George Rebane
- Pat Butler’s Nevada City Advocate
- Tea Party Patriots lunch
Local cartoonist Robert Crabb’s iconic Nevada City Hall starship (nearby) gives a hint to the kwai loh as to how the city is viewed locally and with good reason. My only nit with Crabb’s tag line is that Nevada City has already boldly gone to that nether land which swallows up regular towns without so much as a gurgle. And continuing to amaze us all, there it operates as if the sun neither sets nor rises.
The city now has its own monthly newspaper, The Nevada City Advocate, published by Pat Butler, formerly editor of The Union. Coming back from errands this morning, Jo Ann and I stopped at the Northridge for lunch and picked up a free copy at the door. Perusing its coverage of local issues and broader matters left little doubt that the progressive side of the local political spectrum is well covered. I think the newspaper reflects well the mood and values of its namesake town.
My only recommendation to Mr. Butler would be to provide more detail on the goings on in that art deco City Hall, along with an occasional peek at what is under the rug. No matter how that coverage is brought to print, its entertainment value alone would be sure to increase circulation. I wish him well.
The Nevada County chapter of the Tea Party Patriots held its first monthly(?) lunch at the Nevada County Contractors Association facility yesterday. It was a very upbeat and well-attended (over 100) affair featuring Mark Meckler, an excellent speaker, talking about his recent trip to Washington on behalf of the TPP. Mark’s report of his reception on the Hill underlined again the perception of our grassroots organization as being definitely not to the benefit of the leftwing.
TPP has leaned over backwards to make clear its non-partisan stance which is confirmed by the Republicans attempting to co-opt it (google the Tea Party Express affair), and the Democrats dithering between slandering and ignoring it (with remarkable success achieved on both counts).
Mark, with two TPP rightwing extremist colleagues in tow, marched up and down the congressional office buildings meeting with anyone and everyone who would talk to them. The outcome was a bit lopsided – Republican staffs welcomed the little party of three, while the Democrats showed them the door. Actually, Joe Lieberman’s chief of staff called the Capitol police to have them arrested for sitting quietly in the senator’s ante room and waiting perchance the busy senator would have a moment to receive them. You’ll have to have Mark tell you how the situation resolved itself.
The national tea party movement openly espouses 1) fiscally responsible governments, 2) adherence to the Constitution, 3) smaller governments, 4) individual liberty, and 5) free markets. The Republicans find in all this echoes of what they used to believe in, but the Democrats will have none of it. What scares hell out of both parties is that across the land today 40% of the voters self-identify themselves as conservatives, and then you add to that those who call themselves independents. It promises to be an invigorating year.
Finally, it occurred to me that one way to really drive home the TPP philosophy to people like NHS head Napolitano and the MSM is for all TPP members to always hold up a copy of the Constitution when they gather to make their point. Several organizations like the Cato Institute and Heritage Foundation publish small booklet copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Seeing us all waving these radical documents in full public view will cinch it – I can hear Janet now, ‘There, I told you they were radicals and extremists! What more proof do you want?’
BTW, have you signed the ‘Citizen Power’ initiative petition yet? If this gets on the ballot and passes, unions will not be able to extract funds from their members and contribute them to political causes against the members’ wishes. For info call Tom Wiederhold 274-2420 or Stan Meckler 272-2808.
rebanesruminations.com 
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