 |
| Kevin "The Geek's" New Sign |
Ever since President Obama said to small business America that they "didn't do that" and "you didn't build that," Kevin "The Geek" Kerwin has been on the warpath at his Lake Oswego, Oregon computer fix it shop.
Kerwin came to Oregon to get a fresh start after being wiped out by Hurricane Katrina . He started his business with the money he had in his pocket.
 |
| Kevin "The Geek's" Original Sign |
Those Presidential words berating his hard work and sacrifice were the final straw. He put a sign in his window:
Kevin "The Geek" got an interesting customer yesterday at his Lake Oswego based business. A Dunthorpe doyenne entered his store, began berating the businessman for his anti Obama sign, and when he insisted he wouldn't take it down, slapped him. He threatened to call the cops but she left and then shuffled across the street and lost herself in the stores and parking lot.
(Hear his story in the 11am and 12pm hours of today's "The Victoria Taft Show" here.)
 |
| Kevin "The Geek" Kerwin at his State St Shop |
He didn't get a picture or see her vehicle and doesn't know her name so did not report her to police.
Here's what he sent me right after it happened,
Sent: Monday, August 6, 2012 2:54 PM
Subject: i was hit by a woman democrat today
 |
| Leftist "Tolerance" |
A woman from Dunthorpe came in my shop today and got upset and hit me. things are getting a little tense around here.Kevin JStill trying to save the United States from idiots
 |
| Kevin "The Geek's" Newest Sign Thanking Clint Eastwood |
Have you ever noticed that the "tolerant" left has no tolerance for conservatives? Yes, so have we. At the Multnomah County GOP headquarters a few years ago, a rock shattered the plate glass window, there's a sign stealer in Clark County (see him caught in the act here and here), there were cars keyed with Bush bumper stickers in Portland in 2004 and even my McPalin bumper sticker was stolen from my car in 2008. In all the years I've been on the air I've never heard a story about a Republican sign stealer or defacer.
Tolerance only works one way.
If you are in business and choose to inflict on your customers your politics or religion,then expect that you are going to tick off a significant portion of them. So don't act surprised when you offend the public and the public offends back. Time for the Geek to grow up and decide if he wants to run a successful business or be a disgruntled political advocate. Actions have consequences.
ReplyDeleteI see, it's OK to assault somebody you disagree with, right?
DeleteMarsden - the appropriate response in America (and Oregon for God sakes) is to just not to business with him. Socking him in the face is criminal.
DeleteSo disagreement means you can hit someone?
DeleteCome over here, Marsden, I feel the need to argue..
Idiot.
My reaction would be, let the business find other customers - and there it ends.
Deleteso with your 'words of wisdom' we can then apply that to Obama, gay marriage and illegals right?
DeleteThe woman wasn't a customer, just a passerby who chose to assault somebody for expressing THEIR point of view on their own property. Too bad he didn't have any way to taze, or mace the ignorant criminal...
DeleteThe right stand up and take their consequences as a man should however, the left blames the right for their consequences.
DeleteHe HAS decided that he wants to run a successful business, and he has realized that the only way to do that, is to get OBAMA out of the Whitehouse. Obama has made it aparent (Not just implied, but STATED) that he doesn't respect the small business owners, and yesterday he went so far as to say he wants Government to take over ALL the rest of the industries in this country, "Because it worked so well for the Auto Industry". Yes, indeed, Kevin HAS grown up, and he HAS made a choice, and I for one think that if he loses ANY customers over this, it will only be liberals who are living on foodstamps and welfare and cant afford his services anyway, and if Obama would get out of this great country's way, we'll all be better off.
DeleteThanks Kevin the Geek!
If criminal assault is a valid form of expression then so is the use of deadly force in self defense, perhaps Mr. Kerwin should start shooting everyone who comes into his store and expresses opposition to his sign?
DeleteAs for the person who left the note about using the roads and schools... Yes I use them, and I pay taxes to support the roads and schools, and I pay electric and water bills every month as well, no one else paid my way in that area either, so still, I BUILT MY BUSINESS, not someone else as Obama falsely claims.
