tagged w/ Rally To Restore Sanity
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Protesting isn't what it used to be.
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DON'T LET THE MAN GET YOU DOWN! ORGANIZE! USE YOUR RESOURCES!
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And a 200,000+ person wave
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This is fucking embarrassing, people.
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MizPiz
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1 year ago
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When WHACKO-TV got the word that there would be a giant rally in Washington, DC, we jumped in our News mini-van and drove to the Nation's Capitol to see what was going on. Boy, were we surprised. We thought it was a Rally to Restore Vanity, but when we got there, there were two guys on stage from another network. Once again, Wolf Douglas made chicken salad out of, well, you know what we mean.When WHACKO-TV got the word that there would be a giant rally in Washington, DC, we... more
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Photos from the Restore Sanity and Keep Fear Alive Rally.
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PGF
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1 year ago
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The Rally to Restore Sanity and or Fear was a collection of educated, self consciously ironic, snarky left of center or politically apathetic individuals most of whom- I would learn- had never been to a rally or protest of any kind.
So what was this?
A reaction against reactionaries?
A protest against protests?
Was this the largest collection of Slacktivist ever assembled in one place?
Or was it possible that Stewart and Colbert had succeeded in creating a kind of gateway drug- a slippery slope into a life engagement with politics?
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Contact: nocureforthatproductions@gmail.comThe Rally to Restore Sanity and or Fear was a collection of educated, self consciously... more
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From Jon Stewart’s closing remarks at his Rally to Restore Sanity on the National Mall:
“I can’t control what people think this was. I can only tell you my intentions. This was not a rally to ridicule people of faith or people of activism or to look down our noses at the heartland or passionate argument or to suggest that times are not difficult and that we have nothing to fear. They are and we do. But we live now in hard times, not end times. And we can have animus and not be enemies."From Jon Stewart’s closing remarks at his Rally to Restore Sanity on the... more
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WASHINGTON — A good time was had by all yesterday, but I suspect they won’t be smiling on Wednesday morning.
The people who showed up on the National Mall at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear reminded me of the crowd I saw in the same spot at the Obama Inaugural of 2008, or for that matter the crowd I saw at Woodstock back in 1969.
There were lots of good-looking young people and lots of good feelings. But there wasn’t much of a coherent political philosophy.WASHINGTON — A good time was had by all yesterday, but I suspect they... more
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Saturday's massive gathering in Washington, DC, put on by Comedy Central hosts Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, was by all accounts a rousing success.
But it's difficult to gauge how many people attended and event like "The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear." Even The Wall Street Journal hesitated in placing the number, but they noted that about 229,000 Facebook users sent RSVPs for the event.
Turns out, that's pretty close to accurate according to an estimate commissioned by CBS News, which cites AirPhotosLive.com for the data. CBS paid the same company to apply the same counting methodology to Glenn Beck's rally in August, placing attendance at 87,000.
For Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, both whom thrive on satirizing the more absurd elements of cable news media and especially the controversial and dramatic Fox News host Glenn Beck, their rally was more than twice as large, at an estimated 215,000.
After the estimate came under fire by conservative bloggers and Beck himself, CBS released a detailed explanation of their methodology, noting that the company is used by the Department of Homeland Security and the US border patrol, as well as numerous private-sector clients.
The company also happened to offer the only scientific analysis of crowds at either rally.
While Beck's rally attracted many members of the ultra-conservative tea parties and almost universally plan to vote GOP, the vast majority of Stewart's crowd were moderates, liberals and Democrats -- and a poll found that just 1 percent of attendees said they'd vote for a Republican.
Yet, given Stewart's closing monologue and the event's overall theme of tolerance and compromise, he'd probably like to dismantle the question of whose rally was larger and why, inevitable as it may be.
More @ linkSaturday's massive gathering in Washington, DC, put on by Comedy Central hosts... more
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For a group of people headed to Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, things were pretty insane. But insane in that kind of this-party-is-off-the-hook kind of way, not insane in the let’s-grab-our-guns-and-draw-Hitler-mustaches-on-things kind of way.
