Not so many years ago I remember another protest

[whosinpower]

And this protest spanned the entire globe.
Millions worldwide protested the run up to the Iraq war.

As I recall....there was not very much press coverage about this. Oh, there was allot here, on DU, and other progressive sites, but the mainstream media were too busy gearing up their wargame to listen to the people then.
Was there coverage discussing these peoples opinions? Not so much.
Was there active talking heads discussing the cons of a war waged under false pretenses? Nope.
Congress and the senate rolled over. The war had been decided, all that was left was the details and we all knew it.

I remember what President Bush said about the protest then.
He doesn't listen to special interest focus groups, but he accepted their right to protest.

Well.....that was then.

And now, the US has these townhall meetings with disruptive individuals, threatening fellow Americans and members of Congress.
Special interest focus groups have a right to protest, as do we all. They do not have the right to threaten anyone, bully anyone or harm anyone.
And just because they protest, does not mean we, or anyone has to listen.

Barack Obama is nothing like Bush - thank goodness. And he means to be more inclusive and less dictatorial than your last president. I hope he succeeds in healthcare reform and the protesters are treated much in the same manner that Bush treated us.....respectfully ignoring special interest focus groups. You won't change their minds anyways - and they won't change yours - ignore them.

[proud patriot]

1. I went to that protest in SF

[Tikki]

4. We did, also....

The Tikkis

[polichick]

2. Amazing that taxpayers who don't want their money used for needless killing...

...could ever be considered a "special interest focus group" ~ what a sick man Bush was/is!

[RagAss]

3. Yup...fucking cheerleaders all of them...CNN, MSNBC and Faux

[rusty charly]

5. NYC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9pUqPhcwcw

[Hansel]

6. If you call the media on this they will say:

"We understand that we dropped the ball. That is why we have decided to focus on covering these protests."

As soon as another Republic president is elected they will say: "Well, we've covered protests for 32 years and people are sick of us covering them."

[90-percent]

7. Here's a stat that stuck with me

The number of souls that participated in world wide protests against a possible Iraq War in early 2003 was the largest number that ever participated in organized protests around the world in all of recorded human history.

I bet not many know that!

Now - could some fact checkers confirm or deny..I did a little too much acid back in my hippy days.

-90% jimmy

And Jan 2003 was the first time I ever participated in a War protest - got a bus down to DC for some big shin dig. jesse jackson, ramsey clarke, al sharpton and lots of others spoke. And I got a draft card in 1972, the year the draft was abolished, too!

[Gregorian]

8. The modern media is America's plague.

A million people died in the Middle East because a group of evil men wanted to hold world power.

Our national goal is in peril. Through the papers and tv screens comes a disease. We risk killing our very purpose if we were to remove the liars. Yet if we don't, we risk the same loss.

The number of idiots who don't know that Hawaii is a state, or who won't believe that Obama is a citizen, is so small and obvious that it is not a risk to our democracy. The world outside of our borders looks on with disbelief at the stupidity. There is something far more sinister happening.

There is a concerted effort among those who hold the financial clout. They profit from war. Look no further than the military for your answers. Those who make the guns and ammunition. But the scheme is fueled by us. We give them their power. And as we have become more dependent upon oil and other corporate benefits, we have removed our own ability to boycott that which is killing us.

Almost a trillion a year on military spending, and yet nothing but screams over health care. One destructive, the other productive. There should be no debate whatsoever. This did not happen in a fortnight. Reagan traded arms for hostages, and then went on to help fund the death machines in South America. The media was already at work back then.

There is a way out. We must find it. I don't think there is anything more important. Our fourth estate has failed.