This is a platform to comment on local, state and national politics and political news. A special area of interest is the role of corporate media in politics as we move closer and closer to one huge corporation owning all of the media outlets in the country and stifling all independent and critical voices. It will also focus on the absurd 30-plus year Nixonesque political strategy of the “liberal media” lie. This blog is on temporary hiatus because of my job and thin-skinned Republicans.
Apr 3, 2009
Sam the digital converter box promoter to appear at ‘tea party’
Does every protest by right-wingers involve the Boston Tea Party?
Apparently, because of their lack of imagination it does. They are at it again, and on tax day on April 15 they are planning another “Tea Party” to protest “wasteful government spending at the state and national levels.” Apparently, they have even gone as far as to mail tea bags to political leaders.
They pulled a similar stunt in February that I called “Music and Meander.” They inflated the numbers of people who attended the event, and then attacked me because I underestimated the people who attended. I corrected my numbers, but they stuck with their inflated numbers.
But while they were hammering me on numbers, they inconveniently failed to explain what the Boston Tea Party has to do with the protest. The Boston Tea Party was staged to protest the Tea Act of 1773, and it was part of the discontent brought about by the Stamp Act of 1765. The Colonists were protesting "Taxation without Representation."
Will somebody please explains to me how this is Taxation without Representation? The American people spoke loud and clear in November, and the people they want representing them are representing them.
Perhaps instead of tea bags and signs displaying what they are told to write, they should bring a text book.
One of the organizers of the misguided "protest" in Lansing is rightwing extremist Howell Public School Board member and founding member of the defunct anti-gay hate group called LOVE - (Livingston Organization for Values in Education) Wendy Day. She was quoted in a recent edition of the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus as saying she hopes the President is listening.
“This is a grassroots effort, much like the Boston Tea Party, of standing up against the oppression of big government and out-of-control spending,” she said.
What she needs to do is audit a history class at Howell High School, or better yet, attend one of Mark Oglesby's government classes.
The Lansing people are all atwitter because Samuel Wurzelbacher – AKA “Joe the Plumber” – is going to appear. You will recall that he gained instant celebrity status after a chance encounter with President Obama and asked him a question during a campaign stop in Toledo. After that, the McCain camp trotted him out at campaign stops and shopped him as the everyman Joe the Plumber.
It turns out he wasn’t a plumber and his name wasn’t even Joe. We know President Obama will be good for the country, but he has been especially good for Sam the digital converter box promoter. He has been unqualified for every job he has held since October 12, 2008. and I can’t understand why anyone but his family and friends care about what he has to say, but they are calling his appearance a “big get.”
I guess Victoria Jackson was already booked.
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11 comments:
I'm not surprised that you don't understand the protests called "Tea Parties". You claim it is due to the Tea Act of 1763. That just shows the lack of education on your part. The Boston Tea Party took place in 1773 in response to the Tea Act. Not 1763.
The Boston Tea Party, where the colonists dressed as indians and dumped tea from the British Ships into Boston Harbor, was in response to the Tea Act as well as the other attempts at taxation such as the Stamp Act, and the Townsend Acts.
The Revolution was about Taxation without Representation as well as a reaction to the sanctions put on Massachussets following the Boston Massacre. The Boston Tea Party was not just about Taxation without Representation.
I have read many of the sites regarding todays Tea Parties and I don't see anyone saying Taxation without Representation. Now, there is no way that I could read all of them because there are thousands of them scheduled around the country.
Taxation without Representation is your characterization of these tea parties.
I'd suggest that you spend your time learning the facts behind the various protests in the 1700's, beginning with the dates of these protests, but I can't believe that someone that is supposedly an adult doesn't know this stuff. This is basic education that children learn in elementary school.
Your time might be better spent figuring out how to explain away Obama saying during his campaign, over and over again, that we would not see our taxes go up one dime. He's already broken that promise several times.
You also play games with 'Joe the Plumber'. In Ohio he didn't need a license to do what he was doing. His job was working for a plumber. He didn't call himself "Joe the Plumber", the press named him that. Second, he didn't go to Obama with a chance meeting, Obama went to his house and started talking to him in his front yard while he was playing catch with his son. Obama asked him a couple of questions about what he was looking for in a new President and when Joe the Plumber answered him, Obama offered the comment that he believes that he ought to share the wealth. Joe then said, "that sounds like socialism".
That comment is what put Obama on the defensive. He didn't expect that comment and then had to explain away that ever since.
In the meantime, Ohio State employees that were Democrats pulled the information from their records on Joe the Plumber and found out about his tax lien, which Joe said he wasn't aware, and they also pulled his child support records, and they made all of this information public. Those Democrat operatives have since been fired after it was found out that they did conduct their investigation into him. Can you say abuse of power?
Regarding Joe's name, this is pretty petty even for you. People often don't go by their own name. They have nicknames. Sometimes, those names aren't even close to what their actual name is. For instance, William Jefferson Blythe Clinton went by Bill. But he was nicknamed "Bubba" during his Presidency. He also had dropped the "Blythe" from his name. His wife, was Hillary Clinton until Bill got elected to the Governors office in Arkansas. Then she added "Rodham". But then she dropped it when he was running for President, but then added it again after the election.
People are named one thing, but they are called "Bud" all their lives even though their name is not "Bud" nor "Buddy" nor anything even close to that.
Did you really think that Ervin Johnson was named "Magic" when he was born?
Your feigning not understanding a man's name, the reasons behind the current tea parties are just childish attempts at misinformation. Using your lack of logic, we're supposed to believe that your name is really Communications Guru?
The Tea Party protests are about oppresive taxation that we know is coming just as the colonists were protesting oppressive taxation. Obama is even worse than old King George because the King never said he wouldn't tax the colonists. He just did it. Obama said on numerous occasions that we wouldn't see our taxes increase by one dime.
Look at the bright side. It wasn't long after the Boston Tea Party that the shot heard round the world was fired when the battles began at Lexington and Concord. That isn't likely to happen here, partly because Obama is coming for your guns.
I got the date wrong for the Tea Act; nothing else, and I corrected it. Thank you. The Boston Tea Party was about Taxation without Representation. Period. What does that have to do with what is taking place on April 15, brett? I’ll answer it for you, nothing.
As for taxes going up, I had more money in my check yesterday, like millions of other low-income and middle class Americans.
Once again, “Joe the Plumber” is neither a plumber nor is he named Joe. If the press gave him that name, you better tell McCain and Palin who called him that when they trotted him out at rallies like a prop. That doesn’t explain why anyone but his family and friends care what he has to say.
I don’t know if the President went to his house or not, but the fact is it’s a chance meeting that has paid huge dividends for the guy. However, every report says Obama did not approach him. The NYT says, “Over the weekend, Mr. Obama was campaigning near Toledo when Mr. Wurzelbacher, a burly, bald man with a goatee, approached the candidate to confront him with the ultimate bread-and-butter question.”
Another report says, “But when he stopped Senator Barack Obama during a visit to his block last weekend to complain about taxes.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/16/us/politics/16plumber.html
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/10/in-working-clas.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/17/us/politics/17joe.html
I also can’t find any where when Sam the Whatever says "that sounds like socialism.”
All the information on Sam the Whatever is public information, so no one should have been fired, if that’s true.
As for your claim that “In Ohio he didn't need a license to do what he was doing,” that’s just one more false claim with nothing to back it up. According to the Toledo Blade,
“Mr. Wurzelbacher said he works under Al Newell’s license, but according to Ohio building regulations, he must maintain his own license to do plumbing work.”
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081016/NEWS09/810160418
My screen name is Communications Guru, which is common in blogging. But again, my name is no secret, and you know what it is. I’m certainly not using my screen name to make money. My take on his false name is the absurdity of it.
Once again, the Boston Tea Party is about Taxation without Representation, not about “oppressive taxation.”
“Obama is coming for your guns?” Where do you get that crap? Even if that was true, which it’s not, he can have mine. You are correct, the “battles began at Lexington and Concord” aren’t “likely to happen here” because we have a standing army that we didn’t have in 1776.
Notice the second paragraph beginning with “However, if the colonies paid…” I separated it out for you just in case you don't know what a paragraph is.
