Do You Need a REAL ID?

I renewed my driver’s license recently for $42. The license and photo looked the same as the old one except for the star in the upper right-hand corner. I wondered why the star was there.

I did not protest the extensive line and the various identifications I had to bring with me besides my old license. State bureaucracy and the huge influx of illegal aliens made for a long wait in line at our local DMV and the fact that most of the customers did not speak English. Lucky for them, all the bureaucratic clerks were Hispanic and fluent in Spanish, the emerging national language of the United States. Not sure if Arabic will bypass Spanish but that is a topic for another day.

The clerk informed me that I was getting a REAL ID and I will be able to fly and enter all federal buildings with this DL. I was a bit perplexed as to why we would need the real I.D. with a star. Were our DLs not real IDs?

I have flown quite a bit with my old DL and used my passport on overseas flights. Unbeknownst to us, the REAL ID law was passed by Congress in 2005, twenty years ago, and nobody had a chance to chime in if it was a clever idea. Suddenly, twenty years later, all citizens must comply by May 7, 2025, to fly or enter federal buildings, nuclear power plants, and Arlington National Cemetery.

So far states have not made REAL ID mandatory, and people are not aware about this federal REAL ID and the fact that it is not mandatory to fly domestically. H.R.418 - 109th Congress (2005-2006): REAL ID Act of 2005 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) introduced a bill on 1/12/2017 to amend the Real ID Act of 2005 to repeal provisions requiring uniform State driver's licenses and State identification cards, and for other purposes. All Info - S.126 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): A bill to amend the Real ID Act of 2005 to repeal provisions requiring uniform State driver's licenses and State identification cards, and for other purposes. | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

What are the potential dangers of such a federally mandated REAL ID?

Many experts agree that REAL ID can be a threat to health freedom and can be used as the Chinese style social credit score as it is currently in China, U.K., and Australia. Twila Brase stated “REAL ID is a national ID, it is a federal takeover of state and individual sovereignty, it is an usurpation of state rights and individual rights that we have under Constitution.”

Brase stated that “it is not a card, it is a system.” When the REAL ID was debated, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee said that he was not comfortable with the privacy implications because this is a national ID.

REAL ID is a form of outsider control, an usurpation of state rights, “he who holds the data, makes the rules.”

The REAL ID law of 2005 has three stated purposes, to access federal buildings, to board domestic flights, and to enter nuclear facilities. However, the language of the law says, “and any other purposes that the Secretary of Homeland Security shall determine.”

What if the current or future Homeland Security Secretary decides that you “need REAL ID to access health care, get married, get a hotel room, open a bank account, or buy a gun or ammunition?” And the Secretary does not need to ask permission from Congress to expand the Homeland Security’s roles, according to a 2008 rule. In the future, biometrics can be required such as facial profile and DNA.

Right now, it is simple to obtain a REAL ID, i.e. birth certificate, Social Security card, your passport, a bill with your address on it, the old DL, permanent resident ID, but in the future, the documentation necessary could be expanded such as what organizations are you part of, voting record, what clubs you belong to, etc. American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators testified to Congress in December 2023 that they plan to digitize the REAL ID, put it on our phones, and have access to it remotely.

The argument that the REAL ID would protect elections and illegals would not be able to vote is absurd as we have seen illegals receiving voter registration cards from Democrats.

The states’ duty is to protect its citizens from the federal government’s overreach. We cannot allow the federal government to be in control of our social services, travel, access to health care, personal biometrics, and every transaction we make, which would ping a government agency that would know where we are and what we are doing. Data will be weaponized.

What would enforcement look like? Despite what they say, after May 7, 2025, you would fly without a REAL ID. The immediate enforcement of the federal rule would create total confusion at airports, especially since 44% of people have not complied and are fighting the change to REAL ID.

