Protests
From TIME's Sophia Yan:
Ripples of protesters, thousands of them of all ages, lined Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House to the Capitol Saturday. Deafening chants could be heard, from “You lie, you lie!” echoing South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson's outburst during President Obama's Wednesday speech to plaintive cries of, “Enough, enough!”
If Dems thought Wilson uncivil, their ears would've been burning at this rally. Organized by the conservative groups ranging from the “Tea Party” set that first launched protests at President Obama's rate of spending in April to former House Majority Leader Dick Armey's Freedom Works, some protesters claimed as many as two million people showed up -- in reality estimates put it more in the tens of thousands. Taxes, spending and especially health care were the topics du jour.
Passersby snapped photos; some held their cell phones up to capture the sounds. A crowd of youths with anti-Obama capes swirling about their shoulders queued at Starbucks for their morning coffees. U.S. flags and colorful signs like “Obamacare Makes Me Sick,” “Joe Wilson Was Right” and “I'm Not Your ATM” dotted the sea of anxious and rowdy faces. One defiant young woman waved a sign, “Hey Obamacare, Hands Off My Body.” Sporting a tri-cornered hat, a bell-ringer led a group of protestors in colonial costume calling for revolution.
When asked what brought them there, the 12 members of the Sargent family from Pittsburgh, PA intoned, “Socialized medicine!”
Reflecting Congressional approval ratings, which have sunk from a high of 36% in June to 29%, according to an average of polls by Real Clear Politics, several signs read: “Fire ALL of Congress, Let's Start Over.” Pam from Columbus, OH, who refused to give her last name, was one of those simply mad at the system. “I'm frustrated in general [at] just the state of everything.” Party affiliation is not the priority, she said. The President and Congress “need to listen to the people and do what's right.” Likewise, Timothy Stewart said he feels that “nobody is listening,” and called Congress “a mess.”
Several people accused the President of lying to them, including Lewis Taylor, 18, a first-year political science major at the University of Charleston in West Virginia. Taylor wore a t-shirt of his own creation, with “Impeach Obama” emblazoned across the back.
Most arrived by the busload late last night or early this morning. About 450 buses were organized by Freedom Works, according to Foundation spokesman Adam Brandon. Others came on their own: George Marcum, a grandfather from Dayton, OH said he drove through the night, arriving in the District at 11 a.m. to make sure President Obama knew he sided with Wilson (if Marcum has his way, he'd have Wilson and former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin on the 2012 Republican ticket). By the end of the day, protesters slowly began to drift away as hunger and thirst got the better of them but many assured TIME that this was not a retreat, merely a pause in their outcry.
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1
You've gotta be kidding me taking the organizers' word for attendance. Two million is a lotta, lotta people. More than for Obama-the-enemy's inauguration.
Cooler heads seem to be saying tens of thousands.
Bigger issue is that you seem to have sent a naive child to do reporting here. Embarrassing.
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1.2
Bless your order, we need more mollusks speaking out about this.
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It's those danged aplacophorans that cause all the trouble. -
1.3
53_3: I hope you're happy now. I had to resort to google.
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1.4
Yes, I am, sacred.
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At least, you changed your mind and decided to stick around.
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That makes me even more happy. Except for when I get an opportunity to zing a wingnut. Almost, but not quite, as good as grazing the ol' microbial mat with my radula...
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Stick that up yer google! -
1.5
Thanks for the kind words 53_3, but I was only leaving for about 3-4 weeks while I worked on a project for my wife that I'd been putting off for years. Luckily I'm accident prone and cut my hand. While that's healing I started working on a true labor of love (nothing sharp involved) that I've been putting off for 30 years.
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1.6
"While that's healing I started working on a true labor of love (nothing sharp involved) that I've been putting off for 30 years."
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Oh, no. Tell me you're not. You wouldn't do that, now would you? Do you realize what might happen when you finish? Did you think this thing through?
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Just kidding. Good luck. I have a "labor of love" project waiting too. Give me seven more years. -
1.7
I'm a big Beatles fan and bought both remastered box sets. The Beatles left the singles off the albums (some nonsense about giving value to the fans and not making them pay twice for the same songs) so with the remastered collections, I listened to the entire catalogue and am including the single material on MY version of the albums.
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Hey Jude, Revolution, Across the Universe and a few others are now on the White Album. Strawberry Fields Forever, Penny Lane and Only a Northern Song are on Sgt. Pepper. Paperback Writer and Rain are on Revolver and so forth. I've been in 7th Heaven. No 70 virgins for me. Give me one experienced woman that can fire a ping pong ball 10 feet. -
1.8
Just got Beatles rock band. It is a dream come true for me. Playing drums on Come Together- glorious.
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1.9
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You should see my collection of Beatles memoribilia. I have hundreds of items and over 100 books including many long out of print. I also have a copy of the Let It Be movie. Try finding a good copy of that puppy. I'm not sure, but I think my better half got me a copy of Rockband: Beatles for Christmas. When I told her I was thinking of buying it she told me to hold off until after Christmas. She's almost as big a fan as I am.
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1.10
Wow. Wish I was on the shortlist for that version.
