9:00 am - It’s cold. 30º and windy, but the rain/sleet/ice is all gone and it’s sunny and beautiful – so long as you’re inside looking out a window.

The local news is dominated by last night’s NCAA tournament. But the national news shows republicans preemptively disputing the protest. Madman McCain is in New Hampshire right now hyping the end of the world that will come about if we leave Iraq.

The protest begins in just a few hours. You still have time to get here.

10:43 am - I’m leaving the Hotel Harrington now. I tried the diner, Harriet’s, for breakfast. No. The people are nice enough, but the service sucks and the coffee is terrible.

12:00 pm - It is freezing cold and the wind is brutal. There was another event planned for today – a Gathering of Eagles – which appears to be a bunch of Vietnam vets/bikers protecting the monuments from destructive hippies and showing their support for the war.

You know, I understand less and less about Vietnam every day. You would think that if anyone would be opposed to the Iraq war, it’d be Vietnam vets. Likewise, if anyone could differentiate from between being opposed to a policy and being opposed to active soldiers, it should be these guys.

Here are some other things that struck me:

Vietnam vets seem confused about which war everyone is protesting. They are talking about “Hanoi Jane” Fonda and John Kerry, as if it were somehow relevant to the war in Iraq.

I never knew that old white men cared so passionately about the Iraqi people and Middle-Eastern women. They didn’t seem so concerned when we were shocking and awing them. What gives?

In Vietnam, something like a third of the combat troops were black; and yet, in one of the blackest cities in America, there are nothing but white people on the pro-war side of the street.

12:45 pm - We are on our way, and it’s really quite amazing. Despite the taunts and occasional stone throws from the war hawks, everyone is calm, positive and peaceful.

More to come…

For yesterday’s log, click here.