Howard Zinn and The People Speak: An Introduction


I was introduced to Howard Zinn by the Breitbart think tank. On Friday, December 4th, I had planned to be in LA touring Hollywood and gearing up to see Mary Poppins (in really good seats, I might add) at the Ahmanson Theatre. I got an email from my friend Stage Right (now Larry O’Connor) asking me if I would rather go to the UCLA campus with the inner circle of the vast right-wing conspiracy for an ‘undercover’ mission.

Hmmm… let’s see… YES!

Anyway, through some email exchanges I was told that the mission was to watch the conclusion of a tour called “The People Speak” that was meant to promote Howard Zinn’s book, “A People’s History of the United States” and the educational project airing on The History Channel on December 13th (also called “The People Speak”). Stage sent me an email with about 30 links detailing Zinn’s past, including interviews.

This guy, Zinn, has enough of the “I’m so delusional I need medication” rope to hang himself with… Sounds like a party!

Unfortunately, Zinn wasn’t there. Adam Baldwin, Andrew Breitbart, Stage Right (Larry O’Connor), John Notle, Jeremy Boreing and several others were there to at least entertain me… Actually, these guys were on a serious mission. Everyone had cameras, recorders, and the whole The Sting signal down perfectly. Everyone was in “costume”, including Andrew, who was himself.

We sat through the whole event (which is chronicled by Stage Right) and had a break out session after the meeting was over… Okay, by breakout session I mean the guys all got together and talked and laughed at how Andrew cornered Chris Moore (a.k.a. Koala Bear – you had to be there), the producer of the project.

It was amazing to see how everyone was on the same page at the end. We didn’t sit together… that’s just WAY too conspicuous. We all pulled our own unique “one-liners” from the event but all harmoniously agreed that there weren't any “gotcha moments”. And by all agreeing I mean all of the guys gave their verbal agreement while Jaci and I stood totally silent only wanting to enjoy the moment but would rather not be noticed (or maybe that was just me).

Andrew communicated this one idea to his troops: don’t knock the project until we see it (as was urged by Chris Moore). Everyone agreed and went their separate ways.

The next week Big Hollywood slaughtered Howard Zinn, Matt Damon, and the rest of the radical left-wing Hollywood nut jobs who participated in the project. They promoted The People Speak event on Big Hollywood everyday and even had a live blog to participate during the showing that Sunday night.

There is a LOT of information out there about Howard Zinn and The People Speak. Although Big Hollywood has done their best to assemble the most important pieces into one place, I feel that it could be condensed even more. So, I want to give it a shot. Announcing my next couple of posts coming… when I get a chance to post them!

Grace and Peace,

-Mer

Sad...but true!


Let me first give this disclaimer: I'm not a parent. I'm not married. I've babysat and practically nannied A LOT of kids. That is completely different than parenting and doesn't come with near the responsibility. So, feel free to take my views with a grain of salt. But, this is what this thing is for: sharing my thoughts. So, I'm going to!

After watching this video I had several thoughts come to mind. My first inclination, when seeing this story on the Drudge Report on December 17th, was of course, "Get this kid away from his mother!" After watching this interview, while not totally rescinding that thought... I am reconsidering.

Kids are like cats, they have amazing ways of breaking down all sorts of barriers and hiding in the most unlikeliest of places when given proper motivation. This kid, sadly, had some serious motivation (according to the mother): to see his dad who is in jail.

Why would you tell a 4 year old that his father was in jail? I realize that they are getting a divorce and so the mother is probably in some way (consciously or unconsciously) trying to turn the kid against the dad, but still... don't you think you could come up with a better story? That is a really heavy concept to burden a 4 year old child's mind.

With that in mind, I can totally believe her story about the kid wanting to get in trouble, doing the most crazy things his mind can conceive, in order to see his dad. Because, you go to jail when you do bad things, right? He knows he's not to steal, or break into someone's house, or play in the street, or certainly run away during bedtime. He's also probably been told that "boys don't wear dresses"... It all makes sense to me. And now for Pandora's box:

Oh, he was drinking a beer, too. Drunk, actually. The mom said, "I have no idea how he got it open because it was one of those tabbed beers..." Yeah, uh-huh. He knew where the beer was, probably saw dad, grandpa, and mom open those tabbed beers multiple times. He's a smart kid. He probably knew where the bottle opener was. Kids only need a little bit of example and they will be happy to imitate. This is why I almost blow a gasket any time I see adults drinking in front of their children. It sets an example. And this kid knew he wasn't supposed to drink, so when he wanted to do something bad... what's the first thing he goes for? Exactly.

