The Gift

 

Since the man in the red suit’s midnight marathon of gift giving, I find myself reflecting on the gifts I have received in the past.  I have received gifts that I didn’t want or need, ugly sweaters and stinky colognes that were more a penalty than a prize.  I have received some fantastic gifts, those that I always wanted and was overjoyed to open.  Some times I have gotten things I thought I wanted only to be disappointed to learn that the TV commercial was better than what was in the box under the tree.  Every so often I have gotten things I didn’t want and wasn’t impressed by only to have that gift change my mind as it changed my life.

The gift I am talking about in this post is a gift so often taken for granted that a lot of people will think of it as a burden or a curse.  But if considered objectively it is a wondrous thing that has been handed down to us.  But this gift has been maligned and vilified as what is wrong with our Republic.  Let me take a moment to write in favor of American Politics.  

Our nation is a constitutional republic, which embraces the future.  All American believe that the future will be better, and we have been proven right to believe that.  Nostalgia has a place in our hearts, but we put our hopes in the future.  We plan and dream about the future.  But the future is not easy to predict.  The future comes when it wants to and where it wants to and brings with it new challenges. 

People from previous generations couldn’t imagine that obesity would be as much a problem for this generation’s health as malnutrition was in their time.  The world views of previous generations were formed by the technology that existed in their experience.  Industrialization, modern farming, advancements in transportation, and, modern medicine has done more to upend settled worldviews than any political philosophers’ ideas ever have.  It speaks through results, and it can’t be ignored. 

Many leftist use this sort of argument to advance the idea that the Constitution is outdated.  “The Founding Fathers didn't know about airplanes and they would have outlawed hate speech if they did.”  They are wrong in this because of how they see themselves.  They start from a rigid belief that everything that has gone before them is fatally flawed.  Their self assessment is that they are here to break the chains of convention and tradition that have impeded humankind from achieving a paradise on earth.  To their way of thinking the urgency of NOW trumps all other considerations.  They are trapped by the belief that everything new is better.  In their mad rush “Forward” they are willing to abandon any thing to see it replaced with something “new.” 

The Left’s embrace of the “new” blinds them to the truth that what they call “new” really isn’t new at all.  “There is nothing new under the sun,” is an axiom that every new generation learns only when they become the older generation, and sometimes not even then.  The ideas that the Left is so in love with are really very old. 

We have seen it time and again, in all parts of the world, when people are faced with catastrophic problems they want to turn to a strong leader to solve the problems for them.  Such leaders take on more and more power over the lives of those they govern all in the name of crisis management.  Laws are amended by edict and enforced by wimp.  Eventually the leaders become dictators and crush the rights of the people they govern. 

The truly new idea is the foundation stone of our revolution:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,

The government must be subservient to the people.  The way this plays out is through politics.  People become passionate about an issue and that passion fuels action.  People talk about the issue and more people get involved.  It is from such simple origins that political movements start. 

At this time, we hear voices raised in frustration and acrimony in our nation’s Capital.  On one side there is a man with a pen and a phone and every intention to use them.  On the other is a group of people that all too often has done nothing when action was needed and much of what they have done needs to be undone.  Plenty of disagreement is taking place.  But nothing seems to change and the will of the people is being held back by an entrenched few that clings to their antiquated view of what our future must be.

We can see that nothing will improve without us.  If we don’t participate if we don’t advocate, if we don’t do the hard work that is needed, then we are giving up some of our rights.  Today it is very easy to ignore what is going on in politics.  All of us have things we would rather do.  The problems we face can seem so huge that they can be solved. But across our nation, some of us are standing up.   Grass root initiatives like The Right to Refuse are showing that passionate activists can have an impact on our out of control big government.

But politics is that ugly gift we received not thinking we would ever want it.  Our founding fathers and all that came from then till now felt the same way.  We should want it and we all should use it to create a future that we will be proud to leave to our children.  The Future is calling.  Will you answer?  Will you work in politics in defense of our God given Rights?  

 Are you ready to accept this Gift?

Guest Blogger: Citizen "Q"

In an attempt to broaden the conversation, I have invited the famous Citizen "Q" - Stephen Quist to write a post so it can appear in the Worcester Tea Party Newsletter.  I encourage all to read what he has to say and to post rebuttals in the comments section. 

Matt,

Thank you for the opportunity to send in some differing thoughts/views and opinions from the left.

Teaparty.......I have a huge disagreement with the teaparty lecturing everyone else in our country on your interpretation of what you 'think' the US Constitution means and anyone disagreeing with you is considered un-American and un-patriotic.....which is why even today your numbers of membership nationally are stagnant.....your message resonates only amongst yourselves all the while, teapartiers and moderate republicans are in a  battle  for the heart and soul of the republican party.

40+/- teaparty members in the house along with a few Senate Repubs are holding our entire country hostage and that is untenable and un-American

Government shutdown.......There is no way possible nor is it an American way to shutdown our government and refuse to increase the debt limit (govt shutdowns occurred previously but never involving the debt limit)

without it affecting our national security and our standing in the world.

