Tea

[John E]

jwazzz,

The city of Grand Rapids poisons the municipal water with Fluoride. Fluoride is a cocktail of hazardous waste. Do some research or just look at the warning on any toothpaste containing Fluoride.

The Constitution was written to keep the rights of the people. The Constitution was written to keep a government from getting TOO big and becoming rogue. Unfortunately people have not held governments accountable to the Constitution and now We The People have to work extrememely hard to get the relevance of OUR Constitution back. The U.S. Constitution applies effectively for hundreds of people as well as millions of people.

I'm mean spirited? A person that speaks up for their rights under the Constitution is NOT mean spirited.

The Tea Party Patriots Philosophy is as follows:

"Tea Party Patriots as an organization believes in the Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government, and Free Markets. Tea Party Patriots, Inc. is a non-partisan grassroots organization of individuals united by our core values derived from the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States of America and the Bill Of Rights as explained in the Federalist Papers. We recognize and support the strength of grassroots organization powered by activism and civic responsibility at a local level. We hold that the United States is a republic conceived by its architects as a nation whose people were granted "unalienable rights" by our Creator. Chiefly among these are the rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The Tea Party Patriots stand with our founders, as heirs to the republic, to claim our rights and duties which preserve their legacy and our own. We hold, as did the founders, that there exists an inherent benefit to our country when private property and prosperity are secured by natural law and the rights of the individual."

Please do not call us Tea Baggers. If you would like to call the Tea Party Patriots - Toilet Paper People, that is fine with me. We are here to clean up the government crap that they are dumping on us.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/johne777/4470380915/sizes/o/

~John

[John E]

The Declaration Of Independence is very clear that the meaning of creator is the creator of mankind. When and how should their creator and our creator be used? Mute debate.

~John

[John E]

Hmm, I thought Their creator would be used in the 3rd person and our creator in the 1st person. I'm fairly ignorant with regards to grammar but that sounds correct to me.

The Declaration also refers to God. There are many gods but only one God. God is our Heavenly Father. God is what he is, not what people think he is.

Some peoples god is "their father". That god would be the devil. Others may have a different god.

Should gods get in the way of the Constitution? Try, they will. I put our Heavenly Father as the inspiration of OUR Constitution and The Declaration Of Independence.

~John

[jwazzz]

The Declaration Of Independence is very clear that the meaning of creator is the creator of mankind. When and how should their creator and our creator be used? Mute debate.

~John

[John E]

Why then do so many Christians quote the Declaration of Independence as proof that this is a Christian nation and should be governed as such? Terms like "Creator" and "In God We Trust" should apply to everyone's personally held beliefs regardless of what they are but sadly, they have been co-opted by the fundamentalist Christian right and used in ways the founding fathers never dreamed of. Their stances on abortion and equal rights for gays are just a couple examples and I'm guessing that even though you claim that social issues such as these are of no importance at tea party functions, someone like myself - openly gay, pro abortion and an atheist - would be greeted with less than open arms at your next meeting.

[jwazzz]

Tea Party people do not conduct themselves in such manners. IF those things happened, they would be done by agent provocateurs.

~John

[jwazzz]

jwazzz,

The city of Grand Rapids poisons the municipal water with Fluoride. Fluoride is a cocktail of hazardous waste. Do some research or just look at the warning on any toothpaste containing Fluoride.

The Constitution was written to keep the rights of the people. The Constitution was written to keep a government from getting TOO big and becoming rogue. Unfortunately people have not held governments accountable to the Constitution and now We The People have to work extrememely hard to get the relevance of OUR Constitution back. The U.S. Constitution applies effectively for hundreds of people as well as millions of people.

I'm mean spirited? A person that speaks up for their rights under the Constitution is NOT mean spirited.

