"Peace" Marchers: "Republicans," "Soccer Moms" & "Grandparents"

"Peace march" whitewash. Though Saturday's anti-war with Iraq "peace" march in Washington, DC was organized by a far-left group, had a bunch of zany leftist outfits as sponsors, featured some far out rhetoric from the stage which belied the notion that the organizers simply want a peaceful solution, and ended with a march to the Washington Navy Yard to demand access to U.S. "weapons of mass destruction," as if the U.S. and Iraqi possession of them is equivalent, major media outlets, both print and broadcast, ignored such realities which might have reduced empathy for the cause.

Instead, the networks painted participants as sympathetically as possible, trying to make them identifiable to viewers as people next door, stressing how they were made up of "grandparents," "honor students," "teachers," "businessmen," "military veterans," "soccer moms" and "Republicans." Plus, CNN really turned on the syrup by focusing on an elderly a Nazi survivor who caught "a ride with a busload of young people, all to stop another war, to stop more suffering."

Hardly a word from the stage got aired as the networks preferred to focus on the most normal looking people in the crowd. On stage, Ramsey Clark demanded Bush be impeached and one speaker even described convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal as "a political prisoner."

"Braving frigid temperatures," ABC's Lisa Sylvester proclaimed on Saturday's World News Tonight, "they traveled across the country -- black and white, Democrat and Republican, young and old." In a second January 18 story, ABC News reporter Geoff Morrell followed the trip to DC by a doctor and his "honor student" daughter: "So they rode a bus all night from Asheville, North Carolina. On board were businessmen, soccer moms and military veterans -- all members of the same church."

The night before, despite the fact polls show overwhelming public support for President Bush's policy, Peter Jennings insisted that "the nation, as we all know, is somewhat divided and confused about attacking Iraq, you see it in almost every poll." That led into a piece by Bill Blakemore previewing the next day's protest: "Never mind the cold, they're going to protest. Democrats and Republicans. Many middle-aged. From all walks of life."

Back to Saturday, the day of the protest rally, at just past 3pm EST on MSNBC reporter Jeannie Ohm championed live from Washington's mall how "a growing number of people are speaking out against a war with Iraq: Students, grandparents, businessmen, politicians, teachers, actors and activists, standing shoulder to shoulder in protest."

The Web site for the rally organizer, ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism), clearly proclaimed the groups' very radical agenda to eliminate U.S. defenses and claim that the U.S. under Bush poses the greatest danger to the world, but none of that anti-American vitriol was conveyed in any television network story I saw. See item #2 below for the spiked agenda of those behind the rallies.

Instead, viewers heard about the opposition to Bush's policy by "honor students," "Republicans," "soccer moms" etc. Details:

-- MSNBC, 3pm EST hour on Saturday. After John Elliott in San Francisco talked with Tom Rainey, creator of a Web site named BushonCrack.com, the network went live to Jeannie Ohm in Washington, DC: "Organizers were expecting perhaps a hundred thousand protesters out here. It's really hard to say what the final tally will be, but it's clear there was a large number of people who took a stand against war." Man screaming on stage: "No War on Iraq! End the sanctions now!" Ohm: "They came from different parts of the country, but all armed with the same message." Man in crowd: "The message is that the United States, the people of the United States are not ready to go to war." Woman in crowd: "Let's take care of our schools, let's take care of health care, let's take care of the issues in this country." Ohm: "As the military buildup continues in the Persian Gulf, a growing number of people are speaking out against a war with Iraq: Students, grandparents, businessmen, politicians, teachers, actors and activists, standing shoulder to shoulder in protest." Jesse Jackson on stage: "We choose brains over bombs."

-- CNN, noon EST hour on Saturday: Kathleen Koch declared live from Washington's Mall that "perhaps some of the people in the crowd, some of the Americans who have come from great distances who have the most poignant stories."

Koch went to a pre-taped piece: "A Fort Lauderdale, Florida, home where peace protesters gather waiting to head to Washington. But only one truly understands war's grim realities." Ava Cutler: "And I'm not afraid to speak out, because this is why I came to this country, to speak my mind if I have to." Koch: "Seventy-six-year-old Ava Cutler was a Jewish teenager in Budapest, Hungary when her country was invaded by Nazi Germany in 1944." Cutler: "We're being besieged day by day, night by night, constantly we were being bombarded. There are no winners in wars, there are only losers, and we have to find a different way of how to deal with differences. We've had all the differences with Russia, didn't we? OK, did we go and attack Russia? No." Koch: "Local reporters quiz Cutler about whether Saddam Hussein, like Hitler, is a danger to the world." Cutler: "He was a threat to Kuwait, then we went to help Kuwait. That was legitimate. What is the reason now?" Koch: "Cutler isn't a member of any protest group. She decided to come on her own, catch a ride with a busload of young people, all to stop another war, to stop more suffering." Cutler: "I'm not fighting for myself anymore. I'm fighting for all the other people who have to face the same thing that I have had to go through, possibly, or worse."

Back on live, Koch did at least note the march to demand the U.S. disarm: "Now, it is because of protesters like Ava that the speakers up on stage are being encouraged to keep their remarks to two minutes or less today, because it is just simply so very, very cold. Now, in about an hour, everyone will start heading up to Capitol Hill. They're going to take the march, take the rally to the U.S. Navy Yard, where what organizers are calling a people's weapons inspection team will demand to inspect U.S. weapons of mass destruction. Organizers promised that there, as here, the protest will remain peaceful."

-- ABC's World News Tonight/Saturday. Fill-in anchor Terry Moran trumpeted at the top of the January 18 show: "It was a day of protest across the nation. On the West Coast and in Washington, DC demonstrators marched in vast numbers in the name of peace in the nation's biggest one day expression of opposition to U.S. war plans in Iraq. The protests come as tens of thousands of U.S. troops continue shipping out to the Gulf."

Lisa Sylvester opened her story with video of protesters holding a sign reading "Collateral Damage Means Babies" as they chanted: "One, two, three we don't want your corporate war." Sylvester then asserted: "They came to march against what they call the march toward war." Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, protest organizer, in crowd: "This is a war for conquest and for empire. This is a war of aggression and it doesn't have to happen." Sylvester portrayed the protesters as just average Americans: "Braving frigid temperatures, they traveled across the country -- black and white, Democrat and Republican, young and old. Their worries are varied." Saladin Muhammed, anti-war demonstrator, in the crowd: "There would be a disproportionate number of people of color that would have to engage in this war." Rev. John Dear, Fellowship of Reconciliation, on stage: "Bombing Iraq will only protect the oil companies, sow the seeds of further terrorism and massacre hundreds of thousands of people." Sylvester: "The protesters say there is no evidence justifying a war with Iraq and say the government needs to hear their views." Jessica Lange, on stage: "It is an immoral war that they are beginning and we must not be silenced. We have to be able to stand up and say no." Sylvester: "Protesters are looking to attract support for their cause before January 27th, the day weapons inspectors are expected to report their first major findings to the United Nations. Demonstrators fear the Bush administration will use that deadline as a jump off point for war. Charley Richardson and his wife worry about their son, a Marine in the Persian Gulf." Charley Richardson: "Every morning when we wake up we think about him, we think about where he is, we think about how much we love him." Sylvester gave a sentence to the other side: "Near the Vietnam War memorial those who favor war with Iraq held their own rally." Brian Brosnan, counter demonstrator: "Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction and it's time to disarm him before another 9-11 thing happens." Sylvester concluded: "But today's anti-war demonstrators believe it is not Saddam Hussein who is the aggressor in this case, it is the United States."

Moran then pointed out how the protesters are not in the majority: "Now the huge demonstrations represent only one side of what has become a lively and nuanced public debate about war. In general, polls show strong public support for military action against Iraq. A recent ABC News/Washington Post survey found 62 percent of Americans support action to depose Saddam Hussein, but that's with international support. Only 42 percent of Americans support a war if the U.S. has to go it alone."

Next, reporter Geoff Morrell followed a North Carolina man and his teenage daughter, the Blakes, "who traveled all night" to the DC protest. "She's an honor student, he's a medical doctor," Morrell explained, who "fear President Bush is rushing to war with Iraq," so "they rode a bus all night from Asheville, North Carolina. On board were businessmen, soccer moms and military veterans -- all members of the same church."

Morrell beefed up Dr. Blake's credentials: "Dan Blake supported the 1991 Gulf War, but says this President hasn't convinced him Saddam Hussein is a threat to the U.S. or its allies." Blake: "I would like to see a smoking gun that makes me think well, my family, my country, my community is in danger now." Morrell contended Blake is very typical: "In that sense, Blake is like most Americans who say they will support military action if the President provides proof Iraq has weapons of mass destruction."

Over a shot of a protester holding a "No Blood for Oil" sign, Morrell concluded: "The Blakes doubt this protest, as big as it was, will slow the march to war. But they say it certainly proves there is a vocal minority opposed to it."

-- World News Tonight, Friday, January 17. Peter Jennings insisted: "The nation, as we all know, is somewhat divided and confused about attacking Iraq, you see it in almost every poll. In cities across the country today, many people who are opposed to war began to head for Washington. Here is ABC's Bill Blakemore."

Over video of a sign proclaiming "Drop Bush Not Bombs," Blakemore began his story from New York: "Never mind the cold, they're going to protest. Democrats and Republicans. Many middle-aged. From all walks of life. And some students. Nancy and Steve Boyda are Republicans, he's a Vietnam veteran." Steve Boyda, Vietnam Veteran, on bus: "As an American, as a voter, as a participant on this side of the fence, I want to hold our leaders accountable to showing us why we make these kinds of decisions." Blakemore: "There's a variety of worries. Woman on bus: "These people have no control over what their government does and we're about to go kill them and there is nothing they can do about it." Another woman: "We want to say, we love our country very dearly, we love it so much, that we don't want our country to make a horrible mistake." Blakemore: "Many will represent the feelings of others back home." Woman at Chicago City Council meeting: "Who's gonna die?" Blakemore championed a liberal government agency doing something liberal as if that's newsworthy: "Chicago City Council voted last night against rushing to war with Iraq 46-1. Forty other city councils passed resolutions citing the loss of U.S. and Iraqi lives or the money a war would cost. The organizers of the march charged today that President Bush is lying about reasons for war to cover oil interests." Man at press conference: "This is a war for big oil." Blakemore: "News polls indicate that if weapons of mass destruction are found, three-quarters of Americans support a war. But with no evidence, or heavy casualties, or going to war alone, support drops to less than half." Ann Florini, Brookings Institution: "This is not a group of people who are opposed to all war at all costs. In fact, there is a number of labor unions involved who supported the Vietnam War, who supported the earlier Gulf War. But they have real questions about this one." Blakemore concluded: "Traveling from every state, these people are what one analyst calls a large 'reservoir of unease.'"

A lot I didn't get to today, including a fun exchange on FNC's After Hours with Cal Thomas. When Lesley Stahl denied there's any liberal bias and claimed the networks are packed with conservatives, Thomas asked her to name a conservative at CBS News. She couldn't.

-- Brent Baker When posted, this CyberAlert will be readable at: http://www.mediaresearch.org/cyberalerts/2003/cyb20030120.asp ####

What the media whitewashed. The Web site for the rally organizer, ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism) clearly proclaimed the group's very radical agenda to eliminate U.S. defenses: "Jan. 18 NATIONAL MARCH ON WASHINGTON to demand: NO WAR AGAINST IRAQ ELIMINATE U.S. WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION"

The ANSWER Web site: http://www.internationalanswer.org/

Amongst those listed as part of the coalition: Ramsey Clark, Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr., New York City Labor Against the War, San Francisco Labor Council (AFL-CIO), Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, Black Voices for Peace, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Global Exchange, Jessica Lange, Janeane Garofalo, Michael Moore,

That list is posted at: http://www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/j18/endorsers.html

http://www.mediaresearch.org/cyberalerts/2003/cyb20030120.asp WHEN POSTED and/or http://www.mediaresearch.org

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Another illustration of the extreme importance of having the alternate media sources: Internet, Talk Radio, and Fox.

