Who Would Jesus Waterboard or What I did the Day Bush Came to Town

Who Would Jesus Waterboard or What I did the Day Bush Came to Joplin
At 10:30 the road blocks were up and the road to the airport was closed. It wouldn’t for another 45 minutes till Bush arrived. So I took a route I knew and ended up in a field along Bush’s route. Eventually 100 people would stand in that field. Some where there for Bush waving little American flags. Others like me were there to protest. On the ground someone had paint the grass with a orange line, exactly 30 yards from the road. I was told we were not suppose to cross that line. Well my friends what do you think I did about that line?

I went back to my car and got out my 5ft by 3 ft sign sign. While I was unfolding it I heard a man yell “What’s you sign say?” Not knowing the man and his 2 big friends with him, I pause unsure if I should show them. But hey you only live once. So I opened my sign and said “Who Would Jesus Waterboard” and running down the side of the sign were 4 - 18x14 inch pictures of dead bodies floating in the water, victims of Bush’s failure to act quickly after Katrina. “Great sign” the man said and his friends agreed.
I stood and talked to the nice young men and we all agreed Bush was a dirty rotten bastard.

Suddenly someone in the crowd yelled “Here comes his plane”. That’s when I crossed that orange line. I walked right up near the edge of the road and held up that sign as Bush’s plane taxied to a stop on the runway, which by the way was 100 yards on the other side of the road. As the plane turned giving us a side view I gave Bush the one finger salute. Do I need to tell you which finger? The plane proceeded to the airport and you could see Bush get out and get into his bullet proof black SUV. I turned and saw that I was alone, not one other person had crossed that orange line with me. It was a rude awakening for me to see so many people fearful of what might happen to them if they had crossed that orange line. I on the other had no such fear. I had Lucky Linda, female bail bondsman’s number in my pocket! Never leave home without it, when going to a anti Bush protest.

At 11:30 here comes Bush and numerous other black SUV’s. The ones in front and behind him had their windows open and you could see the barrels of AK 47’s sticking out the windows. I was prepared to see it because just yesterday a woman had called into the Thom Hartmann show and told us that while she stood waiting for Bush to drive by in her town, that they had actually pointed their guns right at her. Wow I thought what a field day the press would have had if Clinton drove around America pointing AK 47’s at the citizens. But this is Bush and he is probably the most hated President America will ever have.

As Bush drove by I yelled F you Bush and gave him another one finger salute. A woman next to me who was telling her 2 year old to wave his little flag at the President said I was shameful because I had said the F word. “Oh well”, I said next time don’t stand next to someone with a anti Bush sign. As they walked away I said in 20 years your son will find himself drafted and sent to Iraq and could end up being waterboarded. When I turned back standing in front of me was a sheriff, telling me I have the right to free speech but not the right to threaten people. I looked him in the eye and said “Who did I threaten?” He told me again not to threaten anyone and then he noticed all the people watching so he turned and walked away. I have no doubt in my mind he would liked to have arrested me but last time in 2004 when Cheney was here the cops had illegally arrest several people and it cost the department a big chunk of change in settlement money for violating their rights and unlawful arrest.

As I headed for my car that same cop followed behind me. He walked over to the women I had had words with and I heard the woman say, “Thank You for helping us with people like that“. I had to bite my tongue in half because I wanted to say “People like What, lady?” People like me who raised a patriotic son that joined the Army 4 months after 9/11 because he thought his country was under attack. A person like me who’s son’s job in the Army is to disarm bombs when he gets to Iraq. My son choose bomb disposal because he said it would save lives. I wanted to yell that in her face and more but it would have been words that fell on deaf ears because she was a Bush kool-aid drinker. Yup I had taught my two year old once how to wave his little flag too. Gees people like me.
After Bush went by I drove down by the University where he was stumping for No Talent. Along the way I saw crime scene tape everywhere and barricades. Eventually I ended up back by the airport and headed for the north-west end. Our airport is small and has only one runway long enough for big jets.

