As much as I loath Harry Reid, he’s being slammed for saying something that ought not to draw any criticism.

CNN:

“He (Reid) was wowed by Obama’s oratorical gifts and believed that the country was ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama – a ‘light-skinned’ African American ‘with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one,’ as he said privately. Reid was convinced, in fact, that Obama’s race would help him more than hurt him in a bid for the Democratic nomination,” they write.

Barry Obama is half white, thus he is lighter skinned than many black men. He does not have an accent when he speaks, unless he chooses to use one – much like Rev. Jesse Jackson. Both are facts and not subject to dispute.

I cannot provide proof that a light skinned black man would do better in an election than a dark skinned black man. It is a moot point since Obama did win the election and his race was indeed a factor.

A 2004 article about the play “Yellowman”, by Dael Orlandersmith, explored the issue of color within the black community as seen in the play.

From The People’s News:

Leeds is among the millions of blacks trying, for the first time, to enunciate clearly and properly use all the words they speak. This attention to language actually is a return to their roots. Until the mid-1960s, blacks, including groundbreakers like Jackie Robinson and Malcolm X, spoke in a cadence that sounded whiter than someone asking for Grey Poupon.

“If Malcolm walked up behind you and started talking, you would think ‘What white man has come in here?’” the late black nationalist’s friend, Elliott Saffron, told The Peoples News. “What Malcolm was saying was black, but how he was saying it was white.”

There was a paradigm shift, however, in the late 1960s when the speech patterns of blacks like Stepin Fetchit and Buckwheat—who had previously been considered buffoons—became a favored way of speaking. ‘Talking white’ became an insult.

New Black Man blog:

The notion of “talking white” and “acting white” have long been bandied about in black communities, but for a nation that has historically chosen to be oblivious to the inner dynamics of Black life in America, such a discussion elicits a fresh focus. It was just last year that perennial protest candidate Ralph Nader accused then Senator Obama of “talking white” as part of Obama’s effort to assuage white voter fears that he might be cut from the same cloth of traditional Civil Rights leaders. Nader’s comments would have been offensive, if not for the fact that there quite a few Black Americans who also read diction as an index of racial authenticity.

The black community as a whole does not recognize all their black brothers and sisters as equal. Being human, they have the same mix of prejudices and stereotypes as any of us. The notion that Harry Reid was being racist for recognizing two true facts about then candidate Obama and concluding that they would help his candidacy is plain stupid.

The 2010 Rochester Tea Party can be found at this link.

Click for photos from the March 11, 2009 Tea Party protest.

The Rochester, NY Tea Party protest held yesterday was a resounding success. Over 40 concerned citizens ranging in age from college students to seniors met at the Main Street bridge over the Genesee River to dump tea into the water.

Speakers detailed the historic Boston Tea Party and linked its message to current events. A short march was held, to the corner of Clinton and Main, in front of the convention center where NY Governor Patterson was appearing.

The “Fair Share” leftists were inside, out of the wind, pushing their message of punishing the successful with higher taxes. Outside, the Gadsden flag, “Don’t Tread On Me!” flew proudly along with the American flag. Signs protesting New York’s tax burden and the burden on future generations imposed by the stimulus package were held high, and passersby honked their horns in support.

Rochester Tea Party

News Coverage

• R News
• WHEC – NBC’s local affiliate
• WHAM – ABC’s local affiliate

Keep in mind that links to news stories will often expire with time or be placed into a pay-for-view part of the media’s site.

The next Rochester Tea Party is planned for April 15.

