Liberty Activist Blog

Thursday, August 18, 2005

'Peace Mom', her mother ill, leaves camp
Yahoo News

"The grieving woman who started an anti-war demonstration near President Bush's ranch nearly two weeks ago left the camp Thursday after learning her mother had had a stroke, but she told supporters the protest would go on. 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. .... The camp has grown to more than 100 people, including many relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq. After Sheehan left, dozens of the demonstrators gathered under a canopy to pray for her mother. Sheehan, of Vacaville, Calif., had vowed to remain at the camp until Bush met with her or until his monthlong vacation ended. .... Michelle Mulkey, a spokeswoman for Sheehan, said Sheehan hoped to be back in Texas within 24 to 48 hours. Mulkey said Sheehan's mother, Shirley Miller, was in a hospital emergency room and Sheehan didn't yet know how serious her condition was." (08/18/05)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050818/ap_on_re_us/peace_mom

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Cindy, the Peace Train and the little ditch that could
CounterPunch
by Greg Moses

"Two months ago while exhausted from a Summer Soulstice peace festival, and while looking with dismay into a long hot summer of war, Louisiana attorney Buddy Spell, his spouse Annie, and their guest of honor Cindy Sheehan decided they needed to do something, but not something too high energy. So they browsed through the train schedule and designated an Amtrak Crescent as their Peace Train. Come September they'd board the train in New Orleans and put out word to folks along the way to hop on for a ride to the big peace march in Washington D.C. That would be enough to keep their peace hopes on track. Of course, that was then. "We had about 60 people signed up before Cindy went to Crawford," says Buddy, "but that has tripled.'" (08/18/05)

http://www.counterpunch.org/moses08182005.html
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Sheehan story shows elite split on war
Common Dreams
by Ira Chernus

"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. .... The bad news is that, no matter how much the public wants our troops out of Iraq, they will probably stay there until the foreign policy elite decides its time for this folly to end. The good news is that the foreign policy elite is beginning to recognize that the U.S. effort to control Iraq really is folly. The clearest evidence is that they let Cindy Sheehan become front-page news. And that columnists like Dan Froomkin are pointing out the disconnect between the media and public opinion. There have been quite a number of Cindy Sheehan's before -- grief-stricken parents who lost children in Iraq and spoke out against the war. They were all ignored by the mainstream press, because the elite were all still determined to stick it out in Iraq till the bitter end. Cindy Sheehan just happened to be in the right place at the right time -- the time that a debate has broken out within the elite about whether or not to cut bait in Iraq." (08/18/05)

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0818-26.htm
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Texas protest changes columnist's perspective
Muskogere Phoenix
by Mary deJulius


"We Americans should make sure we elect officials who will send our boys to war only when absolutely necessary. I do not intend to be partisan as I am very disappointed in the leadership in both parties. I am disappointed in "we Americans," too, as many of us have sat quietly by and let this happen and that includes me. I pray that our troops will be home by Thanksgiving. I don't care which side of the aisle in Congress can get it done. But I don't think it will happen unless we Americans start letting our voices be heard. Peace." (08/18/05)

http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050818/OPINION/508180319/1014
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A simple question and the power of shame
Common Dreams
by Stephen Laffoley

"Because Ms. Sheehan's simple question has such moral clarity, moral authority, and moral certainty, these attacks only draw more attention to Ms. Sheehan's moral character and moral righteousness. And not surprisingly, not one of her attackers wants to provide an answer to Ms. Sheehan's question. Not one wants to address the truth. Because the truth is this: Ms. Sheehan's son died for no morally defensible reason. Ms. Sheehan's question - and the yawning, silent absence of an answer from the president - reminds us, so clearly, that those who support this war have failed morally. And with that moral failure comes guilt. And humiliation. And dishonor." (08/18/05)

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0818-20.htm
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Why Bush can't answer Cindy
Truthout
by Marjorie Cohn

"Cindy Sheehan is still in Crawford, Texas, waiting for Bush to answer her question: What noble cause did my son die for? Her protest started as a small gathering 13 days ago. It has mushroomed into a demonstration of hundreds in Crawford and tens of thousands more at 1,627 solidarity vigils throughout the country. Why didn't Bush simply invite Cindy in for tea when she arrived in Crawford? In a brief, personal meeting with Cindy, Bush could have defused a situation that has become a profound embarrassment for him, and could derail his political agenda. Bush didn't talk with Cindy because he can't answer her question. There is no answer to Cindy's question. There is no noble cause that Cindy's son died fighting for. And Bush knows it." (08/18/05)

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/081805I.shtml

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Fumes waft from both sides of smoking ban
Capital Times

"With honking beer trucks circling around them, hundreds of people gathered in front of the Madison Municipal Building Tuesday evening in an effort to return smoking to bars. "Stop trying to save us from ourselves," Nitty Gritty owner Marsh Shapiro said over a PA system as the crowd roared and signs waved that said "Approaching Red Square" and "Mayor Dave is anti-blue collar."Shapiro had stood beside Mayor Dave Cieslewicz just before the ban took effect on July 1, saying that he hoped the smoke-free ordinance would be good for business. Now, along with several other bar owners who addressed the audience, he is calling for its repeal." (08/17/05)

http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/index.php?ntid=50850

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