The following video offers a bit more context than the video clip that’s gone viral:

Click here to view the embedded video.

At least in this clip you can see a bit of what was going on prior to the police using oc sprays to try and disperse the students.

So what other alternative recourse should the UC police have taken? The students were certainly given fair warning.

HuffPo:

Charles J. Kelly, a former Baltimore Police Department lieutenant who wrote the department’s use of force guidelines, said pepper spray is a “compliance tool” that can be used on subjects who do not resist, and is preferable to simply lifting protesters.

“When you start picking up human bodies, you risk hurting them,” Kelly said. “Bodies don’t have handles on them.”

After reviewing the video, Kelly said he observed at least two cases of “active resistance” from protesters. In one instance, a woman pulls her arm back from an officer. In the second instance, a protester curls into a ball. Each of those actions could have warranted more force, including baton strikes and pressure-point techniques.

“What I’m looking at is fairly standard police procedure,” Kelly said.

What I find to be ridiculous is any comparison of “brave” students and supporters of the Occupy movements to brave protesters of the so-called “Arab Spring” uprisings; and also to how those in authority deal with the protests. I bet Syrians and Iranians would have much preferred OC sprays to what they’ve been experiencing at the hands of their government’s police and military.

Did the students have a more preferable means of being forcefully removed than what they experienced?

The Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Sc. I
I am a tainted wether of the flock,
Meetest for death: the weakest kind of fruit
Drops earliest to the ground.

True Love Often Overlooks Previous Indiscretions,

Conservatives traditionally resist government intrusion into the home and personal lives of American citizens: Liberals tend to welcome the guiding hand of government into every facet of modern life. This is one of the fundamental differences between Liberalism and Conservatism. During the GOP Debate, Rep. Bachman called Governor Perry on his issuance of an executive order in 2007, requiring all girls in Texas to receive Gardasil, unless a waiver was signed by her parents. Gardasil by Merck, prevents infection of the more common strains of human papilloma virus. These particular viruses, once established, can initiate genital warts, as well as cervical, anal, vulvar, and vaginal cancers. The vaccine Gardasil prevents the infection and consequently prevents the associated diseases.

Texas lawmakers blocked the EO, arguing that the vaccine was too new to be considered safe, others argued that the order preempted parental rights and that the vaccine would encourage young girls to become sexually promiscuous at an early because of a false sense of security provided by the Gardasil.

The Flirtatious and Promiscuous Scarlet Has A Difficult Time Choosing From Her Many Suitors

Michelle Bachman provided an example of personal anecdotal evidence to stress the risk of injecting the vaccine into young girls. Apparently a young mother told her that her daughter suffered mental retardation after being injected with the vaccine. Thus this is more than enough proof for Bachman to refute the scientific studies of over 20,000 women and girls who were injected with the vaccine prior to FDA approval.

The studies concluded that the vaccine was 100% effective, an almost unprecedented result. The most serious side effect was redness, soreness, and swelling of the injection site.

Gardasil may be considered one of the most extraordinary risk-benefit ratios of all pharmaceuticals.

We have government intrusion in our lives; we are now required to wear seat belts and motorcycle helmets. People accept the fact that seat belts make crashes more survivable, as do motorcycle helmets, but the helmets interfere with the image of a bad ass on a motorcycle. Therein lies part of the conflict; much of our choice of transportation is based on an image. An image that we subscribe to and emulate within our own psyche and an image that we want to cultivate in the minds of those who view us. Yet the motorcycle road racer would never consider running down the track at speeds approaching two hundred miles an hour without a helmet, but if helmets save lives in motorcycle wrecks by lessening head trauma, how many lives could be saved if drivers and passengers of cars and trucks were required to wear a helmet. Surely head trauma is a major cause of death on the highway.

Since nearly all people engage in sexual activity, all of us are exposed to the papilloma virus. A rarely discussed fact is that certain men are carriers of the infection. Although they suffer no ill-effects, if they have multiple partners, they can spread the infection to many others, bringing misery and death as an unseemly gift of their sexual prowess.

