Some people I know have 953 unique 11"x14" posters of dead U.S. soldiers, one soldier per poster. At the bottom of the photo is a name, and a fact about the soldier. They're going to put the posters up in stores, or where the movie posters usually go, so that Republicans and protesters alike can see them. This is the Not Just a Statistic project.

I shuffled through a stack of 300 posters today, going through the faces. Most of the soldiers were younger than I am. Not the Abu Ghraib reservists pointing at the naked piles of Iraqis, but guys next door—Paul Ray had a star named after him. Chad Eric was the life of the party. Jose Antonio Gutierrez came to America on foot. Eric Bruce had milk-chugging contests with his brother Jared. They were just people. A lot of them loved to fish.

The basic idea is that this war should be over now, and the soldiers should continue to live on both sides. What the organizers need are people to help put up posters in the city, between now and until the convention ends. If you want to help, drop me a line, ford@ftrain.com. I'll tell you where to go to get some posters. You need to be able to handle a roll of tape and possibly some wheatpaste. You should be at least 11 inches tall.

Please do not write me to debate the merits of this war.