For a list of all the events, please check Pajamas TV

March 6, 2009

• Salt Lake Tea Party – 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM MDT, Utah State Capitol West Stairs
  Contact: David Kirkham saltlaketeaparty@gmail.com

March 7, 2009

• Monterey Bay Tea Party – 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM PDT, Monterey’s Window On The Bay located on Del Monte Ave – across from McDonalds
  Contact: Melanie: teapartymontereyco@sbcglobal.net or Cindy Stanley: 831-760-2288 Cell, speak-up-america@sbcglobal.net
• South Florida Tea Party – 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM, SE Corner of Flamingo Road and Pines Blvd. Pembroke Pines, FL
  Contact: Chris Colina at ccolina5@yahoo.com
• Lafayette, LA Tea Party – 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM CST, Veterans Park, 200 Feu Follett Road, Lafayette, LA
  Contact: Leslie Alexander, (337) 258-8852, clesliealexander@yahoo.com
• Green Bay, Wisconsin Tea Party – 11 am, Titletown Brewing Co. Restaurant, 200 Dousman St, Green Bay
  Contact: marc@savardforcongress.com

March 11, 2009

• Rochester NY Tea Party – 4:30pm to 7pm, Meet at Lawyers Co-op Park (next to the Southwest corner of the Main St. Bridge)
  Contact: For right now, contact us

March 13, 2009

• New York City Tea Party – 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM, at “Charging Bull” at the northern end of Bowling Green
  Contact: Robin Flannery, phone: 631-727-4742, e-mail: Robinflannery@optonline.net

March 15, 2009

• Cincinnati, Ohio Tea Party – 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM, Fountain Square Corner of Fifth and Vine Streets in the middle of downtown Cincinnati
  Contact: mike@cincinnatiteaparty.org

My mother video taped the Tea Party in Phila. on Sat Feb 28th. It’s on Youtube.

July Linett (www.becauseitstrue.org)

The first round of Tea Party protests have been held. Now, what happens?

There are some additional protests already scheduled. The organizers of the original national movement are also talking about a new round on April 15, which is a Wednesday.

I like an April 15 date. It has symbolism and is far enough away that organizing the event should be far less hectic for the people doing that work. Those folks, in 44 plus cities, are owed a big Thank You for their work on the original set of protests. The only drawback is that it is not on the weekend. Working people cannot take time off even when they agree wholeheartedly with the cause.

We need to replicate the original protests in the same cities, with a few needing better venues. More media coverage and more folks attending. Remember, this is not, repeat not, just a Republican issue. Most Democrats and independents are going to get shafted by the stimulus package and they should be urged to participate.

We also need additional cities for protests. That means someone or a group of someones will have to step up and organize each event.

I cannot stress any more strongly that media is important. For suggestions about what needs doing, see the advice provided here.

Let’s please keep this a grassroots movement. The established political powers from both parties have little incentive to mend their ways. If you make this about Republicans versus Democrats, all you do is trade one set of big spenders and pork producers for another. Few politicians on either side of the aisle have clean hands when it comes to earmarks, pork, and wasteful spending.

Mark Tapscott has some suggestions about the future of the Tea Party movement. He is correct that the leadership of the Republican Party must be brought into agreement with the membership of the Party. We cannot tolerate the old way of doing things in Washington and in our state capitals. Our money, our future and that of our children and grandchildren are at risk.

Eric Florak says it well:

Call it what you will , but conservatives organizing protests is something unheard of in recent times. That it happens at all with conservatives, is a huge story. we expect the left to be generating these kind of things. Not the right.

It’s also true that that lack of protest over the years, probably accounts for a large part of the amateurish nature of the whole thing.

This is out of character for conservatives. That they do reach so far out of their character to do things like this, indicates the degree of anger going on. As I’ve suggested before in these spaces, anger is something which is not to be underestimated, as motivation.

I suspect this is going to be a turning point in our history . I have very little in the way of doubt that these organizations will continue to grow and learn and gain influence.

Mountain people will tell you that avalanches start with something as small as a raindrop , or a pebble.

There are more protests being organized nationwide. Keep looking at these sites for more information:

New American Tea Party
Pajamas’s Media

Christian Science Monitor coverage

From Glenn Reynolds

some thoughts from human-rights blogger Robert Mayer:

I just want to offer you and the tea party protesters some words of encouragement. As someone who has studied (and blogged) protest as an act of democratic revolution and people power in the post-Soviet area, I know a lot about the dynamics of mass civil society unrest, government transition, etc…

What we are seeing now is truly huge POTENTIAL for massive civil unrest against the American government gone lunatic with spending. Realistically, 400-1000 people at a protest, even at a dozen protests across the country, will do nothing to change the minds of our idiot leaders.

