Give Me Liberty

Well, Barack Obama should be pleased. The price of gas has risen nearly 33 cents per gallon in two weeks, the second-largest two-week jump in the history of the gasoline market. His plan to raise the cost of energy so high that Americans will cut back their usage and turn to more acceptable (in his view) “green energy” sources and higher mileage vehicles (like Schwinns and Mopeds) is working like clockwork.

Of course, rising fuel prices lead to rising food prices, and everything else delivered by a truck will also cost more and more as gas prices continue to soar. But that’s not really a concern for Barack, who said back in 2008, “Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.” Does anybody really think a guy who said he wanted to impose a punitive energy policy that would lead to dramatically higher electric rates would be concerned about the American people paying a buck or two (or three or four) more at the pump? I don’t think so. After all, this is a man who views the redistribution of wealth as the holy grail of public service. So taking money from Americans he never really liked all that much in the first place is likely not going to cause him to lose any sleep or cancel a tee time any time soon. And it’s not like the American economy is already in bad shape and millions of people are jobless or otherwise struggling to make ends meet. No, wait . . . people are jobless and they are struggling. Sorry, my bad.

So what should be done to prevent this madman with a grudge against the country we love from turning us into a third-world banana republic?

Well, here’s a novel concept for ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Chevron or any of the other oil companies owned and headquartered in the U.S. and now just sitting around the office with your bits in your hands. Why don’t you just drill anyway? That’s right, don’t be a pawn in Barack’s little bring-America-to-her-knees-to-make-up-for-all-her-sins-against-the-rest-of-the-world melodrama. Do what the sane among us all know is best for America—start exploiting the massive oil and natural gas resources still waiting to be tapped in Alaska, off our coasts and elsewhere in oil-rich parts of America that Barack and his liberal buddies have deemed off limits for far too long. Do whatever exploratory testing needs to be done in as many potential honey holes as possible, and then drill, baby, drill.

Pretend Barack’s not there and show the American people you guys, unlike our president, are on our side. Drill fast, drill deep and when Obama raises his voice and threatens dire consequences if you’re not cowed into submission by his wrath-of-God glare   . . . drill anyway. Just say, “We appreciate your opinion and the time you took to give it to us, but we think we’ll just go ahead with our plans. Hit ‘em straight today, Mr. President!”

Tell him you’ve got as much right to say his stopping you from drilling is unconstitutional as he has to say the DOMA is unconstitutional. If he can arbitrarily proclaim a law to be worthless, why can’t you guys proclaim his drilling bans to be worthless? Actually, on Feb. 2 of this year, federal district court judge Martin Feldman DID say Obama’s ban was worthless and held the Department of Interior in contempt for seeking to reimpose a blanket moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico in defiance of the court’s earlier decision to lift the initial moratorium. And how did Barack and his Department of Interior lackeys justify the moratorium that cost tens of thousands of jobs in the gulf and derailed energy production in the region for God knows how long? They falsified a report.  I know . . . what a surprise! But as hard as it is to believe Barack Obama and his band of fellow Chicago-style political thugs would misrepresent the views of a group of engineers, altering a report after the engineers had already reviewed and signed it, Judge Feldman said that’s what they did. And the engineers confirmed it.

It’s just another occasion where Barack and his buddies have figuratively raised their collective middle finger to the American people and the rule of law. So, what do you say we have a little fun with them and help secure our future in the process? How about the oil companies, on behalf of those same American people, raise a few oil rigs and say, “Right back at you, sir. Right back at you.”

Can you envision a scenario where Barack Obama, a sitting President, actually dispatches Navy war ships or ground troops to stop an American company from drilling on American soil for the oil we so desperately need? Can you imagine the outrage from the American people if he really called out the military and said, “NO, you will NOT get more oil for this country in a time of great need and economic crisis when our suppliers in the Mideast are about to go up in flames! Not on MY Watch! I said NO, damnit!” I can imagine it. But I don’t think Obama would do it. The American people would run him out of Washington like just one more tinhorn tyrant bent on oppressing his own people for no reason other than his own warped, Messianic sense of right and wrong.

So, come on ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Chevron . . . other oil companies. We’re counting on you. We need you. Grow a pair and choose to support America rather than Obama. You can’t do both. And you know what to do.

Drill. Drill. Drill.

—Dave Brassonez

On Dec. 19, 1998, President Bill Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. In what could only be viewed as sweet irony by those eager to see the then prez take a fall for his predatory behavior, the charges arose because Clinton earlier in his administration had signed into law provisions making it permissible for those conducting sexual harassment investigations to look for patterns of other workplace misbehavior by accused perpetrators. So, after Paula Jones filed her lawsuit alleging that our man Bill—then governor of Arkansas—had exposed himself and propositioned her in a Little Rock hotel in 1991, Judge Susan Webber Wright ruled Jones was “entitled to information regarding any individuals with whom President Clinton had sexual relations or proposed to or sought to have sexual relations and who were, during the relevant time frame, state or federal employees.”

Enter White House intern Monica Lewinsky with her now infamous blue dress, covered with SOTPOTUS (a.k.a. semen of the President of the United States). In attempting to weasel out of the Paula Jones charges, Bill Clinton did commit perjury and he did obstruct justice regarding Monica Lewinsky—repeatedly, but he was acquitted by the Senate on February 12, 1999. There were those at the time who said, “Everybody lies about sex, what’s the big deal?” But others, yours truly among them, said, “If he’d been head of IBM and done what he did, he definitely would’ve been removed from his position and, most likely, done jail time” . . . as others who committed similar offenses were doing while Bill Clinton was acquitted. I believed at the time, and still believe, it was important to publicly demonstrate there are not two sets of laws in this country, one for the Bill Clintons of the world and another for all the rest of us . . . his employers. Was I disappointed he was acquitted? Absolutely. But I was glad he was put on trial so his arrogance, his prevarication and his lack of character were displayed for all to see.

Having said all that, I have to conclude, if given the power to erase history and the ability to witness just one Presidential impeachment in my lifetime, I’d undo Clinton’s impeachment in a heartbeat in order to nail Barack Obama’s lying, socialist, America-hating hide to the impeachment wall. What Bill Clinton did, while absolutely wrong, isn’t even on the charts when compared to what Barack Obama has done to harm my country in just two short years. Clinton’s transgressions rank near jay-walking on the “worthy of impeachment” severity scale (yes, I created the scale myself). That’s right up there with Tiger Woods spitting on the green in a golf tournament. Or with Lindsay Lohan shoplifting a necklace while on probation for God knows how many other offenses. Are jay-walking, spitting and shoplifting good? Certainly not. Will they bring down the country? Absolutely not.

Barack’s crimes on the other hand—and, for someone who’s taken an oath to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies, foreign and domestic,” that’s just what they are, crimes—are more akin to taking a flamethrower into a paper factory, stampeding a herd of rodeo bulls through a nitroglycerine warehouse or sabotaging Hoover Dam so that everything downstream is washed into oblivion. In short, Obama is intentionally causing serious harm to the people of this country and the very underpinnings that have served the United States so well since its founding.

So, what’s he done that’s so bad? It would take a dozen blog entries to chronicle it all. But here’s a sampling:

He used bribery, payoffs, lies and strongarm thuggery to ram through his unconstitutional government takeover of our nation’s health care system, in direct opposition to the expressed will of the majority of the American people;

He’s continued the implementation of the health care takeover, in spite of its being declared unconstitutional by a federal judge;

He has actively opposed American energy interests by erecting road blocks to the exploitation of existing gas, oil and coal reserves, while simultaneously costing jobs (especially in the Gulf region), increasing energy costs and keeping us more and more at the mercy of energy suppliers in the volatile Middle East;

He has publicly and vocally given his support to government unions who are intent on continuing to help bankrupt this country through their outrageous benefit packages, while also using mandatory union dues to support Democrat political interests;

He has publicly proclaimed that a major flaw in the U.S. Constitution (yes, the one he has sworn to defend) is its failure to make allowances for “redistribution of wealth”;

He has refused to defend our southern border against an influx of common criminals and Islamic terrorists;

He has actively thwarted the efforts of the citizens of Arizona to defend themselves from the epidemic of illegal aliens destroying their way of life;

He has, with the help of the Democrat congress, all but destroyed the American economy and its financial reputation in the world;

He has declared that his administration will no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act passed in the Clinton administration because Barack Obama has declared the law “unconstitutional.” How many other presidents have taken on the role of Supreme Ruler by deciding which laws are and are not worthy of being defended?;

While the topic is the subject of derision among many in Washington, the fact remains that this president also has never produced a long-form birth certificate proving he was born where he claims he was. Why has he spent millions of dollars to keep the public from definitely learning his birthplace?

He has insulted and alienated two of our strongest allies and best friends in the world—Great Britain and Israel—while simultaneously groveling before Muslim nations that would destroy us if they could.

The list could go on and on, but the point is made—Barack Hussein Obama has done more harm to the United States of America in just over two years than any other President in history. And it’s intentional. He’s made it clear he doesn’t love this country and feels it is his calling to “fundamentally transform” it into the socialist state that would provide the “social justice” he views as more important than freedom.

There has never been a president more worthy of impeachment than Barack Obama. He despises this country and is doing all he can to bring it to its knees. Will anyone in Congress have the courage to try to stop him . . . by removing him from office? There may not be much more time. Our country is perilously close to being irretrievably broken.

This is far more important than a stained dress. This is America’s future we’re talking about. It’s time to impeach the America-hating S.O.B. in the White House before it’s too late. He’s got to go . . . now.

—Dave Brassonez

My grandfather left school in the 8th grade so he could work to help support his family in eastern Pennsylvania. Then, when he was needed in 1917, he put on the uniform of his country, kissed his mother goodbye and went off to war in Europe with thousands of other young American boys who’d all too soon be war-weary men. Among my most cherished possessions are a couple of lamps made from the sculpted brass casings of some artillery shells that were given to my grandfather by a French man whose family had been especially kind to my grandfather when he was alone and so far from home . . . just doing his duty in support of his country and freedom.