The US Senate accepted the House proposal Ryan plan of a budget number of $988billion......the Dems conceded their number of $1.27T.......republicans won the budget battle....you got the numbers you wanted and yet repubs/teapartiers insist on snatching defeat from the jaws of victory...it's now not good enough so lets move the goal posts again......

Obama........I have lived through Presidents from JFK (just born) through today and I have never witnessed such a concerted meanspirited effort to discredit, demean and outright despise President Obama. From questioning his citizenship, falsely accusing him of being a Kenyan to being a Muslim......GW Bush never had the level of hate/critisism foisted on him like is being done to this President....I think it's very interesting that W refuses to criticize/insult or demean Obama

Boehner.....Is the most ineffective House Leader there has ever been....in fact it's Senator Cruz calling the shots in the House undermining the Speaker and that is dangerous for the independence of our 3 branches of government no matter where we all stand on the political spectrum

McConnell....notice how silent he has been throughout the financial crisis......he's in a heated battle to retain his senate minority leaders seat and does not stand by the convictions of his beliefs to step up like a man and weigh in on this debate......he's concerned about re-election rather than running our government

Cruz......teapartier extroidinaire fake filibustering and equating those supporting the ACA as appeasers to hitler and nazi's......and those on the right were silent....silence equates to acquiessence.......Sen Joe McCarthy and Father Coughlin come immediately to mind and that is abhorrent and I am not sure that anyone would want to walk alongside either one

Food Stamps......all across the country, even here at home in MA,  teapartiers/republicans were rejoicing that the most vulnerable and needy amongst us had food snatched from their kitchen table to the tune of $40,000,000b over 10 years and yet in the same breath the cheers were heard for the largess bestowed on Mega-Agricultural Corporations in the form of $170,000,000b in subsidies

Matt I touched briefly on some topics amongst many.....and I apologize in being brief re: my remarks, but this is my point of view and I represent no one but myself, I hold no allegiance to any political party....I vote the candidate not the party.....

In complete disclosure and as I have done in radio/ blogging/posting on various sites I am known as and identify with my nickname Q......I do not hide behind aliases nor cower in anonymity I believe in my stances and convictions and have no problem placing my name to that which I espouse.......can any of your fellow teapartiers ( not geared at you Matt - you stand up to be counted each and every time) truthfully say the same?

In closing I consider Matt a friend even though we disagree, some times vehemently, on a variety of issues, and yet we can toast a beer together and talk about these issues in a civil respectful manner.......why is it Matt is the exception and not the norm in the teapartier group dealings with the public at large?

Respectfully,

Stephen P Quist

P.S.  I do not consider myself to be out side of the norm of the membership of the Tea Party Movement.  It is because of the greatness of spirit of our membership that we have accomplished so much.  

My Tea Party View of “The Shutdown”

 

Long ago I used to watch old black and white movie serials.  They were exciting stories broken into short chapters shown in theaters weekly.  Each chapter ended with the hero in great peril.  It is from these old serials we get the phrase “cliff-hanger.”  Our darling heroine clings to the edge of a cliff, struggling to save herself, and the booming voice of the narrator asks: “Will Julie Bishop be able to hang on until help arrives to save her?  Will Buster Crabbe find our heroine in time?  And what became of Mischa Auer?”  The narrator’s questions would build the excitement to ensure you would come back to the theater next week.  But sometimes the narrator’s questions didn’t seem to line up with the action on the screen.  

The partial Government Shutdown which we are witnessing today, is like that. 

We have been told that shutting down the government would be horrific.  We have endured countless talking heads in the media lecturing us about how stupid and catastrophic this shutdown would be.  We have been warned that those in Congress who stood firm would be destroyed politically. 

This horrific, stupid, and catastrophic shutdown has been going on for a week now.  We have seen horrific, stupid, and horrificallystupid - Catastrophic can be seen warming up in the bullpen. 

Much of what we are hearing and seeing is the government’s response to our genuine effort to rein in spending.  There is real pain felt by many men and women that work for the Federal government.  But for those who seek to expand the government into every corner of our lives this suffering is not enough.  All Americans must be made to suffer in order to protect their idea of what our government should be.  This administration and its allies in the senate believe in a philosophy that reverses President Reagan’s quote:

We are a nation that has a government—not the other way around. And this makes us special among the nations of the Earth. Our government has no power except that granted it by the people. It is time to check and reverse the growth of government, which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed. 

These people believe that the government is America.  The government isn’t a means to an end, but rather that it is a religious expression.  It is more than a collection of people in geography; it is the Hegelian God State.  Barack Obama is very clever when he describes his ideal: "The government is us."  We are not the government.  The government is only a small part of what we are.

It is very true that there are many threats and crises which require a strong government to handle.  Abroad there are enemies that plot to harm us every minute of every day.  At home there have been natural disasters which damaged many cities and small towns.  The work to clean up and rebuild continues, and only a fool would believe that no more disasters will ever come.  Many of our most vulnerable neighbors depend on the Federal government for food, shelter, and medicine.  Only a monster would tell them to fend for themselves.  There are obviously many things that our government can do, and do well.

