Regional Tea Party Rally - Oct. 1, 2011

We speak about American exceptionalism, and there is a fundamental truth that America is indeed exceptional, not because of its political class or its bureaucracy, but due to the American people. 

Those of us who believe in the founding principles, who understand that divine providence had a hand in the formation of this country, realize that there is something ingrained in the American spirit, some inherent yearning for liberty, some desire to be left alone to make our own fortune, to seek our own happiness, coupled with a unique belief in charity, in extending a helping hand to those in need.

It is this spirit, this drive for freedom that prompted the first settlers to cross an ocean to form a new life in an untamed new land in order to flee religious persecution.

It is the spirit that allowed the colonists to rise up against British hegemony in a revolt against burdensome taxation, and forge a nation that would be a beacon of hope for the rest of the world.

It is this spirit that drove the pioneers westward, spurred on by that rugged individualism that characterized a people who would make their own way. 

It is that same spirit, spurred on by Kennedy’s challenge to conquer space that culminated with the 20^th century cowboys, the astronauts of our space program, landing on the moon. 

And it is that same spirit that has caused American men and women to risk all, to make the ultimate sacrifice at the beaches of Normandy, on the island of Iwo Jima, in the jungles of southeast Asia and in the hostile environments of Afghanistan and Iraq, and on and on, in an heroic effort to come to the aid of their oppressed brother and sisters around the world.

My friends, that spirit, that very essence of being American, can never be taken from you. Politicians may squander our treasure leaving us bankrupt, they may decimate our economy leaving us jobless, they may confiscate our wealth through burdensome taxation, and they may try to regulate every aspect of our lives in a veiled attempt to enslave us, but they can never forcibly take away our American spirit. 

The only way we can lose this God-given blessing is to surrender it, to turn our backs on it, to trade it in, if you will, for some handout.  We here understand the folly of such a trade off – we understand that our liberty is precious, and that no amount of perceived government largesse is worth the surrender of that liberty.

So where does that leave us in today’s America?

Countless Americans, weaned on generation after generation of government handouts perpetuated by the progressive liberal ideology, have indeed surrendered their spirit. 

They have accepted a new way of life, dependent on a bureaucratic leviathan for their every need, no longer the makers of their own dreams, no longer the guardians of their children future.  And as more and more of these weakened Americans accept the yoke of enslavement in return for their vote, the more powerful the bureaucracy becomes.  The current administration, aided by their progressive cohorts in Congress, by organized labor, by the mainstream media and enabled by a Republican establishment that has no stomach for a fight, continues to up the ante, to impose their soft tyranny, in an attempt to get the holdouts, the concerned citizens of America, those of us in whose hearts still burns that indomitable American Spirit, to finally surrender to their will. 

It is out of this dire situation that the Tea Party movement has flourished, encouraging Americans of every stripe to rise up, to raise their voices, to stop the madness and to restore America to its founding principles. 

Make no mistake; it was the Tea Party that brought about the tsunami of change that washed across the political landscape last November.

It was the Tea Party that forced the struggle against Obamacare, causing the administration to spend precious political capital to get the legislation passed, and exposing blatant government corruption. 

It was the Tea Party that forced the fight in Congress over the debt ceiling from being just a rubber stamp. 

It is the voice of the people, expressed through the venue the Tea Party has created that has exposed the president, his policies and his minions as the reason why America is suffering today.

In today’s America there should not be such widespread unemployment, but for the Obama agenda. 

Business growth should not be stymied, burdened with overregulation and stagnant, loitering in a sea of uncertainty, but for the Obama agenda.  

The greatest economic engine in the history of the world, the bastion of capitalism and free markets, should not be borrowing billions of dollars from Communist China, but for the Obama agenda.

Illegal immigrants should not be allowed to cross our borders with impunity, and then be coddled by our government, nor should American citizens be killed by guns delivered to Mexican drug cartels by our own government, but for the Obama agenda.

The security of our ally Israel should not be severely jeopardized, and the threat of Iranian warships off the coast of our country should not be happening, but for the Obama agenda.

Americans should not be at each others throats, locked in a battle of class envy, and separated by race baiting demagoguery, except for a president whose rhetoric seems intent on fomenting flash mob confrontations and civil unrest.

In today’s America, concerned citizens, acting as our founders had intended, engaging in a debate over the current and future policies effecting us as a nation, speaking out against the harmful, willfully malicious decisions being perpetrated by this administration, acting in a concerted voice known as the Tea Party, should not be subjected to vile, hateful speech by the very people elected as our representatives.

We should not hear California Congresswoman Maxine Waters saying “The Tea Party can go straight to hell.”

Nor should we hear Indiana Congressman, Andre Carson, saying “the Tea Party wants blacks hanging from a tree.” 

Vice president Biden should not be agreeing to rhetoric saying “the Tea Party is acting like terrorists.”

 And president Obama, so quick to denounce strong rhetoric and call for civility after the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, has been significantly silent in the face of this vitriol, even taking the stage without comment after Teamster President Jimmy Hoffa Jr., remarked about the Tea Party “Let’s take these sons-a-bitches out…”

If you do not believe that your country is being fundamentally changed, that the constitution is being trampled, and that we are being led down a path that will leave America weakened economically, militarily and morally, it is beyond time for you to wake up and become involved. 

If you believe that you can wait until November 2012 to correct things, let me tell you that America, as the country we all know and love, will be unrecognizable by then if we all were to do nothing. 

You have an opportunity here today, with so many groups represented, so many local venues available to you to become engaged, to become part of the movement.  I implore you to take advantage of this opportunity.

But besides just becoming involved, it is equally important for us to frame the narrative, to counter the lies that are being spread, to move from defense to offense.  To do that you must become educated, aware and emboldened. You must find your voice and express your beliefs.  You must have a positive vision for America’s future and be able to articulate that vision. And you must live that vision. 

If the Tea Party movement is to continue to be effective, to be the one refuge where conservative ideology can flourish, then it must be pure to the founding principles and it must exhibit a moral character that is beyond reproach.

In today’s America, my Tea Party is all inclusive, open to every American who espouses the virtues of individual freedom, fiscally responsible limited government, personal responsibility and free markets.  There can be no exclusions, no exceptions, no doubts and no room for prejudice of any nature.  My Tea Party welcomes every race, every creed, every color, every social class, every sexual orientation, and every party affiliation that believes as I do, be it Republican, Democrat or Independent.

When the policies of this regime result in joblessness, it impacts every family, black and white, Christian, Jew and Muslim.

When businesses fail because of overregulation, bureaucratic red tape and excessive taxation, it hurts all business owners, the small mom and pop as well as the corporate giants and their stockholders.

When our borders remain porous and we remain beholden to foreign nations for our economic survival, our security as a nation becomes tenuous, threatening the well being and safety of all Americans, straight and gay, democrat, republican and independent.

When political patronage and failed initiatives, bent on promoting a Green Job agenda result in the waste of billions of dollars of taxpayer money, all Americans suffer.

