Actor Sean Penn, center, joins fellow anti-war activists as they march past the U.S. Supreme Court to protest the war in Iraq on Saturday.
Posted on 01/28/2007 4:30:10 AM PST by SkyPilot
Convinced this is their moment, tens of thousands marched Saturday in an anti-war demonstration linking military families, ordinary people and an icon of the Vietnam protest movement in a spirited call to get out of Iraq.
Actor Sean Penn, center, joins fellow anti-war activists as they march past the U.S. Supreme Court to protest the war in Iraq on Saturday.
Celebrities, a half-dozen lawmakers and protesters from distant states rallied in the capital under a sunny sky, seizing an opportunity to press their cause with a Congress restive on the war and a country that has turned against the conflict.
Jane Fonda, right, greets a fan as Penn stands to the left. Fonda was a lightning rod in the Vietnam era for her outspoken opposition to that war.
Marching with them was Jane Fonda, in what she said was her first anti-war demonstration in 34 years.
"Silence is no longer an option," Fonda said to cheers from the stage on the National Mall. The actress once derided as "Hanoi Jane" by conservatives for her stance on Vietnam said she had held back from activism so as not to be a distraction for the Iraq anti-war movement, but needed to speak out now.
Actresses and anti-war demonstrators Susan Sarandon, left, and Jane Fonda listen to speeches. "Silence is no longer an option," Fonda said.
The rally on the Mall unfolded peacefully, although about 300 protesters tried to rush the Capitol, running up the grassy lawn to the front of the building. Police on motorcycles tried to stop them, scuffling with some and barricading entrances.
Actor Tim Robbins
Protesters chanted "Our Congress" as their numbers grew and police faced off against them. Demonstrators later joined the masses marching from the Mall, around Capitol Hill and back.
United for Peace and Justice, a coalition group sponsoring the protest, hoped 100,000 would come. Police say the crowd was smaller than that.
About 50 demonstrators blocked a street near the Capitol for about 30 minutes, but they were dispersed without arrests.
The Reverend Jesse Jackson stands in front of a pair of soldier's boots resting on a flag-draped casket.
United for Peace and Justice, a coalition group sponsoring the protest, had hoped 100,000 would come. They claimed even more afterward, but police, who no longer give official estimates, said privately the crowd was smaller than 100,000.
A woman picks out a sign before the start of the protest in Washington. The rally unfolded peacefully, although some protesters tried to rush the Capitol.
In California, smaller rallies were held in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacramento.
At the rally, 12-year-old Moriah Arnold stood on her toes to reach the microphone and tell the crowd: "Now we know our leaders either lied to us or hid the truth. Because of our actions, the rest of the world sees us as a bully and a liar."
Demonstrators carry signs to the National Mall that say "Make hip-hop not War" and "The surge is a lie."
The sixth-grader from Harvard, Mass., organized a petition drive at her school against the war that has killed more than 3,000 U.S. service-members, including seven whose deaths were reported Saturday.
More Hollywood celebrities showed up at the demonstration than buttoned-down Washington typically sees in a month.
Female protesters representing U.S civilians, left, military personnel, center, and Iraqis killed in the invasion, stand in front of the U.S. Capitol.
Actor Sean Penn said lawmakers will pay a price in the 2008 elections if they do not take firmer action than to pass a nonbinding resolution against the war, the course Congress is now taking.
Geoff Millard marches with "Veterans Against the War", a group of Iraqi war veterans calling for U.S. troops to pull out of Iraq.
"If they don't stand up and make a resolution as binding as the death toll, we're not going to be behind those politicians," he said. Actors Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins also spoke.
Fonda was a lightning rod in the Vietnam era for her outspoken opposition to that war and her advocacy from Hanoi at the height of that conflict. Sensitive to the old wounds, she made it a point to thank the active-duty service-members, veterans and Gold Star mothers who attended the rally.
She drew parallels to the Vietnam War, citing "blindness to realities on the ground, hubris ... thoughtlessness in our approach to rebuilding a country we've destroyed." But she noted that this time, veterans, soldiers and their families increasingly and vocally are against the Iraq war.
The House Judiciary Committee chairman, Rep. John Conyers, threatened to use congressional spending power to try to stop the war. "George Bush has a habit of firing military leaders who tell him the Iraq war is failing," he said, looking out at the masses. "He can't fire you." Referring to Congress, the Michigan Democrat added: "He can't fire us.
"The founders of our country gave our Congress the power of the purse because they envisioned a scenario exactly like we find ourselves in today. Not only is it in our power, it is our obligation to stop Bush."
White House spokesman Trey Bohn responded that Conyers "needs to learn the difference between fact and fable, between a soundbite and a slur." He said Conyers' "assertion that the president fires generals with whom he disagrees is flat wrong."
On the stage rested a coffin covered with a U.S. flag and a pair of military boots, symbolizing American war dead. On the Mall stood a large bin filled with tags bearing the names of Iraqis who have died.
A small contingent of active-duty service members attended the rally, wearing civilian clothes because military rules forbid them from protesting in uniform.