Because our government is important and worthwhile we need to make it work.  But it is only a tool, like a hammer, it can help make things or it can help destroy things.  People use a tools, tools don’t use people.  

World-renowned psychologist Dr. Abraham Maslow tells us “if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail” to warn us that people can become trapped by their tools, ascribing the same fix to every problem.  Too many people in our government are trapped by believing that every problem has a governmental solution.  That is not true; our government must be reduced to doing what it can do well and prevented from doing what causes only harm.

When you examine the problem in the most basic terms the government shutdown is the most sensible way to respond to the differences about how to govern our nation.  Considering legislative legerdemain that took place to enact the PPAACA (Obamacare), shutting down the government to get a one year delay on the personal mandate and to repeal the tax on hearing aids and pace makers seems a tepid response. 

Without this extreme action and the believable threat of even more severe measures, there will be no negotiations.  President Obama, Senator Reid, and Representative Pelosi will not give an inch; they must be defeated.  They have worked for this ideal for their entire careers.  They are fully vested in their ideology and will not change their minds.  

Yet that is not true of all in the Democrat caucus.  They remember how many seats were lost in the 2010 elections.  They can see that 2014 is looking no better for them and they will be willing to cut a deal to avoid being removed from office.

I believe that before the debt ceiling is reached, a deal will made.  The President will create a photo-op so that he looks presidential and will agree to sign what Speaker Boehner and Reid will have worked out.  The Republicans will get some small thing declare victory and relent.  All will return to status quo and the focus will change to the races in the Senate and Congress.  

The train wreck that is Obamacare will continue to drag down our economy inflicting more suffering on more Americans than the partial government shutdown ever could. Our children will be pushed further into debt and the necessary reforms will not be made.  You won't hear that from the talking heads.

My Report from the Exempt America Rally!

I had the great opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. to be part of the “Exempt America” Rally.  The Tea Party Patriots and many other liberty-minded groups were sponsoring the rally and they had gathered “All-Stars” to voice our opposition to the Affordable Care Act and to demand a vote to defund what is commonly called “Obamacare.”

A very generous Patriot subsidized a bus to bring us to the rally.  For only $10.00 (round trip!),   members of the Tea Party movement could get to this rally.  More than fifty of us traveled as a group to the West Lawn of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.  It was early in the morning when we arrived at Union Station in Washington DC.  We gathered at the mall inside Union Station for breakfast and to recover from our long bus ride. 

After a little while we headed off.  I had never been to Washington D.C. before but I had familiarized myself with maps from Google before we had left.  There were plenty of “You-Are-Here” maps and we reached the West Lawn quickly.  We found several people there already setting up what would be the stage and camera platforms.  I walked up to them and introduced the group and myself. Exhibiting the best in southern hospitality, they warmly shook my hand and acted as if they were impressed that I and my august group had chosen to attend their humble event. I was totally charmed.  We set up our table and gathered under some trees on the right hand side of the lawn (where else?).  We watched as the stage was assembled and the fences were set up.  

Of course, we had left behind some important supplies so a few of us set out to find them.  D.C. is an impressive city with much magnificent architecture.  But it is not an early rising city.  We wandered until we came to a CVS and were able to purchase pens and note books and junk food.  Even at the CVS, the people were gracious and kind.  We returned to the lawn and it was still some time before the speeches started so we called the Jeff Kuhner Show.  It was a funny diversion while we waited. 

Tower cranes rose above the skyline, construction was happening everywhere, even the Washington monument was wrapped in scaffolding.  Well dressed-people walked hurriedly to make important appointments.  If D.C.’s economy is dependent on government instead business, they are none the poorer for it.  It seems to be a very prosperous city, from what little I have seen. 

Some of us had attended this rally with the goal of introducing as many of our fellow attendees to the “Right to Refuse” Amendment as was possible.  It was our fondest wish to enlist these activists into the fight for the only way to permanently stop Obamacare.  As the crowd gathered slowly we started introducing ourselves and handing out our literature.  When the music swelled and the rally started there were four thousand people on the lawn in the DC heat – over 90 degrees!  Even more arrived in as the speeches got underway and they did not stop arriving for the duration of the rally.  We walked up and down the lawn talking to everyone shaking hands and passing out our cards.  I meet many wonderful people from all across our country.  Soon we hand given out all of our literature.  Together we had contacted thousands of activists.

All the stars of the movement had come to this rally.  Activists and Legislators from all over our country spoke out against the ACA and against funding for Obamacare.  Out of all the speeches, Senator Ran Paul's got the most applause.  Senator Cruz got the loudest chants of "Run Cruz! Run" when he took his turn at the microphone.  All of the speakers were pitch-perfect and there was not any place on the lawn that wasn’t perfect for see and hearing them.  The organizers should be proud of their work.  It was an exceptionally well run rally.

This was an experience that both energized and drained me.  The steamy heat and hazy sun took its toll on me as I worked the crowd.  The many hours of bus travel with too few hours of sleep made me stiff and achy. While I was surrounded by friends, I still missed my wife and children.  But I would do it all again. 

