Comments on: CBS News Radio: ‘Nation Says No to War’, Protests Exaggerated http://www.bloggernews.net/14198 High-quality English language analysis and editorial writing on the news. Tue, 02 Dec 2008 20:25:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: peterbroady http://www.bloggernews.net/14198#comment-1301 peterbroady Mon, 29 Jan 2007 18:45:17 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/14198#comment-1301 Also, the figure of "tens of thousands" is the low estimate. UFPJ suggests that there were up to 500,000 people, but no one can really know, and of course then people can use the figure most ideologically servicable. So your suggestion that the news media exaggerated the numbers and that the 'nation says no to war' was inappropriate do not hold water. It was a large rally, considering it was organized with very little money and with little to no government or institutional support, and a good example of one way that the late-informed majority in our nation is saying no to war (another example is through polls, which consistently show strong opposition to current policies, including the escalation). And I don't know if you heard but there was a counter-protest with less than a hundred people. So that's at least "tens of thousands" (if not more) against the official government position, and less than a hundred for. That's pretty significant. Also, the figure of “tens of thousands” is the low estimate. UFPJ suggests that there were up to 500,000 people, but no one can really know, and of course then people can use the figure most ideologically servicable. So your suggestion that the news media exaggerated the numbers and that the ‘nation says no to war’ was inappropriate do not hold water. It was a large rally, considering it was organized with very little money and with little to no government or institutional support, and a good example of one way that the late-informed majority in our nation is saying no to war (another example is through polls, which consistently show strong opposition to current policies, including the escalation).

And I don’t know if you heard but there was a counter-protest with less than a hundred people. So that’s at least “tens of thousands” (if not more) against the official government position, and less than a hundred for. That’s pretty significant.

]]> By: peterbroady http://www.bloggernews.net/14198#comment-1294 peterbroady Sun, 28 Jan 2007 23:16:06 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/14198#comment-1294 Actually, a very large majority of the nation is against the war, even if only a minority of them are protesting (how many even would have the option to go to D.C. if they wanted to?). And no one I know who has actually looked into the matter deeply, refusing to just swallow the statements of war leaders whole without analysis, is for the war. No one. People seem to either mindlessly repeat the official rhetoric (complete with outlandish appeals to "support the troops", as if bringing them home to their friends and families would be doing them harm) or be solidly against the war and for withdrawal as soon as we can. My grandmother, a life long conservative Christian, often gets angrier than I do, because she knows the details. So do my parents, both of whom originally voted for Bush. I am actually surprised at the anger and disillusionment about the war among my friends in Alaska, including those in the military and their families (more than a few of whom were at the protest). We had the biggest protest I've seen in Anchorage, Alaska, a state that is supposed to be solidly "Red", with all sorts of people standing out in the cold for hours on Saturday, and a great deal of the people passing by showed support for us...vastly more than gave us the finger or whatever. The anti-war "movement", meaning people who are willing to travel to stand with others in protest of the actions of their government (something that is extremely rare anyway) is indeed growing, and is unique because it has little to no support from elected officials or official institutions (unlike the New Years events in Times Square, which are promoted heavily by the city and the media). Some members of the progressive caucus were apparently involved in Saturday's protest, and Dennis Kucinich spoke, but none of the Democratic frontrunner's like Clinton, Edwards, Obama, etc., were there. If you want to talk about "lefties", just look at public opinion on the war...it's way more "liberal" than that of the mainstream democrats, who aren't doing anything really effective like they could to stop the escalation. And if you look at world opinion, it has always been solidly against the war. So the "lefties" are just most of us and the rest of the world. Oh, and many Republicans too. Actually, a very large majority of the nation is against the war, even if only a minority of them are protesting (how many even would have the option to go to D.C. if they wanted to?). And no one I know who has actually looked into the matter deeply, refusing to just swallow the statements of war leaders whole without analysis, is for the war. No one. People seem to either mindlessly repeat the official rhetoric (complete with outlandish appeals to “support the troops”, as if bringing them home to their friends and families would be doing them harm) or be solidly against the war and for withdrawal as soon as we can. My grandmother, a life long conservative Christian, often gets angrier than I do, because she knows the details. So do my parents, both of whom originally voted for Bush. I am actually surprised at the anger and disillusionment about the war among my friends in Alaska, including those in the military and their families (more than a few of whom were at the protest). We had the biggest protest I’ve seen in Anchorage, Alaska, a state that is supposed to be solidly “Red”, with all sorts of people standing out in the cold for hours on Saturday, and a great deal of the people passing by showed support for us…vastly more than gave us the finger or whatever. The anti-war “movement”, meaning people who are willing to travel to stand with others in protest of the actions of their government (something that is extremely rare anyway) is indeed growing, and is unique because it has little to no support from elected officials or official institutions (unlike the New Years events in Times Square, which are promoted heavily by the city and the media). Some members of the progressive caucus were apparently involved in Saturday’s protest, and Dennis Kucinich spoke, but none of the Democratic frontrunner’s like Clinton, Edwards, Obama, etc., were there. If you want to talk about “lefties”, just look at public opinion on the war…it’s way more “liberal” than that of the mainstream democrats, who aren’t doing anything really effective like they could to stop the escalation. And if you look at world opinion, it has always been solidly against the war. So the “lefties” are just most of us and the rest of the world. Oh, and many Republicans too.

]]> By: Blogger News Network » Jane Fonda will do anything to stay in the spotlight http://www.bloggernews.net/14198#comment-1293 Blogger News Network » Jane Fonda will do anything to stay in the spotlight Sun, 28 Jan 2007 23:01:15 +0000 http://www.bloggernews.net/14198#comment-1293 [...] Yesterday Jane introduced us to her latest publicity stunt. She participated in a demonstration against the war In Iraq. I guess, at her age, posing with a hand held rocket launcher between her legs, as she did with the gun in Hanoi during the 1970s, wouldn’t be a good publicity choice for Jane. [...] […] Yesterday Jane introduced us to her latest publicity stunt. She participated in a demonstration against the war In Iraq. I guess, at her age, posing with a hand held rocket launcher between her legs, as she did with the gun in Hanoi during the 1970s, wouldn’t be a good publicity choice for Jane. […]

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