Note how the Democrats have recently attacked this alternate media. Isn't it obvious that they only want their own Party Line to be put out.

What is becoming obvious, and is really scary, is that the "Party Line" that is being promoted in the "main stream" media is the Communist party line.

These protesters were nothing hate-America, anti-Bush people. They were the same people who protested the US removing the Taliban and fighting Al Queda in Afghanistan, thus freeing women from a life of terror in a burqua and freeing boys to fly kites and men to shave their beards.

There was a contingent from my old hometown of La Crosse, Wisconsin that took a bus to the demonstation. A very sympathetic young reporter from the local rag went with them. Of course there was no mention of the commies and anti-American crud who were the prominent organizers of this fiasco. Every American has the right to object to their country's policies, but they should be aware of who's manipulating them. The people who attended the event were and are mostly bone-ignorant about this.

They keep quoting how many of these people are middle aged. Big whoop. The same hippyfreaks protesting Vietnam who never grew up.
Make Love not war was cute when you were 19. Now it's frightening.
The students are just coddled kids, with too much time on their hands. Sorry, when I was in college, I worked and studied. I didn't have time for protests. When I find my children at any kind of protest, I pull the tuition money. They then need to make it on their own.

This morning my (German) daily newspaper reported that 500,000 to 1 million protestors marched in Washington this weekend. The snippet was part of a two-article front-pafe piece which basically claimed (using the usual skewed or out-of-context polldata) that there is no popular support for what the German Press always calls "Bush's War".

Interestingly, when I got to the office and logged onto the net, I couldn't find any U.S. reports of that many protestors. Typical leftist Euro-trash press. They don't give a whit for truth or accuracy, only their anti-American dogma.

It does seem pretty clear that "mainstream" media is part of the Left these days, for the most part, along with academia, the "arts" and, apparently, a major part of mainstream clergy.

I used to think the Miami Herald could have renamed itself the "Bill Clinton Fan Club Times." Now that he is gone for the time being, it still does its best to support the "party line."

Don't know if most people on the street appreciate this or not.

I think these numnuts need to ne reminded of Bloody Friday!

We were burnt as newly-grown plants,

In the current of poisonous winds,

And showed our dreadful wounds,

From one side of the world to the other.

But the unjust eyes of the world

Were never opened truly towards the oppressed.

The world only confined itself to a false regret, And once again,

We became a target as heaps and heaps of martyrs, We were the target of poisonous bombardments, We were the target of destructive bombs,And we remained the lonely oppressed ones of the world.

We rose from under tons of debris,

And stood up in the lands of poisonous bombings,

And we kept up standing and fighting,

Believe it, you people of tomorrow,

Believe such a history and learn a lesson,

Learn how to fight oppression in this way.*

* From the poem "Khaibar" by Mohammed Reza Abdol-Malakian.

Click Here For the Rest and gruesome, heartbreaking pictures These are the pictures the protestors need to see exactly what they are defending!

Plus, CNN really turned on the syrup by focusing on an elderly a Nazi survivor who caught "a ride with a busload of young people, all to stop another war, to stop more suffering."

Maybe the ungrateful B***h would have preferred we had 'talked about it' for several years, instead of liberating the Death camps?

You are correct to include academia and the mainstream clergy, along with the mainstream media, in those who preach the "party line" to us.

It bothers me to just call them the "Left" anymore. The left implies just another side of a debate. It appears more and more that this is NOT just another opinion, but an organized attack by the enemies of the United States.

So many times have we thought and argued: are they just misguided, or are they actually evil. If we look at the organizers and supporters of these "peace" (not) rally's, it answer's that question.

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