Free Republic

A protester holds a flower out to riot police outside the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota September 4, 2008. Police offered her a vase for her flower and then arrested her for possessing a Minnesota Yellow Gerbera Daisy, which is on the state endangered list. Illegal harvesting or sale of the flower carries a $30,000 fine and two years in prison. Semi-literate Code Pink Activist Janet Macaroni holds up a sign in support of "WAR" before collapsing from the weight of her handmade vinyl banner. Anti-war protester Jessica OrganicGrapeJuice is assisted by bicycle police after she puts...

By the time Sen. John McCain finished his speech and delegates let out of the Xcel Energy Center, downtown was so devoid of activists that a large diverse crowd gathered in Rice Park couldn't even muster a unified cheer, despite many signs indicating anti- Republican sentiments. In short, a stranger might not know this is a democratic town. The end came after protestors who had rallied at the Capitol grounds made several unsuccessful attempts Thursday night to reach the X, site of the Republican National Convention. Large rows of armed law enforcement officials, many on bicycle or horseback, stopped them...

They have disrupted McCain's speech several times. I've never seen anything like this during a convention. I wonder how they managed to get in. To me this is scary. What if these people were there to do something other than shout? I'm sure these people will be the headline on MSNBC and the New York Times....

Code pink and the next John Kerry woooopppppeeeeeee

As part of their recruitment drive, leaders of the anti-war, anti-American activist group, Code Pink, showed up at the Republicans' national convention in St. Paul yesterday and performed an act of political theater that got them arrested. Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans, who really ought to be dressed in bright pink straitjackets, disrupted the acceptance speech of vice presidential nominee Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and were led away. Benjamin and Evans wore pink slips upon which ''Palin Not a Woman's Choice'' was written and tried to wave a banner that read, ''We need a Peace VP.'' (Sean Hackbarth has a...

Convention protesters cling to free speech rights, more than 300 arrested | IDS | Date: 9/4/2008 ST. PAUL, Minn. – Katelyn Peck, a 20-year-old junior from California State University, stood with about 25 other protesters in a sea of pink. Pink dresses and umbrellas, jeweled crowns, sequined cowboy hats and pink banners formed the group’s attire, while one woman in the lead blew a whistle and ordered the march forward as mobs of media and citizens traipsed around them. The peace group, CODEPINK, danced, sang and marched to declare their distaste for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the vice-presidential candidate...

One of Barack Obama's elite fundraisers from the anti-American group Code Pink attempted to storm the stage last night during Republican vice presidential nominee Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's acceptance speech at the GOP convention in St. Paul.Jodie Evans, one of a group of about 500 top financiers who have bundled tens of thousands of dollars for the Obama campaign was seized by the Secret Service after she had made her way to side of the stage and and started to yell at Palin.The Washington Post reported on the incident:10:45 p.m. A pair of Code Pink activists just got to the...

Four members of CODEPINK arrested By Andy Birkey 9/3/08 8:24 PM Four members of the CODEPINK women’s peace movement were arrested Wednesday afternoon. The women, Desiree Fairooz, 52, of Arlington, Texas, Toby Blome, 53 of El Cerrito, Cali., Kit Siemen, 50, of Quilcene, Wash., and Nancy Mancias, 38, of San Francisco, were protesting Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin near the St. Paul Hotel when police pushed them to the sidewalk and into the fence surrounding the security perimeter.CODEPINK’s media contact Jean Steven’s sent this message along: In protest of the war and Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s pro-war and pro-drilling positions,...

God's blessings on America would be good. I'd ask for prosperity, generosity, intelligence, opportunity, and peace. Apparently some people think of other divine blessings. Like the Bronze Age Hebrews, they pray for God's blessing in war. From McCain's Website, we learn his position on Iraq: "I know the pain war causes. I understand the frustration caused by our mistakes in this war. And I regret sincerely the additional sacrifices imposed on the brave Americans who defend us. But I also know the toll a lost war takes on an army and on our country's security." McCain says that Obama's policies...

Rocky Mountain News excerpt:Code Pink protester shown on video being shoved to the ground by a police officer's baton and later hauled away remains in jail on a charge of interfering with an arrest but should be released tonight, Code Pink officials say. Alicia Forrest was arrested outside Civic Center Park after confronting officers and asking them questions about another arrest they were making, said Sally Newman, legal liaison and spokeswoman for the group. "She was one of a number of people trying to find out where this person was being taken," Newman said. "They just arrested her along with...

