From AmericanProtest.net

I knew of this event recently here in Tucson, but due to my new position as husband and godly head of household to 5 beautiful children, I was unable to break away to attend.

Kudos to Support America, Support our Troops, AmericanProtest.net and all other veterans and military supporters for their job well done.

I hope Wayne doesnt berate me for my plaigirism (SP?) But here it is:


Flight of the Desert Eagle

by Wayne Boettcher
Posted: 03/23/2007


Day was breaking with another beautiful Arizona sunrise as I pulled out of my driveway with a pickup truck loaded down with signs, flags, pavilions, sidewalk cleaning kit and a generator to help set up "Gathering of Eagles - Tucson" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The emails were sent, the flyers handed out and posted, the cross-country caravan encouraged, the radio stations called and AmericanProtest.net had even given a local Fox News TV interview. Now we just had to set up and have a rally!

It all started when Jane Fonda returned to "anti-war" activism in Washington DC this January at a protest in which the Capital Building steps were spray-painted. Her next protest was scheduled to be near the Vietnam Memorial wall. It seems like these actions were a serious mistake for her side and indeed, I certainly can't think of any better way to get Americans roused to action. Vietnam Veterans started the "Gathering of Eagles" to protect the Vietnam wall from spray paint and counter "Hanoi" Jane.

Tucson has a short history of protests on this Spring weekend, which is the anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2005, President Bush visited the same weekend and 500 liberal protesters turned out. In 2006, their plan was to march from a park to the Military Recruiting Center and trash it. However, 100 Pro-Americans occupied the center against their 200 marchers and the scheme was foiled. This year, their wacky action included demonstrating at one gate of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, then marching to another and picketing it, in spite of the fact that the Air Force does not dictate foreign policy.

Since Fonda's protest was marching on the Pentagon in Washington DC, it seemed to fit in with what they were doing here. I contacted Gathering of Eagles and received permission to join them and call our counter-action "Gathering of Eagles - Tucson." Here the left wing activists probably only planned to chalk up the sidewalk for vandalism, since they knew the Tucson Police Department would stop any spray painting. I pre-empted the strike by planting the story here and there that we would wash off any sidewalk chalking immediately and assembled a cleaning kit of a large water container, dish soap and hard bristle push broom.

I got to the Craycroft gate at 7:00 am to meet about twenty stalwart veterans, military family members and patriotic citizens who began to set up the 100 or so "River of Flags" consisting of American, military branch and patriotic flags. My friend Jeff from previous protests came early to help set up and wore his AmericanProtest.net Christian T-shirt to remind himself not to yell uncouth slogans at what retired Marine Colonel Frank called the 'Gathering of Turkeys." Many Tucson Eagles wore black "Infidel" t-shirts with white lettering. It takes a lot of work to set up so many flags and banners, but it's done on a weekly basis here in Tucson to support the troops. It's worth it just to see one smile on a soldier's face.

As we set up, many entrants to the Davis-Monthan Air Show and people driving by honked, smiled and waved to show their support for the troops. This year DM didn't advertise much, perhaps for security reasons. The normal traffic jams that usually accompany the show were not so bad this time. More "Gathering of Eagles - Tucson attendees showed up, especially at the announced time of 10:00 am. Soon we reached about 90 people at both gates. They received an armband and either took a sign or had their own. Some held flags; I noted one vet who waved his Army flag proudly. Time passed. We wondered if anyone would show up on the moonbat side for their scheduled time of 11:00 am with march at 11:30 am to another gate at Swan and Golf Links.

Finally two liberals from World Can't Wait appeared, looking very puzzled at our display. After a few minutes more showed up in a big way. The other moonbats must have met at the park and come over in a group. Even though we occupied all four corners of the intersection and the protest permit rules of Tucson are on a "first come, first served" basis, we decided to concede the NW corner. This would not only avoid trouble but also allow a contrast so passing people could tell which side to root for. We had the other three corners after I led a team to the NE to flank them and sign the Golf Links traffic before it got to them. The moonbats numbered about 50 and swelled to 70 by the time of the march.

I was on the NW corner when they arrived and noted a few familiar faces. In the minds of the left wing, there's just no way to support the military like showing them flag draped coffins but this time they had a new wrinkle. Perhaps stung by AmericanProtest.net's constant calling out of their casket displays in previous columns, this year's flag draped boxes used a "clever" ruse. One cardboard coffin had Constitution painted on the side, the other displayed the number 600,000 to bolster their false accusations that American military personnel kill Iraqi civilians on purpose.

