Anti-war activists gathered last week near Paly on the corner of Embaradero and El Camino to protest America’s continued involvement in Iraq.

“[The rally] was pretty spontaneous,” Palo Alto resident Larry Mitchell said. “I got an email from a friend, who is on a mailing list for MoveOn.org. There are many others doing the same thing at the same time all across the nation.”

The demonstrators began gathering at 5 p.m. Pacific Time, mirroring their counterparts in other parts of the country. The rally was one of 358 gatherings registered on the organization’s website.

“The purpose of this rally is more visual recognition,” Mitchell said. “We want people to understand that there are a group of individuals, a group of people who’d like to go out and get media coverage [for this cause]. Not enough people understand that it’s important.”

Mitchell thinks that the war went entered on false premises and that people are getting angry at the government as the facts continue to come out.

“There’s a level of frustration building among young and old people, because we’re being abused by the government,” said Mitchell. “Right now we’re seeing that there’s a lot of misinformation and fallacy.”

Joel Hill, the MoveOn coordinator for the rally, agreed.

“This rally has multiple intentions,” he said. We want to influence our congressional representatives. We need voices to speak out when Bush opposes the will of the American people. If no one speaks out, Bush’s power grows.”

The rally was a collaborative effort between MoveOn and Peninsula Peace and Justice Center, according to Hill.

According to the MoveOn Web site, Bush’s veto of the recent Congressional bill that would set a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq sparked the rally, the latest in an effort to bring attention to the discontent of some Americans.

Hill estimates that MoveOn has already held four or five rallies this year. The main ones, he said, were when Bush announced the troop surge, on the fourth anniversary of the war, and one when the casualty mark reached 3000.

Mountain View resident Donna Hughs carried a sign that said “Send diplomats, not more troops,” and “Our soldiers held hostage to Bush’s ego,” a quote from Major General Paul Eaton.

“My hope is to let people know about this, to reinforce the issue and keep it in people’s minds,” Hughs said. “I feel like we had the goodwill of the world after 9/11 and we wasted it through this president and his policies. I used to live abroad, and I feel that he world looks differently on Americans as a result of this war. It’s sad, because America stood for something.”

Hughs favors withdrawal in Iraq, citing the will of the people in her argument.

“The majority of Americans want us out, and the majority of Iraqis, too,” she said. “So many lives are lost, and it’s terrible. ”

Hughs says that her experiences as a volunteer working with veterans has influenced her opinion of the influence of war.

“I volunteer at the VA hospital, and it used to be there were older people, but nowadays they’re so much younger. It horrifies me to see how lives are wasted. It’s sad, what this does to the psyche of soldiers. There’s no way we should be asking people to do that.”

Hughs speaks from personal experience when she says that war is hard on the families of soldiers.

“It’s also stressful for the families,” she said. “My father was in the navy for 20 years, and I know what it’s like.”

Protester Jeb Eddy felt that the people of Palo Alto responded well to the rally. “Listen to the honking,” Eddy said. “For every person who [boos or gives a thumbs down], there’s ten or 20 honking.”

Though many protesters were affiliated with MoveOn or PPJC, activist Carol Brouillet doesn’t agree with their purpose.

“MoveOn has been really bad. I think the bill was weak anyway. This is a charade, a fake battle between Congress and Bush.”

Her Web site clears any confusion over her intent.

“I was furious at Move-On, as well as Eshoo and Congress for the lousy bill [H.R. 1591], which gives tons of money to the military, doesn’t prohibit Bush from launching a new war on Iran, and seems like a PR stunt to sell a distant deadline for ending the war, which can be easily changed,” she wrote March 25.

“I’m worried that those rallies might allow the media to pretend that Congress is standing up to Bush, when they are doing so very little in that regard… We should have been rallying support for Impeachment (not appeasement!),” she continued on May 3.

Brouillet brought a large sign saying “Impeach the Terrorists” and passed out fliers and Deception Dollars. Deception Dollars are fliers made to looks like dollars, good for “one deception” from the government. Printed on the Deception Dollars are websites that Brouillet has found to be the ” the best information…found on 9-11,” according to deceptiondollar.com. Brouillet, who holds weekly rallies in Lytton Plaza, estimates that over 6 million Deception Dollars have been distributed.

One protester wanted to raise the activism among younger people.

“My wish is to have more young kids – high schoolers – come out and support,” Mitchell said. “They are the ones who inherit this.