Good news, bad news: Good news is that we had a great time, and had a bunch of leftover sandwiches that were happily received by the Raleigh Rescue Mission.

Bad news is that the event cost a net $379.55. But given that my family would have spent more than that just going to Mickey’s Magic Christmas Party, it was still a great deal. Would have been nice to have a profit to give to Durham Rescue Mission, though. Perhaps we’ll try again next year…

Also, there were some great videos premiered by our own Dean Garris, videographer extraordinaire, celebrating the efforts of the various Meetups in the state:

Constitution Day (Orange County/Chapel Hill):

Nascar (Charlotte):

State Fair (Triangle):

And finally, Muslim American Society Town Hall in NC.

What is it about Deans and cameras?

I wanted to draw special attention to Dean Hodgkins, our ultra-talented Meetup member who just happens to be a professional photographer. Check out his album of the event, which summarizes the event quite nicely. I was going to pull out a few of my favorites to post on the blog, but I didn’t know where to start. The Picasa slide show is worth watching!

However, in the course of putting on this event, we’ve learned some bad news, and some good news. The bad news is that our federal government (through the Federal Election Commission) has lots of limits and regulations for political expenditures before one must file paperwork, form committees, and engage in lots of paper-shuffling with our good friends in Washington. And we just thought we wanted to throw a party!

The good news, however, is that these rules are only applicable for political fundraisers. So, for the record, the Ron Paul Tea Party Celebration is not a political fundraiser. We are celebrating the national Internet-based Tea Party ’07 that’s already underway, and we will have computers available with Internet access for liberty-loving folks who would like to make their own individual donations to the Ron Paul campaign.

However, any money we receive tonight beyond our expenses will go to the Durham Rescue Mission. Even the Durham Rescue Mission is seeing the consequences of growing bureaucracy — a few weeks ago, they were informed that a previously-reliable bulk toy donor for their annual Christmas toy drive had new rules in place: for the first time, the donor was requiring that they provide advance notice of the recipient kids’ names and addresses. Kind of like a Patriot Act, but for toy donations.

Of course, the toy donor has every right to make this new requirement, but since the Durham Rescue Mission deals with many homeless folks, the new requirement puts them in a bit of bind. It’s not like these kids are signing up to receive toys with their names and addresses in advance. We’re pleased to help them with their work, and encourage folks to give generously both for liberty, and community.

Alright, we heard you. Two tenths of a mile between the Armory and Bull McCabes is a long way, especially if Sunday is cold and/or rainy.

We’re excited to announce that Carolina Biofuels’ sustainable transportation division will be providing transportation to/from/around the Armory on Sunday night, so come and prepared to be impressed by a social entrepreneurship at work!

Carolina Biofuels has “recycled” the former Exxon oil terminal in downtown Durham, and processes waste vegetable oil into biofuels for transportation and heating. Through their Greenway Transit business, they also operate a fleet of pedicabs and biofuel-powered cars and vans for rental or charter. They’ll also be featuring some sustainable/fair trade gifts through their partner nonprofit The Forest Foundation — come prepared with your Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa shopping list!

Great sandwiches and desserts will be available, plus biscotti for dipping in your coffee. We’re buying wholesale from them, and passing the savings on to YOU! (We’re just trying to cover our costs with the event, and hope folks will make a donation online to the Ron Paul campaign if they want to participate in the Money Bomb. We’ll have computers with wireless access, and you might even see your name on the big screen!)

We’ll be working on coffee tomorrow… since the Tea Party ushered coffee into the United States as we boycotted tea, that seems fitting.

Then, when the party’s over at the Armory, and when you’re ready to grab a cold one… we’ve partnered with Bull McCabe’s Irish Pub (just a block away!) for an After Party with Ron Paul food and drink specials. We’ll have a screen up to watch the Money Bomb, plus more time for great conversation.

Walking directions between the Armory and Bull McCabe’s (yes, you can walk… just one block, less than 0.2 mile):

Durham, NC: On December 16, 2007, we will be celebrating the 234th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, often considered the tipping point at which community activism gave way to American revolution, and freedom. Following the Boston Tea Party in 1773, we declared our independence from tyranny with the Declaration of Independence in 1776:

Perhaps the most significant words in Morgan Freeman’s introduction above are, “The real glory of the Declaration of Independence has been our nation’s epic struggle throughout history to close the gap between the ideals of this remarkable document and the sometimes painful realities of American life.”

In honor of this ongoing struggle, the Triangle Ron Paul Meetup is throwing a party for the strongest pro-Liberty presidential candidate, Congressman Ron Paul. We are joining Congressman Paul to “close the gap” between the ideals of our Declaration of Independence and our present challenges as a nation. Are you ready to join the revolution, and the celebration? Would you like to put aside the labels that divide us for an evening, and meet other citizens to celebrate our rights and our freedoms?

Please download and distribute the event flyer, available in color (1 per page), color (2 per page), black and white (1 per page), and black and white (2 per page).

Here are the highlights:

when: Sunday, December 16th, 2007 6pm-10pm
where: Durham Armory, 220 Foster Street (Downtown Durham)
cover: $2 to help pay for the venue

We look forward to seeing you there!