Did anyone catch the freak show on C-SPAN this weekend? No, not Congress ... the so-called anti-war demonstration which attracted communists, socialists, anarchists, pro-Castro fanatics, extreme far-left groups, fanatical environmentalists, pro-Palestinian supporters that bordered on the anti-Semitic, angry, militant lesbians, race baiters, Jessica Lange and a radical Filipino group that butchered a Pink Floyd hit.

Oh, and some of them were against the war, too.

Topping the list was Cindy Sheehan, the mother who lost her son in Iraq and has become a media darling to many against the war. She was arrested in front of the White House on Monday. We know this because the organizations funding her nationwide tour made sure all the networks and wire services knew about her impending bust by issuing a press release beforehand.

Sheehan, who once called the terrorists in Iraq "freedom fighters," was joined Saturday by such luminaries as attorney Lynne Stewart, who was recently convicted of illegally helping her client, convicted terrorist Omar Abdel Rahman, pass secret messages urging violent terrorist attacks to his Islamic Group in Egypt; Jesse Jackson, who compared Sheehan to Rosa Parks; George Galloway, a member of Britain's parliament who is suspected of receiving a cut from Saddam Hussein's Oil-for-Food money laundering; Ramsey Clark, who appointed himself counsel for Saddam; and Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, who once told a crowd, "Let's all go into jihad, and throw stones at the face of the Jews."

Nice folks.

The whole shindig was put together by International A.N.S.W.E.R., which is a front group for the Marxist-Leninist Workers World Party and an anti-war coalition consisting of more than 800 local and national groups called United for Peace and Justice.

Estimates for the crowd ranged from 10,000 to 300,000, depending on who was spinning the story. The throng that gathered this weekend appeared to be a cross-section of every protesting group under the sun, such as the Buddhist Peace Delegation, Raging Grannies, Portuguese Against Bush, supporters of the Socialist Equality Party, fans of convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu Jamal as well as a variety of old hippies, stoners, and young adults who looked like they never changed clothes after Bonnaroo this past summer.

There were so many groups and causes that the anti-war message got lost in the brew. But a much smaller group held a rally on Sunday supporting the troops and the Iraq mission which managed to stay on message. Instead of giant puppets, signs with four-letter words and screaming hate-filled screeds aimed at the president, they quietly remembered those who had fallen and urged for support for the administration's policy.

While everyone has a different view on the war in Iraq, some of the people representing the anti-war viewpoint appear to do more harm to their cause by simply showing up and opening their mouths than their detractors ever could.

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Here's a couple of stories from the "this makes our blood boil" department: A Georgia state legislator is trying to use an old law to get out of a second offense DUI. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that Republican Rep. David Graves wants to cite an obscure provision in that state's constitution to argue that he should not be prosecuted for a DUI he received in Cobb County in February, during the 2005 session of the General Assembly.

The centuries-old law says that a lawmaker cannot be arrested during sessions of the General Assembly, legislative committee meetings or while they're "in transit," except in cases of "treason, felony, or breach of the peace."

Georgia's legislative immunity provision has been part of its constitution since 1789 and was written to protect lawmakers from political intimidation, the paper reports. Tennessee has an identical law. Of course, driving under the influence wasn't that much of a problem during the days of getting around on horseback, but using a special law for special people to get out of trouble goes back to the dawn of time.

Things like this would normally send blood pressure up a notch, but when combined with the following, we may require a doctor's care: While a politician may skate on a drunk driving case because who he is, a New York woman could face three month in jail for just sitting down.

According to WNBC television, 47-year-old Sandra Catena was given a ticket for sitting on a park bench because she doesn't have children. There's a small sign at the entrance of Rivington Playground on Manhattan's East Side that states adults are prohibited unless they are accompanied by a child, but Catena says she didn't see it.

Then two of New York's finest came up and asked her if she was with a child. When she said no, they gave her a ticket that could bring a $1,000 fine and 90 days in jail, the station said.

The rule is designed to keep pedophiles out of city parks, the NYC Parks Department said, and a spokesman said that the department hoped police would use some common sense when enforcing the rule.

Indeed.

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Here's a simple question; is it remotely possible for Bell Buckle citizens to get through an town meeting without the session turning into a shouting match?

I've been covering this small community for over a year now and out of all the towns and events I've written about over the past decade, I've never seen meetings go as totally out of control as they do in Bell Buckle.

Yes, there are important and vital issues facing the town and the residents and business owners are quite passionate about keeping growth under control since the small town atmosphere is the very thing that brings in tourist dollars.

It seems that many in Bell Buckle want the town to be a nice place to visit, but they don't want anyone else to live there. After some of the outbursts I've witnessed, I'm not sure I'd want to either.

One of the worst examples was at the most recent meeting of the planning commission, which lasted nearly three hours. During the course of the gathering, there were no more than six interruptions from citizens who apparently felt that they are entitled to express themselves whenever the inspiration strikes.

There's a time set aside in the meetings for citizen comments, but this doesn't stop some from ignoring it completely and shouting at the town council. Some citizens have demanded the right to speak two times during the meetings and then refuse to give up the floor when they are in the middle of a rant.

If something like this happened in Shelbyville, Tullahoma or Winchester city meetings, the person would most likely be escorted from the room by police. But Bell Buckle has no law enforcement or sergeant-at-arms, so the continuing outbursts go unchallenged.

After all, who's going to stop them?

It's also very hard to tell what's going on when there are three conversations conducted in the audience while the main action is at the big table with the state planners.

I've asked city officials several times if it's too much to ask that Robert's Rules of Order be followed in this regard, and the answer I have gotten every time is: "That's just Bell Buckle."

No, it's just plain rude, unnecessary and it exposes the ugly character of some of the factions in this town. If you think I'm kidding, pay a visit to Bell Buckle town hall and ask to see the citizens' comments that were included in a recent survey.

There are some well thought-out ideas contained in the survey, but it is also peppered with plenty of snide remarks and personal attacks on not only town leaders, but their neighbors and local families as well.

No community would be proud of it and acting like this poison small towns with ill will that takes years to purge from their systems. Cut it out.

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Sept. 30 is a Friday I've been waiting for since last year. It's the weekend we finally get to go back aboard Serenity.

Serenity is the movie released this weekend that's based on the short-lived 2002 science fiction series Firefly, which the Fox Television Network foolishly canceled after only airing 11 episodes, out of order, on different nights, interrupting scheduled showings for baseball and finally broadcasting the two-hour pilot dead last. Three of the episodes, some of the best ones, were never aired.

But when the DVD box set came out, fans scooped up about 200,000 copies in four months, which was enough to convince Universal Studios to green-light a movie with all of the cast members returning.

The only other canceled TV show this has happened to was something called Star Trek.

What made the show so special? Two words: the writing. Instead of cardboard cutout crew members we've seen in every space show since the 1960's, there is an group of people thrown together that really don't get along that well but through it all, they are a family.

There are no aliens, no technological instant fixes to an impossible problem or perfect worlds. Instead it was about just plain folks trying to survive in a morally ambiguous universe set 500 years in the future, where the worst parts of the American and Chinese governments have merged into something called the Anglo-Sino Alliance.

Slavery has returned, prostitution is legal and a highly respected career. The crew of Serenity rob, cheat, smuggle, and even kill on occasion, and they are the good guys. The Alliance is worse.

The show was funny, scary, exciting and at times, heartbreaking and I expect the movie will continue the tradition. This weekend, there's a big tub of popcorn with my name on it.

Brian Mosely is a Times-Gazette staff writer who covers Shelbyville, Bell Buckle and Wartrace government issues.