.
"You are the thought leaders," the artists were told. "You are the ones that, if you create a piece of art or promote a piece of art or create a campaign for a company, and tell our country and our young people sort of what to do and what to be in to; and what's cool and what's not cool. And so I'm hoping that through this group and the goal of all this and the goal of this phone call, is through this group that we can create a stronger community amongst ourselves to get involved in things that we're passionate about as we did during the campaign but continue to get involved in those things, to support some of the president's initiatives, but also to do things that we are passionate about and to push the president and push his administration." This from Michael Skolnik, political director for a hip-hop mogul.
"We're going to need your help, and we're going to come at you with some specific 'asks' here," added Buffy Wicks, deputy director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. "But we know that you guys are ready for it and eager to participate, so one we want to thank you, and two, I hope you guys are ready." The White House Office of Public Engagement, together with the NEA and “United We Serve,” an initiative created by President Obama, held this telephone conference in August with hand-picked artists from across the country.
They are the “thought leaders,” according to the White House, being directed to change our minds. They are the thought leaders, whose jobs are to tell us what to do and think.
How offensive is that? Who does this administration think they are: first telling hundreds of thousands of the American public – the elderly, veterans, young families, from all walks of life - that they are a “mob,” “astro-turf,” and “racists,” for speaking their minds, and now telling rappers and painters that the public is also so stupid that they will let artists tell them what they are supposed to think? And at our own (tax-payer) expense?
This administration appears to have no understanding of the American public. They seem to assume that Americans are lemmings, and any lemming that doesn’t follow must have something wrong with him.
This administration is way off in "left" field. Art inspires, but only when it touches what is already in the heart. In other words, the art that becomes popular only becomes so because it is reflecting what people are feeling. It is public passion that inspires art, not the other way around.
So in the current political climate, on a grass roots level, did you notice how quickly the picture of the President as a joker took off? Or the t-shirts with the words, “RIP Constitution”? Or the “I am the Mob” logos on twitter? Wow. Artists creating popular political art without the help or instruction of the government. Have you seen anything from the liberal side catch on like that recently on a grass roots level? Sure, during the campaign there were things that were meant to inspire the public, but there they were created as campaign tools and died as soon as the campaign was over. Heard any classrooms singing Obama songs lately?
AND for goodness sake – get off the bandwagon that any news station or host is leading the public. It is the public that is leading Fox News! Fox News is merely the megaphone for the thoughts and feelings of millions of Americans. It is currently the only station listening to the public and giving them the news they are looking for. I've EVEN heard people say that Bill O"reilly is becoming too soft! And yes - we know that Beck is a little silly - but he's offering us documented information that no one else is willing to discuss. We don't all draw his same conclusions, but we appreciate the information. When will it occur to the left that people choose to watch programs that reflect what’s already on their hearts – not the other way around? They are leaving MSM in droves because they know much NBC and ABC are only reporting what they are told to report.
The left is imbedded in the concept that they are able to bend minds. Thus the efforts to control what is taught in schools, push the “Fairness Doctrine,” and coax artists to support their agenda. What they forget is that throughout history, other countries attempting to control the thoughts and lives of their citizens have eventually failed at the effort. People push back. People inherently want freedom and independence. Ever heard of Solzhenitsyn? Or the underground churches in China? There were rebels even in Nazi Germany. It was for rebels like that that leaders created, at best, the re-education camps, at horrific worst, Gulags and even death camps.
No! I’m not suggesting that’s where we are headed. All I am saying is that when the effort to bend people’s minds’ fails, a government must either push harder, or come to the realization that it just doesn’t work. So realize it right now. It doesn’t matter to me what you pay a rapper to sing, a painter to paint, a troll to twitter, or even how well articulated an Obama speech is. My experience and knowledge tell me it is wrong.
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Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Is Acorns CEO Bertha Lewis Clearly Corrupt?
.What, pray tell, had Lewis changed about this disingenuous - some say even criminal - organization? When Acorn CEO and Chief Organizer Bertha Lewis told Fox News Sunday that she has made many changes, and "Since I took over, I have overhauled the entire system," what changes was she speaking of?