The time on the bus allowed time for real conversations and for strengthening the connections between us.  The city of Washington D.C. is a place that every American should go to see.  Meeting and talking with other activists filled me with new ideas and new energy.  After this wonderful experience I am even more eager for the work that needs doing.  I am more certain than ever that the Tea Party movement is the salvation of our republic. 

A closing thought: with all of the noteworthy celebrities on the “Exempt America” stage, and the obvious passion of those in the audience, it seems that some Republican Party leaders are misunderstanding what is happening in their party.  The Carl Roves of the world may just wake up one morning and find that the party they think they are leading has moved on without them.

If you were on trial for being in the Tea Party would they be able to convict you?

It is an old question, but it is one that it is worth asking.  Many men and women have publicly declared their loyalty to the Tea Party movement, but where do they stand now?  We have suffered some recent set backs and even some acrimony among ourselves.  Such things are natural in the life of any movement.  Grass roots movements such as ours have been subject to the ebb and flow of people’s passions.  History gives us examples of how this has always been true.

In December of 1777 General Washington encamped the Continental Army at Valley Forge, and he wrote letters to the state legislatures pleading for more support.  The commander in chief proceeded to detail the urgent need for additional troops and supplies.  Washington asked the state legislatures to take “early and vigorous measures” to raise more men.  He saw the outcome of the war depending on it.  General Washington wrote:

…The necessity and expediency of this procedure are too obvious to need Arguments. Should we have a respectable force to commence an early Campaign with, before the Enemy are reinforced, I trust we shall have an Opportunity of striking a favourable and an happy stroke; But if we should be obliged to defer it, It will not be easy to describe with any degree of precision, what disagreeable consequences may result from It. We may rest assured, that Britain will strain every nerve to send from Home and abroad, as early as possible, All the Troops it shall be in her power to raise or procure. Her views and schemes for subjugating these States, and bringing them under her despotic rule will be unceasing and unremitted. ...

 It is probable that the American Revolution could have ended at Valley Forge. Fortunately for us, General Washington did not give up. During this time General Washington made many important changes. He assigned a Prussian General, Baron Friedrich von Steuben to train the scrappy Continental Army, and he made Nathanael Greene Quartermaster General, relieving himself of the duty of procuring supplies. General Washington supported by a loyal officer corps and at the head of a well trained and disciplined army was now free to focus on strategies to beat the British. What could have been a disaster was turned into a triumph by hard work a dedication.

We face very serious challenges today.  Backed by “Progressive” political hacks, funded by modern day “robber baron” cronies, and shielded from the public by a lap dog media, President Obama’s scandal plagued administration shows no hesitation in pushing through his big government agenda.  He is the vanguard of those that wish to strip us of the rights which we hold dear.  They “will strain every nerve” and their “schemes for subjugating these States, and bringing them under her despotic rule will be unceasing and unremitted.”  This administration knows that if we are successful then the corrupt system on which they depend will be washed away like road dirt from a luxury car.  Those who seek to subjugate us must be defeated.  Their schemes must be revealed and they must be held accountable for the crimes they have committed and the failures of their schemes.

Stopping these people from committing these atrocities requires hard work and dedication.  There are many means through which we are working to reverse this dangerous trend.  The Worcester Tea Party is supporting many initiatives that taken together will restore liberty and prosperity in our nation, in our Commonwealth, and in our towns and cities.

 

• To support Due Process of Law we support PANDAA 
• To oppose a government take over of medicine we support the Right to Refuse
• To express our belief in a limitless frontier we support the Tea Party in Space
• To demand representation before taxation we support Tank the Automatic Gas Tax 

Through these initiatives and in many more ways we live up to the values and principles that our nation was founded on.  If you still believe in the core Tea Party principles of adherence to the Constitution, personal liberty, and fiscal responsibility; if you believe that overspending, waste, corruption and lawlessness must end, then we need you to join with us.  There is so much more work that needs doing.  There are great things that will only get done because of the hard work and dedication of people like you. 

 

In your heart ask yourself “What do I believe in?”  Remember the words of our Constitution, are you willing to stand up and do the hard work necessary to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity?  Then ask yourself “What am I doing to further those beliefs?”  Remember the words of President Reagan, "You and I have a rendezvous with destiny.  We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness.  If we fail, at least let our children and our children's children say of us we justified our brief moment here.  We did all that could be done."

The Chief Evangelist of the Worcester Tea Party goes on WCRN

evangelist (i'vanjəlist) n
1. (Christianity / Protestantism) an occasional preacher, sometimes itinerant and often preaching at meetings in the open air
2. (Christianity / Ecclesiastical Terms) a preacher of the Christian gospel
3. Any zealous advocate of a cause

Since I have joined the Worcester Tea Party I have done many things. Because of my zealous advocacy I have earned the title Chief Evangelist of the Worcester Tea Party. Like everyone passionate about a cause, I eagerly seek to do more and to inspire others to do more as well. This posting is an account of my experience hosting a talk radio show.