However, it creates the POTENTIAL that each protest could have a million. The Orange Revolution in Ukraine did not start out with two million people camping in tents in downtown Kiev. It started with only a few hundred diehard activists.

Here is a list of places to see the results from today’s Tea Parties, and to follow up on those activities.

PHOTOS

• Pereiraville – Orlando FL
• Un-Liberaled Woman – Chicago IL
• Michelle Malkin – a variety of locations
• diggz6873 – San Diego – not a separate set for now
• TCUnation – St. Louis – not a separate set for now
• jmdurbin – St. Louis
• Collection from various sites on TCOTTV
• chuckdevore – Washington DC
• Bullneck – Washington DC – not a separate set for now
• str8jacket_atl – Atlanta GA
• bigcat32 – Cleveland OH
• jlilyea – Washington DC – not a separate set for now
• she_knits_at_traff ic_lights’ – San Diego – not a separate set for now
• melanieann79 – Lansing MI – not a separate set for now
• Pixel & Verse – Chicago IL – not a separate set for now
• bour3 – Denver CO

• Tampa Bay Online
• Detroit Free Press
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch
• MSNBC
• WOWT Omaha NB
• KTRK ABC13 Houston TX
• Contra Costa Times

• New American Tea Party
• Pajamas Media American Tea Party Coverage
• Tips for Tea Party Organizers on the Media
• Sunlight Foundation
• Citizens Against Government Waste

• Twitter search
• RSS feed for current blog posts on Tea Party
• Nationwide Chicago Tea Party
• American Tea Party
• Top Conservatives

• San Francisco Chronicle politics blog
• Huffington Post
• Tapped

If you don’t see anything, this has been taken down at YouTube once already.

LOCATIONS:

• Boston – Friday, February 27, 2009 noon, The Barking Crab Restaurant, 88 Sleeper Street, Boston
• Hartford, CT – Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm – 1:00pm, State Capitol
• New York City – Saturday, February 28, 2009, 2:00pm – 3:00pm, City Hall Park, New York
• Buffalo, NY – Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm, Lafayette Square in downtown Buffalo
• Philadelphia – Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm – 1:00pm, Independence Hall
• Washington D.C. – Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm – 2:00pm White House on the Lafayette Square Park side
• Pittsburgh – ***May be postponed due to rain *** Friday, February 27, 2009 12 pm – 1 pm, Market Square

• Atlanta – Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm – 1:00pm at the Georgia State Capitol Building ~ Downtown Atlanta Washington Street Exit
• Fayetteville – Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm – 1:00pm, Liberty Point Resolves Marker, downtown Fayetteville, Hay Street
• Asheville, NC – Friday, February 27 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, Pritchard Park, Corner of Haywood St. and Patton Ave.
• Columbia, SC – TBD
• Greenville, SC – Friday, February 27, 2009 6:00pm, on the banks of the Reedy River and on the walking bridge just west of Main Street
• Orlando – Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm – 1:00pm on Lake Eola across from Panera Bread
• Tampa – Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm – 1:00pm, Federal Courthouse, 801 N. Florida Ave., Tampa
• Gainesville FL – Friday, February 27, 2009 2:00pm – 6:00pm, Ale House, 3950 SW Archer Rd
• Fort Meyers Beach – Friday, February 27, 2009 11:30am – 1:00pm Bowditch Park, 50 Estero Blvd., Fort Myers Beach
• Sarasota – Friday, February 27, 2009, 12:00pm – 1:00pm, Island Park and Marina Jacks, Bayfront Drive (41) and Ringling Blvd, Sarasota
• Nashville – Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm – 1:00pm Legislative Plaza
• Shelby County Alabama – Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm – 1:00pm, entrance to Eagle Point Neighborhood, Highway 280
• Jackson, Miss – Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm – 1:30pm, On the steps of the Capital Building in Jackson

