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Dick Mechling could have gone on enjoying retirement with his wife, Mickey, in their cozy ranch-style home in St. Joseph County, Ind. Like a ride on their horses — Ebby and Motion, the Tennessee Walkers they raise on their 10 acres south of South Bend — that would have been the smoothest option.
But when we met Dick, he was emerging from a training session for poll workers in South Bend. He is getting ready to be a judge at the voting place in the Nov. 2 elections — a first for him, at 68. In another first, he and Mickey have been working the phone banks in the run-up to the election, helping to get the vote out for some of the local conservative candidates.
Their activism is fueled, supported and guided by membership in the local Tea Party organization, St. Joe County Tea Party Patriots. But what first prompted their renewed interest in politics was Sarah Palin’s appearance on the scene in the last election.
“That got a lot of people’s attention” Dick says. In policy terms, Dick and Mickey liked Palin’s message about small, efficient government, he says. Beyond that was something deeper that just struck a chord: “Here is somebody who thinks more like we do than some of the people who have been in office,” he says. “She just seems like plain folks ... regular people.”
Dick and Mickey, who met in college and married soon after, worked hard and raised two daughters and horses at their home of 35 years. He worked for many years as a buyer for local pharmaceutical companies, and she was a teacher.
With the kids grown up and Palin’s appearance the scene, something shifted: “We got more interested in politics, thinking: ‘You know, maybe there is hope. ... Maybe there is someone out there who can make a difference.'”
After the McCain-Palin ticket failed to take the White House in 2008, Dick and Mickey were a bit depressed — they felt that Palin had taken a beating.
“The thing that has us energized again is Jackie Walorski’s bid for Congress,” Dick says.
They met the conservative Republican at a gun-rights gathering in southern Indiana. Walorski was holding them around the state after the 2008 election of Barack Obama.
Walorski is strongly backed by the Tea Party in a fierce battle for the congressional seat of Democrat Joe Donnelly. Donnelly, once supported by conservatives, is now reviled by them because of his vote in favor of health care legislation pushed by Obama — a betrayal of earlier promises, they say.
Dick and Mickey are heading out for a week in the hilly south of Indiana, where they will camp and ride their horses. But once they get back home, they will return to their other retirement plan — political activism.
“I see the Tea Party as an educational thing,” says Dick. “I think we have lost sight of what the government’s role, according to the Constitution, in our lives should be. ... If people are informed, I think people will rise to the occasion.”
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A bunch of radical white folks, who stole every bit of this land, are fearful they are becoming what they hate most, minorities.
I like the way this statement came together:
"But what first prompted their renewed interest in politics was Sarah Palin's appearance on the scene in the last election. "That got a lot of people's attention" Dick says."
LOL...."Dick" likes Sarah, the airhead.
All the Tea Baggers were born AFTER World War II. The last of the WWII vets are in their 80's and 90's and dead. And the only hate I see in your post is from you. Obama does not hate America. Can't take a black man in the White House can you?
Sorry Carl..........I gave you a thumbs up by mistake. I don't know how old you are, Carl, but why don't we ask 68 year old Dick if he's receiving Social Security checks from our mean ol' big gubmint?
They really need to stay on the ranch with their horses.
I am a supporter of the Tea Party (notice it is "party"...not "bagger", because I know it is coming). I do not live on a ranch. I do not drive a truck. I do not own a gun. I am not a racist. I do not hold up signs calling President Obama racist names. I do not spit on elected officials (still waiting to see video of that EVER happening).
I DO work hard for a living and would like for the government to take less of my money, and wish that when they do take my money, they would spend it a little more wisely.
* For the record, I do not think that people who live on ranches, drive trucks, or own guns are bad people. I simply am not one of them.
I am not a supporter of the Tea Party, nor would I ever be, but I believe exactly as you do. I would love to see the government less involved in "regular" people's lives. The people we continue to vote into office, are not "regular" Americans. If you can afford housekeepers, vacation homes, and health care (which we provide for the people we put in office) you don't live as most Americans do, so how can you POSSIBLY know how difficult our lives are? Unfortunately, our government has many expenses to cover, and for that reason, I don't expect to see life improving any time soon. Perhaps, our Congress would be willing to take a pay cut and cover their OWN health insurance.
Remember these people are in the minority of thought
Are nothing like the Boston Tea party. These were people were the majority of all. I think or close to it
Carnold40, just curious, how long have you had the these feelings? When Bush was in office or just the last 2 years? I too work hard for my money and have noticed that I was making less when Bush came into office, paying more taxes and watching a surplus erode.
