You guys are great!
Posted on 01/27/2007 12:30:03 AM PST by Jim Robinson
Tens of thousands of demonstrators from across the country are expected to converge in Washington today to urge the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq as President Bush is proposing to send more troops in an effort to stabilize the country.
They plan to rally on the Mall, march around the north side of the Capitol and send a strong message to the government.
The event, which authorities said could draw 100,000 people, starts with a rally at 11 a.m. Among those expected to address the crowd are Jane Fonda, Danny Glover, Susan Sarandon and Jesse Jackson.
The march, organized by the group United for Peace and Justice, is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
~~snip~~
Fifty to 100 members of the Washington chapter of the conservative organization FreeRepublic.com plan to rally near the U.S. Navy Memorial to oppose the march and the participation of Jane Fonda, the chapter said. The actress has long been the object of conservative ire for her support of North Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
"These groups are the ones that are acting as the political arm of the terrorists overseas to help bring about America's defeat in the war on terror," said Kristinn Taylor of FreeRepublic.com.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/4505194.html
Tens of thousands in D.C. demand end to war in Iraq
WASHINGTON — A raucous multitude of protesters, led by some of the aging activists of the past, staged a series of rallies and a march on the Capitol on Saturday to demand that the United States end its war in Iraq.
Under a blue sky, tens of thousands of people angry about the war and other policies of the Bush administration danced, sang, shouted and chanted their opposition.
They came from across the country, and across the activist spectrum, with a wide array of grievances. Many seemed to be under 30, but there were others who said they had been at the famed anti-war protests of the 1960s and 70s.
They came to Washington at what they said was a moment of opportunity to push the new Congress to take action against the war, even as the Bush administration is accelerating plans to send an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq. This week the Senate will begin debating a resolution of disapproval of the president's Iraq policy, setting up a dramatic confrontation with the White House.
Some protesters plan to stay and lobby their representatives in Congress. Other anti-war activists intend to barnstorm states this week and urge senators to oppose the troop escalation.
While Saturday's throng was vociferous, there was no official crowd estimate. It was filled with longtime opponents of the conflict and the administration.
"Its primary value is that it keeps up the pressure," said former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, of South Dakota. "There is a sense that, by summer, a march like this will be two or three times as large."
Some came on behalf of relatives in the service. A New Yorker came for her younger brother, who she said was about to be deployed. She had a framed picture of him in a knapsack. An Akron, Ohio, woman came with her infant son, saying his father, in the Navy in Kuwait, hasn't seen him.
Among the celebrities who appeared was Jane Fonda, 69, the actress and activist who during the Vietnam War was criticized for sympathizing with the North Vietnamese.
She told the crowd that this was the first time she had spoken at an anti-war rally in 34 years.
"I've been afraid that because of the lies that have been and continue to be spread about me and that war, that they would be used to hurt this new antiwar movement," she told the crowd. "But silence is no longer an option."
But Fonda's presence drew counterprotesters.
Members of the conservative Free Republic group picketed an anti-war rally at the Navy Memorial where Fonda spoke earlier in the day. "Hanoi Jane," one sign read. "Wrong then, wrong now."
The day's events unfolded peacefully. And after a cold morning with temperatures in the mid-20s, the day quickly warmed, and protesters were unzipping jackets as the mercury topped 50 degrees.
The crowd may not have matched the numbers of similar protests in September 2005 and January 2003.
____________________________________________________________
Susan Sarandon, et al.
All the usual players.
Scum. Ingrates. America haters.
Spoiled enemies of freedom.
Amen.
Interestingly, in the run-up to this demonstration, the NBC reporter in Iraq, Richard Engel(s?), interviewed some American troops in that country. They unanimously stated that the United States should stay in the country until the country is stabilized, and that the country should stand behind them. The troops also denounced those Americans who state that they support the troops but want an immediate withdrawal. A surprising move by Engel(s) and NBC; they usually take a more anti-war stance, though less so than CBS (don't have cable tv).
They're traitors and they don't seem to realize it.
??? Diverse voices? I wonder how they define "diverse"? It's clearly not a description of their ideological leanings...
Any reliable reports of the actual number of protestors? I refuse to believe the DBM's count and doubt seriously if it was close to 100k.
If I am lucky enough to live longer than Jane Fonda, I will make it my mission to pi$$ on her grave.
5.56mm
"..Organizers had hoped that 100,000 would attend. They claimed even more afterward, but police, who no longer give official estimates, said privately that the crowd was under 100,000..."
That is all I have heard.
You can protest on active duty as long as you're not in uniform, or don't claim to be representing the military. Hutto is a nut. He was a college graduate that came in as a Seaman Recruit, which should tell you something. He has a "background in activisim", so likely joined the Navy simply as a way for his incompetent rear not to starve to death and it had the added benefit of enhancing his credibility.
He's not a sailor that "turned against the war". He was a left wing nut job before he came in the service.
In other words, if you are just a talentless ingrate, you get stuck (protesting) Iraq?
Oh, they realize it. They simply believe America is a country occupied by the evil free-market capitalists and it must be brought down before the worker's paradise can be created. Kinda like what happened to create the Soviet Union.
A 1 in 3,000 mentality considering there are 300 million Americans.
Everything I saw about the protestors showed them to be a troupe of kooks, like Fonda and Sheehan. And they got national coverage?
Jane Fonda, had the chance to be a traitor twice in a lifetime and did not flinch. Nice epitaph.
There were around a dozen active duty, as well as wounded warriors on our side, too.
They were spat on, called killers and viciously taunted by the rabid hate mongers.
I was in DC for a business meeting yesterday at lunch only a few blocks from the protest site. Everyone in our group was a conservative. Afterwards we decided to take a long route back to the metro station to see the freak show underway. I'd say it was about 12:30 or 1 PM - right at the rally's peak.
My non-expert crowd size estimate: 7,000-8,000 tops.
If you look at the map on this link you can see roughly where they were. They occupied the space from the pond in front of the capitol to about half way in front of the Air and Space Museum.
http://www.wikimapia.org/#y=38889880&x=-77017878&z=18&l=0&m=a&v=2
If you zoom out you'll see very quickly that it's only a fourth of the national mall! And they couldn't even fill that much compactly.
To give you an example of just how few they were versus what they claimed to be, we passed the ice rink about a block back from their furthest reach. Aside from a 2 or 3 hippie stragglers, it was just your normal crowd of tourists having a good time.
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