 

Let’s Buy Electric Vehicles We Cannot Afford

1905 electric car

I’ve been trying to purchase a new Toyota hybrid car for quite a while. The dealer lots are quite empty.  Customers are told that they must “reserve” a car in order to purchase. That never happened before in America in any previous administrations.  In the meantime, Toyota recalled a few thousand electric cars before they rolled out to the dealers.

The environmental “Green” politicians and our government have tripled the price of gasoline through its anti-fossil fuel economic policies from day one of this disastrous administration, in hopes that Americans will rush to buy their expensive and unaffordable electric vehicles (EVs) as mandated by the Green New Deal which is neither green, nor new, nor a deal.

To use a phrase that the globalist left and the United Nations have concocted in 1992, “sustainable,” to describe just about everything we do in life and in any economy, EVs are not “sustainable” for many reasons. They are just a toy for the rich and for young Americans with trust funds or money to burn on the latest fad.

You don’t have to be an engineer to realize that there are huge problems with the total replacement of fossil fuels and combustion engines with electric cars powered by lithium batteries.

Young engineers claim that the United States would only need to increase its energy production by 30 percent to accommodate all the possible EVs Americans would drive. But the theory of energy needed is quite short-sighted and leaves out a large swath of our giant economy and its commercial needs. The calculations only take into account private driving and not our industrial and transportation needs, i.e., big trucks, ships, airplane fleet, military, hospitals, schools, businesses, etc.

Few mention our aging grid that needs huge upgrades in order to prevent crashing. The patch grid currently in use fails frequently during power surges and larger needs due to inclement weather and heat/cold waves.  Blackouts are already occurring without millions of EVs in use and in need of charging.

Lithium batteries have a lifespan of 7-8 years and the cost of a new battery is $10,000. The rare metals are not in endless supply and lithium must be mined in certain countries where pollution is rampant and child labor is used.

Construction and disposal of lithium batteries is controversial as they are seldom recycled, they must be buried.

Producing such lithium batteries is certainly not carbon neutral at all even though the engine of an EV may not pollute the environment.

We know that time is money and the downtime between charges, somewhere along the highway, is certainly an issue that must be taken into account. There is a huge opportunity cost to such collective downtime that nobody has bothered to calculate.

Gas stations service hundreds of cars a day, filling the tanks quite rapidly. In order to have a large electric station that could charge even a fraction of cars in much longer time, one needs acres and acres of space to accommodate EVs sitting there for half hour or more at each station terminal.

People living in high rise condos and apartments would be unable to charge their EVs overnight unless they run electric cables out the windows which is totally impractical or park in garages that are retrofitted with electric chargers for each parking space, a cost that would be collectively astronomical to invest in.

EVs draw serious amps to charge, thus popping transformers like corn in a kettle.

The electricity for charging stations is generated mostly by fossil fuels, not carbon neutral fairy dust as claimed by proponents.  To say that solar panels could provide the electricity needed for EVs is ludicrous when you consider that a town of 45,000 people would need 15 square miles of solar panels to support its electricity needs.

Owners of EVs, if they can afford the high prices, will become slaves to a designated dealer for service. Insurance rates for EVs are certainly higher, and first responders to an accident would need specialized equipment to deal with a crash or the ensuing lithium battery fire.

Are there enough rare earth metals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel to produce just batteries for EVs?

Without fossil fuels, how do the “Greens” propose to mine the metals for the EV batteries, with picks and shovels?

What happens when the metal resources for EV batteries dry out?

Until all of the above problems are solved, hybrids are a good interim solution to cut back on air, water, and soil pollution.  

Until such time that the grid is seriously updated and not patched, and the proper infrastructure to accommodate EVs is established, EVs are just more expensive toys for rich people and millennials to virtue signal what good earthers they are and what dangerous polluters the rest of us are.

 

 

 

Are Republicans Representing Their Constituents?

The Republican Party, in its quest to better represent its constituency, has launched a questionnaire to feel the pulse of the voters by asking specific questions in order to streamline their message. The message is always very important, the actual implementation of goals depends on the elected representatives and senators and the powerful lobby in Washington.

