The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Restoring Honor: Thank You, Warriors

Posted on | August 28, 2010 | 36 Comments

by Smitty

REFLECTING POOL, WASHINGTON, DC–It’s an hour into the Restoring Honor event. What a great undertaking. This is a great exercise in American Exceptionalism. Beck’s religiosity is right out front, but mostly ecumenical. While no mention is made of anyone in office, one wonders if the monitors carry the word ‘Faith’ to nearby residences, whether or not their occupants are on holiday.
The focus is on the troops. Sarah Palin offered introductions and anecdotes about several Veteran attendees including one Hanoi Hilton alumnus. If I may use the ‘P’ word, she sounded quite. . .poised, for all the stories were heart-rending.
Beck had started the ceremony by noting that the Media had called and estimated the attendance at 1,000. Here is a quick crowd pan, so that you can judge for your self what an exaggerating fibber that notorious Beck is:

Here was a shot walking toward the event:
Guessing that George Washington would have approved.
Even though the event is deliberately apolitical, let us not be coy: it was apolitical in that parties and names younger than Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were left out, but the timing/location/choice of material Speak Volumes.
The event rolled along somewhat awkwardly, going from the military focus to Dr. King’s niece, who gave great speech, in my opinion.
I was shuffling out as Beck came back on to attempt a synthesis of the two strains of thought, using the Gettysburg address as a vehicle. I thought it a fine effort; Beck put MLK’s peaceful legacy alongside the warrior legacy of the monuments all stood among, and both were shown to point to the founding ideas of the country.
Then he made it personal, by refusing to admit a distance between the individuals in the crowd and the names crowding the history books. We must each step up to the plate in our own way to keep those founding ideas alive.
Thank you, Glenn.

Category: Glenn Beck, Uncategorized

Comments

36 Responses to “Restoring Honor: Thank You, Warriors”

  1. Glenn Beck Rally: Restoring Honor, Annoying Lefties | Liberty Pundits Blog
    August 28th, 2010 @ 2:21 pm

    […] Video and some thoughts from an attendee. Sharereddit_url = […]

  2. Glenn Beck Rally: Restoring Honor, Annoying Lefties « South Capitol Street
    August 28th, 2010 @ 2:33 pm

    […] UPDATE: Video and some thoughts from an attendee. […]

  3. Joe
    August 28th, 2010 @ 6:40 pm

    I do not watch Beck’s TV show (I find it unwatchable because it is boring). I occasionally listen to him on the radio when I am flipping channels and like that more relaxed style far better. He can be really funny and is good in that medium.

    Some may be put off by the over religiousness of the even. It does not bother me that much, but I agree 12 steppers like Glenn can sometimes be bummers at parties. And I do not consider Glenn Beck to be a great intellectual on conservatism (as Mark Levin likes to point out on a regular basis). Although Beck really doesn’t pretend to be one. He admits he is self taught and still learning.

    So a guy thanking the troops, promoting honor, and encouraging the masses to read Madison, Adams, Franklin and Hayek cannot be all bad.

    I hope it goes well for everyone there.

  4. Joe
    August 28th, 2010 @ 2:40 pm

    I do not watch Beck’s TV show (I find it unwatchable because it is boring). I occasionally listen to him on the radio when I am flipping channels and like that more relaxed style far better. He can be really funny and is good in that medium.

    Some may be put off by the over religiousness of the even. It does not bother me that much, but I agree 12 steppers like Glenn can sometimes be bummers at parties. And I do not consider Glenn Beck to be a great intellectual on conservatism (as Mark Levin likes to point out on a regular basis). Although Beck really doesn’t pretend to be one. He admits he is self taught and still learning.

    So a guy thanking the troops, promoting honor, and encouraging the masses to read Madison, Adams, Franklin and Hayek cannot be all bad.

    I hope it goes well for everyone there.

  5. Rose
    August 28th, 2010 @ 2:44 pm

    Sorry to have missed it. Many of us are there in spirit.

  6. Rose
    August 28th, 2010 @ 6:44 pm

    Sorry to have missed it. Many of us are there in spirit.

  7. Dispatches From Smitty: The Restoring Honor Rally « The Camp Of The Saints
    August 28th, 2010 @ 2:48 pm

    […] Dispatch from the Restoring Honor Rally that was held today at the Lincoln Memorial.  Typical him, it is fairly short and straight to the points.  He’s also embedded a video pan of the crowd so you get a good idea of the huge number of […]

  8. Charles Johnson
    August 28th, 2010 @ 7:12 pm

    Today thousands of angry white people have descended on the National Mall on the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, to whine about how they’re being persecuted and unfairly maligned, sponsored by a race-baiting lunatic Fox News host who promotes the ideology of the far right and the John Birch Society and has called President Obama “a racist with a deep-seated hatred of white culture.”