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Apollyon07, is the Beatles like Guitar Hero? I've been hearing about it. About time they came out with something for us! -
1.11
Heigh ho, heigh ho, it's off to work I go (listening to MY Revolver on the way). Damn, only a ten minute drive!
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1.12
You slut!
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Stop rubbing it in, already! -
1.13
53_3: yes, it is like guitar hero, but in addition to guitar and bass, it has drums and singing too. It's great.
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And I'm happy for the older crowd to have something like this too, but I'm 21 and thoroughly enjoy it. I'll say that someone of my age liking The Beatles this much isn't typical. I feel like I was born 50 years too late. -
1.14
53_3: If you ever want do something similar, an invaluable book is "The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions" by Mark Lewisohn. It's a log of every time the Beatles went into the studio, which songs they worked on, which instruments were added to the recordings, who played what, what was mixed, whether it was stereo or mono etc. Every date and time of the sessions is logged. It made it much easier to find out which songs were pulled from the sessions for release as a single, which songs were held back for another album or just plain not released at all.
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Lennon's "Leave My Kitten Alone" had been slated to be released as a single but they kept coming up with a better song as a single release and finally it was decided that their music had progressed to the point where it sounded dated to them. It's a great rocker that should have been on the Help! album. It's only on the Anthology cds. -
1.15
apollyono7: I have a niece roughly your age who thinks she missed being born at that time too. When she was 12 her mother took her to see her first concert (New Kids on the Block). Less than a month later I took her to see Paul McCartney. She's never been the same since.
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1.16
Thanks for that, sacredh! It's good to know that I'm not alone. I do like some modern music (Radiohead, Muse for example) but my heart lies with music from that era.
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1.17
I'm a Radiohead fan myself. There are a few recent bands I follow, but I usually find myself taking 3-4 of their albums and making one good cd mix out of them.
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1.18
I'm kind of everywhere on the map. Jazz, Soul, Blues, even the heavy metal.
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I don't like music that's not adventurous, though, which is why I'm not particularly partial to Southern rock or Country, but even there there are a few songs I like. Hip hop is just too energetic and one dimensional, real rap tells stories, but I'm still not real partial to that genre.
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But, here's a few of my favorites:
Simon and Garfunkel - ballads
Tool, Metallica, and Korn - heavy metal
Led Zeppelin - Rock and Blues
Al Green - Soul, Motown
Four Tops - Motown
-----? (I know her name!!!!) - Midnight Train to Georgia
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Just a taste. Like I said, all over the map...
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2
An example of some of the crazy - check out the sign in the first link and the shirt of the kid holding it in the second one.: http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/09/more-reason-from-the-right.html http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/09/the-kid-with-that-poster.html
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2.1
And thse that the left did about Bush are so much more high brow
http://www.pbase.com/kayakbiker/bush_signs
Nice to see Andrew got out on bail in time for the protest
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2.2
I like how you have nothing of substance to say other than "but people made crazy signs about Bush too!" So if you think all the signs about Obama comparing him to Hitler and the Nazis are correct and appropriate, I guess I'll just assume you believe the signs about Bush being the Antichrist, a war criminal, and ushering in the apocalypse are just as true. Glad we got that straightened out.
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2.3
nathan7777
Neither are right, so if you didn't complain then stop whining now!
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3
If Dems thought Wilson uncivil, their ears would've been burning at this rally.
Leave it to Time to miss the point. It wasn't that Wilson was uncivil. It's that he was wrong on substance and therefore made an ass of himself. A bit more careful interviewing of the protesters might have yielded similar results. Half the people there aren't really sure what they're actually protesting.-
3.1
There's also a difference between shouting "You Lie" at a street protesting, and shouting in the chambers of Congress during a speech by the President of the United States.
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3.2
She doesn't entirely miss the point. For you and I, the point was that Wilson was substantively was wrong. For Obama and the Congressional Dems, the point was the incivility...for them.
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Obama, Pelosi, and Reid, et al. don't care if the rest us have to put up with Teh Crazy. Only when the madness invades their personal bubbles do they demand civility.In fact, the Dems almost validated Wilson's complaints be (yet again) trying to appease him on the illegal alien language.
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3.3
Speaking of "incivility", when did this start?
.Many hosts and pundits suggested the Democrats' reaction was the first of its kind:
TED KOPPEL (ABC host): When the president talked about the bankruptcy of Social Security, there were clearly some Democrats on the floor who thought that that was taking it too far. And they did something that, apparently, no one at this table has ever heard before. They booed. [ABC, Nightline, 2/2/05; Koppel's panel consisted of former Bush adviser Mary Matalin, former Reagan chief of staff Ken Duberstein, and former Clinton speechwriter Michael Waldman]
JOHN ROBERTS (CBS White House correspondent): At a couple points in this address, it looked more like the British Parliament than the United States Congress. I've never heard the minority party shout at the president during the State of the Union address before. [CBS, post-speech coverage, 2/2/05]
JOE SCARBOROUGH (former U.S. representative (R-FL) and MSNBC host): After the Democrats booed and hissed, Republicans were on the floor saying, you know, we never once did that to Clinton. So every time he would talk about Social Security, the roars got a little louder. And they got behind their president. [MSNBC, Hardball, 2/2/05]
BOB BARR (former U.S. representative (R-GA) and CNN contributor): It will be a very, very difficult battle as we saw by the unprecedented and, I think, highly improper virtual booing of the president when he simply said that the system is going to be bankrupt and the time is now to fix it. [CNN, Inside Politics, 2/3/05]
JOE WATKINS (radio host and CNN substitute host): Did you hear it? Certainly not the polite protocol usually practiced when a president speaks to Congress. If a Democrat one day delivers a State of the Union address, I hope the Republicans won't lower themselves to such a disrespectful level. I hope last night's behavior by a few lawmakers doesn't set a new precedent, that both parties can agree to remain civil, even when voicing disagreements.
