March 20, 2006 The Third Anniversary Of The War In Iraq

The World however did not wait....

Back in "the day" I remember being afraid of the absolute power Richard
Milhouse Nixon had amassed around him. There was J. Edgar Hoover and the "enemies list", the secret bombing of Cambodia and Cointelpro.

For those of you who may have forgotten just what a stone cold paranoid
Nixon was, the poor idiot used to stalk around the White House demanding that his political enemies be killed.

The world however did not wait...but soon observed what followed on, and Richard "Tricky Dick" Nixon ended up performing a two bit production of "King Lear" as he wandered around the Oval Office drunk and talking to the portraits on the wall.

sic transist gloria mundi, Mr Nixon.

Years later i got the same paranoid feelings about Ronald Reagan. There was "Star Wars" and "Rex 84" and his famous comment about Armageddon beginning in ten minutes. There were creepy assholes like Pointexter and Ollie North lurking around in the basement of the White House plotting the overthrow of the country while Reagan napped the afternoons away.

The world however did not wait...but soon observed what followed on, and Ronald "Raygun" Reagan died shitting in a diaper while his mind slowly wasted away.

sic transist gloria mundi, Mr Reagan.

Nowadays that familar feeling of sick dread and political paranoid has returned in the form of George "the smirking chimp" Bush. He may very well accomplish what Nixon and Reagan had only imagined in their wet dreams - total dictatorial control and absolute power over the American government and people.

The world however will not wait, and Bush will very soon be re-enacting the same "bunker scene" as Hitler. Sitting with his best girl at his side, he'll be passing out the cyanide to his "loyal henchmen" while cradling a Walther pistol next to his head.

sic transist gloria mundi, Mr Bush.

Bush...and Bald Headed Men...

In The Spirit Of Camp Casey

I wrote this sept 9, 2004:

Hi Chris Reed;
My name is Bodhi, and I first heard of you on Aug,2004 when I and a half million of my fellow citizens marched in the streets of N.Y.C. to protest George Bush and the Republican National Convention.
Our numbers were so big that day that we took over the streets for
blocks. You would've been impressed, my friend, at the love and
dedication that was present there.
In the mist of several hundred people singing "Give Peace A Chance", a shy young woman approached me and asked if i would wear a button with your name on it. It is a black button with the words "Christopher J. Reed" "Craigmont, ID", and "07-10-04" written across it.
Holding the button in my hand I realized who you were, and why your name was given to me. A lump rose in my throat as I pinned the button to my shirt.
I Later found out that you were a Pfc in the 3rd Battalion, 506th
Infantry, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Divison of the Marines and that on 07-10-04 you lost your life in some shithole town in Iraq fighting for your country.
You were only 20.
Yesterday the Pentagon announced that 1,000 young men like yourself have lost their lives since the 18 months fighting began in Iraq. More than 500 children have been left without fathers as a result. The youngest fatality was 18, the oldest 59, and more than half that died were not yet 30.

1,000 young men........
1,000 flag draped coffins......
1,000 men not coming home to loved ones.....

Today I'm taking the time to remember the men that have died in this conflict, not as a political issues for or against the War, but as a personal one that affects the love and compassion I hold for humanity.

Shit Chris, you were only 20.
You should've been studying in college.
You should've been getting drunk with your buddies.
You should've been getting laid.

Instead you've become a statistic for assholes like Donald Rumsfield and John Kerry to bandy about for political consideration. And for your sacrifice the price of gas is still 2.00 a gallon.

What a waste.
What a fucking waste.

The most I can do for you and the 999 servicemen that have died along with you is to keep you in my prayers and to redouble my efforts for peace. I will not shed a tear for you - leaving that for your family and loved ones and the War Hawks parading in front of the cameras.
Instead I will wear the button I was given with your name on it and try to convince the kids getting out of High School how totally useless your death was. Later I will help these young people avoid the Draft.

Goodbye Chris.
May you find Peace.

Sign Of The Times

What is a protest without signs?
And what is a sign without a slogan? As the international anti-war movement gathers force, so does the art of slogan writing.
But blandness and conformity are anathema to the very spirit of the anti-war movement. While plenty of marchers carry signs printed up by various political groups -- "Bush's Policies: Endangering America, Enraging the World" or "Act Now to Stop War and Racism" -- the majority are handmade and much more personal.

Signs are the street version of protest poetry or literature.The following are a few of my favorites, grouped very loosely by theme. What I offer is only a small cross-section of signs and is not meant to be representative of the complexity of views being expressed on the streets.

