Why I am no longer a Republican

In my youth, I would proudly proclaim being republican. I used to think they were the party of the people, I used to think that they were for letting us live our lives; but now I have grown up.... Well that is no longer the case.

In no particular order....

Reason Number 1: No Logic

How is it logical to be so staunch against gay marriage? 
It is not logical to be so hardcore against gay marriage, in fact, supporting the unions that gay couple want could serve to strengthen our country by removing a cultural wedge.


How does coddling the rich help the rest of us?
IT DOESN'T!!! The notion of "trickle down" economics is absurd; anyone with two eyes can see that an economy is built up, not trickled around.

These illogical notions have driven me so far away from the party that it is impossible for me to even consider going back. 

Reason Number 2: The party belongs to the Top 1 (Economics)

There is a direct relationship between Political Polarization and Income Inequality, this is because the 1% has effectively bought out the Republican Party. The Polarization has come from the endless measures taken to coddle the rich and the fact that party members have been tricked into believing that they (the rich) have their (The American Worker) best interest in mind.
We are becoming The Working Poor as the Rich become Richer.

Rather than spend money on things like infrastructure and education, The GOP would rather spend that money on our military. Unfortunately, they are not spending money to protect us, rather they are spending money on Military contracts where the rich profiteer our tax dollars.
see THE TRUTH ABOUT HALLIBURTON

Example: When the financial crisis struck, Wall street got a bail out, Main Street got a boot out.

Keep Vilifying the Occupy movement, the majority of them are FORMER tea-party members and Libertarians. 
 

Reason Number 3: They ARE the party of NO!

Republicans on capitol hill shoot down EVERY measure that is brought to the house floor that could help the American Economy.
Google Republican Filibusters and you will see just how bad they are when it comes to saying "NO".
see: Dems warn: McConnell will regret these filibusters

Reason Number 4: The HYPOCRISY!

Payroll Tax Cut: Republican idea shot down by Republicans on Capitol Hill after being proposed by Democrats
The Individual Mandate: Several years ago, the Heritage Foundation, and several prominent Republicans, were among those that pushed the idea of requiring people to buy health insurance.
Cap-and-trade: originally proposed by conservatives and Republicans as a market-based solution to solving environmental problems.

That's just the past couple years... and that's not all of them.... 

Reason Number 5: The Environment

Sadly the Republicans seem to think it is okay to waste away our environment, to strip the land of the natural resources and then leave it barren and unusable. Well maybe not to that extreme, but they have no problem with ignoring the repercussions to their actions. Take the Keystone Pipeline for example, Republicans are more than willing to risk our water supply in the name helping Big Oil.
This in theory could be attributed to Republicans belonging to the top 1%.

How I used to see things... 

When I would hear that republicans were for the rich, I would laugh and talk about how they are letting us live our lives and not forcing things down our throat, that they were letting businesses do there thing and thus creating jobs; that was in my youth and naivety.
I used to think DRILL BABY DRILL!! But never about the consequences.
I used to think we needed to spend more on our military, but now I want to cut that in about half.
I used to think we should get rid of the social programs like welfare and food stamps, but then I learned how people do not stay on them permanently.

I used to think a lot of things, but now I think a lot different. I wonder how I will think in 10 years.  

To answer what you may be thinking, no I am not a Democrat, I am a Libertarian. 

Legalizing Marijuana, Lets Go Green, Reduce the Deficit, and Stimulate the Economy in one move

    A major complaint lately with the Government has been overspending, budget deficits, and with the spending comes taxes and with taxes you have less money to spend. Annually, the Federal Government spends over $20 Billion, that’s billion with a B, on the enforcement of marijuana laws. In 2007 1,841,182 arrest were made, that is 1,841,182 people who instead of working and making our society more productive, are being incarcerated at an average cost of 49,000 a year, how is this helping our economy? Not to mention the Health Benefits of Marijuana, but that will come another time.