Members of CodePINK, an organization opposed to the Iraq war, held aloft an effigy of Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks as they marched along Colfax Ave. today. Members of the group sang "We shall not be moved," an anthem of the Civil Rights movement, and chanted as they paraded on the second day of the Democratic National Convention. The group wants Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to pledge to end the occupation of Iraq, said Renay Davis, 58, a Code Pink member from San Francisco. "At this point I will vote for him. He is our last hope for change...

Kelly Jacobs will be wearing dresses made from a "peace flag" every day at the Democratic National Convention. As a delegate and a CodePink activist, she'll don bright pink earrings, shoes and backpacks - and hundreds of peace and pink-colored buttons. "There's no getting away from the peace message. It's on my neck down to my waist," said Jacobs, 49. The Mississippi activist, who is a delegate for Hillary Rodham Clinton, is one of about 20 CodePink women attending the Democratic convention. They probably won't be disruptive inside. But CodePink members outside the Denver convention are planning to stage parades,...

The Associated Press ran a profile this morning on the efforts by the so-called antiwar group Code Pink the Democratic National Convention in Denver this week that ignored the intimate fundraising role the group's co-founder Jodie Evans has with the Obama campaign.The article, sympathetic in tone, reported on the difficulties Code Pink has had getting the Democratic party to end the war in Iraq and how they are struggling to keep the public's attention on the war as other issues have come to the fore this election year.Significantly, the article paints Code Pink as being given the brush off by...

The Democratic National Convention is days away, and Sen. Barack Obama is wading through a lot of mud that is sticking to him. During the primary election, I gave Mrs. Clinton some advice. Today, I offer the same for Obama, who wants to be commander in chief.I will frame my advice in the form of questions. If Mr. Obama can answer these questions honestly, he can help himself and his campaign. So here we go:SNIP 5. You have other associations that aren't exactly kosher for a presidential candidate. You've condemned your former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, for his anti-American speeches. Now...

<p>Responding to a D.C. Chapter of FreeRepublic.com press release issued yesterday that highlighted the Republican National Committee called out Obama bundler Jodie Evans for supporting the insurgency in Iraq, the Code Pink co-founder is quoted by the liberal website Raw Story as denying her support for the candidacy of presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama.</p>

The Republican National Committee (RNC) published an update at its BarackBook.com website yesterday that accuses Barack Obama presidential campaign bundler Jodie Evans of supporting the insurgency in Iraq. http://www.barackbook.com/Profiles/JodieEvans.htm Evans is co-founder of the so-called antiwar group Code Pink. The RNC quoted a January 15, 2006 column by Robert Novak that said, "Code Pink, At A Mock War Crimes Tribunal In Istanbul June 27, Signed A Declaration That The Iraqi Insurgency 'Deserved The Support Of People Everywhere Who Care For Justice And Freedom.'" Evans represented Code Pink at the mock war crimes tribunal. In addition to expressing Code Pink's support...

Re-create 68 announced today that anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan and revolutionary rappers Public Enemy will speak and perform in Denver during the Democratic National Convention. Sheehan plans to speak during a 9 a.m. rally on the Sunday before the Democratic National Convention begins. Organizers say her speech will take place on the steps of the state Capitol on Aug. 24 just before Re-create 68's scheduled march to the Pepsi Center.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) today launched new friend updates to its social networking Web site, http://www.BarackBook.com. The most recent friend updates include Barack Obama's notable associations with Jodie Evans, co-founder of protest group CODEPINK; Ali Abunimah, co-founder of the online publication Electronic Intifada and board member of the Arab American Action Network; and Valerie Jarrett, an Obama adviser and bundler who helped shape Chicago's housing policy - a plan which resulted in the city losing more than 13,000 units of housing for the poor.BarackBook will be updated routinely between now and Election Day with additional, new Obama friends. Users...

Lots of groups were there. LA Answer, the peace group, was aggressive and loud. The Obama supporters were subdued. AARP was there, as was a large group of Ron Paul Supporters. There was a large anti abortion group. Every one of the Pro - McCain supporters agreed that the border needs to be secured. Law Enforcement was great, horse patrol was there. A Few of the LA Answer Peace advocates had to be detained for pushing and shoving. Mc Cain was much more on point than Obama, who seemed to be vague and rambling.

LAKE FOREST – As Senators John McCain and Barack Obama make their way to Saddleback Church Saturday evening, thousands of spectators and demonstrators are expected to be on hand, as well as officials from four law enforcement agencies who will maintain order.