[Editor’s note: The following article was originally published in the San Antonio Express-News on June 28th under the title “Ineffectual system needs a reboot,” and on mySA.com on June 27th, from which it is reposted here.]

My PC is chugging along: multiple programs running, sending and receiving emails, several websites open. The computer slows, imperceptibly at first, then markedly, and then … it freezes. Quickly seeking advice from my resident computer experts—my kids—their remedy is simple: reboot.

I’ve learned simply rebooting can cure a number of ills: overcoming bugs in the software, stopping memory leaks, reducing processes that drain resources from other critical functions, terminating malware, even allowing a switch between operating systems. Admittedly, a simple reboot may not always “fix” a more complex problem, but it often causes relief.

Computers aren’t the only systems that need an occasional reboot. Cooling down periods are often prescribed for machinery. Counselors, negotiators, parents, and teachers routinely order “time outs” for those under their authority. This principle might be beneficially applied to our system. In other words, America needs a reboot. Face the facts of a system that isn’t performing up to standards: increasing encroachments on constitutional liberties, debt ($16 billion and counting), sluggish-at-best economic growth and a rudderless national security policy. Competing factions have bogged down the system, making any progress impossible.

While no metaphor is perfect, the need for some kind of action is indisputable. Polls show most Americans support solutions that are often described as “tea party values.” They include balancing the national budget, reforming the tax code, overturning the 2009 healthcare legislation, rethinking the 2010 financial regulation legislation and stepping back from growing government intrusion into all areas of life. These are defined by political scientists as center-right solutions on the traditional political continuum. But these solutions have no prospect of becoming reality in Washington’s political climate.

Judging from the lack of public confidence in the institutions we established to represent us, Americans are skeptical that solutions to the nation’s problems will be forthcoming from the same players who brought us the problems in the first place, be they Democrats or Republicans. We need change. Real, mature, seasoned change begins with the White House — to correct the direction executive leadership has taken us over the past years — and in Congress — to enable legislators to work across the aisle and between houses.

The argument that divided government is safest also has a distinct downside: paralysis. That “safe” argument under the present state of affairs has outlived its usefulness and is downright dangerous to the continued existence of a prosperous and free nation. The national computer is running slow — hobbled by political, economic, and social bugs, malware, and system excesses and abuses over the years. No single person or party bears full guilt; there’s enough legitimate blame to go around.

Rebooting comes with risk. Yet, often taking no action runs a greater risk. The reboot that America needs cannot come too soon, and must begin with a boot given to many who have led so poorly.

The Band:

Michael Osborne:  Guitar, vocals, composer.  While in the Army in the 80′s, Michael toured in Europe for 10 years with Crosswinds.  Upon return to the U.S., he formed the band, Stone River, with his brother, David.  It was there that he met Charles Jones.  Stone River opened for Doug Stone and Holly Dunn.

David Osborne:  Drums.  While in the Army in Europe, David and his other brother, John, formed the band, IOU(in honor of the high price they paid for the band’s instruments).  After returning to the U.S., David suffered a severe injury that took him away from music for some time.  He is now recovered and thoroughly enjoying performing with Half Past One.

Bill Fidler:  Lead guitar and harmony.  As a child in Oklahoma, Bill and his father would play guitar with Bob Wills when he would come over to the house.  In later years when the family moved to California, his mother played acoustic bass in a band.  Bill toured the west coast for two years with the band, Flashback.  They were one musical family.

Charles Jones:  Bass and Harmony.  A San Antonio Tea Party veteran, a military veteran, and a music veteran, Charles has played with Les Brown in Bob Hope tours in Viet Nam.  Over the years, he has played with many bands.  Currently, in addition to Half Past One, Charles performs with salsa band, Bongo Katz.  As if performing was not enough, Charles is an ordained minister.

Recently, SATP veterans, Jon and Nita Kaplan, had the pleasure of hearing Half Past One’s rehearsal in a garage.  “They were so great we found ourselves dancing in the driveway.  We were also particularly impressed with drummer, David’s ability to text with one hand and play with the other.  That’s what we call ambitextrous.  Tell all your rowdy, conservative friends to turn out on April 15 to hear Half Past One.”

“OBAMA THROWS GRANNY OFF THE CLIFF” TV AD FROM DOCTORS GROUP AMERICANDOCTORS4TRUTH SLAMS OBAMACARE’S RATIONING BOARD

SAN ANTONIO, TX – AmericanDoctors4Truth today launched a television ad showing President Barack Obama, played by an actor, pushing an elderly woman in a wheelchair off a cliff as she begs for mercy. CLICK HERE to view the ad.

