DC Chapter FReeps Code Pink at Walter Reed (2nd Round)

DC Chapter ^ | April 18, 2005 | BillF

[BillF]

On Friday night, April 15, DC Chapter FReepers conducted a FReep of Code Pink's anti-war protest at the gate of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where many of the most severely wounded troops from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan are taken for continued treatment and rehabilitation.

The honor roll of those in attendance: tgslTakoma, kristinn, Doctor Raoul, hellinahandcart, sauropod, Jimmy Valentine's brother, BufordP, and BillF. Except for a few minutes when the Code Pinkos who arrived late overlapped with those who left early, we outnumbered them during the FReep. My photos are below.

The announcement of the FReep is here, which also includes the Code Pink (CP) announcement. CP claims that the wounded troops are being brought into Walter Reed under cover of night (hence their scheduling the protest at night) to hide the wounded. The military in turn says that the troops usually arrive at nearby Andrews Air Force Base in the late afternoon, simply because of flight schedules leaving Europe and the Middle East in the morning. The patients are then bussed to Walter Reed after the horrible Washington rush hour traffic has died down so that they are not stuck ion the buses so long.

A goal of CP and their related groups is to exploit the wounded for CP's "anti-war," America-hating propaganda. The ridiculous argument is "these wounded troops have suffered so much that the war must be wrong."  Of course, World War II caused severe wounds for a considerably greater number of  U.S. troops than those wounded in Iraq.  However, the number and severity of the wounds did not undercut the reasons for U.S. military action in WWII, anymore than present wounds undercut the reasons for our current military actions.

Another apparent goal of CP setting up at Walter Reed is to recruit  soldiers, who are John Kerry-wannabes, a task that becomes harder when FReepers are across the street publicizing the fact that Code Pink leader Medea Benjamin has bragged about the $650 K that her groups raised for "the other side" (her words) in Fallujah, Iraq.

On this night, it was clear that we knocked CP back on their heels and left them trying to figure out how to respond to our very effective counter-protest to their protest. A couple weeks back, CP sent three disruptors to stand next to us, one of them ranting about killing people and saying that he had a gun in his pocket (click here). That CP tactic failed miserably with the three leftists fleeing down a side street, shedding their outer clothing to avoid identification, just before a police officer arrived in response to our phone calls. 

As we did a couple weeks earlier, we positioned ourselves diagonally across from the hate-America leftists at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and the Walter Reed exit road. Neither we or the leftists were calling for honking of horns in this hospital zone, but some motorists honked anyway. It must give the leftists fits that, in liberal Washington, DC, more cars were honking to support our anti-CP pro-troops side than their hate-America side. 

Photos are below. I took photos of the Code Pinkos, but they are too dark to publish. They were sufficient to id someone as a Code Pinko if one had tried disrupting us as they had last time.

Towards the end of the evening, I saw that we were being covertly video taped from behind by a guy who was trying to keep a low profile, standing in the shadows with two friends. I took several photos of him, his friends, and their car license plates for id purposes. When I started photographing them, the two friends jumped in their car and drove away. The video guy came out from behind us, but kept his distance as he relocated down the street from us and continued video taping us.

I'm guessing that this was a leftist covert surveillance. Or, maybe they planned something more aggressive and were scared off by being photographed, especially since their car license plates were captured in photos. The three apparently were not seen with the Code Pinkos, but they might have been called in by phone.  At any rate, I'll just hold onto the photos at this stage.

After the Pinkos took down their signs, two of them came over to ask about the animal on hellinahandcart's great sign (photo below). I didn't catch most of the conversation.  As they were leaving, one of Pinkos, apparently upset by Doctor Raoul's devastatingly truthful sign (see below), said something like "it's very unChristian of you to throw around words like that."

Having outlasted CP, who left before us, we packed our signs. As we were getting ready to go, a young woman walked up and asked what was going on. After being told that we were countering the now-gone Code Pinkos who sent $650 K worth of  support to the other side at Fallujah, the woman expressed her outrage about CP. She was a soldier, who lost sight in one eye, after being injured from an IED in Iraq over a year ago. We thanked her for her service.

Half of our group relocated to an undisclosed location for post-FReep food and drink. It was a well-deserved celebration of another fun and victorious FReep.

