But I am glad to hear there were Bush supporters on hand.You have NO IDEA how powerful is their support!
Our side was once again "digital camera-deprived" at this event, but HERE is an image of these guys from another thread:
Posted on 03/03/2004 8:23:18 PM PST by RonDog
I just got back from an AMAZING rally to support President Bush at the Shrine Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles, right across the street from the University of Southern California.An then I heard what they were chanting:Wow.I thought that **I** was intense.It is a good thing that these Iranian-American patriots are on OUR side. :o)As many of you know, we just found about the President's visit here a few days ago, and it is always difficult for those of us with a job, a family and/or a LIFE to break away on a workday to do ANYTHING, particularly during the miserable "rush hour" traffic on freeways leading into downtown Los Angeles.So, I only knew of a handful of FReepers who would even POSSIBLY be there.
And, I found out early this morning that one of the L.A. Chapter's FAVORITE FRiends, Mr. TED HAYES had a family emergency, and could NOT attend.
So, I was apprehensive as I drove to the site of what we expected to be a major anti-Bush rally organized by the "anti-war" group A.N.S.W.E.R.-L.A.
THEIR protest was scheduled for 5 pm, so I arrived early - at 4 pm - to claim a good spot for us to counter them.When I turned the corner onto the street in front of the Shrine Auditorium, my heart sank.There was already a HUGE crowd gathered in the PRIME location. RATs, I thought.They had a half dozen large vinyl banners - each ten feet by three feet, and MANY colorful flags - with at least THIRTY passionate protesters.
They beat me here. :(
"We support...Those guys were on OUR side!!!...President Bush!""We support......President Bush!""We support......President Bush!"
More soon.
In the mean time, please TURN ON your TV, and watch the nightly news for our rally.A few screen captures would be nice. :o)
But I am glad to hear there were Bush supporters on hand.You have NO IDEA how powerful is their support!
Our side was once again "digital camera-deprived" at this event, but HERE is an image of these guys from another thread:
Bush got more votes in California than Kerry did!!
http://vote2004.ss.ca.gov/Returns/pres/00.htm ^
Posted on 03/03/2004 10:57:17 AM PST by No Dems 2004
Just an interesting tidbit I noticed while perusing the results of the CA primary.
GW Bush received 1,949,746 votes, while
Kerry received only 1,764,436.Sure, I know the President was unchallenged while Kerry had competition, but even all the Dem voters combined didn't tally that far ahead of President Bush. I thought California was unwinnable for the President and that they were turning out in droves to 'send him a message'.
LOL
CLICK HERE for the rest of that thread
And this (without the writing) would have been the Iranian flag they were waving. Rather different from the mullahs' flag.
I was a graduate student at USC in the late 80s...I only had time to talk to a FEW students, but ONE of them was wearing a T-shirt that said:
Wow.
Sort of like THIS image, from www.irancpi.org/:
And, at OUR rally this evening, there were AT LEAST as many AMERICAN flags as there were IRANIAN flags...
President Launches Reelection Campaign
Bush Addresses Religious WorkersBy Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 4, 2004; Page A04
LOS ANGELES, March 3 -- President Bush kicked off his general election campaign Wednesday by telling a largely Christian audience he has opened billions of dollars in federal contracts to religious organizations despite resistance from Congress. Then he headed for a pair of fundraisers that raised a total of $4.1 million for Republicans.
Bush drew repeatedly on the vocabulary of the pulpit as he addressed 1,200 ministers and other religious workers at a conference organized by the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. He created the office to help churches, mosques and synagogues compete for federal contracts for services including tutoring and drug rehabilitation.
"I'm here to thank you . . . for hearing that call," he said. "Actually, I shouldn't be thanking you. I should be thanking a higher power for giving you the call."
The faith-based initiative is one of the White House's primary outreaches to African Americans and Hispanics, and both groups were heavily represented in the audience at the Los Angeles convention center this afternoon. Bush said he was there simply to recognize that in the City of Angels, "there are so many people doing God's work."
