Are We There Yet?
By SnowMonster | September 16, 2009
Utopia, Nirvana, Xanadu, these are visions mankind has strived for since the beginning of time, the notion that humanity can exist in peace and have no wants. Clearly, we are not there yet, but are we closer? If you follow the path of history, you would have to conclude we are moving that way. It is definitely a one-step-forward-two-steps-back type of affair and we have a long way to go. Today, there is an ideological battle over how to get there.
One side views the route to Nirvana as one of regulating it into existence by forcing society to adhere to perceived notions of paradise. They view it as a management exercise where the community must be defended against self-interested individuals because once all have the same access to resources and wealth, Nirvana will be achieved.
The other side believes that society can only improve when you defend the individual from the whims of the community. That if this is accomplished, mankind will lift itself out of its plight and someday, Nirvana will self-organize.
Which view is correct? It depends on how we quantify a utopian society. What would the characteristics of such a society be? Here is a short list that both sides could probably agree are important:
- Everyone is housed, clothed and fed
- Everyone can balance their work life with their recreational life
- Everyone respects one another
- There is no war
The first two are quality of life, which is on a historical uptick in the US, and the second two are quality of society, which seems to be losing ground. Even the poorest in our nation has widescreen TVs. In order to figure out how best to get there, we should examine how we got here.
How did mankind rise up from the plains of Africa to dominate every quarter of the globe? Every technological advance from fire to the wheel to the airplane were done because humanity was in competition with nature and wished to subdue it to gain advantage. As humanity progressed, individuals sought to gain advantage of their neighbors, to get more food, better shelter, a pointier stick.
Progressive liberals rail at this self-interest, forced competition amongst ourselves. They view self-interest as a barrier to an enlightened, egalitarian society. It precipitates winners and losers, which by definition, is not egalitarian. Indeed, unchecked self-interest is bad when it allows some to subjugate others. That is why the Founders of this nation put the framework of the Constitution in place to allow the individual to pursue his or her interests to gain advantage on his neighbor without subjugating the neighbor. They did this because they knew that the by-product of this competition for resources instigates advancement of society as a whole. It created wealth and opportunity for all, if they applied themselves. This in turn freed up parts of society to ponder what the next step for mankind would be. Since the advance of the printing press, most of those ideas came from literature, science fiction being the most prophetic. Nearly all scientific advances were preordained in the pages of Jules Verne, H.G.Wells, and Isaac Asimov. So if we can conceive it, we will one day have it, nuclear power, walking on the moon, and computers. What then, will our future be?
The barrier to Nirvana, explains the Liberal, is that resources are finite and we must share them all equally if it is to be achieved. Capitalism has demonstrated that it is most efficient at managing scant resources. If a resource becomes too dear, technology seems to find a way to press another into service that is more plentiful, economical. Matter cannot be destroyed so all of the resources available to us are still here, just in different form. Technology is the only answer to unlock them for reuse.
Technology cannot thrive without capitalism. Compare technological advances made by non-capitalistic societies. The Soviet Union’s only notable contribution was the space race and that technology was largely stolen from the West and pressed into the service of the military. China merely re-uses western technology but has no major claims to new technology.
Manufacturing is progressing to the point where human labor is becoming less necessary to the process. At some point it will advance to the place where a person need only conceive of something and some machine will spit it out, like the replicators on Star Trek. And when the replicator replicates another replicator, everyone will have one. What impact will that have on equality in society? If we can conceive it, we will have it.
As a species, if we are to survive, we must one day leave this planet. Our sun will one day die or a comet may threaten the Earth. So we must look to the day when we can roam the stars. When that happens, the issue of finite resources will be solved. Competition for resources will no longer instigate wars. Humanity, freed from the drudge of eking out an existence by hard labor will devote that time to intellectual pursuits and discovering the cosmos. Ironically, man’s only existence will be to pursue his self-interest.
That would be Utopia.
