Monday, September 27, 2004
Here is what you can expect from Bush
If Geroge W. Bush gets elected again, I have an idea that this is how he will introduce enacting the draft to help fight his war.
An excerpt from George W. Bush's “State of the Union” speech in 2005
"We are in the battle of our lives. With the exception of the loyal members in the "Coalition of the Willing" we have been fighting this war on terror without significant UN assistance. We are embattled today just like England was in "The Battle of Britain" during World War II when the proud British people held out against the forces of evil that besieged their country. Those brave people stood together in their fight against terror until evil was defeated."
"It is now our time. It is time for our people to come together as Americans. We need everyone in this fight against an enemy that seeks to destroy our way of life. Our country is the strongest country the world has ever seen. We have the most talented people in the world. There is no doubt in my mind that we have all the resources we need right here. We do not need the UN have to fight our fight. Would we use foreign soldiers in our country to keep ourselves free? Absolutely not! This war on terror has not been easy and it will not be over quickly so we need to prepare ourselves for the long haul."
"Therefore a National Service Board will be established. Young men and women from 18 to 35 will be required to sign up with local registration boards. Each person will be asked if they have specific critical skills. These skills will be cataloged and kept on file just in case they may be needed in our fight against terror."
"If selected these young men and women will be compensated according to the level of skill they bring. They will also receive educational benefits that may be used in any college or university across the country. Their assignments will be 2 years. And they will take the place of combat trained soldiers who can then be used for what they were trained for."
"We have seen what evil can do. Over 3000 of our citizens died that September day. Operation Iraqi Freedom has cost us over a thousand young American lives. Thousands of innocent Iraqis have also been killed and maimed in their battle for independence. We cannot walk away now that the tide has turned and victory is so close even though many terrorists continue to cross the borders to fight us in Iraq.
Evil can be defeated, but not without sacrifice. Our country is the most powerful the most talented and the most wonderful place to bring up families in the world. We need to keep our way of life but we can't assume it will always be here for us unless we are prepared to fight to keep it. "
"We can not leave Iraq until the seeds of democracy has taken root. We cannot allow the terrorists to win and have them at our doorstep tomorrow. And yet there are countries that believe they can harbor terrorists and obtain weapons of mass destructions while we fight terror in Afghanistan and Iraq. . They feel like we are too preoccupied with Iraq to not notice that they are sending terrorists to fight us in Iraq. These terrorists are ready to behead innocent Americans and kill our young men and women fighting to give Iraq freedom and independence.
" We must seek these “nests” of terrorists and eliminate them wherever they are. The National Service Board will allow us to win not only this battle but all future wars against terror everywhere we are needed.
"Together we will vanquish our enemies just like England did in the Battle of Britain. God Bless America."
MAY GOD HELP US IF HE GETS ELECTED.
An excerpt from George W. Bush's “State of the Union” speech in 2005
"We are in the battle of our lives. With the exception of the loyal members in the "Coalition of the Willing" we have been fighting this war on terror without significant UN assistance. We are embattled today just like England was in "The Battle of Britain" during World War II when the proud British people held out against the forces of evil that besieged their country. Those brave people stood together in their fight against terror until evil was defeated."
"It is now our time. It is time for our people to come together as Americans. We need everyone in this fight against an enemy that seeks to destroy our way of life. Our country is the strongest country the world has ever seen. We have the most talented people in the world. There is no doubt in my mind that we have all the resources we need right here. We do not need the UN have to fight our fight. Would we use foreign soldiers in our country to keep ourselves free? Absolutely not! This war on terror has not been easy and it will not be over quickly so we need to prepare ourselves for the long haul."
"Therefore a National Service Board will be established. Young men and women from 18 to 35 will be required to sign up with local registration boards. Each person will be asked if they have specific critical skills. These skills will be cataloged and kept on file just in case they may be needed in our fight against terror."
"If selected these young men and women will be compensated according to the level of skill they bring. They will also receive educational benefits that may be used in any college or university across the country. Their assignments will be 2 years. And they will take the place of combat trained soldiers who can then be used for what they were trained for."
"We have seen what evil can do. Over 3000 of our citizens died that September day. Operation Iraqi Freedom has cost us over a thousand young American lives. Thousands of innocent Iraqis have also been killed and maimed in their battle for independence. We cannot walk away now that the tide has turned and victory is so close even though many terrorists continue to cross the borders to fight us in Iraq.
