BRUCE BARTLETT: We Do Not Need A Second Stimulus Plan. I agree.
Paul Krugman, meanwhile, runs this chart, when perhaps he really should be talking about this one.
And Joe Biden says the White House got it wrong. “We ‘Misread the Economy’.”
Related: Stomping on the “green shoots.”
WELL, IT WOULDN’T BE THE FIRST TIME: Charge: Reuters Runs Staged Photo Of Bloody Honduran Protester.
MOLLIE SUGDEN HAS DIED. A few years ago, my brother and I enjoyed a beer-enhanced DVD marathon of that show.
FROM ANN ALTHOUSE, some close parsing of the Wa$hington Po$t pay-for-play non-apology.
My lawyer’s eye fixates on one word — in that last sentence: will.
You start out with your terrible, suggestive flier. And just when my mind is screaming quit putting all the blame on the damned flier, you’re all let me be clear: The flier was not the only problem.
Okay, so you will confess that you did plan to sell access to power brokers in Washington through dinners that were to take place at your home?
Then on to the crisp declarative We will not organize such events. You skipped a step!
I know you won’t organize “such events” now — now that you’ve been publicly humiliated. You’re glossing over the key thing you ought to apologize for: that you did organize a series of dinners at your home to make money giving access to Washington power brokers.
Would they be so sorry if they hadn’t been caught out? No.
UPDATE: No, it doesn’t get her off the hook that she’s Tina Weymouth’s niece.
IN CALIFORNIA, renewable energy shortfalls. I’m not sure they’re a good model for the rest of the country, on this or many other issues . . . .
“GLAMPING” AS A TERM for “glamour camping?” Not buying it. And, happily, we’re well past the Barbie stage here.
RICK MORAN: Tea Parties build on April success. He used to be quite unimpressed with the tea parties, so I guess that’s something.
READER PAUL LEE thinks that Sarah Palin will try to start a new Tea Party in August.
Pure speculation on my part but this was the very first thought I had when I heard she was resigning. Here’s why I think my theory is valid.
1. Sarah Palin is a fighter and wants payback for her VP run in that she wants to run an unfettered campaign free from internal sabotage.
2. Her speaking points are very much aligned with the stuff coming out of tea parties of late
3. The tea party movement to date has been entirely grassroots but lacking a coordinated national leadership. In fact, to date, it has purposely avoided that to maintain its character and idealism.
4. Palin knows running again as a GOP candidate would be a political dead-end. Her only real choice is to offer her services to raise tons of money for a new party – the TEA Party!
5. In terms of symbolism, the TEA Party would resonate most strongly with middle America – something the Greens and Libertarians never had.
6. She’s resigning now because the road to 2012 first needs to make a stop at the 2010 midterm elections. The only way a new party would have a chance in 2012 is to take a lot of seats in 2010.
7. The tea party movement needs to field its own candidates in 2010 because the last decade has shown neither Republicans nor Democrats can be trusted with power. The only candidates people will be able to truly trust will be those who run on a new platform free from the political influence peddling of the current parties.
8. The only way a new TEA Party can field candidates who will win is if they have a strong national leadership and access to a lot of fund raising power. In other words, Sarah Palin.
9. To win significant seats in 2010 means you have to start organizing now. Hence her unusual timing of her resignation.
10. Palin at the head of a new national party will suck all the oxygen out of the room. This single act will guarantee she will have as much air time as our Spender-in-Chief. Furthermore it will no doubt scare a lot of Republicans (since the leadership is all chickenshit today anyway) into actually taking on the Democrats.
11. And, cranking it up all the way to 11, Sarah Palin declaring the formation of the national TEA Party would be the single most disruptive, and dare I say most revolutionary act in the history of modern American politics. It will totally change the whole ballgame because everyone in a single stroke will be playing by HER rules.
“Higher calling,” indeed.
Hmm. My thoughts: (1) How’d that Ross Perot thing work out? (2) It would be hard — not impossible, but hard — to get enough candidates on the ballot to make a difference, given that state ballot laws are quite deliberately designed to prevent third parties from getting a toehold. (3) Palin’s got a lot of popularity, but she’d draw almost entirely from Republican voters. (4) On the other hand, it would serve the GOP establishment right . . . .
UPDATE: Lee responds:
Also, here are my responses to the questions you raised.
1. Ross Perot, despite having come out of left field, still won 19% of the popular vote. I think Palin could avoid the Perot effect by first establishing a political base for a new party via the 2010 midterm elections. How much stronger would she be as a candidate for a third major political party that manged to win, say, 20% of the contested seats in 2010? Going into 2012, she would have a much bigger advantage than Perot ever had.
2. Yes, I agree getting enough candidates on the ballot would be EXTREMELY difficult. But my counter-argument to this is, what other real alternative is there? My fear is that the tea party movement will fizzle by next year. People can only be angry for so long, and after venting at their elected Republican and Democratic officials for so long, how can the justified anger be channeled into real action? Tea partiers can “throw the bums out” but in order to do that, they have to have strong opposition candidates to actually vote for.
