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Did you hear about the Tea Party tax protests being held throughout the nation?
One of the most well-attended took place a few weeks ago in Fullerton, CA. The Orange County Register and San Gabriel Valley Tribune were two of the VERY few institutional media groups that covered the event in any depth.
All is not lost, however. Leave it to a blogger to provide the ‘blow-by-blow’ details. Here is one of the best blogger coverages that I could locate on this event Orange Juice Blog The photographs help tell the story well.
Although these anti-tax ‘Tea Party’ rallies are breaking out across the country, the L.A. Times didn’t even bother to send an intern to cover this event-although it took place very close to its headquarters. Read why
The Fullerton Tea Party attendees (ranging in number from 8-15,000 citizens -depending upon who you ask) are trying to get their legislators to understand that taxpayers are angry and want REAL change.
If you are one of the millions of people who depend solely on the mainstream media’s (MSM) print and broadcast giants for your news, then most likely you know little or nothing about this protest.
You are also most likely clueless about the growing trend of Tea Party Tax Protest ‘flash crowds’ spreading across the nation.
Since February 2009, at least 150 protests have been organized and/or staged in this movement born out of outrage and concern.
Evidently, the MSM believes that thousands of disgruntled taxpayers gathering throughout the USA to protest isn’t newsworthy.
Perhaps the MSM is concerned that if the media spreads the news of how middle class citizens are voicing their discontent, this will encourage others to stage similar acts of resistance of their own.
Background on The Tea Party Tax Protest Movement:
The mainstream media is –with few notable exceptions
ignoring the coast to coast tax revolt movement taking place in this country.
There is much irony…and danger…in this development.
Some people are trying to dismiss the movement in a number of ways including defining it as a public relations astro-turfing movement meant to give the impression that it has been organized on a grass roots level but in reality they say the Tea Party movement is well – financed and managed (more like the controversial
A.C.O.R.N or Moveon.org. organizations).
Some are attempting to paint the movement as a partisan effort organized by ultra conservatives.
This is only an attempt to marginalize the movement’s significance.
The US Tea Party Tax Protest movement is an important contemporary social phenomenon for a number of reasons including:
1- Protestor characteristics: diverse middle class citizens (race, ethnic background, age, political party membership)
2- Method of Organizing: The digital age phenomenon of email, Twitter, cell phones, social networking facilitate the formation of ‘flash crowds’
3- Goals: depending upon which state the protests are taking place in, citizens may be seeking any or all of these objectives involving the placement of constitutional or statutory constraints on a government’s (local, state or federal-level):
a. expenditure levels (how much government spending is okay)
b. revenue generation capabilities (taxes, borrowing and investing of public funds etc…)
c. fiscal policy-making process-who decides a & b (debate, approvals, what is role of the public etc…)
The Irony: The MSM and the Taxpayers are Both Protected by the First Amendment…provided that the MSM does its Job Properly….
The First Amendment contained in our Bill of Rights states that people have freedom of religion, of speech, and of the press. They have the right to gather in a peaceful way. They have the right to appeal to the Government if they feel something wrong is happening.
Freedom of the press is contained in the very First Amendment because of its importance in protecting our newly formed republic.
The press was hailed by our Founding Fathers as ‘The Fourth Estate’ in a system of checks and balances against potential governmental abuse of power and authority. As a result, we have the three branches of government plus the press-keeping each other ‘in check’ .
In addition, the MSM has a responsibility to the citizens to bring to the peoples’ attention information regarding significant news events. This information will help the citizens to make informed decisions including –decisions regarding how to remain free and self-governing and when/how to hold government accountable for its actions.
If the MSM chooses to focus on sensational stories instead of covering events that will impact the citizens, then both the press and the citizens are at great risk of losing their First Amendment rights.
Therein lies the irony surrounding the MSM’s decision to make this huge movement into a ‘non-event’ by choosing not to cover it properly.
