but you were eager to get the below photos from this.
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Finally, my photos and sound files from the WHCA dinner and also my notes of some media personalities that we saw.
Photos with borders are hyperlinked. Click on one and it will open in a new window. Click on another and it should open in the same window as the others.
I also have a few sound files (all WAV format). You can click on the links and your browser should open them. Or you can right click and "save us" to save to your hard drive for later listening.
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Doctor Raoul as evil spy Boris Badnenov outside the WHCA. SOUND FILE (10 sec, 108 K): Click here for the too funny |
FReeper Sign directing press towards their quagmire dinner. |
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Lurker Lauren and bstein80 as David "crybaby" Gregory |
sauropod and hellinahandcart |
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WW II Bronze Star winner Wheelbarrow and DollyCali, who |
These pretty, young women joined us for a few minutes. |
The three nice young women (photo above right), and a few friends of theirs were among, the friendly pedestrians who happened upon our group. There was also a nice young couple with the guy admitting to be one of the few GOPers living in the DuPont Circle area.
There were also the obligatory negative responses typical for liberals that dominate DC providing further evidence that Lenny Bruce was right about at least one thing. He said, "a liberal is someone who is so understanding that he doesn't understand anyone not as understanding as he is."
As an SUV drove by, one of its riders shouted and flipped us off. On the other hand, a woman riding in a different SUV laughed in appreciation at some of our signs as the male driver gave us a thumbs up.
SOUND FILE (2.95 M, 280 sec): Click here for a long file of a stealth liberal (he pretends that he wants us to win the war in Iraq) variously debate with sauropod, kristinn, and myself. He denies that the media has liberal bias, claims wrongly and broadly that Ralph Nader was NOT on the ballot in 2004, tells us that we "need to read more newspapers" (not too condescending), repeats the old liberal complaint about President Bush not attending U.S. troops' funerals, and praises CNN. This liberal went ballistic and left in a huff when I point out that anti-gay anti-troop anti-U.S. hate-monger Fred Phelps (who demonstrates at troop funerals) was a 1988 Al Gore Democratic convention delegate. Says that I need to get my facts straight and he won't talk to me.
[[BLOCK QUOTE THIS] Relative to the all-knowing liberal, here are the facts, as published on the non-partisan Answers.com here (and numerous other places on the internet) on the Phelps-Gore connection that he says I need to get straight:
[BLOCKQUOTE]In the 1980s, the Phelps family were strong political allies with then-senator Al Gore. The home of Fred Jr., Phelps' eldest son, located in the Westboro compound, acted as Gore's campaign quarters for one of his senate races, and the Westboro compound was host to a fundraiser. Numerous photos exist on the internet of Fred Phelps Jr. and his second wife, Betty Phelps-Schurle, posing with Al and Tipper Gore in Phelps Jr.'s home. Phelps also served as a Gore delegate on the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta in 1988.
[END DOUBLE BLOCKQUOTE]
During an interaction with a early to mid twenties couple, the guy started telling us that the U.S. was losing in Iraq. I explained that (paraphrasing here): "No, we've won in Iraq and it just remains a question of whether we have the political will to sustain what is already a victory." This liberal guy says "over 2000 dead, you can't believe were winning." I said, "We mourn every one of those troops who died, including the over 700 who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country in Iraq last year, but we also keep war in perspective. Over 43,000 Americans died in traffic accidents last year and that didn't involve liberating a country or leading to three fair elections in a land that never had real elections. Hundreds of thousands of Americans die every year from smoking and obesity, both preventable conditions. Turning to war history, many more Americans died in WWII's Battle of the Bulge in six weeks than have died in over 3 years in Iraq. And that was when the military effort of Germany's National Socialists or Nazis was already in full death rattle."
At that stage, the guy, who had begin walking away silently, unable to offer any contrary facts, became annoyed that his girlfriend actually was listening to me. He sternly looked at her and induced her to walk away with him. At that stage, BufordP started calling out to them, "Quit, run. Run away before you hear any more facts. The truth might hurt you." They beat a hasty retreat with the guy looking downtrodden like he had just suffered the ultimate put-down in front of his girlfriend. (Then again, she probably already knew that he's a wuss and she's just using him for amusement until a real man, such as one of our brave troops, steps up.)
A long distance view of some of the FReepers with some pedestrians passing..
Closer view of FReepers.
Another view of some FReepers.
Jimmy Valentine's brother takes a well deserved break, after spending much time in carnival barker mode, in front of three of the
great FReeper signs. At least the ones on the ends were made made by staytrue, who came all the way from his temporary Ohio
location to FReep with us.
SOUND FILE (10 sec, 113 K): Click here, Jimmy Valentine's brother promotes the CNN pacifiers. (Pacifiers shown in photo in sauropod's great report starting this thread.)
