Paul Festival just might help get more delegates

[Deborah K]

It is NOT new.

I do NOT return to discourage but to warn, please bear with me.

Then allow me to clarify: it's the newest attack that seems to be gaining steam and is of concern to the grassroots to the point of influencing decisions we make. I say screw em.

 

[seeker4sho]

Calling us a cult is just the newest attack on us, because we are uncompromising in our principles, aka we won't vote for Flip Flopney if he's the nominee. All we have to do is dismiss it out of hand and argue the facts. Did they call people who quoted Franklin, or Jefferson, or Madison, or Paine, idol worshipers or a cult? It's ridiculous. That kind of attack will only work on us if we let it. It's the dumbest tactic they've tried yet. Please. Do you operate out of fear, because I certainly do not!

Your observation is dead on. The status quo will say and do anything to try and discredit/ marginalize Ron Paul and his followers (us). The harder they try, the stronger we get lol.

 

[Deborah K]

Cheapseats, we're having a festival, we're not protesting anything. The clean zone ordinance has to do with demonstrations and protests, etc.

The Veterans are marching AFTER our event. They are a separate event. The clean zone may apply to them.

 

[cheapseats]

http://fairgrounds.wtsp.com/news/news/112516-mayor-wants-zone-control-gop-convention-protesters

Mayor wants zone to control GOP Convention protesters

Tampa, Florida -- A large Clean Zone would encompass several neighborhoods during the 2012 Republican National Convention and impose special restrictions to control convention protests.

August's Republican National Convention is expected to bring flocks of protesters to Downtown Tampa.

Next week, Mayor Bob Buckhorn will ask City Council to outline a large area of the city as a so-called "Clean Zone."

During the GOP Convention, inside the Clean Zone, those protesters will face a slew of special restrictions.

The proposed area stretches from West Tampa and Hyde Park all the way to Ybor City. Here are the zone's proposed boundaries:

West - Rome Avenue
North - Columbus Drive
East - 22nd Street, Adamo Drive, and Channelside Drive
South - Hillsborough Bay

Davis Islands and Harbour Island are included in the zone, while Port of Tampa facilities are outside the area.

The Tampa Bay Times Forum is more or less right in the middle, and it is the site of the 2012 Republican National Convention.

Folks inside the Clean Zone will have to get a $50 Public Gathering Permit for any event with more than 50 people.

Here's a list of some of the things that will be forbidden in the Clean Zone during the time of the convention:

Masks
Ropes, chains, and locks
Glass bottles
Gas masks
Barricades
Camping
Public urination
Rappelling

Mayor Buckhorn plans to present the ordinance to City Council a week from tomorrow.

To see them for yourself, here's a link to the Tampa GOP Convention Clean Zone map and the City of Tampa proposed Republican National Convention Clean Zone ordinance.

Firearms ARE allowed, however, including Concealed Carry . . . to which Rachel Maddow devoted an entire acidic segment.

Permissible concealed-carry firearms establishes probable cause to strip-search all Arrestees.

Dennis Hopper for Ameriprise: YOU GOTTA HAVE A PLAN.

Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump: And that's all I have to say about that.

 

[Deborah K]

Please make an announcement when you secure the contract with the fairgrounds.

We will officially announce after the RNC gives us final approval to use the fairgrounds on those dates. We're just letting the grassroots know about it now so we can lay the groundwork, get volunteers, funding, etc. We had to do the same thing with the RevMarch. We started laying the groundwork in Feb '08, but didn't have a permit date from the Capitol Hill police until April 10th. The event was July 12th.

 

[cheapseats]

Cheapseats, we're having a festival, we're not protesting anything. The clean zone ordinance has to do with demonstrations and protests, etc.

The Veterans are marching AFTER our event. They are a separate event. The clean zone may apply to them.

Deborah K,

I am not trying to undermine your festival.

I am PASSING ALONG PERTINENT INFORMATION to people who are NOT likely to be in a festive mood, come August. I anticipate there BEING some. You?

Do you anticipate NO arrests, for ANYTHING . . . not even for, say, Public Drunkenness or violation of some unknown "law"?

 

[tbone717]

We will officially announce after the RNC gives us final approval to use the fairgrounds on those dates. We're just letting the grassroots know about it now so we can lay the groundwork, get volunteers, funding, etc. We had to do the same thing with the RevMarch. We started laying the groundwork in Feb '08, but didn't have a permit date from the Capitol Hill police until April 10th. The event was July 12th.

As you stated in the OP, you believe this event could potentially influence the unbound convention delegates. What are your contingency plans for the event if Romney secures the nomination by winning enough bound delegates prior to the RNC, or what are your plans if Paul drops out, suspends or goes 3rd party?

 

[cheapseats]

The clean zone ordinance has to do with demonstrations and protests, etc.