I’m pretty sure incumbents running in 2010 will make just enough pleasing noises to attract just enough votes of tea partiers to retain their seats – only to return to business as usual. I sensed a lot of “I’m glad I’m here to voice my opinions, but I don’t know what else to do” type of attitude in reading some of the tea party articles you posted this morning. What the TEA Party needs now is to be able to say, “Here are our slate of candidates in 2010 – let’s do everything we can to get them elected.”
3. I somewhat agree that Palin’s draw is almost entirely from Republican voters. Which is why heading up the formation of a new national party is the best move for her politically. She gets to ditch the Republican label and the constant internal sabotage. Palin doesn’t need the GOP, and the GOP is too ambivalent to give her the kind of support she needs to run a national race.
In any case, I’m not totally convinced myself Palin would be the BEST candidate for Presidency in 2012. That would be something to decide a few years hence. But the reason I like my theory so much is that Palin is probably the only figure in American politics today who can make a national TEA Party happen. Jim Geraghty noticed this about Palin’s resignation statement:
“She quoted Douglas MacArthur in her resignation announcement, referring to ‘not retreating, but advancing in another direction.’ But the words most associated with Douglas MacArthur in American minds are “I shall return.”
Geraghty is looking at the wrong MacArthur analogy. “I shall return” was MacArthur being forced to leave the Philippines under fire, under circumstances he couldn’t control.
But if my speculation proves to be true, then Palin’s reference to MacArthur is actually a reference to the Inchon landing in the Korean War. Remember that the U.N. forces had been overrun and pushed back to the Pusan Perimeter on a tiny corner of the Korean Peninsula. The war was virtually lost. MacArthur, by landing in Inchon, managed to turn the entire war around in a single action, and within a short period of time, North Korean forces had been pushed back all the way to the northern border with China. It happened precisely because no one expected MacArthur to make such a daring and difficult move from an unlikely direction at an unlikely time. Viewed in this way, doesn’t her sudden resignation make sense?
If Palin does emerge as the head of a new national TEA Party, it will be her version of Inchon.
Is Sarah Palin’s grasp of military history that sophisticated? Oh, well. As long as there’s no trouble at the Yalu. Meanwhile, John Richardson writes:
I think the third party talk is ill advised. I think Palin just needs to try and stick her finger in the eye of the Republican establishment. She can do that by supporting/encouraging challengers to incumbents, where appropriate, in the Republican primaries. Supporting Marco Rubio against the RNSC’s boy Crist would be a good place to start.
You’re right, history shows the folly of third party runs at the national level. The only way I see for the Tea Party to become a third party is to focus on getting people to run in local elections, and establishing themselves at that level.
I think pushing primary challengers — to both Democrats and Republicans — is a more promising approach. But what do I know?
And Ashley Cruseturner thinks she could become “a Republican Al Gore, beloved and admired on her side of the aisle and reviled and ridiculed by her irate opponents. Remember, Vice President Gore has reportedly earned $100 Million during the years following his defeat in 2000. Like Gore, Palin will always have star power and the ability to draw a crowd. We can expect her to use her influence on the party faithful when needed, and we can also expect her, like Gore, to continually dangle the prospect of running for president before the press and her faithful boosters (but my hunch is, ultimately, she will never pull the trigger again on a all-out run for the big prize). All she needs now are a ‘few inconvenient truths.’”
The budget provides plenty of those. But she’d be wise to avoid Al Gore’s weight gain. Meanwhile, a reader sends this post suggesting that a third-party run isn’t as hard as it used to be. Maybe, but I am not yet convinced.
And reader Meryl Jefferson says forget all the third-party drama:
Look, Palin is relatively inexperienced, compared to say, John McCain or Ted Stevens, but she’s not a nutter.
No matter what Maureen Dowd writes.
You don’t go all Ross Perot on the Republican Party and start your own fringe party by trying to coopt the TEA Party movement into a new Party.
Palin isn’t stupid. She knows that the two major parties are the only game in town. She understands that the correct path is to conduct an insurgency within the Republican Party, as Goldwater did.If she were a loon, she’d be going to Idaho and into the mountains. But she’s not. She’s going to Simi Valley on August 8th to address the 50th Anniversary of the Simi Valley Women’s Republican Club. Seats are $150.00 a ticket for non-members. This is her roll-out speech. I bet the tickets are being snapped up so fast that not even Arnold can get one.
This is not the action of one who wants to go Ross Perot. It is the action of one who’s gone Galt on her own party and has decided to play the game her way.
The way Nixon played it in 1965, and Reagan played it in 1977.
Well, stay tuned. She’s certainly got a plan in mind.
MORE: Rush Limbaugh weighs in. Boy, she’s certainly taken over the weekend.
