Protesters stage rally against war (Fayetteville NC last night)

http://www.fayettevilleobserver.com/story.php?Template=local&Story=7080538
(check out picture at the bottom of the kids lighting the peace luminarias)
Protesters stage rally against war

By Julia Oliver
Staff writer

As the nation's largest Army post prepared to host its commander in chief Tuesday, a little blue house in Haymount gathered protesters.

Bumper stickers on cars at the curb read "Impeach Bush" and "Bush lied. People died." A yellow banner in the yard read: "Bring them home now."

The 20 or so people milling around the Quaker House were former soldiers, parents and grandparents. They had no plans to watch President Bush's speech from Fort Bragg.

"I've heard it all before, and I didn't believe it the first 10 times," said Chuck Fager, who runs the Quaker House, an organization that helps conscientious objectors.

Instead of watching the president on national television Tuesday night, the protesters met downtown. Sheltered in the Market House from a steady rain, they were about 50 strong by rush hour. They carried signs, lit candles in the shape of a peace symbol and read the names of the more than 1,700 U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq.

Stan Goff, who retired as a master sergeant from the Special Forces and has a 22-year-old son serving in Iraq, found Bush's visit to a military base offensive. He said Bush was manipulating the people who had suffered most in the war.

"He's going to come down here and use them as his personal stage props when they could be home with their families," Goff said.

par for the course