war is bad. so is musgrave.

All the dailies should have some coverage of the various antiwar gatherings that occurred around the state today. We won't, but I will post most of the release that came from Colorado Progress Action, an affiliate of the Colorado Progressive Coalition, tonight. For more on the CPC's amped up efforts in Northern Colorado, and what longtime locally established activists think, pick up the next issue of the Chronicle.

NOTE: The following release has been trimmed (omissions are noted where ellipses appear) but has not been edited for anything, including grammatical errors or style inconsistencies, otherwise.

Several dozen Greeley community members, local Iraq war veterans, military and faith leaders, along with Colorado Progressive Action and Coloradans Against Escalation, gathered today to demand that Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave “take a stand” and vote to end the war in Iraq. Just last week the Congresswoman announced that she is "discouraged" with how the war is going but her voting record reveals a different reality, showing complete support for President Bush and continuation of the war.

Although the Congresswoman was invited a month ahead of time and was in Greeley on the very same afternoon, her staffers told CPA she had prior commitments in Denver that evening. Congresswoman Musgrave has consistently been unavailable to her constituents on issue of the Iraq war.

Community members heard from several dynamic local speakers including a local Iraq war veteran Ricardo Cortez as well as faith leaders Reverend Steve Brown and Pastor Abé Gonzales. …

Since their congresswoman refused to come to them, more than 60 participants walked through the rain to the Congresswoman’s Greeley office, carrying a banner that read “Representative Musgrave: Stand with Coloradans, End the War!” and showed their sentiment on the war through written messages to Musgrave. The walk was lined with 51 pairs of boots, each pair of boots representing a Colorado soldier who has been killed in the war thus far, a reminder to all of us of the human costs of endless war. …

Jane Feustel, spokesperson for Colorado Progressive Action … announced a new campaign — called ‘Marilyn Mondays’— where Northern Coloradans will pledge to call Congresswoman Musgrave's office every Monday until Congress passes, and President Bush signs, an order to bring the troops home. …

The gathering in Greeley was part of the nation-wide coordinated series of “Take a Stand Day” events taking place on August 28th. People across America called on Members of Congress to explain their stance on the war and demand that Congress vote in September to bring the troops home.