Pacific Coast walk against PATRIOT Act

http://www.presstelegram.com/Stories/0,1413,204~23170~1161632,00.html
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> Long Beach Press Telegram Thursday, February 10, 2003 - 1:01:24 AM MST
> By Tracy Manzer
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>Long Beach served as the first stop Friday night in a long journey for
>military veteran and Dakota Sioux Durwin WhiteLightning.
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>At issue is the USA Patriot Act, which he and other protesters view as an attack on every American's constitutional rights.
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>[The] walk will take WhiteLightning and his group up the Pacific
>Coast in an effort to generate support among those involved in what
>they say is an ever growing American grass-roots movement opposed to war with Iraq.
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>"As a five-year veteran of the military, I took an oath to defend this
>country," WhiteLightning said. "I enjoy the freedoms that my ancestors
>fought for in World War I and II, in Korea and in the Vietnam conflict
>and it is my duty as a soldier and a warrior to defend those rights."
>
>The USA Patriot Act was adopted by Congress last year as part of the war
>on terrorism. It has expanded the government's powers to search private
>homes in secret, impose wiretaps without a court order, monitor Internet
>communications, and obtain information from libraries and bookstores about
>the reading habits of patrons.
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>[Those] joining WhiteLightning in his quest [include] Buddhist monk
>Krishnaman from Nepal, activist Eddie Sankovich, Earth First!
>activist Four Winds and high school student Joshwa WhiteLightning.
>The walk will take them up the coast of California, through Oregon, and into Washington state.
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>The idea for the walk, he said, came to him after two weeks in a
>sweat lodge praying to his ancestors for guidance.
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>Starting in downtown Long Beach at The Promenade and Broadway, the
>group proceeded to Second Street and Nieto Avenue in Belmont Shore,
>where they joined more than 200 people protesting the possibility of [an invasion of] Iraq.
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>Organizers said Friday night's gathering was the largest to date for
>the protests held by the Long Beach Area Peace Network every Friday
>in both downtown and Belmont Shore, and on Sundays in North Long Beach.
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>Using a cane after a recent knee surgery, WhiteLightning said that he
>and the others in his group will walk up the coast of California, through
>Oregon, and on to Washington. Waving signs and flags decorated with peace
>symbols and the Earth, the hundreds of protesters cheered to the honks
>of encouragement they received, and endured the slurs of those opposed
>to their demonstration.
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>"There is a huge grass-roots movement afoot to reclaim our civil rights,"
>WhiteLightning said as drums played in the background and he began his walk.
>"I think there's a lot to come, once people start to see how much
>their civil rights are being diluted by the Patriot Act. What you
>see here is just the beginning."
>