I took my first stab at creating a Hitler parody video. Yes: Hitler was evil, he killed millions of people. But Hitler parodies have almost jumped the shark so I want to strike while I still can.
On February 9, 2010, In Free Speech, Politics, By Paulie
On February 1, 2010, In Free Speech, By Paulie
[This article inspired by RFC Radio co-founder Andrew Riley.]
One year ago this month RFC Radio was born, and later in that same month I signed up as a partner and show host. If you think about what life as a conservative was like in February 2009 you quickly realize that we had just experienced a two-year political beating thanks to the most annoying, obtrusive and angst-filled election campaign in recent history. By the time February arrived were less than a month into the actual Obama presidency, but we were already worn, scarred and still bitterly frustrated. Here are a few Obama-related news items from February, 2009:
- He said that “renditions” (the practice in which agents turn detainees over to authorities in their home country for interrogation) were “more necessary than ever.” Never mind the fact that the left hated this idea. Foreign countries torture for info. But that’s ok, chalk up another Obama lie/flip-flop/shattered liberal expectation.
- Daschle stepped down from his HHS Secretary nomination thanks to tax problems, he would be one of many,
- Obama Radio (AM 1260) in Washington D.C. failed miserably.
- We learned Obama advisors had been meeting with leaders with Iran and Syria since before the election.
- The list of supposedly evil lobbyists that Obama associated with grew. He campaigned against them, remember?
- Stimulus. Iran launching improved missiles. Transparency? What transparency. Franken vote recount. Schumer says nobody cares about pork. Fairness doctrine. Reid sais vote will wait until Franken wins (didn’t sound that way after Brown won, right?)
I could go on… after all, the items above all took place in the first two weeks of February! However, these wonderful news tidbits, and all of those that preceded them before and after the election were enough to drive me to the political brink and I was ready to do something. DO something other than bitch about it. And one day after listening to Ed Morrissey interview Elizabeth Crum on his daily show (3pm EST) I went to RFCradio.com for the first time and applied as a partner and blogger. I was accepted. I was later asked to join the board. and even later I was offered the role of Station Manager, which I still faithfully and passionately serve as today. I think my cousin Sam Adams.
We are a ragtag crew, a fledgling organization of honest to God grassroots people busting our humps to make a difference. Trust me Speaker Botox, we do not have corporate backing. We are paying for this out of our own meager pockets while somehow finding the time between the many things that life throws at us to run a web site, produce podcasts, blogs and everything else that makes us the crazy patriotic group of activists that we are. And, if I say so myself, I think we are doing a bang up job at it. We are one of the largest online conservative podcast aggregators, we have more than two dozen show hosts and keep adding more, we are fostering partnerships with other likeminded groups, and we have this little thing called “swagger.” As the new voice of conservatism RFC Radio ain’t yer grandpa’s political movement.
This promises to be an exciting year for RFC Radio and for Americans in general. We at RFC want to help as many people as possible get educated and motivated to act in time for the mid-term elections and again in 2012. We will be at CPAC this month (look for us on Bloggers Row and around the convention doing live remotes), we will be at the SRLC in New Orleans in April and who knows where else. And we will be loud. We will be in your face. We will not take any crap from the left. After all, America is a center-right country built upon the solidly conservative values espoused and documented by our founding fathers. If you want to drag America down into the abysmal failure known as progressive policy and liberal ideology, you will have to get through me and the rest of us at RFC Radio.
Come visit our web site, subscribe to our podcasts and most important: spread the word.
On November 27, 2009, In @RFC, Conservatives, Crime, Culture, Free Speech, Politics, War, history, By Paulie
Fallujah Fat Lip, Take The Rainbow Back, Third Party Sillyness and Tuition Talk.
On September 17, 2009, In @RFC, Conservatives, Economy, Election, Free Speech, Glenn Beck, Obama, Politics, Race Issues, media, taxes, tea party, By Paulie
My journey to the Glenn Beck inspired 9/12 Tea Party was truly memorable. Like so many of the people I met I felt compelled to be there, just like the characters from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” that were drawn to that flat-topped mountain. I am so happy that I made the trip and will try to convey to you the emotions that I felt.
The morning began at Freedom Plaza at Pennsylvania and 12th around 10 a.m. My brother-in-law dropped me off near the corner of the plaza and I immediately blended in with thousands of sign-carrying patriots. People lined both sides of the street, and the plaza itself was jam packed. Cameras and cell phones were snapping pictures and the energy was tangible. I made my way toward the plaza and looked for a Texas flag so I latch onto a group.
Being alone (the wife and kids were sadly back in Texas), I was able to maneuver quite easily through the crowds. The march was supposed to start at 11:00 or 11:30, but as I made my way toward the forward end of the park I noticed that crowds were already marching due to the massive inflow of people pouring into the plaza from various side streets. The march was underway!
THE MARCH
As I walked down Pennsylvania Avenue I was amazed at the positive energy I felt, and was truly entertained by some very creative signs. There was NO astroturf here, all of these signs were handmade. I passed groups from Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Virginia and Connecticut as well as a few groups from Texas. But since I was making such good time I kept moving forward hoping to get a good spot to watch the speeches.
