Fresh Loaf

Many of the same people responsible for Atlanta’s Tea Party protests will gather downtown Saturday for an event called America’s Health Care Town Hall.

Don’t be fooled by the name.

Of the 17 hosts, speakers and panelists scheduled to speak, not one appears to support health care reform.

Not one.

It’s instead a roster of Republican Party politicians (past and present), Baracknophobic “Tea Party” organizers, and industry lobbyists.

This gathering isn’t America’s anything. It’s an advertisement opposing health care reform and a Republican Party Pep rally. They should be honest and call it what it is.

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They’re back, Atlanta. And this time, they’re prepared for your childish antics.

While the April 15 Atlanta Tea Party protest in front of the Georgia Capitol included Sean Hannity, local politicos and quite a bit of traffic, what the organizers didn’t necessarily account for beforehand was the sophomoric glee with which anchors and guests on major news networks, including CNN’s Anderson Cooper, would greet their declared intent to “teabag the White House.”

Tea Party April 15 at the Georgia state capitol

According to a press release issued by the Tea Party Patriots early this week, announcing their intended demonstration outside CNN headquarters today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.:

CNN poked fun at and demeaned the Tea Party Patriots Protesters around the country on April 15th. …  The repeated use of sexual innuendo and other offensive language primarily centered around an alternate meaning of the word “teabagging” were insulting, rude, and lacked the decorum expected of a professional news organization.

Content like this is not family friendly.  As parents, we are outraged that your network incorporated these sexual innuendos and other offensive language into your news content as if they didn’t matter.

Though the Tax Day protests drew anywhere between 10,000 and 20,000 attendees (and Sean Hannity!), there was no sign of any demonstrators early this afternoon at CNN — and nary an indication that they even briefly distracted the hordes of summer campers and tourist groups that normally mill around the CNN Center.

Regardless of how many enthused teabaggers actually were offended by CNN’s coverage of their event, it rings a tad hollow, given that many of the most hilariously suggestive parodies came from the teabaggers themselves — such as the sign held up by 38-year-old medical professional Christian Stevens last April 15 in front of the Capitol:

“Stimulus check: $20.32. KY Jelly: $20.32. Coincidence? I don’t think so.”

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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The Atlanta Business Chronicle has put all of its stories about local spending of federal stimulus money on a single page called the ABC Stimulus Tracker.

Among the local projects I learned about on the site: Cochran Shoals in the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area is getting a new “comfort station” as well as repairs on its old ones.

All Metro Atlantans who think the federal stimulus is a power grab by the fascistsocialistmuslimfundamentalistKenyanpirate Obama Regime are advised to go potty before visiting the park or to bring adult diapers, lest their bodily excretions be interpreted as stinky tacit approval of Obama’s wasteful, tyrannical policies.

And don’t forget, kids, tea is a diuretic.

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DeKalb County late yesterday reversed its bizarre (and possibly illegal) decision not to lower property value assessments throughout the county. Keeping assessments artificially high would have resulted in a de facto property tax increase because the county’s assessments are used to determine property tax bills.

According to the AJC, the appraiser changed his mind after DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis asked him to reconsider. I’m sure it was a pleasant conversation.

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If any of you local tea partiers have any leftover Lipton, I’ve got a new target for your leafy discontent.

DeKalb County just raised property taxes without telling anyone.

The AJC reported yesterday that the DeKalb County Property Appraisal Department refuses to lower property appraisals to reflect the sharply declining market value of much of the county’s real estate. Georgia law requires county tax assessors to appraise property at its fair market value.

The Appraisal Department’s decision is a de facto property tax increase.

Property tax bills in DeKalb are calculated by taking the property’s assessed value, multiplying it by 40 percent, then multiplying it by the tax rate (a.k.a the millage, or mil rate):

By assessing the market value artificially (arguably illegally) high, the county is attempting to keep your property tax bill from dropping without the political hassle of having the county’s elected leaders voting for a property tax rate increase.

DeKalb County leaders are correct to worry about plummeting tax revenue. Schools, cops, Range Rovers don’t pay for themselves.

But keeping tax revenue steady by issuing bogus assessments is dishonest and, quite possibly illegal.

