Posted on 05/04/2003 6:52:30 PM PDT by DrewsDad
There was a lot of hype over the continuation of the anti-war movement with numerous leftist group gathering at the Capitol of Texas. After running out for a new printer cartridge, I made it to the Capitol about 11:35. Thanks to about 30 parking spots being reserved by TX DPS, I had to park about 2 more blocks further away than usual. I grabbed my 4 signs, 2 fold-up chairs, and camera And headed in the direction of our beautiful pink granite Capitol Building.
CLICK ON PICTURES FOR ENLARGED IMAGE
With about 20 minutes before their scheduled rally, there were less than a hundred folks assembled at the steps, with the remainder still approaching on their feeder marches. I looked down toward Congress Avenue and spotted an American flag at the south gate , so I headed down to join them. It was there that I spotted ANTI-LEFT with his sign and Whipitgood holding his "THANK GOD FOR GEORGE W. BUSH" sign. Basil was there as well proudly displaying her Second Amendment Sisters shirt while walking her dog around the area. There were others there whose names I didn't hear, one which was holding British and Israeli flags.
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Shortly later, the first group of leftists came parading up Congress Avenue with their colorful Mardi-Gras style figures on poles. Apparently this was the environmental extremist crowd. Several members of the media popped up to take footage of them passing through right by us through the gates. Some of the media stuck around after they passed and talked to us. They sort of flocked to ANTI-LEFT because of his provacative sign, "FIRST IRAQ, THEN FRANCE, THEN HOLLYWOOD, THEN YOU HIPPIES". ANTI-LEFT explained his sign and had a good statement that was later shown on our local FOX affiliate which is shown an hour earlier, but I didn't have a tape ready when it came on.
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Another feeder march came traipsing through, then we headed up toward the steps to catch part of the rally. I setup my chairs and signs and settled in there. ANTI-LEFT and Whipitgood spotted another march headed toward the gate and headed off to "welcome" them.
I stuck around there holding my signs having numerous conversations with the protestors asking about my sign, "WHY WOULD THE WORKERS WORLD PARTY SUPPORT CHINA'S SLAUGHTER OF TIANANMEN SQUARE PROTESTORS THEN ORGANIZE PROTESTS AGAINST THE U.S.A.???". Many of them indicated that they didn't like working with the Workers World Party, but that they were behind a good number of the protests.
After a bit, WOSG came over with his LIBERATE IRAQ and FREE CUBA sign. We had more discussions with Green Party members, Liberatarian Party Members, Palestinian supporters, even a couple of French defenders, one of which wagged her finger at me telling me that all Europeans hated America. I showed her my sign, "SOCIALIST SPECIAL, PILGRAMMAGE TO PARIS, $399, DELTA IS READY WHEN YOU ARE".
WOSG wandered down to join the others at the south gate. I was getting tire of holding 2 of my signs and my back was killing me after 2 hours of doing this. Just then, someone in a suit walked by and patted my on the back saying, "Keep up the good work". I noticed he was wearing a badge saying State Representative, but I couldn't read his name.
A camera crew noticed my signs and started my way, but they started talking to a lady who walked by right at that time holding an "OPERATION U.S. FREEDOM" sign, but she was there protesting against the war. I felt a bit snubbed by the local CBS crew but noticed later that they already had some good footage from us.
WOSG came back with another person Brad who said he had seen FreeRepublic before and would look us up. We had several visitors to the Capitol that day that came over and said they were with us and thanked us for being there. I talked a bit to a Daily Texan reportor so maybe they will have something tomorrow.
The rally ended, so I packed up my chairs and stuff and we headed back to the south gate to send off all the protestors that walked through the gate on the way down Congress Avenue on another march to protest against the local FOX affiliate. One of them was arrested for throwing a paint ball at the window. Another fool was arrested for laying down in front of one of the officer's horses.
After the protestors had filed past us, we talked a bit more and headed home. Overall they had close to 1,000 people which was a disappointment for them. We had somewhere around 7-10 folks that I counted and got our position heard.
This was election day in Austin so the news focused more on the results than anything else. The ABC affiliate pretty much ignored us. The NBC crew showed a wide shot of us but that was it. I mentioned the FOX station earlier had ANTI-LEFT.
Our best coverage actually came from the local CBS news. They interviewed ANTI-LEFT which I taped him saying, "Freedom's not free and nobody should forget that. I think these people have a right to be here and do what they are doing, and you know, more power to them. We just think they should be reminded that everything comes at a cost including liberty to protest."
