For example, 1 million Iraqis have been killed as a result of an invasion and occupation that was based on (knowingly and deliberately, in my opinion) false premises.

Schools and hospitals? Please cite statistics, like how many there are functioning now v. pre-invasion.

Finally, we have a duty as citizens to oppose the illegal actions of our government.

PMR needs some high quality informational/educational video.

The stark differences between Aaron Mason's comment -

Pretty much every single one of those protestors behaved in a confrontational, disrespectful, and aggressive manner.

And the quote from the Mayor's office -

While most demonstrators have been respectful of the rights of others and have expressed their views lawfully

This contrast brings me to several questions.  Is the Mayor's office just patronizing the masses?  Was the Mayor's office correct in their assessment?  Is Mason wrong, mistaken, biased or absolutely correct?

Here is the tricky part - media is a powerful tool.  We watched in 2004 how a medal winning veteran could be turned into a treasonous traitor if the right words were said over and over enough times.  I respected the soldier in the video as he seemed very thoughtful, all the time remembering the Non-Com quoted in Sarah's thread that said soldiers are not allowed to comment negatively about the military.  Thus, that fine soldier in the video was sort of locked in on that interview.  I've witnessed Jeff's idea of the First Amendment and have noticed that if he isn't able to get a rise out of someone, he loses interest fast.  The other gentleman was pleasant and heartfelt, but seemed to lack depth in his dialog.  Meanwhile many people will walk away with an opinion of our community based on what they see, read and hear in a 3rd party sense, concerning these protests.

We have but one choice - research.  We all owe it to ourselves to seek as many sources of information as possible to formulate the opinion and story that we take into our lives about our community.

Now is not the time to seek the quick and dirty answers, folks.