The Tea Party Patriots Philosophy is as follows:

"Tea Party Patriots as an organization believes in the Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government, and Free Markets. Tea Party Patriots, Inc. is a non-partisan grassroots organization of individuals united by our core values derived from the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States of America and the Bill Of Rights as explained in the Federalist Papers. We recognize and support the strength of grassroots organization powered by activism and civic responsibility at a local level. We hold that the United States is a republic conceived by its architects as a nation whose people were granted "unalienable rights" by our Creator. Chiefly among these are the rights to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The Tea Party Patriots stand with our founders, as heirs to the republic, to claim our rights and duties which preserve their legacy and our own. We hold, as did the founders, that there exists an inherent benefit to our country when private property and prosperity are secured by natural law and the rights of the individual."

Please do not call us Tea Baggers. If you would like to call the Tea Party Patriots - Toilet Paper People, that is fine with me. We are here to clean up the government crap that they are dumping on us.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/johne777/4470380915/sizes/o/

~John

[mallguy]

I agree it doesn't have anything to do with Christianity. My concern was that personal religious views should not influence personal political ones. It happens in every political party/group/movement sure but it happens more so in some certain groups.

I get my news from a staggeringly large plethora of sources by the way.

[Veloise]

Dale Robertson, founder of TeaParty.org also claims to have never seen any racial slurs at any of the TB events he has attended. He goes on to say that anyone who engaged in such behavior was most likely a Democratic plant, sent to discredit the good people of the TB movement. However, there is a well documented photo of him at the February 27, 2009 rally in Houston, wearing a cap that said "Man of Faith" and holding a sign where the n-word is a prominent part. I'm sure he meant it in a very non-racially charged way. (Or someone spiked his Starbucks with a dose of that agent provocateur.)

[mallguy]

1. I never said anything about anti-Christian. Being extremely generous, the most you could say I said was 'non-Christian.'

** No, saying that Christianity/religion should not be considered in voting is anti-Christian and anti-religious. What if, for example, I said that views based on adverse socioeconomic circumstances or orientation should not be considered in voting? (I do not and would not think or say such things.)

5. I said I'm all for the First Amendment. We should not ditch it.

** The First Amendment would block your goal of prohibiting religion from being taken into account when voting.

6. I'm sure Rev. Martin Luther King being black impacted his political views much more than his religion ever did. If he was white during that time I'd find it hard to believe he would of been fighting for equal rights.

** I won't even comment on your racial language, but there are plenty of people of a variety of races who stood and stand strong for civil rights due to their religious faith. (Same goes for abolitionists in the 1800s; environmental and anti-poverty activists today, etc.)

7. That Illinois First Amendment Center link seems to be aimed at high school students. I'm not a high school student. The depth and breath of my First Amendment knowledge extends further than "did u no u guise has two rights becuz of da 1st AMENdement?" I know that Illinois First Amendment Center means well but their target audience is not me. I want information like this and this.

[suydam]

Thomas Jefferson's thoughts and views are fairly consistent... consistent enough to be a threat.

He's been removed as a founding father from Texas' proposed curriculum on history (this despite the fact that Jefferson is credited as the primary author of the Declaration of Independence).

Read the minutes of the meeting in Texas where this happened.

http://tfninsider.org/2010/03/11/blogging-the-social-studies-debate-iv/

[mallguy]

Done.

The Thomas Jefferson quote is more for the last sentence in which he says social duties and natural rights (those ones bestowed by a person's creator) are not opposed. A person considering their social duty and also their religious perspective of that social duty is just doing double work.

I think we're talking past each other. When I say "religious views" I mean religious dogma NOT a person's personal interpretation of that dogma because everyone reaches the same conclusion no matter the dogma: be kind to your fellow man. I'm not opposed to that because every religion and every non-religion (atheism, agnostic) says the same thing. I'm opposed to people going "How should we balance the federal budget?" and then asking their priest about what the bible says and then following the bible and their priest's word to the T because they're both religious "authorities."

[mallguy]

I never said it wasn't permitted. I just think doing so is inane and potentially unhelpful.

I consider the Library of Congress and Cornell Law School to be credible sources. I only mention those two because they're the only two I linked to (wikipedia is not a credible source).

I didn't give you much in this post but I'm sure you can fill in my opinion for me. You have a nack for it.