The public would be enraged, Conservatives particularly, if these carriers of this often lethal infection were identified on the internet so that potential partners could have a choice in avoiding the infection of Don Juan types intent on serial infection of vulnerable maidens. Consequently, we allow carriers to continue to spread untold misery and death among females as a cost of our Constitutional freedoms.

A woman may only have one partner in her sexual life, but if that partner is a carrier of the infection, she will more than likely suffer through one or more of the associated diseases and death as a result.

Will we Conservatives be able to face our daughters and granddaughters if they have contracted one of the dreaded diseases and tell them that it is only collateral damage and a cost of our freedom; she may die secure in the knowledge that she contracted the disease as a free woman and she may now die a free woman, she can also take solace in the fact that the man who infected her will be free to infect many more women and their other partners as well, all in the name of freedom.

We may all rest assured that scientific minds like Michelle Bachman’s can recognize a potential problem when a woman complains that her twelve year old daughter suffered mental retardation after being injected with Gardasil.

As a Conservative, I realize that strict adherence to any ideology leads to fanaticism; common sense must be injected into the mix to keep the ideas and goals viable, but interposing uninformed personal opinions and ignorance into any situation is counter productive and nearly as offensive as falsifying data under the premise of science.

Hypnos and Thanatos (God of death) carrying dead Sarpedon, while Hermes watches.

Lots of hilarious number fudging by the liberals since yesterday’s “one nation” rally with the nutcase Ed Schultz in charge. They really really hoped for a large turnout:

Noting that they began planning their rally in April, organizers said they were not responding to a march organized by Glenn Beck, which drew enormous crowds to the front of the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28. But they acknowledged that their hope was to draw an even larger crowd to Saturday’s event.

Buuuuuut, things didn’t turn out so well:

Organizers claimed they had as many participants as Beck’s rally. But Saturday’s crowds were less dense and didn’t reach as far to the edges as they did during Beck’s rally.

And:

The 4-hour event organized by civil rights groups and labor unions was a counterweight, albeit a smaller one, to the recent rally of conservatives organized by TV commentator Glenn Beck.

This kind of evidence didn’t matter to the wackjobs at Crooks and Liars tho who proclaimed there were “more supporters than Glenn Beck’s much ballyhooed rally.”

And while the AP and UPI were honest in there reporting of size, MSNBC was not. They edited out portions of an AP article that proved the rally was weak and small. Compare the original AP report and the version of that same report MSNBC decided to edit. (h/t Confederate Yankee)

Even though the unions did everything they could to get people out to this pathetic rally, they still didn’t come. And those that did trashed the place.

Moonbattery has a good video from the scene of the rally:

And Looking At The Left has a great pictorial post.

UPDATE

Check this out, students forced to attend this farce of a rally:

More here.

Love him or hate him, Glenn Beck is a force to be reckoned with, and a major game changer in American Politics.  Not since Alexander Solzhenitsyn (Harvard Commencement Speech), has any significant secular person had the guts to stand in front of America and preach what Beck preached:  “American must return to God.”

Over a half century ago, while I was still a child, I recall hearing a number of old people offer the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia: “Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.” Since then I have spent well-nigh 50 years working on the history of our revolution; in the process I have read hundreds of books, collected hundreds of personal testimonies, and have already contributed eight volumes of my own toward the effort of clearing away the rubble left by that upheaval. But if I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous revolution that swallowed up some 60 million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to repeat: “Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.“

Edward E. Ericson, Jr., “Solzhenitsyn – Voice from the Gulag,” Eternity, October 1985, pp. 23, 24.

Heck, even radio talk show host and constitutional scholar Mark Levin, who by any stretch isn’t a Beck fan, admitted to a caller that “It was a good rally.”  I was both shocked and appreciative to hear the acknowledgment by Levin, as it gives a needed reassurance that despite the personality differences between conservative opinion leaders, all who “fight the good fight” must and need to be united in this turning point of American History.

