The Rick Perry protest was great

[Imalittleteapot]

...about 400-500 people --- a big crowd of Progressives for Fort Worth. Originally planned to protest Perry's mistreatment of Texas children, the crowd covered many issues like gay marriage, separation of church and state, nursing homes and healthcare. The mixed crowd of young and old, gay and straight, chanted peacefully and loudly. There were no incidents.

We were told that we had to stay on the east side of the street in the hot Texas sun. I think Cavalry Cathedral Academy asked the police to keep the protesters off of their side of the street to ensure that their gigantic foam Ten Commandments and Liberty Bell display was visible to the press. There was plenty of shade on the other side of the street. After an hour or so in the sun, protesters began to move to the shade.

The Fort Worth Police allowed us to cross to the shady side as long as we stayed behind the orange cones. They were very nice! I saw one policeman on foot and only three squad cars.

Great day in Fort Worth.

[johncoby2]

1. You guys are to nice.

400 people is a HUGE protest. You could have filled the event with anti-perry people!

Pictures? Did anyone go inside? Press coverage?

[Imalittleteapot]

3. WFAA 8 was there. News is on now...nothing yet.

Don't know if anyone got inside besides the press. The lone FWPD policeman was stationed at the entry gate with church officials.

Besides 8, there was a Spanish station present also.

[acmejack]

2. Thanx for the update!

Another embarrassing Texas politician, doesn't do much for A&M's reputation either...

[PDittie]

4. Great job

Post some media accounts when you see them.

[elehhhhna]

5. Foam Bible & Liberty Bell. I'm thinking just ONE bottle-rocket and

FLAMES O" HELL A RAMA!

[ChickMagic]

24. Heh

I like the way you think! :rofl:
Considering that I used to pack my barbie dolls full of black cats and blow them up (they blowed up real good too), I would have loved to see just one bottle rocket launched right in the middle of that piece of shit.

[DesEtoiles]

6. thanks - all of you who protested! We needed to do it.

So glad it was peaceful. Well done.

[sonias]

7. Thanks for the update Imalittleteapot

And way to go Tarrant County Dems, Progressives for Fort Worth and anyone else out there standing up to that pandering perry bot.

Woo hoo!!

Sonia

[Gothmog]

8. That is a great turnout. Congrats

That is a a great turnout. Congratulations. I hope that there will be some media coverage of this protest.

[CoolOnion]

9. Great news that so many people showed up!

Thanks for the report! :)

[TexasThoughtCriminal]

10. Pictures!!

All photos courtesy of John Evans.

[DesEtoiles]

11. This is what democracy looks like!

[sonias]

12. I love it!

Great pics Thought Criminal and John Evans. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Is that our John Coby with the
Perry Priorities sign?
Pray for the Cameras
Prey on Texans

Excellent!

Sonia

[johncoby2]

13. Nope. Not me, but it was a GREAT sign!

400 people showed up. Can you imagine if they would all organize their precincts come Nov 2006?

[TexasThoughtCriminal]

15. 'Twas me.

With an adaptation of a slogan originally inspired by johncoby2 (thank you!). The thoughts are mine and mine alone and do not represent the thoughts of DU, my ISP, the Internets, Anita Perry, or any other DUer.

[crispini]

19. Dude,

you rock! :yourock: !! I especially like the "F"

[sonias]

20. Thought Criminal, your thoughts do represent us

You definitely speak for me with your sign. You even got the consumer protection in the Texas Report Card side of the sign. Great minds think alike. I think the Texas DUer's probably don't mind at all calling you our representative out at that rally.

Thanks to you for standing up for all of us!

:yourock:

Sonia

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

22. Great sign! Loved it!

All you Texas Du'ers did us proud!

[Pacifist Patriot]

17. Isn't that a fabulous sign?

[derby378]

14. Here's some more pics from the protest

I never set foot inside the church - believe me, it was tempting, especially considering the arrogant comments Perry was making during his appearance.



Tarrant County Democratic Women on patrol and on the job - good on ya!



Good sign. There were lots of good signs out there, but...



To me, this one takes the cake. A Democratic organizer was trying to talk her out of being so militant about pro-gay protests and how we shouldn't frame the upcoming gubernatorial race in 2006 on gay rights, but considering what her sign said, there's no way in Hell she'll tone down her message.

Sold some more Randi Rhodes stickers out there and gave away a couple to those chosen few who braved the heat until the bitter end. Great protest!

The only DUer I've seen on camera so far has been yours truly on Univision. I'm keeping my eyes open, though.

[sonias]

21. Congrats to your screen time on Univision derby378!

And thanks for standing out there for us.

:yourock:

Sonia

[yellowdogintexas]

28. Good photos, Derby...

It was a great day, even though it was HOT.
Great crowd.

The evening news showed a good pan of the crowd at its peak size, too.

[derby378]

16. We're Greatest Page material now

Donkey ride, donkey ride
Perry needs a donkey ride
Donkey, donkey, donkey ride
Up the pole our flag must go
John, rise it up from down below

[Pacifist Patriot]

18. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

To all the protestors who went out for this. Wish I could have been close enough to join you.

[Catma]

23. Anyone catch Perry's comments on the news?

it was Channel 5. Love this quote
"Texans have made a decision about marriage and if there is some other state that has a more lenient view than Texas then maybe that's a better place for them to live," Perry said.

Link to Story: http://www.nbc5i.com/news/4572168/detail.html

Good to know this type of rhetoric has made it at least as high as the governor's office

[derby378]

25. Replace the word "marriage" with "Negroes"...

...and you've got a quotable gem of tolerance there!

[TexasThoughtCriminal]

26. Texans have NOT made their decision!!

Has he forgotten there's an election to be held? Like his predecessor, he must think the democratic process is optional. :wtf:

[Imalittleteapot]

27. My protest companions said that my estimate of 400-500 was exagerated.

They claim maybe 300 - 400. Did anyone get an actual head count? :shrug:

[yellowdogintexas]

29. Tarrant Co Party Chair's estimate was about 250.

we were loud, and strung out on the road like we were it was hard to tell.

Loved those ladies that kept the water and gatorade supplies going.

[Doohickie]

30. Thanks for doing your part!

I couldn't make it to the rally, but my wife has been writing letters to several state officials (as well as out local school board) regarding improvements to be made in education and education financing. On the statewide front, only Carol Keeton-Strayhorn has responded to our letters with several letters of her own. Strayhorn has clearly been fustrated with Perry for some time. I know she is Republican, but for a Repub she sure seems to lean left on many issues, school financing among them.

On the local front, we've managed to preserve Advance Placement classes, chase a principal who was clearly not getting the job done, have shifted to making sure the superintendent knows our concerns, rallied several of the school board members to our view (which resulted in a rating of the superintendent of "not meeting expected performance"). The superintendent allegedly said he doesn't like my wife because she's too persistent, too smart and writes too well. High praise indeed coming from your adversary! We are very hopeful that we can restore what was, until recently, a very fine school district.

My wife recently finished her degree in history and education and will be teaching in the fall. Several of the professionals at our school district and some of the school board members are expecting (hoping) that she will eventually help set policy in Austin.