More balloons than book purchasers, according to Yahoo photos:
Posted on 12/09/2005 1:06:23 AM PST by Albion Wilde
Washington, December 2, 2005—With a powerful wind chill factor placing temperatures just a few degrees above zero in a dark night of December, once again Free Republic squared off against the failure-prone Code Pink "vigil" at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. And again, FReepers outnumbered the wacko Pinkos almost three-to-one.
Since March 2005, ever since a conglomeration of DC radical leftists under the Code Pink banner decided to protest the Bush Administration outside Walter Reed every Friday night, Free Republic's DC Chapter has faced them off across the street.
There's something so obnoxious, so distasteful, so just plain mean about protesting the war and its Commander-in-Chief in front of a place of refuge for wounded U.S. troops that even in Washington, DC, a city where liberalism has tenacious roots among the populace, Code Pink just can't rally enough supporters to outnumber Free Republic.
They whine and moan with long, dramatic faces about Halliburton, how terrible Bush is, what a failure the war is, how the troops should be brought home "without DeLay" -- and then disingenously claim that their vigil is a non-political action supportive of the troops.
Free Republic whistles and cheers the soldiers, their families and Walter Reed workers coming and going from the hospital grounds. We wave signs of support for the mission, the President and the bravery of our men and women in uniform, and have a great time doing it. It galls the Pinkos that we should provide such un-60s contrast to their loony left malcontention. They prefer the glass half-empty, the false promises and dire restrictions of socialism to the prospect of Republican-inspired victories and the growth of freedom and prosperity in Iraq, Afghanistan and the United States of America.
As usual, mostly their die-hards showed up, with a handful of newbies. It was too cold for the likes of DC Code Pink's leader, Gael Murphy, a paid agitator who makes the rounds of anti-Bush activities like this summer's leftist mosh pits in DC and in that ditch in Crawford, Texas, in support of... what's her name? I forget. So has the MSM, it seems.
Speaking of Mother What's-Her-Name, the head banshee visited Code Pink's vigil this fall at Walter Reed, entered the hospital, went to the reception desk and apparently inquired where to find the Ladies' Room, went upstairs, entered the Ladies' Room, exited a few minutes later, descended the stairs, left the building and drove away in a car. Total time elapsed: twenty minutes (Walter Reed has a large campus). As far as we could tell, there were no reporters following her except our FReeper undercover agents. It was a Code Pink propaganda failure, just another in a long string of Code Pink failures associated with their Walter Reed "vigil".
First, the widely-criticized vigil itself: it was one thing when the story was disseminated by conservative CNSnews, Rush Limbaugh, several FoxNews sources and a contingent of local bloggers last August. But even later, when the story was publicized by the left-leaning Washington Post in the fall of 2005, even the Post reporter couldn't bring himself to sound enthusiastic about Code Pink's demonstrations in the faces of the wounded, and so gave Free Republic equal time. Results of these two spates of publicity? More patriotic Americans turned out to support the Free Republic side of the street, and our numbers have remained constantly higher than theirs ever since, week after week -- even the week of the Hard Left's national rally in the Capital at the end of September.
Second, Code Pink's early, repugnantly political signs have disappeared in favor of socialist whines about veteran benefits and bringing troops home. And Gael Murphy bald-facedly claimed in the Washington Post that "some people occasionally show up with signs that don't reflect the respectful tone of the vigil" -- as if she had no idea that it was her "regulars" there week after week with objectionable signs. Free Republic calmly posted photographic proof on our national forum, showing vigil regular Kevin McCarron holding one of the rotten signs. We call to them across the street every week now, saying, "Hey, Infiltrators! Hey, Bruce! Hey, Kevin! Where's your 'Maimed for a Lie' sign this week?" They say nothing, because there is nothing to say when your nose has already grown halfway across six-lane Georgia Avenue.
Third, the art of point-for-point counterprotesting honed by the DC Chapter over seven years of experience in the Nation's Capital is always a deft demonstration of victory over leftist fantasies through superior intellectual firepower. This Friday, an insurgent-lover showed up with an altered American flag with a peace sign where the stars should be. We soon trotted out our "Footprint of the American Chicken" sign, which explains what the peace sign, a bisected circle with the two downward diagonals, actually resembles. In minutes, they placed a real American flag in front of their quisling peace flag, letting the howling wind blow it to the rear so that only the authentic American flag showed.
Two of the newer lefties had "nyah-nyah" signs: one female war protester claimed to be a veteran herself, and an old 60s-leftover guy held a sign that said, "They gave 110% -- what did you give?" FReepers on the corner directly facing them had a field day with these signs. "We're almost all veterans on this side of the street -- where did YOU serve?" we yelled. "Name your rank and unit!"
No rank nor unit information was forthcoming, but the woman put down her "I'm a Veteran" sign and grabbed something else, while the old guy just looked trapped with his hand in the cookie jar. Didn't name a unit. Couldn't name a unit. Wouldn't have joined a military unit to save his own children, is my guess.
But I digress. Back to our discussion of Pinko failures. Then there were the two weeks in the fall when the Mother What's-Her-Name tour bus with Bring the Troops Home Now" painted on the side bore down Georgia toward us. We thought for a moment that a busload of "vigilers" would offload -- but the bus was empty! Nobody inside that greasy-windowed giant gas guzzler but a white-haired old hippie driver! The first week, he got stuck in a side street and FReepers had to help him get the bus out. The second week, he parked illegally in the hospital zone and FReepers held a sit-in in front of the bus until the police came and saw it for themselves. Just one Code Pink stupid human trick after another, all failures.
Not that we expect them to stop coming to Walter Reed. When it comes to pond-scum jokes, leftists are the new lawyers: there seems to be no bottom to the things they will do. And clearly, most of their leadership is getting paid by leftist "foundations."
Just this week, after months of outrage on Code Pink's web site that the evil Bush administration's policies are responsible for U.S. citizens not being allowed to travel to Cuba, the embargoes against Cuba that were instituted in 1962 by Presidents Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy (and upheld by every U.S. President ever since, Democrat or Republican) finally caught up with Code Pink, which received a "Cease and Desist" order from the Treasury Department advising Code Pink to can their widely-vaunted plans for a gala Christmas in Communist Cuba. Their web site has announced that the Cuba trip is, indeed, scuttled. Yet another failure.
FReeper signs point out that even the DemocRats supported a vote on the war, 403-3, during the preceding week. Click here to see Appleblossom and (Mrs) Trooprally and here to see Iraqikurd. Photos by bmwcyle.
But Free Republic and our compatriots from Protest Warrior, Rolling Thunder and many walks of private citizenry should not and will not become complacent; not while Code Pink continues to flack their fruitless vigil at the gates of Walter Reed while our wounded are inside.
The honor roll of 29 December 2nd attendees included tgslTakoma, (Mr and Mrs) Trooprally, Landry Fan, Fraxinus, Christopher Lincoln, Plea Deal, Beandog, BufordP, Albion Wilde, 2ndClassCitizen and his two children, All Right All the Time, bmwcyle and daughter, lurkers Joan and Bill from Maryland, Coop, Appleblossom and daughter, Maica, lurker Oscar, Iraqikurd, TomtheRedhunter, Black Republican, Kristinn, Andi from Andi's World milblog, and last but not least, canine-American Rocket, who guarded the FReeper coffee/tea commissary.
The Pinkos, who dribbled in late by ones and twos and skulked away a good forty minutes earlier than we did, have learned to leave early to avoid being flipped off by soldiers who return to the hospital around 9:30 from a night on the town. The busdriver usually turns on the lights so we can wave and cheer, and this night was no exception. We had captured all four corners by the time the troops arrived.
The passersby toot and cheer for us approximately ten-to-one over the lefties. Early this night one African-American woman in an SUV on "their" side of the street leaned on the horn while waiting at the light, beeping over and over. Because of the cold, her window remained up and we were unsure which side she was on. Just as the light changed, she powered her window down and and shot us a mittened thumbs-up out the window as she accelerated through the intersection, yelling out, amid clouds of steam as her breath hit the freezing air, "Yeah!! YEEAAAHHH!!! My daughter's over there in Iraq!"
I would have made more notes and written more about the actual events at this remarkably unwarm FReep, but within the first forty minutes, the ink in my pen had frozen. So hear this: a wounded soldier who was brought to Walter Reed on a prior Friday night told Justanobody that he could see us FReepers waving our messages of encouragement from his ambulance window -- if he had only seen Code Pink's doom-and-gloom signs, he said, he would have felt abandoned by the American people.
So, FReepers, come stand with us -- Uncle Sam Needs You!
Links:
For Gunnutt's outstanding blog about this FReep, click here and scroll down to Dec 3.
To view all of bmwcyle's great photos from this FReep, click here.
To read about this FReep at Andi's World military blog, click here.
Read Landry Fan's excellent blog about this FReep by clicking here.
