War of 1812 : Fort McHenry

art credit: star spangled music

From the Inbox: Mr. Speaker (Newt) emailed his Fox News article on the National Anthem; I suspect many pro football players do not know any of this.

Respecting the National Anthem

As the controversy over athletes boycotting the National Anthem continues, I would like to share some historical perspective.

“The Star-Spangled Banner” became part of our sports traditions for a good reason: It brought people together in times of grave national turmoil. For this reason alone, it is a tradition worth respecting.

According to MLB.com, “The Star-Spangled Banner” was first performed at a baseball game on May 15, 1862. Given baseball’s lengthy history in America, this is likely the first time it was played at a major U.S. sporting event.

The timing was significant. In 1862, the nation was embroiled in the Civil War. America was as divided as it had ever been. People were fighting and lives were being lost in battle. It was a dark time for our still young country.

So, William Cammeyer, a businessman who was opening Union Grounds park in Brooklyn, decided to do something that would bring the nearly 3,000 people in attendance at the first game together and unify them as Americans. The band played “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It wasn’t officially the National Anthem at the time, but it was still respected as a deeply patriotic, uniquely American song.

Fifty-six years later, America entered World War I, and the nation was once again thrown into turmoil. Major League Baseball had cut the season short because players had been drafted or enlisted to go fight the Great War overseas – and teams were expected to sacrifice and contribute to the war effort.

During the seventh inning stretch of the first game of the 1918 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs, “The Star-Spangled Banner” was performed.

The song had a profound impact on both the crowd and the players, as The New York Times reported September 6, 1918:

“The yawn was checked and the heads were bared as the ball players turned quickly about and faced the music. Jackie Fred Thomas of the U.S. Navy [the Red Sox’s third baseman] was at attention, as he stood erect, with his eyes set on the flag fluttering at the top of the lofty pole in right field. First the song was taken up by a few, then others joined, and when the final notes came, a great volume of melody rolled across the field. It was at the very end that the onlookers exploded into thunderous applause and rent the air with a cheer that marked the highest point of the day’s enthusiasm.”

This 100-year-old story by the Times perfectly captures why we respect Francis Scott Key’s battle hymn for the War of 1812 – and why beginning in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson ordered it to be played during military and naval occasions, and why later it was officially confirmed as our National Anthem by an Act of Congress in 1931.

Historically, “The Star-Spangled Banner” has been part of the shared story of all Americans – a strand of common thread that stitches our nation together. In times of danger, times of pain, and times of triumph, we come together, stand, and sing, because despite our differences, we are all Americans.

But day-by-day, the Left tries to undermine and destroy the things that have historically unified this country. The NFL National Anthem controversy is just the latest example of this.

My fear is that the NFL will succumb to pressure and try to side-step the problem by no longer performing the National Anthem before games. This would be the worst path to take.

As a nation, we need to have a serious debate: Will we renew our patriotism and respect our shared history, or will we allow our American institutions to decay? Are we going to ignore our traditions out of fear of ridicule from the Left, or are we going to proudly continue to be “the land of the free and the home of the brave?”

Francis Scott Key wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner” in 1814 for an America that was worth fighting for and defending.

It still is. We need to defend it.

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Alejandro Villanueva throws himself under the bus

In my blog earlier today, I wrote:

It’s a sad day when Steelers player Alejandro Villanueva makes headlines for standing for our Anthem, the coach deplores his decision (while inadvertently exhibiting his support for lockstep groupthink) while the rest of the Steelers hide in the locker room

Now, this lousy development (h/t Conservative Treehouse):

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NFL takes a knee

Cleveland Browns just before the game

photo credit : The Telegraph

UPDATE at 7:04 (see next blog here). 

There’s tons of commentary on the NFL’s growing disrespect for our National Anthem and flag, and by extension, the American people. The essay by Daniel John Sobieski at American Thinker struck me as one of the best. Here’s a short extract:

Those who take a knee were indeed given that right by many who no longer have knees and are privileged to take a knee in a sport paid for by millions of fans who may disagree with them and who paid to see a game, not a protest. Players who take a knee think they are being patriotic, when they are merely being self-indulgent and selfish. Go rent out a stadium and invite people to pay just to see you take a knee and see if anybody shows up. 

