Express 'Em If You Got 'Em

There is an old saying that usually comes into play when some group, often a military platoon, is about to take advantage of a brief lull before some important, heated, restrictive battle: "Smoke 'em if you got 'em" is how it goes. It relates to cigarettes, and the idea that if you are going to want one, now is the time to light up, because you may not get another chance for awhile.

Today's online edition of the Washington Times (www.washingtontimes.com) features a poll asking whether the Obama administration should have contacted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (Iran's supreme religious leader) before the Iranian elections.

The poll is in response to a lead article at the paper's website which reports that the Obama administration sent a letter to Khamenei calling for an improvement in relations between the U.S and Iran. Khamenei referenced the letter last week during a sermon in which he accused the U.S. of fomenting dissent following the Iranian elections.

My problem or point here is not the article itself, the poll, or even the issues of Iran and the so-far feeble Obama administration response to Iran. Our new President is mad. Really, really mad, darn it. You can tell, because yesterday he "strongly" condemned the Iranian regimes unjust actions towards the street protesters of the rigged elections. Strongly.

No, my problem is with the supporters of America's first socialist President. When you answer the poll question, it takes you to the updated poll results and a commentary page. Here anyone who is registered with the site can make comments about the poll, and anyone at all can read these comments, even if not registered.

There is one answer that encapsulates the liberal, progressive, socialist mindset towards anyone who expresses Obama-dissent. Here a poster calling themselves 'TheProgressiveTruth' says that "conservative ideas are discredited and are not taken seriously by serious people."

Fair enough. That's showing political bias, but this is America, and they are free to express their political views. The problem comes with his next statement: "My advice, again: shut up!" Here they show their true stripes. Those with differing opinions need to be silenced.

There are many liberal politicians and partisans who subscribe to this line of thinking. They call for a radio 'Fairness Doctrine' (sic) that would silence conservative talk radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh, Bill Bennett, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Glenn Beck and others, simply because they disagree with these conservative commentators but cannot come up with liberal commentators to draw a sustainable audience.

Bottom line is, liberals and progressives cannot win the battle of ideas in the public square, just as they cannot win at the polling booth on social ideas such as the farcical gay marriage issue. They lose every time one of these issues is balloted and put directly to the voters. Instead, they seek to "shut up" conservatives and force their views through controlled media and through the courts.

Barack Obama, his administration, and his colleagues in Congress have been seriously over-reaching in their valuation of their recent electoral victories. The American people voted for a change, but absolutely did not vote for the type of change that weakens or cheapens democracy and capitalism, or that calls for silence from its opponents.

Have some opinions on the issues that matter to you and your family, opinions that are different than the Obama administration and the former mainstream media try to force down the throat of the public. Then I have just one message for you: express 'em if you got 'em!

Indecent Exposure

You are never going to hear me advocate forced censorship or book burning. I never have, never will. I leave that to the ultra-liberals who want to support things like the deceptively named and unfair "Fairness Doctrine", a blatant attempt by liberal ideologues to shut down or drastically reduce conservative talk radio. True conservatives would never go down that road. We believe in a free exchange of ideas, as long as it is done with responsibility. Liberals just want to shut up the opposition. The debate on the radio issue will be covered here another day. Today it just sets the stage for discussing what is appropriate for our kids to see, and where, when, and how they should be exposed to certain language, images, and ideas. I truly believe that each of these decisions not only should be made within the sanctity of each home, but also surrender to the fact that this will be the case no matter what type of restrictive legislation anyone attempts to place on media. If you are a practicing Christian who home schools their child, there are certain things that you are going to teach that child, and certain things that you are going to severely restrict. Just the same, if you are an ethnic or racial minority, there is programming and music that you are going to expose your child to that teaches them an appreciation of their culture, sometimes to the neglect of teaching them responsibility and affection for their larger American culture. If you are an Aryan white supremacist, you are going to expose your kids to other ideas, and not only restrict them from multi-cultural experiences, but teach that these are somehow inherently evil. As parents, we hold a great deal of sway over our children's education, no matter what they see and learn at school. If a boy goes to a Catholic school and learns all sorts of good lessons during the day, then comes home at night to a father who drinks excessively and slaps his wife around in front of the kiddies, do you think that days teachings will outweigh those learned at home at night? Just the same, if a girl goes to school where she is taught in a completely secular environment all day, but goes home to a family with strong Christian values, teachings, and practices, she is far less likely to be influenced by secularism. What we expose our kids to at home is extremely important. The television shows and movies that we allow them to watch, the music that we allow them to listen to, the video games that we allow them to play. Every bit of this media input that we allow them to experience will influence the people that they will become. We can write it off ourselves to "it's just entertainment" or "it's just fantasy", but kids don't know the difference in their developing minds and psyches, no matter how smart we may be kidding ourselves into believing that our children have become. Today's media is light years ahead of anything that we grew up experiencing. The production values and artistic representations are realistic to the extreme, and beyond in some cases. But it is not only important what we allow the kids to experience, but also what we allow them to find us experiencing. We can tell them all day long that watching or reading or listening to something is not good for them, but when they later find us enjoying those same items, what lesson will they be learning? Do as I say, not as I do - the gift that just keeps on giving. They will learn hypocrisy, and they will learn to reduce their own standards. We all understand that what is appropriate for a fully grown, matured adult to watch or listen to is not the same for a 6-year old, which is similarly different from a 16-year old. Adults are capable of discerning good and evil, and are even capable of learning from complex story lines that include things such as sexuality and violence when set against a greater lesson in the story line. In exposing ourselves to these more adult-themed inputs, we must always be aware that they are indeed fantasies, and that there is indeed a more important lesson to be learned, so that we are not simply experiencing entertainment, but learning those greater lessons. Today's parents must not only care about what they expose themselves to, but more than at any time in history must be actively involved in the input that kids are receiving from media, at school, and among their friends, and need to be an aggressive filter. The process of learning good and bad, and then ultimately the difference between good and true evil, is a delicate one. When we advance from teaching the kids about what is 'bad' and then ultimately what 'evil' is, we need to be discerning, taking into account their full development as individuals based on age, intellect, and maturity level. The same goes in teaching them the basic biological differences between the sexes, moving on to having 'the Talk' about expressing their individual sexuality, and ultimately to guiding as best you can their practices during adolescence. Parents are far too often guilty of indecent exposure with their kids. I can't say that looking back, I was a paragon of the virtues that I now believe whole-heartedly and express here. Sometimes it takes difficult lessons learned to advance forward. But once you learn a lesson and understand truth, it is irresponsible not to pass those lessons along. As the group Crosby, Stills and Nash once sang, we have to "Teach the Children Well", not just teach them. God bless all parents as they perform that most important role of their lives.

