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Michael T. Barrett
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Jul
22
Still Disgusted
Category: Life, Photography, Politics | Comments Off | 24 words | Print
I am still disgusted at the results of our primary election, so I am posting this photo so I can meditate for a while.
Jul
21
One Day Later…
Category: Politics, Society | Comments Off | 466 words | Print
To say I am shocked is an understatement. Last night was the wildest election I have followed since I started voting. I am absolutely stunned. Some good, mostly bad, but completely and absolutely stunned. I just don’t understand what was going through the voters’ heads.
The mission of our local TEA Party organization was to educate the voters, and it’s clear the local TEA parties had absolutely no effect on the outcome of this election. While I think they had a profound effect on the message during the campaign, they had no effect on the voters decision when choosing candidates.
A few candidates won on name recognition alone, and others who busted their ass, won 98% of the straw polls statewide, and gave it everything they had, ended up being kicked to the curb prematurely.
It’s clear that the Republican voters of Georgia did not pick the best candidate to run against Roy Barnes in November. Sure, we still have a run-off on August 10th, but neither Karen Handel nor Nathan Deal are the best candidate for the job. Both of them are better alternatives than Roy Barnes, but they don’t hold a candle to others where liberty and fiscal conservatism are concerned.
With the governors race we have a surrogate showdown between Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin. Gingrich has endorsed Deal and Palin has endorsed Handel. This makes the perfect “career politician” surrogate showdown, with actual career politicians in the candidate as well as endorsing positions.
Doesn’t this make you feel like their way of telling you to “assume the position”?
With the availability of information on the internet, there is no excuse for not researching the best candidate. People have really proven how lazy they are, because voter turn out was extremely low too.
Ten percent of the people have determined the course of the general election for the remainder of the population. I would have thought that conservatives (and independents) across the state would have stepped up to make their voices heard last night, and all we got was the sound of the dedicated few who support incumbents and career politicians.
Republicans in Georgia had a chance to prove they had evolved into a better political party with a mindset on liberty, smaller government, and a return to the values of our founding fathers, but instead they handed the primary election over to the career politicians who got us in this mess in the first place.
Disgusted doesn’t even begin to explain what I am feeling.
Conservatives in general have evolved, but those who just call themselves conservatives are still taking the easy road by listening to one particular talking head at a time and ignoring the issues that matter most.
Yeah, to say I am disgusted is definitely an understatement. ;)
Jul
19
Tomorrow’s The Big Day!
Category: Politics, Society | Comments Off | 209 words | Print
Tomorrow is primary day here in Georgia. It’s been a long and grueling campaign for some candidates, while a couple of incumbents have skated by with no opposition.
Whether you are a registered Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, or independent (like me), make sure you get out there tomorrow and vote. Mid-term elections are notorious for extremely low voter turnout, and your vote could literally make the difference whether or not your candidate makes it to the general election.
I voted last Friday afternoon, so I could sit home tomorrow and watch the exit polls and keep my eye glued to the election returns. People say it all the time, but this year is probably the most important mid-term election of my generation (and I am not that young anymore). With out-of-control spending, an out-of-control Congress, and an egomaniacal out-of-control President, we need to elect candidates that will get our country back on track and stop the downward spiral our country is taking.
I am confident that many of the candidates I voted for will win their primary campaigns, and I look forward to voting for them again in the upcoming general election. Once we get this mid-term cycle straightened out, we can all focus on 2012!
Jun
27
Jun
26
Saturday Summary
Category: Our Nation, Politics, Society | Comments Off | 441 words | Print
I have several thoughts I want to write about that cannot wait until my next Thursday Thoughts post. Maybe I’ll start doing a “Saturday Summary” each week to summarize some more thoughts since they don’t always come to me by Thursday each week.
Thought #1
Are people really surprised when allegations of wrongdoing are brought against John Oxendine? Really?
11Alive News has learned the University of Georgia Office of Legal Affairs is weighing its options on the Oxendine campaign’s use of school trademarks.
Republican candidate for Governor John Oxendine has been featuring the Georgia “G” and use of the word, “Dawgs” on stickers, banners and campaign signs.
The article states that many campaigns are using the logo, but 11alive chose only to post an example of Oxendine’s use. Interesting. Are they trying to make it sound like it’s excusable because “everyone is doing it” or were they trying to make an example of Ox?
Either way, it’s wrong, and he should stop using the logo.
