If this be Treason...

Happy Birthday, Mr. President

2010-01-20T00:33:00.003-05:00

And so it goes…

Mr. Barack Obama officially entered the world’s stage exactly one year ago today. His presidential inauguration, in keeping with the coronation theme at his party’s convention the previous summer, had the aura of an historic event. The nation’s first black president (please ignore the pigment of his mother) ushered in a new era of hope and change to a nation on the cusp of its worst economic crisis since the great depression. Things had to be done, and done quickly. And our countrymen ordained Barack Obama as just the man to do it.

Or did they?

Since Euripides, hubris stands as the nearly universal flaw in tragic theater. And the life and times so the forty-fourth President of the United States seems eerily destined to repeat the tragedy of the previous Democrat to occupy the White House. As it was then, so it is today.

Arrogance often strikes down the tallest man. Then, it was an arrogant belief personal character failings could not disrupt a country bought off by a buoyant economy. Now, it is pure unadulterated arrogance of ego. The arrogance to believe the election was about him (surprise, it was about the rejection of the other guy). The arrogance to accept an unearned Nobel Prize (surprise, it was about the rejection of the other guy). And, most tragically, the arrogance to blame all the world’s problems on the other guy (surprise, it’s no longer about the other guy).

And so, with the dethronement of the Imperial Seat of Kennedy in Massachusetts, (and the juicy irony this act may signal the end to a poorly written health care plan passed in memoriam of the late Senator), we are left to wonder: Is this the beginning of the end?

No. The beginning of the end occurred just less than a year ago. As I’ve said before, that’s when Obama jumped the shark. The beginning of the end started with his peak triumph, what will undoubtedly go down as the infamous signature of his tenure as president, the failed “stimulus” bill. Sold to the public as necessary to stave off a Depression and create jobs, we have continued to bleed jobs and, oh, by the way, the cycle of the economy can cure itself, thank-you-very-much.

Rather than the beginning of the end, we’re more likely to experience a long drawn-out final act. No matter what happens this November, Obama remains with us until 2012. He may be a shell of his former self – and may thus be re-elected – but he’ll never attain the height he reached a mere twelve months ago.

Of course, he may never realize this.

Tragedies are like that.

Happy Birthday, Mr. President.

Welcome to your personal purgatory.

Barack's Head is in the Clouds

2009-12-18T13:49:00.002-05:00

Let me get this straight. Obama goes to Copenhagen to collect a Peace prize for a peace he hasn’t achieved. He then gives a speech at the Danish capital calling for action to stop “man-made” global warming that may be neither “man-made” nor “warming.”

We can reach only one conclusion: Barack’s head is in the clouds.

Jim Carville once created a president by simply stating “It’s the economy, stupid.” My guess is Obama’s famous Blackberry does not include Mr. Carville’s number on his speed dial.

With unemployment more than 10% and no clear end to the recession in sight, there’s only one issue in the minds of Americans right now: the economy. Is the administration doing anything to prevent a repeat of 2008 when the mortgage resets come back in 2010 and 2011? Has Obama asked Congress to look at tax code tweaks that might engourage growth (and therefore hiring) in small businesses? Has the president taken actions which might elevate the stature of those visionary capitalists who will ultimately lead us out of this terrible recession?

No, no and no.

Rather than addressing the issue of collateralized mortgage obligations, BO has instead vilified the banks who had to figure out how to appease Congress by issuing these risky loans.

Rather than stimulate small business, BO has allowed Congress to overspend our budget for the sake of public-employee union-friendly “shovel-ready” projects and for bailing out the highly unionized (and dying) auto industry.

Rather than look to investors and wealth creators for innovative solutions, he has handed the check book over to Harry Reid and the whip to Nancy Pelosi in hopes of “solving” our health care “crisis” by punishing those who’ve earned the opportunity to freely choose.

In the meantime, while the economy burns, BO fiddles around with his failed European posse.

Is this the “change” America wanted?

Is this the “hope” America yearned for?

In less than a year, we’ll find out.

Today Wall Street, Tomorrow the World!

2009-10-22T15:30:00.003-04:00

I’m facing a dilemma. Is Barack Obama more like Adolph Hitler or more like Josef Stalin?

Today, our supreme leader BO, after stating no one should begrudge our good business leaders from trying to earn the most they can, immediately begrudged our good business leaders for trying to earn the most they can. It seems he doesn’t believe these people work hard enough.

Let’s see, these people, over the past 12 months, did everything possible, including convincing the government to give them money, to keep their companies afloat. In most cases, they’ve succeeded.

Apparently, BO feels they didn’t have to work too hard for their success.

This from the man who actually had the audacity to accept a Nobel Peace Prize when he admitted he did nothing to earn it?

It’s double-speak of this sort that inspired George Orwell to lampoon Josef Stalin in 1984. The scary thing, though, is BO’s blatant strategy to divide and conquer evokes the cultural tactics of Adolph Hitler. First it’s the seven companies that received TARP. After all, they took government money, so aren’t they beholden to the government anyway? But, wait! What about companies the government regulates? Aren’t they beholden to the government, too? And what about any company that has to – or doesn’t have to – pay taxes? Since the government decides who does and doesn’t pay taxes, aren’t these companies also beholden to the government?

Once we’ve established all businesses must bow to the King, then it’s a relatively short hop to acknowledge other organizations and even individuals also have no rights that supersede those of the government.

Freedom of religion? Not if it violates government policy since, as government decreed tax exempt organizations, they are beholden to the government.

Freedom of speech? Not if BO thinks you’re “talk radio.” Obama told NBC’s Savannah Guthrie: “…if media is operating basically as a talk radio format then that's one thing, and if it's operating as a news outlet that's another…” (“Obama suggests Fox News is like ‘talk radio’,” The Hill, October 22, 2009)

Freedom to associate? Not if you’re a certain individual who wants to buy an NFL team.

The right to bear arms? Let’s not even go there.

So, I hope you can appreciate my dilemma. On one hand, Barack Obama wants to implement totalitarian policies only Stalin would be proud of. On the other hand, he’s using a strategy not unlike that of Hitler.