The Danger: Threat to Democracy Due to MSM Blowback
I realize that reporting capabilities do indeed come down to availability of resources however, why is the MSM choosing to allocate resources to cover the Octomom story at the expense of ignoring The Tea Party tax protest phenomenon?
Freedom of expression provides a framework in which the conflict necessary to the progress of a society can take place without destroying the society.
It is an essential mechanism for maintaining the balance between stability and change in a society.
What happens if the media chooses to ignore citizens’ protests?
How can civil discourse take place?
How can conflicts be resolved?
Are we witnessing the engineering of a massive protest movement that will have to turn to violence to capture the attention of the msm.
I hope not.
Expect the MSM to yawn
Stay tuned. Get involved.
************************ Take Action *************************
Search the Internet for “Tea Party Protests” to locate the many centralized websites that serve as clearinghouses for tea party locations. Make contact with the organizers to verify details.
Note: If you have the opportunity to attend one of these protests, do your community a favor and put on your ‘Citizen Journalist’ hat and take photographs/videos. Try to get an idea of how many people attended this event. Then, locate websites on the Internet that are seeking photos, videos, and details about the protests. Pass on your information.
Posting the pictures and videos give more of a real-life feel to the events and the viewer can see some of the essence of the events.
For those of you who are not the ‘protestor’ type or who want to but can not attend any of the rallies, consider doing what many activists throughout the country are planning to do:
All Americans are being asked to send a TEABAG (photos, drawings okay) to Washington , D.C. by April 15th. You do not have to enclose a note or any other information unless you choose to do so.
Send it to:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington , D.C. 20500 …
MORE ACTION:
Contact your senators and your representative right now by phone or email.
It should take less than five minutes of your valuable time.
If you don’t know who your senators or representatives are,
General phone numbers:
Senate switchboard: 202-224-3121
House switchboard: 202-225-3121
White House switchboard: 202-456-1414
Program these numbers into your cell phones so you can contact your legislators 24 / 7 / 365.
Save the Senate and House websites on your desktop for quick reference.
************************ Updates Below *************************
UPDATE X X l
November 10, 2009
A Tea Party Registers in Florida
By Ben Smith
Excerpts:
”A Florida conservative has registered an official “Tea Party” with the office of the Secretary of State, and is promising to run candidates against Republicans and Democrats in state and national races.”
“The current system has become mired in the sludge of special interest money that seeks to control the leadership of both parties. It’s time for real change,” says Orlando lawyer Frederic O’Neal, the new party’s chairman, who couldn’t be reached immediately by phone, in a press release.”
End of Excerpts.
Do you think that now – MAYBE…just MAYBE - the mainstream media will start paying more attention to the Tea Party movement?
Here is some background information on the Politico journalism organization.
UPDATE X X
November 4, 2009
Check out what some Ron Paul supporters (including many unaffiliated-independent voters who strongly support the Tea Party Tax Protest movement) have been up to lately:
Stay tuned…Learn more at thisnovember5.com
Note:
Click here if you have trouble accessing this embedded video.
UPDATE X l X
October 21, 2009
Language warning.
This voter is…putting it as mildly as I can…A N G R Y.
How many more people are there out there that share her sentiments?
Can this help to shed more light as to why the Tea Party movement is continuing to grow in the USA?
Language warning.
UPDATE X V I I l
October 16, 2009
The San Francisco Chronicle posted this little tid bit about President Obama’s recent fundraising trip to San Francisco to collect $ 2 million for the Democratic Party.
Included in this post are some reasons why the President changed his mind at the last moment and did not make any public appearances during his visit.
(Hint: Tea anyone? )
UPDATE X V I I
August 7 2009
The protests evolve as they continue…
The reporter questioned Nancy Patricia D’Alesandro Pelosi – the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives- about the mass citizen protests going on in our country.
