Once again, W. is going to make a speech about sending more troops to Iraq. Doesn’t he get it? The American people don’t want to send more troops to Iraq. It’s not working. He broke Iraq a long time ago. His incompetence and that of his cronies is the reason why there was a Democratic backlash during the last election.
Now is your chance to attend the Extricate, Don’t Escalate Peace Vigil at the federal building in downtown Tucson at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 11. You don’t have to RSVP; you can just show up.
More than 263,000 people have signed online petitions to get out of Iraq and made more than 8,100 calls to Congress opposing escalation. Now the message goes to the public with peace vigils across the U.S.
Just show up. Bring a friend. Make a friend. Take a stand. Peace.
This article appears in Jan 4-10, 2007.
The credibility of the President– and the presidency– is pretty much gone now. The credibility of the U.S., abroad, is also MIA. If there is any credibility left at the highest levels of government, it must be demonstrated, and acted upon, by the Congress. Bush has broken a couple of countries, perhaps beyond repair, sent thousands of Americans to needless death and disfigurement, and made the 21st century a carnival of destruction. We have to send a strong message to the Congress that the fate of many now resposes in the hands of the few– and tomorrow’s vigil is a terrific way for people to send just that message.
Here’s a comment from Susan K. about the peace vigil:
At least 200 people gathered in front of the federal building on Congress Street to demonstrate against the troop escalation. The media arrived quite early, before all of the protesters came, so any media reports on the numbers present will likely be very inaccurate.
People brought many homemade signs, some quite clever, others very poignant. Many passing cars honked their horns. I saw only one person opposing us, an SUV driver waving a Bush/Cheney flag. A couple of police officers watched at a distance but our group was fairly orderly and there were no untoward incidents, thank goodness.
What always impresses me at events like this is how varied and representative of humanity the protesters are–office workers, the elderly, the disabled, hippies from the 60s, tattooed young people, Hispanics, whites, blacks. I often feel hesitant about attending protests, thinking of how much work I have to do and wondering whether it’s worthwhile to protest, but I’m always heartened by participation. One 12 year-old girl told us that she vows to continue going to demonstrations like this for the rest of her life.
Let us hope that she has less to protest in the future.