This might be a silly question, but why do they now have and had these rallies in dead of winter?

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

Don't you think they might have 2 or 3 times the amount of participants in the late Spring?

[seabeyond]

1. you know,... you would think. like when the cherry trees are bloomin

i am waiting for that rally, lol lol. i too have asked myself about that. what is the weather like there now?

[peacetalksforall]

20. It would be worth every degree of cold if I could carry a sign protesting our

next imperialistic move into Iran. This march is timely - perhaps one of the most timely we'ver ever had. Think about it.

We should be spending words on thanking these people and the expsnse they went to.

Besides, because of taxpayer dollars - NASA invented cold prevention materials. And explorers and skiers helped.

[seabeyond]

28. ya ya ya.... hey, a bit tongue in

cheek there. the last huge one was in winter too. it has been two years or more since another of these. nothing happened between the timetable? i think not. this was planned well before the iran standoff.... timely? a rally at any time of the year would have and will be timely with this administration.

[oldtimecanuk]

2. There will be many more...

They had to start it before IRAN explodes..... There will be many more of these in days and weeks to come...

ww

[Telly Savalas]

3. The idea is probably that by late Spring there won't be a need

for any more rallies.

[leveymg]

4. It's a beautiful day in DC. Perfect weather for a rally! The next one is in March.

[Bobbie Jo]

5. This can't wait...n/t

[Eugene]

6. The escalation will be a done deal by late spring.

The Bushies defied what the voters said in November and they are moving
forward now. Robert Gates even proposes to accelerate the "surge."

The run-up the the Iraq war started in Fall 2002-Winter 2003. The invasion
started in March 2003.

[hwmnbn]

7. My guess was that it was timed.....

with the SOTU.

As the previous poster said, there will be more to follow.

[skygazer]

8. Just a guess but I think they're based on the issues

Not the weather.

[frogcycle]

14. ya think? nt

[cyberpj]

9. Actually, I've been wondering why they don't hold them on a WEEKDAY - snarl up D.C. at work!

And I don't care about permits.
I guess I'm just an old hippie but civil disobedience doesn't recognize the power of permits!

The idea is to get MAINSTREAM NEWS COVERAGE. Not Cspan on a Saturday.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

22. An excellent point! eom

[WilliamPitt]

10. Timing

October 2002, in time for the IWR vote.

January 2003, in fear of imminent invasion.

February 2003, globally, after the build-up when war was imminent.

Today, on the verge of the surge.

[boston bean]

13. We are at war everyday damnit, a weekday warm weather

protest should be planned.

Much, Much more attention on a weekday, many many more people on a warm day.

[WilliamPitt]

16. Then organize one

Be my guest.

:eyes:

[cyberpj]

18. That's a little snarky for a legitimate question. These people do it professionally. nt

[WilliamPitt]

21. And you made it sound like a simple thing.

It isn't.

Organizing something like this takes massive coalition-building with dozens of disparate groups, and then ten thousand miles of permit-applications from five different police and federal organizations.

If I had to guess, I'd say permits are harder to get in warm weather...though ANSWER and UFPJ did throw that big one down a couple of Septembers ago. Remember, the march that never marched? I was there.

It's a pain in the ass, so my thought is you should look into the process, and the restrictions, before complaining about wanting warmer weather.

[cyberpj]

15. But why not snarl up D.C. on a WEEKDAY and get some real news coverage? Since when

did civil disobedience care about permits?

[WilliamPitt]

19. Heh

This isn't civil disobedience.

Medea Benjamin unfurling a banner on the floor of the RNC and getting arrested is civil disobedience.

Cindy Sheehan going to Guantanamo and Cuba in defiance of US laws is civil disobedience.

The Berrigans pouring their own blood on nuclear missile nose cones inside the factory is civil disobedience.

This is a very polite, permission-granted protest. It is the essence of civil obedience.

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for public protests. But to call them "civil disobedience" is an insult to those who have actually put their asses on the line in real disobedience. How can it be disobedience when stuff like this is directly authorized by the Constitution?

[cyberpj]

23. I have to agree with you. Actually, you said what I was thinking - it's SO POLITE! Damn -

Where's the anger? Where's the rage?

This is nothing like the rallies and marches of my youth.

[WilliamPitt]

24. And maybe that's OK.

The riot outside the Dem convention in Chicago pretty much sealed the deal for Nixon.

Polite eloquence is OK with me.

[LiberalEsto]

27. Tried that. May Day 1971.

Mass arrests. Police violence. Bad PR for the anti-war movement because it alienated beleaguered DC commuters who might otherwise have been supportive.

[johnnie]

11. It keeps the freepers in mommy and daddy's basement

They hate the cold.

[boston bean]

12. read this thread, I tried, but to no avail. Also, we need to do it on a monday, not a weekend.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=3100365

[JackBeck]

17. Monday should be an interesting day.

Since Congress is in session and whatnot.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

25. because the relative position of the

earth and the sun means that it is winter in the northern hemisphere. Waiting for spring might be too late.

[LiberalEsto]

26. Maybe bcause DC gets nasty hot

by the end of April.
During the Vietnam era, I attended numerous protests in DC in late April. More often than not it got up into the 80s and everyone was wilting.

[hashibabba]

29. We can't wait to have in in the spring. We need changes NOW.

But we do have another one coming around March 17th!

[Trajan]

30. NOW is the time for all good men (and women)

to come to the aid of their country ....

IF you can have Prince George hold of on his war, then maybe this could wait for better weather ....

[Forrest Greene]

31. I Could Be Wrong

...but I seem to recall some minor government official saying in 2002 that one of the reasons for their timing was precisely because they hoped the cold weather would discourage demonstrators.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

33. I thought that might be a possibility. eom

[JackBeck]

32. I just read over at Dailykos

from someone who's live blogging that organizers are estimating over 600,000 people showed up.

[soothsayer]

34. It's absolutely GORGEOUS out today here in DC! The gods are

smiling on our efforts.