No joke, it’s actually been ELEVEN YEARS!

For most people, April 1^st is a time for jokes and pranks. But for yours truly, April 1^st is an important day, because it marks the date that my first online column appeared.

Can you believe that I've actually been doing this for ELEVEN YEARS now? Eleven years of writing columns, posting them online, and having people respond to them… or in most instances simply ignoring them. Hey, one of the perks of being at this for so long is not having any delusions of being a great Internet wonder. When my name shows up on one of the big-name sites as a regular contributor, then I can have delusions of importance.

I did a call-in with RJ Evans over at Shocknetradio.com on Friday night, and it was somewhat refreshing being tapped for my perspective on how things are going. If you can stomach a little atheist discussion, I definitely recommend you tuning in on Friday nights from 7-11pm ET over at shocknetradio.com and check out the "American Heathen" show. (I also recommend you use the free WinAmp player to listen… it really whips the llama's ass!) I'm usually in the chat room during showtime giving my quick $1.95 on the issues. And when RJ's show isn't on, and Shocknet doesn't have other scheduled programming going on, they've got classic rock playing, so all-in-all it's a good online radio site to check out.

For those who haven't checked out the website(s) yet…

For the past few weeks I've been doing my audio rants on tax reform. April 17^th is fast approaching, and now is the prefect time to talk about doing what it takes to replace our failed tax system before we get into some SERIOUS trouble. The transcripts to my discussions on tax reform are up on the blog site. I've got at least one more discussion on the subject on tap and then it'll be back to figuring out what the heck to talk about.

In the coming months, I'll be doing some more on the ongoing series called "Unacceptable Truths", because there are still quite a few of them around that need to be brought up. I'll also be resurrecting the "Government Out of Control" series, and you can be sure that a couple of badge-carrying thugs in Chicago will be on the top of that list.

By the way, if you're just checking out the transcripts instead of listening to the audio rants, you're really missing out on some interesting components. If you have broadband access, then you shouldn't have any problems hearing the show without any interruptions.

Over at the weekly column, I've got two new additions to the "Target: Moralism" series, and I've really been hammering in on the failings of the White House, as well as this asinine idea to kickstart the 2008 campaign season so damned early.

This week's look is at the whole matter with the 8 fired U.S. prosecutors and why, contrary to the BS being spewn by Imperium ass-kissers like Neal Boortz and Sean Hannity, this IS a serious issue. It shouldn't be, but it is. Read the article, decide for yourself, and I'll even post a sampler up on the blog so you can comment on it.

Oh, one more thing… you may have heard about the recent decision by the Copyright Royalty Board
(a part of the U.S. Copyright Office – a federal agency) to change royalty payments for online broadcasters like the folks at Shocknet Radio. These changes were put in place at the request of the recording companies and are retroactive to 2006 – which in and of itself is a gross violation of the US Constitution – and will literally shut down all small online broadcasters unless this is stopped. These new rules need to be blocked before they can be enacted. Please visit savenetradio.org and sign their online petition to let the federal government know that you as a voter do not support this gross abuse of power.

Understand that (1) the recording companies are not protecting the artists when they pull stunts like this. They don't care one bit about the artists. They only care about their own profits and in destroying all audio mediums until the only ones left are the ones THEY control. That's why they sue old ladies and little children. And (2) these royalty payment rules only apply to online broadcasters, NOT to terrestrial radio stations! You know, the SAME terrestrial radio stations owned by big corporations and have been continually cited for violating federal Payola laws for getting PAID by the recording companies to play certain songs. Yes, you heard me right, terrestrial radio doesn't pay ONE PENNY in royalties. They actually GET PAID to play songs!

I understand businesses need to make money, but as you may notice from my talk about tax reform, I believe in a level playing field when it comes to the government. Online broadcasters should only pay as much in royalties as terrestrial broadcasters have to pay – no more, no less. And if terrestrial broadcasters currently don't pay anything in royalties, then neither should online broadcasters. Period.

I consider this kind of abuse of power by the CRB a backdoor form of censorship because it is being enacted BY the federal government AT the behest of special interest groups. It was wrong when it was enacted eleven years ago, and it is wrong today.

So if you happen to agree with me on this, please go to savenetradio.org and help take a stand. It only takes two minutes of your life, but you'll be helping in a good cause.

See? I even manage to squeeze in a quick rant!