Flag Burning

This is from Mike Rowe’s Facebook Page…
My comments follow at the end.

Mike Rowe
December 2 at 7:12pm ·

Off The Wall

Susanne McDaniel‎ writes…

“How did you become so blindly patriotic? First of all, the college you were referencing in your rant about the American flag is a private college and doesn’t receive federal funding. However…the very essence of freedom in this country is our right to speak out against the flag, which is a mere symbol. If you take away that right, then we have lost all freedom. You really need to take a civics course, Mike Rowe. I used to like you; but, you have really become very annoying to me in recent years. I thought you were more intelligent. But, I guess appearances aren’t everything.”

Hi Susanne

I’ve never thought of myself as “blindly patriotic,” but I am a fan of the United States, the founding fathers, and the men and women who have served on my behalf. I also confess to feeling lucky to live here. Having said that, I think you’re correct about the flag; it’s only a symbol. So too is the Crucifix. And the middle finger. And the Swastika. And the compressed chunks of carbon that millions wear on their ring fingers as expressions of timeless love and eternal devotion.

It’s easy to make anything feel small and silly by reducing it to its chemical composition or its various component parts. But if you really believe our flag is nothing but a “mere symbol,” equally suitable for flying or burning, ask yourself if you’d be comfortable if the people you work with suddenly started coming to the office in pointy white hats fashioned from bedsheets? Would that be a problem for you? Or how about The Rainbow Flag, favored by the LGBTQ community? Would it be OK if people started burning that? If not, why not? I mean, it’s only a symbol, right?

Years ago, an artist named Andres Serrano presented a charming piece called “Immersion.” It consisted of a Crucifix, immersed in a glass of the artist’s urine. Amazingly, some people were offended. Christians, in particular. They just couldn’t see that Andres was using a symbol to express himself. Silly Christians. Interesting though, that Andres didn’t submerge Mohammed in the same glass. I wonder why that is?

The thing about “mere symbols” Susanne, is that they represent “mere ideas,” and “mere ideas” are the backbone of “mere humanity.” In the case of the flag, we’re talking about ideas that are wrapped into the Constitution – a document that separates us from every other country on the planet.

Mere ideas are the reason people fight and die. Mere ideas are the reason we’re allowed to speak freely, protest publicly, bear arms, and burn the very symbol that represents those very freedoms. I didn’t suggest that you or anyone else be denied your right to fly or burn whatever flag you wish. What I failed to do, is quietly accept behavior I don’t care for. Which, if I’m not mistaken, is the same compulsion that motivates others to publicly express themselves in whatever ways they choose.

As for Hampshire College, I’m afraid you’re mistaken. If you check the link I provided in my original post, you’ll see that several forms of federal funding are readily available to their students. Also, according to their site, you’ll notice that the flag is once again flying at full staff. I’ll take no credit for this, if you offer no blame. Deal?

Finally, regarding my overall annoyance, you’re correct, and you’re not alone. I’ve been annoying people for years now. Just ask my mother. And yes, I too, once thought I was more intelligent than I actually am. I still remember the disappointment when the test results come back.

Anyway, thanks for your comments, Susanne. I do hope you’ll stick around.

Mike

While I agree with everything Mike says here, I’m going to stand up for Susanne.

My response is framed as a simple question to Mike;  Does the Flag still represent ‘…ideas that are wrapped into the Constitution – a document that separates us from every other country on the planet.’?

I would offer to Mr. Rowe that We have allowed the United States of America to wander so very far away from the Philosophically Enlightened Country born of an Age of Reason our Founders intended, and subsequently recorded in our Founding Documents, that Ms. McDaniel’s ignorance can be understood… if not accepted.  I would continue to offer that this has been an intentional effort championed by those who, while they profess the opposite, have no interest in Individual Rights and see the very Constitution cited above as an impediment… as… a limiting Document… when it comes to their ultimate aims.

Those of us who have taken the time to understand the Constitution know the intent is exactly as a limiting Document.  Our Founders applied a Governing Theory designed to elevate and protect the Individual above Government.

Mr. Rowe, does it?

And if not, what exactly is the symbolic value of the flag today?  Let me rephrase it, what is the symbolic value of the flag to the intentionally ignorant, usefully uniformed, such a Ms. McDaniel?

If Ms. McDaniel is assigning the flag symbolic value based on what she has been taught in our schools, and sees in daily demonstration, you are both speaking very different languages.

Ultimately, You are correct… and to some degree, and not in a way she would understand, so is she.

It’s Fine to Spy on the Little People…

… just not the People in Power.

The Politicians are ANGRY!

How DARE the NSA Spy on THEM!

But… wait… what?

Are You Little People confused?

Of course you are… or at least, you should be.

Your confusion stems from our wandering so very far away from our Founders intent.

The reason for this confusion is we were founded in such a way where the Individual is always supreme over the Government.  And the Government is not only LIMITED in it’s power, it’s powers are intentionally Separated.  Limit and Conflict were BUILT INTO THE SYSTEM to PROTECT THE INDIVIDUAL.  It’s quite simple really.

Which brings us to the fact that The Newly Found Political Fury over Sweeping Mass Collection of data by Law Enforcement and Intelligence Agencies should be directed at the Intrusion upon, and Violation of, Individual Rights of ALL Citizens… Not Politicians specifically.

Frankly, I have less of an issue with Politicians spying on each other than I do Force (Government) spying on the Citizenry.

Let me make this as Clear as possible…

The U.S. Government can and should be Spying on other Countries.  It’s their Job.

Other Countries will be attempting to Spy on us, the U.S.  – It’s not a matter of being ‘OK’ with it, it’s their job… as it is ours to deny them that ability.

What is Not ‘OK’?

The U.S. Government Spying on Individual Citizens without a specifically crafted warrant to do so.  (The only argument worth having here; “Are Politicians considered Individual Citizens?”  It could also be useful to remind the NSA that their Love interests also fit into the ‘Citizen’ category… and some of the things they are doing is considered stalking at a minimum.)

Of course they are…

But the current framing of the ‘Offended’ is that they are ‘special’.  And while I might agree that they are special, I would offer that they are most often the kind of special that requires a helmet when walking outside.

In the end, the reason you should be more concerned about the U.S. Government Spying on you and not China, Korea, Israel or Google, is because none of the latter have yet found a way to show up at your door and throw you in jail.  (Although Google is probably working on it.)

The Politicians should be reminded of their place in society… which was always intended to be servants to those who are not in power.

This will be interesting to watch as most genuine Conservatives do not like being Spied upon, and most Democrats have spent huge amounts of time and money convincing their Useful Voters that they too believe in a Right to Privacy.

Can anyone spell Dissonance?

 

 

I pay Half Attention, to Half of Everything, Half of the Time.

This is why I’m better equipped than Half of America to make a statement on this mornings Supreme Court Ruling on Gay Marraige.

This was Half a Victory.

If you’ve been around here for a while you already know that I oppose ‘Gay Marraige’ because I do not subscribe to the premise it is being argued upon.  And today’s ruling, based on a faulty premise, will only serve to cause more angst and division between individuals over the next decades.

First, let me say, today’s ruling is a half step forward…

…but we are all still blindfolded.

The Supreme Court stated unequivocally that the states must license marriage between homosexuals.

So what’s wrong with this and why might I oppose it?

NO ONE SHOULD BE CELEBRATING A SUPREME COURT RULING WHICH DEMANDS WE ALL MUST CONTINUE BEGGING THE STATE TO VALIDATE OUR RELATIONSHIPS!

Homosexuals in this country seem to think they have won a major victory…

In truth, none of us won anything today except the reinforcement that Government has ultimate say in what kind of relationships we have.  In other words, the Government has won a victory by retaining the Power to ‘Allow’ us, Gay/Straight/Purple/Green/Etc., to get married.

