"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win."
--Gandhi
George Bush, speaking at the Heritage Foundation today, complained about CODEPINK while we protested outside, calling him a war criminal. The day after Halloween, one of our supporters wore a rubber George Bush-as-vampire mask, fangs dripping blood, and a long black cape.
“When it comes to funding our troops, some in Washington should spend more time responding to the warnings of terrorists like Osama bin Laden and the requests of our commanders on the ground, and less time responding to the demands of MoveOn.org bloggers and CODEPINK protesters,” Bush said. If he had a brain, he'd realize how satisfying that is to us.
We had a megaphone and sang and yelled at Bush until the Heritage Foundation put on blasting marching music to drown us out. We marched around for a bit, the Dracula Bush goosestepping, but then moved on around the block down to the entrance Bush actually used after battalions of police and secret service cleared the path. A woman across the street offered us the use of her lawn, but the Secret Service was clearing out the whole block, and after some debate, we were forced to move back. We left two banners, and the Heritage Foundation folks stole them and hung one of them upside down from a tenth floor balcony. We got them back, probably after the Heritage folks remembered forking over $200 to replace a camera they broke in an earlier protest when CODEPINK took the stage away from panelists on Iran.
As Bush drove by in a caravan of black limousines, we gave him a chorus of War Criminal! War Criminal! War Criminal! He smiled and waved to us from the darkened window of his limo.
Since almost everyone in the CODEPINK D.C. House is banned temporarily from Capitol Hill due to earlier arrests, particularly after Des' confrontation with Condoleezza Rice, we've had to find other places to go. Tuesday it was to the Phoenix Hotel for our unveiling of Blackwater's new Department of Corporate Integrity, described in an earlier blog.
Wednesday we were at the FCC's public hearing on localization, a hearing announced just five days ahead, with one of the two women invited speakers called just the day before. Liz got us a speaking spot by getting in line at 4:30 a.m., and partied in the line with a team of satirical “FCC cheer leaders.”
We wrote a song the night before for the hearing, and sang it outside on line. To the tune of “There's no business like show business”:
There's no airways like my airways and I want to get more
People think that their new should be local
I don't think they need to have a choice
Problem is that they are way too vocal
They will be better off with just one voice.
There's no airways like my airways and I want to get more
The FCC is always there to help me.
They let me have Fox News and New York Post.
I give money to George Bush and Hillary
But I'm so rich that I don't have to boast.
There's no airways like my airways and I want to get more.
Tom Dick and Harry want to have a show
But I'm the man who has got the dough
For those who think there should be voices from below,
They won't miss what they don't know.
Sam took the spotlight with her “media whore” costume, black with lace and fishnet hose, corporate logos inked on her bare skin, and a “faux” on her cleavage. Police tried to remove her for “inappropriate dress,” but the convergence of the rest of CODEPINK and media persuaded the police to give it up and allow her to stay, so she took a front row seat.
Medea made a sign in her notebook, “Why are there only 2 women on a panel of 14?” and Leslie got it on their in-house screens until a copy made her put it down.
Sam took our speaking spot, explaining her “media whore” outfit as a comment on the fact that the media played a major role in getting the U.S. into the Iraq War and they're doing it again, uncritically reporting Bush's lies about Iran and his drumbeat for war in a shameless reprise of the build-up to the Iraq War. What democracy needs and what we're not getting from the media is diverse voices and critical examination of politicians' claims. Sam ended her testimony saying that it was time to stop prostituting our airwaves.
Sam's got a lot of emails complaining that none of the blogs who've mentioned her performance included a photo, so here it is.
Oops. Sorry. We're having technological difficulties with the photos. You'll just have to go on imagining Sam in a sexy French maid's outfit.
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22 comments:
remember, destrying property according to your moral values in not violence, it's direct action
they should have kept your banner and never paid for the camera
treat you the way you treat others
ps: hope you choke on the bread you steal from the homeless
I have no idea what anonymous is talking about.
Keep up the great work for all of us not in deecee!
Your work is appreciated.
We gave a loud cheer when tonight on "Countdown" they played President Bush's comments on Codepink. Hurrah! They have noticed us.
There is a lot more work to do, but it was very satisfying. We won't let them scare us into being quiet.