Thought #2
The last person we need in any elected position is a lobbyist, no matter whether they are ethical or not.
Conservative Republican candidate Darwin Carter of Alma, Georgia on Tuesday, June 15, 2010 has filed an ethics complaint against CEO/Lobbyist Gary Black for failure to disclose the use of his office as CEO/Lobbyist for the Georgia Agribusiness Council (not-for-profit) to run for Commissioner of Agriculture. Additionally, Carter charges that Black’s lobbying firm, Georgia Agribusiness Council (GAC) is a nonprofit 501c6 corporation and according to the IRS, should pay taxes on their extensive partisan political work.
These are some serious allegations. It doesn’t matter to me if he is guilty or not, I don’t trust lobbyists anyway.
Thought #3
Jan Brewer is an awesome governor. She never hesitates to tell it like it is.
Thought #4
There are 2000 oil skimmers in the United States. 20 of them are in use right now in the Gulf of Mexico. The fact that we are not utilizing every resource to contain this spill shows just how negligent the Obama administration has been since this disaster began.
17 countries have offered help 21 times since the DeepWater Horizon rig exploded in April. Every offer of assistance has been turned down. In addition to being the most negligent administration in the history of the United States, it is also the most destructive. Had these offers of help been accepted from day one, we wouldn’t have oil seeping 6-inches into the beaches along the Gulf shore, hundreds if not thousands of birds wouldn’t be dying, and the economy of the southern gulf states wouldn’t be in shambles.
The Obama administration truly is an abomination.
Jun
5
Serving Up TEA In Douglas County
Category: Life, Politics, Society | Comments Off | 1,674 words | Print
Have you ever attended an event and known that you were part of something truly historic? That’s the way I felt when I attended the Douglas County TEA Party back in September of 2009, but it was nothing in comparison to what I felt last night at the latest and greatest Douglas County TEA Party, dubbed “Only In America”.
Having attended a few TEA Parties since that first one (for me) in Douglas County, I thought I knew what to expect, but apparently I didn’t get the memo and I had no clue that things were going to be completely different this time around.
As a volunteer for the event, I had been part of all of the planning meetings. I knew (by way of those meetings) how much work was being put into this event, and I knew this TEA Party was going to be awesome. I just didn’t realize how awesome it was going to be until I arrived at the Clinton Nature Preserve yesterday afternoon.
As I parked the truck I could see that some politicians had already shown up and set up their booths. Iron Horse BBQ was set up and preparing to serve some of their delicious BBQ sandwiches, and the organizers, Maureen Miller, Brenda Bohanan, and Teresa Ott were running around making final preparations.
Members of the band, The Constitutionalists, were warming up, and you could feel the electricity in the air. Some say it was the storm that passed by just hours before the official starting time of the event, but I know otherwise.
There was so much energy in the air, you could feel it. From the volunteers helping with parking to those helping to decorate the stage, everyone had an upbeat attitude and was working hard to make sure everything went off without a hitch.
So, what was different this year? Everything. Well, almost everything.
Last year there was an issue with sound equipment and people in the back could not hear the speakers, this year Sound Effects took care of the sound and made quite an impact. Needless to say, no one had a problem hearing the speakers, even from the booths farthest from the stage.
Max Arnold gave a moving invocation to start things off and Dakota Kuykendall, keyboardist for The Constitutionalists, performed the National Anthem.
Maureen Miller welcomed everyone to the TEA Party and then The Constitutionalists performed live. The band played some great music and really got the crowd fired up.
By this point, the park was really filling up. Having been in the middle of the crowd last year, I could tell things were going to be much bigger this year. Why wouldn’t they be? At the last TEA Party some people were still under the illusion that the problems we were facing in our nation couldn’t get much worse. This time people knew better, so it was only natural that more people would show up for the event.
Sharon White, a local Douglas County citizen with a clear message was the first speaker of the night. I’ve listened to a lot of people at a lot of political rallies, and Sharon rivals many of the best speakers I have heard in the past. Her speech was heartfelt and full of passion. She is a woman determined to make sure people know what their government is doing. Sharon’s speech was the perfect way to start the evening, and if Herman Cain would have been unable to appear as the keynote speaker, I have no doubt that Sharon could have handled the job quite handily.
Current Douglas County District 4 Commissioner, and owner of Bud’s Benz, David Latham was the second speaker on stage. With a lot of thought, David decided not to seek re-election this year. He is walking away from his political position because it’s someone else’s turn to make a difference in the community.
