Washblog

"While Gonzales was speaking at the Westin, 30 to 40 protesters gathered on the sidewalks outside, most carrying signs protesting the war in Iraq."

Yes, a some of the signs referred to Iraq or Gitmo, but that line gives the impression the protestors weren't clearly targeting Gonzo. Not honest...

The Seattle P-I gave us more coverage:

About 45 minutes before Gonzales' speech was to begin, a small group of protesters assembled on a corner outside Seattle's Westin Hotel, holding signs such as "Make Gonzales Gone" and "Say No To Torture."
Some voiced concerns about the Justice Department's dismissal of nine U.S. attorneys last year, including U.S. Attorney John McKay in Seattle.
"We had an outstanding Republican U.S. attorney, and he was mauled," said protester Linda Stores, who was holding a sign that said "Fire the Liar," referring to Gonzales. She said McKay's departure "was a real loss to the system."

This banner message is kinda long, but I give them an A for effort.

Above: this woman was pleased to wear my sign and to be accompanied by her son, though his message is somewhat more cryptic.

Above: This woman explains the purpose of the protest to what appeared to be Asian tourists.

Left: This is me. The "Worst Ever" sign was used by several demonstrators, like Michael, the man pictured at the top of the post, who told me he was a Black Panther in the 60s and 70s.

I saw Fox news, KOMO, the Times, and other reporters. Several of us, including me, were interviewed on videotape, audiotape, asked for quotes, but none of my brilliant statements made the cut, to my knowledge.

From the TacomaNews-Tribunemore sympathetic coverage than the Seattle MSM:

"A small group of protesters waved signs saying "Worst Attorney General Ever" and "Fire the Liar" outside the hotel. Others wore Bush administration masks and mock prison garb. In Boise, Idaho, on Tuesday, about 100 demonstrators opposed to the Bush administration and the Iraq war forced Gonzales to move an open-air news conference he had scheduled."

Boise. I bet he thought that was a safe stop. When you've lost Boise...

One infiltrator who inexplicably got in under the radar was Kara (left). She told them she was a member of her local Chamber of Commerce (Repub-leaning org) which is true, but they must've not realized she's also the owner of Not a Number, a flaming Lefty store!

Kara and I were interviewed at length by Mark, a sympathetic KBCS reporter. He had to call his employer in order to get approval for entrance to the Gonzales event. He'd been on the road and hadn't shaved or bathed in a couple days, plus had long hair, so I guess he aroused the suspicion of Security.

Kara told us Gonzales' talk was boring and the attendance was small, if you subtracted security men and reporters.

She doubted that questions would be taken, but if so, she was prepared to ask, "Mr Gonzales, why don't you do the right thing and resign?"

There were no questions taken from the attendees, except for a few pre-selected ones. I guess the Times made another mistake then, cause they said:

"Gonzales made no mention of the controversy surrounding his firing last year of eight U.S. attorneys, including John McKay, the former U.S. Attorney for Western Washington, either in his prepared remarks or in a short question-and-answer period."

Kara considered jumping up and being disruptive, in full view of numerous reporters - she wanted to - but because of a doctor's appointment and other obligations that day, she couldn't afford the chance of getting detained. Don't you hate it when that happens?

This man had written a detailed list of Gonzo's offenses, but I'm afraid not many passersby took the time to study it. But if you want to:

The Chain Gang made an effective appearance.

Jane, a friendly activist who is a member of "The World Can't Wait" told this reporter that she was pleased with the turnout, considering the short notice and the time of day.

Posted on Daily Kos today, from a thread questioning whether it's worth it to bother removing lower admin officials like Gonzales:

"Getting a new AG in would open the floodgates, since they could no longer hide all the unconstitutional shenanigans the Justice Department been approving and promoting. It's the key to all their power grabs, both the ones we know about and all the ones we don't.

I think the cabal is terrified of losing Gonzo because he's the last...support holding up their house of cards..."

On a related note, the headline I noticed in the streetside newsbox:

But that was then, this is now, they tell us. "We" don't do that stuff anymore!