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Protesters Counter Sacramento Appearance by Rudy Giuliani, Bill O’Reilly
We had a great protest in Sacramento today on the sidewalk in front of the Sacramento Convention Center (photos will be forthcoming).
Dan
Dan
Protesters Counter Sacramento Appearance by Rudy Giuliani, Bill O'Reilly
By Dan Bacher
Over 500 protesters "welcomed" Rudy Giuliani, former New
York City mayor and stalwart Bushite, and Bill O'Reilly, the notoriously
offensive right wing host of FOX TV's O'Reilly Factor, to the Sacramento
Convention Center on the morning of Friday, September 24.
The event,
sponsored by the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce, featured one token
liberal, Molly Ivins. Over its 10 years, Perspectives has featured some of
the most vile representatives of the corporate and political power elite in
the country, including Henry Kissinger, the world's number one living war
criminal.
Christine Craft, host of the "Power Hour" on 1240 AM, the local
Air America Affiliate, organized the demonstration. "It was the first
demonstration I've participated in since college," said Craft. "I decided to
organize it after Rudy Giuliani compared George W. Bush to Winston Churchill
and Abraham Lincoln. I felt the message that Giuliani was putting out needed
to be countered."
Craft was even more outraged when a reporter uncovered
how Giuliani, in a corrupt deal that he profited from, forced the New York
Fire Department to buy defective Motorola radios. The deal ultimately
resulted in the needless deaths of 125 firemen in the Twin Towers on 9-11
because they were unable to communicate with headquarters and one another.
"And of course, O'Reilly is an easy target," Craft added. "I really
thought Perspectives provided us with an opportunity to counter the message
of O'Reilly and Giuliani."
The event featured many veteran local
activists, including Jeanie Keltner of Sacramento Soapbox, JoAnn Fuller of
Common Cause, local peace activist Phyllis Campanello, and Bill Camp,
executive secretary of the Central Labor Council of Sacramento County.
However, a large percentage of the demonstrators had never or only rarely
protested before.
"This is a huge outpouring of people," said Camp, who
encouraged many union members to come. "Many of these folks have never
carried signs before. What we have done here is to engage people in the
process of taking back their government from George W. Bush. Christine has
demonstrated real leadership by inspiring people here to come and challenge
the institutional structure."
Although Christine had some signs made up
for the event, most participants brought their own signs and T-shirts. The
T-shirt that I liked best was "3 Reasons for Abortion, George W. Bush, Rudy
Giuliani, Bill O'Reilly," held by Joe Manzella of Fair Oaks.
"That shirt
is in-your-face and tasteless - like something I would do," I told him. "Do
you have any more?"
"No," he told me, since he had just designed the two
shirts for himself, and his son, Joey, who had protested right beside him.
His young daughter, Novalee, attended the demo also.
Joe and his son,
loyal listeners of Christine Craft's show, came up with the idea for the
shirts when they were in a sports bar watching Monday night football.
"Friends told me that it was a terrible idea for a t-shirt, so that
convinced me right away to get the shirts made," he quipped.
Irene Smith,
a volunteer for Common Cause from Loomis, said she was there to protest how
the media is manipulated by a very few corporations who greatly influence
who and what Americans vote for. "I want to make people aware of the bias
and imbalance in the corporate media," she stated.
Irene held a great sign
that summed up her message, " A True Democracy Requires Media Balance Not
Bias."
While the city's business elite entered the convention center,
Phyllis Campanello and me sang them an impromptu song, based on a tune we
have sung many times during anti-war protests against the Bush regime.
Phyllis came up with the great idea of washing a U.S. flag with a washboard
in a tub - to get the blood and oil out of it - as we sang a "touching"
ditty. Here are the verses we sang on Friday, to the tune of "Row Your Boat"
Wash, wash O'Reilly's lies out of the U.S. flag
O'Reilly lied, O'Reilly
lied, many thousands died
Wash, wash Giuliani out of the U.S. flag
Motorola radios, killed New York firemen
Wash, wash the oil out of the
U.S. flag
Blood for oil, oil for blood, war's a bloody drag
Most of the
demonstrators left around noon after Bill Camp gathered people together and
said, "You can leave now if you wish. You succeeded in getting your message
to the Metro Chamber and the media."
