infobong.com

At first, this New York Times story, which describes how anti-war groups are toning down the civil disobedience, seemed to indicate mainstream outlets are moving away from portraying peace and justice activists as traffic-blocking freaks toward representing us concerned citizens making a statement of conscience. But this Washington Post piece echoes the earlier Broadcasting and Cable piece, which quotes consultants who say covering the opposition is bad for business, so the battle for responsible journalism is far from won.

People write into the papers griping about how civil disobedience actions slow down traffic and - often - commerce. In this case, stopping traffic seems to be an apt metaphor for the impact the war has on our economy. The war is already costing billions of dollars and creating an atmosphere of economic uncertainty that will only continue to drag down our economy as long as we stay in Iraq. The subsquent occupation and rebuilding of the nation will suck resources from the country, enriching the likes of Haliburton, but hurting the common man. If these people are genuinely worried about slowing down the nation's work, they should join us out in the street or simply think about what President Bush is doing to address the economic issues at home.