You can now find out all the latest Lakeland Tea Party News at http://lakelandflteaparty.com/

I will be doing a TEA Party Roundup tonight on bRight @ Night. The show starts at 11:00pm with the chat room opening about 15 minutes earlier.

If you would like to comment or add your report please call in. The number is 718.664.9725

I am looking forward to today’s activities, and hope all of you are as well. This site has had hundreds of visitors in the past few days. There have been hundreds more at the Facebook page and Facebook Event page. Over 100 people have taken our survey, and the great majority are planning on being there.

Of course our event in Lakeland is only one of many. I have seen estimates of 500 to nearly 1000 events being planned across the country. You can see a map here.

It is going to be outstanding! The media will have to take note. More importantly, our elected representatives will have to take note as well. At the heart of this movement is our desire to remind our elected officials at every level that they work for “We The People” and that government serves the people, people don’t serve the government.

I’ll see you there!

Since I posted the Tax Day TEA Party Survey on Saturday we have had 31 participants. Here are the results to date:

• Are you planning on attending the Lakeland Tax Day TEA Party on April 15th, 2009? — 70% say “Yes” with another 22% answering “Possibly”.
• If you are planning on attending, do you plan on being there. . . — 38% plan on being there “Just early enough to get a parking spot”, and 32% saying, “as soon as I can get away from work.”
• How long will you stay? — 78% plan on staying for the whole time.
• How many people will be coming with you? — 58% are coming with 1 or 2 other people while 31% will be coming alone.
• How many people have you told about the Tax Day TEA Party? — 44% have only told a few people, but the remaining 56% have told 5 people or more.
• How politically active have you been prior to this event? — 46% of the respondents have never done anything more than vote.

Thanks to all the participants. See you Wednesday!

This is the Proclamation that We will be signing and then sending to Washington at the TEA Party on Wednesday.

Proclamation

WHEREAS, the Boston Tea Party of 1773 was a citizen response to out of control taxation and power hungry politicians,

WHEREAS, the citizens of the United States retain their God-given right to defend their property against their government,

WHEREAS, millions of brave and patriotic Americans have fought and died to defend this nation against tyranny at home and abroad,

WHEREAS, the private sector and capitalist economics remain the best engine for economic growth and personal wealth,

WHEREAS, history clearly demonstrates the abject failure of socialism as an economic model of prosperity or equality,

WHEREAS, our founding fathers pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to defend the people against unjust and burdensome taxes and regulation from the Parliament and King of England,

WHEREAS, the citizens of the United States have, for too long, allowed government to grow while personal freedom and responsibility shrink,

WHEREAS, the United States government taxes too much, spends too freely, and performs too poorly,

WHEREAS, the yearly deficits and national debt are an unfair and irresponsible burden to place on our children and grandchildren,

WHEREAS, earmarks and other wasteful and unconstitutional allocations of our tax dollars have reached an all time high,

WHEREAS, the current administration in Washington seeks to shape America into a socialist society with government run health care, government set pay rates, government run industry, and government sponsored enterprises,

WHEREAS, taxes are not the government’s money, but the people’s money,

WHEREAS, paying taxes is not charity or charitable giving,

WHEREAS, bailouts eliminate risk and insure irresponsibility on the backs of hard working Americans,

WHEREAS, companies that make poor business choices should be allowed to fail and serve notice to others who would break the law or take irresponsible risk,

WHEREAS, government has no business determining what is and what is not adequate compensation,

WHEREAS, politicians say “we” can’t afford a tax cut, but in realityAmerica can’t afford the politicians,

WHEREAS, the 1st Amendment grants all Americans the right to free speech,

WHEREAS, we want our country back,

THEREFORE, WE, THE PEOPLE, DO HEREBY PROCLAIM that we,

Will support candidates and elected officials that balance the budget, reduce taxes, reduce government and eliminate waste,

Will support candidates and elected officials that support and defend the Constitution of the United States as written and intended,

Demand our government be returned to its proper role, size, and scope and do everything in our power to ensure that happens,

Desire the economics of this nation to remain grounded solidly on the principles of capitalism and the free market, and at the same time reject, in all forms and iterations, any move toward or incarnation of, a socialist system,

Will all preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States,
Will pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor to keep our country free.

Some information for the Tax Day TEA Party:

What to Bring:

A camping chair, or blanket for sitting on the grass. Sunscreen, sunglasses, hat. Cash for concessions, t-shirts, and other vendors. Quarters for metered parking if you happen to end up in one of those lots. Signs that are in good taste – no names on them please. Cell phone for calling Washington. Flags. Patience for the crowd. Friends, neighbors, co-workers.

What NOT to Bring:

Nasty signs, Bullhorn, Animals, Alcohol, Weapons

I am trying out a new plugin. More than just a poll, this is a six question survey about Wednesday’s Tax Day TEA Party in Lakeland.

We are getting quite a bit of traffic from the search engines from people looking for Lakeland Tea Party. I just want to let you all know that you’ve found us!

To recap most of the information you are probably looking for let me run down the basics:

The Lakeland Tax Day TEA Party will be held on Wednesday, April 15th, 2009 at Allen Kryger Overlook Park in downtown Lakeland. The park is on the west side of Lake Mirror on Massachusetts near Main, a block north of Lakeland city hall. The event will kick off at 12:00 noon and last until 2:00pm.

Seth Mela from WLKF will be our keynote speaker. Florida House D-64 Rep. Dennis Ross will also be speaking and The Clark Family will be providing musical entertainment.

We will be keeping this site updated with any new information about the event. The comments are open, so if you have something to say, we would love to hear from you. To make a comment just click on the title of any post. The form will be at the bottom.

In addition to this website you can also take a look at the Lakeland Tea Party Facebook page and the event page.

Another way to stay informed about the event is to sign up for our Newsletter.

If you know downtown Lakeland, you are aware that parking could be a challenge. Be sure to get here early and don’t be surprised if you might have to walk a few blocks.

If you have any other questions or comments you can email event organizer Tim Dowell, or webmaster Jim Lynch.