Perspectives, according to the
Chamber, "is a trademark event of the Sacramento Metro Chamber and annually
draws a sell-out crowd of more than 3,000." Besides Giuliani, O'Reilly and
Ivins, J.C. Watts, former Oklahoma football hero and Republican member of
Congress, Jehan Sadat, widow of the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and
John Powers, best-selling novelist and inspirational speaker, also spoke.
The crowd was definitely the corporate elite of the Sacramento region,
since they were the only ones that could pay the steep ticket price. Tickets
were $195 for chamber members and $245 for nonmembers.
I applaud Christine
Craft and the hundreds of folks who showed up on the morning of a workday to
protest the Perspectives farce that the Metro Chamber sponsors. I'd like to
see this protest become an annual event - as long as the Metro Chamber
continues to invite war criminals, right wing disinformation specialists and
corrupt corporate politicians to headline Perspectives.
By Dan Bacher
Over 500 protesters "welcomed" Rudy Giuliani, former New
York City mayor and stalwart Bushite, and Bill O'Reilly, the notoriously
offensive right wing host of FOX TV's O'Reilly Factor, to the Sacramento
Convention Center on the morning of Friday, September 24.
The event,
sponsored by the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce, featured one token
liberal, Molly Ivins. Over its 10 years, Perspectives has featured some of
the most vile representatives of the corporate and political power elite in
the country, including Henry Kissinger, the world's number one living war
criminal.
Christine Craft, host of the "Power Hour" on 1240 AM, the local
Air America Affiliate, organized the demonstration. "It was the first
demonstration I've participated in since college," said Craft. "I decided to
organize it after Rudy Giuliani compared George W. Bush to Winston Churchill
and Abraham Lincoln. I felt the message that Giuliani was putting out needed
to be countered."
Craft was even more outraged when a reporter uncovered
how Giuliani, in a corrupt deal that he profited from, forced the New York
Fire Department to buy defective Motorola radios. The deal ultimately
resulted in the needless deaths of 125 firemen in the Twin Towers on 9-11
because they were unable to communicate with headquarters and one another.
"And of course, O'Reilly is an easy target," Craft added. "I really
thought Perspectives provided us with an opportunity to counter the message
of O'Reilly and Giuliani."
The event featured many veteran local
activists, including Jeanie Keltner of Sacramento Soapbox, JoAnn Fuller of
Common Cause, local peace activist Phyllis Campanello, and Bill Camp,
executive secretary of the Central Labor Council of Sacramento County.
However, a large percentage of the demonstrators had never or only rarely
protested before.
"This is a huge outpouring of people," said Camp, who
encouraged many union members to come. "Many of these folks have never
carried signs before. What we have done here is to engage people in the
process of taking back their government from George W. Bush. Christine has
demonstrated real leadership by inspiring people here to come and challenge
the institutional structure."
Although Christine had some signs made up
for the event, most participants brought their own signs and T-shirts. The
T-shirt that I liked best was "3 Reasons for Abortion, George W. Bush, Rudy
Giuliani, Bill O'Reilly," held by Joe Manzella of Fair Oaks.
"That shirt
is in-your-face and tasteless - like something I would do," I told him. "Do
you have any more?"
"No," he told me, since he had just designed the two
shirts for himself, and his son, Joey, who had protested right beside him.
His young daughter, Novalee, attended the demo also.
Joe and his son,
loyal listeners of Christine Craft's show, came up with the idea for the
shirts when they were in a sports bar watching Monday night football.
"Friends told me that it was a terrible idea for a t-shirt, so that
convinced me right away to get the shirts made," he quipped.
Irene Smith,
a volunteer for Common Cause from Loomis, said she was there to protest how
the media is manipulated by a very few corporations who greatly influence
who and what Americans vote for. "I want to make people aware of the bias
and imbalance in the corporate media," she stated.
Irene held a great sign
that summed up her message, " A True Democracy Requires Media Balance Not
Bias."