When he campaigned on the promise of giving us a choice, little did we know…

Beatles’ Break-Up: Barack Blames Bush

2009-09-07T22:29:00.012-04:00

Partial Leak of Transcript of Obama’s Controversial 9/09/09 Primetime Presidential The Beatles^TM: Rock Band^TM Speech Confirms Glen Beck’s Accusations

The White House Press Secretary dismissed as inane the uproar over President Barack Obama’s plan to deliver a primetime speech to the nation to kick-off the official release of The Beatles^TM: Rock Band^TM, the much anticipated cross-generational video game

“I think we’ve reached a little bit of the silly season when the president of the United States can’t tell kids in America to play hard and appreciate the roots of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” spokesman Robert Gibbs told no one in particular. “I think both political parties agree that the break-up of the Beatles is something that continues to threaten our long-term economic success. The British band continues to rank among the best selling musicians of all time, despite not having released a new single in nearly two generations. Think of all the jobs the President would continue to save if the Beatles begin producing new music.”

Obama’s planned address to a joint session of Congress has its sights on rock fans and video gamers – traditionally young people who have yet to reach voting age but who remain surprisingly susceptible to velvety voiced mulattos of unverifiable citizenship. The unprecedented intrusion into an usually innocuous form of entertainment has prompted a push-back from some quarters that, until today, remained unreported by most reliable forms of mainstream media.

Conservative critics, led by media personality Glen Beck and divorcee Sir Paul McCartney, say Obama is trying to promote a political agenda and overstepping his bounds, taking the federal government too far into an industry long used to attacking the very establishment now trying to hitch its fast-falling star to the Fab Four.

Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, a potential presidential petitioner in 2012, said Obama’s speech is “uninvited.” He further suggested the president’s move raises questions of content and motive. Former Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin added in her Facebook page: “The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘Five-Star Panel’ so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their ‘ability to earn Star Power and level of melodic – and harmonic should they have multiple microphones – accuracy,’ whether they are worthy of opening locked songs or moving to the next venue. Such a system is downright evil. I mean, how long does Obama expect to keep the heart of America in the Cavern?”

Many video game shops have decided not to show Obama’s speech, to be delivered at 9pm EDT Wednesday, partly in response to concerns from fans of “So You Think You Can Dance” and “America’s Got Talent.”

Yoko Ono, artist, musician and peace activist, defended Obama’s plan to address the newest Beatles fans:

“The bottom line is we need the President of the United States of America to use his bully pulpit to talk to kids about the importance of the Beatles to help inspire kids, the unemployed and those who would be unemployed today if not for the stimulus package passed earlier this year by Congress and signed into law by Barack Obama,” she said on The Joey Reynolds Show on radio station WOR NewsTalk Radio 710 in New York.

Gibbs said former Republican presidents Ronald Reagan, who loved Donkey Kong (the Gipper called it “Bonzo Kong”) and George H.W. Bush (who was partial to “Super Mario Land”) delivered similar speeches to Congress, although they coded they’re speeches. (Historians now cite Reagan’s “across the board” and Bush I’s “read my lips” as cipher language for their respective games.) Gibbs added Obama’s speech will not be partisan but rather a chance for children to get “a little help from their friend, the President.”

The White House spokesman refused to speculate as to the motivations of some electronics merchants.

“Look, there are some shopkeepers that won’t let you play Space Invaders,” Gibbs said.

Gibbs admitted the administration understands some operators have logistical concerns with the timing of Obama’s speech as many stores on the east coast close by 9pm. The White House had plans to release the speech online Thursday so those who had homework could read it, but the leak has spun its own donnybrook.

President Barack Obama’s controversial decision to offer all Americans – and especially the young – a primetime speech to mark the release date of the much anticipated new video game The Beatles^TM: Rock Band^TM took a new twist this morning when portions of the transcript were found on the desk of the late Robert Novak. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs initially denied the authenticity of the revealed text, but after Glen Beck played a grainy YouTube video on his radio show, issued the following statement during the 11:30am press briefing:

“I admit I don’t have clarity on how it was done, but the texts I have seen seem consistent with how the President has always felt on the issue.”

A clearly smug, if not still paranoid Beck, said he would gladly accept back any of the sponsors who followed ACORN’s advice and boycotted his program – at twice the usual ad rate.

Here is an abridged version of Obama’s Speech to the Joint Session of Congress upon the release date of The Beatles^TM: Rock Band^TM: (If you need help reading this, I’ll hold your hand. No, please, I insist, let me hold your hand. Really! Yes! OK! I wanna hold your hand!)

They say, we’re in a Great Recession

You know it wasn’t me

When I, get a question

I’m gonna just blame Bush!

I’m gonna just blame Bush.

I’m gonna just blame Bush!

Oh, geez, can’t you see

That I am still your man

You won’t, drink that tea

You’ll let me just blame Bush

Now let me just blame Bush

I gotta just blame Bush

And when you hear me, it’s so good, my voice

It’s such a feeling

That I love

I’m your choice

Health Care, it’s so bad

Eight years of negligence

This is no, hanging chad

I gotta just blame Bush

But when I orate you feel happy, inside

It’s such a feeling

You won’t see

I just lied

I’ve no, accountability

You see it’s not my fault

I won’t take, responsibility

I wanna just blame Bush

I wanna just blame Bu-u-u-u-u-u-ush

(Bush buried Paul)

Thank you and I hope I passed the audition despite getting blisters on my vocal chords!

(portions of this may include reporting from Associated Press)

Malaise Forever

2009-07-25T17:36:00.005-04:00

They Expected Lincoln,
They Got Carter

In the Simpson’s episode “Marge in Chains,” the residents of Springfield hold a bake sale to raise funds to purchase a statue of Lincoln for their park. When the final sales count comes in, the organizers discover the shocking truth – their efforts have fallen $15 short of their goal. Dejected, they announce instead of a sculpture of Lincoln, the citizenry can only afford one of Jimmy Carter. The crowd riots. Once things settle down, the end credits run and we see Bart and Lisa using the statue to play tetherball. As the ball winds its way around the figure, it comes to a rest over the base inscribed with our thirty-ninth President’s legendary lament: “Malaise Forever.”

Carter delivered his speech thirty years ago on July 15^th, 1979. The dour rhetoric came to symbolize the leadership weakness of Jimmy Carter, a weakness he tried to anthropomorphize onto the American public. Unfortunately for him – and fortunately for us – true Americans don’t accept any personal weakness, even their own, as an excuse for failure. Ironically, this most noteworthy oration came almost ten years to the day after NASA’s greatest triumph. You remember NASA, don’t you? They’re the organization that gave us American heroes and the defiant phrase “Failure is not an option.”

One can’t help but wonder if we’re seeing déjà vu all over again. We’ve just past the six month anniversary of Obamerica and, well, things don’t seem to be going quite as expected. Those desperately needed stimulus funds don’t appear to have been as desperately needed as advertised. Indeed, how dare the market – and perhaps even the economy – show signs of life before Washington had the chance to spread its green manure across America’s financial pastures!

