In brief, the most encouraging thing for me were the speakers, the vast majority of whom talked about our real enemy: our rotten government, in toto! Sure, the gatekeepers were there (the bad-boy-Bush mantra people) but they were vastly outnumbered. The message was loud AND clear: ef The War Party - all of them, Ds and Rs alike. It's up to us!

Rolling Thunder successfully turned out hundreds of counter-protesters. And were they ever ugly, chomping at the bit, screaming and yelling at the top of their lungs, calling the rest of us traitors and lots worse. Quite pathetic, actually. And .. no surprise... the police had their backs to these guys; they faced us, menacingly fingering their batons.

I carried my Palestinian flag; that REALLY set of the Rolling Thunder gonzos. But amazingly, to me, so many activists had no idea what flag it was. I got asked over and over, all day long "I'm curious, what flag is that?" What does that tell you? The gatekeeper P&J Industry is not educating the activist community - let alone the general public on the issues re Palestine, one of THE core issues of our day (as it relates to zionism); that along with 9-11 Truth.

In the afternoon there was a blustery, bitter cold wind. There were sound vans around aplenty, but none would let us come in for even a second to warm up. One fellow asked me "where are you from"; when i said Massachusetts, he said "then this shouldn't bother YOU!" He was nasty. To the rescue tho was Jim Goodnow, who drives The Yellow Rose Peace Bus. He packed us in and let us warm up until he had to hit the road at 5pm. We would got warm, then got out and let others come in for a bit to recover from the bitter cold. Jim told me he has been on the road for 18 months, traveling the country from Texas. He had just come down from Vermont. I go to talk to lots of great people.

Bob B got himself and me a WONDERFUL t-shirt. They are available at zendik.org; the quallity is excellent; heavy-weight 100% cotton, and the lettering is raised. Ours are like the black one shown right but Zendik also sells other styles and colors. This one is $16, shipping included. A good deal, and a good message.

Zendik: Outlaw; one who thinks outside the established order. Zendik Farm (Zendik Arts) is an intentional community founded in 1969.

Another nice thing about this particular protest march: our IAC bus from Boston had lots more minorities and youth on board, way more than ever before. As usual, IAC did a super job of organizing our MA contingent to Washington. Thank you Steve!

Cindy Sheehan:

THE DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS HAS BETRAYED AMERICAN VOTERS, PROGRESSIVE SUPPORTERS, AND THE TROOPS IN IRAQ - read her article at znet

MSM stories:

4 Years After Start of War, Anger Reigns Washington Post
Demonstrators Brave Cold to Carry Message to Pentagon, as Counter-Protesters Battle Back

Iraq protests mark four years of war at TV NZ

In March on Pentagon, Protesters Recall War Anniversaries NY Times

Thousands join march on Pentagon in Iraq protest Independent, UK
"A labour activist from New York, Michael Letwin, warned demonstrators in Washington not to invest too much hope in the Democrats. "This is a bipartisan war," he said. "The Democratic party cannot be trusted to end it." "

"Our AIPAC-funded congress is anti-american" ~ PF Soto