Antiwar march in D.C.

[professorpan]

My hat is off to the organizers and participants in Saturday's antiwar march in D.C. I've been to plenty of marches in Washington, and it was by far one of the largest I've attended. It felt so wonderful to walk by the White House, extending my middle finger, and yelling obscenities at the top of my lungs. <br><br>Even though Bush wasn't there, it felt cathartic and cleansing, as if my body needed to release the pent-up rage.<br><br>For what it's worth, the police presence was significantly smaller than usual. I think most of them were guarding the World Bank (as there were also anti-globalization protests the same day).<br><br>Of course, CNN chooses to have this photo represent the 100,000 protesters:<br><br><img src="<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/US/09/24/antiwar.ap/vert.whitehouse.ap.jpg">">i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2005/US/0...e.ap.jpg"></a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br>Not one of the many veterans, clergy, or non-hippie persons. This is so very typical of the marginalization I have come to expect it. The MSM will find the most stereotypical "freak" and that's what the public sees.<br><br>I have no problems with freaky looking people, and count many of them as my friends. But young hippies were most definitely not the majority -- most protesters looked very "mainstream."<br><br>Also, I find it interesting that the hundred or so pro-war counter-protesters get equal coverage. That is not "balanced" -- it's terribly skewed.<br><br>I plan to post something more about the coverage on my blog tomorrow. I'll make sure to post the link here when it's up.<br><br>Peace, peeps. <p></p><i></i>

[jennifer]

I was visiting a friend and we happended to flip to C-SPAN and saw the antiwar protest Sat. being covered by C-SPAN. We were so glad to see that it was being covered by SOMEONE and waited to see how it was covered by the national news that evening. <br><br>We were disapointed as usual, as it barely merited a mention in the national news.... it was all Rita, all the time Time... It did make the crawl on CNN/MSNBC as "thousands march on Capitol protesting Iraq War" and really nothing else.<br><br>It was announced at the rally that they had well over 100 thousand people, 20 blocks solid of protesters, enough to encircle the White House, and it barely makes the news. <br><br>How many people will it take to make the news and be treated as a news-worthy item? 1 million? 2 million? <br><br>The world is truly upside down at this point.<br><br>But its a start!<br><br>But it points out to me that the media is truly controlled.<br><br>Time to organize!<br><br>Time to demand term limits in the house/senate.<br><br>Time to demand true election reform... paper ballots only. No riggable electronic ballot machines. If it takes two days to get the results from paper ballots counted locally, instead of having the convenience of a projected winner at the 11 o'clock news before we go to bed, then so be it. Our democracy is worth the wait.<br><br>Time to demand campaign reform. We must have federally funded elections, to give all candidates equal footing and remove the big money which is now corrupting our process. Without this legal bribe money in the form of election campaign donations, our candidates will be freed from the corrupt trap they are now in... supporting the donors who have supported them.<br><br>We should also demand that the broadcasting companies "donate" a certain amount of time to campaigning by all participants. This should be provided as a public service, and a requirement for the granting of the use of the public airways for the rest of the year.<br><br>The election cycle could be limited to a defined time period, say 8 weeks or so, instead of the two year plus cycle we now have.<br><br>It's time to take our democracy back, before its too late!<br><br>I don't know any other possible solutions to regain control from the forces which are now in power, and who do not hold the best interests of the people or the country at heart.<br><br>It will have to start at the grass roots level.<br><br>But the first step is becoming aware, and spreading the word. Make sure and tell everyone you know about the fact that 100,000 + people took the time to go to Washington and show their protest of the current regime. If they only watch the broadcast news, they are probably not aware that they even happened.<br><br>WAKE UP CITIZENS!<br><br> <p></p><i></i>