This is not the best example of objective journalism, but since when was journalism in the US neutral, balanced and thorough?

It is right to question the motives of the demonstrators. If they are against the government, what do they propose instead? The slogan of the original Boston tea party was 'No Taxation without Representation'. This modern-day rehash, from what I gather from the semi-formulated rationale is 'Representation without Taxation'. It is frustrating to hear the protestors harking back to Licoln's discourse on liberty when the point is that this crisis marks the end of Reganomics, an experiment in which big business was allowed to do what it liked without government intervention. Precisely the OPPOSITE to what the protestors are saying. The fact that the government has to intervene now is that the whole economy does not collapse, with the dire consequences that would follow: mass unemployment, eviction, inflation.

A quick perusal of the main organisation supporting this 'grass roots' (or astro-turf-fake grass roots) movement is Freedom Works. This organisation is for lower taxes and less government, it baulks at the idea of social health care and chokes on the notion of carbon taxation. The fact that consensus is growing amongst the top twenty nations in the world (yes there are nations outside of the US, many in a much more dire economic situation) that the environment, social policy and the current economic crisis are inextracably bound is of great significance. Incidentally, this organisation is backed by a spattering of billionaires who have gained that position precisely due to lack of government intervention and are laughing at those so gullible to believe that their model works.

The point is the tea parties are a gimmick with no real political message in a supposedly mature democracy. Indeed those comparing taxation to genocide demonstrate nothing but complete lack of perspective, not to mention economic understanding.

And for the blogger who refered to the reporter as a 'bitch', please mind your language and when you have something sensible to say come back and perhaps we can discuss rationally one of the gravest crises of our times without resorting to Ad Hominem snipes, which are obviously the lowest form of debating.