No, the scene on the train was completely controlled insanity – people politely squeezing into the crowd while saying, “Excuse me,” and shrugging their shoulders when the Metro train shut down due to overcrowding, forcing the mob to walk the last few miles to the Mall – together. Indeed, the rally seemed a group effort. Even on the way, one girl, fearing she was lost, broke down crying, leading half a dozen fellow rally-goers nearby to take her under their wing. But her frustration was understandable – what with an estimated 250,000 rally-goers in attendance – according to Comedy Central – it was easy to feel overwhelmed by the scene. (Especially since the city did not seem prepared for the high volume of foot and train traffic. See: aforementioned broken-down Metro.) And if I thought the train theatrics were a sight to behold, the Mall itself was even more of a circus: Even more outlandish costumes (Spider-Man, Green Man, and a human version of the Microsoft paper clip). Even more creative, appropriately enthusiastic signs (“My balls itch no matter who’s in office,” “I’m moderately excited for this,” and, my favorite, “Toy Story 2 was okay”). And even more frustration with our government — not only did rally-goers carry plenty of serious-minded poster boards (about voting, conservatives, and, yes, legalizing pot), but it was easy to imagine those wearing American flag T-shirts were doing so ironically.
Regardless, one thing was genuine: All 250,000 rally-goers were there to have a good time.For a group of people headed to Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s Rally to... more
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mik661
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1 year ago
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c7girl
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1 year ago
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Latest News Updates Rally To Restore Sanity Attendance | Meo News: Available 'Rally To Restore Sanity' Attendance Estimate & Crowd.Latest News Updates Rally To Restore Sanity Attendance | Meo News: Available... more
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One of the more interesting moments on stage was when Ozzy Osbourne, left, and Yusuf Islam (formerly known as Cat Stevens) performed "Crazy Train" and "Peace Train" respectively, then embraced for an unforgettable photo. (Photo by Reuters/Jason Reed)
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/10/jon-stewart-rally.htmlOne of the more interesting moments on stage was when Ozzy Osbourne, left, and Yusuf... more
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News Updates Comedy Central & Democrats | Meo News: The Capitol end of the National Mall has filled up for Comedy Central’s “Rally to Restore Sanity And/Or Fear,”News Updates Comedy Central & Democrats | Meo News: The Capitol end of the... more
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Latest News Updates Jon Stewart Rally To Restore Sanity | Meo News: "Keep Big Government Out of my Cauldron." (showing Christine O'Donnell as a witch.)Latest News Updates Jon Stewart Rally To Restore Sanity | Meo News: "Keep Big... more
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Latest News Updats Rally To Restore Sanity Schedule | Meo News: Mr Jon Stewart and Mr Stephen Colbert’s much anticipated “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear” begins Saturday at 12 p.m. and ends at 3 p.m. Here is the lineup for the event.
10 a.m.-noon: Pre-Pre ShowLatest News Updats Rally To Restore Sanity Schedule | Meo News: Mr Jon Stewart and... more
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I’m leaving in a little while for Washington to attend The Rally to Restore Sanity tomorrow on The Mall. Anybody else going to be there? We’re staying in Bethesda. E-mail me at dre@worldwidehippies.com if you want to meet up.I’m leaving in a little while for Washington to attend The Rally to Restore... more
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When Jon Stewart was on Larry King's show talking about his Rally to Restore Sanity, he likened himself to Alice in Wonderland and the rally as the Mad Hatter Tea Party. But is Jon Stewart really Alice, trying to find sanity in an upside-down world? Or is he the March Hare, the ultimate "slacktivist" who thinks it's always teatime -- time to sit back and jibberjabber?
The 10-30-10 rally on the capital's mall is looking more and more like a celebration of "slacktivism." Stewart is courting people who do not want to open their window and yell, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!" As he says in the Rally for Sanity website, he's looking for the people who've been "too busy to go to rallies, who actually have lives and families and jobs (or are looking for jobs)."
So let's get this straight: people who were so horrified when the U.S. invaded Iraq that they joined millions of others to protest are not sane? We shouldn't speak out against Wall Street bankers whose greed led to millions of Americans losing their jobs and homes? It's irrational to be angry when you see the Gulf of Mexico covered in oil because BP cut corners on safety? Don't get upset when the Supreme Court rules that corporations are people and can pour unlimited funds into our elections?
Stewart often roasts the warmakers and corporate fatcats on his show, but he seems to think that his viewers should be content to take out their frustrations with a good belly laugh.
When Jon Stewart announced the Rally to Restore Sanity, he included CODEPINK among the "loud folks" getting in the way of civil discourse. He also equated progressives calling George Bush a war criminal with right-wingers calling Obama Hitler.
