July 15

In Santa Fe NM

I had a couple from England walking by the NM Capitol building where I stand, and they came over to tell me they completely agreed with my sign and the word "ENOUGH"... then the woman said that if they weren't headed back to England they would stand with me on Sundays, and added, "America better stand up against Bush, for all of us." As I have said in other blogs, the word "ENOUGH" is brilliant. It has so many meanings that add up to this vile Prez and VP we have now.

In Wilmington NC

While the people who said they'd try and meet us fell through, my buddy I were joined by a wonderful woman from down the coast. We talked about the southeastern north carolina political landscape, ideas to get local attention, and current events. There wasn't as much foot traffic this week but we did talk to some people included some college kids visiting from the Kansas City area and nobody flipped us off, or shouted us down or burst out laughing at the sight of three lonely patriots standing up for what they believe.

In Cleveland OH

Lots of people asked us "Enough of what?" and we told them, "Everything...all of it...the war...the economy...the direction that the country is going in." A lot of people "got" it and gave us thumbs up. Nobody flipped us off. One clueless redneck remarked, "Well, things seem pretty good to me." I forgot for a minute to stifle my impulse to bite the SOB, and said, "My son has got his life on the line for this country, so for me things AREN'T looking so good!" He turned around and said,"I served in Nam so you could stand out here and do this." At that point, my friend wisely cut in with, "Thank you for serving," and resisted the temptation to stomp on my foot!

In Overland Park KS

I wore my tank top backwards so Enough was on my back and went to the crowded mall. I sat with my back to an onlookers getting on the escalator, while I had a salad and ice tea. Nobody hassled me. I saw more mall security than I ever have before, but they didn't bother me. I heard some people laugh when they read what was on my shirt. Then I walked the mall. ...I think I made more of a statement about debt today with the word Enough, which is ok with me.

In Kingston NY

We were in Kingston's Peace Park at the intersection of Front Street and Crown Street. The response from folks passing by was very positive. Lots of thumbs up and waves. ... It's a perfect theme for a protest. Most people seem to get it, just fill in the blank yourself and almost everyone ends up on the same page.

In Orlando FL

Got my cardboard sign with black 6 inch lettering and stood next to the road holding it up high. Most of the people in their cars just stared at me, some honked. After a while some bicycle riders stopped and asked about the sign."ENOUGH what?" What could I say but "everything". A couple of Black guys walking by said "That says it All".

In Madison WI

I came upon a booth manned by 2 guys that I recognized as radio announcers for our local AAR affiliate, the Mic, at 92.1. As I walked into their booth, they immediately "got it," and asked what was up. I told them briefly about Wes Jr.'s crusade and handed them a printout of his call to arms from Daily Kos. Neither one of them had heard about it, like the rest of the country, but they were highly intrigued by the idea - especially when they noticed that, in Los Angeles, one of the Young Turks was standing with Wes Jr. So, they will be talking about it tomorrow on AAR, 92.1, the Mic; one of the booth sitters has his own morning show running from about 6 a.m. to 8. It will be interesting to see what comes of this.

Wes Clark Jr

You weren't alone. We were with you in L.A.

We had about 40 people today in front of the Federal building (more than last week) despite Cenk and Young Turks being on the road to Seattle. In addition to the enough shirts and signs, we had a huge, very professional banner, which announced that, "impeachment is patriotic" because that's ultimately what most of us believe is what the Constitution demands at this point.

Everyone pledged to bring two more people next weekend and we had a great cross-section of L.A. out there with us. We invited everyone who supported us and had their windows down to come join us next weekend from twelve to one.

Even though we weren't alone on Wilshire, forty people for a protest at that location is tiny. And that's okay. I'm sure many of you felt a certain elation as total strangers honked, shouted or waved in agreement with you - that's how you get your friends to come. Trust me, they'll enjoy it. Stating your opinion publicly is a satisfying experience in and of itself and few people have done it.

To those who think it is a stunt or pointless, I have this to say - it is marketing. Americans aren't ever going to spontaneously throw these criminals and incompetents out of office no matter what they do - unless the idea is presented to them relentlessly and they recognize it as socially acceptable.

Let's not kid ourselves, America's millionaires aren't going to put up billboards around the country or run ads on TV claiming the President and Vice President have broken the law and must be impeached. The only way to market the idea is individually on our own initiative.

If anyone has ideas or suggestions for next week, please post them below and I'll include some in my diary before next week's protest.

Thanks for standing with us. See you next Sunday, noon to one.

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July 8

On Staten Island NY

The support we received from the people was awesome. A squad car from the NYPD gave us a thumbs up and a siren hail. It was just the four of us this time, cause we wanted to keep it small the first time like you advised. Next week we will be there again with more people.

In Cleveland

First Cleveland ENOUGH protest has been held with three people, all of us parents of active duty military! Mostly ignored. A few friendly folks stopped to chat and some honked and waved. One guy yelled from his car, "We've had enough of YOU!" We wondered WHO he thought we were, and I offered the the suggestion that one of our group members bears a slight resemblance to Cindy Sheehan.

