There were worse things in Early America than being a black slave. It’s probably surprising to learn that being an Irish slave was one of them. Early Irish settlers also filled the same service roles in American society, then, as claimed by illegal Hispanics today.

Ireland had no defense forces until about 1913 so its people were captured and enslaved by many nations. They endured more oppression than American blacks and suffered living conditions not unlike Jews of the Holocaust. But harboring grudges against ghosts of heritages past was not a mainstay for the Irish. They had more important things to do.

We know so little of the Irish’s torturous American history because of their impressive will to live beyond victimizations rather than living in them. America’s Irish are prime examples of sheer personal determination turning adversity into stepping stones to a better life. Their devout faith in God undoubtedly served them well, then and now.

As a small-town Protestant from the Midwest my knowledge of St. Patrick’s Day was limited to coloring shamrocks spun from school mimeograph machines; the once-a-year reprieve for pinching classmates if they hadn’t worn green; and images of leprechauns lounging alongside that illusive pot of gold at the end of a just as illusive rainbow. It wasn’t until an adult career landed me in New York City that I came to know the holiday and the roles Irish Americans continue to play in our country’s legacy of freedom.

New York City’s parade was my first St. Patrick’s Day parade and it doesn‘t get any better than that. Crowds were so encompassing that even Manhattan’s street traffic came to a halt for the bustling business of glittering green hats, flailing flags, drifting confetti, waving banners, and throngs of the highest-energy people I’ve ever seen come together in an endless string of pubs only then recognized bearing Irish surnames. If you couldn’t legitimately claim an Ireland County as your own by the time day was done you’d adopted one or they’d adopted you. That’s how the Irish roll.

I was a clean slate for learning the true character of Irish Americans from descendants who’d walked off their ships at Ellis Island so many years ago. Their impressively bold dispositions can scantly be found in other of America’s melting pot. The Irish stealthily, dauntlessly and eagerly acclimated to America, setting aside a past much worse than what others today find so ‘inescapable.’ We hear, even today, unending wails of grievous discontents that go back a hundred years or are as recent as the Irish settlers’ once were. The Irish have “been there, seen that, done that.” And what’s glaring from all of that is, who among us even knew?

Who was St. Patrick?

The shamrock is a symbol of St. Patrick’s Day because Patrick used its three cloves to explain God’s trinity. March 17^th is believed to be the date St. Patrick died.

St. Patrick (387-461) was born in Scotland on the cusp of Christian evolution sweeping through the Roman Empire. Patrick’s parents were Roman and lived in Britain where they managed colonies. Ireland was still ruled by Druid pagans when Irish pirates captured Patrick as a young teenager. During his years in pagan captivity Patrick learned Ireland’s language, its people and its customs.

Isolated as a sheep herder Patrick turned to God, spending much of his time in prayer. At age 20 he escaped and returned to his family in Britain but Patrick felt God-called to go back to Ireland and convert its people to Christianity. He spent 40-years teaching and baptizing Ireland’s kings as well as its common folks.

How many times have you, as a conservative/Republican asked yourself, “What’s wrong with these people? How can they think like this? Are they evil or just stupid?” It seems mind-boggling that the same people who claim to stand for the poorest among us support energy policy that makes it nearly impossible for the poor to afford energy in their homes. It’s confusing that a liberal would be so passionate about defending the “environment” that they would sacrifice hundreds of thousands of African lives just to ban DDT- the “miracle” chemical that nearly eradicated malaria, the number one killer in some African nations. A chemical that has to this date not been proven to be environmentally hazardous. It’s certainly no more hazardous than, say….malaria! Sayet lays out a brilliant answer to these questions and others, step by step.

To help you understand the basics of modern liberal thought, Sayet begins the book with a breakdown of “Laws of Modern Liberalism” and a “Corollary of Modern Liberalism”. According to him, there are 4 laws of modern liberalism:

1)Indiscriminateness – the total rejection of the intellectual process

2)Indiscriminateness of thought does not lead to indiscriminateness of policies. It leads to siding only and always with the lesser over the better, the wrong over the right, and the evil over the good.

3)Modern Liberal policies occur in tandem. Each effort on behalf of the lesser is met with an equal and opposite campaign against the better. My footnote – there is no better or more recent example of this immutable “law” than the recent rukkus over frakking. Liberals continue to advocate for the least effective forms of energy (wind, solar, etc.) while actively working to crush one of the most hopeful (and cleanest) forms of energy mining to come along in a long time – frakking.

4)The modern liberal will ascribe to the better the negative qualities associated with the lesser while concurrently ascribing to the lesser the positive qualities found in the better. My footnote – think Islam as “the religion of peace” versus Christianity as the aggressive and oppressive religion.

