John has a long mustache.
I've been lurking here for a while. I live in Vermont, surrounded by organic liberal pod people. We moved here because there was a nursing shortage and my wife was looking for work. So now here we are, hoping to get out soon. I had no idea Vermont was
literally Socialist. Guess I should have done my homework. At least we can carry guns here.
Anyway, as my carcass slowly hardens in the amber of liberalism, I enjoy reading this forum, especially your take on the DUmmies over at that liberal joint. I used to go there myself whenever I ran out of antifreeze to drink, but now I don't have to. I can get the greatest hits from like-minded Conservatives right here.
I served in the Army, then spent 13 years as a police officer in a major US city. I got sick of having to defend the Constitution within my own occupation - I am what they call an "originalist", I think... I believe the Constitution should be interpreted through the lens of the framers' intent when they wrote it, extrapolated to modern application but unchanged in meaning (i.e. "arms" means "arms", not "muskets" and "speech" includes the internet, not just shouting in the town square).
I oppose the federal war on drugs and the militarization of law enforcement for the purposes of conducting no-knock warrants for marijuana. I don't support legalizing drugs, I just think federal involvement has gotten out of control, and having seen it from the inside as a police officer I can say that some of my co-workers were a little too excited to bust in a door and get some trigger time. There was also a great deal of colorful, creative writing in some of the affidavits for search warrants I have seen, and a complete lack of knowledge of the Fourth Amendment among my fellow officers. If that's my Libertarian streak, I think that's about as Libertarian as I get.
I am not particularly religious, but I believe America was founded by men who believed in God and that that belief is the most important underpinning of our society. In my opinion, Christian ideology was the bedrock upon which our unalienable rights were first pondered to exist, as they were (and are) thought to come from a creator, not bestowed upon us by men or laws. That transcendent derivation of rights is what made us American and has kept us a free people for so long.
Looking up at my post, I see I've rambled incoherently, so I'll stop there. Thanks for making this forum available and for all of you coming together like this. I look forward to being here with a screen name from now on instead of lurking like a Peeping Tom. It felt skeevy, to be honest.
