Today we were part of an historical event.

While they may not have been as huge as the demonstrations Los Angeles and San Francisco, the demonstrations in Orange County had a great turnout! When we left Laguna Beach around 11:30, there were already about 100 people gathered. I don't know the numbers for the Hart Park rally and the march to the Orange Plaza, but it looked like at least 600 people.

In case you were unaware of this, Orange County, California is staunchly conservative, mostly Republican.

Some of the interesting "dialogue" from pro-war individuals whom I encountered during the day:

"Against International Law? Screw International Law! We're not part of the world, we're the United States!" (while I was explaining that a pre-emptive attack on Iraq was illegal according to International Law)

"They're all the same" (in reference to Arabs and Muslims when I explained that the Iraqis had nothing to do with September 11th).

"Wipe that smug smile off your face! People died so that you could march here". (I was smiling because I was pleased to be in a group of so many like-minded people, all desiring peace). I believe it was a city permit that allowed me to march there, and I doubt that the city required a human sacrifice, but what do I know?



View more photos taken in Laguna Beach and Orange at http://www.dangerouscitizen.com/F15.html

photo taken by Gordon during the 2/15/03 rally at Hart Park in Orange - traffic circle.

It's happening.

Thank you Sister J and michael scott.

The Orange County Register reported today that over 1,200 people participated in the rally and march in the city of Orange.

I need to put in a correction on the

numbers at Hart Park in Orange.

We had an early count of 1,200 or so,

but both the big local papers counted

us at 2,000.

The tv coverage was mostly given to

a pro-war rally in Seal Beach of about

100 people, but the major print media

actually treated us pretty well.

--GJ

-Many people/official and even police said that the numbers were in the thousands but perhaps an exhaggeration and I only thought in the hundreds. We were pretty spread apart though.

-For the opposing minority was for the most part on the side of the street that the anti-war demonstrators were. And the gentleman in the cub scout uniform was intermeengled with us, and I don't think got his point accross being so close us and all.

-A very peacful rally/march, w/no police intervention on the peace-goers side; however the for-war demonstrators accross the street which kept going into the street.

-the For-war demonstrators showed up after most of the people were in the park or had left.

-I think that it is so great that Oc did something on F15 and any numbers are great!

-Well done Everyone!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi,

I was so amazed at how much hate and anger pro war people have in their hearts. One "gentleman" said he would love to see nuclear war come out of this. How can people be so misguided??

Yeah! I wanted so much to be participating with my fellow peace lovers in Orange County, but a family emergency kept me away physically...although I WAS THERE IN SPIRIT. All we are saying is give peace a chance.

Yeah! I wanted so much to be participating with my fellow peace lovers in Orange County, but a family emergency kept me away physically...although I WAS THERE IN SPIRIT. All we are saying is give peace a chance.

Great work Gordon and Vangee and everyone else who worked to build this demo! Congratulations to you all. I had a great time.

Keep waging Peace!

Jim Gibson

"Wipe that smug smile off your face! People died so that you could march here". (I was smiling because I was pleased to be in a group of so many like-minded people, all desiring peace). I believe it was a city permit that allowed me to march there, and I doubt that the city required a human sacrifice, but what do I know?

Has anyone else read this? This person clearly has no understanding of our nations history. Its too bad that the freedom of speech doesn't exclude comments like these. I'm sure Jay Leno may have ran into this person before on the Jay Walking segment. Com on, what do you mean that no one died so you could march? Remember that little event called WWII? Did you ever read about it? Why aren't I writing this in German, Japanese, or Russian. Whoever wote this should stop watching Joe Millionaire and American Idol and start paying attention to what is really going on and maybe read up on history. Why not catch up on how the American Government works. You may desire peace, and thats fine, but you also indirectly support Saddam which = murder, blood, terror, hunger, and poverty, etc. You sure don't support America. All yeah, both of my grandfathers fought in WWII so you coulld march there. I should thank you because until I read your comment, I did not truly understand how stupid you peace protesters were. You probably never even voted.

Thanks for your comments, with your help maybe I can forever rule Iraq as long as I put down all of those opposed to me, you can come to my palace anytime and have a beer.

You didn't clean up after our

LAST kegger!

..nahh, it wasn't Saddam, he don't even drink...it was ol' Pineapple Head himself, Noriega, that party animal!

