Tea Party Patriots Ordinary citizens reclaiming America's founding principles.

Thursday, August 31, 2017

A Tea Party Salute to the Cajun Navy!




The Cajun Navy comes to the rescue in Houston. Below are extracts from an article by Sally Jenkins at the WaPo (hat tip American Thinker):
At a time such as this, you want the guys who can still thread a line when their hands are wet and cold. They’re descending on Houston in their fleets of flat-bottomed aluminum boats, the sport fishermen and duck hunters outnumbering the government rescuers by the hundreds, their skiffs sitting low in the floodwaters with their human catch in the back, clutching plastic-wrapped possessions.
The country is suddenly grateful for this “Cajun Navy,” for their know-how, for the fact that they can read a submerged log in the water, and haul their boats over tree stumps and levees and launch them from freeway junctions. There are no regulators to check their fishing licenses or whether they have a fire extinguisher and life preservers on board, which they don’t. They’re used to maneuvering through the cypress of Caddo Lake or the hydrilla and coontail of the Atchafalaya, where the water might be four feet or it might rise to 18, and the stinking bog is called “coffee grinds” because of the way boots sink in it. Spending hours in monsoon rains doesn’t bother them, because they know ducks don’t just show up on a plate, and they’ve learned what most of us haven’t, that dry comfort is not the only thing worth seeking.
. . .
They speak an oddly poetic language, of spinnerbait and jigs, chatterbait and Texas rigs, of palomar knots and turls. They have suspended their pursuit of bass and black crappies, blue gills and redfish, crawfish and panfish, to motor through subdivisions, shirtless in the rain. You can’t help but be struck by just how much they know how to do — and how much your citified self doesn’t. Trim a rocking boat, tie a secure knot, navigate the corduroying displaced water, and interpret the faint dull colors in the mist-heavy clouds.
Buster Stoker, 21, is a heavy equipment operator for R&R Construction in Sulphur, La., and spends the rest of his time in his 17-foot aluminum Pro Drive marsh boat, fishing for alligator-gar in the heat of summer and chasing fowl through water-thickets in the winter.
“The best day on the water is every day on the water,” he said.
He and several other construction colleagues met in the company parking lot Monday morning at 5 a.m., loaded up with gas and supplies, and headed toward Houston. They launched their little fleet of 14 craft from the intersection of Highway 90 and 526, and over the next several hours they pulled hundreds of people out of their flooded homes in subdivisions, hauling them aboard like gasping bass.
. . .
This Cajun Navy is a nebulous, informal thing. It has no real corps or officers. It’s “an intensely informal and unorganized operation,” says Academy Award-winning filmmaker Allan Durand, a Lafayette, La., native., who did a documentary on the “Cajun Navy” volunteer-boats following Katrina.
. . .
The same groups have by now acquired deep experience in storm-aid and are growing thanks to social media. They were critical in helping Baton Rouge residents during historic flooding there a year ago, when federal help wasn’t forthcoming. It’s a movement basically founded on the realization that large government agencies aren’t quick-moving.
According to Honore, they have become utterly essential.
“The first-responders aren’t big enough to do this,” he said. “You might have a police force of 3,000, and maybe 200 know how to handle a boat.”
Full story is here.
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Labor Day weekend Air Show


This year it's the Thunderbirds!

The Cleveland Air Show runs this weekend, Sept. 2,3, and 4. If you live anywhere near the downtown area, starting today, you'll be able to see - and hear - some of the rehearsals. 
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Monday, August 28, 2017

Must Read of the Day


image credit: FreedomWorks 

This little blog tries to find news, activities, action alerts, and ideas of interest to Cleveland Tea Party people. Over the weekend, Clarice Feldman at the American Thinker linked to a piece in The Federalist that analyzes the unchecked propaganda machines in the media and in our government. It’s long, so I’ve extracted the sub-headings to give an idea of the ground Stella Morabito covers. It explains, for example, why the "Antifa" groups are the opposite of what they claim to be. Forget the length, it’s still a Must Read.
The title: America’s Post-Charlottesville Nervous Breakdown Was Deliberately Induced: Americans are being emotionally manipulated to take up cause with those whose ultimate purpose is the repeal of the First Amendment and erasure of national memory.

