Positions

Like all the other U.S. Senate candidates in New Hampshire, I was contacted by the nonpartisan Citizens Count organization to answer 34 questions about my positions. This helps New Hampshire citizens make more informed choices at the polls.

Of the 16 candidates running, I am the only one who answered all 34 questions and provided written explanations for each answer. I did this because I believe citizens should choose their representation based on information, not on the amount of littered lawn signs or the over-the-top viciousness of attack ads.

You can find my answers on the Citizens Count (click here) website.

Before stating my other general positions, I have to say, “I feel like I’m back as a Captain on an airliner and there’s a fire in one of the engines, the hydraulic systems are failing, the aircraft has faulted to emergency electrical power, and the plane is literally falling out of the sky… when the flight attendant calls up and asks if I could reset the cabin’s internet because its bandwidth has slowed.”

The point is, having “positions” is meaningless if the greater framework implodes. The first job is to save the aircraft, and then one can address the lesser discrepancies. Saving the framework, the Constitution, is my first priority and where I intend to direct my initial energies.

After it is saved, I will advocate for substantial policy change.

I should state up front that I do not possess a dogmatic personality. By nature, I’m always open to learning discussions on other positions, and only then, after careful, open discussion, can a legitimate, self-governing position be implemented, which must be accepted by all through the honoring of constitutionally mandated election results.

Opposition to my positions does not make someone evil, unpatriotic, or even an enemy — if they support the constitution, then they are my brethren despite differences in policy beliefs, whereas someone who shares my positions but acquiesces in the overthrow of the constitution is my enemy.

Purpose and Function of Government

In general, I believe that the government should be limited to doing for the people only what the people cannot do for themselves.

My reasoning is that all human organizational systems have a strong tendency to devolve into inefficiency, but under competition, the organization self-corrects through natural law by continually replacing inefficient systems with newer, more efficient ones (a healthy process that economists call “creative destruction”).

A government organization, however, cannot be replaced through competition because there is no competition, so it just keeps becoming more and more inefficient. It’s a necessary evil we must accept for necessary government, but if it’s not a necessary government function, if it’s something the people can do for themselves, then I believe it’s best to leave such functions outside the realm of government so that the processes of natural law can keep it efficient.

To quote Henry David Thoreau, I generally believe, “that government is best which governs the least.” As such, I’m in favor of dismantling much of the inefficient government that has accumulated over the years, much of which is no longer relevant.

Change

The Greek Philosopher Heraclitus astutely observed over 2,000 years ago, “Change is the only constant in life.” Said differently, the only thing that doesn’t change is change itself.

As one example, the recent invention of the internet has forever changed many fundamental facets of our lives, for better and for worse. We must adapt our government to better match this technological change.

I would start with privacy, which the internet has severely eroded. Some say destroyed. Privacy is a fundamental human right so important that it appears several times in our constitutional bill of rights.

I truly feel sorry for the young people growing up under the internet’s expansive, never-forgetting lens. Every mistake they make, and we’ve all made mistakes, is now at the forever keystroke beckon. As Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg said, the age of privacy is over.

Nobody wants, or should be forced, to live in a permanent fishbowl of instantaneous, all-encompassing public view. Therefore, I am in favor of laws to protect the human “Right to Privacy.” This protection has historically been bandied about through the Ninth Amendment.

Public Schools

“We hold these truths…”

In a democracy, which is governed from the bottom up, it is essential that all citizens are well educated so that they can discern truth from lies. A democracy cannot function under systematic lies.

Therefore, we need to address and shore up the product of our public school system, which apparently is ill-equipped to teach social media decoding, let alone to judge the coming of deceptive AI. The public school’s basic curriculum was designed by a group of leading university presidents in 1892 (the ‘Committee of Ten’). I’ll do the math: our basic public-school curriculum was created over 130 years ago and has changed little since, while our world has changed a lot.

Additionally, due to an inherent lack of competition, we are now stuck with an engorged school bureaucracy that has steadily grown more rigid and inefficient.

This must be addressed.

First, we need to reset the curriculum to better match today’s changed world and then introduce competition so that our schools can once again become efficient. Sweden is currently experiencing great success by introducing competition into its public school system.

To be clear, I am staunchly in favor of public schools, but I am adamantly against inefficient public schools, which appear to be the case at present. We need efficiency.

We also need to remove the dependence on memorization and the teaching of tests. A form of the Montessori technique should be explored. Playground time should be given back to the young. Diversity in studies should be offered to older students, suiting innate preferences—some prefer technology, others prefer the arts.

And obviously, money attracts talent, so teacher salaries must be raised. This is essential for success.

Environment, both portrait and landscape

Another byproduct of recent change is the sedentary lifestyle afforded by sitting in front of our technology devices. We’re getting a fraction of the exercise for which our bodies were designed, presently averaging three thousand steps a day when our bodies are designed for sixteen thousand plus.

