It's a Speech Worth a Trillion Words Thing

Dear America,

"I accept the duty to help lead our nation out of a jobs crisis and back to prosperity – and I know we can do this.

I accept the calling of my generation to give our children the America that was given to us, with opportunity for the young and security for the old – and I know that we are ready.

Our nominee is sure ready. His whole life has prepared him for this moment – to meet serious challenges in a serious way, without excuses and idle words.  After four years of getting the run-around, America needs a turnaround, and the man for the job is Governor Mitt Romney."

and so it begins, day two of the convention, with our Vice Presidential candidate taking center stage [full transcript].

"I’m the newcomer to the campaign, so let me share a first impression.  I have never seen opponents so silent about their record, and so desperate to keep their power.

They’ve run out of ideas.  Their moment came and went. Fear and division are all they’ve got left."

it's true.
Do you think we are gonna hear about all those "shovel ready" jobs putting Americans back to work or our precious tax dollars propping up unworthy green energy schemes, like Solyndra?

Are we going to hear about the "Affordable Care Act" double-counting 716 Billion dollars to cover for ObamaCare and Medicare at the same time or how [still] two-thirds of the population wants it repealed, in part or the whole entire thing?

Do you think we are going to hear him promote the "democratic process" of the Arab Spring -- now unraveling into chaos [again] after this administration intervened in Egypt, leaving the region wide open for the Muslim Brotherhood to continue the "caliphate process"?   and don't even get me started on the success rate we are seeing out of Iraq and Afghanistan....Or, bringing in an entirely new subject, how Israel is being surrounded by those who simply hate them -- on the verge of war any day now while America walks by their side, for all intents and purposes, utterly silent...  [See also the Condi Rice Speech of just last night in reference to all of the above...Hold up...Let me get that for you....Go here]

Do you think we are going to hear about that stellar unemployment rate -- which, we were assured, would be held to 8% or lower, if we passed the president's stimulus bill?  An unemployment rate that went to TEN before inching back down again -- an unemployment rate that isn't even adjusting for those of us under-employed or who have simply stopped looking for work; all for a stimulus that began at a cost of 767 BILLION dollars, only to rise to 862 BILLION dollars, only to really be more than that, considering our addiction to freemoney.com these days and costing us at a rate of 40 cents on every dollar.

But I digress.

Let's get back to the speech --

"So here’s the question: Without a change in leadership, why would the next four years be any different from the last four years?"

actually, we can only imagine that things, without a shred of doubt, will only get worse; without the concern to be "liked" -- without the worry of re-election in another four years -- this presidency is set to operate totally unhinged and unchecked.

What fuels this presidency?What is at the root of every presidential action, and sometimes in-action, thus far? What makes this leadership, this presidency, seem so foreign to the great majority of Americans?

It's called four more words:  Dreams FROM My Father.  Here's some background for you.

I really don't want to dwell on Obama's "memoir" -- I only wish to tie the narrative that got Obama elected in the first place to a little bit of what we heard last night from Paul Ryan...

"It all started off with stirring speeches, Greek columns, the thrill of something new.  Now all that’s left is a presidency adrift, surviving on slogans that already seem tired, grasping at a moment that has already passed, like a ship trying to sail on yesterday’s wind.

President Obama was asked not long ago to reflect on any mistakes he might have made.  He said, well, “I haven’t communicated enough.”  He said his job is to “tell a story to the American people” – as if that’s the whole problem here? He needs to talk more, and we need to be better listeners?

Ladies and gentlemen, these past four years we have suffered no shortage of words in the White House.  What’s missing is leadership in the White House.  And the story that Barack Obama does tell, forever shifting blame to the last administration, is getting old.  The man assumed office almost four years ago – isn’t it about time he assumed responsibility?"

WORDS have created or saved Barack Hussein Obama.  Lots and lots of words -- either his own or masterminded by like minds for the purpose of propaganda and deception.  And Paul Ryan hit this note more than once last night.

"Maybe the greatest waste of all was time. Here we were, faced with a massive job crisis – so deep that if everyone out of work stood in single file, that unemployment line would stretch the length of the entire American continent.  You would think that any president, whatever his party, would make job creation, and nothing else, his first order of economic business.

