sECULARsTUPIDEST ~ Fall in love with America again.

secularstupidest.com

The interview:

    SWB:
  Hello Kayte, I want to thank you for taking time to talk with me today, I very much appreciate it.
 As I many have mentioned, I'm totally loving your hub site secularstupidiest.com. I recently spent an entire Saturday morning going through all the clips and materials and following links, just awesome!

    SS:

 I appreciate your compliments and am excited to see what has been happening with our new site, and our Youtube channel lately. However, keep in mind I am only one half of the team, so I want Keith to jump in and join the interview.


SWB:
 Could you share a little of SS's origins? How did you come up with it? Why?
Had you been in contact with many conservative artist prior to SS's creation?

SS:
 This has been an idea we've had for a few years.
We're politically conservative but, believe it or not, it was our disappointment with President Bush that started us thinking how we could influence the culture with more conservative ideas and aspirations.  We actually see imperial secular socialism as a very serious threat to western civilization, on par with the ones we hear about in the media.

 Our site's motto is "life becomes stupid when we forget the Creator", but it is not a spiritual or religious site, per se.  We embrace conservative content from any source, truth is truth, and we must all stand together on common ground against the leftist tyranny which we know from history doesn't end well.  Occasional content on the site is labeled "CCFL' which means Conservative Content From a Liberal Source!

 The vision for the site pretty much popped into Keith's mind in full form as he drove down the street one day.  So, it was conceived under Bush, but has been propelled into overdrive under the current regime.  We are not close friends with many conservative artists, mainly because the conservative artist community is disconnected and spread so thin across the country, that we can really only find each other online.  We suspect most conservative artists feel isolated in their "real" communities, but can find thousands of like-minded artists via the Internet.


SWB:
Are any of the works featured yours or someone you know personally?

  SS:   We throw in some of our videos, and visual art, but don't highlight them above the others.  The only exception to that rule is the link we've set up to introduce people to Lewis, the singer in one of the most watched tea party video of all time, because we believe in his work, and have a fundraiser going on his behalf.  We really exist to serve Conservative artists of all types and their potential audiences, whether we know them personally or not.

  The web is so big, aggregator sites such as ours serve an important part in the enjoyment of web content.  The conservative movement has many big name aggregators, but they tend to be serious and focused on news, which we appreciate.  However, we play the part of the jester, minstrel, and bard of the movement, adding additional content every day.


    SWB:
 Being a no shoestring, stumbling web(not!)master and blogger myself, I find your page/domain stunningly and very professionally impressive. How did you go about building it?

    SS:

 Being a site to display art, we wanted to create a site with no visible text on the main pages.  We have succeeded as long as the titles to the items are seen as part of the image art. We are pleased to know a "magician", who recently graduated from Georgia Tech.  We tell him what we want and he makes it happen.  It's magic!

Under par for the course.

  The items on the wall are framed and presented through our creations; visual art is framed, videos are on steampunk machines, and audio on mp3 player images.  These are made using photoshop.  Keep in mind, the site is in Beta form so we are currently working on improvements for the real launch and appreciate tips.  You may see bugs running around, so please be patient and, even better, and let us know your ideas through the contact link!


SWB:
Would you say our nation's current spiritual/political crisis has a lot to do with with SS's popularity?


   SS:

 Well, judging by the recent viral video we have on Youtube, "Tea Party Member Stuns Crowd ORIGINAL!!!',  we would say a resounding YES!  Think about it, this video is the second most watched Tea Party video ever, and one of the most watch conservative videos. Except for a few big names on the conservative web, the big sites, which usually fuel a viral video, completely ignored it.  The video rocketed over 2 million hits in two weeks by breibarttv.com, sharing, emails, blogs, and smaller outlets.

MARINE stuns crowd, world with fourth stanza.

 Now consider the content: A retired Marine sings the fourth verse of the National Anthem, the verse which has strong religious content.  It brings people to tears, creates chills, shocks them, inspires them, and when it comes to the left, infuriates them.

 That type of strong spiritual message is not present in most of the items on our site, but we believe it is the fuel, which led the Founders to victory, not to mention historic conservatives throughout history.  The conservative movement will fail if we suppress religious and spiritual expression and approach our battle with merely a secular Conservatism.


SWB:
 As you are growing in the public eye, has SS received much in the way of detractors?
Negative responses and posters and such? What is your reaction to them?