It has long been my habit to call in to the Hank Stolz show on WCRN. Once I was a guest with Hank. Now Hank was going on vacation to the George Soros Journalist Re-Education Camp/Day Spa, and I was offered the opportunity to co-host with another frequent caller, Citizen Q. Citizen Q is a likeable man that represents his beliefs well. Citizen Q is a harsh critic of the Tea Party Movement but has a charm and humor that endears him. Other hours of the show were given over to other frequent callers and the program was much talked about before the Friday morning broadcast.

I created a FaceBook event for the show and invited everyone to call in. Before the show I discussed it with many people whose opinion I valued. I even had my wife make a fruit salad to share with everyone at the station. In every way I could think of I was prepared to talk for an hour about the Worcester Tea Party and the issues facing us here in the Commonwealth.

But…

You don’t really get an hour. There is the news and the weather reports and the traffic updates and the commercials and the special features which all take away time. And of course you will have calls. And what ever time is leftover is divided between you and your co-host. So out of that hour I spoke for a tiny ten minutes. For that reality I was under prepared, I had left some of my best material to last but never got to say it on air.

People that have responded to my appearance on WCRN are of two types, those that hate the Tea Party Movement thought that performed poorly, and those that support the movement think I did a fantastic job. My own judgment falls somewhere in the middle, I feel I represented our ideals well. I did not allow others to speak over me nor did I give in to name calling. But I feel I could have made more of this opportunity.

The best advice I can offer is, try new things, do your best, repeat the ones that work, and learn from the ones that don’t. This is what I learned years ago in little league and it is still true today.

A Pack not a Herd.

We have all heard the story of how Watertown man, David Henneberry, found the Boston Marathon bomb suspect cowering inside his boat in his backyard.  Mr. Henneberry is the sort of neighbor we would all like to have.  But his actions, and the events leading up to them, are a litmus test for all Americans.  It is a choice that we all will make, and the consequences of that choice will impact the lives of our children.  Let me state it plainly:

• A) Promises of security imposed at the cost of our freedom

-or-

• B) Freedom with the risks and responsibilities it requires

There are no other choices.  Either you are willing to take the chance that when you go out into your backyard to secure the tarp on your boat you will come face to face with a desperate murder-suspect hiding from justice, or you will allow your sacred rights to slip away from you and your children.  Do we give up protection against unreasonable searches and seizures?   Need we give up protection against self incrimination?  Does security require that we inflict cruel and unusual punishments so that there becomes no difference between us and the monsters we oppose?  Nietzsche warned, "Be careful when you fight the monsters, lest you become one."

When we are confronted with horrific crimes it is natural to turn away.  It is even natural to focus on a minute detail to avoid the magnitude of the horror of the whole event.  It is human to want a shining knight on a white horse to save us from the bad guys.  I understand those emotional responses and reject them for the false hope they offer.  Notice I said false hope. 

All of the best trained and equipped men and women of the Commonwealth's departments of law enforcement bravely searched for this terrorist.  But they did not find him.  They did everything in their power, and some would say they even went beyond their allowable power, but to no avail.  There are conflicting reports about why they did not find him, but, the point is, they did not find him.  He was found by accident by a man that was looking after his property supposedly after the danger had past.

If all of this was done, and it was unsuccessful, what can we do to make sure that law enforcement would find the fugitive next time?  The Choice A answer: more cameras; more cameras connected to a central office so that they can keep an eye on you. To watch your backyard for you.  To watch out for you.  More cameras in high crime neighborhoods and at intersections and most importantly at public schools.  If you are accustomed to cameras focused on you as a child at school, then why would you be opposed to a camera focused on you anywhere else?  What do you have to hide?

The Choice B answer is harder but proven.  It is old fashioned but very effective.  Before the founding of our Republic, citizens banded together to deal with the adversities and misfortunes that occurred.  Everyone knew that if they didn't help they could not count on help when they were in need.  Whether it was flood, fire, hostile nations, or desperate criminals, people would run to the sound of trouble.  An example of this from our past was the Northfield Raid, a attempted bank robbery that ended the decade long career of the James-Younger Gang.  More recently we have the example of the passengers on Flight 93 and those that ran to the sound of the explosions at the Boston Marathon.  If we take the Choice B answer then we must all accept that as our President said, "We are the ones we've been waiting for."  We will have to step up to meet the challenges that will come.  We will have to be prepared to save ourselves and others.  We will have to do what needs doing.  But we will be able to face the challenges because we are not alone.

Patroits Flock to Boston Common for 2013 Tea Party Rally

...We in it Shall be Remembered-

 

