Walter Reed FReep #70 - Summer SMASH

08/22/2006 | PleaDeal

[PleaDeal]

Walter Reed FReep #70 - Pinkos Crushed Again!

Another spectacular night out front of Walter Reed Army Medical Center celebrating our Troops! Attendance was again extremely high this week (42!), but it can always be better! The following FReepers and FRiends* came out to celebrate tonight:

3D-Joy, Ainsley, her mother, Mirian, her daughter, Madison, all * from MD, Apple Blossom, AprilfromTexas, Bill * from MD, Barbara* from VA, BillF, bmwcyle, Britney * from DC, BufordP, Cindy_true_supporter, Chris* from MD, Citizen SMASH, Cordella * from DC, Danang68, Danielle* from MO, dellbabe68, Fraxinus, Gavin * from MD, George* & Ethel* from MD, Gretchen15, InGodwetrust1, Just A Nobody, kevinjdeanna, Leif * from VA, maica, Our Man in Washington, PleaDeal, Richard * from RI, R.T. Delta, "S"*, Sensei Ern, Son of TGSL, Taco Mamma, TFroatz, Tolerance Sucks Rocks, Tom the Redhunter, trooprally (Mr. & Mrs.)

In addition to coming all the way from Texas to join us for the third or fourth time in 18 months, AprilfromTexas also got two friends to attend from far away. Those were dellbabe68 and Richard from RI. Not only did April go the extra mile yet again to support our troops, but she persuaded others to do the same. Danang68 and Taco Mamma are also recently back from their "reverse snowbird" months in the Lone Star state. God Bless Texas!

Ainsley came with her mother, Mirian, and her young daughter, Madison. It was great to have many young patriots from the area with us tonight showing their support to our beloved troops. Thank You Guys!

Danielle, who was in town from MO, plans to return to FReep with us in December or January, possibly relocating to the area.

Content provided by BillF and Citizen SMASH. Pics this week provided by PleaDeal and Trooprally [Mrs]. Blue-bordered pics are by Mrs. T and her collection can be viewed here, with PleaDeal's pics here.

Cool Hummer!	bmwcyle and Bill* from MD
TFroatz, Danang68 and 3D-Joy	Our Man in Washington and Cindy-True-Supporter
"Run Forrest, Run!" - Trooprally [Mr]	Taco Mamma, PleaDeal and R.T.Delta discussing calendars (see below!) and cigars.
AprilfromTexas flanked by friends dellbabe68 and Richard.	Tom the RedHunter came out two weeks in a row.
Sensei Ern and 3D-Joy soaking up the last of the evening sun.	Tolerance Sucks Rocks, Trooprally [Mrs] and BufordP through the flag poles.
Taco Mamma and R.T.Delta snapping pics.	"My pic's better than yours." "No way! Mine's much better."

BufordP and bmwcyle setting up...	... to stand guard over our ...
... "Burma Shave" signs (that I forgot to bring last week!)

Warning! Warning! Danger Will Robinson *** Pinkos Ahead ***

The following report was written by the fearless FReeper Citizen SMASH. He has kindly allowed it to be reused in toto from his milblog Mr. SMASH Goes To Washington. Note: There are few Pinko pics tonight 'cause Trooprally [Mrs] and I just aren't interested in them. There have been so many new folks and FReepers who haven't been with us for months that there's just a lot more interesting things to do back up at the gate!

