KEN STREMSKY DISCUSSES IMMIGRATION, PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE, AND OTHER TOPICS This page has some of the information from http://www.geocities.com/kstremsky/page4.html including my Hotline Interview with National Journal, my positions on rail service, immigration, and some other topics. HOTLINE INTERVIEW The following is from an interview with Hotline that I did on July 19, 2002 over the phone. The interviewer called me. "49 STREMSKY: "FOOTLOOSE" And Fancy Free Hotline talked recently with video store clerk/NH Sen candidate/WH'04 candidate Kenneth Stremsky (R) about his dual candidacies, his worst Monopoly loss and his search for a wife among other things. Some excerpts: On your Web site, you list among other things your worst Monopoly loss, an instance when you acted like "an idiot" and a song you wrote on a bus. Why do you think it's important for voters to know these things about you? I think it's important for voters to know about a candidate's faults especially when the candidate talks about the faults of others. I talk about President Bush's faults on my Web site. I don't think it's appropriate for me to go after President Bush without first talking about my own faults. I think people have a right to know I'm not perfect. I know I'm not perfect. I make mistakes. You know, I think people have a right to know different type of events in my life that helped shape me. But why such detail? I think the more detail, the better. To tell you the truth, how a person thinks, what kind of events have helped shape a person - my loss in Monopoly helped shape me. I was stunned that I had lost so badly. She was a young girl and she kicked my ass. I would have never expected that a young girl would have kicked my ass as badly as she did. I was 18, she was like maybe 12 or 13 years old, and she demolished me in Monopoly and I was stunned by it. How is your search for a wife going? I've heard from women in different sates as pen pals. I've also heard from a woman in Australia, as well as a woman in Brazil. My latest e-mail was from a woman in New Jersey and that was more than a week ago. I told her in great detail about myself. I think I turned her off because I told her about my health situation and other things about me as well and I think she lost interest. What is your health situation? I have a chronic illness and I take a prescription drug for it. I got very sick in 1996 and as I say on my Web site, I participate in a prescription drug program. You say your favorite TV show is "General Hospital." If you were a character on that soap, who would you be and why? I'd have to say I'd be Ned Ashton. He used to be the CEO of the family company, ELQ, and right now of all the characters, he has the most honor ... I relate to Ned because he's a bright guy, he cares about his friends, he's an honorable man, and he's doing right now what he thinks is best for Alexis and her child. He's doing something that he knows might cost him the woman he truly loves, who is Alexis' sister, and he's willing to do that. He's willing to make sacrifices for the well-being of others. Can you name the movie character that best describes you? I'd have to say the Kevin Bacon character in "Footloose". It's also my favorite movie. He enjoyed his life greatly. He challenged the staus quo. He wanted to bring dancing to this town he moved to. He cared greatly about religion. Do you think you're going to win the September 10 primary? I doubt it. I will be surprised if I get more than 10 votes. I hope to do more than I think I will, some of the people have told me they will vote for me, so I think I'll do better than that. I don't expect to win though September 10th. I'd be stunned if I did (Hotline interview, 7/19)" PATENTS DEALING WITH GENES Patents on genes should no longer be allowed. Patents on gene sequences should no longer be allowed. Congress has the ability to void patents and Congress should void the patents dealing with genes. Congress should void the patents dealing with gene sequences. Individuals and companies should be allowed to patent cures for gene based diseases. Allowing an individual and/or company to patent a gene or/a gene sequence limits the amount of research done on genes and gene sequences. There are many illnesses that may be cured by genetic engineering and we should not be limiting research based on genes and gene sequences. DNA and DNA sequences are owned by the people of the Earth and DNA and DNA sequences should not be owned by any person and/or company. The Federal Government should spend at least five billion dollars on research dealing with genes and gene sequences. PASSENGER RAIL SERVICE I was sent the following survey from the Seacoast Chamber of Commerce on Rail Transportation G1) Since being formed by the federal government at the time of passenger railroad bankruptcies in the 70's, Amtrak has been asked to provide national service yet it currently receives a fraction of that provided to air and highway modes and is near financial insolvency. Would you support Amtrak receiving an increased share of federal funding and becoming part of the multi-year transportation budget? I think we should kill Amtrak and come up with a better passenger railroad strategy. I want Congress to be more involved in the running of passenger railroad service in our country than it is now. I want passenger rail service to get at least ten percent of the federal funds spent on transportation in the United States of America. I want a new passenger railroad system to be part of the federal multi-year transportation bill appropriation process. I think Amtrak is a mess that has often wasted a great deal of