But this president didn’t do that.  Instead, we got a long, divisive, all-or-nothing attempt to put the federal government in charge of health care."

yes. this is a good point.

and it's topped off with a whole lot of common sense:

"They have no answer to this simple reality: 

We need to stop spending money we don’t have.

My Dad used to say to me: 

'Son.  You have a choice: 

You can be part of the problem, 

or you can be part of the solution.'

The present administration 

has made its choices.  

And Mitt Romney and I have made ours: 

Before the math and the momentum 

overwhelm us all, 

we are going to solve 

this nation’s economic problems.  

And I’m going to level with you: 

We don’t have that much time.  

But if we are serious, and smart, and we lead, we can do this.

After four years 

of government trying to divide up the wealth, 

we will get America creating wealth again. 

With tax fairness and regulatory reform, 

we’ll put government 

back on the side of the men and women 

who create jobs, 

and the men and women who need jobs."  

 Dividing things -- whether it be economics or demographics -- wealth, special interests or people -- is all Obama knows.   Obama never really got Dreams FROM his father -- that was pure illusion, pure spectacle, pure narrative, pure fraud.  Obama was -- and still is -- mentored and misguided mostly by his own love of self, getting major assists by suspect influences over the years:  Frank Marshall Davis, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, his stepfather Lolo Soetoro, Bill Ayers, Saul Alinsky...and the list can go on.

[Revision:   For more background on Obama's background, simply read today's post by Mark Alexander.  Located at one of a few of my favorite things: The Patriot Post -- Mark says so much more and so much better than me, but just gotta love the synchronized patriot spirits colliding.] 

What kind of an American president has these radical associations to back him up?

It was a good speech last night.  There is a whole lot more that can be said for it.

But all I really need to know [besides what I learned in kindergarten] is that I want the guy who got his best advice from his mom, who didn't become a small business owner until after going back to school in her fifties and ultimately creating a brand new life for herself following the American way ---- and from his dad, who said things like, "Son.  You have a choice: You can be part of the problem, or you can be part of the solution."

"I learned a good deal about economics, and about America, from the author of the Reagan tax reforms – the great Jack Kemp.  What gave Jack that incredible enthusiasm was his belief in the possibilities of free people, in the power of free enterprise and strong communities to overcome poverty and despair.   We need that same optimism right now.  And in our dealings with other nations, a Romney-Ryan administration will speak with confidence and clarity.  Wherever men and women rise up for their own freedom, they will know that the American president is on their side.  Instead of managing American decline, leaving allies to doubt us and adversaries to test us, we will act in the conviction that the United States is still the greatest force for peace and liberty that this world has ever known...

...None of us have to settle for the best this administration offers – a dull, adventureless journey from one entitlement to the next, a government-planned life, a country where everything is free but us.

Listen to the way we’re spoken to already, as if everyone is stuck in some class or station in life, victims of circumstances beyond our control, with government there to help us cope with our fate.

It’s the exact opposite of everything I learned growing up....

...When I was waiting tables, washing dishes, or mowing lawns for money, I never thought of myself as stuck in some station in life.  I was on my own path, my own journey, an American journey where I could think for myself, decide for myself, define happiness for myself.  That’s what we do in this country.  That’s the American Dream.  That’s freedom, and I’ll take it any day over the supervision and sanctimony of the central planners. " 

Central planners, central banking, central redistribution of wealth, central economic divide between the haves and the have-nots, central engineering of a false racial divide, central control and over-regulation in places where there should be none...this speaks of the dreams of Barack Obama.

Paul Ryan spelled it all out like a polished politician -- adding in his natural, boy-next-door, common man 'I drive a truck' fashion -- he propelled his entire audience from its shaky beginning, through jubilant fits and spurts, to moments feeling a surge of unexpected relief, all building to a rather raucous ending [because, after all WE BUILT IT! is the theme] saying:

"So here is our pledge.

We will not duck the tough issues, we will lead.