The rest is here. Chris Buskirk at American Greatness has another worthwhile take:

Intoxicated with their own sense of self-righteousness today’s athlete-protesters look more like rich drunks spouting nonsense than responsible citizens seeking redress. And in doing so they have popped the sports bubble and reminded us that we should stop idolizing overprivileged millionaire Millennials who disrespect this country, her people, and her history. Millions of Americans have recoiled at the divisiveness brought into sports by people like Kaepernick and Curry. And for this we can thank them.

The rest of Buskirk’s essay is here. 

It’s a sad day when Steelers player Alejandro Villanueva makes headlines for standing for our Anthem; then the coach deplores Villanuevo's decision (while inadvertently exhibiting his support for lockstep groupthink); the rest of the Steelers hide in the locker room; and the Browns lose again -- in more ways than one. 

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How to help Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria

photo credits: Sky News / Wall Street Journal

Hat tip to cleveland.com for highlighting a near west side organization that is collecting cartons of contribution for Puerto Rico – slammed by Hurricane Maria and now without power, utility services, etc. Here is the link to the San Lorenzo Club’s FB page. I had not heard of this organization before. They are accepting cartons (according to one of the posters) “until Sunday”:

we are collecting for PR until Sunday 12 noon to 8pm. 

Located at 3121 W.33rd Street in Cleveland, 44109. They are accepting canned goods, baby food, clothing, water, non-perishable items, diapers, pet supplies, everything but cash.

Google map is here.

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Issue 2 on Ohio ballots: pharmaceuticals (what IS this issue?)

image credit: MyDaytonDailyNews.com

Cleveland.com reported on the panel forum in Bay Village yesterday that presented pro and the con views of Issue 2, which will be on the ballot state-wide this November. The report was not all that illuminating, so here’s the actual language that voters will see on the ballot (via the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections):

Issue 2 To require state agencies to not pay more for prescription drugs than the federal Department of Veterans Affairs and require state payment of attorney fees and expenses to specific individuals for defense of the law Proposed Law Proposed by Initiative Petition To enact Chapter 194 of the Ohio Revised Code A majority yes vote is necessary for the law to pass. 

To enact Chapter 194 of the Ohio Revised Code, which would: 

• Require the State of Ohio, including its state departments, agencies and entities, to not pay more for prescription drugs than the price paid by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. 

• Establish that the individual petitioners responsible for proposing the law have a direct and personal stake in defending the law; require the State to pay petitioners’ reasonable attorney fees and other expenses; require the petitioners to pay $10,000 to the State if the law is held by a court to be unenforceable and limit petitioners’ personal liability to that amount; and require the Attorney General to defend the law if challenged in court. 

SHALL THE PROPOSED LAW BE ADOPTED?

An Ohio doctor, Dr. Mike Sevilla, posted his page on Issue 2, and it’s a resource to start with, with several links to proponents and opponents of the Issue. And here’s the take posted by the Ohio Pharmacists organization. For what it is worth, a few months ago, Bernie Sanders endorsed Issue 2.

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Update: teaching our history in Ohio schools

 art credit: Mr. Donn's American History

Some Cleveland Tea Party readers will have called members of the Ohio School Board to keep our Founding Documents (Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Federalist Papers) in school curricula. Here’s the Update by Patrick O’Donnell from cleveland.com:

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Don't shortchange America's "founding documents," the state school board was told Tuesday, by trying to axe tests that make sure students learn them.

School board members have been under pressure from across the state to cut how many standardized tests students have to take. Some members have sought to cut any tests not required by the federal government, which would eliminate some math, English and science tests.

It would also wipe out the American History and American Government tests that all high school students must take.

That didn't sit well with some legislators and activists who fought to require these documents to be taught -- and included on state tests -- in 2012. That's when Senate Bill 165, called the "Founding Fathers Act" or the "Founding Documents Act" by some, mandated them.

That means the board can't cut them on its own, but can only ask the legislature to do so.

Don't bother, Senate President Larry Obhoff, a Medina Republican, told the board through an aide Tuesday. He said the legislature won't change the law, regardless of any recommendation from the board.

. . .

Despite more than 90 minutes of debate, most of which centered on procedural issues with motions and amendments, the board took no action on any tests. It delayed any vote until later this year.

Those calls and messages made a difference.

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Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor would end Medicaid expansion in Ohio

image credit: the bull elephant

Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor would end Medicaid expansion 

in Ohio if elected Governor

ICYMI, Cleveland.com reports:

Republican Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor said Monday she would end the Medicaid expansion in Ohio if she is elected governor - a clean break from the man she has served alongside for the last seven years,  Gov. John Kasich. 

