Anti-War Protesters....
 

I understand that as Americans, we are fortunate to be able to protest this, and protest that..., but I am fed up with these Anti-War demonstrators. What makes me the angriest, are these people walking around with signs that say "NO WAR FOR OIL". Dumbasses, we are not there for oil.

This is not the 70's, so don't try to re-live your hippie days, this is not the movie PCU (We're not gonna protest, Gutter is a tool), this is real life. We are already at war, protesting it will solve nothing more than shutting down Michigan Ave. The least we all should be doing is SUPPORTING our troops.

I leave you Anti-War protesters with this: If you are so anti-war, move your ass to Iraq for a month and tell me how much you like living under Saddam's regime. Were the rape rooms not enough? Were the beatings and murders not enough? How about the mutilations to the Iraqi Olympians who did not perform well enough? Using chemical weapons to murder your own people by the thousands, is that enough? Killing innocent women and children, is that enough?

Then come back to the good ole U.S. of A., and protest another war. I dare ya.


I am Pro- American

Re: Anti-War Protesters....
 

Well said!

F*ckin' A right well said, ZZ -kai- ! (Hoists a 'virtual' beer.)

On the news last night, wives of the 101st Airborne soldiers were being interviewed and the reporter asked one of them what she thought of the protesters. She answered that "it hurts to see them doing that while my husband is risking his life."

Of COURSE it does! People say they're protesting because it's a moral decision, but doing something to inflict pain on someone who is going through so much is IMmoral if you ask me.

Sidebar:
A local businessman was interviewed in the paper and he was asked why there aren't counter protests planned for Annapolis this week. He said, "well, most of us have jobs." I thought that was pretty funny :) [no flames please! I know that plenty of protesters are working, contributing members of society but he hit the nail right on the head as far as image]

By the way, BRAVO zzkai!

i wanted to say something, but for the sake of peace in the board, i shall not.

calm down
 

I am not anti-war. Nor do I consider myslef pro-war. Why? Because it really makes no difference at this point. We are AT war. No point in protesting a political reality when it won't do a damn bit of good. I think the pro-war rhetoric (saying that protesting is anti-AMerican is dumb. Protesting the political machine is what this country is based on, anyone remember that?), is just as nauseating and ridiculous as the anti-war rhetoric (war for oil is simplistic) personally but it would be nice if we could all find balance.

Is it really constructive to criticise others like THIS? Greekchat is an open forum but you guys are quite succesfully creating an INCREDIBLY hostile place for sharing those opinions. I personally would really like to read the opinions of those "hippies" that you are disparaging. I doubt all anti-war protesters are unemployed, flower children, anti-American, or middle class. Just like not all pro-war folk are corn-bred, white, middle Americans.

And you say that the "anti-war" folks haven't created a polarized environment by their posting of anti-war website links, long descriptions of why "bombs are always wrong", etc?

I'm not doubting that this thread is sending a message that many will disagree with. But I am saying that it's probably around a 5:1 ratio of threads saying "Bush is dumb", etc to pro-American (or pro-war depending on who you ask) threads such as this.

It's a topic that carries a great deal of potential to polarize groups of people -- as long as the conversation remains civil and does not generate into personal attacks I really see no harm in it.

Arya, I think I'd like to hear what you have to say. I've noticed that our opinions are often similar, and it's nice to hear voices that dissent from the norm.

Why does one have to be "Anti-American" if they are anti-war? I am extremely grateful for having been born in a country where I had freedoms that people will die trying to receive by coming here. I pay taxes, vote in every election, write my congressmen on a regular basis, and keep myself knowledgeable of most things that go on in my hometown. I'd consider those actions pretty pro-American. I am a "Pro-American", productive member of society.

But I am against this war more than anything I could ever be against in my life (except the anti-abortion movement, which is another thread). That does not mean that I am against any and all wars--for example, I felt the war in Afghanistan was just, and therefore supported action there. I feel our actions in Iraq are not just. Therefore, I will not support what I see as an unjust war. I support the people who are fighting on behalf of GW's campaign, but I do not support this war.

I have many friends and family members that are in the Persian Gulf right now. Does it hurt me to see the war protesters on TV? Hell no! If anything, I know that many of these people want the servicemen and servicewomen to come home safely--how can that be hurtful? I'd frankly rather see a protest than see bodybags.

If there's anything I'm fed up with, it's the people who allege that I am anti-American because I do not support this war.