Duct Tape, Sauron, Pretzels
You can't go anywhere near a demonstration without seeing duct tape, usually in big strips plastered over the mouths of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice or Powell, with variations of "Duct Tape for Peace" as the slogan.
The leaders were also referred to variously as the "Asses of Evil," the "Axis of Weasel" and the "Axis of Drivel." Sometimes, their first names became anatomical puns, as in "Our Government Is Run by the Lower Chakras: Bush, Dick and Colin." Groan.
"Bush Is a Servant of Sauron. We Hates Him!" is my favorite from the many depictions of Bush as the master of darkness. On the same theme is "Bush Is Sauron, Save the Shire!"
Other very popular signs were "Stamp Out Mad Cowboy Disease," "Drop Bush, Not Bombs" and "Regime Change Begins at Home." Also: "Who Would Jesus Bomb?" and "War Begins with Dubya" and variations on "Read My Lips: This is Bushit."
Other uses of the president's very punnable name: "Plant a Tree, Uproot Bush," "Bushes Are for Peeing On" "It's Time to Trim the Bush" and the very popular "The Only Bush I Trust is my Own."
Environmentalists scored hits with "How Many Lives per Gallon?" "Go Solar, Not Ballistic," and "If War Is Inevitable, Draft SUV Drivers First."

Bush's intellect is questioned, and many take full advantage of that fact: "Bush: Weapon of Mass Stupidity," "Bush Is an Empty Warhead," "Peace Takes Brains," "A Village in Texas Has Lost Its Idiot," "Smart Bombs Don't Justify Dumb Leaders," "Brains Not Bombs" and "If You Can't Pronounce It, Don't Bomb It."

Others got even more personal: "Iraq Isn't Your Ranch," "Daddy, I Want My Own War," "Drunken Frat Boy Drives Country Into Ditch," and "Send the Twins First."


"How Did Our Oil Get Under Their Sand?" is one of the many petroleum-themed signs. Others included "Let's Bomb Texas, They Have Oil, Too," "Blood and Oil Don't Mix" and "Let Exxon Send Their Own Troops," "No War for Enron" and "Born to Kill, Born to Drill."

These are just a few I saw from thousands. I hope this sparks some ideas to make your own sign when the time comes.

Macroglossius lunarius AKA the "Barking Idiotarian Moonbat"

Barking moonbat:
noun.
Someone on the extreme edge of whatever their -ism happens to be.
(coined by Perry de Havilland)



"The Jerrys gave you that coat to humilate you son, that's why you must wear the coat always, and wear it proudly!"
-British Major to Billy Pilgrim in the film "Slaughterhouse Five"

Recently Right-Wing Conservatives writers on the 'Blogosphere' have taken to insulting anti-War and anti-Bush activists as being "barking Moonbats." Conservative blog sites are dedicated to "Moonbat Alerts" exposing any outragious and controversal quotes (usually taken out of context) by anyone they have conveniently labeled as "Leftist."
What the Right hasn't yet realized is the peace movement is quite adept at taking any insult thrown at 'em and turning it into a badge of honor. As such, I'm willing to take this opportunity to say on the record and in front of the world that I am an unrepentent, unashamed, and self-confessed Moonbat.

...and I can't wait to howl at the next full moon!

But I suspect in that I am not alone. Take the following test and see if you qualify to be a 'barking Moonbat' as well >LINK<

Alas, if you find that you are indeed a MOONBAT like me, then please don't despair. At least we're not calling for federal troops to storm a hospital in Florida in order to force water on a dying brain dead woman! There are far more "moonbats" on the Right (they are called by us - "mooncalves") who unfortunately have the ear of the President of the United States and most of Congress.

And...apparently hanging out in the extreme political wilderness won't be so lonely for us either - because we'll have someone fun to talk with who shares our ravings. Check this out: A "Virtual Moonbat"!! Try it out! It's fun!

or try out : the original Chomskybot

here's some pure silliness from the Right Wing:

How to spot a "Moonbat":INDC Science Series:

Seasonal Moonbat IMF Migration, Part One
http://www.indcjournal.com/archives/000331.php

Seasonal Moonbat IMF Migration Part Two:
http://www.indcjournal.com/archives/000343.php

INDC presents: Dances with Moonbats - Moonbat Xtreme http://www.indcjournal.com/archives/001280.php

Part Two: http://www.indcjournal.com/archives/001349.php

Even MORE Moonbat sightings:
http://timblair.spleenville.com/archives/007772.php

Fun With Moonbats - The Photostory

a "new film montage of Leftist Wackadoos" -- Manic Moonbats on Parade:

The Moonbat song:
http://intherightplace.blogspot.com/2004/11/moonbat-song.html

Moonbat merchandise:
https://www.cafepress.com/betterangels

The Moonbat Hunters:
http://michellemalkin.com/archives/001797.htm

Discover the Network

INDC Journal

Barking Moonbat Early Warning System

Confessions Of An Unrepentent "Peace-nik"

