Week of Antiwar Events To Start With a ‘Die-In’
Protesters Advocate Civil Disobedience
A week of events meant to crank up a national demonstration against the war in Iraq is set to begin Saturday, with a 1,000-person “die-in” at the U.S. Capitol led by current and former American troops and accompanied by taps and a mock 21-gun salute.
The die-in will be the culmination of a march and rally. Organizers hope the event will spur people in the antiwar movement to move from protesting to performing acts of civil disobedience that “get in the way of the war machine,” said Brian Becker, national coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition, at a news conference yesterday at the National Press Club.
The group’s permit with the U.S. Park Police is for 10,000 people, a source said, but ANSWER, which stands for Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, expects tens of thousands, Becker said. More than 1,000 people had signed up on the group’s Web site as of yesterday to lie down at the die-in, he said, which is meant to represent Americans, Iraqis and others who have died in the war. Organizers expect the number to double or triple by Saturday.
Daily antiwar events are planned from Saturday through Friday. War opponents are scheduled to go to Washington area military recruitment centers Monday to try to shut them down. On Wednesday, “Pentagon Outreach Day,” Iraq veterans plan to walk through the Pentagon wearing antiwar T-shirts and talking about the conflict.
Across the country, war opponents are being encouraged to visit their congressional representatives’ hometown offices and not leave until someone “gives them an explanation about the war,” Becker said.
Protesters are to start gathering about 10 a.m. Saturday along the north side of the White House, in Lafayette Square. The official rally will be from noon to 1:30 p.m. Demonstrators will march down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol, where the die-in is to take place. Police said there will be rolling street closures along Pennsylvania Avenue.
The route will cross the jurisdictions of the U.S. Park Police, D.C. police and Capitol Police, which said they are beefing up patrols in preparation for arrests.
Two counterprotest groups, the Gathering of Eagles, made up of Vietnam veterans, and the D.C. chapter of the conservative group Free Republic, also have permits. They plan to rally at 9:30 a.m. on the Mall at Seventh Street NW and later line Pennsylvania Avenue NW between Seventh and 10th streets.
At a news conference Monday, Gathering of Eagles spokesman Kristinn Taylor said the group’s purpose is “to not allow this generation of America’s servicemen and women to be betrayed on the battlefield and at home, as happened during and after the Vietnam War.”
But at the ANSWER news conference yesterday, Carlos Arredondo, whose son Alex was killed in Iraq in 2004, said, “My passport says ‘We the people,’ and we the people are responsible for stopping this madness.” Arredondo held a folded U.S. flag in one hand and his open passport in the other.
Other speakers included antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan and Adam Kokesh, co-chairman of Iraq Veterans Against the War.
The antiwar movement “is far from where Bush would like you to think we are, that we are the fringe. They are the fringe. We are the mainstream,” said Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society’s Freedom Foundation, which encourages Muslim civic participation.
War opponents have carried out acts of civil disobedience since the war began, but Becker said the die-in will be different because it was conceived by and will be led by Iraq war veterans and their families.
© 2007 The Washington Post Company
“This is the time, We are The People.”
Two counterprotest groups, the Gathering of Eagles,… and … Free Republic, also have permits.
…in hope that conflict will water down the real purpose we protest for.
Time to call Blackwater ___ order more waterboards ___ this sounds like terrorism in full force, Martial law time.___ Karl and Gonzo are already lining things up, their family’s tossed them out.
I’m gonna be there in DC with the rest of the terrorists, because I want to be in one of the Stalag stockades when the depresion starts. Hear they’ll have potato and beet soup. I’m a card shark who will make it. I’ve been practicing holding my head under water too. I’m nuts, ___ but I ain’t stupid.
Kem,
I’ll see you there. I’m not sure what message to write on the shirt I’ll be wearing…right now I’m wearing “I support illegal immigration,” but I don’t want people to get confused…
The Protests aren’t enough because they always happen on weekends. They need to be during the weekday so people in DC will leave thier offices and join and Congress will be there to witness along with the rest of the beltway players! On top of that after the Protest the organizers should be arranging meetings with anit-war activists and their congressmen/senators. This would be more effective. The current way things are being done is not working! How many protests have we all been at since 911??? Lots!!!
Sad to say, the protest won’t have any effect unless a really huge number of people get arrested. But this country has become so jaded that it would take another Kent State massacre to really get attention–and then only for maybe a week. Sad!
Week of Antiwar Events To Start With a ‘Die-In’
I hope all of you are well and whole and free at the end of the day.
Privately, I have very strong suspicions that tomorrow, when all military aircraft are grounded by executive order for after the recent B-52 incident, the next pretext event will occur. Despite recent claims, I’m afraid I don’t see it as very likely that the plotters behindall of this will simply leave all of the assets they have at the ready holding until the summer of 2008.
