We went to the Valparaiso Tea Party. About 600 people there. Better signage. This crowd had a bit more bitter edge to it. These people are even less happy with the government than the Chicago crowd. The message from the speakers was more against the state government than the feds.
We went to meet everyone at Daley Plaza, then marched to Federal Plaza. The crowd was about 5-6K people tops. People were fairly well behaved. I got interviewed by the guys from Foundingbloggers.com, I might get a part of my 15 minutes of fame…
I loved this one.
All in all, it was fun, and we packed the square. The police said that this was the best behaved crowd they had had in a long time.
The organizers really needed to get a better sound system though.
The amazing thing was that so many people showed up at all. The fact is that nearly all of the people there actually had jobs and therefore had to take the day off of work to be able to attend.
More pictures @ www.achicagoblog.com and at Foundingbloggers.com
Left at 2 PM and got on the train to go to another protest in Northern Indiana.
On this tax day, and the day when the Tea Party protest is happening:
IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, —
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
The words of our founding fathers ring true today as much as they did at the time of the writing of the above document.
Smart fellows, those revolutionaries…
I’ll be in Chicago exercising my first amendment rights today. I urge you to do the same at your local Tea Party.
Via the DRUDGE REPORT and WND comes this little gem:
excerpt from WND story:
WASHINGTON – A newly unclassified Department of Homeland Security report warns against the possibility of violence by unnamed “right-wing extremists” concerned about illegal immigration, increasing federal power, restrictions on firearms, abortion and the loss of U.S. sovereignty and singles out returning war veterans as particular threats.The report, titled “Right-wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment,” dated April 7, states that “threats from white supremacist and violent anti-government groups during 2009 have been largely rhetorical and have not indicated plans to carry out violent acts.”However, the document, first reported by talk-radio host and WND columnist Roger Hedgecock, goes on to suggest worsening economic woes, potential new legislative restrictions on firearms and “the return of military veterans facing significant challenges reintegrating into their communities could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks.”
and:
“Proposed imposition of firearms restrictions and weapons bans likely would attract new members into the ranks of right-wing extremist groups as well as potentially spur some of them to begin planning and training for violence against the government,” the report continues. “The high volume of purchases and stockpiling of weapons and ammunition by right-wing extremists in anticipation of restrictions and bans in some parts of the country continue to be a primary concern to law enforcement.”
and this:
The report warned law enforcement agencies to watch for suspicious individuals who may have bumper stickers for third-party political candidates such as Ron Paul, Bob Barr and Chuck Baldwin. It further warned law enforcement to watch out for individuals with “radical” ideologies based on Christian views, such as opposing illegal immigration, abortion and federal taxes.
So anyone who disagrees with the current administration COULD be a radical right wing extremist….. I am not a part of any hate group, nor do I believe in vioent confrontation with the government (if it can be helped). But the description(s) sould be interpereted in such a way that I am one of those individuals. WHile I am not a part of any christian extremist group, I do oppose the current government on illegal immigration and taxes. My only issue with RoeVWade is that it should have remained a states rights issue, not a federal government issue.
I wonder what will happen next time I am pulled over (if I suddenly quit blogging for more than couple of days with no explanation, you’ll know….) by a state trooper who has read this report.
I do NOT agree with hate groups like the KKK, but I do believe in free speech, and I do believe that the slope of restricting same can be very very steep and slippery….It seems that the government wishes to punish free speech……Yet the self same persons are all over the first amendment when it is their turn to protest something. I am seeing a double standard here.
I like how all returning vets can also be made out to be dangerous and possible enemies of the state. Radical PTSD suffering baby killers that they are believed to be by the left and all that.
and here I thought that “dissent is the highest form of patriotoism”….. Apparently only when the dissent is by the left against the right.
Another viewpint (and some interesting commentary HERE.
“COLUMBUS, Ohio — In wide-ranging remarks here, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg defended the use of foreign law by American judges, suggested that torture should not be used even when it might yield important information and reflected on her role as the Supreme Court’s only female justice. The occasion was a symposium at the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University honoring her 15 years on the court.
“I frankly don’t understand all the brouhaha lately from Congress and even from some of my colleagues about referring to foreign law,” Justice Ginsburg said in her comments on Friday.
