And .. what is she blaming the Jewish people for now .. the woman is digusting.
Posted on 08/17/2005 9:52:02 PM PDT by kristinn
CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) - Hundreds of candlelight vigils calling for an end to the war in Iraq lit up the night Wednesday, part of a national effort spurred by one mother's anti-war demonstration near President Bush's ranch.
The vigils were urged by Cindy Sheehan, who has become the icon of the anti-war movement since she started a protest Aug. 6 in memory of her son Casey, who died in Iraq last year.
Sheehan says she will remain outside the president's ranch until he meets with her and other grieving families, or until his monthlong vacation there ends.
Bush has said he sympathizes with Sheehan but has made no indication he will meet with her. Two top Bush administration officials talked to Sheehan the day she started her camp, and she and other families had met with Bush shortly after her son's death.
More than 1,600 vigils were planned Wednesday from coast to coast by liberal advocacy groups MoveOn.org Political Action, TrueMajority and Democracy for America. A large vigil was also planned in Paris.
As the sun set in Crawford, about 200 protesters lit candles and gathered around a wooden, flag-draped coffin at Sheehan's growing camp, about a mile from the Bush ranch.
``For the more than 1,800 who have come home this way in flag-draped coffins, each one ... was a son or a daughter, not cannon fodder to be used so recklessly,'' Sheehan told the crowd.
After the names of some of the dead soldiers were read, the crowd sang ``Amazing Grace'' as people stepped forward to place flowers on the coffin.
Before the vigil, Gary Qualls, of Temple drove to Sheehan's camp site and removed a wooden cross bearing his son's name. He said he supports the war and disagrees with Sheehan.
``I don't believe in some of the things happening here,'' Qualls said. ``I find it disrespectful.''
Near Philadelphia's Independence Hall, a few hundred people strained to hear the parent of another soldier killed in Iraq. ``This war must stop,'' said Al Zappala, 65, whose 30-year-old son, Sgt. Sherwood Baker, died in an explosion in Baghdad in April 2004.
Karen Braz, 50, held a pink votive cup and a sign reading ``Moms for Peace'' as she stood shoulder-to-shoulder with about 150 other people outside the New Hampshire statehouse in Concord.
``My son is 26. It could've been him,'' she said
Some critics say Sheehan is exploiting her son's death to promote a left-wing agenda. They say scores of Americans, including relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq, support Bush and his plans to keep troops there.
FreeRepublic.com, which holds rallies to support troops and to counter anti-war demonstrations, held a pro-Bush rally Wednesday night with about 20 people at the same time and same Washington park as a candlelight vigil that drew about 300, said Kristinn Taylor, co-leader of the group's Washington, D.C., chapter.
``For us the organizers of the vigil are phony-baloney, betraying the sacrifices that those men and women make in Iraq, by demanding that we pull our troops out now and leave Iraq to go to hell,'' Taylor said. ``This is a publicity stunt.''
Some 200 people joined a peace vigil in Cincinnati's Fountain Square. Demonstrators softly sang ``Give Peace A Chance'' and lined one side of the square with signs, drawing honks of support from some passing motorists.
A banner bearing the name, age, rank, hometown and date of death of all Americans killed in Iraq and Afghanistan was unrolled at a vigil in Charleston, W.Va. - stretching the length of a city block.
``Our pastors and preachers need to hear from us,'' said one of the speakers in Charleston, Mary Ellen O'Farrell. ``Ask your pastor to preach it from the pulpit. This war does not meet the criteria for a just war.''
Along with candles and flags, some of the 300 people who gathered at a park in Nashville, Tenn., brought banners of protest and support for Sheehan. One read: ``Thank you for your courage Cindy.''
About 200 people attended a rally and candlelight vigil on the steps of the state Capitol in Oklahoma City. Marie Evans said it was a chance for those opposing the war to let their voices be heard.
``There was no question in my mind that we needed to make a statement in Oklahoma, which is a very conservative state,'' said Evans, who carried a sign that read ``Their blood is on your hands.''
In Hawaii, Kalihi Valley resident Charmaine Crockett invited scores of people to her hilltop house to light candles in sympathy for Sheehan. ``I'm very moved by one person making a difference,'' Crockett said.
Actor Richard Dreyfuss attended a vigil in the Studio City area of Los Angeles with his son and about 500 others.
``Cindy Sheehan is making a starting point with the questions she is asking and it's not unpatriotic to ask them,'' Dreyfuss said. ``It's actually a higher form of patriotism.''
And at a vigil in Madison, Wis., Tammy Markee had some simple advice for Bush on how to handle Sheehan: ``Be a man. Give her the respect she deserves. Sit down and talk with her.''
On the Net:
http://www.moveon.org/
http://www.freerepublic.com/home.htm
Yup! Twice in the same lifetime. I don't need this crap. The troops don't need it either. We can't sell them out this time and take their victory away.
This woman needs to be imprisoned for the rest of her life for treason.
"Yup! Twice in the same lifetime. I don't need this crap. The troops don't need it either. We can't sell them out this time and take their victory away."
We won't. I believe that as more and more of our men and women return from Iraq and their stories of what is actually going on over there and the progress being made are told, the old lib media is going to have to get on board with the TRUTH or slide even further into irrelevancy. Old lib media no longer has a deathgrip on the American public like they did during the Vietnam War.
We won the war? Wasn't the objective to find and destroy WMDs? So WMDs were found and destroyed? AWESOME! In that case... I'd say we won the war too!
All of this talk of anti-war vigils being disrespectful is total crap. I will tell you what is disrespectful... people are over there fighting a war (since there are no WMDs... let's say they are fighting for our freedom instead)... and then you have people over here trying to take that freedom away saying that people speaking out against the war should be silenced!
There were 2,950 people who were killed in the attacks on Sep 11. How many of our soldiers have to die before we go after the real person/persons behind the attacks? As of today... over 1,800 soldiers have lost their lives in this hunt for WMDs. If it was my son or daughter over there... and they died fighting a war that was supposed to be over WMDs but is clearly NOT... I'd be way more pissed off than this mom down in Crawford.
And how many will die because of you Jane Fonda types offering aid and comfort to the enemy? We're at war idiot. Hang up the phone, you moron! (plagiarized)
Well, well, aren't you up a bit late? You have junior high school tomorrow.
Tell all the guys at DU we said "(You're) hi(gh)."
We can fight them in Iraq or we can fight them in your neighborhood. Deal with it.
She is the enemy within,and the current media darling.
Don't tell me...they read the Talmud and poison wells in their spare time?
WE GAVE PEACE A CHANCE. IT DIDN'T WORK OUT!!!!
Wake up!
I would think they have a bag over the head,who could party with that face.I know it's rude but I could not resist.
We've got you saying we are at war... you've got flingwingflyer up there saying that the war is over. You people are funny. Banning because of a troll? There goes that whole freedom of speech thing again that you are trying to take away from people. How about everybody to the right just try and silence every single person that does not agree with you... that will make things better!
Anybody who tells me I'm disrespecting the troops over there I will punch square in the face without thinking twice about it! I just got out of the military myself. I support our troops 110%! I don't support that idiot they call a commander in chief though!!!
That's what the democrats want to make it,so they win next election!They are doing a pretty good PR job.
OK.
I say you're disrespecting the troops.
Come and get me, dirtball.
You're pretty dense troll. Buh bye.
And .. what is she blaming the Jewish people for now .. the woman is digusting.
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