The organizers of the latest round of Tea Party protests must be wondering whether the Fourth of July is the right time for political activism.

On a day usually reserved for barbecues, family outings and fireworks displays, the Tea Parties held at some 600 locations across the country appear to have drawn considerably fewer participants than the much-ballyhooed Tax Freedom Day protests on April 15.

Preliminary news reports from Saturday’s Tea Parties suggest public participation fell far short of the April protests. In Morristown, NJ, attendance was down by a third compared to this spring’s event. In Fort Lauderdale, FL, the Sun-Sentinel reports a crowd of “hundreds,” compared to an estimated 5,000 in April.

And in Syracuse, NY — where protesters waved the American flag upside-down — organizers had expected 1,000 people to show, but only 200 did.

Yet warm weather and patio parties may only be a part of the explanation. Unlike with the April protests, the Republican party’s establishment didn’t throw its weight behind this latest round of rallies.

“The collaboration between the official Republican establishment and the Tea Parties has not lasted into June,” writes the Washington Independent. “The RNC has no plans to get involved with any Tea Parties. A spokesman for [House minority leader] John Boehner (R-OH) … said that [Boehner's] holiday plans were private but would probably not include Tea Parties. [Newt] Gingrich will not attend any of the Tea Parties, although he recorded video messages for events in Birmingham and Nashville “at the request of the respective organizers’.”

Part of the reason for the more subdued atmosphere this time around may have had to do with the negative coverage the Tea Parties received in the media — Fox News excepted.

“There was a novelty last time that isn’t there now,” media analyst Seton Motley told the Independent. “Also, if you’re talking about the networks that made light of the Tea Parties back in April, they might have realized that opposite of love isn’t hate. It’s indifference.”

But it may be Fox News’ muted coverage this time around that explains much of the disparity between April’s protests and Saturday’s. The Independent notes that, in April, Fox sent five of its highest-profile anchors and correspondents on the road to cover the protests, but this time around, “sources at Fox … confirmed that no anchors would be attending and that the attendance and news value of the events looked to be lower than that of the April rallies.”

Tea Party organizers are already planning the next protest: A large “unity” rally in Washington, DC, on September 12, the day after the eighth anniversary of 9/11.

Source: Raw Story

Other stories at We are Change C/S

FBI spied on TEA Party Americans

VA State Police Say Anti-NWO and Gun Rights Activists are Terrorists

DoD Training Manual: Protests are “Low-Level Terrorism”

Colorado Springs police and the State Patrol have stepped up enforcement against drunken drivers during the holiday weekend.

Police say they cited 17 people for driving under the influence from Friday night into early Saturday. Police say the people cited were among the more than 2,780 drivers stopped at a checkpoint on South Powers Boulevard in Colorado Springs.

Police say the enforcement is warranted because the Fourth of July holiday is one of the deadliest when it comes to crashes caused by drunken drivers.

Police will continue the patrols targeting drunken drivers through the weekend.

Source: KDVR

Other stories at We Are Change C/S

State Supreme Court Orders Access to Breathalyzer Source Code

Is the United States Quickly Becoming a Police State?

License Plate Scanning For All Vehicles (Guilty Until Proven Innocent?)

Autopsy: Suspect fleeing Lakewood police shot in back

Headline: New Cameras Shoot Plates, Looking For Stolen Cars

Last year more than 1,100 cars were stolen in the Pikes Peak Region, one out of every three of them were never recovered.

To help reduce that number, some Southern Colorado police departments are getting a new piece of equipment. It is called a license plate reader. Consisting of two cameras and a program similar to face recognition software, it scans license plates as they pass the cruiser.

The completely automated system allows the driver to focus on the road and what is going on around them. Meanwhile, thousands of license plates can be read in a single shift. Officers will download the latest stolen vehicle list from the National Crime Information Center. When a license plate matches an entry, the computer will alert the driver. A picture of the vehicle, and it’s location in relation to the police cruiser will be provided as well.

“I think it’s going to be really useful because we will be able to locate a lot more stolen vehicles and a lot more suspended drivers while at the same time we can be safe driving and pay attention to our surroundings,” says Stacey Clark, a patrol officer for the Colorado Springs Police Department.

The cameras are being purchased with grant money from the state. $216,000 is being split between the Colorado Springs Police Department, El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office, Pueblo Police Department, Fountain Police Department and Monument Police Department. The grant is part of the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority, which gets it money from insurance companies via Senate Bill 60, which went into effect on July 1, 2008.

In addition to the six cameras, grant money will be used to pay for overtime associate with follow-up investigation related to auto thefts.

Source: KKTV

Other stories at We are Change C/S

Big brother is watching: The technologies that keep track of you

Big Brother Using Your Bluetooth Against You?

Being Watched From Above?