The war in which he fought turned out not to be “the war to end all wars,” and by the time the Japanese sucker-punched us at Pearl Harbor and brought the United States into WW II, my grandfather’s two sons were old enough to go off to war. One of them—my uncle—did go to fight, also in Europe, and returned with a gimp leg because of injuries suffered in the Battle of the Bulge. My father, now 89, is two years older than his brother, but missed out on military service because of a two-year-long battle against tuberculosis. He discovered he had the then often fatal disease following a blow to the chest in a boxing ring that led to his coughing up blood later that night. If not for the sparring session, he likely would have been one of those who never recovered from the insidious illness, because he wouldn’t have known about it until much later. But, my dad did recover and, although he was not ever in the military, it wasn’t because he didn’t try—he was rejected because of his recent battle with TB. . . the disease which, ironically, may have saved his life. But Dad served in other ways—by devoting his life to teaching and, eventually, being the president of several large universities. He served—and continues to serve—as an example of integrity, personal character, self-discipline, morality and courage. So, although he never wore his country’s uniform, my father remains the best man I’ve ever known.

And then there’s me, the next generation. The closest I’ve ever come to being in the military came during two semesters of ROTC in college. I remember once being given an orienteering assignment, along with several fellow students, to take our compasses and maps and navigate our way around the campus until we eventually ended up where our sergeant wanted us—on the 50-yard line of the football field. Sadly, my one and only ROTC strength was marksmanship, not navigation. So no one was very surprised when I shot a back azimuth that led me to the student union grill rather than the football stadium. While there, I had a Coke and a cheeseburger . . . and a few laughs. But there were no laughs on Selective Service lottery day. I was 18, and my future was being decided for me. My parents never let me see how nervous they must have been before the drawing that day, and I was fully prepared to go and do my duty—almost certainly in Viet Nam—if my number had been called. Fortunately, my number was 275, and the highest number called to serve that year was 95. I was safe.

Yet thousands of my fellow countrymen—some of them my friends—were not safe. And I found myself wondering how I would have done in combat as I watched the horror of the war on my living room TV. Would I have been able to push through my fear to do my job and fight for my buddies and my country? Could I have been a tunnel rat, and crawled down into a dark hole that could be filled with the enemy, booby traps, poisonous snakes or any combination of the three? I’ll never know, but I would like to think I would have looked inside myself to find what so many other soldiers have found when called upon.

So, with the lottery over and the war winding down, I thought I’d missed my opportunity to truly serve my country. That is, until the current administration began to systematically, intentionally, unrelentingly dismantle the land of my birth. And I realized this is my time to serve, to fight for the America I love. It’s the America I never stopped loving, even during the turbulent ‘60s when so many other kids my age were burning flags and draft cards, I still loved her and revered her flag. And as I’ve watched with abject horror and ever-increasing rage as our president and his co-conspirators lie about what America is and apologize for things it isn’t—all while spending us into oblivion—I’ve sworn that my country will not be destroyed by domestic enemies, not on my watch. And I’ve channeled into action my love of country and my anger over what’s happening to her. I’ve not done as much as many, and I can never do as much as those who’ve literally offered and given their lives to protect the rest of us. But I’m doing more than I ever have before.

That means more calls and letters to our elected officials who refuse to honor either the constitution they’ve taken an oath to defend or the wishes of their constituents. I’ve gone to marches, spent my own money and taken time away from work, driving hundreds of miles to be with like-minded patriots who’ve finally decided watching from the sidelines is no longer an option. And I confess that I’ve said to myself on more than one occasion, “Why the hell should I have to take off work, spend hours putting miles on my own car, pay for my own hotel rooms and march on Washington, just to tell people who were elected as stewards of our country to stop destroying it? Who they hell are they to make me put my life on hold to try to stop them?”

Then I’ve thought to myself, “Who the hell are you, to whine over finally having a chance to serve your country? Your grandfather and uncle put their lives on the line . . . and, but for illness, your dad would have done the same. But you can’t spend a little money and make a few calls, write a few letters and go to some rallies? Some patriot. This is your time. This is your chance to serve. For once, your country truly needs you . . . and millions more like you. Man up, and be grateful your battle lets you sleep in your own bed at night and not in a foxhole.”

And that’s what I’m doing. I’m reading about our founders to ensure that I truly know what I believe and why, so I can explain to those who are still clueless about the calamity that’s befalling us . . . and counteract those—including Barack Obama—who are intentionally lying about America and consciously trying to bring her to her knees. I’m sending money to candidates all over the country, at a time when I absolutely don’t need to be spending it. I’m putting on bumper stickers I wouldn’t have before, because I wouldn’t want someone with a different point of view to see them . . . and perhaps not hire me for a job. Those days are gone. It’s not about me anymore. It can’t be. It’s about my country and the American children who don’t even know that, unless we act, they will never have the freedoms we’ve so often taken for granted.

And in the days between now and Nov. 2, it is crucial that I don’t think “You’ve done enough . . . what’s going to happen is going to happen. Relax for a while.” Because I can never do enough, not until the America-hating socialists in the white house and congress have been stopped and thrown out of office. Even then, there will always be more to do, because they will never go away . . . ever. There can never be compromise. They must be defeated . . . over and over again.