I don't want to criticize anyone here. In fact, the vast majority of posters on this subject have done a really good job of making their views known without being offensive and I applaud that! LovelyIvy is, as always, a level head in any argument who makes me sit back and think about what I write.

But when I see, in my personal life, the child of a deployed reservist friend not wanting to go to school because her teacher says every day how this country is evil and wrong or the 7 months pregnant wife of an F/18 pilot being asked by a nurse in her (civilian) Ob-Gyn's office if she feels guilty because her husband is "killing people in Iraq", it makes me angry at people who don't know when to keep quiet.

Would any of you feel differently?

Re: Anti-War Protesters....
 

Richard Nixon would have been proud of you.

To some extent, every dictator in history would have, too. They didn't want any dissent either.

I find your comments about the 70s and hippies patently offensive. I've never been a hippy, but if I choose to question the reasons and rationality of this particular war, you automatically quantify me that way. Go find a few of the Special Forces vets who joined "Vietnam Veterans Against the War" back then and chat with them about it.

Have you been to war? Some of us "70's hippies" have. In that war, over 50,000 of my generation came home in body bags and hundreds of thousands of others came home maimed either physically or mentally.

What you're doing here is called "name calling," and it's a very weak argumentative/propaganda technique.

If I were seeing signs calling our troops "baby killers" like I did back then, I would be angry. Again. However, the signs I see on TV during the present demonstrations support our military -- what they don't support is the war itself. In fact, many I've heard interviewed feel that they are supporting our troops by trying to get them out of harms way. There's a really big difference there.

I heard an interview on NPR yesterday from a husband and wife -- both Gulf War veterans who have significant problems. They support our troops, but not the war. Are they un-American? Listen to their story about their physical and mental problems, and the neurological problems of their children and then tell them they are to their face.

Take a look at the face of the black father on last night's news, holding the picture of his Marine son who died yesterday, asking the President to look closely at "my only son." Do you think he's un-American?

If you really do understand our American right to "protest this and protest that," (your words) you will understand that your comments are offensive to many of your fellow citizens. Note the term -- fellow citizens. You have the right to support the war, others have the right not to.

Is that a difficult concept to understand? Saddam wouldn't understand it either. That's one of the things that makes us different.

Take whatever stand you wish -- that's your right. Remember that ALL of your fellow citizens have the same right, though.

By the way, I've been Pro American a hell of a lot longer than you have, I suspect, so I'd be a little careful what you choose to call other people you do not know or understand.

On Feb. 15th anti-war protesters took over first Avenue from the 40's to the 70's which goes right past my bf's home on the Upper East Side . I found them to be quite intrusive. We couldn't just sit at home and watch a movie or listen to music because of the noise of the celebrity's speeches. We also couldn't go out because it was too crowded. When they finally dispersed, they left an incredible mess and graffiti reading "Stop Bush War" on stores and buildings and awnings. They destroyed private property.

Today they have taken over Herald Square which is on the West Side. Personally, I think that this protest is worse because we are at war. As lovelyivy wrote, "We are AT war." Protests won't make a difference now.

KillarneyRose, there will always be people who are rude and don't know when to keep their mouths shut. It's unfortunate that a child and a pregnant wife of a reservist have to be subjected to that. A teacher and a nurse ought to know better than to say those things. The men and women in the military are brave, and they and their family members ought to be respected.

Personally I support the war, with some reservations. Even with that, I don't think the anti-war protesters are mad at the soldiers like in Vietnam, they just protest the war and our government's choice to "bring it on."

I would have liked more international backing, but the French suck and finally others woke up and understood that. Would have been really cool if Powell or the government could have presented some clear concrete proof of Iraq's violations, like Stevenson did back in the 60's for the Cuban missile crisis. And it probably would have been wonderful to see the citizens of this country stand up and support the ones that are risking and giving their lives to preserve our freedom and liberty. I know I don't have what it takes to pick up a gun and protect this land, but I sure am all hell glad there are others out there with the courage to do it.

I'm for peace after the war, but this is peace movement is not exactly like the ones years ago. I think people today are so bored that they have nothing better to do than to whine and bitch whenever the opportunity arises. The very first day after we started the conflict, there was already some huge rallies going on cities, it's like they were excited and waited for the opportunity to have a march.

My opinion, if you're against the war, you're protesting the liberation of the Iraqi people. You can hate this government all you want, and I'll support everyone's free speech, but I don't think the anti-war side really understands the situation over there. They're all just a bunch of tree-hugging hippies (j/k - south park plug :D)


- RUgreek

P.S. It just really tears me up inside that Canada is not supporting us; those 15 troops really would have been helpful. By the way, don't we own that part of North America??

