Posted on 08/11/2005 2:26:38 AM PDT by johnmecainrino
What One Mom Has to Say to George Bush by Mike Ferner
"That lying bastard, George Bush, is taking a five-week vacation in time of war," Cindy Sheehan told 200 cheering members of Veterans for Peace at their annual convention in Dallas last Friday evening. She then announced she would go to Bush's vacation home in nearby Crawford, Texas and camp out until he "tells me why my son died in Iraq. I've got the whole month of August off, and so does he."
Sheehan left the VFP meeting on Saturday morning and is now in Crawford with a couple dozen veterans and local peace activists, waiting for Bush to talk with her. She said in Dallas that if he sent anyone else to see her, (as he didwhen national security adviser Steve Hadley and deputy White House chief of staff Joe Hagin did later that day), she would demand that "You get that maniac out here to talk with me in person."
She told the audience of veterans from World War Two to today's war in Iraq, that the two main things she plans to tell the man she holds responsible for son Casey's death are "Quit saying that U.S. troops died for a noble cause in Iraq, unless you say, 'well, except for Casey Sheehan.' Don't you dare spill any more blood in Casey's name. You do not have permission to use my son's name."
"And the other thing I want him to tell me is 'just what was the noble cause Casey died for?' Was it freedom and democracy? Bullshit! He died for oil. He died to make your friends richer. He died to expand American imperialism in the Middle East. We're not freer here, thanks to your PATRIOT Act. Iraq is not free. You get America out of Iraq and Israel out of Palestine and you'll stop the terrorism," she exclaimed.
"There, I used the 'I' word -- imperialism," the 48 year-old mother quipped. "And now I'm going to use another 'I' word -- impeachment -- because we cannot have these people pardoned. They need to be tried on war crimes and go to jail."
As the veterans in Dallas rose to their feet, Sheehan said defiantly, "My son was killed in 2004. I am not paying my taxes for 2004. You killed my son, George Bush, and I don't owe you a penny . . . you give my son back and I'll pay my taxes. Come after me (for back taxes) and we'll put this war on trial."
The co-founder of Gold Star Mothers for Peace objected to hearing that her son was among the soldiers lost in Iraq. "He's not lost," she said tearfully. "He's dead. He became an angel while I was sleeping."
She railed against the notion expressed by officials in the Bush administration that bringing the troops home now would dishonor the sacrifice of those who have died. "By sending honorable people to die, they so dishonor themselves. They say we must complete our mission . . . but why would I want one more mother to go through what I have, just because my son is dead?"
The Vacaville, California resident said she first heard of Veterans for Peace in early May last year, during a CNN report about an exhibit of white crosses arranged in rows in the Santa Barbara beach. The exhibit was organized by VFP Chapter 54 to memorialize each U.S. soldier killed in Iraq. Her son had died the month before. "I decided there was only one place I wanted to be on Mother's Day that year, and it was Santa Barbara," she told the VFP members in Dallas.
Retired Special Forces Sgt. and VFP member, Stan Goff, today initiated a "Talk to Cindy" campaign to get Bush to meet with Sheehan. Contact information for the White House is: (202) 456-1111 or .
No taxes paid by in 2004 I don't suppose MSM will pick this up.
Check out Cindy's lastest rant
Article Launched: 06/24/2004 06:00:00 AM
Bush, Sheehans share moments
By David Henson/Staff Writer
Since learning in April that their son, Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, had been killed in Iraq, life has been everything but normal for the Sheehan family of Vacaville.
Casey's parents, Cindy and Patrick, as well as their three children, have attended event after event honoring the soldier both locally and abroad, received countless letters of support and fielded questions from reporters across the country.
"That's the way our whole lives have been since April 4," Patrick said. "It's been surreal."
But none of that prepared the family for the message left on their answering machine last week, inviting them to have a face-to-face meeting with President George W. Bush at Fort Lewis near Seattle.
Surreal soon seemed like an understatement, as the Sheehans - one of 17 families who met Thursday with Bush - were whisked in a matter of days to the Army post and given the VIP treatment from the military. But as their meeting with the president approached, the family was faced with a dilemma as to what to say when faced with Casey's commander-in-chief.
"We haven't been happy with the way the war has been handled," Cindy said. "The president has changed his reasons for being over there every time a reason is proven false or an objective reached."
The 10 minutes of face time with the president could have given the family a chance to vent their frustrations or ask Bush some of the difficult questions they have been asking themselves, such as whether Casey's sacrifice would make the world a safer place.
But in the end, the family decided against such talk, deferring to how they believed Casey would have wanted them to act. In addition, Pat noted that Bush wasn't stumping for votes or trying to gain a political edge for the upcoming election.
"We have a lot of respect for the office of the president, and I have a new respect for him because he was sincere and he didn't have to take the time to meet with us," Pat said.
