West Chester Rally ~ 02/16/2008

The weather on this mid-February Saturday was near perfect. I arrived early to see many new faces among our crowd and recurring favorites! I am ever inspired by the tenacity and commitment of our group - all of you are my rock!

One gentleman, Dan, and his son drove from Maryland to participate in our weekly victory rally. His son, John, is scheduled to start his basic training at Ft. Benning this coming Wednesday. The membership of the CCPM extends a heartfelt ‘good luck’ to John as he embarks on his chosen career. We also look forward to standing with Dan at future rallies here in West Chester.

I have to say that it is always a joy to see our balloons and flags decorating the steps of the Courthouse as I walk upon the corner. One of these days, I am going to get a good photo to share with the readership. Until then, I would like to introduce one of our finest - Frank - a WW2 veteran who recently joined our group on the steps of the Courthouse.

Frank is never shy about his opinion on war, that honesty is what I admire about this gentleman.

I’ve got to give kudos to Bob K’s creative ways to combat the message of despair from the other side. This week, he prepared for a rumored visit from Code Pink by creating a custom packaged soap to hand out to them.

Alas, no Code Pink was present at this rally, but I wonder if we could apply this soap to our recently acquired Women In Black (WIB) infection?

Sean, a talented photographer and articulate member of our band of patriots, weighs in on the story of Iraq and debating with the ‘other side’.

I had the opportunity to question the VFP (Veterans For Peace) regarding their organizations support of the Berkeley City Council ruling this past week. I LOVE any opportunity to make a VFP’er squirm under questioning - and this poor soul did not disappoint me:

Although, he claimed to disagree with VFP in their support of Berkeley, notice how he could not bring himself to condemn the mis-characterization of our Military by Berkeley’s City Council ruling.

Just one more photo from the event: