Posted on 08/29/2007 3:32:31 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
The intersection of West Washington Avenue and South Park Street in front of University Audio was the noisiest corner on the isthmus Tuesday afternoon.
Half of the cars that went through the intersection, it seemed, made the effort to honk at a small band of anti-war protesters holding signs urging them to do so.
Fred Reames, 67, a retired UW-Madison professor of mechanical engineering, held two signs: "Support our troops!" and "Bring them home! Now!"
"It's an immoral war which is accomplishing nothing," Reames said. "We are killing a lot of people we shouldn't be killing."
The protest was one of three in the Madison area sponsored by the political action committee MoveOn.org, which boasts a membership of 3.3 million people who have signed up for e-mail alerts or donated money to Democratic candidates. The other protests were at the corner of Midvale Boulevard and Mineral Point Road and at Commons Park in Lake Mills. There were about 675 similar gatherings across the nation.
MoveOn.org called Wednesday National Take a Stand Day, a day to remember the human cost of the Iraq war and to urge Congress to stand up next month "and end this endless war."
The organization alternatively called it the Stand Up In September Vigil.
"This September, after hearing the White House's report on the 'surge,' Congress will decide whether we bring our troops home or spend another year fighting an unwinnable religious civil war. As Congress heads back to D.C., we're here to tell them that it's time to take a stand," MoveOn.org said on its Web site.
Reames' wife, Sherry, 64, who teaches in the English department at UW-Madison, held a MoveOn.org sign that read, "Honk to take a stand." Drivers honked and gave the occasional thumbs up sign.
Sherry Reames was pleased with the ruckus she and her cohorts were causing.
"I thought it was a bad idea before it started," she said about the war in Iraq. "We protested that it wasn't necessary back in 2003. It was a war of choice not of necessity and they've completely bungled it. It's even worse than those who were against it from the beginning thought it would be," she said.
The impending departure of the Bush administration's embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is a good first step, said Sherry Reames.
"It doesn't do anything about the war, but it suggests that people will be held accountable eventually," she said.
Barbara Wright, 54, who owns the Dardanelles restaurant on Monroe Street, also held a "Honk to take a stand" sign along with a giant U.S. flag with a peace sign instead of stars.
"This war has been so unnecessary. It's almost like this war is being waged as a distraction for some other things going on that we don't know about," Wright said. "Attacking Iraq didn't make America any safer. In fact, it radicalized many moderate Muslims and created more terrorism. Do you think the families of anybody who is in Abu Ghraib feels kindly toward the U.S. -- or anyone whose children have been killed by independent contractors?"
The amount of money that has been spent on the war is ridiculous, Wright said.
"Just to put it in perspective, the 2nd Congressional District, where we all live, has spent $961 million of our tax money on the war -- $7.7 billion for the state of Wisconsin. Think about what we could have done with that money," she said.
Peter Birke, 16, an Edgewood High School student, said he didn't think that American troops should be involved in an Iraqi civil war.
"Only a unified Iraqi government can bring national unity," he said. "We should focus on that instead of allowing our troops to be imperiled on the ground in Iraq."
His friend, Catherine Tharp, 16, also a student at Edgewood, said she wasn't there to protest, but to support the troops.
"I'm just here to get the message out that there is a war going on that not everyone is always aware of."
They are the majority. And they vote.
God forgive Amerika.
I'm sure.
Typical leftists — too cowardly even to let others fight for them in peace. (pun intended)
They remind me of the mindless leftist cowards of the Vietnam era.
It's a perfectly moral war. It was an immoral (and illusory) PEACE. When terrorists can fly hijacked airplanes into our office buildings, we are already at war, whether you ostriches care to admit it or not. And it is accomplishing exactly what we wanted it to accomplish: it is daily ridding the earth of a few more terrorists.
$7.7 billion for the state of Wisconsin. Think about what we could have done with that money,"
Rebuilt the Trade Center? Resurrected the 3,500 Americans who were murdered that day? I don't know. What COULD we have done with that money?
"Only a unified Iraqi government can bring national unity ... We should focus on that instead of allowing our troops to be imperiled on the ground in Iraq."
And who is going to protect that nascent effort, the crossing guard? Our armed forces are soldiers; they are PAID to "be imperiled."
OMG - my eyes!!!!
Probably never worked a day in his life.
Welcome to FR. Just joined to say that? The War is debated every day here.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Which war?
What does it mean to be a conservative?
Never mind, I see you’re a Paulite, that answers my questions.
rookie mistake, lol
Nice try, Newbie. We’ve debated this war every day for years now.
“What COULD we have done with that money?”
Put these treason-spewing freaks behind bars where they belong.
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