Evil can be defeated, but not without sacrifice. Our country is the most powerful the most talented and the most wonderful place to bring up families in the world. We need to keep our way of life but we can't assume it will always be here for us unless we are prepared to fight to keep it. "
"We can not leave Iraq until the seeds of democracy has taken root. We cannot allow the terrorists to win and have them at our doorstep tomorrow. And yet there are countries that believe they can harbor terrorists and obtain weapons of mass destructions while we fight terror in Afghanistan and Iraq. . They feel like we are too preoccupied with Iraq to not notice that they are sending terrorists to fight us in Iraq. These terrorists are ready to behead innocent Americans and kill our young men and women fighting to give Iraq freedom and independence.
" We must seek these “nests” of terrorists and eliminate them wherever they are. The National Service Board will allow us to win not only this battle but all future wars against terror everywhere we are needed.
"Together we will vanquish our enemies just like England did in the Battle of Britain. God Bless America."
MAY GOD HELP US IF HE GETS ELECTED.
# posted by Thomas @ 9:07 PM 
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
The RNC Protest at New York
This was one of the most varied, well organized and high-tech protests I have ever seen. It was also the most heavily guarded protest scene ever. Both the police and the protesters had both been pretty well set for this party. According to the news media There were more police and secret service personnel in New York than U.S. servicemen in Afganistan.
The Mood
The variety of groups were peaceful and they seemed to be more against Bush than they were for Kerry. It felt like a huge anti-bush and anybody-but-Bush kind of attitude to the protests.
The Media
Reporters milled around with recorders and note books in-hand with the people in the crowd looking for people that fit the angle they wanted to portray. My wife and I wore T-shirts with our protests about the Bush administration written on them. We wore them day and night. We collected buttons from various organizations that reflected our view point. They stated:
"Can You Survive Four More Years of BU LL SH IT”
"Give The Rich Everything and Just Be Done With It"
“Blood for Oil is Too High a Price To Pay"
“Thank you Bush for 1000 Flag Draped Coffins And Thousands of Amputees”
“Hell Called and They Want Their Leader Cheney Back!
The members of the republican delegation were pretty easy to pick out. In some ways they stood out like sore thimbs just like us. Some of them wore american flags with elephants all over while others looked like June and Ward Cleaver from the old Leave It To Beaver TV series. Each delegate seemed to react differently to us in our atire. Some mumbled under their breath while others chose to suddenly walk in the opposite direction. One individual at Macy's acted like an ugly american in a foreign country when he loudly disparaged a young black woman as she walked into a restroom. Let's just say the people around him were not impressed and he quickly walked out of the store with his delegate tags jingling in his wake. Don't mess with New Yorkers on their home turf.
Safety
We felt as safe as can be as we walked around the city. many people including cops commended us for our t-shirts. Some of the cops however looked like they were looking for trouble anytime we approached them. Touchy touchy. I kept trying to remember four out of five people in New York are Democrats.
Group make-up
The group of protesters we walked with were from a variety of groups. Some were ready-for-bear while others were not as severely dressed. We spoke with some people that protested the Vietnam War in the 60's and with younger people who were eager to talk about their point of view on Bush. Everyone seemed at ease to discuss their views. We were all there for a common purpose which eliminated a lot of anxiousness people have about talking politics with strangers.
The crowd represented a variety of people young, old and everything in-between. We saw people dressed in baggy pants with flip-flops. Green fatigues and with otherwise quite normal attire but we did not see anyone in a shirt and tie. One girl was dressed in a burka. Another was dressed in all pink. There was lots of color, lots of perspectives with one common theme. Get rid of Bush. He brought us together and created an unspoken bond of closeness to each other. I felt more comfortable with these strangers than with certain members of my own family that blindly support Bush.
Group actions
Everyone seemed to be outraged at this administration and yelled their slogans as they marched. At times someone would start a slogan and it would catch on with others until someone else started a different chant. One person who carried a drum would catch the beat and emphasize the chant.
Some protesters spoke with the policemen who lined the corridor of marchers but we did not see anyone hauled off in plastic handcuffs. The people around us were peacefully protesting. No one threw any garbage cans through any windows, and no tire fires in the middle of the street or anyone spitting on policemen.
High Tech Organization
Although much more could be done to organize such a large group of people this was one of the most organized protests I have ever seen. A cell phone messaging service and a radio station was used to communicate what was going on all the time. Two-way radios were also used. It was pretty high tech. A wife area was also set-aside for loggers.
Services
The services were also impressive. A map of available restrooms was posted on the net. Volunteers from the New York Lawyers Guild milled around the crowds and were identified by special vests. Street medics were also all around with Red Cross emblems on their vests.
Tactics
Tactics to avoid arrest were communicated pretty well on the web sites. Sessions were held around New York at various times on a variety of subjects such as how to videotape an arrest for use in court, and the do's and don'ts about interacting with police were among some of the sessions held.
