bittersweet
route 20 south in the embrace of security perimeter
President Bush was at Monticello this morning welcoming 72 people from 30 countries into the brotherhood of legal citizenry.
It was a bitter-sweet event. The closest I got to seeing the President was when Marine One flew over the Woolen Mills.
Normally I attend the celebration at Monticello, but not this year.
Security was intense. In the photo above, WVAW reporter Mark Tenia shoots video of the Presidential motorcade route from a half mile away.
The Secret Service/State Police, felt the need to close miles of surface road and push out a wide security perimeter- Route 53 and Mill Creek Drive were shut down, even to pedestrians. There was a "national defense airspace," a no-fly zone, in effect for a few hours. Law enforcement personnel in abundance, hidden and in view.
President Bush started out, he said "To my fellow citizens to be, we believe in free speech in the United States of America."
This sentence delivered over shouted protest from someone who was able to attend the ceremony.
I biked up Route 53 yesterday (July 3). This bridge and flag the 21st century idea of what the entry to Monticello should look like. Disneyfication.
I wonder if the no-fly zone is post 9/11 policy?
Labels: government
posted by emory at 3:23 PM
2 Comments:
Until June I lived in Baltimore city. In late April W visited the city. Sixteen hours prior to his arrival notices were posted on the streets that bordered his surface road route. If your car wasn't moved by 7:00AM the day he came through it was towed by 7:15 AM. Hell, if you worked the evening shift or were gone that day you would have missed the notices as they were only posted on the street signs. Needless to say it was a bonanze for the tow truck operators.
Nice photos and video.
Be thankful every day for we do not know how many remain.
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