What about you? What are you doing to serve America? If you’ve worn the uniform, you have my gratitude. But whether you have served in the military or not, there is more to be done—by all of us. Are you doing all you can to save America? If not, the time is now. Don’t look in the mirror in five years, or 10 years . . . and say to yourself, “Why didn’t I do more before the 2010 election . . . and before the 2012 election? I can’t believe my country is really gone. Why didn’t I do more?” I’ve sworn to never have that conversation with myself. What about you?

I’m not sure I’ll ever be the man my grandfather, uncle and father have been. But it’s my time to serve, to make them proud of me. It’s your time, too. Make somebody proud. Let’s save our country together.

—Dave Brassonez

I was listening to Sean Hannity’s radio program the other day when a young female caller asked Sean a simple question concerning President Obama’s programs: “Why won’t you just give him a chance . . . give him more time to see if what he’s doing will work? It’s too soon to be judging him.”  She sounded reasonably intelligent and told Sean about her high-dollar education at one private university for her undergraduate degree and another private school for her law degree. Yet, still, this “open-minded” 24-year old couldn’t see why Sean and millions of the rest of us are unwilling to sit on our hands watching quietly from the sidelines as Barack Obama “fundamentally transforms America.”

Well, perhaps I can give some simple illustrations that’ll help clear it up for her.

Let’s say you’ve just had an accident peeling a potato and you have a cut that can easily be treated with an antibiotic and some stitches. You go to the emergency room and are greeted by the excited staff who all tell you, “You’re in luck! We have a new ER physician on staff and he’s got some great new ideas about how to deal with wounds.” A few minutes later (yes, just a few minutes . . . it won’t be a few hours until Obamacare fully kicks in), in walks Barack Obama, head held unusually high, confidence oozing from every pore . . . the picture of a man who has the situation under control. And you’re his first patient . . . ever.

After evaluating your wounds, he says, “We can’t try the same old tired techniques of the past . . . we need to bleed this patient. Nurse, numb the wound area, then enlarge it with a scalpel . . . let’s get some blood out, STAT!” The bewildered patient (aka, America) is dumfounded. “Excuse me, but won’t that just make it worse? Why don’t you just stitch me up and stop the bleeding?” “Hey, I didn’t cause this problem,” replies young Dr. Obama, “but I’m fixing it my way. I’ve been brought here to bring about change . . . and that’s just what I’m doing. By the way, I see the bleeding is worse . . . nurse, cut this patient again . . . we need a bigger wound to stop all this bleeding!” The patient, of course, says, “Hey, wait a minute! No bleeding problem has EVER been fixed by making a wound LARGER! Let’s make it smaller by stitching it up!”

So, young law school graduate, should we give the young doctor “a chance . . . and wait and see” if his transformative ideas are going to work? Or do we demand that he stop bleeding the patient into a premature and all too final demise?

Another example: You—again, aka America—are strolling along the beach. Life is good, there’s safe dry land to your right and the beautiful, yet potentially deadly sea to your left. Under George Bush, we veered from the beach and started walking into the surf, a little off course, but nothing to be alarmed about. Water up to our knees, but all that’s needed to resolve this is to reverse course and stop doing what got us here. Then, Barack Obama attains leadership and his first act is to steer America out to sea. Many people say early on, “Excuse me, shouldn’t we go back toward dry land . . . so that we can avoid putting ourselves—America—in jeopardy?” “Those are the tired old ideas that got you here,” he proclaims, “ . . . and remember, I’m not the one who led you into the water. Now we’re going deeper whether you like it or not. I’ve got to save you! These are the changes you voted for.” So we go deeper, and Americans begin to say more loudly, “No! Turn around! We know you’re going the wrong way!” They are ignored . . . by the millions. After all, even though he’s never led anything before, he knows best because he is . .  . well, he is who he is. Isn’t that enough? We should just be grateful to have him.

The water is now chest high, and there is panic across the land. But instead of turning back to the safety of doing what has always worked to turn around an economy (lowering both taxes and spending), he says, “We MUST spend more. We must go deeper! And, may I remind you, I am not the one who got us here. I didn’t get us into this water! Deeper! We must go deeper!” Then, using the brilliance only he can see, he says, “It’s time to really fix things.” So he starts tossing bricks to everyone to hold while trying to keep their heads above water. “Here you go, I can see you’re almost drowning in debt, but catch this brick and hold it . . . it’s called a Stimulus Brick . . . it will save you!” Seeing that heads are going under, he thinks quickly and says, “Bricks! We need more bricks! Pass the health care reform now! And another stimulus plan! And where’s that Cap and Trade bill? These people are drowning in debt . . . we need to help them now! More bricks!”

So, dear caller, should we see if his plan works . . . or stop him now?

A final example: America is doing well, but unfortunately, this time we’re a college freshman who’s just had her third beer and has a major exam the next morning. She’s just a little drunk, but it’s nothing a good night’s sleep and some coffee won’t cure. Then, as she’s coming into the dorm, the new RA (resident assistant), Barack Obama, sees her stagger and says, “Wait, I’ll help her sober up before she gets into serious trouble . . . somebody hold her head back while I pour this vodka down her throat.” She and her friends are dumfounded . . . “Won’t that just make her drunker? Shouldn’t she just stop drinking and get some sleep? That’s what always works.” “Damnit, am I the RA of this facility or not? I’m here because of my new ideas . . . start pouring that vodka down her throat . . . now!” So, the vodka begins to flow, but she’s not getting sober . . . she’s getting more and more drunk. “More alcohol! We need more booze!” exhorts the chosen one. So they pour a stimulus bill down her throat, and a health care bill . . . and more and more and more until she’s on her knees getting sick. But Barack’s still in charge. “A funnel! She’s not getting the help fast enough, we need rum, bourbon, wine . . . and a big funnel! I didn’t get her drunk, but damnit, I’m going to save her!”

