Philly Tea Party Remembers Joey Vento

While remembering his remarkable contribution to the Tea Party movement, members of the Independence Hall Tea Party Association are mourning the loss of Joey Vento, who died yesterday of a massive heart attack.  

"Joey Vento,  recipient of our 2011 Patriot of the Year Award, will never be forgotten--he is simple irreplaceable,"  said Association President, Teri Adams.

"The April 18 Press Release (below) sums up our Association's view of a genuine Tea Party hero and legend."  

  

Teri Adams Announces Joey Vento as

Tea Party Choice for 2011 Patriot of the Year

Live on WPHT's Dom Giordano Show 

  

Association Names Joey Vento 2011 Patriot of the Year;

 Says Vento Exemplifies the Entrepreneurial and Civic Spirit

the Movement Espouses

Philadelphia, PA (April 18, 2011) -- The President of the Independence Hall Tea Party Association has announced that businessman Joey Vento has been unanimously chosen by its Board of Directors to receive the "2011 Patriot of the Year Award" for his Entrepreneurial and Civic contributions at the local, regional, and national levels.

Speaking at a Tea Party held April 15 at Geno's Steaks (a restaurant Mr. Vento established in 1966 at the corner of 9th and Passyunk) and carried live on WPHT's Dom Giordano Show, Association President Teri Adams explained why Mr. Vento was chosen.

"Joey Vento has been a friend to Philadelphia, the region, and the nation," said Ms. Adams. "As a South Philadelphia businessman and employer, 

Mr. Vento has benefited the local economy.  As a philanthropist, he has supported justice for fallen police officer Daniel Faulkner, an array of regional law enforcement causes, and various other charities. 

"As a concerned American, Mr. Vento has been an outspoken proponent of legal immigration--backing Arizona in its struggle to enforce the laws on its books against the intervention of the Federal government, " Ms. Adams said.  "He has defended the First Amendment, advocated for superior health care, and promoted the Tea Party Movement."

Several Years ago, the Philadelphia Human Relations Commission tried to penalize Mr. Vento for posting a sign on the wall of his establishment, which read, "When Ordering, Please Speak English."   Mr. Vento fought the 

Commission and eventually prevailed.

More recently,  Mr. Vento, who was diagnosed with cancer and successfully treated, has taken to the airwaves--buying radio spots comparing the advantages of the private American healthcare system to the deficiencies of socialized medicine.

"Joey Vento spoke at our very first Tea Party two years ago," said Ms. Adams.  "The nearly two thousand participants loved his heartfelt sincerity, his honesty, and his common sense.  He is the Tea Party Movement."

The "2011 Patriot of the Year Award" will be officially presented to Mr. Vento at the Association's Energy Independence Day Tea Party to be

held July 4 from 1-4 PM on Independence Mall, 5th and Market Streets.

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Coulter Draws Huge Philly Crowd; Praises Christie

Here's a part of the HUGE crowd that turned out in Philly earlier tonight to dine with Ann Coulter at Union Trust steak house and get the scoop from Coulter on her new book, Demonic, as well as her views on the national political scene. As you can see the line of people waiting to get in stretched as far as the eye could see. Who says there aren't any conservatives in the Philadelphia region?

Congratulations to Chris Stigall of The Big Talker, WPHT, 1201 AM radio in Philadelphia and his Red Meat Tour.
Chris completely sold out the Union Trust steak house tonight for a wonderful Evening With Ann Coulter, the New York Times Number One Best-Selling author and leading conservative commentator.
It was great to be on hand with the effusive and funny Chris Stigall and so many happy conservatives. Chris has been like a breath of fresh air on local radio here in Philadelphia. He's a smart, witty, very human and highly engaging radio personality -- a nice guy and a real common-sense conservative.
During the evening Coulter asked everyone to write to Mary Pat Christie and tell her to urge her husband to run for president. "Tell her he'll get to live and work at home (it's an easy commute) and get to spend lots of time with her and the kids," Coulter said. Obviously, Coulter had high praise for Christie calling him "a man with a high IQ who also knows how to communicate and tell the truth" and extolling him as "courageous."
Of course, Chjristie has said he's not running for president.
So, Coulter predicted that if Christie is not the nominee the Republican Party will probably nominate Mitt Romney and she described Romney as "acceptable and electable." Coulter told the crowd that "we have to focus on winning. We can defeat Barack Obama." And she reminded them: "Romney isn't McCain."
Coulter said the Democrat Party has now become the party of  public employees and she thanked Christie for taking on "the huge issue" of this monstrous sea of government workers with their benefits and pensions. "If the boss is not asking you to work more and earn less you don't need a union," Coulter explained. "And government is not asking its employees to do either."
Coulter was dazzling as usual. And Stigall was nothing less than ebullient. 
It was a great night with good friends and smart people!

