USA: PROTESTING THE BUSH REGIME Aug 24 2002 Dissent Flares Against Bush on the West Coast 'Commander-in-thief' George Bush's visit to the West Coast of the United States this week was met with protests at every stop. In Oregon, Bush's purpose was to spread lies about forest health [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 ] and shake down local wealthy to raise money for Senator Gordon Smith. One hundred protesters met Bush in Medford, and briefly blocked a road 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 ]. In Portland, forest activists kick-started the day of dissent by erecting a tree-sit in a downtown park. Hundreds of people gathered at a Pacific Green Party rally and then joined the main crowd at the tree-sit park for a march downtown, 3000 strong. Hundreds of police, including many in full riot gear, staked out a nine square block area around the Hilton Hotel where Bush was speaking. Protesters had free reign throughout the rest of downtown where they took the streets, blocked intersections, and made a joyful noise. In the late afternoon, police declared a state of emergency, and threatened to arrest anyone who did not disperse, though these annoucements were heard by very few people. Police then turned violent, shooting people with rubber bullets and pepper-spraying many others [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 ]. Children were among the victims of chemical attacks, including a 10 month old baby [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 ]. When the sun set people danced in the street and continued to protest. The general feeling among participants was that it had been a great day that offered some lessons for future efforts. Corporate media accounts of the day betrayed an institutional bias against democratic action and in favor of police brutality [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 ]. Friday morning, the chair of the Portland chapter of the National Lawyers Guild called for the police chief's resignation, and that afternoon protesters marched on City Hall to demand police accountability. | 11 | 12 | 13 ] On Friday, Bush was given a California welcome with protests inside and outside his first campaign stop for political friends in Stockton [ photos | video ]. Medea Benjamin gained entry to the event and took off her jacket to reveal a "No War On Iraq" tee-shirt. She was hauled off by police immediately, but not before Bush's televised speech was disrupted [ 1 | 2 | 3 ]. Further south that afternoon, 400 people protested Bush's arrival in Santa Ana, and another 250 demonstrated outside a fundraiser in Dana Point, Orange County. In Los Angeles on Saturday morning, 7:00 a.m. wasn't too early for hundreds to come out and express dissent [ 1 | 2 | 3 ], while hundreds of vehicles caravaned to Crawford, TX. Other recent actions against the Bush regime in the U.S. include protests at a 7/11 Bush visit in Minneapolis [ 1 | 2 ], a 7/18 Bush visit near Detroit, a 7/25 Bush trip to Greensboro, NC, Cheney visits to San Francisco (8/7) [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 ] and Minneapolis (8/12) [ 1 ], and a 8/14 Bush trip to Milwaukee [ 1 | 2 ]. [ Portland IMC | SF Bay IMC | Los Angeles IMC ] http://www.indymedia.org/index.php3?newswire=open