Welcome to the Tea Party

[lexingtonrick]

Thought this was an interesting opinion that followed a Greenwald column http://www.salon.com/news/tea_parties/i ... 2/07/palin.

UPDATE: The Nashville Post's A.C. Kleinheider, who covered the Tea Party convention for that paper, says Sarah Palin killed the tea party movement ("The tea party movement is dead. The one I was familiar with anyway. Judson Phillips held it down and Sarah Palin drove a stake right through its heart live last night on C-Span in front of an unsuspecting audience"). He also observes that "Sarah Palin didn’t give a tea party speech last night. She gave a partisan Republican address"; he asks: "what was [Palin] doing justifying and perpetuating the foreign policy of George Bush at a tea party convention?"; and says that what began as "an authentic protest movement" -- "of ragtag and unorganized libertarians, independents and conservatives [that] was something new and unique" -- has now been completely annexed by Palin and her GOP operative-controllers who want a restoration of the standard Bush/Cheney agenda.

I think it was clear from the start that the populist and anti-Beltway rage fueling these gatherings was being diverted (absurdly) into standard Republican dogma, by the same party that ran the country with virtually no restraints for the last decade. And a large faction of this movement from the beginning was driven by the same ugly nationalism, Christian fanaticism, and Limbaughian hatreds that have long shaped the American GOP Right. There's a reason why the Bush-revering Fox News embraced it from the beginning. But whatever else is true -- whatever authentic elements once existed here -- it is now nothing more than a vehicle for rejuvenating the standard GOP, draped with even more neoconservative extremism and religious fervor than drove it for the last ten years. That's why Sarah Palin is their most beloved leader.

[historyforall]

I think you hit it right on the head. I have been a strong independent since I first voted for Ross Perot. I was excited and interested in the growing Tea Party movement. In our past history there has always been a party that grows, albeit temporarily, out of the chaos of 2 party corruptions and helps steer the county back on track (the Populist Party). The highjacking and takeover of the Tea Party is too bad. From what I have seen the Tea Party grew a lot from the Ron Paul movement which yes was based in Republican ideals, but, Ron Paul attracted a lot of us Independents and some Democrats too. The Obama backlash and fear mongering rants have made it not a movement to gain control of our out of control government but to scare people back to the Bush dogma of post 9/11. For the Tea Party to be successful they need to distance themselves from both parties. Don't invite popular figureheads and media puppets. Bring new and refreshing ideas to the stale same as always politics. Don’t accuse each side of raising taxes but show WHY you will not raise taxes.

[lexingtonrick]

I read this the other day and then went back today to make sure I read what I read.
http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/201 ... ining-city

"If you've ever wondered where conservative economic policies like permanent tax cuts for the wealthy, slashed social services and government spending are supposed to lead us, look no further than Colorado Springs.

David Sirota's description of what's happening to that conservative stronghold should serve as a cautionary tale.

When the so-called tea party movement’s anti-tax activists refer to the abstract concept of conservative purity, we can turn to a microcosm like The Springs (as we Coloradoans call it) for a good example of what such purity looks like in practice—and the view isn’t pretty.

Thanks to the city’s rejection of tax increases—and, thus, depleted municipal revenues—The Denver Post reports that “more than a third of the streetlights in Colorado Springs will go dark; the city is dumping firefighting jobs, a vice team, burglary investigators, beat cops; water cutbacks mean most parks will be dead ... recreation centers, indoor and outdoor pools [and] museums will close for good; buses no longer run on evenings and weekends; [and] the city won’t pay for any street paving.”

Meanwhile, even with the Colorado Springs Gazette uncovering tent ghettos of newly homeless residents, the city’s social services are being reduced—all as fat cats aim to punish what remains of a middle class. As just one example, rather than initiating a tax discussion, the CEO of The Springs’ most lavish luxury hotel is pushing city leaders to cut public employee salaries to the $24,000-a-year level he pays his own workforce—a level approaching Colorado’s official poverty line for a family of four.

This is what Reaganites have always meant when they’ve talked of a “shining city on a hill.” They envision a dystopia whose anti-tax fires incinerate social fabric faster than James Dobson can say “family values”—a place like Colorado Springs that is starting to reek of economic death.
Well, maybe it isn't a function of government to provide streetlights, municipal water, parks, swimmingpools, fire department, police protection, and paved roads. Or it won't be, anymore. Someday, we'll have to pave our own roads. Scratch that. We'll be free to pave our own roads and hire our own police, etc."

