Sunday, September 20, 2009

What will government run healthcare and amnesty have in common?

“…We in the search for Fact. F-A-C-T. Not truth. If it’s the truth you’re looking for, [the] philosophy class is down the hall.” – Dr. Indiana Jones, Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Some of the news this week is disturbing to me in the way that it did not slap the fringe media, right square in the back of the head, provoking one of those light bulb-in-the-brain moments for those that would consider themselves part of the mainstream. The fury over Joe Wilson’s remark in the joint session of Congress sparked rages among the left, as if he’d called Obama the Anti-Christ, or demanded to see his birth certificate. But what are the facts?

The fact that Democrats voted repeatedly to disinclude an amendment to the gargantuan heath care bill that would mandate verifying legal status, making sure that only eligible Americans are receiving taxpayer benefits, is moot. That’s done been figured out, and if there are any remaining questions, inquiring minds can research the voting records of these members of Congress.

In reality, Obama did not tell a bold faced lie. The health care bill does not say, “Yes, we’re going to give illegal aliens access to American taxpayer health benefits.” The health care bill does also does not say verification of eligibility will take place upon application of these benefits. What does president Obama say about the matter, while appealing to the Hispanic and Latino communities, to ensure that only legal taxpaying citizens will receive health benefits? He says we should just legalize the illegal. That would provide for everyone receiving benefits, Obama will not be seen as taking a position against that minority community, and he can say he did not lie, when providing the way for only legal taxpayers to receive benefits. If they’re all legal, then how are illegals getting health care, after all?

So what are the facts? Only upon Amnesty, will Obama be right.

Allow me to prepare you for our next battle. For some of us, life is like a game of chess. We must know our opponent, and the way they think. We must be able to anticipate the next move, and the more correct we are, the better our position is to defeat them at the pass. Thus, it is willful ignorance to not look ahead on our part, and this includes looking ahead to the next major issue. Our plates are full, our cups are running over with the information we are expected to retain; we’re just going to have to allow our plates and cups to spill over onto the table, because the servings keep coming.

As you recall in 2007, the immigration debate was so heated, that when the Congress under the Bush administration voted on amnesty for the illegal aliens in our country, the citizens of this country called their congress representatives at such rates, it completely shut down the phone lines and crashed the email servers. Being a conservative and also being one of those callers, I remember being horribly offended by President Bush for perpetuating this nonsense, when it was clear that not only his base was against the idea, but the vast majority of the country- all political parties and ideologies, included. It was truly clear to the rest of us at that point that this government of ours is in it for themselves to a truly frightening degree.

The debate seemed to fizzle out, and the citizens went home feeling as if they’d won the round. It was a nuclear issue during the campaign in 2008 between the candidates, which worked well against McCain, as all the conservatives knew what to expect by him, judging on his voting record. Obama, on the other hand, benefitted from the country not knowing much about him. His captive audience waited to see what he would say, holding to themselves a pledge to hold Obama accountable in the future. Who among them looked up Obama’s voting records, or previously recorded statements on the issue of illegal aliens? In carefully crafted verbiage, he said the same thing as the previous administration, and almost all members of congress, in that we should provide a pathway to citizenship, where these folks will all go to the back of the line… (as if this is not what is already taking place).

This issue will not be one we will discuss much this year. Health care is too heated, people’s emotions are high, and his political reputation is on the line (at least among us here in the country; those at the U.N. like him quite a bit). But he needs to remain seen as the One Who Cares, so make no mistake: he will tie the health care issue with the illegal immigrant issue, rather marvelously. It is a humanity issue, after all. We can’t provide health care for all citizens, but be so cruel as to not provide it for those among us who are least fortunate; and some are the least fortunate by virtue of not being born here, so let’s erase notions that we should care about birthplace. It shouldn’t matter, but being that it does, if we make them a part of us, then it won’t matter in the long run. It will remain to be seen how to pay for it (perhaps more taxes on “Cadillac insurance policies”), and the details will be worked out, but we must agree that health care for all includes those coming into our country, as well as those already here.

Remember to not derail from logic and reason. Do not allow emotions to dictate your debates. This is not about how we feel. This is about practicality, and what makes logistical sense for the country. Giving amnesty to illegal aliens may feel good, but in actuality it is bad for the country. With the health care debacle racking up untold billions of dollars, amnesty would only serve to ratchet up the costs even further. What is the logical and not emotional answer?

