Elaine Woods wrote:

I’m coordinating a free lecture on Saturday, Oct. 9 from 2:00-5:00 p.m. at Lakeshore Community Church on Latta Road in Greece. The speaker is just great – Dr. Shanon Brooks; I paid to go to a 2-day seminar with him last spring so I know how knowledgeable he is. The lecture is part of the ReValue America New York tour that he’s doing – he’s coming in from out west -from Utah, I think – to speak about the real story of our nation’s founding, the ideals of our founding fathers,where America is in the cycle of history and how we need to prepare for what’s coming, and encouragement to not only become real leaders ourselves but also to prepare our children for that role so that we can be “re-founders”.

I especially like the video that explains the cycles of history and where we’re at. You can view it here and then look over more information if you’d like. If you feel that it’s something you could support, would you please either post or forward the information to the Rochester Conservative group? I think they’d really enjoy hearing all the information that Dr. Brooks is going to share. There will be opportunities to follow up and get more if people are interested, but the lecture is valuable just in itself.

Here’s a video of Dr. Shanon Brooks:

This thrust of this piece is not for the patriot, the American that is vigilant of government, the individual that is actively working to restore our constitutional republic, or the man or woman that clearly views a threat to American freedom and liberty in our nation today.

Then who should learn about this rant? Every American that each of us can contact through our email lists, blogs, letters to editors, organizations we belong, candidate forums, et al., with the warning that America’s future is precarious if “we the people” ignore our responsibility and right to vote November 2, 2010 or make wrong choices.

There can be no doubt all America is aware, but may not comprehend, the bizarre and potentially fatal method the Obama Administration and Congress is governing America .

From ruling by czars, radicals in government, to fiscal insanity involving bail-outs, bank takeovers, fascist automobile industry interference, to socializing healthcare, encouraging immorality, demonizing America abroad, 2nd Amendment threats, ignoring sovereignty issues, suing a State Governor for taking measures to protect her citizens, condoning voter intimidation, encouraging racial confrontation in America, attempting to degrade the United States military, putting two wars on the back burner, to name a few serious issues. When viewed together, a destructive path emerges for America , if not peacefully reversed quickly.

If….the millions of Americans who are not registered to vote do not get registered; the millions who are registered and rarely vote, fail to vote in November; those that have been complacent with the attitude “let someone else do it” , fail to get energized to vote; those that excuse their duty to vote with a “my vote won’t count” and fail to seriously evaluate the threat to America and come to realize how critical every vote is; and if “we the people” do not ensure a free ballot box, the result will be America reflecting an attitude of surrender.

Our prayer must be that a free people will still have a choice and the courage in November 2010 to make right decisions. To reverse the threat to America we must select conservative, constitutional committed, Founding Father visioned, morally courageous candidates, with unwavering support for principles embedded in our Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution, and Bill of Rights.

Failure of Americans of every color, race, ethnic background, political persuasion, gender, religion, to peacefully vote for right principles November 2, 2010 will signal continuation to those of the Marxist/socialist/communist ideology who are presently destroying over 200 years of freedom and liberty in America .

If the above failure occurs, I believe it will generate a massive, painful, bloody revolt in America . The overwhelming majority of Americans understand and abhor the thought of conflict in our beautiful land…but blood will flow before surrender to a dictator or socialist, communist regime. God help us keep our knees bent to Him, not a dictator.

Last Thursday (4/15/2010) we received a surprise visit at the Tax Day Rochester Tea Party from Ann Marie Buerkle who’s challenging Dan Maffei for the NY 25th Congressional seat. Ann Marie spoke as a private citizen and here’s the video from her speech:

Tea Partiers have their sights set on voting Dan Maffei out of office as he has voted for the Porkulus Package as well as the Health Care Reform (NOT!) Bill. A bunch of us protested in front of his office on March 20, 2010, the day before the House voted on the Health Care Reform (NOT!) Bill. We are also working with people in Syracuse, namely Lonely Conservative, to defeat Maffei as the NY 25th encompasses Syracuse as well as some eastern Monroe County suburbs.

So what do we know about Ann Marie Buerkle? Although she’s served on Syracuse’s Common Council, she’s not a professional politician. Her campaign website has the following:

A native of Auburn, New York, Ann Marie is a nurse and accomplished attorney working in healthcare, mother of six and grandmother of eleven.

After graduating as an R.N. from St. Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing, Ann Marie worked at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse. While juggling a growing family, Ann Marie was a substitute school nurse for many years before obtaining her law degree from Syracuse University School of Law.

