Noteworthy Net-Worthies:

Other impressive Tea Party throngs from yesterday, with a Buckeye State emphasis — Columbus, Dayton, Toledo (HT Maggie Thurber), Cleveland (crowd estimate was 5,000; Kings Rite Site reports that one of its leaders was an Obama voter).

OhioTeaParty.com also reports that events were to take place in Ashtabula, Canton, Chesterfield, Chillicothe, Findlay, Fulton County, Holmes County, Lima, Mansfield, Marietta, New Philadelphia, Tiffin, Youngstown, Zanesville. I count 19 in total (14 here, 4 in previous item, plus Cincinnati). There appear to have been others not on Ohio Tea Party’s list (one example noted here).

Nationally Instapundit’s collections (here, here, and here) show off some pretty impressive crowds in, among many, many places, Atlanta, St. Louis, and San Antonio.

DHS head Janet Napolitano is not backing off from her department’s report: “…. she stands by the report, which lists returning veterans among terrorist risks to the U.S.” Two words to live by, Janet: Jayna Davis. P.S. – That’s okay, I’m sure the one about left-wing and Islamofascist groups upset that Obama didn’t walk away from Iraq and pull all aid to Israel is coming out any day (/sarc). Mini-update: This January report (PDF at BizzyBlog), limited to cyber-attacks, isn’t anything resembling an offset, and engages in the dangerous fantasy that “left-wing extremists prefer economic damage to get their message across.” Tell that to Brian McDonnell’s and Pete Paige’s families. Islamofascists are also notably absent. Pim Fortuyn’s and Theo Van Gogh’s would object to the omission. P.P.S. – Remember the bad old days, like three months ago, when “profiling” was considered a bad thing? P.P.P.S. – Other terrorist risks she stands by: “groups opposed to abortion and immigration,” and those who “reject …. federal authority in favor of state or local authority ….” Three other words to live by: Obama owns this.

Here’s some NY Times translation assistance for the inexperienced. The Times reports (bold is mine) that ” The National Security Agency intercepted private e-mail messages and phone calls of Americans in recent months on a scale that went beyond the broad legal limits established by Congress last year, government officials said in recent interviews.” Since the Times apparently couldn’t write “in late 2008″ accurately, a proper translation of what the Times wrote would be that “The National Security Agency intercepted private e-mail messages and phone calls of Americans in late 2008 and early 2009, including the early months of the Obama administration, on a scale that went beyond the broad legal limits established by Congress last year, government officials said in recent interviews.” See how proper translation enhances the content’s value?

From Pretoria, South Africa:

12 April 2009, 10:35

Quick action by a Verulam man helped save his parents’ lives after their home was struck by lightning last week.

Ashley Arumugam, 27, had been watching television in his bedroom when he was alerted to a fire that, ultimately, gutted his home.

“I smelt something burning. I discovered the house was on fire and could not get across to my parent’s bedroom,” Arumugam said.

His parents Sunny Arumugam, 62, and Baby Arumugam, 59, were asleep.

“I covered my head with a blanket and ran out of the house and around to their bedroom window,” Ashley recalled. “I was terrified. There was smoke everywhere, but I knew I had to do something to save my parents,” he said.

Slamming repeatedly on his parents’ bedroom window he was able to wake and alert them to the raging inferno.

He then struggled to pull them through the window, which had no burglar guards.

Sunny and Baby escaped the blaze with minor scratches.

“By the time the Fire Brigade, Verulam Reaction Unit and Metro Police arrived at the scene the house was engulfed in flames.

“We discovered the fire had started in the lounge and spread across the house and within 45 minutes our entire home was reduced to ashes,” Ashley said.

“It was the house my father had lived in for over 50 years and he put a lot of work into it.

“We can replace whatever was lost, but not our lives. Looking at what was left of our home we know that God was watching over us that night,” he said. ….

Go here for the rest of the story.

Heard this priceless monologue from Rush today on the way back from a trip to Columbus (link will be gone behind his subscription wall in a week).

It points with pride to the Tea Party movement’s progenitors, while pulverizing the paranoid who won’t acknowledge what they know is its genuineness:
(more…)

Admittedly, as I was getting ready to go downtown this morning, I was not as energetic as one would expect.  It’s a Wednesday, the skies looked like they would open up at any minute (which they never did), and it’s COLD out there!  In fact, about 20 degrees cooler than the CTP event in March !

Then I thought of the conditions under which General Washington’s troops suffered at Valley Forge and asked myself to what extent is the current generation of Americans willing to fight the good fight in order to lessen the monolithic burden that has been heaped upon our children and grandchildren?  The whiny attitude ended because let’s face it, most of us don’t know what real suffering is…we have been living high on the hog (pun intended), and it is now our turn to become a great generation of American citizens who will fight not just for ourselves, but for future generations.

