I have been campaigning in several different parts of the state, appeared on some local television programs, and have been meeting many great people. I have had several questions regarding my positions on a variety of issues that have not been formally addressed within this site to date, and I would like to take a chance to answer some of those questions here:

What is your position on the Patriot Act?

My basic position is the Patriot Act is unconstitutional, and should be repealed. This was a piece of legislation that was thrust upon us during the “What do we do now?” period right after the 9/11 attacks, and it essentially robbed us of many of the liberties that we had before 9/11. It closes once open public hearings regarding immigration and encourages public officials to resist even the most basic public record requests. There may be monitoring of religious and political institutions for any reason, not just for potential terrorist activity. It also allows for monitoring of attorney/client conversations in Federal prisons. I realize that the reasons were to undermine terrorism at it’s root, but these liberties have been taken away from all of us and this Act can be used against any American. This is dead wrong, and a blatant violation of the Constitution.

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What is your feeling about Real ID?

I believe that this, like the Patriot Act, is unconstitutional. It is very expensive to implement, with cost estimates I am hearing in the $20 to $30 Billion range. It provides way too much access to all Americans’ basic information, whether it be at the grocery store or at the airport. Several states, among them Alaska and Montana, are resisting the implementation of this Act, and I support those states’ efforts. Furthermore, what assurances do we have that the Real ID system would not be able to be hacked, and then every Americans most personal information is out there for the malicious people of the world to do whatever they want. I would work to repeal this as your Congressman.

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What is your Abortion Position?

I believe life begins at conception, and am against Abortion in all cases unless the life of the mother is in imminent danger. There should be no Federal Funding for Abortion in any Health Care initiative promoted by the Radical Left in this country. I further believe abortion is a States Rights Issue governed by the Tenth Amendment. States should be able to determine on their own the scope and reach of abortion law in their specific jurisdiction; it says as much in the Constitution.

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Where do you stand on the Yucca Mountain Project?

Unfortunately I believe Yucca is already a done deal, we can only hope to delay the eventual. I am against this project, but not for the reasons that environmentalists would give you. Again, it is a States Rights issue…I don’t like any situation where the Federal Government tells a state what they can and cannot do with their land, even if the land in question is owned by the Federal Government. That waste is still going to have to travel through parts of the state that is privately owned from all directions. What I would like to see instead is Nevada to be asked if they want the Nuclear storage facility, and to have the state compensated by the other states sending their waste here. It might just take care of many of the state budget problems we are currently having, and the voters in this state can decide how they want the Yucca payments spent.