The Tea Parties

[Panther]

http://www.capitalismmagazine.com/politics/elections/6132-america-s-last-chance.html

5 November 2010 Michael Hurd

Republicans: Get it right this time, and increase your gains in 2012 and 2014.

As expected, Republicans now have more control of the government than before. Their gains in the House of Representatives, at least, are substantial. The more important news is that some Republicans actually do appear to stand for something different from Democrats, as well as the Republicans who came before them. This qualitative difference -- as illustrated by Rand Paul, the new Senator from Kentucky, and Marco Rubio, the new Senator from Florida, to name two examples -- is more important than the quantitative increase in Republicans. People with good ideas who are willing to adhere to principle matter more than scores of mealy-mouthed wishy-washy fools who stand for little or nothing. These new figures, if they act on principle beyond Election Day, will achieve (and deserve) disproportionate influence.

You see, it's up to the American people to save their country. Politicians cannot do it for us. They never could. The Republicans will only be as rational, sane and principled as the majority of the population gives them permission to be. It's not enough to do so on Election Day. It must be done every day.

Even then, it might or might not be too late for America. But I'm here to tell you that it IS too late for America unless all of these things happen, at the very barest of minimums.

[QIQrrr]

Sett fra deg koppen og svelg før du leser videre hvis du ønsker å unngå søl i tastaturet og på skjermen:

The Guardian, November 14, 2010: Economists are sought-after celebrities in Ireland at the moment and none is more famous than Morgan Kelly. Kelly, of University College Dublin, was laughed at, scorned and even threatened when he correctly predicted, as long ago as 2007, that Ireland's property bubble was heading for a spectacular explosion. Now he is forecasting mass mortgage defaults and an ugly popular uprising. The first stirrings are already visible, he says, with "anxiety giving way to the first upwellings of an inchoate rage and despair that will transform Irish politics along the lines of the Tea Party in America", giving rise to a new "hard-right, anti-Europe, anti-traveller party". The fact that Kelly got it right last time means that his dire warnings are now being given serious consideration this time around, but so far there is no evidence that the Irish are turning into racist extremists - Ireland's young flee abroad as economic meltdown looms

[Panther]

http://www.capitalismmagazine.com/culture/activism/6150-tea-parties-then-now.html

18 November 2010 Michael Hurd

There's no question the good guys can and should win. But will they?

In the past, it was the Boston Tea Party. This was a way for early American citizens to raise a ruckus against the oppression of the British Big Government. Ironically, those same Americans went on to create their own government, checked by a Constitution that would supposedly prevent the same thing from ever happening again.

And yet, it did.

Today's American government is just as bad as the British government that preceded it, and that gave rise to the American government in the first place. In fact, today's government in America is arguably even worse than the British oppressors of yesterday. The people let this happen, slowly and over time. The single biggest reason people let this happen is the entitlement mentality. This mentality can best be summarized by two emotions: One, "I must take care of others." Two, "Others must take care of me." Neither of these emotions, or the ideas underlying them, are fitting for a free people. Whenever these emotions, or the ideas underlying them, are dominant, you cannot sustain a free country, nor a reasonable society filled with self-responsible and forward-thinking people. The early Americans had had it with Big Government. But they were also the type of people who so wanted and valued their freedom that they were willing to live in a harsh wilderness, such as early America, rather than stay with the known and familiar comforts of the European homeland. Think of the type of people who so wanted their freedom that they were willing to do this, and you'll better understand why the original Tea Party happened, why the American Revolution enjoyed popular support, and why a Constitution based on limited government was a popular idea at that time.

Both of these mentalities are a far cry from the psychology and ideology underlying the first Tea Party and the original American Revolution. Because America was just getting started, and because the world had not progressed to a point where you could have the level of wealthy people you see today in Hollywood and Bill Gates, there were no compulsively guilt-ridden socialists to wield their influence. And because America was more of a potential -- a vast wilderness filled with promise and opportunity, rather than a place to expropriate and exploit, as it is today -- there was no basis for people feeling that others must take care of them.

I sometimes wonder if the America of 2010 is too far gone to even deserve salvation from what's destroying it within. It really boils down to who's stronger: The will of the people who believe in the right things, and who are self-responsible, or the nasty parasitism of those who feel entitled. There's no question the good guys can and should win. But will they? Do they have the courage and the strength required to rebuild a great country of great character? Politics will not determine this. Politics will be the consequence of how this question is answered.

[QIQrrr]

USA Today, November 22, 2010: Just about as many Americans want Tea Party-backed members of Congress to take the lead in setting policy during the next year as choose President Obama, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds. In a survey taken Friday through Sunday, 28% say Obama should have the most influence on government policy next year while 27% say the Tea Party standard-bearers should. GOP congressional leaders are chosen by 23%, Democratic congressional leaders by 16%. The results reflect the strength of the Tea Party movement as the GOP prepares to take control of the House of Representatives in January - Poll: Tea Party support grows; USA divided

[Vegard Martinsen]

Dette handler egentlig ikke om Tea-Party-bevegelsen, men om Klassekampen og dens saklighetsnivå.