Talent on Loan from God

On issues of politics and culture, there is little doubt that the leading voice of the revolutionary revival in talk radio during the past decade and a half has been one Rush Limbaugh. Michael Harrison, the editor of Talkers Magazine has been quoted: "Before Rush Limbaugh, there was nothing like talk radio. He's been to talk what Elvis was to rock-n-roll. He saved the AM dial..." Former White House aid Karl Rove has said: "He's a leader. If Rush engages on an issue, it give others courage to engage." This year, Rush is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his highly successful "Rush Limbaugh Show", a syndicated radio program which can be found in the Philly area airwaves at The Big Talker, 1210am, every weekday from noon to 3pm. Limbaugh blends an incredible mind with a sharp wit and a sometimes biting, often humorous tongue to spread the conservative gospel to the converted masses (as well as any of the opposition who want to read the true pulse on the other side.) Rush takes on all of the important issues both political and cultural, brings their key points into sharp clarity, and tells you why you should not only agree with him, but should actively engage yourself in supporting these positions. The force of his will as spread through the popularity of his show was no doubt a key ingredient in Republicans taking over the US Congress in 1994 for the first time in 40 years, helping usher in the Newt Gingrich-led 'Republican Revolution', the backbone of which was the 'Contract With America'. Rush also was a huge Bush supporter in 2000, and certainly played a key role in galvanizing the conservative base to get out and vote, helping President Bush to the most narrow win in the history of the American political process involving the Presidency. During breaks, Rush's plugs for the show include his voice announcing that you are listening to the Rush Limbaugh Show, and stating that what you are hearing is "Talent on loan from God!" When he says that, he is not being at all disrespectful, though certainly be a bit boastful (though honest). He is announcing that he has talent, a point supported by his immense popularity and the respect afforded him by leading politicians, pundits, journalists, and other broadcasters. And he is letting us know that this talent was loaned out to him by his God, a fact that we all should embrace about ourselves and our own abilities on a more regular basis. Rush began his career as a Top 40 radio DJ in Pittsburgh during the 1970's, a time when the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers were a Super Bowl-winning powerhouse. Limbaugh became a big Steelers fan then, and remains so to this day. In 1979, Rush set aside the music to become the director of promotions for the Kansas City Royals baseball team during a period when the Royals were one of baseball's top teams (Royals' Hall of Famer George Brett remains one of his best friends.) After five years in KC, Rush moved on to Sacramento, taking over a talk radio job there, and in 1987 the alleged 'Fairness Doctrine' was removed from the radio industry by the FCC. This idiotic piece of junk basically shackled talk radio, saying that in order to express any political views a station had to give equal time to opposing views. With the television industry becoming dominated by politically liberal viewpoints and commentary, the radio restriction was certainly anything but 'fair', and its removal changed the talk radio landscape forever. The Wall Street Journal described it in outstanding terms when they said that "Ronald Reagan tore down the wall (the Fairness Doctrine) and Rush Limbaugh was the first man to proclaim himself liberated from the East Germany of liberal media domination." On August 1st, 1988, Rush moved across country to New York, and began his now-famous self-named radio program on the ABC network. His radio home there at WABC-AM (770 on the NY dials) remains his flagship station two decades later. His listeners have become affectionately known as 'dittoheads', signifying that they agree with Rush on the issues. His style has been said to bounce between "earnest lecturer and political vaudevillian". In his personal life, Rush has often fallen short of being the conservative values man that he talks up on-air. He has been married and divorced three times, has no children, and had to win a very public battle with an addiction to pain killers. He has also had professional controversies, including criticisms received for mocking the effects of Parkinson's disease on actor Michael J. Fox, and on support for Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb as being largely media-created because there was a desire there to see a black quarterback succeed at a high level. But despite personal and professional setbacks and challenges, Limbaugh has never shied away from voicing his valid cultural and political opinion in an honest, straight-forward manner, and he has been a true leader in the conservative movement in the United States. He openly and regularly advocates for conservatism: "We conservatives are unapologetic about our ideals. We believe in individual liberty, limited government, capitalism, the rule of law, faith, a color-blind society and national security. We support school choice, enterprise zones, tax cuts, welfare reform, faith-based initiatives, political speech, homeowner rights and the War on Terrorism." No one articulates the conservative positions more succinctly. Current Republican party candidate for President, John McCain, has been quoted: "I respect Rush Limbaugh." A plain and simple statement that I can easily say that I would echo. Rush Limbaugh most certainly has what he says that he has: talent on loan from God. Give his radio program a listen-to for a week. If you have that courage, I can almost guarantee that you will be hooked, and perhaps, if need be, politically and culturally converted.