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What more can anyone say about our current president? The man is convinced he’s a leader, and despite his approval ratings in the mid-twenties, he may have a point. After all, who else in the world—besides the Pope—inspires hundreds of thousands of people on every continent to regularly take to the streets with colorful banners, high-energy chants, and passionate displays of emotion?
For several years now, I’ve been one of those people. This is a pictorial record, in reverse chronological order, of what I’ve had to say on these occasions.
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The People’s March for Peace, Equality, Jobs and Justice, Newark, NJ, August 25, 2007
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Anti-Bush Rally, Edison, New Jersey, May 30, 2007
The president came to a fund-raiser in Edison that was notable for the pathetic amount of money it raised and the few Republican candidates who dared to actually be seen with him. Two miles away, opponents were allowed to exercise their First Amendment rights. Fortunately, the progressive mayor of Edison, Jun Choi, intervened and arranged for the demonstrators to stand in a spot that the presidential motorcade would pass. I swear the president gave me a “thumbs-up” as he read my sign going 60 mph—
I guess he’s probably a slow reader though.
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GOTV Campaign, 2006 Elections, Princeton, NJ, October, 2006
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Anti-War Protest, New York City, April 29, 2006
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Protest against Condoleezza Rice Appearance at Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, September 30, 2005
Princeton University pissed off a lot of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and concerned citizens when it invited Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to give the keynote address at the 75th anniversary of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Rice was welcomed by university administrators as a stellar example of the university’s motto, “Princeton in the Nation’s Service, and in the Service of All Nations,” and invited to join the faculty after her retirement from government service. As a convicted war criminal though, she may have trouble giving lectures in person.
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Anti-War Demonstration, Washington, DC, September 24, 2005
A huge anti-war mobilization took place in our nation’s capital less than a month after Katrina had nearly destroyed New Orleans. In the midst of a federal response that was equally disastrous, Bush praised FEMA’s head for “doing a heck of a job.” It was just what you’d expect from a White House occupant whose only success is holding everyone hostage to his failures.
The VIP dignitaries were a magnet for photographers before the march began. I confess to shamelessly positioning both myself and the sign in order to maximize our chances of being immortalized in print.
From the Washington Post website coverage:
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Communiversity , Princeton, NJ, April 30, 2005
We know that George likes to look to his heavenly father for guidance, but look at the mess that that’s created. Although I have nothing against Jesus personally, I’m much more interested in asking what a reasonable person would do in response to a challenging problem—someone like Einstein, for example, whose profound awe at the great mystery went hand-in-hand with his scientific search for truth. It was Einstein himself, in fact, who told me to produce these “W.W.E.D?” stickers for distribution at a Democracy for America booth at Princeton’s Communiversity street festival in April, 2005. The different designs were meant to appeal to different personality types.
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Protest against President Bush, Westfield, NJ, March 4, 2005
Westfield, NJ was one of those places Bush visited when he was pushing his privatization scheme for Social Security. Although these town hall meetings were conducted at taxpayer expense, only carefully screened supporters were allowed entry into the Presidential Bubble. Say what you will about New Jersey but in the last two presidential elections, most of its voters had enough common sense not to vote for this national embarrassment.
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And here is my letter to the editor that was published in the Newark Star-Ledger soon afterwards:
To the Editor:
President Bush and I both visited Westfield last Friday to talk about Social Security. Interestingly, our paths never crossed—not surprising given the heavy-handed attempt to marginalize opposition voices.
While the president takes credit for tackling the “third rail” of politics, his actions are hardly courageous. A true leader would be seeking broad consensus on Social Security and listening to both sides. Instead, Bush hides in a protective bubble speaking only to supporters. Even he admits his solution doesn’t solve the problem he claims needs attention. In lieu of leadership, we get crisis mongering and bait-and-switch—the same duplicity that sold the Iraq war.
If this president were as interested in repairing, respecting, and reinvigorating representative democracy as he is in destroying Social Security, there’d be no need for street protests—or reason for police to act as they did. In treating non-violent demonstrators as would-be criminals undeserving of minimal decency and politeness the cops behaved like jackbooted thugs. Any balance between presidential security and honoring the right to assemble peacefully was distorted beyond recognition. It is yet another example of how our civil liberties are gradually eroding and our democracy diminishing under this hypocritical presidency.
Sp Spaceace
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Washington, DC Counter-Inaugural, January 20, 2005
Governor Ahnold of California is fond of calling his political opponents “girlie men.”
Our president persisted in calling his highly suspect 2004 election win a “mandate.” Someone had to set him straight and what better place to do it than at his inaugural parade.
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Protest March at the Republican National Convention, New York City, August 29, 2004
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InSanity 