    They’re broadcasting this bizarre inversion of reality on C-SPAN, where you can see that they’ve done their best to recruit as many black speakers and absolutely horrible black singers as they could, because that’s how they prove they’re not racist … at all!

    Glenn Beck managed to fill the stage with black people, but when the cameras pan around the crowd, it’s an unbroken sea of white faces. And the crowd is nowhere near the 300,000 figure Beck was trumpeting in advance.

    If Martin Luther King were alive today, these same people would be vilifying him as a communist and an evil progressive. The irony meter is off the scale on this parade of white victimhood.

    Here’s a photo of one of Beck’s admirers; they banned signs from this rally, so he simply put his racist slogan on a t-shirt instead [America, Love It or Go Back To Kenya].

  9. Charles Johnson
    August 28th, 2010 @ 3:12 pm

    Today thousands of angry white people have descended on the National Mall on the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, to whine about how they’re being persecuted and unfairly maligned, sponsored by a race-baiting lunatic Fox News host who promotes the ideology of the far right and the John Birch Society and has called President Obama “a racist with a deep-seated hatred of white culture.”

    They’re broadcasting this bizarre inversion of reality on C-SPAN, where you can see that they’ve done their best to recruit as many black speakers and absolutely horrible black singers as they could, because that’s how they prove they’re not racist … at all!

    Glenn Beck managed to fill the stage with black people, but when the cameras pan around the crowd, it’s an unbroken sea of white faces. And the crowd is nowhere near the 300,000 figure Beck was trumpeting in advance.

    If Martin Luther King were alive today, these same people would be vilifying him as a communist and an evil progressive. The irony meter is off the scale on this parade of white victimhood.

    Here’s a photo of one of Beck’s admirers; they banned signs from this rally, so he simply put his racist slogan on a t-shirt instead [America, Love It or Go Back To Kenya].

  10. EQV
    August 28th, 2010 @ 7:36 pm

    Wow. What a hate-filled human being you are, Little Charles.

    I watched much of the rally on the live stream on the 828 Facebook page. There were a whole lotta black people on that stage. Black pastors, speakers, singers.

    So why would a bunch of racist whiteys been singing & clapping & smiling at the rally, if they were so racist? “Absolutely horrible black singers”? Uh oh. Charles is a raaaaaacist.

    Liberalism really is a mental disease – it requires a definite suspension of reality, and a deliberate ignorance of facts.

  11. EQV
    August 28th, 2010 @ 3:36 pm

    Wow. What a hate-filled human being you are, Little Charles.

    I watched much of the rally on the live stream on the 828 Facebook page. There were a whole lotta black people on that stage. Black pastors, speakers, singers.

    So why would a bunch of racist whiteys been singing & clapping & smiling at the rally, if they were so racist? “Absolutely horrible black singers”? Uh oh. Charles is a raaaaaacist.

    Liberalism really is a mental disease – it requires a definite suspension of reality, and a deliberate ignorance of facts.

  12. mnrobot
    August 28th, 2010 @ 7:38 pm

    Hey Smitty! I’m jealous. Wish I could have been there. I was hoping you would be onstage when I saw the bagpipes being called up.

  13. mnrobot
    August 28th, 2010 @ 3:38 pm

    Hey Smitty! I’m jealous. Wish I could have been there. I was hoping you would be onstage when I saw the bagpipes being called up.

  14. unseen
    August 28th, 2010 @ 7:46 pm

    charles,

    I wonder if you understand how angry, and unhinged you sound. Your post can be boiled down to the words “I, charles johnson hate white people”

    I have no idea where your hate comes from but your racist rant should be sending up warning flags to your friends. I will pray for you that you can turn your hate towards positive goals.

  15. unseen
    August 28th, 2010 @ 3:46 pm

    charles,

    I wonder if you understand how angry, and unhinged you sound. Your post can be boiled down to the words “I, charles johnson hate white people”

    I have no idea where your hate comes from but your racist rant should be sending up warning flags to your friends. I will pray for you that you can turn your hate towards positive goals.

  16. Watch Out, Smitty: Rev. Al Sharpton and Code Pink Are Heading Your Way : The Other McCain
    August 28th, 2010 @ 3:58 pm

    […] Rev. Al Sharpton and Code Pink Are Heading Your WayPosted on | August 28, 2010 | No CommentsWhile Smitty is blogging from the Reflecting Pool, Al Sharpton is leading a march from Dunbar High School that is being live-blogged by The […]

  17. FenelonSpoke
    August 28th, 2010 @ 8:05 pm

    Charles Johnson came over here just to do a rant? Good grief! Enough said.

  18. FenelonSpoke
    August 28th, 2010 @ 4:05 pm

    Charles Johnson came over here just to do a rant? Good grief! Enough said.

  19. Mal
    August 28th, 2010 @ 8:07 pm

    There really is nothing more self-righteous than a convert. To try prove his fingernail-thick bona fides the querulous little twerp has to fill every single post with lies and distortions about the perceived “enemy”.
    He’ll make a great little progressive, wanker that he is.

