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Government squashes Nantucket Tea Party

By: Dan Spencer (Diary)  |  July 3rd, 2009 at 04:42 PM  | 

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“We don’t want politics on Main Street.”

The Nantucket Tea Party will be one of more than a thousand such protest events to be held across the nation on Independence Day.

The organizers were all set. They were given permission by the Town’s head of Park and Recreation.  After the local paper publicized the event, some members of the Nantucket Park and Recreation Commission decided to forget about the First Amendment. One local official was quoted as saying “we don’t want politics on Main Street.” Apparently the head of Park and Recreation was overruled by the commissioners.

The Nantucket Tea Party then got permission to use a bank’s private property. A Town official then advised the Nantucket Tea Party that the Tea Party must obtain a permit to block the
sidewalk — even though the street is closed! The Nantucket Tea Party got the Police, Fire and Public Works departments sign off on the event, but the Park and Recreation department balked.

Now the Nantucket Tea Party has been restricted to the steps of a bank. The town government will not allow the Nantucket Tea Party to be part of the Independence Day celebration on Main Street as had been planned.

Nantucket’s heavy handed attempt to quash the Nantucket Tea Party is a sad commentary on what too many so-called leaders in this country think about freedom and our rights.

It is especially unfortunate that this is happening in Nantucket, which has a particular historic connection to the first tax revolt in this country, the Boston Tea Party of 1773.  The ships Eleanor, Beaver and Dartmouth, later known as the tea party ships, were owned and operated out of Nantucket.

If you are near enough, go to Nantucket tomorrow and support the Nantucket Tea Party. Festivities begin at 9:30. There will also be a historical presentation by Maurice Gibbs, Commander U.S. Navy (retired), about the historic Boston Tea Party of 1773 and its connection to current events at the Nantucket Tea Party, a reading of the Declaration of Independence and a citizen forum.

The Nantucket Tea Party is a grassroots, nonpartisan group of concerned citizens on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. The group is open to all who want to get involved in a grass roots movement to reinforce the principles upon which this country was founded.

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  • Karina

    *Not that I’m advocating violence. Just sayin’. Atlanta has run into major problems too. Has anyone heard if that’s resolved yet? I think we’re going to be hearing more stories like this across the country of tea parties being blocked from meeting tomorrow. It’s just going to cause more of an uproar.

  • Swamp_Yankee

    Maurice Gibbs!!!

  • bobojake

    they are everywhere just like fleas on a dog.
    Or flies in the basement of an outhouse in 100 degess heat.

  • Doc Holliday

    If I were part of their protest, I would just go with the original plan.

    • http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

      We know these tactics are going to happen more and more…. Work around them with an UNOFFICIAL GATHERING….. see: TEApeat (Official and UnOfficial rally) info – TEApeats (info) PLUS How to organize an UNOFFICIAL non-permit TEApeat (not gonna repeat it all, jump there to review)

      Treat people you meet along the way well… Tip Watiers/Waitresses WELL…. Speak very kindly and respectfully…. turn EVERYONE to our cause with OVERDOSES OF KINDNESS…. Let them know how/why everyone has descended upon them to patronize their businesses and it could/should garner further sympathies (since you’ll be putting CA$H in their pockets), etc….

  • Swamp_Yankee

    That whole island is like one giant gated community. You need 17 permits to change a clapboard. This doesnt suprise me.

    I’ll be in Boston, but could venture over on the vomit-comit if I knew what was going on.

  • swami7774

    ..Martha’s Vineyard, the ultimate playground for rich libs. The One himself will be vacationing there later this summer.
    I live on the Cape, and I’ll make it a point to go inland during that time.

    • Karina

      with their quote ?we don?t want politics on Main Street.? I guess closed back room deals are better. My guess is they don’t see many Acorn people there with that policy.

  • swami7774

    ..Martha’s Vineyard, the ultimate playground for rich libs. The One himself will be vacationing there later this summer.
    I live on the Cape, and I’ll make it a point to go inland during that time.

  • pharos

    “We don?t want this kind of politics on Main Street.”

  • randy streu

    Good for that bank, though!

