The more things change the more they stay the same!

Friday– July 30, 2010

The more things change the more they stay the same!

The cartoon that is posted on today’s Blog was published during The New Deal. It ran in the Chicago Tribune in 1934. Look closely at the characters and the type in the cartoon body.

Some of these people, such as Ickes have descendants. Harold Ickes was a Clinton confidant, friend and orchestrator of that administration’s attempted take over of the nation’s economy through the Clinton healthcare plan then.

The caption reads: “Planned Economy or planned Destruction.” The cartoonists name was Orr, the caption says it all. Someone could publish this political cartoon today and change the names in the cartoon to Geithner, Pelosi, Reid and Obama. Of course, the wagon would change to an SUV with solar batteries attached. The rest of the captions would, of course stay the same.

The people in this administration have waited for over 60 years to perform their method of change and their method of government expansion, which leads to government take over.

I was stunned when a friend of mine sent me this cartoon over six months ago. I was waiting for the appropriate moment to include this in my FORUM.

Look closely at the character in front of the wagon, holding a bottle of what I presume to be whiskey. The label on the bottle spells out “power.” This particular group of politicians was drunk with power, because they were a part of the Roosevelt Administration. The politicians today are also drunk with power, because they are part of the Obama Administration. Like the Roosevelt Administration, a tremendous amount of public funds were spent. The difference of then, versus now, is that we were a manufacturing based economy. The difference of then, versus now, is that 60 years of progressive politics have made it possible for the government to pass laws against the will of the people.

The other part of the cartoon is the guy on the ground. His sign starts with Spend, Spend, Spend.

Under the guise of recovery, bust the government, blame the capatalist, for the failure, junk the constitution and declare a dictatorship. The Character today that sits on the ground would be Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, and Glen Beck. I think you get the picture.

What got me most is the character on the right side of the graphic. It is Stalin. I have written about Norman Mantoon Thomas before. He was running for President of the United States in 1944, under the American Socialist Party. He said, “The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But under the name of Liberalism, they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened? He went on to say, “I no longer need to run as a presidential Candidate for the Socialist Party. The Democratic Party has adopted our platform!”

The most telling aspect of this cartoon is in the copy of the character on the ground. His sign says, “Junk the Constitution and declare a dictatorship.” This is what I mean by: “The more the things change, the more they stay the same.”

Conservatism won the day, after those dark days, because people became involved. They took charge and organized in neighborhoods in the towns they lived. They supported candidates that would lower taxes and shrink the government. These people waved the flag, instead of desecrating the flag. American soldiers won the war, despite what their government and the liberals were doing then.

Understand one thing, the government then was using the term “recovery”. Today, the term recovery is also being used. What are the results? No jobs and a bigger bill. In January 2011, your taxes will go up to pay for the guy who is shoveling out the money. Notice the necklace around the neck of the guy holding the shovel. The pork was around then and still is today!

It takes hard work and it takes you to overcome the threat that is depicted in this cartoon. It takes your patriotism and the support you give to each other. It remained so then and remains so today.


Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: There are 95 days and counting until the midterms. Let’s change this cartoon in the way it needs to be changed.

What I couldn't do yesterday!

Thursday – July 29, 2010

What I couldn’t do yesterday!

You might have noticed that I didn’t send a FORUM yesterday. I had everything planned for a big bang, before I sign off for a week. I‘ll have more on that, Friday. All of this modern technology didn’t work, because I could not do a simple cut and paste to publish on the yahoo FORUM page.

I came across a political cartoon that was published in the Chicago Tribune in 1934. I found it about six months ago and I was waiting for the appropriate time to work it into my dialog and format it into my upcoming story lines. The title of my FORUM yesterday would have been – The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I hope to be able to work out the issues of formatting so that I can publish it tomorrow to end the week.

The cartoon depicted the motley crew who helped create Roosevelt’s New Deal. I wanted to make a comparison of what the politics were 60 years ago and how similar they still are today. Quite simply, all you could have done was change the names in the cartoon and update the graphic and it would have been current with today’s story line of Conservatism versus Liberalism. This is not new to the country. But what is new and was not depicted in the cartoon is the brand of Liberalism that we are being confronted with today.

The courts and the legislative body in the House and Senate are all poised to take the country that we all love and change it into something that we will all hate. That was the case then and it still is the threat today. The cartoon that was published in 1934 should be a warning and it should call into focus what our mission is.

Some of us are doing something in our own way to change the political landscape and some still ask what more can be done. What we do not need are people saying they are doing something, only to find out they haven’t been.

My promise to all that have taken the time to read the FORUM and who have joined the group is to have a site where you can organize and where you can exchange ideas and stories. As I have promised, some of the changes that are needed on the web site will be done.

One of those changes will be to make the revised Guide to Conservative Organizing available on the web page for all to read or download. There will also be a few more surprises that will make the site more interactive.

I want to become one of those people who say I have done something, what more can I do. I want to become one of those people who have made a change and who can one day tell a great story of change. If we all make this a goal, we can all be proud of the story of great change that I believe is now being written by us conservatives.

We did, at one point, start to change what Roosevelt had enacted with the election of some great Presidents in our lifetime. This will also be a goal because part of the mission is to organize for conservative thought and action.

I hope to be able to publish the cartoon on tomorrow’s FORUM. If not, I will describe it in detail and make my commentary as planned.

I am taking next week off. My daughter, Catherine, is getting married. I am the proud father of the bride. I was also the proud father when she was born.

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

The President and his Country!

Tuesday – July 27, 2010

The President and his Country!

On today’s date, in 1789, the Congress of the United States established the Department of Foreign Affairs or, as we know it today, the State Department.

The President has mingled only a few short years in the world of diplomacy and foreign relations. As North Korea ratchets up its opposition for the war games, that occur every year with South Korea, this is the first time that North Korea has mentioned using nuclear weapons. I don’t think a nuclear confrontation is likely, but the mere notion that it has been said should alert us.

We are finding out how the release of the Lockerbie Terrorists was orchestrated. We are finding out more about how the State Department is conducting the Affairs of State under the Obama Administration. We will find out more about how the war in Afghanistan is being fought. Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, is spilling the beans. The question is: can he be trusted?

Then there is the mosque that is being proposed at the site of the 9/11 terrorist attack. The Imam that is pushing for the construction has ties to terrorists abroad. What has the State Department or the DOJ or even the Administration done about it? That is the question and the answer is nothing.

When we organize for Conservative thought and action remember a few points in the argument.

If a conservative doesn’t like guns, he or she doesn’t buy one. If a Liberal doesn’t like guns, he or she wants all guns outlawed.

If a Conservative is a vegetarian, he or she doesn’t eat meat. If a liberal is a vegetarian, he or she wants all meat products banned for everyone.

If a conservative is down – and – out, he or she thinks about how to better their situation. A liberal wonders about who is going to take care of them.

If a Conservative doesn’t like a talk show host, he or she will switch channels. Liberals demand that those shows they don’t like be shut down.

If a Conservative is a non believer, he or she doesn’t go to church. A liberal non – believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced, especially if it is about Christianity or Judaism.

If a Conservative decides he needs healthcare, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it. A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for their insurance.
A Conservative wants a free press to perform the art of journalism. A liberal needs a complicit partisan press to move their agenda for them.

When a conservative votes they expect one vote for one person. When a liberal votes they expect anyone can vote, even the dead!

When a Conservative speaks, they speak about shrinking government. When a liberal speaks, they speak about expanding government against the will of the people.

When a Conservative views history, our forefathers and the Constitution, they respect what that represents. When a liberal views history, our forefathers and the Constitution, they have contempt for it.

When we review this list, what part of it isn’t true?

When we organize, this list is part of the truth that we want to communicate!

If the President had his way, the liberal side of the list would be his version of the country.

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: In 99 days we will be truthful with the opposition when our votes are tabulated.

The President - without a Country!

Monday - July 26, 2010

The President – without a Country!

On today’s date, in 1788, New York became the 11th state to ratify the Constitution.

In June, of 2009, Barack Obama said “we’re no longer a Christian nation.” He has also said, “America has been arrogant.” President Obama continued to say that, “After 9/11, America didn’t live up to her ideals.” In 2009, President Obama said, in Egypt, “You might say that America is a Muslim nation.”

In his book, Audacity of Hope, Barack Obama wrote: “I will stand with the Muslims, should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.”

Is the President without a country?

