1st Ever National Tea Party Convention

It’s been a week since I first made my journey south to Nashville, TN, to attend the first ever National Tea Party Convention put on by Tea Party Nation (TPN), and unfortunately, due to rescheduled flights and Snowmageddon, I haven’t had the opportunity to write about it before now — so here it goes:

I have to honestly say that the Tea Party has been characterized and painted in such a dishonest way by the media.  Everyone I met was incredibly excited to be involved in politics and their government.  There were people from all genders, age groups, and yes, there were minorities at the conference. The tea party represents a broad and expanding group of Americans who are simply “sick and tired of being sick and tired,” with their government and their representatives. {Only 600 tickets were sold to the event so this was just a small representation}

It is accurate to say that many who are part of the tea party movement are not fond of Obama’s policies or his ideology, but it would be disingenuous to stop there.  Most tea partiers are trying to return this country to a republic rather than the oligarchy it is heading towards.  The constitution is the law of the land and should be adhered to and treated as such.  The members of this grassroots movement are average, everyday Americans; many of which have jobs or are retired.  They pay taxes, work hard, believe in personal responsibility, a hand up not a hand out, fiscal responsibility, small government, and strong national defense.

I guess I have difficulty understanding how the media could paint citizens engaging in debate, in civics, in government, and expressing peaceful dissent, as being extremists, nationalists, and racists.  What is so wrong with expressing the principles you believe in?  Protesters were “in” when they were protesting the Iraq War and anything Bush; holding up swastikas, BusHitler signs, and even making a fake guillotine with a Bush head.  But now the media doesn’t like the dissent when it goes against the very principles they espouse.  There is something very wrong when the 4th column can’t remain objective.  I have no problem if you are liberal and in the media, but when you are ‘on duty’ act like it, then take your opinions and ideology home with you.

With that being said – there will always be people on both sides of the aisle that are considered extreme or fringe, which is normal.  The left and right both have their fair share to deal with when it comes to that, but nobody should categorically try to make an assumption of the whole based on its parts.

I personally hope that the tea party remains an independent entity and doesn’t fall into the trap of becoming an established political group.  What is so attractive to the movement is its appeal to all parties that share the same conservative principles.  Many would be surprised that many Democrats (i.e. JFK Democrats) are more conservative especially when it comes to fiscal policy.  Independents are also conservative in different aspects.  I, for one, have never been part of a registered party and have always considered myself unaffiliated because the establishment on both sides of the aisle needs reform.

All in all, I had a blast, and the entire convention surpassed my expectations.  I met a lot of great people, and had tons of fun – believe it or not, Conservatives definitely know how to have a good time! 🙂 There are lots of people working hard to put the right people into office so we the people can clean up our government.  It’s important to note that many involved are still very new to politics and grassroots activism so mistakes and missteps will be made along the way – but as long as we can remember Calvin Coolidge’s words referring to Persistence, the Tea Party can become a force to be reckoned with:

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
The slogan “Press On” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

Here are some photos of the event:

Many people were excited to see Sarah Palin on Saturday – one of her fans taped her poster to his balcony!

The Tea Party Presser where both Judson Phillips & Mark Skoda spoke – the MSM was there in droves

The Presser was held at lunchtime on Friday – Angela McGlowan would speak later that evening and give a wonderful speech and also announce her candidacy as a Republican running in Mississippi. The other men next to her were part of a documentary crew that have already made one movie about the tea party.

There were so many great people who attended and I was afforded the opportunity to have lunch and hang out with Adam Andrzejewski who unfortunately lost the Republican primary for Governor in IL, but I have a feeling there is more in store for him!

The men who wore costumes from our founding era were awesome – many of them were in the Tea Party documentary and it made the event a lot of fun.

Here is a very small portion of the line awaiting Sarah Palin and the tea party banquet on Saturday night (people were in line by 3:30/4pm when the doors weren’t evening opening until 6pm).

Sarah Palin arrives to eat dinner at the banquet – We got some great seats that were about 50 feet away.