The court’s more conservative members — Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr., Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas — oppose the citation of foreign law in constitutional cases.”
The rest of the article HERE.
So let’s trash the laws of the US, up to and including the constitution, to make our justices and their decisions cited more often and make the courts of other countries respect the US and its judges.
Sorry, I don’t buy it. It’s the laws of the US for the US. If we are supposed to respect the laws and culture of other countries, then let them respect our laws and culture. We happen to be the country that many people emigrate to because of our constitution. It’s the place that many people wish that their country was like, due to the freedoms and protections that the laws and constitution provide.
Perhaps she would prefer that we accept Sharia law. Then, at least, she wouldn’t have all that work to do as a judge, being a mere woman and all.
But lets make the US more like the rest of the world….at least everyone else will stop wanting to come here.
This is very scary. It seems that in Pakistan, the Islamic Radicals Terrorists Taliban has won:
“Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on April 13 signed the Nizam-i-Adl (System of Justice) Regulation into law. Earlier in the day, Parliament overwhelmingly approved the regulation, which stems from a Feb. 17 agreement between the provincial government of the North-West Frontier Province and the jihadist movement in the swat region that calls for a shariah-based legal system to be implemented in the area in exchange for an end to the insurgency. Islamabad had been hesitant to approve the deal between Peshawar and the Tehrik Nifaz-i-Shariat-i-Muhammadi (TNSM) — the jihadist group based in the greater Swat region — saying the central government wanted the TNSM militia to lay down its weapons before Islamabad endorsed the deal.”
More at the link.
We should immediately suspend all foreign aid to Pakistan at once.
They have the right to live and govern as they please. But not if they take our money.
and the number of folks paying zero taxes is set to rise…..
BTW, that top 10% is folks earning $92,400 or more….
While a bit of tax inequality is to be expected, 40% is too high, and unsustainable.
I guess that the “rich” are now defined as anyone making $92K or more…..
Those are, of course, the folks who work hard for a living.
How long can we continue to take money from those who make good decisions in life and reward bad decisionmakers?
Redistributionists will break this country. We are headed the way of the British. Soon the once proud U.S.A. will be a shadow of it’s former self, and the Chinese or Russians, or the Indians will take over as the preeminent (and dominant) society.
We can change the course of the country. But we have to change our leadership paradigm first….
Go to WWW.Taxdayteaparty.com and be a part of the message for change.
Will we send a loud enough message to the leaders of this country? Perhaps. Perhaps not. But doing nothing will certainly not fix the problem.
“We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and liberty,or profusion and servitude. If we run into such debt, as that we must be taxed in our meat and in our drink, in our necessaries and our comforts, in our labors and our amusements, for our calling and our creeds…[we will] have no time to think, no means of calling our miss-managers to account but be glad to obtain subsistence by hiring ourselves to rivet their chains on the necks of our fellow-sufferers…And this is the tendency of all human governments. A departure from Principle in one instance becomes a precedent for [another ]…till the bulk of society is reduced to be mere automatons of misery…And the fore-horse of this frightful team is public debt.Taxation follows that, and in its train wretchedness and oppression.”
Written by Thomas Jefferson in a letter from 1816
Supposedly, this was at the orders of Mr. Obama………I thought he would end up being wishy washy in his first confrontational crisis with outsiders. I fully expected him to dither and wonder why these people are the way they are, and wonder about their poor upbringing, and lack of education keeping them in a circle of violence and all that….
Instead, he only took several days worth of dithering to apparently let the Navy Seals do what they do best…..Kill people and break things.
That’s what we pay them for, and that’s what they train for. Were it up to me, I’d break both arms on the surviving pirate, shoot him in both kneecaps, and cut off his right hand (After all, he is a thief, and a muslim), then send him back to his pirate playmates with the instruction to tell them that this sort of thing will happen to pirates every time the US gets involved…..
But I doubt that the state department will let Mr. Obama do so, even were he able to conjure up the cojones to order it.
At least he appears to be stronger than Mr Carter was (like that would be hard…). But the world was watching this incident, and I doubt that they were greatly impressed with the handling of this. I wonder who else will try testing him, since he doesn’t appear to be very decisive or tough….