The Rasmussen Poll reports that the daily Presidential tracking poll for Sunday, July 25, 2010, shows that twenty – five percent (25%) of the nation’s voters approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing in his role as President. Forty – five percent (45%) strongly disapprove. This gives Obama a presidential approval index of negative 20. Two weeks ago, it was at negative 14. Seventy – five percent (75%) of those polled prefer free markets over a government managed economy.

49% of voters in Minnesota favor an investigation of alleged voting by felons. A new documentary has been released. I wrote about it not too long ago. It is called “We Will Not Be Silenced 2008.”
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGZFgMNM-UU)

This week, Representative Charlie Rangle (D-New York) will be a subject of great review when his ethics hearing starts. The last time a major Democrat went down was James Trafficant (D-Ohio). He was charged, he was tried and he was sentenced before the House did anything. In this case, The New York Prosecutors have not done a thing with the alleged ethics violations. There are over 12,000 documents and the goods on Rangle have been known for over two years. If this were a Republican office holder,the prosecutors would be stumbling over each other to take credit for the trial.

With the voter fraud stories, and now Rangle having to go before the ethics committee you would think this would be big news. The major media have been reluctant to discuss these stories and have been reluctant to ask the question of today’s FORUM.

Today’s title was meant to provoke a thought. With the words that the President has been quoted as saying, with the voter fraud stories of 2008 now coming to light and the ethics violations of the most powerful committee chair in Congress, we must ask the question: Who’s country is Obama governing?

The answer might be within the negative rating of the President and because of the “We Will Not be Silenced 2008” video that is now out, produced and directed by the Democrats, who are now asking the question that we have been asking for two years. This President and some members of his party are now finding themselves in a position of having no country!

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: There are now 100 days until the midterms. In a few short weeks the changes on the website will be complete. In a few short weeks my revised Guide for Organizing will be on the website and in a few short weeks we will begin to organize around the topics I wrote about today.

Sometimes we must fail in order to succeed!

Friday – July 23, 2010

Sometimes we must fail in order to succeed!

All of us, at one time or another, must fail so that we learn how to succeed. In political thought and action, we sometimes get consumed and we lose sight of the goal. I have been attempting to start an organization and for the most part I have succeeded. However, I can do better.

The website, www.pineconeconservatives.org, will under go needed changes for the 2010 midterm campaign. However, I am not just thinking about the fall campaign, I am thinking about the 2012 campaign and beyond.

When we organize for conservative thought and action, we must consider two things. One, there is the how and two, there is the who. My (revised) guide for Conservative Organizing will soon be made available on the website. This guide that will help you become more confident and able to conduct the conversation’s that we are all trying to initiate with our family and friends.

Websites have to have content to be successful. I will make every attempt to provide more content as the organization grows. Your help and participation is wanted and is greatly appreciated. I am making plans to have local chapters and regional chapters. Through the organizing map, each member of Pinecone Conservatives will be able to access the map and find out what conservative events are occurring in your state and town beginning this fall. This is an aggressive approach, but it is the only approach that will help organize us as an organization.

This all takes time, but we will succeed. It takes time to build and time to communicate any idea. As I am writing this FORUM, contacts are being initiated with press outlets and others that are leaders in the political world. I will continue to write and you will continue to see the changes that I have been working towards.

Sometimes, some of us will fail, but failing should become a motivation for success. My goal for the near future is to discuss the issues and to bring thought to the discussion. I am establishing my relationship with others so that we can have the leverage to become successful. My desire is to create an organization that preserves liberty. I hope that we all have a chance to get involved and become a part of history.

Jefferson wrote to Edward Dowse in 1803: "We are bound, you, I, and every one to make common cause even with error itself, to maintain the common right of freedom of conscience,"

My conscience drives me and my conscience tells me to do a better job!



Gregory C. Dildilan
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

Who's on first?

Thursday-July 22, 2010

Who’s on first?

The Financial Reform Bill was passed yesterday. The President was out making hoopla out of the big deal. He commended Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, along with Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. With his commendations the President said that this bill could not have been passed without their help. What help is he referring to, the Democrats own Congress and Washington D.C., if it didn’t pass then that would be news.

The financial mess was caused, in part, by Dodd and Frank. Chris Dodd, last week, said we will not know how this bill will work until we have another crisis. Again, a bill is passed without knowing the implications.

There is a new report that says the government did not have to close the auto dealers when they took over the automobile industry. The 45 page report can be read at www.MichelleMalkin.com. It is stunning to know that the leftists in this administration are getting away with everything. It is stunning to know that the right in this country is being blamed for not wanting to get things done. When these types of things get done, such as healthcare, the financial reform bill and now this report that says auto dealers did not have to be closed, one has to wonder: who’s on first?

Unfortunately, this is not an Abbot and Costello movie.

Ah…. but the plot thickens in this comedy of errors this week. The affair over Shirley Sherrod took yet another turn. Tom Vilsack, the Secretary of Agriculture, will take the hit and will be made out as the villain in this affair. Don’t be surprised if he is labeled a racist for making a snap decision to fire Ms. Sherrod. With all the talk of racism, in the past two weeks, someone had to be the fall guy and unfortunately, a fine man of character will now be labeled.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Vilsack).

When we speak about plots, one only needs to read the headlines. When we speak about plots, one only needs to watch the president give praise to four elected officials that just should not be in office any longer. Fortunately, Senator Chris Dodd is hanging it up and will retire after this session of Congress, but his legacy will live on and we will pay the price. I explained to someone, just this past week, that these people, who serve, are nothing short of statists. They pass the bills that we all, but them, are forced to live with. Members of Congress have their own benefits and are not subject to the laws they pass. This is what has to change.

If I were running for office, I would be out there saying that, if you are a life long bureaucrat, you better start packing your bag. If I were running for office, I would be campaigning on a platform of equality in Washington with the citizen. If I were running for office, I would be out there with a balanced budget and with a list of obsolete programs that get funding and that do nothing for the citizen. If I were running for office, I would be hated by the establishment and hated more by the elitists, statists and the progressives. If I were running for office, I would be out there with the 45 page government report that I referenced earlier in this FORUM. I would be making a campaign issue out the conclusions. If I were running for office, I would be naming names and asking the voter if this is what they really want. If I were running for office I would declare a tax free year. If I were running for office I would insist that no new laws be passed but that a review of old laws such as healthcare be repelled. But then that’s just me!

Jefferson said: “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”

What politician is being vocal and who is remaining silent this is the question of liberty. This is also the mark of true leadership. The politicians we need to be vocal are silent and this is why soft tyranny exists today.

Jefferson wrote in his Notes on Virginia in 1782: It is true, we are as yet secured against [tyrannical laws] by the spirit of the times… But is the spirit of the people an infallible, a permanent reliance? Is it government? Is this the kind of protection we receive in return for the rights we give up? Besides, the spirit of the times may alter, will alter. Our rulers will become corrupt, our people careless.”
The more I read about history, the more our current events mirror the times we were in 235 years ago. Most voters are careless and our rulers, well, lets just be polite and say they are corrupt. If I were running for office, this is what I would be talking about. But then that’s just me!
There is one more thing. Jefferson said:” The whole art of government consists in the art of being honest.” This is the other component of being a good politician. If I were running, you could depend on honesty.
On this date, in 1775, George Washington took command of U.S. Troops. What do we think of when we think of George? We think of bravery, we think of a man that is beyond every man and we think of him and his honesty. Correct me if I’m wrong.
Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: A104 days remain until we vote. And then we will answer the question of who’s on first.

I told you so!

Wednesday - July 21, 2010

I told you so!

I hate to start out the day by saying I told you so, but I did. This week, I started out relating a report that, if true, was scary. The report was sent to me and it was authored by stratfor.com. The report suggested that the Russians developed an ingenious plan to develop people to rise to the top echelons of our government. These people were not soviet spies but people that would be sensitive to policy development and policy shifts that would favor Russia.

Yesterday’s FORUM suggested that we should not only be concerned about office holders and their agenda, but that we should also be concerned about the underlings of office holders and or people who work in our government. I wrote: ‘We don’t know about any of the underling’s education and we don’t know if that underling will have the politics of party in check when that underling needs to make a decision.’

My FORUMS are written the night before publication. This gives me time to research and to develop my thoughts. I usually have them proof read and I might tweak it the morning that I publish them electronically. After I published yesterdays FORUM, I came across a news story that supported exactly what I was afraid of and thought would be a problem for free people who live with a government that is taking liberty and freedom away from its citizens on a daily basis.

