MERGED --> Impeachment Tour + Mother of US Soldier Vows To Follow Bush Around

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[Q]Sheehans meet President Bush

By David Henson/Staff Writer

Thursday, June 24, 2004 - 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. [/Q]

Here is an article from the same date Drudge is referring to.
 
FizzingWhizzbees said:
I don't really understand why that is interesting, could you explain some more, please? (Not flaming - a genuine question.)

I will comment when I am done listening to her interview. I like what I hear so far...

Lots of god stuff on Live 8. Bono ect.


------------------------------------------------

I will say this, hearing her speak is better than reading an article that has a slant.

The interview is worth listening to.
 
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Alright, after listening to her speak a month ago, I do not agree with her take on the President, nor do I agree with her facts.

The interviewer loses credibility with me, using Michael Moore's film as fact.

"All of our children were lied to get them into the military."

She lost me here........Running a "Counter Recruitment"....

She makes some interesting points about the loss of American lives not impacting enough famiies, making us sort of numb to the war.

I also like the fact that she wants to get CONGRESS to admit they were wrong...That is something I have said in here for a while, that everyone has channeled their anger at the President, but the congress had a role in this as well.

She nailed the congress for not doing their jobs!!!! Excellent point that they did not do their checks and balances properly.

She has spoken very little about her son.

-------------------------------------------------------

Now she is talking about impeachment. I really do not agree with the points she is making in this part of the interview. She is making her point with the benefit of hindsight. I totally disagree iwth her take on the war, the events leading up to it.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Not as interesting as I thought.
 
FizzingWhizzbees said:


I guess that answers my question. :wink:

I have listened to it twice now. That plus this

[Q]Home » Blogs » Bob Fertik's blog
An open letter to our brave troops in Iraq
Submitted by Bob Fertik on June 23, 2005 - 4:25pm.Downing Street Memo | Iraq
An open letter to our brave troops in Iraq:

America's Most Powerful Treat our Troops Like Suckers

Dear Service Member:

Every patriotic American supports you and admires you for your courage fighting in Iraq.

But unfortunately some of the most powerful Americans are not patriots.

These powerful Americans - including President Bush and his entire administration, nearly every Republican in Congress, and most of the media - think you're just a bunch of suckers.

Look around you. How many of your comrades are the children or close relatives of George Bush, Dick Cheney, or other administration officials? How many are the children of Republicans in Congress? How many are the children of media executives, columnists, or talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, or Joe Scarborough?

The people who sent you to Iraq - and want to keep you there indefinitely - are not sending their own kids, because they think military service is for suckers. Their actions speak infinitely louder than their words.

Here's another clue they think you're just a bunch of suckers.

On May 1, a British newspaper published the secret minutes of a July 2002 British cabinet meeting led by Tony Blair. Nearly a year before George Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq, the head of British intelligence told Blair about his trip to Washington.

"There was a perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy... There was little discussion in Washington of the aftermath after military action."

This document (and several related memos that have also been exposed by British papers) reveal the truth about several important points:

1. George Bush knew Iraq had no threatening stockpiles of WMD's and no ties to Al Qaeda. But he was determined to overthrow Saddam for other reasons (about which we can only speculate). So he simply lied about those WMD's and Al Qaeda ties to Congress, the American people, and the world. Those of you who went to Iraq looking for WMD's and Al Qaeda ties - Bush treated you like suckers.

2. George Bush had no interest in what would happen after the invasion. Those of you who are risking your lives to stop Iraq from collapsing into a civil war - which many war critics predicted - Bush is continuing to treat you like suckers.

When this secret document was published in Britain, it caused a firestorm. But here in the United States, the media refuse to discuss it. Why? Because they say it's "old news." They say "everybody knew" George Bush was lying about WMD's and Al Qaeda ties before the war.

Is this "old news" to you? Did you know George Bush was lying when he sent you to Iraq?

The Bush administration, Congressional Republicans, and the media all think you should have known.

If you didn't know - and if you're stuck there now - they think you're just a sucker.

A few weeks ago, a few of us joined together to form AfterDowningStreet.org to force George Bush, Congressional Republicans, and the media to answer the revelations in the Downing Street Memos. This has grown into a powerful grassroots movement that includes a number of veterans' and military families' groups.

We are determined to hold George Bush accountable for lying about his reasons for invading Iraq. We are also working to bring our troops home safe and sound.

