The Second Coming of America

Inspiration comes at the oddest of times, much as a revelation does to a devoutly religious person. A moment presents itself like a whack against the forehead, and the recipient is struck with a moment of ultra clarity.

I was sitting outside tonight enjoying one of the simple pleasures left to us, an after dinner smoke. That's right, I consumed a tobacco product in the relative sanctity of my back yard after a very enjoyable dinner of red meat coated with a thin layer of table salt, and baked potatoes moistened by a quarter stick of real butter.

I sat, smoked, and reflected on the state of our being here in the U.S. As the incandescent light relieved the sentry of nature's illumination, it occurred to me that there were many, just like me, who were doing exactly what I was doing at that very moment. Then I imagined that many of them were feeling that they were the only ones doing so. Upon further reflection, I believe my imagination, and find that it's a sad statement about our state of being.

As the ember of my sinful treat advanced, threatening to singe my knuckles, and as the Moody Blues' cold-hearted orb ascended to its temporary throne in the evening sky, something became clear to me. We have been hiding. We have not been merely too busy to get involved in our state of being, we have actually been shuttered in our homes, hoping that morning would bring a return to sanity. Yet everyday we arose, parted the curtains, and saw the same ruins outside, only slightly more advanced each time.

Feeling isolated we waited, we hoped, we prayed, and yet, no one came to save us. So we sought the solace of one another and found, to our amazement, an army of people who were not only ready to mobilize, but eager to do so. The Left, meanwhile,  had enjoyed the free reign of the battle fields, eventually thirsting for combatants when they became scarce, staggering around with arms outstretched, arrogantly daring challenge. Finally, filled with a false sense of invincibility, they dropped their cloaks with a defiant sneer.

The only problem was...no one reported it. The media treated it as a local turtle race. People all over America who had not engaged in the battle and, therefore, had no sides to choose, carried on as if nothing had happened, and they continue to do so. Deriving all of their information from "sources" more concerned with the ultimate fate of faulty celebrities, a multitude of voters marched forward unaware that their country had been seized by Socialists.

It wasn't until the election of Barack Hussein Obama - an event which consummated the Lefts complete control of the government - that boldness quickly turned to arrogance and unprecedented hubris. It was clear rather quickly that the governed no longer mattered. Even more shocking, however, is how we are now cast as the extremists.

It should be noted that by dropping the charade of incremental steps, the Left has done us a very big favor by suddenly lurching toward a transparently Socialistic brand of governance, even if the media still does not recognize it. We know it, and many who were mildly sympathetic to the Democrats philosophy also have realized it.

For those like me who were initially angry that we allowed the media to foist candidate John McCain on us, I now say that we owe a huge debt of gratitude to them. I believe that we are about to witness a Conservative renaissance that may just last for decades, all because we gave the Left a brief moment in history in which to experiment with their foolhardy agenda. As we are seeing, the people do not like it.

As a chill breeze stirred above in the canopy of leaves, I stubbed out my cigarette and glanced at the moon, suddenly filled with a new hope. It was a hope much, much different than the brand offered in the 2008 campaign of Barck Hussein Obama, and I grinned at the irony of the phrase that suddenly occurred to me; "we shall overcome".

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Someone to Watch Over Me

Some three hundred years ago, the British Empire colonized North America, extending its control beyond its shores over the pilgrims who fled to ours. The Kingdom insisted that its subjects needed to be ruled lest they dissolve into anarchy and lawlessness. It is arguable as to what the true intent may have been, whether genuine concern for the well being of the citizenry, or fear of a diminished reign.

What the Founders proved was that men did not require the laws of other men to forge a successful nation so long as they followed the one shepherd who provided all the guidance they would ever need. These truths, self evident as they may have been to the Founders, had to be forcibly proved to an angry kingdom.

The odds that the Revolutionary Army surmounted to ultimately triumph over a vastly superior force were significant, and the victory must be considered as that of Providence. Perhaps even more amazing is the fact that the same men who exhibited not only a fortitude well beyond ordinary human expectations - and a strategic acumen that confounded the most brilliant generals of the British Army - were also the same men who crafted the most successful and prosperous society the world has ever known.

Some would argue that ancient Rome was the model for the United States, but even Rome, despite its legislative body, was subjugated by a Caesar, or King. Further, no country has ever risen to the heights of the United States so quickly.

A reader recently posed a two-part question to me in the comments section regarding the Tea Party and its purpose. Jennifer of Finding My Way wrote:

What exactly does the Tea Party think makes this country great?