As part of her run to succeed Kasich, Taylor unveiled her plan to alter the health care system in Ohio on Monday in Cleveland. She said she would end the Medicaid expansion that resulted in 725,000 more Ohioans receiving health coverage, calling the program unsustainable in the long term.

"Medicaid expansion is fiscally unsustainable and will be ended under a Taylor administration," Taylor said. "I believe that we must identify new, innovative, market-based reforms to address the issues Medicaid currently addresses today. I want to return Medicaid to its original mission of serving the people who need it while incentivizing work and ensuring opportunities for long-term success for those who are able."

. . .

"If Obamacare is not repealed, then I will work very hard with President Trump and Congress to get Obamacare repealed or get the flexibility Ohio needs in a waiver or block grant - call it whatever you want - give us the flexibility to I can implement my plan," Taylor said.

"Call it whatever you want?" How about the Health Care Compact?! Read the rest of the report here.

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Founding of America Documents Curriculum in Ohio

image credit: annenberg classroom

Saving Founding of America Documents Curriculum in Ohio. 

Your Calls Are Needed!

This Action Alert is from our friends at the Ohio Christian Alliance (a number of Ohio groups and organizations are passing along this information; I’m going with the OCA Action Alert because it provides links to the Resolution itself and the School Board members who will be voting):

Liberals on the Ohio State School Board are trying to eliminate American Government and History standards in Ohio.

The State School Board will meet on Sept 18th and 19th to consider a proposal urging the Ohio Legislature to turn the clock back by eliminating the required end of course testing in American Government and History. This will all but destroy what we accomplished six years ago with the passage of the Founding of America Documents curriculum, which guarantees that all 88 school districts teach the founding documents, namely The U.S. Constitution, The Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights, the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers, The Northwest Ordinance, and The Ohio Constitution in the 8-12th grades with an end of course exam. This threat is serious to eliminate the Constitutional studies in the classroom.

 Click here to contact State School Board members and urge them to vote NO on the resolution.    

 Click here to read the resolution. 

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Cleveland Indians win 22 straight

It's Thursday night. Our Cleveland Indians just extended their winning streak to 22 games, 2nd longest win streak in MLB history!

WOW!

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Dreamers Amnesty

image credit: zazzle

Old news: Speaker Paul Ryan is pro-Amnesty. Yesterday, he had this to say:

House Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday that it was “not in our nation’s interest” to expel the roughly 800,000 young people protected from deportation by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

William A. Jacobson has more on DACA / Dreamer amnesty at Legal Insurrection:

Trump is on the verge of turning a temporary Obama policy deferring enforcement against people here illegally into a full-blown amnesty, which may even go beyond people brought here as children.

Amnesty is the issue on which to oppose Trump, particularly if you support Trump generally. It will kill his presidency, something Schumer and Pelosi correctly diagnosed. Democrats want amnesty for all illegal immigrants and open borders, they’ll take 800,000 as the way to open the door. And they’ll use even the slightest sellout to seek to separate Trump from the people who elected him so as to defeat him on other issues.

Amnesty is the gateway drug to a failed Trump presidency.

NeverTrump Republican are particularly ecstatic on social media today. They want nothing more than for Trump to fail so they can proclaim “I told you so.” They thrive on being out of power. Schumer and Pelosi are NeverTrump Republicans’ best friends right now.

When Trump was elected, my reaction was that there was great opportunity, and I’d support him when his policies were good, and oppose bad policies. Amnesty is a bad policy. It goes to something more than the rule of law, it goes to whether we have a country.

Particularly if you support Trump and want his positive policies to succeed, you need to oppose an amnesty sellout.

NumbersUSA has posted several Action Alerts over the past few days. One recommended action is to let Speaker Paul Ryan know where you stand on DACA (Dreamers) amnesty:

We're hearing from a number of NumbersUSA activists that Speaker Ryan's voicemail is full. You can also contact his office by filling out the contact form on his website:

http://www.speaker.gov/contact

An accessible background essay on the case against Dreamer amnesty is on the American Thinker blog here. 

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Following up on Hurricane Irma

photo credit: CNN.com

The Cleveland-based charity that collected food and household goods for Harvey victims in Texas does not have a stuff-the-truck project for South Florida on their current calendar. As I see it, truckloads -- and planeloads -- of food, water, and household goods would be sorely needed in the central rural areas of Florida and also various Caribbean islands that were destroyed (Virgin Islands, Barbuda, etc). Supplies and manpower are already coming in on military and private transports.

