The Cap and Trade and Fair Tax ideas both ignore coining money, I notice. I don’t know why, but it seems they think the government needs the money, when it does not. It coins the money. What’s the reason for taxes, I wonder? Putting your petty cash in the bank keeps it in circulation, so it’s not about conservation. Maybe it’s a tradition left over from paying rent to King George. Well, taxes didn’t make sense there either. The bookkeeping course I’ve been studying says I would need to deduct taxes from your paycheck. Well, I don’t get it. How would I have a paycheck for you if the government doesn’t give me the money? I wouldn’t have enough sales to pay you anything, and neither would anybody else. Do we speak the same language? People who claim a business would sell enough I think are wrong. It’s just too dangerous to need to make a sale. When I read about Cap and Trade on McCain’s web site, I noticed it’s sort of a humorous story that’s been written, which McCain says shall be done when he is elected.

McCain calls his energy plan the Lexington Project because it’s for the U. S. to get energy independence. He wants to increase domestic oil exploration and natural gas exploration. He wants a tax credit for buying a zero carbon emission car. He wants a $300 million prize to improve battery technology. He supports flex-fuel vehicles, whatever they are. He wants more effective penalties for car companies not making fuel-efficient vehicles. I also read he will commit $2 billion a year to advancing clean coal technologies that could be sold to other countries, and he wants to construct 100 new nuclear power plants, 45 by 2030. McCain wants a research and development tax credit. He wants a Cap-And-Trade tax on over-emissions, collected in such a way that commodities brokers could make money, and wants to improve the oil futures laws. He wants a higher energy efficiency standard for any new government buildings. He wants to reduce the red tape in the way of investing in electric companies, and he opposes the windfall profits tax on oil companies because it reduces their domestic exploration.
(http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/17671aa4-2fe8-4008-859f-0ef1468e96f4.htm) He also favors inflating automobile tires, to increase fuel-efficiency. (https://secure.donationreport.com/donation.html?key=ZELOB5NVCUQ8) Well, I thought gasoline was too expensive twenty years ago. Guess what? Cars have also been too expensive, and so have houses. I doubt the cost of oil is because of where it comes from. I think it’s from mark up to pay back bonds, loans and other overhead. The larger issue is the inflation throughout the economy. I’ve been dealing with it by just staying home.

McCain wants public support for a child’s education to follow that child into the school the parents choose, including their own homes, for well-educated children. He wants federal financial support to move from school to school with the child.(http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/19ce50b5-daa8-4795-b92d-92bd0d985bca.htm) Well, the teacher’s income being based on the number of students is something I oppose. It isn’t safe for the teacher or the teacher’s dependants. I’m aware the democrats agree with McCain on this issue. So, I guess it’s still an issue for the reason I just said. To generalize the issue: is a free market or a social market better? Hint: under a free market you could be homeless and starve to death, or somebody could. Since a free market is so risky, it is not conservative in my opinion. Instead, it’s like a bunch of kids running away from home and camping out in the desert. I guess McCain’s point is that if a student fails a grade a few times, the child would be more civilized with a good education.

From what I read, I think McCain wants to expand overseas markets to American farmers. He thinks farmers suffering from droughts, floods or other natural disasters should be assisted. He won’t give welfare to corporations, or rich farms, but will provide small farmers with a reasonable safety net. He believes scientific research could yield higher crop yields and drought resistant crops. He wants farmers to do conservation to protect the land, wildlife and rivers. He believes rural prosperity comes from things like lower taxes, strong markets and aid to victims of natural disasters. He thinks food stamps should reflect the current cost of living, and would fill shortfalls in the Emergency Food Assistance Program. To protect the food supply, McCain will not allow making ethanol from corn. That’s my understanding of his Agricultural Policies. (http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/8d810b1d-a6db-47b0-b54b-334c2255aa4e.htm) Well, I think overseas markets as a way for farmers to make money is not safe to American grocery shoppers. I think the southeastern United States used to grow tobacco instead of food because of overseas markets. Furthermore, I notice a lot of new growth forests in Georgia have been turned into housing instead of farms or wood crop. Also, McCain should know what the southwestern United States looks like. It’s not like easterners think. It’s more like the surface of the moon. There hasn’t been the rainfall here to think we have enough farmland to expand overseas markets. Why does McCain’s agricultural policy sound like he’s never set foot outside of rural northeastern United States? Liberal reporters who claim the United States is a superpower and the breadbasket of the world are obviously lying. For example, the news has been claiming that an aircraft carrier has a crew of thousands and thousands instead of five or ten.

