Crawford Texas CounterFReep Report

[jobshopper]

Amazingly, there was a lot of press people there, AND they were all familiar with FREEREPUBLIC.COM.
God bless America, Eric

[TxBec]

please, please, please ping me the next time you plan to head up there again :)

[lodwick]

Thanks for what you do - and the pics worked fine here. bttt

[bert]

Looks like you guys had a great day.....

Note to all Freepers..... Check out the photo "All"

This photo depicts what others see. There are some signs with big bold letters. These signs convey a message. There are other, smaller signs with small, unbold letters. These signs can't be read. They convey no message.

The purpose of this critical note is..... BE BIG and BE BOLd with your signs.

Wish I could have been with you.

[tillacum]

AH DrewsDad, we had planned to attend, but things at the ranch got a little out of hand and we had to straighten it out. We did. But I was so irritated by the whole thing, I could have stuck the "problem" in a stock tank. I'm so sorry we missed it, even Roomey was looking forward to the Crawford trip and meeting more Freepers. We're glad to hear the freep was a success.

[gaffin]

Should we also help him get amnesty for illegals? Should we applaud him for doing nothing to protect our borders? Tens of thousands of American troops scattered around the world and none protecting us? Sorry, but the man is not interested in protecting this country.

[McLynnan]

Wanted to let all of you know that today's Waco Tribune Herald featured the protest on the front of the Local section, but unfortunately it wasn't posted in their online edition that I can find.

There is a picture of a woman I believe is TxRangerette, and a man who (based on the name) I assume is PetroniDE carrying American flags. Another larger picture shows the opposition with a young man wearing a nose ring prominently in the forefront.

The article is rather lengthy and I'll try to hit some of the high points for you:

Police estimate about 300 people attended, and there were no arrests or major incidents.

The protesters said the event "was a chance to raise perspective on U.S. policy in the Middle East that rarely makes it into mainstream media coverage". A protestor named Robert Jensen, identifed as a UT journalism professor said the war on terrorism is "being used as a pretext to project U.S. power into the Middle East and parts of Asia that are oil-rich regions."

A couple from Dallas say "Bush is alienating all of our allies. He's just a bully."

Now for the good part!

"A handful of counterprotesters (that's all of you!) gathered.....in Tonkawa Falls park....As speakers were bashing Bush.....the counter-protesters, who identified their group as FREE REPUBLIC used a megaphone to yell taunts across police tape and barbed wire.

"A woman from Abilene, who asked not to be named (TxRangerette is this you????) recited the lyrics to Lee Greenwood's 'Proud to be an American' several times through a bull born. Houston resident (I'm redacting the name -- believe it is PetroniDE) said he came to Crawford to show his support for the president and the country in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

"We heard they were going to have an anti-war protest, which is just a code word for anti-Bush and anti-America, he said. Don't these people realize we are still hurting from Sept. 11? A lot of people have apparently forgotten what happened that day and before on the (USS) Cole and when our embassies were bombed. This has been going on a long time, and we don't need to send any message that makes it appear our resolve is wavering."

The article goes on the discuss caravans of bikes, cars and buses who attempted to travel to the president's ranch and were turned away at several roadblocks. Then the protestors presented McLennan County Sheriff Larry Lynch with a petition denouncing a possible war with Iraq. Hadi Jawad, one of the event's organizers said he considered the event a success. "We mobilized people from all over the state to participate......we really made some connections, and I think the beginning of a strong network to oppose a war in which the U.S. would stand alone."

If any of you are interested in obtaining the full text of the article, the reporter/writer's email address and phone number are listed with the article. FReepmail me and I will pass it on to you. Apologies for any typos and incorrect quotation marks. Please ping anybody I missed as I lifted names off this thread with no clue how many others might have attended.

[Jim Robinson]

"We mobilized people from all over the state to participate......we really made some connections, and I think the beginning of a strong network to oppose a war in which the U.S. would stand alone."

Yup, the battle has just begun. The hippies and marxists are reuniting. They're not going to get away with it this time.

[stands2reason]

They were drinking Ozarka water from plastic bottles, not Barton Springs water from free range goatskins. Blastus

Now that pi$$es me off. Don't they know how many trucks have to haul that water to its destination? And Austin water is great. Let them come up to Midland, where our water is pumped in rusty pipes from 200 miles away, and then they can drink bottled.

[McLynnan]

Yes, you should see the picture of these lunatics. The man in the forefront with the nose ring is named "Cri" and looks like a true nutcase. His eyes are closed as if in prayer against the evil Bush; his right hand is raised in a gesture of peace; his left arm appears heavily tattooed, and his flowing locks are pulled back by a headband. Just noticed he also has a lip ring and a dog collar. The FReepers, however, look nice, neat, sane and normal and are surrounded by the red, white and blue. Wish the paper had these pictures online for all to see. If anybody REALLY wants to see them I'll see if I can get some technical teenage help to scan and post them tonight.

[jobshopper]

JimRob, Hippies is not the word for it. The Austin American-Statesman had a picture of one of the leaders in Sunday's issue. He had a ring in his nose the size of which a bull would cringe at.
God bless these United States!!
Eric

[jobshopper]

basil, You get well, LADY!!

[Jim Robinson]

Well, they were called long-haired weirdo hippy freaks before. Now I guess they're shaved-headed or spiked-haired weirdo ring-nosed freaks. But whatever they're called, they are definitely cowards and a disgrace to the long line of patriots who fought and died to secure their freedom. Many brave men have shed blood for the flag these weirdo freaks now trample. It's a shame.

[jobshopper]

JimRob, As all the Austin area FReepers know, my wife is from Germany. She loves this country as much as we do, and, these "peace lovers" make her as sick as us. She wouldn't even attend yesterdays event for fear of getting into a "verbal discussion".
Regards,
Eric

[Alissa]

Hurray! I'm home now from a 2 week trip, www-less, with a broken ankle to boot! I'm thrilled to see Gracey is holding up the sign I made for Bush's visit to San Antonio! That "Thank You President Bush" sign was also held during an entire morning of rain being poured on it. It makes my day to see it had another day of life.

[PetroniDE]

Houston resident (I'm redacting the name -- believe it is PetroniDE) said he came to Crawford to show his support for the president and the country in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. "We heard they were going to have an anti-war protest, which is just a code word for anti-Bush and anti-America, he said.

Don't these people realize we are still hurting from Sept. 11? A lot of people have apparently forgotten what happened that day and before on the (USS) Cole and when our embassies were bombed. This has been going on a long time, and we don't need to send any message that makes it appear our resolve is wavering."

I did say that. I also mentioned PanAm-103 and the Achille Lauro; for once, the reporters got my statement at least close.

[antivenom]

Try..."self mutilated leftists"...or "America loathing Leftists"...or "Robert Jensen Left-bots"...

PetroniDE....great turn out bet you are STILL on cloud nine. ALL HAT Chapter members are jealous! Great work TEXAS!!!

[humblegunner]

Thanks for representing us, PetroniDE.. and Happy Birthday!
I can think of no better way to spend it... ;-)

[txrangerette]

Yes, McLynnan, that was me!

[Dubya]

I don't get my way all the time either. I would do a lot of things diff than they are being done.

When I feel like I have something that will really help I write a nice respectibile letter to him and put the facts in it. I beleive he really cares what MO is.

In any case I am not going to let any of them stop me from voting. Have a good one and thanks for the info.

LEAVE IT TO TEXAS