Been thinking about taxation and freedom (surprise, surprise). Let's start with taxes... I think that Federal Income Tax Witholding is the reason that so many of us walk around with our heads in the sand about taxation. Because we never see that withheld money, we don't think of it as ours, and we go about our merry lives oblivious to the fact that the Federal Government is freely spending and in many cases squandering our hard earned dollars. Then, after holding our money for a year, we're delighted when we receive a small pittance back from the government in the form of a refund. But we've just provided the government an interest-free loan. If we had to cut a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual check to the Feds to cover our taxes, I suspect we'd be a lot more mindful of how confiscatory taxes have become (at least for those of us who actually pay our taxes), and we'd be a lot more concerned about government programs wasting our dollars.

Another thing about taxes. Today on the radio, I heard an advertisement for a tax preparer rattling off a list of possible exemptions . He must have mentioned 25 different things that can be claimed on your tax filing to lower your bill, and stated that there were so many more possibilites that you need to have a professional prepare your taxes to maximize your exemptions and thus maximize your refund. I see this as a major problem with our tax code. I've written before about what a joke our tax code is (over 1000 pages long). No governing legislation should require thousands of pages to detail its regulations. If our tax code were a simple flat tax, then we could do away with all of the exemptions, period. In other words, lower the tax rates across the board but broaden the tax base so EVERYBODY pays. We keep hearing from Congress and our President how our health care system is broken, and that is how they justify trying to ramrod their atrocious pseudo-socialist health care bill down our throats. However, I would argue that the tax system is far more defective than the health care system, and requires much more immediate attention. It needs immediate reform. The higher the tax burden, the less incentive there is to spend money, generate wealth, grow the economy, create more jobs.

This takes me to freedom. For I see the issues of taxation and freedom as intrinsically linked. Put straightforwardly, taxes increase for the purpose of growing government, or perhaps, because of the growth of government. As government grows, it inevitably thrusts its tentacles into more and more aspects of our day to day lives. Ever increasing taxes are but a symptom of the real problem, that of an increasingly intrusive government (true at all levels, but especially at the federal level), and the resulting loss of liberty. And yet, we either ignore, or worse yet, readily embrace these restrictions and regulations.

I have shared this quote before by Founding Father James Madison (the father of our Constitution... the foundation for our entire way of life), probably on more than one occassion, but it has such relevance to modern life in America that I feel the need to keep driving it home. Madison said,

"Since the general civilization of mankind, I believe there are
more instances of the abridgement of freedoms of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden
usurpations."

In other words, throughout history, it is far more common for people to have their freedom stolen in little, almost imperceptible increments than it is for freedoms to
be wrested away in a single, fell swoop. And this is precisely what I fear is happening here, in America, today. We are too preoccupied with nonsense such as who got voted off of American Idol, or what the numbers on Lost mean... don't get wrong... there is nothing wrong with enjoying a little mindless entertainment. But we have a responsibility. We have a responsibility to ourselves, to our children, to our nation, to each other. A responsibility that should not be taken lightly. A responsibility to become engaged in and educated about the actions of our government. We were gifted the single greatest nation the world has ever known. We need to respect, appreciate, even revere that gift. Because we are more than a nation. So much more. America is, and always has been, an ideal... a shining beacon of freedom and hope to which the world can aspire. We should embrace that fact. For all of our faults (and they are undeniable), throughout the history of mankind, there has never been another America. At the root of this greatness is our freedom. Our respect of the individual. Our respect of property rights. Our core belief that the government derives its power from the governed, and not from some divine right. To paraphrase President Ronald Reagan, we are a nation with a government, not a government with a nation. It is time we start electing people to office who understand and respect that ideal.

Relay Season is Almost Upon Us

With it sleeting outside all day long today, and another snow storm on its way for Thursday, it seems a little hard to accept that Relay For Life is coming up on me fast. But the event is now only slightly more than three months away, and there is still so much left to accomplish. I suppose that as a Co-Chairperson of the fundraiser this year, I am feeling a little extra pressure, but only because I want it to be a huge success. We have a pretty high standard to live up to... last year alone we had over 100 teams, over 1000 participants, 1000 Luminarias sold, over $225,000 raised... those are some impressive numbers. It's a lot to live up to.

