Ann Barnhardt—destroyer of Lindsey Graham, burner of the Koran

Ann Barnhardt’s video response to Sen. Lindsey Graham’s call for outlawing Koran burning is absolutely great. I don’t have words to say how great it is. I have never in my life seen such a powerful rebuke to a public figure who deserved a rebuke as what she delivers to Graham. I never heard of Barnhardt before. I’ll vote for her for president of the United States. To use her terms, she has the balls and the brains for the job. She has the stuff of an American Thatcher. And, most unlike Thatcher, who did nothing to stop the Third-Worldization of Britain, Barnhardt opposes Islam and the Islamization of the West.

In the second part of her presentation Barnhardt reads selected passages in the Koran, denounces each passage as evil, and then rips out the pages one at a time and burns them. It is very effective. Unfortunately she mars the exercise by her use of bacon as page markers. As I said regarding the Koran burnings during the earlier Jones affair last September, burning the Koran is a righteous act. Doing it with bacon or bacon fat is disgusting and gratuitously insulting and it lowers our side. I don’t support that. Terry Jones didn’t use bacon when he burned a Koran. Since the estimable Ann Barnhardt was burning the Koran in solidarity with Jones, she should have followed his example and avoided the gratuitous and vulgar insult to Muslims.

That negative note aside, I am overjoyed to see intelligent persons like Ann Barnhardt supporting Terry Jones, not just saying that he had the “right” to burn the Koran, but saying that he was right to burn the Koran, and then doing likewise. And by the way, will Andrew McCarthy and the other respectable Islam critics call Ann Barnhardt a moron and a nut, as they called Jones?

Update: Here is an interview with Ann Barnhardt. She will also be on an internet radio program tonight, as noted at the bottom of the article.

- end of initial entry -

Dean Ericson writes:

Oh, my, that’s breathtaking! Oh, that is balm for the spirit. That is wonderful! That is the uncorrupted, old American spirit. That is John Wayne. That is Joan of Arc. That is a Christian Soldier. What a tonic! Thank you, Ann! God bless that woman, and keep her safe. Amen.

Dave Levine writes:

I saw those Ann Barnhardt videos and had nearly the same reaction. Like you, I had never heard of her before. She seems to have leadership qualities and I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing more of her.

However, I don’t find her using bacon as page dividers “disgusting” or gratuitous. She makes her points beautifully and does so without the egotistical bloviating of a Michael Savage or other anti-Islamic, pro-America personalities. She doesn’t do it with a smile on her face like a Senator Lugar or a Newt Gingrich. She’s perfectly serious. She does it methodically and has all her ducks (points) in a row.

Ann Barnhardt is Senator Lindsey Graham’s worst nightmare. He’s a McCain clone, a pro-Amnesty, anti-Patriot pol who should be run out of Dodge on a rail. Instead, we’ll have to wait until 2014.

I’m hoping that Ann Barnhardt will be there to make certain he’s voted out of office.

Debra C. writes:

I got wind of this video last night, and like you, am enormously impressed with Ann Banhardt. Glad to know you found it too and are featuring it on your website so as to promote a wider audience for this amazing woman’s video.

Mark Jaws writes:

Look around the world. Islam is at war with the West, and has been for nearly 1400 years. Either we recognize that and take appropriate action, or we will end up submitting to it through a gradual but inexorable dhimmitude forced upon us by cowardly “leaders” such as Lindsey Graham. So we have three choices. First, we allow it to overcome us, which means tyranny and the death of 2,500 years of glorious Western Civilization. Second, we remove it from our shores. Or third, we fight and defeat it. Since the Moslems will not leave the West peacefully, the second option will certainly lead to the third. So it is either fight or die. The Church of old sanctified the use of brutish force (ever hear of Vlad the Impaler?) in fighting Islam. If we are to survive today, we will have to fight hard, and fight dirty. Therefore, the use of bacon as Koran bookmarks sets the stage for the fight ahead and is entirely kosher.

Irwin Graulich writes:

Actually I love the bookmark concept. Since I cannot eat bacon because it is not kosher, I think Ann has found a good alternate purpose for it. Ann is quite a young lady. What a dynamo!

E. from Florida writes:

Good for her. Who IS she?

Does this whole imbroglio mean that every time some folks overseas burn an American flag or a picture of one of our various Presidents, that gives us permission to behead a few folks who have some remote connection to the burners by ethnicity or religion or somesuch? And it’s the flag burners’ fault that folks over here got beheaded? What else could we do?

Rick Darby writes:

What a woman! What a powerful delivery—she probably has had acting lessons, but the sincerity and righteous anger come through. I could quibble with this and that, but I won’t because she has put herself on the line for liberty. We needed this.

It’s too facile to take one event, however striking, and declare a turning point. But it’s a temptation.

If Lindsey Graham had enough sense to know he’s met his match ten times over, although of course he doesn’t, he should be weeping in the men’s room right now. Cry me a river, Senator.