With all due respect and credit to William Shakespeare and King Henry the V

What’s more to be wished for?
My brothers and sisters from Worcester?
No, my fair friends and neighbors;
If we are marked to fail, we are enough
Our freedom, our earnings, our children’s future, will be lost; but if we win,
The fewer, the greater share each of honor.
God knows, I am not covetous of a State Film Subsidy,
Nor care I who doth drink upon 20 oz cups;
It burns me not if men wear droopy drawers;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires.
But if it be a sin to covet Liberty,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, have faith, my family, wish not another from New England.
God’s peace! I would not lose so great an honor
As one more methinks would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Worcester, through this host,
That they which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his E-ZPass shall be paid,
And Crash Murray will convey him home;
We would not share in that one’s company
That fears fellowship with us.
Saturday April 13th will be the Great Tea Party Rally.
He that Rallies this day, on Boston Common for Liberty,
Will stand a proudly when this day is recalled,
And rouse him at the name of the Tea Party Rally.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the anniversary, with his neighbors,
And say “To-morrow is the Tea Party Rally.”
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say “These sunburns I got at the great Tea Party Rally.”
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall the names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Grover Norquist, Tom Duggan and Dr. Keith Ablow,
Jeff Katz and Paul Craney, Jessica Vaughan and Jake Danishevsky,
Nathan Fatal and Andrea Taber, and Andres “DraMatik” Gonzales,
Jim Wallace and Todd Feinburg, Aaron Goldstein and Jeff Kuhner,
Be in their flowing Big Gulp Cups freshly remembered.
This story shall the patriots teach their sons;
And the Tea Party Rally shall never go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For they today that stands for Liberty with me
Shall be my brother, my sister; be they once a liberal,
This day shall redeem their condition;
And Prince Deval in Milton
Shall think himself accursed because we were here,
And held on to our wages and our rights
We stood for Liberty upon the Boston Common Tea Party Rally.

If you wish you can compare it to the original work Here 

The Question is Mightier than the Sword

I recently attended an anti-gun forum at the Adams Middle School hosted by the nice ladies of the Holliston Democrat Town Committee. They invited State Rep David Linsky to speak about his extreme legislation to curtail our Second Amendment Rights.  They were not expecting a repeat of what happen in Westford but that is what they got, as accounted by the local media and bloggers.  By all reasonable accounts it is evident that Linsky’s present attempt to keep law abiding citizens from protecting themselves with guns is meeting substantial resistance. 

At the event many good patriots got up to ask questions of the panel.  Most of them made a mistake common among salesmen; they talked too much.  Shakespeare reminds us that "Brevity is the soul of wit" and in this process, wit is the most essential tool, to winning our argument.  Because of that I want to make all of my brothers and sisters familiar with the “Elevator Pitch.”  In this context it is the ultimate weapon.

The elevator pitch originated sometime ago and is a quick and effective way of communicating the important parts of your business purpose and promise to a less than captive audience.  It is called an elevator pitch because it is an effective communication technique to use in a very short period of time, like an elevator ride.  It was so successful in our sound-bite driven society, that today the technique is used whenever important information is delivered to a less than engaged or even a resistant audience. 

Adopting this technique will result in better questions that are difficult to dodge or obfuscate.  The three parts of the “Elevator Pitch” are: Preparation, Message, and Delivery.

A relevant and air tight Message takes hard work.  You need to consider what you need to say and how it can be twisted or dodged, and then attempt to refine the message and question to avoid such pitfalls.  Also avoid having too much to say.  “Mr. Rep are you unaware that gun violence has gone up since legal private gun ownership has gone down?” is effective.  Although, “Mr. Rep I was at the frozen Chosin Reservoir defending our Constitution with a gun, are you unaware that the static you stated about gun violence is a lie and . . .” will only serve to confuse those listening and give far too much opportunity for the opponent to answer only the part they can answer.  Pick one message and stick to it. 

Confidence is key to effective Delivery of any message.  Without confidence, one can be overwhelmed when asked to speak in a public forum.  Knowing what one is going to say and knowing it will very likely accomplish a goal is what makes us confident in our convictions; a necessary element to quality communication.  If you practice together you can have a lot of impact.  Our goal should be to be as polished as this:

Preparation is what ties this all together.  Meet with like minded people and discuss the questions.  Let your fellow patriots deliver the other parts of the argument.  Which are open to interpretation?  Which can easily be dodged?  Which others are confusing or too open-ended to be effective?  Before you arrive at an event learn about who will be there. Have they made any mistakes that we should take advantage of?  I would have liked to ask the Attorney from Stop Handgun violence about his attempt at an illegal straw man purchase in NH in 2007. 

Finally, with a well researched question is in hand, and a refined delivery of that question prepared, this will be fun.  Knowing a question is so well crafted the answer can only be proof of the conclusion you wish to convey, confidence in saying it is a foregone conclusion.  Be prepared and the result will be well worth the effort.

The Next Wave of the Tea Party.

The axiom claims that "in politics there are no permanent victories" and there are no permanent defeats as well. Grover Norquist is the founder and President of Americans for Tax Reform has become the favorite whipping boy for the big government types in Washington.  Mr. Norquist was on the Victoria Taft show, aired on KPAM 860 out of Portland, OR, on Thursday.  He closed his remarks by pointing out that Americans have reasons to be hopeful as he predicts a “second wave” of Tea Party enthusiasm.
  
We are about to have a Tea Party second wave that will dwarf the first wave and that is because while "spend too much" brought the Tea Party into existence, we're about to walk into "spend too much, regulate too much, and tax too much" all together. It's going to be a perfect storm...which is devastating to the economy, and I think the small business community which is particularly hit by Obama's tax increases are going to lead the fight bigger, stronger, tougher than the last Tea Party.

