Teabagging in Charlottesville - Part II

Following up on my initial post on Wednesday's Tea Party in Charlottesville, I would like to share a few photographs that I managed to take that day.

A digression: Crystal Clear Conservative has a round-up of coverage by Virginia bloggers about the various Tea Parties around the state. She lists Tertium Quids, Bearing Drift, Deo Vindice, Virginia Virtucon, and yours truly. She also provides links to the opening and closing remarks at the Reston Tea Party by Leslie Carbone, author of the forthcoming book, Slaying Leviathan: The Moral Case for Tax Reform. There is also photographic and video coverage at the Jefferson Area TeaParty blog. Daily Pundit also has some good photos from the Charlottesville Tea Party. Finally, Norm Leahy has posted another round-up of coverage of Virginia Tea Parties at RedState, including not only bloggers but also mainstream media reports.

Let's start with some of the creative hand-held signs brought to the Tea Party by concerned citizens:

This one says "Let's scuttle the Beltway pirates too!! They're asking 10 trillion $$$$ ransom!!!!"

Here's a slogan for the ages: "Capitalism Rocks / Socialism Sucks" -- no doubt Adam Smith would approve!

A twist on an old joke (which I think originated with "The Wizard of ID" on the comics page): "Congress is revolting and so are we!"

Virginia's state motto: "Sic Semper Tyrannis" or, in English, "Thus always to tyrants"

What does "TEA" stand for? "Trillions Endanger America"

This young lady had a two-sided sign that seemed to refer to the notorious report issued by the Department of Homeland Security on April 7, which identified activists for smaller-government and respect for the constitution as potential terrorists. As recently as Thursday, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano was defending the report rather than admitting it is an embarrassment. Napolitano does not, apparently, believe (as does, for instance, Katrina Vanden Heuvel of The Nation) that "dissent is patriotic."

These signs say: "In 1773, I'm a patriot" and "In 2009, I'm a terrorist."

A slogan for the Age of Obama: "I'll keep my money, freedom, and guns. You keep your change."

Now for some photos of people at the Charlottesville Tea Party:

Former Charlottesville City Council member Rob Schilling, now a talk show host on WINA-AM, poses with Jim Moore, president of the Charlottesville Taxpayers Association.

Delegate Rob Bell (R-58), whose seat in the Virginia General Assembly was once held by Thomas Jefferson, was the only elected official to address the Tea Party multitude.

Charlottesville-area resident Lawrence Eagleburger, who served as Secretary of State under President George H.W. Bush, also addressed the crowd.

Just beyond the boundaries of the Tea Party area, on Charlottesville's downtown mall but outside the Pavilion, I caught these images:

The First Amendment Monument (which may, within the next few years, have to be renamed the First Amendment Memorial) was a beehive of activity while the Tea Party was going on.

Some bright wag chalked this thesis on the wall: "The problem with socialism is you run out of other people's money!"

Another teabagger put the case more crudely: "Taxes Blow"

How appropriate it was that the whole Tea Party enterprise was watched over by three of the Founders: James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe. Whether they watched with bemusement or pride -- or horror that such a protest was necessary -- is unknown.

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