We got to hear a new song for the movement, I believe it was called “American Heart” by Jon David.

Sarah Palin begins her speech (I had to take these pictures with my blackberry so the lighting is very bad).

The view from the jumbotron

Top off the night by celebrating a successful convention with people like Andrew Breitbart, Glenn Reynolds (aka Instapundit), and so many others – Saturday night was a blast!

Of course we had to end the night by signing the official flag for the Tea Party convention. {that’s my friend Burnsy BTW}

North Korea; Smuggling Arms & Banning Foreigners Wins Pen Pals; UPDATE LIVE STREAMING VIDEO OF SMUGGLED ARMS

On Sunday, December 13th, The Guardian of the UK reported that North Korea was caught smuggling arms through an underground weapons trade network.  The weapons that were discovered in an aircraft’s manifest, which was supposed to deliver ‘oil-drilling equipment.’  The weapons that were found were not nuclear of nature or seemed to be products that could create a bomb but this is still incredibly significant – any black-marketed arms being sold between countries acting as an underground arms trade network is incredibly disconcerting and worrisome.  The plane that was discovered and searched in Thailand was found to be carrying items such as: rocket-propelled grenades, missile and rocket launchers, missile tubes, surface-to-air missile launchers, spares and other heavy equipment.

A lethal cargo of rocket launchers, grenades and other weapons seized in Thailand at the weekend may be just a glimpse of what US and UN investigators say is a global North Korean illegal arms smuggling network used to finance its proscribed nuclear weapons programme.

Authorities in Bangkok said today it was unclear where the plane carrying the 35-tonnes of arms, an Ilyushin IL-76 registered in Georgia, was heading. But suspicion immediately fell on Iran, the destination of a previous illegal weapons shipment impounded in the United Arab Emirates in July. Panitan Wattanayagorn, a Thai government spokesman, said the plane had initially planned to refuel in Sri Lanka. For unknown reasons, the crew asked to make an emergency landing in Bangkok on Friday. Sri Lanka denied any knowledge of the arms shipment. There was also speculation in Bangkok that it was destined for Pakistan or Afghanistan.

Thai officials, who detained four crewmen from Kazakhstan and one from Belarus, said they acted on tip-offs from US and other unnamed intelligence agencies that the plane was carrying North Korean-made weapons in contravention of a UN security council ban on arms exports. The ban was strengthened in June, after North Korea’s isolated regime test-fired ballistic missiles and detonated a nuclear bomb.

The same types of countries who many have suspected of being in ‘cahoots’ for some time, have finally shown that they are in fact engaged in an arms trading network with the final destination possibly being Iran.  North Korea just wants to stay afloat and make money, estimated to be nearly $1B via this type of arms trading, while Iran has other sinister reasons for being the Point of Destination (POD).

The Japanese have also been investigating this very precarious case of illicit arms trade.  What were the main findings of this investigation? (h/t from Freeper AmericaninTokyo with good analysis)

1. The Japanese TV crew got in close during interrogation of the foreign crew of this aircraft. The Japanese zeroed in, using telephoto lenses, on the Thai police confession sheets that the men were apparently been given to sign (that they were trafficking in weapons).

2. The crew zoomed in on the attached BILL OF LADING issued for the cargo in question.

3. The BILL OF LADING was issued by AIR KORYO the national flag carrier for North Korea (and used in the past for espionage and smuggling).

4. The crews then went over to the Air Koryo sales office in Bangkok and burst into the door, confronting a North Korean local employee, showing him video of what they had taken. He got nervous, angry, showed them the door and only said “this must be a fake document. That is not ours”.

5. Meanwhile, the crew said they were heading for Ukraine with the massive cargo of weaponry. However, the Japanese TV crew was at it again, they got a close look at the Bill of Lading with the destination, filmed it, and re-aired it. It was clearly handwritten in English on the sheet “MEHRABAD AIRPORT” (Teheran),فرودگاه مهرآباد (IATA Code: THR) is an airport that serves Teheran, Iran. This airport is close to the city center of Teheran and is not used widely for commercial international arrivals and departures, and is also shared by the Iranian military.