The ad uses Obama’s own voice and words from a televised health care forum on how the Independent Payment Advisory Board (I PAB) would determine medical care: “Maybe you are better off by not having the surgery, but taking the pain killer” in response to a question about how bureaucrats would determine who qualifies for what medical treatment.

The ad mirrors the ad last May by a left-wing group showing House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) depicted by an actor, pushing “Granny” off the cliff in an attempt to scare seniors into believing false claims that the Ryan Plan would end Medicare. In the new AmericanDoctors4Truth ad, trusted doctors catch “Granny,” saving her from ObamaCare and government bureaucrats newly empowered to override doctors’ decisions on medical care for their patients. The ad notes that, “President Obama and those Democrats who supported ObamaCare began throwing seniors off the cliff on March 30th, 2010, when they voted to cut Medicare’s budget by $575 billion.”

AmericanDoctors4Truth co-founders, Doctors Jane Hughes and Kristin Held of San Antonio, Texas, founded the organization to warn of the dangerous and potentially life-threatening overreach by ObamaCare in establishing the IPAB, described by the Wall Street Journal as a medical services rationing board. Drs. Held and Hughes are practicing ophthalmic surgeons. They both hold appointments as Clinical Professors at the medical school in San Antonio. They have recently formed the Texas Chapter of Docs4Patient Care.

According to Dr. Jane Hughes, the impetus for creating the ad is a sense of duty. “As physicians, we promise to protect the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship by our Hippocratic Oath. This law is a government intrusion that impedes our ability to provide the best care for our patients, violates their confidentiality, and in many cases places physicians in a morally and ethically untenable position. It’s a matter of who you trust with your healthcare decisions, your doctor or a politician?”

Dr. Kristin Held, an ophthalmologist and recent breast cancer patient, explains, “Patient-centered health care reform is the only ethical reform any health care provider should support. We are not politicians – we are doctors. We don’t’ treat Republicans or Democrats – we treat patients.”

American Doctors for Truth is a 501(c)4 organization. To schedule interviews with Drs. Hughes and Held, contact Cheri Jacobus at CheriJacobus@aol.com or call (202) 257-4638.

“OBAMA THROWS GRANNY OFF THE CLIFF” TV AD FROM DOCTORS GROUP AMERICANDOCTORS4TRUTH SLAMS OBAMACARE’S RATIONING BOARD

SAN ANTONIO, TX – AmericanDoctors4Truth today launched a television ad showing President Barack Obama, played by an actor, pushing an elderly woman in a wheelchair off a cliff as she begs for mercy. CLICK HERE to view the ad.

The ad uses Obama’s own voice and words from a televised health care forum on how the Independent Payment Advisory Board (I PAB) would determine medical care: “Maybe you are better off by not having the surgery, but taking the pain killer” in response to a question about how bureaucrats would determine who qualifies for what medical treatment.

The ad mirrors the ad last May by a left-wing group showing House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) depicted by an actor, pushing “Granny” off the cliff in an attempt to scare seniors into believing false claims that the Ryan Plan would end Medicare. In the new AmericanDoctors4Truth ad, trusted doctors catch “Granny,” saving her from ObamaCare and government bureaucrats newly empowered to override doctors’ decisions on medical care for their patients. The ad notes that, “President Obama and those Democrats who supported ObamaCare began throwing seniors off the cliff on March 30th, 2010, when they voted to cut Medicare’s budget by $575 billion.”

AmericanDoctors4Truth co-founders, Doctors Jane Hughes and Kristin Held of San Antonio, Texas, founded the organization to warn of the dangerous and potentially life-threatening overreach by ObamaCare in establishing the IPAB, described by the Wall Street Journal as a medical services rationing board. Drs. Held and Hughes are practicing ophthalmic surgeons. They both hold appointments as Clinical Professors at the medical school in San Antonio. They have recently formed the Texas Chapter of Docs4Patient Care.

According to Dr. Jane Hughes, the impetus for creating the ad is a sense of duty. “As physicians, we promise to protect the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship by our Hippocratic Oath. This law is a government intrusion that impedes our ability to provide the best care for our patients, violates their confidentiality, and in many cases places physicians in a morally and ethically untenable position. It’s a matter of who you trust with your healthcare decisions, your doctor or a politician?”