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GOP Must Practice 'Politics Of Addition'

An important (and very wise) message from the National Tea Party Alert:

Not since the formation of the Republican Party in 1855 has a political movement made such an impact in as brief a time period as the Tea Party movement. After all, within a few years the Republican Party had taken control of several northern cities and had elected a President by 1860.
One of the reasons for this early success by the GOP was that it was a movement founded principally around a single idea, the abolition of slavery; thus bringing together a relatively diverse coalition of Americans under one tent, all fighting for the same idea.
However, by the 1870's the party's quick success had created a significant level of factionalism that caused an identity crisis which lasted for decades. It's an important lesson for the Tea Party movement.
Last week, a two-day gathering of conservative activists called the "Faith and Freedom Coalition" met in Washington D.C. in an attempt to bring together evangelicals and Tea party voters in a united front against the Obama Administration. The gathering was attended by nearly every Presidential contender in an attempt to build their own coalition of suporters.
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, a former chair of the RNC and briefly a rumored candidate himself said, "In politics, purity is the enemy of victory," said Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a former Republican national chairman. "We can't start out with the idea, as the Faith and Freedom Coalition, that our candidate's got to agree with me on every single thing. We cannot expect our candidate to be pure. Winning is about unity."
However, FFC founder Ralph Reed said "he wasn't overly concerned that tea partyers and evangelicals would balk at supporting a nominee they considered insufficiently conservative, because of their desire to defeat Obama.
He did say the GOP would be in trouble if it did not find a way to make inroads among younger voters, women, Latinos, African Americans, Asians and other minorities. To win in the future, Republicans must practice "the politics of addition, not subtraction, and grow the pie," Reed said."

Click here for more information.

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Huckabee's Not Running: Who Really Benefits?

So, Mike Huckabee's not in the 2012 GOP presidential race,.
Now, the mainstream media will quickly say that this is a clear indication that the Big Guns -- the candidates who can really win -- are shying away from the race. And, as always, this will be spun as good news for Obama & Co. Expect death notices for the 2012 GOP to come fast and furious. Many will pronounce the race "over" before it even begins. And the pundits will say that the GOP lineup is composed of a bunch of crackpots and radicals -- second tier candidates.
But, we've still got a long way to go.
And some prospective candidates will actually beneifit from Huckabee not being in the race.
Here's who should be cheered by (and may even be boosted by) the news:
1) Mitch Daniels. The Governor of Indiana is now more likely to enter the contest and rapidly gather mainstream support. He must be considered a formidable contender.
2) Mitt Romney. Huckabee was the main impediment to a Romney nomination last time. With Huckabee out of the race, Romney should have an easier time of it.
3) Paul Ryan. No telling whether or not he's even interested, but Nice Guy Huckabee's departure makes room for other, more moderate, more common-sense conservatives like Ryan.
4) Sarah Palin. Huckabee boasted genuine conservative credentials. There is now no real, national conservative figure for the right to rally round -- not a serious one, anyway. Palin could decide that this opens the door for her.
5) Chris Christie. I know. I know. I know he says there's no way he will run. I believe him. Still, Chris Christie really doesn't have to run - or declare just yet. Because now Huckabee's departure sort of scrambles the race and allows Christie & Co. to keep their options open if they so desire.

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How To Support John Featherman For Mayor

                                           

A special message from the Independence Hall Tea Party Association:

If we are to have a serious, vigorous debate, this fall, about the future of Philadelphia, we must help John defeat the "official GOP" machine choice, Karen Brown. 

