Revisiting the Pledge of Allegiance
On this day in 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance. For most of us, the Pledge was part of the daily school ritual. But today, schools across the country either modify the Pledge to remove “potentially offensive” words or ban the recitation all together.
Instead of writing about the Pledge, I recently came across this article by iconic entertainer, Red Skelton, which sums it up so nicely.
Commentary on the Pledge of Allegiance
by Red Skelton
As a schoolboy, one of Red Skelton’s teachers explained the words and meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance to his class. Skelton later wrote down, and eventually recorded, his recollection of this lecture. It is followed by an observation of his own.
I - – Me; an individual; a committee of one.
Pledge - – Dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self-pity.
Allegiance - – My love and my devotion.
To the Flag - – Our standard; Old Glory ; a symbol of Freedom; wherever she waves there is respect, because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts, Freedom is everybody’s job.
United - – That means that we have all come together.
States - – Individual communities that have united into forty-eight great states. Forty-eight individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose. Read more
Embracing Conservative Women Essential For Long Term Tea Party Success
(Originally written for the Tea Party Review Magazine, an edited version appears as the cover story of their June edition)
One hundred and sixty-three years ago, a small group of conservative women met in Seneca Falls, New York to demand equal pay for equal work, the right to own property, and the right to vote. The so called “Seneca Falls Convention” was the birthplace for all American women’s rights battles that were to follow. These “feminists” made it clear, they didn’t want to dissolve the family structure, they didn’t want to abolish religion, and they didn’t want to punish men. They simply wanted the same legal protection and control over their work product and property that men enjoyed. Their goal, in part, was to insure that through their vote, their private opinions about the governance of their community and the country carried the same weight as that of a man.
In much the same way that conservative women in the public eye and particularly in politics today, are attacked, maligned, belittled and degraded by the mainstream media, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucrecia Mott, and other speakers (male and female) at the convention were roundly eviscerated by much of the press. Some newspapers supported Read more
The UK Calls Obama On un-Presidential Memorial Day Behavior
Fair or not, part of being a successful President is appearing Presidential. For people both here and abroad that means that the leader of the free world should be dignified in his mannerisms and respectful of traditions and sentiments. While we here in the US have been aware of distinctly un-Presidential behavior, the mainstream media still seems eager to cover up Obama’s gaffs and faux pauxs with almost the same level of devotion that they displayed in exposing and magnifying those of Bush.
The British press however, have had a distinct shift in attitude towards Obama. While they slobbered all over “campaign Obama,” their love affair with him and his family ended almost as soon as he took office. Between his breeches of protocol and etiquette, his administration’s icy attitude towards our historic ally, and his soft line on Muslim extremists, the Brits aren’t impressed.
So while the US media focused on Sarah Palin and her motorcycle ride, the British tabloids detailed Obama’s Memorial Day activities. After laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider, Obama (for the ninth straight week) headed for the links. And the British press went crazy.
For many in America, Memorial Day is more BBQs and Read more
The Photoshop Scandal That Really Matters
May is shaping up to be Photoshop month. Many Americans are scouring the internet for “real” pictures of a bullet ridden Osama, finding only Photoshopped, B-movie versions. Others examine the latest offering from the White House in the continuing saga of the “real” birth certificate that may or may not be. With YouTube videos popping up all over the place showing a step-by-step guide as to how Obama’s birth certificate “could” have been created with Photoshop, this has been a banner month for Adobe, the firm behind the photo manipulation software.
But the real scandal should be the latest Photoshopped picture. A photo snapped in the White House Situation Room, showing Obama and his advisors, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Audrey Tomason, the Director of Counterterrorism, as they watched the unfolding Osama bin Ladin operation, has received the Photoshop treatment from both Der Tzitung and De Voch, Hasidic newspapers out of New York.
Der Tzeitung (The Newspaper) and De Voch (The Week) ran the photo, but omitted Hillary and Audrey Tomason, removing them completely. The result was a firestorm of controversy as women’s groups and the White House, which prohibits official photos being altered, cried foul! Read more
Happy Birthday To Me!
Last week was my birthday. Some birthdays pass by as just another day; others have been major times of reflection. This past birthday has been the later.
About a year ago, after spending almost a decade living and working in Europe, I returned to the States. My book, “Rules For Republican Radicals” was a hit and I was asked to write for many fine publications and speak to conservative groups around the country. After being a guest on many great radio shows, on Valentine’s Day 2011, I started my own BTR show. The experience was amazing and while some shows were only heard live by a handful of people, I was thrilled to find hundreds of people downloading shows, connecting with me about the shows, and sending me tips and news that they want me to investigate and discuss.
And then I hit a bump in the road. In mid March, I was “hired” by guy to help him build a political consultancy and event planning business. This fellow had all the patter, seemed to have all the connections, and was a frequent guest on news and radio shows. I was thrilled. Having a Masters Degree in television production, this seemed like Read more
How Do You Solve A Problem Like Venuti?
Labels, Labels, liberals love a label. Right-wing Extremist. Neo-Con. Tea Bagger. It seems that few conservatives can avoid being branded with an ugly moniker designed to shame them into an easily definable (and dismissible) box.
