A THANK YOU TO FREE REPUBLIC - "You Don't Speak for Me, Cindy" Tour

"We will not allow another generation of heroes to be forsaken."

Hope you don't mind if I use it in my tagline

I'm honored!

Great job. It does my heart good to know there is someone out there standing against the likes of Cindy. It troubles me to think that they would go unopposed.

I've tried to follow the history of Cindy, but there is so much information. I was wondering if anyone had been able to prove whether Cindy was an original "Vietnam War Protestor? In other words, is she really a Pro?????

Was this the only way they could get people to attend their wedding?

Groom Peter Ravella, left, wipes his face as bride Genevieve Van Cleve closes her eyes as Rev. Tom Nuckols, center, begins to lead them in their wedding under the big tent at Cindy Sheehan's Camp Casey 2 near President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2005. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Peter Ravella, 13, left, and his brother Paul Ravela, 10, second from left, look on as their father Peter Ravella, center, kisses his bride Genevieve Van Cleve in front of anti-war protestors at Camp Casey 2 near President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2005. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

bttt.. :o)

I asked a friend to be at the Dallas Hyatt Sat. morning to show support....here's what she e-mailed back:

"we waved a big old flag..lots of my friends were there also. I spread the
word, but the news did not mention the hundreds of people on the side of the
road."

I've invited her to come to FR....to see all the news that the MSM doesn't mention :)

WHY IRAQ?

____________

First of all, Iraq's Saddam Hussein was a dictator who attempted to have a former President of the U.S. assassinated. Those facts alone are grounds enough to retaliate. Second of all, Iraqi intelligence operative Ramzi Yousef was eventually found to be involved in the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, despite the extreme measures Iraq took to hide its involvement. Grounds enough again. Not to retaliate to such outrages is both immoral and an encouragement of more of same.

In October of 1998, during the Clinton administration, the U.S. House and then the U.S. Senate passed The Iraq Liberation Act, which was signed into law on Oct. 31st, making it the official policy of the U.S. government to seek regime change in Iraq. The Senate vote was unanimous, including every Democrat, even Ted Kennedy.
On 9/11 it was logical to suspect, and even assume, that Iraq was involved in this second World Trade Center attack also. A lot of assuming had to be done since the CIA's Operations Directorate had largely been destroyed by Sen. Frank Church and the Carter administration in the 1970s, and our intelligence capabilities were even further crippled by the Clinton administration in the 1990s (Still, ignorant and politically-motivated people blame the Bush administration for the intelligence failures even though it had only been in office 8 months prior to 9/11). Besides, there were plenty of other threats from Iraq and from the region in general to counter and defuse anyway. In fact there are several pro-active strategic reasons for the U.S. to take up military positions in Iraq, only one of which is the extremely delicate task of stopping the flow of middle east oil money, even from Saudi Arabia, to international terrorists and terrorist recruiters and trainers (hopefully to be achieved more by intimidation than by actual additional military action) -- without massive disruptions to the American economy. Anyway, copious amounts of proof -- that Iraq still had WMD capabilities and an active interest in WMDs, AND had numerous links with terrorists including Al Qaeda -- have been uncovered in the wake of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Some of that information is covered in the links below.

Even though the 9-11 Commission was badly compromised by the presence of Clinton administration intelligence-crippling "wall" builder Jamie Gorelick on it, its report did, at least, document some of the links and contacts Saddam had had with Al Qaeda and other terrorists, as John Gibson summarizes here.

"The burden of proof was on Saddam, not the United States. George Bush did not have the burden of proving that Saddam had WMDs. Saddam Hussein had the burden of proving he didn’t have them. Saddam failed to meet the burden of proof .. and paid the price."-- Neal Boortz.
Remember the SIX MONTHS it took for the U.S. to get a UN go-ahead for Gulf War Part II? Do you really think Saddam didn't use them to hide WMD's? Wanna buy a bridge?

