This Crawford resident's quote baffled me...

[politicaholic]

"Who else is going to come up there?" asked ranch neighbor Melissa Harrison. "We don't know who all is up there protesting, what type of people it's bringing around, and I don't think they know everybody's background. So that's just my concern there."

Goodness, 'ol Melissa is so well trained isn't she?

Don't worry hon, terrorists don't protest, they terrorize. I'm sure you, your kids, and your garden gnomes will be just fine come September.

[Catherine Vincent]

1. What's your background, Melissa?

Since her full legal name is out there, there are websites where you pay very little to do a background check on folks. Someone is probably doing that right now Melissa.

hahaha!!

[YOY]

2. Paranoia will destroy ya

She bought it, 'hook line and sinker'

Just sad.

[Midlodemocrat]

3. 'garden gnomes'

:rofl:

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Country versus city

defined in one sentence,

[annabanana]

5. ..not an unusual mindset in a small town..

Think about it. Everyone you know, you also know their families and their families histories. And everyone knows everything about you too. Anyone outside this safe and insular system is scary.

Lets not land too hard on someone who is probably just lacking in experience.

[politicaholic]

13. The insular town...

When you live in one of the most secured small towns in the world, I think the background check question is a little overboard.

I grew up in tiny towns in rural northern Canada and strangers were viewed with more curiosity than fear.

[gratuitous]

19. Well, and all those roads!

Who knows where they come from, and where they go to? Why, just about anyone could come drivin' down the road, and who knows anything about them?

Better close 'em all down so sweet Melissa doesn't have to be scared by the bad people anymore.

What a twit she is.

[Avalux]

6. Narrow-mindedness

can be a dangerous thing. It's almost funny to read this, after being to Camp Casey.

Melissa needs to hike her ass down the road to see for herself. She'll probably be shocked to see a group of caring, ordinary people.

[CityZen-X]

7. Strange Concerns

Her concern is "what type of people it's bringing around".
People that believe in peace, justice, truth, America! Yes Melissa, these people have strange concerns, things that you know not of.

[madmom]

8. I would be more worried about idiot neighbors....

shooting guns into the air, that bullet has to come down somewhere.What about idiot neighbors running over things in the middle of the night with pick-up trucks, or a faux cowboy that has morals of a pit viper. We are worried about your kind harming ours!

[gkhouston]

11. She *knows* the idiot neighbors

she knows which ones to steer clear of, and who to call to drag so-and-so's sorry ass home when they've had one too many. She doesn't know all those strangers, what they might do, or how to deal with them, so she's a bit concerned. I think I would be, too, in her shoes.

The local yahoos have ties to the community, and by virtue of that, some accountability. The strangers are something she's got no traction on and no experience with. It would be odd if she weren't concerned.

[johnnie]

9. Let me just say before this gets out of hand with this woman

She is from a very very small town and chances are was brought up there. She didn't say that the people showing up are terrorists or anything, she just stated her concern over strangers.
There are a lot of small town people who aren't used to large crowds. Don't start on this woman and post her phone number, picture, address, what rank she is in the knitting club and so on.
I'm just saying... Like she said " I don't think they know everybody's background" just like you.. you don't know her background.

[uppityperson]

12. Exactly. Town is ~700 people, didn't ask for Bush's to come.

It is a very small town, give her a break.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Kingshakabobo]

14. What's a Confederate Pension ??? n/t

[uppityperson]

15. No personal info posted according to DU rules.

Just stop. This is neither necessary nor nice.

[ironman202]

22. i just asked a question. sorry if i violated the rules.

[politicaholic]

21. That's not cool man.

She's not a bad person that should be put through the ringer.

[ironman202]

24. i just asked a question

don't know her, don't want to know her.

[gkhouston]

25. then why did you look up the name?

and why didn't you check out the location of the county? There are 254 counties in Texas; the one mentioned isn't near Crawford. It wasn't even the same person.

[ironman202]

29. if it's a different person, I apologize

but then again, I asked, "what's this?". Could be nothing, could be something. I asked what it was.

[leveymg]

16. Great idea, Melissa. Security clearances for anti-war protestors

The very act of demonstrating against Bushco can be cited as reason to pull protestors clearances. They'll have to leave.

Wile E. Coyote, genius. Super genius.

[seabeyond]

17. and it was two of their own that has caused problems, soooooo n/t

[SalmonChantedEvening]

18. Not to worry Melissa.

The mothership is screening all those we send down to ensure only quality beings not of this world come to Crawford for a 'visit.' The Venutians are not allowed access or egress, as they tend to over imbibe.

How can we tell you say? I'm so very glad you asked. You can tell a Venutian is drunk because their breath reeks of ammonia and they slur their X's.

Regards,
Galacticorp Industries. (A subsidiary of Neveryoumindco.)