She said that there at now firewalls protecting the organizations finances, but Congressman Darrell Issa responded, "Your own counsel, Kingsley, said is not true. You don't have firewalls."
When Host Christ Wallace asked Congressman Issa to explain why he thinks Acorn is a criminal organization, the Congressman said,
But Ms. Lewis doesn’t seem to understand how all this matters. On September 12, she stated, "We are their Willie Horton for 2009. We are the boogeyman for the right wing and its echo chamber," During Fox News interview, Ms. Lewis also called the proposal to defund Acorn an "Anti-Acorn Amendment,” as if it was an unwarranted and prejudicial attack rather than the logical result of Acorn's own mismanagement.
Chris Wallace asked Lewis, “Can you still say this is just about race and politics?”
She avoided the question by responding with the excuse, "Any organization is not entirely perfect."
Mr. Wallace, it is clear that Ms. Lewis does still think this is about race, as evidenced by her continual references to her organization as “mostly people of color” and her constituents as, “500,000 poor black and brown, Asian and white people in this country." People that don’t feel race is a priority don’t continuously and unnecessarily refer to the color of people’s skin. I know, I’m also the administrator of an organization serving a minority issue. I refer to heritage only when necessary and I refuse to count or keep data on the heritage of our members or donors.
After telling Ms. Lewis that he doesn’t know of another organization structured like Acorn (a political wing of the Democratic Party, closely related to unions, taking federal dollars as well as charity, yet no disclosure or transparency) Congressman Issa asked, “If you're going to change this, will you come before Chairman Towns, a man who, by the way, voted not to cut off your funding, and get -- and give the kind of disclosure to where the Government Oversight and Reform Committee can know that you are doing work with firewalls… so the American people know that their dollars don't end up doing political activities prohibited by law?”
Ms. Lewis not only refused to answer, she refused to even look at him. Instead she immediately jumped into a prepared statement, saying, “Here's the question that we really should be asking…”
Wallace attempted to stop her, saying, “Well, no, no. Answer his question, if you will,” but she continued avoiding the issue, seeking instead the collective white guilt that had so been so effective in the past, “There are poor people in this country every day that we're saving their homes,” she started…
Wallace tried to redirect her back to the question seven more times, but she continued to talk over him, …“my job is to serve our 500,000 members. My job...”
Congressman Issa finally got her attention when he said, “There is no God-given right for any organization to receive a grant from the American people. The fact is there are organizations standing in line that wish they won instead of you, and they're giving us the transparency so we can have the confidence the money is spent only for the purpose of the grant.”
But even in this response she wouldn’t look at Issa or even address it to him. Addressing Wallace instead, she said, “Congressman Issa is right. You have competitive grants and you need to compete with a lot of other folks. You need to deliver those services. He's absolutely right…Since I took over; I have overhauled the entire system…”
Not seeing the overhaul, Congressman Issa again asked her to come with transparency before the committee. Once more, Lewis refused to respond. The Congressman later ended by saying, “… my opinion continues to be you shouldn't get another penny of federal dollars until you demonstrate that those dollars are firewalled for only that use, and that has not been the history of the organization.”
Lewis, again, not understanding the severity of the issues and not addressing the Congressman directly, retorted, “And I'm glad Congressman Issa said that is his opinion.”
What is it that Ms. Lewis doesn't understand?
The founder of Acorn, despite his embezzlement, continued to work with Acorn affiliates. That’s on Ms. Lewis’ watch. Earlier this month, eleven Acorn staff were arrested in Florida for filing fraudulent voter registrations. That was on Ms. Lewis' watch. And now the pimping, tax evasion, child smuggling videos – again, Lewis’ watch. Further, she not only refused to face the Congressman when he was speaking to her, but refused to answer his questions, talked over the host, and instead of understanding the severity of the problems, snapped about things being just peoples “opinions.” For many of us in the public, Ms. Lewis seemed not only evasive, but rude. This, while at the same time accusing her employees of being too stupid to understand that they are not reaching professional standards. Ms. Lewis, what is YOUR understanding of professional standards?
If Congressman Issa is right about Acorn being a criminal organization, one has to wonder just which standards Lewis’s employees have ‘stupidly” bungled on. Were they unprofessional in the advice they gave, or in not being careful as to whom they gave it to?
