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After Action Report: Freeping Kerry/Edwards in Wheeling, WV
First hand report | 7/31/04 | mountaineer

Posted on 07/31/2004 6:05:42 PM PDT by mountaineer

The Kerry/Edwards travelling freakshow, having held a soggy, drab and utterly listless rally in Greensburg, Pa. on Saturday afternoon, moved on to Wheeling, W.Va. (arriving about one hour late for the 5:30 p.m. rally).

Freepers mountaineer and madelinezapeezda were there to greet them, along with mountaineer's spouse. When we arrived in downtown Wheeling around 3:45 p.m., there was just one anti-Kerry protester, a brave man standing in the midst of the few thousand Kerry folks waiting to go through security, with two signs, one of which read, "A vote for Kerry is a vote for terrorism."

We witnessed as a guy wearing a union T-shirt (UAW, I believe) tried to shove him into traffic, and then stole one of his signs.

A few Bush supporters arrived, and we set up on a corner across from where all of the Dem attendees had to pass en route to the metal detectors and thence to the riverfront rally site.

Of course, we got the usual stupid irrational comments, including those from children waving "Bushit" and "Buck Fush" bumper stickers (isn't that lovely?).

One of our signs quoted Teresa's "shove it!" remark, adding, "Thank goodness for Laura Bush." Some nut got in mountaineer's husband's face and went off on a cursing rant about Cheney's comment to Leahy. My husband asked him if he kissed his wife with that mouth. The guy stormed off. His wife seemed annoyed.

Madelinezapeezda had a sign about how the Dems had gone to war in Kosovo, with a reference rebutting Kerry's "because we had to" comment from the Dem convention. I had my old trusty waffle sign (Where do you stand today, John?), a "We're not Fonda Hanoi John" sign and "Kerry/Edwards are so 9/10/01 in a post-9/11 world."

I was interviewed by a reporter from the Minneapolis (Red) Star-Tribune, which should be interesting. I told him that Kerry was no Kennedy. I'll check tomorrow's online version to see how accurately I'm quoted.


TOPICS: Activism/Chapters; Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Ohio; US: Pennsylvania; US: West Virginia
KEYWORDS: aar; edwards; kerry; kerrytour; westvirginia
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More protesters joined us till we eventually had about 50. GOP organizers showed up with a bullhorn and a sound system. Unfortunately, Flipper couldn't make it. By the time all the attendees had rounded the corner and been admitted to the Heritage Port riverfront park, we walked a few blocks to a point we figured the Kerry buses would turn. Sure enough, eventually a bunch of buses showed up. Frankly, we're not sure which one bore Kerry, et al., but waved signs, flipflops and the like at everyone.

After we were sure all the buses had entered the rally area and unloaded, some of us headed back down the street, saw a FOX news camera, and stood around for a while. I was interviewed by a reporter for the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. She commented on my waffle sign and asked if I had clipped the photos from the front of an Eggo Waffles box. I said, no, they're from a box of storebrand Kroger waffles; I can't afford Eggo because I'm not John Kerry. She laughed.

Whew. More as I think of it; MZ, please feel free to add when you get a chance.

1 posted on 07/31/2004 6:05:44 PM PDT by mountaineer
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Afterfreep report from Kerry's first visit to Wheeling, WV in April, here.
2 posted on 07/31/2004 6:06:38 PM PDT by mountaineer
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To: mountaineer

I LOVE FREEPERS !


3 posted on 07/31/2004 6:07:50 PM PDT by ChadGore (Vote Bush. He's Earned It.)
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To: sonsofliberty2000; MadelineZapeezda; estrogen; FreeInWV

Here you go.


4 posted on 07/31/2004 6:08:07 PM PDT by mountaineer
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To: mountaineer

Good job, folks!! Sounds like the front lines are pretty rough out there.


5 posted on 07/31/2004 6:09:26 PM PDT by JustaCowgirl (The Democratic party has been hijacked by terrorists.)
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To: mountaineer

Your a great American, mountaineer!


6 posted on 07/31/2004 6:10:07 PM PDT by anniegetyourgun
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To: anniegetyourgun

your=you're


7 posted on 07/31/2004 6:10:32 PM PDT by anniegetyourgun
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To: mountaineer

Cool as a møøse! Way to go West Virginia.


8 posted on 07/31/2004 6:12:01 PM PDT by NonValueAdded ("I actually was going to throw like a man before I threw like a girl." JFK 7/25/2004)
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To: mountaineer
Of course, we got the usual stupid irrational comments, including those from children waving "Bushit" and "Buck Fush" bumper stickers (isn't that lovely?).

