Confessions of a Liberal Republican
THE PLATFORM
THE PLATFORM
It is the opinion of the webmaster that the death penalty is a necessary tool for law enforcement. This opinion is based on several contributing items, including the fact that, whether studies by anti-death penalty groups can "prove" it or not, capital punishment is a deterrent. Additionally, many states and the federal government have found that their prison system is becoming overpopulated, and some states have even begun releasing prisoners as a way to reduce this problem. One of the reasons that the prisons are overpopulated is because of an excess number of convicts who have been sentenced to life in prison. From a purely practical perspective, the turnover rate of those receiving the death penalty would help relieve the prisons of overcrowding problems.
It is the opinion of the webmaster that the Patriot Act is overreaching, largely unconstitutional, and almost certainly contrary to the principles this nation was founded upon. A good synopsis of the act and argument opposing it is found here. Among some of my objections to the Act are the fact that it broadly expands the Attorney General's power to declare American citizens "persons of interest" while giving very few rights to those victims of this process. Theoretically, the President or Attorney General could declare a political rival a "person of interest," have that person locked up under "national security" pretenses, and we would be in a de facto dictatorship. The point is, I cannot find any way to justify within my own mind the necessity or constitutionality of the Patriot Act.