Now we’re being told we need to nationalize our health care system “before it’s too late.” Well, you know what they say about fooling me once and fooling me twice. I guess Obama’s deflating poll numbers suggest middle America has no intention of being fooled twice. These independent minded folks realize you don’t have to overhaul an otherwise successful system when a few strategically placed tweaks will do. Worse, you don’t mess with a tax system in a way that’ll discourage job growth in the middle of the worst recession in more than a generation. (About those jobs: That much needed porkulus package passed during Obama’s ascendency sure delivered as promised – not!)

So we’re now left with a despairing President grasping at straws to convince even his own party to promote his plan. I once publicly mused – oh, I don’t when, but I’m pretty sure it was right at the height of Obama-mania – that our first Kenyan President had jumped the shark. The more I read the comments from his friends and the more I listen to his famed rhetoric flourish lamely, the more I am reminded of one James Earl Carter – the last one-term Democrat president.

California Rediscovers Nashua

2009-05-22T10:08:00.003-04:00

On a crisp winter evening in New Hampshire, the presidential candidates convened for a debate that nearly didn’t come off. Just a week before, the Federal Election Commission ruled the newspaper-sponsored debate would violate election law – the media could moderate the debate, they just couldn’t pay for it. The Nashua Telegraph withdrew its sponsorship of the match pitting the party’s top two contenders against each other. The leading candidate, afresh with “Big Mo” after his win in Iowa, sighed with relief.

But the fella in the second spot had other ideas. He needed the win and the debate offered him his best chance. He did something no other candidate had ever done – he used his own campaign’s funds to pay for the debate. The leader thought his opponent made a tactical error. The newspaper’s debate had already generated controversy when it refused to invite the other men vying for the nomination. By sponsoring the debate, his rival placed himself smack dab in the middle of said controversy. The pole-sitter decided to do just that – sit and watch his chaser fidget.

The afternoon before the debate, the new sponsor called the paper desperately trying to change the ground rules to include the other candidates. The paper declined. No one knew if the debate would actually occur, so, when the moderator Jon Breen introduced the front-runner, it surprised no one to see the challenger’s seat empty. But Mr. Breen went ahead with his introductions nonetheless. As the moderator readied himself to introduce the empty chair, the defiant competitor marched onto the dais with all the other candidates lock-step behind. The bold move enchanted the heretofore anxious audience. Breen continued to announce the ground rules as if the debate would remain a two-man affair. He immediately began to ask for the first question, ignoring the bevy of politicos behind him.

The sponsor interrupted Breen, stating, “Mr. Green, before the question, you asked me if you could make an announcement first and I asked you for permission to make an announcement myself…”

Undeterred, Breen calmly requested “Would the sound man please turn Mr. Reagan’s mike off?”

The stunned crowd protested loudly and an irate Ronald Reagan shot up from his seat, grabbed the bulky microphone and angrily asked, “Is this on?” When the shouts in the room confirmed they could hear him, he sat back down and continued, “Mr. Green, you asked me if you…”

Jon Breen had had enough. Whether Reagan purposely or accidentally mispronounced his name we’ll never know, but Breen abruptly demanded, “Would turn that microphone off please!”

A miffed Reagan immediately cut himself off, looked in shared disbelief with the audience, then turned to Breen glaring, “I am PAYING for this microphone Mr. Breen!”

And the crowd went wild…

* * * * *

Many continue to believe in his “Nashua Moment,” Ronald Reagan made a statement about fairness. He didn’t. He made a gallant argument about the meaning of property rights. The United States’ prime belief holds property rights above all else. Property rights trumps politics. Property rights overpowers ideology. In America, property rights must even stands ahead of religion. Individuals may choose to subordinate their own rights for these things, but no one man, organization or institution can prevent another for exercising and enjoying his own personal right to property, a.k.a., “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

Reagan understood his microphone represented no mere instrument of political equality. Quite simply, it was his property. He bought it. He had the right to say how others could use it.

On Tuesday, May 19, 2009, the citizens of the State of California rediscovered their inner Nashua. Although we haven’t seen the media reflect on its significance, the title of an editorial in the Washington Examiner tells it all: “Warning to Obama in California Vote.” That a Blue State turned red – at least for one brief shining moment – speaks volumes as to the continued propriety of property rights in America. I could hear Reagan saying of his former constituents, “Today we did what we had to do. They counted on America to be passive. They counted wrong.”

So, ironically, the sun rises from the west. It’s morning in California. Let’s see how long it takes the idea to spread to the opposite coast.

Click here for Youtube of Reagan’s Nashua Moment.

Click here for NBC transcript of the February 23, 1980 news report.

Bring Back Dodgeball! Why "Too Big to Fail" Failed

2009-05-14T00:01:00.005-04:00

“Whatza matter you big toe,” Danny incomprehensibly teased, egging me to wing the ball at him. His flaming red hair and daring blue eyes proved a compelling target. Danny wasn’t stupid – but neither was I. As all fourth graders knew, Danny caught every ball thrown his way. And in Dodgeball, that means you’re out, he wins. The cool lake breeze evaporated the sweat from my forehead as the sun beat abnormally hot that spring day on the elementary school playground. The recess bell moments away, I made my decision quickly.

With the deft eye of a future quarterback, my face feigned throwing the ball into Danny’s broad chest and stocky arms. He bought the ruse and, as I cocked my arm back, I could see his biceps tense. Kids usually thought if they threw the ball hard enough right at him, Danny wouldn’t catch it. Danny always caught it. With a snap release I flicked the ball directly at… his feet!

Stymied by the misdirection, Danny froze. The ball bounced harmlessly off his shoe. The bell rung. I had won.

* * * * *

Six years later, on the hardwood deck of the high school gym, I found myself in Danny’s shoes. Faced in an identical Mexican standoff, I stared at my opponent’s eyes like a preying defensive back. Prepared for anything, his launching of the ball for my lower leg did not surprise me. Its speed, however, did. I quickly slipped my feet behind me and fell forward, curling above and around the oncoming missile. I carefully watched the path of the fleshy projectile, first as it sailed beneath my torso, then as it shot under my quickly rising sneakers. I watched it all the way – at least until my teeth slammed into the unyielding floorboards.

My head ricocheted back, sans two front teeth. My classmates immediately surrounded my dazed body. The first thing I remember seeing were pieces of my shattered front teeth strewn across the shiny wax floor. When asked how I felt, I calmly but matter-of-factly answered, “We won.”