And

How will they set the course towards that goal?

I will answer as best I can, though I am not the spokesperson for the Tea Party, as the Tea Party has no official spokesperson. However, my understanding of the movement is that it was self governance and self sufficiency that made America great. The Founders proved that ordinary men could create a society devoid of a ruler so long as God - or the Creator, if one would prefer - is the One we strive to please. They demonstrated that free men governed only by virtue and honor could not only survive, but thrive and prosper.

Despite the brilliance of the genesis of America, a simple truth cannot be denied, and that is this; no matter the best intentions of Man, the heart is easily corrupted by riches. What the Left has done in the last century is to capitalize on this unfortunate truth in an attempt to blame not the heart, but the system, for it is much easier to change the system than the heart. All that is required is the vilification of the system to a populace eager to deflect personal culpability, and there is a clamoring for change.

So, to address part two of Jennifer's question, vague as it may have been, I can only say this; assuming that "that goal" is the restoration of virtue and personal responsibility, the Tea Party is striving to remove from office any so-called "representative" who has accomplished nothing more than personal wealth and the propagation of what ails this great nation. The goal is to reinstate the sense that we are each responsible for our own success while merely being encouraged to aid the less fortunate, not expected to do so.

What made this country great, then? It was the idea that men could live in liberty using nothing but their own faith and morality to guide them, trusting in the will of the Creator as justification for their deeds. The blessings we have enjoyed should be proof enough that we had managed to please Him by those deeds. By the same token, our current ills - while easily blamed on the wicked - can be directly connected to His displeasure.

If all of this is too cryptic, let me sum it up more succinctly. When we were still in our infancy as a nation, we enjoyed the liberation from the Crown of England. We got as rambunctious as teens left to their own devices for a few hours on a Friday night, but we learned quickly. Then the nefarious amongst us noticed that there were some who needed to be led, and they quickly stepped in to fill the void, though not out of a benevolent love for their fellow man, but out of a narcissistic need for power.

My assertion is that the Tea Party has finally witnessed this travesty long enough, and has said, "enough!" We believe that we have Someone to watch over us, and that we can manage our own affairs quite nicely. Washington DC has its purpose, but it is most assuredly not that of King.

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Storm Season

In 1992, when Bill Clinton defeated George H.W. Bush for the presidency, the Liberal/Progressive movement was still akin to a teenager living at home, not quite ready to take on the world or America. Or perhaps like a seedling still fighting for survival and moisture from the soil. Certainly the seeds were rooted, but all that had managed to pierce the soil were tiny sprigs of flora. And it didn't take long for the Republicans to realize that what was growing were weeds. 



When then-Speaker Newt Gingrich engineered the Republican takeover of Congress, the mood of the country then was seen as tumultuous, but in retrospect, it was little more than a tropical depression. Clinton eventually won a second term in office, but the subsequent years did nothing to aide his Vice President in his own bid for the office. Al Gore lost to George W. Bush, and the Republicans were once again in control. 



The Bush 43 years started out rough, got better after the terrorist attacks of 2001, and then went steadily downhill, partly of his own parties doing and partly because of a resurgent and emboldened Liberal/Progressive movement. Not only had they grown up - for lack of a better term -but they were encouraged and abetted by a once watchful media. In 2006, the Democrats once again swept the Republicans out of Congress. 



With the press firmly planted in their pockets, the Democrats set about putting the final nail in George W. Bush's political coffin, and people most reliant on "traditional" media sources were fed a steady diet of misinformation. Combined with the approaching end of Bush's second term, Barack Obama was groomed and prepared to complete the ultimate destruction of the America we have come to know and love. All of the ingredients were rapidly falling into place for the ultimate storm. And it has arrived. The Democrats just didn't know what they were creating. 



As they immediately embarked on their ambitious mission with a level of hubris once unthinkable, they sparked the beginnings of this storm. Raucous town hall meetings last summer were just the beginning, and they were brushed aside by the targets of the people's ire as a minuscule dissatisfaction among a minority of their constituents. So arrogant were these alleged servants that they still believed the silence of the Right was somehow an indication of their non-existence. 



When more people began to amass at rallies, Democrats began to notice, but settled for putting away the patio furniture in case it "got a little windy". Eh, then they started using masking tape on the windows, then plywood. Eventually, they tried to do what they assumed Bush should have done in 2005 regarding Hurricane Katrina; they tried to divert the coming onslaught. 