The GOP wants to know if “Americans support efforts to reform entitlements, cut spending, and put our nation on track to a balanced federal budget without raising taxes.” Judging by the anemic economy, the weak and statistically manipulated GDP, the high unemployment rate, the huge welfare rolls, the alarming part-time labor force, the answer is yes.  

Conservatives have been faxing and calling their Congressmen, protesting around the Capitol, rallying around the country, holding town hall meetings, writing op-eds, but their wishes have fallen on deaf ears. Efforts to cut entitlements are non-existent; on the contrary, 11 plus million illegal immigrants will be added to the welfare rolls and to Social Security via blanket amnesty which Republicans cannot wait to pass if we are to judge by their constant radio and television ads in support of amnesty.

I am unsure if a balanced federal budget is possible any time soon since bill after bill is full of pork from both sides, most of which have little to do with the title of the bill. Case in point is the Farm Bill which includes more food stamps and other non-farm items. The national debt is past $17 trillion, galloping to the $19 trillion point of no return, and Republicans go along with the spending.

The GOP questionnaire asks if conservatives want Republicans in Congress to “block funding and implementation of the Obamacare legislation.” Republicans should have read the bill and blocked it before they voted. Are they really serious about defunding it and is that even possible when considering discretionary and non-discretionary spending?

Congress seems to be more preoccupied with exempting themselves from the law rather than representing the wishes of the majority of the American people who do not want Obamacare. Those include Republican voters, Democrat voters, unions, Democrats who helped write the bill and call it now a “train wreck,” municipal employees, unionized school teachers, and all Americans who want to keep their doctors and the stellar healthcare they now receive. Even the IRS chief wishes to keep his current healthcare – he understands how bad Obamacare is because he is going to be in charge of enforcing it and keeping 307 million private medical records on file.

The next question is asking if “Republicans in Congress should give up and rubber stamp the Obama agenda, passing Democrat sponsored tax hikes, spending increases and liberal expansion of government.” I am not sure if this is a serious question or is written to elicit anger or head scratching.

Government has expanded so much lately, in spite of the fact that Republicans control the House of Representatives. Republicans have pretty much rubber stamped the Obama agenda, voting in favor of everything Democrats have asked for, demanded, or forced Congress to pass. God-forbid should Republicans be labeled uncooperative or bad team players. They might not be invited to famous D.C. soirees and cocktail parties.

Reince Priebus, the RNC Chairman, wants to know if Americans “support opening more nuclear power plants, expanding offshore drilling and increasing exploration for domestic oil and gas reserves to lessen our dependence on imported fuels.” This must be a trick question – who wants to pay $4 per gallon when gasoline was $1.79 a gallon when the current administration began governing.

We have asked for more nuclear power plants for four decades but Congress has given so much power to the EPA, we have not been able to open a new one since the early 1970s and this reality is not likely to change.

President Obama put a moratorium on domestic offshore drilling and blocked the XL Keystone pipeline. Every Republican and Democrat in office has campaigned on reducing our dependence on foreign oil but has done very little to bring about that outcome. On the contrary, Saudi Prince Alwaleed warned against the shale oil threat to the kingdom’s economy. http://www.worldoil.com/Saudi_Prince_Alwaleed_warns_against_shale_oil_threat.html

 
The GOP should know that Americans are angry that the party of fiscal responsibility is abandoning conservative principles and ideals and is becoming more of a branch of the Democrat Party. There are 30 Republican governors but they are stifled by the Washington corruption and the ever-increasing federal government control through grants, grants-in-aid, and regulations.

