I guess we’re allowed to be patriotic now that the liberal candidate’s in office, if you go with this kind of crap:

Every morning when I wake up, I have a conversation with God. This practice goes back about 12 years, at a turning point in my life, when I realized that only recognizing a higher power would make my life work. Being the contrarian I am, however, I was not prepared for ritual. Instead, my morning with God is as casual as a talk I’d have with a friend.
“Morning, God,” I say. “It’s Julianne Malveaux. You know. The sister who tries to serve you. It’s good to be alive today.” And then I do some Bible reading, listen to some gospel music and simply pray.

On Nov. 5, I changed my conversation. For the first time, I acknowledged my nation, praying, “It’s good to be alive in the United States of America today.”

Yes, it is good to finally consider and enjoy the perks that I go into being an American.

A man who looks like me will have his face in a history book. An elegant sister will preside over all those state dinners. Two little Black girls, with grins like those of my godchildren and baby cousins, will roll their eggs over the White House lawn on Easter Monday.

It will be our house, not a remote house, accessible, not unattainable. As I saw my face in the mirror called victory, I felt like an American, finally.

In honesty, I have never felt much like an American before. An African-American, certainly, but not flag-waving, Mount Rushmore-embracing, hit the Monument loving American.

For all of my life I’ve been an American, reluctantly. Came here in chains. Advanced by my brains and by the legacy of struggle and dignity. I sing, “Lift Every Voice” as if it is rap because it is history, poetry, poignancy and a capturing of every step African Americans have taken. How can you sing, “stony the road we trod” and feel fully American? How can you put your mouth around the phrase, “treading our way through the blood of the slaughtered” without wondering about the Democratic integrity of our nation? …

They want change. We want change. And the election of Obama makes me want to be a better, and more productive citizen.

So, I guess what this columnist is saying is that unless we elected a black President, she would never have been proud of her country? I guess with some people, it really is only skin deep, which is just so sad.

It’s interesting that so many are talking about how great this is, how we’re finally transcending racism, how we’re going to heal as a nation, and it’s all because we elected a black guy President. And don’t get me wrong, that is wonderful, it is historic, and I have no issues with any minority of any kind serving any office. But how is it that we’ll be able to transcend race when that’s all so many seem to be concentrating on? What about the person underneath the skin color? Does that not matter as much?

What frustrates me is that we have, yet again, another liberal wallowing in victimhood. Malveaux whines about being “brought here in chains” as a “reluctant American”, but… well… I’m pretty sure she wasn’t. And no one she has personally known has ever been a slave, either. I mean… some Christians at some point in history were persecuted against at one point, but I don’t cry in outrage over it all this time later. And I’m pretty sure that the Jews don’t still hate all Germans, including the ones who actually were in the Holocaust. The point is, if slavery is the only claim you can make to call yourself a victim, then you need to shut up and stop whining, because if that’s the worst thing you can come up with, it sounds like your life is pretty good to me. And interestingly enough, what never seems to get brought up is just who it was fought to ensure freedom for slaves: white people! We get no credit or thanks for that though, I guess. And hey, the Republican party is the party that fought for civil rights, yet no credit for that either. Figures.

What’s really pathetic is how for Malveaux, and many liberals like her, their love for their country is wrapped up in which politicians are running the place at the moment. Yet they howl in outrage if you question their patriotism, as if conditional love is just as good as unconditional love. Maybe I, a conservative in Flyover Country, am some kind of freak or something, but I love my country all the time. I love my country regardless of who is currently in office, I love my country for the good and the bad, and I will always fight for her. I don’t need to have a President with an (R) next to his name to love my country, nor does he have to be a specific race, gender, or religion for me to love her.

It says much worse about Julianne Malveaux than it does about America that her love for her country, and seemingly her self-worth as well, is dependant on a politician. I’m guessing as soon as Obama leaves office, she’ll just sink back into despair and victimhood, right?

Hat Tip: My colleague Warner Todd Huston at Stop the ACLU

Unsurprisingly, fresh off the Obama victory, an AP reporter who covers “European Affairs” has published a piece about how being an American is now “cool” again. Apparently, all of Europe loves us, all because we were willing to elect who they wanted us to. (Message: Do what we want you to, regardless of how it will affect your well-being, and trendy, hip Europeans will like you. Disobey us, even if it is to your benefit and safety, and trendy, hip Europeans will shun you. HA.)

