War Is A Crime .org

by Aaron Glantz

Since President Bush won’t meet with Cindy Sheehan to explain why her son Casey died in Iraq, I thought I would put forward the information I have. Like Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, I was in Baghdad’s Sadr City on April 4, 2004.

I was there as an unembedded journalist. Unlike Casey Sheehan, I wasn’t killed.

I had traveled to Sadr City to cover the Bush Administration’s undemocratic attack on the movement of Shi’ite cleric Muqtada Sadr. It didn’t matter that the cleric had millions of followers or that he was scion to an important political family with a history of standing up to tyranny. (His father was killed by Saddam’s regime for fomenting revolution in 1999. His uncle, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr, was killed for leading an insurrection against Ba’ath rule in 1980.)

Vigils held for Cindy Sheehan

Eugene Oregon

http://whatreallyhappened.com/IMAGES/CVeugene/

Houston, Texas

http://whatreallyhappened.com/IMAGES/CVhouston/

Chisolm, Minnesota

http://whatreallyhappened.com/IMAGES/CVchisholm/

Seattle, Washington

http://whatreallyhappened.com/IMAGES/CVwestseattle/

Louisville, Kentucky

LINK

St. Paul Minnesota

http://www.startribune.com/stories/1762/5566189.html

Vandenburg

http://whatreallyhappened.com/IMAGES/CVvandenburg/

By Cindy Sheehan
Huffington Post

Even after my repeated attempts to keep the focus of my protest on the war, the Drudge Report and others continue to try to make the issue about me. But I am not the issue. The issue is a disastrous war that's killing our sons and daughters and making our country less secure. They attack me because they can no longer defend this war.

I've come to Crawford to bring to the president's doorstep the harsh realities of a war he's been trying so hard to avoid. But no matter what they say or how many shotguns they fire or how many crosses they destroy, they're not going to stop me from speaking out about a war that needlessly killed my son.

By Jodie Evans
Huffington Post

It's Mother's Day at Camp Casey. Surrounded by about 30 mothers, Cindy had been reading their letters to Laura Bush. Tears were streaming down her face.

At that moment, a call came in from the hospital that Cindy's mother had just had a stroke.

She immediately left the camp and has flown off to be with her mother, who is in intensive care. The other mothers continued to share their letters and marched the hour from camp down to the entrance to Bush's ranch to deliver the letters.

Before she left, Cindy asked that everyone continue to keep the pressure on Bush to talk to the mothers and answer their questions.

By Arianna Huffington
Huffington Post

As the New York Times’ full-throated defense of Judith Miller hits new lows (Bob Dole brought in as a friend of the court?) the $64,000 question remains: Why is the paper linking itself so completely to Miller’s fate?

“The thing you’ve got to understand,

Mother’s Illness Won’t Change the Agenda at Camp Casey; Prayer Vigil Tomorrow Will Take Place at 12 Noon CDTFriday

http://www.meetwithcindy.org

Statement by Cindy Sheehan:

This afternoon around 4 p.m. Crawford time my sister DeeDee received a call that our mother has had a stroke and is in the emergency room at a hospital in Los Angeles.

As you can imagine, this is a devastating blow for my sister, my brother, my children and me.

I’m leaving Crawford temporarily to go be with my mother. While I am gone, the other mothers of fallen soldiers in Iraq, along with the Iraq war veterans and other soldiers will remain at Camp Casey and keep up the pressure on the President to meet with us and answer questions about the war.

Update:

Cindy's mother has just had a stroke. Cindy and her sister have left Crawford to visit with her mother. We encourage you to come to Crawford to support the other military families who have lost their children to this war and bring a card for Cindy's mother.

http://www.meetwithcindy.org

by Ira Chernus
Common Dreams

It was an astonishing turnout. Last night, in my small middle-American city, more than 150 people stood on street corners supporting Cindy Sheehan, the grieving mom who is waiting outside the president's ranch to ask him, "Why did you kill my son?" Of course, demonstrations like this don’t have much effect unless they are reported in the mainstream media. Cindy Sheehan is making the media pay attention.

With Cindy's mother ill, that must clearly be her top concern. Watch www.meetwithcindy.org for news on that front.

It's important to note that Cindy has not dropped her request for a meeting with Bush.

It's also worth noting that many families of soldiers killed in Iraq are at Campo Casey and are not going anywhere. Again, watch www.meetwithcindy.org for updates.

By ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press Writer

The grieving woman who started an anti-war demonstration near President Bush's ranch nearly two weeks ago said Thursday she was leaving because her mother had a stroke.