So on this one, some Cleveland Tea Party people may decide to write a check. There's a rated list of charities at Charity Navigator.  Our household is going with Samaritan's Purse, as they are going into the Caribbean as well as Florida.  They have their own cargo plane and their Charity Navigator rating is excellent.

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Free Speech Week at Berkeley Sept 24-27

Remember what happened when Milo Yiannopoulis was scheduled to speak at Berkeley last February?

Photo credit: SFGate

It was cancelled. Breitbart Radio just announced:

Milo Plans Four-Day Extravaganza At Berkeley For Free Speech Week

Yesterday, Pamela Geller’s blog ran this headline:

Pamela Geller To Speak at Milo’s Free Speech Week at Berkeley, Joins Steve Bannon, Ann Coulter, David Horowitz

That’s already a powerhouse line-up that will be impossible to ignore. (Berkeley is already looking for safe spaces to protect poor snowflake students from the presence of Ben Shapiro.) I plan to follow this, as it could be a watershed moment for First Amendment rights.

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Go Vote

image credit: eventbrite.com

GO VOTE!

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Remembering 9/11

image credit: 963wdvd.com

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Hurricane's silver lining

Restaurants, chefs rally to help feed those affected by Harvey

Photo and caption credit: Houston Chronicle

Don Surber finds the silver linings in Hurricanes:

The people of Houston and elsewhere in Texas showed a cooperation that shamed the politicians. Guys in boats were trolling their neighborhoods searching for people to rescue. . . .

A nation drunk on politics suddenly was watching people struggle to survive four feet of rainfall.

That was sobering.

America changed. Instantly.

His column is here. And I hope he's right.

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Another step toward censorship: Diamond and Silk

image credit: Mint Press News

Recently, Cleveland Tea Party blogged on the cancellation of Pamela Geller’s PayPal account on her blog. There are other blatant examples of attempts to shut down discussions, but I just found this one, from last month:

Diamond and Silk rip YouTube, 

say 95% of videos demonetized over Trump support

Those of us who love watching these two gals in their support of all matters Trump should be flabbergasted and aghast. And it’s getting worse. According to the report in the Washington Times, here’s YouTube's chilling explanation:

News of the largely demonetized channel comes less than two weeks since the company announced plans to fight inappropriate content.

“We’ll soon be applying tougher treatment to videos that aren’t illegal but have been flagged by users as potential violations of our policies on hate speech and violent extremism,” the company announced Aug. 1 on its official blog. “If we find that these videos don’t violate our policies but contain controversial religious or supremacist content, they will be placed in a limited state. The videos will remain on YouTube behind an interstitial, won’t be recommended, won’t be monetized, and won’t have key features including comments, suggested videos, and likes.”

"Inappropriate content?" “Our policies on hate speech and violent extremism”? “Controversial religious or supremacist content”? Who is making these judgments?

Enough patrons called and pressured PayPal into reinstating Pamela Geller’s account. 

Long term solution for YouTube and other Google powered platforms: trust busting? DOJ or FCC?  Short-term solution? From a web search:

How to Contact YouTube Support

By phone: (650) 253-0000. This is Google's catch-all phone number and can also be used for YouTube inquires.

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Spot the Media Bias

Following FLOTUS fashions may not be a top priority, but the coverage provides such a vivid illustration of the dishonesty corruption in the media today. This screen shot from Philly.com was posted recently by a reader at Conservative Treehouse; I had missed it.

The headlines are bad enough. But if you cannot embiggen the image to actually read Fashion Editor Elizabeth Wellington's captions below the two photographs (by tapping on the image itself), click to see it on your screen here.

Related: Remember last week’s media meltdown over Melania’s stiletto heels as she walked from the White House to the chopper en route to boarding Air Force One to fly to Texas?

Oh, the horror of it all. Where is her respect for the job at hand? Smelling salts, please. Er, she is showing her respect for the White House and her role as FLOTUS.

Behold the media’s double standard:

 photo retrieved from Tradition in Action

Do you remember seeing this image of FLOTUS disembarking from Air Force One? It's easy to access on your search engine, but this photo did not exactly make the media rounds at the time. (Sorry if you can't find your Eye Bleach.)

Gif source here.