Well done everyone!
geek, the dem leadership hates code pinko to begin with, as does most of the public
bush just hung you clowns around the necks of reid, pelosi and the others, which means they're going to go out of their way to further distance themselves from pinkos
tw3k, peace protesters like code pink aren't peacefully.
direct action is BS term meaning "we can tear up your stuff and feel good about it, we're rightous"
the theory is that as long as you don't physically hurt anyone, it's not violence
but have you ever had your house robbed? what do people say? that they feel "violated". so code pink is OK with the pyschological violence, the essesntial element of terrorism, in as a protest tactic
the weekend that the young lady was hit with a brick in georgetown by the SDS protesters, look at this blogspot and see that they housed SDS protesters
one would hope that code pink would counsel that Bricks Are Not The Answer, but i wouldn't put my life on it
their leader medea benjamin lived in cuba when castro invaded third world countries, Angola, Ethipoia and Afghanistan with a first world army and airforce, slaughtering poor people of color in the name of communism
i'd love to go to a pot luch and hear medea speak about the protests she held in cuba during castro's genocide against people of color in Angola, Ethipoia and Afghanistan
anon, I dunno the back story and CP can be kind of annoying when trying to watch hearing on cspan but that reminder condi got about the blood on her hands was well deserved.
These people are exercising their free speech, right to assemble and acting as witnesses to the egregious policies this administration is pushing on the people through lies and deceit. For that I appreciate CPs' work.
You ladies are wasting your time.... Haven't achieved shiiiiiittttttt!
I'm sorry, the above post was wrong. You have achieved getting your members criminal records and time in the iron bungalow! Keep that up!
And we've gone and made you use up a lot of your own time typing, Anonymous Coward, because you're all pissed off that someone caused a few neurons to fire in that cinderblock you call a head.
I realize that thinking is a painful process for you, and you really get angry when people put you into situations where you have to do it, but that's not our fault or our problem.
Neither you nor Bush would have to work so hard to disparage Code Pink's message if it wasn't just, right, and effective. 76% of this country does not approve of the job Bush is doing. 89% disapprove of the job Congress is doing. That's just the way it is, toots. Code Pink represents the majority. Deal with it.
WTG, CodePinkers, perhaps the rest of the sheep are not following you, as you make too much sense for them but if I could possibly be there to help support your cause I would.
You Code Pinkos squeal like pigs when the capitol police tap you. Are you not relegated to stupid stunts and petty fires in the ladies rest rooms?
Do they NOT realize how childish, ignorant, hateful and spiteful they look when they post here? These marginal white supremists are so sad. Do you hear them crying out for anyone? Do you hear any love for mankind? Do you hear a call for peace? I do! And the majority does. Please pray for these lost souls and keep up the good work pinks!
Anon, do us a favor and squeal like a pig like your Code Pink friends do when the capitol police touch them with their pinky's! Talk about immature behavior, I wonder just who is starting fires in the bathrooms at the Senate office building. Could it possibly be Code Pink? If the capitol police were smart, they would ban you from D.C. before you idiots start playing with bombs instead of matches!
Anonymous said..."I wonder just who is starting fires in the bathrooms at the Senate office building. Could it possibly be Code Pink?..." In fact, Anonymous twice referred to the fires set in Congressional office buildings in this blog. Makes me wonder if anonymous had something to do with setting those fires in order to sting CODEPINK. I think we should send Anonymous' IP address to Capitol Police so they can check it out.
hey murph, you guys are that desperate. lots of parallels between code pink and the weathermen who turned to violence
weathermen had a row house, check
code pink has a row house, check
weatherman felt that they were losing, check
code pink feels that they are losing, check
weathermen turned to bombs, check
code pink turned to fire?, somebody should check code pink out
Gael, do you squeal like a pig when you get arrested or do you just screech like an aging hippie flower child whack job?
Hey anonymous coward, I really do not give a sideways episode of coital bliss about Medea being in Cuba. I'm not a communist and Code Pink is not a communist organization. As for traitors, this is all I have to say to you on that subject.
Why would Anonymous think that Code Pink thinks it's losing? I'd say that Code Pink thinks it is winning. I think we're at the "then they fight you" part of Gandhi's famous quote. Code Pink has been mentioned prominently in the media lately, with negative comments by the administration. I think we're just short of "then you win."
We need to get rid of the corporate capitalist pigs in order to have peace.... Peace out !!!!!!!!!!!
THIS TALK OF POLITICS SUX, LET'S TALK ABOUT MY BALLS!
I told you ladies long before the Rice incident and several months ago that things were going to start changing for you and that your "friends" were at that time plotting against you. Turned out, I was right. Let's see, less access, can't get into Canada, more arrests... Just wait until you see what they have planned for you next. Just a preview, invitations may not be as magical as they once were and your ability to use camera phones anywhere may be a little impaired. But, that is just the fun little stuff. The more serious stuff is in the works and I can't give you a preview on that!
MAJIC
SNIPPET OF RECENT TELEPHONE CALL
DEMOCRATIC SENATOR: These Code Pink ass holes are becoming a problem. Could you please -u--- their -----c--??
When this all happens, I will come back and fill in the blanks for you. You will begin to experience this sometime in the late spring, but it is being put into the works right now by your "friends."
MAJIC
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