destruction

A Mother And the President A woman lost her son in Iraq and won't leave George W. Bush alone until he sees her. Who is she, and why is she stirring such emotion? By BY AMANDA RIPLEY IN CRAWFORD Cindy Sheehan, 48, is not a natural-born revolutionary. She speaks in a high, almost childlike voice. She says like as often as any teenager, as in, "This whole thing was like so freaking spur of the moment." When her supporters gather to discuss strategy, Sheehan is not to be found in the circle of beach chairs; she is 50 yards up the road, doing yet another interview, hugging yet another stranger. But here she is, the mother of Casey, 24, who died in Iraq last year, and now the central character in the strange, swirling protest she initiated two miles down the road from President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. Sheehan is unflinching about why she's here. She says George W. Bush killed her son. She demands that U.S. troops come home now, and she insists on telling that to Bush personally. She speaks without caveat. "I'm not afraid of anything since my son was killed," she says. But she has never been one to move quietly through life. Father Michael McFadden, a priest she once worked for, calls her "very defiant, very stubborn, very strong willed" when dealing with authority. When a soldier from the local base comes by to argue with her, she asks him to go for a walk. She puts her arm around him. Soon they are hugging. Her friends call her Attila the Honey. Back home in California, her family is imploding under its grief. Sheehan lost her job at Napa County Health and Human Services because of all her absences, she says. Husband Pat, 52, couldn't bear having Casey's things at home and put most of them in storage. "We grieved in totally different ways," Cindy says. "He wanted to grieve by distracting himself. I wanted to immerse myself." A car tinkerer, he added two 1969 VW Bugs to his collection recently and diverted some of his sorrow into them. The couple separated in June. Daughter Carly, 24, wrote a poem that begins, "Have you ever heard the sound of a mother screaming for her son?" Surviving son Andy, 21, supports his mother in principle but recently sent her a long e-mail imploring her "to come home because you need to support us at home," he says. Casey's aunt Cherie Quartarolo e-mailed a California radio station last week to rebuke Cindy, writing, "She appears to be promoting her own personal agenda at the expense of her son's good name." Outside her family circle, Sheehan's crusade has been just as divisive. Conservative commentator Michelle Malkin has called the protesters "terrorist-sympathizing agitators." But at a time when 56% of the respondents in a CNN poll say they think the war is going poorly, this wandering mother has tapped into a national well of worry: Are our troops dying in vain? "People were looking for something to do," says Sheehan. Now they are calling to see whether they can sign over their Social Security checks to her. Still, it is hard to know when a flash-fire protest in a prairie will turn into something more. Surely it didn't happen when Martin Sheen called (which was on Day 5). Nor did it when the police donned riot gear, as they did on Day 7, when the President's motorcade came within 100 feet of Sheehan's ramshackle encampment. (Riot gear is casual fashion for police at protests these days, after all.) Attendance figures--about 100 by midweek--did not break any records either. But the people who did come made it seem different from other antiwar spasms. A retired postal worker drove from San Diego for 26 hours. A local soldier who had just returned from Iraq appeared with his mom. And a truck driver--a former Marine who had never been to an antiwar protest before--decided to pull his 18-wheeler full of frozen pizzas into Crawford just to shake Sheehan's hand. At her roadside uprising, Sheehan feels only muted satisfaction. Sitting in a van, momentarily insulated from followers and other reporters, she says more than once that she feels like a failure. Even if the troops came back tomorrow, it would still be too late for her son. "I really failed Casey. I really did," she says, tearing up. Throughout his childhood in California, Casey and his mother were close. An altar boy for 10 years, Casey enlisted in 2000 hoping to make a career as a military chaplain's assistant. He had decided to wait to have sex until he was married. "He took lots of heat for that in the Army. Pat and I always wondered why he would even tell anyone he was still a virgin," Sheehan wrote on TruthOut.org "but he did." Casey Sheehan was killed in Sadr City on April 4, 2004, less than a month after he arrived in Iraq as a humvee mechanic. He had gone out on a voluntary mission to rescue injured soldiers when his unit was ambushed. Six other soldiers died with him. Says his brother Andy: "He lived to help people, and he died helping people." On the day he died, Cindy saw a burning humvee on CNN and says she knew instinctively that her son was among the dead. Sheehan's impulsive decision to come to Crawford--with five people, some chairs and no flashlights--has spawned a small phenomenon. A busload of counterprotesters, organized by a conservative radio personality in Dallas, arrived to sing God Bless America. A Japanese peace-activist group donated money for Porta Potties. Chad Griffin, a Los Angeles--based p.r. agent who worked in the Clinton White House, came up with the idea of cutting an ad featuring Sheehan's plea to speak with Bush. With $12,000 in donations, the ad is running in Crawford. That's exactly the kind of move the White House hopes will play into its hands. Once Sheehan starts acting like a politician, say some Republicans and even some Democrats, she will become just another voice in the debate--easy, in other words, to neutralize. But until then, Bush's team cannot fire back hard, as it usually does when it is criticized. Sheehan must be handled, as an adviser to the President put it, "very carefully." And that's what it has been struggling to do. Top officials went out to talk to Sheehan but failed to appease her. The President acknowledged her obliquely last week in response to a question about Iraq, saying he shared her pain. The White House, quantifying his compassion, put out a list of the meetings Bush has held with families. (He has met with the relatives of 272 deceased U.S. soldiers so far.) A senior aide who was present at many of the meetings estimates that a little less than 10% of the relatives tell Bush their loved ones died in vain. "He's had a couple wives who were very upset," says the aide. "They didn't yell at him or hit him or anything like that. But on more than one occasion, they've made very clear their position." And the White House noted that Bush met with Sheehan too, two months after Casey died. She had always had misgivings about the war, and she says she had mixed feelings about Bush's demeanor at the meeting, but she kept quiet. When more information came out about the planning for the war, however, she started to feel utterly betrayed. But White House aides say they worry about the precedent, should Bush see Sheehan again. "If the President meets with her, does he have to meet with every protester who camps out in Crawford or in Lafayette Park [in Washington]?" asks a Bush aide. "Does he have a second meeting with every mother or wife who asks for one?" A fair question. There is a risk, though, that Sheehan's ideas will never stop spreading down the road. In 1965 a group of just 25 antiwar protesters demonstrated outside President Lyndon Johnson's Texas ranch. Within a few years, the handful had turned into a movement. --With reporting by Amanda Bower/San Francisco, Jay Carney/Washington and Hilary Hylton/Crawford http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,1093760,00.html