Applauding yet? That’s only the first page!

The real brilliance in Sayet’s argument comes from the title itself: Kindergarden of Eden. I originally had the author on my radio show to talk about his upcoming book last fall just before the elections. It was then that he explained to me the childlike outlook of liberals and how they not only laud childishness, they advocate for this childish Utopia as a superior form of relating to the world around them:

“In this Utopia that the True Believer envisions, everyone would be like Adam and Eve in the Garden of                        Eden, or, more precisely the secular version – the five-year-old child in another sort of garden paradise: the kindergarten. according to the True Believer’s Blueprint for Utopia, everyone was to live in total ignorance and therefore (or so the promise went) in total bliss.” 

And to prove this theory, we are directed towards one of the most influential books in modern liberal thought, “All I Really Need to Know  I Learned in Kindergarten”.  Just days after Sayet shared this theory, the liberal media exploded in panic, ridicule and anger when Mitt Romney (in the first debate with Obama) suggested he would cut funding to PBS. Were liberals angry about the debt, the deficit, rising taxes or how these relate to unnecessary public outlets like PBS? No, their panic and dread was directed toward one subject…Sesame Street. Headlines erupted over Romney’s Big Bird hatred and liberals everywhere were outraged that anyone would consider defunding a children’s show that earns over $200 million/year in sales and copyright revenue. Think about it – most of us grew up with Sesame Street; approximately how old were you when you started moving on from Sesame Street to other interests? I’m guessing it was right around the age of … 5. Exactly the age at which Sayet claims liberals are happy to stop progressing. He nailed it.

Sayet claims this is only the first written version of his theory. He plans to flesh out more and expand his argument in the future. As thorough and eye-opening as this short but entertaining offering was, there is certainly a lot left to be explored on the topic, and Sayet seems to have proven himself just the man to do it.

If you’re looking for some new, informational books to put on your must-read list for 2013 I highly recommend you add Mr.Sayet’s book to your collection. It’s a quick read, but entertaining and filled with the “Ahhhhhhh!!!” moments that I search for in my “informational” reading. After reading this book you will come away with a better understanding of liberal thought and activism; ultimately you will be better armed to face the challenges ahead as we try to navigate the next four years under Obama and try to win the country back in some form. We are being overwhelmed, that is for sure. It is disheartening, that is for sure as well. The children are running the daycare center and it’s up to us adults to wrestle back control. To quote Sayet one last time:

“Today we are at a tipping point where the people of God and science will soon be overwhelmed by the demands of taking care of the permanently infantilized. It is unsustainable. If the system collapses under the weight, the future is not merely a slightly less wonderful existence, it is a return to what life had been like for the overwhelmingly majority of people in all other times and all other places…That life was described by Thomas Hobbes as ‘nasty, brutish, and short. We’re not there yet, but we’re close”.

*Keep your eyes peeled for my next Book of the Month coming in February.

Jonathan Williams, Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force Director for the American Legislative Exchange Council who also co-authors ALEC’s Rich States, Poor States report, detailed how simplicity, transparency, neutrality, and predicability are key areas to look over when assessing a tax code.  He also detailed the dynamics of the Laffer Curve, which often irks the political left.

However, weather also effects a state’s economic vigor.  Hawaii and California, states considered to be paradise, have lost scores of citizens in the last ten years.  Hawaii has lost population in eight of the last ten years.  California has lost over 1.5 million residents over the past decade.  Proof that taxpayers vote with their feet.  Hence the reason why Florida, Texas, Arizona, North Carolina, Georgia, states with low taxes and responsible government, have had the highest rates of in-migration over the past ten years.  While states with (surprise!) high levels of taxation and government spending,  New York, California, Illinois, and New Jersey, are on the top of the out-migration list.

Overall, over the past ten years Ohio, New York, Hawaii, New Jersey, Vermont, California, and Oregon have grown their economies 42.06%, their population has grown 5.36%, and their job growth is an abysmal -1.68%.  Furthermore, total tax receipt growth in those states accounted for a meager 44.80%.  While Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Wyoming, and South Dakota collectively experienced a 58.54% gross state product growth, a 13% increase in population, total tax receipt growth of 81.53% and job growth of way over 5% over the past ten years.  What a shocker…for liberals.

James Sherk, Senior Policy Analyst in Labor Economics for the Heritage Foundation, reiterated how labor reforms are essential to loosening markets and increasing economic activity.  After all, when you don’t have constraining hiring and firing provisions in a contract with a union, you might have more options as an employer.  As we conservatives know, a union is a legal cartel.  An unsustainable economic model that crumbles once competition is injected into it.  Hence, the reason why merit pay for teachers is so viciously opposed.