I don’t agree with everything Beck does and teaches, but I’m convinced he’s got the “God and Country” right.  I also happen to think he is an extraordinary human being, and sometimes wonder if he isn’t the “one sent to humble the fools.”  After all, it was only a few years ago that Beck was a dirt poor dead beat drunk unable to make rent; an uncanny metaphor to the current state of our union.  It’s hard to deny that Beck grabbed many Americans at their “grass roots”, reaching demographic groups that until now were simply unreachable.

While Beck is no Solzhenitsyn, they have at their core two very fundamental things in common; immense suffering and humility.  Nothing gives clarity better than seeing life from the bottom up.  In their own different ways, both men have experienced their own living hell.  As all “bottom dwellers” know, “the ground floor” inevitably comes with the forked road; the one to bitterness, and the one to greatness, humbled and empowered by the experience.

Only in humility can a Nobel Prize Winner like Solzhenitsyn preach to the sages of Harvard, and only in humility can someone like Beck garner a crowd of a half million US Citizens from their homes  in sweltering heat, jammed packed subways (there were two hour waits just to buy tickets), and dead locked traffic.

We all know what happened to Solzhenitsyn at Harvard, booed and labeled a “hectoring Jeremiad” by the New York Times, his message for the most part, fell on deaf ears.  For Beck, not so much, witnessed by a crowd who made a choice to come and hear what he had to say, unlike Nobel Laureate Solzhenitsyn, an invited “academic.”

Be it the self described rodeo clown or the most prolific Russian writer Solzhenitsyn, the core of both messages of these men is God and country, only to be ignored at our own peril.

Say what you will about Glenn Beck, but the reality is, he may well be our modern day Jeremiah!

I put together a short photo video (I was there); trying to capture what I believe was the essence of those in attendance:  peaceful, God-fearing, country-loving Americans.

Today I received heartbreaking news from Rich Davis informing us that a fellow Sheepdog and World War 2 Veteran, Frank McDermott, had suddenly passed away on Saturday, July 31st:

Frank loved the troops, past and present, and would often get misty-eyed talking about the ones that didn’t come home. He always had 2 American flags on his scooter and he loved to hold the bright yellow “God Bless Our Troops” sign. Last Saturday, 7/24, Frank was very upbeat, his surgery was a few days away and he was ready to face danger once again. His daughter, Mary Ann was at the rally and took a lot of pictures of her dad doing what he loved to do.

Despite not having his legs, we all looked at Frank as a giant man. He stood head and shoulders above most of us in so many ways. Always positive, always smiling and friendly to all who said hello. I can never remember Frank ever being in a bad mood. He was always so happy to be with us, and was a most humble man too. He was very gracious and grateful when a stranger would thank him for his service during WWII.

On the coldest days, I would say, “Frank are you sure you can be here today?” And his answer was sharp and clear and lively, “This is the least I can do for our boys.” He never complained about anything, ever. We talk about honor and dignity and quiet strength and Frank exemplified all those qualities every week for us. Humility was his trademark. Always good-natured. He truly loved his country and our rallies were a major part of his life.

For those of you new to this story, I’ve been documenting the journey of a pro American grassroot organization (American Sheepdogs) since its inception in 2007. I first encountered Frank while enjoying a post rally drink at Iron Hill Brewery with a fellow Sheepdog, Sharon Highland. Sharon noticed his WW2 hat and thanked him for his service to our country. We invited him to attend our pro American rally the following week and the rest is history.

Can we just put down the Islamic bickering for today and remember the passing of one of America’s quiet hero’s. I realize it was a privilege to have the opportunity to befriend such a person and am torn over the loss of this great man.

Two Generations of Heroes

Frank Ready to Rally

I had the opportunity to capture Frank on video talking openly about his views on war from one who experienced it first hand:

He always greeted me with a warm smile, hug and a joke at the ready. He shared with me on countless occasions insightful thoughts on life, and the peaceniks across the street. When he spoke, I listened. I’ve very little information on his wartime activities, I didn’t push, he didn’t feel the need to share. That was okay by me – he was a remarkable person through and through.