The Boston Tea Party, 1773
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Victory in the French and Indian War was costly for the British. At the war's conclusion in 1763, King George III and his government looked to taxing the American colonies as a way of recouping their war costs. They were also looking for ways to reestablish control over the colonial governments that had become increasingly independent while the Crown was distracted by the war. Royal ineptitude compounded the problem. A series of actions including the Stamp Act (1765), the Townsend Acts (1767) and the Boston Massacre (1770) agitated the colonists, straining relations with the mother country. But it was the Crown's attempt to tax tea that spurred the colonists to action and laid the groundwork for the American Revolution.
The colonies refused to pay the levies required by the Townsend Acts claiming they had no obligation to pay taxes imposed by a Parliament in which they had no representation. In response, Parliament retracted the taxes with the exception of a duty on tea - a demonstration of Parliament's ability and right to tax the colonies. In May of 1773 Parliament concocted a clever plan. They gave the struggling East India Company a monopoly on the importation of tea to America. Additionally, Parliament reduced the duty the colonies would have to pay for the imported tea. The Americans would now get their tea at a cheaper price than ever before.
"However, if the colonies paid the duty tax on the imported tea they would be acknowledging Parliament's right to tax them."
Tea was a staple of colonial life - it was assumed that the colonists would rather pay the tax than deny themselves the pleasure of a cup of tea.
The colonists were not fooled by Parliament's ploy. When the East India Company sent shipments of tea to Philadelphia and New York the ships were not allowed to land. In Charleston the tea-laden ships were permitted to dock but their cargo was consigned to a warehouse where it remained for three years until it was sold by patriots in order to help finance the revolution.
In Boston, the arrival of three tea ships ignited a furious reaction. The crisis came to a head on December 16, 1773 when as many as 7,000 agitated locals milled about the wharf where the ships were docked. A mass meeting at the Old South Meeting House that morning resolved that the tea ships should leave the harbor without payment of any duty. A committee was selected to take this message to the Customs House to force release of the ships out of the harbor. The Collector of Customs refused to allow the ships to leave without payment of the duty. Stalemate. The committee reported back to the mass meeting and a howl erupted from the meeting hall. It was now early evening and a group of about 200 men disguised as Indians assembled on a near-by hill. Whopping war chants, the crowd marched two-by-two to the wharf, descended upon the three ships and dumped their offending cargos of tea into the harbor waters.
Most colonists applauded the action while the reaction in London was swift and vehement. In March 1774 Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts which among other measures closed the Port of Boston. The fuse that led directly to the explosion of American independence was lit.
Take your tea and shove it.
George Hewes was a member of the band of "Indians" that boarded the tea ships that evening. His recollection of the event was published some years later. We join his story as the group makes its way to the tea-laden ships:
"It was now evening, and I immediately dressed myself in the costume of an Indian, equipped with a small hatchet, which I and my associates denominated the tomahawk, with which, and a club, after having painted my face and hands with coal dust in the shop of a blacksmith, I repaired to Griffin's wharf, where the ships lay that contained the tea. When I first appeared in the street after being thus disguised, I fell in with many who were dressed, equipped and painted as I was, and who fell in with me and marched in order to the place of our destination.
When we arrived at the wharf, there were three of our number who assumed an authority to direct our operations, to which we readily submitted. They divided us into three parties, for the purpose of boarding the three ships which contained the tea at the same time. The name of him who commanded the division to which I was assigned was Leonard Pitt. The names of the other commanders I never knew. We were immediately ordered by the respective commanders to board all the ships at the same time, which we promptly obeyed. The commander of the division to which I belonged, as soon as we were on board the ship, appointed me boatswain, and ordered me to go to the captain and demand of him the keys to the hatches and a dozen candles. I made the demand accordingly, and the captain promptly replied, and delivered the articles; but requested me at the same time to do no damage to the ship or rigging. We then were ordered by our commander to open the hatches and take out all the chests of tea and throw them overboard, and we immediately proceeded to execute his orders, first cutting and splitting the chests with our tomahawks, so as thoroughly to expose them to the effects of the water.
In about three hours from the time we went on board, we had thus broken and thrown overboard every tea chest to be found in the ship, while those in the other ships were disposing of the tea in the same way, at the same time. We were surrounded by British armed ships, but no attempt was made to resist us.