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While I am not condoning either party's disrespect for the Office of the President in the forum of a Presidential address to Congress, a precedent was set long ago, by the DEMOCRATS. This and the fact that this speech was certainly and simply a political speech, not a Presidential address.
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4
With months of preparation and advertising - and busing people in they only got "tens of thousands" to attend? It's a fail.
Sanity prevails.
Some of the rightie websites like instapundit are trying to pawn off photos from past events like promise keepers events in the 90's as being taken today. http://rhetorican.com/2009/09/12/time-lapse-aerial-video-of-912-protestors/ - notice that the flag is missing from the pole - in the original photo, the flag is flying at half staff, that didn't fit in with their lies, so they photoshopped it out.
Lemmings on parade.
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4.1
If you look at your link without liberal deranged syndrome the flag is there and hanging down. And please keep belittling the protesters, call them names call them stupid. It will be that same liberal arrogance that is killing health care that will burn the majority back to minority status right quick.
Paul:"Half the people there aren't really sure what they're actually protesting."
And you those this to be a fact why? Because anybody who suports a conservative cause is just dumb and ignorant? I guess everyone can't be born with that brilliant liberal intellegence. And I thank the Lord eveyday for that. Heaven knows what a lousy place this country would be.
Maybe liberals instead of just deriding conservatives should worry about things like why is the government handing out money to ACORN who are tax frauds, aiding and abetting illegal immigration, child smuggling and extorting money from low income housing. Or why is the National Endowment fo rthe Arts risking its tax exempt status shilling for Obama.Or why is Obama claiming everyone is trying to scare people about HC reform and then proceeds to use the same tactic to help his plan?
If this was done by any Republican organizations your heads would be exploding.
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5
Because anybody who suports a conservative caue is just dumb and ignorant?
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Um no. Because 8 years of an unfettered Conservative agenda has resulted in disaster. I'm not so much a Liberal as I am an empiricist. Your Conservative dogma has failed to provide as promised but you keep wanting to just do it again and hope for different results. That happens to be a famous defenition of insanity.-
5.1
Paul
Nice talking points but how do you equate an unfettered conservative agenda TO :"Half the people there aren't really sure what they're actually protesting."
One does not equal the other unless you believe they are just dumb abnd ignorant.
And by the way speaking of failed agendas why ave all the socialist countries failed and globally more countries are cutting taxes and turning to capitalism? I guess they are stupid too.
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5.2
Well freep, the fact is that most of these people ARE dumb and ignorant. That's not a slam, but stating a fact. The few that organized this cadre of poor, slack-jawed Fox-watchers are cynical and probably smart, yes. But take this picture, for example: IMG_0061. Okay, "Obama's Youth Militia"? That's pretty stupid. The "Cure for Obama Communism"? These people have no clue about communism, even the kid aside.
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You can't conflate socialism, communism, and nazi-ism without being stupid and ignorant, okay? Socialism and communism are two distinctly different economic systems, different from capitalism. No one has even remotely advocated anything close to socialist, let alone communist. What's that all about?
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And then "Nazi-ism" is a political ideology, like conservatism, not a proposed alternative economic system. And then "McCarthyism" is on a whole other level, not a political ideology nor an alternative, but something like a smear tactic..
So yeah, these people are stupid, slackjawed Fox-watchers who willingly subject themselves all day long to propaganda and demogoguery, and feed upon their own wild-eyed, inchoate anger. They need mental health services. That's just a fact. -
5.3
Where were these dumbass people so worried about "Liberty" when the PATRIOT Act was passed? That's when you *really* lost some liberty. The government got the right to rifle through your credit records and your library checkouts and your bookstore purchase without you being notified. Your travel habits. Secret wiretapping of Americans. Lots more of that too. But no, you rightwingers were rabidly IN FAVOR of the PATRIOT Act, and oh-so-willing to give up your "liberty" for safety. Bedwetters. Don't march around Washington DC now crying about your g_ddamned LIBERTY.
And spending. Where were you dumbf#cks during MediCare Part D? What about the unfunded 8 billion dollars per month for the Iraq War? What about those pallets full of hundred dollar bills they were shipping the the CPA to give away? What about those billions given to KBR to electocute our soldiers with faulty wiring? Not a word! Fanatic defense of this wild, irresponsible deficit spending by conservatives. And for what? What was the end result of that? Nothing for the American people, I'll tell you.