In order to get away with attacking Iran with nuclear weapons and not facing immediate retaliation from nuclear nations with interests in Iran like Russia and China, the USA will have to have been struck with a nuclear weapon first.
I suspect one target will be Washington DC to eliminate those pesky opposition arms of government and provide an excuse for staging Blackwater enforced martial law from some ‘classified’ shadow location.
The second will likely be NORAD command at Peterson AFB, formerly protected within Cheyenne Mountain, but moved also on executive orders despite increasing military tensions worldwide. With all military flights grounded, this will be devastating enough that this evil WarCorp cabal could claim they had ‘no choice’ but to use nuclear weapons.
The third location will likely be the San Franciso Bay area due to convincing geographic proximity and a population density (becoming poorer, lots of homeless) to create enough shock and fear to make the rest of the country accept the martial law orders to stay in their homes and wait for the government to tell them what they need to know.
Detroit has also been mentioned in some threads, maybe to help the car companies collect massive disaster insurance on their failing businesses, who knows. I don’t think so, but maybe.
This is simply how I see the pieces coming together.
I hope I am completely wrong and that every single poster to this site will scoff and insult me and laugh in my face tomorrow night. I’ll read every last one toasting the health of each of you.
Be well and be as safe as you can.
ARA Charlston, just look for the oldest, dumbest, but cutest looking old duffer there, wearing a white cowboy hat, a great big turquoise belt buckle, scuffed cowboy boots, carring a laptop and still smoking roll your owns, legal tabacky though. I’ll likely be checking out the chicks too.
STINGER, I’d never scoff at your comments, right or wrong.
KEM & ARA, see you there! Liberty Blue T-shirt, NC to DC: NO MORE WAR. Wilmington Peace MeetUp.
STINGER, thanks for your concern; I’d never scoff either.
“I see in the near future, a crisis approaching that unnerves me, and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country.
As a result of the war, corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow.
The money powers of the country will endeavour to prolong it’s reign, by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggrigated in a few hands and the republlic is destroyed”.
_________~~~Abraham Lincoln~~~ 1865
The left needs to learn the difference between THEATER and ACTION. A die-in is merely theater because it’s a show that’s not designed to accomplish anything accept a spectacle. Action, on the other hand, is carefully engineered to achieve some meaningful goal. For example, a three-year old having a tantrum is Theatre; a three-year old asking for the car keys while wielding a handgun is Action.
Enough THEATER
TIME FOR ACTION
Beekeeper-
I’m actually glad you brought this up. I hear this all over the internet (and I agree, believe me). So what are you doing to take action?
Let me know while I’m acting by driving up to Washington DC to tell my senators and representatives myself that I’m against the war.
Now if you want to start an actual rebellion against the government, I’ll be with you the entire way (as long as socialism is your long term goal, not libertarianism…).
Violence is not very smart.
I just learned that a provision of No Child Left Behind, requires all high school students of draft age, must allow recruiters to speak with them in their schools.
If one wishes to not be part of that program, they must say so in writing. Of course if a draft comes up, they would likely be first on the list and also be riflemen in the infantry.
The Bush family makes millions a year from the program, by selling the required, sensless manuals and stupid tests. ___ My-my, imagine that.
We don’t need any stinking die in or whatever. The soldiers are going there voluntarily. Not my problem. I am not going to spend my time and energy to “save” these voluntary war criminals.
Who do you think cares what you do?
Or care about what you think or write for that matter? I’m sure you can find some other scum to curl up with under your rock.
Huh… see no truth, don’t say the obvious, because that might hurt you, right?
No wonder America has descended to such a low level.
Keep on going, support your war criminal President, your war criminal Congress, your war criminal soldiers…
Hey KEM…. I need help here! I just called Kathy Odat because I was screaming! All I heard was that BASTARD,somethimes known as our president on the radio…. I just scared the HELL out off my dogs. I expected that from the poodle, but the Rotts are ready to go ape shit. I can’t take this anymore. HELP!!!!….
Kem,
Take care in DC. My daughter is organizing and leading a group from her college to the demonstration. I have never been prouder.
Get you butt home safe, we still have to argue.
Go in Peace,
Bill
Guess yur’re gonna have ot have the dogs put down Rebel. Sorry.
Citizen1,___ We don’t support the war or Bush you pitiful soul. We do feel bad for our troops and don’t want them or any more Iraqis’ killed or harmed. If it were up to me, I’d insure their country was re-embursed for damages and get our troops out of there. We can never make up for what Bush has done though. Never! and yo can never make up for the things you wrote here.