Dead soldier's mom brings anti-war protest to Bush 14 Aug 2005 20:27:00 GMT Source: Reuters By Tabassum Zakaria CRAWFORD, Texas, Aug 14 (Reuters) - The mother of a dead American soldier who brought the anti-war movement into President George W. Bush's backyard has become a symbol for those who want U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq. Cindy Sheehan, whose 24-year-old son Casey was killed in Iraq in April 2004, has pitched a tent on the side of a country road that leads to the president's ranch and refuses to go away until he speaks to her. She has grabbed the national spotlight and developed an almost cult-like following, drawing supporters to this Texas town, which has a population of 705. Cars line up near her campsite on a two-lane road that winds through farmland, from states like Kansas, Colorado and Florida, with messages such as "Crawford bound to support Cindy" scrawled on windows. Bush, who met with Sheehan once shortly after her son's death, has said he grieves for every death but will not prematurely pull troops out of Iraq. Opinion polls show public approval dropping for the president's handling of the war, in which more than 1,800 American soldiers have died. "I was just fed up. When the 14 Marines were killed, and when George Bush said again that they died for a noble cause, and he said we have to complete the mission by honoring the sacrifices of the fallen heroes, that was it, I just was so enraged," Sheehan said in an interview with Reuters. "If it's such a noble cause, why aren't his daughters over there?" She sits in a white plastic chair wearing a straw hat, a white shirt with a picture of her son, and a tattoo on her left ankle: "Casey '79-'04." Visitors pay homage, kneeling down, grabbing her hand or hugging her, saying they support her. Those who have gathered include parents with children fighting in Iraq, parents whose children died in Iraq, former soldiers who fought in Iraq and clergy. 'WE WERE USED' Ray McGovern, a former CIA analyst who addressed protesters from the bed of a red pickup truck, called Sheehan "our Rosa Parks," in a reference to the black woman who triggered civil rights protests after she was arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. Sherry Bohlen of Scottsdale, Arizona, came to Crawford after seeing Sheehan on television. Bohlen tears up when she talks about her son, Thor Bohlen, 36, who has been in Iraq for a month. "My son joined the Army to serve his country, he didn't join to serve a lie," Bohlen said. Hart Viges, 29, who joined the Army because of the Sept. 11 attacks said: "We were used. I believe the government betrayed the United States armed forces. They sent them out on a mission that was meant for something other than weapons of mass destruction." Viges, who returned from Iraq last year, has since left the military. Sheehan said she has been overwhelmed by the response. "The movement was already in place, it just took somebody to be a catalyst to spark it off," she said. Not everyone in Crawford is happy about the protesters. One resident made his opinion clear with a shotgun blast that rang out on his nearby ranch on Sunday. Sheehan said in a statement that protesters had not infringed on the rancher's property. "As to the neighbor's suggestion that we go home, we suggest he talk to his permanent neighbor, President Bush. We are not leaving until President Bush meets with us and answers our questions about why our sons are dead." PUBLIC RELATIONS Public relations firm Fenton Communications was hired to help organize media coverage for Sheehan and is being paid by TrueMajority, a nonprofit advocacy project founded by Ben Cohen, co-founder of the Ben and Jerry's ice cream company. Sheehan, a Democrat, rejects any suggestion that her actions are politically motivated against a Republican president. "I don't think this is being politically active," she said. "I see it as life and death, war and peace. It just so happens that the party who is the most war-like and that wants the war the most is the Republican Party." But she also had plenty of criticism for Democrats. "They vote for the funding, or they voted to give Bush the authority to go to war. They won't stand up and say well we voted to give you the authority, now we're going to take it away," she said. "A lot of Democrats are very wishy-washy." Sheehan said she has been asked by several groups to consider running for Congress, but dismissed that, saying she is a one-issue activist -- bringing U.S. troops home. She is already booked for the whole of September with speaking engagements and other activities in Italy, Colorado, Louisiana and Washington, D.C. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N14610212.htm