• Cleveland – Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm – 1:00pm Public Square in Downtown Cleveland, 1 Public Square
• Chicago – Friday, February 27, 2009 11:00am – 12:20pm at
  Daley Plaza Civic Center, 50 W Washington St.
• Lansing, MI – Friday, February 27, 2009 12:00pm – 1:00pm, State Capitol bldg
• St. Louis – Friday, February 27, 2009 11:00am – 12:00pm The Steps of Arch, Wharf Street
• Springfield, MO – Friday, February 27, 2009, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm, Lake Springfield Park
• Kansas City – Saturday, February 28, 2009 10:00am – 2:00pm J.C. Nichols Foundation, 47th and J.C. Nichols Parkway K.C. MO
• Wichita, Kansas – Friday, February 27, 2009, 11:30am – 12:30pm, Farm Credit Bank Building, 245 N. Waco
• Omaha – Friday, February 27, 2009, 11:00am – 12:00pm, Douglas County Courthouse, 16th and Farnam St, Omaha
• Davenport, Iowa – Saturday, February 28, 2009, 12:00pm – 1 pm, Corner of Brady & Locust Streets, Davenport

• Austin – Friday, February 27, 2009, 11:00am – 12 pm, Capitol steps
• Dallas – Friday, February 27, 2009, 11:00am – 12 pm, Victory Plaza at the American Airlines Center
• Fort Worth – Friday, February 27, 2009 3pm to 7pm at the Cowtown Bar & Grill, 7108 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth
• Houston – Friday, February 27, 2009 11:00am – 2:00pm, Fondren Green at Discovery Green Park, in front of Amphitheatre
• San Antonio – Friday, February 27, 2009, 11:00am – 12 pm, Alamo Plaza
• Oklahoma City – Friday, February 27, 2009, 11:00am – 12:00pm, State Capitol Steps, Oklahoma City
• Tulsa – Friday, February 27, 2009 11 am to 1 pm, Veteran’s Park, 21st & Boulder
• Phoenix – Friday, February 27, 2009, 10:00am – 11:00am, State Capitol, 1700 W Washington St, Phoenix
• Tempe AZ – Friday, February 27, 2009 noon, Tempe Beach Park, west of the Mill Avenue Bridge

• Denver – Friday, February 27, 2009 10:00am – 12:00pm Colorado State Capitol Building – West side steps 200 E. Colfax Ave.

• Seattle – Friday, February 27, 2009, 12:15pm – 1:15pm, Westlake Park, 410 Pine St. by the big arch
• Portland – Friday, February 27, 2009 9:00am – 10:00am Pioneer Courthouse Square @ the corner of Broadway & Morrison (in front of the STARBUCKS), 715 SW Morrison St
• San Diego – Friday, February 27, 2009 9-10 am, Just north of the Star of India on San Diego Bay
• Sacramento CA – Friday, February 27, 12 Noon, California State Capitol, North Steps, L Street, Sacramento
• Los Angeles – Friday, February 27, 2009, 9:00am – 10:00am, Santa Monica Pier
• Orange County – Friday, February 27, 2009, 9:00am – 10:00am, Huntington Beach Pier

Here is a list of online resources for the growing revolt against the stimulus package, the proposed government fix for those not paying their mortgages, pork busting, and other government waste issues.

Tips for Tea Party Organizers on the Media. If you look no farther, please read this before you start organizing.

Twitter search

Pajamas Media American Tea Party Coverage

American Tea Party

Nationwide Chicago Tea Party

Pajamas’s Media

Sunlight Foundation

Citizens Against Government Waste

I’m a little acorn brown,
Lying on the cold, cold ground
Everybody steps on me
That is why I’m cracked you see

CHO: I’m a nut tch tch (sort of a clicky noise)

I’m a nut tch tch

I’m a nut I’m a nut I’m a nut tch tch

I can sing and I can dance
I wear ruffles on my…
sorry, boys, guess again
I wear ruffles on my dress

Called myself on the telephone
Just to see if I was home
With myself I made a date
Had to be there by half past eight.