I wish I had known SMASH was going waaaaaaay down the block to "do his thing". I would have at least gotten a shot of that. He's gotten rather sneaky ;)

Meeting Amelia IT’S FRIDAY EVENING, and I’m back for more fun with my friends from Code Pink and Free Republic outside Walter Reed Army Medical Center. I begin my adventure with a stroll along Georgia Avenue, heading north past the Code Pink picket line. There’s only about ten of them tonight, and no new faces. I stop momentarily to exchange pleasantries with Megan and her wheelchair-bound mother Gerry. After commenting on the nice weather we’ve been having, Megan tells me that it’s Gerry’s 95th birthday. I wish Gerry a very happy birthday, but she can’t reply with anything more than a contented nod as she’s busy tearing into a chocolate cupcake. I promise to stop by again later, and continue north to the Freeper rally. They’re in good spirits this evening, as they appear to have a larger crowd than normal occupying their strategic position right outside the main gate. They greet me warmly. I’m delighted to learn that my website has drawn more people to this event: at least three newbies tell me they’re longtime readers of my blog. So, including my parents, my wife, Tantor, Rich Casebolt, Daniel in Brookline, and the handful of other less frequent visitors, that means I have at least a dozen-or-so regular readers now. Watch out, Glenn Reynolds! After making my rounds, I notice that the Pinkos have lit their candles (the sun has gone down), and three younger people, two men and a woman, have joined the mostly baby-boomer-age crowd. Of course, I must go down and talk to them. Digital microphone in hand, I approach and ask the newcomers if they’d mind being interviewed. As I'm introducing myself, however, union organizer Bruce Wolf (previously called “The Bouncer” on these pages) creeps over and eyes me suspiciously. “Hi Bruce,” I greet him. “Oh, you’re back again?” “Yeah, just doing some more interviews.” “Why don’t you interview those guys over there?” He’s getting out his camera. “Oh, I interviewed them last week. Got some good audio, too!” “Yeah, well why don’t you go back over there?” He’s standing in the gutter now, taking photos of me. I smile and wave for the camera. Is this supposed to be intimidating? Is my face going to end up on some Code Pink BOLO list? “I’ll head back over there later. I want to get both sides of the story.” I turn back to the young people. “I don’t think Bruce likes me being here. But hey, that’s Bruce.” The girl laughs. “So, have you guys come here before?” The men, Tom and John, are friendly but not very talkative. Amelia, on the other hand, is willing to chat on just about any topic. (audio) She comes to these protests because her mother is active in the local Code Pink chapter. Amelia herself is not a member, although she supports Code Pink’s activities. She refuses, however, to wear pink. Amelia can only come during the summer, when she’s on break from college. I ask her about how the Code Pink protest at Walter Reed began. “The genesis of this is the fact that soldiers from Iraq are being brought in here, and I think that’s the big thing, that, you know, the pictures that got out of coffins coming in on ships, you know, that we’re not supposed to know how many people are coming back, that we have soldiers injured… This is where the war really comes home.” Amelia is holding a handmade sign which reads, in Spanish “Ya basta con la guerra,” or “Enough of the war.” Her message, she tells me, is directed at everyone (even thought it’s not in English). Amelia believes this protest is a very effective way to “raise awareness of the human cost of war.” I ask her how people on the street are reacting to the protest. She says they’re getting “mostly support’ from people passing by, except for “the occasional verbal retort, the occasional bird flip.” She thinks some people might be confused by the opposing demonstrations, especially since Code Pink was forced to move from the main gate after her mother allowed the permit to lapse. Besides being in Code Pink, her mother is a union activist, and Amelia has been attending protests “almost from birth.” A taxi stops in front of the demonstrators. (audio) The driver, in a heavy Caribbean accent, starts shouting at them. “America is number one!” He says to the amusement of the Code Pink crowd, who laugh at him. “George Bush doing da right ting!” He revs his engine and drives off into the night. My conversation with Amelia continues. (audio) Her first passionate cause was “Geese not Golf,” a campaign to stop the development of a college farm, frequented by migrating geese, into a golf course. She was only eight years old, and made all the signs herself. The golf course was never built, but the farm was eventually closed.	Comrade Bruce arrives with the Professional Storyteller and a new recruit.
	One of our signs.
	The cupcake.
	The birthday girl!