An Assistant New York State Attorney General since 1997, Ann Marie represents New York State with Upstate Medical University as her client, capping a professional life dedicated to improving the quality and affordability of our local health care system while expanding its patient-centered focus.

Committed to public service and community involvement, Ann Marie’s parents – both first generation Americans – instilled the value of hard work, individual responsibility, and personal integrity in her and her three brothers and sister. Her father worked for Met Life for over 63 years while simultaneously owning and operating Auburn’s Mohican Market. Ann Marie and her siblings spent their teenage years working at the store as well as at the popular roller skating rinks her parents owned and managed.

Ann Marie has a record of standing up for those in need. A former member of the Syracuse Common Council, she counsels abused women in crisis at Vera House shelter, provides volunteer legal services for needy Syracuse families through the Onondaga County Bar Association’s Pro Bono program, and is a lifelong advocate for those with special needs. Today she serves as a member of the Surrogate Decision-Making Committee for the New York State Commission on Quality of Care and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities.

Of Ann Marie’s six grown children, only one remains in New York State due to better job opportunities elsewhere. As an owner of a small business for over twenty years, Ann Marie knows that high taxes, ever expanding government giveaways, and exorbitant energy costs are driving businesses and jobs from Upstate New York. As our congressman, Ann Marie will fight to change that.

Ann Marie Buerkle considers herself a fiscal conservative. Check out Lonely Conservative’s article of Ann Marie for a more in-depth report on her:

The Lonely Conservative: Ann Marie Buerkle – Could be the Real Deal for Conservatives

BTW, Maffei’s people have taken notice of Ann Marie Buerkle:

“I’m surprised the Republican Party insiders chose a candidate who is so far outside the mainstream,” McNally said in a statement. “They seem to want the most extreme, most conservative, most obstructionist candidate they could find.”

Hat tip to Lonely Conservative!

Back when I was an economics professor, I was always amazed to hear faculty members complain that the United States was not more like Europe. They were enamored with the cradle-to-grave entitlements of the European welfare state.

Every society tries to find a balance between liberty and security. Europe has chosen to put more weight in security and subjects the individual to the needs of the collective. America is different. We value liberty highest, and this commitment to the individual is what makes America unique.

Our Founding Fathers designed a constitutional system based on the rule of law to protect the individual from an overbearing federal government. The government was to do only that which was both right and necessary; the rest was to be left up to the states and individuals.

An American’s freedom is based on individual, God-given rights guaranteed by the Constitution, and also on economic liberties that allow us to provision our families and pursue our own happiness.

For more than 200 years, American citizens have used their personal and economic liberties to pursue their dreams and provide for their families. Along the way we built a prosperous nation. American wealth was not an accident but a direct result of our freedoms.

The relationship between the private sector and the government is similar to that of a jockey and horse. The winning combination is a strong and fast horse with a nimble and light jockey. In this case the horse is the private sector and the jockey is the government. When the jockey grows too large, and the horse is starved, eventually the horse will collapse under the weight of the jockey.

Advocates of big government do not understand this. They take our freedom and prosperity for granted. We now find this commitment to personal and economic liberty being challenged by the size of government. President Obama and Congress are looking to “Europeanize” the United States through a legislative stampede of government control: the nationalizing of our health care system, cap and trade energy taxes, and aggressive unionization. How can it be that the United States government now owns banks and auto companies?

Milton Friedman warned us that the true rate of taxation is government spending. With trillion-dollar deficits projected for years to come, I fear the greatest threat to our freedom and way of life will come from our out-of-control deficits. Eventually you must pay the piper, and the government will either deflate our currency or impose catastrophically high taxes and institute a national sales tax. Or, even worse, it will pursue a combination of both bad ideas.

Higher taxes degrade our standard of living, leaving citizens with fewer choices and fewer dreams. Taxes and a bloated public sector rob the private sector of much-needed capital investment. Capital is like fertilizer: when it’s spread on the private sector it grows the economy; when it’s fed to the government it grows more government. This is the challenge handed to the new crop of freedom-loving patriots: government is growing too big and too costly, and it needs to be reined in.

The Greek debt crisis should be the canary in the coal mine. Greece is the first Western country in recent memory to experience a sovereign debt crisis. In 2009 the Greek budget deficit was 13 percent of GDP, and investors do not believe the Greeks can credibly get the budget under control. The Congressional Budget Office reported that our 2009 budget deficit was 10 percent of GDP. Clearly the United States is on an unsustainable path. In less than 10 years the interest on the debt alone will approach $500 billion. How long before the market loses its faith in our ability to pay?

