On 9/12 *MY* America Was Alive and Well

And what do I mean when I refer to *MY* America? I refer to the patriots, the Tea Partiers, my fellow citizens who got off their duffs and let their views be known by shouting them out in public.

No... I didn't attend the BIG Tea Party in Washington, DC, but I did proudly take part in the Kingston, NY Anti-Debt, Anti-Big Government Rally which was held across from the Hudson Valley Mall off Rt. 9W this past Saturday.

Yep. Between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Mary, I, and around two hundred of our fellow citizens gave vent to our feelings in peaceful public assembly... which was and is our Constitutional Right.

What was the Rally like? It was like one great big family asking government for "Redress of Grievances."

Were there any jerks there? I counted two... two semi-jerks.

(More on them later.)

Were their any nuts? Well... there was one "Birther" who just seemed confused when I tried to explain to him that if there was ANY truth to the whole "Birther" thing he could bet his lifetime earnings that Bill and Hillary Clinton would have nailed candidate Obama on it...

(*CHUCKLE*)

There was also a woman next to me with a sign saying something about Jesus... but, hey... if she wants to believe that her views reflect those of the Deity... how's that hurting me? After all, claiming "God is on our side" isn't exactly ahistorical nor confined to the political Right. After all, long before the Moral Majority there was Liberation Theology.

(*SHRUG*)

Back to the semi-jerks...

At one point these two kids - high school kids... perhaps college kids - show up. A boy and a girl. The young man had a "rainbow" sign with the caption "These Colors Don't Run." Obviously a take-off on the original "American Flag" based slogan. The young lady was "armed" with a camera.

Now my suspicion is that the young man was hoping to garner a negative reaction from someone in our group - at which point his female companion would be there with the camera ready to get some shots "proving" that our protesters were violent. Why do I suspect this...? Well, mainly because the kid with the sign kept on deliberate pushing in front of "our" people and deliberately holding up his sign in front of "our" American flags and "Don't Tread On Me" flags and deliberately "cutting" in front of our signs.

Well... the young man got his wish... sort of.

(*GRIN*)

A couple guys noticed what the kid was doing and you can guess what happened next... these guys starting deliberately draping THEIR flags in front of the kid's sign and each time the kid would move they'd follow him around beating him at his own game.

Now here's the deal, and here's why I refer to these two guys - our guys - as semi-jerks: When I saw what was going on I intervened. I told the two guys to leave the kid alone, to let him have his fun, and made the case that most passerby traffic probably assumed the kids were with us so therefore whatever their purpose, the actual result of their presence was to add to our apparent numerical strength.

Well... the guys kind of backed off... they stopped directly taunting the kid... but they still kept on following him and his camera toting young lady friend around and I'm sure this made the kids nervous since they left soon after that. Let me just add, though... I offered to let the kids stand in front of me and told them that I'd make sure no one hassled them. For whatever reason they didn't take me up on my offer.

(*SHRUG*)

Bottom line... yeah, the kids came looking to make a point, expecting to get the response they did... but, still... my two fellow adult anti-debt protesters should have responded as I did - demonstrated that freedom means freedom whether one is Left or Right.

(Heck... I actually had the young lady shoot a photo of Mary and I - me with my sign, Mary with her flag! You could see the girl got a kick out of - and appreciated - the fact that I was standing up for my values by standing up for her rights and her companion's rights.)

Well... that was the closest thing to "trouble" that came out of "our side." Funny, though... the Left sure seems to attract a fair amount of nasty S.O.B's.

As I've noted, we had a pretty damn big crowd for a rainy day in Kingston, NY. I'm estimating maybe 200 people; we stretched in a "parade watching" type line for perhaps a 100 yards - in front of the sidewalk, not blocking it, behind the curb, not blocking the road.

We were there for four hours; four hours on a rainy Saturday directly facing the main entrance/exist for the Hudson Valley Mall. Thousands of cars passed us during those four hours, I'm guessing many thousands of people witnessed our actions - our peaceful rally.

I'm estimating around 35% of the folks driving past gave us a honk and a thumbs up.