* * * * *

They don’t play Dodgeball in public schools anymore – and not just because kids can get physically injured. No, Dodgeball fell out of favor during the era where “self-esteem” became the mantra. “Don’t let Johnny lose, it’ll hurt his confidence.” “Let’s give everyone a trophy for participating.” “Just giving awards to winners might deflate the self-assurance of the losers.” “Better yet, let’s not have ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ at all, because, really, aren’t we all winners?” “Yes, society has certainly grown out of the ‘macho’ phase of testosterone.” “Why can’t we just all get along?”

And so, out went the virile excitement of Dodgeball and, with it, the grandeur of achievement, and in came the tepid feel-goodness of equality and the glorification of the victim. “Jane shouldn’t get too far ahead of the rest of the class.” “She don’t need help like those less bright, she’s smart enough to figure it out for herself.” “We can’t hold him accountable given his depraved background.”

We went from “defining deviancy down,” as Daniel Patrick Moynihan once declared, to the “dumbing down of America” as the Washington Times wrote last year.

One need look no farther than in the actions of our financial markets and those investors who had unrealistic expectations. We see it in the government forcing lenders to give money to borrowers who couldn’t afford to pay back those loans. We see it in the banks who didn’t envision losing and willingly gave money to borrowers who couldn’t afford to pay. We see this in the borrowers themselves who, fed on a steady diet of “self-esteem,” never assumed they could lose. Hadn’t any of these folks ever played Dodgeball?

Worse, we see it in the quixotic investors who believed in the fantastic returns claimed by Bernard Madoff’s apparently now obvious Ponzi scheme. What a perfect investment! Everybody wins, nobody loses!

Though I now sport a “White Bridge of Courage” from my childhood antics in the game of Dodgeball, that particular arena left important lessons: Life produces winners and losers; and, its corollary, sometimes, when something seems too good to be true, it really is too good to be true.

In truth, when you play the game called “real world” you either win or lose. Pretending this axiom no longer exists only leads to – well – what we’re reading in today’s headlines. The Founding Fathers understood this. The pioneers and cowboys embraced it. And we today must take a stand - nothing is too big to fail!

And if business "too big to fail" can fail, can't government "too big to fail" also fail?

(Sigh...) It's too bad we don't play Dodgeball anymore...

Jack Kemp: All American

2009-05-04T10:59:00.007-04:00

A lot of people were much closer to Jack Kemp than I, but a lot more people did not know him as well as I did. Only a few remaining Americans can say what I can: “I was there at the beginning.”

Jack Kemp emerged on the national scene not in the political arena passing historic legislation, but on the gridiron field and into passing history. He was forged in a time when most Americans believed in and followed the Boy Scout Law. He played among those people, he lived among those people, and, eventually, he came to represent those people. I know. I was one of them.

Friends, conservatives and countrymen, I write not to bury Jack Kemp, but to praise him. But I mean to praise not just him, but the thousands of people who gladly accepted him as their congressmen. Perhaps this will expose some of the “whys” behind his character, explain his broad-based popularity and even hint of the blueprint for the inevitable resurgence of his party.

Many are familiar with his tales of standing up for the rights of minorities who played on his very integrated football teams, of representing his players union as president and, in general, of enduring the mental and physical anguish as a professional athlete that well prepared him for a political career. More revealing though, dwells what he may have learned from the community around him.

Kemp’s district lay within a rough, traditionally Democrat, blue-collar neighborhood. Remember the melting pot of America you once learned about in grade school? Those text books probably got their idea from this particular area just south of the city of Buffalo. It didn’t matter where you came from, though, because we, Americans all, helped each other as one common community. Ethnic groups from across the globe converged here to work in the steel plants. In Billy Joel’s song Allentown, he sang of teaching us “Iron and Coke, Chromium Steel.” Well, deep in the heart of the Bethlehem Steel Plant, the Woodlawn Elementary Schools taught its third and fourth graders exactly that. I know. I sat in those classes.

Like Ronald Reagan, Jack Kemp didn’t rely on mere popularity to gain his office. He studied politics intensely even as he threw championship winning touchdown passes. By the time of his first election, Kemp possessed the keen eye an experienced political scientist. Ironically, his constituents may not have known this. Many, like me, pulled the lever for him on his inaugural run merely as a tribute to his on field performance. Of course, we knew he also lived the same ethic we lived, and that’s really why we voted for him.

As congressman, Kemp seemed a throwback. By today’s swine-laden standards, Kemp would get poor grades because he failed to bring home the bacon. However, by the standards of the Founding Fathers, Kemp rose as the epitome of a great congressman. He represented the ideals and aspirations of his constituency to build a better America. Some criticized him for focusing more on national issues than local pork, but Washington, Madison, Monroe, et al framed our country precisely with the intention that congressman prioritize national concerns, not local ones. Jack Kemp earnestly followed this principle.

From a city that peaked in the mid-twentieth century, he adopted the resilience of his neighbors. The resilience to survive when the Saint Lawrence Seaway destroyed the backbone of its grain elevator industry and signaled the end of its dominance as a rail center. The resilience to persevere when global realities caused the extinction of the American steel making dinosaurs who employed so many in his district. No one bailed out the grain elevator operators. No one bailed out the steel producers. The shareholders, workers and communities all suffered.

But the tough people who lived there never gave up.

Sure, many, like me, moved out of the district never to return. But the spirit of e pluribus unum never left us. With the increasing Balkanization of America slapping our core beliefs in the face, cheering for Jack Kemp as he ascended to the national spotlight offered relief from the occasional bouts of homesickness. We had faith in America. We knew, by working together, our country could survive any challenge. We knew. We lived it ourselves. Jack Kemp knew that, too.

That’s why some conservatives today consider him weak and some liberals consider him moderate. He was neither. Recall this self-described “bleeding-heart conservative” took on the very movement itself when it began to descend from the Reagan’s Shining City on the Hill into the abyss of villianization. He was uncomfortable hating the sinner not because of some wimpishness, but because he realized killing the sin was far more important. Yet, while he remained resilient, we too easily slid into the “fighting fire with fire” mode, which worked sporadically, but really grated against our soul. Would that we could return to what once was...

I recollect at moment in time I caught up to Jack Kemp. It was early in his national career. The intellectual conservatives had just started to become captivated, and Kemp had come to New Haven to receive recognition as a Chubb Fellow. In a room full of political scientists and economists, a nervous Kemp gave an eloquent, if restrained speech. The blue-collar jock appeared to feel strangely out of place amidst these high society intellectuals. I stood in the shadows deep in the back of the hall.

