Ring of steel as Bush sworn in

[rodeodance]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1390087,00.html

Ring of steel as Bush sworn in

Julian Borger in Washington
Friday January 14, 2005
The Guardian

A few square miles of central Washington will be transformed into an armed camp next week as the biggest security operation in the city's history is mounted for President Bush's inauguration.
When Mr Bush and his vice-president, Dick Cheney, are sworn in for the second time on the steps of the Capitol building at midday on Thursday, the US government will be at its most vulnerable. Just about every member of the executive, Congress and the supreme court will be in the same place.

To protect them, 6,000 police officers, 2,500 soldiers and hundreds of secret service officers will flood the area around Capitol Hill and Pennsylvania Avenue, the route of the inaugural parade, scanning the expected 750,000-strong crowd of supporters and protesters.

Air traffic into the city will be restricted, replaced by fighter jets and Black Hawk helicopters.

The outgoing homeland security secretary, Tom Ridge, overseeing the last grand event of his career, promised it would be the most secure ceremony in history. .......

[RaleighNCDUer]

1. "I've got a bad feeling about this..." n/t

[mslux]

2. Is that a good bad feeling, a bad good feeling,

or a bad, bad feeling?

[EC]

3. you're not the only one...n/t

[rockedthevoteinMA]

5. I do too

:scared:

[NEOBuckeye]

24. As bad as you may feel, just know that someone feels much, much worse

How well do you suppose that Bush sleeps at night? Betcha he's been having lots of NASTY nightmares. I can't imagine why.

[RaleighNCDUer]

28. Oh, I hope so...

[Redstone]

57. No, bush isn't having nightmares

He doesn't give a rat's ass about any of this because he has no soul.

Redstone

[SammyWinstonJack]

67. If he is, and I doubt that, he deserves every last one.

:mad:

[Montanan]

73. You're assuming he has a conscience n/t

[AndyTiedye]

84. Maybe Boosh** Has Nightmares About This Place:

The UN Prison at the Peace Palace, the Hague, Netherlands
pResidential Pardons not accepted.

[Virginian]

4. And DC gets to foot the bill for the extra police.

All leave has been canceled for the inauguration.

The Bush people want the citizens of the District of Columbia to foot the bill for the extra police security.

DC voted 90% for Kerry, so Shrub wants to punish them for that? DC has no Senators nor voting congressional representatives. So Shrub wants to take advantage of that and screw the District. It is so like him to screw the little guy for his own amusement.

[Occulus]

10. I hope DC makes his inauguration

the single most horrifying and generally bad experience of this man's life. I sincerely hope this day haunts George W. to his grave and beyond.

[genieroze]

82. I sincerely hope this day haunts George W. to his grave and beyond.

I know it's gonna haunt me. lol

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

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[karlrschneider]

13. My god, that was 24 years ago?????

EEEEEEEkkk

[diamond14]

23. Yes...and killed by his own military, during a war-celebration parade....

it was nixon's Secretary of State, kissinger, that set it up....


just recent watched it here on the THREE PART SERIES aired on BBC - TV....the story of bush* ILLUSIONS on Al Queda....includes the part about kissinger and the assassination of the Egyptian President, sadat...(each part is about 1 hour - but well worth your time to learn about history, and how we got to Iraq and bush*)....
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/video1037.htm

bush* is so paranoid that he wears a BULLET-PROOF VEST while visiting our troops on Military Bases....

[TankLV]

33. he wears a bullet proof vest to crap in the WH!

I bet he's got "underwear marks" from wearing it all the time!

Ha!
Ha!

[malmapus]

36. LOL

"he wears a bullet proof vest to crap in the WH!"

Thank you, got a nice chuckle when I saw that =D

[justjones]

30. Just watched footage of that in "The Power of Nightmares"......

...what a coincidence you bring this up, although I'm sure nothing similar could happen here in America because Bush is keeping us all safe from such threats. :eyes:

Hail to the Theif!

[olddad56]

7. What would you expect for the most hated man on the planet?

[Erika]

8. Bush has made enemies inside/outside

of this country. World wide, few trust him or his motives.

He has allowed his supporters to freely give off the impression that any American who disagrees with him are "insurgents" and "traitors".

Only a minority of the world's population feel he is a good man with good goals. Reap what you sow.

[diamond14]

20. and bush* has really abused OUR military, OUR police and the

Secret Service....no wonder that bush* wears a bullet-proof vest even while visiting OUR troops on Military bases.....


Wonder how many returned-from-Iraq American Soldiers are HOPPING MAD? How many parents-of-DEAD-soldiers feel duped by bush*?

[Jax]

9. Last "InauguraSham" I found DU

Saw the banner right out front: democraticunderground.com

Amid the rain and raw eggs.

Thanks again to you all of you who were out there carrying THE banner that crappy day.

Home found.

The life raft...DU.

Jax

[tavalon]

47. BTW

I read an article recently (MSM crap of course) that referenced the first inauguration and stated that "an egg" was thrown at the limo. One egg? I guess if they say it enough times, it will be true, eh?

[otohara]

11. How Sad Really

that the president of this country has to have so much security

[NEOBuckeye]

25. It does say much about the health of this country, no? n/t

[Dulcinea]

61. It says even more about Boy George.

Spineless, cowardly, no-talent chump, a grown man whose parents have wiped his ass for him all his life. Contemptible.

[wtmusic]

35. No kidding

and that he's so damn afraid to appear in public, go to Iraq, etc.

What a wuss. :eyes:

[Art_from_Ark]

58. Especially considering that was "chosen by God"

You'd think that if "God" chose someone for an important mission, that person could be reasonably sure of surviving and wouldn't need thousands upon thousands of police/paratroopers/militiamen/soldiers/SWAT team members/snipers/Secret Service/FBI/CIA to constantly be protecting him from the bogeyman
:crazy:

[wtmusic]

59. And even if it is a risk

That risk goes along with being CIC. He is a wussy "leading" a nation of wussies. Very brave at the launch button of a cruise missile or 22,000 feet in the air.

Don't get me started...:grr:

[stevedeshazer]

12. Freeper quoted in article...scroll down...

Kristinn Taylor, the head of the Washington branch of a conservative group Free Republic, disagreed with the ban, for the left and the right: "If we're allowed to hold our American flags, then they can hold their hammer and sickle flags or whatever."
========================================================================
Please.

[karlrschneider]

14. Uh huh, right.

:eyes:

[grasswire]

15. arghhhhhhhhhh!

What a freak that man is. Almost as bad as freeper Doug From Upland. (Better known as Doug FU)

[Massachusetts]

55. Kristinn GO POWDER YOUR NOSE!

B%*$tch!

Sorry DUers, that kind of ignorance really pisses me off.:grr:

[NV Whino]

16. At the rate our helicopters fail...

he might just get done in by a falling whirly bird.

[SoCalDem]

43. Get that man an Osprey....quick..n/t

:)

[oneold1-4u]

17. Invisible president

Surely he will never again be seen in the general public for the next 4 years. Like OBL we will see pics and hear a few words and the WH will be his cave. What he has done to this office, his family, the vice president and the republican party is nearly as bad as 9/11 and Iraq. What he has done to this nation is even worse and unforgivable. It will be very sad for all because there is no plan for any direction of the future.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

26. Oh, we'll see him all right --

Remember the "Our Leader" billboards Sinclair has been putting up? I'd expect more of the same, plus his picture in every classroom and public building across the land. Let's face it, when it comes to governing the Bushies prefer the Stalin model vs. the traditional American one.

Maybe that's why Saddam had to go . . . Bush didn't like the competition.

[SammyWinstonJack]

68. Fine by me.

Hearing him speak and seeing his disgusting smirking chimp face is something I go out of my way to avoid always.

[NYC]

18. Armed camp.

"A few square miles of central Washington will be transformed into an armed camp next week as the biggest security operation in the city's history is mounted for President Bush's inauguration."

Because he fears the American people.

[RaleighNCDUer]

19. I wonder how much of the added on security will wind up

being permanent.

[MiniMe]

22. Please don't let the security be permanent.......

I work 4 blocks from the White House. Its bad enough that we have to watch them block traffic every time he goes to Andrews to board AF1 with his 20 or so police officer escort plus secret service SUV's, etc. I do get some pleasure from flipping him off every time he passes by.