Wank: "Its too bad that the freedom of speech doesn't exclude comments like these. "

This person clearly has no understanding of our nations history.....

I love communism. Thats why all the communist countries combined can never match the economic might of one capitalist country, AMERICA.

You dirty neo-nazi, commie loving, america hating, anti war protesting freaks of nature will never learn. True, America makes mistakes, you guys LOVE IT WHEN AMERICA FUCKS UP.

But what happens when we make one? Do we just give up and leave the situation to correct itself, or do we go in and fix the problem? Do we focus on every single mistake America has made?

In your view, we can't do anything, because America is flawed, but I suggest otherwise, that Americans such as you make America flawed.

I know what you're going to say. You're gonna give me some bogus statistic on weapons, civilian deaths, etc, that AMERICA, not the poor dictatorships in the world, has committed.

To this I say SHUT UP, and les fix the mess that you peaceniks have made.

"bloody hands on anti-war protesters"

Oops, a Freudian slip!

Lets bomb that evil dictator

Bush is bringing one last UN resolution to the Security Council next week. Guess what, it will soon be time to kick Saddams ass and liberate Iraq. 12 long years after the Gulf War, and we'll finally finish the job we promised to the victims of Saddam. We will free them soon and we will soon see them cheering as they will soon discover freedom. I'm sure some of you would want to wait another 12 years for Saddam to comply or blow us up, but I don't think that will happen. I'm very thankful that at least a strong majority of us support the elimination of Evil. Sorry, people, but this isn't Vietnam, you won't have to run to Canada or worry about that next bad trip. You won't even have to worry about protesting that long because the war will be over in a few weeks. You must be praying for a long war so you have something to do. Don't worry, We will be taking out North Korea soon after we liberate Iraq if they fail to follow the rules. I would show up for a pro war demonstration, but my schedules all filled up. Can you tell me how you all find the time to show up in support of evil dictators?

Aren't you gone yet?

Yeah, lets kick Saddams ass, you made an excellent point. I fully support the war against Saddam.

Get rid of Saddam

Impeach Bush.

Arrest Bush.

Try Bush for treason and murder.

Hang Bush.

Sometimes I run across a post that echoes my own

feelings. like this one.

Direct Action - a 911 inquiry

BH 6:18pm Mon Feb 24 '03 (Modified on 6:40pm Mon Feb 24 '03)

article#46079

After considering how alternative summits have been held as a form of direct action, it seems to me that the best form of Direct Action at this time is not doing futile things that will actually play into the hands of the far right, such as cutting rail lines, but rather launching a

911 investigation.

In recent days I have listened as the debate as turned to turning

from protest to direct action, and most of the direct action I have

heard proposed sounds not only futile, but also counter productive.

Cutting rail lines only plays into the hands of the far right, and is the

kind of futile gesture that could land people in jail while for the most

part the war goes on (as you might notice, everything is already in

place for the war). As well the far right can easily manipulate this

kind of direct action to alienate the public at large from the protests

against the war. Certainly some types of direct action proposed by

anarchists (or agent provacteurs) that call for torching things and

smashing businesses is not going to do anything but marginalize

the peace movement. Politicians are not afraid of this type of

anarchy, but would actually welcome it. I am not against the

anarchist philosophy, which says that basically everyone is equal

and there is no such thing as a powerful person, and these

divisions in society are meaningless (do the powerful still use the

crapper like everyone else?) However torching a building, or even

cutting a rail line really doesn't accomplish much at the end of it all,

is mostly a symbolic gesture, and is already to late to stop the war

in any case, and can also play into the hands of the far right and be

used to polarize public opinion.

Now you might notice that a night club burned to the ground and an

inquiry was started immediately. You might notice that the space

shuttle blew up, and an inquiry was started immediately. You

might recall that over a year and half has gone by and no 911

inquiry has started. There was this gesture of starting some white

washed investigation by appointing Henry Kissinger as the 'chief

investigator' but that didn't fly, and now we are all so busy and all

so distracted by the war that the whole issue is basically on a back

burner.

Now why has there been no investigation. The reason is that 911

is the Achilles heel of this current administration, and could even

constitute grounds for impeachment. But for some peculiar reason

the left and the progressives just do not want to go where they

obviously should have gone long ago, always hurling out that

accusation of 'conspiracy theory', even though it obvious that the

administration is worried enough about the potential impact of a

911 investigation that we just aren't having a 911 investigation, as

you will have noticed.