If the county wants money, they need to ask for it the old-fashioned way, by arguing for a straight-forward tax rate increase in a public forum.

If anyone wants to have a miniature tea party protest outside the DeKalb County Property Appraisal Department, I’ve got a thermos, sugarcubes, and a beautiful tea set given to me by CL food critic Besha Rodell as a wedding gift.

We can sip, say ‘tyranny’ a lot, and when county employees walk by, we can extend our pinkies with genteel disgust.

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1. AJC buyout list official — 74 to leave (In addition to the dozens of veteran reporters who jumped ship, news of Pulitzer-winner Cynthia Tucker’s move to D.C. and food writer John Kessler’s brief departure from food-writing made it a very productive week for us pageview-hoarding wretches at Fresh Loaf.)

2. Atlanta Tea Party with Sean Hannity to feature ’shit sandwiches’ (It’s estimated that 10,000 people attended. Imagine the response had Hannity been offering roast beef!)

3. Bottoms up at Frolicon (That’s a lot of booty.)

4. Anti-tax protestors urged to, um, ride MARTA (Irony sandwich, anyone?)

5. CNN’s Anderson Cooper on why Republicans can’t find their voice (A  recap of last week wouldn’t have been complete without at least one teabagging reference. Phew.)

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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I think CNN’s Anderson Cooper has summed up the silliness of tea party phenomenon rather tidily:

DAVID GERGEN: “They still haven’t found their voice. This happens to a minority party after they’ve lost a couple bad elections.”

ANDERSON COOPER: It’s hard to talk when you’re teabagging.

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Wave that flag: The Tea Party held on Feb. 27 brought hundreds to the state Capitol despite pouring rain.

If you’re heading downtown for tonight’s Tea Party festivities, the event’s organizers have a surprising suggestion for you:

Our first recommendation is that you park at one of the outer lying MARTA (itsmarta.com) train stations and ride the train to the 5 Points Station in Atlanta.

Because nothing says “I hate big government and taxes” louder than a taxpayer-funded government train ride.

Idiots.

More photos from February’s Tea Party here.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Fox News Host Sean Hannity

Travis Fain, one of the state’s best political reporters, interviewed Fox News host and Master Teabagger Sean Hannity about his role in tonight’s Tea Party protest at the Capitol. It’s an excellent interview and worth checking out — mainly because he gives Hannity a fair shake and actually debates him.

TELEGRAPH: How many of the things that you and Rush Limbaugh, other talk show hosts — how much of what you say is an absolute belief and how much is to draw in readers, listeners and viewers?

HANNITY: I can tell you Sean Hannity doesn’t — you know, everything I say is true. I’m surprised you’d even ask that question. You mean you think I would contrive opinion just to get reaction?

TELEGRAPH: I wouldn’t say… I certainly wouldn’t say that. But it is an entertainment business, although you’re in the news business. There has to be a, sort of, flair to it. I’ll give you an example if you like. … Today on your show I heard you say that Barack Obama has this country headed for a total economic collapse, much worse than anything we’re experiencing now, within the next few years.

HANNITY: What I was saying there is, when I add up all those numbers that I just mentioned to you… and I look at the Congressional Budget Office analysis, which for years was the gold standard in terms of predicting what the deficit and the impact on the economy economic plans are going to have … and they’re telling me that the numbers are not sustainable. … That is a formula for economic — potential economic — collapse. … You can’t really fully, completely predict. But I was saying that in the context, with the texture of, these numbers are frightening.

TELEGRAPH: They are frightening. The (Government Accountability Office), though, has been saying for many years that our way of life is unsustainable. I’m not certain that this is a Barack Obama problem. I think this may be an America problem.

Definitely worth reading.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Tonight anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 people will converge upon the Georgia Capitol to shake their fists and dangle their rage-filled tea bags in protest over nanny-state, big-spending guvmint!

Notables expected to bask in the spotlight — or face possible jeers — include America’s Most Noble Human Sean Hannity, former U.S. Rep. Dick Armey of Texas, a country singer, and this guy who wants you to know about the dangers of the approaching digital TV signal conversion. State lawmakers include Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ranger, and Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers of Woodstock.