Prepare yourself with the latest version of Adobe Reader for easy download of the bill when it is published by Congress. Prepare yourselves for not only the type of attacks you are seeing now, but also the attacks you received when amnesty was being discussed. Prepare yourself to be told you are being misinformed. Prepare yourself for the president to “reject the notions…” that you are making. To be sure, the issue will not be about notions. Like the current health care debate, prepare yourself to smeared by the fringe media as selfish and/or racist to oppose the President’s plan. Don’t be a ninny and think this isn’t coming. Steel yourself to the attacks- just as you have done with these current issues- arm yourself with your research, so you know you are speaking F-A-C-T. Don’t be dismissed. We’re fighting for our country, not just ourselves, here. It’s not enough to say, “No government health care”, at this point. We cannot excuse or separate the two issues, as even the President will fuse the two. There can be no amnesty either, simply to prove the president to be not a liar on his face with regard to illegals receiving taxpayer funded health benefits. The issue will become amnesty, then health care, and then amnesty for health care. Watch and see.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Tea Party March in Washington, DC.

I don’t think in all my time attending protests, I have enjoyed being called racist more than now. It’s interesting to me to read the blogs written by leftist moonbats who either downplay the DC rally, or resort to calling us racists. It’s interesting, because of the allegations that all the Partiers are too simple and shallow and stupid to actually judge people based on what type of person they are. We’re too dumb to make a character judgment. We’re all shallow, and we operate in life by looking at a person’s skin color, and deciding whether or not we’ll support them. We haven’t the intellectual capability to take what a person says, compare it to the way a person acts, and make judgments based on that. Thus we are racists, who only go to Tea Parties- not because of taxes, spending, big government, etc., but because we cannot come to grips with a black person being president.


Pray tell, if we’re so racist, why is it the left who keeps bringing it up? They’re the ones who rallied during Obama’s campaign about putting racism behind us as a country, and yet racial cries are louder today than before anyone knew who Obama was. Every single solitary time someone disagrees with the president on anything, the left cries racism. They are very quick to remind us that a black person is president. You don’t hear the Tea Partiers saying anything about Obama’s race. We talk about his policies. It’s the left that keeps mentioning it- race is so important to them, while they tell us to be color blind… why do they focus so much on his blackness- with no mention of the fact that he’s half white, and why do they keep telling us that our arguments against this administration and Congress could not possibly stem from policy, but only and simply because Obama is black?


Furthermore, can I get a real argument about this? Like, really, guys. I have a lot to say about this Congress, the President, their policies, spending practices, taxing practices and the healthcare bill currently being worked on in Congress. The ONLY argument worth any weight that I have heard by the left is that they really believe in healthcare for all. That’s commendable, and I appreciate their conviction. But that’s when reason stops and 2nd grade begins. Because as soon as someone says they read the bill and oppose several things inside it, the left says we’re racist, extremists, domestic terrorists. Is it that they lack the ability to debate or reason- did they read the bill? Can we get a substantive argument here? The only accomplishment from the left by demonizing us, is producing apathy on our parts. So, keep calling us names. We don’t care. It is only because of the lack of ability on the part of the left to stop and think about what these Tea Partiers are actually saying. We don’t care anymore- we know who we are and have failed to see why we need to continue trying to prove how not racist we are. No more from us about our black friends or coworkers- or that some of us aren’t white, and aren’t going through Stockholm syndrome. We’re not Uncle Toms and we’re not going to defend ourselves from people who throw tantrums like two year olds who don’t get their way. Let’s face it really- in all the efforts by the left to downplay us and call us everything in the book from Astroturf to Zealots- we cannot be knocked over and dismayed. You- the left and the media- don’t matter to us anymore. We have moved beyond the games of the left.


Where politics are concerned, we were a diverse group in DC. There were Republicans, Democrats, Independents and Libertarians, and some people who have never been political. However, we were all conservative; and let’s examine why that is so.


It doesn’t matter if someone in our crowd is pro-choice. It didn’t matter if they think global warming is real. We’re conservative because of the convictions we stand on that guide us through life, based on our own personal experiences on this planet. We conservatives know and believe fundamental principles, like don’t spend money you don’t have; you have no right to take from one person to give to another; I know what’s better for me and my family than you do; you live your life and let me live mine; the government works best when it’s small and out of the lives of people; we do not do handouts; we resent the guilt trip of the left to try and manipulate our behaviors; it is our business what we believe in, spiritually; it is our business to speak out- and be unafraid- when we see things we don’t like within our country’s government; we think most politicians are corrupt- from all parties; we believe capitalism works; we believe in allowing individuals to succeed in their own rights; we believe in allowing individuals- or companies- to fall on their faces rather than supporting them when they fail.