STILL MORE: Reader Chris Lynch writes: “Why couldn’t a new Tea Party be successful? The Republican Party was once a third party and their single issue was compelling enough to topple the existing party in power (the Whigs had just elected 3 of the previous 4 Presidents when the Republican Party formed in 1854). Within 6 years this new party had succeeded in electing Abraham Lincoln as President. Why couldn’t the Tea Party become just as successful in half the time?”
CELIAC DISEASE becoming more common. That stinks.
IT’S ALL PALIN, ALL THE TIME, over at Reclusive Leftist.
SO IS THIS CUTE, or is it cruelty to animals?
ANOTHER “CRISIS” REQUIRING EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES! US-Russian Arms Negotiators “Under the Gun,” Might Temporarily Bypass Senate Ratification for Treaty.
Here’s a hint — if you bypass Senate ratification, it’s not a treaty.
UPDATE: On reflection, that’s excessively snarky. A President can, of course, abide by a treaty even if it’s not ratified, so long as he’s not asserting any binding effect on parties not under his supervision, which is likely the case here. Still, it’s of a piece with the “it’s a rush, we don’t have time for the formalities” approach that this Administration has favored.
LOSING WEIGHT ON A BUDGET. It says a lot — mostly good — about the state of civilization that people worry whether they can afford to lose weight. For nearly all of human history, that wasn’t the problem . . . .
“RUN, SARAH, RUN:” Bill Quick in the New York Post.
ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN PRODUCING more first dates? “Some singles are now hunting for dates with the same fervor others are showing hunting for jobs. . . . Last fall, comparing periods when the stock market fell more than 100 points and when it rose by the same amount, eHarmony found more members searched for matches when the financial news was grim.” Hmm.
THOUGHTS ON THE END OF “INDEPENDENCE DAY,” from Tam.
JOHN TIERNEY: Rumsfeldian Stem Cells.
A TALE OF TWO STATES’ ECONOMIES: On the latest PJM Political.
IN THE MAIL: From Joel Grus, Your Religion Is False. The Insta-Daughter, though not particularly religious, picked it out of my pile to read and didn’t like it much — she pronounces it too condescending.
CHRIS DODD UPDATE: “Dodd Continues To Mislead People About the Value of His Irish Property.”
NEW JERSEY: Thousands take part in ‘tea party’ protest against high taxes in Morristown.
TEXAS: Sen. Cornyn booed at Capitol “tea party”. “‘You’re the problem,’ a crowd member hollered.”
Also, Thousands attend America’s Tea Party protest at Southfork Ranch.
NEVADA: Fourth of July Marked with Tea Party in Reno: “The tea party, in which ‘tea’ stands for ‘taxed enough already,’ was one of five held in Nevada on Saturday and was organized locally by Republican Debbie Landis. Landis estimated 3,000 people participated through the course of the day.”
MASSACHUSETTS: Pride, concern share stage at Quincy Tea Party Freedom Celebration.
Also, ‘Tea Party’ crowd fills center of Hanoverton.
SOUTH CAROLINA: Tea Party protesters rally against big government, massive spending.
INDIANA: Hundreds show up in rain for second local tea party.
IDAHO: T.E.A. Party In Idaho Falls.
ARKANSAS: TEA Party Packs Bomber Stadium.
MICHIGAN: Genesee TEA Party holds Independence Day tax protest, plans campaign against Hurley millage.
MINNESOTA: Tea Party calls for less government, people’s rights.
FLORIDA: Apopka TEA Party Has Big Turnout.
NEW MEXICO: TEA Party Rally Focuses On Nation’s Values.
CONNECTICUT: Norwich tea party protest draws 500.
This is just what was at the top of Google News under “tea party” this morning. Nothing systematic about it. But as Michael Silence notes below, it’s a widely distributed phenomenon.
YOU, TOO, can learn echolocation. And it’s useful. I have a bit of that ability myself — it was better back when I was doing live-sound engineering and my ears were tuned to that sort of thing.
It’s seemed to me that the Obama administration has made a mistake in the framing of the health care issue: ‘We’ll raise your taxes and in exchange we’re going to cut your treatments.’ I mean, how could that not have widespread appeal? It’s pain/pain!
Heh.
AT THE CAPTAIN’S JOURNAL, Calling on National Security Advisor James L. Jones to Resign.
ANN BARTOW: The Supposedly Liberal Doods Are STILL Odiously Hypersexualizing Sarah Palin. Half the fun of being a “Supposedly Liberal Dood” is the license to do that sort of thing while still being “progressive.” You wouldn’t take that away from them, would you?
ANN ALTHOUSE: “Memo to Purdum, Dowd, and the several people there in Alaska: Everybody who runs for high office will have a lot of check marks on the DSM list of symptoms of ‘narcissistic personality disorder.’” She continues: “I mean, maybe Fred Thompson didn’t, but you see, it’s a problem if you don’t have these things. Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, etc. etc. — who among them lacks a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, blah blah blah? Oh, but they have empathy, you burble. Bullshit! Watch all the Democrats try to claim the empathy loophole to the narcissistic personality disorder diagnosis. Ha! Bullshit! They all have it. And don’t throw your money at a prospective candidate who doesn’t. He’ll poop out, like Fred.”