A woman by the name of Shirley Sherrod, an employee of the Department of Agriculture ,was forced to resign after she said she discriminated against a farmer who was loosing his farm in 1986. This farmer applied for aid, through Ms. Sherrod. In her capacity, she said she did not offer him the full force of help from the government and that other applicants were given favorability and more aid. Oh, did I say Ms. Sherrod was black and the farmer was white? And did I say the others that were bailed out or given preference were also black? When I wrote about keeping politics of party in check, this is exactly what I was referring to.

This story is not over, it is just beginning. It broke on FOX News, no surprise. But, another woman, by the name of Cheryl Cook, was pressured by the White House to force Ms. Sherrod to resign. Ms. Sherrod said that the White House was afraid that this story would be all over FOX News and they could not afford the fallout. I am giving Ms. Sherrod all due credit and the benefit of the doubt. She has said that she learned about her discrimination by relating this story recently by giving a lecture. It is a great thing that people admit their prejudices and want to reform themselves.

But, what about the farmer or the other white farmers that might have been put into jeopardy by the actions of Ms. Sherrod and others who felt the same way. It is ideology and party that corrupts. I believe we will be hearing more and more about incidents like this, as we move toward the end of President Obama’s 2nd year in office.

The problem I have is that this story has not hit the major networks and that a woman who has said she has learned by the error of her way was hung out to dry. Isn’t it always the liberal that says we have to give people a second chance, especially when race is involved?

The other side of the story is that the major media has buried this story. The major media buried the Reverend Wright saga and they bought into the claim by the Obama’s that they had never heard the Rev. Wright spew the words of hate in the 20 years they attended service in his church. We have all seen and heard these words, so someone is not being truthful. I know I am, because I never attended his church, but I heard and saw the Rev. Wright use his brand of hate.

What also bothers me about this cover up is that in recent weeks there have been stories about black on white discrimination. The Department of Justice has been put in a position, by a whistle blower that has claimed the DOJ will not pursue any case of discrimination that involve blacks who have been accused of these crimes. Recently, the New Black Panther case was turned down by the Attorney General. Again, there was a tape, many witnesses and FOX News.

Another racial event occurred early on in the President’s term, on July 16, 2009. Remember the Cambridge Beer Summit? A black professor, Henry Louis Gates Jr., was stopped by a white police Sgt., James Crowley, as the professor was attempting to enter his own home. The police officer followed the rules of engagement. He was merely making an attempt to get identification from the professor, because of recent break-ins in the neighborhood. The President said the police were acting stupidly. This was not white on black discrimination, it was just a police officer doing his job. I might add, there was also a 911 call from a neighbor who said she saw someone lurking around the house. The President came to the defense of the Professor, an acquaintance, and made an issue of the case.

Let’s not forget the NAACP’s resolution this month that called for the TEA PARTY to be considered racist. This, along with the Sherrod incident, is a tipping point that we all now must be cognizant of. When underlings, policy makers and politicians have an agenda we cannot afford to be silent. When the major media does not do its job and instead blurs the story and diffuses the story we cannot be silent.

These stories all have an impact on us. These stories all have common elements. These stories all involve the highest levels of government. These stories all favor or give favor to a group or to individuals that are part of the group. Isn’t it the liberals who complain about this kind of behavior? Wasn’t it the liberals who sought justice?

These stories remind me of a few things Jefferson wrote:

In a letter to John Tyler in 1804 he wrote: “No experiment can be more interesting than that we are now and which we trust will end in establishing the fact, that governed by reason and truth. Our first object should to leave open to him all the avenues to truth. The most effectual hitherto found, is the freedom of the press. It is, therefore, the first shut up by those who fear the investigation of their actions.”

In a letter to John Wayles Eppes in 1814 he wrote: “No government can be maintained without the principle of fear as well as duty. Good men will obey the last, but bad ones the former only. If our government ever fails, it will be from this weakness.”
In a letter to Jedidiah Morse in 1822 he wrote: We are to guard against ourselves; not against ourselves as we are, but as we may be; for who can imagine what we may become under circumstances not now imaginable?”

The circumstances of fact will be the deciding factor over these incidents that involve one ideology, a group of people and people who just shouldn’t be there to begin with!

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: In 105 days an election will be held. Some politicians will go and some new politicians will come with enlightened eyes. Let’s keep the new eyes enlightened by demanding the truth and not fiction.

Who benefits?

Tuesday – July 20, 2010

Who benefits?

While the President is making it seem like the Republicans are holding up more benefits for the unemployed, we hear that it was unnecessary for the government to take control of the auto companies and force their dealers to prematurely close.

The President said that it is time for the Republicans to stop holding the unemployed as hostages. The Republicans say they want help, but ask how are we going to pay for it? The Democrats feel that unemployment insurance is a stimulus, because those people will spend money at the stores. This is not true. Those who collect unemployment pay for the mortgage and if they do spend money at the stores it is for food. There are some that do take that money and spend it on things that they don’t need, while their mortgage goes unpaid or the credit card bills mount up. This is also why we have gotten ourselves into this mess. George Bush did not create these types of voters. The Republicans should stand firm on this issue of the debt. They are just asking one question: how is the president going to pay for this? The President is just like the unemployed person who is not using his unemployment benefits in the way he should. With the appointment of another Democrat to fill the deceased Senator Robert Byrd’s seat, the filibuster will end and the passage of the extension will succeed. Again we will not get the answer on how the president will pay for it.

The President fails to tell us that most of the TARP money has been repaid and half of the funds remaining have not been spent. Why can’t we use the TARP money? No one in the administration can answer this question.

Rasmussen is reporting that, in generic Congressional voting polls, Republicans are favored by 45% and Democrats take a back seat at 36%. 31% say that the U.S. is heading in the right direction. Republicans have held the stronger position on the economy in the polls since May of last year. The Democrats still hold a stronger position on ethics and corruption over the Republicans. 38% are still unsure as to what party to trust. What do these numbers indicate?

Polls still show that most of the voting public are not up on the issues. Last week, the President recruited Bill Clinton to motivate the base. This is great for Democrats, because the economy under him was great? Those voters like Clinton, and they don’t care about the scandals and his impeachment. This could be the 31% that think America is heading in the right direction. I maintain that this election will be decided by 38% of the voting public. However, 40% of voters now view the Obama administration as less ethical than past administrations. Republicans last week had a 6 point lead over Democrats in the generic poll.

A friend asked me yesterday why Americans are not aware of the Stratfor report, that I wrote about yesterday. I said most Americans don’t spend the time looking for information and then reading the information. Just a side bar, Bill O’Rielly has referred to Stratfor.com as a source of information for him. I continued to say that these reports go unnoticed, because they don’t appeal to the mainstream or they are too controversial. I looked at that report as somewhat factual, because it could happen. I look at these reports, because there aren’t enough answers that can legitimately answer my questions. I look at these reports, because if they are true then we, as citizens, must take our government back.

We hear about all the polls and we hear about the candidates. We hear about what is on the news and who is doing what to whom. We hear about what scandals are popping up and what scandals involve what politician. We hear about the economic numbers good and bad and we hear about what Party they will affect.

What don’t we hear about? This is the bigger question that I have and that I am training myself to talk about. We don’t hear about who got what job in the government. We care more about what the First Lady is wearing and we don’t pay attention to what underling was appointed to head a new governmental department. We don’t know about any of the underling’s education and we don’t know if that underling will have the politics of party in check when that underling needs to make a decision.

Most bills that are introduced are written by underlings to the members of Congress. For instance some of these underlings authored the healthcare bill and interjected most of what they wanted in that bill. Sometimes, their bosses, the elected members of Congress, are unaware what has been put in the bills they vote on daily.

What we need to concern ourselves about is, not what is seen, but what isn’t seen. We need to know who is being hired and we need to know who the underlings in the Congressional and Senate offices are.

Part of our tax money goes to the salaries of these underlings. These people are just as public as their bosses. They are public property and we have the right to know who they are. We have the right to know who is getting the benefit from the money we pay them. We have the right to benefit from the decisions they make on our behalf.

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: On this day in 1868 the first tax stamp on a pack of cigarettes was issued, I wonder what underling had that idea? In 106 days we have an opportunity to get rid of the members in the House and Senate. We also have an opportunity to get rid of their underlings. On this date in 1969 Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon it was the spirit and the motivation of one Leader and his underlings that made it possible. It takes one step and one election to get back on the path to greatness this is how we all benefit!

