April 15, 2009
Laguna Beach Tea Party
While sitting in my office earlier today (shortly after standing in line at the post office to mail my tax filings), I started to hear a bunch of cars honking their horns. After a few minutes I figured I'd go outside and take a look. Here's what I found... Laguna Beach's own Tea Party... a protest against high taxes and government in general:
Here's what The Progress Report had to say about today's nationwide Tea Parties (apparently, there were multiple events across the U.S.):
"While Americans across the country prepare to pay their taxes today, many right-wing activists plan to spend the day dressed in colonial tri-corner hats as they wave tea bags in the air. Conservatives are calling for these "tea party" protests, allegedly modeled on the Boston Tea Party, to oppose President Obama and to denounce taxes. Though the "tea" in tea party supposedly stands for "Taxed Enough Already," no American household or business will face higher taxes this tax day. In fact, the economic stimulus package signed into law by Obama enacted one of the largest tax cuts ever for middle-class families, making good on Obama's campaign promise to cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans. The first benefits from these cuts arrived in paychecks earlier this month. What's more, a recent Gallup poll found that Americans' views of income taxes are among the most positive since 1956. In his budget proposal, Obama has recommended raising the top income tax brackets back to rates under the Clinton administration and closing corporate loopholes, two issues he campaigned on, in order to strengthen America's economy by funding health care, clean energy, and education reform. Well-heeled corporate lobbyists are helping engineer today's "tea party" protests as an act of opposition to the Obama agenda."
You can see more of my photos from today's Tea Party in Laguna Beach by visiting my Facebook Photo Album.
Posted by Mikal at April 15, 2009 6:31 PM
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There are many missing statements of observed fact in ?your? report about taxes and perception of them in this country. Who/what is the ?Progress Report? and why are they so ?report-worthy??
Mikal, do you do any of your own fact-finding on the dollars and sense ? ooops, I mean, cents surrounding this topic of taxes?
A very close friend of mine who processes and manages Payroll stated that this tax ?break? amounts to barely more than $20/week for most Americans. That is not a break at all ? you can?t even treat your family to a full Taco Bell meal with that amount of money.
Raising the tax rates on the perceived ?wealthy?? Interesting point.
Mikal, how much do you make and do you feel that one American should be taxed at 20% and another at 35%?
Additionally, Mikal, how do you even figure out the math of paying back all of the spending that Obama has imposed within his first (not even!) 3 MONTHS in office?? We are in a national deficit ? a huge one. Tax rates MUST go up in order to pay for this ridiculous and out of control spending. No, we may not feel it now but financially minded people know that we will HAVE to PAY FOR IT and SOON.
For those of us that care about our children and grandchildren, we are seeing this trend on National spending as a sad fact that we cannot shelter our future generations from.
And as for all of this crap on Energy reform, clean energy and education? Who are you going to turn to: AL GORE??? Mr. Global Warming after experiencing an extremely cold winter in the US? What credibility does he have? After spending and oil/gas consumption has plummeted with increased prices and the affects of a National recession, thereby reducing fuel emissions??
Sidenote, did you actually BUY any of those energy efficient, coiled light bulbs? They contain MERCURY. After falling for that line of jazz, I promptly took all of these stupid light bulbs back to the store I bought them just so they could dispose of the toxic products and keep them away from my family.
As to education, I recommend that you Mikal and your viewers concentrate on the health, happiness and well-being of your own children. As good parents who are looking out for the best for their children, the education system will right itself. An educator cannot change or correct the horrendous and dysfunctional living conditions of an unsupportive family. If you don?t understand, I suggest you visit a school in your own CA ?hood ? one of the bad ones so you can really understand how gangs/poor living conditions affect a child?s education.
I mean, really! Are you a Socialist Mikal? Do you actually know any of the math behind this National spending catastrophe?
Please site some of your own facts. Your audience deserves it.
EAGLE EYE,
Wow, where to begin? Probably right here...
Go back and read my words word-for-word and you'll see that I shared absolutely no opinion of my own whatsoever in my blog entry. Rather, I simply reported what I observed (without giving my opinion of it) and shared one organization's observation about the nationwide day of protest and issues it feels are related to it. Despite that glaring fact, in your rambling comment, you choose to assume where I stand on a whole host of issues, and you make recommendations in a style and tone that presupposes I would disagree. Rather than ask where I stand, you take an accusatory stance, which quite frankly gets us nowhere.