So we started a facebook page asking Jon Stewart to invite us on the show to set the record straight. Beware of what you ask for. We did, indeed, get a call from the producers but it was not for a live interview with Jon Stewart. No, it was for a taped session with myself, a Tea Party organizer and a tear-gas dodging, anti-globalization anarchist "giving advice" to Daily Show's Samantha Bee about how to organize a good rally. It was clear they wanted to portray us as the crazy folks who should not come to their rally for reasonableness.
I consulted with my CODEPINK colleagues. Some said, "Don't do it. It's a trap and will only further marginalize us." We'd already been ridiculed several times on the show, like when we stood up to question General Petraeus at a Congressional hearing or when we organized protests at the Marine Recruiting Center in Berkeley. But the majority of my colleagues thought it would be crazy to decline the chance to get an anti-war message out to millions of viewers.
The producers told us to come to the New York studio "in costume." The anarchist, Legba Carrefour, was all in black, including a black bandanna covering his face. The Tea Partier, Jeffrey Weingarten, came in patriotic red, white and blue. I decided to "go professional", with a CODEPINK t-shirt and a gray suit. The producers were disappointed. They had wanted me to appear in one of the wild outfits we have worn in Congress -- like a hand-lettered pink slip accessorized with a hot-pink boa and a glittery "no war" tiara.
But my attempt to look professional was thwarted by the fourth guest who suddenly appeared and was positioned right behind me: A huge, scary puppet head of Iranian President Ahmadinejad.
So there we were, four "crazies" being quizzed by Samantha Bee for over two hours. She started out with softballs -- what did we stand for, what activities did we engage in. Then the questions and the antics got sillier and sillier. By the end we found ourselves spinning a blind-folded Samantha Bee around, then watching her swing a baseball bat at Ahmadinejad's head to see if was really a pinata.
I'm sure that with over two hours of tape, there will be plenty of footage to turn into a four minute segment showing us as a bunch of nutcases. After all, it is a comedy show.
But it's too bad that Jon Stewart, the liberal comedian, is putting anti-war activists, tea partiers and black bloc anarchists in the same bag. And it's sad that he's telling his audience -- many of whom are young progressive thinkers -- that activism is crazy.
An anonymous assistant on the Daily Show's blog chastized CODEPINK on line. "Dipping hands in fake blood or screaming over everyone just makes you look crazy and then the rest of the country ignores you." He said that we should, instead, focus on solutions.
CODEPINK has been proposing solutions since the day we started. We risked our lives meeting with UN weapons inspectors in Iraq right before the U.S. invaded to see if war could be avoided. We have repeatedly traveled to Afghanistan to push for reconciliation. For the past eight years we have been posing solutions about how to deal with terrorism, how to extricate ourselves from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, how to make us safer at home. Whether under Bush or Obama, our voices of sanity have been drowned out by a war machine that makes billions selling weapons and hiring mercenaries.
Meanwhile, we've witnessed the agony of mothers who have lost their sons in these senseless wars, the unspeakable suffering of our friends in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the lavish spending on war while our schools and hospitals are gutted.
It was because of this insanity that we began to interrupt the war criminals during their public appearances, shouting -- yes, shouting -- for an end to the madness. It was because of this insanity that we put fake blood on our hands to represent the hundreds of thousands of innocents who died as result of their lies. In our post-9/11 24/7 news cycle, we learned that the more audacious and outrageous the action, the more likely we were to get our anti-war message into the national conversation.
For this the Daily Show calls us crazy!
Don't get me wrong. CODEPINK women love to laugh and we try not to take ourselves too seriously. But we do feel that it's the sane people who protest crazy wars, who cry out against the dangers of global warming, who rail against big money in politics, who implore our politicians to spend our resources rebuilding America, not bombing people overseas.
So let's celebrate the people who walk the talk. Slacktivism did not end slavery, activism did. Slacktivism did not get women our rights. Activism did. Slacktivism won't end war or global warming. But activism just might.
Jon Stewart says he wants to restore sanity to Washington; so do we. We'll see you out on the mall, Jon.
Medea Benjamin is cofounder of CODEPINK and Global Exchange. CODEPINK will be organizing a Mad Hatter Tea Party at the Rally to Restore Sanity. To join, click here. Her "interview" with Samantha Bee will be aired on the Daily Show on Thursday.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=457003774694&set=a.445158504694.245439.192052299694When Jon Stewart was on Larry King's show talking about his Rally to Restore... more
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