The tight rope:

Monday – July 19, 2010

The tight rope:

Did you ever stop to think about the tight rope that this nation crosses everyday in our foreign policy? Did you ever stop to think about how one country can effect the
outcome of another country’s foreign policy? Did you ever stop to think about how we have arrived at the point we are at in our foreign policy today?

I read a report by Stratfor. (http://www.stratfor.com/) It was a paper that described how the Soviet Union collected intelligence on the U.S. during the 1920’s and ‘30’s. The Soviet Union had developed a unique way of collecting intelligence that it continued on through the Cold War and, most likely, today. Remember the Cold War? It was fraught with danger, intrigue and the threat of annihilation by the Soviet Union or the United States. Fortunately, we had great Presidents, except for Jimmy Carter, and fortunately, we had great Secretary of States, except for Warren Christopher, the Secretary of State during the Carter Administration.

During the Reagan administration, and Secretary of State James Baker forces were set in motion that culminated during the presidency of George Herbert Walker Bush’s administration. These motions were like a wave of circumstance, and because we outsmarted them, that brought the Soviet Union to collapse under its own weight.

Though this was not the topic of the report, we must consider the history that led to the conclusion of the war and how the new Cold War is warming up once again. The Soviet Union learned that they could be far more effective with directing their foreign policy if they had people that were at the top of foreign governments. They knew that if they could direct the outcomes of conflicts by sympathetic people, who were not members of the Soviets Union, but willing accomplices, they would be more successful at moving their agenda of world domination. They knew that patience and dedication, by a few, would have profound effects on the many.

The Stratfor report went on to explain that: “They are not stupid, and they are extremely patient. If we were to guess — and we are guessing — this was a team of talent scouts. They were not going to meetings at the think tanks, because they were interested in listening to the papers; rather, they were searching for recruits. These were people between the ages of 22 and 30, doing internships or entry level jobs, with family and academic backgrounds that would make employment in classified areas of the U.S. government easy — and who in 20 to 30 years would provide intelligence and control to Moscow.”
The Soviets had four parts in their plan, and they were successful at every stage. The four parts, when fully initiated, would cover not only the career of the candidate, but the career of the Russian who worked in Moscow. The four parts of the plan were:


· Identifying likely candidates,
· Evaluating and recruiting them,
· Placing them and managing their rise in the organization,
· And exploiting them.

On the other hand, The United States strategy was one of exploiting information through the direct purchase of material or through monitoring and or listening in on conversations through technology and or boot’s on the ground intelligence teams.

The report went on to say: The United States can thus recruit sources (and sometimes it gets genuine ones). It can buy documents. But the extremely patient, long-term deployments are very difficult for it. It doesn’t fit with U.S. career patterns or family expectations.
The United States has substituted technical intelligence for this process. Thus, the most important U.S. intelligence-collection agency is not the CIA; it is the National Security Agency (NSA). The NSA focuses on intercepting communications, penetrating computer networks, encryption and the like. (We will assume that they are successful at this.) So whereas the Russians seek to control the career of a recruit through retirement, the NSA seeks access to everything that is recorded electronically. The goal here is understanding capabilities and intentions. To the extent that the target is unaware of the NSA’s capabilities, the NSA does well. In many ways, this provides better and faster intelligence than the placement of agents, except that this does not provide influence.

Our current group of State Department officials, their underlings, our current bureaucratic growth and the systematic destruction of liberty, is a direct result of 50 years of this assault. Our forefathers, especially Washington, warned of the dangers to liberty by badly constructed foreign policy and by the establishment of political parties that might favor another government over another.

Washington said: “Experience teaches us that it is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have possession.”
Washington also acknowledged the fact that political parties are sometimes beneficial in promoting liberty in monarchies, but argued that political parties must be restrained in a popularly elected government because of their tendency to distract the government from their duties, or to create unfounded jealousies amongst groups and regions, raise false alarms amongst the people, and provide foreign nations and interests access to the government where they can impose their will upon the country.
This week, The State Department will actively pursue relations with Pakistan. The Afghan War will be the focus. However, Pakistan presents a far greater danger, because of their nuclear weapon arsenal. Iran and Russia are also actively pursuing relations with Pakistan. We know two things. Russia needs to promote relations around the world and Iran needs a government that is sympathetic to its goal of a nuclear rich nation. While we are desperately trying to secure the Afghan and Pakistan borders we also are walking a tightrope in the world of diplomacy to prevent Pakistan from going to the other side to create a new alliance.
The other alliance to monitor will be Iran and Venezuela. Russia is still in the middle of this, as well. Again, we must walk that tightrope. As you know, Russia and the United States have just completed a deal to trade their spies for our spies. I wonder where the other spies are that will be walking the tightrope.
The foreign policy challenges to our country going forward are mixed in a maze of difficulties. I only hope that our government is working for our best interests. I hope that those in high power are not the recruits that we know about. I hope that the tightrope will be long enough and forgiving enough for the inexperience we have at the top.
Washington said: “The marvel of history is the patience with which all men and women submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments.”
Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: On this date in 1954 West German secret service head Otto John defects to East Germany. In 107 days we have an opportunity to start down the tightrope of recovery and I am not speaking about the tightrope of defection!

They won!

Friday – July, 16, 2010

They won!

Sorry for being late on today’s FORUM. There was a terrible storm that hit our area last night. We had rain, wind, toppled trees and downed power lines. Our electricity was out for about 10 hours and in that time we had dinner, a walk and a midnight snack. No electricity, no computer and no news. It was relaxing, quiet and under the light of candles, we had a chance to talk.

In any case, I am back on the computer now and writing about another conversation I had with a friend of mine that is a Democrat.

He is a small business man and does have great ideals along with values. This is why I get along with him. We can discuss politics and we can agree to disagree. I don’t think he is too pleased with the President. However, I believe he thinks we need a National Health care program, because as a small business man he can’t afford the coverage he has now.

I believe he doesn’t think we should be fighting a war, but since it is Obama’s choice he will go along with it. I believe his business has suffered, because of the recession, but he believes the President is doing the right thing, because George Bush caused the Recession. But he still is not pleased with the President.

After a brief exchange of ideas and conservative versus liberal bantering, he said we won! We won, so let us do what we think is right. The complaining, the whining, the partisan politics will not change things. He also said because of the partisanship nothing is getting done. I said what do you think needs to be done? He said the poor, the sick they all need help! Well, at this point I asked if he realized that there are more poor people now and there will be more sick people, because of the healthcare bill, it’s provisions and it’s limited access that will result, because of the regulations and mechanism’s that will limit care to those that need it.

He looked at me a little perplexed and said see, this is what I mean. We won, so let us do what we think is right. You guys lost and it’s up to you to win again, so you get to do what you want.

Then it dawned on me. With the “you won” approach, no wonder things are the way they are. With the “you won” approach and attitude are we supposed to just let the other party do what they want, because of ideology and an approach that is deliberate because of the agenda? It is the liberal policy agenda that I believe conservatives are saying no to.

When we had this discussion there was the echo of talk radio in the room we were in. My friend said this is the problem too much talk radio, too much negativism and too much reporting that is not true.

My friend went on to say if George Bush wasn’t the President, we would not have had the recession. I asked, did you ever here about the Glass Steagall Act? He asked what was that something the Conservatives put into place that failed? I explained, the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 effectively removed the separation that previously existed between Wall Street investment banks and depository banks and has been blamed for exacerbating the damage caused by the collapse of the subprime mortgage market that led to the financial crisis of 2007 – 2010. I also explained that the repeal occurred in 1999. under Bill Clinton. Bush had nothing to do with it.
In any case, the result on the conversation was he went away thinking he was right and I walked away knowing that I was right.
Think and knowing are to different things. You really have to think about how to destroy something, like the U.S. economy and liberty and freedom. When you know something is right in your heart then it becomes easy. However, the next election will be a hard fought battle of agenda and ideology. 56% of republicans are highly motivated to vote this fall and only 46% of Democrats are motivated to vote. Could it be that they know in their heart that something is wrong? It should not be enough to just let what is going on now, go on just because they won.
Today’s FORUM was not that exciting let’s blame it on the weather, but as you know, every Friday I end with a quote to think about over the weekend. I hope this will excite you more!

