Happy Thanksgiving

I hope that you all experience a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Rather than a discourse on what Thanksgiving means to me, I stumbled across the Pilgrim Hall Museum website where all of the various Thanksgiving proclamations made by our Presidents are listed. 

I wanted to share this site with you as I find it incredulous that people can continue to denigrate Christianity and maintain that it wasn’t the fundamental underpinning our Great Nation.  Further, rather than look for inspiration from the current temporary occupant of the White House, let’s reflect on how a great President approached Thanksgiving.  President Reagan wrote these words as he guided our nation out of the morass left behind by the last failed (and until today, worst) President. 

THANKSGIVING DAY, 1981
Proclamation 4883. November 12, 1981
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, A PROCLAMATION
America has much for which to be thankful. The unequaled freedom enjoyed by our citizens has provided a harvest of plenty to this nation throughout its history. In keeping with America’s heritage, one day each year is set aside for giving thanks to god for all of His blessings.
On this day of thanksgiving, it is appropriate that we recall the first thanksgiving, celebrated in the autumn of 1621. After surviving a bitter winter, the Pilgrims planted and harvested a bountiful crop. After the harvest they gathered their families together and joined in celebration and prayer with the native Americans who had taught them so much. Clearly our forefathers were thankful not only for the material well-being of their harvest but for this abundance of goodwill as well.
In this spirit, Thanksgiving has become a day when Americans extend a helping hand to the less fortunate. Long before there was a government welfare program, this spirit of voluntary giving was ingrained in the American character. Americans have always understand that, truly, one must give in order to receive. This should be a day of giving as well as a day of thanks.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving in 1981, we should reflect on the full meaning of this day as we enjoy the fellowship that is so much a part of the holiday festivities. Searching our hearts, we should ask what we can do as individuals to demonstrate our gratitude to God for all He has done. Such reflection can only add to the significance of this precious day of remembrance.
Let us recommit ourselves to that devotion to God and family that has played such an important role in making this a great Nation, and which will be needed as a source of strength if we are to remain a great people.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 26, 1981, as Thanksgiving Day.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twelfth day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and sixth.
RONALD REAGAN

God Bless you all and God Bless the Unites States of America.    

Occupy DC the last word . . . . organization.

My principle left-wing lunatic detractor says that I have made too much of my visit to Occupy DC.  Maybe, but like I told library-girl on that day, it is a phenomena that was worthy of my attention.  Occupy will be a footnote in history.  A bulldozer, a couple of guys with steam cleaners, and 300 pounds of grass seed will return General James B. McPherson’s Square to its original state and purpose.  My last thought is on the organization of the ground. 

There was a definite attempt at organization on the square.  The Library tent was right next door to the Information tent and that was next to the Do-it-yourself Sign shop:

Just beyond the sign shop was the chow hall:

Garbage was being sorted here: 

I’m sure that the people of Washington, DC love the idea of having an open garbage and recycle pit on a busy city block.  I wondered whether or not there was someone is charge – but wouldn’t that be counter to the spirit of the movement?

There was a media center and first aid location.  Note to union members, The Washington Times reported that the Nurse’s union was also providing free services at various Occupy locations.  Our friendly AFL-CIO helping to sustain rebellion - nice.  I wonder how much that’s costing the rank and file in Band-Aids and Aspirin?   But, this was a "Green" effort - Algore would be so proud.

Even John Stewart noted the ironies of the developing organization of Occupy Wall Street.  It seems that there are people among the 99% that are more equal than others.  As we have seen in all Socialist and Communist experiments a ruling elite does emerge.  Perhaps that’s why the American Communist, American Socialist, and American Nazis Parties all supported Occupy Wall Street – they knew where it would lead.      

That’s all for now on my field trip to Occupy DC.  If Jon Stewart is ridiculing you, it might be time to swing my Mom’s for a quick shower and then get a job like the rest of us.  

Occupy DC Literature (or what passes for it)

Unfortunately the only piece of Occupy literature that I snagged while on McPherson Square was the small tract that is reproduced without editing below.  Titled “STAYING ALIVE” the principle thrust of the tract was to pass on the comments by “Dave” who had just had his ass kicked by New York City’s finest.  Yeah Cops!

