" The fight is our fight, and it begins now! The time is at hand to reclaim America for freedom."

caption - ”The able Doctor, or America Swallowing the Bitter Draught.
Engraving from the London Magazine, May 1, 1774. British Cartoon Collection. Prints and Photographs Division. LC-USZC4-5289.

"This cartoon protested the Intolerable Acts. The British Prime Minister (Lord North) is shown forcing the American colonies in the form of a native woman to drink down the Intolerable Acts (tea). Her arms are restrained by Lord Chief Justice Mansfield, and Lord Sandwich, a notorious libertine, is shown looking up her dress while he holds down her feet. Britannia, in the background, is weeping for her subjects. This was distributed in the American Colonies by Paul Revere."


Students of history no doubt recall the Intolerable Acts came in response to the Boston Tea Party.  It is no wonder Congressman Paul Ryan has declared the health care legislation passed on March 21, 2010, "a new Intolerable Act in a recent speech  to the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs in Oklahoma City.  It's a lengthy speech and I truthfully had a hard time choosing one portion to highlight.  I will include here the ending because I quoted it in the title of this post:

Knowing America, and Oklahoma as I have come to know it, I am confident that the American character is up to every challenge. America is not over. This exceptional nation will not go down the way of mediocrity. Ronald Reagan used to say: "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction ... It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for [our children] to do the same." We are that generation. The fight is our fight, and it begins now! The time is at hand to reclaim America for freedom.

This speech was creating quite a buzz on Twitter tonight with good reason.   I highly recommend reading the whole thing.  Personally, I think this man should be President sooner rather than later and I am evidently not alone in that belief.  First things first, though, for now our focus should be on November.  Paul Ryan makes this clear, "It isn't good news when anyone loses his job. But I'll make an exception when the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader lose theirs in November!"  Amen to that, I have had enough of this bitter draught.