Last night, the television news was reporting that the Washington, D.C. demonstration consisted of about 30,000 people. But it turns out that the 30,000 they were speaking of was a group that marched to the Washington Navy Yard and did not include an overall figure for the number of people there. Immediately following was yet another story on the ominous discovery in Iraq of the empty chemical rocket warheads. As a one-time news director in a radio station, I am aware of how one can modify the perception of selected news stories by sequencing them a certain way, and this struck me as a fairly obvious effort to diddle the viewers' response to the peace demonstrations. Side point:—even the Department of Defense does not regard an empty warhead as a "warhead."

The following is a somewhat condensed version of the story carried by this morning's Seattle Times:

        The largest concentration of anti-war demonstrators since the Vietnam War converged on Washington, D.C., yesterday, braving bitter cold in thunderous numbers and assembling in the shadow of the Capitol dome to voice opposition to a U.S. military strike against Iraq.
        Similar rallies were held around the world, including one that drew tens of thousands to San Francisco's waterfront.
        Organizers of the demonstration, the activist coalition International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), said the protest was larger than one they sponsored in Washington in October. District of Columbia police officials suggested then that about 100,000 attended, and although some agreed, organizers since have put the number closer to 200,000.
        This time, organizers said, the turnout was 500,000. Police Chief Charles Ramsey would not provide an estimate but said it was bigger than in October. "It's one of the biggest ones we've had, certainly in recent times," he said.
        "I know everyone is skittish about saying a number," said U.S. Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer. "But this was big. An impressive number."
        Two hours into the Washington march, swarms of demonstrators, including actor Martin Sheen and singer Joan Baez, assembled along the San Francisco waterfront heading downtown. That rally drew tens of thousands.
        An estimated 20,000 marched through downtown Portland. In Tampa, Fla., protesters rallied outside the gates of MacDill Air Force Base. Other events were held overseas in cities including Tokyo, Paris, Moscow and Cairo, Egypt. The Tokyo rally drew an estimated 5,000 protesters.
        In Western Washington, scores of "potlucks for peace" were held. More than 100 residents of Seattle's Beacon Hill gathered at Stevens Place Park for fried chicken, pasta salad and a chance to chat with neighbors about the prospect of war.
        "I want to have a voice," Highland Park Elementary School kindergarten teacher Kristin Sampson said. "I believe we have to stop being the police of the world."
        State Rep. Velma Veloria, a Democrat from Beacon Hill, shouted through a bullhorn that Washington state can't afford to go to war. "I know this war is going to be costly," Veloria said. "Tell them no to war in Iraq; tell them we want peace everlasting."
        Because a war would be expected to cost $100 billion, Veloria said, Washington's share would be about $2 billion. That would be enough to double the state's budget deficit, she noted.
        In rural Whatcom County, Debi Covert-Bowlds hoped her potluck would be a good way for local families to get together and really learn about Iraq.
        Covert-Bowlds, who lives in Ferndale, expected about 12 families from Birch Bay, Lynden and Ferndale to attend the potluck at her house. She said rural Whatcom County doesn't offer as many resources as Bellingham for people who want to learn about American relations with Iraq.
        "The anti-war movement is now at a whole new level," said Tony Murphy, a spokesman for International ANSWER, formed three days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as a response to the Bush administration's war on terrorism at home and abroad.
        "Now we're talking about a force that can really stop the war. It's not just a hopeful attitude. It's a real sense that it's possible."
        The demonstration drew people of all walks of life, from both coasts and all points in between, as scores of college students, 30-something families and senior citizens arrived by charter bus, car caravan, plane, train and — in the case of one Iowa State University student — foot.
        Many said they feared war with Iraq would make Americans targets of further terrorist attacks.
        "We've always been the good guys, and now we're going to be the bad guys," said Robert Dickson, 52, who publishes two weekly newspapers in Fayetteville, N.C., and left home at 4:30 a.m. for the drive to Washington.
        "The sun had really helped," said Joanne Catizzi, 51, a Baltimore teacher. "I was really afraid I was going to freeze my butt off." But Shelby Berkowitz, 32, a graduate student from Lansing, Mich., asked, "What's the suffering from standing out in the cold compared to the suffering inflicted by U.S. policies in the world?"

Compiled from The Washington Post, Seattle Times staff reporter Jennifer Sullivan, Knight Ridder Newspapers, The New York Times and The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company

I think it's happenin', folks. Just for kicks, pull up google and type in "Impeach Bush" and see what comes up. Interesting!!

Don Firth