Perhaps we should try reconfiguring our system of government so that it attracts sane people, instead. And yes, we’ve been here before.
KURT SCHLICHTER: The Force Is With Sarah Palin. What’s this — “If you strike me down I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine” is becoming a catchphrase? I claim credit.
THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE looks at California’s problems. But Chris Reed at the Union-Tribune notes that they forgot to mention public employee unions. “It was even worse than I expected. . . . The article focuses on the volatility of income taxes, which is a key point. But it never offers the context that California’s other taxes are almost all among the nation’s highest. It leaves the impression, as do all East Coast media, that California is relatively undertaxed. . . . Pathetically enough, in 8,000 words, the author never mentions the fact that the public thinks the state’s biggest problem is an inability to live within its means, not the difficulty of raising taxes. . . . There is a reference to same-sex unions. There is a reference to Gavin Newsom dealing with the SEIU in San Francisco. But the CTA? The prison guards union? AFSCME? The SEIU’s lobbying in Sacramento? All unmentioned. Incredible. Pathetic. Typical. Even by the rotten standards of the East Coast media, the New York Times has hit a new low.”
PHOTOGRAPHING fireflies at Elkmont.
PHOTOS AND VIDEO from the Northville, Michigan Tea Party.
GORDON CHANG: Did Obama Score a Victory at Sea vs. North Korea? Let’s hope.
MORE PORN MEANS LESS RAPE. Hey, as I’ve noted before, porn and violent videogames are good for America’s children!
A BUNCH OF interesting food links.
HITLER FINDS OUT Michael Jackson has died.
WANT TO STAND UP FOR AMERICA? Support PJTV.
IRAN NEWS: Clerical Group Defies Leader on Disputed Iran Election. “The most important group of religious leaders in Iran has called the disputed presidential election and the new government illegitimate, an act of defiance against the country’s supreme leader and the most public sign of a major split in the country’s clerical establishment.”
UPDATE: Another revolution that won’t die.
ANOTHER UPDATE: U2 Dedicates ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ to Iranian Freedom Protesters (Video). Perhaps Bono can ring up Obama and suggest he offer more support.
TEA PARTY UPDATE: GARY TIETJEN SENDS THIS PHOTO FROM ALBUQUERQUE and reports, “This demonstration was 0.3 mi long, on both sides of Alameda Blvd with people standing shoulder to shoulder. A continuous stream of people passed by, honking.”
Here’s a CNN report on the Washington Tea Party rally:
Instead of celebrating the Fourth of July holiday with barbecues and sparklers, about 2,000 small-government advocates, toting signs and chanting slogans, rallied outside the U.S. Capitol Saturday. “They are wasting all of our money,” said Sean Albert of Richmond, Virginia. “They’re not running our government like we would run our own checkbooks. When I’m out of money, I stop spending the money.”
The rally followed a national effort that drew thousands of activists to TEA Party events across the country on April 15, when income taxes are due.
Organizers said similar July 4 rallies were planned for nearly 1,500 cities.
Of which I’m just scratching the surface here! Here’s a report from Fresno, California, where 15,000 showed up:
Organizers said 15,000 ralliers showed up in Tulare Saturday morning demanding limited government, fiscal responsibility and free markets, something they believe they are not getting.
Thousands of people from all over the central valley gathered at the Tulare Agri-Center Saturday morning for a 4th of July “Freedom Rally Tea Party.”
“This is the most patriotic thing I could be doing on this 4th of July,” said rallier Michelle Riddle.
And here’s a report, with pictures, from Oklahoma City.
Here’s a report from Bismarck, North Dakota.
And here’s one (via cellphone) from Peachtree City, Georgia. Reader Cheryl Drury, who sent it, writes: ” I don’t know exact attendance, but Mr. Cain said about 2,000 during his speech. (I had thought a little less, at least 1500, but whatever). Peachtree City is about 35 miles south of downtown Atlanta. We have a population of about 30,000. I’ve attached a couple of pictures. It was HOT! Not too many signs, especially compared to the earlier Atlanta party, but a real emphasis on getting organized quickly and taking action now, rather than just waiting around to vote for someone else. Glad to go and glad we took our kids.”
Jim Borchert sends this from Louisville, Kentucky:
And Matt Barker sends this from Asheville, NC:
Here’s a report, with photos, from Reno. And Alex Bensky emails from Detroit:
I did not stay for the entire program. My offhand guess is that they had about 600-700 people. Except for a few JROTC young people and one speaker the crowd was entirely white. Mostly middle-aged but some younger people who were clearly not with their parents, The crowd was very good-natured.and the unison responses to various speakers’ points did not strike me as particularly rancourous. I have wandered into a few leftist demonstrations in the last few years and seen others on tv or Youtube, and certainly the venom and viciousness that characterizes such events was entirely absent.