March 20,2003 Times Square - The First Night Of Bombing In Iraq

Dear Friends;
I type these words tonight with sadness, grief, and a feeling of numb shock. I'm sitting alone at an all-nite Internet cafe on 42nd Street the first night of bombing in Iraq by our nation.
I am wet, cold and very, very, tired.
I just came back from the first mass demonstration against the war held in Times Square. The first demo, it seems, in what promises to be a long campaign. Tonight was so wreachedly miserable with the cold rain pouring down on us. It was also incredibly hearting to see so many New Yorkers turning out to make a stand for peace despite the weather.
There were hundreds of protesters gathered in Times Square tonight. Most carried umberellas but despite the protection most everybody got soaked. I met a 70 year old grandmother of 6 who said it was either being here at Times Square getting wet in the rain or sitting in front of her t.v. set alone and crying. She chose to make a stand. Her beautiful smile matched her heart and she didn't seem to mind the lousy weather.
I met a young college student who proudly carried a homemade protest sign. I couldn't make out what it said because the letters had all ran. He said he was here because his brother was in Kuwait and he misses him dearly and wants him home.
I met a young sister tonight who needed to be reminded that she wasn't the only young person in New York who wanted peace.
So many people with so many reason why they chose to stand in the dark pouring rain rather than be in their nice dry homes. Although we knew this war was coming for months still there was a sense of shock and unreality among everyone present. Nobody could believe it was possible after so much worldwide opposition was raised.
I'm reminded of a quote from Albert Camus:

"We all carry within us our places of exile, our crimes, our ravages. Our task is not to unleash them on the world; it is to transform them in ourselves."

We're the armies of the night. We're going to win this thing. We have courage and strength and patience and most of all we have the love to carry us through.
We will transform this nation.
If you're feeling sad tonight, or lonely and confused over this situation, just remember one thing: All the good books proclaim in the End that we will win.
We will win.

They don't stand a chance against our love.
They don't stand a chance against our prayers.

One wet hippie.....on a very sad night.

bodhi

Something worth "Dying" for....

Yesterday a couple hundred anti-war protesters were arrested during a direct action "Die-In" demonstration here in New York City. We staged the protest in front of Rockefeller Center to call attention to the "sanitized" war footage we're seeing on T.V. as well as directly confronting the Media on their lies and war propaganda. Hundreds of us dressed in bandages and fake blood and disobeyed the Law by laying across 5th ave and blocking Thursday morning rush hour traffic. Many felt that our voices were not being heard on the evening news and that perhaps civil disobedience and hundreds of arrests might call attention to the situation. What better place to make news than right in front of their headquaters?? The hardest part for me was seeing the photos of the dead and wounded Iraq children many protestors were wearing as placards around their necks. There was one photo of a beautiful Iraq child with her eyes closed. She looked like she was sleeping peacefully until you noticed the back of her head was blown away and a trail of blood and her brains were spewed behind her. I guess I too had been sanitized by this war.
I hadn't planned on being arrested but I was arrested anyways. The police calmly arrested 300 people and quickly cleared the street. I spent the next 16 hours in the Tombs (4 hours with plastic handcuffs on) with some of the most dedicated and beautiful kids I've met since Rainbow. There were many older activist there as well - many who were all too familar with the booking process at the Tombs having experiencing arrests dating back to Vietnam. I was proud to be with these activists. Proud to know that the little effort we did yesterday may open at least one person's heart to the horrors of war.
At 4 this morning I staggered out of the Tombs to the dark and deserted streets of Lower Manhattan. Greeting me with hot coffee and donuts was our jail support group, a great group of activists who had stayed up all night in front of the Tombs awaiting our release with cheer. I was given a button to wear that made the whole uncomfortable 16 hour ordeal worthwhile. It said simply, "I Was Arrested For Peace"
Today I am worn out from spending all night on the "group W" bench at the Tombs. My mind is weary as well. But I can't sleep. I'm thinking of that beautiful "sleeping" Iraqi child.... and I'm thinking of the all kids I met in jail who care....
Pray for Peace!

a hope - a prayer.

...And You Thought Your Final Exams Were Tough

This morning I was sitting among a scruffy group of G-8 protestors at my favorite coffeeshop in Savannah. Most morning we manage to entertain ourselves with dark and sometimes humorous commentary on the morning news while taking up the corner two tables of the coffeeshop. This morning we were busy listening to the college students around us drinking coffee and complaining about their final exams.
What an earnest bunch of young people they are! Dressed all in black with their laptops and notebooks they possessed such long sad faces for ones so young!
I was standing by the counter ordering expresso when a very pretty young lady walked into the shop. The early morning coffee drinkers and students suddenly looked up from their laptops and newspapers and stared at what they believed had the very real potential to be a bad situation. The young lady in question had close cropped hair and was decked out in full Army combat fatigues.
Her combat boots were laced and shiny and her black beret on her head was tilted at jaunty angle.

And oh yeah - she was heading right towards me.....