[Sam]

Well I have to say from where I sit, I see lots of money being spent in Washington and I know it has to stop somewhere. You can't keep spending what you don't have and expect our economy to continue as is. We were in debt when our Pres. came into office. And he just seems to keep on spending. For one I think something has to be done to wake up all those in Washington. If it takes the Tea Party people to do so then I say go for it. Now to my recollections, the original tea party people were tired of England taxing them to death and controlling them. Maybe that's what happening to the people here in the good old USA. I hear they have a bill to bail out the banks a second time - if it hasn't already been passed. I say that is obscene. Big government is taking over.

[coondog]

Big government is taking over.

Well, Sam, Its a big country and I guess it needs a big government. I fail to see where the government has taken over all that much in the past year that they didn't already control for decades.

In spite of the insane rantings of people like Eric Cantor, who just today is talking about "government takeover of health care, the banks and the auto industry, these things are not actually happening. The fact that people believe this sort of disingenuous BS is testimony to the lousy state of our educational system.

In fact, the government is riddled with subversives (republicans) who refuse to believe the government is capable of functioning......and through arcane Senatorial rules provisions....are insuring that it doesn't function at all. These tactics are, in my view, terrorist in nature.....but, I'll settle for simply calling it "un-American.

As for government spending, it appears that most economists agree that government spending is unfortunately necessary if we are ever going to recover from this 'slight downturn' which originated with....well, we all know who, but a lot of us no longer acknowledge it. Since I don't know a lot about economics, I'll not argue with economists.

Here's a tid bit for ya! According to the Rockbridge Weekly opinion pole (as of this point) in an election between Obama and Palin, Palin gets 52% as opposed to 34% for Obama. The majority of our friends and neighbors right here in Rockbridge County and environs think Sarah Palin should be president. Look around.....half the people you see are either dangerously misinformed or mentally deficient. This scares me more than a thousand bin Ladens.......or intense gophers.

[url] http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/vp ... 2#35322522[/url]

Coondog

[Sam]

Well Pal, them is fighting words. I don’t care which political party is in office – the spending is way out of control. What is our national debt now at about $14 trillion? That’s a lot of money and my question is who is going to pay for this? There is no way in hell we can pay this debt off. If we stop spending right now, our generation and the next three generations won’t be able to pay if off. It’s going to get worse instead of better. When people talk about their concerns and fears about all the spending, they are labeled with all sorts of negative names. Look at your posting. Well Buddy, I have to balance my budget and watch my spending and I think our government should do the same. When Bush was President, there was ranting all over the place and considered acceptable. Now that we have a new Pres. And those who express concerns or disagree, they are labeled with all sorts of names. I say our government is way out of control and I stick to my guns.
We need to do like the people at the first Tea Party did, but instead of throwing tea into the Boston harbor, throw all the politicians in.
You can go on baying at the moon. As for me, I’ll take my Jack Daniels. Probably won’t be able to afford it soon the way things are going.

[coondog]

What is our national debt now at about $14 trillion?

Actually, the Treasury Department says it was $12,349,467,132,738.49 as of yesterday.....but whats a couple of trillion dollars one way or another, eh? Besides, your point is well taken. According to a November 17th article by CBS news, "
...the White House budget review issued in August projects that by the end of the current fiscal year on Sept 30th, the National Debt could top $14 trillion."

It’s going to get worse instead of better.

Yep, we're getting there! But if you hate that, here's some even better stuff from that article, "The same document projects that by the end of the decade, the National Debt will hit $24.5 trillion -- exceeding the Gross Domestic Product projected for 2019 of $22.8 trillion.

When Bush was President....

When Bush took office, the national debt was approximately $5,735,197,779,458.19 (treas office)

Now that we have a new Pres.

National debt when Obama took Office: approximately $10,627,708,753,691.49 (ibid)

The National Debt has increased about $1.6 trillion on Mr. Obama's watch, though less than $4.9 trillion run up during the presidency of George W. Bush.

Much of the increase in the deficit and debt is attributed to government spending outpacing revenue – both exacerbated by the recession and the government response to it – including hundreds of billions in bailouts and stimulus spending and tax cuts along with decreased tax revenues due to rising unemployment. (CBS)

That’s a lot of money and my question is who is going to pay for this?

Not me....and not you, that's for sure! If we're going to get out of this sort of crisis, something drastic is going to have to happen to increase government revenue. Maybe we need to legalize pot? Maybe we need to harvest liquid natural gas from the moons of Saturn and sell it to the Chinese? I don't know! Certainly, Tax Cuts, which reduce revenue, are not the answer! And the overnight solution you all expect from Obama ain't going to happen, regardless.