Cindy Sheehan told reporters she had just received the phone call and was leaving immediately to be with her 74-year-old mother at a Los Angeles hospital.

"I'll be back as soon as possible if it's possible," she said. After hugging some of her supporters, Sheehan and her sister, Deedee Miller, got in a van and left for the Waco airport about 20 miles away.

Sheehan, whose 24-year-old son Casey died in Iraq, said the makeshift campsite off the road leading to Bush's ranch would continue. The camp has grown to more than 100 people, including many relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq.

By Peter Beinart
The Washington Post

Thursday 18 August 2005

With Bush and the public insulated from Iraq, Cindy Sheehan has moral authority.
Why has Cindy Sheehan - the bereaved mother camped outside President Bush's Crawford ranch - transfixed the nation?

Partly because she captures something profound about the war in Iraq. Vietnam was a mass-participation war: Nearly 3 million Americans fought; more than 58,000 died. And it provoked a mass antiwar movement: Year after year in the late 1960s, hundreds of thousands of Americans traveled to Washington to protest. The assumption was that everyone would serve. It was that assumption, and the fear it created, that drew so many demonstrators into the streets. And it was the betrayal of that assumption - as children of the elite evaded service - that ripped America apart.

By Scott Galindez
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Thursday 18 August 2005

As I flip my television from network to network, they sound like a broken record when they talk about Cindy Sheehan. They all seem to claim that she is a puppet of the left, the anti-war movement etc...

I am in Crawford and am spending a lot of time near Cindy. I promise you that Cindy is not the puppet in Crawford, but the puppet master. There is a media team working on her scheduling, but they are not telling her what to say.

The allegations that the left is exploiting Cindy couldn't be further from the truth. I see millions of people following Cindy, not the other way around. I got an e-mail from Cindy that she was going to go to Crawford, not from MoveOn.

By E&P Staff

Published: August 18, 2005 12:00 PM ET

NEW YORK The Cindy Sheehan antiwar protest near the Bush ranch in Crawford, Texas, has been a national story for the past week. In Thursday's papers, however, the story hit home in a big way, as hundreds of newspapers reported on local pro-Sheehan vigils held coast-to-coast.

The Associated Press estimated there were 1,600 such events and a Google News search produced hundreds of separate stories. Some vigils, such as one in Minneapolis, drew over 1,000 protestors.

The Denver Post covered outpourings in Denver, Golden, and Fort Collins. “Area Residents Take Stand Against War,

By Jan Frel
Posted on August 18, 2005, Printed on August 18, 2005
http://www.alternet.org/bloggers/frel/24289/

It's hard to believe that once a key fact about a major story is put out there that it's not permanently incorporated into the bigger picture.

But it's clear that things do get missed, and even when they are splashed, they don't always stick with the Big Story. Take for example the fact that Karl Rove was fired in '92 by Bush Sr. for smearing an enemy through Bob Novak. That should be one of the context sentences right next to the one that lays out that this whole thing started with a July 2003 column by Novak; "Rove has a history of smearing his enemies through Robert Novak -- it's a practice he was caught and fired for by the first Bush president in 1992." A simple sentence like that will do, and clearly has a lot of relevance to the current story. The L.A. Times wrote an article devoted to this historical note when the Rove scandal mushroomed in July, but the L.A. Times and the rest of the press haven't made much reference to this as a stock fact afterward.

by Cindy Sheehan on Daily Kos
Thu Aug 18th, 2005 at 10:02:17 PDT

Our candlelight vigil at Camp Casey was beautiful tonight. There were hundreds of people here and we are hearing that hundreds of people were involved in vigils around the country. We at Camp Casey are so amazed and gratified that there were almost 1700 vigils around the country.

CNN followed me around for the morning to do a "Day in the Life" of Cindy Sheehan. I kept asking them if they were falling asleep from boredom yet. I was on Anderson Cooper and it was pretty good. Anderson didn't ask me about the Israel thing because he had checked with Nightline. But he followed with a talk show, hate monger host, Darrell Ankarlo who I have had problems with in the past. He said that I have said that I believe all of the troops are murderers and I have never said that, either. Darrell Ankarlo wanted me to be on his show, but I don't think so.

