Free Republic

Over the last several months homosexual activist campaign workers from across the country have been traveling to Maine to campaign against the upcoming vote for traditional marriage. It's been largely paid for by national homosexual groups. But all along the Massachusetts homosexual lobby has been a major organizing and fundraising arm of the pro-gay marriage push in Maine.

As right-wing protesters dominated the news this summer, it would have seemed the perfect opportunity for Obama's much-touted organizers to drown out the conservatives with some coordinated agitation of their own. But they barely made a ripple. Where were they? And how could such a formidable grassroots operation-having just put Obama in office-fall quiet so quickly?

Hundreds of union members and organizers descended on the streets of downtown Chicago Monday morning to picket the offices of Goldman Sachs Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. The group, which included supporters from community group National People's Action and the Service Employees International Union, has organized the protests to coincide with the annual meeting of the American Bankers Association. The group is demanding that "banks end their over-reliance on greed and profits and commit to using their taxpayer bailouts and backstops to help America's economy recover," said a news release from the Service Employees International Union.

IT'S A RIOT: Young members of anarchist groups hold violent demonstrations during Friday's G-20 finance meetings in Pittsburgh. Politics: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi berated town hall and tea party protesters this month, tearfully warning they'd incite violence. Well, there's been violence all right, at Pittsburgh's G-20. But it wasn't the tea partiers.It takes gall to characterize ordinary Americans, freely exercising their rights of speech and assembly in civic forums, as "mobs" while ignoring a pack of leftist thugs now smashing a U.S. city. But that's what Pelosi did, directing her righteous tocsin to the Norman Rockwell-like gatherings of Americans...

THOUSAND OAKS -- A 65 year old man had his finger bitten off Wednesday evening at a health care rally in Thousand Oaks, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Department. Sheriff's investigators were called to Hillcrest and Lynn Road at 7:26 p.m. About 100 protesters sponsored by MoveOn.org were having a rally supporting health care reform. A group of anti-health care reform protesters formed across the street. When someone from the pro-reform side crossed over to the anti-reform side, a fist fight ensued, which resulted in the man's pinky finger getting bitten off. It's believed the man was on the...

Talk about "manufactured outrage!" These people could give the right lessons in how to do it!Thanks "Missy" for passing this along: Now is our chance to make health care work. America’s health care system is broken. Health care costs are spiraling out of control, throwing families, businesses and government into financial crisis. Families are worried their health coverage won’t be there when they need it. Our country can’t afford to wait for health reform that keeps costs down and protects consumers. We can’t wait for affordable, dependable health care. We’re fighting for health care that will protect families’ financial health,...

Job opportunites working on urgent grassroots campaigns This summer we have the opportunity to make huge gains on critical issues, from repowering America with clean, renewable energy and reducing our dependence on oil, to fixing the high cost of health care, to winning the battle for equal rights. America’s leading advocacy groups are gearing up to meet these challenges this summer. In order to win, they need citizen support and grassroots action. That’s where we come in. At the Fund for the Public Interest, we’ve been organizing campaigns to protect the environment, stand up for the public interest, and defend...

FROM CRAIGSLIST! Fight the Status Quo! $400-$600 Per Week (Minneapolis, MN) Date: 2009-07-27, 12:12PM CDT Reply to: see below You can help leading organizations win historic changes on issues that you care about and that are important to America. Build support for health care reform with U.S. PIRG. Mobilize activists to cut the cost of health care, expand coverage, and stop sick from getting dropped by insurance companies. Go out in your community and make change happen. Make friends and money along the way. Earn $400-$600 per week. To apply for a job, call Chris at 612-331-1434. The Fund for...

[NOTE: Comments in italics by The Jawa Report, photos and other snark in bold by grey_whiskers...] There’s been a lot of media coverage about organized mobs intimidating lawmakers, disrupting town halls, and silencing real discussion about the need for real health insurance reform. As opposed to Democratic Underground bragging about disrupting Town hall Meetings on President Bush's Social Security Reform. The truth is, it’s a sham. These “grassroots protests” are being organized and largely paid for by Washington special interests and insurance companies (they decline to name any, because there aren't any -ed.) who are desperate to block reform. They’re...