It is only achievable by conservative principles of allowing the individual to prosper at his own pace, gaining advantage where he can, and precipitate the technology that will solve all of mankind’s current needs. If we pursue the egalitarian goals currently being discussed in the halls of power, it will stifle innovation and condemn us to a life of drudgery. We will still go to war over the scant resources consigned to us by not reaching for the stars. Many will go hungry, until one day the sun explodes or our planet is obliterated by some cosmic threat.
Does that sound like Nirvana?
Topics: Political | No Comments »
DC Tea Party at Capitol Building on 9/12/2009
By SnowMonster | September 14, 2009
The family and I made the trip to DC to join the 9/12 Tea Party March on DC. The wide pictures below are mosaics of several pictures using the Photoshop “merge” feature. They are by no means perfect and it is given that they are “doctored” (because of the merge issue), but they are true representations of what was going on. I didn’t alter the people to inflate numbers or anything. The individual pictures are in the picture blog at the bottom so you can examine each ‘frame’ to verify that I didn’t do anything unethical. You can click on each and they will open up to full size in another browser window.
It is hard to convey just how moving the whole affair was. We stayed the night before in a hotel in Alexandria, Virginia. The hotel was fully booked with several busses sprawled about the parking lot. The following morning we set out for the Metro at Pentagon City. We waited for several trains as there were many of us on the platform and the trains that showed up were 90% full.
When we came out of the Metro Station at Federal Triangle, we joined up with the march in progress around 12th Street and Pennsylvania (the march proceeded along Penn from Freedom Square to the Capitol Building). There have been many estimates given to attendance. Anywhere from “thousands” to 2 million have been quoted. I don’t know for sure, there were loads of people, but I’ve done a little math. Here’s how I figure it:
- There were four lanes of traffic and 2 lanes for parking on Pennsylvania Ave.
- Each lane is 33 feet wide (standard lane widths) for a total of 198 feet (this does not count sidewalk)
- Average density of the marchers was around 8 people per 100 square feet (8 standing in 10×10 square “block”)
- So per mile of march (5280 feet by 198 feet) there are 83,635.2 people - 19.8 “blocks” wide, by 528 “blocks” deep with 8 people per “block”.
- Average walking speed for a human is 3 miles per hour. That means 250,905.6 people enter the Capitol Building grounds per hour
- The march started a 8 AM (it was supposed to start at 9:30, but too many people showed up)
- The march ended around 12, a total of 4 hours
- That works out to 1,003,622.4 people
- I’m an engineer by training, so knock off 10%, just because we are conservative in our estimates
That’s still about 900,000 people. You could add more by adding in those who walked on the sidewalk or didn’t march and went directly to the grounds. You could also remove some by figuring that the last hour’s density dropped off.
While there were mostly white people, there were also quite a few Blacks and Hispanics. There was an event at the other end of the mall for the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) called the “Black Family Reunion Celebration” which have the event each year. Some folks from there came over to either look us over or join us. I won’t speak for them either way, but they were welcomed by all. There were no clashes with any anti-protesters and I didn’t see anyone from the liberal side (unless you count the media).
I spoke with a policeman who said they have seen crowds of this size before, usually anti-war protesters. They didn’t need as many policeman to cover us as those folks because, as he put it, “they cause nothing but trouble.”
The event was well run for the most part. The only problem was that they didn’t expect so many people. As a result, the sound system wasn’t able to reach the entire crowd and they had to open all of the museum lavatories to the public to take up the slack of an insufficient number of porta-potties.
For some reason, there were no vendor permits issued (they were all denied) for our event. The NCNW had plenty. So we were unable to get food and drink unless we went away from our event. It seemed to me a political decision. Since most vendors are low income minorities, you have to wonder why they were denied access to a group of capitalists with big wallets. I guess they don’t believe in redistribution of wealth through free market principles. How’s that “hope” and “change” working for you?
The media coverage (except for FOX) was non-existent. I didn’t see any of the major networks there except Fox and CNN. CNN didn’t start covering the event until around 4PM. Since most of the buses that came from as far as Florida and New Hampshire departed around 3 to be able to get home at a reasonable hour, I guess CNN wanted the numbers to dwindle first before taking pictures.
