Massed Fife and Drum Corps – A Deep River July Tradition

Reposted from today’s Rocky Hill Historical Society web page:

58th Annual Deep River Ancient Muster-Massed Fife and Drum Corps-July16, 2011

Everyone loves a parade and what can be more appropriate for a parade than a fife and drum corps marching smartly down the street, banners and flags unfurled. Better yet, how about several hundred fifers and drummers in a mass parade through a sleepy Connecticut river town.

That is the scene on the third Saturday of every July when the annual Deep River Ancient Muster, a Connecticut tradition since 1885 convenes. Of this massing of drum corps an excited newspaper reporter, in a contemporary account, exclaimed;

“The noise shook green apples off the trees, moved a frog onto the railroad track, jolted nails out of the shingles in the roofs, and the hens in the poultry yards along the route laid premature eggs in fright.”

Read more of this interesting article from Time magazine: Time Aug 03, 1970

Video Credit: L.E.Agnelli

The Middletown Press printed an article with video by Claire Michalewicz about the muster:

“DEEP RIVER – The sound of drums was hard to miss in Deep River on Saturday, as 60 fife and drum corps marched down Main Street to Devitt Field for the 58th Annual Deep River Ancient Muster. Once there, the corps performed one by one for hours into the evening…The festivities started with a “tattoo” on Friday night, with a smaller group of corps performing on the field. On Saturday morning, all the participating corps lined up on Main Street and marched down the street to Devitt Field. One by one, they participated in “jollification” – stepping out onto the baseball diamond and performing a few short pieces before the judges and audience…”

Video Credit: Claire Michalewicz, Middletown Press

The Great Christmas Night Raid: 1776

 

“My brave fellows, you have done all I asked you to do, and more than could be reasonably expected, but your country is at stake … The present is emphatically the crisis which is to decide our destiny.”
(Gen. George Washington in an appeal to his troops following the surprise attack on the Hessians at Trenton, December 26, 1776_)

A must read is this article by W. Thomas Smith Jr. about the “special operation” that changed the course of history and turned the war in favor of the continentals 232 years ago. Excerpts:

Continental Army General George Washington’s celebrated “Crossing of the Delaware” has been dubbed in some military circles, “America’s first special operation.” Though there were certainly many small-unit actions, raids, and Ranger operations during the Colonial Wars – and there was a special Marine landing in Nassau in the early months of the American Revolution – no special mission by America’s first army has been more heralded than that which took place on Christmas night exactly 230 years ago……..The factors in Washington’s favor were clear: The weather was so bad that no one believed the Continentals would attempt a river crossing followed by a forced march, much less at night. The Continentals were numerically – and perceived to be qualitatively – inferior to the British Army. The Hessians, mercenaries allied to the British and who were garrisoned in Trenton, had a battlefield reputation that far exceeded their actual combat prowess. And no one believed the weary Americans would want to attempt anything with anyone on Christmas.

Here is an illustrated account of the Battle of Trenton from the BritishBattles.com website.

The Battle of Trenton

Listen to an excerpt from the stirring conclusion to David McCullough’s “1776” read by the author. Here he tells of the perilous crossing of the Delaware and the victory over the Hessians at Trenton. battle-of-trenton (MP3 36:15)

How Well Do You Know Our National Anthem?

I was surprised today to learn about the additional verses to “The Star Spangled Banner” written by Francis Scott Key in 1814.  An impromptu, yet stirring, rendition of the seldom sung fourth verse was voiced at a recent Tea Party gathering by former marine Louis ? : (video here)  Amazing!

Here is the text of verse four which we hear in the video:

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave

Here’s a photo of sheet music cover.
Lots more history on our National Anthem here (Wikipedia)
Here is an MP3  complete version by Doug Alan Wilcox of Frederick MD.

The Real Civil Rights Movement and the Phony One

Here Glenn Beck demolishes the notion that nationalized health care, and certain other items on the Pelosi/Reid/Obama agenda is somehow a “civil rights” matter.

