Here’s a shot from the September 2005 protest. I have a feeling I’ll be seeing that flag again this year. Nothing has improved in Iraq since 2005. In fact, by any metric you want to choose, things are immeasureably worse today than they were back then. Of course, back then New Orleans was drowning, which added a little poignancy to our demonstrations.

Here’s a little reminder from the Church Committee about how things went the last time an antiwar movement gained momentum in Washington DC:

The Committee finds that covert action programs have been used to disrupt the lawful political activities of individual
Americans and groups and to discredit them, using dangerous and degrading tactics which are abhorrent in a free
and decent society.

Subfindings

(a) Although the claimed purposes of these action programs were to protect the national security and to prevent
violence, many of the victims were concededly nonviolent, were not controlled by a foreign power, and posed no threat
to the national security.

(b) The acts taken interfered with the First Amendment rights of citizens. They were explicitly intended to deter
citizens from joining groups, “neutralize” those who were already members, and prevent or inhibit the expression of
ideas.

(c) The tactics used against Americans often risked and sometimes caused serious emotional, economic, or physical
damage. Actions were taken which were designed to break up marriages, terminate funding or employment, and
encourage gang warfare between violent rival groups. Due process of law forbids the use of such covert tactics,
whether the victims are innocent law-abiding citizens or members of groups suspected of involvement in violence.

(d) The sustained use of such tactics by the FBI in an attempt to destroy Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., violated the law
and fundamental human decency.

Wish us luck, I’ll report in from the Capitol once I get there.