Reflections on Last Night's Cindy Sheehan Peace Vigils

Mitchell Field on Comanche at dusk.

Mitchell Field on Comanche in the NE Heights, Albuquerque: What started as a small gathering in a home got so many RSVPs it became a gathering of more than 80 people who formed a large circle of candlelight. Many had signs, a large peace flag waved, many age groups were represented and several peace dogs joined in. Speakers included a woman who had lost her 26-year-old nephew in Iraq this year and who made a very moving plea for peace and no more soldiers coming back as "cargo." The sunset (see above) lent a special glow to our solemn meditations on the Iraq War and what one person, like Cindy Sheehan, can do to renew and inspire a movement. KRQE TV-13 covered this event for their 10PM newscast with footage from some of the other vigils in Albuquerque. -Barb & M.E.

All ages were represented at the Comanche vigil.

Lomas & Girard, Albuquerque: These photos are pretty fuzzy, the light being what it was. But the spirit was clear. There were a little over 200 people gathered around this one intersection for a solid hour and a half, and the folks driving by really cheered us on. This was only one of six vigils in Burque tonight. -Marti

The crowd wrapped around the intersection of Lomas and Girard.

A spirit of peace and true patriotism at Lomas & Girard.

Albloggerque has an excellent commentary on Bush and the Iraq War along with more photos of the Lomas vigil. Marston Moore comments at >Duke City Fix and takes on Iraq's Churchillian origins. More Albuquerque photos at Fort Progress.

Taos: Tonight about 150 people gathered at the plaza in solidarity with Cindy Sheehan. The crowd included many young people. An 8-foot diameter peace sign made of candles offered a center to the determined and peaceful energies that typified the crowd. It begins… -T.

Boulder CO: We had a count of 850 at the Courthouse in Boulder (only 250 had been scheduled), with at least two other events in town. The one in South Boulder was also supposed to have somewhere around 100 folks signed up, but no word yet. -Joe

Boulder CO: In Boulder, there were at least 3 vigils. The one we attended had several hundred people at the court house on Pearl Street Mall. Really great. Another one had more than a hundred people signed up via the net. There were two scheduled in Longmont and one in Erie that I heard about folks attending. Also, a caravan from Boulder is leaving for Crawford tomorrow! -Myriah

Denver CO: The downtown Denver vigil was scheduled to have nearly 1000 and another one 250 with two more small ones for a total of over 1300. -Claudia

Rep. John Conyers is organizing a letters to the editor campaign to support Cindy Sheehan, as well as encouraging donations to the Gold Star Families for Peace, at his website. MoveOn reports that 1,627 were held nationwide last night. They'll be posting photos and reports from around the nation.

If you were at one of the vigils in New Mexico, send me your comments and/or photos to add to our coverage.
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Stop the War Machine is organizing a caravan to Crawford TX:
You are invited to meet at the Albuquerque Peace Center (corner of Harvard and Silver) on Friday, Aug. 19, at 3 PM if you would like to caravan. (Bring a tent, water, possibly something to make shade, some food...)  If you need a ride or can share a ride, call the Peace Center (268-9557) beforehand. Folks who would like to go earlier are invited to do so. We know of others that will be leaving on Monday.  Let us show that New Mexico supports Cindy Sheehan and her call for justice!

Questions?  Contact StoptheWarMachine@comcast.net