Just came back from a rally with Cindy Sheehan.

[demgurl]

Cindy came to Greensboro today and it was all quite exciting. We started out by an University campus and marched all the way to government plaza. Before we even started our march there were police video taping all of us. My husband confronted them and they said they were videotaping to 'document' and that it was 'standard procedure'. Anyone from around here realize how much trouble some of the cops have caused us and you just automatically are weary of their presence. I did not see them do anything and so I can only assume the cops did not harass any of us.

A fringe group had threatened our gathering but the police were there in strong numbers once we arrived at our destination. It was hot out but a really wonderful day. There were singers and speakers and finally Cindy arrived at our gathering. She was so gracious to everyone that went over to her. She saw my boys and immediately walked over to us so we could take her picture with them.

She got up to speak and even though we had all been sitting in the hot sun, I could immediately feel everyone being energized by her words. She spoke strongly and passionately. And for a state that is mainly red, she spoke to a pretty nice crowd. Our local newspaper says there were about 300 but I think it was more between 4-500. Who knows and I do not care. At this point it is just wonderful to see our little red state with booths and protesters who are against this illegal occupation.

There were about 150 protesters that showed up and they showed their ignorance. At one point I could hear them shouting out "Commies go home"! Wow!!! And then, like a joke you have to explain, they said (over a megaphone) "You know why we call you commies? Because you were at a rally held by commie organizations and since you were there, you are commies. Commies go home." Well, you know the old saying about a joke, if you have to explain it..........The protesters were rabid and you could hear the hate and toxicity in their voices. My husband said he wouldn't even mind them protesting if they really were for * and supporting the war but he said he felt they were just against 'commie liberals' and that is why they showed up. I hate to agree with him because it is so sad people would come out and use their free speech just for hate of another group, but I think he may be right.

One of the highlights is that I even met a couple of DUer's. I was very excited. Overall, this has been a great start to my weekend. Tonight we go out to meet employees of Pixar, hear how they make the films and see clips. My kids were excited about Cindy but they are over the moon about Pixar. I hope you all are having as nice a weekend as we are.

Peace!

[jpak]

1. They kill "commies" in Greensboro and get away with it

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greensboro_massacre

I hope the cops were videotaping those thugs...

[demgurl]

4. I did not see them videotape the the thugs.

That is not to say they did not, I just did not see it.

I hate being videotaped because I am for peace. It makes no sense, if you are for peace, to be violent. It is like the surveillance in Michael Moore's documentary where the peace group is having cozy little talks and eating chocolate chip cookies. Sheesh!

[jpak]

6. I hear ya about the video surveillance. It's very intimidating and wrong.

But I do hope the police were just a vigilant with the potentially violent freeptards as with the peace protesters...

[demgurl]

11. Hubby just said he saw the thugs being videotaped.

At least the cops were being fair about it and I did not see them taking down any of our plate numbers.

[jarnocan]

16. wow interesting link! they video tape like crazy see pis below nt

[Ferret Annica]

18. the massacre is on Youtube too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhUwizH-so4

Greensboro Massacre

[KurtNYC]

2. Soooooo, you believe that the workers should own the means of production!

I knew it! You big commies you! ;-)

[demgurl]

5. Takes one to know one!

:pals: From one commie to another! ;-)

[Sabriel]

3. "Commies"? What era are these people from?

Did you tell them the Cold War ended almost 20 years ago?

[demgurl]

8. That was pretty much my reaction.

There isn't enough communism to fight any more! I just ignored them because WCW asked us not to interact with them in any way. The protesters were all pretty ignorant. I walked past some of them to get a cold drink and I could hear this one lady saying, "They want to get rid of Walter Reed but in the same breath they want universal health care. Do they even realize what they are saying? Walter Reed is universal health care and I have news for them, there will be so many forms that you will have to fill out five just to get one thing done. I have seen it and I know." I just wanted to fill her empty head with knowledge but held my tongue.

Just because this fits with what she thinks universal health care would be does not mean that is what it has to be. I am from Canada and many industrialized countries have social health care for their citizens. All of those countries do fine despite the propaganda people hear all the time. I have never had more than a half hour wait in an emergency room. (in Canada, that is) I have always gotten top notch care and never paid a cent. I have never had to fill out anything more than my personal information along with my S.I.N. number. (social insurance number) My Uncle had a heart attack and my Great Aunt broke her hip. For that matter, my Mom was on her deathbed at one point and all of my relatives were treated immediately and had to pay nothing for the care in the hospital or the meds after.

Our country has long hypothesized that competition is good for our health care system and it will makes the market competitive and give us better care for less money. We have tried this out for many years and I think it is time we put an end to that experiment. No longer can we say we have a top notch health care system when people go across borders and overseas for their needs. I have even seen reports where insurance companies send patients overseas because it still ends up cheaper. It is time to put away our ignorance. We must educate ourselves and then demand more from our politicians for our citizens. The propaganda they spread must come to an end and everyone needs to see the light.

Sorry for the rant, I am getting down off my soapbox now.

[lildreamer316]

30. It hasn't here.

Some days, we're a bit stuck in the past.
Trust me; I know. I've lived here all my life.
Sigh.
(I AM moving....in about two years)

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. Wouldn't it be funny

if one of the peace people there was full blooded Cherokee? They could turn and politely ask the freeptards what tribe they are from--and I bet none of them are--and then politely tell them that they are the ones who need to "go home".

[demgurl]

Folks seem to forget that we were not the original

settlers in this country. That would have been funny but then they might have pounced on the poor guy and killed him. One of their mantras, for this gathering, was 'attack, attack, attack'.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

10. Yep

sad but true. Remember the Cherokee Nation was ripped of their lands and sent on a march that was for many a death march, from the Smokey Mountains to Oklahoma. What many don't know is that "Trail of Tears" continued on until recent times. A friend of mine is full blooded Cherokee-his parents snuck off the rez in Talequah and from the lands in the Smokies (one was Western Cherokee, one Eastern) and tried to farm here in Newton County (where the Cherokee had stopped along their way and liked because of the mountains). They were regularly hunted down and sent back-separated and not allowed to go together. Their children still suffer from that early trauma and fear.

[demgurl]

21. Thanks for that extra bit of information.....

You folks always have the best information. I feel so sad for what many people go through. It is sad that this is not taught in schools.

[demgurl]

9. Edited out since my reply posted twice.

[LWolf]

12. That's great to hear!

:kick:

[Breeze54]

13. I'm proud of you!! That had to be intimidating!

Screw those morons and the anti-peace protestors too! ;)

Good for you! Today it was 500, next time maybe 1,000!!

You are a true :patriot: Setting a good example.

Sounds like you and your family had a good time.

Thanks for the nice post!

Do you have pictures?

:kick: & Recommended!

[EFerrari]

14. Proud #5 here.

Thanks, demgurl. :)

[jarnocan]

15. pics here link and DEM GIRL and me:) DU ers are for REAL!

[midnight]

20. Beautiful pictures of the kids with Cindy. What did she

speak about?

[jarnocan]

27. eh? accountability, immorality of the war,right to agree to disagree

all very cool and KIND, unlike the hateful folk on the 'other side' who LIE, smear and threat. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jarnocan/

[demgurl]

23. Hi jarnocan!

It was so nice to meet you today. I see you also had your pics taken with Cindy! I had a blast and hope to see you again soon.

[Breeze54]

24. Great pics! I love the "waterboarding now is legal" pic!

:rofl: ( not really "funny" but it is, in an 'in your face' kind of way! ;)

[ThatsMyBarack]

35. "IMPEACH PEACE"?

:wtf: :shrug:

[jarnocan]

45. Impeach for Peace- the for is a bit smaller - so W-WTF???nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

17. Cindy so rocks

She is able to grab a crowd and hold onto them. It's amazing. I am jealous you got to spend today with her.

