What I learned at the Rally

Let me start by assuring family members reading this that, despite what I am going to write here, I am not going to be standing on street corners, proselytizing or ditch everything and take off to some far off place to preach to the heathens. And yes, I know, Beck is an entertainer. That being said, the Glenn Beck Restoring Honor Rally on 8/28 was one of the most amazing events I have ever attended, if not THE most amazing. Beck has been saying, “Come as you are and leave stronger”. I believe I did.

If I want to use a string of words to describe the event, I guess I would start with inspiring, apolitical, uplifting, hopeful, and empowering. It was all about American ideals and values. The huge crowd of at least 500,000 was energized, happy and friendly. I personally saw and heard so many stories of people sharing their help, blankets, food and water with others that they are way too numerous to relate.

Over the course of five hours on Friday and all day Saturday I met people from at least 12 to 15 different states. Every single person I met, without exception, was so open, friendly and warm that I felt I had made hundreds of new friends. No negativity at all. In no way could it be described as racist or about hate. While the main stream media is trying to make this about politics and race, nothing could be farther from the truth. The crowd was mostly white but there were plenty of black people there, as well. Many people on stage who spoke or performed were also black. Al Sharpton said that Beck was hijacking and distorting Martin Luther King’s message. Not at all. In fact, I believe Dr. King would find nothing to object to in the speeches last Saturday. It was my belief that Dr. King’s aim was equality of opportunity for all people and that people should be judged by the content of their character, rather than the color of their skin. I thought civil rights was supposed to be about a color blind society. I don’t believe that Dr. King ever intended it to be about one group of people getting free stuff from another group of people in perpetuity or one group of people abandoning the idea of personal responsibility. He was not violent. He was dedicated but determined. He was also a preacher.

Beck’s main premise is that, once God was pushed out of the public square, things began to go wrong. Thomas Jefferson said that the people would keep this government so long as they remained moral.

Over the years as I have become more interested in American history and started reading more about it I have come to truly believe that this country was founded and continued, in part, through Divine Providence. There are so many history stories of things that happened that one would deem impossible, yet they happened when we were in the worst need. One example I can think of is the concealing fog that rolled in just in time to allow the trapped Colonial troops in New York to retreat from the advancing British forces. Beck is saying that we, as a people, and as individuals, need to get behind God and He will be our shield as we fight (figuratively) for our country. It is up to each person to be honorable. Some may protest that they are only one person and what can one person do. Let us remember that, in the beginning, the Founders and citizen patriots were only ordinary people, too. But they knew what was right and were willing to stand up for what was right. And they spoke boldly about what they knew to be right.

At the rally, three citizens received Medals of Merit for Faith, Hope and Charity. These medals were based on the original design and intent of George Washington. They were the forerunners to the Purple Heart. Three servicemen also received awards. Their stories were to illustrate that individuals, acting honorably, can achieve great things. They are real heroes whom we and our children can admire and look up to.

I am and will continue to be, heavily involved in the Lowell Tea Party. I have been thinking about the difference between Tea Party Rallies and the Restoring Honor rally. The Tea Party Rallies are definitely political and seem more narrowly issue focused. They also project, sometimes, an angry mood. The Beck rally was more an exhortation to people to be the catalyst for the change to RESTORE, not TRANSFORM, us back to the original precepts of the Founders.

In any case, I have spent most of the last two days thinking about what I heard and saw and examining my part in it. I realized that, for a long time, I have been angry, frustrated, and even scared about what I see happening to this country. And I was at the point of hopelessness. When I looked out at the crowd on Saturday there were hundreds of thousands of people as far as I could see, who had made sacrifices in time and money to get to this place. Those people did not do this on a whim or because they had nothing better to do that Saturday. They made those sacrifices for the same reasons I did. They all felt the same as I did- scared, frustrated and angry and they didn’t know what to do about it. As I looked out at the crowd I realized something. I am not alone. To borrow a phrase- together we can. I realized that the people on the mall are stronger than the people in that domed building and stronger than the people in that white house. I left D.C. more hopeful and quietly determined. No longer will I shush Dad when he makes politically incorrect remarks in restaurants. I will be honest, even with myself. Even when it is hard. I will continue to call my legislators, work for candidates that I have found to be worthy of my trust, put up yard signs, make phone calls and complain about the scoundrels. But I will not waste my energy being scared or frustrated. I will continue as I have, in response to a challenge forty plus days ago, to get back down on my knees and pray. I urge everyone to pray every day for this country, its military and its leaders (Perhaps some of them will have an epiphany!) and for guidance on how to help.

In closing, remember that the United States did not just materialize over night or even in a few years. The seeds that sparked the Revolution and inspired ordinary men and women to action developed over many years. I believe we are seeing those sparks again. I hope we can restore our country without bloodshed. But I now truly feel that, with ordinary patriots linking arms and standing together for what we know is right, this country will be fine.

And that’s what I saw at the rally!

