Actually my hunch is that the only folks painted into a corner will be those who are promoting the kind of 'official optimism' characteristic of the PR to date for this event.

But as always, the proof will be in the pudding. Will the Woodlawn Organization bring 2000 protesters out from the South Side as the program chair for the local mobilization has claimed ? Will 30 churches on the S. and West Sides mobilize their congregations to come as a email blast from UFPJ home office asserts? Will thousands of union members march in their union jackets - heralding a new breakthrough in bringing out the membership of organized labor against the war? We'll see.

As for regional turn out, nothing particuarly surprising here - or particularly suggestive of a major breakthrough to the "center-left", despite the hype. The vast majority of the out of state groups endorsing and mobilizing are UFPJ members - not surprising considering that the call for this first Midwest regional mobilization was first advanced during a regional caucus during the national UFPJ conference last summer in Chicago. Contrast these endorsers with the total number of UFPJ affilitates across the Midwest for a more accurate picture of who's on board and organizing transportation for this. The most impressive efforts seem to be in Wisconsin, via the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice. As for the St. Louis peace train, these good folks have been bringing contingents to Chicago by train for the M-20 protests for the past several years now, -- without the benefit of a call for a regional mobilization, or the prodding of a national antiwar coalition.

BTW, thanks for the update on the local chapter of Military Families Speak Out also dis-endorsing. I did not know that.