6. Japanese crews called Iran in Farsi and grilled personnel of Mehrabad Airport but they also denied that such an aircraft was heading or scheduled to head to their airport, and seemed perturbed by the call.

7) The same Japanese TV network’s female reporter stationed to NYC on the same day “ambushed” the senior North Korean chief to the United Nations as he got out of his limousine going into the DPRK Office. She chased after him and said “North Korea was involved in the weapons shipment, and it is violation of UN sanctions, isn’t that correct?”. The North Korean diplomat ignored her completely, looked VERY pissed off, and stormed inside a building without saying a thing.

8) The Japanese crew not only called the airport in Iran to get details, they got ahold of the stipulated RECIPIENT in Iran at the airport on the Air Way Bill who was supposed to receive the weapons. They had his telephone number and called him directly, talking and grilling him in Farsi. He denied everything but you could tell of his shock and anger.

Summary of cargo at this time:

Multiple rocket launchers – two mobile units – and two dozen 240 mm unguided rockets. The total value of weapons found in 145 large boxes that weigh nearly 40 tons all up was estimated at around Baht 600 million.No nuclear munitions or weapons of mass destruction were found on board.

I find it very interesting that North Korea also announced that it would be banning foreigners from their country until February.  This announcement was made before the media began reporting on the illegal trading network.  North Korea exclaims that it is banning people from entering the country due to paranoia that there will be a mass exodus of the middle class due to reforms occurring in their currency system (sound familiar?):

North Korea reportedly plans to ban foreigners from the country from Sunday until early February, apparently to allow unrest caused by this month’s shock currency reform to die down.

Ju Sang-song, the minister of People’s Security, is in China, according to the North’s Korean Central News Agency, though it gave no reason for his visit. The trip by the North’s top internal security official may aim to seek cooperation from Beijing in preventing a mass exodus of North Korean middle class citizens angry over the devaluation of their savings.

One source in China said that Pyongyang would bar foreigners from entering the country temporarily at the end or beginning of a year, when customs officials along the border with China are on leave for year-end holidays, but banning them until February is “quite uncommon.”

Experts say this could herald a visit by Kim Jong-il to China, since the paranoid North Korean leader likes to ensure maximum security along the route of his special armored train. Chinese President Hu Jintao invited Kim to visit at a “convenient” time when he met Choi Tae-bok, the chairman of the North’s Supreme People’s Assembly, in October. Kim has visited China four times, and twice (in 2001 and 2006) they fell in January.

It would seem to me that there is much more for Kim Jong-il to be concerned about now that the latest scandal has broken through to the surface.

So what does a dictator, who instigates missile launches, participates in illegal arms trading, and treats his DVD collection better than his people get? A letter from our one and only president, Barack Obama.  That’s right, the ‘oh-so’ intelligent, Harvard elitist, with tons minimal amounts of foreign policy experience wrote Kim Jong-il a letter.  This is reminiscent of Carter’s letter to Khomeini – even George Bush and Bill Clinton took their time when writing to ‘Lil’ Kim, which was done after negotiations concluded, not before, or just for the heck of it. 

President Obama has written a personal letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il that was delivered by the administration’s special envoy for North Korea during a visit to Pyongyang last week.

The existence of the letter has been closely held, with the administration insisting to its partners in disarmament talks with North Korea that it not be publicly discussed. State Department and White House officials confirmed this week that envoy Stephen W. Bosworth delivered a letter from Obama for Kim, but they declined to describe its contents.

“We do not comment on private diplomatic correspondence,” said White House National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer.

Wait a second, wasn’t this president supposed to be the most transparent president ever? Seems like the only thing transparent is his need to align himself with dictators and enemies… I’m sure Kim Jong loves pen-pals.  It’s now up to us to guess what he wrote to Mr. il; here it goes:

Dear ‘Lil’ Kim,

I loved your role in Team America, I felt that you really had a grasp on how to control and intimidate people.  My favorite line from that movie was “You’re Breakin’ My Barrs’ Hans Brix.”  Who knows, maybe that will be me once I concede all power to the UN and act as the next Neville Chamberlain. 