DNC: GOP 'inciting angry mobs' of 'rabid right wing extremists' @ 4:13 pm by Michael O'Brien The Democratic National Committee (DNC) accused Republicans of fueling "mob rule" by way of encouraging conservative protesters of Democratic lawmakers and the Obama administration across the country. DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse brought out the heavy artillery in a lengthy statement issued late Tuesday blasting the GOP and enablers in interest groups for spurring the protests. "The Republicans and their allied groups — desperate after losing two consecutive elections and every major policy fight on Capitol Hill — are inciting angry mobs of a small...

ACORN, which played a starring role in creating the subprime mortgage crisis, plans to add insult to injury by harassing lenders across the nation with protests tomorrow in an effort to coerce them into supporting President Obama's Making Home Affordable foreclosure-avoidance program. Austin King, director of ACORN Financial Justice, sent out a press release today advising of the demonstrations that are planned as part of its "Homewrecker 4" campaign. The four financial companies targeted are Goldman Sachs, HomEq Servicing, American Home Mortgage, and OneWest. Read the whole document here. ACORN plans to hit Dallas, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, St. Louis, New York...

JERUSALEM (Map, News) - An American demonstrator was critically wounded Friday in a clash between protesters and Israeli troops over Israel's West Bank separation barrier. Peace activists with the International Solidarity Movement said Tristan Anderson, of the Oakland, Calif., area, was struck in the head with a tear gas canister fired by Israeli troops. The military and the Tel Aviv hospital where Anderson was taken had no details on how he was hurt. "He's in critical condition, anesthetized and on a ventilator and undergoing imaging tests," said Orly Levi, a spokeswoman at the Tel Hashomer hospital. She described Anderson's condition...

The National Guard was called to assist with crowd control downtown Thousands of antiwar demonstrators marched today from the State Capitol to the site of the Republican National Convention, despite the big-name cancellations and amid a smattering of protest actions that led to arrests and some property damage in St. Paul. Scattered clashes between protesters and police continued into the evening. The National Guard has been called out to assist. At about 3 p.m. at the request of the St. Paul Police Department, 150 Minnesota Army National Guard soldiers were asked to assist with crowd control downtown. Press and other...

China salaries overseas Chinese for anti-Tibetan protests Phayul[Saturday, April 19, 2008 21:25] By Phurbu Thinley The Global Human Rights Torch Relay, scheduled to pass through 37 countries, arrived in Minnesota (MN) State on April 16 on its America leg of the ongoing relay. The torch arrived after passing through New York earlier on Sunday. The organisers of the torch relay hope to draw attention to human rights concerns in Tibet, as well as the Chinese government's persecution of the Falun Gong, Buddhists, rights advocates and others. In Minnesota, the relay kicked off from the State Capitol and arrived at the...

MINNEAPOLIS - Shrouded in black, with a bandanna masking her face, a self-proclaimed anarchist slips into her combat boots and dashes through town, tossing a Molotov cocktail here, launching a bowling ball there. The YouTube video is more parody than threat: The flaming cocktail ignites a charcoal grill, and the bowling ball knocks down pins instead of crashing through a Navy recruiting office window. But as the video fades to black, the message on-screen is clear: "We're getting ready. What are you doing?" With less than 10 months to go before the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St.Paul, activists are already...

Well Freepers, if you think we Eagles were outnumbered today. You could not be more wrong and here is some information, you need to know. It seems that our friends on the left had to resort to bribes to inflate their numbers today. I spoke to several students from Hollins College, who claimed they would receive extra credit and even credit for attending today's rally. I did observe what would be college professors leading their students along the route to the Capitol. After the event of the day I observed several signs in the trash near the homeless shelter several...

