So Tired of Feeling Like a Hostage in My Own Country

October 4, 2011 | Comments (2)

It’s getting old, this feeling. This feeling of imprisonment, disbelief and fatigue. For far too many months now, we have lived in a nation held hostage by a gaggle of individuals who have only a sketchy notion of what our country is and hold what little they do know in contempt.

A president travels the country delivering the same tired axioms read with identical cadence from a mechanical device, berating the nation, the people, I love.  Secretly, silently, he grins as rioting leftists demand our nation abandon liberty and capitalism. Meanwhile, the president’s wife travels that same country, pricey entourage in tow, dictating what and how we parents will feed our children  – and mandating what restaurants will and will not serve their customers.

A governor of a southern state suggests we nix elections in 2012 to quell the successful rightwing efforts of an angry electorate, her words simply mirroring ideas the president and his officials have floated themselves. As unemployment skyrockets at breakneck speed, a presidential advisor informs us it is the government’s job to take care of us and provide all we need to live according to what our superiors deem an acceptable level of existence.

The president orchestrates a steady stream of public displays (with military backdrop whenever possible) in his quest for useful campaign photo-ops. That same president orders his minions to intimidate those who oppose him and do whatever they must to make his transformational dreams our nightmare. Meanwhile, we the people hold our collective breath in hopes that the man’s law designed intentionally to gut our health-care system, our bank accounts, and our personal health will be repealed.

As the current administration stands accused of allegedly placing guns in to the hands of drug lords in a neighboring country, people from that and other countries stream across our borders without sanction (presidential relatives among them), knowing that despite such open defiance of our laws, they will be showered with social services and our tax dollars upon their arrival. Meanwhile the narcissism, panic and abandonment issues of the petulant leader of the free world become more evident – and more dangerous – every day.

In short, we find ourselves trapped in a lawless nation, the perpetrators of our confinement carrying out their tasks openly, brazenly and with unabashed arrogance. And I for one am tired of being their hostage. Until this day, I never believed we as a nation would live to see, let alone tolerate, what now occurs within our great nation almost daily. But, despite my own moments of fatigue, I know in my heart that I am not alone. This nation teems with others, my fellow hostages, who share my love for this country and the resolve to wrest her free from our captors.

Carve away that hard crusty shell of betrayal and tyranny that has encapsulated the Tree of Liberty over these three difficult years, and you will find a moist green pulp still living and breathing at the tree’s heart. Those of us who love this country will continue to nurture that tree, and, like the political prisoners who found their own salvation, their own inspiration, in the words of Ronald Reagan that were smuggled into the frozen Gulag of Siberia years ago, we will wait for that moment when we, too, will at last be liberated from this modern-day tyranny, free to be America once more.

Betsy Siino | Comments (2)

We Will Never Forget

September 11, 2010 | Comments (1)

“Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?”

I awoke this morning with these words from Alan Jackson on my radio, my country station featuring such songs as Jackson’s “Where Were You” to commemorate this day, September 11th.

I know where I was. We all know where we were. And though there are some in this country with screeching voices and amplified microphones who would rather we forget, we won’t. Ever.

And that is why the vast, vast majority of Americans, all Americans, never dreamed that nine years after that September day, we would be arguing not over the design of the buildings that should replace the Twin Towers, but the building of a mosque upon the sacred ground where the Twin Towers once stood.

The opposition hurls names at this majority of Americans who wish to keep that ground, and the remains of the thousands of souls lost on that ground, sacred. They scream that we are anti-this, anti-that, phobic-this, phobic-that, and, most laughably, they claim we are un-American. For this instance and this instance only, the fundamentally frightened appeasers haul out the Constitution, claiming we who oppose the plan are defying our founders’ intent – and, most importantly, placing ourselves in grave danger.

From politicians to media hacks to talk show hosts, the politically correct ignore pleas to investigate the shady funding behind the project (which, if terror-rooted, would throw the whole “freedom of religion” argument out the window), pleading instead in so many words that if we don’t do this, if we don’t obey, they’ll hurt as again. And indeed, more than one imam has declared publicly, one on national television: If you don’t build it on that site, on that ground, where we say it must go, more attacks will follow.

The left, including the President of the United States, has heeded such threats, and, with the help of New York City’s mayor, New York’s leading candidate for Governor, various New York Congresspeople, leftwing media outlets and formerly funny late night talk-show hosts, they are trying desperately to obey the edict.

The only trouble is, we the people are not so obedient. We know conquest when we see it. We know that the same people pleading the mosque’s case would be singing a different tune if the targets on that September day had instead been Rockefeller Center or the Ed Sullivan Theater. We also happen to be far more familiar than they with our Constitution and our founders’ intent. We believe good and evil exist in this world, we believe in right and wrong, and, above all, we remember where we were when the world stopped turning on that September day. So, no, we won’t obey. And we won’t forget. Ever.

Betsy Siino | Comments (1)

To Burn or Not to Burn: That Is NOT the Question

September 10, 2010 | Comments (0)

We have no idea if the newly notorious pastor in Florida is going to burn the Koran on Saturday. He apparently hasn’t decided, but no matter. Having successfully reaped his 15 minutes of fame, and now apparently inspiring others to burn, as well, when tomorrow dawns, the situation has escalated into an international firestorm. Yet the actual burning is not at all the issue.

I personally find book burning abhorrent, whether the tinder be the Bible, the Koran, Mein Kampf, Harry Potter or Huckleberry Finn. I frankly regard this pastor’s showboating as either a publicity stunt or a death wish (perhaps both), evident in his announcing his intent long before 9/11 to ensure maximum media attention. But my country has taught me that it is within the rights of all Americans to burn a book or a flag, to behave stupidly and recklessly, or to speak out against our government — rights foreign to most other countries, particularly those currently criticizing our handling of our own internal issues, such as illegal immigration and the building of a mosque at Ground Zero.

What disgusts me most about this incident is not that a man of the cloth would protest Islam by burning its book, but rather the strident response of, among others, our own media outlets, elected officials, and President to the man’s threats to do so.

I think back to moments in our history — to the celebrated desecration of the Virgin Mary and the Star of David, to modern-day Nazis marching through a town occupied by Holocaust survivors, to a crucifix submerged in a glass of urine heralded as fine art, to the former President routinely burned in effigy — and I wonder, where were the protests from all those exalted authorities and institutions then? Where were the calls for restraint? We all know the answer to that one.

Which brings us to the fundamental difference between these documented incidents in our recent past, and the current threat of a torched Koran. Fear. That’s the difference. The authorities and institutions squawking in unison to stop Saturday’s burning don’t fear the Christians, the Jews or we the people. They know that those so inclined to desecrate and disgrace the symbols of these faiths, and of America herself, can do so freely and graphically without threat of repercussion. But these same authorities and institutions are terrified to the bone of those who follow Islam. Their resulting reactions, their policies, their censorship and their scoldings, are fueled by that fear.

This chronic hypocrisy is in turn fueling the palpable rage brewing in America right now: a rage at the tyranny spewing from our nation’s capitol, a rage at politically correct appeasement of those who wish to destroy us (whether or not a Koran is burned), a rage at punishing policies and taxes that cripple our childrens’ futures. This rage now boils over at a most symbolic moment in our nation’s history – the anniversary of a day we the people will not forget, despite the left’s attempt to rewrite history. It’s going to be a rocky ride.

Betsy Siino | Comments (0)

Happy Birthday to Our Nation

July 4, 2010 | Comments (1)

I have always loved the 4th of July for what it represents: the birth of our nation, a nation unlike any other in any imagination, at any time, anywhere. I revere the men who risked their lives to create this grand experiment, and the men, women and families who have sacrificed their lives for us to keep it.

But today I find myself reflecting on the fact that this year we observe a 4th like no other. We celebrate our nation’s birth at a time when she faces a great danger unlike any other. Certainly our nation has faced danger before, particularly back in the 1860s during a war that threatened to tear us apart. But our threat today comes from forces within our own government who seek to tear our nation down and rewrite her story to fit a twisted view that in no way resembles what she is and what she is meant to be.

I refuse to see this happen. And I end today, as I listen to the songs that celebrate the greatness of our nation and the people throughout our history who have created and preserved that greatness, knowing I am not alone in my resolve. I remain faithful, even as those in Washington attempt to dismantle and shred the Constitution that is our backbone, that the vast majority of us beyond those cloistered DC walls feel the same in our collective devotion to that nation we are blessed to call home. I thank all of you who over this last year since I began writing on these pages have stood up with me and confirmed what we all know to be true about the American spirit and its endurance.

So now together we embark on the road to the next 4th. Together let us pray – especially after an important wake-up call we are confident will be coming in November to push those deadly forces back – that this time next year we will be breathing a great sigh of relief, knowing we are headed back from the brink. In the meantime, my humble thanks go out as they do every year to our founders, to our troops who keep and have always kept our nation and our children safe, to the courageous and often unsung heroes who have made the nation what she is, and to our God for remaining with us in our past and in our present. Happy birthday, America. Not a day goes by that we are not grateful for you.

Betsy Siino | Comments (1)

At Least Five Supreme Court Justices Believe in the Constitution

June 28, 2010 | Comments (2)

We who believe in the Second Amendment, and, by extension, the U.S  Constitution, are supposed to look at today as a big day for gun rights. Our opposition probably assumed we would be dancing in the streets right now, celebrating wildly in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5 to 4 vote, ruling that local governments (such as Chicago and Washington, DC) cannot pass laws denying gun ownership that override the second amendment of the Constitution that grants we the people the unalienable right to bear arms.

But I’m not celebrating, and I’m not hearing many whoops and hollers from others who happen to believe in the Constitution as the law of our land, either. Instead, I am feeling sad, confused and, not surprisingly in our nation’s current climate, angry yet again. I don’t happen to see why there is even a question here. I don’t understand how this case ever found a place on the docket in the first place.

Until further notice, and despite the current administration’s and Congress’ efforts to change this, our nation is governed by the laws set out clearly in black ink and parchment on that legendary document assembled and signed by our founders more than two centuries ago. Stated clearly, alongside our rights to assemble, to speak freely and to practice our chosen faiths, is our right as Americans to protect our homes, our families, and our country, by whatever means necessary. And the Mayor of Chicago, the City Council of Anytown, USA, nor the President of the United States can’t change that. Period. Case closed. No interpretation necessary.

But today four so-called Americans assigned the duty to ensure our nation remains true to its rule of law, the U.S. Constitution, made clear their hostility and disregard for this great document. They announced clearly to all who would listen (and it’s a safe bet, I think, that if confirmed, Elena Kagan, would have joined their chorus, as well) that they are willing shamelessly to cast the Constitution aside in favor of their own leftwing worldview (without forfeiting their own armed bodyguards, of course). This is nothing new, I know, but today’s ruling just seems somehow more blatant than other more subtle, obscure, even complicated rulings of years past.

If I didn’t know plenty of people, including my own son, who have seen the Constitution in person over the last few months, I would guess that if we looked, we would find it in shreds at the bottom of the White House paper shredder having been replaced by an angelic portrait of Barack Obama. But in truth it has been shredded. In spirit if not in fiber. And it leads us to yet another sad day for America. I just don’t know how many more of these we can take.

Betsy Siino | Comments (2)

Just Imagine…

March 18, 2010 | Comments (0)

Just imagine if President George Bush had gone on to Fox News with Bret Baier a couple of months after a massive earthquake in Haiti, and justified  a “special deal” with Louisiana, a so-called Louisiana Purchase, where hundreds of millions of dollars were promised to Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) in exchange for her “yes” vote on a health-care bill despised by the American people. Imagine him whimpering that because Louisiana “has been affected by a natural catastrophe that has created a special health-care emergency in that state…They should get help.” Imagine him continuing, “It also affects Hawaii, which went through an earthquake.” Consider for a moment the similarities in the names “Hawaii” and “Haiti,” and imagine that that same President had been known to count the number of U.S. states as 57.

Just imagine if, upon his return from an insult-riddled, gaffe-rich visit to Israel, Vice President Dick Cheney had joked about the beleaguered nation, our fierce ally, at the Radio and TV Correspondent’s Dinner, giggling that, “It’s great to be back in a place where a boom in housing construction is a good thing.”

