- President George W. Bush is coming to town on Friday,
August 22, as part of a West Coast tour to promote his environmental policies
and raise cash for his reelection war chest. The cowboy hasn't been here
since his campaign in 2000, and activists are poised to meet him at every
turn, from an Issaquah salmon hatchery, to the chichi neighborhood where
Bush will reportedly attend a $2,000-a-head luncheon.
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- On the Eastside--where Bush's fundraiser, co-hosted by
Microsoft CFO John Connors, is slated for billionaire cell phone magnate
Craig McCaw's home on Hunts Point (the ritzy neighborhood at the first
Eastside exit off of 520 from Seattle)--there are three scheduled protests.
There will also be protests on Friday and Saturday in Seattle. And local
radicalized protesters--some of whom griped on-line that they weren't welcome
at the Dem rallies--have covert plans up their sleeves to disrupt Bush's
visit in any way they can.
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- For the past week, protest organizers have been flying
banners from overpasses on every major freeway--I-5, 99, 520--at rush hour,
and fliering Seattle and the Eastside. Here's a quick guide to this weekend's
Bush bashing.
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- Who: The Eighth and Bellevue Way Committee, a coalition
of organizations such as the Green Party, as well as antiwar groups Not
in Our Name and Sound Nonviolent Opponents of War.
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- Where: Northeast Eighth Street and Bellevue Way (Bellevue
Square)
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- When: August 22, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
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- Beef with Bush: The issues at this protest run the gamut
of traditional lefty concerns, like the environment (Bush's weird thin-forests-to-prevent-fires
plan), war (many of these folks organized the spring anti-Iraq-war protests),
and civil liberties (USA PATRIOT Act).
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- Tactics: Activists here are plotting a peaceful vigil-style
protest, safe for "families and soccer moms," according to the
group's press release. Protesters plan to stick to the sidewalks, so they
don't need a permit. Organizers have no plans to march or do any civil
disobedience, and peacekeepers will be on hand to make sure things run
smoothly. People are encouraged to bring homemade signs--suggested slogans
include "Stop Looting the American Dream!"
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- Good to know: The backlash factor. Bellevue is traditionally
Republican country, represented by folks like Jennifer Dunn and Rob McKenna.
Bellevue Square shoppers might protest the protest.
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- Who: Labor groups such as the International Association
of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and the Bremerton Metal Trades Council,
plus Democrats.
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- Where: Crossroads Park, 164th Avenue Northeast and Northeast
Eighth Street, Bellevue
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- When: August 22, noon
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- Beef with Bush: Labor groups point to two bills running
through Congress that diminish workers' rights, including nixing a fixed
pay rate in favor of a performance-based pay scale. Union organizers are
also upset over the high unemployment rate in Washington--7.5 percent here,
compared to 6.2 percent nationwide--and lay part of the blame at Bush's
feet. Since Bush took office, the U.S. has lost 2.6 million jobs--the worst
record since Herbert Hoover's presidency.
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- Tactics: Labor groups will converge on Crossroads Park
for a rally, and then board busses to head toward Hunts Point. The official
plan is to picket and pass out fliers about the congressional bills.
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- Good to know: Rumor has it the labor busses might try
to trail the presidential caravan, bullhorns ready, to make sure Bush hears
them. "They'll be harassing the presidential limo," an organizer
with another group divulged.
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- Who: Washington State Democrats, with NARAL Washington
and the Sierra Club, plus labor, social-justice, and interfaith groups.
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- Where: Victor Steinbrueck Park, Pike Place Market, Seattle
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- When: August 22, 12:30 to 3:00 p.m.
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- Beef with Bush: He's a Republican!
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- Tactics: The downtown Seattle rally, which has a permit,
will feature music, slam poetry, and such speakers as Seattle City Council
President Peter Steinbrueck and Washington State Democrats Chair Paul Berendt.
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- Good to know: Local Howard Dean supporters plan to have
a showing at this rally to drum up support for a Dean appearance at Westlake
on Sunday.
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- Who: Decentralized activists like anarchists, black blocs,
and smart mobs.
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- Where: Near Bush (some will "converge" at Hunts
Point Park at 10:30 a.m.)
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- When: August 22, all day
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- Beef with Bush: With no organized spokesperson, the radicals
haven't specifically laid out their agenda. Good bet it has to do with
the corporate hegemony of the transnational corporate power structure.
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- Tactics: Nothing's been publicized, but there are rumors
that activists will try to prevent Bush from attending his fundraiser (perhaps
with a tripod blockade like the one that obstructed 520 on February 18?).
The McCaw's address has been widely distributed on seattle.indymedia.org.
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- Good to know: Folks who planned ahead signed up for an
action alert e-mail list and provided cell phone numbers. Text messages
may zip around on Friday to coordinate instant actions.
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- Who: Stop Bush Seattle, a coalition of nearly every group
that has a hand in Friday's anti-Bush protests.
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- Where: Myrtle Edwards Park, Seattle waterfront at Broad
Street
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- When: August 23, noon to 3:00 p.m.
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- Beef with Bush: You name it, this rally will cover it.
Bush stole the election, declared war on Iraq, lied about weapons of mass
destruction, caused a $455 billion budget deficit, gave 39 percent of $350
billion tax cut to the top one percent of taxpayers, oversaw growing unemployment,
busted unions, bad-mouthed gay marriage, treated immigrants unfairly, and
gutted environmental regulations. And that's just in his first two and
a half years!
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- Tactics: Organizers hope this Seattle rally will be the
culmination of the previous day's events, and have secured a well-known
lefty speaker for the occasion--William Rivers Pitt, co-author of antiwar
books and founder of truthout.org. After the rally, folks will march down
Alaskan Way to Madison Street, and loop back to the park.
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- Good to know: One organizer pledged to eat a tin can
if the rally doesn't draw 100,000 people. Do his dentist a favor and stop
by.
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- amy@thestranger.com
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