OPERATION INFINITE FREEP, COLORADO STYLE - 4/12/03

Colorado Chapter of FreeRepublic.com ^ | 4/10/03 | Tom Buchanan

[fivetoes]

OPERATION INFINITE FREEP, COLORADO STYLE

Attention! Greeley and Loveland Freeps have changed!

WHO: All Freepers, the VFW, any other interested parties
WHAT: Support Our Troops Rally (Operation Infinite Freep)
WHY: To show our troops that we are behind them and to counter the anti war protesters across the street.
How You Can Help:Show up and bring a sign that indicates Support for our Troops. If you don't have a sign, we have plenty to go around. Bring an American flag to wave proudly.

These Freeps take place Every Saturday. Try to make at least one of them!

Ft. Collins
WHERE: North East corner of Mulberry and College WHEN:Noon to 1:00 p.m.

Loveland
WHERE: US-34 and 287 WHEN:1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Longmont
WHERE: South East corner of 6th and Main WHEN:2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Greeley
WHERE:35th Ave. and 16th St. (next to the Weld county veterans Memorial)
WHEN:11:00 a.m. to Noon

Let's be nice and not get into any trouble. Protesting Guidelines

Please post your after FReep Reports here!

[fivetoes]

Support Our Troops Rally in Loveland
April 12, 2003

Freepers in attendence in Loveland were:
welgopharline and Deb
Mollynme
Island Princess
fivetoes and family
I hope I didn't leave any one out.

The Support Our Troops rally in Loveland was outstanding. The usual Saturday rally moved from the corner of Taft and Eisenhower to the much busier intersection of Eisenhower and Highway 287. For those who do not know Loveland, 287 runs North and South through Loveland and is two one way streets. This gave us four corners on each intersection to maintain. And did we ever have fun maintaining them.

The weather was just grand, mid to upper 70's and a light breeze at the beginning that gradually turned much gustier later on. Welgopharline had one of his big Support Our Troops signs take off like a kite in a hurricane. It tumbled through the air at an altitude of least fifty feet. It went up and over the Dairy Queen and finally landed in the parking lot. I'm sure glad no one was hurt by a flying sign.

We were joined by the Colorado Patriots Fife and Drum Corps who played brilliantly as ususal. I lost count of the number of people who were present as folks gave and left during the two hours on the corner. Someone told me there were well over 100. I know we lined one side of two blocks on the North side and had ample coverage on the two South corners.

The Colorado Patriots Fife and Drum Corps played their hearts out.

As usual, the horn honking was extremely enthusiastic! The mood was festive. Dave from North West of Ft. Collins drove his 5-ton truck down and it is a show-stopper. Where does a guy with a 5-ton park his truck? Anywhere he wants to.

This is Dave and his truck. This picture is from last week's overpass rally

The guys and gals from the Ft. Collins VFW, Post 1781 showed up with their banner. These guys show up every where. They are the ones that stood up against the peace-niks in Ft. Collins and have been on the corner every weekend since a month after 9/11/01. Real troopers.

The Ft. Collins VFW.

Speaking of peace-niks, I didn't give them a second thought today. I wonder how they got along without us. lol I know the lady in the realestate office is happy that the constant noise was not there today.

Island Princess joined us today and I think she gets the award for driving the most miles to get here.

We did say the Pledge of Allegiance, not once, but twice. And since we wwere not at the other corner, I managed to fire up the bullhorn. (heh heh)

Here are some more pictures of today's rally.

A flag flyng the the breeze is a beautiful thing.

Dale and Deb from Gilchrest held down the one SE corner. One of his signs took a ride.

Carol and crew held the other SE corner.

The North side of the street early on.

Some of the support group members.

More flags a flying!

Another shot of the North side of the street.

A member of the Loveland Veterans Club

This is Marcey, the lady behind the sign campaign

Two more shots of the North side.

This rally was so outstanding that we are going to do it again next week.

After the rally some us went over to Perkins restaurant to join in the support group for relatives that have family members in Iraq.

There is so much more to tell, but it is getting late.

[RandallFlagg]

Were there any bushhaters there at all? I kept telling the Ft. Collins peaceniks, "Is this all you brought?! I was hoping there'd be more of ya!"

I'm glad ya got to fire up the horn today. I'll bet you were going through withdrawls; I do..

