It was right before the US invasion of Iraq, and I had this crazy idea that if enough people protested and made enough noise, the US might not go through with the invasion.
I climbed a billboard with a friend, and we dropped a banner over it.
I fully expected to spend some time in jail and maybe get a visit from the secret service. The nation was in a heightened state of alert, code Orange if I recall correctly.
We talked to media from all over the country while down below the police videotaped us. Some people waved, some stopped and took pictures. A woman wearing an hijab bought us some falafel sandwiches.
One man pulled up in his Suburban and yelled at us. "You should go to Iraq and be human shields!"
At the end of the day, we weren't arrested. The owner of the billboard decided not to press charges, and agreed to leave the banner up for the rest of the night.
That weekend, 800 people turned out in our sleepy little red state town to protest the coming invasion.
Millions of people across the world voiced their opposition.
Scarcely a month later, Bush invaded Iraq.
Three years on, the situation in Iraq is getting worse, not better.
All the protests of that time did nothing, so I have to wonder about the effectiveness of offering alternatives now.
All the same, I'm going to start offering suggestions for how we might win this "War on Terror."
Bush won't listen - just like he didn't listen the first time. That makes the first step easy.
Impeach Bush.
Bush has no respect for democracy at home. Why do we expect him to install democracies abroad? Indeed, he
is a threat to democracy. His radical foreign policies contribute to the radical politics of Palestine and Iraq - both of whom elected hard line governments in reaction to the "democratization" of Iraq.
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