Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
Here's a ridiculous story. Code Pink, the group that has gotten so much attention for protesting against the war at the Marine recruiting office in Berkeley, has a special protest planned for this weekend:
The women's anti-war group has told ralliers to come equipped with spells and pointy hats Friday for "witches, crones and sirens" day, the last of the group's weeklong homage to Mother's Day."Women are coming to cast spells and do rituals and to impart wisdom to figure out how we're going to end war," Zanne Sam Joi of Bay Area Code Pink told FOXNews.com.
Yeah, that'll work. Maybe next week you can have a "throw salt over your shoulder" protest, or sacrifice a goat to a Roman goddess.
Comments
Aww, c'mon Ed! They are just doing a stunt to get attention!
Hey, look, it did work.
Posted by: John S | May 11, 2008 9:46 AM
I think that pretty much sums it up.
Posted by: yoshi | May 11, 2008 10:08 AM
To be fair I think she's in character for the stunt it doesn't seem like they think they're really going to cast spells etc.
Posted by: Chris | May 11, 2008 10:21 AM
This entire recruiting office fuss is so ridiculous you'd think it was a concoction of WorldnutDaily designed to make 'Liberals' look like idiots.
Posted by: V Profane | May 11, 2008 10:52 AM
A lack of any feeling for the absurd makes most political protests/demonstrations BORING!!! Things should be fun. Wacky protests have a way of making fun of what the protest is against. If a protest is likely to be fun people are likely to show up. Abby Hoffman levitating the Pentagon? I don't think that particular event was meant to be an exercise paranormal powers.
My own hunch is that Code Pink should have performed their rituals, spells, and incantations to help the war effort. They would have probably have gotten more publicity by poking fun at rationales for the war. Maybe imply that Cheney is a not so nice supernatural entity. The publicized rationales for the war in Iraq are probably not any more absurd than belief in witchcraft or pagan deities. It might have been an attempt to make the absurdity of the war manifest.
You should look up "Orange Alternative" in Poland during the 1980's. Or "The Orange Major" or Waldemar Frydrych. Unfortunately, most but not all the links are in Polish.
Really, the charge of "they just want attention" that dissidents/protesters is ancient and hardly original.
Posted by: Bob Kowalski | May 11, 2008 11:02 AM
Haven't you ever had a woman "cast her spell" over you?
Still stymied, myself, even after 35 years.
Posted by: Gingerbaker | May 11, 2008 11:09 AM
Ginger - what a romantic lurks under that spicy handle :) -DJ
Posted by: DingoJack | May 11, 2008 11:29 AM
From a leftist in Berkeley:
Code Pink is a bunch of aging former hippies that have nothing to do now that their kids have grown up. Their protests are so inane, ineffectual, and counterproductive that I've wondered whether they aren't neocons in sheeps clothing intending to bring ridicule upon the left and anti-war activism. I wish they'd leave protesting to the people who really mean it.
Posted by: Rod | May 11, 2008 11:34 AM
Ed, goats are to keep aircraft aloft: For Roman goddesses, you normally need a sheep.
Posted by: kehrsam | May 11, 2008 12:43 PM
Is casting spells to stop the war really much different than having a public prayer requesting lower gas prices? Except that the spell-casting might be more fun, and it'll sure as hell be less sanctimonious.
Posted by: Karen | May 11, 2008 1:44 PM
Karen wrote:
No, it's not different at all. That's why I slam both ridiculous tactics.
Posted by: Ed Brayton | May 11, 2008 1:48 PM
Spoken like a true Secular Elitist Darwinian Materialist Pagan Atheist Liberal Intellectual, "Bob Kowalski"... or do you prefer to go by your archvillain name, Wacky Protester. But your wacky occult spells are no match for Bibleman and his Sword of Spirit. The Fight for Faith is on!
Posted by: jpf | May 11, 2008 4:19 PM
Dammit, I have the perfect opportunity to use it and my link for it disapeared in the last crashing of my 'puter.
Can I just say that I really prefer anti-war magic that was called for last year. If I recall correctly, it was a minister from a small Christian subsect that actually called for it. The call was for as many couples as possible to have sex and attempt to climax at the same time, sending all that positive orgasm energy to ending the war. If I'm not mistaken, this was meant to be a regular thing.
Whether it works or not, I can get behind that kind of magic.
Posted by: DuWayne | May 11, 2008 8:29 PM
Pointy hats? Bah, if they were true witches they'd do it sky-clad.
Posted by: Abby Normal | May 11, 2008 10:56 PM
Hmmm...it's about as logical as the thought processes that got us into this mess, a lot more fun, and no one has to die. So why not!?
Posted by: Cherish | May 11, 2008 11:40 PM
As an East Bay resident (who supports the military and opposes the Iraq war), I have run into Code Pink a few times while passing through that part of Berkeley.
Let's just say they aren't doing anyone any good.
And yes, they had their protest over the weekend. Apparently the Berkeley PD wrote one of them a ticket for lighting a (small but nonetheless) fire on the sidewalk.
Their hook is that military recruitment is a scam. That it deceives young people.
OK.
There's a sign on that door that says United States Marines.
1) The United States Marines are:
a) A new punk rock band.
b) Some of the most ferocious warriors on the planet.
c) An electrical contractor specializing in residential jobs.
2) When you join the United States Marines, you can expect to:
a) Learn how to bake cakes and pies.
b) Smoke a lot of pot.
c) Fire a rifle at people who are shooting at you.
3) The mission of the United States Marines is to:
a) Be the first to fight in ground combat anywhere on the globe.
b) Set new trends in architecture and interior decorating.
c) Repair broken water mains and other municipal utilities.
Is anyone around here deceived yet...?
Posted by: g347 | May 12, 2008 11:10 PM
What organization is offering a, a, b? That's the one I want! I'm picturing myself rocking out, in Gehry's Disney Concert Hall while my backup singers hurl pies at the audience.
Posted by: Abby Normal | May 13, 2008 10:35 AM
Back in the day, you may recall that anti-Vietnam War protesters had plans to surround the Pentagon so as to exorcise the evil spirits from it; this is probably apocryphal, but one MP asked Abbie Hoffman (I think; it may have been Tuli Kupferberg) what they were up to, and he said they were going to use the power of love to levitate the Pentagon 300 feet in the air and exorcise the evil spirits from the building, and the MP, aghast, said, "you can't do that!" and he said, "well, how about ten feet?"
As I recall, the MP, bemused, said, "Sure, that's okay." or something like it.
It's a terrible thing to remember the good stories but not the details, eh?
Unfortunately, they lacked the witchy power to elevate the thing; maybe they should have dissolved a bunch of Viagra into the water supply. :-P
Posted by: Josh Hayes | May 14, 2008 2:25 AM