[John E]

I uploaded 356 photos and am currently uploading video 8 of 13 for Flickr that was taken at the Tea Party Express III at River Side Park hosted by the Tea Party of West Michigan on Saturday, April 10, 2010. I will upload to video that is too large for Flickr to YouTube later. http://www.flickr.com/photos/johne777/sets/72157623703438653/

Mission Statement for the Tea Party of West Michigan:

To influence policy and affect the election of government officials who will defend and protect the original meaning of our Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights.

~John

[John E]

Thank you!

The video too large for Flickr is now available on YouTube:

~John

Get US out of the U.N.

End the Fed

Restore Our American Republic

[trongrr]

This was bound to happen too: Group created to “Crash The Tea Party” with fake racist signs.

Interesting that free speech is OK only if it's on one side huh?

[jwazzz]

This from David Gergen, former speechwriter for Nixon, Ford and Reagan, on Anderson Cooper, 4/9/10 - "The Tea Party is fundamentally a way for conservatives to reclaim the reins of power while the badly damaged Republican Party undergoes a right-wing makeover." And this, from LA Senator David "I never met a prostitute I didn't like" Vitter at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference - "The Republican Party will be the vehicle for change and the Tea Party will be the fuel." The whole astroturf movement has been nothing more than some major turd polishing to try to get the Bush-stink away from the Republican brand. (C&L) And if any other evidence is needed that the TP movement has been fully co-opted by the Republican establishment, at the same SRLC this weekend, Mitt Romney, who was a no-show, beat TP favorite Ron Paul whose supporters were a major presence, in a presidential straw poll. I'm sure the people at Riverside this weekend think of themselves as grassroots but you guys are being duped and I think in most cases, willingly so.

[jwazzz]

This was bound to happen too: Group created to “Crash The Tea Party” with fake racist signs.

Interesting that free speech is OK only if it's on one side huh?

[John E]

People just don't understand the Tea Party. Guess I'll just post the Mission Statement for the Tea Party of West Michigan again and again.

To influence policy and affect the election of government officials who will defend and protect the original meaning of our Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights.

The Tea Party is just about Restoring Our Country To The American Republic that it once was.

I sure am hoping that we make history with the November Elections. Just Vote Them Out!

~John

http://www.teapartyofwmi.org/

[Quercus]

People just don't understand the Tea Party. Guess I'll just post the Mission Statement for the Tea Party of West Michigan again and again.

To influence policy and affect the election of government officials who will defend and protect the original meaning of our Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights.

The Tea Party is just about Restoring Our Country To The American Republic that it once was.

[crinzema]

You're right, I for one do not understand the Tea Party. It's fine to organize a movement for change but the Tea Party has done a terrible job defining their goals. Ok, so you want to "defend and protect the original meaning of the Declaration of independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights." The "original meaning" you mention is something that's been debated for over 300 years; even within the Tea Party movement I get the feeling there is disagreement about what those documents originally meant and what they mean today. By "restoring the country to the American republic it once was," which time period do you want to revert to? Would you abolish all of the legislation after a certain date? No equal rights? 5% of the population controlling 99% of the wealth?

Don't get me wrong, I think there are a lot problems with our government that need to be addressed. But where was the Tea Party when the Patriot Act was signed? When the government let the surplus slip 10 years ago? Do Tea Party members sign a pledge to purchase U.S. goods only, or are they shopping at Wal Mart and other big box retailers? Do you really want Sarah Palin--the most uneducated "politician" I've seen--representing your movement? The list of discrepancies within the Tea Party movement seems endless.