We will not spend four years blaming others, we will take responsibility.

We will not try to replace our founding principles, we will reapply our founding principles.

The work ahead will be hard.  These times demand the best of us – all of us, but we can do this.  Together, we can do this.

We can get this country working again.  We can get this economy growing again.  We can make the safety net safe again.  We can do this.

Whatever your political party, let’s come together for the sake of our country.  Join Mitt Romney and me.  Let’s give this effort everything we have.  Let’s see this through all the way.  Let’s get this done.

Thank you, and God bless."

We can do this -- oh yes we can.

Make it a Good Day, G

But my personal favorite-- and totally having nothing to do with anything important:

"We’re a full generation apart, Governor Romney and I.  And, in some ways, we’re a little different.  There are the songs on his iPod, which I’ve heard on the campaign bus     and on many hotel elevators....[laughter]   He actually urged me to play some of these songs at campaign rallies.  I said, I hope it’s not a deal-breaker Mitt, but my playlist starts with AC/DC, and ends with Zeppelin.[heavy metal laughter]"

Dear America,

Happy Fall everyone; but watch out, first step is always a doozy.

Somewhere between watching the premiere of Biggest Loser and catching in the corner of my eye a "YES WE CAN" bumper sticker, it came to me.

We've talked about America's exceptionalism before, and in more ways than one, to be sure; and I believe we will talk a trillion times more on the subject, as I don't see a time ever in our future when we could hang a banner of mission accomplished on this one.  WE must remind ourselves of our good and the good we do, as a people, or we will drift into some kind of foreign land, fall into some kind of valley, and perhaps never muster enough self-esteem to climb ourselves back up.

Velma is still with me, in spirit.  I can't shake her utter desperation and her genuine appeal to the president wondering if this is all there is, is this what we can expect from him, is this all he wrote via the teleprompter, for today, tomorrow and the kingdom come?  Her depression became an instant overnight sensation felt in the gut of every American -- and no one could have said it any better.  It lingers with us...

It's just that, call me funny now, our president, just turned his head and laughed.

Does anyone else find that reaction kind of troubling?  Has anyone else caught on that he finds things amusing at the most awkward times -- almost like a nervous twitch, he is quick to go to a little chuckle, as if he could just giggle himself out of answering any questions.

Mr. President, with all due respect, America is experiencing some serious sh** these days; it isn't that funny.

And there you are laughing, while the rest of us are wiping our tears and watching one more of your economic team give notice (oh, right, cuz you guys were planning on Larry Summers leaving by the end of the year, right). If we had a three stikes you're out policy, you would be getting the pink slip; that is if we add up Orzag and Romer who earlier beat Summers to the punch.  And then there is this, before long we will be watching Rahm leave -- you know, to go organize Chicago; I suppose, when an administration gets tough, the tough run for 'dem hills -- or outside the beltway if at all possible.

Anyway, back to where I was really heading this morning, all of a sudden...you know, sometime between Biggest Loser and the bumper sticker, I had this sense that YES WE CAN has been AMERICA's ideology since day one.  It has always been yes, we can; it has always been, whatever you need; it has always been, tell me what to do, and I'll do it. 

It was always, how can I serve; it was always, how much can I give for my country; it was always, where do I sign; it was always, don't need any thanks, I am obliged to be of help; it was always, let me give of my time and my talent without any need for attention. 

It has always been YES WE CAN and we will! And it will be good.

Somewhere along the way, our independence factor -- our ability to make a life on our own, under a limited government, sheltering our ingenuity and pursuit of happiness and individual liberties safely under the arm of America's Constitution -- has become our very own mental hurdle that just too many of us can't seem to break.

Now Velma, she is speaking for most of us because she gets it; she knows what she needs to do in order to build a life for herself and her family.  What has her perplexed and "quite frankly exhausted" is the mountain she must climb, now that our government is way too big for it's britches.  WE can't afford this kind of gluttony!  And she is wondering, like the rest of us, just how, Mr. President, are we gonna pay for all this -- and be able to eat something other than "beans and franks" or was it "franks and beans" -- either way, the combo sucks.