På forsiden 2/11-10 står følgende som en ingress til en artikkel inne i avisen: "Det er tette bånd mellom Tea Party-bevegelsen og noen av verdens mektigste næringslivsinteresser".

Hvis dette er ment som et argument så er det ulogisk, det er et personangrep (ad hominem). Ponget er i sitatet er at dersom noe støttes av næringslivisteresser så er det dermed galt, noe som opplagt er en feilslutning.

Inne i avisen blir det verre: Den nevnte artikkel avsluttes med følgende: "Tea Party-sympatisørene blir aktivister for "frihet", uvitende om at friheten de søker er friheten for store selskaper til å tråkke dem ned i gjørma".

Dette er skrevet av Andreas Nordang Uhre, som hevdes å være doktorgradsstipendiat i statsvitenskap, og står altså åp trykk i Klassekampen, en publikasjon som enkelte påstår er en seriøs avis.

[QIQrrr]

Dette er skrevet av Andreas Nordang Uhre, som hevdes å være doktorgradsstipendiat i statsvitenskap, og står altså på trykk i Klassekampen, en publikasjon som enkelte påstår er en seriøs avis.

Og her er professor Ole Moen som fikk boltre seg i Aftenposten den 15.10.2010:

Rasist-bevegelse

Ifølge USA-ekspert og tidligere professor ved Universitetet i Oslo er mange republikanere bekymret for utviklingen i "The Grand Old Party". Han beskriver Tea Party som en "anti-alt”-bevegelse uten noe positivt å tilføre partiet.

- Det er en hvit, mannsdominert bevegelse, med et sterkt preg av fordekt rasisme. De ønsker blant annet å redusere statens rolle, noe som blir vanskelig om de velges inn i Kongressen. Her blir de jo en del av systemet de kritiserer, sier Moen og legger til:

- At Tea Party-aktivistene mangler et konstruktivt program, svekker Republikanerne.

[Panther]

http://www.capitalismmagazine.com/politics/6189-the-tea-party-vs-the-conservatives.html

13 December 2010 Michael Hurd

Up to now conservatives have been the best friends a socialist and a liberal could ever dream of having.

It's true that businesses make honest mistakes, and sometimes even evade the truth when they make financial decisions, despite what they have to lose. But ever since the 1930s especially, the government has agreed to back up the private sector for any errors it makes, especially big ones. The great injustice surrounding the view over the 2007-08 financial meltdown is that the private sector gets the blame. Socialists and liberals attribute it to "greed and selfishness" on Wall Street. What's greedy about driving your mortgage or financial business into the ground? No answer is given. It's just greed, that's all.

But Republicans and conservatives are no better. They claim, "Without TARP, the free market system as we know it would have collapsed." In arguing this, they're evading the fact that we haven't had a free market system -- not a consistent one -- in any of our lifetimes. The financial collapse makes the case for a free market economy of unhampered capitalism, not a case for government intervention. Opponents of government intervention such as economist Ludwig von Mises and others argued, for decades, that government intervention in the economy leads to a need for more intervention -- which may stabilize things at first, but then creates a new unintended consequence (or disaster) and leads to further interventions until, eventually, the economy collapses into all out socialism. We're nearly there in the United States.

[QIQrrr]

Rasmussen Reports, January 5, 2011: Voters see “Tea Party” a bit less negatively as a political label these days, while “liberal” and “progressive” have lost ground - “Tea Party” Is Seen Less Negatively As a Political Label

[Panther]

http://www.capitalismmagazine.com/markets/6217-will-the-tea-party-congress-bring-recovery.html

6 January 2011 John Browne

The question is whether these Republicans will stick to the guns when voters feel the pinch. My feeling is that they are more likely to seek political cover.

While the markets have known for almost three months that the 2010 election delivered the House of Representatives to the tea-infused Republican Party, I did expect a greater reaction on Wall Street to the formalities of the opening sessions of Congress yesterday.

If the Republicans make good on their campaign promises, we will see cuts in government spending and an end to fiscal stimulus. Given that short-term stock market performance is very much dependent on such government assistance, the current rally is hard to fathom. Meanwhile, gold and silver have experienced a counterintuitive correction (although to be honest, pundits are making much more of this 4% pullback than the size of the move merits). Could it be that the markets now believe that fiscal restraint in Washington is the best pathway to growth? Can a leopard really change his spots?

Not likely, I say. Rather, I believe that we are simply seeing some short-term momentum. Speculators tend to buy and sell on momentum, while investors tend to accumulate on dips and sell on fundamental changes. Anyone with a pragmatic view of Washington must realize that real change is unlikely.

The acid test will be] whether Republicans muster the courage required to freeze the Treasury debt limit. Should they fail to hold the line, a green light will be given to the inflationists, and a cut in America's vital AAA credit rating may be forthcoming.

