July 4 TEA party

- 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., in front of Tupelo City Hall

- For more information, e-mail tupeloteaparty@hotmail.com

Another 'tea party' planned for July 4

By Dennis Seid

Daily Journal

TUPELO - Organizers who helped plan a "tea party" on tax day are hoping for a similar turnout on Independence Day.

On April 15, some 800 people gathered at City Hall to take part in a nationwide protest of what supporters said was runaway and unwarranted government taxing and spending.

The gatherings, championed primarily by conservatives and modeled after the Boston Tea Party, were called "TEA parties" for Taxed Enough Already.

More than 1,200 parties are planned nationwide, including Tupelo.

Grant Sowell, one of the key organizers of the Tupelo event, said the July 4 gathering will begin at 10 a.m. at City Hall and will feature several speakers.

Among them is Oxford native and University of Mississippi graduate Angela McGlowan, who is a political analyst for Fox News.

She has written a best-selling book, "Bamboozled," and is the founder and CEO of Political Strategies and Insights in Oxford and Washington, D.C. McGlowan will later speak at a tea party in Southaven.

McGlowan said in a statement, "Too often the American public does not feel they have a voice in Washington. The Tea Party rallies being held all across the country this July 4 are a clear sign that not everyone feels that our country is headed in the right direction."

Several other speakers also are scheduled, and each will have about five minutes to speak.

Sowell said he hopes to have as many show up for the July 4 tea party as the last one, but knows that the holiday, summer vacation and the high temperatures may slow attendance.

"But based on what we've heard, it should be a good turnout," he said. "There are hundreds of people giving their time, treasure and talent to this ... this is really a grassroots movement. We're not getting money from Fox News or the Republican Party. We're just citizens concerned about what's going on. This is a patriotic event open to all American citizens of all ages and races."

Contact Dennis Seid at (662) 678-1605 or dennis.seid@djournal.com.