There are many issues that Republicans have failed to address or to deliver a favorable resolution in Congress:

-         Strengthening border security

-         Reducing federal spending

-         Keeping taxes low in order to encourage job creation

-         Keeping military well trained, equipped and prepared (they have unnecessarily sequestered the pay of government employees as a political tool, reduced meals to our soldiers, reduced training time, reduced equipment)

-         Stopping implementation of Obamacare (it is an expensive “train wreck” that nobody can afford in the short- or long-term)

-         Stopping amnesty of 11 million illegal aliens at a time when 28.1 million Americans work part-time involuntarily and there are more people on food stamps than there are Americans working

-         Expanding domestic exploration for oil and gas

-         Stimulating job creation in the private sector, not part-time, but full-time jobs

-         Impeding the growth of U.S. manufacturing by continuing to support free and open trade with countries like China who do not play by the same rules we advocate

-         Investigating the Solyndra debacle, Fast and Furious, and Benghazi

Republicans have failed their constituents by allowing the massive redistribution of wealth, the massive entitlement spending, the out of control government spending, the expansion of corruption, crony capitalism, the weakening of our national security on many fronts, including the explosion of national debt which is the number one national security threat, destroying our health care and replacing it with Obamacare, failing to defend traditional marriage, religion, the pro-life stance, but most importantly, failing to address the indoctrination of our children into global citizenship, contradicting our Constitution and our American values, diluting our national identity.

The GOP should not support the shrinking of our military might and presence, the reduction of American ships in the U.S. Navy at a time when China has launched its first aircraft carrier and is flexing its military muscles around the world.

The GOP should not pander to specific groups such as Hispanic, Asian, or Black, we are all Americans, and representation should be equal to all Americans, anything less is pandering.

A simple solution to begin fixing the economy and all the other problems that plague the country is to change the wages for life of our Congressmen, making it less attractive and lucrative to be a “public servant,” although many can argue that we are the ones serving their interests and fortunes. When one considers the average income for seniors on Social Security of $12,000 and the average salary of a soldier deployed in Afghanistan of $38,000, it appears obscene to give a House/Senate member $174,000 for life, the Speaker of the House $223,500 for life and the Majority/Minority Leader $194,400 for life, especially when some Congressmen “serve” just one term while others make a life-long career of destroying the interests of the American majority.  

 

 

 

The Last Day at CPAC 2013

The third and last day at the Conservative Political Action Conference 2013 had not lost any of the initial steam and enthusiasm. The music, the robust energy, the youthful excitement were vibrant and bursting at the seams. The speeches were fiery and motivating.

The leitmotif of every speech was the loss of the GOP’s core principles of conservatism in the eager race to pander to and win the hearts and minds of various voting blocks that self-segregated long time ago from the population at large. Orators agreed that the GOP has become a miniature Democrat party in their haste to please and earn the trust of voters who are now used to the Democrat promise of more government dependency and helplessness.

The first speaker of note, Scott Walker, Governor of Wisconsin, remarked how he had never thought that he would run for office twice during the same term and that he would win the second time with more votes in spite of the national unions’ and the Democrats’ opposition and the disruptive and destructive moves by Wisconsin legislators who ran away instead of doing their jobs to protect the interests of the people who elected them.

He reminded people that the federal government did not create the states, the states created the federal government, and real courageous reforms happen in the states by creating economic prosperity at the small business level and citizen level by cutting taxes and creating jobs.

By eliminating union seniority, tenure, changing health insurance plans, he has saved taxpayer money in his state, creating a surplus. He believes that able-bodied adults should not receive welfare and food stamps. His 75,000 Wisconsin residents on food stamps have to work or sign up for employment training in order to receive food stamps.

The second speaker was Newt Gingrich, introduced by his wife Calista. She emphasized their foundation’s work, the many projects and books that celebrate the greatness of America, and the children’s books she writes to promote our Founding Fathers’ principles with the help of a “time-traveling pachyderm named Ellis the Elephant,” the true history of our nation, American values, and capitalism, the only way to lift people out of poverty and create long-lasting prosperity for our large middle-class. Newt is currently working on “God Loves You, The Life of Billy Graham,” a book about the life and legacy of our most beloved and influential spiritual leaders in America.

“The Republican establishment is just plain wrong about how it approaches politics,” said Newt. “It is mired in the past and mired in its own stupidity.” In his opinion, Pat Caddell, famous Democrat pollster, raises the right questions. “The changes we need are vastly different.” We have to disengage ourselves from the “consultant culture” of running ads to attack somebody. We do not need new principles, we need new ideas to implement our principles, to “empower people to leave poverty,” to create jobs and to get government out of the way.

Channeling Edison who said, “We will make electricity so cheap that only the rich will burn candles,” he juxtaposed Edison’s idea to President Obama’s idea to skyrocket electricity prices by destroying the use of fossil fuels, particularly coal and oil.

Newt recommended Gavin Newsom’s book, Citizenville, recommendations on how to move out of government bureaucracy and into citizen empowerment in the Toquevillian model, where “you become the citizen activist in the new world.” I found his recommendation surprising since Gavin Newsom is the mayor of San Francisco, the most liberal city in the country with a City Hall that pays for every liberal pet project but cannot afford to fix its roads. Is this the kind of city we want? Is San Francisco a model to be emulated?

The Honorable Michelle Bachmann took the podium next. The most ardent conservative who stands on principle, Rep. Bachmann supports no debt ceiling and the unilateral repeal of Obamacare. She opposes any Democrat or Republican who does not stand on principle.

Welcoming the enthusiastic crowd to Washington, D.C., “a very unique city where you have to show a photo I.D. to tour the White House and then they demand you put your photo I.D. away before you vote for the man standing in the White House,” Rep. Bachmann defines D.C. with sarcasm as the city of “care and compassion.” She defines Republicans as the real care and compassion people because they want everyone to succeed economically; they want cheap gasoline, and second amendment rights to protect anybody’s sister.

Recounting Benghazi, Rep. Bachmann described the sacrifice of Tyrone Woods and Glenn Dougherty who cared enough for their fellow Americans to defy orders and to fight for 7 hours while saving many American lives. They begged for help and help never came. She recounted how the President knew about the attack in the first hour but he did nothing to help these brave men. The very next day, she said, he flew to Vegas to meet with Jay-Z and Beyoncé.

She also recounted how our President went to United Nations in New York and told the delegates that “The future must not belong to those who insult the Prophet of Islam.” Rep. Bachmann said that the President should have stated instead, “The future does not belong to the low-life murderers who kill innocent Americans.” The future belongs to Americans, she said, who will never give up their right to free speech and the right to bear arms.

The President is “presiding over a war on the young” by putting their future in serious debt through the $16 trillion wasteful and out-of-control spending. Borrowing money from our enemies is “a generational injustice of epic proportions. It is the greatest transfer of wealth in history from the young,...to whomever our President wishes to give our money.” How does that help the poor, she asks. She describes the “imperial presidency” and the excessive spending to maintain it. Yet a disabled veteran can no longer take a White House tour.

Caring is exemplified by individuals like Dr. Jonas Salk who teamed up with a private group to develop the polio vaccine in order to save millions of lives. Developing cures for diseases like Alzheimer, diabetes, and cancer represents caring. “It is our duty to pay it forward for the next generation,” not bankrupt it, she concluded.

Millie Hallow introduced Dr. Ben Carson and Eric Metaxas as “President Obama’s (Prayer) Breakfast Club” to the roaring crowd and thunderous applause. Dr. Carson, in his gentle professorial tone, lectured on the importance of common sense and the message to government that it works for the people.

Many “nasty grams” later, received after his famous breakfast prayer speech, Dr. Carson explained that he refuses to talk about race because “he is a neurosurgeon.” Neurosurgeons operate on the interior, after removing the exterior scalp and the dura. It is this interior who makes us who we are, not the exterior.

Emphasizing the importance of turning off the TV and reading books, he recounted his hard-working mom telling him, “Benjamin, you are too smart to bring home grades like this. And I brought them home anyway.” Education was so stressed in his home through discipline that it changed him from the “dummy” in 5^th grade into the kid to whom all other kids came for help with math problems. “Education is so fundamental to the success of America.” Our system of governance was based on a well-educated and informed populace and we are no longer so, we are on our way to a different country.