A recent Democrat turned Republican, she is, no doubt, the least qualified GOP-backed candidate to ever run for Mayor of the City of Brotherly.   A debate between Mayor David Nutter and Karen Brown would be farcical.    

John, on the hand, would be able to articulate a vision for future of a city that was once the Capitol of the United States (see press release below).

If you are interested in volunteering for John at the polls this upcoming Tuesday (you do not have to live in Philly), please call us at 215.620.3055.

The old truism still holds true.  Together, we can make a difference.

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Philly Tea Party Backs Featherman For Mayor

The Independence Hall Tea Party PAC Board of Directors voted overwhelmingly to endorse John Featherman in the May 17, 2011 Republican Mayoral Primary.

This marks only the second time the PAC has endorsed a candidate in a non-federal election.

"First and foremost, this endorsement speaks to the intelligence and credibility that John Featherman brings to the table," said PAC President, Don Adams.

"We agree with much of his platform, especially his commitment to enacting School Choice and his pledge to cut the city sales tax, as well as the real estate transfer tax.

"Obviously, we are sending a message to the Philadelphia Republican City Committee that we disapprove of their support for Karen Brown, an unknown, inexperienced candidate who was a registered Democrat through January of this year," said Mr. Adams.

"Why would the Committee support a candidate from the opposing party--especially one with such a limited grasp of the issues--over an elected Republican Committeeman with Mr. Featherman's business background and political acumen?"

Mr. Featherman, an award winning real estate agent with Prudential Fox & Roach, holds an MBA from Columbia University.

"John Featherman would like to eliminate the gross receipts tax to bring more business into the city, thereby creating jobs," said PAC Board Member and Philadelphia resident, Lin DeCesare.

"He also intends to bid out all legally permissible city services, which would save the city millions of dollars.

"John is man of ideas and principles. We are proud to endorse his candidacy and will be working on his behalf now through election day," said Ms. DeCesare.

(In March of this year, the PAC voted unanimously to endorse Patti Weaver, a founder of the Pittsburgh Tea Movement, for Allegheny County Executive. Ms. Weaver has since withdrawn her candidacy and her name will not appear on the ballot. Her endorsement was the first non-federal PAC endorsement.)

To learn more about John Featherman, please visit www.Featherman.com.

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Atlas Shrugged Exceeding All Expectations

The producers of the landmark film Atlas Shrugged, Part 1 say the movie is exceeding all expectations, opening in more theaters and drawing larger crowds. And the film-related merchandise is moving along briskly as well.
Here's an excerpt from the Chicago Sun Times which quotes producer John Aglialoro:

“People are hungry for what these characters are saying,” he said. “They’re telling the government, ‘Don’t entitle me with your gifts and your involvement in my life, because there’s a price I’ll pay for that. Just leave me alone. Let me hang onto my life and pursue my passions and rational self-interest. That’s what will benefit society.’ ”

Aglialoro said his “aspiration” is to make Parts 2 and 3, though he won’t determine whether it makes economic sense for several weeks. He spent $10 million of his own money to make Part 1.

Merchandise, he said, is helping the cause. When Aglialoro obtained rights to the movie 18 years ago, he also got rights to sell such items as T-shirts, mugs, posters and even jewelry, though not dolls, video games and other “interesting exceptions.”

Click here to read more.

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'Atlas Shrugged' Stuns Hollywood; Adds Theaters

The maninstream media are doing everything possible to squelch any interest in the new film Atlas Shrugged.
But the word has gotten out anyway, and people all over the country are rushing to see this movie.
It opened at less than 300 theaters. Now, it gets another big boost this weekend. And the audience just keeps building.
Here's an excerpt from the Washington Times on this phenomenon:

By current Hollywood standards, it is a movie that should never have been made. Imagine this story pitch to progressive movie execs: "we have a female heroine, genius entrepreneurs disappearing, and a government conspiring to control its people and their creations. In short, a powerfully persuasive anti-government message."Not exactly “Iron Man 3” is it?
Yet, despite (or because of) Hollywood’s best efforts to keep the movie down, “Atlas” is racking up dollar signs at the box office. With a hearty $5640 per theater in its opening weekend, “Atlas Shrugged,” based on the influential Ayn Rand best-seller, has left Hollywood insiders dumbstruck to explain its success.
The Hollywood Reporter has reported that the film will expand its release from 299 theaters to 425 this weekend and to 1,000 by the end of the month.
What is the explanation?