Now I am aware of all the truly strange sounding theories that are

flying around, that are unlikely to go anywhere, lacking any proof,

and just being unfounded assertions. For example there is the one

about the 'remote controlled plane' which was steered into the

towers from the ground. Then there is the one that states that all

Jewish people were told to stay home from work on 911 and not

go into the towers (false). And then there is the one about how

the towers were mined with explosives and brought down by a

controlled demolition. Then there is the one about how the

Pentagon was fired upon by a missile by the military. And the list

goes on.

Now what qualifies as a 'conspiracy theory.' Anything for which

there is no evidence other than wild speculation certainly counts

as a conspiracy theory. Could still be true one might suppose.

After listening to the torrent of lies being told in these times, what

isn't possible after all? (Just last night Perle stated that after the

invasion of Iraq they 'will find Saddam's weapons of mass

destruction' and I have no doubt that they will, this being just the

kind of devious dishonesty and ungodly conduct that this

administration is capable of - compare it to placing the suspect

against the wall and then planting the cocaine on them, after which

they will get charged with trafficking in cocaine. People have gone

to death row in just this way, for God's sake, and certainly this

administration, based on its dishonest conduct in recent times, is

more than capable of planting a little cocaine on Saddam).

However some things are a lot harder to do the Nixon thing with

and just lie, and lie and lie to get out of it. I want one question

asked and one question answered during this 'alternative 911

investigation'. Why was it the case that at the Genoa summit there

was such great concern that a suicide bomber was going to use

civilian air craft to bomb the summit that a) Genoa was surrounded

by anti-aircraft batteries b) civilian passenger jets were restricted in

where they could fly near the summit, at the risk of being blasted

out of the sky c) George Bush did not stay in Genoa but instead

retired to Navy ship, bristling with anti-aircraft guns d) Ashcroft

swore off civilian passenger aircraft during the summer after

receiving an FBI threat assessment e) the administration knew, a

month in advance, that something like 911 was imminent and yet

sat on their thumbs and did nothing, such as beefing up airport

security, which would have done the trick.

In brief, why was 911 allowed to happen?

There are two possible explanations, neither of which is palatable

to the Nixon white house, which is why there has never been any

911 inquiry, and why the Republicans will continue to stall a 911

inquiry, until hell freezes over if they can. The first is that the

administration is so grossly incompetent as to defy understanding,

in particular when they displayed such competence at Genoa. The

second is that they were waiting for 911 to happen just for the

simple reason that they knew that the entire far right wing agenda

would suddenly come out from the shadows off in the fringes and

go main stream, as it has, you might notice. This would also

explain the peculiar behavior of George Bush, on the day 911 took

place. People have made note of the fact that he really didn't seem

that alarmed and that is reaction was inappropriate. But then they

had been waiting for it all summer, sure and certain of the fact that

this was just the ticket they needed to install a Nazi like regime in

America, and do all those dreams of the extreme right wing, such

as finally at long last shredding the bill of rights, the constitution of

the United States, and they would also have a free hand to do all

those wars they had been longing for over the years. And they

were right...

And the 'left' and the 'progressives' were wrong. They have a

huge network, and are able to mobilize mass demonstrations,

which in the end, prove to be useless (they mass demonstrated

all throughout the Vietnam war, you might remember). And they

can't even get their shit together, spot a golden opportunity, and

impeach even one Republican administration, before it is too late,

and your nation is completely destroyed by the hawkish right wing.



Now before the reactionary left springs into action and rallies

around the Nixon white house, I thought I would point out to you

that 'analyzing the failure of our institutions' is the White House

strategy for deflecting any 911 investigation. The end result is the

rebirth and installation of the Total Information Awareness

program, probably on an even broader scale (the excuse here

being that 911 was an 'intelligence failure', which is ridiculous, and

then there is that other idiotic thing about how it was an

institutional failure, since apparently people are so stupid that

when they know someone is going to crash planes as flying

bombs, and they know it months in advance, doing a simple thing

like beefing up security like Israel's El Al does, well, you really

need to revamp your institutions, bring in Total Information

Awareness, make everything more intrusive, more Hawkish,

because apparently people are just that idiotic. This kind of so

called 'leftist' thinking will get everyone royally screwed, as for

some weird reason they rally around the Nixon white house, and

try to split the left with their idiotic theories about 'institutions' being

to blame for American citizens being bombed on 911, while those

same institutions were able to save Ashcrofts ass, and kept Bush

cozy and safe at Genoa.

