Peace House a center of dissent in Crawford

[deadparrot]

When Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrive at President Bush's isolated ranch Thursday, they'll face an unwelcome greeting: scores of peace protesters who have joined a vigil by the mother of a soldier who died in
Iraq.

Local authorities and activists also are gearing up for a possible confrontation Friday. The group's protest site sits beside a two-lane country road between Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch and the Broken Spoke Ranch, where his top campaign fundraisers are invited to a barbecue with the president.

The base for the protesters - these and others over the past three years - is a modest two-bedroom bungalow near the center of town with the grand name of the Crawford Peace House. Since 2002, it has served as refuge, kitchen, laundry, flophouse and launchpad for thousands of protesters in this town of 705 residents.

Operating on a shoestring, the protest center has been an annoyance for the White House and an embarrassment to some town residents. But it often has succeeded in its goal of getting publicity for a range of causes and groups at odds with the administration.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/peacehouseacenterofdissentincrawford

[Lochloosa]

1. Let's vote it up......n/t

[faithnotgreed]

2. much love to the crawford peace house

[KyndCulture]

3. I got a problem with this part.

Joe Cuff, who sells gifts and Bush souvenirs at a Crawford shop called Main Street Place, says protesters "should voice their opinion and go home" instead of holding a rally every time Bush is around. "It's just becoming a nuisance," he says. "All they want to do is see the press."

He's right. And the group's impact is especially visible now, with media attention focused on Cindy Sheehan of Vacaville, Calif., who has vowed not to leave until she gets to meet with Bush. Her son, Spc. Casey Sheehan, 24, of the Army's 1st Battalion, was killed in Iraq on April 4, 2004


Way to be completely bias there USA Today.

[Buns_of_Fire]

5. Well, Joe, if it's becoming a nuisance

why not just run the source of the nuisance out of town? After all, I seriously doubt there are lines outside Main Street Place to buy a gen-u-wine autographed G.W. Bunnypants codpiece.

[Bumblebee]

4. And I have a problem with this one:

scores of peace protesters who have joined a vigil by the mother of a soldier who died in

Scores? the latest I read says it's a couple of hundreds by now. Does that still qualify as "scores"?

[ahem]

7. Yep.

A score is a group of twenty, so a couple hundred would qualify as "scores."

Wish I was one of them! :hippie:

[expatriot]

6. "All they want to do is see the press." STATING THE OBVIOUS, JOE!

DUH! He says it like it is a unique observation or something. Isn't that the POINT of protest? If you and a few friends hold up anti-Bush signs and yell anti-Bush chants in your basement, it ain't a protest.


Joe Cuff, who sells gifts and Bush souvenirs at a Crawford shop called Main Street Place, says protesters "should voice their opinion and go home" instead of holding a rally every time Bush is around. "It's just becoming a nuisance," he says. "All they want to do is see the press."

[GardeningGal]

8. too bad he's not smart enough to sell anti Bush stuff

On second thought, good thing because I wouldn't want him to make any money off the people who come because of the press.

[xiamiam]

9. official count at crawford today 705 not counting press

according to will pitt in truthout...not bad given that yesterday there was about one hundred and the day before 50...and the day before less than that...i hope a million people get to crawford before this is over...seems to me that bush would want to avoid that and talk with her...