Posted on 10/30/2005 4:10:30 AM PST by Valin
Outside Walter Reed on Friday Nights, Two Camps Stand Their Ground
Every Friday night, Gael Murphy and Kristinn Taylor meet in Northwest Washington, separated by a bustling four-lane road -- and a whole lot more.
Since spring, the two have stood firmly on opposite sides of Georgia Avenue NW in front of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Murphy leading a coalition of war protesters, Taylor marshaling supporters of the Iraq war.
Both sides say they are there to support the troops. Beyond that, there's little common ground.
"They start yelling, 'Murderer!' 'Traitor!' They call me by name," said Murphy, a co-founder of the women's antiwar group Code Pink. "It's aimed at disrupting our vigil."
To Taylor, a spokesman for the local chapter of FreeRepublic.com, a politically conservative Web site, disruption is an honorable goal.
"It's galling for us to see them across the street," he said. "They've endorsed the terrorists."
The Friday night gatherings near the District's northern tip, about six miles north of the White House, have become one of the most visible reminders in Washington of a war that has claimed the lives of more than 2,000 U.S. troops. That they are being staged outside a military hospital that treats the war's wounded makes the standoffs all the more pointed -- and controversial.
The war supporters, many of them known as "Freepers" because of their devotion to FreeRepublic.com, insist it is unpatriotic and demoralizing to protest the war in clear view of wounded soldiers. They started congregating along Georgia Avenue on Fridays after learning that the protesters were out there delivering a "despicable" message.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Kewl.
I didn't even know we had spokesmen.
While I'm sure we'll have some nits to pick with the article, overall it's better than one could expect from The Post.
Isn't it amazing how the supposed "Journalists" just censor out all the really despicable, vile things the Anti-War protesters say or put on their signs. If you did not know better, you would think from reading this that the Antis were a bunch of peaceful old Grannies and the Freepers a bunch of fanatical thugs. What despicable scum modern day "Journalists" are.
John Kerry is an ultra right winger compared to code pink.
Thanks for all your hard work, kristinn. You do us all proud.
Keep up the great work! Expose these slime for what they are.
D.C. Chapter mega-ping!
okey dokey!
I second that. Thanks Kristinn!
A very good point. The Protest Freepers and doing very good work. They keep the stories from being all about the Antis.
Thanks. The members of the D.C. Chapter have done a great job of showing up every Friday night for seven months--consistently outnumbering the Pinkos.
We've been honored to be joined by Freepers from all around the country in this effort, including Freeper number one, JimRob.
Well done! Thank you!
This reporter could have spoken to military families and the families visiting their loved ones at WRAMC.
ping
Dustin, read this.
Thanks kristinn. If there's a Freeper Hall of Fame (and there should be) you've got my induction vote!
It appears the Post has a DU lurker working for them.
We have only been there for over 25 weeks. They sleep so well at news under their nose.
Keep up the good work!
Ain't that the truth.
It's not the investigative piece on Code Pink and the "antiwar" left we've been waiting four years for The Post to write, but it is a decent report on the "Friday night fights" as he put it.
That's what I was thinking. He was definitely sympathetic to the Murphy side.
Thanks Kristinn and D.C. Chapter for your vigilence.
Thank you D.C. Chapter.
Could they quote Gail Murphy a little more??? This started off looking like a decent article but turns out to be more of a hit peice on FR the farther you read. Not surprised.
Gael Murphy WHINES.
It's truly insulting for the reporter to favor the anti's side without even going inside and asking the soldiers their opinion. You guys have gone to extreme sacrifice to be there every Fri. You deserve a real story. Media....Grrrrrrrrrr.
Yes, she does. ("Mom, he's making faces at me")
And tattles, too.
Actually, both sides and points of view are equally presented. There are nine references each to quotes by Freepers, their message and a supportive soldier and the same number for Code Pink.
In other words, the "fact-finding mission" was a pretext and a lie, intended to disguise their real mission which was to give aid and comfort to Saddam Hussein, which is typically what you would expect from leftists.
"We treat them with a contempt that they've earned," he said.
Great quote, Kristinn...
What a load!!!! This from the same idiots that want socialized medicine....UFB!!!!
"The administration sent these soldiers to war. Now that they're back and injured, they don't want to see them or hear about them,"
These men were not drafted, they volunteered, and once they are healed and able to do so, they will be back in Iraq, killing terrorist....As for as seeing and hearing about them, how many times has Pres. Bush toured Army hospitals and talked to the soldiers, praying with and to them, and how many times did the Klintoon do the same?
Question for the "Pinkos", "Where were you and your protests when the Klintoon sent troops to Somalia, Bosnia, and various other $hithole countries, with orders to not return fire if shot at????" I'll not hold my breath waiting for an answer....