She was a stranger, and she kissed me. Just for being an American.

It happened on the bus on my way to work Wednesday morning, a few hours after compatriots clamoring for change swept Barack Obama to his historic victory. I was on the phone, and the 20-something Austrian woman seated in front of me overheard me speaking English.

Without a word, she turned, pecked me on the cheek and stepped off at the next stop.

Nothing was said, but the message was clear: Today, we are all Americans.

For longtime U.S. expatriates like me — someone far more accustomed to being targeted over unpopular policies, for having my very Americanness publicly assailed — it feels like an extraordinary turnabout.

Like a long journey over a very bumpy road has abruptly come to an end.

And it’s not just me.

An American colleague in Egypt says several people came up to her on the streets of Cairo and said: “America, hooray!” Others, including strangers, expressed congratulations with a smile and a hand over their hearts.

Another colleague, in Amman, says Jordanians stopped her on the street and that several women described how they wept with joy.

… And it wasn’t the first time I fudged where I was from. I speak three foreign languages, so I have a bit of flexibility when it comes to faking. At various times, I’ve been a German in Serbia, a Frenchman in Turkey, a Dutchman in Austria.

I’m not proud of it. But when you’re far from home, and you’re feeling cornered, you develop what you come to believe are survival skills.

… My children came of age in Europe, and in a hostile post-9/11 world we had to teach them to avoid being too conspicuously American. Don’t speak English loudly on the subway. Don’t wear baseball caps and tennis shoes. Don’t single yourselves out, guys, and even worldly wise Americans can unwittingly become targets.

We didn’t overdo it, but there’s always been that tension. That difficult-to-describe sense of vulnerability. That nagging instinct that maybe we’d better watch it, because our government is intensely unpopular and we’re not entirely welcome.

… I’m a marathon runner, and I have a red, white and blue singlet that I’ve seldom dared to wear on the Continent. Marathons are difficult enough without enduring catcalls and jeers from spectators.

But my best friend and training partner — who is French — just gave me his stamp of approval.

“Will you wear your Stars and Stripes shirt now? You’re allowed!” he told me.

Well hey, that’s great news. Of all the things that America stands for — freedom, generosity, strength, resilience — being “cool” is what’s most important. Of course, isn’t this what liberalism is all about? I don’t know many situations where liberals have ever wanted to do something based on principle or integrity. Liberalism is purely emotion-based, and therefore something as inane as popularity will mean the world to them. Whereas I could give two shits what the rest of the world thinks of us, say, invading Iraq when it’s the right thing to do, liberals are begging for approval from the UN and Europe. It’s like that pimply kid in middle school who is tolerated by the trendy kids in the cafeteria because he’ll do ridiculous things for their amusement, thinking that one of these days he’ll finally win their respect. American liberals are the pimply kid, and Europeans are the trendy kids.

It doesn’t seem to me in reading that piece that the writer was ever proud of being an American, especially considering he’s an expatriate. But now, now that it’s “cool” to be American, he’s all about owning his American identity. Very principled, huh?

Being an American is much more than being “cool”. It means much more. It’s why immigrants want so desperately to be here — because we are the greatest, freest country on the planet, because we are the last best hope, because we are that shining city on a hill. If Europeans find that to be uncool, then that’s fine. I’d rather love my country and be the rejected loser in the corner than disowning America for the sake of inclusion of the trendy Europeans, something this writer — and Yahoo, who gave this story a top headline in the World News column — clearly can’t understand.

Hat Tip: Newsbusters

UCSB College Republican Chairman Ross Nolan recently attended a left-wing protest and videotaped the entire thing. Of course, there was much America-loving going on there, right alongside the wonderful displays of intelligence, logic, reason, respect for differing opinions, and gratitude for our military. Because, you know, liberals are just so patriotic. They love their country, and as they constantly remind us, dissent and protest is patriotism.

Somehow, though, most Americans who don’t hate their country just don’t believe it.

But we aren’t allowed to question their patriotism, not ever. Not when they fly American flags upside down, an obvious symbol of disrespect. Not when they say that our President should be hung, is worse than Saddam Hussein, and deserves the same fate as the murderous dictator. Not when they call our military murderers and rapists. Not when they spit on soldiers and war veterans. Not when they call our generals traitors and war criminals. Not when they say our country is in “the Dark Ages”. Not. Ever.