[oldtime dfl_er]

27. Thank heaven for small pleasures, huh!

welcome to DU!



www.cafepress.com/showtheworld

[MiniMe]

29. I must admit.......

..it does make me feel a bit better. God, I hate that man.

Thanks for the welcome, I've been lurking for a while.

[riverwalker]

21. Jimmy Carter walked a mile and half

during his inaugural parade. He WALKED a mile and a half, among his fellow citizens.
Dubya can't walk from his armoured vehicle to his bullet proof shielded viewing stand with 6000 snipers and city under seige. He is so beloved among his people.:evilfrown:

[Erika]

32. As I said

he reaps what he sows. Violence is his game. Those that liveth by the sword, dieth by the sword.

[Nihil]

50. There you go again ...

... raising people's hopes ...

:evilgrin:

PS: Morning Agent Mike :hi:

[TankLV]

34. Clinton and Hillary did it too, if I'm remembering correctly.

I remember watching it home with my parents.

After the nightmare years of the raygun-boosh years, it was such a wonderful feeling of pride and HOPE for the future - that democracy and the direction of our country was restored to the right track.

It all seems sooooooo long ago.

Was it all a dream?

[WhiteTara]

38. my favorite part was when they stood

in the receiving line for several hours shaking hands of the ordinary people. I remember just sitting there watching and crying that they were so humble and I was so happy. Now here we are in a state of siege with a dictator who should be standing in the Hague for his war crimes. When do the impeachment proceedings begin?

[chicagojoe]

45. It's traditional for a new President to make that walk,

but Bush is too much of a pussy to do it. Also, he's a target.
Sooner or later, someone is going to make an attempt on his life.
Even though he's hated, it's a bad day when someone tries to take out a President. Sort of like the day when Bush's father was involved in murdering JFK.

[Dulcinea]

62. I doubt it.

Then we'd be stuck with Cheney....wait, he's the REAL president after all!

But I agree that Boy George is terrified to take that walk.

[llmart]

53. I remember that too!

It was a beautiful feeling when Clinton took office. There was so much hope and optimism. I remember Maya Angelou's beautiful poem. How upbeat the country felt about the new era and it was a good 8 years, too.

Now all we have is the "doom and gloom" crowd and their fearmongering on a daily basis. And war, war, war and no jobs and a United States that isn't united and an image around the world that has been severely tarnished by this bastard and his cohorts.

[Catchawave]

83. I remember Jimmy's walk....

...very inspiring.

[jdots]

31. Ya dis is da fatherland fatherland fatherland.

The neoconstipated jerk offs love attention when it's negitive, it gives them a power rush like torturing people or creating more poverty and hunger.I hope Cheney wears his dictator jammys and you know Condi will be looking fine as wine gazing down at the peons.
Be carefull DUers who attend this poop du jour we need you alive and healthy. Bring those digi cameras and if it looks like trouble get out of there fast.

[Erika]

37. Yes, please have it on camera

for everyone's protection.

[Name removed]

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[SoCalDem]

42. Boy howdy.. what a "beloved figure" is he...n/t

:)

[leftchick]

46. The Are Using Grenade Launchers!

U.S. Army Sgt Jeremy McClellan of Borger, Texas, brandishes his M4 firearm equipped with a M203 grenade launcher during a show of the security in place for the Presidential Inauguration, in Washington, January 11, 2005. Washington is preparing for its first presidential inauguration since the September 11, 2001 attacks and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said security at the January 20 event will be unprecedented. REUTERS

[Nihil]

49. Cool! Even a Texan for the photo-op warning to protesters!

Now the Praetorian Guard get to "snipe" with grenade launchers?!

[saigon68]

51. The new face of Amerika above

The face of Amerika CA: 2020

[Massachusetts]

56. What percentage of OUR country

can imagine how close to this scene we are? The TRUE Patriots have figured it out already!

[Megahurtz]

66. Grenade launchers???????

:wtf:for??????? Good God!!!:scared:

[leftchick]

70. must be for those peace protestors...

they are so violent and all. :eyes:

[VegasWolf]

77. Beats pepper spray for dispersing the insurgents. n/t

[dmkinsey]

78. I think the grenade launcher will also

propel the always handy tear gas canister

[pinniped]

52. They will probably use an idiot double.

F- them.