Click here to read more.

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The Koch Bros. VS Soros? No Contest!

There's a huge article (a tome, really) in The New Yorker about how two successful businessmen (the Koch Brothers) are bankrolling the modern American conservative movement, how they're undermining President Obama and how this is a threat to all of us.
But the article is basically a buncha baloney. And here's why:
The article flat-out admits: "Of course, Democrats give money, too. Their most prominent donor, the financier George Soros, runs a foundation, the Open Society Institute, that has spent as much as a hundred million dollars a year in America. Soros has also made generous private contributions to various Democratic campaigns, including Obama’s."
But there's more -- more that the article conveniently omitted: Using the Open Society Institute as his conduit, Soros has given more than $7 billion to a who’s who of left-wing groups.  This partial list of recipients of Soros’ money says it all: ACORN, Apollo Alliance, National Council of La Raza, Tides Foundation, Huffington Post, Southern Poverty Law Center, Soujourners, People for the American Way, Planned Parenthood, and the National Organization for Women.
Bottom line: Soros has funded the left far, far more than these two Koch brothers have funded the right.
The article could account for only about $100 million from the Koch brothers. Soros is up in the BILLIONS.
And let's not forget Big Labor.
Just the top 20 labor unions over the past 20 years have spent over $500 million on federal election campaigns, and 95% of that spending went to Democrats -- that's $475 million. And that's just for the federal election campaigns and does not include other elections and other funding of "front" and other groups.
On top of all that, in the coming year, Obama is expected to raise a billion dollars for his re-election campaign.
The Supreme Court has ruled that most Koch and Soros type contributions are legal.
But the left seems to want one side to be legal while the other is prohibited.
The Republicans should not be expected to go into battle with both hands (financially) tied behind their backs. It ain't gonna happen.
So, the New Yorker can kiss our big, fat pachyderm butts!

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Three Guys Named 'Joe' VS Barack

Three ordinary "Joes" are teaming up to squash Barack Obama.
One is a rough, tough lawman.
One is an appealing gadfly from the glacial regions.
And the third is a familiar face who garnered his ten minutes of fame and then some.
Together, they're quite a trio and here's an excerpt of a story about them from CNN:

Three guys named Joe are teaming up to try and help defeat one guy named Barack.
The Joes, three figures popular among many conservatives, are Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, 2010 GOP Senate nominee Joe Miller of Alaska and Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, better known during the 2008 presidential campaign as "Joe the Plumber."
They are teaming up Thursday night at a launch party and fundraiser in Montara, California for "The Campaign to Defeat Barack Obama," a group which is dedicated, as the name explains, to trying to beat President Barack Obama in the 2012 election.

Click here to read more.

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Tea Party Group Sets School Choice Debate

Independence Hall Tea Party Association

The Great School Choice Discussion, Debate

and General Membership Meeting

INDEPENDENCE VISITORS CENTER BALLROOM

 6th and Market Streets

Sunday, March 6, 3-5 PM

Moderator:  Dom Giordano, talk show host, WPHT 1210

3:00-3:15 PM    Presentation: NJ School Choice Bill

                            State Senator Michael Doherty (R-23)

3:15-3:30 PM    Panel Discussion: Vouchers v Tax Credits v 

                            Educational Saving Account

3:30-4:30 PM    Debate: PA SBI

  

Supporter:  State Senator Anthony Williams (D-8),  PA SB1

                      Prime Sponsor 

Opponent:  Christopher Freind, Friendly Fire Zone

                      columnist; former Executive Director,

                      Reach Alliance (school choice advocacy group).

Supporter:  Rev. JoeWatins, Pastor, Christ Evangelical

                      Lutheran Church; Chairman, Students First.