I know so many responsible and loving parents who drink in front of their kids (obviously with the greatest of moderation), I can only say that it is by God's grace that their kids haven't done the same thing as the kid above (and I'm NOT talking about running away and stealing things). I knew tons of kids in HS who, in elementry, drank from their parents stashes because they wanted to do something bad, or they wanted to be "adults". It doesn't matter what you tell your kids about drinking, if you do it as an adult they will do it when they want to act like adults. Period. Drinking in front of your kids does nothing to benefit them and I will not apologize for saying so.

Obviously, there are some serious break downs in parenting here that have nothing to do with drinking. This whole event did not occur because grandpa had a beer in front of the kid during a game. Obviously. But you and the adults in your family are the examples that you set for your kids. You tell them by your actions "this is what adults do." So, when your kids want to act like adults, at any age, they will imitate that. Including drinking.

What is "Barack Obama" Really Saying to the American People?


This morning at 11:13 a.m. CST I received this cheerful text message from “Barack Obama” on my phone:

“Solving America’s problems is going to require seriousness of purpose here in Washington—not political games like this."

I was immediately intrigued. Within moments of getting my computer set up at work I had to read the White House blog that this tweet was referencing.

Just an excerpt:

“And in the past few days their (opponents of health reform) stunts and obstruction have reached a new low. On Saturday at midnight, money for the Department of Defense – including the money that funds our troops overseas – is set to run out. Thanks to Republican obstruction on health reform, the Senate delayed passing a bill to continue that funding.”

Wait. What? Because the healthcare bill was delayed, so, you know, the Senators could read the bill, the Senate couldn’t vote on troop funding? Why the heck not? Robert’s Rules of Order allows for changes of items on the agenda. If the troop funding bill is set behind the healthcare monstrosity (which I am assuming that it is) all you have to do is reverse the items on the agenda. Problem solved. Troops get funded. But wait… someone is playing political games. Who controls the Senate again?

Exactly, the “supporters of health reform” i.e. the soulless, heartless, brainless, sheep-like (and I use these terms because this action that the WH blog – the delay of the troop funding that is – describes could NOT have been done without their support) Democrats - and perhaps the one or two Independents and possible Republicans (just leaving room for error, folks) - who support this thrown together, criminal, unconstitutional and heinous sham of a healthcare reform bill, are WITHHOLDING funding from the troops in order to coerce the Republicans and Independents rush through this bill.

So, the game now is “pass healthcare reform or we won't fund the troops.” Aren’t you ready to play?

Yes, Mr. President, I believe the time for political games IS over. Stop using the troop funding, scare tactics involving children, insurance, and seniors to propagandize the American people about this health bill. Stop the buyouts of AARP, and numerous other members of the senate, not to mention the intimidation tactics towards Senator’s wives to shove this atrocity of health reform down our throat. We'll see you in 2012 and we (you know, those of us who don’t think of the troops as pawns for healthcare reform and, you know, those of us who actually have family and friends in the military and currently fighting overseas) will remember this.

Just a few minutes after I had received this tweet it was linked on the Drudge Report. It was then that I realized that something a LOT bigger was being communicated in this blog than even I realized. It was more than just the normal, useless, but sometimes entertaining garbage propaganda… The White House is trying to say something. Well, we’re listening.

What Is Your Representative Doing?



On Wednesday Representative Mike Reynolds sent out a letter to his constituents. Below is a copy of the letter in it's entirety.

Dear Constituent

Since my last letter there have been many important developments at the Capitol. With the Legislature reconvening the first week of February I felt it is important to update you on some of the most significant issues.