Matthew H. writes:

My reaction to Ann Barnhardt’s video is mixed. I was taken aback by the almost wild look in her eyes. While she clearly is an intelligent woman who feels things passionately, at first that passion seemed too much. But I came to see that her expression is a projection of the uncomprehending horror with which so many of us view the craven abdication of our so-called elites.

As she continued on I saw that her talk was well structured and perfectly apt. Lindsey Graham is indeed a jackass and worse. With friends like these … well, actually, they’re not friends at all. The good people of this nation, like Ann Barnhardt, have no friends among our ruling oligarchy.

After some reflection I am left with a feeling of deep sadness at this woman’s gesture. Ten years ago a woman in the middle of Colorado would not have troubled herself with the sick ramblings of that wicked desert “prophet.” A feisty female in the middle of North America might have devoted herself to local politics or the PTA. But a “government” too in thrall to fantasies of multiculturalism and “equality” to defend the people and territory of this nation (let alone our God-given rights) has left the Ann Barnhardts of America effectively voiceless and exposed to peoples and cultures which seek her (and our) dispossession and ruin.

Now this brave American has placed her own neck on the line in a hopeless plea to craven lick-spittles like Lindsey Graham and John McCain to snap out of their fatal submission and remember their duty. I worry for her. I see her act as one of desperation almost like that of a trapped mother animal. Or like the poor Tunisian man whose despair drove him to self-immolation. This is disturbingly reminiscent of such a suicidal gesture. And her peril is all too real. Think of it! In America in 2011 one places one’s life on the line for calling evil, evil.

Our “government” has utterly failed her and all of us. I am filled with disgust at—I hesitate to say it—at America, the freest, most liberal, noblest nation in history and the nation my ancestors shed their blood to attain and defend. The leadership class of this nation is dead, dead, dead, from our sinister zombie-in-chief on down through the ranks of both parties.

Can you think of one person of significance in our public life who is worthy of our allegiance? I can’t.

America: the only thing holding you up today is brave and isolated citizens like Ann Barnhardt and Terry Jones. I am reminded of the line Jonathan Edwards once preached to an America vastly different from and more virtuous than today’s:

“The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire.”

Roger writes:

Thanks for making me aware of Ann Barnhardt! I went to her own site. What a gal! I only wish she had also taken on Petraeus, another puke like Graham of monumental proportions. What I’d give for a Patton or a Puller or a Halsey about now.

April 6

D. in Seattle writes:

Some of the commenters asked who Ann Barnhardt is. I searched online and found out that she’s a commodity broker (agricultural futures) in the Denver area. She grew up on a farm in Kansas, got a degree in animal husbandry and agricultural economics from Kansas State U. Based on the years, she was likely born in 1977. Which means she’ll be just old enough to qualify for the President of the U.S. in 2012. Looks like we’ve got ourselves a write-in candidate at least.

Paul Nachman writes:

This is from Barnhardt’s main blog page, part of the entry for March 4. Note the takeaway point in the last paragraph:

A quick word on the SCOTUS ruling on the evil Westboro Phelps funeral picketing freaks from Topeka. This is the ultimate demonstration of why democracy is such a fragile thing. SCOTUS technically made the right decision. If they had ruled against the evil Westboro people, it would have established a precedent that would have seriously imperiled the First Amendment. The leftists would have started calling everyone who opposed them “Westboro-like” and thus had a free hand to shut down all speech that opposed them. I know this for a fact because that is one of the tactics Brian Jennings tried to use on me both times he called me. He called me a Westboro sympathizer. This is in the Obama-Alinsky playbook. It is Alinsky rule #13, namely to pick a target, freeze it, POLARIZE IT and personalize it. The Westboro freaks are definitely a polar extreme. The Obamabots are taught to cast anyone who disagrees with them as either Westboro, Hitler or the KKK. POLARIZE.

And here is why I fear that our civilization may be too far gone. Democracies are only as good as the people and culture inside of them. In a sane world, yes, the Westboro freaks would be censored by the culture itself without government intervention. Up until 20 years ago this sort of censorship occurred all the time—and it was healthy and good. There were standards of decency and morality that were enforced without hesitation and everyone agreed with them and society functioned and functioned well. The Founders wrote the Constitution knowing full well that the only way it could work was if the cultural foundation was highly moral, specifically in the Judeo-Christian paradigm, and that if that moral foundation was ever removed, the Republic would collapse. Ben Franklin’s response to a woman’s question, “What have you given us, Mr. Franklin?” was, “A Republic, madam. If you can keep it.” We have managed to keep our Republic for 235 years. Given the removal of any sense of morality from our society and culture, we may not make it to 236—nor should we expect to. A house can not stand without its foundation. Period.