I have heard a lot of ramblings…. but after so many years, and after so much information, no one can plead innocence as to why he/she should not be held accountable for continuing to engage in mass killing of innocent Iraqis, occupation of a sovereign country, and violation of Geneva Conventions.
You really want to stop the war? Then start calling a spade a spade.
But of course truth hurts…..
Our “opposition party” will not impeach a blatantly criminal President, and our countrymen are not able to understand that our troops are enabling war crimes. No wonder America is in such a mess….
Hey Rebel,
I would take care of your dogs for you, except I live in an apartment and pretty much survive on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, occasionally with a cup of Ramen noodles. Hope the doggies like PB&J!
I know, it is not nice to feed peanut butter to dogs.
revolution…
I wish I could be there. Stupid capitalism keeps me unable to attend. Let it be known all of you there march for a lot of people unable to show up. Wish I was still in school…or was rich…or lived close to DC
PEACE
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? My favorite, but it has to be natural peanut butter. I love peanut butter on deep fried San Francisco hot dogs, miracle whip and sweet relish. Sounds funny but is really yummy. Can’t blame her dogs, probably real smart too.
Thank you Bill, that was very decent of you to write that, as much as we hate one another.
Hey seriously, if the college students start protesting in ernest, we are getting somewhere. As much as I felt sorry for the 60s hippies, ____ turns out they were right. Too bad so many openly used drugs, it hurt their credibility. Hi OFF22, it’s the thought that counts. This is a wonderful bunch of people who blog here.
KEM PATRICK ET AL
i will be with you all in spirit. i’m not even in the usa or i would join you. hope it all goes according to plan and no-one gets hurt. be courageous but not violent.
and make sure you search kem patrick….(he might have a gun in his pocket……………..ha ha ha.) (esoteric joke - ask kem)
I never carry a gun.
Did when I owned that gas staion,___ it was legal. A good thing I did too, or I would not be here typing my brains out, they would have been splattered on the concrete one rainy night in 1984.
Coco, if my wife was staying home, I’d come and pick you up and show you the sights.
Seriously, maybe someday you could come to America and meet both of us. We’ll take the boat out for a week and do some scuba diving and fishing, then a day at the SanDiego zoo, one at Disneyland, then tour the western National Parks with a couple of days in Vegas and end it in San Francisco. Fun trip.
KEM PATRICK
thankyou for the invitation. sounds wonderful. i’ve been to florida, texas and california in the past. in the good old days………..i know you don’t carry a gun………..it was a reference to our postings a while ago on the gun topic………….seriously, i hope you all manage to do something with this march………….check out my posting on the topic: unruly activists wanted. maybe you could start this going…………..
I am too old and too poor to go to DC but I was there for Veitnam, the environment, the poor, and before that the black.
My heart will be with you. Senators Cornyn and Hutchinson do not listen they pretend and give the same spin. Rep Doggett is sort of with us but favors staying until either all the Iraqi’s or our soldiers are dead or peace happens (which comes first?).
DeLay should go to jail for his brainwashing of good Texas people who used to be Democrats. Although today that doesn’t matter since there are few differences.
Beekeeper: accept means to receive or endure willingly. I hope you meant except. What are they teaching?
BE SAFE
I am too old and poor to go to DC but my heart is with you.
I was there for Vietnam, the environment, the poor and before that the black.
Beekeeper: accept means to receive or endure willingly. I hope you meant except. What are they teaching?
BE SAFE
It’s always heartening when people like citizen1 complain and complain about the way things are and then do nothing about it. ESPECIALLY when people like me ARE doing something about it, and then get disrespected for it. I quit my job because they would not give me the weekend off for this march (I’m not kidding). I believe in the cause of anti-war, anti-Bush, anti-Democrat/Republican corporate politics. I believe in a better world, one in which I ACT to make a difference and don’t just sit around and bitch about it.
Citizen1, try to argue about something more meaningful, like who shot first: Han or Greedo?
http://sheehanforcongress.us is a self-organizing group of Sheehan campaign supporters. Please sign up if you’d like to help Cindy get elected to Congress.
Citizen 1, you’re a right-wing plant, aren’t you? I’ve been following your drivel for a few days now since I read the op ed piece by the seven sargeants in the NYT posted here. Your only intention is to provoke progressives into arguing about your clearly insane and sociopathic posts. No one is falling for it. Go back to the Project For New American Century, AEI, The Heritage Foundation, or whatever right-wing rock you crawled out from under.
Apparently truth hurts. I have yet to hear a logical rebuttal of the point I am making.
Our “opposition” party refuses to impeach a blatantly criminal President, and our countrymen refuse to comprehend the obvious: Bush’s war crimes are being perpetrated and enabled by our troops. The troops are going voluntarily to Iraq. And if they are really that brave then they should be able to do the right thing, i.e. refuse to go. WE don’t have to bring them home.
But I think I am expecting too much logic from my countrymen….
We have no quarell with you on other issues you have posted here Citizen1. Your insistance that the troops are all guilty of war crimes and you have no regard for any of them is unreasonable. Of course no one knows what is truly in your heart but yourself. That which is in a person’s heart may destroy reason, ___ if so elected.
The truth never hurts unless one is guilty of ignorance and or a lie, so your words do not hurt me in any manner whatsoever. You are a solipsist, they always stand alone, unless they have others under their strict control, and they are therefore truly lonely souls.
I am extremely gratified that the tragedy I feared most, was at least not today.
I only hope for those that are shedding their instructed fear and beginning to mobilize that there a few within the halls of power will act on their growing expression of willpower.
If the martial law order does come, the numbers will have to grow. If the day comes when people are ordered into their homes, no one should go. Obviously stay out of areas of extreme danger, but be out in the open. be seen, be heard, congregate in large groups and refuse to be moved.
Anything else is letting in the thin edge of the wedge of accepting being controlled.
As before be well. To your health, CHEERS! (my last cold beer from the summer. I hope you’re all enjoying yours)
Citizen 1,
OK, shitwit, I’ll address your “logic”:
We live in a constitutional democracy, though I don’t deny that’s it’s been particulary bruised and battered of late. I also do not deny many of its excesses, particularly as involves military adventures. That being said, here’s how it’s supposed to work. Our military is answerable to our elected civilian leadership. This is what makes a democracy different from a dictatorship, or military junta. It is the responsibility of the elected civilian leadership to make policy, and it is the responsibility of the military to take their orders from that civilian authority. If our leaders lie, manipulate intelligence, and commit other high crimes and misdemeanors in order to mislead the nation into war, then it is they who must be held to account, not the military, and certainly not the grunts who are not only our countrymen, but our warriors (honor the warrior, not the war). It is the responsibility of the citizens to bring their elected civilian leadership to account through petitioning their representatives, marching in the streets, and if need be, committing acts of disobedience.
So if you aren’t really a right-wing agent provocatuer, then what are YOU doing besides telling those who’ve taken bullets for your right to spew here to “go kill themselves?”
Perfectly written DRIFT. ____ Excellent!!
Where’s the protest?
I just need to have breakfast, take a shower, and scribble a protest sign. Then I’m off to the protest. I can’t afford a weekend in D.C. right now, so my protest will be closer to home. San Francisco California. I will be heading off to Market and Powell this afternoon.
Anyone care to join?
Ramsay
Citizen 1 has some far out thoughts on stuff and it makes me wonder… Hey Citizen 1, what country are you a citizen of?
Just wondering about stuff you said here…and your name is kinda different.
Thanks, Jim
And God I hope the blue Meanies in Washington keep their mitts off Cindy and her friends and I hope if they want to argue with someone ,,they don’t pick a cop.
A Die in?….Isn’t that how they buried the Hippies?
Citizen:
I was in the Army during Vietnam, another unpopular and unholy war. I admire greatly my fellow soldiers that were willing to go to jail by refusing to go to Vietnam. I hold a similar admiration for those who refuse deployment orders today.
To make such a decision requires great courage. He (/she) will be despised as a coward and traitor by his superiors and many of his compatriots. To expect it of all or most who disagree with the deployment is unreasonable. Jail and dishonorable discharge will destroy future careers.
By and large, those soldiers who do agree with the war are patriots and are, in their own view, defending me. I honor them and thank them for risking their lives for me and my country. They are ill served by their Commander in Chief who ducked out on Vietnam.
Bill
War? Isn’t that where “one nation uses violence against another”?
Democracy? Isn’t America the self-professed paradigm of “rulership by/of/for We, The People”?
Isn’t a nation “the People”?
So isn’t your war, conducted by your democracy, then an act in accord with the People?
Or (horrors) is ‘American democracy’ as much an oxymoron as ‘military intelligence’?
Get thee to the barricades and be prepared to die there — it’s the only way in your great paradigm that you are going to make any changes.
And good luck …
How are you funding this war?
The American National Debt—at one million dollars a day—would only take 24,000 years to pay off (disregard a piffle like interest); so a few more taxpayer bucks into killing people won’t hurt.
That same debt in one dollar notes would make a stack some five hundred thousand miles high.
Just money, easy come easy go; and the odd grunt popped off here and there won’t worry your leaders any more than a few (taxpayer) bucks here and there. Just numbers.