Should the dollar and the euro move nearer to collapse in tandem, an international financial and economic meltdown will threaten. The resulting devastation of consumer confidence will encourage US and EU politicians to panic and hyper-inflate. At that point, could China, with $2.5 trillion of cash, bailout the economies of America and the EU, valued at a combined $30 trillion?

For now, few are focused on this endgame scenario. The dollar remains relatively firm on the foreign exchange and precious metal prices have fallen back marginally. Long-term investors should use the opportunity to prepare for the long haul.

[Panther]

http://www.capitalismmagazine.com/politics/6229-the-hypocrisy-underlying-obama-s-speech.html

12 January 2011 Scott Holleran

Tea Party types should ignore the smears, fight back with facts and do so on principle, and keep the GOP on track to repeal ObamaCare, which is an affront to America’s founding ideals.

Throughout social media, the left is really blowing the dog whistle on the Tea Party movement, from blaming opportunist Sarah Palin, whose Tea Party credentials are dubious, to status updates, comments, and this San Francisco Chronicle editorial posted by the newspaper’s editorial page editor John Diaz (with whom I have worked) insinuating that anyone on America’s right and everyone in the Tea Party movement may somehow be responsible for the heinous crimes, which appear to have been the act of a lone nihilist who mixes literacy, We the Living, and the gold standard into his puny little mind and comes up with mass murder. I called the jumping to conclusions on Facebook immediately after the news broke and liberals started their arbitrary onslaught of smear and prejudice.

Here’s my response to Mr. Diaz at the Chronicle: “Oh, spare me the sanctimonious notion that this alleged shooter is moved by a “wave of vitriol” that “should” make everyone in the country introspect about “boundaries of responsible debate” when every shred of evidence points to the fact that a lone murderer who hated Bush and assassinated a Bush judicial appointee and refers to mind control, Mein Kampf, and The Communist Manifesto is beyond reason, debate and civil discourse. He has more in common with the left wing People’s Temple of San Francisco that assassinated Rep. Leo Ryan: both are moved by the cult of death and nihilism, a pattern you missed, entirely.”

[QIQrrr]

New York Post, January 15, 2011: One of the Arizona shooting victims was arrested today and then taken for a psychiatric evaluation after authorities said he took a picture of a tea party leader at televised town hall meeting and yelled: "you're dead." James Eric Fuller, 63, objected to something Trent Humphries said during the forum taped for a special edition of ABC's "This Week" with Christiane Amanpour, Pima County sheriff's spokesman Jason Ogan said. Fuller was in the front row and apparently became upset when Humphries suggested that any conversations about gun control should be delayed until all the dead were buried - Tucson victim arrested for tea party threat: 'you're dead'

Tucson Tea Party Leader Says Threats Are Keeping Him Away From Obama Rally

[QIQrrr]

Thomas A. Bowden:

The Christian Science Monitor, January 21, 2011: To deliver on its promise to restore lost freedoms, the tea party must anchor its work in Ayn Rand's understanding that all schemes that sacrifice the individual to society are morally wrong - The tea party will fail -- unless it fully embraces individualism as a moral ideal

[QIQrrr]

Yahoo! News, January 24, 2011: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia says members of Congress need to get themselves a copy of the Federalist Papers — and make sure they read it. Scalia made the short walk from the Supreme Court to the Capitol on Monday to speak at a seminar organized by GOP Rep. Michele Bachmann and the Tea Party Caucus. In remarks closed to the media, Scalia told about 50 members of Congress and their staff to "pay attention" and read up on their roles - Scalia addresses tea party-organized event

[Panther]

http://www.capitalismmagazine.com/politics/6315-video-yaron-brook-speech-at-the-tea-party-patriots-american-policy-summit.html

VIDEO: Yaron Brook Speech at the Tea Party Patriots American Policy Summit
28 February 2011 Yaron Brook

An engaging speech which ended in a standing ovation, the only one that night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoTglZh3 ... r_embedded

Yaron Brook gives a rousing speech at the Tea Party Patriots American Policy Summit 2011 on 2/25/2011. His speech focuses on the idea that freedom lies in stresses a single, fundamental principle, the principle of individual rights, rather than vague terms such as fiscal responsibility (can be done through taxation) or limited government (can suggest democracy rather than a republic). An engaging speech which ended in an 1800 person standing ovation, the only one that night.

[QIQrrr]

FreedomWorks, April 18, 2011: This summer FreedomWorks has joined the Congressional Softball league, playing under the team name "Atlas Slugged". While it's always fun to work long hours to beat the political establishment in our fight for lower taxes, less government and more freedom, we've decided to take it to them where it hurts the most: the scoreboard. If we managed to schedule Nancy Pelosi's office, I think we will demand that the contest takes place on Astroturf. Overall, I think this new project is going to be a grand slam. We'll keep you updated on our progress - FreedomWorks Finds New Way To Beat Big Government