I'm estimating perhaps 5% of folks driving past were... er... less than supportive of our efforts.

(*HUGE FRIGG'N GRIN*)

Of that 5% though... I'd say at least half gave us the finger, shouted out obscenities, or gave us the combo.

(*SMILE*)

Hey... one guy (yeah... a guy... what a disappointment!) even mooned us!

(*CHUCKLE*)

Let's see... one guy driving past shouted out that we were a bunch of rednecks...

(I'm an EPISCOPAL for God's sake! We sit on comfy red cushions and drink vintage Communion wine for Christ's sake!)

...he was driving a pick-up and sporting some sort of cap.

(*SMILE*)

One lady driving an old '60's (perhaps early '70's) Mercedes shouted out "Go back to your trailer park...

(*GUFFAW*)

...I don't think she noted the irony that "those people" - poor people who might live in trailer parks - are supposedly the demographic she no doubt claims to champion.

One... er... gentleman... told us we should "go back to Europe."

(The guy was black... I can only assume it was a racial "shot.")

Hey... as the kids say... WHATEVER...!!!

We had fun. We didn't respond in kind. "Sticks and stones," know what I mean? Being called a fascist by some moron driving a beat up old Subaru isn't exactly going to reduce me to tears.

(Well... tears of mirth perhaps...)

There were a couple nuts (both women by the way) who got REALLY worked up... REALLY exercised... who got SO caught up in screaming and cursing at us that they ended up causing two separate mini traffic tie ups and a few of the haters got SO involved in shouting out invectives that they almost caused accidents!

Hey... thank God... "almost" being the operative word.

(*WINK*)

Anyway... that about it; consider this my report from Ground Zero, Kingston, NY.

(*WINK*)

Actually... you'll have to! The local Kingston/Ulster County daily newspaper, the Daily Freeman, decided - for whatever reason - not to cover an event that had been pre-scheduled months before.

(Folks might consider contacting the Freeman's publisher - Mr. Ira Fusfeld - to ask him about this. I did. His response to me was that he'd "forward my concerns" to the newspaper's editors.)

Well - that's it. Folks... we can take back our country. We can exercise control over our elected officials - demand that they either listen to us or else face the consequences and lose at the polls.

Sign up! Sign up at the Tea Party Patriots website to receive updates and network with your fellow patriots.

Folks... get involved. I'm begging you!

Illegal Aliens and Healthcare "Reform": Did The President... er... Fib?

Illegal aliens receive emergency health care now. Right? We're all agreed on that? It's currently the law and has long been the law that American hospital emergency rooms treat all comers. Right?

In addition to emergency room care, free medical clinics abound throughout our nation and are open to citizen and non-citizen alike.

Note: My point is not to sugarcoat or evade the underlying issue of the nature of the medical care - the limitations of the medical care - that illegal aliens receive in this country; rather, my point is simply to highlight the raw truth that emergency rooms of American hospitals are open to all and that for relatively minor yet persistent medical concerns illegal aliens have the same basic access to free clinics as our own citizen poor who for whatever reason chose to live outside the system - outside Medicaid in this case.

So... with this factual preface offered... allow me to turn to the issue of how HR 3200 applies to legal and illegal aliens - non-citizens:

According to the Congressional Research Service, reflecting the August 25, 2009 official CRS report of Alison Siskin, Specialist in Immigration Policy and Erika K. Lunder, Legislative Attorney, HR 3200 provides for the following:

1) ...under H.R. 3200, a “Health Insurance Exchange” would begin operation in 2013 and
would offer private plans alongside a public option. The Exchange would provide eligible
individuals and small businesses with access to insurers’ plans, including the public option, in a
comparable way. Individuals would only be eligible to enroll in an Exchange plan if they were
not enrolled in other acceptable coverage (for example, from an employer, Medicare and
generally Medicaid). H.R. 3200 does not contain any restrictions on noncitzens participating in the Exchange—whether the noncitizens are legally or illegally present, or in the United States temporarily or permanently.

