Nobody "owns" the tea party movement. There are as many ideas out there as there are people who want to participate. It is not going to be organized the way some of you seem to want it to be. Hundreds of thousands of people have marched in the past to protest war in Iraq. Did Bush crumble and cave in? No. But I don't think that's the point of the tea parties. To me, the tea parties are evidence that the "Silent Majority" is stirring and beginning to move...the people who normally wouldn't march or protest....people who never thought about being an activist in a cause. This is just the beginning, hopefully, of the awakening of Americans who have rocked along assuming they were living in a free land that was still functioning properly based on Constitutional principles and laws....Americans whose eyes are opening to the scary realization that their assumptions might have been terribly wrong. People are going to be all over the place with confusion, anger, and solutions that may not be carefully thought out. But the tea parties are serving several purposes, one of which is to educate, another to let people see, as Mr. Beck says, that "we are not alone". For those of you who don't like the tea party ideas on this site, do as the 12-steppers say---take your doughnuts and go find another tea party that suits you, or start one yourself.

Check out my YouTube clip inviting all to the April 15 tea party in Washington, DC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2seB1ScvuiQ
Enjoy!

YES! It is too funny....I posted my comment also.

Here is the link for the tea party website for DC...it may take several tries to get in...it does seem to be having problems: http://taxdayteaparty.com/teaparty/dc/
Rally is scheduled from 10am to 2pm, April 15, at Lafayette Park. The park is across Pennsylvania Ave from the White House and is within a couple of blocks of two different metro stops, Farragut West and McPherson Square. The Treasury Building is also nearby. Come to the tea party April 15 in DC!

Glenn, please please come to Washington DC for the April 15 rally. We were at Lafayette Square on Feb 27.. it was supercharged even with about 400 people. We need you there! Pam

OK, all you who want to demonstrate in Washington, DC ...go to http://taxdayteaparty.com/ and select the DC site and sign up with them to attend on April 15. They have the permit for Lafayette Park (across from White House). I was there at the first tea party on Feb 27 and it was AWESOME! Look for my hubbie and me on Apr 15...we will be waving the huge "Don't Tread on Me" flag! Pam

Bring us back to constitutional government.
Revise income tax laws - flat tax.
Term limits for all Congress; no automatic pay increases.
Balance the budget.
Stop illegal immigration.
ID required to vote.
No government funding to groups like ACORN.
Drill for oil; use our own natural gas; drastically reduce/eliminate oil imports asap.
No more bailouts.
No government funding of abortions.
Stop embryonic stem cell government funding.
Charter schools/school choice for the whole country.

Here is helpful info from Brendan Steinhauser, Freedom Works, on how to organize march/rally:

How to Organize Your Own “Tea Party” Protest
By Brendan Steinhauser on Feb 21, 2009

I posted the following 10 easy steps to organizing your own “Tea Party” protest on my blog, The Conservative Revolution. If you would like some more ideas, just drop me a line!

1. Pick a location, date and time in your town. I’d suggest main street at an intersection with lots of traffic.

2. Tell your friends, family, co-workers and everyone else you know about the protest. Build an rsvp email list so that you can provide quick updates if something changes. You should also create a facebook group so that the group can communicate with one another.

3. Make 5-10 signs with legible slogans that send a clear message to the public and the media. Write in BIG LETTERS.

4. Call your local talk radio hosts and ask them to announce the location, date and time on the air for a few days leading up to the protest. Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper announcing the protest. Email the bloggers in your area and ask them to post a notice about the protest.

5. Write a press release and email, mail and fax copies to the local tv stations, radio stations and newspapers. Call the reporters that cover local events or politics and leave messages on their voice mail.

6. On the day of your protest, show up with your group, be loud, visible, happy and engage the public. Wave your signs, make lots of noise and move around to get attention. If reporters interview you, give them some good sound bytes for their stories. Stay on message and keep your answers short and coherent.

7. Bring sign-in sheets to capture the names, emails and phone numbers of everyone who attends the protest and/or says that they support what you are doing. You will then have a big list of people that can plan the next, much bigger and louder, event. Also bring handouts with one page of quick facts about why you are protesting in the first place.

8. Add your pictures, video and an after-action report to your facebook group, and send this stuff to the bloggers and reporters that you originally contacted. Ask them to post the photos, story and video.

9. Thank everyone who attended via email and phone, and set up a meeting to plan your next event. Now you have a list of people in your community that can help make the next protest huge. Encourage everyone to commit to bring at least one friend to the next protest.

10. Organize a carpool and go find a friend in your neighboring town or county and help them organize a protest there. You and your people are now veterans and should be able to keep the momentum going around your area.

Email me if you have any questions or want some ideas for signs. bsteinhauser @freedomworks.org

Good luck!

It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people’s minds. — Samuel Adams

The Gadsden flag is a powerful reminder of what our country was during the time of our Founding Fathers. I found a website: gadsdenandculpeper.com They have Gadsden flags, car flags, car magnets, t-shirts with "Don't Tread on Me" and other stuff. I have no connection to this company...just found it while researching history on Gadsden flag. The car magnet is a "ribbon" shape, but it's a rattlesnake and very attention-getting. This is what I've been doing for several weeks now, flying the Gadsden flag, wearing the T-shirt and a lapel pin when I am more dressed up.

Here's why earmarks enable corruption. Link: http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2009/02/sen-gregg...

"When Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) declined President Obama's nomination for Commerce Secretary earlier this month, the administration may have dodged yet another embarrassing money-related snafu. The Associated Press reported today that Gregg helped funnel $66 million in earmarks to his home state to help create a business park at the decommissioned Pease Air Force Base in Portsmouth, N.H. That in itself wouldn't be a problem, except for the fact that some of the senator's personal investments are wrapped up in the project.

According to CRP's analysis of Gregg's annual personal financial disclosure reports, in 2007 the senator had a total of between $465,004 and $1,050,000 invested in several real estate ventures at the business park--and led by his brother, developer Cyrus Gregg. (These investments are listed as "222 International Drive LP" and several "Say Pease" LLCs, an apparent play on the base's name.) AP's Sharon Theimer reported that Gregg has collected between $240,017 and $651,801 from his investments at the redeveloped base. Federally funded improvements to the old military installation presumably made real estate there more valuable. Gregg issued a statement saying the earmarks were requests from the National Guard, the city of Portsmouth and other public officials. That's certainly plausible, but it was Gregg's decision to invest his money in a project he was helping out with taxpayer money."