Posted By:
MAF Blogger Danny
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We had San Diego this morning. I can’t even believe that at 9:00 today we were in San Diego and now we’re on our way to Tucson. I can’t say enough how slowly time passes on these trips. Except during the rallies, those are always so fun and exhilarating. Time totally flies by when the crowd is there and Diana is singing or one of the Debs is giving a speech.

Something else that keeps bothering me is that I think fatigue is starting to set in. My arms and legs ache and you can hear everyone groaning between stops. I feel like we’re barely surviving out here…haha. It’s funny but I remember watching something called Survivorman on Discovery Channel. Basically this guy goes out to the woods and tries to see if he can go a whole week by inventing ways to get water, food, shelter and not dying from something. I remember him saying once that when you’re trying to survive all by yourself and you don’t have access to a sustained source of food and water, you have to eat every possible chance you get.

He emphasizes this by walking through the jungle wherever he is and eating a little bit of everything he can find, even if it’s just a little bug or plant or something that seems insignificant, but when you don’t have a dependable source of food, you don’t know if that one little meal you have the opportunity to eat could be your last piece of sustenance for the next 3 days. So you can’t ignore it or pass up the opportunity. Likewise for us, food, sleep and bathroom breaks are a commodity we take advantage of every minute whenever possible. The problem is that it seems sleep is the commodity in shortest supply.

Personally I have had about three hours of sleep per night for the past 3 nights. This is getting ridiculous. And I think everyone else is running on empty too. Our best friends are caffeine and sugar to try and stay awake. It would be nice if we could sleep between rallies but there is always another group or TV station that needs to be called or another radio interview that has to be dealt with. Not to mention we are trying to wrap up the planning stages of the last half of our tour and a lot of things are still up in the air.

Part of it might be that I am still trying to adjust to this schedule of living on the road. I know a lot of people do it but I think this is something that wasn’t really in my personality index. Oh my, I can’t believe I’ve been writing all this time and I haven’t even talked about San Diego; there is a lot to say here.

The rally was very good. We had Howard Kaloogian on hand he is the founder of Move America Forward and was on hand to speak to the crowd. I think we had about 50 people around San Diego. When we first pulled up I was a little worried but people kept coming and coming. Howard talked a lot about the history America has had with terrorism and how long it has taken America to wake up. Since the mid to late 70s there have been more and more terrorist attacks at different times in our nation’s history. Howard reminded us about the 1979 storming of the US Embassy in Iran by Islamic militants and the bungling of the situation by President Carter. He cited the 82 Pan Am bombing, the 93 World Trade Center bombing, the bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 and the USS Cole bombing in Yemen in 2000. All of these are examples of America being under attack by the same breed of terrorists that perpetrated 9/11 and are now engineering and manipulating the insurgency in Iraq with help and financial support from Iran.

He said something else that I thought was VERY true, and people need to know it…especially those that say we are losing the war or that we are creating more terrorists than we can kill. Howard said that the terrorists KNOW they CANNOT ever beat our military toe to toe, that their only hope of beating America is to create a ‘sense of defeat’ among the people by creating chaos, targeting civilians, and taking advantage of the defeatist attitudes of the left which they KNOW demoralizes our troops and their will to win.

When Debbie Lee came up to tell her son’s story, she asked the crowd if there were any Blue or Gold Star families in attendance and if there were current or retired veterans in attendance. We had a Gold Star mom and a Blue Star mom in attendance.

Danielle Ibsen is a resident of Temecula, California and has two sons serving in the military. Their names are Tim and Dan Cord and they joined the Marine Corps shortly after September 11. They told their mom that they wanted to help America defend itself and ensure that another terrorist attack like that could never happen again. They did not want to stand by and do nothing while terrorists plot to kill innocents here. Tim and Dan enlisted and completed boot camp together, but went to different school for further training. Then they were reunited when they were both stationed in Fallujah, just not in the same units. Now they are back home safely and stationed at Camp Pendleton. Tim and Dan play in a band called American Hitmen. They both love music and their band includes other Marine Musicians. In fact, the whole band is Marines. They are brave men and I thank them for their service.

This is Sandra Aceves. She had three loving son’s until her youngest was tragically cut down in Iraq, heroically defending his brothers in arms. Sandra’s eldest son Rodrigo Mendes-Aceves is a photographer and lives in San Diego where Sandra also resides. Her second son Enrique is an Officer in the US Air Force, serving proudly in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her youngest boy Petty Officer 3rd Class Fernando A. Mendes-Aceves, a Navy Corpsman, 2nd Battalion attached to the 4th Marine Regiment in the First Marine Expeditionary Force. Basically that means that Sandra’s son was a Navy man who served in a combat role as a medic for the Marine Corps which has no ‘medics’ of its own.

This is one of the most dangerous jobs in the military, reserved for the bravest. This is especially true in Iraq because of the tactics the insurgents use. Like the Japanese defenders of Iwo Jima, the terrorist insurgents in Iraq often do not shoot to kill their targets, they attempt to simply would them. They know that Americans never leave a fellow soldier behind, and that our soldiers will always help and look out for one another. So when a terrorist takes aim and wounds one of our men, it takes at least two Americans out of the battle because at least one or often several of his fellow soldiers will always stop and try to get that wounded man to safety.

On April 6th 2004 Fernando went out with a quick response team to aid a team of Marines that were pinned down in an ambush out in Ramadi Al-Anbar. They successfully helped that force to overcome the enemy and continue their mission but on the way back home Fernando’s unit was ambushed by another force of insurgents. Their driver was shot by a sniper and a firefight broke out. When one of Fernando’s good friends Alan Walker was shot and injured, Fernando leapt right into the line of fire to help. Tragically the whole fire team was cut down and Fernando’s body was found together with his friend whom he risked and gave his life trying to save.

Sandra pays tribute to her son every day, and finds some comfort and support in the families of other brave soldiers, all friends of Fernando’s, who also lost their lives that day. Moms from Palmdale and Fremont, CA and Minnesota all stay in contact to remember their boys and emulate the same bonds of love and friendship that held all these men together tightly, even in the face of danger in Iraq.

Sandra remembers that the men of that battalion were all good friends of her son’s and affectionately nicknamed him “Doc Mendes.” Before making the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms Doc Mendes was famous in his battalion for encouraging the rest of the guys to lift weights on their off-time, which he himself loved, and also taught his fellow soldiers several old Mexican songs which he would make them sing. He was a very patriotic young man who loved America. He believed in bringing liberty and democracy to the people of Iraq and loved the Iraqi people. Even though he was born in Mexico, just like his older brothers, he decided to immigrate to America and his love of America and the freedoms that this nation gave him and family were what made him so patriotic and what motivated him to serve.

I am sitting here in this little motor home now, and it’s about 10pm. We’re trying to get to Tucson. And I find myself reading and re-reading this story over and over again. First of all, because I want to make sure I get the facts right about this brave young man. Writing about Fernando, and thinking about his mother…I keep wondering what she would think of this, of what I am saying. I feel like anything I write, it can’t possibly tell the story the way it deserves to be told. There is no possible way that I could give Fernando or his mother, or any of the soldiers and families who have sacrificed for my freedoms, the thanks that they deserve for what hey have given up and given to me. I owe everything I have, my whole life, to this country. And because they fight to keep it safe, I owe everything I have to these brave men and women.

I just hope what we are doing with this tour is enough to convey the thanks and gratitude that we all feel. I see it on the faces of vets and families when we go to the rallies. They are so thankful to our troops, and it just makes me so angry to think that there are some people out there who don’t mind letting our troops down. They’re out there fighting a war we sent them to, to protect our freedoms by giving up their own, and yet some people in this country are trying to undermine their mission, to defeat the cause that our soldiers are out there fighting and dying for.

It is hard for me to stop typing. I feel like I just have to keep talking about the sacrifice and commitment of men like Fernando, and Tim and Daniel Cord because their sense of duty and commitment was endless and as such, it cannot be emphasized enough. Ultimately I must recognize that there is no way to adequately share what they sacrificed and there’s no way to adequately communicate the importance of that sacrifice…regardless of how much I type and how long I try. So all I can do is give up and hope that our readers can somehow understand.

If you can imagine trying to measure courage, dedication and love in units like we do money, heat, or volume, it would still be too infinite to understand or comprehend. I feel like I have to keep writing and writing until what I have said equals the extent of what they displayed, but that is impossible. I could keep writing and writing forever and it would never be enough.

Posted By:
MAF Blogger Danny
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I am posting this to the Fresno page so that all the dates will stay in order.

Day Two - Los Angeles

Los Angeles was yesterday. I had no time to write about it. This trip is starting to get pretty taxing. We’re in Phoenix now, heading to Tucson. I have a lot of stuff to catch up on and write about. I can hardly even remember Los Angeles. Each day feels like three days before I started this. So LA is four days ago for me.

I do however, recall that Buzz’s family met us in Griffith Park and Buzz had to let the tour go without him because his Son’s birthday was the next day. Which is today! Wow.
Congratulations and a happy 5th birthday to Tanner. I am sorry for the poor showing of pictures and such, but we had to really rush through Los Angeles. I remember though, that Debbie Lee got a standing ovation from the crowd there. And she tells me that she remembers Diana’s performance as being very powerful at that rally.

I have to say I was really touched at this rally by all the words of encouragement and just making all of us feel so special. Everyone came up to talk to us individually so I feel like I got to meet everyone who came to the rally in Los Angeles. The shirts were going really well too, everyone seems to like them! Now that it’s a whole day later and I have not slept much, I really have a good basis talk about why I’m doing this.

I mean, why would anyone do something that requires them to work all day long, and sleep 3 or 4 hours a night? I find myself thinking about this and I think we all have something that keeps us fighting, and prevents us from getting low morale when something goes wrong, something breaks on the RV, or when we just get exhausted. For me, and I think most of us here it’s talking to the people who come to the rallies, because they have such appreciation for what we are doing not to mention enthusiasm. Everyone always wants to talk about their ideas for helping the soldiers and communicate our message. It fills my heart with so much joy just to know that not only do these people agree with me, but the wish they could be out here with us too. We here at Move America Forward wish that we could take everyone along with us to DC and make Gathering of Eagles a truly magnificent event that get on every paper, every magazine, every TV station and every other medium of communication that the left-of-center controls. Then there is no way the media could ignore the voice of Americans who do not want to see the lessons of Vietnam rear their ugly head once more.

I also remember there was a gentleman there, JD Wilcox, who was filming our rally as part of a documentary he was doing on Move America Forward and I think he was saying that he was nearing completion. I know he talked to Buzz for a long time and he also interviewed Diana. JD has worked on many projects that are out of the mainstream media and I think that’s really awesome.

Buzz describes some of the awful statements made by people his book “War Crimes” discusses


Deborah Johns, Diana Nagy, Debbie Lee

Diana moves many in the crowd to tears with her touching song “Where Freedom Flies”


The “Victory Blanket” as we affectionately call it has hundreds of signuatures from a dozen cities with messages of thanks and gratitude for the troops.

Day Two - Fresno

On the way from Modesto to Fresno we were escorted by Bob “Snake” Obra and Rob “Rat” Talbot, both Vietnam Vets and hardcore bikers. When I asked for their names they asked if I meant bike name or legal name. I wonder; which is used more often? Snake and Rat are members of the Warrior Brotherhood Veterans MC.

Okay sorry folks I don’t remember much about Modesto or Fresno anymore either.

One awesome thing I remember about the people in Fresno was their enthusiasm when we pulled up.


When I hopped out of the RV and ran around the front there were at least four people waiting to shake hands with me and one of the guys – sorry I forget your name, if you remember who you are e-mail and I’ll correct this – actually was strolling right up to the front and was the first to greet us. Everyone was going crazy it was really exciting!








I can tell you that the Fresno event was pretty standard issue as far as our speakers go. We had Deborah Johns MC and speak, Debbie Lee speaking and Buzz Patterson speaking again as well. Diana impressed everyone with her songs again, and I noticed a lot of people wanted her CD at this rally! And Diana was very happy to sign each one.





Buzz was signing books left and right as Diana signed her CD’s





Some interesting news, in addition to the usual news report where we have one camera off to the side just observing, Buzz actually had an interview with three reporters from Fox, ABC, and CBS.



The asked him all about the tour and what we were doing. Buzz gave them the run down. They asked what we hoped to accomplish and why we were doing the tour. Buzz told him they we are trying to raise public consciousness about the true goings on of the war and to raise public awareness that Iraq is part of the global war on terror. He also told them that we want people to understand the need to get behind General Patreus.


I will say that maybe this is an aspect of our trip which I feel we might be overlooking or not concentrating on enough. We talk a lot about the surge and how that has been helping to slowly change the tide, and that we should give the surge a chance to work. But I think people need to understand that the ‘surge’ was only part of the new strategy in Iraq. When General Patreus took over in Iraq his MAIN innovation in actually was not so much the 20,000 extra troops but a new strategy that focuses on counter-insurgency tactics.


This is important because the rhetoric of the Harry Reid , Murtha, and to some extent Tom DeLay (based on some of his comments) suggests that that 20,000 extra troops is just like throwing more money at a broken system. They draw an analogy to an issue like healthcare. The basic premise is that our healthcare system is “broken” and that each year congress proposes higher budgets and throws more money at the system, but that money gets wasted because of the systemic problem within. This is a very real problem. What this analogy leaves out however, is that General Patreus is a counter-insurgency expert.


Patreus’s new strategy for Iraq is both a surge in the troops and a NEW STRATEGY. It directly addresses the systemic problems that held a chokehold on the military’s previous operations. Patreus trained South Vietnamese in the 1960s and now he directing the training of Iraqi army and police in Iraq. He is an expert in counter insurgency because the Vietcong in South Vietnam WAS an insurgency. Patreus also TAUGHT counter-insurgency at Westpoint. This man ‘wrote the book’ on dealing with an internal insurgency as Buzz has related to me.


The reporters interviewing Buzz also asked what he expected Patreus’s report to say when it is delivered sometime before or on September 15th. Buzz said he expects to hear that the situation is radically improved and that we owe it to our troops and Iraqis to give it a shot.


On one last, lighter note one of the attendees at this Fresno rally had a VERY interesting vehicle which he proudly displayed for all the wide-eyed onlookers. We were all beginning to pack up at the conclusion of the rally and suddenly I hear the Battle Hymn of the Marine Corps…but where was it coming from. I turned around and here comes this wild looking car plastered with stickers and lettering. Its blasting out the Hymn and my brain starts working, dusting off old files way back, and finally I remember SOME of the words, as the hymnal comes to a close… “you will find us on the job, the United States MARINES!”





Deborah went wild. She thought that was so cool. And I simply had to agree. Staff Sergeant (RET) George Dillon, USMC, is the owner of this vehicle which proudly displays his love of the Marine Corps, his outfit (First Force Recon…the same outfit that Deborah’s son serves in today) and his involvement in local organizations such as American Legion and the Clovis Young Marines.





Next stop is Los Angeles…Let’s Roll !!(cheesy plug)

Posted By:
MAF Blogger Danny
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Greetings all ye patriotic visitors to MoveAmericaForward.org. I regret to inform you that I am going to have to post a double whammy today. My sincere intention was to have a separate post for each rally but that just is not logistically possible if we intend to maintain any semblance of efficiency.

I will still separate it into different posts, but I would just ask the reader to bear in mind that in such a situation it is more difficult to keep the events of one rally fresh in one’s mind.

I’m in the RV with Buzz, Debbie Lee, Diana Nagy, Gary and Comrade Sal Russolini. We’re on our way to Los Angeles and the caravan is amazingly still almost-on-time!!
We hope to rally in LA at 3:15 this afternoon at Griffith Park. Hopefully after that rally we will have more a more detailed account. I sure hope people show too.

This morning in Modesto we had a very intimate rally and there were some very touching moments I have to tell you about. The crowd was not as massive as in other places; I counted about 30 people at the very beginning of it. What amazed me was that the rally was at 0800 hours instead of the usually 0900 that we hold most of the morning rallies.

I expected turnout to be horrible because of the early time, but to my amazement I saw a big group of at least 15 or 20 people walking out of the hotel at 7:30. I was amazed. I woke up at 6 and I was the first person in the lobby at 6:40, Buzz showed up 2 minutes later as I was printing directions. By 6:50 it seemed like everyone was awake and getting ready for the rally and Ryan and I had started setting up the audio and merchandise/victory blanket table.

So I figure, “This is great, I’ll have time to set everything up and we’ll still have at least half an hour before anyone gets here so we can go eat breakfast at that really good lookin’ buffet they had in there.” It was no sooner that I had internalized these fateful words that the 15 or 20 that I mentioned earlier came out of the hotel lobby en masse. I was completely taken aback, we weren’t halfway through setting up yet and already these people were ready to get started! It was well before 8:00 and everyone was asking if they could help set up.

These were a really dedicated and energized group of folks from the Modesto area. I was really happy with the rally there. Deborah John lead the rally this stop and she did a wonderful job! In fact her speech about her Son’s commitment and his tours of duty brought her and several others to tears. I expect to see a lot of this in the next few weeks. Debbie Lee also spoke from the heart and she brought to my attention ANOTHER Gold Star Mom in the crowd.

Corporal Michael D Anderson Jr. was killed in the line of fire, doing his duty for God and Country. And just like Debbie Lee says about her own son EVERY TIME she retells his proud story, Michael’s life was not taken from him by terrorists. Michael was willing to GIVE his life for his fellow soldiers and Americans back home. Whether they believed in him or not. That was how strongly he felt. I am trying to get more information on Michael’s Story, so check back for an update soon!








One last note on the Modesto Rally was that one gentleman in attendance who is a frequent poster on FREE REPUBLIC (little shout out there!) Dave Jersild. Dave makes wind chimes as a hobby and made two sets of patriotic wind chimes with the chimes painted in an American flag pattern. It took Dave 2 weeks to finish his projects which he donated to Move America Forward for the tour to give to a gold star family or wounded veteran.

Posted By:
MAF Blogger Danny
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Day One Carson City

Wow.

That was absolutely amazing.

I totally remember now why I like this kind of thing. I got up at about 6:30 and by the time everyone was assembled we were running just a little bit late. By the time we were able to get going finally, it was a little past 8. Duncan Hunter and crew were already there.

I seriously wonder what kind of suits these guys wear…and where they buy’em. They are so nice! Hunter looked awesome and he was already talking with people.

When we got all the trucks and vehicles in, there were people showing up in a steady stream. It was well before 9 am. Immediately Ryan jumps to work on setting up the podium and the audio equipment. I was running around like crazy. This group from Carson City was there to sell cookies, doughnuts, and drinks to raise money for the troops. I forget the name of them… Oh wait it’s in this picture let me look…

Operation: First Response.

Nice people but they had a lot of stuff and they needed help setting it up. So Joe basically loans me out… “Oh yes sure, we’ll help you…DANNY! Help these people set up!”

Thanks Joe. It was cool though, they had a nice canopy in the shade it was very pleasant and everyone lent a hand setting everything up.

By this time there were already people showing up to protest US and I could already see small groups of people shooting remarks back and forth. Lovely. I began to think this was going to get ugly. Luckily thought I noticed at least 3 local sheriff’s deputies milling around and I stopped and thanked them for coming by to make sure order was preserved. I then busied myself bringing out shirts and such, setting up our table with all our goodies and the sheet for people to sign.  It seemed like we took our time getting the show on the road, and I think that was because we set up the audio equipment way out in the field where there were no trees…just hot sun. I could tell people were reluctant to come out from under the great shade they were enjoying on the other side of the park.

But then Ryan hit the play button and Diana took up her microphone and opened into the most beautiful rendition of the star spangled banner you have ever heard. People took note and began moving towards the area. I was running around passing flags out to people and encouraging people to sign the sheet. I didn’t know where anyone else was. Ryan was up front on the audio equipment. I could not find Joe or Sal, I am sure they were off somewhere talking to press or directing our people what to do and where to be. Mary I did not see anywhere. I assume that’s because she never stopped moving. Walking around…or running shall I say, and taking loads and loads of pictures.
I just realized that I am being very detailed about this rally and how it works. And there’s 26 of them left. Which means that by the time we get to San Antonio, you guys are going to know exactly how everything works, and it’s going to get very old with me giving every little detail about it. Well tough. I’m gonna do it anyways!

So Melanie and Buzz introduced and welcomed everyone to the rally and then I think Melanie spoke and then Buzz talked about his experience in the Clinton Administration and why the prospect of another one is so frightening.

I just remember one thing from Buzz’s interview with that extreme leftist who thinks he “is the military” Jon Soltz. They were discussing Hillary and Buzz recalled that one of the first things she tried to do in her husband’s administration was to ban military uniforms in the White House. What on earth was the point of that? I’ll never understand that woman.

Anyways when Buzz was finished, Melanie introduced Debbie Lee who told the story of her son’s sacrifice. I can’t believe how dedicated that man was. He put himself in the line of fire three times in one day to defend his brothers in arms as well as the Iraqi civilians whom it was his mission to train and protect. He worked with and helped train the new Iraqi army which has burgeoned to great proportions since Debbie’s Son and dedicated Special Forces like him began their work in Iraq.

Today Iraq has more than 200,000 soldiers to defend itself with, and that number is growing every day. These men are receiving training from the finest, most elite, professional military organization in the history –to date. To me, that is nothing but reassuring that in the coming months or years – however long it takes, it is worth the investment – the Iraqi Army will be prepared to defend it’s city streets with less and less support from American forces.

After Debbie Lee talked about her son’s story and how he was KIA, Deborah Johns took the stage and told her son’s story, that he has served four tours in the military and volunteered for deployment in Iraq THREE TIMES. What bravery. What stalwart commitment to a cause which one believes in. This boy reminds me of what a young Winston Churchill must have been like. And Deborah has also served four tours of duty, as she has been on every MAF caravan. That’s four tours of duty educating people on the difference between the mass media and the defeatism of liberal legislators in stark contrast to the reality on the ground in Iraq. That reality being, that we are winning the war, stopping Al Queda, and spreading democracy and liberty to the hungry souls of Iraqis who have spent decades under oppression. Deborah’s speech was indeed very moving.

Duncan Hunter spoke next, and there were massive number of people there! Duncan was an amazing speaker. I have never personally seen him address a crowd before, nor had I met the gentleman before today, but I must say I was very, VERY impressed. The most touching thing about Congressman Hunter’s speech was a story he reiterated to us from the wisdom of one of history’s greatest leaders: President Ronald Reagan. According to Duncan, Reagan had once spoken of a soldier who was infantry in Vietnam and was KIA. When his buddies found his body they discovered something they did not know before; he had kept a diary. When reviewing the man’s last entry they were particularly moved by one short passage. I do not have a direct quotation, but it basically said that despite the horrors of that war, despite the mud, the setbacks, and the vicious cycle of advance, retreat, taking and giving ground nightly, despite the seemingly endless assault of nightly shelling and mortar fire, this soldier was still deeply committed to his cause. He wrote that I “must fight this war as though the future of the whole United States of America depended on me and me alone.” That was the nature of his resolve. Hearing that from Congressman Hunter ALMOST made me tear up in the eyes. How could one man, knowing that his death could come at any time or any day, and that his commanders would likely only see him as another KIA on the daily list of KIAs. Knowing full well that the public at home would likely spit on him in thank for all his efforts and risks. And yet he was still so committed to his mission and he took it so seriously that we would defend it as if the fate of the nation relied on his performance alone. That is a lot of weight to put on your shoulders, and he was willing to die for it. And in the end he made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms. Would anyone doubt that he did it with nothing but love and compassion in his heart?

That is the nature of our soldiers today fighting in Iraq. The atrocities we see the media talking about are the exception to the rule and I think it’s totally unfair that our fine soldiers, young men and women cut from the same cloth as that magnificent soldier Congressman Hunter talked about, are being characterized the same way John Kerry characterized his fellow soldiers as brute thugs, rapists, and murderers.

Okay enough ranting from me. Congressman Hunter got an uproarious cheer and several locals noted to me that they were impressed with the numbers of people who showed up and their enthusiasm. People were very, very enthusiastic in fact; they were giving donations, handing in notes, and taking CDs, bumper stickers, magnets, T-shirts, and dozens of Buzz’s books. I think we gave out almost two full boxes of Buzz’s books and he was autographing them left and right. Everyone was VERY, VERY generous. They were donating cash and writing checks left and right and often donated much more than the cost to produce all the books and t-shirts they were taking home. I also wanted to note that there was another group there Soldier’s Angels and there was a REALLY cute little girl in a green shirt walking around with her friend. Really nice people...if you’re reading this...call me!

Now we are on our way to Sacramento for another rally. It’s very exhilarating and even though we’re REALLY late (heavy traffic on the 80) we are excited to do it again.

And I am reminded of why I wanted to get back into politics and talking with people about issues that matter to them. I don’t know how many people I talked to today that wished me luck, and ACTUALLY THANKED ME...YES ME for what I was doing. I felt compelled to thank THEM for coming out and supporting our troops. But these people were gracious enough and actually thankful that Move America Forward is here to spread the good word. The GOOD WORD.
Day One Sacramento

After leaving Sacramento we hit traffic. And I mean TRAFFIC.

We were already late. This did not to happen to us!!! The traffic was horrible! Labor day people…LABOR DAY. Come on now. You know you need to get back to work on Tuesday…what are you doing still up in the mountains at 1:00 and waiting in traffic. Y’all should have come home yesterday! So anyways we roll into Sacramento like an hour and a half late. Possibly later than that…I’ll try to find out and fix this post later. But the point is we were late, really late. Really, really late.

We were getting calls on the road from Donald, Robert and Doug, waiting at the rally, and trying to keep the people from leaving. The radio station 101.7 The Wolf was there and from what I hear they did a lot to help keep people entertained and busy while we were on the way in. I believe what happened was The Wolf had printed and a bunch of cards for the troops and I think they were asking people to fill those out while waiting for us to arrive.

The way the traffic worked out, our caravan got split up a bit and as it turned out Diane Nagey arrived at the next Rally before us. I was on the phone with Don telling him that Diane was ahead of us and I heard him say “Oh this might be them pulling up right here and I could already here people cheering in the background.

We pulled in not too far after and I was very pleased to see that although the media had left us and the Wolf was forced to pack up all their equipment (they were running on a large capacity battery and it just ran out of juice) that there were still at least 100 to 150 people still hanging around. Ryan parked one of the trucks up ahead and Joe and I parked our truck a bit further back just because we wanted to give the RV room to get a good parking spot. Joe stayed behind to find a better place for the truck and I jumped out and ran up to see what I could unpack.

As I was running by I saw the local squadron of Young Marines doing some maneuver for the crowd. It was pretty crazy because as I went by they were doing their marine shouts and it actually scared me because they seemed to have these crazy, bellowing voices. But they looked like little kids. So we basically unpack everything in a frantic rush; nobody speaks to one another, we just grab whatever we know is needed out of the truck and run towards the spot. I grabbed a table at first, and then I started bringing out shirts and books. I think that since Ryan is the obvious audio set up guy, I am the de-facto everything-else-guy. That usually means t-shirts, magnets and things of that nature, as well as the sheet and markers and stuff. So I get everything set up and immediately we were selling shirts. They also started the show immediately and everyone kind of sat down and listened. It was basically the same as Sacramento except that we didn’t have Duncan Hunter and we had a different MC who was Mark Williams.

Mark introduced Melanie and Buzz, Melanie gave her speech. Buzz talked about the war, Debbie and Deborah told the stories of their sons’ service to the country.

...

We had to try and wrap everything up really quickly because after starting the Rally in Sacramento late we were going to be late for San Francisco.

Not to mention today one of the bridges is out. So there’s more traffic on the remaining ones. Awesome.

We packed everything up, also in a frenzied state of confusion. Everyone just snapped into action, if they saw something on the ground that they recognized or that had the words “Move America Forward” on it, we threw it in the back of the trucks. Obviously the trucks are mess now. So unpacking in San Francisco I am assuming is going to be tricky.

We are on our way now. I took my sweet time to start writing this blog. We got into a little confusion with the GPS systems on the way. Apparently we weren’t sure whether to believe it or not. And finally I was able to get it to detour and pick a different route and we were confident in where we were going. We’re right now driving through something called North Beach or what Ryan tells me was once known as the ‘Italian district’

Oh hey…I just saw my first GLBTQ Rainbow flag flying over some little café. Super.

Hopefully we are getting close to our rally point, which I believe is near Pelosi’s office. And we’re only 9 minutes late. That’s awesome because Ryan and I were just talking about how late we were and about how much extra time we budgeted for each commute, and whether it’s sufficient or not.

Alright, looks like its show time for San Francisco pretty soon here, we’ll see you guys later.

Posted By:
Melanie Morgan
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Pictures from the San Francisco Rally:

VIEW FIRST SAN FRANCISCO PHOTOS - HERE

And a report from the San Francisco rally...

Report from San Francisco Rally attendess - HERE

And another blog report.... - Read it HERE