190 Marches Nationwide Against Bush on Oct. 5

June Caldwell
On Thursday, October 5, people will walk out of school, take off work, gather in town squares, and MARCH in cities across the country, declaring their intention to bring the Bush program to a halt.

In the past ten days, the number of cities and towns planning protests jumped from 50 to over 152. Meanwhile, the Bush administration is bolting into place an unprecedented new law which legalizes torture and severely restricts habeas corpus, the basic right to legal redress first established in England with the Magna Carta in 1215.

"Face it. The Bush regime is remaking the world, very quickly, in a fascist way and for generations to come. Denial won't help. And the Democrats aren't stopping them. But WE must. And we can. There are millions of us…" This message calling people out on October 5 is being heard nationally on Air America radio spots. Thousands also contributed to publish a full-page ad in USA Today on September 20, reading in part: "Endless wars. Torture. Katrina. Theocracy… This regime does not represent us and we will drive it out."

Thursday’s protests occur as Bush threatens a new war on Iran and the "Military Commissions Act of 2006" is approved in the Senate with bi-partisan support. Presented as a compromise, this "torture bill" legally enshrines the President's category of "enemy combatant," allows evidence obtained by torture to be admitted to trial by military tribunals, gives the President the right to interpret the Geneva Conventions, and eliminates the right of habeas corpus for those held by military commissions.


Debra Sweet, national coordinator of World Can't Wait said Tuesday, "We are at a defining moment for this country and its people. There are millions who don’t want to live in a theocratic new Rome – but we don’t have unlimited time to stop this regime. Whether we act – or fail to act – right now will impact the lives of millions all over the world for generations. We are putting this to everyone: When all other avenues of change are blocked, what do people do? Hit the streets. This is the chance we have on October 5."

The World Can’t Wait – Drive Out the Bush Regime CALL has been signed by tens of thousands of people, including SEAN PENN, GORE VIDAL, HARRY BELAFONTE, DANIEL ELLSBERG, EDWARD ASNER, MICHELLE PHILLIPS, JONATHAN KOZOL, FORMER SEN. JAMES ABOUREZK, ERICA JONG, U.S. REP. JOHN CONYERS, CRAIG MURRAY, RABBI MICHAEL LERNER, MARK CRISPIN MILLER, THOM HARTMANN, OLYMPIA DUKAKIS, JESSICA LANGE, KEVIN POWELL, MARGARET CHO, MICHAEL ERIC DYSON, CORNEL WEST, HOWARD ZINN, MARK RUFFALO, JANE FONDA, CINDY SHEEHAN, PAUL HAGGIS, and ALICE WALKER.

Check www.worldcantwait.org for continually expanding list of locations for October 5 protests. Interviews available with selected signers.

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June Caldwell

June Caldwell (writer & photographer) and husband, Rodger Caldwell (photographer) cover music and political events and trends.
For pit action photos or more of June's articles, please see her postings on undergroundmine.com or more pix at flickr.com. Please see www.photobucket.com for more of Rodger Caldwell's photos. June splits her time between music & political event coverage and doing radio airplay promotions for Bryan Farrish Radio Promotions. She covers the California music scene for artrocker.com, the largest bi-weekly new music publication in the UK; and writes for the international hip-hop and world site fly.co.uk June and Rodger are a contributing author/photography team to several newspapers including the Santa Monica Mirror and the Topanga Messenger.

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