Fortunately a new generation of citizen activists has stood up to demand political courage to get the budget under control. Commonly known as the Tea Party movement, these defenders of freedom have emerged in the last year to ask politicians to do what families do across the country: prioritize spending and live within a budget. Like the Reagan revolution and the Contract with America once were, the Tea Party movement is the next great conservative revolution in my lifetime.

The present Tea Party Movement has it’s roots in the historical past. Myron Magnet from City Journal wrote a great commentary on the subject, “Bracing Brew: Bring on the Tea Parties!”:

The Tea Party movement is a healthy reminder that the United States began as a tax revolt. From the 1765 Stamp Act Congress, when the American colonists first called their representatives together to declare their “undoubted right . . . that no taxes be imposed on them, but with their own consent,” to the Boston Tea Party eight years later, when the Sons of Liberty dumped a shipload of tea into the harbor rather than accept Britain’s right to tax that normally soothing commodity, the Founding Fathers militantly denied that “all the fruits of [the colonists’] labour and industry may be taken from [them] whenever an avaricious governor and a rapacious council may incline to demand them,” as future chief justice John Jay put it in 1775. After all, they reasoned as they took up arms against their king, government exists to protect “certain inherent rights, namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety,” as George Mason summed up Lockean orthodoxy in Virginia’s Bill of Rights. Therefore, when a government invades rather than safeguards property through taxation without consent, it cancels its own legitimacy.

History often repeats itself and 235 years later, we have a government spending billions of our tax dollars on a pork-laden Stimulus Package and also a Health Care Reform (NOT!) Bill that does little to reform and that the majority of the American people do not want. Our representatives in the House and in the Senate are acting like they’re royalty, thinking that they know better than the people they represent and shoving legislation down our throats that we do not want but that we do have to pay for!

Myron Magnet goes on to write:

So it was exhilarating to hear CNBC financial reporter Rick Santelli invoke these great doings of two centuries ago in his famous February 2009 outburst that gave birth to the Tea Party movement. Two days earlier, newly inaugurated president Barack Obama had signed his $787 billion stimulus act, which taxpayers ultimately must finance, and which went in part to keep bloated state and local governments from having to fire the unnecessary “swarms of officers” that “harass our people, and eat out their substance,” as the Declaration of Independence described King George’s tax-financed colonial officials. The next day, Obama had proposed a $75 billion mortgage-modification program to save sinking borrowers from foreclosure. Why doesn’t the president have a referendum “to see if we really want to subsidize the losers’ mortgages?” Santelli demanded. Turning to the commodity traders behind him at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, he asked, “How many of you people want to pay your neighbor’s mortgage, that has an extra bathroom and can’t pay their bills?” Discomfited by the roar of anti-bailout booing from the floor, Santelli’s New York anchorman warily observed, “These people are like putty in your hands.”

“No, they’re not,” Santelli countered. “This is America. Cuba used to have mansions and a relatively decent economy. They moved from the individual to the collective; now they’re driving ’54 Chevys—maybe the last great car to come out of Detroit. We’re thinking of having a Chicago Tea Party in July. I’m going to start organizing. If you look at our Founding Fathers, like Franklin and Jefferson—what we’re doing right now is making them roll over in their graves.”

Americans are peace loving and hard working people. We love our families and want the best for them. We just want to live our lives in liberty and not be messed with by outside sources, but especially by the government. Perhaps we take the freedom that we have for granted at times and that it takes a clarion call from the Rick Santelli’s of the world, to awaken the sleeping giant of the American working class people.

It certainly woke up people here in Rochester, NY. We discussed having a Tea Party over in the RochesterConservative Forums. Then we heard that NY Gov. David Paterson was coming to Rochester for a town hall meeting at the Convention Center on March 12, 2009. With only nine days of planning and limited publicity, 40 brave souls gathered across the Genesee River from the Convention Center for the “Commando” Rochester Tea Party, to rally against not only the Porkulus Package, but also the corrupt New York State government, led by Gov. Paterson.

We held two more Tea Parties in Rochester in 2009, the Tax Day Rochester Tea Party that drew 1,500 people for a rally then a historic march through downtown Rochester and the Independence Day Tea Party at Ontario Beach Park. We traveled to the March On Albany, to rally against excessive taxation and malfeasance in New York State. We also had four bus loads and several car loads of people travel down to Washington DC to join the million plus Patriots on 9/12/2009.

With very short notice, 50,000 Patriots made their way to Washington DC for the “Kill the Bill” rally outside the Capitol Building in Washington DC on March 20, 2010. We rallied locally in front of Rep. Dan Maffei’s office in Irondequoit and also had a couple of car loads of Rochester folks participate that same day in the “Kill the Bill” rally. Although it didn’t stop the Health Care Reform (NOT!) bill from passing, it sent a message to Congress and the President that they are acting against the will of the people and their actions have awakened the populace!

Like any grassroots revolt, starting with the colonial committees of correspondence, the Tea Party movement begins with a resounding No! As one sign commenting on the president’s health-care takeover phrased it, RAM IT DOWN OUR THROATS, AND WE’LL SHOVE IT UP YOUR—and here followed a picture of a bucking Democratic donkey. And the No! is remarkably sweeping. Spluttered a well-coiffed, well-mannered lady of retirement age in Texas, “We have been very angry—I love President Bush, but he kept spending money, money, money.” Passionate, fast-expanding, and armed with all the latest electronic technology that Obama deployed so brilliantly in his campaign—Facebook, Twitter, Meetup.com, and so on—the Tea Partiers will surely influence candidate selections and electoral races this year and in 2012. The question is, how fully will they embrace the radicalism of their own radically American creed?

Regular, working class people are taking to the streets in and effort to get the government’s attention and tell them to stop with this government expanding, unconstitutional, liberty killing legistlation! We need to do more, though. We need to organize ourselves and set our sights on the November 2, 2010 mid-term elections. Two Congressional Representatives from the Rochester, Louise Slaughter (NY 28th) and Dan Maffei (NY 25th), voted for both the Porkulus Package and the Health Care Reform (NOT!) bill. We need to VOTE THEM OUT in the upcoming election!

Please come to the 2010 Tax Day Rochester Tea Party, on April 15 at 11:30am. There will be groups there that are actively working to unseat Slaughter and Maffei. We need to take our country back, one congressional district at a time!

by ColoradoConservative

Attendees at the Leadership Program of the Rockies Retreat in Colorado Springs were not disappointed when weather in Washington D.C. prevented Margaret Hoover from joining us.

Umm, let me say that differently.

While we WERE disappointed Margaret couldn’t be with us, we were delighted to learn that Mary Katharine Ham, Fox News Analyst and writer for The Weekly Standard could! (There, that’s better!)

Mary Katharine is known as the voice of the youth on Fox. She’s also an insightful writer and entertaining video blogger. Counting herself at the older end of the millennial generation, she had plenty to say about our younger generation. She kicked it off by emphatically stating, “You can’t discount young people as conservatives and don’t count on them NOT to show up in the next election. Scott Brown earned 40% of young voters in the Massachusetts election – it was NOT a low turnout.” She continued…

A recent PEW Report profiled young voters as confident, connected and open to change. They are wary and skeptical of everything, except government healthcare reform, although only 33% think it will help. They respect their elders and believe the generations that came before them have a better work ethic. They are less attached to Democrats that you might think.

Those who identify themselves as Republicans doubled from 8-15% and their use of technology separates them from any other generation. About 83% of those in the 18-29 year age bracket sleep with their cell phones – they use them as an alarm. Technology is the key to the ideological shift among this age group.

They are more pro-life because technology makes the life of the unborn real; they grew up with the ultrasound photos of their unborn brother or sister stuck to the refrigerator door!

And they’re a creative, gutsy group too. She cited examples like Lila Rose who posed as an underage teen and captured video of Planned Parenthood staff coaching the supposedly 14 year old girl how to get an abortion without her parents’ consent, which is against the law in Wisconsin.

Young people use new media to have an impact because we don’t have access to traditional media. We can make waves and it only takes one person. Conservative candidates who use technology can connect with this group and it helps overcome generational bias. For example:

• Five times as many republicans tweet as democrats in the House of Representatives
• Bob McDonnel, Governor of Virginia, won the young voter during his recent election by 10 points
• $1.3 million was raised in ONE DAY on the Internet by Scott Brown when he took Massachusetts

Michael Barone, Senior Writer for US News & World Report says young people are more independent now – they vote for the person, not for the party. (Something many of us can relate to!)

And regarding we, the Tea Party people…

She wanted to debunk the myth that Tea Party participants are violent, as often reported in the media. Out of 500 town halls nationally, there were only 11 document incidents of violence with seven of those committed by liberals on conservatives!