Media Culpa: Should The New York Times and Time Magazine Have Exposed Karl Rove's Role in the Outing of Valerie Plame?

http://www.democracynow.org

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In an article in Vanity Fair, columnist Michael Wolff criticizes those in the mainstream media - particularly Time Magazine and The New York Times - who knew of Karl Rove's role in the outing of Valerie Plame, but refused to expose him. We host a debate with Wolff and investigative journalist Murray Waas. [includes rush transcript]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.democracynow.org

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) is calling for an investigation into the role of former Attorney General John Ashcroft in the outing of undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame. Conyers' call comes after a new report by investigative journalist Murray Waas that a special prosecutor was appointed in the case in large part because FBI investigators had begun to specifically question the veracity of accounts provided to them by Karl Rove. We speak with Conyers and Waas. [includes rush transcript]

t r u t h o u t | One Mother's Stand
By Scott Galindez

The vigil at Camp Casey was respectful and emotional.

Iraq Veteran Aidan Delgado opened the vigil with a heartfelt message: "In victory or defeat the price is the same... A price that can not be measured in dollars or votes but can only be measured in pain... We must make sure it is never paid again until all other means have failed." In the foreground as Aidan spoke was a flag-draped coffin. On the left side of the coffin, Iraq Veteran Hart Viges stood at attention. On the right side, Charlie Anderson in full uniform did the same.

Congresman Rush Holt's Resolution (H. Res. 363) has 76 cosponsors so far. Here is the summary of what it does:

"Requesting the President and directing the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Attorney General to transmit to the House of Representatives not later than 14 days after the date of the adoption of this resolution documents in the possession of the President and those officials relating to the disclosure of the identity and employment of Ms. Valerie Plame."

Ask your congress member to co-sponsor.

List of who is already co-sponsoring.

Post Your Report Here!

Here's mine: I went to a vigil with about 50 people in the small town of Cheverly, Md. Several people took turns speaking. We sang "Give Peace a Chance." Then we broke up the circle and talked to friends and new aquaintances. The Prince George's Sentinel and the Gazette were both there. We're assuming that the Washington Post was either covering the event over at the White House or had decided this was all beneath them.
-David Swanson

White House photos

White House report and photos.

Gallery of photos sent in from AZ, MI, DC.

Video of Tulsa OK vigil.

Orlando vigil photos.

Gallery of photos sent in from Highland Park IL, Sacramento CA, Pacific Grove CA.

Video of Baltimore vigil.

Photos from Oceanside, Calif.

Many more photo galleries.

Gallery of photos sent in from Arlington VA and New Orleans LA.

Click Picture.

By Eric Boehlert
Huffington Post

USA Today this week labeled Cindy Sheehan's Crawford protest "a headline-grabbing national movement." And the paper was right. Last night, all across the country thousands of people gathered for candlelight vigils in honor of Sheehan and her son, Casey, who died in Iraq. And yes, Sheehan's gotten more press (especially ink) than anyone could have possibly imagined. So why hasn't Nightline covered the story?

It's been unfolding for nearly two weeks, but to date the late-night ABC news giant has ignored the burgeoning anti-war event.

The omission is telling. Because despite the uptick in TV coverage in recent days, the Sheehan story still has not crossed over into phenomenon territory for most television producers, and certainly not at network news. For instance, over the last ten days ABC News -- all of its programming --has mentioned "Cindy Sheehan" just 26 times, according to TVEyes, the 24/7 broadcast monitoring service.

By Michael Benner

Rarely has there been a better example of the story about the emporer wearing no clothes. George W. Bush's repeated lies, forged documents, and dirty tricks have, especially since the Downing Street Minutes were released, revealed him to be nothing more than an arrogant narcissist. And now, Cindy Sheehan has him so frightened that the same man who shouted, "Bring 'em on" now cowers in the presence of one who seeks only the Truth --- what is the Noble Cause?

Cindy Sheehan has become a hero of mine. She's King and Gandhi. When she speaks I hear angels sing. Yet the boneheads in the media only see partisan politics.

Cox Cable Joins Nation's Largest Net Provider in Keeping Citizens in the Dark!
By BRAD BLOG
LINK TO ORIGINAL

Other ISPs doing the same thing -- here we go again! only bigger!!

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot UPDATE: Since the following item was posted, we have had confirmed reports of emails being blocked by other ISPs as well as Comcast. We'll post...

Guest blogged by Winter Patriot

UPDATE: Since the following item was posted, we have had confirmed reports of emails being blocked by other ISPs as well as Comcast. We'll post more when we know more. In the meantime, please try the tests described below, regardless of your e-mail provider, so we can get some sense of the scope of the problem. Thank you very much, as always.