I might as well have had a tattoo carved on my forehead that said "G-8 Summit protestor" because I had on my "FU*K Bush" teeshirt.
As she got closer I could hear the air leaving the room as the expectation arose among the customers.

Was Bodhi gonna spit on her and call her a "baby killer'?

Was she gonna call him on his teeshirt disrespecting her Commander and Chief?

Instead... I gave her a warm smile.

"Nice camouflage," I said complementing her on her olive green.
"Thank you," she smiled, "I like yours too."
I looked down and realized I had on my Swiss Army cammo pants!!

We stood there for a minute comparing camouflage and agreeing about the pocket layout and comfort. She told me she like the olive green over the desert style and I agreed that the olive was real "old skool" but the desert had a certain flare as well.
We were two warriors fighting on different sides here - her in the Military and me in the street fighting army of the night, but today we were discussing Army "fashion" and smiling at one another.
After she ordered her coffee she invited me come sit at her table. We sat and talked about everything it seemed, except the one subject everyone in the coffeeshop expected us to be discussing.

The War.



This awful fucking War.




The 8,000 pound elephant in the room.



Instead we just chatted about life. I mention how the young folks around us were cramming for their final exams and she told me she had a very important exam coming up herself. She is in OT.

Officer's Training.

She's trying to become an officer because her life may depend of her placement in the Army when she travels overseas to Iraq. I realized then that her future wasn't looking too good. The prospects terrifying. I could imagine the stress she felt taking her final exam.

I saw in my mind a long line of flag draped coffins filled with young men and women who only wanted to obtain a college degree or learn computer skills.
Young kids.
The ones who flunked their Army exams and received the shit duty in downtown Bagdad.
It seemed strange to me sitting there talking to her that if she blew this exam she could be coming home from Iraq in a box.

She asked me if I was going to be participating in the upcoming G-8 Summit demonstration. I told I would and detailed the opposition from 20,000 riot cops we were expecting. She paused and then said something so beautiful.

She said,"Be careful."



My throat choked up and tears welted in my eyes as I saw the concern in her eyes.

Be careful?

Me?

As she got up to leave I said a silent prayer that she passes her exams with flying colors.



(((( Yea!! ))))

That she spends the rest of this fucking war in "China Beach" so far from the fucking insanity and violence of conflict that she would come home to loved ones whole and healthy.

Final Exams.

I guess we're all taking our Final Exams today.

protest

The Sum Of All Fears : G-8 Savannah, Georgia

Headline yesterday from the Savannah Morning News:

ASHCROFT: G-8 SUMMIT MAY BE A TARGET

Yesterday it was announced by Attorney General John Ascroft that "credible intelligence from multiple sources" indicates that al-Qaida is determined to launch an attack in the United States sometime in the next few months. One target specifically mentioned was the G-8 Summit here in Savannah Georgia.

The city of Savannah - as the locals here will tell you, has a long history of being kind to strangers. General Sherman discovered this for himself during the Civil War when fresh from burning and sacking Atlanta his troops marched into Savannah with little resistence. Southern gentility and friendly townsfolks are the norm and not the exception here. But in recent months that sturdy southern reputation has been severely taxed as Savannahians await 8 world leaders and their delegates, 70 thousand angry rock throwing anarchist protestors, twice that number of riot equipped cops armed with tear gas and rubber bullets, and a major security apparatis that will transform Savannah overnight into an unimaginable Orwellian police state. If that wasn't enough to ruffle feathers and rattle nerves among the terrified locals here, there's Aafia Siddiqui to consider:

Aafia is a Pakistani woman who studied at MIT and received a biology degree at Brandeis University. She is sought, along with 6 others al-Qaida members, as possible suspects behind the warning issued by Ascroft yesterday.


She went to MIT.
She has a degree in Biology.
She may be in Savannah.....


U-Haul is doing a hellva brisk business after the news was announced.


The sum of all fears.


biological attack.
suitcase nukes.
suicide terrorists
8 dead world leaders......


Folks are quietly wondering how far they should leave Savannah to remove themselves from any nuclear blast zone. Or whether the winds might shift over Sea Island and rain some biological hell over their homes.

The Government and it's propaganda arm, the media, seem intent in scaring away as many innocent, local people as possible from the area. Apparently so that when the G-8 Summit does arrive here there will only be protestors and riot cops present.........

What If They Gave A Revolution....and no-body came?

Yep.... That's me in a granny skirt passing out homemade burritos during last spring's G-8 Summit protest in Savannah, Georgia


from the Atlanta Journal-Consititution June 9,2004
World media converges on Savannah

In Savannah, about 75 protesters -- far outnumbered by police and the international media covering them -- kicked off their demonstrations today.The activists began the day with a march at Forsyth Park in Savannah. Crowds of camera crews from all over the world lined up to interview some of the protesters, several of whom deflected questions about the light turnout.

"This is Savannah, Georgia. It's not known to be an incredibly radical or even progressive place," said August Griffin, a protester from North Carolina who wore a red bandana over his face and a black helmet. Griffin helped carry a large banner that read "Anti-Capitalist."
A local protest organizer who goes by his Buddhist name, Bodhi, said it's no wonder many people didn't come."You had three months of the media and government scaring people and then [Defense Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld threw in bioterrorism. It's not surprising people didn't come," said Bodhi, donning a sarong skirt.
"What you see here is the one percent of the one percent who are brave. We will not be scared off."
The New York Times wrote an article in late May saying there could be as many as 70,000 demonstrators in Savannah.
The march through the streets near Forsyth Park lasted about 30 minutes before demonstrators returned to the main staging area to hear speeches.
--------
The World, But Not Too Many Protesters, Showed Up
By PAUL KAPLAN, DREW JUBERA
Published on: 06/09/04

They held a protest and hardly anyone came. Leaders of eight of the world's most powerful nations arrived Tuesday at Sea Island, the elite resort transformed this week into an armed camp fearful of terrorism or massive protests. The agenda is spiced with hot issues: the Iraq war, world trade, global health crises.
But fewer than 300 protesters showed up in Savannah. About 20,000 police, federal agents and soldiers have been assigned to summit security. So far, that's more than 66 for each demonstrator.
The world leaders saw none of the protesters as they arrived at the Sea Island resort, encircled by naval patrols and covered with guards.
Fixed-wing propeller-driven military aircraft droned overhead as F-15 fighter jets cross-hatched the sky with their white contrails.
Throughout the first official day of the summit, the helicopters came: first the low-flying small OH-58 Kiowa scouts with open doors and armed troops scanning the ground, then the larger twin-rotor CH-46 Sea Knights and finally, the stately green-and-white VH-3D Sea Kings that carried some of the world's most powerful leaders.
Tuesday night, G-8 leaders dined on spot tail bass, fried green tomatoes and grits in the Sea Island cottage of Atlanta Braves President Terry McGuirk, far removed from the public, protesters and reporters.
Some media reports had predicted as many as 70,000 protesters would come to Savannah, raising the specter of a potentially violent melee like at the G-8 summit in Genoa, Italy, in 2001, where one activist was killed and hundreds more were injured. With the massive show of force and the remote location of the summit on Sea Island, it became clear Tuesday that this year would not be a repeat of Genoa. There was no hiding activists' disappointment at the low turnout.
"This is the sum of all fears," said Bodhi, a Buddhist from New York who goes by one name and came representing Food Not Bombs, an anti-war group.

Other protesters shared Bodhi's view that military and police warnings about violence had scared off people who wished to protest. Gov. Sonny Perdue declared the region to be in a state of emergency for the summit, and protesters were kept miles from any of the summit gatherings. Groups that marched and rallied in Savannah were massively outnumbered not only by security forces, but also by the news media, who came to the Georgia coast from as far away as Japan and Scandinavia. At Forsyth Park, the stately Savannah centerpiece serving as protest central, 250 journalists mobbed 75 stunned protesters. In the midst of it all, a small group of purported anarchists, their faces covered by bandannas, broke into a surprisingly organized game of duck-duck-goose.
-----------
From the Associated Press:
''Hey, comrades! The revolution is being canceled for lack of interest,'' New York peace activist Bodhi, who goes by one name, called to a circle of 15 anarchists, with their faces covered by black scarves, waiting to march from Forsyth Park on the edge of Savannah's historic district.
------------

Sunday In The Square During A State Of Emergency

from the Savannah Morning News:
"Federal Police spent about 10 hours constructing fencing around federal buildings. About 20 people conducted an impromptu demonstration in Franklin Square between 1 and 2 p.m.
An unattended backpack, spotted in City Market about 3 p.m., caused Savannah police to temporarily close down some areas. Later in City Market, federal police thought some young men in their 20s were watching them, so they asked permission to search their vehicle. Inside, they found a bag of marijuana. Authorities began blocking a few major downtown streets Sunday, including a portion of Whitaker Street. More restrictions are to be in place today."