The reason there has been no 911 inquiry is because no one has

thought up some perjury to use as an answer to the questions I

just asked above, which, if the left and the progressives are

thinking, means that these are the questions to be asking. Go ask

them. See what they say in reply. come on. Go do it. I will excuse

those 'leftists' who are feeling, even now, the urge to rally around

the Nixon white house, and will leave them to start kicking up a

cloud of dirt, perhaps help to initiate total information awareness,

which is the end result of their efforts. I just want a simple answer

to the simple questions posed above. so go on and ask them.

Let's hear that wonderful answer of theirs. They've had a year and

half. No one though of anything yet.

and FOR GOD'S SAKE don't be stupid enough to 'write your

congressman'. Something this radical will have to be a grass roots

thing. Congress will only move to impeach this administration

when the pressure rises at the grass roots level.

So go on. Ask them. And while you are at it, ask yourself, too. Ask

your friends. Ask them, why is there no 911 inquiry. Then ask

them the questions above. What's the answer. Gross

imcompetency? I don't think so. They were to competent when it

came to protecting Ashcrofts ass, and much to competent at

Genoa. go on. Ask yourself, ask your friends, and then ask your

congressman, if you want to panic them, but don't expect any help.



If the left fucks this thing up, you deserve to spend some time with

the Nazi regime, which is progressively is what is happening to

you. YOu also deserve to live with the five hundred thousand

civilian casualities of innocent Iraqis in some third world wreck of a

place (with lots of oil) that, you know, is just that much a clear and

present danger to you that it needs to be invaded by the extreme

right wing, and right now too. Just the other day, Rumsfeld was

once again talking about 'human shields' in preparation for the

massive casualities the American Military Industrial complex is

about to create in Iraq.

You deserve what is going to happen to you, if you do not do what

obviously has to be done, and take DIRECT ACTION by

impeaching this administration. Certainly they are capable of just

telling one perjury after another, as everyone who is thinking in this

place already knows. Certainly they are capable of blowing little

babies to kingdom come. Certainly they are more than capable of

destroying American democracy and shredding everything

America has always stood for, replacing it with their own hawkish

vision of world domination and a constantly worsening police

state. And certainly people like this are capable of sitting on their

thumbs for a few months, waiting for 911 to happen, so as to

empower that hawkish agenda of theirs, and put into motion their

fore ordained plans to attack Afghanistan and Iraq (neither of which

has anything to do with 911 itself, 911 was just the ever so

convenient tool used by the Nixon white house to bring the

extreme right wing into full power).

SO FOR GOD'S SAKE WILL YOU PEOPLE DO THE RIGHT

THING AND ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS. Resist all attempts to

split the left with phony 'analysis' of your so called 'flawed

institutions' and just start asking the right questions and IMPEACH

THE NIXON WHITE HOUSE.

www.awitness.org/journal/index.html

Rush and Bill Rule

Those aren't Chicken Hawks, those are Chickens!

yeah, they talk like hawks, but they are obviously chickens to anyone with a brain..

...or half of one in Pvt. Fido's case....

I'd like to send a prayer out to the people of Iraq as they are likely to have to endure years more of Saddam Husseins abusive regime if the French and the asshole peaceprotester win.

And hold up your pro war signs any time you want.

See you this saturday. Any city, U.S.A.

I didn't think you would win, I was just kidding. I'll let you dumbassed hippies go out and freeze your asses off by yourselves while I watch Saddam get his ass kicked live via satellite on the news. Its a good thing that the majority of people in the world know what is best. They base their decisions on the facts concerning the situation, not what party is in power. I'm not going to argue with you, after reading your comments, I noticed that you fall into that category of Anti-Bush, Pro-Arafat, Anti-Conservative, Anti- Republican.

nah...we're just Anti-Johnson...and what's this "freeze your asses off"...this is LA Indymedia, you fuckin' idiot.

Slogans and dogma is your only resource.

You have no clue.

This is California, we don't freeze.

Go on, keep watching the box of illusions

where I hear survivor is on.

So I hear because I don't need the pacifier

to tell me what to think.