The people of Douglas County are lucky to have had someone as down to Earth as David Latham serving them for the past eight years.
At one point toward the end of his speech, David asked “Where are the patriots”?
As far as I could see, there were about 3,000 of them sitting in the crowd at the Clinton Nature Preserve, listening to him. Both Sharon and David spoke about the problem with big government. The TEA parties are held to protest big government, excessive spending, and out of control politicians.
One big difference this year, was the lack of any mainstream media. The WSB Radio truck was there to record The Herman Cain Show, but none of the Atlanta based media outlets were on hand to cover the event. I was all over the park, all afternoon, and If they showed up I didn’t see them. Of course, last year the local Fox affiliate didn’t do a very good job reporting about the event, so maybe it’s a good thing none of them showed up this year.
I was a fan of Herman Cain’s long before he spoke at last year’s TEA Party, and I was excited to find out he would be our keynote speaker again this year. One small detail escaped me, however, until he arrived at the park. I was right there by the stage and I was going to get the chance to meet The Hermanator!
Sure, he’s just another citizen like the rest of us. Sure, he’s just a “local boy” there to support the TEA Party movement. Sure. Whatever. I was as nervous as ever when I got the chance to shake hands with someone as REAL as Herman Cain. It doesn’t get any more real than meeting a man like Herman Cain.
Herman took the stage, the crowd went wild, and we were suddenly at the beginning of The Herman Cain Show. That was another big difference this year.
The original plan was to air The Herman Cain Show live from the park, but due to technical problems, they had to record the show instead. It will air during the week of June 7-11, so make sure you listen this week. If you have listened to Herman’s show in the past, you know that Friday is called “Rapid Fire Friday” where callers have one minute to ask a question and Herman has one minute to respond.
After a brief speech about the ongoing problems with the current administration and the reality slap that things are indeed much worse now than any of us thought they could get, Herman began the Rapid Fire segment with members of the audience.
Those asking questions did not have to submit their question in advance, they weren’t screened beforehand. No one knew what each person would have to say, let alone what they would ask, when it was their turn at the microphone.
Concerns over Social Security and Medicare, a government out of control, and veteran’s issues were some of the questions at hand. A couple people, including a young boy, asked whether or not Herman would run for President.
As things were winding down with the Rapid Fire segment, the last person to come to the microphone was a former Marine whose name was Lewis. He was worried about what we would teach our young people and began singing the final stanza of the Star-spangled Banner.
You could feel the emotion in the air as people stood and placed their hands over their hearts. As I said before, you could feel the electricity in the air. As soon as he finished, Louis disappeared back into the sea of people, and many of us were left to dry our eyes. There are, in fact, four stanzas in the original version of the Star-spangled Banner. It’s a shame that most people do not know this, let alone the words in the other stanzas.
No one could have planned a better end to the TEA Party than that. But it wasn’t over quite yet. As he wrapped up his speech, he explained what he meant by the fact he was in “prayerful consideration” in deciding whether or not to run for the highest office in the land.
There is no doubt that Herman Cain is one of the most eloquent and intelligent speakers of our time. It was awesome listening to him, photographing him, and most of all, meeting him. I’ll be praying that God sends him the message he is waiting for, because in reality, we need more people like Herman Cain in public office. If there were, we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in now.
Last year I took over 200 photos and posted 33 of them to my Flickr page. This year I took more than 550 photos and 128 of the best ones are on Flickr. There are photos of the candidates and vendors, various shots of the crowd, and a few of Maureen Miller presenting “Brewmaster” Herman Cain with a jacket of appreciation.
When I walked in the door after the event, I was exhausted. I was all over the park, all afternoon, and my feet were killing me. I had a headache for most of the day too, but I wouldn’t have missed the this Douglas County TEA Party for anything.
I believe the only way real change can come to our country is to start at the local level, and it doesn’t get more local than a TEA Party, or any other political event, organized by local citizens. I truly believe that we, as ordinary citizens, can and will make a difference.
Someone asked me the other day why I was involved in the TEA Party movement. I simply asked them if they were happy with the current state of our nation. As they shook their head in disagreement, I asked them why they weren’t.
Jun
4
The Long, Long, Day
Category: Life, Politics, Society | Comments Off | 106 words | Print
Here it is Friday night and you were probably expecting something to read. Well, let me tell you about my day.