"Dick" likes Sarah the "@!$%#ry first chick."
"Dick" likes Sarah the "@!$%#ry first chick."
I am not entirely sure what that means, but I commend you on your ability to debate in a civil manner.
<sigh>....
The photo above shows the man and a horse. They are showing the wrong end of the horse.
Although I respect your right to feel, say and believe whatever you want, as is your right in this country, I wonder how anyone can think Sarah Palin is "plain folk . . . regular people". She is nothing of the sort. I think she's a little scary. I am not extreme libreral nor conservative. I think the only hope our country has is finding a place somewhere in the middle. It is unfortunate that our elected officials cannot reach any compromise.
I am always discouraged when I read comments like some I see here. It makes us liberals look racist, vicious, infantile and downright stupid. All they seem to have is vitriole gleaned from what is seen on TV. I wonder when we are going to wake up and realize our party has been hi-jacked by Progressives; folks who are far left of me. I am against electing any more politicians to represent me...because they simply don't! This administration has been a huge disappointment. I don't like the fundamental change they are trying to make...I'm still an American who rather likes the Constitution and my inalienable rights (granted to me by my Creator, not my government).
I'm against big government and the whole entitlement mentality. It is not good for our collective psyche. I have always taken care of myself and given back to my community whatever I could to help those who cannot (as opposed to will not) take care of themselves. We need more personal responsibility and less looking to the government to do our thinking and parenting for us, not to mention our penchant for wanting the government to take care of our every need. It's simply not good for people.
Doesn't sound like you were ever a liberal. Obama campaigned on fundamental change........where were you? If anything, he has not been progressive enough.
I truly believe that the whole country has gone crazy. The Tea Bag party started out as a grass roots effort for change and do you see where it has gone. Corporate America runs this country and has taken over this party again. Do not be fooled by the slogans anymore, just look at the money buying these politicians. As for Sarah, she is right there, look at the money she has made. She does not offer any solutions, just anger and fear. I want elections that are not bought and paid for. Until our politicians can campaign, without all the millions of dollars backing them there will not be anything we can do.
They all forget that a war that was technically "off the books" for the entire Bush administration got us into this mess and when the bill came due during this administration, they all complained. Yep, everyone likes to party but no one likes to clean. Wake up, this was your mess, you elected Bush, now you have to pay for his decisions. Its like when you charge on your credit cards, it take time to pay off that debt - these folks are just too ignorant to realize that it is large bills not large government that they are against. Too bad they voted Republican 2x. Sorry but it is time to pay the piper and grow up. Tea party? give me a break, they just want to overrun congress - stalemate any progress - and run us so deep in debt that our great-great-great grandchildren will be paying! Happy days aren't here again...they are so OVER. Time to tighten the belt and clue in.
Seems the bills for two wars came due right around the time the Democrats took Congress in 2006. The Democrats are the clean-up party, and now these well-meaning, but embarassingly misinformed folks are about to throw the Republicans right back in power. The same shenanigans will take place, but you won't hear a peep from the Tea party, because it's a WHITE guy making the decisions! Or, God forbid, Ms. Palin! If she wasn't worthy to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency, there hasn't been much to convince me over these TWO FRIGGIN' years that she's worthy now.
Communists are in favour of the withering away of the State, which they regard as a means of control of one class over another. It didn't work out that way in Russia or China of course. But it seems to me that the self-reliance and social responsibility of many in the tea party movement inclines them in a similar direction.
What? Communism is that everyone gets the same regardless of who they are or what they do. There is no "withering away of the State". However, I agree that both Communism and Capitalism/Free Market Anarchy are, in their purest forms, ideals. The greed of mankind will never let either one of those ideals be achieved. People need to be realistic and from what I read from the Tea Party crowd, they aren't being realistic.
Ribbit, Ribbit, Ribbit....
Are you mad as hell?
Are you mad at Wall Street Pay and bonuses?
Then why vote for the party that also gives them tax breaks?
Are you mad at Wall Street greed?
Then why vote for the party that wants to give them social security?
Are you mad at the federal debt?
Then why vote for the party that created it?
Are you mad at health care reform?
Then why vote for the party that stifled it?
Are you mad at Congress?
Then why vote for the party of NO?
Are you mad at illegal immigration?
Then why vote for the party that obstructs immigration reform?