I’m not sure that a “friendly” movement would use an octopus trumpeting “The End is HERE, The Beginning is NEAR.”  But maybe that’s just me.  Page two talks of the “Global Revolution” and the part that “Comrade Dave MacMillan” was playing in it.  For the record Dave, I’m glad you got gassed and got your ass kicked.    

Page four includes the now iconic image of an occupier wearing a Guy Fawkes mask.  Fawkes was a 17^th Century criminal who attempted to bomb the British Parliament in 1605.  He was executed in 1606.  Good role model.

Pages 5 and 6 are rated “R.”  I must admit to swearing more than I should, but really – is that what you want your movement to be known for?  Your potty mouths?  Then again, there was that little old lady that I met who appeared to be pretty damn proud of herself for screaming “F**k!” as a twenty-something.  Maybe it’s a liberal thing. 

The back cover illustrates the liberal belief that if you keep saying something, someone might actually believe you.  Not this time kiddies.  We got the memo the last time you ran the “big lie” by us.  As for literature – you guys ain’t Hemingway.

All-in-all I would advise our occupiers to pick up a copy of The Washington Times and read “Some Belated Parental Advice” by Marybeth Hicks.  Most of us actually learned that lesson from Mom and Dad – I know I did.

Tomorrow is the last installment of “What I did on my Fall vacation; Occupy DC.”  

The Most Interesting Discussion at Occupy DC

While I was at Occupy DC I encountered a man and woman who gave my buddy and me the most intelligent conversation that we had that day.  She was originally from Pakistan now living in Canada.  She and her male companion were at a conference in the city.  She was thrilled to be at the Occupy location and pointed out that nothing like that was possible in Pakistan (duh).  [For the record she never pronounced it “Paah-ki-stahn” like you know who.]

We were getting along famously until she asked us what we thought of the Occupy movement.  It distressed both her and her companion that we believed that the Occupiers were mad at the wrong people.  I maintained that the real culprit in nearly all of our problems was government.  They were convinced it was “greed” or some such nonsense.  When she found out that my buddy had recently returned from Afghanistan she leveled all her attention at him.  She apparently bought into the mythology that we were killing innocent people by the bushel in our pursuit of terrorists.  My buddy maintained that wasn’t true. 

That left me in a discussion about how we got in this mess with her friend.  Her companion allowed me to actually roll out the story of the democrat (progressive, liberal, socialist, whatever) destruction of the home loan and housing industries.  When I was done he said: “So your position is that government caused the current crisis and that we would be better off if they got out of the way and let the market set prices.”  You nailed it pal.  You now have the answer.  Of course if he was from Canada as well – he would know that Canada never experienced a severe home mortgage and banking crisis because they never had a Jimmy Carter, Bawdy Bill Clinton, Barney Frank, or Chris Dodd to undermine their banking system.  Further, they don’t have a Barack Obama heaping further abuse on their financial system except that our failure to recover does do collateral damage in Canada. 

By that time our Pakistani friend (maybe not) had determined that my friend (unlike our President) was completely unapologetic for any of the excess force leveraged in the world by the finest military that world has ever seen – she declared that it was time to go.  Okay “Bye.”

It might not have been a victory, but it was more mentally challenging than the old lady who could proudly say “F**k!” or pajama boy who maintained that Abraham Lincoln was his favorite founding father. 

I might be guilty of milking this visit too much, but I think I have one or two more sets of observations and more pictures for you tomorrow.  

Obamaville’s Occupy Guidelines

Hanging on one of the tents was the sheet below labeled “Occupy DC Guidelines.”  A transcript of the guidelines follows with appropriate comment (italics).   Liberals (Democrats, Progressives, Socialists, whatever) rarely understand irony, I hope my readers can. 

“These guidelines were consenTed [sic] upon by the General Assembly at Occupy DC-K Street based on proposals by the Safe Occupation Committee and the Guidelines Super Committee”  Very American actually as it implies the consent of the governed which is uniquely American and was a truly revolutionary concept in 1776.  We’re about to give liberals a lesson in consent of the governed in 2012. 