Just what, pray tell, had Lewis changed about Acorn in the last year, and what can we realistically hope will be changed this year?
.
She said that there at now firewalls protecting the organizations finances, but Congressman Darrell Issa responded, "Your own counsel, Kingsley, said is not true. You don't have firewalls."
When Host Christ Wallace asked Congressman Issa to explain why he thinks Acorn is a criminal organization, the Congressman said,
"Well, one thing they did was they covered up an embezzlement, both internallyThe House Committee on Oversight and Government Reforms issued an 88-page report in July charging that "Acorn has committed investment fraud, deprived the public of its right to honest services, and engaged in a racketeering enterprise affecting interstate commerce."
and externally, and then glossed over the dollars...almost a million dollars.
Basically, the founder stayed on the board until this became public eight years
later. Now he's with affiliates doing the same work and able to say well, he's
not with the company. The bottom line is there's no transparency in Acorn. Any
charity that you would look at...You normally find out who's paid what, where
the money goes, what the collection costs are and so on.
"Here we have
literally hundreds of organizations tied under the ACORN umbrella, and you can't
even find out what their incorporation is, whether they pay taxes, who makes
what or, more importantly, whether corporations within the affiliates work in
different areas -- political fundraising, getting candidates elected, voter
registration, other community activities, whether or not those moneys are
fungibly moved illegally.”
But Ms. Lewis doesn’t seem to understand how all this matters. On September 12, she stated, "We are their Willie Horton for 2009. We are the boogeyman for the right wing and its echo chamber," During Fox News interview, Ms. Lewis also called the proposal to defund Acorn an "Anti-Acorn Amendment,” as if it was an unwarranted and prejudicial attack rather than the logical result of Acorn's own mismanagement.
Chris Wallace asked Lewis, “Can you still say this is just about race and politics?”
She avoided the question by responding with the excuse, "Any organization is not entirely perfect."
Mr. Wallace, it is clear that Ms. Lewis does still think this is about race, as evidenced by her continual references to her organization as “mostly people of color” and her constituents as, “500,000 poor black and brown, Asian and white people in this country." People that don’t feel race is a priority don’t continuously and unnecessarily refer to the color of people’s skin. I know, I’m also the administrator of an organization serving a minority issue. I refer to heritage only when necessary and I refuse to count or keep data on the heritage of our members or donors.
After telling Ms. Lewis that he doesn’t know of another organization structured like Acorn (a political wing of the Democratic Party, closely related to unions, taking federal dollars as well as charity, yet no disclosure or transparency) Congressman Issa asked, “If you're going to change this, will you come before Chairman Towns, a man who, by the way, voted not to cut off your funding, and get -- and give the kind of disclosure to where the Government Oversight and Reform Committee can know that you are doing work with firewalls… so the American people know that their dollars don't end up doing political activities prohibited by law?”
Ms. Lewis not only refused to answer, she refused to even look at him. Instead she immediately jumped into a prepared statement, saying, “Here's the question that we really should be asking…”
Wallace attempted to stop her, saying, “Well, no, no. Answer his question, if you will,” but she continued avoiding the issue, seeking instead the collective white guilt that had so been so effective in the past, “There are poor people in this country every day that we're saving their homes,” she started…
Wallace tried to redirect her back to the question seven more times, but she continued to talk over him, …“my job is to serve our 500,000 members. My job...”
Congressman Issa finally got her attention when he said, “There is no God-given right for any organization to receive a grant from the American people. The fact is there are organizations standing in line that wish they won instead of you, and they're giving us the transparency so we can have the confidence the money is spent only for the purpose of the grant.”
But even in this response she wouldn’t look at Issa or even address it to him. Addressing Wallace instead, she said, “Congressman Issa is right. You have competitive grants and you need to compete with a lot of other folks. You need to deliver those services. He's absolutely right…Since I took over; I have overhauled the entire system…”
Not seeing the overhaul, Congressman Issa again asked her to come with transparency before the committee. Once more, Lewis refused to respond. The Congressman later ended by saying, “… my opinion continues to be you shouldn't get another penny of federal dollars until you demonstrate that those dollars are firewalled for only that use, and that has not been the history of the organization.”