We are conservative because each of us have had some really tough times in life and managed to pull ourselves through. Government is not our mommy. We are conservative because of what life has taught us about the way people are, they way we are as a result, how wonderful life is when we’re left to our own devices to create this life. We’re conservative because we don’t think it’s anyone’s business to tell us anything about us and our lives, no matter what the circumstances. We’re not law breakers, we are taxpayers. We maintain our convictions and we stand in defense of them with the resolve our Founding Fathers prayed we would have in these times. We are not afraid. We are conservative because we don’t believe in the left, we have no confidence in them. We do not abide by hypocrites who tell us to be diverse, and to accept opposing points of view, when they don’t have to be.


It is our way of life. It’s not simply about politics. Politics is Congress, it’s an elephant or an ass. This is who we are and how we live. We have convictions and have developed principles on which to live, based on our lives and making our ways in the world. We may not all agree on specifics, but we all agree in general principles. Reason and logic are the first tools we use in life to get through- unlike liberals do where they run on how they feel about things. We respect the rights of others to not live like we chose to live. We respect the rights of others to be all manner of people- and encourage them to do so, as long as they don’t tread on others. It’s not about which party holds control in Washington. It’s about our lives, and us as individual people and how we chose to be, raise our kids, and navigate through this crazy world. So while there may be some pro-choice people, anti-gun people, etc. we were all conservatives in Washington, September 12, 2009. And we are demanding accountability, with no regard for which ever names and other bombs that get thrown at us. We cannot be derailed. And the reason for it is conservatism. It’s our life, not our party, and you cannot shake someone from the foundations they have created for themselves, simply by calling them racist.


This is a sentiment that we shared with each other at the Tea Party, this weekend. It was amazing to speak with so many different types of people, and they all say the same thing I am saying. It was like I was talking to myself. We all had no expectations of major media reports; in fact, many of us were surprised to learn the Alphabet Media even mentioned it all, even if they did downplay the efforts. I would imagine that if any news media were there- CNN was, briefly- they would have been dismissed, the same way they dismiss us. We don’t care anymore. We know where we stand and aren’t justifying or defending anymore, and we’ll dismiss the MSM the same they do with us.


Note to the Drive-By Media: don’t even bother. Please continue to ignore us. No- really. I mean it. Your lack of reporting, skewing the attendance numbers, calling us paid partisan hacks- frothing at the mouth- says more about you and more about us, than it would if you actually reported it. So please keep up the efforts to ignore us, and make us out to be something we’re not. It actually helps us. The reason why is because no matter what the numbers are- be it 1 million, 1.5 or 2 million, every single solitary person that was there went home, uploaded their video to Youtube, and told every other person they know what they just did. There are more of us than there are media personnel, there are more of us than there are corrupt politicians. We will tell everyone and document everything online, which is where we go to inform ourselves (like reading the healthcare bill), and people who want real information will find it. We need no validation from the Drive By media. How do I know this to be true? Because if I think it, then at least two million other people are thinking it.


We don’t need you.


We don’t need the government either… except where it concerns our lives… we do need the government to stay out of our lives, our homes, our schools, our religions, our finances, our bodies and our business. We do need that. The progressive government we have found ourselves with need to take note. We the People are demanding accountability and if this government and this administration do not comply, we will fire you.


We were two million strong, with pictures and video to prove it. We taxpayers took off work- some without pay- drove hours, paid exorbitant tolls, and every one of us were afraid of people not taking it seriously and not coming out. Much to our pleasant surprise, that notion seemed to motivate people more than the message itself. People showed up to be one more person- in case the numbers were low. People are genuinely angry and HAD to be there. They just had to make the sacrifices away from daily life, and attend, just to be one more person showing their displeasure and disgust. They had to be one more person to attempt to remind Washington just who pays their salary. And we vote.


I am a bit insulted at the Whitehouse response to the Partiers, who said they did not know who we were or what we were doing… that we were paid to be there. I mean, come on- if they don’t know who we are, then how do they know we were paid? Furthermore, if the Whitehouse did not know who the two million people were on the front lawn of the Capitol building were, then what does that say about the security and intelligence of this administration? It’s their JOB to know who we are and what we’re doing. What if we really were terrorists, gathering there to support bringing harm to the country? You bet your butts the Whitehouse would know who was there. But y’all keep it classy, now. Play stupid and then insult is and pretend to not know us. That’s a great way to portray the supposed leader of the free world. Dumb, blind, arrogant and immature. Right on, guys.