“If I were trying to destroy this nation, if you were to magically, so say, put me, you know, into the White House [long applause], … what would you do?” Let me tell what I would do.  First of all, I would create division among the people, I would have everybody pitted against each other because a wise man by the name of Jesus once said that a ‘House divided against itself cannot stand’ and then, I would encourage a culture of ridicule for basic morality, and the principles that made and sustained the country, and then I would undermine the financial stability of the country and drive it so far into debt that there was absolutely no chance that it could recover, and I would weaken the military, and destroy the morality of the military.” It appears coincidental that this is exactly what is happening right now, and can we stop it? It has happened for a long time and education is the key.

Dr. Carson continued, “Socialism started as a reaction to America” against its tremendous success. Redistribution of wealth in a fair way did not and does not work, but a mechanism and an infrastructure to create jobs and opportunity to enable people to succeed has created the largest middle class in the history of the world. Nobody starves in the streets, churches take care of the poor, the wealthy give a lot to charity, more than anybody else in the world. It is not the government’s responsibility to care for its citizens and everybody must have “skin in the game” and pay taxes.

Dr. Carson said that if the government controls health care, one fifth of our economy, “they can control everything.” Good health care can be provided by other more efficient ways. In his opinion, 80 percent of our care can be provided with the help of health savings accounts without the “need of a bureaucracy that sucks out at least a third of the money.” As a neurosurgeon, Dr. Carson understands Economics, it is certainly “not brain surgery.”[pun intended] “Corporations are not in the business of being social welfare organizations.” And that includes health organizations and doctors that provide medical services. Corporations are our friends, not our enemies.

Dr. Carson ended his speech with the wish that we end the war on faith, the war on God.  We have freedom of religion and the PC police must stop imposing their beliefs on the rest of America. Likewise, the political class and the media must stop “creating friction and chasm” between Americans, creating problems and crises when none exist. Values and principles are important for our nation’s survival under God.

In 106 days Dr. Carson will be retiring and plans an active role in educating the next generation. Joking that he did not answer the question about politics, Metaxas said that Dr. Carson obviously entered politics by not answering the question. Dr. Carson is going to be 62 years old in September and would like to retire at the pinnacle of his career. “There is a reason why they retire pilots at 62, to keep them from crashing airplanes.”

Senator Ted Cruz introduced the next speaker, Governor Sarah Palin. A wiry, fearless momma Grizzly, size zero ball of energy, Governor Sarah Palin bounded onto the stage in skin tight pants and a smile to light up the room. The energetic hockey mom from Wasilla was definitely in the house. She talked about our second amendment rights and background checks that should have started “with yours, Mr. President.” She complained that “We don’t have leadership from Washington, we have reality television.” Everything from Washington seems like a con, she said, a scripted calculation, it is no longer about leading and serving.

She asked pointed questions. How does punishing the job creators create more jobs? What about the cost of living, the price of gas? What about inflation? Why does Congress refuse to pass a budget for four years in violation of our Constitution? Why does it not tell the American people what it intends to do with the taxpayers’ money? “Barack Obama promised the most transparent administration ever. Barack Obama, you lie,” said Governor Palin.

The audience went wild when Governor Palin brought out a Big Gulp soda and took several sips. He advised young Republicans to think Sam Adams not drink Sam Adams.

She demanded a stop to the pandering to different groups of voters, who are promised goodies and special perks. “We are all created equal, there are no Hispanic issues and no African American issues.” We are all Americans. We must believe in American exceptionalism. “Nobody is guaranteed success but everyone is guaranteed an equal opportunity at success.”

Governor Palin believes that crony capitalism must end, including the free Obama phones, green energy, and free prophylaxis. “If you don’t have a team of lobbyists in D.C., or a canceled campaign contribution check, well, you are not at the table, you are on the menu.” She urged politicians “to put a stake in the heart of too big to fail.”

She told Alaskans and Americans that “God’s resources are owned by the people, don’t let corporations own you, you have a right to those resources for our use.”

