I had my first discussion yesterday with two people who are taking off work to go to "teabag" events today. They were complaining how the federal government raised their tax rates with the new administration and were taking their money. So I had to ask how much money they made. Reticent to tell me, I asked if they were between $75,000-150,000. Well, yes. Okay, I told them I know their income tax rates went down at least 10%. No, it did not and the federal government was going to feel their wrath. I asked them to use the Google. Ooops. Well, then it is the sales taxes that went up and the federal government will hear their wrath. So I had to ask who levies sales taxes. Is it the fed or the state? Well, then it is their property taxes that went up. I asked if that was the federal government, state or county that assessed those taxes.Well, then it was the raised gas taxes in CA.

So then I had to impishly ask if there was a relation to the teabagging and their chriches. Well, yes they heard about that at church. I then, about 15 minute later, asked if anyone had seen the NOM "gay marraige is a storm and the rainbow coalition is going to solve it." ads. Why, yes, we talked about that at Church. I then asked why the known abbreviation for the NOM ad was 2M4M.com. Why yes it was. Many laughed and the question was asked, why is that funny? We are against gays. Bless Bonnie's heart. She finally had to ask if there was any relation between the 2M4M organization and teabagging. That either got laughs or blank stares from people if they could not draw the correlation. We gently had to explain that you need to know some of the colloquial meanings if the abbreviations are going to be used by a church in its sermons. I am reminded of the old Catholic joke about a priest's first sermon--There will be a peter pull at Saint Taffy's. Except that was a joke. And these people vote. Oy.

Or as David Shuster summed it up on MSNBC, "if you are going to millions of teabaggers together (today), you better have a Dick Armey." in reference to one of the organizers, of course.

rojo