He asked: “Do you think there is legitimate grassroots opposition going on out there?” (0:21)
Watch and listen to Nancy Pelosi’s response…
Note: In case you can’t access this embedded youtube video,Click here
Nancy Pelosi has formed an opinion about the entire protest movement (and has resorted to name-calling and ridiculing participants) based upon the actions of a few ‘animated’ protesters?
Where did these few ‘animated protesters’ come from?
What about the rest of the hundreds of thousands of peaceful middle class Americans who are protesting the state of health insurance in the US?
Are they part of an astro-turf movement too?
Are they members of the NAZI party?
Is it possible that someone is ‘playing both ends against the middle”?
Are we seeing citizens being divided so they can be conquered?
Read the following two articles (see below) for yourselves and decide.
Article 1- Source: Huffington Post
Unions to take on Conservative Groups Town Hall
Excerpt:
”The nation’s largest federation of labor organizations has promised to directly engage with boisterous conservative protesters at Democratic town halls during the August recess. In a memo sent out on Thursday, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney outlined the blueprint for how the union conglomerate would step up recess activities on health care reform and other topics pertinent to the labor community. The document makes clear that Obama allies view the town hall forums as ground zero of the health care debate.”
Read the rest of this article that identifies – right at the start- the protesters as being
BOISTEROUS C O N S E RV A T I V E S .
I could be wrong but from what I have seen and read (non msm sources) , it appears to me that the protesters (including many Tea Party Tax protesters) may just be average US citizens….members of the dirt poor, poor, middle class, rich socio-economic levels…
Article 2- Source: BusinessWeek
Now, read the following Businessweek ( 8/6/09 edition) cover story titled: The Health Insurers Have Already Won-
How UnitedHealth and rival carriers, maneuvering behind the scenes in Washington, shaped health-care reform for their own benefit
Excerpt:
”As the health reform fight shifts this month from a vacationing Washington to congressional districts and local airwaves around the country, much more of the battle than most people realize is already over. The likely victors are insurance giants such as UnitedHealth Group (UNH), Aetna (AET), and WellPoint (WLP).
The carriers have succeeded in redefining the terms of the reform debate
to such a degree that no matter what specifics emerge in the voluminous bill Congress may send to President Obama this fall, the insurance industry will emerge more profitable. Health reform could come with a $1 trillion price tag over the next decade, and it may complicate matters for some large employers.
But insurance CEOs ought to be smiling.”
Again, I ask…
Is it possible that someone is ‘playing both ends against the middle”?
Are we seeing citizens being divided so they can be conquered?
UPDATE X V I
July 1, 2009
Thousands of Tea Party protests –organized by various groups around the country-are scheduled to take place this Fourth of July weekend.
Refer to here, here , and ,here for details on the various activities being planned.
Many Tea Party organizers were forced to cancel at the last moment when city officials got wind of the number of anticipated participants.
Check out what happened in Atlanta recently. Atlanta has the distinction of holding one of the largest ‘April 15’ tea party protests in the country (over 20,000 people participated in this event).
Here is an excerpt of an article written in The American Thinker- a daily conservative website which is referenced frequently on The Rush Limbaugh Show as well as the New York Times, Le Monde, and The Guardian newspapers.
Excerpt:
With as many as 20,000 people in attendance, the Atlanta Tea Party on April 15 was one of the largest and most successful Tea Parties in the country. The Atlanta Tea Party on July 4, 2009 had been expected to be just as large. Unfortunately, plans have changed. Simon Property Group has forced the cancellation of the Atlanta Tea Party.
The Atlanta Tea Party was forced to cancel its Independence Day celebration in Gwinnett, after losing its location due to the objection of Gwinnett Place Mall (a Simon company.) The Tea Party had been scheduled to take place in the parking lot of the old Macy’s building at Gwinnett Place since March.
“It is unfortunate the event had to be canceled,” said Julianne Thompson, event co-organizer. She continued, “The old Macy’s building is on private property, and not owned by Simon Malls, however the mall manager asked the property owner and I to come in the office on Thursday of this week [June 18], and told us Simon does not want political events on its property. They were also concerned about the fact we were using the term ‘protest.’ Although the event was on private property, the mall was able to assert authority on the matter due to reciprocal property easement agreements.”