Are you mad at unemployment?
Then why vote for the party that punishes the jobless?
Are you mad at Socialism?
Then why vote for the party that funds corporate welfare?
Are you mad at the direction that America is going?
Then why vote for the party that filibusters recovery?
Are you mad at your job being sent overseas?
Then why vote for the party that sends them?
Are you mad at your rights being taken away?
Then why vote for the party that seats conservative justices?
It’s time to break the conservative chokehold on America.
Dan Slaby.... you said it all. So true! This would be a great ad.
Carl D---get your facts straight--assuming that facts matter in your thinking (sic). The problem with Freddy and Fanny is that investment bankers deliberately made loans to individuals that they, at least suspected, could not repay then packaged them as 'prime' loans that Freddy and Fanny had to assume. In other words, Wall Street bankers, who made billions off making the bad loans, stiffed Fanny and Freddy which had no option---Freddy and Fanny, much less Frank, did not put themselves in this mess. Wall Street did--and guess who they are voting for!!
I can tell you from personal experience that there is no such thing as "efficient government." If Tea Partiers are for small gov't and less taxation, then by default your position should be as follows:
1. Withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan immediately (less taxation)
2. Stop all foreign aid, particularly to Israel, Egypt, and the Palestinians (less taxation)
3. Stop big weapon programs like national missile defense (less taxation)
4. Downsize the number of carrier strike groups from 11 to five (less taxation)
5. Make no laws opposing abortion (no gov't intrusion into our personal lives)
6. Support the legalization of drugs and kill the DEA (less taxation)
7. Phase out Medicare (less taxation)
Is this where we are headed? Comments welcome.
AGREE!!!!!!
I'm not a liberal nor Democrat or Republican. I vote for the person who appears to truly look after the wants of the citizenry.
I emailed my Republican Senator and asked, since you claim you believe in a smaller government, What actions have you taken to eliminate some of the various government departments and programs.
Guess whats folks. He didn't respond to my email.
I did the same to a Democrat House of Representative in our area and by gosh, I didn't get a response from him either.
So what I am saying is, you need to look at the individual, get all the facts about the individual and not let, the news media, tea party, move on.org, or any individual group sway your vote.
Take the time to learn about who is running for office, then make your decision.
The Tea Party originally was a good idea but then got highjacked by right wing, conservative extremism.
These people are NO Longer a patriotic group of people for less taxation and less govt debt. They now have turned into a Reublican hate machine against everything that makes America a great & diverse country!
Just out of curiosity, do you think the Cleavers of Leave it to Beaver" fame were democrats or republicans??
Discuss amongst yourselves and get back to me.
Hey Dan Slaby, I think you're missing the point. Both Republicans AND Democrats are responsible for the mess this country is in. None of the current politicians know what it's like to be a "regular guy." That's why the Tea Party exists. Throw out all incumbents; make term limits for ALL political offices; and remove all compensation for politicians no longer in office! Things would be much different if ALL office holders were required to follow every law they make!
I have some friends who are "horse people" but not the crazy kind, they just enjoy them for their beauty, skills and personalities. They don't think very highly of the "Tennessee Walkers crowd". The article doesn't say if they show them, but the fact that "Tennessee Walker" is mentioned rather than just their "two horses," makes you think they have a vested interest in the breed. These were the horses of the ruling class in the South many years ago and were a favorite of the rich plantation owners. Do a bit of research on Tennessee Walkers and what you will find is that there are some rather cruel practices used in training these horses. My friends say the breed is exceptional, but the breeders/owners are anything but. Now maybe Dick just likes the breed, we don't know. But raising horses is a pretty expensive hobby. That doesn't make him bad, but begs some questions. Then we find out he's "energized" by Jackie Walorski and Sarah Palin? That right there makes me question his judgement.
Ms. Walorski is a far right extremist. She's a product of two evangelical universities, (Liberty, as in Jerry Falwell, and Taylor), and tends to let her religion get in the way of good government. Ms. Walorski is the reason there is no hate crimes statutes in Indiana. As and Indiana lawmaker, every time it's come up, she has insisted on adding "fetuses" to the groups protected against hate crimes. The Dems have had to withdraw the bill because of this poison pill. (Indiana is a pretty conservative State and Dems always have to walk a fine line) Her opponent, Donnelly is pretty much a blue dog as is and is pro-life, pro-gun, anti-climate change and "anti-Pelosi". Donnelly even has the NRA endorsement. But Walorski is way right of center. She's also a big proponent of privatizing Social Security, anti-abortion and anti-gay rights and wants to "redefine the country". And of course, she got the endorsement of Palin.
