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January 16, 2003

If the creek don’t rise, we have every intention of joining Jim Henley, Max Sawicky, and other DC-area bloggers at this coming Saturday’s demonstration against impending war on Iraq. We’ll see if we can drag the legendary Jon Singer out as well.

Contact Jim Henley for details if you’d like to join Blogtopia’s delegation to this cultural and political event.

UPDATE: Jim Henley provides details of where and when to meet our party—now composed, I gather, of Jim, Max, Julian Sanchez, one Leonard from Unruled, and a group of antiwar organizers from Lexington, Virginia. (Lexington, Virginia? Surely, just to balance things, there must be a Manassas, Massachusetts.) [12:21 AM]

Welcome to Electrolite's comments section.
Hard-Hitting Moderator: Teresa Nielsen Hayden.

Comments on If the creek don't rise,:

Mark Bourne ::: (view all by) ::: January 16, 2003, 03:48 PM:

As Leslie Nielsen said: Good luck. We're all counting on you.

On a related note, and on this day in literature, someone who shoulda-coulda been a blogger, Auberon ("Bron") Waugh, son of Evelyn, died on this day, 2001. He spoke of his talent for "making the comment, at any given time, which people least like to hear," and of his mission:

"There are countless horrible things happening all over the country, and horrible people prospering, but we must never allow them to disturb our equanimity or deflect us from our sacred duty to sabotage and annoy them whenever possible."

Glen ::: (view all by) ::: January 16, 2003, 06:07 PM:

And I'll be in your area instead of at the protests. I bought tickets to La Boheme for my wife for Christmas, and Saturday's the day of show.

Give 'em an extra shout for me, and I'll be there next time.

Mary Kay ::: (view all by) ::: January 16, 2003, 06:21 PM:

Jim mentioned in email that y'all were going. Alas, I'll be in California trying to finish getting the house ready to go on the market. Holler for me too.

MKK

Gary Farber ::: (view all by) ::: January 16, 2003, 10:43 PM:

I do hope Christopher won't call either me or David Corn a McCarthyite if I -- and this is not an argument against attending the demostration -- take note of this article about the organizers, whom I've noted before.

Do please be clear that I'm in no way suggesting that attending a rally for a cause means one is supporting all the causes of organizers. Neither am I, I repeat again for emphasis, in any way taking issue with support for the anti-war cause; I admire those who have been able to take a clearcut position on the issue, no matter that I'm still uncomfortably perched on my fence over here -- oww, my back is stiff.

I just do think people should know who the organizers are, that's all. And I emphasize again: that's all.

Patrick Nielsen Hayden ::: (view all by) ::: January 16, 2003, 10:59 PM:

Like many other people going to DC on Saturday, I am completely aware of who initially organized this march.

But they don't own the antiwar movement. Their foolishness isn't going to bait us into an outburst of time-wasting sectarianism.

Note the page I link to above. It tells you everything you need to know about A.N.S.W.E.R.--basically, that they're a bunch of schismatic authoritarian wackjobs with a talent for getting out in front of mass movements at the right time.

It also says, in big headline type on top:

Please come to DC on Jan 18 to help stop Bush's unilateral war on Iraq

Every person counts --
make January 18 a massive gathering for peace

I figure if libertarians like Jim Henley and Gene Healy can walk the walk, then so the hell can we.

Avram ::: (view all by) ::: January 16, 2003, 11:17 PM:

Wow. I thought that was a fake joke domain.

Patrick Nielsen Hayden ::: (view all by) ::: January 16, 2003, 11:24 PM:

Impressive, ain't it.

One of these days I really must register "Imacrankyoldyankinaclankyoldtankinthestreetsofyokohamawithmyhonolulumamasingingthosebeatobeatoflatonmyseatohirohitoblues.com".

Teresa Nielsen Hayden ::: (view all by) ::: January 16, 2003, 11:29 PM:

Hey, looka! Your cartoon ran off the edge of the film.

skippy ::: (view all by) ::: January 17, 2003, 12:39 AM:

what? some people on the left are way out over there on the left? someone is to the left of alan colmes? someone might actually want everybody in the world to enjoy the fruits of civilized society? god, isn't that communism, or at least, compassionate conservatism?

the gay community says, it's a big house, the republic party says, it's a big tent, disney says, it's a small world after all.

this war is a bad thing (there are even some who say all war is a bad thing).

let's join together and make our voices heard, no matter what octave or tone our voices register in.

and if you need any more metaphors mixed, come see me.

