–Just days ago, John Ziegler, who has the website howobamagotelected.com and a new documentary, "Media Malpractice," was strong-armed and handcuffed outside the site of an award ceremony honoring Katie Couric. She was getting an award for her Sarah Palin interview–which many, including Ziegler, would label a farce and an advocacy-piece, rather than objective journalism. Ziegler’s "crime"? He was giving away copies of his "Media Malpractice" movie to people going into the awards ceremony, and not attempting to enter the site himself. Oh, by the way, only "invited" journalists were allowed to enter the awards site, i.e., media-types invited by the recipients of the awards! Just imagine how liberal media would howl if a politician receiving an "award" restricted room access to media "invited" by him or her. Yes, arrogance is audacious.

–no longer using terms like "war on terror" or "terrorist acts"–instead, calling terrorist attacks "man-made disasters"! Can you believe that higher ups in our federal government are actually doing that? What is this, Brave New World and Orwellian "newspeak" personified?

–so dare not utter the "T" word–unless, of course, you are referring to the dangerous "right-wing extremists" identified by our new Homeland Security department, including members of the VFW, opponents of abortion, and fans of the "Tea Party" events [see our most recent column, Guess Who the Real Enemy is Now?].

–please make sure the absurdity of the above fully registers, and hopefully spurs you to action: our US government has no problem labeling patriotic Americans as possible "terrorists" but no longer wants to call Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah "terrorists"!?! Does anyone have trouble seeing there is something very wrong with this picture?

–an American president "firing" the CEO of one of America’s largest private companies, and also replacing a number of those on the board of directors.

–billions and billions, soon amounting to trillions and trillions, in "bailout" funds, even to banks that did not want such [and, yes, that began prior to the present administration].

–more audacity: as reported yesterday by Fox News, the "top ten" recipients of bailout money [i.e., our tax dollars] have spent over nine million bucks on lobbying costs in just the first quarter of 2009. Gee, we can’t wait to see what the yearly figure will total.

–billions and billions, which will also amount to trillions, in so-called "stimulus package" funds, loaded down with pork-barrel projects and with several items that have little or nothing to do with economic stability and development (a measure largely opposed by Republicans and a few brave "blue dog" Democrats).

–billions of those funds earmarked to go to groups like ACORN, with ACORN being that "non-partisan" group that openly favors liberal Democrats and is under investigation and indictment in several places for allegedly fraudulent voter registrations [e.g., did you know the entire starting lineup of the Dallas Cowboys was registered to vote in not only nearby Nevada but also Minnesota? If the Cowboys ever have a Monday Night game on the road versus the Vikings, day before Election Day, they can just stay overnight and vote in Minneapolis the next day–how convenient...somebody pass the word to team owner Jerry Jones].

–that same group, ACORN, being designated by the present administration to "assist" the U. S. Census Bureau in the taking of the next census.

–by the way, the U.S. Census Bureau will now be "housed" within the Obama administration, under the authority of the White House, unlike years past.

–and did we mention that the next [2010] census will be crucial in determining whether certain areas [i.e., "red" states] add congressional seats at the expense of certain other areas [i.e., "blue" states], since population shifts would tend to indicate that such should happen, but given the new developments just referenced, who knows what might happen?

–an American president bowing to a Saudi king, and the audacity of both America’s Big Media in largely not reporting that, and the Obama administration in denying that it happened, despite video showing that it did.

–our President getting much more "chummy" with Chavez and Castro than we think is appropriate, given their respective histories of oppression, dictatorship, and tyranny. What’s next, photo ops with the leaders of Syria, Iran and North Korea?

–a "new day" for advancing and increasing the number of abortions in this country, and throughout the world, so that the supporters of such can have even greater celebrations of the unjust ending of human life, while a number of those supporters categorically oppose the death penalty for heartless, vicious murderers.

–continued opposition to authorizing "drill here, drill now" by those now in control of our government, even though allowing such, with appropriate safeguards, will drive down the cost of oil and reduce our dependence on nations unkind to us to sell us that product [and don’t look now, but gas prices continue to go up, and expect them to continue rising].

–the arrogance of the left, largely comprising those who determine who receives the Nobel Peace Prize, in not awarding same to the Polish nurse, Irene Sendler, who saved 2500 Jewish children from certain death by the Nazis in WWII. This Catholic nurse’s story went unnoticed for years, and she was belatedly nominated for this honor in 2007, but was not selected. Who was? Al Gore. Go figure.

–largely ignoring the constant and growing problems with our porous borders, while drug dealers and Hezbollah run people and more drugs (and Heaven knows what else) across those borders and into our cities and towns.

–an American president "apologizing" to the rest of the world for America’s "arrogance," yet our country happens to be the nation that has freed more people, fed more people, cared for more people, and otherwise assisted more people than any nation in the history of the world, all at a tremendous cost of the loss of life of countless numbers of Americans, and many more who were terribly injured and/or separated from their loved ones for months or years on end, all of whom willingly served (and, in many cases, died) for those they didn’t even know [see also our first column on this site, Who Are the Real Heroes?].

–an expansion of the never-ending national debt to heights never before seen, while the present administration simultaneously claims that the last administration was the irresponsible one, and that the present one will "reduce" that ever-growing debt.

–the audacity of a liberal Big Media that gives the present administration a "free pass" regarding those outlandish claims regarding the national debt, and, come to think of it, gives this administration a "free pass" on most any issue, all with a straight face and no shame, which is the epitome of arrogance.

–the arrogance of the New York Times in killing a story prior to the election, which would have explored the ties between ACORN and candidate Obama and his campaign, and then claiming afterwards [when this came to light], again with a straight face, that the decision had "nothing" to do with "politics."