No Substitute for Victory: Teachable Moment for Obama

Barack Obama: I’m always worried about using the word ‘victory,’ because, you know, it invokes this notion of Emperor Hirohito coming down and signing a surrender to MacArthur.”

“There is no Substitute for Victory” General Douglas MacArthur

Note to Obama: Hirohito did not come down to the Battleship Missouri and sign anything! Rachel Abrams at Weekly Standard Blog points out today:

Apparently your grandfather wasn’t there for the Japanese surrender, and thus didn’t take you on his knee when you were a child to teach you all about it. So here’s a little history lesson: See that guy in the picture signing the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on board the USS Missouri? Well, he’s not the Emperor Hirohito, he’s Japanese foreign affairs minister Mamoru Shigemitsu, (see photo below)

My opinion: Any Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces who sends our military into war without a clear goal of, and mandate for, “victory” should be removed and impeached! This is a stab in the back to our military who are drilled and taught that their objective is to defeat the enemy and achieve “victory”.

Wagner Todd Huston at NewsBusters writes today:

It is telling that when Barack Obama pictures “victory” he doesn’t see in his head that famous photo of the U.S. Sailor kissing the pretty girl in Times Square on Victory Day. Instead, what is immediately conjured up in Obama’s mind is the bedraggled figure of a beaten Japanese Emperor groveling at the feet of U.S. military might.

Obama’s sympathy seems to be with the Emperor that governed a nation that tried to viciously take over the entire Pacific Rim and enslave many millions of Asian peoples. It is hard to escape the feeling that Obama’s first thought when the word “victory” is broached is of our enemy, his sympathies with them, not us.

Japanese Surrender Party, Hirohito Not Present!

Identification of personages in the Japanese Delegation on the Battleship Missoure:
Surrender of Japan, Tokyo Bay, 2 September 1945

Japanese representatives on board USS Missouri (BB-63) during the surrender ceremonies, 2 September 1945.
Standing in front are:
Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu (wearing top hat) and General Yoshijiro Umezu, Chief of the Army General Staff.
Behind them are three representatives each of the Foreign Ministry, the Army and the Navy. They include, in middle row, left to right:
Major General Yatsuji Nagai, Army;
Katsuo Okazaki, Foreign Ministry;
Rear Admiral Tadatoshi Tomioka, Navy;
Toshikazu Kase, Foreign Ministry, and
Lieutenant General Suichi Miyakazi, Army.
In the the back row, left to right (not all are visible):
Rear Admiral Ichiro Yokoyama, Navy;
Saburo Ota, Foreign Ministry;
Captain Katsuo Shiba, Navy, and
Colonel Kaziyi Sugita, Army.
(Identities those in second and third rows are from an annotated photograph in Naval Historical Center files.)

Photograph from the Army Signal Corps Collection in the U.S. National Archives.

Alaska Asserts State Sovreignty

Be it resolved that the Alaska State Legislature hereby claims sovereignty for the state under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States.

–The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people– U.S. Constitution, Tenth Amendment

The above proclamation passed the Alaska legislature yesterday and was signed by outgoing Governor Sarah Palin. The vote: Alaska’s House 37-0 and Senate 40-0. World Net Daily reports today:

Gov. Sarah Palin has signed a joint resolution declaring Alaska’s sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution – and now 36 other states have introduced similar resolutions as part of a growing resistance to the federal government….

…While seven states – Tennessee, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Alaska and Louisiana – have had both houses of their legislatures pass similar decrees, Alaska Gov. Palin and Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen are currently the only governors to have signed their states’ sovereignty resolutions.

Read more about State Sovereignty at Tenth Amendment Center.

