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Posted on 08/11/2005 10:10:48 PM PDT by U.H. Conservative
So the Minutemen are crazy vigilantes and their supporters are racist thugs, right?
Well you could have fooled me. I attended the immigration town hall forum in Carlsbad tonight, back on popular demand after city officials tried to shut it down. The move backfired; publicity from the attempted censorship bringing folks down from LA after they heard of it on KFI.
I got there an hour early but the forum's four hundred seats were already filled. But I, along with several other members of the North Coast Republican Club, stuck around outside as the supporters of secure borders began a counter-protest to the open borders advocates. And I'm glad I did.
The two sides were divided by a large phalanx of Carlsbad police officers and San Diego Sheriffs. They were decked out in full riot gear, even sporting some wicked looking super-paintball guns. I was tempted to invite the officers to beg off the security gig and just get a game going inside the Carlsbad High School grounds (using the campus as a paintball field was one of many daydreams that made days passable there). However, seeing that the officers also carried some rather nasty looking shotguns unslung made me think better of that offer.
Across the police line was a motley assortment of pro-illegal alien sympathizers, members of La Raza (what would media reaction be to a white separatist group called the Race?) and, of course, the anti war crowd. Of course, that group shows up for anything bigger than a baby shower. Their main tactic was calling our side fascist. Given that I saw at least one of their members wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with a swastika, that was an amusing accusation.
I spent most of the evening standing next to a giant of a man who told me that as a Democrat, he'd spent his youth protesting Vietnam and was usually on the other side of the police line. However, illegal immigration (and its depression of construction wages) made this Democrat see red. Take the hint, President Bush. Dropping the "guest worker" plan is good policy and better politics.
Despite - or perhaps because of - the massive police presence, only words were exchanged. Both sides were respectful of the police. Our side even gave them many cheers, both for the officers on scene and for fallen officers like David March, whose killer the Mexican government refuses to extradite.
In the end, the most telling fact was that the illegal alien sympathizers could not answer the simple question of why they were not funneling their energies into reforming Mexico so its people could find success at home. I found it ironic that the pro-borders crowd was calling for Mexico to allow its people the basic freedoms in which prosperity flourishes. At the same time, the business interests growing rich from exploiting the cut rate illegal alien wages seem fine with Mexico's current corruption.
And they call the Minutemen hateful? Tom Tancredo is a terrorist (so said a protestor's sign)? I think that in the end, the facts speak for themselves.
Latest news on Carlsbad meeting.
fyi
John 1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
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Carlsbad, CA historic immigration reform meeting - get it while it's HOT!
* ~ * CROSSLINK * ~ * * ~ * CROSSLINK * ~ * * ~ * CROSSLINK * ~ * * ~ * CROSSLINK * ~ * * ~ * CROSSLINK * ~ *
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Well you could have fooled me.I attended the immigration town hall forum in Carlsbad tonight, back on popular demand after city officials tried to shut it down.
The move backfired; publicity from the attempted censorship bringing folks down from LA after they heard of it on KFI.
Thank you. That is heady praise that I appreciate. As an attorney, I don;t think the "in whom is no guile" applies though. LOL!
I got there at 6:00 and there were at least 2000 people already in a line that was 3 and 4 wide and over 200 yards long.
They had passed out tickets to the first 600 in line at 5:00 so most of the people didn't get in including myself.
I some how lost my keys and my wife won't drive my pickup so I walked the 6 miles home to get her to go back to get her car.
There were probably 200 that stayed outside and had a screamfest across the police lines at the illegal supporters.
There were at least 200 Carlsbad cops and Sheriffs there and 8 or 10 media trucks.
When you consider that after 6:00 there were as many people leaving as there were ariving for the next hour there were probably 5000 or better showed up.
I heard once I got home there were 300 police officers. I will say that they were very courteous and professional.
I went up from San Diego and got nailed by traffic. The delay caused me to arrive at 6:25, and the auditoreum was already full, so I had to settle for joining the protest battle lines outside. I don't know what the place looked like inside.
I took a dozen pics of the 75 or so commies, terrorist supporters and illegal aliens across the police line. We had about 150-200 on our side. The scum were better prepared with large signs and banners, obviously they are pros who go from one hate-America rally to another. I was amazed by the number of muslim women in black semi-burquas, going after Tancredo for the Mecca comments.
We yelled at them through a megaphone, they yelled at us. There must have been a total of at least 100 cops in full riot gear (shields, batons, shotguns, boots, the whole 9 yards).
I left at 9 when it was getting dark, and my camera was not effective. This was lucky, because I got to hear all of Tancredo's speech. I was VERY impressed by his speaking style, humor, everything. GREAT speech. A couple of California state reps spoke after him about the California Border Police initiative and other topis.
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I spent most of the evening standing next to a giant of a man who told me that as a Democrat, he'd spent his youth protesting Vietnam and was usually on the other side of the police line.However, illegal immigration (and its depression of construction wages) made this Democrat see red.
Take the hint, President Bush. Dropping the "guest worker" plan is good policy and better politics.
There could very well have been 300, dthey were everywhere and some of them marching in columns in their riot gear, dozens of bike cops and patrol cars.
What was really impresive was the massive amount of people that showed up for the forum and the small number of scummy protesters.
might mention that there were probably 15 or so muslims protesting Tancredo.
Where were you? I was right by the kid with the bullhorn. He's got a future in rabble rousing.
Quite a scene. I have some nice pics of the enemy traitor communist one-world scum, if anybody wants to host them.
One of the scum wore a nice t-shirt featuring a swastika made of American flags.
He threw me a nice Nazi salute for the picture, while I was mingling among them.
"Where were you?"
I was right behind him wearing my Freerepublic.com hat.
The kid was Bryan Barton, the goof who got booted out of the AZ MMP on day 2 for touching an illegal. He's the one who arranged his own photo-op to promote his website and his alleged run for Congress.
Many think he's just into self-promotion, he has another college student video all of his shennanigans for future self-promotional use.
Good, we need to increase that pressure with daily phone calls to our congress critters.
How did I miss your FR hat? I should have brought an FR ID tag or something.
Ping me when ya post em' please.
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