Calling all extremists! Let's keep it up!

By Lisa Farrar Wellman

Nearly a month later people are still yapping about the tea parties. Big name liberals can’t stop calling us (by us, I mean radical extremists like myself who attended a tea party with my husband and 2-year-old) ignorant, racist, redneck, and backward. The tea parties have been ridiculed and belittled all over TV and the Internet. The mainstream media claims our little shindigs were ridiculous, promoted by the GOP, and a failure. Yet we definitely riled ‘em up, didn’t we?

Sure I’m irritated by the left-leaning (or toppling over) media’s version of how things went down on April 15, but I’m also flattered and inspired by it. We got their attention whether they want to admit it or not. We’ve upset them. I think maybe they thought we’d just roll over and let them tromp all over our Constitution without even a peep of protest. They assumed we couldn’t organize or unite behind a cause. The media has told the country for years that the conservative movement is dead. How can the dead rise up by the thousands and holler “taxed enough already"? But we did. And we were joined by Democrats with voter’s remorse and Libertarians and Independents alike. This tea party movement is not about right or left. It’s about Americans saying, “I don’t think so” to a group of politicians who aren’t told “no” often enough…or ever.

The hypocrisy of the left is so obvious; I don’t want to waste your time digging around in it. You and I both know that they spent the last eight years raging about President Bush. If we were Code Pink, they’d have been out in full force, lobbing softball questions and bringing us sandwiches and lemonade to quench our thirst and hunger.

Let’s do it again. Let’s shock their elitist socks off again! Show up for a tea party on July 4. March on Washington. Write your representatives. Send them a tea bag or 40. Join The 9-12 project.

And above all, in 2010, don’t you dare send these morons back to Washington, D.C. Let’s elect us some radical tea-partying patriots instead and change the course of this nation and get it back on track. That will really give the media something to talk about!

For a view of what Tea Party goers are really like, check out Andrew Klavan’s column on Glenn Beck’s website.

Purity or Tolerance

By: Laura Adelmann


(Photo from the Ronald Reagan Library)

Arlen Specter's defection to the Democratic party has added to the growing concerns about the future of the Republican Party. While Specter's move was more about self-preservation and less about the nature of the Republican Party, the question still must be asked: Which way is the party heading: towards tolerant inclusiveness or a purge of those deemed Republicans-in-name-only (RINOs)?

I have identified myself as a conservative, a Libertarian, and a Republican. In our current two-party system, if you don't fit into the mold of one particular party, you worry that your voice won't be heard. Most people have an issue that is close to their hearts and mine is limited government. I can compromise on many things, but the expansion of government under the Bush administration was something I found frustrating and harmful to conservative ideals. I still voted for Bush in 2004 because I felt Kerry was too weak on national defense. I supported Ron Paul in 2008. I knew there was no chance that he'd get the nomination. I voted for McCain with many trepidations. I am one of the moderates that Olympia Snowe thinks the Republican Party is driving away.

The question now is, will the Republican party embrace the moderates or push them away to their own detriment? I have to agree with Rick Moran's article on PJTV that opines that purifying the party is harmful and embracing moderates is the only way the Republican Party can survive. A purified party is unified by it's ideals, but too small to garner a majority vote. Purity equals extinction.

You Can't Beat Something with Nothing??

By Kelli Hochhalter-Krauss

At a town-hall-style meeting recently, Jeb Bush said, "You can't beat something with nothing, and the other side has something. I don't like it, but they have it and we have to be respectful and mindful of that. So our ideas need to be forward looking and relevant. I felt like there was a lot of nostalgia and the good old days in the [Republican] messaging. I mean, it's great, but it doesn't draw people toward your cause."

I don't understand what is not forward thinking and relevant about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. What is it about the conservative message that is not forward thinking? Lower taxes is not forward thinking? Being pro-life is not forward thinking? Having a strong military and strong national security is not forward thinking? I would also like to know who in the last election had nostalgia for the Reagan era or the "good old days." If anything, McCain moved as close to the middle as he could and that is why he lost. I don't believe that people remember or evoke Reagan because they wish to go back. On the contrary, it is a desire to move forward, but with the right principals.

