The Cool Blue Blog

A Gathering of eagles

The Marxist group Internation ANSWER recognized an historic moment

2007 is the 40^th anniversary of the historic 1967 anti-war march to the Pentagon during the Vietnam War. The message of the 1967 march was "From Protest to Resistance," and marked a turning point in the development of a countrywide mass movement.

They planned another historic protest for this weekend in Washington DC. They wanted it to be the largest anti-war protest to date. They predicted 100,000. Then they hoped for 10,000. What they got

was much smaller than the crowd that gathered two months ago on the National Mall for a demonstration opposing President Bush’s plan to send more troops to Iraq.

And the largest pro-war demonstration to date, estimated by some to have actually outnumbered the anti-war demostraters by 3 to 1.

 

Photo from Michele Malkin. Go there for more photos and first hand accounts

News from that last anti-war protest, where war memorials were desecrated spread like wildfire across the Internet, inspiring the Gathering of Eagles to assure that International ANSWER and their associated groups did not do that again.

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....

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 Here." Their lines snaked around the corner and down several blocks of Constitution Avenue in what organizers called the largest gathering of pro-administration counter-demonstrators since the war began four years ago....

The large turnout surprised even some counter-demonstrators. Polls show public opinion turning against the war in Iraq, and the November election was widely seen as a repudiation of the administration's policy.

Yeah, well, they were wrong. While many may oppose the handling of the war to date, it doesn't mean they want us to lose

    Fully 77 percent of Americans believe that what happens in Iraq matters to their security here in the United States, including majorities of Democrats (66 percent), independents (79 percent) and Republicans (90 percent).

In addition, the poll finds that people believe the military should use more force against the insurgents. While 1 of 10 Americans think the military’s response to the continuing violence in Iraq has been too aggressive, a 44 percent plurality thinks it hasn’t been aggressive enough. A third (32 percent) think the military’s response has been "about right."

Republicans (56 percent) and independents (46 percent) are more likely than Democrats (35 percent) to think the military should be more aggressive in responding to the insurgents.

Democrats and International ANSWER are all about losing.

Well, they lost this round, so that should make them happy.

The Right Signs

I have to admit something: Given the intellectual capacity of the majority of anti-whatever protestors I met, Protest Warrior's signs were a bit much to digest given only a 5 or 10 minute view.

In recognition of this reality, I have decided to devote some precious blog space to some of the signs so that those who were not given enough time to fully appreciate them can do so at their leisure. I would recommend that members of the moonbat left visiting here for the purpose of such research, bookmark this page so you may come back to it as frequently as necessary. I will be available via the comments, to answer any questions you might have in the interest of full enlightenment.

CAUTION: These sign were photographed in the wild; in their natural habitat. So you may have to fill in a letter or word or two.

Be careful, these signs MAY inspire unauthorized thoughts that could get you called a fascist at your next protest or pot-party.

Or they may get you killed.

Use extreme caution when pondering the implications.

Disclaimer: No signs were hurt in anyway during the filming of this photo essay

Counter-Mainstreaming

Dean Esmay writes about the mainstream press' attempt to mainstream the protestors at the RNC.

What follows are pictures I took of the people I saw and the signs they carried. We report, you decide...

Fags for Bush

One of our intrepid group was a gay guy who wore a T-Shirt that said Fags for Bush. While we were counter-protesting in Herald Square, a gay protest marcher engaged him. Candy Girl relates:

Gay protester to guy in "Fags for Bush" t-shirt: "You're not a real fag." "Fags for Bush" guy: extended show tunes sing 'n dance. Gay protester guy: "Okay, enough, you're gay!"

People are awesome.

What she failed to tell was this guy wound up leaving the march when he saw how the protestors trampled on Prtotest Warriors' right to express themselves and joined our side!

And while I'm surveying blog coverage related to Protest Warrior, Glenn Reynolds has this about one of our fearless leaders and Da Goddess, writing about a Protest Warrior action in San Diego, has some evidence that my observations in New York are not isolated

Tolerance? What's that?

The Washington Post covered the protest march that took place in New York City on Sunday.

more than 200,000 protesters peacefully swarmed Manhattan's streets on the eve of the Republican National Convention to demand that President Bush be turned out of office.

Strange, but my experience of the protestors was that they were anything but peaceful.

This image, for instance, brought to you by the Black Bloc anarchist group, shows the beginning of an event that nearly caused a wide-spread riot in Herald Square.

