In the grand scheme of things, getting people to complain about taxes on April 15th might be the easiest thing in the world. It’s right up there with “eating ice cream on a hot summer day” and “laughing whenever Glenn Beck cries”. Bitching about taxes is America’s true pastime. So when a few thousand people gather on tax day to whine about their taxes (after getting massive tax breaks, btw), it’s hardly the second coming of the American Revolution. Hell, I remember a time six years ago when millions of people took to the street to protest the government. We all saw how well that worked out.

When their rallying cry is “Grrrr…I hate you TAXES!”, there won’t be a whole lot left to keep the tea bagging movement together after April 15th. Manufactured-populism and a fractured-understanding of American history will only take you so far. The great-great-great-great grandchildren of liberty will have to find some other crusade to motivate them like birth certificate forgeries or investigating whether Bo Obama was really a rescue dog. Sure, some die-hards will stick around like the asshole who keeps flipping through your DVD’s at three in the morning oblivious to the fact that the party is over, but within a few weeks, the only people left to carry the “tea party” torch will be the GOP & Fox News personalities trying to recapture the “good times” with all the subtlety and humility of Chubby Checker trying to get everyone to do the twist.

I’m going to miss the “Tea Party” movement. I’m going to miss the powdered wigs and the lunatic ranting. I’m going to miss the ideological uncertainty and the unpragmatic futility (seriously, you’re mailing tea bags to the White House to demand lower taxes after you just got a tax cut?). Most of all, I’m going to miss the jokes. These last few weeks have been a golden age for juvenile humor that passes for insightful political commentary. It’s a rare movement that chooses to describe itself with terminology that also means “testicle slapping” and those of us who relish in the foolishness of conservative activism will be much worse off for it.

An anti-tax protest on April 15th? Gosh, where have I heard that one before? Was it 2002?

KARL: Kate Snow, let’s move to the issue of tax day. Yes, indeed, it is tax day today, isn’t it? I guess the Republicans have decided that it is a perfect day to make a stand for permanent tax cuts. What will their message be today?

SNOW: Yes. They’re going to be having a rally, actually, here a little bit later on this morning. About 45 minutes from now, that gets underway, sort of behind us over there. And then beyond that, more than 20 different events around the country, Paula, all celebrating tax day, but also looking towards what you mentioned, a bill that is going to come up later this week on the House floor that says make that tax cut that they passed last year a permanent tax cut, make it extend forever.

2003?

Don’t be surprised if your post office attracts a protestor or two. The Libertarian Party, for example, usually makes appearances, and tomorrow is no exception. In fact, the party will show up twice at the Main post office at North Capital Street and Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C.

Its daytime protest theme will be “taxation without representation.” Protestors return later in the evening for a “tax slavery” protest.

2004?

In Minneapolis, Libertarians will carry signs emblazoned with Donald Trump’s picture. The tag line: “You’re Fired, but I can’t fire the IRS.” Protesters there will also hand out $1-million bills, phony notes intended to dramatize the party’s point that the federal government spends $1 million every five seconds.

“We wanted to show a sense of humor with a serious spin,” said Corey Stern, a member of the Minnesota LP.

Anti-tax protesters — some dragging balls and chains, others dressed as patriots — will also be out in Duval County, Fla., according to Doug Klippel, chairman of the Florida LP. “There is even a rumor that Lady Godiva may show up,” he said.

2005?

If the commercial resonance of April 15 is fading, the day remains an important political symbol.

The Libertarian Party uses it to spread its philosophy of limited government. From coast to coast, local branches of the party hold colorful events.

In Florida, according to state chairman Doug Klippel, Libertarians will be out in Jacksonville, Orlando, and West Palm Beach.

“There will be people dressed as patriots, and a couple of people will show up with balls-and-chains,” says Klippel.

They’ll also be carrying signs intended to reinforce the party’s anti-tax message. One asks filers: “Wouldn’t you rather be taking your money to the bank?”

I suppose the only patriotic thing to do tomorrow would be to dress up like George Washington, stand on a street corner, and yell at passing cars, but I’m one of those “hard-working Americans” conservatives love to self-righteously rant about and I have to go to work. (h/t dr2chase)

Back when I was in high school, the local paper ran an article with the headline “All That and Phat Too!” which served to explain all the hip, groovy slang all those damn kids were using. The predictable result was that for weeks afterwards, the adults of Tulsa, Oklahoma were gloriously misusing slang in an attempt to bridge the generation gap.

