Penn, Rep. Lee Appear At Oakland Town Hall Meeting (Hundreds Gather On How To End War)

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http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/24/BAG3ROR95I45.DTL

Actor Penn, Rep. Lee appear at town hall meeting on Iraq war
Hundreds gather in Oakland to discuss how to get U.S. troops home
Carolyn Jones and Cecilia M. Vega, Chronicle Staff Writer

Saturday, March 24, 2007

(03-24) 18:20 PDT OAKLAND -- Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn was the star attraction at a town hall meeting today in Oakland, where hundreds of people gathered to denounce the war in Iraq and call for an immediate withdrawal of American troops.

Neither Penn nor Rep. Barbara Lee, the Oakland Democrat who has opposed the war since before it began four years ago, offered much in the way of specifics for ending the conflict, and they were largely preaching to the choir. The enthusiastic and occasionally boisterous crowd of 800 or so crammed into the Grand Lake Theatre wildly cheered as Penn excoriated President Bush.

"You and your smarmy pundits -- and the smarmy pundits you have in your pocket -- can take your war and shove it," Penn said. "Let's unite not only in stopping this war, but in holding this administration accountable."

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MacIntyre, like many who attended today's events, was no stranger to anti-war protests. She has marched in numerous rallies since the Iraq war started in March 2003 and on Monday was arrested during a San Francisco protest on Market Street. It was her 41st arrest, she boasted proudly. "At least I can hold my head up and say that I tried," she said.

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