War Protest Scheduled Today

As the debate over troop escalation in Iraq continues to dominate Congress and the media, tens of thousands will gather today on the National Mall to protest the continuation of the war.

Groups including United for Peace and Justice, Win Without War, the National rganization for Women and the RainbowPUSH Coalition, have organized a rally and march around the Capitol building Saturday, and arranged a "citizen lobby" day on Capitol Hill Monday, urging protesters to target House members, senators and congressional staff in an effort to force them to do more to stop the war.

"The president is a lost cause and everybody knows it," said Andrews, a former Democratic representative from Maine.

"So we are going to push the Democrats in Congress to not just talk but act and use their power — and that power is the power of the purse," said Andrews. "It's time to stop the rubber stamp of Congress and start the accountability and stand up to the president." Andrews said congressional Democrats are in danger of spending all their time debating "toothless words." He was referring to the nonbinding resolution against President Bush's plan to send 21,5000 additional troops to Iraq, which the Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed this week.

Locally, activities are scheduled in Denton and Dallas.