Into the Jaws of the Beast

click on picture to see slideshow

I finally found the time to upload the pictures from the Republican presidential debate. It was an interesting experience. There were hundreds of Mitt Romney and McCain people there along with a handful of Giuliani folks. There were also a few other rallies going on besides the pro-republican groups and our small anti-war group. There was a group of confederate flag wearing anti-immigration protesters that showed up, but I didn't get a picture of them. A friend I met up with at the rally said that he took pictures of the anti-immigration rally, so maybe I will be able to put those up at a later date.

Towards the end of the evening, a large rally and march for the fair tax was taking place and completely overshadowed any other group that was there. About 4000 people showed up to march for the fair tax which dwarfed our 20 or so anti-war protesters. Me and one other person got stuck in the middle of the march and were surrounded on all four sides by a train of people. We stood our ground and held up our signs and took the abuse that ensued for about 30 min. (which is the time it took for the entire group to march past us). The republican supporters were nice compared to a lot of the people in the 'fair tax' group. We probably had several hundred people yell at us and flip us off during that grueling 30 min. period, which seemed to last forever. We thought a few of them were going to break out of their formation and jump us, but thankfully they were the type that sticks to the flock. Several of the minions yelled, "There are more of us than there are of you." I yelled back, "I guess that means I have more balls."

So, that was what was going on outside the walls of the republican presidential debate. I am sure there are many places you can go to get the scoop on what went on inside the debate.

Preview

I haven't had time to sit down and put a post together on yesterday's debate, so this will have to be a placeholder for the time being. We are going out of town tomorrow and I have been busy preparing, but I will find more time to get this done today. Until then, enjoy this teaser.

Debate is tonight

We're going downtown tonight to harass some Republicans before the debate. There will be an anti-war rally outside the convention center where the debate is being held. We'll try to bring back pictures, unless the local storm troopers smash our camera. Or our faces.

rally starts in an hour. still have to make signs. be back later.

Navyswan out.

Political Cartoon Time

Click here to view a new cartoon by Mark Fiore called Veto Accomplished.
(I prefer to call it Lebensraum)

What is up with the food?

First bacteria in our vegetables, then our pet food was contaminated with something called melamine, now it seems that the melamine problem is more far reaching than originally thought. What is going on with the regulation of our food? How is this allowed to happen? What does this say about the entire conservative philosophy of deregulation?

A new Import Alert the FDA has released says that there are several vegetable proteins that may be contaminated in addition to the wheat gluten that was found to be the source of contamination in the pet food. The alert is for the:

"DETENTION WITHOUT PHYSICAL EXAMINATION OF ALL VEGETABLE PROTEIN PRODUCTS FROM CHINA FOR ANIMAL OR HUMAN FOOD USE DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF MELAMINE AND/OR MELAMINE ANALOGS"

Also, it seems to go beyond just vegetable proteins. The FDA has released an update that says swine might also have been contaminated through contaminated rice protein concentrate in feed. The release says that there is low chance that this will lead to human illness, however some of the reasons they give are a little bit superficial at the very least. For example, "even if present in pork, pork is only a small part of the average American diet." Well, that's a nice thought.

Just to let you know: "As of April 26, sites in the following states are believed to have received and used contaminated product: California, Kansas, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina and Utah. As we confirm additional sites that have received and used contaminated product, we will provide additional updates."

Have a nice day.