While the city's business elite entered the convention center,
Phyllis Campanello and me sang them an impromptu song, based on a tune we
have sung many times during anti-war protests against the Bush regime.
Phyllis came up with the great idea of washing a U.S. flag with a washboard
in a tub - to get the blood and oil out of it - as we sang a "touching"
ditty. Here are the verses we sang on Friday, to the tune of "Row Your Boat"
Wash, wash O'Reilly's lies out of the U.S. flag
O'Reilly lied, O'Reilly
lied, many thousands died
Wash, wash Giuliani out of the U.S. flag
Motorola radios, killed New York firemen
Wash, wash the oil out of the
U.S. flag
Blood for oil, oil for blood, war's a bloody drag
Most of the
demonstrators left around noon after Bill Camp gathered people together and
said, "You can leave now if you wish. You succeeded in getting your message
to the Metro Chamber and the media."
Perspectives, according to the
Chamber, "is a trademark event of the Sacramento Metro Chamber and annually
draws a sell-out crowd of more than 3,000." Besides Giuliani, O'Reilly and
Ivins, J.C. Watts, former Oklahoma football hero and Republican member of
Congress, Jehan Sadat, widow of the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and
John Powers, best-selling novelist and inspirational speaker, also spoke.
The crowd was definitely the corporate elite of the Sacramento region,
since they were the only ones that could pay the steep ticket price. Tickets
were $195 for chamber members and $245 for nonmembers.
I applaud Christine
Craft and the hundreds of folks who showed up on the morning of a workday to
protest the Perspectives farce that the Metro Chamber sponsors. I'd like to
see this protest become an annual event - as long as the Metro Chamber
continues to invite war criminals, right wing disinformation specialists and
corrupt corporate politicians to headline Perspectives.
Add Your Comments
Comments
(Hide Comments)
But I guess it would be ok if they invited you. Your views, of course, are so pure and p.c. that they would meet with the instant approval of everyone. But of course, when they invite people who think differently than you, well that' a different story! That simply shouldn't be allowed.
Thanks for your great article, Dan! I just read the Sacramento Bee article about the event--it included a short paragraph about the "dozens" of protesters.
I wish I had been able to be there with you all, but unfortunately I couldn't get off work.
"But I guess it would be ok if they invited you. Your views, of course, are so pure and p.c. that they would meet with the instant approval of everyone. But of course, when they invite people who think differently than you, well that' a different story! That simply shouldn't be allowed."
Leo - are you a Freeper? And are you out of your mind? Do you have a clue what went on at the Sacramento Convention Center? Unlike narrow minded folks on the far right like yourself, I would like a REAL diversity of opinion - maybe even have a headliner with progressive or at least moderate views - at Perspectives. But right wingers like yourself are the REAL PC POLICE. Do you think that only war criminals like Henry Kissinger or lowlife Bushites like Giuliani should be the keynote speakers every time at this event?
Leo - are you a Freeper? And are you out of your mind? Do you have a clue what went on at the Sacramento Convention Center? Unlike narrow minded folks on the far right like yourself, I would like a REAL diversity of opinion - maybe even have a headliner with progressive or at least moderate views - at Perspectives. But right wingers like yourself are the REAL PC POLICE. Do you think that only war criminals like Henry Kissinger or lowlife Bushites like Giuliani should be the keynote speakers every time at this event?
Very refreshing to hear. Isn't it amazing how the movement keeps growing.. (Bush is ahead by 7pts.. my ass he is!)
** Out here in Minneapolis,, where we are also lucky enough to have a radio station that carries Air America and reports on the antics of the Neo-cons out here... there is a growing movement. I participated in a March for Justice.. and several people I talked to it was their very first march.. today as I went door knocking for a State Rep.. the person I paired up with, it was her 1st time also.
** I hope I can get some others here involved in that great song at the next protest.. Sean Hannity is schedualed to visit.