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0815/p01s01-uspo.html

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0508140184aug14,1,6639779.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

Bush Ducks Mother of Dead Soldier. http://win20ca.audiovideoweb.com/ca20win15004/motorcade512K.wmv By ALAN FREEMAN Friday, August 12, 2005 Updated at 3:45 AM EDT From Friday's Globe and Mai Washington — As the Iraq war continues to produce growing U.S. casualties and shrinking public support, President George W. Bush was forced yesterday to confront the protest of a grieving mother of a soldier killed in the war. But he still won't meet her. As Cindy Sheehan camped out on a road leading to Mr. Bush's ranch near Crawford, Tex., for the sixth consecutive day, insisting she wants to speak to the President personally, Mr. Bush said he sympathizes with her plight, but rejected her call to pull the troops out of Iraq. Ms. Sheehan's 24-year-old son, Casey, was killed in an ambush in Sadr City, Baghdad's sprawling Shia neighbourhood, last year, just five days after he arrived in Iraq. "I begged him not to go," says Ms. Sheehan, 48, who travelled from her home in California to try to speak with Mr. Bush as he spends his summer vacation at his Prairie Chapel Ranch. "I said, 'I'll take you to Canada,' but he said, 'Mom, I have to go. It's my duty. My buddies are going.' Advertisements "I don't believe his phony excuses for the war," Ms. Sheehan has said of the President. She said she believes the war is really about oil and making Mr. Bush's friends richer. "I want him to tell me why my son died." Anti-war activists are converging on Crawford, eager to seize on Ms. Sheehan's newfound notoriety and telegenic appeal to get their message across. On Saturday, Mr. Bush dispatched deputy national security adviser Stephen Hadley and deputy chief of staff Joe Hagin to meet with her to try to defuse the situation, but it just gave Ms. Sheehan more attention. Mr. Hadley said that Mr. Bush is very sensitive to the losses being sustained by military families, pointing out that he has already met privately with the families of more than 200 of the fallen. "He believes that they are engaged in a noble cause and it's terribly important for the safety and security of our country. And he respects her views, but respectfully disagrees." Yesterday, Mr. Bush felt obliged to respond himself. "She feels strongly about her position and she has every right in the world to say what she believes," Mr. Bush told a news conference. "And I 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 mistake for the security of this country and the ability to lay the foundations for peace in the long run if we were to do so." Mr. Bush said he grieves for every death in Iraq. "It breaks my heart to think about a family weeping over the loss of a loved one. I understand the anguish that some feel about the death that takes place." Yet there was no sign Mr. Bush intends to meet Ms. Sheehan. In fact, there were reports he is travelling solely by helicopter when he leaves the ranch in an effort to avoid racing past the protester in a limousine. "The President says he feels compassion for me," Ms. Sheehan said, "but the best way to show that compassion is by meeting with me and the other mothers and families who are here. "All we're asking is that he sacrifice an hour out of his five-week vacation to talk to us before the next mother loses her son in Iraq." Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas who has studied Mr. Bush's rise, said: "For him, meeting this woman face to face would be blinking. His whole game is to be confident and to appear never to doubt and never to waiver. It's this idea of determination." And unlike government leaders in a parliamentary system who are challenged directly by their political opponents, Mr. Bush can easily shelter himself from such confrontations. "He would not trust himself in a face-to-face meeting and neither would his staff. These guys like control," said Prof. Jillson, who added that Ms. Sheehan's protest in itself may not be that significant but it comes at a time when many Americans are reconsidering their views of the Iraq war. Approval of Mr. Bush's handling of the conflict has dropped to as little as 34 per cent of people surveyed, according to a recent poll conducted for Newsweek magazine. But only 33 per cent of Americans say the solution is withdrawing all troops, according to a recent Gallup Poll. Another 23 per cent say some of the troops should be withdrawn while 41 per cent say troop levels should remain the same or be increased. Ms. Sheehan's protest comes at a particularly bloody time for U.S. troops in the war as roadside bombs aimed at patrolling soldiers have become increasingly sophisticated and lethal. According to Associated Press, at least 1,841 American troops have died in the war since March, 2003, including 37 since the beginning of August. At his news conference, Mr. Bush said he strongly disagrees with those calling for troop withdrawal. "Pulling the troops out would send a terrible signal to the enemy ..... [that] the United States is weak and all we've got to do is intimidate and they'll leave." http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050812.wxbush0812/BNStory/International/

