Project 21: New Visions

Why I’ve Decided to Be My Own Boss by Darryn "Dutch" Martin (bio) Every day seems to bring more headlines about a worsening American economy. As the official unemployment rate dances closer to ten percent, it is likely there are countless people who simply gave up on finding a job. In this bleak economy, I did what many would consider unthinkable: I quit my job. After more than a decade of working for the federal government, I quit. I gave up the steady paycheck. I gave up the benefits. I gave up all of the security that a job such ...
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  Beck, MLK Both Spoke About Freedom by Jimmie L. Hollis (bio) On August 28, I arrived in Washington, D.C. with a contingent of the Greenwich Tea Party Patriots of South Jersey to attend Glenn Beck’s “Restore Honor” rally at the Lincoln Memorial. We consisted of three packed busloads. The weather was perfect that day, and I estimate there were between 200,000 and 300,000 people at the rally. Richard Hoch, a radio and television personality from my hometown Millville, New Jersey who came along with us, said he thought that number was actually higher. Whatever the number, there were Americans ...
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School Choice Puts Students First by Lisa Fritsch (bio) School choice advocates marched outside the New Jersey State House last spring to demand vouchers. They wanted families to be able to escape failing and unchecked public schools and be able to choose a better education. Most public school systems — usually, and unfortunately,  those in economically challenged areas — are failing our children. They are failing our children socially and academically despite already having been shown the money. Washington, D.C. is a case in point.  Even though per-pupil spending there is around $22,000 annually — enough to send a child ...
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  Our Father, Who Isn’t in Washington by Lisa Fritsch (bio) Conservatives argue that the liberal social programs of the 1960s destroyed the black family as the notion of the black man as the patriarch of his family took a beating. In just a few generations, an intact black family became so hard to recognize that blacks ridiculed the 1980s family sitcom “The Cosby Show” as unrealistic. Today, however, we have flesh-and-blood proof of the existence and the benefits that come from a strong black family — America’s first black President. President Obama can help black Americans succeed by asking ...
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Cheerleading is not a sport.  That is what Federal Judge Stefan Underhill said last Wednesday. In a 95-page opinion, Judge Underhill ruled that Quinnipiac University could not count competitive cheer towards the school’s Title IX compliance; rather, it had to reinstate its women’s volleyball program.  Quinnipiac unsuccessfully argued that cheerleading should be considered a sport for the purpose of Title IX fulfillment since, like other sports, it is a physically demanding activity with different regional and national competitions. The ACLU, with support from the Obama Administration and feminist groups, argued against the school and the cheerleaders.Source: istockphoto To understand how ...
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The Tea Party Is Not Racist! by Emery McClendon (bio) In response to efforts by liberal media outlets, the NAACP and progressive politicos to discredit the tea party movement by claiming it is racist, I feel it is imperative that the truth be presented by someone who has been there. Me. I am a conservative African-American and a veteran.  I have not only attended several tea parties, but I organized one in Fort Wayne, Indiana in April of 2009.  Our keynote speaker was another African-American: former U.N. diplomat and presidential candidate Dr. Alan Keyes. Despite this evident tea party diversity, ...
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  NAACP Puts Politics Above Civil Rights by Deneen Borelli (bio) If it wasn’t clear before, the NAACP’s resolution to paint the Tea Party movement as racist leaves no doubt that the once venerable group has irreparably destroyed its reputation and sullied its past prestige. How is it that the same NAACP that beat back state-sponsored segregation in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case is now casting aspersions on activists seeking smaller, more responsible government and the freedom that inherently comes with it? Politics. Over the years, as the NAACP helped increase equality in our nation, ...
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Over the past year, members of the liberal media, progressive politicians and the Hollywood elite have demonized the tea party movement partly by claiming that tea partiers are a fringe group driven by racial animosity. Now, faced with unequivocally racist antics by members of the New Black Panther Party, the progressive establishment seems devoid of passion to root out hatred. This apparently selective outrage exposes what’s seemingly propelling progressives. Politics rather than morality appears to be the motivation behind the progressive crusade against Tea Party reformers. Slandering tea party activists is apparently a politically expedient necessity because they pack the ...
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Wake Up, Lazy Parents! by Mychal Massie (bio) A pendulum can swing only so far in one direction before it must return. Conservatives should take this to heart as President Obama currently swings America to the far left. We should take heart because our day will likely come again. But I say likely because, while Obama may only blight the fabric of our republic for a short time, there must be honorable, educated and durable individuals available to clean up the detritus Obama and his minions leave behind. In an attempt to change the laws of physics and keep the ...
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Crying Wolf Over a “Racist” Cat and Rabbit by Bob Parks (bio) It is said that you can’t debate the insane. That must have been Hallmark’s strategy. After three years on the market, the greeting card giant Hallmark quickly pulled a graduation card after half-baked claims were made by the Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP that the card is racist. Starring the Hallmark-designed characters Hoops and Yoyo, the controversial card contains a small speaker from which the cartoon cat and rabbit exclaim: “This graduate is going to run the world, run the universe and run everything after that. Yeah, ...
