Posted on 03/23/2006 12:05:26 PM PST by Chi-townChief
Recently, on a sunny day at high noon, an estimated 100,000 people were granted permission by city officials to take to the streets of Chicago to protest proposed changes to immigration laws [''In overwhelming display, immigrants protest bill,'' metro story, March 11].
Prominent politicians, including Mayor Daley, Gov. Blagojevich and U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), attended the rally in an attempt to capture some of the large, mostly Hispanic, immigrant vote. The march literally closed off and clogged vital downtown and adjacent neighborhood streets, sidewalks and intersections for hours, disrupting the lives of many of the million or so people who work in the area. To ensure public safety, there was a heavy presence of Chicago police officers, most dressed in their everyday work uniforms and most without riot gear.
CNN and other media later reported that many of the 100,000 marchers were, ironically enough, probably illegal immigrants themselves. So, we have 100,000 people -- some of whom are in the United States illegally -- marching at high noon through the streets of Chicago with the blessings of politicians, escorted by police in non-riot gear, disrupting the transportation systems and lives of a million people working in the area.
Now, fast-forward to Saturday night's [March 18] peaceful ''Festival of Rights'' march down Michigan Avenue. Here, 7,000 peace activists marched together to voice their opinions on the Iraqi invasion and overthrow of the Iraqi government. The Iraqi invasion has cost the American people their international good name, turning many friends and allied countries into enemies, or at least very distant acquaintances.
The Iraqi invasion has taken the lives of over 2,300 American troops and 100,000 Iraqis and has injured over 25,000 American troops -- not to mention the grave misuse of hundreds of billions of dollars of the public's money. Unlike the immigration protesters who danced at high noon through the business district, participants at the ''Festival of Rights'' were relegated to march at 7 p.m. and were escorted along a carefully controlled route by heavily armed and fortified police from city, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies slapping their billy clubs while dressed in full riot gear.
The festival's organizers had been trying for three years to get a permit from the city [''War protesters finally get OK to march on Michigan Ave.,'' metro story, March 16], yet were met with refusal after refusal from officials who argued the group's march would jeopardize public safety, the march times were not conducive, or other lame reasons. The group eventually filed a federal lawsuit.
So, here we have 7,000 people -- most, if not all legal U.S. citizens -- walking at 7 o'clock on a Saturday night under the close control of heavily armed police in riot gear. And, of course, the politicos who were vote-stomping at the immigration protest were nowhere to be found at the peace rally. Interesting dichotomy, huh?
CHICAGOLAND PING
Straight fom the DNC talking points memo.
The columnist is all-wet(pun intended) on the number of American wounded in Iraq.
Sweet Home Chicago
7K marched. Did they expect more? Do they have to specify on the permit how many are anticipated? Are we getting the whole story?
The media's herd mentality continues.
The lefties took care of our "international good name" about 60 years ago.
If those illegals showed up at the "Peace" Rally this guy would be singing their praises.
-Eric
??? Who are they kidding? My office is down in the Loop, and when I walked outside to take a look I saw maybe 10 cops total. 5 of them were doing their civic duty by preventing people from walking through the alleyway just north of Adams between Clark and Dearborn. There was a definite lack of police presence.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
Maybe because the politicos read really polling data, instead of the fake polls published by the MSM, and know that the vast majority of Americans are repusled by the Moonbat, Hate-America Left.
Hispanic voting power in Chicago is a joke. Take a census-counted ward with 11,000 residents in a Latino stronghold and you're lucky if you can find 2,000 actual American voters. Subtract 1,900 who didn't bother to vote in last Tuesday's primary, and you have 100 to cater to.
Any turnout figures available yet or have they even decided what the numbers are yet?
I used the new touch screen which was a bit quicker than the old punchcards.
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