It’s progress of sorts. Both the New York Times and the Washington Post described how “tens of thousands” marched in Washington on Saturday in protest against the Iraq war. In September 2005, an even bigger march was characterized by the Times as “thousands” of protesters. Technically true, but oh-so-misleading. The coverage—scant and dismissive—provoked a massive protest of its own, and within days the Times published a better, truer version of the event. This time both newspapers devoted a reasonable amount of space to the rally and march, and the tone was properly neutral. It’s amazing what three years of disaster in Iraq, a sea-change election, and a populace that has found other channels of information can do to mainstream reporting. The press duly noted that the march was large enough to loop back on itself—when those at the front reached the end of the march route (which started on the Mall and wound past the Capitol on the east side), they came upon marchers just beginning the trek.
As usual, creativity of all sorts was on display, from clever signs to costumed performers. I offer just a few scenes that struck my fancy. You can find more photos in the Washington Post story.
George W. Bush’s buddy, the attorney general, says “[t]here is no express grant of habeas in the Constitution.” No, just an express injunction that it is not to be suspended except in the case of rebellion or invasion. Probably everyone at Saturday’s protest knows that the right wasn’t explicitly stated because it was assumed as part of our legacy of British common law—it is a given. I wonder why the nation’s top lawyer acts as if he doesn’t understand that?
This lady was about 4′10″ and had the bad luck to be right behind a big banner (and probably in front of one as well). I had the feeling she was too nice a person to use spicier language, which wasn’t hard to find—for instance …
His variation on “Visualize World Peace” was a new one to me. Makes a lot of sense.
Hey, there’s an idea!
“The World is My Toy”—that’s the caption I would suggest for this representation of that infantile man.
“Heresy! Moving forward is moving forward, is it not?” Alas, sometimes it is not.
Uncle Sam seems to be coming around … (If only.)
Some random guy. His friend thought the sticker was a bit “abstract,” but he eventually accepted one and slapped it on his jacket as well. “No escalation!” Pretty obvious, no?
An abandoned argument.
And now for a nice cup o’ joe. (Sorry it’s blurry—I had to step out into the middle of 7th Street to get this shot. I did not tarry.)