4:30-5:00 PM   General Membership Meeting 

   

Please RSVP:  Teri @ 215.690.4043 

Suggested Donation: $5

Soft Drinks Provided    

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Romney: I Will Not Apoligize For America!

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The Brightest New Star Of The GOP?

Excerpts from a speech by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels delivered at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington DC, February 11, 2010:

We Hoosiers hold to some quaint notions. Some might say we “cling” to them, though not out of fear or ignorance. We believe in paying our bills. We have kept our state in the black throughout the recent unpleasantness, while cutting rather than raising taxes, by practicing an old tribal ritual – we spend less money than we take in.
We believe it wrong ever to take a dollar from a free citizen without a very necessary public purpose, because each such taking diminishes the freedom to spend that dollar as its owner would prefer. When we do find it necessary, we feel a profound duty to use that dollar as carefully and effectively as possible, else we should never have taken it at all.

When business leaders ask me what they can do for Indiana, I always reply: “Make money. Go make money. That’s the first act of 'corporate citizenship.'" If you do that, you’ll have to hire someone else, and you’ll have enough profit to help one of those non-profits we’re so proud of.”


We place our trust in average people. We are confident in their ability to decide wisely for themselves, on the important matters of their lives.

We believe in government that is limited but active. Within that narrow sphere of legitimate collective action, we choose to be the initiators of new ideas or, as we have labeled ourselves, the Party of Purpose. In President Reagan’s phrase, “We are the change.” On election nights, we remind each other that victory is not a vindication, it is an instruction, not an endorsement, but an assignment.


We face an enemy, lethal to liberty, and even more implacable than those America has defeated before. We cannot deter it; there is no countervailing danger we can pose. We cannot negotiate with it, any more than with an iceberg or a Great White.
I refer, of course, to the debts our nation has amassed for itself over decades of indulgence. It is the new Red Menace, this time consisting of ink.


If a foreign power advanced an army to the border of our land, everyone in this room would drop everything and look for a way to help. We would set aside all other agendas and disputes as secondary, and go to the ramparts until the threat was repelled. That is what those of us here, and every possible ally we can persuade to join us, are now called to do. It is our generational assignment. It is the mission of our era. Forgive the pun when I call it our “raison debt.”

The health care travesty now on the books will engulf private markets and produce a single-payer system or its equivalent, and it won’t take long to happen.


Our morbidly obese federal government needs not just behavior modification but bariatric surgery. The perverse presumption that places the burden of proof on the challenger of spending must be inverted, back to the rule that applies elsewhere in life: “Prove to me why we should.”

Within a few years, we will be spending more on interest payments than on national security. That is not, as our military friends say, a “robust strategy.”



We don’t have a prayer of defeating the Red Threat of our generation without a long boom of almost unprecedented duration. Every other goal, however worthy, must be tested against and often subordinated to actions that spur the faster expansion of the private sector on which all else depends.


Americans have seen these last two years what doesn’t work. The failure of national economic policy is costing us more than jobs; it has begun to weaken that uniquely American spirit of risk-taking, large ambition, and optimism about the future. We must rally them now to bold departures that rebuild our national morale as well as our material prosperity.


Drill, and frack, and lease, and license, unleash in every way the jobs potential in the enormous energy resources we have been denying ourselves. And help our fellow citizens to understand that a poorer country will not be a greener country, but its opposite. It is freedom and its fruits that enable the steady progress we have made in preserving and protecting God’s kingdom.


Americans, in a vast majority, are still a people born for self-governance. They are ready to summon the discipline to pay down our collective debts as they are now paying down their own; to put the future before the present, their children’s interest before their own.

It is up to us to show, specifically, the best way back to greatness, and to argue for it with all the passion of our patriotism. But, should the best way be blocked, while the enemy draws nearer, then someone will need to find the second best way. Or the third, because the nation’s survival requires it. Purity in martyrdom is for suicide bombers. King Pyrrhus is remembered, but his nation disappeared. Winston Churchill set aside his lifetime loathing of Communism in order to fight World War II. Challenged as a hypocrite, he said that when the safety of Britain was at stake, his “conscience became a good girl.” We are at such a moment. I for one have no interest in standing in the wreckage of our Republic saying “I told you so” or “You should’ve done it my way.”

