Kansas Tea Parties

Today is the day that many people from all walks of life will be out all over the Country lifting their voices in opposition to what our House and Congress has done, and might be doing to us.

If you are attending the Wichita Tea party here are a few things you need to know;

Parking

Please help us be good guests on airport grounds. It is important that we not park on:

• Main roads such as Harry Street
• At the entrances of businesses
• On the grass of Airport grounds
• Best Western property

We can park on:

• Side streets. There are many off of Harry Street.
• In the field west of Best Western, on the access road for Kellogg. There will be signs to guide you. From Kellogg take the Airport exit and follow the signs to the access road on the south side of Kellogg towards Dugan Road. Buses will shuttle you to the event location.

The Party is scheduled to start at 4:15 at the Airport Post Office, and end at 8 pm. Bring a plunger if you are not bringing a sign. For more info, go to Wichita Tea Party.

The list of Speakers seems to be a who's who of Republican Kansas.

• Nancy Armstrong, veteran, blogger and organizer
• Cheryl Green, farmer, mother and organizer
• Susan Estes, Americans for Prosperity and organizer
• Shari Weber, American Majority
• Sedgwick County Commissioner Karl Peterjohn
• State Representative Jason Watkins
• State Senator Susan Wagle
• Congressman Jerry Moran
• Vicki Tiahrt on behalf of Congressman Todd Tiahrt
• US Senator Sam Brownback

For more Kansas locations go to the Tax Day Tea Party website.
Now for my opinion.

The list disappoints me a bit. But we are in Kansas and the majority of our reps are Republicans. I hate to see this portrayed as a Republican cause. I am not a Republican. Most of my life I was a democrat. As I became older, my social views strayed from that party, but neither parties encompass what I truly believe in. I am an Independent.

The news reports that are coming out, proclaiming that the TEA parties are the brain child of Glenn Beck, and the reports that the people attending are white supremacists not only hurts me, but disappoints me. I am losing much faith in the democratic party. I have read comment after comment about TEA party attendees being ignorant, uneducated, and being in the top 1% of wealth earners. Of course these weren't the words used, more like "idiots, stupid, hate mongers, and rich assholes." I applaud their vocabulary.

I am the working poor. I was raised upper middle class. I am educated and my husband is highly educated. Those that know me via blog, know that our choices were just that, and we choose to live differently than the "elite" would have. We pay attention to the politics of our country, and we fear for our nation. And not because of a Black President, or a democratic majority. We fear because our reps no longer seem to be listening to what we Will. The president merely suggests what laws he wants enacted, the house and congress decided if this is good and wise and if the people that they work for would agree in majority. It's isn't just about TARP or the other Bailouts, and it definitely isn't just about AIG. It is about what our future holds. We are a republic. We are a capitalist Nation. We work to achieve our own dreams and are free to gain wealth.

I understand the envy, jealousy and hatred that people feel towards the wealthy. But to punish them, to threaten them does us all an injustice. Those that create jobs are now considered "wealthy". With new tax laws and new forced national health care, more of these employers will keep their personal down, and keep their wealth under the overly taxable tax bracket. We are guaranteed to see our nation fail as a Great Nation in these scenario situations. Envy and hatred does not help you become a good person, nor does it enable you to become more than what your current station is in life. Those sentiments are better left behind or turned inward and around to help motivate and propel you to what you have always dreamed you would be. It does no justice to yourself to keep yourself down.

I read the comments left by proclaimed Liberals and I hope I have never uttered the words that spill from their fingertips. I read the comments by proclaimed Conservatives and hope that I never become like that. Anger is good as long as it is productive. Vile remarks with misspelled words does neither party good. Thinly veiled threats make us all sound naive.

We protest what our Representatives have begun to do to us, we protest what they claim to be, we protest what their so called good intentions will ultimately be. We protest that we no longer have a good strong voice in our own home. We protest so that our children will have a choice in their own futures. And we protest so that we do not have to pay for others mistakes.