The Presidency and other dinosaurs
The Libertarian Enterprise
Jonathan David Morris

"Let me tell you something. I've heard a lot of dumb questions in my time. Hell, I've asked a lot of dumb questions in my time. But, by far, the dumbest question I've heard all summer—and maybe all year—is this: Should George Bush meet with Cindy Sheehan, the grieving mother of a slain Iraq war vet who's set up camp outside his Texas ranch? The answer to this question is, of course, yes. But whether he should or shouldn't isn't what makes this the dumbest question I've heard all summer. No, what makes it the dumbest question I've heard all summer is the idea that Americans think he has a choice." (08/28/05)

http://www.ncc-1776.com/tle2005/tle334-20050828-05.html

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Another mother for war
CounterPunch
Dave Lindorff

"There was something truly repulsive about the way Bush and his handlers latched onto poor Tammy Pruett, the Idaho mother whose husband and four sons have already served or are still serving in Iraq. It was a travesty for Bush, as a way of striking back at the powerful anti-war protest by Cindy Sheehan and the other Gold Star Mothers who have lost loved ones, to parade this particular mother before the media and to quote her as having said that "if something happens to one of the boys, they would leave this world doing what they believe, what they think is right for our country." Maybe Pruett really said it, though Bush's record with quotes is pretty god-awful. That quote, to me though, sounded awfully scripted. It reeked of Rove-speak, for really, what parent would knowingly contemplate the possible loss of a child and speak of it in even remotely positive terms.
Besides, there is a fundamental difference between Pruett, who has not lost a child or a husband in Iraq, and Sheehan or Gold Star co-founder Celeste Zappala, who each lost a son in that war. For Pruett, the idea of losing a child is still basically just an idea. For Sheehan, Zappala and several thousand other grieving parents and siblings, it is a terrible reality." (08/28/05)

http://www.counterpunch.org/lindorff08272005.html


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Our arrogance will be the end of us
Common Dreams
Christine Rose

"“At first, I thought ‘How dare you say that about my America,’ she said looking at me through squinted eyes, “but then I saw it, our arrogance will be the end of us.”
She explained to me how she and her husband voted for Bush. She said they were conservative and watched Fox News regularly; however, something touched her in seeing and hearing everyday people from around the world talk about her beloved country as a bully; a hypocrite. Something touched her when faced with the sobering charge of War Crimes and the images of torture at the hands of Americans under orders from the US Government. Something touched her that day that made her think about what she thought she knew. .... I’ve been doing this, political activism, a short time, relatively; but it never ceases to amaze me how much people care. How one instant, one piece of information can open a person’s mind to something they didn’t see before." [Editor's note: This last sentence is, in a nutshell, the essence of activism ... getting the information out to the public so that individuals can experience that moment of revelation -MLS] (08/28/05)

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0828-27.htm