From our vantage point, we couldn't see anything but the smoke from what turned out to be a paper-mache dragon that when burned started an assault by the anarchists. People began running in all directions. The NYPD quickly cordoned off the area and stopped the march by putting barracades on both sides of the affected area. The mounted police were brought in as were a number of officers on motorcycles and foot. The anarchists, dressed in black and red, were eventually brought under control and arrested.

What saved this from a complete and bloody riot was quick action by the NYPD.

And while the New York Daily News printed this picture on pg 2 of today's paper, it's not easy to find on their web site (try clicking on the photo gallery it may still be there. Update: here's another picture)

Generally, what the Protest Warriors found was more honestly expressed by this sign I snapped a picture of

When the 200+ strong contingent of Protest Warriors marched into action,

We were originally cordoned in an area perpendicular to the main body of the protest march.

This was fun because the vocal group attracted the somewhat confused attention of the anti-war protestors.

The signs often took some time for processing and often held up the protest as the far-left attempted to engage all brain cells to decipher the signs and determine if we were for or against their cause.

Some never got it and just moved on.

Some did get it (well, we helped them by chanting things like "Four More Years" and "John F-in' Kerry, No F-in' Way". They got that clue)

Prior to starting our march, we had assigned each Warrior to a tactical group and over time, each group split off to infiltrate the march. The rules were that upon infiltration. we would do nothing more provacative but carry our signs.

My group was Group Six lead by Tom Paladino. At first we were accepted as one of their own (but with much better signs).

Then they noticed us.

The massive crowd started chanting "Fascists, leave our march!". Then our way was blocked by a number of individuals who linked arms and stood in our way. We were then physically assaulted. Two of our group of 15 were punched, their signs were taken from them and destroyed. Tom's megaphone (which he only use after we were attacked to try to calm people) was taken from him and destroyed.

I truly thought I was going to die.

The NYPD ran in to protect us. We identified the individuals who assaulted us who ran like cowards. I'm not sure if the police got them or not.

The crowd was now chanting "Fascist Police".

Things were getting very dangerous.

The NYPD asked us to leave the march and we complied not only for our safety but for theirs. Had we stayed, these guys would have tried to protect us and likely would have otten hurt as well.

Not to mention the whole out-of-control riot thing.

We left and regrouped in Herald Square with the other tactical teams who had met with pretty much the same response; in some cases without such a quick police response as we got.

Soon after we witnessed the anarchists move described above.

Once this was cleared up, we lined up our signs along the barracades and did our own chanting. One of our members was physically attacked with a broom stick by a man who managed to get it into the march. He was quickly arrested by the NYPD.

So while the march may been "peaceful" this was only because of the terriffic efforts by the NYPD. Had they not have been as prepared and well trained as they were, it would have been a disaster.

But don't let anyone tell you these people are for peace or Free Speech.

It's just not true.

Update: Another of our group blogs about it here and here's a video

Another Update: Citizen Smash recounts Protest Warrior encounters in San Diego's Balboa Park

Planning

The Generals of Protest Warrior,Kfir, Tom, and Alan, rallied the troops at a rooftop meeting at PW HQ.

And a good time was had by all.

Adventures around town

We had spent the day greeting folks making their way to Protest Warrior HQ in NYC. They have come from Texas and San Francisco, Detroit and NYC. More are expected to arrive today and the planning briefing will be held tonight for the big anti-protest tomorrow.

But all that greeting had made us hungry so we headed out to get a bite. Though you wouldn't think it was possible in downtown Manhattan, it took us a while to find a suitable place to eat.

While searching, we were distracted by hundreds of bicyclers streaming down 7th Ave. That they were protestors was clear; what exactly they were protesting was not. They made loud "whoo whoo" sounds as they screamed down the street.

Apparantly, it was an illegal demonstration and hundreds were arrested.

I hadn't brought my camera. I was pissed at myself.

It won't happen again.

So this morning I get up and go in search of a Starbucks with T-Mobile access. Surprisingly, the one I visited yesterday is closed on weekends (what's up with that?). And while I was searching for a new location to get a coffee and and internet connection, I snapped this picture:

This giant billboard exists right on Times Square.

I wonder who paid for that?

More later

At the street party

Well here I am back in New York City in time for the Republican National Convention where the crew of Protest Warrior has set up shop to balance the universe by providing an alternative to the forces of ANSWER. Strangely, they don't seem to mind my company.

The exact location of PW HQ is an operational secret, though it seems that somehow at least some of the opposition knows where we are.

No matter, we're all here to honor America and peacefully express our opinions, right?

