Wednesday, November 11, 2009

What Liberal Political Correctness Got Us

Liberal political correctness is to blame, not for the shootings at Fort Hood, but for not being able to prevent it. The shooter is to blame. There are multiple reasons for the shooting, but the blame starts and ends with the shooter. However, liberal political correctness is to blame for creating a culture of fear that prevented anyone from acting to prevent the shooting. Army officials were so scared of saying the politically incorrect thing that they did nothing.

Liberals have pussified the United States. People can't say what they really mean without being personally attacked (think Joe the Plumber). Men go to day spas. No one keeps score and all kids get trophies. Nanny-state regulations protect us from ourselves. TV personalities lose their jobs for speaking the uncomfortable truth. We no longer fight wars to win. Pussified.

Liberal political correctness has gone beyond an annoyance. It is now costing lives. Check my previous post regarding the book Lone Survivor explaining how liberal political correctness cost the lives of US soldiers in Afghanistan. Add that to the 13 innocent people just killed at Ford Hood.

It's time for everyday Americans to do what they know in their hearts, and stand up to political correctness that has moved in these times from ridiculous to dangerous.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Petit Family Foundation Food and Wine Event November 15th 2009

The Petit Family Foundation cordially invites you to a Food & Wine Event to benefit the foundation and to honor the memories of Jennifer-Hawke Petit, Hayley Elizabeth Petit and Michaela Rose Petit on Sunday Nov. 15th 2009 5:30-8:30p.m. at Carmen Anthony Fishhouse, 1770 Berlin Turnpike, Wethersfield, Ct.
The foundation’s funds are given to help foster the education of young people, especially women in the sciences; to improve the lives of those affected by chronic illnesses; and to support efforts to protect and help those affected by violence.
Please call Beth Tracey for reservations at 1-860-677-1223 Ext. 23

Here’s a sneak preview:
"Wines To Be Paired With All Food Courses"

Reception:
Fruit & Vegetable Crudités
1st Course:
Campagna Salad
Mixed field greens with gorgonzola cheese, red onions and tomatoes,
with our house vinaigrette
2nd Course:
Capellini Piedmontese
Capellini pasta tossed in a creamy pink sauce with Prosciutto, peas & Parmesan cheese
Served Family Style
3rd Course:
Petite Filet Mignon Trio
A filet trio cooked to perfection accompanied by sauces of blackberry bordelaise,
green peppercorn au poivre and béarnaise served with baby vegetables
Dessert:
Chocolate Torte
Coffee or Tea

We look forward to seeing you at our first Wine/Dinner Event!!
Petit Family Foundation~http://www.petitfamilyfoundation.org/Use GoodSearch for The Petit Family Foundation http://www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=863000%7E

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Conservative Internet Radio

AM talk radio is one form of media dominated by conservative commentators. Many radio shows also simul-cast over the internet.

I've written before about some local Connecticut shows available on WTIC 1080 in Hartford.

I stumbled upon a station that plays all the big national shows back-to-back-to-back and is available over the internet. "The Big Talker" AM 1210 out of Philadelphia broadcasts Glenn Beck at 9 AM Eastern, followed by Rush Limbaugh at noon, followed by Sean Hannity at 3 PM. They also have local personalities before and after these national shows. I'm able to fire up AM 1210 over the internet starting around 9 AM, and leave it on for rest of the work day.

If you're looking for a one-stop-shop for conservative talk, check out AM 1210. I've included the link below.

http://www.thebigtalker1210.com/

Please let Liberty Alert know if you have other favorite radio shows available over the internet.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

USA Today Vote on Second Amendment

I had this message emailed to me today:

USA TODAY IS TAKING A POLL ON 2ND AMENDMENT - GUN CONTROL

Obama's new Attorney General, Eric Holder, has already said this is one of his major issues. This takes literally 2 clicks to complete. Please vote on this gun issue question with U S A Today. It will only take a few seconds of your time. Then pass the link on to all the interested friends you know. Hopefully these results will be published later this month. This upcoming year will become critical for gun owners with the Supreme Court accepting the District of Columbia case against the right for individuals to bear arms. Here's what you need to do:

VOTE

The Question is: " Does the Second Amendment give individuals the right to bear arms?"
Answer choices are: Yes or No or Undecided then click on V OT E now white tab!

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Boycott The Book (The Cheshire Home Invasion)

For those of you not familiar with this story, below is a letter regarding the rape, torture, and murder of 2 daughters and the wife of Dr. William Petit of Cheshire, CT. This letter is attributed to Dr. Bill Petit. I can not verify for sure that this is from Dr. Petit, but I have reason to believe that this letter is authentic. Regardless of the source of this letter, the message remains the same. No criminal should benefit from a crime, especially a crime as hideous as this one. It seems like an easy decision to stay away from this book. You'll have to make up your own mind, but see Dr. Petit's words below before you make your decision.

===========================================================
Please Help Boycott This Book
Share
This is the illegally obtained book written by one the defendants who killed Hayley and Michaela. He illegally met with the author in jail before he was stopped by the DOC and released it prior to the trial in Contempt of of the gag order, that has been in place over a year. The book was common knowledge but Donovan, his defense attorney has reacted like a moron as if he had no knowledge of this. Judge Fasano had a hearing yesterday and ignored the entire topic-of course the session was in chambers so it is hard to know exactly what was said-our justice system is far less than transparent. This allows this animal to give his side of the story without cross-examination or forensics and then causes the other side of the defense to whine that they cannot get a fair trial. Amazon The author, Brian McDonald, acts like he did nothing wrong-it was only his job to write a book no matter who it hurts. St. martin Press is the division of McMillan that published the book and it is out at Amazon, Barnes and Noble etc. None of them care that an 11 year old was terrorized, raped and burned alive and that a 17 yr old was beaten and burned alive while a 48 year old mother with MS was strangled while she tried to save her children. They are all the epitome of the American blood lust for money and publicity at all costs. Shame on them. they will get their final rewards in their afterlife of hell. Now 26 months later there is no thought of starting the trial and the judicial system wants me to cheer because this is faster than most trials come to court. Yes I am angry, and suspect I will get angrier, but if you have a minute send an email or call or boycott. Thank you for caring about Jennifer, Hayley, and Michaela.
Bill Petit

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Book Review: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Outliers – The Story of Success is an international best seller. There are scores of articles and reviews by “professional” book reviewers available for this book, but I'll still add my take to the pile of information available on this book.

Outliers explores the role circumstances have in the creating success. The basic thesis is that although talent and hard work are certainly necessary for success, they are a bit over rated when reviewing what creates success. As the thesis goes, circumstances and even luck can have just as important a role in creating great success, or outliers.

Besides what I gleaned from this book, I know little about Malcolm Gladwell. I have not read any of his other best sellers. However, based on what I learned from this book, I would say that Gladwell is a statistician and a sociologist. He uses data to make correlations, then draws conclusions about the cause and effect of these correlations.

Outliers was quite interesting, and somewhat eye opening. It was fascinating to see the pieces that had to all fall in just the right place to create a great success like a Bill Gates or even a Malcolm Gladwell.
The tone of the book was tough to pinpoint. One of the messages of the book was that there are other factors out of your control that determine your success. Regardless of how hard you work, or how talented you are, you will have a difficult time becoming a true success outlier without good fortune. For example, if you are a young kid starting hockey in Canada, even if you have great natural talent, you will likely not get anywhere unless you were born in one of the first 4 months of the year (You’ll have to read the book to see the reason for this.). At the same time, there is some message of hope in the book. Gladwell contends that talent is overrated. He believes that in many cases, people viewed as great talents were really of average talent but through hard work and lucky circumstances, were able to become successful. Therefore, there is some hope in believing that although you may not be born with great talent, you can still become a success outlier. However, I believe this hope message is drowned out by the fact that Gladwell puts such a large emphasis on luck as a key factor. It’s a little disconcerting to become aware of the fact that regardless of your hard word and talent, whether or not you become successful is in large part due to luck. Even if it is likely true to some degree, it’s still a tough message to face into. I think we all internally know that circumstances are a big factor in life, but to have it laid out in black and white with supporting data can be a bit depressing, unless of course you are one of those on the good side of the luck equation (which is all relative)!

One point that is critical to understanding Outliers is that Gladwell makes generalizations based on data. He does a good job pointing out that he deals in just generalizations, not hard rules. For example, it may be easier to become a hockey star in Canada if you were to be born in February, but not impossible if born in November. One always needs to be careful when making generalizations about people. Gladwell points this out.

One criticism of Gladwell is that he does not discuss any data contradicting his conclusions. This is an understandable criticism, but it’s also understandable why Gladwell leaves most contradictory data out. His intention is to write a book in everyday terms, not create an academic research paper.

There’s a good reason why Outliers is a best seller. I highly recommend this book.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Getting to the Heart of the Healthcare Debate

Millions of protesters at “tea parties” and town hall debates are an obvious indicator that there are clearly differing views throughout the American population regarding government provided healthcare.

Polls have indicated for quite some time now that more people are opposed to government provided healthcare than support it.

Whether against the present Obama-supported healthcare plan due to fear of high costs, poor performance, government intervention, or any number of reasons, in the end all these reasons really funnel down to one central idea – mistrust of government.

The debate over government provided healthcare in the United States is in essence a debate between people who generally trust government, and people who generally mistrust government.
The words “generally” in the statements above are crucial words. Few people always trust or always mistrust government. It is a general perspective of trust versus mistrust that is at the heart of this debate.


To the chagrin of big government supporters, the United States was founded under a purposeful mistrust of government. The United States Constitution was set up to give people maximum liberty precisely because the founders did not trust government. The second amendment to the US Constitution is a direct descendant of the founders mistrust.

The left may not like this built-in mistrust of the US Constitution, but unfortunately for them (and fortunately for the rest of us), the Constitution is the law of the land.

This idea of governmental mistrust is something that most liberals don't understand. The US Constitution is meant to err on the side of too little government, not too much. It is why the left is wrong in the healthcare debate.
Keep in mind that just because the left is wrong in this debate, does not mean that they will not prevail. For this reason, liberty-loving Americans need to continue to stand up to the anti-Constitutional socialization of America.


Thursday, September 10, 2009

Book Review -- Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell

Lone Survivor is the true-life chronicle of a Navy Seal team that was ambushed in the mountains of Afghanistan. The author was the lone survivor of this ordeal.

This book was a national best seller with plans in the works for a movie.

The book focuses on the events in Afghanistan, but it traces Luttrell’s journey from small-town Texas kid to highly skilled soldier. Luttrell was already preparing to become a Navy Seal during his high school years. The book spends a lot of time giving the background of Luttrell’s Seal training. It also explains the events taking place back at Luttrell’s Texas home while he is fighting for his life in Afghanistan. This background sets the stage for the hardships Luttrell and his Seal team battle in Afghanistan.

The story of operation Redwing is a powerful true-life war story. Just the dramatic events that unfolded on the mountains of Afghanistan alone would make a fine book. However, the book sets itself apart by the detail the author spends on the non-battlefield aspects of this story. Though the battlefield adventure is the climax of the book, Luttrell intersperses the themes of honor, valor, love, family, dedication, excellence, and leadership as much with his off-battlefield stories as he does with the actual war story. Luttrell also gives his own matter-of-fact assessment of the battlefield impact of political events back home. He pulls no punches as he explains how the soldiers fighting in hostile lands are handcuffed by the ridiculous rules of engagement thrust upon them by liberal politicians back home. He also discusses the negative impact the liberal-slanted media has on the fighting soldiers. Luttrell explains how tactics that are the absolute right thing to do from a military strategy perspective are second-guessed because of the potential for negative media coverage. Luttrell makes the case that these policies cost actual American lives. To the soldiers, they are not abstract. They are living with the result of policies implemented by Washington Liberal do-gooders.

The book is an interesting look into the mindset of an elite soldier. It’s an action packed, and often gruesome war story. It’s an interesting political commentary. It’s a reassuring story about family, community, and ideals. This book is a recommended read.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Liberal Voters Would Not Be Satisfied with True Government Health Insurance

This post builds off my previous post.

Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, we can all agree that government health care as it is presently being pursued by the Obama administration would be an expensive proposition. Health insurance as it is presently constituted is expensive whether it's paid for by an employer, or a government. We can all agree on that.

There are a number of people uninsured in this country. The number differs depending on the source, but I've seen estimates between 12 and 44 million. The true number probably lies somewhere between these two extremes.

We hear hyperbole in the main stream media about people dying out there because they can not get the life saving medical procedures they need. Making the big leap that this is true, instead of the government providing very expensive health insurance like our employers generally provide today, what would be the reaction of the left if the government provided cheaper catastrophic-only health insurance? I am not saying I support such a move, but it would be an interesting compromise. The plan would have a high deductible. Much like car insurance. The individual would be responsible for anything under say for example $3000. Insurance would cover anything after that number. The government could institute a tax deduction for the money spent under $3000. The government would not be involved in any medical decisions or end-of-life issues. The government would put the contract out to bid to existing private insurance companies.
There are a lot of advantages to this type of plan. This type of plan would be much less expensive than full government health insurance. It would cover catastrophic medical needs, but still require the individual to be responsible for their day-to-day health charges. It would also require people to pay attention to their health care costs and introduce market forces into the system, which would drive competition, which would in turn drive up service and drive down costs.

If you had no health insurance, wouldn't one think this kind of plan would be welcomed? Mama always said beggers can't be chosers, right? This would give people the assurance that they would not die or be saddled with high health care debt, while possibly not totally bankrupting the government. What would be the liberal voter reaction to such a compromise plan????

I suggest that the liberal voter would not be satisfied with such a plan! I portend that the liberal voter does not really want health insurance for the uninsured. The liberal voter does not appear to care about federal spending and the damage to our economy. The liberal voter does not want the responsibility for their health care. What the liberal voter truly wants is "free" health care. The liberal voter wants to get any prescription they want, go to the doctor whenever needed, and not have to pay a dime out-of-pocket. They want the so-called rich to pay for their trip to the doctor or pharmacy. They want free health care, not health insurance. The statists-socialists running our government today are all to happy to push for such an all-powerful, all-encompassing bureaucratic option.

As we all know, nothing works that way. Nothing is free. Everything has a cost.

The cost of the current Democratic health care plan will result in lower quality service and care, and will be incredibly expensive. The people know it, hence the public backlash we are witnessing in town hall meetings etc. all across the country. Reports of the death the American public as a powerful entity are greatly exaggerated!

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Healthcare Insurance We Have Now Is Not Insurance

The healthcare insurance debate rages on in the United States, with President Obama in the middle of the lion’s den…a place nobody belongs. He’s a statist and he just can’t help himself, but that’s a topic for a different day.

There have not been many posts on Liberty Alert of late. There are two reasons for that. One is business. The real life of a no-name blogger is definitely at odds with the blog. The second reason post have been sparse lately is that I want Liberty Alert to be a place for original thinking, not just retreads of the crap spewed by the main-stream media, and non-main stream talking heads. I’m not always successful at it, but I try not to be sucked into the trap of basing my opinions (and blog posts) on the points made and developed by others. I like to try to use my own original logic here. Again, I’m not always successful at it, but that’s the idea anyway. That does not mean that I can’t take ideas and learn from others. I just want to avoid repeating the babbling of others. This means that sometimes I’d rather write nothing at all, until I have something original in mind.

I’ve been doing some travel to the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico this past week. Although Puerto Rico is a part of the United States, it is not a state, and has a totally separate culture from the mainland. Therefore, it’s interesting to read some of the opinion pieces in the local newspapers to get a unique viewpoint on national matters, especially the current healthcare debate.

One letter-to-the-editor I read in a Puerto Rican newspaper raised an interesting point. The way we pay for healthcare is not insurance at all. We call it insurance, but it really is not. It’s closer to pre-paid healthcare than insurance.

This letter made me contemplate other insurances that we have. The most common insurance that nearly everybody uses is auto insurance. Think of the contrast between how we use auto insurance versus health insurance.
Auto insurance has a set premium based on how much of a risk you present. This premium can be raised or lowered based on the risk assessment of the insurance company. However, you have the freedom to shop around and switch at any time. With auto insurance, there is a deductible. The insurance is meant to cover catastrophic events, not everyday maintenance activities. The insurance company does not pay every time you enter the auto body shop. Does this mean you should stop doing maintenance like oil changes on your car? No, of course not. The driver is still responsible for the upkeep of their automobile. The incentive for the driver is to do the maintenance in order to keep their car running well longer.
When an accident occurs, the driver is free to address the issue as they please. They can take the money from the insurance company and leave the damage on the car, or they can use the money to pay for repairs at any garage or autobody shop of their choice.
In addition to insurance, most new cars come with warrantees. These warrantees cover unexpected mechanical breakdowns, but the driver is still responsible for general maintenance.
Contrast this insurance model to our current healthcare insurance model. In our current health insurance system, we expect insurance to cover every trip to the doctor. We expect to take no financial responsibility for our own healthcare. We have no concern toward cost (since insurance is paying for it), and we have restricted choice. In essence, we ask the insurance company to pay not only for accidents, but for every oil change, tire rotation, brake job, radiator repair, tune up, etc. regardless of our lifestyle choices and risk. This is not insurance. I’m not sure what one would call it, but insurance it is not.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Twitter-ization

I read this on a bumper sticker the other day:

"READ BANNED BOOKS"

I agree.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Al Gore is a Hero! Global Warming is Over!

Hooray for Al Gore! His dream has come true. In addition to inventing the internet, he has apparently successfully stopped global warming!
The temperature of the earth has not risen since 2000 (some data suggests even earlier). We're approaching a full decade without any global warming.

Let me be the first to thank Al Gore for a job well done. Now PLEASE go away.



Monday, June 1, 2009

More Evidence That Liberals Hate America

More accurately, the political left in the United States hates freedom and liberty, not specifically just the United States of America. All freedom is a threat to statism. The founding ideals of the USA represent the most conspicuous example of freedom and liberty in the world today (even with the constant assault on liberty from the left), so liberals in turn hate America.

Why do I make such a bold and divisive statement? This is not a new thought to me, and I'm certainly not the first one to make such a statement. This is something I've long suspected, but every once in a while I find an example that reinforces the hypothesis.

This weekend while mowing my lawn, a thought came to me...

(I do most of my best thinking while either walking the dog, taking a shower, or mowing the lawn.)

Why is it that the vast majority of US military personnel are right-of-center (mostly members of the Republican party), while the majority of political protests come from the left? With the recent "Tea Party" movement being the exception, it's generally accepted that most protests come from the left. For example, think of the political demographic of protesters during the Vietnam war. Think of the disruption at the last Republican National Convention. Think of pies and shoes thrown at prominent political figures during speeches. Again, with the recent exception of the "Tea Party" movement, the left is where the protest crowd generally originates.

Why is that?

I have my theories.

Protesting and criticizing America comes easy to liberals because they have never bought in to the founding principles of the country.

Liberals consider running down the USA as patriotic. In some instances that could be true. However, the men and women of the US military, which as a group are largely politically conservative, can teach the liberal bunch the true meaning of patriotism. These soldiers don't scream and shout. They quietly dedicate everything, including risking their own lives, to defend the principles of the United States. The liberals talk the talk, but the brave people of our military walk the walk.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the US military special forces. These are the Rangers, Navy SEALs, Green Beret's, etc. These groups are made up of dedicated volunteers that set aside their personal well being for something bigger than themselves. These people believe in something. These individuals would not put themselves through such hardship without being fully dedicated to the principles of their country. Liberty and freedom are critical to these brave soldiers, and they would give their lives to protect these principles.

I recently stumbled across a book while waiting for a plane in the airport. It's called Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson. The book chronicles a firefight in Afghanistan between the Taliban and a Navy SEALs team. I have not finished the book yet, but the author makes it clear how the men of the Navy SEALs feel about their country. The book also clearly spells out the distaste special operations soldiers have for the political left in the United States.

The men and women that walk the walk, dodging bullets and IEDs for what they believe, are nearly all conservative-leaning. Beyond that, they have a loathing for liberals.

The contrast between the actions of people that truly love America, and the liberals that hate America is stark.

If the liberalization of the US is not reeled in, the experiment in freedom and liberty known as the United States of America will essentially end. Let's hope it's not already too late.





Tuesday, May 26, 2009

"Water Boarding" is Not Torture

A lot of talk has recently been emanating from the Executive Branch of the US government regarding torture.

Let's make one clear declaration: So-called "water boarding" is not torture.

None of the "enhanced interrogation" techniques to which President Obama takes such offense are torture.

Sleep deprivation, water boarding, solitary confinement, etc. are uncomfortable circumstances, but certainly not torture. They cause discomfort, not pain. They leave no permanent damage, and in no way threaten the life of the subject. At most, these tactics scare the subject, or cause some temporary stress or discomfort.

If you want to know true torture, watch the final scenes of the movie Braveheart. Watch Senator John McCain deliver a speech without the ability to move his arms. Read Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe's to learn how African slaves were whipped within inches of their lives in the American South prior to the Civil War. These are only a few of the numerous examples of true torture.

Given the choice, what would William Wallace, John McCain, and Tom choose water boarding over the fate they actually received? You bet they would.

Water boarding is not pleasant. Hopefully it never needs to be used. However, it is a tool that likely saved thousands of lives. A little discomfort and unpleasantness for some of the nastiest human beings to ever exist is a small price to pay for saving thousands of innocent lives.

Once again, liberals come down against the military, against citizens, against America.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Book Review -- Liberty and Tyranny by Mark Levin

On this blog I usually try to review books that might not be the first title that comes to mind when you try to identify a book to read. Sometimes I review classics that might be gathering a little dust at the local library, or unique books I discovered by chance. I typically stay away from the best seller lists for two reasons. One is that best sellers typically are not available at the library, so they would require me to purchase the book. I try to utilize the "free" books at the library whenever I can. The second reason is that best sellers already have so many reviews and information available on the Internet, that I often feel my review will not add significant value. However, every once in a while a book comes along that grabs my interest so much that I can't wait for the library version. Liberty and Tyranny by Mark Levin is such a book. It's been a best seller for a while now, but even though there is a ton of information available regarding this book, the book was so good that I needed to add my review.

Liberty and Tyranny is a non-fiction book. I don't remember the exact price but I believe it was around $20. It's subtitled "A Conservative Manifesto". This book traces back the root of conservative political ideology in the United States of America and breaks it down to the most basic philosophical building blocks. It's clear, concise, and strong in its arguments. It explains the conservative position with examples and logic. It also provides counterpoints to squash the opposing liberal (or "statist" as the book uses) positions.

If you are a liberal, I have my doubts that you will like the book. However, if you are truly open minded (a trait that many liberals profess to posses) I believe you have to at least respect the positions that Mark Levin lays out. You might not agree with them, but based on this book I believe you have to respect their orgin and logic.

If you are a conservative, you will love this book. You will be reading and shaking your head in affirmation throughout. It will help you clear your mind and reaffirm what you've always felt in your gut. It puts reason, logic, and examples behind your beliefs.

If you are somewhere in between liberal and conservative, this is a powerful book that I suggest reading. If you are a "lost conservative" i.e. someone who has typically considered themselves right-of-center, but have recently been questioning yourself, this book is more than suggested reading! It should be mandatory! It's like medicine when you have a sickness. It's the cure to your philosophical confusion. So called "moderates" have the most to gain by reading this book. If I were a doctor, I would prescribe this book.

Liberty and Tyranny is the kind of book I hope my family will all read. I hope my children will someday read it. Better yet, I hope I can pass the ideas presented in the book on to my children so they will not have to read it. Liberal, conservative, or somewhere in between, Liberty and Tyranny is a well crafted book that should cause you to think.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Obama's First 100 Days -- Connecticut Political Leadership Phone Numbers

The Democrat's and the Obama administration have no respect for the US Constitution, and the people of this country know it.

In Connecticut (my home state), requests for pistol permits are at all-time highs. In the town of Southington, permit request have already surpassed the total requests for the past 2 years, and we are only in April.

Nationwide, gun and ammo sales are soaring.

You can fool some of the people some of the time, but the people of this country have already sniffed out the attack on the US Constitution lead by Barack Obama, specifically his plans for attacking our second amendment rights.

Don't stand idly by and let it happen. We can feel the assault on our rights is coming (based on the permit and sales data), so be sure to do something about it. Fight for your legal rights. Join the NRA. It's not expensive. You can find a link to the NRA in the "Favorite Links" area of this website. Your membership comes with your choice of 3 good magazines. There are 60 million gun owners in the US today, but only 4 million active members of the NRA. This needs to change.

The left is great at demonstrating, protesting, and working up firestorms for their favorite issues (think of the anti-war protests during the Vietnam war, and even more recently the protests of the Iraq war). It's much easier for the left to cause disruption because they don't hold themselves to the rules of respect, decency, or even law (think of the criminals that tried to disrupt the 2008 Republican National Convention, or the criminal that recently attempted to hit best-selling writer Ann Coulter with a pie while she delivered a speech at a college campus). However, it's time for us on the right-of-center to take action with our voices, actions, and money.
The NRA is not just about guns. It's about protecting our Constitutional rights. If one of our individual civil rights (the second amendment) can be attacked, repealed, or destroyed, what's to stop them from moving on to other rights they don't like, such as freedom of speech (think Fairness Doctrine), freedom of peaceable assembly (think of the total disdain on the left for the recent "Tea Party" protests), and on and on and on.

I recently attended a game dinner held at a local church. The cost was $40 per ticket. The food started at 5:30 PM and did not stop coming until 10:30 PM. The menu included bear meatballs, venison steaks, venison lasagna, wild mushroom soup, pheasant, rabbit, goose, salmon, venison chili, and many other great dishes. It's one of the local highlights of spring in northwest Connecticut. I dare say there was possibly not one Obama voter in the crowd of 200+. If there was one, they would never admit it! The organizers of this dinner provided a list of phone numbers of local politicians so the voting public could remind our political leaders to honor the oath they took to uphold and protect the Connecticut and US Constitutions. I've provided a copy of the list below:

To Help Fight For Our Gun Rights Call:
1-800-842-8267 CT House of Representatives - D
1-800-842-1423 CT House of Representatives - R
1-800-842-1420 CT State Senate Democrats
1-800-842-1421 CT State Senate Republicans
1-800-406-1527 Gov. Jodi Rell
1-202-224-2823 U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd
1-202-224-4041 U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Risk of Confusing Ideas with Politics

I had an interesting conversation with a relative following Easter dinner this past Sunday. He is a long-time conservative who is a member of the Republican party. Like many conservatives and libertarian-leaning Republicans today, he has become frustrated and disenchanted with the GOP. He's approaching the point of defeat. His anger and frustration are directed at the Republican party, not the liberal Democrats. He feels that the Republicans have left him. This is not an uncommon theme these days among conservatives. Many conservatives would admit that the Republican party is lacking direction. The troubling thing about my relative was that his frustration with the GOP caused him to question his core principles. He was questioning capitalism. He was considering the benefits of socialism. He was sipping the Kool-Aid. Due to his distaste for our present group of politicians, he was ready to turn his back on all traditional politics only flail about aimlessly hoping to find something on which to politically attach himself. He had lost his compass.

Questioning yourself is not a negative thing. It's a sign of a healthy and true thinker to question, update, and revise views base on learning and life experiences. However, the reason my relative was questioning his beliefs was not a valid reason. He was confusing the Republican party with conservative beliefs. These two entities are separate. The Republican party can certainly make mistakes. The GOP is a political party, so by definition, it is influenced by politics. Politics involves compromise to get things done and to win elections. A core set of ideals is not compromising. They are bedrock. Regardless of what the Republican party does or does not do, conservative principles do not change. Conservatives principles are founded on equality, liberty, our founding documents, enumeration of powers, and limited government (among other things). Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Regan are titans of conservatism. Historically, the Republican party has tended to align with these conservative principles, but there is never any guarantee. For various reasons, the party may not always stay true to these principles. However, if these principles are truly part of your core beliefs, your DNA, then the actions of any political party should not impact those beliefs.
So, question yourself. Explore. Read. Learn. Revise. But don't let the politicians impact your value system.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Plainville, CT Troops Coming Home

On Friday, April 10th members of the community have an opportunity to show their support and appreciation to our troops.

Between 6 and 8 PM Marines from Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment based out of Plainville are scheduled to return home after a seven-month deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Friends, family, and community members are invited to come to the Marine Reserve Training Center at 1 Linsley Drive, Plainville CT to welcome the troops home.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Hartford Tax Day Tea Party

Tea parties are popping up all over the country. There are over 400 tea parties planned for tax day, April 15th, to protest bloated government spending, overbearing government intrusion, and the continual attack on the rights of the individual.

In the spirit of 1773, when patriots also protested oppressive government, consider joining your fellow countrymen in a show of strength, liberty, and independence. Information below:

What: Tea party protest
Where: North steps of the Capitol building, Hartford CT
When: 12-2 PM, April 15th 2009

Friday, April 3, 2009

Liberty and Tyranny by Mark R. Levin

Get this book! I'm only on the third chapter, but so far it's excellent. Look for a full overview once I finish the book.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Why Do Liberals Care About US Auto Companies?

Why do liberals care about the plight of US automobile companies (i.e. the "Big Three")?

Liberals love Honda's and Toyota's (i.e. the Prius), and for years have turned their noses up at so-called "redneck" American cars.

Their policies have continually handcuffed Detroit's auto companies, and have put them at competitive disadvantages to their counterparts in Japan.

Liberals claim to care about the American worker, but when the rubber hits the road (i.e. when it's time for them to buy a new car) they are less likely to buy American.

How Big Is Big Enough To Satisify Liberals

Just a few questions:

How big would government need to get in order for liberals to be satisfied?

How big would government need to get before liberals would say it's too big? What's the limit?

Into how many areas would the tentacles of government have to reach before liberals would agree that it's too big?

Just wondering.

I aint sayin', I'm just sayin'.

Book Review – The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway

The Sun Also Rises is a semi-autobiographical account of a group of friends that go to see a bull fight.

Yup.

That’s it.

That’s about as exciting as it gets.

Oh, and they spend all their time drinking and eating at restaurants, pubs, cafes, and bars.

As you may have already sensed, I did not find the novel very entertaining. This was mainly because nothing really happens to any of the characters. They drink. They hang out. They go fishing. They drink. They talk. They watch a bull fight. They talk. They drink. In a somewhat pathetic display, all the male characters fawn over one tramp that they allow to tag along on all their adventures mostly because she flirts with all the men, and sleeps with half of them. The main characters are mostly young writers, but they all have enough money in the post-WWI era to travel around Europe drinking all along the way.
I can appreciate the story as an autobiographical re-telling of the group’s trip. However, it lacked excitement as a novel. Critical writings on this novel claim it was an account of the “lost generation” -- the post WWI, pre-WWII generation. However, if this represents this generation, it’s no wonder they were considered lost. The characters more closely resemble a group of hobos rather than the educated, enlightened group of young writers some have tried to make them represent.

Read The Sun Also Rises if you want a good description of a bullfight. Be sure to have a strong cup of coffee nearby to get you through. One saving grace is the novel is short at just over 200 pages. Otherwise, skip it, and look for something else if you want to experience Hemingway.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Jim Calhoun Needs to Go

The sleigh ride is over Connecticut.

The clock is about to strike midnight on the national prominence of the University of Connecticut men’s basketball team.

Even if Jim Calhoun survives these current allegations of recruiting violations, his health and age indicate that his retirement is near. In college basketball, it’s all about the coach. Kentucky was once a perennial basketball power. It was considered on the level of UNC and UCLA as a historical basketball power. This year Kentucky was not even a bubble team for the NCAA tournament. Kentucky’s former coach, Rick Pitino, is now at Louisville. Is it a coincidence that Louisville is the Big East champ, a number one seed, and one of the favorites to win the whole tournament? It’s all about the coach.
John Calipari was once the coach at UMass. During those years, UMass went to the final four of the NCAA tournament. Since John Calipari left for Memphis, UMass has barely scratched the surface of the NCAA tournament. Meanwhile, Memphis made it to the NCAA title game last year, and is a strong number two seed in the tournament this year. It’s all about the coach.

Jim Calhoun’s time with UConn is drawing to a close. Even if these recruiting violation allegations end up proving unfounded (which I have my doubt will happen at this point), Jim Calhoun should have known better. Jim was already a hall-of-fame coach before Nate Miles. We’re not talking about a player with the skills of Michael Jordan here. Why a hall-of-fame coach would subject himself to even the smallest amount of risk for a player the caliber of Miles is beyond comprehension. Calhoun did not need Miles. Calhoun did not need any player at this point in his career. He was above all of this. Regardless of the recruiting violations, why did Calhoun let a questionable character like Josh Nochimson hang around the program? Again, a 67-year-old hall-of-fame coach should have known better.

Besides these alleged recruiting violations, Jim Calhoun has had his rocky moments at UConn. Most recently he made national news for going on a tirade at a press conference when a reported asked him about his salary. This was one of many examples of Calhoun losing his temper. Then there are all the questionable kids Calhoun has recruited over the years resulting in several run-ins with the law (laptop, anyone?).

Regardless of the outcome of this most recent mess, Jim Calhoun’s time is drawing to a close. The party is likely over for Connecticut. Unless UConn is extremely fortunate, Jim Calhoun’s successor will be hard pressed to match the basketball success UConn has enjoyed during the Jim Calhoun era. With no pro-teams, UConn basketball is one of the few bright spots to get the state though cold winters. Remember, Connecticut is one of the few states that have actually lost population over the last few years. Let’s face it, unless you’re a wealthy Manhattan business person, it’s not a great place to try to build a life. Property is high. Taxes are high. The general cost of living is high. The weather is poor. The list goes on. UConn athletics has been one bright spot, and one of the best ambassadors for the state. Jim Calhoun was a major factor in building up UConn athletics. However, as much as Calhoun does not like to admit it, he did not do it alone. He had the support of the University, a staff, other programs (i.e. Geno and the women’s team), but more importantly, he had the support of the people of Connecticut. Hopefully, as his time at the helm of the most important team at the flagship university comes to a close, Jim Calhoun does not tear down much of what he helped to build up.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Obama Can't Find Any Honest Democrats

I generally don't like to do this, but I read an article in that rag of a magazine called Newsweek that so outraged me that I needed to comment on it.

Apparently, based on this article, all we have to do to address the federal budget deficit is to get Democrats to pay their taxes.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/190355

The writer actually laments that the standards of integrity are too high for the Obama administration. He whines that Obama can't fill posts because it's virtually impossible to find Democrats that follow the law and pay their taxes. The writer almost scoffs at the notion that people actually pay all their taxes as intended.

Wow.

It's hard enough to believe that someone would make this argument, but even more amazing that a so-called reputable news magazine felt the article was appropriate to publish.

Is it really too much to ask that people appointed to positions in the Treasury Department actually pay their taxes?????!!!! Silly me for thinking the government should follow the laws they created. Perhaps Leona Helmsley was right when she said, “Only the little people pay taxes”.

Looks like the tax-cheat-in-chief Geithner has lots of company in the beltway.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Who's the One AIG Executive??

It's been splashed all over the news today that 9 of the top 10 highest paid AIG executives have given back their bonuses.

I want to know one thing: Who's the one guy who DID NOT give back his bonus?

That's the guy I'd like to interview. That's a guy with some leadership qualities. As said by Jim Calhoun, coach of the University of Connecticut men's basketball team, if I were an AIG executive and I was asked to give back money, my response would also be "Not a dime!".

The government got themselves into this mess. It's similar to loaning money to your dead-beat cousin, then being shocked when he wastes it on booze and gambling. HOPEFULLY the Obama administration has learned something from this. Government should not butt into private industry in this manner. Government should not dump tax money into a failing private enterprise. The failing enterprise is failing for a reason. The market is more than capable of making the necessary corrections without saddling generations of US taxpayers with enormous debt amassed in the name of bailouts because certain institutions are arbitrarily deemed "too big to fail".

It's a fool-me-once-shame-on-you-fool-me-twice-shame-on-me situation. Liberals never learn, so I won't hold my breath.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Blog on Temporary Hold

Please bare with me as the blog is on temporary hiatus. I am traveling to attend to a business emergency. Regular posts will resume upon my return.

J

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Book Review – Rabbit, Run by John Updike

Usually I most enjoy reading non-fiction, but every once in a while I like to throw in a novel for variety. I generally let time be my filter, sticking mostly to novels that have stood the test of time. Since my reading opportunities are limited, rather than weeding through questionable contemporary novels, I typically concentrate on novels already identified as classics. John Updike recently passed away. Updike is considered one of the most prolific and skilled American writers of his time. Updike wrote novels, short stories, and poetry. In honor of John Updike’s passing, I decided to tackle probably his most famous novel – Rabbit, Run.

Rabbit, Run is the first novel in what eventually became a four novel series chronicling the life of “every man” Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom. Harry is a former high school basketball standout now in his late 20’s dealing with a seven-year-itch-type crisis in his life and marriage. The story centers on Harry’s struggles finding direction in a suburban family life of mediocrity that seems to have boxed him in. He feels he has few options in a disappointing life, and takes to physically fleeing to escape his troubles. However, Harry finds his life “on the road” provides only a temporary respite, in the end leading to more problems for Harry as well as the people he leaves behind.
John Updike has said that he wrote Rabbit, Run as a response to Jack Kerouac's On the Road. On the Road is considered a seminal 1960's novel that helped usher in the "beat generation". Updike's version of the escapist-adventure novel is considered more pedestrian in literary circles. Updike's character escapes to the next town rather than across the country. To me, Rabbit, Run was more enjoyable. It was more real than On the Road. Kerouac's characters struggle little with their responsibilities. They are consumed with a hedonistic quest, worrying little about other people, or really even themselves. Although he does work some odd jobs from time to time, the main character in On the Road is routinely wired money from an aunt in New Jersey. It's easier be wild and free when you are not bound by responsibilities, and have the life-line of an aunt back in Jersey to bail you out. Harry Angstrom in Rabbit, Run struggles to balance his responsibilities against his need for independence. The tone of his adventures are shaped more by Harry's inner feelings of guilt, misgivings, and carnal needs, rather than having adventures fueled by the synthetic aid of drugs and alcohol. Updike spends more time exploring the people left behind. He goes into detail on the reaction of the parents, wife, children, and even the community to Harry's abscondment.

John Updike writes in a style of great detail. He is able to describe scenes down to the littlest detail. This writing style can be a bit of an acquired taste. At first you ask yourself if it's really critical to the plot to describe every fold of a curtain, or every brick of a building. However, by the middle of the novel you come to appreciate Updike's attention to detail as an entire world comes together. As I read the novel, I was astonished to think that Updike, who wrote this novel in his twenties, could be such a polished writer at such a young age. You begin to not only see the novel, but hear, smell, taste, and feel the world of Harry Angstrom. Updike takes a rather unremarkable main character, and makes him interesting by painting an entire world around him. But more remarkable than the details of Harry Angstrom's physical world, are the details in which Harry's feelings are presented. Updike is able to explain Harry's emotions in such a way that is relatable. Throughout the novel, as Updike skillfully describes in great detail what Harry is feeling and thinking, one is able to call upon a time when you had similar feelings. Although unremarkable from the outside, this exquisite inner view into Harry's mind and heart makes Harry the "every man" interesting.

The novel ends abruptly, leaving you wanting more. This certainly must have been what Updike was going for considering 3 other novels followed (Rabbit Redux, Rabbit is Rich, and Rabbit at Rest) in the Rabbit series.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Another Open Call To Liberals -- Rush Limbaugh CPAC Speech Transcript

It seems lately I've been addressing a liberal audience in my posts nearly as much as a conservative audience!

Liberals -- You claim to be open-minded. I might disagree with this general premise, but not today. Today I plead with you to practice what you preach and read the speech below with a truly open mind. Ignore the jabs. They are attempts at humor. These tweaks are appropriate considering the crowd being addressed. Use an open mind to look beyond those barbs. Be objective. Read the text and tell me, in a civil, studious, debate-like manner where and why you disagree. Teach me. I anticipate I could get a lot of hate-speech comments from liberals considering the source of the below text. I don't want that. I'm issuing a challenge to liberals. Prove to me you can rise above. I want to understand.

We on the right (including conservatives, libertarian-right, even conservative Democrats, etc.) want what's best for the country. That's our motivation. I question the motives of the current leftist movement. Set me straight!

The following is a raw transcript of Rush Limbaugh's speech on the final day of CPAC:

RUSH: Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you all very, very much. Thank you all. I can't tell you how wonderful that makes me feel. It happens everywhere I go, but it's still special here. [ Laughter ] If you all will indulge me, I learned something, I guess, it's early Friday morning that I didn't know. Friday morning is when I learned this. I learned that Fox, God love them, is televising this speech on the Fox News Channel, which means, ladies and gentleman, this is my first ever address to the nation. [Applause] Now, I have someone in back taking phone numbers. In fact, I would like to introduce to you my security chief, a man who runs all of my security. His name is Joseph Stalin. Joseph, would you please --
[Laughter ] I am safe from any liberal attack, in public, because they would be afraid of offending Stalin.
[Laughter] Now the opportunity here to address the nation, a serious one, it really is. And I want to take it seriously. I want to address something. I know that people are probably watching this who never have listened to my program and may not even really know what conservatism is. They think they do based on how they've been told -- the way we've been impugned and maligned and so forth. One of the things that is totally erroneous about me -- and I just want to get this up front -- is that I'm pompous. [Laughter] And that I am arrogant. Neither of these things are remotely true. I can tell you a joke to illustrate this. Larry King passed away, goes to heaven. He's greeted by Saint Peter at the gates. Saint Peter says, "Welcome, Mr. King, it's great to have you here. I want to show you around, give you an idea of what's here, maybe you can pick a place that you'd like to reside." King says, "I just have one question: Is Rush Limbaugh here?" "No, he's got a lot of time yet, Mr. King." So Saint Peter begins the tour. Larry King sees the various places and it's beyond anything we can imagine in terms of beauty. Finally, he gets to the biggest room of all, with this giant throne. And over the throne is a flashing beautiful angelic neon sign that says "Rush Limbaugh."
[Laughter] And Larry King looks at Saint Peter and says: "I thought you said he wasn't here." "He said, he's not, he's not. This is God's room. He just thinks he's Rush Limbaugh."
[Laughter] [Applause] So you see I'm not pompous.
[Laughter] Now, seriously, for those of you watching on C-SPAN as well, and on Fox, I want to tell you who we all are in this room. I want to tell you who conservatives are. We conservatives have not done a good enough job of just laying out basically who we are because we make the mistake of assuming people know. What they know is largely incorrect based on the way we are portrayed in pop culture, in the Drive-By Media, by the Democrat Party. Let me tell you who we conservatives are: We love people. [Applause]
When we look out over the United States of America, when we are anywhere, when we see a group of people, such as this or anywhere, we see Americans. We see human beings. We don't see groups. We don't see victims. We don't see people we want to exploit. What we see -- what we see is potential. We do not look out across the country and see the average American, the person that makes this country work. We do not see that person with contempt. We don't think that person doesn't have what it takes. We believe that person can be the best he or she wants to be if certain things are just removed from their path like onerous taxes, regulations and too much government. [Applause]
We want every American to be the best he or she chooses to be. We recognize that we are all individuals. We love and revere our founding documents, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. [Applause] We believe that the preamble to the Constitution contains an inarguable truth that we are all endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life. [Applause] Liberty, Freedom. [Applause] And the pursuit of happiness. [Applause] Those of you watching at home may wonder why this is being applauded. We conservatives think all three are under assault. [Applause] Thank you. Thank you.
We don't want to tell anybody how to live. That's up to you. If you want to make the best of yourself, feel free. If you want to ruin your life, we'll try to stop it, but it's a waste. We look over the country as it is today, we see so much waste, human potential that's been destroyed by 50 years of a welfare state. By a failed war on poverty. [Applause] We love the people of this country. And we want this to be the greatest country it can be, but we do understand, as people created and endowed by our creator, we're all individuals. We resist the effort to group us. We resist the effort to make us feel that we're all the same, that we're no different than anybody else. We're all different. There are no two things or people in this world who are created in a way that they end up with equal outcomes. That's up to them. They are created equal, given the chance - -[Applause] We don't hate anybody. We don't -- I mean, the racism in this country, if you ask me, I know many people in this audience -- let me deal with this head on. You know what the cliche is, a conservative: racist, sexist, bigot, homophobe. Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen of America, if you were paying attention, I know you were, the racism in our culture was exclusively and fully on display in the Democrat primary last year. [Applause]
It was not us asking whether Barack Obama was authentic. What we were asking is: Is he wrong? We concluded, yes. We still think so. But we didn't ask if he was authentically black. We didn't say, as some Southern Christian Leadership Conference leaders said: Barack is not authentic, he's not got any slave blood. He's really not down for the struggle, but his wife is. So don't expect the race industry to go away. Southern Christian Leadership Conference -- you may not know this, because it wasn't reported in the Drive-By Media -- the racism, the sexism, the bigotry that we're all charged with, just so you across the United States of America know, and you'll see demonstrated here as the afternoon goes on, doesn't exist on our side. We want everybody to succeed. [Applause] You know why? We want the country to succeed, and for the country to succeed, its people -- its individuals -- must succeed. Everyone among us must be pursuing his ambition or her desire, whatever, with excellence. Trying to be the best they can be. Not told, as they are told by the Democrat Party: You really can't do that, you don't have what it takes, besides you're a minority or you're a woman and there are too many people that want to discriminate against you. You can't get anywhere. You need to depend on us. Well. Take a look, someone has to say this -- I am thrilled for the opportunity to say it in my first national address to the nation -- and I'm going to touch on this in more detail in a moment, but this is just to get you thinking -- take a look at all the constituency groups that for 50 years have been depending on the Democrat Party to improve their lives. And you tell me if you find any. They're still complaining, still griping about the same problems. Their problems don't get fixed by government. And those lives have been poisoned. Those lives have been cut short by false promises, from government representatives who said don't worry about it, we'll take care of you. Just vote for us. [Applause]
For those of you just tuning in on the Fox News Channel or C-SPAN, I'm Rush Limbaugh and I want everyone in this room and every one of you around the country to succeed. I want anyone who believes in life, liberty, pursuit of happiness to succeed. And I want any force, any person, any element of an overarching Big Government that would stop your success, I want that organization, that element or that person to fail. I want you to succeed. [Applause] Also, for those of you in the Drive-By Media watching, I have not needed a teleprompter for anything I've said. [Cheers and Applause ]
And nor do any of us need a teleprompter, because our beliefs are not the result of calculations and contrivances. Our beliefs are not the result of a deranged psychology. Our beliefs are our core. Our beliefs are our hearts. We don't have to make notes about what we believe. We don't have to write down, oh do I believe it do I believe that we can tell people what we believe off the top of our heads and we can do it with passion and we can do it with clarity, and we can do it persuasively. Some of us just haven't had the inspiration or motivation to do so in a number of years, but that's about to change. [Cheers and Applause] For example, we gather here -- I understand that. I talked to David and Lisa in the super exclusive private green room that nobody, but about 55 people were allowed into, and they said that there's a sense of liberation here among all of you that are attending CPAC. I understand what the sense of liberation is about. But don't make the mistake at the same time of feeling liberated as thinking we're better and we can do better as a minority. Because we're not a minority. And if you start thinking of yourselves as a minority, you're going to be defensive. And you'll allow the majority to set the agenda and the premise and you're responding to it. The American people may not all vote the way we wish them to, but more Americans than you now live their lives as conservatives in one degree or another. And they are waiting for leadership. We need conservative leadership. We can take this country back. All we need is to nominate the right candidate. It's no more complicated than that. [Applause]
Now, let me speak about President Obama for just a second. President Obama is one of the most gifted politicians, one of the most gifted men that I have ever witnessed. He has extraordinary talents. He has communication skills that hardly anyone can surpass. No, seriously. No, no, I'm being very serious about this. It just breaks my heart that he does not use these extraordinary talents and gifts to motivate and inspire the American people to be the best they can be. He's doing just the opposite. And it's a shame. [Applause]
President Obama has the ability -- he has the ability to inspire excellence in people's pursuits. He has the ability to do all this, yet he pursues a path, seeks a path that punishes achievement, that punishes earners and punishes -- and he speaks negatively of the country. Ronald Reagan used to speak of a shining city on a hill. Barack Obama portrays America as a soup kitchen in some dark night in a corner of America that's very obscure. He's constantly telling the American people that bad times are ahead, worst times are ahead. And it's troubling, because this is the United States of America. Anybody ever ask -- I'm in awe of our country and I ask this question a lot as I've gotten older. We're less than 300 years old. We are younger than nations that have been on this planet for thousands of years. We, nevertheless, in less than 300 years -- by the way, we're no different than any other human beings around the world. Our DNA is no different. We're not better just because we're born in America. There's nothing that sets us apart. How did this happen? How did the United States of America become the world's lone super power, the world's economic engine, the most prosperous opportunity for an advanced lifestyle that humanity has ever known? How did this happen? And why pray tell does the President of the United States want to destroy it? It saddens me. The freedom we spoke of earlier is the freedom, it's the ambition, it's the desire, the wherewithal, the passions that people have that gave us the great entrepreneurial advances, the great inventions, the greatest food production, the human lifestyle advances in this country. Why shouldn't that be rewarded? Why is that now the focus of punishment? Why is that now the focus of blame? Why doesn't -- Mayor Bloomberg the other day, ladies and gentlemen, resisting his Governor's call for an increased tax on the rich in New York had some astounding numbers. Eight million people live in New York. 40,000 of those eight million pay roughly 60 to 70% of New York's operating budget. He was afraid that if he raised taxes on those people some of them might leave. Mayor, one already has, by the way. [Applause]
Stop and think of this, though. Stop and think of this. Forty thousand people out of eight million. He's right, if 10,000 of them leave, or 5,000, they've got a huge problem. Because New York has its own welfare state inside the one the federal government's created. They've got a dependency class that has grown up and been educated that their entitlement is to be fed and taken care of by these evil mean people who have more than they do. If New York City, New York State or Washington, DC were a business, these 40,000 people would be taken on golf tournament trips to Los Angeles, and they would be wined and dined and they would be thanked and they would be encouraged to keep it up. They wouldn't be told they're the problem. They wouldn't be told, except there's -- I pride my accuracy rating. There is one other business where the customer is always wrong and that's the media. Sorry about that. [Applause]
