The rally was in the Free Speech Area on the University campus

my thumbs up

Ministers
Vets
lots of love for the troops

my thumbs down

conspiracy nuts
drama queens
factioning

Of the Vets I spoke to

Bob T. volunteered to serve in Vietnam where he rose to the rank of Sergeant. He told me that like Ron Kovic he wanted to be a good American. Then when he got back home he realized that "I was a pawn" and Nixon was not going to end the war soon.


Jim(?) was a vet of the Iraq war (I think the second one). He told me he had worked with engineers of some sort and had gone into a ammunition dump in Iraq where he found to his horror that more than 1/3 of the weapons were clearly marked "made in the U.S.A." He said with no doubt in his voice that Saddam was an evil man and while he doesn't like Bush he's glad Saddam is no longer in power.

Pete is a member of Vets for Peace. He was greatful for a copy of the Rolling Stone article that can also be found on my blog. He's also a member of Vector(?)

Mike(?) showed up most people had left. He was scruffy looking but spoke politely so I showed him the same respect. Turned out he had joined the army in 1986 and had patrolled border in Germany, I think Czechoslovakia and possibly another country. He said America had done the right thing then and that the Russian Government (not the people) was brutal. He also felt Bush was a chickenhawk and that the American Legion was wrong in it's attempt to suppress anti-war activity "by any means necessary".[6] This was meaningful if for no other reason because he was a member!

I also ran across this today

http://www.newsreview.com/issues/sacto/2003-04-03/news.asp

Today Former President (and Veteran) Jimmy Carter spoke out on CIA leak and pre-war lies
http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001969.htm

http://www.usndemvet.com/blog/