Tea Party leaders called upon voters to help create The Contract From America, a Newt Gingrich style document created entirely via “open source” input. The items ranged from prohibiting the Federal Communications Commission from reinstating the Fairness Doctrine to calling for a complete audit of federal agencies and programs. It was a most revolutionary form of  collaborative community input led by a lawyer and a neurosurgeon’s wife.

Fake Money Doesn’t Exist

Being transparent in the way the Obama Administration is using taxpayer money is hard to argue against. It’s ideologically helpful and morally correct to expect that “We give you the money and you show us what you’re using it for!” And technology allows transparency like never before.

Because of technology, we can search for all the information we want, so we expect more now. Why is it that I can search for my Steve Madden size 8 pumps, but can’t find where our money is going? We can deliver on it when Obama doesn’t. We must inform them, “It ain’t that hard!”

There is a split in America today: people who believe in fake money vs those who don’t. We must tell our young people, “That promise is a lie! The process is perverted!” It becomes real when you can see it, just like the ultrasound on the refrigerator of my little brother or sister.

At the end of Mary Katharine’s comments, ColoradoConservative got up the nerve to stand in line and ask her a question: “What advice or recommendations would you make to today’s young people?”

She replied,

• Ask yourself, what service do you provide outside your normal day to day activities? How do you help?
• Are you getting more from Ebay than the government? Information is obscured that you’re not even aware is being obscured!

And she closed with this piece of advice for today’s more mature employers: “Don’t be afraid to let your young folks do something creative, unusual or a little bit weird!” As an example, her employer gave her the freedom to do a video blog series by dressing up those yellow Easter candy chickens called “Peeps”. She made one into a Harry Reid and the other into a “Peeplosi”. You can watch her video peeps here. Enjoy!

This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty towards the majesty of heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.

Mr. President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren, till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation?

For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth — to know the worst and to provide for it. I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years, to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the House?

Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with these warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation — the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motives for it? Has Great Britain any enemy, in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies?

No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us; they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer on the subject? Nothing.

We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves longer.

Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament.

Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne. In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope.

If we wish to be free — if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending — if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us!

They tell us, sir, that we are weak — unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance, by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?

Sir, we are not weak, if we make a proper use of the means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us.

The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable — and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come!

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, “Peace! Peace!” — but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!”

Patrick Henry – March 23, 1775

235 years ago, Patrick Henry gave his famous speech, whose words still ring true through the passage of time. RV

It was obvious from the start of his comments that this man – a Canadian – is in love with America! His voice broke a number of times during his speech,  revealing the depth of emotion he feels upon the demise of the United States. While his topic was entitled, “Is the Tea Party Movement America’s Last Best Hope?” I believe it should have been, “Capitalism is a Right of Man and Must Be Defended on Moral Grounds.”

Dr. John Ridpath is a Member of the Board of Directors at the Ayn Rand Institute and Associate Professor of economics and intellectual history at York University in Toronto (retired). He writes and speaks on the history of ideas and their impact on social change. He has spoken at conferences about the central thinkers in Western history and the impact of their ideas on history, including ideas that influenced the Founding Fathers and early American history.

He opened by saying, “It’s all about ideas. Ideas can be true or false and false ideas destroy life. We are in a fight for ideas. We are in the midst of a serious crisis.”

And I’ll paraphrase from here…

Ayn Rand felt America is the only moral country in the history of the world, but we have a collectivist government in control that is crushing he spirit of America. America is the fruit at the end of an idea – MAN MUST BE FREE!

Philosophical ideas are the most powerful force in history. It’s all about integration – philosophical systems guide history for good or evil, but the ideological essence no longer has any power. The truths that are self-evident are the key to the glory of America.

John Locke was the 17th century philosopher who believed the moral purpose of government is to protect man’s rights. America had no longstanding barriers to accept John Locke’s ideas. Life is the pursuit of values and we are slowly dying in the web of a social welfare state.

What we need are true ideas, but rights are not well understood. The mind needs to be free and then it can lead the body. Pragmatism is a philosophical attack on philosophy and an abandonment of abstract principles. (Pragmatism: A movement originally developed by Charles S. Peirce and William James and distinguished by the doctrine that the meaning of an idea or a proposition lies in its observable practical consequences.)

