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Photos: Tax day rally draws crowds

Internet organizing triggered tea party rallies Wednesday in as many as 500 cities. Here are scenes from San Francisco's.

Declan McCullagh
Declan McCullagh is the chief political correspondent for CNET. You can e-mail him or follow him on Twitter as declanm. Declan previously was a reporter for Time and the Washington bureau chief for Wired and wrote the Taking Liberties section and Other People's Money column for CBS News' Web site.
Declan McCullagh
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Tax Day rally, San Francisco

In the last few years, Internet organizing has led to self-directed flash mobs that gather to engage in pillow fights or dance to the "Sound of Music" soundtrack. On Wednesday, April 15, it led to tax day rallies--also known as tea party rallies--appearing spontaneously in as many as 500 cities, without any central organizing body. Instapundit blogger Glenn Reynolds says: "Though critics will probably try to write the tea parties off as partisan publicity stunts, they're really a post-partisan expression of outrage."
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Hay bale

At an Internet-organized rally in front of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office in the San Francisco federal building, hundreds of protesters denounce Wall Street bailouts, the federal income tax, and members of Congress of both major parties they accuse of being out of touch with the rest of the country. A hay bale came with this sign: "Hay! We Got Our Bale Out! Got Yours?"
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Agnes Bernstein

Agnes Bernstein, who grew up in Poland under socialist rule, warned that the United States has begun following the same path--unless it retreats from the pro-bailout, pro-nationalization direction that Washington is following.
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Agnes Bernstein

Agnes Bernstein, who grew up in Poland under socialist rule, told CNET News in an interview after her speech: "The government is growing too big. And I grew up in socialism and I've seen it. And this is reminding me more and more of what Poland used to be. I was fortunate to see the transfer from socialism to a free-market economy in Poland and I'm very sad to see that the opposite is happening here."
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Petition For Redress of Grievances

A Petition For Redress of Grievances at the tea party rally demands that the U.S. government stop bailouts, that Congress read the laws before it enacts them, and that the federal budget be balanced.
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Two women hold signs

Two women hold signs saying "Taxed Enough Already" and "Give Me Liberty... Not Debt!"
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Sign about AIG

It may not be as catchy as "No More War!" or "Hey, hey, ho, ho, George Bush has got to go," but this protester's sign about AIG's credit default swaps gets points for completeness.
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8 of 9 Declan McCullagh/CNET

Protester's sign

The San Francisco rally was nonpartisan: it attracted Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Greens, and independents who are opposed to higher taxes and more government bailouts. The front of one protester's sign said "Voting Republican = More Taxes & Debt." The other side said the same thing about Democrats.
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Starchild holding sign

The San Francisco libertarian activist known as Starchild holds a sign at this tax day rally saying: "IRS: We take $$$$$$ from working people to pay for big government."

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