Daniel Webster said: "I shall stand by the Union, and by all who stand by it. I shall do justice to the whole country...in all I say, and act for the good of the whole country in all I do. I mean to stand upon the Constitution. I need no other platform. I shall know but one country. The ends I aim at shall be my country's, my God's, and Truth's. I was born an American; I live an American; I shall die an American; and I intend to perform the duties incumbent upon me in that character to the end of my career. I mean to do this with absolute disregard of personal consequences. What are the personal consequences? What is the individual man, with all the good or evil that may betide him, in comparison with the good or evil which may befall a great country, and in the midst of great transactions which concern that country's fate? Let the consequences be what they will, I am careless. No man can suffer too much, and no man can fall too soon, if he suffer, or if he fall, in the defense of the liberties and constitution of his country."

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: I believe that these words are what most Americans are now coming to realize and this is what most Americans will be voteing for in 110 days.

The two Cards we can play!

Thursday-July 15, 2010

The two Cards we can play!

Yesterday, I wrote about something Edward Livingston said. I will repeat it again: "If we are ready to violate the Constitution, will the people submit to our unauthorized acts? Sir, they ought not to submit; they would deserve the chains that our measures are forging for them, if they did not resist,"

I hope you took the time to read about him on this link. If you haven’t, please take the time.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Livingston)

In yesterday’s FORUM, I mentioned the two cards that would be played by the administration in the upcoming midterms, just 111 days from now. They will play the race card and the blame card. It has already begun!

While they do that, we can also do something else. Let’s play the conscience card. Never before in American history has the conscience card been played. By appealing to other’s better side and their conscience, we can start the appeal to change the direction of the liberal takeover that we all know is now here.

The statement by Livingston says it all: “unauthorized acts.” This is a good starting point to appeal to someone’s better conscience. It will take a conscience to reverse what has been done in the last 500 days of this presidency. It takes a conscience to determine right from wrong. It takes a conscience to rid the bad for the good. It takes a conscience to fight for something that you believe in. Like Livingston, our conscience should tell us that when our own government violates the constitution we have the right to resist.

House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi ,said, when the Healthcare Bill was passed, “We have to pass the bill to know what is in it”. That statement alone should have been enough to wake up our conscience. Every bit of news that has come out about the bill, since then, has confirmed the fears of those that spoke out against it. Right now, all that we have is the information at hand. The CATO Institute has a new study that says in ten years, after the bill is fully instituted in 2024, there will be a price tag of 2.7 trillion dollars. The administration told us it would be in the neighborhood of 950 million. The hidden taxes, the hidden benefits to big pharmaceuticals and the insurance companies are something that we still don’t understand but know are there.

When law makers speak about public policy matters and don’t consider their conscience then the public trust is violated. When the House Speaker insists on passing a bill for political gain and says we will find out what’s in it later, then our public policy trust has been violated.

When you reflect back on the last 500 days, since January 20, 2009, when did you feel we had a good day in this country? There has been one crisis after another. One takeover after another and 400,000 jobs lost every month. In the last 500 days our deficit has grown by 2 trillion dollars and everyday it keeps growing. When you reflect back on the last 500 days have you heard of any deregulation? No, all we have is more regulation by government. The new financial reform bill is over 2,000 pages long with 359 new regulations that many law makers have not even read. This type of regulation only results in the chains around our liberty that Livingston wrote about.

The president has enlisted the help of Bill Clinton to help with endorsing the presidents agenda among business leaders. Does Bill Clinton have a conscience? Does your conscience tell you that you can trust what Clinton says about the president being pro business and pro America? Does your conscience tell you that the Presidents policies are good for America and good for liberty? What does your loss of freedom mean to the conscience of America?

Six out of ten Americans say they don’t trust the president’s decision making capacity. Trust and conscience go hand in hand. The trust card is the other card we can use in the dialog this fall as we campaign and as we talk to our friends and neighbors about the vote. The trust card is something the liberal cannot play, because they have violated six out of ten Americans.

Who would you trust more? The present day Democrat or the politician that knows what the word conscience and trust means? Who would you trust more? The politician that knows Constitutional limits and that have trust in those limits?. When the Speaker of the House says we need to pass a bill to know what is in it, you can depend that the trust is broken and the conscience of that person no longer exists.

When the First Lady purposely favors one group over another, you know that her conscience has been checked at the door. When the NAACP votes yes on a resolution that determines the Tea Party movement is racist, then you know the conscience and the trust they ask of us has been violated.

When the word conscience and trust are actively sought, people will stop and consider the importance of these words in the political arena. It is time to use these cards, because the liberal can’t.

It was the founding fathers that used these words and lived by these words. It was the legacy they left for us to carry on. The problem is that some of us haven’t carried it on and that is why we have not had one good day here in America in the last 500 days.

James Madison wrote in the National Gazette on March 29, 1792: “Conscience is the most sacred of all property; other property depending in part on positive law, the exercise of that being natural and unalienable right. To guard a man’s house as his castle, to pay public and enforce private debts with the most exact faith, can give no title to invade a man’s conscience, which is more sacred than his castle, or to withhold from it that debt of protection for which the public faith is pledged by the very nature and original conditions of the social pact”.


Daniel Webster said: “The hand that destroys the constitution rends the Union asunder forever.”
I have two questions. Does your conscience permit you to vote for someone that would destroy the Constitution and do you trust someone who would?
Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: In 111 days our conscience and trust will decide where America is going.

It's all in the card's!

Wednesday – July 14, 2010

It’s all in the Card’s!

Yesterday, the First Lady was addressing the NAACP conference. I don’t usually pick on women or pick on the First Lady. I am a gentleman, but when someone of her stature puts herself out there on public display and vocalizes words that concern me, then I need to make a comment.

Our First Lady was making comments about the plight of her race. She said: “Blacks have to increase their intensity.” What does this mean? Is she using code words? Or is she telling those in attendance to use the card. I hate the term “using the race card”, but race is the means for opportunity for some. If the responsibility card were played then some would find that opportunity is the result.

As I wrote in previous FORUMS, race has no place in a free society. The question of race is brought up by those that make it a question. When freedom loving people are accused of being racist, because of accusations, it does no one any good.

The new Black Panthers have been front and center lately with their racial outbursts and their version of who the racists are. The new victims are the Tea Party patriots. Though there have accusations, there has been no proof. There have been accusations made by the Black Caucus. Where is the proof? With all the technology and press that cover the Tea Party protests there has not been one substantiated racial comment or incident on tape or in a photo. The Tea Party movement is made up of white, black, Hispanic, you name it they are the new patriots and not the new racists.

When the First Lady addresses any group, her card should be checked at the door. She is not only the First Lady for the NAACP she is the First Lady to us all. The First Lady must garner the respect and not be disrespectful to those she does not garner herself.

One has to wonder where the support lies for this President and the First Lady. 51% of voters now say they do not have confidence in the President’s decision making capacity. The President has lost 12% of the Hispanic vote. The President has lost 35% of the Jewish vote. This vote is crucial, because most Jewish voters vote Democratic. His approval rating is now at a negative 17%. 53% of voters now favor the repeal of the Healthcare bill. So what’s left of the people who support this President? Not much, but those who will play the race card.

The President cannot rely on the words of the First Lady: “Blacks must increase their intensity.” The President has shown us how he governs and he has shown us that his policies do not work. All he has left is to play the race card with those who demonstrate patriotism and among those who are left to support him.

I heard a Democratic consultant ask if we want to go back to the Bush years. That’s what will happen if the Republicans win in November. This is the other card that will be played. If we could reverse the time clock and the political clock back to about 18 months ago, we would see that things were not that bad. Unemployment was checked at 4.7 %. Interest rates were low and money was available to borrow. Confidence in the economy was high and business was confident in the President. Moving the clock to the present, the confidence card cannot be played nor can the employment card, because both are dismal. Until the confidence in this president goes up, unemployment will continue at it’s present rate. Until confidence in this president rises, business will not expand and the banks will not lend.

So, I go back to the First Lady and her comments. She should have said that business needs to intensify their efforts and expand, and that blacks can be a big part of that. She should have said that Blacks must be more entrepreneurial, instead of relying on the man and the system. She should have said we must rid our dependence on social programs that don’t work anymore. She should have praised the forefathers for their foresight in creating a system that all can participate in. But, it would not enter her mind, or the Presidents, because of the card that the Administration is now playing.

