That's Texas!

Hat Tip: Gary P. Jackson

The Fretted Fate of our Founding Fathers

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

So ended The Declaration of Independence, signed by 56 patriots, all willing to die for the cause of freedom. These men were not mere soldiers heading off to battle. They were a cross-section of men that represented the larger population of freedom-loving Americans. They were people willing to put their lives and fortunes on the line for an ideal, with absolutely no guarantee of success.

Our history has celebrated their fortitude in the face of perceived insurmountable odds. They believed that God was on their side and that He would see them through to the end, whatever it may be. More than anything, they exhibited an absolute faith in their convictions, trusting that they would be much better off in death than to live a life of supplication to a distant tyranny.

They remained undeterred by the events of armed conflict and continued to act as if failure was not an option. They toiled mightily to construct a form of government that they all could support. Out of their efforts was born the Constitution of the United States of America. They knew that winning the battle was only one aspect of freedom. They had to be ready to replace the existing form of governance to have any chance of retaining their hard-fought freedom. They began by defining the values under which their form of government would operate:

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Once designed, they augmented their form of government with certain amendments deemedt the Bill of Rights, voted on by their prescribed form of government. It is not by accident that the very first article of this Bill of Rights said the following:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

The Founders went on to specify nine other articles to further limit the scope of the government's powers for fear of what fate might befall their country if they did not so limit it. The cornerstone and insurance that protected everything they designed was the mandate for free and regular elections. To this end, they defined those elections, beginning with Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution of the United States of America:

"The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature."

Our Founders' fears for the fate of the government begins and dies with free elections. On November 2nd, we have the opportunity to put those fears aside and validate the Founders' intent. To that end, I remind you of what our forefathers pledged in their drive for independence:

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

We begin again....

The Final Act.....is just the beginning!

Remember November: The Final Act from Republican Governors Association on Vimeo.

Quote of the weekend....

Per Michelle Malkin:

"Not one more red cent of public money should go to NPR, PBS and CPB. Let the speech-squelching progressives and jihadi-whitewashing apologists pay for their own propaganda. Free the taxpayers!"

 I couldn't agree more.

Steny Hoyer Must Go!

Charles Lollar is an absolute gem and should be entrusted with a Congressional seat that replaces a 29-year incumbent that has made our problems worse during his tenure in Congress.  But that's just my opinion.

Where's Muhammad?

Can anyone help me here, or are you afraid?

BTW, Juan Williams is playing cards with Jesus in the parking lot at Fox News.

Rush: A Teanami is coming!

Rush just coined a new word today.

We need a surge. We need a surge even above and beyond what we already think is going to happen. We need to make November 2nd Obama's Katrina. November 2nd needs to be a Teanami. And with stuff like this Soros business and everything that's going to happen, all these dirty tricks that are going to happen between now and Election Day, it's not going to suppress turnout. It is going to ratchet it up. Obama's Katrina: the Teanami on November 2nd.

I agree. I really don't think Obama's Democrats and the lamestream media have a clue as to what's about to happen on November 2nd.

Pssst! I like your shirt!

Do you remember when, after 9/11, everyone had flags pasted on their cars and flying from their antennas? I had this really nice magnetic flag on the back of my truck. Unfortunately, it disappeared a few years after 2001 after I went through a car wash. I didn't notice that it was missing for a few days and by then, well, it was long gone from the car wash.

When I attempted to replace it, I couldn't find anything like it ANYWHERE! It was like a passing fad that was oh, so not now. I was so ticked off! I finally decided to hit the car stores and finally found a nice American flag sticker that replaced the magnetic one. It took me going to about 3 different auto stores before I found what I wanted.

It got me thinking. What happened to all that unbridled patriotism that resonated all over the country in the weeks following 9/11? Was it just a fad?

Last year, I attended a Tea Party event in Denton, TX on April 15th. I purchased a T-shirt that reads "Nope", featuring a take-off from Obama's hope logo. It's been in my closet for the last year and a half, until today.

I decided to wear the T-shirt this morning while meeting some family members that were visiting for the weekend, just before they left for the airport. As I was sitting at the Hampton Inn for breakfast with my visiting family, a stranger walked up to me, tapped me on the shoulder and whispered "I like your shirt".