Patriot Samuel Adams

I hope Congress, before they adjourn, will take into very serious Consideration the necessary Amendments of the Constitution. Those whom I call the best—the most judicious & disinterested Fœderalists, who wish for the perpetual Union, Liberty & Happiness of the States and their respective Citizens many of them, if not all are anxiously expecting them—They wish to see a Line drawn as clearly as may be, between the federal Powers vested in Congress and the distinct Sovereignty of the several States upon which the private and personal Rights of the Citizens depend. Without such Distinction there will be Danger of the Constitution issuing imperceptibly, and gradually into a Consolidated Government over all the States, which, altho it may be wished for by some, was reprobated in the Idea by the highest Advocates for the Constitution as it stood without amendmts. I am fully persuaded that the People of the United States being in different Climates—of different Education and Manners, and possest of different Habits & Feelings under one consolidated Governmt. can not long remain free, or indeed under any Kind of Governmt. but Despotism.

Samuel Adams in a letter to Elbridge Gerry 1789

America is Coming!

The letter below, by Janet Contreras from Arizona, was read on the Glenn Beck program yesterday. It pretty well sums up how I, and millions of others, feel about the course set by our national leaders, in congress, and in the administration. Send this on to your elected representatives; demand a response! Tell them if they do not agree with these demands they will be ousted. Read Glenn Beck’s interview with Janet Contreras here.

Janet Contreras writes an open letter to our nation’s leaders:

I’m a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you’re willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?

Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:

One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I’m not a racist. This isn’t to be confused with legal immigration.

Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.

Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.

Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.

Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don’t you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!

Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don’t you start there.

Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don’t trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.

Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why ‑‑ what do you have against shareholders making a profit?

Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.

Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we’ll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band‑Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.

Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let’s have it. Let’s say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try ‑‑ please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.

Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.

Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let’s just slow down and get some input from some nonpoliticians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I’m busy. I’m busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.

I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.

From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don’t want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we’re morons.

We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we’re so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn’t ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when hewill rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.

Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don’t care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you?

Don't Tread on Us

How Blows the Wind? Will the People Awaken in Time?

“In a Time of Universal Deceit, Telling the Truth Becomes a Revolutionary Act.”

George Orwell

American Thinker posted a piece today titled A Wind Blows Against the Political Spectrum by Lee Cary. It begins…

Those who plot people and issues along the political spectrum of left, right, and in-between may be late to perceive a new wind blowing from outside their perspective.It blows invisibly, this wind. We can’t see it, only what it occasionally stirs up. It’s gaining velocity across the nation. When it blows hard enough, it will move The Spectrum. (read the rest of the article here)

A most interesting and perceptive comment was contributed to the post by reader Stu in SanDiego. I am printing his letter in full below. There are some other excellent comments to this article so I suggest a full reading there.

… Since the early 1900s, Americans have ceded political affairs to full-time “professional politicians,” most of whom are lawyers. These people have convinced most of us that only they can understand the complexities of government and the law – and we’ve bought into that line of B.S.! This is absolutely contrary to what the Founders intended; they expected that gov’t be the least possible, and that the elected representatives (with senators elected/appointed by state legislatures, mind you) be themselves prominent businessmen who maintained their non-political careers when Congress was not in session….

The Oath to Defend the U.S. Constitution….

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world….

Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1837) (Audio Here)

Chinalauren Photo: Concord Reenactment

h/t china lauren for the photo

In commemoration of “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World” (April 19, 1775) The Committees of Safety and The Oath Keepers rallied yesterday on the Lexington (MA) Battle Green. On April 19, 1775 the Minutemen and British regulars met here in a brief battle signaling the opening of hostilities between the American colonies and Great Britain. Early this morning the annual reenactment of the event took place on The Lexington Battle Green; yesterday the patriots and red coats skirmished at Concord’s North Bridge.

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. (Amendment II, U.S. Constitution)

The Committees of Safety presented written remarks by the constitutional scholar Dr. Edwin Vieira who has described himself as “one of the very few people… vociferously advocating revitalization of “the Militia of the several States” along strict constitutional lines”. Dr. Vieira was unable to attend and his speech was read by Tom Moon. The present day Committees of Safety is a national organization founded by Walter Reddy. The group consists of citizens

“who exercise their constitutional rights of association, speech, and petition through non-partisan, non-violent, public education and legislation and legislative activism for the purpose of restoring a “constitutional system of security and defense” in their own States what the Constitution declares as “necessary to the security of a free State” throughout the United States….(and further)…one State at a time, restoring the system of community defense crucial to a “Republican Form of Government” in each State through the efforts of the people themselves – true “government of the People, by the People, and for the People.”