And those who express concerns or disagree, they are labeled with all sorts of names.

Yep! There are ever increasing signs, albeit small ones, that things are improving, partially because the recovery act has had a positive influence. It is welcomed when concerns or disagreements are expressed from a legitimate perspective.
When these disagreements manifest themselves in name calling and labeling: are prefaced and predicated on falsehoods, then I reserve the right to call names and apply lables as are appropriate.

Confidence in our economy is paramount to recovery of any sort, and it is counter productive to continue to deny programs that are helping, deny demonstratable successes, obstruct all attempts to address the problems that still exist, publicly denounce those who try to remedy the situation and switch positions whenever it serves political expediency.

You can go on baying at the moon.

I will!

Well Pal, them is fighting words

No.....not another War! Lets keep it civil - eggs & spit balls!

Coondog

[Sweetness 'n Light]

This teaparty rope is pretty good but I don't see why some of you guys are so down on all the people who do the teapartyies, huh?

I watched all about them on FoxTV and they looked really good so I even went to one with my neighbor and it was a real fun grassroots thing with lots of people maybe mad cause they ought to be about the socialishts and communinists and nazis that took over the governmnet and even elected a negro to be president if you can believe that and he probably got born in Africa maybe.

They want to do all the death panels and death taxes and maybe anything that is all about death instead of life and using up all the resources from nature like the lord intended cause we need them to make as many people as possible before the rappture comes pretty soon and every thing gets ended anyway, huh?

Those teaparty people are a lot like me and to tell the truth I don't get to see this very often cause lots of people are always looking at me and rolliong their eyes and they don't think I can see them but I can. But the people like Sarah Palin and all the teaparty people really understand all about our country and how we have to get rid of all the socialists and communnists and nazzis any way we can even if we have to kill them.

And I think they are really right to get rid of all the taxes cause last year when I get my welfare checks we didn't pay no taxes cause somebody said you don't have to, but the IRS sent a nasty letter to make us pay some taxes anyway. They had an excuse it was my husband made some money on his jobs but that is just crazy cause how can we make penalty on people just cause they want to work, huh? That way nobody will ever work maybe. So this year I don't care what they say I am not going to pay any taxes cause the welfare checks are almost enough since I never get to go anywhere cause they took away my drivers license.

That snow was really big and it makes me happy to see maybe everybbody else knows what its like to be stuck and not go anywhere like me, huh? Maybe that will make them think a second time and give me back my drivers license again. If any you guys know how to get my license then give me clue cause I tried just about everything and they wont give me one unless I am an illegal aileen maybe and I don't know how to do that cause I'm a true redwhiteandblue american. Ha.

[Amy Probenski]

I have bitten my tongue, restraining rage as I read your postings. Perhaps you are damaged in ways that somehow explain and excuse you, but your view of the world is selfish, vile and hateful. I hope you get help and can find a larger and happier world than the one you appear to live in.

[lexingtonrick]

Hi Amy, Sweetness 'n Light is writing satire. She is a caricature. She or he is portraying a mindset that comes awfully close to a few of my wife's aunts (boy I hope my wife doesn't read this cuz I'm gonna be in trouble). She has riffed in other posts that she drinks too much and falls down the stairs and throws her empties in the creek and the neighbors don't like her doing that and her husband is avoiding income taxes and she's still complaining that she lost her drivers license and through it all she holds herself blameless.

Now she's found a place in the tea party "Those teaparty people are a lot like me and to tell the truth I don't get to see this very often cause lots of people are always looking at me and rolling their eyes and they don't think I can see them but I can".

That's damning them with faint praise.

Granted this post is not as funny as others, talking about being a part of a fringe element that just might decide to kill people they disagree with isn't a funny concept.

Sweetness 'n Light lay off the brown liquor befor you write.

[Sweetness 'n Light]

Its kind of nice maybe that somebody wrote to me cause mostly nobody does hardly.

But Amy is mean to call that I need help and small world and hateful. Maybe you are so mean cause you love all those aileens and socialists and communiists and terrorists and not the real true Americans like me, huh?

And LexRick is just wieird cause he thinks I'm some kind of character like his aunt whoever that is. And if you think I'm drunk then you are just wrong cause I just never do that except maybe when my husband is away and doesn't catch me. He's so dumb he still doesn't know I finished all his basement stuff twice cause I replaced it and he cant tell the difference!

That socialized worker came today since my husband went off again for a job somewhere. She couldn't get in for a long time because the snow which was OK by me. She drives me crazy sometimes with all her questions about my personal stuff but at least she got me some money and it helps even though we got that stupid IRS bill. I laughed when I bought my husbands new basement liquors last time cause I paid with the same money she said I couldn't use for liquor! She says theres some kind of law but there is always some kind of law about everythning so who cares. What she doesn't see won't hurt, huh?