But in all honesty Kimmy, I’m jealous of the fact that you can command so much power and everybody worships you, if only I could settle down these nasty tea party protesters.  How does one obtain 150% approval ratings by the way? Mine is already below 50%.  I’m thinking I need some help – you don’t happen to have a little red book that lays out your strategy, do you?

Also, any pointers on controlling the media? I thought I was doing a fairly decent job, but every once and a while, they ask me a real pesky question that I have trouble answering – and don’t get me started on Fox.

Let’s you, me, Fidel, Hugo, Ahmadenijad, & Putin get together real soon for a ‘beer summit.’ The last one I held was a huge success.

Happy Holidays & a Merry Kwanzikadanmas.

Love,

Bammy

Update: NNN News of Japan has recently released live streaming video of the illegal arms found in Thailand being carried by a North Korean aircraft, headed for Iran.

Live stream can be seen here.  (Thanks again to the great investigative work by FreeRepublic.com)

Holder the Hypocrite; Geneva Convention? What Geneva Convention?

Hypocrite, Eric Holder, in 2002, says the Gitmo terrorists aren’t covered under the Geneva Convention.  What article in the Geneva Convention you ask? Well, it’s Article IV and it goes a little something like this:

Click here for the Eyeblast video

A. Prisoners of war, in the sense of the present Convention, are persons belonging to one of the following categories, who have fallen into the power of the enemy: 

1. Members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict as well as members of militias or volunteer corps forming part of such armed forces.

2. Members of other militias and members of other volunteer corps, including those of organized resistance movements, belonging to a Party to the conflict and operating in or outside their own territory, even if this territory is occupied, provided that such militias or volunteer corps, including such organized resistance movements, fulfill the following conditions:  

(a) That of being commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates;

(b) That of having a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance;

(c) That of carrying arms openly;

(d) That of conducting their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war.  

3. Members of regular armed forces who profess allegiance to a government [not a deity] or an authority not recognized by the Detaining Power.

4. Persons who accompany the armed forces without actually being members thereof, such as civilian members of military aircraft crews, war correspondents, supply contractors, members of labour units or of services responsible for the welfare of the armed forces, provided that they have received authorization from the armed forces which they accompany, who shall provide them for that purpose with an identity card similar to the annexed model.

5. Members of crews, including masters, pilots and apprentices, of the merchant marine and the crews of civil aircraft of the Parties to the conflict, who do not benefit by more favourable treatment under any other provisions of international law. 

6. Inhabitants of a non-occupied territory, who on the approach of the enemy spontaneously take up arms to resist the invading forces, without having had time to form themselves into regular armed units, provided they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war. 

B. The following shall likewise be treated as prisoners of war under the present Convention: 

1. Persons belonging, or having belonged, to the armed forces of the occupied country, if the occupying Power considers it necessary by reason of such allegiance to intern them, even though it has originally liberated them while hostilities were going on outside the territory it occupies, in particular where such persons have made an unsuccessful attempt to rejoin the armed forces to which they belong and which are engaged in combat, or where they fail to comply with a summons made to them with a view to internment. 

2. The persons belonging to one of the categories enumerated in the present Article, who have been received by neutral or non-belligerent Powers on their territory and whom these Powers are required to intern under international law, without prejudice to any more favourable treatment which these Powers may choose to give and with the exception of Articles 8, 10, 15, 30, fifth paragraph, 58-67, 92, 126 and, where diplomatic relations exist between the Parties to the conflict and the neutral or non-belligerent Power concerned, those Articles concerning the Protecting Power. Where such diplomatic relations exist, the Parties to a conflict on whom these persons depend shall be allowed to perform towards them the functions of a Protecting Power as provided in the present Convention, without prejudice to the functions which these Parties normally exercise in conformity with diplomatic and consular usage and treaties.

C. This Article shall in no way affect the status of medical personnel and chaplains as provided for in Article 33 of the present Convention. 