It’s none of the state’s damned business who I marry… or why.  I certainly shouldn’t be required to pay some bureaucrat to give me their approval!

It absolutely escapes me as how anyone can believe this is a win.

But then I remind myself we have moved so far away from the Supremacy of the Individual upon which this country was founded… so foreign does such a concept sound to our publicly educated population… so dangerous is such an idea to those who are in control and wish to continue to control all of us… forever…

… it all makes sense.

If half of us would make half an effort half the time…

We might quickly see how Government solidifying it’s ability to Force Individuals to bend at the knee is never a victory.

I’m off to get half Drunk…

You Should be Free to be a Crappy Bigot.

And I Should be Free to Point it Out.

Like a never-ending election season treadmill, out come the issues that divide us but never get solved…

Discrimination is a Big One.

Look Folks, In a Free World we must all have a right to Discriminate. And with that comes our Protected Right to Point Out those Crappy A-Holes so devoid of accomplishment that they must find Personal Characteristics none of us are Responsible for and Discriminate against us on that basis… so they can feel better about themselves.

Frankly, I want to know who these people are.

I Do Not want them hiding in the Shadows.  Do You?

I want to be able to craft my decision-making with full knowledge of Who these people are, and expose where these people work. This way I can avoid them… while suggesting to my friends that they might consider doing the same.

I would also promote News organizations doing their jobs again, and applying scrutiny to these people, and their businesses as well.

This would allow LOTS of folks to make informed decisions.

Instead, this problem suffers from ridiculous attempts to Legislate Behavior and results in an erosion of our individual rights as a whole, drip by drip.

Once you accept the premise that only ‘some’ freedoms are ‘allowable’, you’ve lost the Inalienable Right to All of Your Freedoms. And by default, control over you is gradually handed over to those in Power.

Once you have conceded your ‘rights’ come from Man and thus can be taken away by Man, then the race begins to become the Man in charge of handing them out and more importantly… taking them away.

This is our Reality, and it is how we are all Manipulated to do the bidding of, and send money to, People Who have No Business Running Things, let alone telling us what to do.  We promote our own march to Slavery, whether we realize it or not.  I’m guessing most of us fall into the ‘not’ category.

So…

Let’s A-Holes be A-Holes.

But Shine the Cleansing Light of the Sun upon Them…

And do yourself a favor, Stop looking to Government to solve this problem, because it can’t… and truth be told, the Fine Folks up there Don’t Really Want To Solve It anyway.

There is Power in Division.

Cruz believes in God!?

If you’ve been paying attention over the last 48-hours you have certainly heard that Ted Cruz is Evil for a Major Reason.

Senator Cruz believes in God.

And as a result, Mr. Cruz believes that the Creator endowed all of us with Inalienable Rights. In other words, our rights come from our Creator… not Men.

Well there you go.

Those who support the “educated” idea that our rights come from Man cannot allow such apostacy to be uttered without laser-focused derision being poured upon it.

Clearly, to them, Ted Cruz is an idiot because of such a stupid idea.

Well…

I too believe in unalienable rights being bestowed upon us by our Creator…

However, I do not believe one needs to believe in God to accept this as the Enlightened Ideological premise protecting all of us from Tyranny, Oppression and Slavery.

I have good company. Namely the Founding Fathers.

The Founders were of varied Religious beliefs.  Indeed, primarily Judeo-Christian.  But they have divisions even within those ranks.  The language chosen for the Founding Documents was crafted with extreme intent.  They knew full well that Locke’s idea of Natural Law is justified by a belief in a Creator, Nature or for that matter The Universe.  The simple fact a Human Individual exists is all it takes.  And, The United States was going to be the First… and sadly after 250-years still the only, country on Earth to overtly build a society based on this Revolutionary Enlightenment Philosophy.  That is why America is Exceptional.

