I have long said that I think you should tell someone where you sit before you tell them where you stand. The reason for this is simple; your inherent positions on broad subjects can sometimes (but not always) give a good indicator on how you will think about more specific subjects. People that refuse to tell you their basic principles; such as so-called “journalists” that refuse to tell you their party affiliation or who they voted for, are trying to hide their inherent bias while claiming they have none. Liars.
We all have built in biases, it’s natural human behavior. You trust the word of your best friend over the word of a complete stranger. You trust the word of the mechanic you have gone to for years over the mechanic you just met. I could list thousands of examples here. There are few things in life that we as humans have a truly neutral view point on the first time we encounter them. We use our experiences with similar circumstances and form an initial opinion. And this is perfectly fine. The problem comes in when the evidence is clearly against our initial assessment and we refuse to reevaluate. This is where knowing a person’s inherent positions is important as it helps judge whether this person is so biased they cannot listen to anything else.
I am convinced this is why so many journalists today refuse state their positions, because deep down they KNOW they are ridiculously biased and refuse to admit it. But they still want to be taken seriously so they pretend otherwise. One thing I promise is that that will never happen with me. I will put my positions out there clearly, there is no reason to hide. And when I write about something (other than satire which is supposed to be biased) I will link to facts and figures. That is another thing that so many journalists today refuse to do, link to other sources.
These are my base positions, in no particular order. Where I sit, so to speak. Each will get a full article in time.
Abortion
Opposed
Gun Control
Pro gun
Federal Budget
We need a Balanced Budget Amendment
Federal Taxes
Either a flat tax or a consumption tax
Military Spending
More
Welfare
Less
Illegal Immigration
Control the border.
Freedom of Speech
More. But that doesn’t mean you can force people to listen.
Religion
Atheist
"You can’t tax business. Business doesn’t pay taxes. It collects taxes."
Ronald Reagan