I got "into it" this month with the local head of the Dems. (a trial lawyer). After the Democrats had a WHOLE DISPLAY of such filthy "bumper stickers" on display at their booth in our park during the 4th of July. They were displaying this garbage with young children around.

The left's brians are just wired wrong. They are mentally ill. It does not even occur to them that most parent do not want their 7 year olds reading BULL$HIT and asking what it means. Morons!

9 posted on 07/31/2004 6:12:11 PM PDT by isthisnickcool (Strategery - "W" plays poker with one hand and chess with the other.)
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Mr. M just told me that when the Kerry convoy arrived, one of the vehicles - a large SUV, the horror! - had an open roof from which a news photographer videotaped the anti-Kerry protesters. Could it be we'll actually make the mainstream media newscasts?


10 posted on 07/31/2004 6:12:28 PM PDT by mountaineer
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To: mountaineer

God bless you all.


11 posted on 07/31/2004 6:15:00 PM PDT by Bahbah
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To: mountaineer
People need to start showing up with signs that say "John Kerry called [ me / my dad / my brother / my uncle / ect.. ] a war criminal."
12 posted on 07/31/2004 6:17:24 PM PDT by counterpunch (The CouNTeRPuNcH Collection - www.counterpunch.us)
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Another vignette from today's freep: one of the participants on our side was a young woman from Estonia who played college basketball (she's 6'10") at the nearby state college where my husband works. Born under Soviet rule, she's been in this country for several years and is a very enthusiastic Bush supporter. We thought she'd become a citizen, but she said she hasn't. She's hoping to play professionally in Europe next year, and has been working with handicapped adults in Wheeling since college. Every time she heard Edwards tell some whopper (we could hear but not see him), she'd get disgusted and say, "Oh, come on!!"
13 posted on 07/31/2004 6:17:29 PM PDT by mountaineer
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To: mountaineer

What, no pictures?


14 posted on 07/31/2004 6:18:30 PM PDT by tuckrdout (Grant Teri Schindler (Schiavo) her wish: A DIVORCE!)
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To: mountaineer
Excellant job!

Supporters of U.S. President George W. Bush protest the arrival of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry at a rally in Wheeling, West Virginia, July 31, 2004. Kerry set off from Boston on Friday with running mate John Edwards in a fleet of behemoth blue buses. They were bound on two-week, 21-state marathon that will take them 3,500-miles (5,600 km) by road, rail and boat. REUTERS/Jim Young US ELECTION

15 posted on 07/31/2004 6:20:30 PM PDT by KS Flyover
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To: isthisnickcool

What would you expect from that party that pretends they like children?

Only to oppose vouchers.

Not to mention their support of abortion on demand.


16 posted on 07/31/2004 6:22:05 PM PDT by proudpapa (of three.)
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To: tuckrdout
We freepers didn't have digitals with us. Once my film is developed, I'll see what I can do about posting the pix here, but it was too late to get it processed tonight (this is a small town, after all - no all-night photo processing!).
17 posted on 07/31/2004 6:22:21 PM PDT by mountaineer
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To: KS Flyover

I'm so glad to see that Reuters photo! It shows that we had a lot of young people there. Most of our group were highschool and college aged, which gives some reason to hope!


18 posted on 07/31/2004 6:25:01 PM PDT by mountaineer
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To: mountaineer; All

Distribute this post to everybody who wonders
about President Bush
and his service during Vietnam.

George W Bush's military record vs John Kerry's military record

Aerospaceweb.org was started in 2000 to provide information regarding a wide range
of aerospace-related fields, including aircraft design, spacecraft design, aerodynamics,
and aerospace history.