CLICK ON ANY PHOTO AND A NEW WINDOW WILL OPEN WITH A LARGER, HIGHER-RESOLUTION VERSION OF THE PHOTO.

BufordP, hellinahandcart, and tgslTakoma hold tgslTakoma's magnificent MOAB. This Mother of All Banners first saw action against Code Pinkos in Fayetteville, NC last month and continues as our "shock and awe" weapon in our war of words with CP.	Doctor Raoul with his sign that, like the MOAB, helped us rock the Code Pinkos' world.
tgslTakoma, kristinn, Jimmy Valentine's brother, and sauropod.	hellinahandcart holds the sign that was the pretext for two Pinkos to come over.
Jimmy Valentine's brother with sauropod in back.	tgslTakoma and BufordP.

[Humidston]

You guys are the greatest!

[BillF]

Here is a different version of the AP story, which includes the references to Global Exchange (parent group of Code Pink) and Media Benjamin, main founder of Code Pink and Global Exchange:

Iraq Car Bomb Kills American Activist
Associated Press ^ | 4/17/05 | Associated Press

Posted on 04/17/2005 5:10:12 PM PDT by jimbo123

SAN FRANCISCO - A woman who founded a humanitarian group to aid civilian casualties in Iraq has died in a car bombing in Baghdad, officials said Sunday.

Marla Ruzicka, founder of Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict, died Saturday in the blast, which also killed an Iraqi and another foreigner, officials said. She had been in Iraq conducting door-to-door surveys trying to determine the number of civilian casualties in the country.

[snip]

Ruzicka got her start working for non-governmental organizations 10 years ago at the San Francisco-based human rights group Global Exchange.

"It's a terrible tragedy and a tragic irony that somebody who devoted her life to helping the victims of war would herself become a victim of war," said Medea Benjamin, the group's director. [emphasis added]

CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THAT THREAD.

AP calls Global Exchange a "human rights group." AP should more accurately describe it as a "left-wing anti-capitalist group."

I wonder if the car bomb components were purchased by terrorists trading some of the supplies that Medea Benjamin is so proud of providing to "the other side" (her words) in Fallujah.

[BillF]

I read somewhere that it's within the discretion of the committee chairman whether disruptors at a committee hearing are arrested or simply ejected. The same article said that Senator Lugar, chairman of the committee holding the hearings for Bolton, opted to simply eject the CP disruptors.

Maybe Lugar was thinking that arresting the Code Pinkos would simply help them raise more funds and, thus, backfire. At any rate, the Code Pinkos who disrupt should have their photos on file on a "do not admit" list at the Senate guard stations.

When some Pinkos disrupted the speech and Q&A session of Sec. Def. Rumsfeld at the National Press Club, the Pinkos were ejected and banned for life from the NPC. The Congress should start banning these serial disruptors.

maica, are you close enough to join us this Friday and counter the Pinkos in person? Keep in mind that sauropod, who lives further away from DC than Baltimore is, joins us for numerous of the DC FReeps.

[BillF]

I'm not aware of anything scheduled for those dates, but maybe kristinn can answer?

At any rate, between kristinn, Buford and I, one of us should remember to contact you.

Are you really posted in Fallujah itself or are you in the Baghdad area or elsewhere in country? At any rate, be careful over there. Hope to see you in May.

[JarheadFromFlorida]

[["It's a terrible tragedy and a tragic irony that somebody who devoted her life to helping the victims of war would herself become a victim of war," said Medea Benjamin, the group's director. [emphasis added] ]]

Yep, it's true.....Islamofascist terrorists hate liberals too! Someday they might fugure that out, but I doubt it.

[BillF]

Sign-maker and video-maker together.

You're a talented couple and I'm always proud to stand with you and rest of our FReepers.

[sauropod]

I mentioned to Kristinn at the FReep that I wanted to disrupt some of their events (especially after what Gael Murphy has been doing lately).

He does not think disrupting their events are a good idea. I do not share that view, however, he is the group co-leader.

Code Pinko are scum!

[sauropod]

Danke Schoen.

[BillF]

How about coming out in person and bringing your own signs, as well us helping us double check the signs on site? We could use an official sign-checker and I appreciate your helpful and thoughtful comments.