Again, young caller, should we let him keep “helping” her? Or stop him? Should we wait to see if his innovative techniques work? Even though they have never, ever worked anywhere else. Anywhere. Ever.

That’s what’s at stake in the upcoming elections . . . and in 2012. Barack Hussein Obama is doing things that any sane, thinking person who’s really paying attention knows will destroy America. He has done more harm to the country I love in less than two years than any other president in American history. We’re not being unfair by resisting; we’re being patriots. Should we “give him a chance?” Should we “wait and see if his plan will work?”

He’s had his chance. And, on Nov. 2, we’ll have ours. Vote.

—Dave Brassonez

Several years ago, my beloved and I moved into a small house on a wooded lot a few miles south of Nashville. Our nearest neighbor on one side was about a quarter mile away, and on the other side our neighbor was up on a hill about 85 yards from our house. The owner of that house was a lovely elderly woman named Mrs. Anna Jenkins (not her real name), and we soon became good friends with her. Although we didn’t do nearly as much as we should have through the years, we were happy to oblige when she’d call and say, “David, I’ve got a big bag of bird seed in the trunk of my car. Do you have time to come get it out for me and put it in my seed can so I can feed the birds?” Of course, I’d do it without fail. It was a small thing for me, and it meant a lot to her.

One time she called and said, “I don’t know if you can help me with this, but I’ve got a new walker, and my kitchen counter top is about two inches too wide for me to fit my walker between the counter and the refrigerator . . . do you think you could come trim my counter a little?” I’m pretty handy, so I went up to her house, jig saw in hand, and was able to unscrew and remove the metal trim piece on her counter top, cut an end piece away, cut and re-attach the trim and solve Mrs. Jenkins’ problem for her. It took about 20 minutes and she could not stop telling me, “Thank you! You are the best neighbor! There will be stars in your crown in heaven!” Again, it was a small thing for me, but it warmed my heart knowing how much it meant to her.

On another occasion, she invited us to go to church with her, and we did. We could not have been more warmly received or more uplifted by our experience there with Mrs. Jenkins and the rest of the congregation. They wanted to share their Christian love, and we gratefully received it.

Now, fast-forward a couple of years. Mrs. Jenkins has gone to live with relatives in Atlanta and her young granddaughter and her husband now live in the house on the hill. Since they’ve been there, there have been several occasions when their pit bulls have come into our yard, terrorizing our cats, knocking over deck chairs, picking up the work boots I’ve left by the door and carrying them off into the woods and generally creating mayhem in our lives. The first couple of times, when the dogs were still fairly young, I yelled at them and chased them out of the yard. Later, I got a BB gun, not wanting to hurt the dogs, but wanting to let them know it might be uncomfortable to keep coming into our yard, trying to kill our cats.

Finally, it happened. All of our cats are strays, abandoned by the roadside or otherwise left to fend for themselves. We’ve taken them in, given them a safe place to sleep and come to love them.  Our most recent arrival was a cat we named “Bobbi,” because she had no tail and looked a little like a bobcat. She was all affection and would climb up on my shoulders and sleep each night as I watched the news on TV.  One day as I was leaving for work, the other cats were inside and Bobbi was lounging on a chair on the deck. I patted her head and said I’d see her later . . . but I never did. I never saw her again, but I did see the pit bulls in the yard later that night. I knew what had happened to Bobbi, but I could never prove it. So I said nothing, until the night we were awakened at 1:30 by the noise of those dogs out by our side deck, attacking and mauling a cat we’d never seen before. We managed to chase the dogs away, but before we could get ready to take the cat to an all-night vet, she died on our deck. I went out in the rain the next morning and dug a hole in our pet cemetery and buried the little nameless creature.

And the next time the dogs were in our yard at night, I hollered up to our neighbors and said, “Will you please keep your damn dogs out of our yard!” They had seen us chase them out before and knew what a problem they were, but our wonderful new neighbors had done nothing. We found out later that other neighbors in the area had also been terrorized by the pit bulls. And now at least one, and almost certainly two, cats had been killed. So, yes, I yelled at the new people on the hill. I was entitled.

And what did I hear back? A piercing female voice cutting through the midnight darkness, hatefully screaming, “Shut up, you white motherf_ _ _ er!” Yes, our neighbors were black, Mrs. Jenkins was black, and the church we attended with her was an all-black church. But race had never been an issue for any of us, until that midnight when I was called a “white motherf _ _ _ er” by Mrs. Jenkins’ granddaughter.

