Cindy Sheehan

Submitted by Jeff Paterson on Sat, 2005-08-13 12:22.

Hi Cindy,

On less than two days notice, over 200 folks rallied last night in San Francisco to support the stand you have taken in Texas. The rally included a Gold Star Families for Peace member who’s brother was killed serving in Iraq and a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. Following the rally, we marched up to the busy Union Square shopping district to make some noise. See you again in Crawford next week!

Here are the photos:
http://www.indybay.org/news/2005/08/1759454.php

The Washington Note
By Steve Clemons

It's hard to know, but I think that Harry Truman would have met Cindy Sheehan. I think that Dwight Eisenhower would have. He knew about military sacrifice -- the horror and complexity of it.

The micro life of a soldier -- or an Iraqi victim -- is lost sometimes against the macro drama, no matter what side of the war people might be on.

I think that Carter would be out there with her. I'm really not sure about Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon -- though a hunch tells me that Johnson would have been out there before Nixon and Kennedy.

Ronald Reagan would have stopped his car, if for no other reason that to hold Cindy Sheehan for a few moments, to express the regrets of a nation that her son was lost, and to thank her -- even though he might not have made her and many of us believers in this war.

San Diego Union Tribune
By Alex Roth

CRAWFORD, Texas – A few miles down the road from President Bush's vacation ranch, a small patch of countryside has come to symbolize the fault line that has emerged in this country over the wisdom of the war in Iraq.

Along a dusty road yesterday morning, under the shade of several large oak trees, dozens of posters declared "Wage Peace" and asked "Who Would Jesus Bomb?" A man with dyed-orange hair strummed an acoustic guitar from atop a 1983 Volvo station wagon, and an anti-war group handed out pink umbrellas decorated with peace signs so protesters could shield themselves from the blistering Texas sun.

The Nation
by Bruce Shapiro

Pitching her tent on the Texas roadside, Gold Star Mother Cindy Sheehan has given a face, a voice and a story to the widespread but amorphous disillusionment with George Bush's Iraq occupation. Truck drivers divert from the interstate to blare their horns in support. Dozens of veterans and dead soldiers' families brave the summer heat to join her. Network news programs lead their morning broadcasts with the story of her protest.

The President, unwilling to accede to Sheehan's demand for a meeting and aware of the explosive potential of the war-bereaved, utters a generic statement and leapfrogs by helicopter over the possibility of direct confrontation.

Working for Change
Posted by Andrew Boyd

A TV ad of Cindy Sheehan addressing President Bush will air on Crawford, TX cable channels near Bush's ranch. The total ad buy is currently $15,000, paid for by Gold Star Families for Peace. The group plans to air the ad throughout August and wherever Bush visits during his vacation. Watch the ad now .

Sheehan's son, Casey, was an Army mechanic who was killed just five days after arriving in Iraq.

From Daily Kos
by Tony Seybert
Sat Aug 13th, 2005 at 07:59:02 PDT

LINK TO CARTOON

* Tony Seybert's diary :: ::

I posted this at My Left Wing yesterday. My Left Wing now has three semi-regular cartoon features, and it is a blast to log on and see cartoons on the front page. mental debris contributes "The Fuss Bunnies," dhonig does "The Jew Boy Speaks," and I have a cartoon called Duckerford B. Hayes, that started out as a vicious attack on the cosmic lamenosity of Mallard Fillmore, but soon took on a like of its own. ("The In-Laws" is part of the Duckerford B. Hayes series.)

Daily Kos
by raincat100
Sat Aug 13th, 2005 at 08:05:39 PDT

Yesterday, mem from somerville posted a diary here about local events in support of Cindy Sheehan and Camp Casey - my diary from yesterday was a follow-up.

As mem said, we can't all be in Crawford, but many of us want to show our support.

Please post any such events in your area here (and provide a link or contact information if you have it.) And, please recommend so this diary doesn't fall off the page in a few minutes. (Thanks for the recommendations last night!)

by James Moore
The Huffington Post

A close friend of mine went cycling with President Bush on Crawford Ranch last year and described a focused, relentlessly aggressive man on a mountain bike. Bush hammered out a hilly 18 mile course and left behind the guests and secret service agents trying to keep pace with his frenetic pedaling. There was nothing but him and the bike and the road and the pound of his heart. Good athletes are like this. Decent presidents are not.