Peace activists are hoping this weekend's anti-war protest in Kennebunkport will be a catalyst for broadening the anti-war movement to encompass environmental, labor, health care and social justice issues. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer Bob Walter, husband of protest organizer Jamilla el Sharfei, makes signs Thursday for the weekend event. "We need to talk about the systemic change that is needed in our country to keep us from going into future wars," said Jamilla el Sharfei, the event organizer. El Sharfei has been planning the three-day protest for almost a year, and has worked to supplement the anti-war theme by including representatives...

n an unprecedented action, the ANSWER Coalition today received citations fining the organization $10,000 for the placement of posters announcing the September 15 March on Washington DC. The fines come after a campaign led by FOX news calling for the DC government to take action against those putting up posters for the September 15 demonstration. They have told us that we have 72 hours to remove every poster, or the fines will go into effect. Tens of thousands of dollars in additional fines are expected in the coming days. Bush’s Interior Department is threatening similar actions against ANSWER. The September 15 posters are...

With his clenched fists, wild eyes and gnashing teeth he has become the face of Muslim fury, protesting against the enemies of Islam. Shakeel Ahmad Bhat has been on the frontline of political activism in Srinagar, India, for more than a decade. His constant presence, captured by photographers and beamed across the world, has caught the imagination of rightwing bloggers who have dubbed him Islamic Rage Boy and turned him into an internet phenomenon. Typing his nickname into a search engine yields more than 75,000 results. He has inspired a cartoon character and merchandise. But the 30-year-old Kashmiri activist is...

The picketers marching in a circle in front of a downtown Washington office building chanting about low wages do not seem fully focused on their message. Many have arrived with large suitcases or bags holding their belongings, which they keep in sight. Several are smoking cigarettes. One works a crossword puzzle. Another bangs a tambourine, while several drum on large white buckets. Some of the men walking the line call out to passing women, "Hey, baby." A few picketers gyrate and dance while chanting: "What do we want? Fair wages. When do we want them? Now." Although their placards identify...

Organizers Needed to End the War Reply to: XXX@craigslist.org Date: 2007-07-02, 4:50PM CDT Field Organizers for national campaign targeting congressional and senate votes to end War in Iraq needed in Michigan, Virginia, Minnesota and Maine. Political organizing and campaign training for motivated activists; weekly stipend, housing and gas expenses paid. SNIP Stipend of $400/week and housing provided plus reimbursements for gas and tolls during the program. Spanish and other languages very helpful, women and minorities encouraged to apply, and must be able to relocate.

If you follow the link, you will be treated to some scenes from the strenuous life of a professional Muslim protester in the Kashmiri city of Srinagar. Over the last few years, there have been innumerable opportunities for him to demonstrate his piety and his pissed-offness. And the cameras have been there for him every time. Is it a fatwah? Is it a copy of the Quran allegedly down the gurgler at Guantanamo? Is it some cartoon in Denmark? Time for Rage Boy to step in and for his visage to impress the rest of the world with the depth...

As war protesters marched toward Arlington Memorial Bridge en route to the Pentagon yesterday, they were flanked by long lines of military veterans and others who stood in solidarity with U.S. troops and the Bush administration's cause in Iraq. Many booed loudly as the protesters passed, turned their backs to them or yelled, "If you don't like America, get out!" Several thousand vets, some of whom came by bus from New Jersey, car caravans from California or flights from Seattle or Michigan, lined the route from the bridge and down 23rd Street, waving signs such as "War There Or War...

The photographs of those heroic supporters of international terrorism are now beginning to come across the news wires:      You can tell from the uniformity of the signs that this is just another production of the usual suspects at International ANSWER and the Veterans For Peace. (Both being taxpayer-supported 501c3 "charities.)And it features the self-same professional America haters who hire themselves out for these "grassroots" protests, day in and day out. Even Cindy Sheehan: But our watchdog media will once again portray their demonstration as a legitimate outpouring of anger at the war. All brand spanking new and completely...

A demonstration by SEIU janitors blocked a downtown intersection this evening for more than an hour and resulted in the arrests of about 40 union officials and janitors from out of town. Traffic was backed up briefly for several blocks as police rerouted commuters around the demonstration. Since Oct. 23, janitors have marched in front of office buildings throughout Houston, blocked streets and invaded a Galleria-area office in an attempt to bring attention to their cause. The Service Employees International Union represents about 5,300 janitors who make an average $5.30 an hour and want a boost in pay to $8.50...

