Tonight, residents in the Creekside Park Village are justifiably upset that the parking plan for so many people attending the Woodlands TEA Party in Rob Fleming Park flunked. People were even parking on Gosling. People parked on the grass, in development areas, everywhere one could physically park. People poured in continuously at the same time as others left to put the kids to bed or whatever.
My very rough estimate was about 1200 had attended, however the sponsors of the event estimated that 7000 attended.3 Residents could not hardly get from one place to another to shop, to get home, to do what they needed to do in the evening. It was a serious village traffic jam! I could tell in advance that this would attract many people to the park. Everyone and their brother were seeking directions to the park today.
The message was clear and loud, as it was broadcast from the beautiful park pavilion. "Enough taxes", "Stop spending my grandchild's money", "I am not a communist",... It was a clear-cut attack on Obama and socialism. Over and over the staff there played their cards with questions like "do you think that was extremism?" 
The speech writers made somewhat of an attempt to deliver a message that was non-partisan but that was not achieved from what I heard. There was no doubt in my mind that the message was anti-Obama and pro-Republican. There was also significant heckling of congressman Kevin Brady from the back of the crowd when Mr Brady was delivering his message.
Overall, with the music, speeches, banners, flags, signs and attendees, I enjoyed seeing and hearing "America speaking". 
Families were there in their entirety, with babies and children. Dogs were there and I suspect some families from the village were doing their normal dog walks amidst all of the hoopla. While the theme has basic merit, the delivery was simply like a typical political rally, lots of rhetoric without much substance. There was a march of signs that would pass by the video camera which was streaming live images to the internet.
I was glad to see this band playing. That gave us an occasional break from the speeches.
"I'm not a communist" on the dog's shirt.
The people came in droves, which indicated a high interest in taxation/spending issues now facing our country. There were no rebel flags and nothing to indicate a tie with any other change or circumstance of "today". Instead, the gathering while I was there was tame, with only the heckling while Mr Brady spoke, to interfere with the event. 
This helicopter was probably the news media, but I could not see any emblems. It stayed for about 10-15 minutes, obviously filming the event.
This was certainly a peaceful protest, but it was also a call for voters to begin taking an active role in the elections, of course through the organizations affiliated with those sponsoring the TEA party.
People were putting tea bags into a large bucket near the back. I understand they later made tea with it.
Related links
1Woodlands Tea Party - history in the making?
2Woodlands Tea Party website
3Woodlands North Houston Tea Party Society
2 comments:
Ah Ha!!! My only question this whole time was whether any tea was made or not! Thanks for clearing that up! ;-)
We all cherish the right to free assembly, but what's the real point of the tea parties? "Stop spending my grandchild's money", "I am not a communist",...
Do you not understand that is country's infrastructure (structural, technological, economic, education, etc.) is crumbling? How do you propose the President address the problem? Those things cost money to fix. They are not "entitlements." They benefit future generations of Americans because they provide a path to a sustainable future. We've been stealing from future generations by delaying what must eventually be done.
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