Recognizing that there was undeniable danger headed their way, Democrats and their media cohorts began trying to paint the Tea Party storm as a pack of angry, white racists, grossly misinformed by an equally angry, white alternative media, aka Fox News and talk radio.They lied about racial epithets being hurled at black Congressmen during the Health Care debacle, and they accused Tea Party folks of spitting on these members of Congress. The complicit media deliberately under reported crowd sizes at Tea Party demonstrations. Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh were routinely attacked as racist goaders somehow manipulating the racist Americans who wanted nothing more than to have their country back. And still the storm approached, unflinching. 



Now the Democrats are flailing wildly, certain that the fierce winds swirling around them will sweep them into oblivion. My advice to them is to cease the struggle and surrender to the inevitable. Oblivion is your future, at least for now. What we have been witnessing this election season is proof that the majority of Americans still are faithful to the love they embraced for her at her inception. 



Tea Party candidates have been routinely posting primary electoral victories in races they were declared to have no business winning. Rallies have been getting larger and larger. The people have actually begun to ignore the snide insults of their Democrat Representatives as meaningless, senseless rhetoric from soon-to-be insignificant men. 



Even the Republican Party in Delaware yesterday declared that it would not support the Tea Party victor in that states primary for Senator. Christine O'Donnell defeated moderate Republican Congressman Mike Castle, who was predicted to win easily. So upon hearing that the RNSC would not fund her campaign, grassroots supporters crashed O'Donnell's campaign website trying to donate on their own. The RNSC eventually reversed itself, and will now endorse O'Donnell. 



Media folks are now trying to portray this as a fracture in the Republican Party, one that will dull the advances the Republicans make in Congressional seats this year, but they fail to recognize that the Tea Party is not a third party, but a consortium of Republicans who are fed up with the "establishment" party. 



Barack Hussein Obama was seen as the final piece of the Cloward-Piven puzzle, the catalyst that would place the final straw on the proverbial camel's back, causing the collapse of the American economic structure and finally setting in motion the rebuilding in the image the Progressives have long sought. There are two key components that they never anticipated, however. The resilience of the American people, and the tensil strength of the foundation of our great nation.



While Obama has delivered everything that the disciples of Cloward and Piven had expected, America has stood much like Rocky Balboa did against Apollo Creed. Defying the laws of physics, - or, in this case, economics - she has refused to go down. Yes, the support beams groan loudly in protest, just as Rocky's legs begged to betray him, but they have not buckled.



As the next forty-eight days advance, the Category 5 hurricane that is the Tea Party movement seems poised to cleanse the air in Washington just as a good storm does the stagnant, humid air on a typical summer day. November 3rd is a day, therefore, that I forecast will be clear, crisp and dry.

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Glenn Beck: The Most Dangerous Man in America

To begin, I must apologize to any Liberal who may happen to stumble across this article and subsequently end up smashing their computer or monitor. I understand that the name Glenn Beck combined with the title will cause involuntary giddiness and tingles running up some legs, but this is an exercise in appreciation for the man, not condemnation. Sue me; if you get anything, we can split the proceeds.

I'm not quite sure what the intent was in Beck's genesis...what he hoped to achieve or accomplish, or what his ultimate goal was upon setting about on his career. If it was a plot designed to cause premature baldness in both male and female Liberals, consider the mission accomplished. Since he seems to only just be gaining speed, I'd say aggravating Liberals was not it.

Perhaps he has moved the goalposts as God has guided him, which would seem a more plausible evaluation of his accelerating success and popularity. Maybe it would be even more accurate to suggest that he has merely followed the goalposts as God Himself has moved them. Wherever the credit is due, it is becoming increasingly clear that Glenn Beck's influence on people is growing exponentially and his believability gaining ease among viewers. He is...convincing.

Beck has succeeded in combining evangelism with education, opening the eyes of many people who have either been mentally sedentary through advancing age and the pressures of everyday life, or relatively recent graduates who have passed through institutions that have fed them selective history. The beauty of it all is that Beck's audience doesn't simply absorb his message as gospel, but is driven to investigate his "claims" on their own. They have finally begun to learn.

As for the evangelical aspects of Beck's message, he has instilled, at least in me, a sense of acceptance. As a Christian, I have always believed in God and Jesus, but I have not been devout in my beliefs. I've viewed the word of God as something I should hear directly from Him and have thus avoided the proselytizing of men, often considering them as somehow "hokey".

