First time to DC in nearly three weeks…
2 minute read
January 23, 2007, 4:32 AM
Today is a DC day, and I’m ready to go, as it’s been nearly three weeks since January 4 when I last went. This trip was supposed to happen a week ago, but it got rescheduled for political reasons. You see, today is the day Bush gives the State of the Union address, and so I’m going to be at a counter-rally at the Capitol reflecting pool.
The Capitol reflecting pool, by the way, has special significance to me due to some comments Mom made. On our second-ever trip to DC in 1994, we walked from the White House to the Capitol – not a walk to be sneezed at. And in sub-freezing weather, no less. Nearing the Capitol reflecting pool, Mom said, jokingly of course, that it was the spot where all the congressmen and all the senators went to try to snap off Hillary Clinton’s bikini top. The Clinton administration was also the first time in twelve years that they’d been able to partake in snapping off the First Lady’s bikini top, too, as Rosalynn Carter was the last one that they’d been able to do it with. Nancy Reagan was “too small”, and Barbara Bush was “too old”. No word about whether Congress can have fun in the reflecting pool with Laura Bush, because Mom now denies that the exchange ever happened, but we know better.
So who knows. While Bush is blathering on about the poor state he’s left this country in after six years, maybe we’ll see a few representatives who skipped the speech playing in the pool, going after Laura Bush’s bikini top.
Otherwise, this is the first trip since the January 7 derailment at Mt. Vernon Square. And guess what one of my stops will be today – yes, Mt. Vernon Square. I’m going to the Infoshop today, and thus E01 is on the itinerary.
So wish me luck at the protest.
Categories: Activism, DC trips, Family, National politics
I can’t make it, but…
< 1 minute read
January 22, 2007, 12:11 AM
If anyone is going to be in the DC area on Monday and has a few hours to spare in the middle of the day, please consider counter-protesting against the pro-life rally that’s going on. I can’t make it because I have to work, but I will be thinking about the counter-demonstrators, and hoping that they manage to make their message louder and stronger than the pro-lifers.
If you’re interested, the counter-protest group will be meeting on the National Mall in Washington DC just outside the Smithsonian Metro station, on the Blue and Orange Line.
I hope that many will attend, and I’ll be thinking about you. And I also hope you all attend the World Can’t Wait rally outside the Capitol on Tuesday night in DC counter-protesting the State of the Union address. I’m planning on being there for that one.
Categories: Activism
Remember not to misspell, now… that’s B-O-R-F.
2 minute read
January 21, 2007, 10:10 PM
Occasionally I have fun with my coworkers. I recently had the occasion of having some cans of spray paint go through the Service Desk to go back to their proper department. And in the meantime, talk of graffiti came up. I made reference to the DC-area graffiti artist John Tsombikos from Great Falls, best known as the main person behind the “Borf” campaign. Of course, my coworkers had no idea. They don’t make these biweekly runs to DC like I do. I remember seeing graffiti from the train along the eastern half of the Red Line referring to “Borf”, and I was like, what-the-heck. “Borf”? It wasn’t until really recently, talking about the “disarm” message that was stenciled on the sidewalk of the Key Bridge, that I really found out what Borf was all about. Very prolific.
Otherwise, it snowed today, as the weather forecasters predicted. Actually, it snowed first, then turned to freezing rain, and then to sleet. All and all, it was not a pleasant drive to work. Actually, going in was worse than leaving. It was all still snow then. Basically packed snow all the way to Waynesboro. The Sable still drives better in the snow than the Previa did, but the trip was not without its challenges, as stopping was something of a challenge. Most notably, I was unable to stop at the intersection of the westbound off-ramp of I-64 and Rosser Avenue in Waynesboro, and therefore slid right through a just-turned red light. So yes, I ran a red light today. I did, and so did the car beside me. Both of us slid right through the red light, blowing our horns to warn any potential cross-traffic of our situation. We both got through unscathed.
