KEN STREMSKY DISCUSSES VOTERS AND OTHER TOPICS After the questions voters should ask, I have some responses to the questions mentioned in the August 12, 2002 Debate between Congressman John Sununu and Senator Bob Smith. PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT QUOTE The following quote from President Theodore Roosevelt comes from page 104 of Executive Qualities by Joseph M. Fox. "It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives violently; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms; the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumphs of high achievements; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly." President Theodore Roosevelt August 22, 2002 Dear Fellow Republicans: The Union Leader on page A20 of the August 22, 2002 issue has "Republican voters would do better to worry less about who can bring home more bacon and instead worry about who can send home the governor in 10 weeks." I agree with this quote. If you think about the comments in this letter and compare my views on the issues with my Republican opponents and Governor Shaheen, you should realize I am the Republican most likely to beat Governor Jeanne Shaheen. If you support Congressman John Sununu or Senator Bob Smith, I ask you the following question "Have you forgotten what Governor Jeanne Shaheen did to Gordon Humphrey?" I think she will do to my opponents what she did to him. She can not do this to me because I am better defined than anyone else and I attacked myself before I attacked anyone else significantly first. She is going to go after them for trying to make abortion illegal which most people in this state do not support. I am pro-choice on abortion and many other topics involving individual liberty. She is going to attack them for supporting President Bush who lost the popular vote and won the electoral college because of a very confusing ballot in Florida where the President's brother happens to be Governor. She can not do this to me because I say on my website why President Bush should not be re-elected. President Bush's silence on Enron and secret conversations with energy companies negates the ability of either Congressman John Sununu or Senator Bob Smith to go after Governor Shaheen on Providian. The fact that Congressman John Sununu has taken contributions from companies he should not have does not help. People are going to take her more seriously when she says she supports Social Security because Congressman John Sununu and Senator Bob Smith want to partially privatize Social Security without increasing the amount of money coming into Social Security. I want to partially privatize Social Security and place the social security tax on all wages that a person makes in a year. People are going to take her seriously when she says she wants to get prescription drug benefits to be part of Medicare. They do not take my opponents seriously on this issue. I want Medicare to be similar to the Federal Health Employees Benefit Program and have a prescription drug benefit. The Federal Employees Health Benefit Program is discussed on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management website which is http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/index.htm. I also want the Federal Government to use Bayh-Dole which has been the Law of the Land for many years to lower prescription drug prices. Bayh-Dole allows the Federal Government to license patents based on federal government research to other companies. Many prescription drug patents are based on federal government research. The more companies that make the same drug the lower the price of the drug will probably be. You may find information about Bayh-Dole at Duke University's website which is http://www.duke.edu. Congressman John Sununu's desire to drill in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge when it is not necessary is not going to win him votes. It will cost him votes. I am the Republican most likely to beat Governor Shaheen in November. If you want to defeat Governor Shaheen, you should vote for me on September 10. Please vote for me on September 10. Sincerely, Kenneth Scot Stremsky Republican candidate for United States Senate Republican candidate for President of the United States of America ROBERT F. KENNEDY QUOTE The following quote from Robert F. Kennedy comes from page 35 of Executive Qualities written by Joseph M. Fox. "Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. Few are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change. And I believe in this generation those with the courage to enter the moral conflict will find themselves with companions in every corner of the globe." Robert F. Kennedy BERGEN BALDWIN EVANS QUOTE The following quote from Bergen Baldwin Evans was in the August 14, 2002 Union Leader on page D8. "Freedom of speech and freedom of action are meaningless without freedom to think. And there is no freedom of thought without doubt." Bergen Baldwin Evans American author 1904-1978 SOME QUESTIONS VOTERS SHOULD ASK THEMSELVES BEFORE THEY VOTE One. Has the candidate discussed his/her weaknesses and strengths? Two. Do you know the candidate's platform? Do you know the backbone of the candidate's platform? Three. Has the candidate mentioned most of the policies the candidate has supported within the past two years on the candidate's website? Four. How does the candidate use his/her intelligence? The I.Q. of a candidate does not matter. How the candidate uses the candidate's I.Q. does matter? I have known many people who have a high I.Q. who do not have much common sense. I have known people who have a high I.Q. who have low ethical standards. Five. How does a candidate use the education the candidate has obtained in life? The number of degrees a candidate has and the institutions the degrees come from does not matter. How a candidate uses the education the candidate has obtained does matter? I have known of people who have degrees from top colleges who have little common sense. I have known of people who have degrees from top colleges who have very low ethical standards. Six. Is the candidate willing to share with the voters a lot of the information the candidate has learned in his/her life? Seven. Do you think the person believes in limited government? Eight. Do you think the person believes in separation of power? Nine. Do you think the person realizes that Amendment One of the United States Constitution says that the government will not prohibit the free exercise of religion? Ten. Do