One of the great non sequiturs of the left is that, if the free market doesn't work perfectly, then it doesn't work at all-- and the government should step in.

Thomas Sowell

I was "Nam Era".  Luckily, I drew a high lottery number and wasn't drafted.

I feel like deja vu all over again. 

We had just followed conservative and feel good times (Ike/Kennedy, Bush/Clinton).

Polls showed that most people opposed the war, but administrations and congress kept escalating.

Young people took to the streets.  Moderates and Conservatives were vocally pissed off.  Untimately action was taken to bring soldiers home. 

Something I've learned working for a non-profit - 20% of the people do 80% of the work.

I didn't vote because I can't decide. Opinion is so malleable and tenuous... it certainly got people thinking, though. My heart says that it helped overall, but my heart has lied before. Damn heart.

My anal side wants to point out that
"could prove to have an effect on the war in general",
"could at least stop the military from choosing to use our port again",
and "hurt the anti-war cause"

aren't mutally exclusive, neccessarily. I think I know what you meant, though.

Where's the part where we all get in the same room, face-to-face, and have an actual sit-down conversation without using the forbidden words granola, hippies, shower, trust-fund, beat-down, nazi, fascist, and pigs ? I want to get to that part.

"protests

new Submitted by chuck in tacoma on Sun, 11/18/2007 - 6:51am.

Also, I'm not sure this being pro or anti war matters to this poll. This poll is meant to gauge people's thoughts of the productivity of these protests. It is not meant to indicate what side people fall on. I assume that there are people that are anti-war that would say that these protests 'did nothing' or 'hurt the cause'.

If you felt there wasn't an option for you please share what option you identify with and hopefully in the future we can do better.

Geez, do much for me being astute.  (possibly ass toot).

I didn't know what that means.

So, Chuck, I hope you continue to post and discuss things with us, not just leaving ominous statements.  To our general knowledge, Chuck you that "support" the Global War on Terror make up about 30% of the total populace.  I welcome your discussion and presence.  Without such, I have no opportunity to share my information with you.

For Chuck to remind us how many Iraqis were on the airplanes that crashed into the twin towers.  I am just wondering because apparently I am wrong about being against this war..

Everyone needs to believe in something... I believe I will have another beer.

Yeah, I just want to know why he is telling me I am wrong about being against the war.

 Oh, by the way:

Crude oil prices are up again today!  Good news for someone I would imagine. 

Everyone needs to believe in something... I believe I will have another beer.

I got the impression that a lot of people who were attacked were not, in fact, breaking the law. (Actually I saw many people attacked who were not breaking the law) I also don't think it's reasonable to have a professional body whose job it is to violently attack people who disagree with the government--whether or not they are peacefully breaking the law. My question was not "is it illegal" for someone to defend oneself against the police. My question was "is it wrong?"

You are very fortunate to not have had any trouble with the police. Many of us felt the same way before the first time we were violently assaulted. Just because it's sanctioned by the state doesn't make it right. And the sad reality is--the poor, the nonwhite, the nonstraight, immigrants, and those with viewpoints that challenge the line fed to us by our government cannot depend on the police to defend us and often live in terror of what many perceive to be a state-sanctioned goon squad. I have lived in fear of the police ever since the first time I saw them harass my single mother--because she looked poor or ragged or too much like a "hippie." It doesn't matter. She wasn't breaking the law. or maybe I started to fear the police when my 6-year-old brother was pepper-sprayed at a peaceful protest in a park--where no one was blocking traffic. A person in armor with a gun is still a person, and worthy of no more trust than any armed civilian on the street. In fact, I trust them less, because they have weapons and I don't, and they face fewer legal repercussions for their actions. Nobody should throw a brick at a cop because nobody should throw bricks at other people, period. Most of us would never do so, but when I found out that someone had, I wasn't angry. Rather, I felt sad that we have so little immediate recourse against police violence.

Is nonviolent civil disobedience working? Of course it is! It has focused international attention on the fact that Americans are resisting this war. We heard from supporters all over the country, and the report of what happened here, as faulty as it may have been at some times, made it across the world.

For a week we stalled the gears of the war machine in our own small community. Imagine if actions like this took place at every port in the country. Then the effects would be undeniable to everyone, and it would be difficult, if not impossible, to continue the war. What we did was a drop in the bucket. In a country of 300 million people such drops can add up to a flood that will drown the war machine. I can only hope that what happened in Olympia will inspire the rest of the country to take similar action.

In my earlier post, I was referring specifically to the history of nonviolent civil disobedience and what it has achieved, notably in the civil rights movement, the Womens rights movements, AIDS awareness, and the Vietnam war. All of these struggles have profoundly shaped our society for the better. Standing on a corner with a sign is an important expression of one's first amendment rights, but direct action ultimately gets the goods. We have seen this repeatedly throughout history.

 Thanks for your input Chuck, I see where you are coming from.   My perspective is that we should never have gone into IRaq in the first place, and therefore there should be nothing to help protect them from.  I dont think you will find one person on this planet who would not agree that Saddam is (was) a bad dude, he most certainly was.  But I can see evil in having started this war for profit.  Thousands are dead to make a handful of Rich white men even more rich.  It just makes me sick.

Everyone needs to believe in something... I believe I will have another beer.