[demgurl]

25. I was amazed at how open she was.

I kind of expected her to enter, be swept up on stage and then swept away again when she was finished. I could not see her being there in any other way since I am sure there are people out there who would love to hurt her. I just looked over and there she was standing freely next to the stage. She was so receptive to everyone who went up to her. It was an amazing experience all the way around.

Have you met her before? If not, I hope you do some day.

[proud2BlibKansan]

28. Yes I have been to Camp Casey several times

She is just amazing.

[demgurl]

33. I wish I could go to Camp Casey.

The last time I wanted to, my kids were starting school in a couple of days and there was no way we could make a car trip all the way there and still make it back to school on time. And now I work for our school and it is mandatory I be there the first day since I am in charge of admissions and seeing that each seat is filled asap.

Do you have pictures of your trips to Camp Casey?

[proud2BlibKansan]

34. Yes, hundreds - LOL

August 2005:



Here is Cindy, kiteinthewind and me





Easter 2006 with Ann Wright:





And 2 weeks ago at Easter:

[demgurl]

37. Now I am jealous of you.

Great pictures and thank you very much for sharing. I bet it was a life changing experience.

[jarnocan]

41. awesome- I want to go too! LOVE Col. Ann Wright VIDEO link WDC with code pink Don't bomb Iran

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTEBjPCNBbc and ALSO if you are into reading stupid comments from the far right- well here ya go:)

[jarnocan]

40. me too-car pool someday? OK! also WDC??? Mother's Day? nt

[demgurl]

43. Mother's Day is DC, right?

Is it on that day or on that weekend? That would be such a cool way to spend Mother's Day. Although our car is not big enough, we would have to rent a mini-van or something. Were you really thinking of going? IM me, ok?

[jarnocan]

46. considering it....March is actually Monday the 14th but MORE stuff/ LINk

Join us with Cindy Sheehan, Annie Nelson, Cindy Asner and many others on THURSDAY, MAY 10th and FRIDAY, MAY 11th, in Washington, D.C. to aid our first woman Speaker of the House to exhaust every remedy for peace! http://www.codepink4peace.org/section.php?id=301
There is a PETITION and other ideas as well. (will make another thread for this BTW.)

Cindy Sheehan's "Mother of a March" is May 14th. http://www.thecampcaseypeaceinstitute.org/

[Gregorian]

19. I'm reading a book about right wing authoritarians.

That's so cool about your day! AND meeting DU'ers. I look forward to that day myself.


Cassandra posted a link in another thread to a book that is online. A Canadian psychology prof. has studied and now written a book, at the demands of John Dean, on right wing authoritarianism.

I'm just through the first quarter of it, and I will tell you that it is supremely liberating. If you want to understand Bush, and those who blindly follow him, you will want to see this book.

Here's the link. And I will be posting a thread on it. But you know how the threads can be lost in the confusion.

http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/

[demgurl]

26. Thanks for the info on the book.

I am definitely going to check it out.

[lildreamer316]

32. NEEDS to be it's own post!

Just read the intro.
Very, very good stuff. Thankyouverymuch!!!
Mind if I spread it around?

[jarnocan]

22. so srry I didn't get a pic of Kelvin dang

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=170&topic_id=9017&mesg_id=9027 but I an glad we found each other:) Keep in touch! His thread my reception pics.

[Robbien]

29. Sounds like a great rally

Sheehan is a treasure.

[H2O Man]

31. Great!

It sounds like a good time.

[Democrat 4 Ever]

36. I have family in Greensboro who writes a blog and I check his writings several times a week

to keep up with his wife who was treated for breast cancer last year. His posting this morning about Cindy Sheehan and the peace rally was lacking in any substance and insight. He was more concerned about a hot dog stand being blocked by the protesters.

The blogger tries really hard to "pretend" he is a libertarian but from knowing him personally he is anything but. He chastised a posting I made one time when I called DimSon "Chucklenuts." Said we have to give him respect because he is the president. I replied that I did not have to give respect to anyone who doesn't deserve it.