“1. Respect each other, and each other’s stuff and space.”  This is a guideline in the middle of a public park that is being illegally occupied and vandalized by a bunch of spoiled children. 

“2. Practice nonviolence and respect for all.”  Except that is if we don’t get our way.  Occupiers don’t “respect” others that might have wanted to use the park and they revere a person who was injured in a violent reaction by occupiers in Oakland to a lawful action by police. 

“3. Be mindful of how individual actions can affect the movement, the group, or other individuals.”  Laughable on the face of it, these useful idiots can’t avoid discrediting their movement.  That’s been done.  

“4. Be mindful of how the consequences of actions can affect individuals differently based on risk factors (such as race, class, gender identification, immigration status, etc.)”  Liberals remain the most race, class, gender obsessed population in the Nation.  

 

“5. We consider working class police officers a part of the 99%.  However we will not carry out or enforce their orders that jeopardize the safety of other residents of McPherson Park.  We will strive to maintain each other’s safety without relying on the police.”  They did accept assistance from DC medical technicians while I was there.  The record of drug use, rapes, and other perversions throughout the movement are well documented.  I think they would do well to work a little closer with police. 

“6. Do not inhibit others from being able to speak.”  Except Karl Rove.  He is evil and occupiers don’t think he should be able to talk.  Oh . . . . George Bush shouldn’t talk either, or Herman Cain, or . . . . .oh hell – no Republicans or conservatives should be able to talk, ever.  In particular those TEA folks don’t deserve to talk, but everyone else can talk.  Oh . . . you don’t agree with me.  Shut up. 

“7. Speak in ways that communicate effectively.” Hmmmm . . . All I’ve heard is clichés and bumper-sticker chanting.  Better find a teleprompter. 

“8. Be aware of your own aggressive tendencies and respectfully check other’s aggressive behavior.”  I think that EPA boy broke this rule by impugning the dedication of his fellow travelers because they didn’t want to troop down and picket the EPA.  Certainly Occupy Baltimore wasn’t following this guideline when they tried to prevent Rove from speaking. 

“9. Keep this space clean.”  You be the judge – I think that is exactly what it looks like, a big bottle of piss.  

 “10. Don’t assume anyone’s gender.  When possible go with gender neutral pronouns and nouns, such as friend/comrade instead of brother/sister.”  Come on – this is just goofy.  The girls looked like girls (for the most part) and the boys looked like boys (in a feminine sort of way).  Should we really go around calling each other “comrade?”

“11. While #OccupyDC is reclaiming public space for the public, we will be respectful of others who live in and use these spaces on a daily basis.” You’ve blanketed more than half the park with tents and you’re churning the place into a sty, do you really think that having a guy sweep up the leaves accomplishes this?  

“12. Be considerate of resources, especially for those who need it the most.” That almost sounds Christian in nature.  The difference being charity is voluntary while socialism (welfare, food stamps, Medicaid, etc.) is forced. 

“13. Be an ally.  Take care of yourselves and your friends/siblings/homies in the struggle.”  You guys and gals (Oops, just violated #10) should have gone with EPA boy to protest. 

“14. People with animals: Please check your animals.  Some of us love animals but not everyone does.  Be respectful of people’s different comfort levels with animals.”  I don’t recall seeing any non-human animals. 

“15. Be aware and sensitive to people’s experiences, e.g. traumatic ones. Give a “trigger warning” before you talk about traumatic experiences or describe violence etc.” LOL . . .I don’t even think they know what that means.  "Trigger Warning!"  I think you all are stupid tools of the left.  "End Trigger Warning."

“16. Practice consent—Check before touching or photographing someone (if you shoot something, say something).  Just because we’re in a public space doesn’t mean we want to be photographed.”  By definition wouldn’t this rule out rape?  As for photos – if you make a public spectacle out of yourself, isn’t the entire point of it for someone to notice? 

I guess the only thing missing was some sort of consequence in the event someone violated the guidelines. 

More to come . . . . .

