ugh, I'm sorry I ever moved back to Pennsylvania. My last years in the Navy were spent in Virginia, I miss the place.

I just had a debate with a neighbor about taxes. She seems to think that a state would not be able to stand alone without the Federal Government. She said that things are so costly, like health care and the effects of natural disasters and such, that a state could not survive with only revenue generated by its citizens. I tried to explain the government does make money from the states, it takes money from the states. I tried to follow her argument that states are better off with a federal government pulling money together to do big things that a state could not do alone. She cited Katrina as an example as something only the feds have the resources to handle. But then backed down and said she does not care about politics and religion and doesn't want to discuss such stuff.

New idea - Instead of getting one million people to stop paying taxes, just have them stop withholding taxes from their paychecks. They can either revoke their W-4 form or increase the number of exemptions as high as they can. Everyone that was withholding would then move that extra money to a savings account and hold it their until April 15th 2010! As a bonus, they would see how much the Feds are taking and earn some interest as well. You think the Government would notice if one million people held back paying taxes until tax day? I think they would get a very strong message.

I would support legalizing the use of drugs by anyone signing a legal document that you would give up all current and future government subsistence including welfare, medicaid or foodstamps and social security payments. In a free society, you should be able to make bad decisions. But if you become a waste case, by smoking pot all day, no one else should have to pay for your poor choices.