OK, I'm a tree hugger!

And a pacifist. But I have been self employed for many years, so I'm also a pretty avid Capitalist. Free enterprise works. But food subsidies to ADM, and sole source contracts to Haliburton are NOT free enterprise. Free trade works too, if it's fair trade. Products coming into this country must be made by people who are paid a living wage and are not slaves.

Socialized medicine is not the best solution for America. But basic health care must be available to the "working poor" who can't afford it. This isn't just because we "should", it's also a whole lot cheaper than fixing them after they are seriously ill.

WAR - First, I always support our brave young men and women, even when I oppose the war. They are true heroes, all. The '93 Gulf War was a response to an invasion. Swift, intense, and focused on destroying the military machine. I had no problem with that. Afghanistan was a response to a known enemy, and I cheered throughout.

Iraq was not the same. We were not finished in Afghanistan. We could have built the "model" Democracy there. We didn't have good intelligence, and many people said we didn't. In 1994, Dick Cheney made a clear argument fr why we didn't invade Baghdad after driving the army out of Kuwait. He knew it would create the mess we are now seeing. And there is a very real possibility that in the end we will have a Theocratic dictatorship, far worse than what we wiped out.

Now in October of 2007, our leaders are threatening Iran. The threat is not through diplomatic channels, but on U.S. television and newspapers. This is internal consumption; to sell us that this is necessary. Iran was always a bigger danger than Iraq, so why didn't we attack them in 2002 ? Because we knew we could have a swift and successful air campaign. We choose our enemies for the wrong reason.