Recess Rally Tea Party On Health Care Reform -- Greater New Orleans Area

A few pics from yesterday's successful Tea Party in Metairie, Louisiana (in the 93+ degree heat!).

One pic shows Dr. Glenn Dubroc, one of our organizers and very knowledgeable speakers on health issues, taking a pic of "his first Angry Mob" from the podium. Heh. Another depicts the "loyal opposition" -- 3 folks across the street, one in a wheelchair, one in a stroller. The remainder are crowd and sign shots, one taken from the 3d level of the Macy's parking deck (where we had done a little shopping, so we were legitimately entitled to park there!).

One estimate puts the crowd at 1,200 (there were lots of folks bunched up in the all-too-precious shade beneath the trees). Our local newspaper, the Times-Picayune, actually printed a picture of the crowd for a change, but mistakenly captioned it to state that Senator David Vitter (R-LA) had organized the protest. *CHOKE* The organizers firmly told his office, when said office called to inquire about a publicity opp, that the Senator was welcome to attend, but that he, like any other elected official, would not be given the opportunity to speak. And the organizers remained true to their word! Let's see what the Times-Pic does in its itty-bitty, teensy font, page 53 retraction.

**UPDATE** We overwhelmed the Times-Pic phones! Check out yesterday's post!

Ramirez Strikes Again, and Other Stuff

There were, literally, hundreds of folks spilling out the door at this morning's Town Hall on health care with Senator David Vitter. I couldn't even find a parking place, so I didn't stay. From the news accounts, however, my concerns were well-represented.

Besides, not getting in kept my blood pressure in check, plus the time to go get my new license plate and purty toenails!

Da Mobsters, Up Close and Personal

Oh, this is just too good.

Photographic documentation of The Mob at work against our government.

I think I know some of those guys! Oh, wait. I am one of those guys.

(Thanks, Dana.)

Independence Day Tea Party!

Our Greater New Orleans Tea Party went to Baton Rouge to participate in their Independence Day event at the state capitol. It was 99 in the shade, but a good crowd of 1,000-ish showed up.

Among the speakers was Gisela Chavalier, a naturalized American citizen, native to Cuba. She told her story -- of growing up as Cuba moved from democracy to socialism to communism -- and warned about the signs she sees here of the same path. Very moving -- and downright scary.

One of our GNO leaders, orthodontist Dr. Glenn Dubroc, made a presentation on healthcare reform. He noted not only the shortcomings of the President's plan, but also offered a few solutions to rising healthcare costs, such as the Cato Institute's proposal for Health-Status Insurance, and even medical malpractice tort reform. Clearly, something must be done to bring down healthcare costs, but we must think long and hard before jumping into a single-payer system or rationing of service. Congress just simply has to understand that haste makes waste -- just look at the Stimulus! But I digress . . . .

As our gathering was only a few blocks away from Baton Rouge's official 4th of July celebration on the Mississippi River, we got a few lagniappe sideshows, such as an F-15 fighter jet fly-by, a Confederate Air Force fly-by, and a hot air balloon float-by! Pretty cool! There were LOTS of young families there, kids running all over the capitol lawn and rolling down grassy hills, and at least one dog -- ours -- who weighed in on the healthcare issue. You can see his position in
the pic above. At least one commenter has said that he can't agree with Bouie's position! Sorry about this, Bou, but I have to go along with the commenter.

With family so far away, it was a nice, patriotic way to pass an Independence Day in the company of like-minded folks; but, somehow, it wasn't as exhilirating as the Tax Day party. We've been beaten down by Cap & Trade and more politician scandals since then, and the Young President has been on the 2009 World Apology Tour.

It did serve to remind, however, that we can't give up. The price is way too dear -- and I'm not just talking about having to pay more in taxes or carbon fees or whatever. I'm talking about losing our Republic. So, we must take a deep breath, gird our loins, and leap into the fray that is Cap & Trade in the Senate and Healthcare Reform everywhere else. Into the breach, good lads and lassies! Into the breach!