To put it simply, this idea that all of us have certain inalienable rights just because We Exist is why the United States Stands Alone.

It is no surprise that there are those who scoff at such an idea.

Specifically, because this idea stands in the way of Force. It obstructs those who wish to control us… persuade us… nudge us… into the choices they have decided are, well, ‘best’ for us. It prevents them from Forcing the Few to Sacrifice to the Many. It is the enemy of Social Democracy… otherwise known as Mob Rule.

The Remarkable Idea that being born gives one rights that are not ‘allowed’ by edict from a benevolent ruler… or group… is a profound irritant to those who seek Power over You.

It is why many of us out here claim, without hesitation, that many of our elected politicians Hate the very Constitution they have sworn to protect.  Because they do.

How do I know?

The brilliance of the men who designed this country left us with a governing structure that possessed the mechanics to change it if needed…  Those who Hate the Revolutionary Statement embedded in the Founding Documents are not interested in this mechanism because it necessarily alerts you to what They want to do.

And if there were ever an Axiom… Those that want to do Bad things To You can Never let you Know they Want to do Bad things To You.

You wouldn’t like that.  (Which is also why the Founders made “The Right to Bear Arms” second only to “The Right to Free Speech”.)

All of this will help you identify those people with whom you should disagree.  At a minimum, hold suspect.

Be Warned!  These people exist on Both Sides of ‘the aisle’.

I would offer All Democrats (As their Governing Philosophy is built upon the Foundation of Marxism) as well as a Majority of Republicans (As many of them subscribe to flavors of Marxist Socialism but lie to you to get elected.).  This doesn’t even address those outside of the aisle such as the Independents, Greens, Socialists, Communists and all other segments of political spice.

In the End, I expect resistance, and the type of derision I mention above, to come from ‘all sides’ when it comes to men like Republican Ted Cruz.  I suggest you’ll see such rhetoric coming from Democrats AND Republicans when Republican Rand Paul announces.  (Paul subscribes to the same foundation of Individual Rights.)

They are men of Principle.

They are not men of “getting along” or “working together” when it runs counter to the Original Intent of Individual Freedom and Liberty and Fiscal Responsibility.

Don’t fall into this trap.

Don’t discount a person who holds your Individuality as sacred because they do, or do not, believe.

While it doesn’t hurt, you don’t need to believe in God to understand the Wisdom in protecting the Individual.

Dust off your Thomas Payne (Age of Reason) and tell me I’m wrong.

The Devil’s Promise

Freedom and Liberty without Consequence and Responsibility. – The Devils Promise

A Promise of Infinite Freedom and Liberty to do as he says… live as he wishes… exist if he desires.

Last night a friend of mine asked “Why can’t we just go to work, come home and not worry about anything?”

I was disappointed and sad.  I simply assume the people I surround myself with understand the value of their Liberty and the necessity to defend it at all times.  This is my fault… and illustrates the lesson that these facts must be repeated over and over.

However, this is a common question.  It’s a question labeled ‘reasonable’ by those who want to keep you asleep until it comes time to secure their power or help them keep it.  It is a question built upon a premise that Evil does not exist and Evil People are not being born this very second.  And, those who peddle niceties are in fact nice.  It is a question which is more of a plea to trust, a cry of despair, that life is too hard to shoulder the constant burden of skepticism and responsibility for ones actions.  It’s the soft mindset that incrementally leads to slavery.

What do I hear when someone asks this?

I hear their desire to give up… surrender… lose… their Freedom by abdicating their responsibility of protecting it to those who pine for control over others.

I hear apathy, ignorance and ambivalence regarding the Freedom and Liberty they currently enjoy…

I hear a person who has no ability to empathize with those who are oppressed and do not enjoy their same Freedoms.

It is the absence of contrast… wisdom built upon experience… which disables otherwise able minds.

If you’ve been around here for a while you already know that one of my top 12 reads is ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ by Frankl.  At the end of the book he suggests there should be a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast mirroring the Statue of Liberty in New York.

I happen to agree with Mr. Frankl’s brilliance and insight based on experience.  (For any of you who want to understand more about anything… ever… you need to read this book.)

Being Free is a Huge Responsibility.  It takes energy, effort and thought.  It requires the ability to be honest with one’s self and willingness to suffer the consequences of one’s action without projecting blame upon others.  It necessitates seeing the world as it is, not as you might wish it to be.

To be a Citizen of the United States, the only Nation on Earth to be founded upon the principle that the Individual was Paramount and his possessions, including his person, were to be protected above all other things, places the responsibility of remaining Free on each and every one of us, every moment of every day.

Nowhere on this planet, at any time in recorded history, has the Ultimate Minority of the Individual Human Being been placed First… before Government… before the Majority…. before a Specific Religion.  We are it.

That is American Exceptionalism.

Because of the above fact, We’re the only ones who can protect it… not Government, or a King, or a ‘super smart person’, or a Nobel Peace Prize Winner, nor any other form of Leadership Committee big or small.  It’s us… just us… in a purely voluntarily cooperative effort.  No one anywhere in the World will come to our rescue should we fall.  Because no one anywhere else in the World agrees with us.  They have decided that the only viable forms of Government fall somewhere in the spectrum of Socialism; whether it’s Social Democracy, Theocracy, Communism, Oligarchy, Plutocracy, Fascism, Dictatorship… anything BUT a Constitutionally Limited Democratic Republic which puts the Individual first justified by Natural Law.

The Progressive World finds such an Enlightened Idea far too limiting.  The World prefers Force and Class Stasis… the World prefers Control.  Therein lies the Irony.  The Progressive World desire to take all of us back to divine right and the age of Monarchies.  They only wish they could figure out a way for the majority to vote them into permanent power.  They already know they are Smarter than you, they just want you to solidify it once and for all.  (Elections are such a nuisance… all that energy… all that money… could be used to force our brilliance upon the Masses.  Such is the Ego of the Devil.)

The Devil’s Promise is really; Do as I say and you will be Free… You have a right to your existence because I allowed it.

We in the United States are being conditioned in our Schools and through our Media to accept this… even support and promote this…

The ‘Why’ and ‘How’ are clear and simple to see for those who are capable of intellectual honesty.  We have done this to ourselves.  The history has been written for all who care.

It is also plain to see We have wandered far from the intent of our Founders…

We no longer own the fruit of our labor.

We no longer own our property.

We no longer own ourselves.

All we have left, which we know is genuinely ours, is what’s in our mind… and never shared.

Those who wish Control would take that from you as well… if they could.

Is it time to give up and pay the Devil his due?

‘Why can’t we just go to work, come home and not think about all this stuff?’

It would certainly be easier…

than being Free.

082114

Nowhere but here?

An incredibly common mistake that Americans make is to believe everyone else around the world has tried our form of government and it has failed.

The closest thing the world has seen to our Republic was Rome, and they fell because of internal decay.

While the rest of the world might profess to have tried it, they have not. Not once… ever.  World history is, however, littered with failed Monarchies, Dictatorships, Oligarchies, Socialist Utopias and myriad other attempts at the Communist Paradise.

Currently these paradigms are at a state of implosion. So desperate are they to hold on to power they have taken to blaming “Capitalism”.  Like a teenager caught in a lie, the screaming gets louder and they to find ways to blame you… or worse, call what they are doing “Capitalism” in a desperate attempt to retain their power and avoid the blame themselves.

This makes sense because who else are they going to blame?

The rest of the world, and all of our own home grown Socialists, blame Free-Markets, Individual Liberty and Freedom for the woes they are responsible for creating…

Why do we seem so sure that “The American Way” will survive?

