John McCain is receiving my vote for President in 2004.

Friends have already said I'm wasting my vote, but I choose not to see it that way. I take my vote seriously and will not compromise by choosing a lesser of two evils. He's the lone voice of responsibility in our representative democracy.

The senate passed another tax cut yesterday. Every news outlet covering the event ran down the laundry list of handouts, including a NASCAR track owner subsidy. I guess it's time for NASCAR to join the big leagues of corporate welfare. NFL and MLB must reluctantly share the trough.

Someone had to ruin the welfare party though. Knight Ridder newspapers report, "The tax breaks drew criticism from fiscal conservatives. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called the measure the 'worst example of the influence of the special interests I have ever seen.'"

I already sent a letter to the editor about the gaffe of pluralizing the word "fiscal conservative". We shouldn't make the assumption of there being more than 1 despite 14 no-votes---I'm sure when it was their turn in line, the pork ran out.

But hey, less taxes is good because that's more money for us, right? Well, that would be true if government was getting smaller. But it's not. It's getting considerably larger. Do you think creating the Department of Homeland Security was some freebie?

That reminds me, I love those "Freedom Isn't Free" bumper stickers. Triple bullseye. Freedom isn't free, it costs lots of money. But you know what, very few seem to be willing to pay that price. U.S. soldiers pay with their lives, and the citizens of this country pay with...credit cards. Except in the larger sense, the credit card of the U.S. government is a big fat pile of treasury bonds.

"Just give me a tax cut and I'll vote for you."

"Just give me free medicine and I'll vote for you."

"Just give me security and I'll vote for you."

Pat Toomey lost the Pennsylvania Republican nomination to Arlen Specter because he wouldn't vote for every spending bill that came across his lap during his term in the House of Representatives. "Pat Toomey didn't take security seriously," the Specter television ads said. Toomey took the fiscal security of the U.S. government (and the U.S. Dollar) seriously. Evidently, that is not the public mandate.

Well here's my plea: Just give me fiscal responsibility and I'll vote for you. That's why I'm writing in John McCain for President.

There are regrettably no other choices.

Other news: All metals took a hit today. Copper went below $1.47, putting the intrinsic value of the pre-1982 cent slightly under its denomination. Zinc still held above $.50 which is surprising. Nickel was down, despite NorNickel's admission their stockpile is gone.

Alec Nevalainen
www.coinflation.com