Again, I had not been the perfect neighbor, but I had been a good neighbor to Mrs. Jenkins. We all tried to be nice people, treating others the way we’d like to be treated. That’s the way we’d all been raised. That was the way people of character are supposed to behave. That’s the essence of Dr. Martin Luther King’s message—that we should all get along together and that people should “be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

But Mrs. Jenkins’ granddaughter sees the world the way the leadership of the NAACP apparently sees it today—if you criticize anything a black person does, whether he’s the President of the United States who is intentionally leading this country into a state-controlled society Americans have overwhelmingly said we reject or a mean-spirited young woman who lets her vicious dogs run free scaring her neighbors to death, you’re automatically a racist . . . a “white motherf _ _ _ er.”

When Benjamin Todd Jealous, the 17th President and Chief Executive Officer of the NAACP, led the organization in passing a resolution last week condemning the “racist elements” of the Tea Party movement, he was basically calling me the same thing my new neighbor called me, and with just as much validity. You see, unlike Mr. Jealous, I’ve been to a few Tea Party events. And I’ve heard dozens of speakers—black, white and Hispanic—all speaking about the same thing, the despicable way our federal government is trying to control every aspect of our lives and spending us into oblivion in the process. The government is taking away precious liberties, and people of all races have banded together in opposition to it. One would think if any organization would appreciate and support a group fighting for freedom and liberty it would be the NAACP, and there was a time it would have. But not now.

Now, the organization is about dividing people and sewing seeds of hate where none exist. It’s about creating enough racial tension to get out the minority Democrat vote in the fall, because this administration’s failed policies certainly won’t do it. But, while the NAACP can provide no evidence that tea partiers are filled with hate, the tea parties I’ve attended—some with 10,000 people, one with close to a million—have unfailingly been filled with good, decent, polite, America loving people, none of whom I ever heard utter a racist word. They wildly applauded speakers—black and white—because it wasn’t about the skin color of the person at the microphone, it was about the shared ideals that were being expressed. It was about the content of the character. How sad that the NAACP no longer cares about that.

Somewhere Martin Luther King is weeping.

—Dave Brassonez

In a recent New York Times article by Robert Draper, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is quoted as saying, “The problem with the tea party, I think, is it’s just unsustainable because they can never come up with a coherent vision for governing the country. It will die out.”

Really? That’s interesting to the millions of us who’ve attended tea party events throughout the nation and had no problem at all identifying the unifying vision for America that has galvanized a huge group of patriotic citizens into a force large enough to be reckoned with and, apparently, significant enough to be mocked by RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) like Lindsey Graham. Also interesting is the fact that, as a participant in several tea party events—both local and national, I’ve never seen Lindsey Graham in attendance. I guess it’s easier to trash something from afar than to actually speak from first-hand knowledge, isn’t it senator? But, since the senator wasn’t there to see the thousands of signs, t-shirts, speeches and other clues as to what tea party attendees envision for their country, perhaps I can help clear it up. But keep in mind, there is not “a” tea party. There are many, all made up of different people with different personal stories. Yet the major issues in common have been unavoidable to those who’ve been interested enough to notice. Here’s a sampling:

Without exception, tea partiers want government to spend less of our money . . . a lot less. Our elected officials in Washington are violating every financial principle that has helped make the U.S. the most prosperous nation in history. They are flushing money down the toilet, lighting cigars with it, making paper airplanes out of it, building turtle crosswalks, taking it from people who work hard for it and giving it to those who don’t . . . doing everything possible with it, except being good stewards of the fruits of our labors. The very survival of our country is dependent on getting our financial house in order NOW. So, Sen. Graham, we’d like Washington to stop stealing our financial future for no legitimate reason.

Next, we want government to do what it’s supposed to do and not do what it’s not supposed to do. Pretty simple, huh, senator? In other words, we DO want the government to actually control our own borders and keep thousands of people—drug dealers, kidnappers and terrorists among them—from breaking into our country with impunity, only to later be given a slap on the wrist . . . along with U.S. citizenship.

We DON’T want government to arbitrarily nationalize entire industries of the private sector—health care, auto manufacturing, banking, etc.—when it is not constitutionally authorized to do so. This is a constitutional republic, not a banana republic . . . for now.

We don’t want to see one Marxist after another brought into the Obama administration as a “czar” or a “recess appointment.” One of those people might conceivably slip through the cracks during the vetting process, but when you get dozens of them, you know it’s not an accident. They are there because we have a Marxist in the White House who wants them there. That scares the hell out of us, senator. But you seem fine with it.

We don’t like our leaders bowing and scraping and apologizing for America throughout the world, and then figuratively telling American citizens to get screwed here at home when we firmly and in huge numbers tell this White House and this Congress we vehemently oppose their socialistic agenda.

That’s not all of it, Sen. Graham, but does that help give you some clarity on what tea partiers envision for their country? In short, we envision America being more like the founders envisioned it. That’s the way Ronald Reagan envisioned it, too. You remember him; he’s the president you discussed with the Times. “We don’t have a lot of Reagan-type leaders in our party. Remember Ronald Reagan Democrats? I want a Republican that can attract Democrats. Ronald Reagan would have a hard time getting elected as a Republican today.” Oh really?