Afterwards, I strolled to the podium to speak to Kemp. While the others adoringly imbibed his every syllable, I detected a slight awkwardness in his demeanor – a cross between “I really hope they like me” and “What am I doing here?” With each new question one could see in his eyes the fear he might offer a wrong answer. Then I popped in front of him. The weight on his shoulders now painfully visible on his taut face, he looked at me as though I would be the one to finally break him.

“Hi,” I began cheerfully, “would you mind signing this?” and I pulled out his 1964 Topps football card.

He grew an instant smile, the onus lifted permanently from him as he returned to an earlier, more innocent, era of his life. “Who is this freckled face kid?” he laughed and joyfully signed.

We spoke at length and the fawning crowd gathered again to hear him confidently regale us with stories of pigskin intrigue. It was only then I realized this crowd of super-brains, too, cowered before him, just as concerned about Jack Kemp discovering their own shortcomings. His friendly voice now eased them of their self-imposed tension.

And so now that voice falls silent.

And the silence causes us to reflect. When did we start hating the opposition? Why do we so readily paint them as villains? Can we once more summon the inner discipline to withstand the ad hominem attacks against us and, instead, respond vociferously and pointedly to the issues? After all, don’t we just want to eradicate the sin and save the sinner?

What simple picture could be help us return to an earlier, more innocent, era of our lives and our movement?

Three Easy Steps to Go Galt

2009-04-30T23:11:00.010-04:00

It’s been only a hundred days but it feels like a century. At least that’s how long the “100^th day” celebration seemed to have taken. The good news: Fox, in choosing not to air the Prime Time Obama Love – er, I mean “Press” – Conference, won the ratings sweep for that time period. Maybe people are starting to suffer from Obama fatigue. The bad news: Arlen Specter decided, after forty years, he really was a Democrat after all. We now officially have a one-party government with no systematic checks or balances. Great. Kremlin on the Potomac. We better be careful or Napolitano might banish us to the oil fields in North Alaska.

So, what’s a proud red-blooded American to do in these dire times?

Survive.

Sorry, but that’s the greatest priority. Sure, we can (and should) have fun at regularly scheduled tea parties, but we’ve got to accept the hand fate has dealt us. From the moment W modified the honorable label “conservative” with the lame Alda-esque qualifier “compassionate,” we ought to have known this day would soon be upon us. Yes, just as society lampooned Michael Dukakis for being a “card carrying liberal” in 1988, so, too, the vast popular culture looks with disdain upon “card carrying” conservatives.

True conservatives – those who understand what Liberty meant to our Founding Fathers and why America was and always will be that “Shining City on the Hill” – cannot make the same mistake Dukakis and George W made. True conservatives never will and never should apologize for their love of liberty. We shall wear it like a bold scarlet C emblazoned across our bosom, defying those who choose to stone us, daring those who think they can debate us.

For, you see, imbedded within our very soul lies a deep realization of why Aristotle feared pure democracy. Our form of government – a Republic – as Montesquieu aptly states, demands virtue of its citizens. We embrace the morality that implies it’s more than simply counting all the votes – virtuous policy demands a reasoned debate. Nothing said this more than Benjamin Franklin’s answer to a woman who asked what type of government the Constitutional Convention had agreed upon. Franklin’s terse response: “A republic, if you can keep it.”

But, while survival may be our primary objective, it remains by no means our only objective.

Fortunately, in modern America, the lifeblood of politics comes down to one simple equation: E = mc². In Washington parlance, this translates to “winning Elections equals Money to Campaign the Citizens.” Without money, therefore, a politician’s electoral hopes vanish faster than the speed of light. Take away an elected official’s money and you take away his mouthpiece. Take away his mouthpiece, and the citizens start worrying about other things like Swine Flu, staying employed and, yes, even paying taxes.

If we are to truly “go Galt” – go on strike, if you will – we need to sacrifice. We need to stop buying products that support our political enemies. Many people think the discipline required to successfully strike represents too high a hurdle for free marketers like us. But, look, it worked (unless you really like ’57 Chevys) for three generations with Cuba. Now is the time we need to shield our collective wallets from the socialist fiefdoms sprouting up across America.

Allow me to offer three effortless ways to Go Galt in our current environment:

1) Identify all public, private, profit and not-for-profit institutions you currently do business with – both directly or indirectly.

2) Understand who gets the money you pay to these institutions and identify on which side of the free market aisle they reside. In other words, are they defending the ideal of America or merely looting the American Dream?

3) Do more business with those who have a kindred spirit and less (hopefully none) with those who are enabling the socialist path Obama seems intent to take us on.

Bear in mind, the opposition is already doing this. They don’t believe in free markets, so every purchase they make becomes a political decision. We need to buckle down. Start small. Start with your accountant, lawyer or financial adviser. These are individuals you ought to know well and who reside in highly competitive businesses. You might not be able to do this with your doctor, so just skip your doctor and move on to easier targets. Share ideas with your like-minded friends.

On a national scale, don’t do business with the banks now beholden to the government and, by all means, don’t buy GM or Chrysler if they become nationalized in any way. Ford might not be perfect, but, of the American car manufacturers, to date it continues to have a better idea.

That’s it. Pure, simple and relatively easy, though not necessarily painless. But, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: How much do you love America? Enough to give up your Cadillac? Enough to stop buying Apple products? Enough to forgo the next Dreamworks or Pixar film – or even the movie version of Atlas Shrugged (I mean, come on, Angelina Jolie as Dagny Taggart?!).

Winning is easy. But it’s up to you to start.

The #OVISB (oh-VIZ-bee) Game - Friday's Version

2009-04-24T01:05:00.002-04:00

“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” – Japanese Proverb

Given the popularity of last Friday’s post, let’s have some fun this week on Twitter. We’ll call it the “Obama’s Vision is So Bad” (or #OVISB) game. All you need to play is a good sense of humor.

Here’s a couple simple rules:

1) No profanity or other forms of nastiness – don’t take us off message; and,

2) No meanness – leave the red meat for the convention.

We want jokes the general public will laugh? Why? Because all great humor contains a kernel of truth and, more important, we want as many people to laugh at these jokes as possible – even Democrats!

To make it easier, each day we’ll pick a theme. Today’s theme is “Current Events.” To play, just start each tweet with “#OVISB” and write your punch-line. Here are a few examples to get your creative juices flowing:

Theme: “Current Events”

Obama’s Vision is So Bad…

#OVISB he thinks it’s OK to blame Bush for the economy but takes credit for W’s military.

