Anyone else been watching C-SPAN?

[WillyJ]

It's still policy for the press. . and when challenged about it the bush people always claimed it was in place only out of repsect for the families of the fallen soldiers and had nothing to do with keeping those types of images from the public and the reality that might impact negatively on public opinion over their occupation of Iraq.


But as the above story and subsequent change in policy clearly shows, they were lying and it had nothing to do with what the families wanted and in fact on that aspect of it they resisted what the families wanted to protect their own image until forced to change things by the truth being exposed in the press.

 

[Teejay32]

the only likely reason for taking photographs of coffins, besides weird fixations, is to get those images out to the public to reflect on the war. Whichever war it was. It's very hard to believe that no families objected to showing the dead for that purpose, so that's probably another Lie that Kinda Wasn't.

But no matter. I just saw shots of the protesters and I'm pretty sure that isn't topping their list.

 

[Nancy]

Originally posted by jennyanydots
we've got apolice force of 35,000 -- and most of them are in the vicsinity of the Garden these days. even the captains put on their uniforms and went out on patrol. even special victims unit, narcotics squads, etc. are in uniform and on patrol. we've also got the MTA police force and the Port Authority police force, National guard troops and NYState troppers. even the cops believe it's overkill. do you really think ANYHTING will get out of hand here?

I certainly hope nothing will happen. And my BIL has very good friends on the force and they don't believe it is overkill at all...they are praying that the show of force prevents someone from trying something stupid. Maybe the 3 of them are the only ones on the whole police force that feels that way..I don't know? I don't live in the city, but my BIL does...I'm repeating what he has told me during our talks about the RNC being there and the extra security.

I am very happy to see peaceful protesters excercising their rights.

 

[RNMOM]

Did anyone see Bill Maher this week? He was saying it isn't a protest without a few broken windows/etc. It was really difficult to tell if he was joking or not, I think not.

Glad the turnout was so great.

 

[WillyJ]

I don't have HBO anymore so I didn't see Maher make rhose remarks but I've read about them and most people commenting on them couldn't tell if he was serious or not either. .


I generally like Maher and find him insightful but he can say some pretty asanine things as well. .

. . and if he was serious about encouraging rioting this week in NYC then he should be ashamed of himself.


Not only is the advise stupid and counter-productive, it shows a profound ignorance of the history of peaceful, non-violent protest being the most effective type in a democracy such as ours.

The people running the government couldn't care less what any protesters have to say. . but if the protests convince enough otherwise apathetic citizens to take an interest and vote accordingly, then they pay attention.. .

And violent protests or stupid protests (like the ACT UP one earlier this weekend) no matter how well intentioned usually hurt the cause being promoted miore then help because it turns off objective veiwers. .

If Maher was joking, then I'm guessing that's the point he was trying to make. . .

 

[momof2inPA]

This is momof2PA's husband.

I participated in the march in NYC yesterday. It was a wonderful experience that reinforced my belief in our democratic system and charged me up to spend as much time as I can to work toward change. It was wonderful to spend time with so many people who are just as frustrated with our current administration and its policies as I.

When we arrived in the city yesterday morning at about 7:30 am we were a bit concerned that things would be ugly like they were in Miami last November – we parked in the financial district and took a walk past the World Trade Center site. The police presence there was heavy and they were already in riot gear and carrying what appeared to be loaded M-16’s. We had heard about many arrests of smaller protests in the prior days and were concerned that the strong arm tactics that were used in Miami to split off small groups and make whole sale arrests might be the plan in NYC as well. A significant amount of the money that was allocated for Iraq has been set aside to be used for national security to protect us from ourselves in events such as this. We had also made a run into the city on Saturday night and saw heavy presence of police and barricades. We were afraid that was an indication that the police response to the protest would be severe.

It was a hot day and there was some problem with heat stress for some participants. However the event organizers had a pretty decent system in place to deal with emergencies. I saw two in the area that we were staging for the march.

People had a true sense of excitement and anticipation before the march began. Again because of the heat, many wanted to get the event moving sooner than it was able.

The staging areas were crowded with many groups large and small of all ages and very diverse in any category. It was almost too crowded in the staging areas and just before our group was told we could move out I was a bit worried that the crowd might start to disband.

