Why a Tea Party

The national debt is about 11 trillion dollars.  According to Encarta, the population is 303,824,650 (2008 estimate). By my estimation, that means that every man, woman, and child in America owes about $36,250, and that debt keeps growing every year.  Can you afford this?  I can't.  

Common sense tells us that if a homeowner borrows more and more money against their house every year, soon their debt will be far greater than the value of their home.  That's what our government is doing!

When will it stop?  How long can we keep spending before we bankrupt our entire economy?  Why do our represetatives seem to think that we can keep this up forever?  

If we bankrupt our economy we will become a third world country overnight!

Remember, government doesn't have any money.  All the money that they are spending is ours.  Join the Tea Party movement.  Tell Washington to stop spending our money like it was only paper, or one day it will be just that.

The 844th Engineer Battalion

The 844th Engineer Battalion (Combat Heavy) deployed on Thursday, March 26th from Knoxville. Major Wendy Rodriguez had asked that all Riders and Veterans Service Organizations participate in escorting the deploying Soldiers of the 844th from the area of the deployment ceremony to the McGhee Tyson Air Base.

The East Tennessee Patriot Riders answered the call, providing a flag line at the deployment ceremony, and a motorcycle escort to McGhee Tyson Air Base. The show of support from the public was outstanding. Crowds of people stood in the rain along the route waving flags and cheering as the convoy passed by. Special thanks goes to the Knoxville Police Blue Hawks, who did a splendid job of escorting and blocking traffic for the convoy, to the Red Cross for providing doughnuts and hot beverages, and to the many other patriotic groups and individuals who were on hand to show support to our troops.

The 844th will train in Wisconsin for a few months before reporting for duty in Iraq. May God bless them, and bring them all home safe.

Patriots

There's a new patriotic ride group here in E TN called the East Tennessee Patriot Riders. ETPR's mission is the same as the Patriot Guard Riders; to honor all those who serve our great nation in the armed services.

Check them out at www.etpatriotriders.org

Veteran's Day

When I was a teenager the Pastor of my Church was a veteran of World War I. He told a story once of being separated from his unit during an offensive. He wandered through the forest cold and afraid, praying that he would find his unit. Instead, he found a German soldier who was in the same predicament.

He came around a tree and was face to face with the German, who was just a few yards away. They were both shocked when their eyes met, and just stood for a moment staring. The German then raised his “burp gun” (an early sub-machine gun) and emptied his clip. Both men were astounded when he missed at such close range. My Pastor attributed it to God‘s grace. He took the German prisoner. They found a bombed out farmhouse and spent the night in it‘s basement.

My Pastor said, “I spent the night with my rifle trained on the German, praying that our forces would find us before the Germans.” In the morning his prayers were answered.

On the 11th day of the 11th month, at 11:11am, the Armistice went into effect and the “Great War” was over. On this day, Nov 11, we celebrate what we now call Veteran’s Day to honor all those, past and present, who serve the cause of freedom.

Veterans, we remember your sacrifice, your heroism, and your service to our country.

We humbly say THANK YOU, and God bless you all.

Arizona Ride

I've posted photos of my Arizona ride on my blog. You can check it out at http://bodegabikes.blogspot.com/

What Would John Wayne Do?

Patriot Guard