2010 Tax Day Tea Party!

My first blog post of 2011! And it's all about April 15, 2010 . . . . So I am a little behind in my blogging, but this gives the rallies a special spot, so that's OK. This is the end of the Online Tax Revolt Rally held at Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., on April 15, 2010. I was a little late to the rally, so I do not have many pictures.


For the day's events I parked in East Potomac Park. This is a picture looking across the Washington Channel at a part of the Southwest Waterfront.


From there, which way to the rallies? Just follow this guy.


The site of the next protest rally.


I wasn't really sure who these people were, but a little research suggests that the organizers of the event were The Mid-South Tea Party. Think of it as an open microphone event for tea party people. Only with a bullhorn, too. The stop sign says "STOP Obama's Brownshirt InfilTraitors [I don't think that's a misspelling] And his Domestic Enemies of the Constitution."


These protesters had elaborate outfits.


This protester was wearing revolutionary garb and carrying an "An Appeal To Heaven" flag. There were lots of flags at the rallies!


That rally was tucked in between the nationally promoted Tax Protest rally and the big event of the day, the FreedomWorks rally. I spied this colorful shrubbery on the way to lunch, so I took a picture. There was a row of them along some random granite edifice.


Just more random art on my way to lunch. This is in Judiciary Square.


These folks were celebrating, not protesting.


I arrived in Chinatown for lunch. At Fuddrucker's.


This is a nearby church. There is a geocache here. Guess how I spent my time between the rallies after lunch. I did not have a lot of time, though. I was only able to search for the one that was here. A (presumably homeless) person was sleeping (or dead) at the site of the other one I tried.


FBI Police? Isn't that a bit redundant? How much trouble do you have to be in?


Walking by the Old Post Office building. It's not a government building anymore. I didn't have time to go inside.


Ben Franklin was one impressive guy.


A picture of the IRS Building on Tax Day. Appropriate, no?


The crowd at the main event, the FreedomWorks Tax Day Tea Party rally at the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.


There were lots of people!


And lots of flags, t-shirts, and signs!


And, well, protest hats. I heart the Constitution, too, but I don't have a hat with a button that says so.


A "Remember in November" protest t-shirt.


His shirt says "OBAMA THE UNITER Bringing together a coalition of the badly misinformed, the dangerously naive, the fundamentally stupid, and the downright corrupt."


"Mr President YOU ARE WRONG!" Certainly a common theme!


I actually took a picture of the back of her shirt first. She turned around and asked me if I wanted a picture of the front, too, so I obliged.


T-shirt diversity at the Tea Party rally! Her banner says "Liberty or Death" and "Don't Tread On Me" and has a picture of the coiled snake from the Gadsden flag. She was there with a guy, so I was going to come back and take a picture from the front when they were both there and I could get them and their banner, but they moved on before I could get back to them.


"Wake Up America It's Later Than You Think." There were lots and lots of signs. The guy on the big screen is Matt Kibbe, the President and CEO of FreedomWorks.


"OVERTAXING + OVERSPENDING + OVERREACHING the authority of government = 'ECONOCIDE'." And "NO TO ABUSES AND USURPATION OF MY FREEDOM!"


"COMMUNISM DON'T RESURRECT IT!" Don't do it! And "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. NO MORE DEFICITS." Of course, the leftist Democrat leadership in Congress cured the problem of budget deficits. They just didn't pass one.


"Excuse Me, has anyone seen my Constitutional Rights? I seem to keep loosing [oops!] them since Obama became President!" Lots of stars! The lady beside her giving me the eye is wearing a button that says "FLIP THIS HOUSE."


"REPEAL OBAMACARE REJECT CAP & TRADE REPEAL BIG GOV'T REPLACE THEM." No disagreement here. "I AM NOT RICH I AM NOT A HATER I AM NOT RACIST I AM AN AMERICAN FOR FREEDOM." Racist? People know better. The left is just desperate to distract gullible people and get them to focus on something other than the economic-based and freedom-centric message of the tea party movement. The left is pathetic.


"November 2010 WE'LL SPEAK WITH OUR VOTES!! DO YOU HEAR US NOW??" Doubly punctuated!


"TEA PARTY AGENDA REPEAL HC BILL TERM LIMITS CONGRESS BAL BUDGET AMEND CUT SPENDING DEFEAT OBAMA SOCIALISM NO VAT! CUT TAXES!" I am sure those ideas would find lots of support amongst the people at the rally.


"IMPEACH OBAMA BEFORE LIBERTY DIES!" I'd seen the picture in this sign before.


"PRES. OBAMA'S + PAUL VOLKER'S PLAN . . . . THE V.A.T. TAX [sic!] WATCH YOUR $ DISAPPEAR AMERICA!" Repeal the 16th Amendment. Then we'll talk alternatives. "TAKE AMERICA BACK! VOTE CONSERVATIVE IN NOVEMBER! WE CAN'T AFFORD TO DO OTHERWISE!" I like the way that young lady thinks! There were lots of kids at the rally.


