On April 15th

Ah, taxes, such wonderful things. Indeed, nothing like having to file one's tax returns, is there? Sadly, this year, I had the, uh....genuine pleasure of getting to file my own tax returns for the very first time. And I must tell you that I have come away from this experience with a new appreciation for all things aimed at cutting, simplifying, or eliminating taxes. Moreover, I have also come to the conclusion that it is high time for the 16th Amendment and the IRS to die brutal and painful deaths.

I'd even be interested in suspending the 8th Amendment for duration of the execution process.

Seriously though, my tax returns were, supposedly, relatively easy to file - and they still frustrated and confounded me. Consequently, I can't even begin to fathom how the average taxpayer is able to go through all of this hassle and not come away thinking that taxes should be lower, that the tax code should be seriously simplified, and that the IRS should burn in Hell. I mean, how you could not come away from such an experience with a high level of sympathy for the Ron Paul conception of taxes is beyond me.

Finally, I would just like to publicly acknowledge my Father and many other adults who, for years, have been telling me that: "Everyone's a Democrat until they start paying taxes."

You were right. And I say that not because I didn't believe you before, but because now I understand why.

(And just in case you need a time-of-year-appropriate laugh, some P.J. O'Rourke:)

"I'm a 47-year old middle-class male with a job. Every hippy-dippy thing that's thought up - from heroin addiction to special vegan lunch lines in the local high school cafeteria - I get to pay for. Of course I'm a Republican.

"The mystery of Government is not how Washington works, but how to make it stop."