According to what’s left of his web site, Keyes is a principled conservative. He’s been running for the Republican nomination for President, and his web site now has a link to an Independent party web site. He thinks the path of hope is for people to depend on God.(http://www.alankeyes.com) In his statement submitted to California’s Secretary of State, he said he opposes abortion and opposes fetal stem cell research and cloning. Also, he wants to secure U. S. Borders, since exploiting illegal immigrants is not fair to American workers. He thinks judicial decisions should follow the law rather than try to change the law. It is my understanding that as President he would ignore unlawful decisions of judges, and that He thinks the income tax should be replaced by a federal sales tax such as the so-called Fair Tax that several other Republican primary candidates referred to in their statements.(http://primary2008.sos.ca.gov/voterguide/candstate/candrepublican_party.HTML#keys) The Independent party web site, that his site has a link to, says the party is trying to get him on the ballot for the Presidential election. If he agrees with their platform, he is a pro-life, “peace through strength” conservative. He recognizes the personhood of all unborn children. He favors the Second Amendment, the right to keep and bear arms. He opposes terrorists, those who use violence to forward their political aims. He also supports U. S. Economic sovereignty, and opposes the Seventeenth Amendment, which made running for the Senate more expensive. Also, that site says that Alan Keyes is a former Reagan Assistant Secretary of State.(http://www.selfgovernment.us/aip) Well, that’s better than the Democrats, since they are pro-choice and they want students who didn’t do anything wrong to do community service and they seem to want to fight Pakistan and Afghanistan again. However, what I don’t understand about the conservative platform is securing the borders and the so-called fair tax. When I moved to California, my New York State driver’s license was fine until I got my California license, and I think a sales tax would apply to employee salaries. It would be a tax deduction with no chance of a refund.

I read today that McCain sponsored legislation authorizing funding for returning to the Moon and preparing for a manned mission to Mars, because Americans have curiosity and like exploring, and because he believes the space program helps innovation and US security. The web site also says He favors ensuring NASA’s funding is being used well. (http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/7366faf9-d504-4abc-a889-9c08d601d8ee.htm) I’ve only seen one moon in the sky at a time. I guess there’s only one moon, although it’s surface doesn’t always look the same. I’ve never seen Mars. An encyclopedia I skimmed says Mars is the second brightest star in the night sky and that with a telescope it can be seen to be a planet. It has two moons in its sky and is farther from the Sun than the Earth. Although ninety-five percent of its atmosphere is carbon dioxide, it’s medium temperature is negative nine degrees Fahrenheit. Two tenths of one percent of its atmosphere is oxygen, and its gravity is less than half that of Earth. Because it’s red like blood, it was named for the Roman’s god of war, Mars. The Greek’s god of war was Ares. The Hebrew’s god of war was I Am. Therefore, a good use for NASA’s funding is ensuring the safety of the astronauts.

I think McCain favors the conservation movement and also favors government departments trying to take care of the environment. I think McCain believes both hunting and fishing help the market keep species of wild life from going extinct by efforts to restock the hunting grounds and fishing spots. I think McCain hopes the cap-and-trade tax will help fund our national parks and wildlife sanctuaries and that cities will try to have enough parks and views. McCain’s statements on oil said greenhouse gas and high oil prices are both an environmental and a national security problem to be solved rather that disbelieved.(http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/65bd0fbe-737b-4851-a7e7-d9a37cb278db.htm) The Natural Heritage page of McCain’s web site had some of McCain’s commercials. I watched two of them. It seems McCain should be more involved in the making of his commercials. The second of McCain’s commercials I saw is, in my opinion, a humorous example of the political results of mud slinging. Instead of pictures of McCain on the campaign trail, McCain should have considered the commercial a major part of the campaign trail. McCain should have looked into the camera. McCain should have said, “I think lower taxes would cause lower prices and more jobs.” Peace.

I think McCain considers accepting or demanding bribes from grant and/or job recipients to be wrong, and calls such funds “pork barrel earmarks,” and I think he also opposes bribes from rich people and from labor unions and considers lobbyists to be a nuisance. I think his web site says he will veto pork barrel earmarks and expose those trying to get bribes, and that he’s against accepting gifts from lobbyists and therefore favors sensible campaign donation limits and an independent ethics office in Congress.(http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/cb15a056-ac87-485d-a64d-82989bdc948c.htm) According to the back cover of McCain’s book, “Why Courage Matters,” which he co-authored with a member of his staff, McCain has been a U. S. Senator since 1986 and was a U. S. Congressman for two terms before that. A big success story — while I ,on the other hand, in 1986 had been finding out I couldn’t make a living. The work day was sooner and longer than I could handle, the wages that I could get weren’t enough to meet basic expenses, Reagan had been calling a normal neighborhood “The American Dream,” and he was mad about taxes, saying “Tax and tax, and spend and spend.“ Well, the income tax amendment was in 1913. It’s not my fault, and aid to the poor could come from coining money. In fact, the income tax was found unconstitutional in 1895.