Why do we believe that we judge each other based on the content of our character?  Is that true?  Or, have we institutionalized racism… just like the rest of the world?

Why do we think that all reasonable people see the logic in Freedom and Liberty of the Individual through a Democratically elected, Constitutionally Limited, Government when our own leaders state outwardly that the “system is broken”?  And, why do these same politicians want to change it into something “new” and not restore it to its previous brilliance, the brilliance they supposedly wish still existed?

What makes us different from the rest of the world?

No platitudes!  What exactly?

Why do we think those we have put in office, those who overtly disregard, ignore, work around, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, would defend the Republic?

Do you believe it is because the office we installed them into requires they swear to uphold the it?

Have their actions demonstrated they take that oath seriously?  Or does it seem they only uphold the parts they like… and then, only when they like them?

I’m serious here… Why do we think that?

What happens to these people when they violate that oath?  What happens to these people when they break the law?  Anything?

What does illegal mean?  What does it mean for you compared to those we have given a modicum of power?

Is this the America you think you live in?

Does the reality meet the expectation?

Is Socialism the answer?  Are we all to be ruled?

Or, is Individual Liberty the answer?  Are we to rule ourselves?

Pour yourself an adult Beverage and ponder these questions.

(Originally Posted 062513)

All of You Gay Marriage People are Wrong!

All of you!

And… it’s disgusting!

In fact, if you fall on Either Side of this issue… You’re a Fool!  You are literally being Foolish… like Clowns… in your thinking.

OK, I know most of the time writers will make at least a small attempt not to offend the three people who read their crap. So, if you’re still reading this you might be asking yourself why I have decided to insult you. Because I am.

The reason here is that all of you have fallen for a faulty premise when choosing any position on Gay Marriage and it disgusts me… you disgust me.

All of you believe that I should be forced to continue pleading upon bended knee, with money and blood test in hand, before some bureaucrat in order for them to decide whether to sanction MY MARRIAGE.

In other words, All of YOU think The Government should continue to have a Right to tell me who I Can and Cannot Marry.

I don’t care if you’re Black, White, Green, Gay, Crooked, Lofty or Two Feet Tall… the idea that any of you would want to perpetuate a system where the Government controls who you can marry makes me want to puke.  And, it should make you want to puke too.  It’s a hold over from the “Good Ole Days” when “certain families” and “certain races” should not be permitted to marry.  So… seriously?  You like this idea?  Any of you!?

And this “Gay Rights” crap… There are NO GAY RIGHTS as there are NO NON-GAY RIGHTS.  There are ONLY INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS which must be protected and defended.

It is Disgusting. You are Disgusting.

Good… now that I have both made you angry and gained some support, let me put it in the simplest terms.

The Federal Government should have exactly Nothing to say about marriage.  Nothing.

If the States want to do stupid things, those things are reserved to them for the doing… but they should also have exactly nothing to say about marriage.

A marriage is between you and your church.  Period.

If you want  a binding contract, Civil Union is available to all of us.  Contract Law provides for all of us who find it important to codify our relationships.  And many of us do.  (Don’t forget Common Law too… it takes over in many States.  States.  The States…)

Which brings me to another problem… marriage, while a genuinely valuable institution, should not be codified into the Federal Tax law.

I hear the Gasps!

“But Marriage is a Sacred Institution!”

Yes it is.  And, I can certainly make a cogent argument as to why an expanding population is historically healthy for Nation States as well as why it is imperative to support the Private Enterprise of rearing children which a “marriage” supports.  But it doesn’t change the fact that Federal Government should be Silent on this issue.

And besides, Cultural Institutions are kept that way by the population that nurtures such traditions.  That does not mean “Turns them into Law.”  We can play the ‘Non-codified” cultural institution game beginning with Christmas and Moving through the Fourth of July all the way to Thanksgiving, Birthdays and Baptisms but if you’re not tracking with me at this point you either to need to set this post down for a while and come back to it or stop reading… as it must be torture.

