Conservative Protestors Have the Heart, but Lack the Fight

I had wanted to start writing this blog a few months back so I am going to play catch-up with some things that need attention. Special thanks to Mike Wilson and his partners who organized the rallies in Cincinnati.

I don't know how the first Tea Parties and tax day followups were perceived nationwide as I remember the only venues covering the story locally (Cincinnati, where I participated) were Fox and CBS. Fox, which seemed like the obvious outlet for such "right-wing extremism" had a small story and some photographs while CBS talked about the violent out-of-hand protest. They of course didn't post any footage, just that the cameraman and interviewer were afraid for their lives and staying in the crowd was asking for injury. They were just upset that a small group of educated protestors were yelling louder then they could respond near a group of maybe 6 anti-Tea Party protestors. We rallied for smaller government and more citizen control, yet a few people showed up to call the racially, ethnically, and gender diverse crowd white supremacists.

CINCINNATI TEA PARTY - HOME

The tax day Tea Party was a BIG wake up call for the nation's independent and conservative base. Not only were the rallies staged around the country important in reflecting on the mistrust and abuse done by our government, but they were important for showing the lack of fight we have as patriots. I feel like I can blame whoever wrote Nixon's November 3rd, 1969 speech. Was that Ben Stein? Although the phrase Silent Majority was never intended to become a heart felt excuse, it has, and it was alive and well at these critical rallies.

If any of you were at the Cincinnati tax day rally, you might remember my voice. That is both a good, and bad thing.

I photographed and made my own tally of the entire march procession to city hall before taking up the rear with a small group of SEIU representatives and some angry followers. There were maybe a dozen anti-rally protestors to our 4,000 rally protestors; and they were louder. They were screaming "you lost, get over it", "this isn't even your home", "go back to the cities you really come from" and "all of you racists disgust me". The leader of this group was an senior black woman (if anyone can find me her name, I personally would like to sit down with her and apologize for giving off the wrong impression and explain who we are) almost in tears shouting at us like we were trespassing on sacred grounds. It was starting to feel more like a guilt parade, where we marched to our own shame.

I began chanting, at the top of my lungs, at the top of my spirit and the hollow echos off the empty building faces chilled me. In a crowd of 4,000 people, I felt completely alone. I felt like the only person with a fight still flickering inside. A man turned around and said to me, "I think we get the point, you can be quiet now". What?! NO! So many people did not get the point, and are still missing the point! They have the heart, but not the fight!

It is bad enough, that we have to conform with municipal code and fill out permits and get approval to assemble. That is Constitutionally protected in the very 1st Amendment! Then we take the time during our lunch breaks, because some of us are still fortunate enough to have jobs, to silently march downtown and not be heard by the media. The Cincinnati City planners were brilliant in not providing any space for us to gather near City Hall. When we arrived, we were told to move out of the streets and disperse onto the sidewalks, go home and people complied! I am sorry, we were 4,000 people strong, and we had every Constitutional right to be there. We even filled out, filed and paid their unconstitutional fees. I was outraged, and anyone who went to these tax day rallies, should be too.

How much further down the road toward totalitarianism is America going to go? I expect all of you to make it back to upcoming rallies, and this time, bring the courage to make yourself heard. We must take back this country, united, and once again stand up to fight for what is right.

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Environmentalist to Poison the Great Lakes

I thought I would start off my first post with a topic very near and dear to my heart; lighting. It should be no secret in the weeks and months ahead, that I will be revealed to be a designer, so I will state it now that I am. To me, the most important aspect of design is lighting! Without light, the majority of human beings who rely on their sight as their top sense would not be able to see and make quick assessments of their surrounding environment.

The issue I wanted to address is actually our cultural shift toward Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFLs). This of course was another dynamic shift in consumer practices led by environmental groups and the manufacturers of these products. I don't think you can actually go for 5 minutes of watching TV without seeing an ad touting their money saving, energy saving, environment saving and soul saving properties. They last longer, won't kill the polar bears, and will save you so much money you won't have to shop at Walmart anymore. Would you believe it that their message is almost entirely hype?

They always forget to tell you that those curly, soft-white tubes require more energy and resources to produce, are toxic, and last just as long as incandescent lightbulbs. That's right, last AS long as the old outdated, Edison has an idea, ubiquitous globe bulbs. Howard Brandston, a fantastic lighting designer lays out that argument in an excellent Q & A for the New York Times below.

A DEFENSE OF THE INCANDESCENT LIGHTBULB

Also coming from a background in nature conservation, the entire CFL trend is an environmental disaster in the making. We are essentially swapping out a theoretical "smaller carbon footprint" for poisoning our ground water with mercury. I'll save the argument for why carbon is our friend, not our foe for later; but millions of tons of mercury vapor CFLs being shoved down the throats of Americans and others worldwide is a recipe for disaster. I would love to see how they "recycle" these bulbs, but I get the feeling it's another one of those feel good schemes. There are a number of studies that explain how a single gram of mercury can contaminate a 20 acre lake. We read about high school labs being closed so Hazmat can rush in and clean up a mercury spill, but never for a broken fluorescent light. 

Now here are the numbers. A fluorescent lightbulb can contain between 1 - 4 milligrams of mercury. Lets go with the accepted and commonly repeated amount, 4 milligrams. Census bureau estimated 127 million housing units in 2007. We'll be conservative and say 120 million, and we'll thank Fannie and Freddie while we're at it. In order for the EPA to get their numbers on energy saving, they used an average of 40 lightbulbs per home. All and all, that is almost 1 million grams of mercury. If improperly disposed of today, that's enough to contaminate 30,000 square miles of freshwater. When the government has their way, every American and American business would own enough mercury vapor in light bulbs to contaminate ALL 5 of the Great Lakes.

If environmentalists, and the government really cared about saving energy, and cleaning up our planet; they would all ask us to change our habits, dim our incandescent lights, and recycle burned out bulbs. Instead they are hoping to promote so-called "green businesses" because they in-turn promote them and their campaigns. Besides, how many incandescent bulbs give off large EMFs and flicker in a way known to make people ill? None. Not all new technology is better technology; stick with tungsten.

UPDATE - - I forgot to add, that this massive shift toward poisonous, unhealthy lighting products, is to save an ideal $600 million. California is about $20 billion in debt, and the nation is looking at a $4 trillion deficit. It's still a scam.

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This blog was started in direct response to the growing problems in American society today. As I am firm believer that the most powerful nation wills the rest of the world into their philosophy, this blog will also indirectly address world issues. I am in no way claiming that my opinions directed toward the United States applies directly to other nations in the world. I just feel that our Nation, which was built on the ideas of a Democratic Republic with representatives, is in need of a rescue. America has been set on a path toward destruction because of propaganda, politician corruption, and the manipulation of "argumentum ad populum". I sincerely wish all of those who read these writings are able to decipher and create their own unique opinions in which to question EVERYTHING with. If you cannot debate from both sides of an argument, you will never be able to understand your opponent, and you will never be able to overcome defeat. Please support free press and the diverse opinions offered by independent thinkers. Thank you and enjoy!
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