If you sincerely want me to reply to future questions, ask them in a fair and transparent manner... don't take an accusatory or presupposing tone with me or other commenters, and consider using your real name. I don't know about anyone else but the condescending and assumptive tone doesn't motivate me to engage in serious dialogue with you.
No need for a reply, unless of course you choose to change your approach. If you're just going to post more of the same, seriously, don't bother.
Oh, and for the record, I happen to agree with a good number of the protesters here in Laguna Beach. Not the ones who mix in their messages of hate and ignorance (i.e., "English Only" and personal attacks based on someone's sexual orientation), but the ones specifically related to term limits, pork barrel spending, lack of accountability among many elected officials and career politicians, reckless spending that leads to higher taxes, etc.
Perhaps you should address these observations head on and not hide behind the interpretations of other people.
Whatever, blah, blah with your responses. I obviously got under your skin because when confronted, you automatically harken to the 'safe ground' of some other site's thoughts/opinions/observations.
I suggest you start stating your own opinions because until you do, the opinions of others that you throw out there will be interpreted as your own.
Don't be afraid to state that governmental spending is out of control, that taxpayers are going to have to pay for it somehow, and that this a large American movement driven by a huge populace.
I don't know about you, but I go to the grocery store talk to people there, speak to my co-workers, call into local vendors and with little to no prompting hear the frustration with out current economy and the Federal/State spending that is running rampant right now.
My personal opinion and suggestion to you is that you start imparting some of your own true feelings on your site instead of utilizing others' voices (who seem to be predominantly liberal, in reviewing your archives).
Thanks. Hope you could 'take' that tone. You can't seem to take the 'heat' if you know what I mean.
Sometimes a blog post is just a blog post. A blogger can post a story without having to impart an opinion about it. I think Mikal was just sharing with his readers what was happening in his town and quoting an article. But it's good to know people are paying attention and have something to say about it - that's what the comments are for.
Eagle Eye, you seem to have a huge chip on your shoulder. Obviously, you don't care much for a liberal viewpoint, and that's okay, but don't knock Mikal for sharing that viewpoint, whether he follows it or not. Just because you don't agree with it, doesn't make it wrong. Your comments suggest a tone and opinion that I may not share, but you are free to share it. Perhaps you could start your own blog and call it "I'm Right, You're Liberal, and I Have All The Answers."
Thanks for the pics Mikal. It's fun to see the grass roots coverage of these amazing events that took place nationwide. I heard it was one of the biggest nationwide protests ever! And the main stream media only gave it the time of day :-)
Matt,
You're welcome. Sadly, the message associated with these events got lost in the labeling that occurs when we choose to polarize people because of their political leanings.
Rather than look at and independently evaluate the message, some media decision-makers want to say the message isn't even valid because of a particular news organization's support of it. While I hardly ever agree with the caustic approach to news reporting (it simply doesn't resonate with me), I'm glad Fox promoted and reported on these events.
Like I said in a comment above, anyone who wants to speak up or speak out in an emotionally intelligent and factual manner about reform (i.e., term limits, pork barrel spending, lack of accountability among elected officials and career politicians, reckless spending that leads to higher taxes, and the like) has got my attention and admiration.
mikal and eagleeye -
very entertaining! You need to watch the clip of the CNN reporter being confronted by a tea party protester who failed to cover anti-republican signs. Tried to pull it up but CNN yanked it from every website. Hmmm.
Just how objective is CNN?
yeah, i found the link! check this out...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVNfM0bwmXw
does this blogging group watch CNN?
Greentebagger,
I went in search of the the video, also, and was just about to post a link to it myself. Thanks for beating me to it... it's good for everyone to see and hear what went down for themselves.
CNN is a joke. While they have the largest array of new gathering resources, the network founded by Turner has taken a turn for the worse. It seems the network is interested more in ratings and appearances than it is in detailed news gathering and reporting. (Hold on, Anderson Cooper has to comb his hair while Wolf Blitzer has work on interjecting a sense of urgency into everything.") You see examples of this every day with the editorializing of the day's news or with the misreporting of it in the first place. From sensational headlines and flat-out inaccuracies to incomplete coverage and a complete failure to even cover some of the most pressing stories in the first place, CNN--and many of other 'like' organizations--are quickly drifting down the slippery slope of ratings-driven news. (You know it's bad when they regularly produce segments touting that they were the first cover this story or that story.)