And it looks like the $25,000 fete will create confusion for motorists.

“The Tea Party at the Capitol combined with Braves traffic could possibly create a traffic nightmare,” said Paul Marshall, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

Marshall advises using MARTA if going to either event, and he urged Braves fans traveling by car to take the Fulton Street exit off the Downtown Connector to avoid the area surrounding the Capitol, where he said the Hannity event “could draw thousands.”

Yes, MARTA, the same public transit system that many of the GOP honchos who are attending or contributing to tonight’s event kissed off during the legislative session.

If you do decide to drive to the protest on the metro region’s heavily subsidized road system, be prepared for gridlock. The AJC quotes Marshall as saying the worst traffic will be during rush hour and at approximately 11 p.m. CBS Atlanta has a list of road closures. Central Atlanta Progress and the Georgia Building Authority have maps of nearby parking lots.

MARTA, however, will be your best bet. Check out Citizens for Progressive Transit’s A-TRAIN trip planner for the best route to and from public transportation.

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JASON PYE: No tea and no sympathy for Republicans who neglected to complain about big government when Republicans were the ones growing it.

The Washington Independent’s David Weigel interviewed local Libertarian Jason Pye about mainstream Republicans piggy-backing on the Tea Party protests.

In Pye’s estimation, the participation of people like Newt Gingrich taints the tea party’s small government message:

“Bringing in someone like Gingrich takes away from the message,” said Pye, a Libertarian Party activist and writer who lives in the suburbs outside Georgia’s capital city. “It makes the people putting together the rallies look like pawns, for lack of a better term.”

Last November, we profiled Pye on our list of Atlanta’s 11 Least Influential People. He has since made us look bad for bestowing that honor upon him by showing up on lists of influential Liberatarian bloggers and writing a column for the Examiner. How un-un-influential of him.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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How’s that for a headline, eh?

Tomorrow night at the Capitol, thousands of people will gather as part of the Atlanta Tea Party, one of more than 500 scheduled on Tax Day. There, outside one of the most beautiful and useless buildings in the state, the crowd will complain about something that’s been going on for years — gross misuse of taxpayer dollars and business-as-usual politics. Emceeing this affair will be Sean Hannity, Fox News’ angriest white man.

Turns out Hannity and some of the various dignitaries who’ve signed on for the event might not get the warmest of welcomes. A tipster tells us that some members of the state Libertarian Party — have they gone rogue?!? — have printed more than 600 signs that scold the talk show host and politicians for turning their heads during Bush-era bank bailouts and excessive spending. (Even if you disagree with their policies, Libertarians have an incredible sense of humor. The Allen Buckley radio ads during the U.S. Senate race gave that grueling contest a much-needed jolt of excitement.)

(UPDATE: Just spoke with Daniel Adams, chairman of the Libertarian Party of Georgia. He wanted to stress that these signs were made by individual party members and not endorsed or approved by the party. Adams says the state party is co-sponsoring Atlanta’s April 15 protest to show support for the grassroots movement that’s organized these events. He says the website listed on the signs is a mirrored site belonging to the national party, not that of the state’s.)

The aforementioned tipster was kind enough to pass along PDFs of the signs, which I’ve posted after the jump. You can download them all here. Print ‘em out and join the crowd! It’ll be fun!
(more…)

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Hundreds of people stood in the pouring rain outside the Capitol this afternoon to protest the Obama administration’s stimulus package. The “Atlanta Tea Party” was one of many Tea Party events that took place across the nation today. The idea originated from CNBC analyst Rick Santelli’s on-air rants last week for a new “tea party” to protest the stimulus plan from the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange while backed by howls and whistles from traders on the floor.  A You Tube clip of the rave has received more then 800,000 views. At the Atlanta event this afternoon people clumped together under an array of umbrellas, many getting soaked to the bone during the rainstorm. The 40-minute demonstration included speeches by a few members of the Georgia Legislature. The crowd whooped and roared as people from the microphone railed about the “socialists running the country,” called for extensive tax cuts, read the Declaration of Independence and defended the sanctity of the Constitution. The event ended with demonstrators dumping tea bags into a bucket. I guess the revolution starts now?

More photos of the “Atlanta Tea Party” here

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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