The Tea Parties. Anyone going?

As most of you have probably heard, there are going to be Tea Parties held throughout the country on April 15. The events are being billed as non partisan though admittedly, conservatives are probably more sympathetic to the cause. That being out-of-control government spending. Actually I like the idea of Liberals and Conservatives putting aside their differences for something this important.

Unfortunately my work prevents me from attending one in my area - Charlotte, NC. I just took an unpaid vacation and cannot afford to stick around until the 15th, but I'm eager to hear about anyone else attending.

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Permalink Reply by Texas Truth on April 10, 2009 at 4:48pm

I am going down to the one in Houston.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Persson on April 10, 2009 at 5:14pm

Glad to hear it Tex. Have a good day.

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Permalink Reply by Maynard on April 10, 2009 at 11:00pm

Seems unnecessarily biased against government spending. They need more balance to attract wider participation.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Persson on April 11, 2009 at 4:25am

Maynard, it's the excessive amount of government spending that is the main point of the protest. Normally it amounts to about 10% of Gross Domestic Product, but now we are in danger of it reaching 25%. The last time it got anywhere near this level is during WWII. This is a debt that our children will pay for the rest of their lives. Also, there is the question of it even being necessary. There are already signs that things are starting to turn around in the economy and almost none of the "stimulus" money has even been spent yet.

When committed Socialist as the Europeans and the Communist Chinese lecture us on the folly of borrowing our way back into prosperity, we ought to take heed. We should learn from the Japanese who tried it in the '90's and got nowhere. They lived through a recession that lasted 10 years.

My point is this goes beyond the usual ideological difference between liberals and conservatives, at least it ought to.

Thanks for replying.

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Permalink Reply by Maynard on April 11, 2009 at 9:12am

Who paid back the WWII debt?

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Persson on April 11, 2009 at 2:43pm

I don't know who paid it back or even who it was owed to - Bond Holders I imagine. My point being, WWII was an exceptional case. The fate of the Free World hung in the balance. I think that the President and Congress are using the state of the economy as an excuse for all this excessive spending. President Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel is even quoted as saying that "you never want to let a crisis go to waste" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yeA_kHHLow).

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Permalink Reply by Hillbilly on April 12, 2009 at 4:35pm

Good point. The people unnecessarily biased against government spending, like Jackie, should be balanced with the people necessarily biased against government spending, like our children.

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Permalink Reply by Robo on April 13, 2009 at 8:20pm

I think you're going to see quite a bit of participation, by both parties. You don't have to be left or right to know when something is going to ruin the US.

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Permalink Reply by Hoosier on April 13, 2009 at 1:23am

The debt from WWII? Well seeing as almost all debt owed by the Allies was owed to the US it's not the same as now. Even back then the borrowers couldn't afford it so we had "Lend-Lease".

It's the only thing that got us out of the Great Depression.

Facism is a word that brings up thoughts of genocide, War, and Nazis. Facism is a political idealogy, Nazis are it's worst case scenario.

What Facism was/is is a hybrid, a idealogy 1/2 Democracy and 1/2 Socialist. Key points being control of banks and major industries while having a free market for consumers and small businesses. Sound famiar?

Mussolini used class warfare, Hitler used race warfare to bring thier ideal of Facism to fruition.

While Facism has become synonomus with Nazism they are seperate but both are still very wrong.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Persson on April 13, 2009 at 7:31pm

All valid points Hoosier and as much as I love history, it is the future that concerns me. This country is in serious danger of going bankrupt. This is not the '40's where we were the dominant industrial power. The world has many other places where they can invest their money.

You are right about Nazism using race, rather than class. Many are not aware of the distinction. Thanks for contributing.

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Permalink Reply by Robo on April 13, 2009 at 8:47pm

Not going to one but I am impressed with how many are being held in California.
Click the map, if the link worked. :???:

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Permalink Reply by Darcy Lagana on April 14, 2009 at 10:55am

Although I believe it is good that people are getting organized, I really hope they are taking a look at the issues. For one, taxes right now is the same as 1955. For 2, if we are going to oppose what is happening, I need to know that we will not return to the facism of the last 8 years, and so far, I don't even see an admittance of a problem.