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It's been six years since President Bush launched an attack on - not Iraq, not Bagdad, not a country and its people, but - Saddam Hussein -- Saddam Hussein and; those who would attack the U.S. And on this anniversary day, Brian Becker, Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (A.N.S.W.E.R.) or cANSWER ("CANCER") as we like to call it, organized his scruffy, useless, parasitic contingent to march on Washington once again.
The DC Chapter has been there each time to counter protest. In the early years, cANSWER was able round up great numbers to support their call for "Money for jobs, money for education, money for healthcare, money for yadayada", oh, I mean "STOP THE WAR!". That's right, I forgot. The protest agenda was to stop the war - not socialize the country. I keep forgetting.
In those early years of Bush Derangement Syndrome, the commie youth came to Washington in huge, very intimidating numbers. We could only muster maybe a few hundred. (There was the great Gathering of Eagles event 2 years ago where we DID greatly outnumber them even when their numbers were still high.)
It's not easy facing off tens of thousands of agitating "peaceniks" with such a disparity in numbers. But we did it.
This year, even with our meager 20-plus group, it seemed much easier. cANSWER could drum up ... maybe two thousand. Maybe. I guess it's getting harder for Brian Becker now that he has a President forwarding his socialist agenda in spades without Brian's help. For what purpose will cANSWER serve in the coming years? Most of his followers are getting what they want now - money for jobs, money for education, money for ... oh, the war?! Yeah, we're still in Iraq and Afghanistan but, Obama's President now. It's okay if a Democrat's in the White House.
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What once was a worldwide movement of hundreds of thousands, maybe millions is now down to a dozen here,a dozen there, a few hundred in San Fran, and nary a thousand in DC. So was it really about the war. Or Bush Derangement Syndrome.
We assembled on a corner of the street that accesses the Arlington Memorial Circle Drive from the southeast near the entrance to the cemetery itself. We were not allowed on the circle itself. The Park Service told us cANSWER secured permits for the entire circle and would be occupying the circle. Of course they did not occupy the circle. They just wanted to keep us off and it worked. But that's okay. I think the stretch of road we occupied made it possible for us to engage them for a much longer period of time.
Most of us got there around 11am. And for the next two and a half hours we held signs to traffic and passers by. We got great response from almost everyone. Everyone except the occassional "support the troops but not the war" pseudo-patriots. Then there's the "my country sucks" anti-American. Fraxinus made sure these hatriots got a good look at our Jane Fonda Traitor effigy we had on a large pole so you could easily carry it around.
1:30pm start seeing a few marchers coming across the bridge from the Lincoln Memorial...Well, let my 15 year old niece, Kauri, describe the scene to you. I had her write down her thoughts and this is what she had to say:
That's right, Kauri. These people are not like us. They're dain bramaged.
Bread throwing, swearing, and "flipping of the bird", are all major components of your typical war protester.
These people were in obvious need of some shampoo and common sense. Out of the two it's hard to decide which should come first. They don't like the war, neither does anyone else, but we need this war, not "jobs and schools."
This war is the only reason they are free to protest in the streets of D.C. There are men fighting to keep America safe and free even for people who don't understand why we need this war. What's more sad is some people think the government should pay for their healthcare. They want to have the money of hard working citizens spent on them, while they choose to not work at all. Now does that sound right? Like my uncle told me, it's like, "Why should the D student be given a percentage of your hard earned A?" Doesn't seem right at all to any person with common sense, but these people are not like us, they are war protesters!
JoyJoyFromNJ, Lurker Bill, and I had "GO TO HELL, TRAITORS" banner duty. As the passed our corner, the three of us carried the banner down the street in front of the marchers so they would have an additional 250 yards to view it.
Other FReepers, Eagles, Patriots, and lurkers in attentance were:
Yorktownpatriot and his son Darthyorktown
rlmorel (Massachusetts)Saturday was another great day to be a American!
Darthyorktown and I, decided to rally with our Freeper compatriots at Arlington circle on this sunny day.
Links to related photo
credited to: Age of Hooper
This was our first time standing against the ANSWER cretins solely with Free Republic. Darth aptly held the hanging effigy of the traitorous Hanoi Jane Fonda much to the moonbats consternation. I displayed the "Che is dead,Get over it" sign.
It seemed to arouse the hatred of some Che supporters on the other side. One particularly "peaceful" protester in a fake London Fog raincoat, threw his sign, stake first,in Darth's direction.
Lucky for this cretin it missed his intended target. After all was said and done..our side and our viewpoints were indeed seen and heard by those who despise our patriotic ways. Thank You fellow Freepers, for allowing us to have been a part of this noble endeavor. We will always remember the feeling of oneness and purpose against the scurrilous enemies of freedom.
Take care and stay safe,
Darth and I were honored to be among
Veeram and I first heard about this event last month, and decided to arrive early to participate in the Walter Reed Freep on Friday as well. It was cold on Friday night, but we got a great response from the cars traveling down Georgia Avenue. We met Freepers flib and joy joy from nj for the first time. Several soldiers came out to speak with us, and we were glad to have the opportunity to thank them personally. They appreciated our counterbalance to the liberals, and made sure we knew.Veeram (Massachusetts)
The liberal antiwar protesters left early, which we find amusing. They know the response they are going to receive from the soldiers, and don't have the stomach to sit there and wait for it, which is fine by us. We give the troops a heartfelt thanks when they did show up. All in all, the evening was a pleasant (though chilly) chance to talk with other conservatives and feel the pulse of the community.
On Saturday morning, we began preparing early, leaving the house around 10:00 AM for the ride into Arlington. Trooprally checked in with the National Park Service, and we began to unload to equipment and signs, humping them over the fence and transporting it down to the site. We parked the cars, and as we began to walk back over the bridge, we came across Dr. Raoul and Lurker Bill. As we passed, there was a ceremony in progress at the Seabee memorial. Across the street, we encountered the car of "Bug Out Bill" Perry, one of the infamous VVAW liars who slandered our troops in the Winter Soldier hearings. It was not hard to pick out, and Drl. Raoul had it pegged immediately. Illegally parked, or course. We hoped it would get towed, but the police were engaged elsewhere.
Everything went up very well. We set up the tent, grabbed the signs and began to work the cars going around the circle. I find it heartening to observe this response from everyday people who just happen to be passing by. We had a tour bus go by, and most of the people gave us a wave or a thumbs up in response to the MOAB exhorting them to support our troops.
A news crew came over to film our group, and Dr. Raoul took the opportunity to discuss the nature of the protest with the reporter. Most Americans who see the footage of these protests on the evening news have no idea of the dynamics behind the funding, formation and organization of these antiwar protests. The antiwar protest today was sponsored by A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) which is a front for communist groups. I am certain that most Americans do not know that. The protests are well organized and well funded. The protesters are brought in on tour buses that someone paid to charter, the permits were paid for, the signs were purchased and printed.
When the antiwar protesters came over the Memorial Bridge, Dr. Raoul tested out the megaphone with the ditty "One Little, Two Little, Three Little Communists....Four Little, Five Little, Six Little Communists..." I sure was glad he was on our side today! The phalanx of mounted riot police came over the bridge first, followed by the protesters a short time later. Like our soldiers and Marines in Korea in 1950 who were forewarned of communist charges by the discordant noise of bugles and cymbals, we likewise could hear the advance of the protesters by the noise that preceded them. Although it only took twenty minutes to have the entire procession pass, it seemed much longer.
There was a heavy preponderance of high school age and college age people populating the ranks of the antiwar demonstrators. Most of them likely had no conception of the issues they were protesting for or against. It saddened me to realize how readily they we willing to accept a point of view without thinking, as Thomas Sowell puts it, past Stage One. They are too young for the most part to have any real world experiences with any of the issues other than what they have been told by their teachers/professors, or what they have seen on the news. Most were somewhat passive, but some were so ready to vocally and fanatically defend their position that it frankly startled me.
I had a young woman pause in front of me with a small, barely readable handwritten sign on a piece of brown cardboard that said: "Bombing for Peace is like F*cking for Virginity". Facing me with a smirk, she rested the sign on the fence, holding it with one hand while pointing at it with the other. I rested my sign on the fence, facing her, and without changing countenance, pointed to it with my other hand. My sign said, under a picture of US Marines under a US flag: "We Defend Your Right To Be A Clueless Moron".
Later, a fellow squared off in front of me and began to yell at me. His face was contorted with rage and spittle flew from his lips. He shouted "You fascist! How does it feel to be a fascist?" I admit I was dumbstruck at this accusation, and all I could do was look at him and say "Fascist? Are you kidding? Do you even know what a fascist is?" But he didn't hear me, as he was screaming the whole time, and continued on. According to one definition of "fascism", it is "a radical, authoritarian nationalist ideology that aims to create a single-party state with a government led by a dictator who seeks national unity and development by requiring individuals to subordinate self-interest to the collective interest of the nation or race." The irony of someone marching on that side of the fence calling me a fascist was too much to ignore, but what was more compelling to me was the fact that the irony was completely lost on that guy. I have heard that irony is lost on liberals, and if so, then this was proof.
One group passed and was chanting "You don't care about the troops! You don't care about the troops!" To my right, I could hear Freeper "flib" speaking to them over a megaphone saying "You don't know me. You don't know what I have been through." In conversations with her later, she told us of her firsthand personal experiences as both an Army wife and an employee with the Army with families who have experienced the tragedy of war. The vast majority of people on the other side of the fence, who carried signs saying things like "Stop Killing Iraqi Children" or "US Troops are Oppressors in the World" have little or no experience with military personnel or their families. They know next to nothing about about the military experience apart from what they learned from "Mailer and Coppola", as Barack Obama would say.
While this was going on, I became aware of a well dressed man in his mid-thirties, wearing an American Legion uniform. He had walked up next to me and was listening to this chant. I turned to look and saw a finely maintained handlebar mustache and dark eyes. In the next instant, he began yelling at the protesters. His emotion was evident, and he became so overcome he just turned around and walked away. I walked after him and asked if he was okay. He said he was, so I shook his hand, thanked him for his service and told him how grateful we were he had come out to stand with us. I realized later that he was the youngest man I had ever seen wearing a Legionnaire uniform.
As the protest was thinning out, a last group passed, and they were chanting "This is what Democracy looks like. That is what Hypocrisy looks like." while alternately pointing at themselves and then at us. Given that less than 30 yards behind them there was a large red banner with a hammer and sickle on it, I could only guess that not a single one of those people had any idea what democracy was. Liberals love to use hypocrisy as a slander or insult, but I could not understand what purported hypocrisy they were referring to. It made no sense, but that didn't surprise me. As the Hammer and Sickle banner passed by, I could hear Dr. Raoul and Flib pointing out that at last the real force behind the demonstration was showing itself.
The parade petered out, and the stragglers followed in groups of two or three. We postulated that perhaps they just couldn't get up in time to make it. Another group carring fake coffins with Palestinian flags dropped their carboard "coffins" on the ground, removed the Palestinian flags covering them. They left the boxes there, and we yelled at them to pick up after themselves and stop littering, but they paid us no heed.
During the course of this protest, these people threw soda cans at us, food and a poster on a stick. The police were too busy for such small assaults, and we weren't injured, so we let them pass.
We cleaned up, policed the site so there was nothing left behind, and drove off to have an early dinner at "Red Hot and Blue", a barbecue restaurant in Alexandria, VA. We toasted our troops, Ronald Reagan, and lastly, the Trooprally's who are so instrumental in organizing these events and making them happen.
We did not have the funding and resources of A.N.S.W.E.R, but we were determined that the voices of A.N.S.W.E.R. were not the only ones heard this day, and I think we succeeded in that goal.
The Trooprallys
I'm not too long winded, but RLmorel and I have a great time as always, driving down from Mass to participate in any endeavor that supports the troops. We are always amazed at the dedication of the DC chapter, and you guys are showing the rest of us how it is done. A BIG Thanks to Mr & Mrs T, for their hospitality !
Friday night at WR was great, I got to meet some new Freepers - Flib, YorktownPatriot and his son, and Joyjoy. Flib, YorktownPatriot an son were game for talking to some moonbats, so we took a walk down to engage, but comrade Bruce I believe ( the 60's retread protester looking guy ) said they "weren't there for discussion" Translation : incapable of discussion. The weather wasn't too bad and, it was great to be able to see some of the soldiers waving back at us when the bus arrived, God Bless every one of them,
Saturday at the traffic circle was interesting, seeing a greatly reduced sized group of useful idiots compared to GOE1. I noticed a substantial amount of Hamas terrorist supporters, that I did not notice on 3/17/07 One peaceful, tolerant protestor threw his sign at or near YorktownPatriot, I think the "Che is dead" poster got him a little upset. Some others threw bread and raisins. The rest of the unwashed, an assorted collection of dropouts, welfare recipients and ignoramaces (spelling?) did not seem to be unified in their protest. It seemed to be a mixed bag of causes, from the 9/11 conspiracy kooks proclaiming "it was an inside job", to the "U.S. out of everywhere" anti-military jackasses, and of course, those suffering from Bush derangement syndrome. The police never went after the sign thrower, which did not allow me to use the line "May I suggest using your night stick officer". Oh well, maybe next time ! Flib, showed her skills at engaging the moonbats, and after the protest, she was ready for more. I wish I had her skills.
On a more serious note, being able to be down in DC for these events, was important to me. To me it's an honor to stand with you guys and support our troops. We know it's hard on the DC chapter to be at so many events, The weekly Freep at WR in any weather especially, has to be tough, and while it may be easy for me to say, -since our troops won't give up on us, we can't give up on them. I urge you all to keep up the fight !
We arrived a little before 11AM to set up. Because of the Park Service fencing, every thing had to be unloaded, handed over the snow fence and carried down to our position. Then reversed it after wards. Thanks to all the Patriots who were there to help carry our stuff, set it up, then take it down.
The Park Service threw us two curve balls since last Wednesday. During our meeting a while back it was specifically asked if we could use a propane camper stove to heat water for coffee and hot cocoa. YES was the answer. Then last Wednesday, NO, but sterno was okay. Then when we got there, NO to the sterno. Good thing we had pre-boiled the water. After that the Park Service left us alone and the good times rolled on.
That is nothing compared to the ticket given to one of the moonbats who parked on Memorial Drive, right next to a No Parking sign. He tried to mix in with the vehicles that were parked there for a wreath laying ceremony at the SeaBee Memorial just outside Arlington Cemetery. But after the ceremony, they left and he stuck out like a moonbat does. We believe his car was eventually towed.
The cool, sunny weather over shadowed any small inconvenience. Compared to the 2007 rally, God was looking over us.
Even while setting up we were receiving well wishes from passing cars, taxis and tour buses. After we set up there was a constant symphony of horn blowing and waving. Having the Walter Reed banner was a great attention getter. Once the Park Police closed of Memorial Circle, the Walter Reed banner was laid down and we grabbed our anti-ANSWER, anti-American posters and waited for the Clueless Morons to come across the Memorial Bridge.
The "Go To Hell Traitor" banner was also readied. As the moonbats marched past us the Traitor banner followed them down the road. While we couldn't get a permit for Memorial Circle, our position was great in that we had a long close up section to counter the moonbats.
Moonbats do as moonbats are. They are an angry bunch of clueless morons. We had raisins, empty water bottles, bread and a sign thrown at us. The police didn't see any of this since the brave moonbat cowards were hiding in their mob. And the moonbats were constantly showing their IQ with their raised middle finger.
Did I mention they were an angry mob? There were a lot of foul mouthed morons in the crowd. Must be their shame-in-numbers bravery.
Personally, I don't "converse" with many of them. Those giving us the peace sign quickly lowered their hand when I shouted "Yes, VICTORY, victory in Iraq", or I called out to those a$$holes with their faces covered, "Cowards, show your face". They kept moving. To the Hamas supporters, an occasional "Hamas, stop the occupation of Palestine" was not taken well by them. Well actually, since there were a lot of those types walking by I guess I did do a lot of conversing.
It was all over in 20 minutes. Thank God for that.
Then off to Red, Hot & Blue for some excellent BBQ ribs and good company.
JoyJoyFromNJ (New Jersey)
I saw a bald eagle flying free for the first time in my life; it was over the Lincoln Memorial area, then flew south of us. Seems slightly symbolic, having it follow the moonbats.
Photo credit: Marooned in MarinAbout the only thing I have to "report" is that I was honored to help hold up the famous "Go to hell traitors" banner. I held the middle pole and because I'm short, the banner blocked my view; therefore I didn't have to look at the moonbats or their rude, crude gestures. I was truly blessed by Lurker Bill's continued calm and patience in the face of provocation—with a smile and a wave of his hand, he even encouraged a number of the protesters to learn to count higher than "one".
I chased a few moonbats with cameras off our rear flank, while the police watched. Of course those moonbats kept accusing me of attacking "the freedom of the press" and threatened to sue me if I touched their cameras. About halfway thru, I thought someone had thrown a rock at Lurker Bill from the parade, but turns out it was half a hoagie (grinder/submarine) roll, followed moments later by an empty gatorade bottle.
Kudos to Trooprally for a terrific job of organizing the logistic support; my appreciation to the DC Chapter for their continued opposition to the moonbats and hats off to everyone who showed up!
The food and company at the after-rally meal was great and it was wonderful to get a chance to say goodbye to one of the DC chapter supporters before he deploys in a few weeks. I know the thoughts, well-wishes and prayers of all of us will be with this terrific young person who gives us hope for the next generation.
GunsAreOK
Who else was there holding down the Patriot Corner?There was this one leftist who is already unhappy with Obama. His sign said something to the effect that Obama is failing to bring the troops home RIGHT NOW and that the "Sheeple" are being deluded by Obama. There's no satisfying some of these guys.
USN Retired (Chief), Lurker Bill, Sensei Ern, Doctor Raoul (Pennsylvania), Cindy-True-Supporter, RonGKirby, Flib (South Carolina), PrezUSA222, Lurker Eva, TwoTimes (GoE), Stratman1969, Lurker Allan, and Lurker Mark (in full cammies)