Now why do Tea Partiers see a need to go farther right than a right of center blue dog? Indiana is plenty far enough right as it is and the only reason Obama barely won Indiana is because of a few populous metropolitan areas and the college towns. The Tea Partiers I know fit a pretty simple model. They're white, middle class, often with Southern roots. They are biased against minorities, fearing or detesting them for a variety of stereotypical reasons. They paid no attention to government as long as a "regular white guy" was in the white house, they had no clue about budgets or national debts. Then one day it was all changed and they were in shock. They were coming to the realization that they were no longer the kind of people in the majority. This scares the hell out of them and that's why they "want their country back". Most of these folks live in communities that don't reflect the American demographic of today, but instead are more like the demographic of a hundred years ago. That's why they thought everything was OK, until Obama's election woke them up. These are mostly good hard working people, but often not the brightest bulbs. They're in a panic really and only now are they beginning to pay attention to the real world, many for the first time in their lives. They've come to realize that things are pretty screwed up and this revelation has come at the same time that they had this shocker the rest of the country dealt to them. In their panicked state, they can clearly link the two things together. And when someone supports that theory with political propaganda, they eat it up. Most of them aren't thinkers or leaders, but tend to be very loyal followers. They tend to be religious, but not exclusively. Most of how they judge politics and politicians is by some moral standards, but also by some vision of what they see as "normal". They are seriously frightened and feel like their very way of life is threatened. They believe we desperately need to take some action against those they are threatened by. Their fears have only been heightened by the economic situation which to them should only have been a brief blip, but it's not getting better fast enough. They're not particularly trusting of big business and the financial sector, but are willing to side with them if it's against a common enemy. You can't talk economics with them because they loose attention too quickly. They tend to seek simple answers to complex issues. They don't like compromise and would rather see something as black or white, even when they know it's grey.
That's the face of the Tea Party I know, and I feel sorry for them. I believe that most of them will eventually come around, but they're still in shock. It's all of a sudden a scary new world for them and they never saw it coming. They're looking for things that make them feel comfortable again. They fall for women who seem like your traditional "normal housewife" because that's something they feel comfortable with. It's ironic that they don't see a contradiction in that because their vision of the "normal housewife" doesn't really fit with a woman running for political office. They're dazed and confused, but at the same time they are dead sure they are right. It's more about what they feel in their gut than facts, but they'll use perceived facts that someone told them or they read on the internet, to help make their case. Chances are many frequently get and forward email propaganda and never even attempt to verify any of it. (After all, it's what they want to believe.) Some of their concerns have some shred of validity, but where were these people up until now? They had their heads in the sand. To them this stuff just happened.
Carl, Sounds like I struck a nerve. First off, I clearly stated that these are mostly good, hard working people. I didn't use the terms racist, retarded or morally deficient. I never once suggested these people are evil. These are people I know, work with, live around and even an in-law or two. There are a few who exhibit "extreme" levels of the characteristics I described, but for the most part they are good people and would probably give me the shirt off their back if I needed it. But these are people who make up their minds based almost entirely on their prejudices and pre-conceived notions. It doesn't mean they are bad and that has served them fairly well in the "worlds" they live in. If you go to their rallies, you know the picture I painted is all around you. I can't say about you, but suspect that at least some of what I said probably fits. You did mention you were going to church to pray, so I suspect that at a minimum, the religious part is right.
Interesting choice of a quote from a rally sign. That speaks to the real issue. No Carl, you can fix stupid, it's called getting educated. (I'm not talking about formal education exclusively, it goes much beyond that and is a continual learning process) If you research 90% of the Tea Party claims, you'd find out they are wrong or very misguided at the least. If you get your info from Fox News, Glenn, Rush, Sean, Bill, Sarah and others like them or what you get in emails or see on right wing websites, you're not educating yourself. What you are doing is indoctrinating yourself. Does most of what you hear and read suggest some "facts" and then go on to explain who's to "blame" for them? Why would you let others analyze information for you? Are you sometimes confusing facts with conclusions, spin or opinons? It's not easy to find facts without bias and biased sources sometimes do state facts, but usually they're "selected" facts and not the whole story. Sometimes they're just outright lies too.