Congressman John Conyers, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, even held a hearing on June 16. He was forced to hold it in the basement because Republicans refused to participate or even give him a decent hearing room. They even scheduled 11 floor votes to keep Members of Congress from listening to the powerful testimony of people like Cindy Sheehan, mother of Casey Sheehan, whose son Army Spc. Casey A. Sheehan was KIA in Sadr City Baghdad on April 4 2004. Even so, 35 Democrats came to listen.

That's more evidence that Republicans think you're just suckers.

Those of us who created AfterDowningStreet.org don't think you're suckers. We think you're incredibly brave and patriotic Americans. We think you went to Iraq because you believed you were defending America from a truly dangerous enemy that had enough weapons to attack America. We think you had every right to that belief, because that's what President Bush said over and over again. Unfortunately we now know that he lied to you.

While you're fighting in Iraq, we support you 1000%. And we'll continue to support you when you come home, by fighting against the deep cuts in veterans benefits that the Bush administration and Republicans in Congress are pushing.

If you get the opportunity to read this letter, it's because of the Internet. And if it makes you mad that Bush and his allies think you and your comrades are suckers, you can use the Internet to do something about it:

http://www.democrats.com/peoplesemailnetwork/39

* Use our form letter to tell your Representative that you want a thorough investigation of the Bush administration's lies about Iraq. Be sure to add a personal note about your service in Iraq when you send this letter.

* Urge your family and friends at home to sign this letter too, and to become active in AfterDowningStreet.org.

We pray for your safe return, and we pray America will once again become a nation that is worthy of the incomprehensible sacrifices you have made for your country.

Sincerely,

Bob Fertik
President of Democrats.com
Co-founder of AfterDowningStreet.org

Cindy Sheehan
Co-founder of Gold Star Families for Peace

[/Q]

Lead me to think less of the situation over the weekend in Texas.
 
I would want my mother to do the same thing, to question. I think that honors her son..just as the other ways other parents choose to handle it also honors their sons and daughters

I thought this was an interesting editorial

Mr. Bush, let's talk
By Joan Vennochi, Globe Columnist | August 9, 2005

AMERICA HAS a president, not a king. But just like royalty, the nation's commander in chief can keep his distance from the common man or woman.

Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a son who died in Iraq, is camped out in Crawford, Texas, trying to get a face-to-face meeting with the vacationing George W. Bush. She wants to tell the president that he should pull all American troops out of Iraq. Her son, Casey, was killed at age 24 in the Sadr City section of Baghdad on April 4, 2004.

The police blocked her a few miles from the Bush ranch. On Saturday, two Bush administration officials were dispatched to speak to her. But Sheehan says she will not leave until she sees the president. ''I plan on staying here the entire month of August or until he comes out to talk to me," she told USA Today.

Democracy in America begins with a very intimate connection between the people and those who seek to represent them. In the initial quest for votes, those running for elective office, including the presidency, will talk and meet with virtually anyone. There is no coffee hour too small to attend nor person too humble to approach. Once the vote-seeker wins office, it's a different story. The walls go up. The doors lock. The distance grows.

It happens, to some degree, at every level of government, although, obviously, the higher the office, the higher the wall. It is so much easier to conduct the people's business without dealing directly with the people, especially with disagreeable people.

Once a politician takes up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, much business is conducted through intermediaries. Intermediaries, via the press, ask questions. Intermediaries -- press secretaries and underlings -- convey the president's thoughts. Occasionally, the president holds a press conference. For the most part, contact with average voters is reduced to ceremonial photo opportunities with political supporters.

This is not a Bush White House phenomenon, although Bush is perfecting the art of presidential isolation. During the 2004 presidential contest, Bush's campaign events were packed with supporters and screened for dissidents. Since his January 2005 inauguration, he held four press conferences. During his first term, he held the fewest solo press conferences of any president in the television age.

Bush also escapes frequently to his 1,600-acre ranch. He is currently immersed in a five-week stay away from Washington, the longest presidential retreat in at least 36 years, according to The Washington Post.

A presidential spokesman said the time in Crawford is a time for Bush to ''shed his coat and tie and meet with folks in the heartland and hear what's on their minds."

This week, the president will meet with his economic advisers and foreign policy team, go to a fundraising lunch, and attend a Little League championship game. So far, Sheehan is not on his agenda. But he knows what is on her mind, and that is his excuse for declining to meet with her.