It is up to us to show, specifically, the best way back to greatness, and to argue for it with all the passion of our patriotism. But, should the best way be blocked, while the enemy draws nearer, then someone will need to find the second best way. Or the third, because the nation’s survival requires it. Purity in martyrdom is for suicide bombers. King Pyrrhus is remembered, but his nation disappeared. Winston Churchill set aside his lifetime loathing of Communism in order to fight World War II. Challenged as a hypocrite, he said that when the safety of Britain was at stake, his “conscience became a good girl.” We are at such a moment. I for one have no interest in standing in the wreckage of our Republic saying “I told you so” or “You should’ve done it my way.”

We should address ourselves to young America at every opportunity. It is their futures that today’s policies endanger, and in their direct interest that we propose a new direction.
We should distinguish carefully skepticism about Big Government from contempt for all government. After all, it is a new government we hope to form, a government we will ask our fellow citizens to trust to make huge changes.

We are tasked to rebuild not just a damaged economy, and a debt-ridden balance sheet, but to do so by drawing forth the best that is in our fellow citizens. If we would summon the best from Americans, we must assume the best about them. If we don’t believe in Americans, who will?

 

 

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HBO Presents 'Reagan' Monday At 9 PM

A glamorous leading man with the common touch, a dedicated “Cold Warrior” who helped negotiate the most sweeping accords in history with the Soviet Union and a staunch proponent of smaller government, Ronald Reagan remains an enigma even to many of his closest advisers.

A fresh examination of the fascinating paradoxes surrounding the man, the myth and his legacy, Eugene Jarecki’s insightful documentary REAGAN follows the 40th president’s rise from small-town lifeguard to revered architect of the modern world.  This textured study investigates how Reagan’s homespun political vision fueled a seismic career, one whose reverberations still shape American life.  Following its Jan. 23 debut at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, REAGAN makes its HBO debut MONDAY, FEB. 7 (9:00-11:00 p.m. ET/PT), during the week of his 100th birthday.

Other HBO playdates:  Feb.  11 (7:30 a.m., 7:00 p.m.), 16 (2:30 p.m., midnight), 21 (12:30 p.m.), 24 (6:00 p.m.) and 26 (3:45 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates:  Feb. 9 (8:00 p.m., 4:05 a.m.) and 13 (5:00 p.m.)

Balancing the conflicting versions presented by colleagues, historians, supporters and family, while combining archival footage, never-before-seen interviews and the words of Reagan himself, Jarecki assembles a rich portrait of a contradictory figure who spun his movie stardom into political gold and became the leader of the free world.

Tracing his subject from small-town boyhood to heady Hollywood days, Jarecki discovers a man whose offhand amiability masked a steely resolve.  When his acting career faltered after World War II, Reagan reinvented himself, first as president of the Screen Actors Guild, then as a pitchman for products ranging from cigarettes to laundry soap.  He eventually landed the role that would send him down another path, as official television and corporate spokesperson for General Electric.  Reagan’s travel on behalf of the company to small towns around the nation provided him with a unique political education as he gave speeches and mingled with GE’s workers.   

The one-time FDR enthusiast and supporter of the New Deal gradually abandoned his liberal roots for more conservative pastures.

By the 1960s, his transformation was complete.  Standing beside archconservative Barry Goldwater, the 1964 Republican nominee for president, Reagan became a charismatic voice for conservatism in America.  As the civil unrest of the era exploded nationwide, Reagan rode the conservative tide that he helped to create all the way to Sacramento and two terms as governor of California.

Reagan’s willingness to allow the National Guard to confront demonstrating students with tear gas and attack dogs earned him a reputation as a tough traditionalist.  The support and admiration of the so-called “silent majority” buoyed his unsuccessful campaigns for the presidential nomination in 1968 and 1976, and in 1980, he topped the GOP field to run against and beat incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter.

Once in office, Reagan often proved more pragmatic than dogmatic.His charm and affability won the hearts of the American public, which overwhelmingly reelected him in 1984.

