Posted on 09/12/2009 12:15:36 PM PDT by BenLurkin
On the final stop of the Tea Party Express, activists marched to the U.S. Capitol on Saturday to protest health care reform, higher taxes and what they see as out-of-control government spending.
The conservative advocacy group began its tour in Sacramento, California, and made its way across the country, hosting rallies in about 30 cities. Washington is the final destination.
Demonstrators gathered on the west side of the Capitol on Saturday and the crowd stretched for blocks
At each stop, the tour highlighted members of Congress "who have voted for higher spending, higher taxes and government intervention in the lives of American families and businesses," according to the Tea Party Express Web site.
One woman at the rally summed up her feelings about issues this way: "It's too much too fast." Watch crowds stream into Washington »
A major theme of the rally was the push for less government.
"The government should be doing things that are authorized by the Constitution; they should be doing things that the people want, not things that they just decide are nifty," one demonstrator said. "We can't afford these things anymore.
"The government should be concentrating on cutting spending on all the programs, not thinking of new, wonderful ways of spending more. ... I've voted my whole life. This is the first time in my life I've gotten off the couch and said, 'I'm sick of this. It's only three hours away, and I'm going to be there.'"
Another man said, "We're here to let the government know that we do not want government involvement in our health care, nor do we want the higher taxation that comes along with such a proposal."
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
How to distinguish Liberty from Tryanny:
| Liberty | "Soft" Tyranny | |
| 1 | Rights are inherent in, and unalienable from, individuals | Rights are granted/rescinded by the majority through the government |
| 2 | Fundamental rights are life, liberty, and property (absence of coercion) | Fundamental rights are food, housing, and healthcare (absence of necessity) |
| 3 | Property is owned by individuals who make decisions as to its use, improvement, and transfer | Property is owned by 'the public' with government officials making decisions as to its use, improvement, and transfer |
| 4 | Government exists to protect the rights of individuals | Government exists to plan and direct the resources of society |
| 5 | Government authority is decentralized in a federal system with limited and enumerated powers | Government authority is centralized in a national system with broad and necessarily intrusive powers |
| 6 | Government action is prescribed by rules fixed and announced beforehand | Government action is arbitrary and at the descretion of "czars" and planning boards |
| 7 | Economic activity is driven by a large number of small entities interacting according to simple rules | Economic activity is driven by a small number of large entities operating within the constraints of complex regulations |
| 8 | Effective innovation results from contrarian thinking, individual initiative, and the voluntary exchange of property | Efficient implementation of government planning requires conformity of opinion, collective action, and the coerced transfer of property |
| 9 | Standards of living for the many increase permanently as they utilize improved products and services conceived by the few | Standards of living for the many increase temporarily as they utilize property redistributed from the few |
| 10 | Altruism is using one's own resources in concrete acts to help specific individuals | Altruism is obligating the resources of others for broad-brush programs to help mankind in the abstract |
Rights exists solely as a way to fairly decide whose will shall prevail in cases where two or more people disagree. They do not exist for the purpose of enslaving one person for the benefit of another (e.g., the "right" to free medical care.)
Liberty is the right to do whatever does not infringe the rights of others. Rights empower you to help yourself, free from interference by others.
Tyranny makes you a serf to be used by the elite to further their own power. Once upon a time, the nobility used religion to convince the serfs they had to serve the nobility. Modernly, the elite use good people's feelings of altruism to convince them to enslave both themselves and their neighbors. It's basically the same con game, just using a more sophisticated hook.
Wow!
I bet the MSM reports that "a few hundred" showed up. That is how it always is. If the feminists or gays have a march, they always overestimate the crowd. If conservatives or Christians march, they under report the size, or won't say anything about it all.
I was there for the Stand in Gap rally in 1997. We overflowed the Washington Mall in the biggest single gathering in American history. You know what the MSM reported? The Park Police "don't have a crowd estimate."
Yeah, right.
That can’t be right.
Unbelievable.
Does anyone know how many people showed up? I was out all day and just got home to catch up on this.
I’d like to see side-by-side photo comparisons of the BO “inauguration” turnout with today’s Tea Party turnout.
That’s a keeper.
Sure wish we coulda been there.
We’re there in spirit, though.
I know! It must be an Immigration rally in L.A.
That has got to be the best poster I’ve seen yet.
WOAH!!!!!! Awesome!
My Son and I survived the 15 April Tea Party in DC and the pouring rain. I wish I could be there not but I am 5,000 miles away.
Giving credit where credit is due, without Glen Beck, this would not be happening! Well done everyone, now keep up the pressure!
Great Picture. One question nobody is asking is why Obama took off out of town to make a speech to a paltry 15,000 friends and followers when he knew all these people were coming to town. He should have faced his constituants, not run for cover. I hope that gets some press, but I haven’t heard much on CSPAN Live about it.
“I’d like to see side-by-side photo comparisons of the BO “inauguration” turnout with today’s Tea Party turnout.”
Compare these photos to the airial photos from the civil rights movement in the 60’s!!!
I watched all 2 hours of Glenn’s coverage today. I wish I would have recorded it. Lots of people were thanking him when they’d cut to Fort Worth and other locations.
I’ve seen that photo (post #5) on a couple of threads and people said it is NOT from today.
Is it?
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