From the open publishing newswire: This is as good a picture as any I've seen to illustrate what Bush and his supporters think of your 1st Amendment right to free speech. Use it or lose it... An unidentified supporter of President Bush tries to silence protester Kendra Lloyd-Knox (right) outside Southridge High School in Beaverton. Photo was taken during Bush's visit to Oregon on Friday

From the open publishing newswire: I was able to attend the gatherings outside of both the Kerry campaign stop on the Waterfront, and the Bush visit to the Beaverton high school location. My main focus was gathering signatures to place Nader on the November ballot. Here are a few of my impressions and observations, as well as a look at some of the claims that the Democrats are making about the Nader campaign.

After a short pedal down to the Portland Waterfront, I arrived at the Salmon Street Fountain shortly after 10 AM. Crowds of people were streaming everywhere, and I proceeded to solicit signatures for a petition to place Ralph Nader on the Oregon ballot. I had some success with the people that were gathered in that area, but found myself mostly in conversations with people rather than collecting signatures.

From the open publishing newswire: I just got home from the protest at the high school. I was hit in the face by a Bush supporter and am wanting to know if anyone saw this or has photos. The police say they have people who say I hit her and that she did nothing; I never touched her. So they are pointing fingers at me. Not one officer would tell me how to get information about this woman or my rihts as her victim. So if any one can help me with this problem, I would be grateful. [ Help ]

related: [ GDC requsting information regarding arrests | bush/kerry Aug. 13: full coverage ]

From the open publishing newswire: Before showing up on the scene, I saw a local TV broadcast with a claim that the line to get in to see Bush goes "on and on and on and on" though the TV showed a few dozen people. Shortly afterwards I was there in person and the line was gone. Beaverton's Southridge High holds hundreds, not thousands of people.

Even with short notice in this moderate to conservative neighborhood, protests far overshadowed support on the streets. And, as usual, the local media chose camera angles with the few supporters in the foreground, protesters in the background, leaving the impression that the entire crowd was supporting Bush. [ Read More ]

related articles: [ jack booted thugs in Beaverton | Thanks to Medical Marijuana Protesters | What Gives With Clueless KBOO Commentators?? ]
photos: [ 1 | 2 ]

Full coverage: [ bush/kerry Aug. 13 ]

From the open publishing newswire: Yes, I got there at 10AM and it was very crowded and very canned, and very boring except the part where the cops protect the bushites free speech...that was bad JuJU nausating! You were not allowed to carry your own sign into the area. You had to have Kerry campaign official badges, pins, bumper stickers etc, which you mostly had to buy. Except they did hand out these stickers that had the "official" slogan and pictures. Probably between 25,000 and 35,000 people when I left and they were still comin'. [ Read More ]

kerry portland event
Coming into work today saw that there's a huge scene at the Kerry rally at the end of Hawthorne bridge. People started filing in and I'd say the venue will fill up easily... Already the line of people looking from outside the edge goes all the way around and 1/3 of the way down the south side of the hawthorne bridge (or is that the line to get in?), blocking the right lane and on-ramp. There's a cluster of media trucks at the northwest end of the bridge and the bomb squad is at 2nd and Salmon by the federal courthouse. Misc groups of bike cops here and there. [ Read more... ]

Kerry Rally at Waterfront Park
John Kerry, in his speach to the crowd, estimated attendence at between fifty and sixty thousand. Being an experience politician, Kerry is probably pretty good at estimating the size of a crowd. These numbers suggest that more people could have decided to attend the Bush protests without putting a noticable dent in the swelling of support for Kerry. [ Read more... ]

Kerry, arrives
Arriving at the Hawthorn Br. I parked and locked my bike at the top of the x-it ramp to Old Front avenue. (I'm an Oldtimer) I make my way down to the park and jump in line. I arrived at about 9:00 AM and the crowds are building fast. As I stand in line for at least an hour & 1/2 with a Veterans ticket, I finally entered and was frisked. I was directed to a cordonned off area behind the podium platform. [ Read more... ]

Full coverage: [ bush/kerry Aug. 13 ]

From the open publishing newswire: i didn't go to this event. i was downtown lending my support to the folks protesting war-mongerin', "free trade"-lovin', Patriot Act votin' John Kerry. But at the Red & Black afterwards, i ran into someone who was at Terminal 6 and here's what she said happened.

From the open publishing newswire: This was a well-attended event, held at It's A Beautiful Pizza (which also hosts Videos from the Resistance showings). No one knows what's going to happen tomorrow (if anything), but the information was of a general type useful for any street protest you might attend. Some folks started planning specific places/times to protest Bush, and hopefully they'll announce something here as appropriate. Here's a quick summary of the evening....

From the open publishing newswire: Why does the public not know the location of Bush's Friday the 13th appearance less than 48 hours before the event? Don't ask the local press. Though it's not surprising, this whole last-minute secret location information scenario is certainly a victory for Little Beirut, and another in a series of journalistic black eyes for the entire local media scene.

I mean, here it is, less than 48 hours until the Resident of the United States comes to Portland, and NOT ONE media outlet -- not The Waregonian, WillyWeek, Portland Tribune, or any TV or radio station -- has the interest or resources or integrity to come forward with the location of the event.

These so-called news outlets are absolutely doing Shrub and his war crimes buddies a huge favor by not asking the obvious question and not digging around for the answer. Are they honestly going to tell us with a straight face that because the campaign has not released the information that they have nothing to report?

[ Bush/Kerry Friday the 13th Visit ]

From the open publishing newswire: I was reading this book. It has lots of articles you can either find on the web (which I have read before)--though it's quite a search to get them all, particluarly if you are unaware of what you are looking for and just starting to get worried or curious about Bones--or better yet, angry at their incessant snobby upper-class inbred involvement with destroying a government 'of the people, by the people, and for the people' in the United States. So, when I saw all these articles in one place in the book I was hardly disappointed, it was closer to a feeling of "yes! they included this one! and this one! and this one!"

This book is a great reference if you are unsure where to start. Pondering the idea of a 2004 presidential election being the first Bones vs. Bones election in the two (corporate) parties. Ponder on that as the book takes you back--to let you know how American elites and American democracy got so plutocratic and secretive. Skull and Bones, or The Order, as it is officially called, has been instrumentally involved in turning the United States into such a plutocratic aristocratic place. And they have been working on it for over 100 years.

From the open publishing newswire: The president's campaign media contact, Tucker Bounds, has confirmed with KATU that President Bush will be in town on the same day for a Business Summit" (Friday 8/13).

From the open publishing newswire: President Bush will attend a fundraiser at the Medina home of wealthy businessman William Reed Jr. on Friday, August 13th 2004. It was exactly a year ago that Bush visited this exclusive Seattle locale. Last year, it was the home of billionaire Craig Mccaw where protesters met the Bush motorcade as a small army of law enforcement looked on. [ read more ]

We (peace activists, unions, gay rights, etc, etc,) are holding a strategy session tomorrow, Friday August 6th @ 7pm at the Husky Union Blg (HUB) on the University of Washington campus. Please meet at the bus stop by the UBank ATM on Stevens Way.

[ BUSH visit information | Bush might visit Portland in the next couple of weeks! ]