People often ask me to explain Relay For Life to them. You see, the name of the event, while very meaningful, throws many people. Taken literally, it sounds like some kind of race. This fills a lot of people with trepidation, understandably so. Personally, I struggle to run a couple of miles these days, so the prospect of running an all-night relay race would be sufficient to keep me away. Fortunately, there is no running or racing involved in Relay For Life. The name refers to teams of people endeavoring to keep at least one member of the team walking the track at all of hours of the night. Relaying, so to speak. Nightfall represents a Cancer Survivor's diagnosis... the very moment they become a Cancer Survivor. The dark of night represents cancer, and the laps around the track are the Survivor's battle against the disease. We do not rest, keeping someone on the track all night because Cancer does not sleep. We Relay until dawn, which I'm sure you can guess represents triumph... represents remission. But nothing I can say will ever do justice to witnessing the event with your own eyes. Come check it out one time, even if for only a few hours... I guarantee you'll be back for more.

I'll never forget the first time I saw the Luminaria Ceremony, how it moved me to tears with it's solemn, respectful, silent, dignity. One thousand lights in the dark. Just paper bags, sand, and candles, and yet so much more than that. For each bag is a tribute to someone bravely fighting Cancer or someone sadly lost to Cancer... every bag a name. It's spiritual... almost holy, for lack of a better word. Come see it. You will be moved, of this I am sure.

I've been asked why I became so involved, in essence, "Why do I Relay?" Several years back I wrote the following, which has been slightly revised over the years, but more or less sums it all up:

I Relay so that my daughter Erin Margaret, and children everywhere just like her, might be able to grow up in a world where fear of cancer is a thing of the past. It can be done...think about it.... within the past 200 years, diseases and afflictions like malaria, polio, & smallpox ravaged our population...now they are virtually eradicated.

I Relay to Celebrate the strength, courage, and perseverence of Survivors like my Grandma, Grace Goetz, & my Mother-In-Law, Nancy McGlynn, as well as many other friends and relatives who have fought or are fighting the good fight, and all other Survivors like them. Their strength fills me with pride and hope. I want them to know that they are supported, and are always in my thoughts and prayers.

I Relay to Remember those friends and family who were taken by Cancer, too soon in every case, special people every single one. People like Earl Haffey, who was diagnosed and lost his fight in the space of 4 months. He was a dear friend. I Relay for Earl, and all of our friends and family like him.

I Relay to Fight Back against this disease that infects too many good people, and cuts too many lives short. As Margaret Mead once said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

Please join my team and Relay with me, or make a donation to my team. You are helping deliver the hope that future generations will not have to endure cancer threatening the lives of their friends and family. Like me, you have the power to fight back against a disease that affects millions.

Two New Masochistic Erinisms

As we were headed to Long Island last week for Karen's baby shower, Erin was acting very silly in the car. We played bizarre games of her creation (I think she made the rules up as she went along), including one where she would say someone's name, and we needed to tell her if they were near or far...

Anyway, as we were leaving the Parkway, Erin said in a sort of whisper-shout, "If this takes much longer, I'm going to punch myself in the face."

Slightly disturbed, I looked at Laureen to see if she had heard. Judging by the horrified look on her face, she had indeed heard Erin. Having stopped at a red light (or maybe a stop sign, I don't remember which), we both turned to look at Erin, hoping to gain some perspective on her statement. Sitting there in her booster seat, our little girl met our concerned looks with a gigantic Cheshire Cat grin, and then mimed the act of, you guessed it, punching herself in the face.

Concerned Dadoo-mode took over, and I immediately launched into a lecture about how hurting yourself is never a solution to anything and you need to respect yourself and your body and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... sorry. I nearly put myself to sleep with my own lecture. Halfway through my dissertation, I heard giggling coming from both my side and behind me. I shot an annoyed glance at Laur, who barely held in her laughing and said under her breath, "She's kidding. She's messing with you." At this point, I looked in the rearview mirror to see Erin looking back, grinning ear to ear. As I began to shake my head, she pantomimed the punch again and cracked up in hysterics. She really was messing with me!!