Independence Day!

This will get you thinking patriotic thoughts -- then . . . .

Go Fourth and party like it's 1776!

T.E.A. Party, that is!

See ya in Baton Rouge . . . .

219 - 212: The Numbers Are Closing, Madame Pelosi

These are the 8 Republicans who voted for the American Clean Energy & Security Act (formerly "Cap and Trade"). Shame, shame, shame on them for betraying their constituencies and every single consumer in America: Bono Mack (CA) (202) 225-5330, Castle (DE) (202) 225-4165, Kirk (IL) (202) 225-4385 (And he’s seriously considering running for Senate!), Lance (NJ) (202) 225-5361, LoBiondo (NJ) (202) 225-6572, McHugh (NY) (202) 225-4611, Reichert (WA) (202) 225-7761, Smith (NJ) (202) 225-3765

Once again, Pelosi and her minions browbeat House members into submissively voting for a bill they could not possibly have read -- 1,200 + pages, with a 300 page amendment filed at 3:00 A.M. on Friday! -- and that is packed with pork, hidden taxes, and the death-knell for MILLIONS of American jobs!

A tip of my chapeau to southeast Louisana Congressmen Cao and Melancon, who saw the light in time to cast a "no" vote. Now it's time to start pouncing on the Senate.

Take note, Madame Speaker -- your grip on the throat of the House is slipping. When you have to drag a Kennedy out of rehab to shore up your numbers, the scales are falling from the eyes of the bewitched.

Simon Property Group Tries to Take Atlanta's Teapot Off the Burner

The Simon Property Group ("SPG") recently leaned on a neighbor and revoked permission for the Atlanta Tea Party 4th of July event, scheduled since March, to use its easements to access property at the Gwinett Place Mall. Fortunately, the expected 20,000 - 30,000 Tea Partiers will be able to join another nearby Tea Party. One of the organizers stated:

"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."

American Thinker has an idea why this happened:

"Following the money, connecting the dots:

Gwinnett Place Mall shut down the Atlanta Tea Party.
Simon Property Group owns Gwinnett Place Mall.
Melvin Simon (a Forbes 400 billionaire) is Co-chairman of Simon Property Group, Inc.
Melvin Simon has provided large political contributions to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Al Franken, John Edwards, the DNC and many other Democrats and Democrat organizations.
Melvin Simon was a major contributor to Barack Obama inaugural committee and has given at least $1 million to the William J. Clinton foundation.
Melvin's wife, Bren, personally donated almost $100,000 to various political candidates, was a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton's presidential bid, and contributed to President Obama's inaugural committee."

Doesn't want political events on its property, my sweet Aunt Fanny. How many politicians have cut ribbons and fund-raised at malls across America?

I emailed corporate asking for locations of their properties that I can boycott -- I doubt I'll get a reply. Using their website, however, I learned that SPG owns/manages Esplanade Mall in Kenner, LA, and McCain Mall in North Little Rock, AR, among other places. I think I'll drop a little love note to the malls' management, advising them that I choose to shop elsewhere because of SPG's politics, specifically concerning the Atlanta Tea Party. Care to join me?

Contact Simon Properties.

Senator Turns Atlanta Tea Partier In to the FBI

Smshirk of Atlata posted a Discussion topic on the Tea Party Patriots main page. You may read it here.

It seems that Rhode Island Senator, Sheldon Whitehouse, with whom he had engaged in a spirited correspondence, turned him in to the FBI as a suspected extremist. An agent actually showed up at his door! Fortunately, the agent was reasonable and polite.

Nonetheless, this point is -- smshirk thought twice before feeling comfortable about writing to his Senator again.

We must not allow ourselves to be silenced. Let me say that again, a little louder: WE MUST NOT BE SILENCED.

Smshirk didn't allow himself to be silenced. I think I'll go write a little love note to some folks in D.C.