I live in McMinnville, Oregon and posted an Obama sign on my front lawn. The next day I found it torn and crumpled on the ground. After fixing it with duct tape some coward came by that night and removed it altogether. Only a fool would believe that intolerance is exclusive to one political party. It's time that common Americans quit pointing fingers at each other as the enemy and realize that both parties in Washington are failing us.
DeleteCouldn’t agree with you more Marsden. Of course everyone goes into a store, announces their party affiliation, and says where they are from without giving a name. Of course there are no witnesses and the Geek immediately runs to VT. This incident appears to be about as authentic as the "sign stealing" episode.
ReplyDeleteThe Geek may think his activities are good publicity for his business but may find otherwise. My mother always said if you go looking for trouble you will probably find it. You reap what you sow.
Wacko, you know the sign stealing thing was caught on tape, right?
DeleteDrtopping that fringe moron in her tracks would have worked well.
ReplyDelete-Hinton
Mr. Geek is finding out what most of us already know. Deep South crap does not play well in the North, especially in the Northwest.
ReplyDeleteThe sign in the window illustrates the problem. Apparently Mr. Geek did not hear or read what the President actually said but was satisfied to merely repeat a chopped, out of context version, promoted by the rightwing noise machine.
Ignorance may be worn as a badge of honor in the South but not here.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteRhubarb - are you accusing mr. geek of being racist....you blabbered something about deep south. such rubbish.
DeleteAre you sure it's not a badge of honor there? I seem to remember something about Oregon's brightest attempting to remove a whale carcass from a beach with dynamite, lots of dynamite. I still giggle like a school girl and mumble to my self "all that was missing was HEY Y'ALL, WATCH THIS!" when I watch that video.
DeleteRhubarb's a racist.
DeleteRhubarb, you seem to make a lot of ASSumptions, and ignore facts.
DeleteAs previously noted, the sign stealing is documented fact, and in the "deep South" nobody walks into somebody else's property and assaults them, because they have guns down there... I don't hit anybody unless they hit me, but I would have dropped any fool who dares strike me, after demanding that I forfeit MY freedom of speech because THEY don't like my opinion...
I'm from up north and that kind of sign goes over pretty well. They're not common, but they go over well. They are a part of free speech and expression, without government reprisal.
DeleteI thinking that the small business owner hear realized that he may lose business over the sign but decided that the cost of inaction was higher than the cost of action. Also, we don't know that the customer was even a customer. Probably just a passerby who got mad and didn't control herself very well. She committed a crime. In a lot of places of north, the business owner would be free to defend himself and respond with appropriate force. The fact that she fled when he mentioned the cops says she was afraid of the repercussions to her actions.
Also, President Obama's comments were widely available and played in the whole context on conservative media. He even included the same clip in his commercial right before he said that he didn't say what he just showed himself saying. The best that we can say is that he spoke "inartfully". Considering he reads his prepared remarks off a teleprompter usually and is a smart and eloquent guy, that doesn't seem likely. The fact is, he didn't give enough credit to the business owners. He was pandering to his base. Pure and simple.
All speech is helpful. I appreciated yours for instance, even though I thought it had some fallacies in it. Your speech is important, as is everyone's, because it helps show the full breadth of the thought on the matter. Now we can make better decisions. I do wish you a nice day. I hope you enjoy this beautiful, even if dry, summer that we are having. God bless you.
"Might work down South, but not here?!" What doesnt work up North? Freedom of speech? Hmm.. Very tolerant of you [sarcasm, in case you dont get it]. As far as what Obama said, or didn't say, he REITERATED his plan yesterday on TWO different campaign speeches, which is to say that he wants the government to TAKE OVER ALL INDUSTRIES like it did to the Auto Industry, because it "worked so well".. Well, it MIGHT have worked "well" if you're a UNION BOSS counting on others to work so you can get your payoffs, but for millions of regular hard working Americans who had stock in GM in their retirement plans, having their investment stolen by Obama to be handed to the Unions didn't work so well, and it's about time we stop it.
