I heard a statistic several years ago, that Republicans in general were happier than Democrats... I'd like to see what that study finds now.
In a related story, a couple of surveys discussed on the radio this morning seemed to indicate that between 18% and 24% of the US population self identify as Tea Baggers. Of that group, most are white married men with above average income and education. These results seem to fly in the face of some of the media footage I've seen of their events, but perhaps it's more just an indication of the diverse nature of this movement.
Anyway, I could continue with a long opinion spewing piece about these folks which may be partly true and may be partly false as well. But dammit, this is supposed to be a place where I can share stuff which amuses me, and to be completely honest, these people are starting to make me nervous. The surveys discussed earlier, also indicated that the main emotion being felt by the baggy folks is anger. I worry that this anger and irrational behavior will reach a point where it spills over into violence, and will put my family at risk... But again, this isn't the place.
SO......
Please enjoy this hilarious live blogging report from a gentleman in Boston. It's moderately funny if you ready it from the top, but I had a hard time holding the laughter in, when I read it from the bottom up.
Check it out here.
Wow, that was hilarious!
ReplyDelete"A mafia thug holds a gun to your head, threatening death, demanding 50% of your daily labor."
ReplyDeleteHUH?!?! Are you Glenn Beck, or have you just been mainlining a little too much Skousen?
I don't know about you, but I am forced (with eventual threat of death) to pay just a little over 50% of my wages as taxes (income, SS, medicare, property, sales, etc, etc, etc, .) and am a bit pissed off about it and I can understand others being very angry with both the collection and the utter (as in murder of brown-skinned people via Predator drones and bullets) waste.
ReplyDeleteWhat happens if I refuse to pay? 'They' (the government mafia thugs) will take that which is mine and/or toss in my a cage. What happens if I resist their efforts to take that which I honestly earned? That's right, 'they' will kill me.
Who, Urban Koda, is doing the real, daily violence in this country?
PS. I think Beck is an idiot and I don't recall reading any Skousen.
So it sounds like you might be a Ron Paul guy, and I don't mean that as a bad thing either. I actually really like the guy.
ReplyDeleteMy dream ticket in 2008 would have been an Obama/Paul ticket, but I digress.
My problem with the Tea Baggers is that they kind of claim the same things as you just identified, with a few notable exceptions...
Many of them seem to be glorifying Bush and the Iraqi war. Something run by the Federal Government, wasting tax-payer money, and imposing US ideals, and I would suspect, furthering corporate interests through misuse of military might.
A bunch of the signs I saw yesterday where equating Obama with the recent financial collapse as well... Um Guys... That happened under your guys watch... It wasn't Obama's fault...
There is some other stuff too, but it gives me the impression that the real reason most of these guys are pissed off is not that the government is growing continually, but more that a black man from the opposition party won the election.
I get why you're upset, and if I were in a higher income bracket I would be a little more miffed than I am right now as well.
I just don't think that is the real motivation for most of these guys...
OMG - thanks for sharing that link. Awesome.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite parts:
"Remember when dissent was patriotic?" Except he spelled it "dessent," and had crossed out the incorrect "e" and penned in an "i." Poetry.
(Of course, it wasn't "patriotic" when "liberals" were "dessenting" agains the war.)
"A guy wrapped in a yellow Don't Tread On Me flag just tried to use the "Render unto Caesar" line from the Bible to justify not paying taxes, but he got the quote wrong. I gave him the correct line, and said "It means pay your taxes." He turned beet red and fled into the crowd. I love this job."
Facts that don't support their madness are irrelevant to these folks, aren't they? I heard an interview with a housewife who has made it her life's work to help plan these tea parties and, when the reporter questioned her assertion that taxes have gone up with Obama by stating that he had given 95% of the electorate a tax break since he arrived in office, she simply said "I don't believe that."
God save us from these crazy people.
I think Mr. Borowitz summed it up nicely last Thursday...
ReplyDeleteIf so many Teabaggers didn't pay taxes, what are they protesting today? Oh, right, black president.
I have a suggestion: for those who do not wish to pay taxes, you get to opt out. However. You then have to pay as you go when you use roads, sewers, the post office, the police and fire departments, medicare, water, electricity, the courts etc. You get to pay as you go for the army, and defense. And if you think you're paying dearly for them now, wait till you lose the advantage of the economy of scale that the government provides. That way, you can't bitch that you're being forced to pay taxes.
ReplyDelete