I didn't realize that conservatives or the Republican party has nothing to beat the other side with. According to Jeb Bush, they have something, and like it or not, we need to learn from them if we want to win an election. I am sorry, but the something that the Democrats have are the same old things they have always had. Higher taxes, national health care, downsized military, restricted practices for our national security, the fairness doctrine, and abortion on demand. The only thing the Democrats had this past election was a nominee that was good at reading a teleprompter and saying a lot about nothing.

These politicians, who are part of the National Council for New America, are traveling around on a listening tour because they believe the Republican Party needs to listen and win the hearts and minds of suburban women, Latinos, and African Americans. They want to reach out to where the Republican Party has failed in the past. There is a big difference between listening to people talk to understand the everyday American and taking what was said to fit what you think the country needs. It is so basic to me. Stand up for the principals that have and will continue to make this country successful. Life, lower taxes, strong national defense and security, and free enterprise.

If you want to attract people to the Republican Party, instead of putting these political suits in front of the camera, put the people you want to attract front and center. Get the stay-at-home mom to say why she believes in the principals of the Republican Party. Get the Latino small business owner to speak about their success and show that you can be Latino, successful, and a Republican. Show the African American who has found success in this country and let them speak their mind on why we need to stick to profound principals laid out in our Constitution. Find the woman who is pro-life and not because she wants to outlaw abortion, but rather educate girls on why they should think carefully before getting themselves in a situation where abortion is an option. These are the people that will attract others. These are the people that everyday Americans will relate to. Then maybe a candidate will come forward that understands it is not about copying Democrats or forgetting the past, but standing firm on what makes this country great that inspires people. That is what Reagan did. So inspiration based on core conservative principals is not looking or living in the past, it is success for the future.

Rid yourself of income tax-induced headaches!

By Lisa Farrar Wellman

Even if we’re getting money back from the IRS, I dread tax season. It literally hurts my brain.

Now, first, I should mention that we’re beyond cheap. We do not hire someone to do our taxes for us. No, sir. We do them ourselves and by “we” I mean my husband does them and I bring him ice tea and rub his shoulders now and then. My job is to glean necessary documents from our filing cabinet and to duck at the appropriate times when he tosses things around in frustration. (Since becoming parents, my job also includes making sure our daughter is out of harm’s way, as well).

We don’t necessarily understand any of what we’re doing. We struggle along, make phone calls to my parents and mostly depend on a service like H&R Block online or Turbo Tax to guide us through the ridiculous ins and outs of the IRS masterpiece. Now and then we drop to our knees to ask God’s guidance but I swear I hear Him laughing at us.

I should just accept our fate and live with it. Taxes are here to stay. There’s no escape….or is there?

Picture this. You just lived through your very last tax season. Next year, the IRS won’t come knocking at your door. Does that sound too good to be true? Of course it does, but it could be reality if we put our voices together and make it happen!

I give you…Fair Tax. (Ok, I’m not giving it to you. I think technically Neil Boortz gave it to us but go with me here). If you haven’t heard of Fair Tax, first lift the rock that must be squishing you into the earth and crawl out from under it. Then, go to the Internet! Simply visit www.fairtaxhub.com to find information on literally every aspect of this ingenious plan.

Fair Tax eliminates the need for an IRS (now, that right there makes my little thrifty heart sing) because it does away with income tax! A federal sales tax funds our beloved government while you, my friends, take home your entire paycheck. You only pay taxes on the stuff you buy and the services you use. And as if that’s not groovy enough for anyone, it gets better. Those living below the poverty level will not pay taxes at all. Fair Tax “abolishes all federal personal and corporate income taxes, gift, estate, capital gains, alternative minimum, Social Security, Medicare, and self-employment taxes and replaces them with one simple, visible, federal retail sales tax -- administered primarily by existing state sales tax authorities.” –www.fairtax.org

Have a look at this Fair Tax commercial to get a general idea of the plan that could rock our nation and save our brains from the trauma of tax season.

