I no longer wear an olive drab uniform, but still I serve.

My feet are damaged and broken, but I still march to freedoms beat.

My weapons are Twitter, pens, and a cellular phone, and with them I fight.

Though I shall never be called upon to risk my life defending our nation as Hero’s of our past and present have done, I fight on.

Today I ask you to join me in the trenches, I ask you to enlist in this fight.

I ask because we are in a terrible war, with the fate of our own freedoms in play, a war where liberty will be violated and then made a slave to tyranny.

I ask you not to join the military, nor to follow a specific cause or pledge to a politician.

No… I ask you go pledge to yourself, your dreams, and to our nation.

I ask for you to run for office.

This battlefield may be unkind and unmerciful, but it is a far easier burden than the Marines storming Iwo Jima had, or the Army had in Normandys death dealing beaches.

I aask you to do a duty our own founding fathers found honorable.

The lowest rank is Precinct Committee Person (also known as PCP). http://party.procinct.com This link will guide you.

The next rank is that of local positions such as on a school board, water district, or city council. Each county and State varies so look for your local information via your elections office.

The first of the officers is Sherrifs, Mayors, and State Representatives… and the likes.

Those who run for Federal Office… you have surpassed me, and if you are a Conservative then I salute you!

We must think nationally, of course, but we must act locally.  We must unite and organize locally, and the best place to do that is at our local Party committee meetings

This is not a dishonorable duty! Nothing could be further from the truth. Only when we fight evil, corruption, and cronyism can we have a victory.

There is no victory in surrendering the battle, there is no victory in letting the enemy win via default, there is no victory if you do not stand up in the image of our Founding Fathers and carry the torch of freedom!

The enemy will call you names, and try to smear you. You will not suffer a physical injury from this. They will try to tell it is hopeless… to which I say there is hope if you try, and no hope if you do not!

I am United with Cold Warrior, Line Holder, LHeal, and more in seeking you, all of you we can get, to run for office. TAKE BACK OUR NATION!

My goal is to raise an army of 50,000. Not an army pledged to me or my specific platforms, but to the causes of Freedom, Liberty, Justice and the American Way! Cold Warrior wants 500,000… I will be happy if I, with this post, can get my 50,000. Then that 50,000 can get 10 each! UNITED WE STAND!

My goal is to show such strenght our enemy is overwhelmed by our numbers, as we fight in every battlefield there is, and take the fight to them with everything we can!

Let us become the tidal wave, the tsunami, that washes away the corruption that harms our nation!

The focus on Romney’s tax returns seems to have caught him off guard, and he hasn’t done well at recent debates. Mitt appears to be on the defensive, and his attempts to side-step the issue made him sound awkward and uncomfortable. His problem now is that the longer he waits to release his tax returns, the more it looks like he has something to hide.

We all know Mitt Romney is rich. We also know he paid a much lower tax rate than most of us—whether it was due to capital gains or carried interest, a loophole in the tax code that lets VCs and hedge funds claim profits as long term capital gains at 15% instead of ordinary income at 35%. Now the mainstream media is spreading rumors that Mitt has money stashed in off shore bank accounts.

At this point, the accusations and innuendos won’t stop until Romney actually releases his tax returns. Holding out to avoid attacks because he’s wealthy won’t even postpone the inevitable—it will just stoke the fires and increase apprehension among voters. It’s not going to get any better if he wins the nomination, because Obama has a $1 billion war chest to attack him over the very same issue.

Instead of apologizing for his wealth, Romney should release his tax returns immediately and come back swinging, much like Newt did with the ABC expose. Instead of apologizing for making money, Mitt should defend the American dream, stressing that America is the land of opportunity where anyone can be successful with hard work. That’s what free enterprise is all about, and nobody should have to apologize for being successful.

You don’t see the media attacking Larry Page and Sergey Brin because Google made them billionaires, or Mark Zuckerberg because Facebook made him ridiculously wealthy. Romney shouldn’t be apologizing for his wealth—he should be stressing the opportunity every person in America has to pursue their dreams.

There’s still time for Mitt to get out in front of the wealth and class warfare issue, but he can’t do that by hiding from it. Bad news does not get better with age. He needs to stand up, take credit for his success and turn the issue to his advantage. Otherwise, he’s losing ground on an issue that should only be an Obama talking point.

I was asked by a friend on Facebook to post my views on two topics. The current republican presidential primary, and the problems with the legislative branch of the federal government. While these items should be treated as two separate topics I will, for the sake of the request try to cover both here.

The Republican Presidential Primary

I am currently, on the eve of the South Carolina debate, firmly in the Not-Romney camp. I think Gingrich had a fantastic showing in the last debate and that Santorum did well also. I also have NO intention of voting for Obama. That said, I am more concerned about the media narrative that it’s already over and decided because Romney has more money than anyone else.