Have you ever called to complain about whatever they do? They say, yes, sir, yes, sir, three bags full. They hang up and say you're too stupid to know how they're doing what they're doing. You can't get it. You're not sophisticated enough. So that's another business where the customer is always wrong. But, seriously, the people who have achieved great things, most of it is not inherited. Most wealth in this country is the result of entrepreneurial, just plain old hard work. There's no reason to punish it. There's no reason to raise taxes on these people. Barack Obama, the Democrat Party, have one responsibility, and that's to respect the oath they gave to protect, defend and follow the US Constitution. [Applause] They don't have the right to take money that's not theirs, from the back pockets of producers, and give it to groups like ACORN, which are going to advance the Democrat Party. If anybody but government were doing this, it would be a crime. And many of us think it's bordering on that as it exists now. [Applause]
President Obama is so busy trying to foment and create anger in a created atmosphere of crisis, he is so busy fueling the emotions of class envy that he's forgotten it's not his money that he's spending. [Applause] In fact, the money he's spending is not ours. He's spending wealth that has yet to be created. And that is not sustainable. It will not work. This has been tried around the world. And every time it's been tried, it's a failed disaster. What's the longest war in American history? Did somebody say the war on poverty? Smart group. War on poverty. The war on poverty essentially started in the '30s as part of the New Deal, but it really ramped up in the '60s with Lyndon Johnson, part of the Great Society war on poverty. We have transferred something like 10 trillion, maybe close to 11 trillion, from producers and earners to nonproducers and nonearners since 1965. Yet, as I listen to the Democratic Party campaign, why, America is still a soup kitchen, the poor is still poor and they have no hope and they're poor for what reason? They're poor because of us, because we don't care, and because we've gotten rich by taking from them, that's what kids in school are taught today. That's what others have said to the media. You know why they're poor, you know why they remain poor? Because their lives have been destroyed by the never-ending government hay that's designed to help them, but it destroys ambition. It destroys the education they might get to learn to be self-fulfilling. [Applause]
And it breaks our heart. It breaks our heart. We lose track of numbers with all of the money, with all the money that's been transferred, redistributed, with all the charitable giving in this country. Ladies and gentlemen, there ought not be any poverty except those who are genuinely ill equipped. But most of the people in poverty in this country are equipped for far much more. They've just been beaten down. They're told don't worry, we'll take care of you. There's nothing out there for you anyway; you'll be discriminated against. Breaks our heart to see this. We can't have a great country and a growing economy with more and more people being told they have a right, because of some injustice that's been done to them or some discrimination, that they have a right to the earnings of others. And it's gotten so out of hand now that what worries me is that this administration, the Barack Obama administration is actively seeking to expand the welfare state in this country because he wants to control it. George Will once asked Dr. Friedrich Von Hayek, tremendous classical economist, great man, 1975, George Will, Dr. Von Hayek, why is it that intellectuals, supposed smartest people in the room, why is it that intellectuals can look right out their windows, their own homes and cars and look at their universities and not see the bounties and the growth and the greatness of capitalism? And Von Hayek said: I've troubled over this for years and I've finally concluded that for intellectuals, pseudo-intellectuals, and all liberals, it's about control. It's not about raising revenue. You think Obama has any intention of paying for all this spending? Folks, if he had any intention of paying for it, he wouldn't do 90% of it because we don't have the money. [Applause]
They don't care about paying for it. All that's just words. All that's just rhetoric paying for it because he knows you have to worry about paying for it. He knows we all have to be concerned -- oh, except, wrong again. Except the words of Barney Frank and Chris Dodd who were given homes that everybody knew they could never pay for, and now Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, the architects along with Bill Clinton of the policy that gave us the whole sub-prime mortgage crisis, get to sit around and act as innocent spectators to investigate what went on when they largely had the biggest role in causing it. [Applause] Congressman Frank's definition of affordable housing is you get a house you don't have to pay for that everybody else in the neighborhood will pay for. Why? Because it's unfair that some people can have a house and some people can't. Geez, it's just unfair. So here we have two systems. We have socialism, collectivism, Stalin, whatever you want to call it, versus capitalism. Admittedly over on the right side capitalism there will be unequal outcomes because we're all different. And some of us care more and have more passion and we know what we want to do and others are still struggling for it. Some people are just going to work harder than others. Okay. You get what you work for. Those who have a genuine inability for whatever reason are taken care of. We're compassionate people. On the left side when you get into this collectivism socialism stuff, these people on the left, the Democrats and liberals today claim that they are pained by the inequities and the inequalities in our society. And they believe that these inequities and inequalities descend from the selfishness and the greed of the achievers. And so they tell the people who are on different income quintiles, whatever lists, they say it's not that you're not working hard enough, you could have what they have, perhaps, if you applied it. They're stealing it from you.
So what liberals do, and I say this again to the -- another thing, I know people in the country are watching. I was watching a focus group after some event this week. Might have been after Obama's State of the Union show. [Laughter] And they had -- it was a typical, you know, Drive-By Media focus group. They round up losers -- [Laughter] -- who hear Obama speak and think that the next day their gas tanks are going to be filled up and get a new house and a new kitchen and a new car. And so this one guy said -- oh, it was some guy responding to Bobby Jindal. Oh, by the way did you hear about Joe Biden? Joe Biden was mystified how Bobby Jindal got his shift off at 7-Eleven that night to make the speech. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Time out. Suspend speech for explanation. People watching at home. I'm glad this happened. Glad this happened. You think I just made a joke, an ethnic joke about Bobby Jindal, don't you? I didn't. I made a joke about the bigotry of the Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden. It was Joe Biden while walking through the train station he knows so well because he's such a real guy, that he made a comment that you can't go into a 7-Eleven without seeing some Indian guy behind the counter. They're all over the place. Now, let a conservative say something like that and he's brought up before John Conyers' committee with Pat Leahy wanting at you next. Many people think I lose my place in these speeches because -- by the way what time is it? We have plenty of time. We have to be out of here by -- [Applause]
We have to be out of here by 6:00 -- okay, depends on how you behave. I'll decide as we go on. What liberalism Democrat, for those of you in the country, I really want you to believe this because it's the truth. I'm not saying it just because I believe it. This is a core. I want the best country we can have. We want the most prosperous people. We want to be growing. We want to lead the world. We want everybody to come here legally. We want this country to be so damn great and we just cringe to watch it -- basically capitalism be assaulted and our culture be reoriented to where the people that make it work are the enemy. That's not the United States of America. The people that make this country work, the people who pay on their mortgages, the people getting up and going to work, striving in this recession to not participate in it, they're not the enemy. They're the people that hire you. They're the people that are going to give you a job. They're the people that are going to give you a raise, the people that need you to do work for them. [Applause]
President Obama, and take your pick of any Democrat, love to say we've tried it your way. Meaning Reaganism. We've tried it your way. We tried it your way in the '80s and it didn't work. We tried it your way eight years, the last eight years and it didn't work. Excuse me. Excuse me. Have you ever noticed those of you watching around the world in my first international address to the world, Fox is on some international satellites. They're watching this in the UK right now going (cringing). When Obama talks about past economies, he somehow always leaves out the recession of the '80s as worse than this one. Why does he leave it out? Because you know why he leaves it out, America? He leaves it out because we got out of that recession with tax cuts. [Applause] For those of you watching at home, I'm not nervous it's just really hot in here. These people are wired. We got out of the 1980s recession with tax cuts. Do you know that President Obama, in six weeks of his administration, has proposed more spending than from the founding of the country to his inauguration? Now, this is not prosperity. It is not going to engender prosperity. It's not going to create prosperity and it's also not going to advance or promote freedom. It's going to be just the opposite. There are going to be more controls over what you can and can't do, how you can and can't do it, what you can and can't drive, what you can and can't say, where you can and can't say it. All of these things are coming down the pike, because it's not about revenue generation to them, it's about control. They do believe that they have compassion. They do believe they care. But, see, we never are allowed to look at the results of their plans, we are told we must only look at their good intentions, their big hearts. The fact that they have destroyed poor families by breaking up those families by offering welfare checks to women to keep having babies no more father needed, he's out doing something, the government's the father, they destroy the family. We're not supposed to analyze that. We're not supposed to talk about that. We're supposed to talk about their good intentions. They destroy people's futures. The future is not Big Government. Self-serving politicians. Powerful bureaucrats. This has been tried, tested throughout history. The result has always been disaster. President Obama, your agenda is not new. It's not change, and it's not hope. [Applause]
Spending a nation into generational debt is not an act of compassion. All politicians, including President Obama, are temporary stewards of this nation. It is not their task to remake the founding of this country. It is not their task to tear it apart and rebuild it in their image. (Crowd chanting "USA")
It is not their task, it is not their right to remake this nation to accommodate their psychology. I sometimes wonder if liberalism is not just a psychosis or a psychology, not an ideology. It's so much about feelings, and the predominant feeling that liberalism is about is about feeling good about themselves and they do that by telling themselves they have all this compassion. You know, if you really want to unhinge a liberal it's hard to do because they're so unhinged now anyway, even after -- but all you have to do is say you know that the things you people do, the things you people believe in are cruel. That's the last way they look at themselves. They are the best people on the -- they're the good people. You tell them that their ideas and that their policies are cruel and the eggs start scrambling. I have learned how to tweak liberals everywhere. I do it instinctively now. Tweak them in the media. And no reason to be afraid of these people. Why in the world would you be afraid of the deranged? There really is no reason to be afraid of them. And there's no reason to assume they're the minority. And there's no reason to let them set all the premises and all the agendas to which we respond to. I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself here but everybody asks me and I'm sure it's been a focal point of your convention: What do we do as conservatives? What do we do? How do we overcome this? Well, the one thing, and there are many, but one thing that we can all do is stop assuming that the way to beat them is with better policy ideas right now. I don't want to name any names. It's not the point.
