Posted on 05/15/2003 4:47:57 PM PDT by BillF
In their second lunch time DC mission of the week, FReepers of the DC Chapter gathered in front of the New York Times (NYT) office in Washington, DC. The NYT Washington bureau occupies a portion of an office building that includes various other offices.
The FReep today follows yesterday’s spectacular FReep of the NYT quagmire meeting in NY by the doctor of FReeping, Doctor Raoul. (Click here and read about that. You’ll be glad you did.)
The honor roll of attendance at today’s gathering of eagles: Kristinn, Angelwood, TBP, Xthe17th, WAlford, and BillF.
This was a joint operation of the DC Chapter with the fine people of Accuracy in Media (AIM). In addition to FReeper WAlford, who writes for AIM, there were 4 or 5 other AIMSTERS (?) in attendance, bringing our total forces to ten people.
Kristinn, TBP, and WAlford and the Aimsters were already there when I arrived at 12:30. We marched with our signs in front of the door, occasionally chanting “hey hey, ho ho, Howell Raines has got to go.” Angelwood arrived shortly with additional materials for sign making so that everyone could have a sign to hold. Xthe17th arrived and joined the FReep.
Without my digital camera, I’m hard pressed to remember all of the signs. Someone’s sign had the doctored photo of Blair as though he was now working for CNN to improve its credibility. Another sign was the Drudge headline with upside down NYT logo. (A motorist saw that and shouted “your sign is upside down.”
My sign said:
STOP HOWELL RAINES BEFORE HE LIES AGAIN
Reactions were mostly positive. A cab driver honked his horn and flashed a thumbs up. A bike messenger gently tapped my sign and said “That guy [i.e., Raines] must be a devil, right?” “Well, he doesn’t tell the truth,” I blurted out, not knowing if this guy was mocking us. When he left the building, he waved in friendship.
A guy came over from across the street and seemed sympathetic to the protest and hostile to the NYT. However, when Kristinn told him that some of we marchers were from FR, the guy said something like, “you’re crazy fascists!” and left.
Numerous AIM bumper stickers saying “I don’t believe the New York Times” were given to sympathetic pedestrians.
Dave Stadler of Washington, DC’s channel 9 took some video footage of us marching and spoke to Kristinn. Additionally, an NYT reporter came out and talked to Kristinn and one of the Aimsters.
The threatening storms held off as partly cloudy weather greeted our FReep. The storms have now arrived. The rains are washing the pollen out of the air even as Raines washes away any remaining credibility of the New York Times.
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