Protest sees ruin in
government spending

By Tom Morphet

     About 50 residents gathered for a “tea party” demonstration protesting government spending April 15 at the Port Chilkoot Dock.

The event was organized in concert with ones nationwide. It included impromptu speeches by concerned residents, the reading of the Declaration of Independence by local organizer Ralph Vigilante and dumping jugs of tea into the harbor.

“The crux is they’re stealing our money and stealing our freedoms and they’re going to keep doing it as long as we let them,” Vigilante told the crowd. “We’re the government. They’ve forgotten that.”

Vigilante cited grievances against the federal government, getting the crowd to respond in refrain, “We the people.”

Legislation proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives would require hunters to register guns before they go moose hunting, Vigilante said to retorts of  “Ain’t going to happen” and “Not in my lifetime.”

While many statements were aimed at recent federal stimulus spending approved by President Barack Obama and Congress, targets of protesters ranged widely, including local property taxes, the proposed restrooms at Port Chilkoot Dock and both major political parties.

Placards included ones saying, “Stop the stealing. Fire Congress, 2010 – All of Them,” “Gold, God and Guns – the Ingredients of Freedom,” and “Faith-based Currency.”

           “I truly believe there is a conspiracy to take America out of the equation,” resident Al Schulze told the crowd. His statements led to a group discussion of conspiracies, including that national leaders were deliberately bankrupting the nation to allow foreign nations to gain political control.

School board president Carol Kelly attended the protest with husband Al, who carried a sign that read, “$800,000 outhouse, one block.” Al Kelly said he targeted the proposed dock restrooms because they were the nearest example of wasteful government spending.

Carol Kelly said afterward she attended the protest because she was concerned about taxes and potential loss of freedoms, and particularly the possibility of the federal ownership of banks and car companies. “If they’re telling (bailout fund recipients) who they have to hire and how much they have to pay, how long before they’re telling you and me?”

Kelly said she was also concerned that a proposed treaty with Mexico would trump constitutional rights to gun ownership. School board member Sarah Swinton also attended.

“Cancel Obama’s Chinese credit card,” retiree Jack Wenner told the crowd. Wenner explained in an interview that Obama was trying to fix too many problems at once and feared the cost of his programs would create a huge national debt that would saddle his grandchildren.

 Dumping a thermos cup of tea off the dock, Bob Lix said he thought the event was worthwhile for raising consciousness. “People have to get interested in getting out and voting. Locally, we can do something here, about Begich, Murkowski and Palin.We need to get active with our representatives. But that’s where it starts, with grassroots events like this.”

In an interview, organizer Vigilante said both parties are to blame for out-of-control spending and attacks on constitutional rights by virtue of the PATRIOT Act and proposed legislation on gun control and media regulation.

 A construction project superintendent, Vigilante said he’d only support an independent party that wasn’t under control of lobbyists and bankers. Incumbent politicians are out of touch, he said.

“They’re not reading the polls. We’re a small part of a bigger movement aimed at returning the free-market system our country is based on. They’re trying to push a global currency down our throats and that’s a travesty that’s against what our country was founded on.

“All seated incumbents need to be voted out and replaced by statesmen who are true representatives of the people and not politicians,” he said.