Free Republic

This brief video presentation is from today’s Memorial Day eve yearly “Rolling Thunder” motorcycle event. This event takes place each year in our nation’s capital to honor those who had given their lives for America. With MANY THANKS to those who gave their lives so we can be free, as well as to our veterans, and to both AP and YouTube.

Maybe he doesn't like the sound of hundreds of thousands of motorcycle riding freedom-fighters roaring through the streets of D.C. all day and night for four days?Barack Obama is turning his back on the Vietnam veterans of Rolling Thunder who will gathering in Washington, D.C. this Memorial Day weekend for their 23rd annual demonstration to remind the nation of those servicemembers still missing or held as prisoners of war.In addition to skipping out on his duties at Arlington National Cemetery so he can vacation at the family mansion in Chicago, Obama will be cancelling what, under President George W. Bush,...

Gears have definitely shifted. Rolling Thunder will not have a traditional audience at the White House to kick-start the 23rd annual "Ride for Freedom" rally. Officials from the mammoth motorcycle group tell Inside the Beltway they will not pay a call on President Obama this weekend when 900,000 riders gather in the nation's capital in the name of patriotism, and to honor active-duty troops, prisoners of war, those missing in action and veterans. The informal, cordial welcome was an annual rite during the previous administration, capped off in 2008 when President George W. Bush met Rolling Thunder President Artie Mueller...

ARLINGTON, Va., May 5, 2010 – Rolling Thunder motorcyclists joined Warrior Games athletes in a wreath-laying ceremony today at the Pentagon Memorial here to honor the victims of Sept. 11, 2001. Army Staff Sgt. Dean Issacs, a disabled soldier suffering from a spinal cord injury, lays a wreath at the Pentagon Memorial on May 5, 2010, in honor of the victims of Sept. 11, 2001. The ceremony was part of the inaugural Warrior Games celebration. The games, which will feature disabled veterans and wounded active duty athletes in Paralympics-style competition, are slated for May 10-14, 2010, in Colorado Springs, Colo....

This is a youtube video

WASHINGTON, May 24, 2009 – Pam Crane sat peacefully in a patch of freshly mowed grass along Highway 27 here in the nation’s capital, remembering her husband, his patriotism and his cause. Bikers from all across the country pull into the Pentagon's north parking lot May 24, 2009, to participate in the 22nd Annual Rolling Thunder rally in Washington, D.C., to remind the nation that many American servicemembers who were prisoners of war or missing in action are still unaccounted for. DoD photo by Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. She...

The last time Rolling Thunder roared into Washington, the president welcomed the riders in the White House driveway with a smile on his face and heartfelt personal greeting. This year, maybe not. "We initially got a call this year saying the president wasn't going to greet us," said Artie Muller, founder of the group.

Rolling Thunder not expecting Obama greeting By Jennifer Harper Friday, May 22, 2009 The last time Rolling Thunder roared into Washington, the president welcomed the riders in the White House driveway with a smile on his face and heartfelt personal greeting. This year, maybe not. "We initially got a call this year saying the president wasn't going to greet us," said Artie Muller, founder of the group that is marking its 22nd annual patriotic motorcycle ride through Washington to draw attention to policy issues influencing veterans, active-duty military, prisoners of war and those still missing in action. But a second...

FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2009 9:00 pm - Candlelight Vigil, Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, "The Wall" SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2009 9:00 am - 11:00 pm - Thunder Alley Open YOU CAN PURCHASE YOUR RAFFLE TICKETS ON THE ALLEY SUNDAY, MAY 24, 2009 OFFICIAL 22ND ANNIVERSARY OF ROLLING THUNDER® 9:00 am - 11:00 pm- Thunder Alley Open Noon - Rolling Thunder XXII to Washington DC from Pentagon Parking MONDAY, MAY 25, 2009 9:00 am - 5:00 pm - Thunder Alley 3:05 pmRaffle Drawing, Thunder Alley (you need not be present to win)

NESHANIK STATION, N.J., May 18, 2009 – Mike Corrado, the Marine recording artist whose 2005 hit song “On My Watch Tonight” was featured on ABC’s “Extreme Makeover Home Edition” and has become an anthem for servicemembers worldwide, is one of the headliners in Rolling Thunder’s “Saluting the Troops” program in Washington, D.C., May 23. Vietnam Memorial Founder and veterans’ activist Jan Scruggs also will be a featured speaker at the event, which will be held from noon to 5 p.m. at the reflecting pool at the base of the Lincoln Memorial. In addition to Corrado, musical guests include national recording...