money. I believe that passenger railroad usage would increase if businesses do not have to pay a federal tax rate greater than ten percent on profits made from providing passenger railroad services. I believe passenger railroad service would increase if people could deduct their yearly costs of passenger railroad service from their yearly federal taxes. Our country is not likely to decrease the number of cars on the road and the pollution that cars cause if we do not give people incentives to use passenger railroads and improve the passenger railroad experience. I believe that passenger railroad service should include economy, first class, luxury, and super luxury. G2) The Amtrak Reform Council and the Bush Administration have proposed reforming Amtrak by breaking infrastructure and operations into regional units and allowing private competition in corridors. These proposals would likely spell the end of long-distance national trains and increased pressure on states to provide financial support for rail. Do you support these proposals? I do not support breaking infrastructure and operations into regional units because I want to increase long distance travel. I support private competition in corridors. Congress should support competition in corridors and regulate the private companies involved. I hope that their will be many private companies that are involved in city wide, state wide, and national passenger railroad travel. G3) Congress has designated two high-speed rail investment corridors in northern New England (Boston-Portand and Boston-Montreal) for future investment to provide high-speed passenger rail service. As an elected representaive, would you support additional funding to make the necessary investments in the corridor to bring high-speed rail service to New Hampshire and northern New England? I will support additional funding to make investments in the corridor to bring high-speed rail service to New Hampshire and northern New England. I also support funding to create a high-speed passenger rail service between Boston-Toronto. G4) The North-South Rail link through Boston would extend the continuous northeast corridor into northern New England and increase the efficiency of of rail system. Preliminary engineering has been done as part of the Big Dig. Would you support federal funding to construct this rail connection through Boston? I would support federal funding to construct this rail construction through Boston. US1) Given the current debates over the future of Amtrak, what is your specific position regarding a national passenger rail system and an integrated system of long and short distance passenger trains? I do not support Amtrak. The sooner we kill Amtrak the better. I support the creation of a well-managed passenger rail system and an integrated system of long and short distance passenger trains. US2) What is your position on the Amtrak (FY2003) request for additional funding versus the Administration proposal for level funding. I do not think Amtrak should receive any more federal funding after January 1, 2004. I want a new passenger railroad system to be created before the federal government spends money on passenger rail service after January 1, 2004. US3) Amtrak receives less than 1% of the federal funds spent on transportation in the United States. What mechanisms or funding sources would you put in place to ensure an ongoing, stable and appropriate source of investment and funding for rail transportation in the United States? Do you agree that rail service should receive a balanced share of federal transportation investment? Amtrak should not receive any more federal funds. A new passenger rail service should obtain at least ten percent of the budget of the Department of Transportation. If the new passenger rail service manages federal dollars well and increases passenger rail service, I may support the new passenger rail service obtaining at least twenty percent of the budget of the Department of Transportation. Tax incentives should be used to encourage companies to provide passenger rail service. Tax incentives should be used to encourage people to use passenger rail service. US4) If currently or previously an office holder, what specific bills or programs have you been a sponsor or supporter of regarding rail transportation in federal transportation bills or policy? I do not hold elective office now. I have not held elective office in the past. I am running for elective office. I support passenger rail service and passenger buses more than most people. I use passenger buses to get around. I have used passenger buses in the past and I thought they were poorly managed. I thought they could be highly profitable if some parts of trains had luxury cabins and luxury service as well as super luxury cabins and super luxury service. US5) The United States lags behind other industrial countries in the development of high speed rail systems and infrastructure. Would you support and provide investment in and development of high speed rail corridor Investments between urban centers in the United States. I would support and encourage Congress to provide investment in and development of high speed rail corridor Investments between urban centers in the United States. US6) Other positions or statements regarding national rail service, transit funding and transportation alternatives: www.msn.com has an article "Why Did That Amtrak Train Jump the Tracks?" by Brendan I. Koerner and dated July 30, 2002. The article may be found by typing Amtrak in the Slate search engine. The article said the solution might be to attach fiber-optic cable to rails that would sound an alarm when defects are found. The University of Illinois located at Urbana-Champaign started working on this type of safety feature in the 1990s. Congress should help fund the attachment of fiber-optic cable too many tracks. Research should be conducted to see if the fiber-optic cable works as desired. If the fiber-optic cable works as desired Congress should increase funding for the attachment of fiber-optic cable to tracks. TRAINRIDERS NORTHEAST ALSO SENT ME SOME QUESTIONS I support increased funding from the federal government for passenger rail service and freight rail service. I will probably support more federal funding to make more additional right-of-way improvements and purchase additional equipment to achieve higher speeds and provide more frequent service in th Boston/Exeter/Dover/Portland line. If the Federal Government decides the Boston through Nashua and Concord to Montreal is a good idea, I will probably support federal funding for construction and operation of the corridor. I support extended passenger rail service from Lowell to Nashua Nashua to Manchester and Concord Newburyport to Portsmouth/Kittery I will probably support increased federal funding for implemenation and operation of the above lines. I do not believe the Federal Government has the power to tell states they have to spend more money on transportation. I do not believe that the Federal Government has the power to tell a State that the Federal Government will only give money if the State matches. The tax dollars the Federal Government takes in is not owned by the Federal Government. The money the Federal Government takes in is owned by the American people. I believe in State rights. If the Federal Government mandates that a State does something, the Federal Government should pay for it. I support federal legislation that limits the liability of private rail line owners and operators in the case of passenger rail accidents. I would support state legislation that limits the liability of private rail line owners and operators in the case of passenger rail accidents. Congress has the power to void these limitations on liability. I will probably support the construction of a link to connect North and South Station in Boston "to provide for through passenger rail service from Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont to southern and western points on Amtrak's national system. Transportation funds should be used for passenger rail service. If state governments want to spend money raised from state highway gasoline taxes to be used for railroads, state governments should be able to. I want Amtrak to be killed and replaced by a better managed railroad system. If Amtrak is not killed and replaced by a better passenger railroad system, I will probably not support passenger rail service in the United States of America. I RECEIVED A QUESTIONNAIRE FROM ENGLISH FIRST I think passing an Amendment to the United States Constitution that makes English the official language of the United States of America is a dumb idea which will make it harder for our companies to sell our products to foreign countries. I have no problem with the federal government requiring states and localities to provide ballots and other voting materials in languages other than English if the federal government provides the states and localities full funding to fulfill this mandate. I support bilingual education. I support trilingual education. The more language that our people speak the more products and services they will probably be able to sell to foreign countries. The United States of America has about 300 million people. The Earth has more than six billion people now. Smart trade treaties create jobs. Many people in foreign countries did not buy cars from us because they translated poorly in their languages. Our country may not stay on top of the world and provide people with a high standard of living if it decides to lessen foreign language instruction. Students should be taught at least 10 hours of English instruction per week. The Federal Education websites I want to be created should teach people English and foreign languages. An employer has the right to require employees to speak English in the workplace in order to avoid hostile work environments and unsafe work environments. I do not support mandatory multilingualism for most government jobs. I do not support linguistic quotas for government jobs. I think people a significant number of people who work for our intelligence agencies and Defense Department should have to be multi-lingual. Federal-funded education programs should emphasize the teaching of English. Students should also be taught in their ancestral language. I support the teaching of "multicultural education". There are many flaws in Western culture. There are many flaws in non Western culture. People who do not want true history to be taught our idiots. I hope Puerto Rico will become a state. I hope that Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America will become part of the United States of America within the next 50 years. I do not think recipients of federal funds should have to provide translations into any language at any time on demand. I think Clinton Executive Order 13166 which says recipients of federal funds have to provide translations into any language at any time is an idiotic idea that should be repealed. I am against making English our official language by statute. I support bilingual ballots if the federal government pays for them. IMMIGRATION, ECONOMIC GROWTH, AND NATIONAL SECURITY Several hundred years ago, China was one of the worlds wealthiest countries and was one of the worlds most important trading countries. Near