http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/history/q0185.shtml

...Nevertheless, we have established that the F-102 was serving in combat in Vietnam at the time Bush
enlisted to become an F-102 pilot. In fact, pilots from the 147th FIG of the Texas ANG were
routinely rotated to Vietnam for combat duty under a program called "Palace Alert" from 1968 to 1970.
Palace Alert was an Air Force program that sent qualified F-102 pilots from the ANG to bases in Europe
or southeast Asia for periods of three to six months for frontline duty.
Fred Bradley, a friend of Bush's who was also serving in the Texas ANG, reported that he and Bush
inquired about participating in the Palace Alert program. However, the two were told by a superior,
MAJ Maurice Udell, that they were not yet qualified since they were still in training
and did not have the 500 hours of flight experience required. Furthermore, ANG veteran
COL William Campenni, who was a fellow pilot in the 111th FIS at the time,
told the Washington Times that Palace Alert was winding down and not accepting new applicants....
...
The point of this discussion is that the military record of George W. Bush deserves a fair treatment.
Bush has been criticized for avoiding service in Vietnam, though the evidence proves that
the Texas Air National Guard and its F-102 pilots where serving in Vietnam while Bush was in training.
Bush has been criticized for using his family influence to obtain his assignment,
but the evidence shows that he successfully completed every aspect of the more than
two years of training required of him.
Bush has been criticized for pursuing a safe and plush position as a fighter pilot,
but the evidence indicates the F-102 was a demanding aircraft whose pilots regularly risked their lives.
Bush has also been criticized for deserting the Guard before his enlistment was complete,
but the evidence shows he was honorably discharged eight months early because his position
was being phased out...
...
While it is not our goal to compare and contrast the records of the candidates on this subject,
the fact that the questioner cites John Kerry's military service makes us feel it necessary to comment.
It is interesting to note that there are just as many, if not more,
irregularities in Kerry's military record as there are in Bush's.
Kerry can certainly be praised for some of the actions he performed while in the line of duty,
but his record does contain some troubling portions as well.
Not the least of these is his involvement in the controversial group
Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) while he was still an active-duty member of the US Navy.
Kerry's testimony before Congress as VVAW spokesman in 1971,
during which he accused soldiers serving in Vietnam of being war criminals,
was found to be based on largely falsifed information as documented by Wikipedia.
The Boston Globe has also reported on troubling accusations regarding the circumstances
surrounding Kerry's medals, particularly his first two purple hearts awarded for
minor injuries that may even have been self-inflicted.

John Kerry's record

http://www.scaryjohnkerry.com/vietnam.htm

DD 214 shows 17 Feb 72 terminal date of Reserve Obligation for John Kerry

http://www.johnkerry.com/pdf/jkmilservice/DD214.pdf

Kerry's anti war activities were doing this period!

What is Senator John Kerry's relationship to VVAW?

http://www.vvaw.org/faq/#4

Since Vietnam Veterans Against the War's inception in 1967, tens of thousands of vets, GIs and supporters have participated in and supported the actions of VVAW. One of those members in the early 1970s was John Kerry. Kerry was appointed to the VVAW Executive Committee to assist in preparing Dewey Canyon III, VVAW's limited incursion into the land of Congress in 1971 (Nicosia, 98-99). Kerry made his greatest contribution to the anti-war movement and to VVAW in his speech to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on April 23, 1971 (Brinkley, 371-373: Hunt, 109-110; Nicosia, 136-138; Wells, 495).

Content of the speech is found at:

http://lists.village.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/Resources/Primary/Manifestos/VVAW_Kerry_Senate.html.

By 1972, John Kerry had moved on from VVAW (Brinkley, 406: Hunt, 127-128; Nicosia, 211).

John Kerry's service in Vietnam lasted 4 months and 12 days, beginning in November 1968 when he reported to Cam Rahn Bay for a month of training. His abbreviated combat tour ended shortly after he requested a transfer out of Vietnam on March 17, 1969, citing Navy instruction 1300.39 permitting personnel with three Purple Hearts to request reassignment. So far as we are able to determine, Kerry was the only Swift sailor ever to leave Vietnam without completing the standard one-year tour of duty, other than those who were seriously wounded or killed.



The instruction, titled 1300.39, says that a Naval officer who requires hospitalization on two separate occasions, or who receives three wounds "regardless of the nature of the wounds," can ask a superior officer to request a reassignment. The instruction makes clear the reassignment is not automatic.

It says that the reassignment "will be determined after consideration of his physical classification for duty and on an individual basis." Because Kerry's wounds were not considered serious, his reassignment appears to have been made on an individual basis. Moreover, the instruction makes clear that Kerry could have asked that any reassignment be waived.

The bottom line is that Kerry could have remained but he chose to seek an early transfer. He met with Horne, who agreed to forward the request, which Horne said probably ensured final approval. The Navy could not say how many other officers or sailors got a similar early release from combat, but it was unusual for anyone to have three Purple Hearts.

http://www.swiftvets.com/index.php?topic=KerryinVietnam

"So far as we are able to determine, Kerry was the only Swift sailor
ever to leave Vietnam without completing the standard one-year tour of duty,
other than those who were seriously wounded or killed."


19 posted on 07/31/2004 6:26:47 PM PDT by 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub (Hanoi Jane and Hanoi Kerry sitting in a tree F-R-E-N-C-H-I-N-G)
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To: mountaineer
"We're not Fonda Hanoi John"

I like that :0) Did you think of that?

Way to go, freepers!

20 posted on 07/31/2004 6:28:49 PM PDT by tame (Are you willing to do for the truth what leftists are willing to do for a lie?)
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