Lewis, again, not understanding the severity of the issues and not addressing the Congressman directly, retorted, “And I'm glad Congressman Issa said that is his opinion.”
What is it that Ms. Lewis doesn't understand?
The founder of Acorn, despite his embezzlement, continued to work with Acorn affiliates. That’s on Ms. Lewis’ watch. Earlier this month, eleven Acorn staff were arrested in Florida for filing fraudulent voter registrations. That was on Ms. Lewis' watch. And now the pimping, tax evasion, child smuggling videos – again, Lewis’ watch. Further, she not only refused to face the Congressman when he was speaking to her, but refused to answer his questions, talked over the host, and instead of understanding the severity of the problems, snapped about things being just peoples “opinions.” For many of us in the public, Ms. Lewis seemed not only evasive, but rude. This, while at the same time accusing her employees of being too stupid to understand that they are not reaching professional standards. Ms. Lewis, what is YOUR understanding of professional standards?
If Congressman Issa is right about Acorn being a criminal organization, one has to wonder just which standards Lewis’s employees have ‘stupidly” bungled on. Were they unprofessional in the advice they gave, or in not being careful as to whom they gave it to?
Just what, pray tell, had Lewis changed about Acorn in the last year, and what can we realistically hope will be changed this year?
.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Tea Party announces "Hall Pass On that"
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National Tea Party Coalition Announces “Hall Pass on That” for September 8th Presidential Address
National Tea Party Coalition Announces “Hall Pass on That” for September 8th Presidential Address
The Nationwide Tea Party Coalition announces “Hall Pass on That,” the alternative to President Barack Obama’s September 8th address to school children across the nation. The group asks that schools who choose to participate in the president’s September 8th program offer an alternative to students and families who do not wish to view, or have their children view, a partisan address or participate in activities that did not follow proper educational protocol or obtain parental consent.
Dana Loesch, Nationwide spokesperson for the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition, announced the launch of the Hall Pass on That website: http://www.hallpassonthat.com to provide parents who oppose the Department of Education’s proposed presidential program. “We are suggesting several action steps parents can take if they do not approve of their children participating in a partisan presentation conducted without their consent.” The four steps propose by the Coalition:
1. Contact the child’s school to find out whether or not your school is
participating in the president’s September 8th program.
2. If your child’s school is participating, ask what alternatives there are for the children of families who wish their students learn about the establishment of the country respective to the Founding Father’s intentions. Discussion can focus on the
Constitution, the definition and actions of a republic, and the responsibility
of elected leaders to their constituents.
3. Ask if the school can excuse your child from the presentation and instead receive a DVD of the address and copy of the activity directives to be evaluated by parents at a later date.
4. Request meeting with the school board, superintendent, and principal to
inquire as to why parents were excluded from the decision-making process of this
event.
Katrina Pierson, member of the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition, described some of the tools available http://www.hallpassonthat.com: “We will provide alternative lesson plans to the ones initially sent out by President Obama’s Department of Education. Those plans, which people can download from the site, were uncomfortably partisan with no real focus on how our officials serve the people, not vice-versa. Our alternative lesson plans also focus appropriately on the role of parents in the education plan for every child.”
Yes, presidents have spoken to schoolchildren before, but when circumstances required it. President Ronald Reagan addressed students after the Challenger shuttle disaster was witnessed live by millions of schoolchildren; George H. W. Bush addressed students as part of the effort to counteract the growing drug use by schoolchildren.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan issued directives to principals of locals schools, bypassing the school boards and superintendents of those districts – but most importantly, bypassing parental notification or consent. Conservative parents are further concerned as the material issued by the Department of Education focuses on the president’s partisan agenda. The responsibility of this nation’s government to its people is completely obscured by questions that strictly detail response and submission to the president’s wishes.
Parents are also concerned as the entire program was crafted with help from the president’s White House Teaching Fellows, some of whom are activists with documented hostility towards the very tenants of our republic.
The Nationwide Tea Party Coalition cannot afford to extend this administration the courtesy of any doubt when it comes to the education of our children and our schools are not the place to present one-sided agendas, especially without parental consent.
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