----------------------------------------

~~~A beautiful Sunday in the square.
Food Not Bombs-Savannah began the day by cooking food at the Blue House and then heading to Franklin Square to pass out beans and rice to the homeless there - something FNB has done uninterrupted for 3 years.

This Sunday however, was a little different.

With the G-8 Summit days away and President Bush expected to arrive that evening, the security surrounding Franklin Square was extremely tight. Roving bands of soldiers in Humvees and tanks patrolled the area, while streets were blocked off and high security fences were constructed around Federal buildings.
Arriving at the square with our pots of beans and rice we were greeted by 500 patrolling soldiers, 20 Secret Service agents, hords of the world's media and ......oh yea..... three homeless guys looking for a meal. Kelly Gaskins, the organizer of the G-8 CounterProtest had schedualed a news conference at the same time as our feeding. Not only were we unaware of the news conference to take place, but Kelly Gaskin arrived an hour late which meant we had to entertain and babysit the world's Media until Kelly and her crew finally showed up.
The three homeless guys we were feeding became freaked out by the Media and the military presence and left.

Nobody from the Media was interested in our beans and rice....

The news conference was interupted suddenly by a heavy downpour of rain and everybody fled the square to meet up again upstairs at a nearby restaurant. One of the homeless men, in his rush, had left a empty backpack behind......
A little side note about Vinnie Van Go-Go's - a popular restaurant across from the square. The owner gave an interview in the local paper weeks ago about how he was planning to keep his restaurant open during the G-8. Most businesses and restaurants had already boarded up their windows and left town.

But not Vinnie's.
Not today.

Not until gun toting soldiers rushed into the restaurant and cleared out the place because of a BOMB THREAT!!!! All hell broke loose until it was discovered the "bomb' was an empty backpack one of the homeless men had left at the square..... Sunday in the Square during a "State of Emergency".... and the G-8 Summit hasn't even begun..

Bush Is Another Word For....

Q&A: "I Don't Feel As Helpless"

Q&A: "I Don't Feel As Helpless"
Interview with Bodhi
The Times Union ^ June 10, 2004 Jim Schoettler

Name: Bodhi
Home: New York City and various forests around the country with the Rainbow Family
Occupation: Activist

Q. What is the Rainbow family?

"They're a group of very spiritually minded individuals who gather out in the forests every year. All kinds of forests. We're everywhere."

Q. How long have you been protesting?

"Since [Richard] Nixon beat George McGovern [in 1972]. After that, I realized mainstream politics was not the place to go. I was severely disappointed that somebody like Nixon could get a landslide."

Q. Why did you become a protester?

"Because I didn't see any other legitimate way of effecting change. As sad as it is, our whole political process is bankrupt. It seemed to me instead of going out there just casting a vote, you have to go out there and do the groundwork."

Q. What is the most obscure place you've been to protest?

I did a tree sit in Oregon. I sat up in a tree for about two months a couple of years back. It was fun. I sat in a tree that was over 200 years old and prevented it from being logged."

Q. How has protesting changed your life?

It's made me feel more involved with what's going on. I don't feel as helpless. I don't feel as manipulated. I feel like I'm really doing something to effect change in this country."

Q. Why are you in Savannah?

"I'm here to ensure the G-8 demonstration goes off peacefully."

Q. Are you disappointed in the turnout?"

No, not at all. It's not quantity, it's the quality of the people who showed up. You [have] to understand, there was so much fear that was presented for this demonstration, that most people you would have expected to show up stayed out of town."

Q. What is the main issue in the G-8 that concerns you?

"Globalization."

Q. You were wearing a skirt to yesterday's protest rally. Do you do that all the time?

No. I was wearing one yesterday, but you need to remember I'm in redneck Georgia. If I could wear a skirt all the time, I would. If men would only just try on a skirt and wear it for one day, they would see the breeze is just air conditioning."

The Free Republic website took this interview i gave and did a pretty nice hatch job on it entitled "Crawl Away Hippie Scum"
Quoted in part saying, "What if they gave a senseless, violent, anti-capitalist 'peace rally' and no one came?" - check out this nonsense at:
http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1151428/posts#commet

Strange Days In A Small College Town

Oct 22,2001 during the bombing of Afghanstan.

My name is Bodhi, and I'm an outside peace agitator. I arrived at an upstate N.Y. Ivy League college town weeks ago in order to protest the U.S. bombing in Afghanstan. I've since become involved in the local community peace group in town which is made up of mostly middle-aged, middle-class, lefty college professors who seem more content in boring their students with their dull and repetitive rhetoric every day in class than sticking their necks out for Peace. We've held weekly peace demonstrations designed to not offend anyone and as a result we've received little notice in the local newspaper. My most effective action for peace to date here is standing at intersections with an anti-war sign flashing the peace symbol at the passing traffic...

Life goes on in a small college town.....

Then last week something very bizarre happened.