The second Erinism occurred as we were driving to church on Ash Wednesday.

"Are we there yet?"

"Pretty soon Erin," I replied.

"Good, because if it takes too long, I'm gonna fall into a pool of acid and break into a million pieces," this was delivered with such a deadpan seriousness (picture the "Daddy's gonna kill Ralphie" line from Christmas Story, but with Erin's voice delivering the acid line) that it once again brought looks of disbelief from Laur and me. At this point, Erin started to crack up into hysterical laughter again, and Laur and I broke out in a sort of nervous laughter. Looks like we're going to have to keep a closer eye on the things that may be influencing our little girl.

This Just In- Government is Waste

Our 2010 projected Federal Budget Deficit is well over one trillion dollars. For some perspective, one trillion looks like this:



1,000,000,000,000



Or put another way, it is one thousand billion. That's right. That's:



1,000 x 1,000,000,000



And this is just the Federal Deficit. Things get even more frightening when you bring it down to the state level, where there is a projected 2010 shortfall totalling $350 billion.



So, if we are in the hole for more than one thousand billion dollars for this year alone on the federal level, and more than 350 billion among the states, how is it that we can still be throwing money overboard in foreign aid, or at all kinds of silly little non-essential pork-barrel projects, like creating National Parks in US territories, or a museum curating neon in the state of Nevada.

WE CAN"T PAY FOR ANY OF IT. At least, that is, without borrowing obscene amounts of money from places like China and Japan, or printing new dollars by the metric ton. Something has got to give. SOMETHING HAS GOT TO GIVE! The time has come for the weanies in Washington or in the statehouses to put Country first, make some tough decisions, and GUT their respective budgets. And spare me any Keynesian garbage about how we can spend ourselves out of this crisis by accruing more debt. You cannot buy your way out of $35,000 in credit card debt by obtaining another card, taking out a loan to buy a new car, and lending money to all of your friends.

President Obama promised change, and boy, has he ever delivered! Now, it is the incumbents in DC and all throughout the states who are going to experience change on a grand scale come November. And you can see them, like spooked deer, snifing the political winds and dashing for safety, bailing out of their respective elections before they even have to go before the angry electorate. Folks like Chris Dodd, Evan Bayh, and now, possibly even Harry Reid. Good riddance, one and all. But it is not enough to vote these jokers out... we have to replace them with LEADERS... people who understand and believe in the US Constitution... Men and Women who will put this country back on track...

When I think of America, I don't think of a place that needs to be "remade". In fact, until this Administration began trying to jam their dogmatic progressive socialist worldview down the throats of each and every one of us, I never felt the need to "change" America in any profound way. But now I recognize that America is in need of "change"... a change of leadership. A change of leadership on a nationwide basis, at evert level, across party lines. The time has come to take back our nation.

The FIrst Erinism of February 2010

Last night, Erin came into the living room to say goodnight to me before going to bed. I was watching American Idol on Fox at the time, and it had just gone to commercial break when Erin walked into the room. As she crossed the room, an advertisement for the new Wolfman movie came on the screen. Not sure how she would react to something this dark and potentially scary so close to lights-out in her bedroom, I quickly changed the channel.

"HEY!! DADOO, I WAS WATCHING THAT!! WHY'D YOU CHANGE THE CHANNEL?!?!?"

Not wanting to tell her that the commercial might have frightened her, I thought it better to simply brush off her question. I replied, "Not sure. Just looking for something better to watch, I guess. Besides, you know I don't like to watch commercials." I figured that this explanation would be sufficient to satisfy her question without hurting her pride.

But Erin, after thinking about my response for a few seconds, got closer to me and craned her neck up so that we were eye to eye. And that's when she said, "Dadoo, did you change the channel because you were AFRAID of that commercial?"

Here I am trying to protect my Daughter from this "scary" commercial, and she thinks that I changed the channel because I was afraid.