Angry Occupier at McPherson Square

During our visit to Occupy DC my Marine buddy and I walked through the square in and among the occupiers and then took a lap around the perimeter of the park.  We did meet a recently retired Marine (he was wearing his Federal badge on a “Marines” lanyard) who was looking on with undisguised amusement.  We shared a moment of Marine camaraderie and then moved back into the center of the square.   

One guy did stand out (with "Hey EPA . . . " sign).  He was trying to get the crowd motivated and they weren’t having any of it.  He was bellowing that he wanted everyone to come with him and picket at the EPA.  He bellowed “Clean coal is an oxymoron.”  His most colorful sign wished that his “girlfriend was as dirty as coal.”  No doubt if she was hanging around in this park for long - she was.  He seemed to have a thing about coal.    

  

Finally, he had enough.  He bellowed “Only six?  That’s all?  That’s disgusting!”  And the small party trudged off to the EPA.  I’m certain that some bureaucrat wrote yet another regulation on his behalf.  Everyone else might have been diverted by a delivery or release of baked goods as a number of his fellow occupiers appeared all of a sudden with an assortment of doughnuts and bagels. 

The hardest working guy at the McPherson Square was a guy with a push broom.  He was sweeping the leaves off the sidewalks that crisscrossed the park.  He was doing a good job and actually asked me politely to move as I hadn’t detected that I was in his way.  

The protest at the EPA had been listed on a whiteboard near the information booth that had a schedule of sorts for the day.  Something like “12:00 – Protest EPA” and then there was “12:30: Announcements.” My buddy and I waited on pins and needles.  One occupier came out with a bullhorn and it just squeaked.  I think he was testing it – no joy.  Many suggestions emanated from his fellow occupiers, but the final assessment was that all the batteries were dead.  There was one guy who emerged with a clip board – he might have been the mayor of Obamaville – but for the want of a battery, we may never know. 

More to come . . . . . . 

Occupy DC Vist (continued)

The biggest surprise that I got at the Occupy DC protest was that all of the occupiers that we encountered and gave pocket Constitutions to seemed pleased to get them.  I had assumed that many would be repelled by them or have been full of the “written by white slave-holders” crap.  However that wasn’t the case.  No doubt the only part of the Constitution that they thought they understood was the part about freedom of speech, but having the whole thing might enlighten a few.  They didn’t seem to be acquainted with the document. 

This young man sitting in his pajamas in the rain was almost giddy when I offered him the Constitution.  He informed me that it was the greatest thing that Abraham Lincoln had ever written.  He was on a roll so I didn’t stop and correct him.  He went on to express disappointment that the booklet didn’t contain the Articles of Confederation.  He asked me if I knew that technically we were still under those.  I just smiled.  No doubt another victim of the public school system. 

My first encounter with an occupier was a twenty something girl in front of the “library.”  I offered her a Constitution and she happily took it from me.  While that happened a much older woman walked over to us and asked us if we had been to Montpelier (I assume she was making the connection between Madison and the Constitution) and I acknowledged that I had.  The occupier cut back in asking me why I was there and I responded that I had grown up in the 60’s and 70’s and had witnessed those demonstrations.  She became more animated and asked me if I had participated and I told her I was on the other team, attending college on the NROTC program and being commissioned in the Marine Corps during that time.  She asked me if they [the occupiers] embodied the same spirit as the demonstrators of that time.  I opined that they did not but that they were motivated by the same people.  I didn’t get the opportunity to elaborate as the other lady chipped in that she was 71 (that was a surprise as she didn’t look it) and that she had been in DC when “350,000 marched” on the city to protest the Viet Nam War.  She seemed particularly proud that she had overcome her gentile up bringing and was able to shout “ . . . . we don’t want your F***ing war!”  A word that she said she had never uttered prior to that day but did use again in our conversation.  No doubt something to make one proud.  The first time I said “f***” in my father’s presence, he looked at me sternly and said “I know amateurs who can swear better than that.”  I was tempted to use that line, but I let the conversation roll.  