Planning for this event also included using scouts to check out the situation in front of the groups and to report back to the main group if trouble with the police arose. We did not see much of this in our group of protesters, but they may have been working farther up the group.
Phone numbers for lawyers were posted and spaces available for out-of-town protesters were also posted on bulletin boards.
Reactions from the Home front
I was overwhelmed by the response of the many family friends and neighbors that knew about our trip. They all told us how proud they were of us. They all wanted to learn about our experience and see the pictures of this significant protest.
The Mood
The variety of groups were peaceful and they seemed to be more against Bush than they were for Kerry. It felt like a huge anti-bush and anybody-but-Bush kind of attitude to the protests.
The Media
Reporters milled around with recorders and note books in-hand with the people in the crowd looking for people that fit the angle they wanted to portray. My wife and I wore T-shirts with our protests about the Bush administration written on them. We wore them day and night. We collected buttons from various organizations that reflected our view point. They stated:
"Can You Survive Four More Years of BU LL SH IT”
"Give The Rich Everything and Just Be Done With It"
“Blood for Oil is Too High a Price To Pay"
“Thank you Bush for 1000 Flag Draped Coffins And Thousands of Amputees”
“Hell Called and They Want Their Leader Cheney Back!
The members of the republican delegation were pretty easy to pick out. In some ways they stood out like sore thimbs just like us. Some of them wore american flags with elephants all over while others looked like June and Ward Cleaver from the old Leave It To Beaver TV series. Each delegate seemed to react differently to us in our atire. Some mumbled under their breath while others chose to suddenly walk in the opposite direction. One individual at Macy's acted like an ugly american in a foreign country when he loudly disparaged a young black woman as she walked into a restroom. Let's just say the people around him were not impressed and he quickly walked out of the store with his delegate tags jingling in his wake. Don't mess with New Yorkers on their home turf.
Safety
We felt as safe as can be as we walked around the city. many people including cops commended us for our t-shirts. Some of the cops however looked like they were looking for trouble anytime we approached them. Touchy touchy. I kept trying to remember four out of five people in New York are Democrats.
Group make-up
The group of protesters we walked with were from a variety of groups. Some were ready-for-bear while others were not as severely dressed. We spoke with some people that protested the Vietnam War in the 60's and with younger people who were eager to talk about their point of view on Bush. Everyone seemed at ease to discuss their views. We were all there for a common purpose which eliminated a lot of anxiousness people have about talking politics with strangers.
The crowd represented a variety of people young, old and everything in-between. We saw people dressed in baggy pants with flip-flops. Green fatigues and with otherwise quite normal attire but we did not see anyone in a shirt and tie. One girl was dressed in a burka. Another was dressed in all pink. There was lots of color, lots of perspectives with one common theme. Get rid of Bush. He brought us together and created an unspoken bond of closeness to each other. I felt more comfortable with these strangers than with certain members of my own family that blindly support Bush.
Group actions
Everyone seemed to be outraged at this administration and yelled their slogans as they marched. At times someone would start a slogan and it would catch on with others until someone else started a different chant. One person who carried a drum would catch the beat and emphasize the chant.
Some protesters spoke with the policemen who lined the corridor of marchers but we did not see anyone hauled off in plastic handcuffs. The people around us were peacefully protesting. No one threw any garbage cans through any windows, and no tire fires in the middle of the street or anyone spitting on policemen.
High Tech Organization
Although much more could be done to organize such a large group of people this was one of the most organized protests I have ever seen. A cell phone messaging service and a radio station was used to communicate what was going on all the time. Two-way radios were also used. It was pretty high tech. A wife area was also set-aside for loggers.
Services
The services were also impressive. A map of available restrooms was posted on the net. Volunteers from the New York Lawyers Guild milled around the crowds and were identified by special vests. Street medics were also all around with Red Cross emblems on their vests.
Tactics
Tactics to avoid arrest were communicated pretty well on the web sites. Sessions were held around New York at various times on a variety of subjects such as how to videotape an arrest for use in court, and the do's and don'ts about interacting with police were among some of the sessions held.
Planning for this event also included using scouts to check out the situation in front of the groups and to report back to the main group if trouble with the police arose. We did not see much of this in our group of protesters, but they may have been working farther up the group.
Phone numbers for lawyers were posted and spaces available for out-of-town protesters were also posted on bulletin boards.
Reactions from the Home front
I was overwhelmed by the response of the many family friends and neighbors that knew about our trip. They all told us how proud they were of us. They all wanted to learn about our experience and see the pictures of this significant protest.
# posted by Thomas @ 7:14 PM