[jwazzz]

This weekend at a TPExpress stop in Michigan and a TP rally in Lansing provided me with two reasons why I cannot get behind this group, no matter how noble their intentions. On the steps of the Capitol in Lansing, a protester held a sign depicting a black hand, holding a knife, stabbing the Statue of Liberty in the back - explain to me how this message helps in the quest for smaller government. And at a TPExpress stop, washed up, former SNL comic Victoria Jackson said when someone from the crowd yelled something about Obama's birth certificate, "We don't care if he does have a birth certificate, he's still not an American." Her statement was met with thunderous applause from the 99% white crowd. How do you TP supporters justify such overtly racist speech and imagery? And don't give me the "isolated incidents" argument - this and worse happens at EVERY TP rally and is getting even more out of control. Crinzema stated in the last post that it was Obama who "...has broken the camel's back to American's anger at the continual expansion of government on all fronts." Where was all this anger during the eight years of unprecedented government expansion and deficit spending under Bush? Nowhere to be found because W was white and a republican. And if McCain had won in '08 (shudder) the TP wouldn't exist and not because he magically returned us to a Constitutional Republic where there were no taxes, business had no regulation and straight, Caucasian males called all the shots. The TP wouldn't exist because McCain was a white republican. We could probably waterboard the truth out of you guys (you know, it's not really torture) but just make it easier and admit it - the Tea Party exists because the white, republican DIDN'T win in '08 and there is a black family currently residing in the White House. You guys will most likely stir things up a bit this November and the high-fiving at Fox will be nauseating but know this - Barack Obama is our president and will remain so until he steps down at the end of his second term in 2017.

[John E]

This weekend at a TPExpress stop in Michigan and a TP rally in Lansing provided me with two reasons why I cannot get behind this group, no matter how noble their intentions. On the steps of the Capitol in Lansing, a protester held a sign depicting a black hand, holding a knife, stabbing the Statue of Liberty in the back - explain to me how this message helps in the quest for smaller government. And at a TPExpress stop, washed up, former SNL comic Victoria Jackson said when someone from the crowd yelled something about Obama's birth certificate, "We don't care if he does have a birth certificate, he's still not an American." Her statement was met with thunderous applause from the 99% white crowd. How do you TP supporters justify such overtly racist speech and imagery? And don't give me the "isolated incidents" argument - this and worse happens at EVERY TP rally and is getting even more out of control. Crinzema stated in the last post that it was Obama who "...has broken the camel's back to American's anger at the continual expansion of government on all fronts." Where was all this anger during the eight years of unprecedented government expansion and deficit spending under Bush? Nowhere to be found because W was white and a republican. And if McCain had won in '08 (shudder) the TP wouldn't exist and not because he magically returned us to a Constitutional Republic where there were no taxes, business had no regulation and straight, Caucasian males called all the shots. The TP wouldn't exist because McCain was a white republican. We could probably waterboard the truth out of you guys (you know, it's not really torture) but just make it easier and admit it - the Tea Party exists because the white, republican DIDN'T win in '08 and there is a black family currently residing in the White House. You guys will most likely stir things up a bit this November and the high-fiving at Fox will be nauseating but know this - Barack Obama is our president and will remain so until he steps down at the end of his second term in 2017.

[jwazzz]

"Though it cost all you have, gain understanding."

The hand stabbing the back of the statue of Liberty depicts that Obama is killing OUR LIBERTY. He "gave us" Patriot Act II. Obama is not American because he was adapted in Indonesia and his name was changed to Barry Soetoro.

Those things or worse did NOT happen at the Grand Rapids TPX Rally.

The Tea Party was basically born from the Ron Paul Revolution (RPR). The RPR didn't get the corporate media attention that the Tea Party is getting. The RPR was totally against what the Bush Administration was doing.

The Tea Party exists because this country has gone to tyranny and we are just trying to get back our American Republic. The Tea Party is not about race or political parties. The Tea Party is all about working toward a Constitutionally Limited Republic that is by Constitutional Patriots for We The People!

~John

Get US out of the U.N.

End the Fed

Restore Our American Republic

[John E]

jwazzz,

Just do a search for "Barry Soetoro" for more than this one: http://www.indonesiamatters.com/2952/barry-soetoro/

When adopted in another country the person gives up their citizenship to belong to that family and country.

It doesn't matter if Obama was born in Kenyan or Hawaii, he gave up his citizenship and the requirements for becoming a U.S. President when he was adopted in Indonesia.

~John