Memorial Day: A Toast to the Fallen

We honored our Fallen Warriors yesterday, and kept the spark of NOLA's Tea Party Movement glowing at the (world's longest name for an event) Greater New Orleans Memorial Day Constitutional Tea Party Picnic. Good fellowship, interesting speeches, readings by schoolchildren, recognition of Veterans, and a Memorial service for those who sacrificed their lives that we -- and those who call us friend -- might live our lives in freedom's fold. I forgot to bring a floral tribute, so I made a daisy chain of clover flowers to place beneath the poster. Somehow, Memorial Day this year feels like more than just the day that the pools open.

Hot Air posted commentary and several photos of the Memorial constructed on the site struck inside the Pentagon by the cowards of 9/11. Commemorated are The Fallen, service members and civilians alike. It's a very moving piece and worth the view.

A day for reflection, gratitude, and not just a small measure of uncertainty about the future.

Nancy, With the Lying Eyes

Saved to my Documents folder as "Lying Pelosi Letter" and mailed this afternoon:

Dear Speaker Pelosi:

I write to you again as an active participant in the T.E.A. Party movement, and as a concerned citizen. You are the leader of my House of Representatives and third in presidential succession. As such, you are answerable to me even though I do not live in your District.

Recently many people have become confused and concerned about national security, in no small part because there are lingering doubts about who said what, when, in connection with enhanced interrogation techniques employed against suspected terrorists. You are one of the "whos;" the Central Intelligence Agency is the other.

Today, I watched televised accounts of your press conference. You and your entourage skirted and refused to answer questions about those lingering doubts. In fact, you noted that you will be answering no further questions about the matter in the future. That will be a mistake.

If the C.I.A. lied to you, and continuously lies to Congress -- as you have stated on more than one occasion -- the American people deserve to know. We simply cannot have prevaricators among those who are responsible for our national and domestic security. We cannot witness as our elected officials -- or our citizens -- become the victims of deceit.

I am certain you are as concerned about this issue as is the rest of the country.

Therefore, I ask that you initiate an investigation into these allegations and demand the release of contemporaneous C.I.A. meeting notes about the 2002 briefings in which you participated. The sooner, the better.

Sincerely,

cc: Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao, Rep. Vic Snyder, President Barack H. Obama

Now, will someone please help me extract my tongue from my cheek?

Memorial Day Constitutional Tea Party Picnic!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJHKtLnT0Ak

(I'm not sure why this just printed the link. This is a funny poke at government spending).

Your Government is looking out for you. Not.


Head on down to West End Park from 11:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 24th, for our Memorial Day Constitutional Tea Party Picnic! Bring your own food and drinks, hear some patriotic music and a few NON-POLITICIAN speakers, and participate in a Tribute to our Veterans at 2:00. Other activities are planned for kiddos, too.

Keep our momentum going!

Ya Gotta Wonder What He Was Thinking . . .

Remember this picture? The Tax Day T.E.A. Party sign?

Someone stole it.

It was about 15 feet from the Neighborhood Watch sign.

I'll just get over the theft if the thief plants it in his yard. Or mails it to Congress.

Going to Gitmo: Part Deux

Dropped in snail mail today:

President Barack H. Obama
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear President Obama:

I am writing to you once again as an Independent voter from Louisiana. As you might surmise from the watermark on this page, I was an active participant in the New Orleans Tax Day Tea Party -- one of those "folks waving tea bags around."

On April 15th, your economic advisor, Jared Bernstein, announced that you were unaware of the many Tea Parties taking place in small towns and large cities all across the nation; but, in your First-100-Days Town Hall Meeting in Missouri, you not only acknowledged the Tea Parties, you actually proceeded to mock both the participants in and the significance of Tea Parties. Unfortunately, in your belated effort to smile, nod, and belittle the grassroots Tea Party movement, you chose to miss the point intended by most Tea Partiers -- or, worse, you chose to mischaracterize it.

