***50,000 PRESENT AT LOS ANGELES "SUPPORT OUR TROOPS" RALLY***

LA CHAPTER | 3/2/03 | Diotima

[ALOHA RONNIE]

...and now this from USC's DAILY TROJAN Newspaper:

'Demonstrators show support for possible war'

http://www.dailytrojan.com/article.do?issue=/V148/N31&id=01-demon.31c.html

[JLO]

Aloha, Ronnie - and thanks for the ping, as always.

Too bad the reporter didn't also acknowledge you as a FReeper, too, huh? Oh well, it was a good statement that was quoted by you.

From the linked article...

Ronnie Guyer, a spokesman for FIT-AIM-ACT and a Vietnam veteran, said his group believed that diplomatic solutions had failed and agreed with Bush that it was time to invade Iraq.

"I think we've been at war since Sept. 11," Guyer said. "Every nation that hates the U.S. needs to be democratized. After Iraq is Iran, then Syria, then Lybia, and so on. It's our own best defense."

Guyer said he fought in the battle of the Iadrang Valley, the subject of the recent film "We Were Soldiers," and that he agreed with Hayes about the poor treatment veterans had received from the government.

Best to ya Ronnie!

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Thank you, Ronnie, Ron. What a great group!

One of them leaned over and said to the person marching next to me 'I am so gald to see you guys here!'

Now you made me cry. Long distance honks and "whoo hoos"! (^;

[Mudboy Slim]

Saw the rest of the movie, my FRiend...I know MY favorite scene...when the cabdriver says, "I don't like this job, ma'am, I'm just trying to do it!!"

GREAT movie...MUD

[JustAmy]

AWESOME! We are making a difference.
Thank you for supporting our troops in such grand style.

Bumpity Bump Bump

[ALOHA RONNIE]

ALOHA MUD...

...After his Victory at the Battle of IA DRANG-1965...

...Lt. Col. HAL G. MOORE (MEL GIBSON) hand wrote out his -Letters of Condolances- to all the nearly 500 Families and Loved Ones of our 7th Cavalry's Killed and Wounded in that Battle.

...He wrote them up...

...I typed them up, as Battalion S-1 Personnel Clerk, for mailing back home, some thru Mrs. JULIE MOORE back in Columbus GA to pass on to Wives of the Fallen.

...So, as you might imagine, the most meaningful part of .."WE WERE SOLDIERS".. for me was when Mrs. BARBARA GEOGHEGAN was shown reading her -Letter of Condolance- from Lt. Col. MOORE, and all that it meant, at the end of the Movie.

Thanks for seeing .."WE WERE SOLDIERS".., my Friend. Appreciate.

GARRY OWEN, Sir

[RonDog]

...and now this from USC's DAILY TROJAN Newspaper:

'Demonstrators show support for possible war'

http://www.dailytrojan.com/article.do?issue=/V148/N31&id=01-demon.31c.html

Demonstrators show support for possible war

Protest: Three groups gather in downtown Los Angeles to demonstrate solidarity with president

By DIDIER DIELS
Staff Writer

A group of about 30 protesters marched a half-mile of downtown Los Angeles on Sunday to voice support for President George W. Bush's stance against Iraq and the need to help the homeless, who organizers said were often poorly supported veterans.

The protest, which began 9 a.m. at the corner of Olympic Boulevard and Figueroa Street, drew mostly positive responses from crowds gathered for the Los Angeles marathon but nearly produced a fight when a man flashed peace signs and chanted "No blood for oil."

Ron Smith, who runs promotion for the Los Angeles chapter of FreeRepublic.com, a conservative news forum, ran over and shouted at the man but soon rejoined the march.

"All I know is we have to get rid of Saddam," said Smith, 47. "People think this is going to piss off the Arab world. They're pissed off anyway."

Ted Hayes, founder of the antihomelessness group, Justiceville USA, arranged for the rally to be held at the Dome Village, a collection of domed housing units for homeless people, which Hayes helped found in 1993.

Hayes said he believed military action to aid the Iraqi people would be hypocritical if the U.S. government did not also take action to aid America's homeless

"I'm saying liberate the people over there, but we must bear in mind that there are people here in the U.S. living in the streets, and a lot of them are veterans," Hayes said.

"The most important people of any society are the soldiers that defend it," he added.