Most endurance athletes discover that their minds, stimulated by endorphins released through exercise, tend to wander across a landscape of subjects. And when you find one that is engaging or significant, solutions and sensitivities unknown are suddenly discovered. That's why I wonder how the president can hit the trails of Prairie Chapel or even linger over his morning coffee and not be fixed on the unrelenting grief and resolve of Cindy Sheehan. She is becoming the symbol of our American Tiananmen.

by Rep. Bernie Sanders
The Huffington Post

Cindy Sheehan and the other families of soldiers who lost their lives in Iraq deserve answers from President Bush about his plans to bring our troops home. That is why I, along with dozens of other members of Congress, have urged the President to sit down with Ms. Sheehan.

One of the greatest concerns I have about the Bush Administration is their unwillingness to discuss issues with people whose positions are different than theirs. The President should hear firsthand from a woman whose views reflect those of tens of millions of Americans who believe that we have got to begin bringing our troops home as soon as possible.

by Arianna Huffington
The Huffington Post

The right wing attacks on Cindy Sheehan -- desperate, pathetic, and grasping at straws -- expose much less about their target than about the attackers.

I mean, trying to slime a grieving Gold Star mom because she is inconveniently questioning the reasons her son was sent off to die in Iraq? Why that would be like trashing a much-decorated war hero or outing an undercover CIA agent…

Oh, right…

How much longer can the Bushies get away with mauling the very values they profess to stand for before their supporters start getting wise to the fact that the only value they really value is power?

by Cindy Sheehan
The Huffington Post
Posted at 12:52 AM

My day started way too early today. After 3 hours of sleep, I was being shaken awake by someone at 6:30 a.m. telling me that the Today show wanted me to be on. I had come into town to sleep in a trailer because my tent had been infested with fire ants.

We had a very interesting day. We had Bush drive by really, really fast twice. I caught a glimpse of Laura. I was hoping after she saw me that she would come down to Camp Casey with some brownies and lemonade. I waited for her, but she never came.

The Bushes were going to a barbeque/fundraiser down the road from us. I was very surprised that they let us stay so close to Bush. The families of the fallen loved ones held their son's crosses from Arlington West while Bush drove by. I bet it didn't even give him indigestion to see so many people protesting his murderous policies.

President can run, but he cannot hide
OfficialWire
by Michael Ascot

CRAWFORD, TX -- (OfficialWire) -- 08/13/05 -- It's shameful really. This president is a coward. He likes to talk the big talk, like "Bring 'em on...", "We'll hunt 'em down..." and the like, but actually, George W. Bush is a coward with nothing much to say.

Evidence of the expanding yellow streak down the backside of America's Commander-in-Chief is his continued refusal to meet with Cindy Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in Sadr City, Iraq, on April 4, 2004. Sheehan and her supporters are maintaining a roadside encampment—Camp Casey—close to the president's Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford.

OfficialWire
by Jennifer Monroe

CRAWFORD, TX -- (OfficialWire) -- 08/13/05 -- The 'Heart of Texas' chapter of Free Republic, a conservative forum, is planning a demonstration Saturday aimed at countering the peace vigil organized by Cindy Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in Sadr City, Iraq, on April 4, 2004. Sheehan and her supporters are maintaining a roadside encampment—Camp Casey—close to the president's Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford.

Sheehan, 48 (shown here), traveled to the 'Western White House' one week ago after George W. Bush said that fallen U.S. troops had died for a 'noble cause' and that the mission must be completed.

The Nation
Originally posted March 9, 2005 (March 28, 2005 issue)
by Karen Houppert

On a Sunday afternoon in February a young man made a plea to a room full of 400 antiwar activists who had gathered in St. Louis for three days of strategizing on how to end the war in Iraq. "I'm probably the most experienced activist in my organization and I've been an activist for one year," 25-year-old Michael Hoffman said, "so we need your help with logistics." In return, he promised that his group would serve as a shield. "When there are massive protests, we will be out front. We will say that you are doing everything you can to support the troops by demanding that this war is ended, and ended now, so that the troops are brought home and cared for when they return."

In her camp outside the President's ranch, Cindy Sheehan talks and waits.
By Denise Gamino
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

CRAWFORD — Even the florists are making house calls to Cindy Sheehan's foxhole.

Her small, silver tent is pitched in a rain-soaked ditch 1 1/2 miles from orange barricades that prohibit entrance to a road leading to President Bush's 1,600-acre rolling prairie ranch. She's not leaving, so the world comes to her: national television news teams, cell phone calls from members of Congress and steady deliveries of fresh cut flowers.

And every bouquet, it seems, sparkles with blooms of a distinctive "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" shade of lemon.

In a Tent Near Bush's Ranch, Antiwar Mother of Dead Soldier Gains Visibility
By Michael A. Fletcher
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 13, 2005; Page A01

CRAWFORD, Tex., Aug. 12 -- Cindy Sheehan vaulted into national consciousness this month on the power of her story as the grieving mother of a fallen soldier.

