Rallies abound this week

Thousands expected at events revolving around Bush visit

Most Utah residents won't be in the convention hall when President Bush speaks to the American Legion on Thursday, and most probably won't be attending a fund-raiser for U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch where Bush will stump for the five-term lawmaker.

But they will have at least five different opportunities to tell the president what they think of him and his policies.

The demonstrations this week while Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld are in town for the Legion convention are expected to draw thousands of participants with myriad messages. These include rallies that are pro-U.S. troops and pro-Bush, anti-Iraq war, anti-Israel and those concerned about immigration reform.

"We're not endorsing any rally in any official capacity," said Ramona Joyce, media relations manager for the American Legion.

If Legionnaires want to show up at a rally to support the troops, they can, she said.

Legion National Commander Tom Bock is planning his own press conference at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in front of the Salt Palace so that he and other speakers can voice their support for U.S. troops.

The city's special-events coordinator, Shawn McDonough, said that she officially closed the permitting process for demonstrations late Friday afternoon. But protesters can still hold extemporaneous rallies without permits as long as they don't interfere with any of the gatherings that do have permits.

Also, even though time is running out between now and the president's visit, she also has asked that any would-be organizers give her a heads-up before their events. Even with the flexible deadlines for obtaining a permit, McDonough said that giving the city notice ensures that a group can reserve a particular location. That reservation also comes with extra police officers — something that can come in handy if demonstrators with a different message get rowdy.

"If you have a group and there's going to be an opposing group and you might be nervous about safety issues, it's nice for the police to know that you're there and to help monitor it," McDonough said.

Many of the rally organizers have said their speaker lists and event plans could change between now and Wednesday. Specifically, several organizers said they are trying to get commitments from certain speakers but did not have that information as of press time. The Deseret Morning News will keep readers apprised of changes in its print version and online at deseretnews

.com.

The following protests are presented in chronological order of their requested times:

• "Death to Israel" rally

Robert Breeze, a co-founder of the Center to Prevent Corporate Media Lying, applied for the longest permit of the five groups — 14 hours, from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesday.

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