Saddam's WMD's are in Syria: See: "David Kay, the recently resigned head of an American WMD search team in Iraq, confirmed that part of Saddam's weapons was hidden in Syria, Britain's Sunday Telegraph reported on Jan. 25, 2004. Kay said he had uncovered conclusive evidence shortly before last year's U.S. invasion." HERE

WMDs Smuggled to 3 Sites in Syria
David Kay says he has evidence of such
Kay HAD Syrian WMD Maps

Canadian Reporter Finds Saddam-bin Laden Link
FOUND: a Saddam-Al Qaeda "Smoking Gun"

More Al Qaeda - Saddam links documented here

The Fedayeen - al Qaeda Connection
Fedayeen supervised Al Qaeda training
WMD materials removed from 109 sites

Czech records indicate Atta met with Iraqi official
Ex-Iraqi intelligence officer ties Saddam to al-Qaeda ally
al-Tikriti memo details uranium shipment, Atta's Iraq training
Saddam's stockpiles of WMD raw materials HAVE been found

Al Qaeda-financed WMD factory used peculiar Iraqi bio-weapons formula
UNMOVIC inspectors: Saddam Shipped Out WMDs

New evidence: Saddam's WMD in Lebanon

Saddam had WMD on 'short notice'

9 Iraqi scientists murdered

The OTHER "Downing Street Memo" of July 2002 (which NEGATES the first one)
See excerpts from The Secret History of the Iraq War HERE
Jordanians say they stopped a major Al-Qaeda attack WITH WMDs mounted from Syria: See THIS, THIS, THIS, THIS and: THIS.
"So, after the fall of Afghanistan at the end of 2001, Zarqawi and other al Qaeda veterans made their way to Iraq, where, secure under the wing of Saddam Hussein, they plotted chemical weapons attacks on countries friendly to the U.S., as well as the murder (successfully carried out) of an American diplomat. And yet, to this day it remains an article of faith on the left that Saddam's Iraq was a kite-flyer's paradise with no connection to international terrorism, no relations with al Qaeda, and, of course, no chemical weapons. Maybe the current trial will reveal where the chemicals assembled for the attack on Jordan came from; maybe it won't. But we don't need any new information to understand that Saddam's regime protected and supported the deadliest of al Qaeda's terrorists." -- John Hinderaker, HERE
See: "IRAQ'S COMPLICITY IN TERRORISM" HERE
Al Qaeda videos found in Iraq weapons raid
Bad Samarratans - caught between Iraq and a hard place
Kuwait foils smuggling of bio warheads from Iraq
Danes think they might have found chemical weapons
Iraqi Missile Parts Found in Holland
Russia Hid Iraq's WMDs

"The evidence [of Saddam's moving his WMD to Syria from August to December of 2002 and his collaboration with Al Qaeda] is overwhelming."
-- Yossef Bodansky, Director of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and author of The Secret History of the Iraq War
A partial list of the WMDs Found in Iraq
Saddam Possessed WMDs, Had Many Terror Ties
"Saddam ... maintained secretive weapons programs throughout the 1990s and indeed right up until the day of the invasion, and that he was only waiting for the international community to lose interest or stamina so that he could resume his programs unfettered. This is the well-documented, unrefuted -- and unnoticed -- conclusion of both [chief inspectors] David Kay and Charles Duelfer."
-- Robert Kagan, Washington Post, June 19, 2005

"Duelfer also reported that Saddam asked subordinates how long it would take to develop chemical weapons once sanctions ended. One Iraqi chemical weapons expert said it would require only a few days to develop mustard gas." -- Michael Barone, HERE

The perfidy of the UN

What G.W. should have said about why we attacked Iraq

I would have been much happier if G.W. had the intellectual clarity and moral courage to have told the American people after 9-11:

"I will ask Congress for either an overt declaration of war, or at least a tacit one through the approval of its funding, not only on the stateless terrorists who perpetrated this heinous act, but on all nations who harbor and/or help them, the worst among these including Syria, Iran, Libya, and Saudi Arabia. No country should be allowed to get away with any such thing ever again. We should not attack those countries right now for various strategic, tactical and economic reasons. But what we can do is scare the living crap out of them by showing we're not just going to lob a few cruise missiles somewhere and go home. What we can and must do is to pick an illegitmate government -- any rigidly totalitarian government other than Afghanistan's -- somewhere in their neighborhood and effect a complete and total demonstration of what will happen to THEM if they don't cooperate fully in tracking down and stopping these terrorists once and for all. Iraq not only fills that bill, but it just so happens to be one whose leader has attempted to assassinate an American ex-president, and one for which the Congress has already passed a law, The Iraq Libertation Act of 1998.
"Finally, if any government anywhere STILL sponsors, nurtures or harbors terrorists which endanger the United States, or combines weapons of mass destruction with any barbaric or insane ideology, we will stop at nothing to bring that government and that threat to a complete and permanent end."

As the Wall Street Journal editorialized, "The more we show we're serious about challenging states that harbor terrorists the more Pakistan and other nations are likely to cooperate with Washington in tracking down and turning over the terrorists." And indeed they have.

As bad as the U.S. has gotten over the years, becoming more and more twisted by a government of the politicians, by the politicians, and for the politicians, it is still blindingly obvious that it's a lot more humane and civilized than anything those Muslim fundamentalists or Baathist control freaks can even think about, let alone have to offer. If anyone's pacifism has its roots in, or amounts to, beliefs that "all cultures are equal," they hold their views as blind idealogues, not far-sighted defenders of liberty.

If anyone still doubts that I believe any legitimate country has the right to do any damn thing to any illegitimate country any damn time it needs to, I would refer him to this: "Just as an individual must act unapologetically to preserve his life, so must America. America must proudly proclaim its right and intention to protect its citizens, their liberty and their property. It must meet any threat with retaliation that pre-empts loss of American lives." HERE -- and to this: "Any doctrine of group activities that does not recognize individual rights is a doctrine of mob rule or legalized lynching... A nation that violates the rights of its own citizens cannot claim any rights whatsoever. In the issue of rights, as in all moral issues, there can be no double standard." -- Ayn Rand, here

THE BUSH DOCTRINE

"I never regarded WMD as the main reason to go to war. The real reason to go to war was (1) to establish a military and democratic presence in the Arab world (which we've done); (2) to make an example of Saddam to intimidate other Arab leaders (which we've done); and (3) to cut off Saddam as a source of support -- both existing and potential -- for terrorists, which we've also done. The WMD was a nontrivial issue, and required for playing the UN game (which I always regarded as a mistake) but not, to me, the most important issue."
-- Glenn Reynolds, HERE

"The objective is to scare the hell out of the world, generally, and Islam in particular. By means of a minimal effort at wreaking maximum havoc upon Iraq in a very short span of time, the United States will demonstrate to her enemies and allies alike that she is not only the pre-eminent world power, she is in fact an inconquerable power. The anticipated benefits in the Islamic world will be either an immediate rounding-up of terrorists, or swift regime-changes followed by an immediate rounding-up of terrorists." -- Greg Swann, HERE

In October of 1998, during the Clinton administration, the U.S. House and then the U.S. Senate passed The Iraq Liberation Act, which was signed into law on Oct. 31st, making it the official policy of the U.S. government to seek regime change in Iraq. The Senate vote was unanimous, including every Democrat, even Ted Kennedy.

"For states that support terror, it is not enough that the consequences be costly; they must devastating" -- George W. Bush, Dec. 11, 2001

Despite the insistence of various Democrats, butt-covering diplomats and other vacillators that it had to be due to years of international cooperation in (fruitless) sanctions and diplomacy, Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi made it clear that he decided to disarm due to our terminating the regime in Iraq, NOT Afghanistan: "I will do whatever the Americans want because I saw what happened in Iraq, and I was afraid," Gaddafi told Italy's Prime Minister Berlusconi here & HERE. Gaddafi urges rogue states: 'Follow my lead!' HERE.

"Any material element or resource which, in order to become of use or value to men, requires the application of human knowledge and effort, should be private property -- by the right of those who apply the knowledge and effort." -- Ayn Rand

"In other words, letting the Saudis take over our oil companies' oil fields in the '40s and '50s and the Arabs and Persians everywhere else every other time were ENORMOUS mistakes of epic proportions. They should serve as the greatest demonstration of how mysticism, altruism, cultural agnosticism and moral relativism, which supplied the feeble rationalizations for doing so, are TOTALLY inimical to Western Civilization and its very existence, and why they must be rejected once and for all. Enabling the paying of billions of dollars in unearned royalties to those who finance, if not actually believe in, primitive barbarism and manifest mysticism is unspeakably evil, nauseating and tantamount to treason taken to the most extreme degree imaginable." -- B.R.

"Mysticism -- as a cultural power -- died at the time of the Renaissance. ... As to altruism -- it has never been alive. It is the poison of death in the blood of Western civilization ..." -- Ayn Rand, HERE.

-- all from http://FreedomKeys.com/whyiraq.htm

The home battle front for terrorism is Crawford and Walter Reed. Keep the work going and thank you.

"I said loudly, within her earshot, "Boy, the cameras really love the anti-war protesters." "

Good for you. This (general) story needs to at least get into the alternative media (Ann Coulter, etc.)

We should be thanking them! BTW - Thank you, Impeach98, for your hard work, dedication and sacrifices!!

Difference in Coverage

Notice the difference in news coverage for this past weekend in Crawford:

Dallas/Fort Worth Star-Telegram
President Bush's supporters poured into Crawford by the thousands Saturday, for the first time outnumbering war protesters led by Cindy Sheehan.

San Francisco Bay Area KRON4
Meanwhile, a few dozen Bush supporters held signs from their small camp in a ditch across the street ... Article at KRON 4

d for the first time said "I just realized what America means".

My 12 year old who helped me in the "welcome" tent said something very similar as we were leaving Saturday evening. Hers went "I understand patriotism now better than ever".

And basil, she also talked about the wise words you said to her. Thank you.

I think involving my three girls has taught them more than I ever could in simple words thanks to all who worked so hard in putting this together and those who were able to be there. There was such a feeling there.

Nice letter and I'm glad they did what they did. Thank you.

Thank you -- (see my tagline?) : )

Thank YOU, Melanie and Howard.

And thanks to all Freepers who braved the hot Texas sun to honor our heroes. Especially those who did the hard work of orgnization.

You DO speak for ME!

God bless our troops,

our president,

and our country!

As a FReeper, special thanks to Jim Rob and Sheila for making the trip. I know that when I saw their picture in the tent (front and center) it gave me chills and I knew this was destined for great things!

Just imagine what it did for those of us there on site! I was sitting right behind The Man and his Lady. I went up and said "I just have to shake your hand", and I did. :) Local FReeper Basil was hanging out thereabouts as well. She borrowed my chair for a while, she needed it, I didn't need it too badly *then*. Later it was all I could do to raise myself out of it. :)

The other big thrill of the day, just a bit before JimRob made his appearance, was when the MC said "The Caravan has arrived" and the driver of the Big Rig,(who is FReeper I believe, but whose handle I don't know) blew that big old air horn.

lead them in their wedding under the big tent at Cindy Sheehan's Camp Casey 2

They should have said the big circus tent at Cindy "the traitor" Sheehan's camp.

Thank you, Melanie and Howard. The more conservative groups work together the stronger our message becomes. I truly believe that Freepers are the "foot soldiers" of the future, ready for duty at the call. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the massive showing of patriotism in Crawford and along the road there. Thank you Jim, for being the most important patriot of the 21st Century. We owe you so much. God bless all of you and God bless America.

Honest psychologists around the Country are cringing now because they really understand that what Cindy has is a mental illness and the media is feeding into it. When the cameras and hanger-ons are gone, what do you think will happen to this woman? Nothing good will come from this.

It would be a good idea for bloggers to attend these things and, as you say, discreetly, photograph or video this stuff. Mingle and lurk and especially follow the media around and listen to what they're saying when they don't think you're listening. Then publish it. ,>

Catch them talking about some of their 'plots' to push certain 'stories' like this one. I'd love to start taking these MSM reporters down, one by one. My personal pet peeve is David Gregory of NBC. I despise that little weasel. I'd LUV to catch him in a verbal faux pas saying something about the President or catch him up on something. He's smug and arrogant and a real a$$hole! But there are plenty of them to go around. We should start doing that when we attend these things. Besides protesting, some of us with camcorders can start lurking around the MSM and photograph them doing this stuff and expose it.

Meanwhile everybody who was there did a great job as did all of those who expose it in the long hours of sitting at our keyboards. I'm just glad FR and LGF exist. There are other good blogs too. I had an email from Jeff Gannon today in response to one I sent thanking him for the Cindy video he sent us. I'm glad he recovered from that going over the MSM gave him in another of their phony trumped up stories. He got his WH press pass back too. They couldn't do a thing about it because he gets a Day Pass and the W.H. said there was no reason to disqualify him (mercifully)!