Another non-hater.


"IF EVERYONE PAID TAXES WE WOULD ALL BE 'EQUAL'." It's a pink protest sign with a red, white, and blue pom-pom on top. I am pretty sure this is going to be the girliest sign I got a picture of.


"Government does not solve problems, it subsidizes them." The banner in the picture behind Obama says "War on Prosperity."


"WE THE PEOPLE ARE TOO BIG TO FAIL!" This sign is a little bit too professional. Slapping the message on top of the flag borders on violating the Flag Code. It's not a flag, but still.


"'THE DEMOCRACY WILL CEASE TO EXIST WHEN YOU TAKE AWAY FROM THOSE WHO ARE WILLING TO WORK AND GIVE TO THOSE WHO WOULD NOT.' THOMAS JEFFERSON." Seems odd. I've seen this attributed to Jefferson, but we live in a Republic, not a Democracy. I don't think Jefferson would have referred to America as "The Democracy." He knew better. Anyway, these pro-graphic signs left me a little flat. Lots of skin art on that one guy's arm, huh.


"Yes We Can! Bankrupt America" "WAKE UP YOUNG ADULTS!!! CAN'T YOU SEE THAT THE FUTURE YOU DREAMED OF IS ONLY A DREAM. THE REALITY WILL BE YOUR BURDEN!!!!" "SOCIALISM it's not a joke!" "YOU LIE!" A very wordy sign!


But she wasn't done! "THE BIGGEST LOSERS IT'S A REALITY SHOW" and "EXORCISM TO FOLLOW, REMEMBER NOVEMBER" were on the reverse!


"FREE HEALTHCARE IS NOT FREE WHEN I'M PAYING FOR IT." And he's wearing a button that says "The Constitution I READ IT FOR THE ARTICLES."


"CONGRESS, STOP SPREADING MY WEALTH!!!!" A small sign.


"TAX $PEND $ $ SPEND SPEND SPENT TAX $ THEIR AMERICAN DREAM." An artful sign.


"I'm only 16 & I'm already TENS of THOUSANDS of DOLLARS in DEBT." I have some bad news for him . . . it's worse than he thinks. "If you won't READ THE BILLS AT LEAST READ THE CONSTITUTION!" I think that lady had the biggest exclamation point. "TRUST THE GOVT ASK AN INDIAN." That was not the only sign with that message.


"Sure You Can Trust Our Government . . . Just Ask An Indian." See? This one is a bit neater.


"Party Like it's '1773'." Yup.


"THIS DISABLED VET SAYS OBAMA BAD FOR AMERICA." A nice clear message there.


This sign is just too wordy.


"OBAMA PUT UP THIS WALL." It's time to secure the borders.


"EXCOMMUNICATE STUPAK." He's retired, at least.


"GIVE PELOSI & REID THE BOOT HAIRY & BOTOX." "ENDANGERED SPECIES ACTUAL TAXPAYER!" And "WOULD YOU LIKE SOME K-Y WITH THAT?" Well, not all the signs can be winners.


"MORE GOVERNMENT IS NOT OUR SOLUTION IT'S OUR PROBLEM DON'T TREAD ON ME." Yup. "SO NOW WE KNOW CHANGE MORE DEBT TAXES WELFARE GOVERNMENT REGULATION WASTEFUL SPENDING CORRUPTION." Sounds like change Obama believes in to me.


I can't type the pictures in the sign.


"CHANGE? HE BOWS TO OUR ENEMIES." This sign is a two-parter.


"HOPE HE CONFRONTED OUR ENEMIES." So true. Reagan was so much better.


These signs say in part "AUDIT THE FED" and "OBAMA BIT OFF MORE COMMUNITY THAN HE CAN ORGANIZE." He sure did.


"YOU IGNORED OUR RATTLE ALL YEAR TIMES UP! NOV. 2010." I think this was one of my favorite signs.


"WE CAME UNARMED (THIS TIME!)" I am sure this sign concerns those on the left. It doesn't bother me.


Another sign with pictures for words. Obviously, there are some Republicans at these rallies. On the big screen is Deneen Borelli, a member of Project 21.


"Put a SOCK in it NANCY!" I'm not sure what that has to do with the picture, but neither is very flattering, which I suppose gets the point across.


"VAT'S Going Too Far!" Punful.


"DON'T WANT TO BE AN AMERIPEAN." Me either!


"REPEAL OBAMACARE." Small sign but effective!


"NO. YOU CAN'T." These simple signs are working for me!


"It's the People's House Not the House of Ill Repute! We the People TAKE IT BACK NOVEMBER 2010." Yup.


"THE ULTIMATE BIG DEAL ELECTION DAY 2010!" Yup again.


"'FOR A NATION TO TRY AND TAX ITSELF INTO PROSPERITY IS LIKE A MAN STANDING IN A BUCKET AND TRYING TO LIFT HIMSELF UP BY THE HANDLE' - WINSTON CHURCHILL." A popular quote at the rally.