After getting some work done early in the day, I spent the rest of it at the Clinton Nature Preserve in Douglas County, at the Douglas County TEA Party.
It was a very long, but very fun and enriching day. I will have my full summary of the TEA party in my post for tomorrow, along with photos and all the good stuff.
If you didn’t make it to the TEA Party, you missed out on one of the best political events in West Georgia history.
May
10
Another Speech, Another Lie
Category: Our Nation, Politics | Comments Off | 533 words | Print
Once again, President Barack Obama opened his mouth and couldn’t tell the truth. I know that truth telling is sometimes difficult for many politicians, but it seems to be an impossibility with our current President and his administration.
The first non-truth comes in the first paragraph of the following article.
US President Barack Obama lamented Sunday that in the iPad and Xbox era, information had become a diversion that was imposing new strains on democracy, in his latest critique of modern media.
Obama, who often chides journalists and cable news outlets for obsessing with political horse race coverage rather than serious issues, told a class of graduating university students that education was the key to progress.
Information does not impose new strains on democracy. If you believe that information is dangerous then you probably also believe that guns kill people. Information is no more dangerous to society than spoons are responsible for making people obese.
While the Internet has provided a wide array of information sources, one cannot claim that the access to that information alone is a danger to democracy. Unless of course, you are trying to persuade people to think only some sources of information (such as Fox News or conservative talk radio) might be dangerous. Then again, educated people wouldn’t make that mistake and would know that President Obama’s claim itself is a danger to democracy.
President Obama says that education is the key to progress but then tries to persuade those listening that they might be duped into believing some information sources that might not rank too high on the truth meter. So much for that education factor, eh?
“You’re coming of age in a 24/7 media environment that bombards us with all kinds of content and exposes us to all kinds of arguments, some of which don’t always rank all that high on the truth meter,” Obama said at Hampton University, Virginia.
If anyone knows about the media’s ability to expose us to all kinds of arguments that don’t rank too high on the truth meter, it’s President Obama. His entire campaign was based on social media popularity and the complete manipulation of our mainstream media outlets.
Don’t you find it odd that candidate Barack Obama used the media to make people believe what he wanted them to believe but now President Barack Obama wants you to think those same media outlets cannot always be truthful or taken seriously?
In fact, the only outlet I know of, which has been consistent in spreading outright lies and misleading facts, is the Obama administration.
Take the following statement for example:
“With iPods and iPads and Xboxes and PlayStations, — none of which I know how to work — information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation,” Obama said.
President Obama wants you to believe he does not know how to operate an iPod. Yet, here he is with an iPod strapped to his side.
Let’t not forget the fact that he also gave Queen Elizabeth an iPod loaded with music as a gift too.
Talk about information that doesn’t rank too high on the truth meter. Great job, Mr. Obama!
Mar
13
A Long Day Preceeding A Long Week
Category: Life, Our Nation | Comments Off | 641 words | Print
Wow, what a day!
It all started this morning when the boys and I met some friends for breakfast at a local place that had a line out the door at 9am. The food was decent, the company was awesome, and a good time was had by all.
After breakfast we all met to practice some lighting techniques, shooting with a backdrop and an actual model. I had a chance to photograph some models a couple months ago, but forgot my camera the night they were at a camera club meeting, so today was the first time I took photos with a model that didn’t have wings or branches.
After our “shoot” the boys and I stopped by Sweetwater Creek State Park, but all we saw were a couple Double Crested Cormorants, seven Bufflehead, and two Pied-Billed Grebes.
One of the guys invited us over, so we stopped by his place after the park and spent an hour or so watching the hundreds of birds in his backyard. (Photos of the birds and the model tomorrow, as I am exhausted tonight).
On the way home we stopped by another friends house to visit and chat for a couple hours and we were home at dinner time.
Before the kids went to bed they stood out on the back deck and listened for owls. We played a couple owl calls from the iBird Explorer Pro app on the iPhone, and a Barred Owl responded almost immediately. I played the sound of an Eastern Screech Owl and we were “buzzed” by what appeared to be a Barred Owl, probably the same one who answered the call the first time.
After an eventful day, the kids are all sacked out and it’s all I can do to get this post done. In fact, I think I may be rambling a bit. I have to clean the garage tomorrow, then Monday I will be making calls about the health-care bill.
Back in 2001, Sen. Robert Byrd went on the record to state that reconciliation for Clinton’s health care package was unacceptable.