Along the way I didn’t see a single pro-Obama sign, or any organized dissenters or protest protestors. Chants were varied and equally energetic: “Can you here me now!” — “Throw them out!” — “We want our country back!” — “You Lie!” — and of course, “USA! USA!” Noticeably absent was the press. No cameras, reporters, etc. It was as though the event was invisible.
Some of the best signs I saw included a life-sized Obama cut out with two clear plastic TelePrompTer screens; a Nancy Pelosi poster with an over-sized mouth for people to throw tea bags into; a gorup of people holding up letters that spelled “ENOUGH”; and a group carrying a huge American flag horizontally as they walked. Costume of the day went to a trip of partygoers: a man wearing a huge dreadlocks wig and fake marijuana leaves on is chest labelled “Green Czar,” a woman wearing a flesh-toned body suit and a clear plastic cover labelled “Transparency Czar, and a curvaceous woman wearing a tight t-shirt strategically labelled “Boob Czar.”
THE RALLY
As we approached the Capitol the crowd was being routed through an entrance to the right side of the grassy area between the reflecting pool and the capitol steps. I was too late to make it into the central area stage front, so I worked my way to stage left. As I walked around looking for a good view a woman was waling around with a megaphone announcing “the official police estimate is 1.2 million in attendance.” I thought that this was a bit unusual, since it was still only 11 a.m. and I thought it was too early for a count to be determined yet. Honestly, I felt that this was a liberal plant trying to spread false information, but perhaps I’m just a skeptic. I saw that same person about an hour later announcing “1.5 million according to park police.” I’ll never know… but I still remain skeptical of that individual.
After a few minutes on the grass I decided to head back to a more central location to get a better view and hopefully grab a spot on one of the statues. I swam against the flow of the crowd and made my way to the Garfield statue a little stage left of center. I climbed up and established the position that would be mine for the remainder of the day. Next to me was a lovely woman named Sandy (a United Airlines flight attendant) and her husband. They were from South Carolina. To my left was a gentleman from California, and below me was a guy from Ohio. As I positioned my backpack on the head of a lower statue I heard someone call my name. Then I heard someone yell out my company name! Lo and behold, I looked down to see not one but TWO of my coworkers from San Antonio, Texas! Here I am in the midst of realistically a million people at a single event and ten feet away from me are two coworkers. What are the odds?
As I started snapping pictures and noticed that the crowd was growing much bigger behind me. The crowd reached back as far as I could see in all directions. But still, no press to be seen. Eventually the speakers started and I was very pleased to hear a crisp, clear sound system. My vantage point was a good one, and I actually was able to sit for the entire event while still being able to see everything.
All of the pre-speech energy and crowd noise disappeared almost instantly when the national anthem was announced. Hats were removed, hands placed over hearts, and the entire crowd sang in a beautiful unison voice. After the anthem completed a large group in the heart of the crowd started to chant “USA! USA!”, something that always give me goosebumps. Then the speeches began. There were politicians, a few musical performances, and lots of speeches from people like you and me that until recently were not actively involved in politics or watchdog efforts. But still, the most moving portion for me was when the entire crowd sang the national anthem.
At one point a small group called “People of Faith for Health Care Reform” showed up all holding identical blue signs. There were about twenty in the group, a dozen had signs. They stood off by the side for a little while, then left. I noticed the next day that there was a picture of them in the Washington Post, next to two pictures of tea party groups. Despite the fact that there were one million of us and twenty of them, yet they received any coverage at all, never mind a photo in the paper, is just another sign of the ridiculous media bias we face today.
The speeches, occasionally interspersed with video and musical segues, lasted almost three hours. The entire event was broadcast by C-SPAN and can be found here. As “God Bless America” played over the speakers the massive yet peaceful crowd left as orderly as they arrived. Eventually the place was mostly empty with just a few stragglers staying behind to cling to the last fragments of remaining energy. As you have probably seen by now, the mall and Capitol areas were kept clean by the responsible actions of all of the attendees, unlike those that trashed the grounds during the Obama inauguration. (This isn’t necessarily an indictment of democrats or Obama supporters, it just is what it is.)
I spent the rest of the day walking around the mall, occasionally entering various Smithsonian museums. I ran into more patriots and we shared our similar views: this was a magical event attended by wonderful people with the best of intentions and a deep desire to return America to the country our founding fathers intended to create. Sandy, I’ll see you next year!
I’m finally back home from the motivating and inspirational rally known as the Washington D.C. 9/12 Tea Party. It was amazing to participate, I met so many like-minded people. Like-minded as in “we want less government, not more.”
Say what you want about the press non-coverage, but I am confident that we reached a million people. I’ve got lots of pictures and video to upload, here is a short video of my walk from Freedom Plaza to the Capitol. It took about an hour, I was alone so I was able to meander through the crowd and work my way toward the front of the throngs of people.
Paulie's Polls
Loading ...