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On October 13th,
hundreds of people nationwide posted political banners on freeway
overpasses critical of Bush and the Iraq War. Here are some of their
stories.
Phoenix, AZ
The reason we did this was for our daughter, who will turn 1 year
old on Election Day. We want a better future for her than would be
possible with another Bush term, and the domino of global political,
economic, social, and environmental catastrophes that will result
for decades to come. This is the first time we have taken overt
political action like this.
From a Mom
I'm in. It's the best thing I can do as a Mom to 3 kids, and a wife
to a full time law student who also works full time. I have given
all the money I can, and more. I have no time that I can be away
from my kids for hours, but THIS, now this, I can do. I just hope it
doesn't become an obsession ;-) I'm thrilled, thank you.
Detroit, MI
I get two three things out of this............ I get to do my part
to get rid of bush........... I get to speak my voice to millions
when they read our signs..... its a mad rush putting signs up and
running around..........
Vermont
Thanks for inspiring my friend & I to do this. She had to persuade
me--I was reluctant and nervous at first. But as soon as I laid
brush to cardboard, I was seized with a feeling of certainty,
determination, and--dare I say it? Empowerment.
Washington DC
I haven't done this since the Vietnam War required it of us. These
signs are from just outside DC -- When I got to my site I found
another sign had already been put up. "Elect the Soldier". It needed
a little tape, so I gave it some.
Austin, TX
My two sons and I painted the sign yesterday and hung it this
morning on the 35th St. overpass. It was apparently a great place;
someone else had posted a sign right next to where we posted ours. I
let my boys play hooky from school for this little enterprise- we
did a little home-schoolin' in Free Speech!
Colorado Springs, CO
Here's our pics in Colorado Springs… it says, "Bomb Texas, They Have
Oil”.
From a Soldier in Iraq
Hey there. Yeah, I'm in Iraq. I'll be coming home in early November.
I am posting as much as I can out here, but my method has to be
slightly different from you guys. I can get in big trouble for stuff
like this so I have to be super secret about it.
Yesterday was the 13th, and I was in a guard tower all day, but I
did manage to blog 3 porta johns :) What can I say? War is hell :)
What you guys do is wonderful. I, and many of my fellow soldiers
really appreciate it. Keep up the good work, and if you need
anything from us let me know!
Pennsylvania
What a great feeling. My friend Tony and I set out tonight at 11 pm
and posted four signs by midnight When we drove back around to look
at them, I can't believe how good I felt. This could get addicting.
We are already planning our next blog looking at a few overpasses. I
am borrowing an overhead projector from the Church. Our Pastor is a
radical.
Iowa
I am not an artist. I am not a painter.
However, I did my best. I'm in a 70% Republican district in NW Iowa.
I am getting some dirty looks, which makes me smile.
Thanks SO MUCH for the inspiration!
Somewhere
We printed up some large scale 3’x5’ color photos of Iraqi children
and Iraqi casualties, as well as some messages that we felt were
appropriate. The photos are ones that she supplied and were provided
by photographers who she worked with in Iraq. The sign were attached
at two different pedestrian over crossings during morning rush hour.
Somewhere
What a rush! We put up 7 signs last night, and our associates are
putting up more today and tomorrow. (We would have gotten more done,
but we had to spend rather a lot of time driving past our signs and
admiring them.)
Dallas,
TX
Me and my partner in freedom, "B" are geared up in our little
factory to mass produce another batch to go out this Sunday night.
;o) Keep fighting the good fight.
Chicago, IL
I've wanted to do this for some time, and tonight was the night. I
made this wonderful sign while I was at work at a Shell gas station.
I think it's par for the course that I was getting paid to make this
sign, unbeknownst to them, which speaks out against the very people
I work for. I feel like I've done something great.
Michigan
Just wanted to let you know that your wonderful idea has spread. We
are about a 20 person crew, who are just beginning to work
constantly on making thousands of signs for all over our state. We
plan on puttin’ them up in a steady stream starting this
month.
Albuquerque, NM
I did this sign because I'm tired of Bush continuing to refuse to
take responsibility for his actions. When asked about mistakes he
has made, he constantly avoids the question or places blame
elsewhere. I want to call people's attention to that!
Los Angeles, CA
I am a fifteen year-old Californian kid and my friend and I are
planning to place a few signs on an overpass of a near-by freeway.
Do your parents know what you are
doing?
Well, I haven't told them flat out what I'm doing, but they know. My
parents are both liberal thinking and know what I am doing, however
my dad has a government job and is a lawyer, so he wouldn't admit to
anybody what I was doing, but he still knows and is, I'm sure, proud
of me and my cause. His attitude towards this would be, "Don't ask,
don't tell." My grandma is a hardcore, bleeding-heart liberal also
knows of my endeavors. She is my primary source of white paint, as
she has a storage shed full of more wall paint than she will ever
need. Look forward to sending the new pictures tomorrow morning.