I had decided to stand on the highway near the end of the runway where Bush’s plane would leave. Pulling onto the shoulder of the road I waited for the sound of the plane to fire up. I figured when I heard the plane I would get out and hold up my sign for George to see. I sat in the passengers seat with the door open reading a book when I heard a helicopter heading toward me from the airport terminal. I stepped out and stood next to my car watching the helicopter circle me. Finally hovering 50 feet from the ground and close enough to blow my hair into my face I waved at the two men staring at me. The pilots passenger waved as if to say leave now. I waved back again and smiled, then bent over and picked my sign up off the ground and opened for them to see. And then the pilot drew a little closer and turning the helicopters full body into my view and read my sign, WHO WOULD JESUS WATERBOARD? I think I saw a small smile from the pilot. I must admit it scared the living day lights out of me but I wasn’t going to let them know that, so I stood my ground. After reading my sign they flew off. With my heart in my throat and pounding like I had just run the Boston Marathon I loaded my sign into the car and drove across the highway onto a side street. If I hadn’t been so scared I would have thought to reach into my pocket and take their picture but then again they might have thought I had a gun and shot me dead because that pilots passenger did have a rifle between his legs.

Sitting on the side road was a utility worker and his truck so I pulled up along side him. “Did you see that” I said to the guy.. “What?” he says. So I told him what had happened. He could not see my car on the highway because I was up on a hill and he was down in a valley. He shook his head in disgust and we talked about all that we Americans had lost since Bush had become President. While back up on the highway three cop cars came and went finally leaving one to watch us just in case one of us had a rocket launcher in our vehicle waiting to take out Air Force One. Ha Ha. Finally in the distance we heard the planes engine fire up and I hurried to get out my sign. Well I must say Bush has a great pilot because he used every inch of that short small town airport runway. I thought he was going to clip the fence at the end with the planes belly but he didn’t. That plane was so low I could have hit it with a rock. And because of where I was standing anyone inside the plane could not have seen me, the plane went right over our heads. Oh Well. Saying good bye to my new friend we went out separate ways but not until I gave him a few web links I thought he would find interesting, like www.thomhartmann.com I told him if he wanted to hear someone talk about how he feels and thinks then Thom was the man to listen too.

I started to head home but felt my message WHO WOULD JESUS WATERBOARD had not been seen by enough people, so I headed for the airport entrance. Pulling onto the airport road I had found my audience. There must have been 200 cars backed up trying to get out onto the highway but because it had been blocked off till Bush left it was jammed. Our airport road would be a side street in any big city and has only one way in and out.
So I pulled over, jumped out with my sign and started yelling, Christian Nation Who Would Jesus Torture, My son is a soldier too! Tell Bush to stop the torture of prisoners! I repeated this over and over until all the cars were gone. Many people smiled and gave me a thumbs up, some looked away and one man asked me if I believed in abortion and I said do you believe in capital punishment? We went back and forth each asking our question and neither of us giving an answer or an inch, it was fun but then traffic moved on and so did he. But before he went I yelled at him, I’m not standing here with a pro abortion sign am I? Kool-aid drinkers always trying to change the subject.
I also saw a few African Americans (not many live here in white mans bible belt and with Neibers Nazi‘s as cops you can‘t blame them) who could see my Katrina pictures with the bodies floating in the water. I locked eyes with them and we could feel each others pain, mine because I was yelling my sons and soldier too and we all know what’s happening in Iraq to them and theirs because Bush had let thousands of African Americans die in New Orleans. All three gave me their nod of approval. And last was the old people, as old or older than my own 75 year old mother, with them I yelled extra loud just in case they were hard of hearing. WHO WOULD JESUS TORTURE! That line struck hard with them the most because with one foot in the grave do they really want to throw away a life’s work of Christian faith to support a man and his administration that tortures people? With the old women I could see their minds working in thought about what I was yelling at them.

Finally all the cars were gone. I felt satisfied my message was heard and hopefully would be passed on by my captive audience about the lady at the airport holding the sign that read WHO WOULD JESUS WATERBOARD? I felt satisfied that several hummers with soldiers had heard me and seen my sign but only me gave me side glances, and I was satisfied that several people had taken my picture, I won’t hold my breath to see any printed in the Joplin Globe but maybe one just might make it on the internet and with that it was a good progressive day.
Stay strong my fellow defenders of America, it’s Constitution and all the diversity that has made this the best country in the world in which to live. Mazzeltov.

OMG p.s. I had to explain to several people what waterboarding was? Can you believe that?