Sigh...Just pitiful all around...

Let's see...the local MFSO, 8th Day, CPA, ISO and the local SDS asked to have their names taken of, which we quickly did. No hard feelings, we'll sum it all up later, once all the results are in.

That's five out of 160 or so and still counting.

Meanwhile the regional MFSO and Gold Star Mothers for Peace maintained their involvement, and are on the speakers platform, and know all the details of the discussion here. All sorts of vets groups remain engaged, adding a new one today from NW Indiana, and a vet of both Iraq and Afghanistan will speak.

Paper endorsements?

VFCN upped their level of support once 8th Day made its decision, and Sisters of Mercy, and Several Pax Christi groups, from Chicago and elsewhere, signed on as well.

Milwaukee SDS got the news about SDS here, but is still on board, and sending about three buses at last count.

Paper endorsements?

The Southwest Youth Collaborative signed on today, and is bringing a bus from the South Side, as is Chuy Garcia's and Rudy and Pepe Lozano's groups in Little Village. One of them will be on the speakers platform. SWYC founder, Camille Odeh, will be speaking

Paper endorsements?

UNITE-HERE and other unions are bringing buses from around the Midwest, including several from Cleveland.

Paper endorsements?

The West Suburban Interfaith folks, and Dave Martin, know all about the debate, but they've still lined up six buses in six different burbs to bring mainly new folks.

Just Suburban yokels you can dismiss?

The debate appears on Indymedia in St Louis, but the people there tell me the 'peace train' is full, and they're scrambling to get extra cars, or a bus and more vans. Plus they passed the hat and got us an extra $500.

More paper endorsements?

I could go on and on, but the point is made. With this accusation, you're just fouling your own nest.

The many, many groups who've stuck with us, and helped us grow, will take note of your nonsense, and hold you accountable as well. That's one thing nice about the digital age. It's all in writing. At least mine has my name on it, so people can hold me accountable--good, bad or indifferent. The rest of you can wimpily hide behind your nom d'gueres.

As for the other points...

Paid staff? Three people working constantly since Aug 1 to mid October have gotten exactly $1200 COMBINED! What a joke, and worship of primitiveness and remaining amateurish to boot. And you what to make them feel privileged and corrupt? Take it up with Chaka, if you don't want to deal with me about it.

Professional media? Goodness, I only wish we had the resources for more.

Yes, we've buying a few target radio ads, mainly to Black and Latino communities, plus getting all the free PSAs and talk shows we can. And you're criticizing it? Would you do the same to the immigrant rights folks?

I have a map over here with the neighborhood blocked off that have been flyered and postered. It's not bad. Some have to be done for the third time, because a few malcontents, of whatever persuasion, tear them down.

Between ANSWER and ourselves, I'd say over 25,000 flyers are out as of last week, and more are coming.

But beside trying to split people off and dampen turnout with your tempest in a teapot, what the hell are you doing? Where's your big success?

Jan's part of the 'Coalition of the Killing' now? And your politics are reduced to sophomoric anarchist cartoons? And most of the groups in our coalition are phoney or dead?

That kind of comtempt for friends, that kind of disdain for potential allies, spells out EXACTLY why we had to make this break to get out of your left cul-de-sac. You've exposed YOUR hand.

Smoke and mirrors? The real smoke and mirrors here is how you've inflated yourselves to think you're the real antiwar movement, while the rest of us are sham and hang out with the 'Coalition of the Killing.'

Finally, what's really sad, and to the point that I'm the only one who engages here, is the several times I've mentioned our discussions here in the coalitions planning session, the question is usually posed, by a majority in the room, 'What's Indymedia? I've never heard of it?'

When I explain how it grew out of Seattle, that's is worldwide, and even though many of the posts on it are loopy, it's still important, at least potentially, and when a few brave souls will venture to take a looksee, they always come back and say either 'where do you get the patience' or 'don't you have better things to do?

Why am I the only one? Because I can't find anyone else who wants to bother, not that there aren't very substantial numbers who not only agree with me, but say 'It's about time...'

I know many people here who I have some respect for, even if they've painted themselves in a corner. Maybe because I was a self-proclaimed anarchist myself once, and know some of the thinking and what a trap it is, and feel that someone has to pose the counter-argument, so it might as well be me.