Personal Message From Vacaville

What follows are posts from FReeper Mom of Two Soldiers, a Vacaville resident who has quite a bit of background knowledge of events of the last few years vis-a-vis the Sheehan's and Vacaville's response to 9/11.

We were present at the Vacaville caravan two days ago. From the articles in the Associated Press and in the San Francisco Chronicle, one would have thought there were two different functions.

Anxiously, while the group waited for arrival, there were two families present who were somber and anxious. One from Vallejo and one from Vacaville.

The Vallejo family was the brother of a solider hwo had fallen in Iraq. The Vacaville family was a father of a fallen Marine. On March 23, 2003, Marine Lance Cpl. Michael J. Williams, 31, was killed in action during a firefight around Nasiriyah, Iraq. The Yuma, Ariz., native was reported missing in action March 26 before the military changed his status three days later to killed in action. He was based in Camp Lejeune, N.C., and assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade. He was engaged to be married and proposed while on a ship in Kuwait, prior to going into battle.

One could tell that the mention of Sheehan brought up emotions for the family members. Hands visibly shook as the father, Joseph Wilson, put a photograph of his son and a folded flag in front of it, upon the hood of his truck.

Hugs of support were given to him and to one another from members of the group, mostly families of soldiers, former soldiers and those who have been personally touched by the War in Iraq.

By those who were in the same hometown as Cindy Sheehan and who don't agree with her statements that what our sons and daughters were risking their lives for was a "noble cause," that the U.S. get out of Palestine (echoing the sentiments of terrorists)and the partisan political statements she continues to make. "Our government is run by one party, every level," Sheehan continued, "and the mainstream media is a propaganda tool for the government." Sheehan also called the 2004 presidential election "the election, quote-unquote, that happened in November."

They didn't agree with Sheehan's support of Lynn Stewart, who was charged with aiding and abetting terrorists who have been trying to kill our U.S. citizens and our children fighting overseas.

Sheehan said she considered Lynne Stewart her Atticus Finch, the lawyer who defended an innocent Black man accused of rape in the book and film “To Kill A Mockingbird.”

“They’re not waging a War on Terror but a War of Terror,” she said. “The biggest terrorist is George W. Bush.” She claimed “it costs $66,000 to recruit one soldier, not including training, and $49,000 a year to house a prisoner, yet only $6,000 per year is spent to educate a child in California. (Recruiting costs are actually $15,000 per soldier, the cost of housing a prisoner in California for one year is $26,000.)

Sheehan continued, “9/11 was Pearl Harbor for the neo-conservatives’ agenda” and declared the U.S. government a “morally repugnant system.” Then she raged:

We have no Constitution. We’re the only country with no checks and balances. We want our country back if we have to impeach George Bush down to the person who picks up the dog sh-t in Washington! Let George Bush send his two little party animals to die in Iraq. It’s OK for Israel to have nuclear weapons but we are waging nuclear war in Iraq, we have contaminated the entire country. It’s not OK for Syria to be in Lebanon. Hypocrites! But Israel can occupy Palestine? Stop the slaughter!

Nowhere do the articles indicating media bias indicate that Casey reenlisted in the military, coming home for a period of time and encouraging many young Vacaville adults to enlist. That he was proud of what he was doing and he believed in what he was doing in Iraq.

We, in Vacaville, know the family, knew Casey and know of the difficulties the Sheehans had before and after Casey's death.

We knew of the John Kerry campaign coming out to visit them just after it occurred, as they tried to do with many other families. We knew of the referral to the Fenton Communications agency. Most of us know how she has been used.

Many of us comforted the family. Some of our troops, from Travis Air Force Base faced hostile fire to bring Casey home to his parents. Sheehan was grateful then. Now, she slams them for THEIR wishes that the way they honor their fallen be done in privacy.

Nowhere in the articles by the media on the Vacaville event, did it indicate families of other fallen soldiers were at odds with her or even existed.

Nowhere does it state that while individuals were in the parking lot, during the press conferences, vehicles drove by honking in support.

The story of Vacaville was basically ignored by the SF Chronicle and by the Associated Press, who tried to minimize what occurred.

