We are most pleased to share with you at this time a glimpse of the "special assignment" which has consumed the better part of our lives for the past several months. We have leant our vast insight, incomparable historical perspective, and editorial mastery to our personal secretary (Mr. B Walter Farley) in his ambitious production of LIBERTY OR LIES?: a documentary series regarding Conservative talk radio in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Parts one through three are available for viewing at http://www.libertyorlies.com/. Parts four through six remain in production but you are provided sufficient orientation as to what the comprise.
Rediscovering America the Hard Way
Whether by the tender caress of a lover’s hand or the butt end of a burglar’s shotgun, waking up is important to do. For as blissful as slumber is—physical, spiritual, civilizational — it does leave one rather vulnerable to the whims of others. (As seen here).
For the United States, the past ten years have comprised a series of awakenings; excessively rude awakenings indeed, but awakenings nonetheless. From the attacks of September the 11th 2001 through the Standard & Poor's credit rating downgrade, American citizens have found themselves slapped wide-eyed by the news of the day more often than at any point since, perhaps, the second world war. Not to suggest the nation hadn’t endured its share of tragedies since that time, but that none amounted to the level of existential threat as have certain of the events since the dawn of the second millennium.
For instance, the moment the second plane plunged into the second tower and that appalling realization gripped us all—this was intentional, no one could ever again enjoy the sweet dream of American invulnerability. Seven years later, as it became plain the financial collapse was the result of government regulations forcing banks to make loans to millions who could not possibly pay them back, no one could ever again drift off to slumber to the enchanting fairy tales of “social and economic justice.”
But alas, in both cases, many did. As the dust settled at ground zero, the Pentagon and on Wall Street, these individuals pointed to American preeminence as the impetus to Islamic mass murder, and the failure of the free market as the trigger for financial collapse and recession. With incessant rhetoric, a charismatic presidential candidate, and hapless Republic opposition, they won power in 2006 and 2008. And since that time, their unbridled pursuit of the Progressive utopia has brought them, and the country, to near ruin.
Today there remain devoted Leftists, disguised in the workaday charade of traditional American “Progressive” yib yab—not the least of whom may be the once charismatic presidential candidate himself—who are quietly pleased to see America forced nearly to her knees, both at home and abroad. The balance of the citizenry, however, is revolting. The degree varies, from Tea Party devotee to disaffected Democrat, but Americans are nonetheless revolting against this alien and ominous Leftward lurch.
We contend that this revolt, what we call the awakening of 2001-2011, as costly as it has been, will emerge in time as one of the most significant and propitious watersheds in American history. For daily an intimate, genuine and comprehensive awareness of the utter bankruptcy of the Progressive folklore that has been enfeebling this nation for more than a century is giving way to an equally intimate and intense awareness of the value of the First Principles of the American Founding.
We are not here in any way attempting to put a happy face on the lives and property destroyed on September the 11th 2001 and the war that has followed, nor the lives and property diminished by the current economic stranglehold. But instead to echo those who note that in life there are personal tragedies which awaken one’s mind to greater focus, one’s will to greater fortitude and one’s soul to greater awareness of God. The attacks of September the 11th 2001 were such a tragedy for the United States of America, rousing her from her post-war World War II moral and civic torpor moments before her enemies made off with her invaluable and irreplaceable inheritance.
Chastened and alert we stand guard once again, reminded anew that, indeed, eternal vigilance is the price of Liberty.
Cheers,
Charlie
| Rep. Farrow: Letter to Capitol Police Chief Tubbs 6/2/2011 Chief Charles Tubbs Capitol Police 2 East Main # B2 Madison, WI 53072-0001 Chief Tubbs, I am writing in reference to recent disturbing events in our Capitol building. As you are aware, throughout the winter months and now stretching into spring, many citizens of Wisconsin and other states have come to the Capitol to have their voices heard regarding legislation which was being debated. Overall the citizens, legally, were well-behaved but the sheer numbers and volume resulted in a significant disturbance to the Capitol’s operation. This has continued with the Solidarity Singers who, for the past two months and running, have commandeered the Rotunda at precisely 12:00 noon each weekday and proceeded to express their displeasure at the top of their lungs. For 60 minutes, the lawmakers and staff are disrupted from their daily business and visitors to the building stop dead in their tracks in an attempt to decipher the noise and lyrics that reverberate throughout the building. The most egregious disturbance occurred this past Tuesday, May 31st. As you know, the American Red Cross was scheduled to hold its annual Blood Drive at the State Capitol, between the hours of 9am-3pm. Dedicated volunteers and medical professionals arrived as scheduled, and began to set up the blood drive. Loyal donors and Capitol staff lined up, waiting to donate blood and potentially save a life. However, they soon found it impossible to complete the task. In fact, this past Tuesday, the decibel level became so unbearable that the Red Cross professionals were forced to close the blood drive and turn away donors. They resorted to rescheduling for Thursday, June 2nd. It is a travesty to think that selfless individuals, willing to donate their own blood to help another in need, would even be put in that predicament. The issue I raise is not, of course, the ability of the Protest group to express its displeasure. There is no question that they certainly are within their constitutional right to do so. I fully support free speech and citizen engagement in the political process. However, I have an enormous problem when the rights of one group infringe on the rights of all others, or completely deprive the opportunity to utilize our State Capitol. I have read the First Amendment many times. Interestingly enough, nowhere in the Amendment does it include the word “volume.” There is no justifiable reason that one group should be able to shout down the rights of another – or “sing down”, as the case may be. Yesterday, I was hoping to speak with you directly and gather more details about what transpired on Tuesday. My staff phoned your office, and requested a return call to discuss this matter. Although I did not receive a response, we did garner some interesting information. As you know, for many years, the policy regarding use of the Capitol grounds has been quite simple. Each and every group - be it civic, educational, or yes, political in nature – has been required to fill out a permit application. This application is kept on file, to ensure that all activities are on the calendar and both staff and security are aware. Furthermore, the permits prevent scheduling conflicts and possible friction between groups. I was greatly disturbed to learn that the Solidarity Singers have no such permit. Capitol Police staff confirmed that the group has neither requested nor completed such a form. According to your office, the group has “spoken with you” and both sides have a “verbal understanding.” This is troublesome at best, and downright appalling at worst. I am further outraged to learn that the American Red Cross did, in fact, complete the permit application process. As in every year past, the group completed the form and followed the policy guidelines flawlessly. The reward for their prudence? To be totally disrupted, and ultimately, forced to abandon their nonprofit event. Sadly, the American Red Cross is not the only group which has been trampled upon by the Solidarity Singers. In the spring, typically thousands of schoolchildren come from all across the state to visit their State Capitol. They travel on buses, sometimes from several hours away, to tour with fellow students and teachers and learn about our state government. Unfortunately, over 50 of those groups had to cancel their trips this year, during the height of the protest. Just last week, I had a group visit from my district. I witnessed the children holding their hands over their ears, asking their parents and chaperones, “What is that noise?” and “Can you make that stop?” Meanwhile, the protestors attempted to hand them the ‘Union Hymnal’ and encourage them to pantomime for the TV cameras that happened to be in the vicinity. It was extremely disheartening to see the youthful innocence of children exploited. The reason for the permit policy is for both the Capitol and security staffs to work in concert with one another and ensure the safety of everyone in the building. As we have seen in the past, failure to require groups or organizations to submit a permit for use of the building, contributed to the state spending an additional $7 million for increased security and repairs to the Capitol. Again, the Singer group is within their right to be present within their building. They are within their right to make their opinion known through whatever channels they choose – be it speech, whispers, or yes, song. But, they must be held to the same standard as every other group. The fact that you have allowed them to dictate the policy is profoundly sad. I request that you immediately rectify this situation, and require the same process of any organization or group, including the Solidarity Singers, both now and in the future. This is what consistent policy looks like. Sincerely, State Representative Paul Farrow 98th Assembly District |
Another glorious exposition of the Left's unyielding advocacy for the cause of women and their place in society is in the works. 
Things seem to be progressing swimmingly with plans to erect New York City’s Islamic community center and mosque where 3,000 innocent men, women, and children were murdered in the name of Islam.
A majority of the American support Arizona’s right to defend its borders. President Obama and company have ruled otherwise.
"Where is the "Saturday Night Live" skit, you'd have Grandma upstairs, crying for her pills, and the kids on a couch watching TV and yelling "Yeah, in a minute!" asks Free Press columnist Mitch Albom. Where, indeed. 
The source of legitimate authority is God, not man. This is the core truth declared in the American Declaration of Independence that makes it a transcendent proclamation for all men, for all time. Recognizing this truth renders abhorrent human authority assumed without the consent of those under its direction, as well as authority administered arbitrarily, indifferent to the God-given dignity of each and every individual.
Those who reject the notion of God, or of the supremacy of eternal truths over relative perceptions of reality, reject the Declaration. Indeed its authors cited the Almighty in four instances: “Nature’s God,” “their Creator,” ”Supreme Judge of the World,” and “Divine Providence.” For many in modern society, this is an unpalatable understanding of the Declaration. Therein lays the key to the anemic state of American liberty today.
A self-governing people who have lost sight of their Creator as the source of true authority will no longer look to themselves as the agents primarily responsible for their own welfare, but to that which most conspicuously claims the guise of authority: government. And government that has lost a genuine fear of the Supreme Judge of the World will not long tolerate limits placed on its authority; inevitably devolving into the very affront to human dignity the Declaration was authored to denounce: tyranny.
For those perplexed by intensifying objections to the current trajectory of government in America, reflecting on this may provide some insight.
Addendum: After having composed the above, we were enlightened by our dear friend, Mr. Jonah Goldberg, to what he considers, "just about the best thing ever written for or about Independence Day, save the Declaration itself." After reading it we quite agree and are pleased to learn that the thoughts of President Calvin Coolidge, some 84 years ago, so closely correspond to our own. Enjoy! Calvin Coolidge on the American Declaration of Independence.