My friends we are all in this together.  In the words of Ben Franklin,  “We must all hang together or assuredly, we shall all hang separately.”  Do not let those who would silence us have any excuse to paint us with the harsh brush of bigotry.  Set the agenda, frame the narrative, hold the moral high ground and act decisively.

Our movement is under constant attack, both from the left, who understand that we are not going away, and from the establishment opposition, who also see us a threat to their hold on power.

Our cause is just, our resolve unshakable, but we need more concerned citizens to join the fight.  My friends, if you are not part of the solution, you remain a part of the problem.  The current administration as well as the progressives in national, state and local governments has radically changed the fabric of our society.

If we allow this change to remain, we will have forfeited the inheritance of our children and grandchildren, which has been safeguarded and nourished by the sacrifice, blood and commitment of generations of American citizens.  If we fail to overturn the radical agenda of this corrupt regime, we will forever be branded as the generation that refused to fight, the generation that lost the Dream, the generation that forgot that this country was founded under a Divine Providence to forever be a beacon of hope and liberty to the entire world.

As I said earlier, that spirit, that very essence of being American, can never be taken from you.  It is yours to hold forever. It can only be lost if you willingly surrender it, so cherish it, nurture it, draw strength from it, and pass it on to your children. And always hold that bright vision for our future.

Let me leave you with this thought, since you are all gathered here today for a common cause and can support each other as you back to your homes, your friends and your families.  A year ago I attended Glenn Beck’s Restoring Honor Rally at the Lincoln Memorial.  A half a million concerned, patriotic citizens gathered, prayed, and drew strength from each other then as you can now.  

If we each understand who we are as Americans, why we are here, why America is a special place, “that shining city on a hill,” and if we return to the founding principles, the traditions and mores of our Judeo-Christian faith, and begin to live our lives guided by the principle of personal responsibility, if we encourage entrepreneurship and free markets, if we fight for limited government at every turn, if we cherish our liberty, fight for it with every breath we take, and if we do it with confidence in America’s future, with a smile on our face, with a hand extended to our fellow Americans, and with a profound belief that all we have has been given to us by our Creator, then we can, and we will make things right.

Address at The Montgomery Tea Party - July 10, 2011

“THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated. Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right (not only to TAX) but "to BIND us in ALL CASES WHATSOEVER" and if being bound in that manner, is not slavery, then is there not such a thing as slavery upon earth. Even the expression is impious; for so unlimited a power can belong only to God.”

The words of Thomas Paine in The Crisis, December 23, 1776

Words written long ago, as a nation faced an uphill battle against overtaxation and oppression, remain as valid today as they were then.

It is encouraging to see you all here today publicly expressing your love of country and your understanding that the America that we all know and love is in great danger. Since you’re here I hope you are prepared to get involved.  Attending this rally, while it shows support for the grassroots movement to restore America to founding principles, is not nearly enough.  Please don’t go home today, pat yourselves on the back, and say that you have contributed or made a difference. The effort to restore fiscal responsibility to Washington and Trenton and the need to hold our elected representatives accountable for their actions and omissions will require far more work than spending a few hours here on this summer afternoon, and will require much more passion and dedication than summer soldiers or sunshine patriots.

We are facing an opponent, which you can describe as liberal or progressive, take your pick, that has a far different vision of the America which our children and grandchildren will inherit than we conservatives, and they have been mobilizing for years, building a ground game to get out the vote, indoctrinate the electorate, and silence those of us on the right. 

It is that same silence that is responsible for the position we find ourselves in today.  It is past time for those of us who embrace conservative ideologies to find our voice, to become emboldened, and to fight for our nation, for the Dream that we call America.

You can no longer wait for “someone” to do something, for “someone” to say something, for “someone” to stop the madness. You alone are the only someone that matters.

Take strength in your numbers, support each other, encourage each other to leave you comfort zone and speak out.  Look around you – could each of you have invited one or two other people to attend this event?  What would that do to the energy that a larger crowd can generate? How much stronger would the synergy be between each of you here?  

If any of you attended the rallies in DC in 2009, 2010 or Glenn Beck’s Restoring Honor Rally you know what I mean. Surround yourselves with like minded citizens.  Understand that you are not alone.  Raise your voices and you will be amazed at how many people are out there just looking for a way to become involved.  Reach out to them – become the catalyst that ignites their passion.  If you do not become part of the solution, you become a part of the problem.

Understand that there is a price to pay for the God-given liberties we enjoy in America. That price is your involvement in the government of this nation and this state. You have a duty  to educate yourselves as to what is going on in our nation, to be ever vigilant to the actions of our representative and to mobilize yourselves to safeguard our liberties by raising your voice, exercising your vote, and bringing pressure on those chosen to represent us. 

I for one have grown tired of being told to be politically correct, to avoid the use of rhetoric that inflames, to be civil, to compromise, to just get along.  I will not guard what I have to say, while our opposition hurls epitaph after epitaph at us. I will not pull any punches while fear mongers on the Left use class envy and race baiting against us, I will not restrain my passions while every call for fiscal responsibility is met with accusations that conservatives want to kill children and seniors.

We are talking about our freedoms, which have been eroded through decades of progressive legislation, which is based on the redistribution of wealth and the growth of an all knowing, bureaucratic leviathan of a government, that will control every aspect of our lives. If you won’t fight for your freedom, what will you fight for?

Do you remember the movie Braveheart, the famous words of William Wallace to his troops before the Battle of Sterling?

“Yes. Fight and you may die.  Run and you will live, at least awhile.  And dying in your bed many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that, for one chance to come back here as young men, and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they will never take our freedom?”

Are those words too extreme for the battle we face today? Is the rhetoric too high?  Remember the words of Barry Goldwater, “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”

If you believe that we are merely engaged in a debate of ideas, that whatever the outcome, America will continue on as it has in the past, that our way of life will merely experience some slight inconvenience, then I suggest that you have not been paying attention the last two years.

We are at war, so far a bloodless war, for the very soul of America.  The winner of this war of ideas will determine the America that future generations will inherit. 

Will the idea of personal responsibility prevail over the idea of the nanny state, taking care of our every need in exchange for our freedoms? 

Will the idea of free markets, complete with entrepreneurship, and unlimited potential, prevail over government owned or subsidized businesses, selective bailouts with taxpayer money, and central planning by bureaucrats who have never risked their treasure nor run a business. 

Will the ideas of American sovereignty, secure borders, and respect for those who immigrate here legally and contribute to our society win out over the current politically correct pandering to those who violate our laws and cross our borders with impunity, resulting in their being rewarded with the fruits of our labor and given preferential treatment to legal, taxpaying American citizens. 

Will the idea that the Constitution is a sacred document and the foundation upon which our nation was formed fall to the idea that the Constitution is just an outdated piece of paper, no longer relevant in today’s society, and therefore no longer binding on the people or the government.

Imagine if you will the future that you will leave to your children, the inheritance that you pass down to your grandchildren under each of these opposing ideologies.  Will future generations be dependent on an all powerful government for their healthcare, their livelihood, their education, their housing, their every need, yet surrender more and more of their income, more of their responsibilities, more of their choices, and yes, more of their liberty in return, or will they be the makers of their own dreams,  their own future, responsible for their own lot in life, faced with unlimited potential and opportunity if they are willing to make the sacrifices, and achieve the goals necessary to be whatever they aspire to be.