Keep in mind that sauropod, who lives further away from DC than Baltimore is, joins us for numerous of the DC FReeps.

I've botched signs before. Spelled "Saddam" with one "d" when I was making the sign late at night. Wish you could have saved me from that error. I also made a mistake similar to the grammar error on the Doctor's sign.

Relative to the MOAB, the $ sign is separated from the 2 by a space. Thus, it says "giving $ 2 terrorists" and was easily understood by the Pinkos and others. You're right, of course, that "$$$" would be better, but the banner maker did not have the space for that and probably did not want to either reduce font size for that line or to sew on an extension piece on that line.

Relative to the sign of Doctor Raoul, it would be good to catch those before a sign is used (hence my invite to you to come and help us in that regard). However, Doctor Raoul is the EverReady bunny of FReeping and his contributions dwarf those of 99.9 percent of FReepers. I would take the Doctor of FReep over a thousand FReepers who've never gone out in person to FReep leftists.

I should be clear that I'm NOT saying or implying that you are in the group who've never had the courage and drive to FReep in person. I know that you're trying to help. I appreciate that and hope that you will kindly join us in person this Friday for the time of your life.

[BillF]

When the Code Pinkos demonstrated against Fox News in spring of 2003, DC Chapter members FReeped them.

Jimmy Valentine's brother (JVB) was booming at them something like, "You shouldn't have taken the brown acid at Woodstock, you're stuck in a 60's quagmire flashback."

A few weeks later, we were FReeping ANSWER and JVB was using the same rant. I told him most of the leftists walking by us weren't even born when Woodstock happened. Without missing a beat, he chanted "your parents shouldn't have taken the brown acid at Woodstock." I still laugh when I think of that.

[BillF]

Hope to see you Friday.

[Mr. Silverback]

He does not think disrupting their events are a good idea. I do not share that view, however, he is the group co-leader.

Never, ever act like the Left.

Never, ever give their allies in the media reason to dismiss you as thugs.

[ariamne]

"One of their own died at the hands of the people they're supporting, they're mindless lemmings, I tell ya."
_________________________________________________

Dollars to donuts they will claiim it was an American bomb. I don't have the stomach to go to DU to confirm my instincts.

[maica]

That article may be an AP dateline, but it reads like a direct PR release from Global Exchange itself.

I hope to join you at Walter Reed some Friday night. My car is not very reliable right now, so I am a long 40 miles way!

[BillF]

I had forgotten about the Gypsy, the Acid Queen from Tommy. You're going to give me a 60s flashback.

You got a sign that simultaneously references both Woodstock and Tommy. I'm impressed.

For this Friday, how about making a sign that has allusions to both Elton John's "The Bitch is Back" and the Rolling Stones "You Can't Always Get What You Want?" I'm kidding, but the later has very appropriate lines for the Pinkos, especially the last lines below with added bold emphasis:

No, you can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometime you find
You get what you need

We went down to the demonstration
To get our fair share of abuse
Singing, "We're gonna vent our frustration
If we don't we're gonna blow a 50-amp fuse"

[snip]

I saw her today at the reception
In her glass was a bleeding man
She was practiced at the art of deception
Well I could tell by her blood-stained hands

[BillF]

What did the Pinkos do at the Cherry Blossom celebration?

Look forward to seeing you this Friday.

[BillF]

DC Chapter misses the Taxman.

I like to say "FReep'em if you've got'em!"

[BillF]

If you FReepmail me your approx location, I would be happy to try to match you with someone who could give you a ride.

[Deetes]

I'm up here in the great white north !!! Alaska .... Which is trying to start to turn green.

I hope your feeling better !!!

I have done the phone card packages. Seems to be one good way to make the Troops lifes a little better :)

[armymarinemom]

Have you checked the web sites of the CPUSA, ANSWER, Occupation Watch, UPJ, WWP and International Action Center. They have done some major restructuring this past month. Steering Committees often lack names and have a ton of broken links. It looks like they have working once again to be more ubiquitous. On the CPUSA for example the link for the Peace and Justice coalition of Michiana takes you to a file not found on the University of Norte Dame web server. UPJ seems to have broken links with ANSWER.

From what I can gather so far things were reorganized after an April 1st 2005 meeting.