I didn't even make it out of Brooklyn before seeing the first signs of protest. 

First thing I spot in Union Square. I knew it would be an excellent day. 

This man was hating on corporate America. 

The cops suck. Police state! Bushitler! Wait. What's my point. Oh yeah. Israel is to blame. Police state. (Ahhhh, sweet irony ... scroll down) 

An old Jewish man is having none of it. He fired back at the bearded guy. 

Wow. That didn't take long. I'm on the ground five minutes and I see a guy get hauled off by the cops. 

The frenzied crowd darts after the police, chanting "No Police State!" and "Let him talk!" (Okay, I'd say camera-toting folks made up about 50% of the frenzied crowd). 

Yes, the Republican Freakshow, complete with a Klan member and, oh, well, two of the most powerful black people in the world. 

But of course. Quick question, though. Who was the first president to actually promise a separate Palestinian state? 

Looks like W. just lost the cat and cat-lover vote. 

Looks like he lost the dog vote, too. (Yes, the dog was wearing an anti-Bush shirt) 

Puppets hate George Bush, too. 

Look! It's Rachel Corrie! But seriously, having wandered Union Square over and over again and determining that despite the fact all these people were gathered in one easy place YET JOHN ASHCROFT WAS SHOWING NO INTEREST IN ROUNDING THEM ALL UP, I decided to march up the parade protest route to see what I could see.  

See, pot-smoking causes paranoia. 

I think we're working on that, chief. 

Boy, some folks just have a deathwish, don't they. Imagine how fast MILF would over-run the Philippines if we withdrew our support... especially considering their current president has proved to radical Islamists that she's more than ready to roll over. 

Unfortunately, I couldn't find the corresponding women's group. 

Progress. I've passed the Flat Iron building, but couldn't resist turning around to take a shot at it. The crowd had thinned out some in this area and I started to worry the fun was over. 

Now you know why I'm voting for George Bush. 

It's BUSH!!! And right behind him is ... well ... you know. Use your imagination. 

Damn blimp followed me around all day. 

NADERITES. There was a lot of venom spat at these folks. Guess Democrats don't like it when you start chanting "John Kerry voted for George Bush's War!" Facts, you know, they're annoying like that sometimes. 

A shot of the police not pounding the crap out of anyone. 

After walking for many blocks, I found the Protest Warriors and Communists for Kerry at Herald Square. 

Notice the guys in the green shirts. While various upper middle-class lefties, progressives, socialists and communists march by, the "working man," once again, has to clean up their shit. 

Ronald McDonald hates George W. Bush! 

Communists for Kerry get some media attention. Sadly, Lenin and Fidel weren't around while I was there. 

A Protest Warrior gets skewered by a real journalist, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. You can have your Jon Stewart, Triumph asks much tougher questions. 

The Protest Warriors were the cause of many a backlog as it slowly dawned on folks what exactly was being said. There was some reasonable discourse, but also some spitting. Literally. And, apparently, a few Protest Warriors were roughed up by some anarchists at one point. 

"Uhhhhh, hey wait a minute. I think those signs are making fun of us. No fair." 

It's not a protest unless Che makes an appearance. To be fair, though, one of the guys sporting a Che flag said that he wasn't a pacifist and was, indeed, on hand as a socialist. 

You can say that again. 

Guess which group was flying this particular flag