Again… the Federal Government’s “say” should be exactly what is contained between the following parenthesis regarding marriage: (                                  ).

Let me remind all of you… just because we have done it for “a long time” doesn’t mean it’s right.

“But, but, but… tons of law will have to be re-written!”

Yep.

Is that it?  Is that all you got?  Frankly, most laws should be removed from our books in my opinion.  A majority of them are nuisance laws, never enforced or specifically created to favor some politician’s buddy.  Wouldn’t it be a terrific world if we all focused our debates on what laws to get rid of instead of what new laws to create?  Say for every “new” law two “old” ones have to go…

Anyway, I hammered this out because it’s timely and it is basically what I’m going to be screaming at the Television for the duration of the Supreme Court hearings on Hollingsworth vs. Perry and The United States Vs. Windsor.

Let’s all try to stop being Foolish in all Things.

Karl Rove is Not an Answer.

Karl Rove won two Presidential Elections for Republican George Bush.

Barely.

It wasn’t the messaging… it wasn’t a “Big Idea”… and It certainly was not Free-Market Capitalism.

It was gaming the numbers.

He has promoted, and continues to promote, the exact same tactics.

Is it any wonder that the general public has no idea what the difference is between the two parties… because what difference does it make?  And, the similarities confuse the best of us.  If both parties are indeed on the Same Ship and all Mr. Rove was able to do is move the cargo around to get the ship to list slightly to the right then what are we talking about here?

Mr. Rove is a smart man. This can be said of many political strategists.

But Mr. Rove has built his reputation on gaming the system… not leading with universal principles unifying the population.

It is time we move on from this type of politics, and this type of strategy.

Mr. Rove would have you believe that no election could ever be won trying to explain why Freedom and Liberty of the Individual combined with Free-Market Capitalism is the exact Ideology the Nation Must Embrace. So don’t bother trying. Just keep paying him and his protégés to play the numbers.

I’m not ignorant… I understand that value of such an approach. But these people must fill a secondary role, not the primary one. In fact, they should be asked to return to the dark back room from whence they came.

With the advent of a 24-hour news cycle and the constant search for educated voices to comment on current political trends people like Karl Rove have become the “rock stars” of Politics. This must change.

It is time to return to explaining clearly the differences between the governing philosophies. If this Great Experiment in Self Governing is to be saved then we must promote those voices who can Simply, Powerfully and Directly explain to the public what the country was founded on. We must explain, explain, explain what Capitalism actually is… not what Leftists want you to think it is. We must repeat, repeat, repeat what it means to be Free and why that necessitates a profoundly smaller and far more limited Government. It is exactly that redundancy, redundancy, redundancy which will save this country.

Karl Rove is welcome to join the above effort… I would have Cigars and Bourbon waiting for him in the little room at the back of the office.

Meanwhile the only folks I would have in front of the camera’s are those whose foundation is firmly planted in Fiscally Conservative, Constitutionally Originalist and Libertarian Principles.

Being “Taxed Enough Already” was, and still is, a very easy concept to understand.  It unifies us… even those who don’t pay taxes.

It’s time to Think about what we Think…  not just how we can manipulate the numbers in order to win.

Mr. Rove and his consultant class have had their day.  Cheers to them.

Now we need to raise a Pint to Enlightenment.

Let me be Clear about something…

There is nothing wrong with “collective action” so long as it is voluntary.

Liberalism and all of its Socialist variants does not allow for Individual choice. Collective Communism is not, nor can it be voluntary.

This is the heart of the argument between the Freedom I advocate and the Oppression the Left champions.

Make no mistake… the deadly poison that is Socialism will always be coated in the honey of “good intentions”.

This is the Political War that must be fought from your neighborhood to the Presidency.

Preservation of our Freedom will come down to the conversations you have with those around you.

What you can do is what you must do. Or, you will surrender your right to choose.

Is that Clear Enough?