A most heartfelt Happy Birthday America to you all!
Cheers,
Charlie
Should Republicans see sweeping gains in the 2010 midterms, as appears all but inevitable at present, and should they down sufficient doses of Viagra to hold firm in their newly rediscovered Conservative virility, it would seem we’re in for quite the fight in the months between then and the 2014 presidential extravaganza.
Charges of the standard isms and phobias (say it with me: "racism," "classism," "jingoism," "sexism," "homophobia," "xenophobia,"...) will no doubt be hurled at the Right with unprecedented shrillness. For cuts to government spending, relative to the obscene expansions of the past several years (and yes this includes Bushie’s tenure) must now be draconian. Those made dependent upon government-issue “compassion” and those who profit from making them so shall howl with the savagery of the most devoted crack addict suddenly forced to endure sobriety. We give you--Greece! This will be a war, not of the "haves" versus the "have-nots" as it will be characterized, but of the "wants" versus the "want nots" - with government assistance the object in contention.
Yet again the utterly indispensable Heritage Foundation has compiled the four decades of tragic miscalculation and lip-splitting fraud that comprise "The War on Poverty" into an easily digested (though not easily stomached) study: “Confronting the Unsustainable Growth of Welfare Entitlements: Principles of Reform and the Next Steps.” Updated to include the Obama Administration's daily injections of epinephrin into the Welfare State the study highlights, among other stunners:
- Today, we spend 13 times more on welfare than in 1965 (even after adjusting for inflation)
- Since the 1960s, the United States has spent $15.9 trillion on welfare. And yet, despite the current state of the nation's debt, President Barack Obama plans to spend $10.3 trillion more over the next 10 years.
- The welfare state has made the problem of poverty worse by undermining the very fundamentals that decrease dependence: stable families and a strong work ethic. For instance, out-of-wedlock childbirth is at an historic high of 40 percent and means-tested welfare has grown faster than any other sector of government.
Heritage then goes on to make a number of common sense recommendations to bring the nation a millimeter or two closer towards financial sustainability.
1. Slowing the growth of the welfare state by rolling back welfare spending to pre-recession levels and capping it at the rate of inflation.
2. Promoting personal responsibility and work through work requirements in large welfare programs such as Food Stamps and housing assistance .
3. Providing a portion of welfare assistance as loans rather than as grants.
4. Ending the welfare marriage penalty and encouraging marriage in low-income communities, as the decreasing rate of marriage is the greatest cause of child poverty.
5. Limiting low-skill immigration as a significant portion (15 percent) of welfare spending goes to homes headed by lower skill immigrants with a high school degree or less. Also, the government should not provide amnesty to illegal immigrants, as doing so would instantly add millions of people to the welfare roles.
Achieving any one of these goals should prove as easy as sawing the gangrenous leg off of an unanesthetized soldier. Good luck with that, particularly as Barry and his cabal remain steadfast in their commitment to Keynesian salvation and Marxtianity as justification for their market-annihilating policies.
The path to fiscal sanity is clear. Should Republicans win the right to pursue it, will they have the will to do so?
Cheers,
Charlie
“No one respects the flame quite like the fool who's badly burned.” Pete Townshend, Slit Skirts
Of course, how could we have been so blind? It’s all so obvious now. He’s not trying to destroy us. He’s just trying to wake us!
In perhaps the most ingenious educational undertaking of all time, Barack H. Obama is proving to be far more than mere President of the United States. He is, in fact, the quintessential Constitutional Law Professor working to restore the nation’s soul.
Sixty years of Conservative haranguing—from Buckley to Beck—has failed to fully reawaken America’s passion for her founding principles. And yet, after just 18 months, Professor Obama has induced a rapidly-growing number of Americans to clamor for a return to limited government, free market principles, individual liberty, and a strong national defense.
Through an ingenious sort of “Scared Straight/You Never Know What You Had Until You’ve Lost It” curriculum, Professor Obama is sparking what is effectively a second American revolution.
For how better to demonstrate the inestimable value of enumerating the powers of government than by rapidly and arbitrarily expanding those powers to unprecedented levels?
How better to make working people appreciate the genius of the free market than by plundering their personal wealth through collectivist, prosperity-killing policies?
How better to illustrate the necessity of American military superiority than by publicly renouncing that superiority and witnessing two-bit megalomaniacal tyrants advance as a result?
Thus the ever-increasing urgency with which the United States seeks to realign herself with the principles upon which she was founded and the Constitution by which she is sustained. Indeed, no one man or woman has ever done so much for the cause of Conservatism in America than Barack Hussein Obama.
And that is why we say congratulations and thank you Mr. President; our Churchill’s Parrot 2010 Conservative of the Year!
Now would someone kindly remind Professor Obama that school is out for summer? Quickly!
Cheers,
Charlie
“Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.
If other eyes grow dull, other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain to us.”
- General Logan, Memorial Day Proclamation, General Orders No.11, WASHINGTON, D.C., May 5, 1868