The protest underground is buzzing with suggestions of how leftists can deal with the Protest Warriors.

"Yeah, they are really afraid of us," said Bryan McCarthy, 30, an Irish immigrant who joined Protest Warriors earlier this year. "But, I mean, these groups like United for Peace and Justice have become the Starbucks of the protesting world, these huge conglomerates. The people fold up their laptops, grab their lattes and get out on the street."

Hey, I can do that too. In fact, I'm in a Starbucks on 7th Ave right now typing these words to you. Vanilla frappuccino blogging I call it.

Of course, if it turns out that ANSWER and the other global protest franchises don't welcome our right to speak freely, you'll hear about on future pages of this blog.

I have in my arsenal a Canon PowerShot G5, 5 MP digital camera which helped me capture the patriotic moment above. And if ANSWER tries any shenanigans, I hope to have the presence of mind (and a good angle) to capture it in megabits.

More to come...

Protest Warrior - San Diego

Smash and his team of Patriots effectively counter disinformation by the far (far) left:

Most of the protestors, on the other hand, aren’t happy at all about our presence. As I walk in parallel to their march, one of their men approaches me.

“Why are you trying to suppress our freedom of speech?” His tone is accusing.

“We’re not,” I calmly respond. We’re exercising our own right to free speech.”

“But why do you always have to march with us?”

“Because we disagree with part of your message, and we’re here to present a rebuttal.”

“But you never do your own protests – you always follow us around!”

“That’s not true, we hold our own events.”

“Where?”

“I’d rather not say.” Why do their work for them?

“You’re trying to intimidate and repress these women.” Now he’s playing the role of the valiant protector, and casting me as a woman-hater.

“Hey, they present their message, we present ours, and the public decides – that’s democracy.”

“Democracy?” He sounds upset. “You’re trying to suppress speech – that’s fascism!”

“Nonsense – we all have freedom of speech in this country. There’s a free marketplace of ideas.”

“You mean, like competition?” He replies, derisively.

“Exactly. And if the people keep buying our ideas instead of yours, maybe it’s time for you to try out some new ones.”

That shuts him up.

Read the whole thing.

It never ceases to amaze me how people like this believe that free speech only applies to them. That no matter what they say or how they say it, it is OK because they said it. If someone offers a differing opinion, they are called "fascists".

But standing up to these people is the right thing to do or lies will simply be taken as truth.

You're different from me
All the boundaries are defined
If we keep up with these truces
One of will lose their mind

And I consciously object to your weapons detector
Hedging bets in the private sector
I don't have to salute you
But I might have to shoot you

Let's get back to the war
That's what we're here for
Back to the war
That's what we're here for
Back to the war

-John Hiatt

Operation Liberty Rising

It looks like I'll be in Manhattan around the time of the RNC with Protest Warrior. With any luck at all, I'll be blogging and taking photographs from the trenches; or at least from the picket lines.

What follows is the call to arms:

OPERATION LIBERTY RISING

Most elections revolve around one central question: should we grow government at a fast rate, or should we grow it at a very fast rate. This time however, battle lines have been drawn and each side is polarized like never before, and the issues could not be more fundamental and important. While President Bush and the Republican Congress have unfortunately caved in to Democrat principles and not done nearly enough to limit government, considering the times we live in today, President Bush's leadership in the wake of 9/11, removing two of the most vile, fascist decrepit regimes off the face of the earth and establishing the seeds of freedom in the Middle East, is worthy of any liberty lover's support.

As the spirit of anti-war protests has been crushed under the weight of the emerging democracy in the Middle East, they have found a new justification to raise their fists in the air in frantic indignation: the Republicans have committed the cardinal sin of choosing New York City as the location for their National Convention, as this hinders the left's efforts to erase the events of September 11th from America's memory.

And they will be working full steam to make sure anyone associated with the RNC feels less than unwelcome. As mobs of 'pacifists' plan to descend on New York, encouraging each other to blockade hotels and convention sites, anti-RNC websites are distributing lists of delegates' itineraries and hotel accommodations, targeting them for harassment.

On August 29th, the Republican National Convention will begin, and ProtestWarrior will be there to take on the hordes of leftists whose entire goal is to silence, to hate, to scream out of existence the idea that freedom can flourish throughout the world.

Sign up at HQ to join the battle. Full mission dossier coming soon.

And for those interested in new battle gear, be sure to check out our new t-shirt designs.

-Alan and Kfir

Hope to see you there.

--Frank