We are indeed at war.  There can be no compromise.  There can be no partial peace.  How do we compromise on the loss of liberty and enslavement of our children to an unconscionable debt? We must defeat the liberal, progressive ideology that is neutering our country.  We must oust from office any and all, regardless of party affiliation, who do not espouse the simple tenants of individual liberty, personal responsibility, free markets, and a limited government, exercising fiscal responsibility and compliance with its Constitutional authority.

The Left will stop at nothing to win this ideological war, and with the support of organized labor, has a formidable ground game in place. The media, the supposed watchdog for the citizens, has prostituted itself to the status of a propaganda machine.  It will all come down to you and you and you and you.  Do not be lulled into thinking this can wait. 

America has survived external threats of all kinds. There is no outside force that can defeat this great nation.  Our greatest threat comes from within and it is supported by an ever increasing number of citizens who believe in entitlements without contribution, from a people infected with class envy and enslaved by their political masters who pander to their every need in return for their vote.  The current administration, as well as the progressives throughout national, state and local government, poses a greater threat to the survival of our republic than any foreign force we have faced.  Whether due to total incompetence or malicious intent, they are the clear and present danger we face today.

Let me quote the words of Cicero in 42 BC:   "A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and he carries his banners openly. But the traitor moves among those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the galleys, heard in the very hall of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor - he speaks in the accents familiar to his victims, and wears their face and their garment, and he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation - he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of a city - he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to be feared." 

My fellow patriots, America has been infected with a cancer that is destroying us from within.  Our government has been co-opted by a sleeper cell of radical socialists put in place decades ago.  If we allow this group to remain unchanged, we will have forfeited the inheritance of our children and grandchildren, which has been safeguarded and nourished by the sacrifice, blood and commitment of generations of American citizens.  If we fail to overturn the radical agenda of this corrupt regime, we will forever be branded as the generation that refused to fight, the generation that lost the Dream, the generation that forgot that this country was founded under a Divine Providence to forever be a beacon of hope and liberty to the entire world.

I cannot fathom telling my children and grandchildren that I allowed the destruction of this great nation to happen on my watch.  

Now, each and every one of you must ponder that same question. How will you respond to your children and grandchildren?  How will you react to this challenge?  Will you be the summer soldiers and sunshine patriots that Thomas Paine warned against back in 1776?  Or you will you take up your sacred duty as the rightful heirs and guardians of this Dream?

Let me leave you with this thought, since you are all gathered here today for a common cause and can support each other as you back to your homes, your friends and your families.  A year ago I attended Glenn Beck’s Restoring Honor Rally at the Lincoln Memorial.  A half a million concerned, patriotic citizens gathered, prayed, and drew strength from each other then as you can now.  

If we each understand who we are as Americans, why we are here, why America is a special place, “that shining city on a hill,” and if we return to the founding principles, the traditions and mores of our Judeo-Christian faith, and begin to live our lives guided by the principle of personal responsibility, if we encourage entrepreneurship and free markets, if we fight for limited government at every turn, if we cherish our liberty, fight for it with every breath we take, and if we do it with confidence in America’s future, with a smile on our face, with a hand extended to our fellow Americans, and with a profound belief that all we have has been given to us by our Creator, then we can, and we will make things right.

There are no better words to close than the simple, eloquent words of Ronald 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.

Thank you, and May God Continue to Bless this Great Nation.

...not a cloud to be seen - A Remembrance on the 10th Anniversary of 9-11

On September 10, 2001, Americans went to sleep having no idea that their days of domestic peace and security, their long-standing isolation from the forces of terrorism, would vanish forever in a few short hours. On September 11, 2001, American lives were forever changed and security became a nebulous notion, sometimes apparent, often no more than a hope, an apparition that we prayed would materialize into a reality while we wandered through an ever-changing rainbow of terror alerts.

We said that we would never forget the horrors of 911. We came together as a nation and swore that never again would we be caught off guard by those who would seek to destroy our way of life.

Today, the current administration seems to have forgotten the lessons of history. They cannot speak of a war on terror, they refuse to acknowledge that Islamic Fundamentalists are our enemy, and they continue to place obstacles in the way of those who would protect us.

A massacre at Ft. Hood, the Christmas Day Underwear Bomber, the attempted attack in Times Square, all written off as isolated incidents perpetrated by troubled individuals. Children and the elderly undergo invasive screening at airports, yet terrorists can simply walk across our Southern border, while the administration threatens sovereign states and law enforcement personnel with lawsuits and condemns the actions of Arizona lawmakers in that bastion of hypocrisy and ineptitude, the United Nations.

Those of us here today understand that the proud eagle, always vigilant, and with sharpened talons is the best protection against our enemies, but when we remove the talons and expose the soft underbelly, we surely invite attack by those who swear to destroy us.

Let us here today pledge that we will always remember, and come each Election Day, let us elect those who understand that the security of America is the prime directive, indeed the sacred duty, of our government.

So now I ask you to please come back in time with me. Clear your mind, close your eyes, and as painful as it may be, let me paint that terrible picture for you once again. Let it be indelibly impressed in your mind lest you ever forget. Let us begin with a moment of silence…...

Remember……

It was a gloriously perfect day. Crystal clear blue sky, not a cloud to be seen, the air crisp and clean. New Yorkers of every stripe, in their own inimitable way, hurried about their business, rushing off to school or work, to a morning run or a latte at Starbucks. Down the subway, chasing a bus, stuck in morning rush hour traffic, or scurrying across the crowded streets they came, converging on downtown Manhattan like bees to the hive. For some, the day held an important meeting, for others only the mundane daily grind. They came, thinking ahead to their evening plans – a trip to the gym, pasta or chicken for supper, a romantic evening with that someone special – never knowing that those plans would never materialize.

They also came that morning – filled with hate for Americans and their freedom, their pursuit of prosperity, their individualism and their attitude, nowhere else better portrayed than in New York. Their mission was simple – to kill those who cherish liberty and to destroy the dream that is America.

Remember the first newscast – a plane had crashed into the Trade Center. Surely an accident, it quickly became the focus of the morning news.

Remember watching the broadcast, the speculation, the queasy feeling of seeing the first tower on fire. As the broadcast continued a second plane appears in the background – why was it flying so low, so close to the skyscrapers rising from the bedrock below?

Remember the shock as the second tower was hit. Flames bursting out from all sides – the realization that this was no accident – the understanding that the unthinkable was happening before our very eyes, broadcast for all the world to see.

Remember thinking that this was the worst day of our lives, and soon realizing that it had merely just begun. A fire at the Pentagon? – no another plane on a perverted act of religious vengeance. Then a fourth down in Pennsylvania. Back to the smoking inferno in New York, we watched horrified as office workers, fleeing from the flames, stepped out onto a window ledge one hundred floors above, held hands, and jumped to their deaths, while far below firefighters and police ran into the fire and up the stairs in a valiant effort to rescue their fellow Americans.