From what I understand, Governor Schwarzenegger’s 2008-2009 Budget for California includes a 10-percent across-the-board spending reduction, because he wants there to be a linkage between tax revenues and spending. He wants to sell bonds to avoid a shortfall in California’s cash reserves but does not seem to want to use any of that income to pay back old bonds. Instead, he wants to reduce spending.(http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/BudgetSummary/GOV/1249556.html) Well, the word deficit does not mean bonds outstanding. It means spending more than income, and money from selling bonds is income. Therefore, California’s income does not need to be form taxes. All it needs to be is from selling bonds. California does not need to reduce spending at all. If fact, my reading of the U. S. Constitution is that the states have the franchise to coin their spending money. The only reason for California to sell bonds that I can think of is to give persons something that will last to invest in. With a positive attitude, selling bonds to pay back bonds would be like mining gold, with the bonds outstanding being a positive measure of the state’s wealth. I’m old enough to know my opinion is conservative.

I think McCain believes some judges have not always based their decisions on the law. An example of such a decision is Roe v. Wade, yet their decisions have somehow been followed. He believes one thing the President could do about this problem is to appoint judges who have a record of “following the law.”(http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/b8529d0e-381e-4a29-9c39-6a57c7e182c9.htm) Well, I think McCain’s judicial appointees wouldn’t dare touch the issue of abortion, because people who think the Roe v. Wade judges did follow the law would accuse McCain’s appointees of being biased and not following the law. I think a better example of checks and balances than biased judges would be for Congress to impeach the Roe v. Wade decision, since obviously the Supreme Court won‘t touch the case. According to a 1980 edition of Funk & Wagnalls, abortion in the first 3 months is done with suction and a little shovel. It didn’t say how the doctor stops the bleeding. After the first trimester, labor is induced to accomplish the sacrifice. Late abortions are done by the surgeon cutting through the mother’s abdomen. The Russians legalized induced abortions in 1920; the U. S. Supreme Court in 1973 threw out laws against abortion by claiming an unborn person is not a person. Right-to-Life groups then formed saying, “Yes they are people.” In 1977, The Supreme Court opposed public funds to pay for abortions.(1980 edition of Funk & Wagnalls) My mother was a premature baby. She was a person before the nine months.

The second amendment is in the Bill of Rights, part of the Constitution of the United States. It became law on Dec. 15, 1791. The 2nd Amendment says, “A well regulated Militia . . . , the right of the people to keep and bear arms . . . “ In other words, if you own a firearm you might be summoned to be in a posse or other militia, and you should probably pass a safety course which includes depression management and anger management techniques. A firearm is not a toy or sports equipment. It’s a deadly weapon for civil defense. From what I read on his web site, Senator McCain believes the right to arms is an individual right. He voted to protect gun manufacturers from being liable for someone using their products. He voted against bans on assault rifles and high capacity ammunition magazines. These are things he brags about. He supported legislation requiring gun manufacturers to include gun safety devices. He voted against banning armor-piercing hunting cartridges. He believes citizens of Washington DC should have the right to bear arms. McCain supports instant criminal background checks to help prohibit criminals from buying firearms. In fact, he introduced legislation that would require an instant criminal background check for all sales at gun shows. McCain opposes the confiscation of firearms. He believes having penalties for using a firearm while committing a crime is the best way to deter crime.(http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/77636553-6337-4ecd-b170-49e1c07d2fbd.htm) Also, in 1791 there may have been old-growth forests full of wild deer and bear and so forth.

I watched 20/20 today. It said that some people have treadmill desks to lose weight. The idea is similar to the stand up desk. I think the writer who wrote about a Cuban fisherman used his refrigerator as a desk. I think some president or somebody had a stand up desk. I don’t have a stand up desk but I sometimes pace while studying. I’ve been studying bookkeeping. It’s about a society constantly selling things to stay alive. I sometimes sit in an easy chair while studying. I lift the footrest and tip the chair back and take a nap. The TV says the Olympics start in seven days.

According to his web site, McCain opposes the intentional creation of human embryos for research purposes, but supports adult stem cell research. He believes schools and libraries should restrict access to sexually explicit material by children using computers, and that pedophiles who use computers should have an additional ten years added to any conviction. He believes that convicted sex offenders should register all online accounts in a national database or be sent to prison for ten years. He believes Roe v. Wade must be overturned, and he cosponsored legislation to permit tax deductions for qualified adoption expenses, and believes a marriage is one man and one woman and that some causes are greater than yourself.(http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/95b18512-d5b6-456e-90a2-12028d71df58.htm) Well, that makes McCain about 19 feet tall.

According to his web site, McCain opposes the intentional creation of human embryos for research purposes, but supports adult stem cell research. He believes schools and libraries should restrict access to sexually explicit material by children using computers, and that pedophiles who use computers should have an additional ten years added to any conviction. He believes that convicted sex offenders should register all online accounts in a national database or be sent to prison for ten years. He believes Roe v. Wade must be overturned, and he cosponsored legislation to permit tax deductions for qualified adoption expenses, and believes a marriage is one man and one woman and that some causes are greater than yourself.(http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/95b18512-d5b6-456e-90a2-12028d71df58.htm) Well, that makes McCain about 19 feet tall.

Obama wants 25 percent of College Work-Study to be public service instead of jobs in dining halls and libraries. He also wants middle and high school students to do 50 hours of community service a year.(Obama’s Plan for Universal Voluntary Public Service, Integrate Service into Learning, http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/ObamaBlueprintForChange.pdf, July 31, 2008) That’s slavery, whether Obama’s black or not. Look, if you can’t afford to pay your workers well you shouldn’t be in business. However, the government can afford to pay people well simply by coining spending money. In response to the answer people always give to that, the inflation in Germany must have been caused by loans and profiteering because that is what causes inflation. According to what I read, McCain wants adequate worker protection to guard against employer abuses. He wants to secure the border through physical and virtual barriers, and prosecute employers that continue to hire illegal immigrants. McCain wants temporary worker programs that reflect labor needs and he wants to reduce waiting times for workers to arrive in the United States. He wants to ensure that workers return to their home countries after their temporary jobs are over, and wants all undocumented individuals to enroll in a program to resolve their status, for them to learn English, pay back taxes and fines, and pass a citizenship course as part of a path to legal status. McCain wants a system that is fair, humane, realistic, and ensures the rights of the individual and families will be protected.(http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/68db8157-d301-4e22-baf7-a70dd8416efa.htm) Both candidates seem to have bought into balancing the budget bit. Before Reagan, as I remember, the government saw nothing wrong with paying back bonds by selling more bonds. That might have been because there was nothing wrong with it. It would certainly be better than putting junior high school students in chain gangs.The most recent fund raising letter from Obama I received said something like, “Win a ticket to see Michelle and Barack back stage at Denver.” McCain’s was like, “Thanks for the dollar. Could you spare another five to defeat the left? I don’t give tax dollars to win votes.”

According to his web site, McCain is an advocate veterans; they had a calling to protect us. He supported numerous bills to help homeless veterans. He has voted consistently to increase funding for veterans’ benefits. He has worked to ensure that veterans who are eligible for benefits know what they are entitled to. He thinks disabled veterans should receive both disability and retirement pay at the same time. He doubled veteran and service member life insurance benefits. McCain has been working to improve veterans’ health care, and also to increase pay scales and give tax relief to deployed service members. He has been working to expand retirement and health care benefits for reservists, and to give military retirees tax breaks to help pay health insurance premiums. McCain has been working to improve educational and job counseling programs for veterans, as well as many other things. For example, he worked to extend the availability of G. I. Bill education benefits for Vietnam veterans, and in 2006 he sponsored legislation to immortalize the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial as a symbol honoring veterans of the Korean War.(http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/9cb5d2aa-f237-464e-9cdf-a5ad32771b9f.htm) That section of his web site uses terms like “service members” rather than exploitive terms like “our forces.” Other parts of his web site remind the reader that McCain already has experience as an officer and cares about people in the military.

