Tag Archives: Tea Party

Farewell, Andrew Breitbart…

Posted on by under America, Books, Friends, History, Memories, Movies, Politics, Thoughts

I woke up, went online, and I think I first saw the news on Yahoo. If I hadn’t checked the BIG websites, I never would have believed it could be true. But it was. Andrew Breitbart has died. I still haven’t recovered from the shock. But while I never even met him, his dear wife and four children have just lost a husband and father. I’m praying for them, and hope you will, too.

Really, I say that I think the news was on Yahoo, but there’s no proof of that, now, because I can’t find it listed anywhere on Yahoo’s search page. And I’ve been checking all day. When there was just the possibility that Whitney Houston had died, it was listed at the top of the page. When there’s a rumor that Snooki might be pregnant, it’s on the front page. But when our country loses one of it’s greatest culture warriors, a giant of the conservative media, and a flat out good man, I can’t find a thing. Yes, that is our mainstream media for you.

I’ve got to get this out of my system. I love Emerald, but the only Aussies in town who have any idea of how American politics work, well, they’ve lived in the U.S. at some point. So, I have no one that I can talk to about the loss that my country barely realizes. And as far as I know, I’m the only one of my friends and family who reads Breitbart’s websites religiously, has read his book, and keeps up with his appearances at conservative and Tea Party functions. I’m floundering, and if I can’t talk about it on my blog, then what’s left?

I didn’t pay attention to politics, when I was growing up, though my dad talked about it enough for me to be aware of who was President, and what the problems were. I didn’t really know anything about Reagan, as he became President when I was a baby, and my awareness of George H. W. Bush only materialized when he lost his second election. I overheard discussions about Clinton, but I still didn’t soak much of it in. And though I’ve voted in every election since I turned eighteen, I didn’t really take a serious interest until I was well into my twenties.

Whether it started with Ann Coulter or Human Events, I’m no longer sure. Whichever it was, the one led me to the other. I picked up a copy of Coulter’s Treason, and was surprised and delighted to find it full of Cold War history. I barely remembered what I’d been taught in school, and I’m pretty sure that it was all wrong. So, finally figuring out what the Cold War was, as well as how it began… this was marvelous. From there, I read everything Coulter ever wrote, including High Crimes and Misdemeanors, even though the subject of Clinton’s sex life was pretty off-putting.

If Coulter’s books came first, I’m betting there were quotes from Human Events in them, which I then heard was Ronald Reagan’s favorite newspaper. I immediately got a paper (yes, the actual paper) subscription, but quickly found that I preferred reading the online articles. I’ve never looked back, getting hooked on reading internet pundits, as well as anything I can find on Cold War history and books that give the politically incorrect truth about our country.

Somewhere along the line, searching the pundit sites, I discovered BigHollywood.com. This website was created by Andrew Breitbart as a conservative group blog, where Hollywood conservatives could write about everything concerning movies, music, actors, and all the politics that are mixed into the lot. I loved the different viewpoints which were still all basically conservative, though the writers were of all types and religious backgrounds. Some were people I would get along with, some were people that I would be confused or intimidated by, but every one of them loved their country, and wanted to see change wrought in our culture.

I discovered BigHollywood right before Breitbart launched BigGovernment, and then in the following years, BigJournalism, and BigPeace. Each one of the BIGs had a different purpose and slant to its writing, and I’ll admit that I still read BigHollywood the most. But no matter where I was reading, Andrew Breitbart wasn’t avoiding his own creations. He regularly wrote articles for the sites, showing that he was still keeping up with the times, and his writing was always interesting, pertinent, and on-target. Also, fun!

As I did more reading, over the years, and watched his interviews, online, and finally read his book, I found out what Andrew Breitbart’s real purpose was in creating these websites. He called himself a “culture warrior”, as he believed that culture was upstream from politics. If you change the culture of a country, you’ll affect the politics. So, as the years have gone by, and our movies and music, and Hollywood itself have become more liberal, the conservative have been fighting over politics, but not attempting to fix the culture.

Andrew’s goal was to allow the conservatives of Hollywood to come out of hiding, be able to write on his blogs, and show that there were still people from the Right living there. He believed that the more people support conservative music and films, the more that Hollywood will take notice. Also, he wanted people to be aware of the things that liberal Hollywood says about us, as the actors have become activists, no longer hiding their contempt for Middle America.