He denounced the U.S.S.R. as an “Evil Empire,” demanded that the Soviets “tear down the [Berlin] Wall” and authorized the ambitious Star Wars Initiative to keep America militarily dominant.  But at the same time, Reagan was engaged in negotiations with Mikhail Gorbachev that resulted in a sweeping agreement to reduce their nuclear arsenals.

Jarecki also explores how Reagan’s personal beliefs aligned with his public policies and finds that this stalwart symbol of conservative family values was also quietly open-minded on social issues.

Since Reagan left office in 1989, his name has become a mantra for Republican politicians seeking credibility, symbolizing a return to traditional values and a strong stand in the culture wars against liberal “elites.”  But the truth, as Jarecki reveals, is far more complex.

Others featured in the documentary include former White House chief of staff James A. Baker; former White House senior advisor Pat Buchanan; former White House speechwriter Peter Robinson; Arthur Laffer, economist and architect of trickle-down economics; former CIA operative Frank Snepp; Ronald Reagan Legacy Project founder Grover Norquist; son Michael Reagan, who works to keep the legacy alive; Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Frances Fitzgerald (“Way Out There in the Blue:  Reagan, Star Wars and the End of the Cold War”); official biographer Edmund Morris; Annelise Anderson and Martin Anderson, co-authors of two best-selling books about Reagan; author Will Bunch (“Tear Down This Myth”); author Lou Cannon (“Reagan”); author Thomas Frank (“What’s the Matter with Kansas?:  How Conservatives Won the Heart of America”) and journalist Dan Rather.

Eugene Jarecki is an award-winning dramatic and documentary filmmaker and author.  His 2006 film “Why We Fight” won multiple awards, including the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and a Peabody Award.  Jarecki’s prior film, “The Trials of Henry Kissinger,” was released to critical acclaim in more than 130 U.S. cities, won the 2002 Amnesty International Award, was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and has been broadcast in more than 30 countries.  In his most recent film, “Freakonomics,” Jarecki collaborated with other acclaimed documentarians to create an omnibus documentary based on the bestselling book of the same name by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.

HBO Documentary Films presents a Charlotte Street Film in association with BBC Storyville; a film by Eugene Jarecki; produced by Eugene Jarecki and Kathleen Fournier; written and directed by Eugene Jarecki; editor, Simon Barker; music by Robert Miller; director of photography, Etienne Sauret.  For HBO:  senior producer, Lisa Heller; executive producer, Sheila Nevins.  For BBC:  executive producer, Nick Fraser.

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Reagan At 100: Strong, Fearless, Unintimidated

A great column in The American Spectator today rightly reminds us of Ronald Reagan accomplishments and the disdain with which he was viewed by liberals and the dominant liberal media. It also explains Reagan's bedrock faith in conservatism and its core values. Here's part of what it says:

Amidst all the sudden veneration for Reagan from today's left as a man of moderation (in contrast, but of course, to the wicked conservatives of today) those with longer memories recall vividly that liberals of the day hated Ronald Reagan's guts. This jewel of a statement from his arch-adversary House Speaker Tip O'Neill is but an understated example, as Reagan biographer Steven Hayward has noted:

"The evil is in the White House at the present time. And that evil is a man who has no care and no concern for the working class of America and the future generations of America, and who likes to ride a horse. He's cold. He's mean. He's got ice water for blood."

Click here to read the entire column.

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Video: Tracy Morgan Calls Palin 'Masturbation Material'

Shame on Tracy Morgan for saying it and shame on TNT for airing it.
Funny, we heard virtually no complaints from the left-leaning mainstream media about "lack of civility" after this aired. Nothing. Nada.
Apparently, when you're talking about a leading conservative you can trash him or her any way you want. So long as you're running down someone on the right, it seems civility doesn't matter one bit.

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Bennett's 'Morning In America' - Tune In Daily!

Bill Bennett's Morning In America is one of the finest talk shows on the radio. It's lively, informative, stimulating conversation conducted in a civilized manner with interesting guests, pertinent topics, and attentive callers with opinions that give you lots to think about.

Bennett's show is heard in Philadelphia from 6 till 9 every morning on WNTP newstalk 990 on the AM dial. It is also heard throughout the United States and on Sirius satellite Channel 144.