·         Why Are We Being Assaulted With Fringe Concerns?
·         Element 1: Loading the Language
·         Element 2: Using Distorted Language to Rub Resentments Raw
·         Alinskyite Cultivation of Hatred
·         Element 3: Mass Manipulation Via Mass-Media Propaganda
·         Media Collusion with Rioting
·         The End Result: Division and Loneliness

Conclusion: because of the gaslighting tactics of power elites, we are actually in the throes of a nervous breakdown.
It’s doesn’t make for fun reading, but it may help explain the daily “news” broadcasts - including all the violent images that seem to be running in endless loops - or some of the world-views of friends and relatives. Full article here

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Saturday, August 26, 2017

Cat 4 storm


Hurricane Harvey plowed into the Texas coast as a Cat 4 storm. Lots of wind and rain and we send our thoughts to our Texas neighbors. Not to minimize the real dangers to Texans and the state of emergency, but here’s another take on the “Cat” storm classifications:
 
via Bookworm Room
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Friday, August 25, 2017

City Club Mayoral Candidates Forum


Today's City Club Mayoral Candidates Forum is now accessible on YouTube.
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Thursday, August 24, 2017

Cleveland Browns: new ways to lose


At American Thinker today, Silvio Canto, Jr. comments on the dozen Cleveland Browns players who decided to follow Colin Kaepernick’s "example" at the game over the weekend:
Over the years, we've grown accustomed to the National Anthem to start sporting events.  It means that the umpire is about to say "play ball," or the referee is about to flip the coin.  It's like a prayer before dinner or one of those moments when you see the big picture, where you are part of something bigger than yourself.

A few days ago, some of the Cleveland Browns decided to create their 15 minutes of fame.  They decided to take a knee during the National Anthem.

Here is the story:

On Monday, before their game against the New York Giants, a dozen Cleveland Browns players took a knee during the playing of the national anthem while several players placed a hand on the shoulders of kneeling players in a show of support, ESPN reports.

"There's a lot of racial and social injustices in the world that are going on right now," Browns rookie safety Jabrill Peppers told ESPN. "We just decided to take a knee and pray for the people who have been affected and just pray for the world in general."

Players said linebacker Christian Kirksey led the prayer.

"We did it out of respect," Kirksey said. "No disrespect for anyone, we just felt like it was the right time and the need to do it."

No disrespect for anyone?  What about respect for the National Anthem or the flag?

. . . a 3-13 team projected to go 2-14 should be grateful that anyone pays to see them play or gives them a uniform to wear.

The Browns are finding more ways to be losers. Sad.
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Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Candidates for Cleveland's Mayor



image credit: powerpuff Girls Wiki
Today, cleveland.com published a report of the editorial board’s meeting with the mayoral candidates, in the run up to the September 12 primary. The candidates:
Mayor Frank Jackson
City Councilman Zack Reed
City Councilman Jeff Johnson
State Rep. Bill Patmon
nonprofit restaurateur Brandon Chrostowski
activist Robert Kilo
entrepreneur Tony Madalone
resident Dyrone Smith
Former East Cleveland Mayor Eric Brewer

The report of the meeting is here. Also coming up, the City Club’s Mayoral Primary Debate, scheduled for August 25 at 12 noon. The TV broadcast of the debate on WVIZ is scheduled later that day in that popular time-slot, 11:30 pm to 1 a.m.  