Until recently Dewitt Park held nightly candle light vigils against the war in Afghanstan. As the bombing progressed so did the number of concerned people that attended the nightly vigils. Then the cops closed us down and removed all the candles and peace signs from the park. Several days later while walking thru the park I came upon a large art sculpture built on the same spot where the peace vigils were once held. This sculpture appeared suddenly and without warning. Entitled "Sept 12" it was created by a mysterious artist named Bill Keokosky and represented a graphic re-creation of the wreakage and destruction found at "Ground Zero." The sculpture is described in the local paper as "four tons of mangled steel girders and car parts, stone rubble, and photos of the WTC wreckage." The sculpture's "three mangled, rusted beams hold three large steel panels that display panoramic images representing the various views of the World Trade Center as seen by rescue workers at the site." Local resident Rupert Robbins is quoted as saying of the art piece,"It's pretty chilling and really stark. I feel like i'm watching the plane barrel into the building all over again." Sasha Schumyatsky, another local resident, has this to say, "It makes the scope of what happened more realistic that what we see on T.V. because it's so much larger." Scott Pobiner, a high school student said, "It is very chilling. Seeing it gives me the creeps."
This ugly post-modern, post-apocalyptic, "art piece" is intended to honor the fallen firemen who died Sept 11, but it's horrifying, graphic nature seems intended to evoke hate, fear, and support for our current war instead. The creator of this sculpture, Bill Keokosky, is not a local artist and no-one i've talked to seems to know where he came from - or why he's here in town. (This is beginning to sound like a Stephen King novel!)
Reaction from the locals so far has been pretty intense. Folks enjoying a quiet stroll in the park have come upon this sculpture and have left either in tears or muttering hate filled statements. Arguments and fights have broken out around this art piece, and insane behavior have been reported occurring in the park late at night. In the mist of all this hate and madness the Artist stands all day next to his art piece. Grey haired and casually dressed in an open neck suit, his calm demenor and slight European accent cast him in a very sinister light.
The newspaper article below will describe how the peaceful bodhisattva (yours truly) encounters the Artist and how everything is then plunged into madness and chaos, violence and fear, as this small town enters into the heart of darkness.
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From the Ithaca Journal Oct 24,2001
Headline:
"BLOODY CROSSROADS OF ART AND POLITICS."
by Michael Serino/Another Voice.

"Last Sunday afternoon, Dewitt Park had all the elements of an ideal fall day:bright sunshine, crisp autumn air, and one man dragging another across the ground by his shirt collar.
"Stop, you're choking him!" screamed a high school student in the park distributing free food for the Food Not Bombs program.
"Let him go!"
The man doing the dragging hauled the other to his feet and began pulling him out of the park. A small group attempted to seperate them.
"Violence is not the answer," yelled one.
"Leave him alone," shouted the others.
The conflict between artist Bill Keokosky and political activist "Bodhi" had come to a head. Keokosky, a local contractor and artist, is the creator of "Sept 12," the controversial memorial to the World Trade Center victims and rescue workers on exhibit in the Park - at least until the First Presbyterian Church, the park's owner, boots it out at the end of the week. Bodhi, as his friends refer to him ("It's his Buddhist name")is an itinerant political activist, recently arrived in Ithaca from the West Coast. You may have noticed him at the concluding ceremony at the Apple Harvest Festival. He was the tall, bearded fellow standing at the side of the pavilion, wearing a sign reading "Our Grief is Not a Cry for War," a large American flag patched with wide strips of gray duct tape wrapped around his back like a cape. Keokosky's installation is a powerful evocation of the terrorist
attack. Three twisted steel beams rise from a triangular base filled with broken rubble. Mounted on those beams are six panoramic photographs of rescuers at work in the trade center wreckage. Keokosky was one of the many volunteers on the scene.
"I felt like I was part of something where the best of American society surfaces," he said. "That's the total picture we were suppose to show." "We" refers to the close to 20 people who helped execute and install the work early last week. "We all knew it was going to be provocative," he said. And it was. Several residents have complained that displaying such a work in a public place is too upsetting to children and have asked that it be removed.
Bodhi was more upset with the piece than most, but for a different reason. For him it was a piece of "war propaganda." "It's very visceral," he said Saturday. "It reaches out and it grabs you. It's a postmodern, apocalyptic art sculpture." His interpretation of the piece is the opposite of the artist's. "We're seeing destruction," he said. "There is nothing living in it; there is nothing to promote the goodness of humanity." In protest, last Tuesday Bodhi attached an "Our Grief is Not a Cry for War" flier to one of the photographs with a wide swath of tape. Keokosky removed the poster, but Bodhi replaced it. This happened on more than once, and on one occasion a flier was attached with glue. Eventually there was damage to the photographs, and Keokosky felt action was necessary.
So he had Bodhi arrested.
When the case was heard Saturday morning, Bodhi was ordered by the judge to stay at least 25 feet away from the artwork, and from Keokosky.
Which brought him back to the park Saturday afternoon.
"Seeing as how I felt the restraining order was illegal and an infringement on my free speech, I intentionally ran over while Keokosky was there and placed my hand on the sculpture to protect my free speech," he said. He wanted a reaction and he got one. Keokosky decided to move him away before the work could be damaged again. He regrets it now. "I'm not a hot-headed guy," he said. As things played out, Keokosky eventually let go of choking Bodhi and left the park. The police arrived and ascertained that Bodhi was unharmed. They later arrested him again when Keokosky filed additional charges. Bodhi declined to file any charges of his own. Keokosky, whose installations of the version of "Sept 12" in Philadelphia's 30th Street Station and Baltimore's Pennsylvania Station over the past month have received many favorable reviews, said that, between Bodhi's actions and the negotiations with the city and the church over the display of his sculpture, he has had it. He is at work on a new project. He's not certain where he will show it, other than that "it won't be in Ithaca."