The DUmmies are already getting their excuses in order. See, if they don't win tonight then that means the election was stolen as you can see in this crybaby THREAD whiningly titled, "If we don't win (and we will) mark my words: It was stolen." This reminds me of a kid I used to know who said that if he didn't win at Monopoly or Scrabble or any of a number of other games then it didn't mean he lost, it just meant that someone else cheated. So let us now watch the DUmmies do a pre-emptive excuse strike...

Los Angeles Wave: Ministers Vs. Maxine Betty Pleasant The members of the venerable Baptist Ministers Conference of Los Angeles and Southern California are divided into two factions: One faction is mad as hell at Rep. Maxine Waters. The other faction is mad as @#$%^&*! at the congresswoman. Why? Because the 400-member organization is outraged and deeply offended by protests Waters led against the ministers at two meetings they had scheduled Oct. 2 in the community with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Saying they were “violated” and “assaulted” by Waters’ protests — and her obvious message that they could only meet with the...

Homeless, others happy to get $8 an hour Joyce Osby, left, believes in the cause she is being paid to support — using union carpenters on local construction projects. Others on the picket line are happy just to pocket the cash. By all appearances, Joyce Osby looks like the quintessential union member protesting work conditions. She wears a baseball cap with the slogan "rat busters." Her neon Tshirt screams "Time for change. Carpenters deserve better." And she carries a banner chiding a company that manages several Downtown skyscrapers for not using union contractors. But Osby, 54, of the East Side,...

So just where did those thousands and thousands of protesters that showed up around the country to protest an immigration bill in Congress come from? Were they angry immigrants sitting in their government housing watching C-SPAN...only to become upset at a bill that was just out of committee? Not hardly. The truth is starting to come out about just where these folks came from. They were protesting in the street because.....because they were told to. It turns out the Spanish media was stoking the fire. In fact, they went a step further...even telling them when and where to protest...what to...

Wearing pink gloves, Cindy Sheehan held a picture of her soldier son Casey who was killed while serving in Iraq. WBBM Newsradio 780's Nancy Harty reports the anti-war advocate shivered in the cold before a crowd gathered at Independence Park on Chicago's Northwest Side Saturday morning. She says Congressional Democrats are just as bad as Republicans when it comes to inaction on the Iraq war and urged supporters of peace must hold their congressmen accountable. Holding signs that said "the war isn't working," about one hundred opponents of the war loudly clapped their gloved hands, chanted and sang songs with...

HAVANA, Cuba (AP) -- The communist government on Monday called an evening rally at the scene of a mysterious construction project outside the American mission. The rally -- called to remember those who have lost their lives in violent acts against Cuba over 45 years -- was expected to include the unveiling what appear to be dozens of flagpoles, positioned to block the view of an electronic sign on the outside of the U.S. Interests Section that has provoked the ire of President Fidel Castro. The event will be broadcast live nationwide to Cuba's 11.2 million people on state television...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 - Counterterrorism agents at the Federal Bureau of Investigation have conducted numerous surveillance and intelligence-gathering operations that involved, at least indirectly, groups active in causes as diverse as the environment, animal cruelty and poverty relief, newly disclosed agency records show. F.B.I. officials said Monday that their investigators had no interest in monitoring political or social activities and that any investigations that touched on advocacy groups were driven by evidence of criminal or violent activity at public protests and in other settings. After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, John Ashcroft, who was then attorney general, loosened restrictions...

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Thousands of supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez marched in Caracas on Saturday to support the leftist leader in his dispute with Mexico's president over U.S. free trade proposals. State workers, unionists and students, many wearing red T-shirts, waved flags and anti-U.S. placards as they marched through the capital accompanied by trucks blaring revolutionary songs, Venezuelan folk ballads and Mexican mariachi music. Venezuela and Mexico withdrew their ambassadors on Monday after Chavez called his Mexican counterpart, Vicente Fox, a "lap dog" of U.S. imperialism for his close ties to Washington and told him, "Don't mess with...