Remember the utter despair as the first tower collapsed in on itself, the plume of smoke and debris filling lower Manhattan,

only to be followed by the collapse of the second tower, completing the devastation of the financial district and crushing the spirit of America.

Remember the immediate aftermath – air traffic halted, the market tumbled, the fear of subsequent attacks hung in the air, and the economic stability of the country hung in the balance.

But this was America. Unwilling to surrender to fear, defiant and proud, led by the sheer bravado that is New York, the country began to rebound. They came from all across the great expanse of our land, professionals and volunteers, men and women, the rich and the poor, every race, creed and color, united by the common bond that is America. Flags were raised and the ruins were cleared. Offices and schools opened. The wheels of commerce once again began to turn.

In Queens a special part of American culture and tradition brought the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets, bitter enemies, together on a ball field where rivalries were momentarily forgotten and players embraced. Emotions and tears flowed openly, starting with the opening pitch, continuing through Liza Minnelli’s passionate rendition of “New York, New York” in the seventh inning, and culminating in a storybook ending as Mike Piazza, the darling of the New York fans, won the game with a dramatic home run. At that moment it was clear that the Islamic terrorists had failed, and that America would rise up and reclaim its place at the top of the hill.

Remember the resolve as we mourned and buried our dead, united in prayer and purpose, and planned vengeance on those who would destroy us. There was a very special feeling coursing through the veins of the country then. All differences were set aside and political bickering was given a backseat as congress united, not as democrats and republicans, but as Americans.

Just as time heals all wounds, time also dampens our resolve. Vigilance gives way to complacency. Cooperation to partisanship. Volunteerism to entitlement. Leadership roles change, new agendas come into vogue, and the course of our country is altered. Where once we projected military might, we now drop our defenses and apologize for being the great country that we are. We coddle those who wish us harm and prosecute those who rose to the challenge and defense of the country in the face of pure evil. Traditions are jettisoned for a vague notion of change, and our sacred liberties are threatened by a soft tyranny that would transform the face of the nation we hold dear.

As we commemorate the events of 9-11, let us first mourn our dead, both the innocent victims and the heroic first responders who embodied all that is right with America. Let us remember the emotions and passions that wrenched us all on that faithful day – shock, fear, sorrow, despair – followed by rage, vengeance and resolve. Finally, let us also remain vigilant to all forces that would seek to destroy our nation, both via malicious intent or by misguided actions, both foreign and domestic, for we alone are the last defense of our liberties.

May God have mercy on the souls of those whose lives were lost on that tragic day, and may He continue to bless and to hold America close to his merciful heart.

Nico Rago

May They Rest in Peace....

Today the world is a lesser place, the forces of good diminished, the light of freedom dimmed.

Yesterday, a U.S. Army Chinook helicopter was reportedly shot down in the Tangi Joy Zarin region of Sayd Abad, Afghanistan, killing 38 people, including possibly 20 U.S. Navy seals.

We all know that these brave warriors knew the risks they took every day, but understood that they put their lives on the line for a greater good, a higher value than any individual life, including their own.  Yesterday, these heroes gave the ultimate sacrifice, and we should all mourn their passing.

So today, as you read this, put aside your trials, your tribulations, your thoughts and your plans, and take a moment to reflect:

Reflect on the fact that your lives will go on.  You will have your summer barbeque with friends and families. You will laugh and play and prepare for another week of work, just like you’ve always done….

Reflect on the fact that these warriors will never again see their friends, hold their families, see their children smile or plan their future….

Reflect on the fact that their families have seen their lives, their futures shattered, crashing down around them with no less horror than that experienced by those destined to die in that ill fated Chinook….

Reflect on the fact that our politicians have trampled the Constitution that these heroes swore to defend, that they have bargained away those sacred liberties that we all enjoy, safeguarded every day by the brave men and women of our remarkable military….

Reflect on the fact that our freedom, our way of life, our America Dream and the hopes and prayers of freedom loving people around the world have just become that much more fragile with the passing of so many courageous Americans….

Finally, stop and say a prayer for the souls of these fellow citizens who have lost their lives in our defense.  Pray that our Heavenly Father will gather their families to His merciful breast and give them the strength to carry on with their lives.  Pray that our politicians will once again understand their sacred duty to uphold the Constitution and to preserve the America we cherish. And, remember always, that we all have an obligation to our country, to a higher good, to a dream that has been purchased with American blood throughout the years.

May they rest in peace………

Bibi Bitch-Slaps The 'Bama

Republicans in Congress, as well as anyone considering a run against President Obama in 2012, could take a lesson from Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on how to take a stand against an arrogant, pompous, politician, whose only concern is his perceived messianic legacy.

In a White House meeting a day after Obama jettisoned years of pro-Israeli American policy while basking in the rapture of his “Arab Spring” initiative, Netanyahu not only failed to kiss the ring of the Anointed One, but went on to figuratively crown the president with a dunce cap and provide him with a lecture of the real world, devoid of political correctness, moral equivalency pap, and the failed exercise of appeasement philosophy.

Obama had called for a Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders and a resettlement of “Palestinian refugees” back into Israel, two objectives that would essentially undermine the fragile security that Israel maintains today. Netanyahu rejected both proposals emphatically, saying “…... For there to be peace, the Palestinians will have to accept some basic realities -- the first is that while Israel is prepared to make generous compromises for peace it cannot go back to the 1967 lines, because these lines are indefensible." He went on to say that the return of the so-called refugees was also a non-starter and would not be on the table for any negotiations, explaining to Obama that this solution was “not going to happen, everyone knows it’s not going to happen...”

Netanyahu clearly understands that he is responsible for the security, for the very continued existence of his people, and unlike the posturing and pandering practiced by Obama, he must deal with the facts, lay the truth on the line and make the tough choices for the good of Israel. As he said in his closing remarks to the president, “We don’t have a lot of margin for error. History will not give the Jewish people another chance.” Clear, unambiguous words from a statesman living in the real world. Words delivered not in a speech to a room of supporters – not words read from a teleprompter – just words spoken from the heart, words of conviction, delivered to the President of the United States eye to eye, mano a mano, sitting just feet apart, for all the world to see.

Congress seems incapable of such straightforward talk. The Republican establishment certainly has no stomach for this kind of hardball politics, and unfortunately we no longer have Ronald Reagan to lead our cause.

America could use a Bibi Netanyahu today. We need a statesman with strength and convictions, unencumbered by the restraints of political correctness, a believer in America’s founding principles, and courageous enough to bitch-slap The ‘Bama on the world stage.

Nico

The Morristown Tea Party Tax Day Rally - April 16, 2010

Welcome to The Morristown Tea Party Tax Day Rally. Since you’re here I hope you are prepared to get involved.  Attending this rally, while it shows support for the grassroots movement to restore America to founding principles, is not nearly enough.  Please don’t go home today, pat yourselves on the back, and say that you have contributed or made a difference. The effort to restore fiscal responsibility to Washington and Trenton and the need to hold our elected representatives accountable for their actions and omissions will require far more work than spending a few hours here on this historic Green.