For a brief moment I thought “well sure, I feel that way, but how many others are going to get up on a day like today and stand with me?”  As you can see from the pictures, the answer was about 4,000 or so!

(I’ll add here that unlike the March 15th event, most local television stations were in attendance today.  Although I trust Channel 9 didn’t send “Hazel” and his crew to do the reporting this time…of course they probably couldn’t keep track of the ONE counter-protester roaming the crowd).

The speakers at this event were phenomenal and as good as they were at the March 15th event.  After the Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem, Cincinnati Tea Party Founder & President Mike Wilson spoke about the goals & objectives of the organization, namely that they are not going away, that they will continue to work within the system to turn things around, especially by going deeper into our communities.  He also reiterated that this is not a “political party” event and as such, will support logical, common sense, fiscally responsible candidates regardless of party affiliation…

That parlayed perfectly into what first speaker, Ray Warrick had to say.  To bolster the bipartisan nature of the event, he asked for a show of hands of any democrats in attendance (there were quite a few), then a show of hands for any “former” republicans in attendance (to which the crowd errupted).  THAT folks, says more about the condition of the Republican Party than any “poll” or focus group they will ever procure.  Witty and brilliant, Mr. Warrick warned of the devastating blow about to hit small businesses and the reality that we/they have no representation in DC.  Wrapping up, he reiterated what many of us conservatives know, that we did not leave the Republican Party, it left us (Michael Steele & Kevin DeWine, call your offices).

Lastly, Mr. Greg Knox of Franklin, OH.  Mr. Knox owns Knox Machinery Inc., a supply chain vendor for the manufacturing industry.  You can read the “official” story of his notariety here, but in a nutshell, he received a letter back in December 2008 from Troy Clarke, President of GMNA (one of Mr. Knox’s biggest clients).  Mr. Clarke sent the letter to all of their suppliers, asking them to call on their Congress-critters to support the auto industry bailout.  Greg’s response should be read by everyone and I will add that he speaks as passionately and articulately as he writes.  Both men gave a call to action, and most agree that the time for action is now.

The event was inspiring on many levels and it would be near impossible to do it justice (especially the speakers) so I would just ask anyone who reads this post to consider what they might say if asked to speak at an upcoming event.  You may be surprised to find out that there is an activist in you just waiting to affect change for the better.

“As we must account for every idle word, so must we account for every silence.” ~Benjamin Franklin

Update: Dayton certainly knows how to parTEA!!

The Pics – From Downtown Cincinnati today (some of these are pretty big, so be patient; they all will open in a separate window):

The Report – is here (“More Tea, Anyone?”).

UPDATE: Other pic sources — Virtuous Republic (well over 100), Doses of Reality, DADvocate. Added April 16: Righteous rantings (HT Michelle Malkin) has a couple of shots that would suggesting a crowd a few thousand less than ones seen at the city’s Thanksgiving Day Race (2008 finishers: 11,556).

UPDATE 2: Local media coverage (review and comment may come tomorrow if warranted): Enquirer, WCPO, WLWT, WKRC-TV.

UPDATE 3: 55KRC has a 77-pic gallery.

Intro from Tom Blumer: It is my pleasure on this Tea Party Day (which I will regretfully have to miss because of personal and business commitments) to introduce a new and hopefully fairly frequent poster here. Many BizzyBlog readers are quite aware of pithy, to-the-point comments made here by “Rose” over the years. Well, below is her maiden BizzyBlog post. Welcome aboard, Rose.

Appropriate to her longtime level of involvement at the grass roots, I have launched a new category called “Activism.”

This post will stay at the top today until Rose’s event reporting comes in. Pics from others are also welcome, and credit will be given to those who request it.

Tom

_______________________________________________

Reporting for our esteemed leader, I’ll be heading down to the Cincinnati Tea Party on Fountain Square this morning.  The organization set high standards for the rest of the state at their March 15, 2009 event and as such Dayton, Columbus,  and others will be attempting to hold their own!  Hope that many will come out to stand with us (not to mention get a healthy, brisk walk on their lunch hour)!

Until then, I’ll leave you with some sage advice from James Madison:

“Do not separate text from historical background. If you do, you will have perverted and subverted the Constitution, which can only end in a distorted, bastardized form of illegitimate government.”

_______________________________________________

Previous post:
- March 15 — Cincy Tea Party Pics (Update: Vid Added)

It’s here.