But what began as a solitary campaign to force a meeting with President Bush by setting up camp along the road to his ranch has quickly taken on the full trappings of a political campaign. Sheehan is working with a political consultant and a team of public relations professionals, and now she is featured in a television ad.

CNN THE SITUATION ROOM 3:00 PM EST
Friday, August 12, 2005

CINDY SHEEHAN, SON DIED IN IRAQ: I want to ask the president, why did he kill my son? What did my son die for?

BLITZER: War mothers on both sides of the issue speaking out.

And a CNN exclusive. We'll go live inside North Korea where our Mike Chinoy is the only western correspondent in a tightly closed country. Stay with us.

BLITZER: Welcome back. We've been hearing a lot about Cindy Sheehan, she's protesting the president and his war policy. She lost a son in Iraq. We're going to be speaking with her shortly. But first, let's go to Chicago. Georgette Frank is joining us live. Georgette Frank lost a son in Iraq, as well. Georgette, thanks very much for joining us. Tell us a little bit about your son, Phil, first of all.

ANDERSON COOPER 360 DEGREES
Thursday, August 11, 2005

BUSH: Listen, I sympathize with Mrs. Sheehan. She feels strongly about her position. And I -- she has every right in the world to say what she believes. This is America. She has a right to her position. And I've thought long and hard about her position. I've heard her position from others, which is, get out of Iraq now. And it would be a -- it would be a mistake for the security of this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, that was President Bush earlier today talking about Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq. Now, she's been camped for days near the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, demanding to ask him in person why her son died. It's a personal story that's become very political as well.

COUNTDOWN on MSNBC 8:00 PM EST
August 11, 2005 Thursday

OLBERMANN: At about the same time the president spoke to the media today, the mother of Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, who died at Sadr City, Iraq, in April 2004, held a news conference of her own, joined by other families. Cindy Sheehan pledged to stay camped outside that ranch for the duration of the president`s August vacation, adding that if he does not talk with her there, she may to go Washington in September.

And while the president did not talk with her directly today, he did finally address her presence and her purpose.

HARDBALL 7:00 PM EST
Thursday, August 11, 2005

GREGORY: On the same day President Bush met with his foreign policy team at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, he said he had sympathy for a woman whose son was killed serving in Iraq. That woman, Cindy Sheehan, has been waiting outside the president`s ranch, demanding to meet with him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: And I sympathize with Mrs. Sheehan. She feels strongly about her position. And I -- she has every right in the world to say what she believes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GREGORY: Melanie Morgan, a conservative radio talk show host, has been in e-mail correspondence with the Sheehan family on the father`s side and was sent the following statement just this morning: "The Sheehan family lost our beloved Casey in the Iraq War and we have been silently, respectfully grieving. We do not agree with the political motivations and publicity tactics of Cindy Sheehan. She now appears to be promoting her own personal agenda and notoriety, at the expense of her son`s good name and reputation. The rest of the Sheehan family supports the troops and our country and our president, silently, with prayer and respect."

NBC Nightly News 6:30 AM EST NBC
Thursday, August 11, 2005

BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor:

Now to that woman outside the president's ranch in Texas. Cindy Sheehan lost a son in Iraq. She has met with the president before but wants so badly to meet him and talk to him again. She's vowed to live outdoors, outside his Texas ranch, until she gets to see the president. Her story tonight from NBC's Kelly O'Donnell.

KELLY O'DONNELL reporting:

Day six at this improvised campsite, about a five-mile drive from the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas. One mother's vigil...

Ms. CINDY SHEEHAN: Why did George Bush kill my son?

This isn’t about politics, it’s about grief. It’s about a growing group of ordinary citizens trying to teach this callous cowboy how to care,even as he bikes away his worries while the families of the 46 soldiers killed in the month of August alone attend funerals.

By Lilian Friedberg
http://www.opednews.com

One sorely neglected aspect of the Cindy Sheehan story concerns public expression of mourning. Ronald Reagan’s death called for an entire week of public mourning, and myriad other instances of public mourning in response to the death of a single individual mark the landscape of recent US-history: the death of John Lennon in 1980, of John Kennedy Jr. in 1999, of Christopher Reeve in 2004, Pope John Paul II earlier this year, and most recently, of ABC news anchor Peter Jennings. Public mourning in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombings, the Challenger and Columbia disasters and the 9/11 attacks was widespread, fuelled in large part by a veritable carpet-bombing of memorials delivered to our living rooms by the corporate media. All of us took time out of our busy schedules to mark the tragedies in public displays of despair, and the effect was cathartic, a necessary step in the process of “moving on

Web.Morons.Org
Posted by spatula on Aug. 12, 2005

I don't know who is organizing it, but I can see its effects: the Republicans have launched an all-out war on the mother of a young man who died in Iraq...