End of excerpt.
Read the rest of this interesting article –in which the author follows the money trail and connects the dots.
UPDATE X V
June 19, 2009
Perhaps this may help explain just some of the reasons as to why some people feel so strongly about supporting the Tea Party Tax Protest movement.
Perhaps this may also help to explain why the media REFUSES to focus attention on it other than to deride its significance:
There are very few movements more threatening to dishonest political leaders than a revolt led by the middle class.
In case you have difficulty retrieving this embedded youtube video, click on the following direct link
Hat tip to RG in PA for sending me link to this video!
UPDATE X I V
4/20/09
Who really started the Tea Party Tax Protest Movement in our country?
This is just idle curiousity on my part – prompted by an interesting editorial that appeared in today’s online edition of SCV’s hometown newspaper-
The Signal .
The editorial, written by Steve Lunetta is titled The SCV ‘Tea Party’
Is this really an ‘astro-turf’ movement started by the Republican Party leadership or by rich people who want to get out of paying higher taxes?
Listen to what U.S House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has to say about this.
What role-if any- did the Libertarian Party members have in growing this movement? (Refer to The Signal article-bloggers’ comments-for excellent weblinks.)
What about the citizens who participated in the protests but don’t belong to either of these two parties-what does this mean?
Does it matter who started it-why or why not ?
And lastly, what happens next with regards to the nurturing and growth of this movement? Steve has an excellent suggestion on this point.
As the various diverse leaders (diverse with respects to party affiliation, education and/or socio-economic levels etc…) of the Tea Party Tax Protest movement proceed to their next stages, I would advise them to pay notice to blogger Brad’s warning:
“There are people out there who would love to weaken and ultimately get rid of this Tea Party Tax Protest movement and the first way to do this is to get people arguing with each other about who should get credit for starting it. The easiest way to conquer a group is to divide it first…”
UPDATE X I I I
4/19/09
Are we witnessing the start of a nasty distortion campaign?
Is someone trying to make the Tea Party Tax Protest movement appear toxic?
Is this nothing more than defamatory propaganda?
For those of you who attended these Tea Party Tax Protests- what do you think? Does what Garofalo say have any validity?
Maybe I am wrong, but I always thought that a major reason for this movement was economic-based
Follow the link to:
When Did Your County’s Jobs Disappear? An interactive map of vanishing employment across the country By Chris Wilson, Slate
(Data source: local area unemployment statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Note: Slate is a current affairs and culture web magazine (updated daily) created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley and initially owned by Microsoft ( MSN). In 2004, it was purchased by the Washington Post Company. It is now managed by The Slate Group, an online publishing entity created by the Washington Post Company to develop and manage web-only magazines.The magazine covers politics, arts, culture, sports and news. Slate is viewed by many as having a politically liberal focus and editorial slant.
UPDATE X I I
4/16/09
This short Associated Press article (reprinted in the Santa Fe New Mexican) provides one of the best summaries that I have read which discusses the variety of reasons people participated in Tea Parties in New Mexico-and by extension- throughout the country. Note the reasons given, socio-economic levels of some of the respondents, their political party affiliations etc…
I am thinking out loud here but…
Could the Tea Party phenomenon help fuel the SERIOUS growth of a MAJOR ‘Third Party’ movement in this country ?
But wait…maybe I am wrong???
Here is Los Angeles Times’ totally different take on the April 15 Tea Party Protests:
“Republicans stage ‘tea party’ protests against Obama” By Michael Finnegan and Janet Hook
April 16, 2009
Honestly…this is the actual headline.
Here is an excerpt from the article:
“Republicans sought to ignite a popular revolt against President Obama on Wednesday by staging “tea party” protests across the nation to demand lower taxes and less government spending — but the tactic carried risk for the party.”
At least they covered some of the Tea Party protests this time…
Enough said.
Read the article.
UPDATE X I
4/15/09
WARNING: Satire Alert!
This is real professional journalism-at its best. Thanks CNN!
UPDATE X
4/14/09
Look at what is on some people’s agenda tomorrow…
Is ‘getting less funding for the government ‘ the only objective of the Tea Party Tax Movement?
The people planning to ‘crash’ the Santa Monica Tea Party appear to think so….
This ‘party-crashing’ group of citizens (see below) supports the end of funding for wars and Wall Street and… the beginning of funding the needs of the people ???”
Wait…did I read this correctly?
Has everyone completely stopped listening to each other?
There is a great miscommunication / misunderstanding going on here between these two groups.
There are many Tea Party participants who want the same thing as the ‘party crashers’ and vice-a-versa.
The two groups share some complimentary objectives in their mission statements so I ask-why is the group below planning to C R A S H the Tea Party? The two groups’ objectives ARE NOT mutually exclusive.
Shouldn’t these groups be working TOGETHER?
From the website:
Santa Monica Tea Party
Wednesday, April 15th 2009 4:00–5:00 PM
Santa Monica, CA
The Santa Monica Tea Party of 2009 and Tea Parties all across America are being organized by friends of Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly, all about getting less funding for government. Let’s show up with a better message: STOP funding wars and Wall Street, and start funding the needs of the people– health care, education, and a green economy. Join us as we crash their party.
Location:
Santa Monica Pier
100 Colorado Ave.
Santa Monica, CA
90401
Link to the website to read the rest.
Here is another interesting read.
dailykos website:
An excerpt from the blog author’s post:
Planning Fun with Teabaggers!
“Tomorrow, my husband and I will be venturing into the wilds disguised as a news crew to do some in person interviewers with teabaggers here in [State Redacted] (if we can find any). We’ve got some questions lined up to ask, but I’d love to get suggestions!
The great thing about owning professional video equipment is that armed with it, you can pass yourself off as being a professional news crew pretty easily.
So tomorrow, [Fake Station Name Redacted] is going to send a cameraman and on air news personality out into the field to cover this “teabagging” phenomenon.
We’re going to ask open ended questions that seem to have a slight conservative bent to (hopefully) get them to open up and just start ranting. Then, we take any examples of racism, hatred, ignorance, and stupidity that we catch on camera and make a little movie out of it. Probably a YouTube special. “
Read the rest of that post.
UPDATE I X
4/12/09
It seems that HuffPo has finally started paying attention (in a non-derisive sort of way) to the Tea Party Tax Protest.
Gay Activists Plan Their Own Tea Party At Boston Harbor Written by Arthur Delaney in today’s edition of the Huffington Post.
From the article:
“Tea party protests won’t be limited to the rightward-leaning, anti-spending, anti-tax crowd come April 15. In Massachusetts, the LGBT community is planning to reenact the Boston Tea Party to protest the tax code’s unequal treatment of same-sex couples. Similar protests are also planned for post offices across the country.
Note: The Huffington Post (a.k.a. Huffpost or HuffPo) is a liberal website (daily) founded by Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington and Kenneth Lerer. The site covers a wide range of topics (in the form of news stories, editorials and actual original news coverage) including politics, entertainment, media, living, business, and environmental protection. It serves as a counterpoint to conservative news collection websites.
UPDATE V I I I
4/11/09
I like Rachel Maddow. Is she misinformed, completely ignorant, or is she being paid to say this?
Watch this You tube video and decide for yourself.
“First they ignore you” Check
“Then they ridicule you” Check
“Then they fight you“
“Then you win.”
Mahatma Gandhi
UPDATE V I I
4/08/09
ACORN, Huffington Post Plan to Disrupt Tax Day Tea Parties
Source: By Jeff Poor – The Business and Media Institute which is connected with
The Media Research Center (MRC)- a conservative content analysis organization founded in 1987.