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Monday, August 21, 2017

Eclipse link and Kite Fest


Here’s a link to NASA’s live feeds of today’s ECLIPSE! (Note that some of the live feeds "begin" before the eclipse itself begins this afternoon, so you'll get maps, diagrams, etc. before the real show starts).
And here’s a fun photo by Cleveland Tea Party’s roving photographer Pat Dooley taken at Cleveland’s 40th Kite Fest at Edgewater Park over the weekend.
[click on image to embiggen]
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Sunday, August 20, 2017

Winning bigly

image credit: pinterest


Today I found another column, this one from R. Stephen Bowden on American Thinker, demonstrating why Tea Party people need to search for their news from multiple alternative sources.
If you get your political updates through ordinary channels – MSM; local news; the major newspapers; and popular website newsies such as Yahoo, Facebook, and more recently Drudge – you most likely feel that America is imploding, all due to the chaos of the Trump administration.
The goal is to wear you down, if not wear you out, until you agree that Trump must go.
The stakes rise with each new Trump achievement, commensurate with the rising decibel level of those who express outrage at whatever he says.  That's what happens when your cherished assumptions are disproven day after day.  It's comical and also understandable.  No one likes to admit that he is wrong.  Or that they are wrong on a regular basis.  It's embarrassing and humiliating – especially if you are touted as an expert journalist or commentator, at least by virtue of being on TV.
. . .
[there follows a splendid list of Team Trump’s achievements that go into the “America Wins” column]
. . .
Trump is winning – BIGLY.  It's almost too easy.  He's focused on results, period.  The rest is just distraction, much of it orchestrated by anti-Trumpers who insist that you really can get a different result if you repeat the same experiment enough times.  They still don't get it because they don't want to get it.  They have dug in their heels.  That's why I find it funny.  Trump is playing them every step of the way. 
Click here for the full column including the splendid list of Wins. 
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Saturday, August 19, 2017

Monday’s Eclipse. Be Prepared!


photo credit: NASA eclipse 2017

Another warning via cleveland.com:

Planning to see Monday's eclipse with your own eyes? Be careful where you're buying your protective eye wear.
The American Astronomical Society has received reports of fake solar eclipse glasses being sold, and Amazon has issued refunds for glasses later found not to meet industry standards. Counterfeit glasses may claim to be certified International Organization for Standardization, imprinted with the code ISO 12312-2, but don't filter the sun's rays and can cause retinal damage.
The society has a list of approved eyeglass and filter vendors on its website, and says people should check glasses
Monday's solar eclipse is the first to span the United States in 99 years. But outside of a narrow path, most of the country will see the moon only partially cover the sun.
Looking at the sun might not feel painful, but it could cause blurry vision and temporary or permanent blindness, according to the American Optometric Association.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's office, which monitors scams, offered these tips for consumers who want to safely view the event:
Call your local library. More than 2 million eclipse glasses were sent to libraries for distribution and for eclipse viewing events. Several Ohio libraries plan to hold viewing events where glasses will be provided.
Test your glasses ahead of time. Proper eclipse eye wear will block everything except the sun. Be cautious if you can see other lights or brightness through the glasses. Glasses should not have holes or tears.
Skip regular sunglasses. Wearing regular sunglasses or stacking multiple pairs on top of each other will not protect eyes from looking directly at the sun.
Get advice for using a solar filter. Cameras, cell phone cameras, binoculars, telescopes and other devices will need a solar filter to view the eclipse without damage to the camera sensor or the viewer's eyes. Consult with a professional for how to properly use a filter.
Best option: watch the eclipse on a TV screen. NASA info, maps, and live stream links are here and here.

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Thursday, August 17, 2017

Conrad Black on the anti-Trump narratives


Bob Gorrell cartoon via The Federalist Papers 
Amidst all the media hysteria and political posturing in the aftermath of the Charlottesville riot, IMHO, Conrad Black is still thinking through the reporting and editorializing quite clearly. This piece is on the American Greatness website, and here are just a few morsels:

Almost everything about the Charlottesville riot was disgraceful except the conduct of the president. The move to take down the statue of General Robert E. Lee was nonsense. Lee has few rivals as the greatest general in American history (Grant, Sherman, MacArthur, and Eisenhower perhaps). He opposed the secession of Virginia from the Union but, as was common in the South then (and has not entirely died out in any region of the United States today), believed he owed his first loyalty to his state over the United States. He was less dedicated to the virtues of slavery than was Charlottesville’s most famous son, Thomas Jefferson, founder of the University, neighbor at Monticello, and, of course, author of the self-evident truth “that all men are created equal.”
. . .
As the day unfolded, it was clear that orders had been given to the local police to ensure that a serious fracas occurred. The police did nothing to disperse the armed groups on each side, on several occasions herded them toward each other to encourage combat, and then withdrew at times to facilitate the violence. It must be assumed that orders for an insufficient law enforcement and ineffectual rules of engagement emanated ultimately from the governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe, the ne plus ultra of Clintonian zeal and cynicism, and former Democratic Party chairman.
. . .
The facts of Charlottesville should be ascertained by impartial investigation, prosecution, and exposure, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions has promised they will be.
This incident is of a piece with the mindless violence at Berkeley and other university campuses. The nihilists and anarchists of both sides want bloody conflict and vandalism, and most of the Democrats and the anti-Trump Republicans and the national media are trying to pin the phenomenon on Trump. . . .
Read the whole thing here.

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Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Not this guy again…


From Weasel Zippers (and it’s the intro line that got my attention):


BREAKING: John Kasich Suggests There May Be 
A Primary Challenge 
To Trump In 2020…


Not this guy again…

And from the comments:
           Did he mention his dad was a mailman?


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Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Ramirez sums it up

Cartoonist Michael P. Ramirez nails it again – via Creators.com / Townhall. (Click on image to embiggen or click on the Townhall link.)

Meanwhile, TexasVet4Trump2 posts:     

Black people who were never slaves are fighting white people who were never Nazis over a confederate statue erected by democrats, because democrats can't stand their own history anymore and somehow it's Trumps fault?

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Monday, August 14, 2017

Solar eclipse a week from today. Warning!


The much-anticipated total solar eclipse takes place a week from today. A map of the eclipse path is here. Another one is here. This cautionary message by an optometrist is from a Facebook page, via Conservative Treehouse.

As an Optometrist , I want to express concern that I have about the solar eclipse on Monday, Aug 21. There are serious risks associated with viewing a solar eclipse directly, even with the use of solar filter glasses. Everyone should keep in mind if they or their children are considering this.
We have to keep in mind that some people will encounter the inability to control every aspect of this exercise. For instance, true solar eclipse glasses are made for adults, do not fit children well and should not be used without direct parental supervision. If the solar glasses do not filter out 100% of the harmful UV rays, if they are not used absolutely perfectly, or should there be a manufacturing defect in any of them, this will result in permanent and irreversible vision loss for any eye exposed. Just like sunburn to the skin, the effects are not felt or noticed immediately. I have a great fear that I will have patients in my office on Tuesday, Aug 22 who woke up with hazy, blurry vision that I cannot fix. It is a huge risk to watch the eclipse even with the use of solar glasses. There is no absolutely safe way to do so other than on TV.
The biggest danger with children is ensuring proper use without direct parental supervision. As the eclipse passes over many places, including Columbus, the moon will not block 100% of the sun. Because so much of its light is blocked by the moon, if one looks at it without full protection, it does not cause pain as looking at the sun does on a regular day. Normally if you try to look at the sun, it physically hurts and you can’t see anything. During an eclipse, however, it is easier to stare for a bit….and even less than 30 seconds of exposure to a partially eclipsed sun, you can burn a blind spot right to your most precious central vision. With solar glasses you can’t see ANYTHING except the crescent of light of the sun. Kids could have a tendency to want to peak around the filter to see what is actually going on up there. One failure, just one, where education and supervision fail, will have such a devastating consequence.
Please, please be safe. Watch it on television.
Or live stream it via NASA. Pass it on.


