Austin Rally 3/30/03 after action report

3/30/03 | The Bat Lady

[The Bat Lady]

Finally the south steps of the Capitol in Austin TX. were covered with American flags and support the troops signs. Lots of support for President Bush. It was thrilling after so long of just a few of us meeting to support the troops to see the place covered with flags, cheering people and many saying we won't be silent any more.

[katykelly]

Good job! Thanks for the ping, Gracey. You know I like to keep up with "anything Texas".

[DrewsDad]

Here is a Daily Texan(deadly toxin) Article

Mu-Ming Chen/ Daily Texan Staff

Charles Kastner of Austin waves the American flag in support of the war effort and President Bush during a pro-war rally held at the Capitol Sunday afternoon.

Pro-war rally on Capitol draws 2,500

By Elliott Blackburn (Daily Texan Staff)

March 31, 2003

Pro-war activists rallied under the flutter of American and British flags on the South steps of the Capitol Sunday to hear speakers praise the Bush administration and decry anti-war protesters.

Brian Bodine, the Young Conser-vatives of Texas executive director and event organizer, estimated the crowd at 2,500.

Speakers included U.S. Congress-man John Carter and Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson. All were clear in their support of President Bush and U.S. troops fighting in Iraq.

"You cannot support the troops and not the commander-in-chief," Patterson said.

The rally opened with prayer, the national anthem and the pledge of allegiance. Families with relatives in Iraq and veterans of previous wars were recognized and called to the foot of the Capitol steps.

Former state representative Rick Green said war was a last resort, but the United States was justified.

"We all want peace," Green said. "But [anti-war protesters] are so blinded that they do not see that ... the depravity of [some men] causes us to go to war sometimes."

"You do not get peace through weakness and appeasement. You get peace through strength."

Col. Hugh Shine of the Texas National Guard agreed, stating U.S. military strength carried certain obligations.

"America has the ability and the responsibility to shape world events," Shine said.

Alan Sager, a University of Texas lecturer in the Department of Government, also criticized anti-war protesters.

"A lot of these kids do not have a moral compass," he said.

Sheila Green, 45, said she had also attended a similar, smaller rally last Sunday.

"There are so many protests against the war," she said. "I wanted to say, with my one voice, that I support it."

Green said she believed that the president is waging war for the right reasons and that sometimes sacrifice is necessary.

"A lot of people say that war is a terrible thing, and it is," she continued. "But if there were no people to fight in the Civil War... slavery ended because men and women died on both sides."

Rick Green urged the crowd to not let their voices be reserved for rallies and to continue to educate themselves on the issues.

"We need more than renewed patriotism, we need informed patriotism," Green said.

During and after the rally, customers swarmed around stands selling pro-war yard signs printed by the Travis and Williamson County Republican parties.

Steven Hopkins, president of Hopkins Art Design, handled the busiest table just outside the Capitol gates, selling T-shirts. He began printing the shirts in addition to his usual Longhorn sports fare at the requests of friends, he explained. Business was brisk.

"The main purpose of [these shirts] is not to produce a profit," Hopkins said. "It's to make more of them."

[DrewsDad]

Here is a BBC Article.

"Some say this country's just out looking for a fight - after 9-11, man I'd have to say that's right... Have you forgotten how it felt that day to see your homeland under fire, and your people blown away?"

Supporters in Texas see their soldiers as "standing up for what's right"

The words of Darryl Worley, whose song "Have You Forgotten?" has became a favourite of right-leaning radio presenters in the USA. These "shock jocks" have been using their shows to rally the nation round the flag, and heap abuse upon anti-war protestors.

One of the presenters, Don Crawford from Austin, Texas, was recently sacked for - his bosses said - going too far.

Mr Crawford was a guest of honour at the "Rally for America" in Austin, where the Darryl Worley song had them cheering in the sunshine outside the red granite Texas State Capitol.

Somewhere between two and three thousand gathered, waving the Stars and Stripes, and holding up banners praising Bush and the troops and lambasting the French.