As a consequence of your words at the Town Hall Meeting, I am indeed gratified to learn that you are "happy to have a serious conversation" about the issues facing the nation which you believe to be the most urgent -- your holy trinity of healthcare, energy and education, joined by Social Security during your performance in Missouri. I am most certainly pleased that you and "Claire" are working diligently to audit all federal spending, even though you didn't suggest what might be the outcome of that audit. I am thrilled beyond belief that you sent the world notice from Missouri that you intend to have a "serious discussion" about how to reduce health care spending -- open, thorough, and genuine debate are the hallmarks of democratic deliberation -- instead of rolling out another juggernaut like you did with the Recovery Act. That is what you meant by that comment about "serious discussion," isn't it, Mr. President?

But, then you suggested that the Tea Parties were all about -- and only about -- the Recovery Act. Wrong.

The ill-thought-out, helter-skelter overspending embodied in the Recovery Act is certainly an element of "the point" of the Tea Parties. What you must come to understand, however, is that "the point" is most assuredly not only about the Recovery Act. The passage and signing of the Recovery Act were simply the tipping point.

In April, the implementation of the Recovery Act was coupled with teasers of what other spending plans you and Congress had yet to announce. Add that fact to the rapid growth of the federal government in the mere first weeks of your administration, together with overt steps in Congress that threaten individual freedoms contained in the Bill of Rights. When all these straws came together, the Recovery Act broke the camel's back.

We camels -- we defenders of the Constitution -- coalesced, we spoke, and our numbers grow daily. That is another point. Our numbers grow daily.

Your administration's condescension to the patriotic men and women who serve in our military is deplorable; its social agenda to "spread the wealth" is a turn to the "failed policies" of former first-world nations. You and the Congress have corrupted the spirit of volunteerism with the passage of the Kennedy Act. The road upon which you and the Congress have placed the country is heading straight toward the destruction of the Republic by centralizing too much power in Washington in defiance of the Constitution.

You were elected to be our president -- a leader -- not our nanny or our omniscient exalted ruler. Please start listening to all American citizens and assume the appropriate presidential role as conceived by the Framers.

Sincerely,

Send cookies to my cell at Gitmo, and tell my family I love them.

Crossposted here.

Obama-Speak: He's Willing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auZt5DVIl50

"Campaign speech" #eleventy-twelve in Missouri on his 100th day in office = mischaracterize, deflect, rag on FoxNews, pander to social engineers.

We T.E.A. Partiers seem to have caught the attention of the Young President. Now he needs to learn to listen to what we're saying.

Come to school, Young Mr. President, but be aware that you may have to sit in the corner and stay in for recess if you continue to mock us.

100 Days at 100 Miles Per Hour

And put a little T.E.A. in that I.V. .

Would that we could . . . .

A Constitutional Convention? A Federalism Amendment?

Randy Barnett, a Constitutional Law prof at Georgetown, published an op-ed piece in the April 23, 2009, edition of the Wall Street Journal entitled, "The Case for a Federalism Amendment."

I need to chew on and digest these ideas before formulating an opinion, but it's a very interesting article.

I definitely like the idea of repealing the 16th Amendment and eliminating income taxes, but a constitutional convention might open the door to every nutjob special interest group in the world. I also like the idea of restricting the federal courts' torturous interpretation of the Commerce Clause to get Congress's hooks into anything it chooses. Taxes other than the income tax should be examined and eliminated, i.e., capital gains and estate taxes. Legitimate study and debate should be engaged concerning a Flat Tax or a Fair Tax. These "income-based" taxes could be considered in addition to, or in lieu of, a federal excise tax.

I like a re-affirmation of states' rights and home rule for non-enumerated powers, as the Founders intended. Hello, 9th and 10th Amendments, and the Republic! We've missed you!

All in all, this is an intriguing prospect, and worthy of serious and legitimate discussion.

Crossposted here.

