From the misspelled, to the ironic, to the simply bizarre,  Buzzfeed.com’s 50 best protest signs of 2009 eased my political despair. Some favorites are after the jump, and there’s more at the Huffington Post.

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If you’re equally pissed-off about Governor Carcieri’s deplorable, inhumane veto of the domestic partners’ funeral rights bill last week, come out and show it this Thursday, November 19th. From the Facebook invite:

On Tuesday November 10, 2009 Governor Donald Carcieri killed a bill that would allow non-married couples the right to plan the funerals of their deceased partners. Please join in solidarity for a vigil and funeral procession this Thursday, November 19th @ 7:30pm sharp, along the Statehouse sidewalk facing the Providence Place Mall. Please wear black if you are able.

Come. Tell your friends. Tell your friends’ friends. Just don’t let the governor get away with being a complete and utter plonker.

Ah, modesty: a Providence Daily Dose co-founder avoiding mention of his appearance in a video (uploaded to YouTube by RI Future) of an anti-greed Brown protest that’s been lighting up my Facebook feed. Hide no more, Representative.

Organizers are staging a national Tax Day Tea Party tomorrow as a grassroots protest of the overspending of our current administration. (No outrage regarding two wars that’ll have cost taxpayers $864 billion by the end of this fiscal year, though.)

On one hand, I admire when people seek change for issues they feel strongly about. On the other, I think loosely recreating a celebrated event in American history cheapens our colonists’ brave defiance against a powerful monarchy. Particularly if “loosely” means “half-assed.”  The only thing the hundreds of tea parties seem to have in common is a lack of tea.

The RI Tea Party has been [promoted in part] by Patriotic Resistance, which touts itself “the network for idea-based resistance to Obama-led socialistic agenda.” So far two people have RSVPd [on PR's site]—the organizer, and a guy who mentioned something about his gun collection.

The tea party folks aren’t wrong that Lil’ Rhody folks are hurting this tax day. Signs large and small have protested for months, from “this house pays more taxes than Brown University” on Providence triple-deckers to “this is not a good year to raise North Kingston taxes” in SoCo. I’m just not sure hanging out on the State House steps during a quiet legislative week is more likely to bring about tax reform.

But I could just be confused by PR’s mixed instructions for the tea party, which pair “Try to arrange not to spend any money in protest as well. No gas No retail No entertainment NOTHING!” with “I would park at the Providence Place Mall they validate for a purchase.” Or how they ask people who can’t make the protest to mail a teabag to President Obama, or wait, maybe just a photo of a teabag. Commercial or fair trade? Is decaf acceptable? Isn’t loose tea more historically accurate, or would that spark White House fears of a new strain of anthrax? The devil’s in the details.

RI Tea Party, Wednesday, April 15th, 3-6 p.m., State House; possible extra credit for American Indian costumes

Lots of pretty lights have popped up around town for the holidays. Here’s another type:

The India Association of Rhode Island is hosting a candlelight vigil tonight to share its solidarity with caring and concerned people and to express its outrage and sorrow on behalf of the victims in last week’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Several Indian, Jewish and Catholic speakers are slated.

Tonight / 6-7 p.m. / State House south steps (facing the mall) / BYO flashlight or battery-operated candle

  I just popped by the Bannister Gallery at Rhode Island College, which I sort of assumed wouldn’t even be running a show during the summer, and was pleasantly surprised to come across Protest, a show featuring photographer LeRoy Henderson that will be up through early July.

Henderson shows the struggles of Americans as they take to the streets, in New York and Washington, to protest both the Vietnam and Iraq wars.  The banners and slogans are worth documenting, but the most interesting part of the black-and-white photos are the people holding them.  Who, for instance, are the two made-up women in 2005 holding the Billionaires For Bush signs?   Or the woman from 1969 with the sign that says “Give me one good reason I should fight in Vietnam. Arm black men to fight for freedom in America.”  The most striking images, though, are the ones that aren’t easy to place–a man kneeling in a field, or a shadowy figure with sunglasses.

The photographs question the protesting individual.  A man lies face-down on the ground while a dopey-looking cop stands over him, but the demonstrators in the background look like confused tourists more than anything.  And the Billionaires For Bush are interesting, but are they really as striking as the groups of Iraq protesters hidden behind giant masks?

As a whole, the photographs raise interesting questions about the nature of political demonstration: after the sixties, can Americans demonstrate without seeming unoriginal?  After public protests about Vietnam didn’t work, does the public even listen to protesters anymore?