Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness."

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally, to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

G. Washington.

Are you grateful that you can worship or not as you want? – Thank a Vet

Are you glad that you speak English instead of German or Japanese? – Thank a Vet

Are you excited to publicly express being gay? – Thank a Vet

Are you empowered because you can vote? – Thank a Vet

Are you thankful that you can sit in front of a government building for weeks demanding to be given benefits paid for by the very people you complain about, while other men and women are sitting thousands of miles away from their homes risking their lives in some stinking desert? – Thank a Vet!

My dear young friend, It’s not a “bubble” it’s a value system.  If someone is Republican they might be either liberal or conservative.

If you are liberal you believe that the federal government has the primary responsibility to protect you and provide for your needs.  They believe we are protected by government regulations, and we are provided for by taking money out of your paycheck and giving some of the money you’ve earned to other people.

If you are conservative you believe that the federal government’s responsibilities are outlined and limited to what is in the Constitution and the subsequent Amendments.  Specifically:

• Protecting citizens God-given rights (on-going)
• National Defense (on-going)
  
• Establishing Federal Courts (done)
  
• Copyright Protection (on-going)
  
• Establishing a national set of weights and measures (done)
  
• Establishing Post Office (on-going)
  

Everything else should be taken care of by the individual citizen or the state government.

The problem with getting outside a “bubble” is that requires destroying the bubble … and that bubble can never be restored.

If you think that you should make the decision about who to help with your money and how much you should give them, then you my young friend are not liberal, you are conservative.

The Second Amendment reads, “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

Thus our right to keep and bear arms is not to hunt or to keep thugs from stealing our stuff … it’s to have citizens armed with weapons and able to form militias to protect our State from oppressive governments!

Funny how it seems to get back to an out of control Federal government usurping the rights of individuals and States.

These people are either woefully ignorant, or disingenuous at best.  The Tea Party supports the 10 Amendment, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”  In other words the Federal governments powers and authority are limited to those few and specific things assigned to it.

A simple way to understand this is that your problems and needs should be handled as close to you as possible.  You are responsible to provide and protect yourself.  In some instances that job will be too big for you.  At those times those things should be handled by your family, then your community, then your State, then the Federal government.

Today we’ve turned that on it’s head and look to the Federal government first to fix our problems and provide for us.

The Tea Party is not for Anarchy, it is for each person and entity assuming its proper role and authority.
 

The principles of the Constitution are based on, or inspired by Biblical principles, Biblical principles reflect the character of God.  Many people won’t understand this but let me explain rationally and equivocally using one characteristic of God as an example.

God is love.  God wants us to love others as He does.  Life experience and logic tell you that if you kidnapped someone and forced them to “love” you, that would not be true love.  Love requires choice not force or coercion.

One application of that Biblical principle based on the character of God is that in America you have freedom of religion (not freedom “from” religion).  Each person has the right to choose to worship or not as he or she chooses. 

Why?  Because God loves you, He will not force you to love Him.

Moreover, the application of this Biblical principle is an example of America’s supremacy over many other nations.  In many nations today you do not have the freedom to exercise religion, or your choice of which religion to practice is forced upon you.  As I write this article there is a Christian father in Iran who is facing execution because he refused to renounce his Christian faith and return to Islam.

Thus The Tea Party, like our Constitution is not trying to establish a religion, it’s trying to protect everyone’s rights by relying on the wisdom of our Founders who based our laws on Biblical principles.

The bottom line is that if you are an Atheist, Muslim, Pagan, Christian, Agnostic, et.al … you have the Liberty to hold and express those views because that is your God-given right protected by our Constitution.

When it comes to our Libertarian friends two issues jump out at me right away; Morals matter and Religion matters.

While we share many concerns with Libertarians, especially when it comes to the economy, what distinguishes Tea Party members is that it is not ONLY about the economy.  Our Founding Fathers were clear, in order for this nation to survive it must by lead my moral people held accountable by moral people.

Character matters.  Social issues such as abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research are important.  What is taught to our children in schools about tolerance, sex and history are important.  And maintaining a strong military is essential.

We cannot be scared away from acknowledging the fact that America is a great, prosperous, tolerant, generous, law-abiding nation because she was founded on Biblical principles.  To the degree that we stray from that will erode our national character and benefits.
 

I understand the strategic need to use the Republican Party to get candidates into office.  However, some well-meaning GOP’ers simply can’t wrap their conditioned mind around the concept that we are not a “plank” of the GOP, we’re not a bunch of disenfranchised members of the Republican Party, and we’re not capable of being bullied by their usual tactics!

Let me state our relationship with the Republican Party plainly and clearly:  Like it or not we live in a two party system.  The Tea Party is strategically using the GOP to get conservative candidates in office.  We are doing that by replacing Liberal Republicans then winning elections against the other party.

Allow me to share two quick stories to illustrate this point.  My first meeting as a leader of our local Tea Party was in a friend’s house with about 20 other people.  As I shared this concept I was met with some blank stares and some confused people nodding their heads.  When this concept was applied to voting I asserted that I would not vote for a candidate who was not conservative simply because he/she had an “R” after their name.  There was a group gasp followed by days of angry and concerned calls and emails.

Several months later I was having a breakfast meeting with the Chief of Staff for my local Congressman.  He patiently explained to me how we needed to put up more liberal candidates in some areas so that we could win those seats to ensure a larger voting bloc in the house … blah, blah, blah.  I chuckled and told him, “That’s not the way it works anymore.  Here’s how it works.  You put up conservative candidates and we will vote for them and they will win.  You put up RJINO’s and we will not vote for them and you will lose.”

The GOP thinks the Tea Party is a fringe of the Republican Party that they can use.  They have it backwards.  The Tea Party is a distinct voting bloc that is resolute.  They are not using us, Rather we are using them!

This is epidemic when it comes to the Tea Party.  Liberals believe the Tea Party is just a fringe wing of the Republican Party.  Republicans think it’s the embarrassing Constitution carrying, Bible thumping element of their political party.  Libertarians and Independents are just as confused.

This week I will post a new article each day that briefly explains the differences.  I will provide clarity to the muddy waters by describing how and why the GOP, Libertarians, Anarchist, NRA and Christian labels can’t possibly summarize what the Tea Party is about.

Hold on … I’m about to offend just about everybody … that is, everyone who’s not truly a Tea Party member.
 

Most days I feel like I’m the only one going through hard times.  I hear talk about how most people are feeling the financial pressures these days.  I see the high unemployment rate.  But everyone’s still driving nice cars, wearing the latest fashions, and enjoying the amusements of life.

I don’t see food lines, unemployed people looking for work, or good hardworking people on the streets.  I guess it’s because today we have government assistance programs that puts a façade on the suffering and enables those of us experiencing the Second Great Depression to hide behind food stamps and unemployment compensation.

The result is that no one really sees the true magnitude of how bad things really are, and an increased dependency on the government to provide for our daily needs.  Tragically the silent consequences are also broken marriages, depressed individuals and increased suicides in people between the ages 40 and 64.

No, I’m not considering suicide, but I do go through times of depression and my marriage is on the rocks.  I’ve got a nice resume that includes management with a well known company, I have an MBA, I’m a hard worker, yet I’m working 3 jobs and earned less last year then I’ve earned in the past 20 years.

I understand that economies are cyclical and that perhaps part of the problem is just bad luck of being born and raising a family when the economy moved into a natural cycle.  But I think the greatest catalyst has been progressive fiscal and monetary policies from our federal government and the Federal Reserve.  Both political parties are to blame.  Power hungry permanent political class who care more for their carries than for our liberty is the problem.

Thus I guess the beginning of the solution is to vote ALL these arrogant and selfish idiots out of office and replace them with Patriots.  The road to health individually and as a nation is a long hard one.  I’m willing to walk it, if you’ll walk beside me.
 

The first simply drew my attention to President Obama’s latest Executive Order, authorizing the blocking of property for Terrorists.  The question from my friend was, “Should this raise red flags or is it normal and justified?”

My initial thought was this is simply another tool that can be used to slowly erode our liberties as the ruling class decides to whom this applies and to what extent does this allow them to rob Americans of the right to own property.

Then I receive the tweet from another friend telling me that William Yeomans wrote an article in the POLITICO announcing that those who align their values with the Tea Party “have now become full-blown terrorists.”

After looking into who this “Yeoman” is I quickly turned the lights off in my basement where I stare glassy-eyed at my blog, triple locked my soundproof door and recounted the boxes of ammunition for my guns.

As it turns out Mr. Yeomans “served as Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s Chief Counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee. He has also been Legal Director of the Alliance for Justice and the first Director of Programs for the American Constitution Society, where he spearheaded the launch of its two publications: the Harvard Law and Policy Review and Advance. Prior to that, he spent 26 years at the Department of Justice where he litigated and supervised civil rights cases in the federal courts. He served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Chief of Staff, and acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.”

Let me connect the dots for you:

1. Monday July 25, 2011 President Obama gave himself the authority to interfere with the property rights of American citizens who he believes are terrorists.
2. Friday July 29, 2011 a well placed constitutional and human rights “expert” announces that conservatives are in fact Terrorists.
   

Call it paranoia, but this can’t be good.

**************

UPDATE

**************

Yesterday, August 1, 2011, again according to Politico our nations Vice President, Joe Biden in the context of the debate over raising the debt ceiling stated, "They ("Tea Party Republicans … whatever that is) have acted like terrorists."

Democrats, Liberals, and RHINO’s understand … To disagree with your beliefs and policies is not an act of terrorism, it is an act of Patroitism!

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.