Dr. Kristin Held, an ophthalmologist and recent breast cancer patient, explains, “Patient-centered health care reform is the only ethical reform any health care provider should support. We are not politicians – we are doctors. We don’t’ treat Republicans or Democrats – we treat patients.”

American Doctors for Truth is a 501(c)4 organization. To schedule interviews with Drs. Hughes and Held, contact Cheri Jacobus at CheriJacobus@aol.com or call (202) 257-4638.

There’s a lot of wishful thinking in Washington. Beltway Democrats wish for more of our money to spend. Beltway Republicans wish no one would notice they’ve done nothing about the deficit.

President Obama is wishing from the 18th green that the economy will magically improve enough to make him appear competent. And his progressive allies wish the Tea Party, which defeated well-heeled liberal forces in 2010, would just go away.

The Left thinks it’s getting its wish as Tea Party rallies fade into history. But that doesn’t mean that the Tea Party is dead. In fact, what progressives have hoped was the demise of the most effective grass-roots movement in recent history has actually been a needed evolution.

Large, decentralized, authentic grass-roots movements are so often nothing more than flashes in the pan. Not so with the Tea Party. It remains a potent political force but just not in the same way as in 2009 and 2010.

Even the Tea Party name has slowly begun to fade as citizen-activists and citizen-politicians who first engaged in the national political discourse three years ago now are building political infrastructure to effect long-term, systemic reform.

They’re ready to do something as much as say something. Being stuck in a 2009 mentality will not help build a counterforce to public employee unions and other well-funded progressive constituencies.

It is an uphill battle to be sure, but it was similar to the mountain progressives climbed against the corporatists 100 years ago. This time around, the fiscal conservatives and constitutionalists are beginning to drive hard against the statists.

Many of the Tea Partiers who made news headlining rallies across America have now taken the more tedious, thoughtful approach of education, organization and mobilization that looks far beyond even this November.

For Tea Partiers in Rhode Island, for example, that means investing time, energy and resources into educating members on issues, attending activist training seminars, and studying how to more effectively reach a broader audience.

Decades of cronyism and corruption in Rhode Island have led to a one-party system of government that is beholden to the left. In a heavily unionized state with a poor business climate, the Tea Party lobbying the State House, examining legislation, writing and delivering testimony, and coalescing with other groups against binding arbitration and new sales taxes, and backing comprehensive public employee pension reform.

In 2011, Wisconsin was ground zero for the reform debate with loud protests both for and against Gov. Scott Walker’s budget reform bill. Tea Partiers, who propelled Walker to election and supported reforms that closed a massive budget deficit without raising taxes, are now in the middle of the fight keep him in office.

The Tea Party is also helping ensure the integrity of Wisconsin’s electoral process with an unprecedented project called Verify the Recall. The joint effort of the Wisconsin Grandsons of Liberty and We the People of the Republic has attracted thousands of volunteers to counter Big Labor’s “at all costs” mentality of gathering recall signatures.

The anti-fraud effort has helped build a sophisticated infrastructure of more than 12,000 people who will ultimately be mobilized to fight for an honest vote.

In Illinois, where Democrats have raised taxes more than 80 percent but still have a huge budget gap, Tea Partiers have been instrumental in forcing officials to acknowledge the need for reform by exposing undue public employee union influence and abuses in school boards and election boards.

In Ohio, local groups meet regularly seeking to spark some trickle-up Federalism. Some are active in local primaries for school boards and county commissioners, while others support a ballot initiative to make Ohio a right to work state.

Former Ohio Tea Party leader Mike Wilson is running for the Ohio House of Representatives and besides American Majority’s training programs, a new Ohio group, Empower U, is conducting workshops on cutting property taxes and initiating local ballot issues.

Even in deep red Oklahoma and true blue New York, the transition from rallies to realities is taking place. Today, the Norman (Okla,) Tea Party is working with other organizations seeking common-sense conservative solutions to the city’s challenges.

In the Big Apple, Tea Parties once known for loud events are now focusing on training seminars and classroom-style activities to give them a stronger voice on local issues.

The list goes on and to be sure, with the true effect yet to be felt. 

So the Tea Party is alive in 2012, but very different from what it was in 2009. It may not be as good for television and street theater, but it’s there and focused on the long haul for fundamental, generational change for this great nation.

While Occupy Wall Street will soon again fill the airwaves with burning flags and vitriolic placards, the next generation Tea Partier will be playing the thinking man’s game. They know it’s time to get something real done.