Anti-War Protesters Gathering on Coasts (FR mentioned)

ASSOCIATED PRESS ^ | Oct. 24, 2003 | JENNIFER C. KERR

[BillF]

WASHINGTON (AP) - Protesters began converging on the nation's capital Friday for what they hope will be the largest anti-war demonstration since the fall of Baghdad.

Organizers predicted tens of thousands of people would turn out Saturday in Washington for a march and speeches calling for the removal of U.S. forces from Iraq. Thousands of demonstrators also were expected to flock to San Francisco at the same time for the largest protests there since April, when more than 10,000 people filled the streets.

"The U.S. government has no right to try and recolonize Iraq," said Peta Lindsay, national youth and student coordinator for International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), which organized the protests with another group, United for Peace and Justice.

To counter the anti-war demonstrations, the Washington chapter of Free Republic, an independent grassroots conservative group, also planned a rally for Saturday at the U.S. Capitol, where organizers expect about 1,000 people.

"We support our troops and the commander in chief and their mission," said Kristinn Taylor, co-leader of the group.

Organizers of the anti-war protest in Washington said they expected most of the protesters to be high school and college students from 140 cities in the United States and Canada. They planned to gather at the Washington Monument before marching to the White House and Justice Department. Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark and Martin Luther King III were among those expected to speak.

ANSWER coordinator Brian Becker said Muslim groups, veterans, and families who have loved ones in Iraq or in the military also plan to attend.

"We feel compelled to take part in this because we think this war is wrong," said Charley Richardson, one of the co-founders of the group Military Families Speak Out. "It never should have been fought in the first place."

Richardson's 25-year-old son, Joe, returned from Iraq over the summer. Richardson said his son supports "very strongly" his parents' right to speak out.

Vietnam veteran David Cline said he will attend the protest because he sees a lot of "eerie parallels to what we went through 30 years ago." Cline is the national president of the 3,500-member Veterans for Peace.

For the San Francisco protest, ANSWER and several other groups - Bay Area United Against War, Not in Our Name, United for Peace and Justice, and the Vanguard Foundation - arranged transportation so that protesters from Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and 27 California cities could attend.

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Associated Press writer Mielikki Org in San Francisco contributed to this report.

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On the Net:

International ANSWER: http://www.internationalanswer.org

DC chapter of Free Republic: http://www.dcchapter.com

[BillF]

Emphasis added to above.

[Old Sarge]

DC Chapter PING!

Congrats on the mention, Lady, and good hunting tomorrow!

This soldier is grateful for what you're doing...

[austingirl]

DC chapter making a difference! They won't let the leftists go unchallenged.

[Saundra Duffy]

Go, DC Chapter!!

[concerned about politics]

Do they really think anyone cares? All they do is block traffic make a big mess afterwards.
No one pays any attention to them. Most people have lives.
Kudos to the FReepers for the in-your-face FReep. Go ahead and hurt their self esteem.

[Britton J Wingfield]

Richardson said his son supports "very strongly" his parents' right to speak out.

Note that he supports their right to speak out, not the content of their blather.

[BillF]

Pinging DC Chapter list.

[patton]

Intersting ... If I ain't back by 1400, send help.

[ALOHA RONNIE]

'MICHAEL MOORE may hurt the Alamo'

http://www.TheAlamoFILM.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1065start=150

[EternalVigilance]

Resting up for tomorrow...

[VeniVidiVici]

Workers of the World, Unite!

[blaze]

Allright, they're finally going to protest. Great, I am so glad somebodys going to speak up for our troops being in Kosovo so long. First things first right?

[nutmeg]

ping!

THANK YOU to all FReepers who will be there this weekend representing Free Republic!

Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.

[GOP_1900AD]

Could get ugly here in SF. They will gather at the Civic Center the march to a park near the projects in the Western Addition. Cynthia McKinney is a speaker. I can already predict that anger about "the man" will be linked to anti War fervor and Interantional ANSWER Communist rhetoric. There is a purpose for conducting the march to that neighborhood. I hope I am wrong.

[BillF]

Congrats on the mention, Lady [emphasis added]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding your comment, but Kristinn is a guy.

This soldier is grateful for what you're doing...

Sarge, all FReepers are grateful for what you've done and do. All our freedoms exist because of you and your fellow troops, past and present.

[Frank_2001]

FReep those lefty morons!:) Those people are idiots! "The United States has no right to try and re-colonize Iraq" When was Iraq ever a US colony????

[BillF]

Workers of the World, Unite!

See frame 2 below.

Antiwar movement as seen by liberal media in Mallard Fillmore:

Above is a great comic illustration of what many in ANSWER, including their leaders, are like.

(If your local paper doesn't carry Bruce Tinsley's great Mallard Fillmore comic, ask it to carry media-bias fighting Fillmore: King Features, telephone 212-455-4000.)

Comic shown for non-profit educational purposes only.

[anniegetyourgun]

If they do draw that many in D.C. and S.F., expect things to get violent and destructive. That's the nature of Leftists - they have no ethics, no morals, no scruples, and no brains.

[BillF]

The police, at least those in DC, will be ready for them.

Actually, I think (and hope) that significant violence will be avoided.

The group of anarchists, who are especially prone to violence, will be watched especially closely by the police.

I generally agree with your characterization of the hardcore leftists.

However, when the commies like ANSWER are trying to get widespread support, they usually try to keep things under control. It's not out of the goodness of their hearts, it's just a marketing strategy.

They could turn at any moment, but they prefer this strategy as long as they can get quite a few very misguided people (pacifists, non-commie dissenters who support democracy, etc.) to march in their Stalinist-led parade.

[sauropod]

We will be there. To counter that squeaky chew-toy Peta Lindsay if nothing else.