Hopefully, by the time you receive this letter, Obamacare has failed at the Federal level. This massive step toward socialism would be very difficult to undo by future elected officials. I pray that the Republicans in the U.S. Senate, led by Dr. Tom Coburn in conjunction with a few rational Democrats, will be able to stop this shredding of our Constitution and the principles it was founded on.

The failed policies of the Democrat congress at the Federal level are having a massive impact in every state in the Union. Trillions of dollars of new debt are leading to a collapse of the economy nationwide. No person or county can spend their way out of debt. Unfortunately, the failed policies at the national level have infected not only the Oklahoma economy, but also the mindset of many Oklahoma legislators. While individuals claim they are for limited Government, not one board agency has been defunded during the 5 years that Republicans have been in control of the House. In order to fund pet pork projects, leaders in both parties apparently make deals with the Governor so he and they can fund their pet projects. Worst of all, these same people allow tax credits worth hundreds of millions of dollars to be given secretly to wealthy individuals and corporations in the name of “economic development,” the Oklahoma version of Obama’s stimulus package.

Undoubtedly the most important issue at this time is the state budget. If your income decreased by 30% and you only dropped your expenses by 5% or 10%, you would have to go into debt or take money out of savings. The Oklahoma Constitution prevents this type of debt, so the State Treasurer is spending money from other areas like the “unclaimed property fund” and college scholarship programs.

I have learned one method that is being proposed to solve this financial dilemma is electronic surveillance and issuing of tickets. Now suppose that someone steals your car tag. Maybe they even put another tag on your car so you won’t notice. A week or so later you get a citation and are required to appear in court. You plead your case and are successful. It only costs you a day of your time and the stress of waiting until the issue is resolved. If, on the other hand, an officer stopped you for a violation, with the new statewide insurance database that the Legislature forced the Department

of Safety to adopt last year, he could verify your insurance immediately over the Internet, tell you that you need to get a replacement tag and let you go on your way. Maybe this is why the U.S. Constitution requires that we be able to face our accusers, not a camera. A very powerful company from California has hired several lobbyists and sent representatives to Oklahoma to pitch this idea. Apparently, they may receive up to 35% of the proceeds collected on this type of system. So, they have offered to install it for free. Representatives from Atlanta, San Diego and Chica

go were brought to my office during the last session by an ex-legislator to encourage me to withdraw my resistance to this idea. I value freedom too much and after a few minutes of discussion they left. I understand Barry Switzer, outspoken supporter of Brad Henry, has been aggressively promoting this program. That probably is all that needs to be said about the Governor’s position on this issue.

What we must do to solve the uninsured motorist problem is require extreme punishment for the offender. We don’t let drunk drivers leave in their cars when stopped and we shouldn’t allow uninsured motorists either. Their car should be towed away, and if involved in an accident, sold to satisfy any judgment against them. We probably should allow an officer to drive them to the nearest phone booth if they don’t have a cell phone. Another great solution might be to make Oklahoma a no-fault insurance state.

The last item I am working on at this time is the removal of judges. It has been suggested, primarily by lawyers and the “anonymous” editor of the Oklahoman, that this is a silly idea. What is silly is to not pay attention to the public outcry over judges abusing their authority. A three-time convicted felon that rapes children was recently given a sentence of 1 year in the county jail. The killer of a 19 month old child was sentenced to life in prison by a jury, but a judge changed the sentence to just 12 years.

The Legislature may not be the best place for judicial review to occur, but a bunch of attorneys meeting in secret sure isn’t getting the job done. If charges are brought concerning a judge, the public ought to have the right to be present at the deliberations and offer input if they have relevant facts to contribute.

Almost every issue is about openness in government, whether it is budget negotiations, tax credits or judicial behavior. Government is one of the institutions ordained by God in the Bible, and it is here to serve the people, not for the people to serve it.

God Bless,

Representative Mike Reynolds

So, I ask you: What is your Representative doing during the interum time? I have seen Representative Mike Reynolds up at the capitol, every day, all day. He is working and earning every penny that the State of Oklahoma and the taxpayers of Oklahoma pay him in salary. I encourage you to find out what your Representative is doing... I know what mine is and I'm pretty dang proud.

Keep up the good work, Mike.