I'm going to ping you to a thread with all the details and ask the moderators to remove your post with contact info. No need inviting harassment. Hope to see you out there!
All thanks belong to the troops. Seeing them makes it easy for us.
My son is getting married to a young woman from Pennsylvania on the 28th of Dec. We will only be a couple of hours from DC, instead of days away, and if the schedule allows, I would love to attend fri the 30th. Will keep an eye on the activities and hope that I have internet access for last minute questions. Thanks to all the DC chapter for such dedicated efforts in behalf of those who are most deserving of our honor and support.
On March 15, 2004, there was a preliminary skirmish, more than a year before the regular dueling protests between FReepers and Pinkos started. The leftists protested at Walter Reed as they traveled in a mock funeral procession from Dover Air Force Base, Delaware to Walter Reed Army Medical Center to the White House. Doctor Raoul solo FReeped them at Dover AFB, whereas other DC Chapter members FReeped the leftists at Walter Reed and at the White House per below:
After-Action: DC Chapter FReeps Left for Exploiting War Dead and Wounded (March 15, 2004)
A few hours after the leftists' first blood dance outside Walter Reed, the FReep of leftists at the White House occurred and included a direct FReep of Chief Pinko Medea Benjamin near the White House
More than a year after that skirmish at Walter Reed, the leftists returned to Walter Reed for a week straight in late March of 2005.
We FReeped them on Wednesday, March 30, 2005 per the first link below.
Then the Pinkos decided to try their psych-op against war-wounded every Friday at Walter Reed. When we found out, we started counter-protesting them every Friday beginning on April 15, 2005. FReepers have been at Walter Reed peacefully counter-protesting the Pinkos every Friday since then, except that we missed one Friday in May due to exigent circumstances.
An apt comparison. At Choisin, Korea, UN troops were beaten badly. Feeling overconfident, the Communist Chinese announced their entry into the conflict, sending hardened guerillas. In spite of initial mass casualties, they had strayed beyond their natural territory (the 38th parallel) and ultimately were slaughtered by American marines.
It's also reminiscent of the Confederate Army, who won every battle on their homeland and lost terribly at Gettysburg, in Union territory.
The parallel to be made is that the left in this country gained a large and long foothold during and after Vietnam. Its tentacles are still with us in the persons of John Kerry and his ilk; but at last the patriots are waking up. We will not sit on our hands this time and allow our troops to be spat upon this time. The smackback has only begun, but it will continue until those misguided protesters nostalgic for the 60s retreat.
Thanks for taking a moment to check the links, Kipita! We have very dedicated photographers. The Gunnutt blog said that the camera lens was freezing shut, and I wasn't kidding when I said my ink pen froze.
That's the attitude.
It's been a long hard slog, but I, like you, know we have turned the corner. There's a lot of hard fighting ahead but I feel we're close to vanquishing the left to permanent irrelevancy.
It's a righteous idea, but we may as well stick flowers into their muzzles, so to speak. We try to avoid a personal encounter with them, and are separated by six lanes of traffic. On the occasions where we do come face to face, I wouldn't trust any food offered by them. They're fully capable of provisioning their own lines. The battle isn't about the availability of supplies from Starbucks. They are psy-ops terrorists, preying on and using the very troops that protect their freedom, in order to hound their political points.
Can't wait to see you again.
Bring the warm stuff and layer, layer, layer.
More balloons than book purchasers, according to Yahoo photos:
Halliburton has sent extra rations of iocaine powder for weeks now.
Cruising for wireless hotspots in the truck, are you? :-)
See you in the snow tonight.
And I thought Chapel Hill was the breeding ground of leftism, but I forgot you guys have the yearly herb festival over in your area.
If we're still here in the spring, come on up! DC has so much to offer in the day time!
Offering to re-enter the frigid Northeast? Now THAT'S devotion! Come on up, any time!
Great Report. So bummed that I'm sick and won't be there tonight. No pinko trip to Cuba, hahahahahaha.
Still laughing.
You got it, thanks -- we love the troops and seeing them happy makes us happy. And we are grateful for the thoughts and prayers of FReepers across the country. Keep 'em coming for us on Friday nights!
I'm not the only one who believes that listening to Coop "reasoning" with our opponents is street theater at its best.
I clocked it... they didn't even show up until 7:10, and that was only two of them. They only had four by 7:20. And their "full strength" of 11 scuzzbombs at around 8:00pm only lasted for fifteen minutes, then began dwindling rapidly.
bttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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