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  Juneteenth a Time for Self-Assessment by R. Dozier Gray (bio) Juneteenth is the June 19 anniversary of the day in 1865 when the black residents of Galveston, Texas learned about the Emancipation Proclamation and their freedom. Today, its commemoration is a reason for parties and celebration nationwide. More importantly, however, Juneteenth is a time to reflect on where we as blacks have been and a time to conduct an azimuth check on where we are going.  It is a time for clarity.  It is a time to count the ways in which we are free and a time to ...
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After a bomb was recently discovered in a smoking Nissan SUV in Times Square, America watched anxiously as city, state, and federal authorities investigated. In just 53 hours, law enforcement and national security teams working together successfully apprehended the terrorist — Pakistani born émigré Faisal Shahzad. His dramatic capture off a Dubai-bound airliner just moments before it took flight seemed more like a Tom Clancy novel than real-life. Amazingly, this potentially devastating terror act ended almost as quickly as it began. Here is the takeaway: it was New York City beat cops working with street vendors, along with the FBI ...
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  Freedom to Fail by R. Dozier Gray (bio) As an individual, I enjoy my freedom. As a veteran of our armed forces, I respect the price of freedom and the costs that are associated with keeping our people free. I also understand and appreciate the limitations on freedom that are sometimes associated with the maintenance of a just and equitable society. As a society, we must strike a balance so that we can all enjoy our God-given freedom in harmony.  At the same time, the government we charge with maintaining this collective balance must be similarly tempered. It is ...
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Climate Claims Could Raise the Prices of What You Buy by Deneen Borelli (bio) Mankind's advancement is blamed for heating the planet, but the proposal to stop the seas from rising and the glaciers from melting could cause an economic Dark Ages. "Cap-and-trade" emissions controls are peddled as the solution to global warming.  As the limits get smaller over time, however, it's a sure bet that costs to businesses will be passed on to consumers. As with so many regulations, cap-and-trade is likely to hurt those least able to afford it. A recent flurry of scientific scandals tips the premise ...
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  Racial Incitement a One-Way Street for the Media by Bob Parks (bio) A couple of days ago, MSNBC's David Shuster called me the n-word. Later, Chris Matthews called me a "sellout." Keith Olbermann then called me a "Little Black Sambo." CNN's Rick Sanchez also called me a "biscuit-and-chicken eatin' white wannabe." I'm just kidding, of course.  They never said those things — although Sanchez's actual contempt for me is obvious. But if I had really made such claims and meant them, these media celebs would demand that I produce evidence of the alleged incendiary accusations.  If I couldn't, they'd ...
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  Social Justice: Not What It Used to Be by R. Dozier Gray (bio) Who could possibly be against social justice? Despite a lofty history and an altruistic premise, there is plenty to be leery of when it comes to "social justice" in this day and age. In one sense, social justice is the basis for a sound and civil society.  The struggle for social justice is, in its purest form, the struggle for equality of opportunity over outcome.  That's not necessarily a problem. Consider that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Woolworth lunch counter sit-in and the ...
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Dan Rather, From Buckwheats to Watermelons by Bob Parks (bio) Dan Rather, the former CBS newsreader now relegated to HDNet, isn't impressed with President Obama's ability to sell his policies to Congress. Rather recently told MSNBC's Chris Matthews that Obama "couldn't sell watermelons if it, you gave him the state troopers to flag down the traffic." My boss, Media Research Center president Brent Bozell, doesn't think Rather is a racist. But Rather's faux pas shouldn't be treated as an isolated incident. It was not. Rather made his most recent regrettable comments about Obama during a panel discussion on the March ...
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  Health Care Fight Defines Parties, Ideologies by R. Dozier Gray (bio) It's no longer time to be dancing on the head of a needle. That's what talk radio host Mark Levin said in the wake of the passage of Obamacare. If there's one thing clear from the fight to stop a government takeover of health care, it's that the differences between the left and right have never been clearer. Also, the differences between our nation's political parties have never been clearer. In particular, the Obamacare fight proved there is no such thing as a pro-life Democrat. Representative Bart Stupak ...
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  Hope and Change and Pick-Up Trucks by Lisa Fritsch (bio) Just a year ago, Americans were so eloquently sold on hope and change that came from a shiny, new black sedan of a limousine liberal.  It turns out what they really wanted was something that came from the likes of Scott Brown's old Chevy truck. Once dazzled by the illusion of Barack Obama's hope and change sloganeering, it took Americans a year to the day to make it clear they are through with liberal shenanigans and are taking matters into their own hands. Republican Brown's election in Massachusetts to ...
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  What's Brewing at the Tea Parties? by Emery McClendon (bio) What's going on in America? Since his election, Barack Obama and his supporters have sought to move our nation leftward at breakneck speed.  In the process, they've exhibited a blatant disregard for our Constitution, traditions, military and the general rule of law. Americans accepted it at first, but now their patience is wearing thin. Young people are being indoctrinated in left-wing politics, personified by figures such as Mao and Bill Ayers - enemies of our nation's founding principles nonetheless admired by members of the Obama Administration. Those same people ...
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