In summary, these terrorists are not covered under the Geneva Convention because they are not normal soldiers, conducting war by international rules and guidelines.  They are not regularly uniformed armed forces that abide by this Convention or any other treaties. These terror cells do not act on the behalf of a government, but rather as underground radical factions set up to terrorize other cultures and individuals.  If they were uniformed soldiers, I would agree that they should be treated in a manner that abides by the Convention, however that has not, nor was it ever, the case. 

A lot of thought and legal drafting went into the appropriateness of interrogation techniques used against Al-Qaeda and the terrorists at Gitmo who initiated the attacks on 9/11.  I fail to see where the means of interrogation were unjust and completely inhumane? Waterboarding did not take place for every single prisoner and for those who were waterboarded, they could only be waterboarded so many times, while our men and women serving get waterboarded more often.  Doctors are also required to stand by during a waterboarding session.  As far as bugs in a corner or sleep deprivation – well that just reminds me of college, so what’s the big deal? Did these terrorists consider the lives or feelings of anybody before they attacked innocent civilians? I will never understand how the liberal mind works – and maybe that’s a good thing.

Oh, and it would be nice for all the Bush bashers and the liberal elite media to at least acknowledge the hypocrisy of Holder and this administration…

Narcissist in Chief Gives Himself a B+ for the Year

Jake Tapper Reports:

“Good, solid B-plus,” the president said. 

Explaining, he said, “we have inherited the biggest set of challenges of any president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. 

“We stabilized the economy, and prevented possibilities of a Great Depression or a significant financial meltdown. The economy is growing again.

“We are on our way out of Iraq. I think we’ve got the best possible plan for Afghanistan.

“We have reset our image around the world.

“We have achieved an international consensus around the need for Iran and North Korea to disable their nuclear weapons.

“And I think that we’re going to pass the most significant piece of social legislation since Social Security, and that’s health insurance for every American,” he concluded.

Pressed by Oprah as to why only a B-plus, the president said, “B-plus because of the things that are undone. Health care is not yet signed. If I get health care passed we tip into A-minus.”

If this doesn’t scream sheer ego and arrogance, I don’t know what does.  Most intelligent individuals usually know that when a question of this sort is thrown at you, the proper response would be “I believe the American people are more apt at giving me a grade than I would be…” But of course, Mr. Mirror, mirror on the wall, had to answer and gave himself a high score.

If recent polls like Gallup or Rasmussen are any indication of how the American public actually feels about him and his grade, it would seem that he really needs some extra credit or maybe some one-on-one time with his professor, the public.  Obama’s approval rating has taken a nose dive while he sits at only 44% approval and he technically still has 1 more month until he reaches his one year mark.

All of the things that Obama mentions are outright lies as far as being accomplishments or things that most people look at much differently than he does. 

Take for example the assertion that he has stabilized the economy; many argue that just because stocks are rising that does not mean the economy has stabilized or gotten better.  We are on unprecedented territory and the unemployment rate is still in double digits.  Stocks also correct themselves for inflation which is what would appear to be happening, as well as the fact that many businesses have had to cut their workforces and become more efficient with less people.  For now, companies are reaping the rewards of more efficiencies, but eventually that will plateau if they want to move forward and stay ahead of their competition. There is still a chance that the economy could experience a double dip, and if it doesn’t, the most likely situation will be heavy inflation or Japanese style deflation with no growth for years to come.

How long until people get fed up with his blame game rhetoric that he has inherited this situation?  He has inherited the situation from every corruptocrat dating back more than just Bush’s 8 years.  We should throw in Greenspan, Clinton and even Carter for that matter if we want to really get at the heart of the issue.  He should also include himself since was in fact legal council for ACORN and lead the charge in the 90’s to obtain a settlement on a lawsuit indicating that credit scores are apparently discriminatory and the CRA should be expanded – hence subprime… I could go on, but I’ve vented enough on that topic.  I just can’t stand people who continuously play the victim, meanwhile, as they point the finger, opportunities and life pass them by.  I have no respect for individuals who can’t take responsibility – and this is supposed to be the leader of the only super power left in the world!?