Translation:

1. Justification for going into Afghanistan: a) To have further control of the worlds largest supply of opium. Drugs = money. To build more oil pipelines in Afghanistan. Which we already have. Oil is what makes the world go round. c) Build more military bases in the middleeast. 2) Justification for going into Iraq: a) Control the worlds 2nd largest oil reserve. To depose of a person who tried to have his father assasinated c) To have more influence in the middleast. 3) Justification for revoking our civil liberties: a) The patriot act. Putting a nation into terror, and justifying the taking away of our liberties. c) To further bring our country towards a police state. 4) Corporate gain: a) To bring money to the defence contracting industry, Which the stocks actually rose right before 9/11. To help his friends in the oil industry. 5) Increase in military spending.

OIL

There you go. The military needs people who are in that profession. Maybe you could work at a military hospital, or a MASH unit. Go for it. Let the military further your career. Thankies.

What career is that? Read my addendum to my last post.

Ohhhhhhhh.... So that's what it would take for you to go get your hands dirty? What's your problem with enlisting/volunteering to fight a "noble" cause that you openly support? Too chicken to "gladly" sign up to "gladly" serve? Go on, bust a move to the recruting office. Put your "John Hancock" on that application. It's ok. I'll honor your services in our armed forces, after all it's a duty for Americans to honor your services, right? I'll honor your services.

Translation: Thanks for admitting you're a chickenhawk pussy. Quick. Dip into the vial. Grab another pill. Must be good stuff. I can tell. Go on, it's ok. Die of an overdose. No problem. You have been officially owned.

Since I am older than you son, address me as your daddy. SON! Don't like it? Close it. SON!

Translation: You know, there are pills for your illness. Consult your shrink for the right prescription for your mental disorder. Like cyanide capsules. But seriously sheepboy, will you enlist to fight a war you support? Like your family and friends did? Or will you continue to be a chickenhawk pussy and fight it from your recliner, watching Fox News? Moron.

Really?!?!?! What a fucking joke. I hope it fails miserably.

