I’m sure everyone’s all shocked and shaken by my startling confession — NOT.

After all, who likes paying taxes?

Anybody? Anybody?

[chirp] [chirp] [chirp]

Didn’t think so.

Okay, next question. Who wants to defend the likes of Joe Stack, the whacko who posted his spittle-flecked anti-IRS, anti-government manifesto/suicide note on the Internet, set his house on fire, then crashed his plane into an Austin, Texas office building, killing himself and IRS Manager, Vernon Hunter?

Apparently lots of people who also hate paying taxes.

Of course, most have done so with the caveat that they did not agree with how this anarchist kook expressed his grievances against the IRS, but they’re nonetheless empathizing/sympathizing with the sentiments of a crackpot whose troubles with the IRS were of his own making, not because of some government policy — other than the one that deals with folks who don’t pay their taxes.

Now, I did sorta, kinda understand the nutjob’s daughter, Samantha Bell, saying she regards her father as a hero for his anti-government position, even though she considers his final actions to be “inappropriate” and “wrong,” as grief can do strange things to people sometimes — which is a good reason for grieving people to stay well away from the media.

But this woman, in a classic demonstration of how those proverbial acorns don’t land very far from the trees from which they fell, also said, “if nobody comes out and speaks up on behalf of injustice, then nothing will ever be accomplished,” as if there’s “injustice” in the IRS going after people who don’t pay their taxes.

“I do not agree with his last action with what he did,” she said, “But I do agree about the government.”

Well, what about the government? That it expects all the people to pay their fair share of taxes, whether they like it or not, and that it will go after those who believe that they are above the law and refuse to pay theirs?

Or has it got something to do with how railing against the government is especially fashionable these days?

‘Cause there’s lots and lots of people who’re pissed at the government about something or another that most can’t quite articulate.

Sure, the economy sucks and the Congress can’t seem to get anything done because it’s populated with Republican “party of ‘NO’” douche bags and Democrat weenies who’re all wetpants scared of ‘em.

But America has a government that is of, by and for the people, so we, the people, really have no one else to blame but ourselves, and our pride.

We saw this last night and thought it was terrific. Mr. Stewart captures Mr. Beck’s nutty conspiracy theorizing — complete with incomprehensible blackboard diagrams — just about perfectly. And, BTW Mr. Beck is recovering from his emergency appendix surgery.

A couple of funny, but oh, so true, statements about the Public Option and why we need it. Damn the health insurance industry for making me into a bleeding heart liberal who nods my head and goes “oh yes, indeed, she’s absolutely right” — to Nancy Pelosi!

Well, they’re finally gonna put the man in the ground today, so perhaps that’ll signify the end of the wall-to-wall news coverage — I mean, you’d think the guy was a former head of state or something, the way some folks are going on, especially in the media.

Sure, he was a talented performer who was among the biggest names in pop music back in the 1980s, but that’s really all he ever was, besides tabloid fodder.

Now, of course, my thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends who actually knew and cared about him, in person. But as far as everyone else is concerned — especially those clamoring for “Golden Tickets” to his funeral, and then Twittering, with glee, about having gotten them — cue the violins and cry me a river!

Wonders never cease! WorldNetDaily, the usually anti-science bastion of reactionary sensationalism has published a scientifically accurate article: “Don’t buy the vaccines-autism myth,” by Phil Elmore.

You will find very few rational, reasonable individuals who deny the proven technology of modern electrical appliances, or who think they are qualified to repair them without training. It is common knowledge and accepted practice that such devices are the purview of skilled professionals. Any citizen who takes a little time can become a reasonably educated amateur, of course. The technology is complicated, but not impossible to understand, especially at a general level. We may know that we are out of our depth when it comes to the specifics of how these devices operate, but we also know to whom we can go for assistance when something malfunctions.

For some reason, however, otherwise rational human beings seem to suspend their better judgment where medical technology is concerned. I refer specifically to the growing movement whose members are today spreading the false notion that getting your children vaccinated will somehow give them autism. Some frightened parents are reacting by applying lengthened vaccination schedules – or skipping certain vaccinations completely.

This hysteria would not be nearly so widespread if not for the fact that it is propagated within popular culture by celebrities, most notably Jenny McCarthy. This sometime actress, television “personality” and former Playboy model is a vocal activist within the anti-vaccination movement. It wouldn’t be quite so frustrating that people listen to what celebrities like McCarthy have to say, except that to fight the mindless propaganda repeated by these individuals, rational people must enlist celebrities of their own. They can’t rely solely on facts, research, or the testimony of professionals thoroughly familiar with the technology in question.

I thought the “appliance repair” analogy was brilliant!

The anti-vaccines folks are apparently too “out there,” even for WorldNetDaily, which published a whole series of articles about how “Soy is making kids ‘gay’.”

Strange times, indeed.

Hat Tip to Respectful Insolence.