Democracy Now! January 21, 2003

9:00-9:01 Billboard 9:01-9:07 Headlines 9:07-9:08 One Minute Music Break 9:08-9:21: Anti-war sentiment is sweeping the country as the Bush administration prepares for an attack on Iraq. In a new Newsweek poll, only 39 percent of Americans would support war against Iraq, if the United States decides to wage it with the backing of only one or two allies and without UN authorization. Sixty percent say they d like the Bush administration to allow more time to find an alternative to war. In a new poll by the Pew Research Center, more than half of Americans say President Bush has not yet justified an attack on Iraq. A Gallup poll released Friday showed Bush's historically high 90 percent approval rating has declined to 61 percent, another Gallup poll from last week showed Bush getting a 58 percent approval rating. That is the lowest since before 9-11. In addition, hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated all over the country against the Bush adminstration s plans for war. Today we continue our coverage of the largest of these peace rallies, Saturday s massive peace rally in Washington, D.C. News outlets are not reporting turnout estimates. Organizers say as many as 500,000; most people, including the police chief of Washington, D.C., agree this rally was larger than October s. That rally drew between 100,000 and 200,000 people. Guest: Mahdi Bray, board member of The Interfaith Alliance. He is the Executive Director of the Muslim American Society, Freedom Foundation. Guest: Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General and founding member of the International Action Center Guest: Jeremy Corbyn, member of the British Parliament from the Labor Party & member of the Steering Committee of Stop the War Guest: Jessica Lange, Academy Award winning actress Guest: Ron Kovic, Vietnam Veteran and author of Born on the Fourth of July 9:22-9:23 One Minute Music Break 9:23-9:40 Dozens of buses from Chicago, Minneapolis, Madison, St. Louis and other cities delivered people to the streets of Washington, D.C. for the massive anti-war demonstration on Saturday. But there were also dozens of smaller protests in other cities all over the country. In Denver, more than 30,000 people took the streets on Monday in honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Speakers said racism has not ended and many of the gains achieved by King are being threatened under the guise of national security. They quoted King: "War is a poor chisel to carve out tomorrow's peace." Tens of thousands of people also turned Atlanta s annual celebration of King's birthday into a peace demonstration. Seattle and Salt Lake City saw thousands in the streets. Protests also took place in many other cities, including Lincoln, Nebraska; Des Moines, Iowa; Milwaukee; Cincinnati; Fargo, North Dakota; St. Louis; Dayton, Ohio; Charleston, West Virginia; Little Rock; Durham; Honolulu; Missoula, Montana; Tampa; and the Northern Mississippi towns of Starkville and Tupelo. There, people held signs that read "Preserve our Civil Liberties, Not Our S.U.V.s." In addition, thousands rallied outside the Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Many say it was the largest peace demonstration that the city has seen since the Vietnam War. Guest: Sam Parks, Veterans for Peace. He is 83 and is a recipient of the Purple Heart. Guest: Domacio Lopez, Int l Depleted Uranium Study Team. He just returned from Iraq. Guest: Rose Ebaugh, Native American civil rights activist 9:40-9:41 One Minute Music Break 9:41-9:58: If New Mexico seceded from the United States, it would be the third largest nuclear power in the world. There are 2700 nuclear warheads buried next to the Albuquerque Airport. On Saturday outside the Kirtland Air Force Base thousands rallied against war. We talk to Bob Anderson, who ran for U.S. Congress on the Green Party ticket our years ago and elementary school teacher Jean Pauls. Guest: Bob Anderson, Committee to Stop the War Machine Guest: Jean Pauls, Committee to Stop the War Machine 9:58-9:59 Outro and Credits Democracy Now! is produced by Kris Abrams, Mike Burke, Angie Karran, Ana Nogiera and Alex Wolfe. Mike Di Filippo is our engineer and webmaster