Let me give you a little history lesson, Sen. Graham. Ronald Reagan did indeed attract a lot of Democrats, but the key word there is “attract.” He didn’t go chasing after them and change who he was and compromise his conservative beliefs in order to get their support. He stayed true to who he was and convinced them through the rightness of his causes and the passion in his arguments that he was right . . . and he made them agree with him. That’s the difference between the two of you. You, sir, are willing to sell whatever principles you have, if indeed you do have any, to “get along” and be seen as bipartisan. Reagan was a leader and made people want to follow him, and feel good about themselves for doing it.

And that’s one more item on the list of things tea partiers envision for America. We are crying out for another Reagan, a leader with character, passion and love for this country’s founders and the precious gift they have bequeathed to us.  Most of us are active politically today because of Ronald Reagan. The fact that you don’t know that tells me how totally out of touch you are with America.

And you, senator, certainly are no Ronald Reagan.

—Dave Brassonez

Patriotic Americans will not be pushed into the abyss by this government . . . we will resist.

For more than 50 years, patriotic Americans who’ve embraced the spirit of our Founding Fathers and the wondrous Constitution they gave us—a Constitution that limited the rights of government, not the rights of man—have been aggressively pushed and shoved toward the edge of a deep, dark abyss by those who want to have more government control over our lives, less personal freedom for American citizens, less reliance on the free market capitalism that is the financial engine that drives the world, and less adherence in general to the principles and values—hard work, self-reliance, integrity, compassion, independence, courage and godliness—that are the underpinnings of this society. And each time we have been pushed, we’ve taken a step backwards . . . usually grumbling, but aware that we are the ones who get up and go to work every day, pay our taxes and take our kids to church. We’re not the ones who protest in the streets and loot and burn cars and beat up strangers when we don’t get our way. That’s not who American patriots are. We’re just the people who make the country work.

In Bizarro World, a fictional DC Comics planet introduced in the early 1960s, society is ruled by the Bizarro Code, which simply states: “Us do opposite of all Earthly things! Us hate beauty! Us love ugliness! Is big crime to make anything perfect on Bizarro World!”

It would be too easy to say the Bizarro Code has been adopted as the mission statement of the Obama administration. After all, just because every major move the man makes is in direct opposition to common sense, the lessons of history, the will of the American people and the plainly documented intent of the Founding Fathers, that doesn’t mean he’s intentionally trying to do “opposite of all Earthly things.” It could just mean Barack Obama is incompetent as hell. However, I happen to believe it’s both. He genuinely doesn’t have the experience or temperament to know what to do in any serious situation—and when you’re President of the United States, pretty much every situation is a serious one—and on those rare occasions when he is confident of what he should do, that confidence is inspired by his all-consuming commitment to a radical socialistic agenda. America loses either way.

Sadly, Mr. Obama’s transparent attempts to do opposite of what is called for in almost every area of American life with which he’s come in contact—from health care to border security, from foreign relations to the economy, and from the war on terror to the Gulf oil spill—are not the only Bizarro World examples in our culture today.

One of the most outlandish takes the form of a warning label/disclaimer that appears on reprints of the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, Common Sense, the Articles of Confederation, the Federalist Papers and other titles published by Virginia-based Wilder Publications. Rather than have an introductory paragraph proclaiming that  . . . “this document underscores the essence of what it means to be an American. It provides the legal and moral foundations without which liberty and civility cannot exist in a society. Its principles will never be outdated, never be inappropriate, never be irrelevant as long as free men and women long to retain their God-given liberty and resist those who would lead them toward tyranny. Cherish it, revere it, teach it to your children. It is the only thing between them and despotism,” . . . the brain trust at Wilder Publications chose to warn parents thusly about the divinely inspired documents produced by our Founding Fathers:
“This book is a product of its time and does not reflect the same values as it would if it were written today. Parents might wish to discuss with their children how views on race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and interpersonal relations have changed since this book was written before allowing them to read this classic work.”

Simply unbelievable.  A warning label to parents regarding the documents that have represented hope and freedom to more people in the world than any others in all of history . . . with one exception, the Bible. That, of course, begs the question, can a King James version of the warning be far behind? Yes, the Bible, the book that was literally at the core of every school curriculum for the first 100 years of America’s existence. Now, it can’t even be read in many school lunchrooms . . . on a student’s own time.  Welcome to Bizarro World.

It would be interesting to know how Wilder would feel about warning labels in books like Heather Has Two Mommies or Earth in the Balance or perhaps a disclaimer in the school catalogue of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., advising that the school’s Dean Katherine Ragsdale has proclaimed “Abortion is a blessing. I want to thank all of you who protect this blessing—who do this work every day . . . all of you. You’re engaged in holy work.” Think it might be good to have parents know about that before they cough up thousands to send their kids there to study “divinity?”

So, “The book doesn’t reflect the same values as it would if it were written today?” Perhaps the crack team of editors at Wilder should get out more. Do they even own TVs? Are they aware of the Tea Party movement? There is evidence mounting each day that millions and millions of people not only agree with the Founding documents, but try to live by their principles and values every day of their lives. Did the editors of Wilder go to Washington last Sept. 12? I did. And I was one of about a million people there who embrace and revere the small-government structure and values set forth in our founding documents. If anyone’s out of touch, I’d say it’s the editors at Wilder.

