DALLAS RALLY A SUCCESS (PHOTOS)

Texas Freepers ^ | 3/22/03 | SerpentDove; Ms. AntiFeminazi

[SerpentDove]

The Dallas Pro-America Rally was a success, despite a substantial amount of rain and chilly temperatures.

The Associated Press estimated approximately 3,000 in attendance, which was commendable considering the inclement weather.

For photos, scroll down.

FReepers confirmed in attendance were: Clinger (Charles Lingerfelt, the rally’s organizer), SerpentDove (me- the photographer), Ms. AntiFeminazi, who helped Clinger tremendously in pulling this together, LurkerNoMore! RonH, PetroniDE, MeeknMing, Conservative, littlebit (rally organizer), cowgirlcutie, erkyl, Slyfox, Strela, Concerned, Swake, Stultis, Houmatt, ANTI-LEFT, "Tony" Aguilar (rally organizer), HHFi, Ben Chad, TaqueriaFanatic, eBay Artist, and Shooter 2.5.

Any other FReepers who attended, please respond.

Ms. AntiFeminazi:

Okay, I know there are lots of complaints about the sound system, but the only way to guarantee one in rainy conditions like today would be to buy it myself. lol. We had a powerful sound system planned. The guy with the platform and speakers showed up, but the guy with the electronic components chickened out because of the rain. He was afraid of ruining his equipment. We would have let them set up on the porch, but he couldn't be convinced.

The media that I know of there with cameras and reporters were:
ABC
NBC
CBS
CNN
FOX
The Associated Press
Univision
WB33 (Warner Bros.)
KRLD AM 1080
KLIF AM 570
WBAP AM 820

ALL of our scheduled speakers showed up, including the congressmen and few other elected officials, and all did a fine job of speaking, even if they were a bit hard to hear over the PRO-AMERICA honks from passerbys and responding yells from the crowd! :)

FReepers to the left of me, FReepers to the right.

L to R: Strela, Ron H, Tony Aguilar, Stultis, Houmatt, SerpentDove, Ms. AntiFeminazi, MeeknMing, PetroniDE

PetroniDE has already informed me that he is going to publicly accuse, in this very thread me of giving lousy directions to the rally.
You must not listen to him. Between me and you, he is a *very* confused man. He's from H-O-U-S-T-O-N.

(Now that's what I call a "pre-emptive strike.")

;-)

>

These Cub Scouts were actually passersby who did not aprticipate in the rally.
I (SerpentDove) was holding a large flag on an 8-foot pole, when the boys saw the flag flying from across the street.
Spontaneously, they all jumped up on the little cement cylinders, put their hands over their hearts, and started saying the Pledge of Allegiance.
It was really something. I had to run over for a photo. I said "Okay, boys, the Pledge of Allegiance!"
Then I snapped this picture.

This is a shot of the hippy-dippy peacnik protestors.
No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. Do not adjust your monitor. There are only two of them.
I think later in the rally, the number skyrocketed to seven. Maybe it was six.
I was never good with numbers.

This is a little Kurdish girl.
There were very many Kurdish citizens in attendance, who were all exrtemely passionate
and extremely vocal about ousting Saddam Hussein. Many carried photos of the atrocities committed by the Iraqi regime.
The emotion they expressed was palpable.

Elm Street. The JFK Memorial is in the background.

Kurdish citizens.

These are the peace protestors again. I mean, protestor. Maybe the other one went for a bite to eat.
Thankfully the barricades were there to keep the huge, bloodthirsty mobs of peacniks from attacking us.

ASSORTED RALLY PHOTOS:

I had to censor that one for the kiddies.

FReeper Strela

Charles Lingerfelt, rally coordinator.

President Bush and two of his friends made a surprise appearance. Oh, and I'm diggin' that poster.

Kurdish children take the platform.

I like this guy. His shirt says, "God Bless Harry Truman."
I asked him about it, and he said, "Harry Truman saved my life. I was about to be sent into Japan when he dropped the bomb and ended the war."
Come to think of it, he saved MY life, and I wasn't even born yet.

U.S. Representative Pete Sessions, Tx.
His father is former FBI Director William Sessions.

One of the most moving things in the whole rally was the constant honking of horns in support of
our responsibilities in Iraq. The noise was incessant, the cheers were breathtaking.
There must be about eleven peaceniks back there now. Okay, so I lied.
I told you I was never good with numbers.

[TankerKC]

...There are only two of them...

I was at a rally for Bush in 2000, and there were hundreds of Bush supporters and three Gore supporters. Of course, all of the press that was there spent there time photographing and interviewing those three. Not one interview with a Bush supporter. The next day, the photos on Yahoo were with the three Gorons and were framed so that it looked like the others in the crowd were with them.

[cowgirlcutie]

I LOVE the beautiful pictures! I actually saw Mr. Cowgirlcutie in a couple! There were SO many people, that I only met a couple of freepers and wish I could've met more! It was a GREAT day!

[Txslady]

Way to go Houston Freepers in Dallas!!!!

[whipitgood]

I got there about 3:30, thanks to the VERY slow train from Fort Worth. What a blast! I will very definitely be involved in the next one to be planned. It felt VERY GOOD to 'counter protest' the peaceniks.

[bluesagewoman]

What a fantastic report! And exceptional photos. Who ever took those photos should enter them into a contest!!! WOW.

Thank you for all your hard work getting this report out here. We FReepers are starting to make a difference.