While the flags are draped, the letters and numbers written on the "coffins" are obscured so moonbats can present their usual theatrics in front of military bases, hospitals or recruiting centers. However, if anyone were to point out how disgusting this sort of thing is, they can piously raise the flag and say "See, it's not soldiers in that coffin but the Constitution! You can see how patriotic we are." Yes, we do see. Ironically, almost every "anti-war" liberal supports the Roe V. Wade decision that violates Constitutional principles. The approximately 47,000,000 abortions that have occurred since that court case far outnumber their "600,000" fraud.

Last year's rally included a Protest Warrior secret action called Operation Signpost where small posters were placed along the march route. When they tore the poster down another was underneath. This year a new Secret Weapon of the Pro-Americans was revealed. It was an antique Army truck festooned with flags and sporting a powerful bullhorn wielded from the turret. Every few minutes it would drive by; a mobile podium. The moonbats heard a lot of speeches that day.

At 11:30 am, some people from their side crossed over to the SW corner to cause trouble and try to start a fight. Some from our side sought to "block" them with flags and yelled at them to go back! However, it was all a bluff. We had to let them stand there and we knew it. The Tucson Police Department Motorcycle Squad zoomed over to make sure there was no trouble as several moonbats stood on the SW corner tightly surrounded by patriots. Immediately I crossed over from the NE side to their NW corner in another flanking maneuver, causing an uproar in their midst.

Many demanded to know why I was protesting Communism but I just laughed, asking if they knew who organized the rally they were attending. The usual group were yelling, screaming and cursing so I laughed again.

"You don't want to debate, you just want to yell. Look at you, all yelling at the same time. You know I would win any discussion so you just shout at me." Either my beatific smile or my words caused them to calm down long enough for me to relate that Communism killed over 100,000,000 people in the 20th Century while all the wars put together killed 35,000,000. One man tried to respond but his torrent of angry words became so laced with profanity that his conversation grew meaningless.

"Come on, let's march," ordered the Organizational Secretary for Communist Party USA in Arizona who was the organizer of the protest through the "Tucson Peace Action Coalition" front group. He took off quickly Westward on Golf Links and the others followed in a random fashion, trudging wearily through the hot desert sand. I had drunk a lot of water but now was out. However, I took off after their march, trailing them by 100 feet with my "Say No To Communism" sign warning cars of the march ahead. The traffic was extremely light, reminding me of a Sunday morning.

One liberal stayed back and discussed politics with me on the march. I was able to explain that WMD were found in Iraq and others moved to Syria, there was a prewar terrorist connection, that the troops are successful in Iraq and there is no reason to protest military bases because they don't make foreign policy. I gave him some articles to back up my statements. He was a nice guy but a sneering moonbat also came back who was more abrasive. Refusing any articles, he boasted he could debate any right wingers and win, but failed to demonstrate his professed ability.

Some Eagles marched on the South Side as well. When the liberals got to the Swan Gate they found another Gathering of Eagles team holding the SE and SW corners so the liberals took mostly the NE corner. The truck continued to circle the area and give speeches. I stayed 100 feet East of the protest and handed out articles to those who would take them as protesters straggled away slowly. The "Organizational Secretary" of Communist Party USA in Arizona berated me for mistaking him for the "District Leader" of Communist Party USA in Arizona so I agreed to correct that in my columns.

I met three other Communists who denied they were protesting the military when I challenged them on why they were in front of the military base. One related how they were only protesting the military's "actions," however; I explained their claim that the military should all just lay down their arms and quit showed they were indeed protesting the troops. Strangely, they insisted the phrase "'From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need" is not a Communist concept, although they also said they were highly educated and smarter than me. One young Communist gave me some water for which I was grateful.

Finally all the liberals were gone except a 9/11 conspiracy theorist waiting for a ride. A badly spray painted peace sign leaned against a low concrete wall like some kind of demented pop art parody. I hitched a ride back to the Craycroft gate on the Army truck and thrilled to the patriotic honks and yells we got from the cars around us. People love America, and as long as they do, we can successfully stand against despicable left wing attempts to demoralize our troops and nation. In Washington DC, Fonda was a no show while at least 30,000 Eagles countered a few thousand moonbats who found themselves unable to desecrate the Vietnam Memorial Wall. Click to this column next week to read how 10 remnants of the Gathering of Eagles - Tucson countered 150 Moveon.org members in a valiant move to stand up for the troops - and America!

Wayne Boettcher is the head of AmericanProtest.net