Citizen Journalists: MUT's Idea First!

Dear Readers: Many of you may recall my Tea Party Goals — initially prepared for the Feb. 27th Tea Party by the Star of India in San Diego. I specifically call for people to become “Citizen Journalists”, as the elite media was no longer an effective watchdog on political powers.

Furthermore, watch the video, in which I underscore this idea with my speech (I appear about minute 5:00).

It seems the Huffington-Post (a left-wing, big-government-embracing Internet Community) has usurped this idea.

The Huffington Post wants to have citizen journalists at as many of these events as possible. If you think you’d be interested in attending one of the Tea Parties and reporting back to us with dispatches, photos, or video, click here to sign up. We’ll contact you shortly with further instructions.

Word has gotten out that ACORN-members and other anarchy-embracing, professional agitators will be trying to thwart the capitalism-supporting and respectful nature of the Tea Parties. One of my friends from the Denver area has a 20-something college student who is undercover: a group of rich-parent-funded socialists are on their way for a weekend in San Diego and plan to show up at Spanish Landing. Furthermore, Michelle Malkin has this report on her experience with such tactics and a note about recent developments related to the Tea Parties HERE.

With all of this in mind, the Goddess of Capitalism requests that:

* Tea Party attendees consider providing “Citizen Journalist” reports to Huff-Po, webblogs, forums, and any other appropriate site in the new media.

* Those of us planning to come to the Spanish Landing event on April 11th follow these guidelines (also posted on the Facebook site for the Southern California Tax Revolt Coalition):

Many of you have heard by now that Leftist groups are organizing to “blend-in” at the Tea Parties and then present offensive signage and statements to the media in order to discredit the movement.

If you see any folks that look suspicious, it is up to all of us to gracefully block their view from the media (nothing pushy or aggressive folks! They WANT to goad us into trouble) and make sure the real Tea Party goers work on getting camera time.

AND the Huffington Post is asking for “Citizen Journalists” to sign up to report on the Tea Parties:

I suggest all of you sign up at the Huffington Post to be journalists at the event…we can all play their game!

Some agitators may also be there with fake “petitions” looking to gather personal info on Tea Party goers. Be careful what you sign!!

Be alert, don’t be intimidated, and have a great time!

UPDATE: After joining, here is the email I received from HuffPo:

Thank you for joining the Tea Party reporting team.

Next week, on April 15, we need you to be inside the crowd taking photos and video, jotting observations, and using Twitter to give HuffPost readers the on-the-ground coverage of the Tea Party protests. Locate the event closest to you HERE (click on your state listed on the right side of the page).

Not everyone is a writer and not all people want to take photographs, which is why we have laid out four ways to be part of the team.

1) Pen and Pad Reporting: Each protest presents a unique story. We definitely want to know the basics: how many people were in attendance? Where there any prominent speakers, and what did they say? Which slogans did the crowds chant, and what did they paint on their signs? We’re also interested in understanding what kind of people showed up and why–so feel free to ask them if you feel comfortable doing so.

We are asking for dispatches of no more than 600 words. Email your report to submissions+teaparty@huffingtonpost.com by noon on April 16th. (Check out our reporting standards for further guidance.)

2) Picture the Protest: Take your camera and capture the best images from the gathering. Protest signs and banners make for good photographs, as do families and establishing shots of the entire crowd. Email your pics to photos@huffingtonpost.com. Incude your name, city, and state in the subject line and a brief description of each photo in the body of your email. For inspiration check out the slide show from the G-20 Pretest in London.

3) Film the Show: Some HuffPosters have already shown interest in filming their local Tea Party. We don’t have specific guidelines on video production, however we suggest that you edit your footage to less than five minutes in length and that you identify all interviewees. You can publish your video to YouTube and email us the link, or send your mpeg file to submissions+teaparty@huffingtonpost.com usingYouSentIt.

4) Twitter the Facts: It’s impossible to give an exhaustive report in 140 characters, but Twitter’s short form is great for quickly getting across basic facts and observations. Using your cell phone or mobile device, you can “tweet” the approximate attendance or a choice quote. IMPORTANT: We’ll only see your tweets if you include #huff in ALL of your messages. Also, remember to include your city and state so that we know where you are. (Sign up for an account with Twitter here.)

If you have any questions, email submissions+teaparty@huffingtonpost.com.

Here is how to deal with the the agitators, from Roger L. Simon.

UPDATE: This comes from some northern friends:

Memo to mainstream Americans: The far left, masters of hypocrisy and street theatre, will use decoys in “The Way Forward” to pose as YOU in an attempt to undermine and shut down the Tea Party movement.

Just like the Moonbats, they can count on the mainstream media to help them pull off their doublecross.

“`The Way Forward’ scam was conjured up by an Obama activist named Michael Lux,” says Wilson. “Lest anyone try to tell you that Mr. Lux is sincere in saying he wants to “help rebuild the banking system”, don’t you believe it for one single second. Before starting up his new Obama front group, Lux was a high-paid lobbyist for the AFL-CIO, a top executive for the leftwing People for the American Way, and a special assistant at the Clinton White House.”

“His plan now is to divert people’s attention from the April 15 Tea Parties by holding his phony rallies, on April 11th. He knows his fellow left wingers in the mainstream media will go along with his scheme to nationalize our banking system–and that’s why it is up to you and me to expose it for what it is right now!”

“So here is what I am asking you to join me in doing now:

* “Alert your family, friends and neighbors to the fact that the “Way Forward” scam has nothing whatsoever to do with the real Tea Parties;
* “If “Way Forward” sets up one of its phony rallies in your community, organize your own protests and make sure the media knows you are standing up for free enterprise and;
* “Send me any information you can to help expose the “Way Forward” rallies for what they really are–a blatant move to socialize our banking system.

“If Michael Lux and his “Obamunist” comrades have their way, they will nationalize our banks, seize their assets, and place fellow Obama lackeys in the top positions of authority. That’s how ruthless they actually are.”

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