We are facing an opponent, which you can describe as liberal or progressive, take your pick, that has a far different vision of the America which our children and grandchildren will inherit than we conservatives, and they have been mobilizing for years, building a ground game to get out the vote, indoctrinate the electorate, and silence those of us on the right. 

So, what can you do – how can you become engaged – how do you find like-minded citizens who will be at your side as join this battle? 

About a year ago, I began an initiative for The Morristown Tea Party – an effort to make involvement by more people, in more local towns, a reality.  I devoted over 1000 hours of my life last year. I personally spoke to over 1000 people, in small groups in their homes, educating them, supporting them, and helping them to find their voices. The results of that initiative can be seen here today as we have formed a number of local chapters of TMTP throughout Northern New Jersey.

I direct your attention to the tables at the far end of The Green, directly opposite this podium.  There you will find representatives of local groups serving the following areas:  The Greater Basking Ridge Area, Montville, Lake Hopatcong, Succasunna-Roxbury, Pompton Plains-Wanaque, Scotch Plains-Fanwood, West Essex and The Greater Summit Area.  Some groups are newer; others are firmly entrenched in their areas. They are impacting local, county, state and national politics, they are monitoring their local towns’ fiscal spending, they are impacting their own taxes, and thus their own wallets. More importantly, they are forming the structure we need to influence candidate selection and win elections.  They are the “Boots on the ground” in their towns.  This is how you make a difference.  Find the group closest to you, speak to the representatives, and join them.  If you don’t find a group close enough to you, see me and we’ll form one – and you will be a part of its formation.

Understand that there is a price to pay for the God-given liberties we enjoy in America. That price is your involvement in the government of this nation and this state. You have a duty  to educate yourselves as to what is going on in our nation, to be ever vigilant to the actions of our representative and to mobilize yourselves to safeguard our liberties by raising your voice, exercising your vote, and bringing pressure on those chosen to represent us. 

I for one have grown tired of being told to be politically correct, to avoid the use of rhetoric that inflames, to be civil, to compromise, to just get along.  I will not guard what I have to say, while our opposition hurls epitaph after epitaph at us. I will not pull any punches while fear mongers on the Left use class envy and race baiting against us, I will not restrain my passions while every call for fiscal responsibility is met with accusations that conservatives want to kill children and seniors.

We are talking about our freedoms, which have been eroded through the decades by progressive legislation, which is based on the redistribution of wealth and the growth of an all knowing, bureaucratic leviathan of a government, that will control every aspect of our lives. If you won’t fight for your freedom, what will you fight for?

Do you remember the movie Braveheart, the famous words of William Wallace to his troops before the Battle of Sterling?

“Yes. Fight and you may die.  Run and you will live, at least awhile.  And dying in your bed many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that, for one chance to come back here as young men, and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but will never take our freedom?”

Are those words too extreme for the battle we face today? Is the rhetoric too high?  Remember the words of Barry Goldwater, “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”

If you believe that we are merely engaged in a debate of ideas, that whatever the outcome, America will continue on as it has in the past, that our way of life will merely experience some slight inconvenience, then I suggest that you have not been paying attention the last two years.

We are at war, a so far bloodless war, for the very soul of America.  The winner of this war of ideas will determine the America that future generations will inherit. 

Will the idea of personal responsibility prevail over the idea of the nanny state, taking care of our every need in exchange for our freedoms? 

Will the idea of free markets, complete with entrepreneurship, and unlimited potential prevail over government owned or subsidized businesses, selective bailouts with taxpayer money, and central planning by bureaucrats who have never risked their treasure or run a business. 

Will the ideas of American sovereignty, secure borders, and respect for those who immigrate here legally and contribute to our society win out over the current politically correct pandering to those who violate our laws and cross our borders with impunity, resulting in their being rewarded with the fruits of our labor and given preferential treatment to legal, taxpaying American citizens. 

Will the idea that the Constitution is a sacred document and the foundation upon which our nation was formed fall to the idea that the Constitution is just an outdated piece of paper, no longer relevant in today’s society, and therefore no longer binding on the people or the government.

Imagine if you will the future that you will leave to your children, the inheritance that you pass down to your grandchildren under each of these opposing ideologies.  Will future generations be dependent on an all powerful government for their healthcare, their livelihood, their education, their housing, their every need, yet surrender more and more of their income, more of their responsibilities, more of their choices, and yes, more of their liberty in return, or will they be the makers of their own dreams,  their own future, responsible for their own lot in life, faced with unlimited potential and opportunity if they are willing to make the sacrifices, and achieve the goals necessary to be whatever they aspire to be.

We are indeed at war.  There can be no compromise.  There can be no partial peace.  How do we compromise on the loss of liberty and enslavement of our children to an unconscionable debt? We must defeat the liberal, progressive ideology that is neutering our country.  We must oust from office any and all, regardless of party affiliation, who do not espouse the simple tenants of individual liberty, personal responsibility, free markets, and a limited government, exercising fiscal responsibility and compliance with its Constitutional authority.

The Left will stop at nothing to win this ideological war, and with the support of organized labor, has a formidable ground game in place. The media, the supposed watchdog for the citizens, has prostituted itself to the status of a propaganda machine.  It will all come down to you and you and you and you.  Do not be lulled into thinking this can wait. 

America has survived external threats of all kinds. There is no outside force that can defeat this great nation.  Our greatest threat comes from within and it is supported by an ever increasing number of citizens who believe in entitlements without contribution, from a people infected with class envy and enslaved by their political masters who pander to their every need in return for their vote.  The current administration, as well as the progressives throughout national, state and local government, poses a greater threat to the survival of our republic than any foreign force we have faced.  Whether due to total incompetence or malicious intent, they are the clear and present danger we face today.

Let me quote the words of Cicero in 42 BC:   "A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and he carries his banners openly. But the traitor moves among those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the galleys, heard in the very hall of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor - he speaks in the accents familiar to his victims, and wears their face and their garment, and he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation - he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of a city - he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to be feared." 

  

My fellow patriots, America has been infected with a cancer that is destroying us from within.  Our government has been co-opted by a sleeper cell of radical socialists put in place decades ago.  If we allow this group to remain unchanged, we will have forfeited the inheritance of our children and grandchildren, which has been safeguarded and nourished by the sacrifice, blood and commitment of generations of American citizens.  If we fail to overturn the radical agenda of this corrupt regime, we will forever be branded as the generation that refused to fight, the generation that lost the Dream, the generation that forgot that this country was founded under a Divine Providence to forever be a beacon of hope and liberty to the entire world.

I cannot fathom telling my children and grandchildren that I allowed the destruction of this great nation to happen on my watch.  What about You?

Nico Rago

 

The Reagan Legacy - Still the Best Blueprint for America

Remember the movie Field of Dreams – James Earl Jones in his rich royal voice telling Kevin Kostner “If you build it, they will come.” That’s what seemed to happen one hot summer day last year. The date was August 28, 2010. From all over America, people began a pilgrimage. Some left days before. Most awoke early on the 28th, leaving their homes in the middle of the night, boarding buses, trains, planes and cars. They converged on the nation’s capital in droves. Old, young, families, every race, creed and color, they came, drawn to the National Mall like moths to a flame, not really knowing what to expect, but hoping, praying that it would be good for them, for their families and for their country. A half a million Americans gathered and waited as the event was about to begin, stretching out from the Lincoln Memorial, along the Reflecting Pool, past the WW II Memorial, reaching back to the Washington Monument, rising tall above the Mall with the engrave plaque, reading Deo Gratias at its peak.