Those grandparents you mention aren't bad, they're misinformed and/or stuck in some outdated thinking. When newly elected Tea Party candidates decide to shut down government, Grandma and Grandpa will be the first to be hurt by those actions. Don't kid yourself, some of these candidates are dead serious about it. DeMint already threw out the gauntlet and he's one of the currently serving Tea Party types. A few have actually admitted that may be in their strategy.
Use your head, compromise is the only viable solution. It is not even mathematically possible to achieve a veto-proof majority. Do you really think Obama will sign any "repeal bills" they pass? Do you think they will be able to override his vetoes? Can't happen. So their only choice is to "defund" things they don't like by shutting down government. Trouble is they can't be real selective about what gets defunded and what doesn't. Going to extremes fixes nothing, it only creates new problems. The Tea Party "solutions" are extremes, don't kid yourself. The Tea Party will just screw it up for traditional conservatives. The current Republicans have been pretty successful stopping real major reform by saying "No" but the Tea Party wants to take that to the next level. Do yourself a favor and find out where most of their money is coming from. It isn't Grandma and Grandpa! Do you think Tea Party candidates refuse the big corporate donations? Ahh...No! Now there's something to be P.O.ed about.
Carl, believe me when I say that I applaud the Tea Party for their activism, but I criticize what they're in opposition to. I don't choose to ignore them because I realize most are sincere. But what they stand for is the issue. The fact is they really don't have much of a platform. The country changes and evloves over time and each time a new party takes control, they have their impacts, in reality only slightly moving the line. Do you really think this is the start of the Revolution? Have you even thought of the consequences? The Republican Party is only using the Tea Party to regain control. Corporate America wants Republicans, not Tea Partiers, but they know the Tea Party will vote with Republicans before they do Democrats. There wasn't corporate backing in the primaries for the Tea Party, those that got elected did it by the grass roots level backing, which I suppose they deserve some credit for. But it isn't the minor leagues now. The stakes of the game are higher. You can be certain that the corporate backing that's coming in now, would much rather have had the traditional conservative. I wouldn't be surprised if some smart conservative voters choose a blue dog Democrat over a Tea Party candidate.
The fact is that Tea Partiers make up only about 10-15% of the country. Think about it, if all white Republicans were Tea Partiers, you'd still only account for about 35% or so of the country. Of course you well know that all Republicans aren't behind you. You'll win some seats and you'll do some damage, but if anything, over time you will just strengthen the Progressive movement. And if you successfully destroy the government, it will happen even faster. Something like 70% or more of the country are in the middle with a fairly even split leaning slightly left or right. The Tea Party is outside that group. They won't allow you to change the country in your vision anymore than they'd allow extremist Muslims to establish Sharia law!
As I stated, I'm sure you believe you are absolutely dead right. Just do yourself a little favor and have a shred of doubt. Do a self examination and see how many of the things I described, fit you. I don't expect you to change your mind because I know you are already absolutely sure. There's nothing that could happen between now and the elections to convince you otherwise. No matter what it could be you'd find a way to discount it. Even if it were proved that big international companies and the Chinese were the primary Tea Party backers, you'd know it had to be BS.
You can fix stupid, but there's little hope of getting anywhere with a closed mind.
1NewDay, I agree with you completely, especially concerning the Tennessee Walking Horses.
I am ashamed to say I used to show these wonderful horses, until I found out what my trainer was doing to them to make sure I won. It's very, very common in the industry to put mustard oil on the horse's pastern area, wrap the area in plastic so that it burns the pastern, then they put chains around the pastern to cause more pain...I could go on, but it turns my stomach.
I took my horses out of training, pulled the shoes off of them, put "normal" shoes on them, and ride them as pleasure horses.
1NewDay.
Too bad you're not a Tennesse Walking Horse! I'd like to retrain you idiotic liberal thinking.
gee, they look so normal................
Diversity is what America is all about. I am not afraid of change, but, I am afraid of seeing the country be led along on a wave of "anti-everything" sentiment that is being masterminded by what appears to be a bunch of people who really only think they know what they want. It was a wave of fear and paranoia that swept over Germany prior to the 3rd Reich. People thought they knew exactly what needed to be done and a man came along to embody their voice. For us, it may be Sarah Palin (Oh God, tell me we are not that stupid!) When we have 60 or 80 million without health insurance and America is riding high on an economy built on the destruction of the living wage, we will see just how loud freedom rings.
