I had a lovely day yesterday with some activists from Michigan Citizen Action and a mess of other folks who thought to have some fun out front of the local Republican congresscritter's home office. He's particularly horrid, and also a coward. This sign was put up on the wall of his office, right outside the door. During one of the speeches, a staffer came sneaking out and knocked it over. He didn't think anyone saw him, as our backs were turned to hear the speaker, but I saw him. He literally scampered back into the office when he perceived I had seen what he'd done. Cowards!

One of a bunch of folks standing on the roadside, getting plenty of supporting honks and fist pumping from drivers. I like the theme of using the "wrong way" sign- catchy, easy to understand, totally appropriate for the occupation.

The SCLM showed up, several of them. Here you can see them interviewing several speakers from different groups, and this reporter was not hostile at all. We'll see how the footage and audio gets used, if at all. I joked with one of the other people there that I expect us all to show up in a one second clip about pro-baby eaters who hate America. I think I have a crush on one of the organizers. Hey grrl!

This isn't the shot I wanted to get, but the light changed and the car on this side street had driven away by the time I clicked. But I thought it the most telling moment of the protest.

One of the speakers was a little, middle aged woman who represented the health care workers community. She had a prepared speech, and read from it, not nervously but with a small woman's voice. The cars driving by made it a bit tough to hear her. One car on the side street, with two tough looking Latino men, was right next to this group while she was speaking. They looked out the window at her, neither saying anything nor making any obvious gestures of support or contempt, they just looked and listened.

The the light changed, and as they drove away, some serious Bass pumped out of their high test Kicker speakers. Loudly. Some of the people at the protest made little annoyed moues on their faces, but they obviously didn't understand what had just happened.

You can probably tell that Roger's office is in one of those mixed neighborhoods; the residential buildings in it are solid working class homes and I saw plenty of brown and black folk walking around. The two men in the car would've been able to just barely see the edge of the protest as they drove down the street to the light. I think what happened is that they had the music pumping, and turned it down when they saw the rally. Perhaps out of interest, perhaps out of respect.

This small fact gives me great hope.

USAction is the umbrella group organizing this sort of action all around the country, you can probably find an active group near you. Snicker, one of the student groups is going to tail Rogers for 48 hrs straight, to see if they can corner him about his support for the occupation. With cellcams, of course. Macacca time, anyone? Another smart thing that the groups are doing is starting a campaign of "what the cost of the occupation could've bought us instead." The organizers had summaries of a new report, breaking down state by state what the occupation has cost, and what domestic programs could've been funded with that money. Yesterday's groups focused on health care and education, as well as vet benefits. This is a line of reasoning everyone can understand, and Republicans like Rogers cannot explain away easily.

There are plenty of protests happening, and a big one coming up in DC in September. Think about going to some. It's always uplifting to spend time with people from all walks of life united toward the goal of ending the war and restoring the Constitution. Which, without exception, were the top priorities of everyone I met yesterday.