But I talk to people about the Obama budget or the Obama Porkulous bill or whatever else TARP 2 whatever it's going to be, and they start talking to me in the terms of process and policy. I say stop it. What do you mean? Who is setting the process or policy? They are. You want to tweak it? No. This is philosophy, folks. This guy, I forgot -- the guy in the focus group after Bobby Jindal said, I didn't want to hear him talk, he said: Republicans and Democrats. Republicans and Democrats. Ladies and gentlemen of the United States of America, that's exactly what your future is about, who wins, Republicans or Democrats, conservatives versus liberals. The notion of partisanship, false premise. Let me define bipartisanship for you. Bipartisanship -- everybody seems to go orgasmic over the concept of bipartisanship. Don't worry, I checked with Fox, that word's okay. [Laughter] [Applause]
Remember, they covered the Lewinsky thing, so that's my -- bipartisanship occurs only after one other result, and that is victory. In other words, let's say as conservatives liberals demand that we be bipartisan with them in Congress. What they mean is: We check our core principles at the door, come in, let them run the show and agree with them. That's bipartisanship to them. To us, bipartisanship is them being forced to agree with us after we politically have cleaned their clocks and beaten them. And that has to be what we're focused on. [Applause] Why would any of us in this room who hold the core beliefs we believe, somebody tell me where is the compromise on all of this spending? Where is the compromise on all this punishment of the achievers. I don't know. [Laughter] [Applause]
Where is the compromise between good and evil? Should Jesus have cut a different deal? Serious. From the standpoint of what we have to do, folks, this is not about taking a policy or a process that the Democrats have put forward and fighting around the edges. If we're going to convince the minds and hearts of the American people that what's about to happen to them is as disastrous as anything in their lives in peacetime, we're going to have to discuss philosophy with them. We are going to have to talk about principles, because our principles are not present in what's happening here. So where the hell do we go to compromise what we believe in when our principles are not their principles, they're just the opposite of what's happening? [Applause]
The American people -- it's a tough challenge. I admit -- I admit it's a tough challenge, but it's worth it. It's worth it. The way I just defined bipartisanship you could turn it around and liberals will define bipartisanship when we surrender and say okay we give. We're not quitting. We are not giving up. The country is too important. [Applause] There are certain realities. We don't have the votes in Capitol Hill to stop what's going to happen. What we can do is slow it down, procedure, parliamentary procedures, slow it down and do the best we can to inform the American people of what's really on the horizon. I know it's going to be tough. At some points, I don't think it can happen even right now. This is still the honeymoon period, and there's a lot of devotion to the Obama administration. It doesn't have anything to do with intellectual thinking, it's feelings. It's going to take some time for this to play out. But I spoke to David Keene, interviewing him for my newsletter. I asked him about this. He said they're going to overreach. Wouldn't you say they have? [Laughter].
They're going to overreach. At some point, at some point people have got to realize none of this is possible. You can't have people living in homes they don't pay for. You can't have people driving cars they don't pay for. I mean, you can for a while. But after a while the people paying for it -- screw this. We're not putting up with it. And you're going to see -- you're already starting to see evidence of these. All the tea parties that are starting to bubble up out there. Those are great. Fabulous. [Applause] And here's the big question. Here's the big question. And I ask this again in the context of my first address to the nation. [Laughter] You don't know how I love saying that, how excited I am about this. Aside from the bastardization of the Constitution that the Obama plans are, that TARP is, it's not constitutional. Aside from that, where is the evidence that the people offering all of this have ever succeeded in any similar plans before? There's none. There is no evidence it works. [Applause]
So you say how is he getting it done? Dumb down public education. Emotions. And the ongoing -- this is why I think it's such a waste for a man as gifted as President Obama with the communications skills, you know he could wipe out the Republican Party. He can wipe out the Republican Party if he would inspire this country to be the best it could be, but we don't have to worry about that because that's not what he wants. He wants people in fear, angst and crisis, fearing the worst each and every day because that clears the decks for President Obama and his pals to come in with the answers, which are abject failures, historically shown and demonstrated. Doesn't matter. They'll have control of it when it's all over. And that's what they want. Because they think they can do it better. They see these inequalities, these inequities that capitalism produces. How do they fix it? Do they try to elevate those at the bottom? No! They try to tear down the people at the bottom. It's not fair you're up there. So they whack us. That's not what made the country great.[Applause] And no evidence of it is in play here. John Kerry [Boos], who served in Vietnam. [Laughter] Think about this, and, by the way, Barney Frank got involved with this, too. Northern Trust, a bank in Chicago -- by the way, which holds the mortgage to the Messiah's house, purchased by Tony Rezko, Northern Trust holds the mortgage. Northern Trust was forced, like Wells Fargo was forced, to take TARP money. The Wells Fargo CEO said they were taken into Paulson's room and they were given until 5:00 to sign it. They weren't getting out until they did. They wanted it spread all over the banking business. 17.35.34 Northern Trust was in there. They didn't want it. They took $1.6 billion. As you know, they went out and they sponsored the LA Riveria Open two weeks ago that Phil Mickelson barely hung on and won. [Applause]
And we find out they hired some liberals to entertain, but it still wasn't good enough. They hired Sheryl Crow. And they hired the rock crooner group Chicago, but they had the audacity, Northern Trust did, to entertain their clients, to try to reward their best customers, to get new customers, banking is in trouble, Northern Trust is trying to do what they always do, what all businesses do, and that is mine for new clients and reward existing good customers. Not since they took $1.6 billion, I guess. The haughty John Kerry wrote a piece of legislation said: He's getting sick and tired, sick and tired of these CEOs using taxpayer money to throw all these lavish parties. And I'm saying where do you get yours, Senator? [Applause] Sad thing, sad thing is it works. They've created class envy in so many average Americans that they love hearing that. Yeah, you get even with those bank guys. How is it going to improve here? Let me ask a question for those of you watching my first national address. Take the favorite villain you've got, maybe it's John Thain at Merrill Lynch, because he used his own money, his company's own money, his company's own money, to redecorate a bathroom in an office for $1.2 million. By the way, to do that he had to hire a contractor. They got paid. Had to hire a designer and buy furniture, that's called stimulus. And he did it. But all of a sudden John Thain's thrown out. John Thain is thrown out. He's humiliated and embarrassed; how dare he? He did it a year before they took the TARP money. And all these Congressmen are standing up saying this is not going to happen. We are not going to watch these people capping executive pay while Obama tries to live like one. You know, he's trying to emulate the lifestyle he is attacking. That's what liberals do. Two sets of rules: One for them; one for everybody else. But it's coming. See, if you think that John Thain or the Northern Trust CEO, if you love them getting attacked, if you love them being ripped, ask yourself the next day, do you have any more money in your pocket? Is your life any better because that guy got taken out or down by some haughty senator from Massachusetts?
If you ask yourself this, you'll realize your life is no better off. That the Democrats and Obama are asking you to feel better simply on the basis that they're going to get revenge for you, but your life isn't going to improve, somebody else's is just going to be destroyed and they want you to be happy over that. That's sick. And that is not the United States of America. [Applause] Besides, as far as John Kerry is concerned, if it wasn't for his varicose veins, he would be totally colorless. [Laughter] 17.39.13 Now let's talk about the conservative movement as it were. We, ladies and gentlemen, have challenges that are part and parcel of a movement that feels it has just suffered a humiliating defeat when it's not humiliating. This wasn't a landslide victory, 52 to, what, 46. Fifty-eight million people voted against Obama. There would have been more if we would have had a conservative nominee. [Applause]
I don't mean that -- I mean that in an instructive way, as a lead-in to what I'm talking about here. No humiliating defeat here. I can't -- sometimes I get livid and angry. We do have an organizational problem. We have a challenge. We've got factions now within our own movement seeking power to dominate it, and worst of all to redefine it. Well, the Constitution doesn't need to be redefined. Conservative intellectuals, the Declaration of Independence does not need to be redefined and neither does conservatism. Conservatism is what it is and it is forever. It's not something you can bend and shape and flake and form. [Applause] Thank you. Thank you. 17. For the purposes of this occasion, I'm not going to mention any names, I bet with you I won't have to. People watching my first address to the nation might be curious what I'm talking about. They'll find out in due course, trust me on this. I cringed -- it might have been 2007, late 2007 or sometime during 2008, but a couple of prominent conservative but Beltway establishment media types began to write on the concept that the era of Reagan is over. [Crowd Booing]
And that we needed to adapt our appeal, because, after all, what's important in politics is winning elections. And so we have to understand that the American people, they want Big Government. We just have to find a way to tell them we're no longer opposed to that. We will come up with our own version of it that is wiser and smarter, but we've got to go get the Walmart voter, and we've got to get the Hispanic voter, and we've got to get the recalcitrant independent women. And I'm listening to this and I am just apoplectic: The era of Reagan is over? When the hell do you hear a Democrat say the era of FDR is over? You never hear it. Not only that, the President of the United States today thinks he's FDR, thinks he's Abraham Lincoln, and sometimes, Tuesday night, thinks he's Ronald Reagan. Our own movement has members trying to throw Reagan out while the Democrats know they can't accomplish what they want unless they appeal to Reagan voters. We have got to stamp this out within this movement, because it will tear us apart. It will guarantee we lose elections. [Applause]
We have to. You see, to me it's a no-brainer. It's not even something to me: How do you get rid of Reagan from conservatism? The blueprint -- the blueprint for landslide conservative victory is right there. Why in the hell do the smartest people in our room want to chuck it? I know why. I know exactly why. It's because they're embarrassed of some of the people who call themselves conservatives. These people in New York and Washington, cocktail elitists, they get made fun of when the next NASCAR race is on TV and their cocktail buds come up to them, those people are in your party? How do you put up with this? It would be easy to throw them overboard, so as to maintain these cocktail party/Beltway/New York City/inside-the-Beltway media relationships. 17.44.01 But I tell you: This notion that Reaganism is dead, conservatism needs to be refined, let's take a look at this. We've got to go get the Walmart voter. I opened my remarks tonight by telling the people watching on Fox who we conservatives are. When I look out at you in this audience, I don't see a Walmart voter. And I don't see a black, and I don't see a woman, and I don't see a Hispanic. I see human beings who happen to be fortunate enough to be the luckiest people on Earth since you are Americans. [Applause]
Conservatism -- for us to make the decision that we've got to figure out policies, to get the Walmart voter -- psst, we've got most of them already, is the bottom line. Conservatism is a universal set of core principles. You don't check principles at the door. This is a battle that we're going to have. And there are egos involved here, too. When the situation like ours exists, there are people who want to lead it. They want to redefine it. Their egos are such that they want to be the next X, whoever it is. So there will be different factions lining up to try to define what conservatism is.

