I was thinking about the tea parties yesterday.
What came to my mind was the one single protestor by the name of Cindy Sheehan and all the news coverage she generated against Bush and the war.
All depends who is protesting .

These hundreds of massive tea parties held yesterday by ordinary citizens have the liberal elites sacred big-time. Protests have always been a tool of the left, and it scares them that ordinary people -- not right-wing, left-wing, or anything else other than ordinary folks -- are now fully engaged and using the tactics of the left to beat them at their own game.

Obviously its not just the CNN reporter, although that left-wing nut job did prove to be the best example. The reporters in the studio who let the comments go (and added to them), as well as the executives who saw nothing wrong with the report, are all engaged in the same left-wing nuttiness as the reporter. That's why Fox News is doing so well. They don't treat their viewers as morons incapable of making up their own minds like CNN and the other "news" stations do.

Thanks JAP!! Yep she was the focal point of the crocodile tear whiners awhile back, wasn't she?? Haven't heard from her in a long time, guess she's been discarded like used bathroom tissue. Outcome was predictable.

Thanks Todd, yes they are scared. If Homeland Security under the Bush administration issued a comment as radical as Napolotano just issued it would heve been ensuing riots all over. Double standard, you betcha.

Yes those out of touch global elitists scared spitless of regular American folks (aka 'their subjects' ) waking up ... coming back together ... voicing outrage.

Expect the next four summer tax protests to rival anything happening in the 60's.

I applaud these latest efforts, although I'm not confident that they'll have any effect on the overall scheme of events unfolding before us now unless the movement can be sustained. Let's face facts; Fox News has an agenda to push just as CNN does. Whether you call yourself a Republican or Conservative, Democrat or Liberal, Independent, Federalist or Whig really doesn't matter that much anymore; your name is going to pop up on someone's list of subversives once your declaration has been made.

     In my opinion, the two-party system has been a major factor in the destruction of our nation. As they struggle for power and domination over each other, the Republicans and Democrats have stopped the game so many times that it has become impossible for either side to score any points, as every perceived goal is bitterly contested by the opposing team. Consequently, I believe we've all lost sight of the true object of accomplishment here - THEY aren't supposed to win or lose; THEY are nothing more than the players WE'VE sent out on the field; THEY are supposed to play for US. As we choose our loyalties and root for our favorite team, we allow certain liberties to be taken: Full retirement benefits after four years of service, complete health care with no deductible, unlimited expense accounts, protection and immunity from civil and criminal liability, exhorbitant salaries for what are essentially part-time jobs, new cars and all the other amenities that come with being a celebrity. Once again I'm compelled to ask, why should we pay our elected officials significantly more money than we pay our teachers, our police officers or our soldiers, sailors and Marines? I've posed this query many times, but I have yet to receive a satisfactory answer.

     If we're going to choose up sides as though our political process is nothing more than a footbal game, we need more than two choices. It's becoming more and more difficult to recognize the fans and players of either side, as both parties have become hopelessly homogenized. Indeed, we now have pundits who classify themselves as "Liberal-Conservatives" or "Conservative-Liberals." I don't know what either term means, but then, I don't care; I'm no longer a fan of either team, and I don't root for either side, because no matter which team eventually proclaims victory, the prize money, every dime of it, comes from OUR pockets. The only sure thing in any wager we might make is that WE lose our bets, no matter what the outcome (kind of like playing Hoosier Lottery games).

     Fox News and CNN are nothing more than wholly-owned generators of propoganda. Their broadcasts are designed to garner RATINGS from loyal viewers like you. As such, their "reports" are intended to entertain rather than inform. If I wanted to be entertained, I'd get my news from Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert; their reports are just as valid and contain as many facts as those presented by Fox News and CNN every night. Give me a Walter Cronkite or a Roger Mudd; I WANT my news to be boring, and I can easily do without my commentators' personal opinions concerning the topic at hand, a nasty habit which is practiced by both "news" agencies, and one which is clearly designed to influence their viewers' beliefs.

     If you're unable or simply too busy to form your own opinions, then, by all means, tune into Rush's show, or Glenn Beck's or Sean Hannity's. They're only too happy to tell you what your opinion should be, and they won't waste your time telling you the ENTIRE story, but only those bits you'll need to believe they're right and everyone who disagrees with them (and you) is wrong. These men have no concept of what we're going through; they're paid millions of dollars per year to sell us the idea that they're in the same boat we are, and therefore we should listen to them. After their respective broadcasts, they drive their Mercedes or their Lexus past the guard house to their respective homes in their respective gated communities. They might pour themselves two fingers of Blue-Label scotch as they sigh heavily and fall back into their massage chairs saying, "I can't believe how difficult life in America has become for us." It is my considered opinion that the opinions of these men amount to NOTHING, because their opinions are based upon conjecture and perceptions skewed by what they think it must be like to live the way most of us do. They are no more "in touch" with the common man than those who comprise our government.

     We didn't steal this nation from the natives by turning our heads and saying, "Let someone else do it." We took it by force, we held onto it by force, and that's the only way we're going to get it back. The recent "tea parties" are a very good indication that there's dissention afoot, and I believe this is a very good sign that the people are fed up with being fed up. It's an indication that we CAN unite for a common cause. I'll be following this movement very closely but, at this point, I can only hope it grows into something more powerful than our government. This is how political parties are born and made; should this latest grass-roots movement evolve with a steadily-growing membership, we might eventually end up with a third choice on the next ballot, and one that can be effective in challenging an antiquated two-party system which has corrupted itself beyond salvation.

     Jim

Jim thank you as always for your well thought out, superbly articulated points. I see a coming together of America for a common cause and like many pray the momentum continues.