Who's all going to a vigil tonight ?

[fedupinBushcountry]

I'll be going to one here in Virginia Beach. ill let you know how it went. :patriot:

Here's the link to find one in your area, just put in your zip code.

http://political.moveon.org/pac/event/events/index.html?action_id=24&search_distance=30

[jillan]

1. I am! anybody else?

[TayTay]

2. Lowell, Massachusetts!

Just got back. It was great. About 60-70 people showed up. All ages, from people in their 70's to little kids with their moms. It was a moving event and the local paper showed up to take pictures and interview people.

I'm so glad I went. I'm even happier I was able to get my Mr. (What a guy!) to come with me. He was also glad he went to show some support for Cindy Sheehan and for all the other families who have had to deal with this war and its' hardships.

MR. President: TALK TO CINDY!

(And I got a great button to keep that says 'Dissent is Patriotism.' Ah, Massachusetts!)

[rox63]

4. I was there in Lowell too

I wish I'd known you were going to be there. I'd have looked for you and said howdy.

[fedupinBushcountry]

3. Virginia Beach

100-150 young and old. Lots of signs,hitting all the administration and to me the most important ones were on the Downing Street Memos.

TV and print news were there, and police. It was very peaceful, sang Give Peace a Chance, We Shall Overcome, God Bless America and This Land Is Your Land.

Lots of talking about everything Bush and this administration has lied about. Also lots of military families retired and active duty.

Will post links if there are any news stories at 11.

Also many talked about the election and the overall consensus was that no matter who ran , they would have been attacked and smeared just like Kerry and also no bad vibes about him conceding, it wouldn't have changed a thing.

[LittleClarkie]

5. Are they blue or red in Virginia Beach?

I know Norfolk is quite blue. Proud of them.

[fedupinBushcountry]

8. Yes Norfolk is blue

In fact Virginia Beach is the reddest. I was surprised that Norefolk did not have a vigil. In fact all of Hampton Roads went for Kerry except for Virginia Beach.We also had an Iraq War veteran that ran for Congress last year, they say they support the troops, we say they they don't if there is a D beside his/her name. Hypocrites every one of them.

[Island Blue]

6. I saw coverage on all three Hampton Roads stations this morning

Channel 13 said there were "almost 100 people", Channel 10 said there were "more than 200 people" (and I only caught the middle of Channel 3's coverage.) Overall though, it sounded like a great turnout.

Were there a lot (or some) counter demon stators present? All three channels gave the anti-Cindy folks air time too. (The anti-folks all have their talking points down for sure.) Channel 3 seemed to go out of its way to find folks who disagree with what Cindy is doing.

I'm glad I read your post this morning Fedup, otherwise I might not have watched the VA news this morning!

[fedupinBushcountry]

7. I watched it last night

It was a good turnout, the only thing I would say went wrong, was that there was a band playing in the area we were in, and we had to wait for them to stop playing before we could begin.

The news did piss me off. On WAVY 10 they had to go to a VFW hall in Norfolk to get the reaction of a pro-war person, give me a break. The clips of people were just little bits of what was actually said. In fact I was standing right next to one of the people being interviewed, her son is in the Navy and she brought a picture of him, the news flocked her, and they gave the VFW guy more air time. Oh well, whats a Mom to worry about. :shrug:

There were NO counter protesters that I could see, it was very solemn, and very very peaceful.

They should have a story in the Pilot today, I haven't looked yet. I also am going to check to see if they have video up online.

[fedupinBushcountry]

9. Back with links

Out of all 3 TV stations only one has the story and of course no video. This is Channel 3's write up on it.

Local Vigil Evokes Different Definitions Of Troop Support

http://www.wtkr.com/Global/story.asp?S=3735998&nav=0oa7dSrM

[beachmom]

10. I couldn't attend

Following in the president's footsteps (I mean, he's a role model for us), may I make a completely whining statement about the fact that as a Mom of 2 small children, I just can't read a post, and bolt out the door at 7 PM, because I have to put my kids to bed. Most days I don't mind this at all, but I REALLY wanted to go last night, but didn't learn of it until 7 PM, so I couldn't properly plan for it. I don't even agree with Cindy Sheehan on pulling troops out immediately, but I support her in showing the president's true colors and staging this protest. Does that make sense? Anyway, I just looked at my Virginian-Pilot, and I thought it was a great article, especially when someone grumbled that they weren't supporting the troops, and one of the guys there WAS a troop!!!!

Thanks for the report, FedupinBushcountry!

[fedupinBushcountry]

11. Hey, I remember those days

But mine are all grown now, you are fulfilling your job of being a Mom and just being on this forum shows that you are fighting for their future.

Here is a place you can go to to light a candle and leave a message. Light your candle here: http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/enter.cfm


I agree with you that we can't pull the troops out immediately. The Vietnam War ended in January 1973, and it took 2 more years to get all the troops out. It is a very difficult task, Bush and his warmongers only know how to start war they have no clue on how to win the peace.

