Cindy Sheehan

At the beginning of the Democracy Cell Project, we discussed the necessity of focusing on a limited number of issues, lest we become another news site, racing to get the first word out there. One of the issues we recognized as critical to restoring democracy was media reform. But it’s hard to reform institutions from the outside. So we reminded ourselves of the words of one the more famous Kerry-Edwards bloggers, Wild Salmon, who kept telling us to BE THE MEDIA.

The entire blogosphere has taken up the mantle, and now we see the mainstream media catching up, finally—after over a week of blog coverage—noticing the small woman sitting on a roadside in Texas.

By Marjorie Cohn
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Friday 12 August 2005

For seven days, Cindy Sheehan has been camped down the road from George Bush's Crawford ranch where the President is on a five-week vacation. Cindy says she will never enjoy a vacation again. Her heart is broken. Her precious son Casey was murdered in George Bush's war on Iraq.

Cindy Sheehan is a patient woman. She will wait until Bush comes out and talks to her. She will wait until the man who ordered the invasion of a country that posed no threat to us explains why Casey did not die in vain.

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.

President using helicopter to enter, leave Texas ranch to avoid confrontation
By ALAN FREEMAN
Friday, August 12, 2005 Updated at 3:45 AM EDT
The Globe and Mail (Canada)

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.

"George Bush says I have his sympathy. I don't want his sympathy. I want
answers."

- Cindy Sheehan, on Democracy Now! today.

Eli Stephens
Left I on the News
http://lefti.blogspot.com

LINK TO DEMOCRACY NOW AUDIO WITH CINDY

Pioneer Press (Minnesota)
BY ANGELA K. BROWN
Associated Press

CRAWFORD, Texas — Cindy Sheehan's eyes well with tears when she talks about her oldest son, Casey, an easygoing young man with a quiet wit.

Casey joined the Army in 2000, never imagining he would see combat. Five days after he arrived in Iraq last year, the 24-year-old was killed in Sadr City.

Sheehan, 48, knows nothing can bring back her son, but she wants to talk to President Bush. The Vacaville, Calif., mother has been camping out along a road near his ranch since Saturday, vowing to remain until his Texas vacation ends later this month.

The president should do what one grieving mother asks of him

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (New York)

(August 12, 2005) — The president should see Cindy Sheehan. He should drive out where the grieving mother of a dead American soldier is encamped, bring her a cold bottle of pop, give her the kind of hug he's given other moms and dads who have lost children to the Iraq war, and talk.

That's often all that people in mourning want to do. They don't want so much to blame or excoriate or flail in anger — though Cindy Sheehan no doubt harbors emotions of this kind — but to talk to someone they know is listening. President Bush is pretty good at listening; politicians don't get elected president twice without some skills in that area. That's what he should do for Cindy Sheehan.

Published: Friday, August 12, 2005
By Nedra Pickler
The Associated Press

CRAWFORD, Texas -- They were just a few miles away from each other Thursday, standing under a hot midday sun to express their concern about U.S. troops dying in Iraq. But President Bush and the grieving mother outside his ranch were worlds apart on how best to honor the dead.

Bush said the United States must finish the job of bringing a stable democracy to Iraq. Cindy Sheehan and a growing group of war protesters who have joined her say the soldiers should come home immediately.

Sheehan's son, Casey, was killed five days after he arrived in Iraq last year at age 24. Sheehan began her standoff Saturday, saying she would stay for the entire month that Bush plans to be in Texas unless he meets with her.

By Anna M. Tinsley
Star-Telegram Staff Writer (Texas)

Desiree Fairooz, an Arlington librarian, wants the world to hear Cindy Sheehan's plea for President Bush to immediately bring home U.S. soldiers from Iraq.

Fairooz was among about 30 members of the anti-war group Code Pink who tried to amplify Sheehan's message in Crawford on Thursday by labeling crosses with the names of Texas soldiers killed in combat in Iraq.

Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in Iraq last year, has said she will protest in Crawford all month while Bush is there unless he meets with her. Fairooz, 49, said she has been there since Saturday and doesn't know when she'll be ready to go home.

By Cindy Sheehan

Day 6 of the Peaceful Occupation of Iraq began early this morning when people in cars drove by our camp a few times and blasted on their horns. I just assume they were blaring their approval of us.