SS:
 We are gaining a higher profile all the time, but still have a long way to get to where we're heading.  Our youtube videos receive many comments from haters, which we generally ignore.  Recently, we received a call from a New York Times reporter who covers the Tea Party, but when we looked up his record we decided not to call him back as we suspect he was out for blood.

  We think the time has come, when traditional media is, by and large, irrelevant to what is happening in the online community.  Right now, we are working on very robust comment features for our site and we will invite all types of people to vent there 24/7; a big part of the fun and value of the web.  These improvements will be operational very soon, so keep checking us out!

SWB:
Obviously SS isn't a "pet project" what is the long-term goal? Where do you see SS in say... 2yrs? 5?

SS:
 So much depends on the will of the people.  We believe that when conservatives take back our nation from the Left, we will be far more engaged than we were under Bush.  That said, as long as the Conservative art community grows and the people start consuming artistic content which uplifts and promotes conservative principles, instead of the Left's pablum, we expect to be "the place" for artists to premier their work and "the place" to go to see the best conservative artistic content on the planet! This is our time, the Left's monopoly on artistic expression is slipping away thanks to Al Gore's greatest "invention".


SWB:
  I have personally shared many of the works found on SS on my fb profiles and twitter, but I find I have to follow them to their original placings, and then write credit to SS for them (not a problem really :-), is their a specific way the lazy posters (a personal ref ;-) can click and go, providing acknowledgment for SS in the proverbial fell swoop?

SS:   We just embedded "share this"  on all items and we are fine-tuning it to work smoothly across the board.  All of the bells and whistles will be there for our big launch planned for within the next few weeks!


SWB:
 Kayte, I am really grateful and honored by your gracious time and the "good work(s) you are doing on
behalf our Blessed Nation and her patriots.
Is there any other information about SS you would like people to know or something else you would like to share here?

SS:
 Yes, we are proud of our blog, which is unique.  The blog wall displays each entry on old posters, paper, or tapestries.  The entries themselves have text, but also have the entry in audio form, so you can listen while you do something else.  And again, the subject matter is a labor of love: interesting nuggets of Conservative history from over thousands of years, historical character profiles, and poetry.

 So we really have a variety of content, complimenting the news and current events commentary which comprises most of the existing conservative web presence.
Besides that, we often visit and film at local tea party events and protests, which show up on our Youtube channel by the same name.

Thank you so very, very much!
Kayte and Keith


I want to say "Thank You" Kayte and Keith!
I had a great time with this interview and the website itself. Stocked fresh daily with content and and a no apology presentation of of our nation's history, identity, heritage and her current situation(s), submitted by Americans for and about Americans... for the world.
 SS's "court jester" approach to sharing "The message of U.S.", to my thinking is an excellent expression of 1 Corinthians 1:27 "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise..." .
 I believe you're right, the left (as a body) are infuriated by truth, facts, reality on the whole, and now they face losing the monopoly on their greatest weapon... media!
Keep up the good work!

Hey folks also check out The sECULARsTUPIDEST EBAY store for bumper stickers, singly or in multi-packs! 

Here are the direct links for sECULARsTUPIDEST.
Drop in, say hi, roam around enjoy, and definitely "share"!




http://www.secularstupidest.com/
http://stores.ebay.com/secularstupidest
http://www.twitter.com/@secularstupiddd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfNBqmID_yc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9_bP219ehQ

By AMERICANS for AMERICANS

I have just recently been blessed with the opportunity to... "interview" a newly found and extremely admired Facebook friend in... facebook messages! The creator of the newly released "Pledge Ring".

Merely beginning as a note to applaud his effort, the correspondence soon turned to something bigger. It is my great honor and pleasure to introduce both "Pledge Ring" and it's founder, John Neary. A man for whom I am very proud to call exactly an AMERICAN.

The following is a completely unprofessional attempt at an interview. Fortunately, John carried it well!

SWB:
John, I would like to explore "Pledge Ring" more.
I am a rabid advocate for "messages" and the many forms they take to get to us.

May I ask? Do you mind my "rummaging" about pledge ring over the next day or so and publishing an article on my blog page? http://patsaid.blogspot.com/

I want to see these pieces go even further that the "Nails" did when they came out.
I am very glad to become acquainted with you and your efforts young man.
I look forward to hearing from you at your convenience.

