Tulsa Tea Party

More April 15 Pictures!

2009-04-15T20:28:00.001-07:00

Jenn over at Green Country Values has posted pictures from the Veterans Park Tea Party here.

Chris Medlock has some pictures from the Downtown Tea Party.

Bland Bridenstine has a bunch of photos from the downtown event and the Veterans Park event.

KRMG has some video from the LaFortune event, including some cool aerial video courtesy of SkyNews 6. If anyone knows about any other pictures, let me know, and I'll add that links well.

KFAQs Tulsa Tea Party page.

Sharp Right Turn attended the Downtown event, here are her pics and take on the Party.

And here is Jai Blevins, the Tulsa Organizer of all things Tea, and his summary.

And of course, my pictures from the Downtown Event

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Updated!
Link Love from Michael Bates! Blatesline has an excellent roundup of Tea Parties in Tulsa, State-wide and some national links as well. Thanks, again for the link.

Linked by Twana Blevins at Patriots for America, who also links over to some OKC coverage

April 15 Tea Party Pictures

2009-04-15T13:35:00.000-07:00

When I got there, about 45 minutes before it was scheduled to start, there was already a large crowd gathered. Full Disclosure, I am horrible at estimating these things, but I know there was already more people than at the March event, which had around 400 people.

So here is a crowd shot. As start time approached, more people, we eventually topped out around 1000 people...

Here is a shot of John Gibson, of Fox News, getting set up.
Chris Medlock, known rabble rouser and trouble maker. Just kidding, Chris is a former city councillor, and a great guy. He has done serious good work for the city of Tulsa.

Here is Jai Blevins. He is the primary organizer for the Tulsa Area Tea Parties. We're keeping him busy.

OK, very close to start time, above is Pat Campbell, the local Morning Drive host for KFAQ, and also Amber Newbold, who will sing the National Anthem.

And here is Amber singing, as we get started. She did great, by the way.

Jerry Robinson follows Amber with a Prayer

Here's Chris Medlock addressing the crowd. He stressed the importance of keeping informed (extremly challenging with the murky Tulsa politics) and getting involved. He also told people to join Facebook, and I'm not sure if I can forgive him for that. But he is right, the Conservative Movement needs to master the web, especially for organizing and getting the message out. The left has a certain advantage over us on that front.

Sally Bell, Tulsa County Republican Chair.

Here's a better picture of Sally Bell.

Colin Hughes

And John Gibson, very happy to be in Tulsa.

Here is a crowd shot as Jai Blevins reads out some of the reaction he's received at the his Tea Party website

The Channel 6 Helicopter flew over head, their story can be found here.

That pretty much wrapped up the downtown party, and I scurried over to LaFortune Park to see what they where up to...

They had an excellent turnout, estimates of over 3200 people.

All in all, an excellent day for the Tea Parties in Tulsa.

Afternoon Party

2009-04-15T12:04:00.000-07:00

OK, I'll have Pictures from the Courthouse Tea Party up in just a bit. Great turnout, a lot of very vocal people supporting the movement. I've even got a couple of pics from the LaFortune Tea Party. It looks like they had an excellent turn out there as well.

However...

If you missed out, but still want to get out to an event, there is still one more party today in the Tulsa area.

Time: April 15, 2009 from 5:00 pm to 7pm
Place: Veteran's Park
Street:19th & Boulder
City: Tulsa
Facebook: Click here
Contact Info: (918)760-8282

Keep it rolling, folks!

People ask why we are excited.

2009-04-14T21:00:00.001-07:00

People ask why we are excited about the spending, but we didn't criticize the previous Administration.

1. We did criticise, especially TARP 1

And 2.

Heck of a difference.

I grabbed the Graphic from Chris Medlock, but the original source, and accompanying story, is at The Heritage Foundation.

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Update!
Wow, a lot of hits coming in from Cincinnati, which is awesome. All I did is comment on the very interesting story at that site, but the Cincinnati site got an Insta-lanche, and I'm getting a mini-lanche from it. Behold the Power of Instapundit!

Look around, folks, welcome to my home. Wipe the shoes at the door, and don't mind the dog, he's just friendly like that.

Be There! Tea Parties on Wednesday!

2009-04-13T17:00:00.000-07:00

Just throwing out a reminder:

Time: April 15, 2009 from 11am to 1pm
Place: Tulsa Courthouse Plaza
Street:500 S Denver Ave
Map:Click Here
Parking Map:Click Here
City: Tulsa
Facebook: Click here
Contact Info: (918)760-8282
Event Type: Tea Party
Organized By: Jai Blevins coordinator@tulsateaparty.org

Confirmed Speakers & Guests....
Pat Campbell - 1170 KFAQ
John Gibson - 1170 KFAQ
Jerry Robinson
Chris Medlock
Sally Bell
JB Alexander
Tim Coager
Collin Hughes - Americans for Prosperity

For more information, or the location of other events in the Tulsa area, go to http://www.tulsateaparty.org/Events.html#Events

If you need information on the event being held at LaFortune park, go to the KRMG website.

A Free Market solution to the Pirate Problem?

2009-04-12T23:42:00.000-07:00

History provides us with a 300+ year proven track record of dealing with Pirates in a successful manner, and part of that history included the use of privately owned vessels. The fine folks over at the Competative Enterprise Insitute think it might be time to revive that tradition.

Read the whole article. I enjoyed the whole article but for some reason, this part tickled me...

“The world has changed a lot since nations last made significant use of letters of marquee and reprisal. If Congress were to decide to issue them, it would certainly have to revisit the concept,” said CEI Senior Fellow Eli Lehrer. “It’s the type of free-market solution to a real problem that Congress should consider but hasn’t in any serious way.”

Hat Tip to The Rhetorican
.

Seal of Approval

2009-04-12T18:38:00.000-07:00

Navy Seal of Approval, that is...

From Uncle Jimbo, at Blackfive:

The lifeboat was approx. 25 m behind the Bainbridge when snipers on the fantail observed one of the pirates in the pilot house of the lifeboat pointing an AK-47 at the back of a tied up Phillips and the other two pirates on board were visible (at least shoulders and heads). The standing authority gave them clearance to engage the pirates if the life of the captain was in imminent danger. The on scene commander deemed this to be true and gave the order to fire. All three bad guys were taken out...

Well Done, Gentlemen.

As a Former Marine, I send nothing but love to my Squidley Buddies! [Just kidding, guys!]

Seriously, Kudos all around. The operation was swift, decisive, and wholly effective. 3 Pirates dead, one captured. Now just several hundred more to go.

GO Navy!

Added Note:

I Highly Recommend www.blackfive.net for commentary on current events from the perspective of the Military. Blackfive, the proprietor of the site, has assembled a group of intelligent, knowledgeable and skilled writers. And as a bonus, they are all Veterans, they have seen the elephant. Quite frankly, any news organization would be lucky to assemble such a group, and to their discredit, those organizations don't seem to make much of an effort that direction.

Foriegn Policy in the Age of Obama

2009-04-11T21:19:00.000-07:00

Ronald Reagan one said, "We know only too well that war comes not when the forces of freedom are strong, but when they are weak. It is then that tyrants are tempted."

Given the President's just completed tour through Europe and the Middle East, is the United States showing that strength or accommodation will be the policy going forward?

Well, why don't we see what Caroline Glick, over at the Center for Security Policy, has to say:

Whether they are aggressors like Russia, proliferators like North Korea, terror exporters like nuclear-armed Pakistan or would-be genocidal-terror-supporting nuclear states like Iran, today, under the new administration, none of them has any reason to fear Washington.

This news is music to the ears of the American Left and their friends in Europe. Obama's supporters like billionaire George Soros couldn't be more excited at the self-induced demise of the American superpower. CNN's former (anti-)Israel bureau chief Walter Rodgers wrote ecstatically in the Christian Science Monitor on Wednesday, "America's... superpower status, is being downgraded as rapidly as its economy."

Hat tip to Donald Douglas, via R. S. McCain

Great Thoughts

2009-04-10T20:57:00.000-07:00

"Freedom is not created by government nor is it a gift from those in political power. It is, in fact, secured more than anything else by limitations placed on those in government"

- Ronald Reagan

This is going to be an ongoing feature here on the blog. Reagan said so many great things, and as I read through some of them, I find that many are quite timely indeed. In the future, I'll probably add others to the mix, but for now, we'll start with Ronald Wilson Reagan, and go from there. In fact, we'll start with a double feature...