Be warned that we allowed the media to select our candidate last go around in 2008 and we ended up being defeated by a first term congressman from Illinois with no record and only charisma on his side (oh and his willing accomplices in that same media who REFUSED to vet him properly sweeping all his peccadilloes under the rug).

The debate going on right now is just fine. I did like Gingrich’s high road approach early on, to which he has returned now. But I was troubled by his drift to the language of the liberal left when he attacked Romney on Bain Capital as well as the egregious errors used by his Superpac. He himself, as well as the other candidates, when referring to Romney’s own Superpac has said candidates do exert influence and control over what they present, so Gingrich et al do have culpability in the content of their ads. That said, while Newt has some issues that need to be addressed (like sitting on the couch with her highness Pelosi and supporting the idea of global warming to name a few). I do like how many good ideas he has, what he has accomplished in the past (to some degree) i.e. Contract With America, and how he isn’t afraid to take it to Obama.

Santorum, well I like much of what he says but I don’t know enough about his record and past. I do know he was defeated for reelection, but I don’t know the circumstances behind it or why. I REALLY like what he said at the last debate when he was asked about voting for No Child Left Behind. He admitted in an widely viewed public forum that it was wrong of him to vote for that legislation and he wished he hadn’t. This kind of candor and chutzpah is what is needed by our next president. This kind of willingness to say ‘I was wrong’ has been needed in Washington for a LONG time. On this one thing alone I am currently inclined to pull the lever for Santorum, but the primary isn’t to Georgia yet. We shall see.

What is Wrong with the Legislative Branch of the American Federal Government

They currently have no regard for our founding documents, the founders intent of those documents, or the freedoms those documents guarantee to the people of this country. Establishment politicians need to be reigned in. Power to these individuals needs to be curtailed, not granted. As examples I give you the blatant disregard for procedure in the recent recess appointments made by our current president. I’d also through out the clear disregard for the private property i.e. the money we earn embodied in the confiscatory nature of the individual mandate in the health care legislation.

How about the NDAA that strips American citizens of their rights on accusations alone without due process? How about the double speak of the current president concerning US Government debt? It was convenient to accuse President Bush of being ‘…unpatriotic…’ for running up his debt with China, but when President Obama wants to spend TWICE what Bush spent in less than half the time, it’s okay (that’s not unconstitutional, just offensive on the face of it). How about the abridgment of free speech embodied in the SOPA and PIPA acts? How about saying jobs are his number one priority on the campaign trail (at taxpayer expense by the way) and then killing the Keystone Pipeline, which his own advisory board is pleading with him to enact? How about sending secret letters to our enemies to talk while they threaten to sink our carriers and kill our sailors?

What’s wrong with the legislative branch of the federal government? If you’re sitting at home and don’t think anything is wrong with the legislative branch of the federal government, just wait. They’ll be at your door soon enough to explain it to you in words you will understand, and when you begin screaming about how your freedoms are being infringed upon, the rest of us will only have the sad comfort of knowing at least we were right in decrying it when it started back in the campaign of 2008.
That’s my opinion. You are still free to express yours….for now.

Cross posted on my site firstchevalier.com

I frequent a site called Hillbuzz, that was discussed in a positive light on Rush Limbaugh yesterday.

They have an article out today that contains information they asked be disseminated to every conservative blog in the home stretch this weekend:

Three Thing the Obamedia will do to depress Republican turnout and help Obama

Here is a sample:

If you, collectively, can keep Republicans and other McCain voters from falling for these, we believe there’s nothing Obama can do to win this election. The ONLY way McCain loses is if you Eeyores allow the media to keep you from the polls.

And

Since Obama believes there are 57 states (maybe 58 or 59, depending on how he’s counting that day), the Obamedia will report huge wins for Dear Leader in the states of Confusion, Denial, and Undress, with Atlantis, Oz, Hopetopia, and Leningrad all going to Obama early on November 4th — because everyone loves Obama so much, that places that don’t even exist have voted for him (with 100% of the vote of the dead, cartoon characters, and historical figures going to Dear Leader in unprecedented numbers). The best example of the Obamedia making up lies like this was on Super Tuesday, when every Eeyore we knew ran through the streets crying and pants-wetting, gnashing their teeth and yanking their hair as the sky fell around them — BECAUSE OBAMA IS WINNING CALIFORNIA! MASSACHUSETTS! ARKANSAS! TENNESSEE! NEW JERSEY! NEW YORK! WAAAAAAAAH! DOOOOOOOMED!

These guys have done a really great job keeping on top of latest developments, scooping info and just generally keeping a positive tone throughout this race. We owe these PUMAs a real debt of gratitude. They are planning on spending the weekend in Ohio canvassing for McCain/Palin, so make a donation to help the cause if you can. They have many great articles, so go there and enjoy! Hillbuzz But, most of all read the article and get the word out!