"No pictures of the President, please"

So.

* is in town today in a little under an hour. Needless to say, security is exorbitant. In our best attempt to hold up at a spot where we might get a photo opportunity (regardless of the fact that our photo opportunity was going to feature our best one finger salutes) we were interrogated by State Police, and turned away immediately.

I have had my picture taken with half a dozen Democrats, with my arm around Howard Dean's shoulder, yet it is verboten to take my picture featuring the vehicle carrying Dear Leader?

Give me a fu*king break, Amerika!

He poses for lots of purty photos with people who give him money.

"Heh heh heh! Heh heh heh!"

It is not America anymore. At least not the one I remember from when I grew up, so long ago. I was actually able to touch a President (LBJ) and shake his hand. I didn't pay, sign anything, I wasn't searched, scanned, detected, or frisked beforehand. What is wrong now, you can't even see the guy's car?

There was an airport-like scanner set up outside where we well-wishers were waiting (how's that for a tongue twister?), but other than that, anyone who wanted to could have taken Bill's picture, videotaped him (like I did), shaken his hand (like I did), or just shot the breeze with him.

Ahhh, the Good Old Days when we had a real, "capital P" President

Air Force base in the early 60s. He met JFK there and got to shake his hand. Then later, he got to meet one of the Johnson daughters. Of course, in those days, there wasn't nearly as much security. JFKs assassination changed all that.

and then Vice-President Johnson came to Graham, Texas for the funeral. No cameras were allowed within a block of the First Methodist Church. Lots of bystanders, lots of Secret Service-no photos. I got to shake his hand, though, and he peed in my grandmother's bathroom.

Tell them to go to hell. You're not breaking any law.

offering a BJ to get out of a traffic ticket, the ones I've encountered don't take any lip.

Disobeying a Made-Up Law from a Part-Time Security Guard?

there is physically no way to set oneself up in order to get a decent shot. There is literally a state or county sheriff every quarter mile along the highway and interstate that * intends on traveling this morning.

I gave up. It would have been a nice chuckle piece down the road, but I am just getting over being sick these last 4 days, I have better things to do than hang outdoors to be harassed by *'s SS.

went to a Clinton fund raiser, me Bill & Hillary, lent them his boat, went to their parties and got lots of pictures of his family with them. So he thought that if * became president he'd have pictures with 2 presidents. Well, the $1,000 only got him in the door. To get an actual picture with * he had to fork over $10,000. He wasn't that interested. If you wanted to talk to * you also had to fork over big bucks. The big bucks people were in a seperate room with * with the cheap people got to talk to themselves.

There are quite a few fundies that I know who would be put exactly in their place by this sort of treatment. Thinking that they are the end-all to white collar Republicans, it would almost be worth the $1000 to have them quarantined with the other of similar character.

There was actuall footage of it on ABC too.

Well if you remember that horrible day back in 2001 was a cold wet nasty day in DC. ABC showed one of the balls with everyone in their tuxes and the ladies in their gowns many had come from far and wide and paid at least $2,000 to get in. Well in the midst of the sidways rain there were TWO parties at this one house-IF you gave XXX amount you were allowed inside if you only gave XX amount you stayed outside in ankle high mud. The shots of the couples trying to save the gowns was the only laugh I had that whole day.

Now I am sure that the Dems do something on the same order but to see the Republicans literally placed on the second tier was too funny.

They blocked off the street he was using. Ok, that's normal. But they also would not allow us to walk across any of the side streets. :wtf: They held everybody where they were standing, you couldn't even walk down the block. So we all just stood there muttering and shuffling our feet for about 10 minutes.

I did, however, flash a great big bird at the idiot son when he went past. I hope he saw me. :evilgrin:


Serious note: the sad thing is, I was actually worried that a big SUV would pull up and I'd end up spending my lunch hour explaining to the SS why I flipped him off. My wife said if that happened, just to give them a piece of my mind! What has happened to a free country when you can't make a silent, non-violent protest without worrying about the Security State.

Cops stopped traffic and made everyone pull over to the side. People got out of their cars and gathered on the sidewalks and waved at the President as he went past. No one was angry and no one flipped the bird at the Prez. Normally, my hubby would be peeved at being held up, but he was quite pleased that day. Later, I went outside to watch Air Force One fly along the coastline from West Palm Beach to Miami. I took my binoculars to get a good look. All and all, it was a nice day.

In HS I got to wave at Gerald Ford like that. He was waving back too...

working in Washington DC is getting caught in all the stupid motorcades. I got caught in one for Shrub a year or so back that was truly memorable. I had had to make a filing down at the SEC and was coming back to my office in a taxi. We were on Constitution about to cross 20th Street when a police car pulled in front of us and motioned us to stop. More cars followed and blocked the street. My driver sighed and said it was either the P or the VP. Then we were buzzed by a police chopper, so we figured it was Shrub his self. Sure enough, a minute or two later a huge motorcade sweeps past us, makes the turn on 20th and heads over to Penn. I flipped him the bird, not that he could see it, but it made me feel better. As I said to the cab driver - why would anybody shoot him? - we'd only get Cheney.

Of course, working 1 block from GW Hospital is lots of fun when Uncle Dick goes there for whatever it is he goes there for. Cops and SS all over the place not to mention the press. Foggy Bottom metro station is right next to the hospital so there is a fair amount of foot traffic passing the ER entrance at any given time, worse at rush hour of course. One time Dick went in right at rush hour and the SS were blocking the ER entrance and the doors to the hospital. They wouldn't let you walk past the hospital to get to the Metro - you could walk on the other side of the street and then cross back over 23rd at I Street. The looks on the faces of the guards was chilling - you could see their contempt and disdain for "plebes". My office building in on Penn between 21st and 22nd Streets, so we see Uncle Dick cruising down Penn from his "undisclosed location" to the WH and back whenever he feels the need to check up on his investment.

Where were you? On the street? Is it cordoned off? Is it a "First Amendment" pen? Or are you just by the road? Who did you speak to - did you get a name? On what basis are they telling you you can't take a picture? Is anyone else taking pictures? What questions did the State Police ask you?

Reminds me of ancient Japan, where the common people were not allowed to view their Emporer, and had to turn their backs when his procession came down the street.

when I was a kid Nixon visited Whittier. He was from there I think. Anyway, we all went outside to watch the motorcade go by. No problems, no soldiers, no SS except the ones running beside the car. Of course that was before we found out his true self.