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OK, so this post is only being written for 2 people... :o)

Most people who only quasi-know me, mistakenly assume I'm a just a liberal. In some ways I am. But most mistake my strong libertarian views for liberalism. And on most social issues, I tend to be very libertarian and sometimes liberal as well--and proud of it too might I add. However, I have a few notable exceptions.

On crime and punishment I tend to be rather conservative. I'm all for compassion and mercy, but when I hit the wall, I hit it hard.

When Mike Huckabee, a former Southern Baptist minister then serving as governor of Arkansas, granted clemency to Maurice Clemmons nine years ago, he cited his age: Mr. Clemmons was 16 when he began the crime spree for which he was sentenced to more than 100 years in prison.

link: Old Clemency May Be Issue for Huckabee - NYTimes.com

From where I sit, if a 16 year old is sentenced to over 100 years in prison, I suspect the little @*&! should never see the light of day again. Period. His/her only redemption is to remain in prison. Period.

Huckabee's clemency wasn't just a lapse of good judgement. 

In my humble opinion, anytime an official grants clemency or parole to a convicted criminal who then goes on to commit further crimes, s/he isn't just exercising bad judgement, s/he is complicit in their criminal conduct and should be treated as such. In so doing, we would have fewer horrible decisions made for political gain, financial reasons, and social ruin.

Huckabee has the blood of 4 officers on his hands. He too is responsible for this act.

Carrie Prejean
is your typical right wing extremist: If you don't play by my rules, I'll take my toys and go home. Can't she think things all the way through? First she sues the pageant. They counter sue her. All is settled quietly. Then she agrees to do an interview with Larry King and admonishes him for being inappropriate before taking off her mic and just sitting there? And who is the mystery person off camera to whom she keeps communicating? She's sadly bizarre in my opinion. Hasn't it been 15 minutes yet?!

Lou Dobbs
has finally gotten the boot from CNN. Over time I've watched him become his own kind of fanatic. He remained on CNN far too long in my humble opinion. I think we need to take the media spotlight away from those who live in the fringe element. To do otherwise appears to legitimize their bizarre perspectives which no longer is good entertainment or news.

Current TV
was going to connect TV and the internet generation by allowing today's youth to create real news programs. Apparently, after four years of effort, America's youth aren't ready for such a thing as Current TV announced massive layoffs and is restructuring its programming strategy, making it more traditional. Children are trained by our current model of schooling to consume, not process and think, find higher levels of meaning, solve problems, and offer a value-added contribution. Sadly NCLB, which focuses school on just memorizing basic facts, is leaving CurrentTV behind.

Mormon Church
is trying to refurbish its tarnished image by supporting anti-discimination legislation for gay rights? This former mormon thinks so and believes that church doesn't want to be seen as part of the extremist religious movement in this country. The mormons I know personally are very good people, but their church has "quite a history."