She emphasized that “our challenges are so big and our leaders are so small.” Our country is desperate for leadership, it is tired of campaigning, and it is tired of those in power creating and exploiting crisis after crisis. “You won, step away from the teleprompter and do your job.” We need leadership to stop government waste, to provide national security, to stop spending our money recklessly, to provide cheaper sources of energy.

Governor Palin told Washington to “get over yourself.” America belongs to we the people and it is high time that we take our country back by demanding accountability from politicians.

Mrs. Phyllis Schlafly, founder of Eagle Forum, took the podium to urge Americans to guard against voter fraud, pick winning candidates, and stop trying to create a third party. Nominate and elect the right candidates, she urged. She believes that the GOP wants candidates who vote the way they are told to vote, candidates who only discuss economic issues, not moral and social issues. “The social issues are the cause of our economic issues, issues like life and marriage.” We cannot win elections if we call GOP candidates “moderates.” Spending money on ads is wasteful since most people don’t watch TV anymore.

The breakdown of the family is costing us dearly financially. According to the Heritage Foundation, there are 79 welfare programs. “I have not figured out which agency hands out free cell phones yet.” We do not need so many people dependent on government.

President Obama wants a “baby-sitting service,” national education core standards, and comprehensive immigration reform, a code word for amnesty. Interestingly, the panel on immigration recommended comprehensive immigration reform. I will write a separate article detailing that panel discussion.

Mrs. Schlafly also described the challenges the country faces in regards to confiscation of guns and zero nukes policy. She reminded the students of the bumper sticker that says, “When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns,” and “when nuclear weapons are outlawed, only terrorists will have nukes.”

She concluded, “We need your help to take back the Republican Party for the grass roots. We want candidates that we nominate instead of those who follow the dictates of the establishment.”

Senator Rick Santorum personally introduced a 53 minute documentary, Our Sacred Honor, “a journey into our past that explores the meaning of our founding documents.”

Newt and Calista Gingrich made a brief, live introduction to the 90 minute movie, America At Risk: The War with No Name. They asked the question, “How do we win a war with an enemy the Obama Administration refuses to identify?”

A screening of the 75 minute film, Occupy Unmasked, starring Andrew Breitbart and directed by Stephen K. Bannon, was followed by a panel discussion on the legacy of Andrew Breitbart.

The visual entertainment was provided by some attendees dressed in colonial attire, a Transformer robot, and other colorful characters. Young people everywhere were excited and applauding, cheering, and agreeing with speakers’ points quite loudly.

In the media pool, the numerous liberal bloggers and reporters were easy to spot by their displeased concentrated demeanor, lack of direct eye contact with the people around them, and irreverent attire.

A tall retired police detective from Colorado, dressed in a Texas cowboy outfit was standing in a strategic corner wearing a t-shirt that said, “Cops Say Legalize Pot, Ask Me Why.” A Washington lobbyist, Howard ‘Cowboy’ Wooldridge was representing “Citizens Opposing Prohibition” of drugs. A libertarian, Howard gave an interview in German to a reporter from Bavaria on the follies of chasing pot smokers when real criminals such as pedophiles escaped unpunished. “It is hard to fight crime from a helicopter,” he said. He was bemoaning the thousands of innocent foreign nationals killed as they came in the crosshairs of drug lords.

A liberal group from Jackson, Wyoming was advertising their initiative “to bring together Americans from disparate political backgrounds to partner on projects that advance the common good, both nationally and in our communities, and restores civility and cooperation in our discourse.”

One of the booths advertised “MarriageMarch” on March 26 in Washington D.C. to support “marriage, religious liberty, and the right of every child to both a mom and dad.” The organizers promised that the gathering in D.C. will be a historic event with nationally-recognized speakers. (www.Facebook.com/MarchForMarriage)

At the conclusion of the conference, the results of the straw poll were announced. Rand Paul won out of 23 candidates. The media pool was not allowed to vote.