And what occurred were the long time friends and neighbors of Cindy Sheehan standing behind her during her time of grief and standing up against her during her time of anger. Not only long time friends and neighbors, but families and parents of military members, loved ones of fallen soldiers and those who knew Casey and knew he was a hero.

Most frustrating are the times in which Casey died. In March of that year, John Kerry stood up for Al Sadr, the Muslim Cleric who called in his newspaper for the deaths of U.S. troops. Kerry stated in public radio that Al Sadr had a legitimate voice (to call for the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq) and that the military should not have shut down his newspaper. It was Al Sadr's people who killed Casey Sheehan. It was John Kerry who approached her and used her after that occurred. None of us can understand why Cindy Sheehan would embrace someone after that occurred.

So, the REAL story from Vacaville...the truth that the newspapers are not telling you.

Cindy Sheehan is a phony *itch. I respect Casey Sheehan for his service to our country but I DO NOT respect her!

******

Cindy Sheehan and Forgetting the 'Why?'
Written by Thomas Segel
Thursday, August 25, 2005

The saga of Cindy Sheehan continues with online postings and traditional outlets of both print and electronic media chanting an unending anti-war mantra.

The web page publication, Yahoo News, on August 21, 2005, ran a banner headline reading “Cindy Sheehan Stirs Up Long Overdue Anti-War Movement.” The text of the article reads: “She is no glamour girl, and yet she has a throng of admirers who have been nursing inside themselves, for the last two years and more, the secrets she implicitly reveals.”

The article identifies her as “The Gold Star Mother of the Iraq War” and later in the text charges “Cindy Sheehan’s lightning effect on the country is that she has been saying--with her actions, gestures, and intonations, if not exactly in words--what has been left deliberately unsaid in America until now--That the war in Iraq is useless.”

In general, the tone of this article reflects media coverage from most national sources. What is never voiced or placed in print is the “Why” of their actions.

For untold decades, news reporting has been charged with adherence to what is called the 5 “Ws” of journalism. This is an instruction that any factual event should address the “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” and “why” of the story. Some place along the road between Vietnam and Iraq our media lost the “why.”

Why do most reports insist on identifying Cindy Sheehan as a “Gold Star Mother”? The term identifies families who have lost a son or daughter in combat. But, articles never mention why they continue to use that term. Nor does the media report Gold Star Mothers (formally named American Gold Star Mothers) have placed a news box on their website stating, “Cindy Sheehan is currently in the news. She and her organization have no connection whatever with American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. We are a 501 C (3) organization and as such do not engage in political activities. We do support our troops. After all they are our children.”

From New Mexico, Charlie Revie, a retired Army officer asks why the media continue to endlessly address the complaints of Cindy Sheehan? He also asks: ''Why is the mainstream media slanting the news the way they do? It is beyond my comprehension.'' Some of his questions are “Why the over emphasis and fixation on U.S. body count, U.S. body parts, blood and guts? For every U.S. casualty there have been at least 10 Iraqi civilian casualties.” He further asks: “Why cannot the media support our national objectives? The mainstream media orchestrated our ultimate defeat in Vietnam by their pandering. General Giap notes in his autobiography that we had the NVA beat at the end of Tet and would likely have given up had it not been for the main stream media slant in the United States that we would eventually withdraw.”

John Boring is a retired Marine living in Arizona. He writes, “I had sympathy for Cindy Sheehan until I read an article in the Sunday’s nation section written by G. Robert Hillman. Not quite midway in the story there is a quote by Sheehan, speaking of her family’s disagreement with her cause: 'It doesn’t surprise me that they resent it, because they’re Bush supporters,' she said. Why didn’t that quote get prominent media attention?''

Donald G. Tyson is a retired Navy Seal living in Lady Lake, Florida. He believes the media have forgotten the “why” of the story, “Because the liberal mainstream media is hell-bent on destroying the Bush administration in any way they can. By denouncing the war as unjust and unwarranted, they are hoping it will grow legs with the American public just as it did in Vietnam and restore the Democrats to power.”