No we just mooch off of them :)

WAR
 

I am proud of the soldiers who are sacrificing their lives.

And while others choose to protest the war, I would like to acknowledge the efforts of these brave men and women!

TKitty

Many are called but few are chosen.....................

In response...
 

In response to any and all who may have found my choice of words harmful, distasteful, offending...etc., get over it. I do not believe that Anti-War protesters are Anti-American, in fact I do not remember typing this in this OPEN forum. lovelyivy84, that was meant for you. This is an OPEN forum, and quite frankly, this discussion is great. There has been more hostility on GreekChat when people bicker whether Phi Mu is "cooler" than Chi Omega, or if Phi Delt is "neater" than Sigma Chi.

DeltAlum, just because you are like 65 and I am not, does not make you any more "experienced" than me. I don't need to serve in a war to understand them, and if you have served in a war, may god bless you and I thank you personally. Why? Because your actions in that war have lead to the free society that we all live in today, and it allows me to walk hand in hand with my fiancé next to me, not behind me. Again, thank you. But, don't try to knock me down because of my opinions either, that would be hypocrisy.

Once again, we are AT war - not going to, or thinking about war. We need to support our troops, support the actions of our Government and all that they believe, and stand behind them as a nation to show Iraq (and all other evils) that we are united. George Bush would not lead us into something for shits-and-giggles.

This is a war, there will be body bags, there will be deaths and sadly that is how it is. Deal with it.

Lastly, George Dubya did not take that Marines life the other night. Yes, I feel sorrow for his family and his father, but that man CHOSE to join the military and fight for his country....And I thank him for it.

I am Pro- American

I don't understand what the purpose of insulting Canada is. I'm glad you support the war, way to go here's your medal. Canada has been involved in every United Nations peacekeeping mission to date. We invented peacekeeping for fucks sake. We may not have a strong military, but we don't need one. WE DON"T PISS PEOPLE OFF! last time i checked there were 3 countries participating in the coalition of the willing, Australia, USA and The United Kingdom, there are more than 200 countries on the face of the planet. Perhaps, just maybe, there is a reason 197+ aren't participating. So know what i would suggest you pull your head out of your ass and stop being ignorant.

Re: In response...
 

LOL. ZZkai ai aye whatever: Get over yourself. In a hurry.

You know, I think some of you are missing the point of the war protesters. While we are AT war and it may seem sort of obsolete to protest it, I think are most of them are there to show the world that not EVERY American thinks this is right. I doubt they really think their protests will HALT the war, it is more demonstration of dissent to show other nations that not every American blindly agrees with whatever Bush says just because he is the President.

Personally, I do not agree with this war. But since we are in it, I sincerely hope that our troops perform what they are asked, and do so swiftly so that it can be over. I am not un-patriotic, I just do not agree with BUSH or his lies. Guess what? The Constitution says I can do that! And you know what is REALLY unpatriotic? When people say "if you don't like it then leave!" To me, that is the most UN-American thing ever.

Re: Re: In response...
 

your post lost all credibility with that ignorant statement right there.

Kitso
KS 361

I am getting so sick of hearing the "if you don't like it, get out" rhetoric -- or here, the even better, "if you don't like it, why don't you go live under Saddam's rule." The only response that seems appropriate to that is, if you're so pro-war, why aren't you over there fighting? Is the logic in that ridiculous? Yes. So is the logic in the "don't like it? get out" threat. In case you don't remember, if nobody had ever protested against those in charge, America would not EXIST right now.

I support our troops . . . but I will not blindly support the government just for the simple reason that it's "our government." It's stuff like that that leads to situations like that currently in Iraq. We can't be afraid to question our government, to disagree with it, or to show our disapproval -- if nothing else, I support the protesters simply because they are exercising some of our greatest rights as Americans. And to me, that is way more patriotic than supporting the war. If you were truly pro-American, as you claim to be, then why does it upset you that these people are using their freedom of speech while you complain, at the same time, about those in Iraq not being able to have it? Why should Iraq be allowed to have free speech if you don't want people over here to be exercising theirs?

I'm very bothered by the anti-war protesters that I have been seeing. While we haven't had a huge rally in Nashville like those that have been seen in NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, etc, I've been watching them on the news. Yes, I believe everyone has the right to their own opinion and has the right to voice it. However....
*Our military and our president deserve respect, whether you like the cause or not.
*Why should the opinion of others be shoved in my face and disrupt anyone's day?
*What is being acheived? The war has started and it won't stop because some people oppose it.
*A large number of protestors cannot come up with an intelligent argument against it.