[CardCarryingMember.VastRightWC]

BTW everyone, I heard that -

• There is a Support-The-Troops rally tomorrow (Sunday) at Eaton - I thought they said 2:30, but maybe someone can verifiy that??
• A CSU student invited us all to a Support The Troops rally at 12 noon Tuesday at the main plaza at CSU.

Warm weather hit N. Colorado today. And our side was once again in high spirits, contrasting with the down-at-the-mouth appearance of the herd over on The Dark Side of the street. And of course as usual the overwhelming majority of the honks and thumbs up were for our troops! You can't really blame the other side for looking so depressed though - I mean, hey, wouldn't you be depressed if your hero's statues are being trashed by the very same "victims" you claim you're trying to protect? How humiliating! It just aint fair!

GREELEY

Greeley easily broke an attendance record today - up to 30 I guessed. A lot of Greeley residents apparently read WeldGOP's interview in the local paper to join us. There were several new families with young kids I hadn't seen before. Welcome! Here are some of them -

This lady has a son in the 1st Marine Exp. Force and hasn't heard from him in 4 weeks. She brought a framed photo -

Mollynme on the left, Weld near the right, and a few others on the NW corner. This was our first time at this new location. The Great Unwashed have also moved (we both had been at a very busy intersection a mile to the south) - their new location is a short ways north of our new location. Some of us today were certain that they were still close enough to detect via the olfactory sensors, but knowledgeable Greeley residents insisted we were actually detecting the huge feedlots that surround the town. We'd like to believe them, but remain unconvinced.

Your's truly ---

Here is the veterans' memorial that we parked next to ---

FORT COLLINS

Both sides were down in numbers a bit today, likely due to the warm Spring weather enticing one and all to the foothills and mountain valleys. At least there were no fights today. I saw police cars go around the block a few times, so perhaps they were watching. Here are a bunch of Troop Supporters right at the corner. There are more patriots behind me, and very many more off to the right of the photo ---

BeaversMom and husband and youngest son ---

The ever-faithful Fife and Drum Corps entertained us again! I didn't hear any bongos today from The Dark Side.

Good duys in the foreground; Clueless Ones across the street ---

Next two are of a svelte protestor proving how much he loves our country. All of them over there have told me a thousand times in the last 17 months that they "are every bit as patriotic" as we are, and that they "are the TRUE patriots". They apparently believe we are all blind. In the first one, he's arguing with a female cop. Not sure what that was about ---

LOVELAND UNOFFICIAL RALLY

You're going to get a big kick out of this, Fivetoes! On my way from Ft. Collins to Longmont, I decided to drive by and Freephonk your rally, but I forgot you had moved your location, and so drove by the old place. I got this photo of your SE corner - today it was populated by 5 or 6 Troop Supporters who must not have gotten your message about the new location. But IN SPITE OF THAT, they STILL outnumbered the pathetic peacebots - who were down to around 3 or 4 when I blew by at around 1:50 PM! LOL!! ---

LONGMONT

Last week, Longmont was 2 or 3 times normal size due to some free radio exposure to another rally that started in the morning and eventully merged. Today we had a lot fewer, but still more than normal. The police were out in force, obviously as a response to last week's disturbance (see 4/5 report), and to protect us from any new violent pacifistic attacks. This is most of the SE corner. You can see a bit of the NE corner in the background. We also owned the NW corner plus some more Troop Supporters behind me ---

The Dark Side ---

BeaversMom's family on right, three of mine in back center ---

Give 'em HE** Frank! Frank brought his granddaughters again. As you can see, he's really going after the Clueless Ones. The streets separating us are a lot narrower in Longmont than any of the other towns ---

I loved this bumper sticker on one of our fellow Troop Supporter's cars - "FORGET TIBET - FREE BOULDER COUNTY". Heh heh! ---

Well, that's all, folks! I took a lot more photos, but don't want to make this thread TOO much longer than it already is! Once again, THANK YOU TO OUR TROOPS OVERSEAS! WE ARE SOOO GREATFUL FOR YOUR DAILY SACRIFICES. GOD BLESS YOU AND PROTECT YOU!

[RandallFlagg]

Heh-heh-heh...LOSER!!!