Why does the media forget the “why”? Lawrence Cutting, a former Air Force staff sergeant in San Jacinto, California says, “To me the answer is simple. It may be found on any college campus that offers journalism major. Walk into a journalism class and one will find an almost totality of liberal students being led by left wing or left leaning professors. I believe this has been especially pronounced from Vietnam forward. The overwhelming majority of personnel who produce ‘news’ are liberal.”

Another retired Marine, Chuck Kester of Edenton, North Carolina believes Cindy Sheehan thinks she will be on the front page forever, but has already made some serious mistakes. “When she discovers no one is paying attention, she’s going to go rabid, thus adding to the embarrassment of everyone in her vicinity. Her sympathizers forget, or never knew, that we now have a volunteer military. Everyone under arms today is there because he or she chose to be. I can feel sorrow for her loss, but her irresponsible ranting shames me. There is no good to come of it, and needless harm in the eyes of the rest of the world.”

Concerning the loss of “why” in the media he says: “As usual the news media is playing the only tune it knows – DISASTER! DISASTER! DISASTER! They learned that song shortly after World War II and never forgot it.”

Like many others, Eric Muth, a former staff sergeant in the Army and National Guard wonders why the media don’t honor our service personnel by reporting all sides of what is taking place in Iraq. He observes: ''It is not as simple as right or wrong; the fact is we are there. Now do we turn and run or as the president says: 'Stay the course.' More soldiers will die and that saddens us, yet dying for their country, if necessary, is exactly what they signed up to do.

''Grieving mothers can unknowingly aid and abet the enemy in misdirected hopes of stemming losses for other mothers. The enemy knows the lessons of Vietnam and very much would like to repeat them to the detriment of our nation.''

He answers the media’s lost “why,” saying: ''It is time to show the world that we can be trusted to fulfill our obligations to others, that public opinion polls do not dictate all policy and that we bleed, sometimes heavily, in order to do the right thing.''

These veterans all understand the “why” of the story. How could a powerful national media lose such an important element of a story?

About the Writer: Thomas Segel is a former Marine, war correspondent, and faculty member of the Marine Corps Academy. He has written four books, has served as information director for a Texas state agency, and resides with his wife in Harlingen, Texas. Thomas receives e-mail at Tomsegel@joimail.com.

I haven't seen or heard about any 2,000 anti-war protestors in Crawford!

******

Bush and allies launch concerted bid to defeat growing anti-war movement.

By Nina J. Easton and Susan Milligan
The Boston Globe

snip

Conservatives supporting military operations in Iraq plan a five- day tour of western cities that will end Saturday in Crawford, where some 2,000 anti-war protesters have gathered.

"There's so much negative information in the media,' said Deborah Johns, a Roseville mother of a Marine who is about to serve his third tour of duty in Iraq. "If the building of bridges and roads and schools and power plants was portrayed in the media, it would make a huge difference. We need to stand by our men and women so they can keep their morale up.'

The arrival of the pro-war forces in Crawford, who are determined to offset the media's attention on Sheehan, promises to set up a "High Noon'-like showdown between soldiers' families with vastly different views on Iraq.

snip

Johns, who is making several media appearances along the way, called Sheehan's son, Casey, "an American hero' and said she has invited his mother to discuss "the best way to get the country rebuilt and get our people out sooner rather than later.' She said Sheehan, who left Crawford to care for her ailing mother but is expected to return this week, has not responded.

Conservatives have blasted Sheehan for her alliance with the leftist anti-war group Moveon.org, but the conservative effort behind Johns has its own partisan history: Move America Forward, founded by Howard Kaloogian a Republican and former California assemblyman, and radio host Melanie Morgan, launched the successful 2003 campaign to recall Gov. Gray Davis. The group has also vigorously backed Bush's controversial selection of John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, calling him a leader who can stand up to the "Blame America First crowd.'

The group has produced a TV commercial in which Johns declares that Sheehan "certainly doesn't speak for me or military families or our men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.'

snip

Senator Orrin G. Hatch, a Utah Republican who traveled to his home state with Bush for the speech, attributed the poor public opinion of the Iraq war to news reports he said consistently neglect U.S. achievements.

"The media have been pretty negative about the war. If you talk to the troops on the ground you get a far different picture,' Hatch told reporters traveling with Bush. "We know the president is doing what is right.'

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