The rally was also sponsored by FIT-AIM-ACT, which stands for a Fully Intact & Trained military, Annihilate Incoming Missiles and Attack & Crush Terrorism, an activist group, which supports an increase in military funding, the Bush administration's proposed missile-defense system and strong action against terrorism.

Ronnie Guyer, a spokesman for FIT-AIM-ACT and a Vietnam veteran, said his group believed that diplomatic solutions had failed and agreed with Bush that it was time to invade Iraq.

"I think we've been at war since Sept. 11," Guyer said. "Every nation that hates the U.S. needs to be democratized. After Iraq is Iran, then Syria, then Lybia, and so on. It's our own best defense."

Guyer said he fought in the battle of the Iadrang Valley, the subject of the recent film "We Were Soldiers," and that he agreed with Hayes about the poor treatment veterans had received from the government.

Other speakers at the rally included the Rev. Jesse Paterson, who founded the Brotherhood Organization for a New Destiny, a group to combat the impressions figureheads such as Louis Farrakhan and Al Sharpton give of the black community, Paterson said.

"I am disappointed with black leaders like Farrakhan who are trying to distance the black community from the rest of America," he said. "They're anti-American and bigoted demagogues."

Paterson said he was involved in a lawsuit against Jonathan Jackson, the Rev. Jesse Jackson's son, for physically attacking him in November 2001. He added that the lawsuit was in the California Superior Court and he hoped it would come to trial within the next year.

BOND, Justiceville USA, FIT-AIM-ACT and a number of other groups planned to stage another joint rally March 22 outside the ceremonies for the Academy Awards at Kodak Theatre.

Copyright 2003 by the Daily Trojan. All rights reserved.
This article was published in Vol. 148, No. 31 (Monday, March 3, 2003), beginning on page 1 and ending on page 6.

For the record, I did NOT "almost start a fight," and I do not recall "running over and shouting" at that "No war for oil" bozo, although I DO remember confronting him with something like,

"Oh, yeah?!? What about flying airplanes into buildings? Is THAT O.K.?"

And, I do not remember using the words "pissed off," although I may have.

Fortunately for us, this article was only printed in some rinky-dink college newspaper, but I can now understand the need to have a CLEAR, SIMPLE, consistent message prepared - just in case we get approached by reporters at FUTURE events.

[Mudboy Slim]

Thanks for your service, sir, and for your insight. I'm sincerely honored...MUD

[GOPJ]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Oh, and loved this part:

The Free Republic Chapter of Los Angeles (also known as The Hollywood Resistance Force)

[GOPJ]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Oh, and loved this part:

The Free Republic Chapter of Los Angeles (also known as The Hollywood Resistance Force)

[ALOHA RONNIE]

...As we chanting -Support BUSH- Marchers approached the L.A. Marathon Finish Line last Sunday with our many America Flags...

...we knew...

...based on the unaminous RAVE's for America and BUSH we were getting from everyone on hand ...

...that by extension we were also carrying with us that same Loving Spirit for America of all 50,000 L.A. Marathon Attendees.


This Loving Spirit we were blessed to see was that Solid.

[Joy Angela]

The USC Article is fantastic!!

What a wonderful article, the reporter
captured great quotes from everyone.

And you were able to add the spice! :)

If only the LA TIMES etc would hire
reporters of this fine quality!!

[Hildy]

50,000 conservatives in one place. That was what Dan's Bake Sale was like in Fort Collins, CO. Anyone else there?

[Nam Vet]

Kudos to you, each and every one. This is just super! Your report is great. Keep up the good work. Nice comments regarding the police, motorists etc. This might work all over, even in socialist Portland.

Nam Vet

[diotima]

Welcome to FR!

[RightsandRepublic]

What really happened was that about 20 Freepers decided to hold a pro-war march during the LA Marathon - at which 50,000 people were present - and then claimed that everyone who was there to see the marathon was actually there to support the march, and by proxy, the war on Iraq. So in effect there were two marathons in LA that day - the official Los Angeles Marathon, and Free Republic's Marathon Effort To Look Completely Stupid. Good job, lads!

[Joy Angela]

3 televised News Reports!

3 Newspaper Articles!

WHAT A DAY!! :)

[Joy Angela]

I asked a fellow activist this question yesterday..

"How do the the Anti-American demonstrators get so many people, especially young students, to join in their protests?"

The answer:

**FREE FOOD**, any time you offer free food, people will come.

Interesting.