What has the left all in a tizzy, is watching the tea party patriots climbing the walls and crying out in agony, with sweat dripping off their brow, gasping for air, saying NO MORE! we aren't gonna take it anymore -- but in a good way.  WE, the Tea, see what we must do to overcome the hole that we are in; we are willing and able to do the work; so bring it. 

Yes WE can, as Americans and all together (making every attempt to blend red shirts with blue), get through this time in our lives and get over it, by golly -- and we have no time for messing around, as our blood glucose level is off the charts.

Do us all a favor, and stop over indulging, big government; start setting an example that the kids can be proud of, will ya?!

Oh, the level of emotion watching the Biggest Loser can be so overwhelming.  Just when you think you got it bad...bam!  Left hook smacking you in the face when we're not looking up, ka pow!  And we are on our knees. 

Between the story of the young mother who fell asleep with her three year old son, with cancer, no longer breathing when she awoke...between the mother of five, wife of a military officer, and never having time to take care of herself... between the woman who survived breast cancer, only to be up against the battle of  her real life, losing twenty years of bad weight... and the round of dads who just want to set a good example for their sons and daughters...every story, every issue, every feeling, we can't help but get sucked into their lives as if it's our own -- cuz that's just what we do here in America.

Velma and I are like sisters of a different color -- but of the same culture, the same country, the same dreams, and pretty much the same stress.  But what is most striking -- and this is the real kicker in the old behind -- is the level of understanding as to how much of this we brought on ourself -- in the MACRO sense, that is (not personally, as in little old me and Velma, for we are perfect in every way, but...).  The thing is, we let our country do this to us when we were not paying attention.  WE let ourselves go, and now we are paying the price.

The left wants you to believe that MORE government is the answer; when it is precisely the glut of government which got us here in the first place.  Wake up and smell the coffee growing on the hillsides of Columbia, people.  We can't keep doing this to ourselves.  Everyone needs to catch their own fish now, and more importantly, eat it, as it is way better for you than most things we snap, crackle and pop into our mouths.

Oh YES WE CAN overcome; yes we can climb the mountain and lose the excess weight -- but it will take a concerted effort and everyone's undying commitment.  Oh yeah, and it will hardly be a cake walk; "Obama's Money" is not opening up a cupcake factory coming to a neighborhood near you.  WE got no money; the cupcakes are bad for you; and we would be better off taking a spin around the park and coming home to a well balanced meal of living within our means with a side of double happiness, followed up with a good night's sleep instead of ding dongs and twinkies, that is after a long day at the fishing hole.  And then, for the icing on the cake, to wake up and do it all over again the next day.  It's gonna be so fun.

YES WE CAN is not a slogan -- it is a way of life, and Mr. President, you better not mess with it.

YES WE CAN, is right on the money and two for the show, and three to get ready now, go, go, go.

I am a conservative;
and even though I am virtually skinny girl from way back...
(and feel free to hate me on both infractions -- if it gets you through your day)
 ... but believe me when I say,
whether left or right, I am here for you --
to pump you up this morning!
Whatever number of pounds we have to lose, we will do it together!
WE can do this.
For I am woman, and we are AMERICA, hear me roar!

Time is now -- while time also happens to be real money, go figure --
and there is no going back.

Make it a GOOD Day, G


Found in The 5000 Year Leap:

"Life, Liberty, and the property do not exist

because men have made laws. 

On the contrary,

it was the fact that life, liberty, and the property

existed beforehand

that caused men to make laws

[for the protection of them]

in the first place."

Frederic Bastiat

The Law

From Benjamin Franklin:

"I am apprehensive, therefore -- perhaps too apprehensive --

that the government of these states

may in future times end in a monarchy.

But this catastrophe,  I think, may be long delayed,

if in our proposed system we do not sow the seeds

of contention, faction, and tumult,

by making our posts of honor

places of profit.

If we do, I fear,

though we employ at first number and

not a single person, the number will

in time be set aside;

it will only nourish the fetus of a king

(as the honorable gentleman from Virginia

very aptly expressed it),

and a king will the sooner be set over us."