The crux: the morality of self-interest. The regard we have over our own lives is the highest value, yet the morality of self-sacrifice has never been challenged. The moral principle is man’s freedom of action. The use of force or fraud is not moral. Ayn Rand defined morality as being “free from the initiation of physical force.” Ayn Rand is America’s moral philosopher.

In 1775, Washington needed something big to dislodge the British Army which had entrenched itself in the city of Boston. So he dispatched General Henry Knox to retrieve 59 cannon from Fort Ticonderoga who then lined them up on the Dorchester Heights.

The Tea Party Movement is not enough. Americans are busy living their lives and you don’t have any “cannon”. Go get them and train them upon America’s enemies. There is philosophical strength behind the Constitution.

In forthcoming posts, I will report on the speakers and subjects from the Leadership Program of the Rockies Retreat held Feb 26-27th at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. It was a compelling conservatives conference that sold out through word of mouth and viral marketing efforts alone.

Speakers included:

• Ambassador Paul Bremer, former Presidential Envoy to Iraq on Combating Islamic Extremism
• Craig Shirley, Author, Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign That Changed America
• Stephen Moore, Editor and Senior Economic Writer for The Wall Street Journal and Fox News Contributor on Obamanomics and the Bankrupting of America
• Ambassador John Bolton, Former United States Representative to the United Nations
• Ben Ginsberg, Legal Expert on Constitutional Law and Political Campaigns after the Citizen United vs Federal Election Commission Supreme Court decision
• Lurita Doan, Former Head of the United States General Services Administration on President Obama’s Assault on Small Business
• Dr. John Ridpath, Senior Fellow Ayn Rand Institute, on Is the Tea Party Movement America’s Last Best Hope?
• Dick Morris, Fox News Contributor, Political Consultant and Author of Catastrophe on the State of American Politics. (Please see Dick Morris’ list of Swing Congressmen to call who are vulnerable and frightened of voter backlash if they don’t vote “no” on Obamacare.)

It would be great if Leadership Program of the Rockies served as an inspiration for similar programs to spring up throughout the US, since it’s one of the few based on conservative principles. But in the meantime, through these posts, I aim to help you feel as though you were right there in person! (NOTE: I receive no compensation to recommend this program – simply the desire to spread conservative values and save our country!)

“Our country is racing mindlessly toward the dead end of socialism and it reflects a lack of understanding by our political class of basic free market economic principles.  Free enterprise is the best — and only — path to prosperity and the Leadership Program of the Rockies teaches that truism to our future leaders. We need this boot camp for the political class now more than ever, and not just in Colorado — but in every state in the union.” –Steve Moore, The Wall Street Journal

“I believe I can best contribute to society in another way,” said Senator Evan Bayh as he announced he will not seek re-election to the United States Senate.

He admitted, “My decision should not be interpreted for more than it is: a very difficult, deeply personal one. I am an executive at heart. I value my independence. I am not motivated by strident partisanship or ideology. These traits may be useful in many walks of life, but they are not highly valued in Congress.”

And with that announcement, Senator Bayh revealed leadership traits that apply to leaders at ALL levels.

Since there is nothing better than a real-life example to reinforce a theoretical point, I’m adding my opinion to his message. Here are leadership lessons I believe are crucial to the health and well-being of any organization, family, church, school or community:

Do the work in a way that is civil and constructive. Goodness knows we don’t all agree. As Stephen Covey wrote, we either want the window open or the window closed. But the skill of effective leadership is to figure out how to ensure “comfort” for both parties – rather than insist on having it all one way at the full and total expense of the other side. A constructive approach directly conflicts with what Saul Alinsky taught in his Rules for Radicals, which has infected the governance model of many of today’s leaders are inflicting upon us.

Nurture independence. Cultivate critical thinkers who learn how to align “party” principles with ethical standards. Reward courageous leaders who aren’t afraid to speak out, push back and step up when they know “true north” has been compromised. Encourage growth, development and positions of authority for folks who know when the words “team player” are just code for “shut up and color”.

Do work that matters. Everyone wants to have an impact or influence on something or someone. People quit jobs and leave relationships because they feel ineffective on some level. How much time do we think we have, anyway? How many good people can we afford to burn up and drive out? The clock is ticking. Good talent is not expendable.

Focus on practical problem solving. It’s easy to get all wrapped around the axle trying to “git ‘er done”. We live and work with human beings, many of whom are motivated by fear. But it’s not a good use of resources to dance around a weak self-image or brittle ego, nor is it effective to allow those personalities to derail a constructive problem solving process. Instead, let’s focus on identifying the true nature of the issue. Define it without demo