Free Republic

I got to Walter Reed right at 6:30... but I was certainly not the first there. Whooping it up for the troops was VictoryNY, our most enthusiastic Freeper. Here she is with Cindy-True-Supporter, who arrived a few minutes later We Support Our Troops! God Bless our Soldiers! 24 - 7! Thank You to Our Soldiers! ...all this while jumping up and down and waving the flag with much vigor. She has a voice that would make Luciano Pavarotti proud! She is certainly a hit with the troops and their families coming out of the hospital. They've told us many times...

It started off a normal enough FReep, with the Patriots of Free Republic stationing ourselves at the four corners around the main entrance to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in northwest Washington DC Before too long a car came out of WR, and the driver stopped to speak with with Cindy-True-Supporter and some other FReepers. He said that he had been down to the Pinkos and asked them if they were protesting the war or the troops. They said no. He then asked them if that was the case "why aren't you up there with the others who are supporting...

One of our very own, FReeper PrezUSA222 is back from Iraq where he served with the U.S. Army. We knew his tour was up but weren't sure exactly when we'd see him again. It was therefore a pleasant surprise when he showed up to FReep with us for a few hours Friday night. PrezUSA222 is the one in the black shirt, with your author at right. PrezUSA222 brought his friend and fellow veteran who was proud to be with us for awhile also There presence made me think back on the past 7 years since the start of Operation Iraqi...

It was mush! mush! the whole way through. Through the snow we went, on and on. Our arms sore from constant shoveling, we didn't give up. Our driveways and streets had to be cleared. No one could get to work and many couldn't even get out of their development. As the days wore on we wondered if it would ever be cleared. Worried that our cable TV and internet would go out, we huddled...Flashback! Mr Trooprally's shirt certainly brought those memories back in a hurry. We got about 35 inches in Loudoun County, which is just northwest of Washington DC...

As our president continues to degrade American military capabilities, the troop supporters of Free Republic continue to show up every Friday evening at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in northwest Washington DC. We have done this since early 2005 and will continue our efforts for as long as people show up. Our objectives are twofold: 1) Show support for the troops by displaying the American flag and those of military units, as well as patriotic flags 2) Keep the hate-America crowd of Code Pinkos away from the main entrance of the hospital. As with last week, the weather this Friday...

There are times when FReeping is an absolute pleasure; early evening when the sun isn't so bright and burning, temps are in the upper 60s, no rain, and you've just had a good dinner. The commies are being kept a good distance off from the entrance to Walter Reed, and you're surrounded by your Freeper buddies. Best of all, the troop bus comes early, an unexpected pleasure, which means that you get to pack up and get home at a reasonable hour. Then there are the other times. Freezing cold, a bit of rain, and damn it you forgot to...

After a warm and sunny #257 it was back to some chilly weather! The thing about this time of year is that although it actually wasn't that cold, we were just spoiled by the 70 degree temps of earlier that week. That and the breeze, which always makes it seem colder. Unfortunately the wind was such that we couldn't deploy the MOAB, but on the other hand the flags look a lot nicer in a good breeze. As per our usual routine, we started to gather at around 6:30, and we continue until the dinner bus comes back, which can...

<p>If you come to Washington DC this time of year you need to be prepared for anything from 35 degrees or colder and rainy or sleet, to 70 degrees or more, warm and sunny. From now through May you can get either of these, and this from one day to another.</p>

Two more nights braved by FReepers out guarding the entrance to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, keeping the moonbats at bay! Not that the Code Pink moonbats are much of a problem anymore. They only managed three people on the second night. More, the Code Pink leaders long since abandoned their own people and haven't been seen for two years or more. It's now a union operation. We had a relatively big snow storm at the end of December but fortunately most of that's gone. Now it's just... chilly. Mid to low 20's isn't so bad but the wind was...

Neither evening was unduly cold, but the wind and rain kept us from deploying the MOAB on either FReep 238 & 239. Although it's a lot more difficult to put up and take down wearing winter gear, the exertion required has the effect of warming you up. No matter, because Trooprally and Lurker Bill always have their Mini-MOABs. You can see one behind BufordP, and they work in all but the most extreme weather. There was a CBS satellite vehicle outside the hospital on Nov 6 to tape a segment about the terrorist Major Nidal Hasan, who killed 13 of...

