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Tax Tea Party is peaceful informative gathering  Share
A ''Tax Tea Party'' which was organized locally by Willard Cummins, Lawrenceville, turned out to be a very informative and peaceful event on Saturday at the Lawrenceville City Park. There were a lot of statistics, facts, music and inspiring quotes from people such as Abe Lincoln, Ronald Reagan and many others. The event which coincided with the annual ''Festival in the Park'' opened with a brief speech, given by Paula Sterchi, which was originally recited by the late Red Skelton, a former resident of Vincennes. Skelton had told the story of his teacher, Mr. Laswell, who explained the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance, word by word. In the recollection of her statements, Skelton's noted speech was: ''Now, more than ever, listen to the meaning of these words: 'I've been listening to you boys and girls recite the Pledge of Allegiance all semester and it seems as though it is becoming monotonous to you. If I may, may I recite it and try to explain to you the meaning of each word?' I me, an individual, a committee of one. Pledgededicate all of my worldly goods to give without self pity.
Allegiancemy love and my devotion. To the flagour standard, Old Glory, a symbol of freedom. Wherever she waves, there's respect because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts freedom is everybody's job! United that means that we have all come together. Statesindividual communities that have united into 48 great states. Forty-eight individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose; all divided with imaginary boundaries, yet united to a common purpose, and that's love for country. And to the republica state in which sovereign power is invested in representatives chosen by the people to govern. And government is the people and it's from the people to the leaders, not from the leaders to the people. For which it stands, one nation one nation, meaning ''so blessed by God'' Indivisibleincapable of being divided. With libertywhich is freedom; the right of power to live one's own life without threats, fear or some sort of retaliation. And Justicethe principle or quality of dealing fairly with others. For allwhich means, boys and girls, it's as much your country as it is mine. Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country and two words have been added to the Pledge of Allegiance...UNDER GOD. Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer and that would be eliminated from schools too? God Bless America!' Following the recitation of Skelton's speech, the Rev. Richard Maddox offered the opening prayer. Hunter Allen, 15, then sang the ''National Anthem.'' He was later featured singing ''Glory Glory Hallelujah.'' Terry Donaldson sang ''America the Beautiful.'' The first person to speak was military veteran Tyler Bush, Robinson. He drew some laughter right in the beginning bystating that he was not a politician, not a right-wing domestic terrorist, not a public speaker, no one made him come to the party and has never stayed at a Holiday Inn. He stated he will have to read from papers because he forgot his teleprompter. He then spoke on the Declaration of Independence. Simply reminding the crowd of the rights of the citizens, his speech prompted many cheers from the audience. He quoted Abraham Lincoln and concluded with the suggestion that '' it is time for everyone to wake up, stand and speak up for their rights and for this country.'' Larry Morris, a Second Amendment activist since 1992 from Marion, spoke on gun control. He reminded the crowd that gun owners are winning despite the president, congress and governor's efforts against the Second Amendment rights. He said that more than 3,000 gun owners marched down Capital Avenue to the State Capitol in Springfield to lobby Senators and Representatives earlier this year urging them to protect citizens' right to keep and bear arms. He said it was the largest single day gathering of gun owners the state had ever seen. He ended by saying that politicians pass trillion dollar bills that they not do not read or even write them. According to Morris, they have someone else write bills for them. He urged everyone to write letters, emails, and send faxes to representatives and senators. The only incident that showed vocal opposition was when a speaker was heckled after he read a quote spoken by Adolf Hitler in 1935. He said, ''This will go down in history. The first time a civilized nation has full gun registration! Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient and the world will follow our lead into the future!'' The heckler from the crowd who carried a personal speaker and mic yelled, ''oh, scare us all.'' Dr. Richard Moss, an ear/nose/throat specialist from Jasper Ind., spoke on healthcare. He stated that Americans are besieged by an overbearing government. The doctor spoke out of personal experience from working overseas in places such as Bangladesh and Tailand, to name a couple. He also said that the United States is well respected for its doctors and medical innovation. According to Moss, America is the world leader in biomedical and has the highest quality of healthcare. ''The world looks to us,'' he said. He explained how a free system drives innovation and risk-taking which produces life saving procedures, research, etc... He also talked about healthcare being a growth industry that produces lots of jobs. It is part of the American economy that is quite vital, he said. In addition, he went into specific detail about the ''so-called'' 46 million uninsured Americans. He explained how the number is very bloated, with a huge percentage being illegal immigrants, people who can afford insurance but choose not to get it and people who qualify for assistance but don't bother with getting it, etc... He suggested many ways to fix real problems that do exist concerning health insurance and coverage. Brenda Marriot from the Dan Perry family of Bridgeport is a breast cancer survivor, a mother and a farmer's wife. She spoke simply on paying in her whole life for her own insurance. She is scared about what will happen if the government cuts social security just to provide free services and food to so many people who are capable of working but choose not to. She also expressed her concerns on changing healthcare in a way which could greatly affect her and so many other cancer survivors. Under the idea of government-run healthcare, if she were to have a reoccurence of her cancer, she believes the Obama healthcare plan would tell her to forget it and show her where to go to die gracefully. Dr. Tim Williams, Lawrenceville, spoke on healthcare and taxes. He listed many examples of what the government is in charge of that that doesn't work. He explained how a healthcare commission will be appointed by Obama to oversee the private side, which is likened to socialism. The government is trying to nationalize banks, the auto industry, insurance and now healthcare. He said you cannot tax your way to prosperity. He then quoted Margaret Thatcher when she said, ''The problem with socialism is that eventually you (the government) run out of other people's money.'' This drew huge cheers from the crowd. Dr. Williams spoke in depth on statistics and percentages that relate to taxes, etc... He also spoke on charitable contributions which he reminded the crowd that Obama had changed the charitable contribution tax cut in a way that would not encourage contributions. He spoke of his time (the last two years) spent at the Shriners Children Hospital and how donations are so important. Then, according toWilliams, he said that conservatives give to charitable organizations four times more than liberals. They most likely still will, he said. However, now, he added, they just won't get to claim them on their taxes the way they always have. Williams also gave a detailed list of where the stimulus money has been spent. For example, he said, ACORN, tattoo removal, porn review (something along the lines of 80 million dollars), and the list went on. Daryl Wilson brought some statistics to the stage when he named the top ten cities, with at least a quarter million people, were listed as having the highest poverty rate. He explained that the ten cities had either not had a Republican governor in decades or never. Another speaker quoted Albert Einstein saying: ''The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.'' Jim Bush, a former math teacher, spoke on indoctrination and carefully pointed out how the students' text books are being changed from the facts. They are changed by putting intentional mistakes in them to sway students from accurate truths. He gave examples of how this has and is happening. Many people spoke on topics such as the Bill of Rights, healthcare, care for the elderly, tax codes, global warming, charitable contributions, stimulus and where the money actually went, illegal immigrants, indoctrination, ACORN, over-regulation, Project 9-12, saving and protecting small businesses and many other topics. Dave White and Kathryn Thompson were recognized for making the best signs. Brandy Wambeke is editor of the Bridgeport Leader.
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