Beck has managed to make the message palatable to even someone like me, who is certainly not alone in my method of worship. So it must be considered that he has bridged a gap between many people who were receptive to God's message while resisting the mode of delivery. That, in and of itself, is something of a miracle.

So as the 8/28 Restoring Honor Rally has come and gone, and as the myths predicted by the Left begin to peel away like the scales of a molting snake, Beck has become the most dangerous man in America, at least to the Left. He has exposed more people to the truth of America's founding than hundreds of teachers, all in the past few months. He is lifting the veil placed over the eyes of many of us, both young and old, and people are beginning to see clearly for the first time in their lives.

Beck has created a thirst for knowledge that hasn't existed for far too long, the kind that is unquenchable by the regurgitation of State-controlled "teachers" and satisfied only by self discovery, the most gratifying type there is.

Yet another by-product of the recent works of Glenn Beck is the forging of alliances and friendships once considered impossible. Whites are more comfortable expressing their legitimate grievances with societal issues, unafraid of being misunderstood by their black counterparts. Blacks are beginning to realize that these whites are not the enemy, but rather the best friends they could hope for, sharing the same values despite the visual differences.

Once the bonds of these new allegiances are cooled and set, they will prove most formidable when standing in stark opposition to the propaganda machine of the Left. Predictably, once that race well has been pumped dry, the left will drill on the Southern border, as they have already begun to do. They will pit Hispanics against the new federation of blacks and whites, as Liberals and Progressives cannot succeed without a victim class and voter base.

It is for this reason that Glenn Beck may not be the most dangerous man to America, but will be considered by the Left as the most dangerous in the America they so desperately wish to create.

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First, the Sleeping Dog Growls

The old saying goes, "Let sleeping dogs lie", and it is a moral that suggests that disturbing the sleeping dog may result in a violent reaction from the hound and an unhappy ending for the disturber. Nevertheless, some simply can't resist repeatedly poking the poor slumbering animal and shattering the peace.

In the case of the so-called Mosque at Ground Zero, we are being told that if Imam Rauf is convinced to move its intended location, such a move will inflame and enrage Muslims worldwide into violent acts. This would seem to suggest that merely capitulating to the wishes of the Imam would "save" us from such a reaction.

We're also told that preventing the Pastor from Florida from his planned burning of the Qur'an would likewise head off a violent reaction by Muslims. Never mind that those reactions are already taking place despite the fact that no Qur'ans have yet been harmed. Muslims around the world have frequently proved that a catalyst is rarely needed for the flames of outrage to burn.

Christians and Jews are the figurative sleeping dogs of the world, wishing for nothing more that peaceful slumber and safety. At various times throughout history, such a placid existence has been misconstrued as weakness, and the Muslims have awakened them with sharp and intrusive sticks. The only provocation for such behavior has been those wishes and a reticence to become engaged in conflict. Eventually, however, the dog is sufficiently angered into action, abandons the warning growl, and attacks.

Leading up to the Christian Crusades, Muslims were on a continuous course of conquest, pushing the Christians further and further back into retreat until finally the Christians declared that enough was enough, and pushed back, hard. To blame Christians for some foul deed would be akin to faulting the kid who has been punched in the back of the head ten times by the kid sitting behind him, and who finally strikes back.

Misguided Liberals who attempt to suggest that the actions of the United States are responsible for Muslim anger must be asked specifically which actions those might be. Are Muslims angry at us for saving countless Muslims in Kosovo? Are they infuriated at our audacity for saving the Kuwaiti Muslims from Saddam Hussein? Perhaps our collective charity towards Indonesia after the tsunami was presumptuous and misguided?

These must be the things that prompted the embassy and barracks bombings in Libya. The bombing of the U.S.S.Cole must have been retaliation for our philanthropy. The destruction of the World Trade Center and the murder of 3,000 people must be characterized as retribution for our magnanimity and generosity. And of course, our arrogant indignation of those attacks must have triggered the Bible burnings, Church desecration and Crucifix destruction in Gaza in 2007.

Oh, you never heard about that? That is not surprising, since attacks on Christianity seem to be in vogue, and are obviously considered "understandable" by a self-loathing media. But in the summer of 2007, shortly after their victory over the Fatah Party in Gaza two years earlier, Hamas focused their attention on all things Christian, having ransacked, burned and looted a school and convent that are part of the Gaza Strip's small Romany Catholic community. According to the website Associated Content,

Father Musalam additionally told The Jerusalem Post that the Muslim gunmen used rocket-propeled grenades (RPGs) to blow through the doors of the church and school, before burning Bibles and destroying every cross they could get their hands on.