DeleteKevin is a hero, standing up to thugs like you, trying to dictate what kind of free speech is welcome in "your" part of the country... Funny - I thought even the West Coast was part of America and was subject to the first ammendment, but apparently that's only when the speaker agrees with YOU...
AMEN!!!
DeleteRhubarb,
DeleteActually what Mr. Kerwin posted in his window is EXACTLY in line with what Obama said. Obama tried (and failed) to say that without the social systems over-watched by government, that businesses cannot succeed. Yet history shows us that there were businesses succeeding in the middle of westward expansion of the U.S. long before government, or mass crowds, arrived.
Mr. Kerwin is spot on with his commentary, he did build his business, and Obama is incompetent, as evidenced by his empty promises of ending the wars (he has actually expanded them), low unemployment, strong economy, halving of the deficit and reducing the debt, none of which he has come even close to accomplishing. And now he wants four more years to give us more of the same failure. Obama's minions will tell us that all of Obama's failures are the fault of Republicans, yet Obama has another failure under his belt in that he has personally submitted no less than three budgets out of the Oval Office and all were so incompetent and unrealistic that even his own party unanimously rejected them.
Hi guys,
ReplyDeleteA paradigm shift alert! Marsden, Rhubarb, and Rightwing are now siding with a 1% er who felt entitled to get in someone's face she disagrees with. While mixing politcs and business might not be a smart business policy, screaming at Chick Fil A employee can cost you your job or as my pal from that other cav regiment suggests getting your teeth handed to you.
What ever happened to respecting other peoples' views guys? Or how about minding your own business and voting with your pocket book. What next you guys? Road rage and gunfire for people sporting bumper stickers you don't agree with? Or is that just another situational ethic from people standing on the moral high ground?
Toujours pret!!! Mike, I absolutely agree with you. politics are one thing but to respect another person is the highest law of the land.
DeleteThe problem is that liberals don't feel that it applies to them. They are not quite all there, mentally and believe that they are allowed to do as they please any time any where.
As for the remark about the deep south'. I AM from the deep south and folks down here respect each other. that's probably why you don't see OWS breaking anything around here. we not only require personal respect and responsibility we enforce it.
I respect the people of the South, and as far as I'm concerned we need more southern folk to move to Oregon! It'll help counter all the Liberal Californians that moved up here and brought their liberalism with them.
DeleteWell looks like Kevin has trouble taking care of himself. Those Dunthorpe women can be intimidating. Maybe he could get Victoria to be his bodyguard.Wonder if it crossed his mind that the lady could actually be an Independent. I am afraid the Independents are going to be slapping a lot of Republicans come Nov 6.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing you don't understand about the south, either, iago.
DeleteJust so you know iago:
Doesn't open doors ladies.
Hits ladies.
Doesn't wait for ladies before he bursts into elevators.
That's just for openers. You get the picture.
Well, I bet "The Geek" was quite surprised by the slap which I'm sure he was not ready for, especially from a "doyenne". and having a higher sense of civility he let it go without retaliation.
DeleteIt doesn't matter what affiliation she is, she resorted to violence because she didn't get her way. her liberal attack was truly childish.
This is what Obama Said "well, it must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something -- there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there."
ReplyDeleteA little research on that phrase and we find that it is a standard argument for redistribution, “Why should someone be rich when others work just as hard or have jobs that better serve the public good?”
"There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive."
Yes indeed there was and yes the business man still worked hard to build his business. He is grateful for the tools he has been given, but his teachers didn’t build his business.
"Somebody invested in roads and bridges."
And his business will insure those investments continue, they were paid for by the businesses that came before and will be maintained by the businesses that come after. Governments respond to the needs of businesses to attract more businesses so there communities can grow, not the other way around.
"If you’ve got a business -- you didn’t build that." So if you got a Nation Obama you didn’t build that the tax payers did.