If you read his book, Righteous Indignation, you’ll see how Andrew immediately understood the advantages of the Internet, which allowed him to get the conservative media narrative out there, when the mainstream media was only feeding us lies. Organizations like ACORN were brought down, because live footage of their corrupt dealings were published by Breitbart’s websites.

Next to Sarah Palin, Andrew Breitbart was probably the most popular speaker at any Tea Party rally, and whether on talk shows or just confronted on the street, he never backed down from any liberal argument. He was a fighter, and pulled no punches with anyone. I don’t like confrontation, myself, and will avoid them at all cost, so I’ve even been startled to watch videos of him verbally “hitting back”, when someone struck at him. Blunt, never intimidated, and right! Liberal activists didn’t know what to do with him.

And now he’s gone. Fifty years of “what-should-have-been” has flashed before my eyes. All the books he’ll never write, and the arguments he’ll never finish. So, it’s for us that he left behind to finish what he began, and take our culture back. To keep our government accountable for its actions. And to not allow the mainstream media to “rule the narrative”, as Andrew was wont to say.

I never met him, but because of everything I’ve been reading, seeing, and hearing from him for the last several years, I felt like I knew him. And I’m crushed that he’s gone.

Thank you, Andrew. For everything. We will miss you.

the bluestocking revived…

Posted on by under Books, History, Politics

It seemed, for a while there, that my reading tendencies were going to remain buried forever. Case in point: When I left the U.S., right before getting on the plane in L.A., I began to read Andrew Breitbart’s Righteous Indignation: Excuse Me While I Save the World!. Almost two months later, I finally finished it, on my flight to Brisbane. This is not normal for me. I should have finished it in a day… two, at most.

Despite being on vacation for a week, I never had any time to read while I was away, either. But the plane trips were handy, as you’re not supposed to be using electronic equipment when they’re taking off and landing (and I’m still not certain if a Kindle uses enough power to mess up a plane’s instrumentation). So, I had an actual book with me (yes, made of paper!) on the plane, which I read after finishing Breitbart’s book.

So, if the conservative American political scene interests you, then Breitbart’s book will be right up your alley. Actually, it’s not just for Americans, though he aims it at us, because the culture war is being fought, all over the world. The media is the same, all the world over, as far as I can tell. Telling us what they want us to know, not the truth that we want to hear. So, Righteous Indignation takes you through Andrew Breitbart’s journey from liberal (far-left) college “student” to conservative culture warrior. He believes, and has acted on, using the amazing tool of the Internet to take the culture war right to the doorstep of the mass media.

Breitbart created the Big websites, which I’ve been reading for several years now (BigHollywood is my personal fav), and holds no punches when it comes to defeating the media at their own game. Also a Tea Party favorite, if you want to know more about this fascinating culture warrior, please read his book.

My plane trip continued with me pulling John Marsden’s Tomorrow, When the War Began. It’s written about a group of Aussie teenagers that go on a camping trip, and return to find their world forever changed. Australia has been invaded, they don’t know where their families are, and life as they know it will never be the same. This series is pretty much unknown in the U.S., and having only read the first book, I don’t know where the story will take me. But it’s a thrilling adventure, set in a very different country from my own, and yet. If you can find these books in the U.S., then I’d definitely suggest reading them.

In the last few minutes on my Kindle, before having to turn it off again, I began to read Ann Coulter’s newest book, Demonic, which I had downloaded shortly after arriving in AUS. I’m only a chapter or two into it, so I’m still reading about the mob mindset, and how liberals act very like them, most of the time. It’s a fun and interesting read, as are all of her books. As blunt and provocative as Coulter can be, she always stands for truth, and her books do no less. What more would you expect of the woman who wrote the book that helped bring Bill Clinton down? As far as I can remember, I only became interested in politics after reading her book, Treason, which covers an enormous amount of history, including the subject of the Cold War. Most of what I read in that book, they didn’t teach us in school, which frankly makes me mad.

I love history, so it only took a book on both history AND politics to get me hooked. Since then, I’ve read an enormous amount of politically incorrect books, anything on conservative politics that I can find time to read, and anything that supports our Constitution. We live in a great country, and we want it to remain great. More people should read up on where we came from and how to keep from losing the freedoms that we hold most dear.