I saw one sign that said “Hitler made great speeches too” and another of Obama with the Hitler mustache, but that was the only ones I saw. Oddly, the latter was not visible until a news crew came around (I had taken a picture of the same spot moments before and it wasn’t there). Even if it wasn’t a plant, that’s still a good ratio of idiots to the rest. We met a friend of ours that came up from Virginia on a bus package and she showed us the leaflet on expected behavior. Hitler references were taboo.
Ninety five percent of the signs carried were hand made. This is definitely a grass roots movement. Nearly all were respectful, but expressed the following:
- Joe Wilson was a hero
- Desire for Term Limits
- Objection to Abortion
- Objection to reduction of faith in God in our society
- Objected to Healthcare reforms planned
- Felt that government was getting too big
- Spending is out of hand
- Worried about the future of the country
- Desire to return to constitutional roots
- Displeasure with socialism
- Displeasure with Obama
- Displeasure with Congress and Senate
- Displeasure with Pelosi
- Displeasure with RINO’s
Bottom line is that we want to throw all of them out (Dems and Republicans). There is too much corruption and waste. If DC doesn’t wise up, we’ll be back next year to remind them.
 Picture #1: On the Pentagon City Metro stop, waiting to get onto a train into DC for the march. It took us several trains to be able to get on. The incoming trains were packed. The only way we got on was to pick up on the fact that the ends are less crowded, so we scooted to the end of the platform to get ahead of this crowd. Even still, we had to stand as there were no seats and only room for the four of us. |  Picture #2: On the Pentagon City Metro stop, waiting to get onto a train into DC for the march. It took us several trains to be able to get on. The incoming trains were packed. The only way we got on was to pick up on the fact that the ends are less crowded, so we scooted to the end of the platform to get ahead of this crowd. Even still, we had to stand as there were no seats and only room for the four of us. |
 Picture #3: After getting off the Metro at Federal Triangle, we joined the march, underway, around 12th & Pennsylvania. This is the crowd in front. |  Picture #4: After getting off the Metro at Federal Triangle, we joined the march, underway, around 12th & Pennsylvania. This is the crowd in front. |
 Picture #5: After getting off the Metro at Federal Triangle, we joined the march, underway, around 12th & Pennsylvania. This is the crowd in back. |  Picture #6: The crowd under the watchful eyes of the "man" |
 Picture #7: A number of us climbed up onto wall to take some pictures of the march go by.; This is a series that I plan to meld together to get a panorama |  Picture #8: A number of us climbed up onto wall to take some pictures of the march go by.; This is a series that I plan to meld together to get a panorama |
 Picture #9: A number of us climbed up onto wall to take some pictures of the march go by.; This is a series that I plan to meld together to get a panorama |  Picture #10: A number of us climbed up onto wall to take some pictures of the march go by.; This is a series that I plan to meld together to get a panorama |
 Picture #11: A number of us climbed up onto wall to take some pictures of the march go by.; This is a series that I plan to meld together to get a panorama |  Picture #12: A number of us climbed up onto wall to take some pictures of the march go by.; This is a series that I plan to meld together to get a panorama |
 Picture #13: A number of us climbed up onto wall to take some pictures of the march go by.; This is a series that I plan to meld together to get a panorama |  Picture #14: A number of us climbed up onto wall to take some pictures of the march go by.; This is a series that I plan to meld together to get a panorama |
 Picture #15: A number of us climbed up onto wall to take some pictures of the march go by.; This is a series that I plan to meld together to get a panorama |  Picture #16: A number of us climbed up onto wall to take some pictures of the march go by.; This is a series that I plan to meld together to get a panorama |
 Picture #17: A number of us climbed up onto wall to take some pictures of the march go by.; This is a series that I plan to meld together to get a panorama |  Picture #18: A number of us climbed up onto wall to take some pictures of the march go by.; This is a series that I plan to meld together to get a panorama |
 Picture #19: A number of us climbed up onto wall to take some pictures of the march go by.; This is a series that I plan to meld together to get a panorama |  Picture #20: Marching along... |
Topics: Picture Blog, Political | 3 Comments »
A Discussion on Health Care
By SnowMonster | July 8, 2009
I work with a woman from Germany. She and her husband left Germany years ago and it was never clear to me why (other than they could make more money in the US). We got into a discussion around Health Care. Naturally, as a product of European socialized medicine, she favors a national health care system, even though she is happy with her current coverage. In full disclosure, I should mention that I am over weight and smoke. Our discussion went along the lines of:
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Me: |
So you view health care as a right? |
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Her: |
Yes. Everyone should not have to worry about getting treatment for their health. |
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Me: |
A right like “Freedom of speech” or the right to vote? |
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Her: |
Exactly. |
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Me: |
Well then, what kind of right requires someone else to pay for it? I mean we have the right to bear arms, but the government does not supply me with a gun. And what about the Doctor? Essentially, the doctor will become a civil servant, pressed into service for his country. Is that fair? |
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Her: |
He doesn’t have to be a doctor if he doesn’t think it is fair. It is unconscionable to let people die because they don’t have money for health insurance. |
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Me: |
I suspect there will be many doctors who take that route. This will decrease the already limited supply of doctors. But why am I responsible for someone else’s health care? |
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Her: |
Because we should be obligated to support those who are not as fortunate as us. |
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Me: |
Ok. If that is the case, why then in the UK, there is rationing and one of the ways to reduce costs is to deny smokers and overweight people treatment? |
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Her: |
I don’t think I should have to support someone’s bad behavior. |
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Me: |
So it should be a crime to eat a twinkie or smoke a cigarette? |
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Her: |
Umm, no, not really, but I shouldn’t have to pay for someone’s lung cancer if they smoked all their lives. |
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Me: |
So we are in some sort of agreement, we shouldn’t have to support other people’s negligence. |
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Her: |
Yes. |
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Me: |
But health care no longer sounds like a right to me. The only time a right can be taken away is when someone commits a crime, but you say that some people should have the right of health care taken away when they haven’t committed a crime. |
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Her: |
Well, I’m not so sure about that… |
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Me: |
Ok. We’ll dwell on that another time, but we do agree we shouldn’t pay for the consequences of someone else’s reckless behavior? |
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Her: |
Yes. |
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Me: |
So we shouldn’t include treatment for AIDs patients? |
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Her: |
What? No! We must treat victims of AIDs! |
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Me: |
But isn’t AIDs contracted by engaging in reckless behavior like unprotected sex with strangers or sharing heroine needles? |
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Her: |
But that is being homophobic! |
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Me: |
I didn’t say anything about homosexuality, just engaging in unprotected sex. |
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Her: |
But most AIDs patients are homosexual. |
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Me: |
Obtained through risky behavior, just like the over-eater or smoker and we agreed that health conditions as a result of reckless behavior wasn’t to be paid for by the state. |
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Her: |
Yes, but we have to cover AIDs patients. |
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Me: |
Because the patients are most likely gay? |
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Her: |
Yes. |
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Me: |
So no we’ve gone from health care being a Human Right to it being an instrument of social policy. Gays are OK, but over eaters and smokers are not? |
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Her: |
Hmmmm. I think you are being over simplistic. |
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Me: |
I think you are being over complicated. Who decides who gets what coverage? |
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Her: |
We do. We vote for these things. |
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Me: |
Did you ever vote for taxes? |
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Her: |
No, but that’s not the point. |
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Me: |
That’s exactly my point, we don’t control anything once we give control of the health care system to a bunch of bureaucrats. |
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Her: |
But we must help those who can’t get health care! |
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Me: |
Unless they’re fat or smoke? |
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Her: |
Well… |
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Me: |
You see? Once you take the national health care route, you don’t solve the problem, you just redistribute it. You give the problem to people you don’t approve of. Who’s next? Those who don’t belong to the Party don’t get treated? You, being German, surely can see that’s a slippery slope? |
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Her: |
Again, I think you’re over simplifying it. |
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Me: |
I prefer to refer to it as prescience. But you’re right, I believe in simplicity. In a free market system, everyone would be responsible for their own health. If they smoke or are over weight, their health care premiums should be higher than those who are responsible with their bodies. |
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Her: |
But not everyone can afford health care! |
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Me: |
I agree, but why do you think that is? |