It’s funny though, because as patriotic as they claim to be, I just didn’t see a lot of love and appreciation for America in this video:

The best part about that video is that it is so incredibly mock-worthy. These liberals are like walking punchlines! A good number of them are dirty and unkempt. You’ve got the angry protestors, the dreamy protestors off somewhere in La-La Land (like the Close Gitmo chick in the beginning), the military protestors, the dance-to-the-beat-of-your-own-drum protestors… the very stereotype that most Americans have of clueless hippie liberals. And no matter how inflammatory, insulting, and offensive they may be, no matter how radical and disturbing their views are, they still angrily claim that you aren’t allowed to question their patriotism.

Well, too bad. I’m questioning, baby. I’m a patriotism-questioning machine.

Also interesting is how often these morons like to throw out the word FASCISM!!! and pretend we’re actually living in a fascist state (as if they could even spell the word fascism, much less understand the meaning of it). Of course, if we actually were living in a fascist state, they wouldn’t be having their cute little protests and calling for the President to be hanged. If we actually lived in a fascist state, they’d have been taken out back and shot by now at worst, and at best thrown into a gulag. If they want to see what a fascist state really looks like, maybe they should take a long trip to Cuba or North Korea. Maybe then they’ll appreciate their country more.

But don’t count on it.

Hat Tip: Wolking’s World

Liberals love to claim that they love their country.

Does anyone actually believe that? For those of you that are holding out hope, I offer this video as evidence that no, Virginia, most liberals do not love their country.

As Van Helsing noted,

Maybe there’s a solution to the moonbattery that threatens to reduce our country to something sordid and shameful. Just as Dracula could be driven back to his coffin with holy symbols, maybe the anthem could be used to drive moonbats onto college campuses, where they might be contained.

Not a bad idea… although it’s sad that Americans can fail to see what is so wonderful and beautiful and great about their country. Not only to they fail to see it, but American apparently disgusts them so much that they boo our National Anthem. Classy. Real classy.

Related is MK Freeberg’s assessment of the liberal relationship with America. It was written back in March, but he linked it as a comment in one of my posts from yesterday. It’s a great read… and here’s a small taste for you:

If a man loved his wife the way democrats love America, how would he treat her?

Well, he wouldn’t act very manly at all, the way he’d keep bringing up things she did in the past, completely out of context. That’s a stereotype applied to small-minded, intemperate girlfriends and wives, isn’t it? Bringing up a bunch of things out of nowhere that you did ten years ago? So I guess he’d go to work, hang around the water cooler, babble away during the lunch hour — never getting far away from the subject of what a moral reprobate his wife is. You talk about sports, he’ll find a way to change the subject to a check his wife bounced a few years ago. You talk about religion, he’ll talk about his wife’s unpaid parking tickets. You talk about politics, he’ll talk about her old boyfriends — not humorously, but ominously, about the lack of character she must still have today, for ever interlocking with someone like that.

Always always always: Coming to unflattering conclusions about her, will be the point. The evidence will be cherry-picked to support this. He won’t even pretend to be analyzing it even-handedly. He’ll just be there to talk some smack.

Loving husband?

He’d surround himself with people who know her, who have axes to grind against her, who can’t stop putting her down. Right up until she caught him doing it…and then he would, I guess, yank a bunch of talking points out of the Obama masterpiece linked above. He’s my co-worker, sweetie, not my marriage counselor.

Loving husband?

He’d be at his most negative right after she had done something most positive. Scanning the landscape of domestic history, reviewing one pile of wreckage after another in the wake of liberal ideas implemented in this America that Barack Obama claims to love, one could only fairly conclude such a hapless wife would have to perform all the chores if they were to be performed at all. She’d fix the cars — her spouse would always notice they always ran better before she touched them, even if they could not have been used. The bed always looked better before she made it, even if it could not have been occupied. The food was always better before she cooked it, even if it would have been raw and inedible. Oh, he would never think of leaving all the work to her, though; he’d volunteer to help out time and time again. Thinking out this analogy with the events of healthcare in mind…lawsuits and torts…public education…the war in Iraq…the oil market…the only marriage I can envision is one where his help is the problem. She wishes he was substantially lazier than he really is. Things are done — the way he wants them to be done, for he insists on it — they turn to crap, which he notices and promptly blames her for it.

Loving husband?