Before we get to the less than negative things that are happening out at Camp Casey and in the world at large today, over 700 people showed up at the Camp today. There were more people, flowers, cards, mail, interviews, laughter, heartache, comraderie, excitement, and just sheer work.

We had the first birthday party tonight at our little event. Alicia from Austin turned 17 today and they came to Crawford to celebrate with a cake. Alicia said that she wanted to be out here for her birthday. So many great people from so many parts of the country and our world are here.

By Cindy Sheehan

Today started at 4am when I had to get up and get ready to be on Good Morning America. It was pouring down rain at Camp Casey. The wind was blowing and there was thunder and lightening. It was pretty exciting. The interview went very well. I haven't seen it or read a transcript. Since it was taped, I am just wondering if they showed it when I said Bush doesn't want to see me because he likes to surround himself with “sycophants.

I called Lietta just now. Things are quiet down there (its moving toward midnight CST) and she's exhausted.

I asked her, "Tell me what you want to say to all those who are waiting to hear your words."

Here goes:
**************
"The day started out with a multi-media press conference in Crawford with Cindy the primary speaker and focus. It was not unlike watching the Presidential Press Secretary, McLellan, in front of an audience - except this audience was not full of people tired of lies and misinformation.

After Cindy's time, individual members from MFSO and Gold Star Families were given a minute or two to introduce themselves and share brief bios. Some of those were mutual members, having actually lost a loved one and therefore members of Gold Star and MFSO.

GOLD STAR FAMILIES FOR PEACE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ryan Fletcher 202-641-0277, Dante Zappala 215-520-7040

**Prayer Ceremony at 12:00 Noon. CDT at Camp Outside President’s Ranch**

Bob Edgar, of the National Council of Churches and Clergy Offer Worship at Encampment in Crawford

Religious Community Joins Gold Star Families and Families with Loved Ones in Iraq

CRAWFORD, TX - Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, National Council of Churches general secretary and a former member of Congress will be joined by clergy who will offer prayer and pastoral care to Gold Star Families for Peace and all those who are holding vigil near the President’s Ranch in Crawford, TX and give witness to the true cost of the war on Iraq.

BY G. ROBERT HILLMAN
The Dallas Morning News

CRAWFORD, Texas - (KRT) - No longer is it just a fork in the road, running through the cattle and goat pastures on the way to President Bush's ranch. Cindy Sheehan has changed that.
The California mother who lost her soldier son Casey in Iraq last year has camped there in a pop-up tent with a defiant anti-war message and a growing gaggle of supporters - and an adamant demand to confront the president personally on Iraq.

On Thursday, the two held back-to-back news conferences three miles apart in a summertime saga that has captured worldwide attention. And both stood their ground: Sheehan urged the president again to bring the troops home, and the president pledged again to stay the course.

President Adds That Pulling Out of Iraq Now Would Hurt U.S. Security
By Michael A. Fletcher
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 12, 2005; Page A12

CRAWFORD, Tex., Aug. 11 -- As a roadside antiwar vigil initiated by a California woman who lost a son in Iraq continued near his ranch Thursday, President Bush said that he sympathizes with her loss but that agreeing to her demand to immediately withdraw troops "would be a mistake for the security of this country."

Speaking to reporters after meeting with members of his national security team, Bush said he has heard the voices of Cindy Sheehan and grieving family members who say the United States should leave Iraq because of the mounting death toll.

TIME reporter Hilary Hylton visits an antiwar protest outside the President's ranch
By HILARY HYLTON/CRAWFORD, TEXAS

Posted Thursday, Aug. 11, 2005

Wednesday's rains are gone, now, and Cindy Sheehan, who's been ensconced outside President Bush's ranch since last weekend protesting what she calls the needless death of her son in Iraq, shades her eyes as she sits on the roadside along Prairie Chapel Ranch Road. She's doing two interviews simultaneously, one on her cell phone and another with a reporter on the scene. Sheehan is surrounded by some 60 supporters and a small roadside field of white crosses. Signs saying "Jesus Wept," "Bush: Meet with Cindy" and "Iraq = Arabic for Vietnam" line the country road, along with bongo drums and small lean-tos for shade.