We must, therefore, introduce new opportunities that not only address our physical but also our psychological well-being. In New Hampshire, we are blessed with beautiful outdoor spaces. I say we maximize its benefits.

As American citizens, we pay a lot in federal taxes, yet I don’t see much coming back in the form of improvements in our quality of life. I propose we get more of our money back and instead of using it on self-entitlement programs for the few, we use it to build out a healthier infrastructure for all.

No new roads, which are mostly subsidized by federal dollars, should be either built or rebuilt without an attached bike lane/walking-path. Let’s lead the nation on this. The payback from reduced medical expenditures would far outweigh any additional infrastructure costs, especially if we can secure subsidies from our already paid federal tax dollars.

The New Economy

New Hampshire also needs to attract and retain more young people. We are a low-regulation state with a high quality of life, so it’s inexcusable that New Hampshire is failing to attract and cultivate a powerful “new-tech” economy driven by younger workers. This “new-tech” industry-creation should be one of the main goals of your federal representatives – using the power of the federal government (43% of our nation’s GDP goes through Washington) to advance our state’s economic interests – we pay a lot in federal taxes, so again, let’s get our fair share back and use it to attract and build out a new-tech economy.

Also, like Japan before us, our nation’s workforce is growing older. To remain competitive, we must retain productivity by honoring our older workers. Presently, we have government-sanctioned age discrimination, intentionally supported by our current democrat congressman and now wannabe senator, which forces older but still productive workers out of their jobs (against their will) into non-productive government entitlement expenditures.

Unlike Representative Pappas, I’m against ALL forms of discrimination, INCLUDING AGE DISCRIMINATION, so that EVERY citizen can contribute to our society to the best of their ability for the good of all.

Our Families

On the other end of the age spectrum, I believe our nation’s most important asset is our children, and the best natural protector of children is a strong family unit. Our nation must create laws that strengthen the family unit, and I’m not against different kinds of families so long as they endear their children. I’m in favor of much greater tax credits for those raising children.

Drug Addiction

Our current, continuing street-drug crisis is a major degradation of human life. Encouraging drug use weakens our collective citizenship and thus weakens the great republic. I’m not in favor of criminalizing drug use, but I’m not in favor of encouraging it either. An addiction to mind-altering chemicals is a sickness, and it should be treated, not tolerated.

Over-Regulation and Under-Competition

Regarding the regulatory environment, having too many regulations does stifle growth. While some regulation is certainly necessary (for example, I am in favor of protecting a clean and safe environment), we need to revisit and readjust bureaucratic regulations to ensure we’re competitive in the world economy. Doing so has direct implications for both our standard of living and our national security.

And as previously discussed, we need to introduce more competition throughout. Natural law uses competition to create efficiency, and efficiency is the main reason for America’s past and present success.

For future success, we must ensure fair competition in all aspects of the system, both government and private. Where we have allowed competition to erode, we must reintroduce it because competition breeds greatness, and greatness is America’s destiny.

The Military

We are the strongest global nation because our military is the strongest. Ukraine proves the world is still full of evil, and we must always be on guard to fight it. Technology wins wars and is the best deterrent.

We must keep investing in military technology to ensure our continued strength. It’s the best investment we can make. Money spent on research and production is spent at home, not only creating excellent-paying jobs but also advancing our nation’s technological and manufacturing prowess. That said, we must ensure that our military money is spent competitively. Much work is to be done in that regard.

The Future

I would like to close by saying that we, the Great American Republic, are riding the momentum of our forebears and still at the top of our game, still leading the world in economic, cultural, and most importantly, military strength. To hear a politician say otherwise is a self-serving, demagogic lie.

We’re only 4% of the world’s population, yet we generate 26% of the world’s GDP. We’re only 4% of the world’s population, yet we control 48% of the world’s financial markets. We’re only 4%, yet our currency is used in 84% of the world’s business transactions. Our cultural exports, such as music and movies, are unsurpassed.

With the strength of our military, no one is going to come in from abroad and topple us. “If destruction be our lot, it will come from within.”

Unfortunately, that destruction appears to be coming from within.

Although still leading, we are divided and degrading. Many Americans have strayed and lost faith in our system. I understand. These are difficult times, and blame lies on both sides of the aisle for not considering the greater good of all over the expedient self-interest of the few.

If, however, you’ve become so disillusioned that you no longer believe in our founding system, I ask that you come back into the brethren of American liberty and have faith in our Constitution and its ability to self-correct.

I’m running for the U.S. Senate and would very much appreciate your vote, so that together, we can readopt our constitutional principles, amend the change our founders intended, and thereby continue America’s destiny toward a more perfect future.