Returning to Our Roots

By: Laura Adelmann




The passing of Jack Kemp is an excellent time to reflect on how the Republican party has strayed from its roots and what we can do to bring focus back to the party. The past eight years have seen Republicans sell out their core values of small government, low taxes, personal responsibility, and free markets. Whether it was a sad attempt to pander to voters or just a lack of true conviction, our elected officials lost the confidence of the voters, and justifiably so. It's time that the Republicans remember their roots and stop being a subset of the Democratic Party. We know how this is done. Remember Carter? We are in that place again and we can come out of it again. Where are the new Jack Kemps and Ronald Reagans? They need to start making their voices heard again. Soon.

Link: Random Blog Post Generator Service

Feminist Gloria Feldt---Liberating Women? or Just Another Lib...Berating Women?

Looking For Love With All the Wrong Feminists

By Beetlebabee

If you haven't seen this exchange between Laura Ingraham and Gloria Feldt on the lack of feminist outrage over Carrie Prejean's treatment in the media, you should. It is an eye opening example of how feminism has been corrupted away from the ideals of liberating women.

"Feminism is the idea that women should have political, social, sexual, intellectual and economic rights equal to those of men." --Wikipedia

Where is the voice of the feminist movement who claims it's out to protect the right of women to form and express their own opinions, free of degrading treatment? The latest attacks on Carrie Prejean all just "happen" to mention not her opinion or her logic, but her body, her womanhood, and her sex.

"Feminism is about equality and justice." --Gloria Feldt

So, where are Gloria Feldt and the feminists on Carrie Prejean's equal right to express her opinion? Solidly on the side of muckraker Perez Hilton.

Not only did Gloria not defend Carrie Prejean's right to express her opinion, regardless of what that opinion was, but she got right down in the mud with Perez Hilton and took her own jabs at Miss California, noting that she should have looked into heart transplants instead of breast implants. Breast implants?? What do breast implants have to do with anything Carrie said?

So much for helping women achieve "equality" in the arena of ideas. A woman opens her mouth to offer a view, to participate in the conversation, and the reigning feminist in the room points out her augmented cup size.

Do feminists like Gloria Feldt realize what they look like here? How can petty, opportunistic agenda pushers who step on the faces of women they don't agree with possibly hold themselves up as representatives of women?

Gloria Feldt's lack of interest in protecting women and their right to stand up and be heard regardless of her politics or opinions is deplorable. She is no better than Perez Hilton. She and her ilk only reinforce the idea that some forms of free speech are more equal than others, and some people are more equal than others. This is the very opposite of equality.

Gloria Feldt betrays herself not as a supporter of equality, but as just another political hack. Women don't need more women's lib "heroes" dedicated to political gain at all costs: monetary, societal, or human. We need heroes who will stand up for women, their husbands, and their children, regardless of political persuasion. Someone who will defend our right to speak and be heard, free of personal vilification....whether they like it or not.

Keep looking girls, we're not there yet.

May Day: Lovely Day for Anarchy...and a reminder about Americanism

Cross posted at  www.brain-jockey.com

Growing up in the U.S., May Day was a sort of unofficial holiday where we welcomed the spring season. Not so much in other countries, where May Day has evolved into a Labour holiday, a time for protest. And we're not talking well-behaving tea party attendees.

The Wall Street Journal opines about what these protests hold in store ("Burn, Capitalism, Burn")- some of which we will have seen play out by the time you read this. (Some articles on violent protests here and here and link to Reuters slide show here).

All this serves as a reminder of the slippery slope from disruptive, violent protest to anarchy to total government, where the people have lost their rights. An irony, since often anarchy begins because the common folk feel powerless and seek to be heard or recognized.

On this May Day, take this video to heart.