To All Of You Carping About The Speeches From The March....

[ChiciB1]

I was there and VERY VERY few people around or close to me were even listening them that much. We were waiting & waiting to MARCH. We didn't even get started until after 2:00PM because there were so many people there. The place was jammed and we couldn't even get off the Ellipse until then. We just started rolling when Jessica Lange began to speak. Most of us were lined up waiting for the thing to roll. There was such a jam up that so many of us never finished the march until way way late in the day!! And a VERY VERY pooped group we were. From rolling out of bed at 7:00 AM to getting to the Ellipse, by the time 8:00 PM came around, all I wanted to do was Take MY SHOES OFF!!

As to the fringe speakers, we didn't really hear any of that on the route... Most of it was Hey, Hey, Ho, Ho... Bush & Cheney Have To Go! Or "what do you want... PEACE... when do you want it... NOW!" and hopping up and down to the drummers! I thought it was fantastic and had a Fantastic TIME!!!

I don't know what kind of coverage you saw, perhaps only the speakers.... they should have shown the MARCHERS!! Most of the signs were ANTI-WAR, ANTI-BUSH, ANTI-ADMINISTRATION, etc.!!!

So I say.... maybe A.N.S.W.E.R. isn't to your liking, but if you can get that many anti-war people together yourself.... well then HAVE AT IT!!

To me it was massive, peaceful and a BLAST!

Now I just have to figure out how to download my pictures to get them to you here at DU. I assure you, mine will be ANTI, whatever you want pictures. I can get the pictures to my PC, just don't know how to get them HERE!!

NUFF SAID!!!!!

[Misskittycat]

1. The problem was that C-Span covered those speeches as if it was

all that was going on. I had to turn if off after just a little while, and each time I tuned back in, I was just as peeved.

[ChiciB1]

2. Well, Just So You Know.... THAT WASN'T THE MARCH!!

We hooped & hollered the whole way! And I'm one very tired BOOMER today. My younger friend who came along is just as tired if not more so!!

I see FSTV is doing a program on it now. I guess I can go see what the speakers DID say. Going to see what Amy's up to!

[NewInNewJ.]

4. I was there and can verify what you are saying.

A chant was also started by some, "No more talk, we want to walk" It was a good thing. I loved the whole day.

[Misskittycat]

11. I know it wasn't the march, but mostly because I was following it on

DU for most of the day. But watching C-Span made it look like that was the key thing going on.

BTW, I wasn't just sitting home and doing nothing. I live on the West Coast and couldn't afford to go to DC, but I attended a candelight vigil in North San Diego County on Saturday night.

And when I did live in D.C. during the Vietname era protests, I went to every one of them.

[acmejack]

3. Just go to Photobucket and open an account!

It is easy (& free)! You save your pix to their site and just paste the url of the pic into your message here and whereevr the links are is where your pic at photobucket will show up!

I'll put a link to more coherent instructions asap.

[ChiciB1]

8. Thank You So Much...

I really appreciate it!

Ya learn something NEW everyday if you pay A'tenshun!

[w13rd0]

5. I'm pretty tired of the carping...

...especially when most of the people doing the complaining were sitting at home watching a media which has already proven itself complicit. It's pretty much what I expected, but I'm glad so many people turned out to be heard concerning their objections to Bush's misbegotten agenda. I just wished we had a free press.

[ChiciB1]

6. I Certainly Agree With Exactly What You've Said!

They just had to be there! I'm presently watching FSTV with Amy Goodman and she's doing a lot of "behind the scenes" interviews with some of the larger voices that were key at the March!

Unfortunately I was out marching when Baez sang, so I'm taping it now, and also just heard Cindy Sheehan too! I was really unhappy that I wasn't back in time to see either one of them.

But all in all, I think this was a real "push start" for MORE TO COME!!

[mandyky]

7. First of all ANSWER did not do it alone

And second of all, you know Rush and all those idiots will paint us all with a broad brush. We are just getting through to middle America, but with some of the stuff said at the rally people might not want to be associated with anti-war movement spouting some of it.

I don't disagree with most of the ANSWER speakers, but a lot of those issues diluted the anti-war message for Americans just coming around to see that the Iraq war is failing. That is not carping, it is copnstructive criticism. Do we want more Americans to join the anti-war sentiment or do we want them to turn away because of the other issues they may not be ready to agree with? That is the question.

[WinkyDink]

9. "carping"? "To find fault in a disagreeable manner"?

Excuuuuuse me.
Yes, all we saw were the speeches.
And no, I don't agree that selling out to A.N.S.W.E.R. was worth it. I actually believe this connection will hurt the next march.

I admit to staying home in PA. But there IS still the First Amendment, haha!

[ChiciB1]

10. Yep, And I Was There With My Amendment Rights Yesterday....

And, I would place bets that there are more who are thinking as I do.

Personally, I don't think it would have been so huge if it hadn't have been for Cindy, but I had planned to go waaaaaaay back. It was basically the only HUGE thing around!

Maybe you just had to be there, I don't think we felt we were selling out. I for one was trying to get the attention of pitiful Democrats! You know, the ones who sell out to CORPORATE DONATIONS!!!

[ChiciB1]

12. Just One More Thing....

While watching FSTV with Amy Goodman who was covering the Rally and doing one on ones with various speakers, she happen to have the head of United For Peace & Justice talking with her.

What was said to her was that UFPJ was either the FIRST promoter for the Rally or they did it together. So, do you think UFPJ is communist???

[mandyky]

13. I don't think anyone sold out

I even think ANSWER does a good job at organizing - however, when they know a rally is being carried on CSpan, and they know the point is to stop the war, and impeach bush if we can, the message should stick to those points, so that people all across the country, maybe even some who voted for bush might join us. I understand being there is different, I even agree with most of the "extra issues", but joe and Suzy 6 Pack do not wanna associate with free mumbia or communists or "running down America".

As for Dem leaders, who didn't show up, part of it might be ANSWER, because of some of the extra issues brought in.

I wish we'd heard more about Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights and how it is patriotic to dissent. Just because we are mad at the GOP and GWB we do not have to sound like we hate America. And I know most of us do not hate America, we don't like what she is under GWB right now.

[ChiciB1]

14. Selling Out, Not Selling Out!

I too wouldn't agree with "some things", but anything is better than NOTHING! Which is precisely what we have been getting.

In this world today, it's impossible to be perfect. If you want to get real technical about everything, then here's a cute little secret that could change people's views about Governor Blanco. Did you know her brother resigned from her cabinet recently?? Would you like to know the reason why?? Well, it seems he's connected or owns part of the Shaw Group who got one of those no-bid contracts out of Louisiana. So now, does that make Blanco a cohort? Perhaps!

For me, I think we tend to nit pick things to death at times. I've been getting regular information from ANSWER for over 4 years, but never knew of any untoward connections.

That old saying, you dance with who brung you comes to mind. Seems everyone is in bed with someone at sometime! Would I like it to all be nice and neat, sure... but as I said, just look around. How NICE AND CLEAN are those on the other side??

And look what being relatively nice & clean got Kerry & Gore!

[mandyky]

15. If Blanco (or Nagin) are crooked, Dems need to say so

We have to stop this "all politicians lie and steal and cheat crap".
That's what a lot of folks say when I try to talk about Bush's lies and such.

If we sweep Dems' warts under the rug, we become as bad as the GOP.
When we don't discipline our own, then our side can't or won't bring on ethics charges for people like Tom DeLay.

[ChiciB1]

16. Well... I Just Put What I Knew Out There....

While in DC, we stayed with a guy who is a producer at NPR and he gets the New York Post Magazine, and The Washington Post magazine. But now that I think about it, I actually think I read it in this month's Time magazine.

Got a tour of NPR out of my trip too! Really WILD, Daniel Schorr works there and I took a picture of his name on his office. He wasn't there. It was about 11:00 PM. Can't tell you the name of the producer though. Was asked not to mention his name. But we didn't know at the time who he was, he just offered us a place to stay! I think I'm going to start a post about it because we had some "heavy" journalistic discussions with him and a freelance writer that evening. I asked all kinds of questions about news coverage and MSM.

That was something else.