Posted on 08/20/2005 7:50:19 PM PDT by FairOpinion
CRAWFORD, Texas - A patriotic camp with a "God Bless Our President!" banner sprung up downtown Saturday, countering the anti-war demonstration started by a fallen soldier's mother two weeks ago near President Bush's ranch.
The camp is named "Fort Qualls," in memory of Marine Lance Cpl. Louis Wayne Qualls, 20, who died in Iraq last fall.
"If I have to sacrifice my whole family for the sake of our country and world, other countries that want freedom, I'll do that," said the soldier's father, Gary Qualls, a friend of the local business owner who started the pro-Bush camp. He said his 16-year-old son now wants to enlist, and he supports that decision.
Qualls' frustration with the anti-war demonstrators erupted last week when he removed a cross bearing his son's name that was among hundreds the group had put up along the road to Bush's ranch.
Qualls called the protesters' views disrespectful to soldiers, and said he had to yank out two more crosses after protesters kept replacing them.
Cindy Sheehan, whose 24-year-old son, Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, died last year in Iraq, started the anti-war demonstration along the roadside on Aug. 6. "Camp Casey" has since grown to about 100 core participants, and hundreds more from across the nation have visited.
Sheehan vowed to remain there until Bush agreed to meet with her or until his monthlong vacation ended, but she flew to Los Angeles last week after her 74-year-old mother had a stroke. Her mother has some paralysis but is in good spirits, and if she improves, Sheehan may return to Texas in a few days, some demonstrators said.
In her absence, the rest of the group will keep camping out for the unlikely chance to question the president about the war that has claimed the lives of about 1,850 U.S. soldiers.
Bush has said he sympathizes with Sheehan but won't change his schedule to meet with her. She and other families met with Bush about two months after Casey Sheehan died, before she became a vocal opponent of the war.
Large counter-protests were held in a ditch near Sheehan's site a week after she arrived, and since then, a few Bush supporters have stood in the sun holding signs for several hours each day.
Bill Johnson, a local gift shop owner who created "Fort Qualls," said he wanted to offer a larger, more convenient place for Bush supporters to gather.
He and others at "Fort Qualls" have asked for a debate with those at the Crawford Peace House, which is helping Sheehan.
It's unclear if that will happen. But a member of Gold Star Families for Peace, co-founded by Sheehan and comprised of relatives of fallen soldiers, said her group would not participate.
"We're asking for a meeting with the president, period," said Michelle DeFord, whose 37-year-old son, Sgt. David W. Johnson, was in the Army National Guard from Oregon when he was killed in Iraq last fall. "We don't want to debate with people who don't understand our point of view."
Right, as if Bush will understand your point of view. They just confirmed what we always knew about Liberals: anyone else who doesn't agree with their point of view are insignificant fools.
Baez Performs Near Crawford War Protest
By ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 54 minutes ago
CRAWFORD, Texas - Iraq war protesters camping out near President Bush's ranch are getting support from a prominent figure in the anti-Vietnam war movement: folk singer Joan Baez. ADVERTISEMENT
"In the first march I went to (opposing Vietnam) there were 10 of us. This is huge," Baez told relatives of fallen U.S. soldiers Sunday as she prepared to perform a free evening concert in Bush's adopted hometown.
The concert was expected to draw more than 1,000 people to a 1-acre lot offered by a landowner who opposes the war. Not far away, protesters continued a camp-out started by grieving mother Cindy Sheehan.
Meanwhile, more Bush supporters arrived at a downtown pro-Bush camp. As of Sunday afternoon, more than 150 people had visited the large tent with "God Bless Our President!" and "God Bless Our Troops" banners and a life-size cardboard cutout of Bush.
"When we saw this, we said, `Thank God you're here'," said Frances Lee, who arrived in Crawford with her Douglasville, Ga., neighbor Brenda Bohanan. They planned to hold pro-Bush banners down the street from the protesters.
"We said, `We wanted y'all to know that there are people from all over the United States that care'," Lee said.
The pro-Bush camp is called "Fort Qualls," for Marine Lance Cpl. Louis Wayne Qualls, 20, killed in Fallujah last fall. His father, Gary Qualls of Temple, said the anti-war demonstrators are being disrespectful to soldiers.
Sheehan's 24-year-old son, Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, also died last year in Iraq. He is among more than 1,800 U.S. soldiers killed since the March 2003 invasion.
Sheehan, of Vacaville, Calif., started the anti-war demonstration on Aug. 6 and vowed to remain until Bush agreed to meet with her or until his monthlong vacation ends Sept. 3. She flew to Los Angeles last week after her 74-year-old mother had a stroke but is expected to return to Texas in a few days.
Bush has said he sympathizes with Sheehan but won't change his schedule to meet with her. She and other families met with Bush about two months after Casey died, before she became a vocal opponent of the war.
In addition to the "Fort Qualls" camp, a few Bush supporters have stood with signs in the ditch across from the demonstrators' camp. Down the street, another group of about a dozen set up tents and pro-Bush signs on private property over the weekend.
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What's up with that? Same link, nearly no mention of pro-Bush.
Thanks for pointing it out.
Yahoo changed the link, so the original link about the pro-Bush demonstators now points to an article about the anti-war protesters.
The ^%%##*! I know this is not my mistake, I had this happen to me before, sometimes they left the same article, but changed the slant or changed the title. Now this!
But I did find the NEW link to the article I posted.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050821/ap_on_re_us/peace_mom_4
AM, could you please update the link at the top of the article, to have it point at the correct article. Thanks.
Oh, I knew it wasn't your fault, cuz I had followed the previous link before.
It does point to a drawback of FReePub though. Other mirror/archive sites that are below the political radar (waybackmachine) etc can archive copies, but FR cannot. So things like the image of Cindy Sheehan with Bush are lost.
Oh well, such is the new media!
Chieftain, thank you for your service to our great country. And, thank your sons for their upcoming service. May God bless and protect them always!
Wow! Thank you, Zacs Mom, for posting the awesome picture of the young woman who makes it VERY CLEAR that she supports her neighbor, as well as her military Dad and our other great troops.
So do I! It was great fun having you join us! When is your next trip East?
"War Backers" ?
How about liberators?
How about america supporters?
Additionally, I will be putting together a group of images showing Pro-Bush/Support Our Troop rallies and gatherings that you can all use
I look forward to seeing the pictures.
Not soon enough, my FRiend!
I'm working on it. ;o)
Great - looking forward to seeing you again.
First I've heard of this (on FR). Guess the OLD MEDIA is still having their noses up Sin-dy's butt.
I noticed the MSM calls the caravan "pro war" or "pro Bush", never a "support the troops" group.
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