Go here for history of the original Committees of Safety during colonial times. Founder Reddy spoke briefly before introducing the Patriot Pastor, Garrett Lear.

The Oath Keepers portion of the program was initiated by the group’s founder Stewart Rhodes. At his blog Dirt Rhodes Scholar, Rhodes says this about himself:

“Blog of E. Stewart Rhodes, ex-paratrooper, disabled vet, ex-firearms instructor, former Ron Paul staff member, Yale Law grad/Research Scholar, & Montana/Nevada lawyer. Stewart has written for Gerry Spence’s The Warrior, for moreliberty.org, writes the Enemy at the Gate column for S.W.A.T. Magazine, and is writing a book on the dangers of applying the laws of war to the American people in the “war on terror.” Stewart is NOT a liberal, unless you want to consider him a classical liberal.”

Stewart Rhodes spoke at some length about the obligation of our military members and peace officers not to obey unlawful orders. Rhodes Audio Clip 1 (2:13) Next he read an address by General Washington to his troops just before the Battle of Long Island. Rhodes Audio Clip 2 (3:41) Rhodes then read out and explained the orders the Oath Keepers will not obey. (see video that follows)

Next the audience of around 200 persons heard a spirited speech from Sheriff Richard Mack whose website says: I’m Richard Mack, former sheriff of Graham County, Arizona, and long-time crusader for freedom and individual rights. Right now,

..it is vital that we restore the Constitution as the supreme law of the land. The greatest threat we face today is not terrorists; it is our own federal government. If America is conquered or ruined it will be from within, not a foreign enemy.

Sheriff Mack spoke passionately about peace officers’ personal moral obligation to keep their oath of office, to defend the U.S. Constitution. Mack has written several books, the latest being “The County Sheriff-America’s Last Hope”. Do take the time to listen to his speech; it’s a little over 16 minutes.

Sheriff Rchard Mack (Audio-16:37)

Note especially the part where Sheriff Mack talks about Rosa Parks of Montgomery Alabama and the audience response to his humanitarian tone. Patriotic conservatives are nothing like the evil imaginings of the moronic Janeane Garofolo (audio: 02:32) recently heard on MSNBC where she described the Tea Party participants as racists and white power freaks who hate the Black president. For an answer to Garofolo see Michelle Malkin on Katrina Pierson who says “We are a Free People….We will resist socialism…We as the people have the right and the duty to protect our  Constitution and our sovereignty from any person or government that threatens it…”

Sheriff Richard Mack

The finale to the program was the reaffirming of their oaths by those present, and for those who had never been sworn there was the opportunity to take the oath then and there. Set out below is the Oath to Defend the Constitution with audio of the swearing in.

I (name) do solemnly swear, or affirm, that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; pledging my life, my fortune and my sacred honor, so help me God.

Oath to Defend the Constitution (Audio-3:43)

The program ends with as the assembly sings “My Country ’tis of Thee; Sweet Land of Liberty; of Thee I Sing Let Freedom Ring (2:09)

A little light music to end this post:

The Constitution (from School House Rock)

Grass Roots America Understands and Has Spoken!

Revolution is Brewing by Chris Muir

“..Grassroots American Understands You Can’t Simply Spend Yourself into Prosperity…the Average American is Totally Disapproving of What’s Going on out There….Within the Beltway they Really Believe that Spending is the Right Thing to Do…that the Only Reason Roosevelt didn’t End the Great Depression was that He Didn’t Spend Enough..and Now They are Trying so Desperately to Spend so Much So Quickly!”

Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD 6th) at a Tea Party in the rain; Frederick MD April 15, 2009

Story and Video from Frederick News-Post

frederick-md-tea-party (audio)

Credit: Bill Green Frederick MD News Post

The Middletown Press had good coverage of the Hartford Tea Party: (excerpt)

…Durham resident Jay Berardino, a member of the Board of Finance and the chairman of the Republican town committee, said he joined the thousands of tea-party protestors because “there is a limit” to taxation and government spending.

“There’s enormous government waste on the state level,” he said. “Elected officials — and I’m talking about the Democratically-controlled House and Senate — are out of touch with the average citizen. They live in a bubble, and this [tea party] is a way to burst it.”

As a taxpayer, Berardino said he opposes potential increases in sales, income and gas taxes; as a finance board member, he seeks relief from unfunded state mandates that burden towns like Durham.

Hartford Rally: Middletown Press Photo

There were rallies, large and small, in Hartford, New Haven, Norwich, Greenwich and Shelton (video) and…I’m sure I’ve left some out.

Along the harbor in Norwich, nearly 400 people gathered from 3 to 6 p.m. around the gazebo at Howard T. Brown Memorial Park to listen to speakers, talk among themselves and encourage vehicular traffic to honk in support of various messages scrawled across basic poster-board: “I am not your ATM,” “We’re TEAd off (Taxed Enough Already),” “Give me liberty, not debt.” Many of the signs were adorned with tea bags.

The rally began with Rich Curtis, one of the community organizers, reading a portion of the First Amendment, and 8-year-old Kayleigh Ezzell of Lisbon, there with her grandmother, co-organizer Jen Ezell of Canterbury, leading the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Overall, the rally was docile. There was only one chant – Curtis got the crowd to spell out “no pork.” (from The Day-New London)

Greenwich Rally

Friend Laurel from Virginia reports from D.C.:

Washington D.C. was cold, wet all day. We started talking about the rally on the subway, and others joined in and actually decided to come to the Event! We could hardly hear the speakers, because one woman paid for the sound system herself and could only afford what she could afford…but everyone listened intently, from 11am to 3pm, until we could respond with a resounding voice – in unison with the message. Almost 3,000 people spilled into sidewalks surrounding the Lafayette Park – some even walked over to the White House to spell it out for the NYT press. Many gave out free-bees, like a copy of the Constitution, bumper stickers, and yes, I gave out window clings….the poster signs were great….One fellow had a pic of George Washington, labeled as a terrorist! Everyone was polite within very close quarters. Absolutely no violence…lets keep that way!

Obama claims he wasn’t aware of the Tea Party Events, yet the White House has windows…Nancy Pelosi speaks from her experienced agenda giving credit to millionaires for bringing us out there… and CNN believes that FOX news master-minded it…while HLS labeled us all terrorists…a label now reserved for “tax paying, Christians who believe in working for a living!”

This administration is truly confounded, pointing fingers everywhere and blundering all over each other Their own stories don’t match up… maybe their losing control?

Well, we will see, its a good start, Congrats to all!
This is a grass roots movement because no one is in charge and many are jockeying for position…to be that focal point…I love it!

From the New Haven Register:

The crowd also included about a dozen students who walked to the harbor from Yale University. William Wilson, 22, a senior, said he was there to protest the bank bailout and the federal stimulus plan.

He said the the Yale College Libertarians have a tradition of doing a tax protest every April 15 and the tea party event was a perfect fit. Wilson said he was heartened by the fair number of Libertarians in the crowd, but he questioned some of the sentiments expressed.

“I was a little bit disappointed to see a lot of mainstream Republicans who didn’t complain when Bush was doing this stuff, all of a sudden starting to complain now that Obama is doing it. That was a little bit annoying, sort of felt like they were corrupting our message,” said Wilson.

As for the tea, after it steeped in the sun all day, the bags were removed and the liquid was poured into the harbor, a symbolic reference to the Boston Tea Party.

Much more at Michell Malkin…and at RadioVice Online….And finally a roundup of photos from around the nation; a picture gallery from the Tacoma (WA) News Tribune:

Pleasanton CA

Joe the Plumber in Lansing MI