Ted Sampley was a Viet Nam Veteran, and activist for POW/MIA's and he stood with us at Walter Reed on 30 September 2005 when Rolling Thunder paid us a visit. Ted and I became friends with the common thread being our complete and total hatred of code pink. The obituary says a lot, but it doesn't do justice to the passion Ted had for his Viet Nam veteran brothers, or the passion he had for this current generation of Warriors. The world has lost a good man, but he is in good company, re-united with his brothers from "The Herd"

National and local political activist, decorated veteran, POW advocate, businessman and master potter Ted Sampley passed away Tuesday. He was 62. Sampley, who was recovering from heart surgery a week earlier, was experiencing difficulties from the surgery at the Veteran's Hospital in Durham on Tuesday. He died while being rushed to surgery. His sudden passing surprised many in Kinston. "This is a shock to me," said master shipbuilder Alton Stapleford, the architect of the CSS Neuse II, which Sampley helped bring to fruition. "It's really hard to comprehend right now." Sampley served several tours of duty in Vietnam in the...

Announcing a bikers "Ride-In" in support of the Media March and Atlanta Tax Day Tea Party Meet at: The Varsity, downtown ATL - April 15 KSU: 4:30 p.m. Short ride through downtown Atlanta to the Capitol in support of the Media March and Atlanta Tax Day Tea Party. The media can only ignore us for so long. Let's rattle some windows at CNN Center, AJC and more...time for our 'voices' to be heard.

As the white Honda Ridgeline slowly motored up the Laiers' driveway Friday, a crowd of at least 75 people waved American flags, cheered and held posters with blunt — but heartfelt — messages, such as "Army Dudes Rock." Phil Laier sat in the back seat with a puzzled expression, cautiously waving to everyone who came out to support the 20-year-old U.S. Army specialist who was receiving a hero's welcome after having spent most of the past 15 months in Iraq and Kuwait."I really was just hoping to come and eat some chili, take a shower and go to bed, but...

From:pluksik@aol.com To:(undisclosed e-mail recipients Subject:signs Date:Monday, October 20, 2008 12:21:36 PM Signs are now available at the Johnstown office - 401 Franklin St, the Mt. Pleasant office - 638 W. Main St. and at county HQ's. Come on in and pick yours up. Just to let you know - our wonderful Hot Dog Day coordinators (all 21 of them) and their volunteers put together an event that district-wide brought as many people into contact with Bill Russell as the Sarah Palin rally in Johnstown last week. That's about 5,000 people in one day in 2 hours. Talk about a successful...

Berkeley mayor announces re-election bid Tom Bates seeks third term By Doug OakleyStaff Writer Article Launched: 07/14/2008 05:35:31 PM PDT Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates announced his candidacy for a third term Monday on the steps of city hall surrounded by five other council members who are endorsing him.His challengers so far include former Berkeley Mayor Shirley Dean and activist Zachary Running Wolf.Bates cited his record on fighting global warming, creating a "green economy," getting homeless people off the streets and supporting development near public transportation centers.He is endorsed by council members Gordon Wozniak, Linda Maio, Laurie Capitelli, Darryl Moore and Max...

Garrison Keillor tries to enjoy Memorial Day at the National Gallery, honoring our fallen heroes by going to an art exhibit ... ...on we went to show our patriotism by looking at exhibits at the Smithsonian or, in my case, hiking around the National Gallery, which, after you've watched a few thousand Harleys pass, seems like an outpost of civilization. There stood Renoir's ballerina in pale blue chiffon and Monet's children in the garden of sunflowers. And Mary Cassatt's The Boating Party, which I stood and stared at for a long time. A lady in a white bonnet sits in...

Three hundred thousand bikers spent Memorial Day weekend roaring around Washington in tribute to our war dead, and I stood on Constitution Avenue Sunday afternoon watching a river of them go by, waiting for a gap in the procession so I could cross over to the Mall and look at pictures. The street had been closed off for them and they motored on by, some flying the Stars and Stripes and the black MIA-POW flag, honking, revving their engines, an endless celebration of internal combustion. A patriotic bike rally is sort of like a patriotic toilet-papering or patriotic graffiti—the patriotism...

THE PRESIDENT: It's been a pleasure of my presidency to get to know the leaders of Rolling Thunder. For our fellow citizens who don't know Rolling Thunder, Rolling Thunder is the moment in time here in Washington, on Memorial Day Weekend, when thousands of motorcyclers come to the nation's capital to pay tribute to those who have died in service, to those who sacrificed, and those who serve. And it's a magnificent sight. We just choppered in, Artie, and saw your brothers and sisters cranking up their machines and driving through the nation's capital -- many of them have got...

John Amos, best known for his popular character role of James Evans in the hit CBS sitcom "Good Times", joined fellow bikers in D.C. to speak out for P.O.W.'s, M.I.A.'s, and support those currently serving. VIDEO