Government squashes Nantucket Tea Party (or tries to...)

redstate.com ^ | 7/3/09 | Dan Spencer

[islander-11]

The Nantucket Tea Party will be one of more than a thousand such protest events to be held across the nation on Independence Day.

The organizers were all set. They were given permission by the Town’s head of Park and Recreation. After the local paper publicized the event, some members of the Nantucket Park and Recreation Commission decided to forget about the First Amendment. One local official was quoted as saying “we don’t want politics on Main Street.” Apparently the head of Park and Recreation was overruled by the commissioners.

The Nantucket Tea Party then got permission to use a bank’s private property. A Town official then advised the Nantucket Tea Party that the Tea Party must obtain a permit to block the sidewalk — even though the street is closed! The Nantucket Tea Party got the Police, Fire and Public Works departments sign off on the event, but the Park and Recreation department balked.

Now the Nantucket Tea Party has been restricted to the steps of a bank. The town government will not allow the Nantucket Tea Party to be part of the Independence Day celebration on Main Street as had been planned.

Nantucket’s heavy handed attempt to quash the Nantucket Tea Party is a sad commentary on what too many so-called leaders in this country think about freedom and our rights.

[Louis Foxwell]

Agreed. It is vital as we move forward to understand that we are treading on the delicate toes of some very sensitive people with guns.
There is precedent for civil disobedience in the civil rights movement of the 50’s and 60’s.
Dr. King insisted upon nonviolent civil disobedience. CD requires us to engage authority with the explicit demand that we be arrested and tried for our crimes.
Ultimately we will have thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of patriots imprisoned for daring to express their civic sentiments in a peaceful and nonviolent way. This will bring down the establishment of liberalism and its correspondent fascism as nothing else can.

[hoosiermama]

Here’s a couple of ideas for a t-shirt/bumper sticker

ONLY DEAD FISH GO WITH THE FLOW
I am swimming with Sarahcudah!

Sarah has read the tealeaves.

[lentulusgracchus]

...“we don’t want politics on Main Street.”...

Soooo, what's the story on this puke?

Local Democratic Party precinct chairman? Ward heeler? Liberal NGO "cause person"?

If he doesn't want "politics on Main Street", can he and the rest of them demonstrate to everyone's satisfaction that not one congresscritter or state assemblyman has marched down that Main Street during a July Fourth parade since 1791?

I'm sure their streets are just politically virginal, right?

[bikerman]

We dont need no stinkin permits.

[islander-11]

The bottom line is that this is a guy who lives off of the public teat. In fairness, as a cop, I’m also on the Town payroll. The difference is that I’ve bled in the course of doing my job...

[lentulusgracchus]

My point was,

• Can this guy show that the commission is apolitical?

• Can he show that previous July Fourth parades have all been bereft of political expression?

• Can he show permits being yanked from Democratic Party groups just the way that they were taken from the TEA Party organizers?

I'm saying, no, no, and no.

Sue his butt off. Oppression under color of authority.

[Senator John Blutarski]

..... Once again, this points up the necessity for a well organized and financed conservatively oriented legal/propaganda “hit squad” to leap into such situations, broadly publicize them, publically identify and pillory the bureaucratic malefactors, file lawsuits against the town government, and generally make such an odiferous and expensive stink as to discourage future such obsruction efforts.

Unfortunately, at the moment, it seems that the leadership of the Republican party is more interested in complaining about the unjustness of it all over martinis and Oysters Rockefeller at the local country club than in actually doing the necessary sort of grass roots organizing that might get their hands a little dirty. Too bad.

[islander-11]

Sad but true, Sen. Bluto...

[Mouton]

Gee, I wonder what those guys assembled on Breed’s Hill, or at Concord or Lexington were thinking...all they needed to do was to challenge the Brits in court. Wow.

I can see the lead in to the petition: Dear Your Excellency Sir, we would like to hold a rally on private property just off the government controlled city street and the government says we cannot because we would be blocking the sidewalk. Please your Excellency, this is the same government we are rallying against as oppressive....

Answer: I see no oppression here...case dismissed

Vince

[wbones8765]

That case will get appealed in federal court. Depending on who eventually gets this case it might not go the way you think.

Al

[Condor51]

See, this is what happens when you clutter one Amendment with six different parts.

Congress shall make no law

1. respecting an establishment of religion,
2. or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
3. or abridging the freedom of speech,
4. or of the press;
5. or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,
6. and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

   I warned ole TJ but he just wouldn't listen.

"SERIES" these statists are violating two provisions of the 1st Amendment.

I'm surprised the ACLU didn't jump all over this?!?

(ha-ha just kidding)

[maica]

Tell the city officials that Cindy Sheehan is going to be there.

[Justa]

Good for you! I can’t believe you can still handle the island given your disposition towards government taxation. I consider conservative principles and fiscal responsibility to be lost cause on ACK. Me, I’d be out off Eel point pulling in the blues from the channels beyond the 40th pole. Mmmm, bluefish. Take care!

[Past Your Eyes]

[Justa]

Nantucket residents make most of their yearly revenue from tourism during the summer months. July 4th is probably just being protected to minimize any impact on tourism. The town boards usually won’t support anything which could impact tourism -unless they get a cut.

[thethirddegree]

I would have it anyway and double-dare the authorities to interfere.

[Mouton]

We had this “your rally permit does not cover a parade on the public streets” notification from our town on April 15th before our protest. We said the hell with that and did an ad hoc parade anyway...guess what?...the police helped out by blocking the side streets as we marched by, asked where we were going and gave us a motor cycle escort to get there, all under the watchful eye of DHS I am sure. Where did we go? To the parking lot of the local paper that had refused to cover the event! Yeah, there were only about 200 of us as this is a small town but the paper could not overlook that sized crowd outside their building and actually ran a decent story about the protest.

[RobinOfKingston]

The organizers of this Tea Party need to take it one step further. Target for replacement the people who stood in the way. There needs to be a down-side to this kind of behavior.

“It does not take a majority to prevail ... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.” – Samuel Adams

[wbones8765]

One cannot use that as justification, on the most political day in our countries history. This country was founded on these same principles. Arrogance, and ignorance intertwined in a blatantly unpatriotic person.

[Docs Galore]

That’s the American Fighting Spirit! The hell with their edicts ... just go and do it proudly!!!! I hope thousands show up in Nantucket today!!!!!