" Speech delivery counts for little on the world stage unless you have convictions, and, yes, the vision to see beyond the front row of seats"

- Ronald Reagan

Tea Party Movement in Oklahoma: Radio Rivalries Split TeapartyMovement in Tulsa

2009-04-08T17:03:00.000-07:00

Jai Sounds off on having two Tea Party Events at the same time.

Tea Party Movement in Oklahoma: Radio Rivalries Split TeapartyMovement in Tulsa

A Minority of One

2009-04-08T15:20:00.000-07:00

You often hear about the "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy". Various leftists, both pundits and politicians, will attribute unfavorable polls, negative news stories and Pro Right events as proof positive of some large neo-con organization, inevitably well funded by Big Business, working behind the scenes, and being directed by Richard Mellon Scaife, or some such.

The Sad truth is that the Right would have trouble organizing a BBQ in Oklahoma, the Reddest of the Red States. As on old Drill Instructor I once knew all too well would say, "Y'all are just a bunch of stinkin' individuals!!'

And We Are.

We are the smallest Minority. We are the Individual. We value the Individual. We value our ability to use our judgement (judgemental, anyone?), to make our own choices, based on our own needs and our own situation.

Do we always make the right choice? Heck, no. But we have a pretty good track record compared to some Government programs.

We, as Individuals, instinctively distrust any attempts to grant "Social Justice", because we suspect that means an abrogation of the individual right in favor of some special group or organization.

We love the Bill of Rights, because it enshrines and protects the rights of the Individual over the power of the State. And make no mistake, the Bill of Rights is all about the Individual. Every statement is an enumeration of the Individual Right, not the Group. Additionally, every one is State recognition of a pre-existing Right. It is not a matter of the Government granting a Right, but rather the State acknowledges the independent existence of that Right in all people, and pledges the protection of those Rights. As soon as you allow the Government to grant a Right, you have given permission to the State to deny a Right.

We tend to distrust group think, knowing from past experience that any time a Committee or Group decides to do anything, 18-20 people make the decision, and 2 or 3 do the work. All in all, we would rather be left to ourselves, with as little Government interference as possible.

That is why the Tea Party Movement is, in many ways, so shocking. Conservatives just don't do that! The Media doesn't know what to do with it, and they show they'd rather devote coverage to 20 or 30 paid professional protesters (ACORN) who shout the message the Media is comfortable with, than cover the 300 or so people out protesting too much Government.

And maybe we don't know how to work it either. Or at least, not yet. As I said, this kind of protest doesn't come easy to conservatives.

Maybe that's why we now have conflicting Tax Day Tea Parties. It is unfortunate, but as conservatives are wont to do, we will make the best of it. Personally, I am going to the Protest at the Courthouse.

Time: April 15, 2009 from 11am to 1pm
Place: Tulsa Courthouse Plaza
Street:500 S Denver Ave
City: Tulsa
Facebook: Click here
Contact Info: (918)760-8282

This one is being organized by Jai Blevins, and supported by KFAQ. Follow the link for the most up-to-date information and details.

Additionally, Jai has organized an event at 5 PM for all you folks who work normal hours.

Time: April 15, 2009 from 5:00 pm to 7pm
Place: Veteran's Park
Street:19th & Boulder
City: Tulsa
Facebook: Click here
Contact Info: (918)760-8282

However, there is another event being supported by KRMG, and the time overlaps with the event downtown. It will be a La Fortune Park, and you can see the details here.

The important thing here is, above all, participate. Get out to one or more of the Protests, and let your voice be heard!

Real Quick Update! Tax Day Tea Party

2009-04-02T10:55:00.000-07:00

OK, Time and location have changed. Not by much, 15 minutes and walking distance, but still...

As of today (2 April, 2009) this is the plan for the Tusa Tax Day Tea Party!

City: Tulsa
When: April 15, 11:00am - 1:00pm
Where: Tulsa County Courthouse Plaza in Downtown Tulsa

I have changed the side bar, and updated the original post, but still, spread the word.

A Manifesto

2009-04-01T09:20:00.000-07:00

Will Collier doesn't think it is enough to go and protest things that the Government is up to. No matter what the outrage, protest does no good.

But that isn't exactly what Will said. He said Protest alone isn't enough. He's right. You need a plan.

From Will Collier-

1. A moratorium on bailouts, whether for Wall Street bankers, General Motors, or the irresponsible guy down the street who "bought" too much house. "Failures must be allowed to fail."