On today’s date, in 1798, the sedition acts were passed at the height of anti-French sentiment, following the embarrassing XYZ affair. The Sedition Act, of 1798, was an attempt by the administration of John Adams to quiet subversion and dissent, which it believed to be caused in large part by unscrupulous English, Irish, and French immigrants to America. (http://www.constitution.org/rf/sedition_1798.htm)

In the end, the responsibility of government lies with the governed. If the American people react to trying situations and events in fear, then a general malaise and sense of helplessness will permeate the collective American consciousness. The abdication of personal responsibility erodes liberty, creating an atmosphere of dependency, that leads to bigger government and its pseudo security. Edward Livingston's statement, "If we are ready to violate the Constitution, will the people submit to our unauthorized acts? Sir, they ought not to submit; they would deserve the chains that our measures are forging for them, if they did not resist," (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Livingston) this serves as a timely warning to Americans today.

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: Regardless of the card we have to consider our collective American consciousness in the voting process. Do we vote out of fear or do we vote to stop our fear? In 112 days it will be our conscience that drives the vote.

WHY?

Tuesday - July 13, 2010

WHY?

Someone asked me yesterday, why I am “doing this thing.” I asked what thing? The reply, you know writing the FORUM and comparing and contrasting history with current events. Why are you writing those things about government and the President? Aren’t you scared about them reading what you write? I asked who you are referring to. The reply, all the leftist, all the crazies in the White House, you know!

My answer, I think I have a voice and I think the leftists, all the crazies and the White House have a voice that is wrong. I continued to reflect on the dialog that has been broadcast recently with the hate groups and with the expansionist language coming from the White House. I said the ground work is being laid to bring change to just about every level of our society, because the country has been hijacked by the leftists and the crazies. The White House has tacit connections with these leftists in ways that we don’t understand, but are beginning to realize.

I went on to talk about the Attorney General suing a state over immigration control. I continued to describe how the Federal Government has not done their job in protecting the State of Arizona and securing the Southern border. I also cited the hate talk that has occurred in this country recently. I used the term social justice. I explained that many people think that our forefathers were evil and that many of us living in this country are evil, because we work and we want to keep what our labor produces. I said some believe that social justice will cure all the ills. I said we are in danger of losing our principle of self rule and self determination because a few want social justice.

I also cited many of the FORUMS I have written.

Then the statement arose, “Well I think social justice is probably what we need in this country.” I was speechless. I said, do you know what today’s date in history is? There was a blank stare and a verbal “no!” On today’s date, in 1787, the Northwest Ordinance was established. It was affirmed on August 7, of the same year. This Ordinance also known as the freedom ordinance made the territory south of the Great Lakes, north and west of the Ohio River, and east of the Mississippi River slave free. On August 7, 1789, the U.S. Congress affirmed the Ordinance with slight modifications under the Constitution. It provided and set the stage for banning slavery in this new territory. Further, the banning of slavery in the territory had the effect of establishing the Ohio River as the boundary between free and slave territory in the region between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River. This division helped set the stage for the balancing act between free and slave states that was the basis of a critical political question in American politics in the 19th century until the Civil War.

Early in the history of this country slavery was practiced. However, early in the history of the country, the forefathers knew that slavery could not exist in a country that professed its freedom. When we hear the term social justice we must realize that the question of slavery is still alive and well. Most recently, Jessie Jackson referenced to the LeBron James trade as racial and referred to the Cav’s owner, Dan Gilbert, seeing LeBron as a runaway slave. With speech like this, on the part of people like Jackson, we will never see the end to the question. This is not social justice; this is about one man with a marketable skill that got millions for his talent with the basketball. Jessie Jackson should not turn this into a question of race. It is big business and LeBron won! LeBron has the benefit of living in America and that should be what Jackson should be celebrating. Jesse Jackson should be hitting up LeBron like he hits every other corporation with his extortionist tactics. The difference is LeBron wouldn’t have any part of it.

There are people who will perpetuate this question for their own benefit. Somebody has to have the right speech at the right time to say that race is something we all are part of. Social justice is something we all have, because we are all free. Social justice, in terms of race and those that want to make a business out of race, has no place in this free society any longer. My friend agreed!

Then, I thought about the word nullification. It is defined as: the act of nullifying: 1. the state of being nullified. 2: the action of a state impeding or attempting to prevent the operation and enforcement within its territory of a law of the U.S.

We could see various states in the Union start to move towards nullification based on States rights and the constitutionality for instance about Healthcare, Immigration and other legislation that the government is now trying to enforce. At least 35 states are now saying they will nullify the Healthcare legislation. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nullification_Crisis)

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison wrote extensively about the issue and, if they were alive today, they probably would be on the side of these states. I ended the conversation, with my friend, by saying that if we don’t know our roots as a nation and the history of these roots then our forefather’s words will go by the way side. What troubles me more is that the new words of social justice will become the vernacular of the day. What troubles me more than that is the new breed of language coming from the new political elite? This is why I do what I do and this is why I am finding my voice. There will be more to come on this!

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: I don’t have to remind you that there are 113 days until we vote in the midterms. What I do have to remind you of is why, and this is why I am doing this.

Reality is right in front of us!

Monday – July 12, 2010

Reality is right in front of us!

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of Israel, has sent a message to President Abbas, the Palestinian leader, saying Israel is ready to talk about peace. This week, the reality of peace in the Mid East will be debated and Abbas will turn down the invitation. President Obama hosted a meeting with the Prime Minister to get the peace talks rolling again. Diplomacy works only when both sides are ready to bridge the gap.

The reality is: that Iran is still supporting terror attacks by Hamas and the Palestinians. This is the threat to peace in the Mid East. Israel will exhaust every opportunity to bring peace to the region. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has been out of the picture in this current round of jump starting the talks. The reality is: that we are playing politics, just like every one else, and I think Israel sees the reality, as it should be seen. Peace in the Mid East will not come about until Iran can no longer subvert all the good intentions of those who really do want peace, namely the citizens of the region. Israel will have no other solution but to defend itself when the time comes. This is the reality and it is right in front of us.

The reality in the Gulf will play out this week with an attempt to place a new cap on the well. If this works we should give credit to BP for fixing the disaster. They are at fault and they will pay an enormous clean up cost. The reality that we still are not addressing is why the practice of offshore drilling occurs, without the proper technology to fix things when they break. The reality is: that the environmental leftists are the extremists, not the freedom minded American, who wants safe resource extraction methods for safe and efficient energy production.

The reality is: that if the cap works the President will get the credit and the environmentalists will win the debate on the environmental policy going forward.

The reality of racism is before us once again. This week, we will hear more about the New Black Panther movement and the attempts of voter intimidation by the Obama people during the ‘08 Primary and Election season. A new documentary titled, “We Will Not Be Silenced -2008” was just released. The film depicts, through actual events and evidence, that the Obama campaign actively pursued a policy of intimidation among the folks voting for Hilary Clinton. Gigi Gaston, a Democrat, produced the film and is disturbed by the evidence and the silence among the press then and now.

The reality is: that in every election there is an element of this behavior. Is it right? No! The reality is: that some political campaign’s have a challenge after the results are in; be it hanging chads or the question of election equipment. It was said that Joseph P. Kennedy bought the election for his son JFK by having the Chicago Mob interfere with the vote there. The result of the election was less than 1% difference between Kennedy and Nixon.

In some cases, dead people have voted and in some cases organizations like ACORN are involved in registering voters and getting them to the polls two or three times. The reality is: that the left is and always has been responsible for the majority of voter shenanigans. The reality is: that our vote is precious and is guaranteed by the Constitution and they don’t like it.

The reality in the most recent case of voter intimidation was that the New Black Panthers outwardly intimidated voters who had another opinion and wish other than having this President elected. The reality is: that when ever you have an attempt by a few to throw the election the few always win. The reality is: that these people should be prosecuted and should be banned from any voter site.

That should have been enough for the Attorney General, who turned down the voter intimidation case in Philadelphia that some of us have now heard about. The evidence to prosecute was enough, because there was video. The video was broadcast on FOX and not carried by the other news channels when it occurred. I wonder what the profile of the intimidator was. Unfortunately we will never know because the profile was not shown or carried on the other news outlets!

When laws are broken by the few and the majority does not have a voice, due to the politics of a few, then our system is, in fact, broken. The reality is: that when voter fraud and intimidation is conducted by allies of the President, then our freedom goes the way of a banana republic. With this current crop of Administration officials I am surprised we are not there yet!