I have seen that second wave in the deep ocean.  Since election day I have been in contact with Tea Party members through out our Commonwealth.  All of them, each and every man and woman, have not given up on America.  We are searching for how we will proceed.  Some of us gathered in Worcester as others have gathered in other parts of this state and every other state of our union. 

Some report that there are more than 3 million Americans that claim membership in the Tea Party Movement.  I don't doubt it for a minute, and I am just as sure that we will be working to solve the problems that face our nation now and in the future.  Our second wave is coming!

No Retreat, No Surrender.

Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Tea Party Movement,

The results of the past elections have been  disappointing to say the least.  Many of us are trying to deal with this and to make some sense of what happened.  In the last few days many have reached out to me.  I have taken angry phone calls.  I have held trembling hands.  I have suffer through reading many emotional e-mails.  Many, many people have worked very hard to achieve a goal that has eluded them.  It is natural for people to respond to this disappointment with a profound sense of loss. 

At this time it is very hard to be clearheaded but that is exactly what we need to do.  I agree with many of the assessments of what has happened in our movement.  I have seen many of the same problems and voiced many of the same concerns.  Personally, I have felt we have been too close to the Republican Party and have said so often.   Our work must continue without regard to the occupant of the White House or any other office.  Our goals are much loftier than the election of any politician.  Our movement is so much more than the just a political party. 

There are two theories that are emerging at this time.  The first contends that we are hopelessly out of touch.  That such a flawed politician was able to win the election over our opposition is proof that we must be totally wrong.   Our values and principles are quaint relics of the past. Those that think so predominate much of the Media Misinformation Complex.  They eagerly encourage us to take our gloves and balls and go home and leave the important politics stuff to them.  

The second theory says that it was not the message but the messenger.  If only we had better candidates or if they had fought harder we would be on the winning side.  If we had spent our precious resources on this state instead of on that city we could have should have won.   We needed more attack adds and sharper quips then we would have shown them that our ideas are better.  This theory contends that to beat them we have to adopt their worst traits and be even more   

I see this as a long struggle.  I know that it won't ever be easy.  I know that I don't know, can't know, what will happen from here.  But I can say that I still believe in the heart of our movement.  And I am wounded by the pettiness of our squabbles.  I love our Nation because of the radical principles that it was founded on.  And I am fully aware of how we often have failed to be true to those principles.  We have an immense history to live up to.  The Great Man said:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure.

I believe that we can remain dedicated and that we can endure.  

I pledge that I will continue this struggle until we win or I end. 

No retreat, No surrender. 

 

"Ich bin ein Bostonian!"

I am proud to come to Boston and to confront Mayor Thomas Menino, who has come to symbolize throughout the world what is wrong with Progressives. And I am proud to visit the Chick-fil-A with its distinguished President Dan Cathy who has become the victim of the progressives’ war on freedom. And to come here in the company of my fellow Americans, members of the Tea Party Movement who have been in this city during its great moments of crisis and will return again whenever needed.

Two thousand years ago the proudest boast was "civis Romanus sum". Fifty years ago in the face of Communist brutality and oppression it was "Ich bin ein Berliner". Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is "Ich bin ein Bostonian".

There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the Tea Party Movement and the progressives.
Let them come to Boston.
There are some who say that progressive-ism is the wave of the future.
Let them come to Boston.
And there are some who say we can work with the progressives.
Let them come to Boston.
And there are even a few who say that it is true that progressive-ism is a corrupt system, but it permits us to make social progress.
Let them come to Boston.


Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, it can be hard to live up to the standard set by those that struggled for freedom from our past.  I want to say, on behalf of the men and women of the Tea Party Movement, for those who live many miles away on the other side of the route 128, we are not so distant from Boston, by our shared history we are connected, and we take no pride seeing what has been done to Boston, even from a distance, the shameful story of the last 19 years.

In 1993 when running for Mayor, Menino pledged to serve "only two terms, and that's it for me." In 2001, when Mayor Thomas Menino ran for a third term, he clarified "I promised I'd serve two terms - in every century." Back then, as even now, Mayor Thomas Menino is supported by a corrupt cadre of city workers who make his political cause their sole focus. During business hours, they perform the activities of their office. By night, they serve Mayor Thomas Menino by attending community gathering reminding all to stay in line; Mayor Thomas Menino is watching you.

In 2001, Mayor Thomas Menino admitted to urging his inspectional services commissioner, to ''take a very serious look'' at zoning issues affecting the planned Brooks Pharmacy store opening a few blocks from Sullivan’s Pharmacy which was owned by a close friend who donated thousands of dollars to the mayor’s reelection campaigns.

Read this article here

Even Boston Globe/Democrat has witnessed the thuggish tactics of Mayor Thomas Menino's reelection campaigns. In a September 13, 2009 article they reported several instances of questionable behavior, including cases of Mayor Thomas Menino‘s associates monitoring Michael F. Flaherty's Facebook friends. According to the article, Mayor Thomas Menino’s campaign sent out a campaign memo containing the name of at least one small business owner who supported Flaherty. Michael F. Flaherty, claimed that his running mate Sam Yoon had to leave Boston because Mayor Thomas Menino’s allies made it difficult for Yoon to find work locally.

