By Richard Larsen

Published – Idaho State Journal, 04/26/2009

Saul Alinsky would be proud of what one of his disciples is doing to transform America. Alinsky, you’ll recall, is widely considered the founder of “community organizing.” He maintained that the way to facilitate “change,” was by “capturing the culture and turning it inside out as the most effective means of overturning western society.” He advocated “a Marxist revolution achieved by slow, incremental, Machiavellian means which turned society inside out. This had to be done through systematic deception, winning the trust of the naively idealistic middle class by using the language of morality to conceal an agenda designed to destroy it. And the way to do this was through peoples organizations.”

John Perazzo of FrontPage, in his insightful examination of the Alinsky methodology, said last year, “In the Alinsky model, ‘organizing’ is a euphemism for ‘revolution’ -- a wholesale revolution whose ultimate objective is the systematic acquisition of power by a purportedly oppressed segment of the population, and the radical transformation of America's social and economic structure.”

One of Alinsky’s key strategies was to specifically identify and name “enemies;” those who stand in the way of “change.” As he said in his book, “Rules for Radicals,” “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.” Well, his disciple in the White House who studied Alinsky’s methodology and trained others with it, has put a face on the perceived enemy. And not surprisingly, it isn’t Islamo-fascist terrorists. It’s people like you and I!

In an Agency Assessment from Obama’s Department of Homeland Security, titled “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment,” the “enemy” to Obama’s transformation agenda is identified. According to the document which has the phrase, “For Official Use Only” on every page, the issues that motivate his enemies of the state, as identified in the communiqué are opposition to gun control, government infringement on civil liberties, abortion, hate crime legislation, anti-illegal immigration, and opposition to same-sex marriage. In a footnote, the document states, “[Rightwing extremism] may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue, such as opposition to abortion or immigration.” In other words, everyone who is not a left-wing radical is now officially an enemy to the Obama Administration and accused of being a potential domestic terrorist! By their own admission, however, they have no evidence of potential threats, so the assessment is nothing but a political hatchet-job against those who don’t agree with them.

If that alone is not sufficiently disturbing to you, the most insidious portions of the report single out veterans who have served our nation bravely and proudly in combating those who seek our destruction. Veterans could be “recruited” to join “right-wing radical groups” and become “lone wolves” in attacks on the nation.

And for those of you who think your Second Amendment right to own guns is sacred, you’d better be sitting down for this one. The document states, “Proposed imposition of firearms restrictions and weapons bans likely would attract new members into the ranks of rightwing extremist groups, as well as potentially spur some of them to begin planning and training for violence against the government.” Did you note that wording? “Proposed imposition of firearms restrictions and weapons bans…” In case you doubted Obama’s intentions toward the Second Amendment, it should be clear to you now.

Will this lead to curtailed free speech? Officially, perhaps not. But it can’t help but stifle it if everyone thinks they’re going to show up on a “domestic terrorist watch list” for speaking out against abortion, illegal immigration (which according to Janet Napolitano, DHS Secretary, is no longer a crime!), homosexual marriage, or in favor of gun ownership. What they have done is essentially criminalized all conservatives, for those tenets are fundamental. Nixon reportedly maintained an “enemies list,” which made the media and the left apoplectic. Essentially Obama has made public his list, and it was painted with a broad brush inclusive of everyone who doesn’t agree with him.

A notice was sent out in February by the FBI and DHS with essentially the same warnings. It went out to national, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

Now, for those of you who think this is no big deal, imagine if George Bush’s DHS had issued a similar warning about those who protest the Iraq War, were in favor of abortion, illegal-immigration, or same-sex marriage. If Bush had done this against those who opposed him, you’d be crying for impeachment. This is not just un-American, it’s unconstitutional, and threatens free speech for all.

By Richard Larsen

Published – Idaho State Journal, 04/19/2009

There was a certain sense of empowerment and cohesiveness at the Pocatello TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Party held at the Pocatello City Hall parking lot on Wednesday. For many, it seemed comforting to know that they weren’t alone in feeling like our country is being steam-rolled to a socialistic state where those of us who work hard to provide for our families are shouldering the costs of an out-of-control spending machine in Washington. Participants were unified against expansion of government, encroachment into the private sector, restriction of freedom, and against the massive taxes that will have to be eventually levied to pay for all the spending being done in Washington.

Our nations’ founders intended for there to be a check and balance system where the power and authority of one branch of government could not be expanded at the expense of the others. This check and balance system was designed to prevent governmental excess and oppression of the people. But when the legislative and executive branches function in lock-step usurping not only constitutional power granted to the people and the states, but the people’s capital, a sense of helplessness and disenfranchisement ensues.

