Dear Anti-Hummer activists,

Thank you all for sharing your stories about the protest last week. It sounds like everybody had a memorable experience---or maybe forgettable, as in the case of the folks in Marin who were mooned! (By dealership staff, no less).


MEDIA REPORT
You were all very effective at getting the message out! The news coverage was quite extensive. We even got a brief mention on CNN--- on Judy Woodruff¹s Inside Politics. She mentioned people's opposition to Governor Schwarzenegger¹s Hummers.

At least six actions were covered by local television: Burlingame, Santa Clara Sacramento, Hartford, St. Petersburg and Columbus. You can even watch the coverage of the Hartford demonstration---Check it out at:
http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=1808901&nav=3YeXMWxj

At least seven newspapers around the country ran stories and/or photos: San Mateo County Times, San Mateo Daily Journal, S.F. Examiner, Hartford Courant, The Post Standard (Syracuse NY), Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Columbus Dispatch (OH). 

Medea¹s Op-ed ran in The Argus (Fremont, CA) and was posted on Common Dreams.

While our Hummer protests were not specifically mentioned, the AP ran a story about Gov. Schwarzenegger and his unfulfilled promise to retro-fit his Hummer to a hydrogen-powered vehicle. This was, no doubt, prompted by our press releases.

Various community radio stations also covered local actions, including those in Madison, Burlingame, and St. Petersburg.

SOME HIGHLIGHTS

• Actions took place in twenty cities around the country!
• Zool in Manhattan, NY reported that during the demo he spoke with a Marine on leave from Iraq who "was effusive in his thanks for what we were doing."
• In San Diego, the policeman called in by the dealership actually expressed his support for those demonstrating, and stopped the Hummer staff from harassing them.
• In Sacramento, we took our message right to the He-man himself.  We gathered for a little rally and press conference on the steps of the State Capitol, with participation from Veterans for Peace, Mothers Against Gas Guzzlers, the Sierra Club and Davis Code Pink. Then Medea Benjamin led us down the hallowed halls of the Capitol to deliver our message to the Governor. We were denied entrance to the office---normally open to the public. So, we did a "hum-in" against Hummers just outside the Governor's office. After about one half hour of our serenade, a representative was permitted inside to meet with a staffer. Betsy Rosenberg, founder of Mothers Against Gas Guzzlers, was promised a meeting with the Governor within a month....We are going to hold him to that!
• Several women who came out last Thursday said that this is the first protest that they have ever participated in.

FUTURE ACTIONS
Code Pink invites you all to mobilize more protests at your local Hummer dealership and to encourage others to do the same. You may retrieve materials and resources from the Code Pink website, including the Hummer tickets, Top 10 Reasons Not to Buy a Hummer, Chants, Talking Points, and banners.

We also invite you to plug into some of the on-going campaigns for safe, fuel efficient and clean vehicles:
---Join the campaign to make Ford accountable! Week of Action May 5-12. http://www.jumpstartford.org/home/ 
---Sign a petition to automakers to build fuel efficient cars: http://www.dontbefueled.org/petition.shtml

Thank you again for a successful Day of Action against Hummers and ALL your work and energy on behalf of people and the planet!

Kristi Laughlin
No Hummer - Earth Day Action
Code Pink
nohummer@codepinkalert.org