China's peak, China decided to cut itself off from the rest of the world and several hundred years later China was dominated by European countries that terrorized China's citizens. If our country cuts itself off from the rest of the world, I believe our country will be dominated by other countries in the future. I want our country to increase immigration significantly. I especially want our country to go after educated immigrants. I want Doctors, lawyers, engineers, and scientists from other countries to have a lot easier time practicing their professions in our country. The Education Department should come up with tests that foreigners and U.S. citizens should be allowed to take to become lawyers, Doctors, and engineers without having to take any courses in schools based in the United States of America. If you get scores greater than an amount the Education Department sets, you should be able to practice the profession the test deal with. A person should not have to go to law school to become a lawyer. Abraham Lincoln taught himself law. People should not have to go to a medical school in the United States of America to become Doctors. People should not have to go to an engineering school in the United States of America to be an engineer. People could pay for the tests by paying higher taxes until the tests are paid off. People should be told how much a test will cost before the test is taught. I want our country to increase the number of low skilled immigrants it lets in each year. Low skilled immigrants often have a better work ethic than native born citizens of the United States of America. Low skilled immigrants often care a lot more about the education of their children than native born citizens of the United States of America do. Low skilled immigrants and the children of low skilled immigrants often value our freedoms more than native born citizens of the United States of America. Our country should help citizens and immigrants obtain low skill training and high tech skill training. People of any income level should be allowed to participate in the training. People would pay back the government for the training via higher taxes till the training is paid off. People should be told how much a course will cost before the person takes a course. Our country should make sure that illegal immigrant children and illegal immigrant adults are treated decently when they are caught. Illegal immigrant children and illegal immigrant adults should not be forced to live in harsh prisons. Many illegal immigrant children who want to be adopted by American families should be allowed to be adopted by American families. The Department of Homeland Security should do a lot better job monitoring the activities of immigrants than the Immigration and Naturalization Service has done in the past. Our country should make sure that state driver's licenses and other state IDs expire when Visas exprire. Our country should do a better job spying on groups our country believes are connected to terrorists. There are many groups in the United States of America which advocate terrorism against the United States of America that have many native born citizens of the United States of America and immigrants as members. Our country needs more spies to infiltrate these groups. I agree with the following comments from Congressman John Sununu that were in the August 10, 2002 Union Leader on page A10. "Finally, with regard to illegal aliens, there is no question because of the ineptitude of the INS, there are thousands of people that came to this country legally, that made application to stay in this country legally, that have not seen the INS act on their applications. Now, the question is do we punish them for the INS ineptitude. I don't think we should. I think if we have an appropriate way to document them, identify them, we should move forward with processing of their applications, but we don't start punishing people that have up until now obeyed the law simply because the INS hasn't been able to process their information." I agree with the following comments made by President Bush that were in the August 10, 2002 Union Leader on page A10. "I am a strong proponent of government policies that recognize the importance of families and that help to strengthen them," Bush wrote. "To the extent possible, I believe that our immigration policies should reflect that philosophy." QUESTIONS VOTERS MAY WANT TO ASK CANDIDATES One. Do you support Trade Promotion Authority for the President of the United States of America? If you do, why do you think it is constitutional when Article Two of the United States Constitution says a treaty requires the Advice and Consent of the Senate? Two. Do you support separation of government powers? Describe some checks and balances in our system of government. Three. Do you support Bayh-Dole which is discussed on Duke University's website www.duke.edu to reduce prescription drug prices? Bayh-Dole says that the government may license patents on prescription drugs to other companies when the drugs are based on federal government research. If more companies produce the same drug, the price of the drug will probably decline. Four. What do you think should happen with campaign finance reform? Five. What do you think should happen to election reform including Presidential primaries, the electoral collge, and none of the above boxes on ballots? Six. Do you believe in limited government? If you do, why do you think any government should have the power to keep women from having abortions? Don't you think women should have the same Liberty that men have while the child is inside her body? Why do you think government should have