Free Republic

When hundreds of tea-party protesters – including many elderly women – gathered outside a civic center where President Obama was giving a public speech Wednesday, they were surprised to be greeted by police dispatched in full riot gear. Obama spoke in Quincy, Ill., at the Oakley Lindsay Civic Center. The event was open to the public, and about 2,000 tickets were distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis. About 200 protesters peacefully rallied outside the civic center, carrying signs that read "Give Us Liberty Not Debt" and yellow "Don't Tread On Me" flags, the Quincy Herald-Whig reported. Protesters waved U.S. flags...