I was passed your email from a former Marine who posts on Free Republic, who got his copy from the ladies that run the "USO Canteen" thread on that site for the benefit of our people overseas.
Please see http://community.webshots.com/user/angelwood100 and look at the "Patriots Rally II" albums. The DC Chapter has organized a resistance to the anti-war events in DC since their first march on September 29, 2001.
Here's our after action report:
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3bb682cd35e5.htm
Biggest thing I want to note is that there must be NO VIOLENCE against these pukes for a very good reason.
A.N.S.W.E.R. is run by Brian Becker of the Workers World Party and "Refuse and Resist" is run by Clark Kissinger, whose day job is as a writer for the Revolutionary Communist Party's newspaper. Both of these clowns have made the mistake of getting interviewed and letting out their strategies. The main thing is that they dropped their normal violent tactics so they could attract more people (soceer moms, Greens, college kids). HOWEVER, there is an element, the anarchists, that would like violence and that would get the anti-war people POSITIVE press from the liberal media. So we don't want to help them. Our guys can't even give them the finger. We have a really great photo of our guys protesting their Sept 29 march in Tom Brokow's latest book on I believe page 92. I made the "Welcome bin Laden Fan Club Sign" the one guy is holding.
Last year, we were afraid that the anti-war people would trash the Navy Memorial. The US Park Police made sure that the events of the Inauguration were not repeated. They had lots of riot cops deployed there and nothing did happen.
Another point is permits. Any demonstration over 25 people needs a permit. Here are the numbers:
Metropolitan Police (DC) Special Operations (212) 727-4641
US Park Police (Jurisdiction at Memorials) (202) 619-7105
US Capitol Police (Capitol and surrounding area) (202) 228-2800
Here's the deal on permits. The Natioanl Legal Guild (the commie lawyers helping ANSWER) have probably already permitted every memorial long their march route. That's SOP for them.
Legally, that public property is now private property for the duration of the permit. Even if they don't stop there or have their folks at the memorial, they can have the police escort you off. They did that to us on Sept 29 at the Navy Memorial.
Also, they don't permit conpeting/conflicting groups near each other. So they probably won't grant one. They've recently extended the deadline, so you may be too late already.
That's not to say you couldn't show all up on the sidewalk along their march route.
We've been demonstrating in DC for over 4 years now and have a good relationship with the police. They know we're not the problem and we cooperate fully. A lot of people have a misunderstanding of what is actually allowed under "freedom of speech" and it creates unnecessary problems. For us and the police.
I'd like to see your folks and the DC Chapter of FR work together on this one.
I have to run but I'll call you from the road later. There's a lot more info I can pass. This was a quick data dump so you'd have the most important points to review.
OK ... Got a lotta stuff that's essential scoop. I have tried to put this together so that you bros can send it out as-is to all the places you sent THE LETTER. Advise your recipients to forward this to everyone THEY sent the original to, and so-on and so-on. I tought it would be too long, so there is at least another page, and maybe more, that I am sending forthwith.
Here 'tis:
HEAR YE ... HEAR YE ... UPDATE 12/30/02
This may seem disjointed, but things are coming to me by e-mail and phone fast and furious, so bear with me please.
Since my original letter “HEAR YE ... HEAR YE ... A CALL TO ARMS”, I have spent a tremendous amount of time coresponding with several helpful allies, and garnering information that is either essential or informative regarding the upcoming event 1/18/03 in DC.
After consideration of the organizations that would prove most beneficial to our cause, I have determined the most efficient means of getting ourselves up-to-speed on our enemy and the workings of Washington DC is to enlist as our primary ally, FreeRepublic.com .
Most of the very-helpful info I have gotten has been from lengthy conversations with Raoul and Kristinn of that organization. They have been “in the face” of these leftist-radical protesters at all of their D.C. “events”, going back to just after 9/11. They also are very familiar with the authorities in D.C. Not only that, they are adept at getting things done that have to be done to be “kosher” with the authorities there, they are knowledgeable of press/media contacts [having helped me there; I have the contacts e-mail addys AND phone #s now], and they will be there in D.C. as our allies to help us avoid making any missteps. I am in awe of both our luck finding them and their D.C. acumen.