And beware of those different factions who seek as part of their attempt to redefine conservatism, as making sure the liberals like us, making sure that the media likes us. They never will, as long as we remain conservatives. They can't possibly like us; they're our enemy. In a political arena of ideas, they're our enemy. They think we need to be defeated. Why do you think -- you all in this room know this. For those of you watching at home, my first address to the nation -- [Laughter] -- I'm sure you paid close enough attention, that you knew at one time Senator McCain was the favorite Republican of all the cable news networks and the Sunday shows. And they would just -- I mean their tongues would be on the floor. The media people (panting) when they knew McCain was coming. And they would treat McCain as the greatest guy in the world. Did you wonder why? You were told he was moderate. He was not strict. He was not an authoritarian, he was able to walk to the other side of the aisle, able to get along with the enemy. And everybody wants love and bipartisanship. That's not why they invited Senator McCain. They invited Senator McCain because he happened to be the loudest at criticizing his own president and his own party and that's what they want, is people from our side -- and there will be factions in our movement, folks, who are going to make an effort to say we have to grow, we can't stay stale, I think I heard the term used the other day. Nothing stale about freedom. There's nothing stale about liberty. There's nothing stale about fighting for it. Nothing stale whatsoever. [Applause] Freedom. Are you getting tired of standing up, I don't blame you. By the way for those watching on TV you think the standing -- people are just tired. They've been up and out of their chairs 100 times here. [Applause]
Thank you. Freedom -- freedom is the natural yearning of the human spirit as we were endowed by our creator. And the United States of America is the place in the world where that yearning flourishes, where freedom is expected because it's part of the way we're created.
I loved it when the Soviet Union went down and the wall went down and the liberals in our country said you know they may not be ready for freedom over there. They've been oppressed -- yes, liberals will gladly tell you who can have freedom and who can't. And that's what the pieces of legislation are all about, folks, freedom, liberty, economic prosperity, they're all entwined here. We'll have to as a conservative movement understand that our job, after we come to an agreement among ourselves, which shouldn't be hard but it's going to be difficult because the people that think they're smarter than everybody else are going to be out there forging alliances with people that try to make themselves look like new power brokers, and they will become the spokesmen, by the way. By the way, explain that to you. This is a funny story. Show you how I can hijack a news cycle even by doing anything. The Tuesday before the inauguration, President Bush invited me to the Oval Office for lunch. And it was on and off the record, some of the conversations. And he brought out, interesting, at the end of it -- my birthday had been the day before. He brought out a chocolate birthday cake, a microphone, and stood beside me with Ed Gillespie and sang happy birthday. Photographers taking pictures. I wish my parents were alive. My parents wouldn't believe my life. They came out of the Great Depression. They didn't think it was possible for somebody who did not go to college -- and even for people who did -- they didn't think this was possible. Life has changed so much for the better in this country.
That's why I cringe when I see what is in store. So as I'm flying home from lunch, I'm watching television and I see that the word has leaked out that Obama is hosting a dinner with conservative media pundits at the home of George Will. I said: I wonder who these people are? [Laughter] In the media, one of them is going to have to leak it. Sure as heck, one did. Now, we all know who were there. And let's see -- I can't remember all the names, so I won't mention any. But let me tell you Obama's purpose. Does anybody really think that Barack Obama had dinner with a bunch of conservatives hoping they would change his mind?
CROWD: No!
RUSH: Hell, no. His purpose -- and his purpose really wasn't to change theirs -- his purpose was to anoint them as conservative spokesmen. These are the people that Obama's willing to break bread with. These happen -- some of the people there happen to be the people who think the era of Reagan is over, who believe that conservatism needs to be redefined. Of course Obama would try to lure them in. Well, all of a sudden I land. I get home about 5:00, and my e-mail is jammed with questions from reporters, are you, is that why you took the day off today? Is that why you're not on the air? Are you going to dinner with Obama? By the way, I left out a crucial part of the story. Was this a Monday, Kit? It was a Tuesday. I had forgotten to tell my audience that I was going to miss the next day. I signed off the show saying I'll see you tomorrow. That's the last thing I said. The staff reminded me you're not going to be here tomorrow. I came up with a plan, that the guest host the next day would say that I was called out of town to Washington at midnight the night before. Just an innocent little trick on the radio audience. Everybody picked that up and thinks I'm invited to the Obama dinner. So those people that were invited to it got less coverage than I did and I didn't even know about it. [Laughter] It was fun. [Applause]
Conservatives are naturally happy. We seek happiness. We pursue it. It's part of who we are. So what can you do? Live your life. I swear, folks, you do not know in just the everyday life that you live in your homes, your neighborhoods, the favorite word of this administration, your "communities." Remember the root word there is "commune." [Applause] Be happy, live your life according to your values and principles. Know you're going to fail, no human being is perfect, you're going to make mistakes, but live your life -- you'll be stunned at how many people you impress. Don't be afraid to tell children that they're wrong. They don't know what you do. They simply haven't lived long enough. It's not their fault, but they're being fed a bunch of garbage in school and don't be afraid to tell them that they're wrong. Don't go the Oprah route and say gotta be friends with my parents, my kids, first and foremost. Understand they're going to hate you for a while and they're going to rebel against you and someday they're going to think you're the smartest person they ever met. But you owe them the truth. You owe them the truth about things. You owe them the truth about morality. You owe them the truth about values. [Applause]
You owe them the truth about politics. Next thing, we've got to stop treating voters as children. [Applause]
Somebody says they want something that's bad for them, do you give it to them just to be nice? Or do you tell them, regardless of their age, no, you shouldn't have that? Well, it's none of your business. Maybe not. And then you back out of it. But you still have to have the ability to tell people what's right and wrong. And that's not authoritative. That's not authoritarian. And it's not trying to deny somebody a good time. It's not trying to interrupt somebody's hedonism, pleasure, it's about all of us with shared values trying to make sure that people live the highest quality lives they can. Ultimately, it's their decision as to what they do. But the point is, don't treat them -- especially voters -- as kids just -- they say they want it okay we'll come up with a plan to give it to you. Have any of you seen the movie -- I'd never heard of it, but I happened to get a DVD the other day. Anybody see the movie Swing Vote with Kevin Costner? You know, it's kind of a moronic movie like most things out of Hollywood are. But this is fascinating in the way -- tell you a short story, because a voter screwup in New Mexico there's one voter who is going to elect the president. His vote didn't count because his daughter voted for him. I won't give the whole story away. But New Mexico's electoral votes, New Mexico's electoral votes determined it. And they have a two-week period before this guy can vote again. So the challenger and the president both relocate to where this guy lives in New Mexico and they end up like the Democrat played by Dennis Hopper stands for antiabortion.
The Democrat candidate comes out with a commercial for life. The Republican candidate comes out, because this guy is an idiot and doesn't know what he believes, and every utterance that he makes these politicians react to it throwing their principles on the floor, just to get his vote. Sadly, this is what some of the conservative intellectuals in our movement want to do, essentially. And that we cannot do. We've got to stand for what we believe and treat people as adults and understand they can learn. [Applause]
Go optimism. Joe Biden, ladies and gentlemen, was watching CBS -- when did you start here? Thursday. You might have seen this. The days run together. It might have been Wednesday, but Biden was on the CBS Early Show. And he was asked -- the anchorette -- sorry. I'm trying to change my ways. I've been doing women summit programs so not to offend women. The anchor, Maggie Rodriguez, went out and got some man-on-the-street questions. And one guy, woman, I think question for Biden. What is in the stimulus package for small business? Biden was clearly stumped because there isn't anything in the stimulus package for small business. So what Biden said, honest to God, what Biden said was: Well, if there's a bridge to your small business, we're going to make sure that bridge stays open so that you can get to your small business and your customers -- honest. I kid you not. Now, of course, the media today is a bunch of hacks, they're out there as PR agents; they're starting to get a little embarrassed. Maggie Rodriguez says, Senator Biden, there's a website that answers all these questions. What is the name of the website and Biden says I don't know. He looks off stage. "Does somebody have the website number?" [Applause]
I realize those of you watching at home during my first address to the nation, you have never heard liberal Democrats be made fun of in this way. Get used to it. [Applause]
Two other things and we'll get out of here contractually over time. The president's stimulus package, the TARP, the whatever, the budget, relies on one thing for its success. Well, aside from authoritarian government power. It relies on the complacency of the American people. It relies on their belief that they can convince the American people that there's such a crisis that only government, the only entity that can fix it is government, as Obama has said. So they get complacent and they sit around and they wait. See, this is something liberals will never understand about the United States of America and it's right under their noses, right in front of their faces, we are a competitive people. We strive, enough of us do, to be the best. We strive to win. We strive to avoid defeat. Enough of us still do. Don't believe otherwise. The liberals have made efforts to shut that aspect of our nature down. Wherever you live, I am certain that you, when you were a child or your kids today in youth sports are told not to keep score, because the losers, it's just not fair. They'd be humiliated, especially if one girl's basketball team can defeat another one 100 to nothing. And let's fire the coach who put that game together. It's so unfair. So let's not keep score. Well, here's the dirty little secret. The kids are keeping score. [Applause] You know they are. They don't want to lose. They know what winning and losing is. They're saying, well, why go out there and put on the pads and play football or T-Ball if the objective here is to not keep score. So they're keeping score. They get in the car with mom and dad and they tell mom and dad: Yeah, we kicked their butts tonight. Wait a minute, I thought you weren't keeping score. They weren't officially. They keep score. We're competitive people. Adults are doing the same thing.
It didn't take long for people to get fired up when they figured out that they're going to be paying mortgages for people who should never have been lent money in the first place for the bogus excuse of maintaining property values in the neighborhood. This is something that -- the complacency of the American people is something they're going to rely on along with their authoritarian efforts to control it. But they will not succeed at this. Because we're not quitters. We don't acquiesce. We're not going to give up the American dream and watch idly while it is restructured and transformed. [Applause]
As I say, we want the best: Happiness for everybody. Now, about my still-to-me mysteriously controversial comment that I hope President Obama fails. I was watching the Super Bowl. And as you know, I love the Pittsburgh Steelers. [Cheers and Applause] So they have this miraculous scoring drive that puts them up by four, 15 seconds left. Kurt Warner on the field for the Cardinals. And I sure as heck want you to know I hope he failed. I did not want the Cardinals to win. I wanted Warner to make the biggest fool of himself possible. I wanted a sack, I wanted anything. I wanted the Steelers to win. I wanted to win. I wanted the Cardinals to fail. This notion that I want the President to fail, folks, this shows you a sign of the problem we've got. That's nothing more than common sense and to not be able to say it, why in the world do I want what we just described, rampant government growth indebtedness, wealth that's not even being created yet that is being spent, what is in this? What possibly is in this that anybody of us wants to succeed? Did the Democrats want the war on Iraq to fail!
CROWD: Yes!
RUSH: They certainly did. They not only wanted the war in Iraq to fail, they proclaimed it a failure. There's Dingy Harry Reid waiving a white flag: [doing Harry Reid impression] "This war is lost. This war is" --
[Cheers and Applause]
They called General Petraeus a liar before he even testified. Mrs. Clinton -- [Crowd Booing] -- said she had to, willingly suspend disbelief in order to listen to Petraeus. We're in the process of winning the war. The last thing they wanted was to win. They hoped George Bush failed. So what is so strange about being honest to say that I want Barack Obama to fail if his mission is to restructure and reform this country so that capitalism and individual liberty are not its foundation? Why would I want that to succeed? [Applause]
Let me add a caveat here. My friends, I know what's going on. I know what's going on. We're in the aspects here of an historic presidency. I know that. But let me be honest again. I got over the historical aspects of this in November. President Obama is our president. President Obama stands for certain things. I don't care, he could be a Martian. He could be from Michigan, I don't know -- just kidding. Doesn't matter to me what his race is. It doesn't matter. He's liberal is what matters to me. And his articulated -- his articulated plans scare me. Now, I understand we can't say we want the President to fail, Mr. Limbaugh. That's like saying -- this is the voice of the New Castrati, by the way, guys who have lost their guts. You can't say Mr. Limbaugh that you want the President to fail because that's like saying you want the country to fail. It's the opposite. I want the country to survive. I want the country to succeed. [Cheers and Applause]
[Crowd Chanting "USA" ] I want the country to survive as we have known it, as you and I were raised in it, is what I mean. Now, I have been called -- and I can take it. Pioneers take the arrows, I don't mind what anybody says about me, any time ever. I don't have time for it. I don't give other people the power to offend me. And you shouldn't either, by the wasted time being offended.[Applause]
I mean, there's some people you can't say you want the President to fail. Ladies and gentlemen of the United States, the Democrat Party has actively not just sought the failure of Republican presidents and policies and now wars for the first time, the Democrat Party doesn't stop at failure. Talk to Judge Robert Bork or Justice Clarence Thomas about how they tried to destroy lives, reputations and character, and I'm supposed to say I don't want the President to fail? [Applause] We're in for a real battle. We are talking about the United States of America -- and there will always be an America, don't misunderstand me -- we're talking about it remaining the country we were all born into and reared and grown into. And it's under assault. It's always under assault. But it's never been under assault like this from within before. And it's a serious, serious battle. So as you leave here, as you leave here optimism, confidence, not guilt, it's not worth it. There's nothing to be guilty about. Don't treat people as children. Respect their intelligence. Realize that there's a way to persuade people. Sometimes the worst way is to get in their face and point a finger. Set up a set of circumstances where the conclusion is obvious. Let them think they came up with the idea themselves. They'll think they're smart that they figured it out. Who cares how you persuade them, the fact they can be persuaded is factually correct, it's possible. But the main thing to do here is stop thinking that we are a minority. Stop thinking that it is being in the minority that liberates you. It is your beliefs. It is your core principles, it is your confidence that liberates you. It's not being in the minority. In fact, for those of you watching my first national address and still hanging in there, we really are not that happy about being a minority and we're out to change it. [Applause]
So I have -- I've gone over my allotted time by an hour. [Applause]
I want to thank all of you so much for everything that you have meant to me and my family in my life.
CROWD: Thank you.
RUSH: I understand it's mutual. And I hear people -- you have made my heart grow so much that it barely fits in my chest cavity here tonight. But the things that by virtue of your listening to my radio show and being active in this movement that we all cherish and love, you have meant more to me, my family and my life than whatever it is I might mean to you, even though I know that's considerable. [Applause]
You still can't outdo the absolute joy and awe and thanks I feel for all of you. I've been doing this for 20 years and the numbers just keep growing. And I can't tell you how appreciative I am and proud to be in a movement with the same passions, desires and core beliefs that all of you have, because we know that it's right for the country, and we know it's right for people. It's not something that has to be forced on them. It's not something that has to be authoritatively pressed on them. We are what is, and that's why we are an enemy because we're effective. The people that do want control look at us as the enemy. We're always going to be -- don't ever measure your success by how many Drive-By Media reports you see that are fair to us. Never going to happen. Don't measure your success by how many people like you. Just worry about how they vote. And then at the end of the day how they live, but that's really none of your business once they close the doors. Thank you all very much. It's been great.