[radu]

Sorry I've missed your FReep reports the past couple of weekends or so. Gremlins screwed up our 'puter for a bit but things seem to be ok now.
Great FReeps y'all! You're awesome! Wonderful pics to send overseas.....except for that arse in the "kilt". Jeeeeez! What was with THAT??! Good thing I wasn't driving by. I'd have run over the curb just to squish him!
But the FReeper shots are awesome and the guys and gals overseas will love them.
They appreciate y'all getting out each week to show your support for our troops and vets, and so do I. Thanks Colorado FReepers!

[Trteamer]

Colorado reports and pictures PING!

[Jimmy Valentine's brother]

If someone asks if your pro-war, ask them if they support the War on Terrorism.

Oh yeah, you Colorado folks are going great. Thanks for your reports. It's good to know that we have control of the mountain passes.

[bluesagewoman]

What wonderful turn-outs and reports! It is hard to decide which photos are my favorites. Thanks for the ping, and for all the hard work you folks in Colorado are doing.

[fivetoes]

Here are some pics that I took while in Greeley.

I shared my corner with this gentleman who has a son in the Corps in Iraq. He was happy to see the support.

That got me thinking that maybe we will gather more support if we do not freep on such busy and dangerous intersections.

We said the Pledge to this flag.

Some of the crowd.

[fivetoes]

I didn't see a Bush hater one. I for one am sick and tired of reacting to them. It is time to take the offensive. Now they may have been down at their usual corner, I did hear a report that they were. I am trying to get this rally established at the new location. Everyone that attended seemed to prefer the new place and the numbers showed it.

Maybe in a couple of weeks we can take turns going to the old place.It only takes one of us.

[fivetoes]

Thanks for the pic and report on the old corner. It warms my heart to know they got freeped, but it still leaves them irrelevant.

[fivetoes]

Here are a few of Trteamer's pics from Longmont.

[Trteamer]

Thanks for posting the pictures for me fivetoes! The next to last one shows all the "white grouse" flyng over the peace-niks. LOL!!
The last picture is of two Marines who are a blast to FReep with, and the Longmont police officer who was there to protect us.

[BlueOneGolf]

Great job once again Colorado Patriots! Hey fivetoes, I know you're tired of recting to the Lefties but i believe that even with victory we must keep up the pressure on them and even intensify it. They are already looking to 2004 and I guarantee you they do not plan to stop their protests. I know the Lefties here in Louisville have not slacked off...they are already looking ahead to next year when they will be supporting the 'RAT Party. If they will be in the streets then we need to be as well. Personally, I'm ready for the fight ahead and I know you guys in CO will give it to 'em as well.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Thanks Trteamer.

Bump!

[fivetoes]

Oh, don't worry, I'm not backing off of them, just picking my battles and recruiting new friends. Two weeks ago when the Vets from the club started joining me on the corner, I found myself playing referee. Oh the names they were yelling across the street just shocked me. LOL Some of them wanted to go clean some clocks. There is a lot of energy in the older vets just looking for some direction to vent it.

I think that many of them are just over joyed to know that standing on a corner is not just for lefties.

[Jen]

Great job Colorado FReepers!

[weldgophardline]

I will have a yellow sign made up that one of us can take down to the puke corner and see their reaction. It was great in greeley this time ,lots of new people and it was great.
Here is the photo site if you would like to see some of Greeley & Loveland.
http://photos.yaho.com/dalep61

[weldgophardline]

Sorry the site is http://photos.yahoo.com/dalep61

[CardCarryingMember.VastRightWC]

From today's Boulder Daily Camera at http://www.thedailycamera.com/bdc/county_news/article/0,1713,BDC_2423_1885564,00.html
No photos, but apparently there's at least one in the print version from what I hear.

Longmont residents express love of U.S.
By Aimee Heckel, Camera Staff Writer
April 13, 2003

LONGMONT _ The car lot at Kozy's Kars, 1031 Main St., looks like a Stars and Stripes garden.

Dozens of miniature flags sprout from car antennas. Employees buzz through the lot in red, white and blue shirts. Above it all, a large sign shines: "God bless our troops and the USA."

"It's my way of expressing how I feel about our country and what we're doing," says owner Howard Koziara of Westminster. "The flag is respect for our country."

Four blocks down Main Street, Don Boyer of Longmont stands on the sidewalk with a sign proclaiming his support for the U.S. troops abroad: "Bring the troops home." Like Koziara, Boyer says his efforts are in the name of patriotism.