Took myself to the movie show
Sat myself in the very first row
Wrapped my arms around my waist
When I got fresh I slapped my face

Grandpa’s beard is long & gray,
Growing grayer day by day,
Grandma eats it in her sleep
Says it tastes like shredded wheat,

Coca cola came to town
Pepsi cola shot’em down
Dr. Pepper fixed him up
Now we all drink 7up

Seven up got the flu
Now we all drink Mt. Dew
Mt. Dew went up the mountain
Now we all drink from a fountain.

LINK

Taxes. Everyone hates paying them. The courts have repeatedly held that it is legal to avoid paying taxes but not to evade paying them. We max our deductibles at year end. Some of us try very hard to have that next child by the end of December.

Taxes. You pay taxes if your income exceeds your deductions. In other words, if your life is more profitable. The same holds true for companies of all sizes, from the mom and pop grocery all the way up to the giant corporation like GM or Microsoft.

Let’s phrase that differently. If your life is more successful, you pay taxes. If your business is more successful, you pay taxes. Your penalty, assessed by our government, for making money is to pay taxes.

Now, you and I just pay taxes and try to have something left at the end of the day. Businesses have other options. They can cut distributions to their owners or stockholders. They can raise prices for their goods and services. Taxing a businesses either hurts the owners, causes price increases, or both.

Barry Obama wants to both cut taxes and raise taxes. Nice trick.

For about 50% of American taxpayers, this will not mean a tax cut because they pay no income taxes to begin with. Their deductions and tax credits equal or exceed their income. They will get a check in the mail. A “rebate”. Oh, I don’t know what they will call it but it amounts to a gift for not paying taxes.

Some of the rest of us may see our taxes drop. That’s good.

But, as taxes increase on people and companies that are very successful, are very profitable, our costs will go up. These successful people and companies will have less money to spend on buying things, creating jobs, paying dividends that add to the value of our retirement plans. Prices will go up. Marginal plants and divisions of companies will close. The successful will do things to maximize their ability to avoid taxes, just like everyone else does. Higher taxes = more efforts to avoid.

Barry seems to have the curious notion that the profits of the successful are somehow stashed in mattresses and never used for anything. That’s why they are there to be taxed. He’s a silly man.

No one leaves money just laying around. Rich people, successful people and companies, became that way by using their profits to make more profits. Investing in growth, spending the money on living expenses, donating the money to worthy causes. Taking those profits in taxes means that the successful, profitable people and companies will not have as much money to spend on those things.

If you believe that Barry Obama knows how to spend our money better than you and I do, please vote for Barry. If you believe that letting the government punish, with higher taxes, the people and companies that are actually producing and succeeding in the economy is right, please vote for Barry.

But if you begrudge every penny the government takes from you, if you see the government wasting money, hard earned money that could have produced jobs and savings and a better future, then you must vote for the lesser of two evils. John McCain and Sarah Palin.

Dear God! Shoot me now!

And the winner of the most boring television show in history, including all future history, was

Sarah Palin.

Seriously, could either candidate been more dull? More afraid to cause a fuss?

This was the format that McCain excelled at? You mean, after the stroke?

Are either of these men our best and brightest? Do either of these men deserve to be President? How about dogcatcher?

At best a draw. Advantage Barry Obama.

Oh, yeah. Fire Congress!

Here is the sum total of what we know about Barry Obama’s accomplishments:

1. Occidental College records — Not released
2. Columbia College records — Not released
3. Columbia Thesis paper — ‘not available’
4. Harvard College records — Not released
5. Selective Service Registration — Not released
6. Medical records — Not released
7. Illinois State Senate schedule — ‘not available’
8. Law practice client list — Not released
9. Certified Copy of original Birth certificate — Not released
10. Embossed, signed paper Certification of Live Birth — Not released
11. Harvard Law Review articles published — None
12. University of Chicago scholarly articles — None
13.Your Record of baptism — Not released or ‘not available’
14. Your Illinois State Senate records — ‘not available’

From Doug Ross, via Misha and Daily Pundit. Go and read the Doug Ross post. He’s got this cool Columbo vibe thing going on.