Groups with information tables included the Libertarians, Objectivists, Fair Taxers, someone doing a documentary movie on Detroit during the Second World War, and of course the organizers selling t-shirts. I noticed only one sign regarding immmigration and a couple about the Tenth Amendment…nice to see someone at least is reading the constitution. Otherwise the signs were nothing beyond what you’d expect and only a couple were overwrought, the kind calling Obama communist, etc. You’d get that sort of thing at a progressive function, a certain number of people from groups that are more or less out of touch with reality…ACORN, ANSWER, the Democratic Party…The Libertarians had a table but I only saw one sign I could identify as Libertarian; it was specifically promoting Ron Paul.
There was a singer who sang something I’m delighted to hear, conservative protest songs, someone from a veteran’s assistance foundation, the Pledge, the national anthem, Michigan’s attorney general spoke at some length and other than standard but not necessarily unwarranted jabs at Gov. Granholm and the president it was a typical political stump speech–he flattered the crowd’s patriotism and acumen, came out for lower taxes, more jobs, and a strong America.
Although the organizer who spoke said that the group was not endorsing any political party, she did make a brief plug for a local Republican congressman. On the other hand, she said that a local Democratic congressman and Senator Stabenow had been invited. They didn’t show up, which didn’t surprise me. They didn’t have the courtesy to respond to the invitation, which I regret to say didn’t surprise me either.
Also, here’s a report from Philadelphia. I’ll round up some more reports tomorrow if I can.
Philly pictures below from reader Rich Gonzalez:
Finally, Michael Silence of the Knoxville News-Sentinel emails: “Went through ‘downtown’ Crossville, TN, about three hours ago, and on Main Street there were about a half-dozen people holding tea party signs. Some cars honked in support. Certainly not the volume you’re hearing about, but the symbolism certainly significant on this day and in this small town.” Indeed.
ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY Fireworks.
STEVE MCNAIR shot to death in Nashville.
RAND SIMBERG POSTS A REPORT from the Fort Lauderdale Tea Party.
Plus, pics and a report from Chicago.
UPDATE: A report from Dallas. And one from Washington, Missouri, where 1500 showed up. And here are some pictures from Frankfort, Kentucky.
PJTV: What Would John Galt Do? I didn’t realize that Atlas Shrugged has outsold every book but the bible.
UPDATE: A reader emails: “I’m a big Atlas Shrugged fan and WISH that it outsold all books besides the Bible. Unfortunately, the PJTV host misspoke when he said that. What he probably had in mind was a 1991 Book-of-the-Month Club/Library of Congress survey which ranked Atlas Shrugged second only to the Bible as being the most influential book.”
DRIVING BMW’S Electric Mini-E. I’d like to be one of those beta-testers.
9 SERIOUS DIY Beer-Brewing rigs. I never had anything quite this serious, but this reminds me that I haven’t brewed in three or four years. Brewing is kind of social, and the two guys I used to brew with moved away. It’s just not as fun on your own, and the Insta-Wife’s interest in beer is pretty limited.
BETTER AND CHEAPER: So Consumer Reports has ratings of LCD TVs again, and they’re better and cheaper — and bigger — than when I bought mine a couple of years ago. You can get a high-rated 52″ Toshiba for much less than I paid for my 46″ JVC just a couple of years ago. And you can get a 42″ JVC for well under a thousand bucks. According to the piece, they’re also a lot better than the HDTVs of a couple of years ago. If only everything improved like electronics . . . .
STREAMING VIDEO from the Dallas Tea Party should be here in about an hour.
ROGER SIMON: Storm Clouds On The Fourth of July. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen my country so divided and depressed on the Fourth of July in my lifetime and – no matter what Bob Dylan dreamed up – I’m not young, forever or otherwise. That includes the Vietnam War period when both sides at least had some conviction and excitement for the future, even if wrong. Not so now. The current situation is grim. Obama is already over. In six short months the now-spattered bumper stickers with ‘Hope and Change’ seem like pathetic remnants from the days of ’23 Skidoo,’ the echoes of ‘Yes, we can’ more nauseating than ever in their cliché-ridden evasiveness. Although they may pretend otherwise, even Obama’s choir in the mainstream media seems to know he’s finished, their defenses of his wildly over-priced medical and cap-and-trade schemes perfunctory at best. Everyone knows we can’t afford them.”
READERS ARE SENDING PHOTOS FROM TEA PARTY PROTESTS AROUND THE COUNTRY. Here’s one from Perrysburgh, Ohio, sent by reader Chris Zarecki, who reports about 3,000 people attending.
Here’s one from Bel Air, Maryland, sent by reader Maya Leonetti. The Debt Star makes another appearance!
Here’s one from Washington, DC sent by reader Larry B who writes: “Several thousand here, more arriving.”
And here’s a news report from Pittsburgh. Plus, from the Christian Science Monitor: Round 2 of Tea Party protests: a political powerhouse in the making? We’ll see.
And here’s one from Fayetteville, Arkansas. Reader Matt Drachenberg emails: “Crowd estimated at 1,500, in the rain.”
Plus, David Vickers writes from Kansas City:
It’s hard to people from Kansas and Missouri to agree on much, but over 2,000 of them agreed to come out on July 4 to celebrate freedom and express common political views. This is looking across State Line Road from Leawood, Kansas into Kansas City, Missouri. The Tea Party stretched over 5 blocks on both sides of the state line.
Only one local affiliate showed up to cover it.
Lots of families. LOTS of horn honking by supporters.
He sends pics, too.
And here’s one from Lansing, Michigan, sent by Blogging Prof Chris Kobus: “Glenn, About 2000 attendees so far and the event hasn’t even begun! (attached pic) I’ll update my site when I can find a hotspot.”
UPDATE: Reader Harold Combs writes from Hernando, Mississippi. “Over a thousand people filled the Courthouse square in the little Mississippi town of Hernando, where John Grisham got his start, to tell our representatives that we have had enough and we won’t take it any more. This Tea Party thing is taking off.”
And here’s a press report from Tallahassee’s Tea Party protest:
Citizens in Tallahassee participated in the latest round of “Tea Party Protests” today, joining people in many cities around the country. Local attorney Pace Allen, founder of taxteaparty.com, organized the event that took place in front of the steps of the Historic Capitol on North Monroe Street. . . . A large group of protesters of all ages gathered in support of the cause around noon, including many families. A stand offered “tax free tea” and there were tables containing petitions and fliers. Most stood near the road, holding signs with slogans like “American, Not Socialist,” “Don’t tax me, bro” and “R.I.P. GM. Murdered by bailout.”
Also, here’s a report from Syracuse, and here’s one from Frankfort, Kentucky:
Hundreds of Kentuckians carrying flags, signs and brown-bag lunches gathered at the Capitol steps to protest taxes and government as part of a national effort known as the “tea party” movement.
The Saturday rally was organized by the group TEA Party of Kentucky – with TEA standing for “taxed enough already.” Similar rallies were held in other cities statewide and nationwide.
The Frankfort event featured music and speakers as those gathered sat on walls and in lawn chairs they brought from home. All age ranges were represented in the crowd, from babies in strollers to retirees.
Stay tuned.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Here’s a report, with photos, from Boston.
THE HOUSING COLLAPSE: As far as I can tell, it’s caused in no small part by idiots. At both ends.
I’ve learned this by watching HGTV. On the one hand, I saw a rerun of a show on people buying their first house the other night. It was from 2007. The buying couple paid pretty much the asking price for an overpriced home. (Wife: “I think we’re getting ripped off, but I really like the house.”) Then at the closing they did a 100% loan.
Meanwhile, today on Real Estate Intervention, we see people who want way too much for their houses resisting any suggestion that they should drop the price, and hence having trouble selling. Watching them argue with the expert is simultaneously hilarious and infuriating.
People who paid too much for irrational reasons. People who ask too much for irrational reasons. Not surprising that things aren’t going well.
UPDATE: Reader Rhonda Ulen writes:
It’s really funny to sit here and read your posts about HGTV. I have been watching it for several years now and it was mind boggling to see what some of these people paid for homes all across the country. The big light bulb moment for me came when a “My First House” buyer who lived in California, wanted to move to Denver and buy his first home. He had no job, no money down and really bad credit. Yet he was still able to buy a house for over $250,000 in Denver at 14% interest rate. Both his mortgage and down payment were financed at this rate. I knew then something really bad was happening in the housing market. My husband and I steered clear of any investments remotely tied to mortgages and we still have our money. I still watch HGTV now and especially like “Real Estate Intervention”. That guy knows his stuff.
Indeed.
PETER SPIRO rains on the parade of 4th of July naturalization ceremonies. He’s got a point about the expense and difficulty of obtaining legal immigration and citizenship status — as my family knows firsthand — but he’s still kinda negative.
IN THE MAIL: Andrew Fox’s novel, The Good Humor Man, a sort of Fahrenheit 451 for food.
THOUGHTS ON SARAH PALIN’S RESIGNATION from Katie Granju.
PJTV: The Spirit of ’76: The Cancer of Congressional Corruption Betrays Our Founders’ Sacrifice. Always nice to see Jim Moran put in his place. With a supporting appearance by John Murtha.
JIM GERAGHTY: “The lesson that the ruthless corners of the political world will take from the rise, fall, and departure of Sarah Palin that if you attack a politician’s children nastily enough and relentlessly enough, you can get anybody to quit.”
And I don’t want to hear any of that dishonest have-you-no-decency posturing from the usual moral poseurs if that happens to somebody they like. They have sown the wind.
UPDATE: A reader emails: “I’m not even a Sarah Palin fan, but her treatment by her political opponents has been outrageous.” Yeah, that’s how I feel, too. I don’t know if it was really all about Trig or not, but the explosion of nastiness has been something to behold, and it will, as always, trigger a similar response at some point.
RUTH WEDGWOOD: The Strange Case of Florence Hartmann.
A striking consensus is emerging in Washington for a closer relationship with the International Criminal Court. Even some staunch conservatives have backed the idea of lending logistical, political, and diplomatic assistance to the ICC on a case-by-case basis – to act against the most shocking outrages of genocide, crimes against humanity, and systematic war crimes.
Yet, with notoriously bad timing, the path to this cooperation may be washed away, due to a troublesome and unnecessary fight brewing at a sister criminal tribunal in The Hague. . . . It does not advance the cause of international criminal justice to threaten a person who described the boggled procedure with criminal contempt.
It’s a clown show that the clowns want kept secret. Why should that undermine confidence in international institutions, when that already describes pretty much all of ‘em?
VIDEO FROM THE Rowlett, Texas Tea Party. More from Rowlett, here.
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY.
WASHINGTON POST UPDATE: Every newspaper is a glass house.
Of course it was a bad idea. Arguably the Post did even more damage to its credibility in trying to explain itself than it did with the original concept — as for instance with the declaration that a beautifully designed and widely distributed flyer was a “draft.” . . . But before the critiques gets too self-righteous, let’s recall that the blurring of editorial and business lines is happening everywhere. Magazine journalism is full of it. We will see even more of it as the business of print publishing continues to decay and publishers scramble for revenue. The Post’s “salons” aren’t the first instance of this kind of aggressive monetization of a journalistic reputation, and they won’t be the last.
That’s true.
“SMART DIPLOMACY?” Report: U.S. to block Iran sanctions at G8 summit.
MARK STEYN: “National office will dwindle down to the unhealthily singleminded (Clinton, Obama), the timeserving emirs of Incumbistan (Biden, McCain) and dynastic heirs (Bush). Our loss.” And those responsible will not be the ones to pay the price, for the most part.
PUT THE STATE IN CHARGE OF LIQUOR, and look what happens to booze.
I’VE ENJOYED STEVEN PRESSFIELD’S BOOKS like Killing Rommel, and Gates of Fire. But now I discover he’s got a blog.
BILL QUICK: What Sarah Palin could, and should, do.
CYNTHIA YOCKEY: The bullies will multiply unless we get David Letterman fired. With advice on what to do.
JUSTIN BINIK-THOMAS SENDS THIS PICTURE from the Dayton Tea Party, in progress, and reports an estimate of 4000 people according to police.
HOUSTON TEA PARTY: The organizers say 7-10,000 showed up, and send this picture of Steve Crowder (also seen on PJTV) addressing the crowd.
UPDATE: A more negative take on Houston, here. Plus, in Chicago, a tale of two tea parties.
Also, I’ve apparently underestimated the diversity of the movement.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Kevin Menard writes:
I suspect a lot of the problem with Chicago’s multiple parties and the Houston report is because it really is a grass root effort and not astro-turfed. T he Dallas party is both unfortunately placed (Southfork Ranch is on one end of the Metroplex) and too much of a day long event for someone with kids and pre-existing commitments. My 4th was committed long before these were scheduled. Most of the folks I know locally likewise. From living in Houston, I am not sure Discovery Green is any better a location. The original parties were in the evening in areas where people were – not conflicting with a host of other traditions.
Good point. And the Houston Tea Party organizers write:
Eh, the guy doing the negative report seemed to come and try to find the nuts in the crowd :/ can’t really control who shows up, and we didn’t discriminate much on tables. The truthers were removed though.
Numbers came from the police estimates they gave us. Definitely many times more that 2000. We do admit our sign-in efforts failed to even get a third of attendees, the area was just too open.
That’s breaks with grassroots organizing.
PICTURES AND REPORTING FROM TODAY’S LAS VEGAS TEA PARTY. But there’s another one tomorrow, too.
TRUE: Israel is Bullied Because It Acts Like a Doormat. In diplomacy — especially American diplomacy these days — the bigger a problem you are, the more goodies you get. You’ve got nukes. Be a big problem . . . .
RECIPE: Whole Salmon On The Grill.
MARIETTA, GEORGIA TEA PARTY: Reader Gary O’Neill sends this picture, and says there are about 5,000 in attendance. Jonathan Krohn is a speaker.
Plus, from Cynthia Yockey: How to talk to reporters at your Tea Party. And if you’re planning to attend one, how about signing up as a PJTV citizen reporter?
UPDATE: Reader Matthew DeLuca sends this picture from the Cobb County Tea Party and in a followup says there are at least 4,000 people there. I believe it’s the same event.