Asked what exactly it is about his wife that he loves, he’d say not a single word about what she is or what abilities he has learned she has, but instead, about what he hopes she one day becomes. He’d talk about what she wants to be…never having discussed these points of improvement with her, just pulling them out of his own rear end, insofar as how she is to get better.

If you ask him directly WHAT IS GOOD ABOUT YOUR WIFE, he will change the subject to what is good about HIM! He has hope! He will change! He is Mister Hope-Change! He has a lot of hope that his wife will change! …but you better believe she has to, because she sure as hell isn’t right the way she is.

And that’s just the beginning. It gets WAY better.

Yet somehow, even though liberals do nothing but complain about America and do everything they can to change everything that she stands for and ruin what’s great about her, we’re still supposed to believe them when they say they love their country.

Please.

A flashback to when baseball and patriotism were still synonymous:

Ed at Hot Air writes:

I’ve written about this before at Captain’s Quarters, but the context bears repeating. In 1976, a sense of ennui had gripped the nation. In a year-long bicentennial celebration, many wondered if the economic stagnation that had lasted all decade meant that America’s best years were in the rear-view mirror. The commercialized bicentennial festivities felt forced and false. It seemed that pride in our country had dissipated into cynicism and retreat.

The unprompted, extemporaneous response to Monday’s heroics is the often untold story of that day. Over 40,000 baseball fans saw Monday risk his career by grabbing what could easily have been a fireball to rescue the American flag from a couple of asshats, and suddenly it recalled the real patriotism and passion for America that had been missing in 1976. At first in isolated pockets but soon sweeping around the stands like The Wave would later do, Americans stood up and sang “God Bless America” — not prompted by the stadium organist but fueled by love of country.

If you saw two men attempting to burn an American flag, would you stop them? Or would you continue on your way? I hope that most of us would intervene, but I fear that we’ve fallen into the same funk that Ed describes above — thanks primarily to liberals who hate our country and try their hardest to make patriotic Americans ashamed for their love of country.

This video should serve as a reminder of how precious a symbol our flag is.

Hat Tip: Hot Air

Then watch this video. I work way too much to be able to have seen all of the welcome festivities for the Pope, which sucks in and of itself, but I’m especially sore to have missed this. Rosetta at The Hostages says,

If you don’t get goose bumps in the last minute you need to see a doctor.

I disagree. It took the U.S. Army Chorus, oh, two notes before I got the goosebumps. I don’t think angels could have sung any more beautifully.

Enjoy:

Hat Tip: Ace of Spades

Here’s a flashback video for today, of when Obama refused to put his hand over his heart during the National Anthem.

There’s no real reason to post this. I’m just doing it because I can. So THERE.

Here’s a little reminder on just what exactly is required during the playing of the National Anthem, since there seems to be some debate on it:

The pledge of allegiance should be rendered by standing at attention, facing the flag, and saluting.

When the national anthem is played or sung, citizens should stand at attention and salute at the first note and hold the salute through the last note. The salute is directed to the flag, if displayed, otherwise to the music.

“Saluting” basically breaks down like this. If you are an active member of the military, in uniform, you stand at attention with a right-hand salute. If you are a retired member of the military, you stand at attention with your right hand over your heart (although many still salute the flag anyways). Civilians with no hat on their head stand with their hand over their heart. Civilians with a hat on their head stand, remove their hat, and place their hat over their heart. The end.

Of course, if I was Barack Obama, my defense would’ve been that I wasn’t sure if it was the National Anthem being sung. It took me a few seconds to realize that The Star Spangled Banner was what was being sung! I mean, that was absolutely horrendous. Was she just making up how the song went as she sang? It sure didn’t sound like any rendition of the National Anthem I’ve ever heard.

Hat Tip: Tammy Bruce

They really, really support the troops! Really, they do!

These idiots keep blathering on about how they don’t want us to win in Iraq, and then get furious when we call them cowards, traitors, and defeatocrats (emphasis mine):

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said Monday that a strongly positive report on progress on Iraq by Army Gen. David Petraeus likely would split Democrats in the House and impede his party’s efforts to press for a timetable to end the war.

Clyburn noted that Petraeus carries significant weight among the 47 members of the Blue Dog caucus in the House, a group of moderate to conservative Democrats. Without their support, he said, Democratic leaders would find it virtually impossible to pass legislation setting a timetable for withdrawal.

“I think there would be enough support in that group to want to stay the course and if the Republicans were to stay united as they have been, then it would be a problem for us,” Clyburn said. “We, by and large, would be wise to wait on the report.”