Duh!! Is it because many of the same people who so happen to be against this war have family and friends out there in the shit fighting and dying at the expense of Bush's 12974293874723 lies about this bullshit racist war for his own personal gain? You're question has as much intellect as a sponge. God save our troops from BUSH! It's fake. Like you. Lemming. mmmmmmph, mmmmmmmmmmmph, MMMMMMMMMMMPPPPPPPHHHHHH!!! (Your mom is talking). She says it's time to rotate the tires underneath the house again. But seriously... You love war. Will you go to war? Is it your "job"? Would you send your own kids off to war? Is it their "job"? You seem to enjoy it so much so why don't you take action and sign up? Have your kids sign up too. Or are you too much of a bootlicking chickenhawk pussy, like igloo? And yes. His daughters can go fight. Will Bushie let them? No. Why? Because he rather see someone else's child get killed over his lies over seeing his own air-headed daughters get blown away. For me to believe Bush is telling the truth? Send his own daughters off to war... Or even himself and Laura. There are roughly six or so family members of congressmen who are fighting so that debunks your "it's not their job" CONSERVATIVE gibberish on a club board loser. Hey, it's war. People die. Get over it, as you gung ho right wing extremists tell us.... until YOUR loved one(s) die on foreign soil then you go into a frenzy when the same rhetorical words are rammed back down your neo-rethuglikkklan throats. It's war. People die. Get over it, right? Headgiver? Don't like it? Log off and never come back again. Of course you can always register at conservativeunderground.com then you won't have to read our liberal "gibberish". It's your only way to cope with the "inevitable". Better yet, execute the suicide solution. Yourself.

The oxy-contin is taking effect on you. Hurry. Head to Rush's medicine cabinet for more before the script runs out.

RED WHITE AND BRAINWASHED. Have another one of Rushie-boy's oxy-contins. Hahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!

That's only one word. Your grammatical mistakes are many more than that and that goes beyond ARGUMENT, blowboy. Oh, it's "fucking", not "fuckin". Spell it right next time trollblower. BTW, it's nookoolar, not NUCLEAR. /sarcasm Fucking uneducated Nazi.

Translation: Secondly. Read my entire post in question where you made the assumptions of my mispelling. Display the words in question and display them. My spellchecker is waiting. Thirdly. Criticism is a free speech right. Ever hear of it? This is the way it is in this freedom loving country. You want to live in a nation where criticism of government is outlawed? MOVE TO NORTH KOREA! Fourthly. I repeat. Capitalize the first letter in the first word in a sentence. One period at the end of a sentence. Not two. Again, you fail to use proper grammar, but then again conservatives have a tendency to fail in the proper grammar and phonetic department. There's the 15th characteristic of fascism, in the flesh. Wow... Good to see you made it mongoloid. Seriously son, shut the fuck up. Your "background noise" is nothing but a waste of bandwidth sheepboy. Stop posting and log off permanently. Call your ISP and cancel your service and sell your computer then kill yourself. Much valuable bandwidth will be saved by your non-existance.

Apparently, your grammar is much weaker. Do they teach grammar in Republican school? 1. Capitalize the first letter of the first word in a sentence. 2. It's arguement/existance. NOT arguement/ existance. 3. Periods appear at the end of a sentence. Not before the sentence. Use proper punctuation when forming sentences. If I'm "reaching", then explain where I am weak in the definition of fascism. If you're implying I am wrong, then what is the definition? Would your extremist bed buddy siceone's "arguement/existance" be weak too since he has already confirmed my answer to him?

Something else for you siceone... The 14 Characteristics of Fascism by Lawrence Britt Spring 2003 Free Inquiry magazine Political scientist Dr. Lawrence Britt recently wrote an article about fascism ("Fascism Anyone?," Free Inquiry, Spring 2003, page 20). Studying the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile), Dr. Britt found they all had 14 elements in common. He calls these the identifying characteristics of fascism. The excerpt is in accordance with the magazine's policy. The 14 characteristics are: Powerful and Continuing Nationalism Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottoes, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc. Supremacy of the Military Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized. Rampant Sexism The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and anti-gay legislation and national policy. Controlled Mass Media Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common. Obsession with National Security Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses. Religion and Government are Intertwined Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions. Corporate Power is Protected The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite. Labor Power is Suppressed Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed . Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts. Obsession with Crime and Punishment Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders. Fraudulent Elections Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections. Copyright © 2003 Free Inquiry magazine Reprinted for Fair Use Only. http://www.veteransforpeace.org/The_14_characteristics_030303.htm

Homer, is this one of the right wing extremists you were talking about?