THE ginormous-est political post...so far. :P

"You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot help small men by tearing down big men. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot lift the wage-earner by pulling down the wage-payer. You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot establish security on borrowed money. You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves."

-Rev. William J.H. Boetcker


"You don't make the poor richer by making the rich poorer."

-Sir Winston Churchill


The economy is not a toy with which to play around; when you interfere with the "free market" by pumping in trillions of dollars that have no backing to them, the "toy" is going to break - backfire. When you tax the American people beyond reason and without representation, they will stand up to oppression. This was demonstrated in 1773 at the Boston Harbor, when a large crowd of colonists dressed up as Native Americans sneaked through the town and gave the "Boston Tea Party" in protest. On April 15, 2009, hundreds of thousands (or perhaps even millions) of Americans all over the country gathered together once again to protest the same things as those at the Boston Tea Party on that cold December night; nominally, exorbitant taxation, and without representation. (TEA: Taxed Enough Already) But in reality more than this - they protested general governmental oppression that has been attempted more and more (recently including ridiculous spending by Congress and the presidents - of both parties).

Vox Populi. Voice of the People. The American people are determined to be heard and heeded by the government, and the government had better listen.

My family attended one of the local Tea Parties on Wednesday. It was the first major political activity in which we have participated (other than elections and such); the protest was peaceful, bipartisan, fun, and it was encouraging to know how many people are so emphatic about these issues that they are actually willing to spend time at a protest! The particular rally that we went to anticipated approximately 500 attendants or so and ended up having over 5,000.

Here are some pictures from the "TEA Party" (You can click on the pics to enlarge them):

^^That one and the flags in the previous picture were some of my favorite banners from the TEA party. :)

And here is a link to a video from FOX News covering some of the Tea Parties - FOX News was pretty much the only Media organization to cover them from an even slightly balanced viewpoint. The liberal news companies made fun of these grassroots protests. (I tried embedding it to the post, but it was wanting to install a non-existent plug-in...Any ideas? Mada? It's a Facebook video.) Also, below is a "trailer" for the San Antonio Tea Party - that's not the one we attended, but the trailer almost gives you chills and gets the message across. (BTW, for a background on the "Don't Tread On Me" flag, see this link - the concept was introduced by Benjamin Franklin.)



Last, but not least, I would like to give you a warning issued by the Department of Homeland Security. Based on what I know of all my readers, I would caution you that you are most likely officially an "RWE" - a Right Wing Extremist, and therefore labeled as a possible threat to the United States Homeland Security. Don't believe me? Well read this article. I'll give you some examples from it. If you:

-Believe in any restrictions on abortion (including just limitations on taxes funding international abortions)

-Attended a TEA Party

-Believe in states rights over federal power

-Are not happy about the economic state of affairs

-Are displeased with the government's handling of illegal immigration

-Support the second amendment of the Constitution (i.e. believe in gun rights)

-Are a war veteran returning from Iraq or Afghanistan

....You are considered a very possible threat by the Department of Homeland Security. Wow...Just because we care about the future of America? And the war veterans? Are you serious?! As you might imagine, the military is just a little upset with that report, and demanding the author's resignation.

So there you have it, folks. I apologize if this post was entirely uninteresting to my international readers... Let me know if it was, and I'll try to do better next time I do a political post (which won't be too often). Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading and for your comments.

BTW, tomorrow afternoon I am leaving for a couple days to go visit JBU with my dad - I'll be taking the camera along, and maybe I'll post some pictures of the campus later next week if you are interested. :) If you would, please keep me in your prayers - specifically prayers for travel safety and time management (several major assignment due dates coming up) at the moment...Thanks again!