WorldNow and WISH-TV, Indianapolis
Aug 11, 2005, 07:20 PM

Cindy Sheehan

A fallen soldier's mother has been camped outside President Bush's Texas ranch since Saturday, protesting the war in Iraq.

Cindy Sheehan's son Casey died in Iraq last year just five days after arriving there with his unit. Now Sheehan and her supporters have planted themselves right outside the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas. Sheehan says she's waiting for the president to come out and talk with her.

"It's hot out here. I was out here all night. Yesterday I got really sick from the heat. And he's the leader of the country and he needs to show some leadership. He needs to show that he has a heart and to meet with the mother of a war hero,

By Marc Sandalow
Published on Thursday, August 11, 2005 by the San Francisco Chronicle

WASHINGTON - A grieving Northern California mother's vigil near President Bush's Texas ranch is putting a human face on the toll of the Iraq war as she brings worldwide attention to her anguish.

Cindy Sheehan of Vacaville began camping in a ditch along the road leading to Crawford, Texas, on Saturday, determined to confront Bush over the death of her son Casey, a 24-year-old Army specialist who was killed in Sadr City on April 4, 2004.

That a grieving woman seeks to speak to the president or that she opposes the war is hardly news as the war rages in its third year. But the image of an anguished 48-year-old mother standing outside the vacation home of the most powerful leader in the world, asking him to explain her son's death, is compelling and has caught the attention of millions of people from Canada to New Zealand.

KXXV TV News Channel 25
Waco, Temple, Killeen & Central Texas

A California mother's war protest has gained the attention of the president. Cindy Sheehan has been camped near the Crawford Ranch since Saturday and she has gathered about 50 supporters.
Sheehan's oldest son, Casey was killed last year, five days after he arrived in Iraq. Now, she and other Gold Star families, who have lost someone in battle, demand a meeting with the president.

"We deserve this meeting with George Bush. I expect him to do the right thing," Sheehan said.

Sheehan now has the attention of the President and he responded to the protest today. President Bush says he understands and respects their views but leaving Iraq now would send a terrible signal to the enemy.

The Times (UK)
August 12, 2005
From Tom Baldwin in Crawford, Texas

GEORGE BUSH loves his Prarie Chapel Ranch in Crawford so much that he has spent almost one fifth of his presidency “taking the pulse of the heartlands

The Telegraph (UK)
By Francis Harris in Washington
(Filed: 12/08/2005)

A bereaved mother camped outside George W Bush's Texas ranch was given expressions of sympathy from the president yesterday but no pledge of the meeting she is demanding to discuss a US withdrawal from Iraq.

Cindy Sheehan has been camped out for the past six days, prompting 50 other anti-war campaigners to join her and the White House press machine to display clear signs of anxiety at the potential public impact.

Her son Casey Sheehan, 24, was killed five days after he arrived in Iraq last year.

Speaking on the issue for the first time after a meeting yesterday with his aides at the Crawford ranch, Mr Bush said he sympathised with the Catholic mother of four.

The Chattanoogan (Tennessee)
by Bart Whiteman
posted August 11, 2005

Cindy Sheehan is conducting a personal vigil at the end of the driveway to George W. Bush’s sprawling 1600-acre Texas residence. She wants an audience, and she wants it now, with George W. to ask him a few questions and to engage in a polite discussion about the cause and effect of his Iraq War. To date, George W. has been a no-show.

I am always puzzled by big tough guys who claim to want to teach all the bad guys of the world a lesson, but at the same time they shrink from a meeting with an unarmed, middle-aged woman sitting in the shade on a hot August day in a folding chair and wearing culottes. If this menace scares them so much, what would happen if they really had to go toe-to-toe with a very, very bad guy not so delicately dressed? George has avoided using the driveway since the vigil began. Fortunately, he has a personal helicopter to make trips to the drug store and to sign mega-bucks bills related to oil and transportation that are not likely to help the average consumer at all in the near future, but will put gobs of bucks in the hands of his corporate cronies in a hurry. Let’s see, is there a tie between oil and transportation? Oh, I get it.

I am writing you today not only as a member of Gold Star Families for Peace who was in Crawford this weekend with Cindy, knocking on your door, but also as a proud Texan. As a Texan, I have a couple of words to say to you.

