Originally Posted by _-Juris-_

New person speaking. I spend more time talking about politics than I do just about anything else, and now it's even spread to my internet usage. There is no hope for me.

The Basics: Male, Married, No Children, 28 years of age.

Occupation: Musician, Audio Engineer Live/Studio, Full-time student

Education: Undergrad in Business Management, pursuing J. D.

Interests: Music, Audio, Electronics, IT, Politics, Foreign Policy, U.S. Constitution, Psychology, Sociology, Religion, Agriculture, Aviation, Military (tactics, units, leaders, (especially Roman but love a good WW2 Documentary (nothing better than two Battleships arguing over who's got the larger cannons)))

Background: I was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but am from a small town in Cajun Country called, Morganza. Not much more than a dot on a very small map (but for those of you who remember the movie Easy Rider, parts of it were filmed in Morganza, my grandfather owned the cafe, and the cat man and sheriff are/were my cousins). I grew up playing organ for Catholic masses, and eventually moved on to the larger religious music scene at about age 14, were I started playing for Jimmy Swaggart. I never really believed the way most of them did, but the music, the equipment, and the opportunity to develop the ear I was born with at Swaggart's, was instrumental in my abilities today. I worked on the farm raising cattle and crawfish. Got my C.D.L. at 21, met the girl to become my wife, and decided to go back to school. I secretly had an obsession however.

It was those questions that no one could ever answer, about judges, lawyers, the courts, politicians, taxes, other countries, and about a million other things regarding politics, that caused me to want to learn. My grandfather, a Naval Officer, pretty much raised me, and was is an extremely self-educated man. So whereas the bulk of my Cajun-French family, was satisfied with a G.E.D. and a blue color job, I simply wanted more control in who I was and what I did. I love to learn, and where there's a good discussion/debate, I learn.

Political Status I've been a registered Republican since age 18, but I am truly more of a moderate I think, but what Republican values I do hold, I don't feel are represented by the party these days. I'm also a Freemason, which means my views on religion, are ever changing, as I am ever learning more about who we are and why we're here, but I hold no preference to any religion, and I think that's something we Americans have forgotten about in the culture we've grown comfortable with. My belief is that religion in all forms is a great thing, but it can be dangerous, as according to some elements of history, just about every form of slavery, racism, supremacy, and hatred toward our fellowman, can be traced back to religion in one way or another. I believe strongly in the U.S. Constitution, and even more strongly in three equal branches of government, that heretofore have never been so brutally manipulated, abused, ignored, and unsatisfactorily exercised.

I'm going to stop there, and save the rest for the main course. I look forward to discussion/debate with all of you, and am looking forward to what I will learn in the process. Thank you.