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Her: |
Greedy doctors and insurance companies! |
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Me: |
You think they get too much money? |
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Her: |
Of course! |
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Me: |
Do you know any doctors, socially? |
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Her: |
No. |
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Me: |
I do. Do you know how much they take home? |
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Her: |
Probably hundreds of thousands of dollars. |
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Me: |
Yes and no. The doctor I know will take in about 600K a year in billings. After he pays the 300K for malpractice insurance, the cost of his offices, and employees, he draws a salary of about 120K. |
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Her: |
Really? That’s less than mine. But that still means the insurance companies are too greedy. |
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Me: |
I’m not saying they aren’t out to make a profit, but I don’t think the problem is greed. Say your child has broken their arm and the bone is sticking out of the skin. What do you suppose a doctor is to do? |
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Her: |
Take an X-Ray, set the bone, and put on a cast. |
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Me: |
That seems pretty straight forward, but why the X-Ray? |
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Her: |
Hmmm. To see the broken bone? |
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Me: |
It’s sticking out through the skin, seems pretty visible to me. But the real answer is to avoid a malpractice suit, or more to the point, to defend against a potential suit. If he didn’t take the X-Ray and something weird happened, you’d sue him for malpractice and he’d lose millions because he didn’t take that picture as proof of his diagnosis. So the insurance company has to pay for an X-Ray that 999 times out of a thousand wasn’t needed. So they have to collect more money from the insurance premium to recoup the cost. And for that 1 time out of a 1000, where the doctor gets sued, they charge him for malpractice insurance, the cost of which he passes on to you. |
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Her: |
But you need to keep doctors honest so they don’t make mistakes! |
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Me: |
But they are human, they will make mistakes. They don’t want their patients to die or get sicker under their care, but sometimes, stuff happens no one could foresee. Still, incompetence exists, but surely there is a more efficient way of handling that. |
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Her: |
But the government would ensure competency. |
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Me: |
How many times have you dealt with the government, the DMV or the Post Office, and walked away being impressed by their competence? |
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Her: |
Uhhh. |
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Me: |
Precisely. What kind of car do you drive? |
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Her: |
Huh? A Honda Accord. |
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Me: |
Why did you buy it? |
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Her: |
Because it is known to be reliable and cheap to maintain. But what does this have to do with health care? |
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Me: |
Why didn’t you use the same process to choose your Doctor? |
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Her: |
Well, my insurance provider has a list of doctors in my area. |
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Me: |
But wouldn’t it be nice if there was some sort of Better Business Bureau type thing for Doctors and that your doctor would have to be paid by your insurance company, regardless of any affiliation? |
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Her: |
Well, yes. |
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Me: |
So a good way to reduce costs would be to apply tort reform to stop the senseless suing and some sort of method to measure a doctor’s competence before you use his or her services. Wouldn’t you agree? |
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Her: |
Yes. |
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Me: |
So in reality, the government is not the answer, but the free market, if properly applied would solve a lot of problems. |
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Her: |
But we have to help the poor! |
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Me: |
Write them a check and leave me out of it. |
Topics: Political | No Comments »
Is Marriage a Human Right?
By SnowMonster | May 13, 2009
There are many on the left that feel gay marriage is a human right. I disagree. Marriage, gay or heterosexual, isn’t a right. If you don’t agree, try marrying your sister (I don’t condone that). The debate has been poisoned by rhetoric on both sides. Marriage is a sacrament and a contract. The Left harangues the Religious Right of intolerance when they oppose gay marriage, some of it deserving, but the religious want to ensure their institutions aren’t forced to perform services for members of the community that don’t hold their beliefs. Often churches won’t perform services for non-Christian, heterosexual couples for that same reason, and I believe that’s the Church’s right. They should not be charged with a hate-crime if they believe that same-sex marriages are not sanctioned by their god.