My day started by being amazed at the sheer numbers of people- literally hundreds of people- waiting in line to buy a ticket to catch the train to DC. We packed like sardines onto the train and everyone spoke as if we’d known each other for ever. As evidenced by some of my video captured, I was beyond amazed at the numbers upon entering the rally point- somewhere in the middle, at 13th street. As I located my Party mates and we began the march, the rumbles and cheers gave me goose bumps. It was something you could almost physically feel- and although hard to describe, it was almost like a sports game when watching the fans do the wave, in the stands. The roars with us started at the back, and we heard the low rumble, and it grew louder as it approached us. It hit us and it was our turn to yell and cheer, and it left us and moved to the front of the crowds, going back to the low roaring, until we couldn’t hear it anymore. Several times this happened.


When I arrived at the Capitol, I was able to meander in near the pond at Freedom Plaza, and it took nearly a half hour to wind my way up closer to the stage. Amazing is an understatement. The seas of people will stay with me forever. The people that were there were all of one single mind set- no matter what their issue in particular may have been- which is the government is the problem. It is broken. It is too intrusive, it pushes too hard for what it wants. It does not represent the People. Government says it is doing the bidding of the People. But they have said many things we know to be ludicrous. They say and do two different things, which is what the dictionary defines as hypocrite. We are finished with their style of leadership. We all- two million of us- are simply letting them know that they’re on thin and melting ice. We’re all informed, we read the voting records. And don’t blame us because we read the bill.


I hugged more strangers than I have ever in my life. I hugged more people and can hardly remember names- some I never bothered to ask. It kind of didn’t matter. I sat on the ledge of the pond in Freedom Plaza with a delightful elderly lady and talked with her about the direction of the country for maybe twenty minutes. It was fascinating for us, the rest of the rally took pause and it seemed as if it was just the two of us. I think she was from North Carolina; when she got up to leave, she blessed me and kissed my cheek. I got hungry and found a McDonalds, and there were so many people inside that some were just standing up and eating things. I went outside and asked to share a piece of sidewalk with a guy named David and his son- I’m sorry I can’t remember your name!- who came from Kentucky. David said that his wife was sorry she couldn’t make it, but he just couldn’t sit by anymore. He hadn’t been to a Tea Party, and he was scared that no one would show up; that people would sit by and just think someone else could be there for him. He had to be there, and he couldn’t believe so many others shared that thought. So many others decided that they would be one. They would not allow someone else to take their place at the Party.


It was a Party, too. Everyone wanted to be with each other, it was like a massive family reunion, without the family drama. I thanked every police officer I saw, and they gave me a look and a “you’re welcome” as if I was the 500th person to say that to them. Everyone laughed and was in good spirits; at one point I kept apologizing for bumping into people and some guy shouted, “Will you stop apologizing already? We’re all family here!” We also were a clean bunch. We all took the time to not litter. The trashcans were overflowing, and we all took care to keep our trash neatly piled around the can- along with discarded signs when the rally was over. It’s because conservatives believe in being responsible, not relying on the park service and city workers to clean up after us. We believe in trying to keep picked up after ourselves, and I can tell you we all enjoyed poking fun at the liberals who like to trash the place, like during Obama’s inauguration.


What’s the bottom line? The ball is in our court and we no longer need to be afraid. We can speak out and move forward and dismiss these liberals while they throw their tantrums and try to demean us. But I do think we have some obligations, here. We are obviously no longer afraid to address Congress when we are being ignored, and let them know how we feel. We know how to pay attention. Now, while we validate ourselves- and we do not need, nor should seek any validation from the media- I believe it is our obligation to start calling them to task. Accurate journalism is far gone- it is a bunch of liberal activism with TV cameras. If we can get two million people in DC, we can get 2,000 people calling the MSM. It isn’t about getting them to listen. They won’t. It’s about getting back and flooding their phone lines with people who are sick of the way they do business. They have phone lines dedicated for public contact. Call them up and give them a piece of your mind, as they chose to be tools of the progressive government. Enough is enough.


Finally, I want to thank everyone who was there, and maybe some of you will actually read this. If not, maybe this is a sort of love letter to all of you that I’ll keep here for myself to read from time to time to remember what it felt like to be with you. I will continue to fight as I know you will. I know it may not finish for a while, but I am prepared to stand up with you, across the country, while we defend it from the biggest remake in our history. I am proud that you hold the convictions I do in regards to holding to our principles and not allowing them to be swept away; if it goes away we can’t get it back. We don’t need the government to care for us and we don’t need the media to validate us. We have each other and there are more of us than there are of them. We proved this. Everyone of us learned something important about ourselves, that further proved to strengthen our resolve. We are fighters, we are patriotic, we are independent people, we love our country, and we’re not going to take it from these bureaucratic progressive politicians or their media puppets, anymore.


Our Founding Fathers would be proud, you know. God Bless you all.