...The next morning, after we had cleared the ships of the tea, it was discovered that very considerable quantities of it were floating upon the surface of the water; and to prevent the possibility of any of its being saved for use, a number of small boats were manned by sailors and citizens, who rowed them into those parts of the harbor wherever the tea was visible, and by beating it with oars and paddles so thoroughly drenched it as to render its entire destruction inevitable."
References:
Hawkes, James A, Retrospect of the Boston Tea-Party, with a Memoir of George R. T. Hewes... (1834) reprinted in Commager, Henry Steele, Morris Richard B., The Spirit of 'Seventy-Six vol I (1958); Labaree, Benjamin Woods, The Boston Tea Party (1964).
How To Cite This Article:
"The Boston Tea Party, 1773," EyeWitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (2002).
From ABC news, Obama’s “spread the wealth” comment:
Obama said, "My attitude is that if the economy’s good for folks from the bottom up, it’s gonna be good for everybody. If you’ve got a plumbing business, you’re gonna be better off if you’re gonna be better off if you’ve got a whole bunch of customers who can afford to hire you, and right now everybody’s so pinched that business is bad for everybody and I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody."
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/10/spread-the-weal.html
Regarding the Ohio people who improperly looked at Joe’s file. Two resigned and one was fired.:
Gov. Ted Strickland suspended Jones-Kelley for a month without pay after Ohio Inspector General Tom Charles found in November that she improperly used state computers to find personal information on Samuel Wurzelbacher. The investigation also found that she conducted improper political fundraising activity for now President-elect Barack Obama.
Scarlett Bouder, a spokeswoman for Job and Family Services, said two other top-level officials also will be leaving the department.
Fred Williams, the department’s assistant director, will resign effective Jan. 31 and the department is revoking Doug Thompson’s position as deputy director of child support effective Dec. 22, she said.
Charles’ report also outlined roles played by Williams and Thompson in the searches. Williams had been suspended without pay for two weeks and Thompson was suspended without pay for a month.
Bouder said Williams, who has a couple of decades of institutional knowledge, will stay on through January to help with the transition to a new director. She said Thompson was appointed by the director and his position will be eliminated.
http://www.nbc4i.com/cmh/news/local/local_govtpolitics/article/odjfs_director_submits_resignation/10814/
You used the New York Times as a source. I find this remarkable in light of the recent revelations that they spiked the story about Obama’s campaign and ACORN. This makes the New York Times not a credible source. It’s almost as bad as you using yourself as a resource for things you say.
www.examiner.com/x-3081-Phoenix-Conservative-Examiner~y2009m4d2-Testimony-NY-Times-buried-ObamaACORN-sto..
http://patriotroom.com/article/media-deathwatch-ny-times-buried-obama-acorn-story
http://www.thesun.co.uk/discussions/posts/list/Did_The_New_York_Times_Suppress_A_Story_That_Could_Have_Kept_Obama_Out_Of_Office~63~-172162.page
“However, if the colonies paid the duty tax on the imported tea they would be acknowledging Parliament's right to tax them." I agree 100 percent. If they paid the duty tax on the tea, then they would be acknowledging Parliament's right to tax them without representation. That’s exactly what I have been saying. So, are you now going to answer the question of why is the April 15 called a Tea Party? They are being taxed with proper representation.
“My attitude is that if the economy’s good for folks from the bottom up, it’s gonna be good for everybody. If you’ve got a plumbing business, you’re gonna be better off if you’re gonna be better off if you’ve got a whole bunch of customers who can afford to hire you, and right now everybody’s so pinched that business is bad for everybody and I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody."
Wow. All that fuss for four words taken out of context. How you or anyone can get socialism out of that is beyond me. But once again, no where in that exchange can I find any where where Sam the Whatever says "that sounds like socialism.”
I noticed you ignored this paragraph, “Outside Toledo, Ohio, on Sunday, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was approached by plumber Joe Wurzelbacher, a big, bald man with a goatee who asked Obama if he believes in the American dream.” That debunks your claim that he “didn't go to Obama with a chance meeting, Obama went to his house and started talking to him in his front yard while he was playing catch with his son.”
It also said “Charles’ investigation could not confirm that Jones-Kelley accessed the records of Wurzelbacher with political gain in mind.” I don’t see anywhere in your article where it says, “Democrat operatives” were fired. Now, I know property tax info and tax liens and professional licensing info are public information; I’m not sure about support info. However, no where in the article did they say what personal info was accessed.