Read this article here

Now Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said it would be "very difficult" for Chick-fil-A to get needed licenses in Boston and sent a letter telling Dan Cathy that there was "no place" for Chick-fil-A in the city, just because President Dan Cathy spoke about his faith in public. Even though he has “walked back” his statements, that is unlikely to restrain the kinds of influence that Mayor Thomas Menino wields. The fact is that Mayor Thomas Menino has done it before and this is a very real threat.

I know of no town, no city, that has been held hostage for 19 years in the way that the city of Boston has. Out of 352123 registered voters only 63,123 gave in to Mayor Thomas Menino so he would continue to inflict himself on their city. But still you bear that burden; still you suffer under those that demand loyalty through threat and coercion. Mayor Thomas Menino and his enforcers have not sapped the vitality, and the hope, and the freedom, and the unique history of the city of Boston.

While the city of Boston has the most obvious and vivid demonstration of the failures of the progressive-ism, for all the world to see, we of the Tea Party Movement take no satisfaction in it, for it is, as the Mayor of West Berlin once said of his city, an offense not only against history but an offense against humanity. What was true of that city is true of Boston - real, lasting freedom in does not come from iron fisted dictators. No petty official can deny the elementary rights of free men, and demand that they remain silent. No bureaucrat can trump the First Amendment of our constitution.

19 years of corruption and bad faith is enough, this generation of Bostonians have earned the right to be free, including the right to the free exercise religion; and the right to the freedom of speech, and the right to a free and honest press; and the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. And all the other rights that the Tea Party Movement stands for!

You live in a cloistered island of tyranny, but your life is part of the main. Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free.

So let me ask you, to lift your eyes beyond the dangers of today, to the hopes of tomorrow, beyond the freedom merely of this city of Boston, or our Commonwealth of Massachusetts, to the advance of freedom everywhere, to the day of freedom and liberty, beyond yourselves and ourselves to all mankind. All free men, wherever they may live, are the descendants of Sons of Liberty, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words

"Ich bin ein Bostonian!"

Cold and timid souls no more

By Ken Mandile

Three years ago, the tea party movement was sparked by bailouts, stimulus spending, growing deficits, and an ever-expanding government. We spoke out against politicians who over-promised, overspent, and overtaxed. Our political process had become a corrupted system of self-serving politicians, cronyism, and greedy public employee unions, fueled by money provided by large corporations who distorted the free market to their advantage. 

These are but symptoms of the real issue, though. The true blame belongs to people like me who were too busy raising a family and paying their bills to participate. 

If there is one thing that I have learned in the past three years, it is that participation in the political process is not something that can be left to others. Every citizen has a duty to participate beyond casting a vote. For a republic to function effectively, its citizens must be actively engaged in politics. 

A little more than 100 years ago, in April 1910, former Progressive Republican President Theodore Roosevelt delivered his "Citizenship in a Republic" speech at the Sorbonne in Paris. It is best known for the single paragraph referred to as the "Man in the Arena" quotation: 

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." 

Those of us who are new to politics are often criticized because so many of us were not active before President Obama took office. 

We plead guilty to this accusation, but it does not diminish the credibility of our position that our Constitution must be defended, that our inalienable rights are best protected by truly free markets and a limited government, and that irresponsible fiscal and monetary policies are threats to our freedom and to that of future generations. 

We may have come late, but it is never too late to do what is right. In fact, having become aware of our duty we have no choice but to remain in the arena. 

President Roosevelt's 1910 speech in Paris on citizenship was not a new theme for him. He had given a similar call to duty 17 years earlier in another speech about citizenship. 

He said, "The people who say that they have not time to attend to politics are simply saying that they are unfit to live in a free community. Their place is under despotism; or if they are content to do nothing but vote, you can take despotism tempered by an occasional plebiscite ... If freedom is worth having, if the right of self-government is a valuable right, then the one and the other must be retained exactly as our forefathers acquired them, by labor, and especially by labor in organization, that is in combination with our fellows who have the same interests and the same principles." 

This Sunday, the Worcester Tea Party will celebrate local citizen activism with its fourth annual rally, from 2 to 4 p.m. in Lincoln Square, Worcester. At our very first rally in 2009, we thought that we were just protesting an out-of-control government. Little did we realize that our small group of novices would become part of a major force in American politics. It's still very early to know where our efforts will lead us, but we remain committed to our cause, not because we don't have other things that we would rather be doing, but because we do not have a choice. 

The fact that 200, or maybe 2,000, people will show up in Lincoln Square on Sunday to defend our freedom genuinely moves me, but there should be 100,000 people there. Throughout history people have given and continue to give their lives for a chance of freedom for their children and future generations. 

We have remnants of our freedom left and can defend it without risking our lives, but most Americans refuse to participate. Are you one of those people that Teddy Roosevelt referred to as "cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat?" 

Ken Mandile is president of the Worcester Tea Party.

April 12. 2012 12:00AM

Cold and timid souls no more

AS I SEE IT, telegram.com