000 Supermen are cloned by some other society to wipe us out with their superior genetics.

64. Should we close the Guantanamo Bay prison?

Yes, but we can't right now. Wish we could. Hope we do. Someday.

66. Should the United States become imperialist again, but this time we make the places we conquer become permanent US states?

Impossible; and no. Imagine Afghanistan and Iraq on a scale many thousands of times more difficult; and imagine the United States full of nuclear fallout. Of course, in many ways we never stopped being an Imperialist nation.

67. Should the world unite under a democratic world government that is just like the United States, but governs the entire world?

Not possible, not for the the next several decades (barring extra-solar influence). It would be nice, but religious and idealogical differences of opinion will keep us killing each other and hating each other for many hundreds or thousands of years yet.

WHAT DO I WIN? 😯

Nothing, as you skipped #65.

All that work for nothing. NOTHING.

😆

I'm afraid I must take issue with question 65.

Are you aware that Guantanamo Bay is a U.S. Naval Base leased from Cuba, and is, in fact, on the soil of the sovereign nation of Cuba? As such, it cannot become a U.S. state, unless Cuba becomes part of the U.S., or is no more. And, frankly, its land area is about that of a mid-size city.

P.S. I will answer the questions, unfortunately, as I write this post, I am pressed for time.

😆 I have a feeling you are correct!

I actually skipped 65 because, well, it's rather ridiculous. More than most of the others, that is.