2. Repeal of all "Stimulus" spending for the years 2011 and beyond.

3. Repeal of all "Stimulus" pet projects in 2009-2010 with no stimulative effect.

4. Defeat of the Obama 2010 budget, with a new budget set at 2008 levels plus inflation. We've already spent too much money that we don't have.

5. Defeat of any politician who voted for the February "Stimulus" bill.

6. Complete selloff and shutdown of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and an immediate ban on campaign contributions from both, as well as any other firm in Federal receivership.

It isn't enough to simply be angry, or to say "This isn't right". If we, as conservatives, take that route, we are no better than the leftists who shout and protest without making any suggestions to improve the situation. Code Pink comes to mind. Ready to protest any use of the Military, absolutely bankrupt and bereft of reasonable, logical ideas when it comes to confronting rogue regimes and terrorists. Maybe it's just me, but adding sanctions on top of sanctions that are already being worked around, corrupted, or outright ignored, is as effective as a House Ethics Committee Meeting.

It feels good to scream out "I'm mad as Hell, and I'm not going to take it any more!", but it isn't enough. It feels good to go to a protest, to be surrounded by like minded individuals, and while that helps, you can do more.

* If you can, donate.

Send money to the folks who voted against the monstrosity, and to the folks running against the ones who voted for it.

* Write to your Senators and Congressman.

Here in Northeast Oklahoma, our portion of the delegation seems to have their heads screwed on right about this one, for the most part. If, however, you are going to write them a letter critical of their actions, its more likely to not immediately head for recycling if you actually write a coherent statement, summarizing what you feel they did wrong, what you feel they should have done, and why they should have done it. Good or bad, you should write to them, it lets them know you are paying attention.

* Go to the Tea Party Protest.

As I said, get out with like minded folks. Its really easy, especially as a conservative, to feel like you are the only one frustrated by these things. The regular media certainly doesn't help. Take the original rounds of the Tea Party Protests, for example. Here in Tulsa, a city not know for protesting, we managed to get (according to the local radio station) 300-500 people. Dozens of other Protests across the country did as well, and in the case of St. Louis, significantly better. There was a remarkable lack of national coverage. On the other hand, get 40 acorns (and other associated nuts) to take a sponsored bus tour to AIG homes, and you could get hurt by the stampede of cameramen and reporters.

So, to sum up...

1. A moratorium on bailouts
2. Repeal of all "Stimulus" spending 2011 and beyond
3. Repeal of all "Stimulus" pet projects
4. Defeat of the Obama 2010 budget
5. Defeat of any politician who voted for the February "Stimulus" bill
6. Complete selloff and shutdown of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

~~and~~

*Donate
*Write
*Protest

Transparency

2009-03-29T21:24:00.000-07:00

"My motives, as ever, are entirely transparent."
Hughnon reflected that 'entirely transparent' meant either that you could see right through them or that you couldn't see them at all. - The Truth, by Terry Pratchett

From The CATO institute:

President Obama promised to make his administration the most open and transparent in history, and taking questions from the public kind of looks like that. But it also kind of looks like a gimmicky, canned publicity stunt, rather than true openness in government.

Real transparency would include fulfilling his campaign promise to post bills online for five days before signing them. The president has now signed 10 bills into law and not subjected any of them to that five-day public review.

h/t to QandO

From the ethics page of President Obama's campaign website: As president, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The frustrating part is this, really, is an easy fix. Post 'em for 5 days. This isn't like convincing the Unions to make concessions, or trying to get Hollywood liberals to follow a proposal to its logical conclusion.

Why doesn't the Administration do this? I don't know. I can only assume that there are a whole lot of people working in the White House who don't expect that the watchdogs in the media hold them accountable (why should they start now?). This little thing just isn't that important to them.

Fascism (with an update!)

2009-03-29T19:20:00.000-07:00

Fascism. The word has been thrown around a lot, by both side of the political spectrum. In many ways, it has lost its original meaning. One of the guys I work with, one of President Obama’s True Believers, assures me that President Bush was/is a Fascist, because he was shredding the Constitution, suspending Habeus Corpus for non-citizens, making special deals for his Oil buddies in Iraq, and of course, HALIBURTON!!

As a Political Junkie ( I actually have a PolSci degree, which explains why, after getting a lot of after-college training, I am now working in the IT world…), I prefer the original definition.

From The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics , Here are a few highlights of what Fascism truly, originally meant;

As an economic system, fascism is socialism with a capitalist veneer.