A personal anecdote I have of this happened about 20 years ago when I attended the Threshing Bee in McLouth, Kansas with some friends. Threshing Bees are annual farm show / fairs that feature old tractors and steam engines, tractor pulls, draft horse team pulling contests, a fairway with games and musical entertainment. While sitting on the bleachers watching the tractor pull, a drunk guy started shouting obsceneties. This was a family event and there were children everywhere. In unison, about five men in the crowd who were not together or acquainted in any way stood up, approached and surrounded the man and told him in no uncertain terms to shut his mouth or they would do it for him. And that was it. The good and moral contingent of the culture SELF-POLICED the immoral contingent. This happened ALL THE TIME in all civilized cultures until just recently. It didn’t occur to anyone that the good men were depriving the drunk loser of his First Amendment right to scream the F-word at a public, family event. Today, the drunk man would be the “victim”, would get a team of attorneys and the good men would be sued into the poorhouse. And this complete reversal of “good” and “evil” (as described repeatedly throughout Scripture) is why this Republic and this culture may be too far gone to save without Divine intervention. I feel bad for the conservative justices on SCOTUS who were forced to rule in favor of the evil Westboro freaks. But their hands were tied by the evil culture we now live in.

Paul K. writes:

I greatly enjoyed Ann Barnhardt’s video. At the same time, I couldn’t help imagining what it would be like to be married to her and have her ticked off at me. Here is her comment on that topic from her interview on the “I Own The World” blog:

iOTW—You’re getting marriage proposals on iOTW. Do these guys have any hope?

Ann—Yes, but not with me. But that is no loss for them. I am a buzzsaw crossed with a blowtorch. Do you really want to wake up next to THAT every morning? I’m best at a distance. A considerable distance.

Also, some insight into why she feels comfortable challenging Muslims:

iOTW—In your video you pretty much dare Muslims to come and get you. Are you being a martyr, or do you pretty much have confidence that you can handle yourself?

Ann—Were the guys who volunteered to fight in all previous wars “martyrs”? Did the boys who enlisted in ‘41 have a death wish? No. There just comes a point where any person of integrity knows that they have to fight. I love G.K. Chesterton’s quote, “A true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” I love my country and my fellow man enough to be willing to lay down my life to defend them against evil. And, yeah. I can damn sure handle not only myself, but also an assault rifle, a big ass tactical shotgun, a sniper rifle, and a nine for those “intimate” encounters.

Matthew H. writes:

After reading Ann Barnhardt’s defense (quoted by Paul Nachman) of the natural, sponteneous moral order that has undergirded our civilization and which, after decades of withering attack from the Left, is in grave danger of being snuffed altogether, I see that this lady has considerably more steel in her than even her Koran burning video reveals. Thinking back to the comparison between her and Margaret Thatcher I am reminded of Edmund Burke’s quip about William Pitt the younger in relation to his father: “It is not a chip off the old block, it is the old block itself.”

Alan Roebuck writes:

Campaign poster material. Barnhardt for President!

LA replies:

I find that GoV thread discouraging. The commenters come across like a low level mob. Such is the world of unmoderated comment forums.

Randy B. writes:

I disagree with you criticism of Ann Barnhardt’s use of bacon. As she clearly states, we are at war, and we should use every tool available when fighting a war against an opponent. Back to the old adage; make war so horrible that your opponent loses the will to fight. In spite of the fact that Islam’s hate of Western Cultures and Religions, or that said hate has been going on since the days of Muhammad, we should not equivocate, or weaken ourselves to play the role of the better. If we truly acknowledge this is a war, then we must also determine a strategy as to how we will fight it and what tools we will use to win. We must also define the type of war in which we choose to engage. If we choose a philosophical war then, a fantasy in which a bloodless battle will be raged, then we can engage the enemy with wit and debate, but we will lose. If we are honest and admit that Islam is a violent and backwards culture, that they kill, rape, hate Westerners, Christians and Jews; then we have to respond with violence that makes their attacks pale by comparison. We have to be dirty, underhanded, deceptive, and yes, we must match violence with violence that will be spoken of around campfires for many future Islamic generations.

I am sick and tired of hearing the PC holier than though mantra that we should not lower ourselves to their level. Poopstick, look at what playing the morally superior has gotten us. We now have a mosque in Sandy Utah at 9000th south and just east of the Interstate beside the old Lowes hardware store, with plans of building a super Mosque just south of that location. I am not LDS (Mormon), but have lived here for 19 years, understand and appreciate their influence, but even the Mormon’s have laid down and taken a back seat to Islam. By last count, there are eight mosques in the heart of the Mormon foundational valley (Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Front).

This is not only about survival of Western cultures, but as an American I am so selfish to admit that it is about our survival as a once sovereign nation. Islam is not a religion, it is a political philosophy, and is not protected by US Law. We have to stand up, we must irritate and further enrage Islam to establish the rules of the engagement. If we remain passively and apologetically by, we will continue to be overrun and undone by a people who have a generational desire to destroy America and Western Civilization.

LA replies:

First, you sound overwrought. And overwrought people don’t win wars.

Second, was Terry Jones merely waging an abstract polite war against Islam, because he didn’t use bacon in his Koran burning? Would Jones have attracted even the limited support that he has attracted, if he had used bacon?

David B. writes:

What liberals really want to do is make any expression of serious conservatism against the law.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at April 05, 2011 12:46 PM | Send