It will go up here at BizzyBlog on Friday morning (link won’t work until then) after the blackout expires.

Big picture: The problem isn’t “only” that the creators of the POR (Pelosi-Obama-Reid) Economy, aka the POR Recession as Normal People Define It, are spending the inheritances of future generations as far as the eye can see. Making things worse, their non-stop confidence-killing campaign that began in earnest in June of last year has caused tax receipts to plummet almost 14% compared to a year ago. The level of the dive appears to be on the verge of getting worse — much worse.

Go to the column for the dreadful details.

Noteworthy Net-Worthies:

Just in time for the Tea Parties, we learn that the Department of Homeland Security believes that participants are subversives — as are returning veterans, people who believe in states’ rights, prolife advocates, etc., etc. Geez, Nixon didn’t work up an enemies list until at least three years into his term. These guys have gotten overcome with paranoia in less than three months, proving once again that power-mad pathologies continue to dominate the left far more than they have ever infected the right. I have put a copy of the document at my web host (1.9mb PDF) for those who wish to see the whole thing.

Karl Rove noted earlier this month at the Wall Street Journal an Obama statement to a Democrat who voted against the stimulus monstrosity: “Don’t think we’re not keeping score, brother.” We are too, bro. You and your administration owe an apology to returning veterans for considering them presumptive domestic threats. The American Legion has demanded and is entitled to a full apology. Until they get one, the score is Brave Soldiers 1, Petty Tyrant Wannabes 0.

On Sunday, I expressed the hope that Obama’s okay to take out the terrorists in training holding Richard Phillips hostage wasn’t “a one-trick testosterone display.” Given what North Korea has decided to do, and the fact that the Somali terrorists in training are stepping up their piracy, Trick Numbers 2, 3, and more are not far from being overdue — that is, if they can step away from their domestic paranoia long enough to see who our real enemies are. Update: I see that the Associated Press has already start making excuses for inaction.

Glamour Dims as Hecklers Hit the (New York) Auto Show — Read it, and try to imagine that sales at General Motors and Chrysler aren’t tanking even worse after Obama’s power play on Rick Wagoner than they were before him. You can’t.

Repaving three miles of interestate highway in Los Angeles apparently costs $25 million per mile. Not building it, repaving it. How stimulating. And they wonder why the Tea Party thing is catching fire?

From New Zealand:

Mon, 6 Apr 2009

A friend of the 62-year-old woman was trapped for two days in a upturned car on the West Coast of the South Island says it is a miracle she survived

Alison McDonald’s family found her in blue Toyota Corolla in dense bush between Arthur’s Pass and Otira early yesterday morning after she crashed down a five metre bank on Friday.

She was taken to Grey Base Hospital with bruising to her ribs and lung area.

This morning she was in a stable and comfortable condition, a hospital spokesman said.

Mrs McDonald left Christchurch Friday morning and family and friends raised the alarm after she failed to arrive at her Greymouth home.

Her friend Teena Vincent said about a dozen family and friends spent the weekend searching anxiously.

After driving the route without success, they set out at first light on Sunday and her daughter and two granddaughters found Mrs McDonald about 9.30am.

“Finding her is proof that miracles do happen,” Ms Vincent told The Press, from her friend’s bedside beside yesterday.

“The last thing she can remember is the car hitting something and going over the bank.” ….

Go here for the rest of the story.

I could of course be commenting on the poor quality of the alleged journalism. But in this case I’m talking about their ratings, which is of course largely caused by said poor journalism.

Three weeks ago (at NewsBusters; at BizzyBlog), I noted that the Big 3 networks’ evening newscasts’ combined ratings had dropped about 17% since the collective high they achieved during the week of January 26, the first full week after Barack Obama’s nomination.

Make that 21%. In the 25-54 demographic, the drop has been 30%. And it’s not just a seasonality thing. The collective drop compared to last year is over 4%, continuing a long-term decline the nets surely hoped they might prevent if they could just get their guy elected to the White House. No dice, guys.

Here is an updated week-by-week graph for each network since the first of the year, followed by some demographic and overall info (based on info found at the Evening News Ratings Category at Media Bistro’s TV Newser):

Do you think any of them are wondering if they maybe, just maybe, should have started paying attention to that Tea Party thing a bit earlier than, say, tomorrow morning?

Cross-posted at NewsBusters.org.

So says MacsMind (via Flopping Aces via Minority Report via Jeff Emanuel at RedState).

MacsMind’s post is in response to an all-too-predictable gusher delivered by Democratic operative disguised as Associated Press reporter Jennifer Loven on April 7 (bold is mine):

Cheered wildly by U.S. troops, President Barack Obama flew unannounced into Iraq on Tuesday and promptly declared it was time for Iraqis to “take responsibility for their country” after America’s commitment of six years and thousands of lives.