And government health care! Republican Congress passes a bill at midnight to force-feed a brain-damaged woman who wanted to die. Interfered with the most private medical decision a family can make. Made a brain-damaged woman in a vegetative state for 15 years a national political football just so Tom DeLay could "excite the base." And you idiots now scream about keeping government out of your health care decisions.
And all this protesting today does what? You are demonstrating for frikkin *Insurance Companies.* You know, PR work for insurance companies pays good -- like in the 6 figures or more. But these morons are doing the work for insurance companies *for free.* Spending their own money and time to travel to Washington DC to demonstrate to help out *insurance companies.*
Yes. Stupid, ignorant, looney, crazy. Insane.
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5.4
Freeinpa:
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And by the way speaking of failed agendas why ave all the socialist countries failed and globally more countries are cutting taxes and turning to capitalism?
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You make it sound like these "socialist" countries don't have any markets what-so-ever. The "socialist" countries you speak of are not socialist at all; they are Social Democracies. And yes, they have vibrant free markets; not as free as the US but not centrally planned either.
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If you want to talk about trends, the US has been trending towards social democracy ever since the revolution. With every new crisis in the free market, the people realize that free markets left to themselves will eventually result in a market who's primary players will do everything to maximize profit and preserve their preeminence no matter the cost to society or the freedom of the market itself. Why do you think we have government agencies setting minimum standards on water quality, construction, air quality, and food safety. And why do we have regulations on the market like anti-trust laws that work to preserve competition if the market can do everything itself? Do you really believe the tenet of "the less government involvement the better" holds all the way to the bottom where government doesn't do anything at all?
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And care to provide some data to back up your wildly universal claim that all socialist countries have failed? And how are you defining a country as socialist? Any country with a higher marginal tax rate than ours? That would be practically every state east of the Atlantic, and last time I checked, the EU countries weren't considered failed states. Or you could look at a country much closer to home: Canada. Their GDP actually had positive growth the last two months. Failed state, huh?
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So, yes, I do consider the people who call Obama a socialist, marxist, communist, and nazi, misinformed and unenlightened. And if they are attending these rallies to try to stop a government take-over of healthcare, then they don't really know what they are protesting against because no one is proposing a government take-over of healthcare. If they were, why call it a public option? -
5.5
"no one is proposing a government take-over of healthcare. If they were, why call it a public option?"
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No, not right now, but before the liberals were calling it "Single Payer". "Universal Healthcare Insurance". Meaning: GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTHCARE
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You people truly amaze me. You think by simply changing the name, it makes it different or the outcome eventually will be different. But, it doesn't LIBTARD.
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Call it whatever you want to call it but eventually it will be the same result. Government run Healthcare, a socialist program whereby your government will ration and dictate what you can and cannot do so far as your health is concerned. PERIOD. -
5.6
"You have officially crossed the line and can be safely ignored. "
"I think that I'm with you on this, Dirks."
Please let me genuflect. The Almighty Paul and the Son of God Stuart have spoken. You arrogant pompous twits.
The mortgage crisis was caused by an easing cycle begun by the Fed in 2001 in response to the terrorists attack to prevent, at all costs an asset deflation. And last I checked the Federal Reserve is an independent body.
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5.7
@nathan: don't forget to mention that it was that commie, "trust-buster" Teddy Roosevelt who got the regulation ball started a century ago...
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5.8
@rusty,
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Don't call me a libtard and I won't call you a conservawacko.
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No, not right now, but before the liberals were calling it "Single Payer". "Universal Healthcare Insurance". Meaning: GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTHCARE.
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Fortunately for you, Rusty, liberals don't march in lockstep with each other like the conservatives. We actually have a skill called free-thinking. Sure many liberals would love a single payer system, but that's not what is being proposed. Obama doesn't want a single payer system. If the public option was really single payer in disguise, do you think the progressives would be so upset?
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It continually amazes me how conservatives will believe whatever they fear the most. If I told you that all the terrorists were just outside our borders with weapons of mass destruction and the only way to stop them was to take up your guns and storm Mexico, you guys would do it. Why? Because you're so afraid of it being true that you have to believe it. Same thing with healthcare reform. You're so afraid of a government take-over of healthcare that when demagogues and corporate lobyists proclaim the public option to really be a government take-over of health care in disguise, you all believe it. Try looking at the facts before you believe what you hear on Fox News.
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I don't know how else to say it. THE PUBLIC OPTION IS NOT, AND NEVER WAS, A SINGLE PAYER SYSTEM OR GOVERNMENT TAKE-OVER OF HEALTHCARE. The public option is just that: an option. Period.
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6
And by the way speaking of failed agendas why ave all the socialist countries failed and globally more countries are cutting taxes and turning to capitalism? .
Because a proper balance between Business and Government is optimum.
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Markets provide most things well. They cannot and should not be expected to provide everything.
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6.1
Yes and too much government intervention into the markets caused their failures.
Takeover of autos, banks, health care, oil, coal, housing loans , college loans and more to be named later. Beginnin gto smack of other recent socialist failures
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6.2
Well, that's liberalism, Dirks.
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The proper balance, it is.
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A separation of powers, as it were. -
6.3
Yes and too much government intervention into the markets caused their failures.
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You have officially crossed the line and can be safely ignored. The lack of regulation caused the mortgage crisis and everything else we're experiencing has flowed directly from the resultant credit crunch. If you aren't aware of that, then you are indeed a symptom of the problem. -
6.4
stuartzechman
The almighty self important liberals have spoken so it must be!
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6.5
I think that I'm with you on this, Dirks.
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7
Oops !!
"Conservative activists, who organized a march on the U.S. Capitol today in protest of the Obama administration's health care agenda and government spending, erroneously attributed reports on the size of the crowds to ABC News.
Matt Kibbe, president of FreedomWorks, the group that organized the event, said on stage at the rally that ABC News was reporting that 1 million to 1.5 million people were in attendance.
At no time did ABC News, or its affiliates, report a number anywhere near as large. ABCNews.com reported an approximate figure of 60,000 to 70,000 protesters, attributed to the Washington, D.C., fire department. In its reports, ABC News Radio described the crowd as "tens of thousands."poor poor teabaggers ...
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A pathetic, thuggish crew o' ignorant bleedin' sheep!
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Wha' a crew o' contemptable', slimy, sh*t-spittle, scupper-sluppin' cretins!
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Tens o' thousands? Th' bloody screw worm ignoramuses don't be sharin' a single functionin' brain cell amongst th' lot o' 'em!
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I seen bigger crowds wi' th' same level o' intellegence an' th' same enthusiasm fer th' same message o' blind, ragin' hate - Nuremburg - 'round 'bout 1934, I be b'lievin' - .we all be knowin' how THA turned out!
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Yarrr!-
8.1
Wench:
Time to walk the plank
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8.2
Ah, freeper -
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Ye need t' quit tryin' t' whip yerself into a rabid frenzy, ye ignorant, hamheaded,self-righteous, sh*tswollen tick!
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Ye're nothin' bu' a stupid Becka$$ lickin' scallywag!
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If ye be thinkin' ye can be makin' me walk th' plank, just go 'head an' give 'er a try - I'll knock ye back into th' fetid slime ye crawled out fr'm wi' me lily-white perfect' manicured pinkie, an' howl wi' glee as ye be sucked back into th' muck whar ye be belongin', ye inconsequential piece o' bum lint!
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YARR! -
8.3
You notice how freetopee always resorts to rhetoric when he is cornered by those pesky facts?
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We treasure them. He treats them like flies...
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9
"this was not a retreat, merely a pause in their outcry"
I'm hungry so I'm going home.
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10
They thought tens of thousands was really two million?
More victims of public schooling.
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11
I was really hoping someone else would have brought this up, but I guess I'll have to. Wanna bet that most of the 450 buses were the shorter yellow ones?
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11.1
They didn't use daycare minivans?
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12
…another tea party-esque protest, meh. That's news? Like yesterday's Coast Guard thingy? Much more interesting, if OT, was Serena Williams' strange loss to Kim Clijsters at the US Open. If we wanted to copy-and-paste a parable, we could take Serena's and Joe Wilson's outbursts and create some sort of lesson about not losing your temper in key moments. It would be as relevant here as some of MS's posts. Then again, Clijsters probably would've won anyway. Jay, why not write a story about this? Go for it. If you do, *please* provide the uncensored transcript of Serena's remarks.
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13
It was a teabaggers heaven by the hairs on their chinny chin chins.
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14
OK, we'll start by shutting down FEMA. You all in Florida and Texas can deal with it.
We can also phase out Medicare. Socialism at its worst.
Cindy McCain is calling for more Federal research dollars for migraine research. Just the kind of big-government program we don't need.
Next on my list:
FDA - The market will sort out which parts of the food supply are tainted.
NIH - If people want cancer drugs and flu vaccines, they can bloody well pay for the research themselves.
FAA - The market will punish airlines that crash too often. Stop spending my tax dollars on this stuff!
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14.1
Let's substitute Lousiana for Florida and see how Opie from New Delhi likes them apples,
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14.2
I like where you're going, Art!
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Since they hate FDR, lets get rid of all this junk, too, which, incidentally, is a product of income redistribution:
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1. Their highway system
2. Their potable water system
3. Subsidized salaries and facilities for rural health care
4. The National Agricultural Imagery Program
5. The Rural Technology Initiative(s)
6. Their phone system
7. Their irrigation system
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Hell, Art! I'm all for it. I hand out my tax dollars (1/3 or them!) to these two-bit so-called "patriots" cum terrorists, and maybe, just maybe, we should give them what they want!
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15
It would have been fun to go to D.C. and make fun of the maroons, but I was listening to the remastered Beatles box set before I went to work today. I stopped and got some Chinese takeout on the way in. I wasn't tired, hungry and didn't waste a day on a field trip so I'm declaring myself the winner and going to bed.
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15.1
It would have been fun to go to D.C. and make fun of the maroons,
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Ha. Ha. You misspelled "morans." -
15.2
I just looked at all the signs and went with the flow. The size of the crowd was frightening. I kept thinking "If we could just harness all of that energy we could stop evolution dead in it's tracks instead of relying on inbreeding to do the job.".
