Letter to the editor re: Tea Party

The following letter was published in today's Arizona Daily Sun:
Friday, July 10, 2009 To the editor:I see that the tax haters are having another "tea party" demonstration. Here's my advice to them this Fourth of July weekend. Stay off all U.S. and interstate highways. They were paid for with tax money. Stay out of all national parks, national monuments, national forests, national wilderness areas and national wildlife refuges.Call your parents or grandparents. Wish them a happy Independence Day and tell them they should give back every dime of Social Security they have received since they retired. But don't send an e-mail. Don't even use the Internet. Your tax dollars created it.Forget about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, commonly known as the CDC, developing a vaccine or an antidote for the H1N1 flu virus. You're all rugged individualists. Have a nice flu season.And how fitting that you choose to assemble and speak out on the Fourth of July. Federal tax dollars have paid for America's military for 233 years. That's the same military that gave you the right to assemble and to speak your mind. And your tax dollars pay for the Veterans Affairs health, disability and education services for those who served so you can have your little tea party. Enjoy your holiday.

In the interest of maintaing privacy, I am withholding the name of the letter writer. I know him, and do not wish to cause any problems. But I did take exception to his letter, so I have sent the following reply to the editor:

With all due respect to the gentleman who wrote about ‘Tax Haters’, what we gathered together to demonstrate about on July 4th was our grave concern for the generations to come who have been saddled with an enslaving debt by our elected representatives. We want our voice to be heard clearly by those representatives: use Common Sense and quit spending like we are a bottomless pit of wealth! Read the bill before you vote, and if you don’t have time to read it, vote it down! Instead of the taxes you collect having to go to pay the interest on the ever-growing national debt, maybe you will be able to spend some of it on the highways, securing our borders, improving our schools and caring for those who are unable to care for themselves. And above all, remember that you took a vow to protect and defend the Constitution, not shred it through mismanagement, greed and power plays. This message is for all elected representatives, regardless of party affiliation. The American citizens are fed up, and we’re watching very carefully!

We'll see if it gets published...