I was really shocked to see such a huge turn-out in NYC. I know it's very liberal up there, but I would think NYC would understand better than anyone that terrorism needs to be stopped.
And like someone else said, saying that this is for oil is absurd. We get more oil from Canada and Mexico, and you don't see us bombing Toronto.

Yes, if we could have peace at all times, that would be fabulous. But when we have villians like Hussein and Bin Laden among our ranks, peace is not always an option. We don't need a bunch of wild protestors in the streets to pass along the fact that not everyone supports the war. Well duh. Anyone would know that.

Anyway, if someone is educated on the facts and opposes it, I have no problem with that at all. But to be uneducated and be so arrogant and forceful about it does bother me.

That's just my two cents, if it's worth that. Not meant to offend anyone, just something I feel strongly about.

I think the anti and pro war arguments show the healthy democracy of our country. Just to know that we are in a country where we are allowed to express our own opinions and views makes me love being an United States citizen more.


So, before any of you start name calling and flaming...let's come together and pray for the troops who are risking their lives out there. We can atleast do something that matters...

Sorry, I'll get off my Ivory Soap Box

Ivory

If you really think about it, that's not necessarily the most logical argument. I know that there are people out there who DO want to be involved and DO want to defend our country and cannot due to medical reasons and such. Sure, not everyone falls in that category, but I know many do.

Furthermore, I think that if a lot of people who do protest lived in a place like Iraq or Afghanistan - especially women - it's possible that they would not be as adamant about protesting it.

Again, not trying to offend, just stating my thoughts.

I agree with you. That's why I said that . . . I was comparing the faulty logic in that argument to the faulty logic in the "If you don't like it, leave!" argument that has been repeated here so often. Neither of them make much sense to me.

i think the protests are quite useless and just serve as the "cool" thing of the moment to do.

i wish we weren't at war, but we have to remember that our country was formed by people warring against each other. we won our freedom, we freed the slaves, etc...

although i am definitely NOT a bush fan, i will support his decision to be at war. i have to trust him, as our leader, to do what is best for our country. i know that he knows a lot more than they tell the public, and i have to have faith that he has more than enough evidence to support his stance.

i hate to say it, but i will. many of these protesters are ignorant. they are going with the flow and protesting war because it is war, not what it is actually about. we gave saddam more than enough FAIR chances over the years to disarm, and he refuses. where will these anti-war protesters be when he does something terrible on OUR soil?? when he blows up a building or sends his drones in to blow themselves up? they'll feel pretty stupid then.

1) Why should our military and president deserve respect if they don't earn it? Respect should not be inherent in the position. Should a military man who rapes and tortures be respected? Of course not. Depending on your political and moral views, Richard Nixon and/or Bill Clinton may not be deserving of your respect either, but they were both presidents. Both the military and the government, like everyone else, need to earn respect. To me, the military has my respect, but there are several reasons why George W. Bush does not.

2) Why should the opinion of others be shoved in MY face and disrupt my day? We are at war, and there are lots of people who are of the opinion that we should be . . . that is shoved in my face every time I turn on the TV or go to Greekchat or pick up a paper or whatever. I will agree with you that those protesters who are interrupting traffic seem to be sort of . . . anti-productive, but hey, not everybody who is anti-war is out there lying down in front of traffic. That's just a small amount of us.

Again, America has, fortunately, the freedom of speech. That's why we have to have other peoples' opinions shoved in our face no matter what. And honestly, when it comes down to having to listen to opinions I don't agree with (maybe annoying, but ultimately harmless) or not be allowed to express myself at all, I'll pick the former over the latter every time.

3) What is being achieved? People are being allowed to state their opinions, exercising the freedom of speech, one of the great things about America and other free countries. The world is being shown that not all of America agrees with war. And the president is being shown just how much of America disagrees with him. I read somewhere that this is the most protesting that has ever happened in America BEFORE a war actually started, and it will probably only increase as the war continues, if it continues for an extended period of time. And what kind of role models would we be for our kids if we just shut up every time we disagreed with the government's actions?

4) I will give you the fourth one, sort of. There are plenty of protesters who think it's all about oil. While oil is clearly a part of the issue here, it is by no means the only one or even the major one, and to claim that it is is overly simplistic when the real issue is far more complex than that. But at the same time, there are also plenty of protesters who are informed and DO know what they're talking about. And the same could be said for those who are pro-war -- there are plenty of them who aren't informed and don't have a legitimate reason for it either. (I don't consider "Because the president says so" a legitimate reason.) I don't think ignorance is ever limited to just one side of the argument.