I’m not sure where he comes off saying that we are pulling out of Iraq?  I’ll believe it when I see it.  Seems like he is carrying out Bush’s policies for now.  I think that stating his plans for Afghanistan are the best are delusional at best.  Maybe, if he had listened to his general in the first place, we wouldn’t have had so many killed over the couple of months (more so than any time when Bush was in office).  He still did not give them the # of troops requested but merely cut the request in half – I will forever call it Halfghanistan.

We have reset our image around the world? Funny, those whom I know living abroad who were excited about Obama, even after I tried to tell them the truth about his record and his ideology, are only now realizing what a disaster he is.  He continues to snub our allies, bow to other leaders, and apologize for all of America’s perceived wrongs on his travels abroad — this has made him a laughing-stock.  The liberal media lets him get away with it, but I don’t expect it to continue forever, if he continues to decline in the polls — eventually real sentiment will bubble to the surface.

When has Obama done anything about North Korea or Iran? His foreign policy seems to be avoidance.  He has not called for harsher sanctions, he is not using anything other than words to try to disarm Iran.  While he stares at himself in the mirror and relishes the media attention, Iran is creating weapons of mass destruction with their plutonium/uranium enrichment plants.

Health care legislation will definitely be significant but significance doesn’t always mean good.  It is absolutely maddening that those in DC could care less about the polls on health care. Most of America disapproves of this bill and the way the government is handling it.  I’ve seen the way government has screwed up business, the economy, and everything else it has touched, there is no way I want them making decisions about my health! 

So continue to grade yourself a B+ Mr. Ego… I can only hope that one of these days somebody in the media has a ‘Come-to-Jesus’ moment of clarity and decides to do his/her job for the good of the country. 

I suspect that the true grade will come for Mr. President in November 2010 – EPIC FAIL.

Al Qaeda Operative Found With $50K Worth of Unsecured Loans From Bailout Banks

Najibullah Zazi, the man captured and being questioned for the terrorist raid in New York was found to have $50K in unsecured loans in the form of unsecured credit cards from the banks that were bailed out by the government.  So far the only mentions of this come from the Jawa Report, Market Ticker, and the NY Daily news.  This is a HUGE story – where is the media and the outrage of the American public? Oh that’s right, the media is still too busy talking about the continuing aftermath of Jackson’s death and now Teddy Kennedy’s.  Journalism is dead! 

The New York Daily News stated the following:

Between 2005 and 2008, he opened credit card accounts with Bank of America, Chase, Capital One, Discover and Citibank and ran up a debt of more than $50,000.
 
When he filed for bankruptcy, Zazi said he hadn’t worked in two months.

Denniger from Market Ticker puts it bluntly:

HOW IN THE HELL DO OUR BANKING REGULATORS ALLOW THIS SORT OF OUTRIGHT FRAUDULENT GRANTING OF CREDIT? $50,000 IN UNSECURED CREDIT LINES TO A FREAKING DELIVERY DRIVER WHO APPEARS TO BE A FOREIGN NATIONAL WITH NO ASSETS IN THE UNITED STATES AGAINST WHICH TO SECURE THE LOAN?

THE BANKS THAT WE BAILED OUT FAILED TO STOP THIS CRAP ALL THE WAY UP TO MARCH OF THIS YEAR AT LEAST (WHEN THIS GUY FILED BANKRUPTCY) AND PROBABLY STILL ARE DOING IT!

This is an OUTRAGE. Not only did this guy effectively stick the US Taxpayer with the $50,000 in debt it appears he may have been using the freaking money to plot some sort of terrorist attack as part of an Al-Qaida cell INSIDE THE UNITED STATES?

TO PUT THIS IN ONE SENTENCE: BANKS THAT WE BAILED OUT WITH TAXPAYER MONEY ARE FUNDING TERRORISTS INSIDE THE US?!

I’m sure more government regulation will really help thwart all of the corruption and criminal activity – especially when it comes to our own country funding terrorist plots on our own soil.