Till Then,
An email message from the Freeway
Blogger to cohort Sev Williams on Oct 13th
Thanks, man. This was the greatest and most emotionally exhausting
day of my life, and you and Rachel and Marc really came through for
me. We can talk later about what we do next, but I think the first
thing is to send a global thank you and maybe a push for the next
level of freewayblogging - lots of smaller signs cleverly placed.
This is a very important and select group of people we've got
here... I think we're quite capable of accomplishing some great
things in a very short period of time.
Ann Arbor, Michigan
I just wanted to let you know that our freeway blogging went
wonderfully in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In fact, several signs are still
up. It was a blast (terribly addictive!), so we will be posting many
more signs before Election Day.
Atlanta, GA
Susie and I went out last night at 12:30 or so and put up the sign
on the overpass at on the east side of the bridge. We first scouted
the Flat Shoals Road overpass, but there were cops EVERYWHERE. It
was touch and go for a while there...but we found some good places.
We are going to make another foray tonight...
Phoenix, AZ
Thanks so much for the inspiration! The pictures are awesome! So
glad to see that it's really catching on! And you're right, it's a
bit addictive! We can’t wait to do it again! We all had such an
awesome time making the signs, 13 of us spent the entire day
painting. We made 70 signs! :)
American Suburbs
I felt really great yesterday knowing I was taking a public stand
against Fear More Years. Even better was the way I felt this morning
when a lady from down the street quietly knocked on my door and
thanked me for displaying the sign. She said she and her husband are
afraid to even put on bumper stickers for fear of offending
neighbors.
Your newest recruit,
NJ
People I have spoken to about what I am doing are concerned that
this is a bit illegal and given the current administration I don't
want to risk my job as a teacher. But that being said, I think this
whole highway (since I am on the east coast after all) blogging
thing is fabulous and I am so happy to be a small part of it!
Vermont
We had a blast and hopefully the signs stayed up a while. We had a
brilliant idea the next day that if we had put something fairly
harmless on the backs of the signs on the overpass like "support our
troops, bring them home" it would have looked like that was what we
put up! We'll do it next time! Thanks for inspiring so many to speak
out!
Santa Barbara, CA
This was posted on the Cota St. pedestrian bridge overpass of the
101, so that northbound rush hour morning traffic could see it. I do
have reports that some rush hour drivers saw it, as there was
discussion about it at the Raytheon offices in town where a friend
of mine worked... Which warmed my heart to hear.
Bellingham, WA
This was a tremendously positive & empowering experience for me. It
took a bit of fast talking to get my friends interested initially,
but we all agree that the results were well worth a few late nights
and paint-splattered clothes. We put out 8 signs late Tuesday night,
both northbound and southbound along I-5. We're already planning to
put out more signs over the coming weeks.
Shelby Township, MI
These signs were posted October 13, 2004 on M-59 between Pontiac and
Mount Clemens, Michigan. I needed to express my anger at Bush for
stealing the 2000 election, the occupation of Iraq, giving tax cuts
to the wealthy, destroying the environment, making 2004 resemble
Orwell's 1984...I guess you could say I'm just plain pissed off!
Detroit, MI
Exciting as all hell.
Hollywood, CA
Well, it was just a little more difficult than I thought, but I
finally got my poster placed above the Ventura Freeway near the
Fallbrook off ramp. Next time, I'm going as BIG as humanly possible
and I'm also going to make everything darker and thicker so it
stands out better from 100+ feet away. In any case, I feel proud to
know that I contributed just a little and hope that the big blowhard
doesn't make it into office next month!
Leavenworth, MA
I'm posting signs because nobody else will/can speak for me!
Laguna Beach, CA
My five-year-old son, Owen, helped me blog Laguna Beach today!
Minneapolis, MN
Our team of quasi-experts decided to hit the streets under the cover
of darkness late last night. We hit 7 ped bridges and posted 20
signs. Total Big Time Fun, and my garage is full of more cardboard
for the next round.
Hell yeah.
Monterey, CA
While it's still fresh in my mind, I wanted to pass along a few
things I learned from my construction and installation of the "Vote
Kerry Not Scary" sign I posted in Monterey, CA. Mainly, it's about
the exploitation, care, and hoarding of local political campaign
signs. First, the best weather resistant paper I found was......FREE
political campaign posters/yard signs from the local Republican
candidate for state senate (see photos).
I found them very easy to work with and the spray paint dried
overnight…
Seattle, WA
Thanks for helping me find my muse!
Los Angeles, CA
All the new pics on the site are great. I'm sure you felt the same
rush I did viewing them when you really realize how many people are
doing and thinking the same way we are.
