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It is a wise man who plants a tree in the shade of which he knows he will never sit. -- Greek proverb --

Judge each day not by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant. -- Robert Louis Stevenson --

From On High - Coming to you from a secured redoubt on Big Walker Mountain in the heart of Virginia's Blue Ridge.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Abingdon Tea Party Draws 400

Despite its shaky start, the Abingdon Tea Party protest drew an eye-popping 400 patriots yesterday, according to the Bristol Herald Courier:
Wasting Taxpayer Dollars?
By Debra McCown

Abingdon, Va. – The conservative backlash has begun.

About 400 people filled the green at the Abingdon Farmers Market and another 200 turned out at the Bristol Farmers Market Wednesday to protest massive government spending.

In the spirit of a 1773 protest during which American colonists dumped tea into Boston Harbor to demonstrate their displeasure with British taxation, participants wore tea bags and talked about the sacrifices made for freedom; they said Congress and President Barack Obama’s administration are putting hard-won constitutional liberties in jeopardy.

“Today we’re sending a loud and clear message to our legislators, and our government. The message that we are sending today is that we are tired of your spending. This money comes from us … and we expect you to be frugal with every dime that you spend using our money,” said Michelle Jenkins, who spoke at the Abingdon Tea Party event to cheers and applause.

“The burden of debt is not only ours, but it is on the generations of children in our future. They have tax bills over their head before God even gives them the breath of life into their bodies. …Now that’s taxation without representation.”

The crowds in Abingdon, Bristol, Johnson City and Kingsport were among hundreds that turned out for “tax day tea parties” sponsored by a host of conservative organizations around the nation.

In Bristol, the TEA party acronym stood for “Taxed Enough Already.”

“This is taxation without deliberation, and we will not tolerate it,” said Bristol rally organizer Brian Rieck before throwing two Styrofoam coolers painted to look like boxes of tea into Beaver Creek. “We love our country, and we are here to take it back.” [link]

"This is taxation without deliberation." That's really the crux of it, isn't it? We're not anti-government. We're anti-waste and anti-corruption. And the federal government now, more than ever, represents both.

Great turnout. Great message.

Great day.

4 comments:

Charlie Fugate said...

Oh, but according to DHS we're antigovernment extremists because we happen to favor state and local authority to the bloated federal bureaucracy.

dr00bie said...

Right... anti-waste, anti-corruption... that is why 99% of the idiots that attended these teabaggings voted Bush for 2 terms... since they are soooo very serious about government waste and corruption...

Give me a break.

Sour grapes... that could've summed up the entire article.

Drew

dr00bie said...

Hey Charlie, I would assume that you were supportive of Bush's wiretapping and anti-terrorism programs... which makes your comment all the more rich!

Drew

Anonymous said...

Drew,

Did you see that stat in a newspaper of did you just make it up? I say the people voted for Obama 3-1 and are now upset with whats he's done. And the dems are frightened.

Keep um coming Drew, your sci-fi is a hoot!
...Al...