[shayes51]

54. Why are we doing this!!!?????

This is his second term--sadly. Why do we spend millions of dollars to inaugurate someone who is already there? Democrat or Republican? Shrub could have started a sensible tradition by foregoing this fanfare for the second time. Certainly with the lack of armor for the soldiers, the tsunami tragedy, etc., this is obscene! I will drape my television in black and not watch a minute of it.

[Dulcinea]

63. So Boy George can be the center of attention.

Narcissistic schmuck.

[SammyWinstonJack]

69. bu$h** is on an ego trip from Hell!

That's why.

[egoprofit]

79. that and hes a hated man

hes a modern hitler

[Desertrose]

60. just make half of 'em stay away....

that way if the first half gets blown up or something nasty...there will be some left.

...(kidding)....but it doesn't make sense to make the US so vulnerable just to have a big stupid self-aggrandizing party for the rich politicans. Not that I think any of them are doing such a bangup job for the people there in DC anyway.

[dhinojosa]

64. So, the terrorists have won....

If we are winning the war on terror, why all the armament and weapons? This inaugural party has more armor than the troops actually doing the fighting. Now we show the world that we are so scared that we can't hold a president engagement, which shouldn't happen at time of war, without arming ourselves to the teeth out of fear that Al Qaeda will strike again. Yes, the same Al Qaeda we are doing absolutely nothing about.

Bush sucks!

[Montanan]

74. Yes, Bush and the Terrorists win - we lose. n/t

[Stuckinthebush]

65. Are you kidding me?

The last thing the terrorist want to do is harm Bush!

He is the best thing that happened to them in years. What a great recruiting tool he is! They will probably have their own inauguration parties.

Hell, Bush could probably waltz into Bin Laden's cave and he wouldn't have to worry about anything.

They love this guy!

[yinkaafrica]

71. Maybe bush plans to unleash shock and awe on the American people!

Live on television. "There shall be total compliance
under the new regime!"

[GarySeven]

72. What does it say about the greatest democracy in history ...

when it's government has to be shielded and isolated from contact with the people?

Of course, our nation has a big target painted on it from terrorists, some of whom would hate us no matter what for our military, economic and cultural influence; others who have genuine grievances over our gross sublimination of their national interests. The former is inevitable, but the latter is preventable - and should be, unless the definition of "greatness" is changed.

But the truth about this inauguration is that although it is a tempting target for such people, it probably isn't.

Because some Americans have said they will turn their backs on Bush, the security is beefed up. Because some Americans disagree with his policies, security is beefed up. Because most Americans disapprove of him, security is beefed up. Because this administration is so afraid of submitting itself to a free election that it must load the dice in its favor, security is beefed up.

Terrorists, then, have little to do with all this security. After all, why should they even attack? They know they have already won if they have turned the world's greatest democracy into a police state; to abandon its credo to a state of fear from made-up threats.

The presidential inauguaration will take place on a world stage. And on that stage the nation that once was the arsenal of freedom will be shown to be a paranoid parody of former greatness - armed to the teeth and dangerous because of its fear.

[Montanan]

75. Well said! n/t

[TahitiNut]

76. The even bigger SHAM ...

... is that our nation is so reliant on these people. We're NOT! The idea that we're so fragile that the death of even dozens of elected officials would shake the foundations of our nation is pure self-serving bullshit from the cult of professional politicians. The only degree to which there's any truth in this is solely based on the behavior of people who act as though it's true. Lincoln was assassinated, during a war, and we went on. FDR died, during a war, and we went on. JFK was assassinated and, while it was painful, we went on. Nixon resigned and we went on.

IMHO, these people should be impeached and removed with far greater frequency. The Constitution creates a government that's virtually impervious to such changes - as long as we understand it.

It's Fascist Kabuki on so many levels it's impossible to count.

[SmokingJacket]

80. Good point!

We don't need them; they need us, for cannon fodder and revenue.

They're totally replaceable.

[genieroze]

81. Why would such a beloved Christian President need so much

security. I thought he had a mandate with the people. (sarcasm)

[superconnected]

85. good one :)