#OVISB he gets his tax advice from Tom Daschle, no! Tim Guenthner, no! Kathleen Sebelius, no! Oh, forget, who needs to pay taxes anyway.

#OVISB he couldn’t hear what his minister was saying. (Oh wait! That’s a lack of hearing, not a lack of vision.)

#OVISB he thinks his poll numbers will never go down.

#OVISB he knows the only poll numbers that count are his numbers, not his policy’s numbers.

#OVISB he bought into the concept Reid and Pelosi were only there to help him.

#OVISB he has to borrow Nancy Pelosi’s.

#OVISB he thinks Rush Limbaugh is a greater threat to America than North Korea, Iran, China,…

#OVISB he thinks every third world country should have satellite TV, especially North Korea.

#OVISB he has no problem with releasing Guantanamo detainees but sics his press secretary on Rick Santelli.

#OVISB he went to a fortune-teller that used a rear-view mirror.

#OVISB he wants to repeat history. Who knows? It might turn out different this time.

#OVISB he blames Santelli, Cramer and GM’s CEO for the bad economy but not Pelosi, Reid and card carrying members of the UAW.

#OVISB he's building new railroads while China is preparing to launch our astronauts.

The #OVISB (oh-VIZ-bee) Game - Thursday's Version

2009-04-23T01:02:00.001-04:00

“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” – Japanese Proverb

1) No profanity or other forms of nastiness – don’t take us off message; and,

2) No meanness – leave the red meat for the convention.

We want jokes the general public will laugh? Why? Because all great humor contains a kernel of truth and, more important, we want as many people to laugh at these jokes as possible – even Democrats!

To make it easier, each day we’ll pick a theme. Today’s theme is “Family.” To play, just start each tweet with “#OVISB” and write your punch-line. Here are a few examples to get your creative juices flowing:

Theme: “Family”

Obama’s Vision is So Bad…

#OVISB he keeps reminding his mother he’s the first black president.

#OVISB he lets his hot wife wear outfits like she’s trawling rodeo drive.

#OVISB he didn’t think twice when Michelle asked if the White House had a mother-in-law’s apartment.

#OVISB he has trouble finding important family documents (like birth certificates).

#OVISB he thought Chicago Style Pizza was named after him.

#OVISB he has to use his wife’s vision.

#OVISB instead of a TV in every room, he has a mirror in every room.

#OVISB he thinks his teleprompter is a mirror.

#OVISB he didn’t even know his brother had a beer company.

#OVISB he needs his mother-in-law around to remind him.

The #OVISB (oh-VIZ-bee) Game - Wednesday's Version

2009-04-22T00:59:00.001-04:00

“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” – Japanese Proverb

Given the popularity of last Friday’s post, let’s have some fun this week on Twitter. We’ll call it the “Obama’s Vision is So Bad” (or #OVISB) game. All you need to play is a good sense of humor. Here’s a couple simple rules:

1) No profanity or other forms of nastiness – don’t take us off message; and,
2) No meanness – leave the red meat for the convention.

We want jokes the general public will laugh? Why? Because all great humor contains a kernel of truth and, more important, we want as many people to laugh at these jokes as possible – even Democrats!

To make it easier, each day we’ll pick a theme. Today’s theme is “Change.” To play, just start each tweet with “#OVISB” and write your punch-line. Here are a few examples to get your creative juices flowing:

Theme: “Change”

Obama’s Vision is So Bad…

#OVISB he meant change is all we’ll have left to give to our grandchildren.

#OVISB he thought talking about change meant Michelle still had to deal with the diapers.

#OVISB by “change” he meant what’ll be left of the dollar when his term is over.

#OVISB the only change he’ll leave us will be in our pockets.

#OVISB he thinks change has an expiration date.

#OVISB he thought change was all we’d hope for.

#OVISB he thought change meant what he’d do with his campaign promises.

#OVISB he thought change meant freeing Guantanamo terrorists and “terrorizing” returning freedom fighters.

#OVISB when he talked of change he was talking about Michelle’s hormones.

#OVISB change is only two years away.

The #OVISB (oh-VIZ-bee) Game - Tuesday's Version

2009-04-21T00:54:00.002-04:00

“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” – Japanese Proverb

1) No profanity or other forms of nastiness – don’t take us off message; and,

2) No meanness – leave the red meat for the convention.

To make it easier, each day we’ll pick a theme. Today’s theme is “Hope.” To play, just start each tweet with “#OVISB” and write your punch-line. Here are a few examples to get your creative juices flowing:

Theme: “Hope”

Obama’s Vision is So Bad…

#OVISB he thinks Hope refers to a time when comedians told jokes that didn’t hurt presidents.

#OVISB he thinks Hope is where Bill Clinton was born.

#OVISB when he said “hope” he meant he “hoped” we forget his campaign promises.

#OVISB “hope” is all we have left.

#OVISB we went from more hope to hopeless.

#OVISB half of him sees himself as the Great White Hope.

#OVISB hope is all we got – forget about faith and, well, you can’t even deduct charity anymore.

#OVISB he hoped you’d buy his idea of change.

#OVISB he hoped you wouldn’t notice how stimulating he could be.

#OVISB he hoped change was good enough.

#OVISB he hopes the media stays on his side.

#OVISB he hopes it really is Astroturf.

#OVISB he hopes he can get away with blaming Bush forever.

The #OVISB (oh-VIZ-bee) Game - Monday's Version

2009-04-20T00:47:00.003-04:00

“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” – Japanese Proverb

Given the popularity of last Friday’s post, let’s have some fun this week on Twitter. We’ll call it the “Obama’s Vision is So Bad” (or #OVISB) game. All you need to play is a good sense of humor. Here’s a couple simple rules:

1) No profanity or other forms of nastiness – don’t take us off message; and,
2) No meanness – leave the red meat for the convention.

We want jokes the general public will laugh? Why? Because all great humor contains a kernel of truth and, more important, we want as many people to laugh at these jokes as possible – even Democrats!

To make it easier, each day we’ll pick a theme. Today’s theme is “Eyesight.” To play, just start each tweet with “#OVISB” and write your punch-line. Here are a few examples to get your creative juices flowing:

Theme: “Eyesight”
Obama’s Vision is So Bad…

#OVISB he has to ask David Patterson for political advice.
#OVISB he asked Stevie Wonder to help him read music.
#OVISB he plans to submit next year’s budget in Braille.
#OVISB I hear he’s thinking of appointing a certain three rodents to his cabinet.
#OVISB he once asked Ray Charles for directions.
#OVISB when he was in college, he once participated in a double-blind experiment – one both sides.
#OVISB word is his next cabinet appointee will be a window slat.
#OVISB well, except when it comes to seeing himself in the mirror.
#OVISB Nancy and Harry stepped in to be his seeing-eye dogs.
#OVISB even Helen Keller gave up.
#OVISB he can’t tell the difference between tea leaves and Astroturf.