the power of God when abortion is discussed? Seven. Do you support passing a law that requires the boosting of gas mileage for cars? If you do not, don't you think human engineers and scientists in the future are likely to create cars with hybrid engines that can run vehicles that weigh as much as today's pick up trucks and minivans. The Toyota Prius has a hybrid engine. Honda sells a Honda Civic that comes with a hybrid engine. Both automobiles get about 40 miles per gallon. Eight. Do you think the federal government should lower the taxes on profits that businesses obtain from the selling of hybrid cars? Nine. Do you think the Federal Government should fund education websites that people may use for free including parents who home school their children which teaches pre-grade school subjects, grade school subjects, junior high school subjects, high school subjects, college subjects, and graduate school subjects? Ten. Do you think the Federal Government should require television stations to give a candidate for Governor, United States Senate, United States House of Representatives and/or President of the United States of America free advertising time for commercials when the candidate meets the petition requirements of the state the television station is in? I believe the airwaves are owned by the American people and that Congress has the ability to regulate commerce in this way. Amendment One is not harmed because the media has every right to go after the views of a candidate after the candidate has a commercial. FEDERAL EDUCATION WEBSITES If I become President of the United States of America, I will have the Federal Government help create free education websites that will teach k-12 subjects, college subjects, and graduate school subjects using text, audio, and video. I will ask colleges and high schools to help create the websites. I will also ask businesses and individuals to volunteer their services. EDUCATION, TECHNOLOGY, AND THE AMERICAN FAMILY I hope that the Federal Government will help public and private school districts post the transcripts of notes from teachers, video of the teachers discussing subjects, and audio of teachers discussing subjects on the internet for free viewing by anyone in the world who has an internet connection. The notes of the teachers should include diagrams and graphs that are done in step by step fashion. I would have learned better how to do graphs in economics if graphs had been shown step by step in textbooks along with a description of what is going on in each step of the graph. I am able to explain economic concepts in essays and what usually happens when different things are done. I usually was not able to do this with graphs. Parents will be able to see what their children are being taught. Parents who home school their children will be able to have their kids taught by top teachers. Parents and students should be able to e-mail questions to many top teachers who want to get e-mails from top teachers. I hope that someday parents and students will be able to make video telephone calls to top teachers who want to receive video phone calls. Congress should use its regulatory power to speed up the development of video telephone calls. Parents could go with their kids more often on school field trips to museums, plays, art museums, concerts, and other educational opportunities without their children missing out on what has happened in other classes. I believe children are more likely to learn when educational experiences are more varied than what is possible in a classroom. I hope that employers will give employees more time off to spend with their children during the week. The Federal Government and state governments may want to give businesses who offer flex time arrangements to their employees lower tax rates than businesses who do not offer flex time arrangements for their employees. The Federal Government and state governments may also want to give lower tax rates to businesses that offer paid maternity leave and paid paternity leave to their employees than businesses that do not offer paid maternity leave and paid paternity leave to their employees. I hope the Federal Government will contribute at least two billion dollars a year to libraries for the purchase of computers and internet access. I hope that the Federal Government will contribute at least ten billion dollars a year to music and art programs run by public school districts and private school districts. I believe that instruction in music and art especially instruction with instruments, drawing, and painting will increase the creativity of our children, lower drop out rates, boost self-esteem, lower suicide rates, may decrease unwanted teenage pregnancies, and boost grades in other subjects. I usually did well in my k-12 subjects because I took music and art courses. I wish I had listened to classical music on a regular basis when I was in college. I recommend that parents find out what types of classical music their children like and encourage them to listen to the music especially when they study some subjects. I have obtained some of my best thoughts after listening to classical music. ESTIMATED TAXES Article Two of the United States Constitution gives the President of the United States of America executive power which is the power to decide which laws are enforced, which laws are not enforced, and how laws are enforced. If I become President of the United States of America, I will tell the IRS and other branches of government not to enforce estimated tax laws because people and businesses should only have to pay taxes on money they have actaully made. I do not have a problem with investors and businesses paying taxes on a quarterly basis on money they have actually made. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SPENDING The President of the United States of America has the power to tell executive branch departments not to spend money Congress gives executive branch departments. The President of the United States of America has the power to tell the Department of the Treasury not to write checks to businesses Congress tells the Department of the Treasury to write. Congress does have the power to remove a President of the United States of America who does this too often. Congress also has the ability not to fund projects the President of the United States of America supports when the President of the United States of America tells executive branch departments not to spend money Congress wants spent. I also support an Amendment to the United States Constitution that gives the President of the United States of America line item veto power. One of my main domestic priorities is to reduce a great deal of political pork. THE AMERICAN FAMILY Married couples should pay lower taxes than single couples. Married couples should not pay higher taxes than single couples. Homosexuals should be allowed to marry. Homosexuals should not be discriminated against by governments. A family should be allowed to deduct the full cost of yearly education expenses and yearly health care expenses for their family members from their yearly federal taxes. A family should be allowed to deduct yearly child care expenses including day care expenses from their yearly federal taxes. A family should be allowed to deduct the full cost of yearly nursing home expenses including at home nursing expenses from their yearly federal taxes. Congress should pass a law which says the following. Joint custody should usually be mandated in divorce cases. A parent should normally be allowed to visit his/her child at least two days a week. A parent should usually be allowed to have custody of his/her child at least two weekends a month and at least one month during the summer. The mental health of children and adults should be one of our nation's top health priorities. The Federal Government should contribute at least $300 million a year to mental health clinics so that they may provide free help to children and adults dealing with divorce. Our country would probably have fewer suicides and fewer crimes if fathers are a more significant part of their children's lives. HOSTILE TAKEOVERS The June 26, 2002 Wall Street Journal om page A18 has a great letter with the title "Bring Back the Hostile Takeover" written by Henry G. Manne who is dean and professor emeritus at the George Mason University School of Law. I think he is right that our country needs more hostile takeovers. Henry G. Manne discusses in the article how hostile takeovers increase the likelihood that companies will be run in a way that benefits shareholders. I doubt Enron, Worldcom, and many other companies would have been able to get away with their unethical practices as long as they did if it had not been as hard as it is now for hostile takeovers to take place. Markets often do a far, far better job regulating the behavior of companies than governments because companies are often led by people far brighter than governments are. MY POLICIES DEALING WITH QUESTIONNAIRES ARE THE FOLLOWING One. I am not likely to answer a questionnaire mailed to me if the questionnaire has been mailed by a person and/or organization that has not obtained my permission via -e-mail to send me it. Two. I do not answer yes/no style questions. I may answer essay type questions. I believe the yes/no style of questions in politics are almost as useless as the yes/no style of questions used in many court rooms. I believe yes/no style questions are more likely to keep the truth from coming out than essay type questions are. I may discuss court room reform in the future. I discuss arbitration and tort reform on my political platform. I discuss Amendment Two of the Constitution on my platform. I do believe that if law abiding citizens are not allowed to own handguns that our Republic and our civil liberties will not last long. I discuss abortion on my platform. If an Amendment to the Constitution is passed that bans abortions, I will not enforce the ban as President of the United States of America and I will tell executive branch departments not to enforce the ban because I believe in limited government. I believe no government has the right to tell a woman what she may do with her own body. I believe no government should have the power to keep women from having abortions. I believe no government should have the power to force women to have abortions. I believe that women have the same unalienable rights that men have and that the Declaration of Independence guarantees these rights. The Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights are more important to me than any other part of the United States Constitution. If I am elected President of the United States of America, I will enforce both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution the way I believe they should be enforced. I do not consider some of the laws that conflict with the Declaration of Independence to be legal laws and I will not enforce those laws as President of the United States of America. I discuss more issues than most candidates on my platform and I will be discussing more issues in the future. I may add to my positions on some issues I have previously talked about. I use different types of logic as well as different types of military based strategies when I develop my policies that are part of my platform.