Everyone has the right to enter a mutually beneficial contract. I have no problem with two people of the same sex going down to the courthouse, declaring their love for each other and binding their futures together. I don’t take issue with them sharing healthcare, property, and survival rights because that aspect is the contract portion of Marriage. I also think that it’s a pointless exercise because those contractual aspects can be managed by other legal means (power of attorney, wills, etc.).
So what is the point of a marriage license? There are two reasons, the one-stop legal service to bundle those contractual obligations, plus a possible name change and also a way for government to ensure the health of society through blood tests and lineage checks. It also ensures that a person is not contractually obligated to another (polygamy). The lineage issue is moot and contracts already have avenues of enforcement. Are homosexuals fighting for the right to have a blood test? No, they are fighting for universal acceptance. I don’t know of any group that has it, so deal with it.
A civil union is not a “dodge” but a compromise of pragmatic convenience. Let gays have it, stop fighting, both of you, and let’s get on to more important matters.
Topics: Political | 3 Comments »
Vineland, NJ Tax Day Tea Party - Pictures
By SnowMonster | April 16, 2009
I want to thank everyone who braved the weather to be at the party yesterday. Based on the feedback I’ve received, everyone was impressed by the turnout. This is the first step. There will be more parties.
I would like to give a shout out to everyone that helped out. I am lousy with names and some folks wanted to remain anonymous anyway. Thanks to the lady who brought donuts, coffee, and hot chocolate. It came at a good time. I was freezing and my energy was flagging! Thanks also to the lady who brought the bean soup, good warm up food. Thanks to Harry for the use of a bullhorn and “Ricola” man who help out with throat management by giving me a losenge!
I estimate that about 300 people showed up. I got around 150 contacts, so we have an army of volunteers to help out with future events. While most of them were there at the beginning and began to leave once the rain started again, more showed up after getting off work, towards the end.
Here are some preliminary pictures, I will add more as people foward them to me.
 Picture #1: Picture from Vineland, NJ Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th, 2009 |  Picture #2: Picture from Vineland, NJ Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th, 2009 |
 Picture #3: Picture from Vineland, NJ Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th, 2009 |  Picture #4: Picture from Vineland, NJ Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th, 2009 |
 Picture #5: Picture from Vineland, NJ Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th, 2009 |  Picture #6: Picture from Vineland, NJ Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th, 2009 |
 Picture #7: Picture from Vineland, NJ Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th, 2009 |  Picture #8: Picture from Vineland, NJ Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th, 2009 |
 Picture #9: Picture from Vineland, NJ Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th, 2009 |  Picture #10: Picture from Vineland, NJ Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th, 2009 |
 Picture #11: Picture from Vineland, NJ Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th, 2009 |  Picture #12: Picture from Vineland, NJ Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th, 2009 |
 Picture #13: Picture from Vineland, NJ Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th, 2009 |  Picture #14: Picture from Vineland, NJ Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th, 2009 |
 Picture #15: Picture from Vineland, NJ Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th, 2009 |  Picture #16: Picture from Vineland, NJ Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th, 2009 |
 Picture #17: Picture from Vineland, NJ Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th, 2009 |  Picture #18: Picture from Vineland, NJ Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th, 2009 |
 Picture #19: Picture from Vineland, NJ Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th, 2009 |  Picture #20: Picture from Vineland, NJ Tax Day Tea Party on April 15th, 2009 |
Topics: Picture Blog, Political | 8 Comments »
Vineland, NJ Tax Day Tea Party - 1 Day to Go
By SnowMonster | April 14, 2009
OK everyone, the big day is tomorrow (April 15th). Here is the final post before the show.
When: Wednesday, April 15th, 2009 from 1-4PM — RAIN OR SHINE
Where: 722 E Landis Ave., Vineland, NJ - across from the Post Office
Things you need:
- A sign to display - You can peruse the other posts to get ideas (left side-bar, top)
- An umbrella, it is expected to rain
- A rain coat too
- A fierce willingness to stand up for what is right
We are starting at 1PM, but if some could show up around 11AM to set up, that would be helpful.