you think the person believes that men and women have "certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness"? Eleven. Is the candidate a puppet of teachers unions, other unions, credit card companies, oil companies, other companies, single issue advocacy group, and multi-issue advocacy groups? Twelve. Has the candidate discussed his/her past in great detail before the candidate has discussed his/her opponents past? Thirteen. Has the candidate discussed his/her policies in great detail before he/she has discussed his/her opponents policies in great detail? Fourteen. Are the candidate's negative attack ads against opponents usually truthful? Fifteen: Is the candidate willing to debate competitors? Is the candidate a coward? Is the candidate willing to participate in a debate that allows opponents, the media, and members of the audience to ask the candidate questions? Sixteen. Does the candidate's campaign strategy make sense? Is the candidate using versions of strategies discussed in the Art of War written by Sun Tzu. Seventeen. Do you think the candidate has ever read the Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli? I do not think much of candidate's that I think have never read the book. Eighteen. Do you think the candidate has policies that benefit businesses? Nineteen. Do you think the candidate has policies that punish businesses when they are wrong? SOME OF MY ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS MENTIONED IN THE DEBATE ON AUGUST 12, 2002 BETWEEN SENATOR BOB SMITH AND CONGRESSMAN JOHN SUNUNU. One. Do you support an independent investigation into what happened on September 11, 2001? I support a public, independent investigation into what happened on September 11, 2001 which should be televised and be similar to the Iran Contra hearings. I hope that former Senator Sam Nunn, former Senator Warren Rudman, former Senator Gary Hart, and former Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan will be asking questions publicly of members of President Bush's administration, the FBI, CIA, INS, and the United States Military. I would like to know why the Pentagon had not been given an order to shoot down any plane that came near the Pentagon. The Pentagon should not have needed permission from the President of the United States of America to shoot down a plane that came near the Pentagon with surface to air missiles and other types of rockets. Two. Do you support a prescription drug benefit for Medicare? I support a prescription drug benefit for Medicare. One of the best ways to pay for a prescription drug benefit is to reduce prescription drug prices. The Federal Government should use Bayh-Dole which has been the Law of the Land for many years to reduce prescription drug prices. Bayh-Dole is mentioned on Duke University's website which is www.duke.edu and bayh-Dole allows the Federal Government to license patents based on Federal Government research to other companies. The more companies that make the same drug the lower the price of the drug will probably be. Congress has the power to void prescription drug patents that should not have been renewed because of small changes in dosage or delivery system. Congress should pass tort reform which will increase the probability that prescription drug prices will decrease. Congress should allow a person to deduct the full yearly cost of prescription drugs from the person's yearly federal taxes. Congress should allow a family to deduct the family's full yearly cost of prescription drugs from their yearly federal taxes. If a family deducts a family members yearly prescription drugs from yearly federal taxes, the person should not be able to deduct prescription drugs from the person's federal taxes that year. Three. How will you increase the probability that Social Security will continue to help people in retirement for many years to come? The money that comes from the social security tax is contributed by individuals and the money is not supposed to be used by the Federal Government any way the Federal Government feels like. Money from the social security tax should only be used for Social Security except when Congress and the President of the United States of America Declare a National Emergency. A person should be allowed to contribute at least 25 percent of the person's social security money into individual stocks and bonds for retirement. The social security tax comes from the individual and if the individual wants to risk the possibility that the person will not have much money at retirement the person should be allowed to do this. In 2002, the social security tax is only placed on the first $84,900 a person makes in a year. THE SOCIAL SECURITY TAX SHOULD BE PLACED ON ALL WAGES A PERSON MAKES IN A YEAR. A person should not have to pay the social security on interest from savings accounts, dividends, and capital gains. If a person makes a million dollars in wages in a year and the social security tax is five percent, the person would pay a social security tax that is $50,000. The social security tax is currently 6.2 percent. The medicare tax is 1.45 percent and it is placed on all earnings. If an employer pays an employee stock options, the gain from the sale of stock options should be treated as wages. If an employee receives a profit of nine million dollars by selling stock options for 10 million dollars that the employee paid one million dollars, the employee should pay a social security tax of $450,000 if the social security tax is five percent. The Federal Government should not tax the first $50,000 a person makes in year from interest from savings accounts, dividends, and capital gains. I would like the social security tax to be three percent on the first $20,000 in wages a person makes in a year. I would like the social security tax to be five percent on wages made above $20,000.01 a year. I would like the "normal retirement age" for social security to be 65 years of age. Four. How do you view teacher accountability when kindergarten is not necessary before a child enters first grade? I do not think a child should have to attend kindergarten before a child enters first grade. I think it is idiotic for a child not to go to kindergarten before first grade if the child does not have a stay at home parent or a small group of parents who know how to prepare students for first grade. I believe the state government of New Hampshire should increase funding for public and private kindergarten education. I believe the Federal Government should