We should EVENTUALLY get some more precise numbers from the folks who got there EARLY, but it appears that the FReep timeline went something like THIS:It appears that the reporter from the local paper got there even later that **I** did, and missed seeing the BULK of our forces.4:00 pm - 40-50 "good guys" - 5-10 "bad guys"
(Vice President Cheney arrives, the media go indside.)5:00 pm - 50-60 "good guys" - 75-100 "bad guys"(RonDog finally arrives.)5:30 pm - 75 "good guys" - 200 "bad guys" - who begin to overrun our position(We "declare victory" and fall back to a nearby McDonald's.)
Here is a SHORT EXCERPT from Press-Enterprise story:
Protests outside
Kurt Miller / The Press-Enterprise A Bush supporter argues with John Kerry supporters in front of the Mission Inn in downtown Riverside Tuesday. The room's stained-glass windows were largely obscured by drapes and a Jones campaign billboard, preventing the $1,000-a-ticket, wine-sipping donors from seeing the protesters gathered outside. The muffled sounds of the activists, however, made their way into the room.
More than 300 people - most of them protesting actions of the Bush administration - gathered at about 5 p.m. at Orange Street and Mission Inn Avenue. Cheney was meeting in a private reception with donors who had each raised $5,000 as the rallies outside got under way.
The crowd outside included small children with parents, tattooed teens, businessmen and seniors.
Amid the slogan chanting, shouting and sign waving, a handful of heated arguments erupted between opponents and supporters of the vice president. Police, some wearing riot helmets and armed with batons, said a man and a teenage boy were arrested after one such quarrel turned into a brief brawl. Police cited both for disturbing the peace and released them, officers said.
"Bush and Cheney have lied to the American people," said Robert Merrill, 42, of Riverside as he held aloft a sign denouncing Cheney. "I don't like being lied to, and people are dying."
Nearby, 59-year-old Jack Suttles said he felt compelled to show his support for Bush, explaining: "I believe in everything he is doing. Anything against him is a slap in the face of our forefathers."
Kurt Miller / The Press-Enterprise "I have tremendous confidence in Bill," Vice President Dick Cheney tells supporters of U.S. Senate hopeful Bill Jones, right, in Riverside. Protesters, some carrying "Kerry for President" signs, yelled "Bush lied, thousands died" as Bush supporters tried to drown out the noise by shouting "Four more years."
Lively rally
As the crowd swelled and spilled into the street, people moved into the Riverside Main Library's parking lot, where demonstrators of all ages danced, played drums, shouted into bullhorns and staged a rally against Bush and Cheney. Periodically, one of a handful of Bush supporters waded into the gatherings and argued and exchanged insults with protesters. By 7 p.m., the crowd had thinned considerably...