Sheehan and other families of fallen troops met with Bush two months after her son's death. Since then, she has made her antiwar feelings clear. She speaks around the country against the war. After Bush was reelected, she and other protesters on Pennsylvania Avenue turned their backs on Bush's motorcade.

According to press reports, Sheehan said she decided to come to Crawford after Bush said once again that US troops are dying for a noble cause and the mission must be completed. Now, she says, she wants to ask the president, ''What did my son die for?"

Sheehan told the AP that the Bush advisers dispatched to talk to her told her ''we are in Iraq because they believed Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, that the world's a better place with Saddam gone, and that we're making the world a safer place with what we're doing over there."

She said that one of the advisers said that Bush ''really does care." Her reply: ''If he does care, why doesn't he come out and talk to me?"

Driven by personal grief, Sheehan does not accept the commonly accepted boundaries between the people and the person who occupies the Oval Office. With nothing to lose since she lost her son, she is barging into personal presidential space and posing rude questions.

How long before more Americans join her and the clamor invades the Bush castle -- and that other castle known as Congress
 
verte76 said:
Yes, Bush was re-elected but as someone who voted against him twice I feel that it's necessary to point out the particular disagreements people have with his administration. The vote was 51% to 49%, the closest re-election of an incumbent in almost a century (since 1916).

Actually it was Bush 50.73%

Kerry 48.27%

Nadar .38%

Badnarik .32%

Other .30%
 
August 10, 2005
Why No Tea and Sympathy?
By MAUREEN DOWD

WASHINGTON

W. can't get no satisfaction on Iraq.

There's an angry mother of a dead soldier camping outside his Crawford ranch, demanding to see a president who prefers his sympathy to be carefully choreographed.

A new CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll shows that a majority of Americans now think that going to war was a mistake and that the war has made the U.S. more vulnerable to terrorism. So fighting them there means it's more likely we'll have to fight them here?

Donald Rumsfeld acknowledged yesterday that sophisticated bombs were streaming over the border from Iran to Iraq.

And the Rolling Stones have taken a rare break from sex odes to record an antiwar song called "Sweet Neo Con," chiding Condi Rice and Mr. Bush. "You call yourself a Christian; I call you a hypocrite," Mick Jagger sings.

The N.F.L. put out a press release on Monday announcing that it's teaming up with the Stones and ABC to promote "Monday Night Football." The flag-waving N.F.L. could still back out if there's pressure, but the mood seems to have shifted since Madonna chickened out of showing an antiwar music video in 2003. The White House used to be able to tamp down criticism by saying it hurt our troops, but more people are asking the White House to explain how it plans to stop our troops from getting hurt.

Cindy Sheehan, a 48-year-old Californian with a knack for P.R., says she will camp out in the dusty heat near the ranch until she gets to tell Mr. Bush face to face that he must pull all U.S. troops out of Iraq. Her son, Casey, a 24-year-old Army specialist, was killed in a Sadr City ambush last year.

The president met with her family two months after Casey's death. Capturing W.'s awkwardness in traversing the line between somber and joking, and his love of generic labels, Ms. Sheehan said that W. had referred to her as "Mom" throughout the meeting, and given her the sense that he did not know who her son was.

The Bush team tried to discredit "Mom" by pointing reporters to an old article in which she sounded kinder to W. If only her husband were an undercover C.I.A. operative, the Bushies could out him. But even if they send out a squad of Swift Boat Moms for Truth, there will be a countering Falluja Moms for Truth.

It's amazing that the White House does not have the elementary shrewdness to have Mr. Bush simply walk down the driveway and hear the woman out, or invite her in for a cup of tea. But W., who has spent nearly 20 percent of his presidency at his ranch, is burrowed into his five-week vacation and two-hour daily workouts. He may be in great shape, but Iraq sure isn't.

It's hard to think of another president who lived in such meta-insulation. His rigidly controlled environment allows no chance encounters with anyone who disagrees. He never has to defend himself to anyone, and that is cognitively injurious. He's a populist who never meets people - an ordinary guy who clears brush, and brush is the only thing he talks to. Mr. Bush hails Texas as a place where he can return to his roots. But is he mixing it up there with anyone besides Vulcans, Pioneers and Rangers?

W.'s idea of consolation was to dispatch Stephen Hadley, the national security adviser, to talk to Ms. Sheehan, underscoring the inhumane humanitarianism of his foreign policy. Mr. Hadley is just a suit, one of the hard-line Unsweet Neo Cons who helped hype America into this war.