In its day (the 1920s and 1930s), fascism was seen as the happy medium between boom-and-bust-prone liberal capitalism, with its alleged class conflict, wasteful competition, and profit-oriented egoism, and revolutionary Marxism, with its violent and socially divisive persecution of the bourgeoisie. Fascism substituted the particularity of nationalism and racialism—“blood and soil”—for the internationalism of both classical liberalism and Marxism.

fascism sought that control (of economic processes) indirectly, through domination of nominally private owners.

requiring owners to use their property in the “national interest”—that is, as the autocratic authority conceived it.

fascism left the appearance of market relations while planning all economic activities.

fascism controlled the monetary system and set all prices and wages politically.

State ministries, rather than consumers, determined what was produced and under what conditions.

So, with that in mind, lets take a look at the news.

GM CEO resigns at Obama’s request

Geithner Asks Congress for Expansive Power to Seize Non-Banks

Bank chiefs hold peace talks with Obama

Treasury Maps New Era of Regulation

"The days of 'light touch' regulation are over," said Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat who is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

Thanks, Rep. Frank, I can now rest easy, knowing you are on the case. I just threw up in my mouth a little.

So lets go down the checklist.

• fascism sought that control (of economic processes) indirectly, through domination of nominally private owners

Check, the government has now established the precedent for directing the hiring/ firing process at the very top of these “independent” corporations

• requiring owners to use their property in the “national interest”—that is, as the autocratic authority conceived it.

True or false, as part of the bailout, the government has sought to impose “green” measures into both the manufacturing process and the end product of the auto industry.
True , oh so true.

• fascism left the appearance of market relations while planning all economic activities.

Wagoner ...considered responsible for increasing GM's focus on trucks and SUVs—at the expense of the hybrids and fuel efficient cars that have become more popular in the last couple of years.

• fascism controlled the monetary system and set all prices and wages politically.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-857

It’s a heck of a checklist.

And so, my liberal friends, I think it may behoove you that in the future, you be careful about throwing the term Fascism around to freely, lest you offend some of your heroes.

UPDATE:

Jonah Goldberg of National Review fame comments on the Fascist Bargain

Well... (Updated 2 April)

2009-03-23T02:02:00.000-07:00

Been a long couple of weeks, but what the heck, lets put out an update...

Tea Party II, Tax Day Tea Party...That is, after all the original purpose of the blog.

UPDATED!! Apparently, the data has changed! As of today (2 April, 2009) this is the plan for the Tulsa Tax Day Tea Party!

City: Tulsa
When: April 15, 11:00am - 1:00pm
Where: Tulsa County Courthouse Plaza in Downtown Tulsa

Here's the link, to this one and many more....

Now for some outrages...where to start... It is unfortunate that the Administration gives me SO much to work with here. I hope that someday the adults will be back in charge at the White House, but it would be pointless to hold one's breath.

Example the First:

Lets start with class, or the lack of it. The President goes on the Tonight Show. OK. I get it. The President is Young, Hip and With It. He heads the First Family of Cool. Lets take a cheap, classless shot at the Special Olympics. I mean, why not.

Well, I'll let some dippy mom, lacking an Ivy League education, address this one:

Sarah Palin:

“I was shocked to learn of the comment made by President Obama about Special Olympics,” Governor Palin said. “This was a degrading remark about our world’s most precious and unique people, coming from the most powerful position in the world.

“These athletes overcome more challenges, discrimination and adversity than most of us ever will. By the way, these athletes can outperform many of us and we should be proud of them. I hope President Obama’s comments do not reflect how he truly feels about the special needs community.”

Example the Second:

Foreign Policy (I think we have one)
Here is the list.

1. Poland and the Czeck Republic: missile shield "misunderstanding".
2. UK: Churchhill bust return.
3. Russia: "overcharge" button.
4. UK: insulting gifts to the Browns.

I’ve talked about the first four, but here are two new ones!

5. Brazil: Misspelling the Brazilian President’s name

6. Ireland : Teleprompter Errors

Example the Third

Let's charge back Veterans who have been injured on duty for their Health care!

h/t to Rachel Lucas

As a Veteran, I am deeply disturbed. This as a Really Bad Idea(tm). I really don't know where people get the idea that large numbers of Democrats loath the military. Sure, President Obama withdrew the plan, but come on, doesn't anybody up there have clue one?

