i'm fed up with the Answer Coalition and their kissing up to the cops at all times. i don't know a lot about int'l ANSWER in other places but the local group is just sickening.

the difference between them and most of the protesters is that the local ANSWER organizers have CONTEMPT for the vast majority of protesters. Almost all their behavior at protests just reeks and oozes and drips with control freaking. does nobody else notice this?!

their anxiety about being in control of everything has them wildly conradicting themselves: DON'T MARCH AWAY FROM CNN!! OKAY LET'S ALL MARCH AWAY FROM CNN - FOLLOW US!! DON'T STOP AT THE INTERSECTION!! KEEP MOVING DOWN TO HOLLYWOOD AND VINE!! ARE YOU GOING TO GO AWAY?? NO!!!! OKAY EVERYBODY GO HOME AND COME TO OUR NEXT EVENT!!

WHAT?!! YOU DON'T WANT TO GO HOME??!! YOU WANT TO KEEP PROTESTING?! COME ON PEOPLE - WE ALREADY DID THE BIGGEST ACT OF DISSENT EVER IN THE UNIVERSE - I MEAN, LET'S NOT GET GREEDY. LET'S ALL GIVE OURSELVES A ROUND OF APPLAUSE AND THEN GO HOME ALREADY!! GET OUT OF THE STREET IN FIVE MINUTES!! WE WILL STAY IN THE STREET TO KEEP TELLING EVERYONE ELSE TO GET OUT OF THE STREET!! etc. etc. etc.

i can't stand it anymore - but i know mass protest is still important. i don't know what to do. i like the way the RCP conducted itself at these protests. they seem to be "leading by following". i know the RCP has a history of authoritarianism and that bothers me, but it's good to see all these young people who seem to be thinking a lot more seriously than the older ANSWER people.

i swear all that those ANSWER people are doing recently is spreading the plague of self-hatred and disrespect. they need to start believing in the MANY. that's what democracy MEANS - "Rule by the MANY". and it works. when the MANY are allowed to organize themselves, whole societies can transform themselves rapidly.

and to all those who say that ANSWER must be doing something right because our movement is very large - - yes, ANSWER deserves credit for their constant work and energy but anyobdy who wants to give them all, or even most of the credit for the size of our anti-war movement is wrong. to give ANSWER credit for the size of the anti-war movement is not just strange - it is disrespectful to the millions of people who have thought through the issues. the great mass of people have used thier good senses to see that this war is blatantly aggressive and wrong. when ANSWER takes credit for these millions of thinking people ANSWER only betrays the desperate contempt they feel for people. in this frenzied way ANSWER struggles to maintain control - - a control only we can give them.

However, we do not live in a democracy. We live in a a limited constitutional federal republic.

"This nation was never intended to be a democracy. The framers and ratifiers meant to impose the stable rule of law and not the rule of men, motivated, at the instant, by whim and passion. Democracy is the antithesis of the rule of law, for it is precisely the rule of the voters: that is, rule without limits, obtaining its power from 50%, plus 1, regardless of the established law. Under demos (populace) kratos (master), from the Greek, the mere whim of the majority, right, wrong or indifferent, becomes the law. A lynch mob is democratic within this definition.....

Noah Webster's "An American Dictionary of the English Language," printed in 1828...says in part:

REPUB'LIC, n. [L. respublica; res and publica; public affairs.]

A commonwealth; a state in which the exercise of the sovereign power is lodged in representatives elected by the people. In modern usage, it differs from a democracy or democratic state, in which the people exercise the powers of sovereignty in person."

excerpt from "These United States Of America . . . Are Not a Democracy!"

by James Kraft-Lorenz

Democracy is the antithesis of the rule of law, for it is precisely the rule of the voters: that is, rule without limits, obtaining its power from 50%, plus 1, regardless of the established law

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. There can be democracy which allows for majority voting on matters established by law.

2. There can be voting schemes other than simple majority. (There are at least 5 proportional representation systems used widely in the world and there are a large number of other possible schemes: see any comprehensive political science text book).

3. Replacing an imperfect democracy with an imperfect tyranny achieves the disadvantages of all tyrranies and none of advantages of democracy. Give me a flawed democracy instead of an unaccountable set of leaders any day.

All that said, you're right: the USA is not a democracy and there is very limited freedom.

Peace come to some peace vigils that can use some additional people to hold up signs:(they are not easy locations-be mentally prepared)

Be prepared for a difficult peaceful witness. Let's support our brothers and sisters.

http://www.afsc-pswro.org/vigils.html

yeah i agree - i want to do some local vigils - i might have to endure some insults but it's better than preaching to the choir.

as far as the next big action - - i know that around the world there will be big actions on Saturday April 5th. Locally, the youth have been our strongest, most dedicated and consistent protesters since the walkouts a few weeks ago. i'm not sure how big the local action will be but it WILL be fired up.

JOIN THE WORLD AND OUR LOCAL YOUTH AT NOON ON APRIL 5TH IN LEIMERT PARK (MLK AND Crenshaw) FOR A MAJOR MARCH AND RALLY.

(not organized by ANSWER)

Why do you thing the Pro Troops and/or Bush people hate the Protesters. It because the Anti-War Protests have been sponsored and supported by A.N.S.W.E.R. International which is a front for the Socialist Workers Party (Communist). Ask your self what is their real agenda, the destruction of America. It's one thing to be a true Pacifist and totally another to attack everything. So most Pro people see Protesters as communist, you mention Control Freaks, they rule by maximum control.