I get the Pilot everyday, but quit reading it months ago when they put a horrible article by Michelle Malkin and then had another article by another right winger all about Kerry, can't remember his name. Well I sent them an e-mail with all the true facts in it, to bad they never replied back. It's funny last night, I was talking to the Mom whose picture is in the article with the picture of her son, and I told the reporter just right the real story,we need truth, he did a great job.

[beachmom]

12. Actually, I think the Pilot took your letter very seriously!

They DROPPED Michelle Malkin.

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=78072&ran=135891

MALKIN’S OUT: Sometime back, Molly Ivins was dropped as a regular on The Pilot’s op-ed page for being “too stridently anti-Bush,” to quote Hartig’s e-mail letter to Lilley.

Michelle Malkin had been added, giving another voice to the conservatives. But readers often took issue with her seemingly mean-spirited rantings and suggested that she be dropped.
Well, she’s outta here, silenced for being “too stridently anti-liberal,” the assessment of the editorial board, Hartig said.
“I was really put off by her penchant for name-calling and ad hominem attack. I think we can do much better,” said editorial writer Don Luzzatto.
Says fellow editorial writer Bronwyn Lance Chester: “I think she habitually mistakes shrill for thought-provoking and substitutes screaming for discussion. She’s an Asian Ann Coulter.
“I also think that, like Coulter, she says outrageous things just to get TV appearances and book deals. She’s the worst of what’s wrong with punditry today. She adds absolutely nothing to genuine political discourse.”
So why did we add Malkin in the first place? I asked Chesley.
“We wanted another conservative voice on the page,” he said. “Also, she was Asian American and gave a viewpoint you don’t always hear from Asian Americans.”
But what about her stridency?
“She didn’t seem to be as strident when we first got her,’’ Chesley said.

Here's another summary of what happened on Media Matters:


http://mediamatters.org/items/200411230014

I have a feeling the other op-ed that upset you was from Sowell, the black conservative. But somebody wrote in a really good letter defending Kerry, but not in a partisan way. Let me look for it, and I'll post it.

[fedupinBushcountry]

13. Yes it was Sowell

They dropped Molly Ivins, oh she is so evil. :sarcasm:

[beachmom]

14. Navy guy's letter debunked Sowell even before Kerry's 180 Form did

I assume that it was that awful Sowell op-ed in the Pilot that pretty much accused Kerry of treason, and whom only was given an honorable discharge because Carter granted him an amnesty!! Based on NO evidence, this guy wrote this crap. Here's an excerpt to get your blood boiling again:

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/ts20050218.shtml

What is well known is that, during the Vietnam war, John Kerry went to Paris on his own and engaged in discussions or negotiations with representatives of the country with whom we were at war, even though he was still an officer in the naval reserve.

That raises legal questions about unauthorized personal diplomacy which naval authorities may not have overlooked as generously as the media did, and which could have affected the kind of discharge that Kerry received.

Obviously, the 180 form debunked this outrageous conspiracy out of the water, but that was way later. This op-ed was from Feb. '05, and needed to be responded to, immediately. A Navy guy from Norfolk answered that call and had Kerry's back. From the Pilot archives:

Ignorance, not Conspiracy

There’s probably a very simple explanation for the “tardy” award of John Kerry’s honorable discharge reported by Thomas Sowell (op-ed, Feb. 23): Following Kerry’s active duty tour, the completion of his inactive reserve status followed years later, before which there would be no discharge.

I completed active duty in the Air Force in 1965, but I received my honorable discharge 10 years later, during the Nixon/Ford era. I can attest that the latter provided no “corrective” to my record during that inactive reserve period.

This would be a typical situation for hundreds of thousands, but nowadays, with relatively few having actually served in the military, it’s no surprise that much ignorance, and the resulting conspiratorial perspective, abound.

Michael Thro
Norfolk

That letter was so heartening to me at the time, and when I re-read it now, I realize there is a quite civil, yet blatant snark at the chickenhawks who have no clue about how things work in the military.

I like the Pilot, but it is MSM, and sometimes doesn't focus on stories that interest me. My Repub next door neighbor thinks it's a liberal rag, but if Rush Limbaugh is the standard, EVERYTHING is a liberal rag. Anyway, just thought you would like to see there are Kerry defenders, even in our area.

[fedupinBushcountry]

15. I missed that letter

but the info he gave is exactly what I said in my letter. My husband was in the Navy for 20 years and I knew exactly how you are not actually discharged for 10 years. My husband was worried about being called back in during Desert Storm, that is when he explained it all to me. Like today many may be out of the military but not for real they can be called back in at a moments notice.

Thanks for the info. Yes that really got my blood boiling and that is why I wrote to them.