One of the most important lessons learned by pundits, politicians, and the power hungry, at the feet of domestic terrorist and liberal icon Saul Alinsky, was the importance of disarming and disabling an opponent. In his seminal, step-by-step guide to mass manipulation and societal over throw, “Rules For Radicals,” Alinsky counseled his devotes to “pick a target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” In order to marginalize someone, to eliminate them as a threat, he explained, you have to publically humiliate them, blame them for the ills of society, make them personally responsible for something horrendous, and force them to run and hide. Honesty and integrity were simply concepts that got in the way of success. These tactics have been used to keep good men and women out of the political arena or scare opponents.
Most Republicans or conservatives are boxed and branded with the tired (but effective) “rich, old, white man.” “Rich” is liberal code for uncaring, disconnected, and greedy. Read more
Michele Bachmann Channels Her Inner Pelosi: We have to extend the Patriot Act to Find Out What’s In It.
Michele Bachmann had quite a gig going for a while. Attractive, well spoken, sharp witted with a friendly delivery, Bachmann had been a Tea Party darling from the beginning of the movement. Less polarizing than Palin, many considered Bachmann to be the best chance for a conservative Presidential contender.
The first Republican woman elected to the US House of Representatives from Minnesota, Bachmann has spent the past decade propelling herself as a smiling, non-threatening, conservative, constitutionally based politician.
But as is so often the case in politics, especially in the age of instant messages and Face book profile updates, Bachmann let the “small government” mask drop for a second, revealing the establishment Republican juggernaut beneath.
One of the issues near and dear to the hearts of Tea Party patriots nationwide is the repelation of any act whose existence is not sanctioned by the Constitution. Top on the list after ObamaCare is the rejection of the Patriot Act.
The controversial act was rushed into existence under the threat that without it, the country would be over run with terrorist. It represented the largest rights grab in American history. An understandable knee jerk reaction to 9-11, the powers that were extended to the government seemed like Read more
Luckily for Giffords ObamaCare Isn’t Yet In force
I will preface the following with this statement. What happened to Gabrielle Giffords (and the others) was a tragedy. However, as with most tragedies, Giffords’ situation in particular provides us with a very succinct learning opportunity.
It’s pretty easy to pass judgment and decide what is best for everyone else when you aren’t personally affected by the result. Over reaching politicians, eager to push their own personal agendas as well as those paid for by corporations and “private interests” so often sell off the rights of the individuals they are supposed to represent. ObamaCare, wrapped up in the warm fuzzy words of “betterment of society” is set to rob people of the most basic human right, the control over their own bodies.
Gabrielle Giffords was a proponent of ObamaCare. She agreed that the rights of millions of Americans should be subjugated to the government. She agreed that the government would be a better custodian of your medical care than your own doctor. Perhaps most ironic, she supported the idea that those who would be a financial burden to the medical system, using more than their fair share of medical resources or have (what a panel deems) a low quality of life, should Read more
GOP Unprecedented Opportunities to Reach Voters & Donors
This week, now that I’m back from holiday, I will be writing about the unprecedented opportunities that the GOP has to reach out to voters, create an effective brand, generate deserved voter loyalty, and raise both funds and awareness in this pre-campaign cycle season. At perhaps no other time in history have so many tools be available to Republicans to educate the populace and engage them in the political process. This year could be pretty exciting!
In the 2008 election cycle, Team Obama rolled out a publicity machine the likes of which America had never seen. Massive, cross coordinated events at Universities, labor union headquarters, and minority and fringe group rallies were coupled with an incredibly internet savvy marketing campaign that both engaged the audience and compelled them to become a part of the bigger event that was Team Obama. The Republicans, in comparison, appeared disorganized, outdated, and slow.
Despite Team Obama’s overwhelming success during the campaign, to reach an audience happy to support him emotionally and financially, Republicans failed to follow his lead. For some politicians, this refusal stemmed from a real lack of understanding of the technological advances that would get the message to the masses. Some politicians reveled in Read more
Opportunities in Tragedy
Within a few minutes of the Arizona shooting, politicians rushed to shove shooter Jared Loughner into the political camp of their opponents. With no motive, no warning, not even a name, the opportunity to make the murders of (at that time) an unknown number of people, political, simply couldn’t be resisted. The tragedy gave those who should have the sense to be silent and somber, a perfect opportunity to pontificate. Politicians, political pundits, and even a Sheriff pointed fingers at the right in general, and Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin specifically. “SHAME all you right wing, hate mongers!”
As is often the case, many of those who pointed fingers first and bemoaned the loudest at the “irresponsible hate speech” of those on the right, had short memories. Democrat Paul Kanjorski, the former House of Representatives member from Pennsylvania was quick to point fingers and demand that the right stop the rhetoric that he suggested led to the murders. Yet a mere nine weeks ago, Kanjorski, who lost his re-election bid, said of Rick Scott, the Republican contender for Governor of Florida, “Instead of running for governor of Florida, they ought to have him and shoot him. Read more