Then they closed the segment with the reporter stating: "...and it's that cost that affords these protestors to be here today" and faded out with a shot of the American flag waving proudly.
Maybe this will be the last one of these for a while.
My favorite moment came when I took a photo of the guy in front of the gates with the red turban. He was holding a sign that said "I saw George Bush in My Toilet". I told him he must have been smoking some pretty strong dope to be hallucinating that much--and he actually laughed!
Great job, Texans! By the way, if you really want to stir up their wrath, always have a few signs that say something nice about GWB. Because what all these "peace protests" boil down to in the end is simply a pure, unadulterated, pathological hatred of Dubya and the GOP. The war is simply an excuse they use to express their hatred. If war vs. peace was REALLY the issue they cared about, they would have been protesting Clintoon's many military adventures. It's just an excuse, a moral figleaf if you will, that they use to cover up the vicious hatred they have. And they're doing a poor job of covering it up!
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Protesters rally against Bush's policies
May 05, 2003
Protesters from all ends of the political spectrum joined forces Saturday to show their resistance to President Bush's policies at home and abroad. The rally, sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee, a pacifist Quaker group, chose Texas as its home base for a national peace campaign called Made in Texas. Organizers said they chose Texas because of its connection to Bush, its military base involvement and death penalty record. Austin Police estimated that between 800 and 1,000 people converged for Showdown in Texas, while organizers estimated a crowd of 5,000. An estimated 300 police officers were also present, Sgt. John Hetzelberg said. "The aim of the event was to begin to model a sustainable peace movement that includes domestic issues, and to bring together diverse constituencies," said Patrice Mallard, coordinator of the Made in Texas campaign. "We want to show that we don't like the way our tax dollars are spent on war and destruction." Mallard said although the war is over, militarism is not. She stressed the importance of redirecting the conversation and focus of the movement away from the war to domestic issues and to building and sustaining a diverse peace movement. The day's events started with marches to the Capitol and culminated in a mass rally at noon, with diverse speakers ranging from Will Harrell, the American Civil Liberties Union Texas executive director, and Richard Troxell, national chairman of the Universal Living Wage. The Austin Peoples' Legal Collective, a new group that sprang up after arrests made during rallies in February, was also present to give advice to protesters. "We want to make sure that people's rights to express themselves are not trampled on," said Adam Seehaver, a member of the group. Seehaver described the group as acting as a liaison between the public and lawyers. After numerous speakers, music and dancing, protesters marched down Congress Avenue to Sixth Street, looping around downtown and marching back to the Capitol. Protesters were redirected out of the intersection at Congress Avenue and 11th Street and back onto the sidewalk by a line of police officers on motorcycles. As emotions escalated, police arrested two men. Gary Mowbray, 30, was arrested on a criminal mischief charge for allegedly throwing a paint ball at the offices of KTBC Fox 7 News and at the Starbucks on Congress. David Aponte, 22, was arrested for interfering with a police animal. Protesters from FreeRepublic.com, a self-described conservative group, were also present to show their opposition to the protests, as well as some other students. "If you live in America, you should be for your country," said Shayla Griffith, an ACC student. Crowds dispersed around 4 p.m. with some protesters joining a caravan to Crawford, where they planned to protest Bush's meeting with Australian Prime Minister John Howard. |
May 3, 2003, 10:18PM
AUSTIN -- With only the lingering suffering that comes with rebuilding remaining in postwar Iraq, about 500 protesters gathered here, not for a last hurrah but to continue their pledge to speak out against perceived wrongs.
"Just because George Bush did a photo-op on a ship does not mean that Iraq and the foreign policy that he's following comes to an end," said Bruce Hunter, 70, who drove from Dallas.
"There's still bullets flying in Iraq, there's still infrastructure to build, there's still no government in Iraq and clearly this administration has designs to continue this kind of isolationist and unilateral foreign policy all over the world," he said.
The "Showdown in Texas" rally was organized by the American Friends Service Committee and included a hodgepodge of groups and activists that ranged from labor unions to a United Nations representative for the indigenous people of Hawaii.
Event organizers said they wanted to protest the Bush administration's foreign and domestic policies and draw attention to the number of defense contracts awarded to Texas companies.
Alongside university students with spiked hair were clergymen, anti-death penalty activists and the graying manes of a nearly gone but not forgotten Austin.