I hope we are not that stupid, as well. I listen to these people, all of whom are too intellectually lazy to read or search for answers. The are happy to hear a few lip loaders from the uneducated like Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Sean Hannity and go forth and repeat them a thousand times without ever checking to see if any of it is even true. Most people can't even name the 3 branches of government. I am frightened of these ignorant people.
Jenna1
It so sad you are so uneducated. Perhaps you might learn the truth by listening to some of those people you named. But MOST liberals don't WANT to learn the truth. They would rather believe in the ramp id lies spewed out of the liberal politician's mouths.
President Obama is the American Dream. Work hard, study hard, get a great education and be the change you wish to see. He wasn't handed anything to get to his station in life. Why make him "radical" and "different" than any other American? He isn't even a liberal! He's more center than left! He campaigned on reform of healthcare, financial regulation, staving off a Depression (which he did) and he was elected. DUH people. He did what you voted him in to do. It is truly my belief that this notion of fear, created by white men in this country, is due to the fact that this group who has ALWAYS run this country is now the minority and this reality will only become more so as time passes. This year is the first year there were more non-white people born in this country. The Conservative white man will become a minority in this country and it scares them.
Thank you cesf. Well said. I totally agree with you.
I find this quite interesting that the Tea Bag Party is made up of all Republican canidates. Where are all the Republican leaders who are resposible for where we are today? AKA, George Bush, Dick Cheney etc. I do not see these people out endorsing canidates, yet the Tea Bag Party chooses to endorse everything they stood for. It is a sad state when people choose not to look back and then forward.
For the last 30 years, everything that was foreseeable and I thought might happen in our economy and politics has. Didn't make sense to keep cutting taxes and still be able to maintain public services and investments. Guess what - it hasn't.
Didn't seem like the constant funneling of wealth to the upper income brackets would help develop a sustainable economic foundation for job creation - it hasn't. It seemed most likely that new ways to make money without labor would get most attention - certainly so witnessed by the explosion in financial services in the last 15 years.
Didn't think and still don't think America will ever recover until its citizens have grown up expectations that unless they pay for what they want they will behave responsibly. The Bush mistake nearly every one of these so called Tea Party Patriots make is to refuse to pay for what has already been borrowed the old fashioned way. Still these people live in the never never land that they can make someone else pay - like cutting someone else's government services instead of paying via taxation they already sought to avoid. Two wrongs 1st via not paying for our own choices and 2nd via taking away services we think others don't deserve is childlike and immoral. It will NEVER work!!
I'm a life-long Democrat from Indiana, the same state as this bunch of kooks in this photo story. I have to admit, the tea bagger philosophy of "keeping government out" of a person's personal life is a great one EXCEPT - that in tea bag lingo, that means only *certain* things.
They don't want the goverment to make it possible for every citizen to go to a doctor when ill, BUT - they sure don't mind the government stepping in to say who may marry whom, who may serve in the military and that rape victims have to carry and give birth to a bastard child.
Those are all "personal freedoms" that they want the government to limit. Odd.
I for one value the Constitution. The values that the Tea party represent are a forced ideal upon a certain group of people that if they do not abide by certain company policies that support said party that they can be dismissed based upon reason's that might or might not effect the livelyhood of the company itself.
The Consitution of the United States of America is the greatest document that has ever been written and supercedes any corporate language what so ever of how a person will conduct theirself while not at work.
Corporations do not have the right to activily involve theirself in their employees off times regardless of what said coporate procedure states. Any such attempt by a corporation to afflict upon any employee a regulation that would take away any right so guaranteed by the Consitution of the United States of America can be deemed an act of treason against the Constitution of the United States of America.
Besides what type of meglamaniac would be so paranoid about what each of their employees are doing on daily basis as to set about agents to watch what they are doing on their time off from work?
Sounds more like a prison camp mentality setting than a corporation so involved with establishing a base from which the Constitutionis the supreme law of the land and not corporate regulations.
Corporate America needs to wake up and realize that the more that you involve not democratic nations in helping to build an infrastructure eleswhere the more that said communist country has the ability to gain access to America.
On the blind will see what they want to see and would hope that such a country like China would respect American freedom's. A realist realizes that the Chinese doctrine of Sun Tzu
http://www.chinapage.com/sunzi-e.html
5,6. The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete
accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him
regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger.
Sound like anyone you know?
The Tea Party needs to stay away from my front door. You are for your self not America. You goals are going to get this country in deeper trouble and place my sons in the wake of fixing your mess. Do not knock on this door ever because this real Patriot who served his country will put the boot to you.