Patrick Nielsen Hayden ::: (view all by) ::: January 17, 2003, 12:47 AM:

Skippy, I am unclear on exactly how "left" it is to--as A.N.S.W.E.R.'s masters do--claim that the Serbs never ethnically cleansed, or that North Korea is an admirable regime. Sadly, political truth is not something that increases as you turn the dial toward 11. Would that life were so easy, in the Big Rock Candy Mountain.

Examples ::: (view all by) ::: January 17, 2003, 11:53 AM:

"Why dn't y nd ll y km-b-y lbrls t thr ccsng th prsdnt f gncd, why dn't y g t rq?" Fx Nws' cmmnttr nd Hnnty nd Clms hst Shwn Hnnty rcntly skd mmbrs f th Grn Prty, whch s gnst th wr. "nd why dn't y prtst th 1.5 mlln ppl slghtrd by ths mn? hv pctrs f dd bbs tht h sd chmcl wpns n. Why dn't y g prtst hm?"

Xopher ::: (view all by) ::: January 17, 2003, 01:53 PM:

Gary - you McCarthyite.

I refer, of course, to CHARLIE McCarthy, and acknowledge that he and Gary are two VERY different individuals...Gary can talk without help, most days. :-)

Just kidding, Gary!

Gary Farber ::: (view all by) ::: January 18, 2003, 01:12 PM:

Christopher, you slut.

Whoops, sorry. Just working a Gilda Radner thing here.

I, myself, am still something of a Eugene McCarthyite, and I acknowledge that many don't remember him, and those who do so do so badly.

Not just kidding, also trying to talk without help.

Arthur D, Hlavaty ::: (view all by) ::: January 18, 2003, 03:40 PM:

Gary:
ignorant slut, Dan Aykroyd to Jane Curtin, HTH.

skippy ::: (view all by) ::: January 19, 2003, 10:13 PM:

patrick,

i have heard/read the same thing about answer, and don't personally subscribe to their platform, but then, the bushes are friends with rev. moon, who considers himself the new christ.

my only point is, there's nuts all over, it doesn't mean we have to eat them all.

Sean Smith ::: (view all by) ::: January 20, 2003, 01:21 AM:

You know, after watching that spectacle on C-Span yesterday, I'm putting my money on war.

Ramon McLeod ::: (view all by) ::: January 20, 2003, 06:36 AM:

Those of you who went to those rallies by your presence stood by and supported an organization that cheered the Chinese when they murdered students in Tiananmen square, and still do. You showed, by your presence, that you support an organization that backs a government in North Korean that has starved millions of its own people in order to spend 25% of its GNP on the military. You showed your support for an organization that defended Slobodan Milosevic and now supports Saddam Hussein.

Tell me, if the KuKluxKlan had organized the rally, would you have gone then? If the Nazi Party had organized it, would you have gone? Yes?

You have thrown in your lot with those who praise dictators and mass murderers. You know you have, and no amount of rationalizing will clean that stain on your honor or on your consciences.

Xopher ::: (view all by) ::: January 20, 2003, 07:42 AM:

Gary, 'slut' is such a politically incorrect term...we're called 'sexually generous' these days.

Not that I really am, of course.

Patrick Nielsen Hayden ::: (view all by) ::: January 20, 2003, 11:27 AM:

"You showed, by your presence, that you support an organization that backs a government in North Korean that has starved millions of its own people in order to spend 25% of its GNP on the military. You showed your support for an organization that defended Slobodan Milosevic and now supports Saddam Hussein."

Naah.

Rev. Renfield ::: (view all by) ::: January 20, 2003, 03:48 PM:

Maybe that last link of yours, Hayden, provides excuse for those who have been hornswaggled by ANSWER; they didn't know any better.

It provides no such protections for your ideologous commentary here, and your support of ANSWER's march after having a calm discussion about how ignoring support of atrocity means it doesn't exist in this very blog.

Gary Farber ::: (view all by) ::: January 26, 2003, 12:05 AM:

Since I brought up ANSWER here, which I now regret, as it subsequently became a widespread point across the blogosphere and general media, hardly needing my support to spread it, and I look back a few days later at the subsequent comments here, I am compelled to note that I think the notion that going to the rally supports ANSWER just because they were an organizing kernel, when obviously the position of 98% of the attendees was not one of support for ANSWER, is just plain nuts.

And I apologize for having thoughtlessly initiated this topic here.