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Michael Barone crosses the street towards us. |
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Julian Bond starts to deviate from the cross-walk to avoid walking |
Bond is completely out of the cross-walk as BufordP looks on. |
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Chris Matthews and wife Kathleen Matthews, a local news anchor |
Despite Julian Bond's attempt to side step us per above two photos, sauropod ("How's the race hustling going?") and BufordP ("Whitey, right. It's whitey's fault."), among others, nailed him verbally from a distance. My thought was "Ah, that's going to leave a mark." Bond did not respond. SOUND FILE (26 sec, 281 K): Click here to hear our gentle verbal skewering of Bond. Chris Matthews and his wife, Kathleen, a local TV news anchor, arrived incredibly late and avoided us the way liberals avoid facts or peaceniks avoid soap. They were still in earshot as I shouted, "Michelle Malkin is saving you a table" and Angelwood shouted, "I've got a pacifier for you, binky." Among others spotted long before Matthews: David Shuster of CNN, Jamie Colby of Fox, Fareed Zakaria of ABC News "This Week," Steve Doocy of Fox News "Fox & Friends," Victoria Toensing and husband Joe DeGeneva (gave them a thumbs up), Congressman Edward Markey (D-MA) (some FReeper told him that we don't like him), Joe Strup from Editor and Publisher, Wolfe Blitzer of CNN, Brett Bauer of Fox News (who won the award for knowing that Sgt. Paul Smith posthumously won the Congressional Medal of Honor for action in Iraq), James Rosen of Fox News, John Podesta, former WH Chief of Staff for the only impeached President since just after the Civil War (he had no idea who Sgt. Paul Smith was), Dana Milbank of the WashPost (who refused to stop to answer the Smith question for the $5 Starbucks gift certificate), Lou Dobbs of CNN (who waved in response to BufordP saying "How are doing?"), Stephen Hayes of The Weekly Standard, Jay Carney of Newsweek and his wife, Claire Shipman, of ABC News, Armstrong Williams and Suzanne Malveaux of CNN, Carl Cameron of Fox News, and Lanny Davis, the Clintons' sock puppet. Liberal talk show host and occasional Fox News guest Ellen Ratner later took an elevator with BufordP and I. Recognizing her as she got out of the elevator, Buford told her that "Hannity could kick her butt." She stopped and chatted. I don't have the audio of the chat with her, but I have the audio of Buford and I discussing the funny conversation. SOUND FILE (100 sec, 1 M): Click here. |
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Post FReep, staytrue watches as BufordP and Jimmy |
Double rows of limos parked in the street on both sides as I left |
After the FReep, many of us relocated to the restaurant to watch the C-SPAN broadcast of the White House Correspondent's Dinner, including the hilarious performance by President Bush appearing with Bush-impressionist Steve Bridges. Jimmy Valentine's brother got rowdy, in a funny way, to the point that BufordP told the waitress that "We'll try to keep him away from the other patrons." The waitress, got into the fun, by saying that "if he keeps going, I'll have to make him use one of those," gesturing to the jumbo CNN baby pacifiers. See photo, above left.
Despite the record gas prices and the constant news stories about our excess gas consumption hurts our country, the news media came in fleets of gas-guzzling limos, the natural home of the limousine liberal. There were rare media in a few cabs or regular vehicles. Maybe fewer actually took public transportation, although we couldn't tell that.
At any rate, after the President's speech and the first few minutes of incredibly unfunny Steven Colbert, I left ahead of the crowd, and spotted huge double rows (see one photo, above right) of limos lining both sides of the main road and waiting for their celebrities. These WHCA are the same reporters telling us that we have to give up our SUVs, lest we help Arab radicals and cause global warming. And it seems that they hired every limo on the East coast. Where were the bikes, skateboards, and wind-powered wagons? Nowhere to be found.
The DC area gas price probably would have been a few cents lower had the WHCA required all attendees to use public transportation or non-gas methods (walking, biking, etc.) to attend, excepting those having legitimate security or medical reasons requiring other modes of transport.
I later found out that staytrue had left at the end. As he recounted in one of his great posts on this thread, his car was boxed in by security road closings. Being a good FReeper, he immediately made a sign that said "CALL 911/ COLBERT'S CAREER JUST DIED." This caused hysterically laughter among those who had just seen the comedian "die" on stage in a awful performance.
Anyway, the next day, I got a photo of that spur-of-the-moment sign. I added some brightness and contrast.
It was great FReeping with all, especially those who made such a long trip to FReep including Bert (TN), Dinsour (CN), staytrue (OH), DollyCali (OH), Wheelbarrow (OH), and GunsAreOK (VA, but really far from DC).