The event Wednesday seemed to assuage some of that feeling of helplessness, and seemed to be an eclectic gathering of common people who are not revolutionaries or extremists. They’re just American citizens fed up with the bailouts, the spending, and taxes. It truly was a nonpartisan group, as we have seen all too clearly through the years that no political party has a monopoly on fiscal responsibility and restraint. The government spent more during George Bush’s eight years in office than any other administration in history, and the current administration is well on its way to dwarfing that. Many of us thought spending under Bush was unrestrained, but what we see now is out-of-control spending on steroids.

Rather than being unified by party, those at the rally were unified by a common sense of fiscal responsibility and frustration at the perceived anti-American actions of the federal government. The spirit of the gatherings nationwide could well be captured by one very young protestors sign, “My future is being mortgaged,” and another, “Why do I feel like a ship passing by Somalia?” an obvious metaphoric comparison of current government actions to piracy,” and another “Tell the politicians to cut their budgets; we’re already cutting ours.”

In February, I watched the live CNBC report by Rick Santelli from the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade in amazement as he launched into a diatribe against Congress and the President for their plan to reward bad behavior by having fiscally responsible citizens help pay the mortgages of those who have been less responsible. Santelli said maybe it was time to consider another Tea Party symbolizing our collective disapprobation of the tax-and-spend mentality dominating Washington. Traders on the floor cheered him on (mind you, the CBOT is based in Chicago, not exactly the heartland of conservative political values). as he pled to the camera, “President Obama, are you listening?” From that heartfelt plea by a single citizen, a nationwide grassroots movement was spawned.

While polls still show significant support for our new president, he has become the most divisive president in modern history. According to Pew Research, Obama has a 61 point partisan gap between Republicans and Democrats. George Bush, by comparison, was at 51 points, and Bill Clinton was at 45 points, three months into their terms.

It’s hard to say whether the Tea Parties represent an actual movement or were simply a flash in the political pan. If they were a one-time event, the affects will prove ephemeral, as Washington seems impervious to pleas of restraint and discretion in spending and taxation.

But if it was the start of a grassroots movement of concerned citizens for the future of the country, the affects could be monumental. It took just two-and-a-half years from the symbolic Boston Tea Party of 1773 to the Declaration of Independence. If the participants of the 2009 Tea Parties want to have a real impact, they need to keep that spirit alive and growing for the next year-and-a-half to alter the composition of Congress, much like disaffected voters did in 1994. If the rallies didn’t catch the attention of decision makers in the nations’ capitol, you can bet that a realignment of congress in 2010 will.

By Richard Larsen

Published – Idaho State Journal, 04/12/2009

There is a common malady that afflicts many of our American comrades, known as the Bush Derangement Syndrome (BDS), where everything wrong with the world is blamed on our former president. A corollary to that is BAS, or the “Blame America Syndrome.” Regrettably our president seems to have contracted both.

Less than three months into a new administration and America’s role as a world leader is capitulated and subservience shown by our president to foreign powers. During his trip to Europe last week for the G20 meetings in London (what some pundits have called Obama’s “Bash America Tour”), the new president clearly evidenced his BAS.

To cut a little slack, however, we have to remember that he’s a rookie at this. After all, he only had been a community organizer and a State Senator before advancing to the U.S. Senate. And he’d only served there for 143 days before he began running for president. So we can attribute to his naïveté the full-waist bow to the King of Saudi Arabia (how’s that for subservience?), the gift of an Apple iPod to the 82 year-old Queen of England (loaded with Obama’s speeches and some other things), Michelle’s repeated touching of the Queen (I didn’t go to Harvard, yet even I know that’s anathema!).

And we’re not just talking about minor things like on Saturday when he referred to “Austrian” as a language. No, that’s just one of those verbal faux pas like when he referred to visiting all 57 United States during the campaign. And not like the answer to a BBC reporter’s question about causes for the global financial meltdown. Although that rambling diatribe did generate some immensely humorous missives with the BBC and The Guardian that make for some enlightened reading for those who swallow hook-line-and sinker the American mainstream media twist of the trip. But even that vapid answer followed the pattern for the rest of the trip: blame America for everything, and by default, blame it all on George W. Bush.

Two brief examples characterize his theme in Europe. In Strasbourg he said America “has failed to appreciate Europe’s leading role in the world.” Really? In what way is Europe pre-eminent to the United States except in secular socialism? In one fell swoop, America is no longer the one remaining super-power of the world and anti-Americanism is legitimized by the “leader of the free world.”

He further subordinated America’s global leadership role when he stated that our country has “shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.” He must have been reading Jimmy Carter’s books, for he sounds just like him.