Jenny Greenberg, 19, wore a Bush mask, a pair of toy six-shooters on her hips and carried an American flag. She said she was protesting everything she saw wrong with Bush's policies, from the economy to the Iraq war to his stance on women's issues.
But in the sea of Bush detractors was Craig Calman Pruscha, who drove in from Burleson.
On his back, Pruscha has a tattoo of the World Trade Center towers in flames beside a likeness of his wife, known only as "Pussycat" to those walking behind him.
Under the tattoo are the words, "Freedom is Never Free."
"Freedom comes at a cost and there's a price to pay for their ability and right to walk down the streets here today saying what the believe," Pruscha said.
Pruscha planned to take his message to Crawford, where President Bush is hosting Australian Prime Minister John Howard at his ranch. A caravan of protesters also planned to drive to Crawford.
Protesters marched through downtown Austin before returning to the Capitol grounds for a peace festival. Austin police said two people were arrested as of late Saturday afternoon.
They don't call it Moscow on the Colorado for nothing. A good part of the local university are Berkely wannabes. Treehuggers control the local political scene. Yeah, you might say that.
LOL!
Counterprotest of Leftist Showdown in Austin Texas:
OPERATION INFINITE FREEP
Excerpt:
After a bit, WOSG came over with his LIBERATE IRAQ and FREE CUBA sign. We had more discussions with Green Party members, Liberatarian Party Members, Palestinian supporters, even a couple of French defenders, one of which wagged her finger at me telling me that all Europeans hated America. I showed her my sign, "SOCIALIST SPECIAL, PILGRAMMAGE TO PARIS, $399, DELTA IS READY WHEN YOU ARE".
WOSG wandered down to join the others at the south gate. I was getting tire of holding 2 of my signs and my back was killing me after 2 hours of doing this. Just then, someone in a suit walked by and patted my on the back saying, "Keep up the good work". I noticed he was wearing a badge saying State Representative, but I couldn't read his name.
Here is a link that you might find useful/helpful (see post #116 - link should take you right to that post).
Lawmakers involved in 'Killer Bees' protest offer advice on tactics
05/13/2003
AUSTIN – The House Democrats who have taken flight to avoid a vote on congressional redistricting got moral support Monday – and a bit of advice – from the "Killer Bees" whose similar protest paralyzed the Senate two decades ago.
"I do want to express my thanks for their courage," said U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin, one of 12 Democrats who hid for almost five days in 1979 in a successful ploy to block passage of a disputed elections bill.
Former Sen. Bill Patman, now retired in Austin, offered hints for avoiding troopers, who have been dispatched to round them up and bring them back.
"They should pick some secure locations and scatter. I don't think you can find a place where 53 people can be holed up and not have it pretty apparent," he said.
FILE / DMN Sen. Carlos Truan showed off his "Killer Bees" T-shirt in 1979. |
They were unhappy with a bill backed by Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby, the Senate presiding officer, that would have created two primary elections, helping former Gov. John Connally's GOP presidential bid.
Mr. Hobby named the group, saying the senators were about as useful as killer bees. But they returned after he withdrew the bill and vowed not to retaliate.
Mr. Doggett wished the new House defectors well. The decision to bolt, he said, is gut-wrenching and fraught with political danger.
"Each of them is taking a risk," he said. "But when you see things twisted and distorted ... it calls for extraordinary action."
Mr. Doggett also predicted they will be vindicated at the polls. "When people have a chance to fairly evaluate their conduct they will see it was well-justified," he said.
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"If the situation is serious enough, it's a legitimate legislative ploy," said Mr. Clower, now a Fort Worth lawyer.
Though the move might have contributed to his 1980 re-election defeat, Mr. Clower said he is proud of what he and his colleagues did.
"It wasn't particularly happy being in the room with all those people all that time – it was a very small room – but for what we accomplished, it was worth it," he said.
Former Sen. A.R. "Babe" Schwartz, now an Austin lobbyist, said the defections aren't a surprise. He said Republicans have been too aggressive in pushing their agenda after winning control of the Texas House for the first time in more than 100 years.
"This was foreseeable. A Republican majority set out to do what they thought needed to be done in Texas in all those years when they were in the minority. The problem was that there should have been some consideration given to not doing it all at one time," he said.
Mr. Parker said he doesn't know how the rebellion will play out but he expects hard feelings. "There's probably going to be more bitterness over it than it was when we were there, because I think it's more partisan," he said.
Staff writer Matt Stiles contributed to this report.
Email gkuempel@dallasnews.com
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