That appeared to be enough for the young occupier who excused herself – she was a part-time demonstrator and had to get back to Maryland she explained.  I don’t know what happened to the older lady, no doubt she drifted off to try and reconnect with her potty mouth years.  Proof that knuckleheads come in all ages.  

I talked to the guy in the blue slicker as it was labeled “Transport Workers Union; We move America.”  I asked him if he was a union member and he said “No, they just gave us these ponchos.  They let us take showers at the AFL-CIO headquarters down the street.”  I smiled. “That’s nice.”  I’m sure that all you union guys and gals are happy that a portion of your dues is sustaining this protest.  You might want to have a word with your leadership. 

There is more to come.  

My Visit to Occupy Washington, DC

 A Marine buddy and I went to the Occupy Washington, DC event in McPherson Square today.  I had considered taking a dozen bars of soap with me to hand out, but decided on a fistful of CATO Institute versions of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution instead.  I was surprised when I got to my buddy’s place that he had a backpack full of the same all individually wrapped in sandwich bags to ward off the rain.  Great minds . . . . .  So armed with our Constitutions we headed off to confront the Occupiers. 

This sign greeted us as we walked onto McPherson Square, apparently they don’t want to pay for anything:

 There were several flags on the square but no one seemed to be bothered by this:

 

In all fairness, after we pointed it out to one of the occupiers, he did fix it. 

This is Ms. Che (my name for her) as she seemed to be the sharpest knife in the drawer.  She was manning the Information Booth and I suspect that she knew exactly what we were up to.  She was wary when I spoke to her:

This is the Library.  When I asked the proprietor if he had a copy of the Constitution he said that he thought he did.  He seemed pleased when I offered him one.  He said he would take all that I had.  When asked if he had read it, he said “only parts” of it:

That was when I had one of several verbal exchanges with an occupier.  Another man had watched the exchange at the Library and I gave him a Constitution as well.  He asked me if I had heard about the Baltimore occupiers protest against Karl Rove Monday night.  He seemed proud that they had confronted Rove.  I told the grinning man that I had heard and I was disappointed in them.  He was speechless.  I pointed out that all of us had rights but his rights didn’t trump my rights.  He looked confused.  I explained that even Karl Rove had a right to be heard, just as he assumed that the Occupy movement had a right to be heard.  I think . . . I’m not sure . . .that I saw a light come on.  He clutched his Constitution and walked off. 

This caught our eye.  My Marine buddy dubbed it the “Cosmic Burger.”  Your guess is as good as mine. 

This sign proclaimed that the Occupiers were “Emissaries of Light.” I don’t know what that means. 

 We were only there for a few hours, but I have more to tell you . . . . .tomorrow.  

Who will pay us more

Virginia just had an historic election and I am still mulling over the experience.  I have written about this campaign season before and I will continue to relate stories from my time on the porches or on the telephone with my fellow citizens. 

I knocked on a door the other day in a pleasant community of single-family detached homes.  A nice looking young lady answered the door.  She was probably 28 and she was struggling to hold back a puppy.  I was walking for our Republican candidate for the State Senate.  I went into a short pitch and ended with “ . . . can we count on your support?”  She frowned a bit and responded “My husband and I are both teachers and we have to vote for . . . . . “ I filled in the name of the democrat opponent for her.  “Yeah, we have to vote for the person who will pay us more” she said.    

I was floored.  This should put to rest the ridiculous claim that “It’s all about the children” from the union thugs that control our public school system.  Of course the odd thing is that Republicans have repeatedly floated plans to reverse the tide of straphangers and excess bureaucrats that school systems have hired exploding school budgets.  The Republican candidate that she probably voted against had floated a plan to make sure that 65% of the school budget would be spent in the classroom which would directly benefit teachers.  Right now our school system operates a huge fleet of vehicles and they have the fanciest building in the county to house bureaucrats – no student ever need enter that building.  We have 81,000 students and 10,000 school employees a ratio of 8.1:1.  Of those 10,000 employees roughly 5,700 are teachers or teaching assistants – or slightly more than half of the employees are actually teaching. 