This Lady "Gets" It: Katrina Pierson at the Dallas Tea Party

I found this posted on I am Simon Jester. This "just a Mom" rocks the Dallas Tea Party. What an elegant and eloquent address!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV6bNpNU4ls

The Genesis of My BFF Relationship with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and the Young President

Ok, my new plan is to correspond with Washington every couple of weeks to keep reminding them that we're the boss. They need my input, so I'm gonna let 'em have it (Harry Reid and Young President Obama will receive the same letter, as tailored for their positions). Please consider doing the same, or at least come visit me after they throw me under the prison.

This was placed in snail mail today:

April 18, 2009
Dear Speaker Pelosi:

I am a taxpayer in both Arkansas and Louisiana, registered as an Independent voter. You are the leader of my House of Representatives, so I am writing to let you know that I was a participant in the Grassroots 2009 Tax Day Tea Party in New Orleans -- a participant with a purpose.

My purpose was to be part of a message -- a mass message -- to our federal government, enlightening our elected officials that our Constitution is being ignored and our very form of government is being transformed, at breakneck speed, into European statism. Congress should be aware that We, The People, will campaign our hearts out against politicians who fail to listen to, comprehend, and support our message.

I will no longer stand idly by as Congress enacts Bills of Attainder, using the Tax Code to punish a small group of American citizens. I will no longer stand idly by as both Democrats and Republicans race like giggling schoolchildren to enact behemoth spending and budgetary bills that have already mortgaged our grandchildren's future. I will no longer stand idly by as medical decisions are removed from my hands and the hands of my private physicians and turned over to a bureau of the federal government. I will no longer stand idly by watching the first step in the demise of the secret ballot while American workers have no choice but to submit to union thuggery, and more jobs pour out of the country. I will no longer stand idly by as the federal government wrests more and more control over education from the states. I will no longer stand idly by as volunteerism is corrupted into nothing more than government service. I will no longer stand idly by as the Second Amendment is shot full of holes. Ill-conceived and uncontrolled spending will earn my wrath.

I will no longer stand idly by and merely observe as my Republic devolves into an intrusive nanny state, and I certainly will not tolerate a Speaker who dismissively talks down her nose about me. The Tenth Amendment is alive.

I will actively campaign against any Member of Congress who attempts to usurp the power reserved to the states by the U.S. Constitution. I will actively campaign against any Member of Congress who continues to vote on important legislation without adequate study and debate. I will actively campaign against any Member of Congress who continues to ignore the will of her constituency. I will so campaign through the sweat of my brow and the depth of my pocketbook.

On April 15th the world bore witness that I am not alone.

Sincerely,
Terry C. Paulson, J.D. (Mrs. W. A.)

Let's see just how long it takes them to invite me to tour Gitmo.

Cross-posted here.

Tea and Sympathy

Found this on Town Hall. Everyone loves puppies!

NOLA Tax Day Tea Party: A Resounding Success!

My serious post about yesterday's T.E.A. Party will have to wait until tomorrow. Right now, I'm still basking in the afterglow; basking in the exhilaration that my husband and I shared at the Veterans' Memorial on Veterans Avenue in Metairie across the street from a major mall where our economy is stimulated everyday.

We were there with 1,500+ like-minded American citizens who are fed up with Congressional raids on the 10th Amendment and our wallets. (The number of folks who showed up is quite impressive, considering that there were 2 other, separate T.E.A. Parties in Mandeville and Covington just across Lake Ponchartrain). Scores of passing cars honked their accord all the way down the Memorial. There were even 2 Jefferson Parish Police cars stationed nearby to watch after our security. Many people observed the scene from the Macy's parking deck across the street.

Then -- when we got home and watched some of the television coverage (not MSM, obviously) and began to appreciate the massive numbers who took time to "Come Together" (there's a golden oldy Beatles tune!) to vent their outrage, we were overwhelmed.

Okay, I'm getting a little gooshy now, so I'll lighten up until tomorrow and share a few pics of a few of the clever signs.

Cross-posted here.