A funny thing this morning. I heard a noise and opened the door and a neighbors dog ran into my house all friendly like. I started to kick it outside but I remembered the dog belongs to that mean neighbor who screamed at me last summer just because I dumped a bunch of old bottles in the river. So I kept the dog and shoeod him down to the basement and locked the door. I'm going to keep the dog down there for a few weeks and then let it loose again. Maybe that will teach the nosy neighbor a little lesson, huh, so she can worry some like she made me when she screamed at me? (It's OK, I'll throw some food down there so the dog won't die maybe.) She sent her children to all the near houses and when the boy knocked on my door I acted real innocent "Nope no dog around here." Then I laughed myself silly for the rest of the day!

Maybe that will teach her a lesson, huh? Anyway its all pretty good now except the things I already reminded you of. So since my husband is gone again and it's dark again and you reminded me of it I might just go downstairs and see what I can find in his precious stuff to warm me up again and maybe feed the dog some food. But Ill be real careful not trip this time maybe.

[Anonymoose]

Here's a tid bit for ya! According to the Rockbridge Weekly opinion pole (as of this point) in an election between Obama and Palin, Palin gets 52% as opposed to 34% for Obama. The majority of our friends and neighbors right here in Rockbridge County and environs think Sarah Palin should be president. Look around.....half the people you see are either dangerously misinformed or mentally deficient. This scares me more than a thousand bin Ladens.......or intense gophers.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/vp%20...%202#35322522

OMG, that tells me a majority of our county either wants to BE Sarah Palin, or get in her pants. Scary as S*#T. Mentally deficient, either way.

What is our national debt now at about $14 trillion?

Actually, the Treasury Department says it was $12,349,467,132,738.49 as of yesterday.....but whats a couple of trillion dollars one way or another, eh? Besides, your point is well taken. According to a November 17th article by CBS news, " ...the White House budget review issued in August projects that by the end of the current fiscal year on Sept 30th, the National Debt could top $14 trillion."

Memory is not what it used to be, but it hasn't been that long since William Jefferson Clinton had the budget not only balanced, but in the black. What the h*(l happened in the interim? Hmmm....

"A village can not reorganize the village to suit the village idiot".

Maybe not! But, what about a village full of idiots?

I read with ever growing dismay the sort of letters displayed in today's News Gazoo. Mass hysteria, at some dark and fetid level, has seemingly taken root. In three separate instances, Glen Beck (not his real name) is cited either as a (the) reliable source or, along with Rush Limbaugh, crucial to the preservation of free speech.

Dog! I routinely breeze past the Op-Ed page in the Newsy-Goozy, and that other rag, and wonder why I spend my $1.31, but tell myself I have my reasons. Gawd, could we get some real writers in at least one of these pubs?

BTW...When is that kegger at Zollman's?.....I'll go 50 bucks toward the tab and will try not to drink my limit!

[Sweetness 'n Light]

Two things on that nosy neighbors dog I put down in the basement, which worried me a hole lot but I think I fixed everything OK now.

I saw some of her kids poking around my house this morning and they didn't think I saw them but I did. I wasn't worried but then I realized that the dog was scratching at my basement door and whining and sometimes even barking so I got really scared maybe they heard it, cause they were walking all around my house in circles and pointing and talking a lot but I couldn't hear what they said.

So quick like I ran to the basement and put a leash on the dog and put it inside the basement bathroom tied up to the shower knob and closed the door. I am pretty smart, huh? Cause now the dog can bark his fool head off and nobody will hear it, not even me I bet maybe.

Those kids got bored and went home finally so I bet that nosy neighbor is still all worried and it maybe serves her right, huh? Maybe she will think twice about shouting at people over silly stuff like throwing old bottles in the river, huh?

A bonus maybe is that the dog wont by misteak knock over my husbands liquors down there cause he's tied up in the bathroom now. So that leaves more for me, huh? Ha ha ha. I'm trying to cut back some, but late at night it is nice to get a little blasted sometimes maybe even though maybe it feels bad the next day for awhile.

[Sweetness 'n Light]

I'm really upset cause of what happened this morning. I went down to the basement where I tied up that nosy neighbors dog just to teach her a lesson about yelling at me and it got real bad real fast.

Yesterday her kids were nosing all around my place and maybe they heard the dog barking and cause I didnt want them to find it locked up in my house I went down and tied it up in the bathroom to the shower knob. It worked real good and nobody heard a thing not even me.

But then it got awful bad. I opened the basement bathroom door this morning and the dog was all tangled up in the leash and kind of hanging half in the tub running with realy hot water and it was dead. I think maybe he paniked and thrashed around or somehting cause the leash was tied to the knob it kind of turned on the hot water and maybe he got hanged or maybe he got scalded I don't know but he was dead.

I been worrying all day and walking back and forth and it got worse cause those kids came back and knocked on the door and the nosy neighbor mother came back and knocked on the door but I pretended I wasn't here and they went away finally. It will be really bad if they catch me with their dead dog and my husband will kill me when he gets back so I got to do something. The worst thing was just before they left she said something to her son about maybe call the Sherrif and that really made me almost scream maybe.

I opened one of my husbands rums and drank a whole bunch but that was hours ago so I feel kind of normal again. So I made up my mind when it is really really late tonite I'll drag the dog down to the river and throw it in and just pretend nothing never happened. If that nosy neighbor didn't be mean to me last summer this would never happened so its her fault, huh? Wish me luck cause I don't need this no way.

[fangz1956]

[Sweetness 'n Light]

It was horrible let me tell you and I almost died maybe.

After I wrote that last post here, maybe about 3 AM in the morning so there couldnt me anybody see me, I dragged that dead dog out the house by the leash across the field and through the woods and down to the river and then threw it in with a great big splash. The moon was still pretty big and I could see pretty good but maybe not good enough cause the dog didn't just sink away but it kind of floated and the leash I forgot to take it off got snagged on a branch in the water.

So there the dumb dog was just kind of floating and twisting in the water right in front of my property so anybody could see it. So I knew there would be big trouble from that nosy neighbor if she saw it the next morning and she probably would cause she sees everything maybe.

I kind of reached out to grab the leash again and untangle it so the stupid dog would drift downstream but it was really hard to reach and I slipped on the mud and fell right in. That was the coldest water there ever was and I couldn't breath and I couldnt swim and I damn near drowned but got to the river bank and ran back to the house but I shivered so bad for hours I thought I might die thank goodness for that rum I heated and drank then, huh?

Cause I didn't get that dog untangled it still stayed there and yesterday I think that stupid neighbor found it and called the sherrif maybe cause there was a deputy in one of those police cars over there, and they were talking and they were pointing at my house which I could see out the window. I was really really really scared you better believe it so I went down in the basement and kind of hid there and when the door knocked I pretended I wasn't there.

Then I got really happy cause they went away and I hope they forget all about it but I'm still worried that something bad might happen if they don't forget. So I been pretty worried all day but they didn't come back today and I'm just going to stay here and act all normal. So wish me luck cause its all her fault for screaming at me and shes made enough trouble for me, huh?

[fangz1956]

S&L,

I won't be wishing you luck. What you did was a cold, heartless, and horrific thing. I don't care how much your neighbor screams at you. You had NO right to take her dog. You are far from being right in this matter........nor are you the victim. I hope they catch up with you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law......that's the best you deserve in all of this.

[Wise One]

I'll cast my lot with Fangz on this one ― Sweetness appears to be anything but.

[coondog]

Yep!

Sweetness, who usually brightens my day like a ray of sunshine, has finally gone over the edge.

Broken bottles in the river is one thing....any one who goes in there without sneakers deserves cut up paws, but to display such casual disregard for the life and dignity of a fellow canine...........!

It makes me sad!

Coondog

[Sweetness 'n Light]

I cant believe you guys are being so mean after all the stuff I been through. You better think about it a second time, huh? Cause you are just being mean kind of.

Well it turns out I was right to be all worried cause then what the sherrif did was call my socialized worker who is another busybody, and she told him how to call my husband and then he came home and everybody came in and it was just awful. They said I did all terrible things and I cant do that anymore and they can arrest me and put me in jail and all kinds of threaten things that were just terrible let me tell you for sure.

But then they cooked up some kind of crazy thing where my husband will be here all the time and he agreed or if he has to go away for work then this woman they introduced me to will stay in my house. So basically there is going to be eyes all the time on me and it is just crazy, huh? How can anybody stand to live like that, huh?

But I guess its ok cause I got to tell you it is nice to be home after they took me away to that place for overnight observatory so I guess I can stand it for awhile.

Leastways I'm home again and I can tolk to all you guys again, haha! So I will try to read more and not bother you with my troubles and give you more advice about all the crazy stuff that we learn about all around us so we can stop all those aileen socialists from ruining the last pieces of our national country.

Its the least I can do for you all.