Many Democrats have anticipated that, at best, Petraeus and U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker would present a mixed analysis of the success of the current troop surge strategy, given continued violence in Baghdad. But of late there have been signs that the commander of U.S. forces might be preparing something more generally positive. Clyburn said that would be “a real big problem for us.”

So basically, he is rather blatantly admitting that he doesn’t want there to be positive signs of progress from Iraq because it would hurt the Dems politically.

Haven’t we conservatives been saying that all along? And now, he just proved us right.

But don’t question their patriotism, oh no. It’s patriotic to wish for your country to fail, don’t you see? It’s a good thing for the terrorists who want to attack and kill us to win in Iraq. They love America SO much!

As Misha from Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler says,

Try them, convict them and execute them for treason.

Or, if that’s too rough for you, let’s just cram them into container ships and send them off to whichever totalitarian dystopia they’re worshiping at the moment, because a free country has absolutely no use for them. Whatsoever. They’d probably f*ck up the harvest if we used them as fertilizer.

Hat Tip: Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler

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Navy SEAL memorial dedicated over liberal protests

Over at Chuck Ziegenfuss’ blog, he posted a Memorial Day entry about a simple memorial site that I found rather touching (and at the same time, infuriating):

I’m not that good a neighbor. I was even cutting anyone’s lawn. I was cutting the knee-high grass in the divider strip. And no, I’m not that civic minded. I was doing was cutting the grass around a memorial site erected at the start of the war. it’s not that much, a few flags stuck in the ground, a streamer or two and a message board. But it is a memorial.

To me, this simple memorial across the street has more meaning than all of the marble and granite memorials in Washington D. C., Arlington, Gettysburg, and every town square and post office/fire hall in the country. Those memorials all have meaning. A remembrance of was gone by, sacrifices made, fathers, brothers and sons lost for the cause of liberty. Those memorials stand in mute testimony of all we hold dear– the values, lifestyle and freedom for which we will sacrifice our brightest and bravest.

But not across the street. Across the street is a simple memorial made by one man, a man whose only real connection to this fight is a cousin who works rebuilding Iraq. He’s had the memorial of since the first day of the ground war, He’s even had legal battles with neighbors who didn’t appreciate what he was doing. Those neighbors accused him of creating an eyesore, (out of American flags!) Of not having “the right” to display the flags in the public’s space, and of not asking permission from the landowner of the rental community he lives in. He fought them tooth and nail, and even though he received many letters of support, the landowners wrote him a letter telling him to either take down the memorial or face eviction. Eventually, he had to take the flags down. He said it was the saddest day in his life, and he cried the entire time he was doing it. In the end, a few of our state representatives became involved, and told him in no uncertain terms: “go ahead and keep the memorial off and let us know if you have any more problems.”

I’m glad all this happened before I moved here or I would have a few less neighbors to sit around and b*tch. I would also, had I known sooner, have completely lined my yard with flags, covered the house in banners and bunting, and generally made the largest red-white-and-blue eye sore you’ve ever seen.

I’ll never understand people who get “offended” by displays of the American flag. Maybe I’m delusional, but isn’t this… well… America? Agree or disagree with the war or not, the proper and decent thing to do is keep your mouth shut and stand behind your troops. Obviously, no one has to. But again, it’s just the decent thing to do. Be patriotic — it ain’t gonna kill ya! Our soldiers need our support — they need to know that their country is standing behind them, more than I think some people know. Just imagine how it must feel to hear, as a soldier who is or has been fighting in Iraq, or Afghanistan, that a memorial with American flags is being forced to take down because it is an “eyesore”. I mean, my God… how much more unpatriotic can you get?

And even if — IF — this was in “public space” in a neighborhood and he wasn’t “allowed” to have it up, does it matter? Is it a fight that needs to be fought? Seriously now. What these neighbors should have done as good, principled, decent, proud, and patriotic Americans is follow his example and hang a few flags of their own. But no. It’s an eyesore.

Chuck is an Army officer who fought in Iraq and was injured by an IED. He’s undergone over 30 surgeries in, I believe, a little more than two years. And he’s out there cutting the grass for memorial of a war he not only fought in, but was injured in — and seriously so. Chuck, and the man he’s speaking of who built the memorial to begin with, are true patriots. We should all follow their examples.

Make sure you read the whole story.