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15.3
"Maroon" is correct when used in this context. Also, "moron" is not spelled "moran".
Bugs Bunny will clarify "maroon".
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15.4
Also, "moron" is not spelled "moran".
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Says who?
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http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/images/blpic-moran.htm -
15.5
I hate to resort to quoting conservative philosophers, but "Can't we all just get along?".
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16
Also, here what a real protest looks like:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/chronicle/archive/2005/09/25/WASHINGTON.TMP&o=2
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16.1
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uSNpfk4dbL4/SqzX-TviraI/AAAAAAAAAQc/MlU9rwZ_nZQ/s1600-h/Mary+Katharine+Ham+photo+of+capitol.jpg
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There you go Art, as "Ten's of thousands", turns into Hundreds of thousands when the real truth and pictures are told. -
16.2
Organizers told them they would get a free Priusand an Al Gore solar watch
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17
Where were these dumbass people so worried about "Liberty" when the PATRIOT Act was passed? That's when you *really* lost some liberty. The government got the right to rifle through your credit records and your library checkouts and your bookstore purchase without you being notified. Your travel habits. Secret wiretapping of Americans. Lots more of that too. But no, you rightwingers were rabidly IN FAVOR of the PATRIOT Act, and oh-so-willing to give up your "liberty" for safety. Bedwetters. Don't march around Washington DC now crying about your g_ddamned LIBERTY.
And spending. Where were you dumbf#cks during MediCare Part D? What about the unfunded 8 billion dollars per month for the Iraq War? What about those pallets full of hundred dollar bills they were shipping the the CPA to give away? What about those billions given to KBR to electocute our soldiers with faulty wiring? Not a word! Fanatic defense of this wild, irresponsible deficit spending by conservatives. And for what? What was the end result of that? Nothing for the American people, I'll tell you.
And government health care! Republican Congress passes a bill at midnight to force-feed a brain-damaged woman who wanted to die. Interfered with the most private medical decision a family can make. Made a brain-damaged woman in a vegetative state for 15 years a national political football just so Tom DeLay could "excite the base." And you idiots now scream about keeping government out of your health care decisions.
And all this protesting today does what? You are demonstrating for frikkin *Insurance Companies.* You know, PR work for insurance companies pays good -- like in the 6 figures or more. But these morons are doing the work for insurance companies *for free.* Spending their own money and time to travel to Washington DC to demonstrate to help out *insurance companies.*
Yes. Stupid, ignorant, looney, crazy. Insane.
-
17.1
Exactly. That's what makes comments like:
Because anybody who suports a conservative cause is just dumb and ignorant?
...all the more hilarious. Or incredibly sad.
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17.2
Keep talking guys. Pass an expansive heath care grab. Keep taking over industries. Tax away and spend on giveaways. You are the best advertisement for while these protests will succeed. You think these people are ignorant but you actually are.
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17.3
It's ok freetopee.
.
We are leaving you behind.
.
Keep on "purifying" your movement. You'll achieve Al-Queda status yet...
-
-
18
My bad: an all white crowd, and ignorant to boot.
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18.1
The cycle is complete. We have gone from degradation and name calling to throwing the race card. The liberal cycle is complete. A more preditable ending than a Disney movie.
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18.2
It's not the "race card", freeinpa. It is, in short, and supported by literally thousands of photographs, videos, and statements from your peers, simply this:
.
An observation.
.
Freetopee, you know nothing about race... -
18.3
IQ 63
"
Freetopee, you know nothing about race..."Unlike you who thinks race involves a soap box derby cart!
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18.4
freepeethreeoh:
.
Can't you get content in your responses? Is it that your arguments are that empty of factualness, and that far off the mark that you simply cannot rebut with facts?
.
I think it's the latter. As for the soapbox, it was you who raised the issue and, like I said:
.
You know nothing about race.
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-
19
Just can't stand all this finger pointing and bickering back and forth, it is all the above. Everyone should be pissed. It is not one side or the other. The corruption of our "leaders" has been in motion since the beginning of the Republic, sad to say. Even during the Civil War there was some shading deals with the cabinet members.
Today we have reached the breaking point. It isn't healtcare and it isn't the wars, it is the corruption that goes on. It is their addiction to power, that is their failing.
I for one don't mind defense spending, to protect and defend us so we can still go around acting like idiots-that is the only real job they are supposed to be doing.
Corporate welfare or social welfare-they both suck.
Earmarks anywhere by anyone is a travesty.
Could they just pass a bill that is simple and correct?
No one doesn't want to help those who are in real need, but why do we always have to include other special interest groups and pay off somebody or something that is irrelevant to the issues at hand?Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.
Alexis de TocquevilleThe American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money.
Alexis de TocquevilleNAZI=National Socialist German Workers' Party, Nazism is often considered by scholars to be a form of fascism.
Communism: is a family of economic and political ideas and social movements related to the establishment of an egalitarian, classless and stateless society based on common ownership and control of the means of production and property in general, as well as the name given to such a society.(for james in la)
But we do know of what we speak. Stick around long enough and learn and everyone will understand, WHY WE ARE MAD AND DON'T WANT TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!