  • Obis_Sister

    Except it wasn’t local gov’t bureaucrats, it was Democratic neighbors. Who lied about it – (from Facebook msg sent 6/30 to Facebook respondees for the ATL party)

    “As many of you know, Gwinnett Place Mall (Simon Properties) forced us to cancel the Atlanta Independence Day Tea Party, based on “reciprocal property easement agreements” – even thought it was held on private property NOT owned by the Mall/Simon. We have since found out the covenants and restrictions expired in 2004, and there were no current restrictions that would have allowed them to make us cancel. We were bluffed and bullied.”

    • http://www.obandcompany.com daezy

      Hope you’re not giving up. That’s the whole point.
      My thoughts and prayers are with you.

      • http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit
  • http://www.obandcompany.com daezy

    Did I wake up one morning and discovered I was in the U.S.S.R.?!?

    • Doc Holliday

      the original Boston Tea Party was not a party at all, it was a serious, aggressive act of defiance. Many just want to bring their kids and have a good time, that is fine, but it has little to do with the tea party originally suggested by Rick Santelli, and it has nothing in common with the original tea party.

      • http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

        great point Doc….

        I said above about gathering unofficially and that “No DJ, No Speakers, So what?!?!” though I hadn’t thought about putting it as clear and pointed as you just did. If people need some fancy Official “gathering” to draw them out and coordinate them “to be seen” then they are not really/truly “fed up” as they should be. We should be motivated to making our concerns/demands known at even RANDOM/spontaneous last minute (Twitter, email, etc…) driven moments that quickly group/assemble people to a “general area” with shirts, small signs, small wave flags, etc… that don’t have to be over-blown to make the point and require permits. The small Parade (just inches size) size Flags can be obtained through Quinn Flags and many other places and these events, IMO, will in a way be more impressive if they are the quickly popping up events that get the message out to our fellow common Americans (friends, neighbors, etc). If they occur enough and in cities all across the Nation we should be able to get out the message with part of that message being that folks “Rights of Assembly” are being infringed and we shall not be detered.

        TEApeat (Official and UnOfficial rally) info – TEApeats (info) PLUS How to organize an UNOFFICIAL non-permit TEApeat

      • http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

        DONTREADONME said: “You can get vouchers for cars but not for schools”

        catchy, simple, to the point….

  • http://www.linkedin.com/in/williamgainey billg

    when Acorn can conduct a “government census”; the ACLU can receive taxpayer money to use OUR LAWS to destroy our freedoms and restrict “Freedom of Speech” when they don’t agree with that speech; the “abortionists, the GLAD & GAYS and other nutroots” can protest and nothing is done; well, as was said by kayfromcarroll, get you signs and “GO SHOPPING IRANIAN STYLE”. There was a lady from Nantucket……………etc.
    DUMP SOME TEA in the NANTUCKET water!!

  • Just_Saying

    Senate Bill SB-2099 will require us to put on our 2009 1040 federal tax form all guns that you have or own. It may require fingerprints and a tax of $50 per gun.

    The bill was introduced on Feb. 24th and will become public knowledge 30 days after it is voted into law.. This is an amendment to the Internal Revenue Act of 1986. This means that the Finance Committee can pass this without the Senate voting on it at all..

    The full text of the proposed amendment is on the U.S. Senate homepage

    You can find it by doing a search by the bill number, SB-2099. http://ron.dotson.net/guns/sb2099.htm

    You know whom to call; I strongly suggest you do. Please send a copy of this e-mail to every gun owner you know to help STOP this bill !!!

    • Karina

      http://www.snopes.com/politics/guns/taxreturns.asp

    • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

      Just_Saying: Did you read your own link? That bill you reference was from the year 2000. Not the current Congress. There isn’t even an S.2099 for the current Congress.

      • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

        I can find no relevant bills from the Senate at all doing thomas.loc.gov searches on ‘handgun’ or ‘registration,’ so Sen. Reed isn’t at it again.

        • Karina

          No need to pull up old crap when they’re shoveling more than enough new crap at us.

  • Jaimo

    Everyone should bombard Nantucket with emails saying that they won’t vacation there until they start respecting the right to free assembly.

    Did someone say that Obummer was going to be vacationing in Martha’s Vineyard, but I thought that he was the most hard working President Evah! I bet when it comes down to it, Obummer will have taken more vacations than George Bush in 4 years.

    • http://www.fredsnews.com Fred Maidment

      and get us taxpayers to pay for it…