As previously stated, this weekend I’ve been visiting my parents who live just west of Waco, quite near the Bush ranch (aka the Western White House). After seeing all the hubbub on the news and on this board, I decided to see this whole Camp Casey spectacle for myself. I went with my parents on a Sunday drive to check out this event. Quick Impressions: 1. It was TINY. There couldn’t have been more than 25-30 protestors out there. There were probably 10-15 pro-Bush supporters at the same site. It shocks me how big the media makes this thing out to be, when in all actuality it’s TINY. Makes you wonder about the media’s impact on the masses… 2. Despite the protestors’ small size, they required a large police presence. I counted four police or sheriff vehicles out there – hardly a good use of police resources in my opinion, but necessary considering the tension and angriness of those present. 3. The drive to the camp was very, very pro-Bush. I saw (and photographed) probably 5-6 pro-Bush signs in yards, and zero anti-war signs. Keep in mind that the area around his ranch is very sparsely populated, so 5-6 signs was a lot considering how non-dense the area is. 4. I’m not one to judge people based on looks alone, but the protestors looked very “alternative” in nature. Long hair, dreadlocks, men with braided hair, rainbow flags, etc were the norm rather than the exception. I have nothing against these people, but I question how close to the US military these people are. Seemed more like professional protestors to me rather than family members. Now for the pictures. Welcome to Crawford - George and Laura welcoming all Downtown Crawford - pro-Bush supporters wave the flag, show signs supporting the troops "Cindy get along home" banner enroute from Crawford to the ranch A house along the road to the camp supports the troops, as well as their son who risks his life each day as a policeman A former POW displays the flag and a sign that support the troops and efforts in Iraq A man with braided hair and a fake police vest stands in road, blocking traffic along "Camp Casey blvd" Here it is, fans, the entire Camp Casey. Pretty underwhelming The GLBT community supports Cindy Rasta protestor and a view of the tents Blue Bus on grounds, rainbow peace sign Entrance to Bush ranch http://img349.imageshack.us/my.php?image=entrancetobushranch9bi.jpg Mattlage property entrance. He was the one who fired his shotgun
I seem to recall there were as many as 6 or 700 at one point. There may be as few as 25 living there, but the Camp Casey movement is considerably larger than what you saw today by all accounts. Is it your honest assessment that the size of the police presence is due to the angriness of the Camp Casey people rather than the guy that fired the shotgun (in preparation for "dove season") or the guy that mowed down the memorial to fallen troops? That makes sense. West Texas is a Republican stronghold. I think you are one to judge people based on looks alone. I know for a fact that your brother is as he's done so repeatedly on the board. And simply questioning their credentials as sincere opposition versus "professional protestors" based on looks alone is doing exactly that. Not to mention what you hoped to accomplish by letting us know the GLBT community had registerd their support.
nice shots- certainly seems like the size of the crowd is disproportionate to the amount of ink it's generated. didn't see frank rich there- perhaps it's too hot for him?
Well all I can judge by is what I saw today. I would have expected a swell of people today since it's the weekend and people usually have the weekend off. I think you've been duped by the left-leaning media when they told you that there were 600-700 people. I saw MUCH fewer. Absolutely that is my honest assessment. 4 police cars on the site and cops directing traffic and monitoring the situation. Shooting a gun on someone's private property is fully within the law and not an issue. People around here know how to handle a weapon and do not pose a risk. It's the protestors who don't know anything about guns and their safety that's the problem. I can only imagine the overreaction that must have taken place when he fired his gun. Crawford is not in West Texas. It's in Central Texas, near Waco. Well since there were only a handful of protestors, the GLBT flag was one of the only things I COULD get a picture of.
Thanks for the pictures. Interesting stuff. Crawford seems like such an insignificant place, and for the past week it's been the center of the universe. I could have passed on the commentary though. I would imagine the police were there because of the potential for conflict between angry protestors with signs and angry locals with guns. That being said, it would still be a fair fight - send the cops home, and let the GLBT whoop some redneck ass.
My complaint about media in general is they give too much ink to just about everything. They give too much ink to Swiftboat Veterans and they give too much ink to Camp Casey. As Texxx said, the media too often drives the story themselves by the amount of coverage they give to a story thereby perpetuating the story itself. The media is generally lazy and they'd rather run with the 'same ol story' than do work to investigate new stories. That's how we had "The Summer of Sharks" when later we learned that shark attack reports were actually down that year.
