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| Home Front: Politix |
| Rally hails troops in Iraq, takes protesters to task |
| 2005-09-26 |
| WASHINGTON -- The last time Robert Young participated in a demonstration, he was protesting the Vietnam War as it wound down. It took more than 30 years to make it happen again, but Young joined hundreds of others on the National Mall yesterday to support the nation's troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, among them his son, Croft, 32. ''I'm a quiet person," said Young, 65, who traveled from Atlanta with a full-size Marine Corps flag. ''I don't really believe in demonstrations, but I wanted to come here to support my son," a Marine who left Camp Pendleton, Calif., on Wednesday for Fallujah. The afternoon rally was small in comparison with Saturday's antiwar demonstration, which D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey estimated at at least 100,000. But participants waved flags and placards adorned with such slogans as ''Keep the Promise to Iraq" and cheered the dozens of speakers. Deborah Johns, the mother of an Iraq war veteran, travels across the country speaking in support of the war. She directed some of her comments yesterday at antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, saying Sheehan speaks neither for Johns nor the public. After praising President Bush, Johns said she knew what she would like to do with Sheehan and the antiwar protesters who descended on Washington on Saturday: ''I'd like to ship them to Iran." The comment earned applause. The rally was largely peaceful, punctuated by a few small clashes with antiwar protesters. By 1 p.m., a small band of antiwar demonstrators had lined up behind the rally stage, where they delivered such chants as ''Hey, Bush, waddaya say? How many kids have you killed today?" Other antiwar activists spread out across the city. In the ballroom of a Holiday Inn on Capitol Hill, about 350 ''jurors" sipped coffee and polished off desserts as they watched a mock trial of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, former CIA chief George J. Tenet and US Attorney General Albert Gonzales. The men were accused of violating US law and the Geneva Convention in supporting torture. A few blocks away on the Mall, about 200 people who planned to be arrested today if President Bush would not agree to meet with them gathered in tents for a workshop on what to expect from police. Over the weekend, four antiwar protesters were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct. Serving as a backdrop to yesterday's rally was a gigantic flag created by children at Fort Benning, Ga., who decorated 900 red and white squares to reflect what ''freedom means to me." At the back of the crowd, participants held a banner that read ''God Bless Our Soldiers Liberating the World One Tyrant at a Time." Attending the rally were many who said they traveled far to support soldiers they said are protecting the cause of freedom, some at the cost of their own lives. Antia Grater, 60, and her husband, John, 59, traveled from their home near Niagara Falls, N.Y. Their son and his wife were stationed in the Persian Gulf country of Qatar until they returned to the United States a year and a half ago. Grater said the military is a family that has to stand strong. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #8 eLarson: Cindy's tour is being paid for by ANSWER and "United for Peace and Justice", another Workers World front organization. I think some other moonbat organizations are chipping in. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2005-09-26 16:20 |
| #7 Just thought I’d say that left or right, we can agree that Sheehan’s more about herself than about truly starting an anti-war movement. Hmm... the words "no visible means of support" had come to mind. Who is paying for Cindy's tour? |
| Posted by: eLarson 2005-09-26 12:46 |
| #6 Cindy is getting hammered over at dailykos,she said"Why is the media focusing on Huricane Rita.it's nothing but a little wind and rain". Here's her post and a few replies. I'd say her times about up; i am watching cnn and it is 100 percent rita…even though it is a little wind and a little rain…it is bad, but there are other things going on in this country today…and in the world!!!! by CindySheehan on Sat Sep 24th, 2005 at 06:29:15 PDT I’m in Southeast Texas with family on the coast and in Lake Jackson, LA. I’d like you to tell us it’s just a little wind and rain. They’ve lost their homes, jobs and businesses and gone through fear and panic while you bask in your fan’s adulation, party with your celebrity friends and play the star. Shame on you, you’re jealous of media coverage of other’s suffering. You’ve become a caricature and I no longer support you. I’m ashamed I ever did. when i was watching cnn this morning, that’s what it was…i know it was much worse earlier and it was devastating, i didn’t make myself clear and i apologize. i also know that the media will cover anything else besides the war. by CindySheehan on Sat Sep 24th, 2005 at 20:08:28 PDT Cindy, these posts have time stamps. when i was watching cnn this morning, that’s what it was Four hours before your post, the eye hit just east of Port Arthur and west of Lake Charles. Between then and two hours after your post, hurricane force winds were tearing through Beaumont and Orange, TX and all through Vermillion Parrish, LA.. Imagine, if you can, what was happening to those poor people while you were watching tv and getting upset about them covering "a little wind and a little rain" rather than your special day. it was devastating earlier And during. And after. You might also realize that the people in a hurricane’s wake don’t suddenly get happy and whole an hour after the eye passes over. It’s still not a little wind and a little rain to them. Do you know they are still very afraid down there - right now, Cindy, trying to find 1,000 people lost in Vermillion as I type.. You can find the story now on CNN’s website. I’m very sorry, it’s slightly above the story about you - that’s just so unfair too isn’t it. i also know that the media will cover anything else besides the war. Well Joan Baez sang for you today, and you got your smiling-happy picture taken with Jesse Jackson today, and your story is still front page on CNN.com today. So it was a very good day. Yes it was a beautiful day for Cindy wasn’t it? Except for a little wind and a little rain earlier. That is damn stupid. The death toll from these hurricanes is still rising, and you really think the Iraq war doesn’t get covered? What a selfish woman! I’d be downright ashamed to read anything else you have to say from here on in. Hiyas! This is Rationality from DailyKOS and a yet-to-be-exposed mole in the Free Republic, where I saw the link to this blog. Just thought I’d say that left or right, we can agree that Sheehan’s more about herself than about truly starting an anti-war movement. |
| Posted by: Steve 2005-09-26 12:39 |
| #5 That figure of 100,000 is complete bullshit. I did some pretty careful analysis of this crowd photo from Yahoo and came up with a maximum of 26,000 for the crowd, and a most likely number of 16,000-18,000. In other words, about a third of the number of people at an average NFL game. |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2005-09-26 11:57 |
| #4 Cindy is getting hammered over at dailykos,she said"Why is the media focusing on Huricane Rita.it's nothing but a little wind and rain".(near as I can recall).Check it out for a good chuckle. |
| Posted by: raptor 2005-09-26 11:00 |
| #3 I'd actually like to introduce sheehan to some of these terrorists she refers to as freedom fighters. I think this STUPID BITCH would drasticly change her tune when they started sawing her head off!!! |
| Posted by: ARMYGUY 2005-09-26 10:12 |
| #2 I have serious doubts about the 100,000 anti-war figure. The pictures I have seen of the protest (mostly at LGF) have only shown maybe 20,000. For a "serious", national protest that is a fizzle. |
| Posted by: mmurray821 2005-09-26 10:08 |
| #1 Boy, it would sure be good to see America's sedition laws dusted off and enforced aggressively. I guess I can only dream about seditious traitors facing a firing squad. |
| Posted by: Lone Ranger 2005-09-26 10:04 |