Teachers have been pushed front and center in this fight against public sector unions.  Sadly, the most qualified and efficient teachers, the good ones, are the first to go when a budget crunch occurs and the worst of the bunch with seniority are saved.  Is that efficient?

This whole fight over collective bargaining is one fraught with liberal confusion.  An aspect that isn’t all that surprising, but this shift towards collective bargaining as a human right is patently false.  Federal employees aren’t allowed to collectively bargain and the AFL-CIO’s first president, George Meany, is quoted as saying in 1955″ it is impossible to bargain collectively with the government.”  Why?  Because “government collective bargaining means voters do not have the final say on public policy. Instead their elected representatives must negotiate spending and policy decisions with unions. That is not exactly democratic – a fact that unions once recognize.”

Another thing that needs to recognized is that a staggering 35% of all jobs require a license.  Sherk said that in forty-nine states you need documentation to be a barber or a preschool teacher.  In thirteen states, you need a license to be a bartender.  In Maryland, such a document is required to be a fortune teller.  Lastly, three states require papers to operate as an interior designer.   With unemployment rising, people do not have the time or the money to go through years of training to learn a trade that shares little correlation with safety and the ability to perform the job.  It’s out of control.

Sherk reports that the lobbying arm of these professions are directly reposinsible for keeping 35% of all U.S. jobs in license limbo.  It’s hurting the poor and folks with a low-skill set.  Does it really take a year for one to be an efficient barber? No. If he/she cuts hair poorly, the market will remedy that defect.

On a positive note, we don’t need federal ordinances to reform the system.  States are fully capable of fixing this problem.

We are nearing the end of the school year, with all the awards ceremonies, field days, game days and other activities.

Yesterday my kids brought home an “itinerary” of sort to let the parents know what is going on.

The first thing on the list is “Asian Pacific Islander Assembly”.

When I read that I could not imagine what in the world that meant. So I went to the Internet and found out that May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month.

Here is a quote from the About page:

May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month – a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. A rather broad term, Asian-Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island).

Like most commemorative months, Asian-Pacific Heritage Month originated in a congressional bill. In June 1977, Reps. Frank Horton of New York and Norman Y. Mineta of California introduced a House resolution that called upon the president to proclaim the first ten days of May as Asian-Pacific Heritage Week. The following month, senators Daniel Inouye and Spark Matsunaga introduced a similar bill in the Senate. Both were passed. On October 5, 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed a Joint Resolution designating the annual celebration. Twelve years later, President George H.W. Bush signed an extension making the week-long celebration into a month-long celebration. In 1992, the official designation of May as Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month was signed into law.

The month of May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.

So now we’ve gone from being hyphenated to all out leaving off the “American”.

The year I was born, the actor John Wayne came out with a record entitled, “America- Why I Love Her” that my Dad used to play all the time. It was re-released on CD in 2001 after the attacks on The World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

The above video/poem/song defines what has been going on for years in this country. It frustrates me because there is one man that could have gone down in history as the greatest unifier is instead the greatest divider of all time. Barack Obama has made history. He is the first black man to be President of The United States of America! His life and attitude is living proof of how our actions bring about consequences. Rather than working diligently to unite a country that has been growing more and more divided over the years he is in fact intensifying the division and playing on it from his leadership position. He is outright exploiting every American- black, white, brown, yellow or red.

If you have never heard the entire CD I strongly encourage you to purchase it. Memorize it. It is embedded in my memory from years and years of being played in my home.

At this new “classification” shows, we’ve now skipped right over the hyphen. Now we are celebrating “different people in the United States”, not different people coming together as one united United States. The “official” name of  Month is Asian-Pacific American Month. In one place it is called “Asian-Pacific Heritage Month”. Now, the common name it is known by is “Asian-Pacific Islander Month”.  Hmmmm… what is missing in that last one? Yes! You noticed it too, didn’t you?! There is no “American” in there! It is a slippery slope, indeed, when you start to hyphenate and divide.

I am the first person who is all about celebrating and learning about the different heritages of our nation. As a mom of five adopted children of a different race it is vital to me to make sure my children know their heritage. However, my husband and I teach them that though their heritage is different, they are are AMERICAN! We do not hyphenate their heritage, just as we do not hyphenate our heritage.

We are ALL immigrants of some kind from some where.

My question is when are we going to have an AMERICAN HERITAGE month where it’s not about race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation or anything that divides us? When are we going to drop the hyphens- period?! If we seek to divide for any reason- heritage or otherwise- we will NEVER be united!