After explaining to my family (mother, sister and two nieces) what he said and why, I was struck by the fact that someone acknowledged the sentiments of my T-Shirt, albeit rather submissively. Why?

Why did the patriotism exhibited in the weeks after 9/11 suddenly wane? Why do people still whisper their agreement toward a T-Shirt's message? What is it about conservatism that people are so timid about, yet so committed to?

Now is not the time to be timid. Now is not the time to hide your patriotism. Now is the time to fly the Gadsden flag and break out all your patriotic paraphernalia. After all, November 2nd is right around the corner.

I think I just figured out what T-shirt to wear when I vote. I'm hoping that when I do so, I'll hear "Pssst! I like your shirt!"

Barney's favorite rubble-rouser

Dan Riehl's blog alerted me to this video of Barney Frank's BF heckling Sean Bielat after a debate. Absolutely hilarious!

The Stakes Are High!

Hat tip: Bryan Gilbert

We Must Never Forget Our Heroes

Trailer: Fire From The Heartland

Hope and Consequences

I was raised with the notion that "God helps those who help themselves". The message was simple: help yourself, don't wait for anyone (or anything) to do it for you. God will help you as you help yourself. Simple.

Secondly, I remember the phrase "hope springs eternal". It was a reminder that hope is easy, but it doesn't guarantee anything.

Between these two maxims (if I can call them that), there is a very simple lesson. You can hope for everything, but what you are willing to do to attain anything?

I work in business as a consultant. My success is based on my clients' success. Whether I talk a good game or not, it doesn't matter. What matters is whether or not my client succeeds. If they succeed, I succeed. Simple.

Why does the same standard not apply to a politician? Why do "sound bites" matter? Why does a politician's intentions mean anything? I care about results. That's what determines MY success. Politicians seem to care only about telling us what they intend to do. How bizarre is that?

I don't care if a politician is articulate, I care about what he (or she) is willing to do and then actually does. I care about the consequences of their intentions and the resultant actions.

In this election cycle, I'm not particularly impressed with ANY incumbent's actions. I'm hopeful that by having paid attention and then voting my conscience, I will cause consequences. I'm only following a few maxims to do so.

The Elitists' Conservative Opinion (aka, the Frum crowd)

There is something amazing going on within the "conservative" punditry of Washington. The thinking is that Republicans are making a comeback because of the over-reaching of Democrats, but that the conservative "Tea Party" candidates won't know how to govern once they're swept into office. The answer, of course, is for the elitist set of the Republican Party to ride in and offer solutions.

David Weigel, the former WAPO journalist that was ensnared by the "JournoList" scandal, offers an interesting insight:

"I think the way a lot of Republicans are campaigning now—as resolute foes of big government who are also going to save Medicare from the Democrats—suggests that they understand the point of Grand New Party pretty well," says Douthat. They're just taking our insight, that even many conservative voters like the welfare state, and running with it in a cynical rather than a constructive direction."

It's an ingenious argument: We're not wrong. We're just not yet right. After the election, says Frum, after the GOP has recovered in record time, either it's going to have to move away from its campaign rhetoric or it's going to be unable to govern. "What happens in January," Frum says, "when the GOP majority arrives and the Bush tax cuts expire, the U.S. economy has deflationary shock, we don't have a program for pulling the economy out of inflation, and we don't have permission from party supporters or permission from voters to compromise? You have people arriving in office with highly apocalyptic vision of a president but programs they don't know how to execute on their own. It's a formula for crisis."

My question is: crisis for whom?

Tea Party candidates elected to office are going there for one reason: shrink the size of government by eliminating waste, rolling back excessive regulation, and cutting taxes, thereby putting free-market capitalism front and center in our economic recovery. Will there be roadblocks? Absolutely! The power of the presidential veto will be at the forefront for the next two years.

And what happens then?

Well, there's another election coming up. In the 2012 election, the Tea Party will be assert itself in the Republican nomination process for President of the United States. I don't believe the elitists will be able to reconcile themselves with the results.

The elitists' conservative opinion will be one of horror and shock as they realize how irrelevant their opinions really were to the American electorate. Can you say "Madam President"?