It's getting harder for the president to hide from the human consequences of his actions and to control human sentiment about the war by pulling a curtain over the 1,835 troops killed in Iraq; the more than 13,000 wounded, many shorn of limbs; and the number of slain Iraqi civilians - perhaps 25,000, or perhaps double or triple that. More people with impeccable credentials are coming forward to serve as a countervailing moral authority to challenge Mr. Bush.

Paul Hackett, a Marine major who served in Iraq and criticized the president on his conduct of the war, narrowly lost last week when he ran for Congress as a Democrat in a Republican stronghold in Cincinnati. Newt Gingrich warned that the race should "serve as a wake-up call to Republicans" about 2006.

Selectively humane, Mr. Bush justified his Iraq war by stressing the 9/11 losses. He emphasized the humanity of the Iraqis who desire freedom when his W.M.D. rationale vaporized.

But his humanitarianism will remain inhumane as long as he fails to understand that the moral authority of parents who bury children killed in Iraq is absolute.
 
I hate using drudge as a source. Generally, I try and search for things on my own...but...if this is true....I find it telling.

[Q]FAMILY OF FALLEN SOLDIER PLEADS: PLEASE STOP, CINDY!
Thu Aug 11 2005 12:56:21 ET

The family of American soldier Casey Sheehan, who was killed in Iraq on April 4, 2004, has broken its silence and spoken out against his mother Cindy Sheehan's anti-war vigil against George Bush held outside the president's Crawford, Texas ranch.

The following email was received by the DRUDGE REPORT from Cherie Quarterolo, Casey's aunt and godmother:

Our family has been so distressed by the recent activities of Cindy we are breaking our silence and we have collectively written a statement for release. Feel free to distribute it as you wish. Thanks Ð Cherie

In response to questions regarding the Cindy Sheehan/Crawford Texas issue: Sheehan Family Statement:

The Sheehan Family lost our beloved Casey in the Iraq War and we have been silently, respectfully grieving. We do not agree with the political motivations and publicity tactics of Cindy Sheehan. She now appears to be promoting her own personal agenda and notoriety at the the expense of her son's good name and reputation. The rest of the Sheehan Family supports the troops, our country, and our President, silently, with prayer and respect.

Sincerely,

Casey Sheehan's grandparents, aunts, uncles and numerous cousins.

Developing...[/Q]
 
I know nothing of her "agenda" but I would doubt she seeks notoriety off of her son's death. She'd trade it all in a second obviously to have him back. It's nothing new for families to disagree about something like this.

The whole thing just makes me so sad, mostly for her loss..and for the fact that our President can sit in that ranch and refuse to meet w/ her. I would gain so much respect for him if he would.

And I also support the troops and my country, and my President when he earns my respect.
 
Dreadsox said:
But he did meet with her....

At the ranch? I didn't hear that

Or are you talking about when he kept calling her "Mom" and asked who he was honoring..when he didn't even seem to know her son's name. I would think the least he could have done was get that down.
 
MrsSpringsteen said:


At the ranch? I didn't hear that

Or are you talking about when he kept calling her "Mom" and asked who he was honoring..when he didn't even seem to know her son's name. I would think the least he could have done was get that down.

I am referring to that meeting. Where she and her son were quoted giving the President high marks for the meeting. Other parents of fallen soldiers were there also.

The story of not knowing names is according to what I have read on the topic, a more recent addition to her claims.
 
I would just guess it's preferable for him to meet w/ people who won't challenge him on Iraq, if she didn't have those feelings about Iraq he would meet w/ her in a heartbeat. Why is he dodging the questions?

A presidential spokesman said the time in Crawford is a time for Bush to ''shed his coat and tie and meet with folks in the heartland and hear what's on their minds."

Is that only if what's on their minds fits into a neat little PC, good publicity box? It seems the answer is, maybe
 
Mother of US Soldier Killed in Iraq Vows to Follow Bush Around

I don't know how much this event has been covered around the U.S., but in Texas it's big news.

I saw Cindy Sheehan speak last Friday and all I can say is that any president of the USA should bend over backwards to meet with any parent of a US soldier killed in the line of duty.

That's the least they could do for that parent.

No matter what the parent has to say, the president needs to see the tears and hear the pain in the voice of a grieving parent.

That's "compassionate conservatism". :yes:


Here's the article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050811/ts_alt_afp/usiraqbushmother_050811205805


Mother of US Iraq casualty vows to follow Bush


CRAWFORD, United States (AFP) - The mother of a US soldier killed in Iraq warned she would camp outside the White House next month if US President George W. Bush refuses to meet with her here at his ranch.


"I don't understand why he cannot spend ten minutes of his time to talk to somebody whose life he has devastated," said Cindy Sheehan, 48, who has been camped out about a kilometer from the gates of Bush's ranch since Saturday.

Sheehan, whose son, Casey, was killed in April 2004 five days after arriving in Iraq , wants to meet with Bush face-to-face to deliver her anti-war message.

"I want Bush to stop using my son's sacrifice to justify the killing," she told reporters, insisting that "he needs to bring the troops home now."

After meeting at his ranch with his top foreign policy advisers, Bush said: "It's very important for our citizens, no matter what side of the political aisle you're on, to understand that the mission is a vital mission."

"Listen, I sympathize with Mrs. Sheehan. She feels strongly about her position. And she has every right in the world to say what she believes. This is America. She has a right to her position," he said.

"I thought long and hard about her position. I've heard her position from others, which is: Get out of Iraq now. And it would be a mistake for the security of this country and the ability to lay the foundations for peace in the long run if we were to do so," he said.

"I met with a lot of families" who lost relatives in Iraq said Bush. "And I have done my best to bring comfort to the families and honor to the loved one. You get different opinions when you meet with moms and dads and sons and daughters and the wives and husbands of those who have fallen."

"One opinion I've come away with universally is that, you know, we should do everything we can to honor the fallen. And one way to honor the fallen is to lay the foundation for peace," said Bush.

Nearly 140,000 US troops are in Iraq, where more than 1,830 have been killed since Bush ordered the March 2003 invasion to oust Saddam Hussein on grounds he possessed weapons of mass destruction that were never found.

"I don't think aggression on a country that was no threat to the United States is noble," said Sheehan, who met with Bush previously in June 2004 along with other families who lost relatives in Iraq.

Afterwards, Sheehan told her local newspaper that she said that she and her family "haven't been happy with the way the war has been handled" or with Bush's changing justifications for the invasion, but had opted to stifle such criticisms in the meeting.

"I now know he's sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis," Cindy told the Vacaville Reporter newspaper after their meeting. "I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss. And I know he's a man of faith."

While the White House has invoked that meeting to deny her another audience with Bush, Sheehan now says the president "disrespectful (and) inappropriate" and referred to her as "Mom."
 
She just does'nt know how to grieve. She's taking out her anger
on Bush even though her son signed up for the army. Unfortunatley, I think she's just wasted her time.
But hey it's America, you can protest here.
 
I'm waiting for the Fox News talking points.

We've seen one already above - 'she just doesn't know how to grieve.'

The other one is 'Her heart's in the right place, but she's being manipulated by the far left!'

Don't forget to stay on message Shrub supporters, your hero needs you at this hour.
 
VertigoGal said:
I'm waiting for the semi-humorous but meaningless Bush-bashing comments that offer no advice as to how Bush should actually respond to the matter.

oh, wait...:shifty:

Richard Nixon met anti-war protestors. In fact he got up at the crack of dawn to do so.

Oh I forgot.

Richard Nixon was a real leader.
 
agree with financeguy. If you can't take the flak for your decisions, you don't deserve to lead. It does not take much character to only give access to your supporters.
 
Too bad there is a 48 hour old thread on this already.....

Maybe a mod can merge it....
 
BonosSaint said:
agree with financeguy. If you can't take the flak for your decisions, you don't deserve to lead. It does not take much character to only give access to your supporters.

Bush has already met with this women as well as hundreds of other families, many of whom support the war. Bush has taken more flak than probably most Presidents have in the middle of a war. There was an election in November of 2004, when the American people had the opportunity to voice their opinion on this particular issue. They did, and Bush is still the President. He deserves to lead because he has been chosen by the American people to lead.
 
The problem is, STING and others that look for the truth, and support their arguments with facts....but they are easy to ignore when the opportunity is there to bash Bush.
 
"The rest of the Sheehan family supports the troops, our country and our president, silently, with prayer and respect.'"

Troops, country, president, and prayer in the same sentence....

'Silently' - it seems that they're contradicting themselves somewhat.
 
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