Air Force Staff Sgt. Tassi McKee, 26, an intelligence specialist at Fort Meade, Md., said she joined the Air Force because of patriotism, travel and money for college. "After we went to Iraq, I began to see through the lies," she said.
In the crowd, signs recalled the November elections that defeated the Republican congressional majority in part because of President Bush's Iraq policy. "I voted for peace," one said.
"I've just gotten tired of seeing widows, tired of seeing dead Marines," said Vincent DiMezza, 32, wearing a dress Marine uniform from his years as a sergeant. A Marine aircraft mechanic from 1997 to 2002, he did not serve in Iraq or Afghanistan.
About 40 people staged a counter-protest, including Army Cpl. Joshua Sparling, 25, who lost his leg to a bomb in Iraq.
He said the anti-war protesters, especially those who are veterans or who are on active duty, "need to remember the sacrifice we have made and what our fallen comrades would say if they were alive."
Jane Fonda is exhilarated by the crowd.
Bush reaffirmed his commitment to his planned troop increase in a phone conversation Saturday with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The president was in Washington for the weekend. He is often is out of town during big protest days.
"He understands that Americans want to see a conclusion to the war in Iraq and the new strategy is designed to do just that," said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council.
Protest organizers said the crowd included people who came on 300 buses from 40 states.
ISn't that media whore Madea whatever her name next to him?
Remember folks...
This isn't about FACTS, this is about PROPOGANDA, and we are LOSING the info War, and lives because of it...
A few comments on a yahoo board, in just the last few MINUTES, about yesterdays Hate-America-First Festival.
NOTHING is ever offered to back thier spew up, it's simply Drive-By sloganeering, but IT WORKS:
-12 YEAR OLD RALLY ATTENDEE SAYS IT BEST
At the rally, 12-year-old Moriah Arnold stood on her toes to reach the microphone and tell the crowd: "Now we know our leaders either lied to us or hid the truth. Because of our actions, the rest of the world sees us as a bully and a liar."
There is hope for our younger generation...
-THOUSANDS OF VETS ATTEND PROTESTS (7 Ratings) 20 minutes ago Wow, looks like the false claim that veterans support the GOP has been dashed to smithereens, like everything else the GOP pretends to stand for.
- Ho Ho Ho Chi Mihn, OBL is Gonna Win!!!
- THE REAL SUPPORTERS OF THE TROOPS (4 Ratings) 28-Jan-07 What kind of an eegit would say I support our troops and then back another 22,000 being sent into a civil war 5000 miles from home. You creeps support the propaganda of your political party and little else.
-MILLIONS PROTESTED IN DC (17 Ratings)
Millions of American patriots spoke out today against the illegal and immoral war in Iraq. Yes, these are the people who truly support the troops by trying to keep them from dying for lies about WMD, while cowardly Republican Fox News fans drive past the Army recruiting office on their way to Walmart to buy yellow ribbons for their SUVs.
This all BS, WE know that...
But to an average sheeple, these easily shoutable slogans STICK. Geobells knew this, and our enemies know this...
And 300 Million who didn't come.
Why didn't these a**-wipes go to Tehran or Damascus to air their views? When the demoncrats' treason results in terrorism in our malls and schools, these will be the cowering wimps hiding behind you crying and begging you to protect them.
Rest assured that if there had been a large turnout, the MSM would be displaying plenty of overhead shots showing endless masses of people. Since the turnout looks dismal, their photographs are all designed to hide that fact.
I believe it is. The way she lunges for the microphone with her mouth wide open confirms her status as a "media whore".
Exactly, this is who these people are.
http://www.discoverthenetwork.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6166
And I care what any of these overpaid, self-centered, Hollyweird psychopaths thinks because . . . . . . ?????
She was out in LA
Anti-war activist and Vietnam war veteran Ron Kovic (L) and co-founder of Gold Star Families for Peace, Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq, prepare to lead an anti-war march in Los Angeles January 27, 2007. The march was one of several held around the United States, with protesters demanding that the government bring home U.S. troops in Iraq. REUTERS/Gus Ruelas (UNITED STATES)
I hear Rueters has an unemployed photographer that could help increase the head count.
The list of Hollywood actors with WWII military records is huge. Methinks there is much 'rolling over in the grave' going on these days.
The Hollywood dream: Hate America andget rich in the process.
The following link does not relate to this thread http://sacredscoop.com
162 Wisconsin Moonbats were there, too. ;)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1775085/posts
Geoff Millard likes clean laundry, something Halliburton KBR was charged with providing him while in Iraq: “keeping a soldier's morale up is not that difficult. There's certain things that you can do. One is by doing good laundry. One is by having good chow. Good chow and good laundry go a long way for a soldier, who is just far away from home. But yet whenever we got our laundry back, it felt worse than when we turned it in…..”
Good for you pal, and thanks.
They are the same old "desperate for attention" faces....
musty, stale, unimportant. Gotta feel sorry for them...they need their attention I guess.
Why should anyone listen to this old broad who can't even hold onto a husband. Yikes, what is she about 75?? Love the Black Power glove, how 60s!
Pray for W and Our Troops
The path of least resistance, we are inherantly weak from our being removed from the general populace of the world - just waitin' for the "big one" to bust us in the chops.
Hello wake up call!
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