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Friday, August 11, 2017

Conrad Black: Choose Sides in This Civil War


image credit: tothedeathmedia

Conrad Black has a sobering if scary take on the minefields and treachery that President Trump has to deal with every day. Here are a couple of paragraphs (and considering the “Never Trump” bias of National Review, I am somewhat surprised that NR published the piece in the first place):
Trump opponents need to understand what the alternative is. The battle lines have been so sharply drawn, in what is now a bloodless civil war for direction of U.S. public policy, that the two sides cannot really communicate with each other. There is a commendable candor in Kellyanne Conway’s statement: “They hate us and we hate them.” . . .
. . .  There is now unfolding what must be the last civilized debate about the trajectory of events in Washington before the civil war moves from the heavy and frequent skirmishing that has intensified since the election to the fight to the death that seems inevitably to impend. The president said in a powerful address to a very enthusiastic audience in West Virginia last week, where he received the grace of conversion to the Republican party of the formerly Democratic governor, Jim Justice, that the entire special-counsel investigation into relations between the Russian government and the Trump campaign is “a total fabrication” and “an attempt to [reverse] one of the greatest political defeats in American history.” So it is.
. . .
Whether [Robert] Mueller conducts himself professionally or not, there is no excuse for a special counsel to have been appointed, and the president was (as he need not have mentioned publicly) badly let down by Sessions. The scramble of nominal Republicans such as Lindsey Graham, and drooling partisan Democrats such as Chris Coons, to pass redundant, grandstanding legislation to protect Sessions and Mueller is nauseating. Trump ran against and defeated both parties, the Clintons, the Bushes, and Obama, and most of their close collaborators in the Congress. The war continues and until the president has enough economic progress, or enough time without gaffes that the hostile media can amplify into a wall of noise, or a sudden foreign-policy success such as with North Korea or even Venezuela, if he wants to start moving the needle of the polls upwards, he will face the problem of cowardice and lethargy in his own party. Senator McConnell’s statement in Kentucky this week that Trump was responsible for the almost total failure of the Republican Congress to achieve anything in the past six months was just more self-serving claptrap from a familiar and very tiresome source. . . .
. . .
This is a civil war and the apostate conservatives should realize that, if Trump loses, they don’t get a new Reaganism in the Republican party and renewed importance and self-importance for themselves; they get the semi-permanent return of those responsible for the decline of America, the sleazy transformation of America into an ineffectual force in the world and into an inert, economically stagnant welfare state. The choice, for sane conservatives, is Trump or national disaster. . ..
Read the whole thing here.


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Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Cleveland in the headline

via YouTube: "North Korea is a template for Trump: Mark Steyn"


"Pricing in the nuking of Cleveland"

Mark Steyn is a favorite commentator and analyst. And he is funny. From his website

[Steyn] started the day with a full hour on one of his favorite shows, "Varney & Co" on Fox Business. Stuart was as irrepressible as ever about the way the market had shrugged off the news from North Korea, and Mark gleefully chided him for "pricing in the nuking of Cleveland". However, they also addressed the situation rather more soberly.

Click above to watch (and it’s short).

It’s worth it just to watch an exasperated Steyn kick off with: "I'm so sick of listening to Mitch McConnell explain why nothing can be done." 
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It's a start

image credit: rainbow law


Yesterday, Kathryn Covert at the Washington Free Beacon reported:

GOP Donors Respond to Obamacare Repeal Failure, Withhold Donations

Republican donors are protesting GOP lawmakers' failure to repeal Obamacare by withholding donations to the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

At least $2 million in contributions originally promised to the NRSC have not materialized, CNN reported Tuesday.

The failure of Republicans to fulfill a central campaign promise particularly concerns some donors because it could disillusion core voters heading into the 2018 midterms. The uncertainty could put the Republicans' majority—especially in the House of Representatives—at risk.

The Republican majority in the Senate is widely viewed to be safe in the 2018 midterms. Nonetheless, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R, Ky.) has been privately warning his colleagues and donors that the GOP's 52-48 majority should not be taken for granted, according to CNN. A campaign donation shortfall could impact the GOP's ability to effectively campaign in states where Democratic senators are vulnerable.

. . .


Withholding contributions is a good start, but it’s just a start. Remember when Dave Brat upset Eric Cantor? We need two or three more primary challenges. 
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Sunday, August 6, 2017

Creative designer dog costumes at the Warehouse District street fair

Just for fun . . .