Other nearby demonstrators carry flags covered with peace symbols. Some say they 're hesitant to display the flag any other way because people may connect the flag with support of the war.

The demonstrators have become an unwavering landmark on the busy street corner, even after the apparent collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime last week.

"The mess hasn't changed; the war isn't over," Boyer says.

Some people, like Pete Reynolds, call the protesters "traitors." Reynolds, a Longmont veteran, has stationed his flag-bearing Harley across the street from the demonstrations for the past two weeks.

But the bumper sticker on a nearby car argues a different message: "Dissent is patriotic."

Ann Krohn Rick, another Longmont anti-war demonstrator, says the protests are an other form of patriotism.

"To be a true patriot is to think critically and demand to know," Rick says. "Yo u can be an American and be for peace, too. In fact, that's the path of integrity." Quoting a sign, Rick calls peace patriotic.

Patriotism means something different to Paul Rock, a Longmont veteran. Under a vest covered with flag patches and wearing an Old Glory bandanna around his neck, Rock says part of patriotism is military support. Rock says he remembers being condemned and attacked by war protesters when he returned from fighting in Vietnam.

"I want to make sure no one who gets back this time is mistreated like others we re," says Rock, whose 19-year-old son is a soldier stationed in the Persian Gulf .

Whose flag is it?

Across the bustling street from the anti-war demonstrators, Terri Winbolt of Longmont flutters a sign that says, "Our troops kick butt." American and British flags frame the message.

"The flag brings me goosebumps," Winbolt says. Then motioning across the street, she adds, "The flag is their right to stand over there and my right to be here. "

Yet, every so often, people in cars call out vulgarities. "Get off the street." "Get your hands off my flag." It's unclear which side of the street the message is meant for.

"It always happens during war that there becomes a battle over the symbols," anti-war demonstrator Rick says. "One group claims, 'We're American, this is our flag.' The other group says, 'No, this is our flag.'"

To Rick, the American flag stands for labor leaders struggling to establish humane working conditions. It stands for a struggle against internal oppression and for dissent against that oppression, she says.

To David Schlosser, 16, a Longmont Israeli-American, the flag symbolizes "the greatest country in the world."

"It's the men and women who sign up to join the fighting forces and to go off and try to free thousands of people they've never met, because that's what they've grown up thinking is right," he says.

War protester Dan Boyer says he associates the American flag with American freedoms. Veteran Paul Rock says the same. They stand on the opposite sides of Main Street, yet they say they stand there for the same reasons. They say the demonstrations are patriotic.

A divided nation

The war abroad has awakened a lesser conflict within Longmont. The typically peaceful daily demonstrations have heated up during the last few weeks, said Longmont police Cmdr. Tom Fixmer.

Shortly after last month's snowstorm, police intervened when protesters began climbing onto the median and slowing traffic, Fixmer said.

On March 29, police reported someone stole a "world peace" flag from a home in the 2700 block of Geneva Place.

On April 5, Marc Hale, 29, drove past the "pro-troops" supporters and flicked his lighter toward the flag, Fixmer said. Hale parked nearby and turned up John Lennon music on his stereo, police said.

Several "pro-troops" demonstrators followed Hale and "a scuffle took place," Fixmer said. He said one man threw Hale on the ground, but no charges were filed.

Some flag-fliers, like Winbolt, say they worry about retaliation against their decorated homes. Winbolt's house displays an American flag, yellow ribbons and a sign for her active duty son-in-law that reads, "We love you Shawn."

"I was concerned, but not to the point I'd be afraid to hang my house with decorations," Winbolt said. "But somebody could drive by and do something."

Rick also worries, because her car displays several anti-war bumper stickers.

"But to be afraid of the warlike elements in our society is to condone them," she says. "I stand up for what I believe, and if I run the risk of my car getting a rock thrown at it, I do."

The key, Winbolt says, is to literally respect the different sides of the street . After all, she says, the chance to hear both sides is what makes the country so special.

"We've got to have respect for each other," Winbolt says, shaking her flag. "Honk your horns in support of either side. We have enough violence going on in Iraq . We don't need it on Main Street."

Contact Aimee Heckel at (303) 473-1359 or heckela@dailycamera.com.