It's time to leave the sidelines

I've been reading blogs since shortly before 9-11.

They're cool. It's cutting-edge news and opinion at the touch of a fingertip. With a dance across the keyboard, I can find out what's going on anywhere in the world. I can follow Lance Armstrong through the Alps, keep updated on the insanity that is Kim Jong Il and stay abreast of advances in the sciences which are often filtered out by the traditional media. No longer do I have to rely on limited resources for my worldview...the world is largely opened and the limiting factor is the extent to which I'm willing to research.

You get to learn about worldshaking events from a blogger who is on the ground, experiencing them. It's an invaluable tool for capturing the rich texture of history-in-the-making.

It's also an invaluable too for societal change.

In the book Ender's Game, presciently written in 1985 by Orson Scott Card, the young hero's preteen brother and sister use the blogosphere as a tool to change the political and social dynamic of the planet. No one knew who they were; they just listened to the message posted by the youngsters, who called themselves Locke and Demosthenes. It was the message that was important, not the messenger. I think Card's vision of the future has come true in this respect - the availability of blogs give everyone in the world an equal voice.

So I decided it was time for me to get off the sidelines and take advantage of my "equal voice."

I'm a card-carrying member of NRA who's strong on national defense, fiscal responsibility and personal liberty. I'm nominally a Republican. I also support abortion rights and am an atheist. I'm a square peg in a round hole. Again. I think the Global War on Terror is truly a world war against Islam, which is something we need to realize if we want to win.

Social Security? I'm all for privatizing some of it and have my doubts whether I (40 something) will see any of the money which I paid into the program.
Socialized healthcare? You lost me at the word "socialized" - government means bigger, not better.
Capital punishment? Kill 'em and let God sort 'em out.
Flag Burning? It's free speech, just don't do it around me.
The U.N.? A nice place to meet and talk with interesting people from other countries, but I'll be damned if we should kowtow to decisions from a body comprised of other countries that would profit from our reduced role in world affairs.
The Media? Ideologically skewed, by and large. Being increasingly rendered powerless by the emergence of the new media of the internet.
Border Security? Lock it down. Illegal aliens get deported.
The environment? Profit cannot come before protection...we must pass a liveable world along to our children. Yes for money to research on alternate energy sources and green technology.
Kyoto? Emphatic no! It would do nothing to stem pollution or global warming (exempting, as it does, the most polluting emerging economies.) It's an income redistribution scheme, plain and simple - the polluters here can afford to pay for the pollution credits, and will simply pass the increased costs on to consumers.

That list will be enough for now - I don't want to remove all the suspense. The chickens and horses are calling for my attention now...more later.