Its Earth Day…Pass the Steak Sauce!

It’s Earth Day once again; THE High Holy Day for the church of Environmentalism. Today the Global Warming Faithful and their acolytes will worship at the altar of Gaia and seek forgiveness and blessings from their high priest Al Gore.

Don’t get me wrong, its not that I don’t believe in a being a good steward or caretaker of our planet, just that modern environmentalism is less about the environment and more about politics, power, and control.

Add to it the sheer hypocrisy of Al Gore and his followers and I begin to feel nauseous.

By now we are all aware of Mr. Gore’s outrageous utility bills, and how he justified them by explaining that he is purchasing Carbon Offset Credits. I don’t know about you, but the buying, selling, and/or trading of Carbon Credits seems strikingly similar to the selling of Indulgences practiced by the Medieval Roman Catholic Church.

So, if you’re like me and despise Earth Day with every fiber of your being, you may be looking for creative ways to expressing your feelings on the issue today. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Eat Meat.

Many environmentalists are hard-core vegetarians and view the consumption of animal protein as a cardinal sin. Plus they see Bessie the Flatulent Cow as a major producer of Green House gasses.

As such I plan to get some steaks or a good roast today and share it with my family.

2. Go out for a senseless family drive, preferably in an SUV or mini-van.

3. Turn on every light in your home for an hour.

4. Take your kids fishing. Its trout season in NJ.

5. If you live in a state that allows it, have a Bon Fire

6. Watch Hunting and or Fishing shows

7. Email your favorite recipe for Beef, Chicken or Fish, etc. to the fine folks at PETA!

a. All though if you choose this option – I suggest you create a yahoo or hotmail address just for the occasion since odds are good the tolerant folks at PETA will flame your mailbox without mercy.

8. If it’s in your budget, buy a fur coat or leather jacket. Leather gloves are also good.

These are just a few of my suggestions. Feel free to share some of your own creative ideas in the comments section.

Take care and oh yeah…Happy Earth Day!

Now where did I put the A1?

Jon Corzine Steals from Children
…and teenagers and adults.

In July 2006 Governor Corzine gave the residents of NJ a gift; one that the residents of NJ neither wanted, nor asked for…a sales tax increase. Not only did Governor Corzine raise the sales tax 1% from 6% to 7%, but this past fall items not previously taxable are now subject to sales tax.  Among them:

• Downloaded music and video (e.g. iTunes)
• Shipping and handling charges
• Flooring and carpeting installation
• Storage space
• Tanning, massage and tattooing
• Data processing
• Limousines
• Health, shopping and other club membership fees
• Parking garages and lots
• Non-clothing cleaning services
• Landscaping
• Magazines and periodicals
• Investigation and security services, such as security alarms and armored cars

None of this should come as a surprise to the voters who elected Jon Corzine. In 2004 as a U.S. Senator he was rated Liberal on Economic Policy with a rank of 79 by National Journal. This means that Senator Corzine voted more liberally than 79% of other members of congress. (Source: http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_rating_detail.php?sig_id=003484M)

Now, why do I say that Jon Corzine steals from children? My nephew and one of my nieces both received iTunes gift certificates for Christmas. Prior to the tax increase a $10 gift certificate or card would have purchased 10 songs on iTunes at $0.99/song. However, this holiday due to the new sales tax, that same $0.99 song cost $1.06 so $10 only purchased 9 songs. The loss due to the tax increase grows with the value of the gift card. Here’s an example:

Governor Corzine’s tax increase has reduced the buying power of my niece and nephew, effectively taking money out of their pockets. Hence the tile of this article Jon Corzine Steals from Children.

Kids aren’t the only losers.

If the increase in the tax rate weren’t bad enough, the expansion of items that are subject to sales tax increases the costs of products and services for all.

I doubt Governor Corzine or the legislature in Trenton gave any thought to the impact on small business of the new taxes. Particularly small business like Landscapers who now have to obtain Sales Tax Certificates and put in place processes and controls to collect the new sales tax from their clients and then pay it out to the State of New Jersey.

Generally whenever a business incurs additional costs, that increase is passed on to their customers. The price of my gym membership has risen to reflect the cost of the new sales tax levied against it.

Is Anyone thinking of buying a car? A $20,000 car at 6% would have cost you $1200 in Sales Tax. Now at 7%, your tax burden is $1400. If you were buying a $30,000 car the increase due to the new tax rate will cost you an additional $300.00

Are we having fun yet?

Perhaps the voters of New Jersey will remember to properly “thank” Governor Corzine and the legislature in Trenton for this “gift” in the next State Election.

Welcome to the inaugural entry of the “The Dave Cave” blog! This will be my first foray into the creation side of the blogosphere. My desire and goal is to cover a variety of issues. Articles will run the gamut from National Security, and Family Issues, to the War on Terror, and pretty much everything in between. Israel and Anti-Semitism will also get a fair amount of play here as well.

About Me

What do I tell you about myself? I’ve pondered this topic long and hard; knowing that many people will prejudge the words based on what they know about the writer.

Do I present my life as an open page and trust you to judge my work on its merits and content?

Do I reveal nothing about myself and let you draw your own conclusions from my writing; risking charges of cowardice for not being more upfront?

Being called a coward I can take. Better to be thought a coward than a fool!

There is a fine line between the courage to stand up for one’s belief and the foolishness of exposing one’s family to harm.

How much do I make known about myself, while still protecting myself, my family, and my friends from the lunatics that are out there?

I’ll err on the side of caution, attempting to provide the reader with an accurate picture of myself, while at the same time protecting the privacy of my family and myself.

As the Townhall Blog Directory reveals I do live in New Jersey. I’m not exactly thrilled the administrators at Townhall have chosen to automatically reveal the geographic location of their bloggers. But it is, what it is.

I’ve lived in New Jersey for all but five years of my life. I love this State, but a lot of things about it make me crazy! More on that in another post…

I am currently unmarried and an uncle seven times over.

My mother’s family is Jewish hailing from several countries, but primarily Ukraine. My father’s family is Irish Catholic. My parents were married under a canopy (or chupah) and I had a Bris (or Brit Milah) when I was eight days old and have the paperwork to prove it. We were raised Christian, but with an understanding of our Jewish identity. We will explore matters of religion and faith in future posts.

I graduated Magna c-m Laude with a BA from a well-known New Jersey University and am currently working in the IT field, though my degree is not in Computer Science.

Blogging on Townhall.com I am obviously a Conservative and have been all my life.

While I can find common ground on different issues with the various types of Conservatives, I don’t know that I fit into any particular category.

Finding common ground with liberals is more difficult. I believe absolute true exists, am generally guided by Judeo-Christian values, and believe that “nuance” is best left to art, music, and billiards.

You can nuance it all you want, but at the end of the day 5+5=10 regardless of how little Timmy or Suzy feels about the answer! Don’t get me started about “whole language” teaching.

But enough about me for now; let the blogging begin!