'Rummy can handle anything'

And what of the alleged bust-up between Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the nation's finest military brains? No-one was having any of that:

"Rummy can handle anything they throw at him. I love him", said a lady dressed as the Statue of Liberty. "He tells the truth. He tells it like it is and he will not put up with the idiot questions he has to answer from the media. He tells it how it needs to be."

Some had driven hours across this huge state to get to the rally. Many military families were there. Jean Glass has both a son and a nephew in Camp Pendleton, a military base north of San Diego.

"My son's not over there yet," he said, "and I hope he doesn't have to go. But if he does get sent out, it won't be our government's fault. Somebody has to do it. Somebody has to stand up for what's right."

Mistrusting the media

Watching the rally quietly in the middle of the crowd was Michael Ford, a serving US Marine. As a military man, what did he think of the news coming back from the Gulf?

"It's going well. I trust in the people above me and their judgement. If they say its going well then they're not going to lie to us."

The media, Michael added, are misrepresenting public feeling in the United States. "I think the amount of support is actually much higher than the press shows you," he said.

"It's bad that the press generally only shows the anti-war protests and the anti-war statements."

Among supporters of the war this is a widely held feeling - that anti war protestors have hijacked media attention so that, in the US at any rate, an unbalanced picture of public opinion emerges in the papers and over the airwaves.

If the battle for Baghdad is prolonged, the rally war also looks likely to escalate.

[DrewsDad]

Local News8 video clip at post #31
Austin News Rag Article at post #57
UT Newspaper Article at post #82
BBC News Article at post #83

[The Shrew]

Bump for FRN Research!

Great Job Drew's Dad!

Regards,

TS

[dwills1964]

I was DELIGHTED to meet the Freepers from Austin (as well as Ft. Worth) & look forward to seeing y'all again. I'm really excited to have found a group of folks with whom I share core values/beliefs & who are willing to do what it takes to make a difference! I truly feel priveleged.

Don't forget: ANYONE WANTING TO PROTEST THE PROTESTERS (after 5 & on weekends) get in touch with me because I'm rearin' to go! :-)

[DrewsDad]

It was great meeting you there. We might actually have a meeting in a couple weeks, so keep your eyes peeled for an announcement.

Gracey, make sure she is on our ping list.

[Gracey]

WOW. What fond memories.

[Gracey]

She's been on our ping list for several weeks. Thanks DD. As usual you do a terrific job. We appreciate you ..... and Drew :-)

[Constitution Day]

BUMP.

[Gracey]

Pinging for Texas that may have missed this post.

[Gracey]

LOL at your Whiny Hiney sign. It's GREAT!!!!

[ladtx]

Great pictures. Wish we could have been there.

[Gracey]

Wish you were there also. We showed that Texans LOVE our Military. Checked your homepage. THANK YOU for your service to the USA. Thanks for sharing with us what you've done. You make us proud. Hugs

[Constitution Day]

LOL at your Whiny Hiney sign. It's GREAT!!!!

Thanks. We had a great time that day!
The really fun part was infiltrating the anti's with my Saddam mask:

[krb]

Wow...who are those lovely liberty-loving ladies? Looks like Austin might have some competition for Belly Girl :-)

[ladtx]

Your rally means a lot to Mrs ladtx and I since we have two sons over there. We have a hard time making the rallies because our youngest son is playing college baseball and we try to give him all our support on the weekends too, so we get spread a little thin.

[anymouse]

BBC: Texans Fly the Flag for War [mentions Rally For America] thread

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/882091/posts

[Gracey]

Wow what a profound sign. EEKS. Did any of the Saddam A$$ kissers react?

[Gracey]

Understand... it's hard to do too many things when you still have children at home and conflicting events. Mrs. Ladtx would have been proud...

BTW, we met a couple from FT Worth. They presently have three (3) sons in the Navy. They were so proud of their sons and so glad to drive to Austin for this event.