Tea Parties, Bedwetters, Protesters Generally

(Update: FWIW, the local protest was a good-sized crowd and very much the same sort of group as elsewhere reported: largely middle-class, with a smattering of students and retired folks but mostly ordinary workin' Joes and Janes who had taken the afternoon off to remind our elected nitwits that a slim majority is not a mandate -- and that every misspent tax dollar, every kited check, every tax increase or expansion of Federal, State or local authority, weighs that much heavier on the electorate. It's not a group much given to sign-waving; it takes a bit more to wake them up).

Protesters -- peaceful protesters -- are a good thing. If we stop seein' 'em, there is Big Trouble In Store. It doesn't even matter what kind of protesters, NAACP, KKK, "Million" Moms, stoners and emo kids with signs bemoaning the war or a Ron Paul supporter in a Wookie suit, noble, repellent or plain wrong, the freedom to express dissent is an inherent part of a free society.

Still, I was not surprised to hear a 20-something with facial piercings and hair of a color not found in nature, interviewed by one of our fine TV stations with the local Tea Party in the background say, "I don't know why they're protesting. When me and my friends protested The War, they told us to get a job but they're here in the middle of the afternoon" -- this was at 5:30 pip emma, btw -- "so where's their jobs? Probably lost them and government spending will help them."

Where do I begin?

Aw, heck. I almost don't even wanna bother. Sweetie, when "we" decided to go to war against Iraq, I got yelled at for posting "Ilea iacta est" and mocking Congress as a bunch of self-panickers on an online form; I still think the interests of the civilized world would have been better served by wiping out Saddam Hussein and his government, possibly by posting a huge bounty, but A) once we were in, I agree with Ayn Rand, "Fight to win!" B) I am not, in any way, shape or form, a military or diplomatic expert and C) as happens, the U.S. FedGov swore some doofy oath to not assassinate foreign leaders no matter how icky, so we're sort of stuck with the having to have a war thing if we wanna get rid of one.

And then -- in your world, kid, do they have "personal days?" D'ya understand the concept?

And last but not least, so far I've yet to see any evidence that massively increasing the Federal deficit -- and, eventually, the tax burden on us the taxpayers (dearie, you do pay taxes, don't you? Oh, not while you're finishing your degree? Give it time) -- is going to be a whole lotta "help" to any entity but the Feds, and long-term, probably not them, either.

You know why they're out there waving signs and making speeches. purple hair? For the same reason you were: 'Cos we're Americans, and that's what we do. And at our best, that's all it takes to get the ball rolling. I thought you were all about "change?" Well, here's some more!

Pendulums swing. It's what they do.