She and her husband probably voted to maintain a lopsided system that focuses on everything but teachers and students.  Very sad.  The union will steer our teachers wrong every single time. 

Happy Birthday United States Marine Corps

Who else has Go Daddy! making birthday videos for them? 

The official 236th Marine Corps Birthday Message:

God Bless the United States and success to the Marines. 

Murphy’s Law Applied to Campaigning

I am still sorting through the results from our election yesterday in Virginia.  We did move the ball further down the field.  The people of Virginia will be freer and wealthier for the success that we enjoyed.  I thought you might enjoy the reflections of a campaigner below.   

Walking neighborhoods for candidates in our recent election gave me time to think about how Murphy’s Law applies to such activity.  You know Murphy, he said “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.”  Having that in the back of my head gave rise to these Murphyisms applied to door knocking:

1.  If you only have to visit one house on a cul-de-sac, it will be the one farthest from the entrance to that street. 

2.  The hotter the day, the longer the driveways and longer the distances between houses.

3.  If you turn onto a street and one house has an entrance at ground level and the other has fifteen stairs to the front door, you’re gonna climb stairs.

4.  A dog that is tethered in the yard has enough slack to get to where you have to go. 

5.  Even if that dog looks old, he’s still faster than you. 

6.  That stuff about dogs that wag their tails being friendly is BS, he will bite you. 

7.  Having six cars in the driveway doesn’t guarantee that anyone is home. 

8.  If they are flying the American Flag, they might not be delighted to see you, but they won’t be rude. 

9.  If two guys are sitting in the driveway drinking beer, they’ll vote for our Republican. 

10.  If there is a bunch of squirrely crap on the door, you’re going to find out why when the door opens. 

11.  When my wife knocks on the door and I stand back with the clipboard, more doors are opened. 

12.  Don’t underestimate the ability of the guy at headquarters to give you a bogus list.  

13.  If you are carrying campaign flyers you will be exactly three pieces short or you’ll have at least 57 pieces left over. 

If none of that means anything to you, call up your local Republican and give walking your neighborhood a try – we have an election to win.  

At the Dentist

I started off Wednesday at the dentist.  After that your day can only go up – right? 

The lady who tortures my gums and teeth for 45 minutes knows I’m a Republican as does my Dentist.  We generally talk about whatever topic is in the news.  Yesterday with my mouth wide open and the television on the news, my hygienist remarked about the news that Bank of America had backed away from the plan to charge debit card holders a flat fee.  Scrape, scrape, scrape, “You know my bank, Sun Trust tried to do that too and it made me angry” she said, scrape, scrape, rinse.

That’s when it hit me just how evil and diabolical democrats (socialists, progressives, liberals, whatever) really are.  Here is an educated woman probably a few years younger than I who is mad at Sun Trust bank for something that Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, and in particular Dick Durbin did to her and everyone else in the nation. 

I explained the outrages of Frank-Dodd to her and in particular how Dick Durbin had fundamentally changed the relationship between the consumer, the bank, and the retailer.  She said “Now that you have explained that, everything that Sun Trust is doing makes sense.”  She related that the bank was offering a “free” debit card and “free” checking as long as she maintained a balance of $3,000.00 in her checking account.  What a deal. 

Thanks Barney, Chris and Dick I hope you all burn in hell.  At least now you have one pissed off dental hygienist to deal with.  I’m going to find someone else tomorrow, I promise.  

Virginia Leads The Way

Yesterday I had to drive through our Commonwealth capitol of Richmond.  I had the pleasure of listening to a local conservative talk duo discussing the Occupy Richmond vermin that had just been evicted by order of the mayor.  The Occupy movement had taken over Kanawha Plaza.  That would be the exact same Kanawha Plaza that Richmond charged the TEA movement $9,000 to use. 

The on-air pundits opined that this action by the mayor was in response to the Richmond TEA movement delivering an invoice and letter requesting their money back. 

If you folks in Nashville, Boston, Portland, Washington DC, Seattle, and Toledo want to get rid of the vermin parking out in your cities – call your local TEA Party.  They can bring the issue of equal protection under the law up to your mayor – I think he’ll get the point.