Thursday, April 15, 2010

Minutes from Tax Day rally in DC

Attended Tea Party in DC today with my friend Ron G. We went to the event at Freedom Plaza that started at 11 AM and went until about 2:30.

Had some great discussions with a lot of good people.

Met a woman from Cuba that couldn't believe that in the U.S. she needed to stand up for her freedoms. She escaped this sort of thing.

Ron talked lengthy with a man from Slovakia. He said that they have 70% tax there and they need to stand up in that country.

I passed out around 300-400 GOOOH business cards and a few trifolds.

I was interviewd by reuters. I haven't been able to find the video at http://www.reuters.com

Had a long talk with a good liberal; John. Claimed to be a fiscal conservative and a social libertarian. He was very knowledgeable about politics over the past few decades. He grew up in DC; born on Pennsylvania Avenue. He kept getting into the weeds about issues and I kept trying to stay on the fundamental principles. He asked me to watch Rachel Maddeau on MSNBC for a week.

Tonight I tried to watch her; it was painful. They were portraying the Tea Partiers in a bad light. Stating that people actually paid less taxes this year. A guy she had on was stating that the numbers the right was using for people that didn't pay taxes is incorrect; that more people pay income tax and that they get refunds. I was having a hard time following. Plus, I noticed that they were just comparing last year with this year. That is presuming that last years rate were ok with us. No, this is not true. Our tax policies have been screwed up for years. We need a fair or flat tax. See http://www.fairtaxnation.com/

I think the left just doesn't get it. We are upset with the way things have been going for a long time; not just since Obama has taken office. We just recently have woken up and started paying attention.

I met a Dad and his daughter and son from New Jersey. It was their first time to DC.

I met a young man from Ohio who drove 8 hours by himself, with a sign signed by 198 others.



I met a couple from Boston who had attended the Tea Party last night where Sarah Palin spoke and then drove all night, taking turns driving and sleeping, and arrived around 12:00 PM to join the rally in process at Freedom Plaza in DC.

There were so many good people; the cream of the crop of our society.

We parked way over on the other side of the tidal basin around the Jefferson Memorial.

A boy, looked Indian, asked Ron why he was carrying that flag and Ron took time to explain while his father looked on.

We got some thumbs up and some honks from some guys operating a crane or back-hoe and many cars passing by and joggers. We also got some weird looks. A female cyclist simply said "A**holes" as she rode past us going the opposite direction. I was dumbfounded. Ron shouted back a few things like "oh thats really nice". I mean, why would a fellow citizen say that to two men that took the day off from work to voice our opinions and concerns as part of what we feel is our duty. How immature, rude, and callus.

On the way back, walking from Freedom Plaza to the Washington Monument, Ron wanted a photo in front of a statue, and a security officer told us that we were not allowed to. I started arguing with him and luckily Ron was there to back me off. As soon as we started moving on he got after another guy walking down the sidewalk with a sign. He told him to turn the sign down. What the heck is happening? Do we have free speech?

We made our way to the next block and across the street to the Washington Monument where people were gathering for the evening rally.

Introduction / About

Mission Statement

The mission of this blog is to awake fellow citizens from their comfortably complacent state; to activate them in the cause of
  1. purveying truth
  2. promoting freedom
  3. defending liberty
Bullets for Battle
  • The degree of freedom and liberty that we enjoy is decided by our ability and willingness to detect, decipher, and declare the truth!
  • To choose the right, intelligence, knowledge, and wisdom are armament sufficient.
  • Good will prevail in the battle against evil.
  • God's plan of eternal happiness for his children is ultimately inevitable.
  • Jesus Christ gave us free agency and grace.
  • Our fate lies in our hands!
  • Have Faith!
  • Take Courage!
  • Stand Up!
  • Fight For Your Life!
  • Now!
Battles
  • reduce size of federal government
  • reduce federal interference in state and local government
  • reduce government interference in the marketplace
  • eliminate national deficit
  • reduce federal spending
  • strengthen national defense
  • protect the unborn
  • end manipulation of schoolchildren by utopian planners
  • promote the acknowledgment of a God in our classrooms
  • destroy the myth of man made global warming
  • promote individual responsibility and accountability
  • correct tax system to one of fairness
The quote listed in the header of this blog is an abridgment of a quote of Ezra Taft Benson. Here it is in it's entirety:

In times as serious as these, we must not permit fear of criticism to keep us from doing our duty, even at the risk of our counsel being tabbed as political, as government becomes more and more entwined in our daily lives. In the crisis through which we are now passing, we have been fully warned. There are some of us who do not want to hear the message. It embarrasses us. The things which are threatening our lives, our welfare, our freedoms are the very things some of us have been condoning. Many do not want to be disturbed as they continue to enjoy their comfortable complacency. There can be no neutrality! We are, or we are not, on the side of the Lord! (Ezra Taft Benson, 1973)

Hodgepodge