Syndicated columnist and analyst Charles Krauthammer said of Obama’s actions in Europe, “When Kennedy arrived in Paris, he did not attack Eisenhower and the United States. When Obama was elected president, he became president of all of the United States, including Americans who opposed him, and he owns American history, including a past he may not have wanted to engage in. I think what he did is, in order to gain the adoration of the crowd, he denigrated his country in a way that I think is disgraceful.” I couldn’t agree more.

Among his inscrutable statements was one to the Turkish Parliament, where he said, “We will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over the centuries to shape the world — including in my own country.” If he was speaking of ancient history, I would understand where he was coming from. But there have been precious few significant contributions to the world from the Muslim world for 600 years. Their extremists have provided us with cause for increased security at airports and other segments of our infrastructure. Maybe that’s what he was referring to.

For all his efforts at American obeisance to Europe, European pundits were not nearly so impressed as was the American media who still maintain a “slobbering love affair” with the new president. Perusing analysis from UK sources, for example, his efforts fostered more derision than praise.

Seems to me that last year when Michelle said she was proud of America for the first time, she was echoing the sentiments of the entire Obama household. How sad that the President of the United States should have such apparent disdain and contempt for the country that he leads.

On a cold December night two-hundred and thirty-five years ago, a few dozen men boarded three English ships heavily laden with English tea in Boston and tossed their contents into the harbor. The event became pivotal for American revolutionaries protesting King George’s ability to tax the colonists without representation. This revolutionary event, “The Boston Tea Party,” has become iconic to an America that resents unjust taxation, and lack of accountability in levying taxes.

That same revolutionary spirit seems to be building nationwide. “Tea Parties” are being planned across the nation in protest of proposed profligate spending, proposed increases in taxes, and a spineless congress that serves as a rubber-stamping lapdog to the new administration.

Not surprisingly, the national media, which the media analyst Bernard Goldberg claims has maintained a “slobbering love affair” with the new president, is refusing to cover the story that seems to be growing exponentially in momentum. Media’s reticence proves their complicity and their ideological bias, for they provided a national forum for a single protesting anti-war activist camped outside Crawford, Texas, but refuse to cover the thousands of planned “tea parties” across the nation.

A simple internet search turns up plans for an April 15 demonstration against Washington’s fiscal irresponsibility in over 1500 cities nationwide, with some of those anticipating up to thirty-thousand participants.

This is pretty remarkable. Those who are fiscally and socially conservative usually don’t engage in the typically over-sensationalized symbolism of protests. After all, most of them have jobs, work hard to support their families, and are usually considered to be among the “silent majority.”

The attitude behind this mentality is captured fairly well in an email I recently received. It declared, “There's a storm a brewin'. What happens when good, responsible people keep quiet? Washington has forgotten they work for us. We don't work for them. Throwing good money after bad is NOT the answer. I am sick of the midnight, closed door sessions to come up with a plan. I am sick of Congress raking CEO's over the coals while they, themselves, have defaulted on their taxes.

“I am sick of the bailed out companies having lavish vacations and retreats on my dollar. I am sick of being told it is MY responsibility to rescue people that, knowingly, bought more house than they could afford. I am sick of being made to feel it is my patriotic duty to pay MORE taxes. I, like all of you, am a responsible citizen. I pay my taxes. I live on a budget and I don't ask someone else to carry the burden for poor decisions I may make. I have emailed my congressmen and senators asking them to NOT vote for the stimulus package as it was written without reading it first. No one listened. They voted for it, pork and all.

“O.K. folks, here it is. You may think you are just one voice and what you think won't make a difference. Well, yes it will and YES, WE CAN!! If you are disgusted and angry with the way Washington is handling our taxes. If you are fearful of the fallout from the reckless spending of BILLIONS to bailout and “stimulate” without accountability and responsibility then we need to become ONE, LOUD VOICE THAT CAN BE HEARD FROM EVERY CITY, TOWN, SUBURB AND HOME IN AMERICA. There is a growing protest to demand that Congress, the President and his cabinet LISTEN to us, the American Citizens. What is being done in Washington is NOT the way to handle the economic free fall.”

No doubt many of us sympathize, and feel the same frustration with the demagoguery of the politicians in Washington, the seizing of once proud companies that symbolized the manufacturing expertise and financial prowess of American industry, and the proposals to spend our nation’s future into oblivion.

I’ve never been the type to protest. I’ve always thought it to be too long on symbolism and short on substance. But this one that’s brewing nationwide is based wholly on substance, and the symbolic significance is validated by the groundswell of support all across the fruited plain.

Washington’s collective irresponsibility has lit a match to the American revolutionary spirit, and each week throws more kindling on the growing conflagration. If the current batch of “leaders” don’t want themselves numbered on the unemployment rolls in a couple years, they’d better wake up.