I get the same feeling now whenever I hear the mainstream media gush about Twitter. Journalists mostly missed the boat in the early years of the blogosphere – scoffing at foolishness like the “We’ll replace The Times” crowd on the right rather that recognize that blogs are a small part of the revolutionary change in way people consume information – so it feels as if they’re overcompensating now, with more and more newscasts featuring talking-heads chant “Twitter our tweets! Hee hee hee” Uggghhh..

Which leads me to Good Friday. As part of the effort to make Twitter as uncool as possible (not that it needs much help), a church group has decided to use tweets (hee hee) to re-enact the anti-semitic tradition of the Passion Play. I haven’t seen any “via @AngryJew: Let’s kill Jesus!!”, but this breaking of the fourth wall cracked me up :

That’s almost as bizarre as the scene in Religulous when rubbernecking tourists were vying to get a get photo “Jesus” being beaten by Roman soldiers.

This movie stolen from TheBeatles.com is a lot more interesting than copying/pasting from a press release :

Start saving your money now.

As a teetotaler when it comes to weed who is generally receptive to the libertarian view that the government shouldn’t waste its time going after “victimless” crimes, I think I’d be a lot more enthusiastic about the legalization of marijuana if I didn’t HATE cigarette smoking so much. I really, really despise it.

As a kid, I have many memories of being stuck in a room with one or more adults who were smoking and forced to endure their second hand smoke, having to deal with itchy, watery eyes, sore throat, shallow breathing, nausea, etc. just because some careless adults wanted to indulge one of their vices. My sensitivity to cigarette smoke to continued into my twenties, often putting me in the uncomfortable position of having to choose between spending time with peers who are making me sick or come across as a self-righteous jerk (and occasionally listen to rants about civil rights or the exaggerated dangers of second-hand smoke).

Even now, in California where it’s sometimes easier to spot a Republican than a smoker, I can’t walk my dogs down the sidewalk without one of them eating one of the dozens of cigarette butts carelessly thrown on the ground. Every time I fruitlessly try to pull a cigarette butt out of my dogs’ throats or clean up said butts when they’re vomited on my floor, I’m furious at the anonymous assholes who would throw their trash on the ground and reminded how this “victimless” habit often has a much greater effect on others than many smokers are willing to admit.

Which brings me back to pot. If we’re talking about legalizing smoking marijuana, count me out. I don’t want to think about children having to spend half their childhoods high because their parents are smoking inside. I don’t want to walk through the den of smokers who crowd outside restaurant doors and have my clothes smell like weed for the rest of the night. And I don’t want to have to worry about whether or not I need to get my dog’s stomach pumped because some idiot threw a roach on the ground.

There are plenty of ways to get high through THC, but I’m absolutely opposed to legalizing smoking marijuana if it means anybody other than the consenting adults in question is affected (which, practically speaking, would be incredibly difficult). Pot brownies, pills, or whatever other methods exist to privately enjoy weed, I’m completely in favor of, but if it’s an all or nothing situation and legalization includes smoking, I’m siding with the prohibitionists.

Obama :

President Barack Obama will call for the elimination of all nuclear weapons across the globe, in remarks on Sunday he hopes will lend credibility to his message in atomic disputes with Iran and North Korea.

Visiting Prague during an eight-day visit to Europe, Obama plans to deliver what his aides have billed as a major speech on weapons proliferation.

Obama, who is making his debut on the world stage, said in Strasbourg, France on Friday that he would lay out an agenda to secure the world’s loose nuclear materials and halt the spread of illicit weapons.

He added that he wanted to offer an agenda “to seek the goal of a world without nuclear weapons.”

Superman :

On the next episode of Obama vs. Superman :

This :

Gov. David Paterson says “12 or 13″ people were killed in an attack on an immigration services center in Binghamton, N.Y.

A federal law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity also says the shooter has been found dead in the building.

Officials and media reports have said as many as 41 hostages were taken.

The law enforcement official says the gunman entered the building through the front while firing. He had already blocked the back door with his car.

I wish I could say I’m surprised, but there are only so many times you can read stories about a federal building being blown up, a mass-killing at a Unitarian Church, a Democratic party official murdered in cold blood by a stranger, and more before a pattern starts to emerge. Both sides have crazies, but our side doesn’t tend vent its frustration and rage by going on a murder spree.