Well, I just got back from Vacation, hopefully I'll be able to keep up a little better in the weeks ahead as we get ready for another Tea Party. Heck, I've not even mentioned the Administrations plan to tax Health Insurance or the whole expended brass fiasco (in fairness, I'm not sure that the Obama administration had anything to do with the Brass thing).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Update!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lets add France to our list of Foriegn Policy List!

7. France: The Letter to the Former President of France. (Imagine how it would be interpreted if Sarcozy wrote a simular letter to President Bush today.

h/t to Ann Althouse

And the Hits just keep coming!

2009-03-09T16:43:00.000-07:00

I was REALLY trying to avoid the kerfuffle about all this...but man!

Today's Foreign Policy Statement reads as Follows:

"There's nothing special about Britain. You're just the same as the other 190 countries in the world. You shouldn't expect special treatment."

Winston Churchill described the "Special Relationship" that existed between the US and Great Britain, both during and after World War II, as well as during the onset of the Cold War. The term, however, predated that considerably.

The first use of the term that I could find was actually in 1897, when the Times of London, referencing the Anglo-American Arbitration Treaty, saw an "advantage to England and America in their special relationship". 112 years of Special Relationship. Way to go, Guys.

Now, lets put this little statement into the context of recent history, like the last two months...

1. From the New York Times: US would slow Missile Shield Plan for Russian help with Iran

I'm sure that the Czechs and Poles are overjoyed that their security is now a bargaining chip. Although I can see the Russian's point here. I'm sure that it is only the threat of Nuclear Annihilation that is keeping the military might of those marauding Czechs in their place!

2. From the Daily Mail (UK): To my special friend Gordon, 25 DVDs: Obama gives Brown a set of classic movies. Let's hope he likes the Wizard of Oz

Nothing says classy like a gift of DVDs. Now admittedly, It isn't the worst gift ever, but come on, Obama said he is a Citizen of the World! He is now, arguably, the single most powerful man on the planet, he has a staff of thousands, and he is about to receive a state visit from the Prime Minister of England, and this was the best he could do?

3. From Breitbart: Russian media teases Clinton over 'reset' button

Are you telling me the Obama administration doesn't have one person fluent in Russian that could have looked this thing over?

This is why some one who ran such a crappy campaign could still manage to get 48% of the vote. There are whole swaths of people in this country who simply cannot believe that the Democrats have any competence in Foreign policy whatsoever. And quite frankly, what have you seen in the last 48 days or so that would lead you to believe anything else?

Heh, So I'm not the only one noticing...

2009-03-05T12:53:00.000-08:00

Cruising around today and I caught this on Politico, of all places.

Obama's Safety Net: The TelePrompter

Now I think we can safely say that the Politico is not a great friend to Conservatives everywhere, so while I had no doubt that they had picked up on the teleprompter issues, it is surprising that they mentioned it, let alone made a whole story of the issue.

Honor Thy Father...

2009-03-05T11:30:00.000-08:00

My father passed away four years ago, quite suddenly. He left one morning for work, in good health, looking forward to another active day (He managed to come out from behind his desk quite a bit, and keep up in a physically demanding job, with men much younger than him). He suffered a Heart Attack, and was gone before my mother could get to the hospital.

That is why this story is so touching and wonderful at the same time.

Go here and read a wonderful tribute to a dying breed

"My Father asks for Nothing"

Sippican Cottage

Treasure your parents, folks. You won't always have them around, and I certainly didn't realize what I had, until he was gone.

Random Thoughts

2009-03-04T20:45:00.000-08:00

Well, after the last week, I've been trying to get a post together, but the Real World has seen fit to try to keep me busy. With that in mind, here are some quick thoughts....

1. NO ONE on the television is your friend. If someone asks you to do an interview, and you happen to be the newly elected head of the RNC, assume that it is going to be a hostile interview. Be polite, be pleasant, but assume that the person is out to get you. This may sound paranoid, but now all your surprises will be pleasant. Won't that be nice.

2. In conjunction with the above statement...Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES let anyone get away with comparing things that you (or your party) do with Hitler's Germany. There is a Godwin Law on the Internet, we need one for Cable, as well. If someone says it looked like a Nuremberg Rally, yank that chain up short and hard and do it right now. There is, of course, one exception to this. If you are in fact loading up undesirable people into boxcars, and making lampshades out of their skin, then it is OK to be compared to Hitler at that point.