OK ... first to dispel some myths, [1] While it’s true the radicals can tie up the rights to a monument or piece of ground there with the proper permit, THAT CANNOT BE DONE WITH THE WALL, IWO JIMA, OR ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETARY! Those places are exempt and protected from that! [2] The radicals did NOT handle or touch or use for their propaganda The Wall in a recent protest. They did make statements about what Vietnam vets would wish, but were not at The Wall. There were people on OUR side at the Wall. Somehow, the two got “melded”. [3] The radicals are mustering on the west side of THE CAPITOL! ... NOT the White House, at 1100 1/18.
I encourage each and every one of you to go to the FreeRepublic website and view the material. You will get an informative view of what “protesting” in DC, surely the Protest Capital of the world, is all about. You’ll get the flavor and feel, and also you will see the delicious sense of humor the Free Republic guys and gals have. Boy, are they a thorn in the side of the leftists!!!! PERMITS AND PROTOCOL: ... Very important! Washington DC and the area, including Arlington, have more cops per capita than anywhere else on earth. DO NOT ... I REPEAT ... DO NOT believe a force of thousands cannot be physically dealt with by the security forces there! Free Republic folks tell me there are upwards of a dozen police forces there, numbering in the thousands, and they have very, very sophisticated equipment, funding, training and the backup of federal forces and FBI, CIA, and Secret Service inter-agency backup numbering in the many thousands too. There are many thousands of active duty armed forces within minutes of any site there always ready to assist.
I will not expound further on the above; rather ... I will tell you these forces are in good graces with the Free Republic people, and the commanding officers are well known to their people and vice-versa. This is essential to us, as these forces would not otherwise know what to expect from “newcomers” to the protest scene like a large group of Vietnam vets whose motives would be a mystery to the police.
ANY NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN ANY GROUP OF 25 OR MORE MUST, I REPEAT, MUST HAVE A PERMIT!
Now, having said that, you may believe, as I originally did, that we all can go as individuals, or as very small groups, but fellas, THAT AIN’T GONNA WORK, because it’s been tried a bazillion times before. Circumvention intent is NOT a funny thing to the security agencies there. We want to stay in the best of graces with the gendarmes. It usually takes 30 days to get a permit, so we would have had a problem there. The second and third problems might have been (as required normally) what number would we state and who is our organization?
We will be OK and in compliance on all counts, thanks to FreeRepublic. They are going to be in touch with the proper police commander and the permit people they know, and will take care of this for us, and explain to the agencies that we are with them, not as FreeRepublic people, or “Freepers” as they are known, but as M.O.V.E.O.U.T.! Our numbers will of course not be known ... and I stated I have no idea whether there will be 10 of us or 10,000!
I repeat, FreeRepublic people are to get the permits for us. The intent at this time, per Mr. T*, is to get the permit for our muster at the closest permitable area to the Wall and the Brothers of Nam statue. Taylor sees no problem with the commander’s being informed we have good intentions, in keeping with Free Republic, and we do not know the numbers because this is the first gathering, and there is no formal “organization”; that nearly everyone there is actually an individual who just got “the word”. I will make a short announcement as close to 0900 as possible, and then we will move to the permitted area adjacent, where we can finalize our muster and move on at will.
ROUTE ... As stated, the muster point for the leftists will be on the west side of The Capitol at 1100. From there, they will proceed on Independence Ave., east to Pennsylvania Ave, southeast on Pennsylvania Ave to 8th Street, south on 8th for a STOP at [sit down when you read this] ... EIGHT & I ... BE ADVISED, THE COMMANDANT AND HQ MARINE CORPS WILL BE ADVISED, EVEN IF UNNECESSARILY, BY ME THROUGH MORE THAN ONE SOURCE OF COMMAND IN THE MARINE CORPS ... THEY WILL BE READY!!!
The maggots will proceed from 8th and I down 8th Street south to the Washington Navy Yards, which is to be the terminus of their little jaunt.
We will proceed from our 0900 muster point east along Independence Ave to The Capitol. We will look to the Free Republic people for direction, and we will follow their advice and lead. The police will not allow two opposing groups to mingle or get within an acceptable to them proximity [generally speaking, close enough for physical assault or large objects to be thrown successfully].