See you there and thanks for coming and making this a success.
Directions:
General: Take exit 32A off of Route 55 and take Landis Ave. for two miles. Post Office is on left.
Cape May and Points South:
- Take Rt 47 North
- Merge onto Rt. 55 North
- Take Exit 32A onto Landis Ave.
- Post Office is about 2 miles on the left
Philly and Points West:
- Take 76 East
- Merge onto 42 South
- Exit onto 55 South
- Take Exit 32A onto Landis Ave.
- Post Office is about 2 miles on the left
Atlantic City and Points East:
- AC Expressway to Exit 12
- Get on 322/40 East
- Get off 322 onto 40 East
- Turn left onto Cedar Ave in Richland
- Straight across 5 points onto East Landis
- Post Office is about 7 miles on the right.
Topics: Political | 6 Comments »
Vineland, NJ Tax Day Tea Party - Updates
By SnowMonster | April 10, 2009
Things are starting to spin up nicely now. I have had a huge response via e-mail and phone calls. You are not alone. There are many out there who have common sense and are willing to step up and call our Governement out. This is just the beginning.
Important Developments:
- I was on the NBC 40 Newscast last Tuesday (4/7/09) being interviewed about the National Tax Day Tea Party.
- I was interviewed by NJN, the NJ PBS affiliate about the event on Wendesday. There were more interested in the North Jersey rallies.
- Christian Keller, a Republican candidate for Governor from South Jersey, has expressed an interest in attending the protest.
- New Jersey 101.5 FM (97.3 in SJ) has contacted me to send a Van down (see here) to cover us from 1PM to 2PM (so it is important that you show up on time, if not early!). They have promised to promote the event throughout NJ. I suspect I will be talking on the air sometime Monday or Tuesday to promote the event.
- I have contacted SoJo 104.9 FM and I believe they will put me on the air. SoJo is Southern New Jersey’s own radio station.
- I have contacted all of the regional papers, but I don’t think I am having much luck with them. Keep an eye out in the local paper and let me know. Feel free to bombard them with your own efforts.
Based on e-mail response, I am confident we have numbers in the 100s planning to come. Once we get some coverage on the radio, who knows? I might have to go down to City Hall and apply for a proper permit if this gets too out of hand!
Things I still need:
- A Bull Horn or some sort of PA system that will run of off batteries (no AC available). It is ok if it runs off a car battery, cigarette lighter.
- I am planning to use my pickup truck as a platform. It would be great if we could dress it up with some bunting or banners.
- I plan to gather names, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, etc. from attendees. I will need some clipboards and volunteers to man them to collect this contact information. This information will be shared only with other tea party organizations for the purposes of getting organized for future events. You didn’t think this would be the only time you’d need to step up, did you?
If anyone has these materials, contact me at tbsnow@comcast.net or 973-406-4688.
Thanks everyone! I was worried about my ability to organize this, but it seems to be organizing itself!
Topics: Political | 10 Comments »
South Jersey Tea Party Resources
By SnowMonster | April 4, 2009
For folks who would like to help out with the demonstration, here are some things you can use. Also, you can go the Resource Page of the National Tax Day Tea Party website here.
If you are going to make your own signs (highly encouraged), here are some guidelines:
What we are for:
- No more bailouts - Let market forces determine winners and losers, not Government.
- Stop Spending - You are wasting money we don’t have.
- No Tax increases - Taxation, which is inevitible with current budgets, will kill any chance of recovery.
- Reduce Government - Too much Government leads to infringement of our liberties.
- Return to Constitutional Ideals - We have strayed too far from the Constitution and our Founding Fathers’ vision for America.
- No Socialism - Socialism is one step away from fascism. First they tell us what light bulbs to use, what’s next?