  20. Mal
    August 28th, 2010 @ 4:07 pm

    There really is nothing more self-righteous than a convert. To try prove his fingernail-thick bona fides the querulous little twerp has to fill every single post with lies and distortions about the perceived “enemy”.
    He’ll make a great little progressive, wanker that he is.

  21. Where They See “Thousands”, I See Multitudes
    August 28th, 2010 @ 4:16 pm

    […] the front-and-center role of Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.I prefer to get my news from people who were at the rally, instead of those who carp and snark from the sidelines. I simply do not […]

  22. section9
    August 28th, 2010 @ 8:58 pm

    Who is this Charles Johnson person and when does Media Matters cut him a stipend?

  23. section9
    August 28th, 2010 @ 4:58 pm

    Who is this Charles Johnson person and when does Media Matters cut him a stipend?

  24. Dave C
    August 28th, 2010 @ 9:13 pm

    Have you linked up here.

  25. Dave C
    August 28th, 2010 @ 5:13 pm

    Have you linked up here.

  26. Sarah Palin at Restoring Honor Rally : The Other McCain
    August 28th, 2010 @ 5:24 pm

    […] The bitter clingers keep showing up.“Bitter clingers of America, unite!”UPDATE II: Smitty was in attendance at the rally, and I’m sure he’ll have more to report if he ever makes it back home. Meanwhile, […]

  27. Sunshine
    August 28th, 2010 @ 10:58 pm

    Charles,
    those “angry” people helped give over $5 million dollars to the Special Operations Warrior Fund. I guess your head was too busy exploding for you to remember that part of the rally.

  28. Sunshine
    August 28th, 2010 @ 6:58 pm

    Charles,
    those “angry” people helped give over $5 million dollars to the Special Operations Warrior Fund. I guess your head was too busy exploding for you to remember that part of the rally.

  29. Mike
    August 28th, 2010 @ 11:47 pm

    The story here is not worth reading, but the picture series is nice:
    http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-58715-7.html

  30. Mike
    August 28th, 2010 @ 7:47 pm

    The story here is not worth reading, but the picture series is nice:
    http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-58715-7.html

  31. Sunshine
    August 29th, 2010 @ 12:23 am

    Mike-
    the translation is funny…..

    …It is a provocation for Liberal America: In Washington have gathered thousands of ultra – conservatives, calculated on the anniversary of the ” I Have a Dream “speech Martin Luther King. The hardliners protest against President Obama – and for the ” honor ” of the nation.

    Washington – America’s rights impressively demonstrate their power : Two months before the congressional elections ultra – conservatives have several thousand demonstrators against President Barack Obama mobilized. They met on Saturday in front of the Lincoln Memorial Washington to demonstrate against the alleged decline in values , the political establishment and against ” big government ” – too much government influence – .

    “We need to restore America, we must restore America’s honor , “said Sarah Palin, the former vice – presidential candidate of the Republicans, before cheering supporters……

  32. Sunshine
    August 28th, 2010 @ 8:23 pm

    Mike-
    the translation is funny…..

    …It is a provocation for Liberal America: In Washington have gathered thousands of ultra – conservatives, calculated on the anniversary of the ” I Have a Dream “speech Martin Luther King. The hardliners protest against President Obama – and for the ” honor ” of the nation.

    Washington – America’s rights impressively demonstrate their power : Two months before the congressional elections ultra – conservatives have several thousand demonstrators against President Barack Obama mobilized. They met on Saturday in front of the Lincoln Memorial Washington to demonstrate against the alleged decline in values , the political establishment and against ” big government ” – too much government influence – .

    “We need to restore America, we must restore America’s honor , “said Sarah Palin, the former vice – presidential candidate of the Republicans, before cheering supporters……

  33. Osteon Top Of Things : The Other McCain
    August 29th, 2010 @ 10:41 am

    […] SmittyOne hopes all enjoy my attempt at one of those Dustbury titles. Meanwhile, after that intimate gathering with half a million-ish honor-lovers yesterday, I was “filet of Smitty” until later than usual this morning, which means a […]

  34. Beck's "Restoring Honor" Rally Takes Mall on King's Dream Anniversary | REPUBLICAN REDEFINED
    August 29th, 2010 @ 6:21 pm

    […] The Other McCain also had unique perspective as his sidekick  Smitty was in attendance. […]

  35. Dr. Alveda King's Speech at 'Restoring Honor' Rally | The Lonely Conservative
    August 30th, 2010 @ 1:11 pm

    […] Other McCain has much more from the event, including Smitty’s musings from right there in the thick of […]

  36. Bob’s Musings: Can I Have An AMEN! « The Camp Of The Saints
    August 30th, 2010 @ 2:32 pm

    […] filed a report from the Rally and an […]