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Standing for the flag or kneeling with some of the Browns

Sometimes it’s the little things that you can do. Cleveland.com reported on the President of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association Steve Loomis’s announcement that officers would not participate in opening ceremonies with the Cleveland Browns:

Cleveland's police union will not be holding the American flag for a pregame ceremony for the Brown's first game Sept. 10, Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association President Steve Loomis said late Friday.

Union members had planned on participating in the flag ceremony for the first game on Sept. 10 until some Browns players kneeled during the National Anthem before a preseason game, Loomis said in an interview with cleveland.com.

The players not standing for the national anthem is offensive because of the sacrifices that people make that allows these guys to enjoy the success that they have, Loomis said. While they're benefiting from protection of the flag they are kneeling in disrespect of it, he said.

Joining the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association out of respect for our flag is “the union that represents the city's dispatchers, EMTs and paramedics.”

Cleveland.com also reported on Police Chief Calvin Williams’s response:

we as Cleveland Police Officers strive to open the lines of communication with all of our citizens--athletes and enthusiastic Browns fans alike. Who are we kidding?! We are CLEVELAND!! And we stay strong together. We stand together. 

Moving forward, I can tell you that we within the Cleveland Division of Police are in communication with the Cleveland Browns Organization as we have been in the past. We want to hear from our players, the fans and our citizens of this great city. We want to bridge the gap. We want to talk.

I look forward to a continued partnership with our CLEVELAND athletes, our community and a great BROWNS season!!!"

Loomis respects our flag and National Anthem and takes a stand. As I see it, Cleveland Police Chief Williams is not taking that stand. 

You can email both Steve Loomis and Chief Williams to let them know what you think:

• Steve Loomis at <Steveloomis[insert the ‘at” symbol]aol.com>
• For Police Chief Calvin Williams, click here and choose “City Services” and “Division of Police” in the drop-downs. 

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By the Book: The Strange Death of Europe

Amazon cover

Just finished Douglas Murray’s frightening must-read The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam. If America needed another wake-up call, this is it.  This book examines the paramount problem of today: uncontrolled immigration. And from all angles, based on his research and his extensive travels, particularly in Europe. 

Murray covers history, philosophy and religion, Islam and Christianity, demographics, cultural suicide, political correctness, ideologies, political landscapes, corruption, voter preferences vs government “leaders”, humanity, immigration pros and cons, good stories, bad stories, as well as the what-do-we-do-now and current dilemma scenarios. His conclusions about Europe are a preview of coming attractions here in the USA. 

And it's cheap on Kindle.

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Happy Labor Day

art credit: pinterest

Happy Labor Day!

The Cleveland Air Show on Labor Day weekend

Always thrilling and very noisy.

  

Note: Final performances tomorrow.

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Tech Giants War on Free Speech

art credit: pamelageller.com

Are we losing our First Amendment Rights?

In case you don’t follow Pamela Geller, she specializes in defending the right to free speech and, in particular, threats to free speech presented by jihad and sharia law. Geller is fearless, and she is under perpetual death threats.

Quite recently, subsequent to the Southern Poverty Law Center putting another target on her back, her access to PayPal was withdrawn. Enough readers complained, and PayPal backed down and restored access. Now it’s Google search drives and YouTubes that are limiting her right to free speech. 

If you do not bookmark her website, you might never hear about this. Jihad and sharia law may not be your particular focus, but your right to free speech is probably toward the top of your priority list. It would be for any Tea Party person. We already know that under the previous administration, the weaponized IRS targeted all sorts of conservative and liberty groups. It's getting worse.

Check out Pamela Geller’s chilling Sept. 2 report here. A few extracts:

My website and posts have been scrubbed from Google search. Fourteen years and over forty thousand posts. Google Adsense has banned my account. Google is blacklisting and has admitted to working with alt-left smear groups to silence opposition. And it’s not just me, it’s all criticism of jihad and sharia.

Facebook has blocked my news-feed. My twitter account is shadowbanned. I have been blocked from uploading videos to YouTube [as] punishment for 2007 video on jihad (and YouTube demonetized all of my videos). Paypal suspended me until an outpouring of condemnation and outrage forced a reversal.

Is this really America?

Read her full report here. Scroll down the article for readers' suggestions on what we can be doing to reverse these dangerous developments. It’s OUR problem!

And for Geller’s equally chilling report on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s “Aim in Life to Destroy These Groups Completely,” click here.

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