Amelia’s mother is participating in the Code Pink huger strike. She’s drinking only “juices and water.” “They’ve taken people off [only] water, because that is not safe... There is a Franciscan priest, who is with the anti-war group, who fasts every Friday already. And he was only on water. And he’s a very skinny guy, and he was the last one to get off water.” She is unaware of Cindy Sheehan’s recent hospitalization for dehydration.

Amelia has protested against big corporations like Circuit City, organized for Democratic Party candidates, promoted voting rights legislation, and supported many of her mother’s union campaigns. There is “definitely” a lot of intersection between unions and progressive activism, she tells me. Amelia is not at all clear on the difference between the concepts of “free trade” and “fair trade,” using the terms interchangeably. “Look, there’s free trade and fair trade,” she tells me. “So, free trade is the economic idea. Fair trade is the actual, like, goods… It’s the same basic idea.” Despite her confusion on this issue, she has been involved in protests against the IMF and the World Bank. She once did a six-hour shift with her mother conducting a vigil outside the World Bank. “It was one of the sillier things I have been involved in.” As the Code Pink protest winds down, I turn to Amelia’s male companions. For his part, Ted “agree[s] completely with whatever she said.” Ted and Amelia appear to be an item. This was both Ted’s and John’s first protest. I get the sense that they wouldn’t be there, if Amelia hadn’t dragged them along. The Pinkos break camp promptly at 9pm, and I head back up Georgia Avenue to the Freeper rally. Bruce Wolf had given me one of Gerry's birthday cupcakes as a peace offering, but I decline to eat it (you never know what’s in those things). Instead, I show off the cupcake as a trophy of sorts, and eat some pizza one of the Freepers has picked up at Ledo, an Italian place a few blocks up the road. Just before the bus of wounded soldiers and families returns to the hospital, a strange man riding a bicycle the wrong way down Georgia Avenue stops in front of the rally site, and begins talking loudly, to anyone who cares to listen, about civil rights and DC statehood. (audio) He seems particularly agitated that citizens of the District don’t have voting representation in Congress. DC Resident rants on for several minutes, seemingly oblivious to oncoming traffic. He touches on a dizzying number of topics, but always seems to turn back to his pet issue of DC statehood. The rally breaks up. I politely bid DC Resident good night, and walk away. But he doesn’t leave. As far as I know, he’s still there on his bicycle, talking to nobody in particular...

The cop wasn't headed down to bust the commies, but I can dream... He did have a very patriotic K9 in the back that barked appreciatively at us!

*** Pinkos Behind *** Take us down to DEFCON 1 ***

And now for something completely different...

*** New Section *** Capitalism Rules! *** New Section *** Capitalism Rules! *** New Section *** Capitalism Rules! ***

Christmas is right around the corner and now's the time to be thinking about stocking stuffers. The perfect gift for all the Troop Supporters on your list (even the Pinkos) is the 2007 Heroes of AnySoldier Wall Calendar! Get ‘em while they’re hot! Or in this case, before they’re out of the oven. Go to the Where to Send page on AnySoldier.com and order yours today. You can even order a limited edition calendar autographed by one of the Big Dogs: Sgt Brian Horn, Captain Bourland or Major "Taco" Bell!. All proceeds from the sale of these wonderful gifts will be put to excellent use supporting the Troops by maintaining the AnySoldier.com site. They are currently supporting 2/3rds of the deployed men and women all over the world!

For the discerning warrior, no wardrobe is complete without this lovely T-shirt from Crye Precision. At first glance it appears to be your average MLB design, but look again -- "Major League Infidel"! These shirts are a big hit with veterans, so get 'em while they're still available!

*** End of Western Style SuperPower Capitalism Section ***

We'll be back out at Walter Reed next Friday night, August 25th, from 6:30 until at least 10-ish at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Elder Street, NW in Washington, D.C. Let the troops know that regular Americans aren't too busy with TV, ball games, movies and other recreation to show their thanks and support to our brave troops and to peacefully counter America-hating moonbat-Pinkos.