Obama's Vision is So Bad...

2009-04-17T00:07:00.004-04:00

“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.” – Japanese Proverb

Call them the New Blues Brothers – struttin’ their stuff along with their band, spreadin’ their own special brand of retro-blues all over this land. Neither all the tea at the tea party nor that elusive fortieth Senate vote appear enough to halt these renegade strangers from a time long ago forgotten. Take heart, kind friends. There may be one thing we can use to begin to chip away at their collectivist armor – humor.

Yes, humor, the same thing we all laughed at during the Clinton years and (admit it) during the W years. Gone are the days when comedians treated the president with at least a little deference. Nope, this drip, drip, drip of negative campaigning among late night comedians has begun already – even for the Grand Exalted One. Why there’s Leno making jokes about Obama’s live-in mother-in-law, Conan having fun with the tax follies of his cabinet appointees and Jimmy Fallon mocking the Barack dipsy-doodle on the extended war in Afghanistan.

But, you know, there’s just one thing wrong with this current brand of funniness – the mouthpieces aim much of it at someone other than the president (they mostly target past-president George W. Bush and the Republicans). And guess who comes out smelling like a rose? Barack himself!

Surprisingly, the bed-time comics, despite all their research, just can’t seem to come up with the Obama equivalent of Bush’s malapropisms (which were sooo horrible) or Clinton’s peccadillo’s (not that they were important or anything). To be effective and enduring, comedy must possess a kernel of truth. For some reason, Leno, Letterman and poor Wanda Sykes just can’t seem to see the warts beyond those Dumbo ears. Alas, love often leaves one so blind…

“Blind?!” Ah, perhaps we should return to the theme of our opening paragraph. Beyond the Charles-like lobes and Ted Baxter-like arrogance lies a truth worth lampooning over and over and over – Barack Obama has no vision. After spending years campaigning as the un-Bush, the new president came into office seeking merely to destroy, not create. What’s sorely missing from his many photo-op speeches is the “City on the Hill” vision of Ronald Reagan or the “Man on the Moon” vision of John F. Kennedy. Nope, Obama seems satisfied to simply reverse the “make the world safe for democracy” vision of George W. Bush. Heck, it looks like he also wants to undo the “it’s all about the economy” credo of Bill Clinton.

Barack Obama has no vision. Or worse, he’s got a really bad vision. I tend to side with the latter.

Hmm, I could see a new stand up success for the first humorist who develops a monologue following this motif…

Obama’s vision is so bad,…

…I hear he’s going to submit next year’s budget in Braille.

Obama’s vision is so bad,…

…he keeps reminding his mother he’s the first black president.

Obama’s vision is so bad,…

…he can’t tell the difference between tea leaves and Astroturf.

Obama’s vision is so bad,…

…we went from more hope to hopeless.

Obama’s vision is so bad,…

…by “change” he meant what’ll be left of the dollar when his term is over.

Obama’s vision is so bad,…

…when he said “hope” he meant he “hoped” we forgot his campaign promises.

Obama’s vision is so bad,…

…he didn’t think twice when Michelle asked if the White House had a mother-in-law’s apartment.

Obama’s vision is so bad,…

…he gets his tax advice from Tom Daschle, no! Tim Guenthner, no! Kathleen Sebelius, no! Oh, forget it, Democrats don’t needs to pay taxes anyway.

Obama’s vision is so bad,…

…he thought change meant freeing Guantanamo terrorists and “terrorizing” returning freedom fighters.

Obama’s vision is so bad,…

…he thinks every third world country should have satellite TV, especially North Korea.

Obama’s vision is so bad,…

…he has to ask David Patterson for political advice.

Heh, heh. I could really see somebody going somewhere with this.

Wither the Reagan Optimism of Old?

2009-04-10T01:20:00.005-04:00

The Lament of the Faded Photograph

Whither the Reagan optimism of old?

Tears of mourning have gone

and wash’d away our morning sun.

Whither the Reagan optimism of old?

Chains of retreat now imprison

our once rugged individualism.

Whither the Reagan optimism of old?

Angry disrespect has burned

all we long ago for yearned.

Whither the Reagan optimism of old?

I fear the bell may now have tolled.

“Absence and death are the same -

only that in death there is no suffering.”

- Theodore Roosevelt

Why do so many of those once the epitome of optimism now reluctantly – if not shamefully – wallow in the depths of despair? Is it because Americans seem more interested in government handouts than in taking responsibility to fix their own lives?

Why do we believe the momentum of the pendulum now swings away from us? Do we then fear we will not live to see its inevitable return?

I cannot speak for all, but only for one. I believe the American economy will eventually return to strength, despite what comes from Washington. I fear, though, our psychologically baffled populace will mistakenly attribute the policies of our über government for that turnaround. This will, in turn, embolden the rewarded (by reelection) political aristocracy with yet more reason to continue dismantling the economic freedoms our nation has so enjoyed since the Reagan Revolution.

I further fear the secular cycles of the economy will not reflect this poor policy for quite some time; thus, creating a generation who will refuse to relearn the lessons of the Great Society until their own children finally overthrow those stale ideas.

And if I am wrong? Then America faces another Great Depression. And I fear such an economic disaster, rather than bring the nation back to Reaganomic good sense, will usher in even greater populist demons. The sort of demons only war can remove.

So, I am left with a dilemma: Live in relative prosperity but with less Liberty; or live in relative paucity and potentially even less Liberty.

I see no shining city on a hill. Instead, I see the gathering storm clouds of naïve ignorance, partisan greed and egalitarian fervor.

And I fear I am not prepared for the coming tempest.

And so, on this the darkest day of all on the Christian calendar, I ask one more time: “Wither the Reagan optimism of old?”

For me, you now know my lament of the faded photograph.

Happy Dependence Day!

2009-04-02T23:04:00.000-04:00

January 21, 2109. First Period. Global Studies. Publius Maximus High School.

The bell rings. Eleventh graders rush into class to beat the second chime. Tommy crosses the door’s threshold as he hears the next clang. Mr. Bobama’s head jerks up from his desk, his steely eyes leering ferociously at the tardy boy.

“My foot was in the door,” refutes the ever defiant Tommy.

