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Freeway Free Speech Day
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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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