He was influenced by the book Ishmael and of course Al Gore’s movie.  He considered humans as pollution.  He referred to human babies as parasitic, and wanted the Discovery Channel to change their programming to encourage people not to have babies.

James entered the Discovery Channel studios in Silver Springs armed and wearing what looked like a suicide vest, and took hostages.  After a 4-hour standoff – the SWAT team acceded to his demands and emergency surgeons implanted devices so that he would not have any babies.  His gene pool has dried up.  Al Gore must be so proud!

We await a White House statement blaming George W. Bush. 

   /s/  Iron Mike
   Old Soldier, – Still Good for Parts!

Surgical Team

But when their cars are still sporting Obama ’08 stickers, – it is very hard to resist. Does that make me evil or human? 

So the “Stimulus” [aka the Porkulus] has come and gone – and I have yet to hear of a single private sector job created.  Cash for Clunkers is history – really bad history.  State unemployment which was up to 10.4% at Christmas has come down to 8.8% last month.  August figures will be out Friday.

But this was the first summer when local kids had a tough time getting work. The usual stores, businesses, and contractors who would reliably hire kids just weren’t hiring. Instead owners worked extra hours, brought family members in to help, did not take vacations weeks off, and kept cash flow to a minimum.

This was a summer of empty store fronts all across the State. 

So here in Mass-a-TWO-shits, and across the land, the economy is flat, or shrinking, and today Obama went on TV trying to blame the Republicans for holding up a $35 Billion small business loan bill.  Right Barry, – your $836 Billion union payoff didn’t do diddly, so you want to blame Republicans because you can’t dole out another $36 Billion to inner city banks for loans which will never be repaid?

Look at the chart.  Remember the period of the Clinton presidency – 1993 – 2001 coincides with what we call the “tech bubble” or the “DotCom Bubble“.

Here in Massachusetts those were the years when tons of venture capital was pouring into any software startup company that promised gold for being able to do business on the internet. When reality sunk in it had nothing to do with politics, or that Gore lost the 2000 Election in Dade County.  It had everything to do with the cold hard fact of too much money recklessly invested in software pipe dreams.

During those years Massachusetts software companies spent a LOT of money importing and sponsoring foreign software engineers [straight A students] for Green Cards.

America’s sub-standard union-powered school systems just weren’t delivering either quality or quantity. Now with unemployment at 10+% nationwide, that issue has taken a back seat – but it still lurks like a dagger pointed at our national survival.

Today many / most of those imported straight-A engineers are still employed – while many of their B- American counterparts are emailing résumés.

Companies which were becoming successful in DotCom enterprise software were also learning to ship work to India – where a reasonably competent programmer could be hired for about 15% of the cost of a snot-nosed uppity MIT grad.

Computer manufacturers were also moving manufacture and assembly plants to Asia. Chinese container ships were cheaper to rent than American office space, and the workers weren’t demanding Starbucks.

So despite the shock of 9/11, and two wars, both George Bush, Congress, and a couple of Republican governors here in Massachusetts managed to mostly keep the lid on taxes and spending.  And although George did sound a series of warnings, nobody wanted to believe that there was another bloated bubble threatening to burst – the housing bubble.

So 2008 came with some ugly surprises.

The housing bubble did in fact burst, and Barrack Obama edged out Hillary and was elected pResident. On November 5^th, 2008 investor confidence bottomed out – and unemployment took off like a runaway rocket – even before Obama was sworn in.  He’ll spend the rest of his life telling you about the “mess he inherited“.  

It’s hardly so.  It’s the mess that his known preferences for grandiose socialist solutions to simple supply / demand economics created.  The dread that investors have of sailing in a ship overloaded with worthless ballast, waves of debt breaking over the gunnels, and the crew sitting around waiting for somebody else to man the pumps and the sails.

In just weeks unemployment shot up to over 8% – and to over 10% in just a year – despite that $836 Stimulus.

But Obama shown no signs of relenting in his campaign to spread your wealth around. He wants that additional $36 Billion in voter bribe money before October.  You watch his ranting ratchet up in the next three weeks.

And those of you who are old enough to remember – think back to October 1992 – when having just defeated Saddam Hussein - George H. W. Bush [aka Bush ’41] had to listen to the Dems mocking him “It’s the ECONOMY Stupid!“  Unemployment then was at 8% and coming down smartly. Clinton’s election made it instantly jump to 9%.

So when you see Niki Tsongas, Jim McGovernment, Barney Frank, et al, tell ’em “It’s the ECONOMY Stupid – and you haven’t got a friggin’ CLUE about how to fix it!”

HERE IS A CLUE:   Toss the Democrats/Socialists OUT.  Elect Conservatives / Republicans.  Demand lower taxes, lower spending, and an end of payoffs to socialist unions, like the SEIU and the various teacher unions.

HERE’S ANOTHER CLUE:  A government CANNOT make jobs. But it CAN make it cheaper for Americans to make stuff here than to ship it over here on Chinese container ships.  See if you can embed that single thought into the brains of your Democrat neighbors between now and November 1^st.

