Carl, let's cut the crap here. I commend CAWI for supporting the push to secure our civil liberties, and as far as I'm concerned people like you kept your end of the commitment to civil liberites in trying to move folks from Bughouse Square to Oak and Michigan. And I recognize that some people think that battles over rights are a sideshow to getting out the larger anti-war message. The problem is that this argument is wrong.

Sorry, but the rights battle did nothing to undercut our corporate press coverage, for people who are concerned about that. Far from it. Many of the reporters I talked to before M19 were deeply discomfited by the city's outrageous threat to arrest people for holding a press conference. And the media coverage was a bit stunning, with one of the best segments coming from the local Fox affiliate.

In short, we got vastly better press coverage this year than last year. And overall the corporate press took a much more 'connect-the-dots' approach to their coverage, which was great. I especially liked the network segment that included an interview with the African American vet at Soldier Field, saying exactly the same thing the vets were saying at federal plaza. Joe Moore's concerns that the Oak and Michigan flap would make the larger issue a sideshow were exactly dead wrong. The press recognizes that these two issues are intimately connected. Why can't others?

The numbers were down, by half. Part of this is politics -- particularly the politics of a small but not uninfluential segment of the liberal peace sector that is extremely uncomfortable with the inclusion of some issues and individuals in this movement, like Palestinians. But numbers were down not just in Chicago but across the country. So to blame lower turnout on Chicago activists who are too absorbed with the issue of imperialism is simply a dodge.

In part turnout is off because the peace movement is still rebuilding after being shunted for a year to the 'Anybody But Bush' effort, an electoral strategy that failed abysmally. And let's be blunt.

In part turnout was off because some people are afraid. I know this because people have told me they're afraid. They have reason to be.

And some people are sufficiently disgusted with the 'groundrules' the authorities hand them that they simply will not bother to show up. If you tell people that they will go to jail if they do not gather in an approved protest pit, why the hell should they show up? Who wants to cosign that? Sort of like asking people to vote for the 'pretty pro war' candidate instead of the 'totally pro war' candidate. End result? People won't vote.

And here's the thing. If you want to talk about messaging, the local peace movement did not have a bad day on Saturday. Not a perfect day. But not a bad day. Are you really sure that people didn't want to participate in the effort at Oak and Michigan because they thought it might detract from the larger message? Or could it be over the long term that some of our friends are afraid themselves to show up? Or at the very least don't grasp the messaging opportunities that the growing assault on civil liberties presents for the entire movement?

But in the end, it's not about press hits or messaging opportunites, and that's what some of our liberal friends really don't get. It really is about civil liberties, Carl. Brad Lyttle is 77 years old. He has a serious heart condition. He was arrested for trying to walk down Michigan Avenue with a sign. With a sign.

Same thing with Pat Vogel, who's kid came back from Iraq convinced the war was wrong, and convinced his mom, too.

Or check in with Dan Dale, also arrested for trying, as an individual, to walk down a street with a sign. A sign.

This is not trivial. This is real. And if this is allowed to pass, 'incidents' of this type will grow. Down that trajectory lies disaster, real disaster.

I just hope our friends like Joe come to realize that.