As I understand it, the CLEAN ZONE applies to everyone and everything within its boundary . . . specifically drawn to insulate the Republican National Convention.

PASSING ALONG PERTINENT INFORMATION does not constitute insult/attack on you or the festival. You get that, right?

 

[Deborah K]

Deborah K,

I am not trying to undermine your festival.

I am PASSING ALONG PERTINENT INFORMATION to people who are NOT likely to be in a festive mood, come August. I anticipate there BEING some. You?

Cheapseats, did I accuse you of undermining the festival? Ron's birthday is August 20th, four days before our event starts. We want to have a birthday celebration for him the likes of which he's never experienced. Ron is the man with the message of our time. Anyone who wants to start trouble can take it somewhere else. We're planning on exposing newcomers to the message of freedom with a lot of fun, good music, comedy, education, and great food! And if we can influence a lot of delegates in the process, then that would be icing on the cake.

You may think that is naive of me and the others working hard to make this happen. I'm not naive, nor am I stupid. I realize there is an element of danger having an event during a convention when so many people are on the brink because of the condition our nation is in. I also realize there will be an element within the opposition that will TRY to incite violence within our ranks. But as I stated in an earlier post, I don't operate out of fear, and we intend to be as prepared as possible for any circumstance. I'm as driven to do this as I was with the march. That is all.

 

[tbone717]

As I understand it, the CLEAN ZONE applies to everyone and everything within its boundary . . . specifically drawn to insulate the Republican National Convention.

PASSING ALONG PERTINENT INFORMATION does not constitute insult/attack on you or the festival. You get that, right?

Correct and I think a festival of this type would be considered a demonstration.

 

[Deborah K]

As you stated in the OP, you believe this event could potentially influence the unbound convention delegates. What are your contingency plans for the event if Romney secures the nomination by winning enough bound delegates prior to the RNC, or what are your plans if Paul drops out, suspends or goes 3rd party?

This implies that our movement is over just because Romney gets annointed by the RNC.

 

[cheapseats]

http://www.tampabay.com/news/localg...zone-protest-rules-for-gop-convention/1223612

Tampa council delays vote on 'Clean Zone' protest rules for GOP convention

By Richard Danielson, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Friday, April 6, 2012


TAMPA — Swamped by complaints, the City Council put off voting Thursday on a proposed set of ground rules for protests outside the Republican National Convention.

The two-week delay is meant to give officials time to address concerns raised by civil libertarians, Occupy Tampa, protest groups — and the council itself.

"Completely unworkable," council member Mary Mulhern said of the proposed "Clean Zone" ordinance. "We need to go back to the drawing board."

Chief among the council's concerns was that the Clean Zone, where many types of potential weapons would be banned, would be too big.

Council member Frank Reddick said there's no reason to extend it into the tough neighborhoods of his East Tampa district, as is proposed.

"No one is going to go north of I-4 unless they're lost," he said, "and when they find where they're at, they're going to be looking for the police."

With up to 15,000 protesters expected to come to Tampa for the Aug. 27-30 convention, the city wants to create a designated area close enough for delegates to see and hear the protesters.

That protest area would be inside the much larger Clean Zone, which would cover downtown, Ybor City, the Channel District, Davis Islands, Harbour Island and parts of Hyde Park, Tampa Heights and West Tampa.

The city would establish permit procedures for parades and demonstrations in the Clean Zone. As originally proposed, it also would set a 60-minute time limit on parades and rallies there.

The city also would ban virtually anything that could be used as a weapon in the Clean Zone, with one key exception.

It turns out Tampa does not have the authority to stop gun owners with concealed weapons permits from bringing their guns into the protest areas.

That's because the Legislature passed a 2011 law prohibiting cities from enacting their own rules on guns, and fining them if they do. As a result, the city could ban water guns in the Clean Zone, but not real ones.

The irony is becoming a national joke.

"Good news for gun lovers this August!" MSNBC host Rachel Maddow told viewers Wednesday night. "It appears that you and your concealed handgun may find a way to have a grand old party together in Tampa."

City Attorney Jim Shimberg Jr. said he wishes the city could have included guns on the list of banned items, "but we can't."

"I don't want us in Tampa to be the scriptwriters for the Comedy Channel, but that's exactly where the state Legislature has placed us," council member Yvonne Yolie Capin said.

Closer to home, local critics said the proposed ordinance is unrealistic, unworkable and unconstitutional.

"Not ready for prime time," American Civil Liberties Union of Florida president Michael E. Pheneger said "We believe it places many unreasonable burdens on the right of people to speak, peaceably assemble and protest. Some elements are just simply confusing."

The 60-minute time limit, especially, is "unprecedented, unworkable and constitutionally suspect," he said.

More vocal critics called the rules "Orwellian" and "draconian," and said the city is over-reacting out of fear.

"There's going to be no violence whatsoever coming from our side," said Dave Schneider, statewide director of Fight Back Florida, which he said wants to hold a peaceful, family-friendly march.

Protesters also said the name "Clean Zone" is insulting, suggesting they're dirty.

No offense was meant, Shimberg said. The city has used the term Clean Zone in similar temporary ordinances adopted when Tampa has hosted the Super Bowl. It simply used it again.

"We can change the name," Shimberg told the council. "We're working absolutely in good faith. We're not trying to take away anyone's rights."

Everything on the list of banned items had been used to commit crimes at previous conventions, officials said.

Assistant Police Chief Marc Hamlin said the size of the Clean Zone was based on mapping where the "event energy" took place at past conventions and similar events, and laying that over a map of Tampa.

Officials have said one of the reasons for proposing a 60-minute time limit was because police officers should not work in steamy August heat for more than an hour without a break.

But Hamlin said the heat will be a factor for demonstrators, too. Most officers won't be going around in body armor, he said. Some, like a planned 200-officer bike patrol, will wear uniforms of shorts and polo shirts. On the parade routes, officers will dress as they do for Gasparilla.

"The uniform of the day will be the short-sleeved uniform," he said.

He hopes most officers' body armor stays in the duffel bag. "If people come out there in riot gear, that means that bad things have already happened."


copyright 2012 Tampa Bay Times

I get a kick outta this: "One of the reasons for proposing a 60-minute time limit was because police officers should not work in steamy August heat for more than an hour without a break."

 

[Deborah K]

http://www.tampabay.com/news/localg...zone-protest-rules-for-gop-convention/1223612

Hah! It appears the city council opened up a can of worms. LOL!

 

[MoneyWhereMyMouthIs2]

Even trying to create a "clean zone" is bullshit, not to mention a "protest area."

 

[Deborah K]

Not at all, this movement has been around long before Paul came on the national stage and will be around long after.

But as you stated you want this to be able to influence delegates. If there is no influence to be had (i.e the race is over), then is this simply a event with speakers, music, food and such or is there some other plan that you all have in mind for this?

We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. The festival is going on, and if it goes according to plan, then people who aren't in the movement now will get exposure to it by attending to see their favorite celebrities, musicians, comedians, etc.

 

[tbone717]

We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. The festival is going on, and if it goes according to plan, then people who aren't in the movement now will get exposure to it by attending to see their favorite celebrities, musicians, comedians, etc.

Ok, thanks. And what about the money that you raise for this - if for some reason the event is unable to take place or for some reason gets cancelled. What is the accountability for the funds? Are you registered as a non-profit organization, so the donations can be tax deductible?

 

[Deborah K]

Ok, thanks. And what about the money that you raise for this - if for some reason the event is unable to take place or for some reason gets cancelled. What is the accountability for the funds? Are you registered as a non-profit organization, so the donations can be tax deductible?

We're not accepting donations yet, as we are in the process of getting legal advice on how to file the org. Note that we are in the early planning stages of this. We decided to let the grassroots know because we need volunteers. The march planning took at least 200 volunteers to make happen.

If the event gets cancelled, everyone gets their money back, of course! What a weird question. Do you suspect that I intend to defraud people? Are you a troll? I noticed you haven't been here all that long.

 

[kathy88]

I don't understand anyone questioning this event or doubting the intentions of the organizers. Deb has been ACTIVELY involved since day one of these forums and has influenced and motivated tons of people to the cause of Liberty. Any negativity on this thread leads people to question THOSE intentions, not those who are organizing/supporting this event.

There are folks around here who post absolutely nothing positive to forward our cause. They question everything others do, while subtly making suggestions that many feel are COUNTER productive to our activities. Why?

 

[Barrex]

Could you put moneybomb banner on that page?

 

[cheapseats]

I don't understand anyone questioning this event or doubting the intentions of the organizers.

I SPECIFICALLY clarified that my intent was NOT to undermine the festival, but to PASS ALONG PERTINENT INFORMATION.

There are folks around here who post absolutely nothing positive to forward our cause.

There are also Majority Opinion People who disparage ANYTHING said by Members Non Grata.

"Nothing positive", as POSITIVE is defined by Moderation Slant, and NOTHING TO FORWARD THE CAUSE are not the same thing.

I confess, I am not in a festive mood...this entire millennium.

Shirley MacLaine, Steel Magnolias: I'm not crazy...I've just been in a very bad mood for 40 years."

They question everything others do,

Guilty, as charged.

while subtly making suggestions that many feel are COUNTER productive to our activities. Why?

Ron Paul Forum Members who are in good standing with the MAJORITY OPINION on Ron Paul Forums are NOT the only Americans with skin in this game.

I invite a few people with Join Dates PRECEDING mine to weigh in on whether the INFORMATION I PASSED ALONG is pertinent...or superfluous negativity.