And, of course, Barack Obama. This is a man who does the opposite of what is good for America, because he believes more in socialistic change than in the God-given rights outlined in our founding documents. Rather than supporting large segments of the free-market private sector—the health care industry, the Gulf oil industry (and all the restaurant owners, fishermen and department stores who depend on it), the auto industry and others—he chooses to do all he can to bring them to their knees. That, of course, enables him to justify swooping in to bring the “fundamental transformation” Karl Marx would be proud of. Yep, Welcome to Bizarro World.

Perhaps there should have been a warning label on Barack Obama before the election. How’s this sound?
WARNING: This candidate is a product of a socialist/Marxist upbringing, America-hating black nationalist “religious” training, and may or may not meet the legal citizenship requirements to be elected President. He does not support the same values as the Founding Fathers of America and the vast majority of Americans living today, and he believes America is the problem in the world rather than the strongest national force for good in the history of the world.

Wouldn’t that have been helpful to know before voters pulled the curtain in the booth? They’ll know next time.

—Dave Brassonez

On June 2, Spike Lee had just about had enough of this President not being forceful enough in dealing with the Gulf oil spill. So a frustrated Spike told CNN viewers he just wanted Barack Obama to “go off” on somebody. And, less than a week later, our fearless leader made it clear to the Today show’s Matt Lauer that he’d heard Spike’s admonition and was ready to act . . . sort of. “I don’t sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar, we talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers—so I know whose ass to kick,” the president said. Yep, Spike, he heard you. And as soon as he can figure out who he’s supposed to be angry with, the full fury of Barack Hussein Obama will be unleashed.

Perhaps the President should look to his inner circle of government officials who have delayed, impeded and obstructed the cleanup of this spill—onshore and off—to see where the ass kicking should begin. What about the Army Corps of Engineers “experts” who have strung along Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal for weeks as he’s waited less and less patiently for approval from the feds to build sand barriers to keep oil out of Louisiana’s marshes? Let’s get this straight . . . the federal brain trust is evaluating the potential environmental impact of creating the barriers while knowing FOR SURE what the massive impact will be without them? Or how about the EPA officials who’ve been to visit a factory in Maine that can crank out about 90,000 feet of booms EACH DAY to contain the spread of oil. There have been multiple visits, but no order has been placed yet. Why not? Is Obama kicking the asses of his people who would rather ensure the destruction of our coastline by making sure every bit of federal red tape is complied with in full than be seen actually doing something to prevent additional damage to beaches and marshes? Nope, he’s not. But never fear, Barack’s administration had already found some asses to kick in late May—before Spike even told him to “go off”—and he’s kicking them hard.

How, you ask? By imposing a moratorium not only on all new deepwater drilling and exploration in the Gulf, but by shutting down all current deepwater drilling operations. Yep, Barack and Dept. of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar have kicked the ass of every man, woman and child depending on those jobs to pay rent, mortgages, light bills, food bills, car loans, school tuitions and more simply because he wanted to be seen as doing something, as acting forcefully. Of course, it’s totally irrelevant to this President that shutting down a deepwater drilling operation is far more dangerous than continuing it. The Deepwater Horizon rig was in the process of being shut down when the explosion occurred that took 11 lives and led to the massive oil leak that continues to this day. In the pantheon of logical decisions, his would rank right up there with closing all bridges in America because of a single bridge related accident. Or how about taking all cars off the road because of a single fatal auto crash? Or banning the sale of all food because of some spoiled burger meat in a mini-mart in Chicago? With his vast business experience, perhaps the President is unaware that the big state-of-the-art oil rigs that he’s shut down in the Gulf will not simply sit there idle until he deems it safe for them to begin operating again. They will go elsewhere, most likely to areas in the North Sea and West Africa, where they’ll begin drilling operations for someone else and likely remain for years, regardless of when or whether the moratorium will be lifted.

As if that absolutely asinine decision by Barack and his Interior secretary weren’t bad enough, Salazar actually lied about the recommendations given by seven experts brought in to help decide on a course of action in the Gulf. He didn’t insert the two-paragraph recommendation of the moratorium until after all of the experts had already signed their report, in effect having them on record as endorsing a course of action they, in fact, don’t agree with. What a surprise, someone in the Obama administration is playing fast and loose with the facts. Who would’ve believed it?

And then, raising the ante in the game of Chicago-style thuggery also known as his administration, Obama had the unmitigated gall to say BP should be responsible for all economic impact as a result of the moratorium . . . the moratorium put in place not by BP, but by BO. Unbelievable. But it’s yet another example of Obama trying to kick the ass of someone who’s not responsible for the mess Barack’s creating. And, in most cases, it’s the American people who are on the receiving end.

He wanted to kick aside the greatest health care system in the history of the world, and it’s our individual health, our wallets and our personal freedom that will feel the full impact of his radical boot. Same with the auto industry, the student loan industry, the banking industry, the mortgage industry and God knows how many other industries he’s decided to nationalize today. He’s kicking the ass of the free-market capitalism that made the U.S. the most prosperous nation in history and systematically replacing it with a brand of socialism that has never worked anywhere . . . ever.

Fortunately the American people are waking up and becoming more and more convinced each day whose ass truly needs to be kicked . . . right out of office. And it’ll happen in 2012 . . . or sooner.

—Dave Brassonez