This is not a "shout show." Bennett never raises his voice. And this is not a boast-fest or an ego celebration. Though Bennett is an extremely accomplished person, he doesn't huckster himself, his books, his ideas or the show. Rather, his listens - really listens - to callers and guests and responds with insight and clarity. All ideas are entertained and everyone is treated respectfully.

Dr. William J. Bennett is a native of Brooklyn, New York who studied philosophy at Williams College (B.A.) and the University of Texas (Ph.D.) and earned a law degree from Harvard. He is the Washington Fellow of the Claremont Institute, and a CNN Contributor.

During the 1980s, Dr. Bennett emerged as one of the nation's most prominent political figures. He served as President Reagan's chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities (1981-1985) and Secretary of Education (1985-1988), and President Bush's "drug czar" (1989-1990).

Dr. Bennett has recently completed a two-volume history of the United States, entitled: "America: The Last Best Hope," Volumes 1 & 2--both New York Times Best-sellers.Dr. Bennett has written for America's leading newspapers and magazines and appeared on the nation's most influential television shows. He has also written and edited 16 books, two of which -- The Book of Virtues and The Children's Book of Virtues -- rank among the most successful of the past decade. The Book of Virtues has been made into an animated series that aired on PBS in the United States and Great Britain and has been seen in over 65 countries.

This man, his writings and his program are worth your attention!

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Tina Fey Turns Sour In Accepting Humor Prize

Was it really necessary for Tina Fey to turn sour toward others in accepting the Mark Twain Humor Prize at the Kennedy Center?
Did she really need to mock and ridicule conservative women the way she did?
When will this disgusting liberal condescension and derision end? When?
Here's how the Washington Post reported it:

In her acceptance speech, Fey touched on her best-known bit -- her Palin imitation --and offered some mock hands-across-the-political-divide commentary. The rise of conservative women in politics, she said pointedly, is good for all women, "unless you don't want to pay for your own rape kit . . . unless you're a lesbian who wants to get married to your partner of 20 years . . . [or] unless you believe in evolution."
The lines played first to nervous laughter and then to not much laughter at all.

Well, at least the audience had the good sense to stop laughing and react awkwardly.
Click here to read the whole story from the Post.

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Runyan, Glading Energize Camco GOP Crowd

 Camden County GOP Freeholder candidate Scot DeCristofaro (center, smiling) stands alongside his children as fellow freeholder candidate George Zallie (right) looks on this morning in Cherry Hill

 No doubt about it: Enthusiasm is high and this slogan takes the cake!

 Congressional candidate Jon Runyan fires up the crowd.

A large crowd of energized campaign workers, tea partiers and ordinary citizens turned out this morning in Cherry Hill as the Camden County GOP mobilized troops for the final 72 hours of the 2010 campaign.
Lawn signs were flying out the door.
Voter contact lists were being picked up by neighborhood leaders.
And phone banks were already well-staffed and operating at peak when congressional candidates Jon Runyan and Dale Glading and county row office candidates George Zallie, Scot DeCristofaro and Chris Leone-Zwillinger stopped by to greet supporters and offer thanks and encouragement.
I continue to be impressed with the numbers, the enthusiasm and the dedication that I see in the volunteers who are turning out to make democracy work for the conservative cause -- even in Camden County!
It's nothing short of astounding.
As I chatted with people at the headquarters this morning I ran into Gene Cohen, a senior citizen from Cherry Hill who told me he's never been involved in a campaign before.
Gene said he got involved because of the Tea Party. "When they said 'we've got to take our country back' I knew I had to get involved," Gene commented. He explained that the notion that we might have to take our own country back and, in effect, return it to the people, convinced him that he had to do something. So, Gene began working the Runyan phone bank side-by-side with tea partiers and other volunteers. "It's never too late," he said.
It was at that point that Gene and I commiserated over a quote from Ronald Reagan: "If not us, who? If not now, when?"
Yes, we are the people and this is the time.
Gene story is being reported over and over again all over the country.
What's happening right now is truly historic. And the whole world will hear our story in just a few short days.
Avanti!

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As The Hour Approaches - Let's Get Mobilized!

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