There was something special in the air as we waited, something good, some spiritual sense of peace, some quiet connection amongst the throng who had gathered, a sense that we were all united in a cause greater than ourselves, when in the hazy blue sky, from the Washington Monument, a perfect formation of geese flew overhead, above the Reflecting Pool, straight to the Lincoln Memorial. Was this a sign of sorts? For those of us who were there, you know exactly how we felt.

This was the Restoring Honor Rally organized by Glenn Beck. We came hoping for something, something positive for those of us who worried that our country had been hijacked, turned asunder, and plunged down a dark abyss with no bottom, by an administration that seemed hell bent on destroying over 200 years of culture, tradition, and values, that millions before us protected, nurtured, and passed on to us to safeguard. We prayed, we sang, we honored America, we remembered who we were and why we were here. When the day was done, we came away, refreshed, encouraged, and more determined than ever that our fight to restore honor to our republic was achievable.

Beck’s message was simple. If we all act as Americans, in the true sense of who and what we are, if we practice being good to ourselves, to our neighbors, and sacrifice for our country, then one by one we can change America, regardless of the politicians. But to do that, to live the life, to preserve the dream, to promote the optimism and hope for our future, we must know our past. We must understand and be comfortable with who we are as Americans, we must understand that America does have a date with destiny, that there has been Divine Providence at work in the founding, the formation and the growth of our country. And we must understand that we have lost our way. We must understand that we have to turn back to the founding principles. We must embrace individual freedom, personal responsibility, limited government and free markets. We must become what our forefathers envisioned, and if we each do that, we can reverse the slide, regain the greatness, and restore honor to America.

I begin with this story, because I left that rally feeling good about America in a way I had not experienced since Reagan was in office. I believe Beck captured the essence of Reagan’s message, namely that it is the inherent goodness of the American People that defines the nation’s character – that we, the people, can carry the dream despite the self-centered interests of politicians who would mortgage our future for their own power and personal gain. That ethereal concept of finding who we are as Americans takes on substance if we look to Ronald Reagan, who in his words, his actions and in his presidency personifies the ideals that we seek as Americans.

Here is a man who was completely at ease in his skin. He lived his ideals, he knew what was at his core, and he proudly professed what he believed in. He didn’t test the political wind, vacillate depending upon his audience du jour, or couch his words to be politically correct. He endured criticism, both from his political enemies and from the media, with a smile. He spoke directly to the American people with a message that was clear and unambiguous, and the people responded. He lifted a nation out of its malaise and set us on a path of unprecedented prosperity and pride.

Considering the current state of our nation, as I continue, I ask that you weigh each aspect of his beliefs, his vision and his legacy against the current occupant in the White House. I also ask you to examine how relevant all that Reagan professed years ago is today. As I read and researched, I found it uncanny that the words spoken by Reagan 30-40 years ago are still the best answers to the problems facing the nation today. If we had just one politician, no make that one statesman, who could eloquently speak today the words that Reagan spoke, the nation would swarm to that person, and carry him or her to the presidency in 2012.

You can tell something about a man but what he writes, not what is written for him. Ronald Reagan was a prolific writer. He wrote his scripts for his radio show, many of his speeches and countless letters to friends, public figures and the common American who expressed his concerns to the President. His letters were personal, folksy, and plainly written. He exuded eternal optimism, loved his country with all its faults, and believed in the greatness of the American people. His message encouraged self reliance, placed individual liberty as the pinnacle of our rights and humbly acknowledged the handwork of our Creator in the framework of our country.

In a letter to a Mrs. Lenore Hershey back in the 1970s Reagan explained some of his feelings about America:

“In reply to your letter of May 21, here is why I still believe in what is right about America.

Americans are, in their time of discontent, encouraged by doom and gloom criers who would have us believe our only salvation lies in becoming docile sheep for the government shepherd. I happen to believe government is not the solution to our problems – government is the problem.

It is true we have grievous troubles, but it’s also true we are better off than any other people on earth. Ninety five percent of our people have the daily minimum intake of nutrients essential to maintain health; 99 percent of our homes have gas or electric appliances in their kitchens; 96 percent have TVs, and we own 120 million automobiles and trucks. That’s on the material side.

There is a spiritual side. We are a generous people. We have shared our wealth more widely among our people than any other society heretofore known to man. We support more churches and libraries, more symphonies and operas, and more nonprofit theaters than any other country. We publish more books than all the rest of the world put together.

One third of all young people in the world who are getting a college education are getting it in the United States and we have more doctors and hospitals, in proportion to population, than any other country in the world.
Now all we need is to be reminded of our destiny – that God intended America to be free; to be the golden hope of all mankind.” (1a)

Throughout his radio broadcasts, he offered his views on life, politics, and the trials of everyday Americans. He criticized government and what was wrong with America, but always held out hope for a better future, acknowledging that we are all human and make mistakes. He believed that America was the greater good worth fighting for even when it became his time to sacrifice his career for the war.

When Reagan was thirty years old, World War II broke out. In talking about a few movie parts he was being offered he said this, “I’ve been told, here at the studio, of two very important parts that were to be mine, They are in pretty big pictures, so I guess I can say my rules work. But I won’t be doing those pictures. Uncle Sam has called me, a Reserve Officer in the Calvery, and I’m going off to war, still true to my precepts: (a) to love what you are doing with all your heart and soul, and (b) to believe what you are doing is important.

I love the Calvery….(A)nd along with a few million other guys, I feel pretty strong about my country. As for believing what you are doing is important – well, if fighting to preserve the United States and her Allies isn’t important, you name it.

And who knows – maybe when I get back again, “when the world is free” there will be other parts waiting for me and for my buddies.” (3a)

We’ve all heard the stories, the quotes, those moments that will live forever. I don’t know about you, but it seems that whenever I hear the words “Ronald Reagan” I feel a smile coming on, I feel good, I feel proud to be an American. There was something real, something very human, something very approachable about our president. When he was shot, the nation held its breath, but even out of that terribly frightening time in our history, he managed to keep his humor, his smile and his magic.

Peggy Noonan relates a number of anecdotes:

When he was shot - When they told him he was going to be operated on he looked up at the doctors and said, “I just hope you’re all Republicans”

…..in the recovery room, Ronald Reagan had started to come to. When he opened his eyes Nancy had been with him, looking down at him, and he did what he did when she was upset. He repeated the joke “Honey, I forgot to duck.”

During the time that he couldn’t speak, he wrote notes:

“Could we rewrite this scene beginning about the time I left the hotel?”

“Send me to L.A. where I can see the air I’m breathing.”

“If I had this much attention in Hollywood I would have stayed there.”

