NYC ~”Rain is proof that God loves the Infantry”
March 9, 2008
There comes a time when I am at a loss for words. Today was one of those times!
An event that truly had me concerned due to the number of negative factors, particularly the weather, turned into the most successful rally we have had yet in New York City!
Everyone who participated and helped out was absolutely fantastic! We had the most press coverage ever for ANY GOE event! The story is on EVERY local television station in the New York City area. Every story prominently identifies us as the Gathering of Eagles. Lots of great interviews with Eagles and supporters.
I will include here copies of AARs written by Jennie Booth, our Connecticut State Coordinator and Elyse Buongiorno, Eagles Up! Northeast Coordinator. But first let me give you links to pictures, video and reports from our local bloggers and Eagles.
Pamela’s photos are here.
Pamela’s video are:
- Bancroft educating the tourists…
- a look at the wind and the rain… and it was early!
- very busy inside tent with press…
- tent was great place to do interviews and chat!
- Bancroft sings in a key for castratis and one VERy WET dog…
- Dan with Fox News 5
- more press with Guardian Angels…
- Guardian Angel interview with press…but tent is really noisy…
- Fernando and a Spanish interview for News 1
- Bancroft and Dave are fed up with a street heckler
Urban Infidel’s report is here.
Her photos are here.
Pamela of Atlas Shrugs wrote here.
She posted a report on Free Republic here as well.
Jenny Booth of Connecticut wrote:
It
was so important for me to be in Times Square on Saturday, that I would
have done about anything. I went to bed the night before praying that
God doesnt let it rain on our parade. Later at the rally Chris Hill
had a different approach in that the rain proves that God is alive, we
wouldnt be here without it. Either way, God shined on us this day,
even if the sun did not. I never wanted to buy a pair of rubber boots
so badly in my life.
I
arrived on scene at just about noon, after having stopped for a sip of
coffee. There were a handful of folks already there and to my utter
astonishment, Dan Maloney arranged a tent-a huge tent- for us to be
under while it poured rain. Essentially, it was like a giant block
party, right there in front of the recruiting station. Only in New
York! It was absolutely fabulous. Slowly, the crowds gathered in and by
1:00pm, we had a great size- maybe 60 people. In the pouring rain,
proud patriots stood waving flags-some sans umbrellas, while some of us
with paper signs stayed mostly under the tent to show the passers-by
(It rained so much, that I considered going on a shopping trip for the
CUBIT tool, to build an ark for us). I got a lot of pictures taken of
my sign, which Im used to- I like the one liner slap-in-the-face
variety. My sign read, Terrorism will NOT be tolerated.
Many
organizations came to support us and please forgive me for not listing
all of them- there were just so many, including NJ and CT GoE, Eagles
Up, Free Republic, Guardian Angels, Suffolk County Conservative Party,
Atlas Shrugs and many others, and I know that we are so grateful for
everyones support. People came from as far away as Philadelphia,
Boston and New Jersey (per my discussions). The media that came was
almost overwhelming, because as we Eagles are used to, they never come
and cover us. They showed up almost in droves, as did tourist
participators. I know I gave interviews with Fox, Univision, NBC, NY
11, NY 9, Daily Times, New York Post, but then had my picture taken by
CBS and a couple others. I was flabbergasted. Dan and Jim Bancroft are
both so great at giving sound bites to the media and explaining our
organization in such a way that they wont misunderstand what were
doing.
My
main statement to the media was how I truly felt about the bombing of
this recruiter station. First, that if you disagree with the war,
president, military, etc. that is fine, you are free to say so and
express that view in any way and you are protected by the constitution.
Blowing things up to make a statement is not one of those rights. Also,
that this isnt just a slap in the face to the military, but to
everyone who loves New York. You do NOT go and bomb anything-
especially Times Square.
At
the peak of the rally I would estimate we had perhaps more than 120
people hanging around and expressing support. I asked many how they
heard of the event, the media got press releases (many of them from Jim
Bancroft), Some said they heard from Move America Forward, Free
Republic, Michelle Malkin. There was even a guy from the McCain camp
there. (How bout that Eagles!!!) He came out to support what we were
doing. I talked to him and he kept politics to a minimum, and I
respected that a lot. There were a whole slew of tourists and NYers
passing through who stopped to see what we were doing and thank us.
Many of them stayed for a while and waved flags or stood under the tent
to talk with other folks about the bombing. We had no Moonbats come out
to say anything. Perhaps they melt when water gets on them It was a
very cool experience standing with strangers with the same sentiment.
That
sentiment is we will NOT be intimidated. Terrorism in any form will not
be tolerated. This bombing will not go overlooked or forgotten about.
We gathered as Americans to defend that place and to represent others
who feel the same way. You are free to feel and express yourself
however you want except for destruction. In the pouring rain, we united
to say, Not on Our Watch!! The message we hoped to get across was
that the bomber did not hit its target, but only served to royally piss
people off, including all those that love New York. New York belongs to
everyone, after all.