And finally, the reason that I haven’t gotten back to Demonic. Yes, I know, I jump between different types of books, just like a grasshopper. But my mom recommended it, and I borrowed it from the library, so I had a time limit. And then, of course, once I started, I was hooked. I started reading The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton. Written by an Australian and set in both England and Queensland, it revolves around the story of a young woman that, up until she was 21, believed she knew who she was. A revelation from her father told her otherwise, and it changed her life, and the lives of all around her. Nell’s quest to discover where she came from, and who she really is, takes her to England and back.

I found this story to be fascinating. It jumps from one time period to another, but I didn’t find it jarring. It just left me wanting to know more of the story, and kept me trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. You find yourself seeing from the viewpoints of most of the characters, by the end of the book, and you’re surprised and shocked at what secrets some of them are hiding. And tied into all of this is a grand old English estate, with a hidden garden, reminiscent of The Secret Garden, but despite the title of the book, the story is driven by the characters, not the garden itself.

And so, that covers my most recent readings. Having only just read about Glenn Beck’s (co-written with Joshua Charles) The Original Argument: The Federalists’ Case for the Constitution, Adapted for the 21st Century, there’s a book I’d love to get my hands on. Who wouldn’t love to read a more understandable version of The Federalist Papers? But then again, since I probably have the original on my Kindle, maybe I should get going and read that.

through a distant political glass…

Posted on by under Politics, Thoughts

I will start off by saying… they encouraged me to keep talking. I do not, in general, talk about politics when no one is interested, especially when I’m in a different country, where no one either knows or cares about American politics. But I received encouragement, so I didn’t shut down. In fact, we had a really interesting conversation, not just about politics, but about history, both Australian and American.

Secondly, I will state that… well, she asked for it. Sort of.   : )   Ok, I couldn’t resist. We had just had a great dinner, and as we digested, several conversations started up, with several different groupings of people. I was talking to two of the ladies, and I’m afraid one of them started me off. I don’t remember how the subject of politics came up, but what I do remember, clear as day, is someone saying, “I like Obama. He’s cool.”

I couldn’t stop myself. My immediate response was, “Why?”. What did they have to go on, to make this statement about someone so far from this country? Oh, I know how the media works in the United States. Biased as all get-out. Beyond that, even. So, how could the truth about our leaders actually trickle down to Oz, unless they know the right websites to look at? Because, for sure and certain, you will not get the truth from your newspaper. Or your television. Or in the movie theaters.

Before I continue, it wasn’t until later that evening that someone mentioned to me that in Australia, there’s a party called the Liberal Party, and if I remember this correctly, they’re conservatives. I mention this, because my discussion of American versus Aussie politics gets interesting, when we have a Democratic Party (who’re liberal) and a Republican Party (who’re conservative). Confused yet? But when I refer to liberals and conservatives, I’m usually not capitalizing them, and I’m referring to their mindset, rather than the name of their party. I hope that helps.

Once the “Obama is cool” statement had been made, I had an Aha! moment. If people who don’t know much about our country or our politics think that Obama is cool, then they probably think that Bush was a moron. Well, that’s what the mass media tells them. Don’t think I haven’t seen the “Dubya-isms” DVD on a shelf or two. And if you’re going to diss George W. Bush to my face, in all seriousness, you might want to watch your step. And for any Americans who are going to protest that Bush was NOT an angel, and in fact, didn’t act very conservative, as he increased the size of our government, and did vote to bailout some large companies before he left office, I’m aware of that. I just want to let some people get a glimpse of how real Americans see things.

In our Wednesday night discussion, I went back in time, and gave a short explanation of Reagan through Obama. I think I did pretty well, but won’t attempt to recreate that here, because I have no idea how I did it, then, as we jumped to other discussions of history, here and there.

The mass media would like everyone to believe that George W. Bush was a clodpole, an idiot, unable to put together an intelligible sentence, who doesn’t know what the inside of a library looks like, and somehow managed to steal the election in 2000. The impression of a bungler that can’t speak proper English might work on a foreigner, because they don’t realize that Bush is a Texan, a Southerner, and don’t we love our Texans? George W. Bush believes in the American dream, stands up for our military, salutes the flag with pride, and was there for our country, in our darkest hour of need, after 9/11. I don’t even like to imagine what would have happened in this country, if Al Gore had been President during that time.