The group’s mission statement, according to its website, is “to bring balance and responsibility to the news media”. It does this by cataloging and reporting on what it asserts to be widespread liberal media bias in the United States press. It provides a counterpoint to what Factcheck.org (impartial) and Mediamatters.org (liberal/progressive) come up with.
Note: Although these three organizations profess to conduct content analysis, fact checking, monitoring etc…the readers should verify information they present to you. During the campaign season I found several errors in information presented by Media Matters For America and Fact Check. I e-mailed my findings to these organizations and they never retracted their information nor did they respond to what I wrote. To this day, I remain firm in the integrity of my findings. I never contacted The Business and Media Institute because…I had no reason to.
UPDATE V I
4/01/09
BREAKING NEWS: Hundreds of Iowans thrown out of public hearing
BY JASON CLAYWORTH MARCH 31, 2009
Excerpt:
“More than 500 people who are upset with a plan to change Iowa’s tax laws were cleared from a hearing tonight at the Iowa House after they interrupted multiple times.
House Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, cleared the crowd at about 8:30 p.m. The decision brought about loud protests as the crowd was escorted from the chambers by Iowa State Patrol officers.”
End of excerpt
Another Tea Party Tax Protest group in the making?
Stay tuned…
UPDATE V
3/30/09
Local SoCal Tea Party Protest.
Learn more.
Visit www.teapartyscv.com
Hat tip to www.scvtalk.com for this link.
UPDATE IV
3/30/09
Cape “tea party” canceled; City fears too many attendees
Citizens belonging to a variety of political parties are questioning if the Cape Coral City (FLA) Council members are familiar with the First Amendment in our Bill of Rights. This news item is spreading like a wildfire throughout the blogosphere- Conservatives, Moderates, Liberals- makes no difference.
The Constitution does not allow ANY modification, changes, conditions, or cost associated with the right (not privilege) to gather, complain, or seek redress of grievances we have with our government.
So…what is happening in Cape Coral City Florida?
Read this web article posted on the CBS-affiliated WINK-TV’s .
By WINK News
Story Updated: Mar 29, 2009 at 8:24 AM EDT
CAPE CORAL, Fla. – A tea party to protest government spending and taxing is canceled. Canceled by the government
UPDATE I I I
3/22/09
Check out this amendment
that was ‘hidden’ in the crevices of the GIVE Act wording (see below for OpenCongress summary) which was passed by the House this past Wednesday (3/18).
Read closely the wording on H Amdt. 49 os HB 1388. revoking your right to assemble or protest…
“Amendment to prohibit organizations from attempting to influence legislation; organize or engage in protests, petitions, boycotts, or strikes; and assist, promote, or deter union organizing.”
I could be wrong B U T…wouldn’t that make Tea Parties illegal???
If HB 1388 passes with Amendment 49 included- I guess we can pretty much ‘kiss our First Amendment rights goodbye…
The senate is due to vote on this bill this Monday 3/23. Stay tuned…
Follow this bill’s status through the RSS feed link provided on the main page of SCV Journal.
UPDATE I I
3/21/09
You have to read this reprint from the Huffington Post to believe it.
At least they are not ignoring the movement.
Enough said…
Hilarious Hypocrisy of the GOP’s So-Called ‘Tea Bag Revolution’ By Bob Cesca, Huffington Post. Posted March 20, 2009.
UPDATE I
3/21/09
Thousands (Est 3,000) Rally Against Stimulus Plan At ‘Orlando Tea Party 3/21/09 channel 13 Central Florida News
Orlando event youtube
OpenCongress Summary:
The Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act would dramatically increase funding for AmeriCorps, with a goal of expanding from 75,000 volunteers to 250,000. The bill also would increase education funding and establish a summer service program for students, paying $500 (which would be applied to college costs) to high-school and middle-school student who participate. The bill would also expand service options for seniors and veterans.
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