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Oct 30,2001
As many of you may already know from reading my piece "Strange Days In a Small College Town," I am currently involved in a very controversal peace protest here in the town of Ithaca, N.Y. As a result of standing up for my constitutional rights of free speech, I have been beaten, arrested and threatened by members of the Ithaca establishment (ie: business owners, City Hall, The Police Department). I have been charged with harrassment, violation of a restraining order, resisting arrest and having a dog on the Commons. Everyday in the local newspaper, radio, and television my name has been defamed with the worst kind of "yellow journalism" imaginable. I've had the cops in this town threaten me with a "late night beating at the police station" - actual quote - and a not so nice request to leave town.
Friends I have known for years and were staying with in town began receiving late night phone calls threating their lives unless I leave. So now I am sleeping with my dog in an all-night laundry mat waiting for the cops to give me my late night beating and escort out of town. But I'm tough and I'm not leaving and will sleep on the sidewalk in the middle of winter if I have too.

All this insanity started because I spoke out against the War.

Now I'm forced to hire lawyers in order to defend myself in court or else face at least a year in jail. None of the lawyers in this town want to take my case and the public defenders cannot be trusted. The legal establishment's watering hole in this town - Simieon's bar - I have threaten to have their liquor licence revolked because their customers have repeatly threaten me with violence as well as recently beaten two gay men outside their bar. Word is out that any lawyer in town that takes on my case will have his drinking privileges revolked. So I am forced to seek outside counsel.
Meanwhile, rednecks in pick-up trucks with American flags drive pass me and throw bottles out the window in my general direction. My dog is my only protection and the police are attempting to take her away from me for violating the "leash law" (leaving my dog tied up in front of stores) as well as walking my dog on a leash in the Commons. If they succeed in taking my dog "Marley", a full blooded pit bull away then my only guess will be who will get to me first - the rednecks or the police - while I lay awake at the all-night laundry mat.
All I have is my strong faith and conviction that what I'm doing is right. When I find myself despairing over my plight, I think of the babies in Afghanstan, many who will not survive the winter. I feel their empty bellies and hear their cries late at night.
I must and will remain strong.
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Something beautiful happened to me yesterday. A middle-aged sister I never met came up to me while I was walking the dog. Seems her son signed up for the Army the other day at the insistence of her husband. Her husband told their son he had a duty to "defend this country, by gawd!" and refused to finance his continuing college education unless he enlisted. Well poor sister was pretty distrate over the entire situation. She believes in peace with all her heart but was not able to stand up to her husband. This has caused quite a riff in her family and has made her very unhappy. The thing is, she has no outlet for her feelings. Her friends and relatives think it's great that sonny-boy is heading off to the Afghanstan war. Everybody at work collected minature american flags and placed them on her desk. Her boss is very proud of her son's decision. Everybody she knows are all cheery and happy that sonny-boy is serving his country, but little sister has nightmares at night that her beloved son will arrive home from his tour of duty in a body bag. Her husband refused to talk about the subject and forbad her to talk of the matter with her son. Major tension in the family.
So every morning she would drive to work all depressed and feeling alone in her concerns for her son. Everywhere she looked, everything she read or watched, cried "WAR WAR WAR." She would count the American flags on the cars driving down the road and cry. One day on the way to work she sees a tore-up middle-aged hippie in front of the library with a sign reading "War Is Not The Answer" and flashing the peace sign. The next day she sees the same guy again at the same location.
Whatizthis??
But soon she is honking her horn and flashing the peace sign back and laughing at the pure silliness of it all. This went on for about a week and she told me it was at these moments she felt liberated and powerful in her resolve that her son not join the Army.
So seeing me walking the dog yesterday she wanted to explain to me that because of our early morning encounters she has mustered up the courage to stand up to her war-mongering husband, friends, and co-workers and talk about her desire for peace. Her son IS NOT joining the Army and is indeed going back to school. He is very proud of his mother. All this was told to me in a rush of words, tears, and hugs. She wanted to thank me. And then she was gone.
Moments like this are priceless because it is rare you get any kind of positive feedback of this kind. I relate this story to you all because it reinforces in my mind the powerful influence each of us has to promote peace. No, you don't have to wear a sign and stand on a street corner, nor do you have to protest loudly. However your voice is so very important and just speaking out at the right moment can sometimes make all the difference in the world.
pray for peace.

I Tried....