If you've read this blog for any amount of time, you know I have long railed against mainstream media, including the likes of CBS News, ESPN, and others). Examples include:
http://www.belicove.com/archives/beliblog/000034.html
http://www.belicove.com/archives/beliblog/000158.html
http://www.belicove.com/archives/beliblog/000802.html
http://www.belicove.com/archives/beliblog/000902.html
http://www.belicove.com/archives/beliblog/001054.html
Sometimes I seriously have to wonder about the people who make the decisions at news gathering and reporting agencies and organizations; especially the ones on television. Generally speaking, I have a far greater level of admiration and respect for the skills of newspaper writers than I do for television reporters and producers. While both never always get it right or provide complete coverage always, the newspaper people seem to do so more often, in my opinion.
In either case, what the CNN reporter did was over-the-top and inappropriate on so many levels. But to answer your questions--"Just how objective is CNN?" and "does this blogging group watch CNN?"--not very objective at all, and not as much as I believe it once used to.
Mikal
cool, man. people seriously need to understand news sources. that was totally messed up.
The thing I find most interesting about these tea parties is, and this is coming from a conservative (although Flower, err... I mean Eagle Eye, will likely disagree that I am), is the timing. Why not do this 3 or 4 years ago? Oh right, because "our guy" was in the White House.
The beauty of politics is that your guy can do no wrong and the guy on the other side can do no right. It really is that simple! Just pick a side and you never have to think for yourself.
Stu raises an interesting point but not one I wish to pursue, and here's why...
While the underlying motivation for Eagle Eye's interest at this stage of the game begs a great number of questions--because what has been happening at the federal level has been going on for well over eight years now and not just under the current administration--I'm simply glad we're in agreement on a number of issues. We still have the whole issue of 'it's not what you say or ask but how you say or ask it' to deal with (when it comes our eagled-eyed flower), but we're a lot closer than anyone may have thought.
It's through these common threads that the citizenry can rise up and make a true measurable difference. When the Flowers' / Eagle Eye's of the world choose to inject 'your wrong' and 'I'm right' into the discussion (which liberals do just as much as conservatives), we tend to lose focus and direct our energies in a direction that produces nothing more than more partisanship and divisiveness; all the while, elected officials and career politicians at the federal--and in some cases, state--level continue to play by out-of-date and out-of-touch rules and regulations while at the same time behaving like petulant children.
Kumba-ya, my Lord, Kumba-ya, Oh, Lord Kumba-ya.
Who is this Flower???
In reviewing the archives, it does not appear that Stu the Chef Tell voted for our current President while Mikal it appears you did.
Conservatives don't like out of control spending, period.
During the Bush administration, the spending really kicked into high gear after 9-11. National security is most definitely something that must be handled at a National level. No one citizen can pick up and defend themselves single-handed, in the face of an outsider wishing us to do harm.
Stuie and Mikal - you should really check your facts on the source of non-military spending during a Democratic congress as part of the Bush Administration. Not excusable, but very different than what we are seeing today.
I think you should look at Pelosi-ville. She is dangerous, very intellectually dim, and our current leader's main driver in getting the ..... I can't even find the right dispicable word here... 'Stimulus Plan' completed because his ego demanded an achievement by President's Day. Pelosi-rama was the perfect vehicle to that end.
Now, enter our current President. He campaigned on a platform of spending - even in the face of a dire economic situation, and now we are spending money that we don't even have, after we know our pockets are empty.
So here we are. We quickly approach the end of the first 100 days in office and spending is off the charts. Please compare our last President's spending for 8 years vs. the spending done in less than 100 days and extrapolate it out to 4 years in office. It's disgusting and illogical.
When a conservative sits and looks at all of this, first of all, we want to hurl. After that, we start reviewing in detail what we are getting for spending our children and grandchildren's savings. Hmm, we've got infrastructure (who cares, if you don't have a job, what difference does a smooth road make or a new zoo plumbing system?), condoms distributed to pre-college age kids , aid to farmers, rare rat lives being subsidized for survival, African American museums being renovated and lastly (to name a few) tax credits to first time home buyers.
