I’m happy to report that anti-war demonstrations are as much fun today as they were in the ’60s and ’70s, and great theater. There were lots of people in costume, like the Bush and Cheney faces here and the popular Billionaires for Bush troup. And there were a few famous faces, like Jesse Jackson here with the "Justice for People of the Gulf Coast" sign and a rush of photographers around him.
And finally here’s a shot of me chatting with one of my heroes, the ever-handsome John Conyers (D-MI).
If you saw "Fahrenheit 9/11," he was the interviewee who revealed that Congress had voted for the "Patriot Act" without reading it. Formerly chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and now its ranking Dem, Conyers has been more vocal than anyone in Washington about abuses in the last two elections.
One photo I’ve spared you all is of the bare-breasted women and I was probably the only person nearby who didn’t photograph them. Bare-breasted women have been a staple at women’s and gay rights marches for a long time and for the life of me I just don’t get it. I’ve been told they do it because: A, why not, and B, it demystifies women’s breasts. Well yeah, seeing regular unPlayboyesque breasts sure does that, especially the triple-D-cup examples on display today. But I still doubt that it accomplishes anything except giving guys something to tell their friends about, or these days maybe blog about.
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Marv 09.26.05 at 9:25 am
It is indeed unfortunate that the timing of the rally coincided with the hurricane. The news coverage was focused on the hurricane and the rally did not get the coverage it should have. Still it was exhilarating to see it so well attended. Perhaps the American people WILL “get” it.
Akees 10.04.05 at 10:43 pm
Well, I finally made it to your blog. I didn’t realize I could just click on Susan in Mary’s blog and I tried to find it via the address or something which didn’t work.
Anyway, I wanted to see the photo of you and Rep. Conyers. Yes, it’s a great photo. He’s really loving the attention there. I did do a few hearings when he was present. I inadvertently helped a republican by letting a staffer hear the tape to clarify something Conyers said and I was pissed at myself. I should have said “sorry. No can do. My machine just broke.”