[Stultis]

Nobody got killed, nobody got towed

I got a ticket. :( I was so excited (and late) that I forgot to feed the meter.

I also nearly got myself thrown out of a tavern I stopped at on the way home. I tried to be good, I really did. Well, not really that hard, but I did keep my mouth shut while several appeasementniks trashed America and our President. My temperature kept rising though, especially when they started talking (with a more mild mannered detractor at the bar) about the Emir of Kuwait and Hamad Karzi being American "puppets." This was the last straw, and I laid into 'em.

The same thing happened at a party I went to a couple weeks ago. I can stand it -- usually, well sometimes -- when leftists trash their own country, but when they sneer at progressive regimes struggling to secure some measure of civility and freedom amidst danger and despotism it is simply more than I can take.

Predictably, it turned out that the folks at the tavern (like those at the party) knew next to nothing about either Kuwait or Afghanistan. On both occassions I'm afraid I made rather a spectacle of myself. I didn't shout so loudly at the bar, but it went something like this:

Me: [unsolicted and loud intrusion] Did you know Hamid Karzi was a Taliban?

Them: [puzzled] What's your point?

Me: DID YOU KNOW THAT?

Them: A Taliban? I don't think that's right. Weren't we supposed to be killing Taliban? [etc]

Me: The point is that Karzi was a Taliban. He joined the movement early on, when it was in many ways a movement of liberation from the lawlessness of warlordism. He left the movement and fought against it when it became a movement of oppression and fascistic totalitarianism.

For this, and many other reasons, Karzi is recognized across Afghanistan, and across all tribal and ethnic divisions, as a man of honor and integrity.

The point is that this is why America chose him to lead the interim government, and it is why the people of Afghanistan freely ratified that decision.

Them: [various intrusions into my waxing rant which I ignored]

Me: I listened to you people pissin' 'n moanin' about America's sponsorship of dictators, but it's all B.S. [I didn't abbreviate at the time] Not because criticism isn't in some cases warranted, but because YOUR "criticism" is UNCRITICAL, UNINFORMED, ILLIBERAL, AND VICIOUSLY AND DESTRUCTIVELY CYNICAL.

We didn't set up a dictator or a "puppet" in Afghanistan. Hamid Karzi commanded no more than 500 hundred men. We could have chosen a powerful warlord that commanded thousands, but we didn't. We chose a good man, an honorable man, a leader, a REAL fighter for FREEDOM, and man with a heart for all the people of Afghanistan, and not just for his own tribe.

A serious person, a patriot, critizes his country so that it might do better. But when America DOES do better, when America DOES do the right thing, your BILIOUS TUNE DOESN'T CHANGE A F-IN' NOTE, NOW DOES IT?

After that outburst I calmed down a bit an conversed with the unwashed a bit more civilly for awhile, but I don't think I made a dent. My rant drew scattered applause from the bar, but also some ugly scowls (I live in a college town).

[Houmatt]

Did any one of you catch local coverage of the rally on the telly? If so, what did they say about it (and did you see yourselves)?

[Allegra]

These pictures are very heartwarming. I am so proud of all you guys!

Petroni, is that your bullhorn they're using in those shots?

[SerpentDove]

bttt

[Ms. AntiFeminazi]

I just finished watching the taped local broadcasts. I think they all did a pretty good job of covering the event. They seemed to have the same problem we were having - getting a good pic to show the entire crowd. None of them even got close to the platform. The street shots were the easiest to get. A couple of stations then switched to "Anti-War" protests all over the U.S. yesterday. To be fair and balanced, ahem, they should have included all of the PRO-AMERICA Rallies for America around the U.S. too, but at least they did good on the local coverage.

[anymouse]

Way to go N. Texas FReepers. Eagles up!

[Clara Lou]

Your post is wonderfu! Good for you! [I learned from it.]

[Ron H.]

I will see what I can do with this and hopefully I will have it outside the oscars.

I thought the part about drugs should read: "This Is Their President on Drugs" rather than OURS.

[Ron H.]

..... (and judging by the obvious lack of personal hygiene practiced by the anti-war types, I stand by my description of "dribbling" when referring to their numbers). ....

Have you ever wondered if those poor slobs were actually just the "bought and paid for homeless bums" we've been hearing about? They sure seemed to look and smell like them.

[Ms. AntiFeminazi]

Hey LNM! Why didn't you tell me strela was there?! I'm sorry I missed meeting you strela. I saw you, but I didn't know who you were. Next time we'll have to meet!

I'm taking 3 (really 2 half and one whole) cameras to get pics developed this afternoon. I should be able to load them tonight. I have no idea what's on the 2 half rolls - one is LNM!'s and one is mine, so I claim no responsibility if I end up posting pics of ducks! lol.

[Allegra]

Great pics! So good the see the "We Support Our Troops" banner and your big sign! You all did us proud!

[Ron H.]

.... banner and your big sign!

That wasn't my big sign you're thinking of. I made that sign Friday evening and it was smaller (tri-fold cardboard) sign as my better known one was too large to fit in PetroniDE's trunk. I'm going to try and get it to Austin next weekend though somehow. Hope you make it also.

[cowgirlcutie]

Great pictures and it was good to meet you! BTW, if anyone knows where I can send the items I bought for the care packages to be sent to our troops, please let me know. I never did find out where to take them yesterday.

[MeekOneGOP]

Thank you for all the nice pics ! . . .