set national competency tests for teachers. I do not believe that teacher competency testing should be left up to localities and states. The Federal Government should give state governments the money to administer tests. I think it is idiotic that a person can teach calculus who is not proficient in calculus. The Federal Government should create federal education websites that will help people learn pre-k-12 subjects, k-12 subjects, college subjects, and graduate subjects, and the websites should be free to use. Five. Do you support hospital reimbursement from Medicare? I support hospital reimbursement from Medicare for indigent people and senior citizens. Congress should make sure that hospitals get paid what they have been promised by Medicare. Congress should give Medicare at least 10 billion dollars a year from general tax revenues to pay hospitals for care provided to indigents and senior citizens. Congress should pass tort reform and medical malpractice reform that will help hospitals reduce the prices they charge for health care. Six. How will increase the sales of products from America's orchards to foreign countries? I will push Congress to fulfill its responsibilities discussed in Article One of the United States Constitution which says Congress is supposed to regulate Commerce with foreign nations. I want Congress to say to foreign countries that we will probably reduce our trade barriers if you reduce your trade barriers. Congress will also consider giving your country foreign aid which may boost your economic growth if you reduce your trade barriers. I believe in fair trade. I think free trade is often a bad idea. Free trade is often a very bad idea because it often leads to significant job losses in our country and unsafe working conditions in other countries. Our country has a hard time competing against a country that uses child labor and/or slave labor. Seven. Are you against drilling for oil in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge? I think drilling in the Artic Wildlife Refuge is an idiotic idea at this time. I think our country will probably have to drill in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge if Congress does not develop a backbone and stand up to oil companies and automobile companies. Congress should increase fuel efficiency standards for automobiles. Congress can increase the probability that our country will decrease its dependence on oil if it gives businesses tax incentives to sell hybrid vehicles and vehicles that use fuel cells. Congress can increase the probability that people will buy hybrid cars and cars that use fuel cells by giving them tax incentives. Eight. Do illegal immigrants have constitutional rights? Illegal immigrants do not have constitutional rights. Illegal immigrants should be treated in a way that our country would want citizens of the United States of America to be treated in foreign countries which means that illegal immigrants should have the same civil liberty protections discussed in the Bill of Rights that citizens have. Nine. Should Federal Judges set state and/or local tax rates? Federal judges should not set tax rates. Federal judges should not set fees, fines, and other types of taxes on individuals and businesses. Taxation is a power of the legislative branch of government and not the judicial branch of government. Judges are not supposed to make the law. Judges are supposed to interpret laws and decide if laws are constitutional. The United States Supreme Court, the New Hampshire Supreme Court, and many other courts often forget that they do not have the power to make laws. Congress and state governments should impeach judges who make laws. Ten. How would you increase corporate accountability? I think the budget of the Securities and Exchange Commission should at least be tripled and the number of employees that the Securities and Exchange Commission should at least be doubled. Employees of the Securities and Exchange Commission should make at least as much money as Federal Government employees who work for the Federal Reserve Bank. The Securities and Exchange Commission should regulate accountants. SOME QUESTIONS DEALING WITH HEALTH INSURANCE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE I DO NOT HAVE ANSWERS TO? Does a health insurer have the ability to cancel a policy after a person has gotten sick while the person has had a policy with the company when the person pays premiums on time and does not lie to the company? Two. Does a health insurer have the ability to not renew a policy after a person has gotten sick while the person has had a policy with the company when the person pays premiums on time and does not lie to the company? I ask the previous two questions because there is not much point in having health insurance if an insurance company may cancel a policy anytime it wants for any reason, not renew a policy anytime it wants, and/or increase your premiums after you get sick while having a policy with the company. I think a company should only be able to charge a person a higher rate for insurance after the person has gotten sick when the person has gotten older. Three. Will Anthem be offering a plan similar to its Blue Care Plus Direct Plan in Connecticut that comes with a $2000 prescription drug benefit? Will Anthem consider offering a plan that includes a $5000 prescription drug benefit? I believe prescription drugs reduce the probability that people need to have surgery that usually costs more than prescription drugs? Four. Will the Insurance Department ask the legislature to pass a law which says that a health insurer may not refuse to sell an individual policy when the person is able to get a group health insurance policy? I ask this question because many group policies in this country stink. Five. Will candidates for United States Senate and United States House of Representatives pass a law that says that a health insurer may not refuse to sell a person an individual policy because of the person's age? I believe a lot more people would be able to obtain prescription drug coverage if health insurance companies are not ablle to discriminate against people who are at least 65 years of age. I do not have a problem with health insurers charging people who are at least 65 years of age higher premiums for health insurance than people who are under 65 years of age. Six. Will the high risk insurance pool include a plan that has a $2000 prescription drug benefit and a plan that has a $5000 prescription drug benefit?