Mr. Bobama merely shakes his head, lifts his red stylus and places another checkmark in a long line of checkmarks by the name on the electronic class roster. Attempting to magnify the day’s pageantry, he gloriously rises with outstretched arms, one hand holding his IPad, the other palm opened heavenward.

“Welcome!” he begins brightly. “I hope you enjoyed yesterday’s Centennial Celebration of our nation’s founding!” The apathetic heads don’t respond. He notices his mouth beginning to frown, but quickly recovers his plastic smile.

“C’mon class,” speaks the faux-cool educator. “Don’t let wintry weather dampen your spirits. These grey skies are gonna clear up! Yesterday was January 20, 2109 – our nation’s 100th birthday – and our nation is nothing but Hope!”

Tommy stealthily sneers a sarcastic smirk, drawing Mr. Bobama’s suspicious attention, but revealing nothing for the pedagogue to confirm that suspicion save Ricky’s snicker.

“Ricky, can you find anything humorous about our country’s motto ‘Hope?’” asks the stern Mr. Bobama.

Lacking discipline, Ricky blurts, “Yes I can!” The class barely contains a restrained laugh.

Mr. Bobama, tapping his touchpad, angrily replies, “Clearly, Richard doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

The PA system interrupts. “Richard Pieta, please report to the Principal immediately. Deposit your Personal Jump Drive at the Compliance Officer’s desk.”

The class hushes into abrupt silence. Ricky bows his head, gathers his books and forlornly walks out.

“Excellent,” smiles Mr. Bobama. “Let that be an example to the rest of you. You’re here to learn, not to offer your individual comments. It’s appropriate on this day after Dependence Day we finish our chapter on ‘Legacy of Empire’ with the lessons learned from history’s shortest lived empire. Can someone name this empire?”

“The American Republic,” pertly answers Hilary.

“Very good,” Mr. Bobama smiles broadly. “You see what earnest studies can do for you, class? Why, I remember when this young lady began the year, she seemed destined to become…” he searches for the right metaphor “… another Ricky! Now, she listens well, doing exactly as instructed. You’d all be wise to follow her lead.”

Tommy clears his throat loudly.

“Tommy?” snaps the instructor.

Tommy shrugs with innocent wide eyes. The boy’s antics aside, the teacher espies two students exchanging a note.

“Let’s share that with the class!” The public employee grabs the note, discovering a crudely drawn picture of a monkey tugging a leashed smiling pink puppy. “Who drew this sexist cartoon?” Mr. Bobama inspects as all students – except Tommy – avert their eyes. The teacher’s gaze finally falls on the note passer.

“I’m sorry,” pleads Murdock. “I didn’t draw it, but I’ll take responsibility for passing it.”

Mr. Bobama relaxes, returning to the front of the room. No one sees him press his IPad. Moments later, the PA system booms, “Murdock Post, please report to the Principal immediately. Deposit your Personal Jump Drive at the Compliance Officer’s desk.”

The class seems less concerned as Murdock bows his head, gathers his books and forlornly walks out.

The empowered teacher restarts the lesson. “Hopefully we’ll have no further disruptions. Who knows why the American Republic failed?”

Hilary’s hand immediately shoots up. “I do! I do! The American Republic failed because the Founders created a religious state.”

This irks Tommy. “Wait a minute. Didn’t their Constitution specifically prohibit state religion?”

Mr. Bobama intercedes. “Tommy can actually read? Too bad he can’t comprehend. The Founders religiously – but incorrectly – believed people desire freedom, despite what history shows. Athenians themselves helped the dictators of Sparta defeat their democratic city-state. Rome once had a Republic, but its citizens created the preferred tyranny of Caesar. The Founders should have recognized this.”

“I thought the Founding Fathers created the Constitution purposely to avoid the fate of Athens and Rome,”

Tommy subtly counters.

“You misunderstand even recent history,” responds Mr. Bobama. “Russia briefly tried freedom, until its citizens, too, realized the comfort of having the one leader. The nations of Europe once flirted with freedom until their people understood the ease of oligarchy.”

“An individual has no rights, just a duty to serve the government?” wonders Tommy.

“Exactly!” Mr. Bobama grins capaciously. “Freedom means nothing if it requires one to work to survive. That’s where the American Republic failed. Look at the evidence – a civil war followed by a series of devastating economic depressions. Why, if not for The One, our nation would never have saved its citizens from that final economic disaster created by America’s Freedom.”

“In the American Republic,” Tommy calculates, “every day people won and lost, succeeded and failed. Poor immigrants could become rich and wealthy families could become bankrupt. Each had an opportunity to pursue Life, Liberty and Happiness in their own way…”

“Precisely,” the lecturer injects. “They relied on private enterprise. And you nailed it on the head – private enterprises can fail. Then what? Where do all the workers go? How do they eat or pay medical bills? By allowing people to earn their own money, the government also permitted citizens to make stupid decisions. History teaches us people can’t make informed decisions. This, ultimately, causes all democracies to fail.”

Tommy muses. “Wait. The Founding Fathers crafted a representative democracy rather than a pure democracy exactly for the reasons you stated. Only later in the Republic did voters elect the President and Senate directly. Perhaps the Founding Fathers were right. Instead, the failure of the Republic came at the hands of the voters themselves.”

Mr. Bobama tries to steer Tommy back. “You’ve got it all wrong! Such heresy on this day after Dependence Day!” The teacher fingers his IPad. “Don’t you see? How could the government afford to support all those unemployed people without taxing those who worked? Like a false idol, ‘The American Dream’ caused the poor to suffer. We cannot rely on the private economy. It always fails. History proves it.”

The PA system bellows, “Thomas Jeffrey, please report to the Principal immediately. Deposit your Personal Jump Drive at the Compliance Officer’s desk.”

The class freezes.

Tommy ignores the voice. “Mr. Bobama, you sure you’re not the one who’s out of touch? Government controlled economies never produce lasting good. Why would private enterprise exist if Government seizes its wealth? Why would anyone risk doing the great when the Government rewards failure and punishes success? The American Republic never failed. The Forces of Dependency conquered the American Republic.”

The class looks for the official response.

“Mr. Jeffrey, I believe you’ve been asked to leave.”

“Mr. Bobama, you’re right. Citizens can and often do make incorrect decisions. When those decisions enslave future generations, you must expect a revolution sooner or later. I will leave, but you won’t go like where I’m going.” Tommy rises tall, back straight, chest out. “I’m going to a tea party!”

The class sits on edge.

Tommy turns to his generation and simply asks, “You comin’?”