Why I'm running

By Cullene Lang

An introduction to me and my beliefs.

Abortion: I am pro-choice and believe the right of a woman to control her own body is inalienable. However, I do not support state funding of abortions or state-mandated abortions.

Agriculture: Farmers, ranchers and all other purveyors of goods and services in the agricultural free market should operate unhindered by government regulation, while being policed by private sector consumer protection agencies for quality, and held strictly liable by government only against fraud and deception.

Crime: The only justified function of government is the protection of the lives, rights and property of its citizens. The appropriate way to suppress crime is through consistent and impartial enforcement of laws that protect individual rights. I support the trend toward private protection services and voluntary community crime control groups.

Drugs: I support the decriminalization of drugs. I support the right of physicians to prescribe marijuana (or any other currently illegal substance) felt to benefit the patient. I believe law enforcement officers who are paid by the state or local governments should not be providing information to DEA or any other agency. If other agencies wish to employ them, let those other agencies foot the bill. The War on Drugs is in reality a war on the American people, our Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.

Economy and Budget: I support implementation the following policies: a. Dramatic reductions in both taxes and government spending; b. An end to deficit budgets; c. A halt to inflationary monetary policies; d. The elimination of all government impediments to free trade; and e. The repeal of all controls on wages, prices, rents, profits, production and interest rates.

Education: I advocate the complete separation of education and the state. Government schools lead to the indoctrination of children and interfere with the free choice of individuals. Government ownership, operation, regulation, and subsidy of schools and colleges should be ended. As an interim measure to encourage the growth of private schools and variety in education, including home schooling, I support tax credits for tuition and other expenditures related to an individual's education.

Guns: I believe the Constitution does and should protect the right of honest citizens to possess and use firearms to defend their life, liberty, property and safety. I would eliminate all requirements to pay fees and register gun owners. I would allow any law-abiding citizen to carry firearms openly or concealed for any reason except the commission of a crime.

Health Care: I favor restoring and reviving a free market health care system, and advocate a complete separation of medicine from the state. I support an end to government-provided health insurance and health care. Both of these functions can be more effectively provided in the private sector. I support freedom of research, including human cloning and stem cell research by private industry and universities. I do not support government restriction or funding of medical or scientific research.

Immigration: Preferential quotas based on race, class, and ideology should be abandoned for immigration policies that promote fairness, non-discrimination and family reunification. I oppose those who seek to divide us for political gain by raising ethnic and racial hatreds, blaming immigrants for social and economic problems. I call for the elimination of all restrictions on immigration, the abolition of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Border Patrol, and a declaration of full amnesty for all people who have entered the country illegally.

Marriage: I support the right of individuals, regardless of gender, to enter into voluntary relationships, including marriage and civil unions. The government has no right to discriminate (under any circumstances) against individuals on the basis of gender or sexual orientation.

Pollution: Strict liability, not government agencies and arbitrary government standards, should regulate pollution. Claiming that one has abandoned a piece of property does not absolve one of the responsibility for actions one has set in motion. I support the development of an objective legal system defining property rights to air and water. Rather than making taxpayers pay for toxic waste clean-ups, individual property owners, or in the case of corporations, the responsible managers and employees should be held strictly liable for material damage done by their property.

Taxes: I support the right of any individual to challenge the payment of taxes on moral, religious, legal or constitutional grounds. I oppose all personal and corporate income taxation, including capital gains taxes. I oppose any increase in existing tax rates and the imposition of any new taxes. I support the repeal of all taxation. I support a declaration of unconditional amnesty for all those individuals who have been convicted of, or who now stand accused of, tax resistance. I oppose as involuntary servitude any legal requirements forcing employers or business owners to serve as tax collectors for federal, state, or local tax agencies.

Terrorism: I do not support National ID cards. I do not support the Patriot Act. I believe rights are intrinsic, not granted by governments. I will not support any infringement of our rights under the guise of "security" or "fighting terrorism."

Water: I advocate the establishment of an efficient and just system of private water rights applied to all bodies of water, surface and underground. Such a system should be built upon a doctrine of first claim and use. The allocation of water should be governed by unrestricted competition and unregulated prices. I also advocate the privatization of government and quasi-government water supply systems.

If you have questions regarding specific issues, ask by e-mail at Cullene@aol.com.

I ask you to vote for me. Thank you for your consideration.