Today on Register Radio, we first spoke with businessman and former two-time Virginia U.S. Congressional candidate Keith Fimian. Fimian is president and CEO of U.S. Inspect - the nation's leading provider of property inspection services. He spoke about his unsuccessful runs for office and about the urgent need for principled, faithful Catholics in political office.

Asked what originally led him to run for office, Fimian said it grew out of his concern for where our nation is headed and the budget deficit.

"We need competent, capable, principled people in office," said Fimian. "We're borrowing 42% of our operating budget...by doing so we are exiling our own children to an uncertain future. That's what got me to leave my company and run for office."

Fimian expressed his concern with career politicians whose "only ambition is re-election," and outlined four ideas he thinks would greatly improve politics.

He cited a balanced budget amendment, line item vetos, term limits, and British common law as examples of actions that would go towards limiting the current problems found in politics.

Asked what he learned from his 2008 and 2010 runs for office, Fimian said it was great to "see how many good people there are in my district who love the country and are concerned with where it's headed. They care for and love this country deeply. Freedom is the ability to choose the good and do what we ought to do."

Fimian admitted that he never had a desire to run for office, but that when his youngest daughter left for college, he felt that he was able to do so.

"I never would have done this with young children at home, or children still in high school," admitted Fimian. "It's very difficult and an enormous committment. Children need their father."

Asked whether he might run for office again, Fimian had this to say.

"I had been asked to run for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia and was able to raise a large amount of money quickly. It looked very promising," said
Fimian. "Yet, I was traveling three days a week, and my wife asked me not to run. I decided to stand down, and was thankfully put back in place as CEO."

With the election right around the corner, Fimian had this advice for those entering the voting booths.

"There's a lot at stake. Go with your gut. No one borrows 42% of their budget," said Fimian. "We risk losing our freedoms. I hate to think of the things that can be forced on people of faith."

The Darkside of Public-Disclosure Laws

In our second half, Register senior editor Joan Frawley Desmond spoke about her recent article, "Are Public-Disclosure Laws Being Used to Target Opponents of Same-Sex 'Marriage'"?

Desmond outlined how such laws, in the interest of transparency, allow the public to find out who has signed individual petitions or donated to particular political causes or campaigns. The downside is that making such information public sometimes has unintended consequences, such as retaliation for those who support counter-cultural causes.

As an example, Desmond provided details regarding the case of Angela McCaskill, a diversity officer at Gallaudet University who was placed on administrative leave after a homosexual faculty member raised concern over McCaskill's signing of a petition supporting bringing a same-sex 'marriage' referendum up for popular vote.

"McCaskill never said she opposed same-sex 'marriage,'" noted Desmond. "She said she believes in the democratic process."

Desmond recalled an interview she had conducted with Archdiocese of Baltimore's Archbishop William Lori.

"Archbishop Lori alerted people in Maryland that if they were going to donate to the campaign supporting marriage between one man and one woman, that their names would be made public and they needed to prepare for that," said Desmond. "It's an example of a situation where people might need to prepare themselves for whatever might occur, whether that's pushback from an employer or among relatives."

As always, to hear the full interviews listen to today's show at 2 p.m. EASTERN Friday on any EWTN Radio affiliate or Sirius/XM Satellite Radio. The program re-airs at 7 p.m. EASTERN on Saturday and 11 a.m. EASTERN on Sunday, and is also available on the Register Radio web page, and via podcast.