This is where we get to REALLY have some FUN! ... We are allowed to bellow our lungs out. We can use bullhorns and we can even use the kind with a battery and an amplified horn. We must use signs that use a stick no longer than three feet [3’]. We can cook up very derisive chants [one that was very effective and rattled the lefties last time was “SWIM TO CUBA” ... and other cleverly biting ones]. We can make banners as long as we want that can be stretched between two of the three foot sticks. Again, we will follow the lead and advice of the “Freepers” who are without peer at this giddy venture of harassing leftists. I, for one, can hardly wait!
There are some parade-route no-nos we must be careful to avoid, such as racist remarks and things like that. We can cuss the tar out of them though. Chants and songs work the best, because the din of that sort of thing is insurmountable for them, especially when one of their “speakers” or “notables” would attempt to talk, even amplified. The Freepers were successful in causing the leftists to disband, during the last protest, with their extreme noise and derision. Here’s your chance to finally tell these creeps what you think of them UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL! ... so have a Ball!
ROUTE: ... T*, of FreeRepublic, who lives in DC, tells me the distance from The Wall to the W side of the Capitol is a little over a mile. It is less than that to The Navy Yards. We will probably position ourselves along the route somewhere between the Capitol and the end of the route. I am going to suggest we position ourselves just before 8th & I. That way we can have both the approaching leftists AND 8th & I in view. Hopefully our IMPOSING DIN will cause the protesters to disperse. That probably won’t happen, but we should try. Failing that, we may just get to watch them attempt something at 8th & I and have the fun of watching them get attacked by the police to their rear, and even better, attacked by Marines at the front of 8th & I! DO NOT let me forget to attempt this positioning and bring it up beforehand to the Freepers.
HEADS UP ... The FreeRepublic folks will be setting up video/recording sessions with the media. This will be ALL media; print, radio, and TV. We don’t know at this time where and when these will be shown. I will pass this word on when I get it, but that may not be known until a day or two before even.
Both the FreeRepublic and VVAR [Leonard Magruder at Vietnam Veterans for Academic Reform] have asked who will be the person being the representative of the veterans and the Right ... I told them that would be me [Joel Kernodle].
I was told these recorded sessions with the media will probably occur a day or two before the event, and they asked if I could be there early by up to three days, for example, and I said “yes”. There may be a possibility of a debate with a representative of the leftists, and asked if I am capable of doing that and would I be willing to do so, and I said, most emphatically, YES.
The places mentioned the most for TV include FOX, CNN, and C-Span. The most “important” and likely ones for print will be the New York Daily News, AP, UPI, and Royters.
Other things you all should look for: You may see some people lurking around among and close to “cover” who are dressed in a lot of black. Many will have black hats or hoods too. These will be the worst of the bunch. They are the “Black Bloc”, which is a very dangerous anarchist group. They started in Germany, it’s believed, and will be the ones most likely to sneak in a window breaking or a sucker punch. They will be watched by the police, but keep your eye on these creeps. They were the ones causing the most physical damage at the World Bank conferences.
Also, you may see some geeky looking characters in neon orange hats. Those will be communist lawyers from the National Lawyers Guild. They are there to keep an eye on their “little charges” and make sure the police honor their ill-gotten permits and record any transgressions of us conservatives, vets, and right-wingers ... a word of caution! One of the dirty little “tricks” you may endure is being “rushed” by a radical, who will be watched by one of their communist [no kidding!] lawyers.
Their hope is to try to start a melee or at least get someone to fight. There will be some taunting on their side too. PLEASE do not fall for this!!!! LET THE POLICE HANDLE THEM. Believe me, there will be considerable mileage given any footage of veterans and right-wingers fighting ... it will be edited ... taken out of context ... and shown with considerable glee by the likes of the Dan Rathers and other leftist TV personalities. Of course, if you have a radical jump right on your body and flailing you, well, you certainly have a right to defend yourself! ... and gee, I guess combat Marines know WHAT TO DO!!!
The mix of the bulk of the bodies of the leftist marchers is 3/4 college students who are bussed in and provided a lunch. Of the remaining 1/4, over 1/2 of that is clergy and faculty [professors and such]. The remainder are weirdos, Black Bloc, a few Black Panthers and middle eastern stooges, and some other fringe sympathizers. About half are female.
I would add that the communist party is behind all of these things. Ramsey Clark is one of the most visible leaders! Again, the “cast” can be seen at FreeRepublic’s website. More later.