UPDATED: Are they dumping tea or drinking Kool-aid?

On Dec. 16, 1773, Americans in Boston held a "tea party" to protest a distant government that imposed taxes on them with no representation.

On April 15, 2009, thousands of Americans ginned-up by a ratings-crazed cable TV network will hold not-so-spontaneous "tea parties" to protest a government seeking to reduce taxes for 95 percent of them -- less than six months after a record number of citizens voted to elect new representatives.

How much caffeine is in that tea these days?

Seriously, what exactly are people protesting? If they're protesting government bailouts and soaring deficits, where were they during the George W. Bush presidency? And if they're protesting higher taxes, then they would have to be making more than $250,000 a year. And most people making more than $250,000 a year don't attend protests -- they have "people" for that.

This is not a rhetorical question. What are people protesting today? Please be articulate.

UPDATE: Attytood reader DR weighs in via email: