Tea Party Trip Report

[Jeremy]

I figured this would be a fun post. Today I decided to drive into downtown Rockford to check out one of the first Tea Parties in the nation. Ironically enough I just signed the check to Uncle Sam for my quarterly taxes as well.

It's funny too, because many people who don't follow politics thought I was going to an actual party to sit and eat crackers and sip on tea.

I've never been to a protest in my life, so this was quite interesting. Anyhow, I attended the protest by myself and remained pretty low key and observant. I didn't even have a sign or anything. One thing I did realize though is that there are many people out there far more passionate than I about how badly we the people are getting fukt by the U.S. government.

Many people think the thousands of Tea Parties taking place today and tomorrow are all about Barack Obama and conservatives venting about the election. I didn't see that at all. What I saw was hundreds of American citizens sharing in the same frustrations I have.

The U.S. government is constitutionally supposed to be working for the people. Instead the people are now working for the government with our taxes going up, and the government having Cart Blanche to spend whatever the hell they want and make any decisions they want, regardless of the constitution. This is why the first Boston Tea Party took place originally. People are against taxation without representation. And this my friends is exactly what is happening.

So basically a few people got up and spoke about the history of the United States of America and why the principals of our founding fathers were put in place to begin with. They were put in place to preserve freedom and protect "we the people" from the government owning us. But when our current government is now owning and controlling publicly held companies, this is a scary prospect. Not to mention spending our tax dollars with zero oversight.

Don't even get me started on small business in America.......

After listening to a few people ranting into a megaphone, 250-500 walked through Rockford to the City Hall with lots of protest signs. Once at the city hall people yelled and chanted about taxes. Then we all went back to the starting point, dumped some tea in the river, heard another speach, listened to a lady sing, and it ended with a prayer. <---- I know it's crazy considering we're not a christian nation anymore.

All in all, it was an interesting experience. Regardless of what political party you align yourself with, one thing is certain. Americans have not been this pissed off with our own government is many many years.

So in closing I spent a cold and cloudy Tuesday afternoon in downtown Rockford, Illinois with a bunch of protesters who probably cant afford to pay their tax bills tommorow. :tightlife


Here's some pictures

[Gydian]

TBH, sipping tea and munching some crumpets actually sounds more interesting.

[Jeremy]

Actually sipping on a cold draft beer and eating Buffalo Wings while chatting with Hooters girls sounds even more interesting than that.

[Gydian]

Ok, I'll give you that one. Though the last hooters I went to was in WV and the girls were flat as boards. Vegas was nice though except for the hooker that stole some of my wings.

[PokerNations]

I grew up poor, so had a Democratic leaning at that time of my life. As I aged and experienced life, saw how people abuse various social support systems, etc. I began to understand some of the Republican viewpoints as well.

At the end of the day, I'd personally prefer to see the entire party system abolished. I think all it does is get two sides fighting to make the other look bad, instead of working together for the common good.

I do favor smaller government, because I feel that our government is one of the most poorly managed businesses in existence, with little oversight or checks & balances.

Although I also understand why the people at the top operate things the way they do. There are TONS of Americans that are just plain stupid and don't understand how things work.

They think the government just has these hundreds of billions of dollars to throw at failing companies. They don't grasp that this is OUR money. It's all further leveraging against our future and will devalue the dollar further as they print more of our money to throw on the fire.

We get all up in arms about $200 million in bonuses for companies that have received upwards of $50 billion in bailout funds. The $200 million sum is paltry compared to the rest of the money that's being blown while these companies whine they'll need even more money thrown at them.

The government has essentially gone into everyones pockets without asking us and withdrawn thousands of dollars to throw at companies that no sane investor would put a penny into.

So we have the people too stupid to understand what's really taking place, and then a lot of others that are too apathetic to do much about it. This is the perfect climate for the people in power to continue to expand their control and dominion over "we the people" because it's just too easy for them to accomplish.

Our legal system and tax code is a complete joke. The laws have been twisted in a manner so that only a minority can truly decipher them and wield power.

They could essentially write a law that states:

anyone wearing a green shirt will go to jail

But then 1,000 pages down in the code they could add:

For the purpose of this law, green means pink and shirt means pants and jail means Aruba.

And they can get away with shit like that. It's disgusting and discouraging all at the same time.

[MJ]

Hey Jeremy, get any pics from the tea party? I'm curious how it went down.

[Jeremy]

Here's some pictures

I may drive into Chicago tomorrow for the big tea party if Steve can go. For me, it is more of a life experience just to be a part of the whole movement. Because I think as everyone knows, I hate the U.S. government and their recent decisions. What is transpiring in the U.S. makes no sense right now.

[MJ]

Man the rock river looks high, another flood season (sigh).

"The problem right now is that taxation without representation is in full effect. 99% of American citizens surely wouldn't agree with spending $800 Billion dollars of OUR money on ridiculous earmarks that were never even looked at by legislators.

What is happening is that the government is not working for us anymore, we are working for them, via tax dollars and debt."

^^^ Great quote by Jman on his facebook.