Comments:Thousands take part in protests across US against government's financial policy

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Please try to interview average or above-average intelligence Americans for stories like this. By transmitting quotes from the ignorant around the world you are not helping anyone. The world economic situation is dire. Free markets and governments are working towards improvement.

-71.92.220.209 23:08, 1 March 2009 (UTC)

Maybe there weren't any above-average intelligence Americans there. :-P --Brian McNeil / ^talk 23:45, 1 March 2009 (UTC)

This article ought to be deleted.

Not only has it been reported that the Santelli rant was a carefully planned "rant" to trigger an "anti-Obama campaign" that the opposition could claim was "sweeping the nation," but the attendance at these "protests" was paltry at best.

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] -- 24.191.234.242 02:04, 2 March 2009 (UTC)

"This is another example of how Americans simply know how to manage their own money better than the government. Now we're finally seeing people voicing that opinion openly. Whether it be funding abortion globally, or bailing out businesses that should go bankrupt to eliminate companies holding our economy back, people are becoming more aware and that now the Republican Party is on the upswing because of the Obama Administration and Congress. Even us college students and high school seniors are recognizing that we are the one's who are going to foot the bill for this. This is a prime example that government is the problem." - Matthew Gutmann, Waukesha County Republican Party Member & Youth Organizer.

I don't understand what that unsigned comment does to dispute the notion that this article is nothing more than an advertisement for misinformation. -- 24.191.234.242 16:36, 2 March 2009 (UTC)

This does not seem very NPOV

Notice how different the Wikinews headline is from the titles of the source articles.

There also ought to be information on how wide-spread the opinion of the protesters, because it makes it sound like some sort of mass uprising is occurring but I didn't even hear about this at all in my local news. How many Americans besides the protesters regard the ARRA as "their grandchildren's future down the toilet"?

Then there's the quote on the national debt being "way higher" now that Obama's in office... that isn't even true, right? At most, it's that projected deficits will be higher if all federal budgeting goes the way that the White House has announced plans for, I thought - have we even gotten into planning to borrow money for the projected budget, much less actual debt? If that statement is untrue the article has to note that and probably should say something about how Obama's budgeting would relate to the rate of the federal debt trend during the portion of the Bush administration since the financial crisis, and before then for that matter. --Struthious Bandersnatch (talk) 02:41, 2 March 2009 (UTC)

Struthious Bandersnatch, I thank you for your comments about this article I wrote. I will try to respond to your points. Firstly, yes, I agree that some of the people quoted in the article have no idea what they are talking about, but they are merely quotes. Secondly, I agree that I was rather poor in noting the opposite viewpoint to that of the protestors in the article. Thanks for your comments, and for presenting them (on my talk) page in such a non-confrontational way. Anonymous101^talk 18:38, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

Stimulus package: This bill is just the opposite! Moreover, Obama and his cronies are systematically dismantling the Constitution of the United States. We need to have and continue to have more tea parties until this Congress starts behaving responsibly and stop these socialist and communistic policies.

thank you for the ability to communicate with my fellow Americans. Mary Rife, Florida-- 97.97.215.143

Mary, some of us live outside Jebusland. I personally am in Belgium. I greatly appreciate the more civilised nature of a society that has been influenced by some Socialist ideals. The "American Dream" is just that, a 'dream'. To be flippant, I could quote a comic's off-the-cuff definition - "Because you have to be asleep to believe in it". That really does no justice to the massive confidence trick that it is, and has been played on the US population for decades. The odds of someone born poor and in a neighbourhood with a failing school of becoming a millionaire are hundreds of thousands to one against. The only difference between that and a lottery, which is simply a tax on the stupid, is you can slightly improve the odds by working 20 hours a day - who knows? If you get lucky the rich guys might let you be manager of a McDonald's store. --Brian McNeil / ^talk 22:23, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

I still believe that the odds of being born poor and becoming rich are higher in the US than almost anywhere else, including Europe. --SVTCobra 22:36, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

---

So we should be the only developed nation without a stimulus package then? Nobody seemed to care much about the debt until we are in a crisis where our deficit could be useful.--65.73.102.158 07:34, 2 March 2009 (UTC)

Lowered bar?

So, now, every event that involves NASCAR or Disney theme parks is a news story because attendance at those events is MUCH higher than any of these. 72.146.167.158 06:01, 2 March 2009 (UTC)

So much assholeness...

So, it is good to get the highest debt ever in Human History to start World War III, but it is bad to increase that debt to save the country? Who are these morons? Oh, I see... It's the ones that got their asses kicked, when they thought that fascist McCain was going to win. What a bunch of morons... Many things disappear in time, except stupidity it seems.

Comment move from article page

The numbers representing this gathering are relatively small. The approval rating for Barack Obama and the stimulus package is one of the highest ever. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 65.185.42.143 (talk • contribs)

"Last Friday, thousands of people, in a total of more than thirty US cities, took part in a protest against the economic policy of the US government." That is a thoroughly unimpressive statement. I'll assume the top-end of "thousands". 9,000 people split between 30 cities is still only 300 people per city. Considering that these are most likely only the large cities with populations in tens of millions, this article is almost an argument for how many people are happy about the ARRA. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.103.191.187 (talk) 01:57, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

A Travesty —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.125.85.66 (talk) 04:31, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

Bad reporting.

Uhh...no. This article makes it look like the gatherings were a mass movement that shook the country or something. The reality was far different:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29430834/ http://www.wlos.com/shared/newsroom/top_stories/wlos_vid_2207.shtml http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/taxpayers_stage_tea_party_protests_090227 http://www.gaypatriot.net/2009/02/27/la-tea-party-for-freedom/ http://pajamasmedia.com/instapundit/71521/ http://frontburner.dmagazine.com/2009/02/27/a-dallas-tea-party-rages-against-the-machine/ http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/2/27/135043/895/111/702654 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.194.12.187 (talk) 07:09, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

Ron Paul FTW

DERP —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.203.72.218 (talk) 15:34, 3 March 2009 (UTC)

STFU!!!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.191.162.149 (talk) 04:43, 4 March 2009 (UTC)

Slow News Day?

Seems like it. This section makes it sound like there was a widespread-protest:

"Last Friday, thousands of people, in a total of more than thirty US cities, took part in a protest against the economic policy of the US government."

In reality, this is a minority discontent. If anything, the news should be how many people -approve- of the President's plan. Not how a few thousand strongly disapproved.

Oh, and comparing it to the Boston Tea Party? Are you serious? 72.193.218.220 10:13, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

What the hell?

What's up with all the negative action in the comments this week? Man, Wikinews really is becoming worse than Youtube. Fephisto (talk) 10:47, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

I have no idea. There seems to be an undercurrent that we shouldn't report on things like this. I think it was quite, quite appropriate to report on this, the 'ignorant redneck' comments of people attending, and the underwhelming 'thousands' who turned out for these protests. Wikinews' job isn't to mock the idiots who're whinging here, or to condemn them for attending futile protests. Intelligent readers will draw the same conclusions about this 'campaign' as shown above, but seem to be missing the need to be editorially neutral instead of going, "HA! HA! Stupid Republicans!" --Brian McNeil / ^talk 11:32, 7 March 2009 (UTC)

When honest people say nothing,wicked people have a voice. If ever there was a time to speak up and unite the time is now. Celebrate unity not diversitly. Devided we fall united we stand. Freedom and rights are something that must be continluesly fought for as our ancestors new. Time to get up and fight for our country, our government is failing we the people must save ourselves,and provide for a free country for OUR children. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.Get it, now unite and protest do something honerable for your country!19:03, 7 March 2009 (UTC)~~