Sincerity was something Cindy had hoped to find in the meeting. Shortly after Casey died, Bush sent the family a form letter expressing his condolences, and Cindy said she felt it was an impersonal gesture.
"I now know he's sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis," Cindy said after their meeting. "I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith."
The meeting didn't last long, but in their time with Bush, Cindy spoke about Casey and asked the president to make her son's sacrifice count for something. They also spoke of their faith.
While meeting with Bush, as well as Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, was an honor, it was almost a tangent benefit of the trip. The Sheehans said they enjoyed meeting the other families of fallen soldiers, sharing stories, contact information, grief and support.
For some, grief was still visceral and raw, while for others it had melted into the background of their lives, the pain as common as breathing. Cindy said she saw her reflection in the troubled eyes of each.
"It's hard to lose a son," she said. "But we (all) lost a son in the Iraqi war."
The trip had one benefit that none of the Sheehans expected.
For a moment, life returned to the way it was before Casey died. They laughed, joked and bickered playfully as they briefly toured Seattle.
For the first time in 11 weeks, they felt whole again.
"That was the gift the president gave us, the gift of happiness, of being together," Cindy said.
David Henson can be reached at schools@thereporter.com.
She not working and she is living off her sons insurance money that is tax free, unless she had a paying job she owes no taxes.....idiot
She's now entering what I call the "curse word" stage of desperation. Don't be surprised if there's a "die-in" next, with her cohorts lying down in the road to "symbolize the dead of" wherever.
I hope it doesn't go any further, because this woman is getting more shrill by the day and who knows what's going in in that mind of hers.
"Marsha, Marsha, Marsha, whoops, I mean Cindy, Cindy, Cindy"
It's all about Cindy isn't it?
It's all about Cindy isn't it?
Yes, it's only about her. She is mentally ill and she needs to be committed. I am not being a smart alec when I say that. She is very dangerous. None of this has anything to do with her son. It all has to do with her. She really does need help.
...idiot?
That seems a bit harsh for a subtle oversight on his part.
In the 6th paragraph she clearly says she isn't paying taxes for 2004 that is where I got that from.
When I first heard about this woman, my first emotion was to feel sympathy for her. It seemed to me she had no channel for her grief.
With each passing day, she seems more and more unhinged. Her rhetoric is clearly the work of moveon.org, ANSWER and other anti-American socialist/communist movements.
Whenever I hear Westerners refer to "Imperialist" that is a dead giveaway. Normal people just do not use that kind of rhetoric.
I thought boxerblues was calling you an idiot. Maybe I misread...
I think you were right, lol
My take is.. she has ALWAYS been a liberal. She didn't vote for our President, which is her choice. She has never come to grips witht the fact that her son, who was a volunteer in the military liked his CinC. She hates it. She couldn't talk him out of doing what he wanted to do. She is gonna die a bitter old liberal woman. She will be alone. She is making a complete fool of herself. It is truly about herself. I feel sorry for her children and x husband. They have to watch her make a total ass out of herself.
"And the other thing I want him to tell me is 'just what was the noble cause Casey died for?' Was it freedom and democracy? Bullshit! He died for oil. He died to make your friends richer. He died to expand American imperialism in the Middle East. We're not freer here, thanks to your PATRIOT Act. Iraq is not free. You get America out of Iraq and Israel out of Palestine and you'll stop the terrorism," she exclaimed."
The brainwashing here is evident. "Blood For Oil". "...make your friends richer..." "...American Imperialism..." "...your PATRIOT Act..." "America out of Iraq..."
The fingerprints of the brainwashing of this deluded woman by the Leftist organizations are as easy to read as a book. This sad, misguided woman, like so many liberals, thinks that if "You get America out of Iraq and Israel out of Palestine and you'll stop the terrorism"?
She doesn't realize it makes no difference. She is a tool for the Islamofacists the same way Palestinians and Israel are tools for the rulers in the Middle East.
mark
I HATE what this woman is doing. It makes me angry. But it is her right to say and do what she wants.
It is so sad though. I recall reading that her husband is angry because she is using the death of their son in such an overtly political way. What a thing to do. Granted, all things have a political element.
But I agree. He probably joined against her wishes. The thing that she completely misses is...his life had real meaning. To the men who knew him, the men who served with him, the people on the homefront who mourn his loss, yet honor him for helping to keep us safe and able to go about the normal activities of life...his young life had meaning far beyond his youthful age. Like so many men of WWII and other wars, it was the most important part of his life, and had he lived, would have been proud of what he did and why he did it.
People who have never been in the military often do not understand the mindset. Those men HATE being there. They would rather be ANYWHERE than where they are now. But, this is their job, and it is what they do. For many of them, they gave their oath, and are sticking with it. It isn't any fun. But it is what you do.
She and her kind will never, ever know that. Their lives are meaningless, because they do not know what it is that makes life worth living.
Her son, in his young, abbreviated life, did.
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