I
would also like to recognize the mini-parade from the NYPD and FDNY. I
talked to several NYPD today and they were all so grateful we came to
support them and the recruiters-they are so tired of the anti-war
Moonbats. I didnt get a good count, but estimate 10 police cars, two
fire trucks and SUV came rolling through a couple times, blaring their
sirens and horns, flashing their lights (picture it- all the cabs had
to get out of the way) and waving at us and giving us thumbs up.
Getting recognized like that was almost like being celebrity. Only from
real people, not Hollyweirds,
The
NYPD is awesome and we love them. The recruiters in Times Square are
very special to us- weve rallied there a couple times and, after all,
they have seen it all. And New York, especially after 9/11, holds a
very special place in all of our hearts. I was more than honored to
stand up for NYC as well, as she is the greatest city in the world.
Thank you all again. You are all my heroes, and it was my pleasure to be with you. Until we rally again
Jenny Booth
CT State Coordinator
Elyse Buongiorno wrote:
What a
day it was ladies and gentlemen! In
classic New
York fashion, nothing could be easy. I’d forgotten what it was like on
Broadway when the winds came gusting through and those nasty cabbies who get a
perverted kick out of driving through the biggest puddle on the street just to
douse the pedestrians! Ah,
New York,
there’s nothing like it.
And
there was nothing like the spirit of the patriots I shared the street with
today. Nothing. It didn’t matter that it was pouring
buckets (Dan Maloney of GOE wisely foresaw the need and procured a tent that
kept us out of the worst of it) didn’t matter that most were soaked five minutes
after arrival, the spirit of every person at Times Square today in support of
our recruiters made all of that inconsequential.
A
group varying between 40-50 people made it a bright sunny day and were
acknowledged by a fleet of 15 NYPD cars honking as they came by. The media had made their appearance,
spoke to as many as possible. Dan
graciously included me in an interview with WCBS – thank you Dan for your
hospitality and warmth. Kato of the
Guardian Angels was also there…as were so many familiar faces. Jen Booth and Jim Bancroft from
GOE CT
rounded out the crowd of mostly GOE folks, and in spite of Jim’s recent back
surgery he was everywhere. John G. & I were the only
two Eagles Up folks today but we made
sure we represented.
The door of the recruiting station has been replaced, the buckled
frame as well. The plate glass
window is now covered by steel sheets, an expectation of things to come? Highly likely but we’re ready.
Let me make a correction to something I read somewhere in one of these reports. As unbelievable as this may sound…
The NEW YORK TIMES was there and interviewed us as well!
The Daily News was first off the block though. They caught me early in the morning when I arrived to help the crew setting up the tent. It was accidental. Their reporter was there to thank the recruiters for their cooperation in an interview the previous day and decided to do an impromptu interview when he found out what we were there for. He came back later in the day and interviewed more folks.
We had a Polish TV network, an Italian Radio network, NY1, News 41, NBC 4, Fox 5, ABC 7, UPN 9 and probably others at various times.
Heh, my wife even heard my interview with CBS NewsRadio 88 broadcast today.
Thank God we had so many capable interviewees available today; Jim Bancroft, Dr. Raoul, Chris Hill, Bill Fries of the Suffolk Conservative Party, and so many more!
Special Thanks to John Atwell of the FDNY Fire Riders whose crew did yeomanlike work in getting the big tent assembled and taking care of the insurance issues that popped up during the permit process the day before. They also stayed and participated in the rally all day.
Carolyn, Kathy and Jenny were wonderfully supportive as always! Jim brought down the ‘camo Volvo for another appearance at Times Square, but we were forced to move it off the pedestrian island due to security concerns.
I can’t begin to thank all the folks who turned out. Lots of regular troopers and a host of newcomers as well.
Oh! And I got a replacement bar of GOE soap for the one I presented to Medea Benjamin in Maryland! That was a great surprise!
I’ll add more links to media and photos as I find them.
Rest assured it was a fabulous day for the GOE!
DanNY
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Dan- you’re the man!!!
America, love it or leave it. Make your choice. The time for tolerating the hate an unlawfulness of the far left is over. Their acid dropping, dope addicted, Marxist ideology they preach is literally destroying America from within. They will spit on our troops, burn our flag and call you a racist for simply being a proud American; they hate our military enough to call them Bush’s “gangsters” and “unwelcome intruders” and will now use bombs to further demonstrate their hate; they give money to our foreign enemies and terrorist groups without shame, while happily smiling in group photos alongside dictators who preach their shared hatred of America and want to see us fall; they preach free speech, tolerance and peace, but act to suppress your speech, engage in violence and are intolerant of anyone who does not accept their hate for American and Marxist ideology. American, love it or leave it.
It was great to meet all of you from GoE in Times Square this weekend. Sen. McCain stands strongly with all of you in support of our troops and their mission. I hope you’ll come on over to the New York for McCain website, and join in the conversation.
http://nyformccain.blogspot.com
- Jeter