I read that the U. S. Olympic Committee is staying where it is because that city is renting them new office space for free. The City raised the money to buy the office space by selling shares in the committee’s lease, and the city intends to pay the committee’s rent for them from the city’s general fund, to get the committee to stay in the city.(“Capturing the Gold,” R6, The Wall Street Journal, July 28, 2008) The rent payments to the certificate holders, it seems to me, causes inflation. Speaking of inflation, I remember when gasoline was 30 cents. After Reagan became president, I learned that the government, although it coins the money, sells bonds and collects taxes instead. I don’t know of a good reason why. They just do. When Johnson was President, the price of a house was probably under $30,000. I read price of a single-family home in San Jose, for example, during current “slumping prices” is now about $780,000.(“Leading Indicators,” R2, The Wall Street Journal, July 28, 2008) Talk about inflation. I’m not sure why Reagan said government is the problem. It seems to me, needing to buy low and sell high is the cause of inflation. I’m not an historian either, so instead of blaming maybe the easiest way to react to inflation is to just expect higher prices and not be surprised anymore. Ok, the prices today are great. They’re thrilling. Let’s all stay cool. I’m a Republican, and I see no reason to vote for O’bama just for change. According to his web site, he wants to “Safeguarding Roe v. Wade ,” he “voted against misguided Republican efforts to raise the statutory debt limit,” wants to “crack down on men avoiding child support payments,” wants to “set a goal that all middle and high school students do 50 hours of community service a year” and “require 100 Hours of Service in College,” and “will fight terrorism and protect America with a comprehensive strategy that finishes the fight in Afghanistan, cracks down on the al Qaeda safe-haven in Pakistan.”(Blueprint for Change pdf, Obama’08, www.barackobama.com) What fight in Afghanistan? What safe-haven in Pakistan? Community service? Like on the Gillmore Girls?

I think Cap and Trade means the big businesses causing about 90 percent of greenhouse gas emissions would be given a certain amount of emissions permits for free and extra permits would be auctioned off, so it wouldn’t be a tax but it would raise money for the government. “Offsets” representing measured greenhouse gas reductions from keeping fields green, etc, would also be sold. A big business that finds a way to lower its emissions could sell its extra permits and offsets to another business. An international market similar to commodities trading, would be created. Thus, cap and trade would be a market-based way to encourage lower greenhouse gas emissions. A couple of corporations would be created to run this.(http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/da151a1c-733a-4dc1-9cd3-f9ca5caba1de.htm) That’s my understanding of what I read. It sounds rather harmless. Yet, I think it might be like saying I don’t have to keep my car tuned up if I give the money to the government instead. I think subsidizing inventers makes more sense. I think Thomas Edison was a professional inverter, and he invented the light bulb or something.

I think McCain’s position on Iraq is the following: Iraq should be an ally of the U. S. capable of governing itself and safeguarding its people, an ally that is not a haven for terrorists, or a pawn of an unfriendly Iran. It needs to be a nation that that poses no threat to us or its neighbors and in fact contributes to the defeat of terrorists. We also have responsibilities in Iraq. Rebuilding Iraq is taking place. Basic services are being restored. Iraq’s government we recognize needs security to better deliver basic services—clean water, garbage collection, abundant electricity—for a climate where the Iraqi economy can happen. Iraq’s Arab neighbors should feel safe to invest in businesses Iraq, to help create jobs in Iraq. Our troops need the time and support necessary to succeed in Iraq.
After withdrawing a lot of our troops from Iraq in 2006, Syria and Iran supported the unfriendly opposition, Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda went on the offensive, and entire provinces of Iraq fell under their control. We had to send reinforcements into Iraq, and this relatively unpublicized sending of troops back into Iraq is now called the surge, and because of it we are winning again. We can’t have peace talks with Syria and Iran from a position of weakness, so our troops need to stay in Iraq. (http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/fdeb03a7-30b0-4ece-8e34-4c7ea83f11d8.htm)
McCain’s position on Iraq I read on his web site. I now think I know what he means by “The Surge.” I think he opposes withdrawing from Iraq because U.S. troops are what is keeping Iraq friendly to the United States. Being poor, I’m not sure what would be so great about rich Arabs investing in businesses in Iraq instead of its government subsidizing them, but maybe I’m just jealous.

I think McCain wants to change the tax code so every family will receive a tax credit to offset the cost of medical insurance, with the money sent directly to the insurance provider, and any excess put in a Health Savings Account. I think He wants to figure out a way to get medical insurance for those who have been denied insurance, such as forming a nonprofit corporation. I think He wants to find ways to lower health care costs, such as ending unfair lawsuits against doctors, getting more people to quit smoking, having more walk-in clinics in retail outlets, and more in-home care for seniors.(http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/19ba2f1c-c03f-4ac2-8cd5-5cf2edb527cf.htm) Well, I think a way to lower health care costs would be to subsidize doctors. That way, they could charge less. I think a way to afford to subsidize doctors would be for the government to coin its spending money.