That my friend is Obama’s statement IN CONTEXT
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteWell done!
DeleteAs of last week, you can still read the whole Roanoke speech on Obama's blog.
Pitiful how lazy people are and won't take the time. They must enjoy being/sounding ignorant of the truth.
LOL - keep believing Obama .... I'd suggest that everyone has access to these things (whether provided by the government by its own largesse or by taxpayers through the government). What makes this businessman stand out is that he made it while others who were granted the same opportunities failed. So, in fact, he did "build it".
DeleteThank you G&, we needed a hail from the Dept of the Obvious.
DeleteCreative,
Deletei think you misunderstand G&#. He's not showing support of Obama from what I can tell. He's pointing out that the rhetoric from Obama is hidden marxist ideology. it points to obama's obsession with redistribution, because in his warped mind, we ALL are deserving of the share of wealth created by others.
It's baffling how the desire to make money by hard work and thrift is called "Greed", yet the desire to take that money from those hard workers without earning it, isn't.
What do you expect in Oregon? Left is Left and Right is Right.
ReplyDeleteWere I Kevin, I'd get an even larger sign.
ReplyDeleteEveryone here condoning the assaulter's actions must be miserable human beings, also. More proof that leaving the Dem party was a great and patriotic decision.
I may never have keyed or vandalized a car with an Obama bumper sticker like you experienced with your McPalin one, but I have really, really thought about it many times.
ReplyDeleteFunny as hell to see people like Marsden write what amounts to "If you want to be in business then you have to forfeit the right to express a political opinion."
ReplyDeleteHard to believe he can seriously think this squares with the Constitution. Oh, that's right: To a liberal the Constitution means whatever they want it to mean, and nothing more. Preezy Obozo doesn't like a duly-passed law of the land? Hey, just order all federal employees to stop enforcing it! It's so easy even a caveman could do it.
FYI ALL: Strippers engaging in live sex acts passes for political speech in Oregon. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteSome traveling Oregon GOP House members can confirm this.
DeleteCan we say "Anthony Wiener"?? Iago, you're a baffoon!
DeleteA question...
ReplyDeleteConversely, if my business fails, can I blame the teacher, the roads, and the bridges?
Very good points you wrote here..Great stuff...I think you've made some truly interesting points.Keep up the good work. nevada criminal defense attorney
ReplyDeleteFreedom means if she's upset she can choose not to patronize the business. Perfectly reasonable. Nobody is insisting that SHE can't decide whether the businesses political opinions can factor into her decisions to use the store.
ReplyDeleteBUT---She wants to control what this business does. Big difference.
And contemptibly hypocritical
Since the city has decided to fine Mr. Kerwin for his sign, I guess it is only appropriate that the city government now be listed as official Obama campaign workers and their salaries be counted against Obama's totals as "campaign donations".
ReplyDeleteLooks like Portland's citizenry have become an Obama Super PAC and campaign contributor for Obama whether they want to or not, based on the decisions of the city government.
Good for this businessman! He is standing up for his beliefs! I mean if a chicken store owner can voice his opinions so can this man...it is called free speech! And I support his position! In fact most small business owners are in business today not from any "government help" but IN SPITE of the obstacles from government and the economy! Keep up the good fight!
ReplyDeleteI published an article about this article:
ReplyDeletehttp://goluckydonald.blogspot.com
Words With a Life
Ouchies! I think more than ever we need to be supportive of our president. We are in a difficult time, we need to be united.
ReplyDeleteBanner Pen
In this day and age, Bam-Bam's beloved government "helps" small businesses with taxes, massive regulations, taxes, licensing requirements, taxes, bureaucratic inefficiency, and did I mention taxes?
ReplyDeleteMr. Kerwin built his business in spite of the government, not because of it, and deserves to be able to say so without harassment.
I may never have keyed or vandalized a car with an Obama bumper sticker like you experienced with your McPalin one, but I have really, really thought about it many times.
ReplyDeleteShop To Earn