Astroturf

Based in Los Angeles, the Astroturf (fake grass-roots) recruiter, Crowds on Demand, is offering $25 an hour to demonstrate or counter-demonstrate at rallies around the country. Peruse their website at: Crowds on Demand.

It is speculated that many of the provocateurs that were at Charlottesville and who are expected at the Free Speech rally on Saturday in Boston have or will come through this organization  ... see: Zero Hedge Story. If I were younger, I might even be tempted ... (just kidding)

I realize that many of you on the left will have a brain cramp at this news ... so here is some push-back from your comfort pony: Snopes Analysis. Snopes conclusion is "Unproven" which, for this bevy of boo-birds, is as good as a "True" endorsement.

Tea Party

Boston is hosting (rather, enduring) a Tea Party on Boston Common this morning with Sarah Palin speaking no less. I find the tea-party movement to be a remarkable political phenomenon ... primarily because of the vitriol it elicits from many liberals:

- being called "tea-baggers" (a lewd reference to a homosexual act). My reaction to anyone using this epithet is utter revulsion. This population unfortunately includes many on network and cable news programs.

- being castigated for not having enough blacks in attendance (Obama did get 96% of the black vote for heavens sake) ... ergo they are racists. This is akin to calling Israelis xenophobes for not having any Iranians in their Knesset.

- being labeled radical right-wing nutty moon bats. I thought "moon-bat" was a word reserved for those who think Republicans stole both Bush elections.

- being named "Astroturf" (i.e., rent-a-mob) by the White House to denigrate the tea party's grassroots origin.

- being compared to Tim-McVeigh-style terrorists. Is it accidental that MSNBC is running a Tim McVeigh retrospective at this time?

- being labeled "birthers" (those who believe that Obama wasn't born in the U.S.A.). There is a group of lefties who have even threatened to infiltrate tea-party rallies with signs to this effect ... and to the other slimes mentioned above.

As far as I can ascertain, these tea parties are a genuine grass-roots reaction to the fiscal excesses of the current (and past) administrations. And any politician who ignores or disparages this movement does so at considerable career risk.