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19.1
Amen
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19.2
Very good comment 12stepgolf. Our progressive friends on here wish to "evolve" the Constitutions. To "meld" and blurr the lines between the "good" things about Socialism, Communism and Democracy.
.
They believe in the new, Communitarian ideals, a screwed up philosophy of a combination of all Progressive ideals from all forms of Government. Unfortunately it has been proven time and time again it does not work. It is simply a new twist on old ideas. Socialism. "Give them a little more freedoms individually, but keep the powerful laws, the laws that matter the most for the collective". Same goes for their economic ideals, "Let them have their individualism to have a small business enterprise, but they will pay huge sums of taxes in order to support the collective". Keep the large businesses and corporations under the thumb of the collective, make them Government owned.
.
Their favorite, "eliminate Wall Street and big Banks".
.
Again, simply Socialism with a new name. -
19.3
Buttsniffing?!?!?!
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19.4
12stepgolf,
I can appreciate your comments, but the truth is the politicians only do what we ask them to do. Do they bribe the public using the public's money? Yes!!
You claim you are willing to spend the money to defend our borders, but do we have to spend so much to "defend" ourselves? There is no Communism other than China and Cuba and who would want to attack us? Considering we spend more on arms that the rest of the world put together, we could spend about one-third of that money for self defense. The truth is we spend most of that money for access to cheap resources, primarily oil. These are your tax dollars at work.
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-
20
All that righteous sound and fury...
And yet silence about this?
http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2009/04/11/the-rest-is-silence/
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21
More New Yorkers signed this petition:
http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2009/07/09/make-it-happen-on-purpose/
Where is your coverage, Time?
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22
http://news.google.com/news?q=Photo+of+Tea+Party+Protest+Washing+9/12&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-US&oe=utf8&rlz=1I7_____en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&ei=q-qsSoDiM8LJlAeGi9jeBg&sa=X&oi=news_group&ct=title&resnum=1
.
My first question is what the hell is wrong with the font on this post, and the 2nd question is who the hell is "Sophia Yan"? Is she your lesbian ulter ego, JNS?
.
I love all of these quotes from above on this thread:
.Where were these dumbass people so worried about "Liberty" when the PATRIOT Act was passed? That's when you *really* lost some liberty.
Question is, WHERE WERE YOU???
.Well freep, the fact is that most of these people ARE dumb and ignorant. That's not a slam, but stating a fact. The few that organized this cadre of poor, slack-jawed Fox-watchers are cynical and probably smart, yes. But take this picture, for example: IMG_0061. Okay, "Obama's Youth Militia"? That's pretty stupid.
Now that is a real smart retort from one of Swampland's most favorite liberal DUMBA$$. DId You forgot about "Obama's Civillian "Security" Force?
."Conservative activists, who organized a march on the U.S. Capitol today in protest of the Obama administration's health care agenda and government spending, erroneously attributed reports on the size of the crowds to ABC News.
Apparently this individual does not understand ENGLISH, or it is your second language. THEY WERE NOT PROTESTING OBAMACARE AS THE ONLY ISSUE, LIBTARDO
.
But again, I will ask the question. Who the hell is Sophia Yan? Did TIME not have one of their ACE reporters to send out to cover this event?
.
Is TIME like the rest of the MSM, CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN et al so far up Obama's A$$ that they are fearful of having their talking points jerked away from them if they choose to run a story on this MAJOR protest?
.
As hundreds of thousands turned out in protest against this administration, the Democrat controlled Congress and for a call to protest the high taxes levied for entitlement programs, REAL protests are emerging against the Democrat Liberals, Progressives and Communitarians. (Of course no one knows yet what name they would like to be called).
.
This site is a big joke. TIME is a big JOKE, it is no better than the Department Store rag mags that sell stories like "John Edwards Love Baby". Nothing more, and nothing less. TIME is long gone. Tabloid jounalism has replaced TIME here today.
.-
22.1
Every issue with he liberals is the same. Belittle, then name call finally the race card. Then they look back and say what happened The bus is leaving the station and the liberals are standing in front of it debating the size of the bus.
-
22.2
rusty's head explodes:
Question is, WHERE WERE YOU???
.
Our side was loudly warning you, urgently warning you dimwit bedwetting rightwingers that when you willingly give up your "liberty" and civil rights for "security", you won't be getting them back for 50 or 100 years, or ever. For that we were accused of being traitors and being "objectively pro-terrorist" and insufficiently patriotic to your imbecile leader George W. Bush.
.
But no, you rightwingers were rabidly IN FAVOR of the PATRIOT Act, and oh-so-willing to give up your "liberty" for safety. Don't march around Washington DC now crying about your g_ddamned LIBERTY. -
22.3
Definately freeinpa. Liberals and their side-kicks the Communitarian/Progressives can only debate anything by using their 3rd grade name calling. It is their only defense. They think it is a big joke, but the real joke is simply themselves.
.
To LITTLE james in LA. I do believe it was your exhaulted President that VOTED FOR FISA, was it not? I have no problem with the Government utilizing the Patriot Act Powers, but they also put on limitations, sunsetting it. Correct?
