21st Century Hippies

There was a Tea Party rally today in Tuscaloosa and I decided to attend. My ex advised, "don't get shot" because, he said, "you don't have a poker face". My brother asked, "what will you tell the FBI when they show up at your door"? Both had good points.

I thought I'd see for myself before I blast the tea baggers (giggle), I mean the tea partiers. I didn't stay the full four hours, but as you can see, not many people had shown up one hour into the rally.

It was certainly a beautiful day, wasn't it? Minus the sponsors and media, I would say there were less than 50 people at that hour. I heard two candidates for office speak and a woman from the American Family Rights Association (AFRA). I was standing by their booth, but I didn't see any questionable literature. She spoke about a child's right to have two parents even in a divorce situation. I agree. She also pointed out that many people think their racist but suggested everyone read from a conservative website, whose writer happens to be black (apologies for forgetting the name).

Instead, I went to AFRA's website and WOW! I was expecting anti-abortion but I found they have a huge issue with Child Protective Services (CPS). If this is not the correct website for this organization, please direct me elsewhere.

Alabama SB233, an amendment to the Alabama state constitution, could be voted on by the people as part of the general election in November 2010. If Alabama could ad this statewide referendum to the ballot, why not hold a national referendum on the issue of healthcare?

SB233 proposes an amendment to the Alabama constitution to "prohibit any person, employer, or health care provider from being compelled to participate in any health care system." SB233 also revokes all penalties and fines for not participating in a national healthcare program. Any amendment to our state constitution which passes the Alabama legislature must be voted on by the citizens of Alabama directly in a referendum. Continue reading here....

A very nice woman held this to keep it from blowing so I could take a picture. She had a sign below that said we were being "Alinskied". Not knowing what that meant, I asked her about it. She explained to me that she had heard the name Saul Alinsky in Montgomery (Alabama's capital) and he had been a community organizer who influenced Obama. It was obvious that she knew very little about him and wasn't sure if she had spelled his name correctly, but she told me it was her way of saying we were being screwed. I complimented her for being so creative and thanked her for explaining it to me.

This nice lady told me she had gotten "the book" so she could read more about Alinsky. It appears the book would be Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky as used for inspiration by Tea Party organizers.

I read about Alinsky when I returned home and, of course, he would have been a hero of mine had I known about him. Wikipedia noted,

"Alinsky described his plans in 1972 to begin to organize the White middle class across America, and the necessity of that project. He believed that what President Richard Nixon and Vice-President Spiro Agnew called "The Silent Majority" was living in frustration and despair, worried about their future, and ripe for a turn to radical social change, to become politically-active citizens. He feared the middle class could be driven to a right-wing viewpoint, "making them ripe for the plucking by some guy on horseback promising a return to the vanished verities of yesterday." His stated motive: "I love this goddamn country, and we're going to take it back."

What insight, huh? 

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