- We are watching - This protest is a visible sign of our commitment to punish legislators, Federal, State, and Local, that we are tired of current economic policy
What we are not for:
- Obama Bashing - It is pointless to demonize a man who is doing what he thinks is right, no matter how deluded, and is delivering on what he has promised to do.
- Democrat Bashing - While the Democrats are now in power and are responsible for many objectionable things, this started with the Republicans. Both parties are guilty of frittering our money away. Both Parties are equally responsible for this mess.
- Bashing people in general - This event is about issues, not people. You alienate people from the message of the issue when you demonize them or their heroes. The time will come when we will address which politicians are not getting the message.
Here is a PDF File that you can print up and put in shops (ask for permission first)
Here are some posters you can have printed up cheaply (around $2 for 11×17 Card Stock)
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Topics: Political, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
South Jersey Tea Party - Update 4/3/09
By SnowMonster | March 16, 2009
When: April 15th, 2009 - 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Where: Landis Ave, Vineland, NJ, across from Post Office.
Across the country, there is an organization that is putting together Tea Parties to symbolically show our displeasure with the Government and its lack of fiscal responsibility for the last 9 years and the further outrage of what is going to happen next. You can go to that website here.
I chose the location across from the Post Office because I figure there will be people dropping off their returns who will see us and join in. There is no point marching out front of a legislator’s office, they already know we’re mad, they don’t care. What we need is more people to get involved. Once there is more people, it may give them pause.
I will need help. If you can make signs, pass out leaflets, anything, please contact me here or on facebook. Post a comment here with your e-mail address (not published to anyone) and I will get back to you.
Things I think I need:
- Bullhorn
- Soapbox/platform to speak from
- Sign Painters
- Handbills
- People to go around their community to distribute leaflets
- While I don’t want anyone’s money (to many headaches), I will need people to pay for printing leaflets, posters, etc.
3/30/09 - Update: Here’s a PDF file for you to print up and distribute.
To give you some ideas on what to do for signage, here are some pictures from the Cincinnati Tea Party last weekend (3/15/2009):
Topics: Political | 18 Comments »
Have you had enough yet?
By SnowMonster | March 15, 2009
I live in New Jersey and I have a question for New Jersey voters.
Have you had enough, yet?
Every Lifeguard knows that when you see a person drowning, you are to swim out, calm them, and drag them back to shore and safety. However, every once in a while, the Lifeguard comes upon a drowning victim who is inconsolable, thrashing about in panic, and clutching at their rescuer, threatening to drown them both. At that point, the Lifeguard has a heart wrenching choice to make. To protect themselves, they have to abandon the rescue and leave the drowning victim to their fate.
In New Jersey, as of 2007 data, there were around 4 million people employed and a voting base of 5 and a half million. Of the working population, those employed by the Government were just under 40% of the employed workforce. After including the rest of the voting public, it drops to under a third. Of the people not working, around 7% are unemployed and approximately another 5% that are indigent and require public assistance to live. Those are a lot of statistics to throw around, but the bottom line is this; as of 2007, between government employees, the unemployed, and the indigent, 40 to 43 percent of the voting public in whole, or in part, relies on a government check to subsist. With the current economic fallout, that rate will increase. When the rate reaches 51%, the majority of the population will have the unlimited power to vote themselves raises and increased services.
At 51%, we all drown.
Have you had enough, yet?
Leading up to the 2009 gubernatorial election, I will be analyzing some things our government does, that we could do without or could do more efficiently. I will refrain from discussing individual candidates; they will be beating up on each other for us. If we can inject our concerns about education, energy, infrastructure, real estate taxes, and corruption into the debate, hopefully, we can get them to use our sticks to wave at each other. Failing that, the least we can do is to swell our ranks at the voting booth, to turn our apathy into anger and offset those who would vote themselves more of our money.
Those of us who carry the freight for this state must be made to realize that we can’t save 40% of the population from themselves. It may seem heartless, but if we all drown, there will be nobody left to do the saving that can be done. We can’t let them clutch to us in panic and drag us down with them.
Have you had enough, yet?
Topics: Political | No Comments »
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