Rest in Peace, Frank McDermott, may perpetual light shine upon you. Your Sheepdog family will miss you dearly and our thoughts and prayers are with your family.

Frank McDermott – Sheepdog and Patriot

Photo by Neocon

This kid demonstrates guts and moral courage:

Hat tip: Bookworm Room

With all the attention focused on Healthcare D-Day, I didn’t realize that the circus was coming to town this past weekend in “celebration” of the 7th anniversary of OIF.

Donald Douglas was there to take some pictures of the LA-edition of the freak show carnival.

Some of the ANSWER tools are still protesting like it’s 2003-6; they seem to think there’s still a war going on in Iraq and that Bush is still in power:

And then there are those anti-American radicals/communists/conspiracists/terrorist sympathizers so far out of the mainstream, they are most likely unimpressed with the “watered-down” version of Pelosified Obamacare Reidform that passed this weekend:

Just remember, the comparison of Obama to Hitler isn’t coming from the right:

And, aye carumba…it’s been a busy weekend of protests!

All photos taken by Donald Douglas

Republicans are often associated with greed and selfishness (because we all know there is no such thing as Democrat fat-cats and learjet liberals; and that Democrats always contribute more to charities). But liberals are rightfully identified with the entitlement-mentality of the free lunch. Education is a right. Same-sex marriage is a right. Healthcare is a right. Riiiiight….

In full parade-fashion, last Thursday’s March 4th “Strike and Day of Action to Defend Education” saw liberal activists and students once again “fighting the good fight”, seeing oppression and racial discrimination in necessary budget cuts that affect education. Peter Robinson summing it all up:

We have here the vocabulary of the peace movement, of the struggle for decent conditions for migrants and other exploited workers, and of the civil-rights movement. Yet what did the protesters demand? Peace? Human rights? No. Money. And for whom? For the downtrodden and oppressed? No. For themselves. At a time when one American in 10 is unemployed and historic deficits burden both the federal government and many of the states, the protesters attempted to game the political system. They engaged in a resource grab.

The protests did offer students a certain kind of instruction. They taught them to replace the idealism of youth with the crassest self-pleading.

These students may like to believe that they are asking themselves, “What is good for society?” But really, they are asking, “What is good for myself?”

And yes, they can compare themselves to their brethren of 40 years ago:

The Vietnam anti-war/peace movement should be more properly and accurately scarlet-lettered an anti-draft movement. By the end of 1971, under Nixon, the draft ended. Major peace protests happened throughout 1968 through ‘71. The largest, most intense bombing of the war occurred in Christmas of ‘72 [Operation Linebacker II]. Any protests? Any peace movement marches? Not a peep. Because those protesting the war knew that they would no longer be called up to serve. Yet we’re to believe that the “peace” movement were anti-war out of altruistic good conscience on behalf of the Vietnam people. No: many were motivated by selfish interests. After the draft ended under Nixon, so too did the majority support for these idiotic marches, which only fueled more violence; not less.

Philadelphia hosted its first Tea Party way back in December 27th, 1773.

236 years later, the organizers of the Independence Hall Tea Party Association hosted a re-enactment of the event. Big Talker 1210 radio personality Dom Giordano represented Dr. Benjamin Rush, leader of the Philadelphia Tea Party, as he read the original resolutions adopted by Philadelphia and Boston.

This is a crucial bit of history that reveals citizens of Philadelphia once stood for something bigger than themselves – a lesson from the past that we are in dire need of today.

Oh, check out the Fife and Drum Corp in the video below the fold – they are a talented bunch who were greatly appreciated by the assembled crowd.

Philadelphia Fife and Drum Corps:

The media elites are so blind. Where were they on civility for the past 8 years? Oh, yeah: They were part of the contributing problem.

“The election broke their brains”. That applied to liberal Democrats after the 2000 Election.

Hat tip: Always on Watch: Semper Vigilans