JN:
No problem Patrick! I appreciate your support. Feel free to reach out with any questions. I think there's a "silent majority" who love many things about this country the way it is. That doesn't make for good headlines though "news: everything is fine" :) The pledge of allegiance is a beautiful and simple oath. I'm very proud of it and wear my own ring every day to celebrate it.

Much luck to you

John

SWB:
My new young friend, you are an "OAK". :-)
We are certainly in "a time", and many, many are going to be pressed.
I think "John Neary" was born "For a time such as this".

JN:
Lots of great questions Patrick! I'll do my best to answer them concisely here:


SWB:

What brought the design to mind?

JN:
1. I was born in Ireland and grew up there before immigrating here (legally!) 10 years ago. I always wore a traditional Irish ring and at one point realized I needed to let my past go (but not disappear) if I was going to truly immigrate. I wanted something to celebrate my new life in the US and when I finally became a proud US citizen in 2007 I committed to having a custom piece made for myself to celebrate the occasion and to recognize that I was committing to making the US my home, for me my wife and my son. I settled on an idea for a design to represent the oath I took when becoming a citizen and decided to represent the pledge of allegiance iconically.

2. The emblems were hard to settle on but once I got them 'right' it felt like they couldn't be anything else.
The star for 'One Nation' was taken from the idea of how we have 50 stars on our flag for our states, but that really we are collectively 'one state'. Hence, one star.
The 'under God' piece was difficult. I had people telling me to skip it completely but I refused to. From what I learned about the US, it was really founded on Christian & Jewish values, so I happen to agree with the place Under God in our pledge.
Also, as an immigrant it's not my place to question the status quo anyway.
You buy into a culture, or you don't.

I love everything about the US and what my life here has become so I'm not about to create something that symbolizes some alternative version of the pledge. Lots of people love it just how it is. I settled on a cross because I'm christian but I do want, at some point, to create another line with the star of david for our patriotic jewish brethren.
The rest of the icons were kind of simple if you ask me . . . just the best way to symbolize the concepts. The 'heart' for indivisible is probably the most cryptic but I think it's the right icon for that concept.

SWB: Have you had prior jewelry/accessories experience or interest?

JN:
None. But my uncle in Ireland, Aidan Breen, is a known silversmith so he helped me (with his son) to create the prototypes.


SWB: With so many marketers/entrepreneurs online and well, failing everyday, how did you arrive at your current professional web site, and "clean" marketing plan?


JN:
I did web design at one point in my life so I created the site, brand and logo myself (well, I had some help with the logo). I don't have a budget really (this is a side-gig) so I'm starting slowly. I'm hopeful that if the idea takes off I'll make my investment back and maybe enjoy a nice income off it some day. In the meantime I genuinely believe in the product and am so proud to see others enjoying the jewelry and celebrating our pledge of allegiance with pride. I believe in the idea.

SWB: Is "Pledge Ring" a one shot wonder, or are there more designs and pieces on the way?

JN: We just released a 'narrow' ring that some female customers have asked for. We have a pendant and a dog tag too. In the coming months we'll come out with a cross and bracelet. THe products will all have the standard 6 modern icons but as I said earlier I want to produce a jewish version of each piece at some point as well - the timing will depend on the economics.

SWB: Can you recall the pivotal moment when decided to take Pledge Ring from concept to reality?


JN: I think this is covered above but it was really becoming a citizen that triggered the idea. When it comes to actually deciding to build a business from it, that was based on 2 things.
The first: I got great feedback from friends and co-workers who encouraged me.
The second: a year ago i donated my kidney to my sister.
The operation was rough and the whole experience just gave me a new perspective on life. I have a day job that I enjoy but I thought I should just try something entrepreneurial that I could believe in and have a passion in.

SWB: Where did you find your inspiration/calling for Pledge Ring?

JN: I think this is covered above.

SWB: Do you easily see that the values instilled in you from childhood are the seeds of what you produce today as an adult?

JN: Absolutely. I was blessed with a great family in Ireland. My late father was hard working, honest, sincere, fun and conservative. My mother is supportive, determined and deliberate. My siblings are great people and we all get along well (1 brother and 2 sisters).

SWB: John, I appreciate this opportunity to help promote a clear statement of faith, patriotism, and value system that made this country so great and demonstrates the blessing of One Nation Under God.

JN: It's my pleasure to share this with someone who is genuinely interested.

Cheers,
John