Continue reading…Categories: Anti-war, Driving, Family, Street art, Washington DC, Winter weather
I went to a World Can’t Wait rally today, and met Cindy Sheehan again…
2 minute read
January 4, 2007, 4:00 PM
I went to a rally today in Upper Senate Park that was put on by World Can’t Wait. That group’s goal is to drive out the Bush administration. Cindy Sheehan spoke at the event, as did a host of others.
I said hello to Ms. Sheehan, finally gave her the address to Schumin Web, and also briefly talked with her about her meeting with Rhonda Winfield. Winfield is a local woman – local to me, as she’s from from Stuarts Draft. Her son, Jason Redifer, was killed in Iraq on January 31, 2005. I’ve described Winfield as “the anti-Cindy Sheehan”. Winfield is pro-war, and supports the Bush administration, while Sheehan does not. They actually met at Vienna the day before I first met Cindy Sheehan. I’ve not met Rhonda Winfield, as far as I know (I very well could have waited on her at work, however).
I also asked Ms. Sheehan about what she was charged with regarding her November arrest for hefting the list of signatures over the White House fence. Turns out she was never charged. Good deal.
I got a lot of photos and movies from the event, including excerpts from Cindy Sheehan’s speech. Some of that will likely end up on the Web site, and I’m likely going to post the movies on YouTube. Again, we’ll see, once I get home and can take a good, hard look at the take from today.
“Peace”
< 1 minute read
November 25, 2006, 9:39 PM
Paz, paix, peace, an, siochain, friede, shalom, salaam,amani, santeepop, heiwa, hoa bihn
That’s “peace” in twelve different languages: Spanish, French, English, Korean, Gaelic, German, Hebrew, Arabic, Swahili, Thai, Japanese, and Vietnamese. In this time in our history, with a war going on in Iraq, I’m reminded of the song whose lyrics are reproduced above in all those different languages.
I first learned the song in 1991, when I sang a duet with Laine Virtue in the fourth grade for the school chorus. Back then, there was another war going on in Iraq: Operation Desert Storm. Laine and I sang that song, whose only words were the various translations of “peace” as quoted above. Then the next fall, the whole chorus sang a song, “Let Peace Begin With Me”, which was a really neat song (and I can’t find the lyrics for it online).
And with Christmas exactly one month away, I’m holding out hope that we can come up with a peaceful end to the current conflict, and bring our troops home alive very soon. I think this photo says it all…
Categories: Anti-war, Elementary school
And here’s the photo!
< 1 minute read
November 8, 2006, 10:21 PM
Here’s the photo of Cindy Sheehan and me:
There we are, right in front of the White House. Also notice the new camera bag strap on my shoulder, to replace the one that broke a little less than a month ago.
I met Cindy Sheehan!
2 minute read
November 7, 2006, 8:06 PM
You may remember that previously, the closest that I got to Cindy Sheehan was at the anti-war rally that I photographed at Arlington Cemetery in Octrober 2004. You may recall that this photo was in there, showing a photo of Casey Sheehan. That was before she became a national figure with Camp Casey.
Now, I’ve met her. I even got someone to photograph us together. That will go up once I get home (I’m currently at Pentagon City). I was doing something I do often on my DC trips – walk from McPherson Square station to Lafayette Park, go past the White House, and then walk to Metro Center station. There was a whole bunch of anti-war activity going on this time, and much to my surprise, Cindy Sheehan was there. I was talking to a Code Pink person, and then I saw a familiar face. I said, “Are you who I think you are?” She replied, “Who do you think I am?” I said, “Cindy Sheehan?” It turned out to be her, and my reaction was just like when I met Dr. Ruth at JMU back in 2003. Lack of words for meeting a famous person.
She shook my hand, and I showed her the photo from that rally, which she remembered well. The impression I got from the handshake was that Cindy Sheehan had very soft hands, and surprisingly warm hands! But she was very friendly, and has just an awesome personality. She even described how a Park Police officer helped her pin a number of “Arrest Bush” pins to her shirt in preparation for a vigil in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Hopefully we’ll meet again.