A note to his top aides “Who’s minding the store?” And when they assured him the government was running as usual he said “What makes you think that would make me feel better?” (3b)

Let’s get back to the problems we face today. I want to read something, and you tell me, is there anyone out there today who is really saying what has to be said. We know where Barack Obama is taking us. We know how he has handled foreign policy, the economy, the military, political correctness, and how he has become an apologist for what he believes is American arrogance. If anyone is looking for the answers to the question, “what is Obama doing wrong and how do we correct it,” I suggest the following:

“We are a proud people with much in our history to be proud of. But in our nation’s capital, pride in our country and our heritage seems to be out of fashion. That is not true of our people. All over America I have found the people hungering to be told the truth about our situation and ready to respond to a legitimate call to duty. The American people are not ready to consign the American Dream, with all that it means to oppressed people everywhere, to the dustbin of history.

May I suggest an alternate path our nation can take; a change in foreign policy from the vacillation, appeasement and aimlessness of present policy?

That path must offer three broad requirements. First, it must be based on firm convictions, inspired by a clear vision of, and belief in, Americas’ future. Second, it calls for a strong economy based on the free market system which gave us an unchallenged leadership in creative technology. Third, and very simply, we must have unquestioned military ability to preserve world peace and our national security. And let me make it plain this can only be done if we eliminate the foolishness that has reduced almost to the vanishing point our intelligence gathering capability.

We cannot afford for example having 8 congressional committees overseeing all covert intelligence operations.

…..We turn dollars made available to American taxpayers over to the United Nation and other international organizations who make no effort to separate the deserving from the undeserving. And in doing so we often find ourselves underwriting those who call us imperialist while their pursuit of Marxism is literally subsidized by American capitalism.

….We have lost out in international economic competition not only because we have overgoverned, overregulated and overtaxed, but because our method of taxation has discouraged investment risk and enterprise, and the results of overtaxation have siphoned people and their work from the private sector, which accounts for our production, to the public sector, which is not only the least productive segment of our economy, but devotes much of its activity to impeding production…” (2a)

My friends, Ronald Reagan wrote this in March 1980, before he was elected to the presidency. Simple, straightforward, unashamed, unambiguous, and easily understood by the common man. Those words, spoken almost 31 years ago, still outline the framework for restoring America’s greatness today.

Truths, values, core beliefs in line with the Founders vision, have no expiration date. Sadly, today, the only clear voice opposing President Obama, and offering a plan for greatness, is the voice of our last great president, repeated by those of us who understand what is truly at stake.

But let’s move on. Let’s touch a few more problems we face today. The 111th Congress, in its Lame Duck death throes, managed to extend unemployment benefits to 3 years. This was supposed to be a way to stimulate the economy - how in God’s name, I’ll never know.

In a letter to Secty of Health and Human Services, Richard Schweiker, replying to an article that states were forbidden to require work in exchange for unemployment benefits …. ”Why didn’t unemployment insurance start out with something like a work requirement? It sure would end the “extended vacation” feature some have used it for.” (1b)

In a letter to Mr. Irving Moulton, Perrysburg, Ohio, Reagan expressed the need to think about the regular tax paying American when we talk about welfare and unemployment insurance “…..Yes we have compassion for those who’ve tried and failed or who through no fault of their own must seek our help.

But we can’t impose unfairly on those who carry the load and make this country go and whose taxes pay the freight. For too long the forgotten American has been the citizen who sends the kids to school, goes to work, supports church and charity and pays taxes to keep the wheels turning. We’ll keep thinking of and caring for these Americans.” (1c)

When a man has strong convictions, he is not afraid to act for what he knows is right, and criticism be damned. When the air traffic controllers went out on strike Regan proclaimed that if the air traffic controllers “do not report for work within 48 hours, they have forfeited their jobs and will be terminated.” And then, when they defied his presidential proclamation, he did with no one expected – he fired 11,000 controllers.

No where is strength and conviction more vital than in establishing a nation’s foreign policy. Our enemies can sense weakness, lack of resolve, and hollow threats. They can recognize a paper tiger and will poke and prod at the soft underbelly of a nation bereft of the will to defend itself and stand up for what is morally right. We have all witnessed America shamefully brought to her knees due to the inactions of presidents who did not understand their sacred duty to defend the country and its citizens.

On November 4, 1979 a handful of Iranians seized the American embassy in Teheran and captured 52 American citizens, holding them captive for 444 days. A weak and ineffectual President Carter retreated to the White House while America, a superpower, was castrated by a handful of Islamic radicals.

Today, the capitulation and appeasement policies of the Obama administration have emboldened our enemies to once again probe the weaknesses of the once proud eagle. The malicious intentions of North Korea, Iran, Venezuela and the ever present threat of Islamic Fundamentalism are allowed to fester, oblivious to the platitudes of the United Nations and the mealy-mouthed rhetoric of a president without convictions.

Just as our enemies can sense weakness, they are acutely attuned to the threat that accompanies a leader with the moral strength to act on his convictions. Reagan was clear in his criticism of the Carter administration’s handling of the hostage situation, and the hostage takers understood that he would not allow the crisis to continue unabated. The Iranian Hostage Crisis ended the moment Reagan was sworn in as president.

His policy towards the Soviet Union, likewise, was based on his conviction that the “evil empire” must be defeated. He reversed the established policy of détente, embarking on a military arms buildup and a deliberate escalation of the Cold War. Rather than appeasement and capitulation, Reagan challenged the Soviet Union to keep pace with America’s military expansion and threatened to throw out the balance of power with the Strategic Defense Initiative, The Star Wars Missile Defense System.

He understood that we must always negotiate from a position of strength, and when arms reduction talks with the Soviets did not go his way, he walked out of the meeting, much to the chagrin and astonishment of the diplomatic elite. It was Reagan, together with Pope John Paul II and Margaret Thatcher, who formed a triumvertae of principled, strong willed statesmen, confident that there goals were pure, their convictions honorable, whose actions eventually resulted in the total collapse of the Soviet Empire without firing shot.

One of the biggest arguments between conservatives and liberals is the role of government in manipulating and stimulating the economy. We have witnessed unprecedented spending, bailouts, so-called stimulus packages, government regulation and takeover of major segments of the American economy, with the resultant skyrocketing debt that has mortgaged the future of our children and grandchildren. The liberal playbook, in a striking resemblance to Soviet-Era central planning, proclaims that only the government can produce change ensuring fairness and equality of outcome, leaving us all suffering equally and strangling investment, entrepreneurship and innovation.

The Reagan philosophy called for government to get out of the way, unleashing private enterprise and free market capitalism to determine the winners and losers while stimulating the economy.

As with JFK’s analogy of a rising tide lifting all ships, Reagan’s theory of trickle-down economics, while loudly condemned by the left, produced a vibrant economic climate in the 1980s. Reagan knew that economic change, economic growth, is contingent on American ingenuity, technology and the willingness to take a risk.

To quote George Will:

“Change begins in America when Thomas Alva Edison in Menlo Park, New Jersey, says he has not failed because 80 materials have proved unsatisfactory for making filament for an electric light bulb – he has succeeded in learning 80 things that didn’t work….”

