At 8 p.m. last night, Chicago was one of 26 major cities and more than 300 other cities and towns around the world turning off its lights in observance of the World Wildlife Fund’s Earth Hour. Begun last year in Sydney, Australia, this year’s consciousness-raising event was observed in Atlanta, Copenhagen, Melbourne, San Francisco, Dublin, Dubai, Cebu City, Tel Aviv and most of Australia and Canada, among other places.

In Chicago, many downtown buildings turned off all non-essential lighting. Why not do it all the time? A Commonwealth Edison spokesperson announced that power consumption in the region was five percent less than the same hour period the previous Saturday.

I did the dinner dishes by candlelight while Zoe played the piano.

By various estimates, 2,200 to 4,000 people braved yesterday’s blustery March evening to attended a rally in Chicago’s Federal Plaza, and march a meandering route north to Bughouse Square in observance of the fifth anniversary of the United States’ invasion of Iraq. Smaller groups gathered for vigils in parks across the city.

The crowd was spirited and upbeat, but with an undercurrent of frustration and deep resentment at the unwillingness of the Democrats of the House and Senate to confront the issue of the war and its funding.

Vice President Cheney missed the observances nationwide of this unfortunate anniversary, having been called back to the home office in Riyadh. Before his return to the U.S., he took time out from his grueling diplomatic schedule to give Martha Raddatz of ABC News an interview at the Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa in Muscat, Oman. Here is a brief excerpt:

MR: Let me go back to the Americans. Two-thirds of Americans say it’s not worth fighting, and they’re looking at the value gain versus the cost in American lives, certainly, and Iraqi lives.

DC: So?

MR: So — you don’t care what the American people think?

DC: No, I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls.

Cheney’s linguistic economy is well known, and this terse pronouncement effectively encapsulates the source of the frustrations that anti-war activists feel. If the choice is between the party of ruinous, endless war, and the somewhat-less-war-eventually party, the parameters of the debate have been set by people who don’t care too much about the opinions of two-thirds of the populace. I heard someone point out recently that if you can frame the debate, you usually win it.

Despite this, I plan to vote for the Democratic presidential candidate this year, whether it’s Obama, Clinton, or a Democratic rhesus monkey nominated on the 1,034th ballot of a brokered convention. Consider the alternative. Equating Democrats ideologically with Republicans is a dangerous oversimplification right now. As just one small example, I don’t believe that under a Democratic President the EPA would be arguing in court to allow greater levels of emissions of mercury by coal-fired power plants, as it is currently. I wish I could claim that neither Clinton nor Obama would launch an unprovoked, preemptive strike against Iran, but I don’t think either has categorically ruled it out.

The march broke up at Washington Square Park, though a few participants stayed to dance and revel in the middle of Dearborn Street. This gave the police a chance to don riot gear, trot out the horses and ride around on their four-wheeled buggies and segways (?!). The confrontation, however, was short-lived and peacefully concluded. Then everyone went home.
A few more photos here.