3. I saw the President making the HHS announcement on CSPAN. As painful as this is, you might watch it yourself and see if you see what I see. I see a guy who can't speak without cue cards.

CSPAN VIDEO

I picked a few time hacks....
Watch the first 20 seconds or so, and the camera placement puts the teleprompter right over the Presidents face. It cuts to a front view fairly quickly, but goes back to the other camera at 3:23, at 4:09, at 7:49 and as he closes at 9:35.

When you see it like this, it is obvious that he never looks away from the teleprompter, He goes back and forth between the two screens, and never looks out at his audience. You would think, if he is even half as good a communicator as some of the supporters think he is, he'd be able to look away for longer than the amount of time it takes to switch from one to another. Its kinda like that kid in speech class that never looked up from his notes while he gave a speech. Oh well.

More Good Tea Party Stuff!

2009-02-28T13:55:00.000-08:00

In my daily Net-cruising, I have seen more good links!

Sharp Right Turn posted a great blog about the event, some good pics as well as links.

Jenn Sierra of Green Country Values posted these pics, and also some from BHarp1

They look great, and I wish I met more of the bloggers. Next time we do something like this, we need to set up a "Blogger Booth"

They all look great!

Party Pics!

2009-02-27T11:19:00.001-08:00

On Friday, 27 Feb. 2009. Tulsa had a tea party! The kind folks on the radio estimated 300-500 people. I'd lean toward the upper half of that estimate.

Morning Radio host Joe Kelly opened the Festivities.
Joe works at KRMG, one of the Local AM talkers.

Props to Joe for recognizing the competition, KFAQ, the other AM talker, was also present.

More from Joe

Oh, Hey! A FairTax Sign!

Sally Bell, recently elected Chair for the Tulsa Republican Party, speaks.

She is followed by State Senator Randy Brogdan (R).

Here's a shot of the crowd. I commented to another fellow taking pictures, "Organizing doesn't come naturally to Conservatives, we'd really rather just be left alone." He pretty much agreed. No real surprise.

Jai Blevins, reaching for the microphone, organized the Tulsa Event. He is taking the Mike from J.B. Alexander, who assisted. Sorry Jai, I took more pics with you in them, but this is the best one.

Jerry Robinson also spoke. He is a local Minister and also an economist.

Crowd shot "Read the Bill!"

More of the Crowd, another FairTax Sign!

"Cut Taxes, not Deals"

Ken Yazel, Tulsa County Assessor and Former Marine. Semper Fi!

A better shot of Senator Brogdon (R), a pretty good showing by local and state Republican Party folks, not much of a Democratic Party presence, not sure why. Hmm.

Chris Medlock (on right) and his Producer, Brent Smith.
Mr. Medlock is the competition that Joe Kelly mentioned earlier. He is currently the only local AM talker for the afternoon. He is also a former City Council member, where he ticked off all the right people, and a former Mayoral candidate. On the council, he was often referred to as the Leader of the "Gang of Five". The "Gang" consisted of five council members that attempted to bring accountability into City Government. You can call it a "Gang" if you want to,but since there are only nine folks on the council, I think it would have been more accurate to call it "A Simple Majority".

Here is Mr. Medlock with Jim Mautino, one of the other members of the "Gang". Again, you can tell a lot about a person by his enemies. These two did a lot of good, thankless work for the City of Tulsa.

Another crowd shot. Note an "Oklahomans for FairTax" sign, and the yellow "Don't Tread on Me". And, of course, Old Glory, Front and Center.

Protest Dog wants Pork. He is the only one present that wants Pork, but he wants it badly.

Signs.

"Government is Not your Mommy!"
"If you're not outraged, you're not paying taxes!"

This Child is chained to our Debt!
I thought it was a very good image. Well Done.

Sally Bell, Chairperson, Tulsa County Republican Party.

And now, its time to sign out

Warning Order!

2009-02-26T20:31:00.000-08:00

On Friday, 27 March, Tulsa will be Hosting a Tea Party to Protest the so called "stimulus" Package. But lets call the package what it is. Porkulus.

Come to the Party. Pictures to follow!

Tulsa, OK Tea Party
Friday, February 27, 2009
11:00am - 1:00pm
Veteran’s Park
21st & Boulder
Tulsa, OK
918-760-8282
jaiblevins@hotmail.com