He is all for the GOP talking points of smaller government, personal responsibility, less taxes, yadda, yadda, yadda but when he ran into a financial crisis due to his wife's illness he didn't hesitate to go looking for help. I am glad he found it but now that she is better he has made several postings about "unsavory people in his neighborhood," etc. and I haven't seen any evidence that he is giving back to the community a whole lot. One posting had him laughing about him slamming the door in the face of a guy who had asked for $5.00 for gas money. Said they had a neighborhood watch to keep those type of people away from his house. Naturally, I had to put in my 2¢ and said for a measly $5.00 I was willing to give the man the benefit of the doubt. He replies he was sure he was a scam artist because there were churches to help with that sort of a thing.

He has recently throttle back his undying support for Chucklenuts (mostly by not mentioning him at all) but he never misses an opportunity to knock the Dems. (I take that back - he had a nice comment about John and Elizabeth Edwards after seeing them at a UNC game. One of the comments from his father - "Don't forget son, Edwards is a Democrat.")

He has high school kids, one graduates this May. I do not want to see anyone's children fighting for DimSon's Great Oil Adventure, including his. You would think he would be a little more concerned about the future of this country for his kids but I don't detect that he spends any time worrying about anything but his family, his business and local Greensboro government.

His posting about Cindy Sheehan was especially lacking. He didn't really discuss anything but the Greensboro Police Department's latest new armored vehicle that has a gun turret for a mere $250,000. He was quite impressed with the impressive new fire power of the GPD. Too bad that vehicle isn't in Iraq where it might be of use to some soldiers.

[demgurl]

38. There is a saying that goes.....

'Family gives you a chance to be around people you never normally would hang out with.' That kind of sounds like your relative.

I will say I was aghast with the hot dog stand but chose not to mention it when I first posted. You have a fringe thug group (the eagles of freedom) who state, in their blog, that they will show up and "attack, attack, attack". They do show up and they do seem more than a little out there as far as anger. I have dehydration issues (been in the hospital for dehydration twice - due to sickness, and I have dry mouth issues due to allergies even though I am on prescription. I constantly need some sort of liquid and the only source, at the rally, was that hot dog stand. I am not sure why the police let the protesters stand in front of the hot dog stand but it was intimidating to pass by these people when they have publicly stated that they have anger issues and want to hurt people like me. I can't imagine thinking that way let alone announcing to everyone how mentally sick you are and that you want to break the law. The police allowing the protesters there was like looking for a recipe for disaster. Luckily the anti-war movement is peaceful and nothing happened.

If the media wanted a real story they would have been questioning police about their lack of common sense in allowing these protesters to remain stationed in front of the stand. That was pathetic but at least nothing came of it. If someone had been hurt it would have been the police department who could have been sued since the threats were openly communicated and the cops didn't try to keep a public area free of confrontations.

At any rate, the rally was successful. We had a great turn out and made some new friends. If that many people showed up in this red city then I feel encouraged that soon they will not be able to ignore us no matter how much they try.

[Democrat 4 Ever]

39. I don't think the hot dog stand should have been blocked either but

I guess my point was this blogger didn't mention the issues of the event, has more than a passing admiration of the bunch protesting Cindy, the GPD has a shiny new vehicle (implied the only reason it was a calm day was because the police was locked and loaded for trouble with their new armored toy - kept those peaceniks in line) but overall what he took from the day was he wanted three damn hot dogs. He fancies himself a mover and shaker in Greensboro with his finger on the pulse of the community, I just find him tiresome and lame at lot of the time.

He didn't discuss the war, the war supporters or the peace march. He is about as deep as a mud puddle and we got him by default, he married into the family.

[jarnocan]

42. was wrong they let them over their barrier and used OUR porta potties- paid for by WCW

and then let them STAY outside their barrier- they were using that as an excuse to get closer to disrupt. Also their mumbers were exaggerated by the media I thought around 50-70 but the news media reported much higher.

[demgurl]

44. I didn't trust the news to get it right anyway.

And, yes, they were happy to put us down but still used our facilities. It is a wonder there were no physical altercations.