I have been to a few tea parties in Houston and my feeling is that it is a dying movement. I think a juggernaut of deficit spending unparalleled in the history of the world will continue our way, along with a government health care system, and a huge tax increase on Energy. The tea party movement, nor anything else, is going to stop this. The tea party movement is populated with a number of people in Houston - Ayn Rand enthusiasts, Ron Paulians, black conservatives (Raging elephants dot org), John Birchers, and others who may be or may not be interested in the same things. I went out of fear of economic collapse in the US precipitated by unsound economic practices - but the movement lacks focus or direction and has a lot of people latching on for their own causes. The speakers were uninteresting, the crowd uninspired, and the future direction unclear. People don’t care and won’t care - get your own economics in order, make plans for your personal future should the economy continue to sink, plan for your own well being - this is all we can do. Don’t wast time any more on tea parties or arguing against this or that in politics, these things just have to play out. The rising economic star is China - keep your eyes on that powerhouse, for they are about to explode with prosperity and further become the center of the world.