Via Neil Boortz , this link: http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=...1-023627-5923r

I do see a point here. Thinking about it further, I found Clinton to be an embarrassment to our country. So, I'll concede that point.

Stating how one feels is always acceptable, but screaming and being disruptive is not. That's the "shoved in my face" reference. And the ones who are disrupting people's days by taking up the streets and such are the ones I'm referring to when I say they disrupt lives.

I would think that intelligent people around the world already know that not all of America agrees with the war. That's a given. And the President has to do what's right, not what's popular. If he wanted to do something with a political agenda, he wouldn't have ever gone to war.

AlphaGam1019 - Thanks for posting that. It puts a lot in perspective...

Re: Re: Re: In response...
 

Oh darn. Because I was SO vying for your approval. :rolleyes:

See, it is ignorant to YOU because you disagree. It is actually an OPINION. Pretty subjective. We start running into trouble when people call each other's views "ignorant" simply because they don't mesh with your own.

And who is anyone on this board to call "most" of the war protesters ignorant? I mean, has anyone been to the demonstartions and spoken to any of these people? Is there anything at all that you are basing that claim on? No no, I mean BESIDES the fact that their feelings are different from yours. That, in and of itself, does not an ignorant person make.

It kind of bothers me that just because people are dissenting to something that you agree with, it is automatically IGNORANT and USELESS.

And let me put this in caps:

NO, I DO NOT HAVE TO SUPPORT BUSH. I DO NOT.

And to the people who think that this makes me unpatriotic I would tell them to take a long hard look at themselves, and how they define patriotism.

You know what? None of us are rushing to Iraq to go fight Bush's war, so really we have no clue at all what it is like, or what we are really supporting/protesting.

I don't care if you support him or not.

The reason i feel that statement was ignorant had nothing to do with the first part of your lack of support.

It had EVERYTHING to do with the throwaway statement at the end "BUSH or HIS LIES".

Please, elaborate on these lies. what has he lied about? that Saddam has SCUDS? oh no wait, those must have been missles from Iran that Patriots shot down over Kuwait. That Saddam has committed atrocities for years? see above article and others posted that reference him gassing the Kurdish people of his own country.

So, please post all his "lies" and then refute them with the "truth" so you can educate me. :rolleyes:

Kitso
KS 361

See, but sometimes, that is the only way to get one's point across. Think about the Women's Rights movement. Do you think women got the right to vote because they were calmly voicing their opinion? No. And I am not trying to equate the two, either. What I am saying is that these massive demonstrations have made international news, which does acheive their purpose: showing the president and thw world their collective dissent. Quietly posting to a mesage board, or discussing their opinions with friends over coffee or something doesn't really have the same effect.

Okay, would you say that members of Al Quaeda are unintelligent men? If so, you would be discrediting many American institutions of higher learning, because that is where most of them get their education. Being INTELLIGENT has nothing to do with it. It is about PERCEPTION. The members of Al Quaeda are highly intelligent...but they perceive ALL Americans as being evil because of the way that we are portrayed in their culture. The world is seeing America AS A WHOLE right now in a pretty negative light. By protesting in massive numbers across the country, people are showing that not ALL Americans feel the way Bush feels. To me, it is not an attempt to ruin your day. It is an attempt to change the world's perception.

You know what, if you want to believe that Bush has never lied about anything then that is fine.

If you think that Bush, the saintly man that he is, has never told America a lie, then I say more power to you.

I respect your right to feel that way.

But why would you assume that intelligent people would know that? The majority of Americans I've seen have been insulting the French like crazy, despite the fact that it was their LEADER'S decision not to go to war. There must be plenty of French who are pro-war, but do we hear anything about them? No. And therefore it's easy to see how, if there are no protests, the rest of the world might easily assume that all Americans are pro-war. If you were a French cameraman who came to America to film the American anti-war protests and didn't find any, and there was no mention of anyone being anti-war in the news -- how are people from outside of the country expected to know this if it's not shown?

I see plenty of people who assume that, because some of the Iraqis want to be "liberated," that all of them do. The article posted by AlphaGam1019 perfectly illustrates this point. I read an article where, as the bombs were falling, an Iraqi woman was injured, bleeding and screaming, and still as she was being carried away to get her injuries treated, she turned to the reporter and said, "I want to say this: Bush, listen carefully. We love Saddam, and we don't want your 'freedom.' Please, please stop bombing us and our children." So what's right? Do the Iraqis want to be "liberated"? Do they want things to stay as they are? Obviously there are those on both sides of the issue.

The media can find people to support their viewpoints, no matter which viewpoint they want to express. If they wanted to push the idea that the US should kill Saddam, destroy all the oil fields and then build a Disney theme park, they could probably find somebody to support that idea too.

I think there are far too many people who put far too much faith in the media.

nice tip-toeing around my challenge.

Seriously, you called the President a liar, support your claim. Hell, you may convince me if you can back it up well enough.

The longer it takes for you to actually prove your point the longer i think that you're just a bitter Democrat who still believes that Bush "stole" the election.

Kitso
KS 361 times i've heard a certain Bible verse that goes along the lines of "let he who is without sin cast the first stone".

Here is another article that is similar to the one I posted:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/internatio...919627,00.html

And here's a report on the humanitarian aspects of the war and what the major news networks aren't touching on, or are painfully skewing:

http://www.fair.org/activism/war-kills.html

even better site
 

I don't wish to become part of this battle, but I would like to say two things:

1) About respect due to the President, etc: each Secret Service agent carries a "card" that informs others that his/her job is to protect the President (or whomever). It does not say Mr. Bush, Mr. Clinton or whomever. The reason is that one should always respect the Office, whether or not you agree or disagree with the person holding that Office. It's one of the first things you learn when working at the White House.

I don't give a rat's behind how you feel about a given President. Respect the Office.

2) If one's going to protest, please don't do so while wearing your Greek Letters, for heaven's sake! I've seen two men being arrested while wearing their letters; I'm sure their National Offices are less than thrilled with that publicity.

Why? Because a few years from now, when they are looking for work, they will not be the noble GLO who protested for a noble cause. An arrest is an arrest is an arrest - and unless expunged, will follow them the rest of their lives.

[/soapbox]

honeychile

I'll check it out . . . but I would tend to steer clear of any site that considers its primary purpose to expose "liberal media bias." That makes a complex issue overly simplistic -- to put it simply, it seems pretty clear to me that not all media is liberal. There are papers and television shows that could be considered liberally skewed, of course, but there are just as many that could be considered conservatively skewed. I can assure you the majority of liberals don't consider the mainstream press "liberal," just as the majority of conservatives don't consider the mainstream press "conservative."

Seeing as how it's impossible for any news source to be completely free from political skewing, it seems pretty likely that any media designed to "expose liberal bias" would easily become skewed towards the conservative viewpoint. I like FAIR because I've seen it attack faulty logic by both liberals AND conservatives, not just one or the other, so while it's politically skewed, at least it's not only skewed in one direction.

Still, both sites provide an alternative to mainstream media and give more viewpoints which can only be a good thing.

This would probably go better in the "sources you use for information about war" topic, though.

Don't trust everything you read that calls itself news!
 

Relying on a site like that for an "objective" view on the war would be like relying on Focus on the Family or Jerry Falwell or someone like that to offer you reliable information about safer sex and birth control; or like using High Times for an objective view of the dangers of marijuana use. I do not trust the claims of a "conservative media bias", nor do I trust those who claim that the media has a "liberal bias." That is why I read multiple media sources--you can't just trust one. For every person you find who is praising American action, you will find one who wishes the troops would go home and America would mind her own business. Therefore, this anecdotal evidence doesn't sway me one way or the other. I can go to www.indymedia.org and find all the anecdotal evidence I could ever want, but I use other sources (BBC seems to have a view that the US doesn't have about this, even though Britain supports the war right along with the United States) to make my decisions regarding this war.

The Secret Service gets PAID to protect the President. I do not respect Bush; I do not respect his position of authority. I do not have to. It is my right; not my duty, to respect or disrespect the President. There is nothing in any of our lawmaking documents that calls for unquestioning respect for the leader of a nation. Do you think our Founding Fathers really had all that much respect for George III? Think about it.

You know, I'm not sure that protesting is futile right now. Maybe someone who was alive during the Vietnam era can verify this, but wasn't it after the mass protests (the later ones involved veterans and parents of those killed) that mainstream America finally woke up and realized that what we were doing in Vietnam was not right? I know Vietnam and Iraq are different, but there is no harm in using the two as comparisons. Regardless, and it's not because I'm bored and unemployed (believe me, I'm neither), I will be at every single protest I can attend until this war is over and our troops come home.