Yes, the New York Times. I don’t use myself as a source, but I do link to previous things I have written about the same subject. You provided three links to this alleged NYT and ACORN story. One doesn’t work, and the other two are not credible and are not a mainstream source. Even if it were true, so what?
ACORN is a respected organization that helps millions of people.
The only way you make it work for you is to add to the quote, and that makes the context different. Not surprising you'd do that.
Yep. Joe went out to him, in front of his house as Obama was walking down the street doing some doorknocking (although I suspect there was no doorknocking as there was a huge contingent of people following him).
First she was suspended without pay for improperly accessing state computers to access personal records of Joe's. The department was "Job and Family Services". Personal records are not public. They are, PERSONAL. Then she resigned because of that, claiming that she was supposedly in fear for her family's safety.
One of the links didn't work. Odd, since I pulled them right from the website. It couldn't have been YOU that was the problem.
Anyone using the ultra liberal New York Times as a source really has no room to call any other site not credible.
By the way, "spread the wealth" is socialism. In a free society, if you want something, earn it. You're not entitled to what others work hard and earn. That won't be the case much longer as we plunge deeper and deeper into socialism. If you think you're entitled to things that others have, you're welcome to stop by when it's garbage day. I don't mind at all if you pick through my trash to take what I have no use for any longer.
Bottom up doesn't work. Gee, what can I use for an example? I know, how about Michigan? We've been in a six year recession. 49% of graduates from MSU are leaving the state after graduation. 53% of U of M graduates are leaving Michigan after graduation.
What does work is lower taxes, and limited government. You socialists are of the mindset that everything needs to be run by government. Thus, you insist on confiscating money from the people (increased taxes) to keep the government running. The results of that? Well, we find outself in a budget hole again after that tax increase. We have over 30,000 people leaving the state each year, many going to states that don't have an income tax. Graduates that see no future here and expect to never come back.
Yep, your socialism is working well.
Here's a suggestion for you. If you don't like the idea of the Tea Parties to protest confiscatory taxes, don't go to the tea parties. It's much like the radio. If you don't like the song that's playing on the radio, change the channel or turn it off. Whining as you do only makes you appear more the fool.
I never added to any quote.
You claimed it was not a chance meeting. In fact, you said, “Obama went to his house and started talking to him in his front yard while he was playing catch with his son.” You were wrong, but unlike me, you will not admit when you are wrong.
Again, no where did it say they were “Democratic operatives,” and it doesn’t say what kind of into it is.
Yes, the link did not work.
Yes, I will use one of the oldest and most respected newspapers in the world as a source. The media is not liberal, it’s conservative. But if you want to disregard the NYT, fine. I provided three links, the NYT was just one.
Sorry, “spread the wealth" is not socialism. The fact is the infrastructure paid for by taxes help those people get rich. I have never taken something I didn’t earn. The simple fact is that the auto industry is Michigan’s largest employer, and it has been for the last 60 years. When it goes south, we have a problem. When you also consider how many out of state and international students attend those two top-notch schools, the number is not that alarming, nor does it prove anything. How the hell does that even prove your ridiculous “Bottom up doesn't work” rant.
Once again, brett, there are no socialists in the county, and that’s just a fascist Republican talking point.
Going to the farce has nothing to do with pointing out that the misguided protest is in no way related to the Boston Tea Party. If you don’t like how we are being represented change it in November.
You're a walking contradiction. It's fun dragging you through your contortions. Next topic............
Great comeback. I guess after the way I kicked your ass, brett, I would throw in the towel, too.
If this isn't an example of cognitive dissonance...The only way you make it work for you is to add to the quote, and that makes the context different. Not surprising you'd do that...I don't know what is.
The quote was taken out of context from the jump and spun into this socialism narrative the 29 percenters are using.
Dishonesty is a membership requirement for the wingnuts, so I shouldn't be surprised.
This is more the true
He has been unqualified for every job he has held since November 4th, 2008. and I can’t understand why anyone but his family and friends care about what he has to say
Wow, hate America, we actually agree on something. Sam the cable box guy is unqualified. It’s a miracle.
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