“You have given Iraq the opportunity to stand on its own as a democratic country,” the president said as he made a brief inspection of a war he opposed as candidate and now vows to end as commander in chief. “That is an extraordinary achievement.”

MacsMind contends that the troop contingent was contrived, based on an e-mail he says he received “from a sergeant that was there.” The corresponding sergeant also dropped a telltale clue (in bold):

We were pre-screened, asked by officials “Who voted for Obama?”, and then those who raised their hands were shuffled to the front of the receiving line. They even handed out digital cameras and asked them to hold them up.

Take a look at the picture at AP and notice all the cameras are the same models? Coincidence? I think not.

Well, well, here’s the picture in question:

Indeed, there are an awful lot of cameras that look awfully identical.

Another consolidated wire report found at the Dallas Morning News at midnight on April 8 described the event as “hundreds of U.S. troops cheering wildly” and as “a stunning show of appreciation for Obama from military men and women who have made great sacrifices, many serving repeated tours in a highly unpopular war.”

So it seems that the establishment press got played. It also appears that New Media made them look like the fools they are. And it looks like Team Obama is going to have to improve its stealth techniques the next time around.

Cross-posted at NewsBusters.org.

Here’s a Tea Party Wednesday engine-starter, so to speak.

This past week, while much the world focused on the terrorists in training euphemistically known as ‘pirates,” and the more religious among us attended Holy Week services and celebrated the Resurrection, bean counters and government bureaucrats were trying to figure out just how much a bankruptcy at General Motors could empty the treasury …. Oh, I forgot, the treasury is empty. I should have said “how much future generations will pay for General Motors’ current bankruptcy.”

In a Sunday night/Monday morning story that “skillfully” buried the lede, the New York Times’s Micheline Maynard and Michael J. de la Merced misdirected readers with talk of a “surgical” bankruptcy, while saving for later paragraphs evidence they have indicating that, if it occurs, it won’t be a bankruptcy as you or I understand it. Properly stated, it should be renamed “Operation Make UAW Members Nearly Whole at Taxpayers’ Expense.”

Meanwhile, the Detroit Free Press appears to be almost unique in reporting that, hard as it is to believe (kidding, of course), GM might not actually repay all of the monies “lent” by Uncle Sam.

But back at the Times, though they waited until Paragraph 10 to drop the big number on us, Maynard and de la Merced eventually made it clear that taking a bit of a principal hit on the government’s loans might be the least of taxpayers’ problems, given the skulduggery (and that is the right word) Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Tim “Tax Cheat” Geithner have embarked upon:

‘Surgical’ Bankruptcy Possible for G.M.

The Treasury Department is directing General Motors to lay the groundwork for a bankruptcy filing by a June 1 deadline, despite G.M.’s public contention that it could still reorganize outside court, people with knowledge of the plans said during the weekend.

Members of President Obama’s automotive task force spent last week in meetings and on conference calls with G.M. officials and its advisers in Detroit and Washington. Those talks are expected to continue this week.

The goal is to prepare for a fast “surgical” bankruptcy, the people who had been briefed on the plans said. G.M., which has been granted $13.4 billion in federal aid, insists that a quick restructuring is necessary so its image and sales are not damaged permanently.

….. One plan under consideration would create a new company that would buy the “good” assets of G.M. almost immediately after the carmaker files for bankruptcy.

Less desirable assets, including unwanted brands, factories and health care obligations, would be left in the old company, which could be liquidated over several years.

Treasury officials are examining one potential outcome in which the “good G.M.” enters and exits bankruptcy protection in as little as two weeks, using $5 billion to $7 billion in federal financing, a person who had been briefed on the prospect said last week.

(Paragraph 10 — Ed.) The rest of G.M. may require as much as $70 billion in government financing, and possibly more to resolve the health care obligations and the liquidation of the factories, according to legal experts and federal officials.

This is, of course, not how a normal bankruptcy works. But then, you didn’t really think Barack Obama was going to be open to a normal bankruptcy that would leave the UAW holding its fair share of an empty bag, did you?

Though it’s vague, I interpret the last excerpted sentence as $70 billion NOT INCLUDING the health care obligations, which I believe are in the tens of billions all by themselves.

The only tiny consolation: It looks like the people who warned that this whole thing was going to turn into a bottomless pit just four short months ago at least get the chance to say “I told you so.”

Cross-posted at NewsBusters.org.

UPDATE: Somehow, I don’t think this vehicle will save GM (HT Ed Driscoll).