2) In 2013, under H.R. 3200, some individuals would be eligible for premium credits (i.e., subsidies based on income) toward their required purchase of health insurance. To be eligible for the premium credits under H.R. 3200, individuals must be lawfully present in a state in the United States, excluding most nonimmigrants (i.e., those in the United States for a specific purpose and a specific period of time). The exceptions for nonimmigrants who could obtain premium credits under H.R. 3200 would be trafficking victims, crime victims, fiancées of U.S. citizens, and those who have had applications for legal permanent residence (LPR) status pending for three years. It is expected that almost all aliens in these excepted nonimmigrant categories will become LPRs (i.e., immigrants) and remain in the United States permanently.

3) H.R. 3200 as reported from the House Energy and Commerce Committee (E&C) would extend Medicaid eligibility up to 133 1/3% of poverty for populations that previously were not covered (e.g., childless adults and many parents). This extension of benefits could mean an increase in the number of noncitizens who already meet the immigration status requirements for Medicaid eligibility who would be eligible for Medicaid.

4) Emergency Medicaid may pay for the care of unauthorized aliens, nonimmigrants, and LPRs within the first five years of arrival (or longer if the state does not exercise the option to provide coverage for LPRs after the five years) for emergency conditions if they meet the other eligibility requirements of the Medicaid program. Specifically, aliens who are otherwise eligible for Medicaid except for their immigration status (e.g., unauthorized aliens, nonimmigrants) may receive “medical assistance under Title XIX of the Social Security Act ... for care and emergency services that are necessary for the treatment of an emergency medical condition (as defined in Section 1903(v)(3) of such Act) of the alien involved and are not related to an organ transplant procedure.”

So... folks... you tell me - does it or does it not appear that when President Obama swears that the reforms he's proposing won't apply to those who are here illegally that he's... er... either showing his ignorance of the actual details of the legislation he's supporting, or... to avoid using the "L" word... perhaps deliberately... er... "fibbing" to the American People?

Either way - deliberate dishonesty or simply willful ignorance - President Obama's glib denial of reality when it comes to what illegal aliens will and will not be entitled to under the Democratic Party's major Congressional Health "reform" initiative is - to say the very least - disconcerting.

Banned Again

Tsk... tsk... tsk...

Little Davy Frum has banned me from his website.

(*SIGH*)

I hate weasels.

Listen. I could provide link after link after link highlighting the kind of guy Frum is, but the fact that he banned me from posting on NewMajority.com really tells you all you need to know.

I shot Frum an email the other day asking if he had personally banned me or if it had been one of his minions. So far no response.

(*SHRUG*)

Figures.

David Frum - 3111 Foxhall Road NW, Washington DC 20016 - is not a stand up guy.

David Frum - 202-363-3111 - is a coward and a hypocrite.

David Frum - owner of website 216.246.43.6 - has annoyed yours truly.

Oh, David.... tsk-tsk-tsk... not a good move on your part.

9/11

Yep. One week to go. Next Friday.

Earlier this morning I sat down to watch this week's DVRed episode of "Rescue Me."

Just the opening credits... that's as far as I got.

They always get to me - but today... more so than usual.

I remember 9/11 so clearly.

I remember waking up... turning on the radio... hearing that a plane had crashing into the World Trade Center I immediately rushed into the living room to turn on the TV.

I'm watching the news... they're talking about the plane that hit one of the Towers... all of a sudden - live - I'm watching ANOTHER plane hit the other Tower.

Oh, yes... I remember that day. I'll never forget that day. I remember people jumping out of windows and falling... and falling... and falling... to their deaths - jumping to escape the smoke and heat and flames.

I remember not being able to contact my friend Rob via the phones but thankfully getting through to him via email.

I remember verifying that my friend Phil who worked in Midtown was ok - same with my friend Carl.

I remember the Towers falling... first one... then the other. The people running in panic... the debris storm threatening to overwhelm all in its path.

I remember Phil being "trapped" in the City - Phil's wife Sally at home in Beacon, NY with their new son - my new Godson - Ryan... who was five days old.

That evening I drove over to Beacon to be with Sally and Ryan. We didn't know when or if Phil would get home that night. Phil didn't want them to be alone. I made it over the Bear Mountain Bridge right before they shut it down to sweep it for explosives.