Portland, OR
We put it up at 6am and it was still there at 9am, for all the
suburban commuters from Vancouver, WA. I wanna do small signs now;
and I love ZIP TIES! Thanks for the inspiration (leave the
motivation to W)!
Norwood, MA
1 sign maker/sign poster and 1 getaway driver-The message WILL be
heard!
Port Angles, WA
I put up the sign this morning at 6 am and it was still up this
afternoon at 5. I found myself scouting new locations on my way
home.
Minneapolis, MN
As we walk along the freeways of the western suburbs of Minneapolis
we wonder why, in this age of information and new technologies, are
we posting archaeic spray painted signs? Well, we thought we would
take the opportunity to exercise our First Amendment rights before
the Bush administration chips them all way with the Patriot Act.
Richmond, CA
Here are the signs we made because we're disgusted that both
candidates are pro-war. In these signs we're attempting to let
people know they've been suckered into war and sacrificed their
children for US/Israeli imperial ambitions, with no end in sight.
Huntington Beach, CA
Why do we post signs that question the current administration's
policies? A better question: Why aren't all thinking people posting
signs questioning the current administration's policies? Wake up
America!
Orange County, CA
OC code pink temporarily suspended our twice-weekly banner drops to
focus on making signs and posting them on October 13th. We
subdivided into smaller contingents to cover our county more
thoroughly. Our group consisted of two forty-something women - we
stealth posted 6 signs along the 55 freeway, in the heart of
Republican Orange County, at 5:30 on the morning of Oct. 13th. Our
picture quality isn't so good - this was the hardest part, but it
was also the first time we ever took a picture out of a moving car's
sunroof. We will get better.
Indiana
I've been recycling cardboard for years and I never would have
thought I
could have reused it like this.
I feel like an American
Well, I did it. I got my shit done, got it up and got pictures. I'm
proud. I feel like a fucking mad man. I got such a high from this.
It was like doing something bad, something I shouldn't be doing, but
it's because what I'm doing is a good thing.
Meridean, CT
It was very freeing
Portland, OR
Easy, fun, empowering, we'll definitely do another one.
Phoenix, AZ
Good news! Majority of morning signs are still up in Phoenix, and
are being read by slow-moving traffic around the valley. We posted
about 50 signs last night. I had a run-in with a security officer,
but I pretended to be a bush-supporter REMOVING the sign and managed
to fool him. The sign lives to be posted another day... TODAY!
Seattle, WA
This is my very first sign but it won't be my last. I made this and
got help from friends in the office to place it because my best
friend's son was killed in Iraq on August 13 of this year. I really
loathed GW and his regime before but now I have no words to describe
how much I hate George and his pals now. This war isn't going to
hurt them in any meaningful way but it hurts the rest of us in ways
that we are not likely to ever recover from. I want them all out of
office. I plan to vote and am pushing all my friends to vote. We
simply can't take another four years of this.
Springfield, MO
Hello from the Bible belt. We put up eleven signs in Springfield,
MO. Thanks for motivating us to use our freedom of speech.
Arlington, VA
Free speech feels good
Morganstown, MV
After three hours of scouting out places that we deemed legal...and
one that we weren't so sure of...we put up around ten signs in
Morgantown, West Virginia. I’ll take a citation for what it was
worth.
Minneapolis, MN
We made two cardboard signs that simply said BUSH LIES. We chose
this message because it's quick to read and it's the thing that
drives us the most crazy about this election. So, we posted our two
signs tonight on the highway in the southwest suburbs of
Minneapolis, in a heavily Republican area visited this past weekend
by Bush himself.
Minneapolis, MN
Alright. The three of us are done. We posted 14 signs on major
freeways entering and leaving downtown Minneapolis. We saw at least
6 or 7 other signs that had already been posted when we got there.
Pennsylvania
We hung our sign in the great swing county of Montgomery in the
great swing state of PA!
New York, Western
Love the simple concept of this. I was trying to figure out how to
get all of my good bumper sticker ideas out into the world. Let free
speech ring since the bastards at Clear channel, Sinclair, and Fox
don't.
Phoenix, CA
My first sign went up at 4 am this morning! I wanted to see if it
was legible. I think I need to get bigger. But I was stoked! I have
seven more ready to go.
Tampa, FL
We just put up the sign on October 15th around 11pm. The sign is
still there. We will check it everyday. Thanks to your tips, it
should be pure hell for them to remove. We spent two weeks on
logistitics, scouting, and planning. Then we put it (this eight foot
metal sign) in a place so remote that you would have to be climb an
eight foot chain link fence, ford a swamp loaded with mosquitoes,
chiggers, moccasins, gators, with a twenty foot ladder, rigging and
tools to get it down. It's on the edge of a giant retention
swamp/pond. They should curse some.
Chicago, IL
The 4 peace symbol signs I put up in Chicago at 5:00 am are still up
at 3:00 pm
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