Bigtexxx, FYI, Camp Casey is on a temporary recess - Cindy Sheehan is tending her ailing mother this weekend. Still nice pics, thx for for your contribution to the D&D.
Bigtexx, is perhaps a dishonest man. Perhaps he thinks this is patriotic. At best he is not thorough and only willing to invest a few minutes of his time. Sort of like "supporting" the war while being a chickenhawk. Reminds me of Dubya,always the conundrum-- lying or just lazy and dumb. He filmed the camp from a bs angle. Even the part he filmed was about 6 tiimes the size of what he shot. I met clean cut ex Da's from HOuston, professionals etc. there. Must have been too much congnitive dissonance for Bigtexx. Perhaps he did not know about the second camp as he quickly shot a few pictures out his car. He did not go to the second camp which is a couple of miles away and where most of the people probably were,given what I saw yersterday. Joan Baez or other luminaries might have been there and there could have been hundreds there as there was last night. This was also where the big tent was and where the real food was at.. "Camp Two" is on land recently lent by a property owner ,so people don't have to all camp out on the side of the road or can have large gatherings without blcoking the roads. It was where Steve Earle was at last night. He did not show yet a third camp at the "Peace House" at which others are staying and camping. Shame on you Bigtexx.
Rasta protestor and a view of the tents _______________ FYI ~ bigtexxx not all black people are rastafarian.
God forbid texxx gets out of his car and actually talk to some of these people. Sort of like his hero.
Don't you need at least two people to justify using the plural form of supporter? I agree that bigtexxx has his slant on his coverage. But then again, I suspect a lot of the media outlets have also decided how they are going to "promote" this story and undoubtedly they have their own slants as well. Thanks for the pictures, I enjoyed them.
Thanks for the heads up. He had dreads and African accessories in his stuff which I saw as I drove by. Swing and a miss for you, Cheetah.
I saw the Peace House, and the amount of activity outside wasn't worth any pictures. Not a lot going on. As to the other camps you mentioned might exist, well, if they were on private property, then I'm not going to trespass on another man's property to get views for the bbs. It was my understanding that this was the main camp and there wasn't any evidence of anything else on the roads (no signs, posters, nothing...) out there that I didn't snap pictures of.
This blue bus was worth a picture, but not the main 'peace house' area where the majority of the protest was being held? BT you failed to reach the main area of the camp ~ the protest was no longer being held on the side of the road. All you have are pictures of the colossal line of peace supporters waiting their turn to enter the massive assemble at Peace Camp Casey ~ your fear of Rastafarians precluded you from traveling any farther into your personal Heart of Darkness. __________ Once again ~ KC goes yard.
Actually some folks have moved. Some have not. On Saturday there were a lot of folks who were there for the day and many congregated at the second camp. . I assume this happend on Sunday. The second camp on the acre of land is further on the road. Bigtexx did not go far enough. It is past where he showed the entrance to the Bush Ranch. I think overall his "reporting" at best is very biased. Maybe too much Fox News has done him in as one poster mentioned. Of course the question is why is one woman and really not that many Gold Star family members are so threatening for Bush? As many have noted he is probably the first president in a war not to go to one funeral of a dead service member. Even Reagan and Carter who weren't war presidents went to funerals of sevice members killed. It is interesting to see his arrogance on display and leading to a pr disaster for him. Maybe Karl Rove can't handle him on this or his own potential legal problems are clouding Karl's judegment. I have seen reports that Bush is getting quite testy as his popularity slides. Bigtexx might well have been there when everyone was at the seoond camp listening to Joan Baez. ******** t r u t h o u t | One Mother's Stand By Scott Galindez Sunday 21 August 2005 9:25 PM Earlier today Shawn Mullins rocked the camp with Dylan's "Masters of War" and tonight Joan Baez brought the camp to tears and filled everyone with hope. We heard again from Cindy - her mom is doing much better and she is making arrangements to return. Hundreds were here in 99 degree heat on this Sunday. The camp continues to grow. Each day something happens that makes me wonder how it can be topped. Joan Baez is going be tough to top but I have a feeling it won't be long before a new highlight will emerge only to be replaced by another. http://www.truthout.org/cindy.shtml
Maybe there's your answer-- maybe war-time presidents don't do these things. Did Kennedy? Did LBJ? Did Nixon? Did Bush41?