Pekinese in ribbons


Cleopatra on her barge




Patriotic prize-winner for Cutest Dog(s)
  
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Trump and the Bottom Line

photo credit: CNN
 
It's Sunday, and as always, Clarice Feldman at American Thinker has a thoughtful perspective  ("A Consequential President in the Time of Pygmies") on President Trump’s first six month in office. Here are a few excerpts:

Once when my son was about 6 or 7 I took him to the circus with some of his friends. The acrobats, clowns, and lion tamer in the center ring enthralled the other kids. Not him. He turned to me and said, “How do you think they make money producing a circus? I think it’s the concessions.” It struck me then that among the people in the world, there are some -- too few, actually -- who are not distracted by spectacles, but, instead, keep their eyes on the bottom line.
That’s how I see the President. His stated goals have always been to make us safe, get the economy booming, enable a job-creation economy, and make life better and safer for all Americans.
As the news is filled with tittle-tattle about the phony baloney Russian collusion story and moronic punditry, the president keeps plowing on with his agenda. American Digest lists 220 things the President has achieved while in office, despite the vitriolic attacks on him and what appears to be a silent coup by the press, bureaucrats, and entrenched officeholders.    
This week, despite Democratic stalling, 78 of his nominees for office were confirmed. So the list should now run to 221 things the President has done to Make America Great Again.
With West Virginia’s Governor Jim Justice having ditched the Democratic Party for the Republican, the Republicans now control 26 state governments. Put another way, 48% of Americans now live in a state where Republicans have complete control. 17% in states with total Dem control. “
The stock market is booming although the NYT twists itself into a pretzel to deny the President’s role in this. . . 
. . .
As for the Russian nonsense, Edward Jay Epstein, a longtime credible sleuth, explains why the Russians had no particular interest in having Hillary win, but a great deal of interest in degrading our belief in the legitimacy of our elections:
. . .
In the meantime, pay attention to the bottom line. Trump is not losing. The media and the Democratic party they work for are.
She has quite a bit more to say (e.g., on Comey and Mueller, etc.); the whole article is here.

Meantime, I am wondering about the 17-day “vacation” that President Trump is taking at one of his golf clubs in New Jersey, while his staff camps out at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Apparently these temporary logistics are planned so that the White House heating and cooling systems can be upgraded and other repairs can be made. Hmmm. I hope a trusted team of experts takes out entire walls in the White House, hauls them over to some secure warehouse, and under surveillance, finds the bugs.  

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Friday, August 4, 2017

More obstruction from the Uniparty


image credit: ring of fire radio

From The Hill:


The Senate blocked President Trump from being able to make recess appointments on Thursday as lawmakers leave Washington for their August break. 

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), doing wrap up for the entire Senate, locked in nine "pro-forma" sessions — brief meetings that normally last roughly a minute. 

The move, which requires the agreement of every senator, means the Senate will be in session every three business days throughout the August recess. 

The Senate left D.C. on Thursday evening with most lawmakers not expected to return to Washington until after Labor Day. 

If anyone wondered whether the term "Uniparty" was hyperbole . . .
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Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Attention Cleveland Veterans: USS Cod Submarine Memorial event this coming Saturday


 photo credit: Trip Advisor


Vets getting thanks at USS Cod Submarine Memorial 

August 5 [that’s this coming Saturday]



For the veterans in your community, here’s an announcement via Brian Albrecht at Cleveland.com:


CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A day of thanks will be offered August 5, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the USS Cod Submarine Memorial, 1089 East Ninth Street, featuring free tours for veterans and their families, music and service information.

Visitors are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch and use the submarine's newly installed picnic grove, and spend the day visiting the other nearby attractions of Cleveland's North Coast Harbor.
In addition, veterans can visit information displays set up by private and governmental organizations that provide services to veterans and their families.
The city of Cleveland is providing free parking to veterans attending the event. A brief welcome program and deck gun salute is scheduled for 11:30 a.m.
"A beautiful day in August beats a dreary November day in Cleveland for celebrating the service of our veterans," said Cod Director Paul Farace.
The Memorial's phone is (216) 566-8770.
Mark your calendar and pass it on!

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