The reality is: look at those who have been appointed to high offices in this administration then look at those who have intimidated. They go hand in hand. Gigi Gaston said, “We are all architects of our own destiny, so what kind of building are we building?” The reality is: there are still some Democrats who want to win fairly, based on ideas and not based on intimidation tactics.

The Arizona immigration law debate will be heightened as the laws effective date of July 29 approaches. The Attorney General has said he will look for cases that abuse has occurred. He will look for officers of the law who profile those that might be illegal aliens. The reality is: that the leftist extremist will do anything possible to use the illegal immigration question as a voting block opportunity. The reality is: that illegal’s will change the landscape of America by their illegal vote this is what the left thinks the law should be.

Our debt is over 13 trillion dollars this has occurred under this Presidents watch. Erskin Bowles one of the two hand picked directors of the Debt Commission said “our debt is like a cancer it will destroy us from within.” These comments come before the commission makes its final report. The first recommendation at reducing the debt is to limit the mortgage deduction for home owners. The second recommendation will be to conduct means testing on Medicare recipients. In other words if you have too much money or you make to much money then your coverage under Medicare will be impacted by reduced coverage.

The impact of the administrations policy on just about everything is now being challenged. The impact of inexperience mixed with a liberal agenda is the reality we are now confronted with.

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: There are 114 days to cast an honest vote and if you are intimidated by a few make sure your voice is heard, it your right and it’s our law!

Something you didn't know!

Friday – July 9, 2010

Something you didn’t know!

On this date, in 1776, The Declaration of Independence was read aloud to George Washington and his troops in New York City.

The President of the Congress, John Hancock, sent a message to General Washington instructing him to have it proclaimed “at the Head of the Army in the way you shall think it most proper.” Washington had the new Declaration of Independence read to his troops in New York City with the British forces not far away. Washington and the Congress hoped the Declaration would inspire the soldiers and encourage others to join the army. After hearing the Declaration, crowds in many cities tore down and destroyed signs or statues representing royalty. An equestrian statue of King George III was pulled down from its perch and the lead was used to make musket balls.

Yes, this was another time and another place in American history. However, if the Declaration was read aloud today, I think people would get the message of what Liberty and freedom mean. Can you imagine hearing the words for the first time? Can you imagine being a soldier and knowing what your duty was? Can you imagine being lead by Hancock or Washington? I think this is the problem today!

Yesterday, I ended my FORUM with a paragraph about Dr. Berwick and the midnight recess appointment that the President made. The recess appointment privilege, given to the president, was intended for one purpose. It was a privilege given to appoint people to fill offices, only after a long period of time when the Congress is not in session. It was not intended to appoint people when Congress is out on the July fourth holiday for two weeks.

Dr. Berwick was President of the Institute for Healthcare Reform. He has said that government run healthcare, by definition, is one that would redistribute wealth. He has said that the British Healthcare system is romantic and he favors rationing. These are not lies, these are truths.

When redistribution occurs, somebody has to give up wealth so that others get a share of it. When something is taken from someone, someone else gets the benefit. Under a Constitutional Government redistribution of wealth cannot occur. However, when stealth appointments occur, with people like Berwick, then ways are found to circumvent the constitution.

The question of healthcare goes back to the Roosevelt and Truman Presidencies. In fact, Richard Nixon co – sponsored a bill by Congressmen Flanders and Ives in 1949. It was soundly defeated. Go the website below to read about more legislation about healthcare since 1939.
(http://www.hhnmag.com/hhnmag_app/jsp/articledisplay.jsp?dcrpath=HHNMAG/Article/data/02FEB2009/0902HHN_CoverStory_WebExtra&domain=HHNMAG)
The purpose of this little story is too, once again, bring out the basics in our struggle for Liberty and Freedom. In every case, when our Liberty and Freedom was threatened, it was extinguished by the people. Government never extinguished the threat. It only has sponsored the threat. When the facts were known, the people rose up to the occasion. It happened in the Revolution. It happened in the Civil War and it happened in the great World Wars of the 20th Century.

In each case, when the people rose to take back the country or reject the power of the government, it has made us a greater and stronger people. In each case, when the people got the facts, they reacted. This is why it becomes incumbent on each one of you who reads history or a FORUM or a Blog to make sure you gets the facts and relate those facts. This is what being a citizen is all about and this is a responsibility each one of us has.

There will be people like Barack Obama, Donald Berwick and the members of hate groups at every turn in our history. But when the truth is told, people like Barack Obama will be voted out. People like Donald Berwick will find another job in another publicly funded institute and members of hate groups will continue to hate white or black.

What we have on our side is the history of people like Hancock and Washington, who set in motion a country that would have its people weigh the facts and act on those facts. What we have on our side is the Declaration that was read to the troops on this day in 1776 and the document that came later, called the Constitution. In those days, King George was told he no longer was a ruler of free people. Today, we must remind our government that they can no longer expect to rule, if they don’t follow the rules and our wishes.

George Washington, on July 2, 1776, made comments about the Declaration that were tabled for the committee to approve: “let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and show the world that a free man, contending for his liberty on his own ground, is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth.”

When you can go back in history and find the true essence of why the Declaration and the founding documents were created you can then, and only then, begin to understand the facts of liberty!

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: In 117 days our constitutional right to vote on November 2, will be upon us once more. The reason we vote is to maintain our freedom. It’s as simple as that!

Where is the Character?

Thursday – July 8, 2010

Where is the Character?

On today’s date, in 1776, John Nixon read the first oral presentation of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. Can you imagine being there to hear for the first time what 56 men came to build in the presence of the tyranny they recognized and did something about? Can you imagine the exuberance on the part of those that believed in liberty and freedom? Can you imagine how those who fought to get to that place in history rejoiced in the reading that started it all? Can you imagine being there for the birth of Liberty?

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Nixon_(financier))

I get excited when I can tell a story like this. These stories are absent from the dialog of our leaders today.

There is a video tape that was broadcast on FOX news yesterday. It is a member of the New Black Panthers. He said he hates white people. He hates crackers and that he wants to kill crackers. If you want freedom then you have to kill some crackers and their babies. I am paraphrasing the comments. The DOJ, Department of Justice has dropped a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panthers. While these people have a right to vocalize their thoughts, they do not have a right to intimidate voters. There is also a video tape showing them doing this.

The subject of race is disturbing. It is a scar that has been left on the face of liberty. I truly believe that there is no excuse anymore for intimidation and the words of hate by these groups or any group that hates, based on race. The words of hate only destroy the hope for building a society based on liberty and freedom.

Unfortunately, there are still people who profess hate and who profess killing based on hate. If a white person had spewed these words or stood out in front of any voting station and intimidated voters these white men would be in jail today.

If you connect all the dots with the appointees and the members of the administration’s past you will find a pattern of this militant story. Some of the president’s best friends have connections and or have had a storied past in this militancy and intimidation.

The black community should embrace the strides they have made. Oprah Winfrey is the richest black woman in America. She has been supported by whites and blacks and this is why she is a success. Her message connected and her voice garnered high ratings in a very competitive industry. Our president is also a black man. The leaders of the black community should embrace this achievement. But, unfortunately, some in the black community will not embrace the success with words of hope and the two most important members of the black community, Oprah and Barrack, have remained silent in these exchanges. Instead of talking about Liberty and what happened on this date 234 years ago that set the seeds for freedom, they remain silent.

The question of race in this country will remain a question until our black leaders condemn members of their own race, just as they would if they were white for spewing these words of hate from groups that are filled with hate.

Where is the question of character? It takes character to oppose this hate language and it takes character to stand up against hate, regardless if it is black on white or white on black. Where is the character of Oprah and the president in all of this?

The president is president to all the people. The president has power to stop any movement by his words alone. The president can create a great society if he has the people behind him. I fear this president does not want to create a great society because when ever an opportunity has presented itself he has declined to be a leader. I fear he will be just another follower.

This is what separates the president from the leaders that created liberty. This is what separates the president from the leaders that made it possible for him to achieve his success. This is what separates the president from the country that he does not respect and from those that built liberty and freedom. Oprah, on the other hand, has no excuse for her silence.

Unfortunately, the question of race will not end on this president’s watch. He could have become the greatest president, if he did end the question. Unfortunately, this president will go down as one of the worst, because he believes his destiny is far greater than what the issues are.