“Change begins in America when in a garage in Detroit, the young Henry Ford conceives not only a vehicle for the masses, but a mode of mass production that will make Americans mobile and prosperous…”

“Change begins in America when in 1954 a traveling saleman of six-spindled milk-shake machines called Multimixers visits the McDonald brothers’ restaurant in San Bernadino, California, where eight Multimixers were kept busy. The idea Ray Kroc got that day produced not only a great corporation, but an entire industry.” (4a)

Will goes on to describe the boom of the 1980s:

“During Reagan’s term The key to America’s success has been job creation – 19 million more than Europe’s net job creation in those years. There were 93 consecutive months of economic growth, a peacetime record. The economy grew by one third during the Reagan years, as though we had added another economy the size of West Germany…..”

“In the so-called “decade of greed” Americans gave more to charity – more as a percentage of their wealth- than ever before, and did so in spite of the fact that the reduction of marginal tax rates sharply reduced the incentives for giving. The “decade of greed” can more accurately be called the “decade of industriousness” because more Americans worked harder than ever before, producing more wealth than was produced ever before.” (4b)

George Will had it right, but Reagan’s own word’s, even simpler than Will’s, profess that unbounded faith in the citizens of this great land:

“We who live in free market societies believe that growth, prosperity and ultimately human fulfillment, are created from the bottom up, not the government down. Only when the human spirit is allowed to invent and create, only when individuals are given a personal stake in deciding economic policies and benefitting from their success -- only then can societies remain economically alive, dynamic, progressive, and free. Trust the people. This is the one irrefutable lesson of the entire postwar period contradicting the notion that rigid government controls are essential to economic development.”

And to emphasize the limitless potential embodied by a free society: “There are no such things as limits to growth, because there are no limits on the human capacity for intelligence, imagination and wonder.”

Reagan knew that it was the American people who made the nation great. Not the politicians, not the bureaucrats and not those who were uncomfortable with the idea of American exceptionalism. Listening to the words of his last presidential address to the American people, he once again spoke honestly and simply:

“An informed patriotism is what we want. And are we doing a good enough job teaching our children what America is and what she represents in the long history of the world? Those of us who are over 35 or so years of age grew up in a different America. We were taught, very directly, what it means to be an American. And we absorbed, almost in the air, a love of country and an appreciation of its institutions. If you didn't get these things from your family you got them from the neighborhood, from the father down the street who fought in Korea or the family who lost someone at Anzio. Or you could get a sense of patriotism from school.

And if all else failed you could get a sense of patriotism from the popular culture. The movies celebrated democratic values and implicitly reinforced the idea that America was special. TV was like that, too, through the mid-sixties.

But now, we're about to enter the nineties, and some things have changed. Younger parents aren't sure that an unambivalent appreciation of America is the right thing to teach modern children. And as for those who create the popular culture, well-grounded patriotism is no longer the style. Our spirit is back, but we haven't reinstitutionalized it. We've got to do a better job of getting across that America is freedom—freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of enterprise. And freedom is special and rare. It's fragile; it needs protection.”

Once again, the words spoken over twenty years ago have as much meaning and as much authority today as they did then – it’s just that not enough people are saying those words, and meaning them, and living them.

When we think of Reagan - no, when we dream of Reagan, when we begin to feel that warmth and pride at being Americans, when we picture his easy, confident smile, the “aw shucks” demeanor that endeared him to the everyday working man, we have to wonder, “Did we really have this man as our president, or was it the fantasy of a heartwarming movie, the storyline of a marvelous book, read and enjoyed by so many, and indelibly etched into the collective American memory.” Ronald Reagan was all that we envision as good about America, he was that special embodiment of Americana, so beautifully brought to life by Frank Capra. With all due respect to Jimmy Stewart, Reagan was Jefferson Smith in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” He was George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” He was the kind grandfatherly figure smiling at a child, the self-reliant cowboy riding the range, the determined warrior challenging the “evil empire” – “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” and the comforting voice in times of sorrow, “We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God.”

Over the course of the last two years the American people were awakened from their slumber by continual government encroachment and the accelerated erosions of our liberties, the “fundamental change” promised by Barack Obama. The voice of “We the People” rose loud and strong and accomplished what our elected representatives were unable to do on their own, apply the breaks to the runaway trainwreck that the current administration was orchestrating so well. Again, let us return to words of Ronald Reagan, spoken at the 1986 State of the Union Address: “Government growing beyond our consent had become a lumbering giant, slamming shut the gates of opportunity, threatening to crush the very roots of our freedom. What brought America back? The American people brought us back -- with quiet courage and common sense; with undying faith that in this nation under God the future will be ours, for the future belongs to the free.”

My friends, this nation has been held close to the heart of our Creator since its birth. Divine Providence has guided us and led the way. The hand of God has never wavered from America – yes, we have let that hand go, and turned our back on our God at times – but He has never left our side.

We have been blessed with the right person being there when we needed them most; the Founders coming together to conceive this Dream that we have all inherited, Washington overcoming staggering odds and multiple failures to lead a fledgling nation, Lincoln holding the Union together by his sheer will, a magnificent military of brave warriors, sacrificing all for a greater good when faced with threats to liberty, both to themselves and to strangers around the world, and Ronald Reagan, exuding his eternal optimism and belief in the American people, emerging out of the malaise of the Carter presidency to restore hope and dignity to a nation when it needed it most, staring down our mortal enemies, uplifting the spirit of a whole country and once again focusing America on its eternal destiny to be the light of freedom to the entire world.

And now, as we patriots fight to once again rescue our nation from the malfeasance and ineptitude of those entrusted with the stewardship of our children’s and grandchildren’s inheritance, we wait for the next Ronald Reagan to emerge. But, as we look across the broad spectrum of the political landscape, there is no apparent figure rising to the occasion, and so it is my friends, that this time it may be up to each and every one of us to pick up the mantle and serve our country.

As I close, we come full circle back to the theme of Glenn Beck’s Restoring Honor Rally. If we each understand who we are as Americans, why we are here, why America is a special place, “that shining city on a hill,” and if we return to the founding principles, the traditions and mores of our Judeo-Christian faith, and begin to live our lives guided by the principle of personal responsibility, if we encourage entrepreneurship and free markets, if we fight for limited government at every turn, if we cherish our liberty, fight for it with every breath we take, and if we do it with confidence in America’s future, with a smile on our face, with a hand extended to our fellow Americans, and with a profound belief that all we have has been given to us by our Creator, then we can, and we will make things right.

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.

Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless America


Selected Bibliography and Footnotes:

Reagan – A Life In Letters
Edited by Kiron K. Skinner, Annelise Anderson & Martin Anderson
New York: Free Press, 2003
(1a) p258, (1b) p349, (1c) p349,

Reagan – In His Own Hand
Edited by Kiron K. Skinner, Annelise Anderson & Martin Anderson
New York: Touchstone, 2002
(2a) P471,

Noonan, Peggy. When Character Was King
New York: Viking Penguin, 2001
(3a) p51, (3b) p186,

Will, George. The Leveling Wind
New York: Viking Penguin, 1994.
(4a) p423, (4b) p266,