In Los Angeles

We counted 32 at mid-point Wes, and I think several more joined up afterwards, so I'd say it was a very respectable first showing (that is in LA of course). It was rather poetic to be facing the Veterans Memorial cemetery across the street from the Federal Bldg... We made enough noise for a crowd of 100 though... with each passing honk, we all woohooed! ... Three city bus drivers honked repeatedly with determination.... Huge firetruck pulled up, when I showed him my "ENOUGH" sign, the fireman gave a distinctive agreement nod our way.... One passing motorcyclist was so enthused he did a wheeley right in the middle of Wilshire Blvd to show his agreement!

In a small town in Maine

A protest of one checking in. Okay, there are only 600 people living in my town, and getting one person, me, to stand out while wearing an Enough shirt, is just the beginning. I'll find some friends for next week.

In Federal Way WA

We had 10 people attend the July 8th protest. At this initial "ENOUGH" protest, we brought an assortment of signs, including a few "ENOUGH" ones. The traffic passes by too rapidly to be able to offer up any sort of explanation or elaboration on the declaration of "ENOUGH." As time goes by and people become familiarized with the reason for our presence on the corner, the percentage of "ENOUGH" signs will increase. We received plenty of affirmative honks from the passing motorists and a few not-so-friendly gestures.

In Philadelphia

3 in Philadelphia. We mostly talked amongst ourselves about the goings on in Washington DC and the future of the revolution. Next week shooting for 7! The Declaration of Independence was only signed by 56 dudes and now that's 300 million or so!

In San Diego

At noon there were two of us but soon there were 6 and near the end we added three more. With few people notified and almost no advance notice, that was a GREAT turnout. This is a fairly conservative area of San Diego North County. We'll do it again next week. It is at the corner of Twin Peaks and Pomerado Rd. on the San Diego/Poway border. Our location is a very busy intersection; we had many very enthusiastic honkers, wavers, thumbs uppers, and very few negatives.

In Santa Fe

I stood on the corner in front of the Roundhouse with my sign(s) and my tee(s)... no one joined in.... I'm also thinking of painting an umbrella, black one, with white words around it "ENOUGH?"..... It was hot outside and the umbrella might get more attention?

In Wilmington NC

In front of the Federal courthouse. 2 people strong this week but met quite a few people willing to stand with us next week. The courthouse faces the Cape Fear river in downtown Wilmington and there was plenty of foot traffic with plenty of tourist in town. Most people just walked by without any acknowledgment positive or negative. Many gave a polite nod and smile. The few that asked what the enough t-shirts were about responded with enthusiasm when we explained we had enough of the direction the administration was taking this country. I met at least 3 people who said they might join us next week. But I've got two other's i'm sure will join me next week.

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Cenk Uygur

My Experiences at the Enough Protest

First of all, I loved meeting everyone there. That was worth the price of admission, which in this case happened to be nothing (a win-win).

I think we had good turnout and I love seeing Young Turks listeners. It's important that these are fun and not just something you HAVE to do. And I think the first one was definitely fun.

I met a woman there who is a former Republican and she said she drew the line when they took habeas corpus away. It reminded her of what happened in Germany and how rights got eroded slowly (I know you're not supposed to make such analogies) and she was appalled even though she agreed with Republicans on other issues (or she used to until they sold those out, too).

Another two women said they didn't like other anti-war or anti-administration protests because they were run by people trying to sign you up to the Communist party. I loved that. That's exactly how we want this to be different, just regular people who have had enough.

The idea of wearing "Enough" t-shirts on Sunday is also really growing on me. I think we might try to make more affordable ones here for everyone as opposed to the Cafe Press ones that cost a pretty penny.

Wes Clark Jr

See if anybody asks you what you've had enough of. Don't ask them to sign anything. Don't pitch them a candidate. Just tell them you've had enough of the corruption, incompetence and lawlessness of this administration. Ask them to join you next Sunday in the same place, and bring a sign or wear a t-shirt.

Our signs and shirts are limited to one word: enough. It doesn't matter what color the shirt or sign is (I'm using black on white). We're not going to yell anything or subject people to bad music, long-winded preaching to the choir, or shouting matches with pedestrians or carloads of people who may disagree with us. We're just going to stand there wearing our shirts. If people ask us what we've had enough of we're going to politely tell them we're tired of politicians breaking the law. If they agree with us, we're going to ask them to come back next week and stand with us. That's it. Really simple.

We hope to geometrically build a leaderless movement of people to put pressure on the politicians to stop shredding the Constitution whenever it is politically convenient. By coming back week after week with no draw other than standing with our fellow citizens, we're letting them know we are the kind of dedicated voters willing to put in the time and effort to throw them out on their asses if they can't respect the foundation of our Republic. I'd like to stay home on Sundays for the next eighteen months but I don't think this can wait until the next election: by then the damage will be done and the guilty will walk away, only to re-enter politics with the next swing in the election cycle.

A few other things...

We don't need a permit here in L.A. until we have enough people that they won't all fit on the sidewalk (my guess is we could be a couple months away from that). If you're going to join us, check what the laws are in your own hometown. Don't break the law.

It's hot. Even though it's only an hour, bring water and protect yourself from the sun.

We're not saying you should pick up trash where you protest (although that would be a civic-minded thing to do) but please don't litter.

Don't be a jerk. It only alienates people from what you're trying to say. This one is really hard for me, but if I can do it, you can do it.