Right On The Right

Very early in the year, planning began for a massive pro-troop, pro-victory, anti-surrender rally in Washington D.C. that was dubbed the Gathering of Eagles. Groups began signing on, bloggers began writing, and plans were hatched.

The first Gathering was on March 17th, and prior to the Gathering, I posted some intel that proved to be pretty accurate on where the events would occur. I was also interviewed by the U.S. Veteran Dispatch about attending. I learned some great stories when I arrived:

One of the most interesting stories I heard was about a Vietnam Vet who arrived back in Chicago, only to be insulted and spit on by an anti-war goon. He punched the goon in the face. A Chicago police officer came over and the Vet prepared to be arrested, only to be welcomed home by the member of the Chicago PD. The police officer shook his hand and carted off the anti-war goon. We're hearing jokes about different branches of the military, listening to people recall events from years past, and watching a gathering of brothers get to know each other once again. It's amazing.

At the event, we took plenty of pictures, of both our side and theirs. Here's one of my favorites from the March 17th event, because I believe it shows the nature of our side:

According to the folks in charge, the first event had 30,000 attendees. That's right, 30,000! We were spread out across the National Mall, from Arlington Cemetery, around the Lincoln Memorial, to the Vietnam Wall, and past. Veterans, proud Americans, bloggers, and even a few active duty soldiers stood together for victory.

It was also during the first Gathering that I got my first true test of debating leftists, and trying to undo the liberal brainwashing that has turned so many Americans against this war and this President. About half a month after the first event, I also got a chance to respond to bias in an editorial in the school newspaper, even though that peeved off a teacher and a few students.

When July rolled around, word began coming across the net about the next huge event. A second Gathering was held in May, and was populated mostly by members of Rolling Thunder. The third Gathering would be another chance to take on ANSWER, and it was going to be huge. My first logistics update came across near the end of July. In August, things were ratcheted up, and I called our movement dynamic, diverse, and passionate.

September, it was almost go time for GOE III. I posted another accurate logistics map, and I also posted a mega-thread which rounded up blog and news posts about the event.

Finally, it was time for the third event. Once again, I made sure to take lots of photos, this time, more of the patriots. Here were some of the amazing folks with signs and messages on our side:

In addition to taking on the ANSWER freaks and the Code Pinko goons, we had our own rally supporting the troops, supporting victory, and supporting the surge. Our side looked radically different from theirs. We had a sea of flags, a sea of patriotism, and a sea of support. Just a look at part of our crowd:

I met a few bloggers at the Gathering, including Bryan from Hot Air, Michelle Malkin from her namesake blog, and N.Z. Bear from Victory Caucus. The event was amazing, and you can dig through the GOE coverage to see a lot more. I'm going to close out with a special video of me debating the left at GOE III: