Posted on 08/25/2005 1:01:05 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
CRAWFORD - With singing and tears, protest mom Cindy Sheehan returned to her vigil near President Bush's ranch Wednesday, less than a week after leaving to care for her ailing mother.
Alighting with an armful of flowers from a van that brought her from the airport, Sheehan's first act on returning was to find the cross with her son's name on it amid dozens set in the ground at her new campsite.
"Does anybody know where Casey's cross is?" Sheehan said.
She placed the flowers, then joined other mothers of fallen service members for a group hug.
Rick Burnley, a New Mexico poet with bare feet and long, salt-and-pepper hair, played a Jethro Tull song on a soprano recorder while a small clutch of women sobbed and hugged Sheehan.
"This is the center of the world," Burnley said.
Asked later how it felt to be back at "Camp Casey," Sheehan gave two thumbs up. Her supporters, who have dwindled significantly in numbers during her absence, are hoping that Sheehan's return will rejuvenate their anti-war effort by bringing more attention back to Crawford.
Sheehan, whose son was killed in Iraq, is demanding a meeting with Bush so he can explain his statements that the war is a noble cause. She is vowing to remain at her encampment near the Western White House until he meets with her or returns to Washington.
In downtown Crawford, meanwhile, another grieving parent is gaining attention.
Gary Qualls, a Temple man whose son, Louis, was killed in Iraq, came to Crawford as a protest to Sheehan's protest. A soft-spoken veteran and Bush supporter, Qualls is presiding over an orderly series of tents dubbed "Fort Qualls" behind the Yellow Rose gift shop.
"I am here to bring back and keep respect for fallen heroes and for President Bush," Qualls said.
Opposition on the way
Of his counterparts at Camp Casey, Qualls said, "It's more than apparent they have come here to wage war against decent people."
This weekend, a caravan of demonstrators opposed to Sheehan's vigil are due to arrive in Crawford from San Diego. The "You Don't Speak for Us, Cindy" tour is expected to bring at least 10,000 more demonstrators to this tiny ranching community.
Gregg Garvey, whose son, Justin, was killed in Iraq, drove up to Crawford from Florida and pulled into town on Tuesday. He and Qualls have both retrieved from Sheehan's camp the memorial crosses bearing their sons' names.
"It didn't make me feel good that my son's cross was sitting in a ditch," Garvey said.
The two crosses joined those of several others whose parents also objected to Sheehan's memorial, in a small patch of dirt in front of the Fort Qualls tent.
Dueling protests
The two dueling protests have grown intensely hostile, with each side sharply criticizing how the other has chosen to grieve. Much of the back-and-forth has centered on the hundreds of small white crosses that Sheehan's camp built as part of their anti-war protest.
Qualls, who has challenged Sheehan to a debate, grows teary and emotional when describing his shock on learning his son, a Marine, was killed in Fallujah.
"The people on this side are righteous," Qualls said of his supporters and those in town to show support for Bush and the troops. "I have to stand up for what's right."
Barry Crimmins, a writer for the liberal radio network Air America, has been covering the Sheehan vigil and said he believes her efforts are serving as a "flashpoint" for a growing, national anti-war effort.
"They've turned Bush's vacation home into Baghdad airport," Crimmins said.
julie.mason@chron.com
Cindy Sheehan, left, is escorted by supporter Jeff Key after arriving at Waco Regional Airport in Waco, Texas, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2005.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
FR should know that
JEFF was kicked out of the USMC and does gay films with Military uniforms.
Why does that just fit so perfectly?
Based on the MSM coverage, you would never know anyone was in Crawford, except Cindy Sheehan, her pinko clan and President Bush. Even Fox's Brit Hume reported on only Sheehan today and never mentioned any Bush/Troop supporters. We need to write to them and remind them of what made them #1.......FAIR & BALANCED...........
FNS@foxnews.com,
Myword@foxnews.com,
Cavuto@foxnews.com,
Atlarge@foxnews.com,
Friends@foxnews.com,
Foxwire@foxnews.com,
Hannity@foxnews.com,
Special@foxnews.com,
Beltway@foxnews.com,
Oreilly@foxnews.com,
Afterhours@foxnews.com
He's better looking than she is ... but as far as lucky, did I hear that he's gay?
Posted by JulieRNR21
On News/Activism ^ 08/25/2005 9:00:45 PM PDT · 123 of 126 ^
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1470254/posts?page=123#123
Based on the MSM coverage, you would never know anyone was in Crawford, except Cindy Sheehan, her pinko clan and President Bush. Even Fox's Brit Hume reported on only Sheehan today and never mentioned any Bush/Troop supporters. We need to write to them and remind them of what made them #1.......FAIR & BALANCED...........
FNS@foxnews.com,
Myword@foxnews.com,
Cavuto@foxnews.com,
Atlarge@foxnews.com,
Friends@foxnews.com,
Foxwire@foxnews.com,
Hannity@foxnews.com,
Special@foxnews.com,
Beltway@foxnews.com,
Oreilly@foxnews.com,
Afterhours@foxnews.com
The b***h is back
First photo: nitpicking perhaps, but how can a mother, HER mother, and her husband all have the same last name "House"? I am scratching my head!!
Ummmm...do you have a source for that? That's not something you want to say if you're not sure, you know?
And while I'm at it, allow me just to say I am so stinking tired of looking at this woman's contorted face. She looks like my senator (I know what you're thinking, but no, the senator I refer to is NOT a man...it's Patty "Osama Mama" Murray).
I agree. It would be remarkable to see a Congressman or Senator, go to Crawford and defend America's Heroes!
Glad to hear Cindy's mom is better.
She is better, isn't she?
He outed himself on CNN.....
who is no longer a Marine (just because Fenton Communications had him wear that USMC shirt doesn't make it so) because he came out of the closet on CNN.
"Ummmm...do you have a source for that? That's not something you want to say if you're not sure, you know?"
Read it in his own words...
http://tinyurl.com/7tjvk
Bump for tomorrow.
Okay. Thanks.
What a jerk. In that link, he captions a photo with the words, "Iraqis flash peace signs," or something like that.
Well, one kid has his thumb up (a sign of approval). Another is holding up his index finger (as if to say "WE'RE NUMBER ONE"). The other is doing the "peace" sign, but that's also a "V for VICTORY" sign. I honestly doubt some Iraqi kid picked up a hippie hand gesture, but I could be wrong I guess.
Typical that someone like this would hook up with The Sobber to get face time. Ick.
I got the person running the Shep Smith board totally pissed when I called them on their tiresome "militant" instead of "terrorist" labeling.
A nelly-queen hissy fit in blue font was the response from that one--instantly, not in a week.
I now just ignore the Shep Smith program.
That's what the Off button's for.
I swear the article could have been Scrappleface - it's a caricature of itself.
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