I remember going into the City three days after 9/11 in order to have some dental work done by my friend Irene. Her practice is in the Empire State Building. Over the GW Bridge... down the West Side Highway... bang a left to up into Midtown...

I remember troops. Humvees. Machine guns. FBI officers carrying automatic weapons. ATF officers carrying automatic weapons. There was even an APC.

I remember the eerie silence... the hesitation... the awareness... the politeness... the unspoken connection we all had with each other.

I remember bringing my passport as id to get into the Empire State Building and how it felt going through security.

I remember that for weeks afterward... for months afterward... New Yorkers and other metropolitans like myself put American flags in our car's rear windows and when we crossed paths with a police car, fire truck or ambulance the drivers and passengers would just look at each other and nod - civilians thanking first responders.

I remember heading to California for vacation three weeks after 9/11 and it being a totally different "feel" in California - nothing like the New York metropolitan area vibe. It was like Mary and I were visiting a foreign country where the "natives" were curious and sympathetic, but not all that shaken up themselves.

F--k California.

And now... it's approaching eight years gone by.

I'll attend the 9/11 Mass next Friday as I always do. I'll remember 9/11... The Day... that terrible, awful day. I'll reminisce with friends and family.

President Obama has declared September 11th to be "A National Day of Service."

Well... with all DUE respect... F--k you, Mr. President.

On September 11th - this September 11th and every single one to follow for as long as I live - I'll remember what was... I'll stay focused on what happened...

Don't you DARE tell me how to mourn, how to act, how to behave.

You wanted to recruit our children to The Cause, Mr. President? How'bout this instead:

On Friday, September 11th, 2009, our nation's middle school and high school students get exposed at school to what really happened on September 11th, 2001.

Some may say that middle school is too early for students to be exposed to scenes of death and destruction, but I say just as we should expose our children to the reality of the Holocaust and the slaughter of war so that they will beware the evils and tragedy of man's inhumanity to man, so too should they know exactly what was done to us on September 11th, 2001.

Readers. Please. Join me. Spread the word. 9/11 should be a Day of Remembrance.

And we must remember the truth - and pass it on to those who didn't live through it or were too young to register it.

God Bless America.

I Hereby Applaud President Barak Obama!

(*CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*)

Seriously!

...they're shutting Detroit down

I love this frigg'n song...

I don't give a god damn what I'm "supposed" to believe as a conservative. What could be more truly conservative than loving one's country and praying one's fellow countrymen be gainfully employed producing products and services of true value?

Is this America?

General Motors said on Sunday it has agreed to set up a light commercial vehicle production venture with major Chinese automaker FAW Group, with total investment of 2 billion yuan ($293 million).

The 50-50 joint venture, based in the northeast China city of Changchun in Jilin province, will make light-duty trucks and vans, GM said in a statement.

"For us in China, this is an important complement to the rest of our portfolio," Kevin Wale, president and managing director for GM's China operations, told reporters in a conference call.

The venture will use two existing FAW plants in Changchun and the city of Harbin, also in the northeast, with combined annual capacity of roughly 90,000 vehicles, Wale said.

A greenfield plant, currently under construction in Harbin, will add 100,000 units of capacity by the end of next year, he said.

Vehicles made at the venture will carry the FAW brand and will focus on supplying the China market, but they could be exported under a GM brand through the Detroit automaker's global network in the future, Wale said.

GM is making Buick, Chevrolet and Cadillac models at its flagship China venture with SAIC Motor Corp. It also makes minivans, pickup trucks and the Spark compact car in a three-way tie-up with SAIC and Liuzhou Wuling Automobile.

This is where our bailout funds go - to China... to employ Chinese workers...???

This is where a good chunk of our government run - USING OUR TAX DOLLARS - "Cash for Clunkers" program money went... to a firm which seems more concerned with building up the Chinese economy than our own...???

Remember the old misquote "What's good for General Motors is good for the country?" Well folks... it looks like those days are far, far behind us.

God DAMN these greedy ba$tards!