TECHNOLOGY MARCHES ON: The Anti-Paparazzi Handbag.
A ROUNDUP OF user-alienating web practices. I particularly hate autorun videos (you hear me, Forbes?) — but the ones with no controls are much worse.
TO THEM THAT’S NOT A BUG, IT’S A FEATURE: “Has anyone told the White House these are, um, err, recurring costs?”
GOOD NEWS for those growing long in the tooth: Gel Grows Tissue For Receded Gums On Teeth.
FIREWORKS SAFETY. I say, do it yourself if you want, just be smart. “Leave it to the trained professionals” is one of the cancerous mantras of our age, and there’s a big difference between setting off your own fireworks and sitting passively while others do it for you — the difference, if I may say so, between having sex and watching porn. And, in both cases, the presence of a degree of risk is part of the difference . . . . Some related thoughts on this subject are here.
UH OH: Colin Powell Airs Doubts on Obama Agenda. “Colin Powell, one of President Obama’s most prominent Republican supporters, expressed concern Friday that the president’s ambitious blitz of costly initiatives may be enlarging the size of government and the federal debt too much.”
SARAH PALIN TO resign as governor?
UPDATE: Thoughts from John Hawkins and The Anchoress.
I don’t know if it has anything to do with her decision, but she’s been subjected — along with her family — to more abuse than any other non-national-officeholder I can think of.
ANOTHER UPDATE: More thoughts from Tigerhawk. Plus, here’s video.
Also, Palin Quits To Spend More Time with Couric, Gibson. Meanwhile, C.J. Burch emails that she may be trying a Tea Party run. Could be.
MORE: Some readers think she’s cut a TV deal, and that’s why she needs to be free by August. There’s a lot of speculation, but I imagine we’ll actually know something soon enough.
As for thoughts that she might pull a Ross Perot . . . well, (1) Perot was actually polling in the lead at one point; and (2) It would serve the GOP establishment right, given how they’ve treated her . . . .
STILL MORE: Megan McArdle: “I’m second to none in my condemnation of the attention her family has received. But can you imagine a male politician resigning because comedians and bloggers were being too mean to his daughers? The state of Alaska elected her to serve a term. She owes them that much”
Well, possibly. But if the ever-so-thin-skinned Barack Obama got one-tenth the abuse that Sarah Palin has gotten, he’d cry like a little girl. And his defenders would scream raaaacciiiiism at the top of their lungs.
STILL MORE: Reader Kevin Whalen writes:
Happy Fourth from a reader serving in northern Iraq (where we are having a jaw droppingly amazing dust storm. So much for fireworks).
In reading your coverage of the Palin resignation a couple thoughts came to mind. Here we have a talented, rising politician who was asked to volunteer that talent, drive and energy to the betterment of Country and party. She did so and was repaid by having her freedom surrendered to “handlers”, her privacy violated, herself subjected to ridicule and her family turned into fodder for tasteless idiots who style themselves as comedians (far beyond anything any other politician had to endure). She then decides to call it a day and get out.
Is she going John Galt?
Just a thought. It’s hard to see how her experience on the National Stage was anything but a net negative. If anything, it’s gotten worse since the campaign ended.
Anyway, knock back a few for us over here!
Will do. And yeah.
NANOTECHNOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE: The big point is that — unlike many other proposed remedies — nanotechnology is worth developing ASAP regardless of what happens with the climate. Plus, a warning: “Be careful, though: while natural climate variability is not an existential risk — we do fine in steaming jungles and have lived through ice ages — a Weather Machine run by the same people who ran our financial system recently could be a very dangerous toy.”
EXAMINER: No Second Stimulus, Please. “Be sure to thank the President and Congress. This week, with news of some 467,000 jobs lost in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the U.S. has now lost about two million jobs since the economic stimulus package passed. Even more notable is that the average workweek has been slashed to 33 hours – the lowest number on record. When the President signed his $787 billion stimulus package into law, he confidently asserted that unemployment would not exceed eight percent. If Congress hadn’t passed it, he warned, it would rise to nine percent by 2010. Well, unemployment reached 9.5 percent last month, meaning, by the President’s own logic, that his stimulus package has failed.”
A LIBERAL WHO’S OPTIMISTIC ON IRAQ. Of course, it’s okay to be optimistic on Iraq, now. It was just pre-November that such optimism branded one as a neocon warmonger apologist. . . .
GORDON CHANG: The Coming Trade War With China.
FROM BMW: A 45 mpg Diesel SUV?
IN THE MAIL: From Inman Majors, The Millionaires: A Novel. What’s not to love about a book centered around “Glennville?”
A JULY 4TH WISH from the folks at Reason TV.
STIMULUS! NY City Apartment Sales Down More Than 50%. “Manhattan apartment sales plunged more than 50 percent and the average price dropped 21.4 to 24 percent from a year ago, as the U.S. recession forced many who own a piece of the Big Apple to eat humble pie, several reports said.”