*** I hope some of you can come out to join Peace Fresno.. in Fresno some Friday.. surprise them with your support..
they are getting increased harassment by police and freepers.. see what it is like in the Heart of the Beast.
check out http://www.peacefresno.org
Sacramento .. you make my smile
** Out here in Minneapolis,, where we are also lucky enough to have a radio station that carries Air America and reports on the antics of the Neo-cons out here... there is a growing movement. I participated in a March for Justice.. and several people I talked to it was their very first march.. today as I went door knocking for a State Rep.. the person I paired up with, it was her 1st time also.
** I hope I can get some others here involved in that great song at the next protest.. Sean Hannity is schedualed to visit.
*** I hope some of you can come out to join Peace Fresno.. in Fresno some Friday.. surprise them with your support..
they are getting increased harassment by police and freepers.. see what it is like in the Heart of the Beast.
check out http://www.peacefresno.org
Sacramento .. you make my smile
one additional fact: former apartheid leader F. W. DeKlerk actually spoke at a previous "Perspectives" event, apparently under the pretext that he actually helped facilitate the transition to a multiracial government in South Africa
no word yet on when the Chamber plans to get around to inviting Nelson Mandela
appreciate you taking the time to post this article
--Richard Estes
no word yet on when the Chamber plans to get around to inviting Nelson Mandela
appreciate you taking the time to post this article
--Richard Estes
They have the same free speech rights as you, Dan. No, I am not a "Freeper" from Fresno. Couldn't care less. But I do object when people from the right OR the left insist that people with views they don't like should be barred from speaking. You want to stand outside with a sign, fine. Let's just say "some" on the far Left feel they have a right to keep other opinions from being heard at all.
By what right to you assume that I am a right wing person? I said nothing about my opinions on anything other than the right to free speech, for everyone. Your problem is that you assume, like so many on the far left, that any disagreement with your received opinion is wrong. There are a lot of opinions out there, Dan. And they're not all yours.
Leo
You don't have a clue, do you! You are talking in a totally reactionary vacuum that equates "freedom of speech" with allowing only the right wing to dominate the discourse. And you are objectively a right winger, no matter what you consider yourself.
The left is being denied the "freedom of speech" every minute of our lives by the corporate media, the Bush dictatorship and events like "Perspectives." And yet you want to muzzle those of us who have the courage and intelligence to point out this fact. You are not for free speech - you are objectively, through your inane comments, only for "freedom of speech" by the right wing and its corporate supporters. You are apparently only for the right of Kissinger, Giuliani, O'Reilly to speak - and not for our right to challenge their views.
If we were in early 1930's Germany right now, you would probably be arguing that a protest outside a Nazi led anti-Semitic conference was "political correctness" that imposed upon the "free speech" rights of your dear fascist friends. And you would probably argue that repression of the protesters by the Brown Shirts or the police was justified to protect the "rights" of the Nazis to "free speech." Dude, you're a real piece of work, aren't you! People like you absolutely disgust me!
You don't have a clue, do you! You are talking in a totally reactionary vacuum that equates "freedom of speech" with allowing only the right wing to dominate the discourse. And you are objectively a right winger, no matter what you consider yourself.
The left is being denied the "freedom of speech" every minute of our lives by the corporate media, the Bush dictatorship and events like "Perspectives." And yet you want to muzzle those of us who have the courage and intelligence to point out this fact. You are not for free speech - you are objectively, through your inane comments, only for "freedom of speech" by the right wing and its corporate supporters. You are apparently only for the right of Kissinger, Giuliani, O'Reilly to speak - and not for our right to challenge their views.
If we were in early 1930's Germany right now, you would probably be arguing that a protest outside a Nazi led anti-Semitic conference was "political correctness" that imposed upon the "free speech" rights of your dear fascist friends. And you would probably argue that repression of the protesters by the Brown Shirts or the police was justified to protect the "rights" of the Nazis to "free speech." Dude, you're a real piece of work, aren't you! People like you absolutely disgust me!
FORCED??? DEFECTIVE EQUIPMENT?? A "REPORTER" ??? UNCOVERED ????? Christine(whoever she is) needs to enroll in a class to learn how not to be so GULLIBLE ! ! ! She and yourself (whoever you are ) must think everyone else is as green!!
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