Just imagine President George Bush proclaiming to the American people that, “I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about what the procedural rules are in the House or Senate.”

Just imagine if George Bush had told members of Congress to sacrifice their seats and careers for him and his economy-busting, probably unconstitutional, inherently corrupt, possibly criminal health-care bill that the vast majority of Americans despise. Just imagine him begging them to fall on their swords for him, because “elections aren’t important.”

Just imagine if President Bush’s Press Secretary Dana Perino had gleefully insisted that the President would gladly sign a catastrophic bill despised by the American people, even if it were passed in a known corrupt and unconstitutional manner.

Just imagine if on St. Patrick’s Day, VP Dick Cheney had asked God to bless the soul of the Irish President’s late mother, only to be reminded that the woman is still alive.

No need to imagine any of this, because all of these comments were actually made within the last few days by members of this current administration. Just substitute the names Obama, Biden and Gibbs for Bush, Cheney and Perino – add to the list VP Joe Biden referring quite truthfully to the press assembled at the correspondents’ dinner as the President’s “base,” and you’ve got yourself a nice, clear read on this administration. Imagine that.

Betsy Siino | Comments (0)

Why?

March 16, 2010 | Comments (0)

Why would a man place his hand on a Bible – Abraham Lincoln’s Bible, of all Bibles – and vow to honor and uphold the Constitution of the United States, then set out consciously and publicly to defy the tenets of that document, as well as the people that document represents?

I suppose we already know the answer to this question. Indeed the man now occupying the White House, his wife, the minions with whom he has surrounded and insulated himself, as well as his kindred spirits in the United States Congress, have all made it abundantly clear that the document they are sworn to uphold is meaningless to them. Most, including the President, made this disdain clear when they were running for office. What they did not publicize quite so blatantly was their desire to tear this nation apart from its guts, and rebuild into a distorted and weakened entity that does not even begin to resemble the blueprint set forth in our Constitution, the blueprint they apparently fraudulently swore to honor and uphold.

So I ask: Why are these perpetrators so hell bent on destroying our nation?

It goes beyond a simple lust for power. The President of the United States has power from that title alone. A great deal of power emanates from a congressional seat, as well. No, there is something far more insidious at play here. This current President and his wife have made no secret of the fact that their motive to claim the White House had nothing to do with love of country. Quite the contrary. America needs to be punished, they and theirs have told us, and they and theirs are just the people to carry out the punishment.

Why they have grown to feel this way, well, I won’t use labels (at the moment), but I’d say it has all to do with the so-called “inner child.” The people now running this nation, from the couple occupying the White House, through the administration, to the radical majority in the Congress – and, by extension, the squishy, wishy-washy Congresspeople who have elevated the term “for sale to the highest bidder” to a whole new level – they all seem to be acting out according to their inner demons and past, probably childhood-related, affronts.

Given the realities of early biological brain development, and my own experience as a mom, I firmly believe that by the time a child reaches about 5 years of age, he or she is pretty much formed in terms of who he or she is and will be. We have all had the so-called “inspirational,” and certainly fuzzy, story of this President’s early beginnings jammed down our throats, so it’s not all that difficult to make the leap from that childhood to the man we see before us today. As we know, he is not alone in his mission, so I think we are witnessing a mass expression of childhood angst at the federal level, and it is not at all pretty. The inner children, the perpetual 5-year-olds, have been given the keys to the kingdom, and they are running amok, to the detriment of us all.

Even as I write this, these people are plotting a coup, right out in front of us, for all America to see. They are colluding at this moment to make law a bill that promises to destroy the fabric and fiber and the inalienable rights of these United States. Without a vote. Without the consent of the people. The vast majority of America has refused repeatedly to go along with their plan, so, like a mob of spoiled children, they are going to do it anyway. They tell us that Americans don’t care about parliamentary procedure and Constitutional rules. Translation: We’ll just make up our own rules. We’ll show you.

And they are laughing. Laughing at our love for that stale old document, the Constitution. Laughing at us. See them as the spoiled and damaged children they are behind the grown-up masks, and we see why.

Betsy Siino | Comments (0)