Do it with urgency, or NEXT summer will be far worse!

   /s/  Iron Mike
   Old Soldier, – Still Good for Parts!

Can anybody say Third World Presidency?

I watched – some on Facebook [I believe it will be re-broadcast] and some on C-Span [also says they will re-broadcast]. 

Already the MSM are wringing their hands because Glenn was calling for a national return to our founders principles of individual responsibility and faith in God.  That “God thing” really upsets liberals.  Note this vile parody of the event’s logo.

You just know some snot-nose left-wing computer geek got a big chuckle out of this piece of work.  He proved one thing for sure – his mind is in the toilet!

You should also be aware of the MSM’s efforts to minimize the crowd size and to claim that Beck and Sarah Palin are trying to turn America back to the hard religious right.  Glen has a goodly crowd – as this photo I borrowed from Bob Parks proves:

Isn’t it odd that the left is so very quick to embrace a 9/11 victory mosque on the site of a horrific Muslim murder of innocents, but are even quicker to cast aspersions and anything Christian. 

Al Sharpton held a competing rally – I think in somebody’s back yard – where he claimed Glenn was “trying to hijack the Civil Right Movement“.  Right Al, and you’ve been doing what with it for fifty years?  Oh that’s right – making a living from it!

~~~~~~ more later ~~~~

Watch live on C-Span or on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/restoringhonor?v=app_136483746394240

Captain Joe

Another stunning win by a Conservative!  Alaska’s Joe Miller got 1668 more votes than incumbent Republican Lisa Murkowski.  He’ll face Sitka Mayor Democrat Scott McAdams in November.  Barring an October surprise Miller should win.  Dem vote total was just 30,855 against a Republican total of 92,386. 

Are the days of “moderate Republicans” being numbered by TEA Party anger?

Murkowski grew up in a Republican household.  Her daddy was a US Senator [1981 - 02].  She was elected [on his name value] to the Alaska legislature in 1998.  When her daddy ran for Governor and won in 2002 – he appointed daughter Lisa to fill his vacant Senate seat. She was re-elected by an unimpressive margin in 2004.  Throughout her time in Washington she has been pro-choice and pro-stem cell research.  And she’s been dogged by ethical issues involving land deals. 

As Governor from 2002-04, Daddy Frank was involved with the purchase of an expensive executive jet.  Sarah Palin challenged him on that and other issues, unseating him in 2006.  Most recently she supported Joe Miller’s senate bid.  I ~ guess ~ you could say that the Murkowskis and the Palins aren’t close friends.

Don’t let Joe Miller’s beard fool you.  He’s a USMA-89 grad and veteran of the first Gulf War – winning a Bronze Star.  He has a law degree from Yale, he’s been with a big Alaska law firm, and he’s been a judge magistrate.  He is a pro-life and pro-gun hunter, opposes ObamaCare and Cap&Tax, and all the other unconstitutional laws our Congress has recently passed.

Lesson for Republicans:  Read the Constitution and embrace it!  Go Joe!

’Nuther lesson for Republicans:  Sarah Palin ROCKS!!!

   /s/  Iron Mike
   Old Soldier, – Still Good for Parts!

For Republicans:

rr

We’ve been around almost as long as PresO. (I venture to say we’ll be here long after he’s gone from the scene.)  How many vacations has PresO taken?  Surely not 500, but close!

Five hundred has some significance.

• many NASCAR races often use the number 500 at the end of their race names (i.e. Daytona 500), to denote the length of the race.
• the longest advertised distance of the IndyCar Series and its premier race, the Indianapolis 500.
• an Italian car, the Fiat 500, or a number of cars in the United States built by Ford: the Ford Five Hundred, Galaxie 500 and Custom 500.
• a name of two different card games, 500 (card game) for a trick taking game and 500 Rummy for the rummy game.
• (500) Days of Summer is a 2009 film directed by Marc Webb
• an outdoor ball/disc game, see 500 (outdoor game)
• an HTTP status code for Internal Server Error
• an SMTP status code meaning a syntax error has occurred due to unrecognized command
• the years AD 500, 500 BC. (both were Republican years, by the way)
• the winning permillage of a sports team with equal numbers of wins and losses. Such teams are often referred to as “500 teams”.
• There’s even an old folk song: “Five Hundred Miles”

So many, yet here we are.  Our own 500.  Yes, it’s just a post, not too different from 499 or 501.  But a milestone nonetheless.

Ironmike and I want to thank all those who read our posts diligently, or casually. We do this for our own mental health.  The fact that you find it interesting to read is a bonus. Keep coming around. Certainly as the year progresses toward election day, things will heat up. 

Discussions may grow strident. Mostly because so much is at stake. But, if we keep our head, it’ll be interesting to watch the DemonDems self-destruct.  And then a short two more years to watch PresO enter the unemployment line just like so many are right now.

It’ll be a fun ride. Let’s make it as disastrous as possible for those who are not on the side of America.  That’s my pledge. 

Please raise your hand and do the same.  rr