–the arrogance of liberal Big Media which, alternatively, either ignored, downplayed or ridiculed the many "Tea Party" events which took place on April 15 all across the country, and the dirty "double meaning" (sexual) language used by one of those networks in referring to the Tea Parties and those attending them.

–on that last point, just imagine the outrage of Big Media had Fox News used such language to refer to liberal protesters, or Republican office holders had done so...we would still be hearing about it, with apologies demanded. Yet, arrogant Big Media makes no apologies for its language and conduct, and has no shame whatsoever.

–the audacity of liberal Democrats in Congress who want to reinstate the [un]Fairness Doctrine and/or "localism" as defined by them, either of which will abridge free speech and help silence those opposing their grandiose plans [addressed in an earlier column, "Liberals Killed the Radio Star..."].

–while perhaps not on the scale of many of the above issues, arrogance reared its head even in the Miss USA pageant, as Miss California has been drug through the coals and shunned after honestly stating her personal opposition to gay marriage. Though she should have never been asked that question, since when has favoring gay marriage been a "qualification" for being named Miss USA? Is this the same country we grew up in?

It is truly our hope that all of the above will not morph into national disaster. That our country and our economy will remain free and strong. That the citizens will rise up, peacefully but unmistakably, and say "enough," and in 2010, and 2012, vote the purveyors of the above out of office. While they are at it, the people can continue the decline of the liberal Big Media’s circulation, viewership, and influence, by watching, buying and reading other resources that do not carry the taint of arrogant liberal bias.

We sincerely hope for good things for our country, its people, and our world. We do not harbor ill will toward our political opponents. We believe in the American way, and our system which is the best in the world.

All of that being said, we cannot wear blinders and be eternal optimists, and act as if what is occurring will simply go away by itself, and that the present actions will not have consequences to our health, safety and well-being. Our fear is that things will go so far that the unthinkable occurs, and that a nightmare of instability, terror, and suffering will be unleashed upon our country and this world. If it does, audacious arrogance will be of no help whatsoever.

We did OK in math in school, but probably not well enough to figure out just how many "billions a week" is accurate–we doubt that eight billion is, as the bailouts and "stimulus" package are no doubt costing us a lot more than that, but the point is made. We now have a spend-happy federal government that threatens to bury our grandchildren in debt and drag down our free-market system in an avalanche of nationalized control–a "socialist" America on the way.

How long will it be before Uncle Sam owns the banks, certain auto makers, insurance companies, and, yes, perhaps even the local mall? The latest story has the CEO of an auto maker resigning at the behest of the President. Guess who has "controlling interest" at General Motors now?

Federal-controlled "health care" [quote marks intentional] won’t be far behind. Throw in some government-mandated control of radio stations’ programming content, to limit free speech in opposition to this budding takeover [a/k/a the [un]Fairness Doctrine], and the rolling stone will continue to grow in size and reach. So, the 1960s "flower children" thought we had "Big Brother" government then? Who were they kidding?

We are being told over and over, that this is just "how it is," that the government must "do something" to salvage our economy and way of life. Yet, those telling us such either didn’t read the legislation they passed, which contained the bonus allowances those same legislators are now crowing about, or, perhaps, we think they protest too much–maybe they knew exactly what they were passing, and are yelling righteous indignation now that the cat is out of the bag. Those same legislators, led by a president touting "change we can believe in," then passed a record number of pork-barrel earmarks and expenditure items that have little or nothing to do with economic development and stability.

As they say, that is water under the bridge now. However, we are concerned that our country may drown in that water before enough people realize the consequences of the poor decisions being made, and stand up and say "enough." We won’t have much of a chance to express our feelings on that at the ballot box until 2010, and time will tell if a real "awakening" has taken place by then. But we do not have to and should not sit idly by, watching our freedoms rolled up and stuffed into a near-impregnable container of government control.

Please do not misunderstand us. We are not attacking "all" Democrats, and we do not wish ill toward those on the other side of the political spectrum. But, just because we do not want their misguided policies to be put in place and "succeed," does not mean that we wish bad things for our country, Congress, or our President.

Say that again: Hezbollah, a terrorist organization (oops, we aren’t supposed to use that word anymore, are we?), is taking advantage of our "walk right in" southern border, to move Heaven knows what into our country. Hezbollah, one of those extremist groups that we’ve seen on TV, in far-away areas most of us don’t frequent, coming to your neighborhood and ours. Don’t expect to see much said about that by Big Media.

While the present administration talks about increasing security on the borders, that presumably will not include National Guard troops, despite requests from border governors to do so, such as Gov. Rick Perry of Texas. Given that the "open borders" crowd were and are enthusiastic supporters of the present administration, we won’t hold our breath waiting for actual border security to be increased and made more effective. We’ll instead hold our breath hoping that no one crossing our border (or, more accurately, who has already crossed our border) sets off a series of suicide bombs or otherwise attempts to murder American citizens.

Another issue? Have you noticed gas prices continue to "inch" back up? Heard anyone in the majority in Congress talk about the need to "drill here, drill now"? Neither have we.

In addition to the tea bags, how about we all acquire photos of gas pump prices when they were at or approaching four bucks a gallon, and mail the picture to our congressional representatives. Just include a brief note telling them, "if this happens again, we’re holding you responsible at the ballot box next time around–drill here, already!"

The list of mishandled or ignored issues could go on, but we think the prospects of nightmarish terrorist attacks on American soil, while federal spending spins out of sight and federal control grows geometrically, leave a mounting number of concerns.

The songs mentioned above are an effort, albeit small, to do something about our problems, a "musical" tea party, if you will. Maybe playing a little rock ‘n roll and engaging in parody and humor won’t make us any safer or our country more sound, but sitting on our hands certainly won’t. Wringing those hands in worry won’t, either. Neither will ignoring what is going on around us.