This time, however, he has no problem with it. I wonder if he, or anyone else, has a problem with the U.S. House of Representatives passign a rule that says “the House deems the Senate version of Obamacare to have been passed by the House”, when Article I, Section VII, Clause II states,
Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by Yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively…
Pay attention to that last part that is in bold print. Every vote for each bill shall be determined by yeas and nays, not some rule thought up by House leadership to bypass the legislative process of the United States.
This is a do or die week. Call your Congressman, call your Senator. If you have a problem with Louise Slaughter, the Rules Committee chairwoman, gutting the Constitution and completely re-writing the legislative branch of our government, call them all!
Feb
19
Tea Parties & Mount Vernon
Category: Opinions, Politics | Comments Off | 780 words | Print
This has been a busy, and hectic, week. My sister is in town for the weekend, so posting will be a bit light. I did, however, want to mention a couple things.
Did you see what Glenn Reynolds had to say about the Tea Party Convention? Here are some excerpts.
The political elites have failed, and citizens are stepping in to pick up the slack.
He sure got that right. For years we have depended on our elected officials to get the job done, and they have failed. It’s time to make sure things get done and sometimes, especially this time, the only way to get something done is to do it ourselves.
While writing about Sarah Palin’s appearance at the convention, Reynolds went on to add,
Right now, the tea party isn’t looking for leaders so much as leaders are looking to align themselves with the tea party.
The Tea Party movement does not need leaders. The heart of the Tea Party movement is the collective voice of the citizens involved within it. It wouldn’t make sense to silence so many people just so their “leader” could speak would it? That’s the problem that started the Tea Party movement in the first place. Our political leaders failed us and refused to listen.
Never again. It’s time for real change.
The Mount Vernon Statement
Constitutional Conservatism: A Statement for the 21st CenturyWe recommit ourselves to the ideas of the American Founding. Through the Constitution, the Founders created an enduring framework of limited government based on the rule of law. They sought to secure national independence, provide for economic opportunity, establish true religious liberty and maintain a flourishing society of republican self-government.
These principles define us as a country and inspire us as a people. They are responsible for a prosperous, just nation unlike any other in the world. They are our highest achievements, serving not only as powerful beacons to all who strive for freedom and seek self-government, but as warnings to tyrants and despots everywhere.
Each one of these founding ideas is presently under sustained attack. In recent decades, America’s principles have been undermined and redefined in our culture, our universities and our politics. The self evident truths of 1776 have been supplanted by the notion that no such truths exist. The federal government today ignores the limits of the Constitution, which is increasingly dismissed as obsolete and irrelevant.
Some insist that America must change, cast off the old and put on the new. But where would this lead — forward or backward, up or down? Isn’t this idea of change an empty promise or even a dangerous deception?
The change we urgently need, a change consistent with the American ideal, is not movement away from but toward our founding principles. At this important time, we need a restatement of Constitutional conservatism grounded in the priceless principle of ordered liberty articulated in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
The conservatism of the Declaration asserts self-evident truths based on the laws of nature and nature’s God. It defends life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It traces authority to the consent of the governed. It recognizes man’s self-interest but also his capacity for virtue.
The conservatism of the Constitution limits government’s powers but ensures that government performs its proper job effectively. It refines popular will through the filter of representation. It provides checks and balances through the several branches of government and a federal republic.
A Constitutional conservatism unites all conservatives through the natural fusion provided by American principles. It reminds economic conservatives that morality is essential to limited government, social conservatives that unlimited government is a threat to moral self-government, and national security conservatives that energetic but responsible government is the key to America’s safety and leadership role in the world.
A Constitutional conservatism based on first principles provides the framework for a consistent and meaningful policy agenda.
- It applies the principle of limited government based on the?rule of law to every proposal.
- It honors the central place of individual liberty in American?politics and life.
- It encourages free enterprise, the individual entrepreneur, and?economic reforms grounded in market solutions.
- It supports America’s national interest in advancing freedom?and opposing tyranny in the world and prudently considers what we can and should do to that?end.
- It informs conservatism’s firm defense of family, neighborhood,?community, and faith.
If we are to succeed in the critical political and policy battles ahead, we must be certain of our purpose.
We must begin by retaking and resolutely defending the high ground of America’s founding principles.
February 17, 2010
If you agree with the Mount Vernon Statement, head over to the Mount Vernon Statement website and sign the petition. As of right now, there are more than 24,000 signatures.