An outlawed Iranian opposition group, which obtained a permit from the New York Police Department to hold a demonstration in front of the United Nations today, attracted an estimated 2,500 supporters to protest the presence of Iran’s president at the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly. But many of the crowd, coming from Denmark, Germany, Canada, Eritrea and Sudan, acknowledged that they had been recruited by the organization to attend the rally for money, and that all their expenses – including international air fare, hotels, and a daily stipend - had been paid by the organization. “Basically, what you...

http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/2005/09/08/awsi1.html Picketers for Hire The strange business of protesting jobs that may be better than yours By Stacy J. Willis The shade from the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market sign is minimal around noon; still, six picketers squeeze their thermoses and Dasani bottles onto the dirt below, trying to keep their water cool. They're walking five-hour shifts on this corner at Stephanie Street and American Pacific Drive in Henderson—anti-Wal-Mart signs propped lazily on their shoulders, deep suntans on their faces and arms—with two 15-minute breaks to run across the street and use the washroom at a gas station. Periodically one of them...

The media loves to portray Cindy Sheehan as just a mom, who lost her son at war, and is demanding answers from the president that is charge of the war. But Sheehan's vile statements about Israel, the U.S. and the president are a far cry from a grieving mother, they show her for the professional protester she has become. When you go to Sheehan's web site, the first thing you will be greeted with is a plea for cash. What you can do to help? Support Cindy by making a contribution: Your financial support is needed to make sure that...

With the President back at his Crawford ranch, the anti-war protest right outside his ranch is getting a lot more media attention. ABC7 looks at who is financing the operation and who's providing on-the-ground support. The camp at Crawford is full of Cindy Sheehan supporters, people from all walks of life. But off to the side are a small group of professionals, skilled in politics and public relations who are marketing her message. Cindy Sheehan kneels before a cross with her son's name on it, touches his picture, wipes her tears. It's an outpouring of emotion that is part of...

Twenty-four people were arrested Saturday after police discovered spray-painted graffiti on the Statehouse -- messages that authorities said were part of a protest against an extension of Interstate 69. Authorities said the 24, walking away from the Statehouse and chanting about I-69, disregarded an officer who tried to ask them questions about the graffiti shortly before 1 p.m. Other officers arrived, and the 24 were arrested on disorderly conduct charges a few blocks northwest of the building, state police 1st Sgt. Dave Bursten said. The graffiti was found on two exterior walls, two pillars on the interior and in other...

Need a cheering crowd?New Delhi - A former politician in southern India has launched a "rent-a-crowd" company to recruit people to cheer at party rallies and said he has been deluged by would-be recruits, a report Friday said. "When all political parties and organisations are doing it discreetly, why can't we do it professionally?" the Hindustan Times newspaper quoted the company's founder, Devarajan, who goes by one name, as saying. Indian political parties are known for paying people to show up for rallies, often transporting them in fleets of buses, but usually the recruitment is carried out by the...

  Accused ... Michael Jackson   Michael Jackson 'fans fix'MICHAEL Jackson has been accused of organising fans’ demos at his first child sex hearing. The 46-year-old pop superstar claimed thousands came to Santa Maria, California, to support him voluntarily. But court records show the huge demo may have been organised by Jackson and his lawyers. The claims follow the seizure of phone records, emails and documents from the home of the singer’s personal assistant. Jackson denies nine charges, including six of molesting a 13-year-old boy. He is due to stand trial in January.

Unfortunately, it appears that when Elizabeth Edwards speaks some people actually listen. This sad fact might be innocuous enough if the aspiring Second Lady were trading parenting or dieting tips. But instead semi-reformed former Deaniacs and Kucinich Kids seem to have latched onto Edwards' recent promise to a worried supporter that post-election riots will not wrack the nation -- so long as the Kerry-Edwards ticket walks away with it. The suggestion, of course, is that there indeed will be riots if John F. Kerry's boyhood dreams of ascending to his rightful position as ruler of the universe are squashed by...