The crowds were very large, the groups were well organized for the most part, the police were helpful - a bit on edge in some instances, but willing to allow peaceful demonstration.

It was difficult to gain a sense of the size of the whole group from the ground, but we all knew it was very large, loud, important and exciting. The business owners and residents of NYC were very accommodating.

Remember – the government is us, if we aren’t satisfied – it is time to become involved and make changes for the better!

 

[KarenC]

Thanks for the report, Mr. Momof2inPA!

 

[wvrevy]

Originally posted by WillyJ
If Maher was joking, then I'm guessing that's the point he was trying to make. . .

I never miss Politically Incorrect, and trust me, yes, he was joking. He ranted for about 2 full minutes on it...WAY over the top comments...It was funny, but you just gotta know Maher

momof2...Thanks for the report ! Wish I coulda been there with ya' !

 

[Patch'sD]

Millions upon Millions, NYPD put the number at about 120,000. Sponsors put the number at 400,000. I'll go with the NYPD numbers, maybe they are controlled by some administration offcial also.

 

[Saffron]

Thanks momof2inPa's husband! I got the feeling of excitement and renewal just watching all of you guys there in the trenchs! It was a beautiful sight to behold! I saw every age group represented ... from elementary school aged children to elderly folks. It was inspiring to say the least! Thank you for your efforts! It sure did make a difference for a lot of people! Maybe it didn't change their votes, but it sure did inspire them to know that they can be heard! Thanks again!

We should organize a group or something and have a DIS meet and a protest in DC at the same time.

 

[Saffron]

Patch'sD, I just read on another thread that an unofficial police spokesman estimated the crowd to be around a half a million. And you can also read other posts on this thread that clearly state the numbers were not in the millions, but looking at the crowd yesterday, it sure did look like it! It was a SEA OF PEOPLE!

Anyway, now that we all know the official numbers fall somewhere between 160,00 and 400,000, did you all know it was the largest protest EVER of a national convention?!?! It was a history making march, no matter what the number, even if you do decide to believe the lowest estimate! Being ahistory making protest says a million!

 

[Pete's Mom]

I am looking forward to hearing Sen. John McCain and Rudy Giuliani speak tonight.

 

[charlie,nj]

My local paper had the following:

“The march, which snaked through Midtown Manhattan along Seventh Avenue, passing Madison Square Garden, was reminiscent of the annual Halloween Parade in Greenwich Village, with protesters using signs, costumes and floats to take aim at the president. Protest organizers estimated the crowd at 400,000, but New York City police said it was closer to 120,000. “

(and I bet 100,000 of them were just poor tourists who joined the march thinking it was some sort of wild NYC happening…and they would look out of place is they didn’t)

if I saw a guy walking down the street that looks like this..I would follow too!

 

[momof2inPA]

Originally posted by Saffron
We should organize a group or something and have a DIS meet and a protest in DC at the same time.

That would be great. Just let us know. We'll make some lime green signs.

 

[WillyJ]

Thank your husband so much for me Mom2!!


Really enjoyed reading his report and let him know how proud I am of him and the others who were willing to stand up for their values and for thier country in such a positive way. .


Lots of us very proud of you guys!

 

[Robinrs]

Originally posted by charlie,nj

if I saw a guy walking down the street that looks like this..I would follow too!

charlie!! You never looked better!!

Thanks for the report, momof2's husband! From a LOOOOOONG time ago marcher to a more recent one:

POWAH TO THE PEOPLE!!!

Oh Lord I'm wearing an Afro and am back in the 60s!! Can you DIG it?

 

[CLynnJones]

 

[WillyJ]

Do you got's your traditional protest "Moo-moo" on Robin??

 

[LoraJ]

Thank you Mr. Mom for going out there.

I live across the river, but was unable to make it.

In April, I participated in the "March For Women's Lives" in DC. There were 1 million of us there. It was amazing!

I'm glad that everything went relatively smooth yesterday. I was worried no one would no where to go since they kept changing everything.

Security has been tight around her. They now have guards that will search vehicles that enter the parking garage at work. But, that has taken away security from other things. My hubcaps got stollen last week. Well, if that's my sacrifice for the war on terror, so be it.