A beautiful evening in Washington DC brought out 14 faithful FReepers to our weekly vigil outside Walter Reed Army Medical Center. It was not quite the 500-800 that we had last week on 9-11-09, but quite enough to let the troops know that our support never waivers. A huge THANK YOU again to everyone who was able to come last week. Here is Mr Trooprally setting up station in front of the main entrance Caddy corner from him was Lurker Bill, Having observed this operation for almost 5 years it's interesting how it all works. Some FReepers, like me, are...

Last Friday, September 11 2009, somewhere around 500 patriots gathered outside of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC. It was the largest number of people that we have had there since Free Republic started holding vigils there in early 2005. Certainly also a lot more than the dozen or so we usually get on a Friday night! I am just going to go straight off to the photos you are interested in the most; the ones from when the crowd was at it's maximum: The whole event had a festival atmosphere. We set up tents in the small...

big>July 3On the downside the breeze was too strong for us to deploy the MOAB. On the upside it made for a very pleasant evening. By 9pm it was positively chilly, so maybe the "climate change" the lefties are talking about nowadays is really global cooling. You've noticed how they've dropped "global warming" in favor of "climate change?" A subtle but important point, as it would seem to me they've conceded the debate but can't stop the train they've set in motion. Tom the Redhunter, Fraxinus, Kburi, Cindy-True-Supporter, RonGKirby, Mr & Mrs Trooprally, Tolerance Sucks Rocks, Jimmy Valentine's Brother, 3DJoy,...

We had 10 people, the Pinkos 9. This is about how it's been for the past half year or so. We need your help. My challenge is that if you live within driving distance of Washington DC you make one trip this year to Walter Reed. That is not asking too much. If all FReepers reading this who live near Washington DC do this it would help tremendously. See below for directions and details, or you can just FReepmail me. On With the AARIt was a beautiful evening; not to hot, not too cold... ok sorry, I used the Three...

Don't you just love the new MOAB? I think it says it all quite well. Despite the constant calls for surrender by the Democrats, the troops held firm, and we've now pretty much won the war. All we're doing now is mopping up and making sure the new Iraqi Army is trained well enough to take over when we leave. But maybe we're going to have to start checking to see if our own Department of Homeland Security is spying on us as we gather every Friday outside the main entrance of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC....

Those of us who've done this for several years, and attended many of the rallies and counterprotests in Washington DC or elsewhere have become used to the inanity of the commies, Pinkos, and other assorted lefties. We forget I think how it is for newcomers who've never seen them. A few times at some of the downtown FReeps I've observed people who are obviously tourists who'd accidentally stumbled upon a leftie protest march. Their deer-in-the-headlights gives them away, as they're obviously perplexed as to what they've come upon. FReepers are a little more used to this as even those who've...

I don't know what's going on with our weather - and AlGore can just shut his yap because it is not a "side effect" of global warming - but we have had a spate of incredibly windy days around here. I don't remember getting anything like this in past years. Either that or I'm just getting old and the first thing to go is the memory. Anyway...once again it was so windy that putting up the MOAB was out of the question. Had we done so, it would have taken off like a kite, probably with some of us attached....

We weren't their long before being reminded of what it's all about. One of the Walter Reed buses that have been converted so they can carry wounded troops flown in from the field to Andrews Air Force Base, and from there transported to Walter Reed came by Seeing one of them always quiets you for a bit as you wonder about who is coming in and what they've been through. Not to long after we got going, we had a special visit. Mr. Trooprally tells the tale: Trooprally was on the southwest corner when he heard "CONCRETEBOB". Looking around he...

Honor Roll of Attendees Cindy-True-Supporter, Jimmy Valentine's Brother, kburi, Mr. Trooprally and his Grandtwins, your author Tom the Redhunter, Doctor Raoul, and his friend Carl from Pennsylvania. We soon got set up and were in business as usual. There was a light wind, not enough for us to preclude setting up the MOAB (Mother Of All Banners), but enough for the flags to fly nicely. Carl is not an official FReeper but does have much experience at rallies and countering the left as a member of a group called the American Sheepdogs. The full explanation is on their website, but...

Yesterday I spent a wonderful Christmas Day with family. Then, sometime after opening gifts my brother showed me this story in the Washington Post: As Duties Weigh Obama Down, His Faith in Fitness Only IncreasesBy Eli Saslow Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, December 25, 2008; Page A01 Being elected president forces a man to take inventory of his life, so Barack Obama has trimmed his schedule to the bare essentials. He's not in the White House yet, but gone are the hours he once spent reading novels, watching television and obsessing over the daily transactions of Chicago's sports teams. He...