Every day I get a report in my email that shows me how many hits and visitors the site got, a projection of traffic for the month, number of requests per second, and, most importantly, the URLs of the referring sites. This way I can tell where the traffic is coming from. Often this leads me to other amusing sites where our articles or the site are discussed-- sometimes in a flattering way, and sometimes not.

KTEN Channel 10

CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) - At least five Oklahomans have joined a growing peace vigil outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas.

What started Saturday as a California woman's solo demonstration has swelled to encampment of at least 50 supporters.

Serena Blaiz of Oklahoma City says the crowd might number 100, but that it's hard to tell the peace activists from the media.

Melissa Rabe of Blanchard says she came to support Cindy Sheehan, the California mother whose son was killed in Iraq last year.

The Peace House of Oklahoma City says other Oklahomans at the vi

Anti-war protest near Bush ranch
Carol Sowers
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 12, 2005 12:00 AM

SCOTTSDALE - Two Scottsdale mothers have joined a highly publicized vigil near President Bush's remote ranch in Crawford, Texas, to demand that he withdraw troops from Iraq.

"This is a real pivotal moment in the anti-war movement," said Sherry Bohlen, whose son is in Iraq. "We want to raise public awareness."

Under mounting pressure, Bush repeatedly has said it is too early to pull out of the war, but he sympathizes with parents of soldiers.

Bohlen and Rebecca Bahr, also of Scottsdale, arrived in Crawford on Wednesday afternoon, where about 200 protesters have gathered since Saturday.

Read 'em and sympathize. It has to hurt to have no other argument for your war than the ability to call opponents of it "extremists."

Contact: Mikael Moore (202) 225-2201

Los Angeles, CA - This weekend, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-35) will travel to Crawford, Texas to lend her support to Ms. Cindy Sheehan who is attempting to meet with President George W. Bush during his month long vacation at his ranch. Ms. Sheehan's son, Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, was killed in Baghdad on April 4, 2004, less than a week after arriving in Iraq. Ms. Sheehan wants to meet with the President to ask him why her son died and to voice her concerns about the war in Iraq.

Congresswoman Waters will bring books, food and other supplies with her to help sustain Ms. Sheehan during her time in Crawford.

Cindy Sheehan holds up a sign as President Bush's motorcade drives by.
Friday, August 12, 2005; Posted: 2:27 p.m. EDT (18:27 GMT)

CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) -- President Bush's motorcade, en route to a political fund-raiser near his ranch, passed Friday by the site of Cindy Sheehan's Iraq war protest where more than 100 people had gathered to support her.

Sheehan -- whose son, Casey, was killed five days after he arrived in Iraq last year at age 24 -- held a sign that read: "Why do you make time for donors and not for me?"

It's unclear whether Bush, riding in a black Suburban with tinted windows, looked at the demonstrators as his caravan passed.

The motorcade did not stop.

Law enforcement agencies used their cars to block two intersecting roads, where the demonstrators have camped out this week, and required them to stand behind yellow tape. They were not asked to leave their makeshift campsite.

From:
LINK
(links in the original)

Here's coverage of yesterday's "press conference" (in quotes because a grand total of five questions were involved) by George Bush from Knight-Ridder's Ron Hutcheson:

"By Thursday, President Bush could no longer ignore the grieving, angry mother from Northern California camped outside his ranch.

"'I sympathize with Mrs. Sheehan,' Bush told reporters Thursday after more than a week of intense media focus on his uninvited visitor."

The clear implication is that Bush had spontaneously made this remark to reporters, and that he had made some kind of conscious decision to "no longer ignore" Cindy Sheehan. But that's nonsense. In the 859-word cliche-ridden speech delivered by Bush that precedes the questioning, Cindy Sheehan doesn't come up at all. It's only after, in response to a question about troop withdrawals, that Bush says, "I also have heard the voices of those saying, pull out now, and I've thought about their cry, and their sincere desire to reduce the loss of life by pulling our troops out," and, following that, that a reporter follows up by asking, "Just to make clear, you're referring to Mrs. Sheehan here, I think?" And even then, Bush pointedly doesn't answer "yes", but instead replies "I'm referring to any grieving mother or father, no matter what their political views may be." And only then does he finally get around to "no longer ignoring the grieving, angry mother" and express his (phony) sympathy with Sheehan.