"GRANNY IS NOT SHOVEL READY." Yup.


"A GOVERNMENT BIG ENOUGH TO GIVE YOU EVERYTHING YOU WANT IS STRONG ENOUGH TO TAKE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE - THOMAS JEFFERSON." People really, really, really need to understand that.


"We Love COAL!!!" "Save Coal & Save America" "Coal keep the Lights ON!" "'COAL' is our future" " COAL IS GOOD FOR THE ECONOMY" "Senators, a vote against my Job is a vote against your Job!" "Save our Jobs Support Coal" "Reject Cap & Trade" was item #2 on the Contract From America, second only to "Protect the Constitution."


There was this guy. People seemed to know who he was . . . .


Lots of flags. Apparently, tea party protesters are not very afraid of snakes.


These flags are great!


The Washington Monument at the end of the rally!

Seattle, CAM 2010, Big Red

Wow am I behind on my blogging! So here is my first real blog entry on Blogger. This picture takes us back to March 2010 and the metro in Seattle, Washington.


The view from my hotel room at night.


The registration area at TechReady10, the reason for my being in Seattle. It was late this time because the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, BC, Canada, had all the rooms in Seattle gobbled up.


Moving on . . . these are April flowers that got a head start on all those other flowers in May.


And what do April flowers bring? Ants apparently. These were all over a part of the sidewalk.


Spring also means it's time for Cache Across Maryland. This mural is in the Hall Spring area of Herring Run Park.


I was in the park to find the "CAM 2010 - Herring Run Park" geocache.


This is Herring Run, near the site of the cache. This is in the City of Baltimore, believe it or not. You might have a little less hard time if you noticed the trash floating in the river in the lower right corner of the picture. Still, relative to Baltimore, it's a really nice trail. Lots of dog walkers.


Note: Fire is prohibited in Gunpowder Falls State Park. See, if you didn't read these captions, you'd miss great commentary like that.


I had to get up early to take my parents to the airport, so for once, I actually got to a park very early in the morning, before it was even open! Even more unbelievable than that, this giant X was in the sky in the direction of the cache ("CAM 2010 - Maxwell Hall Park"). X actually marked the spot!


The Chalk Point Generating Plant along the nearby Patuxent River.


This rusted out old truck is in the middle of a horse trail, which I was on sans horse, in pursuit of another geocache in the park.


When I arrived at the next CAM stop, near the St. Clement's Island Museum, I saw this old car. Only it is sitting in someone's yard, not in the middle of a horse trail.


Also nearby, The Little Red School House, a.k.a. Charlotte Hall School, c. 1820.


The Park Ranger Office at Pemberton Historial Park. Home, I take it, of Park Naturalist Kerri Liming. I just liked the lettering above the door.


Another mural, this one near the park ranger's office.


This interpretive display lets you know what sort of houses you're looking at. I'm not sure what that extra bat house is doing there on the ground.


Don't do it! Courtesy the folks at the Silver Run - Union Mills Community Park.


This picture answers the question, "Who is buried in Gath's tomb?" The tomb is located in Gathland State Park, in Gapland, Maryland.


And this historical marker answers the question that naturally follows from the previous answer.


One of the last 2010 CAM cache locations I visited, the site of the Old Brant Mine, along the Meadow Mountain Trail in the Deep Creek Lake Recreation Area.


The end goal of CAM 2010: the CAM picnic!


There was picnic food, of course.


Another big event is the cache toss, a sort of shotput event that involves throwing a heavy ammo can (a favorite type of geocache container) as far as possible. It's pretty heavy, but if you get a lucky bounce it can roll far. I got a lucky bounce and won, but I thought it was really too close to call between me and the second place finisher, so I challanged the top 2 runners-up to a "toss off." I didn't get a lucky bounce the second time, though, and lost out to the original second place finisher. I took this picture, so that is not me in it. I don't know if anybody took a picture of me!


There is also a junior division of the ammo can toss! Here a member of the geocaching team The Incredibles gives the can a mighty toss.


More yellow flowers. That's it for CAM 2010.


After traveling all over Maryland to find caches, I went back to the Appalachian Trail (well, technically, an area on South Mountain near the trail) near where I live. The cache at this site was described as being under a big rock. So, lots of help there, eh?


The cache container (an ammo can!) for this cache ("Steep Creek"). The cache was marked as lost by the cache owner but I found it!


This is the travel bug known as Big Red ATV. Clink on the link to read the story of Big Red. I was happy to recover Big Red in May and help him along his way (more on that in a subsequent blog entry, hopefully written before another six months goes by!).


A picture from the Black Rock view on the Appalachian Trail one evening in June. It's a little over-exposed; it was not quite that bright, but it was not night, either.


A couple weeks later, I nearly stepped on this guy. Fortunately for him, he jumped out of the way. Doubly fortunately for him, I had no interest in eating him after he gave away his location like that.


Same critter, different angle. I was pleased that I got a couple sharp close-up pictures out of my camera. I thought these turned out well. That's it for this blog entry!