CLICK HERE for the rest of that thread
OUR side!!!And, for THEIR side, see www.nbc4.tv:
President Bush Praises Those Doing 'God's Work' In 'City of Angels'
Bush Addresses Southland Religious Leaders Seeking Federal Funds For Faith-Based Initiatives
POSTED: 5:55 pm PST March 3, 2004
LOS ANGELES -- A Los Angeles Convention Center hall seemed more like a church today and President George W. Bush as its pastor, as he spoke to hundreds of religious leaders seeking federal money to carry out their missions."Here in the City of Angels there are so many people doing God's work," he said to cheering attendees of the two-day White House Conference on Faith- Based and Community Initiatives.
"We're talking about healing our nation," he said. "We're not talking about politics."
The audience responded with raucous cheer, sprinkled with shouts of "amen."
Representatives from faith-based organizations attended the conference -- the 11th of its kind -- to learn how they can secure grants from the government to fund the services they provide to their communities.
Last year, a total of $1.1 billion was given to such groups through his initiative, Bush said.
"Church and states need to stay separate, but you can use federal money to help a person quit drinking. You can use federal money to help a person find housing," Bush said.
One attendee said her church could certainly use a little extra help.
"We want to broaden our missions," Laverne Holloway said.
That's why she drove all the way from Nipomo, near Santa Barbara, to learn how she might obtain a grant so the 200-member congregation of Victory Harvest Church can continue its programs for the homeless, elderly and at-risk youth, she said.
"If you're a church in the community, they expect you to do it all," said Holloway, who's hoping for $30,000.
Rolland Brown is a grant writer/consultant from Fresno who helps faith- based groups with no experience in accessing federal money. "The federal government has realized that faith-based and community organizations are really close to these social problems," he said.
When Air Force One landed at Los Angeles International Airport this afternoon, Bush greeted Charlotte Van Fleet, a volunteer at the Harambee Christian Family Center in Pasadena.
It's people like Holloway, Brown and Van Fleet that Bush commended today, calling them "social entrepreneurs."
"You're soldiers in armies of compassion," he said. "You're people who've put on the armor of the one above to save lives."
Bush also praised local leaders who were on hand, including Mayor Jim Hahn.
"His being here is a testimony to his understanding that the faith community in Los Angeles can help him do his job better," Bush said.
Outside the Concourse Hall stood three lone protesters holding anti-Bush signs.
Wade Novin of Los Angeles said he doesn't agree with federal money going into the hands of religious groups.
"It's called the First Amendment. That all that needs to be said on it," he said.
Bush's visit to a state he lost in the last election, but one now run by a Republican governor, comes a day after Democrats around the country signaled their intent to rally behind Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., to reclaim the White House.
The president was scheduled to speak this evening at a "Bush-Cheney 2004" fund-raising reception at the Shrine Auditorium, where he will likely be greeted by a lot more protesters, including those with the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism Coalition.
Copyright 2004 by NBC4.tv. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
...The president was scheduled to speak this evening at a "Bush-Cheney 2004" fund-raising reception at the Shrine Auditorium, where he will likely be greeted by a lot more protesters, including those with the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism Coalition.To paraphrase Monty Python, "NOBODY expects the Iranian-American patriots!"
We REALLY caught the A.N.S.W.E.R. RATs flat-footed with THIS rally. ;o)There were four corners at the main entrance to the venue - where all the attendees had to drive into the "VIP" parking area.
The Shrine Auditorium itself was on the northeast corner, but since all cars had to enter from the east, and make a right turn - north - into the parking lot, the northwest corner had the best visibility.
That is where the Iranian-Americans set up their flags and banners.When I arrived, I recruited a few of their people to stake a claim the the southwest and southeast corners - using MY two ten foot by three foot banners.
That left only the least favorable corner for the RATs - who did not even START to get there until almost 5 p.m.By 6 p.m., they probably had over a hundred "anti-Bush" protesters, but they were marginalized in a poor position. :o)
I was an undergraduate there in the 70s. And while we're talking nostalgia. . . El Rey Taco, Tommy's, Julie's, and the Pantry. I even bought my first car at Felix Chevrolet when I graduated.
Is it just my imagination or is parking getting worse on or near campus all the time? Seems like it was easier back then.
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