Maybe you can't come every week, but please make it your patriotic duty to join us at least once in the near future. This FReep is rewarding, fun, and important for our troops and our nation.

As always, the DC Chapter's rules for protesting will be in effect. Briefly, they are: No violence. No profanity. No racism. No provocations. Obey the law. Treat all law enforcement officers with respect.

Keeping the BIG HISTORY LIST: All DC Chapter Walter Reed FReeps - c/o BufordP.

[Mrs.Nooseman]

Thank you for the ping.

Way to go!!

[PleaDeal]

Thanks for the explanation! I listen to these interviews and keep expecting to hear "OWWW! Why'd you knock me down?!?" from one of these a$$hats. Your self-control is marvelous!

[WestCoastGal]

Thanks to all of you who continue supporting the guys at Walter Reed.

We have a tribute to them every week on the Nascar thread here Walter Reed Tribute

The names are the ones I know of, I'm not sure who is still there and so many more that I don't have names for.. If you have any first names I can add to that please let me know.

[PleaDeal]

I got it the first time around. "Carrie" = "Large Marge" = "Potomac Barge" = "Bilge Rat" = ... well, you know.

[WVNan]

You have my sempathy dear heart. Isn't it funny how a picture can change one's whole image of self? My son did well with Weight Watchers. Good luck, and thanks for holding up the flag for those of us who can't be there.

[WVNan]

Great report. This thing may get out of hand if yu keep adding numbers. The pizza will get expensive. Thanks to all who came and freeped.

[trooprally]

"... outside the die-hards, there is not a lot of enthusiasm for keeping this going."

Is there enthusiasm among them?

Keep up the subliminal counter protest. We'll need someone to take over for you when you have to go.

[Mr] T

[trooprally]

How many hotdogs will you be having?

Speaking of which - any chance of a repeat performance for Labor Day? You'll have to coordinate with pizza-lady Takoma.

Or on Sept. 22, the day before the big Sept. 23 support the troops rally. Maybe --- if we check with the church, maybe we can cook the hotdogs there. We have a small, fold up grill. But that might be too much celebration for some at Walter Reed.

[Mr] T

[Sensei Ern]

I will see what I can do. If I come across another great deal for dogs at the store, I will do it. the 22nd may be better because I get paid then, and the paycheck of the Labor Day week goes to the rent.

[Albion Wilde]

"Carrie" = "Large Marge" = "Potomac Barge" = "Bilge Rat" = ...

... "Large Barge"...

[Just A Nobody]

How many names would you like?

FReepmail to you!

[Fraxinus]

This thread needs more bumps

BTTT

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Bump.

Roland the headless Thompson-gunner...

[BillF]

Bump!

[Citizen SMASH]

Mmmm... hot dogs.

[trooprally]

That's right, you missed Sensei's last hotdog on cycle bash. He brought hotdogs on his cycle (kept the dogs warm by mounting them on the exhaust pipe) and large tortillas. One wrapped the dogs up with mustard/ketchup. It was great.

[Mr] T

[AprilfromTexas]

Great write up!! Thanks so much for your efforts, PleaDeal! I had another wonderful evening freeping with some of the best folks I know. Thanks so much for all of the hospitality!! I'm sorry I missed Kristann, tglsTakoma, DoctorRaoul and the other absent regulars. I'll have to make it back soon so I can say hi to them in person!!

Ern, don't worry about that photo, the camera always adds pounds.

[AprilfromTexas]

Hey tgslTakoma,

Sorry to have missed you Friday night! It was a blast as usual. I'll be back!

[AprilfromTexas]

Hey BufordP,

Nice job holding that corner Friday night! I waved at ya but you were busy freeping. Freep em for me this week!

bttt

[AprilfromTexas]

Hey trooprally,

It was great to see you and the Ms. Nice job on the photos.

bttt