Unfortunately, this president is to busy making recess appointments like the one he did with Dr. Berwick yesterday. This president had one more opportunity to be the transparent president. Unfortunately, this appointment is one more example of the type of person and the type of philosophy that will separate rather than build our liberty. This recess appointment circumvented the vetting process and put into place a person that will oversee Medicaid and Medicare. This appointment of Berwick was made in the dark of night and will promote the worst aspects of government run healthcare. This appointment of Dr. Berwick will again place the activity of promoting liberty on the back burner and instead promote back room practices of separation and the denial of life and liberty and don’t forget the pursuit of happiness.

Where is the character that some of us voted for?

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: We are at day 80 of the oil spill. We are 117 days out from the midterm elections. It will take character to bring back life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The other thing I learned this year!

Wednesday – July 7, 2010

The other thing I learned this year!

Last week, I referenced the Declaration of Independence. I referenced the 56 signers and wrote about the beginning, middle and the end of the document. Yesterday, I started off the week and the second year of Pinecone Conservatives with writing about what I had learned over the year.

It has been a pleasure and an honor to read about our history in ways that I never had before. It has been enlightening and it has broadened my perspective. From early on, I had conservative thoughts. From early on, I knew that it would be up to me to create my destiny and that our government would interfere with it, if given a chance. I have voted in at least 10 presidential contests. I have voted in every midterm and general election I can remember since turning 18. This does not make me a better citizen, it makes me an involved citizen.

I have been an elected delegate in an election cycle and have also assisted in many political campaigns, to help elect who I thought was best for the job. Never the less, with all this experience I don’t think that I knew the entire history of why we vote and how we got that privilege. This privilege can only be restored and preserved, if we all vote and if we all get involved. The right candidates are out there, we just have to identify them and get them involved too.

Last week, I highlighted a paragraph in the Declaration that said:
“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.”

I believe that we are again at that point in our history. I believe that not only the president, but many elected officials are unfit to rule free people. When the Attorney General says: “we are a nation of cowards” and decides to sue the State of Arizona over an immigration law that should be enforced because it mirrors federal law that is not being enforced, then I say the time has come to get these people out of office! When the Attorney General decides not to move ahead on a voter intimidation case involving the New Black Panthers, I say the time has come to get these people out of office! In this case of the Black Panthers, there was video tape of them intimidating white voters at a polling precinct in Chicago. It has become apparent to at least one former federal prosecutor to speak up about the decision. Maybe more will as well?

When immigration advocates say that the term “illegal alien” is discriminatory and demeaning to Hispanics, then it is time to get these people out of office and out of the public dialog! We already have laws and a process to apply for legal status. The laws must be enforced instead of being diluted with sympathetic terminology that does nothing to solve the problem.

When a political leader’s every act defines what a tyrant is, then it is time to get these people out of office!

Our history, in part, is defined by the laws that we have. The legislature is responsible for passing our laws. When laws that are passed in the legislature do not promote the public good, then it time to get these people out of office!

In the latest Rasmussen poll, 60 % of voters want the recent healthcare legislation repelled. Our national debt is over 13 trillion dollars and by 2011, the debt will be 62% of our GDP. These statistics are the result of bad legislation. The debt is now a result of bad legislation.

The reason we elect representatives is to legislate for the public good. Part of the problem is that we continue to put pressure on these representatives to bring home the bacon. This is also the other side of the problem. The other thing I learned this year is that if we don’t send the message, then our politicians will not answer it. If we don’t send the message to stop the spending, then they will continue to spend.

What I have learned this year is that when representatives of government say they are making a contribution or an investment in our future they are lying. Our government, by its charter, cannot do that. What I have learned, is that we must be leery of any representative, even the president, when they use these words. Today, I woke up thinking about this thought. I will continue to develop this theme in the next 118 days up to the midterm.

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: The other thing I hope that you have learned this year is that elections do have consequences and the consequences of the last election are playing out now!

What have I learned?

Tuesday – July 6, 2010

What have I learned?

This past weekend, I celebrated July 4th along with millions of others. We had our barbeque, we had our fireworks and we shared it with family and friends. It was also the one year anniversary of Pinecone Conservatives. I want to thank each of you for your contribution and thoughts throughout the year.

One year ago, I started on this journey, as a result of a conversation with a neighbor who said the Constitution does not mean anything to her. She has since moved from our neighborhood, due to a relocation of her husbands work. I learned then that there are people who are apathetic and who just don’t care about liberty, freedom and the importance of vigilance. I also learned that many of our neighbors and the people we meet during our day do not know a stitch about history. In fact, on this July 4th celebration many people were asked a question: who did we win our Independence from? The majority of respondents said China. No lie, China!

So, when we are confronted with apathy and a lack of fundamental knowledge of history our liberty and freedom is at stake. For some of us, liberty is not a blessing, but an enemy. For many, a utopia is impossible to achieve, if people are or individuals are free to go their own way. The liberal, the statist and the elitist say they want people to be free and enjoy the fruits of their labor. This is not true, because if they did, we would not have unions, we would not have over taxation and we would not have the burgeoning government step more and more into our lives.

Along with this, we would not have the absence of our history and the absence of the American dialog that is occurring now with the controlling party in Washington. This is evidenced by the Democrats who continually want to change the formula of liberty and freedom from what the conservatives would like to preserve. It is called self determination, self governance and the ability to acquire, attain and retain property that is created by our own labor. We also have the ability to be treated justly and impartially before a just legal system. This, too, is under assault with new definitions of free speech and the fairness doctrines to eliminate conservative talk radio and to even regulate the internet.

What I have learned this year, is the history that we all share as one is also under assault. It is made out to be irrelevant, because our Constitution is made out to be irrelevant, because of when it was written. More so, it is under assault because of who wrote it. The men who wrote the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution are made out to be the villains. But, when you view history, with a truthful eye, you will realize that those who are made out to be the villains are the ones who gave us liberty, freedom and the utopia that many of us want and desire.

The difference between those who respect our history and the story of the founding can be found in the conversation’s by the elitist’s that disguise their intentions by the words they use. It is the Progressive Liberal, the elitist and the statist who wants to deliver liberty and freedom through a new formula that is delivered by government. What they are saying is this: all you need to do is take the gifts that our government is ready and willing to give and that will create our new and just liberty. Once you do that, you then lose the true liberty and freedom that our forefathers had intended for us to garner and fight for.

I have learned that everyday is a struggle in this fight. I have learned that there are people who would take the gift of liberty and freedom away, because of an agenda and because of an ideology of hatred of the symbols that represents liberty and freedom. The symbols I am talking about are not found in a flag or by what some individuals wear. It is in the speech by those who talk about liberty and freedom being special. It is found in those that readily speak about the Constitution, our history and the people who founded our history. It is found in those that believe in the greatness of country, greatness of spirit and make no apology about it.

I have learned about history this year, because I have viewed it through perspective and through the eyes of patriotism. Every morning I write about history and current events and the relationship between the two. History does not lie. Those who choose to tell a different story of history do. Some say the Statue of Liberty was awarded as a gift to the United States, because of immigration. But truth be told, it was a gift to celebrate our centennial of liberty for all those that assimilated and kept the torch of freedom alive and well. It is called being a citizen and being proud of the traditions and the history of this great land.

What I have learned is that freedom of speech and thought can not be hindered. In our early days, we had people like Paine, Franklin and Adams, Washington and Jefferson who wrote the pamphlets and who printed the pamphlets and who spoke of what liberty and freedom was all about. It was these early patriots who risked life and limb to tell a story and to fight for a story that if played out under the rules of Constitutional law will not perish.

“When in the course of human events,” “We the people” are all words that tell the story of liberty and freedom. It is up us to keep the story alive. It is up to us to insure that our posterity knows the story of this liberty and freedom that some talk about and that some actually are fighting for.

In the upcoming year, you can expect me to relate more history through telling the story of history. You can expect growth in Pinecone Conservatives and you can expect that the truth will be told!

Ronald Reagan said in the Reagan – Carter presidential debate, October 28, 1980: “The American Dream that we have nursed for so long in this country, and lately have neglected, is not that every man must be level with every other man. The American dream is that every man must be free to become whatever God intends he should become.”

And you can expect my gratitude!

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: There are 120 days to tell the story. There are 120 days to be truthful with ourselves and to make history in this midterm election. This will be the story in the next 120 days.