Yesterday I was sitting at a red light and all of a sudden, a large black bird caught my attention.  It was flying but something else was going on.  A smaller bird was nipping at it and it appeared as if there was a fight going on in the sky.  This large black bird and a delicate smaller bird were fighting over something.  Then all of a sudden I realized the large black bird had something in its mouth.  The light turned green and I watched this fight continue on as the birds flew on and I drove on to my destination.  I knew that smaller bird was in a fight to save either her baby or a food source.

Then this morning I woke to a posting on Facebook of an eagle’s nest with a camera mounted nearby.  Baby eagles had hatched and the mother was feeding the babies in the large, well built nest.  A dead rabbit was nearby ready for the mother eagle to use for food later on.  You can check out the video at http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/03/bald-eagle-cam/.

Shortly after watching this video, I sat down to write to you.  Then our dogs began barking at something in our backyard.  We are blessed to live on a beautiful creek with wildlife all around us.  The dogs were going crazy and as I let them out, a large bird flew across the back yard.  The dogs ran after it (as if they could catch it!) and I stood and watched the commotion. 

The bird was huge and then it turned, looked at me and flew to another tree.  It was an owl and two squirrels were jumping from tree to tree to frantically trying to get the owl to move away.

Oh yes, another predator was on the loose and was attempting to steal babies from spring nests.

I moved my computer to the patio and right now I am writing and watching the squirrels in panic mode as the owl moves from tree to tree.  They are not paying one bit of attention to me or the dogs.  The owl needs food and the squirrel parents are protecting their babies.  Smaller birds are out and about looking for food and you can feel and hear nature coming alive on this beautiful Sunday morning.

As I sit here and watch I am thinking about my own children and how we protected them against evil throughout their life.  They are now grown and I cannot do much to protect them.  They have their own families and they are doing the same thing that is happening in our backyard today.

They are raising their children, feeding them, and protecting them from predators of all kinds.

Predators are not always those who want to kidnap their children or touch them in inappropriate places.

Some predators come in the shape of politicians, school officials, or foreign influences.  They are stealing their futures, teaching them lies, removing the truth from textbooks and pushing our heritage aside for multiculturalism or political correctness.

Whether you are a parent or not, it is your duty to stand up and protect our land, our heritage and our liberties given us by our founding fathers.  Predators are on the loose in various forms and we must be vigilant and we must be willing to fight to keep us safe.

We encourage you to attend the First Coast Tea Party’s 3^rd Annual Tax Day Tea Party Rally at the Landing on April 15^th.  We have built a “nest” of great freedom fighters that will be on our stage sharing their knowledge about repulsive American predators.  Plus we will have some great fun and share some laughs.  America needs to laugh a little and we plan to help you do just that. 

Check out the lineup of stars beginning at 6:30 in the evening:

• Governor Rick Scott of Florida
• Media Pioneer Andrew Breitbart (former liberal who is now a vigilant fighter against Liberty-stealing Predators)
• Jim Labriola (Conservative Comedian, former Home Improvement star)
• Victoria Jackson (Conservative Comedian, former Saturday Night Live star)
• Hi Caliber (Conservative Rapper)
• Lloyd Marcus (Mr. Tea Party himself!)
• The Tea Time Troupers of the First Coast Tea Party
• Breaking News:  Sara Palin has also accepted our invite and will be a guest on The View – one of our parodies of the evening.  You can also get your picture taken with Sara Palin and her “bear” for $5!

WE NEED TO FEED OUR NEST

Just like in nature, nothing is handed to us.  We must feed our bank account so we can provide this event as well as all the other events we put on every month.  We are doing all we can to protect America with our own resources, talents and donations.  We now need help and we are calling on you to help us.

Here are some ways you can help FEED OUR NEST:

• Attend the event on April 15^th.  Bring some cash or a credit card with you to purchase merchandise, programs, speaker books and CDs and cool looking “tea” shirts.  Drop a bill in a donation jar which will be manned by our security teams.
• Spread the word about the event.  We have very little money for promotion and we are relying on you and others to get the word out.  If you do spread the message, will you let us know so we can have a little daily dose of hope that the word is getting out?
• If you can’t make it, watch the event online.  We will be live streaming the event in partnership with Tea Party Review magazine.  You can sign up at a cost of $9.95 on their website:  www.teapartyreview.com.  If you have friends and family members across the country OR the world, let them know about this link and encourage them to watch from their living room that evening.
• DONATE:  The event is free and open to all and we could use a DONATION today.  If you would like to help offset the costs of the event, please DONATE at:  http://firstcoastteaparty.org/?page_id=36.  This event will cost nearly $10,000 and no one in our tea party is paid for their services.  We are all volunteers so this number represents hard costs only.
• PURCHASE AN AD:  We will have available a high-quality professional program published by Tea Party Review magazine to handout at this event.  We are selling ad space.  If you have a business or just want to send a thank you to a special patriot, please let us know ASAP.  Ad costs:  $500 full page, $300 half page, and $250 for quarter page.   We need your content no later than Thursday, April 7^th.  Please contact our office for further information at (904) 683-3945.  These ads will offset the costs of the event.
• Attend the VIP Cast Party immediately after the event ends at 9:30 PM.  We are hosting a special event for our Stage Guests and anyone else who wants to attend.  This is a fundraiser to help offset the costs and give you an opportunity to mingle with the stars of the evening.  Free food and a cash bar will be available in the private room.  Special music by Murray Goff will be playing and photography opportunities with our stars will be available.  The cost is $100 per person and you must pay in advance.  Contact our office at (904) 683-3945 to make a reservation and make arrangements to pay for your admission.

So back to the owl, the squirrels and the dogs.  The squirrels are still frantically jumping towards the owl and screaming squirrel messages at him.  He is calmly watching them as he decides his next move.  The dogs (one with an orange toy in her mouth) are sitting on the ground watching the activity.  I realize there will be no rest for the squirrels until their babies are old enough to take care of themselves.  This will be a full time job and I am sure they will be exhausted when the kids finally leave the nest.

We are pretty exhausted too yet we cannot stop protecting our liberties that are so precious.  We have always been free so we don’t understand what NOT being free would look like in America.  We can only imagine and some of us are saying, “That will never happen.”  Read your history books – it happened to Rome and it could happen to us.  We must be vigilant.

The predators are like the owl sitting in the tree.  They are calmly waiting for an opening to swoop in and take it from us.  It can happen and all of us must be on guard, standing together, protecting one another and preparing for the worst while hoping for the best.

One last thing.  Spring has arrived.  Get outside today and watch the world awaken to a renewed life.  As you do, look up in the sky and thank the Big Guy for giving you this opportunity to live in these times.  What greater gift can you leave behind than that of a legacy of liberty for all with your name on the Patriot’s page of life.  Don’t you want to hear these words:  “Good job, faithful servant.”  I do.

God bless,

Billie