The “No Armageddon” rally went well, and now I’m watching The Blues Brothers
2 minute read
June 8, 2006, 2:28 AM
The “No Armageddon For Bush” rally went quite well, as DAWN really put on a good show. It was also strange seeing David Barrows dressed up in religious robes:
Categories: Anti-war
Funny what one finds online sometimes…
< 1 minute read
June 6, 2006, 1:15 AM
Sometimes it’s interesting what I find online. Check this one out:
The Smirking Chimp: Two activists arrested protesting torture at the Supreme Court
This is the same event I photographed in Confirmation Demonstration on the Web site. It’s always neat to see the different photos of stuff. And the person in the orange jumpsuit laying on their side in one of the pictures is my friend Rose.
It’s also funny… I was trying to describe the demonstration at work to a coworker in the breakroom one recent day, and ended up demonstrating the position that the participants were in. So I got on my knees, leaned slightly forward, hands clasped behind back, and head down. “That’s what I’m talking about!” is what I said.
The coworker said to me, “Seeing you on your knees in a submissive position just doesn’t look right.” And I will admit it’s a little out of character for me, since I’m as you’d expect – outgoing, and very much a hiya-hiya-hiya-how-ya-doing kind of person.
All in all, it’s kind of interesting.
Categories: Activism
Going to DC on 06-06-06…
2 minute read
June 5, 2006, 11:35 PM
I’m going to Washington DC this Tuesday – June 6. That would be June 6, 2006. 06-06-2006. In other words, the date is basically 666, the so-called “number of the beast”.
Members of the DC Anti-War Network (DAWN) are staging a rally at Lafayette Park from 6-8 PM on Tuesday called “No Armageddon For Bush” (a play on the whole “666” thing), and I’m going to go. I’ve been to two DAWN events in the past. The rally and march from Malcolm X Park to McPherson Square on J20 event was put on by DAWN, and the street theater event in front of the Supreme Court that I documented as Confirmation Demonstration was also a DAWN event.
It also seems like 2006 is becoming the year of the night protest, as the World Bank demonstration this spring was at night (the photo set for that event is on its way), and now this one is going to be in the evening (though it won’t be all the way dark when it’s all over).
“The platform elevators at Crystal City is out of service. Shuttle bus service is available from Pentagon City.”
3 minute read
May 20, 2006, 5:46 PM
Yes, that’s an actual line from a Metro train operator that my friend Tristan and I encountered on a Blue Line train to Pentagon City on Tuesday. Note “The platform elevators at Crystal City is out of service. Such hideous grammar…
Now, though, it’s Saturday, and I’m in DC again. There was an ANSWER Coalition rally and march related to Latin American issues that I covered strictly as a photographer. Thus, I didn’t participate directly, nor did I march the route. I took the Metro to the ending point. The opening rally was at Malcolm X Park, and the closing rally at Lafayette Square. So all in all, fun.
It’s funny, though… the first protest I ever went to was an ANSWER event. Now, though, they seem to have gotten so “out there” that I understand why so many people don’t want to associate with them. ANSWER does best when they attack issues like the Iraq War. This one didn’t draw the same kind of crowd (and certainly not the Infoshop crowd), and seemed a little bit “out there” politically.
I was amused, though, that ANSWER gave me press credentials for the event. Seriously. I have a badge from ANSWER that says “Media” on it. I didn’t wear it (no one’s going to stop me from photographing an event on public property), but it’s a souvenir of the day. So I kept it. I’ll post it on here later on.
Great walks, great photos, and great conversations…
5 minute read
February 2, 2006, 11:38 PM
This last trip to Washington was definitely an interesting trip. I managed to put myself behind schedule at almost every turn I took, but it was SO worth it.
I arrived at Vienna on time – right after 10 AM. Rode Breda 4053 to Rosslyn. At Rosslyn, I got a message on my phone from Matthew Tilley. That turned into a phone call, where we discussed all sorts of stuff while I also watched birds do laps in the air above North Moore Street.
Then after that, I got on the Metro and rode Blue to Capitol South. I took a walk from the Capitol South station entrance up to Union Station, going by the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court in the process.
The Supreme Court building has netting around the pediment, due to a chunk of marble falling off the building and onto the steps on November 28. In addition, on the sidewalk in front of the Supreme Court, a pro-life group stood facing the building, symbolically gagged with red duct tape with “LIFE” written in black on the tape. Take a look:
Categories: Activism, DC trips, Religion, Schumin Web meta
Food for thought
3 minute read
December 4, 2005, 5:14 PM
First of all, some food for thought regarding the war in Iraq that came in the form of a letter to the editor in the Staunton News Leader, printed here in its entirety:
If the United States military stays in Iraq 10 more days, 10 more months, or 10 more years will the outcome be significantly different? – Tom Long, Mount Solon
I wonder that as well. I personally lean very strongly towards saying that it was never our business to invade Iraq in the first place.
Thought I’d share that.
Meanwhile, I can’t believe I didn’t hear about the protests against global warming until I read about it in the newspaper this morning. I was like, wow. Not much happened for this one in DC from what I could tell on DC Indymedia. I did, however, find the new Climate IMC site. This is an Indymedia site specifically for climate-related news.
Categories: Anti-war, Clothing, Computer, Homestar Runner
Hello from Pentagon City!
< 1 minute read
November 16, 2005, 5:44 PM
Hello all from the Apple store at Pentagon City Mall! (Yes, I’m writing this on a Mac.) What a fun day I’ve had. I went around to Lafayettte Square, where I met up with one of the DAWN demonstrators from February. I saw lots of people engage them in debate, as they were doing a similar anti-torture demonstration in front of the White House. However, no arrests this time.
After that, I went up and around on the Metro, and even took a bus from Fort Totten to Georgia Avenue-Petworth. Flxible 9802, running on the 64. Then I got one of the happiest train operators on earth (some of you may know who I’m referring to) for the ride to Gallery Place-Chinatown.
I also tried to visit the Infoshop, but they were closed when I came by. They would reopen at 6 PM, but I wasn’t about to wait more than an hour for them to open up. Ah, well…
And now, it’s Pentagon City time…
I can’t believe it’s been a year…
2 minute read
October 17, 2005, 3:43 AM
I can’t believe it’s been a year, but it has. Right now, one year ago at the time of this writing, I was just leaving the house to head to Washington DC to attend the Million Worker March. That was quite a day. I met Jess for the first time at the Million Worker March. I also consider it the moment that I became part of the DC activist crowd, because it was at the Million Worker March that I first met a number of people that I later got to know more extensively at other protests and at the Infoshop. Speaking of which, this was also the first time I’d ever been to the Infoshop. Jess introduced me to the Infoshop for the first time after the Million Worker March.
I just can’t get over that it’s been a year, though. That was also the only protest I’ve been to where something didn’t go wrong either on the way up or back. Since on the drive to or from protests, I usually have something weird happen to me. My very first protest, on April 12, 2003, I got a speeding ticket on the way up. June 5, 2004, I soaked the undercarriage of my car on the exit ramp for Vienna, which caused the car to strain at 25 mph for the final little bit to the station. October 2, 2004 (Day of Activism), I got sick and threw up at a rest area near Manassas (most likely due to nervousness). Then October 17, 2004 was the Million Worker March. Nothing. Since then, on January 20, 2005 (J20), I had an awful time coming home due to snow. Then on April 16, 2005 (A16) with Sis, the car initially didn’t want to start up in the morning (it performed fine the rest of the day). We also forgot to turn on the heat, and wondered what was wrong with the heat because it was still so cold in the car. We figured out that we’d never turned the heat on (despite thinking we had) about halfway to DC. Then on September 24, 2005 (September 24 Protests), I nearly got physically sick again on the way up.
Still, that day was something. It was the most fun I’d had all year in 2004. The whole thing was just like a dream, and I was honestly sad to return to real life after it. And let me tell you – I will never forget that day.
And how am I celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Million Worker March? I’m going to work. It is Monday, after all.
Categories: Activism