I just got a call -- OK, two calls (I hung up on the guy twice) -- from a man calling himself Norman Simpson of Tejas Media Group (whatever that is; I had to ask him five times before he would identify himself). On the first call he wanted to know why I was abusing Cindy by making her stand in a ditch. On the second he wanted to know whether I would be a guest on some kind of show in Houston (I declined). He originally called, he said, because I was listed as the owner of MeetWithCindy.org.

Let's make a few things clear. Going to Crawford was Cindy's idea, nobody else's. She's choosing to be there, although Bush could invite her in to his ranch if he chooses to at any time. Cindy is not a pawn. She's running the show. And she has a bunch of talented people running her website, headed by David Taylor.

By Norman Solomon

The day after Wednesday night's nationwide vigils, the big headline at the top of the MoveOn.org home page said: "Support Cindy Sheehan." But MoveOn does not support Cindy Sheehan's call for swift withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

Many groups were important to the success of the Aug. 17 vigils, but the online powerhouse MoveOn was the largest and most prominent. After a long stretch of virtual absence from Iraq war issues, the organization deserves credit for getting re-involved in recent months. But the disconnects between MoveOn and much of the grassroots antiwar movement are disturbing.

By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Thursday, August 18, 2005; 11:45 AM

Is Cindy Sheehan the spark igniting an antiwar movement that threatens the Bush presidency? Or is she just an over-hyped flicker that will be extinguished with the next turn of the news cycle?

The White House is counting on it being the latter. As the Washington Post's Jim VandeHei explained in a Live Online discussion yesterday: "The White House thinks this whole story is a silly obsession of bored reporters with nothing better to do during the slow August."

But with more than a thousand Sheehan-inspired vigils all over the country last night -- and a national conversation unleashed -- there are reasons to think the White House may be wrong.

LeftI LINK

Last night CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 did a show about Cindy Sheehan. Of
course it would be too much to ask that they do a show just about Cindy
Sheehan, who is, after all, an active news maker. So they managed to fit in
segments of White House spin about how "emotional" Bush is when he meets
with families and clips of Bush claiming that he "grieves for every death,"
scurrilous non-attributed claims about how "'some' [my quotes] call her a
savvy political radical and a pawn for the left," clips of Bill O'Reilly

YOU DECIDE!
By Phil Vargas, Korean War veteran

I know, I know, it's all been said before. But maybe it hasn't. And it may be worthwhile to revisit our President's military record in view of the deaths and maiming of thousands of Americans and the billions we have paid and are paying for his war in Iraq.

It is nearly two and a half years since our military invaded and occupied a country that did not present a threat to us or its neighbors. That has been confirmed time and time again. And in view of the fact that 1,858 Americans have died, 13,877 Americans have been maimed, and 26,705 Iraqis reported killed - and still counting! (22 US soldiers were killed this week, August 11-17, 2005) -- in Bush's dishonorable, ignoble, illegal (in clear violation of the US Constitution and international law), unnecessary, and extremely costly war in Iraq, it is indeed very appropriate to reconsider the following important aspects of our President's military record. But it is of special importance that we take another look at our President's military record because of his having deceived us and the entire world into that war, and that includes the supporting lies of our highest US government officials, viz., Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzalez, and former Secretary of State Colin Powell, amongst others, who led us into a horrendous international relations blunder which has disgraced our good country and made it the most hated country in the world and us Americans - you and I -- the most hated people in the world!

TomPaine.com
Robert Dreyfuss
August 18, 2005

Robert Dreyfuss is a freelance writer based in Alexandria, Va., who specializes in politics and national security issues. He is a contributing editor at The Nation, a contributing writer at Mother Jones, a senior correspondent for The American Prospect, and a frequent contributor to Rolling Stone. His book, Devil's Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam, will be published by Henry Holt/Metropolitan Books in the fall.

On August 14, The Washington Post reported that Iraqi Sunni insurgents joined in battle not against U.S. occupation forces but against the radical-fundamentalist battalions of Abu Musab Zarqawi and his “Al Qaeda in Iraq.

On Thursday, August 18, women who have been sitting with Cindy Sheehan at the vigil in Crawford, Texas, will be writing and attempting to hand-deliver letters to Laura Bush. As part of a woman-to-woman, mother-to-mother appeal, Cindy’s supporters will ask the First Lady to urge her husband to take time from his vacation to answer the questions of a grieving mother. Cindy’s supporters, led by her sister Dede Miller, will then conduct a three-mile march from Camp Casey to the gate of George Bush’s ranch.

Send us your letters asap so we can take them to Laura Bush on Thursday!

Click Here to Take Action Now!