5.56mm
A Google search turned up this article that says the Code Pinkos were guests of Saddam Hussein. This from someone whowent on the trip with Code Pink. I have no reason to doubt Gael paid her own travel expenses, but once she got there it's a good bet Saddam said, "You're money's no good here," as the excerpt below this one shows.
Stephens traveled with a delegation of women sponsored by Code Pink for Peace, an organization of women who have been holding a peace vigil outside the White House since Nov. 17. The delegation was composed of a dozen women, some of whom were members of Code Pink, and others, like Stephens, who went along for the experience. Her husband, George Sapio, accompanied the group as its photographer and a videographer joined them as well.
The group left from John F. Kennedy International Airport and traveled a total of 44 hours. After stopping in Amsterdam, the delegation flew to Amman, Jordan, and then traveled 15 hours in Chevy Suburbans to arrive in Baghdad. U.N. sanctions prohibit all air travel to Iraq.
Since they were guests of the Iraqi government, Stephens said, the members of the delegation were accompanied by government-assigned handlers throughout most of the trip.
As far as I know, this piece was not written by a Code Pinko, but the author was in Baghdad at the same time as the Pinkos.
A mixed bag of these arrived in Baghdad shortly before midnight on February 15, 2003, International Peace Day, as two double-decker busloads of western Human Shields arrived at the Andalus Apartments hotel where I was staying. These people were willing to use their bodies as shields, placing themselves in infrastructure buildings and hospitals as a human repellent to bombs. They also brought with them their own unique war. Many were contentious—bickering and openly fighting amongst themselves while taking in the free residency and meals supplied by the Saddam regime that welcomed their support.
FR gets article in Wash ComPost. Ping to patriots countering the Code Pinko traitors
The reporter could have followed Cindy into the John....
; )
I, for one, am honored to have Kristinn as my representative!
Good job, kristinn. Thanks for all you do.
I wonder if atleast one of those modern journalist ever itched to find out and write the real story?
http://messopotamian.blogspot.com/2003_11_01_messopotamian_archive.html
AHLAN WA SAHLAN; GWB
IN THE NAME OF GOD THE COMPASSIONATE; THE MERCIFUL
Ahalan (= Kinsmen: it means you have come amongst kinsmen)
Wa = and
Sahlan (= Plateau or plain easy land: meaning you have trodden welcoming land)
These are the traditional words of welcome in the Arabic language.
Yes GWB, though the visit was brief, it was very meaningful. We know that you have come, not as the President of an invading nation, but as the friend who wishes to renew commitment to our people, and as long as your intentions are what you have repeatedly said (and we don't doubt your sincerity), the land and the hearts welcome you.
It gives us pain that the visit is so short and that the masses cannot in the present circumstances come out to give you the welcome that you deserve, but the day will come, the day will come (God's Willing). Yes the day will come when the millions will come out to welcome the best friend that the Mesopotamian people have ever had, and he will be amongst the most devoted and allied people that America will ever have.
The bones in the mass graves salute you, Avenger of the Bones.
Hail, Friend and Ally, Hail, Sheikh of Sheikhs, GWB; Descendant of the Noble Ancient Celt.
Alaa
# posted by Alaa : 6:14 AM
Amazing. They forgot to mention he's a member of Code Pinko.
See reply #10.
It is impossible to "support the troops" and yet not support their mission. Nobody has been drafted, our troops have VOLUNTEERED to go into the service, knowing full well the areas of the world they might be sent. They believe in it and so do I.
It's nothing but leftist agenda to insist we need to bring the troops home and to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. While every one of them sadly mourned, a KIA count of 2000 in two and half years is nothing less than stunning professionalism and success. Pulling out would demean every sacrifice, every soldier's effort in the great accomplishments we've made there.
But that's what they really want, to demoralize the military. As usual, the Code Pinkos are full of it.
What an excellent post. Very well stated and so true. And if we had an honest media, they would report on the stunning successes that our military has had. And they would report how the Iraqi people are living with far more freedom than they've had for 30 years.
You've got FReepmail.
Were these quotes from this Friday? If so, they missed the "civil disobedience" story. Readers from this region are not amused by buses that block traffic.
Was WaPo following ol' what's-her-name around, that woman who has used up her fifteen minutes of fame, and then when she scuttled away the Post "discovered" this story instead?
This reporter could was negligent not to have spoken to military families and the families visiting their loved ones at WRAMC.
I can well understand why a ComPost reporter wouldn't have wanted to - it would have been really bad for Code Pinko's image.
If only we could've done this to the vietnam war protesters........
these a-holes must be pissed that they have a little opposition.
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