"That is not a drug. It's a leaf”

    - Arnold Schwarzenegger about marijuana, 2007

    Imagine now if we were to legalize Marijuana and then allow for the creation of hemp farms as well as the sale of cannabis in a professional manner where it can be regulated in the same fashion as alcohol and tobacco. Instead of wasting resources on senseless arrests we could essentially reverse it and begin bringing in money to pay for law enforcement of violent crimes, as well as for infrastructure; due to this observation, police, sheriffs, and judges are pushing for proposition 19. Proposition 19 is a law coming up for vote in California, a law that would legalize marijuana for recreational use to those 21 and older.

"Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded."

-Abraham Lincoln, December 1840

    How can legalization of marijuana stimulate the economy? Well, lets start a list and touch on each one at a time…

• Reduction of the deficit
• Instant Job creation 
• Reduction of gang revenue
• Use of hemp to go green and make more products at a cheaper price.

Reduction of the Deficit.
    As earlier stated, the federal Government alone spends $20 Billion annually on marijuana enforcement, what I failed to mention was the upwards of $30 billion the states pay each year. If legalized, their would be no need to waste money on frivolous cases and law enforcement would be able to focus on more important crimes. Furthermore, if legalized, the Government would be able to regulate it in the same fashion as alcohol and tobacco,  keeping it out of the hands of children as well as bring in a tax revenue.
    How will it be regulated, you might ask? Simple, in the same fashion, and with the same people who already regulate the sale of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, the ATF. Perhaps with the new addition to their regulation authority we could change it to MAFT, or AFTM, or what ever arrangement they deem necessary. The point being, their would be no need for the creation of some new government organization, one that can handle the job immediately is already in place.

 "If the words "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" don't include the right to experiment with your own consciousness, then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp it was written on."

- Terence McKenna

Instant Job Creation and Reduction of Gang Revenue
    It is amazing how the legalization of one product can create jobs, take alcohol for example, how many bartenders do you know of? Better yet, how many bars are in America and how many people do each of those bars employ? A lot right? Imagine if we put the dealers out of business and replaced them with legitimate business people, people who are not going to sell to minors, lace the products with chemicals, or use the money to fund a gang. Hash bars could be created, waitresses and waiters, cooks, marijuana tenders, hosts, and an array of other restaurant staff would be hired.
    With new establishments popping up the ATF, or new MAFT, would hire new agents to inspect and make sure that everyone is operating within the guidelines established. The array of newly hired employees and agents would begin to spend money, as they begin to spend money the domino effect will begin to stimulate the economy.
    As new bars open, the need to go to a dealer on the street will be eliminated, the drugs will become cheaper from the bars and other legitimate sources and the dealers will be unable to compete in an open market. As people cease going to the illegitimate sources, gangs will lose a large portion of their income and lose the ability to operate.

"Why use up the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the hemp fields?"

- Henry Ford

Use of hemp to make fuels, clothing, paper, and more products and at a cheaper price
    Wouldn’t it be great if we were able to produce hemp at an industrial scale? The uses of hemp can only be described in a separate laundry list.

• Hemp Fabrics
• Biodegradable industrial products
• Biomass Fuels
• Replacement to some wood products
• Paper
• Body Care Products
• Pet Food
• Detergents
• Art Supplies
• Food Products

Those are only the tip of the iceberg with hemp, sadly, many do not know that hemp is THC free, the chemical that gets you high when you smoke pot. Due to the inaccuracy of the news media, many people associate hemp growing with cannabis growing and are unwilling to give our struggling economy a boost in the right direction and are also perfectly fine with their liberties being trampled every second of everyday.



With this blog I am calling for everyone who reads it to write, call, or email their senators and representative to push for legislation to stop the invasion into our personal lives.
If the information sounds simple, thats because it is.


“Why is marijuana against the law? It grows naturally upon our planet. Doesn't the idea of making nature against the law seem to you a bit . . . unnatural?”

- Bill Hicks

http://www.drugsense.org/wodclock.htm
http://www.reference.com/motif/Society/what-is-the-average-cost-to-incarcerate-an-inmate
http://www.hempusa.org/hmps/articles/hemp-uses.html