EDUCATION | ECONOMY/TAXES | GOVERNMENT PRIORITIES | GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION | ENVIRONMENT
SANCTITY OF LIFE | NATIONAL SECURITY | IMMIGRATION | PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS/FORCED ANNEXATION
SECOND AMENDMENT
Our public school system is failing our children. We have an alarming droppout rate and are graduating children who have difficulty with basic reading and mathematical skills. In North Carolina, 52% of the General Fund is spent on education, yet recent statistics show that less than 7 in 10 are graduating. Our spending on schools is growing almost twice as much as our student numbers are growing, yet we have little improvement. We need to cut out ineffective spending and put that money into teachers and students where the real learning occurs.
Here in East Wake County, the SAT Scores at our local High Schools are below the state average, yet our current representative has done nothing! Parents are passing better schools closer home to take their children to assigned schools that aren't working. We should support school choice for parents and reward schools that are succeeding and overhaul those that are not.
Every child should have the best opportunity for a quality education that prepares them to compete in a global economy.
We are facing difficult economic times and our state government isn't helping. We had a budget surplus and our representatives wouldn't even repeal the "temporary" taxes they levied against us. We need a representative that will look out for our interests instead of the special interests!
I support lower taxes. On December 16, 1773, American colonists revolted against a tax imposed by the British government in what has now become known as the "Boston Tea Party". The amount of this "unbearable" tax? Less than 1%. Here in North Carolina, we pay an income tax of 6-8%, a sales tax of 6.75%, Property Taxes of about 1% or more annually, almost 10% in gas tax (even with the cap), and various other "fees" and taxes. On top of that, we have an oppressive Federal Income Tax that leaves many middle class citizens spending 50% of everything they make on taxes.
The government should be held responsible for how it uses our tax dollars, and should be forced to eliminate wasteful government spending. The government can not solve everyone's problems and should not be expected to. There are too many programs the government takes on that it cannot handle efficiently and should be left to private enterprise.
Pork Barrel spending earmarked by representatives only helps small groups of people at the expense of everyone else. It's time to hold our government accountable for how it spends our money!
Government can't solve everyone's problems. To that end, I support lower taxes and better priorities in spending. Government is like a shrub. All it knows how to do is GROW. It takes a wise steward to make the difficult decisions regarding which parts to cut back for it's overall health and to restore it to its intended purpose. Sometimes we have to cut good things because they just aren't part of what government was intended to do.
North Carolina has the highest taxes in the Southeast and this has hurt the overall well-being of our state. We've got to have leadership that will make the tough decisions rather than the current practice of playing for the highest bidder. Our current legislative practices have only resulted in an unending string of investigations and a loss of the public trust. Now is the time for change!
Jim Black, Meredith Norris, Kevin Geddings, Michael Decker, Frank Ballance, Garey Ballance, Black Caucus Foundation, Thomas Wright, and now Mary McAllister. Where will the list of indictments and accusations end? Where I come from, if you help bury the body, you're just as guilty. Many of our legislators are turning a blind eye to the endless flow of corruption. That begs the question, "Are they part of the problem"? Will our favorite representative be the next to be indicted for things we don't know right this second? If I were a legislator, I'd be shouting from the rooftops that I was not associated with these criminals. I would make sure that people could clearly see that I was not one of 'them'.
We need to let a little sunshine in. The citizens of North Carolina have no reason to trust their government if everything is handled behind closed doors and problems are just swept under the rug. Most North Carolinians don't even know who their legislators are until they're indicted. We've got to break up the Crony Monopoly, and make our government accountable to the people!
I don't want dirty water any more than the next citizen. Just because I am conservative doesn't mean that I don't believe in being responsible stewards of the earth. I believe in conservation. I believe in leaving the world a better place. And I believe that we should practice good common sense steps to preserve clean water, clean air, and a better environment. As a Christian, I believe that God gave man the stewardship of the earth and in that capacity we should take care of it the best we can.
I am for the development of alternative energy sources as long as they are feasible. We can improve existing technologies to make their use of fuel more efficient and support the development of credible alternative energies. I believe that we are far too dependent on Middle Eastern oil and should strive for energy independence as quickly as possible. We should not take options off the table - including domestic drilling - as long as we weigh the benefits and consequences carefully. We haven't built a refinery since 1976 primarily because of environmental protest. Let's use common sense, but see if we can increase refining capacity to relieve the burden on citizens while we develop energy independence.
I believe that we should follow the advice of credible research rather than the knee-jerk policies that fringe groups would propose. I love whales and spotted owls, but I do not feel their worth is above that of human life. Let's use some common sense about the matter.
I believe murder at any stage of life is wrong. Life begins at conception and our state and federal governments struggle unnecessarily with this idea. While they will allow abortion freely, they seek to prosecute the murderer of a mother and unborn child with double-homicide. They've got it right in the latter. Abortion is morally repugnant and Roe v. Wade should be overturned so that the states can make their own laws regarding the matter. It should be a state issue, and I would support the curtailing of abortion in all but only the extreme cases - preferably only when the life of the mother is threatened. God is the giver of life and it should be welcomed, not relegated to a choice of convenience.
Here in North Carolina, if a murderer kills a woman who is pregnant, he will only be charged with one crime. However, if you are to shoot a doe out of season, you will be charged for one crime for the killing of the doe, and an additional charge for each fawn the doe might be carrying. The same thing will apply if you should kill a police dog, for example, that is pregnant. We've got to use some good old common sense and change this law.
We should teach abstinence rather than methodology in our schools. We should make adoption of domestic children a simpler, more economical process so our citizens desiring children aren't forced to go to overseas to adopt.
I am against stem cell research that effectively encourages the creation of life so that it may be destroyed. Research shows that much of the same result can be accomplished without the destruction of life.
We are involved in a global war on terror whether politicians choose to recognize that or not. It is not an accident that we have not been attacked since 9/11.
I believe that Security is a top priority for our National and State governments as a basic tenet of the preamble of our Constitution is that the government "provide for the common defense".
We must secure our borders, and North Carolina must not become a "harbor state" to illegal immigrants for whom we have no documented reason for their 'visit'.
I am for legal Immigration.
We are a nation of laws and should operate under the Rule of Law. I can understand why people would want to come to the greatest country in the world by any means necessary. While I sympathize with the plight of people seeking to escape oppressive regimes, we have a legal path for entry. I support those immigrants who come in through the legal process and seek to assimilate into our culture. I don't think we should reward those whose first act upon our soil is to break the law. Regardless of how difficult it may be, our laws must be enforced as they stand or we undermine the very fabric of the legal system that guarantees our freedoms. Our laws do not provide for amnesty or other concessions. If the laws need to be changed, our Constitution has provided ways to accomplish that. Until a law is changed, however, we must enforce it.
We are not a Democratic Republic without Private Property. John Adams said, "Property must be secured or liberty cannot exist."
Activist judges and renegade legislators have recently paved the way for the seizure of private property to be redistributed to other private interests. This is a fundamental practice of Communism/Socialism, and must be reversed immediately. For this reason, I do not support the Kelo decision.
Forced annexation is fundamentally wrong. This process allows municipalities to bring property into the municipal limits forcing higher taxation upon the property owner without the property owner having a say in the matter. Almost all of the time, the municipality will promise improved services to the affected area, but generally don't deliver anything close to the value that the landowner will pay in additional taxes. This also goes against the grain of a democratic society in which people have a say. If a property owner does not wish to become part of the municipality, they should not be forced into it.
The second amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America guarantees the right of citizens to keep and bear arms. Studies will always show that criminals kill, not guns. We should not punish law-abiding citizens for the wrong doing of criminals. We should enforce our laws with respect to violent crime. Our very first President summarized his opinion about the rights granted by the second amendment in this way:
"Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth."
George Washington
Where is our Representative?
She has been asleep at the wheel when it comes to:
- Education
- Mental Health
- Our Growth & Infrastructure
- Water
- Immigration - (Do you know she voted to give illegals in-state college tuition ?)
She's been a RUBBER STAMP to failure and corruption
- Why didn't she say anything about Jim Black's corruption?
- Why didn't she say anything about the under-the-table Lottery deals?
- Why hasn't she called for Thomas Wright to resign?
- Why does she continue to do Marc Basnight's bidding and get's most of her money from PACs and special interests?
- Do you know she's voted over 98% of the time with the leadership (Including the Jim Black years)?