On Abortion.... 

"Congress should establish a minimal level of restrictions on abortion in terms of scope, including the allowable time after conception to obtain a lawful abortion and circumstances for later terms (e.g., rape, incest, medical urgency). Once the minimal thresholds are placed, the federal government should defer to the state populations to expand or maintain those restrictions through initiatives and public referendums. This policy is very similar to the manner in which the U.S. Constitution was ratified and applied in all of the states. The federal government should set minimal standards for individual freedoms. Individual citizens can then expand beyond that threshold but are prevented from going below the rights expressed by the federal standard. I would not trust state legislatures to make the final decision but place the vote in the hands of all citizens through referendums and public initiatives. I have very little faith the Two-Party System produces a slate of politicians capable of representing the entirety of their states. Since the federal government is also a product of the flawed Two-Party System, it should be limited to its original role of establishing a minimal consensus and allowing citizens (not states) to make their choices as a coalition of individuals."

On Affordable and Accessible Housing....

"I would work with other congress members to isolate the factors for rising housing costs such as obstacles to construction, the absence of capital investment with reasonable profit margins, and limitations on the commercial purchase of homes in areas where affordable housing is properly defined as a crisis by local governments. As an executor-style representative, I would study these factors and propose legislation to address the variables associated with the affordable housing crisis. As an executor of government power for all beneficiaries, I would hear all sides prior to making determinations, which will be transparent and communicated to Mainers prior to supporting a specific position officially.

Basic living costs, such as housing and retirement, appear to be on the mind of many working-class people. As a parent and someone who cares about the rising costs of living, I am concerned about Senator King’s proposal to raise the age of Social Security eligibility to 70 years old. He has not adequately addressed problems on his proposal. What jobs can citizens earn a “living wage” past 65 years old? This concern is voiced in conjunction with the rise in elderly homelessness and the inability of younger generations to afford housing and education while being told they need to find spare income to save for retirement (If senior citizens are struggling on Social Security benefits now, how does raising the eligibility age alleviate the trends for rising poverty?"

On The Climate Crisis and its implications in Maine....

"I would support the efforts to develop cleaner energy alternatives in Maine and across the nation. For Maine, I would want to discuss the impacts of the any wind pilot studies on the fisheries industry and marine life prior to advancing the concept of offshore wind turbines. Given the scientific consensus on the man-made impacts to our climate, this topic should be of great concern to all citizens and their representatives. In addition to climate changes, the link between fossil fuels and the risk of cancer are also well-documented. Add in the negative impacts of fluctuating fossil fuel costs on living costs, due to the natural market trends and profit-driven agendas, the priority for Maine and the nation is clear. We must diversify our energy profile and work with the international community to fund development and increase the influx of alternative energies. For Maine, one of the solutions for our area is to focus on the reducing energy costs by investing in joint projects with our largest trading partner, Canada, in a manner fair to Mainers. Canada has a great concentration of such projects and can provide “lessons learned” to help us develop our own alternative energy projects. For the nation, our federal government should be funding initiatives to develop cheaper and cleaner energy as a one of our top priorities.

Where economically feasible, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (“BLA”) should promote electrifying our national transportation infrastructure to alleviate the impact of climate change. Otherwise, the status quo of public exposure to carcinogenic fossil fuels and rising energy costs that impact living standards will continue unabated. The BLA should be focused on the transition to cleaner energy as long as those measure do not deplete funds for urgent repairs to bridges and highways. Congress should allocate available resources to the basic objectives of the BLA, then set aside designated funds for measures such as tax credits and the construction of recharging stations. However, these funds should be prioritized on those programs shown to make a substantial impact on electrifying our transportation system, such as rechargeable battery development, which is one of the biggest hurdles for viable private vehicle usage."

On Gun violence...

"I support red flag laws to detain the firearms of individuals who have been deemed as a danger to themselves or others. If firearms are detained, the individual should have guarantees of Due Process to restore such rights to include a court-appointed attorney and strict timelines for establishing rulings and hearings. The individual deprived of rights should have the ability to present witnesses in defense of restoring rights, medical testimony, and cross examine witnesses.

Unfortunately, after the Epstein case and the resulting loss of faith in our federal government’s ability to divest itself of undue influence and corruption, I could not support a national firearm registry. Power does corrupt when concentrated in anyone’s hands or any organization’s hands. Here in the U.S., we live in a nation where all three branches of government are dominated by the Two-Party political system and their associated media outlets. Allowing any party to have access to a national firearm registry is too trusting for both of the political parties that continue to disseminate misinformation and rarely take responsibility for their failures other than to point at the failings of “the other side”.

This idea of banning assault weapons ignores the hard-fought realization that in order to balance Power between citizens and their government, citizens must be armed to prevent national tyranny. The vast number of refugees in the U.S. came from war-torn Europe, where people live under the fear of threats and violence instilled by an ever-fighting feudal system. Much of the Bill of Rights was established to protect the rights of individuals against governmental tyranny. And as studied by the drafters, one of those important components was the right to possess arms and form militias dating back to the early days of Western democracy in Ancient Greece. The cornerstone of that democracy was the presence of armed individuals, houses, and group of people compromised of common citizens, such as the hoplites. They presented a counterbalance to the ever-present threat of rising dictators and despots.

People calling for disbarment of the citizens are poor students of History. They need only look to China or Russia to understand things are better here partially due to the 2nd Amendment. For example, in China, not only were the poor average citizens fooled into investing their life savings into residential fraud schemes committed by businesses like Evergrande, but they also had to pay back the corrupt banks as well – for nothing. That is horrible and would not happen here save for the fear of a true armed rebellion. We would not tolerate the existence of the government if one day all of our 401K funds were simply shell companies, leaving us with no retirement and a debt to paid as well.

In Russia, Putin drafts his enemies from the rebellious corners of Russia and sends them in the maw of battle like waves of meat. His dictatorship seized power and hold it in a brutal manner. Without any options, the Russian people are committed to a disastrous path. I used to be proud of being able to speak Russian when I was an FBI agent. Now, it is the language of a people who are killing their closest relatives – the Ukrainians.

People who want to ban assault rifles need to see what is happening in the United States and also understand our government’s past and present atrocities overseas. What stopped our federal government from subjugating us – luck? A constitution? China and Russia had constitutions, but that did not stop tyranny.

What if the events of January 6th led to a thug-based government of Might is Right? What is going to stop such a movement? Given the particularities of Project 2025, does anyone have any concerns such tyranny is gone? Once you give up those weapons – you never get them back without blood. The poor citizens of China and Russia will need to grab their own firearms or continue to live under the yoke of tyrant. This time, after the revolutions, they should keep them safe.

However, in spite of the preceding, I support reasonable measures to prevent mass shooting, such as rational gun control. In addition, I would support additional mental health resources to focus on at-risk youth in our schools and address their needs before they erupt in gun violence. As a former instructor of the FBI Deadly Force policy, the idea of arming teachers is ignored and dangerous to an extreme. However, it represents the Siege Mentality of some gun owners that is going to result in the loss of a right to possess firearms, if the gun violence continued unabated and no rational measures are taken to curtail such atrocities. We cannot keep allowing our streets and schools to remain as shooting galleries."