Daily Local News - News - 02/01/2006 - Bush protesters: Administration failing the country

Daily Local News - News - 02/01/2006 - Bush protesters: Administration failing the country

Here at home;

WEST CHESTER -- Millions of Americans preparing to watch the State of the Union address Tuesday evening should expect to hear nothing but lies, said protesters outside the Chester County Courthouse just hours before the president’s speech.

"The truth of the union is not what you’ll hear on TV tonight," protester Richard MacIntyre shouted into a megaphone as he stood on the courthouse steps. "The truth is our country is falling apart because of our administration."

About 10 people gathered around MacIntyre carrying American flags and signs slamming the Bush administration. Lani Frank, executive director of the Chester County Democratic Coalition, said it’s time Americans started thinking for themselves and stopped believing everything President Bush says.

Frank said she didn’t expect to find any answers to the problems facing the country in Tuesday’s address."We need the truth," Frank said, "not this fairy tale (Bush) is selling us."Loss of her constitutional rights was foremost in the mind of West Chester resident Phyllis Wax, who said she hoped the public would educate themselves about the wrongs being perpetrated against American citizens.

Bush’s acknowledgment in December of spying on suspected terrorists without court orders has Wax worried about what the administration will do next."What is going on is very dangerous," Wax said.Many motorists driving through the intersection of High and Market streets honked their horns and waved in support of the protesters.

Several people, however, obviously disagreed with the group’s anti-Bush stance."I hope the terrorists kill your kids," (sick bastard) one man shouted from his vehicle as he drove past. Several other motorists made obscene gestures at the protesters.

East Bradford resident Rick Davis seemed willing to put up with a little abuse if he could help educate the public about what he sees as the problems the Bush administration is causing. He said government officials often say the right things, but they fail when it comes to following through. Davis said he’s been upset for a long time at wrongs committed by this administration.

"It’s like ‘Wake up America. Take your country back,’" Davis said. At 6:20 p.m., the small group walked along Gay Street to the Borough Hall, where they met up with other protesters in the council meeting room. Chester County Commissioner Andrew Dinniman told the crowd of about 25 that people need to be aware of what is happening in their country and be prepared to act when they see injustice. "Progress comes when people come together, envision change and work for change," Dinniman said.

Before speaking, former councilwoman Barbara McIlvaine Smith asked for a moment of silence for state Sen. Robert J. Thompson, who died Saturday of complications from pulmonary fibrosis. Smith then said that Thompson, unlike many current government officials, did a lot of good for a lot of people. She said she will fight against wrongdoing by government officials."I believe we need reform in government," Smith said. "We need an open, accountable government.

"MacIntyre, the protester who used the megaphone to start the march, said the Bush administration is ruining the country and destroying international relations. Instead of mending relationships with other nations, Bush is only antagonizing them even more, he said."Bush is pulling us apart from the rest of the world," MacIntyre said.

Maybe thats what the helicopters flying low over head were about...my little two year old grand niece, scared, jumped into my lap and said "I don't want them to get me at night."