Whatever happened to that good old fashioned Texas hospitality and friendliness people talk so much about? When someone comes knocking at your door, especially a grieving mother who has walked hours out in the hot Texas sun especially to come see you, you really should let her in! Cindy wasn’t a threat to you Saturday and she is not a threat to you now.

Apparently Cindy is your neighbor now, at least for the month of August. Most Texans I know would invite their new neighbor over for a chat and a nice glass of iced tea at the kitchen table or, at the very least, on the patio where the three of you could have a nice little chat about the war and Casey and the rest of the 1,840 soldiers who have given their lives for your little war.

By Anna Varela
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/12/05

Mary Ann MacCombie didn't protest Vietnam. She was in her early 20s and wasn't sure she understood that war well enough to take a stand.

And she didn't know anybody who died there.
When the United States invaded Iraq in March 2003, she was "cautiously supportive." And when her son's Army unit joined the fight, she thought it would be like the Gulf War in 1991 — few casualties, "in and out."

In April 2004, MacCombie's son was killed in Iraq. Suddenly the war became personal.

On Thursday, two years after the invasion of Iraq, MacCombie spoke out at an anti-war demonstration for the first time. It took her more than a year to trust herself to talk about her son without breaking down, a year spent in a state of shock and coping with the bureaucratic details that follow death in a faraway place.

T r u t h o u t Editor Scott Galindez films William Rivers Pitt interviewing Jodie Evans of Code Pink at Camp Casey in Crawford, Texas.
http://truthout.org/cindy.shtml

Byron York is the leading "hit man" of the right-wing Republican establishment. A His most recent book is The Vast Left Wing Conspiracy, which argues that everyone to the left of Ann Coulter is a paid lackey of atheist communist fifth-columnist George Soros and belongs in Gitmo or before a firing squad.For today's "hit," York went after Cindy Sheehan and, through the old McCarthyite trick of guilt-by-association, the bloggers (including Joe Trippi and myself) who participated in BlogCall9 on Wednesday.

National Review's Annoying Byron York Writes:

Without Internet, U.S. Would Be a "Fascist State"

Cindy Sheehan, the woman whose soldier son was killed in Iraq and who is
now camping by a road in Crawford, Texas demanding a meeting with
President Bush, on Wednesday thanked a group of antiwar bloggers for
supporting her, saying that without the Internet, America would be a
"fascist state."

"This is something that can't be ignored," Sheehan said during a
conference call with bloggers representing sites like democrats.com,
codepink4peace.org, and crooksandliars.com. "They can't ignore us, and

While our fearless leader hides in his spider-hole (aka Crawford Ranch), Cindy Sheehan is, we are told, presenting a threat to our National Security. She is peaceable, she is unarmed, and she has made no threats. Her only request is a simple one: give me a few minutes of your time, sir.
By Nancy Greggs
Democratic Underground

We were only a matter of days into the debacle that has become the war in Iraq when our esteemed leader, George W. Bush, had a meeting with Kofi Annan at the White House. A few reporters were herded in to ask their questions (no more than three and, for God's sake, keep 'em simple), and one reporter asked Bush why it was necessary to invade Iraq at this point.

Dailykos
by hopesprings [Subscribe]
Thu Aug 11th, 2005 at 22:16:34 PDT
Again, they are very conservative-leaning.

Here's the latest poll stats:

Do you think President Bush should meet with Cindy Sheehan?
Yes 58%
No 42%
Do you agree with Sheehan?
Yes 53%
No 47%
How effective do you think her protest will be?
Not at all 50%
Somewhat 31%
Very 19%

hopesprings's diary :: ::
I don't understand why, if 58% think Bush should meet with Sheehan, and 53% agree with her, that only 19% think her protest will be very effective.

Keeping in mind that AOL is a very conservative audience, what does this say about Americans?

Dailykos
by JoOnTheLake [Subscribe]
Fri Aug 12th, 2005 at 04:34:18 PDT

Where are they? Why are they not in the trenches with Cindy Sheehan? They are as guilty as Bush for ignoring her grief.

Why aren't they listening to her questions? Most of them supported the war and voted to send our children to Iraq. If the President of the United States will not hear Cindy Sheehan, the Democrats who voted to support this war should get themselves to Crawford and listen to her. They should be camping out with her. Where are they?

They are going to have to answer for their decisions to support this war. They need to stop marching, no, make that goose-stepping with the Republicans in support of this war.