Busloads Of Ohio Anti-War Protesters Head To D.C.
The main problem I have with these protests are the organizers. Sayrah Namaste is the local Cincinnati organizer for the protest held in Washington D. C. Today. On the website promoting local participation she links to the national organizing group A.N.S.W.E.R.. This is a loose coalition of every communist group in the country. Those groups are now largely made of radical unionists, religious groups (Islamic and Christian mostly), and extreme environmentalist groups, which is akin to a religion in the level of blind faith they live by.

These groups are playing on the pacifist and non-violence beliefs of many well-meaning local groups, but their goals are no different than Hamas. I think much of communism today is a hyper-religious communism. They give people what they want, a means to channel their emotions and provide a group to join. Identity is what troubles most people today. People don't know who they are and want to be told who they are and what they should do. Communists want them to be anti-capitalist and "pro-worker", a tired old myth. These groups are aligned or at least akin to the boycotters here in Cincinnati. Much like the boycott demands, A.N.S.W.E.R. ties racism, the red herring for modern progressive-populist politics, to everything. Money causes racism, war is racism, and white people are racism. Racism is that which causes non-whites to be non-white. A ludicrous statement, yet not far from their rantings. It is nothing different than the frame of reference used during the "red scare" of the 1950's. The media is letting it pass out of ignorance and self-interest. They are lazy and don’t do much research into who the are covering. They instead look for conflict that will create drama. Drama is what drives news coverage. If there is no Drama, then nothing is interesting, and therefore it gets no coverage. The public seems to be apathetic to all of this. It is nothing more than a game. To be honest, It basically is a real game. Who can spin the truth on the head of the pin the fastest without actually telling the truth? The participants whether on CSPAN or any media outlet or in any political office know what they say and do is a matter of perception, and is a calculated strategy to their sport. That is the game I watch. Who needs the NFL when the media/politics battles are on 24 hours a day?

As a side note, I have no problem with protesting. I am not supportive of this pending war, but I am not out right against it either. I am open to being honest about the use of military force. It is not a good thing, but a necessary thing. If Bush can make a case for why we need to go to war with Iraq, I will listen. Up to now, Bush has not made a credible or clear case. I just don’t think linking this War to every issue you have is going to solve anything. It is the same way the boycotter’s demands became a laundry list of every issue that could be linked to “them”. “Themism” as no ideological boundaries. All are infested and the wood is starting to crumble.

UPDATE: It appears that a Leslie Markworth from Cincinnati attended the protest and was quoted in the Vanguard of Nigeria saying: "I’m outraged and I have to do something about it." I just don't think she is really doing anything. Standing in a crowd yelling at nonsensical speeches from communists and their duped allies hardly seems like something worthwhile.

UPDATE2: Leslie Markworth got around at the rally. Islam Online quoted her as well in this section:

Demonstrator Leslie Markworth came to Washington in a group that took three buses from Cincinnati, Ohio.

"I'm outraged and I have to do something about it," she said.

"I would like to see Bush and his cronies postpone their decision to wage war on Iraq," Markworth said.

She and her friend Stephen Lavelle will travel 800 kilometers (500 miles) home overnight.

"I would like (Bush) to focus on real problems like the economy and unemployment," Lavelle said.

Her friend also from Cincinnati, Stephen Lavelle was mentioned in the Nigerian newspaper. Islam Online gave one really biased article, while the Vanguard's story was more factual.

UPDATE3: International R.E.S.P.O.N.S.E. takes on the problems with International A.N.S.W.E.R. as the organizers of today's march.