The last time I checked, first time home buyers are not causing the housing inventory glut - 2nd, 3rd and 4th home buyers are stuck. Nothing for them - must not fit into the 'Acorn Model'
Have you even read the 'Stimulus Plan'? Let me tell you, I spent 3 hours of my life that I will never get back reviewing that pile of poop.
Getting off track...
So then I look to National Security with the rest of my family. Castro and Chavez have evidently been awarded the time and attention of our new Leader (what the *&#$@???) and when a US captain is held captive under rogue Pirates, our new leader needs to be called twice to authorize deadly force - after almost one week of the captain drifting in a life boat with no engine and THANK GOD, the Presidential residence declaring the arrival of their new dog!
Whew!
So, no I don't like or agree what is happening with the spending because the 'Tax Break' Mikal highlighted in his first post, just does not add up. This wonderful 'tax break' amounts to less than $20/week in reduced payroll tax - which, by the way, occurs for less over 1 year's time for many people.
At the end of the day, I look to the person who is the leader. I look at Bush who comes from a strong family who I truly believe has a good heart and genuinely wanted the best for his country - whether or not it turned out to be the best plan in the end.
Bush teared up at the National passion that drives this country: Americans by and large work hard, believe in God and prevail.
Then, I look to Obama. He comes from a broken family, does not know what religion he is, has a wife who has had her anti-American sentiments muzzled, and has been chanting doom and gloom for the first 100 days since in office. Where is the faith in the American people? Nowhere! He can't put his arms around it because he feels that America is the problem.
I think that Obama is a confused and inexperienced leader. He has not lead anything prior to entering the office. Sorry, leading a college class does not count.
There are so many other things that need to be uncovered and highlighted here like administration appointees, Homeland Security policy/public statements, inability to speak without a tele-prompter, snubbing the leader of Britain. The list goes on and ON.
But, back to spending. Do you drive yourself into crazy debt when you have no money in your own house? OR, do you cut back and try to save and get the bills paid down?
Mikal and crowd, you really need to get your toughness on because you are acting like a bunch of bullied schoolchildren in a playground who are ready to cry to the Principal.
These are heated, deep-seated discussions about life in a country we love and want to preserve so NUT IT UP people, look to the facts and defend your position!
Well, I'm a week late to the party. I'll blame this uber nasty head cold I've had for far too long.
Had to add my $0.02 (or $0.10 as the case may be). EAGLE EYE, when I read your exchange with Mikal et al as someone late to the party, I can only do so in a very two dimensional world. I know nothing about you, I only see your words as comments on this blog. But I see words that are dripping with contempt, with accusation, with frustration. I, as well as you it seems, and I think a lot of other Americans are frustrated. We live in serious times, and sometimes it seems like the only people that don't get that are our elected representatives. They debate mundane things and do anything to get attention or on the weekend news programs, to name drop, to get elected and stay there, to work the absolute fewest hours possible. Stu nailed it about politics in that when we're polarized by a political party, or by labels like conservative/liberal, we're right, you're wrong rules the day. It's a me versus them attitude that gives no shortage of talking heads the ability to rial people up and suck viewers/listeners into lower level thought processes and sell adds around it.
There is plenty of blame to go around any block in Washington many, many times, and that blame is agnostic. It follows everyone. Bush/Obama. Cheney/Biden. Hastert/Pelosi. Reid/McConnell. The system seems to have been derailed.
But back to Mikal's original post. It was a mention of something happening in his back yard. The fact we can still have things like tea parties in this country--forget the dynamics of who's out there honking horns and holding signs, or what political party is throwing weight behind it, or all of the other polarizing things--is one of the things that American still has going for it. Maybe if all of us would spend less time writing/commenting on blogs and more time taking concrete actions to make American better, we'd see progress. I put myself firmly in that camp.
Finally, I would say 'man up', but as I have no way of knowing your gender, I'll quote you: "NUT IT UP" and put your real name and real face and real identity out there. Everyone loves having healthy conversation, healthy debate, healthy disagreements. The world is better for it. But hiding behind an alias tells me probably more than you know about who you are and what you believe. It's the 2009 version of shooting a man in the back. At least Mikal and crowd have the courage (you may say balls) to discuss things face to face.
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