:D

[uppityperson]

20. People be nice, be tolerant

I live in a rural area and if there was a big protest nearby I'd be upset also. Yes, I know who lives nearby and the trouble they cause, who drinks too much, who litters and drives too fast and is generally obnoxious. If a hunderd or thousand people showed up to protest something I'd be concerned too. I don't think it's fair to claim she's asking for background checks or worried about terrorism as this is not what she has said. And I don't think it is fair to say "they are just peacful anti-war protestors" because if this were so there would be no need for pre-protest training that includes not over reacting to insults, etc.

Just be nice, realize she is living in a small rural area that has been invaded by who knows who.

[Catherine Vincent]

23. I agree.

But someone needs to tell these small town folks not to reveal their full names (or real names).

[newportdadde]

26. Lets cut this lady some slack.

I grew up in rural Missouri, nearest town was 'big' 1500 people. The town nearest my highschool had 250, took three towns and a radius of like 15 miles just to pull together 50 people in my graduating class.

Growing up there you tend to develop a distrust of strangers, people only come around if they are lost trying to sell something to you or trying to bring you to god.

Someone like my late grandmother knew what truck everyone drove, what times they generaly drove down the road etc. She would have been freaked out if she saw all the traffic at the rally, hell she would often comment if she saw just 1 strange car that day. So even though she would have hated Bush, hated his dad and Reagun the strangers would have freaked her out.

[mn723]

27. This is the essence of the current Republican party

Bush was elected because he used fear to motivate people. Remember how he manipulated the red/orange/yellow terror levels before the election? Notice how we don't hear anything about the color-coded terror levels lately? This administration plays on the fears of a very naive American people.

This lady is afraid of people she doesn't know because that's what the conservative party has done to her. I'd hate to live a life of fear, but for some people it's just easier that way.

[LSK]

28. does this person ever leave the house???

We dont know who is at the grocery store, what type of people are in aisle 9, and who knows the background of the people bagging our food. So thats a concern when leaving the house to shop.

:sarcasm:

[bluedog]

30. she should grow up

when we had this schiavo circus here.they crammed our streets.our children had to be bused 10-15 miles away to other schools....the hannitys' and others made Pinellas Park a joke..there was even an arrest of a sex offender....the right wing completely forgets that mess.

[BeachBuckeye]

31. After doing my show from there Saturday, I walked away with bad feelings

Bad feelings about Crawford, Texas. Ate at the local diner and although the waitress was friendly enough, many of the other patrons were dropping little hints that outsiders were not welcome. I'm from a very rural background myself and I know we never treated folks the way I was treated in Crawford.

Went down the street past a place that was having a blood drive. I offered to give blood and was told "we don't want your Yankee blood".

I think they knew I was a "Yankee" (actually a former Yankee because I now live in Florida) when I ordered a chef salad in the diner. That seemed to confuse them.

There were pick-up trucks driving around the block with huge flags waving from flagpoles mounted in the backs of the trucks. Those truck drivers were not above yelling the worst kind of obscenities at out of towner's.

Yessir, Crawford Texas is one grand, friendly place.

Guy

[politicaholic]

32. Have you posted this? Because it's quite interesting...

I see pictures of the Bush shrine with the ten commandments and the crotchity neighbor who shot his shotgun during a prayer session, but I don't see the rest of the town.

I would imagine that it would be the epicenter of the Bush message, that doesn't surprise me, but one would think that a small town such as Crawford would get (and welcome) a large number of visitors from both sides of the fence.

It's too bad. There's a lot of good for the municipality of Crawford that can come out of this.

I've been to a place like that before in Missouri. I was in a diner and I told the waitress (without thinking) that I was a vegetarian. I swear there was a needle across a record sound and the place became quiet, then the waitress said, "Darlin', yer a vegy-tear-ian? Well let me git ya some chicken." And she was serious.

1 mile out of town I got a speeding ticket for going 54 in a 50 mph zone.

[bluedog]

33. we just are not heads of state.

President Putin shakes hands with locals after landing in Waco


http://www.westernwhitehousegifts.com/



Prime Minister Blair leaving Church wearing President Bush's jacket!




Crawford has a new Australian 'mate'
Mr and Mrs Howard visited downtown Crawford where he purchased a "Friends & Allies" coffee mug that he gave the next day to British Prime Minister Tony Blair for his 50th birthday! They greeted the towns people and PM Howard even gave the 'mug' and t-shirt maker and owner of Western White House Gifts, Valerie Duty, a big hug and greeting saying "You and the mug are famous in Australia."

http://www.crawford-texas.org/id1.html

[politicaholic]

34. That's funny, thanks Bluedog!

:)

[Corgigal]

35. The easiest way to fix that Melissa

is for you to walk/drive down and chat up the people at Camp Casey and feel it out for yourself. Yeah, it might sound a bit scary at first but it's the only way for your question to be answered.