Arsenal of Democracy: The Backs of Signs

"As I went walkin',
I saw a sign there...
and the sign said,
'No Trespassin''.
But on the other side, it didn't say nothin'.
That side was made for you and me..."
-Woody Guthrie, This Land is Your Land


Using the backs of freeway signs is particularly effective on divided highways where exits are few and far between. Binder clips (above and below) are generally the quickest way to go, but you can also use hammer and nails or duct tape. Posting rarely takes longer than fifteen or twenty seconds and is hidden, at least from those who could get to you, by the sign itself. Working at night brings your chances of getting caught to practically nil.







On overpasses I like to use the space behind signs as well. It's cleaner, more discreet and seen only by the people who are meant to see it.

YTD - 739

Arsenal of Democracy: Fences And Bushes

While driving on the freeway, look for parking lots bordered by bushes and fences. Take the next exit, find your way back to the parking lot and place sign between bushes and fence.


Get back in your car, drive away and do it again.

Arsenal of Democracy: The Printer

Hey Scarlet, here's a simple method for those who don't have overhead projectors. It'll cost a little more in printer ink and paper, but it's super fast once you get going. The easiest way is to use Word or Powerpoint and put a single large letter on each page. Optionally, you can add graphics.

Simply print (in draft mode to save ink) and paste on cardboard with glue stick. Bonus tip: Use high-visibility, neon paper for that extra wow-factor.

A more advanced technique uses Publisher software. This allows you to have words/letters span page breaks, but unless your printer prints to the edge of the paper, you will need to trim the overlap paper when aligning the text. In Publisher, choose a "Banner" publication and enter the dimensions that most closely fit your sign dimensions.

Enter your text and any graphics so that they fit your chosen size. I prefer to use "Word Art" for my text because it resizes really well (Insert Picture Word Art). Be sure to do Print Preview before printing!

After printing, you'll need to trim the overlap space, and paste with a glue stick. This is a little more work, but the results are great.

Peace, Love and Free Speech,
Maria in AZ

Arsenal of Democracy: Turnouts

Roadside turnouts on divided highways are a textbook example of applied freewayblogging strategy. Simply pull over on turnout, drive to the far end and place your sign so that it faces the oncoming lanes. Remember, if you can see their windshields from the posting spot, they can see your sign. The amount of time you can see their windshield is the amount of time they can see your sign as well.

To maximize duration, make sure your sign is hidden from forthcoming traffic by bushes, poles, berms or traffic signs, as shown above. Remember that the strength of the medium resides in the fact that most high-traffic roadways are very strictly defined courseways, and that the lines of sight for people driving on them are constant and predictable. The above sign, on the southbound side of Highway 17 between San Jose and Santa Cruz, took about a minute to post, start to finish. It's entirely invisible to southbound traffic and practically unreachable to northbound.

Updates/Backlog

Here are some updates on the freewayblogging cases in Illinois and Ohio. I don't know if my example will be brought up in either case, but I sort of hope it is. The problem with making political signposting illegal, apart from being utterly unconstitutional and, indeed, a knife plunged into the very heart of everything this country's supposed to stand for, is that it's practically unenforceable.


With thousands of miles of roadside at your disposal, you pick the time, place, and manner of posting. Following my methods, the act itself takes less than ten seconds. Up until then you're just a person carrying a folded piece of cardboard, after that you're just a person walking away.


Corny as it sounds, the greatest weapon a freewayblogger has in their arsenal is faith in America. I can do what I do with no fear of getting caught because, simply, I don't fear getting caught. I was taught that this was a country where expressing my political beliefs as effectively as I can is not only my right, in times of crisis it's my responsibility, and I'd be glad, even honored, to defend that view in court.



But not until I absolutely have to.

FB - 1438

USA - 1306

(Signs posted since January 1st.)

Border to Border: Los Angeles

If I lived in LA I'd do nothing but freewayblog. Just paint signs at night and drive around all day sticking them up: I'd be able to reach ten million people within a week. I probably reached two million just passing through.


I'm hard pressed to think of land more widely seen and less cared about than the freewaysides of LA: thousands of miles of no-man's land, seen by millions but frequented only by taggers and the homeless: you can wander around there forever without being bothered. The denser the traffic, the more forlorn and neglected the land surrounding it.

Apart from our nuclear arsenal, I can't think of a better example of our mass-insanity than an LA traffic jam: thousands and thousands of cars packed together, crawling along at 4 miles per hour, spewing out poison straight into the air... like prisoners filling the gas chambers of our own executions.





If we'd had any kind of leadership in this country, the first thing they'd have done is figure out a way of to move cars at low speeds without running their engines - a simple electric motor would probably do the trick.

Maybe now that all the glaciers are melting, Detroit will pull some of their best and brightest off cupholder detail and get to work on it.

USA - 962
FB - 823

Arsenal of Democracy: Cardboard

Mr. McGuire: I just want to say one word to you - just one word.
Ben: Yes sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Ben: Yes I am.
Mr. McGuire: 'Plastics.'
Ben: Exactly how do you mean?
Mr. McGuire: There's a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?
Ben: Yes I will.
Mr. McGuire: Shh! Enough said. That's a deal.

Remember this scene from "The Graduate" and you'll know how I feel about cardboard. If I can accomplish just one thing in my lifetime, I want it to be having turned as many people as I possibly could on to the simple power of cardboard and paint.

When you paint a sign and put it up in public, people will read it until one of them takes it down. That's a fact. The more you think about what you say, the more people will think about what they've read. The more you think about where you put it, the more people will read it.

I put signs on freeways because I feel it's mny right - because that's where all the flags went up after September 11th, and because that's where all the people are. You don't have to use the freeways: you can use the parks, the libraries or the town square. The ability to post free political opinion on public property is not only your right, it's one of the most protected rights you've got.

Unlike the traditional mediums of butcher paper or bedsheets, cardboard is easy to paint, easy to post and holds its shape and legibility through all kinds of weather.


Painting and posting signs is not only a highly efficient way to express your political beliefs, it's also a hell of a lot of fun.

FB - 407
USA - 135

Arsenal of Democracy: Furniture Stores

The area behind furniture stores is usually an excellent place to obtain massive pieces of cardboard.


One of the many simple beauties of this art form is that it requires only cardboard, paint, duct tape (black and white) and a boxcutter to pretty much complete your toolbox.

Massive pieces of cardboard can be used as a whole canvas,

Or cut into pieces to make many smaller signs.

I like to do both.