George W. Bush is a Christian man who may not have been so vocal about his faith and belief in prayer as Ronald Reagan (one of our greatest presidents) was, but there’s no doubt in my mind that Bush brought his country and his job before the Throne in prayer, while in the Oval Office. For those (like Paul McCartney) who slam Bush’s intelligence, they seem to ignore the fact that Bush had a B.A. from Yale, and an M.B.A from Harvard. You don’t get a Master’s Degree just by sneezing, even if you do have trouble pronouncing “nuclear” correctly. And as for that, about half the people in the United States can’t pronounce that right, to the annoyance of those of us that can.   : )

As for Bush’s ability to read, you can find an article online, written by Karl Rove, who held an annual reading contest with the President, while in office. So, when he wasn’t in conference calls on Air Force One, our President was reading 95 books a year to Rove’s 110 (or 51 to 76, depending on the year). And for those of you who know my love of reading, both fiction and non-fiction, I couldn’t keep up with the reading list that those two men put across. Half of them were histories and biographies. I recognize some of the books on the list, books that I’ve SEEN on the bookstore shelves, and they could be used for door stops. No joke. These morons think our President couldn’t read, when his wife was a librarian? He may have out-read his wife, too.

And then there’s our current President. Cool? Based on what? Oh, he’s mesmerizing when he talks, they say. Have they ever heard him when he doesn’t have a teleprompter on hand? The man who thinks our country has 58 states (we have 50, if any Aussies are reading this)? The man who says that we cling bitterly to our guns and our religion? Who tells Joe the Plumber that he thinks we should spread the wealth around? Who, when questioned about abortion, says the question is “above his pay grade?”

Some people suggest that he’s a Muslim. You know, it’s not my call whether he’s a Muslim in hiding or not. Yes, he grew up in Indonesia, and went to a Muslim school, so he knows all about Islam. Does that make him one? I’ve no clue. But when he tries to claim that he’s a Christian, I don’t believe a word of it. He went to a “church” in Chicago for many years, and his pastor was one “Reverend” Jeremiah Wright. Ever heard of him? The man that preaches sermons that include “God d–n America!” in them? The hateful diatribes that proceed from that pulpit are not even remotely Christian, so how could Barack Obama have ever learned to be one?

But he doesn’t have to be a Christian to be a good President, you say. Ok, then what should a President be? Wouldn’t you say that a President of the United States should be honorable, truthful, patriotic, have leadership qualities, and stand up for the law of the land, our Constitution? Yes, I know that all of our Presidents have NOT fit that description. I won’t even discuss Clinton. But just because they haven’t all been like that, shouldn’t we still aspire to have Presidents like that?

If our President should be the soul of honor, then he should be honest, fair, and worthy of respect. Didn’t he promise that the American people would be able to review every law that came through Congress, that it would be out there, openly, for everyone to see and inspect, before it was put up for a vote? What exactly happened when ObamaCare was passed, then? Was this honest or truthful, or worthy of respect, our President’s behavior, or that of his liberal minions?

How about patriotic? When the national anthem is played, you either put your hand over your heart, or you do a military salute towards the flag. Our President has been known to do neither. He is not pro-military, and does not have any respect for “our boys”. Barack Obama had no leadership experience, going into the Presidency, and hasn’t developed much, since then. As a leader of a country, he should not be bowing to Middle Eastern or Communist leaders, and yet he will diss our allies (or harangue them), as in the case of Israel, and Prime Minister Netanyahu.

And what about our Constitution? Yes, I probably should have started with that, but this whole thing is completely out of order, I know. Our Founders created the Constitution with the intention of the main power belonging to the states, limiting the federal government, and protecting our God-given freedoms. The United States was created in order that we would have religious freedom, as well as the freedom and opportunity to become anything that our skill and tenacity will allow.

Our current President does not believe in America. He believes that we need a government that completely controls our lives, because we don’t know how to take care of ourselves. The thinks that the government knows all and must become all, which is socialist thinking. And that’s a whole ‘nother subject that I’m trying to not get into.

And so, in the attempt to keep from rambling any further, I will close with this. President Obama may appear “cool” to some, but we want more than the coolness factor from our President. We want a man that cares about, believes in, stands up for, and lives for his country. George W. Bush knew this, and did it. President Obama does anything but.