Tax Day Tea Party Hauppauge 04.15.10

Sometimes you have to take a stand if you have an opinion.   This is a cornerstone of the First Ammendment right, part of the Bill of Rights as defined by the U.S. Constitution.  Click on highlighted words for more information.

This is what happened in Hauppauge, Long Island on tax day, April 15, 2010.

Groups of people came together in a grass roots  " Tea Party" styled movement on the slopes of the H. Lee Dennison Center, a Suffolk County complex of executive office buildings,

which also is the site of many memorials to U.S. veterans.

There were about 3,000 participants who listened to a few short speeches, said the pledge of allegiance, sang patriotic songs, and carried American flags, including the yellow Gadsen flag, and posters expressing their opinion regarding recent political events.

On the podium is Steven Flanagan organizer of the rally and head of the Conservative Society for Action.

Groups of people stood on the Veterans Memorial Highway with banners, flags, bells,  and patriotic costumes, receiving "thumbs up", cheers and agreement from drivers and passengers in cars as they streamed by on the way home from work. 

The rally message was about holding up the values of the Constitution, limited government as outlined by the Constitution,

and the increasing debt and taxes.

Frustration, and with a feeling of not being heard or represented fairly, caused people to speak out and assemble legally and in an orderly manner. 

People listened.

Some made dramatic statements.

Some wanted to clarify who they were.

The people  wanted their thoughts and views to be heard, and they did it in a respectful way.   I carried a sign that read:
Who am I?
a granddaughter of legal immigrants that came through Ellis Island
daughter of WWII army Veteran 101st airborne division
retired professional
mother of two
taxpayer since 1966 when I was 19
independent thinker and voter in every election

The whole time I was there I thought about my "blue collar" dad & mom who raised and paid college tuitions for four professionals, and believed in" no loans."

The reverse side of my sign said, " I have no debt, I don't want yours."
and "Patriotic American Woman."

There are many videos on YouTube.  Type in Tea Party Hauppauge, April 15, 2010.

Making a Liberty Banner for Northport's Tea Party

This is a step by step series of images that describes how a huge cloth banner was made for a re-enactment of the Boston Tea Party, on April 4, 2009, at Northport Harbor's dock. This picture shows how each letter was traced on a Town flag, to ensure exact replication of the size, shape, and placement of each letter.
After each letter was traced on tracing paper, the paper was flipped over and scribble marks were made on the lines, with a soft pencil. This acts like carbon paper and enables the tracing to be transfered to a heavier paper for pattern making.The tracing paper with the scribbles is turned over on to the pattern paper, and the lines are re-traced with a ruler while pressing down very hard on the pencil.Cut out each letter carefully from the pattern paper, and save.In order to help the banner letters lay really flat, first, iron the cloth to be cut.Since the banner was a deep red in color, and the letters were made of white fabric, the white fabric was folded, and each letter was cut from a double thickness.Each letter was individually pinned and stay stitched to ensure stability.A base line for the word was measured, pinned and marked so that basting with a contrasting thread was accurate.Each letter was placed so that the bottom edge was resting on the thread line.A three inch casing was sewn on the top edge to accomodate a white PVC pipe.After the letters were sewn with white thread in a zig-zag stitch, the banner measured over ten feet in width and three feet wide. Each letter was 11 inches high. Click here to see a video of the Tea Party with the banner at the end of the tape. With all of the rain and wind, 300-400 people dressed as colonists, waving flags, singing the National Anthem, with bag pipes, came anyway, and threw two old wooden tea boxes into the water.