Yet there was no worldwide outcry over this, not was there any violent reactions from Christians. But we have to be concerned over one pastor who has been poked with the stick enough times to want to burn a few Qur'ans? What if we allow the Mosque to be built right where the Muslims want? What if we stop the Qur'an burning? Will Muslims stop attacking us and come to tea? Highly unlikely.

People of the West are growling on the porch, and it may not be much longer before radical Islamists discover that they have awakened something that will bite. Of course, the rest of the world will blame the dog.

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I Want Your Money

A new movie coming out this fall. Looks like it's going to be a hit!

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Missing the Symbolism of Cordoba

The battle continues to rage over the proposed Islamic Center a mere few hundred feet from the site of the worst attack by Muslim extremists ever perpetrated on U.S. soil., the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York. Nearly three thousand people perished that day at the hands of a dozen and a half radical Muslims, but the after effects propel the numbers of both perpetrators and victims into untold numbers.

The argument now is over the Constitutional right of Muslims to build where they want in America as compared to other religions, but those opposed to this building acknowledge readily, as true Americans would, that right. But as the after effects of that day linger, the extended families of the victims and the multitudes who were captured on film dancing in celebration as the towers burned and crumbled have only seen their gulf further divided. To the latter group, the day symbolized a huge victory.

To them, that was only stage one of the battle, unarguably a battle for which they could claim success. They blew one by us, and as a movie character once said, "Savor the flavor, kid, 'cause it ain't gonna happen again". Undeterred, some still try.

Imam Rauf, at the heart of this proposed building, insists that his is a mission of "bridge building", a gesture of good faith toward the non-Muslims of America and, by extension, the West. He claims an attempt to demonstrate that compassion can overcome contention, but when met with passionate opposition, turns to stone and cold defiance. Despite the fact that the opposed have done so peacefully, the Imam has dug in his heels and refuses to move.

After a huge outcry from the public and the blogosphere - which has been portrayed as a collection of imaginative juveniles by a nervously envious mainstream media as crazed - the group behind the "Ground Zero Mosque" has strategically changed its name of the project. When the comparison of the "Cordoba Initiative" to the Conquest of Cordoba in Spain in the eighth century was too much to bear, the project name was changed to Park51.

As I pointed out in Cordoba Sounds Nice a month ago, Cordoba was designed to sound more European and romantic to Americans than what its meaning actually held. It was a tactical error by the good Imam and his cohorts based on the assumption that we, Americans, were all fat, dumb and happy. Now that they are discovering the opposite, and as they realize their counter claims that we are merely crazy won't work, they have cleverly changed the name of the project. But they're really not as clever as the change might otherwise indicate to the few who are exactly as the Imam thought.

Steve Malzberg of WOR Radio 710 in New York brought this up a few days ago on his afternoon show, and while I'm not quite sure of who is responsible for the discovery, I still credit Steve with having the courage to speak about it. To my knowledge, no one else has. Hopefully Steve will clarify the intrepid party who dug this up and apply proper credit.

But the new name, Park51, is just as Cordoba was; built for subterfuge, which is a mainstay of Mohammed and Allah in the war against the "infidel". The Quran commands lying in order to attain victory, and many still listen.

What Malzberg brought to light was a reference in the Imam's own Holy Book to the significance of the kinder, gentler Park51 name, and its relation to the message of triumph just as Cordoba held. The address of the mosque building (I refer to it as "the mosque" for expediency, even though I know those critical will complain of the label) is not 51 Park Place, as many View watchers will assume with a relieved sigh. It is actually 45-51 Park Place.

*Malzberg's account is 45-47 Park Place, Wikipedia has it as 47-51 Park Place.

Americans read left to right, Asians right to left. Presumably, Muslims read right to left, I do not claim to know, but it might account for the Park51 being derived from the latter of the address numbers. But a perusal of Chapter 51 of the Quran, versus 45-47, reveals that the message of triumphant conquest is alive in this mosque endeavor. From the know Quran website:

51:45	So they were not able to rise up, nor could they defend themselves --
51:46	And the people of Nuh before, surely they were a transgressing people.
51:47	And the heaven, We raised it high with power, and most surely We are the makers of things ample.

Considering Imam Rauf's recent assertion that this property has more significance than that of just a "piece of real estate", it must be considered that he means something else. Perhaps the significance lies in the numerical address of that property. It is, after all, about symbolism. 

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