Campaigns Rally Against Wrong T-Shirts Wearing Opponent's Gear Can Mean Arrests, Ejections Nov. 1, 2004 - Behind the scenes of one of the most contentious presidential races in recent memory, both Democrats and Republicans have organized what can only be called the T-shirt defense squads. It is an all-out effort to spot T-shirts supporting the other candidate and block them from view, or in some cases to actually have the T-shirt-wearing offenders ejected or arrested. ABC News conducted a bipartisan experiment in which producers and volunteers went to rallies for each candidate wearing the other party's T-shirt, and found that...

Election violence surfaces in South Florida Published Tuesday, October 26, 2004 by Sean Salai Election-related violence is on the rise this week in South Florida as impassioned Republicans and Democrats duke it out at rallies and the polls. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans and Independents in Palm Beach County, where voters last week began casting early ballots for the Nov. 2 general election, and strained feelings are already leading to hostility. In Boca Raton this weekend, county Republicans filled out police reports for shattered car windows at a Friday rally and a vandalism incident Sunday night at their headquarters. “I’ve never...

As Dana Roberts drove her friend to her car, they went past people waiting to see Senator John Kerry. The problem, Roberts is president of the college republicans. Her car is covered with Bush campaign stickers. The Kerry supporters then started vandalizing her car, while they drove past. At one point they were mooned and beer was thrown into their car.

In a performance equal parts pep rally, revival meeting and comedy shtick, filmmaker Michael Moore told 4,000 political partisans in Eugene on Monday they must do everything they can to boot President George W. Bush from the White House. The president and his cohorts "are radicals out to undo our government, unfund it and tear up our Bill of Rights. That is their agenda - and we have to stop them," he said to rousing applause. Eugene was the 31st city in Moore's 60-city "Slacker Uprising" tour, a get-out-the-vote campaign in 20 battleground states that began in late September and...

Under mounting political, legal and financial pressure, Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. yesterday backed away from its plan to carry a film attacking John F. Kerry's Vietnam War record, saying it would air only portions of the movie in an hour-long special scheduled for Friday. "The experience of preparing to air this news special has been trying for many of those involved," Sinclair chief executive David D. Smith said in a statement. "The company and many of its executives have endured personal attacks of the vilest nature, as well as calls on our advertisers and our viewers to boycott our stations...

October 19, 2004 — The Big Story on Action News is a politically motivated film furor Tuesday night in Jenkintown. Supporters of George Bush and John Kerry went nose to nose Tuesday night in Montgomery County, and neither side had any intention of backing down. Nerves are fraying at the edges, and there are still two weeks before Election Day. The emotion of this politically charged presidential election got the best of some people. People who came out to see the anti-Kerry film, "Stolen Honor" were already upset that management of the Baederwood Theater cancelled the showing after threats of...

I just came from the Baederwood Theatre in Abington, PA where "Stolen Honor" was to be shown to an expected full-house. Upon arrival I was told that the theatre canceled the show due to called in threats of violence. There were about 100 people milling around outside the theatre, mostly Bush supporters, when I arrived. The Bushies were rightly indignant that we couldn't see the film and the sKerry supporters were almost gleeful in their posturing. One "vet for Kerry" was getting in the faces of many of the Bush supporters, and had to be separated by the police more...

Protestors Ransack Bush/Cheney Headquarters In Orlando 2 People Receive Minor Injuries During Protest POSTED: 6:05 pm EDT October 5, 2004 UPDATED: 9:10 pm EDT October 5, 2004 ORLANDO, Fla. -- A group of protestors stormed and then ransacked a Bush-Cheney headquarters building in Orlando, Fla., Tuesday, according to Local 6 News. Protestors Storm, Ransack Bush-Cheney Headquarters In Orlando Download RealPlayer Local 6 News reported that several people from the group of 100 Orlando protestors face possible assault charges after the group forced their way inside the Republican headquarters office. While in the building, some of the protestors drew horns and...