.
Perhaps you are afraid that the Government will discover and expose your other liberal ideals and activities limiting your favorite groups like ACORN, COC, NAMBLA, STORM, APOLLO and other far left extremist groups. Is that what you are afraid of LITTLE james?
.
People who are afraid of the Patriot Act simply have things they wish to hide. That is all, plain and simple. As long as it is sunsetted, and those limits are set. I have absolutley no problem with this what-so-ever.
. -
22.4
l'il rustykins,
.
I do not defend Barack Obama's cynical, outrageous vote for FISA. I called, I wrote, I gave money to stop the expansion and revision of FISA and Protect America Act for 16 miserable months, me and the rest of the liberal blogosphere. WHERE THE F#CK WERE YOU?
.
I'll tell you, you and your dimwit rightwing extremists were on Joe Kleins side, lying about what it said and what it did, just to stick us in the eye. We f#cking WARNED YOU that you wouldn't like it so much when the Democrats came to power. Now, EAT IT. -
22.5
Wow! I was at the ACORN office a couple days ago, Rusty.
.
You know what I saw there?
.
A couple middle aged ladies trying to help some of the poor in the neighborhood get housing. How positively evil!
.
A point to freeinpa, rusty, spob, and textee about the "race card":
.
When you are going to Italy, who do you ask for for advice on how to conduct yourself?
.
How about Japan? China?
.
Right.
.
Then tell me, how is it that you think you know anything about Black Americans, or anything about race, when, in fact, the people you listen to preferentially have no contact and do not know anything about the Black community!?!?!?
.
Riddle me that, numbskulls... -
22.6
Hmmm...
can only debate anything by using their 3rd grade name calling
...
who the hell is "Sophia Yan"? Is she your lesbian ulter ego, JNS?
.
I see... -
22.7
IQ 53
What a surprise a liberal claiming to know everything about a conservative without actually knowing them. And great trend line analysis to take your one ACORN visit and extrapolate it to an enormous magnitude. Never mind about the growing number of indictments and new discoveries of fraud almost daily at ACORN.
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22.8
Oh, I know freeinpa!
.
You're absolutely right!
.
I forgot to look more closely! They are all cheap plastic imitation blowup models controlled by this guy behind the curtain!
.
How could I have forgotten!
.
Evile, posilutely evile! -
22.9
IQ 53
"They are all cheap plastic imitation blowup models"Spare us your personal proclivities but continue to ignore the obvious.
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22.10
The obvious, freepeethreeo, is spelled out in comment 22.4...
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22.11
53IQ
And that's why they have elections and if the libs had any sense they only signed short-term leases -
22.12
I rest your case.
-
-
23
The teabaggers were sharing the Mall with the National Black Family Reunion Celebration. The reunion is a two- day event attracting more than 500K annually.
.
http://newsticker.welt.de/?module=smarthouse&id=940951
.
Which crowd was bigger? Was there interaction between the two groups. Given that there are mixed marriages in the African-American community, was the Reunion crowd more diverse than the teabaggers?
.
http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/09/12/the-national-black-family-reunion
.
A reporter might have noticed the other event.-
23.1
False equivalency? Affirmative Action for Right Wing Extremists?
-
23.2
53_3 We'll have to wait for BlackAmericaWeb or Jack & Jill Politics to cover the Black Family Reunion Celebration and observations of reporters and participants.
.
The DC PD may have their breakdown of crowd sizes. Hopefully there will be overhead photos of each event -
23.3
Here's a few tidbits. Note the pre-event estimate:
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/09/11/managing-expectations-crowd-size-for-dc-rally-sparks-fight/
.
ABC on correction of crowd size:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/abc-news-misquoted-crowd-size/story?id=8558055
.
"The demonstrators numbered well into the tens of thousands, though the police declined to estimate the size of the crowd. Many came on their own and were not part of an organization or group."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/us/politics/13protestweb.html
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-
24
[...] said, I have a real problem with this “rally.” Not because its backers are conservatives and I’m progressive in my political [...]
-
25
Sophia Yan and Time magazine allege: "some protesters claimed as many as two million people showed up -- in reality estimates put it more in the tens of thousands."
"Estimates"? Whose "estimates"? Sophia Yan's? Evidence provided by Sophia Yan to support her allegation? In predictable Time magazine fashion, no evidence. You have to love that notwithstanding the complete absence of any evidence, Sophia Yan alleges that her alleged, unsupported "estimates" are based "in reality". ROTFLMAO!!!
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25.1
Thar were shrinkage!
.
We're bigger'n tha'!
.
Really!
.
Yarr. -
25.2
@pw
.
snicker. ROTFLMAO. -
25.3
Pirate Wench.
.
You'll need a magnifying glass, tweezers, and a pair of surgical scissors... -
25.4
It...it was COLD, they were nervous, they were scared and besides...they're growers, not showers. Size doesn't matter anyway unless, well just unless. On the other hand (which wasn't full), they weren't worried about pleasing anybody but themselves.
.
There's always a sock and a flightsuit if it comes down to that.
-
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